Who Wrote the Apocrypha? (Deuterocanon)

- The biblical canon developed gradually rather than through one universal decision. Matt Baker explains that ancient religious authorities did not gather at a single point in history to decide which books belonged in the Bible. Different authorities included or excluded different writings over time, producing distinct biblical canons.

- The Jewish Tanakh and Protestant Old Testament contain the same core material. The Tanakh consists of 24 books, while the Protestant Old Testament divides the same material into 39 books and arranges it differently.

- Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Ethiopian Bibles contain additional writings. All three include the 39 core books identified in the Protestant Old Testament, but their additional books and their total counts differ.

- The Catholic Old Testament contains 46 books, according to the presenter’s count. Its seven additional books are Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Sirach, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, and the Wisdom of Solomon. It also includes additions to Esther and Daniel.

- Catholics and Protestants use different names for the additional books. Catholics call them the Deuterocanonical Books, meaning “second canon,” while Protestants commonly call them the Apocrypha, a term the presenter explains as meaning obscure or uncertain.

- The Eastern Orthodox Old Testament has 49 core books, with a further book in its appendix. It includes the seven books found in the Catholic Old Testament, along with 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, and 3 Maccabees. It also contains additions to Esther and Daniel, an extra psalm, and the Prayer of Manasseh.

- Fourth Maccabees appears as an appendix in the Eastern Orthodox Bible. The presenter identifies it as a 50th book but distinguishes it from the 49 books in the core collection.

- The Ethiopian Old Testament is the largest of the biblical collections compared. It divides Proverbs into two books, giving its core collection 40 books rather than 39. Including the additional writings discussed in the episode, but excluding the three Maccabees found in the Eastern Orthodox collection, the presenter arrives at 47 books before adding seven Ethiopian-specific books.

- Seven books are identified as unique to the Ethiopian Bible. These are 1, 2, and 3 Ethiopian Maccabean; Jubilees; Enoch; 4 Baruch; and Josephon. The presenter gives the Ethiopian Bible a total of 54 books.

- The Jewish ordering of biblical books makes their historical development easier to see, in the presenter’s view. The Torah comes first, followed by the Prophets and then the Writings. He argues that the Torah and Prophets generally represent older material, while many of the Writings were composed later and are more literary in character.

- The apocryphal and deuterocanonical books form a later layer of Jewish literature. The presenter places them after the books already found in the Tanakh and expands his historical timeline to cover the Hasmonean, Herodian, and post-Temple periods.

- The Hasmonean period began in 167 BCE. A family of Jewish priests known as the Maccabees, or more formally the Hasmoneans, won independence for Judea. Their rule continued until 37 BCE, when the throne passed to Herod the Great.

- Judea retained limited autonomy under Roman influence before the destruction of the Second Temple. By the time Herod the Great took the throne, Judea was a Roman client state. In 70 CE, Roman forces destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple, beginning the presenter’s post-Temple period.

- Tobit combines family drama with a detailed supernatural world. Set shortly after the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel, the story follows Tobit, his wife Anna, and their son Tobias, who marries a woman named Sarah. An angel named Raphael and a demon named Asmodeus also play prominent roles.

- Tobit reflects a different presentation of spiritual beings from the Hebrew Bible. The presenter notes that angels are rarely identified by name in the Hebrew Bible, with Daniel being the only book in the Tanakh to name an angel, while demons do not appear there at all.

- Tobit and Daniel share features associated with the later Greek period. Daniel was written late in that period, and Tobit was composed anonymously around the same time. Both include named spiritual beings, reflecting a more developed supernatural world in Jewish literature.

- The presenter connects this development to Persian Zoroastrian influence. He argues that Judaism had been strongly influenced by Zoroastrianism, the principal religion of Persia, contributing to the more detailed treatment of angels and demons in later Jewish writings.

- Judith is presented as historical fiction rather than a straightforward historical account. Like Esther, its story is set in an earlier historical period. It describes a woman named Judith entering an enemy camp and beheading the general Holofernes during the Babylonian conquest of Judah.

- Judith may be an allegory for the Maccabean struggle against the Seleucids. The presenter suggests that Holofernes represents the Seleucid general Nicanor, who was killed by the Maccabees. The interpretation rests on the book’s military terminology, political institutions, and geographical boundaries, which correspond to the Hasmonean period rather than the Babylonian period in which the story is set.

- Sirach is a wisdom book comparable to Proverbs. Also known as Ecclesiasticus, it differs from many other apocryphal works because its author is identified as Joshua ben Sira, also called Jesus ben Sirak.

- Sirach can be dated through its reference to High Priest Simon II. The presenter places its original composition at the end of the Greek period, shortly before the Hasmonean takeover. This makes it one of the more securely dated works discussed in the episode.

- Sirach’s grandson added a prologue several decades after the original work. The prologue provides important evidence for the development of the Jewish biblical collection because it contains the earliest reference identified by the presenter to the Tanakh’s three-part structure.

- The Sirach prologue explicitly refers to the Law, the Prophets, and later writings. The quoted passage states: “Many great teachings have been given to us through the law and the prophets and the others that followed them.” The wording indicates that these categories of Jewish literature were already recognized by the time the prologue was written.

- Baruch is attributed to Jeremiah’s scribe but was probably written anonymously much later. According to the biblical account, Baruch lived around the time of the Babylonian exile. The presenter argues that the language used in the book makes it unlikely that the historical Baruch actually wrote it.

- Baruch may use the Babylonian destruction of the Temple to address a later crisis. Although the book describes the loss of the Temple to the Babylonians, the presenter suggests that its real context may be the Temple’s loss shortly before the Maccabean revolt. On this interpretation, Baruch was composed around the same time as Judith.

- The Wisdom of Solomon is another wisdom book attributed to an earlier biblical figure. Although supposedly written by King Solomon, it was almost certainly composed much later, probably around the same time as Baruch.

- Baruch and the Wisdom of Solomon are identified as the earliest works on the presenter’s chart originally written in Greek. By contrast, Tobit and Sirach were originally written in Hebrew, and Judith may also have been composed in Hebrew before being translated into Greek.

- The Dead Sea Scrolls provide evidence for the Hebrew origins of some additional biblical books. Hebrew fragments of both Tobit and Sirach were discovered among the scrolls. The presenter uses this evidence to support the distinction between works originally written in Hebrew and those composed in Greek.

- First and Second Maccabees are independent accounts, not consecutive parts of one book. Both describe events associated with the Maccabean period, but they were written by different authors and present separate versions of the history.

- First Maccabees was written in Hebrew by an author living in Judea. Second Maccabees was written in Greek by an author living in Alexandria, Egypt. The presenter dates both works to approximately 100 BCE, although neither author’s name is known.

- Second Maccabees is presented as an abridgment of a lost historical series. According to the book’s account of its sources, it condenses a five-book work about the Maccabees written by Jason of Cyrene. That earlier work no longer survives.

- The miracle of the Hanukkah oil is absent from both Maccabees books. Although the Maccabean revolt is closely associated with the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, neither 1 nor 2 Maccabees contains the familiar story of the oil lasting eight days. The presenter identifies the Talmud as the earliest source for that part of the Hanukkah tradition.

- The Greek versions of Esther and Daniel contain substantial additions. These additions were probably written in Greek from the beginning and incorporated around 100 BCE. As a result, the Greek versions of the two books are longer than their original Hebrew versions.

- The additions to Esther change the tone of the story. They are distributed throughout the book and, according to the presenter, transform its character from a comedy into a more serious narrative.

- Daniel’s additions consist of three substantial sections. These are the Prayer of Azariah, incorporated into the fiery furnace episode; Susanna and the Elders, concerning two older men who sexually harass a woman; and Bel and the Dragon, which contains stories about corrupt priests and Daniel killing a dragon.

- Esdras is the Greek form of the name Ezra. The presenter distinguishes two books called Esdras, emphasizing that they are not the first and second parts of a single work. The Jewish Bible originally treated Ezra and Nehemiah as one book.

- First Esdras is a Greek version of Ezra with alterations. It was written during the late Hasmonean or early Herodian period. Its relationship to the biblical book of Ezra distinguishes it from the very different work called Second Esdras.

- Second Esdras is a later Christian-era apocalyptic work. The presenter says it was written in Latin after the rise of Christianity and belongs to the genre of apocalyptic literature.

- Third Maccabees does not describe the Maccabean revolt. Instead, it recounts the persecution of Jews under Ptolemy IV, approximately 40 years before the rise of the Maccabees. It was written in Greek around the same time as First Esdras.

- Fourth Maccabees is a later commentary on Second Maccabees. It was also written in Greek, but the presenter dates it much later than Third Maccabees, around the same period as Second Esdras.

- The Ethiopian Maccabean books are different from the Maccabees books found in other biblical traditions. The three Ethiopian works derive their names from the Maccabees but are separate compositions written in Geʽez, the ancient Ethiopian language.

- The first two Ethiopian Maccabean books appear loosely based on Maccabean traditions. However, they change the names and locations substantially. The evil king in the Ethiopian version is called Sirut Saiden.

- The name Sirut Saiden may preserve a distorted reference to historical place names. The presenter suggests that it could derive from Tyre and Sidon, which appeared on coins of Antiochus IV, the villain associated with the original Maccabean story. He presents this as a possible explanation rather than a certainty.

- Third Ethiopian Maccabean is unrelated to the Maccabees themselves. Its narrative instead focuses on biblical figures such as Adam and David.

- The Ethiopian Maccabean books were probably composed very late in the post-Temple period. The presenter places their likely composition near the fall of the Western Roman Empire, making them much later than the original Maccabean historical accounts.

- Fourth Baruch is another late addition to the Ethiopian collection. It was probably written in Greek during the post-Temple period. The presenter notes that Second and Third Baruch also exist, but neither was included in the biblical collections discussed.

- Josephon is a much later work presented under an ancient historical attribution. Although written in Hebrew and said to have been composed by Josephus, the presenter believes it was probably written in Italy during the Middle Ages. It recaps Jewish history and is placed entirely outside his main historical timeline because of its late date.

- Jubilees is an alternative retelling of Genesis. Originally written in Hebrew, it was probably composed around the same time as First and Second Maccabees. Fragments discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls provide evidence of its circulation in the ancient Jewish world.

- Jubilees is sometimes called Leptogenesis, meaning “the lesser Genesis.” Its narrative revisits early biblical history and gives particular importance to the Jubilee cycle, a concept originating in the Torah.

- The Jubilee cycle is based on seven-year intervals and a special fiftieth year. The land receives rest every seventh year, and after seven cycles of seven years, a special Jubilee year follows. Jubilees uses this structure to organize its account of biblical chronology.

- Jubilees places the Exodus at a calculated year after creation. According to the book, the Exodus occurred in the 2,451st year after the creation of the world. The presenter explains that 50 multiplied by 49 equals 2,450, so the Exodus begins the fiftieth set of years, creating what the book presents as a Jubilee of Jubilees.

- The presenter planned to revisit the Jubilee calculation in a future video about the Jewish calendar. He specifically mentioned September as the intended time for that episode.

- Enoch is the most interesting apocryphal book in the presenter’s assessment. Its central figure is the minor biblical character Enoch, who appears in the genealogy between Adam and Noah. The presenter notes that Enoch is known as Idris in Islam.

- The Book of Enoch was not actually written by Enoch. The presenter dates its composition to the Greek period and explains that it is a collection of material produced over time rather than a single work written by its namesake.

- Parts of Enoch may predate Daniel, making it exceptional among the additional books. Daniel is identified as the latest book included in the Tanakh, while the presenter argues that most other apocryphal books were written afterward. Some Enoch material, particularly the Book of Watchers, may be older than Daniel.

- Enoch is the only apocryphal book the presenter identifies as being referenced in the New Testament. He states that it is referenced seven times in the New Testament verses he has in mind.

- Fragments of Enoch have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The discoveries include material in both Hebrew and Aramaic, providing evidence for the book’s ancient circulation and linguistic history.

- The Book of Enoch consists of five distinct sections that were probably written at different times by different authors. These are the Book of Watchers, the Book of Parables, the Book of Astronomy, the Book of Dreams, and the Epistle of Enoch.

- The Book of Watchers is the oldest section, while the Book of Parables is the latest. The presenter places the Book of Watchers in the Greek period before Daniel and dates the Book of Parables to the post-Temple period. He focuses on the Book of Watchers because it is the section most frequently discussed in connection with Enoch.

- The Book of Watchers expands on a puzzling passage in Genesis 6. The passage describes the “sons of God” taking human women as wives, the appearance of the Nephilim, and the wickedness of humanity before the Flood. The presenter quotes Genesis 6:1–7 from the New Revised Standard Version.

- Enoch interprets the “sons of God” as a group of angels called the Watchers. These angels were assigned to watch over newly created humanity but fell from their appointed role by having sexual relations with human women.

- The union of fallen angels and human women produces the Nephilim in Enoch’s account. These beings are described as giants, expanding on the brief and cryptic biblical reference to the Nephilim and the ancient heroes or warriors of renown.

- Enoch provides far more detail about angels and fallen angels than the Tanakh does. The presenter observes that Genesis gives only a short account, whereas Enoch supplies named beings, their activities, and a more elaborate supernatural narrative.

- Samyaza, Azazel, and Uriel have distinct roles in the Book of Watchers. Samyaza leads the Watchers; Azazel teaches humans to work metal and make weapons; and Uriel is a benevolent archangel who guides Enoch.

- The presenter connects the exclusion of Enoch from the Jewish Bible to changes within Judaism after the First Temple period. His explanation draws on a historical model introduced in an earlier episode, in which ancient Israelite religion developed through the merging of separate traditions and later divisions within Jewish society.

- The presenter proposes that the ancient Israelites originally had two kingdoms and two different origin stories. One tradition centered on Moses, while the other centered on the three patriarchs. In his reconstruction, the two traditions became increasingly unified after the northern kingdom fell and many northerners fled south to join Judah.

- The fall of the northern kingdom helped promote a unified religious identity and monotheism, according to the presenter’s model. He calls this phase “First Temple Judaism,” describing it as a unified state and religion that existed for a relatively short period before the First Temple was destroyed and the elite were exiled to Babylon.

- The return from Babylonian exile provided the setting for the formation of Second Temple Judaism. After the Persians allowed the Jews to return and rebuild the Temple, the presenter suggests that the two origin stories were combined and the final version of the Torah was compiled. He identifies this development as the emergence of Second Temple Judaism.

- Second Temple Judaism contained several groups with different understandings of the religion. The presenter identifies three principal groups that emerged over the following centuries, particularly after the Persians were replaced by the Greeks.

- The Pharisees were primarily scribes and teachers. They became especially important after the destruction of the Second Temple, when their scholarly and interpretive approach helped reshape Jewish religious life.

- The Sadducees were the priestly group associated with the Temple. Their institutional position depended heavily on the Temple’s existence, which helps explain their disappearance after the Romans destroyed it in 70 CE.

- The Essenes were the most mystical of the three groups, but the least understood. The presenter notes that scholars debate whether they were responsible for producing the Dead Sea Scrolls, so their exact relationship to the scrolls remains uncertain.

- Some scholars believe the Essenes emphasized angels, demons, and a future messiah. On this interpretation, their interests may have influenced the development of Christianity. The presenter presents this as a scholarly proposal rather than an established fact.

- The destruction of the Second Temple transformed the religious landscape. With the Sadducees effectively disappearing, the Pharisees became the main force in redefining Judaism. Their tradition eventually developed into Rabbinical Judaism, the form of Judaism that continues today.

- The finalization of the biblical canon took place after the Second Temple’s destruction, according to the presenter. By then, Second Temple Judaism no longer existed as a unified religious environment. Two major traditions had emerged from it: Rabbinical Judaism and early Christianity.

- Rabbinical Judaism inherited the Pharisees’ emphasis on the Torah. The presenter argues that the rabbis placed less importance on later writings such as Enoch, which helped explain why the book was not included in the Jewish Tanakh.

- The rabbis interpreted Genesis 6 differently from the Book of Enoch. Rather than understanding the “sons of God” as spiritual beings, they interpreted the phrase as referring to a noble or powerful line of human beings that became corrupt. This interpretation removed the need for Enoch’s account of fallen angels and their offspring.

- Early Christians retained Enoch’s religious authority for longer than the rabbis did. Third-century Christian writers Tertullian and Origen considered the book divinely inspired, showing that it continued to hold significant standing within parts of early Christianity.

- Enoch was not included in the Catholic Bible’s final collection. The presenter identifies the Council of Rome in 382 CE as the point at which it failed to make the final cut in the Catholic canon.

- The Ethiopian Bible preserved Enoch despite its exclusion from the Jewish and Catholic collections. Its continued inclusion explains why the book remains part of the Ethiopian biblical tradition while being absent from the other canons discussed in the episode.

- The episode concludes the series’ examination of the Jewish Bible and the Apocrypha. Matt Baker announces that the next episode will move into the New Testament and directs viewers to the series schedule in the video description.