The Apocrypha are a collection of books that were written around the same time as the Hebrew Bible. At some point, they were excluded by Rabbinic Councils as not being part of the accepted canon of sacred writings. Some of the books are actually accepted as part of the “Old Testament” by the Roman Catholic Church (we don’t call it the Old Testament, since we don’t recognize the New one as a valid sacred text – though I feel I ought to read it at some point). There’s not even 100% agreement on what books are included, and various lists cover anywhere from eleven to a couple of dozen texts, though some of that is just the way the books are divided (like Vol. 1, 2, 3… sometimes being treated as a single book). As such, there is not set order to these and I’m not at all sure where this will go, but I’m going there.
The Book of Tobit is an apocryphal story of two families living in Assyrian exile during the 8th century BCE, likely composed between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE in Hebrew or Aramaic. It was rejected as part of the canon in the 2nd century CE under the direction of Rabbi Akiva. It tells of a righteous man named Tobit (Tobi), his son Tobiyah, and a woman named Sarah, whom Tobiyah ultimately marries, focusing on the characters’ prayer, good deeds, and the miraculous divine intervention they experience. Traces of the work’s influence are evident in later texts like the Books of Job and Solomon; Midrash Bereishit Rabbah includes a truncated Aramaic version of Tobit, and one medieval manuscript suggests that at least in some medieval communities, the work was publicly read on the holiday of Shavuot.
The Book of Judith is a dramatic tale set during an imagined Assyrian siege of the Jewish town of Bethulia. The Assyrian general Holofernes, under orders from King Nebuchadnezzar, threatens to destroy the town. Judith, a devout and beautiful widow, devises a bold plan: she infiltrates the enemy camp, charms Holofernes, and ultimately beheads him while he sleeps. Her act of bravery inspires the Israelites to launch a counterattack, routing the Assyrian forces and securing their freedom. The narrative blends themes of faith, courage, and divine intervention, with Judith portrayed as a symbol of pious resistance and female heroism. Despite its vivid storytelling, the Book of Judith is considered apocryphal because it was excluded from the Hebrew Bible and Protestant canon. It is included in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of Hebrew scriptures) and accepted in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. Scholars have long questioned its historical accuracy—Nebuchadnezzar is misidentified as king of Assyria rather than Babylon, and the town of Bethulia is unknown outside the text. These anachronisms, along with its literary style and theological themes, suggest it was written as a fictionalized moral tale rather than a historical account, likely composed in the second or early first century BCE.
Additions to the Book of Esther
A series of six extended writings to the original Book of Esther. These were originally written in Greek, not Hebrew, and are numbered as chapters 11-16 (or sometimes as additions A-F), placing them after the canonized ten chapters of the book. Key differences from the original: God is mentioned 50-some times in the additions but was never mentioned in the Hebrew chapters; the Jews are portrayed as deeply religious, while in the original, they are cast as an ethnic minority, not a religious one; Esther is portrayed as keeping kosher, which she wasn’t in the original; she’s portrayed as a weak, helpless woman rather than strong and confident, and, she’s no longer the heroine of the story, but simply a bit player in God’s heroic triumph.
Set in the period of roughly 170-134BCE, and written, anonymously, around 100BCE, the first book of the Maccabees details the decree against the practice of Judaism by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire (Syrian Greeks), sparking a rebellion in the Hasmonean kingdom, which at the time encompassed the area known as Judea. The rebellion is launched by one Mattathias and his five sons, one of whom, Judah, or Judas, takes the leadership role in the revolt. The book details the successes and failures of the Maccabee (“Hammer”) rebellion, Judah’s death, and the eventual success in freeing Judea. One of the other brothers, Simon, becomes the High Priest of the Jewish people.
This is not a continuation of Maccabees 1, but rather the last remaining book of a five-volume set, summarizing the contents of the previous four volumes (which have never been found). They were written in Greek, in Egypt, during the period 153-133 BCE. The book details the history of what has become the Chanukah story (unlike Maccabees 1 – related in theme, but not in context – but a very different story from the one we were taught). It focuses on religious and supernatural themes (I’m guessing, without having read it yet, that we’re going to get to things like the eight day oil lamp miracle), and apparently martyrdom will play a big part.
Wisdom of Solomon (a.k.a. Book of Wisdom)
Think of the Wisdom of Solomon as a mash‑up between a sermon, a philosophy lecture, and a motivational TED Talk delivered by someone who really wants you to know that wisdom is the ultimate life hack. It opens with a warning to rulers: play fair or get wrecked. Then Solomon himself steps in, waxing poetic about how wisdom is basically the divine Wi‑Fi signal that keeps him connected to God’s cosmic operating system. The final act is a retelling of the Exodus, where the Egyptians get dunked on repeatedly while Israel struts out of bondage like the heroes of a revenge flick. Wisdom here isn’t just “be smart”; it’s a radiant, feminine force that makes the righteous glow and the wicked choke on their own hubris.
The Book of Ben Sira (a.k.a. Sirach – his surname in Greek, or Ecclesiasticus in the Christian apocryphal order) is a text from roughly 180 BCE, written in Hebrew by a Jerusalem sage named Shimon ben Sira, who was living in Alexandria. Later, the book was translated into Greek by his grandson (for centuries, only the Greek version was known, a copy of the Hebrew version was not found until the 1800s, in a library in Cairo). The region was under Greek control, and Ben Sira wanted to reaffirm Jewish wisdom and traditions in the face of encroaching assimilation. As such, it’s considered a cultural touchstone, a guide for living traditionally while under foreign rule. The first 25 of 51 chapters follow on the previous book Wisdom of Solomon, which is part of why it is included at this point in the apocryphal order. It personifies the Torah as Wisdom, and cements the Torah’s place as the centerpiece of Judaism. Most of the rest of the book is then devoted to ethical guidance, similar to Proverbs, but with Sira taking authorship of the work. The final chapters are paeans to various Jewish heroes, and, of course, God.
The Book of Jubilees is an apocryphal retelling of events from the Books of Genesis and Exodus, presented as an angel’s revelation to Moses as Moses ascends Mount Sinai. Composed in the 2nd century BCE, it divides history into periods of 49 years (hence the title “Jubilees,” which in a biblical context refers to the end of a 49 year period) and provides dates for biblical events. While parts of the book are in line with biblical narrative, much of it contains additions, gaps, or alternative explanations to biblical stories and laws.
- An introduction to the theme of the book. We encounter Moses on Mt. Sinai, as God basically says, “Look, you guys are going to do what you guys are going to do. You’re going to stray from my path, you’re going to worship other Gods, like gentiles, you’re going to do bad stuff. But eventually, with the books I’m giving you, like the Torah and the commandments, you’ll find your way back to me, and we’ll build a better world together.” Then he instructs “the angel of presence” to create a book for Moses that outlines the history of creation and how it led to the founding of the Jewish people.
- We start to see the differences between the canonical and non-canonical stories immediately. We’re on the Creation story, and first off, God is not dictating directly to Moses, but an angel is. Second, there’s a huge expansion of the cosmic, supernatural hierarchy that doesn’t appear in the Torah. We have a litany of different angels, and a whole celestial bureaucracy, whereas in the Torah version, angels are not even mentioned. And while sea monsters are briefly mentioned in Genesis 1-2, here they are named and detailed. It’s a very expanded outline of the Creation myth, with a lot more myth to it.
- We’ve got quite the detailed timeline versus Genesis 2 – 3. Whereas in the Torah, it seems as if Adam was created in the Garden of Eden, Eve was added right away, then there were animals to name, and then the snake, tree, and nakedness thing all happen in quick succession. Instead, in Jubilee, the garden doesn’t show up until God realizes Adam needs a decent spot to live, Eve isn’t brought in for weeks or months, to keep him company, and then the whole snake and tree debacle doesn’t occur for another seven years, and then Eve doesn’t even get named until after they’re out of the garden, before that she was just an unnamed companion, oh, and then for the first time, after being kicked out, they have sex.
- For centuries, readers have squinted at Genesis and wondered: if Adam and Eve were the first humans, who did their kids marry? Jubilees answers with all the subtlety of a blunt instrument – siblings (who were never mentioned or named in the Torah). Cain marries his sister ‘Awan, Seth marries his sister ‘Azura, and the family tree becomes a straight line of brother‑sister couplings. It’s a litany of incest that feels more like bureaucratic gap‑filling than inspired narrative. And what of the sisters who don’t get paired off, like Abel’s twin? They vanish into silence, erased once they’ve served their purpose as proof of possibility. The text isn’t interested in their stories, only in keeping the lineage machine running. No wonder this is in the Apocrypha.
- Angels Gone Wild: Boys’ Club Edition. Heavenly beings see human women, grab them without consent, and produce giants who promptly unleash chaos. God’s fix is darkly comic. He hands them swords and lets them slaughter each other until none remain, then buries the angels underground in a proto‑Hell. Noah is commissioned to build an ark, but here it’s stripped down: no “two by two,” no seven pairs, no mention of his wife or daughters, just sons and animals floating for a year in the world’s longest quarantine. The whole thing reads less like family survival and more like cosmic pest control, with holiness reduced to a mop‑up operation after heaven’s hookup culture goes off the rails.
- The post‑Flood drama unfolds quickly: Noah lets the animals loose, but keeps a few back for sacrifice, making altar‑building his first order of business. God responds with an eternal covenant – no more world‑destroying floods – on condition that humans refrain from eating blood, a precursor to kosher slaughter laws, and seals it with the rainbow. There’s feasting (though with only Noah and his sons, it’s more family dinner than banquet), a conspicuous silence about wives or daughters, and then a prophetic rant: Israel will forget the covenant, drift into gentile ways, and lose its path, but eventually stumble back toward fidelity. In short, it’s covenant, rainbow, feast, missing women, and a long forecast of spiritual amnesia with a promised return.
- Noah’s story continues, and boils down to Noah creating wine, getting drunk, and sparking a family scandal so awkward the text won’t spell it out. He disowns his youngest son, three brothers walk out in protest, and suddenly the clan splinters into new communities. Then the narrative pivots into theology: God and Noah revisit the Flood, blaming not just human corruption but those buried former angels still whispering temptation. In short, it’s hangovers, family drama, and cosmic evil rolled into one, and Noah’s vineyard becomes the stage where shame at home mirrors humanity’s ongoing failure to resist corruption.
- Kâinâm, grandson of Noah, finds rock-carved inscriptions containing the forbidden astrology of the Watchers, angelic rebels who once corrupted humanity with celestial secrets. By transcribing them he “sins,” reviving knowledge meant to be buried after the Flood. The rest of the chapter divides the world among Noah’s sons, but the opening scene reminds us that dangerous wisdom lingers in the world, waiting to destabilize order. A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.