The “Hidden Books”

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31007, 12 March 1966, Page 4

The “Hidden Books”

(Reviewed bu G M > The Holy Bible and Apocrypha, Nelson. This is another excellent production of the Revised Standard Version, containing the Old Testament Apocrypha with an illuminating introduction by Professor H. H. Rowley an’acknowledged exponent of Old Testament language and literature. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible has already been discussed in “The Press,” but the inclusion of the Old Testament Apocrypha calls for examination. The Apocrypha are the “hidden books” of the Bible. They are interspersed in the Old Testament in the Roman Catholic Bible and between the Old Testament and the New Testament in the Protestant Bible. They are of Jewish origin, but were not recognised as canonical. Undoubtedly they throw light on Jewish history and belief during the period 200 B.C. and 100 A.D. They were taken over by the Christian Church with the addition of the Apocrypha of the New Testament, but were never recognised as on the same level with the accepted writings of the New Testament. The Apocrypha have had a chequered career in history. The Reformation leaders refused to acknowledge the status of the “hidden books.” Martin Luther included most of them in his translation of the Bible as “useful and good to read." At the Westminster Assembly (1646-7) the Apocrypha were discounted as an integral part of the Bible. The British and Foreign Bible Society omitted them since 1827. It would be very wrong to say that they

have little to say to moderns, on the contrary they speak loud and clear about life and its demands. Increasingly respect for them has grown though they are not acceptable as canonical. Professor Rowley reminds us that in the Apocrypha we find history, stories, psalms, wisdom, literature and apocalyptic. The two books of Maccabees tell the vivid story of the struggle of the Jews for independence in the second century B.C. History does not repeat itself, but it is more than a coincidence that Israel, the modern Jewish State, fought for and gained independence in the twentieth century A.D. (1948). Ecclesiasticus or the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach (180 8.C.) is a book that today is greatly valued. It resembles the Book of Proverbs but also contains hymns and prayers. The Book of Tobit, written around 200 B.C. tells an ancient story. It is of interest to read in this book the negative form of the Golden Rule, “what you hate, do not do to any one.” Naturally there are some works of slight interest and worth, but as a collection they form a valuable bridge between the Old Testament and the New and introduce the reader to developments of Jewish thought. “It is not, therefore,” says Professor Rowley, “without reason that these books now receive more attention than they once did. They are born of the Old Testament and shed light on the New, and the lover of both Testaments will not find his love diminished by their study.”