The Apocrypha

What Is The Apocrypha?

Apocrypha means hidden -as in hidden from public view- and not to be used for teaching or studying God’s word. It can also mean “of unknown origin.” The Apocrypha is a group of about 14 books (or letters) that are not recognized as legitimate, inspired, or authoritative enough to be placed in most protestant Bibles. One source estimated that they were written sometime after 400 B.C. and up to the time of Jesus’ walk here on Earth. The Apocrypha still exists, at least in part, in many Roman Catholic Bibles and is considered by them to be deuterocanonical (the second set of recognized biblical books).

These books were not included in most protestant Bibles because they either failed to align doctrinally or because there was not enough historical support to include them. Furthermore, Jesus often quoted from the Old Testament books but never directly from the books now called the Apocrypha. In the book of Romans (3:2) we are told that unto the Jews “were committed the oracles of God.” This means that they were in charge of keeping and preserving the scriptures. These scriptures were completed about 400 B.C.

Jesus mentioned, “From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias.” This is a reference from the first bloodshed, to the last one mentioned in the scriptures. To understand this, one must know that the Jewish Bible (Old Testament Scriptures) was laid out differently than ours today (see the Jewish Scriptures chart below). It began with Genesis and ended with Chronicles. The first blood spilled was that of Abel (Genesis 4:8) and the last was that of the Prophet Zacharias ( 2 Chronicles 24:21). This means that Jesus accepted the Jewish Scriptures 3 (Genesis – Chronicles) but did not accept the books of the Apocrypha.

The 24 Books of Jewish Scriptures are the same as the 39 books in today’s Old Testament. The only thing that has changed is they have been divided up into more books.

And [Jesus] said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

Luke 24:44

Will The Matthew Bible Contain The Apocrypha?

Yes and No. There will be a hardbound reprint that we expect will contain the Apocrypha. A leatherbound Bible edition that will not, and a stand-alone booklet of just the Apocrypha.

The leatherbound edition will not retain the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha was added by Miles Coverdale when he assembled the works of Tyndale into what is known as The Coverdale Bible. He did this right after William Tyndale’s murder by the Roman Catholic religious system (1). Miles Coverdale did not use the latest revision of Tyndale’s New Testament, he failed to include any of Tyndale’s 14 plus translations from the Old Testament, and he translated from the Latin, possibly the Erasmus text (2), and German texts.

John Rogers quickly (in a matter of months) took over the translation while Miles Coverdale assisted. Rogers used all of Tyndale’s latest translations (including work on about 14 books in the Old Testament). Unfortunately, the decision had to be made to leave the Apocrypha in place. It should be noted that almost assuredly had something to do with a license to print the Bible. The King is reported to have refused to print any Bible that did not include the Apocrypha.

When the Bible was first printed, the printer had to receive a license to print from the Kingdom. Often, the ruler would place stipulations on what could and could not be published. King James is reported to have declared that if anyone printed the Bible without the Apocrypha, he or she would be charged large fines and sentenced to one year in prison. This inclusion of external literature is also observed in the separate readings that were included in Tyndale’s New Testament. The insertion of external material cannot be viewed as an endorsement by the writer because of the printing license requirements of that time.

John Rogers grouped these books of the Apocrypha together into one volume (separate from the Old and New Testament) and then made it clear that they should not be relied on or publicly read. He placed these 14 books into a separate volume and made sure to note that they were not considered an actual part of the Bible. This is the introduction to that volume as found in the first edition (1537) of The Matthew Bible:

The volume of the books called Apocrypha: Contained in the common Translation in Latin, which are not found in Hebrew nor the Chaldee.

Thomas Matthew, 1537 (AKA, John Rogers)

John Rogers goes on to say that he laid the books aside so that they would not be perceived as “legitimate.” He said he decided to include them (in a separate volume) so that men could see the difference between the anointed and that which was not anointed. He said they were meant to be read in private and not in public. He continued by telling us that they were not to be esteemed or used to “confirm a strengthening of the doctrine”. The choice to separate the Apocrypha from the rest of the Bible was something that Martin Luther had done previously in his German translation and also a choice made by the Geneva Bible’s translators.

John Rogers wrote that they had been flawed and corrupted in many places and must be read with caution. Because of the great caution that Brother John Rogers has placed on us, and the obvious lack of credibility that he placed in these books (which is supported by modern protestant Christian scholars, historians, and indeed Scripture itself), the decision was prayerfully made not to include them. This lowers the cost of publication and removes any confusion in reading the scriptures.

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Notes

1. History records that the Roman Catholic religious system sought William Tyndale’s death. They succeeded in 1536. William Tyndale was arrested and taken to Vilvoorde, Belgium (This fell under the Holy Roman Empire.) The Emperor, of the Holy Roman Empire, was Charles V (5th). After nearly a year and a half of imprisonment, he ordered William Tyndale to be tried by a religious court and then turned him over to secular authorities. The religious court found that Tyndale was guilty of spreading dangerous doctrines, through his interpretation of the Bible into English, and they determined that if the people would read the Bible, it would incite them to revolt against the Roman Catholic religious system. After finding William Tyndale guilty, they strangled and then burned him at a stake.

2. Because of the Latin translation (among a smattering of other languages) Coverdale’s Bible is NOT considered the first original languages-to-English translation. In all fairness, he did not have access to Tyndale’s additional translations or an advanced understanding of the Bible languages; whereas John Rogers had both. Coverdale seemed to have been in a hurry to get the Bible to press any way possible and it appears he and Rogers were working together and not against one another, just as they reportedly did with Tyndale. Both Coverdale and Rogers are well reported to be friends of William Tyndale.

Rogers is also suspicioned of secreting away the latest works of Tyndale when the house he was living in was raided. He did not reveal that he had these until things had calmed down. Even then, he released them under the name Thomas Matthew.