Deuterocanonical books

Deuterocanonical (from Greek: deuteros = second ) is a term that is designated by the specific writings of the Old Testament (AT), which are considered by the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church and the Eastern Churches as an integral part of the Bible, so in these churches are considered canonical, but which will be held from Judaism and from the churches of the Reformation apocryphal. As protokanonisch (from Greek: protos = first ), however, the writings contained in the Jewish and Protestant canons of the Old Testament are called. The deuterocanonical books are to completed additional fonts, designated by the Orthodox churches as Anaginoskomena.

Definition

The names go deutero - and protokanonisch back to Sixtus of Siena (1520-1569), which they used in the first volume of his Bibliotheca Sancta (Venice 1566) for the first time. The names allude to the history of the canon of development, in which there were doubts about the canonical character of the deuterocanonical writings. Since there were no such doubts in relation to the proto canonical writings, these were the first in the canon, the deuterocanonical other hand, as the second after overcoming these doubts; in the Latin Church this happened in the 4th century AD.

In the deuterocanonical writings are books or additions to books that have been preserved in the Septuagint, but not in the Masoretic text tradition. These books have survived in Greek, but in some cases are Hebrew originals to accept. The time of origin, the last two centuries BC, so they are sometimes referred to as " late writings of the Old Testament ." They provide us with valuable insights into the time before the coming of Jesus. These books often mentioned that people prayed to God - and these prayers are reproduced in detail. In most deuterocanonical books more than ten percent of total content dedicated to such a prayer. In contrast, there are in the Tanakh only a few percent of the content, and that also applies to the New Testament.

Specifically, these are:

  • Judit
  • Tobit
  • Baruch
  • Sirach
  • Wisdom of Solomon
  • 1 Maccabees
  • 2 Maccabees
  • Additions to the book of Daniel
  • Additions to Esther

The remaining parts of the Septuagint, which is not in the Jewish and Protestant canon are (3rd Book of Ezra, 3 and 4 Maccabees, the Prayer of Manasseh, and the Psalms of Solomon ) will be rejected by the Catholic Church as apocryphal. The individual manuscripts of the Septuagint from the 4th and 5th centuries also vary in scope, so can not speak of a clear " Septuagint canon" one. The Codex Alexandrinus contains approximately every four Maccabees, the Codex Sinaiticus 1 Macc. and 4 Macc., and the Codex Vaticanus none at all of these four books of Maccabees.

Ecclesiastical reception

The first Christians had an unbiased relation to the Septuagint (LXX ). From it come the New Testament the most citations of the Old Testament. The New Testament quotes several times from texts that are not in the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh ) are to be found - but not in the deuterocanonical books, such as: Jude 14 quotes Enoch, Titus and 1.12 quoted a Greek poet ( probably Epimenides ). This shows that such a Quoted Are not necessarily indicate a canonical recognition. Several times cited " the Scripture " without the quote can be clearly assigned (John 7:38, 1 Corinthians 2:9;. Jak 4.5. ). In the New Testament about 300 clear references ( not a single fact to a book deuterokanonisches ) found on the Old Testament. Some editions of the New Testament have register with thousands parallels; such, but - as a possible non-secure references - very informative. ( Such parallels can be found on many texts, but it is unclear whether the later author thinking of the earlier text or has even known. )

Occasionally quote the apostolic fathers and early church fathers from deuterocanonical writings. The author of the Epistle of Barnabas quotes inter alia, from the book of Sirach, Polycarp cites Tobit, the Didache quotes Wisdom of Solomon Sirach and. and the first letter Clement quotes wisdom. The emphasis in their quotes always lies on some proto- canonical books, namely Isaiah, the Book of Psalms, the Book of the Twelve Prophets and the Pentateuch. The remaining books are used less often, and from such occasional references can hardly be sure about their canonical status.

Discussions on the canonical recognition of certain books were led by theologians. For the communities were those accruals " boundary issues" that they rarely related in particular to the Old Testament. Because the municipalities had - until well into the 4th century into - just one of the books of the Old Testament, such as the Pentateuch, Psalms and Isaiah. The question of what history books of the Old Testament ( which they do not already possessed ) are canonical and what was not for the communities therefore not so relevant. ( The same will have been true for many synagogues. )

By Melito of Sardis († 190 ) a detailed list of the books of the Old Testament was first made ​​known in Christianity. He had made ​​inquiries in the Holy Land and came to the conclusion that only the books of the Jewish canon belong to the Old Testament. Especially eastern - - As a result, a number of closed church fathers that position with small variations on. These included the Hebrew competent Church Fathers: Origen, who comments on the majority of biblical books written, but not a single deuterocanonical book, and the influential Jerome. This saw is not contained in the Hebrew canon writings as außerkanonisch, but they still took in his translation of the Bible, which in the Latin Church over several centuries later binding Vulgate, and also quoted from them, partly as " scripture ". He also coined the term " apocryphal ": Hieronymus designated so that the deuterocanonical writings, which can be quite read " for the edification of the people", even if in his opinion did not belong to the Bible, as opposed to Athanasius before him, who for the designation used as heretical respected books, claimed that biblical status.

At the end of the 4th century (c. 375 ) was the first time a commentary on a deuterocanonical book: Ambrose of Milan wrote De Tobia. Ever been in the west the deuterocanonical writings, on the whole, very much appreciated. The determining factor was the position of Augustine, who defended their canonicity against Jerome. His position was confirmed in a number of African Plenarkonzilien in which Augustine took part, starting with the Plenary Council in Hippo 393, and some papal letter.

Thus in the Latin Western Church, the discussion about the canon of the Old Testament was basically completed after about 400 AD, and until the Reformation of valid today in the Roman Catholic Church canon was only a few exceptions provided.

Also in the Eastern churches continued later by the conviction of the canonicity deuterokanonischer writings. They are there called " Anaginoskomena ". However, there are some still additional copies of the Septuagint, especially 3 Maccabees and 1 Esdras - called by Catholic authors Ezra 3 -, and in the case of the Ethiopian Church also the books not included in the Septuagint Enoch and 4 Ezra.

Reformation

Going back to Jerome the Reformers rejected the canonical status of the deuterocanonical writings. Here the influence of humanism on the Reformers argued. The endeavor was ad fontes, so to get to the original sources, insofar as the Hebrew tradition was rediscovered. Some, like especially Luther, Jerome followed in the use of the term " apocryphal " and their very positive assessment. So Luther added them - with the Prayer of Manasseh - his translation of the Bible with the heading " Apocrypha: These are books: so the Holy Scriptures not kept the same, and yet useful and good to read are " as an attachment to the Old Testament.

Later, the rejection sat through more consistent, and the apocryphal books were not included in the Protestant Bible translations in part. In today's Bible translations that emerged partly in cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church, they are included again.

Mainly in response to the position of the Reformers was at the Council of Trent on April 8, 1546 for the Catholic Church, the canon - binding set - including deutorokanonischen writings. It was also stipulated that they are to look at the other books of Scripture as equal.

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