THE BIBLE

The Apocrypha, Part 1

The books of the Bible were closely tested before they were accepted as the true Word of God. Other books may give insight, but that doesn't mean they are Scripture.

Day One: Apocryphal and Deuterocanonical Books
Roman Catholic Bibles have several more books in the Old Testament than Protestant Bibles. These books are referred to as the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books. The word apocrypha means "hidden," while the word deuterocanonical means "second canon"...
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Day Two: The Books of 1 & 2 Esdras
...Authorship and dating of 1 and 2 Esdras are somewhat problematic, and some scholars place the writing of certain portions of 2 Esdras as late as the 2nd century AD. "Esdras" is another form of the name Ezra, which means "help"...
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See Also: "What is the Ethiopian Orthodox Church?"

Day Three: The Book of Tobit
...The Book of Tobit, also referred to as Tobias, believed to have been written early in the second century B.C., recounts the story of a man named Tobit and his family exiled to living in Nineveh shortly after the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C...
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See Also: "When and how was Israel conquered by the Assyrians?"

Day Four: The Book of Judith
...The Book of Judith, believed to be written in the late second century or early first century B.C., recounts the story of God providing a woman, Judith, to deliver the Jewish people in a time of great need and despair...
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See Also: "Who was Jael in the Bible?"

Day Five: The Wisdom of Solomon
...The Wisdom of Solomon was believed by some to have been written by King Solomon, although his name appears nowhere in the text. However, the early church rejected the authorship of Solomon...
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See Also: "What is the Muratorian Canon?"

Day Six: The Book of Ecclesiastics
...Ecclesiasticus was apparently written by Jesus, grandson of Sirach, sometime between 190 and 170 BC. He was a philosophical observer of life who lived in Jerusalem and was well versed in the Hebrew Scriptures and traditions...
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See Also: "What is the book of Sirach?"

The Apocrypha, Part 2

Image Credit: Abraham De Pape; "Tobit and Anna"; 1658; Public Domain