The Value of the Non-Canonical Books

The apocrypha and pseudopigrapha are unfortunately rather negative names to attach to those writings not in the canon of Scripture. Terms that may be less offensive are intertestamental or deutero-canonical. The fact that these books were written between the time of the Old Testament canonical books and the New Testament canonical books is part of what makes them so valuable.

Look at the Non-Canonical Homepage for a sampling of various intertestamental literature.

Intertestamental books can be of value to the Evangelical Christian even though we do not believe they are in any way the inspired Word of God.

The Value of the Non-Canonical Writings
  1. The meaning of words and concepts
  2. The grammar (syntax) of Greek
  3. Historical information
  4. Historical, social, & religious context (Sitz im Leben)
  5. Exegetical & Hermeneutical Context
  6. Canonicity

Specific Themes in Various Writings

OT Apocrypha

  1. God - teaches God's omniscience, omnipotence, creation, universal love, God as Father, Judge, and King
  2. Piety & Martyrdom - stories of individuals who are "godly" in various ways and are "examples" of faith.
  3. Zionism - the fate of Jerusalem & the temple.
  4. Messiah
  5. Resurrection
  6. Eschatology
  7. Dead saints praying for the living

OT Pseudopigrapha

  1. Idealization of the past
  2. Apocalyptic
  3. Rewritten Bible

The New Testament apocryphal and pseudopigraphal books arose for a couple of main reasons. First, there was little information on the life of Jesus or the apostles, especially prior to their ministry. The creative imaginations of some authors got flowing and some really interesting books were written to fill in these gaps of knowledge. A second reason for the rise in these apocryphal books was for people to promote heresy. The most common heresy was gnosticism.

NT Apocrypha/Pseudopigrapha

  1. Doctrinal - Bridges the gap between the early church and the patristic fathers. For example, the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve gives the opinions of the church on essential Christian doctrines in the early second century.
  2. Allegorical - many of the NT apocrypha books were allegorical. The most prominent of these is the Shepherd of Hermas (c. 115-140 AD). This has been called the "Pilgrim's Progress" of the early church for its allegorical picturing of Christian truths.
  3. Hell - The various Apocalypses painted especially graphic pictures of hell and its horror (ie. Apocalypse of Peter).
  4. Rewritten Past - again, the apocryphal and pseudopigraphal books of the NT go to great lengths to elaborate upon the lives of Jesus and the apostles.
  5. Heresy - great emphasis placed on various gnostic and docetic heresies that spread throughout early Christianity (eg. Gospel of Truth; The Gospel of Judas; The Gospel According to Mathias)
  6. Church Life - there is much of historical value about the practices and policies of the early church.

For further study on this topic, an excellent book is:
Craig A. Evans. Non-Canonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992)

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