Old Testament

The Jews uniformly denied canonical status to these books [the Old Testament Apocrypha], so they were not found in the Hebrew Bible; but the LXX [the Septuagint, the earliest translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek] manuscripts include them as an addendum to the canonical OT. In the second century AD, the first Latin Bibles were translated from the Greek Bible and so included the Apocrypha. Jerome’s Vulgate distinguished libri ecclesiastici [“ecclesiastical books”] and libri canonici [“canonical books”], with the result that the Apocrypha were accorded secondary status

In: Apocrypha, Old Testament

Melchizedek! Translated by Søren Giversen and Birger A. Pearson
O glorious one, Jesus Christ! O chief commanders of the luminaries, you powers Armozel, Oroiael, Daveithe, Eleleth, and you man-of-light, immortal aeon Pigera-Adamas, and you good god of the beneficent worlds, Mirocheirothetou, through Jesus Christ, the Son of God! This is the one whom I proclaim, inasmuch as there has visited the One who truly exists, among those who existContinue Reading

In: Apocrypha, Old Testament

The Prayer of Azariah is said by Azariah alone. It is a song of lamentation following a liturgical style popular after the 4th century bc: an introductory section of praise to God, a confession of Israel’s sin, a plea for mercy, and a doxology.Continue Reading

In: Apocrypha, Old Testament

The Letter of Jeremiah, also known as the Epistle of Jeremiah, is a deuterocanonical book of the Old Testament; this letter is attributed to Jeremiah to the Jews who were about to be carried away as captives to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, though the actual author is anonymous.Continue Reading

In: Old Testament

Second Esdras is often referred to as the Jewish Apocalypse of Ezra and contains seven visions of Ezra dealing with his angst over the pain and suffering inflicted upon Jews by Gentiles. Some scholars believe the book was written shortly after the AD 70 destruction of the temple in Jerusalem during the reign of Emperor Domitian (AD 81—96). While there is a definite tone of sadness in this work, there is consolation regarding ultimate retribution. There are six Messianic references within 2 Esdras.Continue Reading

In: Apocrypha, Old Testament

The Second Treatise of the Great Seth: And the perfect Majesty is at rest in the ineffable light, in the truth of the mother of all these, and all of you that attain to me, to me alone who am perfect, because of the Word. For I exist with all the greatness of the Spirit, which is a friend to us and our kindred alike, since I brought forth a word to the glory of our Father, through hisContinue Reading

In: Apocrypha, Old Testament, Pseudepigrapha

Life of Adam and Eve: And we sat together before the gate of paradise, Adam weeping with his face bent down to the earth, lay on the ground lamenting. And seven days passed by and we had nothing
2 to eat and were consumed with great hunger, and I Eve cried with a loud voice: ‘Pity me, O Lord, My Creator; for my sake Adam suffereth thus!’Continue Reading