The term deuterocanonical (literally "second canon") is used to designate books and additions to books of the Old Testament that are accepted as Scripture by some Christian communions but are not part of the Jewish Tanakh. The label reflects their different canonical status in various traditions rather than a single fixed origin. For background on the term and its use see deuterocanonical, and for the Greek language in which many of these texts survive see Greek. The wider concept of "Bible" as an evolving collection is discussed at Bible.
What the books are and where they come from
Most of the deuterocanonical writings are known from the Septuagint, a Greek-language collection of Jewish scriptures produced in Hellenistic times. These works were composed or compiled in the centuries before and around the beginning of the common era in Jewish communities that used Greek as a primary language. They include historical narratives, wisdom literature and additions to canonical books. Their emergence reflects the multilingual and multicultural environment of Mediterranean Judaism; further context about the religious communities of the period is available at Christian and the role of major churches at Roman Catholic and Orthodox.
Commonly listed books
- Tobit — a devotional didactic narrative
- Judith — a short historical-heroic tale
- 1 Maccabees — a historical account of Jewish resistance
- 2 Maccabees — a separate, theological history
- Baruch (with the Letter of Jeremiah) — exhortation and confession literature
- The Additions to Daniel and the expanded sections of Esther
- The wisdom works usually listed are the Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus)
History of acceptance and dispute
Different faith communities set their canons at different times and by distinct criteria. The Jewish canon as preserved in the Masoretic Text came to be the norm for Rabbinic Judaism, while many early Christians used the Septuagint and thus retained these additional writings in their Scripture collections. During the Reformation some Protestant leaders rejected those books as canonical, often using the term Apocrypha to describe them; that usage is discussed at Apocrypha. Key figures such as Martin Luther and John Calvin treated these texts as valuable but not on the same level as books translated from Hebrew that formed what Protestants called the Old Testament.
Uses and theological importance
Where accepted, deuterocanonical books have influenced liturgy, devotional life and theological debates. They supply narrative and moral teaching, prayers, and historical perspectives not found in the Hebrew canon. Certain theological ideas, for example on intercession and postmortem prayer, are supported in passages from books such as 2 Maccabees, and these passages shaped later doctrinal discussions in some churches. They also contribute to biblical scholarship as witnesses to Jewish thought and practice in the Hellenistic era.
Distinctions and modern perspectives
Modern scholars tend to treat the deuterocanonical books as important historical and religious literature of the intertestamental period. Their canonical status remains denominational: fully canonical in Roman Catholic and many Orthodox communions, usually excluded from the Protestant Old Testament but often included in a separate Apocrypha section for historical or liturgical use. For further reading about Jewish tradition and how canons formed see Jewish, and for comparative overviews consult surveys of the Bible and church history at deuterocanonical and Greek.