The word Apocrypha means "hidden" and is the name given to a group of Jewish writings that date from approximately 300 B.C. to A.D. 70. Today the OT Apocrypha is a term denoting the 13 works contained in the oldest Greek codices of the OT but not in the Hebrew Bible.
"Apocrypha" does not refer to "hidden" secrets, as in Daniel 12:9-10 and Ezra 14:44-48, but to extracanonical documents.
Roman Catholics contend these works are "Deutero-canonical" and inspired, they are consequently to be found in the Catholic Bible.
Protestants and Jews do not consider them canonical, even though some books, like Ecclesiasticus, are often acknowledged as authoritative and even inspired.
All the books were written in a Semitic language and in Palestine, except for the Wisdom of Solomon and II Maccabees, composed in Greek, probably in Alexandria.
The Letter of Jeremiah was written long before 100 B.C. The original was composed sometime around 300 B.C. Containing only 72 or 73 verses, the work, influenced by Jeremiah 10:1-16, is an exhortation not to fear or worship idols.
Tobit was probably composed around 180 B.C. and is a romantic story teaching that God does indeed help those faithful to his laws.
Judith, composed about 150 B.C. is a story about how Judith beheaded the Assyrian general, Hofernes, and delivered her nation. The author intended to exhort Jews to be obedient to the Torah and reject evil, especially as represented by an invading enemy.
I Esdras (also known as III Esdras following the Septuagint where Ezra and Nehemiah are taken as I and II Esdras) was written sometime between 150-100 B.C.; it is a deliberate attempt to rewrite II Chronicles 35:1-36:23, Ezra, and Nehemiah 7:38-8:12. II Esdras 3:1-5:6 are independent of the OT. Notable features of the book are the elevation of Ezra as "High Priest", the celebration of the Temple, and the preoccupation with Zerubbabel.
II Esdras (also known as IV Esdras or the Apocalypse of Ezra) is a Jewish apocalyptic work originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic (but known only in translation) not long after the destruction of the Second Temple. Facing the problem of Israel's suffereing, it answers that while the world was created for Israel, Israel had sinned and must therefore pass through a period of purgation.
Prayer of Manasseh, a penitential psalm supplementing II Chronicles 33:11-13. Written in the Ist Century B.C.
Additions to Esther are six expansions to the Book of Esther in it's Greek form. The date for these additions is clearly pre-70 A.D., but may have been appended in different years between 167 to 114 B.C. or sometime in the 1st century B.C. The authors of these additions added color to the story, provided an apology for Judaism, and (most importantly) supplied the theological words and ideas most conspicuously absent in Esther.
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna and Bel and the Dragon are three additions to the Book of Daniel, dated between 165 and 100 B.C. The Prayer of Azariah turns the reader's attention to the Jews facing martyrdom and away from the wicked king; it stresses that there is only one God and that he is just.
Susanna is a tale about a beautiful woman saved by Daniel when he cross-examined two elders and revealed that they were lying.
Bel and the Dragon preserves two stories. One describes how daniel proved that the food offered up to the idol Bel was in fact eaten by the priests; the other how Daniel destroyed an idol but was saved by Habakkuk with the aid of angels.
Baruch, which dates from the first or second centuries B.C. is composite. It opens with an acknowlegement that Jerusalem was destroyed because of Israel's sins and with a plea for God's forgiveness, then moves through a poetic celebration of wisdom, to a description of how the lament from Jerusalem was heard.
Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sirach), probably composed around 180 B.C., by a conservative teacher in Jerusalem, is an apology for Judaism and a critique of Greek culture. Typical themes are the reverence of the Temple, The Torah, and the belief in the one God who is just and merciful.
The Wisdom of Solomon, perhaps written in the first century B.C., is a blend of Israelite and Jewish wisdom traditions with Greek and Egyptian ideas. Wisdom is clearly personified.
I Maccabees, composed near the end of the 2nd century B.C., celebrates the military exploits of the Maccabees up to the rule of John Hyrcanus. The author is proHasmonean, but does not articulate the importance or value of martyrdom. This document is a major source for studying the history of 2nd century Palestine.
II Maccabees, written in the latter part of the first century B.C., is an epitome of a lost five-volume history by Jason of Cyrene. Much more theologically oriented than I Maccabees, II Maccabees stresses the resurrection of the body, the efficaciousness of martyrdom, and the revelatory dimension of miracles. It is anti-Hasmonean. Two letters introduce the epitome: the first, probably authentic, was composed around 124 B.C., in a Semitic language, and is an appeal to celebrate the festival of Hanukkah, the second letter, probably inauthentic, dates between 103 and 60 B.C. and may have been composed in Greek.
