Sirach is also known as Ecclesiasticus Sirach is the wisdom of Yeshua ben Sira. He was a Hellenistic Jewish scribe living in Alexandria in Egypt under the Ptolemaic kingdom in 180-175 BC. The book was translated into Greek by Yeshua’s grandson who went to Egypt in 132 BC. Sira in Greek is Sirach so thisContinue reading “#21 Book of Sirach”
Category Archives: Apocrypha
#20 Little Known Books of the Apocrypha
3 Maccabees 3 Maccabees was originally written in Greek. It was included in the Septuagint Bible. It’s original title is unknown. Some Orthodox churches include this book in their Bibles, but Catholics and Protestants do not. It has the same characters as 2 Maccabees: it has the prayers of Eleazar the teacher of the LawContinue reading “#20 Little Known Books of the Apocrypha”
#19 Book of Judith
Judith means ‘Jewess’ This book of the Apocrypha is about a plan executed by a woman to save her people. Plot of the story of Judith: Judith, a widow, uses her beauty and charm to get in and kill an Assyrian general in his tent. Thus, she saves Jerusalem from attack and siege by theContinue reading “#19 Book of Judith”
#18: 1 Maccabees
This is the history of the region of Judea after the conquests of Alexander the Great. It outlines the events of the uprising of the Jews against the Greeks led by five men of the Maccabee family from 170 to 130 BC. Antiochus despoils the Temple, religious persecution of the Jews. Mattathias and Judas MaccabeusContinue reading “#18: 1 Maccabees”
#17: 2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees consists of a short and a long letter from Jews in Jerusalem to Jews in Egypt. The second letter is from Judas Maccabeus and the senators of Jerusalem to Aristobulus, a priest and teacher of King Ptolemy. Thus, the author of 2 Maccabees was Judas Maccabeus written in about 160 BC before heContinue reading “#17: 2 Maccabees”
#16 Book of Malachi
Malachi Malachi means ‘my messenger’ so it may mean this or be his actual name. Chapter 3 “ I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.” Some claim that Ezra was the prophet of the book Malachi, as this was not a name but a description. The messenger could be JohnContinue reading “#16 Book of Malachi”
#15 Chronicles
1 CHRONICLES This book was written as a supplement to the book of Samuel and the book of Kings. Ancient Jewish tradition attributes the book of Chronicles to the priest Ezra as the author. He used many other books of the Old Testament and annals of kings as sources. The purpose of the chronicler wasContinue reading “#15 Chronicles”
#14 Book of Ezra
Ezra The author of Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles is thought to be one and the same person – the priest Ezra (also called Esdras in Greek). Ezra was key in organizing the return of the Jews to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple. Before leaving he secures the Decree of Cyrus found in theContinue reading “#14 Book of Ezra”
#13 Book of Esther
Esther was married to Xerxes I – Xerxes the Great who ruled the Achaemenid Empire from 486 to 465 BC. He was also called King Ahasuerus. He was the son of King Darius and was born in 518 BC. The name Xerxes is pronounced ‘zerk zeez’. The central purpose of this book is to recordContinue reading “#13 Book of Esther”
#12 Three Apocryphal Stories of Daniel
Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are the three young Jewish administrators who end up in the fiery furnace due to Nebuchadnezzar’s unwise decree. In Daniel chapter 3 they are called by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. In the furnace the three youths are joinedContinue reading “#12 Three Apocryphal Stories of Daniel”
