Perhaps a dumb question, but here goes. Are there commentaries on the apocrypha written by a protest

Look for studies in the apocrypha written by protestants, or at least those who do not possess a catholic bent. (I know, my request seems odd and not likely to exist).

Also, are there study Bible notes on the apocrypha, as there are on the protestant canon? If so, which might some of you recommend?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and wisdom.

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Beloved Amodeo

Look for studies in the apocrypha written by protestants, or at least those who do not possess a catholic bent. (I know, my request seems odd and not likely to exist).

Also, are there study Bible notes on the apocrypha, as there are on the protestant canon? If so, which might some of you recommend?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and wisdom.

This a great question! I'll be very interested in the replies from those in the know like MJ and Dan. In the mean time you might be interested in this thread.

https://community.logos.com/forums/t/171856.aspx

DHG

I’m not in the know, but are you looking for something like this?

https://www.logos.com/product/28436/the-apocrypha-the-lutheran-edition-with-notes

Paul

Look for studies in the apocrypha written by protestants, or at least those who do not possess a catholic bent. (I know, my request seems odd and not likely to exist).

Also, are there study Bible notes on the apocrypha, as there are on the protestant canon? If so, which might some of you recommend?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and wisdom.

Hi Myke – I’m not sure how useful this list is, but I think most of them are from non-Catholic sources. Some of the older (public domain) ones are most likely Anglican scholars. Lange’s Commentary on the Apocrypha (2008) might be more useful along with the journal Semeia No. 38 (1986) and No. 80 (1997) though of course that depends on the area of your study. Those listed below are part of my downloaded Logos library so should be available from Faithlife. Hope this helps. Keep well Paul

Ball, C. J. The Ecclesiastical or Deutero-Canonical Books of the Old Testament Commonly Called the Apocrypha. London; Edinburgh; Glasgow; Melbourne; Sydney; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode, n.d.

Brannan, Rick. “Greek Apocryphal Gospels, Fragments and Agrapha: Texts and Transcriptions.” Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013.

Brannan, Rick. Greek Apocryphal Gospels, Fragments and Agrapha: Introductions and Translations. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013.

Burke, Tony, and Brent Landau, eds. New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2016.

Butler, Samuel. The Genuine and Apocryphal Gospels Compared. London; Derby: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; H. Mozley, 1822.

Charles, R. H. Index to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913.

Charles, Robert Henry, ed. Commentary on the Apocrypha of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913.

Churton, W. R. The Uncanonical and Apocryphal Scriptures. London: J. Whitaker, 1884.

Cowper, B. Harris. The Apocryphal Gospels and Other Documents Relating to the History of Christ. Fourth Edition. London; Edinburgh: Frederic Norgate; Williams & Norgate, 1874.

Daubney, William Heaford. The Use of the Apocrypha in the Christian Church. London: C. J. Clay and Sons; Cambridge University Press, 1900.

Donehoo, James deQuincey. The Apocryphal and Legendary Life of Christ. New York; London: The Macmillan Company; Macmillan & Co., Ltd., 1903.

Ferrar, William John. The Uncanonical Jewish Books: A Short Introduction to the Apocrypha and Other Jewish Writings 200 B.C.–100 A.D. London; New York: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; The Macmillan Company, 1918.

Gore, Charles, Henry Leighton Goudge, and Alfred Guillaume, eds. A New Commentary on Holy Scripture: Including the Apocrypha. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1942.

Hone, William, ed. The Apocryphal New Testament: Being All the Gospels, Epistles, and Other Pieces Now Extant. Londone: William Hone, 1820.

Hughes, H. Maldwyn. The Ethics of Jewish Apocryphal Literature. London: Charles H. Kelly, 1910.

James, Montague Rhodes, ed. The Apocryphal New Testament: Being the Apocryphal Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Apocalypses. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.

James, Montague Rhodes. The Lost Apocrypha of the Old Testament. Translations of Early Documents: Series I: Palestinian Jewish Texts (Pre-Rabbinic). London; New York: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; The Macmillan Company, 1920.

Klauck, Hans-Josef. Apocryphal Gospels: An Introduction. London; New York: T&T Clark, 2003.

Lange, John Peter, Philip Schaff, and Edwin Cone Bissell. A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Apocrypha. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008.

Lawrence, C. E. The Wisdom of the Apocrypha. Edited by L. Cranmer-Byng and S. A. Kapadia. The Wisdom of the East Series. New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1910.

MacDonald, Dennis R., ed. Semeia 38 (1986) - Apocryphal Acts of Apostles

Orr, James, ed. New Testament Apocryphal Writings. The Temple Bible. London; Philadelphia: J. M. Dent & Co.; J. B. Lippincott Co., 1903.

Oesterley, W. O. E. An Introduction to the Books of the Apocrypha. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1935.

Robinson, J. Armitage, ed. Coptic Apocryphal Gospels. Translated by Forbes Robinson. Vol. 4. No. 2. Texts and Studies: Contributions to Biblical and Patristic Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge at the University Press, 1896.

Snell, Bernard J. The Value of the Apocrypha. London: James Clarke & Co., 1905.

Stoops, Robert F., ed. Semeia 80 (1997) - The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles in Intertextual Perspectives

Wayment, Thomas. The Text of the New Testament Apocrypha (100–400 CE). London; New Delhi; New York; Sydney: Bloomsbury, 2013.

Wicks, Henry J. The Doctrine of God in the Jewish Apocryphal and Apocalyptic Literature. London: Hunter & Longhurst, 1915.

Yee, Gale A., Hugh R. Page Jr., and Matthew J. M. Coomber, eds. The Old Testament and Apocrypha. Fortress Commentary on the Bible. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2014.

DMB

I think apocrypha (Deutero's) and apocryphal are different worlds.

And I've never seen something Catholic, be Catholic with apocrypha. Indeed, they (MJ can correct) shy just as fast, especially Wisdom. Indeed, also the jewish side of the house (Sirach at best). I'd bet if Jerome had been more influential, there'd be 2 apocryphals.

Myke Harbuck

I think apocrypha (Deutero's) and apocryphal are different worlds.

Thanks Denise. I am referring to the biblical apocrypha (deuterocanonical works), rather than the later apocryphal works, such as the additional "gospels."

Can you explain this:

And I've never seen something Catholic, be Catholic with apocrypha.

Thank you again. As always, you are very helpful and insightful!

Myke Harbuck

Those listed below are part of my downloaded Logos library so should be available from Faithlife. Hope this helps. Keep well Paul

Thank you very much for the informative list, brother! God bless!

DAL

This is an introduction to the apocrypha: https://www.logos.com/product/156046/introducing-the-apocrypha-2nd-edition-message-context-and-significance The 1st Edition is still being sold if you don’t want to wait.

Also, Lange’s Commentary comments on the apocrypha: https://www.logos.com/product/5759/langes-commentary-on-the-holy-scriptures

Check your library, you might have something already 👍😁👌

DAL

DMB

I think apocrypha (Deutero's) and apocryphal are different worlds.

Thanks Denise. I am referring to the biblical apocrypha (deuterocanonical works), rather than the later apocryphal works, such as the additional "gospels."

Can you explain this:

And I've never seen something Catholic, be Catholic with apocrypha.

Thank you again. As always, you are very helpful and insightful!

Well, as a thought-provoker, Christiandom (pre-monarchal catholic) largely 'saved' non-OT jewish writings (that's a terrible exaggeration). Philo, Josephus, and much of the apocrypha. And Christiandom packaging not only included the apocrypha, but Enoch, Barnabas, and Hermas, as examples. Apparently, the idea was sources of 'be good' and 'we're right'.

It was later that the 'ancient's KJV' (LXX+ packaging) locked-in, that Jerome had little success unpackaging ... like the more modern KJV's holiness-ness.

But the actual apocrypha is largely either jewish history (Mac's), or jewish good-stories (Tobit, Judith, etc). Some pre-MT OT text (Jeremiah, etc) also showed up. Then you have Sirach (again very jewish), and Wisdom (which appear to underlie some of the NT, long before Catholic).

You end up with a package of jewish history writings, and little theological significance beyond Wisdom. Not much 'Catholic' to work with; far more liberal Protestant support (Wisdom). 'Catholic' scholarly discussion will tend to be more 'evangelical'-ish (oddly enough).

ADDED:

Just to think about (and our messianic jewish friends), inclusion of strongly jewish writings in early Christiandom, is in contrast to the strong anti-jewish writings largely beginning with Marcion, and then the 'Church Fathers'. A book I'm presently reading notes the odd close jewish-gentile relations among 'lay' Christians, but the strong anti-jewish from many Christian leaders. You wonder if the apocrypha was an early 'togather-ness' that held on, until Luther & Co.

MJ. Smith

I think you have already been given an adequate list of commentaries, but I want to comment on the original question. The books that are included in the broader canon are based on accepting the LXX as the Old Testament canon rather than the Masoretic. See The First Bible of the Church: A Plea for the Septuagint by Mogens Müller. This canon with a variety of permutations is used by Anglicans, Lutherans, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox. Therefore, it is not reasonable to assume a "Catholic bent" to commentaries on the deuterocanonicals unless by "catholic" you mean all of the above traditions. The Lutheran study notes I would recommend; Hermeneia commentaries (Lutheran publisher) include commentaries of the type you are requesting. I would highly encourage you to read The First Bible of the Church before the commentaries so that you better understand what you are looking at.

SineNomine

Look for studies in the apocrypha written by protestants, or at least those who do not possess a catholic bent.

Where would you yourself consider the Eastern Orthodox as falling?

David Paul

Look for studies in the apocrypha written by protestants, or at least those who do not possess a catholic bent. (I know, my request seems odd and not likely to exist).

Being careful not to assume what you are or are not assuming, can you identify the commentaries on the apocrypha that you first encountered that had the catholic bent you are seeking to avoid?