Sample Header Ad - 728x90

What part of the deuterocanonical books might be objectionable to Jews?

6 votes
1 answer
123 views
Regarding the Old Testament canon, Protestants follow the Jewish canon based on the assumption that this is the canon accepted by Jews before the coming of Christ. However, the historical evidence that the canon of the Hebrew Bible was decided before Christ is far from conclusive. There are some ancient claims (as can be found in Justin Martyr for example) that the Jews altered their OT in order to elide the parts that might look Christian, and I have heard some Catholics say that the deuterocanonical books were left out of the Jewish canon for the same reason. I guess I'm a little skeptical that this makes sense. **Is there anything in any of the deuterocanonical books that would be objectionable to Jews?** To be clear, I am asking specifically about the *contents* of the books. The well-established fact of their late authorship (relative to the protocanon) and the fact that many of them were not composed in Hebrew were probably also factors influencing the Jews' decision not to canonize the Apocrypha. However, I am wondering whether there are additional reasons related to what the books actually say. I don't need an example from each of the deuterocanonical books, I would be satisfied by just one or two examples of statements from them which Jews would disagree with but not Christians would not.
Asked by Dark Malthorp (4706 rep)
Sep 17, 2024, 10:17 PM
Last activity: Oct 3, 2024, 02:25 AM