Jewish apocrypha

The Jewish apocrypha (הספרים החיצוניים) are religious texts written in large part by Jews, especially during the Second Temple period, not accepted as sacred manuscripts when the Hebrew Bible was canonized. Some of these books are considered sacred in certain Christian denominations and are included in their versions of the Old Testament. The Jewish apocrypha is distinctive from the New Testament apocrypha and Christian biblical apocrypha as it is the only one of these collections which works within a Jewish theological framework.

Apocrypha in Judaism
Certain sects of Second Temple Judaism, such as the Essenes in Judaea and the Therapeutae in Alexandria, were said to have a "secret or hidden" literature. The Pharisees were familiar with these texts. The Apocalyptic literature is an example of this secret literature. Based on unfulfilled prophecies, these books were not considered scripture, but rather part of a literary form that flourished from 200 BCE to 100 CE. These works usually bore the names of ancient Hebrew worthies to establish their validity among the true writers' contemporaries.

2 Esdras reinforces this theory: when Ezra was inspired to dictate the sacred scriptures that were destroyed in the overthrow of Jerusalem, "So during the forty days ninety-four books were written. And when the forty days were ended, the Most High spoke to me, saying, "Make public the twenty-four books that you wrote first and let the worthy and the unworthy read them; but keep the seventy that were written last, in order to give them to the wise among your people. For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge.""

- RSV

Writings that were wholly apart from scriptural texts were designated as Hitsonim (literally: external) by the Sanhedrin and reading them was forbidden. In the following centuries, these apocrypha fell out of use in Judaism.

Books

 * 1 Baruch (ספר ברוך)
 * 2 Baruch ('חזון ברוך א)
 * 3 Baruch ('חזון ברוך ב)
 * 1 Enoch ('ספר חנוך א)
 * 2 Enoch ('ספר חנוך ב)
 * 3 Enoch ('ספר חנוך ג)
 * 1 Esdras (עזרא החיצוני)
 * 2 Esdras (חזון עזרא)
 * 1 Maccabees ('ספר מכבים א)
 * 2 Maccabees (ספר מכבים ב׳)
 * 3 Maccabees (ספר מכבים ג׳)
 * 4 Maccabees (ספר מכבים ד׳)
 * Additions to the Book of Esther (תוספות למגילת אסתר)
 * Additions to Daniel (תוספות לספר דניאל)
 * Apocalypse of Abraham (חזון אחרית הימים של אברהם)
 * Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres
 * Ascension of Isaiah (עליית ישעיהו)
 * Assumption of Moses (עליית משה)
 * Book of Gad the Seer (דברי גד החוזה)
 * Book of Jubilees (ספר היובלים)
 * Book of Judith (ספר יהודית)
 * Book of Tobit (ספר טוביה)
 * Book of Wisdom (חכמת שלמה)
 * Genesis Apocryphon (מגילה חיצונית לבראשית)
 * History of the Captivity in Babylon
 * Joseph and Aseneth (יוסף ואסנת)
 * Letter of Aristeas (איגרת אריסטיאס)
 * Letter of Jeremiah (איגרת ירמיהו)
 * Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (קדמוניות המקרא)
 * Life of Adam and Eve (ספר אדם וחוה)
 * Prayer of Manasseh (תפילת מנשה)
 * Psalm 151 (מזמור קנ"א)
 * Psalms 152–155 (מזמורי קנ"ב–קנ"ה)
 * Psalms of Solomon (מזמורי שלמה)
 * Sibylline Oracles (חזיונות הסיבילות)
 * Sirach (בן סירא)
 * Testament of Abraham (צוואת אברהם)
 * Testament of Job (דברי איוב)
 * Testament of Qahat (צוואת קהת)
 * Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (צוואות השבטים)
 * Visions of Amram (חזון עמרם)