Invitation to the Apocrypha

Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.

© 1999 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

255 Jefferson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503 / P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Harrington, Daniel J.

Invitation to the Apocrypha / Daniel J. Harrington.

p. cm.

ISBN 0-8028-4633-5 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. Bible. O.T. Apocrypha Introductions. I. Title.

BS1700.H37 1999

229′.061—dc21

99-34518

CIP

The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to adapt previously published material from the following sources:

“Introduction to the Canon.” In The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 1, p. 12. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994. Used by permission.

The Maccabean Revolt: Anatomy of a Biblical Revolution. Wilmington, Del.: Michael Glazier, 1988. Copyright held by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minn. Used by permission.

“Sirach.” In The International Bible Commentary, edited by William R. Farmer, pp. 923–50. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1998. Used by permission.

Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations in this publication are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and used by permission.

Contents

Preface

1. Reading the Old Testament Apocrypha

2. Tobit: We Are Family

3. Judith: By the Hand of a Woman

4. The Additions to Esther: These Things Have Come from God

5. The Wisdom of Solomon: Immortality, Wisdom, and History

6. Ecclesiasticus/Sirach: Fear of the Lord

7. Baruch: Sin, Exile, Repentance, and Return

8. The Letter of Jeremiah: The Folly of Idolatry

9. The Additions to Daniel: Who Is the Living God?

10. 1 Maccabees: God’s Dynasty

11. 2 Maccabees: God’s Temple

12. 1 Esdras: Rebuilding the People of God

13. The Prayer of Manasseh: The Prayer of the Repentant Sinner

14. Psalm 151: God’s Care for David

15. 3 Maccabees: Israel in Crisis and the Divine Deliverer

16. 2 Esdras: Prophecies and Visions of Ezra

17. 4 Maccabees: The Sovereignty of Devout Reason

Index of Names and Subjects

Preface

The word serendipity refers to the making of a desirable discovery by accident (or, by divine providence). This introduction to the Old Testament Apocrypha had a serendipitous origin.

In May 1998 I had just finished teaching once more a course on suffering in the Bible and theology. In the course we work through key Old and New Testament texts as well as classic and modern theological essays on the mystery of suffering. The material helps students (and me) to integrate their biblical and theological studies with their personal and pastoral experiences. It is a privilege for me as the professor to take part in the discussions and to read the students’ papers. I have offered the course several times, and often have wanted to write something on the topic. But what? ...