exile in Babylon in 587–539 B.C.) and for the New Testament. They were written much closer to Jesus’ time than many books of the universally accepted Old Testament, and they contain instances of ideas and outlooks that he accepted. (For instance, both the Books of the Maccabees and the Book of Wisdom testify to a belief in life after death.) Thus these books are necessary for the study of Scripture. As Protestant readers and students become familiar with the deuterocanonical writings, some of the