The First Book of Maccabees with Introduction and Notes (Volume 32) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1897. Excerpt: ... INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I. The Apocrypha. i. Meaning of the term. Both in classical Greek (Eurip. H. F. 1070) and in the Septuagint (Is. xlv. 3, 1 Macc. i. 23) the word diroupvcfros means hidden; it is also used in the sense of obscure, secret (Xen. Mem. III. 5, 14; Ecclus. xxiii. 19). The plur. airoKpvpa denotes hidden treasures, either material (Dan. xi. 43) or spiritual (Dan. ii. 22, Ecclus. xiv. 21). In the N.T. also it is used of the hidden treasures of wisdom (Col. ii. 3)1. The history of the term as technically applied to writings is difficult to trace, inasmuch as the sense attached to it varies not only in different authors, but even in writings of the same author. Irenaeus (Haer. I. 20) and Clement of Alexandria (Strom. 1. 15) seem to have been among the first to apply it to writings. In their day almost every sect had its secret books and esoteric doctrines. The Gnostics especially prided themselves on this. The ordinary rank and file of religious professors were supplied with books for themselves, but were kept in ignorance of the profounder things contained in the air&Kpwpa, sc. PijSkta, te. hidden books, which were reserved for the initiated, and were thus secret as to their contents2. 1 Probably in allusion to the esoteric writings of the Colossian heretics. See Lightfoot's Comm. ad loc. 2 The Christian Church regarded such books with suspicion (cf. Mark iv. 22; Luke viii. 17). An analogous term, sepharim geniiz'im = hidden books, was used by the Jewish Rabbis to denote books withdrawn from From being applied to books thus hidden or private as to their contents, the word was soon applied to such works as were hidden or obscure in respect of their origin. This was often as mysterious as their doctrines. If there were cases in which the mystery...