apocryphal

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William Hupy
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apocryphal

Postby William Hupy » Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:51 am

I am surprised that this word has not yet made it to Dr Goodword. Checking the etymology reveals that it is from Middle English in the 14th century with no other information. Any ideas (apocryphal or not) on how it suddenly popped into English?
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Re: apocryphal

Postby Philip Hudson » Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:27 am

It seems pretty obvious to me. Apocrypha means hidden or banned. Its roots are "to put into a crypt". Because certain religious writings did not meet the stamp of either Hebrew of Apostolic approval, they were gathered in a group called the Apocrypha. Christians generally admit they are interesting and perhaps informative, but they do not meet the approval of the first century Christian or Jewish scholars. This is made into an adjective and we have apocryphal. In addition to the Apocrypha there are many early writings that do not meet the standards for inclusion in the Jewish or Christian Bibles.
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Re: apocryphal

Postby Perry Lassiter » Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:32 pm

Usually today The Apochrypha refers to a particular group of writings contained between the Old and New Testaments of the Roman Catholic church. Anyone can buy it as a separate volume or in several Biblical translations.

All the other once disputed books are usually termed "pseudopigrapha," or false writings. You can also purchase these, most in fact, in translations of the Ras Shamra tablets. These include most importantly The Gospel of Thomas and The Gospel of Philip (not Hudson) concerning which scholars debate whether they includ genuine sayings of Jesus. There are also epistles and other random works that help us see various groups forming within early Christianity and to understand why the church canonized those particular books we now call our Bible.

By the way, these are the books behind the lurid ads seen now and then in various magazines: The Lost Books of the Bible, and Books the church didn't want you to know about. Nonsense! Most bookstores carry them, and you can read most of them online for free.
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Re: apocryphal

Postby Slava » Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:31 pm

Wow, did I just learn a new word! Pseudepigraphal is not one I've ever encountered, and I had to look it up. One definition is that it is the Apocrypha, another one says it is other works, which do not include the Apocrypha. Anyone care to chime in on what the difference might be? I'm in the dark on this one.
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Re: apocryphal

Postby Perry Lassiter » Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:53 am

Pseudopigrapha is very common among Biblical scholars. There are far more ancient papyrii and parchment books out there dating from roughly the second century BCE and the second century CE. Many have to do with Christianity, but by no means all. As for apocrypha:

apocryphal (adj.) Look up apocryphal at Dictionary.com
1580s, "of doubtful authenticity," from Apocrypha + -al (1). Middle English had apocrive (late 14c.) in same sense.
Apocrypha Look up Apocrypha at Dictionary.com
late 14c., neuter plural of Late Latin apocryphus "secret, not approved for public reading," from Greek apokryphos "hidden; obscure," thus "(books) of unknown authorship" (especially those included in the Septuagint and Vulgate but not originally written in Hebrew and not counted as genuine by the Jews), from apo- "away" (see apo-) + kryptein "to hide" (see crypt). Properly plural (the single would be Apocryphon or apocryphum), but commonly treated as a collective singular.
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Re: apocryphal

Postby Perry Lassiter » Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:54 am

And let us certainly not forget the Agora based Apocrypha of MTC!
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