A 30-day reading guide with selections from historical books and wisdom books in the Deuterocanon / Apocrypha. Each passage is labeled by topic. Download this resource

What does the word “Septuagint” mean? Is the Roman numeral “LXX” significant? Find out the answers to these questions and more. In the third century B.C. Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt, translated the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. Many Jewish people lived in Greek-speaking areas of the Mediterranean world,… Read More

The traditional biblical books of wisdom are Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job. But the idea of wisdom pervades both the Old and New Testaments. According to Proverbs, “All wisdom comes from the Lord, and so do common sense and understanding. God gives helpful advice to everyone who obeys him” (Prov… Read More

Men weren’t the only important figures in the Hebrew Scriptures. Women played many important roles. Find out what they were. The book of Judith, one of the deuterocanonical/apocryphal books of the Bible, is named for a remarkably brave and beautiful woman who displays great faith in the God of… Read More

The first Hanukkah took place in the Intertestamental period during the rededication of the temple. Find out the history behind this holiday and how it factors into the history of the Jewish people. The Festival of Hanukkah commemorates a highly significant event in the history of ancient Israel. In… Read More

Who was Sirach? What did he have to say? Read more here. Overall, we know very little about the people who wrote the Old Testament. The details about people in the biblical narratives are background for stories that are not really about individual humans, but about God’s relationship with… Read More

There are more copies of Bibles than any other book in the world. Read about how the Bible was passed down to us through countless generations over thousands of years. The Bible is like a small library that contains many books written by many authors. The word “Bible”… Read More

Find out what different faith traditions in Western Christianity say about the Deuterocanonical books and what role these books play in the Old Testament canon. The term “apocrypha” is Greek for “hidden or secret (things).” When Jerome translated the Scriptures into Latin in the late fourth century, he noted… Read More