Why books like Maccabees were left out — and why some are still quietly cited anyway.
Q. What was the process of the canonization of the Tanakh and what is the status of the apocryphal books like the Book of the Maccabees and Ben Sira?
The books which you mentioned as well as others are often called “outside books” which were around during the second Temple period but purposely not included by the Anshei Knesset HaG’dola in the Tanach. Although we are taught not to invest too much time in reading them (see Tiferet Yisrael on Mishna Sanhedrin 10, note 8), some of them, like Ben Sira, are even quoted in the Talmud, while others are mentioned in the Ramban in his commentary on the Torah and elsewhere. The first book of Maccabees is cited by some modern day poskim, as well, although this is done very carefully because it is known that some outside influences entered these books over history. Fragments or copies of most of these books have been found in their original Hebrew versions, however, most of them were preserved better in their Greek and Latin translations and therefore may well have been subject to Christianization. These books are definitely not holy, but can sometimes serve as interesting outside sources to confirm certain historical facts or verify some ancient customs, but even this must clearly be done with supervision, and it’s not a blanket acceptance.
Leave a Reply