Parabiblical literature
Parabiblical literature refers to a variety of ancient Jewish and Christian writings that present themselves as similar to the Bible in some way, including the apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. Definitions of this body of literature vary. Narrower definitions tend to refer only to texts that present in a similar manner to Bible books in structure and content, while broader definitions also include commentaries, exegetical works, mystical texts, and even Jewish rabbinic literature. Scripture-type parabiblical texts tend to expand upon events or storylines that are mentioned more briefly in the Bible. They may also record prophetic visions seen by Yahwist holy figures. Some parabiblica primarily contain proverbs, fables, or life lessons attributed to Yahwist holy figures.
Classification
There are multiple ways in which parabiblica can be classified, and the terms applied to various subsets of parabiblical literature often overlap. The definitions of some of the relevant terms are also debated.
Terminology
Canon status
Some books considered parabiblical by some people may be considered part of biblical canon by others, since different branches of Christianity recognize different sets of books as canon. Most books whose canonicity is subject to sectarian debate are Old Testament books.
Protestant Christians recognize the strictest canon (66 books). These books are recognized by all major Christian sects today and are included in all major modern Bible translations.
The Catholic Church acknowledges seven more full books (73 books total) as well as additions in the books of Esther and Daniel. These additional books — Tobit, Judith, Wisdom od Solomon, Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus), 1 Baruch, 1 Maccabees, and 2 Maccabees — are included in Catholic-oriented Bible translations and formal academic translations. They are commonly called the Deuterocanon, but Protestants and older scholarly writings may refer to them as the Apocrypha.
Eastern Orthodox canons can vary between regions and churches. However, they generally contain the Catholic deuterocanonical books plus 1 Esdras, 3 Maccabees, the Prayer of Manasseh, and Psalm 151. Some Eastern Orthodox canon lists include 4 Maccabees and 2 Esdras, while others exclude them.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church recognizes the most books among all major Christian groups; it includes all of the above books as well as 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and the three books of Meqabyan. It is the only major church to acknowledge 1 Enoch and Jubilees as canon. Beyond these additional books, the exact books in the Ethiopian Orthodox canon are difficult to establish, because many of the more obscure texts have not even been translated into English. Efforts to establish a full canon list for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church are further complicated by their division of their sacred texts into a "narrower" and "broader" canon. The broader canon appears to include several additional New Testament books not found in any other Christian tradition, as well as further Old Testament apocrypha.
Relation to Satano-Grigorism
Rabbinic literature
Patristic literature
See also
Specific issue: Addition of Old Testament (Jewish) and New Testament (Christian) apocrypha sections with lists of books and explanations.