The Apocrypha & date the canon of Scripture was established

[Neto]

I realize that there has not been any activity on this forum for some time, but thought I'd post my question anyway, and perhaps some one will be able to see it, and respond.

I'm wondering about the attitude toward the so-called "apocryphal books", and what the attitude toward them was during the time soon after they were written. Also, is there established information as to when the decision was made to exclude these books from the recognized canon of Scripture. (I am not at all interested in what any Christian writer or church said about this, I want to hear only about reputable Jewish sources.)

Thanks,
Neto

[David_L]

I found this article on the subject at chabad.org, which is generally an authoritative source on Judiasm: What Is the Jewish Approach to the Apocrypha?

The end of the article sums up:

The Apocrypha isn’t Divinely inspired, and is therefore not part of the canon, and some of its works are even antithetical to Judaism. Other works may indeed contain some valuable information, but they aren’t given any more credence than any other book, and be aware that there have been various additions and deletions made throughout the ages.

[Neto]

Thank you, David. I hadn't seen that article, but saw some of the same information. I was especially interested in the mention of the Anshei Knesset Hagedolah, since they are credited with establishing the canon of Scripture, but I was confused as to exactly over what period of time they were in existence as an active group.

I was also looking for some mention of these later books in the works of Josephus, but haven't made any direct searches. (I have them in PDF form.) I hesitate to mention this source, because it appears to be a Christian site, but it does give a list of the canon as mentioned by Josephus. [the source: https://biblehub.com/library/pamphilius/church_history/chapter_x_the_manner_in_which.htm]

Josephus, of course, wrote after the time of the Maccabees, so this seems to be fairly conclusive evidence that the Apocrypha was already excluded at that time. (The book of Sirach seems to get somewhat special treatment.)

Thanks again for taking the time to answer my question.