The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes

Overview
This is the first and only ESV edition of the Apocrypha with notes and annotations by Lutherans.

 

The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition allows Lutherans to look back at their heritage and see the Bible as our forefathers would have. Furthermore, the texts of the Apocrypha are essential reading for filling in the 400-year gap between the Old and New Testaments.

 

A key resource for understanding the New Testament’s background, Concordia’s The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition includes notes, maps, charts, illustrations, introductions to the books, and an extensive set of articles that provide guidance to those who are studying ancient literature such as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 

 

• ESV text
• Lutheran notes
• Maps
• Charts
• Illustrations
• Book introductions
• Helpful articles

Audio Interview
Listen to an interview with Rev. Dr. Andrew E. Steinmann, contributor to The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes, as he provides insight as to what the Apocrypha is and how it can benefit Lutheran's today. Click here to listen to additional interviews.

"Scripture in Jesus’ Judaism and in the Early Church included more documents than those found in the Protestant canon. Some of these works, called 'Apocrypha' by Protestants and 'Deuteron-canonical Work' by Roman Catholics are expertly and attractively collected in The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes. In these writings you will find a deep expression of the need for God’s forgiveness (the Prayer of Manasseh) and a vision of the future with the coming of the Messiah (2 Esdras or Ezra Apocalypse = 4 Ezra). The introductions are superbly well written and engaging. One can see how the Apocrypha ... bridges the Old Testament with the New Testament. Highly recommended, as Athanasius said in 367 'for instruction in the word of godliness.'"

—James H. Charlesworth

"Quite likely, The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes is the product of one of the most ambitious projects dealing with the Apocrypha ever undertaken. Not only does it offer an unfailingly accurate translation of the various texts involved, via the English Standard Version, but it is also replete with scholarly notes and commentary to assist the reader—lay or professional—in every way possible."

"This book provides a well-balanced blend of sound scholarship and religious beliefs on the Apocrypha, especially those of Luther and the Lutherans. The reader will find all the necessary background information on the Apocrypha in an attractive presentation, as well as religious guidance for instruction and preaching. A wealth of introductory essays and appendixes make this a very useful compendium."

"Luther recommended the Apocrypha as books that are not regarded as equal to the Holy Scripture, and yet are profitable and good to read. Lutheran piety up to now seems to have remembered just the first part of this statement and did not very often exercise itself in the profitable reading. This present edition gives us occasion to get a fresh approach to books like Wisdom of Solomon, Maccabees, and others. Accompanied with quotations mainly from Luther and John Gerhard, and useful explanations, the reader may gain a deeply spiritual approach to the Apocrypha and explore anew these treasures of the Lutheran faith!"
—Prof. Dr. Volker Leppin
Eberhard Karls Universität
Tübingen, Germany

"The books of the Apocrypha are absolutely essential for understanding the Jewish context of early Christianity. The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes is an outstanding work of scholarship that provides a welcome service to Lutherans and, indeed, to Christians of other traditions interested in reading and studying these fascinating and often entertaining writings, which the great Luther himself deemed “useful and good to read.” A thoughtfully edited and attractively produced volume, it includes many unique features and has the fullest annotations of any comparable study edition. In all, this is a monumental achievement and valuable resource for scholars, students, and lay people alike."