Apocryphal Additions

Apocryphal Additions is the standard scholarly term for a set of Greek-language passages appended to Hebrew Bible books that Protestant and Jewish canons exclude but that Catholic and Orthodox Christian canons retain as deuterocanonical material. The Additions to Esther supply prayers, a royal edict and an account of Mordecai's dream that the Hebrew Book of Esther lacks, including its only explicit mentions of God. The Additions to Daniel comprise the Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children, the story of Susanna, and the tale of Bel and the Dragon, each expanding the Hebrew Book of Daniel with material found only in the Greek Septuagint tradition. The Letter of Jeremiah is a homily attacking idol worship, transmitted as a standalone deuterocanonical text and, in some canons, appended to the Book of Baruch. The Prayer of Manasseh is a short penitential prayer attributed to the Judean king Manasseh, likewise preserved only in the Greek and Latin deuterocanonical tradition rather than the Hebrew canon. Scholars group these four works together because each supplements an existing Hebrew Bible book with material transmitted solely through the Greek deuterocanonical stream, distinguishing them from books that stand as complete independent compositions.