Q&A: Apocryphal Books
Apocryphal Books
Question
The fact that apocryphal books were included in the Septuagint really troubles me, which was apparently translated by 72 of the greatest sages of that period (presumably Ptolemy, king of Egypt, took the very best for the job).
And these books contradict the tradition of the Sages, for example with the solar calendar found in them.
What does the Rabbi think about that?
And one more small question: does the commandment to observe Passover in the spring show that the calendar is lunar and therefore the year needs intercalation, or even with a solar calendar would intercalation also have been needed in order to keep Passover in the spring?
Answer
There were probably other traditions (like those found in the apocryphal books), and after the Sages decided the matter, they were rejected. The same happened with other disputes among sages. The translators of the Septuagint probably did not fully agree with the Sages or with the majority faction among them.
In a solar calendar there is no need for intercalation, since spring is defined by the solar cycle.
Discussion on Answer
Thank you very much.
Indeed—if that is in fact what this commandment means (to intercalate in order to make sure Passover falls in the spring).
Still (sorry for going on about it), the translation was done before the Sages by, apparently, the greatest sages of that time. Before there were disputes, it seems like this should have been something absolute!
It looks as though something is being hidden (they prohibited reading apocryphal books). “On the eighth of Tevet the Torah was written in Greek in the days of King Ptolemy, and darkness came upon the world for three days” (the wording of Megillat Ta’anit).
Who said this was before the disputes? It seems more likely to me that the translators belonged to one faction, and the Sages disqualified the translation and saw it as darkness; that is why they instituted three days of fasting.
If so, then why was it so important that a miracle happen and that they all write the same thing? After all, the matters were disputed anyway.
The description that there was a miracle is the Talmud’s description. It is not certain that anything supernatural actually happened there. It may simply be that they all arrived at a similar and correct idea. Besides, who says that if they disagreed with the Sages then the Holy One, blessed be He, was not with them? Either because they were right, or because even one who is not right still falls under “both these and those are the words of the living God.”
So that means the commandment, “Observe the month of spring, and make the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of spring the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night,” proves that the calendar is lunar and not solar?