Jerome completed his version of the Bible, the
Latin Vulgate, in 405. In the Middle Ages the Vulgate became the de facto standard version of the Bible in the
West. The Vulgate manuscripts included prologues
[12] that Jerome clearly identified certain books of the Vulgate
Old Testament as apocryphal or non-canonical.
In the prologue to the
books of Samuel and
Kings, which is often called the
Prologus Galeatus, he says:
[13]
This preface to the Scriptures may serve as a “helmeted” introduction to all the books which we turn from Hebrew into Latin, so that we may be assured that what is not found in our list must be placed amongst the Apocryphal writings.
Wisdom, therefore, which generally bears the name of Solomon, and the book of
Jesus, the Son of Sirach, and Judith, and Tobias, and the
Shepherd are not in the canon. The first book of Maccabees I have found to be Hebrew, the second is Greek, as can be proved from the very style.
In the prologue to
Esdras he mentions
3 and
4 Esdras as being apocrypha.
[14] In his prologue to the books of Solomon, he says:
[15]
Also included is the book of the model of virtue (παναρετος) Jesus son of Sirach, and another falsely ascribed work (ψευδεπιγραφος) which is titled Wisdom of Solomon. The former of these I have also found in Hebrew, titled not Ecclesiasticus as among the Latins, but Parables, to which were joined Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs, as though it made of equal worth the likeness not only of the number of the books of Solomon, but also the kind of subjects.
The second was never among the Hebrews, the very style of which reeks of Greek eloquence. And none of the ancient scribes affirm this one is of Philo Judaeus. Therefore, just as the Church also reads the books of Judith,
Tobias, and the
Maccabees,
but does not receive them among the the canonical Scriptures, so also one may read these two scrolls for the strengthening of the people, (but) not for confirming the authority of ecclesiastical dogmas.
He mentions the
book of Baruch in his prologue to the
Jeremias and does not explicitly refer to it as apocryphal, but he does mention that
"it is neither read nor held among the Hebrews".
[16] In his prologue to the
Judith he mentions that "among the Hebrews, the authority [of Judith] came into contention", but that it was "counted in the number of Sacred Scriptures" by the
First Council of Nicaea.
[17] In his reply to Rufinus, he affirmed that he was consistent with the choice of the church regarding which version of the deuterocanonical portions of Daniel to use,
which the Jews of his day did not include:
What sin have I committed in following the judgment of the churches? But when I repeat what the Jews say against the
Story of Susanna and the
Hymn of the Three Children, and the fables of
Bel and the Dragon,
which are not contained in the Hebrew Bible, the man who makes this a charge against me proves himself to be a fool and a slanderer; for I explained not what I thought but what they commonly say against us. (
Against Rufinus, II:33 [AD 402]).
[18]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_apocrypha#Vulgate_prologues
