Book of Sirach in the context of "Ben Sira"

The deuterocanonical books, meaning 'of, pertaining to, or constituting a second canon', collectively known as the Deuterocanon (DC), are certain books and passages considered to be canonical books of the Old Testament by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, and the Church of the East. In contrast, modern Rabbinic Judaism and Protestantism regard the DC as Apocrypha.

Seven books are accepted as deuterocanonical by all the ancient churches: Tobit, Judith, Baruch with the Letter of Jeremiah, Sirach or Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom, First and Second Maccabees and also the Greek additions to Esther and Daniel. In addition to these, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church include other books in their canons.

The Witch of Endor (Biblical Hebrew: בַּעֲלַת־אֹוב בְּעֵין דּוֹר, romanized: baʿălaṯ-ʾōḇ bəʿĒyn Dōr, lit. 'mistress of the ʾōḇ in Endor'), according to the Hebrew Bible, was consulted by Saul to summon the spirit of the prophet Samuel. Saul wished to receive advice on defeating the Philistines in battle after prior attempts to consult God through sacred lots and other means had failed. However, what was summoned (whether the actual ghost of Samuel or a spirit impersonating him) delivered a prophecy of doom against Saul and his army, who were defeated. This event occurs in 1 Samuel 28:3–25 and is also mentioned in the deuterocanonical Book of Sirach.

The Book of Tobit (/ˈtoʊbɪt/), a work of Second Temple Jewish literature, is one of the deuterocanonical (or apocryphal) books of the Bible. It dates to the 3rd or early 2nd century BC. It emphasizes God’s testing of the faithful, his response to prayer, and his protection of the covenant people, the Israelites. The narrative follows two Israelite families: the blind Tobit in Nineveh and Sarah, abandoned in Ecbatana. Tobit’s son Tobias is sent to recover ten silver talents once deposited in Rhages in Media, and on his journey—guided by the angel Raphael—he meets Sarah. Sarah is afflicted by the demon Asmodeus, who slays her prospective husbands, but with Raphael’s help the demon is exorcised and she marries Tobias. They return together to Nineveh, where Tobit’s sight is miraculously restored.

Since the 20th century, scholarly consensus has held that Tobit was originally composed in a Semitic language. Five Aramaic and Hebrew fragments were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, dating to the 1st or 2nd century BC. The book influenced the authors of the Testament of Job, the Testament of Solomon, and possibly (depending on dating) Sirach, Jubilees, and the Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children. It was included in both the Jewish-originated Septuagint and the Old Latin Bible, which preserves textual traditions of Hebrew or Jewish vorlage. It is extant in major Christian codices such as Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, and Basiliano-Venetus. Multiple ancient recensions are preserved in Greek and Latin, along with translations into Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic, and Syriac.