The Apocrypha/Deuterocanon

The Apocypha gives us insight into the intertestament period between Zachariah and the Gospel of Matthew. For example, in the books of Maccabees we learn where the names Simon and John come from. Neither of these names appear in the Old Testament. In Maccabees, Simon was the worst high priest, even embezzling money, while the great Maccabean high priest was John. This could explain in part why Jesus our Lord renamed Simon by the new name Cephas or Peter, but left John the beloved and the Revelator’s name alone.