Upvote:3
The answer is yes, although we should not think in terms of a definite Deuterocanon. The Septuagint version of the OT included what we call the Apocrypha, and it was widely used by Jews in the Greek world, and even in Palestine. It was produced by the Jews of Alexandria. Copies of Septuagint books, including both OT Apocrypha and other extra-canonical scriptures, have also been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Pharisaic Jews such as Paul, as well as other NT writers, quoted from the Septuagint in their works. Ben Sirach, another apocryphal work, also called Ecclesiasticus, was often discussed by later rabbis. The Books of Maccabees provided the basis for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, called the Feast of Dedication in John 10:22. A Jew such as the writer of the Letter of Jude quoted from the Book of Enoch, which is not even part of the normal Deuterocanon except in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition.
Although lists of either apocrypha or canonical books we not drawn up until later, it is known that there were indeed discussions about about which books should be considered authoritative. The Sadducees tended to discount books that taught the doctrine of the resurrection (Acts 23:8) or apocalyptic visions of the End of the World. Even Ezekiel's inclusion in the canon would be opposed by some. Among the Pharisees, according the Jewish Encyclopedia:
The School of Shammai favored excluding Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon from the list of inspired scriptures, but the final decision included them in the canon.
Later discussions would, of course, include the prophets and the Wisdom literature that some would have excluded. The Apocrypha, however were excluded, as were the other intertestamental literature not included the the Deuterocanon.
Conclusion: The Deuterocanonical books were produced by Jews and used by them in the time of Jesus, especially those who spoke Greek. Pharisees would have tended to consult them more than the Sadducees, who focused mainly on priestly issues dealt with in the Torah. The Dead Sea community kept copies of some of these works. However, specifics beyond that are sketchy.
Upvote:3
All the writings that came to comprise the Hebrew scriptures were written over a period of around 1,000 years, written by a variety of Jewish men. The last prophetic book, Malachi, was written a little before 400 B.C. Many writings during the 400 year period from then till Christ was born were accepted by the Jewish people as valuable for understanding Jewish history and culture. Some of them contained accounts of claimed angelic activity, and supernatural events. They came to be known as "the Deuterocanonical books" hundreds of years later.
Let me quote from this site: http://www.bible.ca/b-canon-council-of-jamnia.htm re. Jewish views on such matters:
"In 90 AD, the council of Jamnia was unimportant in determining the Jewish Canon. It was not a major council like Nicea, but a small collection of rabbinic Jewish leaders. They did not gather to determine the canon of the Old Testament, but rather limited their discussion to the books of Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon. Roman Catholics and Orthodox leaders misrepresent history when they make claims that the Canon of the Old Testament was not fixed until the council of Jamnia in 90 AD... There was clearly a fixed canon long before Jesus was born."
So, what would that fixed canon be? Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai managed to escape Jerusalem before its destruction in A.D. 70 and received permission to rebuild a Jewish base in Jamnia. It was there that discussion of Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon in the Hebrew Bible was discussed and those books formally accepted, although we have no complete surviving record of these debates. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/omitting-the-maccabees/
But here is what Philo says:
"Flavius Josephus, the famous Jewish historian, a priest and a nobleman, wrote an important treatise in defence of the Jews. It was entitled 'Contra Apionem', and is dated circa AD 100" and quotes parts related to the canon [of Hebrew scriptures]. It deduces from this that:
"There are several things to note from these remarks of Josephus. (i) For him the canon whose verbal form was inviolable was closed and in fact had been closed from the time of Artaxerxes (465-425 BC) - essentially the time of Malachi. "The number of 'reliable' books which allow for no alteration and are the code on which Jewish life is based... is final... and a sharp line is drawn between them and the numerous records of the period after Artaxerxes which cannot be fully trusted" (Katz, p.76). (ii) This closed canon was a canon of 22 books arranged in three parts - 5 books of Moses, 13 of the prophets and 4 of hymns and practical precepts... his OT canon would be identical with ours irrespective of how he arranged the books within it." (p.28).
The above is part of an answer I gave fully a year ago, but as it was asking whether the first century Christian church accepted what later came to be known as 'the Deuterocanonicals', I have only given the historic information about the Jewish account / view. Needless to say, most of the new Christian church were Jewish people and most would know about those writings, but you are only asking whether Jewish people accepted them as part of their Hebrew canon of scripture. That has been answered in the quotes I have given (and the sources). The link to that question is given on the right-hand-column headed "Linked", to the side of your question. It contains a lot more interesting and related information in the various answers.