The Books Called Apocrypha
Translated out of the original tongues: and with the former translations
diligently compared and revised, by His Majesty's special command.
The Biblical apocrypha (from the Greek word απόκρυφος,
meaning hidden) are texts which are often printed as part of the Bible
despite their perceived status of being outside of the biblical canon.
They are typically printed in a third section apart from the Old and New
Testaments. These include texts written in the Jewish and Christian
religious traditions that either:
- were accepted into the biblical canon by some, but not all, Christian
faiths, or
- whose canonicity or lack thereof is not yet certain.
A comparative list can be found in the article on books of the Bible. For
extra-biblical works sometimes referred to as apocrypha, see the article
on apocrypha.
The biblical apocrypha are sometimes referred to as “The”
Apocrypha. Although the term apocrypha simply means hidden, this usage
is sometimes considered pejorative by those who consider such works to
be canonical parts of scripture.
or,