APOCRYPHA (a-pok'rif-a), in the early Christian Church, (1) books pub lished anonymously; (2) those suitable for private rather than public reading; (3) those written by an apostle or other inspired author, but not regarded as part of Scripture; (4) the works of heretics.
In English now, the following 14 books: I, 1 Esdras; II, 2 Esdras; III, Tobit ; IV. Judith ; V. Additions to Esther ; VI, The Wisdom of Solomon; VII, Ec clesiasticus, called also the Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach; VIII, Baruch; IX, The Song of the Three Holy Children; X, The History of Susanna; XI, Bel and the Dragon; XII, The Prayer of Manas seh, King of Juda; XIII, 1 Maccabees; and XIV, 2 Maccabees. Most of the above-mentioned books were composed during the two centuries immediately preceding the birth of Christ, though some were penned, or at least interpo lated, at a later period. They were written not in Hebrew or Aramman, but in Greek; and the Jews never accorded them a place in the Old Testament canon. They were inserted in the Septuagint, and thence passed to the Latin Vulgate.
The Christian fathers are divided in sentiment as to their value and the re lation they stood to the canonical 01'd Testament books. The question whether or not they were inspired remained an open one till the Reformation. Wyclif, Luther, and Calvin were against them. The Council of Trent, on April 8, 1546, placed them on an equal level with Scrip ture, anathematizing all who held the contrary opinion. Portions of them are in the New as well as in the Old Lec tionary of the English Church. The Westminster Confession of Faith, the formulated creed of the Presbyterian Church, regards them as simply human writings. The several apocryphal books are of unequal merit; I Maccabees is a highly valuable history; while Bel and the Dragon is a monstrous fable. They throw much light on the religious opin ions and the political state of the Jews before the advent of Christ. The Greek Church prohibits their use.