Apocrypha Books

The term "apocrypha" comes Irom the Greek word meaning "hidden" or "secret". Originally, the
term was applied to sacred books whose contents were too exalted to be made available to the
general public. Gradually, the term "apocrypha" took on a disparaging connotation, since the
orthodoxy oI these hidden books was oIten questionable.
"The Apocrypha" includes 15 books, all but one oI which are Jewish in origin and Iound in the
Septuagint (parts oI 2 Esdras are possibly Christian and Latin in origin). InIluenced by the
Jewish canon oI the OT, the custom arose oI making the Apocrypha a separate section in the
Protestant Bible, or sometimes even oI omitting them entirely.
The Catholic view, expressed as a doctrine oI Iaith at the Council oI Trent, is that 12 oI these 15
works (in a diIIerent enumeration, however) are canonical Scripture; they are called the
Deuterocanonical Books. The three books oI the Protestant Apocrypha that are not accepted by
Catholics are 1-2 Esdras and the Prayer oI Manasseh. Bible Study Tools oIIers popular
apocrypha included in the Latin Vulgate, King James Version, and Revised Standard Version.
Additional Deuterocanonical books are available in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible
translation.