You may have seen many Bibles that include something called the "Apocrypha" but wondered what that exactly meant.
The Apocrypha is a set of books written by the Hebrew people but not included in the Hebrew Bible, i.e. the Tanakh. However, Bible translations like the Latin Vulgate used the Greek Septuagint, which includes both the Tanakh and the Apocrypha.
During the Protestant Reformation, the Reformers wished to move away from the Medieval Church and focus more on the Bible. They stopped including the Apocrypha in Scripture and instead returned to just the Tanakh for the Old Testament. Martin Luther, however, included the Apocrypha as an addendum to his Bible translation.
The Book of Common Prayer's official stance is that the Apocrypha is "often included in the Bible" and can be "used in church." It should also be noted that traditionally in Anglican cirlces, the Apocrypha has been viewed as fit to read "for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine" (Articles of Religion VI). Additionally, when clergy swear an oath that Scripture contains "all things necessary for salvation" in their ordination services, they specify that it is the Scripture of the Old and New Testament.
The Apocrypha includes:
- The First Book of Esdras
- The Second Book of Esdras
- The Book of Tobit
- The Book of Judith
- The Wisdom of Solomon
- The Book of Ecclesiasticus/ The Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach
- The Book of Baruch
- The Prayer of Manasseh
- The First Book of Maccabees
- The Second Book of Maccabees
- The Third Book of Maccabees
- The Fourth Book of Maccabees