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'''Apocrypha''' (from the [[Greek language|Greek]] word {{Polytonic|ἀπόκρυφα}}, meaning "those having been hidden away"<ref>Specifically, {{Polytonic|ἀπόκρυφα}} is the neuter plural of ἀπόκρυφος, a participle derived from the verb ἀποκρύπτω [infinitive: ἀποκρύπτειν], "to hide something away".</ref>) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. In [[Judeo-Christian]] [[theology]], the term ''apocrypha'' refers to any collection of scriptural texts that falls outside the [[Biblical canon|canon]].  Given that different denominations have different ideas about what constitutes canonical [[scripture]], there are several different versions of the apocrypha. During sixteenth-century controversies over the [[biblical canon]] the word "apocrypha" acquired a negative connotation, and it has become a synonym for "spurious" or "false". This usage usually involves fictitious or legendary accounts that are plausible enough to commonly be considered as truth. For example, the [[Parson Weems]] account of [[George Washington]] and the cherry tree is considered '''apocryphal'''.

'''Apocrypha''' (from the Greek ἀπόκρυφα, meaning "those having been hidden away" Specifically, ἀπόκρυφα is the neuter plural of ἀπόκρυφος, a participle derived from the verb ἀποκρύπτω [infinitive: ἀποκρύπτειν], "to hide something away".) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. In [[Judeo-Christian]] [[theology]], the term ''apocrypha'' refers to any collection of scriptural texts that falls outside the [[Biblical canon|canon]].  Given that different denominations have different ideas about what constitutes canonical [[scripture]], there are several different versions of the apocrypha. During sixteenth-century controversies over the [[biblical canon]] the word "apocrypha" acquired a negative connotation, and it has become a synonym for "spurious" or "false". This usage usually involves fictitious or legendary accounts that are plausible enough to commonly be considered as truth. For example, the [[Parson Weems]] account of [[George Washington]] and the cherry tree is considered '''apocryphal'''.

== Denotation and connotation ==

== Denotation and connotation ==

=== Esoteric writings ===

=== Esoteric writings ===

The word "apocryphal" ({{Polytonic|ἀπόκρυφος}}) was first applied, in a positive sense, to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered too profound or too sacred to be disclosed to anyone other than the initiated.  It is used in this sense to describe ''A Holy and Secret Book of Moses, called Eighth, or Holy ({{Polytonic|Μωυσέως ἱερὰ βίβλος ἀπόκρυφος ἐπικαλούμενη ὀγδόη ἢ ἁγία}}''), a text taken from a [[Leiden University Library|Leiden papyrus]] of the third or fourth century AD, but which may be as old as the first century. In a similar vein, the disciples of the [[Gnostic]] Prodicus boasted that they possessed the secret ({{Polytonic|ἀπόκρυφα}}) books of [[Zoroaster]]. The term in general enjoyed high consideration among the Gnostics (see [[Acts of Thomas]], 10, 27, 44)[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica].

The word "apocryphal" (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied, in a positive sense, to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered too profound or too sacred to be disclosed to anyone other than the initiated.  It is used in this sense to describe ''A Holy and Secret Book of Moses, called Eighth, or Holy (Μωυσέως ἱερὰ βίβλος ἀπόκρυφος ἐπικαλούμενη ὀγδόη ἢ ἁγία), a text taken from a [[Leiden University Library|Leiden papyrus]] of the third or fourth century AD, but which may be as old as the first century. In a similar vein, the disciples of the [[Gnostic]] Prodicus boasted that they possessed the secret (ἀπόκρυφα) books of [[Zoroaster]]. The term in general enjoyed high consideration among the Gnostics (see [[Acts of Thomas]], 10, 27, 44)[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica].

=== Questionable value ===

=== Questionable value ===

Some apocryphal books were included in the [[Septuagint]] with little distinction made between them and the rest of the [[Old Testament]]. [[Origen]], [[Clement]] and others cited some apocryphal books as "scripture", "divine scripture", "inspired", and the like. On the other hand, teachers connected with [[Palestine]] and familiar with the [[protocanonical books|Hebrew canon]] excluded from the canon all of the Old Testament not found there. This view is reflected in the canon of [[Melito of Sardis]], and in the prefaces and letters of Jerome [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica]. A third view was that the books were not as valuable as the canonical scriptures of the [[Hebrew]] collection, but were of value for moral uses, as introductory texts for new converts from [[paganism]], and to be read in congregations. They were referred to as "[[ecclesiastical]]" works by [[Rufinus]] [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica].   

Some apocryphal books were included in the [[Septuagint]] with little distinction made between them and the rest of the [[Old Testament]]. [[Origen]], [[Clement]] and others cited some apocryphal books as "scripture", "divine scripture", "inspired", and the like. On the other hand, teachers connected with [[Palestine]] and familiar with the [[protocanonical books|Hebrew canon]] excluded from the canon all of the Old Testament not found there. This view is reflected in the canon of [[Melito of Sardis]], and in the prefaces and letters of Jerome [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica]. A third view was that the books were not as valuable as the canonical scriptures of the [[Hebrew]] collection, but were of value for moral uses, as introductory texts for new converts from [[paganism]], and to be read in congregations. They were referred to as "[[ecclesiastical]]" works by [[Rufinus]] [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica].   

These three opinions regarding the apocryphal books prevailed until the [[Protestant Reformation]], when the idea of what constitutes canon became a matter of primary concern for [[Roman Catholic]]s and [[Protestant]]s alike. In 1546 the Catholic [[Council of Trent]] reconfirmed the canon of Augustine, dating to the second and third centuries, declaring "He is also to be anathema who does not receive these entire books, with all their parts, as they have been accustomed to be read in the Catholic Church, and are found in the ancient editions of the Latin [[Vulgate]], as sacred and canonical." The whole of the books in question, with the exception of [[1 Esdras|1st]] and [[2 Esdras|2nd Esdras]] and the [[Prayer of Manasses]], were declared canonical at Trent[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica]. The Protestants, in comparison, universally{{Fact|date=June 2007}} held the belief that only the books in the Hebrew collection were canonical. [[John Wycliffe]], a 14th century reformer, had declared in his Biblical translation that "whatever book is in the Old Testament besides these twenty-five shall be set among the apocrypha, that is, without authority or belief" [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica]. Nevertheless, his translation of the Bible included the [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha]] and the Epistle of the Loadiceans.<ref>[http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/wycliffe/ Wyclif's Bible]</ref>

These three opinions regarding the apocryphal books prevailed until the [[Protestant Reformation]], when the idea of what constitutes canon became a matter of primary concern for [[Roman Catholic]]s and [[Protestant]]s alike. In 1546 the Catholic [[Council of Trent]] reconfirmed the canon of Augustine, dating to the second and third centuries, declaring "He is also to be anathema who does not receive these entire books, with all their parts, as they have been accustomed to be read in the Catholic Church, and are found in the ancient editions of the Latin [[Vulgate]], as sacred and canonical." The whole of the books in question, with the exception of [[1 Esdras|1st]] and [[2 Esdras|2nd Esdras]] and the [[Prayer of Manasses]], were declared canonical at Trent[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica]. The Protestants, in comparison, universally held the belief that only the books in the Hebrew collection were canonical. [[John Wycliffe]], a 14th century reformer, had declared in his Biblical translation that "whatever book is in the Old Testament besides these twenty-five shall be set among the apocrypha, that is, without authority or belief" [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica]. Nevertheless, his translation of the Bible included the [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha]] and the Epistle of the Loadiceans. [http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/wycliffe/ Wyclif's Bible]

The respect accorded to apocryphal books varied between Protestant denominations. In both the [[Luther Bible|German]] (1537) and [[Coverdale Bible|English]] (1535) translations of the Bible, the apocrypha are published in a separate section from the other books, although the Lutheran and Anglican lists are different. In some editions, (like the Westminster), readers were warned that these books were not "to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other human writings." A milder distinction was expressed elsewhere, such as in the "argument" introducing them in the [[Geneva Bible]], and in the Sixth Article of the [[Church of England]], where it is said that "the other books the church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners," though not to establish doctrine [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica].

The respect accorded to apocryphal books varied between Protestant denominations. In both the [[Luther Bible|German]] (1537) and [[Coverdale Bible|English]] (1535) translations of the Bible, the apocrypha are published in a separate section from the other books, although the Lutheran and Anglican lists are different. In some editions, (like the Westminster), readers were warned that these books were not "to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other human writings." A milder distinction was expressed elsewhere, such as in the "argument" introducing them in the [[Geneva Bible]], and in the Sixth Article of the [[Church of England]], where it is said that "the other books the church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners," though not to establish doctrine [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica].