The Apocrypha: Authorized Version of the Books Not in the Bible

The word "apocrypha" means "hidden things." Applied to the teachings of clandestine heresies, it later denoted a group of writings excluded from the Hebrew Bible. The first Greek Bible included them; and ever since then the question of their divine authority has generated controversy. The Apocrypha date from a period when Judaism was heavily influenced by Hellenistic culture. Some of them mix Jewish piety with Hellenistic worldliness - explanation enough for their absence from the Hebrew Bible.