The Apocrypha;: Or, Non-canonical books of the Bible. The King James version

Dating from a period when Judaism was heavily influenced by Hellenistic culture, the Apocrypha are those books excluded from the Hebrew Bible. Controversy and doubts about their divine authority have swirled around them for centuries, yet they are among the most compulsively readable and remarkable of documents. Reminiscent at times of Greek historiography, fiction, or philosophy, some books are imbued with an undeniable Hellenistic worldliness. Other books seem neither wholly Jewish nor Greek in flavor, but possess an almost folktale-like charm. Here then are the books of Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Esther, Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Three Holy Children, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manassess, and the Maccabees– presented in the lyrical prose of the King James version, without the column format and verse numbering. A treasure for lovers of scripture, history, or fine literature.