Bottom Line

The Apocrypha isn’t Divinely inspired, and is therefore not part of the canon, and some of its works are even antithetical to Judaism. Other works may indeed contain some valuable information, but they aren’t given any more credence than any other book, and be aware that there have been various additions and deletions made throughout the ages.

Footnotes

1. Note that depending on the Christian sect, different works may or may not be referred to as the “Apocrypha” (which they then give “quasi-biblical status” and print in the back of some of their Bibles), while others are referred to as Pseudepigrapha (Greek for “falsely attributed”), which they don’t include. Here, we are using the term “Apocrypha” to refer to all of these ancient works not included in the Jewish canon of the Bible.
2. Talmud, Bava Batra 14b; Tosefta, Sotah 13:4.
3. This is the implication of Avot d’Rabbi Nassan 1:4; Tosefta, Yadayim 2:5; Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a, and Rashi and other commentaries ad loc.
4. See Talmud, Sanhedrin 100b.
5. See, for example, Talmud, Bava Kama 92b.
6. This is especially true with regard to the books of the Maccabees, since they are used as one of the main sources for the Chanukah story.
7. See Ritva to Talmud, Bava Batra 98b.
8. See Rabbi Reuven Margaliot, Margaliot Hayam on Talmud, Sanhedrin 100b.
9. Ch. 50.
10. See Ethics of the Fathers 1:2.
11. Tosefta, Yadayim 2:5.
12. See Talmud, Sanhedrin 100b, and Ritva to Talmud, Bava Batra 98b.

Reprinted from the current website of Chabad.Org