The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1: Alternate Texts

by James H. Charlesworth

Publisher:

Yale University Press

, 1983

Overview

Western culture has been shaped largely by the Bible. In attempting to understand the Scriptures, scholars of the last three hundred years have intensively studied both these sacred texts and other related ancient writings. A cursory examination reveals that their authors depended on other sources, some of which are lost and some of which have recently come to light. Part of these extant sources are the pseudepigrapha. Though the meaning of the word can be disputed by scholars, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha is a collection of those writings which are, for the most part, Jewish or Christian and are often attributed to ideal figures in Israel’s past. Volume 1 of this work contains two sections. The first is Apocalyptic Literature and Related Works. An apocalypse, from the Greek meaning revelation or disclosure, is a certain type of literature which was a special feature of religions in late antiquity. In the past, the definition was derived from the study of only some of the extant apocalypses, especially the Apocalypse, the Book of Revelation. This has changed, and the present edition of the pseudepigrapha includes nineteen documents that are apocalypses or related literature. It will now be easier to perceive the richness of apocalyptic literature and the extent of early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic ideas and apocalyptic religion. These new translations present these important documents, many for the first time in modern English, for all “People of the Book” to study, contemplate, and understand.

Contents

Top Highlights

“And the four rivers were flowing past with gentle movement, with every kind of garden producing every kind of good food.” (Volume 1, Page 115)

“evil rebels against the Lord, who did not listen to the voice of the Lord, but they consulted their own will.’” (Volume 1, Page 115)

“Cease irritating God, and I will disclose to you other mysteries greater than these.’^{i” (Volume 1, Page 663)}

“Whoever insults a person’s face insults the face of the Lord;” (Volume 1, Page 171)

“Samael^r planted by which the Lord God became angered” (Volume 1, Page 667)

Product Details

• Title: The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1: Alternate Texts
• Author: James H. Charlesworth
• Series: Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Print Publication Date: 1983
• Logos Release Date: 2010
• Era: era:Contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Apocryphal books (Old Testament) › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Apocryphal books (Old Testament)
• Resource ID: LLS:OTPSEUD01ALT
• Resource Type: text.monograph.ancient-manuscript.translation
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:33:46Z

About James H. Charlesworth

James H. Charlesworth is George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Princeton Theological Seminary. His academic interests include the Dead Sea Scrolls, apocryphal works, the historical Jesus, the Gospel of John, and the Revelation of John. He teaches courses on the relationship between the Jesus traditions in the Gospels and the theologies of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the life and thought of Jesus of Nazareth, the Old Testament in the New, the Gospel and Epistles of John, and the Hebrew and theology of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is the author of The Messiah: Developments in Earliest Judaism and Christianity, The Pesharim and Qumran History, and is the editor of The Old Testament Pseudepigripha.