Invitation to the Apocrypha

by Daniel J. Harrington S.J.

Overview

In this volume a leading biblical scholar helps readers rediscover the ancient books of the Old Testament Apocrypha. Invitation to the Apocrypha provides a clear, basic introduction to these important-but often neglected-ancient books.

Using the latest and best scholarship yet writing for those new to the Apocrypha, Daniel Harrington guides readers through the background, content, and message of each book. A distinctive feature of this primer is that it focuses throughout on the problem of suffering, highlighting what each book of the Apocrypha says about this universal human experience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802846334
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	08/09/1999
Pages:	230
Sales rank:	663,165
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

Daniel J. Harrington (1940-2014) was professor of New Testament at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

"

1. Reading the Old Testament Apocrypha
2. Tobit: We Are Family
3. Judith: By the Hand of a Woman
4. Things Have Come from God
5. The Wisdom of Solomon: Immortality, Wisdom, and History
6. Ecclesiasticus/Sirach: Fear of the Lord
7. Baruch: Sin, Exile, Repentance, and Return
8. The Letter of Jeremiah: The Folly of Idolatry
9. The Additions to Daniel: Who Is the Living God?
10. 1 Maccabees: God’s Dynasty
11. 2 Maccabees: God’s Temple
12. 1 Esdras: Rebuilding the People of God
13. The Prayer of Manasseh: The Prayer of the Repentant Sinner
14. Psalm 151: God’s Care for David
15. 3 Maccabees: Israel in Crisis and the Divine Deliverer
16. 2 Esdras: Prophecies and Visions of Ezra
17. 4 Maccabees: The Sovereignty of Devout Reason

Index of Names and Subjects

Editorial Reviews

Clergy Journal
"Daniel Harrington's Invitation to the Apocrypha furnishes a good and focused look at books of the Bible often either forgotten or neglected by many Protestants. . . For biblical scholars or pastors (ideally these two specialists should meet in the pulpit) this book bridges the century or so between the testaments. Well researched and well written, Invitation to the Apocrypha should provide new insight to the Christian faith. It also helps Christians appreciate the theological soil from which the New Testament sprung. This book is an excellent piece of scholarship. It fills a much needed vacuum in the biblical education of most Christians."

Society for Old Testament Study Booklist
"One of the best and most readable introductions to the books of the Apocrypha which has so far been produced."

Catholic Biblical Quarterly
"Anyone familiar with the reputation of Daniel Harrington and with the current state of studies on the Apocrypha will recognize that this book represents a most fortuitous conjunction. Its author is a leading scholar in the field of early Judaism, and the Apocrypha have not had an introduction of their own since Bruce Metzger wrote An Introduction to the Apocrypha. . . This is an introductory book, designed for nonspecialists, but presenting the best of contemporary biblical scholarship. As such, it stands as a model for showing how the fruits of technical biblical studies can be applied for the benefit of the educated by nontechnical reader. "

Reviews in Religion and Theology
"As ever, Harrington writes clearly. The ground to be shown is vast. He gives succinct suggestions for further study in each section. . . This is an ideal core textbook for undergraduate courses on the Apocrypha. Its very existence should encourage more people to include these texts in their syllabus, and that would be a very good thing."

Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses
"The book as a whole is to be recommended as an excellent introduction into the deuterocanonical writings and their problems."

Sewanee Theological Review
"As one would expect from Harrington, the volume is clearly written, meticulously researched, and balanced and sensible in its critical judgments. . . For anyone wishing to introduce beginning students to the Apocrypha this is just about as good a volume as one could ask. At every stage there are excellent bibliographies to guide those who would move on to further study."

Theology
"Any attempt to bring these heterogeneous writings to the attention of a wider audience is most welcome and Daniel Harrington's 'invitation' is eminently readable and his guidance sound. . . This introduction fulfills excellently what it sets out to do."

The Bible Today
"Harrington's careful scholarship and clear writing is evident throughout. Intended as a college or seminary introduction, anyone interested in the topic or in these very interesting but less known books will be richly rewarded in the reading."

New Theology Review
"The clarity, sympathy, and scholarship with which Harrington presents the apocrypha will help move these important texts from the periphery more to the center of attention on the part of those who read the Bible. This book will become an appreciated addition to the bibliography of introductory courses in biblical studies at the undergraduate and seminary levels. This is a very fine work, providing the general reader with a needed and welcome invitation to the apocrypha."

National Catholic Reporter
"Helpful for its intended audience of introductory college and seminary classes as well as readers and discussion groups who want to delve into these ancient Jewish texts of the Bible."

The Heythrop Journal
"Harrington's book is clear and straightforward enough for the first-time reader of the Old Testament Apocrypha, without too many technical details. It will serve admirably for classroom use in college and seminaries, while it is also accessible enough for the general reader. If it encourages people to pick up these little-read works from Hellenistic Judaism, it will have fulfilled its purpose."

Currents in Theology and Mission
"This well-written handbook reads each work in the Apocrypha through the lens of suffering. This approach not only describes how suffering was understood in Second Temple Judaism, but it also suggests ways in which we can enrich our own understanding and theological interpretation of suffering. . . If you have always wanted to 'get into the Apocrypha,' this is the place to start."

Interpretation
"Readers who seek for the first time to acquaint themselves with the Apocrypha will find this book to be a practical guide. Moreover, Harrington's concentration on the problem of suffering demonstrates the contemporary theological relevance of these writings, a feature which pastors and others concerned with the question of theodicy may find especially helpful. In general, this volume succeeds admirably in achieving its stated purpose: to invite readers for whom the Apocrypha are 'closed books' seriously to examine these writings. . . Whether one regards them as canonical or not, they are nevertheless an important and unjustly neglected portion of the rightful literary heritage of every Jew and Christian. Harrington's book proffers valuable guidance for any reader who wishes to recover that heritage."

Pacifica
"A concise and extremely helpful introduction ... Its clearly written style makes it an ideal guide for the non-specialist reader who is about to begin the study of the Apocrypha. . . Harrington has done a great service in producing this primer. It should be an invaluable resource for students setting out on their first excursion into this material."

From the Publisher

"Any attempt to bring these heterogeneous writings to the attention of a wider audience is most welcome and Daniel Harrington's "invitation" is eminently readable and his guidance sound.... This introduction fulfills excellently what it sets out to do."

Theology

As ever, Harrington writes clearly. The ground to be shown is vast. He gives succinct suggestions for further study in each section.... This is an ideal core textbook for undergraduate courses on the Apocrypha. Its very existence should encourage more people to include these texts in their syllabus, and that would be a very good thing.

Reviews in Religion & Theology (U.K.)

The clarity, sympathy, and scholarship with which Harrington presents the apocrypha will help move these important texts from the periphery more to the center of attention on the part of those who read the Bible. This book will become an appreciated addition to the bibliography of introductory courses in biblical studies at the undergraduate and seminary levels. This is a very fine work, providing the general reader with a needed and welcome invitation to the apocrypha.

New Theology Review

"Daniel Harrington's Invitation to the Apocrypha furnishes a good and focused look at books of the Bible often either forgotten or neglected by many Protestants.... For biblical scholars or pastors (ideally these two specialists should meet in the pulpit) this book bridges the century or so between the testaments. Well researched and well written, Invitation to the Apocrypha should provide new insight to the Christian faith. It also helps Christians appreciate the theological soil from which the New Testament sprung. This book is an excellent piece of scholarship. It fills a much needed vacuum in the biblical education of most Christians."

Clergy Journal

Harrington's careful scholarship and clear writing is evident throughout. Intended as a college or seminary introduction, anyone interested in the topic or in these very interesting but less known books will be richly rewarded in the reading.

The Bible Today

As one would expect from Harrington, the volume is clearly written, meticulously researched, and balanced and sensible in its critical judgments.... For anyone wishing to introduce beginning students to the Apocrypha this is just about as good a volume as one could ask. At every stage there are excellent bibliographies to guide those who would move on to further study.

Sewanee Theological Review

"Readers who seek for the first time to acquaint themselves with the Apocrypha will find this book to be a practical guide. Moreover, Harrington's concentration on the problem of suffering demonstrates the contemporary theological relevance of these writings, a feature which pastors and others concerned with the question of theodicy may find especially helpful. In general, this volume succeeds admirably in achieving its stated purpose: to invite readers for whom the Apocrypha are "closed books" seriously to examine these writings.... Whether one regards them as canonical or not, they are nevertheless an important and unjustly neglected portion of the rightful literary heritage of every Jew and Christian. Harrington's book proffers valuable guidance for any reader who wishes to recover that heritage."

Interpretation

Helpful for its intended audience of introductory college and seminary classes as well as readers and discussion groups who want to delve into these ancient Jewish texts of the Bible.

National Catholic Reporter