Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1: More Noncanonical Scriptures

by Richard Bauckham, James R. Davila, Alex Panayotov, James H. Charlesworth (Foreword by)

Overview

This work stands among the most important publications in biblical studies over the past twenty-five years. Richard Bauckham, James Davila, and Alexander Panayotov's new two-volume collection of Old Testament pseudepigrapha contains many previously unpublished and newly translated texts, complementing James Charlesworth's Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and other earlier collections.
Including virtually all known surviving pseudepigrapha written before the rise of Islam, this volume, among other things, presents the sacred legends and spiritual reflections of numerous long-dead authors whose works were lost, neglected, or suppressed for many centuries. Excellent English translations along with authoritative yet accessible introductions bring those ancient documents to life for readers today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467463362
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	11/21/2013
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	848
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Richard Bauckham is professor emeritus at the University of St. Andrews and senior scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He is a fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
James R. Davila is professor of early Jewish studies at the University of St. Andrews.
Alexander Panayotov is research associate in the Divinity Faculty at the University of Cambridge.

Richard Bauckham is professor emeritus at the University of St. Andrews and senior scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He is a fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
James H. Charlesworth is George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature and Director and Editor of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Table of Contents

Foreword James H. Charlesworth xi

Introduction Richard Bauckham James R. Davila xvii

Abbreviations xxxix

I Texts Ordered According To Biblical Chronology

Adam Octipartite/Septipartite Grant Macaskill Eamon Greenwood 3

The Life of Adam and Eve (Coptic Fragments) Simon J. Gathercole 22

The Book of the Covenant James VanderKam 28

The Apocryphon of Seth Alexander Toepel 33

The Book of Noah Martha Himmelfarb 40

The Apocryphon of Eber James VanderKam 47

The Dispute over Abraham Richard Bauckham 53

The Inquiry of Abraham (A Possible Allusion to the Apocalypse of Abraham) Richard Bauckham 59

The Story of Melchizedek with the Melchizedek Legend from the Chronicon Paschale Pierluigi Piovanelli 64

The Syriac History of Joseph Kristian S. Heal 85

Aramaic Levi James R. Davila 121

Midrash Vayissa'u Martha Himmelfarb 143

The Testament of Job (Coptic Fragments) Gesa Schenke 160

The Tiburtine Sibyl (Greek) Rieuwerd Buitenwerf 176

The Eighth Book of Moses Todd E. Klutz 189

The Balaam Text from Tell Deir 'Alla Edward M. Cook 236

Eldad and Modad Richard Bauckham 244

Songs of David G. W. Lorein E. Van Staalduine-Sulman 257

The Aramaic Song of the Lamb (The Dialogue between David and Goliath) C. T. R. Hayward 272

Exorcistic Psalms of David and Solomon Gideon Bohak 287

The Selenodromion of David and Solomon Pablo A. Torijano 298

The Hygromancy of Solomon Pablo A. Torijano 305

Questions of the Queen of Sheba and Answers by King Solomon Vahan S. Hovhanessian Sebastian P. Brock 326

The Nine and a Half Tribes Richard Bauckham 346

The Heartless Rich Man and the Precious Stone William Adler 360

Jeremiah's Prophecy to Pashhur Darrell D. Hannah 367

The Apocryphon of Ezekiel Benjamin G. Wright III 380

The Treatise of the Vessels (Massekhet Kelim) James R. Davila 393

The Seventh Vision of Daniel Sergio La Porta 410

A Danielic Pseudepigraphon Paraphrased by Papias Basil Lourié 435

The Relics of Zechariah and the Boy Buried at His Feet William Adler 442

Sefer Zerubbabel: The Prophetic Vision of Zerubbabel ben Shealtiel John C. Reeves 448

Fifth Ezra Theodore A. Bergren 467

Sixth Ezra Theodore A. Bergren 483

The Latin Vision of Ezra Richard Bauckham 498

II Thematic Texts

The Cave of Treasures Alexander Toepel 531

Palaea Historica ("The Old Testament History") William Adler 585

Quotations from Lost Books in the Hebrew Bible James R. Davila 673

Hebrew Visions of Hell and Paradise Helen Spurling 699

Index of Modern Authors 754

Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Texts 763

Editorial Reviews

Religious Studies Review
"A tremendously significant volume. . . . Will undoubtedly be an essential reference work for years to come."

George W. E. Nickelsburg
— University of Iowa
"In our study of early Judaism and early Christianity we have been spoiled by large corpora of texts, but we seldom consider that these preserve only a portion of what was actually written (or orally composed). Here brought together in one place for the first time, and translated and discussed with the best scholarship, is a collection of texts and text fragments that provide a peek into that broader, unknown world."

James Kugel
— Bar-Ilan University
"A monumental work, vital to the study of early Judaism and Christianity in general, and to the history of ancient biblical interpretation in particular. Anyone who owns one of the earlier compilations of Old Testament pseudepigrapha will have to supplement it with this volume, which fills in much of what’s missing in the others. This is a scholarly achievement for the generations."

Matthias Henze
— Rice University
"This new collection of pseudepigrapha is a great accomplishment. Editors Bauckham, Davila, and Panayotov have assembled an impressive team of leading scholars in the field. The list of pseudepigrapha in this volume is astounding, including many little-known treasures. Each text is introduced by an expert, the English translations are elegant and accessible, and the notes are most helpful. . . . An indispensable supplement to the two volumes edited by James Charlesworth of Old Testament pseudepigrapha."

Michael Stone
— Hebrew University of Jerusalem
"This timely and highly significant work makes available a range of works from as early as the late ninth century BCE to the Byzantine period. The book complements admirably the various collections of ‘apocrypha and pseudepigrapha’ that have been published from the beginning of the twentieth century on. . . . The texts in this volume are translated from Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Syriac, Armenian, and other languages, and this book makes most of them available in English for the first time. This work is essential for students of the Jewish and Christian traditions, Eastern and Western."

Emanuel Tov
— Hebrew University of Jerusalem
"With the proliferation of newly discovered ‘pseudepigrapha’ in the last fifty years, it was necessary to bring them together in an accessible way. The editors of this volume are to be congratulated for doing so magnificently. The fine text editions and analyses here are very well written and encourage further study. Highly recommended for both the nonspecialist and the connoisseur!

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
"This is a monumental work. . . . One cannot help but place this volume alongside that of Charlesworth and others to enrich our understanding of these texts and the communities that preserved them."

Choice (American Library Association)
"Graced with fresh translations and fine scholarly notations, this volume surely will become a standard work. Essential."

Association of Jewish Library Reviews
"A significant contribution to Biblical studies, Jewish history in the Second Temple period, and studies in early Christianity."

The Bible Today
"This is a ponderous book, a resource for serious study. Despite this, its importance cannot be underestimated."

Reference Reviews
"An indispensable tool for the scholarly study of both the origins of Christianity, and the Jewish matrix of which it was a part."

Journal of Ancient Judaism
"The first of a two-volume collection that provides introductions to and annotated English translations of texts related to various books or the Hebrew Bible. . . . The editors bring together an impressive array of scholars, who address a long list of mostly forgotten or unknown texts, from an expansive historical range."

Dead Sea Discoveries
"A remarkable resource for scholars and students of ancient Judaism. The individual texts published in this volume generate and sustain important conversations about shared interpretive traditions that cross religious, linguistic and geographical divides in the study of ancient Judaism. Prepared by a stellar list of contributors, the volume opens new pathways for Dead Sea Scrolls research and should be on required reading lists for graduate students."

Interpretation
"Readers seeking to explore the sacred imaginations of the earliest readers of the Bible will find much to treasure in these pages."

Jewish Bible Quarterly
"This important collection includes a wealth of information that will be invaluable to scholar and interested layperson alike, making it an instant classic."

From the Publisher