Index - Apocrypha & Pseudepigrapha

Index to Studies in the

Apocrypha & Pseudepigrapha

What is the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha? How are they to be Read and Studied?

NASSCAL: Studies in Christian Apocrypha - How to Submit Essays, Editions, Monographs, etc.

Phillip J. Long - Discussion of 1 Enoch, Part 1

Phillip J. Long - Discussion of 1 Enoch, Part 2

Phillip J. Long - Discussion of 1 Enoch, Part 3

Phillip J. Long - Discussion of 1 Enoch, Part 4

Phillip J. Long - Discussion of 1 Enoch, Part 5

Phillip J. Long - Discussion of 1 Enoch, Part 6

Phillip J. Long - Discussion of 1 Enoch, Part 7 Final

Phillip J. Long - Discussion of 2 Enoch

Phillip J. Long - Discussion of 3 Enoch

The Sibylline Oracles of the Pseudepigrapha, Part 1

The Sibylline Oracles of the Pseudepigrapha, Part 2

The Sibylline Oracles of the Pseudepigrapha, Part 3 Final

Phillip J. Long - Discussion of 4 Ezra

Phillip J. Long - Discussion of 2 Baruch

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~ MORE TO COME ~

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List of Old Testament Pseudepigrapha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past. Some of these works may have originated among JewishHellenizers, others may have Christian authorship in character and origin.

1. Apocalyptic and related works:

1 (Ethiopic Apocalypse of) Enoch (Jewish, ca. 200 BCE–50 CE)

2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch (Jewish, ca. 75–100 CE)

3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of) Enoch (Jewish, in present form from ca. 5th to 6th cent. CE)

Sibylline Oracles (both Jewish and Christian, ca. 2nd cent. BCE–7th cent. CE)

Treatise of Shem (ca. near end of first cent. BCE)

Apocryphon of Ezekiel (mostly lost, original form ca. late 1st cent.BCE)

Apocalypse of Zephaniah (mostly lost, original form ca. late 1st cent. BCE)

4 Ezra (original Jewish form after 70 CE, final Christian additions later)

Greek Apocalypse of Ezra (present form is Christian ca. 9th cent.CE with both Jewish and Christian sources)

Vision of Ezra (a Christian document dating from 4th to 7th cent.CE)

Questions of Ezra (Christian, but date is imprecise)

Revelation of Ezra (Christian and sometime before 9th cent. CE)

Apocalypse of Sedrach (present form is Christian from ca. 5th cent. with earlier sources)

2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch (Jewish, from ca. 100 CE)

3 (Greek Apocalypse of) Baruch (Christian utilizing Jewish sources, ca. 1st–2nd cent. CE)

Apocalypse of Abraham (Jewish primarily, ca. 70–150 CE)

Apocalypse of Adam (Gnostic derived from Jewish sources from ca. the 1st cent. CE)

Apocalypse of Elijah (both Jewish and Christian, ca. 150–275 CE)

Apocalypse of Daniel (present form ca. 9th cent. CE, but contains Jewish sources from ca. 4th cent. CE).

2. Testaments:

Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (current form is Christian, ca. 150–200 CE, but Levi, Judah, and Naphtali are Jewish and date before 70 CE and probably 2nd–1st cent. BCE)

Testament of Job (Jewish, ca. late 1st cent. BCE)

Testaments of the Three Patriarchs (Jewish Testaments of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from ca. 100 CE which are linked with the Christian Testament of Isaac and Jacob)

Testament of Moses (Jewish, from ca. early 1st cent. CE)

Testament of Solomon (Jewish, current form ca. 3rd cent. CE, but earliest form ca. 100 CE)

Testament of Adam (Christian in current form ca. late 3rd cent. CE, but used Jewish sources from ca. 150–200 CE).

3. Expansions of Old Testament and other legends:

The Letter of Aristeas (Jewish, ca. 200–150 BCE)

Jubilees (Jewish, ca. 130–100 CE)

Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah (has three sections, the first Jewish from ca. 100 BCE, and 2nd and 3rd sections are Christian. The second from ca. 2nd cent. CE, and the third— Testament of Hezekiah, ca. 90–100 CE)

Joseph and Asenath (Jewish, ca. 100 CE)

Life of Adam and Eve (Jewish, ca. early to middle 1st cent. CE)

Pseudo-Philo (Jewish, ca. 66–135 CE)

Lives of the Prophets (Jewish, ca. early 1st cent. CE with later Christian additions)

Ladder of Jacob (earliest form is Jewish dating from late 1st cent.CE. One chapter is Christian)

4 Baruch (Jewish original but edited by a Christian, ca. 100–110 CE)

Jannes and Jambres (Christian in present form, but dependent on earlier Jewish sources from ca. 1st cent. BCE)

History of the Rechabites (Christian in present form dating ca. 6th cent. CE, but contains some Jewish sources before 100 CE)

Eldad and Modat (forged on basis of Numbers 11.26–29, before the 1st CE is now lost, but quoted in Shepherd of Hermas ca. 140 CE)

History of Joseph (Jewish, but difficult to date).

4. Wisdom and Philosophical Literature:

Ahiqar (Jewish dating from late 7th or 6th cent. BCE and cited in Apocryphal Tobit)

3 Maccabees (Jewish, ca. 1st cent. BCE)

4 Maccabees (Jewish, ca. before 70 CE)

Pseudo-Phocylides (Jewish maxims attributed to 6th cent. Ionic poet, ca. 50 BCE–100 CE)

The Sentences of the Syriac Menander (Jewish, ca. 3rd cent. CE).

5. Prayers, Psalms, and Odes:

More Psalms of David (Jewish psalms from ca. 3rd cent. BCE to 100 CE)

Prayer of Manasseh (sometimes in Apocrypha, Jewish from ca. early 1st cent. CE)

Psalms of Solomon (Jewish, ca. 50–5 BCE)

Hellenistic Synagogal Prayers (Jewish, ca. 2nd–3rd cent. CE)

Prayer of Joseph (Jewish, ca. 70–135)

Prayer of Jacob (mostly lost Jewish document from ca. 4th cent. CE)

Odes of Solomon (Christian but influenced by Judaism and probably also Qumran, ca. 100 CE)

See also[edit]

Apocrypha for books rejected by Jews but accepted by some Christians

New Testament apocrypha for books in the style of the New Testament

Deuterocanonical books

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Biblical Apocrypha

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_apocrypha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about a class of books included in some Bibles.

For other books generally excluded from Bibles, see Apocrypha.

This article is about biblical books printed apart from the New and Old Testaments.

For books whose inclusion in the Old Testament canon is controversial,

see Deuterocanonical books.

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The Biblical apocrypha (from the  Greek ἀπόκρυφος, apókruphos, meaning "hidden") denotes the collection of ancient books found, in some editions of the Bible, in a separate section between the Old and New Testaments^[1] or as an appendix after the New Testament.^[2] Although the term apocrypha had been in use since the 5th century, it was in Luther's Bible of 1534 that the Apocrypha was first published as a separate intertestamental section.^[3] To this date, the Apocrypha is "included in the lectionaries of Anglican and Lutheran Churches."^[4] Moreover, the Revised Common Lectionary, in use by most mainline Protestants including Methodists and Moravians, lists readings from the Apocrypha in the liturgicalkalendar, although alternate Old Testament scripture lessons are provided.^[5]

The preface to the Apocrypha in the Geneva Bible explained that while these books "were not received by a common consent to be read and expounded publicly in the Church," and did not serve "to prove any point of Christian religion save in so much as they had the consent of the other scriptures called canonical to confirm the same," nonetheless, "as books proceeding from godly men they were received to be read for the advancement and furtherance of the knowledge of history and for the instruction of godly manners."^[6] Later, during the English Civil War, the Westminster Confession of 1647 excluded the Apocrypha from the canon and made no recommendation of the Apocrypha above "other human writings",^[7]and this attitude towards the Apocrypha is represented by the decision of the British and Foreign Bible Society in the early 19th century not to print it (see below). Today, "English Bibles with the Apocrypha are becoming more popular again" and they are often printed as intertestamental books.^[8]

Most of the books of the Protestant Apocrypha are called deuterocanonical by Catholics per the Council of Trent and all of them are called anagignoskomena by the Eastern Orthodox per the Synod of Jerusalem. The Anglican Communion accepts "the Apocrypha for instruction in life and manners, but not for the establishment of doctrine (Article VI in the Thirty-Nine Articles)",^[9] and many "lectionary readings in The Book of Common Prayer are taken from the Apocrypha", with these lessons being "read in the same ways as those from the Old Testament".^[10] The Protestant Apocrypha contains three books (3 Esdras, 4 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh) that are accepted by many Eastern Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches as canonical, but are regarded as non-canonical by the Catholic Church and are therefore not included in modern Catholic Bibles.^[11]

Biblical canon

Main articles: Biblical canon, Christian biblical canons, Development of the Christian biblical canon, Protocanonical books, and Deuterocanonical books

Vulgate prologues

See also: Development of the Hebrew Bible canon and Development of the Old Testament canon

Jerome completed his version of the Bible, the Latin Vulgate, in 405. In the Middle Ages the Vulgate became the de facto standard version of the Bible in the West. The Vulgate manuscripts included prologues^[12] that Jerome clearly identified certain books of the Vulgate Old Testament as apocryphal or non-canonical.

In the prologue to the books of Samuel and Kings, which is often called the Prologus Galeatus, he says:^[13]

This preface to the Scriptures may serve as a “helmeted” introduction to all the books which we turn from Hebrew into Latin, so that we may be assured that what is not found in our list must be placed amongst the Apocryphal writings. Wisdom, therefore, which generally bears the name of Solomon, and the book of Jesus, the Son of Sirach, and Judith, and Tobias, and the Shepherd are not in the canon. The first book of Maccabees I have found to be Hebrew, the second is Greek, as can be proved from the very style.

In the prologue to Esdras he mentions 3 and 4 Esdras as being apocrypha.^[14] In his prologue to the books of Solomon, he says:^[15]

Also included is the book of the model of virtue (παναρετος) Jesus son of Sirach, and another falsely ascribed work (ψευδεπιγραφος) which is titled Wisdom of Solomon. The former of these I have also found in Hebrew, titled not Ecclesiasticus as among the Latins, but Parables, to which were joined Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs, as though it made of equal worth the likeness not only of the number of the books of Solomon, but also the kind of subjects. The second was never among the Hebrews, the very style of which reeks of Greek eloquence. And none of the ancient scribes affirm this one is of Philo Judaeus. Therefore, just as the Church also reads the books of Judith, Tobias, and the Maccabees, but does not receive them among the canonical Scriptures, so also one may read these two scrolls for the strengthening of the people, (but) not for confirming the authority of ecclesiastical dogmas.

He mentions the book of Baruch in his prologue to the Jeremias and does not explicitly refer to it as apocryphal, but he does mention that "it is neither read nor held among the Hebrews".^[16] In his prologue to the Judith he mentions that "among the Hebrews, the authority [of Judith] came into contention", but that it was "counted in the number of Sacred Scriptures" by the First Council of Nicaea.^[17] In his reply to Rufinus, he affirmed that he was consistent with the choice of the church regarding which version of the deuterocanonical portions of Daniel to use, which the Jews of his day did not include:

What sin have I committed in following the judgment of the churches? But when I repeat what the Jews say against the Story of Susanna and the Hymn of the Three Children, and the fables of Bel and the Dragon, which are not contained in the Hebrew Bible, the man who makes this a charge against me proves himself to be a fool and a slanderer; for I explained not what I thought but what they commonly say against us. (Against Rufinus, II:33 [AD 402]).^[18]

According to Michael Barber, although Jerome was once suspicious of the apocrypha, he later viewed them as Scripture as shown in his epistles. Barber cites Jerome's letter to Eustochium, in which Jerome quotes Sirach 13:2.;^[19] elsewhere Jerome also refers to Baruch, the Story of Susannah and Wisdom as scripture.^[20][21][22]

Apocrypha in editions of the Bible

Apocrypha are well attested in surviving manuscripts of the Christian Bible. (See, for example, Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus, Vulgate, and Peshitta.) After the Lutheran and Catholic canons were defined by Luther (c. 1534) and Trent^[23] (8 April 1546) respectively, early Protestant editions of the Bible (notably the Luther Bible in German and 1611 King James Version in English) did not omit these books, but placed them in a separate Apocrypha section apart from the Old and New Testaments to indicate their status.

Gutenberg Bible

This famous edition of the Vulgate was published in 1455. Like the manuscripts it was based on, the Gutenberg Bible lacked a specific Apocrypha section;^[24] its Old Testament included the books that Jerome considered apocryphal, and those Clement VIII later moved to the appendix. The Prayer of Manasses was located after the Books of Chronicles, and 3 and 4 Esdras followed 2 Esdras (Nehemiah), and Prayer of Solomon followedEcclesiasticus.

Luther Bible

Main articles: Luther Bible, Intertestamental period, and Luther's canon

Martin Luther translated the Bible into German during the early part of the 16th century, first releasing a complete Bible in 1534. His Bible was the first major edition to have a separate section called Apocrypha. Books and portions of books not found in the Masoretic Text of Judaism were moved out of the body of the Old Testament to this section.^[25] Luther placed these books between the Old and New Testaments. For this reason, these works are sometimes known as inter-testamental books. The books 1 and 2 Esdras were omitted entirely.^[26] Luther was making a polemical point about the canonicity of these books. As an authority for this division, he cited St. Jerome, who in the early 5th century distinguished the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments,^[27] stating that books not found in the Hebrew were not received as canonical. Although his statement was controversial in his day,^[28]Jerome was later titled a Doctor of the Church and his authority was also cited in the Anglican statement in 1571 of the Thirty-Nine Articles.^[29]

Luther also expressed some doubts about the canonicity of four New Testament books, although he never called them apocrypha: the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistles of James and Jude, and the Revelation to John. He did not put them in a separate named section, but he did move them to the end of his New Testament.^[30]

Clementine Vulgate

See also: Books of the Latin Vulgate

In 1592, Pope Clement VIII published his revised edition of the Vulgate, referred to as the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate. He moved three books not found in the canon of the Council of Trent from the Old Testament into an appendix "lest they utterly perish" (ne prorsus interirent).^[31]

• Prayer of Manasses
• 3 Esdras (1 Esdras in the King James Bible)
• 4 Esdras (2 Esdras in the King James Bible)

The protocanonical and deuterocanonical books he placed in their traditional positions in the Old Testament.

King James Version

The English-language King James Version (KJV) of 1611 followed the lead of the Luther Bible in using an inter-testamental section labelled "Books called Apocrypha", or just "Apocrypha" at the running page header.^[32] The KJV followed the Geneva Bible of 1560 almost exactly (variations are marked below). The section contains the following:^[33]

• 1 Esdras (Vulgate 3 Esdras)
• 2 Esdras (Vulgate 4 Esdras)
• Tobit
• Judith ("Judeth" in Geneva)
• Rest of Esther (Vulgate Esther 10:4 – 16:24)
• Wisdom
• Ecclesiasticus (also known as Sirach)
• Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremy ("Jeremiah" in Geneva) (all part of Vulgate Baruch)
• Song of the Three Children (Vulgate Daniel 3:24–90)
• Story of Susanna (Vulgate Daniel 13)
• The Idol Bel and the Dragon (Vulgate Daniel 14)
• Prayer of Manasses (Daniel)
• 1 Maccabees
• 2 Maccabees

Included in this list are those books of the Clementine Vulgate that were not in Luther's canon. These are the books most frequently referred to by the casual appellation "the Apocrypha". These same books are also listed inArticle VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England.^[34] Despite being placed in the Apocrypha, in the table of lessons at the front of some printings of the King James Bible, these books are included under the Old Testament.

The Bible and the Puritan revolution

The British Puritan revolution of the 1600s brought a change in the way many British publishers handled the apocryphal material associated with the Bible. The Puritans used the standard of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) to determine which books would be included in the canon. The Westminster Confession of Faith, composed during the British Civil Wars (1642–1651), excluded the Apocrypha from the canon. The Confession provided the rationale for the exclusion: 'The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of the Scripture, and therefore are of no authority in the church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human writings' (1.3).^[35] Thus, Bibles printed by English Protestants who separated from the Church of England began to exclude these books.

Other early Bible editions

In the Zürich Bible (1529–30) they are placed in an Appendix. They include 3 Maccabees, along with 1 Esdras & 2 Esdras. The 1st edition omitted the Prayer of Manasseh and the Rest of Esther, although these were included in the 2nd edition. The French Bible (1535) of Pierre Robert Olivétan placed them between the Testaments, with the subtitle, "The volume of the apocryphal books contained in the Vulgate translation, which we have not found in the Hebrew or Chaldee".All English translations of the Bible printed in the sixteenth century included a section or appendix for Apocryphal books. Matthew's Bible, published in 1537, contains all the Apocrypha of the later King James Version in an inter-testamental section. The 1538 Myles Coverdale Bible contained an Apocrypha that excluded Baruch and the Prayer of Manasseh. The 1560 Geneva Bible placed the Prayer of Manasseh after 2 Chronicles; the rest of the Apocrypha were placed in an inter-testamental section. The Douay-Rheims Bible (1582–1609) placed the Prayer of Manasseh and 3 and 4 Esdras into an Appendix of the second volume of the Old Testament.

In 1569 the Spanish Reina Bible, following the example of the pre-Clementine Latin Vulgate, contained the deuterocanonical books in its Old Testament. Following the other Protestant translations of its day, Valera's 1602 revision of the Reina Bible moved these books into an inter-testamental section.

Modern editions

All King James Bibles published before 1666 included the Apocrypha,^[36] though separately to denote them as not equal to Scripture proper, as noted by Jerome in the Vulgate, to which he gave the name, "The Apocrypha."^[37] In 1826,^[38] the National Bible Society of Scotland petitioned the British and Foreign Bible Society not to print the Apocrypha,^[39] resulting in a decision that no BFBS funds were to pay for printing any Apocryphal books anywhere. Since that time most modern editions of the Bible and reprintings of the King James Bible omit the Apocrypha section. In the 18th century, the Apocrypha section was omitted from the Challoner revision of the Douay-Rheims version. In the 1979 revision of the Vulgate, the section was dropped. Modern reprintings of the Clementine Vulgate commonly omit the Apocrypha section. Many reprintings of older versions of the Bible now omit the apocrypha and many newer translations and revisions have never included them at all.

There are some exceptions to this trend, however. Some editions of the Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible include not only the Apocrypha listed above, but also the third and fourthbooks of Maccabees, and Psalm 151.

The American Bible Society lifted restrictions on the publication of Bibles with the Apocrypha in 1964. The British and Foreign Bible Society followed in 1966.^[40] The Stuttgart edition of the Vulgate (the printed edition, not most of the on-line editions), which is published by the UBS, contains the Clementine Apocrypha as well as the Epistle to the Laodiceans and Psalm 151.

Brenton's edition of the Septuagint includes all of the Apocrypha found in the King James Bible with the exception of 2 Esdras, which was not in the Septuagint and is no longer extant in Greek.^[41] He places them in a separate section at the end of his Old Testament, following English tradition.

In Greek circles, however, these books are not traditionally called Apocrypha, but Anagignoskomena (ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα), and are integrated into the Old Testament. The Orthodox Study Bible, published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, includes the Anagignoskomena in its Old Testament, with the exception of 4 Maccabees. This was translated by the Saint Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology, from the Rahlfs Edition of the Septuagint using Brenton's English translation and the RSV Expanded Apocrypha as boilerplate. As such, they are included in the Old Testament with no distinction between these books and the rest of the Old Testament. This follows the tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church where the Septuagint is the received version of Old Testament scripture, considered itself inspired in agreement with some of the Fathers, such as St Augustine, rather than the Hebrew Masoretic text followed by all other modern translations.^[42]

Anagignoskomena

The Septuagint, the ancient and best known Greek version of the Old Testament, contains books and additions that are not present in the Hebrew Bible. These texts are not traditionally segregated into a separate section, nor are they usually called apocrypha. Rather, they are referred to as the Anagignoskomena (ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα, "things that are read" or "profitable reading"). The anagignoskomena are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of Jesus ben Sira (Sirach), Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah (in the Vulgate this is chapter 6 of Baruch), additions to Daniel (The Prayer of Azarias, Susanna and Bel and the Dragon), additions to Esther, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, 3 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, i.e. all of the Deuterocanonical books plus 3 Maccabees and 1 Esdras.^[43]

Some editions add additional books, such as Psalm 151 or the Odes (including the Prayer of Manasses). 2 Esdras is added as an appendix in the Slavonic Bibles and 4 Maccabees as an appendix in Greek editions.^[43]

Pseudepigrapha

Technically, a pseudepigraphon is a book written in a biblical style and ascribed to an author who did not write it. In common usage, however, the term pseudepigrapha is often used by way of distinction to refer to apocryphal writings that do not appear in printed editions of the Bible, as opposed to the texts listed above. Examples^[44] include:

• Letter of Aristeas
• Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah
• Joseph and Aseneth
• Life of Adam and Eve
• Lives of the Prophets
• Ladder of Jacob
• Jannes and Jambres
• History of the Captivity in Babylon
• History of the Rechabites
• Eldad and Modad
• History of Joseph
• Odes of Solomon
• Prayer of Joseph
• Prayer of Jacob

Often included among the pseudepigrapha are 3 and 4 Maccabees because they are not traditionally found in western Bibles, although they are in the Septuagint. Similarly, the Book of Enoch, Book of Jubilees and 4 Baruch are often listed with the pseudepigrapha although they are commonly included in Ethiopian Bibles. The Psalms of Solomon are found in some editions of the Septuagint.

Classification

It is hardly possible to form any classification not open to some objection. Scholars are still divided as to the original language, date, and place of composition of some of the books that come under this provisional attempt at order. (Thus some of the additions to Daniel and the Prayer of Manasseh are most probably derived from a Semitic original written in Palestine, yet in compliance with the prevailing opinion they are classed under Hellenistic Jewish literature. Again, the Slavonic Enoch goes back undoubtedly in parts to a Semitic original, though most of it may have been written by a Greek Jew in Egypt.)The Apocrypha of the King James Bible constitutes the books of the Vulgate that are present neither in the Hebrew Old Testament nor the Greek New Testament. Since these are derived from the Septuagint, from which the old Latin version was translated, it follows that the difference between the KJV and the Roman Catholic Old Testaments is traceable to the difference between the Palestinian and the Alexandrian canons of the Old Testament. This is only true with certain reservations, as the Latin Vulgate was revised by Jerome according to the Hebrew, and, where Hebrew originals were not found, according to the Septuagint. Furthermore, the Vulgate omits 3 and 4 Maccabees, which generally appear in the Septuagint, while the Septuagint and Luther's Bible omit 2 Esdras, which is found in the Apocrypha of the Vulgate and the King James Bible. Luther's Bible, moreover, also omits 1 Esdras. It should further be observed that the Clementine Vulgate places the Prayer of Manasses and 3 Esdras and 4 Esdras in an appendix after the New Testament as apocryphal.

A distinction can be made between the Palestinian and the Hellenistic literature of the Old Testament, though even this is open to serious objections. The former literature was written in Hebrew or Aramaic, and seldom in Greek; the latter in Greek.

Next, within these literatures there are three or four classes of subject material.

• Historical,
• Legendary (Haggadic),
• Apocalyptic,
• Didactic or Sapiential.

The Apocrypha proper then would be classified as follows:--

• Palestinian Jewish Literature
  • Historical
    • 1 Esdras (i.e. Greek Ezra).
    • 1 Maccabees.
  • Legendary
    • Book of Baruch
    • Book of Judith
  • Apocalyptic
    • 2 Esdras (see also Apocalyptic literature)
  • Didactic
    • Sirach (also known as Ecclesiasticus)
    • Tobit
• Hellenistic Jewish Literature:--
  • Historical and Legendary
    • Additions to Daniel
    • Additions to Esther
    • Epistle of Jeremiah
    • 2 Maccabees
    • Prayer of Manasseh
  • Didactic
    • Book of Wisdom

Cultural impact

• Christopher Columbus was said to have been inspired by "Six parts hast Thou dried up." from 4 Esdras 6:42 to undertake his hazardous journey across the Atlantic.^[45]
• The introitus, "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them", of the traditional Requiem in the Catholic Church is loosely based on 4 Esdras 2:34–35.
• The alternative introitus for Quasimodo Sunday in the Roman rite of the Catholic Church is loosely based on 4 Esdras 2:36–37.
• The Story of Susanna is perhaps the earliest example of a courtroom drama, and perhaps the first example of an effective forensic cross-examination (there are no others in the Bible: except perhaps Solomon's judgement at 1 Kings 3:25).
• Bel and the Dragon is perhaps the earliest example of a locked room mystery.
• Shylock's reference in The Merchant of Venice to "A Daniel come to judgment; yea, a Daniel!" refers to the story of Susanna and the elders.
• The theme of the elders surprising Susanna in her bath is a common one in art, such as in paintings by Tintoretto and Artemisia Gentileschi, and in Wallace Stevens' poem Peter Quince at the Clavier.
• Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, the title of James Agee's 1941 chronicle of Alabama sharecroppers, was taken from Ecclesiasticus 44:1: "Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us."
• In his spiritual autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan recounts how God strengthened him against the temptation to despair of his salvation by inspiring him with the words, "Look at the generations of old and see: did any ever trust in God, and were confounded?"

“

At which I was greatly encouraged in my soul. ... So coming home, I presently went to my Bible, to see if I could find that saying, not doubting but to find it presently. ... Thus I continued above a year, and could not find the place; but at last, casting my eye upon the Apocrypha books, I found it in Ecclesiasticus, chap. ii. 10. This, at the first, did somewhat daunt me; because it was not in those texts that we call holy and canonical; yet, as this sentence was the sum and substance of many of the promises, it was my duty to take the comfort of it; and I bless God for that word, for it was of good to me. That word doth still ofttimes shine before my face.[46]

The Sibylline Oracles of the Pseudepigrapha, Part 3 Final

In the Tenth Generation – Sibylline Oracles, Book 4

https://readingacts.com/2016/08/08/in-the-tenth-generation-sibylline-oracles-book-4/

by Phillip J. Long

August 8, 2016

As described by Collins, the Fourth Sibylline is a “political oracle” updated by a Jew in the late first century (OTP 1:381). Of special interest is the scheme of history the book presents: four kingdoms, a conflagration, then the resurrection and judgment. Since this is not a Christian work, we are reading a view of history and eschatology that may be used as context for New Testament studies, especially in describing messianic hopes during the ministry of Jesus.

The Sibyl describes herself as speaking “unfailing truths” (1-5). This opening sets the prophecy compatible with the Old Testament in the mouth of a pagan prophetess. Despite being a pagan, the Sibyl condemns idolatry as an offense against the great God (6-23). God has comprehensive knowledge: “He sees all at once but is seen by no one himself” (12). Therefore, this oracle of ten generations is true. The righteous will receive great blessing from the Great God (24-39). The righteous are described in terms or behaviors: rejection of idolatry, sexual conduct, mockery of the foolishness of pagans.

Lines 40-48 form an introduction to the Ten Generations / Four Kingdoms. Men are slow to respond to God, but his judgment is coming nonetheless. Eventually God will enable pious men to serve him after the accomplishment of the tenth kingdom. The first kingdom is Assyria (49-53). The first six generations occur while Assyrians rule the world, from the time of the flood. The second kingdom is the Medes (54-64). They only rule for two generations. Their time will end when the Euphrates flows with blood and the Medes and Persians both flee over the great waters. The third kingdom is Persia, the greatest of the kingdoms (65-87). They will be overcome by Greece, although Greece itself will be in political chaos. This kingdom will last until the tenth generation. The fourth kingdom is the least described; many nations are listed as falling to the final kingdom, but no actual kingdom is mentioned in this section (88-101). Likely each line could be related to some battle or political movement in early Roman history.

The rise of Rome is detailed in (102-114), described as a “great Italian war” under which the whole world will serve. When an evil storm of war will come from Italy, Jerusalem will be destroyed (115-129). The invaders will commit repulsive murders in front of the temple. A leader of Rome will come from Syria and burn the Temple and slaughter many men and women (a reference to Titus). There will be a great earthquake which destroy Salamis and Paphos and flood Cyprus.

A series of cataclysmic signs are described which will occur after the fall of Jerusalem (130-151). Vesuvius is used as an example in 130-134; the wrath of the God of Heaven caused the mountain to explode (The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompey may be in the background of the imagery of the trumpet judgments in Revelation 8. Wars and famine will occur throughout the world.

People in the last times will be “unworthy men” doing “unholy deeds (152-161). They are foolish and infantile; God is “gnashing his teeth in wrath” and will destroy them “at once in a great conflagration.” In the light of the imminent conflagration, the writer urges his readers to stop provoking God and seek forgiveness (162-170). Remarkably, Collins (or the editor of OTP 1:388) describes this section as “Conversion and Baptism” despite the fact baptism is not mentioned, nor is conversion to the Jewish faith. The earth will be destroyed in fire and a very great sign, with sword and trumpet, at the rising of the sun (171-178).

Finally, the Sibyl describes the resurrection of the dead (179-192). After the conflagration, God will “put to sleep” the fire and fashion bones from the ashes and “raise up mortals again.” This resurrection imagery is similar to Ezekiel 37 in that bodies are re-created from bones. People are raised to face judgment and will be assigned either to Tartarus and Gehenna for punishment or to the “delightful and pleasant light of the sun.”

* * * * * * * * * *

A Star Will Shine – Sibylline Oracles Book 5.1-154

https://readingacts.com/2016/08/09/a-star-will-shine-sibylline-oracles-book-5-1-154/

by Phillip J. Long

August 9, 2016

The Fifth Sibylline is eschatological, similar in many ways to book 3. There is a clear expectation of an enemy of God who will oppress the people and a savior sent from God to rescue his people. Collins considers this an example of Diaspora / Egyptian Judaism (OTP 1:390-391). As such it may be a guide to Jewish expectations in the first century with more to say about the context of Revelation than the ministry of Jesus. Still, the general eschatological outline (oppression, salvation via a messiah, judgment, rest) seems to be present here as well.

This Sibyl begins with a review of the history of “the Latin race” (1-51). The history becomes most detailed in line 28, “one who has fifty as an initial” becomes commander, this is Nero. He is an “athlete, charioteer, murderer and one who dares ten thousand things.” The history concludes with Hadrian (one who will have his name on the sea – the Adriatic, line 46) and Marcus Aurelius, a “most excellent, outstanding, dark-haired one.” While in some cases this is cryptic, it is not impossible to figure out these historical references.

This is not Nero (from "Games of Thrones")

Egypt faces destruction in the final days (52-92).From the east will come “a savage minded man, much bloodied and raving nonsense” (93-110). This king will conquer the west then turn toward Egypt and lay everything to waste. Only a third of life will remain for “wretched mortals” after this evil man conquers. Collins relates this paragraph to the Nero myth. While I cannot disagree with him, it is not at all obvious this evil man from the east is the same evil one as in 28f. Lines 137-154 are far more explicit in identifying Nero as the eschatological man of evil.The east will be destroyed (111-134). This section mentions places in Greece and Asia Minor; islands will sink and earthquakes will rip apart cities.

A godlike man comes from Rome (a Nero-like figure? 137-154). He will come from the Medes and Persians and will seize the Temple and destroy it, burning the citizens of the city. Despite the fact Nero died before the Temple was destroyed, he was the emperor who ordered Vespasian into Palestine in the first place. He is therefore blamed for destroying Jerusalem and the Temple.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Burning Sun among the Stars – Sibylline Oracles Book 5.155-531

https://readingacts.com/2016/08/09/the-burning-sun-among-the-stars-sibylline-oracles-book-5-155-531/

by Phillip J. Long

August 9, 2016

A series of oracles against nations follows (163-227, 286-360). Rome, Egypt, the Gauls, and the Ethiopians are listed for special condemnation in the first section, Asia and Europe in the second. The city of Corinth is singled out for special attention in 214-227. There are various exhortations interspersed in this section along with occasional returns to the theme of the coming enemy. These are consistently identified by Collins as “The Return of Nero” despite some being very vague and not at all clearly referring to the Nero myth. 214-227, for example, is a condemnation of Corinth and only very peripherally about Nero, if at all. That there is a short condemnation of arrogance (228-238) following this section may be related to the arrogance of the Roman emperors.

A long section praises the Jews as the people of God (238-285). This section looks forward to the time when Israel will once again be the “center of the world” and the world will come to Jerusalem to worship, including a prayer for the “fertile and luxurious land of Judea (328-332).

The coming enemy of God is described again in 361-385. He is a matricide and devises evil schemes in his mind. He will conquer all the lands and like a wintery blast he will make war everywhere. His end comes when fire rains down on men from heaven and all war ceases. An exhortation is attached to this description, encouraging people (Rome) from all sorts of sexual sins presumably associated with Nero (matricide, pedophile, etc., 386-396).

The oracle describes the destruction of the temple by a great horde of illustrious men (397-413). The king who destroyed the temple is said to have died by the hand of the Immortal after he left the land, which is odd since Titus did not die in any unusual way.

A blessed man comes from the “expanses of heaven” with a scepter in his hand which he was given by God himself (414-433). He will return wealth to those from whom it was stolen and make the city of God shine as a brilliant light, more brilliant than the sun and moon. The temple will be rebuilt as an ornament and all the righteous will see it. Both the east and west will sing the glory of God; all the wretched will be judged.

In the context of judgment, the oracle turns against Babylon, the classic enemy of God (434-446). They had been the sole kingdom ruling the earth, but in the end they had to send to Rome for assistance. Catastrophic disasters will happen in those days (447-484): The seas will dry up, Roman ships will no longer sail (Revelation 18, the lament of the seaman). Apocalyptic signs include Locust, bloody war, and invasions over frozen rivers, wild animals attacking people, and weakness all over earth, moonless nights and a mist covering the whole world.

Egypt will be converted in the last days (448-511). People in Egypt will decide to build a temple to God in an attempt to worship God correctly, but it will be destroyed; God will therefore rain terrible judgments on the land. This may be a reference to the temple at Leontopolis (Collins OTP 1:405, note i4, but the prediction could be taken as eschatological as well).

The Oracle concludes with a terrible battle in the stars – the constellations themselves are destroyed and the sky becomes starless (512-531). This seems odd, but there may be a subtle condemnation of astrology here. It is possible judgment has come to such a point that the stars are no longer able to guide so it is as if they have gone away.

* * * * * * * * * *

Christian or Gnostic? – Sibylline Oracles, Book 7

https://readingacts.com/2016/08/13/christian-or-gnostic-sibylline-oracle-book-7/

by Phillip J. Long

August 13, 2016

This is the least structured of the oracles and is probably a collection of various sources. The work is Christian and probably is not based on any Jewish material. As such, the Seventh Oracle represents the other end of the tangent begun in the earlier Jewish oracles. Christians placed prophecies in the mouth of a pagan oracle in order to give a universal validity to the claims of Christianity.

This oracle seems not only Christian, but in some ways Gnostic. Collins lists five allusions to Gnostic ideas but concludes that the presence of these elements do not make the book Gnostic. In the same way earlier oracles drew on pagan mythology, so to this Christian oracle is drawing on Gnosticism (OTP 1:409).

• Several European cites will be destroyed, Rhodes will be the first (1-6). The flood is briefly described (7-15). This section is fragmentary, but makes Phrygia the location of Ararat as in 1 Enoch.A general oracle against the nations, although the focus is on Egypt (16-28).

• A brief, fragmented description of a messiah figure (29-39). It is hard to get the sense of this prophecy since much is missing. God entrusts his throne to someone from the house of David. The angels sleep under his feet (33). He is a “young shoot putting forth eyes from the root.” (38)

• Various nations and cities are condemned (40-63). Colophon and Corinth are mentioned specifically as destroyed by the Roman Ares.

• Christ’s baptism is described with a special emphasis on the people not recognizing him as their God when he came up from the water (64-75).

• Sacrifice will be replaced by prayer, alms giving, and care for the poor (76-91).

• Lines 91a-95 are a fragment which may continue the theme from the previous section, but there is not enough there to see this clearly.

• Various nations and cities are condemned (96-116), including Sardina, Mygdonia, Macedonia and Rome, Thebes.

• A “woe” against the “evil spirit sea,” which will be devoured by fire in the chaotic end of the world (118-131).

• Those who falsely claim to be Hebrews and make money from prophecy will be destroyed (132-138).

After the third “circling of years” when the first ogdoad is seen, he will begat a “pure mind of men” and no one will plow a crooked row anymore (139-149). Ogdoad can refer to eight frog/snake gods worshiped at Hermopolis, Egypt, although this does not fit the context well. Ogdoad is also a Gnostic concept relating to the aeons (Edwin Yamauchi, “The Gnostics and History” JETS 14 (1971): 29-40, 31). The word is used to describe a place in the HermeticDiscourse on the Eighth and Ninth: “The Eighth or Ogdoad is described as the place or sphere where souls and angels continuously praise the Ninth with hymns; the Ninth or Ennead is the dwelling place of Nous or Divine Mind” (Ruth Majerick, “Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth” in ABD 2:210-211). It is possible this reference refers to Jesus in some kind of numeric wordplay, since the name Jesus Christ is often rendered 888. Finally, all people in this restored world will “eat dewy manna with white teeth” (148-149, cf. Revelation 2:17).

The oracle concludes with a confession of faith from the sibyl. This is part of the sibylline formula: the pagan prophetess confesses faith in God and claims her oracles are true.

* * * * * * * * * *

Nero Redivivus – Sibylline Oracles, Book 8.1-216

https://readingacts.com/2016/08/15/nero-redivivus-sibylline-oracle-book-8-1-159/

by Phillip J. Long

August 15, 2016

The eighth Sibylline oracle contains a wealth of clear historical allusions. The first 216 lines are probably Jewish with some Christian interpolations. The second half of the book draws together various sources, nearly all Christian and interested in developing Christology. We are therefore dealing with an oracle at the Christian end of the spectrum, placing Christian theology in the mouth of a pagan seer.

The Sibyl beings with a description of the kingdoms of the world: the Persians, the Medes, the Ethiopians, Assyria Babylon, Macedonia, and then the “famous lawless kingdom of the Italians” (1-16). These kingdoms will be judged, “the mills of God grind fine flour, though late” (14, OTP comments this is an old Greek proverb).

Greed is condemned (17-36). Greed is the “source of impiety and forerunner of disorder, deviser of wars, a hostile troubler of peace” (24-25). Like Revelation 18, the writer characterizes Roman as a greedy nation and an oppressor the poor. Because of their greed, Rome will be destroyed “one day” by a heavenly affliction and no god will be able to save them (37-49). Their wealth will be laid low and the race will become lifeless corpses.

Lines 50-67 describe Hadrian as the “luxurious one” who inspects the world with polluted foot, giving gifts.” This is an allusion to Hadrian’s tour of the provinces in A.D. 121-130. He will participate in magical shrines and “display a child of the gods” (His favorite son was deified in A.D. 130 after he was accidently drowned in Egypt). Three kings will rule after Hadrian, “fulfilling the name of the heavenly God whose power is both now and for all ages.”

The next section concerns the return of Nero during the reign of “an old man,” Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 121-180). A “matricidal exile returns from the ends of the earth” and will control dominions far and wide (68-72).

Rome will be judged (73-109, 123-130). They will be brought down from their great height by “gigantic hands” (100) and be made to dwell under the earth, everyone will hear bellowing from Hades and the gnashing of teeth. All will be judged in the great tribunal of God (110-122). This section is inserted into the condemnation of Rome and breaks off after a long list of “equality” statements (there will be no king, no tyrant, etc.) The age will be “common to all.” (Cf. 1 Enoch 53:6-7, the “leveling” of social groups in Matthew 3). In lines 131-138 Hadrian is praised as ruling “by the counsels of the great God without contamination.”

The text breaks off with “When the time of the phoenix comes” (139-159), but it is enough for Collins to once again identify this as a text about the return of Nero. By the reign of Marcus Aurelius, Nero would have been long dead, so the image of the Phoenix is appropriate to describe the rebirth of this enemy of God’s people. He will return to ravage the race of peoples, the nation of the Hebrews.

This section is an allusion to the persistent rumor Nero faked his death in A.D. 68 and would eventually return to his rightful place as emperor of Rome. Some scholars detect this in Revelation 13 where the first beast (representing Rome) appears to have died but is revived by the second beast. Sometimes this is used to date Revelation early, since the possibility of Nero’s return would diminish by the 90s since Nero would have been quite old by then. But this oracle implies Nero could return nearly 100 years after his own death, rising like a Phoenix to persecute God’s people once again.

The final and greatest evil will come upon the Rhodians (160-168). This section is perhaps related to the first in the oracle since it includes Rhodes as central to the final judgment of Rome (which will become a “street,” probably a reference to Rome becoming insignificant). The holy prince will gain control of the scepters of the world and Rome will fall (169-177). Various signs of the end are listed in 178-216. There are several breaks in the text, but the usually catastrophic “wrath of God” things are present. Of note is line 205, there will be a resurrection of the dead, the swift racing of the lame, the deaf will hear and the blind will see.

* * * * * * * * * *

Christological Poems – Sibylline Oracles, Book 8.217-500

https://readingacts.com/2016/08/16/christological-poems-sibylline-oracle-book-8-217-500/

by Phillip J. Long

August 16, 2016

Lines 217-250 of the eighth Sibylline oracle form an acrostic poem based on “Jesus Christ Son of God, Savior, Cross.” The theme of the poem is eschatology and much is drawn from the Old Testament (the heavens will roll up, Isa 34:4, for example.) The oracle makes a connection between Jesus and the Old Testament messiah figure and concludes with a statement that “this is our God, no proclaimed in acrostics, the king, the immortal savior who suffered for us.”

The second Christological poem (251-336) includes many references to the life of Christ: feeding the 5000 in line 275; “your king comes on a foal of a donkey;” the passion in 280-284; “the veil of the Temple will be rent, and in midday there will be dark monstrous night for three hours” (305-306). Jesus goes to Hades announcing hope for all (perhaps a hint of the “harrowing of hell,” 1 Peter 3:19). The resurrection of Jesus is clear, “and then, returning from the dead, he will come to light, first of the resurrection, showing a beginning to the elect” (313). This is followed by an eschatological fragment in 337-358. The catastrophic signs found elsewhere in the Sibyllines reappear..

A lengthy speech by God himself condemns idolatry (359-428). There is a consistent theme in this poem of God as creator and the offense of man worshiping creation. God has, for example, “formed eyes and ears, seeing and hearing” (368) and knows every thought. “Abandoning the Creator, they worshiped licentiousness. All have gifts from me but give them to useless things, and they think all these things useful, like my honors making burnt offerings at meals, as to their own dead.” Similar to Romans 1:18f, humans have abandoned their creator, pursuit of sexual sin 381.

The hymn to God appearing in lines 429-455 is similar to pagan thinking about God (OTP 1:427, note t2). God is “Self-begotten, undefiled, everlasting, eternal” (429). Like the Jewish use of Greek mythology in the early Sibyls or the Christian use of Gnosticism in the seventh Sibyl, this writer / compiler has drawn on Greco-Roman philosophy to describe God.

The poem concerning the incarnation in 456-479 reflects fairly advanced theology and the Virgin Mary is featured prominently. The archangel Gabriel says to Mary, “‘Receive God, Virgin, in your immaculate bosom.’ Thus speaking, he breathed in the grace of God, even to one who was always a maiden.” (461-462). It is possible it was appended at a later date when Mary becomes more important in Catholic theology.

The final paragraph on ethics closed the book (480-500). The Christian reader is admonished to never “approach the sanctuaries of temples nor to pour libations to statues nor to honor them with prayers” (487-489) nor “to defile the light of the sky with smoke from burnt offerings” (494). Perhaps this exhortation to abstain from sacrifice reflects a period when Christians were not yet fully depaganized, making sacrifices in order to appear loyal to civic cults.

* * * * * * * * * *

A History of the World – Sibylline Oracles, Book 11

https://readingacts.com/2016/08/17/a-history-of-the-world-sibylline-oracles-book-11/

by Phillip J. Long

August 17, 2016

Collins dates this book to the “turn of the era” and considers it an example of Diaspora Judaism. We are therefore back to the early part of the development of the format of the sibyl, but as Collins notes, this is very different than Sibylline 3 and 5 (OTP 1:432).

This text is not particularly religions but is political propaganda, interested in Egyptian political movements. As such, there is no familiar eschatology at all in the book, but rather a history of the political relationship between Rome and Egypt. This book is valuable for setting the context of other Diaspora books, but has little to say for New Testament backgrounds. Common features of the book include a ten-generation history of the world (line 14) and a series of oracles working through the kingdoms which ruled the world through those ten generations (Egypt, Persian, Media, India / Ethiopia, the Assyrians, Macedonia, then Rome).

There is remarkable is a summary of the Trojan War (123-163) and a reference to Virgil (164-171). Alexander the Great receives a long poem 195-223, (“the one whose name begins with the first letter”). The diadochi are described (223-243), with the final sections detailing the intrigue of Cleopatra (243-260) and eventually Julius Caesar (261-276).

The writer of the oracle predicts (or expresses some wishful thinking) that Egypt will fall (276-314) and be judged by God himself (311-314):

"Therefore God himself, the imperishable prince who lives in the sky, will utterly destroy you and impel you to lamentation, and you will make amends for what you formerly did lawlessly. At last you will realize that the anger of God has come upon you."

There is no hint of Christian editing (no allusion to Jesus or a coming Kingdom, for example). In fact, the book ends with the words of the Sibyl who will be confirmed at Panopeia as a “true seer, chanter of oracles, though someone will call me a messenger with frenzied spirit.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Roman Emperors – Sibylline Oracles, Book 12

https://readingacts.com/2016/08/18/roman-emperors-sibylline-oracles-book-12/

by Phillip J. Long

August 18, 2016

This Oracle continues the themes of book 11, extending the history into the currant era. Augustus is described as a ruler no other Roman will ever exceed, a man God approved for this hour (14-35). There is a brief “Christian insertion” in 30-34 which predicts the coming of the Messiah, the “bright star like the sun.

The book includes sections on the emperors of Rome, including a comment about their character and history, usually a comment about their appearance, hair color, etc. and a hint at their name (the one with the number three hundred as his first initial). This serves to show the “riddle” of Rev 13:18 (the number of the beast) was common enough in the ancient world. NB: the numbers in parenthesis are lines in the oracle, not dates.

• Tiberius (37-47, he will rule wearing purple, and “sack the city with high gates”).

• Gaius (48-66, a man with “deceitful locks”).

• Claudius (68-75, terrible signs accompany his reign, darkness at noon). OTP1:447, note m states there were four solar eclipses during his reign.

• Nero (78-94), “a terrible snake, an athlete, charioteer and murderer” who later flees and perishes wretchedly).

• Galba, Otho, and Vitelius (95-98)

• Vespasian (99-116, a “great destroyer”).

• Titus (117-123, a noble lord who falls by deceit).

• Domitian (124-143, all mortals will love him but he will receive a wound in the middle of his chest). This is rarely mentioned as a potential background to the wounding of the beast in Revelation 13, which is remarkable since Domitian is often cited as the emperor in the immediate context of Revelation.

• Nerva (143-146, a majestic man, slain and gone to Hades).

• Trajan (147-163, a mighty warrior who will die on foreign soil).

• Hadrian (164-175, a silver-haired man who will bring a long peace).

• The Antonines (176-185, three who rule for three decades).

• Marcus Aurelius (186-205, a man who knows many wise things, at whose prayer it will rain).

• Commodus (206-223, he will live dangerously and will suffer evil in a bath).

• The Death of Commodus (224-235, when the destructive time is near for Rome).

• Pertinax (236-244, a man who will shed blood with sharp bronze swords).

• Didius Iulianus (245-249, he will have a swift fate, mighty in war and smitten by iron).

• Pescennius Niger (250-255, another warrior, will die on the Assyrian plains).

• Septimus Severus (256-268, a resourceful and crafty man who knows what is expedient).

• Alexander Severus (269-288, he will reign with an infant and have the name of a Macedonian prince).

The conclusion to the book is a warning that those who honor God and forget idols will have joy (289-299). What is remarkable about this conclusion is that none of these kings could be said to have honored God in the least. In general this review of history is quite complimentary to the Roman emperors. One might expect a Christian writer to have portrayed Domitian, for example, as a great evil ruler because of his persecution of the church. Unless, of course, Domitian was not a great persecutor as many scholars have claimed.

This may help several scholars who have argued external persecution is not the problem in the book of Revelation. See for example Alan James Beagley, The “Sitz Im Leben” of the Apocalypse with Particular Reference to the Role of the Church’s Enemies (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1987). For a brief summary of Beagley’s position, see his article “Babylon” in Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Development (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997), 111-112.

[End of Sibylline Oracles]

First Impressions of the NIV Cultural Background Study Bible

Today I would like to pass along Peter Enns comments on the NIV Cultural Background Study Bible in observing how evangelical apologetics pretends towards "academic rigor" while keeping to its own internal standards of what is, and isn't biblical, according to the handbook of evangelical theology. Pointedly, as reflected in several recent articles on Radical Theology (see list immediately after these comments) this isn't true as evangelical doctrine holds to its own kind of "archaeological reality" while refusing any admit to post-foundational studies such as found in Radical Theology.

R.E. Slater

August 19, 2016

• Devolution is the New Evolution: Christianity's need for Radical Theology

• The Choice Before Nations to Love and Forgive

• Embracing the Dark Side of Doubt & Uncertainty

• R.E. Slater - Radical Reflections on God, Faith, and the Bible

* * * * * * * * * * *

THE BRAND NEW NIV CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS STUDY BIBLE—SOME FIRST IMPRESSIONS

http://www.peteenns.com/the-brand-new-niv-cultural-backgrounds-study-bible-some-first-impressions/

Posted by PeteEnns

August 15, 2016 in book notes and reviews

I just received the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (to be released August 23, available in hardcover, leather, and e-version) and spent a day reading through significant portions of it.

When an evangelical Bible commentary or study Bible is published, I get an initial feel for it by seeing how perennial evangelical hot-button issues are handled, like: 

• creation, Adam, and the Flood (i.e., myth)

• historicity of the Exodus 

• historicity and ethics of the conquest (especially archaeology of Jericho)

• historicity of David and Solomon

• Chronicles as a midrash of the Deuteornomistic history

• authorship issues especially Pentateuch, Isaiah, Daniel, Pastoral Epistles

• theological diversity and contradiction in the Gospels

• Paul and the New Perspective on Judaism

Let me be clear. I do not mean to say that I look to see whether the authors agree with me or mainstream biblical scholarship (which has its own variety), but whether non-evangelical readings are dismissed, marginalized, or misrepresented.

In other words, I am looking to see whether the book leads evangelicals to an awareness of broader academic discussions or whether it is oriented toward evangelical apologetics. My initial impression is that NIVCBSB is much more the former with relatively little the latter.

I’d be lying if I said that I stood up and cheered on each page. To be sure, this is an evangelical study Bible—theological borders delimit the range of options the authors can take, and so qualifications abound. This is to be expected, but all in all, I feel safe recommending this study Bible as a learned and valuable resource from an evangelical perspective without being overly concerned that the reader will be strongarmed by evangelical apologetics.

First, here are a few examples from the OT to give you a bit of a feel for the study Bible, followed by some brief observations about the NT portion.

Adam is presumed throughout to be a historical figure. There is a good essay on “Adam and Jewish Tradition” (p. 1957), but, disappointingly nothing on Adam in the ancient Mesopotamian context. The silence is deafening, though I suppose in the current climate of tensions over Adam an essay on the mythic setting of the Adam story is too much to ask.

But the other essays covering the opening chapters of Genesis will be instructive for readers. For example, the essay on the serpent of Genesis 3 (p. 12) makes very clear that the serpent is only equated with Satan under the influence of the NT and Christian theology, which would not have been on the OT author’s mind. I find it refreshing (if also a bit striking) that in an evangelical publication the NT reading is not given the final word on what Genesis means.

Concerning the Flood, source-criticism is simply ignored (which is better than misrepresenting it as passé among biblical scholars, a common verdict among evangelicals). The stated purpose of the story, however, is worth underscoring: its value is in helping us “see how the Israelites would have understood the whole event differently than their neighbors” (p. 21, my emphasis).

In other words—lets not miss what’s happening here—we are told that the Flood story gives us Israel’s perspective on an event (local Mesopotamian deluge), which is very different indeed from saying it gives an essentially accurate account of history. I’m relieved that an apologetic note was not struck in a study Bible that is supposed to be fixed on backgrounds material.

On p. 32 we read of the value of ancient Near Eastern mythological literature for understanding Genesis: it helps us see Genesis with ancient eyes rather than imposing upon it modern expectations.

That point is hardly news within evangelicalism (especially given the fact that John Walton is the OT editor), but thankfully missing here is the confused and too-common rapid qualification that, though mythic, the Bible nevertheless records history. Even if the author/editor of this portion of the study Bible believes that, the note doesn’t reflect it.

Too often evangelicals give “myth” a respectful nod of recognition (it can’t be tabled forever, after all), but they tend not to grab the mythic tiger by the tail and just say it: “Yes, myth is the correct genre category for this text, not history.” But still, seeing “myth” treated without first completely de-clawing it is worth noting.

Of course, things can get quite heated when the topic turns to the doctrinal implications of recognizing the mythic nature of parts of the Bible. Maybe one day Zondervan can publish a “Doctrinal Implications Study Bible” (text me, Katya).

The treatment of the historicity of the exodus is also worth noting. The relevant essays (pp. 104; 116-17; 118-19) freely admit the event cannot be “determined with certainty” and we are lacking a “precise and convincing historical framework” (p. 104). The best we can do is argue for what is “possible, plausible, or even probable” (p. 116).

To be sure, the exodus is still presumed to be an event that took place sometime during the New Kingdom in Egypt (1550-1069 BC), and unfortunately there is no discernable probing into what way the biblical story is historical. But readers will certainly be alerted that the evidence for the exodus is essentially nonexistent and the best we can do is comment on its plausibility.

I have to say I was taken off guard by the essay on the Passover. Albeit briefly, the essay acknowledges that,

certain elements in the Passover suggest that at its roots may be a nomadic herdmen’s ritual in which they sought both protection from demonic attack as they moved to summer pasture and fertility for their herds in the new breeding season (p. 129).

Such a comment, though commonplace outside of evangelicalism, requires more discussion here, as it raises the question—largely unaddressed in this volume—of the impact cultural backgrounds has had on evangelical theology.

Seeing these sorts of observations through to the end is precisely what has led generations of evangelicals to feel the need to rethink the nature of Scripture, particularly Scripture as an inerrant account of historical events. This comment on the Passover is not innocent. It cries out for explanation and can’t simply be dropped.

Israelite origins is a vexing scholarly issue, and the study Bible unsurprisingly steers clear of anything that might contravene the biblical narrative. Having said that, though assumed to be an historical event, the historical problems with the biblical account of the fall of Jericho are not ignored (pp. 368-69). Rather than a major population area, Jericho was a “small settlement” and likely primarily a “military compound, a small fort” containing perhaps “an inn or hostel” and with “100 soldiers or fewer guarding it.”

This interpretation is not universal among scholars, and it seems geared toward latching the biblical story to a verifiable historical moment (there was a Jericho at the time of the conquest and something didhappen there). Nevertheless, this reconstruction is at odds with the biblical story. So how to explain it? The essay gently concedes, without using the term, that the biblical story is an exaggeration that served to bolster Joshua’s reputation (which some might call “propaganda”).

We are not told when such an exaggeration to bolster Joshua’s reputation would have been written (within a generation? half a millennium later?), nor (once again) is it suggested what impact this conclusion might have on typical evangelical expectations about biblical inspiration, but at least we are moving in the right direction.

One concern I have, though, with the handling of Jericho and other violent episodes (e.g., Flood, exodus, and the Midianite war in Numbers 30) is that the morality of these actions is not addressed or questioned, at least not that I could see. I was very surprised to see no essay on “Divine violence” or “warfare in the Ancient Near East.” Cultural backgrounds could easily have been used to explain that biblical writers portray God in ways reflected in well-documented texts from Israel’s Iron Age tribalistic neighbors.

Cultural backgrounds could easily have been used to explain that the biblical writers portrayed God in ways that reflected well-documented texts from Israel’s Iron Age tribalistic neighbors. I suspect that the topic was avoided because it raises serious questions about the historical factuality of the conquest accounts.

I was hopeful that authorship issues might be addressed with some meaningful flexibility, but that was largely not the case. Ancient parallels to Deuteronomy are 2nd millennium rather than 1st. The apparent introduction of the divine name Yahweh in Exodus 6:2-3, a key text for source critics, receives an innocuous comment (p. 15).

On the still controversial question of the authorship of Isaiah, we read, “The compositional history of Isaiah is debated, with numerous competing views as to the number of authors and time of composition” (p. 1103). While true, this is also misleading.

There are certainly debates about the composition of Isaiah, but every biblical scholar in the solar system, outside of some (by no means all) evangelical circles, agrees that the 8th-century prophet is not responsible for all 66 chapters, and that the final form of the book dates to the exilic and postexilic periods.

If authorship issues are to be addressed at all, something as fundamentally accepted as multiple Isaianic authorship deserves clearer mention. Rather, the comment suggests that the matter is up for grabs and the scholarly world is in a state of confusion. It isn’t.

One final note on authorship concerns Daniel. Affirming a 6th-century date has been a veritable one-question orthodoxy exam in evangelicalism, whereas a 2nd-century date is considered to be one of the surest conclusions of modern scholarship (and accepted among some evangelicals).

With that in mind, on p. 1414 we read the following. Though expressed in evangelical speak (“try to say it without actually saying it and make sure you say something about the Bible’s reliability”), I for one appreciate the effort:

Though the book occasionally has Daniel speaking in the first person, the narratives are largely third person. Daniel is not named as the author. While there is no reason to question the authenticity of the accounts of the book, the fact that many narrative traditions were preserved orally, perhaps even for centuries before being committed to writing, results in uncertainty concerning when and by whom the book was compiled.

Translation: 6th-century authorship is not a slam dunk and the story might not have been written down until many centuries later. Though we read here hardly a ringing endorsement of the mainstream view, and with the typical qualification about Daniel’s unquestioned “authenticity” (though was does that mean?), this comment will likely give readers something to think about: Daniel is in some sense “late.”

But, again, if the authorship if Daniel is going to be addressed at all, some mention should be made of the essentially ubiquitous view, which is based on a “cultural background” issue, namely the havoc wreaked by the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned from 175-164 BC).

Moving more quickly to the New Testament portion of the study Bible, here too we see many valuable and learned essays that will inform readers. I did feel, however, that the tone was more apologetic throughout, and often times seemed to me digress from the purpose of a cultural backgrounds study Bible.

Inordinate space, for example, is given to establishing the historical veracity of the Gospels and their sources, including the plausibility of the authorship ascriptions and miracles. However interesting these issues may be, they are not backgrounds issues for understanding the text.

What I was hoping to find was more focus on the cultural settings of the various Gospel writers that yielded their unique interpretations on Jesus (though see “The ‘Jews’ and ‘Jewish Leaders’ in John’s Gospel,” p. 1810). Likewise, essays on Jesus’ trial (p. 1672) and the location of Jesus’ tomb (p. 1678) are interesting, but I would rather have seen essays on “legal systems” or “burial practices in Greco-Roman Palestine” or something of that nature.

For the life of me, I have no idea why an essay discussing the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin (p. 1728) is included in a cultural backgrounds study Bible.

I was surprised that missing was an essay on the well known Priene Calendar Inscription (an account of Caesar Augustus’s divine birth and proclamation as “savior,” which is “Good News” for all). This inscription is a stunningly important cultural background for Mark or the Lukan birth narrative. Instead we see numerous synchronic charts: resurrection appearances (p. 1799), miracles of Jesus (p. 1808), harmonies of the Gospels (pp. 1858-64) and the events of Passion Week (pp. 1722-23). (The same holds for the Epistles [qualifications for elders, p. 2112; the “greater than” sayings in Hebrews, p. 2142.)

I cannot say synchronic charts should by no means appear in a backgrounds study Bible, but I would rather have seen that space devoted to more essays like the one on the triclinium (dining room in a Roman house, p. 1840) or “Houses in the Holy Land” (1640-41). Perhaps robust essays on the structure of the family in Greco-Roman society (though “marriage roles in antiquity” touches on it, pp. 2064-65), or the background for the language of “citizenship” or the “church” (ekklesia) that Paul reframes (though the latter is [too briefly] defined in “Key New Testament Terms,” p. 1585).

Again, there are many helpful essays and notes in the New Testament section. Let me mention in particular the non-alarmist and contextually sensitive essay on homosexuality in antiquity (p. 1950), and about as balanced a nod as one might expect to the New Perspective on Paul (“Paul’s Jewish Opponents,” p. 2047). But I felt I had to wade through less interesting and less relevant material along the way, almost at points loosing track that this was a cultural backgrounds Bible.

To sum up, the visuals are striking and inviting, and this volume will be a wonderful aid for many, particularly for those readers who might otherwise be jarred by the depth and breadth to which our Bible owes its existence, culturally speaking, to the settings in which its various parts were written. It is well worth the investment of $49.99 ($36.98 on Amazon).

My Spidey sense is tuned in to where authors tip-toe around or package issues in ways that are more palatable for evangelicals, some of which I note above. But, as they say in the publishing world, “Know your audience.” Readers just need to be aware that these essays, though wonderfully informative, quite often offer a perspective that many (or most) scholars in the field would either qualify or even disagree with.

Let me end this brief post by revisiting a point I alluded to once or twice. On the first page of the study Bible, we read:

This study Bible has been purpose-built to do one thing: in increase your understanding of the cultural nuances behind the text of God’s Word so that your study experience, and your knowledge of the realities behind the ideas in the text, is enriched and expanded (p. v, my emphasis).

Indeed, the reader’s understanding will be increased, enriched, and expanded from studying Scripture aided by this volume. And on one level this is a fine and innocuous statement to make.

The irony, however, is that it is precisely such culturally informed study of the contexts of the Bible over the last 150 years that has led to significant challenges for evangelical theology.

The cultural context of Scripture cannot be presented as a safe haven of rest for the person in the pew, just a bit of background information that one can safely tack onto evangelical theology. Though not always the case, exposure to “Bible in context” has brought evangelical theology under careful scrutiny more often than not.

The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible does a good job of presenting some challenging material in a sober and unthreatening manner for its intended audience, and so it is not free of evangelical pre-packaging. At the end of the day, however, the challenges of the study of Scripture in historical context will not be adequately addressed that way.

Having said all this, I plan to consult it regularly for backgrounds issues for any course I teach, in conjunction with other sources as needed. And I will warmly recommend it and refer others to it, though with some possible qualifications of my own, depending on the person’s degree of familiarity with the topic.

- Peter Enns

*I talk more about the nature of the Bible in its historical contexts in The Bible Tells Me So (HarperOne, 2014), Inspiration and Incarnation (Baker 2005/2015), and The Evolution of Adam (Baker, 2012).