Journal: Ashland Theological Journal
Volume: ATJ 42:1 (NA 2010)
Article: A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
Author: David A. deSilva

ATJ vol 42 p. 61

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

David A. deSilva*

“Apocrypha” and “Pseudepigrapha” are terms used to label a large body of early Jewish and early Christian literature written between the third century BCE and the first centuries of the common era. The Apocrypha (or Deuterocanonical Books) exists as a collection because of the reading practices of early Christians, who placed an especially high value on these texts and often included them in codices of their Scriptures (the Septuagint), and by ongoing canonical debates about the extent of the Old Testament within the Christian Church. Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches include these books as part of the Old Testament; Protestant Christians, following the Jewish canon, do not. Hence, the “Apocrypha” is the overlap.

The Pseudepigrapha is a much broader collection of extra-biblical literature. “Pseudepigrapha” refers technically to texts with a false attribution of authorship, though the collection has come to include several anonymous texts as well. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha are of immense value as windows into the development of biblical interpretation, theology, ethics, and liturgy in Early Judaism and Christianity, as well as into the socio-cultural and historical contexts within which these developments occurred.

This article is intended to present a bibliographic guide primarily (though not exclusively) to English-language scholarship on the individual texts within these collections as well as the historical and social context within which they were written, as well as direct readers to major critical editions for original-language study.

1. Historical Context

ATJ vol 42 p. 62

The texts collected in the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha come from a wide historical and geographical span. Many of them are important sources for historical reconstruction of Jewish history during the period. Grabbe (1992) and Davies and Finkelstein (1989) provide comprehensive overviews, with Smallwood (1981) being limited to the Roman Period. Hayes and Mandell (1998) cover the general history of Judea, while Barclay (1996) and Modrzejewski (1995) treat historical issues related to major centers of Diaspora Judaism.

The attempts at Hellenistic Reform in Jerusalem and the backlash of the Maccabean Revolt mark a particularly determinative series of episodes within Second Temple Period history, one to which many of the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha are directly or indirectly related. Harrington (1988) provides a concise overview of the sources and reconstruction. Bickerman (1979), Tcherikover (1959), and Hengel (1977) offer more detailed studies with sometimes conflicting conclusions.