Apocrypha

Apocrypha - əpŏkˈrĭfə [Gr.,=hidden things], term signifying a collection of early Jewish writings excluded from the canon of the Hebrew scriptures. It is not clear why the term was chosen. The Apocrypha include the following books and parts of books: First and Second Esdras; Tobit; Judith; the Additions to Esther; Wisdom of Solomon; Read More...

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Apocrypha

1.

The Story of the Apocrypha
by Edgar J. Goodspeed. 150 pgs.

Book

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Title Page

Introduction

Contents

Chapter I: The Apocrypha In the Bible

Chapter II: The Book of Tobit

Chapter III: Ecclesiasticus, Or the Wisdom of Sirach

Chapter IV: The Song of the Three Children

Chapter V: The First Book of Esdras

Chapter VI: The Book of Judith

Chapter VII: The Prayer of Manasseh

Chapter VIII: The Enlarged Edition of the Book of Esther

Chapter IX: The Story of Susanna

Chapter X: Bel and the Dragon

Chapter XI: The First Book of Maccabees

Chapter XII: The Second Book of Maccabees

Chapter XIII: The Wisdom of Solomon

Chapter XIV: The Book of Baruch

Chapter XV: The Letter of Jeremiah

Chapter XVI: The Second Book of Esdras

Chapter XVII: The Apocrypha In the New Testament

Chapter XVIII: The Apocrypha In the Christian Church

Chronological Survey

Bibliography

Index
2.

Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It into the New Testament
by Bart D. Ehrman. 342 pgs.

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We may think of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament as the only sacred writings of the early Christians, but this is not at all the case. Lost Scriptures offers an anthology of up-to-date and readable translations of many non-canonical writings from the first centuries after Christ--texts that have been for the most part lost or neglected for almost two millennia. Here is an array of remarkably varied writings from early Christian groups whose visions of Jesus differ dramatically from our contemporary understanding. Readers will find Gospels supposedly authored by the apostle Philip, James the brother of Jesus, Mary Magdalen, and others. There are Acts originally ascribed to John and to Thecla, Paul's female companion; there are Epistles allegedly written by Paul to the Roman philosopher Seneca. And there is an apocalypse by Simon Peter that offers a guided tour of the afterlife, both the glorious ecstasies of the saints and the horrendous torments of the damned, and an Epistle by Titus, a companion of Paul, which argues page after page against sexual love, even within marriage, on the grounds that physical intimacy leads to damnation. In all, the anthology includes fifteen Gospels, five non-canonical Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles, a number of Apocalypes and Secret Books, and several Canon lists. Ehrman has included a general introduction, plus brief introductions to each piece. Lost Scriptures gives readers a vivid picture of the range of beliefs that battled each other in the first centuries of the Christian era. It is an essential resource for anyone interested in the Bible or the early Church.

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Contents

General Introduction

Non-Canonical Gospels

The Gospel of the Nazareans

The Gospel of the Ebionites

The Gospel According to the Hebrews

The Gospel of the Egyptians

The Coptic Gospel of Thomas

Papyrus Egerton 2: the Unknown Gospel

The Gospel of Peter

The Gospel of Mary

The Gospel of Philip

The Gospel of Truth

The Gospel of the Savior

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas

The Proto-Gospel of James

The Epistle of the Apostles

The Coptic Apocalypse of Peter

The Second Treatise of the Great Seth

The Secret Gospel of Mark

Non-Canonical Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of John

The Acts of Paul

The Acts of Thecla

The Acts of Thomas

The Acts of Peter

Non-Canonical Epistles and Related Writings

The Third Letter to the Corinthians

The Correspondence Between Paul and Seneca

Paul's Letter to the Laodiceans

The Letter of 1 Clement

The Letter of 2 Clement

The “letter of Peter to James” and Its “reception”

The Homilies of Clement

Ptolemy's Letter to Flora

The Treatise on the Resurrection

The Didache

The Letter of Barnabas

The Preaching of Peter

Pseudo-Titus

Non-Canonical Apocalypses and Revelatory Treatises

The Shepherdof Hermas

The Apocalypse of Peter

The Apocalypse of Paul

The Secret Book of John

On the Origin of the World

The First Thought in Three Forms

The Hymn of the Pearl

Canonical Lists

The Muratorian Canon

The Canon of Origen of Alexandria

The Canon of Eusebius

The Canon of Athanasius of Alexandria

The Canon of the Third Synod of Carthage
3.

The Apocryphal Old Testament
by H. F. D. Sparks. 990 pgs.

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Title Page

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations and Symbols

Jubilees

Prologue

The Life of Adam and Eve

Appendix: Eve's Account of the Fall from the Apocalypse of Moses XV-Xxx

1: Enoch

2: Enoch

The Apocalypse of Abraham

The Testament of Abraham

The Testament of Isaac

The Testament of Jacob

The Ladder of Jacob

Joseph and Aseneth

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

The Assumption of Moses

The Testament of Job

The Psalms of Solomon

The Odes of Solomon

The Testament of Solomon

The Apocalypse of Elijah

The Ascension of Isaiah

The Paraleipomena of Jeremiah

The Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch

The Greek Apocalypse of Baruch

The Apocalypse of Zephaniah and an Anonymous Apocalypse

The Apocalypse of Esdras

The Vision of Esdras

Bibliography

The Apocalypse of Sedrach

Bibliography

Index of Scriptural References

Index of Ancient Authors and Works

Index of Modern Authors

Index of Subjects
4.

Sixth Ezra: The Text and Origin
by Theodore A. Bergren. 284 pgs.

Book

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6 Ezra is a short oracular writing that is included in the biblical Apocrypha as the final two chapters (15-16) of Ezra, or 2 Esdras. Cast as the words of God mediated through an unnamed prophet, the main part of the work sets forth predictions of impending doom for the world. _ There has never been a major study of 6 Ezra or even a complete critical edition of the book, and indeed little has been written about it since the nineteenth century. This book is designed to fill that gap, offering a detailed analysis of the text itself, and addressing the questions of its social setting, provenance, date, religious affiliation, and recensional situation of the text. It will serve to make this important text accessible to a wider audience, while laying the foundations for its further study.

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Title Page

Preface

Acknowledgments

Contents

Abbreviations

One Introduction and Summary of Results

Two Evidence for the Text of 6 Ezra

Three Reconstructing the Two Recensions

Conclusion

Four the Relationship Between the Two Recensions

Conclusions

Five Vocabulary

Six the Religious Affiliation of the Author

Seven Date

Notes

Appendix 1 the Text of 6 Ezra: Parallel Alignment of the French and Spanish Recensions, with All Textual Witnesses

Appendix 2 6 Ezra: an Eclectic Latin Text

Appendix3 6 Ezra: Translation

Appendix 4 Textual Relationships Between the Manuscripts of 4, 5, and 6 Ezra

Appendix 5 Index of Words in Latin Witnesses to the Text of 6 Ezra

Appendix 6 Index of Greek Words in Oxyrhynchus Fragment 1010

Bibliography

Index of Passages

Index of Names and Terms
5.

The Apocryphal Apocalypse: The Reception of the Second Book of Esdras (4 Ezra) from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment
by Alastair Hamilton. 398 pgs.

Book

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This is the first study of the reception of the apocryphal Second Book of Esdras (4 Ezra) from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. Professor Hamilton discusses the concepts of biblical apocrypha and canonicity in connection with the increasingly critical attitude to religious authority which developed with the humanists and intensified with the Reformation. The Book owed its initial success to Hebraists such as Pico della Mirandola and Bibliander. It was used to account for the origins of Jewish Kabbalah and to prophesy political and religious events: the fall of the Ottoman empire, or the destruction of the papacy. Anabaptists, dissident Protestants of various persuasions, Rosicrucians and Paracelsians consulted it not only as a work of prophecy but, it is argued, as an emblem of dissent, rejected by the official Churches. At the same time more sober scholars, both Protestants and Catholics, scrutinized 2 Esdras with greater objectivity, endeavouring to date it correctly and establish its authorship. This study also investigates the interaction between their views and those of the Book's enthusiastic supporters.

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Title Page

Oxford-Warburg Studies

Acknowledgements

Contents

Abbreviations

Introduction

1: From the Church Fathers to the Renaissance

2: Prophecy and Kabbalism

3: Official Attitudes

4: Catholic Responses

5: The Radical Solution: The Anabaptists

6: A Broad Tradition of Dissent

7: Rosicrucians, New Prophets and the Thirty Years War

8: Chiliastic Mysticism and Radical Pietism

9: Of Monsters, Indians and Jews

10: Controversialists and Scholars

11: England and the Arabic Version

12: The Aftermath

Conclusion

Appendix 2 Esdras (from the Authorized Version of the Bible)

Bibliography

General Index

Scriptural Index
6.

The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation
by J. K. Elliott. 752 pgs.

Book

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This collection of apocryphal texts supersedes the best-selling edition by M.R. James, which was originally published in 1924, but regularly reprinted. Several new texts have come to light since 1924 and the textual base for some of the apocrypha previously translated by James is now more secure, as in several cases there are now recently published critical editions available. Although a modest addition to James's edition was made in 1953 no thorough revision has previously been undertaken. In this volume, J.K. Elliott presents new translations of the texts and has provided each of them with a short introduction and bibliography directed to those who wish to pursue further the issues raised in the texts or to consult the critical editions, other translations, or general studies. The translations are in modern English, in contrast to James's deliberate imitation of the language of the Authorized Version. The collection is designed to give readers the most important or famous of the Christian apocrypha and a small sample of gnostic texts. Full translations of the earliest texts are printed, as well as some derivative apocrypha.

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Title Page

Contents

Preface

General Bibliography

Lists of Apocryphal Works

I: Apocryphal Gospels

Lost Gospels

Agrapha

Fragments of Gospels on Papyrus

Birth and Infancy Gospels

Gospels of the Ministry and Passion

The Pilate Cycle

II: Apocryphal Acts

Introduction

The Acts of Andrew

The Acts of Andrew and Matthias; the Acts of Peter and Andrew; the Acts of Andrew and Paul

The Acts of John

The Acts of Paul

The Acts of Peter

The Pseudo-Clementine Literature

The Acts of Thomas

Other Apocryphal Acts

III: Apocryphal Epistles

Introduction

Shorter Epistles

The Epistle of the Apostles (Epistula Apostolorum)

IV: Apocryphal Apocalypses

Introduction

The Apocalypse of Peter

The Apocalypse of Paul (Visio Pauli)

The Apocalypse of Thomas

The Questions of Bartholomew

The Letter of James

Other Apocryphal Apocalypses

Appendix

Indexes

2: Index of Subjects and Proper Names
7.

The Apocryphal Jesus: Legends of the Early Church
by J. K. Elliott. 214 pgs.

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Title Page

Contents

Introduction

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING

A: Stories relating to the Period of the New Testament Gospels

1: The Birth of Jesus

2: The Childhood of Jesus

3: Jesus' Parents

4: The Ministry of Jesus

5: The Death and Resurrection of Jesus

6: Pilate

7: Jesus in the Underworld

8: Veronica

9: Zacharias

B: Stories relating to the Growth of the Church

10: Peter

11: Paul

12: John

13: Thomas

14: Andrew

C: Stories relating to Life after Death

15: Heaven and Hell

16: The End Time

Epilogue

Indexes
8.

A New Commentary on Holy Scripture: Including the Apocrypha
by Charles Gore, Henry Leighton Goudge, Alfred Guillaume. 746 pgs.

Book

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Title Page

Preface

List of Contributors

List of Abbreviations

Part I the Old Testament

Contents

The Bible in the Church

The Function of Literary and Historical Criticism

Introduction to the Criticism of the Pentateuch

Genesis

Genesis

Exodus

Genesis

Genesis

Genesis

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy

The History of Israel

Advice to the Ordinary Reader of the Historical Books

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

I. and Ii. Samuel

I. and Ii. Kings

I and Ii. Chronicles

I and Ii. Chronicles

I and Ii. Chronicles

I and Ii. Chronicles

I and Ii. Chronicles

I and Ii. Chronicles

I and Ii. Chronicles

Job

The Psalms

Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher

Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher

The Song of Solomon (canticles)

The Prophets of Israel

Isaiah (i.-Xxxix.)

Isaiah (i.-Xxxix.)

Isaiah (i.-Xxxix.)

Isaiah (i.-Xxxix.)

Jeremiah

Isaiah (i.-Xxxix.)

Isaiah (i.-Xxxix.)

Isaiah (i.-Xxxix.)

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Joel

Amos

Joel

Jonah

Micah

Micah

Micah

Bibliography

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

Text and Versions (old Testament) by L. Elliott Binns

Sacrifice and Priesthood in the Old Testament

A Comparative Study of the Old Testament in the Light of Recent Anthropological and ArchÆological Research

Bibliography

The Mystical Interpretation of the Old Testament

Part II the Apocrypha

Contents

Environment Social, Political, Intellectual, and Religious, of Israel from Maccabees to Our Lord

I. Esdras

Ii. (iv.) Esdras

Tobit

Judith

The Rest of the Chapters of the Book of Esther

The Wisdom of Solomon

The Wisdom of Solomon

The Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus

Baruch

The Epistle of Jeremy by H. St. J. Thackeray

Additions to the Book Daniel by N. D. Coleman

The Prayer of Manasses

The Epistle of Jeremy by H. St. J. Thackeray

The Epistle of Jeremy by H. St. J. Thackeray

Part III the New Testament

Contents

The New Testament

The Religious Background of the New Testament in Jewish Thought

The Religious Background of the New Testament in Jewish Thought

The Gentile Background of Early Christianity

The Synoptic Problem

The Gospel According to St. Matthew

General Introduction

General Introduction

The Gospel According to St. Luke

The Gospel According to St. John

The Teaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ with an Outline of His Life

The Knowledge of Christ Incarnate

The Evidence of the Resurrection

The Evidence of the Resurrection

The Evidence of the Resurrection

The Acts of the Apostles

The New Testament and the Catholic Creeds by Charles Harris

The Constitution of the Church in the New Testament

Sacraments in the New Testament

The New Testament and the Catholic Creeds by Charles Harris

The New Testament and the Catholic Creeds by Charles Harris

The New Testament and the Catholic Creeds by Charles Harris

I. Corinthians

Bibliography

Ii. Corinthians

Galatians

Bibliography

The Epistle to the Ephesians

Bibliography

Philippians

Colossians and Philemon

Bibliography

I. and Ii. Thessalonians

The Pastoral Epistles

The Pastoral Epistles

The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Epistle of St. James

Bibliography

The First Epistle of St. Peter

Bibliography

The Second Epistle of St. Peter

Bibliography

The Johannine Epistles

The Epistle of St. Jude

Appendix

Bibliography for Jude and 2 Peter

The Revelation of St. John the Divine

The Sacred Sites of the Gospels

The Textual Criticism of the New Testament

Bibliography

The Chronology of the New Testament

Select Subject Index
9.

Who's Who in the Old Testament: Together with the Apocrypha
by Joan Comay. 398 pgs.

Book

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The Routledge Who's Who: The Old Testament brings vividly to life the thousands of characters in the Old Testament, and provides:bull; nearly 3000 extensive entries covering every characterbull; detailed biographical information on each character, including exactly where to find them in the Biblebull; the complete historical, geographical and archaeological context of each entrybull; a comprehensive chronology of the timesbull; a section on the Apocrypha - the collection of works that bridges the gap between the Old and New Testaments.

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Title Page

Contents

Author's Preface

Introduction to the Old Testament

Chronology

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

H (Cont.)

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

Z

The Apocrypha

Introduction to the Apocrypha

Who's Who in the Old Testament
10.

Lost Christianities: The Battle for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew
by Bart D. Ehrman. 294 pgs.

Book

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The early Christian Church was a chaos of contending beliefs. Some groups of Christians claimed that there was not one God but two or twelve or thirty. Some believed that the world had not been created by God but by a lesser, ignorant deity. Certain sects maintained that Jesus was human but not divine, while others said he was divine but not human. In Lost Christianities, Bart D. Ehrman offers a fascinating look at these early forms of Christianity and shows how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. All of these groups insisted that they upheld the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, and they all possessed writings that bore out their claims, books reputedly produced by Jesus's own followers. Modern archaeological work has recovered a number of key texts, and as Ehrman shows, these spectacular discoveries reveal religious diversity that says much about the ways in which history gets written by the winners. Ehrman's discussion ranges from considerations of various "lost scriptures"--including forged gospels supposedly written by Simon Peter, Jesus's closest disciple, and Judas Thomas, Jesus's alleged twin brother--to the disparate beliefs of such groups as the Jewish-Christian Ebionites, the anti-Jewish Marcionites, and various "Gnostic" sects. Ehrman examines in depth the battles that raged between "proto-orthodox Christians"-- those who eventually compiled the canonical books of the New Testament and standardized Christian belief--and the groups they denounced as heretics and ultimately overcame. Scrupulously researched and lucidly written, Lost Christianities is an eye-opening account of politics, power, and the clash of ideas among Christians in the decades before one group came to see its views prevail.

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Title Page

Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew

Contents

Preface

Major Christian Apocrypha Discussed Date and Contents: (Arranged Alphabetically, by Genre)

Lost Christianities

Introduction: Recouping Our Losses

Part One: Forgeries and Discoveries

Chapter One: The Ancient Discovery of a Forgery: Serapion and Thel Gospel of Peter

Chapter Two: The Ancient Forgery of a Discovery: the Acts of Paul and Thecla

Chapter Three: The Discovery of an Ancient Forgery: the Coptic Gospel of Thomas

Chapter Four: The Forgery of an Ancient Discovery? Morton Smith and the Secret Gospel of Mark

Part Two: Heresies and Orthodoniex

Chapter Five: At Polar Ends of the Spectrum: Early Christian Ebionites and Marcionites

Chapter Six: Christians “in the Know”: the Worlds of Early Christian Gnosticism

Chapter Seven: On the Road to Nicaea: the Broad Swath of Proto-Orthodox Christianity

Part Three: Winners and Losers

Chapter Eight: The Quest for Orthodoxy

Chapter Nine: The Arsenal of the Conflicts: Polemical Treatises and Personal Slurs

Chapter Ten: Additional Weapons in the Polemical Arsenal: Forgeries and Falsifications

Chapter Eleven: The Invention of Scripture: the Formation of the Proto-Orthodox New Testament

Chapter Twelve: Winners, Losers, and the Question of Tolerance

Notes

Bibliography

Index
11.

Judaism in the Greek Period, from the Rise of Alexander the Great to the Intervention of Rome (333-63 B.C.)
by G. H. Box. 256 pgs.

Book

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Title Page

Editor's Preface

Author's Preface

Contents

List of Illustrations

I: The Pre-Maccabean Greek Period (333-168 B.C.)

Introduction: Historical Background of the Nearer East from the Fourth to the First Century B.C.

II: The Maccabean Epoch

Introduction and Notes to Selected Passages

Alexander the Great

Notes on 1 Maccabees I. 1-9

B: A Modern View of the Book of Habakkuk

Notes on the Text

C: Other Possible Jewish Literature of Alexander's Age

Notes

Notes on Zechariah 9-14

Notes

Notes

D: The Wisdom School and Its Literature

Notes on Selected Passages

Notes on Selected Passages

Notes on Selected Passages

Notes on Sected Passages

Notes on Selected Passages

E: Some Psalms of the Greek Period

F. the Rise of Apocalyptic and the Book of Daniel

H. I and II Maccabees

I: The Book of Esther

J: The Psalms of Solomon

Additional Note III: Alexander the Great in Jewish Legend

Additional Note IV: Greek and Latin Names among the Jews

Additional Note V: Sun Worship in the Temple

Additional Note VI: Additional Note VI the Languages of Palestine in the Greek Period

Appendix A: Short Bibliography

Index

The Old Testament
12.

The Book of Daniel and the Apocryphal Daniel Literature
by Lorenzo Ditommaso. 548 pgs.

Book

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Title Page

Contents

Tables

Preface

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Chapter One: : The Apocryphal Daniel Literature: Parameters of the Study

Chapter Two: The Story of Daniel in the Book of Daniel and in the Daniel Legenda

Chapter Three: The Apocryphal Daniel Apocalypses

Chapter Four: The Daniel Prognostica

Chapter Five: General Observations and Conclusions

Indexes

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