The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments

1048 Pages·1983·38.13 MB·English

by  James H. Charlesworth

THE OLD TESTAMENT PSEUDEPIGRAPHA

THE OLD TESTAMENT
PSEUDEPIGRAPHA
VOLUME 1
Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments
EDITED BY
JAMES H. CHARLES WORTH,
DUKE UNIVERSITY
DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC.
GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK
The publisher gratefully acknowledges permission to use the following: An extract
from Josephus' Antiquities from The Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University
Press, publisher, in "The Testament of Solomon," translated by Dennis C. Duling.
Quotation from Hermetica, vol. 4, translated by W. Scott and A. S. Ferguson,
1936, in "The Testament of Solomon," translated by Dennis C. Duling. Used by
permission of Oxford University Press.
Quotations from Archi'v orientdlni by C. H. Gordon, vol. 6, 1934, in "The Testament
of Solomon," translated by Dennis C. Duling.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:
ISBN: 0-385-09630-5
Copyright © 1983 by James H. Charlesworth
All Rights Reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Designed by Joseph P. Ascherl
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Old Testament pseudepigrapha.
Bibliography: p.
Includes indexes.
1. Apocryphal books (Old Testament)—Criticism,
interpretation, etc. I. Charlesworth, James H.
BS1830.A3 1983 229 80-2443
ISBN 0-385-09630-5 (v. 1)
ISBN 0-385-18813-7 (v. 2)
Dedicated to my family
—Jerrie, Michelle, Eve, and James—
to other families supporting our
common labors,
and to families who read these
documents.
CONTENTS
Foreword George W. MacRae, SJ. ix
Foreword for Christians James T. Cleland x
Foreword for Jews Samuel Sandmel xi
Editor's Preface James H. Charlesworth xv
Board of Advisors xviii
Contributors xviii
Introduction for the General Reader James H. Charlesworth xxi
Explanation of Typographical and Reference Systems xxxv
List of Abbreviations xxxvii
DOCUMENTS
APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE AND RELATED WORKS
Introduction J. H. Charlesworth 3
1 (Ethiopic Apocalypse of) Enoch (Second Century B.C.-
First Century A.D.) E. Isaac 5
2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch (Late First Century A.D.)
with Appendix: 2 Enoch in Merilo Pravednoe F. /. Andersen 91
3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of) Enoch (Fifth to Sixth Century A.D.)
P. Alexander 223
Sibylline Oracles (Second Century B.c.-Seventh Century A.D.)
J. J. Collins 317
Treatise of Shem (First Century B.C.) J. //. Charlesworth 473
Apocryphon of Ezekiel (First Century B.c.-First Century A.D.)
J. R. Mueller and S. E. Robinson 487
Apocalypse of Zephaniah (First Century B.c.-First Century A.D.)
0. S. Wintermute 497
The Fourth Book of Ezra (Late First Century A.D.) fi. M. Metzger 517
Greek Apocalypse of Ezra (Second to Ninth Century A.D.)
M. E. Stone 561
Vision of Ezra (Fourth to Seventh Century A.D.)
7. R. Mueller and G. A. Robbins 581
Questions of Ezra (Date Unknown) M. E. Stone 591
Revelation of Ezra (prior to Ninth Century A.D.) D. A. Fiensy 601
Apocalypse of Sedrach (Second to Fifth Century A.D.) S. Agourides 605
2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch (early Second Century A.D.)
A. F. 7. Klijn 615
3 (Greek Apocalypse of) Baruch (First to Third Century A.D.)
H. E. Gaylord, Jr. 653
Apocalypse of Abraham (First to Second Century A.D.)
R. Rubinkiewicz 681
Apocalypse of Adam (First to Fourth Century A.D.) G. MacRae 707
Apocalypse of Elijah (First to Fourth Century A.D.)
0. S. Wintermute 721
Apocalypse of Daniel (Ninth Century A.D.) G. T. Zervos 755
TESTAMENTS (OFTEN WITH APOCALYPTIC SECTIONS)
Introduction J. H. Charlesworth 113
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (Second Century B.C.)
H. C. Kee 775
Testament of Job (First Century B.C.-First Century A.D.)
R. P. Spinier 829
Testaments of the Three Patriarchs
Introduction E. P. Sanders 869
Testament of Abraham (First to Second Century A.D.)
E. P. Sanders 871
Testament of Isaac (Second Century A.D.) W. F. Stinespring 903
Testament of Jacob (Second to Third Century A.D.?)
W. F. Stinespring 913
Testament of Moses (First Century A.D.) J. Priest 919
Testament of Solomon (First to Third Century A.D.) D. C. Duling 935
Testament of Adam (Second to Fifth Century A.D.) S. E. Robinson 989

FOREWORD
GEORGE W. MACRAE, S.J.
The ancient Jewish and Jewish-Christian documents that are here called Pseu-
depigrapha have in their long history been both problematic and promising in both
Jewish and Christian communities. It is heartening to observe that the very
publication of this new collection testifies more to their promise than to their
problems. An ancient witness to both problem and promise can be found within
two late books of the New Testament itself. The Epistle of Jude, in its strong
antiheretical polemic, refers at least twice to the language of the book we call
1 Enoch and in a third instance quotes it in an authoritative manner as prophetic.
It also refers to a legend about the body of Moses known to us in the book called
the Assumption of Moses. The Second Epistle of Peter, generally regarded as the
latest of the New Testament books, incorporates much of Jude into its second
chapter, but it is very careful to excise all of the allusions to the Pseudepigrapha.
The problem to which this situation points is that of the canonical status of the
Pseudepigrapha in early Christianity—and the consequent propriety or impropriety
of citing them in public documents. Clearly the authors of Jude and 2 Peter reflect
different views. This problem persisted for centuries in the Church and can further
be seen in the reluctance of some churches to accept Jude into the New Testament
because of its controversial sources. In the synagogue the problem did not persist
so long, and the decision was clearly against the Pseudepigrapha.
The promise to which the episode of Jude and 2 Peter points is the value of
studying the Pseudepigrapha for a better understanding of prerabbinic Judaism and
of the religious matrix of Christianity. Whatever canonical decisions were taken
by the official leadership, it is clear that in popular religious circles, especially
Christian ones, this literature continued to be prominent and to influence thought
and piety.
The most recent decades have seen an astonishing rebirth of scholarly interest
in the Pseudepigrapha, and these volumes are an excellent guide to much of it.
The renewed interest has been and continues to be stimulated in part by new
manuscript discoveries. One thinks of the Dead Sea Scrolls among others. These
have provided access to much more extensive knowledge of Judaism in the period
immediately following the Old Testament. But perhaps even more important than
such a largely accidental factor as manuscript discoveries has been the ever
increasing acceptance of historical-critical method on the part of students of the
Bible at all levels. To study the Bible by this method involves knowing as much
as one can about the biblical world in all of its facets. And this of course includes
knowing the Jewish and Christian religious literature that ultimately did not become