In the summer of 2016 I began a long series on the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. I made about 75 points from May 18 through September 6 (when my fall teaching responsibilities required most of my attention). As it turned out, I only managed to post on the Enoch literature, the Sibylline Oracles, Fourth Ezra and 2 Baruch, and short posts on Treatise of Shem, The Apocryphon of Ezekiel, and Apocalypse of Zephaniah.
My original motivation for the series was preparation for teaching an intertestamental literature class in Spring 2017. I enjoyed teaching the class and I think most of the students liked the class and learned a great deal about the literature of the Second Temple Period. Evangelicals tend to shy away from this material, but I think it is essential to have a firm grasp on what was in the air in the Second Temple period in order to understand the New Testament, especially as more scholars recognized the apocalyptic nature of both Jesus and Paul.
Another benefit of an open publication like this blog is the feedback I get from readers. There were a number of comments which interacted with what I had posted and often gave me new insights or links to other material to supplement my posts. Most of the posts in the original series still generate hits every day, so I hope people are finding some value in this series.
I plan to pick up this series again, beginning with 3 (Greek Apocalypse of) Baruch. I will finish off the apocalypses as they appear in Charlesworth and then move on the Testament literature. If you missed the series last summer, here is an index for the previous posts on the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha.
Introduction
1 Enoch
- Translations of 1 Enoch
- Reading 1 Enoch in Ethiopic
- When was 1 Enoch Written?
- Enoch and the Essene Hypothesis
- The Book of Watchers – 1 Enoch 1-5
- The Fallen Angels – 1 Enoch 6-8
- The Archangels Render Justice -1 Enoch 9-11
- Enoch Pleads with the Watchers – 1 Enoch 12-16
- Enoch’s Heavenly Journey – 1 Enoch 17-36
- Dating the Similitudes – 1 Enoch 37-71
- The Book of Parables – 1 Enoch 37-44
- The Second Parable – 1 Enoch 45-49
- The Second Parable – 1 Enoch 50-52
- A Final Judgment– 1 Enoch 53-57
- The Third Parable – 1 Enoch 58-63
- The Third Parable – 1 Enoch 64-71
- The Parables of 1 Enoch and the New Testament
- The Book of the Heavenly Luminaries – 1 Enoch 72-82
- The Dream Visions – 1 Enoch 82-83
- The Animal Apocalypse, Part 1 – 1 Enoch 85-90
- The Animal Apocalypse, Part 2 – 1 Enoch 85-90
- The Epistle of Enoch – 1 Enoch 99-105
2 Enoch
- What is 2 Enoch?
- Enoch’s Journey through the Heavens – 2 Enoch 1-22
- Enoch and the Mysteries of God – 2 Enoch 23-37
- 2 Enoch and the Sermon on the Mount – 2 Enoch 38-63
- Enoch and the Birth of Melchizedek – 2 Enoch 64-73
3 Enoch
Sibylline Oracles
- Introduction to the Sibylline Literature
- Dating the Sibylline Oracles, Books 1-3
- Dating the Sibylline Oracles, Books 4-7
- Dating the Sibylline Oracles, Books 8-14
- Seven Generations of the World – Sibylline Oracles 1.1-323
- The Christian Interpolation – Sibylline Oracle, Book 1.324-400
- The Tenth Generation – Sibylline Oracles, Book 2.1-55
- An Extract from Pseudo-Phocylides – Sibylline Oracles, Book 2.56-148
- Sibylline Oracles, Book 3
- Kingdoms of the World – Sibylline Oracles Book 3.1-294
- Oracles against the Nations – Sibylline Oracles Book 3.295-488
- Prophecies of Disaster – Sibylline Book 3.489-544
- In the Tenth Generation – Sibylline Oracles, Book 4
- A Star Will Shine – Sibylline Oracles Book 5.1-154
- The Burning Sun among the Stars – Sibylline Oracles Book 5.155-531
- Christian or Gnostic? – Sibylline Oracles, Book 7
- Nero Redivivus – Sibylline Oracles, Book 8.1-216
- Christological Poems – Sibylline Oracles, Book 8.217-500
- A History of the World – Sibylline Oracles, Book 11
- Roman Emperors – Sibylline Oracles, Book 12
The Treatise of Shem
The Apocryphon of Ezekiel, Fragment 1
The Apocryphon of Ezekiel, Fragments 2-5
What is the Apocalypse of Zephaniah?
Fourth Ezra
- A Christian Introduction to 4 Ezra
- Ezra’s First Vision – 4 Ezra 3:1-5:20
- Ezra’s Second Vision – 4 Ezra 5:21-6:34
- Ezra’s Third Vision – 4 Ezra 6:35-9:25
- Ezra’s Fifth Vision – 4 Ezra 11:1-12:51 (The Eagle Vision)
- Ezra’s Sixth Vision – 4 Ezra 13:1-58 (The Man from the Sea)
- Ezra’s Seventh Vision – 4 Ezra 14:1-48
- The New Testament and 4 Ezra
2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch
- 2 Baruch and the Fall of Jerusalem
- A Vision on Zion – 2 Baruch 13-21
- The Anointed One Will Appear – 2 Baruch 22-34
- The Consolation of Zion – 2 Baruch 35-44
- Zeal for the Lord and the Anointed One – 2 Baruch and the Law
- The Messianic Age – 2 Baruch 48-51
- A Vision of Many Waters – 2 Baruch 52-73
- Eternal Peace – 2 Baruch 73-76
I just received the JPS three volume Outside the Bible set (2013) to peruse which expands upon the above set (which I have) by over 1000 pages. It comes with a hefty price tag, but it’s a top quality production in terms of printing, paper and binding. The translations are from already published sources such as the one above, but features expanded introductions and commentaries on all the Second Temple Materials, including key documents from the Dead Sea Scrolls by the leading scholars in the field.
I’m not sure if I’ll be keeping it, but for any serious student of the period and literature, if you can scrape together the cash, and have reinforced shelving, then this is the set to consider.
https://jps.org/books/outside-the-bible-3-volume-set/
Another great suggestion which seems designed to bankrupt me (only $261 on Amazon!) I have several standard collections of the OTP and DSS, and quite a bit of the rabbinic literature – but yes I lust after than set.