New Testament Apocrypha

Davila, James R. and Richard Bauckham, eds. Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 2: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2025. ix+694 pp. Hb; $89.99.   Link to Eerdmans

Eerdmans published volume one of Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures (MOTP) in 2013. After a twelve-year wait, volume two of this important expansion of the original Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (1983, edited by James Charlesworth) adds another twenty-three texts to the collection. This valuable collection expands scholarship’s database of Jewish and Christian texts beyond the canonical Hebrew Bible and the Apocrypha to shed light on the history and culture of the Second Temple period.

In the introduction to this new volume, James Davila observes that Old Testament Pseudepigrapha is a modern coinage for a “grab bag of ancient texts” that claim to be written by Old Testament figures. Like many such words in scholarship, “The term has stuck, and so far, no one has come up with a better one” (p. 1). This volume arranges texts in traditional biblical chronology so that pseudepigraphs concerning characters in Genesis are first, then Daniel, Ezra, etc. Three “thematic” texts in this collection do not fit the chronological arrangement (Justinus’s Book of Baruch, The Fifteen Signs before Judgment, and “Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Known Only by Title”).

MOTP follows the same pattern as the original Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (OTP). Each chapter begins with a detailed introduction, including a brief overview of the pseudepigraph, manuscript, and publication history, versions, and previous translations. Depending on the nature of the work, the author includes literary style and context, a theological overview (important for the Manichean texts, which require some historical orientation), and an extensive bibliography. Following the introduction, the author provides a new translation with notes. As in the original OTP, these notes are letters that restart each page. Marginal notes on the text suggest parallels to canonical texts or other similar literature. For example, in The Book of the Mysteries (Sefer Ha-Razim), Davila suggests parallels to PGM (the standard collection of Greek Magical Papyri). Following the translation, many of the contributions include commentary on the text.

It is unnecessary to summarize every chapter of the collection in this review, so I will comment on a few highlights. In “No Longer ‘Slavonic Only’: 2 Enoch Attested in Coptic from Nubia,” Joost L. Hagen tells a fascinating story of his discovery of a few Coptic fragments of Slavonic 2 Enoch. The Egypt Exploration Society discovered the four fragments at Qasr Ibrim in Egyptian Nubia, now an island in Lake Nassar. [Here is Davila’s original blog post from 2009 on the discovery.] Originally published by J. M Plumley in 1972 (but not recognized as Coptic 2 Enoch), the fragments date to the eighth to tenth centuries. Hagen explains his initial encounter with the fragments. After realizing they represent a Coptic 2 Enoch 36:3-42:3, he presented his findings at the Enoch Seminar in 2009. This is the first publication of an English translation of the Coptic Fragments. Hagen argues these fragments are from a shorter recension of 2 Enoch. His translation of Coptic 2 Enoch 36:3-42:3 is about one page (with many lacunae), but his commentary on the text is nearly ten pages.

A significant section of MOTP volume 2 is dedicated to The Book of Giants. In his twenty-page introduction to the Book of the Giants, James Davila surveys the literature included in MOTB 2. He provides an excellent introduction to the “rich mythology of Giants in the Hebrew Bible,” which continues into the Second Temple period (Book of the Watchers, scattered references in canonical Hebrew Bible and other Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha). This introduction includes a “tentative reconstruction of the Book of the Giants” using both the Aramaic and Manichean evidence.

Loren T. Stuckenbruck contributes a chapter on The Aramaic Book of Giants from Qumran. He previously published The Book of Giants from Qumran: Texts, Translation, and Commentary (Mohr Siebeck, 1997). The Aramaic Book of Giants was first published by Josef Milik as early as the 1950s. There are nine or ten extremely fragmentary copies (mostly from Cave 4). Stuckenbruck presents the fragments in numerical order. Since it is almost impossible to read this material, Stuckenbruck also outlines the plot based on the fragments and comparison with the Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 6-11, see this post).

In addition to this well-known text from Qumran, MOTP includes the Iranian Manichean version of the Book of the Giants (preserved in Persian, Parthian, and Sogdian, translated by Prods Oktor Skjærvø) and the Old Turkic (Uyghur) version of The Manichean Book of Giants (translated by Peter Zieme). The Book of the Giants was a canonical text for the Manicheans, who flourished in northeast China (Xinjiang, once called Chinese Turkestan). These fragments were discovered in the early twentieth century (before the Aramaic Book of the Giants). The translations in MOTP are the first attempt to organize and translate the fragments for an English-speaking audience. Skjærvø observes that both the Aramaic and Manichean Book of the Giants appear related to the Book of the Watches (1 Enoch 6-11). Still, they also include a “cast of characters taken from ancient Mesopotamian traditions” (p. 91). He provides a helpful analysis of fragments in all three languages (pp. 115-127) and a translation of all available fragments. Zieme published all available fragments of the Old Turkic version in 1975, but since 2000, more fragments have been identified. Although Zieme does not provide a summary of the Old Turkic version, he does describe each fragment and provide a new translation and commentary.

Since neither book is extant today, Richard Bauckham collects references to the books of the Assumption of Moses and the Testament of Moses (299-321). Why is this important? The canonical book of Jude says that the archangel Michael did not slander Satan when they had a dispute over the bones of Moses. Since this does not appear in the canonical Old Testament, early Christian writers thought he was referring to these two now-lost books.  Bauckham says this collection is the largest ever assembled. He divides the quotations of Christian writers into several categories and provides full translations of each. Bauckham argues Jude refers to the Testament of Moses and that the Assumption of Moses was not written until the second century A.D.

There are three Daniel-related pseudepigraphs in this collection. Lorenzo DiTommaso contributes an introduction and translation of Somniale Danielis and Lunationes Danielis. Both are examples of medieval oneiromancy, the interpretation of dreams, claiming to have been written by Daniel (famous for dream interpretations in the canonical book). Somniale Danielis was written in Greek in the fourth or fifth century, and Latin translations were popular until the sixteenth century. DiTommaso says there are 229 manuscripts, with 163 in Latin. DiTommaso states that this manuscript evidence rules out a late antique Jewish origin (not to mention medieval rabbinic rulings against divination). The rest are in a wide range of languages (including nine in Welsh, and single copies in Czech, Icelandic, and Irish). Somniale Danielis is a list of 302 dream subjects in alphabetical order. For example, dreaming about a fig tree means you will have strife with troublesome people (line 112), if you “handle lard” in a dream, it means your parents will die (line 157), to dream of pigs signifies illness (line 210), but to see a rose signifies health (line 218). Lunationes Danielis is an example of a lunary, a list of what days of the month are good for certain activities (and what is to be avoided on certain days). Most days predict something about a child born on a specific day. For example, the boy born on the eighteenth day of the month will be unconquerable. The boy born on the twenty-third day will be popular.

Matthias Henze translates the little-known Syriac Apocalypse of Daniel. This text is only known from two manuscripts. The first (Harvard MS Syr 4) is mainly devoted to the writings of John of Dalyatha, an eighth-century Syriac mystic. Henze based his translation on this manuscript. The second manuscript was discovered in the Hill Museum library (CF MM 281). Dated 1475, the manuscript was found in the Deir-al-Zafran monastery, southeast of Mardin, Turkey. Henze edited and published this text in 2001. Based on internal evidence, the Syriac Apocalypse of Daniel was written in the middle of the seventh century in western Syria, possibly by a Melkite. Henze admits this is all conjectural and tentative (p. 463). The book’s content is similar to 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch, an apocalyptic vision of the last days.

The first fourteen chapters set the context, and chapters 15-40 contain a vision of apocalyptic disasters drawn from canonical prophets or other apocalyptic texts. Henze provides copious cross-references in the margins. I will mention a few highlights here. First, chapters 22-24 describe the coming of the false messiah (or, antichrist). He will lead the Agogites and Magogites (as in Ezekiel 38, Gog and Magog). There is a list of signs the false messiah will perform. He will attack Jerusalem, and people will think he is the messiah. But an “angel of peace” with the “men of war” will strike down this false messiah. Second, following this angelic battle, there will be a great theophany on Mount Zion, and the Lord Almighty will appear, and the King Messiah will appear and dwell in Zion. Chapters 30-32 clearly connect Jesus to the Messiah. King Messiah’s reign will be a time of natural prosperity (streams of water, bountiful harvests). New Jerusalem will be built (ch. 30), the dead will be raised (chs. 34-36), all nations will stream to Jerusalem for judgment (chs. 37-39) and the righteous will celebrate Passover on Mount Zion (ch. 40). This messianic banquet is the culmination of the gathering of the exiles of Israel in the days of the Messiah, “at the redemption of Israel.”  Other than one reference to Jesus, this apocalypse strikes me as a Jewish text, drawing on canonical Hebrew prophets.

Conclusion. There are many more fascinating pseudepigrapha in this collection. As with Eerdmans’s More New Testament Apocrypha series (see my reviews of volume one, volume two, and volume three), MOTP Volume 2 expands the pool of data available to scholars. There are a few potential problems with the ever-growing collection of texts. First, like the original OTP collection, some of these Jewish texts were preserved by Christians. Any text preserved by Christians may reflect developing Christian theology as much as Second Temple Judaism (or early Judaism). This is especially the case for the Jewish-Christian Manichean Book of the Giants. Second, the texts in this collection are far more fragmentary than the original OTP.  Many of these texts are preserved in only a few manuscripts, which are rarely complete. Third, with each volume, the collection becomes increasingly obscure. The original OTP collected all the primary pseudepigraphic texts (1 Enoch, 2 Baruch, Jubilees, etc.). These newly discovered, edited, and published texts are fascinating, but they did not have the same influence as the original OTP collection.

The caveats aside, More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha is an important contribution to the study of both early Judaism and early Christianity.

NB: Thanks to Eerdmans for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.

Contents of Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 2: More Noncanonical Scriptures:

1. Texts Ordered According to Biblical Chronology
2. Alleged Jewish Pseudepigrapha Cited in the Cologne Mani Codex (John C. Reeves)
3. No Longer “Slavonic” Only: 2 Enoch Attested in Coptic from Nubia (Joost L. Hagen)
4. The Book of Giants: General Introduction (James R. Davila)
5. The Aramaic Book of Giants (Loren T. Stuckenbruck)
6. The Book of Giants: Iranian Manichean Version (Prods Oktor Skjærvø)
7. The Manichean Book of Giants: Old Turkic Version (Peter Zieme)
8. The Book of the Mysteries (Sefer Ha-Razim) (James R. Davila)
9. The Prophecy of the Witch Sibyl (Prophetia Sibyllae magae) or “The Earth Was My Origin” (Mundus origo) (Johannes Magliano-Tromp)
10. The Narration of Joseph (Anders Klostergaard Petersen)
11. An Apocryphon about Aseneth (Richard Bauckham)
12. The Hebrew Testament of Naphtali (Vered Hillel)
13. Fragments of the Assumption of Moses and the Testament of Moses (Richard Bauckham)
14. The Sword of Moses (Ḥarba de-Moshe) (Yuval Harari)
15. The Phylactery of Moses (Roy D. Kotansky)
16. Jannes and Jambres (W. B. Henry and T. M. Erho)
17. A Coptic Exodus Apocryphon (Frederic Krueger)
18. Fragments of Elijah Apocrypha (Richard Bauckham)
19. The Somniale Danielis and the Lunationes Danielis (Lorenzo DiTommaso)
20. The Syriac Apocalypse of Daniel (Matthias Henze)
21. Armenian 4 Ezra (Introduction by Vered Hillel; Translation by Michael E. Stone)
22. Two Pseudo-Philonic Works (Sze-kar Wan)
23. Thematic Texts
24. Justinus’s Book of Baruch (Todd E. Klutz)
25. The Fifteen Signs before Judgment (Brandon W. Hawk)
26. Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Known Only by Title (Liv Ingeborg Lied and Matthew P. Monger)
27. Appendix: Summary of an Additional Manuscript of the Ethiopic Version of Jannes and Jambres

Burke, Tony, ed. New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 3: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2023. 683 pp. Hb; $85.   Link to Eerdmans

In the introduction to the second volume of New Testament Apocrypha, Tony Burke observed that the number of documents called “Christian Apocrypha” is quite high. In 1992, Clavis apocryphorum Novi Testameni listed 346 texts, but there were omissions, and recent discoveries increased that number. This volume includes twenty-nine translations of non-canonical Christian writings with introductions and notes. This series aims to make available overlooked in previous English-language collections.

Before the first volume in this series, the standard collection of noncanonical Christian literature was The New Testament Apocrypha (edited by M. R. James in 1924), which was updated by Wilhelm Schneemelcher, New Testament Apocrypha (Vol. 1: Gospels and Related Writings; Vol. 2: Writings Relating to the Apostles Apocalypses). J. K. Elliot’s New Testament Apocrypha (Oxford, 1993) expanded the collection of Christian Apocrypha. New Testament Apocrypha Volume 3 continues this tradition by collecting texts not already found in these earlier works.

A few of the texts from the projected list at the end of Volume 2 are not included (The Book of the Rooster, The Discovery of John the Baptist’s Head, Dream of Nero, On the Star, and the Vision of Theophilus). In addition, a few of the titles have changed since the projected list was published.

The introduction for each document in the collection begins with a summary of the contents, followed by a list of available manuscripts, versions, and editions. Most introductions have a few paragraphs on the literary and theological importance of the work and comments on the genre, structure, original language, date, and provenance. Some introductions place the document into a historical context or comment on potential literary sources. Finally, each introduction includes translation notes and a bibliography. Marginal notes suggest references to canonical scripture or other Christian Apocrypha.

Burke suggests the “crown jewel in volume 3 is Janet E. Spittler’s translation of Acts of John by Prochorus.” This sixty-page text is presented in English for the first time and is known from 150 Greek manuscripts and translations in Coptic, Arabic, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Old French. Some stories from this text appear in paintings in the Church of John on Patmos, indicating the importance of this apocryphal book to some early Christians. Even though the book was popular and well-attested, it has received far less attention than the Proto-Evangelium of James (for example). Spittler’s thirty-four-page introduction suggests the book was written before AD 630, likely from Antioch rather than Patmos (“the author hasn’t the faintest idea of the size and character of the island”) or Ephesus.

The narrator of Acts of John is Prochorus, one of the deacons (Acts 6:5). When the apostles and deacons cast lots to decide where they will go to evangelize, Prochorus’s lot indicates he will follow John to Ephesus. The text narrates a series of miracles and exorcisms, usually ending in the conversion of a pagan. John wrote the Gospel of John while in exile on the island of Patmos, dictating the book to Prochorus. What is remarkable is the book does not engage current theological debates. Spittler points out there is no emphasis on celibacy or sexual asceticism. In fact, John helps a couple conceive. There is an allusion to Dormition in the first paragraph, “the mother of us all departing from this life” before John left for Ephesus.  This would imply Mary’s Dormition in Jerusalem rather than Ephesus.

The story of the Hospitality and Perfume of the Bandit illustrates how some early Christians connected canonical texts. On their flight to Egypt, Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus are attacked by a bandit who had sworn to rob and kill the next people he encountered. After seeing the blessed Mary and child Jesus, he decides instead to lead them to his own home and offer them hospitality. The bandit’s child is leprous, but after bathing in the same bathwater as Jesus, is completely healed. Later, Mary washes out baby Jesus’s clothing and rings the water into an alabaster vessel. The water became a precious and fragrant perfume. She gives this perfume to the bandit, who then sells it for a great price to Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene was still “making a living from sin,” but when she used the perfume on herself, all her bodily pollution and desire for sin left her. She keeps the rest of the perfume and uses it to anoint the Lord’s feet. This reflects the tradition that the woman in Mark 14:3-9 was Mary Magdalene, a detail absent from Mark. In John 12, the woman is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (not Magdalene). The woman is not identified in Luke 7:37-39, but because Luke 8:2 introduces Mary Magdalene for the first time, the tradition reflected by this apocryphal story first developed.  The bandit is the one crucified alongside Jesus who asked to be remembered when the Kingdom comes.

The first Revelation of Matthew about the End Times is known from only two late medieval manuscripts. This short text is notable because it describes the Antichrist physically. Just before the Triumphal Entry, Jesus tells Matthew the coming Antichrist will be tall and thin, with long hair and a long nose. He will have eyes like a cat and large ears. He has leprous spots on his head, which remain even when he changes his appearance. The elect will wait for Christ’s arrival in caves, eating only vegetables and water, and will not touch women.  The Antichrist and Gog and Magog will be defeated by Michael the archangel on the Mount of Olives. Translator Stephen Pelle suggests some similarities with the Apocalypse of Elijah, especially in its description of the Antichrist.

The second Revelation of Matthew about the End Times was composed in sometime in the twelfth or early thirteenth century and is unrelated to the first Revelation. The short text is an expansion on Matthew 24, combined with elements of canonical Revelation. Charles Wright and Stephen Pelle place three recensions in parallel columns. Several details in this text are interesting, I will mention only a few. First, the Antichrist is from the tribe of Dan (a tribe missing from Revelation 7) and raised in Chorazin and Bethsaida (two towns condemned by Jesus for their unbelief, Matthew 11:20-24). Second, Enoch and Elijah are the two unnamed witnesses in Revelation 11. Third, the second Revelation of Matthew gives a series of fifteen signs of the end, possibly influenced by 4 Ezra. Finally, the book’s last section refers to humanity’s resurrection: “They will advance into the air toward the Lord when he comes to the judgment of the world” (Recensions 2A and 2B). This is a clear allusion to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. Although not a rescue before the great tribulation, it is certainly rapture-like.

Conclusion.  In his introduction to this volume, Burke says there are still more Christian Apocrypha awaiting publications, and he hints that a fourth volume may follow in the future. A fourth volume would enhance this already important three-volume contribution to the study of early Christian Apocrypha.

Contents of New Testament Apocrypha, Volume 3

Part One: Gospels and Related Traditions of New Testament Figures

• The Hospitality and Perfume of the Bandit—Mark G. Bilby
• The Gospel of the Twelve—James Toma
• The Dialogue of Jesus and the Devil—Chance E. Bonar and Slavomír Čéplö
• The Story of the Image of Edessa—Nathan J. Hardy
• The Dream of the Rood—Alexander D’Alisera and Samuel Osborn
• The Eremitic Life of Mary Magdalene—Brandon W. Hawk
• The Martyrdom of Zechariah—Tony Burke and Sarah Veale
• The Decapitation of John the Forerunner—Tony Burke

Part Two: Apocryphal Acts and Related Traditions

• The Acts of Andrew and Paul—Christian H. Bull and Alexander Kocar
• The Acts of Andrew and Philemon—Ivan Miroshnikov
• The Story of John Meeting Cerinthus—Lorne R. Zelyck
• The Acts of John in Rome—Janet E. Spittler
• The Acts of John by Prochorus—Janet E. Spittler
• The Memorial of John—Rick Brannan
• The Martyrdom of Mark—Tobias Nicklas
• The History of Paul—Jacob A. Lollar
• The Preaching of Simon Cephas in the City of Rome—J. Edward Walters
• The Disputation of Peter and Nero—J. Edward Walters
• The Acts of Christ and Peter in Rome—Julia A. Snyder and Slavomír Čéplö
• The Passion of Peter and Paul—Carson Bay
• The Preaching of Philip—Ivan Miroshnikov

Part Three: Epistles

• The Epistles of Ignatius, John, and Mary—Gregory Given
• The Epistle of James to Quadratus—Brent Landau, Bradley Rice, and J. Edward Walters
• The Epistles of Longinus, Augustus, Ursinus, and Patrophilus—Tony Burke

Part Four: Apocalypses

• The Revelation about the Lord’s Prayer—Peter Tóth
• The Dialogue of Mary and Christ on the Departure of the Soul—Christine Luckritz Marquis
• The Questions of John (Interrogatio Iohannis)—Stephen C. E. Hopkins
• 1 Revelation of Matthew about the End Times—Stephen Pelle
• 2 Revelation of Matthew about the End Times—Charles D. Wright and Stephen Pelle

NB: Thanks to Eerdmans for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work. I purchased this volume for Logos Bible Software.

Burke, Tony, ed. New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 2: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2020. 655 pp. Hb; $75.   Link to Eerdmans

In the introduction to the second volume of New Testament Apocrypha, Tony Burke observes the number of documents that can be called “Christian Apocrypha” is quite high. In 1992, Clavis apocryphorum Novi Testament listed 346 texts, but there were omissions, and new discoveries increased that number. This volume includes twenty-nine translations of non-canonical Christian writings with introductions and notes.

Prior to the first volume in this series, the standard collection of Christian noncanonical Christian literature was The New Testament Apocrypha, edited by M. R. James in 1924, updated as Wilhelm Schneemelcher, New Testament Apocrypha (Vol. 1: Gospels and Related Writings; Vol. 2: Writings Relating to the Apostles Apocalypses). This volume collected many major noncanonical works, including some Gnostic literature. New Testament Apocrypha volume 2 continues the project of collecting texts not already found in Schneemelcher.

The introduction for each document in the collection begins with a summary of the contents, followed by a list of available manuscripts, versions, and editions. Most introductions have a few paragraphs on genre and structure, as well as original language, date, and provenance. Some introductions place the document into a historical context or comment on potential literary sources. Finally, each introduction includes translation notes and a bibliography.

Part one gathers gospels and related traditions of New Testament figures. Traditionally, any document concerning Jesus or the plot of the gospels is called a “gospel.” The titles given to these new apocryphal stories resist that temptation. Thankfully, The Adoration of the Magi is not given the title “The Gospel of the Magi.”

• The Adoration of the Magi, Adam Carter Bremer-McCollum
• The Rebellion of Dimas, Mark G. Bilby
• A Homily on the Life of Jesus and His Love for the Apostles, Timothy Pettipiece
• A Homily on the Passion and Resurrection, by Pseudo-Evodius, Dylan M. Burns
• The Book of Bartholomew, Christian H. Bull and Alexandros Tsakos
• The Healing of Tiberius, Zbigniew Izydorczyk
• The Legend of the Holy Rood Tree, Stephen C. E. Hopkins
• The Story of Joseph of Arimathea, Bradley N. Rice
• A Homily on the Building of the First Church of the Virgin, Paul C. Dilley
• The Life of Judas, Brandon W. Hawk and Mari Mamyan
• The Life of Mary Magdalene, Christine Luckritz-Marquis

There are several highlights here. The Adoration of the Magi is only extant in a form of Old Turkic known as Old Uyghur, discovered in Turfan, brought to Berlin, moved to Moscow after World War II and subsequently lost. A clear copy of the four pages of this short story was made. The infant Jesus speaks to the magi when they offer their gifts and breaks off a chunk of stone from his cradle “like breaking off bread” and gives it to them. The stone is too heavy for them to carry, and their horse is unable to carry either. They managed to throw the stone in a well, and a great sign appeared in the sky. They realize the stone is a jewel, but they were not worthy. At this point, an angel appears, and they do not return to King Herod. The text breaks off after Herod kills the priest Zechariah (cf. Prot. James 23-24) and realizes the Magi have left.

There are two accounts of intriguing persons in the Gospels: The Life of Judas and The Life of Mary Magdalene. The Life of Judas is a medieval Latin text, although also extant in Greek and Armenian. Translations of the Latin and Armenian texts appear in this volume. Judas’s father was warned in a dream his son would eventually kill him, so when Judas was born, his father pierced the child’s legs and threw him in some bushes. He was rescued by some shepherds and raised by a woman named Scariot. As an adult, Judas served King Herod and went to a field to gather fruit for the king. Judas kills owner of the field in order to take his fruit, naturally this is Judas’s father. Herod protects him from revenge and the king counsels him to marry the dead man’s wife. So Judas kills his father and marries his mother. His mother sees the scars on his legs and realizes Judas is her son, both realize they have committed a great wickedness.

The Life of Mary Magdalene is a Byzantine text that describes Mary as a beautiful, wealthy woman prior to meeting Jesus rather than a prostitute. According to this tale, she is the woman was troubled by seven demons until Jesus cast them out. She is the woman who anointed Jesus’s feet in Luke 7:38 and the first witness to the resurrection (John 20). After the ascension, Mary travels to Rome and accuses Pilate before the Emperor. Pilate is summoned to Rome, interrogated and jailed. While in jail outside of Rome, the emperor was hunting. He shot an arrow at a deer, missed, and struck Pilate in the heart. Mary then makes an evangelistic trip to Marseille, converts the town of idolaters and establishes a church there. She died in Ephesus, but her remains were transferred by Leo VI to Constantinople to the Monastery of Holy Lazarus.

Part two collects apocryphal Acts and related traditions. Traditionally, Apocryphal Acts books are stories about the apostles or the apostolic circle.

• The Acts of Nereus and Achilleus, Richard I. Pervo
• The Act of Peter in Azotus, Cambry G. Pardee
• The Exhortation of Peter, J. Edward Walters
• The Travels of Peter, J. Edward Walters
• The History of Philip, Robert A. Kitchen
• The Acts of Thomas and His Wonderworking Skin, Jonathan Holste and Janet E. Spittler

The Acts of Peter in Azotus describes Peter’s encounter with the devil and a group of demons in Azotus, a location mentioned in Acts 8:40 in association with Philip the Evangelist. The devil appears as an archangel, but Peter sees through the disguise. The devil makes the sign of the cross and cries to Christ. The devil confesses who he is in each of the seven demons introduce themselves. They are the demons of deception, sexual immorality, falsehood, adultery, avarice, and slander. The seventh is not associated with the vice. Syracuse is Peter and humans in general of sin. Peter binds the devil in the demons for seven days when there was no sin on earth.

The most unusual story is The Acts of Thomas and His Wonderworking Skin. The story concerns the apostle Thomas is missionary work in India and provides two stories not found in the longer Acts of Thomas. The Greek text was originally edited by M. R. James in 1897 from a single British library manuscript.  In 1903, three additional manuscripts were discovered. The text is also extended to Coptic, Arabic, Ethiopic, and Church Slavonic. The translation published in this volume is from Tamilia, first appearing in 1903. Peter and Matthew accompany Thomas to India, where they speak to a man named Olbanus, who is looking to buy a slave. Jesus suddenly appears and sells Thomas as a slave, and he is eventually put to work building a palace for the king of India. He preaches the gospel to his master’s wife, Arsinoë, and she becomes a believer and destroys her idols. The devil enters the heart of husband Leucius, tortures Thomas, and flays him. Arsinoë is so upset by this that she dies, but Thomas takes his skin, lays it over her dead body, and rises from the dead. His skin is involved in several other miracles before the Lord glues the skin back on Thomas’s body, and he ascends to heaven to be gathered to the other apostles, Mary and Paul.

There is only one example of an epistle in part three of the volume, The Epistle of Pelagia, translated by Slavomír Čéplö. As Burke comments in the introduction to the volume, this is an epistle in name only since it was associated with the Acts of Paul when it was first published in 1904. The Epistle of Pelagia alludes to Thecla and includes the story of Paul baptizing a lion (ch. 2). This lion appears in chapter 6 when Paul is sent to the arena. After Paul and the lion pray and worship together, they are released. Pelagia is the daughter of a king who converts after hearing Paul’s preaching, divorces her husband, and narrowly avoids martyrdom.

Part four follows the traditional practice of calling anything with Revelation-like visions an “apocalypse.”

• The Dialogue of the Revealer and John, Philip Tite
• 1 Apocryphal Apocalypse of John, Rick Brannan
• 2 Apocryphal Apocalypse of John, Rebecca Draughon, Jeannie Sellick, and Janet E. Spittler
• 3 Apocryphal Apocalypse of John, Chance Bonar, Tony Burke, and Slavomír Čéplö
• The Questions of James to John, Katherine Gibbons
• The Mysteries of John, Hugo Lundhaug and Lloyd Abercrombie
• The Investiture of the Archangel Michael, Hugo Lundhaug
• Appendix: John of Parallos, Homily Against Heretical Books, Christian H. Bull and Lance Jenott
• The Investiture of the Archangel Gabriel, Lance Jenott
• The Apocalypse of Thomas, Matthias Geigenfeind

Some of these are very brief: The Dialogue of the Revealer and John is barely two pages long, with extensive notes (but with twenty pages of introduction). Both second and third Apocryphal Apocalypse of John are presented to parallel columns comparing two often divergent traditions. For the third Apocryphal Apocalypse of John, a third translation of the Church Slavonic version is included. In all three Apocryphal Apocalypse of John there is less apocalyptic that expected, they are mostly questions and answers on church life and practice.

In The Mysteries of John, John is taken from the Mount of Olives on a heavenly journey hosted by a cherub. John asks questions about what he sees *(the Garden of Eden, etc.) and the cherub gives an explanation. The book covers such diverse topics as agriculture and stars, to why humans have fingernails.

The Apocalypse of Thomas is known from Latin texts in three forms (long, short, and abbreviated). Matthias Geigenfeind suggests the text may have developed in the context of Priscillian, an ascetic bishop from Avila (380-385). The longer form of the book includes thinly veiled predictions such as “Suddenly, near the last time a king will arise, a lover of the law. He will not rule for long. He will leave two sons. The first is named after the first letter, the second after the eighth. And the first will die before the second.” A footnote suggests, “Likely the king and his two sons are Theodosius I and the princes Arcadius and Honorius.” The text has a series of apocalyptic signs over eight days, culminating in the rapture-like deliverance of the elect: “Then that angel will be revealed who has power over the holy angels, and all the angels will go forth with him, sitting upon chariots of the clouds of my holy Father, rejoicing and flying in the air under heaven to deliver the elect who have believed in me.”

Finally, part five is entitled “Apostolic Orders,” a new category of New Testament Apocrypha. In his introduction to his new translation of The Teaching of the Apostles, Witold Witakowski suggests the work is apocryphal since it has a narrative framework based on biblical characters. The apostles gather in the upper room and layout twenty-seven disciplinary and liturgical rules. Following these rules is a sketch of the spread of the Gospel and a list of locations the apostles and others traveled to preach. This list includes non-biblical characters like Addai, who evangelized Edessa, as well as biblical names such as Priscilla and Aquila, who received the writings of Luke the Evangelist and followed Luke until his death. The twenty-seven canons decree Sunday worship as well as Wednesday services and prayers at the ninth hour on Friday. Presbyters are like Aaron’s priesthood, and deacons are like the Levites. They declare the birth of Jesus should be celebrated on January 6, a forty day fast before the passion, and a feast for the ascension fifty days after the resurrection.

Conclusion. As Burke observes in his introduction to the volume, Christian Apocrypha provides insight into the diversity of early Christian beliefs. Some of this literature is Christian interpretation of canonical documents, and some seek to associate current practice with the earliest apostolic community. This second volume of “More Noncanonical Scriptures” is a window into how the early church developed both in practice and in theology.

New Testament Apocrypha series will continue to serve scholarship for years to come. Eerdmans published Volume 3 in 2023 (read my review).

NB: Thanks to Eerdmans for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.