List of Old Testament pseudepigrapha

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Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.[1] Some of these works may have originated among Jewish Hellenizers, others may have Christian authorship in character and origin.[2]

Apocalyptic and related works[edit]

  • 1 (Ethiopic Apocalypse of) Enoch (Jewish, c. 200 BCE–50 BCE)
  • 2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch (Jewish, c. 30 BCE–70 CE)
  • 3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of) Enoch (Jewish, in present form from c. 108 CE-135 CE)
  • Sibylline Oracles (both Jewish and Christian, c. 2nd cent. BCE–7th cent. CE)
  • Treatise of Shem (c. near end of first cent. BCE)[3]
  • Apocryphon of Ezekiel (mostly lost, original form c. late 1st cent. BCE)
  • Apocalypse of Zephaniah (mostly lost, original form c. late 1st cent. BCE)
  • 4 Ezra (original Jewish form after 70 CE, final Christian additions later)
  • Greek Apocalypse of Ezra (present form is Christian c. 9th cent. CE with both Jewish and Christian sources)
  • Vision of Ezra (a Christian document dating from 4th to 7th cent. CE)
  • Questions of Ezra (Christian, but date is imprecise)
  • Revelation of Ezra (Christian and sometime before 9th cent. CE)
  • Apocalypse of Sedrach (present form is Christian from c. 5th cent. with earlier sources)
  • 2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch (Jewish, from c. 100 CE)
  • 3 (Greek Apocalypse of) Baruch (Christian utilizing Jewish sources, c. 1st–2nd cent. CE)
  • Apocalypse of Abraham (Jewish primarily, c. 70–150 CE)
  • Apocalypse of Adam (Gnostic derived from Jewish sources from c. the 1st cent. CE)
  • Apocalypse of Elijah (both Jewish and Christian, c. 150–275 CE)
  • Apocalypse of Daniel (present form c. 9th cent. CE, but contains Jewish sources from c. 4th cent. CE).

Testaments[edit]

  • Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (current form is Christian, c. 150–200 CE, but Levi, Judah, and Naphtali are Jewish and date before 70 CE and probably 2nd–1st cent. BCE)
  • Testament of Job (Jewish, c. late 1st cent. BCE)
  • Testaments of the Three Patriarchs (Jewish Testaments of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from c. 100 CE which are linked with the Christian Testament of Isaac and Jacob)
  • Testament of Moses (Jewish, from c. early 1st cent. CE)
  • Testament of Solomon (Jewish, current form c. 3rd cent. CE, but earliest form c. 100 CE)
  • Testament of Adam (Christian in current form c. late 3rd cent. CE, but used Jewish sources from c. 150–200 CE).

Expansions of Old Testament and other legends[edit]

  • The Letter of Aristeas (Jewish, c. 200–150 BCE)
  • Jubilees (Jewish, c. 150–100 BCE)
  • Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah (has three sections, the first Jewish from c. 100 BCE, and 2nd and 3rd sections are Christian. The second from c. 2nd cent. CE, and the third— Testament of Hezekiah, c. 90–100 CE)
  • Joseph and Asenath (Jewish, c. 100 CE)
  • Life of Adam and Eve (Jewish, c. early to middle 1st cent. CE)
  • Pseudo-Philo (Jewish, c. 66–135 CE)
  • Lives of the Prophets (Jewish, c. early 1st cent. CE with later Christian additions)
  • Ladder of Jacob (earliest form is Jewish dating from late 1st cent. CE. One chapter is Christian)
  • 4 Baruch (Jewish original but edited by a Christian, c. 100–110 CE)
  • Jannes and Jambres (Christian in present form, but dependent on earlier Jewish sources from c. 1st cent. BCE)
  • History of the Rechabites (Christian in present form dating c. 6th cent. CE, but contains some Jewish sources before 100 CE)
  • Eldad and Modat (forged on basis of Numbers 11.26–29, before the 1st CE is now lost, but quoted in Shepherd of Hermas c. 140 CE)
  • History of Joseph (Jewish, but difficult to date)
  • Story of Melchizedek (Jewish, 1st–3rd centuries CE)

Wisdom and philosophical literature[edit]

Prayers, Psalms, and Odes[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bauckham, Richard; “Pseudo-Apostolic Letters”, Journal of Biblical Literature, Vo. 107, No. 3, September 1988, pp.469–494.
  2. ^ The following list is based on James H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1983-1985 (two volumes).
  3. ^ Treatise of Shem

Bibliography[edit]

  • Lee Martin McDonald, The Origin of the Bible: A Guide for the Perplexed, London: T & T Clark, 2011.

External links[edit]