Saturday, June 27, 2009

Table of Contents: Jewish Background Literature

Leaving out the "Apocrypha" and the Dead Sea Scrolls (which are nicely and cheaply packaged for purchase--bracketed below), what Jewish "pseudepigrapha" are significant for New Testament background?

Here's a shot from around 200BC to AD200:

Pre-Maccabean
1. [Tobit]
2. [Sirach]
3. Alexandria: Artapanus
4. Alexandria: Ezekiel the Tragedian
5. Alexandria: Aristeas
6. Alexandria: Aristobulus*
7. 1 Enoch: Book of Watchers
8. 1 Enoch: Astronomical Book
9. 1 Enoch: Apocalypse of Weeks
10. Historical Sources: 1 Maccabees*
11. Historical Sources: 2 Maccabees*
12. Historical Sources: Josephus*

*post-Maccabean

The Maccabean Crisis
1. [1 Maccabees]*
2. [Daniel]*
3. [2 Maccabees]*
4. 1 Enoch: Dream Visions
5. [Judith]
6. [Baruch]

*relevant to crisis, regardless of dating

Early Essene Writings
1. Historical Sources: Josephus*
2. Historical Sources: Philo*
3. Jubilees
4. [4QMMT]
5. [Temple Scroll]
6. [Covenant of Damascus]

Qumran Writings
1. Historical Sources: Pliny*
2. [Community Rule]
3. [Habakkuk and Nahum pesher commentaries]
4. [Hymns]
5. [Messianic Rule]
6. [War Scroll]
7. [Songs of Sabbath Sacrifice]
8. [Florilegium, Testimonia, Melchizedek]

The Roman Era
1. Historical Sources: Josephus*
2. Psalms of Solomon
3. [Wisdom]
4. Philonic Corpus
5. 4 Maccabees

Later Apocalyptic Writings
1. Testaments of Twelve Patriarchs
2. Epistle of Enoch
3. Similitudes of Enoch
4. Apocalypse of Abraham
5. Testament of Job

After Jerusalem's Destruction
1. Historical Sources: Josephus
2. 4 Ezra
3. 2 Baruch
4. 2 Enoch
5. The Mishnah

What's missing or misplaced?

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