Sacra Scriptura How "Non-Canonical" Texts Functioned in Early Judaism and Early Christianity

by Charlesworth, James H.; McDonald, Lee Martin

• ISBN13: 9780567148872
• ISBN10: 0567148874
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-02-13
• Publisher: Bloomsbury T&T Clark

Summary

Many of the writings deemed 'apocryphal' and 'pseudepigraphical'were in circulation in the early centuries of Judaism and Christianity. Their influences and impacts on the development of early communities, and the development of Jewish and Christian thoughts, have not yet been sufficiently examined. While this judgment is especially true for the so-called Christian Apocrypha, it also applies for other writings that were not included in the Jewish and Christian Bibles and nor in other sacred collections of Scripture,like Rabbinics and Patristics.

Most of these ancient writings functioned, to some degree, as sacred texts or scripture—sacra scriptura—in the communities in which they were produced and in others to which they circulated.This volume focuses on how some of these forgotten voices were heard within numerous early religious communities, helping to remove the distressing silence in many areas of the ancient world.

Author Biography

James H. Charlesworth is George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature and Director and Editor of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at Princeton Theological Seminary, USA.

Lee Martin McDonald is President Emeritus and Professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College, Acadia University, Canada. He is also President of the Institute for Biblical Research.

Blake A. Jurgens is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, USA, and a Fulbright Fellow at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany.

Table of Contents

Preface: The Fluid Borders of the Canon and 'Apocrypha'- James Hamilton CharlesworthForeword: With the Ancients: Hearing Voices that were Silenced
1. Writings Labeled Apocryphain Latin Patristic Sources - Edmon L.Gallagher
2. Did the Midrash of Shemihazai and Azael use the Book of Giants? - Ken M. Penner
3. Negotiating the Boundaries of Tradition: The Rehabilitation of the Bookof Ben Sira (Sirach) in B. Sanhedrin100b - Teresa Ann Ellis
4. Prologue of Sirach (Ben Sira) and the Question of Canon - Francis Borchardt
5. The Function of Ethics in the Non-Canonical Jewish Writings - Gerbern S. Oegema
6. ??t?? ??? ?st?? ?????? Sa??µ?? ? e????a???: The Odes of Solomon:Their Relation to Scriptureand the Canon in Early Christianity - JamesHamilton Charlesworth
7. The Odes of Solomon in AncientChristianity: Reflections on Scripture and Canon - Lee Martin McDonald
8. Origen's Use of the Gospel ofThomas - Stephen C. Carlson
9. The Acts of Thomas as SacredText - Jonathan K. Henry
10. Questions and Answers in the Protevangeliumof James and the Gospel of Peter - DanielLynwood Smith
Indexes