The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament: Prolegomena for the Study of Christian Origins

Abstract

The recent publication of The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha has made available for the first time in one collection 65 documents, or extant portions of them, related to the Old Testament, many of them dating from the third century B.C.E. to the second century C.E. and therefore extremely important for a better understanding of Christian origins and the writings in the New Testament. In this book, the editor of that collection presents his reflections on the importance of those documents for a much-needed clarification of the history and thought of those centuries and the emergence of both synagogal Judaism and Christianity. He discusses the Pseudepigrapha in the light of the canon of scripture assesses their significance for biblical studies, and makes a comparison with the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Codices. Professor Charlesworth offers a critique and concludes the work with an examination of the Jewish origins of early Christology.