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Title: The Apocryphal Old Testament by H.F.D. Sparks ISBN: 0-19-826177-2 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1985 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $85.00

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Ian Myles Slater on: Explaining the Title and Contents
Comment: The title of this book is a little confusing; it can be taken to refer to the wrong set of books. In simplified form, the situation is this. When St. Jerome was preparing a new Latin version of Christian Scriptures (eventually known as the Vulgate), he undertook to work directly from the Hebrew and Aramaic texts of the "Old Testament," instead of from Greek translations (the source of the Old Latin version he was replacing). He discovered that a considerable number of books could be found only in Greek, and noted that the presumed originals were "hidden writings," or *apocrypha*. These included First and Second Maccabees, Ecclesiasticus (or Jesus Sirachides), The Wisdom of Solomon, and several other works. They were retained by the Latin Church as part of the official canon of Scripture, as they were by the Eastern Orthodox Churches, for whom the Greek text was authoritative.

The inspired status of these books was challenged during the Reformation, and many Protestants began calling them "apocryphal", in the modern sense of unreliable, not authoritative. In the King James Version, they were translated as an afterthought, and variously sandwiched between the Old and New Testaments, appended to the New Testament, or omitted. The Catholic Church maintained the traditional Western canon, describing the disputed as Deuterocanonical (a second canon). As a whole, they clearly belong to the Hellenistic period, and those which in fact had Hebrew originals were withdrawn from public use by Jewish authorities as unacceptable rivals to their canon of Scripture.

This decision left the now questionable "Apocrypha" available to refer to books which never made it into the canons of the Greek and Latin Churches, but were sometimes cited by early Christian writers as canonical Scripture. There are some works whose authority was always debated in and between the Latin and Greek Churches, such as Third and Fourth (or First and Second) Esdras, and Third and Fourth Maccabees. The category also includes various "Books of Enoch," Jubilees (a retelling of Genesis and part of Exodus, with elaborate chronological and legal additions), and a variety of Testaments of assorted Patriarchs, Visions, Ascensions, and Martyrdoms, Psalms, Odes, and Prophecies. These exist in a variety of languages, not only Greek and Latin, but also Coptic, Ethiopic Armenian, Arabic, and Old Church Slavonic. Some are now known to have had pre-Christian Hebrew and / or Aramaic originals, or at least prototypes. Others seem to be of Hellenistic Jewish origin; still others are the work of Christians.

Protestant scholars, however, having another set of "Apocrypha" to deal with already, preferred to use the term "Pseudepigrapha," or "False(ly ascribed) Writings" to describe these books. This term has tended to prevail, with "Apocrypha" thus being made available for Jerome's usage once again, by Christian and Jewish scholars alike.

Back at the turn of the century, Oxford University Press issued a major collection of translations of "Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament," edited by R.H. Charles, in two volumes. It combined books from both categories, and included introductions and annotations. It was a monument of scholarship, and remained the standard work in English until the appearance of "Old Testament Pseudepigrapha," edited by James H. Charlesworth, in the mid-1980s. In the meantime, the Revised Standard Version had made modern translations of the Apocryphal / Deuterocanonical books readily available, a practice continued, with improved textual scholarship, in the New Revised Standard Version, and The New English Bible. Of course, these books were included in Catholic translations, such as the Jerusalem Bible (revised as the New Jerusalem Bible) and the New American Version. There have also been translations of several of the books under Jewish auspices, and they are included in a separate series of Anchor Bible volumes.

The present volume began as a selective updating of the Charles "Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha." Despite the title, Sparks omitted the works generally known as Apocrypha. The team which produced the volume concentrated on preparing on what were, in the end, new versions of selected Pseudepigrapha, based on new textual studies.

It managed to appear at about the same time, rather than before, the larger Charlesworth collection, and differs from it not only in scope but also in format, and intent. Although excellent scholarship and great care lie behind it, the Sparks collection lacks the elaborate textual and explanatory notes and critical discussions of its rival. The result is far easier to read, but will leave many readers frustrated for lack of information on these puzzling texts, many of which show clear signs of both Jewish and Christian contributions, not all of them representing the mainstream of either religion.

To conclude, this is one of two modern compendia of Pseudepigrapha in English translation. (There is also an obsolete collection, offering fewer texts in old translations, "The Forgotten Books of Eden.") To the serious student, Charlesworth's two volumes are probably worth the added expense, but Sparks' collection has marked advantages for those would just like to read some of the stories and poems. Since neither is exactly inexpensive, I suggest trying to consult library copies before making a decision on which option best suits your needs and budget.

Rating: 5
Summary: Very interesting books some hard to find
Comment: I have just read this book, and I thought it to be very interesting. Among my favorites were the Life of Adam and Eve, The Book of Jubilees, Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, and 1 Enoch. Whether these are biblically inspired, I do not know. I do know that 1 Enoch was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Apocryphal Old Testament is nothing like some of the New Testament Apocrypha, which contains some works which are astoundly, ridiculous, tall tales. All these books are down to Earth, and most are good for reproof. If bought individually, they would cost around $20 apiece. Many of these same books were rejected by the Editors of the original KJV of 1611. I found them to be very interesting.