Apocrypha & Pseudepigrapha

The Books of the Apocrypha Some Books of the Pseudepigrapha

Tobit Apocalypse of Abraham

Judith Apocalypse of Adam
Additions to Esther Ascension of Isaiah
Wisdom of Solomon Books of Adam and Eve
Ecclesiasticus / Wisdom of Ben Sira 1 Enoch
Baruch 2 Enoch
Letter of Jeremiah 3 Enoch
Additions to Daniel Joseph and Asenath
-Prayer of Azariah Jubilees
-Susanna Assumption of Moses
-Bel and the Dragon Sybilline Oracles
1 Maccabees Psalms of Solomon
2 Maccabees Testament of Solomon
1 Esdras Testament of Job
Prayer of Manasseh Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
Psalm 151 Letter of Aristeas
3 Maccabees 2 Baruch
2 Esdras 3 Baruch
4 Maccabees

The Septuagint
Therefore, being settled in a secret place, and nothing even being present with them except the elements of
nature, the earth, the water, the air, and the heaven, concerning the creation of which they were going in the
first place to explain in the sacred account; for the account of the creation of the world is the beginning of the
law; they, like men inspired, prophesied, not one saying one thing and another another, but every one of them
employed the self-same nouns and verbs, as if some unseen prompter had suggested all their language to them.
(38) And yet who is there who does not know that every language, and the Greek language above all others, is
rich in a variety of words, and that it is possible to vary a sentence and to paraphrase the same idea, so as to set
it forth in a great variety of manners, adapting many different forms of expression to it at different times. But
this, they say, did not happen at all in the case of this translation of the law, but that, in every case, exactly
corresponding Greek words were employed to translate literally the appropriate Chaldaic words, being adapted
with exceeding propriety to the matters which were to be explained; (39) for just as I suppose the things which
are proved in geometry and logic do not admit any variety of explanation, but the proposition which was set
forth from the beginning remains unaltered, in like manner I conceive did these men find words precisely and
literally corresponding to the things, which words were alone, or in the greatest possible degree, destined to
explain with clearness and force the matters which it was desired to reveal.

--Philo of Alexandria, On the Life of Moses II

MGT 521: A History of Jewish Ideas Rabbi Joshua D. Garroway

Summer 2022
 Apocalypticism, Resurrection, and Messiah
Daniel 7:1-14
In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed.
Then he wrote down the dream: 2 I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the
great sea, 3 and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion
and had eagles’ wings. Then, as I watched, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and
made to stand on two feet like a human being; and a human mind was given to it. 5 Another beast appeared, a
second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, had three tusks in its mouth among its teeth
and was told, “Arise, devour many bodies!” 6 After this, as I watched, another appeared, like a leopard. The
beast had four wings of a bird on its back and four heads; and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in
the visions by night a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth and
was devouring, breaking in pieces, and stamping what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts
that preceded it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was considering the horns, when another horn appeared, a little one
coming up among them; to make room for it, three of the earlier horns were plucked up by the roots. There
were eyes like human eyes in this horn, and a mouth speaking arrogantly.
9
As I watched,
thrones were set in place,
and an Ancient One took his throne,
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames,
and its wheels were burning fire.
10
A stream of fire issued
and flowed out from his presence.
A thousand thousands served him,
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him.
The court sat in judgment,
and the books were opened.
11
I watched then because of the noise of the arrogant words that the horn was speaking. And as I watched, the
beast was put to death, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the
beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. 13 As I watched
in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being
coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.
14
To him was given dominion
and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
that shall never be destroyed.
MGT 521: A History of Jewish Ideas Rabbi Joshua D. Garroway
Summer 2022
 Daniel 11:40-12:4
At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him. But the king of the north shall rush upon him like
a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. He shall advance against countries and pass
through like a flood. 41 He shall come into the beautiful land, and tens of thousands shall fall victim, but Edom
and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites shall escape from his power. 42 He shall stretch out his hand
against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold
and of silver, and all the riches of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians [g] shall follow in his train. 44 But
reports from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to bring ruin and
complete destruction to many. 45 He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy
mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.
At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish,
such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered,
everyone who is found written in the book. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the
brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4 But you,
Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and
forth, and evil shall increase.

Psalms of Solomon 17:21-30

Behold, O Lord, and raise up unto them their king, the son of David, at the time known to you, O God, in
order that he may reign over Israel your servant. 22 And gird him with strength, that he may shatter unrighteous
rulers, and that he may purge Jerusalem from gentiles who trample (her) down to destruction. 23 Wisely,
righteously he shall thrust out sinners from (the) inheritance; he shall destroy the arrogance of the sinner as a
potter's jar. 24 With a rod of iron he shall shatter all their substance; he shall destroy the godless nations with
the word of his mouth. 25 At his rebuke nations shall flee before him, and he shall reprove sinners for the
thoughts of their heart. 26 And he shall gather together a holy people, whom he shall lead in righteousness, and
he shall judge the tribes of the people who has been made holy by the Lord his God. 27 And he shall not suffer
unrighteousness to lodge any more in their midst, nor shall there dwell with them any man who knows
wickedness, for he shall know them, that they are all sons of their God. 28 And he shaIl divide them according
to their tribes upon the land, and neither sojourner nor alien shall dwell with them any more. 29 He shall judge
peoples and nations in the wisdom of his righteousness. Selah. 30 And he shall have the gentile nations to serve
him under his yoke; and he shall glorify the Lord in a place prominent (above) all the earth. And he shall purge
Jerusalem, making it holy as of old.

MGT 521: A History of Jewish Ideas Rabbi Joshua D. Garroway

Summer 2022
 Fuzzy Boundaries of Ancient Jewish Identity

Strabo (d. 24 CE), Geography 16.2.34

“As for Judea, the Idumeans and the lake occupy the western edge by Casios. But the Idumeans are Nabateans
who, having been driven from there because of an insurrection, came over to the Jews and shared in their
customs with them.”
Ptolemy the Historian
(via Ammoninus, De Adfinium Vocabulorum Differentia 243)
“Jews and Idumeans are different, just as Ptolemy says in the first book of On Herod the King. For Jews are those
who were naturally and originally so, while Idumeans, on the other hand, were not Jews originally, but were
Phoenicians and Syrians. After they were conquered by [the Jews] and were compelled to be circumcised, to
contribute to the nation and to practice the same customs, they were called Jews.”

Flavius Josephus (d. 100 CE), Antiquities 13.257f.

“Hyrcanus also took Adora and Marisa, cities in Idumea. When he had subdued all the Idumeans, he allowed
to them to stay on their land so long as they would be circumcised and utilize willingly the laws of the Jews.
Because of their fondness for their homeland, they submitted both to circumcision and to making their lives in
all other respects the same as the Jews. They were Jews from that point onward.”

Flavius Josephus, War 1.124

“The unexpected triumph of Aristobulus alarmed his adversaries, and, in particular, Antipater, an old and
bitterly hated foe. An Idumean by genos, his ancestry, wealth, and other advantages put him in the front rank of
his ethnos.
Flavius Josephus, War 14.403
“Antigonus, in response to Herod’s offer, told Silo and the Roman army that it would contradict their own
sense of fairness if they were to give the kingship to Herod, who was both a commoner and an Idumean (that
is, hemiioudaios), when it would be fitting to give it to those descended from the people itself, as was
customary for them.”
Leviticus 19:33-34
33
And if a ger resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress him. 34 The ger that resides with you shall be
for you like the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were gerim in the land of
Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Philo (d. 50 CE), De Virtutibus, 102-3
Having given laws pertaining to the treatment of people from the same nation, [Moses] also thought converts
were worthy of all the same consideration. After all, they left behind their blood-relatives, country, customs,
and temples, as well as their gods and the worship and tribute devoted to them, and came to a beautiful home.
They abandoned bogus myths in favor of a vision of the truth and the worship of the one true God. So he bids
those of the [Jewish] nation to love converts, not only as friends and kinsmen, but even as themselves, seeking
the best for them in both bodily and spiritual terms and sharing in their joys and pains, so that even though the
parts are different, it looks like one living being, bound together and unified by fellowship.
MGT 521: A History of Jewish Ideas Rabbi Joshua D. Garroway
Summer 2022