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

Marc Notes: 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. 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. Biographical Note: 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-Universitat Munchen, Germany."Table of Contents: Preface: The Fluid Borders of the Canon and 'Apocrypha'- James Hamilton CharlesworthForeword: With the Ancients: Hearing Voices that were Silenced1. Writings Labeled Apocryphain Latin Patristic Sources - Edmon L. Gallagher2. Did the Midrash of Shemihazai and Azael use the Book of Giants? - Ken M. Penner3. Negotiating the Boundaries of Tradition: The Rehabilitation of the Bookof Ben Sira (Sirach) in B. Sanhedrin100b - Teresa Ann Ellis4. Prologue of Sirach (Ben Sira) and the Question of Canon - Francis Borchardt5. The Function of Ethics in the Non-Canonical Jewish Writings - Gerbern S. Oegema6. The Odes of Solomon: Their Relation to Scripture and the Canon in Early Christianity - James Hamilton Charlesworth7. The Odes of Solomon in AncientChristianity: Reflections on Scripture and Canon - Lee Martin McDonald8. Origen's Use of the Gospel of Thomas - Stephen C. Carlson9. The Acts of Thomas as Sacred Text - Jonathan K. Henry10. Questions and Answers in the Protevangelium of James and the Gospel of Peter - DanielLynwood SmithIndexes Contributor Bio:  Charlesworth, James H James H. Charlesworth is George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature, Princeton Theological Seminary. Charlesworth is an international recognized expert in Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old and New Testaments, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, Jesus research, and the Gospel of John. As director of Princeton's Dead Sea Scrolls Project, Dr. Charlesworth has worked on the computer-enhanced photographing and translating of the Qumran scrolls in order to make available for the first time both an accurate text and an English translation of these documents. He is the author or editor of nearly 50 books on the New Testament and its history. Contributor Bio:  McDonald, Lee Martin Lee Martin McDonald (PhD, University of Edinburgh), before his retirement, was professor of New Testament studies and president of Acadia Divinity College. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including "The Biblical Canon", and coeditor of "The Canon Debate" (with James Sanders), and "The World of the New Testament "(with Joel Green). He lives in Mesa, Arizona.