Pseudepigrapha and the Apocrypha The impact on culture of the thought and poetry of the psalms is almost immeasurable and extends well beyond the realm of religion narrowly defined to include literature, music, drama, law, civil religion, and statecraft wherever Judaism and Christianity are or have been potent cultural factors The role of the psalms in Jewish and Christian liturgy and in the personal piety of believers is pervasive The recitation of Psalms 113–118 and 145– 150 in Jewish liturgical practice is very ancient Many other psalms were added from the beginning of the Islamic period on for daily or Sabbath use In the daily and Sunday readings of Catholic and more ecumenical practice, some 130 of the 150 psalms appear once or more every three years, following traditions hallowed by use in the monastic movements of the Middle Ages and before The impact on culture of the thought and poetry of the psalms is almost immeasurable and extends well beyond the realm of religion narrowly defined to include literature, music, drama, law, civil religion, and statecraft wherever Judaism and Christianity are or have been potent cultural factors See also Bible translations; Christianity, early; Israel and Judah; Judaism, early (heterodoxies); Syriac culture and church Further reading: Abegg, Martin, et al The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1999; Berlin, Adele, and Mark Zvi Brettler, eds “Psalms: Introduction and Annotations.” In The Jewish Study Bible New York: Oxford University Press, 2004; Gillingham, Susan E The Poems and Psalms of the Hebrew Bible Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994; McCann, J Clinton, Jr “Psalms.” In The New Interpreter’s Bible Edited by Leander E Keck, et al Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1996; Sarna, Nahum M Songs of the Heart: An Introduction to the Book of Psalms New York: Schocken, 1993 John Hobbins Pseudepigrapha and the Apocrypha The Pseudepigrapha refer to Jewish writings that are not included in the Jewish scriptures These writings are often promulgated under the assumed pen names of famous biblical heroes They were composed before or at the time of the New Testament, so they help to explain the background to the New Testament Biblical books that did not come into the Jewish scriptures but are in the Greek (Septuagint) Bible are called the Apocrypha—and also called by Catholic and Orthodox Christians “Deuteroca- 371 nonical.” The New Testament Apocrypha refer to the books written by Christians (often under pen names) that are not accepted into the Bible, though they are written after the New Testament and help to explain the development of church teachings In short there are three types of literature considered here, and they have varying degrees of authority and relationship with the Bible The Pseudepigrapha can be divided into two categories according to the parts of the ancient world from which they emerged The first is of Palestinian origin, and the second is of Hellenistic Jewish origin Within both categories are several types of literature, such as poetry, testament, and apocalypse Among the Palestinian writings are the Odes of Solomon, perhaps of the late first century c.e., a collection of psalms and prayers, supposedly penned by King Solomon, that speak about the messianic kingdom of God A testament is a type of literature that is based on a deathbed statement by a biblical hero A couple of examples of this type are the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, consisting of Jacob’s last words to his sons; and the Testament of Job that Job supposedly delivered to his second wife and his two daughters before he died The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs probably goes back to the second century b.c.e., with later interpolations that appeared perhaps 200 years later The Testament of Job may go back to a strict Jewish sect of 100 b.c.e By far the most important composition is the book of Enoch, an apocalyptic work found in the Qumran caves as well as in other ancient caches There are five sections of Enoch: the first consists of future judgment, even of the angels; the second is called the “Similitudes,” and it deals with future judgment and the messianic hope; the third is an astronomical book for the calendar; the fourth deals with past history, including the primordial deluge; the fifth, called the “Apocalypse of Weeks,” is a collection of apocalyptic and miscellaneous material Enoch may have had some degree of authority among sects of Jews before the birth of Jesus and thus was read like a book of the Bible Two important apocalypses are worth mentioning: the Apocalypse of Ezra (or Ezra) and the Apocalypse of Baruch (or Baruch) Both of these works have to with the malaise of the Jews after the debacle of Jerusalem in 70 c.e and probably were written before 100 c.e They offer consolation to Jews who feel that history has no purpose and tell of the coming age of fulfillment Among the many Hellenistic Jewish works, space allows only a discussion of the Sibylline Oracles These imitate the Greek oracles that operated in the Mediterranean