Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha recent issues

The Finale of the Wisdom of Solomon: Its Context, Translation and Significance

Jones, I. H. — 2009-09-23

In this article a detailed examination of the language, context, content and function of Wis. 19.18-22 is offered, one which throws light on the literary structure and character of the whole book and its religious and cultural setting. Particular attention is given to the translation of Wis. 19.18 and to its musical terms and imagery. This approach leads to fresh conclusions regarding the references in the book to the cosmic elements, conclusions which are significant both for the book as a whole and for tracing the extensive literary history of that phrase. Finally, the light thrown here on the structure and character of the book is used to provide criteria for the assessment of recent hypotheses regarding its main features.

On Nebuchadnezzar in Pseudo-Sirach

Nissan, E. — 2009-09-23

Pseudo-Sirach is arguably a pseudepigraphon, even though Ben Sira, the protagonist, is referred to in the third person. It is an early medieval Hebrew-language homiletical collection, structured as exchanges between the child prodigy Ben Sira (Jeremiah’s son), and King Nebuchadnezzar. This article offers a general discussion of the structure of the frame-story, in which Nebuchadnezzar and Ben Sira are interlocutors. It contrasts this to another source poking fun at Nebuchadnezzar. Then, the difference between this treatment of the destroyer of the First Temple and how early rabbinic sources treated Vespasian and Titus is considered. The only such locus which comes close to the pattern in Pseudo-Sirach is the subnarrative about how R. Johanan ben Zakkai comes to the rescue of Vespasian as the latter, having been informed, while having put on a shoe, that the Romans made him their king, is unable to put on the other shoe. In contrast, the appearance of the Pseudo Nero shaped the early rabbinic narrative about Nero, and if we are to find a Nero parallel to Jewish derisive treatments of Nebuchadnezzar, it is in the Latin Commenta Bernensia to Lucan’s Pharsalia that we can find them.

Book Review: WHEELER, BRANNON M. Moses in the Quran and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge/ Curzon Studies in the Quran. Routledge/Curzon, 2002. 228 pp. ISBN 0-7007-1603-3

Hanshaw, M. E. — 2009-09-23

Reclaiming Tradition: The Book of Judith and Hasmonean Politics

Eckhardt, B. — 2009-06-09

The book of Judith has been designated as anti-Hasmonean counter-propaganda, but the arguments brought forward do not seem to take account of the fact that Judith is a work of fiction. It is argued here that Judith can indeed be read as an anti-Hasmonean text, but that this conclusion can only be reached by relating Judith to the transformation of traditional semantics that served to legitimize Hasmonean rule. Judith employs signifiants that have a key role in Hasmonean propaganda (1 Maccabees), but alters their scriptural foundations so as not to inherit the signifiés. Thus, Judith should be seen as an example of literature subverting legitimizing discourses by creating a fictitious space which allows an alternative usage of politically exploited language. This creation of a `counter-discourse' is not to be confused with `counter-propaganda'.

A Postcolonial Reading of Joseph and Aseneth

Charles, R. — 2009-06-09

Joseph and Aseneth is borne out of a certain construction of the Other. It is written with the objective of explaining or justifying to fellow Jews and Jewish sympathizers the intrusion of a non-Jewish woman (Aseneth, the daughter of an Egyptian priest) into the life of a biblical hero, Joseph. This study demonstrates that a postcolonial reading of this ancient tale can shed significant light on the different constructions of Otherness and gender relationships manufactured in the text.

The Incineration of Saul's and His Sons' Corpses according to Josephus

Avioz, M. — 2009-06-09

This article deals with Josephus's retelling of the Bible story of the incineration of the bones of Saul and his sons in 1 Samuel 31. In several places in the biblical text, researchers have found echoes of the practice of cremation, a practice borne out in archaeological excavations. The question dealt with in the Bible is: How does Josephus treat the practice of cremation? This question is examined through comparison of earlier texts that retell the biblical accounts. It is argued that Josephus (Ant. 6.375-77) omits cremation from his account in order not to draw similarities between Israelite burial practices and pagan ones.

Two Unpublished Eschatological Texts

Stone, M. E. — 2009-06-09

This study presents two medieval Armenian texts which illustrate how themes and subjects drawn from Jewish speculation of the Second Temple period. These medieval reworkings not only preserve ancient material on occasion, but also enable us to trace the influence of pseudepigraphical and associated texts on medieval literature.

Book Review: DEBIE, MURIEL, ALAIN DESREUMAUX, CHRISTELLE JULLIEN, and FLORENCE JULLIEN, eds. Les apocryphes syriaques. Etudes syriaques 2. Paris: S. N. Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner S. A., 2005. ISBN 2-7053-3771-7. 231 + 2 pp. Paperback. 40 Euros

Phenix, R. — 2009-06-09

Book Review: JOHNSON, SARA RAUP. Historical Fictions and Hellenistic Jewish Identity: Third Maccabees in Its Cultural Context. Hellenistic Culture and Society, 43; Berkeley, Los Angeles & London: University of California Press, 2004. Pp. xix + 253. ISBN 0-520-233070-7

Hacham, N. — 2009-06-09

Book Review: COLLINS, JOHN J., GREGORY E. STERLING and RUTH A. CLEMENTS (eds.). Sapiential Perspectives: Wisdom Literature in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls. STDJ 51. Brill, 2004. ISBN: 9004136703

Goff, M. J. — 2009-06-09

Seeking a Context for the Testament of Job

Gruen, W.`C. — 2009-02-24

It has been widely accepted that the Testament of Job is a retelling of the canonical book of Job. However, there is little agreement about where or when this pseudepigraphic work was produced and why the conflict between Job and Satan has been reframed. Instead of God offering Job to be tested by Satan, Job actively struggles against Satan, striking the first blow by destroying a pagan temple. This article aims to place the Testament of Job within Roman Egypt in the early to mid-second century. Specifically, it contextualizes the episode of temple destruction within the broader phenomenon of religious violence of the southeast Mediterranean. This study argues that the Jewish Diaspora Revolt during the reign of Trajan may have inspired the composition of the first twenty-seven chapters of the Testament of Job.

A Dying and Rising Josephite Messiah in 4Q372

Mitchell, D. C. — 2009-02-24

This article draws attention to difficulties in the prevailing interpretation of 4Q372, which sees the text as referring to the fall of the historical northern kingdom. This study suggests the Joseph figure of 4Q372 appears to be a righteous king or `eschatological patriarch' who quotes in his death-throes Psalms 89 and 22, like the suffering Ephraim Messiah of Pesikta Rabbati 36-37. This study therefore argues that the genre of 4Q372 is not history but prophecy, a view supported by its verbal forms. Such an interpretation has implications for the dating of the Josephite Messiah.

The Curse of Cainan (Jub. 8.1-5): Genealogies in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11 and a Mathematical Pattern

Jacobus, H. R. — 2009-02-24

This study suggests that Cainan (LXX Gen. 10.24; Gen. 11.12; [LXX A] 1 Chron. 1.18; Jub. 8.1-5; Lk. 3.36-37), the missing thirteenth patriarch from Adam in the genealogical table in Masoretic text (MT) and the Samaritan Pentateuch (SP) was known to the authors of the proto-MT, and the proto-SP. Using textual and chrono-genealogical analysis, it offers evidence to show that the thirteenth generation from the thirteenth generation from Adam had to contend with a curse. An arithmetical test on the variant chrono-genealogical data in Gen. 5 and Gen. 11 in the MT, SP, LXX Vaticanus (B), LXX Alexandrinus (A) and the Peshitta show that the ages and `begetting' ages of the ancestors across the recensions create an integrated mathematical model. It would appear that the variant data in the texts was compiled by the same mathematical school of Jewish scholars, probably in Palestine and Alexandria. The arithmetical paradigm takes into account Cainan's presence in LXX B and LXX A and his absence in the proto-MT, proto-SP and the Peshitta. It is likely that the Gen. 5 and Gen. 11 chrono-genealogies can be dated to between the compilation of the LXX Genesis, in the third century BCE and the schism between the Samaritans and the Jews in the second century BCE.

'Enoch and the Son of Man' Revisited: Further Reflections on the Text and Translation of 1 Enoch 70.1-2

Olson, D. C. — 2009-02-24

This article is a response to criticism of the author's 1998 article, 'Enoch and the Son of Man in the Epilogue of the Parables' (JSP 18:27-38). The author here concedes to his critics that the proper textual basis for 1 En. 70.1-2 cannot be determined by manuscript evidence alone, and he is willing to modify slightly his translation of the passage. Otherwise, this article defends the author's original translation of these verses against such critics as Michael Knibb and against alternate translations such as that of George Nickelsburg and James VanderKam. New evidence is brought into the discussion (a Coptic Enoch apocryphon) and several fresh literary and linguistic arguments are presented in defense of the author's original translation.

Pseudepigrapha Notes II: 3. The Contribution of the Manuscript Catalogues of M.R. James

Ditommaso, L. — 2008-11-07

This is the second in a series of articles intended to present the results of manuscript research or provide bibliographic updates relevant to the study of the "OT Pseudepigrapha." This article discusses the contribution of the manuscript catalogues compiled by M.R. James (1862—1936), FBA, and the author of Apocrypha Anecdota (1893), Apocrypha Anecdota II (1897), the Lost Apocrypha of the Old Testament (1920), and The Apocryphal New Testament (1924).