Contents

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Abbreviations and Symbols xix

Introduction 1

1. Sects, Parties, and Tendencies 9 The Samaritans 10 A Samaritan Story of the Formation of the Judahite (Jewish) Sect 11 The Samaritan Chronicle II, J–L 11 The Judahites (Jews) on the Origins of the Samaritans 13 2 Kings 17 13 Samaritan and Judean Relations 15 Josephus, Antiquities 11:306–12 15 The Hasideans (H\asidim) 16 Psalm 149 16 Apocryphal Psalms, col. 18 16 The Psalms of Solomon 17 Passive Resistance 18 1 Maccabees 1:62–64 18 Revolt 18 Further Passive Resistance 18 1 Maccabees 2:29–38 18 The Hasideans Join the Armed Resistance 19 1 Maccabees 2:42–44 19 The Hasideans Abandon the Revolt 19 1 Maccabees 7:12–18 20

vii viii Contents

Pharisees, , and 21 The 22 Josephus, Antiquities 18:12–15 22 Josephus, Jewish War 2:162–63 23 Josephus, Antiquities 13:297–98 24 Commentary on 2:12 (col. 1:4–8) 24 on 3:1–4 (col. 2:1–10) 25 Nahum Commentary on 3:6–7 (col. 3:1–8) 25 Nahum Commentary on 3:8 (col. 3:8–9) 26 Nahum Commentary on 3:9b–11 (col. 3:12—4:8) 26 The New Testament 26 The Sadducees 27 Josephus, Antiquities 18:16–17 27 Josephus, Jewish War 2:164–66 28 Acts 23:6–10 28 The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan, A 5 29 The Essenes 30 The Essenes According to Josephus 30 Josephus, Antiquities 18:18–22 30 Josephus, Jewish War 2:119–61 31 Essene Texts from 33 The History of the Sect 33 1:1–13 33 The Essene Teaching on the Two Spirits 34 The Rule of the Community 3:13–4:23 34 The Zealots 37 Judah the Gaulanite 38 Josephus, Antiquities 18:4–6, 9–10 38 Josephus, Jewish War 7:418–19 38 Josephus, Antiquities 18:23–24 39 Mishnah Sanhedrin 9:6 39 The Therapeutae 39 The Daily Life of the Therapeutae 40 Philo, On the Contemplative Life 24–33 40 The Dance and the Chorus 41 Philo, On the Contemplative Life 83–85, 88–89 41 Hellenism and Apocalypticism: Two Tendencies within Judaism 42 Hellenistic Judaism 42 4 Maccabees 1:1–6, 15–18 43 Apocalypticism 44 1 Enoch 44 1 Enoch 1:1–3 44 1 Enoch 93:1–2, 10; 91:11 45 1 Enoch 104:10–13 46 Contents ix

The Jews in the Eyes of the Pagans 47 Hecataeus of Abdera, History of 47 Apollonius Molon, On the Jews 48

2. Temple and Cult 55 In Praise of the Temple 56 A Song of Pilgrimage 56 Psalm 84:1–10 56 An Apostrophe to Zion 57 Apocryphal Psalms, col. 22 57 A “Pagan” Views the Temple and Its Cult 58 Aristeas to Philocrates 83–92 58 The Place of the Temple in Jewish Life 59 The Presence of God 60 1 Kings 8:27–34 60 Isaiah 6:1–5 61 The Place of Cultic Activity 62 Wisdom of ben Sira 50:5–21 62 Mishnah Tamid 4:1–2 and 7:2 64 Jerusalem—a Place of Pilgrimage 66 The 66 Other Aspects of the Temple 68 The Temple—Indispensable, Threatened, Destroyed 68 2 Maccabees 3:9–39 69 Critiques of Temple, Cult, and Priesthood 71 Jeremiah 7:1–15 71 Malachi 1:6–14 72 1 Enoch 89:73–74 72 Psalms of Solomon 2:1–3 and 8:8–21 73 Damascus Document 4:12—5:9 74 The Community as Temple 75 The Rule of the Community 8:4–10 76 The Eschatological Temple 76 Tobit 13:9–18 76 Sibylline Oracles 3:702–30 78 The New Jerusalem and Temple after 70c.e. 78 2 Baruch 4:2–6 79 4 Ezra 9:26—10:59 79 Parallel Developments 80 The New Testament and Early Christianity 80 Critique of the Temple 80 Mark 11:15–18 80 The Community as Temple 81 Ephesians 2:19–22 81 1 Peter 2:4–10 82 x Contents

Matthew 16:13–19 82 The Delegitimizing of the Levitical Priesthood 83 Testament of Levi 14:5–8 83 The Heavenly Temple 84 Hebrews 9:1–24 84 The Eschatological Jerusalem 85 Revelation 21—22:5 85 Rabbinic Literature 87 The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan, A 4 88 The Amida for the Ninth of Av 88 The Weekday Amida, Petition 17 89

3. Ideals of Piety 93 The Exhortation to Piety 94 Tobit 4:5–21 94 The Wise Man 97 Wisdom of ben Sira 39:1–11 97 Righteous Israel 99 4 Ezra 14:28–35 99 Abraham’s Children 100 Jubilees 20:1–10 100 Sins to Avoid 102 1 Enoch 99:11–16 102 The Virtue of the Wise 103 Aramaic Levi Document 13:1–13 103 The Character of the Jewish People 104 Sibylline Oracles 3:218–47 105 Social Justice 106 2 Enoch B 42:6–14 106 Why Observe the Law? 107 4 Maccabees 5:16–27 107 Philo, On Dreams 1.124–25 107 The Way of the Spirit of Truth 108 The Rule of the Community 4:2–6 108 Further Developments 109 The New Testament 109 Luke 6:20–23 109 Luke 6:24–26 110 Galatians 5:16–24 110 James 1:19–27 111 Second/Third Century “Jewish Christianity” 111 Moral Virtues 111 Testament of Levi 13:1–6 112 Testament of Judah 14:1–4 112 Contents xi

Testament of Issachar 4:1—5:3 113 Testament of Dan 5:1–3 114 Testament of Benjamin 3:1–5 115 Priestly Virtue 115 Testament of Isaac, p. 64 115 Rabbinic Literature 116 The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan, A 19 116 Babylonian Talmud Berakot 61b 117 Ethics of the Fathers (Mishnah Avot) 2:5–8 117

4. Deliverance, Judgment, and Vindication 121 An Early Judgment Oracle 125 1 Enoch 1–5 125 The Vindication of God’s Persecuted People 129 Descriptions of the Judgment 129 Daniel 12:1–3 129 Testament of Moses 9–10 130 Jubilees 23:23–31 132 Stories about the Vindication of the Persecuted Righteous 133 Wisdom of Solomon 2–5 134 2 Maccabees 7 137 God’s Judgment as Reward and Punishment 141 Tobit 4:5–11 141 Psalms of Solomon 3:3–12 142 4 Ezra 7:28–42 143 Testament of Abraham 12–14 145 The Rule of the Community 4:2–14 148 The Presence of Eternal Life 149 Hymn Scroll 19:3–14 149 Parallels and Developments 150 The New Testament 150 Jesus, the Persecuted and Vindicated Righteous One 150 The Resurrection and Judgment of Christians 151 The Presence of Eternal Life 152 Rabbinic Literature 152 Babylonian Talmud Berakot 28b 153 ToseftaSanhedrin 13:3–5 153 The Amida for New Year, Petition 3 155

5. The Agents of Divine Deliverance 159 Human Agents 159 The Davidic Messiah 159 Psalms of Solomon 17 160 4 Ezra 11–12 163 xii Contents

The Eschatological Priest and King 165 The Aramaic Levi Document 10–11 165 Expectations of the Qumran Community 166 Damascus Document 19:34—20:1 166 Damascus Document 12:23—13:2 167 Florilegium 1:10–13, 18–19 167 The Rule of the Congregation 2:11–22 168 The Two Messiahs and the Prophet 168 The Rule of the Community 9:8–11 169 The Testimonia 169 Transcendent Agents 170 The Son of Man 170 1 Enoch 37–71 170 4 Ezra 13 175 Melchizedek 176 The Qumran Melchizedek Document 177 2 Enoch, Appendix 177 Parallel Developments 179 The New Testament 179 Manifestations of a Heavenly Figure 179 The Davidic Messiah 180 Romans 1:3–4 180 Matthew 21:1–11 181 Matthew 16:13–19 182 The High Priest 182 The Epistle to the Hebrews 182 Hebrews 1:1–5 182 Hebrews 2:14–18; 4:14–16 183 Hebrews 6:19—7:3 184 Romans 8:31–34 185 The Son of Man 185 Mark 14:61–62 186 Mark 8:38 186 Matthew 24:36–44 187 Matthew 25:31–46 187 The Servant of the Lord 188 Second/Third Century “Jewish Christianity” 189 The Eschatological Priest 189 Testament of Levi 18 189 The Priestly and Royal Messiah(s) 192 Testament of Judah 21 and 24 192 Testament of Dan 5:10–13 193 The Rabbinic Writings 194 Contents xiii

The Davidic Messiah 194 The Weekday Amida, Petitions 14–15 194 Genesis Rabba 49:11 194 Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 97a–98a 194 The Royal and Priestly Messiahs 195 Commentary on Psalm 43 195

6. Lady Wisdom and Israel 201 Wisdom Personified 203 Job 28:12–28 203 The Book of Proverbs 205 The Speech of Wisdom 205 Proverbs 8 205 Wisdom in the Righteous People 208 Apocryphal Psalm 154, col. 18 208 Wisdom and the Fear of God 209 Wisdom of ben Sira 1:1–20 209 The Praise of Wisdom 211 Wisdom of ben Sira 24 211 Israel’s Quest for Wisdom 214 Baruch 3:9—4:4 214 Jewish Hellenistic Wisdom 217 Solomon Discusses Wisdom 218 Wisdom of Solomon 7:15—8:1 218 Solomon’s Prayer 220 Wisdom of Solomon 9 220 Further Observations 222 Wisdom Teaching Broadly Construed 222 4QInstruction (4Q415–18, 423) 223 Wisdom Withdraws from the World 225 1 Enoch 42 225 Developments and Parallels 225 Philo of Alexandria 225 On the Cherubim 49–50 225 On Flight and Finding 50–51 226 The New Testament 227 John 1:1–14 227 1 Corinthians 1:18–25 227 Rabbinic Texts 228 Genesis Rabba 1:1 228 A Pagan Text 228 Praise of Isis 228

Index of Passages Quoted and Cited 233 Introduction

The present volume is designed to illustrate certain salient points about Judaism as it developed in the last two centuries b.c.e. and in the century after the birth of Jesus. In this crucial period the patterns were set in which Judaism grew and developed for the next two millennia and in which Christianity arose and took on its enduring form. Because this period was so crucial for the two faiths, both Jews and Christians have tended to see the Judaism from which they issued in an oversimplified fash- ion. Jews have generally seen the religion of this age as merely a forerunner of the rabbinic Judaism that became dominant; Christianity has tended to interpret it in light of the attitudes toward Judaism found in the New Testament and earli- est Christian literature—many of which were generated in the heat of Jewish- Christian polemic. In fact, both of these assessments underestimate the great variety of religious belief, expression, and practice that existed in early postbibli- cal Judaism. Indeed, what is most remarkable about Judaism before the destruction of the temple is the wealth of its spiritual and conceptual world. Not only were there many Jewish groups, but these groups generated a broad range of religious ideas and expression. One major concern was the attempt to work out the implications of living according to the will of God and of interpreting God’s relationship to Israel that was expressed in the covenant on Sinai and in all that flowed from it. Ideas developed about the fate of humanity, the providence and justice of God, the purpose of history, and other issues lying at the heart of human concern. Indeed, the Jewish texts of this age foreshadow most of the answers that were later given to the basic problems of humanity, its relationship to God, and its life in the world. The piety and spirituality of Jews in this age had many faces. One aspect was reverence for the temple and its service; a second was a devotion to God that led people to join a “monastic” community in the desert such as that of the Essenes; a third was practical and sensible instruction that reflects the desire to conduct oneself and one’s daily life in a fashion pleasing to God and acceptable to one’s 1 2 Introduction fellows. By seeking insight into these aspects and others, we can perceive some- thing of the attitudes that permeated the Judaism of that time. Because we direct this work to nonexperts, we have eschewed the technicali- ties of the scholarly debate and have presented certain essential concerns and concepts as the ancient texts themselves express them. To facilitate this presen- tation, we have selected half a dozen vitally important topics and have assembled texts and documents that illustrate these topics graphically and clearly. It is from the study of the ancient texts themselves that we gain an insight into the liter- ary, religious, and social variety of the Judaism of the age. Moreover, when we assemble from different sources texts focused around a single theme, the diver- sity of perceptions, as well as shared underlying assumptions, stand out clearly. The six topics we have chosen illustrate different modalities of Jewish religious thinking and life of the period, they embody important creative thought, and they set forth conceptions that have had a profound influence on later Jewish and Christian thinking. Chapter 1 illustrates the variety of Jewish life in the large number of sects and parties that existed in this period. These different groups comprised the social reality in which beliefs were developed and piety was practiced, for Judaism was basically a religion of the community, not of the individual living alone or in iso- lation. We have discussed only the most important of these many groups. It is extremely important to realize, moreover, that our knowledge of them derives from biased sources—whether the bias be that of partial documents of the groups themselves or of tendentious attacks by their opponents. The truth about the groups, of course, lies some­where in-between. Insight into these groups pro- vides a “road map” for tracing the location of the religious ideas, and so it is crucial for understanding the social and religious history of the period. In this age, Judaism was a religion of the temple; at its heart stood the sanctu- ary on Mount Zion in Jerusalem (chapter 2). This temple was a center of sacrifi- cial worship of God. Here Jews came to express their joy in God, their contrition before God, and their awe at God’s work of creation. Much of the Book of Psalms is the prayer book of the temple. The temple was a central economic, spiritual, and legal institution of Judaism. Jews today find it difficult to appreciate that at the center of the spiritual life of their ancestors stood an institution in which animal sacrifices, libations, incense offerings, and other priestly actions were thought to have real sacred efficacy. Judaism today has much less of this sense of what Christians might call a sacrament. Christians too, and Protestant Chris- tians in particular, have found it difficult to comprehend or to sympathize with the idea of temple. They tend to identify their faith with that of the prophets; and the prophets, like Jesus after them, attacked the abuse of temple worship uncompromisingly, though not the temple worship itself. This distinction, how- ever, has often been lost. So, if we are to understand ancient Judaism, it is abso- lutely essential to appreciate the importance of the temple and its cult. Thus our selection of texts and our exposition of them present some aspects both of the material institution of the temple and of its spiritual importance and character. Introduction 3

At the same time, we have traced traditions that reflect a critique of the temple and hopes for a new and better temple. Piety, however, was not expressed only in worship at the temple. Human action generally is central to the way Judaism showed its fervent desire to con- form to the God’s will. This action took many forms, but it was—and it remains— the central aspect of Jewish religious life. As a means of presenting some of the varieties of Jewish religiousness, we have emphasized, in chapter 3, exhortations to the religious life. Some of these call on people to follow the path of upright and just action, devotion, love of God, and righteousness toward their fellows. Others summon the individual to a rigorously disciplined life in a desert com- munity with strict rules, habits, and customs. Still other texts set up the sage, the wise teacher and expounder of the Torah, as the ideal pattern. It is important to view these and other Jewish religious ideals over against the stereotype often perpetuated in studies of early Judaism that present Judaism as a dry, legalistic, external faith obsessed with the idea that God kept an account of one’s deeds in a balance book. The fervor of some of the texts also reminds us that modern Jewish presentations of the religion of this ancient period have too often been typified by an overintellectualization of its ancient patterns. At the root of much Jewish thinking is the belief in God’s justice. This is not simply the idea that God rewards people somehow for their good or evil deeds, but also the belief that the just and righteous God will vindicate the faithful in times of crisis. This belief—which enfolds the basic urge to show forth the righ- teousness of the Deity—was a primary motive in the development of the expec- tation of judgment at the end of days. This is the subject matter of chapter 4. In that final judgment, then, God’s justice would be apparent in the vindication of the righteous and their deliverance from their enemies. Belief in God’s justice and judgment, which took on its enduring forms in this age, became a basic part of both Judaism and Christianity. For the New Testament, and for Christianity after it, God’s act of vindication par excellence was the resurrection of Jesus. The last judgment has also played an important role in Christian thought, although Reformation polemics have obscured for Protestant Christians the thrust of New Testament texts that speak of a judgment on the basis of one’s deeds. The hope and expectation of divine vindication rooted in the justice of God sustained the Jewish people through the vicissitudes suffered during the two thousand years of their exile. In some Jewish texts, God alone is depicted as the executor of judgment. More often, however, judgment and vindication were expected to come by means of an agent. It was not that the Jews, as a single dogmatic group, awaitedthe Messiah. The variety of Judaism is reflected in a spectrum of beliefs as to who would be God’s agent (chapter 5). The Messiah, the son of David, the future king of Israel, is perhaps the best known of these. But there were others. Some texts speak of two Messiahs—a priest and a king. Others anticipate a future supernatural judge and redeemer, created before the world and enthroned with God. Some- times this figure is entitled “Son of Man”; elsewhere he is called Melchizedek. 4 Introduction

Yet other texts speak of a tribunal in which Abel, the son of Adam and the first righteous man, will judge the souls of the dead. Appreciation of this variety of figures is crucial for understanding the message of Jesus and the responses to him in the Jewish community. Moreover, the different expectations provided a variety of instruments by which Christianity could understand and interpret the special personality and role of Jesus. Because the person and work of Jesus are central to Christianity, we have illustrated the spectrum of New Testament belief by means of a relatively large number of texts. The belief in divine deliverance and the expectation of a messianic deliverer at the end of days has also been crucial to Jewish thought over the centuries, and indeed, these ideas comprise one of the major contributions of second temple Judaism to the ongoing thought of Israel. In our final chapter, “Lady Wisdom and Israel,” we trace the development of wisdom from practical teaching to an almost mythological figure, depicted as female. She becomes the Wisdom of God, a personality separate from God and acting along with God in the world, particularly in the drama of creation and redemption. Behind this development may lie older mythological patterns. The teachings of proverbial wisdom books were infused with these patterns, and then mythologized Wisdom was identified with the Torah. Thus the Torah itself took on a cosmic role. In the growth of the idea of wisdom, we perceive the develop- ment of conceptual structures that intersected and cross-fertilized one another, shaping early Christian thought and modifying the Judaism contemporary to it. For the rabbis it became self-evident that wisdom is the Torah, by which the world is constituted. Early Christianity, on the other hand, used the language and terminology of wisdom to express and interpret the person and activity of Jesus. He was Wisdom that became incarnate in order to redeem the creation. Our presentation of these texts and our commentary on them are designed, then, to provide a better appreciation of the varieties of Jewish belief and prac- tice at the turn of the era. This period is crucial for an understanding of the his- tory of Judaism and the rise and deveplopment of Christianity, for at this time the types of Jewish religion were many, and they developed and were formu- lated in complex social settings. The literature of this period allows us to perceive this richness and diversity. The subsequent course of political events led to the destruction of the temple (70 c.e.), with the loss of national independence and the exile of many Jews. This in turn brought about a certain withdrawal, con- solidation, and conscious delimitation of variety, and as a result, many of the types of Jewish thought and piety that were earlier vital and living disappeared from sight. Since our purpose is to illustrate Judaism of the second-temple period, par- ticularly from the second century b.c.e. on, we have presented the texts in their own right and we have interpreted them in their historical contexts. We do not view them, nor do we present them, as mere adjuncts to the study of the New Testament or as examples of a forerunner of rabbinic Judaism. Admittedly, that type of Judaism existed in this period, and we have adduced texts belonging to Introduction 5 it. Nonetheless, it was not the sole form of Judaism, nor, we maintain, a norma- tive one. For this reason, our presentation is not weighted in favor of those forms of Judaism that later became dominant. It would be foolish, of course, to deny that both Christianity and rabbinic Judaism grew out of this age and that from the study of it a great deal can be learned about the predecessors of the rabbis and about the ground from which Christianity sprang. For this reason, we have concluded each chapter with rabbinic and early Christian texts that illustrate the further developments of the faith and piety that characterized the early Judaism and with which this volume is primarily concerned. The ancient texts illustrate the multiplicity of forms of Jewish religious expres- sion. Nonetheless, at the present state of knowledge, they cannot tell us very much about the actual social relationships between their authors and propo- nents or tradents. Some insight into these may be gained from the texts deal- ing with sects and parties (chapter 1); however, the sort of historical evidence at our disposal does not enable us to make decisive and final statements. Even if we could describe the actual situation at a given point in the second temple period, that too might be misleading if viewed as a key to the understanding of later realities. So, for example, what must have been a minor group during this period—the early Christian community—became widespread and extremely important in the coming centuries. So did another of the streams of Judaism that was inherited by the rabbis. Into our discussion we have introduced a number of parallels from Greco- Roman religion. These show that Judaism did not live in a vacuum, but was influ- enced and affected by the religious currents of the broader world, although it modified and contained them according to its own particular character. The format of the book was designed to provide a balance between the texts and some necessary interpretation. The emphasis is on the texts. Accordingly, we have kept our introductions to the chapters and to the individual texts as brief as we could so that the reader encounters the texts themselves as quickly as possible. Nonetheless, texts written in one age and place always require expla- nation for the readers of a later age and a different culture. We have provided such explanation, in brief form, through formatting, titling, notes, and summary expositions. It should be emphasized that we intend the introductions, texts, and summary expositions to be read as a continuous whole. That is, each chapter is a selective treatment of a particular aspect of the religion of early postbiblical Judaism. In our commentary on the texts, we have attempted to avoid gender-specific language, especially when it applies to the Deity. In the translations themselves, recognizing the cultural contexts that generated these texts (which should not be ignored in a historical treatment), and not wishing to tinker with other people’s work, we have left the masculine pronouns referring to the Deity stand, as well as the use of “man” and “men” for “humanity,” “human beings,” or “people.” For practical reasons, we have limited the number of topics to be treated. The study of other topics would provide a broader and more comprehensive 6 Introduction view of early Judaism, better insight into the wealth of its religious expres- sion, and a greater sensitivity to its complexities. Such additional topics would include the interpretation and exposition of Scripture; the view of the world and humanity; personal religious experience; individual and communal prayer and devotion; regulations and law to guide one to the righteous life; magic and astrology; and speculations about the nature of the world, the geography of heaven and earth, and their human and superhuman forces. Although we have not dealt with these topics, the material that has been selected offers the reader a firsthand encounter with exciting and unusual religious thinking and with documents that are highly significant for the development of biblical religion and religious thought.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Companion Books

The topical approach of this reader is complementary to three books by the authors:

Michael E. Stone, Scriptures, Sects, and Visions: A Profile of Judaism from Ezra to the Jewish Revolts (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980; repr. Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, 2005).

Discusses a number of aspects of Jewish religion as these are understood by modern scholars. Thus it deals especially with the impact of recent discoveries on our understanding of the development of Judaism. The book has a brief “Key to Ancient Writings” as well as an index that, as far as the modern discussion of the history of the religion of Judaism is concerned, will help the reader find mate- rial that illustrates, expands, and supplements what is presented here.

George W. E. Nickelsburg, Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins: Diversity, Continuity, and Transformation (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003).

A detailed exposition of the topics in the present book, drawing on a wider range of texts and comparing and contrasting Judaism and first century Christi- anity. Topics include Scripture and Tradition, Torah and the Righteous Life, God’s Activity in Behalf of Humanity, Agents of God’s Activity, Eschatology, Contexts and Settings.

George W. E. Nickelsburg, Jewish Literature between the and the Mish- nah: A Historical and Literary Introduction (2nd ed.; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005).

A detailed exposition of the literary works produced in this period, understood in the historical context in which they were created, and set within the tradition of biblical literature, both of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. A Introduction 7

CD-ROM contains the full, searchable text of the book, a library of almost one hundred photographs that bring the texts and the locations to life, along with a Study Guide that includes chapter summaries, study questions, and links to important Web sites. A detailed topical index provides access to documents and references that illustrate the sub­jects discussed in the texts printed in the pres- ent volume.

General Bibliography

Each chapter of this book concludes with a bibliography of sources quoted and of selected works for further study. Texts from the Apocrypha have been taken from the Revised Standard Ver- sion of the Bible (rather than from the New Revised Standard Version, which is sometimes shaped more by contemporary sensitivities than by attention to the texts’ historical context and worldview). Normally, those from the Jew- ish Pseudepigrapha have been taken from the translations in the collection of R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon, 1913), vol. 2, or they have been translated anew by the authors. We have drawn our translations of the from a num- ber of sources. However, since there is no “canonical” translation of the ancient texts that have been preserved in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin, the reader may wish to consult alternative translations, particularly in the case of difficult or obscure passages. The Apocrypha are included in many modern translations of the Christian Bible. The Pseudepigrapha are gathered in the collections edited by James H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (2 vols.; Gar- den City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1983, 1985), and H. F. D. Sparks, The Apocryphal Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon, 1984). More or less full collections of the Dead Sea Scrolls include Florentino García Martínez,The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated: The Qumran Tetxs in English (Leiden: Brill/Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996); Flo- rentino García Martínez and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar, eds., The Dead Sea Scrolls: Study Edition (2nd ed.; 2 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 1997) (with facing Hebrew/Aramaic text and English translation); Donald W. Parry and , eds.,The Dead Sea Scrolls Reader (6 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 2004); Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (New York: Penguin, 1997); Michael Wise, Jr., and Edward Cook, eds., The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation (San Francisco: Harper­SanFrancisco, 2005). In addition to the secondary literature cited in the chapter bibliographies and the companion books described in the previous section, a number of works of general reference may be mentioned. Articles from these works have generally not been cited in our bibliographies.

John J. Collins and Daniel C. Harlow, eds., Dictionary of Early Judaism (Grand ­Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010). 8 Introduction

Lorenzo Di Tommaso, A Bibliography of Pseudepigrapha Research 1850–1999 (JSPSup 39; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001). An exhaustive biblio- graphical resource.

Encyclopedia Judaica, 16 vols., with additional yearbooks and decennial books (Jerusalem: Encyclopedia Judaica, 1971–1992). This also exists as an electronic resource.

David Noel Freedman, ed., Anchor Bible Dictionary (6 vols.; New York: Doubleday, 1992).

Lester Grabbe, Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian: The Persian and Greek Periods (2 vols.; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992).

Robert A. Kraft and George W. E. Nickelsburg, eds., Early Judaism and Its Mod- ern Interpreters (Atlanta: Scholars/Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986). History of scholarship since World War II.

Jacob Neusner, Alan Avery-Peck, and William Scott Green, eds.,The Encyclopedia of Judaism (2nd ed.; Leiden: Brill, 2005).

Jacob Neusner and William Scott Green, eds.,Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period (2 vols.; New York: Macmillan, 1996).

Shmuel Safrai and Menaham Stern, eds., The Jewish People in the First Century, (CRINT 1.1–2; Assen: Van Gorcum, 1974, 1976). Numerous studies in English of aspects of the social, economic, and religious history of the Jews at this time.

Lawrence H. Schiffman and James C. VanderKam, eds.,Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls (2 vols.; New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). This work includes many topics in addition to the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves.

Emil Schürer, History of the Jewish People at the Time of Jesus Christ (rev. ed. by Geza Vermes and Fergus Millar; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1973, 1979, 1986). Revi- sion of an old classic in three volumes, the last of which, in two parts, deals with the literature of the age, including an introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Good survey of the sources and the history of the time.

Michael E. Stone, ed., Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period (CRINT 2.2; Assen: van Gorcum/Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984). A sound introduction to the literature of the age, presented according to its literary genres.

Hermann L. Strack, Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash (rev. by Günther Stemberger; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992).