The Oxford Handbook of the Apocrypha

by Gerbern S. Oegema (Editor)

The Oxford Handbook of the Apocrypha addresses the Old Testament Apocrypha, known to be important early Jewish texts that have become deutero-canonical for some Christian churches, non-canonical for other churches, and that are of lasting cultural significance. In addition to the place given
to the classical literary, historical, and tradition-historical introductory questions, essays focus on the major social and theological themes of each individual book. With contributions from leading scholars from around the world, the Handbook acts as an authoritative reference work on the current
state of Apocrypha research, and at the same time carves out future directions of study.

This Handbook offers an overview of the various Apocrypha and relevant topics related to them by presenting updated research on each individual apocryphal text in historical context, from the late Persian and early Hellenistic periods to the early Roman era. The essays provided here examine the
place of the Apocrypha in the context of Early Judaism, the relationship between the Apocrypha and texts that came to be canonized, the relationship between the Apocrypha and the Septuagint, Qumran, the Pseudepigrapha, and the New Testament, as well as their reception history in the Western world.
Several chapters address overarching themes, such as genre and historicity, Jewish practices and beliefs, theology and ethics, gender and the role of women, and sexual ethics.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

624 pages, Hardcover

Published May 31, 2021

Reviews

[Brandon Hawk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Oxford Handbook of the Apocrypha is an excellent volume, and I’ve very much enjoyed reading through and thinking with it. I’m glad to see a diverse group of contributors and a wide range of different types of contributions to the book, including chapters that offer helpful overviews of key topics as well as a detailed examination of each work in the Apocrypha. I have no doubt that this volume will become a standard reference for those interested in the subject. It presents chapters relevant for scholars already well versed in the corpus of the deuterocanonical works and those just beginning their forays into these works.

For a full response, see https://brandonwhawk.net/2022/03/17/r...

[Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This volume was extraordinarily useful for the historical context of each apocryphal book. I appreciated the close readings, especially when they addressed mistranslations and alternate interpretations. The section on apocalypses was a little less useful. Sara Parks' chapter on women was the highlight of the critical articles. I wish there had been a chapter that addressed economics, trade, taxation, tribute, slavery, forced relocation, because the financial underpinnings of the Second Temple era (invasion, empire, endless war, subsistence) are relevant to what was deemed socially proper/improper. I don't know enough to comment on the further reading sections, but I appreciate that they are separate from the articles' bibliographies.