Overview

"An introduction to sacred writings that did not become part of the canon of the Old and New Testaments. In the centuries around the beginning of the Common Era, the Jewish people drew faith and inspiration from hundreds of sacred writings, not just those that make up the Hebrew Bible we know today. Early Christianity itself produced a wealth of sacred writings which, though they did not become part of the New Testament, were popular among believers and important in spreading the faith. After the canons of the Jewish and Christian Bibles were established, many of these works disappeared into obscurity. Some were lost entirely; others survived in translations. This book contains a wide selection of these ""lost"" works - from words considered to be those of prophets, kings and patriarchs (even Adam himself) to legends and stories that supply ""missing"" parts of the Gospels. For each work, commentary is followed by a translated extract in clear and contemporary language. The commentary places writings in their religious, social, and political context; explains the crucial importance of these works to the development of Jewish and Christian thought; and highlights the many legends and artistic tradition that sprang from them. It also examines the reasons - both religious and political - why these writings did not become part of the Jewish and Christian Bibles."

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9780226675794

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J. R. Porter is professor emeritus of theology at the University of Exeter and a former fellow of Oriel College, University of Oxford. His many publications include The Illustrated Guide to the Bible, Moses and Monarchy, and Proclamation and Presence. He has also contributed to many works of reference, including the Harper Bible Dictionary and the Oxford Companion to the Bible.

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