Introducing the Apocrypha: Message, Context, and Significance - Hardcover

Desilva, David Arthur

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080102319X ISBN 13: 9780801023194

Publisher: Baker Pub Group, 2002

Synopsis

The status of the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) books has been one of the longstanding areas of disagreement among various Christian traditions. David deSilva suggests, however, that whether one views these books as Scripture (Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians) or not (Protestant Christians), these books should be read and studied for their inherent value.

The books of the Apocrypha are a witness to faith, specifically the faith of Jewish people living from 200 B.C.E. to 100 C.E. Contemporary Christian readers find these books to be surprisingly relevant. In addition, they provide essential historical background for understanding the Judaism of Jesus¹ day and the Jewish matrix of early Christianity.

After explaining the value of studying the Apocrypha and surveying the historical context from which these writings emerged, deSilva proceeds through each book of the Apocrypha (as found in the NRSV). Using all the tools of a skilled interpreter, he provides the necessary background details (date, circumstances of writing, etc.) before surveying the content and message of each book. Along the way, readers are introduced to connections between the Apocrypha and the Old and New Testaments and are encouraged to embark upon their own exploration of these fascinating books.

Especially suitable for classroom settings, this substantive, up-to-date, and well-written volume is accessible to and will be enjoyed by clergy and laity as well.

About this title

About the Author

David A. deSilva (Ph.D., Emory University) is Trustees' Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio and an ordained elder in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.  He is the author of over twenty books, including The Jewish Teachers of Jesus, James, and Jude: What Earliest Christianity Learned from the Apocrypha (2012), Seeing Things John's Way: The Rhetoric of the Book of Revelation (2009), An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation (2004), and Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture (2000), as well as a hundred journal articles and contributions to reference works and collections of essays.

Reviews

Perhaps by virtue of its very stepchild status, the Apocrypha is an endless source of fascination for the scholar and lay reader of scriptural texts. This roundup of current scholarship by deSilva (New Testament and Greek, Ashland Theological Seminary) is thorough and effective, and his appreciation of the texts is palpable. This work is well informed but boasts the accessible prose we have come to expect from this publisher. Readers should note that deSilva's approach is Christian, albeit respectful of the Jewish origins of most of the Apocrypha's works. For most collections.
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Apocrypha contain the testimony of faithful Jews who sought to live out their loyalty to God in a very troubled (and often hostile) world. While it is difficult to identify a single common theme running through the whole collection, a major concern addressed by many of these texts involves how Jews are to respond to the challenges of Hellenism and of persevering as a minority culture in a Greek world. It is perhaps this aspect of the Apocrypha that most draws me to these texts, since a similar question continues to face the community of disciples: What challenges threaten the commitment of the contemporary people of God, and how can we find a faithful response to God in our world?

Edition details

• Publisher: Baker Pub Group
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080102319X
• ISBN 13: 9780801023194
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 428