The Apocrypha (Core Biblical Studies) - Hardcover

DeSilva, David A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1630885789 ISBN 13: 9781630885786

Publisher: Abingdon Press, 2012

Synopsis

Using a thematic approach, David A. deSilva gives a brief introduction and summary of the largely unknown and unappreciated books of the Apocrypha. He also gives an overview to the social and cultural context of the world of the Apocrypha and early Christianity. From there, the book highlights the Apocrypha’s relevance and impact on Christian practices, spiritual formation, and on Early Church doctrine and theology.

About this title

From the Author:

After the books of the Hebrew Bible (the Protestant Old Testament) and the New Testament, the Apocrypha, or the Deuterocanonical Books (as Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians know these texts), constitutes the single most important collection of books from antiquity for understanding the shape of Judaism in the centuries around the turn of the era and the matrix within which the early church was formed.  The impact of these texts on Jesus, the writers of the New Testament, and the early church is pervasive and potent.  They are also valuable in their own right as witnesses to the faith of Jews seeking to remain loyal to the covenant and to God amidst the stresses of living as a minority group in the Hellenistic and Roman world. 

I wrote this book as an invitation particularly to the non-specialist and the general reader to explore these important texts and as a guide to thinking about their contexts and their contributions.  Unlike my much fuller Introducing the Apocrypha: Message, Contexts, and Significance (Baker Academic, 2002), which provides background and analysis on the collection text-by-text, this brief volume approaches the material more thematically.  It should be of use both to individual readers and to groups wishing to study these texts together.

Scholars, seminary students, and clergy who are likely to make use of Apocryphal texts in preaching and worship may wish to look into purchasing the volume published by Baker:

amazon.com/Introducing-Apocrypha-Message-Context-Significance/dp/0801031036/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1340368498&sr=8-4&keywords=david+desilva

About the Author:

Professor of Religious Studies, University of Findlay, Findlay, Ohio

About this edition

• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1630885789
• ISBN 13: 9781630885786
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 170