Wisdom Literature of the Apocrypha and Related Compositions of the Second Temple Era

By examining the approaches to wisdom evident in its literary production, it is possible to get a glimpse of the diversity of Second Temple Jewish viewpoints. The identification of one trajectory is an attempt to describe and evaluate certain trends that are apparent in the literature without being able to make the claim that such an attempt is exhaustive. On the basis of the evidence available in one specific trajectory, Ben Sira and Wisdom of Solomon make the closest correlations between wisdom and Torah. While not providing evidence that the Torah was valued primarily as a collection of Pentateuchal law, it is apparent why these two compositions were valued by Jewish writers for whom this became the case.

The Apocrypha and Apocalypticism

The apocalyptic revolution in Judaism in the period from Antiochus to Pompey left virtually no impression in the Apocryphal writings of that time. The corpus is devoid of apocalyptic texts, and no part of any Apocryphal writing is apocalyptic, despite claims to the contrary. Using the apocalyptic worldview as a diagnostic tool, this chapter examines the lack of apocalyptic speculation in the Apocryphal writings, with attention to the Additions to Esther A and F, 2 Maccabees, and Ben Sira. It then discusses the Wisdom of Solomon and 4 Ezra (2 Esdras 3-14), which were composed in the first century ce and are clearly apocalyptic. It concludes with observations on the Apocryphal writings in view of the Deuteronomic and apocalyptic worldviews, and questions on their social settings.

Biblical Theology and the Apocrypha

The books of the Apocrypha contain extensive reflection on the theologies of earlier Jewish writings, particularly in regard to election, the Torah, and the Deuteronomistic theology of history, in the face of several critical situations facing the Jewish people (the advance and advantages of Hellenization, the repression of Judaism under Antiochus IV, ongoing life as a minority culture throughout the Diaspora, and domination and devastation under Rome). They also bear witness to important developments both in personal and national eschatology and in the identification of supernatural forces impacting human existence (e.g., angels and demons). Early Christians, in turn, found these texts to provide important resources for their reflection upon the person and work of Jesus, applying developments within the Wisdom tradition in their delineation of the relationship of the Son to God and within the Jewish martyrological traditions to their professions about the atoning force of Jesus’ death. These texts thus exercised an important influence on the theologies articulated in the New Testament and the development of the doctrines and creeds embraced by the universal church, despite the ongoing discussions within the church concerning their canonical status.

The Book of Judith

This article surveys the story told in the Septuagint Book of Judith, its historicity and date, and the characters and structure of the work. It discusses biblical influences on the apocryphal book, the debated issue of the work’s original language, and theories about the author’s identity. The article also looks at the different approach to Judith found in Jerome’s influential Vulgate version, and points to the moral and feminist questions raised by the figure of Judith. As for the latter, at first sight, Judith, the savior of her people, seems to have the makings of a feminist heroine. She is undoubtedly superior to all the men who surround her, superior in wisdom as well as in action. Judith is strong and self-reliant, controlled and calm, and in many ways she seems to be an androgynous figure, an honorary male, so to speak. However, Judith’s role in the plot requires that she be without family ties, attractive, and deceptive, while her role as a religious authority and mouthpiece for the author’s theological ideas requires that she be wise, pious, and observant. This makes Judith a complex and sometimes contradictory figure, but not a feminist one.The article ends with a very brief account of the book’s reception history.

Jewish Religion in the Apocrypha

In this chapter, the Apocrypha are read through the lenses of Jewish observances in their original Second Temple era milieu, in their (dis-)continuity with biblical as well as post-Temple Rabbinic culture. This allows for these writings, all dating from the Graeco-Roman period, to be put on a trajectory from pre-exilic times (to which they were heir and to which they refer), through Second Temple times, to Rabbinic Judaism. The total known textual corpus dating from this period is much greater and also comprises the Pseudepigrapha, Qumran, and the Hellenistic-Jewish historians. Early Christian texts in their interaction with their Jewish subtexts, too, shed light on the development of Early Judaism of this period although these fall outside the purview of this article, which narrows its focus to a selection of representative examples, namely, 1 and 3 Maccabees, Tobit and Judith, the Additions to Daniel and to Esther, as well as the Wisdom of Solomon.

Sirach

This survey article on the Book of Sirach (Latin: Ecclesiasticus) first considers its composition by a Jerusalem scribe named Ben Sira, who lived in the early second century bce. The article then examines major themes in the book’s theology (wisdom, creation, theodicy, and death), as well as its much-criticized portrayal of women. The chapter also explores its ethics of honor, generosity, and friendship, as well as the review of biblical history in the Praise of the Ancestors (Sirach 44–50). Thereafter, the chapter notes the book’s parallels to the New Testament, as well as its mixed reception history within Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant faith communities. Finally, to illustrate aspects of the reception history, the article offers four case studies showing how various later interpreters have used the sage’s teaching on testing (2:1–18), friendship (6:5–17), social justice (34:21–31), and remembering godly ancestors (44:1–15).

The Protestant Reception of the Apocrypha

Due to the fact that most modern Protestant creeds do not explicitly reject the Apocrypha as inspired or define what books make up the canon they refer to when speaking of the Old Testament (nor did many of their spiritual forebears during the Reformation), it must be acknowledged that for many Protestants, the Old Testament canon has not been formally closed since the Reformation began. This may have been caused by fact that Protestant reformers did not all reject the Apocrypha, but to the contrary, continued to support their status as a strange middle-ground, the Reformation made no concrete or agreed decisions or assessments regarding the status of the Apocrypha. Moreover, the reformers who held positive views of these books went in one of two directions: to continue the tradition of treating these books as essential for Bibles but inferior in status, or treating the category as a temporary purgatory until such a time that their correct status as inspired or uninspired could be determined.

2 Maccabees

2 Maccabees describes a unique synergy between martyrs and militants that empowers the Jewish polity to wrest Jerusalem and its temple from Seleucid control. The dramatization of events between ca. 176 and 161 bce profiles the reactions to the Hellenization of Jerusalem by three segments of the Jewish populace: the priests who promote the initiative, the observant Jews who resist it at the cost of their lives, and the guerrilla force that defeats the Seleucids on the battlefield. The unfolding of events illustrates that adherence to the ancestral traditions is essential to shaping Jerusalem into a unique Jewish polis in the Hellenistic world. The refined Hellenistic texture of the narrative is designed to address an audience in the diaspora. The two prefatory letters invite Jews in Egypt to view the temple, Jerusalem, and Judea as the ultimate meeting ground for all the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Book of Tobit

The Book of Tobit, whose main parts were written in Aramaic around 200 bce, tells the story of the healing of blind Tobit and the liberation of young Sarah from the demon Asmodaeus, who had already killed seven of her future husbands on their wedding night. Both actions are described as “healing,” which is rendered possible following the prayers of the protagonists and through the instruction of the angel Raphael. Since the angel is sent by God, medical concepts (both magical and rational) are integrated into the Yahweh religion. By framing the book with the motifs “Exile/Nineveh” and “Land/Jerusalem,” the narrative moreover implies a collective aspect. Against this backdrop, the protagonists’ individual stories may be understood as a paradigm of God’s saving action in history.

2 Esdras

In this chapter, Shayna Sheinfeld introduces and analyzes the text and history of the apocryphal book known as 2 Esdras. 2 Esdras is a composite work, comprised of three separate works. The earliest portion, called 4 Ezra, can be found in chapters 3–14 of 2 Esdras. It is a Jewish apocalypse written after the destruction of the second temple around 100 ce. While 4 Ezra claims that it is part of seventy secret books meant for “the wise,” Sheinfeld argues that the text was meant to reach out to a broader Jewish audience. Two Christian additions—5 Ezra (2 Esdras 1–2) and 6 Ezra (2 Esdras 15–16)—bookend 4 Ezra, changing its function from an apocalypse meant to provide meaning for Jews following the destruction of the Second Temple to a narrative that focuses on the rise of Christianity as superseding Israel and on those who will experience persecution because of their beliefs.