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Pseudepigrapha
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Pseudepigrapha(alsoAnglicizedas"pseudepigraph"or"pseudepigraphs")arefalselyattributedworks,
textswhoseclaimedauthorisnotthetrueauthor,oraworkwhoserealauthorattributedittoafigureof
thepast.[1]Thewordpseudepigrapha(fromtheGreek:,pseudes,"false"and,
epigraph,"name"or"inscription"or"ascription"thuswhentakentogetheritmeans"false
superscriptionortitle"[2]seetherelatedepigraphy)isthepluralof"pseudepigraphon"(sometimes
Latinizedas"pseudepigraphum").
Pseudepigraphycoversthefalseascriptionofnamesofauthorstoworks,eventoauthenticworksthat
makenosuchclaimwithintheirtext.Thusawidelyacceptedbutincorrectattributionofauthorshipmay
makeacompletelyauthentictextpseudepigraphical.Assessingtheactualwriterofatextlocates
questionsofpseudepigraphicalattributionwithinthedisciplineofliterarycriticism.
InOldTestamentbiblicalstudies,thetermPseudepigraphatypicallyreferstoanassortedcollectionof
Jewishreligiousworksthoughttobewrittenc300BCto300AD.TheyaredistinguishedbyProtestants
fromtheDeuterocanonical(CatholicandOrthodox)orApocrypha(Protestant),thebooksthatappearin
extantcopiesoftheSeptuagintfromthefourthcenturyon,[3]andtheVulgatebutnotintheHebrew
BibleorinProtestantBibles.[4]Catholicsdistinguishonlybetweenthedeuterocanonicalandalltheother
books,thatarecalledbiblicalApocrypha,anamethatisalsousedforthepseudepigraphaintheCatholic
usage.Inaddition,twobooksconsideredcanonicalintheTewahedochurches,viz.1Enochand
Jubilees,arecategorizedas"pseudepigrapha"fromthepointofviewoftheChalcedonianchurches.

Contents
1 Classicalandbiblicalstudies
1.1 Literarystudies
1.2 OldTestamentandintertestamentalstudies
1.3 NewTestamentstudies
1.3.1 Paulineepistles
1.3.2 OtherNewTestamentpseudepigrapha
1.3.3 Authorshipandpseudepigraphy:levelsofauthenticity
2 Seealso
3 Citations
4 References
5 Externallinks
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Classicalandbiblicalstudies
Therehaveprobablybeenpseudepigraphaalmostfromtheinventionoffullwriting.Forexample,
ancientGreekauthorsoftenrefertotextswhichclaimedtobebyOrpheusorhispupilMusaeusbut
whichattributionsweregenerallydisregarded.AlreadyinAntiquitythecollectionknownasthe
"Homerichymns"wasrecognizedaspseudepigraphical,thatis,notactuallywrittenbyHomer.

Literarystudies
Insecularliterarystudies,whenworksofantiquityhavebeendemonstratednottohavebeenwrittenby
theauthorstowhomtheyhavetraditionallybeenascribed,somewritersapplytheprefixpseudototheir
names.ThustheencyclopediccompilationofGreekmythcalledBibliothekeisoftennowattributed,not
toApollodorusofAthens,butto"pseudoApollodorus"andtheCatasterismi,recountingthetranslations
ofmythicfigureintoasterismsandconstellations,nottotheseriousastronomerEratosthenes,buttoa
"pseudoEratosthenes".Theprefixmaybeabbreviated,asin"psApollodorus"or"psEratosthenes".

OldTestamentandintertestamentalstudies
Inbiblicalstudies,pseudepigrapharefersparticularlytoworkswhichpurporttobewrittenbynoted
authoritiesineithertheOldandNewTestamentsorbypersonsinvolvedinJewishorChristianreligious
studyorhistory.Theseworkscanalsobewrittenaboutbiblicalmatters,ofteninsuchawaythatthey
appeartobeasauthoritativeasworkswhichhavebeenincludedinthemanyversionsoftheJudeo
Christianscriptures.EusebiusofCaesareaindicatesthisusagedatesbackatleasttoSerapion,bishopof
AntiochwhomEusebiusrecords[5]ashavingsaid:"Butthosewritingswhicharefalselyinscribedwith
theirname(tapseudepigrapha),weasexperiencedpersonsreject...."
ManysuchworkswerealsoreferredtoasApocrypha,whichoriginallyconnoted"secretwritings",those
thatwererejectedforliturgicalpublicreading.Anexampleofatextthatisbothapocryphaland
pseudepigraphicalistheOdesofSolomon.[6]Itisconsideredpseudepigraphicalbecauseitwasnot
actuallywrittenbySolomonbutinsteadisacollectionofearlyChristian(firsttosecondcentury)hymns
andpoems,originallywrittennotinHebrew,andapocryphalbecausetheywerenotacceptedineither
theTanakhortheNewTestament.
ProtestantshavealsoappliedthewordApocryphatotextsfoundintheRomanCatholicandEastern
OrthodoxscriptureswhichwerenotfoundinHebrewmanuscripts.RomanCatholicscalledthosetexts
"deuterocanonical".Accordingly,therearoseinsomeProtestantbiblicalscholarshipanextendeduseof
thetermpseudepigraphaforworksthatappearedasthoughtheyoughttobepartofthebiblicalcanon,
becauseoftheauthorshipascribedtothem,butwhichstoodoutsideboththebiblicalcanonsrecognized
byProtestantsandCatholics.TheseworkswerealsooutsidetheparticularsetofbooksthatRoman
CatholicscalleddeuterocanonicalandtowhichProtestantshadgenerallyappliedthetermApocryphal.
Accordingly,thetermpseudepigraphical,asnowusedoftenamongbothProtestantsandRoman
Catholics(allegedlyfortheclarityitbringstothediscussion),maymakeitdifficulttodiscussquestions
ofpseudepigraphicalauthorshipofcanonicalbooksdispassionatelywithalayaudience.Toconfusethe
matterevenmore,EasternOrthodoxChristiansacceptbooksascanonicalthatRomanCatholicsand
mostProtestantdenominationsconsiderpseudepigraphicaloratbestofmuchlessauthority.Thereexist
alsochurchesthatrejectsomeofthebooksthatRomanCatholics,OrthodoxandProtestantsaccept.The
sameistrueofsomeJewishsects.Manyworksthatare"apocryphal"areotherwiseconsideredgenuine.

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Thereisatendencynottousethewordpseudepigraphawhendescribingworkslaterthanabout300AD
whenreferringtobiblicalmatters.[4]:pp.222228ButthelateappearingGospelofBarnabas,Apocalypseof
PseudoMethodius,thePseudoApuleius(authorofafifthcenturyherbalascribedtoApuleius),andthe
authortraditionallyreferredtoasthe"PseudoDionysiustheAreopagite",areclassicexamplesof
pseudepigraphy.InthefifthcenturythemoralistSalvianpublishedContraavaritiam("Againstavarice")
underthenameofTimothytheletterinwhichheexplainedtohisformerpupil,BishopSalonius,his
motivesforsodoingsurvives.[7]Thereisalsoacategoryofmodernpseudepigrapha.
ExamplesofbookslabeledOldTestamentpseudepigraphafromtheProtestantpointofviewarethe
EthiopianBookofEnoch,Jubilees(bothofwhicharecanonicalintheEthiopianOrthodoxTewahedo
Church,theEritreanOrthodoxTewahedoChurch,andtheBetaIsraelsectofJudaism)theLifeofAdam
andEveand"PseudoPhilo".
ThetermPseudepigraphaalsocommonlydescribesnumerousworksofJewishreligiousliterature
writtenfromabout300BCto300AD.Notalloftheseworksareactuallypseudepigraphical.Italso
referstobooksoftheNewTestamentcanonwhoseauthorshipismisrepresented.Suchworksincludethe
following:[4]
3Maccabees
4Maccabees
AssumptionofMoses
EthiopicBookofEnoch(1Enoch)
SlavonicBookofEnoch(2Enoch)
BookofJubilees
GreekApocalypseofBaruch(3Baruch)
LetterofAristeas
LifeofAdamandEve
MartyrdomandAscensionofIsaiah
PsalmsofSolomon
SibyllineOracles
SyriacApocalypseofBaruch(2Baruch)
TestamentsoftheTwelvePatriarchs

NewTestamentstudies
Manyscholarsmaintainthatnoletteractuallyknowntobepseudepigraphicalwouldeverhavebeen
admittedtotheNewTestamentcanon.Otherscholarssuggestthatthechurchonlydevelopeditshard
lineagainstpseudepigraphybecausethepracticewasbeingabused.Someworksthatweredefinite
forgeriesledtoarejectionofanysortofpseudepigraphy.[8]:p.225226
Paulineepistles
Incontrasttomostwritingstermedpseudepigraphical,all13ofthelettersattributedtoPaularestill
consideredcanonical.AllofthemarestillpartoftheHolyBibleandarefoundationalfortheChristian
Church.Therefore,thoselettersthoughttobepseudepigraphicarenotconsideredanylessvaluablethan
theotherletters.[9]Theyaretermedas"disputed"or"pseudepigraphical"lettersbecausetheyare
believedbymostscholarstohavecomefromfollowerswritinginPaul'sname,oftenusingmaterialfrom
hissurvivingletters.ThosefollowersmayhavehadaccesstoletterswrittenbyPaulthatnolonger
survive.[10]Duetolackofagreementregardingtheauthorshipofcertainletters,sometheologiansprefer
tosimplydistinguishbetween"undisputed"and"disputed"letters,thusavoidingtheterm
"pseudepigraphical".[9]
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AuthorshipofsixoftheApostlePaul'slettershasbeenquestionedbysomescholars,accordingtoE.P.
Sanders.[10]ThesixdisputedepistlesareEphesians,Colossians,2Thessalonians,1Timothy,2Timothy,
andTitus.OfthesethefirstthreearesometimesreferredtoasDeuteroPaulinelettersmeaning
"secondarylettersofPaul".TheyinternallyclaimtohavebeenwrittenbyPaul,butthereisnoconsensus
amongscholarsonthatassertion.Thoseknownasthe"PastoralEpistles",1Timothy,2Timothy,and
Titus,arewidelyregardedaspseudographs,thoughcertainscholarsdoconsiderthemgenuine.[8]
MarkPowellwritesthatthefirstcenturychurchdidnotseemtohaveaproblemwiththenowdisputed
letterssincetheirthoughtwascompatiblewithPaul'sdoctrines.Anestablishedconventionatthetime
especiallyepistleswritteninthefirsttwoorthreedecadesafterPaul'sprobablemartyrdom,mayhave
beenviewedaspartofthelegitimatePaulinetraditionandincludedassuchintheNewTestament
canon.However,thatapparentattitudeof"acceptablepseudepigraphy"wasshortlivedanddidnot
continueintothesecondcentury.Powellsaysthatthereisnorecordofanyoneintheearlychurchever
recognizingthatawritingwaspseudepigraphicalinanysenseofthewordandstillregardingitas
authoritative.[8]:p.225226
OtherNewTestamentpseudepigrapha
ExamplesofotherNewTestamentpseudepigraphathatwerenotincludedintheNewTestamentcanon
aretheGospelofPeter[11]andtheattributionoftheEpistletotheLaodiceans[12]toPaul.Theyareoften
referredtoasNewTestamentApocrypha.FurtherexamplesofNewTestamentpseudepigraphainclude
theaforementionedGospelofBarnabas,[13]andtheGospelofJudaswhichbeginsbypresentingitselfas
"thesecretaccountoftherevelationthatJesusspokeinconversationwithJudasIscariot".
Authorshipandpseudepigraphy:levelsofauthenticity
Scholarshaveidentifiedsevenlevelsofauthenticitywhichtheyhaveorganizedinahierarchyranging
fromliteralauthorship,meaningwrittenintheauthor'sownhand,tooutrightforgery:
1.Literalauthorship.Achurchleaderwritesaletterinhisownhand.
2.Dictation.Achurchleaderdictatesaletteralmostwordforwordtoanamanuensis.
3.Delegatedauthorship.Achurchleaderdescribesthebasiccontentofanintendedlettertoa
discipleortoanamanuensis.
4.Posthumousauthorship.Achurchleaderdies,andhisdisciplesfinishaletterthathehad
intendedtowrite,sendingitposthumouslyinhisname.
5.Apprenticeauthorship.Achurchleaderdies,anddiscipleswhohadbeenauthorizedtospeakfor
himwhilehewasalivecontinuetodosobywritinglettersinhisnameyearsordecadesafterhis
death.
6.Honorablepseudepigraphy.Achurchleaderdies,andadmirersseektohonorhimbywriting
lettersinhisnameasatributetohisinfluenceandinasincerebeliefthattheyareresponsible
bearersofhistradition.
7.Forgery.Achurchleaderobtainssufficientprominencethat,eitherbeforeorafterhisdeath,
peopleseektoexploithislegacybyforginglettersinhisname,presentinghimasasupporterof
theirownideas.[8]:p.224

Seealso
Apocrypha
ListofOldTestamentpseudepigrapha
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Citations
1.Bauckham,Richard"PseudoApostolicLetters",JournalofBiblicalLiterature,Vo.107,No.3,September
1988,pp.469494.
2.LSJentryfor,http://perseus.uchicago.edu/cgibin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.83:2:17.LSJ,
accessed1/20/11
3.Beckwith,,RogerT.(November1,2008).TheCanonoftheOldTestament(PDF).Eugene,OR:Wipf&
StockPub.pp.62,38283.ISBN9781606082492.Retrieved23November2015.
4.Harris,StephenL.,UnderstandingtheBible.PaloAlto:Mayfield.1985.
5.Eusebius,HistoriaEcclesiae6,12.
6.Charlesworth,James.OdesofSolomon(http://www.miseri.edu/users/davies/thomas/odes.htm)
7.Salvian,Epistle,ix.
8.Powell,MarkA.IntroducingtheNewTestament.BakerAcademic,2009.ISBN9780801028687
9.Just,Felix."TheDeuteroPaulineLetters"(http://catholicresources.org/Bible/PaulDisputed.htm)
10.Sanders,E.P."SaintPaul,theApostle".EncyclopdiaBritannica.EncyclopdiaBritannicaOnline
AcademicEdition.EncyclopdiaBritannicaInc.,2013.Web.20May2013.
11.JoelWillitts,MichaelF.Bird:"PaulandtheGospels:Christologies,ConflictsandConvergences"page32
12.LewisR.Donelson:"PseudepigraphyandEthicalArgumentinthePastoralEpistles",p.42
13.Joosten,Jan(January2002)."TheGospelofBarnabasandtheDiatessaron".HarvardTheologicalReview95
(1):7396.

References
Kiley,Mark.ColossiansasPseudepigraphy(BibleSeminar,4Sheffield:JSOTPress)1986.
Colossiansasanondeceptiveschoolproduct.
Metzger,B.M."Literaryforgeriesandcanonicalpseudepigrapha",JournalofBiblicalLiterature
91(1972).
vonFritz,Kurt,ed.Pseudepigraphica.1(Geneva:FoundationHardt).Contributionson
pseudopythagorica(theliteratureascribedtoPythagoras),thePlatonicEpistles,JewishHellenistic
literature,andthecharacteristicsparticulartoreligiousforgeries.

Externallinks
OnlineCriticalPseudepigrapha(http://ocp.stfx.ca/)OnlinetextsofthePseudepigraphaintheir
originalorextantancientlanguages
Smith,MahlonH.Pseudepigrapha(http://virtualreligion.net/iho/pseudepig.html)entryinIntoHis
Own:PerspectiveontheWorldofJesusonlinehistoricalsourcebook,atVirtualReligion.net
JournalfortheStudyofthePseudepigrapha(http://jsp.sagepub.com)officialwebsite
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pseudepigrapha&oldid=696567746"
Categories: Pseudepigraphy Apocrypha Christiangenres Jewishliterature Religioustexts
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