APOCRYPHA
604
APOCRYPHA
Fouitli Book of Esdias to the ranks of the apocrypha.
Not to insist on the allusion to the Book of Daniel
in xii, 11, the date given in the first version (iii, 1)
is erroneous, and the whole tenor and character of
the work places it in the age of apocalyptic literature.
Tlie dominant critical dating assigns it to a Jew ^VT\t-
ing in the reign of Domitian, A. D. 81-96. Certainly
it was composed some time before A. D. 218, since
it is expressly quoted by Clement of Alexandria.
The original text, iii-xiv, is of one piece and the
work of a single author. The motive of the book
is the problem lying heavily upon Jewish patriots
after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. The
outlook was most dark and the national life seemed
utterly e.xtinguished. In consequence, a sad and
anxious spirit pervades the work, and the WTiter,
u-sing the guise of Esdras lamenting over the ruin
of the first city and temple, insistently seeks to pene-
trate the reasons of God's apparent abandonment of
His people and the non-fulfilment of His promises.
The author would learn the future of his nation.
His interest is centred in the latter; the universal-
ism of the book is attenuated. The apocalypse is
composed of seven visions. The Messianism of Fourth
Esdras suffers from the discouragement of the era
and is influenced by the changed conditions pro-
duced by the advent of Christianity. Its Messias is
mortal, and his reign merely one of happiness upon
earth. Likewise the eschatology labours with two
conflicting elements: the redemption of all Israel
and the small number of the elect. All mankind
sinned with Adam. The Fourth Book of Esdras is
sometimes called by non-Catholics Second Esdras,
as they apply the Hebrew form, Ezra, to the canonical
books.
(f ) Apocalypse of Baruch. — For a long time a Latin fragment, chapters Ixxviii-lxxxvii, of this pseudo- graph had been known. In 1866 a complete Syriac text was discovered by Monsignor Ceriani, whose re- searches in the Ambrosian Library of Milan have so enriched the field of ancient literature. The Syriac is a translation from the Greek; the original was written in Hebrew. There is a close relation between this apocalypse and that of Fourth Esdras, but critics are divided over the question, which has influenced the other The probabilities favour the hypothesis that the Baruch apocryphon is an imitation of that of Esdras and therefore later. The approximate dates assie;ned to it range between a. d. 50 and 117. The "Apocalypse of Baruch" is a somewhat artificial production, without the originality and force of Fourth Esdras. It deals in part with the same problems, viz., the sufferings of the theocratic people, and their ultimate triumph over their oppressors. When cer- tain passages are freed from evident Christian inter- I)olations, its Messianism in general is earthly, but in the latter part of the book the Messias's realm tends unmistakably towards a more spiritual conception. As in Fourth Esdras, sin is traced to the disobedience of Adam. Greater importance is attached to the law than in the related composition, and the points of contact with the New Testament are more striking. The author was a Pharisee, but one who, while adopting a distinctly Jewish view, was probably ac- (Hjainted with the Christian Scriptures and freely laid them under contribution. Some recent students of the "Apocalyp.se of Baruch" have seen in it a composite work, but the majority of critics hold with better reason to its unity. The book is lengthy. It speaks in the person of Baruch, the secretary of Jerernias. It opens with a palpable error of chro- nology. Baruch announces the doom of the city and temple of Jerusalem of the Babylonian epoch. How- «'ver, not the Chaldeans, but angels, will bring about the destruction. Another and pre-existent Holy City is reserved by God, since the world cannot ex- ist without a JeriLsalem. The artificiality and te-
diousness of the apocalypse are redeemed by a
singular breadth of view and elevation of doctrine,
with the limitation noted.
(/) The Apocalypse of Abraham has recently been translated from Slavonic into German. It relates the circumstances of Abraham's conversions and the visions thereupon accorded him. His guide in the celestial realms is Jael, an angel distinct from God, but possessing divine powers in certain regards. The work has affinities with Fourth Esdras and the "Apoc- alypse of Baruch". The origin of evU is explained by man's free will. The Elect, or Messias, will gather the dispersed tribes, but God alone will punish the enemies of Israel. Particularism and the transcend- ence of the last cosmic stage are the notes of this apocalypse. Its data, however, are so vague that it is impossible to fix the time of its composition,
(g) The Apocalypse of Daniel is the work of a Persian Jew of the twelfth century, and is unique in fore- telling two Messia.ses: one, the son of Joseph (Christ), whose career ends in his failure and death; the other the son of David, who will liberate Israel and reign on earth gloriously.
Besides the works noted above at the end of the general section on Jewish Apocrypha: Schurer, Historic of the Jewish People in the Time oj Christ, (Edinburgh, 1886, tr. from the German), III, div. II. Special for Book of Henoch: Ch.vrles The Book of Enoch (Oxford, 1893; tr. and commentary); ScHODDE, The Book of Enoch (1882). Special for Assump- tion of Moses: Charles, The Assumption of Moses (London. 1897; Latin and English text and critical prolegomena). BuRKiTT, in Hast., Diet, of the Bible; Lagrange, Note9 sur le messianisme au temps de Ji-sus, in the Revue bihlique, Oct., 1905. — Special for Book of the Secrets of Henoch: Charles and Morfil, Book of the Secrets of Enoch (Oxford, 1896; tr. and introduction); Loisy, art. in Rerue d'histoire et de litterature religieuses, I, 29 sqci. (1896). — Special for Fourth Esdras: The complete Latin text is best edited in James and Bensly, Texts and Studies (Cambridge, 1895), I, 2d ed.; Latin Bibles want the missing fragment in vii. For English translations: Revised Apocrypha of the Eng- lish Bible (Oxford); Churton, Vncanonical and Apocryphal Scriptures (London, 1884). For studies: Thackeray, m Hast., Diet, of the Bible; Lagrange, art. noted for As- sumption of Moses, supra. Piffard, Le IV Hire d'Esdras (Tournay, 1904; a commentary). — Special for the Apocal.vpse of Baruch; Charles, The Apocalypse of Baruch (Lontion, 1896; text, tr., and critical notes). Same art. in Hast.. Diet, of the Bible; Lagrange, article noted for Assumption of Moses, supra. — Special for Apocal.vpse of Abraham: BoN- WETSCH, German text in Studien zur Geschichte dcr 7'henlogie und der Kirche (Leipzig, 1897), I, 1; Lagrange, art. in Revue Biblique, Oct., 1905. — Special for Apocal\T>se of Daniel: Darmesteter, study in Melanges Renter (Paris, 1887).
(2) Ix'gendary Apocrypha of Jewish Origin. — (a) Book of Jubilees or Little Genesis. Epiphanius, Je- rome, and others quote a work under the title "The Jubilees" or "The Little Genesis". St. Jerome testi- fies that the original was in Hebrew. It is cited by Byzantine authors down to the twelfth century. After that we hear no more of it imtil it was found in an Ethiopic MS. in the last century. A consid- erable Latin fragment has also been recovered. The Book of the Jubilees is the narrative of Genesis am- plified and embellished by a Jew of the Pharisee period. It professes to be a revelation given to Moses by the "Angel of the Face". There is a very systematic chronology according to the years, weeks of years, and jubilees. A patriarchal origin is as- cribed to the great Jewish feasts. The angelology is highly developed, but the writer disbelieved in the resurrection of the body. The observance of the Law is insisted on. It is hard to fix either the date or the religious circle in which the work arose. Je- rusalem and the Temple still stood, and the Book of Henoch is quoted. As for the lo\vest date, the book is employed by the Jewish portion of the "Tes- tament of the Twelve Patriarchs". Estimates vary between 135 ii. c. and A. D. 00. Among the lost Jew- ish apocrypha the one worthy of special notice here is (b) The Book of Jatuus ami Mamlires, and II Tim- othy, iii, 8, applies these names to the Egyptian magicians who reproduceil some of the wonders wrought by Moses. The names are not foiuid io
