Larry R. Helyer provides an introduction and historical context for the wealth of Jewish literature outside the Hebrew Bible, and he explores the pressures, realities, questions and dreams that nurtured and provoked these written works.

From the crisis of the Babylonian exile to the rise of rabbinic Judaism--a span of over six hundred years--the Jewish people produced a wealth of literature that lies outside the Hebrew Bible. Today it goes under names such as apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, Josephus and Philo, apocalyptic literature and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Mishnah and targums. But line by line, scroll by scroll, it represents the history and theology, the hopes and prayers of a living and diverse Judaism. It is an engrossing subject in and of itself, but for students of the New Testament it offers an invaluable context for understanding the words and actions of Jesus as well as the conversion and thinking of Paul. Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period is an introduction to this literature and places it within its historical context. Riding the explosive growth of knowledge of this period, Larry R. Helyer guides students to the heart of the matter. What were the pressures and realities, the questions and dreams that nurtured and provoked these written expressions? And how does this literature throw light on the text of the New Testament and origins of Christianity?

Exploring the world of the Second Temple period (539 BCE–70 CE), in particular the vastly diverse stories, commentaries, and other documents written by Jews during the last three centuries of this period, Malka Z. Simkovich takes us to Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, to the Jewish sectarians and the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus, to the Cairo genizah, and to the ancient caves that kept the secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls. As she recounts Jewish history during this vibrant, formative era, Simkovich analyzes some of the period’s most important works for both familiar and possible meanings. This volume interweaves past and present in four parts. Part 1 tells modern stories of discovery of Second Temple literature. Part 2 describes the Jewish communities that flourished both in the land of Israel and in the Diaspora. Part 3 explores the lives, worldviews, and significant writings of Second Temple authors. Part 4 examines how authors of the time introduced novel, rewritten, and expanded versions of Bible stories in hopes of imparting messages to the people. Simkovich’s popular style will engage readers in understanding the sometimes surprisingly creative ways Jews at this time chose to practice their religion and interpret its scriptures in light of a cultural setting so unlike that of their Israelite forefathers. Like many modern Jews today, they made an ancient religion meaningful in an ever-changing world.

Translated by Azzan Yadin Foreword by David Bivin David Flusser was a very prolific scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and his contributions to Scrolls research, apocalypticism, and apocalyptic literature are inestimable. With this English translation of many of his essays, Flusser's insights are now available to a wider audience than ever before. Here Flusser examines the influence of apocalypticism on various Jewish sects. He states that the teachings of Jesus, while reflecting first and foremost the views of the sages, were also influenced by Jewish apocalypticism. Examining the Essenes, their effect on Hebrew language, the split of sects, and much more, Flusser's collected essays offer an important source of study for any Dead Sea Scrolls scholar.

An internationally respected expert on the Second Temple period provides a fully up-to-date introduction to this crucial area of Biblical Studies. This introduction, by a world leader in the field, provides the perfect guide to the Second Temple Period, its history, literature, and religious setting. Lester Grabbe magisterially guides the reader through the period providing a careful overview of the most studied sources, the history surrounding them and the various currents within Judaism at the time. This book will be a core text for courses on the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, as well as Qumran, Intertestamental Literature and Early Judaism.

Die jüdische Literatur aus der Zeit des Zweiten Tempels zeichnet sich durch extensiven Gebrauch autoritativer Schriften aus. Die Textfunde von Qumran haben dieses Charakteristikum antik-jüdischer Literatur besonders deutlich gemacht. Bislang war die Wissenschaft zur Identifikation solcher Zitate und Anspielungen auf die Textkenntnis der Forschenden angewiesen. Seit kurzem ist ihre Identifikation mit Hilfe elektronischer Datenbanken möglich geworden. Unter Rückgriff auf die neue Technologie stellt diese Publikation erstmals umfassende Listen der Zitate von und Anspielungen auf die Bücher der Hebräischen Bibel in der jüdischen Literatur aus der Zeit des Zweiten Tempels zusammen. Viele der hier genannten Zitate und Anspielungen wurden erstmalig identifiziert. Die hier vorgelegten Listen sind ein unverzichtbares Hilfsmittel für alle, die zum antiken Judentum im Allgemeinen oder zur Auslegungs- und Textgeschichte der Hebräischen Bibel im Besonderen arbeiten. Die Zitate und Anspielungen werden zum einen nach der Buch-, Kapitel- und Versfolge der Hebräischen Bibel angeordnet und zum anderen nach der Sequenz der zitierenden und anspielenden Texte.

Based on a conference held Apr. 4-5, 2008 at Amherst College.