It is no longer news that the texts that became the official Bible excluded apocryphal books, in many cases because they didn?t serve the worldview of the ruling classes. Early in the 20th century, R.H. Charles translated and edited a series of these texts. In 2003, we published The Book of Enoch, apocrypha describing the hierarchy of angels and demons. Now we are pleased to publish this significant end-times text. Writing at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ad, Baruch converses directly with God in a series of visions. The fall of Jerusalem is given as part of a larger end-of-the-world scenario. Baruch then receives prophecy: periods of light and darkness shall come, symbolized by rains bright and black, corresponding to alternating times when humanity lives in peace and harmony, then dark periods when evil reigns. Of particular note is the apocalypse when the Messiah appears again on earth. This alternate tale of the apocalypse inspires hope -- evil is punished, condemned to hell and cast off the earth, while those "left behind" are actually the righteous who will enjoy, literally, heaven on earth. Obviously a differing view from the currently in-vogue idea of "rapture." Also included in this edition is "The Assumption of Moses," an apocryphal fragment noted to have influenced other descriptions of the apocalypse included in the Bible. "For at the heights of the world they shall dwell, And they shall be made like unto the angels, And be made equal to the stars, And they shall be changed into every form they desire, From beauty into loveliness, And from that light into the splendour of glory."

This study addresses the chief critical issues in the interpretation of 3 Baruch -- including text, genre, setting, function, literary integrity, and original authorship -- and offers a reading of the document as both a Jewish and a Christian text.

2 Baruch is a Jewish pseudepigraphon from the late first or early second century CE. It is comprised of an apocalypse (2 Baruch 1-77) and an epistle (2 Baruch 78-87). This ancient work addresses the important matter of theodicy in light of the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 CE. It depicts vivid and puzzling pictures of apocalyptic images in explaining the nature of the tragedy and exhorting its ancient community of readers. Gurtner provides the first publication of the Syriac of both the apocalypse and epistle with a fresh English translation on the opposite page. Also present in parallel form are the few places where Greek and Latin texts of the book. An introduction orients readers to interpretative and textual issues of the book. Indexes and Concordances of the Syriac, Greek, and Latin will allow users to analyze the language of the text more carefully than ever before.

This volume of essays is concerned with ancient and modern Jewish and Christian views of the revelation at Sinai. The theme is highlighted in studies on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Paul, Josephus, rabbinic literature, art and philosophy. The contributions demonstrate that Sinai, as the location of the revelation, soon became less significant than the narratives that developed about what happened there. Those narratives were themselves transformed, not least to explain problems regarding the text's plain sense. Miraculous theophany, anthropomorphisms, the role of Moses, and the response of Israel were all handled with exegetical skills mustered by each new generation of readers. Furthermore, the content of the revelation, especially the covenant, was rethought in philosophical, political, and theological ways. This collection of studies is especially useful in showing something of the complexity of how scriptural traditions remain authoritative and lively for those who appeal to them from very different contexts.