Gerbern S. Oegema, ed., The Oxford Handbook of the Apocrypha. Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press (coll. « Oxford Handbooks »), 2021, xix-598 p.

This book on the deutero-canonical texts, considered canonical by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian Church of the East, and Oriental Orthodox churches, and non-canonical texts by other mainly Protestant churches, is divided into three major sections : The Apocrypha in Judaism and Christianity ; The Apocrypha Historical and Legendary ; and Major Themes in the Apocrypha. Contributions focus on the theological themes and social implications of each book from the late Persian and early Hellenistic periods to the early Roman era. The essays provided here examine the place of the Apocrypha in the context of Early Judaism, the relationship between the Apocrypha and texts that came to be canonized, the relationship between the Apocrypha and the Septuagint, Qumran, the Pseudepigrapha, and the New Testament, as well as their reception history in the Western world.

The book opens with eight chapters dedicated to situating the Apocrypha against a backdrop of Jewish and Christian literature during the Graeco-Roman era and subsequent reception history. Topics include the Apocrypha in the context of early Judaism ; the Septuagint and other Greek witnesses ; Canonical History ; Genre and Historicity ; Apocalypticism ; Wisdom Literature ; History of Early Christianity ; and the Protestant reception of the Apocrypha. Included are sixteen contributions introducing the individual Apocrypha detailing the latest research. The final chapters address Biblical precepts and early rabbinic thought ; women and gender ; theology and ethics ; sexuality ; and biblical theology.

This handbook offers the reader diverse bibliographical resources with each contribution. In general, the vast majority of the essays deal with some or all of the following discussions concerning biblical background, textual witnesses, commentaries, date and provenance, original language, composition, authorship, textual attestations, structure and content, literary form (as in letter or homily), relationship to the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, theological themes, influence and reception in early Christianity. This is a wonderful and up-to-date handbook that should be in the library of any serious scholar on the Apocrypha.