OFB, 121–35
Overview of chapter eight
This chapter concludes the discussion of Jewish texts in the Bible, but also lays a foundation for the early Christian texts that will be examined in the next part of the book. "Second Temple" is a neutral term that describes this literature for the period from which it derives, but avoids sectarian labels such as "post-biblical" (from a Jewish perspective) or "inter-testamental" (from a Christian point of view). These are the writings of the Apocrypha and the pseudepigrapha (from the Greek terms meaning, false writings).
The chapter begins with a discussion of the historical period, including the emergence of Hellenism as a major cultural influence (pp. 121–23).
This is followed by a survey (pp. 123–26) of the major literary collections among these Jewish writings of the Second Temple period.
The focus then turns to the Greek Bible (the Septuagint, pp. 126–27) and the Apocrypha (pp. 128–30), before a brief discussion of the apocalyptic literature that is so characteristic of this period (pp. 130–33).
The concluding cameo essay (pp. 133–35) reflects on Second temple Judaism as a living religious tradition at the time of Jesus.
Web links of particular relevance to this chapter include:
25 Fascinating Facts about the Dead Sea Scrolls
BiblePlaces photo archive
Virtual World Project - virtual tours of selected archaeological sites
Interactive virtual tour of model of Second Temple Jerusalem (Israel Museum)
Shrine of the Book (Dead Sea Scrolls Museum)