Читать книгу Judaism II - Группа авторов - Страница 72

The corpus of Jewish writings from Hellenistic-Roman times³ comprises different genres, styles, and linguistic levels: wisdom literature, legal, liturgical, poetic texts, historiography, secret knowledge, contemporary criticism, polemics, apologetics, philosophy, prophecies, oracles, and so-called »apocalyptic« literature—writings interpreting the course of history and unveiling the anticipated end of the world. Their functions consisted mainly in exhortation, consolation, reassurance, and consolidation of the Jewish community. There is often self-legitimation, criticism, and polemic in response to the issues of the time. All of these are of great historical value as documents of the different belief systems in ancient Judaism during the Hellenistic-Roman period.⁴

Some of these writings became an integral part of Christian collections of standard sacred scriptures. These »apocryphal« or »deuterocanonical« writings, mainly doctrinal in character, seem to have been handed down in the three centers of ancient Judaism: the Land of Israel, Egypt, and Babylonia (Iraq). At no point in time did Jewish authors lend them authority and take them as normative or sacred by tracing their content compellingly to the written Torah or by asserting their inspiration—either directly or guaranteed by an unbroken tradition.

From Late Antiquity, another portion of the literature also was handed down, translated, revised, and supplemented exclusively by Christianity. This applies to the two most important Jewish authors of the epoch, Philo of Alexandria and Flavius Josephus, but also to religious literature which was initially acknowledged only within certain Jewish groups. Only modern-day manuscript discoveries (e.g. at Qumran) has made this literature accessible in an early textual form.

Despite the lack of a clear definition of canon and also possibily due to prescribed readings in the synagogues, post-70 CE rabbinic Judaism showed a growing occupation with demarcating authoritative collections of writings.⁵ Because of their lack of antiquity or an absence of prophetic inspiration (cf. 1 Macc 9:27) such books as Sirach were viewed as Sefarim Chizonim (»outside books«), which were not suitable for liturgical reading (cf. t. Yad. 2.13; y. Sanh. 28a, 17f.). Particularly because of their high regard for the Hebrew tradition, the rabbis did not hand down Hellenistic-Jewish literature; in rabbinic literature we find mainly isolated quotations (although in some cases seemingly treated as authoritative scripture by their introductory formula), as well as references and thematic allusions. Nonetheless, this literature had a role to play as part of the rich haggadic tradition in rabbinic schooling, in liturgical practice in the congregations, and in Jewish popular piety (cf. b. Git. 57B; b. Sanh. 100b).