Second, these writings were originally composed in different lan-
guages. For several of the documents an original composition in Hebrew
or Aramaic is confirmed through the evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Most chapters of Tobit are found in fragments from one Hebrew manu-
script (4Q200) and in four Aramaic manuscripts (4Q196-199); Hebrew
texts of Ben Sira exist in two manuscripts from the Qumran caves (2Q18
[from 6:14-15 or 1:19-20 and 6:20-31]; 11Q5 21:1–22:1 [from Sirach 51]) and
the Ben Sira scroll from Masada (fragmentary text of 39:27–44:17); Psalm
151 is found in 11Q5 col. 28, though, unlike in the Greek Orthodox Psalter, it
is divided into two psalms separated by avacatand carrying their own
superscriptions (151A in 11Q5 28:3-12; 151B in 28:13); and, finally, Hebrew
texts for Psalms 154 and 155 from the Syriac Psalter are preserved, respec-
tively, in 11Q5 18:1-16 and 24:3-17.
In addition, linguistic studies have made it likely that several docu-
ments preserved only in Greek or Latin versions derive from now-lost Se-
mitic versions: Judith, 1 Esdras, Epistle of Jeremiah (preserved in a Greek
fragment from Qumran, 7Q2), Prayer of Azariah, the Song of the Three
Young Men, Bel and the Dragon, and 1 Maccabees. Interestingly, Jerome
claims to have known Semitic versions of Tobit (Aramaic), Ben Sira (He-
brew), 1 Maccabees (Hebrew), and Judith (Hebrew). Less certain is
whether and to what extent a Semitic version lies behind the Greek texts of
1 Baruch, Prayer of Manasseh, and Susanna. On the other hand, several of
the works were originally composed in Greek. These are Greek Esther,
Wisdom of Solomon, 2 Maccabees, and 3-4 Maccabees.
Third, though it is impossible to be precise about the date of composi-
tion for each of the Protestant “apocrypha,” it is at least certain that they
emerged during the period between Alexander the Great’s conquests in the
fourth centuryb.c.e.and the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132-135c.e.The writing
of Tobit, Ben Sira, and Epistle of Jeremiah falls within the early part of this
period, that is, from 300b.c.e.until the Maccabean crisis in 175-164b.c.e.
Most of the books derive from the time between the Maccabean wars until
the turn of the Common Era: 1 Esdras, Judith, Greek Esther, Prayer of
Azariah, the Song of the Three Young Men, Susannah, Bel and the Dragon, 1
and 2 Maccabees, and possibly Prayer of Manasseh. The latest composition
is4 Ezra(ca. 100c.e.), which addresses circumstances arising from the de-
struction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans.
The diverse linguistic origin, literary genre, and date of these works in-
dicate why it was that they would not become a collection of books during
the Second Temple period. Only with the development of the codex189Apocrypha and PseudepigraphaEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:04:02 PM