Book Review: Early Jewish Literature: An Anthology

Early Jewish Literature: An Anthology, Brad Embry, Ronald Herms, and Archie T. Wright, eds. (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: 2018), vol. 1, 728 pp., vol. 2, 756 pp. Reviewed by Simcha Rosenberg.

This massive two-volume collection of Second Temple era Jewish literature collects many important works from the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, and Josephus. The texts are divided into different general categories, such as “Biblical Interpretation and Rewritten Scripture” and “Apocalyptic Literature.” Smaller texts are presented in their entirety; longer ones are excerpted. Each has a comprehensive introduction by a leading scholar in the field. This body of literature fills the gap from the end of Tanakh to the earliest rabbinic literature, giving the reader great insight into how Jews related to their sacred texts before the classical rabbinic era.

There is much of value here for those whose main area of interest is the Tanakh. Here one can find additions to parts of Tanakh, such as more adventures of Daniel that were added later, as a kind of early version of midrashic expansions of the biblical text, and additional Psalms. We also get a look into the earliest forms of commentary on Tanakh with the pesharim. This body of literature, going back to as early as the second century BCE, cited the biblical text and then provided commentary, a style familiar to us from rabbinic exegetical literature. Other works are the “Rewritten Scriptures,” such as the Book of Jubilees, which retell the biblical narrative in their own way, with additional information and stories woven into the text itself.

As is to be expected from a serious academic work, there is an extensive and thorough subject index and index of ancient literature (including Bible verses). It is nice to see that each volume also has a glossary of terms, making the book accessible to seasoned readers of Second Temple literature and beginners alike. A handy feature is that words appearing in the glossary are written in bold in the text itself.

This is a very useful book for someone who wants to enter the very interesting, and sometimes strange and surprising, world of Jewish Second Temple literature.