As a Jewish background for the NT, in addition to the OT (including the Deuterocanonical books), there is a series of extra-canonical writings from the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Rev, and the works of Josephus. There are also Christian writings from the period 90-200, some of which are considered apocryphal, some of which are called "Apostolic Fathers," and (in contrast) Gnostic and early Patristic writings.

1. Jewish Writings
   1. The Dead Sea Scrolls

      The title "Qumran Literature" covers a dozen manuscripts and thousands of fragments discovered, beginning in 1947, in caves near Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. Written or copied between the late 3rd century BC and the early 1st century AD, the 800 or so manuscripts represented consist of Old Testament books, including many deuterocanonical books (often in various textual traditions), apocrypha (often in the original languages long since lost), and compositions of the particular community of Jews who lived at Qumran. Most scholars identify this community as the Essenes, and believe that they settled at Qumran during the time of the Maccabees (c. 150 BC), only to be destroyed by the Romans around 68 CE. A figure called "the Righteous Teacher", probably from a priestly family of the purest Zadokite lineage, is considered the founder of the community or its most important figure. The most important compositions of the community are QS4, the community's rule of life (150-125 BC); QS4, the community's rule of life (150-125 BC); QS4, the community's rule of life (150-125 BC); QSa, a short addendum to the rule that deals with the last days; QSb, another addendum consisting of blessings; QH, a collection of hymns or psalms, many of which may have been composed by the Righteous Teacher; QM (Rule of War, 1st century AD), an imaginative description of the final war that must pit the forces of good and evil against each other; QpHab, the "p" indicating a pesher or line-by-line commentary on an OT book (e.g., Habakkuk), applying it to the circumstances of life at Qumran; QapGen (25 BC - 25 AD), an elaboration of Genesis in Aramaic; 3Q15 (late 1st century BC, an elaboration of Genesis in Aramaic and possibly not from the Qumranians), a copper scroll or plate in Hebrew close to that of the Mishna, describing where the Temple treasures were buried; 11QMelch (50-25 BC), fragments of an eschatological midrash found in Cave 11, treating Melchisedek as a heavenly figure; 11QTemple (Temple Scroll, 1st century BC), a very long scroll of God's revelations to Moses about how the Temple was to be built. Despite claims to the contrary, there is no clear evidence of a Christian influence or component in the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran.

   2. 1 (Ethiopic) Enoch

      Apocalyptic writing about what was seen by Enoch (whom God removed from the earth in Gen 5:24) circulated in Aramaic from 300 BC. Fragments of a dozen Enoch manuscripts exist among the Dead Sea Scrolls; in addition, the disparate collection we know as Enoch is preserved partially (33%) in Greek, and completely in Ethiopic. Divided into five books, it contains imaginative expansions of the fall of the angels in Gen 6:1-4; apocalyptic descriptions and dream visions (comparable to Daniel); astronomical speculations; apocalyptic divisions of world eras; and in chapters 37-71 elaborate visionary discourses. This section of parables has not been discovered in the fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, so some claim that it is a Christian composition. The later works are 2 Enoch (in Slavonic) and 3 Enoch (in Hebrew).

   3. Jubilees

      This 2nd century BC rewrite of Genesis 1 to Exodus 14 is related to other apocryphal documents about Moses. Fragments of a dozen Hebrew manuscripts of Jubilees have been found in the Dead Sea region; about a quarter of Jubilees is preserved in Latin; but the entire book has been preserved only in Ethiopic. It attributes evil to fallen angels. The most notable feature is the calendrical interest, dividing world history into 49 periods (Jubilees) of 49 years each. The calculation of the year reflects a solar calendar of 364 days (12 months of 30 days and 4 intercalary days), in which the same dates fall on the same day of the week each year - a calendar also followed by the community of Qumran, which protested the Maccabees' use of a lunar calendar in the Temple observance.

   4. (Letter Of) Aristeas To Philocrates

      Reflecting the large Jewish community in Alexandria, this small book (not a letter) from the 2nd century BC tells the (legendary) origin of the translation of the Pentateuch from Hebrew into Greek. During the reign of King Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 BC), the royal librarian, who wanted a copy of the Jewish Law for the famous library in Alexandria, arranged for seventy-two elders (six from each tribe) to be sent by the high priest in Jerusalem. They produced the LXX (Septuagint, Latin for the round number seventy), although in fact this name applies to the Greek translations and compositions of the entire OT made over four centuries, probably beginning before 300 BC

   5. Lives Of The Prophets

      There are numerous Greek manuscripts, many with Christian additions. The best Greek manuscript, a 6th century AD codex in the Vatican Library, deals with twenty-three Jewish prophets without obvious Christian interpolations. The work was probably written in Palestine before 70 CE. It is not clear whether the original was written in Greek from Semitic sources, or in Hebrew or Aramaic, and then translated into Greek. The stated purpose is to provide the name of the prophet, where he came from, where and how he died, and where he was buried; but the amount of information varies considerably, with Joel's life being the shortest, and Daniel's relatively long. As a backdrop for the Gospels, this document shows a biographical interest in the prophetic figure, disproportionately focused on death (sometimes recounting a martyr's death not attested in the OT), as well as an attempt to provide a known burial place.

   6. Testament (Or Assumption) Of Moses

      Antiquity knew both a Testament of Moses and an Assumption of Moses. An untitled Latin work that has survived, though titled Assumption by its first editor, is the final speech or testament (cf. Deut 31-34) of Moses to Joshua on the future history of Israel, which ends with Roman intervention after the death of Herod the Great. It was probably composed in Aramaic or Hebrew and revised before 30 CE. Jude seems to refer to the lost Assumption of Moses.

   7. 4 Maccabees

      This philosophical discourse or "diatribe" on the supremacy of Jewish religious reason over human passions and suffering is illustrated by examples from the OT, notably the martyrs of 2 Maccabees 6-7. Composed in Greek in the diaspora (Antioch? Alexandria?) probably around 40 AD, it embodies a theology of vicarious suffering in martyrdom that has inspired Christian commemoration of the martyrs.

   8. 4 Ezra Or The Apocalypse Of Ezra

      A work known as 2 Esdras (or 4 Esdras in the Latin Vulgate) contains sixteen chapters, of which chapters 1-2 and 15-16 are Christian compositions. Chapters 3-14 constitute 4 Esdras, a Jewish work dating from about 90-120 AD, originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, but preserved today in its entirety in Latin. It consists of seven dialogues/visions involving Shealtiel who was taken into captivity at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (1 Chr 3:17; Ezra 3:2), confusingly identified as Ezra (who lived a century later). The parallel between this period and the aftermath of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 gave rise to a flowering of Jewish apocalyptic literature contemporary with the latter part of the NT, illustrated by works bearing the names of Ezra and Baruch.

   9. 2 Baruch or The Syriac Apocalypse Of Baruch

      Preserved in a Syriac translation of the Greek (original?), this Jewish work of 95-120 AD depends on 4 Ezra or a common source for both. Baruch, Jeremiah's secretary who lived at the time of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, served as an appropriate, if fictional, subject to issue prophetic/apocalyptic warnings and encouragement. There are also 3 Baruch or The Greek Apocalypse of Baruch, probably composed in Egypt in 70-150 AD; it probes the mysteries of the heavenly realms.

   10. Psalms of Solomon

       Preserved in medieval Greek and Syriac manuscripts, these eighteen psalms were originally composed in Hebrew in Palestine (Jerusalem) 65-40 BC. Because they interpret Pompey's Roman invasion as punishment for the corruption of the Sadducean high priests, they have been attributed to the Pharisees (although other anti-Sadducean groups, such as the Essenes of Qumran, are a possibility). The descriptions in Ps 17-18 of the anticipated Davidic Messiah who will conquer the Gentiles and establish a kingdom for the tribes of Israel are an important background for the NT.

   11. Flavius Josephus

       Born in Palestine into a priestly clan in the year 37, Josephus ben Matthias died after the year 94, probably in Rome. Although he was commander of the Jewish forces in Galilee during the revolt against Rome (66-70), he surrendered to Vespasian, who released him when he predicted that the Roman general would become emperor. From 69, he was a client of the imperial "Flavian" family of Vespasian (hence "Flavius"), so much so that Titus brought him to Rome and installed him in the imperial palace. It was there, in the 70s, that he wrote The Jewish War (originally in Aramaic, but translated into Greek) as propaganda to show the futility of revolt against the Romans. Around the year 94, he completed the Judaic Antiquities in 20 volumes, a massive history of the Jews from patriarchal to Roman times. (His minor works were Life of Josephus, his autobiography, and Counter Apion, a defense against pagan calumnies.) Josephus offers invaluable but not impartial information on the post-biblical period, and sometimes a comparison of his two major books shows his biases. The famous Testimonium Flavianum (Judaic Antiquities 18,3.3 ; #63-64) is Josephus' testimony about Jesus; stripped of later Christian additions, it recounts Jesus' astonishing deeds and teaching and indicates that Pilate sentenced him to death on the advice of "the foremost men among us."

   12. Testaments Of The Twelve Patriarchs

       If Jacob blesses his twelve sons in Gen 49, this work (preserved in late Greek manuscripts but composed before 200 AD) contains the testament for each of his twelve sons. Its testimony to messianic expectations is important. There are Christian passages, and scholars are divided: are they additions to a Jewish original written just before 100 BC, or was the basic work a Jewish-Christian composition drawing on earlier sources? The latter position is defended in the important commentary by H. W. Hollander and M. de Jonge.

   13. Sibylline Oracles

       From 500 BC onward, the poetic oracular statements or prophecies of the sibyls (Cumae, Delphi, etc.) were valued and preserved, but the collections eventually disappeared. Jews and Christians imitated these pagan oracles, and this Greek work in fourteen books represents a combination of two collections, ranging from about 150 BC to 650 AD. It is not always possible to distinguish between Jewish and Christian oracles.

2. Christian (and Gnostic) Writings
   1. Gospel Of The Hebrews

      This Judeo-Christian gospel, independent of Matthew and apparently known to Papias (c. 125), survives only in a few patristic citations. They deal with the descent of the pre-existent Christ into Mary, the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus at his baptism, and the appearance of the risen Jesus to James (his brother) at a Eucharistic meal. It should not be confused with the Gospel of the Nazarenes which has variants from Matthew, nor with the Gospel of the Ebionites which has variants based on Matthew and Luke.

   2. Secret Gospel Of Mark

      Passages from this work appear in a first-century copy of an otherwise unknown letter by Clement of Alexandria (ca. 175-200) that Smith said he found in 1958 in a Palestinian monastery. According to Clement, Mark wrote an account of the "Acts of the Lord" (canonical Mark) in Rome; then, after Peter's martyrdom, Mark took his notes to Alexandria and expanded his earlier work with a "more spiritual gospel" for the use of those being brought to perfection - a guide to the mysteries that would lead to the inner sanctum of truth hidden by the seven veils. Mark is said to have left this second edition to the church in Alexandria, in whose archives it was kept and read only by those initiated into the great mysteries. Unfortunately, Carpocrates (a second century heretic) obtained a copy which, according to Clement, was misinterpreted for its "blasphemous and carnal doctrine." The most important passage in this gospel concerns Jesus raising a young man from the grave who then loved Jesus and came to him at night with a cloth over his naked body. Some scholars argue that this text is closer to the original, broader "Marcan" composition, and that the canonical Mark is a secondary abbreviation because some passages in this gospel were considered scandalous. Most believe that The Secret Gospel of Mark is an amalgam pastiche of the canonical gospels used to support esoteric initiations (as Clement suggests).

   3. Gospel Of Peter

      This Greek work, known in the second century, was hesitantly rejected by Bishop Serapion of Antioch as unsound. The only notable part, preserved in a codex dating from about 800, deals with a segment of the passion, from Jesus' final trial to the resurrection. It contains elements that are clearly not historical: Herod and the Jews put Jesus to death; Pilate must ask Herod's permission to retrieve the body; the cross, which was placed in Jesus' tomb, comes out and speaks. The biblical scholar Crossan, however, argues that large portions of this gospel are older than the canonical passion narratives, which were based on it. Most scholars, on the other hand, consider this gospel to be an imaginative expansion of the canonical gospels, whether known by reading or listening.

   4. Protevangelium Of James

      This work, preserved in numerous Greek manuscripts from the third century onward, was in circulation by the middle of the second century. Dealing with Mary's family, her upbringing and marriage to Joseph, and the birth of Jesus, it claims to have been written by James (probably because, as the "brother of the Lord," he would have known the family history). His erroneous knowledge of Judaism shows that it is not a historical account, although it may contain some reliable elements of earlier tradition. This gospel gives the names Joachim and Anna to Mary's parents, presents Mary in the Temple at an early age, describes Jesus' "brothers" as children of Joseph by an earlier marriage, and suggests that Mary gave birth to Jesus without pain and without breaking the hymen. He had a great influence on religious art and the development of Mariology.

   5. Infancy Gospel Of Thomas

      The Greek original survives only in very late manuscripts, although there are Latin and Syriac texts from the 5th century. It consists of a number of legendary episodes showing the miraculous powers of the child Jesus, from the age of five to twelve (the best known is the way he made clay birds fly). Christologically, it aims to show that the child Jesus had the same powers (and the same opposition) as the adult Jesus.

   6. Odes Of Solomon

      It is not known whether the original composition (by a Jewish Christian in the early second century CE, probably in Syria) was in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek; but the most complete presentation of the forty-two Odes is in Syriac. Although some consider them Gnostic, they show parallels with Jewish apocalyptic and the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as with aspects of the Fourth Gospel. The odes, which express the joy of the appearance of the Messiah, may have had a baptismal use.

   7. 1 Clement

      Letter from the church of Rome to the church of Corinth in support of certain Corinthian presbyters who had been deposed. Dionysius of Corinth (ca. 170) attributes it to Clement, an important figure in the Roman church (corresponding secretary and/or senior presbyter?). Most biblical scholars date it to about 96 (partly on the basis of the thesis of persecution under the emperor Domitian), though 96-120 would be a more certain time frame. The letter emphasizes authority and derives from the apostles the (dual) ecclesial structure of bishops and deacons. A homily on repentance and leading a holy life, known as 2 Clement (mid-2nd century?), which is not written by the same author, may have come from the fallout of the Corinth-Rome exchange in 1 Clement.

   8. Didache

      Better known as The Teaching (Didache) of the Lord to the Gentiles by the Twelve Apostles, it is an instructional manual on ethics and liturgical practices (baptism, Eucharist). It is not certain that it is a unified composition. Matthew's proximity to it makes early second century Syria the most plausible setting for its early sections. His eucharistic teaching has parallels with Johannine language; the picture of church organization (bishops and deacons replacing prophets and teachers) seems to imply a pre-Ignatius situation.

   9. Letters Of Ignatius Of Antioch

      The bishop of Antioch was arrested, convicted, brought to Rome as a criminal, and executed around the year 110. During his journey he was visited by Christian representatives; he wrote seven letters to the Ephesians, the Magnesians, the Trallians, the Romans, the Philadelphians, the Smyrneans, and to Polycarp (the bishop of Smyrna). With the exception of Romans, the letters attest to and support the threefold structure of a bishop, presbyters, and deacons, for the authority of the bishop can be a bulwark against division and heresy. In Smyrna 8:2, he uses the expression "the Catholic Church" (hē katholikē ekklēsia).

   10. Letter Of Polycarp (to the Philippians)

       This cover letter for a collection of Ignatius' letters can be composite, with chapters 13-14 written shortly after Ignatius' visit and while he was still alive (13:1-2), but chapters 1-12 written after his martyrdom (13:5). In any case, a date between 110 and 135 is likely. Polycarp advises the church of Philippi on the treatment of a presbyter who has misused the funds. He seems to have a knowledge of various Pauline writings and is particularly close to the Pastorals. In a chain of ecclesiastical writers of the second century, Polycarp (who was himself martyred at Smyrna in 155-160 - the Martyrdom of Polycarp) knew, at the beginning, Ignatius and, at the end, Irenaeus (the bishop of Lyon who wrote Adversus Haereses in 5 volumes against the Gnostics in 180-190 and who was perhaps martyred around 202).

   11. Shepherd Of Hermas

       Some members of the early church elevated this stirring call to conversion of heart, composed in Rome before 150 AD, to the status of canonical scripture; for example, it was part of the NT Codex Sinaiticus in the fourth century. Sold in the past from one master to another, Hermas seems to have been a manicured slave who was a prophet (probably not a presbyter). He received revelations and dictations from a shepherd angel that are recorded in three sections of the document: five Visions; twelve Mandates (or commandments); and ten Similitudes or parables. The apocalyptic Visions are difficult to diagnose. The instructions on virtue in the Mandates assume a spiritual anthropology in which good and evil spirits are active (cf. the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Didache) and must be discerned. The Similitudes (the longest section of the book) strongly emphasizes the care of the poor. Hermas testifies to the survival of a strong Jewish tendency in Roman Christianity.

   12. The Epistle Of Barnabas

       This treatise was written in Greek by an unknown author (probably a pagan), using the allegorical style of OT interpretation in vogue in Alexandria. It is also contained in the Codex Sinaiticus. Barnabas' ethical instruction concerns the "two ways," that is, the way of light and the way of darkness (a theme strongly emphasized in the dualism of the Dead Sea Scrolls). Although the author is strongly influenced by Jewish thought, he is critical of Jewish ritual. Many find in 16:3-4 a reference to Hadrian's plan to build a temple to Zeus on the site of the destroyed temple in Jerusalem, which suggests a date before 135.

   13. Writings Of Justin Martyr

       A pagan from Palestine (modern Nablus), he spent time in Ephesus and was martyred in Rome around AD 165. He had tried the Greek philosophies before becoming a Christian. In the year 156, he addressed an Apology to the emperor Antoninus the Pious in defense of Christianity against slander, and later wrote the Dialogue with the Jew Tryphon. "Tryphon" may be a figure constructed from Jewish spokesmen or attitudes of the time, but the work gives us an idea (albeit biased) of Jewish objections to Christianity and the rebuttals developed against them.

   14. Diatessaron Of Tatian

       Born in the East in the Euphrates region, Tatian came to Rome, converted to Christianity and became a student of Justin. He wrote against Greek culture and returned to Mesopotamia in the year 172. Tradition has it that he was a heretic (advocating excessive asceticism, exemplified by opposition to marital relations and associated with encratism). He is remembered for composing the Diatessaron (a harmony of the four Gospels and some non-canonical documents); but we do not know whether he wrote it in Rome or in the East, and whether he wrote it in Greek or (more likely) in Syriac. It had enormous influence and replaced the canonical gospels for centuries in the Syriac-speaking church. Since the original was lost, the Diatessaron had to be reconstructed from later harmonies and especially from the commentary of St. Ephrem.

   15. Gospel Of Thomas

       At Nag Hammadi in Egypt, some 300 miles south of Cairo, near the site of a fourth-century monastery, thirteen Coptic codices were discovered in 1945 containing some forty-six different treatises, nearly forty of which were previously unknown. These are translations of earlier Greek documents; many are Gnostic (of various types), but the line between Christian and Gnostic asceticism is not always clear. The Gospel of Thomas, a collection of 114 sayings of the living (resurrected) Jesus, is the most important tract for the NT. (Although it is called a gospel, such a collection of sayings without a biographical framework offers a parallel to the hypothetical Q document of Matthew and Luke.) ) Seventy-nine has a parallel in the synoptic tradition, and there has been considerable debate about whether the form of Jesus' words in this gospel is more original. In the Jesus Seminar, all or most of The Gospel of Thomas is considered a 50s composition that predates the canonical gospels; but the majority of scholars believe that, although this gospel may have preserved some of Jesus' original words, on the whole the work is a second-century composition and at times reflects an incipient Gnosticism. In themselves, the words are often obscure without the interpretive key provided by the Gnostic myth of the fall from heavenly origins to this world of ignorance, and the possibility of return through knowledge.

   16. Gospel Of Truth

       The original of this eloquent Nag Hammadi homiletical reflection on Jesus was composed in Greek in the second century CE and may have been written by the famous Gnostic master Valentinus. The Gnostic myth of Sophia's fall from the divine realm into this world seems to underlie his image of Jesus as a manifestation of the unknowable Father God. It reflects paraphrases of the canonical gospels.