Apseudepigraph (alsoanglicized as "pseudepigraphon") is afalsely attributed work, a text whose claimedauthor is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past. The name of the author to whom the work is falsely attributed is often prefixed with the particle "pseudo-",[1] such as "pseudo-Aristotle" or "pseudo-Dionysius." These terms refer to the anonymous authors of works falsely attributed toAristotle andDionysius the Areopagite, respectively.
Inbiblical studies, the termpseudepigrapha can refer to an assorted collection of Jewish religious works thought to be writtenc. 300 BCE to 300 CE. They are distinguished byProtestants from thedeuterocanonical books (Catholic and Orthodox) orApocrypha (Protestant), the books that appear in extant copies of theSeptuagint in the fourth century or later[2] and theVulgate, but not in theHebrew Bible or inProtestant Bibles.[3] In Catholic usage, the Old Testament books accepted by the Catholic Church are referred to as the deuterocanonical books, and Catholic writers commonly reserve the word apocrypha for spurious or noncanonical writings rather than for the deuterocanon.[4][5] In addition, two books considered canonical in theOrthodox Tewahedo churches, theBook of Enoch andBook of Jubilees, are noncanonical in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons and are classified by most scholars among the Old Testament pseudepigrapha.[6][7][8]
Scholars also apply the term to some canonical works that claim authorship but whose authorship is doubted. For example, theBook of Daniel is widely considered to have been written in the 2nd century BCE, about 400 years after the prophetDaniel supposedly lived, and thus to be pseudepigraphic in that sense.[9][10] A New Testament example often discussed is2 Peter, which many scholars date to the early 2nd century. Early Christians, such asOrigen, voiced doubts about its authorship.[11]
The term has also been used byQuranistMuslims to describehadiths. Quranists argue that most hadiths are later fabrications from the 8th and 9th centuries that were falsely attributed toMuhammad.[12][13]
The wordpseudepigraph comes fromGreek:ψευδήςpseudḗs "false" andἐπιγραφήepigraphḗ "name", "inscription", or "ascription." When taken together it means "false superscription or title."[14] See the related fieldepigraphy. The plural of "pseudepigraph" (sometimesLatinized as "pseudepigraphon" or "pseudepigraphum") is "pseudepigrapha."
When a text is shown to have been falsely attributed to a particular author, and the true identity of the author is not known, the author can be referred to by a combination ofpseudo- and the traditional author's name. For example, theArmenian History has been falsely attributed to a seventh century Armenian historian namedSebeos. It is therefore called Pseudo-Sebeos.[15]
Scholars have identified seven levels of authenticity in a hierarchy that ranges from literal authorship to outright forgery.[16]
Inbiblical studies,pseudepigrapha refers particularly to works that purport to be written by noted authorities in the Old or New Testaments or by persons involved in Jewish or Christian religious study or history. Such works can also be written about biblical matters in a way that appears as authoritative as texts included in the Judeo Christian scriptures.Eusebius indicates this usage dates back at least toSerapion of Antioch. Eusebius records of Serapion: "But those writings which are falsely inscribed with their name (ta pseudepigrapha), we as experienced persons reject."[17]
Many such works were also calledApocrypha, which originally connoted "private" or "non public", that is, not endorsed for public reading in theliturgy. An example of a text that is both apocryphal and pseudepigraphical is theOdes of Solomon. It is considered pseudepigraphical because it was not written by Solomon. It is a collection of early Christian, first to second century, hymns and poems originally written not in Hebrew, and apocryphal because it was not accepted into theTanakh or theNew Testament.[18]
There is a tendency not to use the wordpseudepigrapha for works later than about 300 CE when referring to biblical matters.[3] But late appearing compositions such as theGospel of Barnabas, theApocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius, the herbal attributed toPseudo-Apuleius, and the writings attributed toPseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite are classic cases of pseudepigraphy. In the fifth century the moralistSalvian publishedContra avaritiam ("Against avarice") under the name Timothy. A letter survives in which he explained to his former pupil, Bishop Salonius, his motives for doing so.[19]
The term pseudepigrapha is also commonly used to describe numerous works of Jewish religious literature written from about 300 BCE to 300 CE[3], including:
Many canonical books have been reevaluated by modern scholars, especially since the 19th century, as likely cases of pseudepigraphy. TheBook of Daniel directly claims to be written by theprophet Daniel. Yet there are strong reasons to date its final composition centuries after Daniel's lifetime, including the absence of references to it before the 2nd century BCE and its pattern of accurate "predictions" up to the time ofAntiochus IV Epiphanes that function as retrospective prophecy.[11][20]
Christian scholars traditionally maintained that nothing known to be pseudepigraphical was admitted to the New Testament canon.
The Catholic Encyclopedia summarizes the titling of the four Gospels as ancient, but not necessarily original to the authors themselves, and notes that the four Gospels were originally issued without author names and only later associated "according to" particular compilers[21], stating:
The first four historical books of the New Testament are supplied with titles, which however ancient, do not go back to the respective authors of those sacred texts.The Canon of Muratori,Clement of Alexandria, andSt. Irenaeus bear distinct witness to the existence of those headings in the latter part of the second century of our era. Indeed, the manner in which Clement (Strom. I, xxi), and St. Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. III, xi, 7) employ them implies that, at that early date, our present titles to the gospels had been in current use for some considerable time. Hence, it may be inferred that they were prefixed to the evangelical narratives as early as the first part of that same century. That however, they do not go back to the first century of the Christian era, or at least that they are not original, is a position generally held at the present day. It is felt that since they are similar for the four Gospels, although the same Gospels were composed at some interval from each other, those titles were not framed and consequently not prefixed to each individual narrative, before the collection of the four Gospels was actually made. Besides as well pointed out by Prof. Bacon, "the historical books of the New Testament differ from its apocalyptic and epistolary literature, as those of the Old Testament differ from its prophecy, in being invariably anonymous, and for the same reason. Prophecies, whether in the earlier or in the later sense, and letters, to have authority, must be referable to some individual; the greater his name, the better. But history was regarded as common possession. Its facts spoke for themselves. Only as the springs of common recollection began to dwindle, and marked differences to appear between the well-informed and accurate Gospels and the untrustworthy ... become worth while for the Christian teacher or apologist to specify whether the given representation of the current tradition was 'according to' this or that special compiler, and to state his qualifications." It thus appears that the present titles of the Gospels are not traceable to the Evangelists themselves.[22]
Agnostic biblical scholarBart D. Ehrman argues that only seven of the Pauline epistles are convincingly genuine and that most of the remaining New Testament writings were written by unknown authors and not the well known figures to whom they were later ascribed.[23] The earliest and best manuscripts ofMatthew,Mark,Luke, andJohn are anonymous.[24] Acts, Hebrews, 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John are also anonymous.[24]
Dale Martin taught that the four canonical gospels are anonymous rather than pseudonymous because the texts themselves do not claim authorship. The names were supplied later by the tradition.[25][26][27]
Thirteen New Testamentletters are attributed to Paul and are still considered by Christians to carry Paul's authority. These letters are part of theChristian Bible and are foundational for the theologies of many churches. Therefore, letters that some scholars judge to be pseudepigraphic are not necessarily considered any less valuable for Christian teaching.[28]
Authorship of 6 out of the 13 canonical epistles of Paul is widely questioned by both Christian and non Christian scholars.[29] These areEphesians,Colossians,2 Thessalonians,1 Timothy,2 Timothy, andTitus. These six books are often called the "deutero Pauline letters" by skeptical scholars, on the grounds that they present vocabulary, style, or ecclesial concerns that differ from the undisputed letters. The three "Pastoral Epistles" (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus) are so similar to one another that they are often thought to be by the same unknown author, either writing as Paul or in Paul's name.[30][31]
Seven New Testament letters are attributed to several apostles, such asSaint Peter,John the Apostle, and Jesus's brothersJames andJude.
Three of the seven letters are anonymous, traditionally grouped as theJohannine epistles. Most modern scholars do not think the author was John the son of Zebedee, but there is no consensus for any particular historical figure.[32][33]
Two letters claim to have been written bySimon Peter. These are theFirst andSecond Epistles of Peter, thePetrine epistles. Most modern scholars judge that the second epistle was probably not written by Peter, while opinions are divided on the first.[23]
In one epistle, the author refers to himself only as James (ἸάκωβοςIákobos). It is not known which New Testament figure named James is intended. A similar problem presents itself with theEpistle of Jude (ἸούδαςIoudas). The writer names himself "a brother of James" but does not indicate any familial relationship to Jesus in the letter itself. Later Christian traditions identify both authors with members of Jesus's family, but the texts do not claim this.[23]
TheGospel of Peter[34] and the attribution to Paul of theEpistle to the Laodiceans are examples of pseudepigrapha excluded from the New Testament canon.[31] Further examples include theGospel of Barnabas[35] and theGospel of Judas, which begins by presenting itself as "the secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot."[36]
TheVision of Ezra is an ancientapocryphal text purportedly written by the biblicalscribeEzra. The earliest surviving manuscripts, inLatin, date to the 11th century, although textual features strongly suggest that the work was originally composed inGreek. Like theGreek Apocalypse of Ezra, the work is clearly Christian and portrays several apostles inheaven. The text is notably shorter than the apocalypse.
TheDonation of Constantine is a forged Roman imperial decree by which the 4th century emperorConstantine the Great supposedly transferred authority over Rome and the western part of theRoman Empire to thePope. Probably composed in the 8th century, it was used, especially in the 13th century, in support of claims of political authority by the papacy.[37]Lorenzo Valla, an ItalianCatholic priest andRenaissance humanist, is credited with exposing the forgery with philological arguments in 1439 to 1440.[38]
In Russian history, Muscovites reportedly received in 1561 a synodical charter from thePatriarch of Constantinople confirmingIvan the Terrible in the title of Tsar. Later scholarship questioned the authenticity of the signatures and the manner of its issuance. Studies noted that many signatures were penned by two or three scribes, and Russian church historians of the early 20th century discussed whether the charter had been produced without a formal synod and for financial gain.[39][40]
TheAnaphorae ofMar Nestorius, employed in someEastern Christian Churches, is attributed toNestorius, but its earliest manuscripts are in Syriac, which raises questions about Greek authorship.[41][42]
TheZohar (Hebrew:זֹהַר, "Splendor" or "Radiance"), a foundational work of Jewish mystical thought inKabbalah, first appeared inSpain in the 13th century and was published byMoses de León, who ascribed it to the 2nd century sageShimon bar Yochai.[43] Modern academic analysis, especially that ofGershom Scholem, argues that de León was the principal author, on linguistic and historical grounds, while acknowledging the possibility of contributions from a circle of kabbalists.[44][45]
Conrad Celtes, a noted German humanist scholar and poet of theGerman Renaissance, collected numerous Greek and Latin manuscripts as librarian of the Imperial Library in Vienna. In a 1504 letter to the publisherAldus Manutius[46] Celtes claimed to have discovered the missing books ofOvid'sFasti. It turned out that the verses had been composed by an 11th century monk and were known to theEmpire of Nicaea according toWilliam of Rubruck. Even so, many scholars believed Celtes and continued to write about the missing books well into the 17th century.[47]
Pseudepigraphy has been employed as ametafictional technique. Notable examples includeJames Hogg (The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner),Thomas Carlyle (Sartor Resartus),Jorge Luis Borges ("An Examination of the Works of Herbert Quain", "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote"),Vladimir Nabokov (Pale Fire),Stanislaw Lem (A Perfect Vacuum;Imaginary Magnitude)Roberto Bolaño (Nazi Literature in the Americas) andStefan Heym (The Lenz Papers).
Edgar Rice Burroughs also presented many of his works, including theTarzan books, as pseudepigrapha, prefacing each book with an introduction presenting the supposed actual author, with Burroughs himself posing as editor.J. R. R. Tolkien inThe Lord of the Rings presents that story andThe Hobbit as translated from the fictionalRed Book of Westmarch. The twelve books ofThe Flashman Papers byGeorge MacDonald Fraser similarly present themselves as annotated editions of a discovered manuscript. A similar device was used byIan Fleming inThe Spy Who Loved Me.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Gigot, Francis (1913). "Gospel and Gospels". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
| Overview and canon | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorship and interpolation debates | |||||||||
| Deuterocanon and Apocrypha |
| ||||||||
| Old Testament pseudepigrapha | |||||||||
| New Testament apocrypha |
| ||||||||
| Related | |||||||||
| Methodology |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topics |
| ||||||
| Related | |||||||
