Home>Other Christian Text Sources>Odes of Solomon
Home>Other Christian Text Sources>Odes of Solomon
James H. Charlesworth writes (The Anchor Bible Dictionary, v. 6, p. 114):
The date of theOdes has caused considerableinterest. H. J. Drijvers contends that they are aslate as the 3d century. L. Abramowski places them inthe latter half of the 2d century. B. McNeil arguedthat they are contemporaneous with4 Ezra, theShepherd of Hermas, Polycarp, and Valentinus (ca.100 C.E.). Most scholars date them sometime aroundthe middle of the 2d century, but if they are heavilyinfluenced by Jewish apocalyptic thought andespecially the ideas in the Dead Sea Scrolls, a datelong after 100 is unlikely. H. Chadwick, Emerton,Charlesworth, and many other scholars, are convincedthat they must not be labeled "gnostic," and thereforeshould not be dated to the late 2d or 3d century.
Charlesworth comments on the attestation to the OdesOf Solomon (op. cit., v. 6, p. 114):
The 11th ode was found among the Bodmer Papyri in a3d-century Gk manuscript (no. 11). Five weretranslated into Coptic in the 4th century and used toillustrate thePistis Sophia (Odes Sol. 1, 5, 6,22, and 25). Also in the 4th century Ode 19 wasquoted by Lactantius (Div. Inst. 4.12.3). In the10th century a scribe copied theOdes in Syriac, butonlyOdes Sol. 17:7-42:20 are preserved (BritishMuseum ms. Add. 14538). In the 15th century anotherscribe copied them into Syriac, but again thebeginning is lost (John Rylands Library Cod. Syr. 9contains onlyOdes Sol. 3.1b-42:20).
There is controversy over whether the Odes of Solomonwere a Jewish or a Christian composition.
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Kirby, Peter. "Odes of Solomon."Early Christian Writings. <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/odes.html>.
