Apocrypha

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Not necessary to translate.

Notes

For the purposes of this page, I am interested in all apocryphal texts.

The Apocalypse of Abraham

Scholars believe it originated around 70-150 A.D.

The Assumption of Moses

Discusses evidence that the Deuteronomists replaced the Assumption of Moses with Deuteronomy.

The Book of Enoch

Scholars believe it originated between 300 B.C. and 100 B.C.

Opinion

The scholarly estimates of the books origins seem to be intentionally as recent as they can reasonably imagine them to be.

I expect the the book has been much corrupted over time, but was, in its original form, an inspired work. Given that the book is divided in sections and may not all be of the same provenance, obviously, this may not apply to all. I find valuable gems in both the first and second sections demonstrating some interesting common theological elements with the teachings of Joseph Smith, so, although cryptic, I am inclined to be positively disposed towards this work.

It would probably be valuable to seek out translations of the very oldest fragments.

The Book of Jasher

I have a copy purporting to be the Book of Jasher, published by J.H. Parry & Company, 1887. (It's a 2000 printing.) The Wikipedia article asserts that the book has not been found, but never directly discusses this version, which Joseph B. Lumpkin seems to believe to be non-fraudulent. The discussion on the Wikipedia page, however is mixed. Apparently, having been translated so long ago, the original it was translated from is not extant and some take it to be questionable because it was translated by Mormons.

Wikipedia does appear to have an article for this version, however, and according to that article, there is a 1625 text in Hebrew extant, which claimed to be a reprinting of a 1552 edition. Scholarly analysis of the Hebrew has suggested that the book was probably written in the 1500s.

Personally, I do see some Mormon cultural bias in the translation. eg. "Helpmeet" is not a word, and it doesn't mean anything. To join those two words into one demonstrates a fundamental inability to understand what they mean. It is a pet peeve of mine that few people of my faith seem to recognize this. That a translator could be so daft as to put this in their translation from an original text seems almost beyond comprehension. However, it is also true that since this book was introduced to Mormons early on, the irritating use of the word "helpmeet" in this translation may have been the way in which the term was introduced into LDS culture. Indeed, it has been suggested that many elements of LDS culture and ceremony may have been introduced by this book. In talking about Abraham, Joseph Smith made reference to this book and stated "the book of Jasher, which has not been disproved as a bad author, says he was cast into the fire of the Chaldeans."

This version of the Book of Jasher seems to be held in some significant regard only by the LDS.

Opinion

Having gone back and reviewed the first 4 chapters, there are a number of interesting elements to the story of the early history of the world. I'm rather disappointed, however, in what I find regarding the history of Enoch, who is described to have brought peace to the whole world, and is portrayed almost like a medieval ascetic. He doesn't build a city which is taken up, but instead, he is taken up to God himself, while the earth is at peace, and a number of his followers, who followed him into the wilderness are also not heard from anymore. The story appears to be a heavily romanticized explanation of Enoch that does not seem to match the LDS story of Enoch's life, but has the feel of a medieval production.

The Book of Jubilees

A book claiming to have been written by Moses, but probably penned between 200 B.C. and 100 B.C.

Other

Stuff I need to look at further.

  • Gospel of Nicodemus
Contains more Isaiah? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4jr7jFVxo
  • The Ascension of Isaiah

Cross-References

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