Episode 149 The Pseudepigrapha (Part 1) with Daniel Gurtner

Daniel Gurtner joins David Capes on The Stone Chapel Podcasts to talk about the Pseudepigrapha.  This conversation is so rich, that we decided to make it a two-parter.  If you don’t know what the Pseudepigrapha are?  Keep reading and be sure to listen!

Who is Daniel Gurtner?

Dr. Gurtner is Professor of New Testament at Gateway Seminary in Ontario, CA.  He loves studying the Bible and telling people all about it.  One of his favorite past times is running. 

What are the Pseudepigraha?

The conversation centers around Dr. Gurtner’s 2022 book, Introducing the Pseudepigrapha of the Second Temple Judaism: Message, Context & Significance (Baker Academic). 

These are a complicated set of texts which are often classified together, although they are very different.  The term “Pseudepigrapha” means “falsely-written.”  That is, written in the name of another. 

Gurtner thinks this was not intended to deceive; rather it was intended to evoke an idea or a context from a well-known figure of history. 

There are other Pseudepigrapha that make no claim to authorship and so are not falsely written. 

Why are the Pseudepigrapha texts important?

These texts are important because they demonstrate what some Jews at the time of Jesus and the earliest Christ-followers thought. If the New Testament is one witness, they are a second witness to the lives and ideas of these Jews and Christ-follwers. 

Some Pseudepigrapha are written and preserved by Christians, so they represent later Christian history.  The first job of the historian is to sort out which are early and which are late.

In Part 2 of this podcast Dr. Gurtner goes into greater detail regarding some of the different categories.

More from Dan Gurtner

Dr. Gurtner published an earlier book on the death of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew:

The Torn Veil: Matthew’s Exposition of the Death of Jesus (SNTS Monograph Series).

To view a 30 minute lecture by Daniel Gurtner at the Lanier Theological Library click here.

More resources

Want more Stone Chapel Podcasts on some great topics. Just click here.

What’s more, you can get information on upcoming lectures at Lanier Theological Library. Just click here.