The Psalms of Solomon
Also called the Odes of Solomon, this set of apocryphal odes was probably written near the end of the prechristian era, c. 48 -1 BCE. The Psalms of Solomon were widely accepted both by Hellenistic Jews and by Christians during the early Christian centuries and were included in some copies of the Septuagint.
1 Enoch
There was a high degree of mystery and tradition surrounding Enoch. Was he, for example, the founder of the science of Astronomy? Books written in his name often claimed to have a special message from ages past. It must be noted, though, that the audience understood that the books were written later and not by Enoch. One piece of Enoch literature, called 1st Enoch, received more attention than the other Enoch books. Also known as Ethiopic Enoch because it was accepted by the Christians in Ethiopia and is found translated into their dialect, fragments have surfaced in various languages, including Aramaic. The book claims to portray events that happened as Enoch was translated into heaven just before leaving earth. In his visions, he serves as a herald "to the spirits in confinement." His exploits are quoted/paraphrased in Jude (1:9 cited in Jude 14), mentioned in 2 Peter, and at least alluded to in 1 Peter. Click here to read the Book of Enoch. Date of composition: probably 2nd century BCE.
2 Enoch
Another piece of Enoch literature was discovered in the Belgrade (Public) Library in 1886. The document appears in the Slavonic language and is therefore nicknamed Slavonic Enoch, although the original was either Greek or Aramaic. Slavonic Enoch appears to be an expanded version of The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, which predates the advent of Jesus. However, in its surviving form 2 Enoch has been edited numerous times by Christians, so it is impossible at this point to discern what was the original text. The book describes, among other things, how the world would last 6000 years, followed by 1000 years of "rest"--a belief held by some Christian groups.
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
This set of twelve books duplicates the setting of the Twelve prophets. Most likely, though, the books developed over the years from around 100 BCE on. Like the other pseudepigrapha, the readers understood that the Patriarchs themselves did not write the testaments. Rather, they were written in the name of the ancient writers with some modern point to make. Click here to read the Testament of Abraham.
Assumption of Moses
No manuscripts are extant of the Assumption (or Ascension) of Moses, but there are citations. The work appears to have been written c. 100 - 65 BCE and part of its contents (where the body of Moses is being discussed) are mentioned by Jude.
The Life of Adam and Eve
This work may have been written after the time of Jesus. It exists in several languages (fragmentary) and describes supposed details in Genesis 1-3 along with Adam's and Eve's repentance.
By and large, none of the pseudepigrapha were ever seriously accepted alongside the Torah, Prophets, and Writings, although small pockets of Christians did acknowledge them for a time. After the sixth century, Christian use of the OT Apocrypha generally ceased; this had happened several centuries earlier among Jews.
Now click here to examine canon issues relating to the New Testament.