|
|
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ian Myles Slater on: Once Useful, Now Obsolete, October 20, 2003
This is a compendium of (mainly) nineteenth-century translations of ancient works concerning Biblical events and characters which never made it into standard Jewish and Christian canons. They date from Roman times to the early Middle Ages (in the form given, some possibly a bit later). When originally published in the early decades of the twentieth century, it was an inexpensive alternative to R.H. Charles' two-volume collection of "Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament," and the scholarship was not yet too out date. It has become increasing creaky with the passing of time, and the editing and publishing of new and better text editions of the works included, as well as enormous advances in linguistic and literary scholarship."Forgotten Books of Eden" is sometimes handy for verifying quotations in older secondary literature (studies and surveys), and some of the translations, notably those by Rendel Harris, are quite attractive. However, either the two massive volumes of James H. Charlesworth's collection of "Old Testament Pseudepigrapha," or "The Apocryphal Old Testament" (actually Pseudepigrapha), edited by H.F.D. Sparks as a partial replacement for Charles, would be better as a long-term investment. There are also various separate translations of some of the works included in these translations, and, less reliable but still worth some attention, separate reprints of some of the translations edited by Charles. These are all considerably more expensive, however, and "Forgotten Books" is not an unreasonable addition to a personal library -- if you remember that anything in it you want to use should be checked against more authoritative versions. If it contained all, instead of about half, of S.C. Malan's 1882 translation of the Ethiopic "Conflict of Adam and Eve" (with Satan) as "The Book of Adam and Eve," considered too recent for the Charlesworth collection, it might still be a must-have. The collection has also been bound with another set of obsolete translations, this time of New Testament Apocrypha, "The Lost Books of the Bible," which is also published separately.
|
If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, 