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One of the daunting challenges facing the New Testament interpreter is achieving familiarity with the immense corpus of Greco-Roman, Jewish, and pagan primary source materials. From the Paraphrase of Shem to Pesiqta Rabbati, scholars and students alike must have a fundamental understanding of these documents’ content, provenance, and place in NT interpretation. But achieving even an elementary facility with this literature often requires years of experience or a photographic memory. Evans’s dexterous survey—a thoroughly revised and significantly expanded edition of his Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation—amasses the requisite details of date, language, text, translation, and general bibliography. Evans also evaluates the materials’ relevance for interpreting the NT. The vast range of literature examined includes the Old Testament apocrypha, the Old Testament pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, assorted ancient translations of the Old Testament and the Targum paraphrases, Philo and Josephus, Rabbinic texts, the New Testament pseudepigrapha, the early church fathers, various gnostic writings, and more. Six appendixes, including a list of quotations, allusions, and parallels to the NT, and a comparison of Jesus’ parables with those of the rabbis will further save the interpreter precious time.

Praise for the first edition: “Evans’s introduction is more than a map to terra incognita, it is a helpful companion for all who study Judaism and Christianity before the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire.”
—James H. Charlesworth, George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature, Princeton Theological Seminary

Reviews

"Evans's Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies is a helpful tool for the beginning student looking to learn more about certain ancient sources, as well as for the experienced scholar looking to locate key bibliographical references. In addition to Evans''s volume, there is also an Old Testament counterpart [Kenton L. Sparks, Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible] which should be promising as well."
—www.novumtestamentum.com

“This volume is a substantial revision and expansion of an earlier work by Evans that had a similar purpose, Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation (1992). Here the serious New Testament student and scholar will find helpful information on the whole range of noncanonical texts pertinent to biblical interpretation—from the Old and New Testament Apocrypha to Qumran to early Rabbinic and Greco-Roman materials. The author identifies and briefly describes these various texts, weighs their significance, and provides leads to further bibliography about them. A series of fine appendices and indexes also aids the reader in locating texts that may be related to specific verses of the New Testament materials. A valuable resource for biblical research.”
—The Bible Today

“The latest work by Professor Craig A. Evans is both impressive and overwhelming. Impressive, in that is presents as succinctly as possible a full spectrum of the literature related to, and loosely contemporary with the New Testament, a massive body of writings with which the prospective student in the field should be more than merely familiar. Overwhelming, in as much as it confirms that the study of the NT, as understood and practiced today, is not for the faint of heart: it demands the breadth of knowledge of an encyclopedist, well versed in the literature, history, background thought, and culture of the times that cradled the writings of the emerging NT canon. The volume is designed as ‘an introduction tot eh diverse bodies of literatures that are in various ways cognate to biblical literature, especially to the New Testament.’ It must be said at the outset that one could hardly find a more qualified author for such an endeavor that Professor Evans, a trademark name in NT and cognate studies. He backs this survey of the literary background of the NT with an erudition proven through the publication of numerous volumes in most, if not all, the fields covered in this book.”
—Midwestern Journal of Theology

“Evans sets his task as affording nonspecialists access to the “remarkable amount of ancient literature that in various ways is relevant to New Testament interpretation.” To this end he describes the project: “The purpose of this book is to arrange these diverse literatures into a comprehensive and manageable format.” This purpose is realized in several ways: “the various components of these literatures [will] be listed and briefly described”; “specific examples will be offered to illustrate how they contribute to New Testament exegesis”; and brief bibliographies will be included, which are broken down into “texts,” “translations,” “surveys,” and “commentary, critical study.” In the actual exposition of blocks of texts, he generally adds etymologies of the labels of the documents: “apocrypha” comes from “hidden away,” not for the uninitiated; “midrash” from “to search,” and the like. . . . Given Evans’s stated purpose, how well has he succeeded? Given the fact that this book is a novice’s guide to the literature, it is very successful. One might complain that there is simply too little said of the documents by way of introduction, but it is a good place to start. Many doctoral students would have loved to have this reference work on their desks during graduate studies. All of the standard exegetical questions (date, provenance, author, historical situation) are answered in a few enlightened sentences. As noted above, the bibliographies are classified to aid students at various levels of research. Moreover, the sheer comprehensiveness of the survey of Israelite-rabbinic writings serves both to show what is available and to present it in its terms. By far the largest block of writings treated here is the Dead Sea Scrolls (83–154), but it does identify the contents sufficiently for an inquirer to know how much time, if any, to devote to fragments and the like. . . Evans’s book is a success, providing vast amounts of information in a minuscule space with extensive leads for further study. His choice of bibliography to continue research is lean and pointed. The very scope of his introduction to Israelite and rabbinic literature make this book worthy of a place on any shelf.”
—Review of Biblical Literature

“This volume encompasses an amazing amount of material, and successfully orients readers to the texts under consideration. It is a major revision and expansion of the author''s earlier volume, Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1990). Even for those that possess the earlier edition this revised form is worth purchasing for the up-to-date bibliographical references, yet it also provides a more comprehensive coverage of texts. This is an important reference work that should become a standard volume in libraries and on the shelves of scholars and students alike.”
—Expository Times

“This book is simultaneously indispensable and frustrating. It is frustrating because the title suggests, at least to this reader, that the book will offer primary sources relevant to the study of the New Testament. Although there are many of these, I think there is room for more. The book contains no primary sources. On the other hand, what the book does offer makes it indispensable for libraries, lay readers, and New Testament readers with all levels of academic training. . . . This book is most certainly worth having.”
— Biblical Theology Bulletin

“Writing for a nonspecialist audience, Evans sets out to produce an easily accessible introduction to the background literature relevant for the study of the NT. Claiming that familiarity with this literature is necessary for NT exegesis, E. organizes the material into eleven chapters: The Old Testament Apocrypha, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, The Dead Sea Scrolls, Versions of the Old Testament, Philo and Josephus, The Targums, Rabbinic Literature, The New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, Early Church Fathers, Gnostic Writings, and Other Writings. He concludes with a twelfth chapter in which he illustrates how material from this body of literature enhances exegesis of several NT passages.

“Evans has presented a wealth of information in an organized and accessible way, and he has succeeded admirably in his stated goal. This volume will serve beginning students of the NT as a point of entry into the vast body of material relevant for exegesis. E. should be commended for the enormous task of assembling and organizing this disparate material in a clear and sensible way. . . .E. has produced a thorough listing of the important material, including inscriptions, coins, and ostraca. It is beyond the capacity of even the most sophisticated scholar to be versed thoroughly in all aspects of this literature, but it is essential that all serious students of the NT have a general facility with most of them and develop an expertise in some of them.”
—The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

“Overall, this is a superb text for beginning students making their first foray into the jungle of ancient sources as well as for more experienced scholars already familiar with many of the paths. This book will find much use by those interested in including the ancient sources in their study and research. Some will for the first time discover how to connect the wealth of background material now available to the exegetical process. The companion volume by Kenton L. Sparks, Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible (Hendrickson), will serve the same helpful function for OT students.”
—Restoration Quarterly

“This book can be a significant time-saver for anyone who does research in New Testament and/or reads the better commentaries. It is a quick reference to help track down important references.”
—Bibliotheca Sacra

“Evans''s volume is an extremely valuable reference work. While other volumes may offer more detailed introductions to a smaller corpus of literature. . . none are more extensive in their coverage of the major literature cognate to the NT. Frankly, every NT student and scholar should own and use this volume.”
—Stone-Campbell Journal

“Hundreds of historical documents and sources are at our disposal today to help us study and understand Bible words and backgrounds. In Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies, Craig A. Evans has pulled together the essential information from this vast literature. Evans provides a brief description of each source and discusses its importance and value for Bible study. Hundreds of texts, writings, and documents are included and summarized in this work saving the Bible student precious time. Evans covers the following essential material: the Old Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea scrolls, versions of the Old Testament, Philo and Josephus, the Targums, Rabbinic literature, the New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, the early Church Fathers, Gnostic writings, and Greco-Roman authors. Each section of material concludes with a bibliography listing all the works and where they may be found in print today. Several appendices are located in the back of this book including a very helpful appendix on the quotations, allusions, and parallels to the New Testament. The companion volume by Hendrickson, Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible (Kenton L. Sparks, 2005), is also a valuable resource for Bible study. These two volumes are highly recommended for anyone seeking to do serious Bible background study.”
—Truth Magazine

“The following materials are surveyed with full up-to-date bibliographical references and general discussions: OT and NT apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea scrolls, versions of the OT (Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Syriac), Philo, Josephus, Targums, rabbinical literature, early church fathers, Gnostic writings, Greco-Roman authors (including the Corpus Hermeticum and magical papyri). Valuable appendixes list parallels between NT gospels and apocryphal gospels, NT parables and rabbinical parables, NT miracle accounts and ancient Jewish miracle stories, first-century messianic claimants. —Written for scholars and students and paying close attention to their needs, and especially strong on Targums and rabbinical literature, this work can be recommended as a general resource for NT scholarship.”
—International Review of Biblical Studies

“Students and serious scholars alike will continue to find in [Evan’s book] a quick and convenient way to identify and introduce unfamiliar references while the biographies will point the way to more in-depth study.”
—Toronto Journal of Theology“This 2005 revision and expansion of Professor Evans’s 1992 Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation is ‘an introduction to the diverse bodies of literatures that are in various ways cognate to biblical literature, especially the New Testament’ and ‘is a tool designed to encourage students to make better use of the various primary literatures that are cognate to the writings of the Bible’. It is expressly for people who can read the original ancient languages and confines itself to bringing their attention only to writings that give background on, and can contribute to, the interpretation of the New Testament, hence the cursory coverage of the church fathers, New Testament apocrypha and other later literature. Evans devotes 272 pages to Jewish literature but only 31 to post-New Testament Christian writings. Not only are the various components of the literature under study listed and briefly described, specific examples are ‘offered to illustrate how they contribute to New Testament exegesis.

“The subjects discussed are the Old Testament apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea scrolls, versions of Old Testament, Philo, Josephus, Targums, rabbinic literature, New Testament apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, early church fathers, Gnostic writings, (pagan) Greco-Roman authors, Corpus Hermeticum, Samaritan writings, papyri, inscriptions, coins, and ostraca. The book contains a detailed catalogue and discussion of all of the Dead Sea Scrolls and descriptions of the contents of the various printed editions of them.

“There are other valuable lists of a host of ancient documents useful for the study of the New Testament. Evans indicates how to find published texts of other original (extant) documents. He also explains the background, importance, and relevance to New Testament studies of the various writings treated, instead of assuming that readers have prior knowledge of them. Yet he does not become distracted in the mass of painstaking detail about these writings but constantly demonstrates how each can contribute to New Testament studies.

“Indications that this book was directed to an audience of academics and other advanced scholars are Evans’s practice of always giving the abbreviation for a document as it is to be cited in scholarly works, mentioning a scholarly difference in opinion, and indicating translations only rarely. However, this book will prove an invaluable reference tool to the beginner, even the advanced layperson, because of its many explanations and comments on the various individual writings and categories of writings, and Evans’s explaining and elucidating the meanings of terms at the beginning of each discussion, even those familiar to long-time students in the field. Another quality of Eva n’s book is that it quotes or summarizes the substance of a Bible passage or other ancient writing under discussion instead of obliging readers to put down his book to consult the Bible or other book. Sometimes Evans does mention that there is an English translation and, more rarely, that one has not yet been published. The bibliographies, both on the genre in general and on specific writings within it, provide an invaluable finding-guide for readers at any stage to pursue their study.”
—Churchman

“Evans, a highly credible scholar, has put together an important reference book that will become a standard volume in the libraries of scholars and students alike. He recognizes two principal difficulties with those who aspire to NT exegesis. On the one hand, they have to master the biblical languages and, on the other, they have to become ‘familiar with the myriad of cognate literatures’ (1). The purpose of this volume ‘is to arrange these &verse literatures into a comprehensible and manageable format (xi). Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies is a substantial revision and expansion of an earlier work by Evans, Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation (1992), that had a similar purpose. In addition to this volume, there is also an OT counterpart: Kenton L. Sparks, Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible (2005). . . .This is a most valuable asset in the library of the every serious exegete.”
—Seminary Studies

Craig A. Evans, PhD, is Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. He is a frequent contributor to scholarly journals and the author or editor of numerous publications.

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