Table Of Content
NEW TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA
NEW TESTAMENT
APOCRYPHA
Revised Edition
edited by
Wilhelm Schneemelcher
English translation edited by
R. McL.Wilson
GOSPELS
AND RELATED WRITINGS
James Clarke & Co
Westminster John Knox Press
LOUISVILLE • LONDON
Published in Great Britain by
Junes CUirke & Co. Ltd
P.O. Box 60
Cambridge CBl 2NT
Pubhshed in die Unitxi States by
Westminster John Knox Press
Louisville, Kentucity 40202-1596
British Library Cataloguing in Publicalion Data
IBiWe. NT. Apocryphal books English. 19911 New
Testament Aptxrrypha. - 2nd. ed.
I. Schneemelcher. Wilhelm
2299
ISBN 0-227-67915-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PuMication Data
A catalog rwrwd for this book is available from the Library of CcHipvss
ISBN (V664-2272I-X
Copyright © J C B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck) TUbingen. 1990
English Translauon Copyright © James Clarke & Co. Ltd, 1991
Paperback edition published by
Westminster John Knox Press. 2003
Printed in the United States of Amenca
05 06 07 08 09 10 II 12 — 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
AU ri^ts reserved No |»rt erf ttiis book may be reproduced or tfansimowl ia my form or by My
means, electronic or mechanical. iaclwMng |4iottx»pying. recorttag. or by any tDformatioa
stor^ and retrkval systtm. without prior pcnmssi<» io writiog from the patrinho'.
Preface to the English Edition
For many years the standard woric in English in diis field, indeed for pracdcal
(Kirposes the only work, was The Apocryphal New Testamem edited by M.R.
James and first published in 1924. By die late fifues, however, for all its
unquesuoned merits, it could be said to suffer from two defa:ts: it was then more
than thirty years old, and consequently took no account of the discoveries made
in diat period; and it provided but little in the way of guidance to die literature
(kvoted to these apocryphal writings. Both these deficiencies were m^e good in
die diird edition of its German counterpart, die Neutestamentliche Apokryphen,
originally edited by Edgar Hennecke and directed in its latest form by Wilhelm
Schnwmelcher. An English edition (vol.1.1963; vol. 11.1%5) met widi a cordial
reception, and went into a second impression some ten years later.
"Hennecke-Schneemelcher' is now. however, some thirty years old. and
much has happened in these three decides. For one thing, die Nag Hamm^i
library is now accessible, and can be evaluatal; for another, there has been a
considerable ^cession to the literature in diis whole area. A new edition is
therefore very welcome, and it is appropriate that die English version also should
be revised and updated (some German works have gone dirough six or seven
editions, but their English versions have remainal unchanged from the first!).
The policy adopted is that which governed the previous English edition: to
present an English version, checked and conrected to make it in every way
possible an adequate tool for the use of die English-speaking reader. Some parts
are completely new, and these have been translated from scratch. At other points
much of the earlier wlition has been retained, and here use has been mswk of the
CMitributions of my colleagues in that eariier volume. Dr George Ogg and Prof
A.J.B. Higgins. bodi now deceased, and Dr RE. Taylor. The whole has, however,
been rigorously checkal and revised against die new German edition, and die
translation editor must assume the full responsibility. Dr Einar Thomassen has
kindly undertaken die translation of diree secdons: VIII1. the Book ofThomas;
VIII 4, the Apocryphon of James; and VIII 5, die Dialogue of die Saviour.
One point should be made, to avoid possible misunderstanding (such as
afflicted one reviewer of die earlier first volume!): die several introdiK:uons are
straight transladons from the German, except for the 'residue' of the s^Uon
contributed by H.C. Puech. for which a copy of die original French was also made
available. The texts, however, presented somediing of a problem, which was
envisaged from the outset in die earlier edition: merely to translate the German
here would have produced somediing at some remove from die originals,
whereas completely new translations could scarcely have been pjut under the
names of the German contributors. The solution adopted then as now was lo
New Testament Apoctypha
check the translations against the origmals in Latin, Greek or G^c. to ensure
that they were English versions of the original and ntx merely versitHis at third
hand. Some dtings go more easily into English dian into German!
It is hoped thai the ^cmd volume will follow at not too great an interval after
die first.
R. McL. WiUoti
Preface to Sixth German Edition
The first volume of the Neutestamentliche Apokryphen in deutscher Obersetzung,
fountJol in 1904 by Edgar Hennecke (t 1951), aj^)earcd in a third edition in 1959.
A fourth ediuon which came out in 1968 was simply a corrected reprint
of the third edidon. The present sixth edidtwi is a corra:tal reprint of the fifdt
edidon. in which printing errors have been removed; at one point only some
su^iementary material has been introduced.
The complete recasung of die diird (fourdi) ediuon was necessary because in
r»:ent years there has been a considerable amount of work in die area of research
into the apocrypha.
In recent years there has been so much research in this area that a completely
new recasdng of die work seemed ai^n^riate. In parucular dw texts of die
Copdc gnostic library of Nag Hammadi, which in 1959 could not yet be
comprehoisively evaluated, have in the interval b^n opened up atKl nuule
generally »xessible. A number of works from this find belong beyotKi (k>ubt to
die kinds of text die extant wimesses of which are assembled in diis volume, hi
(kciding which texts from Nag Hammadi ought to be included in our collecutxi,
I have profited from die advice of C. Colpe, H.-M. Schenke and H.J. Klimkeit.
to whom I would express my cordial thanks.
Through die inclusion of texts from Nag Hammadi the book has bectHne more
voluminous than in the previous ediuon. The remaining secdons had in part to be
ctMnpletely remodelled, but in part the drafting of die ^wevious ^iuon could be
taken over in a revised fonn. 1 have to diank all die collaborators who have shared
in this edidtm. We may also remember widi grautude those who through their
work ctMitributed to the success of the previous edition, but in the interval have
been called from diis life.
R. Kasscl. R. Merkelbach and R. Suchel have ^vis«l me in many quesuons
of detail. A. de Santos Otero has frequently helped with his sp^ial knowlnlge.
K. Schiferdiek. who already in tM previous edition rendered great service, has
brcn a true helper this ume also. G. Ahn has assisted me in correcung the proofs.
To all diCKe named I would express my hearty dianks.
Fmally I must also thank the publisher G. Siebeck and his colleagues (espe
cially R. Pflug) for their understanding collaborauon. For over eighty years this
work has been taken care of by the Tubingen publishing house - a notable
tesumony to die solid continuity of diis house.
The second volume "Apostolisches. Apokalypdk und Verwandtes"appearKl
in 1989.
Wilhelm Schn^melcher
Table of Contents
Preface to the English Edition
Preface to Sixth German Edition
Abbreviations
General Introduction {Wilhelm Schneemelcher) 9
1. The concepts: canon, testament, apocrypha 10
2. On the history of the New Testament canon 15
a) Canon catalogues: 34
1) The Canon Muratori 34
2) The catalogue in the Codex Claromontanus 37
3) The so-called Decretum Gelasianum 38
4) The Stichometry of Nicephorus 41
5) Catalogue of the Sixty canonical books 42
b) Testimonies of Church Fathers from the 3rd and 4th centuries: 43
1) Origen 43
2) Eusebius of Caesarea 47
3) Athanasius 49
3. New Testament apocrypha 50
4. The continuance and influence of the New Testament apocrypha 62
5. On the history of research into the apocryphal literature 66
A. GOSPELS: NON-BIBLICAL MATERIAL ABOUT JESUS 77
Introduction {Wilhelm Schneemelcher) 77
L Isolated Sayings of the Lord {Otfried Hofius) 88
U. Fragments of Unknown Gospels (/oacAiffi Jerewiifls t
and Wilhelm Schneemelcher) 92
Introduction (Wilhelm Schneemelcher) 92
1. Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 840 (Joachim Jeremias t
and Wilhelm Schneemelcher) 94
2. Papyrus Egerton 2 (Joachim Jeremias t
and Wilhelm Schneemelcher) 96
3. Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 1224 (Wilhelm Schneemelcher) 100
4. Papyrus Cairensis 10 735 (Wilhelm Schneemelcher) 101
5. The so-called Fayyum Fragment (Wilhelm Schneemelcher) 102
6. The Strasbourg Coptic Papyrus (Wilhelm Schneemelcher) 103
Appendix: the 'secret Gospel' of Mark (H. Merket) 106
in. The Coptic Gospel of Thomas (Beate Blatz) 110
rv. Jewish-Christian Gospels (PhiUpp Vielhauer t and Georg Strecker) 134
Introduction: The Testimonies of the Early Church regarding
Jewish-Christian Gospels 135
