ature:
Pseudepigrapha - refers broadly to other ancient Jewish writings which are not part of the HB nor of the LXX, but are often attributed to a biblical figure (e.g. Jubilees, 1 Enoch, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, etc.). They were popular among ancient Jews, and thus are very valuable for historical purposes, even if they were never considered biblical by most people.
Inter-Testamental Literature - another collective term for an even broader range of Jewish literature written "between" the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) - several collections of ancient writings (2nd century BCE to 2nd century CE) discovered between 1947 and 1956 in various caves near the NW shores of the Dead Sea; most famous are the large scrolls and numerous small fragments found in eleven caves near the ruins at Khirbet Qumran, associated by most scholars with the Essenes (a monastic group in Ancient Judaism); although copies of most books of the Hebrew Bible were also found there, more important are the original writings of the Essene/Qumran group itself.
Philo - an important Jewish writer who lived in Alexandria in the early 1st cent. CE (roughly contemporary with Jesus); he used Greek philosophical language and images to interpret Jewish biblical traditions (and vice-versa).
Josephus - the most important Jewish historian from the late 1st century CE; he was a general at the beginning of the First Jewish War against Rome, but surrendered early and then wrote a history of the "Jewish War," as well as a large history of his people, entitled "The Antiquities of the Jews."
Rabbinic Literature - various collections of Jewish writings from the 3rd through 7th centuries CE, although they contain some traditions attributed to earlier rabbis, including some famous contemporaries of Jesus. Many Orthodox and Conservative Jews believe that the chain of tradition goes all the way back to Moses, who received both the written Torah (the Bible) and the Oral Torah (other traditions) from God at Mount Sinai. The most important rabbinic writings include the following:
Caution: The DSS contain both biblical and non-biblical texts, but neither the Pseudepigrapha, nor the writings of Philo, Josephus, the Rabbis, or any other "Intertestamental Literature" is considered "biblical" by anyone, although some of this literature contains "biblical commentaries."
Old Testament (OT) - A collection of 53, or 49, or 46, or only 39 ancient Jewish books (depending on which Bible you have), including the history of God's interactions with the people of Israel and related literary works from ancient Judaism. Although Jesus, his disciples, and the first few generations of Jewish Christians spoke Aramaic and used the Hebrew Bible (HB), the vast majority of early Christians spoke Greek (including the four Evangelists, Paul, and all other NT authors); thus, they read and quoted from the Septuagint (LXX) version of the ancient Jewish Scriptures. Some 2nd-century Christians thought that the God of the OT was so different from the God and Father of Jesus that they wanted to throw away the HB and replace it with the Gospels and writings of the Apostles. Most early Christians, however, used the newer Christian writings (eventually called "New Testament") in addition to the Jewish Scriptures (which were contrasted as the "Old Testament"). Some modern scholars refer to the OT as the "First Testament," in contrast to the NT as the "Second Testament." Just like the LXX version of the Jewish Scriptures, the Christian OT is divided into four categories:
Orthodox vs. Catholic vs. Protestant Versions of the OT - Some of the Eastern Orthodox Churches today include up to 53 books in their Old Testament, based on the largest version of the Septuagint. By the late Middle Ages, however, the Western Church (i.e. the Roman Catholic Church, but before the Protestant Reformation), had accepted only 46 books in its Old Testament (including the "Deuterocanonical" books of Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, and Baruch, but omitting such books as 1 & 2 