 pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is represented by a separate author, or a work "whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past."bauckham, richard; "pseudo-apostolic letters", journal of biblical literature, vo. 107, no. 3, september 1988, pp.469&ndash;494. the word "pseudepigrapha" (from the , pseudes, "false" and , epigraphÄ, "name" or "inscription" or "ascription"; thus when taken together it means "false superscription or title";lsj entry for ÏÎµÏÎ´ÎµÏÎ¯Î³ÏÎ±ÏÎ¿Ï, http://perseus.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.83:2:17.lsj, accessed 1/20/11 see the related epigraphy) is the plural of "pseudepigraphon" (sometimes latinized as "pseudepigraphum"). pseudepigraphy covers the false ascription of names of authors to works, even to authentic works that make no such claim within their text. thus a widely accepted but an incorrect attribution of authorship may make a completely authentic text pseudepigraphical. assessing the actual writer of a text locates questions of pseudepigraphical attribution within the discipline of literary criticism. in old testament biblical studies, the term pseudepigrapha typically refers to an assorted collection of jewish religious works thought to be written c 300 bc to 300 ad. they are distinguished by protestants from the deuterocanonical (catholic and orthodox) or apocrypha (protestant), the books that appear in the septuagint and vulgate but not in the hebrew bible or in protestant bibles.harris, stephen l., understanding the bible. palo alto: mayfield. 1985. catholics distinguish only between the deuterocanonical and all the other books, that are called biblical apocrypha, a name that is also used for the pseudepigrapha in the catholic usage. in addition, two books considered canonical in the tewahedo churches, viz. 1 enoch and jubilees, are categorized as "pseudepigrapha" from the point of view of the chalcedonian churches. == classical and biblical studies == there have probably been pseudepigrapha almost from the invention of full writing. for example, ancient greek authors often refer to texts which claimed to be by orpheus or his pupil musaeus but which attributions were generally disregarded. already in antiquity the collection known as the "homeric hymns" was recognized as pseudepigraphical, that is, not actually written by homer. === literary studies === in secular literary studies, when works of a
Apocrypha Christian_genres Jewish_literature Pseudepigraphy Religious_texts