So for centuries among the Jews, writers sought to shelter themselves behind the names of the great dead. In this they were guilty of no fraud. They imagined what Solomon or Enoch would say, or sing, upon a particular theme under given circumstances. It was not really they themselves, but their Solomon, their Enoch, Solomon or Enoch in them, who uttered the new prophesies or temple praises. Thus arose that body of literature, called by modern scholars, "Pseudepigrapha," that is, writings erroneously, unhistorically, and yet sincerely, ascribed to heroic figures summed from the vasty deep by a self-denying imagination, eager to alter man's belief and custom, to interpret his hope and sorrow, without personal gain or fame, and also, may one add, without the deterrent of persecution to arrest free utterance Now it is a foolish modern prejudice against an ancient piece of literature that its author veiled his person in this fashion. The only question is: Was the writing of inherent value? Did it exercise influence?

This work contains twenty ancient holy books, many of which were rejected from the Old Testament. Some of these books were later preserved by the early Christian Church as Apocryphal writings, often inserted in Bibles between the Old and New Testaments. They were originally recognized by the Jews as Pseudepigrapha because they were attributed to writers that were long since passed, in an effort to give them sanctity. It is these that are reproduced in this volume. Some of the titles include The First and Second Books of Adam and Eve, The Secrets of Enoch, The Psalms of Solomon, The Odes of Solomon, The Story of Ahikar, and The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. More and more interest is being paid to excluded texts, and this collection falls into that category, having added another interesting dimension to lost Biblical texts.