This book brings together, for the first time in a consecutive narrative, the major apocryphal sources of the Jesus tradition. Composed between the 2nd and 7th centuries, these "secret gospels" were influential in shaping Christian belief and doctrine for well over 1,000 years. They include stories of the birth of Jesus, his "lost" years as a boy in Nazareth, the wanderings of the holy family, the death of Joseph, and the ascension of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Translated and harmonized by R. Joseph Hoffmann, a specialist in early church history, these sources offer an unparalleled view of the devotional life and legend-making skills of the Christian Church. They also provide important insight into the making of the New Testament canon and raise significant questions about the way in which belief in the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth developed.
This comprehensive introduction to the apocryphal tradition is essential reading for anyone interested in the life and thought of the formative period of Christian belief. Enhanced by Hoffmann's running notes and commentary, this impressive work includes a supplement on the apocryphal Jesus tradition in Islam as well as long-unavailable sources from the Eastern Coptic-Egyptian and Arab-Christian traditions.
196 pages
ISBN 1-57392-069-X Cloth
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction. The Secret Gospels:
A Harmony of Apocryphal Traditions
I. A History of Joseph the Carpenter
II. The Book of James, Son of Joseph
III. The History of the Virgin
IV. The Annunciation
V. The Visit and Trial
VI. The Nativity of John
VII. The Nativity of Jesus, Called the Christ
VIII. The Testimony of Joseph the Carpenter to the Night of Wonders
IX. The Midwife's Account of the Nativity
X. The Circumcision
XI. The Jealousy of a King
XII. The Child Jesus in Egypt
XIII. John and Jesus in Egypt
XIV. The Child Jesus in Nazareth
XV. Jesus and the Teachers
XVI. Jesus and the Child Zeno
XVII. Jesus Saves a Woodsman
XVIII. The Miracle at the Well
XIX. Jesus and His Father
XX. Jesus and James
XXI. The Rich Man Ibram
XXII. Jesus and the Doctors of the Law
XXIII. The Silly Teacher
XXIV. The Miracle of the Dyer
XXV. The Children in the Oven
XXVI. The Funeral of Joses
XXVII.The Interim
XXVIII.The Baptism
XXIX. The Death of Joseph
XXX. The Sleep and Awakening of Mary,
Virgin and Mother
Epilogues:
The Hymn of the Pearl
The Philippian Incarnation Hymn
A Miscellany of Nativity Hymns
Ignatius ofAntioch on the Nativity
The Apocryphal Infancy Thadition in Is lam
Appendix: The Family of Jesus
Endnotes
Bibliographical Notes