Well known are the documents canonized as the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament) and dated from approximately 950 to 165/4 bce. Less well known are the bodies of writings cognate to the Hebrew scriptures, called the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha, and written by Jews during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Closely related to the thirty-nine Old Testament books canonized by Jews and Christians and sometimes related to the twenty-seven New Testament books canonized by Christians, these documents were very influential and were frequently considered inspired by many Jewish and Christian communities. When the canons of scripture were closed, first by Jewish and then by Christian authorities, these writings were not included, and they quickly began to lose their influence and importance. Consequently, these documents are usually preserved only in late manuscripts that are translations of lost originals. Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the...