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  • The Apocryphal Jesus: Legends of the Early Church
  • Joseph F. Kelly
J. K. Elliott, editor. The Apocryphal Jesus: Legends of the Early Church. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Pp. vi + 214. $39.95 cloth; $12.95 paper.

This book includes texts from Elliott’s The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford UP, 1993), a translation with annotations. This book includes only selected texts and usually in abbreviated form. The first section of the book focuses on the apocrypha which deal directly with Jesus, especially gospels, and the range is good—infancy, childhood, ministry, death and resurrection (including Jesus in [End Page 130] the underworld). The editor also includes material on Pilate, Zachary, and Veronica. Many familiar texts appear here—the Protoevangelium of James, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Nicodemus, the Letters of Christ and Abgar.

The second section deals with the careers of the apostles, specifically Andrew, John, Paul, Peter, and Thomas. Again familiar texts appear—the Acts of those five apostles. The third sections deals with the last things and draws from the Apocalypses of Paul, Peter and Thomas. The editor prefaces all sections with a brief discussion of the texts.

This is an ideal book for classroom use. Ellott has assembled a useful collection of basic texts, none of which is too long and all of which are readable. These accessible texts will represent to most students a departure from anything they had previously read. This book will aid their comprehension of both the New Testament and the Early Church. Furthermore, I suspect that most JECS readers will share my gratitude for the brevity of the introductions. Too often in anthologies long introductions propound the author’s (often idiosyncratic) views, and the instructor must either deal with those or suggest that the student skip them. This is a book from which one can teach.

My only (minor) reservations relate to the title. First, the book deals with more than Jesus, contrary to what the title implies. Second, the subtitle, Legends of the Early Church, while technically correct, conveys the image of exotic and possibly irrelevant stories, when these documents provide many valuable insights into Early Christianity.

Finally, many thanks to OUP for the reasonably priced paperback edition.

Joseph F. Kelly
John Carroll University
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