In the Second Degree

To better understand the phenomenon of Literature in the Second Degree in Jewish and Biblical studies often characterized as parabiblical or Rewritten Bible the current volume applies the theories of Gerard Genette to ancient and medieval literature from various cultures. Literature in the Second Degree realigns earlier (authoritative) texts to the dynamics of developing cultures and their changing cultural memories. In the case of authoritative base texts, Literature in the Second Degree reaffirms their authority by way of interpretative actualization. In the case of non-authoritative base texts it replaces them to effect cultural forgetting. Far from being just literary forgery (pseudepigraphy), Literature in the Second Degree has an important function in the development of the ancient and medieval cultures.”

About the Author

Philip S. Alexander (PhD 1973, University of Oxford) is Professor of Post-Biblical Jewish Literature at the University of Manchester, Co-Director of its Center for Jewish Studies, and a member of the international team editiong the Dead Sea Scrolls. He as published extensively on Rabbinic Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls including The Mystical Texts (T & T Clark International, 2005).

Armin Lange (PhD 1994, University of Münster) is Professr for Second Temple Judaism as the University of Vienna and a member of the International Team editing the Dead Sea Scrolls. He has published extensively on the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls including Handbuch der Textfunde vom Toten Meer, vol. 1: Die Handschriften biblischer Bücher von Qumran und den anderen Fundorten (Mohr Siebeck, 2009).

Renate J. Pillinger (PhD 1976, University of Vienna) is Professor of Early Christian Archeology at the University of Vienna. She has directed several exavations and published extensively on the history of Early Christian art including Studien zur römischen Zwischengoldgläsern (Austrian Acadamy of Sciences, 1984).