"David deSilva's Introducing the Apocrypha remains the best book in the field. These important writings are placed in full context--historically, religiously, and literarily. Again and again deSilva shows how the books of the Apocrypha clarify important themes and traditions in the teaching of Jesus and in the literature of the early church. The revised edition is rich with insight and will serve well a new generation of students and scholars."
Craig A. Evans, John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins, Houston Baptist University
"David deSilva offers a readable and competent introduction to these complex and neglected writings. This is the best one-volume introduction to the apocryphal, or deuterocanonical, books currently available in English."
Jeremy Corley, lecturer in Sacred Scripture, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, Ireland
"For most Christians today the Apocrypha remain a marginal curiosity or object of suspicion. Informed by burgeoning scholarship in the study of early Judaism, the second edition of deSilva's engaging volume, Introducing the Apocrypha, reveals these books as vibrant witnesses to streams of thought, tradition, and faith that formed a theological and cultural matrix for the earliest church. Throughout, deSilva's fine introduction balances nuance and precision with clarity and accessibility."
Anathea Portier Young, associate professor of Old Testament, Duke Divinity School
