Editing Bible (section)

=== Pseudepigraphal books ===
{{Main|Jewish apocrypha|Pseudepigrapha}}{{See also|Authorship of the Bible}}
Pseudepigrapha are works whose authorship is wrongly attributed. A written work can be pseudepigraphical and not be a forgery, as forgeries are intentionally deceptive. With pseudepigrapha, authorship has been mistransmitted for any one of a number of reasons.{{sfn|Metzger|1972|p=4}} For example, the [[Gospel of Barnabas]] claims to be written by Barnabas the companion of the Apostle Paul, but both its manuscripts date from the Middle Ages. 

Apocryphal and pseudepigraphic works are not the same. Apocrypha includes all the writings claiming to be sacred that are outside the canon because they are not accepted as authentically being what they claim to be. Pseudepigrapha is a literary category of all writings whether they are canonical or apocryphal. They may or may not be authentic in every sense except a misunderstood authorship.{{sfn|Metzger|1972|p=4}}

The term "pseudepigrapha" is commonly used to describe numerous works of Jewish religious literature written from about 300 BCE to 300 CE. Not all of these works are actually pseudepigraphical. (It also refers to books of the New Testament canon whose authorship is questioned.) The Old Testament pseudepigraphal works include the following:{{sfn|Harris|1985|p=vii, 197–221, 223–243}}
* [[3 Maccabees]]
* [[4 Maccabees]]
* [[Assumption of Moses]]
* Ethiopic [[Book of Enoch]] (1 Enoch)
* Slavonic [[Second Book of Enoch|Book of Enoch]] (2 Enoch)
* Hebrew [[3 Enoch|Book of Enoch]] (3 Enoch) (also known as "The Revelation of Metatron" or "The Book of Rabbi Ishmael the High Priest")
* [[Book of Jubilees]]
* [[Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch]] (2 Baruch)
* [[Letter of Aristeas]] (Letter to Philocrates regarding the translating of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek)
* [[Life of Adam and Eve]]
* [[Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah]]
* [[Psalms of Solomon]]
* [[Sibylline Oracles]]
* [[Greek Apocalypse of Baruch]] (3 Baruch)
* [[Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs]]

==== Book of Enoch ====
Notable pseudepigraphal works include the Books of Enoch such as [[1 Enoch]], [[Second Book of Enoch|2 Enoch]], which survives only in [[Old Church Slavonic|Old Slavonic]], and [[3 Enoch]], surviving in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] of the {{circa|fifth century|sixth century}} CE. These are ancient [[Jewish]] religious works, traditionally ascribed to the prophet [[Enoch (Biblical figure)|Enoch]], the great-grandfather of the patriarch [[Noah]]. The fragment of Enoch found among the Qumran scrolls attest to it being an ancient work.{{sfn|Stuckenbruck & Erho|2011|pp=259, 267}} The older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) are estimated to date from about 300&nbsp;BCE, and the latest part (Book of Parables) was probably composed at the end of the first century BCE.{{sfn|Fahlbusch|Bromiley|2004|p=411}}

Enoch is not part of the biblical canon used by most [[Jews]], apart from [[Beta Israel]]. Most Christian denominations and traditions may accept the Books of Enoch as having some historical or theological interest or significance. Part of the Book of Enoch is quoted in the [[Epistle of Jude]] and the [[Book of Hebrews]] (parts of the New Testament), but Christian denominations generally regard the Books of Enoch as non-canonical.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Book of Enoch and The Secrets of Enoch |url=http://reluctant-messenger.com/enoch.htm |website=reluctant-messenger.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140608170257/http://reluctant-messenger.com/enoch.htm |archive-date=8 June 2014}}</ref> The exceptions to this view are the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] and [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church]].{{sfn|Stuckenbruck & Erho|2011|pp=259, 267}}

The Ethiopian Bible is not based on the Greek Bible, and the Ethiopian Church has a slightly different understanding of canon than other Christian traditions.{{sfn|Stuckenbruck & Erho|2011|p=261}} In Ethiopia, canon does not have the same degree of fixedness, (yet neither is it completely open).{{sfn|Stuckenbruck & Erho|2011|p=261}} Enoch has long been seen there as inspired scripture, but being scriptural and being canon are not always seen the same. The official Ethiopian canon has 81 books, but that number is reached in different ways with various lists of different books, and the book of Enoch is sometimes included and sometimes not.{{sfn|Stuckenbruck & Erho|2011|p=261}} Current evidence confirms Enoch as canonical in both Ethiopia and in Eritrea.{{sfn|Stuckenbruck & Erho|2011|pp=259, 267}}