] = [Hebrew: al]
... [Hebrew: yahmol]. In verses 9, 19 the manifest corruptions may be
explicable from a Semitic background. There are other Hebraisms in the
text. It is true that these might have been due to the writer's
borrowings from earlier Greek works ultimately of Hebrew origin. The
date of the book is also quite uncertain, though several scholars have
ascribed it to the 3rd century.

_Christian Sibyllines._--Critics are still at variance as to the extent
of the Christian Sibyllines. It is practically agreed that vi.-viii. are
of Christian origin. As for i.-ii., xi.-xiv. most writers are in favour
of Christian authorship; but not so Geffcken (ed. _Sibyll._, 1902), who
strongly insists on the Jewish origin of large sections of these books.

_Apocalypses of Paul, Thomas and Stephen._--These are mentioned in the
Gelasian decree. The first may possibly be the [Greek: Anabagikon
Paulou] mentioned by Epiphanius (_Haer_. xxxviii. 2) as current among
the Cainites. It is not to be confounded with the apocalypse mentioned
two sections later.

_Apocalypse of Esdras._--This Greek production resembles the more
ancient fourth book of Esdras in some respects. The prophet is perplexed
about the mysteries of life, and questions God respecting them. The
punishment of the wicked especially occupies his thoughts. Since they
have sinned in consequence of Adam's fall, their fate is considered
worse than that of the irrational creation. The description of the
tortures suffered in the infernal regions is tolerably minute. At last
the prophet consents to give up his spirit to God, who has prepared for
him a crown of immortality. The book is a poor imitation of the ancient
Jewish one. It may belong, however, to the 2nd or 3rd centuries of the
Christian era. See Tischendorf, _Apocalypses Apocryphae_, pp. 24-33.

_Apocalypse of Paul._--This work (referred to by Augustine, _Tractat. in
Joan._ 98) contains a description of the things which the apostle saw in
heaven and hell. The text, as first published in the original Greek by
Tischendorf (_Apocalypses Apocr._ 34-69), consists of fifty-one
chapters, but is imperfect. Internal evidence assigns it to the time of
Theodosius, i.e. about A.D. 388. Where the author lived is uncertain. Dr
Perkins found a Syriac MS. of this apocalypse, which he translated into
English, and printed in the _Journal of the American Oriental Society_,
1864, vol. viii. This was republished by Tischendorf below the Gre