Designed with the beginning student in mind, this volume introduces the reader to the books that did not make it into the Bible or the Apocrypha but that remained popular among Jews and early Christians for centuries. These writings take various forms, such as novels, poems, apocalypses, the fictional deathbed speeches of biblical characters, and even attempts to rewrite well-known parts of Scripture. The book draws out the main religious ideas of these writings and links them to both their original historical setting and to issues of concern today.