In the centuries around the beginning of the Common Era, the Jewish people drew faith and inspiration from hundreds of sacred writings, not just those that make up the Hebrew Bible we know today. Many of the texts claimed to be the very words written by prophets, kings and patriarchs - even Adam himself. And though they were excluded from the Jewish canon, they continued to inspire and influence great teachers and popular traditions. The early Christian community, too, produced a wealth of sacred writings that were dismissed - even branded heretical - by the established Church, but remained popular among believers and important in spreading the faith. They range from legends about the miracles of the boy Jesus to stories about magicians and talking animals to the mystical messages of the Gnostic gospels. But these powerful, often beautiful works were written out of the Jewish and Christian Bibles, so for centuries most of them remained unknown outside a small circle of theologians and academics - until now. With profound yet accessible scholarship, Professor J. R. Porter has gathered these ancient texts in a richly illustrated anthology, pairing translated extracts in clear, modern language with commentaries that reveal their character and importance. Impeccable scholarship...important both for historians of art and for students of the Bible and Christian tradition in its wider context. - The Times Literary Supplement.