Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The false ascription of a particular authorship to works.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The ascription of false names of authors to works.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
ascription offalse names ofauthors toworks .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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These are all taken from Pauline epistles that even skeptics take as Paul's own and not exercises in pseudepigraphy:
Mythicist Misunderstanding James F. McGrath 2010
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Ken Schenck also quotes Davids quoting Bauckham on pseudepigraphy.
More on Conservatives, Liberals, and Scholarship James F. McGrath 2009
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Since pseudepigraphy is one of the defining characteristics of the genre of alchemist literature, it seems safe to assume that the commentary on Zosimus is a false attribution.
Olympiodorus Wildberg, Christian 2007
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2 Peter is probably the clearest instance of pseudepigraphy in the New Testament.
Review of Bart Ehrman, Jesus, Interrupted James F. McGrath 2009
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b/c I thought the voice demanded pseudepigraphy ...
bilby commented on the word pseudepigraphy
Who put the pig in ____
October 31, 2008
vendingmachine commented on the word pseudepigraphy
Scholars have identified seven levels of authenticity which they have organized in a hierarchy ranging from literal authorship, meaning written in the author's own hand, to outright forgery:
Literal authorship. A church leader writes a letter in his own hand.
Dictation. A church leader dictates a letter almost word for word to an amanuensis.
Delegated authorship. A church leader describes the basic content of an intended letter to a disciple or to an amanuensis.
Posthumous authorship. A church leader dies, and his disciples finish a letter that he had intended to write, sending it posthumously in his name.
Apprentice authorship. A church leader dies, and disciples who had been authorized to speak for him while he was alive continue to do so by writing letters in his name years or decades after his death.
Honorable pseudepigraphy. A church leader dies, and admirers seek to honor him by writing letters in his name as a tribute to his influence and in a sincere belief that they are responsible bearers of his tradition.
Forgery. A church leader obtains sufficient prominence that, either before or after his death, people seek to exploit his legacy by forging letters in his name, presenting him as a supporter of their own ideas.
May 31, 2016