IV.
THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH THE
CARPENTER.
This very singular production comes to us through the Arabic; but part of it, at least, is extant in Coptic, in which language it is supposed to have been originally written. It was first published by Wallin, with a Latin version in 1722. Thilo also gives the Arabic with a revised translation, but Tischendorf only prints the Latin. It has been thought to have originated in the fourth century, but it is very doubtful whether it is so ancient in its actual form, which manifests a development of superstitious notions hardly consistent with so early a date. The intention of the writer was no doubt to exalt Joseph in the eyes of a people who had wandered far from the simplicity of the Gospel. The references to the feast of a thousand years have a millenarian tinge, but are not conclusive as to the high antiquity of the book, which may, however, belong to the fifth or to the sixth century.
