Coptic

Going beyond an inventory of “Old Testament apocrypha” transmitted in Coptic, this chapter focuses on the conceptual problems inherent in the study of Coptic literature, and of Coptic apocrypha in particular. First, the complicated linguistic situation of late antique and early medieval Egypt is sketched, which as far as Coptic sources are concerned resulted in a fragmentary and discontinuous record. Secondly, the Coptic sources are considered in their social setting, which is primarily the liturgical life of Christian, predominantly monastic communities between the fourth and the twelfth centuries. It is argued that terminology such as “Old Testament apocrypha” is not only descriptively inadequate but bars a proper understanding of the texts as embedded in local Christian genres and practices.