SOLOMON, THE PSALMS OF.) The Assumption of Moses.—This book was written between 4 B.C. and A.D. 7. As for the author, he was no Essene, for he recognizes animal sacrifices and cherishes the Messianic hope; he was not a Sadducee, for he looks forward to the establishment of the Messianic kingdom (x.) ; nor a Zealot, for the quietistic ideal is upheld (ix.), and the kingdom is established by God Himself (x.) . He is therefore a Chasid of the ancient type, and glorifies the ideals which were cherished by the old Pharisaic party, but which were now being fast disowned in favour of a more active role in the political life of the nation. He pours his most scathing invec tives on the Sadducees, who are described in vii. in terms that recall the anti-Sadducean Psalms of Solomon. His object, there fore, is to protest against the growing secularization of the Phari saic party through its adoption of popular Messianic beliefs and political ideals. (See also MOSES, ASSUMPTION OF.) Apocalypse of Baruch—The Syriac.—This Apocalypse has survived only in the Syriac version. The book treats of the Messiah and the Messianic kingdom, the woes of Israel in the past and the destruction of Jerusalem in the present, as well as of theological questions relating to original sin, free will, works, etc. The views expressed on several of these subjects are often conflicting. We must, therefore, assume a number of independent sources put to gether by an editor or else that the book is on the whole the work of one author who made use of independent writings but failed to blend them into one harmonious whole. In its present form the book was written soon after A.D. 7o. For fuller treatment see