In this field Stone has delved into the character and phenomenology of Jewish apocryphal literature, a subject that occupied scholarship especially in the 1970s and 1980s. The conceptual innovations and insight contained in Stone's writing on Second Temple Judaism (such as the transition from oral to written literature, the sociological approach to understanding the wisdom teacher, and questions pertaining to the pseudepigrapha) left a lasting impression on modern perceptions of the primary sources. His work in this field is published mainly in articles. Stone's abilities and interests as a historian of religion are most prominent in this area of his research. His chief articles addressing these topics were gathered in two collections.
