Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible

Several texts are mentioned in the Tanakh (Old Testament) and New Testament, yet do not appear in the canon of the respective works. Scholars consider some of these to be lost works, while others are viewed as pseudepigraphal.

Tanakh references[]

The Book of Jasher (whose title fully translated means the Book of the Upright or the Book of the Just) is mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18. From the context in the Book of Samuel it is implied that it was a collection of poetry. Several books have claimed to be this lost text, but are widely discounted as pseudepigrapha.
The Book of the Wars of the Lord^[1]

Referenced at Numbers 21:14.

Several works of Solomon: 3,000 proverbs; 1,005 songs; and a manual on botany.

Referenced at 1Kings 4:32.

The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and Chronicles of the Kings of Judah are mentioned in the Books of Kings (1 Kings 14:19, 14:29). They are said to tell of events during the reigns of Kings Jeroboam of Israel and Rehoboam of Judah, respectively. The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel is again mentioned in 1 Kings 16:20 regarding King Zimri, and many other times throughout 1 and 2 Kings. Copies of this book still exist, they are not part of the bible but are history books written at the time.
Books of Chronicles are mentioned on several occasions in the Book of Esther and also in Nehemiah 12:23. Some scholars^[who?] believe that the book was ahistorical; it is however also noticed^[who?] that the author was familiar with the customs at the Persian court, where the book is set. While the chronicles mentioned in Esther are thought by some scholars^[who?] to be fictional there is no doubt that the Kings of Persia did keep annals.
"The Book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the Seer" is mentioned in the book of 2nd Chronicles. (II Chr 12:14-15). Iddo was a seer who lived during the reigns of Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijah. His deeds were recorded in this book, which has been completely lost to history, excepting its title.
The Covenant Code

Referenced at Exodus 24:7

The Manner of the Kingdom^[2]

Referenced at 1Samuel 10:25.

The Acts of Solomon^[3]

Referenced at 1Kings 11:41.

The Annals of King David^[4]

Referenced at 1Chronicles 27:24.

The Book of Samuel the Seer^[5]

Referenced at 1Chronicles 29:29.

The Book of Nathan the Prophet^[6]

Referenced at 1Chronicles 29:29.

The Book of Gad the Seer^[7]

Referenced at 1Chronicles 29:29.

The History of Nathan the Prophet^[8]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 9:29.

The Prophecy of Ahijah^[9]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 9:29.

The Visions of Iddo the Seer

Referenced at 2Chronicles 9:29.

The Book of Shemaiah the Prophet^[10]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 12:15.

Iddo Genealogies^[11]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 12:15.

The Story of the Prophet Iddo^[12]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 13:22.

The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel^[13]

Referenced in 2Chronicles 16:11, 2Chronicles 27:7 and 2Chronicles 32:32.

The Book of Jehu^[14]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 20:34.

The Story of the Book of Kings^[15]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 24:27.

The Acts of Uziah^[16]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 26:22.

The Vision of Isaiah^[17]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 32:32.

The Acts of the Kings of Israel^[18]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 33:18.

The Sayings of the Seers^[19]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 33:19.

The Laments for Josiah^[20]

Referenced at 2Chronicles 35:25.

The Chronicles of King Ahasuerus^[21]

Referenced at Esther 2:23 and Esther 6:1.

The Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia^[22]

Referenced at Esther 10:2.

New Testament references[]

A line from the Book of Enoch is quoted in the Epistle of Jude (Jude 14–15) almost verbatim. The work is believed by most scholars^[who?] to be pseudepigraphal, but the author of Jude cites them as if they are Enoch's own words. The book of Enoch is in the Ethiopian Bible. Other references to the Book of Enoch are 1 Peter 3:19-20, Jude 6 and 2 Peter 2:4.^[23]
The Book of Jubilees is quoted in Romans 2:29, 9:24, 4:13.^[24]
There are numerous references to the Testament of Abraham^[25], Psalms of Solomon, the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch, Apocalypse of Ezra, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.^[24]
The Assumption of Moses is possibly referenced in Jude 9.
The Life of Adam and Eve is quoted in 2 Corinthians 11:14.^[24]
Lost Pauline letters
- The first Epistle to Corinth^[26] referenced at 1 Corinthians 5:9
- The third Epistle to Corinth called Severe Letter referenced at 2 Corinthians 2:4 and 2 Corinthians 7:8-9
- The Corinthian letter to Paul referenced at 1 Corinthians 7:1
- The Earlier Epistle to the Ephesians referenced at Ephesians 3:3-4
- The Epistle to the Laodiceans^[27] referenced at Colossians 4:16
- An epistle to the Thessalonians forged in Paul's name referenced at 2 Thessalonians 2:2
The Earlier Epistle of John^[28] referenced at 3John 1:9
Missing Epistle of Jude^[29] referenced in Jude 1:3
A number of classical Greek works are quoted, such as :
- Epimenides Cretica Acts 17:28
- Aratus Phaenomena 5 in Acts 17:28
- Epimenides De oraculis in Titus 1:12
- Euripides Bacchae 794 in Acts 26:14
- Heraclitus in 2 Peter 2:22
- Julianus Or. 8,246b in Acts 26:14
- Menander Thais in 1 Corinthians 15:33
- Thucydides II 97,4 in Acts 20:35.^[24]
- Plato's The Timaeus in Acts 17:24.^[30]
The Apocryphon of Jeremiah is quoted in Matthew 27:9, Ephesians 5:14 and James 4:5
Sirach is quoted in James 1:19, Luke 1:52, Mark 4:5,16-17, Matthew 7:16,20 and Matthew 11:28^[31]
The Apocalypse of Elijah is quoted in 1 Corinthians 2:9 according to Origen^[24].
The apocryphal book of Moses is quoted in Galatians 6:15
Apocalypse of Elijah is quoted in Ephesians 5:14 according to Epiphanius of Salamis.
The Book of the Penitence of Jannes and Mambres is quoted in 2 Tim 3:8
Matthew 23:31 and 23:35 may have come from "apocryphal books" according to Origen.^[32]

Notes[]

↑ Sometimes called The Book of the Wars of Yahweh. One source says "The quotation is in lyrical form, so it is possibly a book of poetry or a hymnal...Moses quoted it, so the date of its composition must have been prior to the completion of the Pentateuch, perhaps during the wanderings in the wilderness. Nothing else is known about it, and it survives only in Moses’ quotation."[1]
↑ Also called The Book of Statutes or 3 Samuel.
↑ Also called The Book of the Acts of Solomon.[2]
↑ Also called The Book of the Annals of King David or The Chronicles of King David.[3]
↑ Also called Samuel the Seer or The Acts of Samuel the Seer.[4]
↑ Also called Nathan the Prophet or The Acts of Nathan the Prophet.[5]
↑ Also called Gad the Seer or The Acts of Gad the Seer.[6]
↑ Distinguished here[7] from what may be the identical book, Nathan the Prophet, above
↑ Also called The Prophesy of Ahijah the Shilonite[8].
↑ Also called Shemaiah the Prophet or The Acts of Shemaiah the Prophet[9]. See Sh'maya.
↑ Also called The Genealogies of Iddo the Seer or The Acts of Iddo the Seer[10].
↑ Also called The Midrash of the Prophet Iddo.[11]
↑ Also called The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
↑ Also called The Book of Jehu ben Hanani
↑ Also called Midrash on the Book of Kings.[12]
↑ Also called Second Isaiah or The Book by the prophet Isaiah.[13]
↑ Also called The Vision of the Prophet Isaiah. May be identical to the pseudepigraphal Ascension of Isaiah.
↑ Also called The Acts and Prayers of Manasseh.[14] May be identical to The Book of the Kings of Israel, above.
↑ Also called The Acts of the Seers.[15]
↑ Also called 2 Lamentations. This event is not recorded in the existing Book of Lamentations.
↑ Also called The Book of Records of the Chronicles
↑ Also called The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia
↑ Tartarus
↑ ^24.0 ^24.1 ^24.2 ^24.3 ^24.4 Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, revision 26, 1979 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Nestle" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Nestle" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Nestle" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Nestle" defined multiple times with different content
↑ 1 Peter, Daniel J.Harrington
↑ Also called A Prior Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians[16] or Paul’s previous Corinthian letter.[17], possibly Third Epistle to the Corinthians
↑ Apologetics Press - Are There Lost Books of the Bible?
↑ Also called The Epistle of John to the Church Ruled by Diotrephes[18]
↑ Also called 2 Jude.
↑ http://www.covenantseminary.edu/worldwide/en/CC310/CC310_T_20.html
↑ Henry Chadwick, "The Church in Ancient Society", p.28
↑ The Canon Debate, McDonald & Sanders editors, 2002, page 220

[1] Sometimes called The Book of the Wars of Yahweh. One source says "The quotation is in lyrical form, so it is possibly a book of poetry or a hymnal...Moses quoted it, so the date of its composition must have been prior to the completion of the Pentateuch, perhaps during the wanderings in the wilderness. Nothing else is known about it, and it survives only in Moses’ quotation."[1]

[2] Also called The Book of Statutes or 3 Samuel.

[3] Also called The Book of the Acts of Solomon.[2]

[4] Also called The Book of the Annals of King David or The Chronicles of King David.[3]

[5] Also called Samuel the Seer or The Acts of Samuel the Seer.[4]

[6] Also called Nathan the Prophet or The Acts of Nathan the Prophet.[5]

[7] Also called Gad the Seer or The Acts of Gad the Seer.[6]

[8] Distinguished here[7] from what may be the identical book, Nathan the Prophet, above

[9] Also called The Prophesy of Ahijah the Shilonite[8].

[10] Also called Shemaiah the Prophet or The Acts of Shemaiah the Prophet[9]. See Sh'maya.

[11] Also called The Genealogies of Iddo the Seer or The Acts of Iddo the Seer[10].

[12] Also called The Midrash of the Prophet Iddo.[11]

[13] Also called The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

[14] Also called The Book of Jehu ben Hanani

[15] Also called Midrash on the Book of Kings.[12]

[16] Also called Second Isaiah or The Book by the prophet Isaiah.[13]

[17] Also called The Vision of the Prophet Isaiah. May be identical to the pseudepigraphal Ascension of Isaiah.

[18] Also called The Acts and Prayers of Manasseh.[14] May be identical to The Book of the Kings of Israel, above.

[19] Also called The Acts of the Seers.[15]

[20] Also called 2 Lamentations. This event is not recorded in the existing Book of Lamentations.

[21] Also called The Book of Records of the Chronicles

[22] Also called The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia

[23] Tartarus

[Nestle-24] 24.0 ^24.1 ^24.2 ^24.3 ^24.4 Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, revision 26, 1979 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Nestle" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Nestle" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Nestle" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Nestle" defined multiple times with different content

[25] 1 Peter, Daniel J.Harrington

[26] Also called A Prior Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians[16] or Paul’s previous Corinthian letter.[17], possibly Third Epistle to the Corinthians

[27] Apologetics Press - Are There Lost Books of the Bible?

[28] Also called The Epistle of John to the Church Ruled by Diotrephes[18]

[29] Also called 2 Jude.

[30] ttp://www.covenantseminary.edu/worldwide/en/CC310/CC310_T_20.html

[31] Henry Chadwick, "The Church in Ancient Society", p.28

[32] The Canon Debate, McDonald & Sanders editors, 2002, page 220

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Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible

Contents

Tanakh references[]

New Testament references[]

See also[]

Notes[]

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