Discover

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.

Contents

Tanakh references

New Testament references

Notes

See also

Tanakh references

★ The Book of Jasher (fully translated as 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 inferred 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 ''.

★ The Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel is mentioned in 1 Kings 16:20 regarding King Zimri. This appears to be a different book than any of those included in the Bible.

★ The books of annals of the kings of Israel and books of annals 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. Some believe that the information of these books was later compiled into Kings, but others differ, citing the above passages from Kings which state they contain "other events".

★ Books of Chronicles are mentioned on several occasions in the Book of Esther and also in Nehemiah 12:23. Some scholars believe that the book was ahistorical; it is however also noticed 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 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 ''

★ The Manner of the Kingdom^[2]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Acts of Solomon^[3]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Annals of King David^[4]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Book of Samuel the Seer^[5]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Book of Nathan the Prophet^[6]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Book of Gad the Seer^[7]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The History of Nathan the Prophet^[8]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Prophecy of Ahijah^[9]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Visions of Iddo the Seer
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Book of Shemaiah the Prophet^[10]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ Iddo Genealogies^[11]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Story of the Prophet Iddo^[12]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel^[13]
:''Referenced in , and ''.

★ The Book of Jehu^[14]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Story of the Book of Kings^[15]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Acts of Uziah^[16]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Vision of Isaiah^[17]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Acts of the Kings of Israel^[18]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Sayings of the Seers^[19]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Laments for Josiah^[20]
:''Referenced at ''.

★ The Chronicles of King Ahasuerus^[21]
:''Referenced at and ''.

★ The Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia^[22]
:''Referenced at ''.

New Testament references

★ A line from the Book of Enoch is quoted in the Epistle of Jude (1:14–15) almost verbatim. The work is believed by most scholars to be pseudepigraphal, but the author of Jude cites them as if they are Enoch's own words.

★ The Epistle to Corinth'^[23]
:''Referenced at ''

★ The Earlier Epistle to the Ephesians
:''Referenced at ''

★ The Epistle from Laodicea to the Colossians^[24]
:''Referenced in ''

★ The Earlier Epistle of John^[25]
:''Referenced at ''

★ Missing Epistle of Jude^[26]
:''Referenced at ''

Notes

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. Also called ''A Prior Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians''[16] or ''Paul’s previous Corinthian letter''.[17]
24. Also called ''The Epistle of Paul to the Laodiceans''[18] or ''Paul’s letter to the Laodiceans''.[19]
25. Also called ''The Epistle of John to the Church Ruled by Diotrephes''[20]
26. Also called ''2 Jude''.

See also

★ List of names for the Biblical nameless

★ Table of Books of Judeo-Christian Scripture