Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible
The non-canonical books referenced in the Bible includes pseudepigrapha, writings from Hellenistic and other non-Biblical cultures, and lost works of known or unknown status. By the "Bible" is meant those books recognised by most Christians and Jews as being part of Old Testament as well as those recognised by Christians alone as being part of the Biblical apocrypha or of the Deuterocanon.
It may also include books of the Anagignoskomena that are accepted only by Eastern Orthodox Christians. For the purposes of this article, "referenced" can mean direct quotations, paraphrases, or allusions, which in some cases are known only because they have been identified as such by ancient writers, or the citation of a work or author.
Hebrew Bible
The following are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible:- The Book of Jasher is mentioned in and and also referenced in. 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, some of which are discounted as pseudepigrapha. Certain members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints secured the copyright to a particular English translation of one of these and republished it in 1887 in Salt Lake City.
- The Book of the Wars of the Lord is mentioned in. It is speculatively associated with one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness. The Book of the Wars of the Lord is also cited in the eighteenth century Book of Jasher Chapter 90:48 as being a collaborative record written by Moses, Joshua and the children of Israel.
- The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and Chronicles of the Kings of Judah are mentioned in the Books of Kings. 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 regarding King Zimri, and many other times throughout 1 and 2 Kings.
- The Book of Shemaiah the Prophet and Visions of Iddo the Seer is mentioned in the 2nd Book of Chronicles.. This book has been completely lost to history, save for its title.
- The Manner of the Kingdom.
- The Acts of Solomon.
- The Annals of King David.
- The Book of Samuel the Seer. Also called Samuel the Seer or The Acts of Samuel the Seer, which could be the same as 1 & 2 Samuel.
- The Book of Nathan the Prophet. Also called Nathan the Prophet or The Acts of Nathan the Prophet or History of Nathan the Prophet.
- The Book of Gad the Seer.
- The Prophecy of Ahijah, might be a reference to 1 Kings 14:2–18.
Referenced in, and . Might be the same as 1 & 2 Kings.
- The Book of Jehu, could be a reference to 1 Kings 16:1–7.
Referenced at .
- The Acts of Uzziah. Also called The Book by the prophet Isaiah. Perhaps the same as the Book of Isaiah.
- The Vision of Isaiah.
- The Acts of the Kings of Israel. Also called The Acts and Prayers of Manasseh. May be identical to The Book of the Kings of Israel, above.
- The Sayings of the Seers.
- The Laments for Josiah. Also called Lamentations. This event is recorded in the existing Book of Lamentations.
- The Chronicles of King Ahasuerus.
Deuterocanon
- Book of Ahikar referenced by,,,
- Aesop's fable of referenced at
- The Egyptian Satire of the Trades, or another work in that tradition referenced at
- "The archives" referenced by
- Memoirs of Nehemiah referenced by, could be the same as the Book of Nehemiah.
- "letters of the kings" referenced by
- "five books by Jason of Cyrene" referenced by : the author of 2 Maccabees here tells us that the work is abridged from the history by Jason.
- "the king's letter" referenced by
New Testament
Pagan authors quoted or alluded to:
- Menander, Thais 218
- Epimenides, de Oraculis,
- Aratus, Phaenomena 5,
- Book of Enoch.
- Book of Jasher
- Epistle to the Laodiceans
- Life of Adam and Eve
- A lost section of the Assumption of Moses
- Martyrdom of Isaiah
- Paul's letter to the Corinthians before 1 Corinthians
- Paul’s letter to the Ephesians before Ephesians
- An unknown messianic prophecy possibly from a non-canonical source, quoted in that states "...he will be called a Nazorian.". "Nazorian" is typically rendered as "Nazarene", as in Acts 24:5, where Christians are referred to as "the sect of the Nazorians/Nazarenes". This is speculated to be a vague allusion to a quote about Samson in Judges 13:5 that uses a similar-sounding word: "the child shall be a Nazirite"
- An unknown version of Genesis, quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:45, as a reference to Christ's being "the Last Adam who became a life-giving spirit". It has been speculated that Paul is simply paraphrasing Genesis 2:7, but there is no clear indication that this is not a complete quote.
- An unknown text quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:9, suggested by Origen to be a lost apocryphal book : "But as it is written, 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him." This may also be an allusion to the similar Isaiah 64:4, "For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.'".
- An unknown messianic prophecy, possibly from a non-canonical source, quoted in Luke 24:46, speculated to be a vague allusion to Hosea 6:2 : "Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day."
- An unknown messianic prophecy, possibly from a non-canonical source, quoted in Mark 9:12, speculated to be a vague allusion to Isaiah 53: "and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought."