Below are books known of but are not included in the Bible. If you read all about these books, it is clear that no “God” wrote the “Bible”. The Bible was composed of some books, and not others at the whim of man. If “God” had written the Bible, the books He referenced would not have been lost, God would have seen to it that they would remain – as they were that important for him to name them.
Tobit – Though this book is excluded from Protestant Bibles (with but few exceptions), Tobit 4:7-9 is read in the Anglican offertory, and at one time Tobias and Sarah occupied in the marriage service of the Anglican rubrics the position at present held by Abraham and Sarah.
Judith, the Book Of: One of the books of the Apocrypha. As to its authorship, it belongs to the Maccabean period, B.C. 175‐135, which it reflects not only in its general spirit, but even in its smaller traits.
Esther, Book Of: The authorship of this book is unknown. It must have been obviously written after the death of Ahasuerus (the Xerxes of the Greeks), which took place B.C. 465. The minute and particular account also given of many historical details makes it probable that the writer was contemporary with Mordecai and Esther. Hence we may conclude that the book was written probably about B.C. 444-434, and that the author was one of the Jews of the dispersion.
This book is more purely historical than any other book of Scripture; and it has this remarkable peculiarity that the name of God does not occur in it from first to last in any form. It has, however, been well observed that “though the name of God be not in it, his finger is.”
Wisdom, The, of Solomon: A book of the Apocrypha, may be divided into two parts, the first, chapters 1-9, containing the doctrine of wisdom in its moral and intellectual aspects: the second, the doctrine of wisdom as shown in history, chapters 10-19. The first part contains the praise of wisdom as the source of immortality, in contrast with the teaching of sensualists; and next the praise of wisdom as the guide of practical and intellectual life, the stay of princes, and the interpreter of the universe. The second part, again, follows the action of wisdom summarily, as preserving God’s servants, from Adam to Moses, and more particularly in the punishment of the Egyptians and Canaanites.
Style and language.-The literary character of the book is most remarkable and interesting. In the richness and freedom of its vocabulary it most closely resembles the Fourth Book of Maccabees, but it is superior to that fine declamation in both power and variety of diction. The magnificent description of wisdom, chapter 7:22-8:1, must rank among the noblest passages of human eloquence, and it would be perhaps impossible to point out any piece of equal length in the remains of classical antiquity more pregnant with noble thought or more rich in expressive phraseology.
Doctrinal character.-The theological teaching of the book offers, in many respects, the nearest approach to the language and doctrines of Greek philosophy that is found in any Jewish writing up to the time of Philo. There is much in the views which it gives of the world of man and of the divine nature which springs rather from the combination or conflict of Hebrew and Greek thought than from the independent development of Hebrew thought alone. The conception is presented of the body as a mere weight and clog to the soul (chapter 9:15; contrast 2 Corinthians 5:1-4). There is, on the other hand no trace of the characteristic Christian doctrine of a resurrection of the body. The identification of the tempter (Genesis 3:1) … directly or indirectly with the devil, as the bringer “of death into the world” (chapter 2:23-24) is the most remarkable development of biblical doctrine which the book contains. Generally, too, it may be observed that, as in the cognate books, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, there are few traces of the recognition of the sinfulness even of the wise man in his wisdom, which forms in the Psalms and the prophets, the basis of the Christian doctrine of the atonement: yet compare Genesis 15:2. In connection with the Old Testament Scriptures, the book, as a whole, may be regarded as carrying on one step farther the great problem of life contained in Ecclesiastes and Job.
Date.-From internal evidence it seems most reasonable to believe that the work was composed in Greek at Alexandria some time before the time of Philo‐about 120‐80 B.C. It seems impossible to study this book dispassionately and not feel that it forms one of the last links in the chain of providential connection between the Old and New Covenants. It would not be easy to find elsewhere any pre‐Christian view of religion equally wide, sustained and definite.
Sirach – Though older than both Da and Esther, this book was never admitted into the Jewish Canon. There are numerous quotations from it, however, in Talmudic and rabbinic literature, (see a list in Zunz, Die Gottesdiensilichen Vortrage(2), 101 f; Delitzsch, Zur Geschichte der jud. Poesie, 204 f; Schechter, JQR, III, 682-706; Cowley and Neubauer, The Original Hebrew of a Portion of Ecclesiasticus, xix-xxx).
It is not referred to explicitly in Scripture, yet it is always cited by Jewish and Christian writers with respect and perhaps sometimes as Scripture. It forms a part of the Vulgate (Jerome’s Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) of the Tridentine Council and therefore of the Romanist Canon, but the Protestant churches have never recognized it as canonical, though the bulk of modern Protestant scholars set a much higher value upon it than they do upon many books in the Protestant Canon (Chronicles, Esther, etc.). It was accepted as of canonical rank by Augustine and by the Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397, 419), yet it is omitted from the lists of accepted books given by Melito (circa 180 AD), Origen, in the Apostolic Canons and in the list of the Councils of Laodicea (341 and 381).
Jerome writes in Libri Sol.: “Let the church read these two books (Wisdom and Sirach) for the instruction of the people, not for establishing the authority of the dogmas of the church.” It suffered in the respect of many because it was not usually connected with a great name; compare the so-called “Proverbs of Solomon.” Sirach is cited or referred to frequently in the Epistle of James (Jas 1:2-4-compare Sirach 2:1-5; Jas 1:5-compare Sirach 1:26; 41:22; 51:13 f; Jas 1:8 (“double minded”)-compare Sirach 1:28, etc.). The book is often cited in the works of the Fathers (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Augustine, etc.) and also in the Apostolical Constitutions with the formula that introduces Scripture passages: “The Scripture says,” etc. The Reformers valued Sirach highly, and parts of it have been incorporated into the Anglican Prayer-book.
Baruch, Book Of:One of the Apocryphal or Deutero-canonical books, standing between Jeremiah and Lamentations in the Septuagint, but in the Vulgate (Jerome’s Latin Bible, 390-405 A. D.) after these two books.
This book and also the Epistle of Jeremy have closer affinities with the canonical Book of Jer than any other part of the Apocrypha. It is probably to this fact that they owe their name and also their position in the Septuagint and in the Vulgate (Jerome’s Latin Bible, 390-405 A. D.) The book is apparently made up of four separate parts by independent writers, brought together by an editor, owing it is very likely to a mere accident-each being too small to occupy the space on one roll they were all four written on one and the same roll.
Prayer of Azariah – The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Holy Children, abbreviated Pr Azar, is a passage which appears after Daniel 3:23 in some translations of the Bible, including the ancient Greek Septuagint translation.
Susanna – The book Susanna was with the other Additions included in the Bible Canon of the Greek, Syrian and Latin churches. Julius Africanus (circa 230 AD) was the first to dispute the right of Susanna to a place in the Canon, owing to its improbable character. Origen replied to him, strongly maintaining its historicity (see Schurer, GJV4, III, 455; HJP, II, 3, p. 186, where the references are given). In the Septuagint, Syro-Hexapla and Vulgate, Susanna is Daniel 14, but in Theodotion (ABQ) it opens Daniel, preceding chapter 1, a position implied in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) which are based on Theodotion, formerly believed to be the true Septuagint. Yet it is probable that even in Theodotion the original place agreed with that in the true Septuagint.
Bel and the Dragon 1 – The narrative of Bel and the Dragon is incorporated as chapter 14 of the extended Book of Daniel. The original Septuagint text in Greek survives in a single manuscript, Codex Chisianus, while the standard text is due to Theodotion, the 2nd-century AD revisor.
This chapter, along with chapter 13, is considered deuterocanonical: it was rejected by Rabbinic Judaism, and while it is viewed as canonical by both Catholic and Orthodox Christians, it is considered apocryphal by most Protestants and typically not found in modern Protestant Bibles. However, the story is referenced by the Jewish poet R’ Israel of Najara.
1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees
3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees
The Maccabean story is preserved in the books of the First and Second Maccabees, which describe in detail the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the lighting of the menorah. These books are not part of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) which came from the Jewish canon; however, they were part of the Alexandrian canon which is also called the Septuagint (sometimes abbreviated LXX).[33] Both books are included in the Old Testament used by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches,[34] since those churches consider the books deuterocanonical. They are not included in the Old Testament books in most Protestant Bibles since most Protestants consider the books apocryphal.
Multiple references to Hanukkah are also made in the Mishna (Bikkurim 1:6, Rosh HaShanah 1:3, Taanit 2:10, Megillah 3:4 and 3:6, Moed Katan 3:9, and Bava Kama 6:6), though specific laws are not described. The miracle of the one-day supply of oil miraculously lasting eight days is first described in the Talmud, committed to writing about 600 years after the events described in the books of Maccabees.[35]
The New Testament mentions Jesus visiting the temple during Hanukkah (John 10:22-23).
The Third and Fourth Books of Machabees
III Mach. is the story of a persecution of the Jews in Egypt under Ptolemy IV Philopator (222-205 B. C.), and therefore has no right to its title. Though the work contains much that is historical, the story is a fiction. IV Mach. is a Jewish-Stoic philosophical treatise on the supremacy of pious reason, that is religious principles, over the passions. The martyrdom of Eleazar and of the seven brothers (2 Maccabees 6:18–7) is introduced to illustrate the author’s thesis. Neither book has any claim to canonicity, though the first for a while received favourable consideration in some Churches.
1 Esdras, 2 Esdras –
1 Esdras (Greek: Ἔσδρας Αʹ), also Esdras A, Greek Esdras, Greek Ezra, or 3 Esdras , is an ancient Greek version of the biblical Book of Ezra in use among the early church, and many modern Christians with varying degrees of canonicity. 1 Esdras is substantially derived from Masoretic Ezra–Nehemiah, with the passages specific to the career of Nehemiah removed or re-attributed to Ezra, and some additional material.
As part of the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, it is now regarded as canonical in the churches of the East, but apocryphal in the West; either presented in a separate section, or excluded altogether.[1] 1 Esdras is found in Origen‘s Hexapla. The Greek Septuagint, the Old Latin bible and related bible versions include both Esdras Αʹ (English title: 1 Esdras) and Esdras Βʹ (Ezra–Nehemiah) as separate books.
Psalm 151 is a short psalm found in most copies of the Septuagint[1] but not in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. The title given to this psalm in the Septuagint indicates that it is supernumerary, and no number is affixed to it: “This Psalm is ascribed to David and is outside the number. When he slew Goliath in single combat”.[2] It is also included in some manuscripts of the Peshitta. The psalm concerns the story of David and Goliath.
The Eastern Orthodox Church as well as the Coptic Orthodox Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Catholic Church[citation needed] and the Indian Orthodox Church accept Psalm 151 as canonical. Roman Catholics, Protestants, and most Jews consider it apocryphal. However, it is found in an appendix in some Catholic Bibles, such as certain editions of the Latin Vulgate, as well as in some ecumenical translations, such as the Revised Standard Version. Psalm 151 is cited once in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Breviary, as a responsory of the series from the books of Kings, the second in the Roman Breviary, together with 1 Samuel 17:37 (Greek 1-2 Kings = trad. 1-2 Samuel; Greek 3-4 Kings = trad. 1-2 Kings) in a slightly different text from the Vulgate
Book of Jasher (Joshua 10:13, 2 Samuel 1:18)
The book covers biblical history from the creation of Adam and Eve until a summary of the initial Israelite conquest of Canaan in the beginning of the book of Judges.
The Bible twice quotes from a Sefer haYashar (The Book of Jasper), and this midrashic work includes text that fits both Biblical references – the reference about the Sun and Moon found in Joshua, and also the reference in 2 Samuel (in the Hebrew but not in the Septuagint) to teaching the Sons of Judah to fight with the bow. This appears in Jasher 56:9 among the last words of Jacob to his son Judah:Only teach thy sons the bow and all weapons of war, in order that they may fight the battles of their brother who will rule over his enemies. (MCR)
Book of the Wars of the Lord (Numbers 21:14) – The Book of the Wars of the Lord (סֵפֶר מִלְחֲמֹת יהוה) is one of several non-canonical books referenced in the Bible which have now been completely lost.[1] It is mentioned in Numbers 21:14–15, which reads:”From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the desert and bounding the Amorite territory. For Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. That is why the Book of the Wars of the LORD says: ‘… Waheb in Suphah and the ravines of Arnon, and at the stream of the ravines that lead to the dwelling of Ar, which lies along the border of Moab.'”
David Rosenberg suggests in his The Book of David that it was written in 1100 BC or thereabouts. Theologian Joseph Barber Lightfoot suggested that it was merely another title for the mysterious biblical Book of Jasher.
The Book of the Wars of the Lord is cited in the medieval Book of Jasher as being a collaborative record written by Moses, Joshua, and the children of Israel.[2]
A notable reference to an unnamed book is mentioned in Exodus 17:14, where God commanded Moses to inscribe an Israelite military victory over the Amalekites in the book and recount it later in the hearing of his successor Joshua. The book is not specifically mentioned by name. However, some Torah scholars such as Moses ibn Ezra have suggested this book may refer to the Book of the Wars of the Lord.
Book of Samuel the Seer (1 Chronicles 29:29) – nothing is known about that book.
A description within 1 Chronicles 29:29, in the conclusion to the first Book of Chronicles, reads:
“Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer.”
Book of Nathan the Prophet (1 Chronicles 29:29) –
The Book of Nathan the Prophet and the History of Nathan the Prophet are among the lost books of the Tanakh, attributed to the Biblical prophet Nathan. They may be the same text, but they are sometimes distinguished from one another. No such text is found anywhere in the Tanakh, so it is presumed to have been lost or removed from earlier texts.
The Book is described at 1 Chronicles 29:29:
“Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer.”
These writings of Nathan and Gad may have been included in 1 and 2 Samuel
Book of Gad the Seer (1 Chronicles 29:29) – The Book of Gad the Seer is a presumed lost text, supposed to have been written by the Biblical prophet Gad, which is mentioned at 1 Chronicles 29:29. The passage reads: “Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer.” These writings of Nathan and Gad may have been incorporated into 1 and 2 Samuel.
Acts of Rehoboam –
Book of Shemaiah the Prophetwho lived at the time ofRehoboam. The book is described at 2 Chronicles 12:15. The passage reads: “Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they….
Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (1 Kings 14:29) –
The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah is a Lost work that gives a more detailed account of the reigns of the kings of the ancient Kingdom of Judah that appears in the Hebrew Bible. It is not believed to be Books of Chronicles since it is implied by the writer of Books of Kings that it could be used as a significant supplement to the writings contained in that book itself and Books of Chronicles adds little information at best and there is also a discrepancy in the dates of certain events between the two books.
The book is initially referred to at 1 Kings 14:29. The passage reads: “Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?” There are 15 biblical references in total.
Solomon composed more than a thousand songs (1 Kings 4:32), yet only two are preserved in the book of Psalms (72 and 127).
Cretan poet Epimenides (Titus 1:12) – Lost
Epimenides and Aratus (Acts 17:28) – Lost