The Books of the Bible Mentioned in the Bible that Are Now Lost
Our Bible, as I showed in the last post, has developed and changed over time. If you’re a protestant, you didn’t have your Bible come into canon until 1534 by a man named Luther. Anyone prior to that would have been using Augustine’s canon which differs from Luthers in multiple books of authority.
Throughout our Old Testament, we see references and quotes about other books of Scripture that the Hebrews were quite familiar with and wrote following the Scriptures that we do have.
Here is a basic breakdown:
During the Old Testament period, a number of books were composed. In fact, the writer of Ecclesiastes made the following admission about the making of books:
Of anything beyond these, my child, beware. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. (Ecclesiastes 12:12 NRSV)
Therefore, it seems that there was much literary activity occurring in the ancient world.
The Old Testament mentions the existence of a number of books that have not been placed in Holy Scripture. These include the following (from Blue Letter):
1. The Book of the Wars of the Lord
In the Book of Numbers there is a quotation from the “Book of the Wars of the Lord.” It says the following:
Wherefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD. (Numbers 21:14-15 NRSV)
The author, as well as the exact contents of this book is unknown.
2. The Book of Jasher (the Upright One)
The “Book of Jasher,” or the “Scroll of the Upright One” is mentioned as recording Joshua’s long day. Scripture says:
The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One. The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day. (Joshua 10:13 NET)
This book seems to be well-known to the readers of Joshua. Yet, we know nothing about it really.
3. Solomon’s Proverbs and Songs
Scripture speaks of the number of proverbs and songs of Solomon. We read about this in the Book of 1 Kings. It says:
He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. (1 Kings 4:32-33 NIV)
The Book of Proverbs does not contain three thousand proverbs. The Song of Solomon is the only part of Scripture that contains a song from Solomon. For some reason, many of the proverbs and the songs of Solomon were not placed in Holy Scripture.
4. The Acts of Solomon
There is reference to a book called, “The Acts of Solomon,” or the “Annals of Solomon.” We read about this work in First Kings:
As for the other events of Solomon’s reign - all he did and the wisdom he displayed - are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? (1 Kings 11:41 NIV)
Nothing is known about this book beyond its mention here.
5. The Annals of the Kings of Israel
The writer of First Kings mentions a source known as, “The Annals of the Kings of Israel.” It says the following:
The other events of Jeroboam’s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. (1 Kings 14:19 NIV)
This would not be the same as the canonical book of First Kings. The author and contents of this particular work are unknown.
6. The Annals of the Kings of Judah
There is the mention of a work titled, “The Annals of the Kings of Judah.” We read about this in First Kings. It states:
As for the other events of Abijah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. (1 Kings 15:7 NIV)
Nothing is known about the author or the contents of this book.
7. The Records of Samuel, Nathan, and Gad
The prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad are said to have recorded events in the life of King David. The Bible says:
As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer. (1 Chronicles 29:29 NIV)
Samuel is credited with writing First and Second Samuel. He also possibly wrote Judges and Ruth. Nothing is known about the writings of Gad.
In another place, Nathan the prophet is also credited with writing something about Solomon. The chronicler wrote:
As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat? (2 Chronicles 9:29 NIV)
Along with Nathan, there is mention of other writings: the prophecy of Ahijah, and the vision of Iddo the seer. Again, we know nothing else of these writings.
8. The Records of Shemaiah the Prophet and Iddo the Seer
A prophet named Shemaiah, and a seer named Iddo, recorded the acts of king Rehoboam. The Bible says the following:
As for the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer that deal with genealogies? There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. (2 Chronicles 12:15 NIV)
Nothing has ever been found of these works.
9. The Annals of Jehu
Jehu the King is said to have recorded the acts of another King, Jehoshaphat. This is also recorded in the Book of Chronicles:
The other events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel. (2 Chronicles 20:34 NIV)
It seems that certain things that were written in the annals of Jehu were incorporated into the biblical books of First Kings.
10. The Acts of Uzziah
The prophet Isaiah recorded the acts of King Uzziah. The Chronicler wrote the following:
The other events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. (2 Chronicles 26:22 NIV)
This written record of Isaiah is not the same as the biblical book that bears his name.
11. The Laments of Jeremiah
There is a mention of the laments of Jeremiah. We read about this in Second Chronicles. It says:
Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the men and women singers commemorate Josiah in the laments. These became a tradition in Israel and are written in the Laments. (2 Chronicles 35:25 NIV)
The lament of Jeremiah is not the same as the biblical book of Lamentations. That particular work was written after the destruction of Jerusalem and it laments its devastation.
Why Are These Works Not Included in the Old Testament Canon?
These are some of the written works mentioned in the Old Testament that have not become part of sacred Scripture. Indeed, the writer, or writers, of Chronicles, First and Second Chronicles, mention seventy-five different sources for the contents of this work!
Some of these works have been lost due to basic historical events, some of them exist in fragments but aren’t conclusive enough to add to the canon.
Some may claim it’s God’s divine providence, while others won’t make such an assertion because it means you KNOW what God’s providence is for the matter and I’m not going to claim that I know God’s intent, plan, or even His involvement.
The interesting and extremely unique thing is that we have many (11) books missing from the records that contain so much more of Israel’s timeline. Personally, the Book of the Wars of the Lord sounds like something straight from Tolkien and I really wish we still had that around. It would be incredible to read!
But all this goes into why we need to be careful about expanding theological inerrancy (the historical view of inerrancy) to canonized inerrancy and stretching “god breathed” into “god wrote”.
Scripture gives life.
Scripture refutes, builds up, breaks down, encourages…and much more.
It is sacred.
Sadly, some are lost, but that does NOT defect from what we do have.
What does this mean for you?
It may mean nothing, but like Luther, I would say that certain books can be extremely profitable for reading while they may be considered Apocrypha or lesser Scripture. I’m not talking about Tobit and books that were in Canon for centuries, I’m talking about books like Enoch and others.
If you’re able to parse between what is Canonized Scripture and what isn’t — you allow yourself to chew meat and spit out bone.