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Lost books named in the Bible

The Bible cites writings now lost or hard to identify, from royal records to letters and books called Jashar and the Wars of the LORD.^{7 sources}7 sources1. Joshua 10:13 2. 2 Samuel 1:18 3. Numbers 21:14 4. Singer 5. Fox 6. 1 Corinthians 5:9 7. Ropes

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At a glance

Kinds of writing: Songs, royal records, prophetic accounts and letters.^{12 sources}12 sources1. Joshua 10:13 2. 2 Samuel 1:18 5. Fox 8. 1 Chronicles 29:29 9. 2 Chronicles 9:29 10. 2 Chronicles 12:15 11. 2 Chronicles 20:34 12. 2 Chronicles 26:22 13. 2 Chronicles 13:22 14. 2 Chronicles 33:19 6. 1 Corinthians 5:9 7. Ropes
Royal citations: Kings points to Israel's royal chronicle 18 times and Judah's 15 times.^{4 sources}4 sources15. 1 Kings 14:19 16. 1 Kings 14:29 17. this site's data 5. Fox
How many: No simple total: Chronicles' named sources can overlap.^{7 sources}7 sources8. 1 Chronicles 29:29 9. 2 Chronicles 9:29 10. 2 Chronicles 12:15 11. 2 Chronicles 20:34 12. 2 Chronicles 26:22 13. 2 Chronicles 13:22 14. 2 Chronicles 33:19

Summary

What were readers meant to find in Jashar, or in the Wars of the LORD? Joshua and Samuel cite the first; Numbers quotes the second. Kings repeatedly sends readers to royal chronicles, and Paul refers to other letters. These are the Bible's own references to writings we cannot simply open today. Their stories differ. Michael V. Fox calls the royal annals lost; some prophetic records may overlap surviving biblical accounts. Paul's letters raise disputed identifications. A later book called Jasher needs its own history.^{20 sources}20 sources1. Joshua 10:13 2. 2 Samuel 1:18 3. Numbers 21:14 4. Singer 15. 1 Kings 14:19 16. 1 Kings 14:29 17. this site's data 5. Fox 6. 1 Corinthians 5:9 7. Ropes 18. Geisler 8. 1 Chronicles 29:29 9. 2 Chronicles 9:29 10. 2 Chronicles 12:15 11. 2 Chronicles 20:34 12. 2 Chronicles 26:22 13. 2 Chronicles 13:22 14. 2 Chronicles 33:19 19. Jashar, Book of 20. Jacobs

The Wars of the LORD
Numbers 21:14–15
Numbers cites this title in a passage about Waheb and the Arnon wadis.^{3 4}
Jashar
Joshua 10:13
Joshua cites it for the halted sun; 2 Samuel associates it with David's lament for Saul and Jonathan.^{1 2}
Solomon's deeds
1 Kings 11:41
Kings refers readers elsewhere for more about Solomon's actions and wisdom.²¹
Royal chronicles
1 Kings 14:19–29
The records named for Israel and Judah are distinct from biblical 1–2 Chronicles.^{4 sources}4 sources15. 1 Kings 14:19 16. 1 Kings 14:29 17. this site's data 5. Fox
Prophets' records
1 Chronicles 29:29
Chronicles names Samuel, Nathan and Gad for David; other reigns have further named sources, sometimes overlapping.^{7 sources}7 sources8. 1 Chronicles 29:29 9. 2 Chronicles 9:29 10. 2 Chronicles 12:15 11. 2 Chronicles 20:34 12. 2 Chronicles 26:22 13. 2 Chronicles 13:22 14. 2 Chronicles 33:19
Laments for Josiah
2 Chronicles 35:25
Jeremiah mourns Josiah, and singers keep his memory in laments recorded in a collection. Whether this is biblical Lamentations or a lost collection is unresolved.²²
Other Corinthian correspondence
1 Corinthians 5:9
Biblical scholar J. H. Ropes read this as an earlier letter; he also considered Paul's painful letter probably lost.^{4 sources}4 sources6. 1 Corinthians 5:9 7. Ropes 23. 2 Corinthians 2:4 24. 2 Corinthians 7:8
A letter from Laodicea
Colossians 4:16
Colossians asks for an exchange of letters without otherwise identifying the one coming from Laodicea.²⁵

Stories

A day unlike others
Joshua 10:13
The account of the sun standing still includes a reference to Jashar.^{1 2}
David's lament
2 Samuel 1:18
David's mourning for Saul and Jonathan is associated with Jashar too.^{1 2}
A dispute over Moses' body
Jude 1:9
Jude describes Michael disputing with the devil over Moses' body. In early Christian interpretation, Origen linked this to the Ascension of Moses.^{26 27 28}

Connections to the Bible

Quotations

Jude 1:14–15
Jude quotes Enoch's prophecy from 1 Enoch.^{38 39}
Titus 1:12
Jerome identifies Paul's quotation as a line by Epimenides, defending Christians' use of secular literature.^{4 sources}4 sources40. Titus 1:12 41. 1 Corinthians 15:33 42. Acts 17:28 43. Jerome
1 Corinthians 15:33
Jerome identifies Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 15:33 as a quotation from Menander.^{4 sources}4 sources40. Titus 1:12 41. 1 Corinthians 15:33 42. Acts 17:28 43. Jerome
Acts 17:28
Jerome identifies the words quoted in Acts 17:28 as coming from Aratus.^{4 sources}4 sources40. Titus 1:12 41. 1 Corinthians 15:33 42. Acts 17:28 43. Jerome

Echoes and allusions

1 Corinthians 2:9low confidence
Jerome locates Paul's saying in Isaiah 64:4; M. R. James reports Origen's attribution to the apocrypha of Elijah. An Isaiah background does not settle whether Paul also used an apocryphon.^{4 sources}4 sources34. 1 Corinthians 2:9 35. Isaiah 64:4 36. James 37. Jerome

Background

1 Corinthians 5:9
Biblical scholar J. H. Ropes understood Paul's reference as pointing to earlier correspondence.^{6 7}
2 Corinthians 2:4medium confidence
In 2 Corinthians 7:8 Paul also mentions a letter that caused grief. J. H. Ropes thought the painful letter probably lost, while allowing an allusion to 1 Corinthians 5.^{23 24 7}
Colossians 4:16
The letter from Laodicea is mentioned but not otherwise identified.²⁵
Jude 1:9
Origen identified the Ascension of Moses as the source of Jude's story about Michael and the devil.^{26 27 28}

Shared figures

2 Timothy 3:8
Origen, as reported by M. R. James, linked the names to an apocryphal Book of Jannes and Mambres.^{29 30}
Exodus 7:11
Exodus leaves Pharaoh's magicians unnamed; 2 Timothy names Jannes and Jambres as Moses' opponents.^{31 32 33}

Lost books, or excluded Scripture?

A biblical reference does not tell us that a whole book was once Scripture and later removed. Kings directs readers to fuller royal records; Fox describes those annals as lost. Chronicles' named prophetic records can overlap, while Paul's other correspondence has prompted competing identifications. The question is different in each case: whether a text survives, what its title identifies, and whether anyone regarded it as Scripture.^{17 sources}17 sources15. 1 Kings 14:19 16. 1 Kings 14:29 17. this site's data 5. Fox 8. 1 Chronicles 29:29 9. 2 Chronicles 9:29 10. 2 Chronicles 12:15 11. 2 Chronicles 20:34 12. 2 Chronicles 26:22 13. 2 Chronicles 13:22 14. 2 Chronicles 33:19 18. Geisler 39. Augustine 40. Titus 1:12 41. 1 Corinthians 15:33 42. Acts 17:28 43. Jerome

Traditional explanations

Early church: Latin

Augustine admitted he did not know why the prophets' named writings were outside the canon. He tentatively suggested they could write as historians as well as under divine inspiration: an explanation of status, not of disappearing copies.³⁹

Protestant: evangelical

Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe suggest that some apostolic letters were not intended for the canon. For 1 Corinthians 5:9 they also offer surviving-text explanations: material in 2 Corinthians 10–13, or a reference to 1 Corinthians itself.¹⁸

Historical assessments

Academic (critical)

Michael V. Fox identifies the royal chronicles as lost annals. Whether Kings used original royal records or edited histories is uncertain; the references do not explicitly assign those records scriptural status.⁵

Academic (critical)

J. H. Ropes thought the painful Corinthian letter probably lost, but allowed that Paul might be referring to 1 Corinthians 5. Even the identification of a missing letter is therefore a judgment.^{23 24 7}

Our best reading

The clearest case here is the royal annals: Fox describes lost records, without establishing when they disappeared. For Chronicles, overlapping titles mean that a prophetic source need not be a separate missing volume. Paul's correspondence requires separate judgments: Ropes regards some letters as lost, while Geisler and Howe offer surviving-text explanations. Augustine's distinction between historical and inspired writing addresses why a work might not be Scripture; it does not explain a manuscript's disappearance.^{14 sources}14 sources5. Fox 8. 1 Chronicles 29:29 9. 2 Chronicles 9:29 10. 2 Chronicles 12:15 11. 2 Chronicles 20:34 12. 2 Chronicles 26:22 13. 2 Chronicles 13:22 14. 2 Chronicles 33:19 6. 1 Corinthians 5:9 7. Ropes 23. 2 Corinthians 2:4 24. 2 Corinthians 7:8 18. Geisler 39. Augustine

Misconceptions

Myth A book sold as Jasher must be Joshua's source.
Actually: The 1911 Britannica identifies Jacob Ilive's 1751 Jasher as fabricated. The Jewish Encyclopedia describes Hebrew Sefer ha-Yashar as a medieval retelling, a different work again.^{19 20}
Myth Quoting a work makes the whole work Scripture.
Actually: Jerome's examples of Paul quoting Greek poets show why a quotation alone cannot settle canonical status.^{4 sources}4 sources40. Titus 1:12 41. 1 Corinthians 15:33 42. Acts 17:28 43. Jerome

Sources

43 sources

1
Joshua 10:13↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
2
2 Samuel 1:18↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
3
Numbers 21:14↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
4
Isidore Singer and M. Seligsohn, “Wars of the Lord, Book of the”, Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), vol. 12, p. 468↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
5
Michael V. Fox, “Books of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah and Israel”, Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd ed., 2007), via Encyclopedia.com↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
6
1 Corinthians 5:9↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
7
James Hardy Ropes, “Corinthians, Epistles to the”, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed. (1911), vol. 7↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
8
1 Chronicles 29:29↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
9
2 Chronicles 9:29↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
10
2 Chronicles 12:15↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
11
2 Chronicles 20:34↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
12
2 Chronicles 26:22↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
13
2 Chronicles 13:22↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
14
2 Chronicles 33:19↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
15
1 Kings 14:19↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
16
1 Kings 14:29↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
17
Checked in this site's verse database: KJV verses in 1-2 Kings citing each royal chronicle↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
How this was derived
SELECT sum(text LIKE '%chronicles of the kings of Israel%'), sum(text LIKE '%chronicles of the kings of Judah%') FROM verses WHERE work_id='kjv' AND book IN ('1Kgs','2Kgs')
18
Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, When Critics Ask (1992), excerpt on 1 Corinthians 5:9, Defending Inerrancy website↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
19
“Jashar, Book of”, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed. (1911), vol. 15↩^a ↩^b
20
Joseph Jacobs and Schulim Ochser, “Yashar, Sefer ha-”, Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), vol. 12, pp. 588-589↩^a ↩^b
21
1 Kings 11:41↩
22
2 Chronicles 35:25↩
23
2 Corinthians 2:4↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
24
2 Corinthians 7:8↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
25
Colossians 4:16↩^a ↩^b
26
Jude 1:9↩^a ↩^b
27
Origen, De principiis, Book 3, ch. 2, sec. 1 (ANF vol. 4, tr. F. Crombie)↩^a ↩^b
28
Clement of Alexandria, Adumbrations (Comments) on the Epistle of Jude, ANF vol. 2, Fragments↩^a ↩^b
29
M. R. James, The Lost Apocrypha of the Old Testament (1920), Jannes and Mambres, Wikisource↩
30
Kaufmann Kohler, “Jannes and Jambres”, Jewish Encyclopedia (1904), vol. 7, p. 71↩
31
2 Timothy 3:8↩
32
Exodus 7:11↩
33
Damascus Document (Cairo Geniza copy, CD), col. 5 lines 18-19, tr. Edward Cook, course text at St. Mary's University↩
34
1 Corinthians 2:9↩
35
Isaiah 64:4↩
36
M. R. James, The Lost Apocrypha of the Old Testament (1920), Elijah, Wikisource↩
37
Jerome, Letter 57, to Pammachius, sec. 9 (NPNF2 vol. 6)↩
38
Jude 1:14–15↩
39
Augustine, City of God, Book 18, ch. 38 (NPNF1 vol. 2, tr. Marcus Dods)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
40
Titus 1:12↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
41
1 Corinthians 15:33↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
42
Acts 17:28↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
43
Jerome, Letter 70, to Magnus, sec. 2 (NPNF2 vol. 6)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e

Lost books named in the Bible

At a glance

Summary

Contents

The Wars of the LORD

Jashar

Solomon's deeds

Royal chronicles

Prophets' records

Laments for Josiah

Other Corinthian correspondence

A letter from Laodicea

Stories

A day unlike others

David's lament

A dispute over Moses' body

Connections to the Bible

Quotations

Echoes and allusions

Background

Shared figures

Lost books, or excluded Scripture?

Traditional explanations

Early church: Latin

Protestant: evangelical

Historical assessments

Academic (critical)

Academic (critical)

Misconceptions

Sources

Report a problem

At a glance

Summary

Contents

The Wars of the LORD

Jashar

Solomon's deeds

Royal chronicles

Prophets' records

Laments for Josiah

Other Corinthian correspondence

A letter from Laodicea

Stories

A day unlike others

David's lament

A dispute over Moses' body

Connections to the Bible

Quotations

Echoes and allusions

Background

Shared figures

Lost books, or excluded Scripture?

Traditional explanations

Early church: Latin

Protestant: evangelical

Historical assessments

Academic (critical)

Academic (critical)

Misconceptions

Related books

Sources

Report a problem