Lost texts of the Biblical era

{{biblenav}}
The Bible mentions and identifies certain texts which have (apparently) disappeared in the interim. Biblical [[revelation | divine inspiration]] and [[Biblical literalism | authority]] gives such works an especial potential importance. If any of them ever existed, turn up and receive the seal of approval of entry into the [[canon]], we might expect some [[theology | theologica]]l 
[[revisionism]]
 refinement.

On the other hand, given that many books known at the time the Bible was finally stitched up ended up in the [[apocrypha]], and that others such as The Gospel of Thomas didn't even make that cut, it seems unlikely that anything new is going to be added even if found.

Missing works include:
* The Book of Jasher (as per {{bible|Joshua|10|13}} and {{bible|2 Samuel|1|18}})
* Various epistles associated with the prolific letter-writer Saint [[Paul of Tarsus]]:
** Zeroth epistle to the Corinthians,<ref>Also called ''A Prior Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians''{{cite web |url= http://www.icwseminary.org/lostbooks.htm |title= Archived copy |accessdate= 2006-06-29 |deadurl= yes |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20060623175757/http://icwseminary.org/lostbooks.htm |archivedate= 2006-06-23}} or ''Paul's previous Corinthian letter''.[http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/42], possibly Third Epistle to the Corinthians</ref> referenced at {{bible|1 Corinthians|5|9}}
** Third epistle to the Corinthians, also called the "Severe Letter", referenced at {{bible|2 Corinthians|2|4}} and {{bible|2 Corinthians|7|8|9}}
** Zeroth epistle to the Ephesians, referenced at {{bible|Ephesians|3|3|4}}
** Epistle to the Laodiceans,<ref>{{cite web
|url= http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/42
|title= Apologetics Press – Are There Lost Books of the Bible?
|work= apologeticspress.org
}}
</ref> referenced at {{bible|Colossians|4|16}}
*Acts of Solomon, referenced at {{bible|1 Kings|11|41}}
*Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, referenced at {{bible|1 Kings|14|19}}
*Book or books of Iddo, referenced at {{bible|2 Chronicles|9|29}}

Website The Lost Books claims to have a list of over 500 "lost books" with titles such as Pseudo-Eupolemus, Magnesians, The Teachings of Addeus the Apostle, and the Testament of the Assumption of Moses.<ref>[http://thelostbooks.org/the-list/ The List], thelostbooks.org, accessed 24 July 2019</ref> Most are minor apocryphal texts or variations of other, more canonical texts. Since printing became affordable, various anthologies have been produced called things like ''The Lost Books of the Bible'' but if they were really lost how have they made it into print?

==Book of Jasher==
This title is translated as "Book of the Upright" or "Book of the Just Man", but transliterated from the Hebrew as "Jasher" in the [[KJV]], and sometimes spelt "Jashar". It is mentioned in {{bible|Joshua|10|13}} (when [[Joshua]] makes the sun stand still, it says this was predicted in Jasher) and {{bible|2 Samuel|1|18}} (which implies that the Book of Jasher describes the deaths of Saul and Jonathan). Some versions of Kings, including the Septuagint, contain a reference in {{bible|1 Kings|8|53}} (suggesting a prayer of [[Solomon]] is in the book).<ref name=paley/> It is suggested, based on these references, that it probably contained heroic songs.<ref name=hirsch>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8526-jasher-book-of Jasher, Book Of], Emil G. Hirsch, M. Seligsohn, Jewish Encyclopedia, accessed July 9, 2019</ref> In the Rabbinic literature, there was speculation about whether the phrase refers to another, existing book of the Bible - maybe [[Genesis]] or [[Deuteronomy]], or the twelve [[minor prophets]] - or to a now-lost text.<ref name=hirsch/>

There are several other texts called the Book of Jasher which were written long after these references and are not the text referred to above. They include a [[Midrash]] known as the Book of Jasher (''Sefer haYashar''), which is apparently named after the earlier text.<ref>{{wpa|Sefer haYashar (midrash)}}</ref> {{wpl|Jacob Ilive}}, a religious radical who opposed the idea of eternal punishment for the damned and denied the divinity of [[Jesus Christ]], produced a forgery in 1751 to set out his own religious ideas.<ref name=paley>[http://bq.blakearchive.org/30.2.paley William Blake, Jacob Ilive, and the Book of Jasher], Morton D Paley, Blake Quarterly, vol 30, issue 2, Fall 1996</ref> Ilive's text is sometimes called "Pseudo-Jasher".<ref>{{wpa|Book of Jasher (Pseudo-Jasher)}}</ref> There was another, 13th century forgery, that also pretended to be the Book of Jasher.<ref>[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/book-of-jashar Book of Jashar], Encyclopaedia Judaica, Gale, at Jewish Virtual Library, accessed July 9, 2019</ref>

==Acts of Solomon==
{{bible|1 Kings|11|41}} asks "And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?" We don't know, because the Acts of Solomon no longer exists.<ref>{{wpa|Acts of Solomon}}</ref> Many scholars consider that this was probably a lost work of history similar to [[Books of Kings|Kings]] or [[Chronicles]], although others think it may also have contained the teachings of the wise king Solomon, and further material on myths and legends such as the Queen of Sheba; it might also have gone into more detail on why Israel went to shit shortly after Solomon's death.<ref name=liver>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/42637936 The Book of the Acts of Solomon], J. Liver, ''Biblica'', Vol. 48, No. 1 (1967), pp. 75-101, via JSTOR</ref>

==Pauline epistles==
It is likely that St [[Paul of Tarsus]] wrote many letters that we no longer have. It's less clear that they're worth reading. On the other hand, there are a lot of fake Pauline epistles that he didn't write.<ref>[http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/epistles1.htm Bold, Catholic and Fake epistles!], Kenneth Humphreys, Jesus Never Existed, 2012</ref>

===Epistle to the Laodiceans===
The existence of this letter is inferred from {{bible|Colossians|4|16}}, although there are differences of opinion as to whether the Greek text of Colossians refers to a letter "to the Laodiceans" or "from Laodicea". [[Marcion of Sinope]] claimed to have a copy of the letter, although it is now lost, and many believe Marcion forged it. Another version was included in some early Latin texts of the New Testament, and was cited by Pope Gregory the Great and included in John Wycliffe's translation, but St Jerome and many others believed it to be a forgery and no Greek text exists; today the scholarly opinion is that this version was assembled from fragments of genuine Pauline texts but is not a real letter by Paul.<ref>{{wpa|Epistle to the Laodiceans}}</ref> Some sources believe the letter mentioned by Paul is the same text as [[Ephesians]], although a minority view holds that it was combined with Paul's letter to the Colossians to give what we know today as [[Colossians]].<ref>Boismard MÉ. (2004) [https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-662-41228-2_4#citeas Paul’s Letter to the Laodiceans]. In: Porter S.E. (eds) The Pauline Canon. Pauline Studies, vol 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg</ref>

===Other letters to the Corinthians===
1 Corinthians mentions an earlier letter to the Corinthians ("I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people", {{bible|1 Corinthians|5|9}}).  Since this missing letter was written before the traditional First Epistle to the Corinthians, it is sometimes called the Zeroth Epistle. In [[2 Corinthians]], Paul mentions a previous letter of his that upset the Corinthians ("I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while", {{bible|2 Corinthians|7|8}}). Some people believe this was not 1 Corinthians but a different text.

A text exists of a so-called third epistle written after the first two, but this is generally not believed to be by Paul and is not part of the Christian canon. It is often dated to 160-170 CE, probably created as a riposte to [[Gnosticism]].<ref>{{wpa|Third Epistle to the Corinthians}}</ref><ref>[http://evidenceforchristianity.org/did-paul-write-other-letters-what-about-3rd-corinthians/ Did Paul write other letters? What about 3rd Corinthians?], John Oakes, Evidence for Christianity, January 27, 2013</ref>

==Anthologies==
===''The Lost Books of the Bible''===
An anthology of various apocryphal texts was assembled in the 1820s, republished anonymously in Cleveland in 1926 as ''The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden'', and reprinted again in 1963 with the editor named as Rutherford Hayes Platt, a nature writer and distant relative of [[Rutherford B. Hayes]]. It included old translations of various texts which weren't really lost, just rejected as forgeries or irrelevant, such as some infancy gospels, the alleged text of Paul's letter to the Laodiceans, the Gospel of Peter, and a bunch of letters attributed to Ignatius of Antioch.<ref>{{wpa|The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden}}</ref><ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/lbob/index.htm The Lost Books of the Bible], 1926 edition, full text online at Sacred-Texts.com</ref>

==See also==
*[[Apocrypha]] — texts or statements whose authorship or historical accuracy is uncertain
*[[Dead Sea Scrolls]] — Biblical-era texts discovered in 1940s and 50s

==References==
{{reflist|2}}