I’ve often read of both missing and rediscovered books of the Bible. The number of these books vary significantly depending on who you talk to. Another issue is determining authenticity, and why some organized religious institutions regard a book as canon, while others do not.
First, let’s consider books that are in the Bible. And that will bring it’s own curiosities. Which Bible? for there are various versions.
For example, Is the Book of Enoch in the Bible? I’d hazard a guess that most people say no. You won’t pick up a King James Bible or a Catholic Bible and find the Book of Enoch anywhere. Yet, you will find it in an Ethiopian Bible. To complicate matters further, fragments of the Book of Enoch were among the Dead Sea scrolls.
So, I decided that my first task was to establish versions of Bibles to be used as a reference point before considering “lost or missing” books.
I then created a table which to compare the books included in different versions of the Bible, with the last column relating to books that are referenced in Bible scripture but not included.
Here are my reference points when constructing the table. Note, this is not a definitive list – Like many others, I am on a journey for truth and understanding and the contents of this study will be updated with increased knowledge and understanding.
CAT = Catholic based on Douay-Rheims
1611 KJV = King James Version
LAT VULG = Latin Vulgate
ETH ORX = Ethiopian Orthodox
SEPT LXX = Septuagint
PESH = Peshitta (Syriac Tradition)
TAN = Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)
DEAD SEA = Dead Sea Scrolls
BIBREF = Books mentioned in the Bible that aren’t included in the Bible.
OT=Old Testament NT=New Testament AP=Apocrypha Y=Yes, included.
| CAT | 1611 KJV | 1814 KJV | LAT VULG | ETH ORX | SEPT LXX | PESH | TANAKH | DEAD SEA | BIB REF | |
| Genesis | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Exodus | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Leviticus | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Numbers | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Deuteronomy | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Joshua | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | ||
| Judges | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | ||
| Ruth | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | ||
| 1 Samuel | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | ||
| 2 Samuel | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | ||
| 1 Kings | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | ||
| 2 Kings | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | ||
| 3 Kings | OT | |||||||||
| 4 Kings | OT | |||||||||
| 5 Kings | OT | |||||||||
| 1 Chronicles | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | |||
| 2 Chronicles | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | |||
| Jubilees | OT | Y | ||||||||
| Enoch | OT | Y | ||||||||
| Ezra | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | |||
| Nehemiah / 2 Ezra | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | |||
| Tobit | AP | AP | OT | OT | OT | Y | ||||
| Judith | AP | AP | OT | OT | OT | |||||
| Esther | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | |||
| Additions to Esther | AP | AP | ||||||||
| 1 Esdras | AP | AP | OT | |||||||
| 2 Esdras | AP | AP | ||||||||
| 1 Maccabees | AP | AP | ||||||||
| 2 Maccabees | AP | AP | ||||||||
| 3 Maccabees | OT | |||||||||
| 4 Maccabees | OT | |||||||||
| I Meqabyan | OT | |||||||||
| II and III Meqabyan | OT | |||||||||
| Job | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | ||
| Psalm | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | ||
| Proverbs (Messalë/Tägsas) | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Ecclesiastes | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Song of Solomon / Songs | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | ||
| Wisdom | OT | AP | OT | OT | OT | |||||
| Isaiah | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Jeremiah | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Letter of Jeremiah / Baruch 6 | AP | AP | OT | OT | Y | |||||
| Lamentations | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Ecclesiasticus / Joshua, Son of Sirac / Ben Sira | AP | AP | OT | OT | Y | |||||
| Baruch | AP | AP | OT | OT | OT | |||||
| 4 Baruch | OT | |||||||||
| Prayer of Azariah | AP | OT | ||||||||
| Susanna | AP | AP | OT | |||||||
| Bel and The Dragon | AP | AP | OT | |||||||
| Prayer of Manasseh | AP | AP | OT | |||||||
| Ezekiel | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Daniel | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Hosea | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | ||
| Joel | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | ||
| Amos | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Obadiah | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | ||
| Jonah | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | ||
| Micah | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | ||
| Nahum | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | ||
| Habakkuk | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | Y | |
| Zephaniah | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | ||
| Haggai | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | ||
| Zechariah | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | ||
| Malachi | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | OT | Y | ||
| Community Rule | Y | |||||||||
| Testament of Levi | Y | |||||||||
| Noah | Y | |||||||||
| Book of Giants | Y | |||||||||
| Apocryphal Prophecy | Y | |||||||||
| Instruction / Book of Discipline | Y | |||||||||
| Book of Mysteries | Y | |||||||||
| Apocryphon of Moses | Y | |||||||||
| Apocryphon of David | Y | |||||||||
| New Jerusalem | Y | |||||||||
| Testament of Judah (Twelve Patriachs) | Y | |||||||||
| Apocryphon of Malachi | Y | |||||||||
| Damascus Document | Y | |||||||||
| Temple Scroll | Y | |||||||||
| Pesher on Habakkuk | Y | |||||||||
| Book of Jasher | Y | |||||||||
| Book of the Wars of the Lord | Y | |||||||||
| Chronicles of the Kings of Israel | Y | |||||||||
| Chronicles of the Kings of Judah | Y | |||||||||
| Book of Shemaiah the Prophet | Y | |||||||||
| The Book of Samuel the Seer | Y | |||||||||
| Manner of the Kingdom | Y | |||||||||
| Acts of Solomon | Y | |||||||||
| Annals of King David | Y | |||||||||
| Book of Nathan the Prophet | Y | |||||||||
| Book of Gad the Seer | Y | |||||||||
| Prophecy of Abijah the Shilonite | Y | |||||||||
| Book of the Kings of Israel | Y | |||||||||
| Book of Jehu | Y | |||||||||
| Story of the Book of Kings | Y | |||||||||
| Acts of Uziah | Y | |||||||||
| The Chronicles of King Ahasuerus | Y | |||||||||
| History of Nathan the Prophet | Y | |||||||||
| Visions of Iddo the Seer | Y | |||||||||
| Iddo Genealogies | Y | |||||||||
| Story of the Prophet Iddo | Y | |||||||||
| Sayings of the Seers | Y | |||||||||
| Laments for Josiah | Y | |||||||||
| Nazarene Prophecy Source | Y | |||||||||
| Book of The Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia | Y | |||||||||
| Epistle to Corinth Not to Company with Fornicators | Y | |||||||||
| Epistle to the Ephesians Concerning Paul’s Revelation | Y | |||||||||
| Epistle from Laodicea to the Colossians | Y | |||||||||
| Jude’s Missing Epistle of Common Salvation | Y | |||||||||
| Matthew | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| Mark | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| Luke | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| John | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| Acts | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| Romans | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| 1 Corinthians | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| 2 Corinthians | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| Galatians | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| Ephesians | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| Philippians | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| Colossians | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| 1 Thessalonians | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| 2 Thessalonians | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| 1 Timothy | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| 2 Timothy | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| Titus | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| Philemon | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| Hebrews | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| James | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| 1 Peter | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| 2 Peter | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | |||||
| 1 John | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| 2 John | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | |||||
| 3 John | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | |||||
| Jude | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | |||||
| Revelation | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT |
King James Bible
If we begin with the King James Bible, the Apocrypha appeared in the 1611 version, but were removed in 1855.
The fourteen books that were removed are:
- Tobit
- Judith
- Additions to Esther
- 1 Esdras
- 2 Esdras
- 1 Maccabees
- 2 Maccabees
- Wisdom
- Ecclesiasticus
- Baruch
- Letter of Jeremiah
- Prayer of Azariah
- Susanna
- Bel and the Dragon
Ethopian Orthodox Bible
The Ethiopian Bible has a number of books that aren’t considered canon in most other bible compilations. Although fragments of the Books of Enoch and Jubilees were among the Dead Sea scrolls.
- Enoch
- Jubilees
- I Meqabyan
- II & III Meqabyan
- 4 Baruch
The Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in the Qumran caves, Palestine included additional scriptures not found in the Bible.
Enoch and Jubilees are only canon in the Ethiopian Bible. Other scrolls not found in any Bible are:
- Community Rule
- Testament of Levi
- Book of Giants
- Apocryphal Prophecy
- Instruction / Book of Discipline
- Apocryphon of Moses
- Apocryphon of David
- New Jerusalem
- Testament of Judah (Twelve Patriachs)
- Apocryphon of Malachi
- Damascus Document
- Temple Scroll
- Copper Scroll
- Pesher on Habakkuk
Missing Books mentioned in Bible Scriptures
There are a number of additional Books referenced in Bible scriptures that don’t appear to be readily available.
- Book of the Covenant
- Book of Jasher
- Book of the Wars of the Lord
- Chronicles of the Kings of Israel
- Chronicles of the Kings of Judah
- Book of Shemaiah the Prophet
- The Book of Samuel the Seer
- Manner of the Kingdom
- Acts of Solomon
- Annals of King David
- Book of Nathan the Prophet
- Book of Gad the Seer
- Prophecy of Abijah the Shilonite
- Book of the Kings of Israel
- Book of Jehu
- Story of the Book of Kings
- Acts of Uziah
- The Chronicles of King Ahasuerus
- History of Nathan the Prophet
- Visions of Iddo the Seer
- Iddo Genealogies
- Story of the Prophet Iddo
- Sayings of the Seers
- Laments for Josiah
- Nazarene Prophecy Source
- Book of The Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia
- Epistle to Corinth Not to Company with Fornicators
- Epistle to the Ephesians Concerning Paul’s Revelation
- Epistle from Laodicea to the Colossians
- Jude’s Missing Epistle of Common Salvation
Books of Ezra
The 24 books of Ezra.
I haven’t been able to verify the 24 Books of Ezra, so I present this list as an “opinion” rather than fact. It was sourced from research done by the Orthodox Judaism Blog.
These appear in most Bibles.
1.Book of the Origins of the Law (LXX Genesis)
2.Book of the Covenant of the Law (LXX Exodus)
3.Book of the Priesthood of the Law (LXX Leviticus)
4.Book of the Calculations of the Law (LXX Numbers)
5.Book of the Representation of the Law (Temple Scroll)
6.Book of the Wisdom of Job (Job)
7.Book of the Five Books of the Psalms of David (Psalms Scroll)
8.Book of the Song of the Songs of Solomon (Song of Songs)
9.Book of the Two Books of the Proverbs of Solomon (LXX Proverbs)
10.Book of the Words of Solomon (Ecclesiastes)
11.Book of the Words of Isaiah (Isaiah Scroll)
12.Book of the Chronicles of Joshua (Joshua)
13.Book of the Chronicles of the Judges of Israel (Judges)
14.Book of the Words of Ruth (Ruth)
15.Book of the Chronicles of David (Samuel Scroll; LXX 1+2 Samuel)
16.Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and Judah (LXX 1+2 Kings)
17.Book of the Chronicles of Judah (1+2 Chronicles)
18.Book of the Words of Amos (Amos)
19.Book of the Words of Obadiah (Obadiah)
20.Book of the Words of Hosea (Hosea)
21.Book of the Words of Joel (Joel)
22.Book of the Words of Jonah (Jonah)
23.Book of the Words of Micah (Micah)
24.Book of the Words of Nahum (Nahum)
The 70 Books of Ezra
I haven’t been able to verify the 70 Books of Ezra, so the following list is also presented as an “opinion” rather than fact. Again, the list was sourced from research done by the authors of the Orthodox Judaism Blog.
1.Book of the Words of Adam and Eve (Life of Adam and Eve)
2.Book of the Visions of Enoch (2 Enoch)
3.Book of the Words of Enoch the Prophet (1 Enoch)
4.Book of the Words of the Fallen Ones (Book of Giants)
5.Book of the Divisions of the Jubilees Revealed to Abraham (Proto-Jubilees)
6.Book of the Words of Lamech (Genesis Apocryphon)
7.Book of the Words of Noah (Genesis Apocryphon)
8.Book of the Words of Abraham (Genesis Apocryphon)
9.Book of the Words of Jacob
10.Book of the Words of Joseph
11.Book of the Divisions of the Jubilees Revealed to Moses (Book of Jubilees)
12.Book of the Words of Aseneth (Joseph and Aseneth)
13.Book of the Words of Jannes and Jambres (Jannes and Jambres)
14.Book of the Words of Eldad and Medad (Eldad and Medad)
15.Book of the Words of Balaam (Balaam Inscription)
16.Book of the Last Words of the Patriarchs Compiled by Shem
17.Book of the Last Words of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Testaments of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob)
18.Book of the Last Words of Joseph (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
19.Book of the Last Words of Simeon (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
20.Book of the Last Words of Reuben (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
21.Book of the Last Words of Judah (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
22.Book of the Last Words of Zebulun (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
23.Book of the Last Words of Dan (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
24.Book of the Last Words of Gad (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
25.Book of the Last Words of Issachar (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
26.Book of the Last Words of Asher (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
27.Book of the Last Words of Naphtali (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
28.Book of the Last Words of Benjamin (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
29.Book of the Last Words of Levi (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs)
30.Book of the Last Words of Kohath (Testament of Kohath)
31.Book of the Last Words of Amram (Visions of Amram)
32.Book of the Last Words of Aaron
33.Book of the Last Words of Job (Testament of Job)
34.Book of the Last Words of Moses (Testament of Moses)
35.Book of the Words of Moses (Assumption of Moses)
36.Book of the Last Words of David
37.Book of the Last Words of Solomon (Testament of Solomon)
38.Book of the Visions of Joshua (Apocryphon of Joshua)
39.Book of the Words of Salmon
40.Book of the Words of Boaz
41.Book of the Words of Obed
42.Book of the Visions of Samuel the Seer (Book of Samuel)
43.Book of the Visions of Gad the Seer (Book of Gad)
44.Book of the Words of Nathan the Prophet (Book of Nathan)
45.Book of the Words of Ahijah the Shilonite (Book of Ahijah)
46.Book of the Visions of Iddo the Seer (Book of Iddo)
47.Book of the Words of Shemaiah the Prophet (Book of Shemaiah)
48.Book of the Words of Jehu (Book of Jehu)
49.Book of the Words of Elijah (Apocalypse of Elijah)
50.Book of the Words of Elisha
51.Book of the Words of Tobit (Tobit)
52.Book of the Visions of Amos
53.Book of the Visions of Obadiah
54.Book of the Visions of Jonah
55.Book of the Visions of Micah
56.Book of the Visions of Hosea
57.Book of the Visions of Joel
58.Book of the Visions of Nahum
59.Book of the Visions of Isaiah (Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah)
60.Book of the Visions of the Seers (Sayings of the Seers)
61.Book of the Chronicles of the Priestly Calendar (Calendar Texts)
62.Book of the 80 Books of the Psalms of David (Apocryphal Psalms of David)
63.Book of the 15 Books of the Odes of David (Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice and Songs For Each Day of the Year and Other Lost Songs of David)
64.Book of the 39 Books of the Odes and Psalms of Solomon (Odes and Psalms of Solomon and Other Lost Songs of Solomon)
65.Book of the Wisdom of Solomon (Wisdom of Solomon)
66.Book of the Four Books of the Proverbs and Riddles of Solomon (Apocryphal Proverbs and Apocryphal Riddles of Solomon)
67.Book of the Wisdom of Ahikar (Ahikar)
68.Book of the 35 Books of the Songs of Israel (Royal Psalms)
69.Book of the 24 Books of the Lamentations of Israel (Book of the Laments)
70.Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel (Chronicles of the Kings of Israel)
Nag Hammadi Library
The Nag Hammadi Library contains scrolls found in Egypt at the end of World War II in 1945. Initially, these didn’t feel authentic me, but the more I begin to understand the Word and the historical controlling structures of the Roman Empire and the Vatican, they are beginning to resonate. Perhaps we need to push on beyond suffocating dogmatic orthodoxy.
For reference purposes, the books are:
The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles
Allogenes – The Foreigner
The Apocalypse (Revelation) of Adam
The (First) Apocalypse (Revelation) of James
The (Second) Apocalypse (Revelation) of James
The Apocalypse (Revelation) of Paul
The Apocalypse (Revelation) of Peter
The Apocryphon (Secret Book) of James
The Apocryphon (Secret Book) of John
Asclepius 21-29
Authoritative Teaching
The Book of Thomas the Contender
The Concept of Our Great Power
The Dialogue of the Savior
The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth
Eugnostos the Blessed*
The Exegesis on the Soul
The Gospel of the Egyptians*
The Gospel of Philip
The Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel of Truth
The Hypostasis of the Archons – The Reality of the Rulers
Hypsiphrone
The Interpretation of Knowledge
The Letter of Peter to Philip
Marsanes
Melchizedek
On the Anointing
On the Baptism A
On the Baptism B
On the Eucharist A
On the Eucharist B
On the Origin of the World
The Paraphrase of Shem
Plato, Republic 588A-589B
The Prayer of the Apostle Paul
The Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Second Treatise of the Great Seth
The Sentences of Sextus
The Sophia of Jesus Christ
The Teachings of Silvanus
The Testimony of Truth
The Thought of Norea
The Three Steles of Seth
The Thunder, Perfect Mind
The Treatise on the Resurrection
Trimorphic Protennoia – Three Forms of First Thought
The Tripartite Tractate
A Valentinian Exposition
Zostrianos
So, there are lots of guide scriptures to help us on our journey. For those concerned that Biblical scriptures are “unauthentic” because of missing books, I recommend starting with a few of the “unmissing books” before focusing on anything else. Also, don’t rush reading them. Think in terms of understanding rather than reading. It’ll take you down some incredible rabbit holes.
