Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible


The non-canonical books referenced in the Bible include known, unknown, or otherwise lost non-Biblical cultures' works referenced in the Bible. The Bible, in Judaism, consists of the Hebrew Bible; Christianity refers to the Hebrew Bible as the Old Testament, with a canon including the New Testament. Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible include the Biblical apocrypha and Deuterocanon.
It may also include books of the that are accepted in only Eastern Orthodoxy. For the purposes of this article, "referenced" can mean direct quotations, paraphrases, or allusions, which in some cases are known only because they have been identified as such by ancient writers or the citation of a work or author.

Hebrew Bible

The following are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible:
Israelite books quoted or alluded to are:
Egyptian books quoted or alluded to are:

Deuterocanon / Apocrypha

Aramaic books quoted or alluded to are:
Greek books quoted or alluded to are:
  • Aesop's fable of The Two Pots; referenced in.
  • "five books by Jason of Cyrene" referenced in : the author of 2 Maccabees here states that their work is abridged from the history by Jason.
  • "letters of the kings" referenced in.
  • "the king's letter" referenced in.
Egyptian books quoted or alluded to are:
Israelite books quoted or alluded to are:

New Testament

Mennonite scholar David Ewart has mentioned that Nestle's Greek New Testament lists some 132 New Testament passages that appear to be verbal allusions to paracanonical books.
Israelite books quoted or alluded to are:
  • Book of Enoch.
  • Book of Jubilees ; "For this reason it was ordained on the heavenly tablets; the instrument with which a man kills his neighbor with the same shall he be killed." Not a word for word quote. May have been a common colloquialism. However, Jubilees interprets this as an extension of the law give in.
  • Life of Adam and Eve.
  • A lost section of the Assumption of Moses.
  • Ascension of Isaiah.
  • An unknown messianic prophecy possibly from a non-canonical source, quoted in Matthew 2:23 that states "he will be called a Nazorian". "Nazorian" is typically rendered as "Nazarene", as in, where Christians are referred to as "the sect of the Nazorians/Nazarenes". This is speculated to be a vague allusion to a quote about Samson in that uses a similar-sounding word: "the child shall be a Nazirite".
  • An unknown version of Genesis, quoted by Paul in, as a reference to Christ's being "the Last Adam who became a life-giving spirit". It has been speculated that Paul is simply paraphrasing, but there is no clear indication that this is not a complete quote.
  • An unknown text quoted by Paul in, suggested by Origen to be a lost apocryphal book: "But as it is written, 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him." This may also be an allusion to the similar, "For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.'"
  • An unknown messianic prophecy, possibly from a non-canonical source, quoted in, speculated to be a vague allusion to : "Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day."
  • An unknown messianic prophecy, possibly from a non-canonical source, quoted in, speculated to be a vague allusion to Isaiah 53: "and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought."
Greek books quoted or alluded to are: