Bible Books: Lost Books of the Bible (Meridian) [Paperback]

This text is a reprinting of two books (written in 1926 and 1927) containing "pseudepigrapha" -- books which some considered to be scripture in the past, but which were not included in the canonical Bible that almost all Christian churches use, nor in the Bible that almost all Jews use. Some of these books were quoted in books in the Christian New Testament; St. Paul quotes from 1 Enoch. The "Forgotten Books of Eden" half of this book will be of interest to students of the Jewish scriptures, and is available by itself through Amazon. Anybody who takes Bible scholarship seriously and who can afford to spend $10 should have a copy of these pseudepigrapha.

The original publication dates are important here, because biblical archaeology and textual studies have progressed substantially in the past seventy years. For example, this book predates the discovery of the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, and accordingly does not include it.

The paperback edition of this book is the most economical way I know to get all of this material together. Some critical notes describing the origins of these texts are included. If you have a larger budget, the current standard editions of these texts (also available through AMAZON.COM) are Charlesworth's "Old Testament Pseudepigrapha" and Schneemelcher's "New Testament Apocrypha."

You can pre-read a chapter of this book by searching for the words "Infancy Gospel" on the web. The "Infancy Gospel", included in this book, tells stories of the early days of Jesus' life. It presents Jesus as divine, yet also having the personality of a five-year-old boy. For example, one of his playmates maltreats him, so: "When the Lord Jesus was coming home in the evening with Joseph, he met a boy who ran so hard against him, that he threw him down; To whom the Lord Jesus said `As thou hast thrown me down, so shalt thou fall, nor ever rise.' And that moment the boy fell down and died." (I infancy, Ch. XIX, vv. 22-24)

A good book to put some of this in context is James Kugel's "The Bible as it Was" (also available through AMAZON.COM).

A good variety and collection of books which, for whatever reason, were excluded by the early Church (Catholic) councils from what became the Old Testament and New Testament. Initially published in 1926, each one of the "Lost Books" includes a brief introduction giving background and history. Like the editors of this two-part volume, I do not feel it is necessary to share my opinion of the historicity of these works, each reader can decide for him or herself what is shadow and what is reality, and consider the debate which at one time engulfed some of these books.

This volume is divided into two sections. The first is called "Lost Books of the Bible", and includes works which deal with Jesus & company, and may at one time have been considered part of the New Testament Gospel. Includes are the following 26 "lost" books:

Mary, Protevangelion, I. Infancy, II. Infancy, Christ and Abgarus, Nicodemus, The Apostles' Creed, Laodiceans, Paul and Senica, Paul and Thecla, I. Clement, II. Clement, Barnabus, Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrnaeans, Polycarp, Philippians, I. Hermas-Visions, II. Herman-Commands, III. Hermas-Similitudes, Letters of Herod and Pilate, The Last Gospel of Peter

Part the Second is titled "The Forgotten Books of Eden", and includes works which are suited to the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament. They too were excluded by Jewish (and some Christian) councils due to doubts about their age and origins. Includes are the following 20 books:

The First Book of Adam and Eve, The Second Book of Adam and Eve, The Secrets of Enoch, The Psalms of Solomon, The Odes of Solomon, The Letter of Aristeas, The Fourth Book of Maccabees, The Story of Ahikar, The Testament of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin

This affordable book offers a thought provoking read for those with a general interest "outside of the box". While the translations are somewhat dated, they are not difficult to understand.

This book contains insight into the minds of the people of the early Christian church and earlier. Although not accepted as Scripture it serves to give you an idea of how people thought about things back then.