BINARY·VERITAS

The deleted scenes of scripture

Texts that were quoted, copied and read in churches, and then dropped. What each one says, why it fell out, and where to read it for yourself.

Apocalyptic, c. 300-100 BC

The Book of Enoch

Quoted in the New Testament, found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, still scripture in Ethiopia. What the Book of Enoch says about the Watchers and the Nephilim, why it fell out, and where to read it free.

  • Removed:Dropped from Greek and Latin Bibles
  • Kept or added:Still scripture in Ethiopia and Eritrea
  • Moved or disputed:Quoted by name in Jude 1:14-15

Sayings gospel, c. 60-140 AD (debated)

The Gospel of Thomas

A gospel with no birth, no miracles and no crucifixion. What the Gospel of Thomas says, how it was found at Nag Hammadi, why it was left out of the Bible, and where to read it.

  • Removed:Rejected by Eusebius, c. 325
  • Kept or added:Complete Coptic copy found in 1945
  • Moved or disputed:About half its sayings have gospel parallels

Library of 13 codices, Buried after c. 350 AD

The Nag Hammadi Library

Thirteen books buried in a jar in Egypt and found in 1945. What is in the Nag Hammadi library, who may have hidden it, what the famous story gets wrong, and where to read the texts.

  • Removed:Condemned as heresy by the winning side
  • Kept or added:About 50 texts recovered in 1945
  • Moved or disputed:Burial date only roughly known

Library of about 900 manuscripts, c. 250 BC to 68 AD

The Dead Sea Scrolls

A shepherd, a cave and a thousand-year jump in the Bible's manuscript history. What the Dead Sea Scrolls contain, what they prove, what they do not, and where to see them online.

  • Kept or added:Oldest known copies of the Hebrew Bible
  • Kept or added:Fragments of Enoch, Jubilees and Giants
  • Moved or disputed:Who wrote them is still debated

Gospel fragment, 2nd century AD

The Gospel of Mary

The apostles panic, and Mary stands up to teach them. What the Gospel of Mary says, why ten of its pages are gone, how it was found, and how it was never close to the Bible.

  • Removed:Pages 1-6 and 11-14 are lost
  • Kept or added:Coptic copy surfaced in Cairo, 1896
  • Moved or disputed:Never appears on any early canon list

Rewritten scripture, c. 160-150 BC

The Book of Jubilees

Genesis retold by an angel, with names and dates the Bible leaves out and a 364-day calendar that split communities. What Jubilees says, why it fell away, and where to read it.

  • Removed:Left out of Jewish and most Christian Bibles
  • Kept or added:Still canon in the Ethiopian church
  • Kept or added:About 15 copies found at Qumran

Qumran fragments, c. 200 BC

The Book of Giants

The giants of Genesis 6 have dreams about the flood and send for Enoch to explain them. What survives of the Book of Giants, why Gilgamesh appears in it, and how it ended up in China.

  • Removed:Never in any known Bible
  • Kept or added:Aramaic fragments at Qumran
  • Moved or disputed:Later rewritten by Mani's followers

Apocalypse and visions, c. 100-150 AD

The Shepherd of Hermas

For two centuries it was read in churches and bound into Bibles, including Codex Sinaiticus. What the Shepherd of Hermas says, who wrote it, and why it fell just outside the line.

  • Removed:Fell outside the New Testament lists
  • Kept or added:Bound into Codex Sinaiticus after Revelation
  • Moved or disputed:Athanasius: for new converts only

Apocalypse, c. 100 AD

2 Esdras

Seven visions after the fall of Jerusalem, an angel who will not give easy answers, and a claim that 70 books were kept secret. Printed in the 1611 King James, gone from most Bibles today.

  • Removed:Placed outside the Catholic canon at Trent, 1546
  • Kept or added:Printed in the 1611 King James Bible
  • Moved or disputed:70 verses missing from most Latin copies until 1875

These summaries are starting points, not scholarship. Dates and canon histories are debated, and we link primary texts so you can read for yourself.