// apocrypha and lost books
The Cutting Room Floor
Enoch, Jubilees, Thomas, Mary, the Nag Hammadi jar. These texts were copied, quoted and read aloud for centuries before they fell outside the line. This thread tells you what is in them, who kept them, and where to read them free.
The library
- The Book of EnochApocalyptic, c. 300-100 BC
- The Gospel of ThomasSayings gospel, c. 60-140 AD (debated)
- The Nag Hammadi LibraryLibrary of 13 codices, Buried after c. 350 AD
- The Dead Sea ScrollsLibrary of about 900 manuscripts, c. 250 BC to 68 AD
- The Gospel of MaryGospel fragment, 2nd century AD
- The Book of JubileesRewritten scripture, c. 160-150 BC
- The Book of GiantsQumran fragments, c. 200 BC
- The Shepherd of HermasApocalypse and visions, c. 100-150 AD
- 2 EsdrasApocalypse, c. 100 AD
Essays
- The Council of Nicaea Did Not Choose the BibleThe most repeated claim about the Bible is false. Nicaea never voted on which books to include. Here is what happened there, where the myth comes from, and how the canon actually formed.
- Five Books That Almost Made Your BibleOne is quoted in the New Testament. One was bound into a fourth-century Bible. One is still scripture in Ethiopia. Five books that nearly made it, and what actually kept each one out.
Book guides
- Which Translation of the Book of Enoch Should You Read?Most Enoch editions on Amazon are cheap reprints of one 1917 translation. Here is what to read free, which edition to buy, and when the scholarly version is worth it.
- The Best Books on the Dead Sea ScrollsOne translation, one history. The two books you need to understand the Dead Sea Scrolls, and how to see the scrolls themselves for free.
- The Best Books on the Lost GospelsWhere to start with Thomas, Mary and the Nag Hammadi texts. Five books, in the order we would read them, with honest notes on who each one is for.
- The Best Books on How the Bible Was FormedWho decided what went in the Bible? Three books that answer it properly, from an accessible overview to the standard scholarly reference.