Archive

Welcome to the Archive!
The Archive is where you can access over 200 scriptural texts, from many different time periods, states of preservation, authors, styles and religious groups. Here you will find texts from the Old Testament (or the Hebrew Bible), and the New Testament of Christianity. As well, we have a wealth of Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha from Christians and Jews, along with a plethora of fragmented manuscripts, such as the Christian works from Oxyrhynchus, and the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran. Further, there are even very rare texts and fragments not featured on other sites, let alone books, and much more!

Text Criteria
Nearly all texts featured here abide by a set of criteria, unless for educational purposes. If they do not meet these standards of Orthodoxy and dating, they are not found in the Archive.


 * 1) All texts must be either Jewish or Christian (if by the latter, by the hand of an Apostle/and or Church founder) dating from before the end of the 1st century AD. Any works afterward are considered Church Father material or Pseudepigrapha, which the former are also featured separate from scripture.
 * 2) They must be Orthodox, and not showing even traces of heresy. Manuscripts that are Gnostic or heretical are not allowed, unless misidentified as such.
 * 3) All writings must be of antiquity, and not Neo-Apocrypha. No LDS or Rabbinic writings are in the Archive. Anything written after the first few centuries AD claiming to be scripture are not allowed.
 * 4) Texts that are featured here must have at least a fragment or quotation left. If not, and it was shown to have existed, it goes to the lost works section.



History of Scriptural Canons
According to 2 Esdras 14, around 400 BC, God commanded Ezra the Scribe to compile a canon of scripture. With five other scribes and himself, Ezra copied and restored 94 texts within forty days. He was commanded that 24 of the books were to be given to all peoples, Jewish and gentile, to be read. These would become the Old Testament. The other 70, however, were to be kept privately for the wise among the people, including his own work. These 70 became the Apocrypha. They were canon, but not of the 24, which were the main body of scriptures. Texts like 1 Enoch and Baruch are among these.

Afterward, during the 400 years, other texts were produced, such as 1 Maccabees and Ecclesiasticus. These were not of the 94, nor the set apart 70, but were grafted into the 70 Apocrypha. These works emerged with the translations of the Old Testament into Greek, called the Septuagint, and were added to the 24, though they were not of them. These texts became what are now called Intertestamental Literature. These would later be called the Catholic Apocrypha, and they numbered 15, give or take, depending on the time period or manuscripts. After this, the Dead Sea Scrolls were written, which consisted of copies of the 94, as well as new literature by a Jewish sect called the Essenes. The Essenes accepted a wider body of literature, relying on what Ezra set forth, and the texts written later, also including their own new material. The Pharisees did not however, and used only the 24, but the Sadducees and Samaritans only used the Tanakh, or the first Five Books of Moses.

During the 1st Century, Christianity emerged, which made use of all previous texts, as did the Essenes. Jesus quoted often from the Old Testament, as well as the 70+, even once quoting from an Essene writing. The Christians accepted all 94, the Intertestamental Literature, but not Essene writings, at least not widely. Christians then wrote their own material, which became the New Testament. The last of the NT literature (The Book of Revelation) was written at the end of the 1st Century, and everything that came before and after not by an Apostle’s hand is by the Church Fathers. These are not scripture, but were highly valued by the Early Church. The earliest texts of this class being written slightly before Revelation, but by the students of the Apostles, not the Apostles themselves. Eventually the 24 OT books were divided up to make 39, but the texts remained the same, some being put into two parts. Some New Testament texts that were apocryphal were included in some editions of the Bible, and found in some Manuscripts, but there are different canons depending on the Church. The Jewish people eventually settled on the first 24 books as scripture, with their Rabbinic or Talmudic writings in place of the Apocrypha.

Here is an explanation of the Scriptural texts:

Because of the large amounts of Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts and fragments, only certain texts are selected here. To see a proper and full catalogue, use this pdf:

http://superbook.org/AUDIOBOOK/SECRET/The_Dead_Sea_Scrolls_Study_Edition.pdf

The Tanakh (The Five Books Of Moses)

 * The Book Of Genesis


 * The Book Of Exodus


 * The Book Of Leviticus


 * The Book Of Numbers


 * The Book Of Deuteronomy

The Historical Books

 * The Book Of Joshua


 * The Book Of Judges


 * The Book Of Ruth


 * The First Book Of Samuel


 * The Second Book Of Samuel


 * The First Book Of Kings


 * The Second Book Of Kings


 * The First Book Of Chronicles


 * The Second Book Of Chronicles


 * The Book Of Ezra


 * The Book Of Nehemiah


 * The Book Of Esther

The Wisdom Books

 * The Book Of Job


 * The Book Of Psalms


 * The Book Of Proverbs


 * The Book Of Ecclesiastes


 * The Song Of Solomon

The Four Major Prophets

 * The Book Of Isaiah


 * The Book Of Jeremiah


 * The Book Of Lamentations


 * The Book Of Ezekiel


 * The Book Of Daniel

The Twelve Minor Prophets

 * The Book Of Hosea


 * The Book Of Joel


 * The Book Of Amos


 * The Book Of Obadiah


 * The Book Of Jonah


 * The Book Of Micah


 * The Book Of Nahum


 * The Book Of Habakkuk


 * The Book Of Zephaniah


 * The Book Of Haggai


 * The Book Of Zechariah


 * The Book Of Malachi

The Gospels

 * The Gospel Of Matthew


 * The Gospel Of Mark


 * The Gospel Of Luke


 * The Gospel Of John

The Acts

 * The Acts Of The Apostles

The Pauline Epistles (The Letters Of Paul)

 * The Epistle To The Romans


 * The First Epistle To The Corinthians


 * The Second Epistle To The Corinthians


 * The Epistle To The Galatians


 * The Epistle To The Ephesians


 * The Epistle To The Philippians


 * The Epistle To The Colossians


 * The First Epistle To The Thessalonians


 * The Second Epistle To The Thessalonians

The Pastoral Epistles

 * The First Epistle To Timothy


 * The Second Epistle To Timothy


 * The Epistle To Titus


 * The Epistle To Philemon

Pseudo-Paul

 * The Epistle To The Hebrews

The Catholic Epistles

 * The Epistle Of James


 * The First Epistle Of Peter


 * The Second Epistle Of Peter


 * The First Epistle Of John


 * The Second Epistle Of John


 * The Third Epistle Of John


 * The Epistle Of Jude

The Apocalypse

 * The Book Of Revelation

The Old Testament (KJV 1611)

 * The First Book Of Esdras (3 Ezra)


 * The Second Book Of Esdras (4-5-6 Ezra)


 * The Book Of Tobit (Tobias)


 * The Book Of Judith


 * The Greek Book Of Esther (The Rest Of Esther)


 * The Wisdom Of Solomon


 * Ecclesiasticus (The Book Of Jesus Son Of Sirach)


 * The Book Of Baruch (1 Baruch)


 * The Epistle Of Jeremiah (Baruch Chapter Six)


 * The Prayer Of Azariah And The Song Of The Three Children


 * Susanna (Daniel Chapter Thirteen)


 * Bel And The Dragon (Daniel Chapter Fourteen)


 * The Prayer Of Manasseh


 * The First Book Of Maccabees


 * The Second Book Of Maccabees

The Gospels

 * The Gospel Of Thomas (Greek And Coptic)#

The Acts

 * The Twenty-Ninth Chapter Of Acts#

The Pauline Epistles

 * The Epistle To The Laodiceans#

Other

 * The Book Of Enoch (1 Enoch)


 * The Book Of Jubilees


 * The Psalms Of Solomon


 * The Third Book Of Maccabees


 * The Fourth Book Of Maccabees


 * Psalms 151-155

The Testaments

 * The Testament Of Reuben


 * The Testament Of Simeon


 * The Testament Of Levi*


 * The Testament Of Judah*


 * The Testament Of Issachar


 * The Testament Of Zebulun


 * The Testament Of Dan


 * The Testament Of Naphtali*


 * The Testament Of Gad


 * The Testament Of Asher


 * The Testament Of Joseph


 * The Testament Of Benjamin*


 * The Testament Of Moses (The Assumption Of Moses)#

The Historical Books

 * The Life Of Adam And Eve (The Apocalypse Of Moses)# - All Versions


 * The Book Of Jasher

The Prophets

 * The Book Of Gad The Seer


 * The Martyrdom Of Isaiah#


 * The Apocalypse Of Baruch (2 Baruch)

The New Testament

 * The Odes Of Solomon


 * The Revelation Of Stephen#


 * The Epistle To The Alexandrians#

Other

 * The War Scroll (The Wars Of The Sons Of Light Against The Sons Of Darkness)*


 * The Temple Scroll*


 * The Riddles Of Solomon (Yemenite Midrash)



The Testaments

 * The Testament Of Adam+


 * The Testament Of Enos (The Prayer Of Enos And Enoch)*


 * The Testament Of Lamech (The Genesis Apocryphon)*


 * The Testament Of Noah (The Genesis Apocryphon)*


 * The Testament Of Abraham (The Genesis Apocryphon)*


 * The Testament Of Jacob*


 * The Testament Of Kohath (Qahat)*


 * The Testament Of Amram (The Visions Of Amram)*


 * The Testament Of Aaron (4Q540-4Q541)*

The Historical Books

 * The Book Of Giants*


 * The Book Of Pseudo-Jubilees*


 * The Words Of Moses*


 * The Apocryphon Of Samuel*


 * The Apocryphon Of Zedekiah*


 * Fragment From “A Book Of Ezra”*


 * The Book Of Proto-Esther?*

The Wisdom Books

 * The DSS Psalms*

The Prophets

 * The Book Of The Words Of The Archangel Michael*


 * The Book Of Eldad And Modad+


 * The Apocryphon Of Joshua*


 * The Book Of Nathan The Prophet


 * The Apocryphon Of Elisha*


 * The Book Of Pseudo-Jeremiah*


 * The Second Book Of Ezekiel*


 * The “Third Book Of Baruch”+


 * The “Fourth Book Of Baruch”#+


 * The Book Of Pseudo-Daniel*


 * The Aramaic Apocalypse*


 * The Four Kingdoms*


 * Proto-Susanna?*

The Gospels

 * The Egerton Gospel


 * The Oxyrhynchus Gospel 840


 * The Oxyrhynchus Gospel 210


 * The Oxyrhynchus Gospel 1224


 * The Oxyrhynchus Gospel 50721D514009-755A-4A1B-9598-34ECF7EA2E1D.jpeg


 * The Merton Gospel


 * The Fayyum Gospel


 * The Dura-Europos Gospel


 * The Berlin Gospel


 * The Cairo Gospel


 * The Gospel Of The Nazaraeans

The Acts

 * The Traditions Of Matthias'+


 * The Preachings Of Peter+

The Epistles

 * The Epistle To The Macedonians+


 * The Third Epistle Of Peter+


 * The Fourth Epistle Of John+

Other

 * The Agrapha (The Scattered Words Of Jesus)+


 * Unidentified Lost Works+

The Testaments

 * The Testament Of Seth


 * The Testament Of Cainan


 * The Testament Of Mahalalel


 * The Testament Of Jared


 * The Testament Of Methuselah


 * The Testament Of Shem


 * The Testament Of Arphaxad


 * The Testament Of Shelah


 * The Testament Of Eber


 * The Testament Of Peleg


 * The Testament Of Reu


 * The Testament Of Nahor


 * The Testament Of Terah


 * The Testament Of Isaac

The Historical Books

 * The Book Of The Wars Of The Lord


 * The Memorial Book Against The Amalekites


 * The Annals Of David


 * The Book Of Jehu


 * The Acts Of The Kings (Various Acts Of Kings)


 * The Book Of The Chronicles Of The Kings Of Judah


 * The Book Of The Chronicles Of The Kings Of Israel

The Prophets

 * The Book Of Ahijah The Shilonite


 * The Book Of The Visions Of Iddo The Seer


 * The Book Of Shemaiah The Prophet


 * The Records Of The Seers

The Wisdom Books

 * The 3000 Proverbs Of Solomon


 * The 1005 Songs Of Solomon

Other

 * The Tablets Of Cainain


 * The Medical Book Of Noah


 * The Ordinances Of Samuel (The Law Of Kings)


 * The Botanical Book Of Solomon

The New Testament

 * The True First Epistle To The Corinthians (0 Corinthians)


 * The “Severe” Epistle To The Corinthians (3 Corinthians)


 * The Second Letter To The Ephesians (0 Ephesians)



Clement of Rome

 * 1 Clement


 * 2 Clement

Ignatius of Antioch

 * Seven Epistles


 * Aramaic Epistles


 * Forged Epistles


 * The Martyrdom Of Ignatius

Polycarp

 * The Epistle Of Polycarp


 * The Martyrdom of Polycarp


 * Fragments Of Polycarp?

Justin Martyr

 * First Apology


 * Second Apology


 * Dialogue With Trypho


 * Fragments Of Justin Martyr

Various Authors

 * Epistle to Diognetus


 * The Didache


 * The Epistle of Barnabas


 * The Teachings Of Silvanus#


 * The Shepard Of Hermas


 * Fragments of Papias


 * The Apology Of Quadratus of Athens


 * Aristides


 * The Prayer Of Hero

Josephus

 * Antiquities Of The Jews


 * The Jewish War

Other

 * The Story Of Ahikar


 * The Book Of The Bee


 * The Lives Of The Prophets


 * The Copper Scroll*


 * Gabriel's Revelation (The Vision of Gabriel/The Jeselsohn Stone)


 * The Community Rule*


 * The Damascus Document*


 * The Kebre Nagast


 * Clementine literature