Non-Biblical Sources used to or quoted in the Bible

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Non-Biblical Sources used to or quoted in the Bible

Hebrews 11:37
New Catholic Bible
37 They were stoned,[a] or sawed in two, or put to death by the sword. They went about in skins of sheep or goats—destitute, persecuted, and tormented.

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Footnotes
Hebrews 11:37 They were stoned: e.g., Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, who was put to death for stating the truth (see 2 Chr 24:20-22; Lk 11:51). Sawed in two: an ancient Jewish tradition said that Isaiah was killed in this way by order of King Manasseh.


"Doctor, heal yourself" was a proverb in use with the Jews and which is sometimes expressed thus, (Kvpn yoa lyz), "go heal thyself," and sometimes in this form, (Ktrgx yoa ayoa), "physician, heal thy lameness."

". . . for in Him [God] we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children'" (Acts 17:28).

, 'For we are also his offspring'--the first half of the fifth line, word for word, of an astronomical poem of Aratus

1 Corinthians 15:33, where we read,

"Do not be deceived," 'Bad company corrupts good morals,'” [or] 'Bad company ruins good manners' [alternate reading]

This quotation came from the Athenian writer Menander in his play Thais. Menander lived from 343-291 B.C. and was famous for his comedies.

"For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision [party], who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families [in Crete] teaching things they should not each for the sake of sordid gain. One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.' This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith."

Also from Paul in the book of Acts comes the following:

"And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks'” (26:14).

The phrase “kick against the pricks” “comes from Aeschylus (525–456 B.C.), Agamemnon, line 1624--or lines 2341 & 2342 at (see Stewart Custer, Witness to Christ, BJU Press, p.164). We do not readily think of the risen Christ quoting a Greek playwright (in Hebrew, no less!), but since Paul's educational background likely included the study of the "Greek classics," Jesus used Paul's familiarity with the work of Aeschylus to reveal to Paul the futility of resisting His grace.

"The pricks" were the jabs the farmer gave the ox that was plowing a field whenever the animal would "rebel" by refusing to do its job. The farmer would take a goad, a sharpened implement of some sort, and jab/prick the ox to get its attention! The animal would soon get the point (pun intended) and not take as many rest breaks thereafter.

Jude (vss.14,15) quoted I Enoch 1:9

‘Bad company corrupts good character.’

Here the NIV footnote says, "From the Greek poet Menander"

Pagan authors quoted or alluded to:[21][22]

Menander, Thais 218 (1 Corinthians 15:33)
Epimenides, de Oraculis, (Titus 1–12:13, where Paul introduces Epimenides as "a prophet of the Cretans," see Epimenides paradox)
Aratus, Phaenomena 5, (Acts 17:28, where Paul refers to the words of "some of your own poets")
Non-canonical books quoted or alluded to:[21]

Book of Enoch (Jude 1:4, 1:6, 1:13, 1:14–15, 2 Peter 2:4; 3:13,[23][24] and John 7:38 [25]).
Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres, according to Origen (2 Timothy 3:8 "... as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses")
Epistle to the Laodiceans (Colossians 4:16 "read the epistle from Laodicea")
Life of Adam and Eve (2 Corinthians 11:14 "Satan as an angel of light", 12:2 "Third Heaven")[26]
A lost section of the Assumption of Moses (2 Timothy 3:8, Jude 9 "Michael.. body of Moses")
Ascension of Isaiah (Hebrews 11:37 "they were sawn in two")
Paul's letter to the Corinthians before 1 Corinthians (1 Corinthians 5:9 "I wrote to you in my letter...")
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians before Ephesians (Ephesians 3:3 “As I wrote afore in few words...”)
An unknown messianic prophecy possibly from a non-canonical source, quoted in Matthew 2:23 that states "...he will be called a Nazorian." ("ὅτι Ναζωραῖος κληθήσεται"). "Nazorian" is typically rendered as "Nazarene" ("from Nazareth"), as in Acts 24:5, where Christians are referred to as "the sect of the Nazorians/Nazarenes" ("τῶν Ναζωραίων αἱρέσεως"). This is speculated[by whom?] to be a vague allusion to a quote about Samson in Judges 13:5 that uses a similar-sounding word: "the child shall be a Nazirite" (ναζιρ)
An unknown version of Genesis (possibly a targum, midrash or other commentary), quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:45, as a reference to Christ's being "the Last Adam who became a life-giving spirit" (οὕτως καὶ γέγραπται· Ἐγένετο ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος Ἀδὰμ εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν· ὁ ἔσχατος Ἀδὰμ εἰς πνεῦμα ζῳοποιοῦν.). It has been speculated[by whom?] that Paul is simply paraphrasing Genesis 2:7, but there is no clear indication that this is not a complete quote.
An unknown text quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:9, suggested by Origen to be a lost apocryphal book:[27] "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 Isaiah 64:4, "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.'".[28]
An unknown messianic prophecy, possibly from a non-canonical source, quoted in Luke 24:46, speculated to be a vague allusion to Hosea 6:2:[29] "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 Mark 9:12, speculated[by whom?] 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."

Assumption of Moses Jude 1:9

Assumption of Moses when he mentions Michael and Satan disputing over the body of Moses (Jude 1:9).

Get copies of

Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament Hardcover – November 1, 2007
by D. A. Carson (Editor), G. K. Beale (Editor)

if you want to read the overwhelling evidence get a copy of Hellenistic Commentary to the New Testament

by M. Eugene Boring

The Book of Jehu: The Son of Hanani Paperback – August 3, 2015
by Ti Burtzloff (Author)

google the book of jehu pdf



‘Bad company corrupts good character.’

Here the NIV footnote says, "From the Greek poet Menander"

Pagan authors quoted or alluded to:[21][22]

Menander, Thais 218 (1 Corinthians 15:33)



The earliest written copies of The Book of Enoch come from the Dead Sea Scrolls - and date from 200BCE- 300 BCE.

other sources of information




I Enoch is a compilation of several separate works, most of which are apocalyptic. Its oldest portion is the “Apocalypse of Weeks,” written shortly before the Maccabean uprising of 167 BC against the Seleucids.