Don Stewart :: Does the New Testament Quote as Scripture Writings That Are Not Present in the Bible?

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There are quotations and allusions found in the New Testament from books that are neither part of the Old Testament nor part of the Old Testament Apocrypha. They are found in the books that have been rejected as Scripture by all. One of these quotations is found in Jude and the other in Second Timothy.

Jude quoted the patriarch Enoch in writing about the return of Christ.

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him" (Jude 14,15).

This seems to be a citation from a book called First Enoch. First Enoch was not actually authored by the biblical character Enoch but is actually a forgery.

However it is also possible that Jude is citing from another source that is unknown to us. We do not know for certain where he obtained his information.

Paul Cites The Assumption Of Moses

When Paul wrote to Timothy he mentioned the name of the two men who opposed Moses.

Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth - men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected (2 Timothy 3:8).

The names of these men are not recorded in the Old Testament. It is thought that they come from a lost work called, "The Assumption of Moses."

What do we make of these citations?

The Source Is True But It Is Not Scripture

The best answer to this question seems to be that these passages are quoted because they state truths - not that they are part of authoritative Scripture. Neither passage is introduced by a phrase such as, "It is written," or "God has said." There is nothing to indicate that the work cited is authoritative Scripture - merely that they stated truth.

The fact that Jude and Paul cited things not found in the Old Testament Scripture is similar to other New Testament citations. For example, Paul cited from pagan poets. In the Book of Acts we read.

'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring' (Acts 17:28).

This is a citation from a heathen poet.

In another place, Paul wrote to Titus and cited one of their prophets.

Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith (Titus 1:12,13).

Citing from these pagans does not mean that he considered their works authoritative - it merely means that they stated truth.

Jude refers to a prophecy by Enoch while Paul cites a tradition about the name of two of the magicians that opposed Moses. The sources of these quotations are unsure. The citations are possibly from books that are of questionable value - First Enoch and the Assumption of Moses.

However, if these books are cited it has nothing to do with their canonical status. These works are cited in a similar way in which Paul cited heathen poets. They reveal truth but the writings themselves are not authoritative.