4 Bible Books With Secret Histories

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The Bible is the most influential book on Earth, and it is one of the most studied texts in existence. Even discounting theological studies and investigations into the Bible, secular and historical authorities have long been fascinated by the Good Book.

The Holy Bible is a window into the world of ancient Israel and that nation’s customs and culture. Given the incredible interest in the Bible, both for cultural and religious reasons, most people would not think that there is a whole lot about the history of the Bible that is still unknown. This, however, is incorrect. Biblical scholarship continues to thrive in large part because the Good Book continues to harbor mysteries and secrets. Sometimes, these secrets are brought to light by external discoveries, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Other times, a scholar simply cannot make sense of something. Some of these mysteries revolve around specific Biblical texts such as Exodus. These mysteries and secrets are not often well known outside of the scholarly community, but they can raise interesting questions for ordinary Christians. Here are four Bible books with secret histories or unanswered questions.

Genesis

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The Book of Genesis is the first book in the Bible and the longest in terms of word count. It opens with the Christian creation story and the seven days God spent creating the world. The very first words of the book are “in the beginning.”

Given what the Book of Genesis covers and its placement at the very front of the Bible, most Christians assume that Genesis is the oldest book. That honor, however, belongs to the Book of Job. Job was written in approximately 1500 B.C. Genesis, on the other hand, was written during the Babylonian exile in the 6th century. Exodus was written around this same time as well.

Genesis is also very similar to a previously existing Canaanite work called the Enuma Elish. This mythological tale details the Canaanite creation story and shares language with Genesis. This has led many scholars to believe that the Enuma Elish influenced the writing of the Book of Genesis, even if the author merely borrowed the style and phrasing from the Canaanite tale.

John

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The Gospel of John is a bit of the odd man out when it comes to the four canonical gospels. The events that are covered in John differ subtly from the other three gospels and so does the language of John. These differences actually made the Gospel of John a surprisingly controversial text as John was accused of being Gnostic instead of Orthodox.

The Gnostics were the first group of early Christians to be declared heretics. One of their defining beliefs was that Christ had left behind secret information that could teach a person to transcend this world and help purify their soul. Although John is considered to be Orthodox, Gnostics were extremely interested in the Gospel of John. The opening verses were of special interest to Gnostic Christians as they felt the first few verses described the primeval entities or Aions that emanated from the Father. This Gnostic association was so well-known that some wanted to bar the Gospel of John from being included in the official New Testament canon.

Luke

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The Gospel of Luke is the longest of the canonical gospels and the longest book in the New Testament. It contains several anecdotes not found in the other canonical gospels, such as the birth of John the Baptist and Mary’s conversation about her pregnancy with Elizabeth. Despite its unique moments, Luke shares a great deal of material with the other gospels. Some of this material appears in both Matthew and Mark, while other pieces are shared only with Matthew. The contents of this shared material and the way it is presented has led a number of Biblical scholars to hypothesize that the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Matthew each had one source unique to that gospel and two sources that they both shared, called the two source hypothesis. These shared sources were the Gospel of Mark, the oldest of the four gospels, and a lost text referred to in Biblical scholarship as Q. Q is believed to have been a collection of accounts that both the authors of Luke and Matthew referred to when writing their Gospels, such as the three times the Devil tempts Jesus and the Beatitudes. Although both the two source hypothesis and the existence of Q are the most popular explanation for why Matthew, Luke and Mark are similar to the point of sharing the same phrasing, there are issues with the two source theory. A number of Biblical scholars claim that the two source hypothesis falls apart when Luke and Matthew are examined together and then compared against Mark. Unless Q can be found, it is unlikely this debate will ever be definitively solved.

Isaiah

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The Book of Isaiah is one of the most commonly referred to books of the Old Testament. It is filled with verses that describe both the actions of the Messiah and the prophecies that Christ fulfilled during his time on Earth. The many chapters and prophecies that are recorded in the Book of Isaiah are usually assumed to have all been written, or at least originally stated, by the prophet Isaiah. Many Biblical scholars, however, believe that the Book of Isaiah was written by not one author but three. The author of the first 39 chapters, called Proto-Isaiah, is normally assumed to be the actual prophet Isaiah. Chapters 40 through 55, however, are believed to have been written by a different author during the Babylonian exile. The final chapters, chapters 34 through 66, are attributed to a third author called Trito-Isaiah. Trito-Isaiah is believed to have composed his segments of the text after the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem. The incredible unity of the book, despite its many authors and the long period over which it was written, has made Isaiah an object of fascination among Biblical scholars.