•There are many ancient –and not so ancient—books, writings, scrolls, that some claim are valid or should be considered a part of the accepted scriptures.

APOCRYPHA—Those books and portions of books which appear in the Latin Vulgate, either as part of the Old Testament or as an appendix, but are not in the Hebrew Bible.

Decreed as in the Canon by the Council of Trent in 1546.

Not accepted as scripture by Erasmus, Luther, or the Church of England.

Some contain important historical information. Some “writings”-poems, devotions, predictions.

Jerome—late 300’s AD—prepared the Latin Vulgate and stated that these books were not scripture.

Some books in the Apocrypha are easily seen as fictionalized stories based on Bible characters.

1 & 2 Maccabees are the most valuable due to the history of the inter-testamental period

Most from Alexandrian & Greek sources

800 volumes or fragments of volumes

Found in caves near Qumran on the NW shore of the Dead Sea—1947-49

500 of the 800 found in Cave #4—more of a dumpster of fragments than a library. Buried under six feet of bat dung and dust

Written 250 BC-70 AD?

Biblical Texts—complete for several books, the most famous of which is Isaiah.

Fragments of every OT book except Esther.

Other writings: commentariesPseudepigrapha—Bible-like books written in another’s name.

Sectarian Texts: War scroll, Manual of Discipline, Community Rule

Verified OT Scripture integrity individual books and entire OT

Book of Enoch—quoted by JudeBook of TobithSeveral terms used in the NT: “works of Law” “Light vs Darkness” “Church of God” “Righteousness of God”

Nearly one hundred spurious books written in Greek and Latin

Many use the names of the Apostles or Bible characters

Some “letters” purported to be from an Apostle or church leader

Most were discovered in monasteries or archaeology since 1600 AD.

Letter of 1 Clement or “Clement of Rome” may be a valid letter from a Pastor in God’s Church.

Many reflect Catholic dogma and fantasy

Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stood still, until the people had avenged themselves on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? And the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens, and did not hasten to go down about a whole day.

2 Samuel 1:18 And he said to teach the sons of Judah The Song of the Bow. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jasher:

This is one of the apochrypal Books of Jasher. There are several (as many as five) separate works by this title, all composed much later than Biblical times. This particular one is a translation of a Hebrew book printed in 1613. Sepir Ha Yasher, the Hebrew title of this book, means the 'Book of the Upright', or 'the Upright or Correct Record'. This title was misread as 'Jasher', and at some point Jasher was treated as a proper name; however the pronoun 'the' (hebrew 'ha') never preceeds proper names.

This text covers much of the same ground as the traditional Mosaic books of the Bible, from the creation of the world to the death of Moses, albeit with several minor variations.

Chapter 9v:1 - And Haran, the son of Terah, Abram's

oldest brother, took a wife in those days.

v:2 - Haran was thirty-nine years old when he took her; and the wife of Haran conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Lot.

v:3 - And she conceived again and bare a daughter, and she called her name Milca; and she again conceived and bare a daughter, and she called her name Sarai.

v:4 - Haran was forty-two years old when he begat Sarai, which was in the tenth year of the life of Abram; and in those days Abram and his mother and nurse went out from the cave, as the king and his subjects had forgotten the affair of Abram.

v:5 - And when Abram came out from the cave, he went to Noah and his son Shem, and he remained with them to learn the instruction of the Lord and his ways, and no man knew where Abram was, and Abram served Noah and Shem his son for a long time.

v:6 - And Abram was in Noah's house thirty-nine years, and Abram knew the Lord from three years old, and he went in the ways of the Lord until the day of his death, as Noah and his son Shem had taught him; and all the sons of the earth in those days greatly transgressed against the Lord, and they rebelled against him and they served other gods, and they forgot the Lord who had created them in the earth; and the inhabitants of the earth made unto themselves, at that time, every man his god; gods of wood and stone which could neither speak, hear, nor deliver, and the sons of men served them and they became their gods.

Did Abraham spend 39 years with Noah?

Why is the question important?

Is there a way to find out if it was possible?

Gen 5:3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years and fathered a son in his own likeness, after his own image. And he called his name Seth.

Gen 5:4 And the days of Adam after he had fathered Seth were eight hundred years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Gen 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years. And he died.

Lived 930 Years

Gen 5:6 And Seth lived one hundred and five years and fathered Enos.

Gen 5:7 And after he fathered Enos, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Gen 5:8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years. And he died.

Lived 912 Years

Gen 5:9 And Enosh lived ninety years and fathered Cainan.

Gen 5:10 And after he fathered Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years.

Lived 905 Years

Gen 5:12 And Cainan lived seventy years and fathered Mahalaleel.

Gen 5:13 And after he fathered Mahalaleel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years.

Lived 910 Years

Gen 5:15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty-five years and fathered Jared.

Gen 5:16 And after he fathered Jared, Mahalaleel lived eight hundred and thirty years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Gen 5:17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred and ninety-five years. And he die

Lived 895 Years

Gen 5:18 And Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years and fathered Enoch.

Gen 5:19 And after he fathered Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Gen 5:20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years. And he died.

Lived 962 Years

Gen 5:21 And Enoch lived sixty-five years and fathered Methuselah.

Gen 5:22 And Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he fathered Methuselah. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Gen 5:23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

Lived 365 Years

Gen 5:25 And Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years and fathered Lamech.

Gen 5:26 And after he fathered Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Gen 5:27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years. And he died.

Lived 969 Years

Gen 5:28 And Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years and fathered a son.

Gen 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This one shall comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which Jehovah has cursed.

Gen 5:30 And after he fathered Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Gen 5:31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years. And he died.

Lived 777 Years

End of Adams Life

Gen 5:32 And Noah was five hundred years old. And Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Gen 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, in this day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of the heavens were opened up.

Gen 7:12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

Gen 9:28 And Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.

Gen 9:29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years. And he died.

Lived 950 Years

“THE FLOOD” - 1656

Adam lived through 8 generations

Gen 11:10 These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old and fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood.

Gen 11:11 And after he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived five hundred years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Lived 600 Years

Gen 11:12 And Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and fathered Salah.

Gen 11:13 And after he fathered Salah, Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Lived 438 Years

Gen 11:14 And Salah lived thirty years and fathered Eber.

Gen 11:15 And after he fathered Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Lived 433 Years

Gen 11:16 And Eber lived thirty-four years and fathered Peleg.

Gen 11:17 And after he fathered Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Lived 464 Years

Gen 11:18 And Peleg lived thirty years and fathered Reu.

Gen 11:19 After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Lived 239 Years

Gen 11:20 And Reu lived thirty-two years and fathered Serug.

Gen 11:21 And after he fathered Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Lived 239 Years

Gen 11:22 And Serug lived thirty years and fathered Nahor.

Gen 11:23 And after he fathered Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Lived 230 Years

Gen 11:24 And Nahor lived twenty-nine years and fathered Terah.

Gen 11:25 And after he fathered Terah, Nahor lived a hundred and nineteen years. And he fathered sons and daughters.

Lived 148 Years

Gen 11:26 And Terah lived seventy years and fathered Abram, Nahor and Haran.

Lived 205 Years

Gen 21:5 And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Lived 175 Years

End of Noah’s Life

Gen 25:26 And after that his brother came out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel. And his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

Lived 180 Years

How do we calculate the age of Jacob when Joseph was born?

Gen 41:46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from before Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

Gen 41:47 And in the seven years of plenty, the earth brought forth by handfuls.

Gen 45:4 And Joseph said to his brothers, Please come near me. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.

Gen 45:5 And now do not be grieved, nor angry with yourselves that you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life.

Gen 45:6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be no plowing nor harvest.

Gen 47:8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, How many are the days of the years of your life?

Gen 47:9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and I have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

Jacob is 129 yrs old—in his 130th yearJoseph is 38 or 39 years oldSo Joseph was born when Jacob was 90 or 91

Lived 147 Years

Gen 30:22 And God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

Gen 30:23 And she conceived and bore a son, and she said, God has taken away my reproach.

Gen 30:24 And she called his name Joseph. And she said, May Jehovah add another son to me.

Gen 30:25 And when Rachel had borne Joseph, it happened that Jacob said to Laban, Send me away so that I may go into my own place and to my country.

End of Noah’s Life

“THE FLOOD” - 1656

Adam lived through 8 generations

End of Noah’s Life