An Octagonal Prism
An octagonal prism, used for keeping historical records, from the reign of the Assyrian king Esar-haddon (680–669 BCE).
There are books mentioned in the Bible that are not actually contained in the Bible. The majority of these were official court records of the Israelite kings, such as the “Book of the Acts of Solomon” (1 Kings 11:41), the “Chronicles of King David” (1 Chron. 27:24), and other court records of the divided kingdom (1 Kings 14:19; 1 Chron. 9:1; 2 Chron. 16:11; 24:27; Neh. 12:23) as well as of Persia (Esther 2:23; 6:1; 10:2). Historical accounts by the prophets Shemaiah and Iddo are also mentioned (2 Chron. 12:15). Quotations from two books of poetry also occur: David’s elegy for Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. 1:17–27) and the song of Joshua (Josh. 10:12–13) are taken from the “Book of Jashar,” and fragments of the victory song (Num. 21:14–15; possibly also 21:17–18, 27–30) are taken from the “Book of the Wars of the Lord.” Luke 1:1 might allude to now lost narratives of the life of Jesus.
Bratcher, Dennis R. “Book.” Ed. Mark Allan Powell. The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated) 2011 : 102. Print.
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