This is an apocryphal Hebrew book known only from a unique manuscript that was copied at Cochin, India, in the middle of the eighteenth century. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a “new” book by the name of The Words of Gad the Seer. The introduction to the article reads in part: It’s available on so I have posted it here:

Most scholars (actually, I don’t know any exceptions) don’t think the book that moderns know by this title is the lost OT book. Fortunately, there is a fine peer-reviewed article on the literary work that purports to be the Chronicle of Gad the Seer: Meir Bar-Ilan, “The Date of The Words of Gad the Seer.” Journal of Biblical Literature 109.3 (1990): 475-492. The link includes a short peer-reviewed article on the recent book purporting to be the ancient source text.įor this post, I want to add something about the Chronicles of Gad the Seer. I have blogged before about the so-called book of Jasher. They are not books that belong in the Bible. Books you might see online or buy in some form are not the authentic source texts referred to in the Bible. There are books by both titles floating around (typically on the internet) that purport to be these ancient source texts from the biblical (OT) time period. I am frequently asked for my opinion on the Book of Jasher and the Book of Gad the Seer (more properly called the Chronicles of Gad the Seer, per 1 Chron 29:29).

Book of jasher full text