Extrabiblical

Extrabiblical is an adjective used in biblical studies to describe sources, texts, inscriptions, or traditions that lie outside the canonical scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. In scholarly usage, extrabiblical material refers to evidence that, while not part of the Bible, helps illuminate the historical, cultural, linguistic, or religious milieu of the biblical world. The category is broad and includes ancient inscriptions, non-canonical writings, and oral or later transmitted traditions preserved in other communities.

Examples of extrabiblical material include the Dead Sea Scrolls, which contain texts from the second century BCE to the first century CE, some not included in the Hebrew Bible; the works of Josephus and Philo, which provide historical background on Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity; early Christian writings such as the Didache and the Shepherd of Hermas; Jewish Rabbinic literature such as the Mishnah and Talmud; and various pseudepigraphal or apocryphal works like 1 Enoch and Jubilees. Inscriptions and archaeological finds, such as the Mesha Stele or Tel Dan Stele, also fall into the extrabiblical category.

Use and limitations: Scholars use extrabiblical sources to corroborate biblical narratives, date events, and understand language, customs, and relations between groups. Cautions include questions of authorship, dating, genre, and bias; many texts are fragmentary or anonymized, and not all are considered reliable by all scholars. The term is a descriptive tool in research, not a judgment about the texts' value or truth claims.