nonbiblical

Nonbiblical is an adjective used to describe things that are not derived from, or not related to, the Bible. In scholarly usage, nonbiblical sources and materials are those outside the biblical canon or biblical narrative, used to illuminate historical, cultural, or religious contexts surrounding biblical texts. The term can apply to writings, inscriptions, or traditions from other religious communities, to secular documents, or to religious ideas that exist independently of biblical scripture. It is often contrasted with biblical or extracanonical terms such as extrabiblical or apocryphal, though distinctions vary by field.

In biblical studies, classification into biblical vs nonbiblical helps organize evidence for the historical setting of biblical events and ideas. Nonbiblical sources can include ancient historians, legal codes, inscriptions, non-canonical religious texts, and later church writings that do not claim biblical authority. For example, inscriptions from Mesopotamia or Egypt, Roman imperial records, or the Nag Hammadi library are nonbiblical in the sense that they are not part of the Bible, yet they contribute to understanding the ancient world in which biblical literature was produced.

See also extrabiblical, apocrypha, pseudepigrapha, canonical, historiography.