A Divine Revelation of the Biblical Canon

What is the true Biblical Canon of the Christian Church, and how is it Divinely Inspired? It is important, as the Word of God should form the basis of all doctrine, and is the foundation of how we should live our life. All of the teachings of Jesus were based on the Word of God, and as He is the Word of God made flesh, His words also became part of the Biblical canon.
The Biblical canon evolved over a long period of time, beginning with the Hebrew canon of the Jewish Church. The basic criteria of the early church of the first four centuries was to gather valid documents of witness testimony concerning the teachings of Jesus. But which books are Divinely inspired? Which Biblical canon is correct among the different churches? Which should be treated as the Word of God, and those that are the words of men?
For answers, let us simply look at what Jesus had to say on the matter, and then follow this with the revelations on the Biblical canon given to the New Church. For Jesus is the one authority from Whom we should seek guidance:

You are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.  And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.  (Matt. 23:8-10)

CONFIRMATIONS ON THE HEBREW CANON BY JESUS

Let's start with the Hebrew canon of scripture which preceded the Christian church. The Hebrew canon, also known as the Tanakh, is divided into three main sections:

1. The Law, or the Law of Moses, also known as the Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
2. The Prophets, also known as the Nevi'im: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and The Twelve Prophets (the 12 minor prophets)
3. The Writings, also known as the Ketuvim: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehehiah, Chronicles.

The first two sections of the Hebrew canon, the Law and the Prophets, are directly referenced by Jesus and are definitely part of the Biblical canon:

Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. (Matt. 5:17)

Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them — this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matt. 7:12)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands. (Matt. 22:37-40)

Among these statements, there is even a more specific statement from Jesus concerning the Prophets:

For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John; if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come (Matt. 11:13)

I single out this particular quote, because here Jesus states that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy that Elijah would return before the coming of the Messiah. This is the very last prophecy in the book of Malachi:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Mal. 4:5-6)

This is not only the final passage in the book of Malachi, but also Malachi is the last book in the Prophets of the Hebrew canon. There is a similar confirmation given by Jesus in another passage:

Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. (Matt. 23:34-35)

Abel was murdered by his brother Cain in Genesis, but who is Zechariah the son of Barachiah? Several commentators identified him with the high priest Zechariah ben Jehoiada, whose death is recorded in 2 Chron 24:20:21, the last book in the Writings in the present day Hebrew canon. This is incorrect, as his father is recorded as Jehoiada, not Barachiah. Jesus here is referencing the prophet Zechariah, the second to last prophet right before Malachi: the prophet Zechariah is declared to be "son of Berechiah" (Zech. 1:1). His manner of death is not recorded. To "shed blood" does not just mean to kill, but in the spiritual sense signifies to profane and distort the truth, which the Jews had done with scriptures leading to their denial of Jesus Christ.

JESUS CONFIRMS THE BOOK OF DANIEL AS SCRIPTURE

Jesus, so far, affirms the Hebrew canon in regards to the Law and the Prophets as it exists now among the Jews. However there is one exception, and this concerns the book of Daniel. Jesus quotes from Daniel as a prophet:

“So when you see the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains!" (Matt. 24:15)

This shows that the book of Daniel was once included among the Prophets in the Hebrew canon, but was moved out among the Writings. Why? The theory of modern scholars is that portions of Daniel were written later during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes IV in the second century B.C. However Josephus records that the book of Daniel was shown to Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C., and several copies were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls dating from the 2nd century B.C. (see Josephus on Alexander the Great and the Book of Daniel). Moreover, the apocryphal book of Enoch, written around this time, borrowed some of its material from Daniel. Moreover, Aramaic scholars indicate that the Aramaic of Daniel dates from the period of 700-200 B.C., rather than the later period of 200 B.C.- 200 A.D. (see Aramaic and the Old Testament - Part 1). The problem here is with the scholars who are rather ignorant or in denial of prophetic visions.

Perhaps Daniel was placed among the Writings, which were regarded as a lesser authority, because a large portion was written in Aramaic instead of Hebrew, and Hebrew was considered the sacred language. This would have to ignore the fact that Gen. 31:47 and Jer. 10:11 are written in Aramaic. And indeed I found evidence that is the case. In the Talmud, specifically Megillah 3a, there is a story of some rabbis who began to translate Hebrew into Aramaic, and then were forbidden to do so as God's secrets were only allowed to be known among the Jews, or that Aramaic would begin to reveal some hidden secrets (there is actually a good example of this in Psalms 2:12 which has puzzled scholars - see Psalm 2:12 | Kiss the Son or Embrace Purity? - the correct answer is "Kiss the Son"). Aramaic translations of scripture played an important role around this time for rabbinic Judaism. This Jewish translator had translated the Law and the Prophets, but was not allowed to translate the Writings (Ketuvim) because it contained the book of Daniel. The Talmud then gives an interesting answer as why this is the case:

"What is the reason that he was denied permission to translate the Writings? Because it has in it a revelation of the end, when the Messiah will arrive. The end is foretold in a cryptic manner in the book of Daniel, and were the book of Daniel translated, the end would become manifestly revealed to all."

This is rather interesting - Daniel chapter 9 is a 490 year prophecy beginning in 457 B.C. and ending in 34 A.D., predicting the coming of the Messiah in 31 A.D. As the Talmud was compiled in the 4th-5th centuries A.D., it is quite possible that even the Jews could not deny that the book of Daniel predicted the coming of Jesus Christ. And thus they decided to move the book of Daniel from the Prophets to the Writings, using the excuse that a portion of it was written in Aramaic instead of Hebrew. This section of the Talmud also gives a weak explanation of why Daniel was not a prophet compared to Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the last three prophets. The reason? Unlike other prophets Daniel did not send his message to the Jews. 

JESUS CONFIRMS THE PSALMS AS SCRIPTURE

Jesus, so far, affirms the Hebrew canon in regards to the Law and the Prophets. In addition to this, Jesus affirms that the book of the Psalms is also a part of the Word of God:

These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. (Luke 24:44)

This should come as no surprise as Jesus often quoted from the Psalms as scripture, and is one of the most often quoted books in the New Testament.

JESUS CONFIRMS PROVERBS AS SCRIPTURE

So what about the rest of the books in the Writings? Initially I thought Jesus had only quoted from the Psalms. I researched all quotations of the Old Testament in Index to Old Testament Quotations, and to my surprise, Jesus quoted from Proverbs. Here is a puzzling quote:

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:38)

What book is Jesus quoting? This has puzzled scholars. Suggestions include allusion to Isa. 58:11, Ezek. 47:1-12, Zech. 14:8, Jer. 2:13, 17:13 or Ps. 63:1. However none of these passages fit. It is a slight paraphrase, it comes from the book of Proverbs:

Guard your heart with all vigilance; for out of it are the rivers of life. (Prov. 4:23)

This passage was not caught before as the word translated here as "rivers" is literally translated as "outgoings." Some translations translate this word here as "springs" but "rivers" would be more accurate. A similar passage can be found later in Proverbs:

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom. (Prov. 18:4)

And another verse:

Counsel in a man’s heart is deep water; but a man of understanding draws it out. (Prov. 20:5)

The phrase "deep water" is mentioned only in Proverbs 18:4 and 20:5.  Nowhere does either verse say "Whoever believes in Me." However Proverbs has this passage at the beginning:

Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. (Prov. 1:20-23)

The word for "pour" is the same Hebrew word for "flowing" in Prov. 18:4; Prov. 1:23 and 18:4 are the only two verses that use the word in this manner. Wisdom is personified crying out for people to listen, which is a representation of the Word made flesh.

 

There are two additional references to Proverbs from Jesus. We have this passage:

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. (Matt. 16:27)

And this is based off another verse from Proverbs:

Will he not repay man according to his work? (Prov. 24:12)

And one other:

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. (Rev. 3:19)

Which is based on this verse:

The LORD reproves him whom he loves (Prov. 3:12)

THE BOOK OF JOB AS SCRIPTURE

If we look across all the quotes of the Old Testament, among the Writings only Psalms and Proverbs are quoted or referenced by Jesus. If we expand our search to quotes by the apostles, Paul quotes Job three times and Job is referenced in James 5:11. However for the book of Job there is a direct reference in the book of Ezekiel, including a reference to the prophet Daniel (Ezek. 14:14,20). Jesus not only considered Ezekiel among the prophets, but directly quotes the book of Ezekiel (Mark 8:18 quotes Ezek. 12:2 and Mark 6:34 references Ezek. 34:5).

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER BOOKS OF THE WRITINGS?

The Writings in the Hebrew canon includes several other books, neither quoted by Jesus nor the apostles.  This is where we get into a grey area. When Jesus mentioned the Psalms among the Law and the Prophets in Luke 24:44, some misinterpret this as a reference to the entirety of the Writings since in the present day Bible the Psalms is the first book of the Writings. But this is a false argument. The Jews never actually settled the exact order of the Writings in the time of Jesus: the book of Psalms was not always the first book. According to the article Ketuvim:

"The Babylonian Talmud (Bava Batra 14b–15a) gives their order as Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Daniel, Scroll of Esther, Ezra, Chronicles. In Tiberian Masoretic codices, including the Aleppo Codex and the Leningrad Codex, and often in old Spanish manuscripts as well, the order is Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Esther, Daniel, Ezra."

The book of Ruth was most likely written around the time of Ezra in the 5th century B.C. as it deals with intermarriage, an issue that arose during that time  (see Ezra 9:1, Neh. 13:1). Although Ecclesiastes has been attributed to Solomon, internal language indicates it was also written around the time of Ezra at the earliest. Scholars examining the book of Esther now know that it was likely written in the 4th century B.C. and was most likely intended as a historical novel. Also among the Writings is the book of Lamentations, which according to tradition was written by Jeremiah.
 

By the time of the first century A.D., however, the collection of books in the Writings was somewhat fluctuating as Josephus mentions that the Biblical canon contained 22 books instead of 24, indicating two of the books in the Writings were not yet considered canonical. We also know that certain books among the Writings were debated among the Jews in the first century A.D. From Development of the Hebrew Bible Canon:

"The Mishnah, compiled at the end of the 2nd century CE, describes a debate over the status of some books of Ketuvim, and in particular over whether or not they render the hands ritually impure. Yadaim 3:5 calls attention to a debate over Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes."

THE CORRUPTIONS OF THE GREEK SEPTUAGINT
 

The Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek in the 3rd and 2nd centuries A.D., due to the fact that Greek became a de facto language during the Greek empire and was widely known. Unfortunately, the Septuagint added additional books to the canon, as well as spurious additions that were never part of the Hebrew scriptures. Thus early on the Jewish rabbis rejected the Septuagint. These books, however, entered into the Biblical canon of the early church, and were not removed until the Reformation. They are now known as the "Apocrypha." Other works added in other branches of the church that were never part of the Hebrew scriptures are more generally known as "Deuterocanonical" works. The Septuagint also mixed up the order of the Biblical canon, and for the most part is the main determining factor for the order of the books of the Old Testament as we have it today, which unfortunately mixes the Prophets with the books of the Writings.

INTERNAL EVIDENCE OF DIVINE INSPIRATION
 

Up until now, I have referenced Jesus as the primary authority for determining which scriptures should be considered canonical or referenced as the Word of God. But problems remain, and the main problem that is in front of most in modern times is why one book is Divinely inspired over another?

In the 18th century, the scientist Emanuel Swedenborg received a series of waking visions over a period of 27 years that revealed the internal spiritual sense of the Bible, where it was revealed that scripture has multiple levels of meaning: the natural or most literal sense, then a more symbolic spiritual sense, and higher than that, the celestial sense. These waking visions occurred after he had an encounter with Jesus, and part of his mission was to reveal how and why the Bible was Divinely Inspired. The proof for which books are Divinely inspired is laid out in full in several volumes. So which books of the Bible are Divinely inspired? They are those that contain an internal spiritual sense, for when reading them the scripture connects our external minds to the thoughts of angels and to the ultimate Divine. Swedenborg spelled it out in the following passage:

"The books of the Word are all those which have the internal sense; books which do not have it are not the Word. The books of the Word in the Old Testament are: The five Books of Moses; the Book of Joshua; the Book of Judges; the two Books of Samuel; the two Books of Kings; the Psalms of David; and the Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 10325)

So how does the above list compare with what Jesus definitely declared as scripture?  It includes every book of the Law and the Prophets, and the book of Daniel is recognized as belonging among the Prophets as well. Among the Writings it acknowledges the Psalms, as well as the book of Lamentations indicating it was indeed written by Jeremiah according to long standing tradition. Thus the list matches exactly what Jesus said when referencing the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:44).

THE BOOKS OF JOB, PROVERBS AND SONG OF SOLOMON
 

Missing from the list of books that have an internal spiritual sense are the books of Job, Proverbs and Song of Solomon. Despite this, in several passages Swedenborg does occasionally quote from Job and Song of Solomon as scripture. So why did he exclude them?  Swedenborg used the following three criteria for the Biblical canon:

1. The book must be focused on the Lord and His church.
2. The book must contain within it an internal spiritual sense.
3. The internal spiritual sense must be written in a sequential series.

The first criteria is easy to see to everyone, and it is because of this criteria that there was debate among the Jews concerning the Song of Solomon. It is also true for the book of Job:

"That the book of Job is a book of the Ancient Church is manifest, as has been mentioned, from its representative and significative style; but it is not of those books which are called the Law and the Prophets, because it has not an internal sense which treats solely of the Lord and of His kingdom; it is this alone which makes a book of the genuine Word." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 3540)

However in other passages, Swedenborg notes that the book of Job contains an internal spiritual sense (Apocalypse Explained, 740.15). Thus it is quoted as support in explaining certain passages of scripture. The Song of Solomon is similar and is also quoted as scripture, but like Job it is a collection of sayings rather than written in a cohesive series (Heavenly Arcana, n. 9942.5, 3942.2).

As for the book of Proverbs it is not mentioned directly by Swedenborg, but it falls into the same category as Job and Song of Solomon: it is a collection of sayings but they are not written in a cohesive series. 

With the exception of Daniel, Psalms and Lamentations, what is apparent is the Writings was perhaps originally intended to be considered as "Ancillary Writings" to be used in support of scripture, provide additional historical context, or preserve an ancient Hebrew writing. But among these the books of Job, Proverbs and Song of Solomon have a higher status as they contain individual sayings that contain an internal spiritual sense that are useful in support of genuine scripture.

THE LOST BOOK OF JASHER
 

In addition to the book of Job, there is another work of the Ancient Church known as the book of Jasher, which is referenced as scripture in Josh. 10:12-13 and 2 Sam. 1:17-18. In the visions received by Swedenborg, he was told in the 18th century that this book was not lost but was still intact. In my research I discovered that this work has probably remained intact in a later manuscript, the book of Jasher written in Rabbic Hebrew, which unfortunately has later additions. But there is internal evidence that this work is indeed based on an ancient copy. For this research, see the following prior blog posts:

• The Lost Book of Jasher, the Exodus, and Emanuel Swedenborg
• The Book of Jasher: a lost ancient book of the Bible, or a medieval forgery?
• Jasher: the Lost book of the Bible, as foreseen by Swedenborg

And lastly, for internal evidence that it is indeed a copy of an ancient account, see The Astronomy of the Birth of Abraham. In terms of its canonical status, if we found a more reliable or earlier manuscript I would include it as scripture perhaps between Deuteronomy and Joshua.

THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

For the New Testament, the words of Jesus are the Word of God and should be considered higher priority than those of the Apostles. In the revelations given to the New Church, it was shown only the four Gospels and the book of Revelation have an internal spiritual sense, and thus should be considered genuine scripture (Heavenly Arcana, 10325).

 

So what about the letters of the apostles? These are written in a different style, and provide useful doctrinal teachings for the church. Thus by their nature they are of lesser authority than the words of Jesus. Since they do not have an internal spiritual sense, they are not Divinely inspired in the way that genuine scripture is. In his private diary, Swedenborg indicated that the letters of Paul, although not having an internal spiritual sense, were "Divinely influenced" in terms of their overall subject matter:

"...the Lord spoke from Divine Wisdom Itself, by correspondences, exactly as He also spoke by the prophets, consequently from His own Divine; and that Paul indeed spoke from inspiration, but not in the same way as the prophets, to whom every single word was dictated but that his inspiration was that he received an influx, according to those things which were with him, which is quite a different inspiration, and has no conjunction with heaven by correspondences." (Spiritual Diary, n. 6062)

In a private letter to Harley Swedenborg explains this further:

"With reference to the writings of the Apostles and Paul I have not included these in ARCANA COELESTIA, and this for the reason that they are doctrinal writings, and so are not written in the style of the Word as are the Prophets, David, the Gospels, and the Revelation. The style of the Word wholly consists of correspondences, on which account it effects an immediate communication with heaven. In the doctrinal writings, however, there is another style which indeed communicates with heaven, but mediately. That they were so written by the Apostles was in order that the new Christian Church might commence through these, on which account doctrinal matters could not be written in the very style of the Word, but in a manner that might be more clearly and more directly understood. Nonetheless, the writings of the Apostles are good books for the Church, maintaining the doctrine of charity and its faith as strongly as ever did the Lord Himself in the Gospels and in the Revelation, as can be clearly seen and observed if one attends to the matter while reading those writings."

So in other words, the writings of the apostles should be considered as ancillary writings, in the same way that the Jews created another section of scripture called the Writings or Ketuvim. And there is actually another hidden reason for this, from Divine Providence: these ancillary writings protect the most holy scriptures from being profaned by falsehoods:

"That the Epistles of Paul have not an internal sense is known in the other life; but it is permitted that they may be in the Church, lest those who are of the Church should work evil to the Word of the Lord, in which is the internal sense. For if man lives ill, and yet believes in the holy Word, then he works evil to heaven; therefore the Epistles of Paul are permitted, and therefore Paul was not permitted to take one parable, not even a doctrine, from the Lord, and to expound and unfold it; but he took all things from himself. The Church, indeed, explains the Word of the Lord, but by means of the Epistles of Paul; for which reason also it everywhere departs from the good of charity, and accepts the truth of faith; which, however, the Lord has taught, but in such wise that the good of charity should be the all." (Spiritual Diary, n. 4824)

This actually solves quite a few issues. There are some doctrinal issues with the letters of Paul, where he can easily be taken out of context. In the quote of Rom. 3:10-18, Paul actually quoted from the Septuagint version of Psalm 14 which includes a spurious addition. And note: Paul admitted that at times he gave his own opinions, that were not from the Lord:

"To the rest I say (I, not the Lord)" (1 Cor. 7:12)"

"(I speak as a man)" (Rom. 3:5)
"I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh" (Rom. 6:19)
"That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting." (2 Cor. 11:17)
"(I speak foolishly,)" (2 Cor. 11:21)
"(I speak as a fool)" (2 Cor. 11:23)
"Brethren, I speak after the manner of men" (Gal. 3:15)

So according to Paul himself, he sometimes speaks from himself, sometimes from the Lord.

In addition to this, the letter of Jude, and the epistles of Peter, reference the apocryphal book of Enoch as scripture, which was written around the second century B.C. If it is understood that there are different levels of inspiration, and that these are doctrinal writings, then readers can have a more nuanced understanding of the texts. Quotations by apostles have lower authority that quotations of scripture by Jesus (see comment below).

A SUMMARY OF THE BIBLICAL CANON

To conclude, here is a summary of the Biblical canon as discussed in this article, with a tentative proposal as to its order:

• The Law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
• The early Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings
• The latter Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, the Twelve Prophets, Daniel
• The Psalms: Psalms
• "Semi-Inspired" Writings: Job, Proverbs, Song of Songs
• Historical Writings: Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther
• Pseudonymous Writings: Ecclesiastes
  
• Gospels and Revelation: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Revelation
• Apostolic Writings: everything else as we have it now in the New Testament

In this arrangement, Lamentations and Daniel are moved out of the Writings and back among the Prophets. Daniel belongs at the end of the Prophets, as he concludes with the last judgment. This was probably the original arrangement as Daniel is found in the Ketuvim in the Jewish canon.

The book of Psalms is followed by the Writings, which is divided into poetic, historical and fictional sections. The Psalms is immediately followed by Job. Ezekiel mentions Noah, Daniel and Job in two passages (Ezek. 14:14,20). Noah is mentioned in the Law, Daniel is in the Prophets, and Job here represents the third section of scripture which is the Psalms. These prophets were used signify the entirety of the Word as testimony against the Jews. In its spiritual sense, Swedenborg confirms that these three men signify all the truths of the Word (Apocalypse Explained, 724.28).

 

The book of Eccesiastes I put at the end, as has a skeptical tone contrary to scripture and is most probably a pseudonymous work. It also has an appropriate conclusion:  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of Man.

The Divine Inspiration of the Epistles of Paul, and a Lost Epistle of Paul

In the early Christian church, the definition of the Biblical canon was largely defined by the authorship of the work - if it was written by an apostle of Jesus, it was included in the canon of the New Testament.  By the 4th century A.D. the canon of the New Testament was largely defined, which was largely based on authorship of the work.  But which works are Divinely inspired?  For most people, all the works are Divinely inspired based on what books are currently in the Bible.  But the New Testament itself gives a more narrow definition - only the words that come directly from God, through revelation and vision, are Divinely inspired:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16)

If it contains the words of God, received through revelation, then the scripture is Divinely inspired.  As Jesus is the Word of God incarnate (see John 1), everything that Jesus said can be considered as directly Divinely inspired.  If we restrict ourselves to the words of Jesus, then in the New Testament the works that contain the most Divine Inspiration would be the four Gospels and the book of Revelation.  Among the other works, there are very short quotes of Jesus in the book of Acts, and one direct quote of Jesus in the epistles of Paul (2 Cor. 12:9).

DIVINE INSPIRATION ACCORDING TO THE NEW CHURCH

In the revelation of the New Church, the canon of scripture is not based on authorship, nor on tradition, nor on the basis of church authority.  Divine inspiration of any work is based on the content of the revelation itself.  Typical means of inspiration was through direct vision, through dreams, or direct auditory experience of the spoken Word.  What was revealed to Emanuel Swedenborg in the 18th century is that when God reveals Himself, the very words are Divinely inspired in such a manner that they follow a particular pattern.  This pattern is symbolic, and the symbolism can be recognized through a system of correspondences.  This is described in detail in a multi-volume work Heavenly Arcana (aka Arcana Coelestia).  Using this system of correspondences, one can often recognize whether a work is Divinely inspired or not through its content, and not merely trusting tradition or authority.

Using this system of correspondences, revealed in waking vision, it was shown to Swedenborg that the Law (Torah - the first five books of Moses), the Prophets (Nevi'im) and the Psalms were indeed Divinely inspired.  They all have different authors, but follow a common pattern.  Jesus confirmed that these are Divinely inspired in the gospel of Luke:

These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me. (see Luke 24:44).

Outside of this canon, the Jews had a separate set of books known as the "writings."  Among these, Swedenborg was shown that Daniel and Lamentations were Divinely inspired.  Works that are "semi-inspired" are Job, Proverbs and Song of Songs, but these works are not written where subsequent statements follow each other in a coherent series.

When Swedenborg arrived at the New Testament, to the surprise of many he discovered that only the four gospels of the book of Revelation were Divinely inspired.  And by Divine inspiration, Swedenborg is talking about Divine inspiration in a very strict sense, where the words themselves are written in a series of correspondences, where hidden behind the literal sense of scripture there is a spiritual sense.  That there is a hidden spiritual sense in scripture is confirmed by Jesus Himself:

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (Matt. 13:10-11)

And here is this interesting passage, where Jesus confirms He is not only speaking in parables and figures of speech, but also in the future will reveal things more plainly:

I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. (John 16:25)

And this, unknown to most, has been fulfilled in the revelations received by Emanuel Swedenborg in the 18th century, who was directed by Jesus Himself to reveal the internal spiritual sense of scripture, which is explained in a massive multi-volume work, Heavenly Arcana (aka Arcana Coelestia).  It is the best proof that explains why and how scripture is Divinely inspired.  Traditional Christianity, when questioned on the Divine inspiration of the Bible, cannot offer a comprehensive proof.  The doctrines of the New Church can, if one take the time to examine them.

THE DIVINE INFLUENCE OF THE EPISTLES OF PAUL

The one main reason major Christian denominations do not reference Swedenborg, and may be a bit wary of him, is that he did not include the epistles of Paul as among the Divinely inspired works of the Bible.  Most sermons are based on the writings of Paul, and Protestant churches in particular are dependent on Paul for their theology and doctrine of faith.  Thus they falsely assume Swedenborg rejected the epistles of Paul since he disagreed with them.  But this is not true - Swedenborg did not reject the teachings of Paul.  In fact, he confirmed the teachings, and in many ways anticipated modern theological thought on the epistles of Paul (for an in depth analysis, see A New Perspective on Paul and the New Church Perspective on Paul).

However, there is one matter here that is not so well known even within the New Church itself.  Although Swedenborg was shown that the letters of Paul were not Divinely inspired, he confirms - in his unpublished diary - that the letters of Paul were indeed Divinely influenced:

"...the Lord spoke from Divine Wisdom Itself, by correspondences, exactly as He also spoke by the prophets, consequently from His own Divine; and that Paul indeed spoke from inspiration, but not in the same way as the prophets, to whom every single word was dictated but that his inspiration was that he received an influx, according to those things which were with him, which is quite a different inspiration, and has no conjunction with heaven by correspondences." (Spiritual Diary, n. 6062)

In other words, one can say that the letters of Paul are inspired to a lesser degree - they are Divinely influenced in their overall thoughts, but not down to the very words themselves.  Thus the New Church should make a distinction: works that are Divinely inspired and works that are Divinely influenced.  There are thus degrees or levels of inspiration, according to the content of the work itself.  Divine inspiration is strictly any content that was received by revelation, and is written in a form of symbolic correspondences.  Divinely influenced works are those that are more doctrinal in nature, offering explanation for Divinely inspired scripture.

THE REASON FOR "LESSER" DIVINELY INFLUENCED SCRIPTURE

Most have a simple view of Divine inspiration of scripture: it is or it isn't.  But if one recognizes different degrees of inspiration, and keeps a distinction between Divinely inspired works and those that are Divinely influenced, one can reach a greater understanding of the truth.  One can distinguish Divine truth, and keep it separate from the teachings and traditions of men.

The reason why the epistles of Paul are included in scripture, and should remain in scripture, is for a very good reason, explained in the following passage from Swedenborg's diary:

That the Epistles of Paul have not an internal sense is known in the other life; but it is permitted that they may be in the Church, lest those who are of the Church should work evil to the Word of the Lord, in which is the internal sense. For if man lives ill, and yet believes in the holy Word, then he works evil to heaven; therefore the Epistles of Paul are permitted, and therefore Paul was not permitted to take one parable, not even a doctrine, from the Lord, and to expound and unfold it; but he took all things from himself. The Church, indeed, explains the Word of the Lord, but by means of the Epistles of Paul; for which reason also it everywhere departs from the good of charity, and accepts the truth of faith; which, however, the Lord has taught, but in such wise that the good of charity should be the all. (Spiritual Diary, n. 4824)

In a private letter, Swedenborg also explains that these letters were included as doctrinal matters needed to be simplified for the public:

"With reference to the writings of the Apostles and Paul I have not included these in ARCANA COELESTIA, and this for the reason that they are doctrinal writings, and so are not written in the style of the Word as are the Prophets, David, the Gospels, and the Revelation. The style of the Word wholly consists of correspondences, on which account it effects an immediate communication with heaven. In the doctrinal writings, however, there is another style which indeed communicates with heaven, but mediately. That they were so written by the Apostles was in order that the new Christian Church might commence through these, on which account doctrinal matters could not be written in the very style of the Word, but in a manner that might be more clearly and more directly understood. Nonetheless, the writings of the Apostles are good books for the Church, maintaining the doctrine of charity and its faith as strongly as ever did the Lord Himself in the Gospels and in the Revelation, as can be clearly seen and observed if one attends to the matter while reading those writings." (Letter, Harley)

With actual scripture, when one reads it with an open heart, direct communication is opened with heaven and the angels, even though a person may be unaware of it at the time.  With Divinely influenced writings, which tend to be more doctrinal in nature, communication is indirect or mediate.

If one understands this approach to the letters of Paul, and the letters of the apostles, one can have a better understanding of other works that may contain a degree of Divine influence but are not Divinely inspired.  In this, I would classify the works of Swedenborg himself as "Divinely influenced."  But according to Swedenborg's own definition, his works are definitely not Divinely inspired in the same way scripture is. Scripture must follow the Divine pattern of symbolic correspondences, as declared in the Doctrine of Sacred Scripture. Swedenborg even spells it out by giving the list of books that are Divinely inspired.

What other works are Divinely influenced, but not Divinely inspired?  The Quran, Swedenborg says, does contain a partial heavenly revelation, but it is only there in an obscure manner.  The reason for that was to introduce those who originate from polygamous cultures to Jesus, without revealing His true nature so that polygamy would not be mixed with the more internal holy revelation.  It was also written in such a way to offer opposition to the false doctrine of a trinity of three persons. Thus the Quran (or Koran) can be classified as Divinely influenced, but not Divinely inspired in the same way the Bible is.  Interestingly, the Quran affirms that the gospels of the New Testament should still be followed, and does not mention the epistles of Paul.

A LOST EPISTLE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL

There are certain works that are quoted in the Bible, that are Divinely inspired, but are now lost to us.  Or may be lost.  One, which was used to compose portions of the Old Testament, is the book of Jasher (see The Lost Book of Jasher, the Exodus, and Emanuel Swedenborg).  However, since most among Christian churches are focused on the epistles of Paul to the exclusion of everything else, I thought I would offer something interesting here.  Swedenborg, in his visions, was shown that there is indeed a lost epistle of Paul that did not make it into the Biblical canon:

The difference between a holiness that is merely attributed and a holiness which is seen, may be illustrated by this example seen and heard in the spiritual world: An epistle was read written by Paul while he dwelt in the world, but not published, without any one's knowing that it was by Paul. The hearers first regarded it as of little moment; but when it was discovered to be one of Paul's epistles, it was received with joy, and one and all the things therein were adored. It was manifest from this, that merely attributing holiness to the Word and the sacraments, when made by the primates of the clerical order, does indeed give the stamp of holiness; but it is otherwise when the holiness itself is disclosed and presented so as to be seen before the eyes, which is done by a revelation of the spiritual sense; by this means external holiness becomes internal, and attribution of holiness becomes acknowledgment of it. (True Christian Religion, n. 701)

As with the book of Jasher, it is my belief that this lost epistle of Paul was still intact in some written form when Swedenborg wrote this in the 18th century.  And indeed, there is an interesting case to be made for a lost epistle of the apostle Paul that did not make it into the Biblical canon: it is known to scholars as the Epistle to the Laodiceans.  Most consider it a forgery, that it was written since it was possibly mentioned in another epistle of Paul:

And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. (Col. 4:16)

Despite the opinion of scholars, there are several ancient witnesses that state there was once an Epistle to Laodiceans.  In the Muratonian fragment of the 2nd century A.D., it mentions that the heretic Marcion included the Epistle to the Laodiceans in his canon.  Marcion's canon contained only the gospel of Luke and the epistles of Paul to the exclusion of everything else.  Somehow a version of an Epistle to the Laodiceans made it into Western Latin Bibles, but no copy of it has been found in Greek or Syriac texts.  In the fourth century A.D. Jerome knew of it and stated it was "rejected by everyone."  The earliest text of it survives in a Latin Bible from 546 A.D., and it can be found in over 100 different ancient Latin versions of the Bible.  It is short, and contains statements found in his other epistles.  Here is one translation, which is taken from The Wesley Center Online: Epistle To The Laodiceans:

1 Paul, an apostle not of men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ, unto the brethren that are at Laodicea.
2 Grace be unto you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I give thanks unto Christ in all my prayers, that ye continue in him and persevere in his works, looking for the promise at the day of judgement.
4 Neither do the vain talkings of some overset you, which creep in, that they may turn you away from the truth of the Gospel which is preached by me.
5 And now shall God cause that they that are of me shall continue ministering unto the increase of the truth of the Gospel and accomplishing goodness, and the work of salvation, even eternal life.
5 And now are my bonds seen of all men, which I suffer in Christ, wherein I rejoice and am glad.
7 And unto me this is for everlasting salvation, which also is brought about by your prayers, and the ministry of the Holy Ghost, whether by life or by death.
8 For verily to me life is in Christ, and to die is joy.
9 And unto him (or And also) shall he work his mercy in you that ye may have the same love, and be of one mind.
10 Therefore, dearly beloved, as ye have heard in my presence so hold fast and work in the fear of God, and it shall be unto you for life eternal.
11 For it is God that worketh in you.
12 And do ye without afterthought whatsoever ye do.
13 And for the rest, dearly beloved, rejoice in Christ, and beware of them that are filthy in lucre.
14 Let all your petitions be made openly before God, and be ye steadfast in the mind of Christ.
15 And what things are sound and true and sober and just and to be loved, do ye.
16 And what ye have heard and received, keep fast in your heart.
17 And peace shall be unto you.
18 The saints salute you.
19 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with your spirit.
20 And cause this epistle to be read unto them of Colossae, and the epistle of the Colossians to be read unto you.

Is it genuine or not?  It did find its way into the earliest canon of the Bible, as well as western Latin Bibles.  Is it the one seen by Swedenborg in his vision?  We do not know, but everything about this curious epistle fits Swedenborg's vision - the lost epistle of Paul was still intact, not published (not in the Biblical canon), and considered not to be the epistle of Paul.  Only the Epistle to the Laodiceans fits all the criteria of Swedenborg's vision.  And perhaps this entire epistle is symbolic of the church of Laodicea itself in the book of Revelation, which is ultimately rejected out of God's mouth:

I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. (Rev. 3:15-18)

The ancient city of Laodicea, now in ruins

The Lost Book of Jasher, the Exodus, and Emanuel Swedenborg

Joshua and the day the Sun stood still

In the Bible there is a reference to a work, now considered lost, the book of Jasher. It is mentioned twice:

David lamented ... over Saul and over Jonathan ... Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the Book of Jasher. (2 Sam. i 17, 18).

In Joshua it is mentioned in this passage:

Joshua said, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon: and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon! Is not this written in the Book of Jasher? (Joshua x 12, 13).

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG'S VISIONS CONCERNING THE BOOK OF JASHER

This mysterious reference is considered by most to be a reference to a lost work. In the visions of Emanuel Swedenborg in the 18th century, he was given further information by angels that the book of Jasher was part of an ancient work that preceded the Bible which contained the first seven chapters of Genesis:

"That there was a Word among the ancients, is evident from Moses, by whom it is mentioned, and who took something from it (Num. xxi. 14, 15, 27-30); also that the historical parts of that Word were called the Wars of Jehovah, and its prophetic parts the Enunciations. ...Besides these, a prophetic book of the ancient Word, called the Book of Jasher, or the Book of the Upright, is mentioned by David and by Joshua. By David: David lamented over Saul and over Jonathan, and made the inscription, To teach the sons of Judah the bow; behold it is written in the Book of Jasher (2 Sam. i. 17, 18). And by Joshua: Joshua said, Sun, rest not in Gibeon, and Moon in the valley of Ajalon; is not this written in the Book of Jasher? (Josh. x. 12.) Moreover, it has been told me that the first seven chapters of Genesis are in that ancient Word, and that not even a little word is wanting." (Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, in Doctrine of Sacred Scripture, n. 103)

In other references to the ancient scripture that preceded our Bible, Swedenborg was told that it was extant among those in Tartary bordering China. He also was given more details as to what was contained in the book of Jasher, from which Moses drew upon it to compose the Torah:

"They said that in it also is the book of Jasher, which is mentioned in Joshua (x. 12, 13), and in the second book of Samuel (i. 17, 18); as also, that among them are the books called the Wars of Jehovah, and the Enunciations, which are mentioned by Moses (Num. xxi. 14, 15, and 27-30); and when I read in their presence the words which Moses had taken therefrom, they searched to see if they were there and found them. From this it was clear to me that the ancient Word is still among them. ...I have further heard from angels that the first chapters of Genesis, which treat of creation, of Adam and Eve, of the garden of Eden, and of their sons and posterity down to the flood, and also of Noah and his sons, are also in that Word; and were so transcribed from it by Moses." (True Christian Religion, n. 279)

Later, Swedenborg has another passage concerning Jasher:

"Before the Israelitish there was a Word, the prophetical books of which were called Enunciations, and the historical, the Wars of Jehovah; and besides these, one called the Book of Jasher; which three are named in our Word: and that ancient Word was in the land of Canaan, Syria, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Assyria, Chaldea, Egypt, Tyre, Sidon, and Nineveh; but because it was full of such correspondences as signify celestial and spiritual things remotely, which gave rise to idolatries, of the Divine Providence this disappeared. I heard that Moses copied out of that Word what he related about the Creation, Adam and Eve, the Flood, and Noah, and his three sons, but no further." (True Christian Religion, Index to Relations)

So the other point here is that this ancient Word which preceded our Bible was not preserved, because certain symbolic portions of it was distorted for idolatrous purposes.

So, exactly how accurate is the information received by Emanuel Swedenborg in his waking visions which he had over a period of 27 years? As most of his visions concerned God, the Divine inspiration of the Bible, the spiritual world, angels and the afterlife, it is hard to verify. But with these statements on the book of Jasher, should the book be rediscovered, we now have an independent means of verifying the information given to Swedenborg.

A MEDIEVAL HEBREW MANUSCRIPT OF THE BOOK OF JASHER

A medieval Hebrew manuscript claiming to be the book of Jasher was published in Naples in 1552, and later in Venice in 1613 (or 1625). It was translated into Latin in 1732, and was later translated into English in 1840. Apparently after it was published in Venice, Leon Modena issued a statement that it was not the book of Jasher, and falsely grouped it among other late Jewish writings of a completely different character, the Zohar and Kabbalah (from Sefer haYashar (midrash)

Behold, it [the Zohar] is like Sefer ha-Yashar, which they printed (without my knowledge and without the knowledge of the sages here in Venice, about twenty years ago). Although I removed the fantasies and falsehoods from it, [eg,] that it is the Sefer ha-Yashar mentioned in Scripture, there are still those who claim that it was discovered during the time of the destruction [of the temple]. But who can stop those who imagine in their minds whatever they wish.

— Leon Modena, Ari Nohem, before 1648

Oddly, Wikipedia calls this Hebrew work a midrash, or a commentary or interpretation of scripture among the Jews. However upon internal examination it is nothing like a midrash: it is a longer version of the Bible as found in the Torah, from the time of Adam to the entry of Joshua in the land of Canaan. There has been little critical examination of this work, except for one publication from 1986 by Dan Joseph of the Hebrew University. Although the Naples publication is not extant, he concluded from the Hebrew and other indicators that it was written in Naples in the 16th century, or possibly earlier in Spain or southern Italy.

There are definitely late additions to this Hebrew work; for example, there are late references in the table of nations after the flood of Noah that were probably taken from the Hebrew work Josippon that was published in southern Italy in the 10th century, which contains many historical and chronological mistakes. This is probably one of the reasons Dan Joseph thought this Hebrew work was probably composed after this time in southern Italy as well. However, unlike Josippon, the chronology of Jasher happens to be very accurate. Hebrew scholars who examined the original text for the 1840 translation, thought that it was written in very pure Rabbinical Hebrew.

INTERNAL EVIDENCE THAT JASHER IS MUCH OLDER

So there the story would end. Except for some very "odd" facts: this Hebrew work that claims to be the book of Jasher has internal evidence that it is much, much older. The evidence indicates there was a much more older copy, which was later corrupted by a Rabbinical scribe. But there is enough there to show that this Hebrew work of Jasher may in fact be based on an older original that is indeed the lost book of Jasher as mentioned in the Bible, as it does contain the text as mentioned in Joshua and 2 Samuel. So what "odd" facts are there?  First, we have these references to Oswiris in Egypt:

"And he resolved to go to Egypt, to Oswiris the son of Anom king of Egypt... " (Jasher 14:2)

This of course is a reference to the god Osiris of the Egyptian pantheon. Anom may be a Hebrew play on the Egyptian god Amon. The names of Amon and Osiris perhaps may have been derived from the first century work On the Worship of Isis and Osiris by Plutarch, for the cult of Osiris was long dead, having expired during the Graeco-Roman era and was exterminated in the fourth-sixth centuries A.D.

Osiris on his throne

So maybe this Jewish author was familiar with Plutarch. But then we have this reference to a wise advisor to the Babylonian king Nimrod named "Anuki" (Jasher 12:52). This one is interesting. As explained earlier in Jasher: the Lost book of the Bible, as foreseen by Swedenborg:

"This is probably based on the Sumerian sky-god Anu, or based on "Anunnaki" (or "Anunnaku" or "Ananaki") a group of Mesopotamian deities which appear in the Babylonian creation epic, Enuma Elish. The name Anunnaki means "those of royal blood" or "princely offspring." In later Assyrian and Babylonian myth, the Anunnaki were said to be the sons of Anu ("heaven") and his consort Ki ("earth") — again, a possible derivation for the name Anuki. The names of these Sumerian gods were forgotten until they were rediscovered on cuneiform tablets in the nineteenth century. Anyone composing a midrash in medieval times would have no knowledge of this." 

Another interesting name pops up: the son of Nimrod has the name of Mardon:

And all the earth was of one tongue and words of union, but Nimrod did not go in the ways of the Lord, and he was more wicked than all the men that were before him, from the days of the flood until those days.
And he made gods of wood and stone, and he bowed down to them, and he rebelled against the Lord, and taught all his subjects and the people of the earth his wicked ways; and Mardon his son was more wicked than his father.
And every one that heard of the acts of Mardon the son of Nimrod would say, concerning him, From the wicked goeth forth wickedness; therefore it became a proverb in the whole earth, saying, From the wicked goeth forth wickedness, and it was current in the words of men from that time to this. (Jasher 7:46-48)

This particular proverb may be quoted in 1 Sam. 24:13. Mardon, son of Nimrod, is a reference to the Babylonian god Marduk, just as Oswiris of Egypt is a reference to the Egyptian god Osiris. But now we have a problem: the problem here, is the ancient Babylonian gods Anu, the Anunnakki, and Marduk were completely forgotten in medieval times. They were unknown until these names were recovered on Sumerian and Akkadian tablets in the 19th century, long after the first appearance of the book of Jasher.

Babylonian Marduk with his dragon Mushussu

It is highly unlikely for a medieval Jew of southern Italy to have known these long forgotten Babylonian gods. Moreover, from the book of Jasher we know that the name of the two Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses were named Jannes and Jambres:

"And when they had gone Pharaoh sent for Balaam the magician and to Jannes and Jambres his sons, and to all the magicians and conjurors and counsellors which belonged to the king, and they all came and sat before the king." (Jasher 79:27)

These two magicians are named by the apostle Paul in the 1st century A.D. (see 2 Tim. 3:8). These names are also found in Jewish tradition, but where does the tradition come from?

EVIDENCE FROM THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE BOOK OF JASHER

A close examination of the book of Jasher is that it follows the same chronology as the Masoretic version of the Torah. The current theory of scholars, is a Rabbinical Jew just copied from scripture and added additional material. But this is problematic: if one examines the numbers closely, at times it can be seen a digit was missed or dropped. Simple math exposes the error. Yet the chronology itself is highly accurate. This indicates that a Rabbinical Jew in southern Italy was working with a much older copy, something that was passed hand to hand until the invention of the printing press. For example, again from Jasher: the Lost book of the Bible, as foreseen by Swedenborg:

"Jasher ii. 37 states that Jared lived 62 years when the number should be 162. This exact scribal error appears in the Samaritan Pentateuch, which was not known to the western world until after the book of Jasher was published. The Samaritan Pentateuch represents an ancient textual tradition, as some of its readings have been found in the Dead Sea scrolls."

And then, we have this statement concerning the Pharoah that reigned at the time of the Exodus:

"Melol was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned ninety four years, and all Egypt called his name Pharaoh after the name of his father, as it was their custom to do to every king who reigned over them in Egypt." (Jasher 63:9)

This is an extremely long reign. Ninety four (94) years is a long time. And it just so happens from modern Egyptology we know exactly who this Pharoah was: Pepi II Neferkare, the last Pharoah of the Old Kingdom before the kingdom suddenly and mysteriously collapsed.  According the Egyptian king lists, he reigned exactly 94 years. And this again was not known until the advent of modern Egyptian archaeology in the 19th century. Again, no way could a Rabbinical Jew know this during medieval times.

Pharoah Pepi II as a child on his mother's lap

This brings up a whole other topic on the chronology of the ancient world. There has been much speculation on the date of the Exodus, with some historians denying that it ever happened. This is not only because many misinterpret a late reference to the city of Ramesses in the book of Genesis, but also there is the larger problem of how things are dated in the ancient Middle East based on Egyptian chronology. What this reference to the book of Jasher indicates is that the Exodus occurred right at the sudden collapse of the Old Kingdom. Some scholars indicate that portions of the Ipuwer Papyrus actually dates from the collapse of the Old Kingdom, which happens to mention many of the same plagues described in the book of Exodus.

Ipuwer Papyrus

Here is a summary of contents from The Ten Plagues - Live from Egypt:

(For a lengthier discussion of the papyrus and the historical background of the Exodus, seeJewish Action, Spring 1995, article by Brad Aaronson, entitled When Was the Exodus? )

IPUWER PAPYRUS - LEIDEN 344	TORAH - EXODUS
2:5-6 Plague is throughout the land. Blood is everywhere. 2:10 The river is blood. 2:10 Men shrink from tasting - human beings, and thirst after water 3:10-13 That is our water! That is our happiness! What shall we do in respect thereof? All is ruin.	7:20 …all the waters of the river were turned to blood. 7:21 ...there was blood thoughout all the land of Egypt …and the river stank. 7:24 And all the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
2:10 Forsooth, gates, columns and walls are consumed by fire. 10:3-6 Lower Egypt weeps... The entire palace is without its revenues. To it belong [by right] wheat and barley, geese and fish 6:3 Forsooth, grain has perished on every side. 5:12 Forsooth, that has perished which was yesterday seen. The land is left over to its weariness like the cutting of flax.	9:23-24 ...and the fire ran along the ground... there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous. 9:25 ...and the hail smote every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field. 9:31-32 ...and the flax and the barley was smitten; for the barley was in season, and flax was ripe. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten; for they were not grown up. 10:15 ...there remained no green things in the trees, or in the herbs of the fields, through all the land of Egypt.
5:5 All animals, their hearts weep. Cattle moan... 9:2-3 Behold, cattle are left to stray, and there is none to gather them together.	9:3 ...the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field... and there shall be a very grievous sickness. 9:19 ...gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field... 9:21 And he that did not fear the word of the Lord left his servants and cattle in the field.
9:11 The land is without light	10:22 And there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt.
4:3 (5:6) Forsooth, the children of princes are dashed against the walls. 6:12 Forsooth, the children of princes are cast out in the streets. 6:3 The prison is ruined. 2:13 He who places his brother in the ground is everywhere. 3:14 It is groaning throughout the land, mingled with lamentations	12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive that was in the prison. 12:30 ...there was not a house where there was not one dead. 12:30 ...there was a great cry in Egypt.
7:1 Behold, the fire has mounted up on high. Its burning goes forth against the enemies of the land.	13:21 ... by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night.
3:2 Gold and lapis lazuli, silver and malachite, carnelian and bronze... are fastened on the neck of female slaves.	12:35-36 ...and they requested from the Egyptians, silver and gold articles and clothing. And God made the Egyptians favour them and they granted their request. [The Israelites] thus drained Egypt of its wealth.

So if any historian states that there is no evidence for the Exodus, they are wrong. What is wrong here are the traditional dates for Egyptian chronology, but this is too broad a topic to go into depth here. The Ipuwer Papyrus was definitely unknown to a medieval Jewish scribe. How is it that the book of Jasher points to the same Pharoah as this papyrus? Even today, very few propose that the Exodus took place during the collapse of the Old Kingdom of Egypt.

One last point: the book of Jasher is missing the prophecy of 400 years from the time of Abraham to the Exodus in Genesis 15. If a medieval scribe is copying from Genesis, why omit this story?  Or did it happen the other way around: Moses composed Genesis from Jasher, and incorporated that prophecy when it was realized to have been true?

EVIDENCE FROM THE ASTRONOMY OF THE BOOK OF JASHER

This was a nice surprise when I first discovered this. Comparing the Masoretic chronology with ancient records of the Middle East from Babylon and Assyria, I had determined that Abraham was born in 1953 B.C. The book of Jasher records an unusual astronomical event:

"And it was in the night that Abram was born, that all the servants of Terah, and all the wise men of Nimrod, and his conjurors came and ate and drank in the house of Terah, and they rejoiced with him on that night. And when all the wise men and conjurors went out from the house of Terah, they lifted up their eyes toward heaven that night to look at the stars, and they saw, and behold one very large star came from the east and ran in the heavens, and he swallowed up the four stars from the four sides of the heavens. And all the wise men of the king and his conjurors were astonished at the sight, and the sages understood this matter, and they knew its import. And they said to each other, this only betokens the child that has been born to Terah this night, who will grow up and be fruitful, and multiply, and possess all the earth, he and his children for ever, and he and his seed will slay great kings, and inherit their lands" (Jasher viii. 1-4).

I had discussed this earlier in The Astronomy of the Birth of Abraham (1953 B.C.).  First, what is significant about this is that the story of the birth of Abraham is prophetic of the star of the three wise men that appeared at the time of the birth of Jesus. Why would a Jew from the medieval era invent such a story? Unless it was already there in a more ancient manuscript, which was actually prophetic.

Secondly, I had checked this story in the book of Jasher and looked up anything significant in an astronomy program Dance of the Planets for the year 1953 B.C. Sure enough, there was a grand conjunction of all 5 planets in the year 1953 B.C.  It is a very rare alignment, and had occurred again before the birth of Jesus in 6 B.C. Here is a chart showing the astronomical alignment of 6 B.C.:

Some propose it was this alignment which was the actual star of Bethlehem. But a medieval Jewish scribe would have no knowledge of this as it requires precise mathematical and astronomical knowledge.

Later, I researched this further, and discovered that in 1993 NASA scientists determined that this grand conjunction of 1953 B.C. was observed in ancient China, and became the basis of the start of the Chinese calendar. Jesuits had earlier searched for this date and had failed. From PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY (NASA):

Astronomers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the U.S.
Naval Observatory have solved the ancient mystery of the origin
of the Chinese calendar, it was reported to the 182nd meeting of
the American Astronomical Society today in Berkeley, Calif.

Kevin Pang of JPL and John Bangert of the Naval Observatory
said they have found a date in 1953 B.C. when the sun, moon and
five planets all lined up in the sky at dawn -- providing the
basis for the beginning of the Chinese calendar.

...Orientals have always considered a

five-planet alignment as a favorable omen, signaling the dawn of
a new age and the world's renewal.

While the beginning of a day is dawn, a five-planet
conjunction occurring at dawn, with a new moon, and the start of
spring would truly be the beginning of all cycles, he said.  For
calendar makers, such a moment would also be an ideal starting
point for counting days, months, years and planetary periods. 

...In the latest search for the Holy Grail of Chinese

astronomy, Pang and Bangert were aided by computer-generated
planetary ephemerides and a clue from an ancient text. 

     Pang found a passage in a 1st century B.C. text of Hong Fan
Zhuan, that says:  "The Ancient Zhuanxu calendar (invented in
about 2000 B.C.) began at dawn, in the beginning of spring, when
the sun, new moon and five planets gathered in the constellation
Yingshi (Pegasus.)"  The book was written by Liu Xiang who lived
from 77 to 9 B.C.

     Pang said this was all the hint he and Bangert needed. A
computer search of planetary positions in the 2000 B.C. era gave
only one possible match -- March 5, 1953 B.C.  

     Before dawn on that day, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn lined up like a pearl necklace in the eastern sky, next to
the Great Pegasus Square, he said.  The planets all spanned but a
few degrees.  The new moon occurred shortly thereafter when the
sun, moon, and five planets all lined up in Pegasus, exactly as
Liu had stated.

     The dawn of March 5, 1953 B.C. was indeed the beginning of a
day, month, year and all known planetary cycles, the magic moment
Chinese and Jesuit astronomers searched for over 2000 years, Pang
said.

What few people realize, is this same event is recorded in the book of Jasher - where one star swallows up four other stars. In ancient times planets were known as "wandering stars." Note people had been searching for this for centuries, and only was discovered recently in 1993 by NASA using a computer.

So knowing that Abraham was born in 1953 B.C., we can calculate backwards and determine the dates for all the older patriarchs. When we get to the time before the flood, the chronology starts to become symbolic, and is based on astronomical cycles at the time (see The Ancient Astronomy of the Bible. Before the flood, we have the strange story of Enoch:

"And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." (Gen. 5:21-24)

The number 365 years is obviously symbolic of the 365 days in a year, with an endless cycle being represented by Enoch being caught up into heaven. From Abraham's birth in 1953 B.C, calculating backwards we can determine that Enoch lived from 3279 to 2914 B.C. The book of Jasher contains a bit more information on Enoch, and notes another strange number:

"And Enoch taught them wisdom, knowledge, and the ways of the Lord; and he made peace amongst them, and peace was throughout the earth during the life of Enoch. And Enoch reigned over the sons of men two hundred and forty-three years, and he did justice and righteousness with all his people, and he led them in the ways of the Lord." (Jasher 3:11-12)

And then we have this later reference:

"And it was in the year of Adam's death which was the two hundred and forty-third year of the reign of Enoch, in that time Enoch resolved to separate himself from the sons of men and to secret himself as at first in order to serve the Lord." (Jasher 3:17)

So, looks like an insignificant reference at first. Why point out that Enoch reigned 243 years?  This would mean his reign started in 3214 B.C. with the birth of his son Methuselah, and ended in 2971 B.C. the year in which Adam died. For modern astronomers, the time 243 years is very significant, for this is the exact time needed for Venus transits across the Sun to repeat - they repeat every 243 years.  It just so happens, that on November 17, 3214 B.C. and on November 17, 2971 B.C. there were transits of Venus across the face of the Sun, each separated by 243 years. The last time a Venus transit occurred was in 2004 and 2012, each repeating the transit which had occurred 243 years earlier in 1761 and 1769:

This requires very accurate astronomical knowledge, done over centuries. Note that there is another sub-period of 129.5 years between Venus transits of separate cycles, which would probably explain this passage:

And they assembled in all, one hundred and thirty kings and princes, and they made Enoch king over them and they were all under his power and command. (Jasher 3:10)

These numbers, although based on astronomical cycles, are also symbolic of spiritual truths.

Here is a time lapsed photo of the Venus transit of 2012:

And here is highly detailed video of the Venus transit of 2012 from NASA:

A COMPARISON BETWEEN JASHER AND SWEDENBORG'S REFERENCES

So is the book of Jasher, as represented in this medieval Hebrew manuscript, the one foreseen by Swedenborg in his visions? A Latin translation was published in Leipzig in 1732 (Dissertatio de Libro recti, "Dissertation on the book of the Upright"). by Johann Georg Abicht, professor of theology at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. There is the possibility that Swedenborg thus had access to a Latin version. In 1735 he was in Leipzig where he published a three volume work entitled Opera philosophica et mineralis ("Philosophical and mineralogical works"), However, the way Swedenborg references the book of Jasher does not indicate knowledge of this obscure dissertation. He describes it as a lost work, but possibly available in the region of Tartary bordering China. Moreover, the way he references the contents of the book of Jasher shows a slight error, an error that would not have been made if he was drawing from the Latin dissertation. There would be no reason for him to state that it was extant in Tartary; moreover, Swedenborg was shown to be exactly right in his visions on other occasions (see The Confirmed Clairvoyance of Emanuel Swedenborg).

So lets repeat here what Swedenborg said concerning the ancient Word which he was told about in his visions, which included the book of Jasher:

Moreover, it has been told me that the first seven chapters of Genesis are in that ancient Word, and that not even a little word is wanting." (Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, in Doctrine of Sacred Scripture, n. 103)

I have further heard from angels that the first chapters of Genesis, which treat of creation, of Adam and Eve, of the garden of Eden, and of their sons and posterity down to the flood, and also of Noah and his sons, are also in that Word; and were so transcribed from it by Moses." (True Christian Religion, n. 279)

I heard that Moses copied out of that Word what he related about the Creation, Adam and Eve, the Flood, and Noah, and his three sons, but no further." (True Christian Religion, Index to Relations)

These statements do not exactly refer to the book of Jasher, but rather the ancient Word which included the book of Jasher. However I think it refers to the book of Jasher. But a slight "error" is made here. First, the book of Jasher does not include the first chapter of Genesis which describes the seven days of creation. Note that after the seven days of creation, the second chapter begins as follows:

"These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Gen. 2:4-7)

The book of Jasher begins as follows:

"And God said let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and God created man in his own image. And God formed man from the ground, and he blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul endowed with speech." (Jasher 1:1-2)

Scholars who have examined the literary style of Genesis have noted that the seven days of creation likely came from a different source than the creation story of Genesis 2. And the book of Jasher confirms that. This was long before there was any textual criticism of the Bible.

It is from this point, Genesis chapter 2, that we find the first seven chapters of Genesis in the book of Jasher, albeit with a bit more detail. Thus Swedenborg's statement that the first seven chapters of Genesis are found in it is slightly incorrect. And yet it is highly accurate. The first seven chapters of Jasher parallels the story of seven chapters of Genesis, from chapter 2 through chapter 8. Genesis chapter 9 speaks of God's covenant with Noah - this is completely missing in the book of Jasher. Thus Swedenborg first misunderstood the information given to him. Thus he states Moses copied from this ancient Word the story of Adam up to Noah and his three sons, "but no further." This is slightly incorrect - for Moses stopped at Genesis 8 and included additional material in Genesis 9. Genesis 10 includes the table of nations from Noah and his three sons, and this has been corrupted or added in the book of Jasher by incorporating material from Josippon. However after that, additional material was pulled in from Jasher to compose other portions of the Torah.

And if it sounds like the Bible was put together in a haphazard way, it was not, for there is a spiritual sense in the sequence of the story, even though in the literal sense things may appear disjointed.

SWEDENBORG ON THE HERESY OF CAIN

Swedenborg wrote a massive spiritual commentary on Genesis and Exodus entitled Heavenly Arcana (aka Arcana Coelestia, or "Heavenly Secrets"). Literal events are not as they appear in the sense of the letter, behind each story there is a spiritual truth. For example the story of Cain killing his brother Abel is symbolic of how a branch of the ancient race of Adam departed from love and charity, killing it within their heart, and began following a heresy of belief or faith alone symbolized by Cain. Cain is given a mark so that no one would kill him out of revenge. Likewise, in the book of Revelation there is described a corrupt Christian religion where worshipers are given the "mark of the beast" - this is nothing other than the belief of salvation by faith alone.

In the book of Jasher, there is an interesting detail given concerning the sacrifices of Abel and Cain:

And it was at the expiration of a few years, that they brought an approximating offering to the Lord, and Cain brought from the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought from the firstlings of his flock from the fat thereof, and God turned and inclined to Abel and his offering, and a fire came down from the Lord from heaven and consumed it.And unto Cain and his offering the Lord did not turn, and he did not incline to it, for he had brought from the inferior fruit of the ground before the Lord, and Cain was jealous against his brother Abel on account of this, and he sought a pretext to slay him. (Jasher 1:15-16)

When we analyze the spiritual symbolism of scripture as presented in Heavenly Arcana, animals and beasts represent affections, thus here love and charity, the offering of Abel. Plants symbolize the truth of faith (plants create oxygen from light, light is a symbol of truth), which is here the offering of Cain. Swedenborg saw that in the spiritual sense Cain represented faith separate from charity, and this particular detail in the book of Jasher is consistent with what Swedenborg saw in his vision.

Next we come to the story of Lamech, a descendant of Cain, who had two wives Adah and Zillah. In the book of Genesis, he approaches his wives and begs forgiveness for killing a man. Swedenborg explains the spiritual sense of this story as follows:

And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice ye wives of Lamech, and give ear unto my speech; for I have slain a man to my wounding and a boy to my hurt. By Lamech vastation is signified, as before; that he "said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, give ear unto my speech" is confession, that is not made except where the church is — which, as has been stated, is signified by his wives. "I have slain a man to my wounding" signifies that faith was extinguished — faith, as before, being signified by a man; "a boy to my hurt" signifies that charity was extinguished. By a wound and hurt [or bruise] is signified that there was no more soundness — by a wound, that faith was desolated, by a bruise, that charity was devastated. (Heavenly Arcana, n. 427)

Swedenborg then explains why slaying a man here represents how the ancient worship of faith alone separate from charity became extinguished, and died out. For religion of the memory alone, and not of the life, will become extinguished in the process of time. Such is happening to the Protestant church, slowly, but this is the end of the church should they not recognize their error. But its a bit hard to figure out how Swedenborg derived that the "slaying of a man" represents that the worship of faith alone was extinguished. He shows why, but this spiritual meaning is confirmed by an additional detail given in the book of Jasher:

"And Lamech was old and advanced in years, and his eyes were dim that he could not see, and Tubal Cain, his son, was leading him and it was one day that Lamech went into the field and Tubal Cain his son was with him, and whilst they were walking in the field, Cain the son of Adam advanced towards them; for Lamech was very old and could not see much, and Tubal Cain his son was very young.
And Tubal Cain told his father to draw his bow, and with the arrows he smote Cain, who was yet far off, and he slew him, for he appeared to them to be an animal.
And the arrows entered Cain's body although he was distant from them, and he fell to the ground and died." (Jasher 2:26-28)

So, the man that Lamech killed was his own ancestor, Cain, who represented the heresy of faith separate from charity or love. His eyes were dim, signifying when one becomes a part of religion that becomes separate from life, the truth becomes diminished. So again, the spiritual meaning given to Swedenborg is again consistent with the book of Jasher. Also from spiritual symbolism as explained in Heavenly Arcana, a bow signifies doctrine, an arrow a falsehood derived from doctrine, so every detail here has a spiritual significance. Adopting a false doctrine or belief will eventually mislead one down the wrong path, causing a departure from love, thus killing it.

SWEDENBORG ON THE SYMBOLISM OF ABRAHAM

To the Jews, Genesis and much of scripture is all about how the Jewish race is better and more holy than everyone else. This, in fact, is a falsehood - for what makes scripture holy is the symbolism behind it. Israel is not the land of Israel, but is symbolic of the kingdom of heaven.  In Heavenly Arcana, it is revealed that the patriarchs of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob represent the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham specifically represents Jesus during his childhood, who like Jesus also goes down to Egypt. The revelation given to Swedenborg continues on the revelation of the New Testament, showing how all of scripture is focused on the Lord and his church. Swedenborg describes the representation of Abraham as the Lord in his childhood, gathering basic knowledge, in the following passage:

"The things told of Abram's sojourn in Egypt represent and signify the Lord's first instruction. Abram is the Lord; Sarai as a wife is truth to be adjoined to the celestial, Sarai as a sister is intellectual truth; Egypt is knowledge. The progress from outward knowledges even to celestial truths is described; this was according to Divine order, that the Lord's Human Essence might be conjoined to His Divine Essence, and at the same time become Jehovah." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 1402)

And this brings us full circle back to the book of Jasher, where it is described how Abraham was born during a grand conjunction of the planets in 1953 B.C. - just as Jesus was born around the time of a similar grand conjunction in 6 B.C. The wise men of Babylon understood this and explained the significance to king Nimrod, just as the wise men of the east came to Israel and explained the significance of the star of Bethlehem to king Herod. Nimrod then attempts to kill the baby, but kills another baby instead; in the same manner Herod slaughters the children of Bethlehem in the hopes of slaying Jesus and likewise fails. Thus it can be seen here how the book of Jasher is indeed a prophetic work. Hopefully more scholarship will be done on it in the future, once scholars recognize the value of the manuscript.

So based on this research, once I had arranged in 2012 to publish a digital version of all the theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg, I thought about it and decided to add the English translation of the book of Jasher as well.  All of these are put together in a massive digital work on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, The Divine Revelation of the New Jerusalem: Expanded Edition. Those who understand the spiritual symbolism in scripture can see much more depth in this Hebrew work of the book of Jasher.