Before history, which really is just the recording of happenings in written form, communication with God was oral and through song, passed down verbally from generation to generation. So, no, Noah wasn’t reading scrolls by the firelight.
Other books and written records existed while the Bible was being written. The people we read about in the Bible knew about and read these books. I count 22 books and records referenced in the Bible that existed while the Bible was being written.
Biblical writers sometimes consulted, cited, or quoted these writings, but they are not God’s Word. Inspiration applies to the Scripture God produced through the biblical author, not automatically to every document the author knew or used.
Where are these books? Who wrote them? I will populate this table with links to “more information” over time, and then when I finish, I will probably forget to delete this sentence from this post. But here is the list I compiled with links to where they are referenced in Scripture if you decide to do a solo dig.
| Book / Record | Biblical Reference(s) | What We Know | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book of the Wars of the LORD | Numbers 21:14–15 | An earlier work quoted by Numbers, apparently containing material about Israel’s wars or victories. | ||
| Book of Jashar | Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18 | A work quoted in connection with Joshua’s victory and David’s lament for Saul and Jonathan; likely contained poetry or heroic material. | ||
| Book of the Acts of Solomon | 1 Kings 11:41 | A source containing additional information about Solomon’s acts and wisdom. | ||
| Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel | Repeated throughout 1–2 Kings | Royal or historical records repeatedly cited for additional information about kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. | ||
| Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah | Repeated throughout 1–2 Kings | Royal or historical records repeatedly cited for additional information about kings of Judah. | ||
| Book of the Kings of Israel | 1 Chronicles 9:1; 2 Chronicles 20:34 | A historical or royal source concerning Israel. It may overlap with other similarly titled royal records. | ||
| Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel / Israel and Judah | 2 Chronicles 16:11; 25:26; 27:7; 28:26; 32:32; 35:27; 36:8 | A royal historical source repeatedly cited in Chronicles; the title varies slightly. | ||
| Chronicles of Samuel the Seer | 1 Chronicles 29:29 | A written record concerning David’s reign attributed to Samuel. | ||
| Chronicles of Nathan the Prophet | 1 Chronicles 29:29 | A written record concerning David attributed to Nathan. | ||
| Chronicles of Gad the Seer | 1 Chronicles 29:29 | A written record concerning David attributed to Gad. | ||
| Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite | 2 Chronicles 9:29 | A source concerning Solomon attributed to the prophet Ahijah. | ||
| Visions of Iddo the Seer | 2 Chronicles 9:29 | A source concerning Solomon and Jeroboam attributed to Iddo. | ||
| Chronicles of Shemaiah the Prophet | 2 Chronicles 12:15 | A source concerning Rehoboam and Jeroboam attributed to Shemaiah. | ||
| Genealogical Records of Iddo the Seer | 2 Chronicles 12:15; 13:22 | Additional historical and genealogical material attributed to Iddo concerning the kings and Abijah. | ||
| Chronicles of Jehu Son of Hanani | 2 Chronicles 20:34 | Jehu’s account of Jehoshaphat’s reign, associated with the Book of the Kings of Israel. | ||
| Commentary of the Book of the Kings | 2 Chronicles 24:27 | A source containing additional information about Joash, his sons, prophetic statements against him, and the rebuilding of God’s house. | ||
| Acts of Uzziah Written by Isaiah | 2 Chronicles 26:22 | Isaiah the prophet is explicitly said to have written an account of Uzziah’s acts from first to last. | ||
| Vision of Isaiah the Prophet | 2 Chronicles 32:32 | A source concerning Hezekiah attributed to Isaiah and cited alongside the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. | ||
| Records of the Kings of Israel | 2 Chronicles 33:18 | A source containing additional information about Manasseh, including his prayer and words spoken to him in the name of the LORD. | ||
| Records of the Seers / Hozai | 2 Chronicles 33:19 | A source concerning Manasseh’s prayer, sins, unfaithfulness, and idolatry; the underlying Hebrew is translated differently across versions. | ||
| Book of Records, the Chronicles | Esther 2:23; 6:1–2 | Persian court records that preserved Mordecai’s report of a plot against King Ahasuerus. | ||
| Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia | Esther 10:2 | Persian royal annals containing records of Ahasuerus’s power and Mordecai’s prominence. |