Apocrypha
Gad the Seer
The Seer
16 chapters · read and listen
Reading note
An apocryphal or pseudepigraphal text — outside the canon of the Western churches, yet widely circulated among ancient Jews and Christians. Published here from a public-domain translation, edited for continuous reading.
Chapters
Dossier
A book attributed to Gad, the seer who advised King David — preserved by a Jewish community in India.
Where this text comes from
The known manuscript comes from the Jewish community of Cochin, in southern India, and dates from the 17th or 18th century. 1 Chronicles 29:29 mentions records of Gad, but those are lost.
Why it is not in the Bible
Outside every canon. Its interest lies in being a witness to a peripheral Jewish tradition preserved far from the Mediterranean.
What you will find
- It gathers oracles and episodes from David's time in prophetic tone.
- The history of the manuscript itself, kept for centuries in Cochin, is part of what makes it notable.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this the book of Gad mentioned in the Bible?
- No. The records of Gad cited in 1 Chronicles are lost. The text that exists today is a much later manuscript from the Jewish community of Cochin.