Ellen White and the Pseudepigrapha: Jasher, Enoch, and the Amalgamation of Man and Beast

Although the topic of Ellen White’s relationship to the Apocrypha has recently begun to be given more attention in scholarship, the topic of her interaction with and utilization of the larger non-canonical literature outside her family Bible has received virtually no academic research. As such, this article seeks to correct this silence by undertaking a careful review of all currently known statements by White that reference, allude to, or informally quote apocryphal and pseudepigraphic Old Testament works outside her 19th century Bible. The conclusion of this research argues both that she did in fact utilize such works in her writings (books like Jasher), but also that she remained open to the possibility of discovering even further parabiblical works (books potentially like 1 Enoch). Moreover, acknowledging her indebtedness to Jasher demonstrates the value of such research by revealing that her early comments about the “amalgamation” of man and beast were based on a passage from this pseudepigraphic work, pointing to a new understanding of her intentions when she invoked the controversial statement