The Book of the Wars of the is one of several non-canonical books referenced in the Bible

Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible

The non-canonical books in this article include Biblical apocrypha and Deuterocanonical books , Pseudepigrapha, writings from Hellenistic and other non-Biblical cultures, and lost works of known or unknown status...

 which have now been completely lost

Lost work

A lost work is a document or literary work produced some time in the past of which no surviving copies are known to exist. Works may be lost to history either through the destruction of the original manuscript, or through the non-survival of any copies of the work. Deliberate destruction of works...

. It is mentioned in , which reads: "From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon

Arnon

Arnon is a river and wadi in western Jordan, known in modern times in Arabic as Wadi Mujib. The Hebrew name means perhaps "noisy," a term which well-describes the latter part of the course of the river. Its length is about 45 miles, from its highlands in the desert to its entrance into the Dead...

, which is in the desert

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

 and bounding the Amorite

Amorite

Amorite refers to an ancient Semitic people who occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC...

 territory. For Arnon is the border of Moab

Moab

Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...

, between Moab and the Amorites. That is why the Book of the Wars of the says: '... Waheb in Suphah and the ravines of Arnon, and at the stream of the ravines that lead to the dwelling of Ar, which lies along the border of Moab.'"

Amongst academics, it is generally thought to be a collection of victory songs or poems

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

, although some readers have suggested it may be a prose military history

Military history

Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....

. It has been suggested by the theologian

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 Joseph Barber Lightfoot

Joseph Barber Lightfoot

Joseph Barber Lightfoot was an English theologian and Bishop of Durham, usually known as J.B. Lightfoot....

 that the book was one and the same as the mysterious biblical Book of Jasher.

The Book of the Wars of the is cited in the mediaeval as being a collaborative record written by Moses

Moses

Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

, Joshua

Joshua

Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...

, and the children of Israel.