Adar I 5784: Lost Books of the Bible

❓A relatively large number of books are mentioned in Tanach that have not come down to us. What can we ascertain about their contents and whereabouts?

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For the “bonus” month of Adar Alef that we have this leap year, when it’s not yet time for Purim Torah but it’s still Adar, I thought, with a nod to the theme of hiddenness that runs throughout Megillat Esther, we would explore lost books mentioned in Tanach and what the Rishonim have to say about them. There are many such books mentioned which are not extant today, and only their names have come down to us. To begin, there are several books mentioned in the Megilla itself, which is unusually replete with the writing of letters, books, and chronicles. For instance:

וּמַאֲמַ֣ר אֶסְתֵּ֔ר קִיַּ֕ם דִּבְרֵ֥י הַפֻּרִ֖ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה וְנִכְתָּ֖ב בַּסֵּֽפֶר׃

And Esther’s ordinance validating these observances of Purim was recorded in a scroll.

Esther 9:32