Principle
The Old Testament Scriptures include references to the Book of Jasher.
Explanation
We previously established how David mourned the death of Saul. In the text from that Principle (2 Kingdoms [2 Samuel] 1), there is a reference to the Book of the Righteous (see 2 Kingdoms 1:18 LXX).
Translations based on the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT) commonly call this document the Book of Jasher.
The word transliterated in English as “Jasher” is the Hebrew הַיָּשָֽׁר׃. The word means: right, upright, just, straight.
Thus, certain translations, such as Young’s Literal Translation (YLT), though based upon the MT, translate the word as “upright”:
18 and he saith to teach the sons of Judah `The Bow;’ lo, it is written on the book of the Upright: —
2 Samuel 1:18 YLT
The MT also mentions the Book of Jasher in Joshua 10:13, when the sun and moon stood still, although the Septuagint has no comparable statement within that text.
13 So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.
Joshua 10:13 NKJV
So, do we possess a copy of this Book of Jasher today?
Based on my research to-date, there are no known copies of the Book of the Righteous (the Book of Jasher) mentioned in the Old Testament Scriptures.
There are writings with the title of the Book of Jasher. However, it seems that these are all traceable back to medieval times.
For your convenience, here are a few posts online about the Book of Jasher. I cannot vouch for the contents’ accuracy.
- aish.com/the-book-of-jasher/
- Wikipedia
- gotquestions.org
- Christian Classics Ethereal Library search
- Christian Classics Ethereal Library: The Book of Jasher Referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel
- sacred-texts.com: apocryphal version of The Book of Jasher
Interestingly, none of the early Christian writers (70-325 A.D.) mention the Book of Jasher in any known preserved writings. Neither did Philip Schaff mention the Book of Jasher in his (and his son’s) extensive eight-volume series, History of the Christian Church.
For me, those absences are strong indicators that, if a copy (or translation) of the original Hebrew Book of Jasher existed in the first few centuries A.D., it has either been well hidden or yet-to-be-discovered.
Leave a Reply