The Book of Jasher

Some months ago I was introduced to a really great little bookstore in Salt Lake City by the name of Benchmark Books. I had never heard of it before but since hearing about it I have come to know that many people are aware of it. It is located on the second floor of the building directly north of McDonalds on 33rd South and Main Street. It is an awesome little store that deals with LDS books that are rare, out of print, or simply not available elsewhere. I have become a real fan of it.

Since Benchmark Books is just a couple of blocks from my office, I go there from time to time at lunch just to browse. On occasion I ask the person behind the counter if they have any recommendations. I have been greatly blessed by some of the recommendations I have received.

One book that was recommended to me is The Book of Jasher. It is one of the “lost” books of the Old Testament. It is referred to in the book of Joshua as well as in 2nd Samuel. I had never heard of it before but have since found that it is contains very valuable insight.

An article was written about it in Meridian Magazine in 2002 by John P. Pratt. He states the following: “The book is a history of the world from the creation until the period of the Judges in Israel. It contains much more information than is found in Genesis for that same period, which makes very interesting reading and clears up many confusing issues in the Bible. It is written mostly as a secular history, but it does contain many references to what God was doing. It is similar to the Books of Joshua through Chronicles in the Bible which describe many historical events such as battles and wars, but which also point out the hand of God in the affairs of men.

Perhaps the closest approach to an official acknowledgment of the Book of Jasher among the latter-day saints was when the Prophet Joseph Smith quoted from it as a source which had "not been disproved as a bad author." The saints became more enamored with the book than did the rest of the Judeo-Christian world, and certain members of the Church secured the copyright and republished the work in 1887 in Salt Lake City.” The copy I have is one of these publications.

Anyone who has read the Book of Jasher will agree that it certainly contains much truth (many stories from the Bible), and it certainly appears to contain some later interpolations of men, so reading by the Spirit seems like an excellent way to discern which is which.

Pratt continues: “There seems to be no doubt in anyone's mind that the book contains many authentic Hebrew traditions. It is definitely not a forgery in the sense of being a modern fiction, as was the 1751 book of the same name. Ginzberg in his landmark collection Legends of the Jews quotes from it freely and it is listed in Jewish encyclopedias as an authentic source. But all of these sources agree that the Book of Jasher most likely was written in Spain about the twelfth century AD. It is thought to have been composed by an author compiling many old Jewish traditions (called Midrash) dating back to around the time of Christ and fabricating a few of his own. So how is it known that Jasher is quoting Midrash rather than Midrash quoting the real Book of Jasher also quoted in the Old Testament? It is deduced principally from the chapter describing where the descendants of Noah settled, because European names from many centuries after Christ are included (Jasher 10). In other words, the principles of higher criticism apparently require that if a few verses are found in the work which can definitely be dated to the eleventh century in Spain, then the entire work must have been authored at that time.

If the work claimed to have been produced by one author, as did the fraudulent Pseudo-Jasher, then that argument might be valid. This book, on the other hand, is implied to be a set of annals which have been handed down through a long series of authors. Nowhere is there any implication that it was all one big revelation given to a prophet in the manner that Genesis was given to Moses (Moses 1:40). Because the spirit of the book is that of a continual series of people adding to the work, much like the prophets of the Book of Mormon handing the plates down to the next author, I would not be surprised if interpolations were made in good faith to update the story somewhat of what had happened to the nations since the reign of the Judges. Thus, the method of modern scholars of discrediting the entire book because of a few interpolations and insisting on a late date for its origin is not compelling.

The translator of the 1840 edition agrees because he maintained that this book is indeed the book mentioned in the Old Testament. He concludes, "the book is, with the exception of some doubtful parts, a venerable monument of antiquity; and that, notwithstanding some few additions may have been made to it in comparatively modern times, it still retains sufficient to prove it a copy of the book referred to in Joshua 10 and 2 Samuel 1." In other words, a few later interpolations do not disqualify the entire book. Now let's look at the two places it is apparently quoted in the Old Testament.

Joshua 10:13. It is easy to find the place where the book of Joshua apparently quotes this Book of Jasher:

And when they were smiting, the day was declining toward evening, and Joshua said in the sight of all the people, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of Ajalon, until the nation shall have revenged itself upon its enemies.
And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Joshua, and the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens, and it stood still six and thirty moments, and the moon also stood still and hastened not to go down a whole day. (Jasher 88:63-64)

The translator notes that the word he rendered "moments" just means "times", a usage with which he is not familiar. To me this quote, although exactly what the doctor ordered, is not compelling because if someone were going to fake a Book of Jasher, this is exactly the kind of verses that would be fabricated as proof. Let us now consider the other reference, which is much more convincing.

Samuel 1:18. As seen in the above quotation of this reference, the Bible states that David taught the children of Judah the use of archery, as stated in the Book of Jasher. Here, at first blush, it looks like the Book of Jasher is disqualified, because its history stops at the reign of the Judges, long before the reign of David. Thus, if this book were merely feigning to be the lost scripture, it would appear that the author was unaware of this second scripture reference, which apparently disqualifies it. Indeed, one reviewer rejected the book citing this weakness as the principal reason.

But on closer inspection, the promised reference is not only present after all, the mystery of why the Biblical author included the source is also explained. The reason is that it is David himself who was quoting the Book of Jasher, rather than the Book of Jasher merely recording David's actions. Jasher contains the injunction that the children of Judah should learn the art of the bow and David considered the Book of Jasher of such high authority that if it commanded to teach the art of the bow, he was determined to do it. That puts an entirely different light on the subject. Here is the actual quote, from the last words of Jacob to his son Judah:

Only teach thy sons the bow and all weapons of war, in order that they may fight the battles of their brother who will rule over his enemies. (Jasher 56:9)

This passage goes a long way as evidence that this Book of Jasher is indeed the Book of Jasher. The quote, once found, solves the mystery of why a reference was needed (to give David's source), and yet it was so obscure that some reviewers have overlooked it entirely, which strongly argues that it was not fabricated solely to fulfill the requirement of having been quoted.”

I would like to conclude with a final quote from John Pratt “Before concluding, I must share a thought from William W. Phelps, who stated,

... some will turn to the words of eternal life, for life and salvation, whether they are found in the old bible, book of Mormon, lost book of Jasher, or the book of Enoch, mentioned by Jude. Though men are afraid of the books of God, or afraid that God will suffer any more to be in the world, I expect that when the dead, small and great, stand before him, that the books will be opened; even the books of Jehovah, and men will be judged according to what is written in the books.

After all the research effort made to produce this article, my conclusion is exactly the same as the conclusion of Mordecai M. Noah's introduction to the first English translation in 1840:

Without giving it to the world as a work of Divine inspiration, or assuming the responsibility to say that it is not an inspired book, I have no hesitation in pronouncing it a work of great antiquity and interest, and a work that is entitled, even regarding it as a literary curiosity, to a great circulation among those who take pleasure in studying the Scriptures.”