Download The Book of Jasher (Book of the Upright) and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The Book of Jasher (also, Jashar) or the Book of the Upright or the Book of the Just Man This is one of the apochrypal Books of Jasher. The Book of Jasher is twice mentioned in the Old Testament. Behold it is written in the book [entitled] 'Straight.' ' Here is the same verse from the Brenton Septuagint. The file that will download is called jasher.zip which after being unzipped becomes BookofJasher.htm.
JASHERNEWS & VIEWS
Welcome to the Jasher Forum. We are providing this specialweb page devoted to information concerning The Book of Jasher and various documents thatare associated with it, such as the prefaces and other documents that have been includedin some editions of the book. Over the past few month and years we have received a numberof comments about the book, including some information that was very extensive and verywell researched. We believe it would be beneficial to our readers to share these notes,e-mail, news items and treatises with them by posting them for all to read.
Your input is welcome for this forum. We want to postanything that is helpful. You may think Jasher is genuine or you make think it is a fraud.You do not have to agree with one point of view or another, but don't give just a simplestatement of opinion. Back up your opinion with evidence drawn from the text or some othersource or give us the logic by which you have come to your conclusion. Support your viewfor our readers. And, of course, we are pleased to print any Jasher related originalresearch that you care to share with us.
Please understand that if you regard your material ascopyrighted and not for distribution, you must include a copyright notice on your piece. If you do not want someone to copy it, it may be better not to send it. Thereare many people who use the internet who pay no attention to copyright laws.
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Lastly, please understand that we operate this website with avery limited and very busy staff (it's just me). It may take several weeks before I caninclude your post.
Wayne Simpson
[Editor: Sorry, the vulnerabilityof web based e-mail is now so great that no new postings are being accepted for the forum. 7/1/2010 - ws.]
Is it the real Book of Jasher?
We refer of course the the 1840 English text of M. M. Noahfrom which several editions have been reprinted since. There are others. This is ananalysis of the reasons to believe that it is the book mentioned in Joshua and Samuel. Realjash.htm
by Wayne Simpson
More information concerning the Certificates
In the 1840 translation a number of then prominentindividuals wrote brief 'certificates' which they signed, signifying theirendorsement of the book. We now know something about who these men were.Certificates.htm
by Rev. Jim Collins of Ottawa, Canada
The Book of Jasher in Danish
While I was writing about Noas Ark, I heard about the book ofJasher. I read it and was fascinated. Now a friend has helped me translate itinto Danish. I would like to print this to make it known to more people. Itwill only be printed in a small number, and if it pays the profit will go to the DanishInteressgroup of Biblical Archeology (DIBA)...
from Henri Nissen, Denmark
Editors note: If you are interested in this Danishtranslation please contact: Mr. Henri Nissen henri@get2net.dk
Moses in Egyptian chronology
...Appendices C and H [of the Authentic Annals...] just blew me away. Any student of Jasher knows that Moses Ruled Ethiopia butI never considered that Moses might be found in the Egyptian Chronology. I am verywell aware that many of the rulers were co-regents with Egypt and Ethiopia was often aseat of power. For some reason, I always considered these two historical elements tobe soley in the realm of later dynasties. You have truly opened my eyes. If Moses was Isesi this explains why that figure was held in such high regard inlater Egyptian annals...
JL, Arkansas
Identities?
I guess Joshua/Joseph was king Ptolomeus the IVth. IsAbraham maybe a reference to the Egyptian God Ra? Is Sarah also a reference to theEgyptian God Ra? All this would perfectly fit in the best book ever published on theNT: Crucifixion and Turin Shroud mysteries Solved by Pierre Krijbolder, isbn9073290015.
JH, the Netherlands
Suspicious of Jasher
... I feel that the Book of Jasher that we have may well be aMormon text for the following: I note the same absence of cultural metaphor &simile, as well as similar hasty glossing over summations of Bible histories- as are foundin the Book of Mormon. (I did try to contact the Royal Asiatic Society through a link tosee, to see if they actually had a copy of the book of Jasher, whereupon my computercrashed! I will try again...)
Also, in the intro, (especially in paragraphs 3 & 5) the'translator' (another significant word, Mormon - wise) shows similar themes toMormonism: Smith had suggested that the Holy Bible is accurate 'only insofar asit has been correctly translated,' and that his Book of Mormon is the only 100%accurately translated work. There is also the subtle suggestion in the Book ofJasher intro that the Book of Jasher might somehow confirm (the Book of Mormon).
Also, we see a similarity of form in the Book of Jasher'sCertificates section - It's just like the 'testimonies of the Witnesses' sectionof the Book of Mormon.
One has to wonder, if some supposed Hebrew scholars point outhow the translation of certain parts differs from the Hebrew original, why the translatordid not amend those parts. It seems to say a couple of things: 1.this is thrown inas a red herring, as though to authenticate the existence of a Hebrew original throughciting fabricated 'differences' and 2. this also seem to suggest the being'recieved from an angel named Moroni' thing - the translator's assertion of hiswork being '100% accurate'.
Finally, there is the year of the work... This Book of Jashercould well be a so-called 'translation' by Joseph Smith, himself...
PM
Editors note: I suppose I canunderstand why you as a former Mormon would be senstitve to the issues you raise. Ido not wish to become embroiled in any pro-Mormon/ anti-Mormon controversy - that is yourbusiness. But I can shed some light on the issues you raise. I can understandyour suspicions, considering the dirth of critical information in the edition of Jasherthat you have. The copy of Jasher which you have is a reprint of the 1887 printingby J. H. Parry & Co. of Salt Lake City, which was indeed a Mormon publisher. They purchased the copyright from the estate of M. M. Noah. This edition is a verypopular printing and is the dominant one in print at this time. It is a veryattractive book, but there are several key parts that were omitted by J. H Parry & Co.that were included in the 1840 edition. I cannot speculate as to the motivation ofthe J. H. Parry publisher for omitting these parts. Prior to the time that ArtisanSales began distributing the J. H Parry reprint, they distributed the earlier printing bythe M. M. Noah publisher. This earlier edition did indeed contain the missingsections. Those sections were:
The translation of the Hebrew Preface written by thepublisher of a 1550 Hebrew printing of Jasher giving the history of the survival ofseveral Hebrew manuscripts of Jasher from which the publisher, a Italian Jewish publisherproduced the first typeset printing of Jasher. It was the first time that thatJasher had been reproduced since the first century - and the first time that it wasproduced by other than a scribe, one copy at a time.
The English translation of the Printers Preface - by the the1625 printer explaining how an ancient Hebrew text of Jasher (copied by a scribe namedJoseph of Attiyah in 1613) ) came to be in his possession after a diligent search, and how he felt compelled to publish it. The publishing enterprise was calledSignori Reformatorio del Studio de Padua'
M. M. Noah's Preface to the 1840 edition, that accompaniedhis printing.
And Incidentally, the Translators Preface that does appear inyour edition was written by the translator, Mr. Moses Samuel, of Liverpool England inabout 1839, prior to selling his translation to M. M. Noah.
Together these sections should fill in your understanding ofhow the Book of Jasher came down to us and it should go a long way toward quieting yoursuspicions.
Wayne Simpson
So, where does Josephus mention Jasher?
I have searched and searched to find in Josephus works thesentences quoted in Wayne Simpson's article on the Book of Jasher. They are simplynot there. I am convinced that you can not substantiate this claim of Josephushaving written about and mentioned the Book of Jasher... I suggest to you therefore thatuntil you can mention the precise location in the works of Jasephus of your quote, youinsert a remark that tells that it has been wrongly asserted that Josephus has mademention of or reference to this book.
JH
Editor response: You are quite right,sir. When I first published our edition of the book, I mentioned this quote inAppendix A of the book on the strength of it's having been mentioned in Mr. M. M.Noah's preface to the 1840 English edition. I now regret that I did not follow up byverifying this reference at the time. I have since searched for the reference aswell, and I must admit that I cannot verify it. I have indeed attached a footnote tothis reference in my Appendix A for future printings. The same material appears inmy article ' Is this the real Book of Jasher? mentioned earlier on this forum.' You will find this clarification printed there. Unfortunately itis too late to add it to all the present printing of the work.
I cannot know how Mr. Noah found such a reference or in whatedition of Josephus he found it (there are known to be more than one source for Josephusat the present time). However, there is on going investigation of this issue by Rev.Jim Collins of Ottawa. This research is preliminary, but I will post some of his commentson this subject later in this forum.
Where was Dinhaba (the ancestral home of Angeas, theKing of Africa)?
'The text makes it clear by stating. 'Dinhaba, which isAfrica.' By looking at a map, you'll see that Chittim (Italy) is closestto Africa in the area of Tunisia, which is where you will find ancient Carthage. Itis an established fact that the Carthaginians waged constant wars of plunder against theRomans. The most notable of these campaigns were the so-called Punic Wars that laterbrought a general named Hannibal to prominence. If we are to believe Sephar ha Yasher,there was no Carthage at the time of Angeas but just a few miles west, along the samecoastline, is a sight that is a strong contender for the ancient Dinhaba. It is aregion that has always been called Annaba.'
Excerpted from Wrestling with Angels, by Jim Long,which appeared in the VJRI Researcher. In the article the author draws heavily onhistorical information from Jasher.
From a LDS perspective...
Editors note: It has been mentionedearlier that the 1887 Parry & Co. edition of Jasher was printed by LDS printers inSalt Lake CIty, even though the book did not originate with them. Mr. John Pratt, anastronomer and a specialist in religious chronology and ancient calendars, has written aninformative article from the point of view of the Latter Day Saints. The articlewas recently published in Meridian, an online LDS magazine. You can read the articleon Mr. Pratts personal website at http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2002/jasher.html
Book Of Jasher Audio Online
Research from Jim Collins:
From Ottawa, Jim Collins has been exploring a possiblereference in Josephus of the Book of Jasher.
He writes:
Jasher is not a mideval forgery
Jim Collins has been able to obtain a reprint of the 1625Hebrew edition of the Book of Jasher.It was published by Madame JacquelineGenot-Bismuth, the chair of Ancient and Midieval Judaism at the Sorbonne. Her veryfine work includes a wealth of historical information of that era. Remarkablyhowever, she maintains that the work was made up by a midieval Spanish Jew, a positionheld by other scholars as well. Jim Collins takes exception with thisposition and presents his case in the following two analyses:
Website takes issue with Jasher
Appendix H
Moses - A King of Egypt?
Everyone knows the story of how Moses, a Hebrewbaby, was rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh and raised in the royal household. But is itpossible that Moses ever sat on the throne of Egypt? Curiously, there is strong evidencethat he did. The story is recorded in the Book of Jasher.
In chapters 73-77 of Jasher we read the strangestory of how Moses came to be crowned the king of Cush. By Cush we are accustomed torecognize that Ethiopia is meant. In actuality it may well mean more than that. TheCushites ranged considerably beyond the bounds of modern day Ethiopia. In the Book ofJubilees (ch. 9-10) we read that the families of Ham were chosen by a legal lottery,conducted by Noah in the presence of an angel, to inherit the land of Africa as ahomeland. Cush's portion was to be the easternmost part of Africa, right where Ethiopia istoday. However, Canaan rebelled and seized land that belonged rightfully to Shemites,including the modern land of Israel. Though Jubilees does not mention that other Hamitepeoples joined Canaan in appropriating the lands of Shem, it is clear that they did.Nimrod seems to have been a prime instigator, establishing his empire in the heart ofAssur, in the plain of Shinar, and expanding to engulf the whole of Mesopotamia, andperhaps more. Nimrod, of course, was a Cushite. But the other sons of Cush are listed inJasher 7.10. Most of those names are associated with areas in Asia, rather than Africa.Sheba (the Sabeans) located on both sides of the Red Sea, migrating into Ethiopia in latertimes. Havilah located in Assyria. Raama left his name in the island of Regmah in thePersian Gulf. Sabtecha left his name in the River Samidochus in Carmania, in modern Iran.And the name of Cush himself can be found in the Hindu Kush mountains, and the people ofCuthah, whom the king of Assyria later settled from his land into Samaria.
But even those Cushites who occupied their rightfullands did not confine themselves to the area presently known as Ethiopia. They occupiednorthern areas of the Sudan and even into Egypt itself. Indeed Egypt's 25th Dynasty wasCushite. The Cushites having been, on again, off again a part of Egypt were at that timein a position to annex Egypt.
It is important to realize that there is Egypt, andthere is Egypt, and then there is Egypt. Various areas of northeastern Africa were calledEgypt at different times. Strangely, there were parallel Egyptian kingdoms from time totime. It was not always a single united land under a single king. This brings us to thediscussion of Moses.
Jasher tells us, at some length, the story of Moses'reign over the Cushites. When he fled Egypt for fear of his life, he went to Kikianus,King of Cush, who welcomed him into his army. Kikianus was trying to quell a revolt amongthe Arameans and the Kedemites, in the area of Anatolia. Those peoples had been under hiscontrol at the time. He made the serious mistake of leaving Balaam, the son of Beor, incharge of his city during his military excursion. Balaam engineered a revolt among thepeople and usurped the kingdom, locking Kikianus out of the city. So Kikianus was forcedto lay siege to his own city for nine years. It was at this time that Moses joined thearmy of Kikianus.
Moses quickly gained an excellent reputation amongthe troops. Eventually Kikianus became ill and died. The troops then elected Moses to betheir king. Moses quickly devised a successful strategy and retook the city, gainingcontrol of the people of Cush once again. Moses reigned over Cush for forty years, beforepeacefully turning the kingship back over to Menacrus, the son of Kikianus, and thenmoving on to Midian. This episode was not mentioned in the Bible.
It is when we compare this story to the version inJosephus that we gain some important insight. I have reproduced Josephus' account of thisstory below from Book II Chapter 10 of Antiquities of the Jews:
1. Moses, therefore, when he was born, and brought up in the foregoing manner, and came to the age of maturity, made his virtue manifest to the Egyptians; and showed that he was born for the bringing them down, and raising the Israelites. And the occasion he laid hold of was this: The Ethiopians, who are next neighbors to the Egyptians, made an inroad into their country, which they seized upon, and carried off the effects of the Egyptians, who, in their rage, fought against them, and revenged the affronts they had received from them; but being overcome in battle, some of them were slain, and the rest ran away in a shameful manner, and by that means saved themselves; whereupon the Ethiopians followed after them in the pursuit, and thinking that it would be a mark of cowardice if they did not subdue all Egypt, they went on to subdue the rest with greater vehemence; and when they had tasted the sweets of the country, they never left off the prosecution of the war: and as the nearest parts had not courage enough at first to fight with them, they proceeded as far as Memphis, and the sea itself, while not one of the cities was able to oppose them. The Egyptians, under this sad oppression, betook themselves to their oracles and prophecies; and when God had given them this counsel, to make use of Moses the Hebrew, and take his assistance, the king commanded his daughter to produce him, that he might be the general of their army. Upon which, when she had made him swear he would do him no harm, she delivered him to the king, and supposed his assistance would be of great advantage to them. She withal reproached the priest, who, when they had before admonished the Egyptians to kill him, was not ashamed now to own their want of his help.
2. So Moses, at the persuasion both of Thermuthis and the king himself, cheerfully undertook business; And the sacred scribes of both nations were glad; those of the Egyptians, that they should at once overcome their enemies by his valour, and that by the same piece of management Moses would be slain; but those of the Hebrews, that they should escape from the Egyptians, because Moses was to be their general. But Moses prevented the enemies, and took and led his army before those enemies were apprized of his attacking them; for he did not march by the river, but by land, where he gave a wonderful demonstration of his sagacity; for when the ground was difficult to be passed over, because of the multitude of serpents, (which it produces in vast numbers, and, indeed is singular in some of those productions, which other countries do not breed, and yet such as are worse than others in power and mischief, and an unusual fierceness of sight, some of which ascend out of the ground unseen, and also fly in the air, and so come upon men at unawares, and do them a mischief,) Moses invented a wonderful stratagem to preserve the army safe, and without hurt; for he made baskets, like unto arks, of sedge, and filled them with ibes, and carried them along with them; which animal is the greatest enemy to serpents imaginable, for they fly from them when they come near them; and as they fly they are caught and devoured by them, as if it were done by the harts; but the ibes are tame creatures, and only enemies to the serpentine kind: but about these ibes I say no more at present, since the Greeks themselves are not unacquainted with this sort of bird. As soon, therefore, as Moses was come to the land which was the breeder of these serpents, he let loose the ibes, and by their means repelled the serpentine kind, and used them for assistants before the army came upon that ground. When he had therefore proceeded thus on his journey, he came upon the Ethiopians before they expected him; and joining battle with them, he beat and deprived them of the hopes they had of success against the Egyptians, and went on in overthrowing their cities, and indeed made a great slaughter of these Ethiopians. Now when the Egyptian army had once tasted of this prosperous success, by the means of Moses, they did not slacken their diligence, insomuch that the Ethiopians were in danger of being reduced to slavery, and all sorts of destruction; and at length, they retired to Saba, which was a royal city of Ethiopia, which Cambyses afterwards named Meroe, after the name of his own sister. The place was to be besieged with very great difficulty, since it was both encompassed by the Nile quite round, and the other rivers, Astapus and Astaboras, made it a very difficult thing for such as attempted to pass over them; for the city was situate in a retired place, and was inhabited after the manner of an island, being encompassed with a strong wall, and having the rivers to guard them from their enemies, and having great ramparts between the wall and the rivers, insomuch, that when the waters come with the greatest violence, it can never be drowned; which ramparts make it next to impossible for even such as are gotten over the rivers to take the city. However, while Moses was uneasy at the army's lying idle, (for the enemies durst not come to a battle,) this accident happened:
-Tharbis was the daughter of the king of the Ethiopians: She happened to see Moses as he led the army near the walls and fought with great courage; and admiring the subtility of his undertakings, and believing him to be the author of the Egyptians' success, when they had before despaired of recovering their liberty, and to be the occasion of the great danger the Ethiopians were in, when they had before boasted of their great achievements, she fell deeply in love with him; and upon the prevalency of that passion, sent to him the most faithful of all her servants to discourse with him about their marriage. He thereupon accepted the offer on condition she would procure the delivering up of the city; and gave her the assurance of an oath to take her to his wife; and that when he had once taken possession of the city, he would not break his oath to her. No sooner was the agreement made, But it took effect immediately; and when Moses had cut off the Ethiopians, he gave thanks to God, and consummated his marriage, and led the Egyptians back to their own land.'
Now when we compare the two accounts several factorsbecome clear. First of all, it is obvious that it is the same story in spite of broaddifferences. Moses' foe were Ethiopians. The situation of the city on an island surroundedby water is the same. The strategy of using the ibises (Jasher says storks) to kill thesnakes was the same. A marriage for Moses was part of the story. Perhaps careful analysiscould resolve some of the differences between the two accounts, but that is not reallygermane to the issue at hand. The really important factor in Josephus' account is thatMoses was fighting on the side of EGYPTIANS, against Ethiopians. This means that theCushites were originally under an Egyptian King, and therefore they, though rebels, wereconsidered part of Egypt or at least one of the Egyptian kingdoms. Might we find thatthere is an Egyptian dynasty on record that is associated with this region, in the OldKingdom period? I believe there is such a dynasty.
[I am sorry that these charts that follow may nothave straight columns. It is almost impossible to make them come out straight underall
search engines]
Egypt's Fifth Dynasty
(taken from Archeological History of the AncientMiddle East, by Jack Finegan p.220
___________________________________________________________________________________
Manetho Personal name Horus Name Years of reign
1. Usercheres Userkaf Irmaat 7
2. Sephres Sahure Nebkhau 14
3. Nephercheres NeferirkareKakai Userkhau 10
4. Siseres Shepseskare Sekhemkhau 7
5. Cheres Neferefre Neferrkhau 7(?)
6. Rathures Neuserre Isetibtowy [3] 1
7. Mencheres Menkauhor Akauhor Menkhau 8
8. Tancheres Djedkare Isesi Djedkahau 39(?)
9. Onnus Unis Wadjtowy 30
___________________________________________________________________________________
Above is a list of the kings of Egypt's FifthDynasty. This dynasty ostensibly was ruled from Elephantine according to Manetho.Elephantine is located near the first cataract, far south of most of the rest of Egypt. Itis shown on ancient maps as the boundary of the land of Cush. It was the southern frontierof Egypt proper. This dynasty probably controlled the area to the south including Meroe.Since Moses was able to hide there from Pharaoh Melol, it may well have been independentof other Egypt(s) to the north.
If we examine the king list of this Fifth Dynasty,we see some interesting surprises. Notice that the third king is named Neferirkare Kakai.Could this be Kikianus of Jasher? He reigned ten years. Remember that he was nine yearslaying siege to his own city before he died. Further, it was common for tributary kingdomsto revolt when a new king took the throne, and we first hear about Kikianus when he wasputting down a revolt. A 10 year reign is reasonable for Kikianus.
There is reason to believe that the kings of thisdynasty were not necessarily successive. The first three kings were triplet sons of thewife of a Fourth Dynasty priest. They may have reigned simultaneously. In any case, theremainder of this list may also be in a rather erratic order. After Neferirkare Kakai,three kings of short reigns are shown. Shepsikare Isi, seven years; Neferefre, seven(?)years; and Neuserre, one or perhaps three years. Could any of these be Balaam and/or histwo sons mentioned in Jasher 72.3? The time they had control of the city was about nineyears.
Then the next king is shown as Menkauhor Akauhor,known in Manetho as Mencheres. How curious it is that the son of Kikianus was namedMenacrus in Jasher 76.7. Notice the similarity. Menacrus was prevented from taking hisrightful place on the throne of Cush because of the events of his father's death and theusurpation of the kingdom and, finally, the election of Moses as King. Except for onething, Moses could very likely have been the father of a new dynasty. Though he tookAdoniah, the wife of the former Pharaoh, he refused to have sexual relations her. It was acommon custom among Egyptian royalty to pass wives to successive pharaohs, but Moses wouldhave none of it. After forty years of Moses' reign, Adoniah complained before the noblesthat Menacrus, who was now certainly of age, should be the rightful king. Adoniah's demandwas heeded by the nobles, and they coronated Menacrus, and negotiated an honorableabdication with Moses, who was paid handsomely for his years of service. Notice thatMencheres reign was only eight years, suggesting that he took the throne later in life, aswas the case with Menacrus. Can there be any doubt that these two are one and the same?
But if Moses were a king in this Dynasty, would wenot find his name there as well. Take a careful look at the next king, Djedkare Isesi.Notice that he reigned 39 years. But didn't Jasher say that he reigned 40 years in 73.2.Of course, 39 is very close to 40, but there is reason to believe that the 40 year figureis rounded off. If you compare 73.2 with 76.12 you will see that Moses began his reignwhen he was 27 and he stepped down when he was 66. That is 39 years, EXACTLY THE SAME ASIN PROFESSOR FINEGAN'S CHART.
But what about the name? It bears little resemblanceto Moses, unless you equate Isesi with Moses. That seems a little too contrived. Theanswer is that Moses had other names that are recorded in Jasher 58. One of those nameswas Jared, which bears a similarity to Djedkare.
The pyramid of Djedkare Isesi has not beenthoroughly investigated. Two archeologists started an excavation but died beforecompleting their work and they left no account of thier work for others to continue. Thereare a large number of Papyrus fragments, however, that date from this reign. They all dealwith the funerary property and administration of Neferirkare Kakai. This would be exactlywhat one would expect to see from Isesi (Moses), who took over the kingship when Kakaidied.
There is a curious scene associated with the pyramidof Unis, the last king listed in this dynasty (not necessarily the last king to reign). Itshows emaciated figures, dying of hunger. Could this be a record of the suffering of thepeople of Cush during the nine year siege under Kakianus? The timing seems right. DjedkareIsesi is listed out of sequence too, although he could be identical with Shepseskare Isiwho is listed after Kakai, if he were in some way promoted during the siege due to favorwith the king. The two short term rulers listed next may have been Balaam and one of hissons who seized the kingdom in Kakianus' absense. These things are, of course,speculation, but they seem to fit the scenario of Jasher. Accordingly we would reorder theFifth Dynasty in the following manner:
Proposed Revision of the Fifth Dynas
Personal name Reign in Jasher
___________________________________________________________
1.Userkaf 7
2.Sahure 14
3.Neferirkare Kakai 10 KikainusSoon after taking the throne, he subdues
Aram& Kedmah. Upon returning, his city
is in posession of Balaam and his sons.
4.Neferefre 7 Balaam? concurrent with Kikainus
5.Neuserre 3 a son of Balaam co-regnal with Balaam concurrent with Kikainus
6.Shepseskare Isi 7 Moses? After joining Kikainus, he finds favor and
is promoted to military ralue under Kikianus
7.Djedkare Isisi 39 Moses As king of Cush
8.Menkauhor Akauhor 8 Menacrus takes the throne afterMoses steps down.
9.Unis 30
___________________________________________________________________________
There is one further issue to this story. For years Bible commentators have stumbled over the account of Numbers 12 in which Moses was accused because of his Ethiopian wife. They assumed it was Zipporah in question, who was clearly a Midianite, not a Cushite. Jasher, of course, has the answer. Moses did indeed have an Ethiopian wife, in addition to Zipporah, although she had undoubtedly remained in Cush, and was not accompanying Moses.
So we conclude that Moses was indeed a king over oneof the Egyptian kingdoms. He probably had no idea that he was being trained by the God ofIsrael to be leader of his people just a few years in the future. When the proper timecame, he had forty years experience at rulership.
I have presented strong evidence to show that Moseswas indeed king of the Cushites for about 40 years. But the issues raised by the compilerof the list of Jasher problems, couches the problem a little differently:
positing that the Bible insists that Moses wentdirectly from Egypt to Midian, and that it happened when Moses was age 40, based on Acts7:23-30. I would point out that it is reading more into Exodus than is actually stated tosay that it can only mean that Moses went directly to Midian from Egypt. By having Mosesgo first to Cush and finally to Midian does not preclude that he went to Midian. He justwent to Cush first. Exodus 2:15 simply states that Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh,and that he lived in the land of Midian. It does not insist that he went directly toMidian immediately. Jasher's account does not interfere with the account in Exodus at all.Both accounts can still be true. Jasher simply provides more details about Moses' travelsthan the biblical account. Even the language in Acts 7:23 does not have to mean tha Moseswent directly from Egypt to Midian, except for the chronolical indications there.
In regard to the related chronological issue,however, there is indeed a contradiction between Jasher and Acts 7. In fact, I believethis is the only real contradiction in the list. For Jasher 71 states clearly that Moseswas 18 years old, whereas Acts 7 says he was full forty years old. There is no reconcilingthese two accounts.
I would point out, however, that Jasher came out ofa Jewish culture, not out of a Christian culture. It is no secret that the Jews do notaccept the New Testament as a legitimate part of the Bible. So they could care less thatActs says something different. As a Noachide, I would concur with this. I do not regardthe New Testament as having the authority of scripture either.
Now, I realize that this opens a huge can of wormsin the minds of those with a traditional Christian mindset. Most Christians are accustomedto viewing tha New Testament as superceding the Hebrew Bible. Therefore, it would be forthem a dilemma to accept both accounts here. Most would likely accept the New Testamentaccount as the correct one. I can offer no reconciliation of this problem in this case.
The Book Of Jasher Book
It is not my purpose here to bash the Christianview. But I cannot answer this particular point without articulating the difficultiesinvolved here. In our view there are many contradictions between the New Testament and theso called Old Testament, not only theologically but in the accuracy of relating OldTestament accounts. Jews and Noachides also understand that there has never been anymechanism in place to assure that the New Testament has been carefully preserved. In factmany scholars admit that wide scale corruption of the text of the New Testament has takenplace. Even if it were accepted as inspired and endorsed by God, one cannot truly dependon the text to be accurate. We perceive that Christians ignore these problems and try toexplain them away. The existence of such problems are in part why Jews and Noachides donot ascribe scriptural authority to the New Testament. To adequately document this wouldrequire a book length treatment. That is beyond the scope of this article.
So I freely acknowledge that a clear differenceexists in the chronology concerning the age of Moses when he left Egypt. Our readers are,as always, free to believe what they choose.
Who told Abraham that Sarah would have ason?
In the above list of supposed problems with Jasher,one item is:
Jasher 18:9 states that one of the angels tells Abraham that Sarah will have a son, butGen. 17:16 says that God told Abraham.
Is there a contradiction here? No. Here is why.
The Hebrew word for angel is Melach. Its meaning issimply a messenger. A messenger bears a message. Numerous places in the Bible, God sendsmessages by angels. In fact, all angels mentioned in the Bible are sent by God with amessage, a command, a prophecy, or an assigned task. They do not come with their ownmessage. So who could argue that a message delivered by an angel and spoken by an angel isnot a message from God. Jewish tradition has it that every word ( it also means thing inHebrew) that is spoken by God creates an angelic messenger to carry it out His command.
One example of this is in Gen 3:23. When Adam andEve sinned, God sent them from the garden. How did He do this? He placed the Cherubim andthe flaming sword at the entrance to the garden to keep them out. The Cherubimcarried out Gods command, not only delivering the message, but enforcing it as well. In fact, it appears that the Cherubim were spoken into existence to carry out thistask. So Jasher 18:9 does not contradict Gen. 17:16 at all. It is simply another versionof what happened.
Wayne Simpson
Can Babies Prophesy?
The writer of the list says:
Jasher 44:62-68 - This passage isbizarre - God has an 11 month old baby talk and tell of his mother's (Potifar's wife)advances toward Joseph.
Why is this a problem? Lots of babies are beginningto talk at 11 months. To be sure, this child was precocious. But even more than that, hewas given supernatural knowledge of what he spoke and supernatural help in the speaking aswell. Has not God caused prophets of all kinds to speak His words, even including secretsthought to be concealed (for example, Nathan told King David of his secret sin in takingBathsheba, which David thought he had concealed.)? Sometimes God has chosen the mostunlikely prophets to deliver His message. Jeremiah was just a youth when he was chosen.Amos was just a herdsman. God even caused a gentile king, Nebuchadnazzar, to come to theplace that he wrote what was to become the entire 4th chapter of the Book of Daniel. AndHe even went so far as to cause Balaam's ass to speak. Is it not a small thing thereforeto put the most delicate secrets into the mouth of an 11 month old baby? This isespecially true when God wanted to protect Joseph, whom God had obviously placed in Egyptto fulfill the future destiny of protecting the fledgling nation of Israel while it grewin Egypt. Though this episode is not mentioned in the Torah, it is in no way out ofcharacter.
One seems to get the mindset from the compiler ofthis list that nothing could have happened in the lives of the patriarchs and the earlycharacters of the Bible unless it is mentioned in the Bible. This is certainly naive, forGenesis alone covers about 2300 years of history in 50 short chapters. Is it impossiblefor records to exist of other episodes and other details in the lives of those people? Ofcourse not. If there were no other information available except what is contained in theBible, of what value would any parallel reference be (like Josephus, for example)?
Wayne Simpson
About Joseph talking with Rachel at hergrave...
The list of supposed problems says:
Jasher 3:38 --Mentions snow before the flood. This doesn't seem possible because there wasn't any rainyet according to Genesis 2:5-6 and 7:4.
To respond to this one only needs to consult the science ofmeteorology. Snow is not formed by freezing rain. When rain is frozenit turns to sleet, or if it freezes after it falls it becomes ice.
Snow is formed when water vapor, fog, or mist condenses on dustparticles in the atmosphere. So rain was not required to be present in the timebefore the flood in order to have snow. But was mist present? Indeed therewas. Genesis 2:6, the same passage that was cited as evidence that there was norain, says:
'But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the wholeface of the ground.'
Comments on the Authenticity of the Book of Jasher...
Dear Wayne,
I thought I would send this to you to confirm the Biblical basis andauthenticity of the Book of Jasher (The Book of the Upright/Righteous) in a way that hasnot been done up until now.
Then The LORD said to Moses, 'Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it (place it in the ears of ) to Joshua, that I willutterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.' Exodus 17:14
And Moses wrote all these things in a book, and he enjoined thechildren of Israel respecting all these matters. Jasher LXXXI:62
This book was written and commanded during and after the attack of theAmalekites. the close connection with these events and the eventual history of theAmalekites is significant and I will try to connect this information.
As you can tell by the statement here, Moses was commanded by GodAlmighty to write another book. Therefore, this book is significant, and this bookshould have been included in with the rest of the books of the Bible. Because it was'lost' for a period of time indicates that the information in this book was ofspecific nature and content to be read and understood in a special way. I believeyou told me once that this was written for deeper study and understanding of the Bible.
What I find interesting is that the end of the Book of Jasher ends withthe death of Joshua, (Judges 2:10) another way of indicating that this book was writtenfor the 'ears of Joshua' and as soon as he died then this book also reached itsend... this internal proof indicates that the scribe who finished the writing ofthis book was following the orders of Moses and recorded the text up through this timeperiod.
Another internal proof is in the passage of Ex. 17 where it talksabout the attack of Amalek on the Israelites. Little detail is discussed about thisattack yet more detail and info is recorded in Jasher LXXXI ff about this and otherattacks. This would lead one to think that the other title to the book could havebeen called 'The Book of the Wars of the LORD' Numbers 21:14 as this bookdescribes many battles and victories that the sons of Jacob had over their enemies,including a battle that occurred one week before Yom Teruah (Rosh HaShanah) which was a'type' of our present day attack on New York City's twin towers on September 11. Is this a pattern that we need to be aware of for future things / events that willbe happening???
The commandment to exterminate Amalek is recorded in Deuteronomy25:17-19 Remember what Amalek did to you along the way, when you came out fromEgypt, how he met you along the way, and attacked among you all the stragglers , at yourrear, when you were faint and weary, and he did not fear God. Therefore it shallcome about when the LORD, your God, has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies,in the land which the LORD, your God, gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shallblot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget. (!!!) Some ofthe commentators of this passage state that the Amalekites were willing to kill themselvesso that others would war against the Jewish people. Sounds a lot like thePalestinians of today, doesn't it!
Accordingly Deuteronomy 7:2, the sages taught that it was a Positive commandment todestroy the 7 nations completely. Anyone able to perform this mitzvah and who doesnot has violated the negative commandment of 'do not let any of them survive.' Deut 20:16. Mishna Torah, Melachim 5:4: Positive commandment to destroy thememory of Amalek as it says: Erase the memory of Amalek. Deut. 25:19. Melachim 5:5
In Judges 3:12-15 Moab and Ammon and Amalek raised up against Israel and a'messiah' named Ehud delivered them!
In Judges 5:14 There is an interesting statement... 'Ephraim who's root is inAmalek.'
I Samuel 15:3 Samuel commanded Saul to destroy all that Amalek had, man, woman,child and beasts.. according to Midrash the Amalekites were sorcerers who couldtransform themselves to resemble animals in order to avoid captivity (Rashi). ArtScroll. We would call these kinds of people in today's language ...'Shapeshifters.' One would wonder if the science fiction writer didn't get thisinfo from these ancient sources...
Later in I Samuel 15:15, 32-35 King Saul gave some 'latitude' to Agag theking of the Amalekites, and the sages teach that Agag cohabited that night, with theresult that his wife became pregnant, thus preserving the seed of Amalek. AaamaDikra contends that Agag's wife was not an Amalekite, and was therefore not included inthe commandment to wipe out that evil nation. This would explain why she was notexecuted along with her husband... ArtScroll
According to Jasher LXXXI:61ff And the king who shall have pity on Amalek, or uponhis memory or upon his seed, behold I will require it of him, and I will cut him off fromamongst his people. Is this the basis for why King Saul was 'cut off fromamongst his people' as king and his legacy as king stopped. ? Since thisprophecy was fulfilled as stated in the Book of Jasher... does this mean that it falls inthe perview of 'sacred text' since it has fulfilled prophecy and was written byMoses himself...!!??
It appears that the offspring of that union ended up being Haman theAgagite as found in the Book of Esther. Because of his evil deeds, Haman was hangedon the 17th of Nisan (Aviv) [the day of Christ's resurrection] Esther 7:10, and his 10sons were hanged on the 14th of Adar (Purim) Esther 9:14-16. The battle called'Desert Storm (1991)' was a recent fulfillment of the same concepts of the Bookof Esther.
The blotting out of the Amalekites occurred in I Chronicles 4:43 whenin the days of King Hezekiah, the sons of Simeon and others... 'And they destroyed(smote) the remnants of the Amalekites who escaped, and have lived there to thisday.'
The origin of the Amalekites and the anger of God against them wasanother interesting find... In I Chronicles 1:29-33; 35-36; 44; This is tied in withGenesis Chapter 25 and Jasher 25 and Genesis 36 and other genealogical records thatconnect the Book of Job and the 'friends' of Job to the Amalekites. Eliphaz the Temanite is the father of Amalek the father of the Amalekites. Then inJob 42:7 'And it came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, thatthe LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, 'My wrath is kindled against you and againstyour two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Jobhas.' Was this the beginning of the wrath of God against the Amalekites becausethey did not repent and took a disliking to Job (who later converts to Judaism)??? andthus the hatred of the Jews by the Amalekites started with the account of Job?!
This event of Job 42 is followed by a sacrifice offering that isreminiscent of a Succoth offering or a Yom Kippur offering. Does this meanthat Job converts to Judaism at this point? Verse 9 says and the LORD accepted Job. This phrase in the Hebrew could better be translated 'and the LORDshowed has face (A-Z) to Job. In Verse 10 it says that the LORD increased all thatJob had 'Twofold'. But that same word 'Twofold' could betranslated as Mishna or Oral Law. The verses that follow show that his daughterswere named and were given inheritance among their brothers which is a 'Jewish'custom. The sons names are not mentioned. This is reminiscent of the accountin Numbers 27:1-11 Where the Daughters of Zelophehad also received an inheritancefrom their father by divine decree. This would almost get one to thinking that hemay have married a descendant of Jacob. This indicates that Job learns all of theOral Law at the time that he sees the face of the LORD. That sounds like asalvation experience to me. !
So the history of the Amalekites goes from the time of the captivity ofIsrael in Egypt (the account of Job who has an integral part in Egypt) until just beforethe time of the captivity of Israel going into Babylon (King Hezekiah's reign).
The following are points why I feel that the Book of Jasher should beincluded in with the text of Scripture and considered 'Sacred Text'.
1). The internal tone of the book of Jasher has a Mosaic ring toit. Moses' hand is on this book.
2). The interweaving nature of the book of Jasher with Torah isindicative of the same writer including and excluding some information from one book tothe other as if they are to be interwoven in the same manner as the Challah Bread is thatis eaten every Sabbath.
3). The Book is broken down into Parashat readings as is thecustom of the Torah.
4). The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Book
5). The Prophetic types and shadows in the Book
6). The acceptance of the book by Jewish custom from thebeginning.
7). The fact that it is quoted by the Apostle Paul and referencedto by many of the NT Writers
8). The development of the Nazarite (vow and effect of one undersuch a vow)
9). The connection of the patriarchs and the subsequenthistorical events of their descendants with the rise and spread of the religions of theworld. i.e. Catholicism, Judaism, Islam
10). The fact that it is written in Hebrew like the rest ofTorah.
Sincerely,
Eric Paschall
Issue: when did Isaac die?
Audio Book Of Jasher Complete
From the list of Jasher problems, we read...
Jasher 43:35 -- Isaac went from Hebron to comfort Jacob, hisson, because Joseph is dead (sold). Gen. 35:27-29 Isaac died before
Joseph even dreamed his dreams.
Also related tothis is the following:
The Bible is not always in chronological sequence. There arestory threads that are carried forward to a conclusion and then the narrative jumps backto pickup another story thread. There are also large gaps of time in the narrativethat are easy to overlook if you do not read carefully and if you make the assumptionsthat consecutive events are always immediate. That is the situation we have here.Rather than wade through pages of chronological quotes I will refer you to the JewishTimeline Encyclopedia, by Mattis Kantor, published by Jason Aronson, inc. page 18& 19. We see that Isaac blessed Jacob instead of Esau in the year 2171 whenIsaac was 123. But when we read Genesis 35:27-29, we see that Isaac did not dieuntil he reached the age of 180 - that's 57 years later. A lot can happen in 57years. In this case, in the King James translation we got the impression thatEsau threatened to kill Jacob immediately. But it does not make sense that that Esauwould think that Isaac was on the verge of death when he lived for another 57 years. In fact, the verse is not translated accurately. In the Artscroll Tanach it reads'May the days of morning for my father draw near, then I will kill my brotherJacob.' Further, though this follows immediately in the text of Genesis,it does not say how much time passed before Esau was heard to say this. Jasher29:21-23 tells that it was after Jacobs 14 year stay with Shem and Eber that he returnedto see his father and mother. It was at this time that Esau's anger waskindled and he make the threat to kill him. When Rachel overheard this she toldIsaac to go to Laban. Jacob left but even then he did not go directly toLaban. He dwelt for a time with the Children of the East (the Kedemites) beforegoing to Laban.
Jacob surely realized that it would be smart to get out of Esau'sreach and thus decided it was time get to Shem and Eber's House of Study. hopingthat Esau's anger would cool.
There was actually ample time from the time of Isaac's blessing forthe following events which are listed in the Bible or Jasher to take place:
14 years-Jacob spends in the House Of Study of Shem and Eber to geta proper Hebrew religious education. Tradition has it that Esau refused to persuesuch an education.
7 years - Jacob lives among the Children of the East and/orHaran. During this time he had the dream of the ladder and the Angels.
14 years - Jacob works for Laban in return for his wives Leah andRachel. They were married right away and Joseph in the 7th year of thisperiod.
3 years - Benjamin in born and Rachel dies.
8 years - Joseph is sold into slavery. and Jacob mourns his apparentdeath.
This totals only 46 years whereas Isaac lived another 57 years, meaning that Isaac would still have been alive to comfort Jacob for the loss of Joseph.
Response to Eric Paschall
concerning a September 11 pattern in Jasher.
Eric,
Interesting thesis but I do not see any pattern that fits Sept. 11th:
(1) The lives of the Patriarch (including Jacob) was a template for the later experiencesof the nation of Israel. This is a Torah principle. The battle in Jasher would be aprophetical blueprint for something that would happen to national Israel (not the US).
(2) Following the above precept, Jasher 37:4 implies an event that happens when Israelreturned to 'their land' (remember they legally purchased a large plot nearShechem) and was surrounded by enemies. They would be vastly outnumbered andattacked without provocation. It seems obvious that we are looking at a foreshadowing ofthe modern clashes between the modern State of Israel and her vast Arab neighbors aswitnessed in the 1948 War of Independence, the 1967 Six Day War (it oddly sounds more likethis battle) or possibly another battle yet to take place.
(2)You have reversed the concept of the brave few (sons of Jacob) fighting the many evilCanaanite kings. In the tragedy of 9/11 it was a few (evil hijackers) wreaking havoc onthe many innocent civilians. If you are going to talk about patterns, then there has to besomething in the events that resemble each other...otherwise, it ain't a pattern.
And since you brought it up, I want to address this misconception of Rosh Hashanah. Thatphrase never appears in the Hebrew of the Torah--anywhere. In Exodus 12:2, God restoresthe Calendar to Israel (which was forgotten by the Hebrews during their bondage), tellingMoses, 'this month will be the beginning of months for you it will the beginning('rishon',in other words, 'the head') of the year.' This was atthe Spring equinox, in the days preceding the Passover Feast which is still celebrated inthe Spring of the year.
God commands Israel to appear before the Lord three times a year. There are manyreferences to this commandment and none of these festivals occur on the first day of thefirst month. Levitcus 23:24 commands that the shofar be blown on the first day of theSeventh Month--how can the Seventh month be the beginning of a year?
In this context, the phrase the 'end of the year' often appears in the English.However, the Hebrew rendering is much different. The Torah employs the word'tekufah' which really means the completion of a cycle, implying a return. Sincethe Seventh month occurs at the Autumn equinox, 'tekufah' is actually referringto our planet reaching the far end of its elliptical path and returning back to the sun.
I hope this helps.
Shalom,
Jim Long
Further explanation of a Sept. 11 pattern in Jasher fromEric Paschall
Wayne,
You asked me if I could show you how the Pattern of September 11 wasseen in the Book of Jasher and to give you a rundown on the account.... well.... heregoes...
The Book Of Jasher Audio Free Download
In Jasher 37 we have the attack by the kings of Canaanites (about 10of them) against the 10 sons of Jacob (who had an army of 112 men vs. 20). [Couldthis battle been one that was recorded as being with the 'Spartans'(Sarton) of lore (38:50, 52, 49:1....).]
Then in 39:14 it talks about the 5th day of the battle...
Then in 50:13 the 6th day appeared where they traveled back to theirhome of Shechem vs. 17 and rested from the war that evening (the beginning of theSabbath vs. 23 says that the day was the 7th day or the Sabbath day!)
Vs. 28 says that they remained in the field 10 days which means thatthe Sabbath day as defined in vs. 23 had do be Yom Teruah (or Rosh HaShannah as iscommonly referred to today).
Vs. 29 Says that the sons of Jacob assembled and went to Shechemwhich implies that they celebrated Succoth/Tabernacles Vs. 30 says 40days later puts you at Kislev 1 or New Moon
Free Book Of Jasher
51:1 Says: at the revolution of the year the sons of Jacobjourneyed from Shechem and came to Hebron this clearly indicates that the time wasat Rosh HaShannah (Yom Teruah) as in the previous chapter.
I hope this shows that the battle took place one week before YomTeruah and was thus a pattern for 9 -11- 01.
Eric Paschall
Rejoinder from Eric Paschall on the issue of aSeptember 11 pattern in Jasher
Jim,
Great response!!! thanks... Regarding the Pattern... I was thinking thatthe unprovoked attack was the pattern and it was done at a specific time. There aremany patterns of festivals all throughout scripture and it is good to see a different yetimportant pattern in Jasher. Yes... Israel is attacked in their land... wereyou aware that one of the only Sabbath keeping Jewish owned banks was located in the firstfloor of the towers? Regarding the term RoshHa Shannah... it would appear that the sons of Jacob were referring to this time of theyear since it was well before the Exodus command of changing the designation of thebeginning of the year. They were using the term in their vernacular at the time ofthe story... 9-11 occurred one week before Rosh Ha Shannah / Yom Teruah that year. I feel that the 9 - 11 attack was a wake up callspiritually to look at the pattern of the sons of Jacob... Would you agree that they were acting as Nazarites in thisbattle??? Therefore we need to look into the concept of the Nazarite warrior alittle deeper. I think this is a major point that is overlooked in the Bible. Something to think about... :-)
Eric Paschall
James Trimm - another interesting reference to Jasher
The Book of Jasher Ch. 70 describes an event when Moses wasthree. I suspect this was the 'weaning celebration' when Moses was turned over to theDaughter of Pharaoh (see Exodus 2:10) Josephus also mentions what appears to be the sameevent in his Book 2 Chapter 9, pp 68 (The Works of Josephus Translated by WilliamWhiston). The details are different but they appear to be based on the same originalstory.
I am using this incedent in thesecond volume of my five volume novel 'Moses of Avaris'. I have also woven someof the ideas I gained from the Book of Jasher in the first volume which is now availableat Amazon.com if any of the members of this forum would like to read it. A short snipitabout the book is included in my signature if it can be included in my submission.
Bob Evans - Author of MOSES OF AVARIS
Check it out at Amazon.com or at http://evanslilypad.com/MosesofAvaris.html
During the sojourn of Israel in Egypt (1652 – 1424 BCE) Avaris was the capital andlargest city of the province of Goshen. This is the story of the departure of Israel, thelast of the Hebrew (Hyksos) nations to leave Egypt, and of their leader, Moses the Prophetof God. This novel is classified fiction, but is based on historical and scriptural truthand may paint a more accurate picture of the Exodus than do traditional accounts.
Jannes& Jambres (posted 9/25/09
II Tim
2Ti 3:8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose
the truth-men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are
rejected.
2Ti 3:9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men,
their folly will be clear to everyone.
The names Jannes and Jambres do not appear anywhere else in the Bible
In the Book of Jasher we find this:
Chapter 79
27 And when they had gone Pharaoh sent for Balaam the magician and to Jannes
and Jambres his sons, and to all the magicians and conjurors and counsellors
which belonged to the king, and they all came and sat before the king.
Paul must have known about the Book of Jasher or could there have been
another source.
Sorry, because of the vulnerability of webserver based e-mail such as this to viruses, no further submissions are being allowed atthis time.
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