Jump to content
  • Welcome Guest

    For an ad free experience on Online Baptist, Please login or register for free

The Book Of Jasher - Joshua 10:13, 2 Samuel 1:18


beameup

Recommended Posts

  • Members

There are two references in the Old Testament to the Book of Jasher:
Is not this written in the book of Jasher? from Joshua 10:18
Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow:
behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.
2 Samuel 1:18

In the 4th Chapter of the Book of Jasher, we read:
16 And all the sons of men departed from the ways of the Lord in those days as they multiplied upon the face of the earth with
sons and daughters, and they taught one another their evil practices and they continued sinning against the Lord.
17 And every man made unto himself a god, and they robbed and plundered every man his neighbor as well as his relative,
and they corrupted the earth, and the earth was filled with violence.
18 And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice,
and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught
the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt,
for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.
19 And the Lord said, I will blot out man that I created from the face of the earth, yea from man to the birds of the air, together with cattle
and beasts that are in the field for I repent that I made them.


Compare Genesis 6:1-6
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
There were giants (lit: nephilim) in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men,
and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.



NOTE: there are several "versions" of Jasher, but they correspond in this section.
Like the Septuagint (quoted in the N.T.), and the Book of Enoch, it has no doubt
been modified somewhat over the centuries but is useful for historical purposes.
over the centuries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

What's the point of the OP?  That the Lord couldn't preserve His Word and left out a book we're all supposed to read?


I follow all leads left by the Holy Spirit in the Word.
If the Holy Spirit did not want us to follow the clues
that He has put in the Word, then He wouldn't put them there, IMO.

I believe we are living in the last days before the Church is Raptured,
and that the Lord wants us to study, learn and be prepared to warn others.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I follow all leads left by the Holy Spirit in the Word.
If the Holy Spirit did not want us to follow the clues
that He has put in the Word, then He wouldn't put them there, IMO.

I believe we are living in the last days before the Church is Raptured,
and that the Lord wants us to study, learn and be prepared to warn others.

Those references to the book of Jasher were placed in the Word for the original audience who were readily familiar with that book.

 

The KJB contains all we need in order to learn of the Lord and what warning to give others. We are charged to spread the Gospel and make disciples.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

There are two references in the Old Testament to the Book of Jasher:
Is not this written in the book of Jasher? from Joshua 10:18
Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow:
behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.
2 Samuel 1:18

In the 4th Chapter of the Book of Jasher, we read:
16 And all the sons of men departed from the ways of the Lord in those days as they multiplied upon the face of the earth with
sons and daughters, and they taught one another their evil practices and they continued sinning against the Lord.
17 And every man made unto himself a god, and they robbed and plundered every man his neighbor as well as his relative,
and they corrupted the earth, and the earth was filled with violence.
18 And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice,
and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught
the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt,
for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.
19 And the Lord said, I will blot out man that I created from the face of the earth, yea from man to the birds of the air, together with cattle
and beasts that are in the field for I repent that I made them.


Compare Genesis 6:1-6
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
There were giants (lit: nephilim) in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men,
and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.



NOTE: there are several "versions" of Jasher, but they correspond in this section.
Like the Septuagint (quoted in the N.T.), and the Book of Enoch, it has no doubt
been modified somewhat over the centuries but is useful for historical purposes.
over the centuries.

I wouldn't try using the Book of Jasher to prove something in Genesis. The Book of Jasher that's around today is an apocryphal book (there are actually five books) and probably is not the book mentioned twice in the OT. The author(s) of Jasher probably took the name of Jasher in order to deceive readers into believing it was the book of Jasher in Joshua and II Samuel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

20070221185641!Fluorescent_pigs_paint.JP

 

Current Biotech is able to cross species by gene splicing.  It would seem to indicate that this

technology was available before the big flood, and god wiped all life as a result.

Now, when the Church is harpazo and Satan and his minions are turned loose on the earth,

they will have this technology at their disposal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

While this book of Jasher is certainly apocryphal, at least, and possibly gnostic, one thing that I'd be interested in is its age, roughly, primarily because, while I disagree with the specifics of the interpretation f the sons of God, it at least shows that the belief in something other than it being angels has some antiquity to it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

While this book of Jasher is certainly apocryphal, at least, and possibly gnostic, one thing that I'd be interested in is its age, roughly, primarily because, while I disagree with the specifics of the interpretation f the sons of God, it at least shows that the belief in something other than it being angels has some antiquity to it.

The majority of early Christians believed that the "sons of God" in Genesis 6 were fallen angels while the majority of Jews rejected the teaching saying that it was the leaders/nobleman of the time. Justin Martyr even had a debate with a Jew named Trypho (although some think Tyrpho was made up by Justin Martyr as a literary device) about the sons of God. Augustine was one of the first to teach it was the "godly line of Seth".

 

The argument is never ending over this matter. What I find so interesting is why this has been such a heated debate over the centuries. I always assumed it was a recent argument but apparently it's been raging on since the beginning of the church. IMO it doesn't effect someone's walk with the Lord either way they may believe and shouldn't be something to disfellowship over which I've known to happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The majority of early Christians believed that the "sons of God" in Genesis 6 were fallen angels while the majority of Jews rejected the teaching saying that it was the leaders/nobleman of the time. Justin Martyr even had a debate with a Jew named Trypho (although some think Tyrpho was made up by Justin Martyr as a literary device) about the sons of God. Augustine was one of the first to teach it was the "godly line of Seth".

 

The argument is never ending over this matter. What I find so interesting is why this has been such a heated debate over the centuries. I always assumed it was a recent argument but apparently it's been raging on since the beginning of the church. IMO it doesn't effect someone's walk with the Lord either way they may believe and shouldn't be something to disfellowship over which I've known to happen.

The devil excels at creating division and disputes over matters unworthy of such. Imagine the time, talent and treasure over the centuries wasted in debates over that which we can't perfectly prove and which should have no effect upon salvation or our walk with the Lord.

 

As has been said by many over the years, if we would attend to the things in Scripture we do understand, we would be too busy to spend our time on the things we do not...and God's work would be getting done by us!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Members

The devil excels at creating division and disputes over matters unworthy of such. Imagine the time, talent and treasure over the centuries wasted in debates over that which we can't perfectly prove and which should have no effect upon salvation or our walk with the Lord.

 

As has been said by many over the years, if we would attend to the things in Scripture we do understand, we would be too busy to spend our time on the things we do not...and God's work would be getting done by us!

 

Exactly.  Which is why spending time on any website arguing with anyone should be avoided.  Get out of your chair and out of the house and go spread the gospel.  I think I will take my own advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I might remind everyone that the following "books" were included in the original King James and were noted to be
worthy of reading by the translators. For example, Maccabees contains information between the Old and New Testaments.
1 Esdras
2 Esdras
Tobit
Judith
Additions to Esther
Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiasticus
Baruch
Letter of Jeremiah
Prayer of Azariah
Susanna
Bel and the Dragon
Prayer of Manasseh
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I might remind everyone that the following "books" were included in the original King James and were noted to be
worthy of reading by the translators. For example, Maccabees contains information between the Old and New Testaments.
1 Esdras
2 Esdras
Tobit
Judith
Additions to Esther
Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiasticus
Baruch
Letter of Jeremiah
Prayer of Azariah
Susanna
Bel and the Dragon
Prayer of Manasseh
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees

They were also clearly noted as not being Scripture. It was the fact these contain error, along with some bits of historical information, that they were dangerous. This is why they were removed from the KJB because some folks were beginning to think they must be Scripture, and therefore totally accurate, if they were included in the Bible.

 

The books of the Bible are more than sufficient and need nothing added.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

"AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF JASHER
(CALLED THE UPRIGHT BOOK)
COMPARED TO THE AUTHORIZED KING JAMES BIBLE"

Deane Schaub
Logos Research Associate

 

  • The notice below appeared in the 1840 New York Observer

My purpose in writing this overview is to see if Jasher is historical and actually does coincide with the Bible as stated in the "Notes of the Press" and the "Preface."


The Book of Jasher In the book of Joshua 10:13, it is said, Is this not written in the book of Jasher? And in 2 Samuel I. 18, 19, it is recorded, Behold it is written in the book of Jasher, the beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places; how are the mighty fallen! In Homes Introduction to the study of the Scriptures there is an account of various writings that claim to be the book of Jasher, and among the rest is one written in Rabbinical Hebrew, said to have been discovered in Jerusalem at its capture by Titus. This book has been translated into English, and has just been published in a beautiful octavo volume of 260 pages.

 

This volume forms what may at least be termed a literary curiosity. The translator lays no claim for this book as a work of inspiration, but as a monument of history comparatively covered with the ivy of the remotest ages; as a work possessing in its language all the characteristic simplicity of patriarchal times; and as such he conceives it peculiarly calculated to illustrate and confirm the sacred truths handed down to us in the Scriptures.

 

That the present work is a faithful translation of a veritable Hebrew original we cannot doubt after perusing the testimonies of such men as Professors Nordheimer, Turner, and Bush of this city, who have all examined it, and upon comparison pronounced the English version in general correct; although it will be observed that these gentlemen carefully abstain from uttering any opinion as to the authenticity of the work, or its value as auxiliary in any sense to revelation. There can be no question as to its being the same work with that mentioned by Home as printed at Venice in 1613, and from internal evidence we think it may be dated as far back as any of the kindred fictions of the Talmud, and perhaps to a period coeval with the recently Anglicized Book of Enoch, of which Prof. Stuart has given an elaborate account in the January number of the Biblical Repository. A certain value no doubt attaches to any book faithfully transmitted to us from so remote a period of the past, and if we should find in it no traces whatever of historical verity, we may still be interested or amused to see into what wild extravaganzas a. Rabbinical fancy may run, and with what ingenuity it may graft upon the majestic simplicity and brevity of the sacred narrative a luxuriant offshoot of fables, fictions, allegories, and dreams.

 

Here are some of the things that were said about Jasher back in 1840.

 

N.Y. Observer: "translator thinks a monument of history"

 

Albion: "in no instance contradicting the Old Testament text"

 

Philadelphia Spirit of the Times: It differs but little from the Bible"

 

In the Preface page VI -- "every thing that we have in Jasher we find recorded in the Bible, with this difference, that in Jasher the occurrences of the Bible are amplified and detailed at length" M. M. Noah

 

Since I am not a Hebrew scholar, I cannot attest to the accuracy of the translation from Hebrew into English. Therefore, I will take the word of the experts. The Bible reference quoting Jasher in 2 Samuel 1:18 is taken from Jasher 56:9. The reference in Joshua 10:13 comes from Jasher 88:64. The book of Jasher also mentions books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and 1 Chronicles.

  • Historical Information In Jasher -- Jasher May Fill In Some Historical Gaps

The book of Jasher has some areas that seen likely to be historical. Other areas look as if they explain more clearly certain passages in the Bible. Here are some examples.

 

In Jasher 2:27-31 Lemech kills Cain and then Tubal Cain by accident. Could this explain Genesis 4:23-24 as a lament and not a boast?

 

Another example is Jasher 4:18 "And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice, and the sons of men in those days took of the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of the animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth was corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals." This may explain the statement of God in Genesis 6:5 which says, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

 

Consider for a moment what we read in Jasher 5:8-9 "For thus saith the Lord, behold I give you a period of one hundred and twenty years; if you will turn to me and forsake your evil ways, then will I also turn away form the evil which I told you, and it shall not exist, saith the Lord. And Noah and Methuseleh spake all the words of the Lord to the sons of men, day after day, constantly speaking to them.

 

Jasher says, Noah and Methuseleh preach for 120 years before the flood. But there is more. In Jasher 5:15-16 Noah marries Enochs daughter. "Noah went and took a wife, and he chose Naamah the daughter of Enoch, and whe was five hundred and eighty years old. And Noah was four hundred and ninety years old, when he took Naamah for a wife."

 

Could it be possible that Nimrod was Amraphel? Jasher 11:6 says, "Nimrod dwelt in Babel, and he there renewed his reign over the rest of his subjects, and he reigned securely, and the subjects and princes called his name Amraphel, saying that at the tower his princes and men fell through his means." Genesis 14:1 & 9 identifies Amraphel as the King of Shinar.

 

Could Shem have been Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18)? Jasher 16:11 certainly points us in that direction. It says, "And Adonizedek King of Jerusalem, the same was Shem, whent out with his men to meet Abram and his people, with bread and wine, and they remained together in the valley of Melech." It is an interesting possibility to consider that Abraham and his descendants traveled back and forth to visit Shem and Eber.

 

In Jasher 75:1-20 we read that the children of Ephraim, son of Joseph, lose all but 10 men in a war in Gath. It certainly seems possible that this could coincide with 1 Chronicles 7:21-23.

 

These are some of the possible historic events listed in Jasher

 

Below are some other tidbits mentioned in Jasher seem historically plausible.

 

Jasher 6:17 there were about 700,000 men outside of the ark before the flood.

 

Jasher 28:26-29 Leah and Rachel were twins.

 

Jasher 48:42-48 70 steps (representing languages of the world) to the throne.

 

Jasher 49:13-18 The Angel of the Lord teaches Joseph all languages of man.

 

Jasher 79:43-57 Pharoah looks in Egyptian chronicles but cant find name of Jehovah. Moses tells of the Lord-God of Gods-the Creator. Pharoah declares his own godship.

  • Questionable Teachings In Jasher

There problematic statements in Jasher. For example

 

Jasher 3:23-- An angel of the Lord calls Enoch from heaven and wished to make him reign over sons of God as he had reigned over sons of men upon Earth.

 

Jasher 3:38 -- Mentions snow before the flood. This doesnt seem possible because there wasnt any rain yet according to Genesis 2:5-6 and 7:4.

 

Jasher 22:46, 47 & 54 -- Sounds exactly like Job 1:6-8 with Satan talking to God.

 

Jahser 8 Records the birth of Abram. In the account there is a star from the East seen by wise men and conjurors, which sounds similar to the birth of Christ.

 

Jasher 43:40-46 A wolf speaks to Jacob. Biblically the only animal that speaks is Balaams ass (Numbers 22:28-30.)

 

Jasher 44:62-68 This passage is bizarre. God has an 11 month old baby talk and tell of his mothers (Potiphars wife) advances toward Joseph.

 

Then there are the wars of Jacob and his sons Chapters 34, 35, and 37-40. And also the wars of Zepho (of Chittim) and Angeas, King of Africa (which is Dinhabah) chapters 61:23-25, 62:25-27, 63:10-35, and 64. I am putting these into the questionable category (although they could be somewhat possible) because they are not in the Bible and this overview is based biblical based evaluation of Jasher.

 

AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF JASHER

The Book of Jasher (complete 405 pages) is available free online in PDF format.  Just google the Book of Jasher. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.



×
×
  • Create New...