Book of Jasher (Pseudo-Jasher)
Encyclopedia
The Book of Jasher, or Pseudo-Jasher, is an 18th-century literary forgery
by Jacob Ilive. It purports to be an English translation by Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus of a lost Book of Jasher. It is sometimes called Pseudo-Jasher to distinguish it from the Sefer haYashar (midrash)
(Naples, 1552) which incorporates genuine Jewish legend.
Published in November, 1751, the title page of the book says: "translated into English by Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus, of Britain, Abbot of Canterbury, who went on a pilgrimage into the Holy Land and Persia, where he discovered this volume in the city of Gazna." The book claims to be written by Jasher, son of Caleb
, one of Moses
' lieutenants, who later judged Israel
at Shiloh
. Jasher covers Biblical history from the creation down to Jasher's own day and was represented as being the Lost Book of Jasher mentioned in the Bible
.
In Alcuinus' translation of the book the Law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai
not by God, but by Moses' father-in-law Jethro
.
Alcuin
was indeed a famous historical 8th-century English abbot, but the language in this book is pseudo-Elizabethan English
. The supposed translation was declared an obvious hoax by the Monthly Review in December of the same year and the printer Jacob Ilive was sentenced in 1756 to three years in jail for this fraud and for his radical anti-religious pamphlets.
In 1829, a slightly revised and enlarged edition was published in Bristol
provoking attacks against it. A photographic reproduction of this 1829 edition was published in 1934 by the Rosicrucian
Order in San Jose, California who declared it was an inspired work.
Literary forgery
Literary forgery refers to writing, such as a manuscript or a literary work either deliberately misattributed to a historical or invented author, or a purported memoir presented as genuine.- History :The common, or popularly known, instance of literary forgery may involve for example the work of a...
by Jacob Ilive. It purports to be an English translation by Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus of a lost Book of Jasher. It is sometimes called Pseudo-Jasher to distinguish it from the Sefer haYashar (midrash)
Sefer haYashar (midrash)
The Sefer haYashar is a Hebrew midrash also known as the Toledot Adam and Dibre ha-Yamim be-'Aruk. It is known in English translation mostly as The Book of Jasher...
(Naples, 1552) which incorporates genuine Jewish legend.
Published in November, 1751, the title page of the book says: "translated into English by Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus, of Britain, Abbot of Canterbury, who went on a pilgrimage into the Holy Land and Persia, where he discovered this volume in the city of Gazna." The book claims to be written by Jasher, son of Caleb
Caleb
Caleb is a male given name. A character called Caleb is named in both the Bible and Quran.-Caleb:When the Hebrews came to the outskirts of Canaan, the land that had been promised to them by God, after having fled slavery in Egypt, Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan to report on what was...
, one of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
' lieutenants, who later judged Israel
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
at Shiloh
Shiloh (Biblical)
Shiloh was an ancient city south of ancient Tirzah and mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Its site is at modern Khirbet Seilun, West Bank, and north of the Israeli settlement of Beth El in the West Bank....
. Jasher covers Biblical history from the creation down to Jasher's own day and was represented as being the Lost Book of Jasher mentioned in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
In Alcuinus' translation of the book the Law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai , also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa , Jabal Musa meaning "Moses' Mountain", is a mountain near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A mountain called Mount Sinai is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah and the Bible as well as the Quran...
not by God, but by Moses' father-in-law Jethro
Jethro
In the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible, Jethro |Shu-ayb]]) is Moses' father-in-law, a Kenite shepherd and priest of Midian. He is also revered as a prophet in his own right in the Druze religion, and considered an ancestor of the Druze.-In Exodus:...
.
Alcuin
Alcuin
Alcuin of York or Ealhwine, nicknamed Albinus or Flaccus was an English scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Archbishop Ecgbert at York...
was indeed a famous historical 8th-century English abbot, but the language in this book is pseudo-Elizabethan English
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
. The supposed translation was declared an obvious hoax by the Monthly Review in December of the same year and the printer Jacob Ilive was sentenced in 1756 to three years in jail for this fraud and for his radical anti-religious pamphlets.
In 1829, a slightly revised and enlarged edition was published in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
provoking attacks against it. A photographic reproduction of this 1829 edition was published in 1934 by the Rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
Order in San Jose, California who declared it was an inspired work.