Sefer haYashar (midrash)
Encyclopedia
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. The book is named after the Book of Jasher
mentioned in Joshua
and 2 Samuel
.
This is among several texts purporting to be the original "Book of Jasher." The text is not accepted as such in rabbinical Judaism, but is so among some members of the Latter-Day Saints.
in 1625 and the introduction refers to an earlier 1552 "edition" in Naples
of which neither trace or other mention has been found. The printer Joseph ben Samuel claimed the work was copied by a scribe named Jacob the son of Atyah from an ancient manuscript whose letters could hardly be made out.
The Venice 1625 text was heavily criticised as a forgery by Leon Modena as part of his criticisms of the Zohar
as a forgery and Kabbalah in general. Modena was a member of the Venetian rabbinate which supervised the Hebrew press in Venice, and Modena prevented the printers from identifying Sefer ha-Yashar with the Biblical lost book.
Despite Modena's intervention the preface to the 1625 version nevertheless still claims that its original source book came from the ruins of Jerusalem in AD 70, where a Roman
officer named Sidrus discovered a Hebrew
scholar hiding in a hidden library. The officer Sidrus reportedly took the scholar and all the books safely back to his estates in Seville
, Spain (which in Roman
times was known as Hispalis, the provincial capital of Hispania Baetica
). The 1625 edition then claims that at some uncertain point in history of Islamic Spain
) the manuscript was transferred or sold to the Jewish college in Cordova
, Spain. The 1625 edition claims that scholars preserved the book until its printings in Naples
in 1552 and in Venice
in 1625. Although outside of the preface to the 1625 work, there is no evidence to support any of this story. The work was used extensively but not especially more than many other sources in Louis Ginzberg
's Legends of the Jews.
Although there remains doubt about whether the 1552 "edition" in Naples was ever truly printed, the study of Joseph Dan
professor of Kabbalah at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
in the preface to his 1986 critical edition of the 1625 text concludes, from the Hebrew used and other indications, that the work was in fact written in Naples in the early sixteenth century. The Arabic connections suggest that if the preface to the 1625 version is an "exaggeration", it was then probably written by a Jew who lived in Spain or southern Italy
.
history from the creation of Adam and Eve
to a summary of the initial Israelite
conquest of Canaan
in the beginning of the book of Judges
. It contains references that fit those cited in the Biblical texts, both the reference about the sun and moon found in Joshua and also the reference in 2 Samuel (in the Hebrew but not in the Septuagint) to teaching the Sons of Judah
to fight with the bow. This appears in Jasher 56:9 among the last words of Jacob
to his son Judah:
But the book in its entirety cannot be so old as shown by chapter 10, covering the descendants of Noah
, which contains medieval
names for territories and countries, perhaps mostly obviously Franza for France and Lumbardi in Italia
for Lombardy
. The text of this chapter closely follows the beginning of Josippon
, a tenth century rabbinic text that lists the various peoples living in Europe in ca. 950.
Most of its extra-Biblical accounts are found in nearly the same form in either other medieval compilations, or in the Talmud
, or in other midrash or in Arabic
sources. For example it contains the common tale that Lamech
and his son Jabal
accidentally killed Cain, thus requiting his wickedness for slaying Abel.
There are 5 discrepancies, when comparing it with chapter 5 of Genesis, in chapter 5 alone. The first is in verse 1: 'And it was in the eighty-fourth year of the life of Noah that Enoch the son of Seth died;', Enoch was Jared's son, it was Enosh (or Enos), that was the son of Seth (or Set; Shet). Other than the confusion between Enosh and Enoch, the date is correct. The second is in verse 4: 'And Jared the son of Mahlallel died in those days, in the three hundred and thirty-sixth year of the life of Noah;', it was the 366th year of the life of Noah, that Jared died. The third is in verse 19: 'And Lamech the father of Noah died in those days; yet verily he did not go with all his heart in the ways of his father, and he died in the hundred and ninety-fifth year of the life of Noah.', it was the 595th year of Noah's life that Lamech died. The fourth is in verse 20: 'And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy years, and he died.', Lamech's age at death was 777. The fifth is in verse 36: ' And it was at that time Methuselah the son of Enoch died, nine hundred and sixty years old was he, at his death.', Methuselah (Matuvshelakh) was 969 at his death.
In its genealogy of Abram (7:19), it makes no mention of the 'second Cainan' between Arpaksad, and Shelak, coinciding with the Masoretic Text and Samaritan Pentateuch, but conflicting with the Septuagint (LXX) and with Luke's genealogy in chapter 3 of his Gospel.
In its highly interpolated account of the LORD's testing of Abraham concerning Isaac, it says in 23:50-51: 'And when they were going along Isaac said to his father, Behold, I see here the fire and wood, and where then is the lamb that is to be the burnt offering before the Lord? And Abraham answered his son Isaac, saying, The Lord has made choice of thee my son, to be a perfect burnt offering instead of the lamb.', this conflicts with the biblical account which says Abraham's response was this: 'My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering', which according to William Whiston was an allusion to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Jasher 88:14-17 - And it was in the second month, on the first day of the month, that the Lord said to Joshua, Rise up, behold I have given Jericho into thy hand with all the people thereof; and all your fighting men shall go round the city, once each day, thus shall you do for six days. And the priests shall blow upon trumpets, and when you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall give a great shouting, that the walls of the city shall fall down; all the people shall go up every man against his opponent. And Joshua did so according to all that the Lord had commanded him. And on the seventh day they went round the city seven times, and the priests blew upon trumpets.
This passage is significant because it explains Joshua's seven day march around Jericho without breaking the Sabbath. The canonical books of the Holy Scripture explain that the New Moon day (which is not a Sabbath nor a work day) is the first day of the month. Following that day comes six days of work and then the seventh day of the week, which is the eighth day of the moon. 1 (New Moon), 2 work, 3 work, 4 work, 5 work, 6 work, 7 work, 8 Sabbath. This position is a source of serious debate amongst Sabbath Keepers.
, professor of theology at the University of Halle-Wittenberg
, translated the 1625 text into Latin as Dissertatio de Libro recti (Leipzig, 1732).
and A. S. Gould in 1840. Mordecai Noah was a prominent Jewish newspaper editor and publisher, as well as playwright, diplomat, journalist, and utopian. The translator of the 1840 edition was not published, but indicated as an eminent Jewish scholar in Britain in the comments of one of the four certificating Hebraist scholars to the publisher in the preface to the 2nd editions:
Subsequently the translator identified himself as Moses Samuel
of Liverpool (1795-1860), who obtained a copy of the 1625 Hebrew edition and became convinced that the core of this work truly was the self-same Book of the Upright referenced in Hebrew scriptures. He translated it into English and, in 1839, sold it to Mordecai Manuel Noah
. The reason Samuel's name did not appear on the translation. "I did not put my name to it as my Patron and myself differed about its authenticity", the NYC publisher having had a lower opinion of the work's authenticity than Samuel. Samuel had in fact originally tried to persuade The Royal Asiatic Society at Calcutta to publish the work, a fact alluded to obliquely in the preface to Noah's 1840 edition, but eventually Samuel sold the work to Noah for £150 pounds. Neverthelss Noah in his promotional materials did enthusiastically claim that the historian Josephus
had said of the Book of Jasher: "by this book are to be understood certain records kept in some safe place on purpose, giving an account of what happened among the Hebrews from year to year, and called Jasher or the upright, on account of the fidelity of the annals." No such statement is found in Josephus' works. Noah's 1840 preface contained endorsements by Hebrew scholars of the day, all of whom praised the quality of the translation but said nothing to indicate they believed it to be the work referred to in Joshua and 2 Samuel. Indeed one of them, Samuel H. Turner
(1790-1861), of the General Theological Seminary, NYC, referred to the "Rabbinical writer" in this way: "The work itself is evidently composed in the purest Rabbinical Hebrew, with a large intermixture of the Biblical idiom, ..." indicating that Turner was not of the opinion that it was an ancient text.
and the Latter Day Saint movement
, acquired a copy in 1841 or 1842 and wrote in the September 1, 1842 edition of the Times and Seasons
, in reference to the patriarch Abraham
: "the book of Jasher, which has not been disproved as a bad author, says he was cast into the fire of the Chaldeans".
In 1886, Joseph Hyrum Parry of Salt Lake City acquired the rights to the translation from Mordecai Noah's estate. It was published by J. H. Parry & Company in Salt Lake City in 1887.
A number of Mormon
scholars consider this Book of Jasher to be of authentic ancient Hebrew origin. Some of these scholars suggest that the book likely contains many original portions of the Sefer HaYashar
referenced in the Old Testament
but also has a number of added interpolations. This Joseph Hyrum Parry edition of the Book of Jasher continues to be held in high repute by many Mormons
. A number of Mormons have pointed to certain portions of the book that have commonalities to parts of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
, particularly those parts dealign with the antedeluvian period. The Bible has only scant information about pre-flood times, but both the Book of Jasher and parts of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible contain additional information, some of which is strikingly similar. It does not appear that Joseph Smith was aware of the Book of Jasher, nor could have seen it before he produced his translation of the Bible. The LDS Church does not officially endorse this Book of Jasher.
English translation:
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
also known as the Toledot Adam and Dibre ha-Yamim be-'Aruk. It is known in English translation mostly as The Book of Jasher. The book is named after the Book of Jasher
Sefer haYashar (Biblical references)
The Book of Jasher or Book of the Just Man is a unknown book mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The translation "Book of the Just Man" is the traditional Greek and Latin translation, while the rendering a personal name "Jasher" is found in the King James Bible, 1611.-Biblical references:The book...
mentioned in Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
and 2 Samuel
Books of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
.
This is among several texts purporting to be the original "Book of Jasher." The text is not accepted as such in rabbinical Judaism, but is so among some members of the Latter-Day Saints.
History
The earliest authenticated verified version of this Hebrew midrash was printed in VeniceVenice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1625 and the introduction refers to an earlier 1552 "edition" in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
of which neither trace or other mention has been found. The printer Joseph ben Samuel claimed the work was copied by a scribe named Jacob the son of Atyah from an ancient manuscript whose letters could hardly be made out.
- This work is not to be confused with an ethical text by the same name, which, according to the Encyclopaedia JudaicaEncyclopaedia JudaicaThe Encyclopaedia Judaica is a 26-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people and their faith, Judaism. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, language, scripture, and religious teachings...
, Volume 14, p. 1099, was "probably written in the 13th century." Scholars have proposed various dates between the 9th century and 16th century.
The Venice 1625 text was heavily criticised as a forgery by Leon Modena as part of his criticisms of the Zohar
Zohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
as a forgery and Kabbalah in general. Modena was a member of the Venetian rabbinate which supervised the Hebrew press in Venice, and Modena prevented the printers from identifying Sefer ha-Yashar with the Biblical lost book.
Despite Modena's intervention the preface to the 1625 version nevertheless still claims that its original source book came from the ruins of Jerusalem in AD 70, where a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
officer named Sidrus discovered a Hebrew
Hebrews
Hebrews is an ethnonym used in the Hebrew Bible...
scholar hiding in a hidden library. The officer Sidrus reportedly took the scholar and all the books safely back to his estates in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, Spain (which in Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times was known as Hispalis, the provincial capital of Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica was one of three Imperial Roman provinces in Hispania, . Hispania Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica was part of Al-Andalus under the Moors in the 8th century and approximately corresponds to modern Andalucia...
). The 1625 edition then claims that at some uncertain point in history of Islamic Spain
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
) the manuscript was transferred or sold to the Jewish college in Cordova
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, Spain. The 1625 edition claims that scholars preserved the book until its printings in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
in 1552 and in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1625. Although outside of the preface to the 1625 work, there is no evidence to support any of this story. The work was used extensively but not especially more than many other sources in Louis Ginzberg
Louis Ginzberg
Rabbi Louis Ginzberg was a Talmudist and leading figure in the Conservative Movement of Judaism of the twentieth century. He was born on November 28, 1873, in Kovno, Lithuania; he died on November 11, 1953, in New York City.-Biographical background:...
's Legends of the Jews.
Although there remains doubt about whether the 1552 "edition" in Naples was ever truly printed, the study of Joseph Dan
Joseph Dan
Joseph Dan is an Israeli scholar of Jewish mysticism. He taught for over 40 years in the Department of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem...
professor of Kabbalah at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
in the preface to his 1986 critical edition of the 1625 text concludes, from the Hebrew used and other indications, that the work was in fact written in Naples in the early sixteenth century. The Arabic connections suggest that if the preface to the 1625 version is an "exaggeration", it was then probably written by a Jew who lived in Spain or southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Content
The book covers biblicalBible
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...
history from the creation of Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
to a summary of the initial Israelite
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...
conquest of Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
in the beginning of the book of Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
. It contains references that fit those cited in the Biblical texts, both the reference about the sun and moon found in Joshua and also the reference in 2 Samuel (in the Hebrew but not in the Septuagint) to teaching the Sons of Judah
Judah (Biblical figure)
Judah was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Judah. Biblical scholars, such as J. A...
to fight with the bow. This appears in Jasher 56:9 among the last words of Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
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.
But the book in its entirety cannot be so old as shown by chapter 10, covering the descendants of Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
, which contains medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
names for territories and countries, perhaps mostly obviously Franza for France and Lumbardi in Italia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
for Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
. The text of this chapter closely follows the beginning of Josippon
Josippon
Josippon is the name usually given to a popular chronicle of Jewish history from Adam to the age of Titus, attributed to an author Josippon or Joseph ben Gorion....
, a tenth century rabbinic text that lists the various peoples living in Europe in ca. 950.
Most of its extra-Biblical accounts are found in nearly the same form in either other medieval compilations, or in the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, or in other midrash or in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
sources. For example it contains the common tale that Lamech
Lamech
Lamech is a character in the genealogies of Adam in the Book of Genesis. He is the sixth generation descendant of Cain ; his father was named Methusael, and he was responsible for the "Song of the Sword." He is also noted as the first polygamist mentioned in the Bible, taking two wives, Ada and...
and his son Jabal
Jabal (Bible)
Jabal is an individual mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in .- Family :Jabal was a descendant of Cain, the son of Lamech and Adah, and the brother of Jubal, half-brother of Tubal-cain and Naamah...
accidentally killed Cain, thus requiting his wickedness for slaying Abel.
There are 5 discrepancies, when comparing it with chapter 5 of Genesis, in chapter 5 alone. The first is in verse 1: 'And it was in the eighty-fourth year of the life of Noah that Enoch the son of Seth died;', Enoch was Jared's son, it was Enosh (or Enos), that was the son of Seth (or Set; Shet). Other than the confusion between Enosh and Enoch, the date is correct. The second is in verse 4: 'And Jared the son of Mahlallel died in those days, in the three hundred and thirty-sixth year of the life of Noah;', it was the 366th year of the life of Noah, that Jared died. The third is in verse 19: 'And Lamech the father of Noah died in those days; yet verily he did not go with all his heart in the ways of his father, and he died in the hundred and ninety-fifth year of the life of Noah.', it was the 595th year of Noah's life that Lamech died. The fourth is in verse 20: 'And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy years, and he died.', Lamech's age at death was 777. The fifth is in verse 36: ' And it was at that time Methuselah the son of Enoch died, nine hundred and sixty years old was he, at his death.', Methuselah (Matuvshelakh) was 969 at his death.
In its genealogy of Abram (7:19), it makes no mention of the 'second Cainan' between Arpaksad, and Shelak, coinciding with the Masoretic Text and Samaritan Pentateuch, but conflicting with the Septuagint (LXX) and with Luke's genealogy in chapter 3 of his Gospel.
In its highly interpolated account of the LORD's testing of Abraham concerning Isaac, it says in 23:50-51: 'And when they were going along Isaac said to his father, Behold, I see here the fire and wood, and where then is the lamb that is to be the burnt offering before the Lord? And Abraham answered his son Isaac, saying, The Lord has made choice of thee my son, to be a perfect burnt offering instead of the lamb.', this conflicts with the biblical account which says Abraham's response was this: 'My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering', which according to William Whiston was an allusion to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
- For other works of the same name see Sefer haYasharSefer haYasharSefer haYashar . In English Jashar was traditionally, perhaps mistaken as a name and left untranslated, rendered Book of Jasher.There are a number of works with this name:...
.
Jasher 88:14-17 - And it was in the second month, on the first day of the month, that the Lord said to Joshua, Rise up, behold I have given Jericho into thy hand with all the people thereof; and all your fighting men shall go round the city, once each day, thus shall you do for six days. And the priests shall blow upon trumpets, and when you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall give a great shouting, that the walls of the city shall fall down; all the people shall go up every man against his opponent. And Joshua did so according to all that the Lord had commanded him. And on the seventh day they went round the city seven times, and the priests blew upon trumpets.
This passage is significant because it explains Joshua's seven day march around Jericho without breaking the Sabbath. The canonical books of the Holy Scripture explain that the New Moon day (which is not a Sabbath nor a work day) is the first day of the month. Following that day comes six days of work and then the seventh day of the week, which is the eighth day of the moon. 1 (New Moon), 2 work, 3 work, 4 work, 5 work, 6 work, 7 work, 8 Sabbath. This position is a source of serious debate amongst Sabbath Keepers.
Johann Abicht's Latin translation
Johann Georg AbichtJohann Georg Abicht
Johann Georg Abicht was a German Lutheran theologian from Königsee, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.After finishing his studies at the universities of Jena and...
, professor of theology at the University of Halle-Wittenberg
University of Halle-Wittenberg
The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg , also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg within Saxony-Anhalt, Germany...
, translated the 1625 text into Latin as Dissertatio de Libro recti (Leipzig, 1732).
- It is sometimes confused with the very different Book of Jasher (Pseudo-Jasher)Book of Jasher (Pseudo-Jasher)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...
, which is said to be an obvious forgery. Pseudo-Jasher claims to have been translated by the Anglish monk AlcuinAlcuinAlcuin 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...
. That version was printed by Jacob Ilive in 1751 in Early Modern EnglishEarly Modern EnglishEarly Modern English is the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period to 1650. Thus, the first edition of the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare both belong to the late phase of Early Modern English...
. AlcuinAlcuinAlcuin 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...
spoke Old English (or Old Anglish), which, coupled with the printer's seeming anti-Christian sentiments, immediately raised suspicions that it was a fraud - confirmed in the printer's subsequent trial and sentence to gaol.
Moses Samuel's English translation
The first translation of the 1625 Venice edition into English was that published by Mordecai Manuel NoahMordecai Manuel Noah
Mordecai Manuel Noah was an American playwright, diplomat, journalist, and utopian...
and A. S. Gould in 1840. Mordecai Noah was a prominent Jewish newspaper editor and publisher, as well as playwright, diplomat, journalist, and utopian. The translator of the 1840 edition was not published, but indicated as an eminent Jewish scholar in Britain in the comments of one of the four certificating Hebraist scholars to the publisher in the preface to the 2nd editions:
Subsequently the translator identified himself as Moses Samuel
Moses Samuel
Moses Samuel was a clockmaker, translator of Hebrew works and writer.-Life:His parents were Emanuel Menachem Samuel and Hanna Hinde; his father moved from Kempen in Posen in Silesia to London. Moses with his mother moved to Liverpool around 1805. He went into business, not with any great success,...
of Liverpool (1795-1860), who obtained a copy of the 1625 Hebrew edition and became convinced that the core of this work truly was the self-same Book of the Upright referenced in Hebrew scriptures. He translated it into English and, in 1839, sold it to Mordecai Manuel Noah
Mordecai Manuel Noah
Mordecai Manuel Noah was an American playwright, diplomat, journalist, and utopian...
. The reason Samuel's name did not appear on the translation. "I did not put my name to it as my Patron and myself differed about its authenticity", the NYC publisher having had a lower opinion of the work's authenticity than Samuel. Samuel had in fact originally tried to persuade The Royal Asiatic Society at Calcutta to publish the work, a fact alluded to obliquely in the preface to Noah's 1840 edition, but eventually Samuel sold the work to Noah for £150 pounds. Neverthelss Noah in his promotional materials did enthusiastically claim that the historian Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
had said of the Book of Jasher: "by this book are to be understood certain records kept in some safe place on purpose, giving an account of what happened among the Hebrews from year to year, and called Jasher or the upright, on account of the fidelity of the annals." No such statement is found in Josephus' works. Noah's 1840 preface contained endorsements by Hebrew scholars of the day, all of whom praised the quality of the translation but said nothing to indicate they believed it to be the work referred to in Joshua and 2 Samuel. Indeed one of them, Samuel H. Turner
Samuel H. Turner
Samuel Hulbert Turner was an American Hebraist. He was professor of the Hebrew Language and Literature at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York City from 1830. He was tutor and mentor to Joseph Schereschewsky, later Anglican Bishop of Shanghai....
(1790-1861), of the General Theological Seminary, NYC, referred to the "Rabbinical writer" in this way: "The work itself is evidently composed in the purest Rabbinical Hebrew, with a large intermixture of the Biblical idiom, ..." indicating that Turner was not of the opinion that it was an ancient text.
Acceptance by Latter-day Saints
Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of MormonismMormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
and the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
, acquired a copy in 1841 or 1842 and wrote in the September 1, 1842 edition of the Times and Seasons
Times and Seasons
Times and Seasons was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint periodical published monthly or twice-monthly at Nauvoo, Illinois, from November 1839 to February 15, 1846...
, in reference to the patriarch Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
: "the book of Jasher, which has not been disproved as a bad author, says he was cast into the fire of the Chaldeans".
In 1886, Joseph Hyrum Parry of Salt Lake City acquired the rights to the translation from Mordecai Noah's estate. It was published by J. H. Parry & Company in Salt Lake City in 1887.
A number of Mormon
Mormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
scholars consider this Book of Jasher to be of authentic ancient Hebrew origin. Some of these scholars suggest that the book likely contains many original portions of the Sefer HaYashar
Sefer haYashar (Biblical references)
The Book of Jasher or Book of the Just Man is a unknown book mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The translation "Book of the Just Man" is the traditional Greek and Latin translation, while the rendering a personal name "Jasher" is found in the King James Bible, 1611.-Biblical references:The book...
referenced in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
but also has a number of added interpolations. This Joseph Hyrum Parry edition of the Book of Jasher continues to be held in high repute by many Mormons
Mormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
. A number of Mormons have pointed to certain portions of the book that have commonalities to parts of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
The Joseph Smith Translation , also called the Inspired Version , was a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith considered this work to be "a branch of his calling" as a prophet. Smith was murdered before he ever deemed it complete, though most of...
, particularly those parts dealign with the antedeluvian period. The Bible has only scant information about pre-flood times, but both the Book of Jasher and parts of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible contain additional information, some of which is strikingly similar. It does not appear that Joseph Smith was aware of the Book of Jasher, nor could have seen it before he produced his translation of the Bible. The LDS Church does not officially endorse this Book of Jasher.
Editions
Hebrew editions- Sefer ha-Yashar, ed. Rosenthal, Berlin, 1898,
- Sefer ha-Yashar, ed. Dan Joseph, Jerusalem, 1986
English translation:
- Book of Jasher Referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel (1840), by Moses Samuel
- Book of Jasher Referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel (1887), edited by J. H. Parry
- various print-on-demand reprints including: Kessinger Publishing Company, ISBN 0-7661-0260-2; The Authentic Annals of the Early Hebrews: Also Known as the Book of Jasher, edited by Wayne Simpson (Morris Publishing (NE), 1995) (Hardcover - January 1995) ISBN 1-57502-962-6 hardcover; (Lightcatcher Books, 2003) ISBN 0-9719388-3-0 paperback, etc.
External links
- Plain text: Cumorah Project: LDS and World Classics (Includes translator's preface.)
- HTML:
- Christian Etherial Library: Anonymous (With graphic reproduction of translator's preface.)
- Pseudepigrapha or Sacred Texts: Apocrypha or POEE: Other Religions: Cult of the One God
- Google Books translation published by J.H. Parry & Company, 1887
- PDF: Dubroom: Books