Today I would like to share something that is near and dear to my heart. It is what I like to refer to as “the rest of the story.” The book of Jasher is mentioned twice in the Tanakh.
Book Of Jasher Is Mentioned Twice In The Tanakh (Old Testament)
So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. (Jos 10:13)
Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher. (2Sa 1:17-18)
The Book of Jasher Completes The Torah
After being told about it in 2009 while on a teaching excursion I came home and found a copy of it for myself. Since then I have read this almost 500 page book many times; and for the last almost 6 years I have been using is as we go through Torah in my Sabbath class.
Jasher covers Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Joshua and it has brought many things to light in the scriptures that I had not really seen in the past. Here is a great example of one little tidbit that was revealed to me in the scriptures because of Jasher. When Moses’ dad (Amram) took a woman whose name Jochebed, we are told that she was a daughter of Levi.
And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. (Exo 2:1)
Some folks may understand that Jochebed was Amram’s father’s sister.
Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the length of Amram’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years. (Exo 6:20)
But few have connected all the points. So who was Amram’s Father?
These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon and Kohath and Merari; and the length of Levi’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years. The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families. The sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel; and the length of Kohath’s life was one hundred and thirty-three years. (Exo 6:16-18)
So if Amram married his father’s sister; that means that Jochebed was not “a” daughter of Levi, she was “the” daughter of Levi. And it was Jasher that sent me on the quest to find out more. Jasher said;
Jasher 59:9 And the children of Levi were Gershon, Kohath and Merari, and their sister Jochebed, who was born unto them in their going down to Egypt.
Jasher 67:1 There was a man in the land of Egypt of the seed of Levi, whose name was Amram, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. 2 And this man went and took a wife, namely Jochebed the daughter of Levi his father’s sister, and she was one hundred and twenty-six years old, and he came unto her.
And lo and behold, look what I found in Numbers.
The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam. (Num 26:59)
If you study this further you will see that Jochebed was in the womb when the Israelites came into Egypt. Jochebed (Amram’s aunt) was around 135 when she had Moses. The Israelites were in Egypt for around 200+ years, not the 400 or 430 years that most of us have erroneously assumed. Jasher is an amazing book! Read it and fall in love with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all over again. See that our Elohim does not change and that His word does endure forever. Noah, Seth, Eber, Abram (later Abraham), Isaac, Jacob and His sons all had a love for Yehovah’s laws which were preserved orally until Sinai where they were codified.
Well, I hope I have enticed you enough to take a good hard look at this wonderful book. If I have, you can download it with my highlights and my notes related to the Torah here: Jasher with index or without my notes here: Jasher with index and no notes or highlights. If the files do not open automatically, then right-click the file you want and click “save as.”
Also here is a FREE version of PDF-XChange Viewer that puts Acrobat Reader to shame. This free version of PDF-XChange Viewer will not only allow you to highlight, underline, add notes, art and much more to all your favorite PDFs but will also allow you to save all the additions. Always remember to seek first Yehovah’s kingdom and His righteous just as Yeshua taught all men to do. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven!
Here is my introduction of the Book of Jasher /Yasher in my Journey Through Torah Sabbath Class.
Book of Jasher
2G04 Genesis 3:22 – 4:12 & Book of Jasher Intro.
[Click to play this audio or right-click and “Save As” to download]
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I never studied Jasher before but today is a good time to start. Thanks for all the info
I have noticed this book referred during the Torah study and wondered how I could get a copy to read this. Thank you for this Note…
I just read the book of Jasher over the weekend. Its' a great work. At first my reaction to some of the details was "No way. That is impossible" but then the Holy Spirit quickly reminded me that nothing is impossible with YHWH. He stopped the rotation of the earth, caused the Red Sea to yield, a ass to talk, brought forth a comet/asteroid onto the cities of sodom/gommorah, delivered Lot and the sodomites from the Kings of Elam/Babylon at the hand of Abraham and 400 men. So nothing is impossible with God. Whereas, the book of Jasher seems to be the attempt of one man to record the history of mankind to the date of its' authorship, it may or may not be inerrant. But that is not the concern. We have Genesis, Exodus, and Joshua. Where Jasher agrees or supplements, then let us rejoice at the further insight into the Awesome power of our God. Where it contradicts, we can take with a grain of salt and look passed it. Jude and Peter both quoted/referenced from the book of Enoch. Joshua and Samuel quoted/referenced from the book of Jasher.
I came away from my reading of the book in awe of the Power and Love of YHWH for Abraham, his Seed, and YHWH's heavy hand in dealing with those who would seek to stop YHWH's plans for Abraham and his seed. I now have a much greater appreciation for the Character of Abraham. Truly no greater man has walked the earth with only Yeshua being greater and Moses being his equal.
Thanks for posting the link to the book.
Oh – I am delighted that you have taken time to read this excellent book. Just yesterday I finished reading it, and all the Torah that it covers, for the third time.
I love how Jasher makes it so clear that Torah was taught and followed from the beginning of time.
Thanks for the note Michael!
ham broke the commandments.thou shalt not steal.he stole.
I am on chapter 15 and am enjoying it. Thank you for sharing…
This was enjoyable and exciting. It also filled in the gaps that I always questioned as a child. It’s funny that some found it somewhat unbelievable. Even my husband when I told him some stories from it found it unbelievable, but I didn’t question it it made complete sense to me. When God lets you live “with God nothing is impossible” in your own life you will find it easier to believe the impossible. As God says:’My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts” When you grasp those words of God you will truly be able to grasp “trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path”
I have read some of the book of Jasher and the parts I remember the most are: the men who gave “potions” to their concubines so they wouldn’t have children and become undesirable to them…reminds me of “the pill” nowadays. 🙁 Also, there is a part in the Scriptures that mentions the Israelites having the sword of one of the enemies they had just conquered, but never mentions how they got it…the book of Jasher gives all the “gory” details and tells us how the sword was obtained. My favorite (so far) though, is the story of Moshe and how he became “slow of speech”. Many people get offended when I bring up the book of Jasher and the history it helps to complete, but I know that it is a gift. One that I am happy to have. 🙂
H3477
יש×ר yaÌ‚shaÌ‚r
BDB Definition:
1) straight, upright, correct, right
1a) straight, level
1b) right, pleasing, correct
1c) straightforward, just, upright, fitting, proper
1d) uprightness, righteous, upright
1e) that which is upright (substantive)
H3477
ָיָשׁר yāšār: An adjective meaning straight, just, right. (WordStudy Dictionary)
(Rsi% Y-ShR) – I. Cord: The cord of the bow. [df: rty] II. Straight: A straight line, path or thought. III. Remnant: [df: rty] [freq. 220] |kjv: cord, string, right, upright, righteous, straight, convenient, equity, just, meet, well, rest, remnant, residue, leave, excellency, exceeding, excellent, plentifully| {str: 3477, 3499} (Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible)
Here is someone reading each chapter of Jasher. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nPwIT013cM
I have been reading this for the past couple of weeks now. It is amazing to me. I had seen it referred to in Scripture before and was always wondering why it was not included. Then I went on a quest to find the book. I actually had this book years ago and just never read it. I guess now was the time it was supposed to be for me. Now, I know more than I did years ago about Torah. So, it helps when I read it now.
Thanks Michael, much appreciated! I shall read it.
I have read the book of Jasher. I believe the writer of the book was an Israelite. It is a good source of informations
Michael – I have read Jasher and have relished it. Our Bible Study is currently going through it in parallel with the Bible. But…how to reconcile the ambiguous nature of its origins? There seems to be more evidence denouncing its authenticity than confirming it. The only confirmations I could find were by the authors or publishers themselves. I know there was a book of Jasher mentioned in the Bible, I just don’t know how to be sure this is it. How have you found to treat it/handle it as compared to the Torah and other confirmed historical books/documents?
Here is my answer in brief.
To me it really does not matter where it comes from. I know my Father’s voice and I see and hear it all over Yasher. There is no single book that I have learned more Torah from, than Yasher.
I too have read portions of the Book of Jasher given its mention in Scripture. Ihave also read bits and pieces of the apocryphal books. Michael, what is your take on these writings? I can’t say I will give them the same weight as the Canon of Scripture but there is much to gleen, much like Jasher and other writings of the sages. THoughts?
I see Yehovah’s spirit all over in Jasher and love it for this reason; but I do sense the same spirit in Enoch or any of the apocryphal book.
What of the Book of Jubilees ?
I’ve looked at it a couple of times, but a just don’t hear my Master’s (Jehovah’) voice in it.
I absolutely agree with Michael! Those “forbidden” books contain a treasure of wisdom. By the way : Who decided which books should be canonized ? The catholics!
Yes I love the book wisdom.sirach.Baruch.Jasher.
Yasher
Thanks Mike will get back to you as soon as I read it…just downloaded it with the PDFXchange viewer.
Shalom Michael! yes, Sefer HaYashar. Very interesting work. The description of the man/animal hybrids adds another angle to Genesis 6, … that of some kind of mixing of species, or DNA/genetic manipulation. Sounds like a description of some of the beasts of Greek mythology. Chapter 5 v.8 from the context, seems to indicate 120 Jubilee cycles for the lifespan of mankind, rather than 120 (365 day) year lifespans for individuals.
Yashar does seem to parallel Genesis closely, while adding detail to many of the Biblical accounts.
Thanks for the info. I downloaded your files – with and without your highlights and notes – onto my laptop. I also found a 300 page, unabridged Kindle edition for $.99 on Amazon. I put it on my tablet. The font is really small but I can take it places where my laptop would be cumbersome. I’m going to start reading in a few minutes.
That is great Ruthey! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
I downloaded book of Josher with your comments, but unable to open the little quote box. Example the first little green on by Chapter one. Is there something special I have to do to open them?
Hello Irene, Adobe PDF Reader usually work fine, but not great. Are is a fantastic PDF reader that is free http://www.tracker-software.com/
Look for the “FREE VERSION” download in the upper left hand corner of this page.
Hi, thanks for your sharing of this book. And I just want to ask if the version of Jasher is reliable??? I Google it and most pages answer it was “lost”, so as a christian, I don’t know how reliable it is. Is the version totally the same with that mentioned in the Old Testament??
Hello OP and thanks M. Müller for signing my Guestbook, it is always nice to know where my readers come from.
I have found Yasher to be the only book that has given me insight into Torah and helped me see things that I would probably never would have seen without it. I have looked at some other versions but I just did not hear Yehovah’s spirit in them, like I do this one. But treat it like any commentary, whether it is the NT or anything else; we need to be like the fair-minded Bereans who listened to what Paul and Silas had to say and then searched “the scriptures” to see if what they said was so.
Of course, the scriptures they searched were Yehovah’s words given through Moses and His other prophets. Ha – I would be FAR more concerned over questioning whether or not the NT is reliable; I would trust Yasher of it, every time.
Love the book of Jasher, It is almost the book of Genisis
I never thought of getting the book of Jasher; thank you a lot for sharing the book. One thing I disagree with you that is that you told the Israelites stayed in Egypt for only 200 and odd years but not 400 or 430 years. How can you deny what is written in Genesis 15;13 ( 400 years ) and Exodus 12;40 ( 430 years ) ? You can not change the word of God to support your opinion but can change your opinion to support the Word of God. I do believe that the book of Jasher also must be treated as canonical. So what is written in it is exactly correct because the book is mentioned in the canonical books; but our interpretations may sometimes be not correct.
Great Comment D.Samuel!
I felt the same way until I read Yasher. Then I had to take a much closer looks at what Torah says. Here is a note I wrote that addresses your question.
http://weareisrael.org/2015/08/24/spiritually-born-seed/
Michael
I read the book of Jasher a few months back and thought it was very interesting. I had always wanted to know more about Moses’ life before the exodus. In continuing my search for truth, i stumbled upon another Book of Jasher from 1829 translated by Alcuin of Britain. As far as i can tell, it’s only available on Google books. I installed the Google Play Books app on my phone in order to download the book, among others. Lots of interesting content available there from the 1800s. So far everything dating that far back is free to read/download. Right out of the gate, i noticed this Book of Jasher started off differently. It’s pace is faster, reaching into Moses’ life rather quickly. I’m currently in chapter 28 and already Jethro is helping Moses deal with the multitudes post exodus. If anyone cares to look into it, you can find it on the Google Play Books app under the title, Book of Jasher with Testimonies and Notes.
Thanks, Keep up the good works.
In the below Site there is the Complete proof Concerning Book of Jasher
https://biblekrps.blogspot.com/2020/07/original-book-of-jasher1400bc.html
Thanks Grace!
As a Christian, it fills in and supplements some of the old testament books. Although not considered canon, I sense when reading it, that it is God inspired. I picked up many passages that were interesting and have documented them in a notebook. I would love to hear more about your findings since you are probably more knowledgeable than I about the comparison to the old testament. Thanks for sharing.
On this (The Book of Yasher) page I have a pdf link with my notes in it. If you will download it you will be able to see all of my thoughts and comments.