Book of Jasher (biblical references)
The Book of Jasher (also spelled Jashar, Hebrew: סֵפֶר הַיׇּשׇׁר; transliteration: sēfer hayyāšār), which means the Book of the Upright or the Book of the Just Man is an unknown book mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The translation "Book of the Just Man" is the traditional Greek and Latin translation, while the transliterated form "Jasher" is found in the King James Bible, 1611.
The book is mentioned twice in the Hebrew Bible.
According to the Book of Joshua, while Joshua was winning a battle against Adonizedek (king of Jerusalem) and his allies, Joshua prayed for the sun and moon to stand still. Joshua 10:13 then states:
- And the Sun stood still, and the Moon stayed,
- until the people had avenged themselves on their enemies.
- Is this not written in Sefer HaYashar?
The presence of this event in a book of poetry has been interpreted as a poetic description of the prolonged battle.
According to the medieval Jewish scholar Rashi, "Sefer HaYashar" in this verse refers to the Pentateuch: Jacob's prophecy regarding Joshua's ancestor Ephraim — “His seed will fill the nations” — was fulfilled when Joshua's victory gave him renown among the various nations who heard of the victory.
- To teach the Sons of Judah the use of the bow; behold it is written in the book of Jasher.
The King James Version of the English Bible includes the words "the use of" in italics, material which its translator(s) added in order to render the text into what they considered understandable and comfortable English. According to some other translations (such as the English Standard Version), David taught his Judeans "The Bow", which they hypothesize was a poetic lament of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. According to this interpretation, this "Bow" was a lament or a tune contained in the Book of Jashar which that book also says was taught to the Israelites.
The Septuagint translation renders sefer hayashar in both cases as the 'Book of the Just'. It also misses the reference to the bow. It reads:
- And he gave orders to teach it the sons of Iouda: behold it is written in the Book of the Just.
A possible third reference appears in I Kings 8. In the Septuagint (though not in the Hebrew text or in most translations), verse 8:53 says that the preceding prayer of Solomon is written "in the book of song" (ἐν βιβλίῳ τῆς ᾠδῆς). The Hebrew version of this could be ספר השיר, which is the same as "Sefer HaYashar" with two letters transposed. This suggests that the book's name could be related to its function as a book of song, and the second word of the name might have originally been שיר ("song") or ישיר ("he will sing").
- Book of Jasher (Pseudo-Jasher) - an 18th-century literary forgery which purports to be an English translation of the lost Book of Jasher.
- Sefer haYashar (midrash) - a Hebrew midrash, also known as The Book of Jasher, named after the lost Book of Jasher.
- Joshua 1-:12
- Joshua 10:13