[Apocrypha]
The Book Of Jasher
Chapter 24
This is one of the apochrypal Books of Jasher. There are several (as many as five) separate works by this title, all composed much later than Biblical times. This particular one is a translation of a Hebrew book printed in 1613. Sepir Ha Yasher, the Hebrew title of this book, means the 'Book of the Upright', or 'the Upright or Correct Record'. This title was misread as 'Jasher', and at some point Jasher was treated as a proper name; however the pronoun 'the' (hebrew 'ha') never preceeds proper names.
There is also another spurious Book of Jasher, published 1750, in which Jasher is treated as the name of the author.
This text covers much of the same ground as the traditional Mosaic books of the Bible, from the creation of the world to the death of Moses, albeit with several minor variations.
The Book of Jasher (or Jashar) is mentioned twice in the Old Testament. What is it? Should the Book of Jasher be in the Bible?
The first place this writing is mentioned can be found in Joshua 10:13. There we read, "Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day." In this account, God had supernaturally caused the sun to be "stopped in the midst of heaven" to allow Joshua and the Israelites the light they needed to win a military victory. Joshua notes that this event was also recorded accurately in the Book of Jasher. He did not state whether all of the Book of Jasher is accurate, its origin, or whether it should be in the Bible.
The second place the Book of Jasher is mentioned is in 2 Samuel 1:18-27. The text contains a lament written by David concerning the deaths of Saul and Saul's son Jonathan. Again, no mention is made of the background of the Book of Jasher. Further, the quote simply notes that this account was also included in another source.
In the 1700s a Book of Jasher was published that alleged to be a translation of the Book of Jasher by Alcuin, an eighth-century British writer. Another work named Pseudo-Jasher and written in Hebrew is dated to the 1600s but is also not connected with the version mentioned in the Old Testament. Though its claim to be the original is inaccurate, its introduction notes other attempts at a Book of Jasher "by Zerahiah Ha-Yevani of the 13th century. There is also known to have been one written by Rabbi Jacob ben Mier of the 12th century, and one by Rabbi Jonah ben Abraham of Gerona of the 14th century. We are told of a work by that title from the Amoraim period (3rd to 6th centuries) that is characterized as containing 'for the most part sayings of the sages of the first and second centuries.'" Again, however, the original work of the Book of Jasher is apparently lost and is now only known through its two references in the Bible.
Because the Book of Jasher no longer exists, it clearly cannot be part of the Bible. Yet even if it did exist today, there is no reason to believe it would need to be added to the Bible. The Old Testament writings were already affirmed and had been translated into Greek before the time of Christ. No biblical writer claimed the Book of Jasher was divine; only that it served as another source to confirm for two biblical references.
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The Book of Jubilees, probably written in the 2nd century B.C.E., is an account of the Biblical history of the world from creation to Moses. It is divided into periods ('Jubilees') of 49 years. For the most part the narrative follows the familiar account in Genesis, but with some additional details such as the names of Adam and Eve's daughters, and an active role for a demonic entity called 'Mastema'. The anonymous author had a preoccupation with calendar reform, and uses Jubilees as a platform for proposing a solar calendar of 364 days and 12 months; this would have been a radical departure from the Jewish Calendar, which is lunar-based. There are also a couple of messianic, apocalyptic passages, although quite a bit less than the Book of Enoch.
The only complete version of Jubilees is in Ethiopian, although large fragments in Greek, Latin and Syriac are also known. It is believed that it was originally written in Hebrew. If at times one gets the impression that you are reading a first draft of Genesis, you are in good company. R.H. Charles, the translator, a distinguished academic Biblical scholar, concluded that Jubilees was a version of the Pentateuch, written in Hebrew, parts of which later became incorporated into the earliest Greek version of the Jewish Bible, the Septuagint.
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