Editing Sefer haYashar (midrash) (section)

==Translations==
===Johann Abicht's Latin translation===
[[Johann Georg Abicht]], professor of theology at the [[University of Halle-Wittenberg]],<ref>Johann Christoph Gottsched ''Briefwechsel: Unter Einschluss Des Briefwechsels Von Luise ...'' 2007 Page 398 "13 Der vorherige Rektor, Johann Georg Abicht, war 1729 zum Professor der Theologie nach Wittenberg berufen worden und hatte im Mai 1730 sein neues Amt angetreten;"</ref> translated the 1625 text into Latin as ''Dissertatio de Libro recti'' (Leipzig, 1732).<ref>Religious books, 1876-1982: Volume 1 R.R. Bowker Company. Dept. of Bibliography, R.R. Bowker Company. Publications Systems Dept - 1983 "A Latin version by Johann G. Abicht appeared in Leipzig, 1732, with title: Dissertatio de Libro recti."</ref>

===Moses Samuel's English translation===
The first translation into English of the 1625 Venice edition was published in 1840 by [[Mordecai Manuel Noah]]<ref name="ABE"/> and A. S. Gould. The translator was not named but was lauded by one of the four [[Hebraist]]s who commented in the preface.
{{Blockquote|To Mssrs Noah and Gould. Gentlemen – I am acquainted with the 'Book of Jasher,' having read a considerable part of it while in the hands of the translator in England. The Hebrew is very purely written, and the translator is an eminent scholar.|Rabbi H. V. Nathan, Kingston Synagogue, Jamaica, April 14, 1840}}

Subsequently, the translator identified himself as [[Moses Samuel]] of Liverpool (1795–1860), who had obtained a copy of the 1625 Hebrew edition and become convinced that the core of this work truly was the self-same ''Book of the Upright'' referenced in Hebrew scriptures. He translated the document into English and, after the Royal Asiatic Society at Calcutta declined to publish it, sold the translation to New York City publisher Noah for £150 in 1839. Samuel later said of the absence of his name on the translation that "I did not put my name to it as my Patron and myself differed about its authenticity" – Noah having had less confidence in the 1625 document than did Samuel.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wasserstein|first=Bernard|date=28 May 1998|title=Moses Samuel, Liverpool Hebraist|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29779980|journal=Jewish Historical Studies|volume=35|pages=93–102|jstor=29779980|url-access=registration}}</ref>

Even so, Noah enthusiastically claimed in his promotional materials 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's works. Noah's 1840 preface contained endorsements by Hebrew scholars of the day, all of whom praised the quality of the translation, but these said nothing to indicate they believed it to be the work referred to in Joshua and 2 Samuel. In fact one of them, [[Samuel H. Turner]] (1790–1861), of the General Theological Seminary in New York City, commented that "The work itself is evidently composed in the purest Rabbinical Hebrew, with a large intermixture of the Biblical idiom", indicating he was not of the opinion that it was an ancient text.

===Edward B.M. Browne English translation===
Another translation of this book exists, created by Reform rabbi and editor, Dr. Edward B.M. Browne, known as "Alphabet" Browne, and published in New York in 1876.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Jewish Book Annual. 1989-1990 (5750)|pages=46|editor-last=Kabakoff|editor-first=Jacob|volume=47|chapter=Rabbinic Literature in the United States, 1761-1917: A Brief Survey}}</ref>