Editing Sefer haYashar (midrash)

{{short description|Medieval Hebrew midrash}}
{{Hatnote|For other works of the same name see [[Sefer haYashar (disambiguation)]].}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Rabbinical Literature}}
'''Sefer haYashar''' ({{lang|he|ספר הישר}}) is a medieval [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''[[midrash]]'', also known as the '''Toledot Adam''' and '''Divrei haYamim heArukh'''. The Hebrew title "Sefer haYashar" might be translated as the "Book of Righteousness" (or literally "Book of the Straight")<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Sefer_HaYashar?tab=contents |title=Sefer HaYashar |website=Sefaria |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref> but it is known in English translation mostly as '''The Book of Jasher''' following English tradition. Its author is unknown.<ref name=ABE>{{cite web |title=Sefer Ha-Yashar, or, the Book of Jasher |website=ABE Books |url=https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9781112470233/Sefer-Ha-Yashar-Book-Jasher-Referred-1112470239/plp |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>

==Other books of the same name==
The book is named after the [[Sefer HaYashar (Biblical references)|Book of Jasher]] mentioned in [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]] and [[Books of Samuel|2 Samuel]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |entry=Yashar, Sefer Ha- |title=Jewish Encyclopedia |author1=Joseph Jacobs |author2=Schulim Ochser |year=1906 |pages=588–589 |url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15067-yashar-sefer-ha |access-date=2024-08-26}}</ref>

Although it is presented as the original "Book of Jasher" in translations such as that of Moses Samuel (1840), it is not accepted as such in [[rabbinical Judaism]].  It should not be confused with the very different ''[[Book of Jasher (Pseudo-Jasher)]]'' printed by [[Jacob Ilive]] in 1751, which was purported to have been translated by the English monk [[Alcuin]].

Additionally, an ethical text was written under the same name (not purporting to be the biblical book). According to the ''[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]]'', Volume 14, p.&nbsp;1099, this work was "probably written in the 13th century."

[[Rabbeinu Tam]] also titled his work of Talmudic novellae [[Sefer haYashar (Rabbeinu Tam)|Sefer Hayashar]].

==Content==
The book covers [[biblical history]] from the creation of [[Adam and Eve]] until a summary of the initial [[Israelite]] conquest of [[Canaan]] in the beginning of the [[book of Judges]].

The Bible quotes a book of Jasher twice; once in Joshua 10:13 which can be found in Sefer haYashar 88:63-64, and in 2 Samuel 1:17-27 where David sings a song of lament called use of the bow however no parts of this song can be found in Sefer haYashar. 

But the book as a whole was written much later, as shown by chapter 10, which covers the descendants of [[Noah]], but uses [[Middle Ages|medieval]] names for territories and countries, most obviously ''Franza'' for France and ''Lumbardi'' in ''[[Italy|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 {{circa|950}}.

Most of its extra-Biblical accounts are found in nearly the same form in other medieval compilations, or in the [[Talmud]], other ''midrash'' or [[Arabic language|Arabic]] sources. For example, it includes the common tale that [[Lamech (descendant of Cain)|Lamech]] and his son [[Jabal (Bible)|Jabal]] accidentally killed [[Cain]], thus requiting Cain's wickedness for slaying [[Abel]].

There are five discrepancies when comparing it with chapter 5 of Genesis: When the Sefer relates that a son of Seth died "in the eighty-fourth year of the life of Noah," it calls that son ''Enoch'' instead of ''Enosh''. Enoch actually was Jared's son. Other than the confusion of the names, the date agrees with Genesis. The Sefer also relates that Jared died in the "336th year of the life of Noah" (instead of the 366th year, as in Genesis) and that Lamech died in the "195th year of the life of Noah (instead of the 595th year). It also gives different lifespans for Lamech (770 instead of 777) and Methuselah (960 instead of 969).

In its genealogy of Abram (7:19), it makes no mention of the [[Cainan]] between [[Arpachshad]] and [[Selah (biblical figure)|Selah]], in congruence with the [[Masoretic Text]] and the [[Samaritan Pentateuch]], but in conflict with the [[Septuagint]] and with the [[genealogy of Jesus]] in [[Luke 3]].

In its highly interpolated account of God'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, in which Abraham's response was only: "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering."

The book, when recounting episodes from the pericope ''[[Shemot (parsha)|Shemot]]'', contains anecdotal material about [[Moses]] when he fled from [[Pharaoh]] after killing the Egyptian, and who is said to have fled to the [[Kingdom of Kush|land of Kush]] at the age of eighteen,<ref>{{cite book|last=anonymous|title=Sefer ha-Yashar ʻal ha-Torah  |publisher=Alter-Bergman|year=1955|location=Tel-Aviv|page=193 |language=he|oclc=762416207}}</ref> where he was made the king of Kush at the age of twenty-seven,<ref>{{cite book|last=anonymous|title=Sefer ha-Yashar ʻal ha-Torah  |publisher=Alter-Bergman|year=1955|location=Tel-Aviv|page=194 |language=he|oclc=762416207}}</ref> and there reigned for forty years before being deposed at the age of sixty-seven.<ref>{{cite book|last=anonymous|title=Sefer ha-Yashar ʻal ha-Torah  |publisher=Alter-Bergman|year=n.d.|location=Tel-Aviv|page=198 |language=he|oclc=762416207}}</ref> According to this narrative, which is also alluded to in [[Josephus]]' ''[[Antiquities of the Jews|Antiquities]]'' (2.10.[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D2%3Asection%3D243 1–2]),<ref>Josephus' account of the story differs vastly, in that, according to Josephus, Moses had been sent by Pharaoh as a general to wage war against his enemies, the people of Kush.</ref><ref>Cf. [[Abraham ibn Ezra]]'s commentary on Numbers [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14084&st=&pgnum=143&hilite= 12:1] (Hebrew), where he wrote: "...and there are those who say that Moses reigned over Kush and took a Negro wife, etc." See also ''[[Yalkuṭ Shim'oni]]'' on Exodus, sect. 247:168.</ref>  Moses assisted the indigenous peoples of the country in their conquest of one of the rebellious cities (whose proprietor was Bilʻam the sorcerer) and which had been under siege for nine years. The narrative recounts how that when the enemy's country was infested with poisonous serpents, Moses contrived a stratagem how they could advance on the besieged city and take it without suffering harm from the vipers, by bringing along with them caged birds who fed upon snakes, and releasing the hungry birds in the enemy's territory.<ref>{{cite book|last=anonymous|title=Sefer ha-Yashar ʻal ha-Torah  |publisher=Alter-Bergman|year=1955|location=Tel-Aviv|pages=194–195 |language=he|oclc=762416207}}</ref> At this advice, they were able to take the city and they made Moses their king, and gave to him in marriage the deceased king's wife, whose name was Adoniya (the widow of Qiqanos).<ref>{{cite book|last=anonymous|title=Sefer ha-Yashar ʻal ha-Torah  |publisher=Alter-Bergman|year=1955|location=Tel-Aviv|page=195 |language=he|oclc=762416207}}</ref>

==History==
Scholars have proposed various dates between the 9th and 16th century for its composition.

The earliest extant version of this Hebrew ''midrash'' was printed in [[Venice]] in 1625, and the introduction refers to an earlier 1552 edition in [[Naples]], of which neither trace nor other mention has been found. The printer Yosèf ben Samuel{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} 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 of [[Kabbalah]] in general. Modena was a member of the Venetian rabbinate that supervised the Hebrew press in Venice, and Modena prevented the printers from identifying ''Sefer ha-Yashar'' with the Biblical lost book.<ref>The Scandal of Kabbalah: Leon Modena, Jewish Mysticism, Early ... - Page 68 Yaacob Dweck - 2011 "Modena compared the pseudepigraphic character of the Zohar to Sefer ha-Yashar, a Hebrew work printed in Venice in the early seventeenth century.  34 Sefer ha-Yashar appeared in Venice in 1625. See Joseph Dan, ed., Sefer ha-Yashar "</ref>

{{Blockquote|Behold, it [the Zohar] is like Sefer ha-Yashar, which they printed (without my knowledge and without the knowledge of the sages here in Venice, about twenty years ago). Although I removed the fantasies and falsehoods from it, [e.g.,] that it is the Sefer ha-Yashar mentioned in Scripture, there are still those who claim that it was discovered during the time of the destruction [of the temple]. But who can stop those who imagine in their minds whatever they wish.|Leon Modena, ''Ari Nohem'', before 1648<ref>Leon Modena's ''Ari Nohem'', MS A ed Libowitz 1929 pp73-74</ref> }}

Despite Modena's intervention, the preface to the 1625 version still claims that its original source book came from the ruins of [[Jerusalem]] in 70 CE, where a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] officer named Sidrus allegedly 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 (in [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] known as [[Hispalis]], the provincial capital of [[Hispania Baetica]]). The 1625 edition then claims that at some uncertain point in the history of [[Al-Andalus|Islamic Spain]], the manuscript was transferred or sold to the [[Jewish]] college in [[Córdoba, Spain|Cordova]]. The 1625 edition further claims that scholars preserved the book until its printings in [[Naples]] in 1552 and in [[Venice]] in 1625. Apart from 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<ref>Joseph Sefer HaYashar, edited with an Introduction, Jerusalem: The Bialik Institute 1986.</ref> concludes, from the Hebrew used and other indicators, that the work was in fact written in Naples in the early 16th 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.

==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>

==Acceptance by Latter-day Saints==
[[Joseph Smith]], founder of 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".<ref>[http://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v3n21.htm Times and Seasons, Volume 3, Number 21], reprinted by centerplace.org</ref> [[David Whitmer]] of the [[Three Witnesses]], arguing in favour of accepting scripture outside of the Biblical canon, later wrote in his 1887 [[Whitmerite]] tract ''An Address to All Believers in Christ'', "There are over fifteen books spoken of in the Bible that are not in the Bible. [...] I have a copy of the book of Jasher; It is spoken of in 2 Sam. i:18 and Joshua x:13."<ref>{{cite book |section-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/An_Address_to_All_Believers_in_Christ/Part_First/Chapter_II |section=Part First, Chapter II |title=An Address to All Believers in Christ |last=Whitmer |first=David |author-link=David Whitmer |year=1887}}</ref>

[[John C. Hamer]] has speculated that narrative points in the Book of Jasher relating to [[Adam and Eve]]'s "garments" and their acquisition by [[Nimrod]] may have influenced the development of the practice of wearing [[temple garments]].<ref>{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucS-eKDmt1I&t=1927 |last=Hamer |first=John |author-link=John C. Hamer |date=2022-02-22 |title=The Book of Jasher |work=Centre Place Lectures |time=32:07–36:46 |time-caption=Event occurs between}}</ref>

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 [[Mormons|Mormon]] scholars consider this Book of Jasher to be of authentic ancient Hebrew origin.<ref>{{cite web |title=Origins of the Book of Jasher, 1840 Edition |author=Jeffrey W. Hamilton |website=Christian Library |url=http://www.christianlibrary.org/authors/Jeffrey_W_Hamilton/LVanswers/2011/02-04.html |date=2011-02-04 |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://bookofmormonevidence.org/the-book-of-mormon-and-the-book-of-jasher-what-is-the-connection/ |title= The Book of Mormon and the Book of Jasher - What is the Connection? |website=Book Of Mormon Evidence |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
Some of these scholars suggest that the book likely contains many original portions of the [[Sefer HaYashar (Biblical references)|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{{Who|date=October 2011}} have pointed to certain portions of the book that have commonalities to parts of the [[Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible]], particularly those parts dealing with the [[antediluvian]] 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.<ref>{{cite book |title=Annotated Edition of the Book of Jasher |publisher=Digital Legend Press and Publishing, Inc. |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-944200-70-1 |editor=David Hocking |location=Salt Lake City |page=6 |translator=[[Moses Samuel]]}}</ref> 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 translations:'''
* ''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.
* ''The Book Jashar: the Lost Book of the Bible, Mentioned in Joshua 10-13, and II Samuel 1-18 (1876)'', by Rev. Dr. Edward B. M. Browne.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{JewishEncyclopedia|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15067-yashar-sefer-ha|title=YASHAR, SEFER HA-}}

==External links==
* Moses Samuel translation:
** [https://books.google.com/books?id=OnBAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR1 The Book of Jasher] - M.M. Noah & A.S Gould, New-York, 1840; with reviews for the 2nd edition, publisher and translators prefaces, translation of Hebrew Venice 1825 preface
** '''Plain text:''' [http://www.cumorah.com/etexts/jasher.txt Cumorah Project: LDS and World Classics] (Based on 1840 translation; Includes translator's preface.)
** '''HTML:'''
*** [http://www.ccel.org/a/anonymous/jasher/home.html Christian Etherial Library: Anonymous] (Based on J.H. Parry & Company, Salt Lake City 1887 reprint; With graphic reproduction of translator's preface.)
*** [http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/pseudepigrapha/jasher.html Pseudepigrapha] or [http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/jasher/index.htm Sacred Texts: Apocrypha]  (Based on J.H. Parry & Company, 1887 Salt Lake City reprint)
*** [https://books.google.com/books?id=8AHZ-l0u4n8C&dq=sefer+ha+yashar&pg=RA1-PR17 Google Books] reprint published by J.H. Parry & Company, Salt Lake City, 1887
** {{librivox book |stitle=The Book of Jasher}}
* Edward Browne translation:
** [https://books.google.com/books?id=GMpKAQAAMAAJ Google Books], published by United States Publishing Company, New York, 1876
** [https://www.sefaria.org/Sefer_HaYashar_%28midrash%29 Sefer HaYashar] on [[Sefaria]]

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[[Category:2nd-millennium texts]]
[[Category:Aggadic Midrashim]]
[[Category:Hebrew-language literature]]
[[Category:Jewish medieval literature]]
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[[Category:Oral Torah]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Moses]]