The Book of Jasher

Joshua 10:13 “And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher?

2 Samuel 1:18 He bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow. Behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.

The book of Jasher is mentioned these two times in the bible. It is natural to look for this book to learn more about these events. The problem is that the so-called book of Jasher available today is a complete fabrication. In fact, the person credited with translating this book into English, Jacob Ilives, was convicted and sent to prison for forgery.

A quick scan of YouTube will reveal multiple videos on the book of Jasher with titles like “the lost book of Jasher”, “forbidden knowledge”, “lost biblical secrets”, “the banned book of Jasher” etc. Unfortunately, many pastors and teachers accept the accounts written in this book and relate them as if they were on par with scripture just because they contain familiar people and places. Beloved, this modern book is NOT the book of Jasher mentioned in the Old Testament. At best, it is an 11-12th century Jewish midrash rewritten by Joseph Ben Samuel (in Hebrew) in 1625 (photo of cover page at the top) and translated into English by Jacob Ilives around 1751. Don’t be fooled by this forgery or the people promoting it.