jasher Summary and Overview

upright. "The Book of Jasher," rendered in the LXX. "the Book of the Upright One," by the Vulgate "the Book of Just Ones," was probably a kind of national sacred song-book, a collection of songs in praise of the heroes of Israel, a "book of golden deeds," a national anthology. We have only two specimens from the book, (1) the words of Joshua which he spake to the Lord at the crisis of the battle of Beth-horon (Josh. 10:12, 13); and (2) "the Song of the Bow," that beautiful and touching mournful elegy which David composed on the occasion of the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. 1:18-27).

(upright),Book of ("the book of the upright"), alluded to in two passages only of the Old Testament. #Jos 10:13| and 2Sam 1:18 It was probably written in verse; and it has been conjectured that it was a collection of ancient records of honored men or noble deeds. It is wholly lost.

JA'SHER , BOOK OF (upright). Twice referred to. Josh 10:13; 2 Sam 1:18; probably a collection of national songs, now lost.

A book alluded to only in Joshua 10:13 as containing Joshua's, miracle of commanding the sun and the moon to stand still; 2 Samuel 1:18 as containing David's elegy over Saul and Jonathan, entitled the "bow" song, celebrating Jonathan famous for the bow (compare 2 Samuel 1:22 and Psalm 60), a national song to be "taught'" to the people (not "he bade them teach the children of Judah (the use of) the bow"): Deuteronomy 31:19. (See DAVID ). Jasher means upright. Jeshurun is the upright nation (so in its ideal), namely, Israel. So Septuagint "the book of the upright one"; Vulgate "the book of just ones"; the Syriac, "the book of praise songs," from Hebrew yashir . Exodus 15:1, "thensang." This Book of Jasher was a kind of national sacred songbook, continued from age to age, according as great crises moved Israelites to mighty deeds, and poets to immortalize them; like the "chronicles" of the kings of Israel often alluded to in later times. So the Book of Psalms, beginning with David's, received fresh accessions from age to age down to the time of the return from Babylon, when it was completed. "The Book of the Wars of the Lord"(Numbers 21:14,15) similarly records in sacred odes Israel's triumphant progress; of these we have left the fragment as to passing the Arnon, the song of the well, and that on the conquest of Sihon's kingdom (ver. 17,18,27-30). The Targum and Jarchi explain, "the book of the law." Jerome (on Isaiah 44:2) mentions that Genesis was called" the book of the just." The only two specimens of the Book of Jasher extant are rhythmical. In this respect, and in its being uninspired or at least not preserved as part of our inspired canon, this book differs from the Pentateuch; both alike record successively the exploits of Jeshurun, the ideally upright nation.