"But thou didst this thing and didst slay thy brother for naught and because he spoke rightly to thee, and now, therefore, cursed be thou from the ground which opened its mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand, and wherein thou didst bury him." ~ Jasher 1:31
"And the soul of Enoch was wrapped up in the instruction of the Lord, in knowledge and in understanding; and he wisely retired from the sons of men, and secreted himself from them for many days. And it was at the expiration of many years, whilst he was serving the Lord, and praying before him in his house, that an angel of the Lord called to him from Heaven, and he said, Here am I. And he said, Rise, go forth from thy house and from the place where thou dost hide thyself, and appear to the sons of men, in order that thou mayest teach them the way in which they should go and the work which they must accomplish to enter in the ways of God. And Enoch rose up according to the word of the Lord, and went forth from his house, from his place and from the chamber in which he was concealed; and he went to the sons of men and taught them the ways of the Lord, and at that time assembled the sons of men and acquainted them with the instruction of the Lord." ~ Jasher 3:2-5
"And it was in the third day that the king sent to Terah, saying, Send me thy son for a price as I spoke to thee; and shouldst thou not do this, I will send and slay all thou hast in thy house, so that thou shalt not even have a dog remaining. And Terah hastened, (as the thing was urgent from the king), and he took a child from one of his servants, which his handmaid had born to him that day, and Terah brought the child to the king and received value for him. And the Lord was with Terah in this matter, that Nimrod might not cause Abram's death, and the king took the child from Terah and with all his might dashed his head to the ground, for he thought it had been Abram; and this was concealed from him from that day, and it was forgotten by the king, as it was the will of Providence not to suffer Abram's death." ~ Jasher 8:32-34
"And when the king heard the words of Rikayon and his wisdom, Rikayon found grace in his sight, and he met with grace and kindness from all the servants of the king and from all the inhabitants of Egypt, on account of his wisdom and excellent speeches, and from that time they loved him exceedingly. And the king answered and said to Rikayon, Thy name shall no more be called Rikayon but Pharaoh shall be thy name, since thou didst exact a tax from the dead; and he called his name Pharaoh. And the king and his subjects loved Rikayon for his wisdom, and they consulted with all the inhabitants of Egypt to make him prefect under the king. And all the inhabitants of Egypt and its wise men did so, and it was made a law in Egypt. And they made Rikayon Pharaoh prefect under Oswiris king of Egypt, and Rikayon Pharaoh governed over Egypt, daily administering justice to the whole city, but Oswiris the king would judge the people of the land one day in the year, when he went out to make his appearance. And Rikayon Pharaoh cunningly usurped the government of Egypt, and he exacted a tax from all the inhabitants of Egypt. And all the inhabitants of Egypt greatly loved Rikayon Pharaoh, and they made a decree to call every king that should reign over them and their seed in Egypt, Pharaoh. Therefore all the kings that reigned in Egypt from that time forward were called Pharaoh unto this day." ~ Jasher 14:26-33
The Book of Jasher makes a slight departure from Abraham [in Bible literature] to inform readers about the first man who is called Pharaoh. This chapter of Jasher also points out that the Egyptians were technically the descendants of Ham (son of Noah) and it is obvious the knowledge of resurrection was passed down to them from their forefathers [who were Noah and Ham]. Another deviation from biblical literature in Jasher states that Abraham taught the Egyptians the knowledge of the stars and the Creator's plan for redemption which were written in the stars. While Nimrod started to change that which was taught before him by introducing idols, it was Abraham who brought the sacred knowledge of God back to Ur (formerly known as Babel).
Other Characters
Mankind and the Animals: In Jasher 4:18 it says, "And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice, and the sons of men in those days took of the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of the animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth was corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals." Could this explain the statement of God in Genesis 6:5 which says, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."? Jasher also points out even the animals complied with mankind to provoke the Creator. Could this be a reason why only two of each species of animals were allowed to enter the ark? It is also interesting to note that Jasher 6:3-5 also provides an explanation of how all the animals were able to fit on Noah's ark.
Noah's Wife: According to Jasher, Noah and Methuseleh preached for 120 years before the flood (5:8-9); but Jasher added more to the story by introducing a wife for Noah. In Jasher 5:15-16 Noah marries Enoch's daughter (from the lineage of Cain). "Noah went and took a wife, and he chose Naamah the daughter of Enoch, and she was five hundred and eighty years old. And Noah was four hundred and ninety years old, when he took Naamah for a wife." While most all historians agree that the lineage of Cain ended with Lamech (4x grandson of Cain and 5x grandson of Adam), does Jasher enlighten that the Creator never intended for Cain's lineage to end?
Melchizedek: In accordance with the book of Jasher, Shem (son of Noah) was inferred as being Melchizedek. Jasher 16:11 states, "And Adonizedek, King of Jerusalem, the same was Shem, went out with his men to meet Abram and his people, with bread and wine, and they remained together in the valley of Melech." According to Jasher, there can be only one man serving as Melchizedek at any given time until his death, then the title is passed down to the eldest son. The title of Melchizedek would have thus been handed down to Noah and in turn bequeathed to his son, Shem, carrying the title into the Post-Flood world. The mysterious identity of Melchizedek in the Genesis narrative have scholars agreeing that Melchizedek was Jesus, while a small minority of theologians believe Shem and Melchizedek were one in the same.
Conclusion
Some scholars believe when we look at the canon of Jasher, in comparison to the other holy books of the Bible, it goes into much more detail than the scribes had intended to be known. Therefore, Jasher was counted among the extra-canonical books that did not make the cut into the Bible. Other historians argue the book of Jasher is not inspired by God [like the books of prophets]. And yet there are other theologians that believe the Book of Jasher was lost and has not survived to modern times; the modern book of Jasher is no more than a forgery. While scholars and theologians continue to disagree on the authenticity and clarity of the book of Jasher, the fact remains the book is referenced in the Bible three times (Joshua 10:13, 2 Samuel 1:18 and 2 Timothy 3:8) gives credit to its relevance. So, when it comes to the book of Jasher... Who's ? Right
1 comment:
When I read Adonizedek, I immediately thought of Melchizedek. Nice read. 👍🏻
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