The Book
of Jasher, or the Book of the Generations of Adam as it is sometimes called, was
a wonderful read. I found it very enlightening because it added so much more
detail then one might get from Genesis and Exodus. Abraham is shown in a far
more detailed light and his birth as well as young adult life was rife with
trials. The book goes into detail about how Abraham was the son of Terah who was
himself a servant of king Nimrod. Abraham was almost killed in infanthood just
like Moses and MESSIAH. Abraham was also cast into a burning fire much in the
same way the three Hebrew servants of Yah were during Nebuchadnezzars days.
Abraham was delivered from Nimrod's fiery furnace and was called out of the land
of Ur by the voice of YAHWEH. The entire book is FILLED with details like that
including where Balaam son of Beor came from and how the lives of Moses and
Balaam intertwined on many accounts. The whole story of Jacob, Esau, Isaac and
the rest as well as details about Joseph will delight the reader. I cannot
understand why this book was taken out of the cannon later on other then to
think that perhaps some of the more unbelievable events might have inspired such
scribery. These events might include descriptions of creatures half man, half
beast (minotaur), babies being fed solely by the hand of YAH in the swamp,
incredible battles with such physical feats that boggle the mind, and many other
things that the book of Jasher goes into depth about.
The book of Jasher is mentioned in
the protestant cannon of scripture in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18. In fact
even at the end of the book of Jasher, the familiar statement is made "And
the other affairs of Joshua and his battles and his reproofs with which he
reproved Israel, and all which he had commanded them, and the names of the
cities which the children of Israel possessed in those days, Behold they are
written in the book of the words of Joshua to the children of Israel, and in the
book of the wars of the Lord, which Moses and Joshua and the children of Israel
had written"... So, After reading this book , and realizing that not only
is the book of Jasher mentioned in the Torah, and that it is rumored to have
been originally included in the Jewish cannon, I have to think that the book of
Jasher is indeed an accurate account and should have been included. I do have an
issue included in a quote that was taken below.
Chapter LXXIII, Verse 35 "For the Lord our God gave Ham the son of Noah, and his
children and all his seed, as slaves to the children of Shem and to the children
of Japeth, and unto their seed after them for slaves, forever."
This quote from the book of Jasher
seems to indicate a theology that entails a particular theory of race relations
that has been odiously characterized in the past as racist and therefore invalid.
I have heard 2 basic theories about the supposed curse Noah placed upon Ham ,
his son. One theory says that it was only Canaan (Ham's son) who was cursed and
Caanan's land was given to the Israelites later on during the conquest and
occupation of Joshua and this fulfilled the prophecy. However, if the book of
Jasher is true, then the Aryans and white supremists have been right all along
in asserting that Yahweh did indeed put events into place that would
providentially make the sons of Ham slaves to the sons of Shem and Japheth. I
realize this is an incredibly volatile issue and I will say no more about this.
I had a great deal of difficulty reconciling it myself.
However, for all intents and purposes, I must say that the book of Jasher will increase knowledge and
understanding of the events surrounding the lives of the great patriarchs of old
-Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as Joseph, Moses, and Joshua. All of these
men were mighty men of Yahweh and the book of Jasher recounts their lives in
clarity, precision, and animation that no other account I have read can give.