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LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

PRINCETON, N. J. PRESENTED BY

BS 1226 .N6 1840 Sefer ha-Yashar. The book of Jasher

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CERTIFICATES.

University of New York, April, 10, 1840. 1 have compared a large portion of the translation of the Book of Jasher with the original Hebrew, and find it faithfully and eloquently rendered into English. The Hebrew itself is of a very pure character.

ISAAC NORDHIEMER,

Professor ov oriental literature.

To Meesrs. 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, aud the translator is an eminent scholar and has done it ample justice. It is full of interest throughout, and breathes a pure spirit of piety and religion, and I am satisfied that this is the first English translation ever made of that work, the Royal Asiatic Society at Culcutta never having completed the trans- lation of their copy as anticipated.

April 14, 1840. H. V. NATHAN,

Minister of* the English and German synagogue, Kingston, Jamaica.

The following letter is from Professor Turner an able Hebrew scholar.

Theological Seminary, Chelsea Square, N. Y., April 28, 1840. Gentlemen,

Agreeably to a request made to me yesterday by Mr. Noah, I have sufficiently examined the English version of the Rabbinical work which heads the title of "the Book of Jasher," to satisfy myself of its general correctness. I have carefully compared three chapters of the translation with the original, and have no hesita- tion in saying that in general they give a correct representation of the author's meaning, and as literal as the difTerent idioms of the two languages would allow. In some instances however, it would have been desirable that every word of the Hebrew should have been rendered into English. For instance, in ch. i, v. 2, the translator has omitted the word dust, in mentioning man's formation " from the ground," and in v. 4, the literal version after middle part would be " and he took away one of his ribs and built flesh upon it, and made a woman and brought her to the man." In v. 6 also, the Rabbinical writer does not say "called their

names Adam and Eve," but in the very words of the Hebrew bible, v. 2, " called their name Adam." In chap, xx, v. 4, the version reads thus; " and the ser- vants of Abimelech went to Abimelech, saying," in the original it is " and the servants of Abimelech came and praised Sarah to the king, saying, &c." In V. 19, the name of Pharaoh is omitted, and occasionally the word " subjects," is substituted for " servants."

It is possible that the translator made use of a copy of some other edition which may have varied in a few words from that examined by me. The points referred to, are, on the whole, unimportant, and do not detract from the general accu- racy of the translation.

I am respectfully.

Your obt. serv't.

To Messrs. Noah A Gould, SAMUEL H. TURNER

The following letter is from Professor Bush of New York.

New York, April 30, 1840. Gentlemen,

I have examined portions of several chapters of the " Book of Jasher" in the original, carefully comparing with it the translation put into my hands by the publishers. The work itself is evidently composed in the purest Rabbinical He- brew, with a large intermixture of the Biblical idiom, and I consider the trans- lation as a whole, not only as decidedly faithful, but as peculiarly happy in re- taining the air of antique simplicity which distinguishes the original, and which constitutes the matchless excellence of our English version of the Hebrew Scrip- tures. In a few instances I have noticed slight verbal variations from the ori- ginal, similar to those adverted to by Prof Turner, as in one case " choice of our sepulchres''^ for "choice of our land ,-" but they are of too little moment to de- tract from the character of general fidelity which I do not hesitate to assign to the translation.

Very respectfully.

Yours, &c., To Messrs. Noah cj- Gmdd. GEO. BUSH.

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\' 9 1030

THE BOOK OF JASHER

REFERRED TO IN

JOSHUA AND SECOND SAMUEL.

FAITHFnLLY TRANSLATED

FROM THE ORIGINAL HEBREW INTO ENGLISH.

NEW YORK :

PUBLISHED BY M. M. NOAH & A. S. GOULD,

AT 144 NASSAU-STREET.

1840.

C*/^,

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred and forty, by Morde- cai M. Noah & Alexander S. Gould, in the office of the Clerk of the Southern District of New- York.

ALEX. S. GOULD, TYPOGRAPHER, 144 NASSAU-STREET. STEREOTyPED BY R. C. VALENTINE, 45 GOLD-STREET.

PREFACE.

It is with pleasure that I am able to present to the American public the translation of the Book of Jasher, as referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel, which, after several years' negotiation with the owner and trans- lator of the work in England, I have succeeded in obtaining.

There are many books named in the Old Testament, which are now classed among the missing books, or books supposed to have been lost amidst the many revolutions which have occurred in Judea. These books are not included in the Jewish Canons, and it is questionable whether there are any missing of what were considered as emanating from inspired writers ; for, when the works enumerated in the Bible could not be found after the most diligent search, the inference was, that the names applied to other books, or that they were different versions of the same work.

Thus, the Book of the Covenant, (Exodus xxiv. 7.) was a mere collec- tion of the injunctions and institutions delivered by the Almighty to Moses. So it might also be said of the Book of the Law, (Deut. xxxi. 9.) The Book of the wars of the Lord (Numbers xxi. 14.) cannot be found, and is every where spoken of as one of the missing books. Dr. Lightfoot, in his Chronicles, thinks that Moses refers to a book of his own compos- ing, written by command of God, (Exodus xvii. 14.) We think, however, that the Book of Judges is the one referred to as the Book of the wars of the Lord; because, in that book we have all the exploits of the Hebrews detailed at length. We find in Chronicles and Kings a number of books

IV PREFACE.

named, which are not to be found. The acts of David the King, written in the Book of Samuel the Seer, also in the Book of Nathan the Prophet, and also in the Book of Gad the Seer ; the acts of Solomon are in the Book of Nathan the Prophet, and also in the Book of Abijah the Shulam- ite ; the acts of Rehoboam in the Book of Shemaiah the Prophet ; the acts of Jehoshaphat in the Book of Jehu. The journals of the kings of Judah and Israel ; the three thousand and five songs, and a treatise on botany and animated nature, by this learned king, are lost ; so also are the "Acts of Manasseh." These works, not having been found by Ezra, could not have been inserted in the Old Testament, and consequently cannot be con- sidered as having been written by divine inspiration. Nevertheless, it would be assuming more than is required or necessary, to say that there were no other books in the time of Ezra, than those considered as dii'inely inspired. St. Austin says, " The penmen of the Sacred Scripture writ some things as they are, men with historical lore and diligence : other things they writ as prophets, by inspiration from God." We thus have a classification of their labors, both as historians and as prophets. The ne- gligence of the Jews in ancient days, and their constant transition from one country to another, occasioned many losses of the sacred writings. The Book of Deuteronomy was lost for a long time. There were many books rejected by the Canons which are still objects of curiosity, and venerable for their antiquity. The prayer of King Manasseh, Bel and the Dragon, the two Books of Esdras, the Book of the Maccabees, and the Book of Enoch, recently found and translated from the Ethiopic. The Book of Jasher, referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel, has been long an object of great curiosity. Some of the Hebrew writers contend that it was the lives and acts of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and other patriarchs, who were called Jasherim, the Just. Dr. Lightfoot thinks it is the Book of the Wars of God, and so the reader may think in perusing the various battles it recounts. Grotius calls it a triumphal poem. Jose- phus says, " That by this book cire 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 ac- count of the fidelity of the annals."

PREFACE. y

It is known that such have been the curiosity and anxiety to discover this missing book, that several forgeries under that name have appeared from time to time ; and the Rev. Mr. Home, in his Introduction to the Study of the Scripture, has been at some pains to collect a history of the various fabrications of Jasher; the most remarkable of which was origi- nally published in England, in the year 1750, by a person called lUivc, and purported to be a translation from a Hebrew work of that name, found in Persia by Alcuin. It was republished in Bristol in the year 1829, and a copy is now in my possession. It is a miserable fabrication, occupying but sixty two and a half pages, with copious notes, making out Jasher to be one of the Judges, whereas the translation of the word is the upright, or the upright record. In the same work of Dr. Home, a slight reference is made to the Book of Jasher, written in Rab- binical Hebrew^, said to have been discovered in Jerusalem at its capture under Titus, and printed in Venice in 1613. This is the book now trans- lated into English for the first time. Long prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, the Jews had established themselves in various parts of Spain and Italy; they traded to the bay of Gibraltar, as historians affirm, in the earliest periods of history ; and Basnage mentions that in Sagunto, a town in Spain, a tombstone was discovered, bearing the following inscription in the Hebrew language : " This is the tomb of Adoniram, an officer of King Solomon, who came to collect the tribute, and died the day,^^

&c. There can be no doubt that Spain, probably France and Italy, were tributary to Solomon. It is, however, certain, that the Jews carried with them into Spain, on their dispersion, an immense number of manuscripts and sacred rolls, where they remained many years, and were, in the eleventh century, placed in their great college at Cordova, and from thence were conveyed to Venice on the first discovery of printing. The printer's Hebrew preface to Jasher shows that it was a painful transcript from a very old and almost illegible Hebrew record, and printed by and with the consent of the great Consistory of Rabbins at Venice, who alone had the power of publishing such works from the Hebrew records as they deemed authentic. From the Venice edition of Jasher, another edi-

VI PREFACE.

tion was many years subsequently published, in Lemberg, in Gallicia. Both editions, in Hebrew, are now in my possession ; and the Royal Asi- atic Society, having found a copy of Jasher in Calcutta, gave orders to have it translated, which order was countermanded when it was ascer- tained that considerable progress had been made in England in this trans- lation. The following copy of a letter from the secretary to the trans- lator, shows the estimate which that learned Society placed upon the work.

Royal Asiatic Society House. Grafton St., Bond St., London, Sept. 2, 1831. Dear Sir :

I am extremely obliged by your having favored me with the sight of Mr. Noah's letter, and in reply to your letter, mention that the Oriental Translation Committee does not consider that it has any claims on your work, and if that ever the Rev. Mr. Adams translates the Book of Jasher, it will not be in the lapse of several years. Hoping that your praiseworthy and valuable labors in that interesting work will soon, in one shape or other, be presented to the public,

I remain, Dear Sir,

Your obliged and ob't Serv't,

Wm. Huttman.

Whatever may have been written and published by commentators, re- lative to the fabrications of Jasher, I am persuaded they had no reference to this work, although this is the work slightly touched upon by Dr. Home, as the publication in Venice, on the first discovery of printing; but of its origin and history he knew nothing beyond the rumor that it had originally been brouglit from Jerusalem. There are some events recorded in Jasher, that are found in the Talmud, no doubt copied from Jasher ; for although we find in the Talmud, the Mishnah, and Gemarrah, many parables and fanciful tales, to eff'ect moral and religious purposes, yet every thing that we have in Jasher we find recorded in the Bible, with this difference, that in Jasher the occurrences of the Bible are amplified and detailed at length. The celebrated philosopher, Mendelsohn, expresses a

PREFACE. VII

high opinion of this work. There are, nevertheless, some events which are recorded in Jasher, which may create surprise, particularly a detail of the rape of the Sabines, which, at the first glance, I was disposed to con- sider as an interpolation ; but a little reflection satisfied me that it was an event placed in proper chronological order. Pizron, in his Revolution of Empires, or Antiquities of Nations, says, (page 164,) " It is therefore like- ly from what I have said, that several of the Titans, in the reign of Ura- nus, or, at least, in that of Saturn, staying and fixing themselves in that part of Ttaly which is adjacent to the Tiber and the Appenines, were after- ward called Um.brians. If such were the case, as it seems it was, the settlement of the Titans in Italy was made about the time of the calling of Abraham, that is, when he left Chaldea, to go and dwell in the land of Canaan." Page 175, " Now, if all this came to pass, it must have hap- pened about the time Deucalion reigned in Greece, or some years after the deluge that happened under that prince." If as Pizron says, the sepa- ration of the Sabines from the Umbrians took place 1500 years before Christ, it will not be far distant from the time at which Jasher places the rape of the Sabine women, in the 91st year of the life of Abraham.

The following is the translator's preface, and with all his admitted learning and ability, he has been unable to do justice to the beauty, gran- deur, and alike the simplicity of the original Hebrew. I also subjoin a translation of the Hebrew preface and a translation of the printer's pre- face, being all the documents in my possession.

Without giving it to the world as a work of Divine inspiration, or as- suming the responsibility to say that it is not an inspired book, I have no hesitation in pronouncing it a work of great antiquity and interest, and a work that is entitled, even regarding it as a literary curiosity, to a great circulation among those who take pleasure in studying the Scriptures.

M. M. Noah.

New- York, April, 1839.

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

The age in which we live has been, and continues to be, particularly distinguished by a laudable desire in the minds of men, to inquire into the various slates of knowledge, and of the arts, as they existed in times an- terior to tiie Christian era ; animated with these noble and elevated views, a considerable number of individuals, greatly distinguished for their genius and learning, have in succession turned their attention to the East — to those celebrated countries, in which the arts of civilization and the lights of sci- ence first dawned upon, enlightened, and embellished human society. The magnificent and unequalled remains of the arts in Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, Palestine, and Persia, have, from time to time, been visited and explored ; and it has been amidst these fallen monuments of human gran- deur, that the adventurous and enlightened traveller has found himself amply rewarded for his laborious and hazardous undertakings ; for, amidst these wrecks of human greatness, he has succeeded in gathering ample evidence, in confirmation of many of the most important truths recorded in sacred history.

Profane histories have, indeed, conveyed down to us some account of these kingdoms, and of the mighty monarchs who, during a long succes- sion of ages, ruled over them ; but the events which they relate are evi- dently so mixed up with exaggeration, and so adulterated with fable, that, however celebrated their authors might have been, and however fascinating may be the style of their composition, the religious and philosophic student turns from them with dissatisfaction, to the divinely authenticated annals of the Hebrews; because, it is from these alone that he can derive true information concerning the rise, the splendour, the decline, and the real causes of the ruin of those celebrated empires.

In the sacred history we are presented with the only authentic, and, of course, the only valuable information concerning the origin of the universe, — of men and all other animated creatures, — of the gradual increase of the human race, — of the flood in the year A. M. 1656, of which mighty event there are existing evidences to the present day ; evidences, so universal and so ponderous, that all the ingenuity of the sceptical geologists will never be able to remove them in order to make room for their plausible hypotheses.

X TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

The ever memoiable events and transactions recorded in Scripture are with many others of the most interesting nature, comprehended in the Book of Jasher ; and they are all arrayed in that style of simple, unadorned majesty and precision, which so peculiarly distinguishes the genius of the Hebrew language ; and this, together with other numerous internal evi- dences, it is presumed will go far to convince the Hebrew scholar that the book is, with the exception of some doubtful parts, a venerable monument of antiquity ; and that, notwithstanding some few additions may have been made to it in comparatively modern times, it still retains sufficient to prove it a copy of the book referred to in Joshua, ch. x., and 2 Samuel, ch. i. There are not more than seven or eight words in the whole book that by construction can be derived from the Chaldean language.

The printed Hebrew copy, in the hands of the translator, is without points. During his first perusal of it, some perplexities and doubts rose up in his mind respecting its authenticity : but the more closely he studied it, the more its irresistible evidence satisfied him, that it contained a trea- sure of information concerning those early times, upon which the histories of other nations are either silent, or cast not a single ray of real light ; and he was more especially delighted to find that the evidence of the whole of its contents went to illustrate and confirm the great and inestimable truths which are recorded in divine history, down to a few years later than the death of Joshua, at which period the book closes.

In this extraordinary book, the reader will meet with models of the most sublime virtue, devotion and magnanimity, that cannot fail to raise his admiration, and, at the same time, to excite a generous feeling of emula- tion to follow the glorious examples set before him.

With these preliminary observations, the translator now respectfully proceeds to lay before the readers a few remarks upon the contents of the book. The title "|tJ'^1 *lt3D i^ literally, " the upright or correct record ;" but because the book was not known, it was therefore termed the " Book of Jasher ;'' this has caused some persons, who are ignorant of the He- brew language, to suppose that Jasher was the name of a prophet, or of one of the Judges of Israel ; an instance of which appears in a publication which came from the press about the middle of the last century, and which purported to have been a translation into English of the Hebrew manu- script of Jasher, found at Gazna in Persia; which translation only was said to have been thence brought by Alcuin. When the translator wrote to the Editor of the London Courier, in November last, he was not aware that the copy of Jasher, announced in the Bristol Gazette as an

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. XI

important discovery, had reference to that fictitious book, which, through the kindness of a friend, he had previously obtained a sight of, and was soon convinced that the whole book was the work of some sceptic in England, in imitation of the language of Scripture, as it was sent forth from the press without the name of printer, bookseller, editor or pub- hsher ; and it is evident that those who were concerned in getting it up, in making Jasher the name of a Judge of Israel were ignorant of the very rudiments of the language, from which they pretended to have translated it, as it is well known, even to a tyro in the Hebrew language, that the definite article, H is never prefixed to proper names.

The important transactions which are narrated with so remarkable a brevity in the Bible, are, in Jasher, more circumstantially detailed ; as in the instance of the murder of Abel by his brother Cain, a particular ac- count is given of the disagreement which preceded it, and of the pretext which Cain sought for the commission of the crime. It appears, also, that when the divine judgment condemned him to wander upon the earth, his wife accompanied him, not to the land of Nod, for no such place is mentioned ; but, from this book it appears that the word Nod, in the Scrip- ture, has been given for the participle of the verb '^"^J " to move or wander about. Jasher has it thus :

n 1^1 • atr n\n x'X oipon p rr\rv 0£)So N\nrT nr:: \''p nv^i

'h nt^♦^< hy\ Nin p^ it:ip pxa "ni:i

" And at that time Cain went forth from the presence of the Lord, from the place where he was ; and he went moving and wandering in the land at the east of Eden, he and all belonging to him."

In the passage respecting the birth of Cain and Abel, three daughters are also mentioned. According to Jasher, the art of writing appears to have been known and practised from the earliest periods ; it is stated that Cainanwas informed beforehand by God, of the intended destruction of mankind by the flood, which he engraved upon tablets of stone, and preserved amongst his treasures.

This book contains a more detailed account of the awful circumstances attending the commencement of the flood, and of the conduct of Noah to- ward the terrified multitude who had assembled about the ark, when the fatal moment had arrived, and their doom was irrevocably fixed.

A particular delineation of the life and character of Enoch is given, showing, that by his wisdom he reigned over the sons of men, continually in strucling them in truth, righteousness, and a knowledge of the Most High.

Xn TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

Jasher informs us, that in the days of Peleg, not only the famih'es of the human race were separated and spread abroad, but that the earth itself was divided ; and of both these facts, it may be presumed, there are suffi- cient existing evidences, even at this day. This book gives, also, a more de- tailed account of the genealogies of the descendants of Japheth, Shem, and Ham, and of the various parts of the earth which w^ere colonized by them.

Connected with this period of the history is given an account of Nim- rod ; in which is strikingly depicted the arbitrary and violent character of his conduct and government. The contested point, as to whether Nimrod was the founder of the Assyrian Empire, is here decided. The cause of the dispute amongst commentators proceeded from the word ")^J^K in Gen. chapter x. ver. 11, signifying either the name of a man, or the name of the land of Assyria. Jasher has it thus :

" And Asher, the son of Shem, went forth, he and his sons, and the children of his household, &c., and they there built four cities."

Jasher clearly elucidates a number of genealogical and chronological difficulties, which occur in the Bible ; an instance is here adduced of the genealogy of Seir, the Horite, upon which the Bible is silent.

The learned commentator, Aben Ezra, remarks, ^DIH* l^i^l^ is? *l*^C " Seir, his genealogy we do not know ;" and the word ♦Tdn is supposed to come from ^IH a noble ; but Jasher gives us the descent of Seir, (which accounts for his being called the Horite,) in the following words :

fl^^D p nn p -iin p n^;;^ ^^')

" And Seir, the son of Hur, the son of Hivi, the son of Canaan, went," &c. ; hence he was called the Horite, from Hur, his father.

The character of Abraham, for piety, true dignity and hospitality, ap- pears to stand unrivalled ; but the most affecting and beautiful account in this book, is that of Abraham offering up his son Isaac. The mutual affection of the father and son, and their willing devotion and obedience to the commands of their Maker, are so exquisitely described, that the heart of him who can peruse the narrative without being deeply affected, must be callous indeed. The conduct of Sarah, as connected with this unexampled and glorious event, was altogether worthy of the wife of Abraham, and the mother of Isaac. At this time Sarah died at Kireath-arba. Her funeral is described as having been magnificent; and it is expressly mentioned, that it was attended by Shem, the son of Noah, Eber his son, king Abimelech, together with Anar, Ashcol and Mamre, and other great people of the land.

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. xill

In the Bible, Sarah is the only woman whose age is given at her death ; but it may be interesting to the reader to know, that Jasher generally states the ages of all the women who are particularly mentioned in the course of the history.

From this book we learn that Noah and Abraham were contemporaries. How beautiful the contemplation of the meeting of these two Patriarchs, the one being a monument of God's mercy, and the other having the pro- mise of the favour and grace of God, not only to himself, but to his seed after him. This fact might be proved from Scripture ; but from the 32d verse in the 11th chapter of Genesis, most of the Christian commentators have erroneously dated the birth of Abraham 60 years later than it actually took place ; as it is generally stated that he was born A. M. 2008, whereas the regular calculation in the Bible leads us to 60 years earlier, viz. 1948. The only cause of this error has been that Abraham's departure from Haran, at the age of 75, is recorded close to the description of the death of Terah, at the age of 205, in Gen. ch. xi. v. 32. Although this is the frequent manner of Scripture, to record events out of the regular order of succession, (an instance of which we find in Isaac, whose death is recorded in Gen. xxxv. 29, when we know from the calculations given us in Scripture, that Isaac's death, must have taken place when Joseph was about 29 years old ; and the description given in Jasher, of Isaac's coming from Hebron to comfort Jacob upon the loss of Joseph, is beautiful,) it is of great im- portance, in its making a difference of 60 years in the chronology of the world.

This book gives a particular account of the instruction received by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, from Shem and Eber, through which they became so excellent in piety and wisdom, their tutors in learning having lived to so great an age ; and Shem particularly, who, being acquainted with all that was known before the flood, could therefore strengthen his precepts of virtue, the true worship of God, and the necessary dependance upon him alone, by recording the awful events which he had seen.

The history of Joseph has always been considered one of the most admirable and interesting on record. It is composed in a style of simple and artless eloquence, which touches every feeling heart. A judicious critic has observed, that he considers it a perfect composition. This history, in Jasher, enters more into detail concerning the affairs of Potiphar's wife, Zelicah ; Joseph's magnificent procession through the cities of Egypty on coming into power ; the pomp with which he was attended by Pharaoh's chariots, officers, and people, when he went up to meet his father ; the

XIV TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

affecting scene which then took place, together with other remarkable incidents. This beautiful narrative might justly be entitled, the triumph of virtue and piety ; and it is presumed that few can peruse it, unmoved by sentiments of the highest admiration, mixed with the deepest feelings of sympathy. The history of the Israelites during their sojourning in Egypt, contains an account of many interesting particulars not noticed in the Bible. Toward the latter end of this period, Balaam, Job, Jannes, and Jambres, appear to have acted their respective parts in some memorable transactions.

This book clears up the reference in 2 Samuel, ch. i., by showing that David, in the commencement of his beautiful elegy on the death of Saul and Jonathan, revived an injunction given by Jacob in his dying charge to his son Judah, contained in Jasher in these words :

*'* But teach, I pray thee, thy children the use of the bow, and all in- struments of war," &c. This goes far to prove the authenticity of the book, as it beautifully clears up what was always considered obscure.

If commentators upon the holy Scriptures have sought for illustrations in the works of Homer, Pliny, Herodotus, and other profane writers ; if they have anxiously caught at glimmerings among the absurdities of Pa- ganism, and the obscurities of Heathen fables, the translator humbly and respectfully hopes that they will now grant a favorable reception to evi- dence of an entirely opposite character, which is presented in the Book of Jasher.

He does not recommend it to their notice as a work of inspiration, but as a monument of history, comparatively covered with the ivy of the re- motest ages ; as a work possessing, in its language, all the characteristic simplicity of patriarchal times ; and as such, he conceives it peculiarly calculated to illustrate and confirm the sacred truths handed down to us in the Scriptures.

But in making these observations, he is far from offering it as a perfect record. Like all other ancient writings, (except the inspired volume,) it has in some respects suffered from the consuming hand of time ; and there is reason to believe that some additions have been made to it. In fine, it contains a history of the lives and memorable transactions of all the illus- trious characters recorded in sacred history, from Adam dowm to the time of the Elders, who immediately succeeded Joshua.

TRANSLATION OF THE HEBREW PREFACE.

THIS BOOK IS THAT WHICH IS CALLED THE UPRIGHT BOOK.

It has at this lime been ascertained by us that when the holy city Je- rusalem was destroyed by Titus, all the military heads went in to rob and plunder, and that amongst the officers* of Titus was one whose name was Sidrus, who went in to search, and found in Jerusalem a house of great extent, and took away all the spoils which he found there ; when he wished to go out of the house, he looked at the wall and fancied that he saw trea- sures there, so he broke down the wall and the building and found a cask full of various books of the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa,t also books of the kings of Israel, and of the kings of other nations, as well as many other books of Israel, together with the books of the Mishnah adopted and established ; many rolls were also lying there ; he also found there all sorts of provision and wine in abundance, and discovered an old man sitting there, who was reading in those books. When the officer saw this great sight he was greatly astonished, and said to the old man, why dost thou sit alone in this place, without any person remaining with thee ? So the old man answered, for many years past was I aware of this second destruction of Jerusalem, so I built this house and made for myself a bal- cony,J and I brought with me these books to read, and I brought also sufficient provision, thinking thereby to|| save my life.

And God caused the old man to find favor in the eyes of the officer, who brought him forth with respect with all his books, and they went from city to city and from country to country until they reached Sevilia ; and the officer found that this old man was possessed of wisdom and understand- ing and acquainted with various kinds of science, upon discovering which he raised and honored him, was constantly in his house and was taught by him all sorts of wisdom, and they built for themselves a lofty and capacious house in the suburbs of Sevilia and placed there all those books.

This house is yet in Sevilia unto this day, and they wrote there all the events that would hereafter take place amongst the kings of the world unto the coming of our Messiah.

* |ioJn Buxton gives this word " episcopus" which, besides a bishop, means also a lieu- tenant, overseer, superintendant. See Arach. t Psalms, Proverbs, &c.

t n"1^D^« or porch, a Talmudical word derived from the Greek. See Arach. II See Jeremiah 38 2, the same expression.

xvi HEBREW PREFACE.

And it came to pass that when God carried* us away with a mighty captivity by the hands of the kings of Edom, from city to city and from country to country in bitter anxiety, this book, called " The Generations of Adam" together with other books came into our hands, for they came from that house in Sevilia, and they came afterward to our city Napuli, which city is under the sway of the king of Spain, (whose glory may be exalted.) And when we saw these books, that they were books of all wisdom, we resolved in our minds to print them like all the books that came to our hands. Now this book is the best and most valuable of all, and of this book twelve copies have reached us, and we searched in them and found them all of one copy, there was no difference, nothing added and nothing deficient, nor any alteration in letters, words or events, for they were all alike as it were of one copy.

Since, therefore, we saw in this book great merit urging us to this re- solve, we are determined to print it — and it is found written that this book is called the Book Jasher, because all its transactions are in that order as they had taken place in the world as regards priority and succession, for thou wilt not find in this book any postponement of events that were anterior, or priority of those that were posterior, but every thing is re- corded in its place and time.

Thou wilt thus find that it relates the death of such a one at the particu- lar time of the life of another and thus throughout. Owing to this it was called Sepher Hajashar, but it is customary to call it the Generations of Adam, the reason of which is that they call it by that with which it com- mences, but the chief name thereof is the book " Jasher" owing to the reasons we have assigned. Now it is found that this book is translated into Greek, entitled " Lo lihris de los divitiis,"

It is also found written in the book of the Asmoneans which has come down to us, that in the days of Ptolemy king of Egypt, he ordered his servants to go and gather all the books of laws, and all the books of Chronicles which they could find in the world, so that he might become wise through them, and by examining them become acquainted with the subjects and events of the world, and to compile from them a book in all matters of jurisdiction regarding the affairs of life, thereby to exercise pure justice. So they went and collected for him nine hundred and sixty five books and brought to him, when he commanded them to go again and seek to complete the number of a thousand books, and they did so. After this, some of the persecutors of Israel stood up before him and said, O king, whv wilt thou trouble thyself in this manner? Send to the Jews in Jerusalem that they shall bring unto thee the book of their law which was written for them from the mouth of the Lord by their Prophets, from which thou mayest become wise, and regulate all judgments and laws ac- cording to thy desire ; so the king hearkened to their words, and sent to the Jews upon this matter, who sent to him this book, for they could not give unto him the book of the Lord, for they said, we cannot give the law

* See same expression, Isaiah 22. 17.

HEBREW PREFACE. XVII

of the Lord to a stranger. Now when this book came to tlie hands of Ptolemy he read it and it pleased him greatly, and he searched therein in his wisdom, and he examined it and found therein what he had desired, and he neglected all the other books which they had collected for him, and he blessed him who had advised him to this thing.

After some time the persecutors of Israel became aware of this, that the Israelites had not sent the book of the law to the king, and they came and said unto him, 0 king, the Israelites have treated thee with con- tempt, for they did not send to thee the book of the law which we had mentioned to thee, but they sent to thee another book which they had in their hands, therefore send to them that they may forward unto thee the book of their law, for from that book thou wilt obtain thy desire mucli more than from the book which they have sent to thee ; so when the king heard their words he became exceedingly wroth against the Israelites, and his anger burned within him until he sent again to them for them to for- ward to him the book of the law. Fearing that they might still continue to scorn him, he acted prudently with them and sent to seventy of their elders and placed them in seventy houses, that each should write the book of the law, so that no alteration might be found in them, and the divine spirit rested upon them, and they wrote for him seventy books and they were all of one version,, without addition or diminution. At this the king rejoiced greatly and he honored the elders, together with all the Jews, and he sent offerings and gifts to Jerusalem as it is written there.* At his death, the Israelites acted cunningly with his son and took from his treasures the book of the law, but left this book there and look it not away, in order that every future king might know the wonders of the Lord, blessed be his name, and that he had chosen Israel from all nations, and that there is no God beside him.

This book is therefore in Egypt unto this day, and from that time it became circulated throughout the earth, until it reached us in our captivity this day in the city of Napuli, which is under the rule of the king of Spain. Now thou wilt find in this book that some of the kings of Edom, of Chit- tim and the kings of Africa who were in those days, are mentioned, although it might appear that such was not the aim or intent of this book ; but the reason of this was to show to every person obtaining this book the contrast between the wars of Israel and the wars of the Gentiles, for the conquest of Gentile kings one over the other was by accident, which is not so in the conquest of the kings of Israel over the Gentiles, which is by a miracle from our blessed Lord as long as the Israelites trust in his exalted name.

Now the uses of this book are many, all of which lead us to confidence in God, (whose name be exalted,) and to our adherence unto him and his ways.

The first use is the additional information it affords us upon the sub- jects of the creation of man and the deluge, recording also the years of the twenty generations and their misdeeds ; also at what period they were

* la the book of the Asmoneans mentioned above.

B

xvill HEBREW PREFACE.

born, and when they died, by which means, our hearts may be inclined to adhere to the Lord, when we see the mighty works which he per- formed in days of old.

The second use is in the additional account respecting the birth of Abra- ham and how it was that he cleaved to the Lord, and the transactions that took place between him and Nimrod ; and thus also of the account of the builders of the tower of Babel,* how that the Lord drove them to the four corners of the earth, and how they established the countries and lands called after their names unto this day, by which means we may draw nigh to our Creator. The third use is the explanation it gives us how the patriarchs adhered to the Lord, and of their transactions which convince us of their fear of God. The fourth use is, in what it records of the affairs of Sodom and the iniquities of its people, and in what consisted their sins, as well as their punishment, by which means we may refrain from all evil doings. The fifth use is in the account of the faith of Isaac and Jacob in the Lord, and the prayers and weeping of Sarah at the binding of Isaac /or a sacrifice, which is of great use in in- clining our hearts to the service of the Lord. The sixth use is in the in- formation it affords us upon the subject of the wars of the sons of Jacob with the people of Shechem and the seven cities of the Amorites. This will rouse our hearts to faith in our God ; for how could ten men destroy seven cities, if their hearts had not been impressed with faith in the Lord ?

The seventh use is, in the information it gives us of all the events that happened to Joseph in Egypt, with Potiphar and his wife and with the king of Egypt, for this will also rouse our hearts to the fear of the Lord, and to remove ourselves from all sin, so that it may be well with us in the latter end.

The eighth use is in the account it furnishes us of what happened to Moses in Gush and in Midian, by which we may understand the wonders of the Lord which he performs for the righteous, and that we may thereby adhere to him. The ninth use is- in its recording what had happened to the Israelites in Egypt, and when the commencement of their servitude took place, and how they served the Egyptians in all manner of hard work, and to what purpose all this tended — how after this God was favorable to them through their trusting in him, and there is no doubt of this that he who reads the events of Egypt from this book on the nights of the Pass- over, will receive a great reward, as our Rabbins of blessed memory say, he that is occupied in relating the exit from Egypt is to be praised, in which this book is included, for this is the true narration which ought to be read after the Hagadah, for such person (reading this) may be assured that he will be greatly rewarded ; we do so this day in our captivity in the countries of Spain, after having finished reading the Hagadah, we com- mence reading in this book the whole affair of Egypt, from the Israelites going down to Egypt unto their exit, for in this book a person ought to

* Called n;i'7Cn in because the earth was then divided.

HEBREW PREFACE. xix

read. The eleventh* use is, thai some of the comments of our Rabbles and of other commentators who have explained the law, thou wilt find illustrated in this book, such as the account of the messengers who met Jacob! when he came from Mesopotamia after they had gone to Esau, also the account of Gabriel who taught Joseph seventy languages, also the illustration it affords of him| who smote Midian in the fields of Moab, and the like. The twelfth use is, that every person lecturing in public may bring forward in his discourse, subjects from this book, which the commentators have not explained, by which means he may make an im- pression upon the hearts of his audience. The thirteenth use is, that all merchants and travellers, who have an opportunity to study the law, may read this book and receive their reward, for therein is the reward of the soul as well as the delight of the body, in the discovery of new matter not recorded in any other book, and by these means will man understand to know the Lord and cleave unto him.

Now because we have seen the merit of this book, and the great use- fulness thereof, we have undertaken to print it without addition or diminu- tion, and from this time we have commenced to print it in a book, that such books may be in the hands of the members of our covenant, the men of our captivity in order that it may be farther circulated throughout every generation, and every city, family and country, so that they may under- stand the wonders of the Lord which he performed for our ancestors, and his bounties toward them from the days of old, aiid that he chose us from all nations. May they who devote their hearts to the fear of the Lord, be rendered meritorious by studying therein whilst we confide in the Lord, the God of Gods, and depend upon him and seek salvation and assistance from him, in this heavenly work, and may he prosper us in the right path, and deliver us from errors, and cleanse us from secret faults, as his an- ointed said, " who can understand his errors ? cleanse thou me from secret faults.''''^ May God teach us the good way and direct us in a pros- perous path for the sake of his mercies and kindnesses, and may he gra- ciously fulfil the desires of our hearts, Amen, and so be his will.

* The eleventh use. — I cannot see any mention of the tenth use ; this must have been omitted, I think, before the words above, " how after this God was favourable to' them through their trusting in him."

+ See the latter part of ch. 31.

t The obscure passage in Genesis, 36. 35. in the Bible, is cleared up in Jasher, ch. 62, where it gives a long history of Hadad, the son of Bedad.

«J Psalms, 19. 12.

THE PRINTER'S PREFACE.

The humble worm, and no man, Joseph, son to my father, the wise and highly respected in Israel, Samuel the little one, says, my witness is in heaven and my testimony is on high, the God of Gods knows, and Israel knows also, how much fatigue I have undergone, and how much trouble I have taken until I had brought to light the hidden treasures of this book ; for ever since I was driven from my land, from the metropolis of Israel, the great city of wise men and scribes, the renowned city of Pasia, ever since the Lord, through my great offences, has driven me with a violent captivity, one stumbling after the other, he weakened my strength in the way, the iron entered my soul until I reached the Italian harbor, the royal city Livorno (Leghorn,) which is under the sway of our Lord the most serene Grand Duke Don Ferdinand de Media (Medici Qu ?) for neither by day nor by night could I remain silent, I was continually in thought, my soul was humbled in me, and sleep was removed from mine eyes, when I reflected how energetically my father, the crown of my head, strove with his purse and labor to transcribe this book, as was his con- stant custom from his love of the study of the Law, to lavish money and wealth, principal and interest, for the purchase and the transci'ibing, for my own use,of books without end, in order that I might obtain wisdom and instruction, to comprehend the words of understanding, as all of the inhabi- tants of my city can testify and declare ; (0 God remember him favor- ably to rest in glory with the righteous who are in the garden of Eden, Amen ! for this loss is felt only by me,) especially in the transcribing of this book it is holy for praises to the Lord, for there was never seen nor found but one, which the intelligent and pious scribe Jacob, the son of Atiyah, transcribed from a very old manuscript, the letters of which were defaced ; and had it not been for the consummate ability of the above mentioned Rabbi, no other person could have made out those letters, nor have transcribed them, from their antiquity and from their having been defaced.

Now my father, of blessed memory, found favor in his eyes, to obtain this book on loan, in order that he might also get one transcribed by the hands of a certain scribe, and in the year 5373,* through my great sins, I went out of the pale of my birth place, and from my father's house, owing to the terrors of famine, pestilence and slaughter. The sword de-

* Conesponding with the year 1613.

Xxil PRINTER'S PREFACE.

stroyed from without, and within was the terror of pestilence and famine, on account of the battles and contentions which took place between the sons of the old king Maruccus who had died, for each lifted himself up, saying, I will reign, and they devoured the Israelites with open mouth, so that very few remained of them, even a tithe of a tithe ; many famihes and heads of the houses of their fathers were lost and destroyed and be- came as naught ; many books of various kinds, new and old, some in manuscript and others in print, as well as those of modern limes, were mostly destroyed by fire, or were torn to pieces, which, together with their owners, lie hid under the ruins to this day. Woe to the eyes that beheld this ! yet may the name of the Lord be blessed for the evil as well as for the good.

Fearing that this book might share the same fate as the others, I daily used the most persevering exertions in sending letters to some particular individuals in the city Argilia, in the city Titu, and in the city Pasia, to such as had been left, humbly beseeching them to search and inquire where might be the place of the glory of this book, and it was sought after and found to be hid in the hands of one of the individuals of the congrega- tion, the wise and highly gifted Moses Chasan ; and thanks are due to him, that upon his ascertaining my good intention to print it and to scatter it throughout all Jewish communities, he did not delay to send it, as he felt a desire for a heavenly reward for this pious act, yea, he sent it to me as a gift, may he receive a blessing from the Lord, and may his reward be perfect. Amen.

Now I in my humble station have composed a work entitled viDV HiinD in two parts, one part containing some of the scriptural comments which I made with the gracious help of the Lord, and the second part containing fifty lectures which I delivered to a great congregation, besides a later comment containing explanations of parts of the Talmud which I met with in the course of my studies, and which I illustrated according to my humble abilities ; now I am revising this work a second time in order to bring it to the press, if heaven spare my life, yet I said to my heart, to thee, 0 worm, and no man, does the scripture proclaim " It is time for thee, 0 Lord, to work, for they have made void thy law," for the printing of this book of Jasher tends to the honor and glory of the Lord, for through it will the hearts of men be directed to cleave to the blessed Lord, and by the means of which they will understand the wonderful works of God, and his bounties toward our ancestors from the days of old, and how he chose us from all nations, as thou wilt see at length in the preface, where- in thou wilt perceive enumerated the great many uses, thirteen in num- ber, which induce men to confide in the Lord and to adhere to him.

I have also found another use therein, which is, that many parts of the five books difficult of comprehension, and which the commentators have been unable to reconcile, are, by means of this book, properly understood, because it gives a detail of those parts, wherein the sacred volume is brief in its account, and relates events as they occurred ; thou wilt there- fore find me lifting up my hand in the margin with the words •^'^^^^ ^DK " The humble editor says,'' by which will be understood what I have as-

PRINTER'S PREFACE. XXIII

serted ; search and thou will find many things also, which our Rabbies in their works gave in short, are brought forth more fully in this book since it is high time now to act and have a care for the glory of God's name. Since then it is proper for me at present to defer the publication of my above mentioned work until I shall first have brougiit to light the hidden treasures of this book and to reveal them to the world, I am confident that with the help of the Lord all Israel will exult and rejoice therein.

I have therefore put my trust in the Lord, may he remember me favor- ably, that I may be enabled in the next year by his help and decree to publish also my afore mentioned work.

As for me, my prayer is to him who dwells on high, may the Lord God assist me, and send me from on high his peace, favor, and faithfulness to help me, that he may lead me beside the still waters, and conduct me to the paths of righteousness for the sake of his great name, and for the sake of his law. Amen for ever and ever.

'^c>^■^ nsD

THE BOOK OF JASHER

THIS IS THE BOOK OF THE GENERATIONS OF MAN WHOM GOD CREATED

UPON THE EARTH ON THE DAY WHEN THE LORD GOD MADE

HEAVEN AND EARTH.

CHAPTER I.

1. And God said let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and God created man in his own image.

2. And God formed man from the ground, and he blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul endowed with speech.

3. And the Lord said it is not good for man to be alone ; I will make unto him a helpmate.

4. And the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took away one of his ribs, and he built flesh upon it and form- ed it and brought it to Adam, and Adam awoke from his sleep, and be- hold a woman was standing before him.

5. And he said, this is a bone of my bones and it shall be called woman, for this has been taken from man ; and Adam called her name Eve, for she was the mother of all living.

6. And God blessed them and called their names Adam and Eve in the day that he created them, and

I

the Lord God said, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

7. And the Lord God took Adam and his wife, and he placed them in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it ; and he commanded them and said unto them, from every tree of the garden you may eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.

8. And when God had blessed and commanded them he went from them, and Adam and his wife dwelt in the garden according to the com- mand which the Lord had command- ed them.

9. And the serpent, which God had created with them in the earth, came to them to incite them to trans- gress the command of God which he had commanded them.

10. And the serpent enticed and persuaded the woman to eat from the tree of knowledge, and the wo- man hearkened to the voice of the serpent, and she transgressed the

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

word of God, and took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and slie ate, and she took from it and gave also to her husband and he ate.

1 1 . And Adam and his wife trans- gressed the command of God which he commanded them, and God knew it, and his anger was kindled against them and he cursed them,

12. And the Lord God drove them that day from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which they were taken, and they went and dwelt at the east of the garden of Eden ; and Adam knew his wife Eve and she bore two sons and three daughters.

13. And she called the name of the first born Cain, saying, I have obtained a man from the Lord, and the name of the other slie called Abel, for she said, in vanity we came into the earth and in vanity we shall be taken from it.

14. And the boys grew up and their father gave them a possession in the land ; and Cain was a tiller of the ground, and Abel a keeper of sheep.

15. And it was at the expiration of a few years, that they brought an approximating offering to the Lord, and Cain brought from the fruit of the grotmd, and Abel brought from the firstlings of his flock from the fat thereof, and God turned and inclined to Abel and his offering, and a fire came down from the Lord from heaven and consumed it.

16. And unto Cain and his offer- ing the Lord did not turn, and he did not incline to it, for he had brought from the inferior fruit of the ground before the Lord, and Cain was jealous against his brother Abel on account of this, and he sought a pretext to slay him.

17. And in some time after, Cain and Abel his brother went one day into the field to do their work ; and they were both in the field, Cain tilling and ploughing his ground, and Abel feeding his flock ; and the flock passed that part which Cain had ploughed in the ground, and it sorely grieved Cain on this account.

18. And Cain approached his bro- ther Abel in anger, and he said unto him, what is there between me and thee that thou comest to dwell and bring tJiy flock to feed in my land ?

19. And Abel answered his bro- ther Cain and said unto him, what is there between me and thee, that thou shah eat the flesh of my flock and clothe thyself with their wool ?

20. And now therefoT'e, put off the wool of my sheep with which thou hast clothed thyself, and recom- pense 7ne for their fruit and flesh which thou hast eaten, and when thou shalt have done this, I will then go from thy land as thou hast said ?'

21. And Cain said to his brother Abel, surely if I slay thee this day, who will require thy blood from me ?

22. And Abel answered Cain, saying, surely God who has made us in'the earth, he will avenge my cause, and he will require my blood from thee shouldst thou slay me, for the Lord is the judge and arbiter, and it is he who will requite man according to his evil, and the wicked man ac- cording to the wickedness that he may do upon earth.

23. And now, if thou shouldst slay me here, surely God knoweth thy secret views, and will judge thee for the evil which thou didst declare to do unto me this day.

24. And when Cain heard the words which Abel his brother had spoken, beheld the anger of Cain

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

was kindled against his brother Abel for declaring this thing.

25. And Cain hastened and rose up, and took the iron part, of his ploughing instrument, with which he suddenly smote his brother and he slew him, and Cain spilt the blood of his brother Abel upon the earth, and the blood of Abel streamed upon the earth before the flock.

26. And after this Cain repented having slain his brother, and he was sadly grieved, and he wept over him and it vexed him exceedingly.

27. And Cain rose up and dug a hole in the field, wherein he put his brother's body, and he turned the dust over it.

28. And the Lord knew what Cain had done to his brother, and the Lord appeared to Cain and said unto him, where is Abel thy brother that was with thee ?

29. And Cain dissembled, and said, I do not know, am I my bro- ther's keeper ? And the Lord said unto him, what hast thou done ? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground where thou hast slain him.

30. For thou hast slain thy brother and hast dissembled before me, and didst imagine in thy heart that I saw thee not, nor knew all thy actions.

31. 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.

32. And it shall be when thou shalt till it, it sliall no mare give thee its strength as in the beginning, for thorns and thistles shall the ground produce, and thou sbalt be moving

and wandering in the earth* until the day of thy death.

33. And at that time Cain went out from the presence of the Lord from the place where he was, and he went moving andt wandering in the land towards the east of Eden> he and all belonging to him.

34. And Cain knew his wife in those days, and she conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Enoch, saying, in that time the Lord began to give him rest and quiet in the earth.

35. And at that time Cain also be- gan to build a city : and he built the city and he called the name of the city Enoch, according to the name of his son ; for in those days the Lord had given him rest upon the earth, and he did not move about and wander as in the beginning.

36. And Irad was born to Enoch, and Irad begat Mechuyael and Me- chuyael begat MethusaeL

CHAPTER IL

1. And it was in the hundred and thirtieth year of the life of Adam upon the earth, that he again knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare a son in his likeness and in his image, and she called his name Seth, saying, because God has appointed

* Although we find in the 34th and 35th ver- ses that God gave hfm rest, ii; might only have been a temporary rest ; and as we are neither told in scripture nor in this book anything more relating to Cain, we cannot infer anything con- trary to this declaration.

i There is no mention made of the land of Nod ; the word here used is tj the partfc-i- ple present of the verb n)j to wander ; the last letter of those verbs whose two final letters are similar, is sometimes dropped, and it might have been ii> with one daleth, like the word used in scripture ij without the vau, which is frequent- ly omitted.

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

me another seed in the place of Abel, for Cain has slain him.

2. And Seth lived one hundred and five years, and he begat a son ; and Seth called the name of his son Enosh, saying, because in that time the sons of men began to multiply, and to afflict their souls and hearts by transgressing and rebelling against God.

3. And it was in the days of Enosh that the sons of men continued to rebel and transgress against God, to increase the anger of the Lord against the sons of men.

4. And the sons of men went and they served other Gods, and they forgot the Lord who had created them in the earth : and in those days the sons of men made images of brass and iron, wood and stone, and they bowed down and served them.

5. And every man made his God and they bowed down to them, and the sons of men forsook the Lord all the days of Enosh and his children ; and the anger of the Lord was kin- dled on account of their works and abominations which they did in the earth.

6. And the Lord caused the wa- ters of the river Gihon to overwhelm them, and he destroyed and consu- med them, and he destroyed the third part of the earth ; and notwithstand- ing this, the sons of men did not turn from their evil ways, and their hands were yet extended to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

7. And in those days there was neither sowing nor reaping in the earth ; and there was no food for the sons of men and the famine was very great in those days.

8. And the seed which they sowed in those days in the ground became thorns, thistles and briers ; for from

the days of Adam was this declara- tion concerning the earth, of the curse of God, which he cursed the earth, on account of the sin which Adam sinned before the Lord.

9. And it was when men conti- nued to rebel and transgress against God, and to corrupt their ways, that the earth also became corrupt.

10. And Enosh lived ninety j'ears and he begat Cainan ;

11. And Cainan grew up and he was forty years old, and he became wise and had knowledge and skill in all wisdom, and he reigned over all the sons of men, and he led the sons of men to wisdom and knowledge ; for Cainan was a very wise man and had understanding in all wisdom, and with his wisdom he ruled over spirits and daemons ;

12. And Cainan knew by his wis- dom that God would destroy the sons of men for having sinned upou earth, and that the Lord would in the lat- ter days bring upon them the waters of the flood.

13. And in those days Cainan wrote upon tablets of stone, what was to take place in time to come, and he put tliem in his treasures.

14. And Cainan reigned over the whole earth, and he turned some of the sons of men to the service of God.

15. And when Cainan was sev- enty years old, he begat three sons and tw^o daughters.

16. And these are the names of the children of Cainan ; the name of the first born Mahlallel, the second Enan, and the third Mered, and their sisters were Adah and Zillah ; these are the five children of Cainan that were born to lu?n.

17. And Lamech, the son of Me- thusael, became related to Cainan by

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

marriage, and he took liis two daugh- ters for his wives, and Adah con- ceived and bare a son to Lamech, and she called his name Jabal.

18. And she again conceived and bare a son, and culled his name Jii- bal ; and Ziilah, her sis-tor, was bar- ren in those days and had no off- spring.

19. For in those days the sons of men began to trespass against Cxod, and to transgress the commandments which he had commanded to Adam, to be fruitful and multiply in the earth.

20. And some of the sons of men caused their wives to drink a draught that would render them barren, in order that they might retain their figures and whereby their beautiful appearance might not fade.

21. And when the sons of men caused some of their wives to drink, Ziilah drank with them.

22. And the child-bearing women appeared abominable in the sight of their husbands, as widows, whilst their husbands lived, for to the bar- ren ones only they were attached.

23. And in the end of days and years, when Ziilah became old, the Lord *opened her womb.

24. And she conceived and bare a son and she called his name Tubal Cain, saying, after I had withered away have I obtained him from the Almighty God.

25. And she conceived again and bare a daughter, and she called her name Naamah, for she said, after I had withered away have I obtained pleasure and delight.

26. And Lamech was old and ad-

* It cannot be supposed that they gave Zii- lah the drink to cause barrenness when she be- came old, for as it is expressed in verse twenty, it was given to those to retain their figures and whereby theix beautiful appearance might not fade.

vanced in years, and his eyes were dim that he could not see, and Tubal Cain, his son, was leading him, and it was one day that Lamech went in- to the field and Tubal Cain his son was with him, and whilst they were walking in the field, Cain the son of Adam advanced towards them ; for Lamech was very old and could not see much, and Tubal Cain his son was very young.

27. And Tubal Cain told his fa- ther to draw' his bow, and with the arrows he smote Cain, who was yet far off, and he slew him, for he ap- peared to them to be an animal.

28. And the arrows entered Cain's body altliouizh he was distant from them, and he fell to the ground and died.

29. And the Lord requited Cain's evil according to his wickedness, which he had done to his brother Abel, according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken.

30. And it came to pass when Cain had died, that Lamech and Tu- bal went to see tlie animal which they had slain, and they saw, and be- hold Cain their grandfather was fal- len dead upon the earth.

31. And Lamech was very much grieved at having done this, and in clapping his hands together he struck his son and caused his death.

32. And the wives of Lamech heard what Lamech had done, and they sought to kill him.

33. And the wives of Lamech ha- led him from that day, because ho slew Cain and Tubal Cain, and the wives of Lamech separated from him, and would not hearken to him in those days.

34. And Lamech came to his wives, and he pressed them to listen to him about this matter.

6

tME BOOK OF JASHER.

35. And he said to his wives Adah and Zillah, hear my voice O wives of Lamech, attend to my words, for now you have imagined and said that 1 slew a man with my wounds, and a child with my stripes for their having done no violence, but surely know that I am old and greyheaded, and that my eyes are heavy through age, and I did this thing unknowingly.

36. And the wives of Lamech listened to him in this matter, and they returned to him with the advice of their father Adam, but they bore no children to him from that time, knowing that God's anger was in- creasing in those days against the sons of men, to destroy them with the waters of the flood for their evil doings.

37. And Mahlallel the son of Cai- nan lived sixty five years and he be- gat Jered ; and Jered lived sixty -two years and he begat Enoch.

CHAPTER III.

1. And Enoch lived sixty-five years and he begat Methuselah ; and Enoch walked with God after having begot Methuselah, and he served the Lord, and despised the evil ways of men.

2. And the soul of Enoch was wrapped up in the instruction of the Lord, in knowledge and in under- standing ; and he wisely retired from the sons of men, and secreted him- self from them for many days.

3. 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 L

4. And he said, ris^, 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 may St teach them the way in which they should go, and the work which they must accomplish to enter in the ways of God.

5. 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 ac- quainted them with the instruction of the Lord.

6. And he ordered it to be pro- claimed in all places where the sons of men dwelt, saying, where is the man who wishes to know the ways of the Lord and good works ? let him come to Enoch.

7. And all the sons of men then assembled to him, for all who desired this thing went to Enoch, and Enoch reigned over the sons of men accor- ding to the word of the Lord, and they came and bowed to him and they heard his word.

8. And the spirit of God was upon Enoch, and he taught all his men the wisdom of God and his ways, and the sons of men served the Lord all the days of Enoch, and they came to hear his wisdom.

9. And all the kings of the sons of men, both first and last, together with their princes and judges, came to Enoch when they heard of his wisdom, and they bowed down to him, and they also required of Enoch to reign over them, to which he con- sented.

10. And they assembled in all, one hundred and thirty kings and princes, and they made Enoch king over

THE BOOK OF JAS'HER

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them, and they were all under his power and command.

11. And Enoch taught them wis- dom, knowledge, and the ways of the Lord ; and lie made peace amongst them, and peace was throughout the earth during the life of Enoch.

12. And Enoch reigned over the sons of men two hundred and forty- three years, and he did justice and righteousness with all his people, and he led them in the ways of the Lord.

13. And these are the generations of Enoch ; Methuselah, Elisha, and Elimelech, three sons ; and their sis- ters loere Melca and Nahmah, and Methuselah lived eighty-seven years and he begat Lamech.

14. And it was in the fifty-sixth year of the life of Lamech when Adam died ; nine hundred and thirty years old was he at his death, and his two sons, with Enoch and Me- thuselah his son, buried him with great pomp, as at the burial of kings, in the cave which God had told him.

15. And in that place all the sons of men made a great mourning and weeping on account of Adam ; it has therefore become a custom among the sons of men to this day.

16. And Adam died because he ate of the tree of knowledge ; he and his children after him, as the Lord God had spoken.

17. And it was in the year of Adam's death which was tlie two hundred and forty-third year of the reign of Enoch, in that time Enoch resolved to separate himself from the sons of men and to secrete himself as at first in order to serve the Lord.

18. And Enoch did so, but did not entirely secrete himself from them, but kept away from the sons of men three days and then went to them for one dav.

19. And during the three days that he was in his cliamber, he prayed to, and praised the Lord his God, and the day on which he went and appeared to his subjects he taught them the ways of the Lord, and all they asked him about the Jjord he told them.

20. And he did in this manner for many years, and he afterward con- cealed himself for six days, and ap- peared to his people one day in seven ; and after I hat once in a month, and then once in a year, until all the kin^s, princes and sons of men sought for him, and desired again to see the face of Enoch, and to hear his word ; but they could not, as all the sons of men were greatly afraid of Enoch, and they feared to approach him on account of the Godlike awe that was seated upon his countenance ; therefore no man could look at him, fearing he might be punished and die.

21. And all the kings and princes resolved to assemble the sons of men, and to come to Enoch, thinking that they might all speak to him at the time when he should come forth amongst them, and they did so.

22. And the day came when Enoch went forth and they all assem- bled and came to him, and Enocii spoke to them the words of the Lord and he taught them wisdom and knowledge, and they bowed down before him and they said, may the king live, may the king live !

23. And in some time after, when the kings and princes and the sons of men were speaking to Enoch, and Enoch was teaching them the ways of God, behold an angel of the Lord then called unto Enoch from heaven, and wished to bring him up to heaven to make him reisn there over the sons

8

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

of God, as he had reigned over the sons of men upon earth.

23. When at that time Enoch heard this he went and assembled all the inhabitants of the earth, and taught them wisdom and knowledge and gave them divine instructions, and he said to them, I have been required to ascend into heaven, I therefore do not know the day of my going.

25. And now therefore I will teacii you wisdom and knowledge and will give you instmction before I leave you, how to act upon earth whereby you may live; and he did so.

26. And he taught them wisdom and knowledge, and gave them in- struction, and he reproved them, and he placed before them statutes and judgments to do upon earth, and he made peace amongst them, and he tauoht them everlastincr life, and dwelt with them some time teaching them all these things.

27. And at that time the sons of men were with Enoch, and Enoch was speaking to them, and they lifted up their eyes and the likeness of a great horse descending from heaven, and the horse paced in the* air;

28. And they told Enoch what they had seen, and Enoch said to them, on my account does this horse descend upon earth ; the time is come when I must go from you and I shall no more be seen by you.

29. And the horse descended at that lime and stood before Enoch,

* To express the region of the atmos[)here n^T is often used, as the word i^ix air, met with in modern Hebrew works, is of rabbinical ex- traction and may be derived from mx light, by which it might have been intended to siiow that the air is tVie medium through which tho rays of light become visible to us.

and all the sons of men that were with Enoch saw him.

30. And Enoch then again ord- ered a voice to be proclaimed, say- ing, where is the man who delight- eth to know the ways of the Lord his God, let him come this day to Enoch before he is taken from us.

31. And all the sons of men as- sembled and came to Enoch that day ; and all the kings of the earth witli their princes and counsellors remained with him that day ; and Enoch then taught the sons of men wisdom and knowledge, and ^ave tliem divine instruction ; and he bade them serve the Lord and walk in his ways all the days of their lives, and he continued to make peace amongst them.

32. And it was after this that he rose up and rode upon the horse ; and he went forth and all the sons of men went after him, about eight hundred thousand men ; and they went with him one day's journey.

33. And the second day he said to them, return home to your tents, why will you go ? perhaps you may die ; and some of them went from him, and those that remained went with him six day's journey ; and Enoch said to them every day, re- turn to your tents, lest you may die ; but they were not willing to return, and thcv went with him.

34. And on the sixth day some of the men remained and clung to him, and thev said to him, we will go witli thee to the place where thou goest ; as the Lord liveth, death only shall separate us.

35. And they urged so much to go with him, that he ceased speak- ing to them ; and they went after him and would not return ;

36. And when the kings returned

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

9

they caused a census to be taken, in order to know the number of re- maining men that went vvitli Enoch ; and it was upon the seventh day that Enocli ascended into heaven in a whirlwind, witli horses and chariots of fire.

37. And on the ciglith day all the kings that had been with Enoch sent to bring back the number of men that were with Enoch, in that place fiom which he ascended into heaven.

38. And all those kings went to the place and they found the earth there filled with snow, and upon the snow were large stones of snow, and one said to the other, come, let us break through this snow and see, perhaps the men that remained with Enoch are dead, and are now under the stones of snow, and they search- ed but could not find him, for he had ascended into heaven.

CHAPTER IV.

1. And all the days that Enoch lived upon the earth, were three hundred and sixty five years.

2. And when Enoch had ascend- ed into heaven, all the kings of the earth rose and took Methuselah his son and anointed him, and they caused him to reign over them in the place of his father.

3. And Methuselah acted upright- ly in the sight of God, as his father Enoch had taught him, and he like- wise during the whole of his life taught the sons of men wisdom, knowledge and the fear of God, and he did not turn from the good way either to the right or to the left.

4. But in the latter days of Me- thuselah, the sons of men turned from the Lord, they corrupted the earth, they robbed and plundered

each otiier, and they rebelled against God and they transgressed, and they corrupted their ways, and would not hearken to the voice of Methuselah, but rebelled against iiim.

5. And the Lord was exceedingly wroth against them, and the Lord continued to destroy the seed in those days, so that there was neither sowing nor reaping in the earth.

6. For when they sowed the ground in order that they might ob- tain food for their support, behold, thorns and thistles were produced which they did not sow.

7. And still the sons of men did not turn from their evil ways, and their hands were still extended to do evil in the sight of God, and they provoked the Lord with their evil ways, and the Lord was very wroth, and repented that he had made man.

8. And he thought to destroy and annihilate them *and he did so.

9. In those days when Lamech the son of Methuselah was one hun- dred and sixty years old, Seth the son of Adam died.

10. And all the days that Seth lived, were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.

1 1 . And Lamech was one hun- dred and eighty years old when he took Ashmua, the daughter of Elishaa the son of Enoch his uncle, and she conceived.

12. And at that time the sons of men sowed the ground, and a little food was produced, yet the sons of men did not turn from their evil ways, and they trespassed and re- belled against God.

13. And the wife of Lamech conceived and bare him a son at

'Referring to what was shortly to take place ; the flood.

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that time, at the revokition of the year.

14. And Methuselah- called his name Noah, saying, the earth was in his days at rest and free from cor- ruption, and Lamech his father call- ed his name *Menachem, saying, this one shall comfort us in our works and miserable toil in the earth, which God had cursed.

15. And the child grew up and was weaned, and he went in the ways of his father Methuselah, per- fect and upright with God.

16. And all the sons of men depar- ted from the ways of the Lord in those days as they multiplied upon the face of the eartii with sons and daughters, and they taught one another their evil practices, and they continued sinning against the Lord.

17. And every man made unto himself a god, and they robbed and plundered every man his neighbor as well as his relative, and they cor- rupted the earth, and the earth was ■filled with violence.

18. 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 from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord ; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.

* Menachem sitrnifies a comforter. We have no account in scripture of his being called Me- nachem, although the reason why he might have had that name is given as it is here : " this one will comfort us," {Gen.) which does not so well accord with the name Noah, which means to rest. I

19. And the Lord said, I will blot out man that I created from the face of the earth, yea from man to the birds of the air, together with cattle and beasts that are in the field, for I repent that I made them.

20. And all men who walked in the ways of the Lord, died in those days, before the Lord brought the evil upon man which he had de- clared, for this was from the Lord, that they should not see the evil which the Lord spoke of concerning the sons of men.

21. And Noah foimd grace in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord chose him and his children to raise up seed from them \ipon the face of the whole earth.

CHAPTER V.

1. And it was in the eighty fourth year of the life of Noah, that Enoch the son of Seth died ; he was nine bundled and five years old at his death.

2. And in the one hundred and seventy ninth year of the life of Noah, Cainan the son of Enosh died, and all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.

3. And in the two hundred and thirty fourth year of the life of Noah, Mahlallel the son of Cainan died, and the days of Mahlallel were eight hundred and ninety five years, and he died.

4. And Jered the son of Mahlallel died in those days, in the three hun- dred and thirty sixth year of the life of Noah ; and all the days of Jered were nine hundred and sixty two years, and he died.

5. And all who followed the Lord died in those days, before they saw

THE BOOK OF JASIIER.

11

the evil which God declared to do upon earth.

6. And after the lapse of many years, in the four hundred and eigh- tieth year of the life of Noah, when all those men, who followed the Lord had died away from amongst the sons of men, and only *Methuse- lah was then left, God said unto Noah and Methuselah, saying,

7. Speak ye, and proclaim to the sons of men, saying, thus saith the Lord, return from your evil ways and forsake your works, and the Lord will repent of the evil that he declared to do to you, so that it shall not come to pass.

8. For thus saith the Lord, behold I give you a period of one hundred and twenty years ; if you will turn to me and forsake your evil ways, then will I also turn away from the evil which I told you, and it shall not exist, saith the Lord.

9. And Noah and Methuseleh spoke all the words of the Lord to the sons of men, day after day, con- stantly speaking to them.

10. But the sons of men would not hearken to them, nor incline their ears to their words, and they were stiffnecked.

1 1 . And the Lord granted them a period of one hundred and twenty years, saying, if they will return, then will God repent of the evil, so as not to destroy the earth.

12. And Noah the son of Lamech refrained from taking a wife in those days, to beget children, for he said, surely now God will destroy the earth, wherefore then shall I beget children '^

* Methuselah only was left of the good ones who did not die, besides Noah, who is mention- ed in the beginnincr of the verse, in the 450th year of the life of Noah.

13. And Noah was a just man, he was perfect in his generation, and the Lord chose him to raise up seed from his seed upon the face of the earth.

14. And the Lord said unto Noah, take unto thee a wife, and beget chil- dren, for I have seen thee righteous before me in this generation.

15. And thou shalt raise up seed, and thy children with thee, in the midst of the earth ; and Noah went and took a wife, and he chose* Naamali the daughter of P^noch, and she was five hundred and eighty years old.

16. And Noah was four hundred and ninety eight years old, when he took Naamah for a wife.

17. And Naamah conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Japheth, saying, God has enlarged me in the earth ; and she conceived again and bare a son, and he called his name Shem, saying, God has made me a remnant, to raise up seed in the midst of the earth.

18. And Noah was five hundred and two years old when Naamah bare Shem, and the boys grew up and went in the ways of the Lord, in all that Methuselah and Noah their father taught them.

19. And Lamech the father of Noah died in those days ; yet verily he did not go with all his heart in

* From this it appears that the offsjiring of the great, pious and illustrious Enoch was re- served to be the partner of the just and upright Noah, thereby connecting the best of the fami- ly of Cain and Seth together. It was certainly a great age to contract matrimony, but it mu.st be remembered that Noah was then getting on to five hundred years, and as he deferred mar- riage to this exceeding great age, he looked out for one of his own age. I suppose that Enoch's daughter intended living secluded from men, like her father, until Noah, the best of men then living, applied to her.

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THE BOOK OF JASHER.

the ways of his father, and he died in the hundred and ninety-fifth year of the hfc of Noah.

20. And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy years and he died.

21. And all the sons of men who knew the Lord, died in that year be- fore the Lord brought evil upon them ; for the Lord willed them to die, so as not to behold the evil that God would bring upon their brothers and relatives, as he had so declared to do.

22. In that time, the Lord said to Noah and Metiiuselah, stand forth and proclaim to the sons of men all the words that I spoke to you in those days, pcradventure they may turn from their evil ways, and I will then repent of the evil and will not bring it.

23. And Noah and JMethuselah stood forth, and said in the ears of the sons of men, all that God had spoken concerning them.

24. But the sons of men would not hearken, neither would they in- cline their ears to all their declara- tions.

25. And it was after this that the Lord said to Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me, on account of their evil deeds, and behold I will destroy the earth.

26. And do thou take unto thee Gopher wood, and go to a certain place and make a large ark, and place it in tliat spot.

27. And thus shalt thou make it ; three hundred cubits its length, fifty cubits broad and thirty cubits high.

28. And thou shalt make unto thee a door, open at its side, and to a cubit thou shalt finish above, and cover it within and without with pitch.

29. And behold I will bring the flood of waters upon the earth, and

all flesh be destroyed, from under the heavens, all that is upon earth shall perish.

30. And thou and thy household shall go and gather two couple of all living things, male and female, and shall bring them to the ark, to raise up seed from them upon earth.

31. And gather unto thee all food that is eaten by all the animals, that there may be food for thee and for them.

32. And thou shalt choose for thy sons three maidens, from the daugh- ters of men, and they shall be wives to thy sons.

33. And Noah rose up, and he made the ark, in the place where God iiad commanded him, and Noah did as (iod had ordered him.

34. Li his five hundred and ninety fifth year Noah commenced to make the ark, and he made the ark in five years, as the Lord had commanded.

35. Then Noah took the three daughters of Eliakim, son of Methu- selah, for wives for his sons, as the Lord had commanded Noah.

36. And it was at that time Me- thuselah the son of Enoch died ; nine hundred and sixty years old was he, at his death.

CHAPTER VL

1. At that time, after the death of Methuselah, the Lord said to Noah, go thou with thv household into the ark ; behold I will gather to thee all the animals of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and they shall all come and sur- round the ark.

2. And thou shalt go and seat thy- self by the doors of the ark, and all the beasts, the animals, and the fowls, shall assemble and place themselves

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

13

before thee, and such of ihcm as shall come and crouch before thee, siialt. thou take and deliver into the hands of thy sons, who shall bring them to the ark, and all that will stand before thee thou shalt leave.

3. And the Lord brought this about on the next day, and animals, beasts and fowls came in great mul- titudes and surrounded the ark.

4. And Noah went and seated him- self by the door of the ark, and of all flesh that crouched before him, he brought into the ark, and all that stood before him he left upon earth.

5. And a lioness came, with her two whelps, male and female, and the three crouched before Noah, and the two whelps rose up against the lioness and smote her, and made her flee from her place, and she went away, and they returned to their pla- ces, and crouched upon the earth before Noah.

6. And the lioness ran away, and stood in the place of the lions.

7. And Noah saw this, and* won- dered greatly, and he rose and took the two whelps, and brought them into the ark.

8. And Noah brought into the ark from all living creatures that were upon earth, so that there was none left but which Noah brought into the ark.

9. Two and two came to Noah into the ark, but from the clean ani- mals, and clean fowls, he brought seven couples, as God had com- manded him.

* 1 0. And all the animals, and beasts, and fowls, were still there, and they surrounded the ark at every place,

* At the height to which even the animals of the earth had corrupted themselves, that the young whelps could so unnaturally rise up against their parent in such a time of disaster.

and the rain had not descended till seven days after.

11. And on that day, the Lord caused the whole earth to shake, and the sun darkened, and the foun- dations of the world raged, and the whole earth was moved violently, and the lightning flashed, and the thunder roared, and all the fountains in the earth were broken up, such as was not known to the inhabitants he- fore ; and God did this mighty act, in order to terrify the sons of men, that there uught be no more evil upon earth.

12. And still the sons of men would not return from their evil ways, and they increased the anger of the Lord at that time, and did not even direct their hearts to all this.

13. And at the end of seven days, in the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

14. And all the fountains of the deep were broken up, and the win- dows of heaven were opened, and the rain was upon the earth forty da5'S and forty nights.

15. And Noah and his household, and all the living creatures that were with him, came into the ark on ac- count of the waters of the flood, and the Lord shut him in.

16. And all the sons of men that were left upon the earth, became ex- hausted through evil on account of the rain, for the waters were coming more violently upon the earth, and the animals and beasts were still sur- rounding the ark.

17. And the sons of men assem- bled together, about* seven hundred

* It must be remembered, that according to this book, a third part of the earth had already been destroyed by the overdowing of the river Gihon. See chapter 2, verse 6.

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THE BOOK OF JASHER.

thousand men and women, and they came unto Noah to the ark.

18. And they ealled to Noah, say- ing, open for us that we may come to thee in the ark — and wherefore shall we die ?

19. And Noah, with a loud voice, answered them from the ark, saying, have you not all rebelled against the Lord, and said that he does not exist ? and therefore the Lord brought upon you this evil, to destroy and cut you off from the face of the earth.

20. Is not this the thing that I spoke to you of one hundred and twenty years back, and you would not hearken to the voice of the Lord, and now do you desire to live upon earth ?

21. And they said to Noah, we are ready to return to the Lord ; only open for us that we may live and not die.

22. And Noah answered them, saying, behold now that you see the trouble of your souls, you wish to return to the Lord ; why did you not return during these hundred and twenty years, which the Lord gran- ted you as the determined period ?

23. But now you come and tell me this on account of the troubles of your souls, now also the Lord will not listen to you, neither will he give ear to you on this day, so that you will not now succeed in your wishes.

24. And the sons of men ap- proached iyi order to break into the ark, to come in on account of the rain, for they could not bear the rain upon them.

25. And the Lord sent all the beasts and animals that stood round the ark. And the beasts overpow- ered them and drove them from that place, and every man went his way

and they again scattered themselves upon the face of the earth.

26. And the rain was still de- scending upon the earth, and it de- scended forty days and forty nights, and the waters prevailed greatly upon the earth ; and all flesh that was upon the earth or in the waters died, whe- ther men, animals, beasts, creeping things or birds of the air, and there only remained Noah and those that were with him in the ark.

27. And the waters prevailed and they greatly increased upon the earth, and they lifted up the ark and it was raised from the earth.

28. And the ark floated upon the face of the waters, and it was tossed upon the waters so that all the living creatures within were turned about like pottage in the cauldron.

29. And great anxiety seized all tlie living creatures that were in the ark, and the ark was like to be broken.

30. And all the living creatures that were in the ark were terrified, and the lions roared, and the oxen lowed, and the wolves howled, and every living creature in the ark spoke and lamented in its own lan- guage, so that their voices reached to a great distance, and Noah and his sons cried and wept in their troubles; they were greatly afraid that they had reached the gates of death.

31. And Noah prayed unto the Lord, and he cried unto him on ac- count of this, and he said, 0 Lord help us, for we have no strength to bear this evil that has encompassed us, for the waves of the waters have .surrounded us, mischievous torrents have terrified us, the snares of death have come before us ; answer us, O Lord, answer us, hght up thy coun- tenance toward us and be gracious to us, redeem us and deliver us.

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

15

32. And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Noah, and the Lord re- membered him.

33. And a wind passed over the earth, and the waters were still and the ark rested.

34. And the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.

35. And the waters decreased in those days, and the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.

36. And Noah then opened the windows of the ark, and Noah still called out to the Lord at that time and he said, O Lord, who didst form the earth and the heavens and all that are therein, bring forth our souls from this confinement, and from the prison wherein thou hast placed us, for I am much wearied with sighing.

37. And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Noah, and said to him, when thou shalt have completed a full year thou shalt then go forth.

38. And at the revolution of the year, when a full year was comple- ted to Noah's dwelling in the ark, the waters were dried from off the earth, and Noah put off the covering of the ark.

39. At that time, on the twenty- seventh day of the second month, the earth was dry, but Noah and his sons, aixl those that were with him, did not go out from the ark until the Lord told them.

40. And the day came that the Lord told them to go out, and they all went out from the ark.

41. And they went and returned every one to his way and to his place, and Noah and his sons dwelt in the land that God had told them, and they served the Lord all their days, and the Lord blessed Noah and his

sons on their going out from the ark. 42. And he said to them, be fruit- ful and fill all the earth ; become strong and increase abundantly in the earth and multiply therein.

CHAPTER VIL

1. And these are the names of the sons of Noah : Japheth, Ham and Shem ; and children were born to them after the flood, for they had taken wives before the flood.

2. Tiiese are the sons of Japheth ; Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tu- bal, Meshech and Tiras, seven sons.

3. And the sons of Gomer were Askinaz, Rephath and Tegarmah.

4. And the sons of Magog were Elichanaf and Lubal.

5. And the children of Madai were Achon, Zeelo, Chazoni and Lot.

6. And the sons of Javan were Elisha, Tarshish, Chittim and Dudo- nim.

7. And the sons of Tubal w^ere Ariphi, Kesed and Taari.

8. And the sons of Meshech were Dedon, Zaron and Shebashni.

9. And the sons of Tiras were Benib, Gera, Lupirion and Gilak ; these are the sons of Japheth ac- cording to their families, and their numbers in those days were about four hundred and sixty men.

10. And these are the sons of Ham ; Cush, Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan, four sons ; and the sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama and Satecha, and the sons o-f Raama were Sheba and Dedan.

1 ] . And the sons of Mitzraim were Lud, Anom and Pathros, Chas- loth and Chaphtor.

12. And the sons of Phut were Gebul , Hadan, Benah and Adan.

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13. And the sons of Canaan were Zidon, Heth, Amori, Gergashi, Hivi, Arkee, Seni, Arodi, Zimodi and Chamothi.

14. These are the sons of Ham, according to their famihes, and their numbers in those days were about seven hundred and thirty men.

15. And these are the sons of Shem; Elam, Ashur, Arpachshad, Lud and Aram, five sons ; and the sons of Elam were Shushan, Ma- chul and Harmon.

16. And the sons of Ashar were Mirus and Mokil, and the sons of Arpachshad were Shelach, Anar and Ashcol.

17. And the sons of Lud were Pethor and Bizayon, and the sons of Aram were Uz, Chul, Gather and Mash.

18. These are the sons of Ham, according to their famihes ; and their numbers in those days were about three hundred men.

19. These are the generations of him until he Shem; Shem begat Arpachshad and; 27. And i

Terah, and Terah was thirty-eight years old, and he begat Haran and Nahor.

23. And Cush the son of Ham, the son of Noah, took a wife in those days, in his old age, and she bare a son, and they called his name Nimrod, saying, at that time the sons of men again began to rebel and transgress against God, and the child grew up, and his father loved him exceedingly, for he was the son of his old age.

24. And the garments of skin which God made for Adam and his wife, when they went out of the garden, were given to Cush.

25. For after the death of Adam and his wife, the garments were giv- en to Enoch, the son of Jered, and when Enoch was taken up to God, he gave them to Methuselah, his son.

26. And at the death of Methuse- lah, Noah took them and brought them to the ark, and they were with

went out of the ark. their going out. Ham

Arpachshad begat Shelach, and '• stole those garments from Noah his Shelach begat Eber and to Eber father, and he took them and hid were born two children, the name of them from his brothers, one was Peleg, for in his days the ' 28. And when Ham begat his sons of men were divided, and in : first born Cush, he gave him the the latter days, the earth was divi- 1 garments in secret, and they were

ded

20. And the name of the second was Yoktan, meaning that in his day the lives of the sons of men Yv'ere diminished and lessened.

21, These are the sons of Yok- tan; Almodad, Shelaf, Chazarmov

with Cush many days.

29. And Cush also concealed them from his sons and brothers, and when Cush had begotten Nimrod, he gave him those garments through his love for him, and Nimrod grew up, and when he was twenty years

eth, Yerach, Hadurom, Ozel, Diklah, ; old he piU on those garments.

Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, HaV' ilah and Jobab ; all these are the sons of Yoktan.

22. And Peleg his brother begat Yen, and Yen begat Serug, and Se- riig begat Nahor, and Nahor begat

30. And Nimrod became strong when he put on the garments, and God gave him might and strength, and he was a mighty hunter in the earth, yea, he was a mighty hunter in the field, and he hunted the ani-

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17

mals and he built altars, and he of- fered upon them the animals before the Lord.

31. And Nimrod Strengthened himself, and he rose up from amongst his brethren, and he fought the bat- tles of his brethren against all their enemies round about.

32. And the Lord delivered all the enemies of his brethren in his hands, and God prospered him from time to time in his battles, and he reigned upon earth,

33. Therefore it became current in those days, when a man ushered forth those that he liad trained up for battle, he would say to them, like God did to Nimrod, who was a mighty hunter in the earth, and who succeeded in the battles that prevail- ed against his brethren, that he de- livered them from the hands of their enemies, so may God strengthen us and deliver us this day.

34. And when Nimrod was forty years old, at that lime there was a war between his brethren and the children of Japhelh, so that they were in the power of their enemies.

35. And Nimrod went forth at that time, and he assembled all the sons of Cush and their families, about four hundred and sixty men, and he hired also from some of his friends and acquaintances about eighty men, and he gave them their hire, and he went with them to bat- tle, and when he was on the road, Nimrod strengthened the hearts of the people that went with him.

36. And he said to them, do not fear, neither be alarmed, for all our enemies will be delivered into our hands, and you may do with them as you please.

37. And all the men that went were about five hundred, and they

2

fought against their enemies, and they destroyed them, and subdued them, and Nimrod placed standing ofhcers over them in their respective places,

38. And he look some of their children as security, and they were all servants to Nimrod and to his brethren, and Nimrod and all the people that were with him turned homeward,

39. And when Nimrod had joy- fully returned from battle, after having conquered his enemies, all his breth- ren, together with those who knew him before, assembled to make him king over them, and ihey placed the regal crown upon his head,

40. And he set over his subjects and people, princes, judges and rulers, as is the custom amongst kings,

41. And he placed Terah the son of Nahor the prince of his host, and he dignified him and elevated him above all his princes.

42. And whilst he was reigning according to his heart's desire, after having conquered all his enemies around, he advised with his counsel- lors to build a city for his palace, and they did so.

43. And they found a large valley opposite to the east, and they built him a large and extensive city, and Nimrod called the name of the city that he built iShinar, for the Lord had vehemently shaken his enemies and destroyed them,

44. And Nimrod dwelt in Shinar, and he reigned securely, and he fought with his enemies and he sub- dued them, and he prospered in all his battles, and his kingdom became very great.

45. And all nations and tongues heard of his fame, and they gathered

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themselves* to him, and they bowed down to the earth, and they brought him offerings, and he became their lord and king, and they all dweh with him in the city of Shinar, and Nimrod reigned in the earth over all the sons of Noah, and they were all under his power and counsel.

46. And all the earth was of one tongue and words of union, but Nim- rod did not go in the ways of the Lord, and he was more wicked than all the men that were before him, from the days of the flood until those days.

47. And he made Gods of wood

* According to Jasher, (and, I believe, Dr. Clarke gives the same opinion of some Chris- tian commentators,) an inference can be drawn that there was a partial separation of mankind long before the affair at Babel, as the confusion of languages did not take place till about 340 years after the flootl, being the end of Peleg's life, or the 48th year of the life of Abraham ; and having shown that the date of Abraham's birth should be A. M. 1948 instead of 2008, it will follow that the confusion of Babel took place A. M. 1996. I have no doubt that a se- paration took place before then, until they were reunited under the dominion of Nimrod. Ow- ing to this separation, and their numerous in- crease, their having no regular form of govern- ment, and particularly their petty v^-ars among each other, their first language would branch out into many variations, but still near enough to the original to be understood by each other, and sufficiently altered to be called different tongues ; and as a number of families might, by co-operating together, be called a petty nation, so would some alteration in their speech, or tongue, be sufficient to distinguish them. Ja- sher tells us, that when Nimrod was 40 years old, there was war between his brethren and the children of Japheth ; (see verse 34;) and that they were under the power of their ene- mies ; that with a few people, (of the children of Cush only,) he made war, and subdued them ; and that they all came to dwell with him in Shinar. I have frequently had to remark that the word all must not in the Hebrew be taken in that latitude, as it would in the modern lan- guages. When a united number is intended to be expressed, the word all is used as in verse 35, when " Nimrod assembled all the sons of Cush, and their families, about four hundred and sixtv men," by this is meant that all fJiosc assem- bled of the families of Gush were four hundred

and stone, and he bowed down to them, and he rebelled against the Lord, and taught all his subjects and the people of the earth his wicked ways ; and Mardon his son was more wicked than his father.

48. And every one that heard of the acts of Mardon the son of Nimrod would say, concerning him, from the wicked goeth forth wickedness ; therefore it became a proverb in the whole earth, saying, from the wick- ed goeth forth wickedness, and it was current in the words of mezi from that time to this.

and sixty men. Sufficient examples will be found in Jasher as well as in scripture, where So must be understood in this sense. I therefore understand in this verse, not that all mankind came to live in Shinar, but that all those that did come, resided in Shinar. And if, owing to their former separa- tion into petty nations, they must have adopted various dialects sufficient to distinguish them, as Jasher tells us that " all nations and tongues heard his fame," so when they were reuni- ted, and become under one government, not from choice, but from compulsion, then they be- came again of one lip and words of union ; for thus would I translate onnK onaii, commonly translated, and one speech, which is the li- teral translation, meaning that after their ces- sation from war and petty broils, they again spoke in one lip and words of union, in opposi- tion to separate dialects and words of strife. This inference of a former separation will ex- plain that part of the speech of the builders of Babel, " we will build a tower, &.C., &c., lest we be scattered upon the face of the earth," alluding to their former dissensions, by which means they had originally separated, and be- come scattered, but wishing to unite in idolatry, and raise an amazing tower, they hoped it would be the means of uniting the whole race of man- kind under their impious standard. It seems that the famihes of Cush, Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan were the chief instigators to this im- pious act, and that out of all the families then existing, not of Ham only, but the impious of all the families that assembled to the task, were 600,000 men ; and they chose a valley at two days' distance from Shinar, say twenty miles. I have no doubt the numbers of the human race were very considerable at that time, as it was 340 years after the flood, and there was plenty of time for the propagation of men to three or four millions of inhabitants.

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49. And Terah the son of Nahor, prince of Nimrod's host, was in those days very great in the sight of the king and his subjects, and the king and princes loved him, and they ele- vated him very high.

50. And Terah* took a wife, and her name was Amthelo the daughter of Cornebo ; and the wife of Terah conceived and bare him a son in those days.

51. Terah was seventy years old when he begat him, and Terah called the name of his son that was born to himt Abram, because the king had raised him in those days, and digni- fied him above all his princes that were with him.

CHAPTER VIII.

1. And it was in the night that Abram was born, that all the ser- vants of Terah, and all the wise men of Nimrod, and his conjurors came and ate and drank in the house of Terah, and they rejoiced with him on that night.

2. And when all the wise men and conjurors went out from the house of Terah, they lifted up their eyes toward heaven that night to look at the stars, and they saw, and behold one very large star came from the east and ran in the heav- ens, and he swallowed up the four stars from the four sides of the heavens.

* By this it seems he had another wife who bare Abram, different from her who bare Haran and Nahor. See verse 22.

+ max From this it seems that Abram was called so, not because he was a mighty father, but because Terah was a mighty father in the court of Nimrod, and therefore God changed his name to .'Abraham, appropriating to him in a much more extensive sense, the meaning which Terah applied to himself.

3. And all the wise men of the king and his conjurors were aston- ished at the sight, and the sages un- derstood this matter, and they knew its import.

4. And they said to each other, tiiis only betokens the child that has been born to Terah this night, who will grow up and be fruitful, and multi- ply, and possess all the earth, he and his children for ever, and he and his seed will slay great kings, and inherit their lands.

5. And the wise men and conju- rors went home that night, and in the morning all these wise men and con- jurors rose up early, and assembled in an appointed house.

6. And they spoke and said to each other, behold the sight that we saw last night is liidden from the king, it has not been made known to him,

7. And should this thing get known to the king in the latter days, he will say to us, why have you con- cealed this matter from me, and then we shall all suffer death ; therefore, now let us go and tell the king the sight which we saw, and the inter- pretation thereof, and we shall tlien remain clear.

8. And they did so, and they all went to the king and bowed down to him to the ground, and they said, may the king live, may the king live.

9. We heard that a son was born to Terah the son of Nahor, the prince of thy host, aiKl we yesternight came to his house, and we ate and drank and rejoiced with him that night.

10. And when thy servants went out from the house of Terah, to go to our respective homes to abide there for the night, we lifted up our eyes to heaven, and we saw a great star coming from the cast, and the same star ran with great speed, and

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swallowed up four great stars, from the four sides of the heavens.

1 1 . And thy servants were aston- ished at the sight which we saw, and were greatly terrified, and we made our judgment upon the sight, and knew by our wisdom the proper interpretation thereof, that this thing applies to the child that is born to Terah, who will grow up and multi- ply greatly, and become powerful, and kill all the kings of the earth, and inherit all their lands, he and his seed forever.

12. And now our lord and king, behold we have truly acquainted thee with what we have seen concerning this child.

13. If it seemeth good to the king to give his father value for this child, we will slay him before he shall grow up and increase in the land, and his evil increase against us, that we and our children perish through his evil.

14. And the king heard their words and they seemed good in his sight, and he sent and called for Terah, and Terah came before the king.

15. And the king said to Terah, I have been told that a son was yes- ternight born to thee, and after this manner was observed in the heavens at his birth.

16. And now therefore give me the child, that we may slay him be- fore his evil springs up against us, and I will give thee for his value, thy house full of silver and gold.

17. And Terah answered the king and said to him ; my Lord and king, I have heard thy words, and thy ser- vant shall do all that his king desi- reth.

18. But my lord and, king, I will tell thee what happened to me yes- ternight, that I may see what advice

the king will give his servant, and then I will answer the king upon what he has just spoken ; and the king said, speak.

19. And Terah said to the king, Ayon, son of Mored, came to me yesternight, saying,

20. Give unto me the great and beautiful horse that the king gave thee, and I will give thee silver and gold, and stravi^ and provender for its value ; and I said to him, wait till I see the king concerning thy words, and behold whatever the king'saith, that will I do.

21. And now my lord and\mg, behold I have made this thing known to thee, and the advice which my king will give unto his servant, that will I follow.

22. And the king heard the words of Terah, and his anger was kindled and he considered him in the light of a fool,

23. And the king answered Terah, and he said to him, art thou so silly, ignorant, or deficient in understand- ing, to do this thing, to give thy beau- tiful horse for silver and gold or even for straw and provender ?

24. Art thou so short of silver and gold, that thou shouldest do this thing, because thou canst not obtain straw and provender to feed thy horse ? and what is silver and gold to thee, or straw and provender, that thou shouldst give away that fine horse which I gave thee, like which there is none to be had on the whole earth ?

25. And the king left off speak- ing, and Terah answered the king, saying, like unto this has the king spoken to his servant ;

26. I beseech thee, my lord and king, what is this which thou didst say unto me, saying, give thy son that we may slay him, and I will

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21

give thee silver ai)d gold for his value ; what shall I do with silver and gold after the death of my son ? who shall inherit me ? surely then at my death, the silver and gold will re- turn to my king who gave it.

27. And when the king heard the words of Terah, and the parable which he brought concerning the king, it grieved him greatly and he was vexed at this thing, and his anger burned within him.

28. And Terah saw that the an- ger of the king was kindled against him, and lie answered the king, say- ing, all that I have is in the king's power ; whatever the king desireth to do to his servant, that let him do, yea, even mv son, he is in the king's power, without value in exchange, he and his two brothers that are older than he.

29. And the king said to Terah, no, but I will purchase thy younger son for a price.

30. And Terah answered the king, saying, I beseech thee my lord and king to let thy servant speak a word before thee, and let the king hear the word of his servant, and Terah said, let my king give me three days time till I consider this matter within myself, and consult with my family concerning the words of my king ; and he pressed the king greatly to agree to this.

31. And the king hearkened to Terah, and he did so and he gave him three days time, and Terah went out from the king's presence, and he came home to his family and spoke to them all the words of the king ; and the people were greatly afraid.

32. 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 slav all thou hast in tliy house, so that thou shall not even have a dog remaining.

33. And Terah hastened, (as the thing was urgent from the king), and he took a child from one of his ser- vants, which his handmaid had born to him that day, and Terah brougiit the child to the king and received value for him.

34. And the Lord was with Terah in this matter, that Nimrod might not cau.5e 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 forgot- ten by the king, as it was the will of Providence not to suffer Abram's death.

35. And Terah took Abram his son secretly, together with his mo- ther and nurse, and he concealed them in a cave, and he brought them their provisions monthly.

36. And the Lord was with Abram in the cave and he grew up, and Abram was in the cave ten years, and the king and his princes, sooth- sayers and sages, thought that the king had killed Abram.

CHAPTER IX.

1. And Haran, the son of Terah, Abram's oldest brother, took a wife in those days.

2. Haran was thirty-nine years old when he took her ; and the wife of Haran conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Lot.

3. And she conceived again and bare a daughter, and she called her name Milca ; and she again conceived and bare a daughter, and she called her name Sarai.

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THE BOOK OF JASHER.

4. Haran was forty-two years old when he begat Sarai, which was in the tenth year of the life of Abram ; and in those days Abram and his mother and nurse went out from the cave, as the king and his subjects had forgotten the affair of Abram.

5. And when Abram came out from the cave, he went to Noah and his son Shem, and he remained with tliem to learn the instruction of the Lord and his ways, and no man knew wher-e Abram was, and Abram serv- ed Noah and Shem his son for a long time,

6. And Abram was in Noah's house thirty-nine years, and Abram knew the Lord from three years old, and he went in the ways of the Lord until the day of his death, as Noah and his son Shem had taught him ; and all the sons of the earth in those days greatly transgressed against the Lord, and they rebelled against him and they served other gods, and they forgot the Lord who had created them in the earth ; and the inhabi- tants of the earth made unto them- selves, at that time, every man his God ; gods of wood and stone which could neither speak, hear, nor deli- ver, and the sons of men served them and they became their gods.

7. And the king and all his ser- vants, and Terah with all his house- hold were then the first of those that served gods of wood and stone.

8. And Terah had twelve gods of large size, made of wood and stone, after the twelve months of the year, and he served each one monthly, and every month Terah would bring his weai' offering and drink offeringto his gods ; thus did Terah all the days.

9. And all that generation were wicked in the sight of the Lord, and they thus made every man his god,

but they forsook the Lord who had created them.

10. And there was not a man found in those days in the whole earth, who knew the Lord (for they served each man his own God) except Noah and his household, and all those who were under his counsel knew the Lord in those days.

11. And Abram the son of Terah was waxing *great in those days in the house of Noah, and no man knew it, and the Lord was with him,

12. And the Lord gave Abram an understanding heart, and he knew all the works of that generation were vain, and that all their gods were vain and were of no avail.

13. And Abram saw the sun shining upon the earth, and Abram said unto himself surely now this sun that shines upon the earth is God, and him will I serve.

14. And Abram served the sun in that day and he prayed to him, and when evening came the sun set as usual, and Abram said Avilhin him- self, surely this cannot be God ?

15. And Abram still continued to speak within himself, who is he who made the heavens and the earth ? who created upon earth? where is he?

16. And night darkened over him, and he lifted up his eyes toward the west, north, south and east, and he saw that the sun had vanished from the earth, and the day became dark.

1 7. And Abram saw the stars and moon before him, and he said, surely this is the God who created the whole earth as Avell as man, and behold these his servants are gods around him ; and Abram served the moon and prayed to it all that night.

* In divine truths, as is explained in the next verse.

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23

18. And in the morning when it was Hght and the sun shone upon the earth as usual, Abrani saw all the things that the Lord God had made upon earth.

19. And Abram said unto himself, surely these are not gods that made the earth and all mankind, but these are the servants of God ; and Abrani remained in the house of Noah and there knew the Lord and his ways, and he served the Lord all the days of his life, and all that generation forgot the Lord, and served other gods of wood and stone, and rebel- led all their days.

20. And king Nimrod reigned se- curely, and all the earth was under his control, and all the earth was of one tongue and words of union.

21. And all the princes of Nimrod and his great men took counsel to- gether ; Phut, Mitzraim, Gush and Canaan with their families, and they said to each other, come let us build ourselves a city and in it a strong tower, and its top reaching heaven, and we will make ourselves famed, so that we may reign upon the whole world, in order that the evil of our enemies may cease from us, that we may reign mightily over them, and that we may not become scattered over the earth on account of their wars.

22. And they all went before the king, and they told the king these words, and the king agreed with them in this affair, and he did so.

23. And all the families assembkjd consisting of about six hundred thousand men, and they went to seek an extensive piece of ground to build the city and the tower, and they sought in the whole earth and they found none hke one valley at the east of the land of Shinar, about

two days' walk, and they journeyed there and they dwelt there.

24. And they began to make bricks and burn hrcs to build the city and the tower that they had imagined to complele.

25. And the building of the tower was unto them a transgression and a sin, and they began to build it, and whilst they were building against the Lord God of heaven, they imagin- ed in their hearts to war against him and to ascend into heaven.

26. And all these people and all the families divided themselves in three parts ; the first said we will as- cend into heaven and fight against him ; the second said, we will ascend to heaven and place our own gods there and serve them ; and the third part said, we will ascend to heaven and smite him with bows and spears; and God knew all their works and all their evil thoughts, and he saw the city and the tower which they were building.

27. And when they were building they built themselves a great city and a very high and strong tower ; and on account of its height the mortar and bricks did not reach the builders in their ascent to it, until those who went up had completed a full year, and after that, they reached to the buil- ders and gave them the mortar and bricks ; thus was it done daily.

28. And behold these ascended and others descended the whole day ; and if a brick should fall from their hands and get broken, they would all weep over it, and if a man fell and died, none of them would look at him.

29. And the Lord knew their thoughts, and it came to pass when they were building they cast the arrows toward the heavens, and all the arrows fell upon them filled with

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blood, and when ihey saw them they said to each other, surely we have slain all those that are in heaven.

30. For this was from the Lord in order to cause them to err, and in order to destroy them from off the face of the ground,

3 1 . And they built the tower and the city, and they did this thing daily until many days and years were elapsed.

32. And God said to the seventy angels who stood foremost before him, to those who were near to him, saying, come let us descend and con- fuse their tongues, that one man shall not understand the language of his neighbor, and they did so unto them.

33. And from that day following, they forgot each man his neighbor's tongue, and they could not under- stand to speak in one tongue, and when the builder took from the hands of his neighbor lime or stone which he did not order, the builder would cast it away and throw it upon his neighbor, that he would die.

34. And they did so many days, and they killed many of them in this manner.

35. And the Lord smote the three divisions that were there, and he punished them according to their works and designs ; those who said, we will ascend to heaven and serve our Gods, became *like apes and elephants ; and those who said, we will smite the heaven with arrows, the Lord killed them, one man through the hand of his neighbor ;

*A long note I have upon this, as it might be translated, " and they became apes and ele- phants," this being the example of the work in the hands of Mr. Adam of Calcutta, sent to me by the royal Asiatic society, to see if it were like mine. The words are " and his heart died within him, and he became" (not a stone) but " like unto a stone," as it is rightly translated in the English Bible.

and the third division of those who said, we will ascend to heaven and fight against him, the Lord scattered them throughout the earth.

36. And those who were left amongst them, when they knew and understood the evil which was com- ing upon them, they forsook the building, and they also became scat- tered upon the face of the whole earth.

37. And they ceased building the city and the tower ; therefore he called that place Babel, for there the Lord confounded the language of the whole earth ; behold it ivas at the east of the land of Shinar.

38. And as to the tower which the sons of men built, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up one third part thereof, and a fire also descend- ed from heaven and burned another third, and the other third is left to this day, and it is of that part which was aloft, and its circumference is *three days' walk.

39. And many of the sons of men died in that lower, a people without number.

CHAPTER X.

1. And Peleg the son of Eber died in those days, in the forty- eighth year of the life of Abram son of Terah, and all the days of Terah were two hundred and thirty nine years.

* This cannot be the tower that Herodotus saw, though it might be erected on the same spot ; reckoning a day's walk 10 miles, as is sup- posed by the best Christian commentators, its circumference will be 30 miles. This will not appear so very astonishing when it is consider- ed that six hundred thousand men were employ- ed in erecting it, and, as Jasher tells, they were many years engaged in this infamous work ; and it will not exceed credibility, when it is re- membered that the wall of China is 1500 miles in length.

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

25

2. And when ihe Lord had scat- tered the sons of men on account of their sin at the tower, behold they spread forth into many divisions, and all the sons of men were dispersed into the four corners of the earth.

3. And all the families became each according to its language, its land, or its city.

4. And the sons of men built many cities according to their fami- lies, in all the places where they went, and throughout the earth where the Lord had scattered them.

5. And some of them built cities in places from which they were after- warc^extirpated, and they called these cities after their own names, or the names of their children, or after their 2)articidcu' occurrences,

b". And the sons of Japheth the son of Noah went and built them- selves cities in the places where they were scattered, and they called all their cities after their names, and the sons of Japheth were divided upon the face of the earth into many di- visions and lancruages.

7. And these are the sons of Ja- pheth according to their families, Gomer, Magog, Medai, Javan, Tu- bal, Meshech and Tiras ; these are the children of Japheth according to their generations.

8. And the children of Gomer, ac- cording to their cities, were the Fran- cum who dwelt in the land of Franza by the river Fran za by the river Senah.

9. And the children of Rephath are the Bartonim, who dwell in the land of Bartonia by the river Ledah which empties its waters in the great *sea Gihon, that is, oceanus.

*■ This is the same as the river Gihon men- tioned in ch. 5, which overflowed and destroyed part jf the earth. In the Hebrew d^ sea, and "mi river are frequently put for each other.

10. And the children of Tugarma are ten families, and these are their names ; Buzar, Parzunac, Balgar, Elicanum, Ragbib, Tarki, Bid, Ze- buc, Ongal and Tilmaz ; all these spread and rested in the North and built themselves cities.

1 1 . And they called their cities after their own names, those are they who abide by the rivers Hithlah and Italac unto litis day.

12. But tlie families of Angoli, Balgar and Parzunac, they dwell by the great river Dubnee ; and the names of their cities arc also ac- cording to their own names.

13. And the children of Javan are the Javanim who dwell in the land of Makdonia, and tlie children of Madai ai'e the Orelum that dwell in the land of Curson, and the children of Tubal are those that dwell in the land of Tuskanah by the river Pa- shiah.

14. And the children of Meshech are the Shibashni and the children of Tiras are Rushash, Cushni, and Ongolis ; all these went and built themselves cities; those are the cities that are situate by the sea Jabus by' the river Cura, which empties itself in the river Tragan.

15. And the children of Elishah are the Almanim, and they also went and built themselves cities ; those are the cities situate between the mountains of Job and Shibathmo ; and of them were the people of Lumbardi who dwell opposite the mountains of Job and Shibathmo, and they conquered the land of Itaha and remained there unto this day.

16. And the children of Chittim are the Romim who dwell in the valley of Canopia by the river Ti- breu.

17. And the children of Dudonim

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are those who dwell in the cities of the sea Gihon in the land of Bordna.

18. These are the families of the children of Japheth according to their cities and languages, when they were scattered after the tower, and they called their cities after their names and occurrences ; and these are the names of all their cities ac- cording to their families, which they built in those days after the tower.

19. And the children of Ham were Cush, Mitzraim, Phut and Ca- naan according to their generation and cities.

20. All these went and built them- selves cities as they found Jit -places for them, and they called their cities after the names of their fathers Cush, Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan.

21. And the children of Mitz- raim are the Ludim, Anamim, Leha- bim, Naphtuchim, Pathrusim, Cas- luchim and Caphturim, seven families.

22. All these dwell by the river Sihor, that is the brook of Egypt, and they built themselves cities and called them after their own names.

23. And the children of Pathros and Casloch intermarried together, and from them went forth the Pelish- tim, the Azathim, and the Gerarim, the Githim and the Ekronim, in all five families ; these also buih. them- selves cities, and they called their cities after the names of their fathers unto this day.

24. And the children of Canaan also built themselves cities, and they called their cities after their names, eleven cities and others without number.

25. And four men from the fami- ly of Ham went to the land of the plain ; these are the names of the four men, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim.

26. And these men built them- selves four cities in the land of the plain, and they called the names of their cities after their own names.

27. And they and their children and all belonging to them dwelt in those cities, and they were fruitful and multiplied greatly and dwelt peaceably.

28. And Seir the son of Hur, son of Hivi, son of Canaan, went and found a valley opposite to Mount Paran, and he built a city there, and he and his seven sons and his house- hold dwelt there, and he called the city which he built Seir, according to his name ; that is the land of Seir unto this day.

29. These are the families of the children of Ham, according to their languages and cities, M'hen they were scattered to their countries after the tower.

30. And some of the children of Shem son of Noah, father of all the children of Eber, also went and built themselves cities in the places wherein they w^ere scattered, and they called their cities after their names.

31. And the sons of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arpachshad, Lud and Aram, and they built themselves cities and called the names of all their cities after their names.

32. And Ashur son of Shem and his children and household went forth at that time, a very large body of them, and they went to a distant land that they found, and they met with a very extensive valley in the land that they went to, and they built themselves four cities, and they called them after their own names and occurrences.

33. And these are the names of the cities which the children of Ash-

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27

ur built, Ninevali, Resen, Calach and Rchoholher; and tlie children of Asliur dwell there unto this day.

34. And the children of Aram also went and built themselves a city, and they called the name of the city Uz after their eldest brother, and they dwelt therein ; that is the land of Uz to this day.

35. And in the second year after the tower a man from the house of Ashur, whose name was Bela, went from the land of Ninevah to sojourn with his household wherever he could find a place; and they came until opposite the cities of the plain against ISodom, and they dwelt there.

36. And the man rose up and built there a small city, and called its name Bela after his name ; that is the land of Zoar unto this day.

37. And these are the families of the children of Shem according to their language and cities, after they w^ere scattered upon the earth after the tower.

38. And every kingdom, city and family of the families of the chil- dren of Noah built themselves many cities after this.

39. And they established govern- ments in all their cities, in order to be regulated by their orders ; so did all the families of the children of Noah forever.

CHAPTER XI.

1 . And Nimrod son of Cush was still in the land of Shinar, and he reigned over it and dwelt there, and he built cities in the land of Shinar.

2. And these are the names of the four cities which he built, and he called their names after the oc- currences that happened to them in the building of the tower.

3. And he called the first Babel, saying, because the Lord there con- founded the language of the whole earth ; and the name of the second he called *Ercch, because from there God dispersed them.

4. iVnd the third he called tEched, saying, there was a great battle at that place ; and the fourth he called Calnah, because his princes and mighty men were consumed there, and they vexed the Lord, they rebel- led and transgressed against him.

5. And when Nimrod had built these cities in the land. of Shinar, he placed in them the remainder of his people, his princes and his mighty men that were left in his kingdom.

6. And Nimrod dwelt in Babel, and he there renewed his reign over the rest of his subjects, and he reigned securely, and the subjects and princes of Nimrod called his name Amraphel, saying that at the tower his princes and men fell through his means.

7. And notwithstanding this, Nim- rod did not return to the Lord, and he continued in w^ickedness and teaching wickedness to the sons of men ; and Mardon his son was worse than his father, and continued to add to ^he abominations of his father.

8. And he caused the sons of men to sin, therefore it is said, from the wicked goeth forth wickedness.

9. At that time there w^as war be- tween the families of the children of Ham, as they were dwelling in the cities which they had built.

10. And Chedorlaomer, king of Elara, went away from the families of

* TIN like o^n:n i3nN<i, as Kimchi explains it, that they drew tht'in out.

t nsN is a term for battle, from C'N nn'D, sparks of fire.

28

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

the children of Ham, and he fought with them and he subdued them, and he went to the five cities of the plain and he fought against them and he subdued them, and they were under his control.

11. And they served him twelve years, and they gave him a yearly tax.

12. At that time died Nahor, son of Serug, in the forty ninth year of the life of Abram son of Terah.

13. And in the fiftieth year of the life of Abram son of Terah, Abram came forth from the house of Noah, and went to his father's house.

14. And Abram knew the Lord, and he went in his ways and instruc- tions, and the Lord his God was with him.

15. And Terah his father was in those days still captain of the host of king Nimrod, and he still follow- ed strange gods.

16. Ajid Abram came to his father's house and saw twelve gods standing there in their temples, and the anger of Abram was kindled when he saw these images in his father's house.

17. And Abram said, as the Lord liveth these images shall not remain in my father's house ; so shall the Lord who created me do unto me if in three days' time I do not break them all.

18. And Abram went from them, and his anger burned within him. And Abram hastened and went from the chamber to his father's outer court, and he found his fatlier sitting in the court, and all his ser- vants with him, and Abram came and sat before him.

19. And Abram asked his father, saying, Father, tell me where is God who created heaven and earth, and all the sons of m.en upon earth, and who created thee and me. And Te-

rah answered his son Abram and said, behold those who created us are all with us in the house.

20. And Abram said to his father, my lord shew them to me I pray thee ; and Terah brought Abram into the chamber of the inner court, and Abram saw, and behold the whole room was full of gods of wood and stone, twelve great images and oth- ers less than they without number.

21. And Terah said to his son, behold these are they which made all thou seest upon earth, and which created me and thee, and all man- kind.

22. And Terah bowed down 1o his gods, and he then went away from them, and Abram his son went away with iiim.

23. And when Abram had gone from them he went to his mother and sat before her, and he said to his mother, behold, my father has shown me those who made heaven and earth, and all the sons of men.

24. Now therefore hasten and fetch a kid from the flock, and make of it savour)'- meat, that I may bring it to my father's gods as an offering for them to eat ; perhaps I may thereby become acceptable to them.

25. And his mother did so, and she fetched a kid, and made savoury meat thereof, and brought it to Abram, and Abram took the savoury meat from his mother and brought it before his father's gods, and he drew nigh to them that they might eat ; and Terah his father did not know of it.

26. And Abram saw on the day when he was sitting amongst them that they had no voice, no hearing, no motion, and not one of them could stretch forth his hand to eat.

27. And Abram mocked them,

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39

and said, surely the savoury meat that I prepared has not pleased them, ov per/uqjs it was too httle for them, and for that reason they would not eat ; therefore to-morrow I will pre- pare fresii savoury meat, belter and more plentiful than this, in order that I may see the result.

28. And it was on the next day that Abram directed his mother con- cerning the savoury meat, and his mother rose and fetched three fine kids from the flock, and she made of them some excellent savoury meat, such as her son was fond of, and she gave it to her son Abram ; and Te- rali his father did not know of it.

29. And Abram look the savoury meat from his mother, and brought it before his father's gods into the chamber; and he came nigh unto them that they might eat, and he placed it before them, and Abram sat before them all day,* thinking per- haps tkey might eat.

30. And Abram viewed them, and behold they had neither voice nor hearing, nor did one of them stretch forth his hand to the meat to eat.

31. And in the evening of that day in that house Abram was clothed with the spirit of God.

32. And he called out and said, wo unto my father and this wicked

* This is continued in the same heautiful strain of irony as the whole ; his first visit to the idols with the first dish, his troubling his mother to make fresh delicacies, fearing the first was not good enough, and then his sitting there all day watching them if they would eat, were all to afford him materials for making a noble and for- cible appeal to his father, to show him that he exerted his best efforts to please his gods ; that he attended twice upon them to try their ap- petites with the most relishing dishes, and that he did not do this in haste, but that he had watched them the whole day to see of what his gods were capable. This strain of irony is not much inferior to that where Elisha calls on the worshippers of Baal.

generation, whose hearts are all in- clined to vanity, who serve these idols of wood and slone which can neither eat, smell, hear nor speak, who have mouths without speech, eyes without sight, ears without hearing, hands without feeling, and legs which cannot move ; like them are those that made them and that trust in them .

33. And when Abram saw all these things his anger was kindled against his father, and he hastened and took a hatchet in his hand, and came unto the chamber of the gods, and he broke all his father's gods.

34. And when he had done break- ing the images, he placed the hatchet in the hand of the great god which was there before them, and he went out ; and Terah his father came home, for he had heard at the door the sound of the striking of the hatch- et ; so Terah came into the house to know what this was about.

35. And Terah, having heard the noise of the hatchet in the room of images, ran to the room to the ima- ges, and he met Abram going out.

36. And Terah entered the room and found all the idols fallen down and broken, and the hatchet in the hand of the'largest, which was not broken, and the savoury meat which Abram his son had made was still before them.

37. And when Terah saw this his anger was greatly kindled, and he hastened and went from the room to Abram.

30. And he found Abram his son still sitting in the house ; and he said to him, what is this work thou hast done to my gods ?

39. And Abram answered Terah his father and he said, not so my lord, for I brought savoury meat

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THE BOOK OF JASHER.

before them, and when I came nigh to them with the meat that they might eat, they all at once stretched forth their hands to eat before the great one had put forth his hand to eat.

40. And tlie large one saw their works that they did before him, and his anger was violently khidled against them, and he went and took the hatchet that was in the house and came to them and broke them all, and behold the hatchet is yet in his hand as thou seest.

4J. And Terah's anger was kin- dled against his son Abram, when he spoke this ; and Terah said to Abram his son in his anger, what is this tale that thou hast told ? Thou speakest lies to me.

42. Is there in these gods spirit, soul or power to do all thou hast told me ? Are they not wood and stone, and have I not myself made them, and canst thou speak such lies, say- ing that the large god that was with them smote them ? It is thou that didst place the hatchet in his hands, and then sayest he smote them all.

43. And Abram answered his fa- ther and said to him, and how canst thou then serve these idols in whom there is no power to do any thing ? Can those idols in which thou trust- est deliver thee ? can they hear thy prayers when thou callest upon ihem'' can they deliver thee from the hands of thy enemies, or will they fight thy battles for thee against thy enemies, that thou shouldst serve wood and stone which can neither speak nor hear ?

44. And now surely it is not good for thee nor for the sons of men that are connected with thee, to do these things ; are you so silly, so foolish or so short of understanding that you will

serve wood and stone, and do after this manner ?

45. And forget the Lord God who made heaven and earth, and who cre- ated you in the earth, and thereby bring a great evil upon your souls in this matter by serving stone and wood ?

46. Did not our fathers in days of old sin in this manner, and the Lord God of the universe brought the waters of the flood upon them and destroyed the whole earth?

47. And how can you continue to do this and serve gods of wood and stone, who cannot hear, or speak, or deliver you from oppression, thereby bringing down the anger of the God of the universe upon you ?

48. Now therefore my father re- frain from this, and bring not evil upon thy soul and the souls of thy house- hold,

49. And Abram hastened and sprang from before his father, and took the hatchet from his father's lar- gest idol, with which Abram broke it and ran away.

50. And Terah, seeing all that Abram had done, hastened to go from his house, and he went to the king and he came before Nimrod and stood before him, and he bowed down to the king ; and the king said, what dost thou want ?

51 . And he said, I beseech thee my lord, tohearme — now fifty years back' a child was born to me, and thus has he done to my gods and thus has he spoken ; and now therefore, my lord and king, send for him that he may come before thee, and judge him ac- cording to the law, that we may be delivered from his evil.

52. And the king sent three men of his servants, and they went and brought Abram before the king.

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31

And Nimrod and all his princes and jicrvants were that day silting before him, and Terah sat also before them.

53. And the king said to Abram, what is this that thou hast done to thy father and to his gods ? And Abram answered the king in the words that he spoke to his father, and he said, the large god that was with them in the house did to them what thou hast heard.

54. And the king said to Abram, had they power to speak and eat and do as thou hast said ? And Abram answered the king, saying, and if there be no power in them why dost thou serve them and cause the sons of men to err through thy follies ?

55. Dost thou imagine that tiiey can deliver thee or do any thing small or great, that thou shouldst serve them ? And why wilt thou not serve the God of the whole universe, who created thee and in whose power it is to kill and to keep alive ?

56. O foolish, simple, and igno- rant king, woe unto thee forever.

57. I thought thou wouldst teach thy servants the upright way, but thou hast not done this, but hast fil- led the whole earth with thy sins and the sins of thy people who have fol- lowed thy ways.

58. Dost thou not know, or hast thou not heard, that this evil which thou doest, our ancestors sinned there- in in days of old, and the eternal God brought the waters of the flood upon them and destroyed them all, and also destroyed the whole earth on their account ? And wilt thou and ihy people rise up now and do like unto this work, in order to bring down the anger of the Lord God of the universe, and to bring evil upon thee and the whole earth ?

59. Now therefore put away this

evil deed which *thou doest, and serve the God of the universe, as thy soul is in his hands, and then it will be well with thee.

60. And if thy wicked heart will not hearken to my words to cause thee to forsake thy evil ways and to serve the eternal God, then wilt thou die in shame in the latter days, thou, thy people and all who are connect- ed with thee, hearing thy words or walking in thy evil ways.

61. And w^hen Abram had ceased speaking before the king and princes, Abram lifted up his eyes to the heavens, and he said, the Lord seeth all the wicked and he will judge them.

CHAPTER XIL

1 . And when the king heard the words of Abram he ordered him to be put into prison ; and Abram was ten days in prison.

2. And at the end of those days the king ordered that all the kings, princes and governors of different provinces and the sages should come before him, and they sat before him, and Abram was still in the house of confinement.

3. And the king said to the prin- ces and sages, have you heard what Abram the son of Terah has done to his father ? Thus has he done to him, and I ordered him to be brought before me, and thus has he spoken ; his heart did not misgive him, nei- ther did he stir in my presence, and behold now he is confined in the prison.

4. And therefore decide what judg-

* I have here continued the singular pronoun in order to keep up the chain of the narrative, though the Hebrew has the transition to the plural, as including Ninuod's men.

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THE BOOK OF JASHER.

ment is due to tliis man who reviled the king ; who spoke and did all the things that you heard.

5. And they all answered the king, saying, the man who revileth the king should be hanged upon a tree ; but having done all the things that he said, and having despised our gods, he must therefore be burned to death, for this is the law in this matter.

6. If it pleaseth the king to do this, let him order his servants to kindle a fire both night and day in thy brick furnace, and then we will cast this man into it. And the king did so, and he commanded his ser- vants that they should prepare a fire for three days and three nights in the king's furnace, that is in Casdim ; and the king ordered them to take Abram from prison and bring him out to be burned.

7. And all the king's servants, princes, lords, governors and judges, and all the inhabhants of the land, about nine hundred thousand men, stood opposite the furnace to see Abram.

8. And all the women and little ones crowded upon the roofs and towers to see lohat ivas doing with Abram, and they all stood together at a distance ; and there was not a man left that did not come on that day to behold the scene.

9. And when Abram was come, the conjurors of the king and the sages saw Abram, and they cried out to the king, saying, our sovereign lord, surely this is the man whom we know to have been the child at whose birth the great star swallowed the four stars, wdiich we declared to the king now fifty years since.

10. And behold now his father has also transgressed thy command, and

mocked thee by bringing thee ano- , ther child, which thou didst kill.

1 1 . And when the king heard their words he was exceedingly wroth, and he ordered Terah to be brought . before him.

12. And the king said, hast thou heard what the conjurors have spo- ken ? Now tell me truly, how didst thou ; and if thou shah speak truth thou shalt be acquitted.

13. And seeing that the king's an- ger was so much kindled, Terah said to the king, my lord and king, thou hast heard the truth and what the sages have spoken is right. And the king said, how couldst thou do this thing, to transgress my orders and to give me a child that thou didst not beget, and to take value for him ?

14. And Terah answered the king, because my tender feelings were ex- cited for my son, at that time, and I took a son of my handmaid, and I brought him to the king.

15. And the king said, who advi- sed thee to this ? Tell me, do not hide aught from me, and theii thou shalt not die.

16. And Terah was greatly terri- fied in the king's presence, and he said to the king, it was Haran ?nt/ eldest son who advised me to this ; and Haran was in those days that Abram was born, two and thirty years old.

17. But Haran did not advise his father to anything, for Terah said this to the king in order to deliver his soul from the king, for he feared greatly ; and the king said to Terah, Haran thy son who advised thee to this shall die through fire with Abram ; for the sentence of death is upon him for having rebelled against the king's ' desire in doing this thing.

18. And Haran at that time felt

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jncJined to follow the ways of Abram, but he ke})t it within himself.

19. And Haraii said in iiis heart, behold now the king has seized Abram on account of these things which Abram did, and it shall come to pass, that if Abram prevail over the king I will follow him, but if the king prevail 1 will go after the king.

20. And when Terah had spoken this to the king c(>!icerning Haran his son, the king ordered Haran to be seized with Abram.

21. And they brought them both, Abram and Haran his brother, to cast tiiem into the fire ; and all the inhabitants of the land and the king's servants and princes and all the women and little ones were there, standing that day over them.

22. And the king's servants took Abram and his brother, and they stripped them of all their clothes excepting their lower garments which were upon them.

23. And they bound their hands and feet with linen cords, and the servants of the king lifted them up and cast them both into the furnace.*

24. And the Lord loved Abram and he had compassion over him, and the Lord came down and deliv- ered Abram from the fire and he was not burned.

25. But all the cords with which they bound him were burned, while Abram remained and walked about in the fire.

26. And Haran died when they had cast him into the fire, and he was burned to ashes, for his heart was not perfect with the Lord ; and those men who cast him into the

* This is noticed in the Talmud. The Rcc- habitos have this tradition, and we also find it recorded in the Koran that Abram was thrown into a fiery furnace by Ninirod.

fire, the flame of the fire spread over them, and they were burned ; and twelve men of them died.

27. And Abram walked in the midst of the fire three days and three nights, and all the servants of tiie king saw him walking in the fire, and they came and told the king, saying, behold we have seen Abram walking about in the midst of tiie fire, and even the lower garments which are upon him are not burned, but the cord with which he was bound is burned.

28. And when the king heard their words his heart fainted and he would not believe them ; so he sent other faithful princes to see this mat- ter, and they went and saw it and told it to the king ; and tlie king rose to go and sec it, and he saw Abram walking to and fro in the midst of the fire, and he saw Haran's body burned, and the king wonder- ed greatly.

29. And the king ordered Abram to be taken out from the fire ; and his servants approached to take him out and they could not, for the fire was round about and the flame ascend- ing toward them from the furnace.

30. And the king's servants fled from it, and the king rebuked them, saying, make haste and bring Abram out of the fire that you shall not die.

31. And the servants of the king again approached to bring Abram out, and the flames came upon them and burned their faces so that eight of them died.

32. And when the king saw that his servants could not approach the fire lest they should be burned, tiie king called to Abram, 0 servant of the God who is in heaven, go forth from amidst the fire and come hith- er before me ; and Abram hearkened

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THE BOOK OF JASHER.

to the voice of the king, and he went forth from the fire and came and stood before the king.

33. And when Abram came out the king and all his servants saw Abram coming before the king, with his lower garments upon him, for they were not burned, but the cord with which he was bound was burned.

34. And the king said to Abram, how is it that thou wast not burned in the fire ?

35. And Abram said to the king, the God of heaven and earth in whom I trust and who has all in his power, he delivered me from the fire into which thou didst cast me.

36. xlnd Haran the brother of Abram was burned to ashes, and they sought for his body and they found it consumed.

37. And Haran was eighty-two years old when he died in the fire of "Casdim. And the king, princes and inhabitants of the land, seeing that Abram was delivered from the fire, they came and bowed down to Abram.

38. And Abram sakl to them, do not bow down to me but bow down to the God of the world who made you, and serve him and go in his ways for it is he who delivered me from out of this fire, and it is he who created the souls and spirits of all men, and formed man in his mother's womb, and brought him forth into the world, and it is he who will de- liver tliose who trust in him from all pain.

39. And this thing seemed very wonderful in the eyes of the king and princes, that Abram was saved from the fire and that Haran was burned; and the king gave Abram many presents and he gave him his

two head servants from the king's house ; the name of one was Oni and the name of the other was Eliezer.

40. And all the kings, princes and servants gave Abram many gifts of silver and gold and pearl, and the king and his princes sent him away, and he went in peace.

41. And Abram went forth from the king in peace, and many of the king's servants followed him, and about three hundred men jomed himv

42. And Abram returned on that day and went to his fathers house, he and the men that followed him, and Abram served the Lord his God all the days of his life, and he walked in his ways ar\dfoUoived his law.

43. And from that day forward Abram inclined the hearts of the sons of men to serve the Lord.

44. And at that time Nahor and Abram took unto themselves wives, the daughters of their brother Ha- ran ; the wife of Nahor ivas Milca and the name of Abram's wife was 8arai. And Sarai wife of Abram was barren ; she had no offspring in those days.

45. And at the expiration of two years from Abram's going out of the

j fire, that is in the fifty second year ! of his life, behold king Nimrod sat

in Babel upon the throne, and the I king fell asleep and dreamed that he jwas standing with his troops and

hosts in a valley opposite the king's I furnace. I 46. And he lifted up his eyes and

saw a man in the likeness of Abram 1 coming forth from the funiace, and I that he came and stood before the I king with his drawn sword, and then I sprang to the king with his sword, !when"^the king fled from the man, I for he was afraid ; and while he

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36

Was running, the man threw an egg upon the king's head, and the egg became a great river.

47. And tiie king dreamed that all his troops sank in that river and died, and the king took flight with three men who were before huu and he escaped.

48. And the king looked at these men and tiiev were clothed in prince- ly dresses as the garments of kings, and had the appearance and majesty of kings.

49. And while they were running, the river again turned to an egg be- fore the king, and there came forth from the egg a young bird which came before the king, and flew at his head and plucked out the king's eye.

50. And the king was grieved at the sight, and he awoke out of his sleep and his spirit was agitated, and he felt a great terror.

51. And in the morning the king rose from his couch in fear, and he ordered all the wise men and magi- cians to come before him, when the king related his dream to them.

52. And a wise servant of the king, whose name was Anuki, an- swered the king, saying, this is noth- ing else but the evil of Abram and his seed which will spring up against my lord and king in the latter days.

53. And behold the day will come when Abram and his seed and the children of his household will war with my king, and they will smite all the king's hosts and his troops.

54. And as to what thou hast said concerning three men which thou didst see like unto thyself, and which did escape, this means that only thou wilt escape with three kings from the kings of the earth who will be with thee in battle.

55. And that ' which thou sawest of the river which turned to an egg as at first, and the young bird pluck- ing out thine eye, this means nothing else but the seed of Abram which will slay the king in latter days,

56. This is my king's dream, and this is its interpretation, and the dream is true, and the interpretation which thy servant ha» given thee is right.

57. Now therefore my king, surely thou knowest that it is now fifty-two years since thy sages saw this at the birth of Abram, and if my king will suffer Abram to live in the earth it will be to the injury of my lord and king, for all the days that Abram liveth neither thou nor thy kingdom will be established, for this was known formerly at his birth ; and why will not my king slay him, that his evil may be kept from thee in latter days f

58. And Nimrod hearkened to the voice of Anuki, and he sent some of his servants in secret to go and seize Abram, and bring him before the king to suffer death.

59. And Eliezcr, Abram's servant whom the king had given him, was at that time in the presence of the king, and he heard what Anuki had advised the king, and what the king had said to cause Abram's death.

60. And Eliezer said to Abram, hasten, rise up and save thy soul, that thou mayest not die through the hands of the king, for thus did he see in a dream concerning thee, and thus did Anuki interpret it, and thus also did Anuki advise the king con- cerning thee.

61. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Eliezer. and Abram has- tened and ran for safety to the house of Noah and his son, ijhem, and he

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THE BOOK OF JASHER.

concealed himself tliere and found a place of safety ; and the king's ser- vants came to Abram's house to seek him, but they could not find him, and they searched throughout the country and he was not to be found, and they went and searched in every direction and he was not to he met with.

62. And when the king's servants could not find Abram they returned to the king, but the king's anger against Abram was stilled, as they did not find him, and tlie king drove from liis mind this matter concern- ing Abram.

63. And Abram was concealed in Noah's house for one month until the king had forgotten this matter, but Abram was still afraid of the king ; and Terali came to see Abram liis son secretly in the house of Noah, and Terah was very great in the eyes of the king.

64. And Abram said to his father, dost thou not know that the king thinketh to slay me, and to annihi- late my name from the earth by the advice of his wicked counsellors ?

65. Now whom hast thou here and what hast thou in this land ? Arise, let us go together to the land of Canaan, that we maybe delivered from his hand, lest thou perish also through him in the latter days.

66. Dost thou not know or hast thou not heard, that it is not through love that Nimrod giveth thee all this honour, but it is oidy for his benefit that he bcstoweth all this good upon thee?

67. And if he do unto thee greater good than this, surely these are only vanities of the world, for wealth and riches cannot avail in the day of wrath and anger.

68. Now therefore hearken to my

voice, and let us arise and go to the land of Canaan, out of tlie reach of injury from Nimrod ; and serve thou the Lord who created thee in the earth and it will be well with thee ; and cast away all the vain things which thou pursuest.

69. And Abram ceased to speak, when Noah and his son Shem an- swered Terah, saying, true is- the word which Abram hath said unto thee.

70. And Terah hearkened to the voice of his son Abram, and Terah did all that Abram said, for this was from the Lord, that the king should not cause Abram's death,

CHAPTER XIIL

1 . And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of his son Abram, and all the souls of his household and went with them from Ur Casdim to go to the land of Canaan. And when they came as far as the land of Haran they remained there, for it was ex- ceeding good land for pasture, and of sufficient extent for those who ac- companied them.

2. And the people of the land of Haran saw that Abram was good and upright with God and men, and that the Lord his God was with him, and some of the people of the land of Haran came and joined Abram, and he taught them the instruction of the Lord and his ways ; and these men remained with Abram in his house and they adhered to him.

3. And Abram remained in the land three years, and at the expira- tion of three years the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him ; I am the Lord who brought thee forth from

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

3t

Ur Casdim, and delivered tliee from the hands of all thine enemies.

4. And now therefore if thou wilt hearken to my voice and keep my commandments, my statutes and my laws, tliea will I cause thy enemies to fall before thee, and I will multi- ply thy seed like the stars of heaven, and I will send -my blessing upon all the works of thy hands, and thou shalt lack nothing.

5. Arise now, take thy wife and all belonging to thee and go to the land of Canaan and remain there, and I will there be unto thee for a God, and I will bless thee. And Abram rose and took his wife and all belonging to him, and he went to the land of Canaan as the Lord had told him ; and Abram was fifty years old when he went from Haran.

6. And Abram came to the land of Canaan and dwelt in the midst of the city, and he there pitched his tent amongst the children of Canaan, in- habitants of the land.

7. And the Lord appeared to Ab- ram when he came to the land of Canaan, and said to him, this is the land which I gave unto thee and to thy seed after thee forever, and I will make tliy seed like the stars of hea- ven, and I will give unto thy seed for an inheritance all the lands which thou seest.

8. And Abram built an altar in the place where God had spoken to him, and Abram there called upon the name of the Lord.

9. At that time, at the end of three years of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan, in that year Noah died, which was the fifty-eighth year of the life of Abram ; and all the days that Noah lived were nine hun- dred and fifty years and he died.

10. And Abram dwelt in the land

of Canaan, he, his wife, and all be- longing to him, and all those that ac- companied him, together with those that joined him from the people of the land ; but Nabor, Abram's brother, and Tcrah his father, and liOt the son of Haran and all belonging to them dwelt in Haran.

11. In the fifth year of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the cities of the plain revolted from the power of Chedor]aomer,king of Elam ; for all ihe kings of the cities of the plain had served Che- dorlaomer for twelve years, and given him a yearly tax, but in those days in the thirteenth year, they rebelled against him.

12. And in the tenth year of Abram's dwelling in the land of Ca- naan there was war between Nimrod king of iShinarand Chedorlaomerking of Elam, and Nimrod came to fight with Chcdorlaomero/jt/tosubdue him.

13. For Chedorlaomer was at that time one of the princes of the hosts of Nimrod, and when all the people at the tower were dispersed and those that remained were also scat- tered upon the face of the earth, Che- dorlaomer went to the land of Elam and reigned over it and rebelled against his Lord.

14. And in those days when Nim- rod saw that the cities of the plain had rebelled, he came with pride and anger to war with Chedorlaomer, and Nimrod assembled all his princes and subjects, about seven hundred thousand men, and went against Che- dorlaomer, and Chedorlaomer went out to meet him with five thousand men, and they ])repared for battle in the valley of Babel which is between Elam and Shinar.

15. And all those kings fought

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there, and Nimrod and his people were smitten before the people of Chedorlaomer, and there fell from Nimrod's men about six hundred thousand, and Mardon the king's son fell amongst them.

16. And Nimrod fled and return- ed in shame and disgrace to his land, and he was under subjection to Che- dorlaomer for a long time, and Che- dorlaomer returned to his land and sent princes of his host to the kings that dwelt around him, to Arioch king of Elasar, and to Tidal king of Goyim, and made a covenant with them, and they were all obedient to his commands.

17. And it was in the fifteenth year of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan, ivhich is the seventieth year of the life of Abram, and the Lord appeared to Abram in that year and he said to him, I am the Lord who brought thee out from Ur Casdim to give thee this land for an inheritance.

18. Now therefore walk before me and be perfect and keep my com- mands, for to thee and to thy seed I will give this land for an inheritance, from the river Mitzraim unto the great river Euphrates.

19. And thou shalt come to thy fathers in peace and in good age, and the fourth generation shall return liere in this land and shall inherit it forever ; and Abram built an altar, and he called upon the name of the Lord who appeared to him, and he brought up sacrifices upon the altar to the Lord.

20. At that time Abram returned and went to Haran to see his father and mother, and his father's house- hold, and Abram and his wife and all belonging to him returned to Haran, and Abram dwelt in Haran five years.

21. And many of the people of Haran, about seventy two men, fol- lowed Abram and Abram taught them the instruction of the Lord and his ways, and he taught them to know the Lord.

22. In those days the Lord ap- peared to Abram in Haran, and he said to him, behold, I spoke unto thee these twenty years back saying,

23. Go forth from thy land, from thy birth-place and from thy father's house, to the land which I have shown thee to give it to thee and to thy children, for there in that land will I bless thee, and make thee a great nation, and make thy name great, and in thee shall the families of the earth be blessed.

24. Now therefore arise, go forth from this place, thou, thy wife, and all belonging to thee, also every one born in thy house and all the souls thou hast made in Haran, and bring them out with thee from here, and rise to return to the land of Canaan,

25. And Abram arose and took his wife Sarai and all belonging to him, and all that were born to him in his house and the souls which the}^ had made in Haran, and they came out to go to the land of Canaan.

26. And Abram went and return- ed to the land of Canaan, according to the word of the Lord. And Lot the son of his brother Haran went with him, and Abram was seventy five years old when he went forth from flaran to return to the land of Canaan.

27. And he came to the land of Canaan according to the word of the Lord to Abram, and he pitched his tent and he dwelt in the plain of Mamre, and w^ith him was Lot his brother's son, and all belonging to him.

THE BOOK OF J AS HER.

'J9

28, And the Lord again appeared to Abrani and said, to ihy seed will I give this land ; and he there built an altar to the Lord who appeared to him, which is still to this day in the plains of Maaue.

CHAPTER XIV.

1. In those days there was in the land of Shinar a wise man who had understanding in all wisdom, and of a beautiful appearance, but he was poor and indigent ; his name was Rikayon and he was hard set to sup- port himself.

2. And he resolved to go to Egypt, to Oswiris the son of Anom king of Egypt, to show the king his wisdom; for perhaps he might find grace in his sight, to raise him up and give him maintenance ; and Rikayon did so.

3. And when Rikayon came to Egypt he asked the inhabitants of Egypt concerning the king, and the inhabitants of Egypt told him the -custom of the king of Egypt, for it was then the custom of the king of Egypt that he went from his royal palace and was seen abroad only one day i?i the year, and after that the king would return to his palace to remain there.

4. And on the day when the king went forth he passed judgment in the land, and every one having a suit came before the king that day to ob- tain his request.

5. And when Rikayon heard of the custom in Egypt and that he could not come into the presence of the king, he grievgd greatly and was very sorrowful.

6. And in the evening Rikayon went out and found a house in ruins, formerly a bake house in Egypt,

and he abided there all night in bit- terness of soul and pinched with hunger, and sleep was removed from his eyes.

7. And Rikayon considered with- in himself what he should do in the town until the king made his appear- ance, and how he might maintain himself there.

8. And he rose in the morning and walked about, and met in his way those who sold vegetables and va- rious sorts of seed with which they supplied the inhabitants.

9. And Rikayon wished to do the same in order to get a maintenance in the city, but he was unacquainted with the custom of the people, and he was like a blind man among them.

10. And he went and obtained vegetables to sell them for his sup- port, and the rabble assembled about liim and ridiculed him, and took his vegetables from him and left him nothing.

11. i^nd he rose up from there in bitterness of soul, and went sighing to the bake house in which he had remained all the night before, and he slept there the second night.

12. And on that night again he reasoned within himself how lie could save himself from starvation, and he devised a scheme how to act.

13. And he rose up in the morn- ing and acted ingeniously, and went and hired thirty strong men of the rabble, carrying their war instru- ments in their hands, and he led them to the top of the Egyptian se- pulchre, and he placed them there,

14. And he commanded them, saying, thus saith the king, strength-;- en Yourselves and be valiant men, and let no man be buried here until two hundred pieces of silver be given, and then he may be buried ;

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THE BOOK OF JASHER.

and those men did according to the order of Rikayon to the people of Egypt the whole of that year,

15. And in eight months time Ri- kayon and his men gathered great riches of silver and gold, and Rikay- on took a great quantity of horses and other animals, and he hired more men, and he gave them horses and they temained with him.

16. And when the year came round, at the time the king went forth into the town, all the inhabi- tants of Egypt assembled together to speak to him concerning the work of Rikayon and his men.

17. And the king went forth on the appointed day, and all the Egyp- tians came before him and cried un- to him, saying,

18. May the king live forever. What is this thing thou doest m the town to thy servants, not to sutfer a dead body to be buried until so much silver and gold be given ? Was there eve?' the like unto this done in the whole earth, from the days of former kings t/ea even from the days of Adam, unto this day, that the dead should not be buried onl}^ for a set price ?

19 We know it to be the custom of kings to take a yearly tax from the living, but thou dost not only do this, but from the dead also thou ex- actest a tax day by day.

20. Now, 0 king, we can no more bear this, for the whole city is ruin- ed on this account, and dost thou not know it ?

21. And when the king heard all that they had spoken he was very wroth, and his anger burned within him at this affair, for he had known nothing of it.

22. And the king said, who and where is he that dares to do this

wicked thing in my land without my command ? Surely you will tell me.

23. And they told him all the works of Rikayon and his men, and the king's anger was aroused, and he ordered Rikayon and his men to be brought before liim.

24. And Rikayon took about a thousand children, sons and daugh- ters, and clothed them in silk and embroidery, and he set them upon horses and sent them to the king by means of his men, and he also ^ook a great quantity of silver and gold and precious stones, and a strong and beautiful horse, as a present for the king, with which he came before the king and bowed down to the earth before him ; and the king, his servants and all the inhabitants of Egypt wondered at the work of Ri- kayon, and they saw his riches and the present that he had brought to the king.

25. And it greatly pleased the king and he wondered at it ; and when Rikayon sat before him the king asked him concerning all his works, and Rikayon spoke all his words wisely before the king, his servants and all the inhabitants of Egypt.

20. 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.

16. And the king answe>red and said to Rikayon, thy name shall no more be called Rikayon but Pha- raoh* shall be thy name, since thou

* Pharaoh from pic, to get paid, to exact.

THE BOOK OF JASHER.

41

didst exact a l-ix from the dead ; and he called his name Pharaoh,

28. And the king and his subjects loved Kikayon for his wisdom, and they consulted with all the inhabi- lants of Egypt to make him prefect under the king.

29. And all the inhabitants of Egypt and its wise men did so, and it was made a law in Egypt.

30. And they made Rikayon Pha- raoh, prefect \u)der Oswiris king of Egypt, and Rikayon Pharaoh gov- erned over Egypt, daily administer- ing justice to the whole city, but Os- wiris the king would judge {\\c people of the land one day in the year, when lie went out t?) make his appear- ance.

31. And Rikayon Pharaoh cun- ningly usurped the government of Egypt, and he exacted a tax from all the inhabitants of Egypt.

32. And all the inhabitants of Egypt greatly loved Rikayon Pha- raoh, and they made a decree to call every king that should reign over them and their seed in Egypt, Pha- raoh.

33. Therefore all the kings that reigned in Egypt from that time for- ward were called Pharaoh unto this day.

CHAPTER XV.

1. And in that year there was a lieavy famine throughout the land of Canaan, and the inhabitants of the land could not remain on account of the famine for it was very grievous.

2. And Abram and all belonging to him rose and went down to Egypt on accoimt of the famine, and when they were at the brook Mitzraim they remained there some time to rest from the fatigue of the road.

3. And Abram and Sarai were walking at the border of the brook Mitzraim, and Abram beheld his wife 8arai that she was very beautiful.

4. And Abram said to his wife Sarai, since God has created thee with such a beautiful countenance, I am afraid of the Egyptians lest they should slay me and take thee away, for the fear of God is not in these places.

5 iSurely then thou shalt do this, say thou art my si.stcr to all that may ask thee, in order that it may be well with me, and that we may live and not be put to death.

6. And Abram commanded the same to all those that came with iiim to Egypt on account of the famine ; also his nephew Lot he commanded, saying, if the Egyptians ask thee concerning tSarai say she is the sister of Abram.

7. And yet with all these orders Abram did not put confidence in them, but he took Sarai and placed her in a chest and concealed it amongst their vessels, for Abram was greatly concerned about Sarai on account of the wickedness of the Egyptians.

8. And Abram and all belonging to him rose up from the brook Mitz- raim and came to Egypt ; and they had scarcely entered the gates of the city when the guards stood up to them, saying, give tythe to the king from what you have, and then 3'^ou may come into the town ; and Abram and those that were with him did so.

9. And Abram with the people that were with him came to Egypt, and when they came they brought the chest in which Sarai was con- cealed, and the Egyptians saw the chest.

10. And the king's servants ap- proached Abram, saying, what hast

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THE BOOK OF JASHER.

thou here in this chest which we have not seen ? Now open thou the chest and give tythe to the king of all that it contains.

1 1 . And Abram said, this chest I will not open, but all you demand upon it I will give. And Pharaoh's officers answered Abram, saying, it is a chest of precious stones, give us the tenth thereof.

1 2. Abram said, all that you desire I will give, but you must not open the chest.

13. And the king's officers pressed Abram, and they reached the chest and opened it with force, and they saw, and behold a beautiful woman was in the chest.

14. And when the officers of the king beheld Sarai they were struck with admiration at her beauty, and all the princes and servants of Pha- raoh assembled to see Sarai, for she was very beautiful. And the king's officers ran and told Pharaoh all that they had seen, and they praised Sarai to the king ; and Pharaoh ordered her to be brought, and the woman came before the king.

15. And Pharaoh beheld Sarai and she pleased him exceedingly, and he was struck with her beauty, and the king rejoiced greatly on her account, and made presents to those who brought him the tidings concerning her.

16. And the woman was then brought to Pharaoh's house, and Abram grieved on account of his wife, and he prayed to the Lord to de- liver her from the hands of Pha- raoh.

17. And Sarai also prayed at that time and said, O Lord God thou didst tell my Lord Abram to go from his land and from his father's house to the land of Canaan, and thou didst

promise to do well with him if he would perform thy commands ; now behold we have done that which thou didst command us, and we left our land and our families, and we went to a strange land and to a people whom we have not known before.

18. And we came to this land ta avoid the famine, and this evil acci- dent has befallen me ; now therefore O Lord God deliver us and save us from the hand of this oppressor, and do well with me for the sake of thy mercy.

19. And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Sarai, and the Lord sent an angel to deliver Sarai from the power of Pharaoh.

20. And the king came and sat before Sarai, and behold an angel of the Lord was standing over them, and he appeared to Sarai and said lo her, do not fear for the Lord has heard thy prayer.

21. And the king approached Sa- rai and said to her, what is that man to thee who brought thee hither? and she said, he is my brother.

22. And the king said, it is incmn- bent upon us to make him great, to