Book of Jasher: Is It the Lost Book the Bible Mentions?
A Hebrew retelling of biblical history that borrows the name of a lost book mentioned in Joshua, full of giants, hybrids and Nimrod's magic garments.
The Bible cites a lost book of Jasher in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18. The Book of Jasher printed in Venice in 1625 is a medieval Hebrew retelling of history, not that lost book.
The Bible twice cites a lost "book of Jasher" (Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18), apparently a collection of old poems. The book printed under that name in Venice in 1625 is something else: a Hebrew narrative of history from Adam to the time of the Judges, full of legends found elsewhere in rabbinic literature. Its preface claims it was rescued from the ruins of Jerusalem, but scholars date it to the medieval period, possibly the sixteenth century. An English translation appeared in New York in 1840.
It expands Genesis with many details. Before the Flood, it says, people "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." The Flood follows. Enoch rules as a king and teacher before being taken up in a whirlwind with horses of fire.
Its Nimrod is especially memorable. He inherits the garments of skin that God made for Adam, and when he wears them, animals kneel before him, which is why he is a "mighty hunter." Later, Esau kills Nimrod and takes the garments. The Book of Jasher is popular among readers looking for lost scripture. It is a genuine old Jewish work, but not the lost book the Bible mentions.
In the Book of Jasher, Nimrod's hunting power comes from Adam's garments, handed down through Noah's family, which made animals kneel to whoever wore them.
Scholars regard it as a medieval midrashic compilation; its claim to be the biblical book of Jasher is not accepted by any mainstream scholar.
