Open the lost book of the Bible, quoted by Joshua and Samuel, sung by David, and lost for two thousand years. Or is it? Read this mysterious, controversial, and utterly fascinating text online for free.
The Bible mentions it twice. In Joshua, after the sun stands still upon Gibeon and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, the narrator notes: “Is this not written in the Book of Jashar?” In Second Samuel, after David’s lament for Saul and Jonathan, the same source is cited: “Behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar.” And then silence. The book was lost, perhaps in the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, perhaps earlier, perhaps never. It entered the catalog of textual ghosts, mentioned but absent, quoted but vanished.
In 1751, a Jewish printer in Venice produced a book claiming to be the long-lost text. It was a forgery, or perhaps a translation of a medieval Hebrew compilation, or perhaps—its defenders insisted—a genuine survival. Controversy erupted. Scholars denounced it; mystics embraced it; readers simply read it. The text spread across Europe, was translated into English, and found an audience that cared less about authenticity than about narrative. The Book of Jashar, whether ancient or modern, is a remarkable document: a prose amplification of Genesis and Exodus, filling gaps, expanding episodes, imagining the inner lives of biblical heroes.
On this page, you can experience the book that claimed to be the lost original. We offer the complete 1751 text for online reading.
Book Info
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | The Book of Jashar (Sefer ha-Yashar) |
| Author | Unknown (Published 1751, claiming ancient origin) |
| Year of Composition | Disputed (Medieval or Early Modern) |
| Genre | Biblical Apocrypha, Midrash, Historical Fiction |
| Language | English Translation |
| Legal Status | Public Domain Worldwide |
| Format | Online Reading |
Read The Book of Jashar Online
Enter the world before the Flood and the tents of the patriarchs. Begin this controversial apocryphon by exploring the generations of Adam interactively below.
This preview introduces the children of Eden and the origin of the giants. However, the full, expansive narrative—the wars of the Amorites, the death of the biblical heroes, the lost dialogues of Abraham, and the Egyptian sojourn—is available in the complete text for our subscribers.
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About the Text: The Book of Jashar
The Book of Jashar is a problem. It is either a precious survival of ancient Hebrew literature or an ambitious eighteenth-century forgery. It is either a bridge to the lost world of biblical Israel or a mirror reflecting the hopes of its modern readers. The text itself, whatever its origin, is a remarkable work of narrative imagination.
The Title
“Jashar” means “the upright” or “the righteous.” The book’s full Hebrew title, Sefer ha-Yashar, is usually translated as “The Book of the Just” or “The Book of the Upright.” It was evidently a collection of heroic poetry, celebrating the deeds of Israel’s warriors. The medieval/early modern text that bears this title is not poetic; it is prose, narrative, amplification. The connection between the lost original and the extant text is, at best, aspirational.
The Contents
The book begins with Adam and proceeds methodically through Genesis to the conquest of Canaan. It expands the spare biblical narrative with dialogue, motivation, and incident. We learn the names of Cain’s daughters, the conversations of Noah’s neighbors, the childhood of Abraham in his father’s idol shop. These expansions are not arbitrary; they derive from rabbinic midrash, Jewish folklore, and Islamic sources. The compiler was not inventing ex nihilo; he was collecting and synthesizing.
The Giants
One of the book’s most distinctive features is its elaboration of the antediluvian world. The “sons of God” and “daughters of men” of Genesis 6 become specific characters. Their offspring, the Nephilim, are described in detail: “And when men died, they brought their dead to the giants, and the giants devoured them raw, and they were accounted as having done a evil thing.” This is horror fiction in biblical dress, the ancient world rendered as nightmare.
Abraham and Nimrod
The book’s treatment of Abraham’s early life is its most developed narrative. Young Abram, working in his father Terah’s idol shop, destroys the merchandise to demonstrate the impotence of graven images. He is brought before Nimrod, the mighty hunter and king. Their confrontation—the tyrant versus the child prophet—is a masterpiece of aggadic storytelling. Nimrod casts Abram into a fiery furnace; God delivers him. This narrative, drawn from the midrash, became one of the most popular legends in Jewish tradition.
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
The biblical account of Joseph’s temptation is famously laconic. The Book of Jashar expands it into a psychological drama. Potiphar’s wife, here named Zuleika, pursues Joseph with relentless intensity. She dresses in fine clothes, speaks seductively, stages encounters. Joseph resists not merely from fear of God but from loyalty to his master and respect for his own dignity. The scene at the garment, the false accusation, the imprisonment—all are rendered with novelistic specificity.
The Death of Moses
The book concludes with the death of Moses, drawn from Deuteronomy and its midrashic expansions. Moses ascends Mount Nebo, views the promised land he will never enter, and surrenders his soul to God. The angels weep; Joshua mourns; the people wander. This is the book’s most moving passage, a meditation on limitation and legacy, on the leader who brings his people to the threshold and is denied entry.
The Question of Authenticity
Is this the real Book of Jashar? Almost certainly not. The linguistic evidence is decisive: the Hebrew of the text is medieval, not biblical. The narrative expansions draw on sources unavailable to an ancient author. The book first appears in print in the eighteenth century, with no manuscript tradition. Yet authenticity is not the only measure of value. The Book of Jashar, whatever its origin, is a work of devotion and imagination, a sustained attempt to enter the world of the Bible and make it speak to later generations.
Why Read the Book of Jashar Today?
Because it satisfies a deep human desire: the wish for more. The biblical narratives are austere, elliptical, resistant to our curiosity. What did Abraham think when God called him? What did Sarah feel during the binding of Isaac? How did Joseph endure his years in prison? The Bible does not say. The Book of Jashar, with its vivid expansions and its bold imaginings, offers answers. They are not canonical answers. They are not authoritative answers. They are, however, answers. And for readers who have wondered, they are deeply satisfying.
FAQ
Is this book actually in the Bible?
No. The Book of Jashar is quoted in the Bible (Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18) but is not itself included in the biblical canon. The text we have is an extra-biblical work, claiming to be the lost book but likely composed much later.
Do Jews or Christians consider this scripture?
No mainstream Jewish or Christian denomination accepts the 1751 Book of Jashar as scripture. It is regarded as an apocryphal or pseudepigraphic work. Some Mormon readers have historically shown interest in the book, and it was once included in early editions of the Mormon scriptures, though it is not currently considered canonical by the LDS Church.
Is it worth reading for biblical background?
Yes, with caution. The book preserves many traditions from rabbinic midrash and Jewish folklore. It is a window into how pre-modern readers imagined the world of the Bible. It is not, however, historically accurate in the modern scholarly sense.
How long is it?
Approximately 200 pages in standard editions. It is a substantial work, covering the entire Pentateuch and the book of Joshua.
Can I read it on my phone?
Yes. Its division into chapters corresponding to biblical portions makes it easy to read in segments. Read it alongside Genesis; compare the biblical account with its expansion. The conversation between the two texts is fascinating.