Moses - A King of Egypt?

                                            Egypt's Fifth Dynasty

 

There is one further issue to this story. For years Bible commentators have stumbled over the account of Numbers 12 in which Moses was accused because of his Ethiopian wife. They assumed it was Zipporah in question, who was clearly a Midianite, not a Cushite. Jasher, of course, has the answer. Moses did indeed have an Ethiopian wife, in addition to Zipporah, although she had undoubtedly remained in Cush, and was not accompanying Moses.

                                                End of Appendix H

So I freely acknowledge that a clear difference exists in the chronology concerning the age of Moses when he left Egypt. Our readers are, as always, free to believe what they choose.

Wayne Simpson

Who told Abraham that Sarah would have a son?

In the above list of supposed problems with Jasher, one item is:

Jasher 18:9 states that one of the angels tells Abraham that Sarah will have a son, but Gen. 17:16 says that God told Abraham.
Is there a contradiction here? No. Here is why.

The Hebrew word for angel is Melach. Its meaning is simply a messenger. A messenger bears a message. Numerous places in the Bible, God sends messages by angels. In fact, all angels mentioned in the Bible are sent by God with a message, a command, a prophecy, or an assigned task. They do not come with their own message. So who could argue that a message delivered by an angel and spoken by an angel is not a message from God. Jewish tradition has it that every word ( it also means thing in Hebrew) that is spoken by God creates an angelic messenger to carry it out His command.

One example of this is in Gen 3:23. When Adam and Eve sinned, God sent them from the garden. How did He do this? He placed the Cherubim and the flaming sword at the entrance to the garden  to keep them out. The Cherubim carried out Gods command, not only delivering the message, but enforcing it as well.   In fact, it appears that the Cherubim were spoken into existence to carry out this task. So Jasher 18:9 does not contradict Gen. 17:16 at all. It is simply another version of what happened.

Wayne Simpson

Can Babies Prophesy?

The writer of the list says:

Jasher 44:62-68 - This passage is bizarre - God has an 11 month old baby talk and tell of his mother's (Potifar's wife) advances toward Joseph.

Why is this a problem? Lots of babies are beginning to talk at 11 months. To be sure, this child was precocious. But even more than that, he was given supernatural knowledge of what he spoke and supernatural help in the speaking as well. Has not God caused prophets of all kinds to speak His words, even including secrets thought to be concealed (for example, Nathan told King David of his secret sin in taking Bathsheba, which David thought he had concealed.)? Sometimes God has chosen the most unlikely prophets to deliver His message. Jeremiah was just a youth when he was chosen. Amos was just a herdsman. God even caused a gentile king, Nebuchadnazzar, to come to the place that he wrote what was to become the entire 4th chapter of the Book of Daniel. And He even went so far as to cause Balaam's ass to speak. Is it not a small thing therefore to put the most delicate secrets into the mouth of an 11 month old baby? This is especially true when God wanted to protect Joseph, whom God had obviously placed in Egypt to fulfill the future destiny of protecting the fledgling nation of Israel while it grew in Egypt. Though this episode is not mentioned in the Torah, it is in no way out of character.

One seems to get the mindset from the compiler of this list that nothing could have happened in the lives of the patriarchs and the early characters of the Bible unless it is mentioned in the Bible. This is certainly naive, for Genesis alone covers about 2300 years of history in 50 short chapters. Is it impossible for records to exist of other episodes and other details in the lives of those people? Of course not. If there were no other information available except what is contained in the Bible, of what value would any parallel reference be (like Josephus, for example)?

Wayne Simpson

About Joseph talking with Rachel at her grave...

The list of supposed problems says:

In Jasher 42:30-41, Rachel talks to Joseph from the grave. This is of course necromancy and is an abomination unto the Lord
(Deuteronomy 18:11-12).

According to 53:18-22 Benjamin used a "map (or chart) of stars" to find Joseph. Deuteronomy 18:10 forbids this. It is an abomination
to be "an observer of times" (astrologer).

In response to the question raised about the account in Jasher concerning Joseph's appeal for his mother to speak to him from the
grave.  Was this necromancy, that is, communicating with the dead?  If so is this not forbidden?  Is this not therefore "wholly
unbiblical" as the list says? 

There are several possible answers to this issue:

1. Even though necromancy is forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:11-12, this does not preclude the fact that Joseph may have done it
anyway.  In the Bible, humans - even righteous humans -  are shown to be less than perfect at times.  Not everything that was done
by the so called heroes of the Bible was right.  If we conclude that this makes the episode "unbiblical" then the same logic would
make the account of Davids adultery with Bathsheba also unbiblical.  Yet it is very clearly a part of the Bible.

Look at Solomon.  Though he was very wise and righteous; though he was privileged to build the Temple of God; and though his
words are part of scripture today; his heart was still turned away into idolatry by his foreign wives and their gods.

Look at Judah.  Though he was one of the righteous patriarchs and his legacy of holiness influenced his descendants to remain true
to God, even when the ten northern tribes rebelled; though it was his territory that was chosen for the site of God's temple; still it
was he who sought to cohabit with a harlot, who turned out to be his own daughter-in-law.

Look at Abraham.  His faith in God is responsible for the very existence of the nation of Israel.  Yet when one looks closely at the
sacrifice he offered in Genesis 15:10-12, often referred to as the sacrifice of the pieces, it can be seen that this is like no other
sacrifice described in the Bible.  In fact it seem to resemble a divination practiced by heathen nations, in which the future is predicted
based on what is found in the disposition of the internal organs of a sacrificial animal that is split apart. Nothing like this is ever
prescribed by God after the covenant at Sinai.  In fact it is forbidden.  This, I believe, is the key to the ultimate answer to this issue. 
But, I will come back to that later.

I have to admit that I have some reservations about this account as well because it runs counter to my personal views about life after
death. But I have studied that subject from many perspectives over the years, and I do not kid myself that I have ultimate clarity on
it.  So I remain open minded as to whether it would even be possible to speak to someone from the dead.  In our skeptical age, most
of us look at mediums and their seances as frauds, and that view is probably justified.  Though our society is strongly secular, I think
that it is still influenced by traditional Christian teaching that shows the practice to be evil and forbidden.

So we can't rule out that Joseph may have actually done this act, even though it is not recorded in the Bible.  But perhaps we are
interpreting Josephs actions in the wrong way.

2.      The account of Joseph's entreaty at his mothers grave is completely lacking evidence of any kind of conjuring, or magical
incantation.  It is clear that his words were simply an outpouring of his grief over what had happened to him.  In his stress, he was
crying out is desperation to his dead mother, just looking for any sliver of comfort that he might find.  Perhaps it was just her memory. 
Perhaps he remembered her comforting words.  Perhaps he merely imagined what she might say in this circumstance.  This gave
him the courage to accept his fate.  In his distress he may even have imagined that he heard her voice.

It may be that the author of this account used this literary form to dramatize the pathos of Josephs circumstances.  Remember,
Jasher is not scripture.  After all, this is a common literary tactic used by writers today through the ages (Shakespeare, for example). 
How many times have you seen a scene in a movie in which some one goes to the grave of a dead loved one and literally speaks
to him or her to gain comfort?  Sometimes, the words of the dead one are also heard, even though it clearly only exists in the
imagination.  This is frankly the sense that I have of reading this episode in Jasher.

3.      Enlarging on the last point, it may be that this account was only intended allegorically by it's author - another common
literary device.  We even have examples of these in the Bible.  In fact, one such passage also has Rachel speaking from the grave. 
The passage I refer to is Jeremiah 31:15,

... A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping. Rachel weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her
children, because they are not.

This passage also quoted in the New Testament in Matthew 2:18 where it is applied to the killing of children by Herod.  It is quite
similar to the passage in Jasher.

4.      But even if we accept that this event actually happened and that Joseph was actually trying to conjure up his mother, does
that mean that Joseph was doing something forbidden?  To answer this I need to digress into a rather lengthy discussion about the
progression of what we might call biblical law.  

In the traditional Christian view,  right and wrong are usually thought of as being universal - as being the same for all people in all
ages.  The Bible is viewed as being a monolithic whole.  We would apply the same laws, the same morality, and the same teachings
to all from Adam to those of our time.  But this creates some of the strange enigmas of the scripture, such as those I have already
mentioned.  It often does not work to try to interject 21st century traditional religious thinking into the situation of early biblical
episodes.  One bumps into dichotomies such as the sparing of the Harlot who hid the spies at Jericho, and the justification of
Abraham lying about Sarah being his sister.

The fact is, that the Bible is not monolithic and it does not apply the same moral and legal standard to all people in all ages.  This
is a big subject and cannot be adequately discussed in a few short paragraphs.  But I will try to give a brief synopsis of how the Bible
truly presents this issue.

In the beginning God did not make any lengthy and complicated legal and moral requirements on man.  All moral law was based
on the requirement to be fruitful and to multiply and fill the earth.  There are certain principles that we can derive from that even
though no other specific laws are mentioned.  One can easily see how murder would be contrary to that principle and how sexual
perversion, such as incest and adultery, would violate it as well.  Theft of one's possessions (especially in those crucial early times)
could deprive him of the means to survive.  Though God does not seem to have made any particular requirements regarding worship,
it is reasonable that He would have expected man to treat him with respect and not to introduce the worship of some other entity. 

But after the flood, the Bible records that God made a covenant with Noah and all his family.  He made more specific demands of
the people intended to produce peace and order in the earth.  Though these principles are not well known in traditional religious
thought today, there was a body of universal law introduced at that time that is often referred to an the Noahic Code or the Seven
Laws of Noah.  I do not wish to make this treatise longer by getting involved with the details of this subject here.  I will only comment
that those principles are very similar to the ten commandments.

Because man's nature soon led him to be disloyal to God and ultimately forget Him and His commandments, God finally adopted
a new plan.  This is where the understanding of traditional religious thinkers begins to go awry.

God chose a group of people -Israel- to become His personal property (thus they were to be holy in their conduct) and to represent
his Torah to all the world.  They were to become a kingdom of priests.  Their unique calling was to preserve Torah through the ages
so that the knowledge of God would never again be forgotten.  Along with their calling, they were given a complex body of law
consisting of the Ten Commandments (which was an expansion of the Noahic Code) followed by a further expansion of 613
commandments.  This is known as Torah today.  The purpose of the Torah was not only to give God's holy nation a constitution
based on righteousness and justice, but also to cause Israel to reflect the holiness of God to all the world in every action of their lives.

The important point to realize is that this body of law was intended only for Israel. Gentiles were never required to keep more than
the Noahic Commandments and lesser laws that were derived from them. If you doubt that read Psalm 147:19-20

He shows his word to Jacob, his statutes to Israel.  He Has not dealt so with any nation...

Israel was required to be holy, whereas the gentiles were required to be righteous. That may seem like a subtle distinction on the
surface, but it means that gentiles were never required to keep the sabbath holy, nor to keep kosher food laws, nor to refrain from
blending fabrics, etc. etc.  Gentiles were only required to live by those basic high moral Noahide principles presented after the flood.

It may seem that I have wandered far off the subject by this lengthy explanation, but in it lies the key to understanding the issue of
necromancy and divination and astrology (this same explanation applies to the issue raised about Benjamin using Joseph's map of
 the stars to find Joseph).  The simple fact is, that necromancy and astrology were not forbidden until the Sinai covenant was given 
to Israel.  That prohibition was part of the Torah that was given to Israel at a later time.

So while it is not at all clear that Joseph actually practiced necromancy in this episode, if he did he wasn't violating Torah.

Wayne Simpson

Snow before the flood

Jasher 3:38 -- Mentions snow before the flood. This doesn't seem possible because there wasn't any rain yet according to Genesis 2:5-6 and 7:4.

To respond to this one only needs to consult the science of meteorology.    Snow is not formed by freezing rain.  When rain is frozen it turns to sleet, or if it freezes after it falls it becomes ice.

Snow is formed when water vapor, fog, or mist condenses on dust particles in the atmosphere.  So rain was not required to be present in the time before the flood in order to have snow.  But was mist present?  Indeed there was.  Genesis 2:6, the same passage that was cited as evidence that there was no rain, says:

"But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground."

Comments on the Authenticity of the Book of Jasher...

Dear Wayne,

    I thought I would send this to you to confirm the Biblical basis and authenticity of the Book of Jasher (The Book of the Upright/Righteous) in a way that has not been done up until now.

    Then The LORD said to Moses, "Write this in a book as a memorial      and recite it (place it in the ears of ) to Joshua, that I will utterly blot     out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."    Exodus 17:14

    And Moses wrote all these things in a book, and he enjoined the children of Israel respecting all these matters.  Jasher LXXXI:62

    This book was written and commanded during and after the attack of the Amalekites.  the close connection with these events and the eventual history of the Amalekites is significant and I will try to connect this information.

    As you can tell by the statement here, Moses was commanded by God Almighty to write another book.  Therefore, this book is significant, and this book should have been included in with the rest of the books of the Bible.  Because it was "lost" for a period of time indicates that the information in this book was of specific nature and content to be read and understood in a special way.  I believe you told me once that this was written for deeper study and understanding of the Bible.  
   
    What I find interesting is that the end of the Book of Jasher ends with the death of Joshua, (Judges 2:10) another way of indicating that this book was written for the "ears of Joshua" and as soon as he died then this book also reached its end...  this internal proof indicates that the scribe who finished the writing of this book was following the orders of Moses and recorded the text up through this time period.

    Another internal proof is in the passage of Ex. 17  where it talks about the attack of Amalek on the Israelites.  Little detail is discussed about this attack yet more detail and info is recorded in Jasher LXXXI ff about this and other attacks.  This would lead one to think that the other title to the book could have been called "The Book of the Wars of the LORD" Numbers 21:14 as this book describes many battles and victories that the sons of Jacob had over their enemies, including a battle that occurred one week before Yom Teruah (Rosh HaShanah) which was a "type" of our present day attack on New York City's twin towers on September 11.   Is this a pattern that we need to be aware of for future things / events that will be happening???

    The commandment to exterminate Amalek is recorded in Deuteronomy 25:17-19  Remember what Amalek did to you along the way, when you came out from Egypt, how he met you along the way, and attacked among you all the stragglers , at your rear, when you were faint and weary, and he did not fear God.  Therefore it shall come about when the LORD, your God, has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the LORD, your God, gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget. (!!!)  Some of the commentators of this passage state that the Amalekites were willing to kill themselves so that others would war against the Jewish people.  Sounds a lot like the Palestinians of today, doesn't it!

Accordingly Deuteronomy 7:2, the sages taught that it was a Positive commandment to destroy the 7 nations completely.  Anyone able to perform this mitzvah and who does not has violated the negative commandment of "do not let any of them survive."   Deut 20:16.  Mishna Torah, Melachim 5:4: Positive commandment to destroy the memory of Amalek as it says: Erase the memory of Amalek. Deut. 25:19. Melachim 5:5

In Judges 3:12-15 Moab and Ammon and Amalek raised up against Israel and a "messiah" named Ehud delivered them!

In Judges 5:14 There is an interesting statement... "Ephraim who's root is in Amalek."

I Samuel 15:3  Samuel commanded Saul to destroy all that Amalek had, man, woman, child and beasts.. according to Midrash the  Amalekites were sorcerers who could transform themselves to resemble animals in order to avoid captivity (Rashi). ArtScroll.   We would call these kinds of people in today's language ... "Shapeshifters." One would wonder if the science fiction writer didn't get this info from these ancient sources...

Later in I Samuel 15:15, 32-35  King Saul gave some "latitude" to Agag the king of the Amalekites, and the sages teach that Agag cohabited that night, with the result that his wife became pregnant, thus preserving the seed of Amalek.  Aaama Dikra contends that Agag's wife was not an Amalekite, and was therefore not included in the commandment to wipe out that evil nation.  This would explain why she was not executed along with her husband... ArtScroll

According to Jasher LXXXI:61ff  And the king who shall have pity on Amalek, or upon his memory or upon his seed, behold I will require it of him, and I will cut him off from amongst his people.  Is this the basis for why King Saul was "cut off from amongst his people" as king and his legacy as king stopped. ?  Since this prophecy was fulfilled as stated in the Book of Jasher... does this mean that it falls in the perview of "sacred text" since it has fulfilled prophecy and was written by Moses himself...!!??

    It appears that the offspring of that union ended up being Haman the Agagite as found in the Book of Esther.  Because of his evil deeds, Haman was hanged on the 17th of Nisan (Aviv) [the day of Christ's resurrection] Esther 7:10, and his 10 sons were hanged on the 14th of Adar (Purim)  Esther 9:14-16.  The battle called "Desert Storm (1991)" was a recent fulfillment of the same concepts of the Book of Esther.

    The blotting out of the Amalekites occurred in I Chronicles 4:43 when in the days of King Hezekiah, the sons of Simeon and others... "And they destroyed (smote) the remnants of the Amalekites who escaped, and have lived there to this day."

    The origin of the Amalekites and the anger of God against them was another interesting find... In I Chronicles 1:29-33; 35-36; 44; This is tied in with Genesis Chapter 25 and Jasher 25 and Genesis 36 and other genealogical records  that connect the Book of Job and the "friends" of Job to the Amalekites.   Eliphaz the Temanite is the father of Amalek the father of the Amalekites.   Then in Job 42:7  "And it came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has."  Was this the beginning of the wrath of God against the Amalekites because they did not repent and took a disliking to Job (who later converts to Judaism)??? and thus the hatred of the Jews by the Amalekites started with the account of Job?!

    This event of Job 42 is followed by a sacrifice offering that is reminiscent of a Succoth offering or a Yom Kippur offering.   Does this mean that Job converts to Judaism at this point?  Verse 9 says and the LORD accepted Job.   This phrase in the Hebrew  could better be translated "and the LORD showed has face (A-Z) to Job.  In Verse 10 it says that the LORD increased all that Job had "Twofold".  But that same word "Twofold" could be translated as Mishna or Oral Law.  The verses that follow show that his daughters were named and were given inheritance among their brothers which is a "Jewish" custom.  The sons names are not mentioned.  This is reminiscent of the account in Numbers 27:1-11  Where the Daughters of Zelophehad also received an inheritance from their father by divine decree.  This would almost get one to thinking that he may have married a descendant of Jacob.  This indicates that Job learns all of the Oral Law at the time that he sees the face of the LORD.   That sounds like a salvation experience to me. !

    So the history of the Amalekites goes from the time of the captivity of Israel in Egypt (the account of Job who has an integral part in Egypt) until just before the time of the captivity of Israel going into Babylon (King Hezekiah's reign).

    The following are points why I feel that the Book of Jasher should be included in with the text of Scripture and considered 'Sacred Text'.   
    1).  The internal tone of the book of Jasher has a Mosaic ring to it.  Moses' hand is on this book.  
    2).  The interweaving nature of the book of Jasher with Torah is indicative of the same writer including and excluding some information from one book to the other as if they are to be interwoven in the same manner as the Challah Bread is that is eaten every Sabbath.
    3).  The Book is broken down into Parashat readings as is the custom of the Torah.
    4).  The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Book
    5).  The Prophetic types and shadows in the Book
    6).  The acceptance of the book by Jewish custom from the beginning.
    7).  The fact that it is quoted by the Apostle Paul and referenced to by many of the NT Writers
    8).  The development of the Nazarite (vow and effect of one under such a vow)
    9).  The connection of the patriarchs and the subsequent historical events of their descendants with the rise and spread of the religions of the world.  i.e. Catholicism, Judaism, Islam
    10).  The fact that it is written in Hebrew like the rest of Torah.

Sincerely,

Eric Paschall

Issue: when did Isaac die?

From the list of Jasher problems, we read...
Jasher 43:35 -- Isaac went from Hebron to comfort Jacob, his son, because Joseph is dead (sold). Gen. 35:27-29 Isaac died before
Joseph even dreamed his dreams.

Also related to this is the following:

Genesis 28:5 states that Isaac sent Jacob to Padan-aram unto Laban but Jasher 29:11 says that he fled to the house of Eber and
hid there for 14 years.

The Bible is not always in chronological sequence.   There are story threads that are carried forward to a conclusion and then the narrative jumps back to pickup another story thread.  There are also large gaps of time in the narrative that are easy to overlook if you do not read carefully and if you make the assumptions that consecutive events are always immediate.  That is the situation we have here. Rather than wade through pages of chronological quotes I will refer you to the Jewish Timeline Encyclopedia, by Mattis Kantor,  published by Jason Aronson, inc. page 18 & 19.  We see that Isaac blessed Jacob instead of Esau in the year 2171 when Isaac was 123.  But when we read Genesis 35:27-29, we see that Isaac did not die until he reached the age of 180 - that's 57 years later.  A lot can happen in 57 years.  In this case,  in the King James translation we got the impression that Esau threatened to kill Jacob immediately.  But it does not make sense that that Esau would think that Isaac was on the verge of death when he lived for another 57 years.  In fact, the verse is not translated accurately.  In the Artscroll Tanach it reads "May the days of morning for my father draw near, then I will kill my brother Jacob."   Further, though this follows immediately in the text of Genesis, it does not say how much time passed before Esau was heard to say this.  Jasher 29:21-23 tells that it was after Jacobs 14 year stay with Shem and Eber that he returned to see his father and mother.  It was at this time that Esau's anger was kindled and he make the threat to kill him. When Rachel overheard this she told Isaac to go to Laban.  Jacob left but even then he did not go directly to Laban.  He dwelt for a time with the Children of the East (the Kedemites) before going to Laban.

Jacob surely realized that it would be smart to get out of Esau's reach and thus decided it was time get to Shem and Eber's  House of Study. hoping that Esau's anger would cool.

There was actually ample time from the time of Isaac's blessing for the following events which are listed in the Bible or Jasher to take place:

14 years-Jacob spends in the House Of Study of Shem and Eber to get a proper Hebrew religious education.  Tradition has it that Esau refused to persue such an education.

7 years - Jacob lives among the Children of the East and/or Haran.  During this time he had the dream of the ladder and the Angels.

14 years - Jacob works for Laban in return for his wives Leah and Rachel.  They were married right away and  Joseph in the 7th year of this period.

3 years - Benjamin in born and Rachel dies.

8 years - Joseph is sold into slavery. and Jacob mourns his apparent death.

This totals only 46 years whereas Isaac lived another 57 years,  meaning that Isaac would still have been alive to comfort Jacob for the loss of Joseph.

Response to Eric Paschall

concerning a September 11 pattern in Jasher.

Eric,
Interesting thesis but I do not see any pattern that fits Sept. 11th:

(1) The lives of the Patriarch (including Jacob) was a template for the later experiences of the nation of Israel. This is a Torah principle. The battle in Jasher would be a prophetical blueprint for something that would happen to national Israel (not the US).

(2) Following the above precept, Jasher 37:4 implies an event that happens when Israel returned to "their land" (remember they legally purchased a large plot near Shechem) and was surrounded by enemies. They would be vastly outnumbered and attacked without provocation. It seems obvious that we are looking at a foreshadowing of the modern clashes between the modern State of Israel and her vast Arab neighbors as witnessed in the 1948 War of Independence, the 1967 Six Day War (it oddly sounds more like this battle) or possibly another battle yet to take place.

(2)You have reversed the concept of the brave few (sons of Jacob) fighting the many evil Canaanite kings. In the tragedy of 9/11 it was a few (evil hijackers) wreaking havoc on the many innocent civilians. If you are going to talk about patterns, then there has to be something in the events that resemble each other...otherwise, it ain't a pattern.

And since you brought it up, I want to address this misconception of Rosh Hashanah. That phrase never appears in the Hebrew of the Torah--anywhere. In Exodus 12:2, God restores the Calendar to Israel (which was forgotten by the Hebrews during their bondage), telling Moses, "this month will be the beginning of months for you it will the beginning ("rishon",in other words, "the head") of the year." This was at the Spring equinox, in the days preceding the Passover Feast which is still celebrated in the Spring of the year.

God commands Israel to appear before the Lord three times a year. There are many references to this commandment and none of these festivals occur on the first day of the first month. Levitcus 23:24 commands that the shofar be blown on the first day of the Seventh Month--how can the Seventh month be the beginning of a year?

In this context, the phrase the "end of the year" often appears in the English. However, the Hebrew rendering is much different. The Torah employs the word "tekufah" which really means the completion of a cycle, implying a return. Since the Seventh month occurs at the Autumn equinox, "tekufah" is actually referring to our planet reaching the far end of its elliptical path and returning back to the sun.

I hope this helps.

Shalom,
Jim Long

Further explanation of a Sept. 11 pattern in Jasher from Eric Paschall

Wayne,

You asked me if I could show you how the Pattern of September 11 was seen in the Book of Jasher and to give you a rundown on the account.... well.... here goes...    

In Jasher 37 we have the attack by the kings of Canaanites (about 10 of them) against the 10 sons of Jacob (who had an army of 112 men vs. 20). [Could this battle been one that was recorded as being with the "Spartans" (Sarton) of lore (38:50, 52, 49:1....).]    

Then in 39:14 it talks about the 5th day of the battle...    

Then in 50:13 the 6th day appeared where they traveled back to their home of Shechem  vs. 17 and rested from the war that evening (the beginning of the Sabbath vs. 23 says that the day was the 7th day or the Sabbath day!)

Vs. 28 says that they remained in the field 10 days which means that the Sabbath day as defined in vs. 23 had do be Yom Teruah (or Rosh HaShannah as is commonly referred to today).     

Vs. 29 Says that the sons of Jacob assembled and went to Shechem which implies that they celebrated Succoth/Tabernacles     Vs. 30 says 40 days later puts you at Kislev 1 or New Moon    

51:1 Says:  at the revolution of the year the sons of Jacob journeyed from Shechem and came to Hebron  this clearly indicates that the time was at Rosh HaShannah (Yom Teruah) as in the previous chapter.        

I hope this shows that the battle took place one week before Yom Teruah and was thus a pattern for 9 -11- 01.

Eric Paschall

Rejoinder from Eric Paschall on the issue of a September 11 pattern in Jasher

Jim,

Great response!!!  thanks...         Regarding the Pattern... I was thinking that the unprovoked attack was the pattern and it was done at a specific time.  There are many patterns of festivals all throughout scripture and it is good to see a different yet important pattern in Jasher.  Yes... Israel is attacked in their land...  were you aware that one of the only Sabbath keeping Jewish owned banks was located in the first floor of the towers?          Regarding the term Rosh Ha Shannah... it would appear that the sons of Jacob were referring to this time of the year since it was well before the Exodus command of changing the designation of the beginning of the year.  They were using the term in their vernacular at the time of the story... 9-11 occurred one week before Rosh Ha Shannah / Yom Teruah that year.          I feel that the 9 - 11 attack was a wake up call spiritually to look at the pattern of the sons of Jacob...         Would you agree that they were acting as Nazarites in this battle???  Therefore we need to look into the concept of the Nazarite warrior a little deeper.  I think this is a major point that is overlooked in the Bible.      Something to think about...   :-)

Eric Paschall

James Trimm - another interesting reference to Jasher

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