1,628 texts · Page 29 of 34
It’s a relentless chronicle of life and death, battles and betrayals. We're in Egypt, some seventy-nine years after Jacob and his family arrived. The years are marked by a somber r...
And then, out of nowhere, we get a completely separate war story! Buckle up, because we're diving in. First, let's set the stage. Levi, one of Jacob's sons, passes away at the ripe...
Chapter 64 of the Book of Jasher throws us right into one of those cycles. We're back in a world of ancient grudges and shifting alliances. Balaam, son of Beor – yes, that Balaam, ...
The Book of Jasher, a fascinating and controversial text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), offers a compelling narrative. Chapter 65 plunges us rig...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), offers us a glimpse into just that – a world of expanded tales and alternativ...
There are so many fascinating texts that offer different perspectives and details on familiar narratives. Today, we're diving into a chapter from one of these books: the Book of Ja...
We know him as the great leader, the lawgiver, the one who led the Israelites out of Egypt. But what about his birth, his infancy, those perilous first months? The Book of Jasher, ...
Sometimes, it's the little-known stories, the tucked-away details, that truly bring the past to life. to a snippet from the Book of Jasher, a text mentioned in the Bible itself (Jo...
We all know the story of his dramatic rescue as a baby, floating down the Nile in a basket. But what happened next, after he was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter? The Book of Jasher, ...
We all know the story of the Exodus, the burning bush, the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the years leading up to that moment? The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text of...
Kikianus, the king of Cush, a formidable ruler, marches out with his massive army, described as "numerous as the sand," to bring Aram and the easterners back in line. He's successf...
It's considered by many to be part of the Apocrypha, a collection of writings of uncertain origin, that elaborates on stories from the Bible and fills in gaps. Think of it as histo...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating chapter from the Book of Jasher, a non-canonical Jewish text that elaborates on stories from the Hebrew Bible. Specifically, we're looking at...
Today, we're diving into a fascinating, if somewhat tragic, tale from the Book of Jasher, a non-canonical Jewish text that fills in gaps left by the Torah. Our story unfolds in Egy...
Chapter 76 opens with Moses reigning as king in Cush, apparently thriving and ruling with justice for forty years! According to Jasher, "all the children of Cush loved Moses… and a...
There are entire books dedicated to filling in those gaps, offering tantalizing glimpses into the lives of our ancestors. One such book is the Book of Jasher, a work referenced in ...
The chapter opens with a change of leadership in Edom. Baal Channan, son of Achbor, dies and the Edomites reach out to find a new king. They settle on a man named Hadad. He reigns ...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), fills in some of those gaps. It's like a behind-the-scenes look at the...
We all know the highlights – the Nile turning to blood, the frogs, the darkness. But some sources really dial up the intensity, giving us a truly nightmarish vision of divine retri...
We know the big story: the plagues, the Exodus, the parting of the Red Sea. But what about the nitty-gritty details of those first few days of freedom? The Book of Jasher, a text m...
We know about Mount Sinai, the thunder, the lightning, the booming voice... but what about the days that followed?Book of Jasher and see what unfolded. The story picks up right aft...
We all know about the Exodus, the parting of the Red Sea, and even receiving the Ten Commandments. But what about the nitty-gritty details of setting up their new life, their new r...
The ancient Israelites certainly did! And this chapter of the Book of Jasher throws us right into the middle of their long, winding journey. Remember Korah's rebellion? The Book of...
That feeling of frustration, of being turned back just as you're reaching your goal... well, the Israelites knew it well. Chapter 85 of the Book of Jasher plunges us right into a m...
Following the pestilence, God instructs Moses and Elazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to take a census. A head count of the entire Israelite community, specifically those twenty y...
The Sefer haYashar, or Book of Jasher, a collection of Jewish legends and lore, gives us a glimpse. Chapter 87 opens with a divine instruction. "At that time the Lord said to Moses...
The story continues, of course! And today, we're diving into Chapter 88 of the Book of Jasher to see what happened as the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land under the lea...
And in Chapter 89, we find just such a song, bursting with praise and recounting God's powerful deliverance. "Then spoke Joshua this song," the text begins, "on the day that the Lo...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13, (2 Samuel 1:1)8), offers some fascinating glimpses.. The chapter opens by setting the stage: It's ...
We read about the conquest of Canaan in the Book of Joshua, but the story doesn't quite end there. The Book of Jasher, a non-canonical Jewish text that fills in some of the gaps in...
According to the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a strange and satirical medieval text composed between 700 and 1000 CE, three people in all of history were born without their parents having...
The teacher says "Aleph" and expects the child to repeat it. That's how Torah education works—has worked for centuries. But Ben Sira isn't a normal child. He's a newborn prodigy wh...
The teacher calls out the letter Bet. Ben Sira responds with a proverb that could have come straight from the book of Proverbs itself: "By the appearance of a beautiful woman have ...
For the letter Gimel, Ben Sira offers a proverb about trust: "Reveal your secret to one out of a thousand, even if you have many well-wishers." One out of a thousand. That's the ra...
The letter Dalet brings a warning about desire that cuts right to the bone: "Deprive your flesh of a graceful woman, like the flame of a coal." Like the flame of a coal. The metaph...
By the letter Hey, Ben Sira's proverbs have shifted from gentle warnings to something more direct: "Blind your eyes because of the graceful woman, lest you be caught in her trap." ...
The letter Vav arrives, and Ben Sira delivers one of his sharpest proverbs yet: "Woe to one who follows after his eyes! And know that they are the product of straying, and there is...
The letter Zayin brings a proverb that circles back to the teacher's earlier obsession with beards: "Do not be thin-bearded or thick-bearded. Scorn these things, because you do not...
The letter Chet opens with Ben Sira's most provocative proverb so far: "Males are dear to all, but woe to fathers of females." Let's be clear about what this is. The Alphabet of Be...
The letter Tet continues the theme of fatherhood and daughters with a proverb that's as bleak as it is brief: "A daughter is a false image to her father. Out of fear of her, he doe...
The letter Yud picks up exactly where the previous proverb left off, and it doesn't hold back: "The watchman does not sleep. When she is a minor—lest she be seduced or assaulted in...
The letter Kaf pushes the father's worry even further into the future: "When you marry the daughter, you worry about her the most—lest she not have children. And when you are older...
The letter Lamed marks a sharp turn. After several proverbs about daughters, Ben Sira pivots to marriage itself: "Do not sleep in your youth, and when you are old, do not marry an ...
The letter Mem—which in Hebrew also means "water"—brings a proverb built entirely around that elemental image: "The waters of a virgin wife are sweet and add strength; the waters o...
The letter Nun delivers a proverb about the domestic nightmare the Alphabet of Ben Sira seems to fear most—not infidelity, not poverty, but a wife who won't stop talking: "Shake yo...
The Alphabet of Ben Sira, a satirical and provocative medieval text composed between 700 and 1000 CE, doesn't shy away from blunt advice about marriage. In this proverb, tied to th...
"Blind your eyes because of a widowed woman, and do not covet her beauty in your heart." That's what Ben Sira says, in the proverb attached to the Hebrew letter Ayin (ע)—and it's a...
"Control your face around evil friends. Do not walk on the road with them. Hold your feet back around them, lest you be caught in their trap." This proverb, corresponding to the le...
