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 moment of intense tension as the Israelites are trying to enter the Promised Land. King Arad, a Canaanite ruler, hears of their approach and prepares for war. And, understandably, the Israelites are terrified. The text tells us that Arad had a "great and heavy army," and the people are seized by fear, so much so that they resolve to turn back to Egypt.
Can you imagine? After all that journeying, all that hardship, they’re ready to give up. They retreat about three days' journey to a place called Maserath Beni Jaakon, and stay there for thirty days, paralyzed by fear.
But not everyone is ready to surrender.
The tribe of Levi, zealous for the sake of God, sees the other Israelites wavering and takes matters into their own hands. They actually fight against their own brethren, forcing them to turn back toward their destination, Mount Hor. Talk about brotherly love… or the lack thereof!
When they finally return to their path, King Arad is still waiting, ready for battle. This time, Israel makes a vow: "If thou wilt deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities." And God listens. The Canaanites are defeated, their cities destroyed, and the place is named Hormah, meaning "utterly destroyed."
Okay, victory! But the journey is far from over.
They continue onward, eventually reaching the border of Moab. They ask to pass through the land, but the Moabites, remembering how Sihon, king of the Amorites, had previously taken their land, refuse. The Israelites are forbidden by God to fight Moab, so they move on, eventually arriving at the border between Moab and the Amorites.
Next up? A request to pass through the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites. He refuses, too, leading to a battle at Jahaz. But, once again, God delivers the Amorites into the hand of Israel, and they take possession of Sihon's land. They even consider attacking the Ammonites, but God forbids it: "Do not besiege the children of Ammon... for I will give nothing to you of their land."
Then comes the epic tale of Og, king of Bashan, a truly larger-than-life figure. Jasher emphasizes his power and that of his son, Naaron. Og, in his arrogance, decides he's going to crush the entire Israelite camp with a massive stone. We're talking a stone that was three parsa in length – a parsa being an ancient Persian unit of distance, roughly equivalent to 5-6 kilometers!
So, Og hefts this enormous rock onto his head, intending to hurl it at the Israelites. But the angel of the Lord intervenes, piercing the stone, which then falls onto Og's neck, causing him to fall to the ground. According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, Og was a descendant of the giants who lived before the flood, making his defeat all the more significant.
Moses then goes down and, with a stick, strikes Og at his ankles, killing him. The Israelites then proceed to utterly destroy Og's people.
After this victory, the Israelites take Jaazer and its villages, driving out the Amorites. They conquer sixty cities from the Amorite kings, from the brook of Arnon to Mount Herman. Finally, they arrive at the plains of Moab, near Jericho.
But uh oh, trouble is brewing.
The Moabites, terrified by Israel's victories over Sihon and Og, decide to take action. They appoint Balak, son of Zippor, as their king, and he seeks an alliance with the Midianites.
Balak, desperate, sends messengers to Balaam, son of Beor, a Mesopotamian diviner, to curse the Israelites. The Moabites remembered, as the text says, "at the time when Sihon king of the Amorites fought against you... he had sent to Beor the son of Janeas and to Balaam his son from Mesopotamia, and they came and cursed you; therefore did the hand of Sihon prevail over you, that he took your land." Balak hoped that Balaam's curses would weaken the Israelites, allowing Moab to defeat them.
Balak’s messengers tell Balaam, "Behold there is a people come out from Egypt, behold they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me. Now therefore come and curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me."
Balaam travels to meet Balak, to curse Israel, but God forbids him, saying, "Curse not this people for it is blessed." Despite Balak's urging, Balaam refuses to curse Israel.
So, Balak gives up, and Balaam returns to his land. But the story doesn't end there.
The Israelites, now camped in the plain of Shittim, begin to succumb to temptation. The Moabite women, adorned in finery, entice the Israelite men, leading them into idolatry and immorality. The Sifrei (Numbers 115) elaborates on the cunning of the Moabite women, who used their beauty and charm to lure the Israelites away from their faith.
The Moabites offered the Israelites food, wine, and beautiful women. The men were seduced, partook in sacrifices to foreign gods, and engaged in sexual immorality. As we find in (Numbers 25:1-3), "While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them."
A plague breaks out, killing twenty-four thousand Israelites. According to (Numbers 25:9), this plague was a direct consequence of their infidelity and idolatry.
In the midst of this chaos, Zimri, a Simeonite man, publicly consorts with Cosbi, a Midianite woman, the daughter of a Midianite king. Phineas, the son of Eleazar, acts decisively, killing them both with a spear, stopping the plague.
Wow. So, what do we take away from this rollercoaster of a chapter?
It’s a stark reminder that even after great victories, internal struggles and temptations can be just as dangerous as external enemies. The Israelites faced external threats from the Canaanites, Amorites, and Moabites, but their greatest challenge came from within: their own wavering faith and susceptibility to temptation. : it's not enough to overcome external obstacles. We must also guard against our own weaknesses and remain steadfast in our values, because the path to any "promised land" is rarely a straight line. It’s filled with detours, temptations, and the ever-present possibility of stumbling, even when we think we're closest to the goal.
Sacred-texts Apocrypha Index Previous Next Book of Jasher, Chapter 85 1 And king Arad the Canaanite, who dwelt in the south, heard that the Israelites had come by the way of the spies, and he arranged his forces to fight against the Israelites. 2 And the children of Israel were greatly afraid of him, for he had a great and heavy army, so the children of Israel resolved to return to Egypt. 3 And the children of Israel turned back about the distance of three days' journey unto Maserath Beni Jaakon, for they were greatly afraid on account of the king Arad. 4 And the children of Israel would not get back to their places, so they remained in Beni Jaakon for thirty days. 5 And when the children of Levi saw that the children of Israel would not turn back, they were jealous for the sake of the Lord, and they rose up and fought against the Israelites their brethren, and slew of them a great body, and forced them to turn back to their place, Mount Hor. 6 And when they returned, king Arad was still arranging his host for battle against the Israelites. 7 And Israel vowed a vow, saying, If thou wilt deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 8 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and he delivered the Canaanites into their hand, and he utterly destroyed them and their cities, and he called the name of the place Hormah. 9 And the children of Israel journeyed from Mount Hor and pitched in Oboth, and they journeyed from Oboth and they pitched at Ije-abarim, in the border of Moab. 10 And the children of Israel sent to Moab, saying, Let us pass now through thy land into our place, but the children of Moab would not suffer the children of Israel to pass through their land, for the children of Moab were greatly afraid lest the children of Israel should do unto them as Sihon king of the Amorites had done to them, who had taken their land and had slain many of them. 11 Therefore Moab would not suffer the Israelites to pass through his land, and the Lord commanded the children of Israel, saying, That they should not fight against Moab, so the Israelites removed from Moab. 12 And the children of Israel journeyed from the border of Moab, and they came to the other side of Arnon, the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites, and they pitched in the border of Sihon, king of the Amorites, in the wilderness of Kedemoth. 13 And the children of Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, 14 Let us pass through thy land, we will not turn into the fields or into the vineyards, we will go along by the king's highway until we shall have passed thy border, but Sihon would not suffer the Israelites to pass. 15 So Sihon collected all the people of the Amorites and went forth into the wilderness to meet the children of Israel, and he fought against Israel in Jahaz. 16 And the Lord delivered Sihon king of the Amorites into the hand of the children of Israel, and Israel smote all the people of Sihon with the edge of the sword and avenged the cause of Moab. 17 And the children of Israel took possession of the land of Sihon from Aram unto Jabuk, unto the children of Ammon, and they took all the spoil of the cities. 18 And Israel took all these cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites. 19 And all the children of Israel resolved to fight against the children of Ammon, to take their land also. 20 So the Lord said to the children of Israel, Do not besiege the children of Ammon, neither stir up battle against them, for I will give nothing to you of their land, and the children of Israel hearkened to the word of the Lord, and did not fight against the children of Ammon. 21 And the children of Israel turned and went up by the way of Bashan to the land of Og, king of Bashan, and Og the king of Bashan went out to meet the Israelites in battle, and he had with him many valiant men, and a very strong force from the people of the Amorites. 22 And Og king of Bashan was a very powerful man, but Naaron his son was exceedingly powerful, even stronger than he was. 23 And Og said in his heart, Behold now the whole camp of Israel takes up a space of three parsa, now will I smite them at once without sword or spear. 24 And Og went up Mount Jahaz, and took therefrom one large stone, the length of which was three parsa, and he placed it on his head, and resolved to throw it upon the camp of the children of Israel, to smite all the Israelites with that stone. 25 And the angel of the Lord came and pierced the stone upon the head of Og, and the stone fell upon the neck of Og that Og fell to the earth on account of the weight of the stone upon his neck. 26 At that time the Lord said to the children of Israel, Be not afraid of him, for I have given him and all his people and all his land into your hand, and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon. 27 And Moses went down to him with a small number of the children of Israel, and Moses smote Og with a stick at the ankles of his feet and slew him. 28 The children of Israel afterward pursued the children of Og and all his people, and they beat and destroyed them till there was no remnant left of them. 29 Moses afterward sent some of the children of Israel to spy out Jaazer, for Jaazer was a very famous city. 30 And the spies went to Jaazer and explored it, and the spies trusted in the Lord, and they fought against the men of Jaazer. 31 And these men took Jaazer and its villages, and the Lord delivered them into their hand, and they drove out the Amorites who had been there. 32 And the children of Israel took the land of the two kings of the Amorites, sixty cities which were on the other side of Jordan, from the brook of Arnon unto Mount Herman. 33 And the children of Israel journeyed and came into the plain of Moab which is on this side of Jordan, by Jericho. 34 And the children of Moab heard all the evil which the children of Israel had done to the two kings of the Amorites, to Sihon and Og, so all the men of Moab were greatly afraid of the Israelites. 35 And the elders of Moab said, Behold the two kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og, who were more powerful than all the kings of the earth, could not stand against the children of Israel, how then can we stand before them? 36 Surely they sent us a message before now to pass through our land on their way, and we would not suffer them, now they will turn upon us with their heavy swords and destroy us; and Moab was distressed on account of the children of Israel, and they were greatly afraid of them, and they counselled together what was to be done to the children of Israel. 37 And the elders of Moab resolved and took one of their men, Balak the son of Zippor the Moabite, and made him king over them at that time, and Balak was a very wise man. 38 And the elders of Moab rose up and sent to the children of Midian to make peace with them, for a great battle and enmity had been in those days between Moab and Midian, from the days of Hadad the son of Bedad king of Edom, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, unto these days. 39 And the children of Moab sent to the children of Midian, and they made peace with them, and the elders of Midian came to the land of Moab to make peace in behalf of the children of Midian. 40 And the elders of Moab counselled with the elders of Midian what to do in order to save their lives from Israel. 41 And all the children of Moab said to the elders of Midian, Now therefore the children of Israel lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field, for thus did they do to the two kings of the Amorites who are stronger than we are. 42 And the elders of Midian said to Moab, We have heard that at the time when Sihon king of the Amorites fought against you, when he prevailed over you and took your land, he had sent to Beor the son of Janeas and to Balaam his son from Mesopotamia, and they came and cursed you; therefore did the hand of Sihon prevail over you, that he took your land. 43 Now therefore send you also to Balaam his son, for he still remains in his land, and give him his hire, that he may come and curse all the people of whom you are afraid; so the elders of Moab heard this thing, and it pleased them to send to Balaam the son of Beor. 44 So Balak the son of Zippor king of Moab sent messengers to Balaam, saying, 45 Behold there is a people come out from Egypt, behold they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me. 46 Now therefore come and curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me, peradventure I shall prevail to fight against them, and drive them out, for I heard that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and whom thou cursest is cursed. 47 So the messengers of Balak went to Balaam and brought Balaam to curse the people to fight against Moab. 48 And Balaam came to Balak to curse Israel, and the Lord said to Balaam, Curse not this people for it is blessed. 49 And Balak urged Balaam day by day to curse Israel, but Balaam hearkened not to Balak on account of the word of the Lord which he had spoken to Balaam. 50 And when Balak saw that Balaam would not accede to his wish, he rose up and went home, and Balaam also returned to his land and he went from there to Midian. 51 And the children of Israel journeyed from the plain of Moab, and pitched by Jordan from Beth-jesimoth even unto Abel-shittim, at the end of the plains of Moab. 52 And when the children of Israel abode in the plain of Shittim, they began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 53 And the children of Israel approached Moab, and the children of Moab pitched their tents opposite to the camp of the children of Israel. 54 And the children of Moab were afraid of the children of Israel, and the children of Moab took all their daughters and their wives of beautiful aspect and comely appearance, and dressed them in gold and silver and costly garments. 55 And the children of Moab seated those women at the door of their tents, in order that the children of Israel might see them and turn to them, and not fight against Moab. 56 And all the children of Moab did this thing to the children of Israel, and every man placed his wife and daughter at the door of his tent, and all the children of Israel saw the act of the children of Moab, and the children of Israel turned to the daughters of Moab and coveted them, and they went to them. 57 And it came to pass that when a Hebrew came to the door of the tent of Moab, and saw a daughter of Moab and desired her in his heart, and spoke with her at the door of the tent that which he desired, whilst they were speaking together the men of the tent would come out and speak to the Hebrew like unto these words: 58 Surely you know that we are brethren, we are all the descendants of Lot and the descendants of Abraham his brother, wherefore then will you not remain with us, and wherefore will you not eat our bread and our sacrifice? 59 And when the children of Moab had thus overwhelmed him with their speeches, and enticed him by their flattering words, they seated him in the tent and cooked and sacrificed for him, and he ate of their sacrifice and of their bread. 60 They then gave him wine and he drank and became intoxicated, and they placed before him a beautiful damsel, and he did with her as he liked, for he knew not what he was doing, as he had drunk plentifully of wine. 61 Thus did the children of Moab to Israel in that place, in the plain of Shittim, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel on account of this matter, and he sent a pestilence amongst them, and there died of the Israelites twenty-four thousand men. 62 Now there was a man of the children of Simeon whose name was Zimri, the son of Salu, who connected himself with the Midianite Cosbi, the daughter of Zur, king of Midian, in the sight of all the children of Israel. 63 And Phineas the son of Elazer, the son of Aaron the priest, saw this wicked thing which Zimri had done, and he took a spear and rose up and went after them, and pierced them both and slew them, and the pestilence ceased from the children of Israel. Next: Chapter 86 Sacred Texts | Christianity « Previous: Book of Jasher, Chapter 84 Index Next: Book of Jasher, Chapter 86 »
