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Book of Jasher Ch 21-40

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THE BOOK OF JASHER

THIS IS THE BOOK OF THE GENERATIONS OF MAN WHOM GOD CREATED UPON THE EARTH ON THE DAY WHEN THE LORD GOD MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH.

Jasher Chapter 21

1. And it was at that time at the end of a year and four months of
Abraham’s dwelling in the land of the Philistines in Gerar, that
God visited Sarah, and the Lord remembered her, and she conceived
and bare a son to Abraham.
2. And Abraham called the name of the son which was born to him, which
Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
3. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac at eight days old, as God had
commanded Abraham to do unto his seed after him; and Abraham was
one hundred, and Sarah ninety years old, when Isaac was born to
them.
4. And the child grew up and he was weaned, and Abraham made a great
feast upon the day that Isaac was weaned.
5. And Shem and Eber and all the great people of the land, and
Abimelech king of the Philistines, and his servants, and Phicol,
the captain of his host, came to eat and drink and rejoice at the
feast which Abraham made upon the day of his son Isaac’s being
weaned.
6. Also Terah, the father of Abraham, and Nahor his brother, came from
Haran, they and all belonging to them, for they greatly rejoiced on
hearing that a son had been born to Sarah.
7. And they came to Abraham, and they ate and drank at the feast which
Abraham made upon the day of Isaac’s being weaned.
8. And Terah and Nahor rejoiced with Abraham, and they remained with
him many days in the land of the Philistines.
9. At that time Serug the son of Reu died, in the first year of the
birth of Isaac son of Abraham.
10. And all the days of Serug were two hundred and thirty-nine years,
and he died.
11. And Ishmael the son of Abraham was grown up in those days; he was
fourteen years old when Sarah bare Isaac to Abraham.
12. And God was with Ishmael the son of Abraham, and he grew up, and he
learned to use the bow and became an archer.
13. And when Isaac was five years old he was sitting with Ishmael at
the door of the tent.
14. And Ishmael came to Isaac and seated himself opposite to him, and
he took the bow and drew it and put the arrow in it, and intended
to slay Isaac.
15. And Sarah saw the act which Ishmael desired to do to her son Isaac,
and it grieved her exceedingly on account of her son, and she sent
for Abraham, and said to him, Cast out this bondwoman and her son,
for her son shall not be heir with my son, for thus did he seek to
do unto him this day.
16. And Abraham hearkened to the voice of Sarah, and he rose up early
in the morning, and he took twelve loaves and a bottle of water
which he gave to Hagar, and sent her away with her son, and Hagar
went with her son to the wilderness, and they dwelt in the
wilderness of Paran with the inhabitants of the wilderness, and
Ishmael was an archer, and he dwelt in the wilderness a long time.
17. And he and his mother afterward went to the land of Egypt, and they
dwelt there, and Hagar took a wife for her son from Egypt, and her
name was Meribah.
18. And the wife of Ishmael conceived and bare four sons and two
daughters, and Ishmael and his mother and his wife and children
afterward went and returned to the wilderness.
19. And they made themselves tents in the wilderness, in which they
dwelt, and they continued to travel and then to rest monthly and
yearly.
20. And God gave Ishmael flocks and herds and tents on account of
Abraham his father, and the man increased in cattle.
21. And Ishmael dwelt in deserts and in tents, traveling and resting
for a long time, and he did not see the face of his father.
22. And in some time after, Abraham said to Sarah his wife, I will go
and see my son Ishmael, for I have a desire to see him, for I have
not seen him for a long time.
23. And Abraham rode upon one of his camels to the wilderness to seek
his son Ishmael, for he heard that he was dwelling in a tent in the
wilderness with all belonging to him.
24. And Abraham went to the wilderness, and he reached the tent of
Ishmael about noon, and he asked after Ishmael, and he found the
wife of Ishmael sitting in the tent with her children, and Ishmael
her husband and his mother were not with them.
25. And Abraham asked the wife of Ishmael, saying, Where has Ishmael
gone? and she said, He has gone to the field to hunt, and Abraham
was still mounted upon the camel, for he would not get off to the
ground as he had sworn to his wife Sarah that he would not get off
from the camel.
26. And Abraham said to Ishmael’s wife, My daughter, give me a little
water that I may drink, for I am fatigued from the journey.
27. And Ishmael’s wife answered and said to Abraham, We have neither
water nor bread, and she continued sitting in the tent and did not
notice Abraham, neither did she ask him who he was.
28. But she was beating her children in the tent, and she was cursing
them, and she also cursed her husband Ishmael and reproached him,
and Abraham heard the words of Ishmael’s wife to her children, and
he was very angry and displeased.
29. And Abraham called to the woman to come out to him from the tent,
and the woman came and stood opposite to Abraham, for Abraham was
still mounted upon the camel.
30. And Abraham said to Ishmael’s wife, When thy husband Ishmael
returneth home say these words to him,
31. A very old man from the land of the Philistines came hither to seek
thee, and thus was his appearance and figure; I did not ask him who
he was, and seeing thou wast not here he spoke unto me and said,
When Ishmael thy husband returneth tell him thus did this man say,
When thou comest home put away this nail of the tent which thou
hast placed here, and place another nail in its stead.
32. And Abraham finished his instructions to the woman, and he turned
and went off on the camel homeward.
33. And after that Ishmael came from the chase he and his mother, and
returned to the tent, and his wife spoke these words to him,
34. A very old man from the land of the Philistines came to seek thee,
and thus was his appearance and figure; I did not ask him who he
was, and seeing thou wast not at home he said to me, When thy
husband cometh home tell him, thus saith the old man, Put away the
nail of the tent which thou hast placed here and place another nail
in its stead.
35. And Ishmael heard the words of his wife, and he knew that it was
his father, and that his wife did not honor him.
36. And Ishmael understood his father’s words that he had spoken to his
wife, and Ishmael hearkened to the voice of his father, and Ishmael
cast off that woman and she went away.
37. And Ishmael afterward went to the land of Canaan, and he took
another wife and he brought her to his tent to the place where he
then dwelt.
38. And at the end of three years Abraham said, I will go again and see
Ishmael my son, for I have not seen him for a long time.
39. And he rode upon his camel and went to the wilderness, and he
reached the tent of Ishmael about noon.
40. And he asked after Ishmael, and his wife came out of the tent and
she said, He is not here my lord, for he has gone to hunt in the
fields, and to feed the camels, and the woman said to Abraham, Turn
in my lord into the tent, and eat a morsel of bread, for thy soul
must be wearied on account of the journey.
41. And Abraham said to her, I will not stop for I am in haste to
continue my journey, but give me a little water to drink, for I
have thirst; and the woman hastened and ran into the tent and she
brought out water and bread to Abraham, which she placed before him
and she urged him to eat, and he ate and drank and his heart was
comforted and he blessed his son Ishmael.
42. And he finished his meal and he blessed the Lord, and he said to
Ishmael’s wife, When Ishmael cometh home say these words to him,
43. A very old man from the land of the Philistines came hither and
asked after thee, and thou wast not here; and I brought him out
bread and water and he ate and drank and his heart was comforted.
44. And he spoke these words to me: When Ishmael thy husband cometh
home, say unto him, The nail of the tent which thou hast is very
good, do not put it away from the tent.
45. And Abraham finished commanding the woman, and he rode off to his
home to the land of the Philistines; and when Ishmael came to his
tent his wife went forth to meet him with joy and a cheerful heart.
46. And she said to him, An old man came here from the land of the
Philistines and thus was his appearance, and he asked after thee
and thou wast not here, so I brought out bread and water, and he
ate and drank and his heart was comforted.
47. And he spoke these words to me, When Ishmael thy husband cometh
home say to him, The nail of the tent which thou hast is very good,
do not put it away from the tent.
48. And Ishmael knew that it was his father, and that his wife had
honored him, and the Lord blessed Ishmael.

Jasher Chapter 22

1. And Ishmael then rose up and took his wife and his children and his
cattle and all belonging to him, and he journeyed from there and he
went to his father in the land of the Philistines.
2. And Abraham related to Ishmael his son the transaction with the
first wife that Ishmael took, according to what she did.
3. And Ishmael and his children dwelt with Abraham many days in that
land, and Abraham dwelt in the land of the Philistines a long time.
4. And the days increased and reached twenty six years, and after that
Abraham with his servants and all belonging to him went from the
land of the Philistines and removed to a great distance, and they
came near to Hebron, and they remained there, and the servants of
Abraham dug wells of water, and Abraham and all belonging to him
dwelt by the water, and the servants of Abimelech king of the
Philistines heard the report that Abraham’s servants had dug wells
of water in the borders of the land.
5. And they came and quarreled with the servants of Abraham, and they
robbed them of the great well which they had dug.
6. And Abimelech king of the Philistines heard of this affair, and he
with Phicol the captain of his host and twenty of his men came to
Abraham, and Abimelech spoke to Abraham concerning his servants,
and Abraham rebuked Abimelech concerning the well of which his
servants had robbed him.
7. And Abimelech said to Abraham, As the Lord liveth who created the
whole earth, I did not hear of the act which my servants did unto
thy servants until this day.
8. And Abraham took seven ewe lambs and gave them to Abimelech,
saying, Take these, I pray thee, from my hands that it may be a
testimony for me that I dug this well.
9. And Abimelech took the seven ewe lambs which Abraham had given to
him, for he had also given him cattle and herds in abundance, and
Abimelech swore to Abraham concerning the well, therefore he called
that well Beersheba, for there they both swore concerning it.
10. And they both made a covenant in Beersheba, and Abimelech rose up
with Phicol the captain of his host and all his men, and they
returned to the land of the Philistines, and Abraham and all
belonging to him dwelt in Beersheba and he was in that land a long
time.
11. And Abraham planted a large grove in Beersheba, and he made to it
four gates facing the four sides of the earth, and he planted a
vineyard in it, so that if a traveler came to Abraham he entered
any gate which was in his road, and remained there and ate and
drank and satisfied himself and then departed.
12. For the house of Abraham was always open to the sons of men that
passed and repassed, who came daily to eat and drink in the house
of Abraham.
13. And any man who had hunger and came to Abraham’s house, Abraham
would give him bread that he might eat and drink and be satisfied,
and any one that came naked to his house he would clothe with
garments as he might choose, and give him silver and gold and make
known to him the Lord who had created him in the earth; this did
Abraham all his life.
14. And Abraham and his children and all belonging to him dwelt in
Beersheba, and he pitched his tent as far as Hebron.
15. And Abraham’s brother Nahor and his father and all belonging to
them dwelt in Haran, for they did not come with Abraham to the land
of Canaan.
16. And children were born to Nahor which Milca the daughter of Haran,
and sister to Sarah, Abraham’s wife, bare to him.
17. And these are the names of those that were born to him, Uz, Buz,
Kemuel, Kesed, Chazo, Pildash, Tidlaf, and Bethuel, being eight
sons, these are the children of Milca which she bare to Nahor,
Abraham’s brother.
18. And Nahor had a concubine and her name was Reumah, and she also
bare to Nahor, Zebach, Gachash, Tachash and Maacha, being four
sons.
19. And the children that were born to Nahor were twelve sons besides
his daughters, and they also had children born to them in Haran.
20. And the children of Uz the first born of Nahor were Abi, Cheref,
Gadin, Melus, and Deborah their sister.
21. And the sons of Buz were Berachel, Naamath, Sheva, and Madonu.
22. And the sons of Kemuel were Aram and Rechob.
23. And the sons of Kesed were Anamlech, Meshai, Benon and Yifi; and
the sons of Chazo were Pildash, Mechi and Opher.
24. And the sons of Pildash were Arud, Chamum, Mered and Moloch.
25. And the sons of Tidlaf were Mushan, Cushan and Mutzi.
26. And the children of Bethuel were Sechar, Laban and their sister
Rebecca.
27. These are the families of the children of Nahor, that were born to
them in Haran; and Aram the son of Kemuel and Rechob his brother
went away from Haran, and they found a valley in the land by the
river Euphrates.
28. And they built a city there, and they called the name of the city
after the name of Pethor the son of Aram, that is Aram Naherayim
unto this day.
29. And the children of Kesed also went to dwell where they could find
a place, and they went and they found a valley opposite to the land
of Shinar, and they dwelt there.
30. And they there built themselves a city, and they called the name at
the city Kesed after the name of their father, that is the land
Kasdim unto this day, and the Kasdim dwelt in that land and they
were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly.
31. And Terah, father of Nahor and Abraham, went and took another wife
in his old age, and her name was Pelilah, and she conceived and
bare him a son and he called his name Zoba.
32. And Terah lived twenty-five years after he begat Zoba.
33. And Terah died in that year, that is in the thirty-fifth year of
the birth of Isaac son of Abraham.
34. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and he was
buried in Haran.
35. And Zoba the son of Terah lived thirty years and he begat Aram,
Achlis and Merik.
36. And Aram son of Zoba son of Terah, had three wives and he begat
twelve sons and three daughters; and the Lord gave to Aram the son
of Zoba, riches and possessions, and abundance of cattle, and
flocks and herds, and the man increased greatly.
37. And Aram the son of Zoba and his brother and all his household
journeyed from Haran, and they went to dwell where they should find
a place, for their property was too great to remain in Haran; for
they could not stop in Haran together with their brethren the
children of Nahor.
38. And Aram the son of Zoba went with his brethren, and they found a
valley at a distance toward the eastern country and they dwelt
there.
39. And they also built a city there, and they called the name thereof
Aram, after the name of their eldest brother; that is Aram Zoba to
this day.
40. And Isaac the son of Abraham was growing up in those days, and
Abraham his father taught him the way of the Lord to know the Lord,
and the Lord was with him.
41. And when Isaac was thirty-seven years old, Ishmael his brother was
going about with him in the tent.
42. And Ishmael boasted of himself to Isaac, saying, I was thirteen
years old when the Lord spoke to my father to circumcise us, and I
did according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to my father,
and I gave my soul unto the Lord, and I did not transgress his word
which he commanded my father.
43. And Isaac answered Ishmael, saying, Why dost thou boast to me about
this, about a little bit of thy flesh which thou didst take from
thy body, concerning which the Lord commanded thee?
44. As the Lord liveth, the God of my father Abraham, if the Lord
should say unto my father, Take now thy son Isaac and bring him up
an offering before me, I would not refrain but I would joyfully
accede to it.
45. And the Lord heard the word that Isaac spoke to Ishmael, and it
seemed good in the sight of the Lord, and he thought to try Abraham
in this matter.
46. And the day arrived when the sons of God came and placed themselves
before the Lord, and Satan also came with the sons of God before
the Lord.
47. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? and Satan
answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and
from walking up and down in it.
48. And the Lord said to Satan, What is thy word to me concerning all
the children of the earth? and Satan answered the Lord and said, I
have seen all the children of the earth who serve thee and remember
thee when they require anything from thee.
49. And when thou givest them the thing which they require from thee,
they sit at their ease, and forsake thee and they remember thee no
more.
50. Hast thou seen Abraham the son of Terah, who at first had no
children, and he served thee and erected altars to thee wherever he
came, and he brought up offerings upon them, and he proclaimed thy
name continually to all the children of the earth.
51. And now that his son Isaac is born to him, he has forsaken thee, he
has made a great feast for all the inhabitants of the land, and the
Lord he has forgotten.
52. For amidst all that he has done he brought thee no offering;
neither burnt offering nor peace offering, neither ox, lamb nor
goat of all that he killed on the day that his son was weaned.
53. Even from the time of his son’s birth till now, being thirty-seven
years, he built no altar before thee, nor brought any offering to
thee, for he saw that thou didst give what he requested before
thee, and he therefore forsook thee.
54. And the Lord said to Satan, Hast thou thus considered my servant
Abraham? for there is none like him upon earth, a perfect and an
upright man before me, one that feareth God and avoideth evil; as I
live, were I to say unto him, Bring up Isaac thy son before me, he
would not withhold him from me, much more if I told him to bring up
a burnt offering before me from his flock or herds.
55. And Satan answered the Lord and said, Speak then now unto Abraham
as thou hast said, and thou wilt see whether he will not this day
transgress and cast aside thy words.

Jasher Chapter 23

1. At that time the word of the Lord came to Abraham, and he said unto
him, Abraham, and he said, Here I am.
2. And he said to him, Take now thy son, thine only son whom thou
lovest, even Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him
there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which shall be
shown to thee, for there wilt thou see a cloud and the glory of the
Lord.
3. And Abraham said within himself, How shall I separate my son Isaac
from Sarah his mother, in order to bring him up for a burnt
offering before the Lord?
4. And Abraham came into the tent, and he sat before Sarah his wife,
and he spoke these words to her,
5. My son Isaac is grown up and he has not for some time studied the
service of his God, now tomorrow I will go and bring him to Shem,
and Eber his son, and there he will learn the ways of the Lord, for
they will teach him to know the Lord as well as to know that when
he prayeth continually before the Lord, he will answer him,
therefore there he will know the way of serving the Lord his God.
6. And Sarah said, Thou hast spoken well, go my lord and do unto him
as thou hast said, but remove him not at a great distance from me,
neither let him remain there too long, for my soul is bound within
his soul.
7. And Abraham said unto Sarah, My daughter, let us pray to the Lord
our God that he may do good with us.
8. And Sarah took her son Isaac and he abode all that night with her,
and she kissed and embraced him, and gave him instructions till
morning.
9. And she said to him, O my son, how can my soul separate itself from
thee? And she still kissed him and embraced him, and she gave
Abraham instructions concerning him.
10. And Sarah said to Abraham, O my lord, I pray thee take heed of thy
son, and place thine eyes over him, for I have no other son nor
daughter but him.
11. O forsake him not. If he be hungry give him bread, and if he be
thirsty give him water to drink; do not let him go on foot, neither
let him sit in the sun.
12. Neither let him go by himself in the road, neither force him from
whatever he may desire, but do unto him as he may say to thee.
13. And Sarah wept bitterly the whole night on account of Isaac, and
she gave him instructions till morning.
14. And in the morning Sarah selected a very fine and beautiful garment
from those garments which she had in the house, that Abimelech had
given to her.
15. And she dressed Isaac her son therewith, and she put a turban upon
his head, and she enclosed a precious stone in the top of the
turban, and she gave them provision for the road, and they went
forth, and Isaac went with his father Abraham, and some of their
servants accompanied them to see them off the road.
16. And Sarah went out with them, and she accompanied them upon the
road to see them off, and they said to her, Return to the tent.
17. And when Sarah heard the words of her son Isaac she wept bitterly,
and Abraham her husband wept with her, and their son wept with them
a great weeping; also those who went with them wept greatly.
18. And Sarah caught hold of her son Isaac, and she held him in her
arms, and she embraced him and continued to weep with him, and
Sarah said, Who knoweth if after this day I shall ever see thee
again?
19. And they still wept together, Abraham, Sarah and Isaac, and all
those that accompanied them on the road wept with them, and Sarah
afterward turned away from her son, weeping bitterly, and all her
men servants and maid servants returned with her to the tent.
20. And Abraham went with Isaac his son to bring him up as an offering
before the Lord, as He had commanded him.
21. And Abraham took two of his young men with him, Ishmael the son of
Hagar and Eliezer his servant, and they went together with them,
and whilst they were walking in the road the young men spoke these
words to themselves,
22. And Ishmael said to Eliezer, Now my father Abraham is going with
Isaac to bring him up for a burnt offering to the Lord, as He
commanded him.
23. Now when he returneth he will give unto me all that he possesses,
to inherit after him, for I am his first born.
24. And Eliezer answered Ishmael and said, Surely Abraham did cast thee
away with thy mother, and swear that thou shouldst not inherit any
thing of all he possesses, and to whom will he give all that he
has, with all his treasures, but unto me his servant, who has been
faithful in his house, who has served him night and day, and has
done all that he desired me? to me will he bequeath at his death
all that he possesses.
25. And whilst Abraham was proceeding with his son Isaac along the
road, Satan came and appeared to Abraham in the figure of a very
aged man, humble and of contrite spirit, and he approached Abraham
and said to him, Art thou silly or brutish, that thou goest to do
this thing this day to thine only son?
26. For God gave thee a son in thy latter days, in thy old age, and
wilt thou go and slaughter him this day because he committed no
violence, and wilt thou cause the soul of thine only son to perish
from the earth?
27. Dost thou not know and understand that this thing cannot be from
the Lord? for the Lord cannot do unto man such evil upon earth to
say to him, Go slaughter thy child.
28. And Abraham heard this and knew that it was the word of Satan who
endeavored to draw him aside from the way of the Lord, but Abraham
would not hearken to the voice of Satan, and Abraham rebuked him so
that he went away.
29. And Satan returned and came to Isaac; and he appeared unto Isaac in
the figure of a young man comely and well favored.
30. And he approached Isaac and said unto him, Dost thou not know and
understand that thy old silly father bringeth thee to the slaughter
this day for naught?
31. Now therefore, my son, do not listen nor attend to him, for he is a
silly old man, and let not thy precious soul and beautiful figure
be lost from the earth.
32. And Isaac heard this, and said unto Abraham, Hast thou heard, my
father, that which this man has spoken? even thus has he spoken.
33. And Abraham answered his son Isaac and said to him, Take heed of
him and do not listen to his words, nor attend to him, for he is
Satan, endeavoring to draw us aside this day from the commands of
God.
34. And Abraham still rebuked Satan, and Satan went from them, and
seeing he could not prevail over them he hid himself from them, and
he went and passed before them in the road; and he transformed
himself to a large brook of water in the road, and Abraham and
Isaac and his two young men reached that place, and they saw a
brook large and powerful as the mighty waters.
35. And they entered the brook and passed through it, and the waters at
first reached their legs.
36. And they went deeper in the brook and the waters reached up to
their necks, and they were all terrified on account of the water;
and whilst they were going over the brook Abraham recognized that
place, and he knew that there was no water there before.
37. And Abraham said to his son Isaac, I know this place in which there
was no brook nor water, now therefore it is this Satan who does all
this to us, to draw us aside this day from the commands of God.
38. And Abraham rebuked him and said unto him, The Lord rebuke thee, O
Satan, begone from us for we go by the commands of God.
39. And Satan was terrified at the voice of Abraham, and he went away
from them, and the place again became dry land as it was at first.
40. And Abraham went with Isaac toward the place that God had told him.
41. And on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place
at a distance which God had told him of.
42. And a pillar of fire appeared to him that reached from the earth to
heaven, and a cloud of glory upon the mountain, and the glory of
the Lord was seen in the cloud.
43. And Abraham said to Isaac, My son, dost thou see in that mountain,
which we perceive at a distance, that which I see upon it?
44. And Isaac answered and said unto his father, I see and lo a pillar
of fire and a cloud, and the glory of the Lord is seen upon the
cloud.
45. And Abraham knew that his son Isaac was accepted before the Lord
for a burnt offering.
46. And Abraham said unto Eliezer and unto Ishmael his son, Do you also
see that which we see upon the mountain which is at a distance?
47. And they answered and said, We see nothing more than like the other
mountains of the earth. And Abraham knew that they were not
accepted before the Lord to go with them, and Abraham said to them,
Abide ye here with the ass whilst I and Isaac my son will go to
yonder mount and worship there before the Lord and then return to
you.
48. And Eliezer and Ishmael remained in that place, as Abraham had
commanded.
49. And Abraham took wood for a burnt offering and placed it upon his
son Isaac, and he took the fire and the knife, and they both went
to that place.
50. And when they were going along Isaac said to his father, Behold, I
see here the fire and wood, and where then is the lamb that is to
be the burnt offering before the Lord?
51. And Abraham answered his son Isaac, saying, The Lord has made
choice of thee my son, to be a perfect burnt offering instead of
the lamb.
52. And Isaac said unto his father, I will do all that the Lord spoke
to thee with joy and cheerfulness of heart.
53. And Abraham again said unto Isaac his son, Is there in thy heart
any thought or counsel concerning this, which is not proper? tell
me my son, I pray thee, O my son conceal it not from me.
54. And Isaac answered his father Abraham and said unto him, O my
father, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, there is nothing
in my heart to cause me to deviate either to the right or to the
left from the word that he has spoken to thee.
55. Neither limb nor muscle has moved or stirred at this, nor is there
in my heart any thought or evil counsel concerning this.
56. But I am of joyful and cheerful heart in this matter, and I say,
Blessed is the Lord who has this day chosen me to be a burnt
offering before Him.
57. And Abraham greatly rejoiced at the words of Isaac, and they went
on and came together to that place that the Lord had spoken of.
58. And Abraham approached to build the altar in that place, and
Abraham was weeping, and Isaac took stones and mortar until they
had finished building the altar.
59. And Abraham took the wood and placed it in order upon the altar
which he had built.
60. And he took his son Isaac and bound him in order to place him upon
the wood which was upon the altar, to slay him for a burnt offering
before the Lord.
61. And Isaac said to his father, Bind me securely and then place me
upon the altar lest I should turn and move, and break loose from
the force of the knife upon my flesh and thereof profane the burnt
offering; and Abraham did so.
62. And Isaac still said to his father, O my father, when thou shalt
have slain me and burnt me for an offering, take with thee that
which shall remain of my ashes to bring to Sarah my mother, and say
to her, This is the sweet smelling savor of Isaac; but do not tell
her this if she should sit near a well or upon any high place, lest
she should cast her soul after me and die.
63. And Abraham heard the words of Isaac, and he lifted up his voice
and wept when Isaac spake these words; and Abraham’s tears gushed
down upon Isaac his son, and Isaac wept bitterly, and he said to
his father, Hasten thou, O my father, and do with me the will of
the Lord our God as He has commanded thee.
64. And the hearts of Abraham and Isaac rejoiced at this thing which
the Lord had commanded them; but the eye wept bitterly whilst the
heart rejoiced.
65. And Abraham bound his son Isaac, and placed him on the altar upon
the wood, and Isaac stretched forth his neck upon the altar before
his father, and Abraham stretched forth his hand to take the knife
to slay his son as a burnt offering before the Lord.
66. At that time the angels of mercy came before the Lord and spake to
him concerning Isaac, saying,
67. Lord, thou art a merciful and compassionate King over all that thou
hast created in heaven and in earth, and thou supportest them all;
give therefore ransom and redemption instead of thy servant Isaac,
and pity and have compassion upon Abraham and Isaac his son, who
are this day performing thy commands.
68. Hast thou seen, O Lord, how Isaac the son of Abraham thy servant is
bound down to the slaughter like an animal? now therefore let thy
pity be roused for them, O Lord.
69. At that time the Lord appeared unto Abraham, and called to him,
from heaven, and said unto him, Lay not thine hand upon the lad,
neither do thou any thing unto him, for now I know that thou
fearest God in performing this act, and in not withholding thy son,
thine only son, from me.
70. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, a ram was
caught in a thicket by his horns; that was the ram which the Lord
God had created in the earth in the day that he made earth and
heaven.
71. For the Lord had prepared this ram from that day, to be a burnt
offering instead of Isaac.
72. And this ram was advancing to Abraham when Satan caught hold of him
and entangled his horns in the thicket, that he might not advance
to Abraham, in order that Abraham might slay his son.
73. And Abraham, seeing the ram advancing to him and Satan withholding
him, fetched him and brought him before the altar, and he loosened
his son Isaac from his binding, and he put the ram in his stead,
and Abraham killed the ram upon the altar, and brought it up as an
offering in the place of his son Isaac.
74. And Abraham sprinkled some of the blood of the ram upon the altar,
and he exclaimed and said, This is in the place of my son, and may
this be considered this day as the blood of my son before the Lord.
75. And all that Abraham did on this occasion by the altar, he would
exclaim and say, This is in the room of my son, and may it this day
be considered before the Lord in the place of my son; and Abraham
finished the whole of the service by the altar, and the service was
accepted before the Lord, and was accounted as if it had been
Isaac; and the Lord blessed Abraham and his seed on that day.
76. And Satan went to Sarah, and he appeared to her in the figure of an
old man very humble and meek, and Abraham was yet engaged in the
burnt offering before the Lord.
77. And he said unto her, Dost thou not know all the work that Abraham
has made with thine only son this day? for he took Isaac and built
an altar, and killed him, and brought him up as a sacrifice upon
the altar, and Isaac cried and wept before his father, but he
looked not at him, neither did he have compassion over him.
78. And Satan repeated these words, and he went away from her, and
Sarah heard all the words of Satan, and she imagined him to be an
old man from amongst the sons of men who had been with her son, and
had come and told her these things.
79. And Sarah lifted up her voice and wept and cried out bitterly on
account of her son; and she threw herself upon the ground and she
cast dust upon her head, and she said, O my son, Isaac my son, O
that I had this day died instead of thee. And she continued to weep
and said, It grieves me for thee, O my son, my son Isaac, O that I
had died this day in thy stead.
80. And she still continued to weep, and said, It grieves me for thee
after that I have reared thee and have brought thee up; now my joy
is turned into mourning over thee, I that had a longing for thee,
and cried and prayed to God till I bare thee at ninety years old;
and now hast thou served this day for the knife and the fire, to be
made an offering.
81. But I console myself with thee, my son, in its being the word of
the Lord, for thou didst perform the command of thy God; for who
can transgress the word of our God, in whose hands is the soul of
every living creature?
82. Thou art just, O Lord our God, for all thy works are good and
righteous; for I also am rejoiced with thy word which thou didst
command, and whilst mine eye weepeth bitterly my heart rejoiceth.
83. And Sarah laid her head upon the bosom of one of her handmaids, and
she became as still as a stone.
84. She afterward rose up and went about making inquiries till she came
to Hebron, and she inquired of all those whom she met walking in
the road, and no one could tell her what had happened to her son.
85. And she came with her maid servants and men servants to
Kireath-arba, which is Hebron, and she asked concerning her Son,
and she remained there while she sent some of her servants to seek
where Abraham had gone with Isaac; they went to seek him in the
house of Shem and Eber, and they could not find him, and they
sought throughout the land and he was not there.
86. And behold, Satan came to Sarah in the shape of an old man, and he
came and stood before her, and he said unto her, I spoke falsely
unto thee, for Abraham did not kill his son and he is not dead; and
when she heard the word her joy was so exceedingly violent on
account of her son, that her soul went out through joy; she died
and was gathered to her people.
87. And when Abraham had finished his service he returned with his son
Isaac to his young men, and they rose up and went together to
Beersheba, and they came home.
88. And Abraham sought for Sarah, and could not find her, and he made
inquiries concerning her, and they said unto him, She went as far
as Hebron to seek you both where you had gone, for thus was she
informed.
89. And Abraham and Isaac went to her to Hebron, and when they found
that she was dead they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly
over her; and Isaac fell upon his mother’s face and wept over her,
and he said, O my mother, my mother, how hast thou left me, and
where hast thou gone? O how, how hast thou left me!
90. And Abraham and Isaac wept greatly and all their servants wept with
them on account of Sarah, and they mourned over her a great and
heavy mourning.

Jasher Chapter 24

1. And the life of Sarah was one hundred and twenty-seven years, and
Sarah died; and Abraham rose up from before his dead to seek a
burial place to bury his wife Sarah; and he went and spoke to the
children of Heth, the inhabitants of the land, saying,
2. I am a stranger and a sojourner with you in your land; give me a
possession of a burial place in your land, that I may bury my dead
from before me.
3. And the children of Heth said unto Abraham, behold the land is
before thee, in the choice of our sepulchers bury thy dead, for no
man shall withhold thee from burying thy dead.
4. And Abraham said unto them, If you are agreeable to this go and
entreat for me to Ephron, the son of Zochar, requesting that he may
give me the cave of Machpelah, which is in the end of his field,
and I will purchase it of him for whatever he desire for it.
5. And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth, and they went and
called for him, and he came before Abraham, and Ephron said unto
Abraham, Behold all thou requirest thy servant will do; and Abraham
said, No, but I will buy the cave and the field which thou hast for
value, In order that it may be for a possession of a burial place
for ever.
6. And Ephron answered and said, Behold the field and the cave are
before thee, give whatever thou desirest; and Abraham said, Only at
full value will I buy it from thy hand, and from the hands of those
that go in at the gate of thy city, and from the hand of thy seed
for ever.
7. And Ephron and all his brethren heard this, and Abraham weighed to
Ephron four hundred shekels of silver in the hands of Ephron and in
the hands of all his brethren; and Abraham wrote this transaction,
and he wrote it and testified it with four witnesses.
8. And these are the names of the witnesses, Amigal son of Abishna the
Hittite, Adichorom son of Ashunach the Hivite, Abdon son of Achiram
the Gomerite, Bakdil the son of Abudish the Zidonite.
9. And Abraham took the book of the purchase, and placed it in his
treasures, and these are the words that Abraham wrote in the book,
namely:
10. That the cave and the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite,
and from his seed, and from those that go out of his city, and from
their seed for ever, are to be a purchase to Abraham and to his
seed and to those that go forth from his loins, for a possession of
a burial place for ever; and he put a signet to it and testified it
with witnesses.
11. And the field and the cave that was in it and all that place were
made sure unto Abraham and unto his seed after him, from the
children of Heth; behold it is before Mamre in Hebron, which is in
the land of Canaan.
12. And after this Abraham buried his wife Sarah there, and that place
and all its boundary became to Abraham and unto his seed for a
possession of a burial place.
13. And Abraham buried Sarah with pomp as observed at the interment of
kings, and she was buried in very fine and beautiful garments.
14. And at her bier was Shem, his sons Eber and Abimelech, together
with Anar, Ashcol and Mamre, and all the grandees of the land
followed her bier.
15. And the days of Sarah were one hundred and twenty-seven years and
she died, and Abraham made a great and heavy mourning, and he
performed the rites of mourning for seven days.
16. And all the inhabitants of the land comforted Abraham and Isaac his
son on account of Sarah.
17. And when the days of their mourning passed by Abraham sent away his
son Isaac, and he went to the house of Shem and Eber, to learn the
ways of the Lord and his instructions, and Abraham remained there
three years.
18. At that time Abraham rose up with all his servants, and they went
and returned homeward to Beersheba, and Abraham and all his
servants remained in Beersheba.
19. And at the revolution of the year Abimelech king of the Philistines
died in that year; he was one hundred and ninety-three years old at
his death; and Abraham went with his people to the land of the
Philistines, and they comforted the whole household and all his
servants, and he then turned and went home.
20. And it was after the death of Abimelech that the people of Gerar
took Benmalich his son, and he was only twelve years old, and they
made him lying in the place of his father.
21. And they called his name Abimelech after the name of his father,
for thus was it their custom to do in Gerar, and Abimelech reigned
instead of Abimelech his father, and he sat upon his throne.
22. And Lot the son of Haran also died in those days, in the
thirty-ninth year of the life of Isaac, and all the days that Lot
lived were one hundred and forty years and he died.
23. And these are the children of Lot, that were born to him by his
daughters, the name of the first born was Moab, and the name of the
second was Benami.
24. And the two sons of Lot went and took themselves wives from the
land of Canaan, and they bare children to them, and the children of
Moab were Ed, Mayon, Tarsus, and Kanvil, four sons, these are
fathers to the children of Moab unto this day.
25. And all the families of the children of Lot went to dwell wherever
they should light upon, for they were fruitful and increased
abundantly.
26. And they went and built themselves cities in the land where they
dwelt, and they called the names of the cities which they built
after their own names.
27. And Nahor the son of Terah, brother to Abraham, died in those days
in the fortieth year of the life of Isaac, and all the days of
Nahor were one hundred and seventy-two years and he died and was
buried in Haran.
28. And when Abraham heard that his brother was dead he grieved sadly,
and he mourned over his brother many days.
29. And Abraham called for Eliezer his head servant, to give him orders
concerning his house, and he came and stood before him.
30. And Abraham said to him, Behold I am old, I do not know the day of
my death; for I am advanced in days; now therefore rise up, go
forth and do not take a wife for my son from this place and from
this land, from the daughters of the Canaanites amongst whom we
dwell.
31. But go to my land and to my birthplace, and take from thence a wife
for my son, and the Lord God of Heaven and earth who took me from
my father’s house and brought me to this place, and said unto me,
To thy seed will I give this land for an inheritance for ever, he
will send his angel before thee and prosper thy way, that thou
mayest obtain a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s
house.
32. And the servant answered his master Abraham and said, Behold I go
to thy birthplace and to thy father’s house, and take a wife for
thy son from there; but if the woman be not willing to follow me to
this land, shall I take thy son back to the land of thy birthplace?
33. And Abraham said unto him, Take heed that thou bring not my son
hither again, for the Lord before whom I have walked he will send
his angel before thee and prosper thy way.
34. And Eliezer did as Abraham ordered him, and Eliezer swore unto
Abraham his master upon this matter; and Eliezer rose up and took
ten camels of the camels of his master, and ten men from his
master’s servants with him, and they rose up and went to Haran, the
city of Abraham and Nahor, in order to fetch a wife for Isaac the
son of Abraham; and whilst they were gone Abraham sent to the house
of Shem and Eber, and they brought from thence his son Isaac.
35. And Isaac came home to his father’s house to Beersheba, whilst
Eliezer and his men came to Haran; and they stopped in the city by
the watering place, and he made his camels to kneel down by the
water and they remained there.
36. And Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, prayed and said, O God of Abraham
my master; send me I pray thee good speed this day and show
kindness unto my master, that thou shalt appoint this day a wife
for my master’s son from his family.
37. And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Eliezer, for the sake of his
servant Abraham, and he happened to meet with the daughter of
Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, brother to Abraham,
and Eliezer came to her house.
38. And Eliezer related to them all his concerns, and that he was
Abraham’s servant, and they greatly rejoiced at him.
39. And they all blessed the Lord who brought this thing about, and
they gave him Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, for a wife for
Isaac.
40. And the young woman was of very comely appearance, she was a
virgin, and Rebecca was ten years old in those days.
41. And Bethuel and Laban and his children made a feast on that night,
and Eliezer and his men came and ate and drank and rejoiced there
on that night.
42. And Eliezer rose up in the morning, he and the men that were with
him, and he called to the whole household of Bethuel, saying, Send
me away that I may go to my master; and they rose up and sent away
Rebecca and her nurse Deborah, the daughter of Uz, and they gave
her silver and gold, men servants and maid servants, and they
blessed her.
43. And they sent Eliezer away with his men; and the servants took
Rebecca, and he went and returned to his master to the land of
Canaan.
44. And Isaac took Rebecca and she became his wife, and he brought her
into the tent.
45. And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebecca, the daughter of
his uncle Bethuel, for a wife.

Jasher Chapter 25

1. And it was at that time that Abraham again took a wife in his old
age, and her name was Keturah, from the land of Canaan.
2. And she bare unto him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and
Shuach, being six sons. And the children of Zimran were Abihen,
Molich and Narim.
3. And the sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan, and the sons of Medan
were Amida, Joab, Gochi, Elisha and Nothach; and the sons of Midian
were Ephah, Epher, Chanoch, Abida and Eldaah.
4. And the sons of Ishbak were Makiro, Beyodua and Tator.
5. And the sons of Shuach were Bildad, Mamdad, Munan and Meban; all
these are the families of the children of Keturah the Canaanitish
woman which she bare unto Abraham the Hebrew.
6. And Abraham sent all these away, and he gave them gifts, and they
went away from his son Isaac to dwell wherever they should find a
place.
7. And all these went to the mountain at the east, and they built
themselves six cities in which they dwelt unto this day.
8. But the children of Sheba and Dedan, children of Jokshan, with
their children, did not dwell with their brethren in their cities,
and they journeyed and encamped in the countries and wildernesses
unto this day.
9. And the children of Midian, son of Abraham, went to the east of the
land of Cush, and they there found a large valley in the eastern
country, and they remained there and built a city, and they dwelt
therein, that is the land of Midian unto this day.
10. And Midian dwelt in the city which he built, he and his five sons
and all belonging to him.
11. And these are the names of the sons of Midian according to their
names in their cities, Ephah, Epher, Chanoch, Abida and Eldaah.
12. And the sons of Ephah were Methach, Meshar, Avi and Tzanua, and the
sons of Epher were Ephron, Zur, Alirun and Medin, and the sons of
Chanoch were Reuel, Rekem, Azi, Alyoshub and Alad.
13. And the sons of Abida were Chur, Melud, Kerury, Molchi; and the
sons of Eldaah were Miker, and Reba, and Malchiyah and Gabol; these
are the names of the Midianites according to their families; and
afterward the families of Midian spread throughout the land of
Midian.
14. And these are the generations of Ishmael the son Abraham, whom
Hagar, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham.
15. And Ishmael took a wife from the land of Egypt, and her name was
Ribah, the same is Meribah.
16. And Ribah bare unto Ishmael Nebayoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam and
their sister Bosmath.
17. And Ishmael cast away his wife Ribah, and she went from him and
returned to Egypt to the house of her father, and she dwelt there,
for she had been very bad in the sight of Ishmael, and in the sight
of his father Abraham.
18. And Ishmael afterward took a wife from the land of Canaan, and her
name was Malchuth, and she bare unto him Nishma, Dumah, Masa,
Chadad, Tema, Yetur, Naphish and Kedma.
19. These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, being
twelve princes according to their nations; and the families of
Ishmael afterward spread forth, and Ishmael took his children and
all the property that he had gained, together with the souls of his
household and all belonging to him, and they went to dwell where
they should find a place.
20. And they went and dwelt near the wilderness of Paran, and their
dwelling was from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt as thou
comest toward Assyria.
21. And Ishmael and his sons dwelt in the land, and they had children
born to them, and they were fruitful and increased abundantly.
22. And these are the names of the sons of Nebayoth the first born of
Ishmael; Mend, Send, Mayon; and the sons of Kedar were Alyon,
Kezem, Chamad and Eli.
23. And the sons of Adbeel were Chamad and Jabin; and the sons of
Mibsam were Obadiah, Ebedmelech and Yeush; these are the families
of the children of Ribah the wife of Ishmael.
24. And the sons of Mishma the son of Ishmael were Shamua, Zecaryon and
Obed; and the sons of Dumah were Kezed, Eli, Machmad and Amed.
25. And the sons of Masa were Melon, Mula and Ebidadon; and the sons of
Chadad were Azur, Minzar and Ebedmelech; and the sons of Tema were
Seir, Sadon and Yakol.
26. And the sons of Yetur were Merith, Yaish, Alyo, and Pachoth; and
the sons of Naphish were Ebed-Tamed, Abiyasaph and Mir; and the
sons of Kedma were Calip, Tachti, and Omir; these were the children
of Malchuth the wife of Ishmael according to their families.
27. All these are the families of Ishmael according to their
generations, and they dwelt in those lands wherein they had built
themselves cities unto this day.
28. And Rebecca the daughter of Bethuel, the wife of Abraham’s son
Isaac, was barren in those days, she had no offspring; and Isaac
dwelt with his father in the land of Canaan; and the Lord was with
Isaac; and Arpachshad the son of Shem the son of Noah died in those
days, in the forty-eighth year of the life of Isaac, and all the
days that Arpachshad lived were four hundred and thirty-eight
years, and he died.

Jasher Chapter 26

1. And in the fifty-ninth year of the life of Isaac the son of
Abraham, Rebecca his wife was still barren in those days.
2. And Rebecca said unto Isaac, Truly I have heard, my lord, that thy
mother Sarah was barren in her days until my Lord Abraham, thy
father, prayed for her and she conceived by him.
3. Now therefore stand up, pray thou also to God and he will hear thy
prayer and remember us through his mercies.
4. And Isaac answered his wife Rebecca, saying, Abraham has already
prayed for me to God to multiply his seed, now therefore this
barrenness must proceed to us from thee.
5. And Rebecca said unto him, But arise now thou also and pray, that
the Lord may hear thy prayer and grant me children, and Isaac
hearkened to the words of his wife, and Isaac and his wife rose up
and went to the land of Moriah to pray there and to seek the Lord,
and when they had reached that place Isaac stood up and prayed to
the Lord on account of his wife because she was barren.
6. And Isaac said, O Lord God of heaven and earth, whose goodness and
mercies fill the earth, thou who didst take my father from his
father’s house and from his birthplace, and didst bring him unto
this land, and didst say unto him, To thy seed will I give the
land, and thou didst promise him and didst declare unto him, I will
multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the
sea, now may thy words be verified which thou didst speak unto my
father.
7. For thou art the Lord our God, our eyes are toward thee to give us
seed of men, as thou didst promise us, for thou art the Lord our
God and our eyes are directed toward thee only.
8. And the Lord heard the prayer of Isaac the son of Abraham, and the
Lord was entreated of him and Rebecca his wife conceived.
9. And in about seven months after the children struggled together
within her, and it pained her greatly that she was wearied on
account of them, and she said to all the women who were then in the
land, Did such a thing happen to you as it has to me? and they said
unto her, No.
10. And she said unto them, Why am I alone in this amongst all the
women that were upon earth? and she went to the land of Moriah to
seek the Lord on account of this; and she went to Shem and Eber his
son to make inquiries of them in this matter, and that they should
seek the Lord in this thing respecting her.
11. And she also asked Abraham to seek and inquire of the Lord about
all that had befallen her.
12. And they all inquired of the Lord concerning this matter, and they
brought her word from the Lord and told her, Two children are in
thy womb, and two nations shall rise from them; and one nation
shall be stronger than the other, and the greater shall serve the
younger.
13. And when her days to be delivered were completed, she knelt down,
and behold there were twins in her womb, as the Lord had spoken to
her.
14. And the first came out red all over like a hairy garment, and all
the people of the land called his name Esau, saying, That this one
was made complete from the womb.
15. And after that came his brother, and his hand took hold of Esau’s
heel, therefore they called his name Jacob.
16. And Isaac, the son of Abraham, was sixty years old when he begat
them.
17. And the boys grew up to their fifteenth year, and they came amongst
the society of men. Esau was a designing and deceitful man, and an
expert hunter in the field, and Jacob was a man perfect and wise,
dwelling in tents, feeding flocks and learning the instructions of
the Lord and the commands of his father and mother.
18. And Isaac and the children of his household dwelt with his father
Abraham in the land of Canaan, as God had commanded them.
19. And Ishmael the son of Abraham went with his children and all
belonging to them, and they returned there to the land of Havilah,
and they dwelt there.
20. And all the children of Abraham’s concubines went to dwell in the
land of the east, for Abraham had sent them away from his son, and
had given them presents, and they went away.
21. And Abraham gave all that he had to his son Isaac, and he also gave
him all his treasures.
22. And he commanded him saying, Dost thou not know and understand the
Lord is God in heaven and in earth, and there is no other beside
him?
23. And it was he who took me from my father’s house, and from my birth
place, and gave me all the delights upon earth; who delivered me
from the counsel of the wicked, for in him did I trust.
24. And he brought me to this place, and he delivered me from Ur
Casdim; and he said unto me, To thy seed will I give all these
lands, and they shall inherit them when they keep my commandments,
my statutes and my judgments that I have commanded thee, and which
I shall command them.
25. Now therefore my son, hearken to my voice, and keep the
commandments of the Lord thy God, which I commanded thee, do not
turn from the right way either to the right or to the left, in
order that it may be well with thee and thy children after thee
forever.
26. And remember the wonderful works of the Lord, and his kindness that
he has shown toward us, in having delivered us from the hands of
our enemies, and the Lord our God caused them to fall into our
hands; and now therefore keep all that I have commanded thee, and
turn not away from the commandments of thy God, and serve none
beside him, in order that it may be well with thee and thy seed
after thee.
27. And teach thou thy children and thy seed the instructions of the
Lord and his commandments, and teach them the upright way in which
they should go, in order that it may be well with them forever.
28. And Isaac answered his father and said unto him, That which my Lord
has commanded that will I do, and I will not depart from the
commands of the Lord my God, I will keep all that he commanded me;
and Abraham blessed his son Isaac, and also his children; and
Abraham taught Jacob the instruction of the Lord and his ways.
29. And it was at that time that Abraham died, in the fifteenth year of
the life of Jacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac, and all the days of
Abraham were one hundred and seventy-five years, and he died and
was gathered to his people in good old age, old and satisfied with
days, and Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him.
30. And when the inhabitants of Canaan heard that Abraham was dead,
they all came with their kings and princes and all their men to
bury Abraham.
31. And all the inhabitants of the land of Haran, and all the families
of the house of Abraham, and all the princes and grandees, and the
sons of Abraham by the concubines, all came when they heard of
Abraham’s death, and they requited Abraham’s kindness, and
comforted Isaac his son, and they buried Abraham in the cave which
he bought from Ephron the Hittite and his children, for the
possession of a burial place.
32. And all the inhabitants of Canaan, and all those who had known
Abraham, wept for Abraham a whole year, and men and women mourned
over him.
33. And all the little children, and all the inhabitants of the land
wept on account of Abraham, for Abraham had been good to them all,
and because he had been upright with God and men.
34. And there arose not a man who feared God like unto Abraham, for he
had feared his God from his youth, and had served the Lord, and had
gone in all his ways during his life, from his childhood to the day
of his death.
35. And the Lord was with him and delivered him from the counsel of
Nimrod and his people, and when he made war with the four kings of
Elam he conquered them.
36. And he brought all the children of the earth to the service of God,
and he taught them the ways of the Lord, and caused them to know
the Lord.
37. And he formed a grove and he planted a vineyard therein, and he had
always prepared in his tent meat and drink to those that passed
through the land, that they might satisfy themselves in his house.
38. And the Lord God delivered the whole earth on account of Abraham.
39. And it was after the death of Abraham that God blessed his son
Isaac and his children, and the Lord was with Isaac as he had been
with his father Abraham, for Isaac kept all the commandments of the
Lord as Abraham his father had commanded him; he did not turn to
the right or to the left from the right path which his father had
commanded him.

Jasher Chapter 27

1. And Esau at that time, after the death of Abraham, frequently went
in the field to hunt.
2. And Nimrod king of Babel, the same was Amraphel, also frequently
went with his mighty men to hunt in the field, and to walk about
with his men in the cool of the day.
3. And Nimrod was observing Esau all the days, for a jealousy was
formed in the heart of Nimrod against Esau all the days.
4. And on a certain day Esau went in the field to hunt, and he found
Nimrod walking in the wilderness with his two men.
5. And all his mighty men and his people were with him in the
wilderness, but they removed at a distance from him, and they went
from him in different directions to hunt, and Esau concealed
himself for Nimrod, and he lurked for him in the wilderness.
6. And Nimrod and his men that were with him did not know him, and
Nimrod and his men frequently walked about in the field at the cool
of the day, and to know where his men were hunting in the field.
7. And Nimrod and two of his men that were with him came to the place
where they were, when Esau started suddenly from his lurking place,
and drew his sword, and hastened and ran to Nimrod and cut off his
head.
8. And Esau fought a desperate fight with the two men that were with
Nimrod, and when they called out to him, Esau turned to them and
smote them to death with his sword.
9. And all the mighty men of Nimrod, who had left him to go to the
wilderness, heard the cry at a distance, and they knew the voices
of those two men, and they ran to know the cause of it, when they
found their king and the two men that were with him lying dead in
the wilderness.
10. And when Esau saw the mighty men of Nimrod coming at a distance, he
fled, and thereby escaped; and Esau took the valuable garments of
Nimrod, which Nimrod’s father had bequeathed to Nimrod, and with
which Nimrod prevailed over the whole land, and he ran and
concealed them in his house.
11. And Esau took those garments and ran into the city on account of
Nimrod’s men, and he came unto his father’s house wearied and
exhausted from fight, and he was ready to die through grief when he
approached his brother Jacob and sat before him.
12. And he said unto his brother Jacob, Behold I shall die this day,
and wherefore then do I want the birthright? And Jacob acted wisely
with Esau in this matter, and Esau sold his birthright to Jacob,
for it was so brought about by the Lord.
13. And Esau’s portion in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which
Abraham had bought from the children of Heth for the possession of
a burial ground, Esau also sold to Jacob, and Jacob bought all this
from his brother Esau for value given.
14. And Jacob wrote the whole of this in a book, and he testified the
same with witnesses, and he sealed it, and the book remained in the
hands of Jacob.
15. And when Nimrod the son of Cush died, his men lifted him up and
brought him in consternation, and buried him in his city, and all
the days that Nimrod lived were two hundred and fifteen years and
he died.
16. And the days that Nimrod reigned upon the people of the land were
one hundred and eighty-five years; and Nimrod died by the sword of
Esau in shame and contempt, and the seed of Abraham caused his
death as he had seen in his dream.
17. And at the death of Nimrod his kingdom became divided into many
divisions, and all those parts that Nimrod reigned over were
restored to the respective kings of the land, who recovered them
after the death of Nimrod, and all the people of the house of
Nimrod were for a long time enslaved to all the other kings of the
land.

Jasher Chapter 28

1. And in those days, after the death of Abraham, in that year the
Lord brought a heavy famine in the land, and whilst the famine was
raging in the land of Canaan, Isaac rose up to go down to Egypt on
account of the famine, as his father Abraham had done.
2. And the Lord appeared that night to Isaac and he said to him, Do
not go down to Egypt but rise and go to Gerar, to Abimelech king of
the Philistines, and remain there till the famine shall cease.
3. And Isaac rose up and went to Gerar, as the Lord commanded him, and
he remained there a full year.
4. And when Isaac came to Gerar, the people of the land saw that
Rebecca his wife was of a beautiful appearance, and the people of
Gerar asked Isaac concerning his wife, and he said, She is my
sister, for he was afraid to say she was his wife lest the people
of the land should slay him on account of her.
5. And the princes of Abimelech went and praised the woman to the
king, but he answered them not, neither did he attend to their
words.
6. But he heard them say that Isaac declared her to be his sister, so
the king reserved this within himself.
7. And when Isaac had remained three months in the land, Abimelech
looked out at the window, and he saw, and behold Isaac was sporting
with Rebecca his wife, for Isaac dwelt in the outer house belonging
to the king, so that the house of Isaac was opposite the house of
the king.
8. And the king said unto Isaac, What is this thou hast done to us in
saying of thy wife, She is my sister? how easily might one of the
great men of the people have lain with her, and thou wouldst then
have brought guilt upon us.
9. And Isaac said unto Abimelech, Because I was afraid lest I die on
account of my wife, therefore I said, She is my sister.
10. At that time Abimelech gave orders to all his princes and great
men, and they took Isaac and Rebecca his wife and brought them
before the king.
11. And the king commanded that they should dress them in princely
garments, and make them ride through the streets of the city, and
proclaim before them throughout the land, saying, This is the man
and this is his wife; whoever toucheth this man or his wife shall
surely die. And Isaac returned with his wife to the king’s house,
and the Lord was with Isaac and he continued to wax great and
lacked nothing.
12. And the Lord caused Isaac to find favor in the sight of Abimelech,
and in the sight of all his subjects, and Abimelech acted well with
Isaac, for Abimelech remembered the oath and the covenant that
existed between his father and Abraham.
13. And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Behold the whole earth is before
thee; dwell wherever it may seem good in thy sight until thou shalt
return to thy land; and Abimelech gave Isaac fields and vineyards
and the best part of the land of Gerar, to sow and reap and eat the
fruits of the ground until the days of the famine should have
passed by.
14. And Isaac sowed in that land, and received a hundred-fold in the
same year, and the Lord blessed him.
15. And the man waxed great, and he had possession of flocks and
possession of herds and great store of servants.
16. And when the days of the famine had passed away the Lord appeared
to Isaac and said unto him, Rise up, go forth from this place and
return to thy land, to the land of Canaan; and Isaac rose up and
returned to Hebron which is in the land of Canaan, he and all
belonging to him as the Lord commanded him.
17. And after this Shelach the son at Arpachshad died in that year,
which is the eighteenth year of the lives of Jacob and Esau; and
all the days that Shelach lived were four hundred and thirty-three
years and he died.
18. At that time Isaac sent his younger son Jacob to the house of Shem
and Eber, and he learned the instructions of the Lord, and Jacob
remained in the house of Shem and Eber for thirty-two years, and
Esau his brother did not go, for he was not willing to go, and he
remained in his father’s house in the land of Canaan.
19. And Esau was continually hunting in the fields to bring home what
he could get, so did Esau all the days.
20. And Esau was a designing and deceitful man, one who hunted after
the hearts of men and inveigled them, and Esau was a valiant man in
the field, and in the course of time went as usual to hunt; and he
came as far as the field of Seir, the same is Edom.
21. And he remained in the land of Seir hunting in the field a year and
four months.
22. And Esau there saw in the land of Seir the daughter of a man of
Canaan, and her name was Jehudith, the daughter of Beeri, son of
Epher, from the families of Heth the son of Canaan.
23. And Esau took her for a wife, and he came unto her; forty years old
was Esau when he took her, and he brought her to Hebron, the land
of his father’s dwelling place, and he dwelt there.
24. And it came to pass in those days, in the hundred and tenth year of
the life of Isaac, that is in the fiftieth year of the life of
Jacob, in that year died Shem the son of Noah; Shem was six hundred
years old at his death.
25. And when Shem died Jacob returned to his father to Hebron which is
in the land of Canaan.
26. And in the fifty-sixth year of the life of Jacob, people came from
Haran, and Rebecca was told concerning her brother Laban the son of
Bethuel.
27. For the wife of Laban was barren in those days, and bare no
children, and also all his handmaids bare none to him.
28. And the Lord afterward remembered Adinah the wife of Laban, and she
conceived and bare twin daughters, and Laban called the names of
his daughters, the name of the elder Leah, and the name of the
younger Rachel.
29. And those people came and told these things to Rebecca, and Rebecca
rejoiced greatly that the Lord had visited her brother and that he
had got children.

Jasher Chapter 29

1. And Isaac the son of Abraham became old and advanced in days, and
his eyes became heavy through age; they were dim and could not see.
2. At that time Isaac called unto Esau his son, saying, Get I pray
thee thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, rise up and go forth into
the field and get me some venison, and make me savory meat and
bring it to me, that I may eat in order that I may bless thee
before my death, as I have now become old and gray-headed.
3. And Esau did so; and he took his weapon and went forth into the
field to hunt for venison, as usual, to bring to his father as he
had ordered him, so that he might bless him.
4. And Rebecca heard all the words that Isaac had spoken unto Esau,
and she hastened and called her son Jacob, saying, Thus did thy
father speak unto thy brother Esau, and thus did I hear, now
therefore hasten thou and make that which I shall tell thee.
5. Rise up and go, I pray thee, to the flock and fetch me two fine
kids of the goats, and I will get the savory meat for thy father,
and thou shalt bring the savory meat that he may eat before thy
brother shall have come from the chase, in order that thy father
may bless thee.
6. And Jacob hastened and did as his mother had commanded him, and he
made the savory meat and brought it before his father before Esau
had come from his chase.
7. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Who art thou, my son? And he said, I am
thy first born Esau, I have done as thou didst order me, now
therefore rise up I pray thee, and eat of my hunt, in order that
thy soul may bless me as thou didst speak unto me.
8. And Isaac rose up and he ate and he drank, and his heart was
comforted, and he blessed Jacob and Jacob went away from his
father; and as soon as Isaac had blessed Jacob and he had gone away
from him, behold Esau came from his hunt from the field, and he
also made savory meat and brought it to his father to eat thereof
and to bless him.
9. And Isaac said unto Esau, And who was he that has taken venison and
brought it me before thou camest and whom I did bless? And Esau
knew that his brother Jacob had done this, and the anger of Esau
was kindled against his brother Jacob that he had acted thus toward
him.
10. And Esau said, Is he not rightly called Jacob? for he has
supplanted me twice, he took away my birthright and now he has
taken away my blessing; and Esau wept greatly; and when Isaac heard
the voice of his son Esau weeping, Isaac said unto Esau, What can I
do, my son, thy brother came with subtlety and took away thy
blessing; and Esau hated his brother Jacob on account of the
blessing that his father had given him, and his anger was greatly
roused against him.
11. And Jacob was very much afraid of his brother Esau, and he rose up
and fled to the house of Eber the son of Shem, and he concealed
himself there on account of his brother, and Jacob was sixty-three
years old when he went forth from the land of Canaan from Hebron,
and Jacob was concealed in Eber’s house fourteen years on account
of his brother Esau, and he there continued to learn the ways of
the Lord and his commandments.
12. And when Esau saw that Jacob had fled and escaped from him, and
that Jacob had cunningly obtained the blessing, then Esau grieved
exceedingly, and he was also vexed at his father and mother; and he
also rose up and took his wife and went away from his father and
mother to the land of Seir, and he dwelt there; and Esau saw there
a woman from amongst the daughters of Heth whose name was Bosmath,
the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and he took her for a wife in
addition to his first wife, and Esau called her name Adah, saying
the blessing had in that time passed from him.
13. And Esau dwelt in the land of Seir six months without seeing his
father and mother, and afterward Esau took his wives and rose up
and returned to the land of Canaan, and Esau placed his two wives
in his father’s house in Hebron.
14. And the wives of Esau vexed and provoked Isaac and Rebecca with
their works, for they walked not in the ways of the Lord, but
served their father’s gods of wood and stone as their father had
taught them, and they were more wicked than their father.
15. And they went according to the evil desires of their hearts, and
they sacrificed and burnt incense to the Baalim, and Isaac and
Rebecca became weary of them.
16. And Rebecca said, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of
Heth; if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these
which are of the daughters of the land, what good then is life unto
me?
17. And in those days Adah the wife of Esau conceived and bare him a
son, and Esau called the name of the son that was born unto him
Eliphaz, and Esau was sixty-five years old when she bare him.
18. And Ishmael the son of Abraham died in those days, in the
sixty-forth year of the life of Jacob, and all the days that
Ishmael lived were one hundred and thirty-seven years and he died.
19. And when Isaac heard that Ishmael was dead he mourned for him, and
Isaac lamented over him many days.
20. And at the end of fourteen years of Jacob’s residing in the house
of Eber, Jacob desired to see his father and mother, and Jacob came
to the house of his father and mother to Hebron, and Esau had in
those days forgotten what Jacob had done to him in having taken the
blessing from him in those days.
21. And when Esau saw Jacob coming to his father and mother he
remembered what Jacob had done to him, and he was greatly incensed
against him and he sought to slay him.
22. And Isaac the son of Abraham was old and advanced in days, and Esau
said, Now my father’s time is drawing nigh that he must die, and
when he shall die I will slay my brother Jacob.
23. And this was told to Rebecca, and she hastened and sent and called
for Jacob her son, and she said unto him, Arise, go and flee to
Haran to my brother Laban, and remain there for some time, until
thy brother’s anger be turned from thee and then shalt thou come
back.
24. And Isaac called unto Jacob and said unto him, Take not a wife from
the daughters of Canaan, for thus did our father Abraham command us
according to the word of the Lord which he had commanded him,
saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; if thy children keep
my covenant that I have made with thee, then will I also perform to
thy children that which I have spoken unto thee and I will not
forsake them.
25. Now therefore my son hearken to my voice, to all that I shall
command thee, and refrain from taking a wife from amongst the
daughters of Canaan; arise, go to Haran to the house of Bethuel thy
mother’s father, and take unto thee a wife from there from the
daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother.
26. Therefore take heed lest thou shouldst forget the Lord thy God and
all his ways in the land to which thou goest, and shouldst get
connected with the people of the land and pursue vanity and forsake
the Lord thy God.
27. But when thou comest to the land serve there the Lord, do not turn
to the right or to the left from the way which I commanded thee and
which thou didst learn.
28. And may the Almighty God grant thee favor in the sight of the
people of the earth, that thou mayest take there a wife according
to thy choice; one who is good and upright in the ways of the Lord.
29. And may God give unto thee and thy seed the blessing of thy father
Abraham, and make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and mayest thou
become a multitude of people in the land whither thou goest, and
may God cause thee to return to this land, the land of thy father’s
dwelling, with children and with great riches, with joy and with
pleasure.
30. And Isaac finished commanding Jacob and blessing him, and he gave
him many gifts, together with silver and gold, and he sent him
away; and Jacob hearkened to his father and mother; he kissed them
and arose and went to Padan-aram; and Jacob was seventy-seven years
old when he went out from the land of Canaan from Beersheba.
31. And when Jacob went away to go to Haran Esau called unto his son
Eliphaz, and secretly spoke unto him, saying, Now hasten, take thy
sword in thy hand and pursue Jacob and pass before him in the road,
and lurk for him, and slay him with thy sword in one of the
mountains, and take all belonging to him and come back.
32. And Eliphaz the son of Esau was an active man and expert with the
bow as his father had taught him, and he was a noted hunter in the
field and a valiant man.
33. And Eliphaz did as his father had commanded him, and Eliphaz was at
that time thirteen years old, and Eliphaz rose up and went and took
ten of his mother’s brothers with him and pursued Jacob.
34. And he closely followed Jacob, and he lurked for him in the border
of the land of Canaan opposite to the city of Shechem.
35. And Jacob saw Eliphaz and his men pursuing him, and Jacob stood
still in the place in which he was going, in order to know what
this was, for he did not know the thing; and Eliphaz drew his sword
and he went on advancing, he and his men, toward Jacob; and Jacob
said unto them, What is to do with you that you have come hither,
and what meaneth it that you pursue with your swords.
36. And Eliphaz came near to Jacob and he answered and said unto him,
Thus did my father command me, and now therefore I will not deviate
from the orders which my father gave me; and when Jacob saw that
Esau had spoken to Eliphaz to employ force, Jacob then approached
and supplicated Eliphaz and his men, saying to him,
37. Behold all that I have and which my father and mother gave unto me,
that take unto thee and go from me, and do not slay me, and may
this thing be accounted unto thee a righteousness.
38. And the Lord caused Jacob to find favor in the sight of Eliphaz the
son of Esau, and his men, and they hearkened to the voice of Jacob,
and they did not put him to death, and Eliphaz and his men took all
belonging to Jacob together with the silver and gold that he had
brought with him from Beersheba; they left him nothing.
39. And Eliphaz and his men went away from him and they returned to
Esau to Beersheba, and they told him all that had occurred to them
with Jacob, and they gave him all that they had taken from Jacob.
40. And Esau was indignant at Eliphaz his son, and at his men that were
with him, because they had not put Jacob to death.
41. And they answered and said unto Esau, Because Jacob supplicated us
in this matter not to slay him, our pity was excited toward him,
and we took all belonging to him and brought it unto thee; and Esau
took all the silver and gold which Eliphaz had taken from Jacob and
he put them by in his house.
42. At that time when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and had
commanded him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife from amongst the
daughters of Canaan, and that the daughters of Canaan were bad in
the sight of Isaac and Rebecca,
43. Then he went to the house of Ishmael his uncle, and in addition to
his older wives he took Machlath the daughter of Ishmael, the
sister of Nebayoth, for a wife.

Jasher Chapter 30

1. And Jacob went forth continuing his road to Haran, and he came as
far as mount Moriah, and he tarried there all night near the city
of Luz; and the Lord appeared there unto Jacob on that night, and
he said unto him, I am the Lord God of Abraham and the God of Isaac
thy father; the land upon which thou liest I will give unto thee
and thy seed.
2. And behold I am with thee and will keep thee wherever thou goest,
and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of Heaven, and I will
cause all thine enemies to fall before thee; and when they shall
make war with thee they shall not prevail over thee, and I will
bring thee again unto this land with joy, with children, and with
great riches.
3. And Jacob awoke from his sleep and he rejoiced greatly at the
vision which he had seen; and he called the name of that place
Bethel.
4. And Jacob rose up from that place quite rejoiced, and when he
walked his feet felt light to him for joy, and he went from there
to the land of the children of the East, and he returned to Haran
and he set by the shepherd’s well.
5. And he there found some men; going from Haran to feed their flocks,
and Jacob made inquiries of them, and they said, We are from Haran.
6. And he said unto them, Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor? and
they said, We know him, and behold his daughter Rachel is coming
along to feed her father’s flock.
7. Whilst he was yet speaking with them, Rachel the daughter of Laban
came to feed her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
8. And when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother’s
brother, he ran and kissed her, and lifted up his voice and wept.
9. And Jacob told Rachel that he was the son of Rebecca, her father’s
sister, and Rachel ran and told her father, and Jacob continued to
cry because he had nothing with him to bring to the house of Laban.
10. And when Laban heard that his sister’s son Jacob had come, he ran
and kissed him and embraced him and brought him into the house and
gave him bread, and he ate.
11. And Jacob related to Laban what his brother Esau had done to him,
and what his son Eliphaz had done to him in the road.
12. And Jacob resided in Laban’s house for one month, and Jacob ate and
drank in the house of Laban, and afterward Laban said unto Jacob,
Tell me what shall be thy wages, for how canst thou serve me for
nought?
13. And Laban had no sons but only daughters, and his other wives and
handmaids were still barren in those days; and these are the names
of Laban’s daughters which his wife Adinah had borne unto him; the
name of the elder was Leah and the name of the younger was Rachel;
and Leah was tender-eyed, but Rachel was beautiful and well
favored, and Jacob loved her.
14. And Jacob said unto Laban, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel
thy younger daughter; and Laban consented to this and Jacob served
Laban seven years for his daughter Rachel.
15. And in the second year of Jacob’s dwelling in Haran, that is in the
seventy ninth year of the life of Jacob, in that year died Eber the
son of Shem, he was four hundred and sixty-four years old at his
death.
16. And when Jacob heard that Eber was dead he grieved exceedingly, and
he lamented and mourned over him many days.
17. And in the third year of Jacob’s dwelling in Haran, Bosmath, the
daughter of Ishmael, the wife of Esau, bare unto him a son, and
Esau called his name Reuel.
18. And in the fourth year of Jacob’s residence in the house of Laban,
the Lord visited Laban and remembered him on account of Jacob, and
sons were born unto him, and his first born was Beor, his second
was Alib, and the third was Chorash.
19. And the Lord gave Laban riches and honor, sons and daughters, and
the man increased greatly on account of Jacob.
20. And Jacob in those days served Laban in all manner of work, in the
house and in the field, and the blessing of the Lord was in all
that belonged to Laban in the house and in the field.
21. And in the fifth year died Jehudith, the daughter of Beeri, the
wife of Esau, in the land of Canaan, and she had no sons but
daughters only.
22. And these are the names of her daughters which she bare to Esau,
the name of the elder was Marzith, and the name of the younger was
Puith.
23. And when Jehudith died, Esau rose up and went to Seir to hunt in
the field, as usual, and Esau dwelt in the land of Seir for a long
time.
24. And in the sixth year Esau took for a wife, in addition to his
other wives, Ahlibamah, the daughter of Zebeon the Hivite, and Esau
brought her to the land of Canaan.
25. And Ahlibamah conceived and bare unto Esau three sons, Yeush,
Yaalan, and Korah.
26. And in those days, in the land of Canaan, there was a quarrel
between the herdsmen of Esau and the herdsmen of the inhabitants of
the land of Canaan, for Esau’s cattle and goods were too abundant
for him to remain in the land of Canaan, in his father’s house, and
the land of Canaan could not bear him on account of his cattle.
27. And when Esau saw that his quarreling increased with the
inhabitants of the land of Canaan, he rose up and took his wives
and his sons and his daughters, and all belonging to him, and the
cattle which he possessed, and all his property that he had
acquired in the land of Canaan, and he went away from the
inhabitants of the land to the land of Seir, and Esau and all
belonging to him dwelt in the land of Seir.
28. But from time to time Esau would go and see his father and mother
in the land of Canaan, and Esau intermarried with the Horites, and
he gave his daughters to the sons of Seir, the Horite.
29. And he gave his elder daughter Marzith to Anah, the son of Zebeon,
his wife’s brother, and Puith he gave to Azar, the son of Bilhan
the Horite; and Esau dwelt in the mountain, he and his children,
and they were fruitful and multiplied.

Jasher Chapter 31

1. And in the seventh year, Jacob’s service which he served Laban was
completed, and Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for the days
of my service are fulfilled; and Laban did so, and Laban and Jacob
assembled all the people of that place and they made a feast.
2. And in the evening Laban came to the house, and afterward Jacob
came there with the people of the feast, and Laban extinguished all
the lights that were there in the house.
3. And Jacob said unto Laban, Wherefore dost thou do this thing unto
us? and Laban answered, Such is our custom to act in this land.
4. And afterward Laban took his daughter Leah, and he brought her to
Jacob, and he came to her and Jacob did not know that she was Leah.
5. And Laban gave his daughter Leah his maid Zilpah for a handmaid.
6. And all the people at the feast knew what Laban had done to Jacob,
but they did not tell the thing to Jacob.
7. And all the neighbors came that night to Jacob’s house, and they
ate and drank and rejoiced, and played before Leah upon timbrels,
and with dances, and they responded before Jacob, Heleah, Heleah.
8. And Jacob heard their words but did not understand their meaning,
but he thought such might be their custom in this land.
9. And the neighbors spoke these words before Jacob during the night,
and all the lights that were in the house Laban had that night
extinguished.
10. And in the morning, when daylight appeared, Jacob turned to his
wife and he saw, and behold it was Leah that had been lying in his
bosom, and Jacob said, Behold now I know what the neighbors said
last night, Heleah, they said, and I knew it not.
11. And Jacob called unto Laban, and said unto him, What is this that
thou didst unto me? Surely I served thee for Rachel, and why didst
thou deceive me and didst give me Leah?
12. And Laban answered Jacob, saying, Not so is it done in our place to
give the younger before the elder now therefore if thou desirest to
take her sister likewise, take her unto thee for the service which
thou wilt serve me for another seven years.
13. And Jacob did so, and he also took Rachel for a wife, and he served
Laban seven years more, and Jacob also came to Rachel, and he loved
Rachel more than Leah, and Laban gave her his maid Bilhah for a
handmaid.
14. And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, the Lord opened her
womb, and she conceived and bare Jacob four sons in those days.
15. And these are their names, Reuben Simeon, Levi, and Judah, and she
afterward left bearing.
16. And at that time Rachel was barren, and she had no offspring, and
Rachel envied her sister Leah, and when Rachel saw that she bare no
children to Jacob, she took her handmaid Bilhah, and she bare Jacob
two sons, Dan and Naphtali.
17. And when Leah saw that she had left bearing, she also took her
handmaid Zilpah, and she gave her to Jacob for a wife, and Jacob
also came to Zilpah, and she also bare Jacob two sons, Gad and
Asher.
18. And Leah again conceived and bare Jacob in those days two sons and
one daughter, and these are their names, Issachar, Zebulon, and
their sister Dinah.
19. And Rachel was still barren in those days, and Rachel prayed unto
the Lord at that time, and she said, O Lord God remember me and
visit me, I beseech thee, for now my husband will cast me off, for
I have borne him no children.
20. Now O Lord God, hear my supplication before thee, and see my
affliction, and give me children like one of the handmaids, that I
may no more bear my reproach.
21. And God heard her and opened her womb, and Rachel conceived and
bare a son, and she said, The Lord has taken away my reproach, and
she called his name Joseph, saying, May the Lord add to me another
son; and Jacob was ninety-one years old when she bare him.
22. At that time Jacob’s mother, Rebecca, sent her nurse Deborah the
daughter of Uz, and two of Isaac’s servants unto Jacob.
23. And they came to Jacob to Haran and they said unto him, Rebecca has
sent us to thee that thou shalt return to thy father’s house to the
land of Canaan; and Jacob hearkened unto them in this which his
mother had spoken.
24. At that time, the other seven years which Jacob served Laban for
Rachel were completed, and it was at the end of fourteen years that
he had dwelt in Haran that Jacob said unto Laban, give me my wives
and send me away, that I may go to my land, for behold my mother
did send unto me from the land at Canaan that I should return to my
father’s house.
25. And Laban said unto him, Not so I pray thee; if I have found favor
in thy sight do not leave me; appoint me thy wages and I will give
them, and remain with me.
26. And Jacob said unto him, This is what thou shalt give me for wages,
that I shall this day pass through all thy flock and take away from
them every lamb that is speckled and spotted and such as are brown
amongst the sheep, and amongst the goats, and if thou wilt do this
thing for me I will return and feed thy flock and keep them as at
first.
27. And Laban did so, and Laban removed from his flock all that Jacob
had said and gave them to him.
28. And Jacob placed all that he had removed from Laban’s flock in the
hands of his sons, and Jacob was feeding the remainder of Laban’s
flock.
29. And when the servants of Isaac which he had sent unto Jacob saw
that Jacob would not then return with them to the land of Canaan to
his father, they then went away from him, and they returned home to
the land of Canaan.
30. And Deborah remained with Jacob in Haran, and she did not return
with the servants of Isaac to the land of Canaan, and Deborah
resided with Jacob’s wives and children in Haran.
31. And Jacob served Laban six years longer, and when the sheep brought
forth, Jacob removed from them such as were speckled and spotted,
as he had determined with Laban, and Jacob did so at Laban’s for
six years, and the man increased abundantly and he had cattle and
maid servants and men servants, camels, and asses.
32. And Jacob had two hundred drove of cattle, and his cattle were of
large size and of beautiful appearance and were very productive,
and all the families of the sons of men desired to get some of the
cattle of Jacob, for they were exceedingly prosperous.
33. And many of the sons of men came to procure some of Jacob’s flock,
and Jacob gave them a sheep for a man servant or a maid servant or
for an ass or a camel, or whatever Jacob desired from them they
gave him.
34. And Jacob obtained riches and honor and possessions by means of
these transactions with the sons of men, and the children of Laban
envied him of this honor.
35. And in the course of time he heard the words of Laban’s sons,
saying, Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and of that
which was our father’s has he acquired all this glory.
36. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban and of his children, and
behold it was not toward him in those days as it had been before.
37. And the Lord appeared to Jacob at the expiration of the six years,
and said unto him, Arise, go forth out of this land, and return to
the land of thy birthplace and I will be with thee.
38. And Jacob rose up at that time and he mounted his children and
wives and all belonging to him upon camels, and he went forth to go
to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.
39. And Laban did not know that Jacob had gone from him, for Laban had
been that day sheep-shearing.
40. And Rachel stole her father’s images, and she took them and she
concealed them upon the camel upon which she sat, and she went on.
41. And this is the manner of the images; in taking a man who is the
first born and slaying him and taking the hair off his head, and
taking salt and salting the head and anointing it in oil, then
taking a small tablet of copper or a tablet of gold and writing the
name upon it, and placing the tablet under his tongue, and taking
the head with the tablet under the tongue and putting it in the
house, and lighting up lights before it and bowing down to it.
42. And at the time when they bow down to it, it speaketh to them in
all matters that they ask of it, through the power of the name
which is written in it.
43. And some make them in the figures of men, of gold and silver, and
go to them in times known to them, and the figures receive the
influence of the stars, and tell them future things, and in this
manner were the images which Rachel stole from her father.
44. And Rachel stole these images which were her father’s, in order
that Laban might not know through them where Jacob had gone.
45. And Laban came home and he asked concerning Jacob and his
household, and he was not to be found, and Laban sought his images
to know where Jacob had gone, and could not find them, and he went
to some other images, and he inquired of them and they told him
that Jacob had fled from him to his father’s, to the land of
Canaan.
46. And Laban then rose up and he took his brothers and all his
servants, and he went forth and pursued Jacob, and he overtook him
in mount Gilead.
47. And Laban said unto Jacob, What is this thou hast done to me to
flee and deceive me, and lead my daughters and their children as
captives taken by the sword?
48. And thou didst not suffer me to kiss them and send them away with
joy, and thou didst steal my gods and didst go away.
49. And Jacob answered Laban, saying, Because I was afraid lest thou
wouldst take thy daughters by force from me; and now with
whomsoever thou findest thy gods he shall die.
50. And Laban searched for the images and he examined in all Jacob’s
tents and furniture, but could not find them.
51. And Laban said unto Jacob, We will make a covenant together and it
shall be a testimony between me and thee; if thou shalt afflict my
daughters, or shalt take other wives besides my daughters, even God
shall be a witness between me and thee in this matter.
52. And they took stones and made a heap, and Laban said, This heap is
a witness between me and thee, therefore he called the name thereof
Gilead.
53. And Jacob and Laban offered sacrifice upon the mount, and they ate
there by the heap, and they tarried in the mount all night, and
Laban rose up early in the morning, and he wept with his daughters
and he kissed them, and he returned unto his place.
54. And he hastened and sent off his son Beor, who was seventeen years
old, with Abichorof the son of Uz, the son of Nahor, and with them
were ten men.
55. And they hastened and went and passed on the road before Jacob, and
they came by another road to the land of Seir.
56. And they came unto Esau and said unto him, Thus saith thy brother
and relative, thy mother’s brother Laban, the son of Bethuel,
saying,
57. Hast thou heard what Jacob thy brother has done unto me, who first
came to me naked and bare, and I went to meet him, and brought him
to my house with honor, and I made him great, and I gave him my two
daughters for wives and also two of my maids.
58. And God blessed him on my account, and he increased abundantly, and
had sons, daughters and maid servants.
59. He has also an immense stock of flocks and herds, camels and asses,
also silver and gold in abundance; and when he saw that his wealth
increased, he left me whilst I went to shear my sheep, and he rose
up and fled in secrecy.
60. And he lifted his wives and children upon camels, and he led away
all his cattle and property which he acquired in my land, and he
lifted up his countenance to go to his father Isaac, to the land of
Canaan.
61. And he did not suffer me to kiss my daughters and their children,
and he led my daughters as captives taken by the sword, and he also
stole my gods and he fled.
62. And now I have left him in the mountain of the brook of Jabuk, him
and all belonging to him; he lacketh nothing.
63. If it be thy wish to go to him, go then and there wilt thou find
him, and thou canst do unto him as thy soul desireth; and Laban’s
messengers came and told Esau all these things.
64. And Esau heard all the words of Laban’s messengers, and his anger
was greatly kindled against Jacob, and he remembered his hatred,
and his anger burned within him.
65. And Esau hastened and took his children and servants and the souls
of his household, being sixty men, and he went and assembled all
the children of Seir the Horite and their people, being three
hundred and forty men, and took all this number of four hundred men
with drawn swords, and he went unto Jacob to smite him.
66. And Esau divided this number into several parts, and he took the
sixty men of his children and servants and the souls of his
household as one head, and gave them in care of Eliphaz his eldest
son.
67. And the remaining heads he gave to the care of the six sons of Seir
the Horite, and he placed every man over his generations and
children.
68. And the whole of this camp went as it was, and Esau went amongst
them toward Jacob, and he conducted them with speed.
69. And Laban’s messengers departed from Esau and went to the land of
Canaan, and they came to the house of Rebecca the mother of Jacob
and Esau.
70. And they told her saying, Behold thy son Esau has gone against his
brother Jacob with four hundred men, for he heard that he was
coming, and he is gone to make war with him, and to smite him and
to take all that he has.
71. And Rebecca hastened and sent seventy two men from the servants of
Isaac to meet Jacob on the road; for she said, Peradventure, Esau
may make war in the road when he meets him.
72. And these messengers went on the road to meet Jacob, and they met
him in the road of the brook on the opposite side of the brook
Jabuk, and Jacob said when he saw them, This camp is destined to me
from God, and Jacob called the name of that place Machnayim.
73. And Jacob knew all his father’s people, and he kissed them and
embraced them and came with them, and Jacob asked them concerning
his father and mother, and they said, They were well.
74. And these messengers said unto Jacob, Rebecca thy mother has sent
us to thee, saying, I have heard, my son, that thy brother Esau has
gone forth against thee on the road with men from the children of
Seir the Horite.
75. And therefore, my son, hearken to my voice and see with thy counsel
what thou wilt do, and when he cometh up to thee, supplicate him,
and do not speak rashly to him, and give him a present from what
thou possessest, and from what God has favored thee with.
76. And when he asketh thee concerning thy affairs, conceal nothing
from him, perhaps he may turn from his anger against thee and thou
wilt thereby save thy soul, thou and all belonging to thee, for it
is thy duty to honor him, for he is thy elder brother.
77. And when Jacob heard the words of his mother which the messengers
had spoken to him, Jacob lifted up his voice and wept bitterly, and
did as his mother then commanded him.

Jasher Chapter 32

1. And at that time Jacob sent messengers to his brother Esau toward
the land of Seir, and he spoke to him words of supplication.
2. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye say to my lord, to
Esau, Thus saith thy servant Jacob, Let not my lord imagine that my
father’s blessing with which he did bless me has proved beneficial
to me.
3. For I have been these twenty years with Laban, and he deceived me
and changed my wages ten times, as it has all been already told
unto my lord.
4. And I served him in his house very laboriously, and God afterward
saw my affliction, my labor and the work of my hands, and he caused
me to find grace and favor in his sight.
5. And I afterward through God’s great mercy and kindness acquired
oxen and asses and cattle, and men servants and maid servants.
6. And now I am coming to my land and my home to my father and mother,
who are in the land of Canaan; and I have sent to let my lord know
all this in order to find favor in the sight of my lord, so that he
may not imagine that I have of myself obtained wealth, or that the
blessing with which my father blessed me has benefited me.
7. And those messengers went to Esau, and found him on the borders of
the land of Edom going toward Jacob, and four hundred men of the
children of Seir the Horite were standing with drawn swords.
8. And the messengers of Jacob told Esau all the words that Jacob had
spoken to them concerning Esau.
9. And Esau answered them with pride and contempt, and said unto them,
Surely I have heard and truly it has been told unto me what Jacob
has done to Laban, who exalted him in his house and gave him his
daughters for wives, and he begat sons and daughters, and
abundantly increased in wealth and riches in Laban’s house through
his means.
10. And when he saw that his wealth was abundant and his riches great
he fled with all belonging to him, from Laban’s house, and he led
Laban’s daughters away from the face of their father, as captives
taken by the sword without telling him of it.
11. And not only to Laban has Jacob done thus but also unto me has he
done so and has twice supplanted me, and shall I be silent?
12. Now therefore I have this day come with my camps to meet him, and I
will do unto him according to the desire of my heart.
13. And the messengers returned and came to Jacob and said unto him, We
came to thy brother, to Esau, and we told him all thy words, and
thus has he answered us, and behold he cometh to meet thee with
four hundred men.
14. Now then know and see what thou shalt do, and pray before God to
deliver thee from him.
15. And when he heard the words of his brother which he had spoken to
the messengers of Jacob, Jacob was greatly afraid and he was
distressed.
16. And Jacob prayed to the Lord his God, and he said, O Lord God of my
fathers, Abraham and Isaac, thou didst say unto me when I went away
from my father’s house, saying,
17. I am the Lord God of thy father Abraham and the God of Isaac, unto
thee do I give this land and thy seed after thee, and I will make
thy seed as the stars of heaven, and thou shalt spread forth to the
four sides of heaven, and in thee and in thy seed shall all the
families of the earth be blessed.
18. And thou didst establish thy words, and didst give unto me riches
and children and cattle, as the utmost wishes of my heart didst
thou give unto thy servant; thou didst give unto me all that I
asked from thee, so that I lacked nothing.
19. And thou didst afterward say unto me, Return to thy parents and to
thy birth place and I will still do well with thee.
20. And now that I have come, and thou didst deliver me from Laban, I
shall fall in the hands of Esau who will slay me, yea, together
with the mothers of my children.
21. Now therefore, O Lord God, deliver me, I pray thee, also from the
hands of my brother Esau, for I am greatly afraid of him.
22. And if there is no righteousness in me, do it for the sake of
Abraham and my father Isaac.
23. For I know that through kindness and mercy have I acquired this
wealth; now therefore I beseech thee to deliver me this day with
thy kindness and to answer me.
24. And Jacob ceased praying to the Lord, and he divided the people
that were with him with the flocks and cattle into two camps, and
he gave the half to the care of Damesek, the son of Eliezer,
Abraham’s servant, for a camp, with his children, and the other
half he gave to the care of his brother Elianus the son of Eliezer,
to be for a camp with his children.
25. And he commanded them, saying, Keep yourselves at a distance with
your camps, and do not come too near each other, and if Esau come
to one camp and slay it, the other camp at a distance from it will
escape him.
26. And Jacob tarried there that night, and during the whole night he
gave his servants instructions concerning the forces and his
children.
27. And the Lord heard the prayer of Jacob on that day, and the Lord
then delivered Jacob from the hands of his brother Esau.
28. And the Lord sent three angels of the angels of heaven, and they
went before Esau and came to him.
29. And these angels appeared unto Esau and his people as two thousand
men, riding upon horses furnished with all sorts of war
instruments, and they appeared in the sight of Esau and all his men
to be divided into four camps, with four chiefs to them.
30. And one camp went on and they found Esau coming with four hundred
men toward his brother Jacob, and this camp ran toward Esau and his
people and terrified them, and Esau fell off the horse in alarm,
and all his men separated from him in that place, for they were
greatly afraid.
31. And the whole of the camp shouted after them when they fled from
Esau, and all the warlike men answered, saying,
32. Surely we are the servants of Jacob, who is the servant of God, and
who then can stand against us? And Esau said unto them, O then, my
lord and brother Jacob is your lord, whom I have not seen for these
twenty years, and now that I have this day come to see him, do you
treat me in this manner?
33. And the angels answered him saying, As the Lord liveth, were not
Jacob of whom thou speaketh thy brother, we had not let one
remaining from thee and thy people, but only on account of Jacob we
will do nothing to them.
34. And this camp passed from Esau and his men and it went away, and
Esau and his men had gone from them about a league when the second
camp came toward him with all sorts of weapons, and they also did
unto Esau and his men as the first camp had done to them.
35. And when they had left it to go on, behold the third camp came
toward him and they were all terrified, and Esau fell off the
horse, and the whole camp cried out, and said, Surely we are the
servants of Jacob, who is the servant of God, and who can stand
against us?
36. And Esau again answered them saying, O then, Jacob my lord and your
lord is my brother, and for twenty years I have not seen his
countenance and hearing this day that he was coming, I went this
day to meet him, and do you treat me in this manner?
37. And they answered him, and said unto him, As the Lord liveth, were
not Jacob thy brother as thou didst say, we had not left a remnant
from thee and thy men, but on account of Jacob of whom thou
speakest being thy brother, we will not meddle with thee or thy
men.
38. And the third camp also passed from them, and he still continued
his road with his men toward Jacob, when the fourth camp came
toward him, and they also did unto him and his men as the others
had done.
39. And when Esau beheld the evil which the four angels had done to him
and to his men, he became greatly afraid of his brother Jacob, and
he went to meet him in peace.
40. And Esau concealed his hatred against Jacob, because he was afraid
of his life on account of his brother Jacob, and because he
imagined that the four camps that he had lighted upon were Jacob’s
servants.
41. And Jacob tarried that night with his servants in their camps, and
he resolved with his servants to give unto Esau a present from all
that he had with him, and from all his property; and Jacob rose up
in the morning, he and his men, and they chose from amongst the
cattle a present for Esau.
42. And this is the amount of the present which Jacob chose from his
flock to give unto his brother Esau: and he selected two hundred
and forty head from the flocks, and he selected from the camels and
asses thirty each, and of the herds he chose fifty kine.
43. And he put them all in ten droves, and he placed each sort by
itself, and he delivered them into the hands of ten of his
servants, each drove by itself.
44. And he commanded them, and said unto them, Keep yourselves at a
distance from each other, and put a space between the droves, and
when Esau and those who are with him shall meet you and ask you,
saying, Whose are you, and whither do you go, and to whom belongeth
all this before you, you shall say unto them, We are the servants
of Jacob, and we come to meet Esau in peace, and behold Jacob
cometh behind us.
45. And that which is before us is a present sent from Jacob to his
brother Esau.
46. And if they shall say unto you, Why doth he delay behind you, from
coming to meet his brother and to see his face, then you shall say
unto them, Surely he cometh joyfully behind us to meet his brother,
for he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth to him,
and after this I will see his face, peradventure he will accept of
me.
47. So the whole present passed on in the hands of his servants, and
went before him on that day, and he lodged that night with his
camps by the border of the brook of Jabuk, and he rose up in the
midst of the night, and he took his wives and his maid servants,
and all belonging to him, and he that night passed them over the
ford Jabuk.
48. And when he passed all belonging to him over the brook, Jacob was
left by himself, and a man met him, and he wrestled with him that
night until the breaking of the day, and the hollow of Jacob’s
thigh was out of joint through wrestling with him.
49. And at the break of day the man left Jacob there, and he blessed
him and went away, and Jacob passed the brook at the break of day,
and he halted upon his thigh.
50. And the sun rose upon him when he had passed the brook, and he came
up to the place of his cattle and children.
51. And they went on till midday, and whilst they were going the
present was passing on before them.
52. And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold Esau was at a
distance, coming along with many men, about four hundred, and Jacob
was greatly afraid of his brother.
53. And Jacob hastened and divided his children unto his wives and his
handmaids, and his daughter Dinah he put in a chest, and delivered
her into the hands of his servants.
54. And he passed before his children and wives to meet his brother,
and he bowed down to the ground, yea he bowed down seven times
until he approached his brother, and God caused Jacob to find grace
and favor in the sight of Esau and his men, for God had heard the
prayer of Jacob.
55. And the fear of Jacob and his terror fell upon his brother Esau,
for Esau was greatly afraid of Jacob for what the angels of God had
done to Esau, and Esau’s anger against Jacob was turned into
kindness.
56. And when Esau saw Jacob running toward him, he also ran toward him
and he embraced him, and he fell upon his neck, and they kissed and
they wept.
57. And God put fear and kindness toward Jacob in the hearts of the men
that came with Esau, and they also kissed Jacob and embraced him.
58. And also Eliphaz, the son of Esau, with his four brothers, sons of
Esau, wept with Jacob, and they kissed him and embraced him, for
the fear of Jacob had fallen upon them all.
59. And Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women with their offspring,
the children of Jacob, walking behind Jacob and bowing along the
road to Esau.
60. And Esau said unto Jacob, Who are these with thee, my brother? are
they thy children or thy servants? and Jacob answered Esau and
said, They are my children which God hath graciously given to thy
servant.
61. And whilst Jacob was speaking to Esau and his men, Esau beheld the
whole camp, and he said unto Jacob, Whence didst thou get the whole
of the camp that I met yesternight? and Jacob said, To find favor
in the sight of my lord, it is that which God graciously gave to
thy servant.
62. And the present came before Esau, and Jacob pressed Esau, saying,
Take I pray thee the present that I have brought to my lord, and
Esau said, Wherefore is this my purpose? keep that which thou hast
unto thyself.
63. And Jacob said, It is incumbent upon me to give all this, since I
have seen thy face, that thou still livest in peace.
64. And Esau refused to take the present, and Jacob said unto him, I
beseech thee my lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, then
receive my present at my hand, for I have therefore seen thy face,
as though I had seen a god-like face, because thou wast pleased
with me.
65. And Esau took the present, and Jacob also gave unto Esau silver and
gold and bdellium, for he pressed him so much that he took them.
66. And Esau divided the cattle that were in the camp, and he gave the
half to the men who had come with him, for they had come on hire,
and the other half he delivered unto the hands of his children.
67. And the silver and gold and bdellium he gave in the hands of
Eliphaz his eldest son, and Esau said unto Jacob, Let us remain
with thee, and we will go slowly along with thee until thou comest
to my place with me, that we may dwell there together.
68. And Jacob answered his brother and said, I would do as my lord
speaketh unto me, but my lord knoweth that the children are tender,
and the flocks and herds with their young who are with me, go but
slowly, for if they went swiftly they would all die, for thou
knowest their burdens and their fatigue.
69. Therefore let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will go on
slowly for the sake of the children and the flock, until I come to
my lord’s place to Seir.
70. And Esau said unto Jacob, I will place with thee some of the people
that are with me to take care of thee in the road, and to bear thy
fatigue and burden, and he said, What needeth it my lord, if I may
find grace in thy sight?
71. Behold I will come unto thee to Seir to dwell there together as
thou hast spoken, go thou then with thy people for I will follow
thee.
72. And Jacob said this to Esau in order to remove Esau and his men
from him, so that Jacob might afterward go to his father’s house to
the land of Canaan.
73. And Esau hearkened to the voice of Jacob, and Esau returned with
the four hundred men that were with him on their road to Seir, and
Jacob and all belonging to him went that day as far as the
extremity of the land of Canaan in its borders, and he remained
there some time.

Jasher Chapter 33

1. And in some time after Jacob went away from the borders of the
land, and he came to the land of Shalem, that is the city of
Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, and he rested in front of
the city.
2. And he bought a parcel of the field which was there, from the
children of Hamor the people of the land, for five shekels.
3. And Jacob there built himself a house, and he pitched his tent
there, and he made booths for his cattle, therefore he called the
name of that place Succoth.
4. And Jacob remained in Succoth a year and six months.
5. At that time some of the women of the inhabitants of the land went
to the city of Shechem to dance and rejoice with the daughters of
the people of the city, and when they went forth then Rachel and
Leah the wives of Jacob with their families also went to behold the
rejoicing of the daughters of the city.
6. And Dinah the daughter of Jacob also went along with them and saw
the daughters of the city, and they remained there before these
daughters whilst all the people of the city were standing by them
to behold their rejoicings, and all the great people of the city
were there.
7. And Shechem the son of Hamor, the prince of the land was also
standing there to see them.
8. And Shechem beheld Dinah the daughter of Jacob sitting with her
mother before the daughters of the city, and the damsel pleased him
greatly, and he there asked his friends and his people, saying,
Whose daughter is that sitting amongst the women, whom I do not
know in this city?
9. And they said unto him, Surely this is the daughter of Jacob the
son of Isaac the Hebrew, who has dwelt in this city for some time,
and when it was reported that the daughters of the land were going
forth to rejoice she went with her mother and maid servants to sit
amongst them as thou seest.
10. And Shechem beheld Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and when he looked
at her his soul became fixed upon Dinah.
11. And he sent and had her taken by force, and Dinah came to the house
of Shechem and he seized her forcibly and lay with her and humbled
her, and he loved her exceedingly and placed her in his house.
12. And they came and told the thing unto Jacob, and when Jacob heard
that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, Jacob sent twelve of
his servants to fetch Dinah from the house of Shechem, and they
went and came to the house of Shechem to take away Dinah from
there.
13. And when they came Shechem went out to them with his men and drove
them from his house, and he would not suffer them to come before
Dinah, but Shechem was sitting with Dinah kissing and embracing her
before their eyes.
14. And the servants of Jacob came back and told him, saying, When we
came, he and his men drove us away, and thus did Shechem do unto
Dinah before our eyes.
15. And Jacob knew moreover that Shechem had defiled his daughter, but
he said nothing, and his sons were feeding his cattle in the field,
and Jacob remained silent till their return.
16. And before his sons came home Jacob sent two maidens from his
servants’ daughters to take care of Dinah in the house of Shechem,
and to remain with her, and Shechem sent three of his friends to
his father Hamor the son of Chiddekem, the son of Pered, saying,
Get me this damsel for a wife.
17. And Hamor the son of Chiddekem the Hivite came to the house of
Shechem his son, and he sat before him, and Hamor said unto his
son, Shechem, Is there then no woman amongst the daughters of thy
people that thou wilt take an Hebrew woman who is not of thy
people?
18. And Shechem said to him, Her only must thou get for me, for she is
delightful in my sight; and Hamor did according to the word of his
son, for he was greatly beloved by him.
19. And Hamor went forth to Jacob to commune with him concerning this
matter, and when he had gone from the house of his son Shechem,
before he came to Jacob to speak unto him, behold the sons of Jacob
had come from the field, as soon as they heard the thing that
Shechem the son of Hamor had done.
20. And the men were very much grieved concerning their sister, and
they all came home fired with anger, before the time of gathering
in their cattle.
21. And they came and sat before their father and they spoke unto him
kindled with wrath, saying, Surely death is due to this man and to
his household, because the Lord God of the whole earth commanded
Noah and his children that man shall never rob, nor commit
adultery; now behold Shechem has both ravaged and committed
fornication with our sister, and not one of all the people of the
city spoke a word to him.
22. Surely thou knowest and understandest that the judgment of death is
due to Shechem, and to his father, and to the whole city on account
of the thing which he has done.
23. And whilst they were speaking before their father in this matter,
behold Hamor the father of Shechem came to speak to Jacob the words
of his son concerning Dinah, and he sat before Jacob and before his
sons.
24. And Hamor spoke unto them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem
longeth for your daughter; I pray you give her unto him for a wife
and intermarry with us; give us your daughters and we will give you
our daughters, and you shall dwell with us in our land and we will
be as one people in the land.
25. For our land is very extensive, so dwell ye and trade therein and
get possessions in it, and do therein as you desire, and no one
shall prevent you by saying a word to you.
26. And Hamor ceased speaking unto Jacob and his sons, and behold
Shechem his son had come after him, and he sat before them.
27. And Shechem spoke before Jacob and his sons, saying, May I find
favor in your sight that you will give me your daughter, and
whatever you say unto me that will I do for her.
28. Ask me for abundance of dowry and gift, and I will give it, and
whatever you shall say unto me that will I do, and whoever he be
that will rebel against your orders, he shall die; only give me the
damsel for a wife.
29. And Simeon and Levi answered Hamor and Shechem his son deceitfully,
saying, All you have spoken unto us we will do for you.
30. And behold our sister is in your house, but keep away from her
until we send to our father Isaac concerning this matter, for we
can do nothing without his consent.
31. For he knoweth the ways of our father Abraham, and whatever he
sayeth unto us we will tell you, we will conceal nothing from you.
32. And Simeon and Levi spoke this unto Shechem and his father in order
to find a pretext, and to seek counsel what was to be done to
Shechem and to his city in this matter.
33. And when Shechem and his father heard the words of Simeon and Levi,
it seemed good in their sight, and Shechem and his father came
forth to go home.
34. And when they had gone, the sons of Jacob said unto their father,
saying, Behold, we know that death is due to these wicked ones and
to their city, because they transgressed that which God had
commanded unto Noah and his children and his seed after them.
35. And also because Shechem did this thing to our sister Dinah in
defiling her, for such vileness shall never be done amongst us.
36. Now therefore know and see what you will do, and seek counsel and
pretext what is to be done to them, in order to kill all the
inhabitants of this city.
37. And Simeon said to them, Here is a proper advice for you: tell them
to circumcise every male amongst them as we are circumcised, and if
they do not wish to do this, we shall take our daughter from them
and go away.
38. And if they consent to do this and will do it, then when they are
sunk down with pain, we will attack them with our swords, as upon
one who is quiet and peaceable, and we will slay every male person
amongst them.
39. And Simeon’s advice pleased them, and Simeon and Levi resolved to
do unto them as it was proposed.
40. And on the next morning Shechem and Hamor his father came again
unto Jacob and his sons, to speak concerning Dinah, and to hear
what answer the sons of Jacob would give to their words.
41. And the sons of Jacob spoke deceitfully to them, saying, We told
our father Isaac all your words, and your words pleased him.
42. But he spoke unto us, saying, Thus did Abraham his father command
him from God the Lord of the whole earth, that any man who is not
of his descendants that should wish to take one of his daughters,
shall cause every male belonging to him to be circumcised, as we
are circumcised, and then we may give him our daughter for a wife.
43. Now we have made known to you all our ways that our father spoke
unto us, for we cannot do this of which you spoke unto us, to give
our daughter to an uncircumcised man, for it is a disgrace to us.
44. But herein will we consent to you, to give you our daughter, and we
will also take unto ourselves your daughters, and will dwell
amongst you and be one people as you have spoken, if you will
hearken to us, and consent to be like us, to circumcise every male
belonging to you, as we are circumcised.
45. And if you will not hearken unto us, to have every male circumcised
as we are circumcised, as we have commanded, then we will come to
you, and take our daughter from you and go away.
46. And Shechem and his father Hamor heard the words of the sons of
Jacob, and the thing pleased them exceedingly, and Shechem and his
father Hamor hastened to do the wishes of the sons of Jacob, for
Shechem was very fond of Dinah, and his soul was riveted to her.
47. And Shechem and his father Hamor hastened to the gate of the city,
and they assembled all the men of their city and spoke unto them
the words of the sons of Jacob, saying,
48. We came to these men, the sons of Jacob, and we spoke unto them
concerning their daughter, and these men will consent to do
according to our wishes, and behold our land is of great extent for
them, and they will dwell in it, and trade in it, and we shall be
one people; we will take their daughters, and our daughters we will
give unto them for wives.
49. But only on this condition will these men consent to do this thing,
that every male amongst us be circumcised as they are circumcised,
as their God commanded them, and when we shall have done according
to their instructions to be circumcised, then will they dwell
amongst us, together with their cattle and possessions, and we
shall be as one people with them.
50. And when all the men of the city heard the words of Shechem and his
father Hamor, then all the men of their city were agreeable to this
proposal, and they obeyed to be circumcised, for Shechem and his
father Hamor were greatly esteemed by them, being the princes of
the land.
51. And on the next day, Shechem and Hamor his father rose up early in
the morning, and they assembled all the men of their city into the
middle of the city, and they called for the sons of Jacob, who
circumcised every male belonging to them on that day and the next.
52. And they circumcised Shechem and Hamor his father, and the five
brothers of Shechem, and then every one rose up and went home, for
this thing was from the Lord against the city of Shechem, and from
the Lord was Simeon’s counsel in this matter, in order that the
Lord might deliver the city of Shechem into the hands of Jacob’s
two sons.

Jasher Chapter 34

1. And the number of all the males that were circumcised, were six
hundred and forty-five men, and two hundred and forty-six children.
2. But Chiddekem, son of Pered, the father of Hamor, and his six
brothers, would not listen unto Shechem and his father Hamor, and
they would not be circumcised, for the proposal of the sons of
Jacob was loathsome in their sight, and their anger was greatly
roused at this, that the people of the city had not hearkened to
them.
3. And in the evening of the second day, they found eight small
children who had not been circumcised, for their mothers had
concealed them from Shechem and his father Hamor, and from the men
of the city.
4. And Shechem and his father Hamor sent to have them brought before
them to be circumcised, when Chiddekem and his six brothers sprang
at them with their swords, and sought to slay them.
5. And they sought to slay also Shechem and his father Hamor and they
sought to slay Dinah with them on account of this matter.
6. And they said unto them, What is this thing that you have done? are
there no women amongst the daughters of your brethren the
Canaanites, that you wish to take unto yourselves daughters of the
Hebrews, whom ye knew not before, and will do this act which your
fathers never commanded you?
7. Do you imagine that you will succeed through this act which you
have done? and what will you answer in this affair to your brethren
the Canaanites, who will come tomorrow and ask you concerning this
thing?
8. And if your act shall not appear just and good in their sight, what
will you do for your lives, and me for our lives, in your not
having hearkened to our voices?
9. And if the inhabitants of the land and all your brethren the
children of Ham, shall hear of your act, saying,
10. On account of a Hebrew woman did Shechem and Hamor his father, and
all the inhabitants of their city, do that with which they had been
unacquainted and which their ancestors never commanded them, where
then will you fly or where conceal your shame, all your days before
your brethren, the inhabitants of the land of Canaan?
11. Now therefore we cannot bear up against this thing which you have
done, neither can we be burdened with this yoke upon us, which our
ancestors did not command us.
12. Behold tomorrow we will go and assemble all our brethren, the
Canaanitish brethren who dwell in the land, and we will all come
and smite you and all those who trust in you, that there shall not
be a remnant left from you or them.
13. And when Hamor and his son Shechem and all the people of the city
heard the words of Chiddekem and his brothers, they were terribly
afraid of their lives at their words, and they repented of what
they had done.
14. And Shechem and his father Hamor answered their father Chiddekem
and his brethren, and they said unto them, All the words which you
spoke unto us are true.
15. Now do not say, nor imagine in your hearts that on account of the
love of the Hebrews we did this thing that our ancestors did not
command us.
16. But because we saw that it was not their intention and desire to
accede to our wishes concerning their daughter as to our taking
her, except on this condition, so we hearkened to their voices and
did this act which you saw, in order to obtain our desire from
them.
17. And when we shall have obtained our request from them, we will then
return to them and do unto them that which you say unto us.
18. We beseech you then to wait and tarry until our flesh shall be
healed and we again become strong, and we will then go together
against them, and do unto them that which is in your hearts and in
ours.
19. And Dinah the daughter of Jacob heard all these words which
Chiddekem and his brothers had spoken, and what Hamor and his son
Shechem and the people of their city had answered them.
20. And she hastened and sent one of her maidens, that her father had
sent to take care of her in the house of Shechem, to Jacob her
father and to her brethren, saying:
21. Thus did Chiddekem and his brothers advise concerning you, and thus
did Hamor and Shechem and the people of the city answer them.
22. And when Jacob heard these words he was filled with wrath, and he
was indignant at them, and his anger was kindled against them.
23. And Simeon and Levi swore and said, As the Lord liveth, the God of
the whole earth, by this time tomorrow, there shall not be a
remnant left in the whole city.
24. And twenty young men had concealed themselves who were not
circumcised, and these young men fought against Simeon and Levi,
and Simeon and Levi killed eighteen of them, and two fled from them
and escaped to some lime pits that were in the city, and Simeon and
Levi sought for them, but could not find them.
25. And Simeon and Levi continued to go about in the city, and they
killed all the people of the city at the edge of the sword, and
they left none remaining.
26. And there was a great consternation in the midst of the city, and
the cry of the people of the city ascended to heaven, and all the
women and children cried aloud.
27. And Simeon and Levi slew all the city; they left not a male
remaining in the whole city.
28. And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son at the edge of the sword,
and they brought away Dinah from the house of Shechem and they went
from there.
29. And the sons of Jacob went and returned, and came upon the slain,
and spoiled all their property which was in the city and the field.
30. And whilst they were taking the spoil, three hundred men stood up
and threw dust at them and struck them with stones, when Simeon
turned to them and he slew them all with the edge of the sword, and
Simeon turned before Levi, and came into the city.
31. And they took away their sheep and their oxen and their cattle, and
also the remainder of the women and little ones, and they led all
these away, and they opened a gate and went out and came unto their
father Jacob with vigor.
32. And when Jacob saw all that they had done to the city, and saw the
spoil that they took from them, Jacob was very angry at them, and
Jacob said unto them, What is this that you have done to me? behold
I obtained rest amongst the Canaanitish inhabitants of the land,
and none of them meddled with me.
33. And now you have done to make me obnoxious to the inhabitants of
the land, amongst the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and I am but
of a small number, and they will all assemble against me and slay
me when they hear of your work with their brethren, and I and my
household will be destroyed.
34. And Simeon and Levi and all their brothers with them answered their
father Jacob and said unto him, Behold we live in the land, and
shall Shechem do this to our sister? why art thou silent at all
that Shechem has done? and shall he deal with our sister as with a
harlot in the streets?
35. And the number of women whom Simeon and Levi took captives from the
city of Shechem, whom they did not slay, was eighty-five who had
not known man.
36. And amongst them was a young damsel of beautiful appearance and
well favored, whose name was Bunah, and Simeon took her for a wife,
and the number of the males which they took captives and did not
slay, was forty-seven men, and the rest they slew.
37. And all the young men and women that Simeon and Levi had taken
captives from the city of Shechem, were servants to the sons of
Jacob and to their children after them, until the day of the sons
of Jacob going forth from the land of Egypt.
38. And when Simeon and Levi had gone forth from the city, the two
young men that were left, who had concealed themselves in the city,
and did not die amongst the people of the city, rose up, and these
young men went into the city and walked about in it, and found the
city desolate without man, and only women weeping, and these young
men cried out and said, Behold, this is the evil which the sons of
Jacob the Hebrew did to this city in their having this day
destroyed one of the Canaanitish cities, and were not afraid of
their lives of all the land of Canaan.
39. And these men left the city and went to the city of Tapnach, and
they came there and told the inhabitants of Tapnach all that had
befallen them, and all that the sons of Jacob had done to the city
of Shechem.
40. And the information reached Jashub king of Tapnach, and he sent men
to the city of Shechem to see those young men, for the king did not
believe them in this account, saying, How could two men lay waste
such a large town as Shechem?
41. And the messengers of Jashub came back and told him, saying, We
came unto the city, and it is destroyed, there is not a man there;
only weeping women; neither is any flock or cattle there, for all
that was in the city the sons of Jacob took away.
42. And Jashub wondered at this, saying, How could two men do this
thing, to destroy so large a city, and not one man able to stand
against them?
43. For the like has not been from the days of Nimrod, and not even
from the remotest time, has the like taken place; and Jashub, king
of Tapnach, said to his people, Be courageous and we will go and
fight against these Hebrews, and do unto them as they did unto the
city, and we will avenge the cause of the people of the city.
44. And Jashub, king of Tapnach, consulted with his counsellors about
this matter, and his advisers said unto him, Alone thou wilt not
prevail over the Hebrews, for they must be powerful to do this work
to the whole city.
45. If two of them laid waste the whole city, and no one stood against
them, surely if thou wilt go against them, they will all rise
against us and destroy us likewise.
46. But if thou wilt send to all the kings that surround us, and let
them come together, then we will go with them and fight against the
sons of Jacob; then wilt thou prevail against them.
47. And Jashub heard the words of his counsellors, and their words
pleased him and his people, and he did so; and Jashub king of
Tapnach sent to all the kings of the Amorites that surrounded
Shechem and Tapnach, saying,
48. Go up with me and assist me, and we will smite Jacob the Hebrew and
all his sons, and destroy them from the earth, for thus did he do
to the city of Shechem, and do you not know of it?
49. And all the kings of the Amorites heard the evil that the sons of
Jacob had done to the city of Shechem, and they were greatly
astonished at them.
50. And the seven kings of the Amorites assembled with all their
armies, about ten thousand men with drawn swords, and they came to
fight against the sons of Jacob; and Jacob heard that the kings of
the Amorites had assembled to fight against his sons, and Jacob was
greatly afraid, and it distressed him.
51. And Jacob exclaimed against Simeon and Levi, saying, What is this
act that you did? why have you injured me, to bring against me all
the children of Canaan to destroy me and my household? for I was at
rest, even I and my household, and you have done this thing to me,
and provoked the inhabitants of the land against me by your
proceedings.
52. And Judah answered his father, saying, Was it for naught my
brothers Simeon and Levi killed all the inhabitants of Shechem?
Surely it was because Shechem had humbled our sister, and
transgressed the command of our God to Noah and his children, for
Shechem took our sister away by force, and committed adultery with
her.
53. And Shechem did all this evil and not one of the inhabitants of his
city interfered with him, to say, Why wilt thou do this? surely for
this my brothers went and smote the city, and the Lord delivered it
into their hands, because its inhabitants had transgressed the
commands of our God. Is it then for naught that they have done all
this?
54. And now why art thou afraid or distressed, and why art thou
displeased at my brothers, and why is thine anger kindled against
them?
55. Surely our God who delivered into their hand the city of Shechem
and its people, he will also deliver into our hands all the
Canaanitish kings who are coming against us, and we will do unto
them as my brothers did unto Shechem.
56. Now be tranquil about them and cast away thy fears, but trust in
the Lord our God, and pray unto him to assist us and deliver us,
and deliver our enemies into our hands.
57. And Judah called to one of his father’s servants, Go now and see
where those kings, who are coming against us, are situated with
their armies.
58. And the servant went and looked far off, and went up opposite Mount
Sihon, and saw all the camps of the kings standing in the fields,
and he returned to Judah and said, Behold the kings are situated in
the field with all their camps, a people exceedingly numerous, like
unto the sand upon the sea shore.
59. And Judah said unto Simeon and Levi, and unto all his brothers,
Strengthen yourselves and be sons of valor, for the Lord our God is
with us, do not fear them.
60. Stand forth each man, girt with his weapons of war, his bow and his
sword, and we will go and fight against these uncircumcised men;
the Lord is our God, He will save us.
61. And they rose up, and each girt on his weapons of war, great and
small, eleven sons of Jacob, and all the servants of Jacob with
them.
62. And all the servants of Isaac who were with Isaac in Hebron, all
came to them equipped in all sorts of war instruments, and the sons
of Jacob and their servants, being one hundred and twelve men, went
towards these kings, and Jacob also went with them.
63. And the sons of Jacob sent unto their father Isaac the son of
Abraham to Hebron, the same is Kireath-arba, saying,
64. Pray we beseech thee for us unto the Lord our God, to protect us
from the hands of the Canaanites who are coming against us, and to
deliver them into our hands.
65. And Isaac the son of Abraham prayed unto the Lord for his sons, and
he said, O Lord God, thou didst promise my father, saying, I will
multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and thou didst also
promise me, and establish thou thy word, now that the kings of
Canaan are coming together, to make war with my children because
they committed no violence.
66. Now therefore, O Lord God, God of the whole earth, pervert, I pray
thee, the counsel of these kings that they may not fight against my
sons.
67. And impress the hearts of these kings and their people with the
terror of my sons and bring down their pride, and that they may
turn away from my sons.
68. And with thy strong hand and outstretched arm deliver my sons and
their servants from them, for power and might are in thy hands to
do all this.
69. And the sons of Jacob and their servants went toward these kings,
and they trusted in the Lord their God, and whilst they were going,
Jacob their father also prayed unto the Lord and said, O Lord God,
powerful and exalted God, who has reigned from days of old, from
thence till now and forever;
70. Thou art He who stirreth up wars and causeth them to cease, in thy
hand are power and might to exalt and to bring down; O may my
prayer be acceptable before thee that thou mayest turn to me with
thy mercies, to impress the hearts of these kings and their people
with the terror of my sons, and terrify them and their camps, and
with thy great kindness deliver all those that trust in thee, for
it is thou who canst bring people under us and reduce nations under
our power.

Jasher Chapter 35

1. And all the kings of the Amorites came and took their stand in the
field to consult with their counsellors what was to be done with
the sons of Jacob, for they were still afraid of them, saying,
Behold, two of them slew the whole of the city of Shechem.
2. And the Lord heard the prayers of Isaac and Jacob, and he filled
the hearts of all these kings’ advisers with great fear and terror
that they unanimously exclaimed,
3. Are you silly this day, or is there no understanding in you, that
you will fight with the Hebrews, and why will you take a delight in
your own destruction this day?
4. Behold two of them came to the city of Shechem without fear or
terror, and they killed all the inhabitants of the city, that no
man stood up against them, and how will you be able to fight with
them all?
5. Surely you know that their God is exceedingly fond of them, and has
done mighty things for them, such as have not been done from days
of old, and amongst all the gods of nations, there is none can do
like unto his mighty deeds.
6. Surely he delivered their father Abraham, the Hebrew, from the hand
of Nimrod, and from the hand of all his people who had many times
sought to slay him.
7. He delivered him also from the fire in which king Nimrod had cast
him, and his God delivered him from it.
8. And who else can do the like? surely it was Abraham who slew the
five kings of Elam, when they had touched his brother’s son who in
those days dwelt in Sodom.
9. And took his servant that was faithful in his house and a few of
his men, and they pursued the kings of Elam in one night and killed
them, and restored to his brother’s son all his property which they
had taken from him.
10. And surely you know the God of these Hebrews is much delighted with
them, and they are also delighted with him, for they know that he
delivered them from all their enemies.
11. And behold through his love toward his God, Abraham took his only
and precious son and intended to bring him up as a burnt offering
to his God, and had it not been for God who prevented him from
doing this, he would then have done it through his love to his God.
12. And God saw all his works, and swore unto him, and promised him
that he would deliver his sons and all his seed from every trouble
that would befall them, because he had done this thing, and through
his love to his God stifled his compassion for his child.
13. And have you not heard what their God did to Pharaoh king of Egypt,
and to Abimelech king of Gerar, through taking Abraham’s wife, who
said of her, She is my sister, lest they might slay him on account
of her, and think of taking her for a wife? and God did unto them
and their people all that you heard of.
14. And behold, we ourselves saw with our eyes that Esau, the brother
of Jacob, came to him with four hundred men, with the intention of
slaying him, for he called to mind that he had taken away from him
his father’s blessing.
15. And he went to meet him when he came from Syria, to smite the
mother with the children, and who delivered him from his hands but
his God in whom he trusted? he delivered him from the hand of his
brother and also from the hands of his enemies, and surely he again
will protect them.
16. Who does not know that it was their God who inspired them with
strength to do to the town of Shechem the evil which you heard of?
17. Could it then be with their own strength that two men could destroy
such a large city as Shechem had it not been for their God in whom
they trusted? he said and did unto them all this to slay the
inhabitants of the city in their city.
18. And can you then prevail over them who have come forth together
from your city to fight with the whole of them, even if a thousand
times as many more should come to your assistance?
19. Surely you know and understand that you do not come to fight with
them, but you come to war with their God who made choice of them,
and you have therefore all come this day to be destroyed.
20. Now therefore refrain from this evil which you are endeavoring to
bring upon yourselves, and it will be better for you not to go to
battle with them, although they are but few in numbers, because
their God is with them.
21. And when the kings of the Amorites heard all the words of their
advisers, their hearts were filled with terror, and they were
afraid of the sons of Jacob and would not fight against them.
22. And they inclined their ears to the words of their advisers, and
they listened to all their words, and the words of the counsellors
greatly pleased the kings, and they did so.
23. And the kings turned and refrained from the sons of Jacob, for they
durst not approach them to make war with them, for they were
greatly afraid of them, and their hearts melted within them from
their fear of them.
24. For this proceeded from the Lord to them, for he heard the prayers
of his servants Isaac and Jacob, for they trusted in him; and all
these kings returned with their camps on that day, each to his own
city, and they did not at that time fight with the sons of Jacob.
25. And the sons of Jacob kept their station that day till evening
opposite mount Sihon, and seeing that these kings did not come to
fight against them, the sons of Jacob returned home.

Jasher Chapter 36

1. At that time the Lord appeared unto Jacob saying, Arise, go to
Bethel and remain there, and make there an altar to the Lord who
appeareth unto thee, who delivered thee and thy sons from
affliction.
2. And Jacob rose up with his sons and all belonging to him, and they
went and came to Bethel according to the word of the Lord.
3. And Jacob was ninety-nine years old when he went up to Bethel, and
Jacob and his sons and all the people that were with him, remained
in Bethel in Luz, and he there built an altar to the Lord who
appeared unto him, and Jacob and his sons remained in Bethel six
months.
4. At that time died Deborah the daughter of Uz, the nurse of Rebecca,
who had been with Jacob; and Jacob buried her beneath Bethel under
an oak that was there.
5. And Rebecca the daughter of Bethuel, the mother of Jacob, also died
at that time in Hebron, the same is Kireath-arba, and she was
buried in the cave of Machpelah which Abraham had bought from the
children of Heth.
6. And the life of Rebecca was one hundred and thirty-three years, and
she died and when Jacob heard that his mother Rebecca was dead he
wept bitterly for his mother, and made a great mourning for her,
and for Deborah her nurse beneath the oak, and he called the name
of that place Allon-bachuth.
7. And Laban the Syrian died in those days, for God smote him because
he transgressed the covenant that existed between him and Jacob.
8. And Jacob was a hundred years old when the Lord appeared unto him,
and blessed him and called his name Israel, and Rachel the wife of
Jacob conceived in those days.
9. And at that time Jacob and all belonging to him journeyed from
Bethel to go to his father’s house, to Hebron.
10. And whilst they were going on the road, and there was yet but a
little way to come to Ephrath, Rachel bare a son and she had hard
labor and she died.
11. And Jacob buried her in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem, and
he set a pillar upon her grave, which is there unto this day; and
the days of Rachel were forty-five years and she died.
12. And Jacob called the name of his son that was born to him, which
Rachel bare unto him, Benjamin, for he was born to him in the land
on the right hand.
13. And it was after the death of Rachel, that Jacob pitched his tent
in the tent of her handmaid Bilhah.
14. And Reuben was jealous for his mother Leah on account of this, and
he was filled with anger, and he rose up in his anger and went and
entered the tent of Bilhah and he thence removed his father’s bed.
15. At that time the portion of birthright, together with the kingly
and priestly offices, was removed from the sons of Reuben, for he
had profaned his father’s bed, and the birthright was given unto
Joseph, the kingly office to Judah, and the priesthood unto Levi,
because Reuben had defiled his father’s bed.
16. And these are the generations of Jacob who were born to him in
Padan-aram, and the sons of Jacob were twelve.
17. The sons of Leah were Reuben the first born, and Simeon, Levi,
Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and their sister Dinah; and the sons of
Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
18. The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, were Gad and Asher, and the
sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid, were Dan and Naphtali; these are
the sons of Jacob which were born to him in Padan-aram.
19. And Jacob and his sons and all belonging to him journeyed and came
to Mamre, which is Kireath-arba, that is in Hebron, where Abraham
and Isaac sojourned, and Jacob with his sons and all belonging to
him, dwelt with his father in Hebron.
20. And his brother Esau and his sons, and all belonging to him went to
the land of Seir and dwelt there, and had possessions in the land
of Seir, and the children of Esau were fruitful and multiplied
exceedingly in the land of Seir.
21. And these are the generations of Esau that were born to him in the
land of Canaan, and the sons of Esau were five.
22. And Adah bare to Esau his first born Eliphaz, and she also bare to
him Reuel, and Ahlibamah bare to him Jeush, Yaalam and Korah.
23. These are the children of Esau who were born to him in the land of
Canaan; and the sons of Eliphaz the son of Esau were Teman, Omar,
Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz and Amalex, and the sons of Reuel were Nachath,
Zerach, Shamah and Mizzah.
24. And the sons of Jeush were Timnah, Alvah, Jetheth; and the sons of
Yaalam were Alah, Phinor and Kenaz.
25. And the sons of Korah were Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel and Eram; these
are the families of the sons of Esau according to their dukedoms in
the land of Seir.
26. And these are the names of the sons of Seir the Horite, inhabitants
of the land of Seir, Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishan, Ezer and
Dishon, being seven sons.
27. And the children of Lotan were Hori, Heman and their sister Timna,
that is Timna who came to Jacob and his sons, and they would not
give ear to her, and she went and became a concubine to Eliphaz the
son of Esau, and she bare to him Amalek.
28. And the sons of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and
Onam, and the sons of Zibeon were Ajah, and Anah, this was that
Anah who found the Yemim in the wilderness when he fed the asses of
Zibeon his father.
29. And whilst he was feeding his father’s asses he led them to the
wilderness at different times to feed them.
30. And there was a day that he brought them to one of the deserts on
the sea shore, opposite the wilderness of the people, and whilst he
was feeding them, behold a very heavy storm came from the other
side of the sea and rested upon the asses that were feeding there,
and they all stood still.
31. And afterward about one hundred and twenty great and terrible
animals came out from the wilderness at the other side of the sea,
and they all came to the place where the asses were, and they
placed themselves there.
32. And those animals, from their middle downward, were in the shape of
the children of men, and from their middle upward, some had the
likeness of bears, and some the likeness of the keephas, with tails
behind them from between their shoulders reaching down to the
earth, like the tails of the ducheephath, and these animals came
and mounted and rode upon these asses, and led them away, and they
went away unto this day.
33. And one of these animals approached Anah and smote him with his
tail, and then fled from that place.
34. And when he saw this work he was exceedingly afraid of his life,
and he fled and escaped to the city.
35. And he related to his sons and brothers all that had happened to
him, and many men went to seek the asses but could not find them,
and Anah and his brothers went no more to that place from that day
following, for they were greatly afraid of their lives.
36. And the children of Anah the son of Seir, were Dishon and his
sister Ahlibamah, and the children of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban,
Ithran and Cheran, and the children of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan and
Akan, and the children of Dishon were Uz and Aran.
37. These are the families of the children of Seir the Horite,
according to their dukedoms in the land of Seir.
38. And Esau and his children dwelt in the land of Seir the Horite, the
inhabitant of the land, and they had possessions in it and were
fruitful and multiplied exceedingly, and Jacob and his children and
all belonging to them, dwelt with their father Isaac in the land of
Canaan, as the Lord had commanded Abraham their father.

Jasher Chapter 37

1. And in the one hundred and fifth year of the life of Jacob, that is
the ninth year of Jacob’s dwelling with his children in the land of
Canaan, he came from Padan-aram.
2. And in those days Jacob journeyed with his children from Hebron,
and they went and returned to the city of Shechem, they and all
belonging to them, and they dwelt there, for the children of Jacob
obtained good and fat pasture land for their cattle in the city of
Shechem, the city of Shechem having then been rebuilt, and there
were in it about three hundred men and women.
3. And Jacob and his children and all belonging to him dwelt in the
part of the field which Jacob had bought from Hamor the father of
Shechem, when he came from Padan-aram before Simeon and Levi had
smitten the city.
4. And all those kings of the Canaanites and Amorites that surrounded
the city of Shechem, heard that the sons of Jacob had again come to
Shechem and dwelt there.
5. And they said, Shall the sons of Jacob the Hebrew again come to the
city and dwell therein, after that they have smitten its
inhabitants and driven them out? shall they now return and also
drive out those who are dwelling in the city or slay them?
6. And all the kings of Canaan again assembled, and they came together
to make war with Jacob and his sons.
7. And Jashub king of Tapnach sent also to all his neighboring kings,
to Elan king of Gaash, and to Ihuri king of Shiloh, and to Parathon
king of Chazar, and to Susi king of Sarton, and to Laban king of
Bethchoran, and to Shabir king of Othnay-mah, saying,
8. Come up to me and assist me, and let us smite Jacob the Hebrew and
his sons, and all belonging to him, for they are again come to
Shechem to possess it and to slay its inhabitants as before.
9. And all these kings assembled together and came with all their
camps, a people exceedingly plentiful like the sand upon the sea
shore, and they were all opposite to Tapnach.
10. And Jashub king of Tapnach went forth to them with all his army,
and he encamped with them opposite to Tapnach without the city, and
all these kings they divided into seven divisions, being seven
camps against the sons of Jacob.
11. And they sent a declaration to Jacob and his son, saying, Come you
all forth to us that we may have an interview together in the
plain, and revenge the cause of the men of Shechem whom you slew in
their city, and you will now again return to the city of Shechem
and dwell therein, and slay its inhabitants as before.
12. And the sons of Jacob heard this and their anger was kindled
exceedingly at the words of the kings of Canaan, and ten of the
sons of Jacob hastened and rose up, and each of them girt on his
weapons of war; and there were one hundred and two of their
servants with them equipped in battle array.
13. And all these men, the sons of Jacob with their servants, went
toward these kings, and Jacob their father was with them, and they
all stood upon the heap of Shechem.
14. And Jacob prayed to the Lord for his sons, and he spread forth his
hands to the Lord, and he said, O God, thou art an Almighty God,
thou art our father, thou didst form us and we are the works of
thine hands; I pray thee deliver my sons through thy mercy from the
hand of their enemies, who are this day coming to fight with them
and save them from their hand, for in thy hand is power and might,
to save the few from the many.
15. And give unto my sons, thy servants, strength of heart and might to
fight with their enemies, to subdue them, and make their enemies
fall before them, and let not my sons and their servants die
through the hands of the children of Canaan.
16. But if it seemeth good in thine eyes to take away the lives of my
sons and their servants, take them in thy great mercy through the
hands of thy ministers, that they may not perish this day by the
hands of the kings of the Amorites.
17. And when Jacob ceased praying to the Lord the earth shook from its
place, and the sun darkened, and all these kings were terrified and
a great consternation seized them.
18. And the Lord hearkened to the prayer of Jacob, and the Lord
impressed the hearts of all the kings and their hosts with the
terror and awe of the sons of Jacob.
19. For the Lord caused them to hear the voice of chariots, and the
voice of mighty horses from the sons of Jacob, and the voice of a
great army accompanying them.
20. And these kings were seized with great terror at the sons of Jacob,
and whilst they were standing in their quarters, behold the sons of
Jacob advanced upon them, with one hundred and twelve men, with a
great and tremendous shouting.
21. And when the kings saw the sons of Jacob advancing toward them,
they were still more panic struck, and they were inclined to
retreat from before the sons of Jacob as at first, and not to fight
with them.
22. But they did not retreat, saying, It would be a disgrace to us thus
twice to retreat from before the Hebrews.
23. And the sons of Jacob came near and advanced against all these
kings and their armies, and they saw, and behold it was a very
mighty people, numerous as the sand of the sea.
24. And the sons of Jacob called unto the Lord and said, Help us O
Lord, help us and answer us, for we trust in thee, and let us not
die by the hands of these uncircumcised men, who this day have come
against us.
25. And the sons of Jacob girt on their weapons of war, and they took
in their hands each man his shield and his javelin, and they
approached to battle.
26. And Judah, the son of Jacob, ran first before his brethren, and ten
of his servants with him, and he went toward these kings.
27. And Jashub, king of Tapnach, also came forth first with his army
before Judah, and Judah saw Jashub and his army coming toward him,
and Judah’s wrath was kindled, and his anger burned within him, and
he approached to battle in which Judah ventured his life.
28. And Jashub and all his army were advancing toward Judah, and he was
riding upon a very strong and powerful horse, and Jashub was a very
valiant man, and covered with iron and brass from head to foot.
29. And whilst he was upon the horse, he shot arrows with both hands
from before and behind, as was his manner in all his battles, and
he never missed the place to which he aimed his arrows.
30. And when Jashub came to fight with Judah, and was darting many
arrows against Judah, the Lord bound the hand of Jashub, and all
the arrows that he shot rebounded upon his own men.
31. And notwithstanding this, Jashub kept advancing toward Judah, to
challenge him with the arrows, but the distance between them was
about thirty cubits, and when Judah saw Jashub darting forth his
arrows against him, he ran to him with his wrath-excited might.
32. And Judah took up a large stone from the ground, and its weight was
sixty shekels, and Judah ran toward Jashub, and with the stone
struck him on his shield, that Jashub was stunned with the blow,
and fell off from his horse to the ground.
33. And the shield burst asunder out of the hand of Jashub, and through
the force of the blow sprang to the distance of about fifteen
cubits, and the shield fell before the second camp.
34. And the kings that came with Jashub saw at a distance the strength
of Judah, the son of Jacob, and what he had done to Jashub, and
they were terribly afraid of Judah.
35. And they assembled near Jashub’s camp, seeing his confusion, and
Judah drew his sword and smote forty-two men of the camp of Jashub,
and the whole of Jashub’s camp fled before Judah, and no man stood
against him, and they left Jashub and fled from him, and Jashub was
still prostrate upon the ground.
36. And Jashub seeing that all the men of his camp had fled from him,
hastened and rose up with terror against Judah, and stood upon his
legs opposite Judah.
37. And Jashub had a single combat with Judah, placing shield toward
shield, and Jashub’s men all fled, for they were greatly afraid of
Judah.
38. And Jashub took his spear in his hand to strike Judah upon his
head, but Judah had quickly placed his shield to his head against
Jashub’s spear, so that the shield of Judah received the blow from
Jashub’s spear, and the shield was split in too.
39. And when Judah saw that his shield was split, he hastily drew his
sword and smote Jashub at his ankles, and cut off his feet that
Jashub fell upon the ground, and the spear fell from his hand.
40. And Judah hastily picked up Jashub’s spear, with which he severed
his head and cast it next to his feet.
41. And when the sons of Jacob saw what Judah had done to Jashub, they
all ran into the ranks of the other kings, and the sons of Jacob
fought with the army of Jashub, and the armies of all the kings
that were there.
42. And the sons of Jacob caused fifteen thousand of their men to fall,
and they smote them as if smiting at gourds, and the rest fled for
their lives.
43. And Judah was still standing by the body of Jashub, and stripped
Jashub of his coat of mail.
44. And Judah also took off the iron and brass that was about Jashub,
and behold nine men of the captains of Jashub came along to fight
against Judah.
45. And Judah hastened and took up a stone from the ground, and with it
smote one of them upon the head, and his skull was fractured, and
the body also fell from the horse to the ground.
46. And the eight captains that remained, seeing the strength of Judah,
were greatly afraid and they fled, and Judah with his ten men
pursued them, and they overtook them and slew them.
47. And the sons of Jacob were still smiting the armies of the kings,
and they slew many of them, but those kings daringly kept their
stand with their captains, and did not retreat from their places,
and they exclaimed against those of their armies that fled from
before the sons of Jacob, but none would listen to them, for they
were afraid of their lives lest they should die.
48. And all the sons of Jacob, after having smitten the armies of the
kings, returned and came before Judah, and Judah was still slaying
the eight captains of Jashub, and stripping off their garments.
49. And Levi saw Elon, king of Gaash, advancing toward him, with his
fourteen captains to smite him, but Levi did not know it for
certain.
50. And Elon with his captains approached nearer, and Levi looked back
and saw that battle was given him in the rear, and Levi ran with
twelve of his servants, and they went and slew Elon and his
captains with the edge of the sword.

Jasher Chapter 38

1. And Ihuri king of Shiloh came up to assist Elon, and he approached
Jacob, when Jacob drew his bow that was in his hand and with an
arrow struck Ihuri which caused his death.
2. And when Ihuri king of Shiloh was dead, the four remaining kings
fled from their station with the rest of the captains, and they
endeavored to retreat, saying, We have no more strength with the
Hebrews after their having killed the three kings and their
captains who were more powerful than we are.
3. And when the sons of Jacob saw that the remaining kings had removed
from their station, they pursued them, and Jacob also came from the
heap of Shechem from the place where he was standing, and they went
after the kings and they approached them with their servants.
4. And the kings and the captains with the rest of their armies,
seeing that the sons of Jacob approached them, were afraid of their
lives and fled till they reached the city of Chazar.
5. And the sons of Jacob pursued them to the gate of the city of
Chazar, and they smote a great smiting amongst the kings and their
armies, about four thousand men, and whilst they were smiting the
army of the kings, Jacob was occupied with his bow confining
himself to smiting the kings, and he slew them all.
6. And he slew Parathon king of Chazar at the gate of the city of
Chazar, and he afterward smote Susi king of Sarton, and Laban king
of Bethchorin, and Shabir king of Machnaymah, and he slew them all
with arrows, an arrow to each of them, and they died.
7. And the sons of Jacob seeing that all the kings were dead and that
they were broken up and retreating, continued to carry on the
battle with the armies of the kings opposite the gate of Chazar,
and they still smote about four hundred of their men.
8. And three men of the servants of Jacob fell in that battle, and
when Judah saw that three of his servants had died, it grieved him
greatly, and his anger burned within him against the Amorites.
9. And all the men that remained of the armies of the kings were
greatly afraid of their lives, and they ran and broke the gate of
the walls of the city of Chazar, and they all entered the city for
safety.
10. And they concealed themselves in the midst of the city of Chazar,
for the city of Chazar was very large and extensive, and when all
these armies had entered the city, the sons of Jacob ran after them
to the city.
11. And four mighty men, experienced in battle, went forth from the
city and stood against the entrance of the city, with drawn swords
and spears in their hands, and they placed themselves opposite the
sons of Jacob, and would not suffer them to enter the city.
12. And Naphtali ran and came between them and with his sword smote two
of them, and cut off their heads at one stroke.
13. And he turned to the other two, and behold they had fled, and he
pursued them, overtook them, smote them and slew them.
14. And the sons of Jacob came to the city and saw, and behold there
was another wall to the city, and they sought for the gate of the
wall and could not find it, and Judah sprang upon the top of the
wall, and Simeon and Levi followed him, and they all three
descended from the wall into the city.
15. And Simeon and Levi slew all the men who ran for safety into the
city, and also the inhabitants of the city with their wives and
little ones, they slew with the edge of the sword, and the cries of
the city ascended up to heaven.
16. And Dan and Naphtali sprang upon the wall to see what caused the
noise of lamentation, for the sons of Jacob felt anxious about
their brothers, and they heard the inhabitants of the city speaking
with weeping and supplications, saying, Take all that we possess in
the city and go away, only do not put us to death.
17. And when Judah, Simeon, and Levi had ceased smiting the inhabitants
of the city, they ascended the wall and called to Dan and Naphtali,
who were upon the wall, and to the rest of their brothers, and
Simeon and Levi informed them of the entrance into the city, and
all the sons of Jacob came to fetch the spoil.
18. And the sons of Jacob took the spoil of the city of Chazar, the
flocks and herds, and the property, and they took all that could be
captured, and went away that day from the city.
19. And on the next day the sons of Jacob went to Sarton, for they
heard that the men of Sarton who had remained in the city were
assembling to fight with them for having slain their king, and
Sarton was a very high and fortified city, and it had a deep
rampart surrounding the city.
20. And the pillar of the rampart was about fifty cubits and its
breadth forty cubits, and there was no place for a man to enter the
city on account of the rampart, and the sons of Jacob saw the
rampart of the city, and they sought an entrance in it but could
not find it.
21. For the entrance to the city was at the rear, and every man that
wished to come into the city came by that road and went around the
whole city, and he afterwards entered the city.
22. And the sons of Jacob seeing they could not find the way into the
city, their anger was kindled greatly, and the inhabitants of the
city seeing that the sons of Jacob were coming to them were greatly
afraid of them, for they had heard of their strength and what they
had done to Chazar.
23. And the inhabitants of the city of Sarton could not go out toward
the sons of Jacob after having assembled in the city to fight
against them, lest they might thereby get into the city, but when
they saw that they were coming toward them, they were greatly
afraid of them, for they had heard of their strength and what they
had done to Chazar.
24. So the inhabitants of Sarton speedily took away the bridge of the
road of the city, from its place, before the sons of Jacob came,
and they brought it into the city.
25. And the sons of Jacob came and sought the way into the city, and
could not find it and the inhabitants of the city went up to the
top of the wall, and saw, and behold the sons of Jacob were seeking
an entrance into the city.
26. And the inhabitants of the city reproached the sons of Jacob from
the top of the wall, and they cursed them, and the sons of Jacob
heard the reproaches, and they were greatly incensed, and their
anger burned within them.
27. And the sons of Jacob were provoked at them, and they all rose and
sprang over the rampart with the force of their strength, and
through their might passed the forty cubits’ breadth of the
rampart.
28. And when they had passed the rampart they stood under the wall of
the city, and they found all the gates of the city enclosed with
iron doors.
29. And the sons of Jacob came near to break open the doors of the
gates of the city, and the inhabitants did not let them, for from
the top of the wall they were casting stones and arrows upon them.
30. And the number of the people that were upon the wall was about four
hundred men, and when the sons of Jacob saw that the men of the
city would not let them open the gates of the city, they sprang and
ascended the top of the wall, and Judah went up first to the east
part of the city.
31. And Gad and Asher went up after him to the west corner of the city,
and Simeon and Levi to the north, and Dan and Reuben to the south.
32. And the men who were on the top of the wall, the inhabitants of the
city, seeing that the sons of Jacob were coming up to them, they
all fled from the wall, descended into the city, and concealed
themselves in the midst of the city.
33. And Issachar and Naphtali that remained under the wall approached
and broke the gates of the city, and kindled a fire at the gates of
the city, that the iron melted, and all the sons of Jacob came into
the city, they and all their men, and they fought with the
inhabitants of the city of Sarton, and smote them with the edge of
the sword, and no man stood up before them.
34. And about two hundred men fled from the city, and they all went and
hid themselves in a certain tower in the city, and Judah pursued
them to the tower and he broke down the tower, which fell upon the
men, and they all died.
35. And the sons of Jacob went up the road of the roof of that tower,
and they saw, and behold there was another strong and high tower at
a distance in the city, and the top of it reached to heaven, and
the sons of Jacob hastened and descended, and went with all their
men to that tower, and found it filled with about three hundred
men, women and little ones.
36. And the sons of Jacob smote a great smiting amongst those men in
the tower and they ran away and fled from them.
37. And Simeon and Levi pursued them, when twelve mighty and valiant
men came out to them from the place where they had concealed
themselves.
38. And those twelve men maintained a strong battle against Simeon and
Levi, and Simeon and Levi could not prevail over them, and those
valiant men broke the shields of Simeon and Levi, and one of them
struck at Levi’s head with his sword, when Levi hastily placed his
hand to his head, for he was afraid of the sword, and the sword
struck Levi’s hand, and it wanted but little to the hand of Levi
being cut off.
39. And Levi seized the sword of the valiant man in his hand, and took
it forcibly from the man, and with it he struck at the head of the
powerful man, and he severed his head.
40. And eleven men approached to fight with Levi, for they saw that one
of them was killed, and the sons of Jacob fought, but the sons of
Jacob could not prevail over them, for those men were very
powerful.
41. And the sons of Jacob seeing that they could not prevail over them,
Simeon gave a loud and tremendous shriek, and the eleven powerful
men were stunned at the voice of Simeon’s shrieking.
42. And Judah at a distance knew the voice of Simeon’s shouting, and
Naphtali and Judah ran with their shields to Simeon and Levi, and
found them fighting with those powerful men, unable to prevail over
them as their shields were broken.
43. And Naphtali saw that the shields of Simeon and Levi were broken,
and he took two shields from his servants and brought them to
Simeon and Levi.
44. And Simeon, Levi and Judah on that day fought all three against the
eleven mighty men until the time of sunset, but they could not
prevail over them.
45. And this was told unto Jacob, and he was sorely grieved, and he
prayed unto the Lord, and he and Naphtali his son went against
these mighty men.
46. And Jacob approached and drew his bow, and came nigh unto the
mighty men, and slew three of their men with the bow, and the
remaining eight turned back, and behold, the war waged against them
in the front and rear, and they were greatly afraid of their lives,
and could not stand before the sons of Jacob, and they fled from
before them.
47. And in their flight they met Dan and Asher coming toward them, and
they suddenly fell upon them, and fought with them, and slew two of
them, and Judah and his brothers pursued them, and smote the
remainder of them, and slew them.
48. And all the sons of Jacob returned and walked about the city,
searching if they could find any men, and they found about twenty
young men in a cave in the city, and Gad and Asher smote them all,
and Dan and Naphtali lighted upon the rest of the men who had fled
and escaped from the second tower, and they smote them all.
49. And the sons of Jacob smote all the inhabitants of the city of
Sarton, but the women and little ones they left in the city and did
not slay them.
50. And all the inhabitants of the city of Sarton were powerful men,
one of them would pursue a thousand, and two of them would not flee
from ten thousand of the rest of men.
51. And the sons of Jacob slew all the inhabitants of the city of
Sarton with the edge of the sword, that no man stood up against
them, and they left the women in the city.
52. And the sons of Jacob took all the spoil of the city, and captured
what they desired, and they took flocks and herds and property from
the city, and the sons of Jacob did unto Sarton and its inhabitants
as they had done to Chazar and its inhabitants, and they turned and
went away.

Jasher Chapter 39

1. And when the sons of Jacob went from the city of Sarton, they had
gone about two hundred cubits when they met the inhabitants of
Tapnach coming toward them, for they went out to fight with them,
because they had smitten the king of Tapnach and all his men.
2. So all that remained in the city of Tapnach came out to fight with
the sons of Jacob, and they thought to retake from them the booty
and the spoil which they had captured from Chazar and Sarton.
3. And the rest of the men of Tapnach fought with the sons of Jacob in
that place, and the sons of Jacob smote them, and they fled before
them, and they pursued them to the city of Arbelan, and they all
fell before the sons of Jacob.
4. And the sons of Jacob returned and came to Tapnach, to take away
the spoil of Tapnach, and when they came to Tapnach they heard that
the people of Arbelan had gone out to meet them to save the spoil
of their brethren, and the sons of Jacob left ten of their men in
Tapnach to plunder the city, and they went out toward the people of
Arbelan.
5. And the men of Arbelan went out with their wives to fight with the
sons of Jacob, for their wives were experienced in battle, and they
went out, about four hundred men and women.
6. And all the sons of Jacob shouted with a loud voice, and they all
ran toward the inhabitants of Arbelan, and with a great and
tremendous voice.
7. And the inhabitants of Arbelan heard the noise of the shouting of
the sons of Jacob, and their roaring like the noise of lions and
like the roaring of the sea and its waves.
8. And fear and terror possessed their hearts on account of the sons
of Jacob, and they were terribly afraid of them, and they retreated
and fled before them into the city, and the sons of Jacob pursued
them to the gate of the city, and they came upon them in the city.
9. And the sons of Jacob fought with them in the city, and all their
women were engaged in slinging against the sons of Jacob, and the
combat was very severe amongst them the whole of that day till
evening.
10. And the sons of Jacob could not prevail over them, and the sons of
Jacob had almost perished in that battle, and the sons of Jacob
cried unto the Lord and greatly gained strength toward evening, and
the sons of Jacob smote all the inhabitants of Arbelan by the edge
of the sword, men, women and little ones.
11. And also the remainder of the people who had fled from Sarton, the
sons of Jacob smote them in Arbelan, and the sons of Jacob did unto
Arbelan and Tapnach as they had done to Chazar and Sarton, and when
the women saw that all the men were dead, they went upon the roofs
of the city and smote the sons of Jacob by showering down stones
like rain.
12. And the sons of Jacob hastened and came into the city and seized
all the women and smote them with the edge of the sword, and the
sons of Jacob captured all the spoil and booty, flocks and herds
and cattle.
13. And the sons of Jacob did unto Machnaymah as they had done to
Tapnach, to Chazar and to Shiloh, and they turned from there and
went away.
14. And on the fifth day the sons of Jacob heard that the people of
Gaash had gathered against them to battle, because they had slain
their king and their captains, for there had been fourteen captains
in the city of Gaash, and the sons of Jacob had slain them all in
the first battle.
15. And the sons of Jacob that day girt on their weapons of war, and
they marched to battle against the inhabitants of Gaash, and in
Gaash there was a strong and mighty people of the people of the
Amorites, and Gaash was the strongest and best fortified city of
all the cities of the Amorites, and it had three walls.
16. And the sons of Jacob came to Gaash and they found the gates of the
city locked, and about five hundred men standing at the top of the
outer-most wall, and a people numerous as the sand upon the sea
shore were in ambush for the sons of Jacob from without the city at
the rear thereof.
17. And the sons of Jacob approached to open the gates of the city, and
whilst they were drawing nigh, behold those who were in ambush at
the rear of the city came forth from their places and surrounded
the sons of Jacob.
18. And the sons of Jacob were enclosed between the people of Gaash,
and the battle was both to their front and rear, and all the men
that were upon the wall, were casting from the wall upon them,
arrows and stones.
19. And Judah, seeing that the men of Gaash were getting too heavy for
them, gave a most piercing and tremendous shriek and all the men of
Gaash were terrified at the voice of Judah’s cry, and men fell from
the wall at his powerful shriek, and all those that were from
without and within the city were greatly afraid of their lives.
20. And the sons of Jacob still came nigh to break the doors of the
city, when the men of Gaash threw stones and arrows upon them from
the top of the wall, and made them flee from the gate.
21. And the sons of Jacob returned against the men of Gaash who were
with them from without the city, and they smote them terribly, as
striking against gourds, and they could not stand against the sons
of Jacob, for fright and terror had seized them at the shriek of
Judah.
22. And the sons of Jacob slew all those men who were without the city,
and the sons of Jacob still drew nigh to effect an entrance into
the city, and to fight under the city walls, but they could not for
all the inhabitants of Gaash who remained in the city had
surrounded the walls of Gaash in every direction, so that the sons
of Jacob were unable to approach the city to fight with them.
23. And the sons of Jacob came nigh to one corner to fight under the
wall, the inhabitants of Gaash threw arrows and stones upon them
like showers of rain, and they fled from under the wall.
24. And the people of Gaash who were upon the wall, seeing that the
sons of Jacob could not prevail over them from under the wall,
reproached the sons of Jacob in these words, saying,
25. What is the matter with you in the battle that you cannot prevail?
can you then do unto the mighty city of Gaash and its inhabitants
as you did to the cities of the Amorites that were not so powerful?
Surely to those weak ones amongst us you did those things, and slew
them in the entrance of the city, for they had no strength when
they were terrified at the sound of your shouting.
26. And will you now then be able to fight in this place? Surely here
you will all die, and we will avenge the cause of those cities that
you have laid waste.
27. And the inhabitants of Gaash greatly reproached the sons of Jacob
and reviled them with their gods, and continued to cast arrows and
stones upon them from the wall.
28. And Judah and his brothers heard the words of the inhabitants of
Gaash and their anger was greatly roused, and Judah was jealous of
his God in this matter, and he called out and said, O Lord, help,
send help to us and our brothers.
29. And he ran at a distance with all his might, with his drawn sword
in his hand, and he sprang from the earth and by dint of his
strength, mounted the wall, and his sword fell from his hand.
30. And Judah shouted upon the wall, and all the men that were upon the
wall were terrified, and some of them fell from the wall into the
city and died, and those who were yet upon the wall, when they saw
Judah’s strength, they were greatly afraid and fled for their lives
into the city for safety.
31. And some were emboldened to fight with Judah upon the wall, and
they came nigh to slay him when they saw there was no sword in
Judah’s hand, and they thought of casting him from the wall to his
brothers, and twenty men of the city came up to assist them, and
they surrounded Judah and they all shouted over him, and approached
him with drawn swords, and they terrified Judah, and Judah cried
out to his brothers from the wall.
32. And Jacob and his sons drew the bow from under the wall, and smote
three of the men that were upon the top of the wall, and Judah
continued to cry and he exclaimed, O Lord help us, O Lord deliver
us, and he cried out with a loud voice upon the wall, and the cry
was heard at a great distance.
33. And after this cry he again repeated to shout, and all the men who
surrounded Judah on the top of the wall were terrified, and they
each threw his sword from his hand at the sound of Judah’s shouting
and his tremor, and fled.
34. And Judah took the swords which had fallen from their hands, and
Judah fought with them and slew twenty of their men upon the wall.
35. And about eighty men and women still ascended the wall from the
city and they all surrounded Judah, and the Lord impressed the fear
of Judah in their hearts, that they were unable to approach him.
36. And Jacob and all who were with him drew the bow from under the
wall, and they slew ten men upon the wall, and they fell below the
wall, before Jacob and his sons.
37. And the people upon the wall seeing that twenty of their men had
fallen, they still ran toward Judah with drawn swords, but they
could not approach him for they were greatly terrified at Judah’s
strength.
38. And one of their mighty men whose name was Arud approached to
strike Judah upon the head with his sword, when Judah hastily put
his shield to his head, and the sword hit the shield, and it was
split in two.
39. And this mighty man after he had struck Judah ran for his life, at
the fear of Judah, and his feet slipped upon the wall and he fell
amongst the sons of Jacob who were below the wall, and the sons of
Jacob smote him and slew him.
40. And Judah’s head pained him from the blow of the powerful man, and
Judah had nearly died from it.
41. And Judah cried out upon the wall owing to the pain produced by the
blow, when Dan heard him, and his anger burned within him, and he
also rose up and went at a distance and ran and sprang from the
earth and mounted the wall with his wrath-excited strength.
42. And when Dan came upon the wall near unto Judah all the men upon
the wall fled, who had stood against Judah, and they went up to the
second wall, and they threw arrows and stones upon Dan and Judah
from the second wall, and endeavored to drive them from the wall.
43. And the arrows and stones struck Dan and Judah, and they had nearly
been killed upon the wall, and wherever Dan and Judah fled from the
wall, they were attacked with arrows and stones from the second
wall.
44. And Jacob and his sons were still at the entrance of the city below
the first wall, and they were not able to draw their bow against
the inhabitants of the city, as they could not be seen by them,
being upon the second wall.
45. And Dan and Judah when they could no longer bear the stones and
arrows that fell upon them from the second wall, they both sprang
upon the second wall near the people of the city, and when the
people of the city who were upon the second wall saw that Dan and
Judah had come to them upon the second wall, they all cried out and
descended below between the walls.
46. And Jacob and his sons heard the noise of the shouting from the
people of the city, and they were still at the entrance of the
city, and they were anxious about Dan and Judah who were not seen
by them, they being upon the second wall.
47. And Naphtali went up with his wrath-excited might and sprang upon
the first wall to see what caused the noise of shouting which they
had heard in the city, and Issachar and Zebulun drew nigh to break
the doors of the city, and they opened the gates of the city and
came into the city.
48. And Naphtali leaped from the first wall to the second, and came to
assist his brothers, and the inhabitants of Gaash who were upon the
wall, seeing that Naphtali was the third who had come up to assist
his brothers, they all fled and descended into the city, and Jacob
and all his sons and all their young men came into the city to
them.
49. And Judah and Dan and Naphtali descended from the wall into the
city and pursued the inhabitants of the city, and Simeon and Levi
were from without the city and knew not that the gate was opened,
and they went up from there to the wall and came down to their
brothers into the city.
50. And the inhabitants of the city had all descended into the city,
and the sons of Jacob came to them in different directions, and the
battle waged against them from the front and the rear, and the sons
of Jacob smote them terribly, and slew about twenty thousand of
them men and women, not one of them could stand up against the sons
of Jacob.
51. And the blood flowed plentifully in the city, and it was like a
brook of water, and the blood flowed like a brook to the outer part
of the city, and reached the desert of Bethchorin.
52. And the people of Bethchorin saw at a distance the blood flowing
from the city of Gaash, and about seventy men from amongst them ran
to see the blood, and they came to the place where the blood was.
53. And they followed the track of the blood and came to the wall of
the city of Gaash, and they saw the blood issue from the city, and
they heard the voice of crying from the inhabitants of Gaash, for
it ascended unto heaven, and the blood was continuing to flow
abundantly like a brook of water.
54. And all the sons of Jacob were still smiting the inhabitants of
Gaash, and were engaged in slaying them till evening, about twenty
thousand men and women, and the people of Chorin said, Surely this
is the work of the Hebrews, for they are still carrying on war in
all the cities of the Amorites.
55. And those people hastened and ran to Bethchorin, and each took his
weapons of war, and they cried out to all the inhabitants of
Bethchorin, who also girt on their weapons of war to go and fight
with the sons of Jacob.
56. And when the sons of Jacob had done smiting the inhabitants of
Gaash, they walked about the city to strip all the slain, and
coming in the innermost part of the city and farther on they met
three very powerful men, and there was no sword in their hand.
57. And the sons of Jacob came up to the place where they were, and the
powerful men ran away, and one of them had taken Zebulun, who he
saw was a young lad and of short stature, and with his might dashed
him to the ground.
58. And Jacob ran to him with his sword and Jacob smote him below his
loins with the sword, and cut him in two, and the body fell upon
Zebulun.
59. And the second one approached and seized Jacob to fell him to the
ground, and Jacob turned to him and shouted to him, whilst Simeon
and Levi ran and smote him on the hips with the sword and felled
him to the ground.
60. And the powerful man rose up from the ground with wrath-excited
might, and Judah came to him before he had gained his footing, and
struck him upon the head with the sword, and his head was split and
he died.
61. And the third powerful man, seeing that his companions were killed,
ran from before the sons of Jacob, and the sons of Jacob pursued
him in the city; and whilst the powerful man was fleeing he found
one of the swords of the inhabitants of the city, and he picked it
up and turned to the sons of Jacob and fought them with that sword.
62. And the powerful man ran to Judah to strike him upon the head with
the sword, and there was no shield in the hand of Judah; and whilst
he was aiming to strike him, Naphtali hastily took his shield and
put it to Judah’s head, and the sword of the powerful man hit the
shield of Naphtali and Judah escaped the sword.
63. And Simeon and Levi ran upon the powerful man with their swords and
struck at him forcibly with their swords, and the two swords
entered the body of the powerful man and divided it in two,
length-wise.
64. And the sons of Jacob smote the three mighty men at that time,
together with all the inhabitants of Gaash, and the day was about
to decline.
65. And the sons of Jacob walked about Gaash and took all the spoil of
the city, even the little ones and women they did not suffer to
live, and the sons of Jacob did unto Gaash as they had done to
Sarton and Shiloh.

Jasher Chapter 40

1. And the sons of Jacob led away all the spoil of Gaash, and went out
of the city by night.
2. They were going out marching toward the castle of Bethchorin, and
the inhabitants of Bethchorin were going to the castle to meet
them, and on that night the sons of Jacob fought with the
inhabitants of Bethchorin, in the castle of Bethchorin.
3. And all the inhabitants of Bethchorin were mighty men, one of them
would not flee from before a thousand men, and they fought on that
night upon the castle, and their shouts were heard on that night
from afar, and the earth quaked at their shouting.
4. And all the sons of Jacob were afraid of those men, as they were
not accustomed to fight in the dark, and they were greatly
confounded, and the sons of Jacob cried unto the Lord, saying, Give
help to us O Lord, deliver us that we may not die by the hands of
these uncircumcised men.
5. And the Lord hearkened to the voice of the sons of Jacob, and the
Lord caused great terror and confusion to seize the people of
Bethchorin, and they fought amongst themselves the one with the
other in the darkness of night, and smote each other in great
numbers.
6. And the sons of Jacob, knowing that the Lord had brought a spirit
of perverseness amongst those men, and that they fought each man
with his neighbor, went forth from among the bands of the people of
Bethchorin and went as far as the descent of the castle of
Bethchorin, and farther, and they tarried there securely with their
young men on that night.
7. And the people of Bethchorin fought the whole night, one man with
his brother, and the other with his neighbor, and they cried out in
every direction upon the castle, and their cry was heard at a
distance, and the whole earth shook at their voice, for they were
powerful above all the people of the earth.
8. And all the inhabitants of the cities of the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites and all the kings of Canaan,
and also those who were on the other side of the Jordan, heard the
noise of the shouting on that night.
9. And they said, Surely these are the battles of the Hebrews who are
fighting against the seven cities, who came nigh unto them; and who
can stand against those Hebrews?
10. And all the inhabitants of the cities of the Canaanites, and all
those who were on the other side of the Jordan, were greatly afraid
of the sons of Jacob, for they said, Behold the same will be done
to us as was done to those cities, for who can stand against their
mighty strength?
11. And the cries of the Chorinites were very great on that night, and
continued to increase; and they smote each other till morning, and
numbers of them were killed.
12. And the morning appeared, and all the sons of Jacob rose up at
daybreak and went up to the castle, and they smote those who
remained of the Chorinites in a terrible manner, and they were all
killed in the castle.
13. And the sixth day appeared, and all the inhabitants of Canaan saw
at a distance all the people of Bethchorin lying dead in the castle
of Bethchorin, and strewed about as the carcasses of lambs and
goats.
14. And the sons of Jacob led all the spoil which they had captured
from Gaash and went to Bethchorin, and they found the city full of
people like the sand of the sea, and they fought with them, and the
sons of Jacob smote them there till evening time.
15. And the sons of Jacob did unto Bethchorin as they had done to Gaash
and Tapnach, and as they had done to Chazar, to Sarton and to
Shiloh.
16. And the sons of Jacob took with them the spoil of Bethchorin and
all the spoil of the cities, and on that day they went home to
Shechem.
17. And the sons of Jacob came home to the city of Shechem, and they
remained without the city, and they then rested there from the war,
and tarried there all night.
18. And all their servants together with all the spoil that they had
taken from the cities, they left without the city, and they did not
enter the city, for they said, Peradventure there may be yet more
fighting against us, and they may come to besiege us in Shechem.
19. And Jacob and his sons and their servants remained on that night
and the next day in the portion of the field which Jacob had
purchased from Hamor for five shekels, and all that they had
captured was with them.
20. And all the booty which the sons of Jacob had captured, was in the
portion of the field, immense as the sand upon the sea shore.
21. And the inhabitants of the land observed them from afar, and all
the inhabitants of the land were afraid of the sons of Jacob who
had done this thing, for no king from the days of old had ever done
the like.
22. And the seven kings of the Canaanites resolved to make peace with
the sons of Jacob, for they were greatly afraid of their lives, on
account of the sons of Jacob.
23. And on that day, being the seventh day, Japhia king of Hebron sent
secretly to the king of Ai, and to the king of Gibeon, and to the
king of Shalem, and to the king of Adulam, and to the king of
Lachish, and to the king of Chazar, and to all the Canaanitish
kings who were under their subjection, saying,
24. Go up with me, and come to me that we may go to the sons of Jacob,
and I will make peace with them, and form a treaty with them, lest
all your lands be destroyed by the swords of the sons of Jacob, as
they did to Shechem and the cities around it, as you have heard and
seen.
25. And when you come to me, do not come with many men, but let every
king bring his three head captains, and every captain bring three
of his officers.
26. And come all of you to Hebron, and we will go together to the sons
of Jacob, and supplicate them that they shall form a treaty of
peace with us.
27. And all those kings did as the king of Hebron had sent to them, for
they were all under his counsel and command, and all the kings of
Canaan assembled to go to the sons of Jacob, to make peace with
them; and the sons of Jacob returned and went to the portion of the
field that was in Shechem, for they did not put confidence in the
kings of the land.
28. And the sons of Jacob returned and remained in the portion of the
field ten days, and no one came to make war with them.
29. And when the sons of Jacob saw that there was no appearance of war,
they all assembled and went to the city of Shechem, and the sons of
Jacob remained in Shechem.
30. And at the expiration of forty days, all the kings of the Amorites
assembled from all their places and came to Hebron, to Japhia, king
of Hebron.
31. And the number of kings that came to Hebron, to make peace with the
sons of Jacob, was twenty-one kings, and the number of captains
that came with them was sixty-nine, and their men were one hundred
and eighty-nine, and all these kings and their men rested by Mount
Hebron.
32. And the king of Hebron went out with his three captains and nine
men, and these kings resolved to go to the sons of Jacob to make
peace.
33. And they said unto the king of Hebron, Go thou before us with thy
men, and speak for us unto the sons of Jacob, and we will come
after thee and confirm thy words, and the king of Hebron did so.
34. And the sons of Jacob heard that all the kings of Canaan had
gathered together and rested in Hebron, and the sons of Jacob sent
four of their servants as spies, saying, Go and spy these kings,
and search and examine their men whether they are few or many, and
if they are but few in number, number them all and come back.
35. And the servants of Jacob went secretly to these kings, and did as
the sons of Jacob had commanded them, and on that day they came
back to the sons of Jacob, and said unto them, We came unto those
kings, and they are but few in number, and we numbered them all,
and behold, they were two hundred and eighty-eight, kings and men.
36. And the sons of Jacob said, They are but few in number, therefore
we will not all go out to them; and in the morning the sons of
Jacob rose up and chose sixty two of their men, and ten of the sons
of Jacob went with them; and they girt on their weapons of war, for
they said, They are coming to make war with us, for they knew not
that they were coming to make peace with them.
37. And the sons of Jacob went with their servants to the gate of
Shechem, toward those kings, and their father Jacob was with them.
38. And when they had come forth, behold, the king of Hebron and his
three captains and nine men with him were coming along the road
against the sons of Jacob, and the sons of Jacob lifted up their
eyes, and saw at a distance Japhia, king of Hebron, with his
captains, coming toward them, and the sons of Jacob took their
stand at the place of the gate of Shechem, and did not proceed.
39. And the king of Hebron continued to advance, he and his captains,
until he came nigh to the sons of Jacob, and he and his captains
bowed down to them to the ground, and the king of Hebron sat with
his captains before Jacob and his sons.
40. And the sons of Jacob said unto him, What has befallen thee, O king
of Hebron? why hast thou come to us this day? what dost thou
require from us? and the king of Hebron said unto Jacob, I beseech
thee my lord, all the kings of the Canaanites have this day come to
make peace with you.
41. And the sons of Jacob heard the words of the king of Hebron, and
they would not consent to his proposals, for the sons of Jacob had
no faith in him, for they imagined that the king of Hebron had
spoken deceitfully to them.
42. And the king of Hebron knew from the words of the sons of Jacob,
that they did not believe his words, and the king of Hebron
approached nearer to Jacob, and said unto him, I beseech thee, my
lord, to be assured that all these kings have come to you on
peaceable terms, for they have not come with all their men, neither
did they bring their weapons of war with them, for they have come
to seek peace from my lord and his sons.
43. And the sons of Jacob answered the king of Hebron, saying, Send
thou to all these kings, and if thou speakest truth unto us, let
them each come singly before us, and if they come unto us unarmed,
we shall then know that they seek peace from us.
44. And Japhia, king of Hebron, sent one of his men to the kings, and
they all came before the sons of Jacob, and bowed down to them to
the ground, and these kings sat before Jacob and his sons, and they
spoke unto them, saying,
45. We have heard all that you did unto the kings of the Amorites with
your sword and exceedingly mighty arm, so that no man could stand
up before you, and we were afraid of you for the sake of our lives,
lest it should befall us as it did to them.
46. So we have come unto you to form a treaty of peace between us, and
now therefore contract with us a covenant of peace and truth, that
you will not meddle with us, inasmuch as we have not meddled with
you.
47. And the sons of Jacob knew that they had really come to seek peace
from them, and the sons of Jacob listened to them, and formed a
covenant with them.
48. And the sons of Jacob swore unto them that they would not meddle
with them, and all the kings of the Canaanites swore also to them,
and the sons of Jacob made them tributary from that day forward.
49. And after this all the captains of these kings came with their men
before Jacob, with presents in their hands for Jacob and his sons,
and they bowed down to him to the ground.
50. And these kings then urged the sons of Jacob and begged of them to
return all the spoil they had captured from the seven cities of the
Amorites, and the sons of Jacob did so, and they returned all that
they had captured, the women, the little ones, the cattle and all
the spoil which they had taken, and they sent them off, and they
went away each to his city.
51. And all these kings again bowed down to the sons of Jacob, and they
sent or brought them many gifts in those days, and the sons of
Jacob sent off these kings and their men, and they went peaceably
away from them to their cities, and the sons of Jacob also returned
to their home, to Shechem.
52. And there was peace from that day forward between the sons of Jacob
and the kings of the Canaanites, until the children of Israel came
to inherit the land of Canaan.

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