Jasher, Chapter 67

1 There was a man in the land of Egypt of the seed of Levi, whose name was Amram, the son of Kehath, the son of Levi, the son of Yisrael.
2 And this man went and took a wife, namely Jochebed the daughter of Levi his father's sister, and she was one hundred and twenty-six years old, and he came unto her.
Year 2363
3 And the woman conceived and bare a daughter, and she called her name Miriam, because in those days the Egyptians had embittered the lives of the children of Yisrael.
Year 2365
4 And she conceived again and bare a son and she called his name Aaron, for in the days of her conception, Pharaoh began to spill the blood of the male children of Yisrael.
Year 2367
5 In those days died Zepho the son of Eliphaz, son of Esau, king of Chittim, and Janeas reigned in his stead.
6 And the time that Zepho reigned over the children of Chittim was fifty years, and he died and was buried in the city of Nabna in the land of Chittim.
7 And Janeas, one of the mighty men of the children of Chittim, reigned after him and he reigned fifty years.
8 And it was after the death of the king of Chittim that Balaam the son of Beor fled from the land of Chittim, and he went and came to Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 And Pharaoh received him with great honor, for he had heard of his wisdom, and he gave him presents and made him for a counsellor, and aggrandized him.
10 And Balaam dwelt in Egypt, in honor with all the nobles of the king, and the nobles exalted him, because they all coveted to learn his wisdom.
Year 2368
11 And in the hundred and thirtieth year of Yisrael's going down to Egypt, Pharaoh dreamed that he was sitting upon his kingly throne, and lifted up his eyes and saw an old man standing before him, and there were scales in the hands of the old man, such scales as are used by merchants.
12 And the old man took the scales and hung them before Pharaoh.
13 And the old man took all the elders of Egypt and all its nobles and great men, and he tied them together and put them in one scale.
14 And he took a milk kid and put it into the other scale, and the kid preponderated over all.
15 And Pharaoh was astonished at this dreadful vision, why the kid should preponderate over all, and Pharaoh awoke and behold it was a dream.
16 And Pharaoh rose up early in the morning and called all his servants and related to them the dream, and the men were greatly afraid.
17 And the king said to all his wise men, Interpret I pray you the dream which I dreamed, that I may know it.
18 And Balaam the son of Beor answered the king and said unto him, This means nothing else but a great evil that will spring up against Egypt in the latter days.
19 For a son will be born to Yisrael who will destroy all Egypt and its inhabitants, and bring forth the Yisraelites from Egypt with a mighty hand.
20 Now therefore, O king, take counsel upon this matter, that you may destroy the hope of the children of Yisrael and their expectation, before this evil arise against Egypt.
21 And the king said unto Balaam, And what shall we do unto Yisrael? surely after a certain manner did we at first counsel against them and could not prevail over them.
22 Now therefore give you also advice against them by which we may prevail over them.
23 And Balaam answered the king, saying, Send now and call your two counsellors, and we will see what their advice is upon this matter and afterward your servant will speak.
24 And the king sent and called his two counsellors Reuel the Midianite and Job the Uzite, and they came and sat before the king.
25 And the king said to them, Behold you have both heard the dream which I have dreamed, and the interpretation thereof; now therefore give counsel and know and see what is to be done to the children of Yisrael, whereby we may prevail over them, before their evil shall spring up against us.
26 And Reuel the Midianite answered the king and said, May the king live, may the king live forever.
27 If it seem good to the king, let him desist from the Hebrews and leave them, and let him not stretch forth his hand against them.
28 For these are they whom YAHWEH chose in days of old, and took as the lot of his inheritance from amongst all the nations of the earth and the kings of the earth; and who is there that stretched his hand against them with impunity, of whom their ALMIGHTY was not avenged?
29 Surely you know that when Abraham went down to Egypt, Pharaoh, the former king of Egypt, saw Sarah his wife, and took her for a wife, because Abraham said, She is my sister, for he was afraid, lest the men of Egypt should slay him on account of his wife.
30 And when the king of Egypt had taken Sarah then YAHWEH smote him and his household with heavy plagues, until he restored unto Abraham his wife Sarah, then was he healed.
31 And Abimelech the Gerarite, king of the Philistines, YAHWEH punished on account of Sarah wife of Abraham, in stopping up every womb from man to beast.
32 When their ALMIGHTY came to Abimelech in the dream of night and terrified him in order that he might restore to Abraham Sarah whom he had taken, and afterward all the people of Gerar were punished on account of Sarah, and Abraham prayed to YAHWEH for them, and he was entreated of him, and he healed them.
33 And Abimelech feared all this evil that came upon him and his people, and he returned to Abraham his wife Sarah, and gave him with her many gifts.
34 He did so also to Yitschaq when he had driven him from Gerar, and YAHWEH had done wonderful things to him, that all the water courses of Gerar were dried up, and their productive trees did not bring forth.
35 Until Abimelech of Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Pichol the captain of his host, went to him and they bent and bowed down before him to the ground.
36 And they requested of him to supplicate for them, and he prayed to YAHWEH for them, and YAHWEH was entreated of him and he healed them.
37 Yacob also, the plain man, was delivered through his integrity from the hand of his brother Esau, and the hand of Laban the Syrian his mother's brother, who had sought his life; likewise from the hand of all the kings of Canaan who had come together against him and his children to destroy them, and YAHWEH delivered them out of their hands, that they turned upon them and smote them, for who had ever stretched forth his hand against them with impunity?
38 Surely Pharaoh the former, your father's father, raised Yoseph the son of Yacob above all the princes of the land of Egypt, when he saw his wisdom, for through his wisdom he rescued all the inhabitants of the land from the famine.
39 After which he ordered Yacob and his children to come down to Egypt, in order that through their virtue, the land of Egypt and the land of Goshen might be delivered from the famine.
40 Now therefore if it seem good in your eyes, cease from destroying the children of Yisrael, but if it be not your will that they shall dwell in Egypt, send them forth from here, that they may go to the land of Canaan, the land where their ancestors sojourned.
41 And when Pharaoh heard the words of Jethro he was very angry with him, so that he rose with shame from the king's presence, and went to Midian, his land, and took Yoseph's stick with him.
42 And the king said to Job the Uzite, What say you Job, and what is your advice respecting the Hebrews?
43 So Job said to the king, Behold all the inhabitants of the land are in your power, let the king do as it seems good in his eyes.
44 And the king said unto Balaam, What dost you say, Balaam, speak your word that we may hear it.
45 And Balaam said to the king, Of all that the king has counselled against the Hebrews will they be delivered, and the king will not be able to prevail over them with any counsel.
46 For if you think to lessen them by the flaming fire, you canst not prevail over them, for surely their ALMIGHTY delivered Abraham their father from Ur of the Chaldeans; and if you think to destroy them with a sword, surely Yitschaq their father was delivered from it, and a ram was placed in his stead.
47 And if with hard and rigorous labor you think to lessen them, you wilt not prevail even in this, for their father Yacob served Laban in all manner of hard work, and prospered.
48 Now therefore, O King, hear my words, for this is the counsel which is counselled against them, by which you wilt prevail over them, and from which you shouldst not depart.
49 If it please the king let him order all their children which shall be born from this day forward, to be thrown into the water, for by this canst you wipe away their name, for none of them, nor of their fathers, were tried in this manner.
50 And the king heard the words of Balaam, and the thing pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Balaam.
51 And the king ordered a proclamation to be issued and a law to be made throughout the land of Egypt, saying, Every male child born to the Hebrews from this day forward shall be thrown into the water.
52 And Pharaoh called unto all his servants, saying, Go now and seek throughout the land of Goshen where the children of Yisrael are, and see that every son born to the Hebrews shall be cast into the river, but every daughter you shall let live.
53 And when the children of Yisrael heard this thing which Pharaoh had commanded, to cast their male children into the river, some of the people separated from their wives and others adhered to them.
54 And from that day forward, when the time of delivery arrived to those women of Yisrael who had remained with their husbands, they went to the field to bring forth there, and they brought forth in the field, and left their children upon the field and returned home.
55 And YAHWEH who had sworn to their ancestors to multiply them, sent one of his ministering heavenly messengers which are in heaven to wash each child in water, to anoint and swathe it and to put into its hands two smooth stones from one of which it sucked milk and from the other honey, and he caused its hair to grow to its knees, by which it might cover itself; to comfort it and to cleave to it, through his compassion for it.
56 And when YAHWEH had compassion over them and had desired to multiply them upon the face of the land, he ordered his earth to receive them to be preserved therein till the time of their growing up, after which the earth opened its mouth and vomited them forth and they sprouted forth from the city like the herb of the earth, and the grass of the forest, and they returned each to his family and to his father's house, and they remained with them.
57 And the babes of the children of Yisrael were upon the earth like the herb of the field, through YAHWEH's free unmerited pardon and favor to them.
58 And when all the Egyptians saw this thing, they went forth, each to his field with his yoke of oxen and his ploughshare, and they ploughed it up as one ploughs the earth at seed time.
59 And when they ploughed they were unable to hurt the infants of the children of Yisrael, so the people increased and waxed exceedingly.
60 And Pharaoh ordered his officers daily to go to Goshen to seek for the babes of the children of Yisrael.
61 And when they had sought and found one, they took it from its mother's bosom by force, and threw it into the river, but the female child they left with its mother; thus did the Egyptians do to the Yisraelites all the days.

The Book of Jasher Index - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

Click on a Label below, to list all the related posts.

Jasher, Chapter 30

1 And Yacob 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 YAHWEH appeared there unto Yacob on that night, and he said unto him, I am YAHWEH the ALMIGHTY of Abraham and the ALMIGHTY of Yitschaq your father; the land upon which you lie I will give unto you and your seed.
2 And behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you goest, and I will multiply your seed as the stars of Heaven, and I will cause all your enemies to fall before you; and when they shall make war with you they shall not prevail over you, and I will bring you again unto this land with joy, with children, and with great riches.
3 And Yacob 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 Yacob 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 Yacob 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 Yacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, he ran and kissed her, and lifted up his voice and wept.
9 And Yacob told Rachel that he was the son of Rebecca, her father's sister, and Rachel ran and told her father, and Yacob 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 Yacob 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 Yacob 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 Yacob resided in Laban's house for one month, and Yacob ate and drank in the house of Laban, and afterward Laban said unto Yacob, Tell me what shall be your wages, for how canst you 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 Yacob loved her.
14 And Yacob said unto Laban, I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter; and Laban consented to this and Yacob served Laban seven years for his daughter Rachel.
Year 2187
15 And in the second year of Yacob's dwelling in Haran, that is in the seventy ninth year of the life of Yacob, in that year died Eber the son of Shem, he was four hundred and sixty-four years old at his death.
16 And when Yacob heard that Eber was dead he grieved exceedingly, and he lamented and mourned over him many days.
17 And in the third year of Yacob'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 Yacob's residence in the house of Laban, YAHWEH visited Laban and remembered him on account of Yacob, and sons were born unto him, and his first born was Beor, his second was Alib, and the third was Chorash.
19 And YAHWEH gave Laban riches and honor, sons and daughters, and the man increased greatly on account of Yacob.
20 And Yacob in those days served Laban in all manner of work, in the house and in the field, and the blessing of YAHWEH 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.

The Book of Jasher Index - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

Click on a Label below, to list all the related posts.