JASHER, or rather JASHAR, Boox OF, a work quoted in Josh. x. 13, and 2 Sam. i. 18. The former passage runs thus : And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher ? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and basted not to go down about a whole day,' etc. The passage in 2 Sam. is as follows ; And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul, and over Jonathan his son : (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow : behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.') The origin of the name Jashar is obscure. Some have supposed that the book was so called because it celebrated the praises of just or righteous men, V.,+, meaning ?wt. This is more probable than that the name of its agethor was given to the book ; or that it was so called from beginning with the word -dn. Bishop Lowth (De sacra pesi, pp. 241, 242,
ed. Oxon. 82r), who adopts the latter conjecture, refers to the old Syriac translator who renders the word by 1+0,4, sang-, in one place where it oc curs. The fact that kxod. xv. r, begins with 1.1,11, ttt rit:t, then sang, Moses, does not much favour this assumption. It is true that the different books of the Hebrew Bible derived the names which they bore among the Jews front the initial word; but the custom was scarcely so old as the time of the book Jashar, except the initial word afforded a clear index to the contents of the poem or book, a.t the beginnhig of which it stood. It is against Lowth's opinion that "It1+ does not mean he sang. It should have been -pr.)4. Besides, the article is prefixed to ntj+, Ilgen supposes that the phrase means