THE Old Testament writers mention a not inconsiderable number of source books, some of which are known to us simply as names, while others are represented in the form of brief quotations—the books themselves having long passed into oblivion. For example, Numbers 21:14f. refers to "The book of the wars of the Lord" as recording "What he did in the Red Sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, and at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar." While the title of this early work suggests a decidedly primitive concept of Deity, as one who himself "fought for Israel" (cf. Josh. 10:14), at the same time, the citation implies the acknowledgment of divine aid, recalling, as it apparently does, the day when "The Lord saved Israel . . . out of the hand of the Egyptians" (Ex. 14:30), and a victory over the Amorites and the Moabites (Num. 21:13, 21-35).
Then our Common Version refers more than once to the "Book of Jasher"—the word "Jasher" simply representing the Hebrew term "ya-shar" ("upright" or "just")—and it is generally agreed among commentators that this book was doubtless a collection of heroic ballads celebrating the exploits of some of the "upright" or "just" men who took a leading part in the early history of Israel. Thus one of the Hebrew historians writes of a further triumph of Israel over the Amorites, noting how Joshua cried: "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies." "Is not this written," he continues, "in the book of Jasher?" (Josh. 10: 12f.)
This "Book of the Upright" is given as the source of David's "lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son" recorded in II Samuel 1:17-27. Since both this and the citation from the book of Joshua are in poetry, it is probable that the "Book of Jasher" was a poetical work.
