Book of Jashar

The book of Jashar (“the upright”; the KJV spells it Jasher) is named twice in the Old Testament. On the day Yahweh delivered the Amorites to Israel, Joshua said, “Sun, stand still on Gibeon! You, moon, stop in the valley of Aijalon!” (Joshua 10:12), and the account goes on: “The sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Isn’t this written in the book of Jashar?” (Joshua 10:13). David's lament over Saul and Jonathan, “the song of the bow,” was also written in it (2 Samuel 1:17–18). It seems to have been a collection of Israel's songs and poems. The book itself has not survived and is not part of Scripture; the inspired writers cite it as a record their readers knew. Books published in modern times under the name “Book of Jasher” are later works, not this book.