The Chronology of Abraham in the Book of Jasher

The Chronology of Abraham in the Book of Jasher
By
W. S. Butterbauch

Introduction

The discrepancy existing between the chronology of the Hebrew text of our Bible (See Ge. 11:10-32) and that of the Greek Translation known as the LXX or Septuagint, made some 283 B.C., has occupied the attention of the theologians since the early centuries with little or no success in the solution. By a comparison of these differences it is observed that apparently 100 years is added to the ages of seven of these postdiluvian patriarch’s in the Septuagint which does not appear in the Hebrew text. This difference first begins with Arphaxad and ends with Nahor, the father of Terah. Why this differences had never been satisfactory explained, and which of these two texts can be proved to be erroneous or which can be demonstrated to be the true and original text is the purpose of this inquiry.

Before a surveyor can calculate the amount of acreage in a given tract of ground, he must first locate an initial point with which to begin his survey. Likewise, in this instance, a search for one or more initial points must be located before success can be achieved.

It will be observed that all four chronologies, the Hebrew, Samaritan, Septuagint, and that of Josephus, agree that Noah lived to be 950 years of age; and likewise all four agree that Shem lived for a period of 152 years after the death of Noah, which took place in 2006, A. M., and that Shem dies in 2158, A. M. All four chronologies agree that Abram was born in the 70 of Terah’s age. All agree that Shem went through the experiences of the Flood with his father Noah. Since all of their descendants, with the exception of Eber, LIVED AND DIES WITHIN THE LIFE PERIOD OF SHEM, we must of necessity first confine our survey underneath the roof of these two most ancient patriarchs.

Peleg was the first to die. His death occurred 10 years prior to that of Noah, and Eber the last to die, dies 29 years AFTER the death of Shem. The careful reader will discern that these several births and deaths all transpired (with this one exception of Eber) within the arena of time confined to Noah and Shem. Their several life-periods are restricted within these limits, as can be seen and understood. This analogy is suddenly broken and becomes distorted in the leapfrog hops of 100 years into a future realm of hypothesis, and when projected forward according to the mathematical basis as outlined to the Septuagint, it finds the logic of former stabilized history out of joint with the data of FACT! It enters into a fog of obscurity and disjointed historical event which becomes apparent to any student of history. By comparison, we can readily see that Peleg, who was the first to die under the roof of Noah and Shem, after being projected forward to find the period of his death under the Septuagint schedule, is made to die BEYOND the Exodus, — something is wrong, either mathematically, or else in the text, and it can only be found in the text which has previously been fabricated. Peleg, Reu, and Sezug meet their period for death after the Exodus before the birth of Abraham!!! The Septuagint schedule of time finds Isaac, Jacob and Joseph alive during the period of the Judges. When encroaching on familiar B.C. history, its chronology becomes extremely ridiculous and absurd.

Most assuredly, the Septuagint chronology has been fabricated to fit into the ideas of those Egyptian priests concerning whom Herodotus, who visited Egypt about 448 B. C., stated that their reckoning of 341 kings covering a period of 11,340 years, was questionable. Thus it has been with Septuagint chronology.

W. S. BUTTERBAUCH, M. D. Canon City, Colorado.

July 18, 1951.

_______________

THE CHRONOLOGY OF ABRAHAM

The reader must first understand the familiar relationship of Terah, the father of Abram, before he can comprehend the detailed events in the life of Abraham. The important question to be determined in this family of three brothers is the order of birth of the three, and which son is the elder, and which the younger in their family history.

” And Terah lived 70 years and begat Abram, Nahor and Haran.” (Gen. 11:26) We find a parallel statement in Gen. 10:21: “Noah begat Shem, Ham and Japhet.” In each instance God has designated His preference for leadership in the future work of His revealed Mystery. There is nothing said about the age of each, or the order of birth, however, we may detect that in each instance the elder is the last to be mentioned. In Gen. 10:21 we are informed that Japhet is the elder, and in the narration of Terah’s family of three we observe that Haran is the last mentioned. In Isaac’s family of twins, Esau was the elder, yet, Jacob is always mentioned first, thus in Terah’s family, the younger, Abram, always takes precedence over the elder, having been selected by God for a special work.

With reference to Terah, there exist certain legends found in the Talmud and in the Book of Jasher, whether true or false we do not know, but suffice to say that when legend is based upon the experiences of family life in which the chain of events coincide with family relationship and history, we are justified in giving them careful consideration. It should be understood that the Book of Jasher is not an inspired history, neither are we justified in rejecting it wholly as fictitious.  It occupies a place in history much the same as Josephus, many of whose statements are both true and erroneous.  There are three different copies of Jasher extant, two of which are POSITIVELY fictitious.  The historical quotations herewith made use of are not found in the fictitious copies, but come from what is supposed to be an original manuscript that found entrance into Spain shortly after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, by certain Jews who escaped under the protection of Roman soldiers, where a few of the Jews found an asylum during the early centuries.  The ablest of theologians and scholars are in doubt as to its origin.  Some say it has been copied from historical incidents mentioned in the Talmud which have been enlarged upon.  The most plausible theory seems to be that the Jews who escaped from Spain, harbored among themselves certain traditional relics of early Hebrew literature.  Dr. Isaac Nordheimer, professor of Oriental literature; Rabbi H. V. Nathan, and Dr. George Bush, an eminent Hebrew scholar, have all testified to the PURE RABBINICAL HEBREW of the edition from which these quotations are taken.

It was by accident that the writer came across a statement in the Book of Jasher which reads: “Haran was 32 years old when Abram was born.”  Personal curiosity prompted further investigation. Could this be fact or fiction? Further evidence seemed necessary. Sometime later this additional evidence was discovered: ” Nahor, son of Terah, died, in the 40 years of Isaac at 172.” How solve these two statements in the chronology of Terah’s family? It was evident that the solution depended upon a correct date for the birth of Abram, and that from that date the 40 of Isaac could be discovered and substantiated.

HARAN AND NAHOR, TWINS

On the basis that Abram was born in 1948, and Haran was 32 at the time of said event, it is plain that by subtracting 32 from that date it would reveal the year of Haran’s birth. This done, we have 1916 for the answer. Since Nahor died in the 40 of Isaac at the age of 172, and Isaac was born when Abram was 100 years of age, we find that the birth of Isaac occurred in the year 2048. This date, plus the 40 of Isaac, gives us 2088 as the year of Nahor’s death. This number less 172 his age at time of death, gives us 1916 as the year of Nahor’s birth. Thus it becomes clear as crystal that these two brothers in the family of Terah were twins.

Wide extended research in Bible history and Chronology has thus far failed to find any reference to this fact, hence the writer claims the honor for this discovery, if such it be.

Chronologers differ in regard to the era for the birth of Abram, thus leading the reader into a labyrinth of confusion and perplexity. The most reasonable initial point from which to begin the reckoning is the date for the Flood (1656). The Hebrew text gives us 292 years from the Flood to Abram’s birth, or 1948 A. M. Anno Mundi, meaning from Creation. This is taken from the Hebrew text. It is found by comparison that the Septuagint text gives us 2728 A. M., or 1275 B. C. More perplexity and more study, with no satisfactory solution. High class theologians fail to agree. Even Bishop Usher takes exception to the date 1948 for the birth of Abram, and says that he was born in the 130 of Terah’s age, and that he was born in year 2008. He reasons as follows: Abram could not have been born in the 70 of Terah, and that it was Haran that was born on the aforesaid date. An extended study of the chronology of the Septuagint with reference to the date of Abram’s birth, and by contrasting the time of Peleg’s death, which was said to have taken place before the death of Noah in the 48 of Abram, it was found by the Septuagint to have taken place some 200 years before the birth of Abram AFTER THE EXODUS! This ridiculous situation only served to heighten interest and to study more thoroughly the Septuagint. Samaritan, and Hebrew Chronologies to determine be the truth, if such could be found. The details of this study had finally developed into the present “COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE HEBREW AND SEPTUAGINT TE XTS OF BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY.” With this apology of explanation, we resume our first line of investigation.

 If Terah was born 222 years this side of the Flood, which date is early obtained, then the 70 of Terah is established to be 1948. No way to avoid this conclusion, but the question raised by Bishop Usher involves a new angle of reasoning. His argument rests upon the fact that a father could not be of the age of 70 (See Gen. 12:4). The existing anomaly rests in the time and order of birth of Terah’s age, concerning which Bishop Usher was unaware. This is exactly what took place, and accounts for Usher’s supposed discovery for the necessity of placing Abram’s birth in the 130 of Terah. Almost all of the leading chronologers of the world have fallen into this pit of presumption, which was excavated by Usher in order to solve the riddle of Abram’s time of birth. It is apparent that the most of them were fully satisfied with Usher’s solution, as the following will illustrate:

Dr. Akers, who is author of an exhaustive work on Chronology, says: “A single correction is required. Though Terah was only 70 years old at the birth of his son, yet, as the Hebrew and the Septuagint both say (Gen. 11:32) that he died aged 205. When Abram was called, being 75 years old (Gen. 12:4) it is evident that this birth was 60 years in the life of Terah. This requires the birth of Abram, according to the Hebrew, to be 2008 A.M. ” Dr. Hales, renowned Chronologist, state: ” Terah lived 70 years, and begat Abram, Nahor and Haran (Gen. 11:26). Abram was probably the youngest son, and Haran certainly the oldest…Abram was the son of Terah by a second wife. This appears from his apology to Abimelech for his equivocation in calling Sarah his sister. ‘She is the daughter (grand-daughter) of my father, but not the daughter of my mother.’ (Gen. 20:14) By the same latitude of expression, Abram called his nephew, Lot, ‘his brother’. (Gen. 24:14). That Abram was born in his father’s 130 year, is evident from the age of Terah at his death 205 years (Gen. 11:32) at which time Abram was 75 years old.”

Dr. Hales continues: “The addition of 60 years to the age of Terah at Abram’s birth, was one of the most brilliant and important of Usher’s improvements in Chronology.”

Dr. Anstey, author of “The Romance of Bible Chronology,” London, 1913, says: “Usher, in his interpretation of this question, (Abram’s birth in the 130 of Terah) is regarded as one of the improvements of his system, and is proof of his acuteness and keenness of insight into the chronological bearing of statements contained in the text of the Holy Scriptures.” These honorary statements from numerous other Chronologists could be multiplied many-fold, but let these suffice.

“And the days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.” (Gen. 11:32) The supposition that Terah died at this time (in the history of Abram) was also instrumental in leading Usher into a wrong conclusion. There can be no question as to Abram’s age of 75 at this time, and we also find that Terah was 145 years of age when Abram was 75 years. Proof: 145 minus 75 is 70. This was Terah’s age at Abram’s birth. It is also true that “Terah lived and died in Haran,” but is NOT true that Terah died at the time of Abram’s departure for Canaan. Abram was 135 at the time of the death of Terah. Stephen’s prophecy (Acts 7:4) was not fulfilled at the time of Abram’s departure for Canaan at the age of 75, but many years later at the time of the death of numerous of his relatives. Sarah dies in year 2085, born in 1958. Nahor, Abram’s brother, dies in year 2088. Yes, the Lord finally removed him “in the land wherin ye now dwell ” at the time of his father’s death, and also many of his kindred associated. The fulfillment of an event is often dependent upon a slow and developing finality not fully understood in the beginning. The probabilities are that Stephen did not fully understand the words he himself uttered under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The philosophy of the Supernatural far exceeds the comprehension of fallible man.

Cainan

The Septuagint has a Cainan with 130 years which is not in the Hebrew or the Samaritan texts. A  very grave question arises at this juncture. Ought this name to be inserted? How come this anomaly? Was there ever such a person, and if so, WHY has his name been omitted from the Hebrew genealogy? It is omitted in Gen. 10:24, 11:12, and in 1.Chron. 1:18, 24. This Cainan does not occur in the Hebrew in any of these places, so that if it had been left out in one place, and not included in another, he must have been a non-existent individual, or else have been purposely omitted in all four places for the reason that no such person existed. That his name does not appear in the Samaritan Pentateuch, or in any of the other early translations of the Hebrew, and being omitted in the Septuagint in 1. Chron. 18, and 24. WHERE SHOULD APPEAR IF GENUINE, and this particular omission in these two instances, makes the Septuagint inconsistent with itself! Dr. Hales calls attention to the fact that it is not found in those copies of the Bible used by many of the early writers, such as Berosus, Polyhistor, Josephus, Philo, Theopholus of Antioch, Africanus, Origen and Jerome. (See Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible – “Cainan”.)

Gregory ingeniously proves that Cainan was an imagery person. How this name come to be copied into Luke 3:36 is really the difficulty. It has been already observed that it does not appear in 1. Chron. of the Septuagint, and that its first and only introduction appears in Gen. 11:12 of the Septuagint. We see, therefore, that apparently this presence in Luke 3:36 has no foundation for its quotation from any of the Hebrew sources, and must rest SOLELY upon that of the single reference of Gen. 11:12 of the Septuagint. It would seem that it was not copied into Luke by inspiration. it seems clear that it did not come from any of the Hebrew texts, but from Septuagint resources. It is said to be wanting in one of the earliest Greek manuscripts of Luke. In whatever way it got into Luke we do not know. It may perchance have been copied by a copyist wholly ignorant of all the accompanying facts, as seems most reasonable to assume. It is not to be presumed that all of the copyists were scrupulously particular in all instances. The gravity of the outcome of probable haste may have seemed of little importance to a substitute copyist. However, these assumptions do not solve the problem. Since water cannot rise to a level higher than the spring from which it issues, so neither can the authority of the New Testament for its absence, from which the New Testament professes to derive its authority.

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Being Grafted in- Understanding Gen. 12:1-3

Being Grafted in- Understanding Gen. 12:1-3
By
James Scott Trimm

We read in the Torah:

[1] Now YHWH had said unto Avram, Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, unto a land that I will shew you:
[2] And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing:
[3] And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curse you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.
(Gen. 12:1-3)

Paul cites part of this material in Galatians when he writes:

[6] Even as Avraham believed Elohim, and it was accounted to him for righteousness (Gen. 15:6).
[7] Know you therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Avraham.
[8] And the scripture, foreseeing that Elohim would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the goodnews unto Avraham, saying, In you shall all nations be blessed. (Gen. 12:3)
[9] So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Avraham.
(Gal. 3:6-9)

The Torah Commentator Rashbam (grandson of Rashi) wrote concerning this phrase in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.(Gen. 12:3)

Rather, “shall graft themselves on to you.” That is, they intermix with your family. Note that this form is Niphal, not the Pual that is the passive of the Piel “bless.”

And Ibn Ezra says in his commentary to this phrase:

A great scholar said in his book that this “blessing” has something to do with grafting plants.

In the Hifil form, this same verb is used in direct reference to Genesis 12:3 in the Talmud to refer to “grafting” of proselytes into Israel:

R. Eleazar further stated: What is meant by the text, And in you shall the families of the earth be blessed? (Gen. 12:3) The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, ‘I have two goodly shoots to graft (להבריך) onto you: Ruth the Moabitess and Naamah the Ammonitess’. All the families of the earth, even the other families who live on the earth are blessed only for Israel’s sake. All the nations of the earth, even the ships that go from Gaul to Spain are blessed only for Israel’s sake.
(b.Yev. 63a)

When Paul references Genesis 12:3 in Galatians 3:6-9, he is referring to this understanding of proselytes to Israel being “grafted in” to Israel, as he also writes in Romans:

16 And if the first is Set-Apart, the lump of dough is also: and if the root is Set-Apart, the branches [are] also.
17 And if some branches were broken off, and you who are a wild olive [tree], were grafted into their place and became partakers of the root and of the oil of the olive [tree],
18 Do not boast against the [natural] branches. But if you boast, you are not bearing the root, but the root bears you!
19 And perhaps you should say of the branches that were broken off, I will be grafted in their place.
20 These [matters] are beautiful. They were broken off because they did not have trust, but you stand, by trust. Do not be exalted in your mind, but fear:
21 For if Eloah did not spare the natural branches, perhaps He will also not spare you.
22 See then the gentleness and the harshness of Eloah: upon those who fell, harshness, but upon you, gentleness, if, you remain in the gentleness. And if not, you will also be broken off.
23 And those, if they do not remain in their lack of trust, also will be grafted in: for Eloah is able to graft them in again.
24 For if you, who are from the olive [tree] that was wild by your nature, were cut off and were grafted–contrary to your nature–into the good olive [tree], how much more then, those, if they be grafted in their natural olive [tree]?
25 For I want you to know this mystery, my brothers, so that you will not be wise in the thought of your nefesh: that blindness of the heart, in part, has happened to Yisra’el until the fullness of the Goyim should come,
26 And then all Yisra’el will have Life. Thus it is written, From Tziyon a Deliverer will come, and turn iniquity from Ya’akov.
27 And then they will have the covenant that is from Me, when I forgive them their sins. (Isaiah 59:20-21; 27:9)
(Romans 11:16-27)

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The Lost Book of Jasher and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Title page of 1625 edition of the Hebrew Book of Jasher

There are frequent references in the Tanak to “lost books” that are cited in the Tanak bu which do not appear in our current canon. These “lost books” include the following:

  • Book of the Wars of YHWH (Num. 21:14)
  • Manner of the Kingdom by Samuel (1 Sam. 10:25)
  • Acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11:41)
  • Book of Samuel the Seer (1 Chron. 29:29)
  • Book of Gad the Seer (1 Chron. 29:29)
  • Book of Nathan the Prophet (1 Chron. 29:29; 2 Chron. 9:29)
  • Prophecy of Abijah (2 Chron. 9:29)
  • Visions of Iddo the Seer (2 Chron. 9:29; 12:15)
  • The Midrash of Iddo (2 Chron. 13:22)
  • Book of Shemiah (2 Chron. 12:15)
  • Book of Jehu (2 Chron. 20:34)
  • Acts of Uzziah by Isaiah (2 Chron. 26:22)
  • Sayings of the Seers (2 Chron. 33:19)
  • The Book of Jasher (Josh. 10:13; 2 Sam. 1:18)

The name “Book of Jasher” (as we have it in the KJV) is a bit misleading. This was not a book written by someone named “Jasher”. In fact the word “Jasher” (Hebrew: Yashar) means “Upright” so that the Hebrew Sefer HaYashar is “The Upright Book”. The definite article “Ha” tips us off that this is not a person’s name but a modifier for the word “book”.

There are two references to Jasher in the Tanak:

“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
(Joshua 10:13)

(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
(2 Samuel 1:18)

From these two references in the Tanak there are several things we can learn about this mysterious book.

From the usage in Joshua 10:13 we can determine:

1. That Jasher contained the account of the prolonged day mentioned in Joshua 10.

2. That Jasher was in circulation by the time the book of Joshua was written. Since Joshua was written prior to the death of Rahab, Jasher must have been written by that time as well.

3. The Book of Jasher had enough credibility that Joshua would cite it as support for his assertion of the prolonged day.

The usage in 2Sam. 1:18 tells us:

4. The Book of Jasher supported an admonition to teach the son’s of Judah “the bow”.

The identity of this lost book has been a matter of much speculation over the centuries. The ancient translations and paraphrases offer little help to us in identifying the Book of Jasher. The Greek LXX omits the entire phrase from Joshua 10:13 and translates the the phrase to mean “The Book of the Upright” in 2Sam. 1:18. The Latin Vulgate has in both places “Liber Justorum” “The Book of the Upright Ones”. In the Targums the phrase is Paraphrased as “The Book of the Law”.

The Aramaic Peshitta Tanak has “The Book of Praises” in Joshua 10:13 and “The Book of the Song” in 2Sam. 1:18. This may have resulted from a misreading of ישר (Upright) as שיר (Song). And some have speculated that the book in question was actually a book of songs which included reference to Joshua 10:13 in the lyrics of a song. This theory also takes “the bow” in 2Sam. 1:18 to be the name of a song.

LAID UP IN THE TEMPLE

In his own recounting of the event of the prolonged day of Joshua 10 the first century Jewish Roman historian Josephus identifies the Book of Jasher mentioned by Joshua as one of “the books laid up in the Temple” (Ant. 5:1:17). Thus the Book of Jasher was known to Josephus and was known to be among the books laid up in the Temple in the first century.

There is a Hebrew “Book of Jasher” which is said to have been first printed in Naples in 1552. However no copies of the 1552 edition have survived, and we are dependent instead on the 1625 Venice printing as the oldest known copy.

The 1625 edition of Jasher has a Preface, which says in part (translated from the Hebrew):

…when the holy city Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus,
all the military heads went in to rob and plunder, and
among the officers of Titus was one whose name was Sidrus,
who went in to search, and found in Jerusalem a house
of great extent…

According to the preface this Sidrus found a false wall in this house with a hidden room. In this room he found an old man hiding with provisions and many books including the Book of Jasher The old man found favor with Sidrus who took the old man and his books with him.

The preface says “they went from city to city and from country to country until they reached Sevilia [a city in Spain].” At that time “Seville” was called “Hispalis” and was the capital of the Roman province of Hispalensis. The manuscript was donated to the Jewish college at Cordova, Spain.

This Book of Jasher is a narrative beginning with the creation of man and ends with the entry of Israel into Canaan.

The Book of Jasher passage related to Joshua 10:13 reads as follows:

“And when they were smiting, the day was declining toward evening, and Joshua said in the sight of all the people, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of Ajalon, until the nation shall have revenged itself upon its enemies.

And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Joshua, and the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens, and it stood still six and thirty moments, and the moon also stood still and hastened not to go down a whole day.”
(Jasher 88:63-64)

And the Book of Jasher passage which relates to 2Sam. 1:18 involves Jacob’s last words to his son Judah:

“Only teach thy sons the bow and all weapons of war, in order that
they may fight the battles of their brother who will rule over his
enemies.”
(Jasher 56:9)

This reads very similar to the midrash which gives these last words as:

“Thou, my son, art stronger than all thy brethren,
and from thy loins will kings arise. Teach thy children
how they may protect themselves from enemies and evil-doers”

It would seem that the author of Jasher did not create this account to fit with 2Sam. 1:18 since the same account occurs in the midrash (which itself may have been drawn from Jasher).

Certainly many serious scholars have concluded that this Book of Jasher is authentic. The well known Hebraist and Rabbinic Scholar (and translator of the 1840 Book of Jasher) Moses Samuel wrote of Jasher:

“…the book is, with the exception of some doubtful parts,
a venerable monument of antiquity; and that, notwithstanding
some few additions have been made to it in comparatively
modern times, it still retains sufficient to prove it a copy
of the book referred to in Joshua, ch. x, and 2 Samuel, ch. 1.”
– Moses Samuel – Hebraist and Rabbinic Scholar

And my old friend and mentor, the late Dr. Cyrus Gordon (who was the world’s leading Semitist until his death) said:

“There can be little doubt that the book of Jasher was a
national epic… The time is ripe for a fresh investigation
of such genuine sources of Scripture, particularly against
the background of the Dead Sea Scrolls.”
– Dr. Cyrus Gordon

One of the chief objections given by skeptics to the authenticity of the 1625 Hebrew printing of the Book of Jasher is that our oldest known surviving copy is this printed Hebrew edition of 1625.  Some have argued that the book itself was a forgery created by Rabbis in the Middle Ages.

Recently, while doing research for the Book of Jasher Study Project I discovered yet an important evidence for the ancient origin of this book, and incredible parallel with a document found among the Dead Sea Scrolls known as the Genesis Apocryphon.

The Genesis Apocryphon records a conversation between the biblical figure Lamech, son of Methuselah, and his son, Noah, as well as first and third person narratives associated with Abraham.

We read in the Book of Jasher (in parallel to Gen. 12:19-20):

29 And in the morning the king called for Abram and said to him, What is this thou hast done to me? Why didst thou say, She is my sister, owing to which I took her unto me for a wife, and this heavy plague has therefore come upon me and my household.
30 Now therefore here is thy wife, take her and go from our land lest we all die on her account. And Pharaoh took more cattle, men servants and maid servants, and silver and gold, to give to Abram, and he returned unto him Sarai his wife.
31 And the king took a maiden whom he begat by his concubines, and he gave her to Sarai for a handmaid.
32 And the king said to his daughter, It is better for thee my daughter to be a handmaid in this man’s house than to be mistress in my house, after we have beheld the evil that befell us on account of this woman.
33 And Abram arose, and he and all belonging to him went away from Egypt; and Pharaoh ordered some of his men to accompany him and all that went with him.
(Jasher 15:29-33)

The Genesis Apocryphon gives a first person account of these same events as given in the first person by Abraham himself with striking similarity:

So he called me to himself and asked me,”What have you done to me because of your wife [Sar]ai? You told 27me,’She is my sister,’ yet she was actually your wife! I took her as my own wife! Here she is; take her, go, depart from 28all the provinces of Egypt! But first, pray for me and my house that this evi]l spirit may be exorcised from us.” So I prayed for him, that blasphemer, 29and laid my hands upon his [he]ad. Thereupon the plague was removed from him, the evil [spirit] exorcised [from him, and he was hea]led. The king rose and [in]formed 30me . . . and the king swore to me with an oath that [he had not touched] her. Then [they brought] m[e] 31S[ar]ai. The king gave her much [silver and g]old, and great quantities of linen and purple-dyed garments [ . . . ] [he put them] 32before her, and before Hagar as well. He restored her to me and assigned men to escort [me out of Egypt . .
(Genesis Apocryphon Col. 21 lines 26-32)

In both accounts Pharaoh gives Abram and Sarai gold and silver and other riches when they are escorted out of Egypt!

Another important parallel with the Dead Sea Scrolls occurs in the account of the Akeda. The Book of Jasher contains a prelude to the Akeda which parallels the event at the opening of Job:

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 22:46-55)

This has an interesting parallel to this prelude in the Dead Sea Scrolls:

And a son of love was born to Abraham and he named him Isaac. Now  the Prince of Malevolence (Mastemah) came to God and brought his  animosity to bear against Abraham because of Isaac….
(4Q225)

These parallels with the Dead Sea Scrolls are important because these scrolls were lost from the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, until their discovery in 1947.  These documents would not have been available to Jews in the middle ages! These parallels make it evident that the original Hebrew Book of Jasher is at the core of the text published in 1625 Venice edition.

We need your help today! We still need to raise $350 for bills hitting our account tonight (8/5/24) and we do not have it! Help us keep our account from going into the negative and starting a chain reaction of returned items and fees!
In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. As you might imagine, donations are low. If you can, please donate. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!

The last two months have hit us very hard. It has been a long time since our situation was this dire. Any donation will help, and any donation is better than no donation.

Now is time to step up to the plate!

I realize that it is not the activity of James Trimm alone who is responsible to do this work, it is all of us together who are charged with the responsibility of accomplishing this work. I very much look on the efforts of this restoration work as a cooperative one with each one of you. We are all joint heirs with Messiah and should always be about our Father’s business. I am honored to be able to be partnered with truth seekers as this restoration of Scripture moves forward in fulfillment of prophecy.

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Jugs of Wine

There is an old Jewish story of a couple about to be married. They lived in a small village and had invited everyone from the village to their wedding. Each guest was asked to bring a jug of wine for the celebration. Each jug of wine would be poured into a giant vat to be shared by everyone. As the wedding day approached, each member of the village thought, “If I do not bring my jug of wine, it will not be missed among so many other jugs.”

The wedding day arrived and the couple were married and everyone was excited. But as the tap of the vat was opened, not a drop of wine flowed from it, for everyone had been sure that someone else would provide their share.
Do not count on someone else to do your part, you do your part.

Is this work worthy of your support? What other ministry provides this kind of teaching?

The last six weeks have hit us very hard. It has been a long time since our situation was this dire. We are treading water financially. We we have nearly $220 in pending charges that must clear our account tonight. This morning I am taking my wife to one of her many doctor appointments, where there will be a copay, plus I need to fill a prescription for her today that is just over $200 (that is our cost). We honestly need to raise about $500 today to cover these costs. Any donation will help, and any donation is better than no donation.


Now is time to step up to the plate!

As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen, and to continue the work of the Scripture Restoration Project. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

Donations sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org normally reach us instantly. Any donation will help, and any donation is better than no donation.

James Trimm

Philo and the Four Worlds

Philo and the Four Worlds
By
James Scott Trimm

According to the Jewish tradition known as Kabbalah, as one approaches Ayn Sof (the Infinite One) one passes through four worlds.  These four worlds are based on the four stages of the process of creation, each of which exists outside the dimension of time and thus they all are to be passed through as one approaches Ayn Sof.

These four worlds, or four stages of creation are laid out in the Tanak in the book of Isaiah:

All that is called in My Name, for My Glory (K’vod),
I have created (Beri’ah) it,
I have formed (Yetzirah) it,
And I have made (Asiyyah) it.
(Is. 43:7)

The four worlds are known as the World of Atzilut (emanation) ; the World of Beri’ah (creation), the World of Yetzirah (formation) and the World of Asiyyah (action).

When the Infinite One created the universe, His work of creation followed these four stages. Since all but the last of these worlds exists, like YHWH, outside the dimension of time, as one approaches YHWH from this world, one must pass though the upper three worlds which stand as stages of this world, or worlds of their own, between this creation and the Creator.

The First Century Jewish Writer Philo of Alexandria also writes about the Creation as unfolding in stages corresponding to other “worlds”. And while Philo is commonly understood of speaking of two worlds, a closer examination will show that Philo actually subdivides each of these two worlds into to two, so that Philo’s system actually has four worlds as well.

Philo writes of two worlds,

We must mention as much as we can of the matters contained in his account, since to enumerate them all is impossible; for he embraces that beautiful world which is perceptible only by the intellect, as the account of the first day will show: (16) for God, as apprehending beforehand, as a God must do, that there could not exist a good imitation without a good model, and that of the things perceptible to the external senses nothing could be faultless which wax not fashioned with reference to some archetypal idea conceived by the intellect, when he had determined to create this visible world, previously formed that one which is perceptible only by the intellect, in order that so using an incorporeal model formed as far as possible on the image of God, he might then make this corporeal world, a younger likeness of the elder creation, which should embrace as many different genera perceptible to the external senses, as the other world contains of those which are visible only to the intellect. (17) But that world which consists of ideas, it were impious in any degree to attempt to describe or even to imagine: but how it was created, we shall know if we take for our guide a certain image of the things which exist among us. When any city is founded through the exceeding ambition of some king or leader who lays claim to absolute authority, and is at the same time a man of brilliant imagination, eager to display his good fortune, then it happens at times that some man coming up who, from his education, is skilful in architecture, and he, seeing the advantageous character and beauty of the situation, first of all sketches out in his own mind nearly all the parts of the city which is about to be completed–the temples, the gymnasia, the prytanea, and markets, the harbour, the docks, the streets, the arrangement of the walls, the situations of the dwelling houses, and of the public and other buildings. (18) Then, having received in his own mind, as on a waxen tablet, the form of each building, he carries in his heart the image of a city, perceptible as yet only by the intellect, the images of which he stirs up in memory which is innate in him, and, still further, engraving them in his mind like a good workman, keeping his eyes fixed on his model, he begins to raise the city of stones and wood, making the corporeal substances to resemble each of the incorporeal ideas. (19) Now we must form a somewhat similar opinion of God, who, having determined to found a mighty state, first of all conceived its form in his mind, according to which form he made a world perceptible only by the intellect, and then completed one visible to the external senses, using the first one as a model. (On Creation 15b-19)

So this presents two worlds, one of incorporeal ideas, perceptible only to the intellect, and a corporeal world perceptible to our senses.

However these two worlds may be further divided. Philo says of the incorporeal world, that it is “an incorporeal model formed as far as possible on the image of God.” (On Creation 17)

And of the corporeal world Philo says:

(8) But Moses, who had early reached the very summits of philosophy, and who had learnt from the oracles of God the most numerous and important of the principles of nature, was well aware that it is indispensable that in all existing things there must be an active cause, and a passive subject; and that the active cause is the intellect of the universe, thoroughly unadulterated and thoroughly unmixed, superior to virtue and superior to science, superior even to abstract good or abstract beauty; (9) while the passive subject is something inanimate and incapable of motion by any intrinsic power of its own, but having been set in motion, and fashioned, and endowed with life by the intellect, became transformed into that most perfect work, this world. And those who describe it as being uncreated, do, without being aware of it, cut off the most useful and necessary of all the qualities which tend to produce piety, namely, providence: (On Creation 9-9)

So that the corporeal world is composed of a stage or world that is merely a “passive subject inanimate and incapable of motion by any intrinsic power of its own” but which “became transformed into… this world” when it was “set in motion, and fashioned, and endowed with life by the intellect,” (On Creation 9)

This means that Philo of Alexandria actually presents four “worlds” or “four stages of creation”: The image of Elohim, the incorporeal model formed as far as possible on the “image of God”. A corporeal “passive subject” and “this world” which is “set in motion.”

Philo’s Four Worlds correspond exactly with the Four Worlds of Kabbalah! This tells us that either the Four Worlds as taught in Kabbalah are either derived from Philo of Alexandria, or that (more likely) both Kabbalah and Philo of Alexandria are referencing a very ancient Jewish tradition of the “Four Worlds” that dates back at least to the First Century, but possibly much, much further into ancient times.

In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. As you might imagine, donations are low. If you can, please donate. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!

As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.


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