The Book of Mormon and the Book of Jasher – What is the Connection?
In 1839, an ancient pure rabbinical Hebrew manuscript was recovered in the ruins of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., subsequently translated into English in 1839, in Liverpool, England, then published in 1840 in New York City. The work was titled, “Sefer haYashar,” or “Book of the Upright,” or the “Book of Jasher.” Significantly, ten years earlier, the Book of Mormon, an ancient record written in reformed Egyptian, was recovered from an ancient Hebrew people, translated by Joseph Smith in 1829 then published in 1830. Both books contain Old Testament events that are similar, but are not found, to date, in other ancient records. Other revelations by Joseph Smith recorded in the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham and the Doctrine and Covenants, that were received prior to the 1840 English publication of the Book of Jasher are substantiated in the Book of Jasher. An overview of the history of the discovery of the lost Book of Jasher, as referenced in the books of Joshua and 2 Samuel, with specific events contained therein and substantiated by modern revelation, will be presented that validates Joseph Smith, Jr. as a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator. An introduction to the “Annotated Edition of The Book of Jasher, The Annals of the Early Hebrews” will be presented.
David R. Hocking, Author of The Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon
This Annotated Edition of the Book of Jasher seems to have struck a resonant chord among readers of this ancient parallel Biblical history spanning a timeframe from the creation of Adam and Eve to the conquest of Canaan by Joshua. From the gorgeous cover to the gilded pages filled with scores of Master painters of Biblical art, annotations, insights and a comprehensive Index, the book’s unique appeal stems, in part, from the fact that it is the first edition to feature a literary treatment of the many Hebraisms in the text. Another aspect is the changing font colors throughout the text: red for the voice of Deity, blue for angels and blue for the voice of Satan.
The familiar 1840 English text has been treated in three unique dimensions:
1st, a LITERARY treatment of the text;
2nd, addition of “INSIGHT” pages;
3rd, use of vast amounts of COLOR in a variety of forms.
The content has not been altered, but the formatting and literary presentation of the text has. e.g.
verses are combined into coherent paragraphs; new descriptive headers appear within chapters
over each new thought. Verse numbers are superscripted; poetical stanzas shown in their Hebraic
forms; quotation marks, indentation and BOLD text identify voices of speakers, and much more;
Ancient Hebraic writing forms such as psalms, parallelisms, etc. are shown in-context along with font
colors which establish textual hierarchy.
Over ten years in the making, this edition gives powerful testimony to the fact that the Book of Jasher is indeed a rich Hebrew literary masterpiece centered on the founding and early history of the Hebrew Nation.
The editor of this annotated edition, David R. Hocking of Raleigh, North Carolina, began the project as a way of enhancing his own study of the Book of Jasher to determine if it related an authentic parallel history as contained in the Hebrew Old Testament Scripture. His findings reveal that modern revelations prior to the English translation in 1840 corroborate specific events in the Book of Jasher that are not found in the Old Testament, and will, therefore, enhance your understanding of how this volume can be helpful as it supplements the Old Testament history of the founding of the Hebrew nation.
The book will be available at the 24th Book of Mormon Evidence Conference Sept 27-28 at the Utah Valley Convention Center 220 W. Center St. Provo, UT from 9 am to 9 pm. The author David Hocking will be speaking and available to sign your copy. Information about the Conference HERE!
To register for the Conference CLICK HERE!
