From the Nazarenes:
The 1829 Jasher
We shall examine the two versions of Jasher by treating each individually and in order of publication. Concerning Jasher-1829 (the alleged “Alcuin” version), we find it replete with outright contradictions to the Bible. We found the following and offer them as examples:
(1) Instead of spending 40 days on Mt. Sinai receiving instruction from Yahweh-God, as the Bible states; according to Jasher-1829 (chapter 17), Moses and Joshua and Nadab and Abihu and 70 elders spent 40 days on the mount receiving instruction from Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law. Furthermore, this Jasher claims that Jethro was the son of Esau, Israel’s enemy for the ages. The Bible, on the other hand, states that Jethro was the priest of Midian. Midian was one of the six sons of Abraham through Keturah, whom he took to wife after the death of Sarah.
(2) According to Jasher-1829, it is Jethro who instructs Moses how to build the tabernacle and Jethro who tells Moses to build an ark. Jethro also tells Moses to choose a priesthood family. Moses chooses Aaron and his sons, and it is Jethro who tells Moses to clothe them with holy garments. (Jasher 17:8-13). The Bible says God instructed Moses in all these things.
(3) When the 40 days are over, Moses conspires with Joshua and the others and suggests that when they go down off Mt. Sinai to the people, that they had better tell them that they had been meeting with the Lord, when in reality it was only Jethro. There is no mention anywhere of meeting with Yahweh on Mt. Sinai. (1829-Jasher 17:21-22)
(4) The Bible says that Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, were killed by fire from Yahweh for offering “strange fire” on the altar and this was long after the golden calf rebellion. Jasher-1829 says the pair were slain by the sword of the Levites at the command of Moses as part of the 3,000 killed for their part in the golden calf rebellion (although the golden calf is not mentioned in Jasher). (1829-Jasher 18:5, 6)
(5) In the matter of the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, the Bible tells us that the Lord caused the earth to open up and swallow up them and about 250 fellow rebels in a fiery abyss. This 1829-Jasher, in contrast, asserts that Moses instructed the Levites to execute the rebels “with fire.” (Jasher 21: 12.)
(6) Bible scholars debate on whether or not Rahab of Jericho was a prostitute or not. This Jasher raises her status even beyond that of ordinary subject of the king. It states she was a “princess” who was born of an Israelite father and a Midianite mother. This account has the enraged king of Jericho merely calling her a harlot in a fit of anger for her having tried to persuade him to surrender to Joshua. (1829-Jasher 27:8, 10, 20.)
Reflecting further, one wonders how Rahab could be a princess, since her alleged Israelite father could not have been a king (Saul was Israel’s first king) and no mention is made of her mother being a queen of Midian. And if she were princess of Midian, what was she doing living in Jericho?
(7) The crossing of the Jordan in 1829-Jasher, chapter 28, affords several more examples of blatant contradictions to the Scripture. Jasher avers that the children of Israel were 50 cubits behind the ark, instead of 2,000 as Scripture records. Also, Scripture states that the priests had to stand in the middle of Jordan bearing the ark as the people crossed over. Jasher says it took six days to cross over... a rather ridiculous statement in view of the width of the Jordan as compared to the presumably much wider Red Sea which they crossed over in one night. And pity those poor Levite priests who had to hold up the (very heavy) ark of the covenant for six full days.
(8) Moreover, the Bible asserts plainly that the waters of Jordan receded and the people went over on dry ground. Jasher says they went across Jordan on wood which floated on the face of the waters! (Jasher 28:10) You figure that one out. ... Oh, I get it. This is where the Israelites invented surfboards! Verse 5 of this chapter claims that 16-year-old males were armed. However, all throughout Scripture, only those males 20 years old and upward were numbered in the armies of Israel.
(9) Concerning the siege and storming of Jericho, the Bible says the city was “straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.” This implies that most if not all the inhabitants remained within the walls and were subsequently slaughtered by Joshua and company. Jasher 28:18 states that “the people of Jericho fled from the city; every one to the mountains.”
(10) Finally, according to this 1829-Jasher (chapter 32), it was long after – years after the entry in Canaanland – after the conquest, after the division of the land among the Israelite families, after the establishment of the 48 Levitical cities; it was allegedly after all this that old Joshua gets around to having all the males circumcised. The Scripture, however, clearly states that all the males of Israel were circumcized almost immediately after the crossing of Jordan (Joshua 5) and before the attack on Jericho.
Verdict on the 1829 Book of Jasher
We could on with other examples, but this is certainly sufficient to label the 1829-Jasher as a fraud and a fake. That was an easy one, and we have found no one (save the forger) who claims it is authentic. For example, The Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopedia offers this history and denunciation of it."