The
Sefer haYashar
is an early modern Hebrew
midrash
also known as the
Toledot Adam
and
Dibre ha-Yamim be-'Aruk
. It is generally known in English translation as
The Book of Jasher
. The book is named after the Book of Jasher mentioned in Joshua and 2 Samuel. Although represented in the English translation reproduced here-that of Moses Samuel in 1840-as the genuine Book of Jasher mentioned in the Bible, there is general scholarly consensus that it is a late compilation of Jewish legends, probably written in Naples in the early 1500s.
An unsigned editorial in the
Times and Seasons
quoted the work approvingly; as Joseph Smith was the editor at the time, the editorial came to be attributed to him and as a result the work has been held as genuine by some Latter-day Saints. LDS scholars, however, hold with mainstream scholarship regarding its authenticity. It is, nonetheless, interesting as an alternate perspective on Biblical events, and for its impact (however minor) on LDS thought.
This book is in the Deseret Alphabet, a phonetic alphabet for writing English developed in the mid-19th century at the University of Deseret (now the University of Utah).