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DID YOU KNOW ABOUR BENJAMEN AND NOAH?
- Thread starter moshe
- Start date
Moshe, the "book of Jasher" has been cited on this forum by others in the past. The Bible does refer a couple of times to a "book of Jasher". Because of this, multiple authors have seen this reference and called their book the "book of Jasher" to make it sound more genuine - there are about 5 completely different "books of Jasher" in existence.
I assume you are referring to the Sefer haYashar midrash when you say the "book of Jasher". This is the least-discredited one, the most widely accepted, but it also may just be a 17th century forgery as no earlier copies exist. It parallels Genesis but with a load of added details, which sound fascinating but include a number of clear disagreements with the Biblical account, making it less likely to be authentic scripture. It may be interesting but I wouldn't be basing any theology on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sefer_haYa ... midrash%29
However as far as I can see, the Sefer haYashar only states that Noah had one wife (naming her as Naamah, daughter of Enoch). So either I've missed something or you may be referring to a different book by the same name. Please clarify which of the several books of Jasher you are referring to if it isn't this one:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/jasher/
Genesis 7:7 tells us that Noah, his sons, his wife, and his son's wives went with him into the ark. Note that Noah is said to have a "wife", not wives.
1 Peter 3:20 states that 8 people were saved in the ark. This number is confirmed in 2 Peter 2:5. Given there were 4 men, there is no space for any of them to have had more than one wife.
Although it is plausible that Noah married one of his granddaughters following the flood, so could have ended up a polygamist, this is rather wild and pointless speculation. Unless he did that, he had only one wife. Any book that claims otherwise is in disagreement with scripture.
I assume you are referring to the Sefer haYashar midrash when you say the "book of Jasher". This is the least-discredited one, the most widely accepted, but it also may just be a 17th century forgery as no earlier copies exist. It parallels Genesis but with a load of added details, which sound fascinating but include a number of clear disagreements with the Biblical account, making it less likely to be authentic scripture. It may be interesting but I wouldn't be basing any theology on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sefer_haYa ... midrash%29
However as far as I can see, the Sefer haYashar only states that Noah had one wife (naming her as Naamah, daughter of Enoch). So either I've missed something or you may be referring to a different book by the same name. Please clarify which of the several books of Jasher you are referring to if it isn't this one:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/jasher/
Genesis 7:7 tells us that Noah, his sons, his wife, and his son's wives went with him into the ark. Note that Noah is said to have a "wife", not wives.
1 Peter 3:20 states that 8 people were saved in the ark. This number is confirmed in 2 Peter 2:5. Given there were 4 men, there is no space for any of them to have had more than one wife.
Although it is plausible that Noah married one of his granddaughters following the flood, so could have ended up a polygamist, this is rather wild and pointless speculation. Unless he did that, he had only one wife. Any book that claims otherwise is in disagreement with scripture.
I am aware of the different Jashers. The one i believe may be legit is the one that contradicts Scripture least. I agree that Scripture is the ultimate authority and all must agree with it. Noah has 2 wives but one perished and only one was on the ark. That wouldn't contradict Scripture. Here is the way I explain it: http://www.yourarmstoisraelglobal.com/u ... _noach.pdf
It is based on the biblical language of uncovering the fathers nakedness which is his wife.
It is based on the biblical language of uncovering the fathers nakedness which is his wife.
Moshe, thanks for the references in your document on this, it helps to clarify your reasoning considerably. It is certainly entirely plausible that Noah could have had two wives, but only one have survived until the flood. Essentially you have noted the different names for Noah's wife given in Jubilees and Jasher and concluded that this means he had two wives. However I wouldn't read it quite like that:
Jubilees states that Noah had a wife named Emzara, daughter of Rakeel, and she was the mother of Shem, Ham and Japheth, in that order (even giving dates for their births). (Jubilees 4:33)
http://wesley.nnu.edu/sermons-essays-bo ... -jubilees/
Jasher states that Noah had a wife named Naamah, daughter of Enoch, and she was the mother of Japheth and Shem, in that order (Jasher 5:15-17)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/jasher/5.htm
As far as I can see these are talking about the same woman, because in both cases this wife is claimed to be the mother of at least Shem and Japheth. They aren't talking about two different wives. It just looks like at least one has her name wrong, and at least one has the order of the birth of the sons wrong also. Possibly both are wrong.
Out of Jubilees and Jasher, which would traditionally be considered more reliable?
Note that I am not arguing against this because I particularly want to think of Noah as monogamous. I am just being very cautious that we don't use debatable claims to back up Godly polygyny. There are so many indisputable examples in scripture there is no need to come up with others, if we do we are just making claims that opponents can easily shoot down and in doing so cast doubt on all our statements. Best to just stick to the examples we can very firmly back up. That's my only motive here. If Noah did have two wives in reality, good for him!
Jubilees states that Noah had a wife named Emzara, daughter of Rakeel, and she was the mother of Shem, Ham and Japheth, in that order (even giving dates for their births). (Jubilees 4:33)
http://wesley.nnu.edu/sermons-essays-bo ... -jubilees/
Jasher states that Noah had a wife named Naamah, daughter of Enoch, and she was the mother of Japheth and Shem, in that order (Jasher 5:15-17)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/jasher/5.htm
As far as I can see these are talking about the same woman, because in both cases this wife is claimed to be the mother of at least Shem and Japheth. They aren't talking about two different wives. It just looks like at least one has her name wrong, and at least one has the order of the birth of the sons wrong also. Possibly both are wrong.
Out of Jubilees and Jasher, which would traditionally be considered more reliable?
Note that I am not arguing against this because I particularly want to think of Noah as monogamous. I am just being very cautious that we don't use debatable claims to back up Godly polygyny. There are so many indisputable examples in scripture there is no need to come up with others, if we do we are just making claims that opponents can easily shoot down and in doing so cast doubt on all our statements. Best to just stick to the examples we can very firmly back up. That's my only motive here. If Noah did have two wives in reality, good for him!