Jay´shuhr; Heb., “upright, righteous”
The book of, a source apparently containing heroic songs, cited twice in the OT: in the account of Joshua’s battle at Gibeon, when “the sun stood still” (Josh 10:13), and again in David’s lamentation for Saul and Jonathan (2Sam 1:18). A third possible citation from this source is (1Kgs 8:12-13), where the LXX adds, “is it not written in the book of songs.” The nature of the book has been a matter of discussion from pre-Christian times. It was apparently a collection of archaic poetry that, though well known in ancient Israel, has not survived, perhaps because it was transmitted primarily in oral form by professional singers.
