possessors of the heights of the Arnon. Woe to you, Moab. You have
perished, O people of Chemosh. He has given his sons as fugitives and
his daughters into captivity to Sihon, king of the Amorites. We killed
them with arrows. Heshbon has perished all the way to Dibon, and we
devastated [it] all the way to Nophah, which [stretches] all the way to
Medeba.” (Numbers 21 : 27 – 30 )Translators have rendered the name here as “the Makers of Proverbs,”
but it ought to be “the Makers of Pronouncements” or “the Prophetic
Pronouncements.” This is clear from the meaning of the word meshalim
in Hebrew: it means not only proverbs but also prophetic pronounce-
ments. For example, in Numbers 23 : 7 , 18 and 24 : 3 , 15 it says that Balaam
gave his pronouncement,which was in fact a prophecy about the Lord.
His pronouncement is called a mashal,which is the singular. For another
thing, the material that Moses quotes from that Word is in fact prophe-
cies, not proverbs.
[ 3 ] That Word was just as divinely inspired. This is clear from Jeremiah
where we read almost identical words:
A fire went out from Heshbon and a flame from the midst of Sihon
that consumed the corner of Moab and the top of the children of
tumult. Woe to you, Moab. The people of Chemosh have perished. For
they have taken your sons into captivity and your daughters into cap-
tivity. (Jeremiah 48 : 45 , 46 )
Both David and Joshua also mention a prophetic book of the
ancient Word called the Book of Jasher(“Book of the Upright Person”).
David refers to it thus:
David lamented over Saul and over Jonathan and wrote to teach the
children of Judah the bow; look at what was written in the Book of
Jasher.( 2 Samuel 1 : 17 , 18 )And Joshua refers to it thus:
Joshua said, “O sun, stand still in Gibeon. O moon, stand still in the
valley of Aijalon. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher?”(Joshua
10 : 12 )
Clearly then, there was an ancient Word on earth, especially in the 266
Middle East, that predated the Israelite Word. This earlier Word is still
extant in heaven among the angels who lived during those centuries. It is
§266 sacred scripture 333