BOOK OF JASHER http://books.google.com/books?id=9kkpAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=book+of+ jasher&hl=en&ei=tFGgTcCBNajeiALT6O3wAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct= result&resnum=2&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=zipporah&f=false This book is referred to in The Bible, but not included. Why?

Most likely, because it was something that had been subject to editing and was not totally reliable, further, its provenance, by its own account, is unknown. Further, there are disagreements between it and Genesis on some points, most notably Lamech. The story ends in Joshua's life, and thus may be partly a faulty rendition of things storied about from Genesis' time, and gossip current, but more or less accurate on details in Moses' and Joshua's time. To be Holy Scripture, something must be from a Prophet of God. This is the standard of the Jews, who classified Scripture in three categories, in descending order of authoritativeness. The Torah, whose contents (at least at origin, excluding scribal errors), is inerrant. The Prophets, those who heard from God and whose words were established by events and by doctrine and often by signs and wonders (but the latter and the first alone are not enough, if they preach worship of a false god, they are false and a test that God is sending or allowing). And The Writings, such as Proverbs. Psalms is a mix, presumably David was inspired by God, so is sort of Prophet quality, but is among the Writings. Jasher therefore doesn't qualify. It was preserved as interesting material among Rabbinic sources, but it is probably referenced in Joshua because it was written at the time of the events, just anyone's famous musings written at the time of the San Francisco Earthquake, for instance, though it contain mostly gossip, fantasy and personal incorrect take on things, when it announces that a great earthquake has disrupted personal plans, it can be taken as indicative that something happened. To complain that it was excluded from The Bible by some conspiracy or something, that we are being kept from vital knowledge, is nonsense. Jasher is interesting, in some cases might include information that fleshes out the skeleton picture Scripture gives during Moses' and Joshua's time, but also includes a certain amount of story telling. the description of Lamech's murder of someone and his reaction is totally at odds with Genesis. The picture of Nimrod being active to the days of Esau is absurd, unless this was a king's formal name in addition to his personal name, and not the same Nimrod. A good rule is, where it conflicts with Scripture, it is wrong. where it supplements it, it might be right. Clearly, this is not a useless book, neither is it something to hang your faith on or depend any major part of it on.