Testaments of Twelve Patriarchs 🕎 Legends of the Jews

Testaments of Twelve Patriarchs . As rendered in The Legends of the Jews by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg. LibriVox. Public domain. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is a constituent of the apocryphal scriptures connected with the Bible. It is believed to be a pseudepigraphical work comprising the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is part of the Oskan Armenian Orthodox Bible of 1666. Fragments of similar writings were found at Qumran, but opinions are divided as to whether these are the same texts. It is generally considered apocalyptic literature. The Testaments were written in Hebrew or Greek, and reached their final form in the 2nd century CE. In the 13th century they were introduced into the Western world through the agency of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, whose Latin translation of the work immediately became popular. He believed that it was a genuine work of the twelve sons of Jacob, and that the Christian interpolations were a genuine product of Jewish prophecy; he accused Jews of concealing the Testaments "on account of the prophecies of the Saviour contained in them."
--------------------------
Reuben
The Testament of Reuben is predominantly concerned with admonishing lust, and the sinfulness of Reuben in his having had sex with Bilhah, a concubine of his father. It is likely that the author wished to cover the topic of fornication anyway, and assigned it for Reuben to discuss due to Reuben's relationship with Bilhah being recounted in the canonical Bible.
The Testament adds that Reuben spies Bilhah as she bathes in secret; and that when she later becomes drunk, Reuben rapes her. That trope derives from a reading of Genesis 49:4, "wanton as water", as "wanton in water", taken from the Book of Jubilees. This theme is also in 2 Samuel 11:2's account of David and Bathsheba. The Testament portrays women as the cause of the downfall of the Watcher, and of man in general (excepting Bilhah, in accordance with Jubilees). Joseph is on the other hand portrayed as the ideal, for his resistance against Potiphar's wife.

Simeon
The Testament of Simeon is primarily a diatribe against envy.

Levi
The Testament of Levi is an apocalyptic section. It is one of the longest of the Testaments, and is predominantly concerned with arrogance. Taking the theme of the Levite priesthood, the Testament explains how Levi's descendants corrupted the office by their arrogant disregard for the proper regulations.

Judah
The Testament of Judah is primarily concerned with courage, monetary greed, and fornication. It begins by portraying Judah as idealistically courageous, involving bravery in front of wild beasts, as well as successful military expeditions, sometimes basing the narrative on acts that the canonical bible attributes to Jacob.

Issachar
The Testament of Issachar predominantly concerns asceticism, which the text portrays as virtuous.

Zebulun
Zebulun was the sixth son of Leah and Jacob. He is described as an inventor and philanthropist and the text relates what he learned as a result of the plot against Joseph.

Dan
The Testament of Dan treats the topics of anger and lying. The main vice, however, is anger.

Naphtali
The Testament of Naphtali has apocalyptic elements in it. It opens with the genealogy of Bilhah, his mother, whose father is said to be Rotheus. His vision represents Levi seizing the sun and Judah the moon. The young man with the twelve palm branches seems to be a reference to the Apostles. Joseph seizes a bull and rides on it. He has a further dream in which he sees a storm at sea and the brethren being separated. Again there is a reference to the recurrent theme of sexual relation.

A copy of the Testament of Naphtali was discovered at Qumran among the Dead Sea Scrolls taken from Cave 4.

Gad
The Testament of Gad begins with Gad's hatred for Joseph. Chapter 2 begins with Gad talking about loving one another. He says 'and now, my children, I exhort you, love ye each one his brother, and put away hatred from your hearts, love'. The moral of Gad is to not hate one another and love all your brethren.

Asher
The Testament of Asher is the shortest of the twelve and unlike the others does not begin with a deathbed scene. It is regarding the subject of the two ways to live. The main appeal in Asher is to follow truth with singleness of faith.

Joseph
The Testament of Joseph primarily concerns Chastity, and seems heavily to be based on Joseph's resistance against Potiphar's wife that the canonical bible portrays.

Benjamin
The Testament of Benjamin is very much an appendix to that of Joseph. It opens with the account Joseph gave Benjamin of how he was sold to the Ishmaelites. He exhorts his descendants against deceit, but, as all his brethren, he warns them against fornication.

READ ONLINE -

https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0801.htm

Ginzberg rendition (chapter Sons of Jacob) -

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1494/pg1494-images.html
#ApocryphaMX #SacredBooksMX

Видео Testaments of Twelve Patriarchs 🕎 Legends of the Jews канала MeistariX