The Book of Jubilees

Anonymous, R. H. Charles

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780486476599
• eBook ISBN: 9780486118970
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

The Book of Jubilees — also known as The Little Genesis — purports to be a divine revelation delivered by an angel from God to Moses during the prophet's sojourn on Mount Sinai. Chiefly based upon the historical narratives in Genesis and Exodus, the book probably originated as a Jewish apocalyptical work. It also contains a fascinating variety of material not found in the Bible, including details concerning the Fall, Cain and Abel, angels, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, Jacob's visions, the Messianic Kingdom, and many other subjects.
Well known to early Christian writers of East and West alike, these writings entered into no canons except those of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. They remain a popular source for the construction of "alternative histories," particularly those relating to the early Christian church. This inexpensive new edition features an Introduction by historian G. H. Box.

God’s Revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai (i. 1-26 : cf. Ex. xxiv. 15-18).

I. And it came to pass in the first year (2450 A.M. (A.M. = Anno Mundi)) of the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt, in the third month,³⁴ on the sixteenth day of the month, that God spake to Moses, saying : “ Come up to Me on the Mount, and I will give thee two tables of stone of the law and of the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayst teach them.” ³⁵ 2. And Moses went up into the mount of God, and the glory of the Lord abode on Mount Sinai, and a cloud overshadowed it six days. 3. And He called to Moses on the seventh day out of the midst of the cloud, and the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a flaming fire on the top of the Mount. 4. And Moses was on the Mount forty days and forty nights, and God taught him the earlier and the later history ³⁶ of the division of all the days of the law and of the testimony. 5. And He said : “ Incline thine heart to every word which I shall speak to thee on this Mount, and write them ³⁷ in a book in order that their generations may see how I have not forsaken them for all the evil which they have wrought in transgressing the covenant which I establish between Me and thee for their generations this day on Mount Sinai. 6. And thus it will come to pass when all these things come upon them,³⁸ that they will recognize that I am more righteous than they in all their judgments and in all their actions, and they will recognize that I have been truly with them. 7. And do thou write for thyself ³⁹ all these words which I declare unto thee this day, for I know their rebellion and their stiff neck,⁴⁰ before I bring them into the land of which I sware to their fathers, to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, saying : ” Unto your seed will I give a land flowing with milk and honey. 8. And they will eat and be satisfied, and they will turn to strange gods, to (gods) which cannot deliver them from aught of their tribulation : “ and this witness shall be heard for a witness against them.⁴¹ 9. For they will forget all My commandments, (even) all that I command them, and they will walk after the Gentiles, and after their uncleanness, and after their shame, and will serve their gods, and these will prove unto them an offence and a tribulation and an affliction and a snare.⁴² 10. And many will perish and they will be taken captive,⁴³ and will fall into the hands of the enemy, because they have forsaken My ordinances and My commandments, and the festivals of My covenant, and My sabbaths, and My holy place ⁴⁴ which I have hallowed for Myself in their midst, and My tabernacle,⁴⁵ and My sanctuary, which I have hallowed for Myself in the midst of the land, that I should set My name upon it, and that it should dwell (there). 11. And they⁴⁶ will make to themselves high places and groves and graven images,⁴⁷ and they will worship, each his own (graven image), so as to go astray, and they will sacrifice their children to demons,⁴⁸ and to all the works of the error of their hearts. 12. And I will send witnesses unto them, that I may witness against them, but they will not hear,⁴⁹ and will slay ⁵⁰ the witnesses also, and they will persecute those who seek the law, and they will abrogate and change everything so as to work evil before My eyes. 13. And I shall hide My face from them, and I shall deliver them into the hand of the Gentiles for captivity, and for a prey, and for devouring,⁵¹ and I shall remove them from the midst of the land, and I shall scatter⁵² them amongst the Gentiles. 14. And they will forget all My law and all My commandments and all My judgments, and will go astray as to new moons, and sabbaths, and festivals, and jubilees, and ordinances. 15. And after this they will turn to Me⁵³ from amongst the Gentiles with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their strength, and I shall gather them from amongst all the Gentiles,⁵⁴ and they will seek Me, so that I shall be found of them, when they seek Me with all their heart and with all their soul. 16. And I shall disclose to them abounding peace with righteousness, and I shall †remove them the plant of uprightness†,⁵⁵ with all My heart and with all My soul,⁵⁶ and they will be for a blessing and not for a curse,⁵⁷ and they will be the head and not the tail.⁵⁸ 17. And I shall build My sanctuary ⁵⁹ in their midst, and I shall dwell with them, and I shall be their God and they will be My people ⁶⁰ in truth and righteousness. 18. And I shall not forsake them nor fail them; ⁶¹ for I am the Lord their God.” 19. And Moses fell on his face and prayed and said, ” O Lord my God, do not forsake Thy people and Thy inheritance, ⁶² so that they should wander in the error of their hearts, and do not deliver them into the hands of their enemies, the Gentiles, lest they should rule over them and cause them to sin against Thee. 20. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be lifted up upon Thy people, and create in them an upright spirit,⁶³ and let not the spirit of Beliar ⁶⁴ rule over them to accuse them before Thee, and to ensnare them from all the paths of righteousness, so that they may perish from before Thy face. 21. But they are Thy people and Thy inheritance, which Thou hast delivered with Thy great power⁶⁵ from the hands of the Egyptians : create in them a clean heart and a holy spirit,⁶⁶ and let them not be ensnared in their sins from henceforth until eternity.” 22. And the Lord said unto Moses : ” I know their contrariness and their thoughts and their stiffneckedness,⁶⁷ and they will not be obedient till they confess their own sin and the sin of their fathers.⁶⁸ 23. And after this they will turn to Me in all uprightness and with all (their) heart and with all (their) soul, and I shall circumcise the foreskin of their heart ⁶⁹ and the foreskin of the heart of their seed, and I shall create in them a holy spirit, and I shall cleanse them so that they shall not turn away from Me from that day unto eternity. 24. And their souls will cleave to Me and to all My commandments, and they will fulfil My commandments, and I shall be their Father and they will be My children. 25. And they will all be called children of the living God,⁷⁰ and every angel and every spirit will know, yea, they will know that these are My children, and that I am their Father in uprightness and righteousness, and that I love them. 26. And do thou write down for thyself all these words ⁷¹ which I declare unto thee on this mountain, the first and the last, which shall come to pass in all the divisions of the days in the law and in the testimony and in the weeks and the jubilees unto eternity, until I descend and dwell with them ⁷² throughout eternity.”

God commands the Angel to write (i. 27-29).

27. And He said to the angel of the presence : ⁷³ “Write⁷⁴ for Moses from the beginning of creation till My sanctuary has been built among them for all eternity. 28.⁷⁵ And the Lord will appear to the eyes of all,⁷⁶ and all will know that I am the God of Israel and the Father of all the children of Jacob,⁷⁷ and King on Mount Zion ⁷⁸ for all eternity. And Zion and Jerusalem will be holy.” 29. And the angel of the presence who went before the camp of Israel ⁷⁹ took the tables of the divisions of the years ⁸⁰—from the time of the creation—of the law and of the testimony of the weeks, of the jubilees, according to the individual years, according to all the number of the jubilees [according to the individual years], from the day of the [new] creation †when† the heavens ⁸¹ and the earth shall be renewed and all their creation according to the powers of the heaven, and according to all the creation of the earth, until the sanctuary of the Lord shall be made in Jerusalem ⁸² on Mount Zion, and all the luminaries be renewed for heaving ⁸³ and for peace and for blessing for all the elec...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• INTRODUCTION
• Prologue
• God’s Revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai (i. 1-26 : cf. Ex. xxiv. 15-18).
• The Angel dictates to Moses the Primæval History : the Creation of the World and Institution of the Sabbath (ii. 1—33; cf. Gen. i—ii. 3).
• Paradise and the Fall (iii. 1-35; cf. Gen. ii. 4-iii.).
• Cain and Abel (iv. 1-12; cf. Gen. iv.).
• The Fall of the Angels and their Punishment ; the Deluge foretold (v. 1-20 ; cf. Gen. vi. 1-12).
• Noah’s Sacrifice ; God’s Covenant with him (cf. Gen. viii. 20-ix. 17). Instructions to Moses about eating of Blood, the Feast of Weeks, etc., and Division of the Year (vi. 1-38).
• Noah offers Sacrifice; the Cursing of Canaan (cf. Gen. ix. 20-28) : Noah’s Sons and Grandsons (cf. Gen. x.) and their Cities. Noah’s Admonitions (vii. 1-39).
• Genealogy of the Descendants of Shem: Noah and his Sons divide the Earth (viii. 1-30 ; cf. Gen. x.).
• Subdivision of the Three Portions amongst the Grandchildren : Oath taken by Noah’s Sons (ix. 1-15; cf. Gen. x. partly).
• Noah’s Sons led astray by Evil Spirits; Noah’s Prayer; Mastêmâ; Death of Noah (x. 1-17 ; cf. Gen. ix. 28).
• The History of the Patriarchs from Reu to Abraham (cf. Gen. xi, 20-30); the Corruption of the Human Race (xi. 1-15).
• Abram seeks to convert Terah from Idolatry ; the Family of Terah (cf. Gen. xi. 27-30). Abram burns the Idols. Death of Haran (cf. Gen. xi. 28) (xii. 1-14).
• Abram with Lot in Canaan and Egypt (cf. Gen. xii. 4-20). Abram separates from Lot (cf. Gen. xiii. 11-18) (xiii. 1-21).
• God’s Covenant with Abram (xiv. 1-20; cf. Gen. xv.).
• The Feast of First-fruits. Circumcision instituted. The Promise of Isaac’s Birth. Circumcision ordained for all Israel (xv. 1-34; cf. Gen. xvii.).
• Angelic Visitation of Abraham in Hebron ; Promise of Isaac’s Birth repeated. The Destruction of Sodom and Lot’s Deliver— ance (xvi. 1-9; cf. Gen. xviii.-xix.).
• The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael (xvii. 1-14; cf. Gen. xxi. 8-21).
• The Sacrifice of Isaac : Abraham returns to Beersheba (xviii. 1-19; Cf. Gen. xxii. 1-19).
• The Death and Burial of Sarah (xix. 1-9; cf. Gen. xxiii.).
• Abraham’s Last Words to his Children and Grandchildren (xx. 1-11).
• Abraham’s Last Words to Isaac (xxi. 1-25).
• Isaac, Ishmael and Jacob join in Festival with Abraham for the Last Time. Abraham’s Prayer (xxii. 1-9).
• The Death and Burial of Abraham (xxiii. 1-8; cf. Gen. xxv. 7-10).
• Isaac at the Well of Vision: Esau sells his Birthright (xxiv. 1-7; cf. Gen. xxv. 11, 29-34).
• Rebecca admonishes Jacob not to marry a Canaanitish Woman. Rebecca’s Blessing (xxv. 1-23; cf. Gen. xxviii. 1-4).
• Jacob obtains the Blessing of the Firstborn (xxvi. 1-35; cf. Gen. xxvii.).
• Rebecca induces Isaac to send Jacob to Mesopotamia. Jacob’s Dream and View at Bethel (xxvii. 1-27; cf. Gen. xxviii.).
• Jacob’s Marriage to Leah and Rachel; his Children and Riches (xxviii. 1-30; cf. Gen. xxix., xxx., xxxi. 1-2).
• Jacob’s Flight with his Family: his Covenant with Laban (xxix. 1-12; cf. Gen. xxxi.).
• Dinah ravished. Slaughter of the Shechemites. Laws against Intermarriage between Israel and the Heathen. The Choice of Levi (xxx. 1-26; cf. Gen. xxxiv.).
• Jacob’s Journey to Bethel and Hebron. Isaac blesses Levi and Judah (xxxi. 1-25; cf. Gen. xxxv.).
• Levi’s Dream at Bethel ; he is appointed to the Priesthood. Jacob celebrates the Feast of Tabernacles and offers Tithes. The Institution of Tithes (xxxii. 1-15; cf. Gen. xxxv.).
• Reuben’s Sin with Bilhah. Laws regarding Incest. Jacob’s Children (xxxiii. 1-23; cf. Gen. xxxv. 21-27).
• War of the Amorite Kings against Jacob and his Sons. Joseph sold into Egypt (cf. Gen. xxxvii.). The Death of Bilhah and Dinah (xxxiv. 1-19).
• Rebecca’s Last Admonitions and Death (XXXV. 1-27).
• Isaac’s Last Words and Admonitions: his Death. The Death of Leah (xxxvi. 1-24).
• Esau and his Sons wage War with Jacob (xxxvii. 1-25).
• The War between Jacob and Esau at the Tower of Hebron. The Death of Esau and Overthrow of his Forces (xxxviii. 1-14).
• Joseph’s Service with Potiphar; his Purity and Imprisonment (xxxix. 1-13; cf. Gen. xxxix.).
• Pharaoh’s Dreams and their Interpretation. Joseph’s Elevation and Marriage (xl. 1-13; cf. Gen. xli.).
• Judah’s Incest with Tamar ; his Repentance and Forgiveness (xli. 1-28; Cf. Gen. xxxviii.).
• The Two Journeys of the Sons of Jacob to Egypt (xlii. 1-25; cf. Gen. xlii., xliii.).
• Joseph finally tests his Brethren, and then makes himself known to them (xliii. 1-24; cf. Gen. xliv., xlv.).
• Jacob celebrates the Feast of First-fruits and journeys to Egypt. List of his Descendants. (xliv. 1-34 ; cf. Gen. xlvi. 1-28).
• Joseph receives Jacob. The Land of Egypt is acquired for Pharaoh. Jacob’s Death and Burial (xlv. 1-16; cf. Gen. xlvi. 28ff., xlvii. 11ff.).
• The Death of Joseph. The Bones of Jacob’s Sons (except Joseph) interred at Hebron. The Oppression of Israel by Egypt (xlvi. 1-16 ; cf. Gen. 1. ; Exod. i.).
• The Birth and Early Years of Moses (xlvii. 1-12 ; cf. Exod. ii.).
• From the Flight of Moses to the Exodus (xlviii. 1-19; cf. Exod. ii. 15 ff., iv. 19-24, vii.-xiv.).
• Regulations regarding the Passover (xlix. 1-23 ; cf. Exod. xii.).
• Laws regarding the Jubilees and the Sabbath (1. 1-13).
• INDEX