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| Twelve
Patriarchs; Testament
of the |
| (definition,
meaning) |
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Easton's Bible Dictionary
(no entry)
Hitchcock's Dictionary of
Bible Names
(no entry)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(no entry)
International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia
(From APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE,
sec. IV, 1.)
IV. Testaments.
Although, strictly speaking,
Jewish law had no place for
"testamentary dispositions"
by those about to die--"the
portion of goods" that fell
to each being prescribed--yet
the dying exhortations of Jacob
addressed to his sons, the farewell
song of Moses, David's deathbed
counsels to Solomon, were of
the nature of spiritual legacies.
Under Greek and Roman law testaments
were the regularly understood
means of arranging heritages;
with the thing the name was
transferred, as in the Mishna,
Babha' Bathra' 15 26, dayytike,
so also in Syriac. The idea
of these pseudepigrapha is clearly
not drawn from the "Last Will
and Testament," but the dying
exhortations above referred
to.
1.
Testaments of the Twelve
Patriarchs:
Genesis
49 in which Jacob
addresses his sons gathered
round his dying bed furnished
the model for a number
of pseudepigraphic writings.
Of these the longest known
is Testament of the Twelve
Patriarchs. In it the
writer imagines each of
the sons of Jacob following
his father's example and
assembling his descendants
in order that he might
give his dying charge.
While Jacob addressed
each of his sons separately,
the sons of none of his
sons, save those of Joseph,
became at all prominent;
so in the case of the
sons of Jacob they each
address their descendants
as a whole. These Testaments
are occupied with moral
advices mainly. The sin
most warned against is
incontinence.
A.
Summary.
(1)
Reuben:
The first
Patriarch
whose Testament
is given is
Reuben. While
he bewails
the sin that
deprived him
of his birthright,
he gives an
account of
the various
propensities
that tend
to sin, and
accommodates
each of these
with an evil
spirit--spirits
of deceit.
He gives details
of his sin,
which, resembling
those given
in the Book
of Jubilees,
differs in
an apologetic
direction.
This apologetic
effort is
carried farther
in the Targum
of the pseudo-Jonathan.
In it Reuben
is declared
to have disordered
the bed of
Bilhah because
it was put
beside his
mother's,
and he was
accused of
impurity with
her; but the
Spirit revealed
to Jacob that
he was not
guilty.
(2) Simeon:
The next Testament
is that of
Simeon. The
crime that
seems to have
most affected
Jacob, if
we may judge
by Genesis
49:5-7,
was the murder
of the Shechemites
by Simeon
and Levi.
That, however,
is not touched
upon in the
Testament;
his envy of
Joseph is
what he most
repents of.
A stanza,
however, is
inserted,
warning against
fornication
(Genesis
49:3).
(3) Levi:
The Testament
of Levi follows.
It is mainly
apocalyptic.
The murder
of the Shechemites
is regarded
as a wholly
estimable
action, and
is commended
by God. The
treachery
of the circumcision
is not mentioned
at all. He
tells how
he was admitted
in dream to
the third
heaven. In
another vision
he is clothed
with the garments
of the priesthood.
After a piece
of autobiography
followed by
general admonitions
Levi tells
what he had
learned from
the writing
of Enoch.
He tells how
his descendants
will fall
away and become
corrupt. It
is to be noted
that fornication
becomes very
prominent
in the picture
of the future.
The destruction
of Jerusalem
is foretold,
and the captivity
of Judah among
all nations.
This cannot
refer to the
setting up
of the "Abomination
of Desolation"
by Epiphanes.
The Temple
was not laid
waste, although
it was desecrated;
and there
did not follow
on the desecration
by Epiphanes
the scattering
of the Jews
unto all nations.
It seems necessary
to understand
by this wasting
the capture
of Jerusalem
by Titus.
Consequently,
the "new priest"
of XII P 18
seems to us
the priest
"after the
order of Melchizedek"
according
to the New
Testament
interpretation.
(4) Judah:
Judah is the
next whose
Testament
is given.
He first declares
his own great
personal prowess,
slaying a
lion, a bear,
a boar, a
leopard and
a wild bull.
When the Canaanite
kings assailed
Jacob as related
in the Book
of Jubilee,
he showed
his courage.
Several warlike
exploits,
of which we
only learn
here, he relates.
The assault
made by the
descendants
of Esau upon
the sons of
Jacob and
Jacob's victory
is related
in the manner
and nearly
in the terms
of the account
in the Book
of Jubilees.
He mentions
with a number
of explanatory
and excusatory
details his
sin in the
matter of
Tamar. He
denounces
covetousness,
drunkenness
and fornication.
Then he commands
his descendants
to look to
Levi and reverence
him. Then
follows a
Messianic
passage which
seems most
naturally
to bear a
Christian
interpretation.
(5) Issachar:
The Testament
of Issachar
is much shorter
than either
of the two
preceding
ones. After
telling the
story of the
mandrakes,
he dwells
on husbandry.
As is noted
by Dr. Charles,
this is at
variance with
the rabbinic
representation
of the characteristics
of the tribe.
He, too, denounces
impurity and
drunkenness.
(6) Zebulun:
Zebulun's
Testament
is little
longer than
that of Issachar.
This Testament
is greatly
occupied with
tho history
of the sale
of Joseph
in which Zebulun
protests he
took only
the smallest
share and
got none of
the price.
(7) Dan:
The Testament
of Dan also
is short.
He confesses
his rage against
Joseph, and
so warns against
anger. Here
also are warnings
against whoredom.
The Messiah
is to spring
from Judah
and Levi.
Dr. Charles
thinks the
first of these
was not in
the original,
because it
would naturally
have been
"tribes,"
not "tribe,"
as it is.
This somewhat
hasty, as
in 1
Kings 12:23
(Septuagint)
we have the
precisely
similar construction
pros panta
oikon Iouda
kai Beniamin,
a sentence
which represents
the construction
of the Hebrew.
In this there
is a Messianic
passage which
describes
the Messiah
as delivering
the captives
of Beliar.
(8) Naphtali:
The Testament
that follows,
that 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 (XII
P 8).
(9) Gad:
The subject
of the Testament
of Gad is
hatred. Gad
is associated
with Simeon
as being most
filled with
wrath against
Joseph.
(10) Asher:
Asher urges
whole-hearted
obedience
to righteousness,
as the apostle
James does
in his epistle.
(11) Joseph:
One of the
most important
of these Testaments
is that of
Joseph. The
opening is
occupied with
a prolonged
description
of the temptation
of Joseph
by Potiphar's
wife. There
is in that
connection
the unhealthy
dwelling on
sexual matters
which is found
in monkish
writers. There
are not a
few resemblances
to the language
of the Gospels
(compare XII
P 1:6 and
Matthew
25:36).
There is a
more important
passage (XII
P 19:8): "And
I saw that
from Judah
was born a
virgin wearing
a linen garment,
and from her
was born a
lamb, and
on his left
hand there
was, as it
were, a lion:
and all the
beasts rushed
against him,
and the lamb
overcame them,
and destroyed
them, and
trod them
under foot."
This to us
is clearly
Christian.
Dr. Charles,
without apocalyptic
credence to
support him,
would amend
it and change
the reading.
(12) 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.
There is a
long Christian
passage which
certainly
seems an interpolation,
as it is not
found in some
of the texts,
though others
have all verses.
The text concerning
Paul (XII
P 11:1,2)
appears in
varying forms
in all versions.
|
B. Structure;
That these "Testaments"
have been interpolated
is proved by the
variations in the
different texts.
Dr. Charles has,
however, gone much
farther, and wherever
there is a Christian
clause has declared
it an obvious interpolation.
For our part, we
would admit as a
rule those passages
to be genuine that
are present in all
the forms of the
text. The Greek
text was first in,
so to say, recent
times edited by
Grosseteste, bishop
of Lincoln, in the
13th century. Since
then other manuscripts
have been found,
and a Slavonic and
an Aramaic version.
We are thus able
to check the interpolations.
In essence the Christian
passage in T Josephus
is found in all
versions.
C. Language;
Dr. Charles makes
a very strong case
for Hebrew being
the original language.
His numerous arguments
are not all of equal
value. While some
of the alleged Hebraistic
constructions may
be actually so,
not a few may be
explained by imitation
of the language
of the Septuagint.
As an example of
the first, compare
T Jud (XII P 7):
ochlos barus = chel
kabhedh, "a numerous
host." On the other
hand T Reub XII
P 3:8: "understanding
in the Law," is
a turn of expression
that might quite
well be common among
Greek-speaking Jews.
Of passages that
are only explicable
by retranslation,
as in T Josephus
11:7, "God ....
increased him in
gold and silver
and in work," this
last turn is evidently
due to the translator's
rendering `abhuddah,
"servant," as if
it were `abhodhah,
"work." On the whole,
we are prepared
to amend the decision
elsewhere, and admit
that the probability
is that this book,
like so many more
of the same class,
has been translated
from Hebrew.
D. Date and Authorship;
Dr. Charles declares
the author to have
been a Pharisee
who wrote in the
early part of the
reign of John Hyrcanus
I. The initial difficulty
with this, as with
the other pseudepigrapha
in attributing a
Pharisaic authorship,
is the preservation
of the book among
the Christian communities,
and the ignorance
or the ignoring
of it among the
Jews. The only sect
of the Jews that
survived the destruction
of Jerusalem was
that of the Pharisees.
The Sadducees, who
were more a political
than a religious
party, disappeared
with the cessation
of the Jewish state.
When Judaism became
merely a religion--a
church--not a nation,
their function was
gone.
The third sect,
the Essenes, disappeared,
but did so into
the Christian church.
If the writer had
been an Essene,
as we suppose he
was, the preservation
of this writing
by the Christians
is easily explicable.
If it were the work
of a Pharisee, its
disappearance from
the literature of
the synagogue is
as inexplicable
as its preservation
by the Christians.
The constant harping
on the sin of fornication--in
T Naph XII P 8:8
even marital intercourse
is looked at askance--indicates
a state of mind
suitable to the
tenets of the Essenes.
The date preferred
by Dr. Charles,
if the author is
a Pharisee, appears
to us impossible.
The Pharisees had,
long before the
final break, been
out of sympathy
with the Maccabeans.
The Chasidim deserted
Judas Maccabeus
at Elasa, not improbably
in consequence of
the alliance he
had made with the
heathen Romans,
and perhaps also
his assumption of
the high- priesthood.
Further, the temple
is laid waste and
the people driven
into captivity unto
all nations (T Levi
15:1). This does
not suit the desecration
of the temple under
Epiphanes.
During that time
the temple was not
laid waste. The
orgies of the worship
of Bacchus and of
Jupiter Olympius
dishonored it, but
that is a different
thing from its being
laid waste. The
scattering unto
all nations did
not take place then.
Some were taken
captive and enslaved,
but this was not
general. The description
would only apply
to destruction of
the temple by Titus
and the enslaving
and captivity of
the mass of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem.
The "New Priest"
cannot refer to
the Maccabeans,
for they were Aaronites
as much as Alcimus
or Onias, though
not of the high-priestly
family. This change
of the priesthood
only has point if
it refers to the
priesthood of Christ
as in Hebrews
7:12. If Dr.
Charles is right
in maintaining that
2 Macc in its account
of Menelaus is to
be preferred to
Josephus, the change
of the priesthood
was not unprecedented,
for Menelaus was
a Benjamite, not
a Levite. Yet 1
Macc takes no notice
of this enormity.
Further, there are
the numerous passages
that are directly
and indirectly Christian.
Dr. Charles certainly
marks them all as
interpolations,
but he gives no
reason in most of
the cases for doing
so. That the omission
of such passages
does not dislocate
the narrative arises
from the simpler
construction of
Semitic narrative,
and is therefore
not to be regarded
as conclusive evidence
of interpolation.
The reference to
Paul in T Ben XII
P 11, occurring
in all the sources,
although with variations,
also points to a
post-Christian origin.
For these reasons,
we would venture
to differ from Dr.
Charles and regard
the Testament of
the Twelve Patriarchs
as post-Christian,
and to be dated
in the first quarter
of the 2nd century
AD.
E. Relation to Other
Books
From the decision
we have reached
in regard to the
date of these Testaments,
it follows that
all the many resemblances
which have been
noted between them
and the books of
the New Testament
are due to imitation
on the part of the
Testaments, not
the reverse. A case
in point is T Josephus
XII P 1:6 where
the resemblance
to Matthew
25:31 - 36
is close; only,
whereas in the Gospel
the judge approves
of the righteous
on account of their
visiting the sick
and the imprisoned,
and condemns the
wicked because they
did not do so, in
T Josephus God ministers
to His servants.
The Testament is
really an imitation
of the passage in
the Gospel. The
direct visiting
of the afflicted,
whatever the form
of the affliction,
was a thing of everyday
occurrence. To think
of the Almighty
doing so is the
result of a bold
metaphor. One familiar
with the Gospel
narrative might
not unnaturally
think of God's dealings
with the saints
in terms drawn from
our Lord's description
of the Last Judgment.
In T Naph XII P
2:2 the figure of
the potter and the
clay is, as in Romans
9:21, applied
to God's power over
His creatures. The
passage in the T
Naph is expanded,
and has not the
close intimate connection
with the argument
that the Pauline
passage has. While
none of the other
resemblances give
one any ground to
decide, these instances
really carry the
others with them.
We may thus regard
the resemblances
to the New Testament
in the Testament
of the Twelve Patriarchs
as due to the latter's
copying of the former.
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J. E. H. Thomson
Copyright
Information: "Easton's
Bible Dictionary", Matthew
George Easton M.A., D.D., 1897;
"Hitchcock's Dictionary
of Bible Names", Roswell
D. Hitchcock, 1869; "International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia",
Orr, James, M.A., D.D., 1915;
and "Smith's Bible Dictionary",
Smith, William, Dr., 1901. are
public domain and may be freely
used and distributed. |
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