The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs


Book Description

An excerpt from the INTRODUCTION - General Character of the Book: The book purports to give the last words, at the approach of death, of each of the twelve patriarchs to his sons. It is evident that the general idea of the book is based upon Jacob's last words to his sons as recorded in Gen. xlix. 1-27. Just as Jacob portrays the character of his sons and declares to them what shall befall them, so in our book each of the patriarchs is represented as describing, in some sense, his own character and as foretelling what shall come to pass among his posterity in the last times. From this latter point of view the book partakes of the character of a prophetic-apocalyptic work. In six of the testaments, those of Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Dan, Naphthali and Joseph, there is a certain correspondence between our book and Gen. xlix. regarding the characters of the patriarchs; as for the remaining six patriarchs no such correspondence exists.




Jewish Eschatology, Early Christian Christology, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs


Book Description

This volume, which appears on the occasion of Marinus de Jonge's retirement as Professor of New Testament at Leiden University, brings together twenty essays which he wrote recently for various periodicals and collective works. A number of articles deal with the expectation of the future in Jewish sources, like Ps. Sol., the Qumran Scrolls and Josephus. Closely connected with these are some essays on the question of how such titles as 'Christ', and 'Son of David' came to be applied to Jesus. Eleven essays delve into various important aspects of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs: eschatology, ethics, paraenesis, but also their use of Jewish source material and their view of the history of God's dealing with man, a view related to that held by Justin and Hippolytus. This book throws light on the Jewish origins of early Christian theology and on its relationship with the Hellenistic culture in which it developed. The book also includes Marinus de Jonge's bibliography.







The Greek Versions of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs


Book Description

R. H. Charles (1855-1931) was Professor of Biblical Greek at Trinity College Dublin (1898-1906), He was elected a fellow of the British Academy in 1906, and a fellow of Merton College, Oxford in 1910. In 1925 he was the first recipient of the British Academy Medal for Biblical Studies. Charles also received honorary degrees from the Universities of Belfast in 1923 and Oxford in 1928. His publications include: 'The Apocalypse of Baruch, ' 'The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, ' and 'The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English' (2 vols.)










Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament as Part of Christian Literature


Book Description

The primary witnesses of the writings called Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament are, in great majority, of Christian provenance. It has been customary for scholars to look for an originally Jewish form of the documents, reflecting Jewish life and thought in the period between 200 BCE and 100 CE. In this volume, M. de Jonge argues that these writings should, first of all, be studied as documents relevant for Christians. This volume incorporates essays written earlier by the author as well as a number of new chapters. The first part deals with general questions concerning the transmission of the pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament whereas the second part has a particular focus on the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and the Greek Life of Adam and Eve.




Philo, Josephus, and the Testaments on Sexuality


Book Description

Philo, Josephus, and the Testaments on Sexuality is the fourth of five volumes by William Loader exploring attitudes toward sexuality in Judaism and Christianity during the Greco-Roman era. In this volume Loader examines three substantial and historically important sets of documents the writings of Philo of Alexandria, the histories of Josephus, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. For each set of writings, he provides an in-depth introduction, detailed analysis highlighting each writer s position on a broad range of matters pertaining to sexuality, and a summary conclusion.