Jubilees

Just as the writer of the Book of Jubilees sought to insert the Law into primeval history, so to the boundaries of the Land (Halpern-Amaru, Rewriting the Bible, 25-26). The allocation of the land of Israel to the descendants of Shem is made in documents written by Noah himself (8:10-11). Noah rejoiced that his son Shem should receive this land, and blessed his son saying “may the Lord dwell in the dwelling place of Shem” (8:18). In this territory are the three most holy places on earth: Eden, Sinai and Zion (8:19-21). Of the territories assigned to the three sons of Noah, only Shem’s is described as “very good,” an echo of the text of the creation story itself (8:21, cf Gen 1:31, When Abraham enters the land for the first time in chapter 13 the land is again described as “very good,” having a wide assortment of trees and plants in every field). When Canaan sees this good land he seizes it from his brother, incurring a curse (10:30).

After the flood, Noah makes a sacrifice to atone for the defilement of the land (6:2). The description of this sacrifice in Jub 7:30-33 is greatly expanded from the text in Genesis 9 and is a careful interweaving of texts from the Law on the defilement of the land. In 7:34, Noah’s sons will be like plants in the land (medr) if they are righteous. This may echo the prophets (Jer 11:17, Amos 9:15) as well as 1 Enoch (10:16, 93:5, 10).

The Book of Jubilees begins with the recognition that the Land is a gift from God rooted in the covenant. Chapter 1:7-14 summarizes Israel’s history as being given the Land, and being removed from the Land. Verse 13 especially emphasizes the connection between covenant obedience and continued presence in the Land. In 1:15-18 the Lord tells Moses that after the people repent, he will replant them in the Land and the sanctuary will be rebuilt. When Abraham is taking possession of the land for the first time, the Lord promises to give the land to Abraham’s descendants forever (15:10).  In Abraham’s farewell to his children in chapter 20 he implores his children to not worship false gods so that they will remain in the land, blessed with the good things of the land (20:6-10). This section is an echo of the blessings found in Deut 27:15; it is perhaps significant that the writer does not include an equal place to the curses of the covenant.

Since the Hebrew Bible is not explicit on how to create a yearly calendar there were several competing calendars in the Jewish world.  The choice of calendar had far-reaching implications for the practice of Judaism. For example, In the 360-day calendar occasionally a feast fell on a Sabbath. This was not an issue for the Essenes since they used the 364-day calendar which ensured feasts never fell on the Sabbath. As academic as all this sounds, it was of critical importance to the Essenes – if one was to keep the Sabbath and feast days, one needed to know what day those sacred times occurred.  If Passover was celebrated according to the wrong calendar, then that celebration was invalid (6:32, it is a “corrupt appointed time.”) Conversely, if Passover came on a day not considered holy to the 360-calendar, then it would be accidently profaned as well.

That the liturgical calendar shifted to a lunar calendar in the second century seems to be implied in 2 Mac 6:7 and 1 Mac 1:59 (James C. Vanderkam,“2 Maccabees 6,7a and Calendrical Change in Jerusalem.” Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Period 12 (1981): 52-74). VanderKam surveys the evidence and concludes it likely that the high priest Jonathan “may simply have decreed an end to priestly calendrical discussion by opting for the use of the Seleucid lunisolar arrangement in cultic matters and brooking no opposition.” Reactions to this shift of Sabbath and holy days would have been fierce, likely spawning the Essene movement as well as the discussion of sacred dates found in Jubilees and 1 Enoch. For the writer of Jubilees, to use the pro-Seleucid Hellenistic calendar to determine the proper times to worship at the Temple was blasphemous since God established the solar calendar at creation!

In the Book of Jubilees 6:32-38 there is a condemnation of those Jews who do not follow a 364 day calendar. As with the Law, the 364 day calendar is rooted in creation itself. It is not likely that the 364 day calendar is an innovation of the writer of the Book of Jubilees, however. Before the Dead Sea Scrolls were published, Jaubert suggested the 364 day calendar was presupposed by the priestly writers of the Hebrew Bible. [For Jaubert’s theory I am following the summary found in James VanderKam, “The Origin, Character, and Early History of the 364-Day Calendar: A Reassessment of Jaubert’s Hypotheses,” CBQ 41 (1979): 390-411 and Ravid, Liora “The Book of Jubilees and Its Calendar a Reexamination.” Dead Sea Discoveries 10, (2003): 371-94.] Jaubert argued the 364 day calendar began on Wednesday, since the sun and moon were created on the fourth day. From this assumption she was able to determine the dates for feast days based the Hebrew Bible and the book of Jubilees.

While this theory has been criticized, Vanderkam concludes this element of her thesis is basically sound. Jaubert went on to argue the 364 day calendar highlighted liturgical days of Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, the days on which almost all of Israel’s feast days. Vanderkam finds this the least compelling element of her theory since these days are not highlighted in later priestly sources, such as the Book of Jubilees. The 364-day calendar was one of the many traditional elements of Jewish religion which was under fire in the second century B.C.E. As is possibly the case in Sirach 43:6-7 and 50:6. Here feast days are `like full moons, an indication of a lunar calendar. Vanderkam “The Origin, Character, and Early History of the 364-Day Calendar”, 408-409 argues persuasively that the Hebrew fragments of Sirach found at Masada indicate the original form of the book did not use the lunar cycle over and against the solar calendar used at Qumran.

If a lunar calendar were to be adopted, then the sacred days and festivals would no longer occur on set days every year. Most scholars dismissed this notion on the grounds that a 364-day calendar was a “priestly abstraction” which was not practical since it falls behind one and a quarter days every year. No text describing a method of intercalation had been discovered when Jaubert first published her studies, but the Essenes seem to have functioned with a 364-day calendar for more than 200, implying that some method of intercalation existed.

Bibliographical Note: The issue of calendar in early Judaism is complex and impossible to adequately summarize in a short paragraph. For an introduction, see James C. Vanderkam, “Calendar, Ancient Israelite and Early Jewish” in ABD 1:814-819. J. M. Baumgarten has written a number of articles on calendar issues: “The Beginning of the Day in the Calendar of Jubilees.” JBL 77 (1958): 355-60; “Some Problems of the Jubilees Calendar in Current Research.” Vetus testamentum 32 (1982): 485-89; “The Calendars of the Book of Jubilees and the Temple Scroll.” Vetus testamentum 37 (1987): 71-78. See also Roger T. Beckwith, “The Modern Attempt to Reconcile the Qumran Calendar with the True Solar Year” Revue de Qumran (1970); John T. Rook, “A Twenty-Eight-Day Month Tradition in the Book of Jubilees.” Vetus testamentum 31 (1981): 83-87.

In the Book of Jubilees, the law is established in creation, therefore “Obedience to the Law is the central message of Jubilees” (Wintermute, “Jubilees,” OTP 2:40). The writer desires to place as many Jewish customs and religious features as early in the history as possible. The earlier a practice can be rooted in history, the better. As Michael Segal, states, “one of the most distinctive features of Jubilees is the juxtaposition of laws generally known from the legal corpora of the Pentateuch with stories of the patriarchal period” (in Reworking the Bible: Apocryphal and Related Texts at Qumran, 204).

For example, the purity laws concerning a pregnancy (3:8-14) are found in the creation narrative alongside marriage and Sabbath. Sabbath law is inserted into the narrative of creation as well, 2:25-33.  Adam is created unclean and must wait forty days before entering the garden, Eve must wait eighty (3:8-14, the number of days after which a woman is to present herself at the temple for ritual cleansing after the birth of a male and female.) Halpurn-Amaru points out the Book of Jubilees 2:19-20 selects phrases from Exodus on Sabbath and inserts them into the creation story (Rewriting the Bible: Land and Covenant in Post-Biblical Jewish Literature [Valley Forge, Penn.: Trinity], 26).

Noah establishes the feast of Shavuot (5:17-31) and firstfruits (7:23-39, referring to Exodus 34:22, CD 3:6.  The feast was kept by Noah and his family for seven Jubilees, until Noah’s death). Noah tells his children they will be ‘planted in righteousness” in the whole earth, cf. 1 Enoch 10:16, if they continue to bring their firstfruits to the Lord. The prohibition on eating blood in Gen 9 is greatly expanded, conforming it to later command sin the mosaic law (7:20-33).

Abraham implores his father to not worship idols (12:1-8) and burns down the house of idols (12:12-14). The legendary piety of Abraham is the basis for the Apocalypse of Abraham. Abraham even keeps the Feast of Booths centuries before it is given (16). Passover and the Feast of Lights are not mentioned since they are rooted in well-known historical events. The events of Passover is mentioned in chapter 49.  Purim is also omitted, although if the book comes from a theological current akin to the Qumran community, Esther may not have been an important book and Purim a secular celebration.

Even the Day of Atonement is foreshadowed in the story of Genesis; it is a day of mourning for Joseph (34).  Seth, Enoch, and Noah are “proto-Jews” who were righteous before God well before Abraham.  The tithe is rooted in the patriarchal stories in chapter 32.  The writer is therefore weaving law material into the narrative of the earliest histories in the Hebrew Bible in order to provide a more sure foundation for distinctive Jewish practices.

There is a repeating condemnation of fornication in the various generations, rooted in the Noahic covenant.  Similarly, many of these commands are “written on heavenly tablets,” an indication of the solemnity of the commands as well as their inviolability.  Even when a patriarch is guilty of fornication and is not judged (Reuben, 33; Judah 41), the author makes it clear this is no excuse for the reader to commit such acts.

There are many stories which are slightly altered in the Book of Jubilees to preserve the righteousness of a character.  Shem is blessed since his division of territory included the Garden of Eden (8:18-21).  Jacob is a righteous man who follows the Lord wholeheartedly rather than a conniving deal-maker (36).  As with the Enoch literature, there is an effort to absolve God of any apparent sin.  For example, a demonic creature is responsible for telling Abraham to sacrifice of Isaac, not the Lord.  This is the same demon who later helps the magicians in Egypt do miracles.  Demons are responsible for much of the sin found among the sons of Noah.  Noah prays and none-tenths of these demons are bound in judgment.  Shem is given the secret of dealing with the final tenth because he is Noah’s beloved son (10:7-14).   Abraham does not leave the Land nor does he lie about Sarah (15:17-20).

On the other hand, some biblical characters are vilified far more than in the Hebrew Bible. Canaan, for example, discovers astrology (8) and his descendants are responsible for the evil in the world at the time of Abraham. Canaan violates the borders established after the flood by seizing Shem’s land and forcing him into exile in Egypt (10:27-34; 10:14-15, Noah pronounces a curse on anyone who violates boundaries.).

The primary purpose of the Book of Jubilees is to define the true Jewish people as those who keep God’s law and to call the Jewish people back to obedience to that Law (suggested by Sanders in Paul and Palestinian Judaism, 362). The Law is rooted in the very creation of the world.  To violate law is therefore to flaunt the created order itself.  Given the probability of a date just after the Maccabean revolt, the writer is reacting to those within the Jewish community who were too tolerant of the Greek world.  When Antiochus IV Epiphanies banned feasts and festivals, the Sabbath and circumcision, he violated the Law of God.

The Maccabean revolt did not go far enough, since the Hasmonean kings were little better than the Selucid kings they replaced.  To be a proper Jew, one must retain the traditional boundary markers of the Hebrew Bible.   Unlike Sirach, Jubilees envisions a complete separation from the Hellenistic world.  It is not “wisdom” which is rooted in the creation, but rather the Law of God as it appears in the Mosaic Law.  While Sirach said wisdom was to keep the Law of God, he was never very clear on what that Law might be.  The author of Jubilees is quite clear as he re-writes the stories of the Hebrew Bible to establish the antiquity of the boundary markers of the Jewish people.

Not every story in Jubilees is overly embellished. Chapter 39-46 is a fairly straightforward retelling of the Joseph story.  The text of Genesis is summarized and very little is added.  The major differences are found in 40:6-13, the description of Joseph’s power when he became the rule of Egypt.  The story of Judah’s sin with Tamar is retold with an added repentance at the end (41:23-24).  As with the sin of Reuben, the writer wants it made clear that Judah’s forgiveness is no excuse for present immorality.  Before going to Egypt, Jacob celebrates the firstfruits at the Well of Oaths 45-46).  As in Genesis 46, at Beer-sheba he experiences a vision of God telling him not to worry about the sojourn in Egypt.  The family is listed in chapter 45 (cf., Genesis 46, there are a number of differences between Genesis and Jubilees in the listing of the names.)  The family settles in Goshen while Joseph continues to serve in the government of Egypt.  Jacob dies after seventeen years on Egypt.  An important note is made in 45:15 – all of Jacob’s books are given to Levi.  These are the books which have been handed down from Enoch to Noah to Abraham, etc.  The ancient books of wisdom are therefore now in the possession of the priesthood “to this day.”

Joe Hellerman argued Jubilees (along with 1-2 Maccabees) is preoccupied with “symbols of Jewish socio-political identity,” primarily the practice of circumcision, the distinction between sacred and profane places, times, and foods.” (“Purity and Nationalism in the Second Temple Literature: 1-2 Maccabees and Jubilees,” JETS 46 (2003): 401).

Sacred times and places are clearly of importance to the writer of Jubilees, but all of these boundary markers are precisely the points of conflict during the Maccabean revolt and continued to be important symbols of Jewish nationalism in the first century. Circumcision and sacred times, and food laws are all points of conflict in the early church when Gentiles began to join an otherwise Jewish sect.  The issue of sacred space was less of an issue outside of Jerusalem, although Paul certainly encounters the idea of the Temple in Acts 20.  Jesus too encounters resistance from the Pharisees in three of these categories, the exception being circumcision.

Hellerman notes that circumcision is not simply a “sign of the covenant” in The Book of Jubilees, but it had “profoundly sociological (even geographical) significance” as well (Hellerman, 415). Jubilees 15:33-34 connects circumcision with Israel’s election and possession of the land. In 4:26 the author of Jubilees lists four sacred places, including Eden, Sinai and Zion (cf. 8:19, which lists only these three).   Clearly proper time is a major interest in the book (both Sabbath, 2:17-18, 50:1-13) but also calendar (6:36-37).  Least applicable of Hellerman’s categories is that of sacred food, which finds less support in Jubilees as 1-2 Maccabees.

The Book of Jubilees is a critically important book for the study of the New Testament. As a summary and expansion of the Law, Jubilees provides an insight into the way some Jews in the last two centuries before Christ thought about the importance of the Law.

The book is often called “The Little Genesis” in Latin and Syriac translations on the basis of content. Jerome (fourth century), Syncellus (eighth century C.E.) and the Catena of Nicephorus (ninth century CE.) all refer to the book as Little Genesis. Syncellus also indicates the book circulated as “The Book of Adam’s Daughters.”  R. H. Charles published the text as The Book of Jubilees, or the Little Genesis. (London,: A. and C. Black, 1902).  The name Jubilees is known as early as Epiphanius (Haer. 39:6).  A Syrian fragment has the title “Names of the Wives of the Patriarchs according to the Hebrew Book of Jubilees.”  The book circulated under various other titles in the middle ages (Apocalypse of Moses, Life of Adam, etc., see the discussion of the title in Wintermute, “Jubilees” in OTP 2:41, 51, Charles, APOT, 2:2).

The book was written in the second century BCE in Hebrew as a summary and expansion of the book of Genesis and Exodus 1-12.  The book was translated from Hebrew into Greek and Syriac, then from Greek into Latin and Ethiopic. The Greek version is only known from fragments cited in other literature.  Likewise, Syriac manuscripts are fragmentary and known only from an anonymous Syriac chronicle published in 1921.  Only one-fourth of the book is known from Latin manuscripts published by Charles and Hermann Rönsch. The Ethiopic manuscripts are “virtually complete” (Wintermute 2:42), although the best manuscript dates to the sixteenth century (B.M. Orient. 45).

The book is present among the Qumran literature in twelve manuscripts, although not all have been published (1Q18 (1QJub^b) 1QJubilees^b; 2Q19 (2QJub^a) 2QJubilees^a, 2Q20 (2QJub^b) 2QJubilees^b, 4Q216 (4QJub^a) 4QJubilees^a). The book is called “The Book of the Divisions of the Times for Their Jubilees and Weeks” in CD 16:2-3 (Vanderkam, “Jubilees,” 3:1030). The number of fragments in the Dead Sea Scrolls indicates the book was popular for the Qumran community and may indicate a wider circulation in the first century.

James VanderKam reports that paleographic studies date fragments of Jubilees to 100 BCE, providing the latest possible date for the book. The earliest possible date is more difficult to determine, since there are no clear allusions to history in the book.  Charles argued the book must have been written between 153 and 105 B.C.E. assuming the book reflected a time after the Pharisees withdrew support for John Hyrcanus. (APOT 2:6).  Charles wrote well before the fragments from Qumran were discovered.  Josephus first mentions the Pharisees during the time of Jonathan (161-143 BCE,, Antiq. 13.171), but the earliest episode dates from the time of John Hyrcanus (135-104 BCE).  When Hyrcanus assumed both title of king and high priest, the Pharisee Eleazar told Hyrcanus he should not take the title of high priest (Antiq. 13.288).  Hyrcanus then allied himself with the Sadducees, and little else is said except that Hyrcanus quieted the stasis, translated “outbreak,” but more often it refers to an uprising of some sort.  In JW 1.67-69, however, the same incident is described, but with several differences.  There are a number of Pharisees who protest against Hyrcanus which eventually becomes a war.  Only after Hyrcanus puts down the rebellious Pharisees can he be said to have a quiet reign.

This range of dates is usually supported by the so-called anti-Edom texts (38:14, for example), which reflect a time when Hyrcanus controlled Edomite territory.  More recent studies have concluded the latest historical references in Jubilees are to the Maccabean revolt (specifically, 1 Mac 5:3, 6:5), thus the book of Jubilees must be dated between 161 and 140 BCE.

Since the book appears to have been written in Hebrew in Judea by a member of a priestly family (Wintermute, “Jubilees,” OTP 2:45), Jubilees is a unique insight into the heart of an observant Jew in the period just prior to the events of the New Testament.  While Charles saw a pharisaical background to the book, F. M. Cross has described Jubilees as representing a kind of “proto-Essene” because of this emphasis on separation (The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Biblical Studies. Rev. ed., 199).

In either case, we have a representative of a strict form of Judaism reacting to the Hellenizing tendencies of the Hasmonean rulers.