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The Testatments of the Twelve Patriarchs
Introductory Notice to The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
[4] Vol. v. p. 176, ed. 1827.
[5] Credib., vol. ii. pp. 345–364.
[6] Vol. vi. p. 384.
[7] The honour done to St. Paul is enough to settle any suspicion of this sort.
[8] See vol. i. p. 270, note 2, this series.
[9] Rev. vii. 4. Dan is excepted.
[10] Rev. iv. 4. See vol. vii. p. 348, this series.
[12] See The Christ of Jewish History in Stanley Leathes’ Bampton Lectures, p. 51, ed. New York, 1874; also Westcott, Introduction to Study of the Gospels, 3d ed., London, Macmillans, 1867. Note, on the Book of Henoch, pp. 69, 93–101; on the Book of Jubilees p. 109. He puts this book into the first century, later than Henoch, earlier than the Twelve Patriarchs. Consult this work on the Alexandrian Fathers, on inspiration of Scripture, etc.; and note the Jewish doctrine of the Messiah, pp. 86, 143, 151, also the apocryphal traditions of words of our Lord, p. 428.
[13] Acts xxi. 18-26. To my mind a most touching history, in which it is hard to say whether St. Paul or St. James is exhibited in the more charming light. It suggests the absolute harmony of their Epistles.
[14] Vol. i. Elucid. II. p. 57, this series.
[15] Adv. Marcionem, v. 1; Scorpiace, 13; cf. Benj. 11.
[16] Hom. in Josuam, xv. 6; cf. Reub. 2, 3.
[17] Benj. 11.
[18] [Compare Westcott, Introduction to Study of the Gospels, p. 132, ed. Boston, 1862.]
[19] Benj. 4.
[20] Judah 23.
[21] Judah 23.
[22] Naph. 2.
[23] Naph. 3.
[24] Adv. Vigilantium, c. 6.
[25] Comm. in Genesin, c. 38.
[26] vi. 16. [See vol. vii. p. 457, this series.]
[27] [Of whom see Lightfoot, Apostolic Fathers, Part II. vol. i. p. 77, ed. London, 1885.]
[28] Historia Anglorum, a.d. 1242, p. 801, ed. London, 1571.
[29] Op. cit. a.d. 1252, p. 1112.
[30] Vide infra.
[31] [See, e.g., the curious reading in Levi 18, καὶ στησει, where the Latin mss. are unanimous in giving stare faciet; also the mistake of ᾽Ιακώβ for ᾽Ρουβήμ in Issachar 1.
[32] See Tischendorf, Aus dem heiligen Lande, p. 341.
[33] Hamburgh, 1713.
[34] e.g., 1483; Hagenau, 1532; Paris, 1549; and often.
[35] This English translation having been made from the Latin, the printed editions of which swarm with inaccuracies (Grosseteste’s Latin version itself being a most exact translation), I have been able to make much less use of it than I could have desired. It has, however, been compared throughout.
[36] Monsieur Macé, Chefecier, curé de Saint Opportune, Paris, 1713.
[37] e.g., Vienna, 1544; Strasburgh, 1596; Hamburgh, 1637.
[38] mss. Harl., 1252.
I.—The Testament of Reuben Concerning Thoughts.
[39] There seems a reminiscence here of the words of Dan. x. 3, LXX. [For proofs of penitence, see p. 11, note 3, infra.]
[40] For this use of πνεύματα as applied to the senses, we may cite Plutarch (De placitis philosophorum, iv. 21), who, speaking with reference to the Stoic philosophy, says, ἡ μὲν ὅρασις ἐστὶ πνεῦμα διατεινον ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ μέχρις ὀφθαλμῶν.
[41] This clause is only found in Cd. Oxon.; it seems demanded by the following ἀπό
[42] Cf. Gen. xxxv. 22. The Gader mentioned below is the Edar of Gen. 35.21, the Hebrew ע being reproduced, as often, by γ.
[43] [This section is censured by Lardner as unsuitable to dying admonitions. He forgets Oriental simplicity.]
[44] This name, occurring once again in the Testaments (Naph. 3), is one frequently found applied to the angels as the custodians of the world and of men. Thus, in the Chaldee of Daniel (Dan. 4.10-23), we find the expression עִִיר, which Aquila and Symmachus render ἐγρήγορος. The corresponding Ethiopic term is of frequent occurrence in the book of Enoch, not only of the fallen angels (e.g., x. 9, 15, xvi. 1, etc.), but of the good (xii. 2, 3, etc., ed. Dillmann). See also Gesenius, Thesaurus, s.v. עִִיר.
[45] [Gen. vi. 4; Revised margin, 1 Cor. xi. 10; Jude 6, 7.]
[46] [See Lardner on this root idea of our author, vol. ii. p. 353; but he is wrong as to Levi and Mary. Also Joseph, sec. 19, note 2, infra.]
[47] The reading of Cd. Oxon., μετ᾽ αὐτόν, is doubtless to be preferred.
[48] i.e., Machpelah, which in Hebrew means double, and is so rendered by the LXX., e.g., Gen. xxiii. 9.
II.—The Testament of Simeon Concerning Envy.
[50] That Simeon was prominent in the hostility to Joseph, is perhaps implied by his detention in Egypt as a surety for the return of the others; and Jewish tradition generally accords with this view. Cf. the Targum of the Pseudo-Jonathan on Gen. xxxvii. 19: “Simeon and Levi, who were brothers in counsel, said one to another, Let us kill him.” Also this same Targum on Gen. xlii. 24: “And he took from them Simeon, who had counselled to kill him.” Cf. also Breshith Rabba, § 91.
[51] [Gen. xxxvii. 22, 29; xlii. 22.]
[52] [See Speaker’s Com., N.T., vol. iv. p. 387, ed. Scribners.]
[53] The Cam. ms. seems wrongly to omit the negative here. The reference is doubtless to Gen. xlix. 7.
[54] The reference seems to be to the Philistines. Cf. Deut. ii. 23; Amos ix. 7, where the LXX. reads Καππαδοκία.
[55] [For modern views of these, see Encyc. Brit., s.v. “Hittites.”]
[56] [Two of the many passages that leave no room for Lardner’s imaginary “Unitarianism” in this author.]
[57] The construction here is awkward of the participles after ὅτι: possibly a clause may have dropped out after ᾽Αδάμ.
[58] [See p. 10, note 5, supra.]
[59] John the Baptist. His greatness is declared by Christ Himself.]
[60] [Two of the many passages that leave no room for Lardner’s imaginary “Unitarianism” in this author.]
III.—The Testament of Levi Concerning the Priesthood and Arrogance.
[61] [Isa. xi. 2.]
[62] See below, c. 6.
[63] Cf. Luke xxiv. 21.
[64] For the Jewish idea of seven heavens, cf. Clement of Alexandra, Strom., iv. 7; and Wetstein’s note on 2 Cor. xii. 2; [also vol. vii. note 11, this series; and vol. ii. note 7, p. 438, this series].
[66] [Hades, rather.]
[67] [ἐπὶ τῳ πάθει τοῦ ῾Υψισοῦ. Compare Tatian, vol. ii. p. 71, this series.]
[68] This document, the idea of which is that of a book containing what is fore-ordained in heaven as to the course of the future, is one often appealed to in Apocalyptic literature, when some oracular declaration of weighty import is needed. Thus, in the Book of Enoch, the angel Uriel tells Enoch that the tablets contain all wisdom, the dying Enoch tells his children that the tablets are the source of all understanding, etc. (see, e.g., cc. 81. 1; 93. 2; 106. 19, ed. Dillmann). In the Book of Jubilees, again, it is said that inscribed on the tablets are, e.g., the punishment of the angels who sinned with mortal women, the plan of the division of weeks, the name of Abraham as the friend of God, etc. (cc. 5, 6, 19). See also Test. Asher, 2, 7, infra.
[69] [Gen. xlviii. 16. The Jehovah-Angel.]
[70] ἀσπίς. The Latin version gives the other meaning to ἀσπίς here, of asp or viper. The epithet χαλκῆν, however, renders “shield” much more probable, as there seems nothing in the context pointing to the “brazen serpent.”
[71] A quotation from 1 Thess. ii. 16, where the context also is similar to the present. [See Lardner’s refutation of the learned Grabe on this quotation, vol. ii. p. 359.]
[72] With the whole of this passage we may compare the description of the vestments of Aaron. See especially Ex. xxix. 5, 6 (LXX.). The πέταλον is the translation of צִיץ, the plate of gold on the forehead of the high priest over the mitre. The λογίον, or λογεῖον, is the breastplate, with the Urim and Thummim. For the ποδήρης, see Ex. xxviii. 27 (LXX.).
[73] On the possible reference here to the elements of the Eucharist, see Grabe’s note, Spicilegium, in loc.
[74] Nitzsch (p. 19, n. 37) explains this division into three ἀρχαί, as referring to the three orders of the Christian priesthood. This, however, seems improbable. Cf. Kayser, p. 119; Vorstman, p. 41. It is far more probable that the reference is to Moses, Aaron, and Christ. Thus with πιστεύσας we may compare Num. xii. 7. For this use of ἀρχή, cf. Gen. ii. 10. [Isa. lxvi. 21.]
[75] [Rom. 16.15-17; Heb. 5.1.]
[76] Or, if we follow the reading of Cd. Oxon., “Prophet of the Most High.”
[77] Or rather, with Cd. Oxon., “with our father.”
[78] We constantly find Peter, in the Clementine Homilies and Recognitions, combining with the Agapæ the practice of bathing. Cf., e.g., Recog., iv. 3, v. 36.
[79] Cf. Hom., xiv. 1. [Lev. ii. 13; Mark ix. 49.]
[80] [Annas and Caiaphas. John xix. 11.]
[81] This document is frequently quoted in the Testaments: cf. Sim. 5; Levi 14, 16; Judah 18; Dan 5; Naph. 4; Benj. 9. Most of these citations, however, are not to be found in the work as it has come down to us. We must therefore either assume the reference to some other books of Enoch not now extant, or rather perhaps that they are general appeals to the spirit of the book, regarded as a great fount of prophecy.
[82] Read αὐτοῦ with Cd. Oxon.
[83] [John i. 4-9; viii. 12; ix. 5, etc.]
[84] The word πλεονξία, like the English “excess,” has not unfrequently special reference to sins of sensuality. Cf. 1 Cor. v. 11; Eph. iv. 19; v. 3, 5; Col. iii. 5; 1 Thess. iv. 6, the context in all of which passages points strongly to this conclusion. See Suicer’s Thesaurus, s.v.
[85] Cf. Matt. xxvii. 63, where ἐκεῖνος ὁ πλάνος is said of our Lord.
[87] [John iii. 5; Isa. xii. 3; 1 Pet. iii. 20.]
[89] [Matt. ii. 2. Constant references to the Gospels proofs of text.]
[90] An additional clause occurs here in Cd. Oxon., which generally has a tendency to omit; the copyist of Cd. Cam. having possibly looked on to the same initial words in the next clause: “And in His priesthood shall the Gentiles be multiplied in knowledge on the earth and shall be enlightened through the grace of the Lord; but Israel shall be minished in ignorance, and be darkened in sorrow.”
[91] The reading of Cd. Oxon. here, ἀποστήσει, is to be preferred to Cd. Cam., στήσει. Grosseteste’s Latin version, in all probability made from the latter, has stare faciet. [See p. 7, note 1, supra.]
[92] [Rev. ii. 7.]
IV.—The Testament of Judah Concerning Fortitude, and Love of Money, and Fornication.
[94] Gen. xxix. 35. [The name = "Praise". So Gen. xlix. 3.]
[95] In c. 5 we find this name, with a slight variety of spelling, as that of a place over which this king may have ruled. It is doubtless equivalent to the Hebrew Tappuah, a name of several cities mentioned in the Old Testament. See Josh. xv. 34; xvi. 8; xvii. 8; 1 Chron. ii. 43. Cf. Thapha, Jubilees, 34.
[96] Cd. Oxon. reads ἑτέραν; but cf. Aresa, Jubilees, 34.
[97] Cf. c. 12; also Chezib (Gen. xxxviii. 5), Chozeba (1 Chron. iv. 22), and Achzib (Josh. xv. 44; Mic. i. 14), all of which are probably different names for the same place, and all connected with Judah.
[98] Cf. Selo, Jubilees, l.c.
[99] Cf. 1 Chron. xi. 36. [Here the translator supplies a note of doubt—an interrogation-point.]
[100] Cd. Oxon. reads Γαᾶς πόλις βασιλέων. Cf.Josh. xxiv. 30; Judg. ii. 9; 2 Sam. xxiii. 30. Cf. also “Gaiz,” Jubilees, l.c.
[101] The Timnah of the Old Testament, which name is, however, borne by several places. Most probably it is the Timnah near Bethshemesh, on the north frontier of Judah, in the neighbourhood, that is, of many of the other localities mentioned in the Testaments. This may be the same as the Timnathah on the Danite frontier (Josh. xix. 43), and with the Timnathah where Samson’s wife dwelt (Judg. xiv. 1 sqq ). The geographical position of Timnath-serah is against the allusion being to it here. Cf., however, Jubilees, c. 34, where Thamnathares is one of the hostile towns.
[102] Cf. Robel, Jubilees, l.c.
[103] Cf. Gen. xxxviii. 1.
[104] Cd. Oxon. ἐν ᾽Ανονιράμ, probably per incuriam scribæ, for ἐπάνω ᾽Ιράμ
[105] This seems to arise from the wish to disconnect Israel as far as possible from non-Shemite associations. Cf. the Targum of Onkelos on Gen. xxxviii. 6. “Judah took a wife for Er, his first-born, a daughter of the great Shem, whose name was Tamar.”
[106] διέφθειρε δὲ τὸ σπέρμα ἐπὶ τὴν γὴν
[107] [Herod. i., cap. 199; Baruch vi. 43.]
[108] [To this section Lardner objects. But compare Gen. xxxviii. 12.]
[109] Cd. Oxon. here reads the additional clause ζημιούμενος οὐκ αἰσθάνεται καὶ ἄδοξον οὐκ αἰσχύνεται. Κἂν γάρ τις βασιλεύσῃ, πορνεύων—perhaps omitted from Cd. Cant. through the homœoteleuton.
[110] Cd. Oxon. omits the negative. The βασίλεια will then be that from which the man falls by his sin.
[111] Cd. Oxon. reads τί δὲ λέγω; μηδ᾽ ὅλως πίνετε, which seems much more suitable to the context.
[112] [1 Kings 11.1,11.]
[113] [Num. 15.25; Acts 3.17.]
[114] [See cap. 13, p. 19, supra.]
[115] Cd. Oxon. omits the whole of this chapter.
[116] [Rom. xi. 26.]
[117] The reading of Cd. Oxon. is doubtless to be preferred, which joins κλῄδοσι και δαίμοσι πλάνης to what precedes
[118] [Ecclesiastes 2.8;Ecclesiastes 2.8; Ecclesiasticus 9.4.]
[120] Cd. Oxon. omits from here to end of c. 25.
[122] [2 Macc. 7.9-36; Heb. 11.35.]
[123] i.e., for the purpose of embalmment.
V.—The Testament of Issachar Concerning Simplicity.
[124] See Gen. xxx. 14 sqq.
[125] The Cam. ms. reads ᾽Ιακώβ by an obvious error.
[126] Sachar.
[127] [Tobit viii. 7, 8.]
[128] [See Dan, note 12, p. 26, infra. “Eternal” ="long.”]
VI.—The Testament of Zebulun Concerning Compassion and Mercy.
[129] The Ox. ms. reads 150, and refers the event to two years after Joseph’s death. The text of the Cam. ms. gives an impossible result here, as it would make Zebulun twenty-eight years younger than Joseph, who died at the age of 110. According to the Ox. ms., Reuben (cf. c. 1) and Zebulun would die in the same year, the former at 125, the latter 150. A comparison of Test. Reub., c. 1 shows the most probable solution to be to give the numerals, ριδ', β'.
[130] The derivation of Zebulun seems to be from זבל, a collateral form of זבר, to give. Hence Leah plays on the double meaning of the former verb,Gen. xxx. 20.
[131] Cf. the Targum Ps. Jon. on Gen. xxxvii. 28.
[132] [Deut. xxv. 7, 8, 9. See Lardner on the animus of these quotations from Enoch, as it strikes him, vol. ii. p. 350.]
[133] Cam. ms. διὰ τραγλοκολπητῶν; Ox. ms. διὰ τρωγλοδυτῶν.
[134] [“Finis non determinat probitatem actus.”]
[136] The Ox. ms. reads: “And ye shall return from your land, and ye shall see the Lord in Jerusalem for His name’s sake.” [Heb. vii. 2. At least, Salem is His name.]
[137] [Another of those unequivocal passages which refute Lardner’s charge of “Unitarianism” in this book.]
[138] [Ezek. xlviii. 26, 27. An important example of Hebrew exposition of this prophet.]
VII.—The Testament of Dan Concerning Anger and Lying.
[139] [The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.]
[140] The reading of the Ox. ms., μῂ κινεῖσθε is to be taken.
[141] Cam. ms. εις εἰδέαν; Ox. ms. εἰς ἀηδίαν.
[142] Read κακόν
[143] The Ox. ms. omits from here to τοῖς ἔθνεσι Σωτήρ in c. 6.
[144] ᾽Εκπορεύοντες may be an error for ἐκπορνεύοντες, which Grabe wrongly gives as the reading of the Cam. ms.
[145] [The root idea, p. 18, notes 5, 6, supra.]
[146] [Rev. xxi. 3.]
[147] [Here is the Chiliasm of Barnabas, vol. i. p. 146.]
[148] [That is, not with the glory of His throne above.]
[149] Cf. Dorner, Doctrine of the Person of Christ, Introd., p, 15, Eng. transl.
[150] [Rom. xi. 15.]
[151] See Zebulun 10, p. 25, supra.]
VIII.—The Testament of Naphtali Concerning Natural Goodness.
[152] Gen. xxx. 8. Josephus, Ant., i. 19. 7
[154] [Wisdom 11.20; Ecclesiasticus 42.7.]
[155] The Greek text here is obviously corrupt, and doubtless one or two words are wanting. The reading of the Cam. ms. is, οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ τοῖς προσώποις ἢ τῶν ὁμοίων. In the Ox. ms. the passage is wanting.
[156] It seems very doubtful what is meant by κάλαμος here. I have thought it best, therefore, to leave the matter open. The Ox. ms. punctuates στομάχου κάλ.
[157] Cf. Reuben 5 [note 3, p. 10 supra].
[158] [Eccles. iii. 5; 1 Cor. vii. 5.]
IX.—The Testament of Gad Concerning Hatred.
[159] Cf. Targum Ps. Jon. of Gen. xxxvii. 2.
[160] The narrative of Genesis (Gen. 37.28) gives twenty pieces of silver; the LXX. twenty pieces of gold, with which latter agrees Josephus’ μνῶν εἴκοσιν (Antiq., ii. 3. 3). [It is worthy of note that Judas took a meaner price for the “Son of Joseph.”]
[161] For this unusual use of ὀλιγοψυχία, cf. Prov. xiv. 29, LXX., where there is the same contrast with μακροθυμία.
[162] [This passage is cited by Lardner as conspicuously fine.]
[163] [Wis. xi. 16.]
[164] The Ox. ms. omits from here to the last clause of c. 7.
[165] For δολωφωνῆσαι, the reading of the Cam. ms. here, Grabe conjectured δολοφονήσει. Probably δολοφωνήσει is to be preferred.
[166] [The Virgin was the daughter of Judah, but had kinship with Levi. Luke i. 36. Compare Jer. xxxiii. 20-22.]
X.—The Testament of Asher Concerning Two Faces of Vice and Virtue.
[167] [See the Duæ Viæ, vol. vii., p. 377, this series.]
[168] [This section is commended by Dr. Lardner.]
[169] Cf. Lev. xi. 5, 7. [Vol. ii. p. 555 note 6.]
[170] Cf. Levi 5. [P. 13, note 8 supra.]
[171] [Matt. v. 45. This seems contradictory.]
[172] The Ox. ms. adds, ἐν τῇ εὐφροσύνῃ ἡ μέθη, ἐν τῷ γέλωτι τὸ πένθος, ἐν τῷ γάμῳ ἡ ἀκρασία. [Ecclesiasticus 42.24.]
[173] [The Hebrew triad, father, son, and proceeding.]
XI.—The Testament of Joseph Concerning Sobriety.
[174] The Greek spelling here is Φωτιμάρ, in the later chapters Πετεφρίς (Πεντεφρῆς, Cd. Oxon.). The former is more like the Hebrew, the latter really the LXX. spelling, Πετεφρῆς. We may perhaps see herein a trace of a double authorship in the Test. Joseph.
[175] Cf. Gen. xxxix. 1, LXX., and Josephus (Antiq., ii. 4. 1), who calls Potiphar μαγείρων ὁ βασιλεύς. The view of the Eng. ver. is most probably correct, though we find טבָּח used in the sense of cook in 1 Sam. ix. 23.
[176] [Matt. vi. 6. He veils the quotation by a fiction, as to authorship, to support the plan of his work.]
[177] [Dan. i. 15.]
[178] This repetition of a clause seems like the slip of a copyist. The Ox. ms. reads, εἰς τὴν εἱρκτὴν τοῦ Φαραώ
[179] [To this section Lardner takes exception, as unbecoming to the gravity of Joseph.]
[180] Another account is given in the Targ. Ps. Jon. of Gen. xli. 45, “And he gave him to wife Asenath, whom Dinah bare to Shechem: and the wife of Potipherah prince of Tanes brought up.”
[181] This wearing of a linen garment would seem to imply a connection with the priestly tribe. St. Luke (Luke 1.36) indeed calls the Virgin the kinswoman of Elisabeth. On this tendency to associate the old sacerdotal tribe with the new royalty of Messiah, cf., e.g., Protevangel. Jacobi, cc. 6, 7, 9; Augustine, contra Faustum, xxiii. 4; Epiphanius, Hær., lxxviii. 13. [See Reuben, sec. 6, p. 10, supra.]
[183] Cf. Test. Simeon 8, and Jubilees 46. The account of Joseph’s burial in the Targ. Ps. Jon. on Gen. l. 26 is: “And Joseph died, a hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and placed him in a coffin, and sank him in the middle of the Nile of Egypt.“
[184] Cf. Gen. xlviii. 7, LXX.
XII.—The Testament of Benjamin Concerning a Pure Mind.
[185] The ordinary theory as to the meaning of Benjamin is comparatively late, and seems doubtful. The Targum Jerushalmi (on Gen. xxxv. 18), and the Breshith Rabba, § 82, make Benjamin and Benoni synonymous. Cf. Josephus, Antiq., i. 21. 3; Cyril, Glaph. in Gen., lib. iv. With the view mentioned in the text, cf. Arethas on Rev. vii. 8 (Cramer’s Catena, viii. 289).
[186] This would seem to be the earliest instance of the application of the word ἀναμάρτητος to our Lord.
[187] [How could any Christian more fully testify to the Nicene Faith? So the Gloria in Excelsis.]
[188] [Matt. vi. 22; Luke xi. 34.]
[189] For ἑπτακοσίοις ἔτεσιν the Ox. ms. reads simply ἑπτά.
[190] This would seem to be the meaning of πρῶτος ναός.
[191] [Rev. xx. 5, 6. See p. 25, note 4, supra.]
[192] Gen. xlix. 27. This passage, referring to St. Paul (who was of the tribe of Benjamin, Rom. xi. 1; Phil. iii. 5), is quoted by Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, v. 1. [See vol. iii. p. 430, this series.]
[193] Compare Scorpiace, cap. 13 [with reference to Gen. 25.34; 27.25, vol. iii. p. 646, this series. Lardner adds Origen, Hom. in Ezech., iv. tom. iii. p. 731; Theodoret, in Gen. Quæst., cx. tom. i. p. 77; and Augustine, Serm., 279 (and passim), tom. v. ed. Benedict.].
[194] [“Mel in ore, melos in aure, melodia in corde.”—St. Bernard.]
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