Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

Did You Know?

• Tertullian may quote a passage of the Greek text of the Testament of Benjamin in his polemic against Marcion.
• Origen mentions the Testaments by name, and there are doubtful references by Jerome and Procopius.
• The Stichometria of Nicephorus of Constantinople and the Synopsis Sacrae Scripturae also mention the Testaments.

Manuscripts

Fifteen Greek manuscripts survive, the oldest complete version dating from the tenth century. A Slavonic version exists, along with a closely related Serbian version. The Armenian version, attested by about fifty manuscripts, contains fewer Christian interpolations than the Greek; a preliminary edition of the Armenian text was published in 2012. Early European translations derive from a Latin version made from the Greek. Aramaic fragments relating to Levi, Judah, and Joseph have been found at Qumran, and an ancient Hebrew fragment of the Testament of Naphtali was also discovered there. A ninth-century fragment of Levi came from a Karaite synagogue genizah in Cairo. Discrepancies among the copies indicate a process of synthesis and interpolation. The Testaments are rarely cited in Patristic literature.

Ethics

Ethics are fundamental to the Testaments, which are regarded as exhortatory writings. The foremost ethical motif is adherence to God's commandments, and each testament discusses a particular vice or virtue. Joseph is frequently presented as the model of ethical conduct, and the deeds of the other patriarchs are measured against his example. Robert Henry Charles argued that the book's main value lies in its ethical teaching, which he believed influenced the New Testament writers and even Jesus himself. He saw the Testaments as bridging the ethical gap between the Old and New Testaments. The text urges love for God and neighbor, forgiveness of those who repent, and warns against anger and hatred. Passages include exhortations to love one another from the heart, to speak peacefully to an offender, and to avoid guile and passion.

Summary

The work comprises twelve books, each purporting to be the final exhortations of one of the twelve patriarchs. In each book, the patriarch narrates his own life, focusing on his strengths, virtues, or sins, drawing on biblical and traditional material, then exhorts his listeners to emulate the good and avoid the bad. Most books conclude with prophetic visions. The Testament of Reuben warns against lust, recounting Reuben's rape of Bilhah after spying on her bathing and finding her drunk, a trope derived from a reading of Genesis 49:4 and the Book of Jubilees.

Women are portrayed as the cause of the downfall of the Watchers and of humanity, excepting Bilhah. Joseph is held up as the ideal for resisting Potiphar's wife. The Testament of Simeon is a diatribe against envy, explaining that Simeon wanted to kill Joseph out of jealousy, though Judah actually sold him. It attacks Simeon's children for miscegenation and claims Simeon made war against Levi, suppressing the account of the attack on Shechem.

The Testament of Levi, an apocalyptic section, concerns arrogance and explains how Levi's descendants corrupted the priesthood by disregarding regulations.

Prophecy

The Testaments contain substantial messianic prophecy, and from a Christian perspective several statements can be associated with events in Jesus' life. For instance, Testament of Levi 18:21-22 describes the heavens opening, sanctification coming from the temple of glory, the Father's voice, and the spirit of understanding resting upon him in the water. This passage bears resemblance to the Gospel of Matthew's account of Jesus' baptism, where heaven opens, the Spirit descends like a dove, and a voice declares Jesus as God's beloved Son.