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TESTAMENTS OF THE TWELVE PATRIARCHS

A collection of documents purporting to be the last will and testaments of major figures in ancient Israel, modelled after Jacob’s farewell address to his 12 sons in Gen. 49 and Moses’ final blessing of Israel in Deut. 33. These works point up the strengths and weaknesses of the patriarchs and predict the divine blessing and punishment that will take place in the future. In the Greco-Roman period similar testaments were produced in the name of Moses, Solomon, Adam, and Job. Among the Dead Sea Scrolls were found fragments of writings somewhat similar to the testaments, attributed to Levi, Joseph, and Naphtali. Written in Aramaic, those writings attributed to Levi may have been sources used by the author of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, but there are no direct literary correspondences.

A major aim of the Testaments of the Twelve is to convey the messianic hope for an anointed king and anointed priest who will bring about the renewal of God’s people and the world order. The model for the renewed world is based on two sources: the law of Moses and the theory of moral and cosmic order which dominated the Greco-Roman world among both Jews and Gentiles. Its basic perception of a universe ordered by natural law, to which humans could respond by means of the conscience which each possessed, would result in individual and social renewal. The ethical system and terminology set forth in this writing have been shaped by Hellenistic philosophy, and specifically by Stoic thought. The detailed description of the human body and its capacities is based on Greek terminology, as in T. Naph. 2, where the human organs and their psychological functions are depicted. The abstract terminology used in defining religious understanding and human moral structure is likewise derived from Hellenistic philosophy. The highest aspiration of the moral person is to achieve “self control” (sophrosýmē) and “simplicity” (haplosteía), which can be attained only by those who are “single-minded” (monoprósopos). These terms are found only in the latest parts of the LXX, and especially in the non-Hebrew wisdom literature, which confirms the inference that the Testaments are Greek in origin and from a strongly Hellenistic environment.

The basically Jewish nature of this document is apparent from the frequency of messianic passages, in which the crucial roles are linked with Levi (the priest) and Judah (the king). Levi is the superior figure in God’s redemptive program (T. Levi 18:1; T. Jos. 19:4), and will overcome the power of evil (T. Levi 18:12). The temple will be destroyed as an act of divine judgment (T. Levi 10:3; 15:1; 16:4-5), but will ultimately be restored (T. Benj. 9:2). God will be revealed to all the nations (T. Levi 4:4), for whom Israel as the people of God will be the divinely enabled light (14:34; T. Sim. 7:2; T. Jud. 22:3; 25:5; T. Benj. 9:5).

The ethical requirements for the community are drawn in part from the law of Moses, but the dominant emphasis is on the universal moral qualities, which can be recognized as the Stoic origin: piety (T. Reu. 6:4; T. Iss. 7:5; T. Levi 16:2); uprightness (T. Iss. 13:1; 4:6; T. Gad 7:7; T. Sim. 5:2); honesty (T. Dan 1:3); generosity (T. Iss. 3:8; 4:2; 7:3), and hard work (5:3-5). The resources on which one must draw to achieve this moral life are not only direct divine factors — God’s spirit (T. Sim. 4:4) and fidelity (T. Jos. 9:2) — but also the internal force of the conscience (T. Reu. 4:3; T. Jos. 20:2) and in universally inherent power of good to overcome evil (T. Benj. 5). The law of Moses is treated according to the Jewish wisdom tradition of the Hellenistic period: as the embodiment of wisdom (T. Levi 13:1-9). It is binding upon all humanity (T. Levi 14:4) and is as much a part of the laws of nature as are the physical laws which determine the course of sun, moon, and stars. Gentiles and wicked people throughout history, such as the inhabitants of Sodom (Gen. 19), are guilty before God for having violated the laws of nature, having failed to discern the principles which are inherent in the creation (T. Naph. 3).

Since the Testaments of the Twelve relies on the LXX, it must have been written after the mid-3rd century b.c.e. The major use of Stoic terminology can be plausibly dated to the same time. Its view of the dual messianic roles — king and priest — matches that of the Maccabean period (165-63), as well as that of the Qumran community, so the work may well date from that period. It manifests three important factors: the earnest hope for a divine agent(s) of renewal; the need to redefine the covenant community; and the conviction that God provides special insights to the faithful. Later versions of the original Greek Testaments have been found in Armenian, Slavonic, Hebrew, and Aramaic, but the latter two are clearly dependent on a Greek original.

Howard Clark Kee

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TESTAMENTS OF THE TWELVE PATRIARCHS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)