Online Encyclopedia

Targum on these books, in which difficulties in the biblical narration are solved, gaps supplied, dogmatically offensive elements removed and the genuine spirit of later Judaism infused into the See also:

PRIMITIVE

primitive history of the world. Titles of the Book.—The book is variously entitled. First, it is known as Ta 'Iwfrt).aia, of 'Iwf3t7AaZot, Heb. ^'»•n. This name is admirably adapted to our book, as it divides into See also:

JUBILEE (or JUBILE), YEAR OF

jubilee periods of See also:

FORTY

forty-nine years each the history of the world from the creation to the legislation on Sinai. Secondly, it is frequently designated " The Little Genesis," i1 Xei'rTi FiPevcs or i1 MtKpoy vecns, Heb. mu n• 's . This See also:

TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title may have arisen from its dealing more fully with details and minutiae than the biblical work. For the other names by which it is referred to, such as The See also:

Apocalypse of See also:

Moses, The Testament of Moses, The Book of See also:

Adam's Daughters and the See also:

LIFE

Life of Adam, the reader may consult See also:

Charles's The Book of Jubilees, pp. xvii.-xx. See also:

OBJECT

Object.—The object of our author was the See also:

defence and exposition of Judaism from the Pharisaic standpoint of the 2nd See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century B.C. against the disintegrating effects of See also:

Hellenism.

In his elaborate defence of Judaism our author glorifies See also:

CIRCUMCISION (Lat. circum, round, and caedere, to cut)

circumcision and the See also:

SABBATH

sabbath, the bulwarks of Judaism, as heavenly ordinances, the See also:

SPHERE (Gr. vclsa?pa, a ball or globe)

sphere of which was so far extended as to embrace Israel on See also:

earth. The Law, as a whole, was to our author the realization in time of what was in a sense timeless and eternal. Though revealed in time it was See also:

SUPERIOR

superior to time. Before it had been made known in sundry portions to the fathers, it had been kept in See also:

HEAVEN (0. Eng. hefen, heofon, heofone; this word appears in O.S. hevan; the High. Ger. word appears in Ger. Himmel, Dutch hemel; there does not seem to be any connexion between the two words, and the ultimate derivation of the word is unknown; the sugges

heaven by the angels, and to its observance there was no limit in time or in eternity. Our author next defends Judaism by his glorification of Israel. Whereas the various nations of the Gentiles were subject to angels, Israel was subject to See also:

God alone. Israel was God's son, and not only did the nation stand in this relation to God, but also its individual members. Israel received circumcision as a sign that they were the See also:

Lord's, and this See also:

PRIVILEGE

privilege of circumcision they enjoyed in See also:

COMMON

common with the two highest orders of angels. Hence Israel was to unite with God and these two orders in the observance of the sabbath. Finally the destinies of the world were See also:

BOUND, or BOUNDARY (from O. Fr. bonde, Med. Lat. bodena or butina, a frontier line)

bound up with Israel. The world was renewed in the creation of the true See also:

man See also:

Jacob, and its final renewal was to synchronize with the setting-up of God's See also:

SANCTUARY (from the late Lat. sanctuarium, a sacred place)

sanctuary in See also:

ZION, or SION (Heb. iiag, perhaps from runs " to be dry," nqs " to set up," or is " to protect "; Arabic analogies favour the meaning " hump," " summit of a ridge," and so " citadel ")

Zion and the See also:

ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement, late Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

establishment of the Messianic See also:

KINGDOM

kingdom. In this kingdom the Gentiles had neither part nor See also:

lot.

Versions: See also:

Greek, See also:

SYRIAC

Syriac, Ethiopic and Latin.—Numerous fragments of the Greek Version have come down to us in See also:

JUSTIN (JUNIANUS JUSTINUS)

Justin See also:

MARTYR (Gr. pimp or µaprvs)

Martyr, See also:

ORIGEN (c. 185-c. 254)

Origen, Diodorus of See also:

ANTIOCH

Antioch, Isidore of See also:

Alexandria, See also:

EPIPHANIUS, SAINT (c. 315-402)

Epiphanius, See also:

John of Malala, See also:

SYNCELLUS

Syncellus and others. This version was the See also:

PARENT, SIMON NAPOLEON (1855– )

parent of the Ethiopic and Latin. The Ethiopic Version is most accurate and trustworthy, and indeed, as a See also:

RULE

rule, slavishly literal. It has naturally suffered from the corruptions incident to transmission through See also:

MSS. Thus dittographies are frequent and lacunae of occasional occurrence, but the version is singularly See also:

FREE

free from the glosses and corrections of unscrupulous See also:

SCRIBES

scribes. The Latin Version, of which about one-See also:

FOURTH

fourth has been preserved, is where it exists of almost equal value with the Ethiopic. It has, however, suffered more at the hands of correctors. Notwithstanding, it attests a See also:

long See also:

ARRAY (from the O. Fr. areyer, Med. Lat. arredare, to get ready)

array of passages in which it preserves the true See also:

TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave)

text over against corruptions or omissions in the Ethiopic Version. Finally, as regards the Syriac Version, the See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence for its existence is not conclusive. It is based on the fact that a See also:

BRITISH

British Museum MS. contains a Syriac fragment entitled " Names of the wives of the Patriarchs according to the See also:

HEBREW

Hebrew Book of Jubilees." The Ethiopic and Latin Versions: See also:

TRANSLATIONS

Translations from the Greek.—The Ethiopic Version is translated from the Greek, for Greek words such as 8p0s, ,BaXavos, Mu', &c., are transliterated in the Greek. Secondly, many passages must be retranslated into Greek before we can discover the source of the various corruptions. And finally, proper names are transliterated as they appear in Greek and not in Hebrew.

That the Latin is also a See also:

TRANSLATION

translation from the Greek is no less obvious. Thus in xxxix. 12 timoris=See also:

Sachs, corrupt for 5ouXstas; in xxxviii. 13 honorem =See also:

RC(:N•OH)R'-RC(OH)

rcµity, but ri n i' should here have been rendered by tributum, as the Ethiopic and the context require; in xxxii. 26, celavit = gspv>Ge, corrupt for Iypa¢e (so Ethiopic). The Greek a Translation from the Hebrew.—The See also:

early date of our book—the 2nd century B.c.—and its See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of See also:

composition speak for a Semitic See also:

ORIGINAL

original, and the evidence bearing on this subject is conclusive. But the question at once arises, was the original Aramaic or Hebrew? Certain proper names in the Latin Version ending in -in seem to bespeak an Aramaic original, as Cettin, Filistin, &c. But since in all these cases the Ethiopic transliterations end in -m and not in -n, it is not improbable that the Aramaism in the Latin Version is due to the translator, who, it has been concluded on other grounds, was a Palestinian See also:

JEW, THE WANDERING

Jew.' The grounds, on the other See also:

hand, for a Hebrew original are weighty and numerous. (I) A work which claims to be from the hand of Moses would naturally be in Hebrew, for Hebrew according to our author was the sacred and See also:

NATIONAL

national See also:

LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language. (2) The revival of the national spirit of a nation is universally, so far as we know, accompanied by a revival of the national language. (3) The text must be retranslated into Hebrew in See also:

order to explain unintelligible expressions and restore the true text.

One instance will sufficiently illustrate this statement. In xliii. 11 a certain Ethiopic expression = Ee Eµot, which is a mistranslation of is; for ' in this context, as we know from the parallel passage in Gen. xliv. 18, which our text reproduces almost verbally, =5iopac. We might observe here that our text attests the presence of dittographies already existing in the Hebrew text. (4) Hebraisms survive in the Ethiopic and Latin Versions. In the former nfiba in iv. 4, is a corrupt transliteration of y1. In the Latin eligere in to in xxii. to is a See also:

REPRODUCTION

reproduction of s nee and in qua . in ipsa in xix. 8=n2 . . . See also:

ems. This See also:

IDIOM (Gr. t&%wµa, something peculiar and personal; lbws, one's own, personal)

idiom could, of course, be explained on the See also:

HYPOTHESIS (from Gr. inrorcOivat, to put under; cf. Lat. suppositio, from sub-ponere)

hypothesis of an Aramaic original.

(5) Many paronomasiae discover themselves on retranslation into Hebrew. Textual See also:

AFFINITIES

Affinities.—A See also:

minute study of the text shows that it attests an See also:

INDEPENDENT

independent See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of the Hebrew text of the See also:

PENTATEUCH

Pentateuch. Thus it agrees at times with the Samaritan, or See also:

SEPTUAGINT, THE (Gr. of 0', Lat. LXX.)

Septuagint, or Syriac, or See also:

VULGATE (from Lat. vulgus, the common people)

Vulgate, or even with Onkelos against all the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest. To be more exact, our book represents some form of the Hebrew text of the Pentateuch midway between the forms presupposed by the Septuagint and the Syriac ; for it agrees more frequently with the Septuagint, or with combinations into which the Septuagint enters, than with 1 In the Ethiopic Version in xxi. 12 it should be observed that in the See also:

list of the twelve trees suitable for burning on the See also:

ALTAR (Lat. altare, from alias, high; some ancient etymological guesses are recorded by St Isidore of Seville in Etymologiae xv. 4)

altar several are transliterated Aramaic names of trees. But in a See also:

LATE

late Hebrew work (2nd century B.C.) the popular names of such See also:

OBJECTS

objects would naturally be used. In certain cases the Hebrew may have been forgotten, or, where the See also:

tree was of late introduction, been non-existent. any other single authority, or with any See also:

COMBINATION (Lat. combinare, to combine)

combination excluding the Septuagint. Next to the Septuagint it agrees most often with the Syriac or with combinations into which the Syriac enters. On the other hand, its See also:

independence of the Septuagint is shown in a large number of passages, where it has the support of the Samaritan and Massoretic, or of these with various combinations of the Syriac Vulgate and Onkelos. From these and other considerations we may conclude that the textual evidence points to the composition of our book at some See also:

period between 250 B.C. and A.D. 100, and at a time nearer the earlier date than the later.

Date.—The book was written between 135 B.C. and the See also:

YEAR

year of See also:

HYRCANUS ('Tp,av6s)

Hyrcanus's See also:

BREACH (Mid. Eng. breche, derived from the common Teutonic root brec, which appears in " break," Ger. brechen, &c.)

breach with the See also:

PHARISEES

Pharisees. This conclusion is See also:

DRAWN

drawn from the following facts: (1) The book was written during the pontificate of the Maccabean See also:

FAMILY

family, and not earlier than 135 B.C. For in xxxii. 1 See also:

Levi is called a " See also:

PRIEST (Ger. Priester, Fr. pretre)

priest of the Most High God." Now the only high priests who See also:

BORE

bore this title were the Maccabean, who appear to have assumed it as reviving the order of See also:

MELCHIZEDEK (Heb. for " king of righteousness "; or, since Sedek is probably the name of a god, " Sedelt is my king ")

Melchizedek when they displaced the Zadokite order of See also:

AARON

Aaron. Jewish tradition ascribes the See also:

ASSUMPTION, FEAST OF

assumption of this title to John Hyrcanus. It was retained by his successors down to Hyrcanus II. (2) It was written before 96 B.C. Or some years earlier in the reign of John Hyrcanus; for since our author is of the strictest See also:

SECT

sect a Pharisee and at the same time an upholder of the Maccabean pontificate, Jubilees cannot have been written after 96 when the Pharisees and See also:

Alexander Jannaeus came to open strife. See also:

NAY, or NEY

Nay more, it cannot have been written after the open breach between Hyrcanus and the Pharisees, when the former joined the Sadducean party. The above conclusions are confirmed by a large See also:

mass of other evidence postulating the same date. We may, however, observe that our book points to the period already past—of stress and persecution that preceded the recovery of national independence under the See also:

Maccabees, and presupposes as its See also:

HISTORICAL

historical back-ground the most flourishing period of the Maccabean See also:

HEGEMONY (Gr. i7ye,uovia, leadership, from it-yo-Oat, to lead, the leadership especially of one particular state in a group of federated or loosely united states. The term was first applied in Greek history to the position claimed by different individual

hegemony. Author.—Our author was a Pharisee of the straitest sect.

He maintained the See also:

EVERLASTING, or IMMORTELLE

everlasting validity of the law, he held the strictest views on circumcision, the sabbath, and the See also:

DUTY (from " due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, dil, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. " debt ")

duty of shunning all intercourse with the Gentiles; he believed in angels and in a blessed See also:

IMMORTALITY (Lat. in-, not, mortalis, mortal, from mors, death)

immortality. In the next place he was an upholder of the Maccabean pontificate. He glorifies Levi's successors as high-priests and See also:

CIVIL

civil rulers, and applies to them the title assumed by the Maccabean princes, though he does not, like the author of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, expect the See also:

MESSIAH (Dan. x. 25, 26)

Messiah to come forth from among them. He may have been a priest. The Views of the Author on the Messianic Kingdom and the Future Life.—According to our author the Messianic kingdom was to be brought about gradually by the progressive spiritual development of man and a corresponding transformation of nature. Its members were to reach the limit of s000 years in happiness and See also:

peace. During its continuance the See also:

POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers of evil were to be restrained, and the last See also:

JUDGMENT

judgment was apparently to take place at its See also:

close. As regards the See also:

DOCTRINE

doctrine of a future life, our author adopts a position novel for a Palestinian writer. He abandons the See also:

hope of a resurrection of the See also:

BODY

body. The souls of the righteous are to enjoy a blessed immortality after See also:

DEATH

death. This is the earliest attested instance of this expectation in the last two centuries B.C.

End of Article: JUBILEES, BOOK OF

Additional information and Comments

We must notice that circumcision is an old Egyptian habit and in early jewish scriptures there is no such thing as immortality and this is clearely an Egyptian idea as shown in famous book known as book of dead or more correctly Pert em hru which means:coming forth by day.In brief,we must consider book of jubilee as a clear evidence of egyptian effect on jews and this is happened in Alexandria under the role of Ptolemies where a large number of jews are considered as residents.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
JUBILEE YEAR

[next]
JUCAR