THE TESTAMENTS OF THE TWELVE PATRIARCHS

part of the "Forgotten" books of Eden

THE TESTAMENT OF NAPHTALI, THE EIGHTH SON OF JACOB AND BILHAH

CHAP. I.

Naphtali, the eighth son of Jacob and Bilhah. The Runner. A lesson in physiology.

THE copy of, the testament of Naphtali, which he ordained at the time of his death in the hundred and thirtieth year of his life.

2 When his sons were gathered together in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, while still in good health, he made them a feast of food and wine.

3 And after he was awake in the morning, he said to them, I am dying; and they believed him not.

4 And as he glorified the Lord, he grew strong and said that after yesterday's feast he should die.

5 And he began then to say: Hear, my children, ye sons of Naphtali, hear the words of your father.

6 I was born from Bilhah, and because Rachel dealt craftly, and gave Bilhah in place of herself to Jacob, and she conceived and bare me upon Rachel's knees, therefore she called my name Naphtali.

7 For Rachel loved me very much because I was born upon her lap; and when I was still young she was wont to kiss me, and say: May I have a brother of thine from mine own womb, like unto thee.

8 Whence also Joseph was like unto me in all things, according to the prayers of Rachel.

9 Now my mother was Bilhah, daughter of Rotheus the brother of Deborah, Rebecca's nurse, who was born on one and the self-same day with Rachel.

10 And Rotheus was of the family of Abraham, a Chaldean, God-fearing, free-born, and noble.

11 And he was taken captive and was bought by Laban; and he gave him Euna his handmaid to wife, and she bore a daughter, and called her name Zilpah, after the name of the village in which he had been taken captive.

12 And next she bore Bilhah, saying: My daughter hastens after what is new, for immediately that she was born she seized the breast and hastened to suck it.

13 And I was swift on my feet like the deer, and my father Jacob appointed me for all messages, and as a deer did he give me his blessing.

14 For as the potter knoweth the vessel, how much it is to contain, and bringeth clay accordingly, so also doth the Lord make the body after the likeness of the spirit, and according to the capacity of the body doth He implant the spirit.

15 And the one does not fall short of the other by a third part of a hair; for by weight, and measure, and rule was all the creation made.

16 And as the potter knoweth the use of each vessel, what it is meet for, so also doth the Lord know the body, how far it will persist in goodness, and when it beginneth in evil.

17 For there is no inclination or thought which the Lord knoweth not, for He created every man after His own image.

18 For as a man's strength, so also in his work; as his eye, so also in his sleep; as his soul, so also in his word either in the law of the Lord or in the law of Beliar.

19 And as there is a division between light and darkness, between seeing and hearing, so also is there a division between man and man, and between woman and woman; and it is not to be said that the one is like the other either in face or in mind.

20 For God made all things good in their order, the five senses in the head, and He joined on the neck to the head, adding to it the hair also for comeliness and glory, then the heart for understanding, the belly for excrement, and the stomach for grinding, the windpipe for taking in the breath, the liver for wrath, the gall for bitterness, the spleen for laughter, the reins for prudence, the muscles of the loins for power, the lungs for drawing in, the loins for strength, and so forth.

21 So then, my children, let all your works be done in order with good intent in the fear of God, and do nothing disorderly in scorn or out of its due season.

22 For if thou bid the eye to hear, it cannot; so neither while ye are in darkness can ye do the works of light.

23 Be ye, therefore, not eager to corrupt your doings through covetousness or with vain words to beguile your souls; because if ye keep silence in purity of heart, ye shall understand how to hold fast the will of God, and to cast away the will of Beliar.

24 Sun and moon and stars, change not their order; so do ye also change not the law of God in the disorderliness of your doings.

25 The Gentiles went astray, and forsook the Lord, and charged their order, and obeyed stocks and stones, spirits of deceit.

26 But ye shall not be so, my children, recognizing in the firmament, in the earth, and in the sea, and in all created things, the Lord who made all things, that ye become not as Sodom, which changed the order of nature.

27 In like manner the Watchers also changed the order of their nature, whom the Lord cursed at the flood, on whose account He made the earth without inhabitants and fruitless.

28 These things I say unto you, my children, for I have read in the writing of Enoch that ye yourselves also shall depart from the Lord, walking according to all the lawlessness of the Gentiles, and ye shall do according to all the wickedness of Sodom.

29 And the Lord shall bring captivity upon you, and there shall ye serve your enemies, and ye shall be bowed down with every affliction and tribulation, until the Lord have consumed you all.

30 And after ye have become diminished and made few, ye return and acknowledge the Lord your God; and He shall bring you back into your land, according to His abundant mercy.

31 And it shall be, that after that they come into the land of their fathers, they shall again forget the Lord and become ungodly.

32 And the Lord shall scatter them upon the face of all the earth, until the compassion of the Lord shall come, a man working righteousness and working mercy unto all them that are afar off, and to them that are near.

CHAP. II.

He makes a plea for orderly living. Notable for their eternal wisdom are Verses 27-40.

FOR in the fortieth year of my life, I saw a vision on the Mount of Olives, on the east of Jerusalem, that the sun and the moon were standing still.

2 And behold Isaac, the father of my father, said to us; Run and lay hold of them, each one according to his strength; and to him that seizeth them will the sun and moon belong.

3 And we all of us ran together, and Levi laid hold of the sun, and Judah outstripped the others and seized the moon, and they were both of them lifted up with them.

4 And when Levi became as a sun, lo, a certain young man gave to him twelve branches of palm; and Judah was bright as the moon, and under their feet were twelve rays.

5 And the two, Levi and Judah, ran, and laid hold of them.

6 And lo, a bull upon the earth, with two great horns, and an eagle's wings upon its back; and we wished to seize him, but could not.

7 But Joseph came, and seized him, and ascended up with him on high.

8 And I saw, for I was there, and behold a holy writing appeared to us, saying: Assyrians, Medes, Persians, Chaldeans, Syrians, shall possess in captivity the twelve tribes of Israel.

9 And again, after seven days, I saw our father Jacob standing by the sea of Jamnia, and we were with him.

10 And behold, there came a ship sailing by, without sailors or pilot; and there was written upon the ship, The Ship of Jacob.

11 And our father said to us: Come, let us embark on our ship.

12 And when he had gone on board, there arose a vehement storm, and a mighty tempest of wind; and our father, who was holding the helm, departed from us.

13 And we, being tost with the tempest, were borne along over the sea; and the ship was filled with water, and was pounded by mighty waves, until it was broken up.

14 And Joseph fled away upon a little boat, and we were all divided upon nine planks, and Levi and Judah were together.

15 And we were all scattered unto the ends of the earth.

16 Then Levi, girt about with sackcloth, prayed for us all unto the Lord.

17 And when the storm ceased, the ship reached the land as it were in peace.

18 And, lo, our father came, and we all rejoiced with one accord.

19 These two dreams I told to my father; and he said to me: These things must be fulfilled in their season, after that Israel hath endured many things.

20 Then my father saith unto me: I believe God that Joseph liveth, for I see always that the Lord numbereth him with you.

21 And he said, weeping: Ah me, my son Joseph, thou livest, though I behold thee not, and thou seest not Jacob that begat thee.

22 He caused me also, therefore, to weep by these words, and I burned in my heart to declare that Joseph had been sold, but I feared my brethren.

23 And lo! my children, I have shown unto you the last times, how everything shall come to pass in Israel.

24 Do ye also, therefore, charge your children that they be united to Levi and to Judah; for through them shall salvation arise unto Israel, and in them shall Jacob be blessed.

25 For through their tribes shall God appear dwelling among men on earth, to save the race of Israel, and to gather together the righteous from amongst the Gentiles.

26 If ye work that which is good, my children, both men and angels shall bless you; and God shall be glorified among the Gentiles through you, and the devil shall flee from you, and the wild beasts shall fear you, and the Lord shall love you, and the angels shall cleave to you.

27 As a man who has trained a child well is kept in kindly remembrance; so also for a good work there is a good remembrance before God.

28 But him that doeth not that which is good, both angels and men shall curse, and God shall be dishonoured among the Gentiles through him, and the devil shall make him as his own peculiar instrument, and every wild beast shall master him, and the Lord shall hate him.

29 For the commandments of the law are twofold, and through prudence must they be fulfilled.

30 For there is a season for a man to embrace his wife, and a season to abstain therefrom for his prayer.

31 So, then, there are two commandments; and, unless they be done in due order, they bring very great sin upon men.

32 So also is it with the other commandments.

33 Be ye therefore wise in God, my children, and prudent, understanding the order of His commandments, and the laws of every word, that the Lord may love you,

34 And when he had charged them with many such words, he exhorted them that they should remove his bones to Hebron, and that they should bury him with his fathers.

35 And when he had eaten and drunken with a merry heart, he covered his face and died.

36 And his sons did according to all that Naphtali their Father had commanded them.

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

part of the "Forgotten" books of Eden

THE following twelve books are biographies written between 107 and 137 B.C. They are a forceful exposition, showing how a Pharisee with a rare gift of writing secured publicity by using the names of the greatest men of ancient times. "There were intellectual giants in those days" and the Twelve Patriarchs were the Intellectual Giants!

Each is here made to tell his life story. When he is on his deathbed he calls all his children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren about him, and proceeds without reservation to lay bare his experiences for the moral guidance of his hearers. If he fell into sin he tells all about it and then counsels them not to err as he did. If he was virtuous, he shows what rewards were his.

When you look beyond the unvarnished--almost brutally frank--passages of the text, you will discern a remarkable attestation of the expectations of the Messiah which existed a hundred years before Christ. And there is another element of rare value in this strange series. As Dr. R. H. Charles says in his scholarly work on the Pseudepigrapha: its ethical teaching "has achieved a real immortality by influencing the thought and diction of the writers of the New Testament, and even those of our Lord. This ethical teaching, which is very much higher and purer than that of the Old Testament, is yet its true spiritual child and helps to bridge the chasm that divides the ethics of the Old and New Testaments."

The instances of the influence of these writings on the New Testament are notable in the Sermon on the Mount which reflects the spirit and even uses phrases from these Testaments. St. Paul appears to have borrowed so freely that it seems as though he must have carried a copy of the Testaments with him on his travels.

Thus, the reader has before him in these pages what is at once striking for its blunt primitive style and valuable as some of the actual source books of the Bible.

THE TESTAMENTS OF THE TWELVE PATRIARCHS

part of the "Forgotten" books of Eden

THE TESTAMENT OF LEVI, THE THIRD SON OF JACOB AND LEAH

CHAP. I.

Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. A mystic and dreamer of dreams, a prophet.

THE copy of the words of Levi, the things which he ordained unto his sons, according to all that they should do, and what things should befall them until the day of judgement.

2 He was sound in health when he called them to him; for it had been revealed to him that he should die.

3 And when they were gathered together he said to them:

4 I, Levi, was born in Haran, and I came with my father to Shechem.

5 And I was young, about twenty years of age, when, with Simeon, I wrought vengeance on Hamor for our sister Dinah.

6 And when I was feeding the flocks in Abel-Maul, the spirit of understand of the Lord came upon me, and I saw all men corrupting their way, and that unrighteousness had built for itself walls, and lawlessness sat upon towers.

7 And I was grieving for the race of the sons of men, and I prayed to the Lord that I might be saved.

8 Then there fell upon me a sleep, and I beheld a high mountain, and I was upon it.

9 And behold the heavens were opened, and an angel of God said to me, Levi, enter.

10 And I entered from the first heaven, and I saw there a great sea hanging.

11 And further I saw a second heaven far brighter and more brilliant, for there was a boundless light also therein,

12 And I said to the angel, Why is this so? And the angel said to me, Marvel not at this, for thou shalt see another heaven more brilliant and incomparable.

13 And when thou hast ascended thither, Thou shalt stand near the Lord, and shalt be His minister, and shalt, declare His mysteries to men, and shalt proclaim concerning Him that shall redeem Israel.

14 And by thee and Judah shall the Lord appear among men, saving every race of men.

15 And from the Lord's portion shall be thy life, and He shall be thy field and vineyard, and fruits, gold, and silver.

16 Hear, therefore, regarding the heavens which have been shown to thee.

17 The lowest is for this cause gloomy unto thee, in that it beholds all the unrighteous deeds of men.

18 And it has fire, snow, and ice made ready for the day of judgement, in the righteous judgement of God; for in it are all the spirits of the retributions for vengeance on men.

19 And in the second are the hosts Of the armies which are ordained for the day of judgement, to work vengeance on the spirits of deceit and of Beliar.

20 And above them are the holy ones.

21 And in the highest of all dwelleth the Great Glory, far above all holiness.

22 In the heaven next to it are the archangels, who minister and make propitiation to the Lord for all the sins of ignorance of the righteous;

23 Offering to the Lord a sweet smelling savour, a reasonable and a bloodless offering.

24 And in the heaven below this are the angels who bear answers to the angels of the presence of the Lord.

25 And in the heaven next to this are thrones and dominions, in which always they offer praise to God.

26 When, therefore, the Lord looketh upon us, all of us are shaken; yea, the heavens, and the earth, and the abysses are shaken at the presence of His majesty.

27 But the sons of men, having no perception of these things, sin and provoke the Most High.

CHAP. II.

Levi urges piety and education.

NOW, therefore, know that the Lord shall execute judgement upon the sons of men.

2 Because when the rocks are being rent, and the sun quenched, and the waters dried up, and the fire cowering, and all creation troubled, and the invisible spirits melting away, and Hades taketh spoils through the visitations of the Most High, men will be unbelieving and persist in their iniquity.

3 On this account with punishment shall they be judged.

4 Therefore the Most High hath heard thy prayer, to separate thee from iniquity, and that thou shouldst become to Him a son, and a servant, and a minister of His presence.

5 The light of knowledge shalt thou light up in Jacob, and as the sun shalt thou be to all the seed of Israel.

6 And there shall be given to thee a blessing, and to all thy seed until the Lord shall visit all the Gentiles in His tender mercies for ever.

7 And therefore there have been given to thee counsel and understanding, that thou mightest instruct thy sons concerning this;

8 Because they that bless Him shall be blessed, and they that curse Him shall perish.

9 And thereupon the angel opened to me the gates of heaven, and I saw the holy temple, and upon a throne of glory the Most High.

10 And He said to me: Levi, I have given thee the blessing of the priesthood until I come and sojourn in the midst of Israel.

11 Then the angel brought me down to the earth, and gave me a shield and a sword, and said to me: Execute vengeance on Shechem because of Dinah, thy sister, and I will be with thee because the Lord hath sent me.

12 And I destroyed at that time the sons of Hamor, as it is written in the heavenly tables.

13 And I said to him: I pray thee, O Lord, tell me Thy name, that I may call upon Thee in a day of tribulation.

14 And he said: I am the angel who intercedeth for the nation of Israel that they may not be smitten utterly, for every evil spirit attacketh it.

15 And after these things I awaked, and blessed the Most High, and the angel who intercedeth for the nation of Israel and for all the righteous.

CHAP. III.

Levi has visions and shows what rewards are in store for the righteous.

AND when I was going to my father, I found a brazen shield; wherefore also the name of the mountain is Aspis, which is near Gebal, to the south of Abila.

2 And I kept these words in my heart. And after this I counselled my father, and Reuben my brother, to bid the sons of Hamor not to be circumcised; for I was zealous because of the abomination which they had wrought on my sister.

3 And I slew Shechem first, and Simeon slew Hamor. And after this my brothers came and smote that city with the edge of the sword.

4 And my father heard these things and was wroth, and he was grieved in that they had received the circumcision, and after that had been put to death, and in his blessings he looked amiss upon us.

5 For we sinned because we had done this thing against his will, and he was sick on that day.

6 But I saw that the sentence of God was for evil upon Shechem; for they sought to do to Sarah and Rebecca as they had done to Dinah our sister, but the Lord prevented them.

7 And they persecuted Abraham our father when he was a stranger, and they vexed his flocks when they were big with young; and Eblaen, who was born in his house, they most shamefully handled.

8 And thus they did to all strangers, taking away their wives by force, and they banished them.

9 But the wrath of the Lord came upon them to the uttermost.

10 And I said to my father Jacob: By thee will the Lord despoil the Canaanites, and will give their land to thee and to thy seed after thee.

11 For from this day forward shall Shechem be called a city of imbeciles; for as a man mocketh a fool, so did we mock them.

12 Because also they had wrought folly in Israel by defiling my sister. And we departed and came to Bethel.

13 And there again I saw a vision as the former, after we had spent there seventy days.

14 And I saw seven men in white raiment saying unto me: Arise, put on the robe of the priesthood, and the crown of righteousness, and the breastplate of understanding, and the garment of truth, and the late of faith, and the turban of the head, and the ephod of prophecy.

15 And they severally carried these things and put them on me, and said unto me: From henceforth become a priest of the Lord, thou and thy seed for ever.

16 And the first anointed me with holy oil, and gave to me the staff of judgement.

17 The second washed me with pure. water, and fed me with bread and wine even the most holy things, and clad me with a holy and glorious robe.

18 The third clothed me with a linen vestment like an ephod.

19 The fourth put round me a girdle like unto purple.

20 The fifth gave me a branch of rich olive.

21 The sixth placed a crown on my head.

22 The seventh placed on my head a diadem of priesthood, and filled my hands with incense, that I might serve as priest to the Lord God.

23 And they said to me: Levi, thy seed shall be divided into three offices, for a sign of the glory of the Lord who is to come.

24 And the first portion shall be great; yea, greater than it shall none be.

25 The second shall be in the priesthood.

26 And the third shall be called by a new name, because a king shall arise in Judah, and shall establish a new priesthood, after the fashion of the Gentiles.

27 And His presence is beloved, as a prophet of the Most High, of the seed of Abraham our father.

28 Therefore, every desirable thing in Israel shall be for thee and for thy seed, and ye shall eat everything fair to look upon, and the table of the Lord shall thy seed apportion.

29 And some of them shall be high priests, and judges, and scribes; for by their mouth shall the holy place be guarded.

30 And when I awoke, I understood that this dream was like the first dream. And I hid this also in my heart, and told it not to any man upon the earth.

31 And after two days I and Judah went up with our father Jacob to Isaac our father's father.

32 And my father's father blessed me according to all the words of the visions which I had seen. And he would not come with us to Bethel.

33 And when we came to Bethel, my father saw a vision concerning me, that I should be their priest unto God.

34 And he rose up early in the morning, and paid tithes of all to the Lord through me. And so we came to Hebron to dwell there.

35 And Isaac called me continually to put me in remembrance of the law of the Lord, even as the angel of the Lord showed unto me.

36 And he taught me the law of the priesthood of sacrifices, whole burnt-offerings, first-fruits, freewill-offerings, peace-offerings.

37 And each day he was instructing me, and was busied on my behalf before the Lord, and said to me: Beware of the spirit of fornication; for this shall continue and shall by thy seed pollute the holy place.

38 Take, therefore, to thyself a wife without blemish or pollution, while yet thou are young, and not of the race of strange nations.

39 And before entering into the holy place, bathe; and when thou offerest the sacrifice, wash; and again, when thou finishest the sacrifice, wash.

40 Of twelve trees having leaves offer to the Lord, as Abraham taught me also.

41 And of every clean beast and bird offer a sacrifice to the Lord.

42 And of all thy first-fruits and of wine offer the first, as a sacrifice to the Lord God; and every sacrifice thou shalt salt with salt.

43 Now, therefore, observe whatsoever I command you, children; for whatsoever things I have heard from my fathers I have declared unto you.

44 And behold I am clear from your ungodliness and transgression, which ye shall commit in the end of the ages against the Saviour of the world, Christ, acting godlessly, deceiving Israel, and stirring up against it great evils from the Lord.

45 And ye shall deal lawlessly together with Israel, so He shall not bear with Jerusalem because of your wickedness; but the veil of the temple shall be rent, so as not to cover your shame.

46 And ye shall be scattered as captives among the Gentiles, and shall be for a reproach and for a curse there.

47 For the house which the Lord shall choose shall be called Jerusalem, as is contained in the book of Enoch the righteous.

48 Therefore when I took a wife I was twenty-eight years old, and her name was Melcha.

49 And she conceived and bare a son, and I called his name Gersam, for we were sojourners in our land.

50 And I saw concerning him, that he would not be in the first rank.

51 And Kohath was born in the thirty-fifth year of my life, towards sunrise.

52 And I saw in a vision that he was standing on high in the midst of all the congregation.

53 Therefore I called his name Kohath which is, beginning of majesty and instruction.

54 And she bare me a third son, in the fortieth year of my life; and since his mother bare him with difficulty, I called him Merari, that is, 'my bitterness,' because he also was like to die.

55 And Jochebed was born. in Egypt, in my sixty-fourth year, for I was renowned then in the midst of my brethren.

56 And Gersam took a wife, and she bare to him Lomni and Semei. And the sons of Kohath, Ambram, Issachar, Hebron, and Ozeel. And the sons of Merari, Mooli, and Mouses.

57 And in the ninety-fourth year Ambram took Jochebed my daughter to him to wife, for they were born in one day, he and my daughter.

58 Eight years old was I when I went into the land of Canaan, and eighteen years when I slew Shechem, and at nineteen years I became priest, and at twenty-eight years I took a wife, and at forty-eight I went into Egypt.

59 And behold, my children, ye are a third generation. In my hundred and eighteenth year Joseph died.

CHAP. IV.

Levi shows how wisdom survives destruction. He has no use for scornful people.

AND now, my children, I command you: Fear the Lord your God with your whole heart, and walk in simplicity according to all His law.

2 And do ye also teach your children letters, that they may have understanding all their life, reading unceasingly the law of God.

3 For every one that knoweth the law of the Lord shall be honoured, and shall not be a stranger whithersoever he goeth.

4 Yea, many friends shall he gain more than his parents, and many men shall desire to serve him, and to hear the law from his mouth.

5 Work righteousness, therefore, my children, upon the earth, that ye may have it as a treasure in heaven.

6 And sow good things in your souls, that ye may find them in your life.

7 But if ye sow evil things, ye shall reap every trouble and affliction.

8 Get wisdom in the fear of God with diligence; for though there be a leading into captivity, and cities and lands be destroyed, and gold and silver and every possession perish, the wisdom of the wise nought can take away, save the blindness of ungodliness, and the callousness that comes of sin.

9 For if one keep oneself from these evil things, then even among his enemies shall wisdom be a glory to him, and in a strange country a fatherland, and in the midst of foes shall prove a friend.

10 Whosoever teaches noble things and does them, shall be enthroned with kings, as was also Joseph my brother.

11 Therefore, my children, I have learnt that at the end of the ages ye will transgress against the Lord, stretching out hands to wickedness against Him; and to all the Gentiles shall ye become a scorn.

12 For our father Israel is pure from the transgressions of the chief priests (who shall lay their hands upon the Saviour of the world).

13 For as the heaven is purer in the Lord's sight than the earth, so also be ye, the lights of Israel, purer than all the Gentiles.

14 But if ye be darkened through transgressions, what, therefore, will all the Gentiles do living in blindness?

15 Yea, ye shall bring a curse upon our race, because the light of the law which was given for to lighten every man this ye desire to destroy by teaching commandments contrary to the ordinances of God.

16 The offerings of the Lord ye shall rob, and from His portion shall ye steal choice portions, eating them contemptuously with harlots.

17 And out of covetousness ye shall teach the commandments of the Lord, wedded women shall ye pollute, and the virgins of Jerusalem shall ye defile; and with harlots and adulteresses shall ye be joined, and the daughters of the Gentiles shall ye take to wife, purifying them with an unlawful purification; and your union shall be like unto Sodom and Gomorrah,

18 And ye shall be puffed up because of your priesthood, lifting yourselves up against men, and not only so, but also against the commands of God.

19 For ye shall contemn the holy things with jests and laughter.

20 Therefore the temple, which the Lord shall choose, shall be laid waste through your uncleanness, and ye shall be captives throughout all nations.

21 And ye shall be an abomination unto them, and ye shall receive reproach and everlasting shame from the righteous judgement of God.

22 And all who hate you shall rejoice at your destruction.

23 And if you were not to receive mercy through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our fathers, not one of our seed should be left upon the earth.

24 And now I have learnt that for seventy weeks ye shall go astray, and profane the priesthood, and pollute the sacrifices.

25 And ye shall make void the law, and set at nought the words of the prophets by evil perverseness.

26 And ye shall persecute righteous men, and hate the godly; the words of the faithful shall ye abhor.

27 And a man who reneweth the law in the power of the Most High, ye shall call a deceiver; and at last ye shall rush upon him to slay him, not knowing his dignity, taking innocent blood through wickedness upon your heads.

28 And your holy places shall be laid waste even to the ground because of him.

29 And ye shall have no place that is clean; but ye shall be among the Gentiles a curse and a dispersion until He shall again visit you, and in pity shall receive you through faith and water.

CHAP. V.

He prophesies the coming of the Messiah. This was written 100 years before Christ.

AND whereas ye have heard concerning the seventy weeks, hear also concerning the priesthood. For in each jubilee there shall be a priesthood.

2 And in the first jubilee, the first who is anointed to the priesthood shall be great, and shall speak to God as to a father.

3 And his priesthood shall be perfect with the Lord, and in the day of his gladness shall he arise for the salvation of the world.

4 In the second jubilee, he that is anointed shall be conceived in the sorrow of beloved ones; and his priesthood shall be honoured and shall be glorified by all.

5 And the third priest shall he taken hold of by sorrow.

6 And the fourth shall be in pain, because unrighteousness shall gather itself against him exceedingly, and all Israel shall hate each one his neighbour.

7 The fifth shall be taken hold of by darkness. Likewise also the sixth and the seventh.

8 And in the seventh shall, be such pollution as I cannot express before men, for they shall know it who do these things.

9 Therefore shall they be taken captive and become a prey, and their land and their substance shall be destroyed.

10 And in the fifth week they shall return to their desolate country, and shall renew the house of the Lord.

11 And in the seventh week shall become priests, who are idolaters, adulterers, lovers of money, proud, lawless, lascivious, abusers of children and beasts.

12 And after their punishment shall have come from the Lord, the priesthood shall fail.

13 Then shall the Lord raise up a new priest.

14 And to him all the words of the Lord shall be revealed; and he shall execute a righteous judgement upon the earth for a multitude of days.

15 And his star shall arise in heaven as of a king.

16 Lighting up the light of knowledge as the sun the day, and he shall be magnified in the world.

17 He shall shine forth as the sun on the earth, and shall remove all darkness from under heaven, and there shall be peace in all the earth.

18 The heavens shall exult in his days, and the earth shall be glad, and the clouds shall rejoice;

19 And the knowledge of the Lord shall be poured forth upon the earth, as the water of the seas;

20 And the angels of the glory of the presence of the Lord shall be glad in him.

21 The heavens shall be opened, and from the temple of glory shall come upon him sanctification, with the Father's voice as from Abraham to Isaac.

22 And the glory of the Most High shall be uttered over him, and the spirit of understanding and sanctification shall rest upon him in the water.

23 For he shall give the majesty of the Lord to His sons in truth for evermore;

24 And there shall none succeed him for all generations for ever.

25 And in his priesthood the Gentiles shall be multiplied in knowledge upon the earth, and enlightened through the grace of the Lord. In his priesthood shall sin come to an end, and the lawless shall cease to do evil.

26 And he shall open the gates of paradise, and shall remove the threatening sword against Adam, and he shall give to the saints to eat from the tree of life, and the spirit of holiness shall be on them.

27 And Beliar shall be bound by him, and he shall give power to His children to tread upon the evil spirits.

28 And the Lord shall rejoice in His children, and be well pleased in His beloved ones for ever.

29 Then shall Abraham and Isaac and Jacob exult, and I will be glad, and all the saints shall clothe themselves with joy.

30 And now, my children, ye have heard all; choose, therefore, for yourselves either the light or the darkness, either the law of the Lord or the works of Beliar.

31 And his sons answered him., saying, Before the Lord we will walk according to His law.

32 And their father said unto them, The Lord is witness, and His angels are witnesses, and ye are witnesses, and I am witness, concerning the word of your mouth.

33 And his sons said unto him: We are witnesses.

34 And thus Levi ceased commanding his sons; and he stretched out his feet on the bed, and was gathered to his fathers, after he had lived a hundred and thirty-seven years.

35 And they laid him in a coffin, and afterwards they buried him in Hebron, with I Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

THE TESTAMENTS OF THE TWELVE PATRIARCHS

part of the "Forgotten" books of Eden

THE TESTAMENT OF JUDAH, THE FOURTH SON OF JACOB AND LEAH

CHAP. I.

Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah. He is the giant, athlete, warrior; he recounts heroic deeds. He runs so fast that he can outstrip a hind.

THE copy of the words of Judah, what things he spake to his sons before he died.

2 They gathered themselves together, therefore, and came to him, and he said to them: Hearken, my children, to Judah your father.

3 I was the fourth son born to my father Jacob; and Leah my mother named me Judah, saying, I give thanks to the Lord, because He hath given me a fourth son also.

4 I was swift in my youth, and obedient to my father in everything.

5 And I honoured my mother and my mother's sister.

6 And it came to pass, when I became a man, that my father blessed me, saying, Thou shalt be a king, prospering in all things.

7 And the Lord showed me favour in all my works both in the field and in the house.

8 I know that I raced a hind, and caught it, and prepared the meat for my father, and he did eat.

9 And the roes I used to master in the chase, and overtake all that was in the plains.

10 A wild mare I overtook, and caught it and tamed it.

11 I slew a lion and plucked a kid out of its mouth.

12 I took a bear by its paw and hurled it down the cliff, and it was crushed.

13 I outran the wild boar, and seizing it as I ran, I tore it in sunder.

14 A leopard in Hebron leaped upon my dog, and I caught it by the tail, and hurled it on the rocks, and it was broken in twain

15 I found a wild ox feeding in the fields, and seizing it by the horns, and whirling it round and stunning it, I cast it from me and slew it.

16 And when the two kings of the Canaanites came sheathed, in armour against our flocks, and much people with them, single handed I rushed upon the king of Hazor, and smote him on the greives and dragged him down, and so I slew him.

17 And the other, the king of Tappuah, as he sat upon his horse, I slew, and so I scattered all his people.

18 Achor, the king, a man of giant stature, I found, hurling javelins before and behind as he sat on horseback, and I took up a stone of sixty pounds weight, and hurled it and smote his horse, and killed it.

19 And I fought with this other for two hours; and I clave his shield in twain, and I chopped off his feet, and killed him.

20 And as I was stripping off his breastplate, behold nine men his companions began to fight with me,

21 And I wound my garment on my hand; and I slung stones at them, and killed four of them, and the rest fled.

22 And Jacob my father slew Beelesath, king of all the kings, a giant in strength, twelve cubits high.

23 And fear fell upon them, and they ceased warring against us.

24 Therefore my father was free from anxiety in the wars when I was with my brethren.

25 For he saw in a vision concerning me that an angel of might followed me everywhere, that I should not be overcome.

26 And in the south there came upon us a greater war than that in Shechem; and I joined in battle array with my brethren, and pursued a thousand men, and slew of them two hundred men and four kings.

27 And I went up upon the wall, and I slew four mighty men.

28 And so we captured Hazor, and took all the spoil.

29 And the next day we departed to Aretan, a city strong and walled and inaccessible, threatening us with death.

30 But I and Gad approached on the east side of the city, and Reuben and Levi on the west.

31 And they that were upon the wall, thinking that we were alone, were drawn down against us.

32 And so my brothers secretly climbed up the wall on both sides by stakes, and entered the city, while the men knew it not.

33 And we took it with the edge of the sword.

34 And as for those who had taken refuge in the tower, we set fire to the tower and took both it and, them.

35 And as we were departing the men of Tappuah seized our spoil, and seeing this we fought with them.

36 And we slew them. all and recovered our spoil.

37 And when I was at the waters of Kozeba, the men of Jobel came against us to battle.

38 And we fought with them and routed them; and their allies from Shiloh we slew, and we did not leave them power to come in against us.

39 And the men of Makir came upon us the fifth day, to seize our spoil; and we attacked them and overcame them in fierce battle: for there was a host of mighty men amongst them, and we slew them before they had gone up the ascent.

40 And when we came to their city their women rolled upon us stones from the brow of the hill on which the city stood.

41 And I and Simeon had ourselves behind the town, and seized upon the heights, and destroyed this city also.

42 And the next day it was told us that the king of the city of Gaash with. a mighty host was coming against us.

43 I, therefore, and Dan feigned ourselves to be Amorites, and as allies went into their city.

44 And in the depth of night our brethren came and we opened to them the gates; and we destroyed all the men and their substance, and we took for a prey all that was theirs, and their three walls we cast down.

45 And we drew near to Thamna, where was all the substance of the hostile kings.

46 Then being insulted by them, I was therefore wroth, and rushed against them to the summit; and they kept slinging against me stones and darts.

47 And had not Dan my brother aided me, they would have slain me.

48 We came upon them, therefore, with wrath, and they all fled; and passing by another way, they fought my father, and he made peace with them.

49 And we did to them no hurt, and they became tributary to us, and we restored to them their spoil.

50 And I built Thamna, and my father built Pabael.

51 I was twenty years old when this war befell. And the Canaanites feared me and my brethren.

52 And I had much cattle, and I had for chief herdsman Iram the Adullamite.

53 And when I went to him I saw Parsaba, king of Adullam; and he spake unto us, and he made us a feast; and when I was heated he gave me his daughter Bathshua to wife.

54 She bare me Er, and Onan and Shelah; and two of them the Lord smote: for Shelah lived, and his children are ye.

CHAP. II.

Judah describes some archeological findings, a city with walls of Iron and gates of brass. He has an encounter with an adventuress.

AND eighteen years my father abode in peace with his brother Esau, and his sons with us, after that we came from Mesopotamia, from Laban.

2 And when eighteen years were fulfilled, in the fortieth year of my life, Esau, the brother of my father, came upon us with a mighty and strong people.

3 And Jacob smote Esau with an arrow, and he was taken up wounded on Mount Seir, and as he went he died at Anoniram.

4 And we pursued after the sons of Esau.

5 Now they had a city with walls of iron and gates of brass; and we could not enter into it, and we encamped around, and besieged it.

6 And when they opened not to us in twenty days, I set up a ladder in the sight of all and with my shield upon my head I went up, sustaining the assault of stones, upwards of three talents weight; and I slew four of their mighty men.

7 And Reuben and Gad slew six others.

8 Then they asked from us terms of peace; and having taken counsel with our father, we received them as tributaries.

9 And they gave us five hundred cors of wheat, five hundred baths of oil, five hundred measures of wine, until the famine, when we went down into Egypt.

10 And after these things my son Er took to wife Tamar, from Mesopotamia, a daughter of Aram.

11 Now Er was wicked, and he was in need concerning Tamar, because she was not of the land of Canaan.

12 And on the third night an angel of the Lord smote him.

13 And he had not known her according to the evil craftiness of his mother, for he did not wish to have children by her.

14 In the days of the wedding feast I gave Onan to her in marriage; and he also in wickedness knew her not, though he spent with her a year.

15 And when I threatened him he went in unto her, but he spilled the seed on the ground, according to the command of his mother, and he also died through wickedness.

16 And I wished to give Shelah also to her, but his mother did not permit it; for she wrought evil against Tamar, because she was not the daughters of Canaan, as she also herself was.

17 And I knew that the race of the Canaanites was wicked, but the impulse of youth blinded my mind.

18 And when I saw her pouring out wine, owing to the intoxication of wine I was deceived, and took her although my father had not counselled it.

19 And while I was away she went and took for Shelah a wife from Canaan.

20 And when I knew what she had done, I cursed her in the anguish of my soul.

21 And she also died through her wickedness together with her sons.

22 And after these things, while Tamar was a widow, she heard after two years that I was going up, to shear my sheep, and adorned herself in bridal array, and sat in the city Enaim by the gate.

23 For it was a law of the Amorites, that she who was about to marry should sit in fornication seven days by the gate.

24 Therefore being drunk with wine, I did not recognize her; and her beauty deceived me, through the fashion of her adorning.

25 And I turned aside to her, and said: Let me go in unto thee.

26 And she said: What wilt thou give me? And I gave her my staff, and my girdle, and the diadem of my kingdom in pledge.

27 And I went in unto her, and she conceived.

28 And not knowing what I had done, I wished to slay her; but she privily sent my pledges, and put me to shame.

29 And when I called her, I heard also the secret words which I spoke when lying with her in my drunkenness; and I could not slay her, because it was from the Lord.

30 For I said, Lest haply she did it in subtlety, having received the pledge from another woman.

31 But I came not again near her while I lived, because I had done this abomination in all Israel.

32 Moreover, they who were in the city said there was no harlot in the gate, because she came from another place, and sat for a while in the gate.

33 And I thought that no one knew that I had gone in to her.

34 And after this we came into Egypt to Joseph, because of the famine.

35 And I was forty and six years old, and seventy and three years lived I in Egypt.

CHAP. III.

He counsels against wine and lust as twin evils. "For he who is drunken reverenceth no man." (Verse 13).

AND now I command you, my children, hearken to Judah your father, and keep my sayings to perform all the ordinances of the Lord, and to obey the commands of God.

2 And walk not after your lusts, nor in the imaginations of your thoughts in haughtiness of heart; and glory not in the deeds and strength of your youth, for this also is evil in the eyes of the Lord.

3 Since I also gloried that in wars no comely woman's face ever enticed me, and reproved Reuben my brother concerning Bilhah, the wife of my father, the spirits of jealousy and of fornication arrayed themselves against me, until I lay with Bathshua the Canaanite, and Tamar, who was espoused to my sons.

4 For I said to my father-in-law: I will take counsel with my father, and so will I take thy daughter.

5 And he was unwilling but he showed me a boundless store of gold in his daughter's behalf; for be was a king.

6 And he adorned her with gold and pearls, and caused her to pour out wine for us at the feast with the beauty of women.

7 And the wine turned aside my eyes, and pleasure blinded my heart.

8 And I became enamoured of and I lay with her, and transgressed the commandment of the Lord and the commandment of my fathers, and I took her to wife.

9 And the Lord rewarded me according to the imagination of my heart, inasmuch as I had no joy in her children.

10 And now, my children, I say unto you, be not drunk with wine; for wine turneth the mind away from, the truth, and inspires the passion of lust, and leadeth the eyes into error.

11 For the spirit of fornication hath wine as a minister to give pleasure to the mind; for these two also take away the mind of man.

12 For if a man drink wine to drunkenness, it disturbeth the mind with filthy thoughts leading to fornication, and heateth the body to carnal union; and if the occasion of the lust be present, he worketh the sin, and is not ashamed.

13 Such is the inebriated man, my children; for he who is drunken reverenceth no man.

14 For, lo, it made me also to err, so that I was not ashamed of the multitude in the city, in that before the eyes of all I turned aside unto Tamar, and I wrought a great sin, and I uncovered the covering of my sons' shame.

15 After I had drunk wine I reverenced not the commandment of God, and I took a woman of Canaan to wife.

16 For much discretion needeth the man who drinketh wine, my children; and herein is discretion in drinking wine, a man may drink so long as he preserveth modesty.

17 But if he go beyond this limit the spirit of deceit attacketh his mind, and it maketh the drunkard to talk filthily, and to transgress and not to be ashamed, but even to glory in his shame, and to account himself honourable.

18 He that committeth fornication is not aware when he suffers loss, and is not ashamed when put to dishonour.

19 For even though a man be a king and commit fornication, he is stripped of his kingship by becoming the slave of fornication, as I myself also suffered.

20 For I gave my staff, that is, the stay of my tribe; and my girdle, that is, my power; and my diadem, that is, the glory of my kingdom.

21 And indeed I repented of these things; wine and flesh I eat not until my old age, nor did I behold any joy.

22 And the angel of God showed me that for ever do women bear rule over king and beggar alike.

23 And from the king they take away his glory, and from the valiant man his might, and from the beggar even that little which is the stay of his poverty.

24 Observe, therefore, my children, the right limit in wine; for there are in it four evil spirits--of lust, of hot desire, of profligacy, of filthy lucre.

25 If ye drink wine in gladness, be ye modest in the fear of God.

26 For if in your gladness the fear of God departeth, then drunkenness ariseth and shamelessness stealeth in.

27 But if ye would live soberly do not touch wine at all, lest ye sin in words of outrage, and in fightings and slanders, and transgressions of the commandments of God, and ye perish before your time.

28 Moreover, wine revealeth the mysteries of God and men, even as I also revealed the commandments of God and the mysteries of Jacob my father to the Canaanitish woman Bathshua, which God bade me not to reveal.

29 And wine is a cause both of war and confusion.

30 And now, I command you, my children, not to love money, nor to gaze upon the beauty of women; because for the sake of money and beauty I was led astray to Bathshua the Canaanite.

31 For I know that because of these two things shall my race fall into wickedness.

32 For even wise men among my sons shall they mar, and shall cause the kingdom of Judah to be diminished, which the Lord gave me because of my obedience to my father.

33 For I never caused grief to Jacob, my father; for all things whatsoever he commanded I did.

34 And Isaac, the father of my father, blessed me to be king in Israel, and Jacob further blessed me in like manner.

35 And I know that from me shall the kingdom be established.

36 And I know what evils ye will do in the last days.

37 Beware, therefore, my children, of fornication, and the love of money, and hearken to Judah your father.

38 For these things withdraw au from the law of God, and blind the inclination of the soul, and teach arrogance, and suffer not a man to have compassion upon his neighbour.

39 They rob his soul of all goodness, and oppress him with toils and troubles, and drive away sleep from him, and devour his flesh.

40 And he hindereth the sacrifices of God; and he remembereth not the blessing of God, he hearkeneth not to a prophet when he speaketh, and resenteth the words of godliness.

41 For he is a slave to two contrary passions, and cannot obey God, because they have blinded his soul, and he walketh in the day as in the night.

42 My children, the love of money leadeth to idolatry; because, when led astray through money, men name as gods those who are not gods, and it causeth him who hath it to fall into madness.

43 For the sake of money I lost my children, and had not my repentance, and my humiliation, and the prayers of my father been accepted, I should have died childless.

44 But the God of my fathers had mercy on me, because I did it in ignorance.

45 And the prince of deceit blinded me, and I sinned as a man and as flesh, being corrupted through sins; and I learnt my own weakness while thinking myself invincible.

46 Know, therefore, my children, that two spirits wait upon man-the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

47 And in the midst is the spirit of understanding of the mind, to which it belongeth to turn whithersoever it will.

And the works of truth and the works of deceit are written upon the hearts of men, and each one of them the Lord knoweth.

49 And there is no time at which the works of men can be hid; for on the heart itself have they been written down before the Lord.

50 And the spirit of truth testifieth all things, and accuseth all; and the sinner is burnt up by his own heart, and cannot raise his face to the judge.

CHAP. IV.

Judah makes a vivid simile concerning tyranny and a dire prophecy concerning the morals of his listeners.

AND now, my children, I command you, love Levi, that ye may abide, and exalt not yourselves against him, lest ye be utterly destroyed.

2 For to me the Lord gave the kingdom, and to him the priesthood, and He set the kingdom beneath the priesthood.

3 To me He gave the things upon the earth; to him the things in the heavens.

4 As the heaven is higher than the earth, so is the priesthood of God higher than the earthly kingdom, unless it falls away through sin from the Lord and is dominated by the earthly kingdom.

5 For the angel of the Lord said unto me: The Lord chose him rather than thee, to draw near to Him, and to eat of His table and to offer Him the first-fruits of the choice things of the sons of Israel; but thou shalt be king of Jacob.

6 And thou shalt be amongst them as the sea.

7 For as, on the sea, just and unjust are tossed about, some taken into captivity while some are enriched, so also shall every race of men be in thee: some shall be impoverished, being taken captive, and others grow rich by plundering the possessions of others.

8 For the kings shall be as sea-monsters.

9 They shall swallow men like fishes: the sons and daughters of freemen shall they enslave; houses, lands, flocks, money shall they plunder:

10 And with the flesh of many shall they wrongfully feed the ravens and the cranes; and they shall advance in evil in covetousness uplifted, and there shall be false prophets like tempest, and they shall persecute all righteous men.

11 And the Lord shall bring upon them divisions one against another.

12 And there shall be continual wars in Israel; and among men of another race shall my kingdom be brought to an end, until the salvation of Israel shall come.

13 Until the appearing of the God of righteousness, that Jacob, and all the Gentiles may rest in peace.

14 And He shall guard the might of my kingdom for ever; for the Lord aware to me with an oath that He would not destroy the kingdom from my seed for ever.

15 Now I have much grief, my children, because of your lewdness and witchcrafts, and idolatries which ye shall practise against the kingdom, following them that have familiar spirits, diviners, and demons of error.

16 Ye shall make your daughters singing girls and harlots, and ye shall mingle in the abominations of the Gentiles.

17 For which things' sake the Lord shall bring upon you famine and pestilence, death and the sword, beleaguering by enemies, and revilings of friends, the slaughter of children, the rape of wives, the plundering of possessions, the burning of the temple of God, the laying waste of the land, the enslavement of yourselves among the Gentiles.

18 And they shall make some of you eunuchs for their wives.

19 Until the Lord visit you, when with perfect heart ye repent and walk in all His commandments, and He bring you up from captivity among the Gentiles.

20 And after these things shall a star arise to you from Jacob in peace,

21 And a man shall arise from my seed, like the sun of righteousness,

22 Walking with the sons of men in meekness and righteousness;

23 And no sin shall be found in him.

24 And the heavens shall be opened unto him, to pour out the spirit, even the blessing of the Holy Father; and He shall pour out the spirit of grace upon you;

25 And ye shall be unto Him sons in truth, and ye shall walk in His commandments first and last.

26 Then shall the sceptre of my kingdom shine forth; and from your root shall arise a stem; and from it shall grow a rod of righteousness to the Gentiles, to judge and to save all that call upon the Lord.

27 And after these things shall Abraham and Isaac and Jacob arise unto life; and I and my brethren shall be chiefs of the tribes of Israel:

28 Levi first, I the second, Joseph third, Benjamin fourth, Simeon fifth, Issachar sixth, and so all in order.

29 And the Lord blessed Levi, and the Angel of the Presence, me; the powers of glory, Simeon; the heaven, Reuben; the earth, Issachar; the sea, Zebulun; the mountains, Joseph; the tabernacle, Benjamin; the luminaries, Dan; Eden, Naphtali; the sun, Gad; the moon, Asher.

30 And ye shall be the people of the Lord, and have one tongue; and there shall be there no spirit of deceit of Beliar, for he shall be cast into the fire for ever.

31 And they who have died in grief shall arise in joy, and they who were poor for the Lord's sake shall be made rich, and they who are put to death for the Lord's sake shall awake to life.

32 And the harts of Jacob shall run in joyfulness, and the eagles of Israel shall fly in gladness; and all the people shall glorify the Lord for ever.

33 Observe, therefore, my children, all the law of the Lord, for there is hope for all them who hold fast unto, His ways.

34 And he said to them: Behold, I die before your eyes this day, a hundred and nineteen years old.

35 Let no one bury me in costly apparel, nor tear open my bowels, for this shall they who are kings do; and carry me up to Hebron with you.

36 And Judah, when he had said these things, fell asleep; and his sons did according to all whatsoever he commanded them, and they buried him in Hebron, with his fathers.