Book of Jubilees Reader

This is the tenth trial wherewith Abraham was tried, and he was found faithful, patient in spirit.

And he said not a single word regarding the rumour in the land how that God had said that He would give it to him and to his seed after him, and he begged a place there to bury his dead;

for he was found faithful, and was recorded on the heavenly tables as the friend of God.

And in the fourth year thereof he took a wife for his son Isaac and her name was Rebecca [the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham] the sister of Laban and daughter of Bethuel; and Bethuel was the son of Mêlcâ, who was the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham.

And Abraham took to himself a third wife, and her name was Keturah, from among the daughters of his household servants, for Hagar had died before Sarah.

And she bare him six sons, Zimram, and Jokshan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah, in the two weeks of years.

And in the sixth week, in the second year thereof, Rebecca bare to Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau,

and Jacob was a smooth and upright man, and Esau was fierce, a man of the field, and hairy, and Jacob dwelt in tents.

And the youths grew, and Jacob learned to write; but Esau did not learn, for he was a man of the field and a hunter, and he learnt war, and all his deeds were fierce.

And Abraham saw the deeds of Esau, and he knew that in Jacob should his name and seed be called;

and he called Rebecca and gave commandment regarding Jacob, for he knew that she (too) loved Jacob much more than Esau.

And he said unto her: "My daughter, watch over my son Jacob, For he shall be in my stead on the earth, And for a blessing in the midst of the children of men, And for the glory of the whole seed of Shem.

For I know that the Lord will choose him to be a people for possession unto Himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.

And behold, Isaac my son loveth Esau more than Jacob, but I see that thou truly lovest Jacob.

Add still further to thy kindness to him, And let thine eyes be upon him in love; For he will be a blessing unto us on the earth from henceforth unto all generations of the earth.

Let thy hands be strong And let thy heart rejoice in thy son Jacob; For I have loved him far beyond all my sons. He will be blessed for ever, And his seed will fill the whole earth.

If a man can number the sand of the earth, His seed also will be numbered.

And all the blessings wherewith the Lord hath blessed me and my seed shall belong to Jacob and his seed alway.

And in his seed shall my name be blessed, and the name of my fathers, Shem, and Noah, and Enoch, and Mahalalel, and Enos, and Seth, and Adam.

And these shall serve To lay the foundations of the heaven, And to strengthen the earth, And to renew all the luminaries which are in the firmament."

And he called Jacob before the eyes of Rebecca his mother, and kissed him, and blessed him, and said:

"Jacob, my beloved son, whom my soul loveth, may God bless thee from above the firmament, and may He give thee all the blessings wherewith He blessed Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, and Shem;

and all the things of which He told me, and all the things which He promised to give me, may He cause to cleave to thee and to thy seed for ever, according to the days of heaven above the earth.

And the spirits of Mastêmâ shall not rule over thee or over thy seed to turn thee from the Lord, who is thy God from henceforth for ever.

And may the Lord God be a father to thee and thou the first-born son, and to the people alway. Go in peace, my son."

And Rebecca loved Jacob, with all her heart and with all her soul, very much more than Esau; but Isaac loved Esau much more than Jacob.

And in the forty-second jubilee, in the first year of the seventh week, Abraham called Ishmael, and his twelve sons, and Isaac and his two sons, and the six sons of Keturah, and their sons.

And he commanded them that they should observe the way of the Lord; that they should work righteousness, and love each his neighbour, and act on this manner amongst all men; that they should each so walk with regard to them as to do judgment and righteousness on the earth.

That they should circumcise their sons, according to the covenant which He had made with them, and not deviate to the right hand or the left of all the paths which the Lord had commanded us; and that we should keep ourselves from all fornication and uncleanness, [and renounce from amongst us all fornication and uncleanness].

And if any woman or maid commit fornication amongst you, burn her with fire, and let them not commit fornication with her after their eyes and their heart;

and let them not take to themselves wives from the daughters of Canaan; for the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land.

And he told them of the judgment of the giants, and the judgment of the Sodomites, how they had been judged on account of their wickedness, and had died on account of their fornication, and uncleanness,

and mutual corruption through fornication. "And guard yourselves from all fornication and uncleanness, And from all pollution of sin, Lest ye make our name a curse, And your whole life a hissing,

And all your sons be destroyed by the sword, And ye become accursed like Sodom, And all your remnant as the sons of Gomorrah.

I implore you, my sons, love the God of heaven, And cleave ye to all His commandments. And walk not after their idols, and after their uncleannesses,

And make not for yourselves molten or graven gods; For they are vanity, And there is no spirit in them; For they are work of (men's) hands, And all who trust in them, trust in nothing.

Serve them not, nor worship them, But serve ye the Most High God, and worship Him continually: And hope for His countenance always,

And work uprightness and righteousness before Him, That He may have pleasure in you and grant you His mercy, And send rain upon you morning and evening, And bless all your works which ye have wrought upon the earth,

And bless thy bread and thy water, And bless the fruit of thy womb and the fruit of thy land, And the herds of thy cattle, and the flocks of thy sheep.

And ye will be for a blessing on the earth, And all nations of the earth will desire you, And bless your sons in my name, That they may be blessed as I am."

And he gave to Ishmael and to his sons, and to the sons of Keturah, gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, and he gave everything to Isaac his son.

And Ishmael and his sons, and the sons of Keturah and their sons, went together and dwelt from Paran to the entering in of Babylon in all the land which is towards the East facing the desert.

And these mingled with each other, and their name was called Arabs, and Ishmaelites.

And in the sixth year of the seventh week of this jubilee Abraham called Isaac his son, and commanded him, saying:

"I am become old, and know not the day of my death, and am full of my days.

And behold, I am one hundred and seventy-five years old, and throughout all the days of my life I have remembered the Lord, and sought with all my heart to do His will, and to walk uprightly in all His ways.

My soul hath hated idols, (and I have despised those that served them, and I have given my heart and spirit) that I might observe to do the will of Him who created me. For He is the living God, and He is holy and faithful, and He is righteous beyond all, and there is with Him no accepting of (men's) persons and no accepting of gifts;

for God is righteous, and executeth judgment on all those who transgress His commandments and despise His covenant.

And do thou, my son, observe His commandments and His ordinances and His judgments, and walk not after the abominations and after the graven images and after the molten images. And eat no blood at all of animals or cattle, or of any bird which flieth in the heaven.

And if thou dost slay a victim as an acceptable peace-offering, slay ye it, and pour out its blood upon the altar, and all the fat of the offering offer on the altar with fine flour (and the meat-offering) mingled with oil, with its drink-offering

--offer them all together on the altar of burnt-offering; it is a sweet savour before the Lord.

And thou wilt offer the fat of the sacrifice of thank-offerings on the fire which is upon the altar, and the fat which is on the belly, and all the fat on the inwards

and the two kidneys, and all the fat that is upon them, and upon the loins and liver thou shalt remove together with the kidneys.

And offer all these for a sweet savour acceptable before the Lord, with its meat-offering and with its drink-offering, for a sweet savour, the bread of the offering unto the Lord,

And eat its meat on that day and on the second day, and let not the sun on the second day go down upon it till it is eaten,

and let nothing be left over for the third day; for it is not acceptable [for it is not approved] and let it no longer be eaten,

and all who eat thereof will bring sin upon themselves; for thus I have found it written in the books of my forefathers, and in the words of Enoch, and in the words of Noah.

And on all thy oblations thou shalt strew salt, and let not the salt of the covenant be lacking in all thy oblations before the Lord.

And as regards the wood of the sacrifices, beware lest thou bring (other) wood for the altar in addition to these: cypress, dêfrân, sagâd, pine, fir, cedar, savin, palm, olive, myrrh, laurel, and citron, juniper, and balsam.

And of these kinds of wood lay upon the altar under the sacrifice, such as have been tested as to their appearance, and do not lay (thereon) any split or dark wood,

(but) hard and clean, without fault, a sound and new growth; and do not lay (thereon) old wood, [for its fragrance is gone] for there is no longer fragrance in it as before.

Besides these kinds of wood there is none other that thou shalt place (on the altar), for the fragrance is dispersed, and the smell of its fragrance goeth not up to heaven.

Observe this commandment and do it, my son, that thou mayst be upright in all thy deeds.

And at all times be clean in thy body, and wash thyself with water before thou approachest to offer on the altar, and wash thy hands and thy feet before thou drawest near to the altar;

and when thou art done sacrificing, wash again thy hands and thy feet. And let no blood appear upon you nor upon your clothes;

be on thy guard, my son, against blood, be on thy guard exceedingly; cover it with dust. And do not eat any blood, for it is the soul; eat no blood whatever.

And take no gifts for the blood of man, lest it be shed with impunity, without judgment; for it is the blood that is shed that causeth the earth to sin, and the earth cannot be cleansed from the blood of man save by the blood of him who shed it.

And take no present or gift for the blood of man: blood for blood,

that thou mayest be accepted before the Lord, the Most High God; for He is the defence of the good: and that thou mayest be preserved from all evil, and that He may save thee from every kind of death.

I see, my son, That all the works of the children of men are sin and wickedness, And all their deeds are uncleanness and an abomination and a pollution, And there is no righteousness with them.

Beware, lest thou shouldest walk in their ways And tread in their paths, And sin a sin unto death before the Most High God.

Else He will [hide His face from thee, And] give thee back into the hands of thy transgression, And root thee out of the land, and thy seed likewise from under heaven, And thy name and thy seed will perish from the whole earth.

Turn away from all their deeds and all their uncleanness, And observe the ordinance of the Most High God, And do His will and be upright in all things.

And He will bless thee in all thy deeds, And will raise up from thee the plant of righteousness through all the earth, throughout all generations of the earth,

And my name and thy name will not be forgotten under heaven for ever.

Go, my son, in peace. May the Most High God, my God and thy God, strengthen thee to do His will,

And may He bless all thy seed and the residue of thy seed for the generations for ever, with all righteous blessings, That thou mayest be a blessing on all the earth." And he went out from him rejoicing.

And it came to pass in the first week in the forty-fourth jubilee, in the second year, that is, the year in which Abraham died, that Isaac and Ishmael came from the Well of the Oath to celebrate the feast of weeks--that is, the feast of the first-fruits of the harvest--to Abraham, their father,

and Abraham rejoiced because his two sons had come.

For Isaac had many possessions in Beersheba, and Isaac was wont to go and see his possessions and to return to his father.

And in those days Ishmael came to see his father, and they both came together,

and Isaac offered a sacrifice for a burnt-offering, and presented it on the altar of his father which he had made in Hebron. And he offered a thank-offering and made a feast of joy before Ishmael, his brother:

and Rebecca made new cakes from the new grain, and gave them to Jacob, her son, to take them to Abraham, his father, from the first-fruits of the land, that he might eat and bless the Creator of all things before he died.

And Isaac, too, sent by the hand of Jacob to Abraham a best thank-offering, that he might eat and drink.

And he ate and drank, and blessed the Most High God, Who hath created heaven and earth, Who hath made all the fat things of the earth, And given them to the children of men That they might eat and drink,

and bless their Creator: "And now I give thanks unto Thee, my God, because Thou hast caused me to see this day.

behold, I am one hundred three score and fifteen years, an old man and full of days,

and all my days have been unto me peace. The sword of the adversary hath not overcome me in all that Thou hast given me and my children all the days of my life until this day.

My God, may Thy mercy and Thy peace be upon Thy servant, and upon the seed of his sons, that they may be to Thee a chosen nation and an inheritance from amongst all the nations of the earth from henceforth unto all the days of the generations of the earth, unto all the ages."

And he called Jacob and said My son Jacob, may the God of all bless thee and strengthen thee to do righteousness, and His will before Him,

and may He choose thee and thy seed that ye may become a people for His inheritance according to His will alway. And do thou, my son, Jacob, draw near and kiss me." And he drew near and kissed him,

and he said: "Blessed be my son Jacob And all the sons of God Most High, unto all the ages: May God give unto thee a seed of righteousness; And some of thy sons may He sanctify in the midst of the whole earth;

May nations serve thee, And all the nations bow themselves before thy seed. Be strong in the presence of men,

And exercise authority over all the seed of Seth. Then thy ways and the ways of thy sons will be justified, So that they shall become a holy nation.

May the Most High God give thee all the blessings Wherewith he hath blessed me And wherewith He blessed Noah and Adam; May they rest on the sacred head of thy seed from generation to generation for ever.

And may He cleanse thee from all unrighteousness and impurity, That thou mayest be forgiven all (thy) transgressions; (and) thy sins of ignorance.

And may He strengthen thee, And bless thee. And mayest thou inherit the whole earth, And may He renew His covenant with thee, That thou mayest be to Him a nation for His inheritance for all the ages,

And that He may be to thee and to thy seed a God in truth and righteousness throughout all the days of the earth.

And do thou, my son Jacob, remember my words, And observe the commandments of Abraham, thy father:

Separate thyself from the nations, And eat not with them: And do not according to their works, And become not their associate; For their works are unclean, And all their ways are a pollution and an abomination and uncleanness.

They offer their sacrifices to the dead And they worship evil spirits, And they eat over the graves,

And all their works are vanity and nothingness. They have no heart to understand And their eyes do not see what their works are, And how they err in saying to a piece of wood: 'Thou art my God,' And to a stone: 'Thou art my Lord and thou art my deliverer.' [And they have no heart.]

And as for thee, my son Jacob, May the Most High God help thee And the God of heaven bless thee And remove thee from their uncleanness and from all their error.

Be thou ware, my son Jacob, of taking a wife from any seed of the daughters of Canaan; For all his seed is to be rooted out of the earth.

For, owing to the transgression of Ham, Canaan erred, And all his seed will be destroyed from off the earth and all the residue thereof, And none springing from him will be saved on the day of judgment.

And as for all the worshippers of idols and the profane (b) There will be no hope for them in the land of the living; (e) And there will be no remembrance of them on the earth; (c) For they will descend into Sheol, (d) And into the place of condemnation will they go,

As the children of Sodom were taken away from the earth So will all those who worship idols be taken away.

Fear not, my son Jacob, And be not dismayed, O son of Abraham: May the Most High God preserve thee from destruction, And from all the paths of error may He deliver thee.

This house have I built for myself that I might put my name upon it in the earth: [it is given to thee and to thy seed for ever], and it will be named the house of Abraham;

it is given to thee and to thy seed for ever; for thou wilt build my house and establish my name before God for ever:

thy seed and thy name will stand throughout all generations of the earth."

And he ceased commanding him and blessing him. And the two lay together on one bed, and Jacob slept in the bosom of Abraham, his father's father

and he kissed him seven times, and his affection and his heart rejoiced over him. And he blessed him with all his heart

and said: "The Most High God, the God of all, and Creator of all, who brought me forth from Ur of the Chaldees, that He might give me this land to inherit it for ever, and that I might establish a holy seed--blessed be the Most High for ever."

And he blessed Jacob and said: "My son, over whom with all my heart and my affection I rejoice,

may Thy grace and Thy mercy be lift up upon him and upon his seed always. And do not forsake him, nor set him at nought from henceforth unto the days of eternity,

and may Thine eyes be opened upon him and upon his seed, that Thou mayest preserve him, and bless him, and mayest sanctify him as a nation for Thine inheritance;

And bless him with all Thy blessings from henceforth unto all the days of eternity, and renew Thy covenant and Thy grace with him and with his seed according to all Thy good pleasure unto all the generations of the earth."

And he placed two fingers of Jacob on his eyes, and he blessed the God of gods, and he covered his face

and stretched out his feet and slept the sleep of eternity, and was gathered to his fathers.

And notwithstanding all this Jacob was lying in his bosom, and knew not that Abraham, his father's father, was dead.

And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and behold Abraham was cold as ice, and he said: "Father, father!"; but there was none that spake,

and he knew that he was dead. And he arose from his bosom and ran and told Rebecca, his mother;

and Rebecca went to Isaac in the night and told him;

and they went together, and Jacob with them, and a lamp was in his hand, and when they had gone in they found Abraham lying dead.

And Isaac fell on the face of his father, and wept and kissed him. And the voices were heard in the house of Abraham

and Ishmael his son arose, and went to Abraham his father, and wept over Abraham his father, he and all the house of Abraham, and they wept with a great weeping.

And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the double cave, near Sarah his wife,

and they wept for him forty days, all the men of his house, and Isaac and Ishmael, and all their sons, and all the sons of Keturah in their places, and the days of weeping for Abraham were ended.

And he lived three jubilees and four weeks of years, one hundred and seventy-five years, and completed the days of his life, being old and full of days.

For the days of the forefathers, of their life, were nineteen jubilees; and after the Flood they began to grow less than nineteen jubilees,

and to decrease in jubilees, and to grow old quickly, and to be full of their days by reason of manifold tribulation and the wickedness of their ways,

with the exception of Abraham. For Abraham was perfect in all his deeds with the Lord, and well-pleasing in righteousness all the days of his life;

and behold, he did not complete four jubilees in his life, when he had grown old by reason of the wickedness and was full of his days.

And all the generations which will arise from this time until the day of the great judgment will grow old quickly, before they complete two jubilees,

and their knowledge will forsake them by reason of their old age [and all their knowledge will vanish away].

And in those days, if a man live a jubilee and a half of years, they will say regarding him: "He hath lived long,

and the greater part of his days are pain and sorrow and tribulation, and there is no peace:

For calamity followeth on calamity, and wound on wound, and tribulation on tribulation, and evil tidings on evil tidings, and illness on illness, and all evil judgments such as these, one with another,

illness and overthrow, and snow and frost and ice, and fever, and chills, and torpor, and famine, and death, and sword, and captivity, and all kinds of calamities and pains."

And all these will come on an evil generation, which transgresseth on the earth: their works are uncleanness and fornication, and pollution and abominations.

Then they will say: "The days of the forefathers were many (even), unto a thousand years, and were good; but, behold, the days of our life, if a man hath lived many, are three score years and ten, and, if he is strong, four score years, and those evil

and there is no peace in the days of this evil generation."

And in that generation the sons will convict their fathers and their elders of sin and unrighteousness, and of the words of their mouth

and the great wickednesses which they perpetrate, and concerning their forsaking the covenant which the Lord made between them and Him, that they should observe and do all His commandments and His ordinances and all His laws, without departing either to the right hand or to the left.