Book of Jubilees Reader

And let all who hate thee fall down before thee, And let all thy adversaries be rooted out and perish;

And blessed be he that blesseth thee, And cursed be every nation that curseth thee.

And to Judah he said: May the Lord give thee strength and power To tread down all that hate thee;

A prince shalt thou be, thou and one of thy sons, over the sons of Jacob; May thy name and the name of thy sons go forth and traverse every land and region.

Then will the Gentiles fear before thy face, And all the nations will quake [And all the peoples will quake].

In thee shall be the help of Jacob, And in thee be found the salvation of Israel.

And when thou sittest on the throne of the honour of thy righteousness, There will be great peace for all the seed of the sons of the beloved,

And blessed will he be that blesseth thee; And all that hate thee and afflict thee and curse thee Shall be rooted out and destroyed from the earth and accursed."

And turning he kissed him again and embraced him, and rejoiced greatly; for he had seen the sons of Jacob his son in very truth.

And he went forth from between his feet and fell down and worshipped him. And he blessed them. And (Jacob) rested there with Isaac his father that night, and they ate and drank with joy.

And he made the two sons of Jacob sleep, the one on his right hand and the other on his left and it was counted to him for righteousness.

And Jacob told his father everything during the night, how the Lord had shown him great mercy, and how He had prospered (him in) all his ways, and protected him from all evil.

And Isaac blessed the God of his father Abraham, who had not withdrawn His mercy and His righteousness from the sons of His servant Isaac.

And in the morning Jacob told his father Isaac the vow which he had vowed to the Lord, and the vision which he had seen, and that he had built an altar, and that everything was ready for the sacrifice to be made before the Lord as he had vowed, and that he had come to set him on an ass.

And Isaac said unto Jacob his son: "I am not able to go with thee; for I am old, and not able to bear the way:

go, my son, in peace; for I am one hundred and sixty-five years this day; I am no longer able to journey,

set thy mother (on an ass) and let her go with thee. And I know, my son, that thou hast come on my account, and may this day be blessed on which thou hast seen me alive, and I also have seen thee, my son.

Mayest thou prosper and fulfil the vow which thou hast vowed, and put not off thy vow; for thou wilt be called to account as touching the vow;

now therefore make haste to perform it, and may He be pleased who hath made all things, to whom thou hast vowed the vow."

And he said to Rebecca: "Go with Jacob thy son"; and Rebecca went with Jacob her son, and Deborah with her, and they came to Bethel.

And Jacob remembered the prayer with which his father had blessed him and his two sons, Levi and Judah, and he rejoiced and blessed the God of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac. And he said:

"Now I know that I have an eternal hope, and my sons also, before the God of all;" and thus is it ordained concerning the two; and they record it as an eternal testimony unto them on the heavenly tables how Isaac blessed them.

And he abode that night at Bethel, and Levi dreamed that they had ordained and made him the priest of the Most High God, him and his sons for ever;

And Jacob rose early in the morning, on the fourteenth of this month, and he gave a tithe of all that came with him, both of men and cattle, both of gold and every vessel and garment, yea, he gave tithes of all.

And in those days Rachel became pregnant with her son Benjamin. And Jacob counted his sons from him upwards and Levi fell to the portion of the Lord,

and his father clothed him in the garments of the priesthood and filled his hands.

And on the fifteenth of this month, he brought to the altar fourteen oxen from amongst the cattle, and twenty-eight rams, and forty-nine sheep, and seven lambs, and twenty-one kids of the goats as a burnt-offering on the altar of sacrifice, well pleasing for a sweet savour before God

This was his offering, in consequence of the vow which he had vowed that he would give a tenth, with their fruit-offerings and their drink-offerings.

And when the fire had consumed it, he burnt incense on the fire over the fire,

and for a thank-offering two oxen and four rams and four sheep, four he-goats, and two sheep of a year old, and two kids of the goats;

and thus he did daily for seven days. And he and all his sons and his men were eating (this) with joy there during seven days

and blessing and thanking the Lord, who had delivered him out of all his tribulation and had given him his vow.

And he tithed all the clean animals, and made a burnt sacrifice, but the unclean animals he gave (not) to Levi his son, and he gave him all the souls of the men

And Levi discharged the priestly office at Bethel before Jacob his father in preference to his ten brothers, and he was a priest there,

and Jacob gave his vow: thus he tithed again the tithe to the Lord and sanctified it, and it became holy unto Him.

And for this reason it is ordained on the heavenly tables as a law for the tithing again the tithe to eat before the Lord from year to year, in the place where it is chosen that His name should dwell,

and to this law there is no limit of days for ever. This ordinance is written that it may be fulfilled from year to year in eating the second tithe before the Lord in the place where it hath been chosen,

and nothing shall remain over from it from this year to the year following. For in its year shall the seed be eaten till the days of the gathering of the seed of the year, and the wine till the days of the wine, and the oil till the days of its season.

And all that is left thereof and becometh old, let it be regarded as polluted: let it be burnt with fire, for it is unclean.

And thus let them eat it together in the sanctuary, and let them not suffer it to become old.

And all the tithes of the oxen and sheep shall be holy unto the Lord, and shall belong to His priests, which they will eat before Him from year to year; for thus is it ordained and engraven regarding the tithe on the heavenly tables.

And on the following night, on the twenty-second day of this month, Jacob resolved to build that place, and to surround the court with a wall, and to sanctify it and make it holy for ever, for himself and his children after him.

And the Lord appeared to him by night and blessed him and said unto him: "Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel shall they name thy name."

And He said unto him again: "I am the Lord who created the heaven and the earth, and I shall increase thee and multiply thee exceedingly, and kings will come forth from thee, and they will judge everywhere wherever the foot of the sons of men hath trodden.

And I shall give to thy seed all the earth which is under heaven, and they will judge all the nations according to their desires, and after that they will get possession of the whole earth and inherit it for ever."

And He finished speaking with him, and He went up from him, and Jacob looked till He had ascended into heaven.

And he saw in a vision of the night, and behold an angel descended from heaven with seven tablets in his hands, and he gave them to Jacob, and he read them and knew all that was written therein which would befall him and his sons throughout all the ages.

And he showed him all that was written on the tablets, and said unto him: "Do not build this place, and do not make it an eternal sanctuary, and do not dwell here; for this is not the place.

Go to the house of Abraham thy father and dwell with Isaac thy father until the day of the death of thy father.

For in Egypt thou wilt die in peace, and in this land thou wilt be buried with honour in the sepulchre of thy fathers, with Abraham and Isaac.

Fear not, for as thou hast seen and read it, thus will it all be; and do thou write down everything as thou hast seen and read."

And Jacob said: "Lord, how can I remember all that I have read and seen?" And he said unto him: "I will bring all things to thy remembrance." And he went up from him,

and he awoke from his sleep, and he remembered everything which he had read and seen, and he wrote down all the words which he had read and seen.

And he celebrated there yet another day, and he sacrificed thereon according to all that he sacrificed on the former days, and called its name "Addition,"

for this day was added, and the former days he called "The Feast." And thus it was manifested that it should be, and it is written on the heavenly tables:

wherefore it was revealed to him that he should celebrate it, and add it to the seven days of the feast. And its name was called "Addition," because that it was recorded amongst the days of the feast days, according to the number of the days of the year.

And in the night, on the twenty-third of this month, Deborah Rebecca's nurse died, and they buried her beneath the city under the oak of the river, and he called the name of this place, "The river of Deborah," and the oak, "The oak of the mourning of Deborah."

And Rebecca went and returned to her house to his father Isaac, and Jacob sent by her hand rams and sheep and he-goats that she should prepare a meal for his father such as he desired.

And he went after his mother till he came to the land of Kabrâtân, and he dwelt there.

And Rachel bare a son in the night, and called his name "Son of my sorrow"; for she suffered in giving him birth: but his father called his name Benjamin, on the eleventh of the eighth month in the first of the sixth week of this jubilee.

And Rachel died there and she was buried in the land of Ephrath, the same is Bethlehem,

and Jacob built a pillar on the grave of Rachel, on the road above her grave.

And Jacob went and dwelt to the south of Magdalâdrâ’êf.

And he went to his father Isaac, he and Leah his wife, on the new moon of the tenth month.

And Reuben saw Bilhah, Rachel's maid, the concubine of his father, bathing in water in a secret place, and he loved her. And he hid himself at night, and he entered the house of Bilhah [at night], and he found her sleeping alone on a bed in her house.

And he lay with her, and she awoke and saw, and behold Reuben was lying with her in the bed, and she uncovered the border of her covering and seized him, and cried out,

and discovered that it was Reuben. And she was ashamed because of him, and released her hand from him, and he fled. And she lamented because of this thing exceedingly, and did not tell it to any one.

And when Jacob returned and sought her, she said unto him: "I am not clean for thee, for I have been defiled as regards thee; for Reuben hath defiled me, and hath lain with me in the night, and I was asleep, and did not discover until he uncovered my skirt and slept with me." And Jacob was exceedingly wroth with Reuben because he had lain with Bilhah, because he had uncovered his father's skirt.

And Jacob did not approach her again because Reuben had defiled her. And as for any man who uncovereth his father's skirt,

his deed is wicked exceedingly, for he is abominable before the Lord.

For this reason it is written and ordained on the heavenly tables that a man should not lie with his father's wife, and should not uncover his father's skirt, for this is unclean:

they shall surely die together, the man who lieth with his father's wife and the woman also, for they have wrought uncleanness on the earth.

And there shall be nothing unclean before our God in the nation which He hath chosen for Himself as a possession.

And again, it is written a second time: "Cursed he be who lieth with the wife of his father, for he hath uncovered his father's shame"; and all the holy ones of the Lord said "So be it; so be it."

And do thou, Moses, command the children of Israel that they observe this word; for it (entaileth) a punishment of death; and it is unclean, and there is no atonement for ever to atone for the man who hath committed this, but he is to be put to death and slain, and stoned with stones, and rooted out from the midst of the people of our God.

For to no man who doeth so in Israel is it permitted to remain alive a single day on the earth, for he is abominable and unclean.

And let them not say: to Reuben was granted life and forgiveness after he had lain with his father's concubine, and to her also though she had a husband, and her husband Jacob, his father, was still alive.

For until that time there had not been revealed the ordinance and judgment and law in its completeness for all,

but in thy days (it hath been revealed) as a law of seasons and of days, and an everlasting law for the everlasting generations.

And for this law there is no consummation of days, and no atonement for it, but they must both be rooted out in the midst of the nation: on the day whereon they committed it they shall slay them.

And do thou, Moses, write (it) down for Israel that they may observe it, and do according to these words, and not commit a sin unto death; for the Lord our God is judge, who respecteth not persons and accepteth not gifts.

And tell them these words of the covenant, that they may hear and observe, and be on their guard with respect to them, and not be destroyed and rooted out of the land;

for an uncleanness, and an abomination, and a contamination, and a pollution are all they who commit it on the earth before our God.

And there is no greater sin than the fornication which they commit on earth; for Israel is a holy nation unto the Lord its God, and a nation of inheritance, and a priestly and royal nation and for (His own) possession;

and there shall no such uncleanness appear in the midst of the holy nation.

And in the third year of this sixth week Jacob and all his sons went and dwelt in the house of Abraham, near Isaac his father and Rebecca his mother.

And these were the names of the sons of Jacob: the first-born Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, the sons of Leah;

and the sons of Bilhah, Dan and Naphtali, and the sons of Zilpah, Gad and Asher; and Dinah, the daughter of Leah, the only daughter of Jacob.

And they came and bowed themselves to Isaac and Rebecca, and when they saw them they blessed Jacob and all his sons,

and Isaac rejoiced exceedingly, for he saw the sons of Jacob, his younger son, and he blessed them.

And in the sixth year of this week of this forty-fourth jubilee Jacob sent his sons to pasture their sheep, and his servants with them, to the pastures of Shechem.

And the seven kings of the Amorites assembled themselves together against them, to slay them, hiding themselves under the trees, and to take their cattle as a prey.

And Jacob and Levi and Judah and Joseph were in the house with Isaac their father; for his spirit was sorrowful, and they could not leave him: and Benjamin was the youngest, and for this reason remained with his father.

And there came the king[s] of Tâphû, and the king[s] of ’Arêsa, and the king[s] of Sêragân, and the king[s] of Sêlô, and the king[s] of Gâ’as, and the king of Bêthôrôn, and the king of Ma’anîsâkîr, and all those who dwell in these mountains (and) who dwell in the woods in the land of Canaan.

And they announced this to Jacob saying: "Behold, the kings of the Amorites have surrounded thy sons, and plundered their herds."

And he arose from his house, he and his three sons and all the servants of his father, and his own servants, and he went against them with six thousand men, who carried swords.

And he slew them in the pastures of Shechem, and pursued those who fled, and he slew them with the edge of the sword, and he slew ’Arêsa and Tâphû and Sarêgân and Sêlô and ’Amânîsakîr and Gâ[gâ]’as,

and he recovered his herds. And he prevailed over them, and imposed tribute on them that they should pay him tribute, five fruit products of their land,

And he returned in peace, and made peace with them, and they became his servants, until the day that he and his sons went down in to Egypt.

And in the seventh year of this week he sent Joseph to learn about the welfare of his brothers from his house to the land of Shechem,

and he found them in the land of Dothan. And they dealt treacherously with him, and formed a plot against him to slay him,

but changing their minds, they sold him to Ishmaelite merchants,

and they brought him down into Egypt, and they sold him to Potiphar, the eunuch of Pharaoh, the chief of the cooks, priest of the city of ’Êlêw.

And the sons of Jacob slaughtered a kid, and dipped the coat of Joseph in the blood, and sent (it) to Jacob their father on the tenth of the seventh month.

And he mourned all that night, for they had brought it to him in the evening, and he became feverish with mourning for his death, and he said: "An evil beast hath devoured Joseph";

and all the members of his house [mourned with him that day, and they] were grieving and mourning with him all that day.

And his sons and his daughter rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted for his son.

And on that day Bilhah heard that Joseph had perished, and she died mourning him, and she was living in Qafrâtêf

and Dinah also, his daughter, died after Joseph had perished. And there came these three mournings upon Israel in one month.

And they buried Bilhah over against the tomb of Rachel, and Dinah also, his daughter, they buried there.

And he mourned for Joseph one year, and did not cease, for he said "Let me go down to the grave mourning for my son."

For this reason it is ordained for the children of Israel that they should afflict themselves on the tenth of the seventh month--on the day that the news which made him weep for Joseph came to Jacob his father

--that they should make atonement for themselves thereon with a young goat on the tenth of the seventh month, once a year, for their sins; for they had grieved the affection of their father regarding Joseph his son.

And this day hath been ordained that they should grieve thereon for their sins, and for all their transgressions and for all their errors, so that they might cleanse themselves on that day once a year.

And after Joseph perished, the sons of Jacob took unto themselves wives.

The name of Reuben's wife is ’Adâ and the name of Simeon's wife is ’Adîbâ’a, a Canaanite;

and the name of Levi's wife is Mêlkâ, of the daughters of Aram, of the seed of the sons of Terah; and the name of Judah's wife, Bêtasû’êl, a Canaanite;

and the name of Issachar's wife, Hêzaqâ; and the name of Zebulon's wife, Nî’îmân; and the name of Dan's wife, ’Êglâ;

and the name of Naphtali's wife, Rasû’û, of Mesopotamia;

and the name of Gad's wife, Mâka; and the name of Asher's wife, ’Îjônâ;

and the name of Joseph's wife, Asenath, the Egyptian; and the name of Benjamin's wife, ’Îjasaka.

And Simeon repented, and took a second wife from Mesopotamia as his brothers.

And in the first year of the first week of the forty-fifth jubilee Rebecca called Jacob, her son, and commanded him regarding his father and regarding his brother, that he should honour them all the days of his life.

And Jacob said: "I will do everything as thou hast commanded me; for this thing will be honour and greatness to me, and righteousness before the Lord, that I should honour them.

And thou too, mother, knowest from the time I was born until this day, all my deeds and all that is in my heart, that I always think good concerning all.

And how should I not do this thing which thou hast commanded me, that I should honour my father and my brother! Tell me, mother, what perversity hast thou seen in me and I shall turn away from it, and mercy will be upon me."

And she said unto him: "My son, I have not seen in thee all my days any perverse but (only) upright deeds. And yet I shall tell thee the truth, my son: I shall die this, year,

and I shall not survive this year in my life; for I have seen in a dream the day of my death, that I should not live beyond a hundred and fifty-five years: and behold I have completed all the days of my life which I am to live."

And Jacob laughed at the words of his mother, because his mother had said unto him that she should die; and she was sitting opposite to him in possession of her strength, and she was not infirm in her strength;

for she went in and out and saw, and her teeth were strong, and no ailment had touched her all the days of her life.

And Jacob said unto her: "Blessed am I, mother, if my days approach the days of thy life, and my strength remain with me thus as thy strength: and thou wilt not die, for thou art jesting idly with me regarding thy death."

And she went in to Isaac and said unto him: "One petition I make unto thee: make Esau swear that he will not injure Jacob, nor pursue him with enmity;

for thou knowest Esau's thoughts that they are perverse from his youth, and there is no goodness in him; for he desireth after thy death to kill him.

And thou knowest all that he hath done since the day Jacob his brother went to Haran until this day;

how he hath forsaken us with his whole heart, and hath done evil to us; thy flocks he hath taken to himself, and carried off all thy possessions from before thy face.

And when we implored and besought him for what was our own, he did as a man who was taking pity on us.

And he is bitter against thee because thou didst bless Jacob thy perfect and upright son; for there is no evil but only goodness in him,

and since he came from Haran unto this day he hath not robbed us of aught, for he bringeth us everything in its season always,

and rejoiceth with all his heart when we take at his hands, and he blesseth us, and hath not parted from us since he came from Haran until this day,

and he remaineth with us continually at home honouring us."

And Isaac said unto her: "I, too, know and see the deeds of Jacob who is with us, how that with all his heart he honoureth us;

but I loved Esau formerly more than Jacob, because he was the first-born; but now I love Jacob more than Esau, for he hath done manifold evil deeds, and there is no righteousness in him,

for all his ways are unrighteousness and violence, [and there is no righteousness around him].

And now my heart is troubled because of all his deeds, and neither he nor his seed is to be saved, for they are those who will be destroyed from the earth, and who will be rooted out from under heaven,

for he hath forsaken the God of Abraham and gone after his wives and after their uncleanness and after their error, he and his children.

And thou dost bid me make him swear that he will not slay Jacob, his brother; even if he swear he will not abide by his oath, and he will not do good but evil only.

But if he desireth to slay Jacob, his brother, into Jacob's hands will he be given, and he will not escape from his hands, [for he will descend into his hands.]

And fear thou not on account of Jacob; for the guardian of Jacob is great and powerful and honoured, and praised more than the guardian of Esau."

And Rebecca sent and called Esau, and he came to her, and she said unto him: "I have a petition, my son, to make unto thee, and do thou promise to do it, my son."

And he said: "I will do everything that thou sayest unto me, and I will not refuse thy petition."