Jubilees Research Paper

The book of Jubilees is an ancient text that was found in the Qumran caves as well as many other Dead Sea Scrolls. Approximately fifteen Jubilee scrolls were found in different caves (two each in Caves 1 and 2, one in Cave 3, nine in Cave 4, and one in Cave 11). These manuscripts contain important information about the stories that we traditionally see in Genesis and beginning of Exodus. However, the book of Jubilees is not included in the Bible because it is considered a retelling of the stories that already existed in the two books of the Bible but written in a different context. In addition, the book of Jubilees is also known as the lesser genesis or the book of the division of times is “a retelling of the stories in Genesis and the first

The manuscripts were then translated into Greek and furthermore into Latin and Ethiopic. As of today, the Greek version is complete lost and even though some fragments of the Latin version remain, the only complete version of the book of Jubilees is only in Ethiopic. The book contains fifty chapters that are grouped in seven sections: an introduction, a primeval history, stories about Noah, stories about Abraham, thoughts on Abraham’s death, stories about Jacob and his family and stories about Moses. However, the most prominent themes of the book are the division of the course of history into jubilee periods, its practice of dating covenants to the third month especially the fifteenth day and the 364-day

The book starts the priestly line with Adam, since he offered sacrifices when left the Garden of Eden. Then, the line continues with Levi the third son of Leah and Jacob, who is known as the biblical ancestor of the priests. In the book of Jubilees, Levi’s story is presented in a much more favorable way than it does in the bible. The author also remarks the importance of priestly authority over temporal power, such authority is represented by Levi “who was divinely chosen for the position.” The book also demostrates important interest to the final times and what the future will look like for humankind. According to the author, the future looks promising. After God punishes those, who disobeyed him he will purify and restore them and will settle them in a new creation where human life will be long and live-forever as it was before the Flood. A final point that the author emphasized and intrigues many scholars is the importance of women in the chosen line. “Unlike the biblical writers, he names the wives of all the patriarchs and supplies genealogical information about them.” This demonstrates that for the author is important to highlight the purity of the family line and the connection that exists between both mother and