Testament of Jacob
Testament of Jacob
Testament of Jacob
INTRODUCTION James Charlesworth writes: "The Coptic text of the Testament of Jacob is shorter than the Testament of Isaac and appears to be a midrashic expansion of Genesis 47:29-50:26. The Lord sends Michael the archangel to Jacob in order to instruct him to prepare his testament for his sons. Jacob accepts God's will, in contrast to the Testament of Abraham, and prays. The angel returns to heaven; Jacob calls his sons, and then ascends to heaven and meets a multitude of tormentors. Jacob ascends higher and sees Abraham and Isaac, who are full of life and joy, and the good things prepared for the righteous." (The Pseudepigrapha and Modern Research, p. 132)
The text of the Testament of Jacob here translated is the Coptic (Bohairic) text contained in Cod. Vat.Copt. 6l. The distinguishing marks of the Testament of Jacob. i.e. its essentially derivative character (especially its dependence on the book of Genesis) and the impression that the Cristian elements in it are less easily detachable than in the Testament of Isaac, coupled with the fact that no Sahidic text of it has been preserved (as is the case with the Testainent of Isaac), might suggest an origin independent of both the Testaments of Abraham and of Isaac. It might be argued, for example, that the Testament of Abraham was written first, in Greek: that the Testament of Isaac came later as an independent work (though whether written in Greek, or Sahidic, or anything else, it is impossible to say); and that later still the Bohairic translator of these two Testaments put them together and himself composed (in Bohairic) a Testament of Jacob to make a trilogy. At the other extreme, though perhaps with less cogency, it might be argued that the three Testaments were designed as a trilogy from the start, and that all three, therefore, were originally written in Greek. In this case, it will be pure accident that only the Testament of Abraham has survived in Greek, that there are no surviving Sahidic texts of either it or the Testament of Jacob, and that the Bohairic is the first extant text to group all three together.
commandments and lived always in the fear of the Lord: and his sight failed so that he could see no one because of extreme old age.
servants of God. Blessed is every nation which emulates your purity, and your virtues, and your righteousness, and your good works. Blessed is the man who commemorates you on your honoured festival. Blessed is he who does a charitable deed in your name, or gives a man a cup of cold water, or brings a perfect offering to your place, or to any place, in your name, or receives a stranger, or visits the sick, or comforts an orphan, or clothes someone who is naked, in your name. He shall lack no good thing in this world; and in the world to come he shall have eternal life.And further, whoever writes an account of your life with its labours, or whoever makes a copy of it with his hands, or whoever reads it attentively, and whoever listens to it with faith and a resolute heart, and whoever emulates your manner of life -they shall be forgiven all their sins, and they shall be freely granted you in the kingdom of the heavens. So get up now, for you are to exchange trouble and sorrow for eternal rest, and you are to be borne away to a repose that never ceases, to a rest that never ends, and to a light that never sets, and to pleasure and gladness and spiritual joy. So now, give your commands to your sons, and peace be with you; for I am about to go to him who sent me.
descendants for ever. And again he said to me, Do not be afraid to go down into Egypt; I will go with you down to Egypt; and I will increase your numbers, and your descendants shall flourish for ever, and Joseph shall lay his hands upon your eyes. And your people shall increase greatly in Egypt; and then they shall return to me here, and I will do them good because of you. But now you must leave this place.
The God who approved my fathers Abraham and Isaac, The God who has looked after me from my childhood till today. The angel who rescues me from all my tribulations. Bless these lads who are my sons. With whom is left my name. And the name of my holy fathers Abraham and Isaac. They shall multiply; they shall increase; They shall become a great people on the earth. Afterwards Israel said to Joseph: I am dying: but you will return to the land of your fathers, and God will be with you. Behold, you have been more favoured than your brothers, for I have taken the Amorites with my bow and my sword.
sorcerers, and the unrighteous, and the idolworshippers, and the astrologers, and the slanderers and the doubletongued. In short, many are the punishments for all the sins we have mentioned; the unquenchable fire, the outer darkness, the place where there shall be weeping and grinding of teeth, and the worm that does not sleep. And it is a terrible thing for you to be brought before the judge, and it is a terrible thing to come into the hands o f the living God. Woe to all sinful men for whom these tortures and these tormentors are prepared. And again afterwards he took me and showed me the place where my fathers Abraham and Isaac were, a place that was all light; and they were glad and rejoiced in the kingdom of the heavens, in the city of the beloved.And he showed me all the restingplaces and all the good things prepared for the righteous, and the things that eye has not seen nor ear heard, and have not come into the heart of men. that God has prepared for those who love him and do his will on earth (for if they end well, they do his will).
his rest in a ripe old age, perfect in every virtue and spiritual grace; and he glorified God in all his ways, in the peace of God. Amen.
Israel and buried him in the land of Canaan in the double grave that Abraham had bought as a burial-place for silver from Ephron the Hittite, opposite Mamre. And Joseph returned to Egypt together with his brothers and the party from Pharaoh's household. After his father's death Joseph lived for many more years and was king over Egipt. But Jacob Israel died and was laid with his people.
to God that he may save us from punishments in hell which the holy patriarch Jacob spoke about in his words full of all sweetness, when he taught his sons about the punishments and called them the sword of the Lord God. These are the river of fire that is prepared, and which engulfs sinners in its waves and those that have defiled themselves. These are the things the patriarch Jacob revealed when he taught the rest of his sons, that those that love instruction should listen to him and do what is good at all times, and love one another, and strive after love and pity. For pity triumphs over judgement and love covers a multitude of sins; and again. He who has pity on a poor man lends on usury to God.
memoirs and their hymns are made for the encouragement of those who hear them, so that your name also may be written in the book of life in the heavens, and you too may be numbered with the number of God's saints who have pleased him in their generation, and take part in the chorus with the angels in the land of the living. We commemorate the saints, our fathers the patriarchs, at this very time every year; our father Abraham the patriarch on the twenty-eighth of Mesore, also our father Isaac the patriarch on the twentyeighth of Mesore, and again our father Jacob on the twenty-eighth of this same month Mesore, as we have found it written in the ancient books of our holy fathers who were pleasing unto God. Through their supplication and their prayers may all of us together be granted to share their lot in the kingdom of our Lord and our God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, through whom is the glory of the Father with him and the Holy life-giving Spirit now and always and for ever. Amen. Remember me, that God may forgive me all my sins and giv e me understanding and give me stability without sin. Amen.