Testament of Jacob

By Scriptural Research Institute

The Testament of Jacob, like the Testaments of Abraham and Isaac, is considered to be a Jewish work that was added to by Christians in the Christian era. It is unclear when it comes from, however, it is considered by some scholars to be a work that was complied in Alexandria around the time that the Testament of Abraham and the Septuagint were translated. The author lists himself as Athanasius, however, nothing else seems to be recorded about him. Several prominent Christian scholars in the early Christian era had the name Athanasius, including Athanasius of Alexandria, who was sainted, however, he lived 500 years too late to be the author of this work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scriptural Research Institute
• Release date: Dec 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9781989604779

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Copyright

WHILE EVERY PRECAUTION has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

TESTAMENT OF JACOB

First edition. December 31, 2019.

Copyright © 2019 Scriptural Research Institute.

ISBN: 978-1-989604-77-9

The Testament of Isaac was likely composed in Greek in Egypt between 250 and 200 BC, possibly by Athanasius.

This English translation was created by the Scriptural Research Institute in 2019

The image used for the cover is ‘Jacob's Dream’ by Michael Willmann, painted in 1691.

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IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN era, several Testaments of the Patriarchs circulated in Jewish and Christian communities, the foremost being the Testaments of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The other major testaments were grouped together as the Testaments of the Twelve, which included the Testaments of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. These testaments were widely accepted by the early Christian churches, and continue to form part of the Armenian Bible. The books were popular in Western Europe during the Middle Ages when they were generally considered authentic ancient Jewish texts. Critical analysis in the 16th century changed the view of Protestants and Catholics, as scholars at the time came to the belief that the texts were written in the early Christian era, likely in Greek. Subsequently, the texts fell out of favor in most parts of Europe. However, Hebrew fragments of the Testaments of the Patriarchs were