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Jubilees is a major representative of a type of Jewish literary source often described as “Re-written Bible” (Vermes 1970). Although the exact definition and suitability of this designation have been debated (Machiela 2010), “Re-written Bible” remains a useful way of speaking about a number of Jewish writings known from the Dead Sea Scrolls and elsewhere (on the Dead Sea Scrolls in general, see particularly Flint and VanderKam 1998–99). Among the Qumran manuscripts, for example, the Aramaic text often called the Genesis Apocryphon retells the biblical stories of Noah and Abraham, following the main outlines of the narrative known from Genesis, but considerably embellishing it with non-biblical information. Enough of this fragmentary text remains for us to discern clearly its glorification of Noah’s character, its intense interest in the contemporary geography of the Holy Land and its surroundings, and its portrayal of Abraham as a God-fearing man who regularly offers sacrifice and is the object of God’s special protection (Fitzmyer 2004; Machiela 2009). Evidently, these and other related matters were of commanding importance for this text; they appear in similar guise in Jubilees, prompting questions about the literary relationship of the two writings. Other examples of “Re-written Bible” found at Qumran are less well-preserved: they include a text often called “Reworked Pentateuch” (4Q158, 364–367), along with fragments of Testaments ascribed to Levi, Naphtali, Judah and Joseph, Qahat, and Amram, all of which tell the reader more about biblical characters, some of whom are fairly minor. These Testaments serve as vehicles to promote laws, religious and ethical values, and social attitudes which the writers hold dear. Several of them are also keen to offer predictions of the future, including speculations on the end of days and attendant circumstances (Kolenkow 1975). To them we may add a host of writings, now extant only in fragments, which are often labelled individually as kinds of “Apocryphon,” similarly elaborating biblical characters and their lives for didactic, social, and religious purposes. Attesting to vigorous literary activity in both Aramaic and Hebrew, these writings are almost entirely given over to inner Jewish concerns. These and other related texts often involve annotation of, and commentary upon, biblical texts which are thereby made to speak to the historical situation of the composer. It is not always possible, however, for the modern reader to discern whether, in fact, historical evidence is recoverable from such texts: scholarly opinions on the matter differ considerably (Falk 2007).

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