The Book of Jubilees

by James C. VanderKam

Publisher:

Sheffield Academic Press

, 2001

Overview

The Book of Jubilees, a Jewish retelling of Genesis and the first half of Exodus, was an important work for the community of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This Guide gives an introduction to Jubilees that covers its dating, its textual history and its purpose. It also provides a survey of its theological teachings and themes, and a section-by-section commentary that includes a comparison of its divergences from Genesis and the meaning and emphasis of each section. Written by the leading authority on Jubilees, this volume provides the very best introduction for the student and scholar to one of the most important texts of Early Judaism.

Contents

Top Highlights

“found in the parallel passage in the Genesis Apocryphon from Qumran cave 1” (Page 36)

“‘He was killed by its stones for with a stone he had killed Abel and, by a just punishment, he was killed with a stone’ (4.31). This quid pro quo justice is recorded on the heavenly tablets (v. 32) as a general principle, anticipating the lex talionis of Exod. 21:24 and Lev. 24:19.” (Page 34)

“The book of Jubilees is a second-century BCE retelling of the material found in Genesis and the first half of Exodus.” (Page 11)

“The presence of numerous copies of the book at Qumran points to at least an interest in the book there; its contents when compared with pertinent scrolls suggest that Jubilees enjoyed a level of authority at Qumran, possibly on a par with that of Genesis and Exodus.” (Page 7)

“According to the Prologue, Jubilees is the written deposit of a divine revelation disclosed to Moses on Mt Sinai where he also received the law. Genesis makes no such claim for itself.” (Page 23)

Product Details

• Title: The Book of Jubilees
• Author: James VanderKam
• Publisher: Sheffield
• Publication Date: 2001
• Pages: 168

About James C. VanderKam

James C. VanderKam is John A. O’Brien Professor of Hebrew Scriptures at the University of Notre Dame. He has edited twelve volumes in the series Discoveries in the Judaean Desert and is a member of the editorial committee for the remaining unpublished Dead Sea scrolls. He is one of the two editors in chief of the Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls (2000) and author of the prize-winning The Dead Sea Scrolls Today (1994), From Revelation to Canon: Studies in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature (2000), An Introduction to Early Judaism (2001), The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls (2002), and From Joshua to Caiaphas: High Priests after the Exile (Fortress Press, 2004). Prof. VanderKam is the editor of the Journal of Biblical Literature.