James and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.
Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2020 12:21 pm
Joseph B. Mayor, on pages cxviii-cxxi of his volume offering the text of, a translation of, and a commentary on the epistle of James, lists many points of contact between James and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. Not all of them are of equal merit, but some are pretty impressive. The following is a tiny sampling of the items from the list:
I arrived at Mayor's list via a footnote on page 20 of the commentary on James by J. H. Ropes while researching something completely unrelated; Ropes gives his own sampling from Mayor's list, and most (all but one, I think) of the above items overlap with it. Mayor's list caught my attention because of a diagram I have been mulling over from Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: The Parting of the Ways Between Qumran and Enochic Judaism, by Gabriele Boccaccini:
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs bear much in common both with Christian texts and with the books of Enoch and related Jewish texts; to put them in context like this diagram does is helpful, even if oversimplified for the sake of presentation.
Ben.
Trials and Endurance
Testament of Joseph 2.7: 11 In ten trials He showed me tested, and in all of them I endured; for endurance is a mighty charm, and patience gives many good things. / 11 ἐν δέκα πειρασμοῖς δόκιμόν με ἀνέδειξε, καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς ἐμακροθύμησα· ὅτι μέγα φάρμακόν ἐστιν ἡ μακροθυμία, καὶ πολλὰ ἀγαθὰ δίδωσιν ἡ ὑπομονή.
James 1.2-4: 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. / 2 πᾶσαν χαρὰν ἡγήσασθε, ἀδελφοί μου, ὅταν πειρασμοῖς περιπέσητε ποικίλοις, 3 γινώσκοντες ὅτι τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως κατεργάζεται ὑπομονήν. 4 ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ ἔργον τέλειον ἐχέτω, ἵνα ἦτε τέλειοι καὶ ὁλόκληροι ἐν μηδενὶ λειπόμενοι.
Word(s) of Truth
Testament of Gad 3.1: 1 And now, my children, hearken to the words of truth to work righteousness, and all the Law of the Most High, and not go astray through the spirit of hatred, for it is evil in all the doings of men. / 1 καὶ νῦν ἀκούσατε, τέκνα μου, λόγους ἀληθείας, τοῦ ποιεῖν δικαιοσύνην καὶ πάντα νόμον ὑψίστου, καὶ μὴ πλανᾶσθαι τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ μίσους, ὅτι κακόν ἐστιν ἐπὶ πάσαις πράξεσιν ἀνθρώπων.
James 1.18: 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of firstfruits among His creatures. / 18 βουληθεὶς ἀπεκύησεν ἡμᾶς λόγῳ ἀληθείας εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἀπαρχήν τινα τῶν αὐτοῦ κτισμάτων.
Mercy/Compassion
Testament of Zebulon 8.3: 3 For how much compassion a man has upon his neighbors, so much also has the Lord upon him. / 3 ὅσον γὰρ ἄνθρωπος σπλαγχνίζεται εἰς τὸν πλησίον, τοσοῦτον Κύριος εἰς αὐτόν.
James 2.13: 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. / 13 ἡ γὰρ κρίσις ἀνέλεος τῷ μὴ ποιήσαντι ἔλεος· κατακαυχᾶται ἔλεος κρίσεως.
Blessing and Cursing
Testament of Benjamin 6.5: 5 The good mind does not have two tongues, of blessing and of cursing, of insult and of honor, of sorrow and of joy, of quietness and of trouble, of hypocrisy and of truth, of poverty and of wealth; but it has one disposition, pure and uncorrupt, concerning all men. / 5 Ἡ ἀγαθὴ διάνοια οὐκ ἔχει δύο γλώσσας, εὐλογίας καὶ κατάρας, ὕβρεως καὶ τιμῆς, λύπης καὶ χαρᾶς, ἡσυχίας καὶ ταραχῆς, ὑποκρίσεως καὶ ἀληθείας, πενίας καὶ πλούτου· ἀλλὰ μίαν ἔχει περὶ πάντας εἰλικρινῆ καθαρὰν διάθεσιν.
James 3.8-10: 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. / 8 τὴν δὲ γλῶσσαν οὐδεὶς δαμάσαι δύναται ἀνθρώπων, ἀκατάστατον κακόν, μεστὴ ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου. 9 ἐν αὐτῇ εὐλογοῦμεν τὸν κύριον καὶ πατέρα καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ καταρώμεθα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς καθ᾽ ὁμοίωσιν θεοῦ γεγονότας· 10 ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ στόματος ἐξέρχεται εὐλογία καὶ κατάρα. οὐ χρή, ἀδελφοί μου, ταῦτα οὕτως γίνεσθαι.
Envy
Testament of Simeon 3.2-3: 2 For envy rules over the whole mind of a man, and suffers him neither to eat, nor to drink, nor to do any good thing; 3 it ever suggests to him to destroy him whom he envies; and he who is envied ever flourishes, but he who envies fades away. / 2 Καὶ γὰρ ὁ φθόνος κυριεύει πάσης τῆς διανοίας τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ οὐκ ἀφίησιν αὐτὸν οὔτε φαγεῖν, οὔτε πιεῖν, οὔτε ποιῆσαί τι ἀγαθόν· 3 πάντοτε ὑποβάλλει ἀνελεῖν τὸν φθονούμενον· καὶ ὁ μὲν φθονούμενος πάντοτε ἀνθεῖ, ὁ δὲ φθονῶν μαραίνεται.
James 4.2: 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. / 2 ἐπιθυμεῖτε καὶ οὐκ ἔχετε, φονεύετε καὶ ζηλοῦτε καὶ οὐ δύνασθε ἐπιτυχεῖν, μάχεσθε καὶ πολεμεῖτε, οὐκ ἔχετε διὰ τὸ μὴ αἰτεῖσθαι ὑμᾶς.
The Devil Will Flee
Testament of Nephtali 8.4: 8 If you work that which is good, my children, both men and angels will bless you; and God will be glorified through you among the Gentiles, and the devil will flee from you, and the wild beasts will fear you, and the angels will cleave to you. / 8 ἐὰν ἐργάσησθε τὸ καλόν, τέκνα μου, εὐλογήσουσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι· καὶ Θεὸς δοξασθήσεται δι' ὑμῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι, καὶ ὁ διάβολος φεύξεται ἀφ' ὑμῶν, καὶ τὰ θηρία φοβηθήσονται ὑμᾶς, καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι ἀνθέξονται ὑμῶν.
James 4.7: 7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. / ὑποτάγητε οὖν τῷ θεῷ· ἀντίστητε δὲ τῷ διαβόλῳ, καὶ φεύξεται ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν.
Draw Near to God
Testament of Dan 6.2: 7 And draw near to God and to the angel who intercedes for you, for He is a mediator between God and man for the peace of Israel. He shall stand up against the kingdom of the enemy. / 7 ἐγγίζετε δὲ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῷ παραιτουμένῳ ὑμᾶς· ὅτι οὗτός ἐστι μεσίτης Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ τῆς εἰρήνης Ἰσραήλ. κατέναντι τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ ἐχθροῦ στήσεται.
James 4.8: 8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you doubleminded. / 8 ἐγγίσατε τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐγγιεῖ ὑμῖν. καθαρίσατε χεῖρας, ἁμαρτωλοί, καὶ ἁγνίσατε καρδίας, δίψυχοι.
Testament of Joseph 2.7: 11 In ten trials He showed me tested, and in all of them I endured; for endurance is a mighty charm, and patience gives many good things. / 11 ἐν δέκα πειρασμοῖς δόκιμόν με ἀνέδειξε, καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς ἐμακροθύμησα· ὅτι μέγα φάρμακόν ἐστιν ἡ μακροθυμία, καὶ πολλὰ ἀγαθὰ δίδωσιν ἡ ὑπομονή.
James 1.2-4: 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. / 2 πᾶσαν χαρὰν ἡγήσασθε, ἀδελφοί μου, ὅταν πειρασμοῖς περιπέσητε ποικίλοις, 3 γινώσκοντες ὅτι τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως κατεργάζεται ὑπομονήν. 4 ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ ἔργον τέλειον ἐχέτω, ἵνα ἦτε τέλειοι καὶ ὁλόκληροι ἐν μηδενὶ λειπόμενοι.
Word(s) of Truth
Testament of Gad 3.1: 1 And now, my children, hearken to the words of truth to work righteousness, and all the Law of the Most High, and not go astray through the spirit of hatred, for it is evil in all the doings of men. / 1 καὶ νῦν ἀκούσατε, τέκνα μου, λόγους ἀληθείας, τοῦ ποιεῖν δικαιοσύνην καὶ πάντα νόμον ὑψίστου, καὶ μὴ πλανᾶσθαι τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ μίσους, ὅτι κακόν ἐστιν ἐπὶ πάσαις πράξεσιν ἀνθρώπων.
James 1.18: 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of firstfruits among His creatures. / 18 βουληθεὶς ἀπεκύησεν ἡμᾶς λόγῳ ἀληθείας εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἀπαρχήν τινα τῶν αὐτοῦ κτισμάτων.
Mercy/Compassion
Testament of Zebulon 8.3: 3 For how much compassion a man has upon his neighbors, so much also has the Lord upon him. / 3 ὅσον γὰρ ἄνθρωπος σπλαγχνίζεται εἰς τὸν πλησίον, τοσοῦτον Κύριος εἰς αὐτόν.
James 2.13: 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. / 13 ἡ γὰρ κρίσις ἀνέλεος τῷ μὴ ποιήσαντι ἔλεος· κατακαυχᾶται ἔλεος κρίσεως.
Blessing and Cursing
Testament of Benjamin 6.5: 5 The good mind does not have two tongues, of blessing and of cursing, of insult and of honor, of sorrow and of joy, of quietness and of trouble, of hypocrisy and of truth, of poverty and of wealth; but it has one disposition, pure and uncorrupt, concerning all men. / 5 Ἡ ἀγαθὴ διάνοια οὐκ ἔχει δύο γλώσσας, εὐλογίας καὶ κατάρας, ὕβρεως καὶ τιμῆς, λύπης καὶ χαρᾶς, ἡσυχίας καὶ ταραχῆς, ὑποκρίσεως καὶ ἀληθείας, πενίας καὶ πλούτου· ἀλλὰ μίαν ἔχει περὶ πάντας εἰλικρινῆ καθαρὰν διάθεσιν.
James 3.8-10: 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. / 8 τὴν δὲ γλῶσσαν οὐδεὶς δαμάσαι δύναται ἀνθρώπων, ἀκατάστατον κακόν, μεστὴ ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου. 9 ἐν αὐτῇ εὐλογοῦμεν τὸν κύριον καὶ πατέρα καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ καταρώμεθα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς καθ᾽ ὁμοίωσιν θεοῦ γεγονότας· 10 ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ στόματος ἐξέρχεται εὐλογία καὶ κατάρα. οὐ χρή, ἀδελφοί μου, ταῦτα οὕτως γίνεσθαι.
Envy
Testament of Simeon 3.2-3: 2 For envy rules over the whole mind of a man, and suffers him neither to eat, nor to drink, nor to do any good thing; 3 it ever suggests to him to destroy him whom he envies; and he who is envied ever flourishes, but he who envies fades away. / 2 Καὶ γὰρ ὁ φθόνος κυριεύει πάσης τῆς διανοίας τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ οὐκ ἀφίησιν αὐτὸν οὔτε φαγεῖν, οὔτε πιεῖν, οὔτε ποιῆσαί τι ἀγαθόν· 3 πάντοτε ὑποβάλλει ἀνελεῖν τὸν φθονούμενον· καὶ ὁ μὲν φθονούμενος πάντοτε ἀνθεῖ, ὁ δὲ φθονῶν μαραίνεται.
James 4.2: 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. / 2 ἐπιθυμεῖτε καὶ οὐκ ἔχετε, φονεύετε καὶ ζηλοῦτε καὶ οὐ δύνασθε ἐπιτυχεῖν, μάχεσθε καὶ πολεμεῖτε, οὐκ ἔχετε διὰ τὸ μὴ αἰτεῖσθαι ὑμᾶς.
The Devil Will Flee
Testament of Nephtali 8.4: 8 If you work that which is good, my children, both men and angels will bless you; and God will be glorified through you among the Gentiles, and the devil will flee from you, and the wild beasts will fear you, and the angels will cleave to you. / 8 ἐὰν ἐργάσησθε τὸ καλόν, τέκνα μου, εὐλογήσουσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι· καὶ Θεὸς δοξασθήσεται δι' ὑμῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι, καὶ ὁ διάβολος φεύξεται ἀφ' ὑμῶν, καὶ τὰ θηρία φοβηθήσονται ὑμᾶς, καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι ἀνθέξονται ὑμῶν.
James 4.7: 7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. / ὑποτάγητε οὖν τῷ θεῷ· ἀντίστητε δὲ τῷ διαβόλῳ, καὶ φεύξεται ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν.
Draw Near to God
Testament of Dan 6.2: 7 And draw near to God and to the angel who intercedes for you, for He is a mediator between God and man for the peace of Israel. He shall stand up against the kingdom of the enemy. / 7 ἐγγίζετε δὲ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῷ παραιτουμένῳ ὑμᾶς· ὅτι οὗτός ἐστι μεσίτης Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ τῆς εἰρήνης Ἰσραήλ. κατέναντι τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ ἐχθροῦ στήσεται.
James 4.8: 8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you doubleminded. / 8 ἐγγίσατε τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐγγιεῖ ὑμῖν. καθαρίσατε χεῖρας, ἁμαρτωλοί, καὶ ἁγνίσατε καρδίας, δίψυχοι.
I arrived at Mayor's list via a footnote on page 20 of the commentary on James by J. H. Ropes while researching something completely unrelated; Ropes gives his own sampling from Mayor's list, and most (all but one, I think) of the above items overlap with it. Mayor's list caught my attention because of a diagram I have been mulling over from Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: The Parting of the Ways Between Qumran and Enochic Judaism, by Gabriele Boccaccini:
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs bear much in common both with Christian texts and with the books of Enoch and related Jewish texts; to put them in context like this diagram does is helpful, even if oversimplified for the sake of presentation.
Ben.