The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs #223926

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs has, since its re discovery by Bishop Grosseteste in the thirteenth century till the last decade, been a sealed book, misunderstood and mis dated on every hand. The research of the last few years has, however, as I have just indicated, succeeded in discovering its true date, purpose, and character. It now comes forward as a book second in importance to none composed between 200 and the Christian era. It was written in Hebrew in the last quarter of the second century so. By a Chasid on behalf of the high-priesthood of the great Maccabean family, and especially on behalf of the Messianic claims of John Hyrcanus, who, according to Josephus, was the only Israelite who enjoyed the triple offices of prophet, priest, and king. But its claims to historical importance, however great, are overshadowed by its still greater claims as being the sole representative of the loftiest ethical standard ever attained by pre-christian Judaism, and as such, attesting the existence of a type of religious thought in pre-christian Judaism that was the natural preparation for the ethics of the New Testament, and especially of the Sermon on the Mount. Not only so, but this book influenced directly the Sermon on the Mount in a few of its most striking thoughts and phrases, and the Pauline Epistles in a great variety of passages. The reader who wishes to get a summary account of the Testaments, and their influence on the New Testament, should read 1, 26, 27 of the Introduction that follows.