2.14 Grappling with the Greeks V: Jubilees Reconstructs Judaism

Published: Jan. 21, 2018, 5 a.m.

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The Book of Jubilees was preserved by the Ethiopian Orthodox. Until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, it was held to be a parody of Jewish thought. Now we know the book was immensely popular with Jews and Christians until the early Middle Ages. The book re-writes Genesis and Exodus. Jubilees claims a higher authority than those books. It creates a new sacred calendar, and invents the figure we call Satan. I also have something to say about that odious book written at the same time, the Wisdom of Ben Sira.

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