The Book of Jubilees Reu and Serug, 1 (cf. Gen. xi.20, 21). Rise of war and bloodshed and eating of blood and idolatry, 2-7. Nachor and Terah, 8-14 (cf. Gen. xi.22-30). Abram's knowledge of YHVH and wonderful deeds, 15-24.

[Chapter 11]

1. And in the thirty-fifth jubilee, in the third week, in the first year thereof, Reu took to himself a wife, and her name was 'Ôrâ, the daughter of 'Ûr, the son of Kesed, and she bare him a son, and he called his name Sêrôh, in the seventh year of this week in this jubilee.
2. And the sons of Noah began to war on each other, to take captive and to slay each other, and to shed the blood of men on the earth, and to eat blood, and to build strong cities, and walls, and towers, and individuals (began) to exalt themselves above the nation, and to found the beginnings of kingdoms, and to go to war people against people, and nation against nation, and city against city, and all (began) to do evil, and to acquire arms, and to teach their sons war, and they began to capture cities, and to sell male and female slaves.
3. And 'Ûr, the son of Kesed, built the city of 'Ara of the Chaldees, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father. And they made for themselves molten images, and they worshipped each the idol, the molten image which they had made for themselves, and they began to make graven images and unclean simulacra, and malignant spirits assisted and seduced (them) into committing transgression and uncleanness.
4. And the prince Mastêmâ exerted himself to do all this, and he sent forth other spirits, those which were put under his hand, to do all manner of wrong and sin, and all manner of transgression, to corrupt and destroy, and to shed blood upon the earth.
5. For this reason he called the name of Sêrôh, Serug, for every one turned to do all manner of sin and transgression.
6. And he grew up, and dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, near to the father of his wife's mother, and he worshipped idols, and he took to himself a wife in the thirty-sixth jubilee, in the fifth week, in the first year thereof,  and her name was Melka, the daughter of Kaber, the daughter of his father's brother.
7. And she bare him Nahor, in the first year of this week, and he grew and dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, and his father taught him the researches of the Chaldees to divine and augur, according to the signs of heaven.
8. And in the thirty-seventh jubilee in the sixth week, in the first year thereof,  he took to himself a wife, and her name was 'Ijaska, the daughter of Nestag of the Chaldees.
9. And she bare him Terah in the seventh year of this week.
10. And the prince Mastêmâ sent ravens and birds to devour the seed which was sown in the land, in order to destroy the land, and rob the children of men of their labours. Before they could plough in the seed, the ravens picked (it) from the surface of the ground.
11. And for this reason he called his name Terah because the ravens and the birds reduced them to destitution and devoured their seed.
12. And the years began to be barren, owing to the birds, and they devoured all the fruit of the trees from the trees: it was only with great effort that they could save a little of all the fruit of the earth in their days.
13. And in this thirty-ninth jubilee, in the second week in the first year,  Terah took to himself a wife, and her name was 'Edna, the daughter of 'Abram, the daughter of his father's sister. And in the seventh year of this week  she bare him a son, and he called his name Abram, by the name of the father of his mother;
14. for he had died before his daughter had conceived a son.
15. And the child began to understand the errors of the earth that all went astray after graven images and after uncleanness, and his father taught him writing, and he was two weeks of years old,  and he separated himself from his father, that he might not worship idols with him.
16. And he began to pray to the Creator of all things that He might save him from the errors of the children of men, and that his portion should not fall into error after uncleanness and vileness.
17. And the seed time came for the sowing of seed upon the land, and they all went forth together to protect their seed against the ravens, and Abram went forth with those that went, and the child was a lad of fourteen years.
18. And a cloud of ravens came to devour the seed, and Abram ran to meet them before they settled on the ground, and cried to them before they settled on the ground to devour the seed, and said, ' Descend not: return to the place whence ye came,' and they proceeded to turn back.
19. And he caused the clouds of ravens to turn back that day seventy times, and of all the ravens throughout all the land where Abram was there settled there not so much as one.
20. And all who were with him throughout all the land saw him cry out, and all the ravens turn back, and his name became great in all the land of the Chaldees.
21. And there came to him this year all those that wished to sow, and he went with them until the time of sowing ceased: and they sowed their land, and that year they brought enough grain home and eat and were satisfied.
22. And in the first year of the fifth week  Abram taught those who made implements for oxen, the artificers in wood, and they made a vessel above the ground, facing the frame of the plough, in order to put the seed thereon, and the seed fell down therefrom upon the share of the plough, and was hidden in the earth, and they no longer feared the ravens.
23. And after this manner they made (vessels) above the ground on all the frames of the ploughs, and they sowed and tilled all the land, according as Abram commanded them, and they no longer feared the birds.

The Book of Jubilees Moses returns from Midian to Egypt. Mastêmâ seeks to slay him on the way, 1-3. The ten plagues, 4-11. Yisrayl goes forth out of Egypt: the destruction of the Egyptians on the Red Sea, 12-19. (Cf. Exod. ii.15; iv.19, 24; vii. seqq.)


Chapter 48

1. And in the sixth year of the third week of the forty-ninth jubilee thou didst depart and dwell <in the land of Midian>, five weeks and one year. And thou didst return into Egypt in the second week in the second year in the fiftieth jubilee.
2. And thou thyself knowest what He spake unto thee on  Mount Sinai, and what prince Mastêmâ desired to do with thee when thou wast returning into Egypt <on the way when thou didst meet him at the lodging-place>.
3. Did he not with all his power seek to slay thee and deliver the Egyptians out of thy hand when he saw that thou wast sent to execute judgment and vengeance on the Egyptians?
4. And I delivered thee out of his hand, and thou didst perform the signs and wonders which thou wast sent to perform in Egypt against Pharaoh, and against all his house, and against his servants and his people.
5. And YHVH executed a great vengeance on them for Yisrayl's sake, and smote them through (the plagues of) blood and frogs, lice and dog-flies, and malignant boils breaking forth in blains; and their cattle by death; and by hail-stones, thereby He destroyed everything that grew for them; and by locusts which devoured the residue which had been left by the hail, and by darkness; and <by the death> of the first-born of men and animals, and on all their idols The Most High took vengeance and burned them with fire.
6. And everything was sent through thy hand, that thou shouldst declare (these things) before they were done, and thou didst speak with the king of Egypt before all his servants and before his people.
7. And everything took place according to thy words; ten great and terrible judgments came on the land of Egypt that thou mightest execute vengeance on it for Yisrayl.
8. And YHVH did everything for Yisrayl's sake, and according to His covenant, which he had ordained with Abraham that He would take vengeance on them as they had brought them by force into bondage.
9. And the prince Mastêmâ stood up against thee, and sought to cast thee into the hands of Pharaoh, and he helped the Egyptian sorcerers,
10. and they stood up and wrought before thee the evils indeed we permitted them to work, but the remedies we did not allow to be wrought by their hands.
11. And YHVH smote them with malignant ulcers, and they were not able to stand, for we destroyed them so that they could not perform a single sign.
12. And notwithstanding all (these) signs and wonders the prince Mastêmâ was not put to shame because he took courage and cried to the Egyptians to pursue after thee with all the powers of the Egyptians, with their chariots, and with their horses, and with all the hosts of the peoples of Egypt.
13. And I stood between the Egyptians and Yisrayl, and we delivered Yisrayl out of his hand, and out of the hand of his people, and YHVH brought them through the midst of the sea as if it were dry land.
14. And all the peoples whom he brought to pursue after Yisrayl, YHVH our Father cast them into the midst of the sea, into the depths of the abyss beneath the children of Yisrayl, even as the people of Egypt had cast their children into the river He took vengeance on 1,000,000 of them, and one thousand strong and energetic men were destroyed on account of one suckling of the children of thy people which they had thrown into the river.
15. And on the fourteenth day and on the fifteenth and on the sixteenth and on the seventeenth and on the eighteenth the prince Mastêmâ was bound and imprisoned behind the children of Yisrayl that he might not accuse them.
16. And on the nineteenth we let them loose that they might help the Egyptians and pursue the children of Yisrayl.
17. And he hardened their hearts and made them stubborn, and the device was devised YHVH our Father that He might smite the Egyptians and cast them into the sea.
18. And on the fourteenth we bound him that he might not accuse the children of Yisrayl on the day when they asked the Egyptians for vessels and garments, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze, in order to despoil the Egyptians in return for the bondage in which they had forced them to serve.
19. And we did not lead forth the children of Yisrayl from Egypt empty handed.

Book of Jubilees According to the book of Jubilees, Mastema "Hostility" is the chief of the demons engendered by the fallen Watchers/Angels with women, perhaps one of those same demons.

His actions and name indicate he is Satan, the 'Adversary', but much more the Satan who appears in the book of Job with a function to fulfill under God than the Satan of later tradition who is the uttermost enemy of God. Beliar, mentioned twice in Jubilees, is likely to be identical with Mastema in this work.

When God is ready to destroy all these demons after the flood and Noah prays that his descendants be released from their attacks, Mastema intervenes, beseeching God to allow him to retain and control one tenth of these demons in order to exercise his authority because they are "intended to corrupt and lead astray before my judgement because the evil of the sons of men is great". So Mastema is the tester of humans with God's permission.

Mastema sends a plague of birds onto the land in the days of Terah.

Later, Mastema counsels God to test Abraham (Jubilees 17:15-16) just as Satan in the book of Job wants permission to test Job. As Abraham prepares to sacrifice his son Isaac, Mastema stands in God's presence. On his deathbed Isaac promises that the spirits of Mastema will have no power to turn Jacob or his descendants away from Yahweh.

The strange account in Exodus 4.24 where Yahweh meets Moses by the way and tries to kill him is retold in a way that attributes the attack to Mastema instead (Jubilees 48:1-3). It is claimed that Mastema aided the Egyptian priests that opposed Moses. Mastema is also said to have been chained while the Israelites left Egypt but then let go to encourage the Egyptians to chase after the Israelites and so come to their doom in the Red Sea.

On the other hand, the deaths of the firstborn of the Egyptians are attributed to "all the powers of Mastema".

Laws regarding the Jubilees and the Sabbath (l. 1-13). L. And after this law I made known to thee the days of the Sabbaths in the desert of Sin[ai], which is between Elim and Sinai. 5 2. And I told thee of the Sabbaths of the land on Mount Sinai, and I told thee of the jubilee years 6 in the sabbaths of years: but the year thereof have I not told thee till ye enter the land which ye are to possess. 3. And the land also will keep its sabbaths while they dwell upon it, 7 and they will know the jubilee year. 4. Wherefore I have ordained for thee the year-weeks 8 and the years and the jubilees: there are forty-nine jubilees from the days of Adam until this day, and one week

and two years and there are yet forty years to come (lit. "distant for learning the commandments of

YHVH, until they pass over into the land of Canaan, crossing the Jordan to the west. 5. And the jubilees will pass by, until Yisrayl is cleansed from all guilt of fornication, and uncleanness, and pollution, and sin, and error, and dwelleth with confidence in all the land, and there will be no more a Satan or any evil one, and the land will be clean from that time for evermore. 1

6. And behold the commandment regarding the Sabbaths--I have written (them) down for thee and all the judgments of its laws. 7. Six days wilt thou labour, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of YHVH your Father. 2 In it ye shall do no manner of work, ye and your sons, and your men-servants and your maid-servants, and all your cattle and the sojourner also who is with you. 8. And the man that doeth any work on it shall die: 3 whoever desecrateth that day, whoever lieth with (his) wife 4 or whoever saith he will do something on it, that he will set out on a journey thereon 5 in regard to any buying or selling: 6 and whoever draweth water thereon 7 which he had not prepared for himself on the sixth day, and whoever taketh up any burden to carry it out of his tent 8 or out of his house shall die. 9. Ye shall do no work whatever on the Sabbath day save that ye have prepared for yourselves on the sixth day, so as to eat, and drink, and rest, and keep Sabbath from all work on that day, and to bless YHVH your Father, who has given you a day of festival, and a holy day: and a day of the holy kingdom for all Yisrayl is this day among their days for ever. 10. For great is the

honour which YHVH hath given to Yisrayl that they should eat and drink and be satisfied on this festival day, and rest thereon from all labour 1 which belongeth to the labour of the children of men, save burning frankincense and bringing oblations and sacrifices before YHVH for days and for Sabbaths. 11. This work alone shall be done on the Sabbath-days 2 in the sanctuary of YHVH your Father; that they may atone for Yisrayl with sacrifice continually from day to day for a memorial well-pleasing before YHVH, and that He may receive them always from day to day according as thou hast been commanded. 12. And every man who doeth any work thereon, or goeth a journey, or tilleth (his) farm, 3 whether in his house or any other place, 4 and whoever lighteth a fire, 5 or rideth on any beast, 6 or travelleth by ship on the sea, and whoever striketh or killeth anything, or slaughtereth 7 a beast or a bird, or whoever catcheth an animal or a bird or a fish, or whoever fasteth or maketh war on the Sabbaths: 8 13. The man who doeth any of these things on the Sabbath shall die, so that the children of Yisrayl shall observe the Sabbaths according to the commandments regarding the Sabbaths of the land, as it is written in the tables, which He gave into my hands that I should write out for thee the laws of the seasons, and the seasons according to the division of their days.

Herewith is completed the account of the division of the days.

Abraham loves Jacob and blesses him (xix. 15-31). 15. And Abraham loved Jacob, but Isaac loved Esau. 16. And Abraham saw the deeds of Esau, and he knew that in Jacob 1 should his name and seed be called; and he called Rebecca and gave commandment regarding Jacob, for he knew that she (too) loved Jacob much more than Esau. 17. And he said unto her: "My daughter, watch over my son Jacob,

For he shall be in my stead on the earth,
And for a blessing in the midst of the children of men,
And for the glory of the whole seed of Shem.

18. For I know that YHVH will choose him to be a people for possession unto Himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. 2 19. And behold, Isaac my son loveth Esau more than Jacob, but I see that thou truly lovest Jacob.

20. Add still further to thy kindness to him,
And let thine eyes be upon him in love;
For he will be a blessing unto us on the earth from henceforth unto all generations of the earth.

21. Let thy hands be strong
And let thy heart rejoice in thy son Jacob;
For I have loved him far beyond all my sons.

He will be blessed for ever,
And his seed will fill the whole earth.

22. If a man can number the sand of the earth,
His seed also will be numbered. 3

23. And all the blessings wherewith The Most High hath blessed me and my seed shall belong to Jacob and his seed alway. 24. And in his seed shall my name be blessed, and the name of my fathers, Shem, and

Noah, and Enoch, and Mahalalel, and Enos, and Seth, and Adam. 1 25. And these shall serve

To lay the foundations of the heaven,
And to strengthen the earth,
And to renew all the luminaries which are in the firmament."

26. And he called Jacob before the eyes of Rebecca his mother, and kissed him, and blessed him, and said: 27. "Jacob, my beloved son, whom my soul loveth, may YHVH bless thee from above the firmament, and may He give thee all the blessings wherewith He blessed Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, and Shem; and all the things of which He told me, and all the things which He promised to give me, may He cause to cleave to thee and to thy seed for ever, according to the days of heaven above the earth. 2 28. And the spirits of Mastêmâ shall not rule over thee or over thy seed 3 to turn thee from YHVH, who is thy Father from henceforth for ever. 29. And may The Most High YHVH be a father to thee and thou the first-born son, and to the people alway. Go in peace, my son." 30. And they both went forth together from Abraham. 31. And Rebecca loved Jacob, with all her heart and with all her soul, very much more than Esau; but Isaac loved Esau much more than Jacob.

Jacob obtains the Blessing of the Firstborn (xxvi. 1-35; cf. Gen. xxvii.). XXVI. And in the seventh year of this week Isaac called Esau, his elder son, and said unto him: "I am old, my son, and behold my eyes are dim in seeing, and I know not the day of my death. 2. And now take thy hunting weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt and catch me (venison), my son, and make me savoury meat, such as my soul loveth, and bring it to me that I may eat, and that my soul may bless thee before I die." 3. But Rebecca heard Isaac speaking to Esau. 4. And Esau went forth early to the field to hunt and catch and bring home to his father. 5. And Rebecca called Jacob, her son, and said unto him: "Behold, I heard Isaac, thy father, speak unto Esau, thy brother, saying: 'Hunt for me, and make me savoury meat, and bring (it) to me that I may eat and bless thee before YHVH before I die.' 6. And now, my son, obey my voice in that which I command thee: Go to thy flock and fetch me two good kids of the goats, and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth, and thou shalt bring (it) to thy father that he may eat and bless thee before YHVH before he die, and that thou mayst be blessed." 7. And Jacob said to Rebecca his mother: "Mother, I shall not withhold

anything which my father would eat, and which would please him: only I fear, my mother, that he will recognise my voice and wish to touch me. 8. And thou knowest that I am smooth, and Esau, my brother, is hairy, and I shall appear before his eyes as an evildoer, and shall do a deed which he had not commanded me, and he will be wroth with me, and I shall bring upon myself a curse, and not a blessing." 9. And Rebecca, his mother, said unto him: "Upon me be thy curse, my son, only obey my voice." 10. And Jacob obeyed the voice of Rebecca, his mother, and went and fetched two good and fat kids of the goats, and brought them to his mother, and his mother made them (savoury meat) such as he loved. 11. And Rebecca took the goodly raiment of Esau, her elder son, which was with her in the house, and she clothed Jacob, her younger son, (with them), and she put the skins of the kids upon his hands and on the exposed parts of his neck. 12. And she gave the meat and the bread which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob. 13. And Jacob went in to his father and said: "I am thy son: I have done according as thou badest me: arise and sit and eat of that which I have caught, father, that thy soul may bless me." 14. And Isaac said to his son: "How hast thou found so quickly, my son?" 15. And Jacob said: "Because (YHVH) thy Father caused me to find." 16. And Isaac said unto him: "Come near, that I may feel thee, my son, if thou art my son Esau or not." 17. And Jacob went near to Isaac, his father, and he felt him and said: 18. "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau," and he discerned him not, because it was a dispensation from heaven 1 to remove his power of perception and Isaac discerned not, for his hands were hairy as (his brother) Esau's, so that he blessed him. 19. And he said: "Art thou my son Esau?" and he said: "I am thy son and he said, "Bring

near to me that I may eat of that which thou hast caught, my son, that my soul may bless thee." 20. And he brought near to him, and he did eat, and he brought him wine and he drank. 21. And Isaac, his father, said unto him: "Come near and kiss me, my son." And he came near and kissed him. 22. And he smelled the smell of his raiment, and he blessed him and said: "Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a (full) 1 field which YHVH hath blessed.

23. And may YHVH give thee of the dew of heaven
And of the dew 2 of the earth, and plenty of corn and oil: 3
Let nations serve thee,
And peoples bow down to thee.
24. Be Master over thy brethren,
And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee;
And may all the blessings wherewith YHVH hath blessed me and blessed Abraham, my father, 4
Be imparted to thee and to thy seed for ever
Cursed be he that curseth thee,
And blessed be he that blesseth thee."

25. And it came to pass as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing his son Jacob, and Jacob had gone forth from Isaac his father †he hid himself and† 5 Esau, his brother, came in from his hunting. 26. And he also made savoury meat, and brought (it) to his father, and said unto his father: "Let my father arise, and eat of my venison that thy soul may bless me." 27. And Isaac, his father, said unto him: "Who art thou?" And he said unto him: "I am thy first born, thy son Esau: I have done as thou hast commanded me." 28. And Isaac was very

greatly astonished, and said: "Who is he that hath hunted and caught and brought (it) to me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him: (and) he shall be blessed, and all his seed for ever." 29. And it came to pass when Esau heard the words of his father Isaac that he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father: "Bless me, (even) me also, father." 30. And he said unto him: "Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing." And he said: "Now I know why his name is named Jacob: behold, he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birth-right, and now he hath taken away my blessing." 31. And he said: "Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me, father?" and Isaac answered and said unto Esau:

"Behold, I have made him thy Master,
And all his brethren have I given to him for servants,
And with plenty of com and wine and oil have I strengthened him:
And what now shall I do for thee, my son?"

32. And Esau said to Isaac, his father:

"Hast thou but one blessing, O father?
Bless me, (even) me also, father":

And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 33. And Isaac answered and said unto him:

"Behold, far from the dew of the earth shall be thy dwelling,
And far from the dew of heaven from above.
34. And by thy sword wilt thou live,
And thou wilt serve thy brother.
And it shall come to pass when thou becomest great, 1
And dost shake his yoke from off thy neck,
Thou wilt sin a complete sin unto death, 2
p. 144 And thy seed will be rooted out from under heaven."

35. And Esau kept threatening Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him, and he said in his heart: "May the days of mourning for my father now come, so that I may slay my brother Jacob."

Rebecca's Last Admonitions and Death (xxxv. 1-27). XXXV. And in the first year of the first week of the forty-fifth jubilee Rebecca called Jacob, her son, and commanded him regarding his father and regarding his brother, that he should honour them all the days of his life. 2. And Jacob said: "I will do

everything as thou hast commanded me; for this thing will be honour and greatness to me, and righteousness before YHVH, that I should honour them. 3. And thou too, mother, knowest from the time I was born until this day, all my deeds and all that is in my heart, that I always think good concerning all. 4. And how should I not do this thing which thou hast commanded me, that I should honour my father and my brother! 5. Tell me, mother, what perversity hast thou seen in me and I shall turn away from it, and mercy will be upon me." 6. And she said unto him: "My son, I have not seen in thee all my days any perverse but (only) upright deeds. And yet I shall tell thee the truth, my son: I shall die this, year, and I shall not survive this year in my life; for I have seen in a dream the day of my death, that I should not live beyond a hundred and fifty-five years: and behold I have completed all the days of my life which I am to live." 7. And Jacob laughed at the words of his mother, because his mother had said unto him that she should die; and she was sitting opposite to him in possession of her strength, and she was not infirm in her strength; for she went in and out and saw, and her teeth were strong, and no ailment had touched her all the days of her life. 8. And Jacob said unto her: "Blessed am I, mother, if my days approach the days of thy life, and my strength remain with me thus as thy strength: and thou wilt not die, for thou art jesting idly with me regarding thy death." 9. And she went in to Isaac and said unto him: "One petition I make unto thee: make Esau swear that he will not injure Jacob, nor pursue him with enmity; for thou knowest Esau's thoughts that they are perverse from his youth, and there is no goodness in him; for he desireth after thy death to kill him. 10. And thou knowest all that he hath done since the day Jacob his brother went to Haran until this day; how he hath forsaken us with his whole heart, and hath done evil to us; thy flocks he hath taken to himself, and carried off all thy

possessions from before thy face. 11. And when we implored and besought him for what was our own, he did as a man who was taking pity on us. 12. And he is bitter against thee because thou didst bless Jacob thy perfect and upright son; for there is no evil but only goodness in him, and since he came from Haran unto this day he hath not robbed us of aught, for he bringeth us everything in its season always, and rejoiceth with all his heart when we take at his hands, and he blesseth us, and hath not parted from us since he came from Haran until this day, and he remaineth with us continually at home honouring us." 13. And Isaac said unto her: "I, too, know and see the deeds of Jacob who is with us, how that with all his heart he honoureth us; but I loved Esau formerly more than Jacob, because he was the first-born; but now I love Jacob more than Esau, for he hath done manifold evil deeds, and there is no righteousness in him, for all his ways are unrighteousness and violence, [and there is no righteousness around him]. 1 14. And now my heart is troubled because of all his deeds, and neither he nor his seed is to be saved, for they are those who will be destroyed from the earth, and who will be rooted out from under heaven, for he hath forsaken The Father of Abraham and gone after his wives and after their uncleanness and after their error, he and his children. 15. And thou dost bid me make him swear that he will not slay Jacob, his brother; even if he swear he will not abide by his oath, and he will not do good but evil only. 16. But if he desireth to slay Jacob, his brother, into Jacob's hands will he be given, and he will not escape from his hands, [for he will descend into his hands.] 2 17. And fear thou not on account of Jacob; for the guardian 3 of Jacob is great and powerful and honoured, and praised more than the guardian of Esau." 18. And Rebecca sent

and called Esau, and he came to her, and she said unto him: "I have a petition, my son, to make unto thee, and do thou promise to do it, my son." 19. And he said: "I will do everything that thou sayest unto me, and I will not refuse thy petition." 20. And she said unto him: "I ask you that the day I die, thou wilt take me in and bury me near Sarah, thy father's mother, and that thou and Jacob will love each other, and that neither will desire evil against the other, but mutual love only, and (so) ye will prosper, my sons, and be honoured in the midst of the land, and no enemy will rejoice over you, and ye will be a blessing and a mercy in the eyes of all those that love you." 21. And he said: "I will do all that thou hast told me, and I shall bury thee on the day thou diest near Sarah, my father's mother, as thou hast desired that her bones may be near thy bones. 22. And Jacob, my brother, also, I shall love above all flesh; for I have not a brother in all the earth but him only: and this is no great merit for me if I love him; for he is my brother, and we were sown together in thy body, and together came we forth from thy womb, and if I do not love my brother, whom shall I love? 23. And I, myself, beg thee to exhort Jacob concerning me and concerning my sons, for I know that he will assuredly be king over me and my sons, for on the day my father blessed him he made him the higher and me the lower. 24. And I swear unto thee that I shall love him, and not desire evil against him all the days of my life but good only." And he sware unto her regarding all this matter. 25. And she called Jacob before the eyes of Esau, and gave him commandment according to the words which she had spoken to Esau. 26. And he said: "I shall do thy pleasure; believe me that no evil will proceed from me or from my sons against Esau, and I shall be first in naught save in love only." 27. And they ate and drank, she and her sons that night, and she died, three jubilees and one week and one year old, on that night, and her two sons, Esau and

Jacob, buried her in the double cave 1 near Sarah, their father's mother.

Isaac's Last Words and Admonitions: his Death. The Death of Leah (xxxvi. 1-24). XXXVI. And in the sixth year of this week Isaac called his two sons, Esau and Jacob, and they came to him, and he said unto them: "My sons, I am going the way of my fathers, to the eternal house 2 where my fathers are. 2. Wherefore bury me near Abraham my father, in the double cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, where Abraham purchased a sepulchre to bury in; in the sepulchre which I digged for myself, there bury me. 3. And this I command you, my sons, that ye practise righteousness and uprightness on the earth, so that YHVH may bring upon you all that The Most High said that he would do to Abraham and to his seed. 4. And love one another, my sons, your brothers 3 as a man who loveth his own soul, and let each seek in what he may benefit his brother, and act together on the earth; and let them love each other as their own souls. 5. And concerning the question of idols, I command and admonish you to reject them and hate them, and love them not; for they are full of deception for those that worship them and for those that bow down to them. 6. Remember ye, my sons, YHVH Father of Abraham your father, and how I too worshipped Him and served Him in righteousness and in joy, that He might multiply you and increase your seed as the stars of heaven in multitude, and establish you on the earth as the plant of righteousness 4 which will not be rooted out unto all the generations for ever. 7. And now I shall make you swear a great oath--for there is no oath which is greater than it by the name glorious and honoured

and great and splendid and wonderful and mighty, which created the heavens and the earth and all things together--that ye will fear YHVH and worship Him. 8. And that each will love his brother with affection and righteousness, and that neither will desire evil against his brother from henceforth for ever all the days of your life, so that ye may prosper in all your deeds and not be destroyed. 9. And if either of you deviseth evil against his brother, know that from henceforth every one that deviseth evil against his brother will fall into his hand, and will be rooted out of the land of the living, and his seed will be destroyed from under heaven. 10. But on the day of turbulence and execration and indignation and anger, with flaming devouring fire as He burnt Sodom, so likewise will He burn his land and his city and all that is his, and he will be blotted out of the book of the discipline of the children of men, and not be recorded in the book of life, 1 but in that which is appointed to destruction, and he will depart into eternal execration; so that their condemnation may be always renewed in hate and in execration and in wrath and in torment and in indignation and in plagues and in disease for ever. 11. I say and testify to you, my sons, according to the judgment which will come upon the man who wisheth to injure his brother." 12. And he divided all his possessions between the two on that day, and he gave the larger portion to him that was the first-born, and the tower and all that was about it, and all that Abraham possessed at the Well of the Oath. 13. And he said, "This larger portion I shall give to the first-born." 14. And Esau said, "I have sold to Jacob and given my birthright to Jacob; to him let it be given, and I have not a single word to say regarding it, for it is his." 15. And Isaac said, "May a blessing rest upon you, my sons, and upon your seed this day, for ye have given me rest, and my heart is not pained concerning the birthright, lest thou shouldest work wickedness on account

of it. 16. May the Most High YHVH 1 bless the man that worketh righteousness, him and his seed for ever." 17. And he ended commanding them and blessing them, and they ate and drank together before him, and he rejoiced because there was one mind between them, and they went forth from him and rested that day and slept. 18. And Isaac slept on his bed that day rejoicing; and he slept the eternal sleep, and died one hundred and eighty years old. He completed twenty-five weeks and five years; and his two sons Esau and Jacob buried him. 2 19. And Esau went to the land of Edom, to the mountains of Seir, and dwelt there. 20. And Jacob dwelt in the mountains of Hebron, in the tower of the land of the sojournings of his father Abraham, and he worshipped YHVH with all his heart and according to the visible commands according as He had divided the days of his generations. 3 21. And Leah his wife died

. in the fourth year of the second week of the forty-fifth jubilee, and he buried her in the double cave near Rebecca his mother, to the left of the grave of Sarah, his father's mother. 22. And all her sons and his sons came to mourn over Leah his wife with him, and to comfort him regarding her, for he was lamenting her. 23. For he loved her exceedingly after Rachel her sister died; for she was perfect and upright in all her ways and honoured Jacob, and all the days that she lived with him he did not hear from her mouth a harsh word, for she was gentle and peaceable and upright and honourable. 24. And he remembered all her deeds which she had done during her life, and he lamented her exceedingly; for he loved her with all his heart and with all his soul.

Esau and his Sons wage War with Jacob (xxxvii. 1-25). XXXVII. 1 And on the day that Isaac the father

of Jacob and Esau died, the sons of Esau heard that Isaac had given the portion of the elder to his younger son Jacob and they were very angry. 2. And they strove with their father, saying: "Why hath thy father given Jacob the portion of the elder and passed over thee, although thou art the elder and Jacob the younger?" 3. And he said unto them "Because I sold my birthright to Jacob for a small mess of lentils; and on the day my father sent me to hunt and catch and bring him something that he should eat and bless me, he came with guile and brought my father food and drink, and my father blessed him and put me under his hand. 4. And now our father hath caused us to swear, me and him, that we shall not mutually devise evil, either against his brother, and that we shall continue in love and in peace each with his brother and not make our ways corrupt." 2 5. And they said unto him, "We shall not hearken unto thee to make peace with him; for our strength is greater than his strength, and we are more powerful than he; we shall go against him and slay him, and destroy him and his sons. And if thou wilt not go with us, we shall do hurt to thee also. 6. And now hearken unto us: Let us send to Aram 3 and Philistia 4 and Moab

and Ammon, 1 and let us choose for ourselves chosen men who are ardent for battle, and let us go against him and do battle with him, and let us exterminate him from the earth before he groweth strong." 7. And their father said unto them, "Do not go and do not make war with him lest ye fall before him." 8. And they said unto him, "This too, is exactly thy mode of action from thy youth until this day, and thou art putting thy neck under his yoke. We shall not hearken to these words." 9. And they sent to Aram, and to ’Adurâm 2 to the friend of their father, and they hired along with them one thousand fighting men, chosen men of war. 10. And there came to them from Moab and from the children of Ammon, those who were hired, one thousand chosen men, and from Philistia, one thousand chosen men of war, and from Edom 3 and from the Horites one thousand chosen fighting men, and from the Kittim 4 mighty men of war. 11. And they said unto their father: "Go forth with them and lead them, else we shall slay thee." 12. And he was filled with wrath and indignation on seeing that his sons were forcing him to go before (them) to lead them against Jacob his brother. 13. But afterward he remembered all the evil which lay hidden in his heart against Jacob his brother; and he remembered not the oath which he had sworn to his father and to his mother that he would devise no evil all his days against Jacob his brother. 14. And notwithstanding all this, Jacob knew not that they were coming against him to battle, and he was mourning for Leah, his wife, until they approached very near to the tower with four thousand warriors and chosen men of war. 15. And the men of Hebron sent to him saying, "Behold thy brother hath come against thee, to fight thee, with four thousand girt with the sword, and they carry shields and weapons"; for they loved Jacob more than Esau. So they told him; for Jacob was a more liberal and merciful man

than Esau. 16. But Jacob would not believe until they came very near to the tower. 17. And he closed the gates of the tower; and he stood on the battlements and spake to his brother Esau and said, "Noble is the comfort wherewith thou hast come to comfort me for my wife who hath died. Is this the oath that thou didst swear to thy father and again to thy mother before they died? Thou hast broken the oath, and on the moment that thou didst swear to thy father wast thou condemned." 18. And then Esau answered and said unto him, "Neither the children of men nor the beasts of the earth have any oath of righteousness which in swearing they have sworn (an oath valid) for ever; but every day they devise evil one against another, and how each may slay his adversary and foe. 19. And thou dost hate me and my children for ever. And there is no observing the tie of brotherhood with thee. 20. Hear these words which I declare unto thee,

If the boar can change its skin and make its bristles as soft as wool,
Or if it can cause horns to sprout forth on its head like the horns of a stag or of a sheep,
Then shall I observe the tie of brotherhood with thee. 1
[And if the breasts separated themselves from their mother; for thou hast not been a brother to me.] 2
21. And if the wolves make peace with the lambs so as not to devour or do them violence,
And if their hearts are towards them for good,
Then there will be peace in my heart towards thee.
22. And if the lion becometh the friend of the ox and maketh peace with him, p. 182
And if he is bound under one yoke with him and plougheth with him,
Then shall I make peace with thee.
23. And when the raven becometh white as the râzâ, 1
Then know that -I have loved thee
And shall make peace with thee.
Thou shalt be rooted out,
And thy sons shall be rooted out,
And there shall be no peace for thee."

24. And when Jacob saw that he was (so) evilly disposed towards him with his heart, and with all his soul as to slay him, and that he had come springing like the wild boar which cometh upon the spear that pierceth and killeth it, and recoileth not from it; 25. Then he spake to his own and to his servants that they should attack him and all his companions.