T H E T E S TA M E N T O F

JUDAH
CHAPT ER 1 1 T he copy of the words of Ju dah, wha t things he spak e to his sons b efore he died. 2 T hey gathered themselves t ogether, therefore, and came to him, and he sa id to them: 3 Hea rk en, my children, to Ju dah you r father. I was the fou rth son born to my father Jacob; and Leah my mother named me Ju dah, saying, I give thank s to the Lord, becau se He ha th given me a fourth son ralso. 4 I was swift in my you th, and o bedient to my father in everything. 5 And I honou red my mother a nd my mother's sister. 6 And it came to pass, when I b eca me a man, that my father blessed me, sa ying, T hou shalt be a k ing, prospering in all things. CHAPT ER 2 1 And the Lord sho wed me favou r in a ll my work s both in, the field a nd in the hou se. 2 I k now that I raced a hind, and ca u ght it, and prepared the meat for my fa ther, and he did eat. 3 And the roes I u sed to master in the cha se, and overtak e all that was in the plains. A wild mare I ove rtook , a nd cau ght it and tamed it. 4 I slew a lion and plu ck ed a k id ou t of its mouth. I took a bear by its pa w a nd hu rled it down the cliff, a nd it was cru shed. 5 I ou tran the wild boar, and sei zing it a s I ran, I tare it in su nder. 6 A leopard in Hebron leaped u pon my dog, and I cau ght it by the tail, a nd hurled it on the rock s, and it was brok en in twain. 7 I fou nd a wild ox feeding in the fields, and seizing it by the horns, and whirling it rou nd and stu nning it, I cast it from me and slew it. CHAPT ER 3 1 And when the two k ings of the Canaanites came, shea thed in armou r, against our flock s, and mu ch people with them, single-handed I ru shed u pon the k ing of Hazor, a nd smote him on the greaves and dragged him down, and so I slew him. 2 And the other, the k ing of Ta ppu ah, as he sat u pon his horse, I slew, and so I scattered all his people. 3 Achor, the k ing a man of giant statu re I fou nd, hu rling javelins b efore and behind as he sat on hors e back , and I took u p a stone of sixty pou nds weight, and hu rled it and smote his hor se, and k illed it. 4 And I fou ght wi th (this) other for two hou rs; and I clave his shield in twain, and I chopped off his feet, and killed him. 5 And as I was stripping off his breastplate, behold nine men, his companions, began to fight with me. 6 And I wou nd my garment on my hand; and I slu ng stones at them, and k illed fou r of them, and th e rest fled. 7 And Jacob my father slew Beel esath, k ing of all the k ings, a giant in strength, twelve cu bits high. 8 And fear fell u pon them, and they ceased warring against u s. 9 T herefore my father was free

JUDAH

from a nxiety in the wars when I was with my brethren. 10 For he saw in a vision concer ning me that an angel of might fo llowed me everywhere, that I shou ld not be overcome. CHAPT ER 4 1 And in the sou th there came u pon u s a greater war than that in Shechem; and I joined in battle array with my brethren, and pu rsu ed a thou sa nd men, and slew of them two hu ndred men and fou r k ings. 2 And I went u p u pon the wall, and I slew fou r mighty men. 3 And so we captu red Hazor, and took a ll the spoil. CHAPT ER 5 1 On the next day we departed to Areta n, a city strong and walled and ina ccessible, threatening u s with dea th. 2 But I and Gad approached on the ea st side of the city, and Reu ben and Levi on the west. 3 And they that were u pon the wall, think ing tha t we were alone, were dra wn down against u s. 4 And so my brothers secretly climbed u p the wall on both sides by sta k es, and entered the city, while the men k new it not. 5 And we took it with the edge of the sword. And as for those who had tak en refu ge in the tower, we set fire to the tower and took both it a nd them. 6 And as we were departing the men of Tappu ah seized ou r spoil, a nd seeing (this) we fou ght with them. 7 And we slew them all and reco vered ou r spoil.

CHAPT ER 6 1 And when I was at the wat ers of Kozeba, the men of Jobel came against u s to battle. 2 And we fou ght with them and rou ted them; and their allies from Shiloh we slew, and we did not leave them power to come in against u s. 3 And the men of Mak ir came u pon u s the fifth day, to seize ou r spoil; and we attack ed them and overcame them in fierce battle: for there was a host of mig hty men among st them, and we sl ew th em b efore they had gone u p the ascent. 4 And when we came to their city their women rolled u pon u s stones from the brow o f the hill on which the city stood. 5 And I and Simeon hid ou rselves behind the town, and seized u pon the heights and destroyed this city also. CHAPT ER 7 1 And the next day it was told u s that the k ing of the city of Gaash with a mighty host was coming a gainst u s. 2 I, therefore, and Dan feigned ou rselves to b e Amorites, and as allies went into their city. 3 And in the depth o f night ou r brethren came and we opened to them the gates; and we destroyed all the men and their su bstance, and we took for a prey all that, was theirs and their three walls we cast down. 4 And we drew near to T hamna, where was all the su bstance of the hostile k ings. 5 T hen being insu lted by them, I was therefore wroth, and ru shed against them to the su mmit; and they k ept slinging against me stones

JUDAH

a nd da rts. 6 And had not Dan my brother a ided me, they wou ld have slain me. 7 We came u pon them, therefore, with wrath, and they all fled; and pa ssing by another way, they b esou ght my father, and he made pea ce with them. 8 And we did to them no hu rt, and they became tribu tary to u s, and we restored to them their spoil. 9 And I bu ilt T hamna, and my fa ther bu ilt Rabael. 10 I was twenty years old when this wa r befell. 11 And the Canaanites feared me a nd my brethren. CHAPT ER 8 1 And I had mu ch cattle, and I had for chief herdsman Iram the Adu lla mite. 2 And when I went to him I saw Ba rsa ba, k ing of Adu llam; and he spa k e u nto u s, and he made u s a fea st; and when I was heated he ga ve me his dau ghter Bathshua to wife. 3 She bare me Er, a nd Onan, and Shela h; and two of them the Lord smote: for Shelah lived, and his children are ye. CHAPT ER 9 1 And eighteen years my father a bode a t peace with his brother E sau , a nd his sons with u s, after that we ca me from M eso potamia, from L a ba n. 2 And when eighteen years were fu lfilled, in the fortieth year of my life, Esau , the brother of my father, ca me u pon u s with a mighty and strong people. 3 And Jacob smote Esau with an a rrow, a nd he was tak en u p wou nded

on Mou nt Seir, and as he went he died at Anoniram. 4 And we pu rsu ed after the sons of Esau . Now they had a city with walls of iron and gates of brass; and we cou ld not enter into it, and we encamped arou nd, and besieged it. 5 And when they opened not to u s in twenty days, I set u p a ladder in the sight of all, and with my shield u pon my head I went u p, su staining the assau lts of stones, u pwards of three talents weight; and I slew fou r of their mighty men. 6 And Reu ben and Gad slew six others. 7 T hen they ask ed from u s terms of peace; and having tak en cou nsel with ou r father, we received them as tribu taries. 8 And they gave u s five hu ndred cors of wheat, five hu ndred baths of oil, five hu ndred measu res of wine, u ntil the famine, when we went down into Egypt. CHAPT ER 1 0 1 And after these things my son Er took to wife Tamar, from Mesop o ta mia, a dau ghter of Aram. 2 Now Er was wick ed, and he was in need concerning Tamar, becau se she was not o f the land of Canaan. And on the third night an angel of the Lord smote him. 3 And he had not k nown her a ccording to the evil craftiness o f his mother, for he did not wish to have children by her. 4 In the days of the wedding -feast I gave Onan to her in marriage; a nd he also in wick edness k new h er not, thou gh he spent with her a year. 5 And when I threatened him he went in u nto her, bu t he spilled the seed on the grou nd, according to the

JUDAH

comma nd o f his mother, and he also died throu gh wick edness. 6 And I wished to give Shelah also to her, bu t his mother did not permit it; for she wrou ght evil against Ta ma r, becau se she was n ot of the da u ghters of Canaan, as she also herself was. CHAPT ER 11 1 And I k new that the race of the Ca na a nites was wick ed, bu t the i mpu lse of you th blinded my mind. 2 And when I saw her pou ring out wine, owing to the intoxication of wine was I deceived, and took her a lthou gh my father had not cou nselled (it). 3 And while I was away she went a nd took for Shelah a wife from C a na a n. 4 And when I k new what she had done, I cu rsed her in the angu ish of my sou l. 5 And she also died throu gh h er wick edness together with her son s. CHAPT ER 1 2 1 And after these things, while Ta ma r was a widow, she heard after two years that I was going u p to shea r my sheep, and adorned herself in bridal array, and sat in the city Ena im by the gate. 2 For it was a law of the Amorites, tha t she who was abou t to marry shou ld sit in fornication seven days by the gate. 3 T herefore being dru nk with wine, I did not recognise her; and her bea u ty deceived me, throu gh the f a shion of h er adorning. 4 And I turned aside to her, and sa id: Let me go in u nto thee. And she sa id: What wilt thou give me? And I gave her my staff, and my

girdle, and the diadem of my k in gdom in pledge. And I went in u nto her, and she conceived. 5 And not k nowing what I had done, wished to slay her; bu t she privily sent my pledges, and pu t me to shame. 6 And when I called her, I heard a lso the secret words which I spok e when lying with her in my dru nk e nness; and I cou ld not slay her, b ecau se it was from the Lord. 7 For I said, Lest haply she did it in su btlety, having received the pledge from another wo man. 8 Bu t I came not again near her while I lived, becau se I had done this abomination in all Israel. 9 Moreover, they who were in the city said that there was no harlot in the gate, becau se she ca me from a nother place, and sat for a while in the gate. 10 And I thou ght that no one k new that I had gone in to her. 11 And after this we came into Egypt to Joseph, becau se o f the fa mine. 12 And I was forty and six years old, and seventy and three y ears lived I in Egypt. CHAPT ER 1 3 1 And now I command you , my children, heark en to Ju dah your fa ther, and k eep my sayings to p e rform all the ordinances of the Lord, and to obey the commands o f God. 2 And walk not after your lu sts, nor in the imaginations of you r thou ghts in hau ghtiness of heart; and glory not in the deeds and strength of you r you th, for this also is evil in the eyes o f the Lord. 3 Since I also gloried that in wars no comely woman's face ever e n -

JUDAH

ticed me, and reproved Reu ben my brother concer ning Bilhah, the wi fe of my father, the spirits of jealou sy a nd of fornication arrayed the mselves against me, u ntil I la y with Ba thshua the Canaanite, and Tamar, who was espou sed to my sons. 4 For I said to my father-in-law: I will tak e cou nsel with my fa ther, a nd so will I tak e thy dau ghter. And he wa s u nwilling, bu t he showed me a bou ndless store of g old in his da u ghter's behalf; for he was a k ing. 5 And he adorned her with gold and pea rls, and cau sed her to pour ou t wine for u s at the feast with the bea u ty of women. 6 And the wine tu rned aside my eyes, a nd pleasu re blinded my heart. 7 And I became enamou red of and I la y with her, and transgressed the comma ndment of the Lord and the comma ndment of my fathers, and I took her to wife. 8 And the Lord rewarded me a ccording to the imagination of my hea rt, inasmu ch as I had no joy in her children. CHAPT ER 1 4 1 And now, my children, I say u nto you , be not dru nk with wine; for wine tu rneth the mind away from the tru th, and inspires the passion o f lu st, a nd leadeth the eyes into error. 2 For the spirit of fornication hath wine a s a minister to give plea su re to the mind; for these two also tak e a wa y the mind of man. 3 For if a man drink wine to dru nk enness, it distu rbeth the mind with filthy thou ghts leading to fornica tion, a nd heateth the body to ca rnal u nion; and if the occasion o f the lu st be present, he work eth the sin, a nd is not ashamed.

4 Su ch is the inebriated man, my children; for he who is dru nk en r everenceth no man. 5 For, lo, it made me also to e rr, so that I was not ashamed of the mu lt itu de in the city, in that before the eyes of all I tu rned aside u nto Ta mar, and I wrou ght a great sin, and I u ncovered the cov ering of my sons' shame. 6 After I had dru nk wine I rev erenced not the co mmandment of God, and I took a woman of Cana an to wife. 7 For mu ch discretion needeth the man who drink eth wine, my chil dren; and herein is discretion in drink ing wine, a man may drink so long as he preserveth mod esty. 8 Bu t if he go beyond this limit the spirit of deceit attack eth his mind, and it mak eth the dru nkard to talk filthily, and to transgress and not to be ashamed, bu t even to glory in his shame, and accou nt himself honou rable. CHAPT ER 1 5 1 He that committeth fornication is not aware when he su ffers loss, and is not ashamed when pu t to dish onou r. 2 For even thou gh a man be a k ing and commit fornication, he is stripped of hi s k ingship by beco m ing the slave of fornication, as I mysel f also su ffered. 3 For I gave my staff, that is, the stay of my tribe; and my girdle, that is, my power; and my diadem, that is, the glory of my k ingdom. 4 And indeed I repented o f these things; wine and flesh I eat not u ntil my old age, nor did I behold any joy. 5 And the angel o f God sh owed me

JUDAH

tha t for ever do women bear ru le over k ing and beggar alik e. 6 And from the k ing they tak e away his glory, and from the valiant man his might, and from the beggar even tha t little which is the stay of his poverty. CHAPT ER 1 6 1 Observe, therefore, my children, the (right) limit in wine ; for there a re in it four evil spirits of lu st, of hot desire, o f profligacy, of filthy lu cre. 2 If ye drink wine in gladness, be ye modest with the fear of God. For if in (you r) gladness the fear of God depa rteth, then dru nk enness ariseth a nd shamelessn ess stealeth in. 3 Bu t if you wou ld live soberly do not tou ch wine at all, lest ye sin in words of ou trage, and in fightings a nd slanders, and transgressions o f the commandments o f God, and ye perish before y ou r time. 4 Moreover, wine revealeth the mysteries o f God and men, even as I a lso revealed the commandments of God a nd the mysteries of Jacob my fa ther to the Canaanitish woman Ba thshua, which God bade me not to revea l. 5 And wine is a cau se both of war a nd confu sion. CHAPT ER 1 7 1 And now I command you , my children, not to love money, nor to ga ze u pon the beau ty of women; b eca u se for the sak e of money and bea u ty I was led astray to Bathshua the Ca naanite. 2 For I k now that becau se of th ese two things shall my race fall into wick edness. 3 For even wise men among my

sons shall they mar, and shall cau se the k ingdom of Ju dah to be dim inished, which the Lord gave me b ecau se of my obedien ce to my father. 4 For I never cau sed grief to Jacob, my father; for all things wha tsoever he commanded I did. 5 And Isaac, the father of my fa ther, blessed me to be k ing in Israel, and Jacob fu rther blessed me in lik e ma nner. 6 And I k now that from me shall the k ingdom be established. CHAPT ER 1 8 1 And I k now what evils ye will do in the last days. 2 Beware, therefore, my children, of fornication and the love of mo n ey, and heark en to Ju dah you r f a ther. 3 For these things withdraw you from the law of God, And blind the inclination of the sou l, And teach a rrogance, And su ffer not a man to have compassion u pon his nei ghbou r. 4 T hey rob his sou l of all goo dness, And o ppress him with toils and trou bles, And drive away sleep from him, And devou r his flesh. 5 And he hindereth the sacrifices of God; And he remembereth not the blessing of God, He heark eneth not to a prophet when he speak eth, And resenteth the word s of go dliness. 6 For he is a slave to two contrary passions, And cannot obey God, B ecau se they have blinded his sou l, And he walk eth in the day as in the night. CHAPT ER 1 9 1 My children, the love of money leadeth to idolatry; becau se, when led astray throu gh money, men name

JUDAH

a s gods those wh o are not gods, and it cau seth him who hath it to fall i nto ma dness. 2 For the sak e of money I lost my children, and had not my repe n ta nce, and my hu miliation, and the pra yers of my father been accepted, I shou ld have died childless. 3 Bu t the God of my fathers had mercy on me, becau se I did it in i gnora nce. 4 And the prince of deceit blinded me, a nd I was ignorant as a man and a s flesh, being corru pted throu gh sins; a nd I learnt my own weak ness while think ing myself invincible. CHAPT ER 2 0 1 Know, therefore, my children, tha t two spirits wait u pon man the spirit of truth and the spirit of d eceit. 2 And in the midst is the spirit of the u nderstanding of the mind, to which it belon geth to tu rn whithe rsoever it will. 3 And the work s of tru th and the work s of d eceit are written u pon the hea rts of men, and each one of them the Lord k noweth. 4 And there is no time at which the work s of men can be hid; for on the hea rt itself have they been wri tten down before the Lord. 5 And the spirit of tru th testifieth a ll things, and accu seth all; and the sinner is bu rnt u p by his own heart, a nd cannot raise his face to the ju dge. CHAPT ER 2 1 1 And now, my children, I co mma nd you , love Levi, that ye may a bide, and exalt not yourselves a ga inst him, lest ye be u tterly d estroyed.

2 For to me the Lord gave the k ingdom, and to him the priesthood, and He set the k ingdom beneath the priesthood. 3 To me He gave the things u pon the earth; to him the things in the hea vens. 4 As the heaven is higher than the earth, so is the priesthood of God higher than the earthly k ingdom, u nless it falleth away throu gh sin from the Lord and is dominated by the earthly k ingdom. 5 For the angel of the Lord said u nto me: T he Lord chose him rather than thee, to draw near to Him, and to eat of His table and to offer Him the first-fru its of the choice things of the sons of Israel; bu t thou shalt be k ing of Jacob. 6 And thou shalt be amongst them as the sea. For as, o n the sea, ju st and u nju st are tossed abou t, some tak en into captivity while some are enriched, so also shall every race of men b e in thee: so me shall be imp o verished, being tak en captive, a nd others grow rich by plu ndering the possessio ns o f others. 7 For the k ings shall be as sea monsters. T hey shall swallow men lik e fishes: T he sons and dau ghters of freemen shall they en slave; Hou ses, lands, flock s, money shall they plu nder: 8 And with the flesh o f many shall they wrong fu lly feed the ravens and the cra nes; And they shall advance in evil, in covetou sness u plifted, 9 And there shall be false prophets lik e tempests, An d they shall pers ecu te all righteou s men. CHAPT ER 2 2 1 And the Lord shall bring u pon them divisions one against another.

JUDAH

And there shall be continu ally wars in Isra el; 2 And among men o f another race sha ll my k ingdom be brou ght to an end, Until the salvation of Israel sha ll come, Until the appearing of the God of righteou sness, T hat J a cob a nd all the Gentiles may rest in pea ce. 3 And He shall guard the might of my k ingdom for ever; For the Lord swa re to me with an oath that He wou ld not destroy the k ingdom from my see d for ever. CHAPT ER 2 3 1 Now I have mu ch grief, my chi ldren, becau se of you r lewdness and witchcrafts, and idolatries whic h ye sha ll practise ragainst the k in gdom, following th em that have fami liar spirits, diviners, and demon s of e rror. 2 Ye shall mak e you r dau ghters singing girls and harlots, and ye sha ll mingle in the abominations of the Gentiles. 3 For which things' sak e the Lord sha ll bring u pon you famine and pestilence, death and the sword, b elea gu ering by enemies, and revilings of friend s, the slau ghter of children, the ra pe of wives, the plu ndering of possessio ns, the bu rning of the te m ple of God, the laying waste o f the la nd, the enslavement of you rselves a mong the Gentiles. 4 And they shall mak e some of you eu nu chs for their wives. 5 Until the Lord visit you , when with perfect heart ye repent and wa lk in all His commandments, and He bring you u p from captivity a mong the Gentiles. CHAPT ER 2 4

1 And after these things shall a star arise to you from Jacob in peace, And a man shall arise from my seed, lik e the su n of righteou sness, Wal k ing with the son s of men in mee k ness and righteou sness; And no sin shall be fou nd in him. 2 And the heavens shall be opened u nto him, To pour out the spirit, (even) the blessing of the Holy Fa ther; 3 And He shall pou r out the spirit of grace u pon you ; And ye shall be u nto Him sons in tru th, And ye shall walk in His commandments first and last. 4 T his Branch of God Most High, And this Fou ntain giving life u nto all. 5 T hen shall the sceptre of my k ingdom shine forth; And from you r root shall arise a stem; 6 And from it shall grow a rod of righteou sness to the Gentiles, To ju dge and to save all that call u pon the Lord. CHAPT ER 2 5 1 And after these things shall A bra ham and Isaac and Jacob arise u nto life, and I and my brethren shall be chiefs o f the tribes rof Israel: Levi first, I the second, Joseph third, Benjamin fou rth, Simeon fifth, Issachar sixth, and so all in order. 2 And the Lord blessed Levi, and the Angel o f the Presen ce, me; the powers o f glory, Simeo n; the he a ven, Reu ben; the earth, Issachar; the sea, Zebu lu n; the mou ntains, J oseph; the tabernacle, Benjamin; the lu minaries, Dan; Eden, Naphtali; the su n, Gad; the moon, Asher. 3 And ye shall be the people of the Lord, and have one tongu e; And

JUDAH

there shall be there no spirit of d e ceit of Beliar, For he shall be cast into the fire for ever. 4 And they who have di ed in grief sha ll arise in joy, And they who were poor for the Lord's sak e shall be ma de rich, And they who are pu t to dea th for the Lord's sak e shall a wak e to life. 5 And the harts of Jacob shall ru n in joyfu lness, And the eagles o f Isra el shall fly in gladness; And a ll the peoples shall glorify the Lord for ever. CHAPT ER 2 6 1 Observe, therefore, my children, a ll the law of the Lord, for there is hope for all them who hold fast u nto His wa ys. 2 And he said to them: Behold, I die be fore you r eyes this day, a hu ndred a nd nineteen years old. 3 Let no one bu ry me in costly a ppa rel, nor tear open my bowels, for this shall they who are k ings do; a nd ca rry me u p to Hebron with you . 4 And Ju dah, when he ha d said these things, fell asleep; and his sons did according to all whatsoever he com manded them, and they b u ried him in Hebron with his fathers.