Pseudepigrapha / Testament of Reuben
Summary
Date: 100 B.C.E. - 100 C.E.
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs are accounts of deathbed speeches given by the sons of Jacob, by order of their age. Each ancestor reflects on key events in their life drawing on both the Hebrew bible and later exegetical traditions. While the earliest known forms of these writings reflect Jewish ideas, and were also found at Qumran, the versions of the Testaments we have now were no doubt edited by Christians and injected with Christian themes and motifs.