Testament of Judah 19

Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
Pseudepigrapha

My children, the love of money leadeth to idolatry; because, when led astray through money, men name as gods those who are not gods, and it causeth him who hath it to fall into madness. For the sake of money I lost my children, and had not my repentance, and my humiliation, and the prayers of my father been accepted, I should have died childless. But the God of my fathers had mercy on me, because I did it in ignorance. And the prince of deceit blinded me, and I sinned as a man and as flesh, being corrupted through sins; and I learnt my own weakness while thinking myself invincible.

1 Timothy 6:10

New Testament

3 If someone spreads false teachings and does not agree with sound words (that is, those of our Lord Jesus Christ) and with the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in controversies and verbal disputes. This gives rise to envy, dissension, slanders, evil suspicions, 5 and constant bickering by people corrupted in their minds and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a way of making a profit. 6 Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. 7 For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either. 8 But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that. 9 Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.

 Notes and References

"... Placing the parables of the Rich Fool and Lazarus and the Rich Man in close proximity also invites readers to consider whether the man in 12:16–21 neglects to care for the poor. Such a question becomes common throughout the parable’s history of interpretation ... On several occasions Cyprian utilizes the parable, like Clement and Cassian, as a warning against luxury and greed. After citing 1 Timothy 6:10 - “for lust of money is the root of all evil”8—he refers to Luke 12:20 to aver that riches are the “root of seductive evils” ... Although François Bovon follows Jülicher and others in describing the parable as “une histoire exemplaire,” he acknowledges the importance of wisdom parallels and identifies specific aspects of the parable as having their “equivalent” in Hebrew and Jewish wisdom. He cites several such parallels (in a footnote) to show that Luke 12:15 and 16–21 fit into Israel’s “wisdom tradition.” (These include Psalm 49:7, 11, 17–20; Sirach 11:18–19; Testament of Judah 18–19; 1 Enoch 94:6–11; 97:8–10; James 5:1–6. He also refers to the beatitude and woe in Luke 6:20, 24 and “all the Lucan texts on riches.”) ..."

Rindge, Matthew S. Jesus’ Parable of the Rich Fool: Luke 12:13-34 among Ancient Conversations on Death and Possessions (pp. 10-11, 31-32) Society of Biblical Literature, 2011

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