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4Q213

Aramaic Levi a

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Fragment 1 i

1 […] 2 [And in the one hundred and eighteenth year of my life, the year when] there died 3 [Joseph my brother, I called my sons and their sons, and I began to instruct] them 4 [in all that was in my heart. I spoke up and said] to my sons, 5 [“Listen to the word of Levi your father, and pay attention to the instructions of the friend of God.] To you I 6 [give instruction, my sons, and I show you the truth, my beloved. Let the chief] of all your deeds 7 [be truth, and let it remain with] you [forever.] Righteousness and truth 8 [… you will bring in a blessed harvest.] Whoever sows good brings in good,⁠ 9 [and whoever sows evil, his seed returns upon] him. And now, reading and instruction and wisdom 10 [teach to your sons, and wisdom will be with you] as eternal honor. Whoever learns wisdom, honor⁠ 11 [is his; but whoever despises wisdom] is given over to contempt and scorn. Look, my sons, 12 [at Joseph my brother, who taught reading and the instruction of] wisdom, for honor and for greatness and for kings 13 […] do not be slack in learning wisdom. 14 […] … a man who learns wisdom, all 15 [… to] him; every land and province to which he goes, 16 [a brother …] … in it, and he is not like a stranger in it,⁠ and not 17 [like a scoundrel in it … for all of them] give him honor in it, since all wish 18 [to learn his wisdom. His friends] are many, and those who wish him well are great ones. 19 [And on a seat of honor they seat him,] to hear the words of his wisdom. 20 [Great wealth of honor is his wisdom for] those who know it, and a fine treasure⁠ 21 [for all who acquire it. If] mighty [kings come,] and a [great] people [and an army and horsemen]

Texts in conversation

Compare 4Q213 1 i 10 and Testament of Levi 13:3

Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Retellings · Pseudepigrapha, Testaments

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Summary

In 4Q213, a Dead Sea Scrolls copy of the Aramaic Levi Document, Levi tells his sons that whoever learns wisdom gains honor. The Testament of Levi changes this speech and replaces wisdom with the law of God, so that honor comes from knowing the law.

Passages

4Q213 1 i 10

Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Retellings · Aramaic Levi a
8 [… you will bring in a blessed harvest.] Whoever sows good brings in good, 9 [and whoever sows evil, his seed returns upon] him. And now, reading and instruction and wisdom 10 [teach to your sons, and wisdom will be with you] as eternal honor. Whoever learns wisdom, honor 11 [is his; but whoever despises wisdom] is given over to contempt and scorn. Look, my sons, 12 [at Joseph my brother, who taught reading and the instruction of] wisdom, for honor and for greatness and for kings
160–60 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4Q213

Testament of Levi 13:3

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments · Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
1 And now, my children, I command you: Fear the Lord your God with all your heart, and walk in simplicity according to all His law. 2 And you also, teach your children letters, so that they may have understanding all their lives, reading continually the law of God. 3 For everyone who knows the law of the Lord will be honored, and will not be a stranger wherever he goes. 4 Yes, he will gain many friends—more even than his parents—and many will desire to serve him and to hear the law from his mouth.
100 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Testament of Levi

References

“... A comparison between ALD 12:9–13:13 and TPL 12:6–13:7 reveals the relation between them. TPL is clearly based on ALD, but changes and modifies it. Of special interest is the change from “wisdom” in ALD 13:4–5 to “the law of God” in TPL 13:2–3. This occurs several times in this passage, and arouses some surprise. If TPL is a Christian reworking of Jewish material, it remains difficult to understand why a Christian author/redactor would have replaced “wisdom” with “the law”. In the wisdom poems in Baruch 3:36–4:1 and in ben Sira 24:23 the identification of wisdom with the Torah is a point strongly made, and it is implied in the earlier 11QPsa 18:12–15. ...”
Jonas C. Greenfield, Michael E. Stone, and Esther Eshel, eds., The Aramaic Levi Document: Edition, Translation, Commentary, SVTP 19 (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 204.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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