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Jubilees

About this book

Abraham Instructs His Descendants

Chapter 20

1 And in the forty-second jubilee, in the first year of the seventh week [2052], Abraham called Ishmael, and his twelve sons, and Isaac and his two sons, and the six sons of Keturah, and their sons. 2 And he commanded them that they should observe the way of the Lord; that they should act righteously,⁠ and each love his neighbor, and act in this way among all men;⁠ that they should each behave toward them with justice and righteousness on the earth. 3 That they should circumcise their sons, according to the covenant which He had made with them, and not deviate to the right or the left of all the paths which the Lord had commanded us; and that we should keep ourselves from all sexual immorality and impurity, [and renounce from among us all sexual immorality and impurity]. 4 And if any woman or young woman commits sexual immorality among you, burn her with fire⁠ and do not let them commit sexual immorality with her after their eyes and their heart; and do not let them marry women from the daughters of Canaan; for the descendants of Canaan will be rooted out of the land. 5 And he told them of the judgment of the giants, and the judgment of the Sodomites,⁠ how they had been judged on account of their wickedness, and had died on account of their sexual immorality, and impurity, and mutual corruption through sexual immorality. 6 'And guard yourselves from all sexual immorality and impurity, And from all pollution of sin, So that you do not make our name a curse, And your whole life an object of scorn, And all your sons to be destroyed by the sword, And you become cursed like Sodom, And all your remnant as the sons of Gomorrah. 7 I implore you, my sons, love the God of heaven And cling to all His commandments. And do not follow their idols and their impure practices, 8 And do not make for yourselves cast-metal or carved gods; For they are worthless, And there is no spirit in them; For they are work of (men's) hands, And all who trust in them, trust in nothing. 9 Do not serve them, nor worship them, But serve the most high God, and worship Him continually: And hope for His face always, And act uprightly and righteously before Him, So that He may be pleased with you and grant you His mercy, And send rain upon you morning and evening, And bless all your works which you have done upon the earth, And bless your bread and your water, And bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, And the herds of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep. 10 And you will be a blessing on the earth, And all nations of the earth will desire you, And bless your sons in my name, So that they may be blessed as I am. 11 And he gave to Ishmael and to his sons, and to the sons of Keturah, gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, and he gave everything to Isaac his son. 12 And Ishmael and his sons, and the sons of Keturah and their sons, went together and lived from Paran to the entrance to Babylon in all the land which is toward the East facing the desert. 13 And these mixed with each other, and their name was called Arabs, and Ishmaelites.

Texts in conversation

Compare Sirach 16:7 and Jubilees 20:5

Deuterocanon · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

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Summary

Sirach lists the ancient giants and the neighbors of Lot as examples of God’s judgment. Jubilees echoes this language and the same pairing, showing that connecting the Watchers to Sodom was a stock warning, already in use when both were written.

Passages

Sirach 16:7

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
5 I have seen many such things with my eyes. My ear has heard mightier things than these. 6 In a congregation of sinners, a fire will be kindled. In a disobedient nation, wrath is kindled. 7 He was not pacified toward the giants of old time, who revolted in their strength. 8 He didn’t spare Lot’s neighbors, whom he abhorred for their pride. 9 He didn’t pity the people of perdition who were taken away in their sins,
195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

Jubilees 20:5

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
4 And if any woman or young woman commits sexual immorality among you, burn her with fire and do not let them commit sexual immorality with her after their eyes and their heart; and do not let them marry women from the daughters of Canaan; for the descendants of Canaan will be rooted out of the land. 5 And he told them of the judgment of the giants, and the judgment of the Sodomites, how they had been judged on account of their wickedness, and had died on account of their sexual immorality, and impurity, and mutual corruption through sexual immorality. 6 'And guard yourselves from all sexual immorality and impurity, And from all pollution of sin, So that you do not make our name a curse, And your whole life an object of scorn, And all your sons to be destroyed by the sword, And you become cursed like Sodom, And all your remnant as the sons of Gomorrah.
170–125 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jubilees

References

... 20:5. he told them the judgment of the giants and the judgments of the Sodomites 'Judgment' in both cases is better rendered as 'punishments,' and 'the giants' as 'the Watchers.' God's punishment of the Watchers and the people of Sodom were two famous examples of divine justice. The two are mentioned together in Sirach 16:7-8 and 3 Maccabees 2:4-5. And on account of their fornication and impurity and . . . corruption Compare the three causes of the Flood in Jubilees 7:20. Although Jubilees' author sometimes includes a third term along with fornication and impurity, it is clear that these two are, in his eyes, the main source of Israel's troubles. ...
James L. Kugel, “Jubilees,” in Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture, ed. Louis H. Feldman, James L. Kugel, and Lawrence H. Schiffman (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2013), 365.

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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Sirach 16:7 and Jubilees 20:5

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