Go to Related Reading
About this book

Testament of Gad

Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs

About this book
Chapter 5

1 Hatred, then, is evil, for it constantly pairs with lying and speaks against the truth. It makes small things great, turns light into darkness, calls the sweet bitter, teaches slander, kindles anger, and stirs up war and violence and all kinds of greed. It fills the heart with evil and devilish poison. 2 I tell you these things from experience, my children, so that you may drive out hatred, which comes from the devil, and hold fast to the love of God. 3 Righteousness casts out hatred, and humility destroys envy. 4 For the one who is just and humble is ashamed to do what is unjust, rebuked not by someone else but by his own heart, because the Lord looks on his intentions. 5 He does not speak against a holy man, because the fear of God overcomes hatred. 6 Fearing that he might offend the Lord, he will not wrong anyone, even in thought. 7 I learned these things at last, after I had repented over Joseph.⁠ 8 For true, godly repentance destroys ignorance, drives away the darkness, enlightens the eyes, gives knowledge to the soul, and leads the mind to salvation. 9 And the things it has not learned from anyone, it comes to know through repentance. 10 For God brought a disease of the liver upon me, and if the prayers of my father Jacob had not helped me, my spirit would almost certainly have departed. For by whatever things a person sins, by those same things he is also punished.⁠ 11 Since my liver had been set mercilessly against Joseph, in my liver too I suffered mercilessly, and I was judged for eleven months, the same length of time that I had been angry at Joseph.

Texts in conversation

Compare Testament of Gad 5:7 and 2 Corinthians 7:10

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments · New Testament

Share:

Summary

The Testament of Gad describes repentance removing ignorance, dispelling darkness, and bringing knowledge that leads to salvation. In 2 Corinthians, Paul uses similar language to describe genuine repentance as godly and leading to salvation.

Passages

Testament of Gad 5:7

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments · Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
5 He does not speak against a holy man, because the fear of God overcomes hatred. 6 Fearing that he might offend the Lord, he will not wrong anyone, even in thought. 7 I learned these things at last, after I had repented over Joseph. 8 For true, godly repentance destroys ignorance, drives away the darkness, enlightens the eyes, gives knowledge to the soul, and leads the mind to salvation. 9 And the things it has not learned from anyone, it comes to know through repentance. 10 For God brought a disease of the liver upon me, and if the prayers of my father Jacob had not helped me, my spirit would almost certainly have departed. For by whatever things a person sins, by those same things he is also punished. 11 Since my liver had been set mercilessly against Joseph, in my liver too I suffered mercilessly, and I was judged for eleven months, the same length of time that I had been angry at Joseph.
100 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Testament of Gad

2 Corinthians 7:10

New Testament
8 For even if I made you sad by my letter, I do not regret having written it (even though I did regret it, for I see that my letter made you sad, though only for a short time). 9 Now I rejoice, not because you were made sad, but because you were made sad to the point of repentance. For you were made sad as God intended, so that you were not harmed in any way by us. 10 For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness brings about death. 11 For see what this very thing, this sadness as God intended, has produced in you: what eagerness, what defense of yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what deep concern, what punishment! In everything you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
55–57 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Corinthians

References

"... In assessing parallels, readers should be alert to how the same word or phrase can be employed in different ways or with different connotations ... No translation, even a rigorously literal one, can always follow its source strictly and consistently. So even with the NASB, one cannot assume that a particular Greek term is always rendered with the same English term ..."
Walter T. Wilson, Pauline Parallels: A Comprehensive Guide (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009), XII-XIII,220.

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

Your feedback

Testament of Gad 5:7 and 2 Corinthians 7:10

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library