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Testament of Judah

Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs

About this book
Chapter 20

1 So understand this, my children: two spirits are always present with a person, the spirit of truth and the spirit of dishonesty.⁠ 2 Between them is the spirit of understanding, which belongs to the mind and has the freedom to choose whatever it wants. 3 The actions inspired by truth and those inspired by dishonesty are written on every person's heart, and the Lord knows them all. 4 There is never a moment when our deeds can be hidden, because they are recorded on the heart itself before the Lord. 5 The spirit of truth reveals everything and brings all to account; and the sinner is condemned by his own heart, unable to lift his face before the Judge.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Testament of Judah 20 and John 16:11

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments · New Testament

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Summary

The Testament of Judah describes two guiding spirits, truth and deceit, with a third, the spirit of understanding, mediating between them. John may echo this language in its use of the “Spirit of Truth” who exposes and judges the world.

Passages

Testament of Judah 20

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments · Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
1 So understand this, my children: two spirits are always present with a person, the spirit of truth and the spirit of dishonesty. 2 Between them is the spirit of understanding, which belongs to the mind and has the freedom to choose whatever it wants. 3 The actions inspired by truth and those inspired by dishonesty are written on every person's heart, and the Lord knows them all. 4 There is never a moment when our deeds can be hidden, because they are recorded on the heart itself before the Lord. 5 The spirit of truth reveals everything and brings all to account; and the sinner is condemned by his own heart, unable to lift his face before the Judge.
100 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Testament of Judah

John 16:11

New Testament
8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment— 9 concerning sin because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 and concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been condemned. 12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak whatever he hears and will tell you what is to come.
90–110 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in John

References

"... The Johannine Paraclete and the Holy Spirit in the Pauline epistles represent yet another Christian development of Jewish angelology, not least in its Qumranic forms. In the Fourth Gospel “the Holy Spirit,” “the Helper”, “the Spirit of Truth,” is the opponent of the world and of the demonic ruler of the world (see especially John 16:11), the protagonist of Jesus (John 15:26; 16:9–10, 14), and the heaven-sent guide of the children of God (John 14:26; 16:13). This Johannine conception reflects the Jewish idea of a single heavenly protagonist and especially the terminology of Qumran and Testament of Judah 20. It diverges from Jewish ideas in the specific linking of the Paraclete with the person of Jesus ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 210.

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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Testament of Judah 20 and John 16:11

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