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In Jubilees, Isaac blesses Levi with a priesthood that lets his descendants approach God like the angels. The Testament of Levi grounds that divine access in an angelic vision that names Levi a minister of God’s presence.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Jubilees 31:14
Pseudepigrapha
13 He turned to Levi first and began to bless him first. He said to him: ‘May the Lord of everything — he is the Lord of all ages — bless you and your sons throughout all ages. 14 May the Lord give you and your descendants extremely great honor; may he make you and your descendants alone out of all humanity approach him to serve in his temple like the angels of the presence and like the holy ones. The descendants of your sons will be like them in honor, greatness, and holiness. May he make them great throughout all ages.’ 15 They will be princes, judges, and leaders of all the descendants of Jacob’s sons. They will declare the word of the Lord justly and will justly judge all his verdicts. They will tell my ways to Jacob and my paths to Israel. The blessing of the Lord will be placed in their mouths, so that they may bless all the descendants of the beloved.
Testament of Levi 4:4
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
Pseudepigrapha
3 On this account, they will be judged with punishment. 4 Therefore the Most High has heard your prayer, To separate you from iniquity, and that you should become to Him a son, And a servant, and a minister of His presence. 5 You will shine the light of knowledge in Jacob, And like the sun you will be to all the seed of Israel. 6 And there will be given to you a blessing, and to all your descendants, Until the Lord visits all the Gentiles in His tender mercies forever.
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Notes and References
... On these verses, see Rapp, Jakob in Bet-El, 212–22. In his analysis, he is especially concerned to determine the relations between the contents of verses 13-17 and material in the Aramaic Levi Document and the Testament of Levi. He notes (page 221) that Jubilees 31:13-17 and Testament of Levi 2:1–5:8 have a high degree of correspondence, including verbal parallels. The similarities between Jubilees and the Testament of Levi here are closer than with the Aramaic Levi Document. Kugel, however, maintains that there really are no parallels with the section about the first vision in Testament of Levi 2–5 (“Levi’s Elevation,” 42–46)—a proposition difficult to accept, as the commentary will show. ...
VanderKam, James C.
Jubilees 2: A Commentary on the Book of Jubilees Chapters 22-50
(p. 852) Fortress Press, 2018
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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