Texts in Conversation
In Jubilees, Noah’s sons divide the earth by lot and swear an oath cursing anyone who takes a share not his own. Acts echoes a similar tradition not found in Genesis, saying God set the boundaries of where every nation would live.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Jubilees 9:14
Pseudepigrapha
13 For Tiras there emerged as the seventh share the four large islands within the sea which reach Ham's share. The islands of Kamaturi emerged by lot for Arpachshad's children as his inheritance. 14 In this way Noah's sons divided the earth for their sons in front of their father Noah. He made them swear by oath to curse each and every one who wanted to occupy the share which did not emerge by his lot. 15 All of them said: 'So be it'! So be it for them and their children until eternity during their generations until the day of judgment on which the Lord God will punish them with the sword and fire because of all the evil impurity of their errors by which they have filled the earth with wickedness, impurity, fornication, and sin.
Acts 17:26
New Testament
25 nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone. 26 From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
Search:
Notes and References
... When Noah’s sons began dividing the earth wrongly (Jubilees 8:8–9), Noah divided it God’s way—that is, by lot (8:10–11)—and made his sons promise not to transgress these boundaries (9:14). In another version (probably also pre-Christian), the three sons of Noah (given names from Greek mythology) divided the earth peacefully (Sibylline Oracles 3.114–16), but strife over these divisions arose after Noah’s death (3.117–20). Most important, Daniel (Daniel 2:21) affirms that God both removes and establishes kings and is sovereign over the times and epochs (i.e., the periods allotted to various kingdoms). ...
Keener, Craig S.
Acts: An Exegetical Commentary, Volume 3: 15:1–23:35
(p. on Acts 17:26) Baker Academic, 2014
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.