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In Jubilees, Noah binds his sons by oath to keep their lands, a broken oath bringing judgment by sword and fire. The Sibylline Oracles mixes that tradition with Greek myth, with Cronos, Titan, and Iapetus as the sons whose oath holds until they break it.
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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.
Sibylline Oracles 3:137
Pseudepigrapha
136 Since they were very first of mortal men. 137 So there were three divisions of the earth 138 According to the allotment of each man, 139 And each one having his own portion reigned 140 And fought not; for a father’s oaths were there 141 And equal were their portions. But the time 142 Complete of old age on the father came, 143 And he died; and the sons infringing oaths 144 Stirred up against each other bitter strife, 145 Which one should have the royal rank and rule 146 Over all mortals; and against each other 147 Cronos and Titan fought. But Rhea and Gaia,
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Notes and References
... It is evident, of course, that the author of Jubilees has changed a genealogy (with geographical aspects) into an explicit geographical description. I am not sure whether the author of Jubilees had a clear exegetical strategy (for example he wanted to illustrate what is implicit), or whether he adapted the story of Genesis to a contemporary version of the story of the division of the earth among the sons of Noah. The similarities between Jubilees 8:10-9:15 and the Third Book of the Sibylline Oracles and the Genesis Apocryphon are noticeable. In the following table I sum up the similarities between Jubilees 8:10-9:15 and Sibylline Oracles. ...
van Ruiten, Jacques T. A. G. M.
Primaeval History Interpreted: The Rewriting of Genesis 1–11 in the Book of Jubilees
(pp. 332-333) Brill, 2000
* 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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