Texts in Conversation
The Christian theologian Origen, in a sermon on Joshua, quotes the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs alongside other texts, demonstrating how early Jewish traditions were incorporated into Christian theology and teaching.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Testament of Reuben 4:7
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
Pseudepigrapha, Testaments
6 So, my children, I say to you: do everything I command you, and you will not sin. 7 Sexual immorality is a trap for the soul. It separates a person from God and draws him toward idols, because it corrupts the mind and leads young men down to Hades before their time. 8 Sexual immorality has destroyed many. Whether a man is old or young, noble or common, rich or poor, he brings shame on himself before others and mockery from Beliar. 9 You have heard how Joseph guarded himself from a woman and cleansed his thoughts of all sexual immorality, and found favor in the sight of God and men. 10 The Egyptian woman did everything she could—she summoned magicians and offered him love potions—but the strength of his soul would not allow any evil desire.
Origen, Homilies on Joshua 15.6
Early Christian
For this seems to me to be shown in Wisdom as well, where it says that the wicked man who curses Satan is cursing his own soul. And in a certain small book called the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, although it is not held to be part of the canon, we nevertheless find a sense of this kind: that individual satans are to be understood in individual sinners. And the meaning of the name itself shows the same thing more plainly, as students of the Hebrews report; for Satan means adversary. So all who set themselves against the will of God can be called satans.
Date: 235–245 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The extent to which the present Christian work [Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs] depends on preexisting sources and incorporates older traditions remains a matter of scholarly debate. All that can be stated with certainty is that it was written in Greek, probably in the early second century CE, since it is quoted by the church father Origen in about 250 CE. It therefore provides significant evidence for the theological views and ethical values current among Christians at that time ..."
Docherty, Susan E.
The Jewish Pseudepigrapha: An Introduction to the Literature of the Second Temple Period
(pp. 94-95) Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 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.
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