Testament of Naphtali 8:4

Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
Pseudepigrapha

Do ye also, therefore, charge your children that they be united to Levi and to Judah; For through them shall salvation arise unto Israel, And in them shall Jacob be blessed. For through their tribes shall God appear [dwelling among men] on earth, To save the race of Israel, And to gather together the righteous from amongst the Gentiles. If ye work that which is good, my children, Both men and angels shall bless you; And God shall be glorified among the Gentiles through you, And the devil shall flee from you, And the wild beasts shall fear you, And the Lord shall love you, [And the angels shall cleave to you]. As a man who has trained a child well is kept in kindly remembrance: So also for a good work there is a good remembrance before God. But him that doeth not that which is good, Both angels and men shall curse, And God shall be dishonoured among the Gentiles through him, And the devil shall make him as his own peculiar instrument, And every wild beast shall master him, And the Lord shall hate him.

James 4:7

New Testament

4 Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. 5 Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning”? 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” 7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair.

 Notes and References

"... Recent interest in the Epistle of James has included probes into the relationship between the Jesus tradition and James. The epistle presents a set of salient connections to the developing literary milieu of the second century, including compelling examples from the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and the Shepherd of Hermas. One of the more striking literary parallels comes from a single line in James 4, 'Resist the devil and he will flee from you' (4:7). After examining the parallel evidence found in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and the Shepherd of Hennas, I contend that this line in James-the devil will flee-may summarize the story of Jesus's temptation in the gospels ..."

O'Connor, M. John-Patrick The Devil Will Flee: James 4:7, the Jesus Tradition, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (pp. 883-897) Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 138, No. 4, 2019

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.