Reviews

The Book of Jubilees; The Little Genesis, The Apocalypse of Moses

Translated by Joseph B. Lumpkin

Review by Derek Jones

email: derek@pathofreason.com

Recently, I decided to read The Book of Jubilees as part of my ongoing effort to learn as much about different aspects of Christianity and Judaism as I can. So I put down my worn copy of God is not Great and ordered a couple of books from Amazon.com. The majority of my reading in 2007 was dedicated to Biblical criticism and apologetics. This year I want to switch things up, so I am going to begin with more obscure religious texts such as The Gospel of Judas, The Book of Enoch, The Gospel of Mary, etc.

The Book of Jubilees is considered to be one of the Pseudepigrapa or "falsely attributed works" of Moses. The book makes the claim that the God of Abraham appears before Moses on Mt. Sinai and explains creation and the flood in detail. Jubilees is considered a Midrash of Genesis chapter 1 thru Exodus chapter 12. Midrash is basically extra material written to clarify or elaborate upon previous historical texts. Jubilees attempts to answer such questions as, "Who was Cain's wife? How did demons come into existence? How are Jews and Gentiles viewed in Gods eyes? Why didn't Adam die the day he ate from the tree like God had warned?”

In 1947, 15 scrolls containing the verses of Jubilees were found in the caves of Qumran. The scroll has been dated to around 100 BCE - 200 BCE. Prior to the discovery, the book was considered to be very rare because it was so thoroughly suppressed during the formation of the early church. Early Christian church leaders did not like the non-inclusive message that Jews should separate themselves from Gentiles because they are unclean.

Instead of giving my opinion on the book itself, I have decided to ask a couple of opinion questions for anyone who has read this book to open it up for discussion. Post responses in our FORUM or send me an email.

1.) Do you think if the Book of Jubilees was included in what we now consider the modern canon of the Bible, would modern Christianity be different? 

2.) Although this is basically considered Midrash, would it have an impact on the overall religion if included?

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