Apocryphal collection · Heavens and visions · 2 min read
Book of Jubilees
Genesis retold by the angels and a 364-day year
The full text of this study is in Portuguese; the summary, key points and official view are in English.
The Book of Jubilees retells the story of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus as a revelation given to Moses on Mount Sinai by the “angel of the presence”. All of history is organized in periods of 49 years, the jubilees. The book firmly defends a 364-day solar calendar and gives details that Genesis does not: on the first day, God created the angels of the winds, clouds, snow, hail and thunder; on the second, he made the firmament “in the midst of the waters”. It is canonical in the Ethiopian Church and was widely read at Qumran.
Key points
- Composition: 2nd century BC, in Hebrew.
- Complete text in Ge’ez; about fifteen Hebrew fragments at Qumran.
- It organizes history into 50 jubilees of 49 years.
- A 364-day solar calendar, the same as in 1 Enoch.
- Canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
What scholars say
Scholars date Jubilees to around 160–150 BC and link it to priestly groups that rejected the lunar calendar. The work is essential for understanding Second Temple Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Keep investigating
- 2 Enoch (Book of the Secrets of Enoch) The treasuries of snow, the gates of the Sun and the throne in the seventh heaven
- Gospel (Questions) of Bartholomew The abyss, Beliar in chains and the angels of the four winds
- Ascension of Isaiah The prophet passes through the firmament and the seven heavens
Other languages: Português · Español
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