Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

Title of twelve connected documents which purport to record the last words and exhortations of the twelve sons of Jacob. They also bear in several of the manuscripts subtitles indicating the virtues inculcated or the vices condemned by each of these patriarchs in turn. Thus Reuben discourses of evil motives and desires, especially as regards women; Simeon, of envy; Levi, of priesthood and pride; Judah, of courage, avarice, and fornication; Issachar, of simple-mindedness; Zebulun, of compassion and pity; Dan, of anger and falsehood; Naphtali, of natural goodness; Gad, of hatred; Asher, of the two characters of vice and virtue; Joseph, of temperance and chastity; Benjamin, of purity of heart.

In each testament the patriarch first narrates his own life, dwelling on his virtues or his sins. Next he exhorts his descendants to emulate the one and to avoid the other. Lastly, he launches out into prophetic visions of their futures. In these apocalyptic passages the writings of Enoch are often appealed to and cited, though the citations are seldom found in the Ethiopic or Slavonic Enoch. In the biographies the writer follows the Old Testament, adding many details from Jewish tradition.

The Testament of ASHER
The Testament of BENJAMIN
The Testament of DAN
The Testament of GAD
The Testament of ISSACHAR
The Testament of JOSEPH
The Testament of JUDAH
The Testament of LEVI
The Testament of NAPHTALI
The Testament of REUBEN
The Testament of SIMEON
The Testament of ZEBULUN