Dec.5] SOCIETYOF BIBLICAL ARCH/EOLOGY. [1893.
Sinker, and all those who agree with his conclusions, must
assumethatthe book, as we possess it now, is all of one piece, that
there are no interpolations ; in fact, thatthe text has not been
touchedup and remodelled.
Thisassumption,however,has been deeplyshakenby Schnapp,
whoin his essay* takesagainup the line of argument usedfirst by
Grabe,andthen by Kayser. Takingespecially the Testaments of
Leviand Judah,Schnappprovesclearlythatthis book had the same
fate as nearly all the writings of that period; that besidesan original
text written by a Jew, there are many interpolations made by
Christiancompilers, many of which wereintroducedinto the text
veryclumsily.
The Armenianversion, examinedsinceby Conybeare.t proves
unmistakably that many a passage has been interpolatedintothe
textwhich we possess. Only by eliminating some suchpassages
whichinterruptthe text in an arbitrary manner,the true meaning
can be found. Glaringcontradictionscan only be explained by the
sametheory.
We must, however, go a few steps beyondthosereached by
Schnapp and Conybeare. We must inquire into the sources of
that writing,into the wholecharacterandtendencyof the Testa
ments, obscured through those strange elementsintroduced into
them.
Thebookis not only imbuedwiththe Hebrew toneof thought,
but thoroughly conversantwith Hebrew Aggadah,with the whole
Hebrew legendary lore. Nay, more: The whole writing formed
evidently originally a portion of the Book of Jubilees. The
similarityin tone andcontents has been pointed out by Dillman,
andexplained by the borrowing theory. It is, at least, singular,
however, that the Book of Enoch shouldbe quoted, andthe other
not even mentioned,thoughit stood in a more close relationto the
latterthanto the former.
Myconviction is, that it formed originallypartof the Book of
Jubilees,and therefore it is not referred to as being oneand the
same. In the Book of Jubilees we have almostidenticaltestaments
of Abraham, RebeccaandIsaac. Therewas no necessity to invent
one for Jacob, consideringthathis is given in the Bible.
* " Die Testamente der ZwblfTatriarchen; " Halle, 1884.
t Jewish QuarterlyReview,1893,P- 375 "•
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