The Aramaic Levi Document,
the Genesis Apocryphon, and Jubilees:
A Study of Shared Traditions
Esther Eshel
The complex interrelationships between the second temple period works
that are based on, or retell, the stories of Genesis are a matter of scholarly de
bate. Although it is not always feasible to show direct influence, examination
of linguistic and thematic parallels has the potential to indicate influence or
borrowing and its possible direction. The three Jewish texts examined here
— the Aramaic Levi Document (hereafter ALD), the Genesis Apocryphon,
and Jubilees — share the background of Genesis. However, each elaborates
on the biblical text in a different way, based on its sources, on the one hand,
and its author's worldview on the other.
The underlying premise of this article is that ALD and the Genesis
Apocryphon served as sources for Jubilees, as demonstrated by the examina
tion of parallels, mostly thematic but also linguistic in nature. These paral
lels relate to Levi and his investiture to the priesthood, to Noah and the
world division among his sons and its accompanying mapa mundi, and to
the imagery of the two ways.
I. ALD and Jubilees: Jacob's Journey
and the List of Trees for Sacrificial Use
I consider ALD the oldest extant work in a series of writings attributed to the
fathers of the priestly line. It was first discovered in the Cairo Geniza,^1 and atl. For a detailed description of the various textual witnesses of ALD, see J. C. Green-