Enoch and the Mosaic Torah- The Evidence of Jubilees

The Aramaic Levi Document, the Genesis Apocryphon, and Jubilees

209).

is, in my opinion, the oldest surviving second-temple-period text mapping
the inhabited world.^17
The main similarity between Jubilees and the Genesis Apocryphon re­
lates to the immediate context in which the world division is placed.
Whereas the biblical Table of Nations appears after the death of Noah (Gen
9:29; see also Josephus, Ant 1.104), in Jubilees (8:10-11) Noah takes an active
role in dividing the world among his sons, and the Genesis Apocryphon
documents the announcement and interpretation of the division of the
world in Noah's dream vision, which precedes the actual division. Another
similarity relates to the reference to reliance on a written, probably heavenly
source. The Genesis Apocryphon makes reference to a written source in the
angel's statement: "So it is written concerning you" (15:20); to be compared
with Jubilees: "He divided the earth into the lots which his three sons would
occupy. They reached out their hands and took the book from the bosom of
their father Noah. In the book there emerged as Shem's lot.. ." (Jub 8:11-12).
Finally, both texts provide a detailed description of each son's allotment,
which includes many parallels, among them shared terminology, mainly
land-related terms taken from Josh 15.

Nevertheless, there are significant differences between the Genesis
Apocryphon and Jubilees, some of which enable the drawing of conclusions
with regard to the interrelationship between these texts. The main differ­
ences are the following:

1. The nature of direct divine involvement in the divisionary process: if
   the Genesis Apocryphon attributes no immediate role to angels in the divi­
   sion — rather, general guidelines to the division appear in the dream vision
   and its interpretation — according to Jubilees there is direct angelic involve­
   ment: "they divided the earth into three parts... while one of us who were
   sent was staying with them" (8:10).


2. Jubilees' expansionist tendency, with regard to both greater geo­
   graphical detail and, more particularly, the provision of ethnographic infor­
   mation, namely, which nations inhabit a particular area, to which Josephus
   gives even greater emphasis.^18


3. Another difference relates to Shem's portion. According to the Gene­
   sis Apocryphon, invasions of Shem's portion appear in Noah's dream vision,


4. See J. A. Fitzmyer, "Genesis Apocryphon," in EDSS, 1:302. Fitzmyer argues for its
   literary dependence on Jubilees, therefore suggesting a possible first century B.C.E. dating.
   See, however, M. E. Stone, "The Book(s) Attributed to Noah," DSD 13 (2006): 9.


5. Thus, Alexander was able to identify each grandson's territory ("Imago Mundi,"