Jubilees and the Samaritan TraditionBiblical Text SP LXX MT Jubilees
11:26: Terah begets Abram (11:32; 12:4) 130
17:17; 21:5: Abraham begets Isaac 70 100 130 70
25:26: Isaac begets Jacob 100 60 100 112
60 60 58
Jubilees has figures that only occasionally agree with the Samaritan
Pentateuch, the Septuagint, or the Masoretic text. In most cases, though, it is
closest to the Samaritan Pentateuch up until the flood, but after the flood it
seems to go its own way. This will be investigated in the next section.
One area where Jubilees contains information not found in the bibli
cal text is that relating to the time when the sons of Jacob were born. The
only other early Jewish writing providing such data is Demetrius the
Chronographer, fragments of which are preserved in Eusebius's Praeparatio
evangelica:^10
*{Order of dates: jubilee.week.year:month/day)
**Praep. ev. (year:month)
Biblical Text Jubilees* Demetrius**
29:32: Reuben born (Leah) 28:11:44.3.1:9/14(2122 A.M.) 9.21.3: 8:10
29:33: Simeon born (Leah) 28:13:44.3.3:10/21 (2124) 9.21.3: 9:8
29:34: Levi born (Leah) 28:14:44.3.6:1/1 (2127) 9.21.3: 10:6
29:35: Judah born (Leah) 28:15: 44.4.1:3/15 (2129) 9.21.3: 11:4
30:6: Dan born (Bilhah) 28:18:44.3.6:6/9 (2127) [9.21.5: 14:8;
originally 11:4?]
30:8: Naphtali born (Bilhah) 28:19:44.4.2:7/5(2130) 9.21.3: [12:2; see 9.21.8]
30:11: Gad born (Zilpah) 28:20:44.4.3:8/12 (2131) 9.21.3: 12:2
30:13: Asher born (Zilpah) 28:21:44.4.5:11/2 (2133) 9.21.3: 12:12
30:18: Issachar born (Leah) 28:22:44.4.4:5/4(2132) 9.21.4: 12:12
30:20: Zebulun born (Leah) 28:23:44.4.6:7/7 (2134) 9.21.5: 13:10
30:21: Dinah born (Leah) ditto (twins) 9.21.5: [14:8; see 9.21.8]
30:23-24: Joseph born (Rachel) 28:24:44.4.6:4/1 (2134) 9.21.5: 14:8
35:18: Benjamin born (Rachel) 32:33:44.6.1:8/11 (2143) 9.21.10: [30:??]
There are problems because the text of Demetrius has clearly suffered
some damage in transmission and thus does not always make sense. Editors
lo. On Demetrius, see C. R. Holladay, Fragments from Hellenistic Jewish Authors, vol.
l, Historians, Texts and Translations 20, Pseudepigrapha Series 10 (Atlanta: Scholars Press,
1983), 51-91; J. Hanson, "Demetrius the Chronographer," in OTP, 2:843-54.