Erik Larsonplace where Abraham was the first to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened
Bread (Jub 18:18-19) just after the sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Zion, which
the author of Jubilees connects with Passover (Jub 18:1-13).^14
In connection with two of the sacrificial occasions in the table above,
Abraham is also said to call upon the name of the Lord (Gen 12:8; 13:4). But
in neither of these does Genesis tell what Abraham said. Jubilees fills in the
lacunae. In the first he says, "You, my God, are the eternal God," and in the
second, "You, Lord, most high God, are my God forever and ever" (Jub 13:8,
16). In fact, in Jubilees Abraham's very first reaching out to God is through
prayer. As he realized the errors of paganism, "he began to pray to the cre
ator of all that he would save him from the errors of mankind" (Jub 11:17).
Some years later, as he looked up and observed the stars: "That night he
prayed and said: My God, my God, God most High, You alone are my God.
You have created everything; everything that was and has been is the product
of your hands. You and your lordship I have chosen. Save me from the power
of the evil spirits who rule the thoughts of people's minds. May they not
mislead me from following you, my God. Do establish me and my posterity
forever. May we not go astray from now until eternity" (Jub 12:19-20). In re
sponse to this prayer, God calls Abraham to leave Ur and promises to make
of him a great people.
Not only is Abraham a man of prayer, but he is a man of blessing as
well. Six times Jubilees says that Abraham "blessed the Lord" (13:7; 13:15;
16:26-27;^17 :2~3i 22:4-6; 23:1), whereas the verb is never used with Abraham as
subject in Genesis. Moreover, as is fitting in connection with the joyous Feast
of Tabernacles, each morning during the festival "he would give praise and
joyfully offer humble thanks to his God for everything" (Jub 16:31). If, there
fore, Jubilees enhances the portrayal of Abraham's worship through sacri
fice, it does so even more with regard to Abraham's spoken acts of worship.
In contrast, however, the remarkable prayers of the unnamed servant
who goes to Haran to get a wife for Isaac in Gen 24 are totally omitted from
the account in Jubilees. And while other explanations are possible, one won
ders if some of the lack of interest is due to the fact that the servant was not
from the chosen line.^15
- Cf. B. Halpern-Amaru, "The Festivals of Pesah and Massot in the Book of Jubi
lees," in this volume. - Betsy Halpern-Amaru suggests that the main cause of the author's disapproval
was the irregularity of the way the marriage arrangements were made, though apparently
Josephus did not share this feeling since he includes the servant's prayers in his account in
Ant 1.242-255.