What Scripture says
Genesis 49 records Jacob’s last words to his twelve sons as he is dying, with a blessing or warning for each (Genesis 49:1–28, ESV). Moses gives similar blessings to the tribes before his death (Deuteronomy 33). The Testaments imitate this form, giving each son his own farewell speech. Scripture records no such speeches by the sons themselves.
What the evidence says
History
What it contains
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs are twelve deathbed speeches, one for each son of Jacob. Each follows a similar pattern:
- The son gathers his children as he is dying.
- He reviews his life, confessing his sins or describing his virtues.
- He urges his children to avoid a particular vice or practise a virtue.
- He predicts the future of his descendants, often their sin, exile and restoration.
Each son is linked to a theme: Reuben warns against lust (recalling Genesis 35:22), Simeon against envy (of Joseph), Judah against drunkenness and greed, Joseph praises chastity (recalling Potiphar’s wife), and Benjamin teaches about a pure mind.
The Testaments give special honour to Levi (priesthood) and Judah (kingship), and look forward to a saviour from these tribes.
Jewish or Christian?
The text survives in Greek and contains clear Christian passages, such as references to God taking a human body, to the Lamb of God, and to the crucifixion. Scholars disagree on its origin:
- A Jewish work, later edited by Christians. On this view, a 2nd-century BC Jewish original was expanded with Christian additions.
- A Christian composition. Marinus de Jonge and others argue it was composed by Christians in the 2nd century AD, drawing on Jewish traditions and sources.
Related Jewish texts about Levi, in Aramaic, were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, showing that some of its traditions are older than the Greek text.
Where they meet
The Testaments offer a window into Jewish and early Christian moral teaching, and their ethical teaching, on forgiveness, love of neighbour and resisting envy, is often close to the New Testament’s. They were never treated as Scripture by Jews or by the church.
What’s still open
How much of the text is Jewish and how much is Christian.
Bottom line
The Testaments are deathbed speeches put in the mouths of Jacob’s sons, with later Christian edits. They were never treated as Scripture, so leaving them out is rated Settled.