• Torah (T): Bereshiyt (Genesis) 12:1-20
• Prophets (P): Joshua 24:3-18
• Apostolic (A): Acts 6:8 – 7:8
• Additional (ADD): Jubilees 12:16 – 13:15

RELATED SCRIPTURES

• Isaiah 48:17-19 (T)
• Jeremiah 34:20-22 (T)
• Psalms 72:16-19 (T)
• Acts 3:13-26 (T)
• Acts 7:2-5 (T)
• Galatians 3:1-29 (T)
• Revelation 7:9-12 (T)

RELATED ADDITIONAL REA.D.INGS

• Genesis Apocryphon 1Q20 Column 19-21 (T)
• Testament of Levi 1Q21 Column 17-18 (T, A)
• Genesis 12:1-20 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)
• Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 1.7.1 – 1.8.2 (T)

Note: (T) means the verse relates to that week’s Torah portion. (P) means the verse relates to that week’s Prophets portion. (A) means the verse relates to that week’s Apostolic portion. (ADD) means the verse relates to that week’s Additional portion.

Torah Portion (T)

12:1 [Elohim]^(LXX) [had]^(LXX) said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the land will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram went, as [Elohim]^(LXX) had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother's son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then [Elohim]^(LXX) appeared to Abram and said [to him],^(LXX) “I will give this land to your seed.” [Abram]^(LXX) built an altar there to [Elohim],^(LXX) who had appeared to him. 8 He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar [and called on the name]^(LXX) of [Elohim].^(LXX) 9 Abram traveled, still going on toward the South. 10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. 12 It will happen that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.' They will kill me, but they will save you alive. 13 Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.” 14 When Abram had come into Egypt, Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and boasted about her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16 He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, maids, female donkeys, and camels. 17 [Elohim]^(LXX) struck Pharaoh and his house with great [and grievous]^(LXX) plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, see your wife [is before you],^(LXX) take her, and go your way.” 20 Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they escorted him away with his wife and all his possessions [and Lot with him].^{(LXX)(SP)(mss)}

Prophets Portion (P)

24:3 I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. 4 I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt[, and became there a great and numerous and mighty nation, and the Egyptians afflicted them].^(LXX) 5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. 6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Sea of Reeds. 7 When they cried out to YHWH, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness many days. 8 I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived beyond the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand. You possessed their land, and I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. He sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand. 12 I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’ 14 “Now therefore fear YHWH, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the Elohim which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve YHWH. 15 If it seems evil to you to serve YHWH, choose today whom you will serve; whether the Elohim which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the Elohim of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH.” 16 The people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake YHWH, to serve other Elohim; 17 for it is YHWH our Elohim who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way in which we went, and among all the peoples through the middle of whom we passed. 18 YHWH drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve YHWH; for he is our Elohim.”

Apostolic Portion (A)

Additional Portion (ADD)

Between 1947 and 1956 approximately 15 Jubilees scrolls were found in five caves at Qumran, all written in Hebrew. The large number of manuscripts (more than for any biblical books except for Psalms, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Exodus, and Genesis, in descending order) indicates that Jubilees was widely used at Qumran. A comparison of the Qumran texts with the Ethiopic version, performed by James VanderKam, found that the Ethiopic was in most respects an accurate and literalistic translation. Scholars have dated Jubilees to have been written sometime around 160-150 B.C.

12:16 And in the sixth week, in the fifth year thereof, Abram sat up throughout the night on the new moon of the seventh new moon to observe the stars from the evening to the morning, in order to see what would be the character of the year with regard to the rains, and he was alone as he sat and observed. 17. And a word came into his heart and he said: “All the signs of the stars, and the signs of the moon and of the sun are all in the hand of the Lord. Why do I search them out? 18. If He desireth, He causeth it to rain, morning and evening; And if He desireth, He withholdeth it, And all things are in His hand.” 19. And he prayed that night and said “My Elohim, Elohim Most High, Thou alone art my Elohim, And Thee and Thy dominion have I chosen. And Thou hast created all things, And all things that are are the work of Thy hands. 20. Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have sway over the thoughts of men’s hearts, And let them not lead me astray from Thee, my Elohim. And establish Thou me and my seed for ever That we go not astray from henceforth and for evermore.” 21. And he said Will I return unto Ur of the Chaldees who seek my face that I may return to them, or am I to remain here in this place? The right path before Thee prosper it in the hands of Thy servant that he may fulfil it and that I may not walk in the deceitfulness of my heart, O my Elohim.” 22. And he made an end of speaking and praying, and behold the word of the Lord was sent to him through me, saying: “Get thee up from thy country, and from thy kindred and from the house of thy father unto a land which I will show thee, and I will make thee a great and numerous nation. [1951 A.M.] 23. And I will bless thee And I will make thy name great, And thou wilt be blessed in the earth, And in thee will all families of the earth be blessed, And I will bless them that bless thee, And curse them that curse thee. 24. And I will be an Elohim to thee and thy son, and to thy son’s son, and to all thy seed: fear not, from henceforth and unto all generations of the earth I am thy Elohim.” 25. And the Lord Elohim said: “Open his mouth and his ears, that he may hear and speak with his mouth, with the language which hath been revealed”; for it had ceased from the mouths of all the children of men from the day of the overthrow of Babel. 26. And I opened his mouth, and his ears and his lips, and I began to speak with him in Hebrew in the tongue of the creation. 27. And he took the books of his fathers, and these were written in Hebrew and he transcribed them, and he began from henceforth to study them, and I made known to him that which he could not understand, and he studied them during the six rainy new moons (the winter). 28. And it came to pass in the seventh year of the sixth week that he spoke to his father, and informed him that he would leave Haran to go into the land of Canaan to see it and return to him. 29. And Terah his father said unto him; “Go in peace: May the eternal Elohim make thy path straight, And the Lord be with thee, and protect thee from all evil, And grant unto thee grace, mercy and favour before those who see thee, And may none of the children of men have power over thee to harm thee; Go in peace. 30. And if thou seest a land pleasant to thy eyes to dwell in, then arise and take me to thee and take Lot with thee, the son of Haran thy brother, as thine own son: the Lord be with thee. 31. And Nahor thy brother leave with me till thou returnest in peace, and we go with thee all together.”

13:1 And Abram journeyed from Haran, and he took Sarai, his wife, and Lot his brother Haran’s son, to the land of Canaan, and he came into Asshur (Corrupt, read probably Canaan), and proceeded to Shechem, and dwelt near a lofty oak. 2. And he saw, and, behold, the land was very pleasant from the entering of Hamath to the lofty oak. 3. And the Lord said to him: “To thee and to thy seed will I give this land.” 4. And he built an altar there, and he offered thereon a burnt slaughter to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 5. And he removed from thence unto the mountain. 3 Bethel on the west and Ai on the east, and pitched his tent there. 6. And he saw and behold, the land was very wide and good, and everything grew thereon–vines and figs and pomegranates, oaks and ilexes, and terebinths and oil trees, and cedars and cypresses and date trees, and all trees of the field, and there was water on the mountains. 7. And he blessed the Lord who had led him out of Ur of the Chaldees, and had brought him to this land. 8. And it came to pass in the first year, in the seventh week, on the new moon of the first new moon, that he built an altar on this mountain, and called on the name of the Lord: “Thou, the eternal Elohim, art my Elohim.” 9. And he offered on the altar a burnt slaughter unto the Lord that He should be with him and not forsake him all the days of his life. 10. And he removed from thence and went towards the south, and he came to Hebron, and Hebron was built at, that time, and he dwelt there two years, and he went thence into the land of the south, to Bealoth and there was a famine in the land. 11. And Abram went into Egypt in the third year of the week, and he dwelt in Egypt five years before his wife was torn away from him. 12. Now Tanais [Zoan] in Egypt was at that time built–seven years after Hebron. 11 And it came to pass when Pharaoh seized Sarai, the wife of Abram, that the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 14. And Abram was very glorious by reason of possessions in sheep, and cattle, and donkeys, and horses, and camels, and menservants, and maidservants, and in silver and gold exceedingly. And Lot also, his brother’s son, was wealthy. 15. And Pharaoh gave back Sarai, the wife of Abram, and he sent him out of the land of Egypt, and he journeyed to the place where he had pitched his tent at the beginning, to the place of the altar, with Ai on the east, and Bethel on the west, and he blessed the Lord his Elohim who had brought him back in peace.

Related Scriptures

48:17 YHWH, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “I am YHWH your Elohim, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go. 18 Oh that you had listened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. 19 Your seed also would have been as the sand and the descendants of your body like its grains. His name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”

34:20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the heavens and for the animals of the land. 21 “I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hands of their enemies, into the hands of those who seek their life and into the hands of the king of Babylon’s army, who has gone away from you. 22 Behold, I will command,” says YHWH, “and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it, take it, and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”

72:16 Abundance of grain will be throughout the land. Its fruit sways like Lebanon. Let it flourish, thriving like the grass of the field. 17 His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men will be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed. 18 Praise be to YHWH Elohim, the Elohim of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. 19 Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole land be filled with his glory! Amen and amen.

3:13 The Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Elohim of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Yeshua, whom you delivered up, and denied in the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom Elohim raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses. 16 By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the face of you all. 17 “Now, brothers, I know that you did this in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But the things which Elohim announced by the mouth of all his prophets, that Messiah should suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the face of the Lord, 20 and that he may send Messiah Yeshua, who was ordained for you before, 21 whom the heavens must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which Elohim spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets. 22 For Moses indeed said to the fathers, ‘The Lord Elohim will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me. You will listen to him in all things whatever he says to you. 23 It will be that every soul that will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel and those who followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days. 25 You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which Elohim made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘All the families of the land will be blessed through your seed.’ 26 Elohim, having raised up his servant Yeshua, sent him to you first to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your wickedness.”

7:2 He said, “Brothers and fathers, listen. The Elohim of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Get out of your land and away from your relatives, and come into a land which I will show you.’ 4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans and lived in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, Elohim moved him into this land, where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. He promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when he still had no child.

3:1 Foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you not to obey the truth, before whose eyes Yeshua the Messiah was openly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 I just want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now completed in the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain, if it is indeed in vain? 5 He therefore who supplies the Spirit to you and does miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith? 6 Even so, Abraham “believed Elohim, and it was counted to him for righteousness.” 7 Know therefore that those who are of faith are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that Elohim would justify the Nations by faith, preached the Good News beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you all the nations will be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham. 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the scroll of the Torah, to do them.” 11 Now that no man is justified by the law before Elohim is evident, for, “The righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not of faith, but, “The man who does them will live by them.” 13 Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,” 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Nations through Messiah Yeshua, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 15 Brothers, speaking of human terms, though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void or adds to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He doesn’t say, “To descendants [seeds]”, as of many, but as of one, “To your seed ”, which is Messiah. 17 Now I say this: A covenant confirmed beforehand by Elohim in Messiah, the law, which came four hundred thirty years after, does not annul, so as to make the promise of no effect. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise; but Elohim has granted it to Abraham by promise. 19 Then why is there the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise has been made. It was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not between one, but Elohim is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of Elohim? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could make alive, most certainly righteousness would have been of the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Yeshua the Messiah might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, confined for the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 So that the law has become our tutor to bring us to Messiah, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all children of Elohim, through faith in Messiah Yeshua. 27 For as many of you as were immersed into Messiah have put on Messiah. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. 29 If you are Messiah’s, then you are Abraham’s seed  and heirs according to promise.

7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation be to our Elohim, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels were standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before his throne, and did bow down to Elohim, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our Elohim forever and ever! Amen.”

Related Additional Readings

Column 19 I, Abraham built and altar (at Bethel) and called to God, praising him. I then went to the Holy mountain and to Hebron where I lived for two years. Because there was famine in the land my family and I traveled to Egypt where grain was plentiful. I went across the branches of the Nile to enter Egypt, the land of the sons of Ham. I had a dream about a cedar tree and a date-palm tree. When people came to cut down the cedar tree, the date-palm tree objected, saying that they were grown from a single root. The cedar tree was spared. I became fearful of the dream and told it to my wife. I explained it as it pertained to us telling Sarah that the men will come for her and try to kill me. I warned Sarah that she must tell everyone that I am her brother so that my life can be spared. She became scared and did not want to go to Zoan for fear of being seen. Five years later, councilors of the Egyptians court and advisors of the Pharaoh of Zoan came, having heard the words of my wife. They brought gifts and requested knowledge from me. I read to them from the Book of the words of Enoch.

Column 20 The men returned to the Pharaoh and described Sarah’s features: beautiful face, supple hair, lovely eyes, pleasant nose, radiant face. He continued on describing her shapely breasts, perfect hands, and everything down to her long and delicate fingers. the men compared her to and rated her far higher than virgins and birds, and all other women alike. Hearing this, and then seeing Sarah, the pharaoh wanted her and took her for his wife. Sarah saved me by telling the pharaoh that I was her brother and that night I and my nephew Lot cried together I prayed to Lord for justice. I wanted the Lord to raise up against the pharaoh and protect Sarah. Elohim listened and sent an evil spirit to the entire household that prevented the pharaoh from having sexual relations with Sarah for the two years that they were together. At the end of the two years, the plagues and afflictions were so great that magicians and healers were sent for. They were, of course, ineffective, and they all soon left. Hyrcanos went to me pleading for help against the plague because I had been seen in a dream. I agreed to help only when my wife Sarah is returned to me. The pharaoh heard this and confronted me, himself asking why I lied saying that Sarah was my sister. He agreed to give Sarah back and I exorcised the evil spirit from the house of the pharaoh. The pharaoh swore to me that he had not touched Sarah while they were together and gave her gifts of gold, silver, linen, and purple-dyed clothing. Sarah and I were then led out of Egypt. I, Sarah, Lot, and his wife took our flocks and the gold and silver I had received and traveled together.

Column 21 I went to all my old campsites until I reached Bethel, the place where I once built an altar, and then I built another one and offered up burnt offerings and a grain offerings to the Elohim of Most High, and invoked the name of the Lord of the Universe there. I praised Elohim’s name and blessed Elohim and gave thanks to Him there for all the flocks and goods and wealth which he has given me, for the good he has done for me, and because He had returned me to this land safely. After this day, Lot left me on the account of our shepherd’s behavior. He went to live in the Valley of Jordan taking all his flocks with him. And I also added greatly to what he had. he pastured his flock and kept moving until he reached Sodom and bought a house there, while I still lived in the mountain of Bethel. It bothered me that Lot and I had separated. Elohim came to me in a dream and said to me: Go up to Ramat Hazor which is north of Bethel, the place you are living now, and look to the east, west, south and to the north. Look at the land which I am giving you and your descendants forever. The next morning I went up to Ramat Hazor and looked at the land from that height, from the river of Egypt up to Lebanon and Senir, and from the Great Sea up to Hauran, and all the land of Gebel to Qadesh, and all the Great Desert, as far as the Euphrates and he said to me: I will give all this land to your descendants; and they will inherit it forever. I will multiply your descendants like the dust of the land that none can count. Your descendants will be numberless. Arise, walk about, go see how long and how wide it is, for I will give it to you and to your descendants after you, forever. Then I, Abraham, went out traveling in a circuit to survey the land. I began the circuit at the Gihon River, I went along the Mediterranean Sea until I reached the Mountain of the Bull (Taurus). I circled from the coast of this great river saltwater sea, skirting the Mount of the Bull, and continued eastward through the breadth of the and until I came to the Euphrates river. I traveled along the side of the Euphrates until I reached the Red Sea toward the east. I continued going along the side of the Red Sea until I reached the inlet (lit. ‘tongue’) of the Sea of Reeds which emerges from the Red Sea. From there I completed the circuit, moving southward to arrive at Gihon River. Then I returned home safely and found all is well with my men. Then I went and settled next to the oaks of Mamre, which is northeast of Hebron. There I built an altar and offered up burnt offering and a grain offering to the Elohim Most High. I ate and drank there, I and all the men of my household, and invited Mamre, Arnem, and Eshkol, three Amorite brothers and my friends. They ate and drank together with me.

Numerous small fragments representing the Aramaic Testament of Levi from Cave 4 all date to the mid-first century B.C. Part of the Testament of Levi involves Levi being taken to the heavens and promised the priesthood forever, and then seven angels physically give him the insignia of the priesthood (as described in Exodus). This part parallels the beginning and end of a vision in the Aramaic Levi Document, whence the body of the vision is now lost; and is thought to preserve that part of the text.

17:1 And whereas ye have heard concerning the seventy weeks, hear also concerning the priesthood. 2 For in each jubilee there will be a priesthood. And in the first jubilee, the first who is anointed to the priesthood will be great, and will speak to Elohim as to a father. And his priesthood will be perfect with the Lord, [and in the day of his gladness will he arise for the salvation of the world]. 3 In the second jubilee, he that is anointed will be conceived in the sorrow of beloved ones; and his 4 priesthood will be honoured and will be glorified by all. And the third priest will be taken hold 5 of by sorrow. And the fourth will be in pain, because unrighteousness will gather itself against 6 him exceedingly, and all Israel will hate each one his neighbour. The fifth will be taken hold of 7 by darkness Likewise also the sixth and the seventh. And in the seventh will be such pollution 8 as I cannot express before men, for they will know it who do these things. Therefore will they 9 be taken captive and become a prey, and their land and their substance will be destroyed. 10 And in the fifth week they will return to their desolate country, and will renew the house of the 11 Lord. And in the seventh week will become priests, (who are) idolaters, adulterers, lovers of money, proud, lawless, lascivious, abusers of children and beasts.

18:1 And after their punishment will have come from the Lord, the priesthood will fail. 2 Then will the Lord raise up a new priest. And to him all the words of the Lord will be revealed; And he will execute a righteous judgement upon the land for a multitude of days. 3 And his star will arise in the heavens as of a king. Lighting up the light of knowledge as the sun the day, And he will be magnified in the world. 4 He will shine forth as the sun on the land, And will remove all darkness from under the heavens, And there will be peace in all the land. 5 The heavens will exult in his days, And the land will be glad, And the clouds will rejoice, [And the knowledge of the Lord will be poured forth upon the land, as the water of the seas; And the angels of the glory of the face of the Lord will be glad in him. 6 The heavens will be opened, And From the temple of glory will come upon him sanctification, With the Father’s voice as from Abraham to Isaac. 7 And the glory of the Most High will be uttered over him, And the spirit of understanding and sanctification will rest upon him [in the water]. 8 For he will give the majesty of the Lord to His sons in truth for evermore; And there will none succeed him for all generations for ever. 9 And in his priesthood the Nations will be multiplied in knowledge upon the land, And enlightened through the grace of the Lord: In his priesthood will sin come to an end, And the lawless will cease to do evil. [And the just will rest in him.] 10 And he will open the gates of paradise, And will remove the threatening sword against Adam. 11 And he will give to the saints to eat from the tree of life, And the spirit of holiness will be on them. 12 And Beliar will be bound by him, And he will give power to His children to tread upon the evil spirits. 13 And the Lord will rejoice in His children, And be well pleased in His beloved ones for ever. 14 Then will Abraham and Isaac and Jacob exult, And I will be glad, And all the saints will clothe themselves with joy.

Genesis 12:1 – 13:18 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)

Composed in Talmudic Israel (c.150 – c.250 AD). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is a western targum (translation) of the Torah (Pentateuch) from the land of Israel (as opposed to the eastern Babylonian Targum Onkelos). Its correct title was originally Targum Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Targum), which is how it was known in medieval times. But because of a printer’s mistake it was later labeled Targum Jonathan, in reference to Jonathan ben Uzziel. Some editions of the Pentateuch continue to call it Targum Jonathan to this day. Most scholars refer to the text as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. This targum is more than a mere translation. It includes much Aggadic material collected from various sources as late as the Midrash Rabbah as well as earlier material from the Talmud. It is effectively a combination of a commentary and a translation. In the portions where it is pure translation, it often agrees with the Targum Onkelos. The date of its composition is disputed. It cannot have been completed before the Arabic conquest as it refers to Mohammad’s wife Fatimah, but might have been initially composed in the 4th Century AD. However, some scholars date it in the 14th Century.

Chapter 12 AND the Lord said to Abram, Go thou from thy land; separate thyself from thy kindred; go forth from the house of thy father; go into the land which I will show thee. And I will make thee a great people, and will bless thee, and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed. [JERUSALEM. And I will constitute thee a great people, and I will bless thee; and Abram will be strengthened with many blessings.] And I will bless the priests who will spread forth their hands in prayer, and bless thy sons; and Bileam, who will curse them, I will curse, and they will slay him with the mouth of the sword; and in thee will be blessed all the generations of the earth. [JERUSALEM. And I will bless him who blesseth thee, and he who curseth thee will be accursed; and in thy righteousness will all the generations of the earth be blessed.] And Abram went, according as the Lord had spoken with him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was the son of seventy and five years at his going forth from Haran. And Abram took Sara his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all the substance which they had acquired, and the souls whom they had proselyted in Haran, and went forth to go to the land of Kenaan. And they came to the land of Kenaan. [JERUSALEM. And the souls of the proselytes.] And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shekem, unto the plain which had been showed. [JERUSALEM. The plain (or valley) of vision.] And the Kenaanites were then in the land; for the time had not yet come that the sons of Israel should possess it. And the Lord was revealed unto Abram, and said, To thy sons will I give this land. And he builded there an altar before the Lord, who was revealed to him. And he went up from thence to a mountain which was eastward of Bethel, and outspread his tent, having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and he builded there an altar before the Lord, and prayed in the Name of the Lord. And Abram migrated, going and migrating unto the south. And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down into Mizraim to be a dweller there, because the famine was strong in the land. And it was, as he approached to enter the limit of Mizraim, and they had come to the river, and were uncovering their flesh to pass over, that Abram, said to Sara his wife, Behold, until this I have not beheld thy flesh; but now I know that thou art a woman of fair aspect. It will be, therefore, when the Mizraee see thee, and view thy beauty, that they will say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, and thee will keep alive. Say, I pray, that thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my life may be spared on thy account. And it was when Abram had entered Mizraim, the Mizraee saw the woman to be very fair; and the princes of Pharaoh beheld her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was conducted to the royal house of Pharaoh. [JERUSALEM. And the woman was conducted to the palace of Pharaoh.] And Pharaoh did good to Abram for her sake; and he had sheep, and oxen, and donkeys, and servants, and handmaids, and she-asses, and camels. And the Word of the Lord sent great plagues against Pharaoh and the men of his house, on account of Sara, Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done to me? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? When I would take her to me to wife, plagues were at once sent against me, and I went not unto her. And now behold thy wife, take (her) and go. And Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they led him forth, and his wife, and all that he had.

Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 1.7.1 – 1.8.2 (T)

Josephus was born Joseph ben Mattathias in 37 AD in Jerusalem of a priestly and royal family. He excelled in his studies of Jewish law and studied with the Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Essenes, eventually aligning himself with the Pharisees. In 62 AD he went to Rome to free some imprisoned priests. After accomplishing this mission through the intercession of Nero’s wife, Poppaea, he returned to Jerusalem in 65 AD to find the country in revolt against Rome. Josephus shrewdly reinterpreted the Messianic prophecies. He predicted that Vespasian would become the ruler of the ‘entire world’. His prophecy became true in 68 AD when Nero committed suicide and Vespasian became Ceasar. As a result, Josephus was freed; he moved to Rome and became a Roman citizen, taking the Vespasian family name Flavius. Vespasian commissioned Josephus to write a history of the war, which he finished in 78 AD, the Jewish War. His second major work, the Antiquities of the Jews, was completed in 93 AD. The extant manuscripts of the book Antiquities of the Jews contain two references to Yeshua of Nazareth (18.3.3. and 20.9.1.) and one reference to the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist (18.5.2.).

1.7.1. Now Abram, having no son of his own, adopted Lot, his brother Haran’s son, and his wife Sarai’s brother; and he left the land of Chaldea when he was seventy-five years old, and at the command of Elohim went into Canaan, and therein he dwelt himself, and left it to his posterity. He was a person of great sagacity, both for understanding all things and persuading his hearers, and not mistaken in his opinions; for which reason he began to have higher notions of virtue than others had, and he determined to renew and to change the opinion all men happened then to have concerning God; for he was the first that ventured to publish this notion, That there was but one God, the Creator of the universe; and that, as to other [elohim], if they contributed any thing to the happiness of men, that each of them afforded it only according to his appointment, and not by their own power. This his opinion was derived from the irregular phenomena that were visible both at land and sea, as well as those that happen to the sun, and moon, and all the heavenly bodies, thus: – “If [said he] these bodies had power of their own, they would certainly take care of their own regular motions; but since they do not preserve such regularity, they make it plain, that in so far as they co-operate to our advantage, they do it not of their own abilities, but as they are subservient to Him that commands them, to whom alone we ought justly to offer our honor and thanksgiving.” For which doctrines, when the Kasdim, and other people of Mesopotamia, raised a tumult against him, he thought fit to leave that country; and at the command and by the assistance of God, he came and lived in the land of Canaan. And when he was there settled, he built an altar, and performed a slaughter to God.

1.7.2. Berosus mentions our father Abram without naming him, when he says thus: “In the tenth generation after the Flood, there was among the Kasdim a man righteous and great, and skillful in the celestial science.” But Hecatseus does more than barely mention him; for he composed, and left behind him, a book concerning him. And Nicolaus of Damascus, in the fourth book of his History, says thus: “Abram reigned at Damascus, being a foreigner, who came with an army out of the land above Babylon, called the land of the Kasdim: but, after a long time, he got him up, and removed from that country also, with his people, and went into the land then called the land of Canaan, but now the land of Judea, and this when his posterity were become a multitude; as to which posterity of his, we relate their history in another work. Now the name of Abram is even still famous in the country of Damascus; and there is shown a village named from him, The Habitation of Abram.”

1.8.1. Now, after this, when a famine had invaded the land of Canaan, and Abram had discovered that the Egyptians were in a flourishing condition, he was disposed to go down to them, both to partake of the plenty they enjoyed, and to become an auditor of their priests, and to know what they said concerning the elohim; designing either to follow them, if they had better notions than he, or to convert them into a better way, if his own notions proved the truest. Now, seeing he was to take Sarai with him, and was afraid of the madness of the Egyptians with regard to women, lest the king should kill him on occasion of his wife’s great beauty, he contrived this device : – he pretended to be her brother, and directed her in a dissembling way to pretend the same, for he said it would be for their benefit. Now, as soon as he came into Egypt, it happened to Abram as he supposed it would; for the fame of his wife’s beauty was greatly talked of; for which reason Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, would not be satisfied with what was reported of her, but would needs see her himself, and was preparing to enjoy her; but Elohim put a stop to his unjust inclinations, by sending upon him a distemper, and a sedition against his government. And when he inquired of the priests how he might be freed from these calamities, they told him that this his miserable condition was derived from the wrath of God, upon account of his inclinations to abuse the stranger’s wife. He then, out of fear, asked Sarai who she was, and who it was that she brought along with her. And when he had found out the truth, he excused himself to Abram, that supposing the woman to be his sister, and not his wife, he set his affections on her, as desiring an affinity with him by marrying her, but not as incited by coveting to abuse her. He also made him a large present in money, and gave him leave to enter into conversation with the most learned among the Egyptians; from which conversation his virtue and his reputation became more conspicuous than they had been before.

1.8.2. For whereas the Egyptians were formerly addicted to different customs, and despised one another’s sacred and accustomed rites, and were very angry one with another on that account, Abram conferred with each of them, and, confuting the reasonings they made use of, every one for their own practices, demonstrated that such reasonings were vain and void of truth: whereupon he was admired by them in those conferences as a very wise man, and one of great sagacity, when he discoursed on any subject he undertook; and this not only in understanding it, but in persuading other men also to assent to him. He communicated to them arithmetic, and delivered to them the science of astronomy; for before Abram came into Egypt they were unacquainted with those parts of learning; for that science came from the Kasdim into Egypt, and from thence to the Greeks also.