Use of The Testaments of The Twelve Patriarchs in The New Testament
RH Charles called attention to the frequent use of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs by Paul and other writers of the New Testament. In particular:
- I Thess. ii. 16 is a quotation of Test. Patr., Levi, 6:10;
- Rom. 12:19 is taken from Gad, 6:10;
- Rom. 12:21 is taken from Benjamin, 6:3;
- II Cor. 12:10 is a quote from Gad, 5:7;
- Ephes. 5:6 appeared first in Naphtali, 3:1.
Later scholarship has highly debated this issue.
Read more about this topic: Testaments Of The Twelve Patriarchs
Famous quotes containing the words twelve, patriarchs and/or testament:
“Grammar is a tricky, inconsistent thing. Being the backbone of speech and writing, it should, we think, be eminently logical, make perfect sense, like the human skeleton. But, of course, the skeleton is arbitrary, too. Why twelve pairs of ribs rather than eleven or thirteen? Why thirty-two teeth? It has something to do with evolution and functionalism—but only sometimes, not always. So there are aspects of grammar that make good, logical sense, and others that do not.”
—John Simon (b. 1925)
“Like many another romance, the romance of the family turns sour when the money runs out. If we really cared about families, we would not let “born again” patriarchs send up moral abstractions as a smokescreen for the scandal of American family economics.”
—Letty Cottin Pogrebin (20th century)
“For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
—Bible: New Testament St. Paul, in Philippians, 4:11.