Library›Jubilees

Jubilees

Also called Little Genesis, Kufale

An angel dictates history to Moses: Jubilees retells Genesis and the opening of Exodus, adding family names and a 364-day calendar.^{15 sources}15 sources1. VanderKam 1992 2. Knibb 2020 3. (tr.)4. (tr.)5. VanderKam 1992 6. (tr.)7. (tr.)8. Charles 1902 9. (tr.)10. (tr.)11. VanderKam 1992 12. (tr.)13. (tr.)14. VanderKam 1992 15. (ethiopianorthodox.org)

fact-checked · Version 2 · Revised 2026-11-08

research: Claude Opus 5.5 (research ledger)check: GPT Sol (cross-vendor fact check)writing: GPT Sol

Fact-checked, not yet reviewed by a person.

Read it →

At a glance

Written: About 160-150 BC (VanderKam); Charles and Zondervan propose later dates.^{5 sources}5 sources14. VanderKam 1992 16. Knibb 2020 11. VanderKam 1992 17. Charles 1902 18. Bible
Language: Hebrew originally; only the Ge'ez translation survives complete (VanderKam).^{19 2}
Setting: An angel dictates history to Moses at Mount Sinai.^{3 4 5}
Name: Events are dated in jubilees, units of forty-nine years.^{20 6 1}

Summary

Who was Cain's wife, and how should Israel count its festivals? Jubilees names her Awan and sets out a 364-day calendar as it retells creation, the patriarchs and the exodus. The book presents this history as an angel's revelation to Moses on Sinai. James VanderKam dates its writing to about 160-150 BC. Events fall within forty-nine-year jubilees, and the calendar fixes the year's weeks. Warnings against reckoning festivals by the moon make the history a guide to Israel's life as well as a source of additional stories. The Ethiopian church includes it in its Bible; only Ge'ez preserves it complete.^{16 sources}16 sources6. (tr.)7. (tr.)8. Charles 1902 1. VanderKam 1992 2. Knibb 2020 3. (tr.)4. (tr.)5. VanderKam 1992 14. VanderKam 1992 16. Knibb 2020 11. VanderKam 1992 20. (tr.)12. (tr.)13. (tr.)21. Church 19. VanderKam 1992

Moses receives a revelation
Jubilees 1:1–2:1
God summons Moses up Sinai and appoints an angel to dictate the history from creation onward.^{3 4 5}
Angels, families and the calendar
Creation through Noah
Angels are created on the first day. Cain's wife receives a name; Enoch testifies against the Watchers. The book commands a 364-day year and warns against lunar reckoning.^{10 sources}10 sources22. (tr.)23. Charles 1902 6. (tr.)7. (tr.)8. Charles 1902 9. (tr.)10. (tr.)11. VanderKam 1992 12. (tr.)13. (tr.)
Abraham's test
The patriarchs
Mastema, chief of the evil spirits, proposes the test involving Isaac. Scholar R. H. Charles contrasts this role with Genesis, where God tests Abraham.^{5 sources}5 sources24. (tr.)25. (tr.)26. (tr.)27. (tr.)28. Charles 1902
Moses and Israel's laws
The exodus and Sinai
The retelling reaches the exodus and Sinai, then gives laws on Passover and the Sabbath. Charles also notes that it attributes the attack on Moses to Mastema.^{7 sources}7 sources1. VanderKam 1992 2. Knibb 2020 24. (tr.)25. (tr.)26. (tr.)27. (tr.)28. Charles 1902

Stories

Cain marries Awan
Jubilees 4:9
Jubilees names Cain's wife as Awan, his sister, where Genesis leaves her unnamed. It is one of the book's additions to the family story.^{6 7 8}
Mastema proposes Abraham's test
Jubilees 17:16
The chief of the evil spirits urges the test involving Isaac. During the episode that follows, Mastema is put to shame.^{5 sources}5 sources24. (tr.)25. (tr.)26. (tr.)27. (tr.)28. Charles 1902
A year of fixed weeks
Jubilees 6:32–36
The book commands a 364-day year, exactly fifty-two weeks, and warns that observing the moon will disrupt the seasons.^{12 13}

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

Acts 7:53 · The angel's revelation to Mosesmedium confidence
Charles compares the angelic mediation of the law in Jubilees with Acts 7:53 and Galatians 3:19.^{9 sources}9 sources29. Charles 1902 30. Charles 1902 31. Charles 1902 32. Acts 7:53 33. Galatians 3:19 34. (tr.)3. (tr.)4. (tr.)5. VanderKam 1992

Retellings

Genesis 1:1 · Creation through the patriarchs
VanderKam describes Jubilees as a retelling beginning with Genesis 1, adding and omitting material rather than simply copying the narrative.^{1 2}
Exodus 20:1 · The exodus and Sinai
VanderKam describes the retelling as reaching Exodus 20; Knibb describes its scope as extending through Exodus 24. Its ending includes Passover and Sabbath laws.^{1 2}

Expansions

Genesis 4:17 · Jubilees 4:9
Jubilees supplies the name Awan and identifies Cain's wife as his sister; Genesis does not name her.^{6 7 8}
Genesis 6:1–4 · Enoch and the Watchers
Jubilees interprets the heavenly beings as angels who sin with women and adds Enoch's testimony against them.^{9 10 11}

Background

Leviticus 25:8 · Jubilees 50:4medium confidence
The book's forty-nine-year units draw on Leviticus 25's reckoning of seven groups of seven years.^{20 6 1}
Acts 7:15–16 · Jubilees 46:9low confidence
Charles compares the patriarchs' burial traditions. The accounts differ in location: Jubilees places the brothers except Joseph near Hebron, while Acts names Shechem.^{6 sources}6 sources29. Charles 1902 30. Charles 1902 31. Charles 1902 32. Acts 7:53 33. Galatians 3:19 34. (tr.)

Contrasts

Genesis 22:1 · Jubilees 17:16medium confidence
Charles contrasts Mastema's part in Abraham's test with Genesis' attribution to God. He also compares the attack on Moses in Exodus 4:24, which Jubilees assigns to Mastema.^{5 sources}5 sources24. (tr.)25. (tr.)26. (tr.)27. (tr.)28. Charles 1902

Where each church stands

Jubilees Full table →

Protestant: Not included^{35 36}
Catholic: Not included³⁷
Greek Orthodox: Not included³⁸
Russian (Slavonic) Orthodox: Not included³⁹
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo: Scripture
Narrower canon.
⁴⁰

Why some kept it, why others left it out

VanderKam suggests that the Qumran group counted Jubilees among its most authoritative works. Jubilees had canonical status in the Ethiopian church.^{14 15}

Kept

Orthodox

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church includes Jubilees in its biblical list and values its preservation in Ethiopic.^{21 41}

Academic (critical)

VanderKam reads the Qumran evidence and the Damascus Document's reference to the Book of the Divisions as signs of strong authority in that Jewish community.^{4 sources}4 sources14. VanderKam 1992 42. (tr.) 1913 19. VanderKam 1992 43. Klukowski 2020

Left out

Jewish: modern

Kohler and Toy's Jewish Encyclopedia account says the calendar and festival principles found no acceptance in later rabbinic schools. This is a possible reception factor, not a documented exclusion decree.⁴⁴

Protestant: evangelical

GotQuestions objects to additions to Mosaic law, idealised patriarchs, the calendar and what it considers insufficient manuscript evidence. These are that site's reasons for denying scriptural authority.⁴⁵

Sources

47 sources from 24 works

James C. VanderKam, Jubilees, Book of, in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 3, via the Center for Online Judaic Studies (1992)
- 1
  opening paragraph↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
- 11
  section B, Date and Authorship↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
- 19
  section A, Texts and Titles↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
Michael A. Knibb, “Review of J. C. VanderKam, Jubilees 1-2 (Hermeneia, 2018), Aethiopica 23” (2020)
- 2
  p. 278↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
- 16
  p. 279↩^a ↩^b
R. H. Charles (tr.), The Book of Jubilees (SPCK, 1917), via Sefaria; same translation as the site's DB text
- 3
  Jubilees 1:1 (Jub.1.1)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
- 4
  Jubilees 2:1 (Jub.2.1)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
- 6
  Jubilees 4:9 (Jub.4.9)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
- 7
  Jubilees 4:1 (Jub.4.1)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
- 9
  Jubilees 5:1 (Jub.5.1)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
- 10
  Jubilees 4:22 (Jub.4.22)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
- 12
  Jubilees 6:32 (Jub.6.32)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
- 13
  Jubilees 6:36 (Jub.6.36)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
- 20
  Jubilees 50:4 (Jub.50.4)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
- 22
  Jubilees 2:2 (Jub.2.2)↩
- 24
  Jubilees 17:16 (Jub.17.16)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
- 25
  Jubilees 18:12 (Jub.18.12)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
- 26
  Jubilees 48:2 (Jub.48.2)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
- 27
  Jubilees 10:8 (Jub.10.8)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
- 34
  Jubilees 46:9 (Jub.46.9)↩^a ↩^b
5
James C. VanderKam, Jubilees, Book of, in The Anchor Bible Dictionary (ed. David Noel Freedman), vol. 3, via the Center for Online Judaic Studies (1992), opening paragraph (vol. 3 pp. 1030-1032)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
R. H. Charles, The Book of Jubilees or the Little Genesis (1902)
- 8
  Introduction, on legendary matter↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
- 17
  Introduction, section 1, p. xiii↩
- 28
  Introduction, p. xlix↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
- 29
  Introduction, section 23, Influence of Jubilees on the New Testament, p. lxxxiii↩^a ↩^b
- 30
  Introduction, section 23, p. lxxxiii↩^a ↩^b
- 31
  Introduction, section 23, p. lxxxiv↩^a ↩^b
- 47
  note on Jub. 8 (Jerome, Ep. 78 ad Fabiolam, mansio 18)↩
14
James C. VanderKam, “The Book of Jubilees (introduction and translation), The Missouri Review” (1992), Introduction↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
15
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (ethiopianorthodox.org), “The Canonical Books of the Holy Scriptures”, on the Ethiopic Bible↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
18
Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, via Bible Gateway, “Encyclopedia of The Bible – Book of Jubilees”, article body↩
21
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, “The Canonical Books (ethiopianorthodox.org)”↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
23
R. H. Charles, The Book of Jubilees or the Little Genesis (London, A. & C. Black) (1902), Introduction, "Haggada", p. lii (approx.)↩
32
Acts 7:53↩^a ↩^b
33
Galatians 3:19↩^a ↩^b
35
Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (1571), Article VI, as printed in E. J. Bicknell, A Theological Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles (1919)↩
36
Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), chapter I.2–3↩
37
Council of Trent, Session IV (8 April 1546), Decree concerning the canonical Scriptures↩
38
Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece, online Old Testament (Septuagint text)↩
39
Russian Synodal Bible, as published by Azbuka Very (azbyka.ru): contents and chapter notes↩
40
R. W. Cowley, 'The Biblical Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Today', Ostkirchliche Studien 23 (1974) 318–323↩
41
R. H. Charles (signed R. H. C.), Apocryphal Literature, Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed., via Wikisource (1911)↩
42
R. H. Charles (tr.), Fragments of a Zadokite Work, in The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, vol. 2 (1913), Zadokite Work XX.1 (= CD 16:3-4)↩
43
Michał Klukowski, “The Tradition of the 364-Day Calendar versus the Calendar Polemic in Second Temple Judaism, Verbum Vitae 38/1” (2020), p. 98, Conclusion↩
44
Crawford Howell Toy and Kaufmann Kohler, “Jubilees, Book of, Jewish Encyclopedia” (1906), opening section↩^a ↩^b
45
GotQuestions.org, “What is the Book of Jubilees and should it be in the Bible?”, final paragraph↩^a ↩^b
46
Timothy H. Lim, “How was the Canon Formed?, The Expository Times 133.9 (2022) (author's copy, University of Pretoria repository)” (2022), abstract↩

Jubilees

At a glance

Summary

Contents

Moses receives a revelation

Angels, families and the calendar

Abraham's test

Moses and Israel's laws

Stories

Cain marries Awan

Mastema proposes Abraham's test

A year of fixed weeks

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

Retellings

Expansions

Background

Contrasts

Where each church stands

Jubilees Full table →

Why some kept it, why others left it out

Kept

Orthodox

Academic (critical)

Left out

Jewish: modern

Protestant: evangelical

Further reading

Sources

Report a problem

At a glance

Summary

Contents

Moses receives a revelation

Angels, families and the calendar

Abraham's test

Moses and Israel's laws

Stories

Cain marries Awan

Mastema proposes Abraham's test

A year of fixed weeks

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

Retellings

Expansions

Background

Contrasts

Where each church stands

Jubilees Full table →

Why some kept it, why others left it out

Kept

Orthodox

Academic (critical)

Left out

Jewish: modern

Protestant: evangelical

Related books

Further reading

Sources

Report a problem