jan 1, 168 BC - Jubilees

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The book of Jubilees is an extensive rewriting of Gen 1 - Exod 12, presented as a secret revelation that the angels of God's presence transmitted to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Several features of the book stand out, including its promotion of a solar calendar; its depiction of the patriarchs (pre-Mosaic/Sinaitic figures) as Torah-observant; and its unique halakot, as well as its exegetical and theological expansions of its biblical base-text.


There are more than one possible dates of composition for Jubilees. Nickelsburg (2005:73), among others, propose 168 BCE [followed here], but a date as late as between 161 and 152-140 BCE is also possible. Jubilees is clearly later than some of the early Enochic literature, as it cites and appears dependent on the Enochic literature (see Jub 4:17-25). The earliest MS evidence of Jubilees is dated to around 100 BCE.

Image: PAM 42.222, photograph of 4QJub^e (4Q220) frag. 1= Jub 21:5-10; see more at https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-281069

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