T H E T E S TA M E N T O F

N A P H TA L I
CHAPT ER 1 1 T he copy of the testament of Na phta li, which he ordained at the time of his death in the hu ndred and thirtieth year of his life. 2 When his son s were gathered t ogether in the seventh month, on the first da y of the month, while still in good health, he made them a feast of fo od and wine. 3 And after he was awak e in the morning, he said to them, I am d ying; a nd they believed him not. 4 And as he glorified the Lord, he grew strong and said that after ye sterda y's feast he shou ld die. 5 And he began then to say: Hear, my children, ye sons o f Naphtali, hea r the words of you r father. 6 I was born from Bilhah; and b eca u se Rachel dealt craftily, and gave Bilha h in place of h erself to Jacob, a nd she conceived and bare me u pon Ra chel's k nees, therefore she called my na me Naphtali. 7 For Rachel loved me very mu ch beca u se I was born u pon her lap; a nd when I was still you ng she was wont to k iss me, and say: May I ha ve a brother of thine from mine own wo mb, lik e u nto thee. 8 Whence a lso Joseph was lik e u nto me in all things, according to the pra yers of Rachel. 9 Now my mother was Bilhah, da u ghter of Rotheu s the brother of Debora h, Rebecca's nu rse, who was born on one and the self-same day with Rachel. 10 And Rotheu s was o f the family of Abraham, a Chaldean, God fea ring, free-born, and noble. 11 And he was tak en captive and was bou ght by Laban; and he ga ve him Eu na his handmaid to wife, and she bore a dau ghter, and called her name Zilpah, after the name of the village in which he had b e en tak en captive. 12 And next she bore Bilhah, sa ying: My dau ghter hasteneth after what is new, for immediately that she was born she seized the breast and ha stened to su ck it. CHAPT ER 2 1 And I was swift on my feet lik e the deer, and my father Jacob a ppointed me for all messages, and as a deer did he give me his blessing. 2 For as the potter k noweth the vessel, how mu ch it is to contain, and bringeth clay accordingly, so also doth the Lord mak e the body after the lik eness of the spirit, a nd according to the capacity of the body doth He implant the spirit. 3 And the one doth not fall short of the other by a third part of a ha ir; for by weight, and measu re, and ru le was all the creation made. 4 And as the potter k noweth the u se of each vessel, what it is me et for, so also doth the L ord k now the body, how far it will persist in goodness, and when it beginneth in evil. 5 For there is no inclination or thou ght which the Lord k noweth not, for He created every man after His own image. 6 For as a man's strength, so also is his work ; as his eye, so also is his sleep; as his sou l, so also is his

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word either in the law of the Lord or in the law of Beliar. 7 And as there is a division b etween light and dark ness, between seeing and h earing, so also is there a division between man and man, a nd between wo man and woman; a nd it is not to be said that the one is lik e the other either in face or in mind. 8 For God made all things good in their order, the five senses in the hea d, a nd He joined on the neck to the hea d, adding to it the ha ir also for comeliness and glory, then the hea rt for u nderstanding, the belly for excrement, and the stomach for grinding, the windpipe for tak ing in (the breath), the liver for wrath, the ga ll for bitterness, the spleen for lau ghter, the reins for pru dence, the mu scles o f the loin s for power, the lu ngs for drawing in, the loins for strength, and so forth. 9 So then, my children, let a ll your work s be don e in order with g ood intent in the fear of God, and do nothing disorderly in scorn or ou t of its du e season. 10 For if thou bid the eye to hear, it ca nnot; so neither while ye are in da rk ness can ye do th e work s of light. CHAPT ER 3 1 Be ye, therefore, not eager to co rru pt you r doings throu gh covetou sness or with vain words to, b egu ile you r sou ls; becau se if ye k eep silence in pu rity of heart, ye shall u ndersta nd how to hold fast the will of God, a nd to cast away the will of Belia r. 2 Su n and moon and stars change not their order; so do ye also change not the law of God in the disorderl i-

ness o f you r doings. 3 T he Gentiles went astray, a nd forsook the Lord, and changed their order, and obeyed stock s and stones, spirits of deceit. 4 But ye shall not be so, my chi ldren, recognising in th e firmament, in the earth, and in the sea, and in all created things, the Lord Who made all things, that ye become not as Sodom, which changed the order of natu re. 5 In lik e manner the Watchers also change the order of their natu re, whom th e Lord cu rsed at the flood, on whose accou nt He made the earth withou t inhabitant and fru itless. CHAPT ER 4 1 T hese things I say u nto you , my children, for I have read in the wri ting of Enoch that ye you rselves also shall depart from the Lord, walk ing according to all the lawlessness o f the Gentiles, and ye shall do accor ding to all the wick edness o f Sodom. 2 And the Lord shall bring capti vity u pon you , and there shall ye serve you r enemies, and ye shall be bowed down with ev ery affliction and tribulation, u ntil the Lord ha ve consu med you all. 3 And after ye have become m inished and made few, ye shall retu rn and a ck nowledge the Lord you r God; and He shall bring you ba ck into you r own land, according to His abu ndant mercy. 4 And it shall be, that after that they come into the land of their fa thers, they shall again forget the Lord and become u ngodly. 5 And the Lord shall scatter them u pon the face of all the earth, u ntil the compassion o f the Lord shall come, a man work ing righteou sness

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a nd work ing mercy u nto all them tha t are afar off, and to them that a re nea r. CHAPT ER 5 1 For in the fortieth year of my life, I saw a vision on the Mou nt of Olives, on the east of Jeru salem, tha t the su n and the moon were sta nding still. 2 And behold Isaac, the father of my fa ther, said to u s: Ru n and lay hold of th em, each on e according to his strength; and to him that seizeth them will the su n and moon belong. 3 And we all of u s ran together, and Levi laid hold of the su n, and Ju dah ou tstripped the others and seized the moon, and they were both of them lifted u p with them. 4 And when Levi became as a su n , lo, a certain you ng man gave to him twelve branches of palm; and Ju dah wa s bright as the moon, and u nder their feet were twelv e rays. 5 And the two, Levi and Ju dah, ran, a nd laid hold of them. 6 And lo, a bu ll u pon the earth, with two great horns, and an eagle's wings u pon his back ; and we wished to seize him, bu t cou ld not. 7 Bu t Joseph came, and seized hi m, a nd a scended u p with him on high. 8 And I saw, for I was there, and behold a holy writing appeared to u s, sa ying: Assyrians, Medes, Pe rsia ns, Chaldeans, Syrians, shall po ssess in captivity the twelve tribes o f Isra el. CHAPT ER 6 1 And again, after seven days, I sa w ou r father Jacob standing by the sea of Jamnia, and we were with him. 2 And, behold, there came a ship

sailing by, withou t sailors or pil ot; and there was written u pon the ship, T he ship of Jacob. 3 And ou r father saith to u s: Come let u s embark on ou r ship. 4 And when we had gone on b oard, there arose a vehement storm, and a mighty tempest of wind; and ou r fa ther, who was h olding the h elm, de parted from u s. 5 And we, b eing tost with the tempest, were borne along over the sea; and the ship was filled with w a ter, (and was) pou nded by mighty waves, u ntil it was brok en u p. 6 And Joseph fled away u pon a li ttle boat, and we all were divided u pon nine plank s, and Levi and Ju dah were together. 7 And we were all scattered u nto the ends o f the earth. 8 T hen Levi, girt abou t with sac k cloth, prayed for u s all u nto the Lord. 9 And when the storm ceased, the ship reached the land, as it were in peace. 10 And, lo, our father came, and we all rejoiced with one accord. CHAPT ER 7 1 T hese two dreams I told to my f a ther; and he said to me: T hese things mu st be fulfilled in their se a son, after that Israel hath endured many things. 2 T hen my father saith u nto me : I believe God that Joseph liveth, for I see always that the Lord nu mbereth him with you . 3 And he said, weeping: Ah me, my son, Joseph, thou livest, thou gh I behold thee not, and thou seest not Jacob that begat thee. 4 He cau sed me also, therefore, to weep by these words, and I burned

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in my heart to declare that Joseph ha d been sold, bu t I feared my brethren. CHAPT ER 8 1 And lo! my children, I have shown u nto you the last times, how everything shall come to pass in Isra el. 2 Do ye also, therefore, charg e you r children that they be u nited to Levi a nd to Ju dah; For throu gh them sha ll salvation arise u nto Israel, And in them shall Jacob be blessed. 3 For throu gh their tribes shall God a ppea r dwelling among men on ea rth, To save the race of Israel, And to ga ther together the righteou s from a mongst the Gentiles. 4 If ye work that which is go od, my children, Both men and angels shall bless y ou ; And God shall be glor ified a mong the Gentiles throu gh you , And the devil shall flee from you , And the wild beasts shal l fear you , And the Lord shall love you , And the angels shall cleave to you . 5 As a man who has trained a child well is k ept in k indly remembrance; So a lso for a good work there is a good remembrance before God. 6 Bu t him who doeth n ot that which is good, Both angels and men shall cu rse, And God shall be dish onou red among the Gentiles throu gh him, And th e devil shall mak e him a s his own pecu liar instru ment, And every wild beast shall master him, And the Lord shall hate him. 7 For the commandment s of the law a re twofold, And throu gh pru dence mu st they be fu lfilled. 8 For there is a season for a man to embra ce his wi fe, And a season to a bsta in therefrom for his prayer. 9 So, then, there are two co m-

mandments; and, u nless they be done in du e order, they bring ve ry great sin u pon men. So also is it with the other commandments. 10 Be ye therefore wise in God, my children, and pru dent, u nderstanding the order of His commandments, and the laws of ev ery word, that the Lord may love you . CHAPT ER 9 1 And when he had charged them with many su ch words, he exhorted them that they shou ld remove his bones to Hebron, and that they shou ld bu ry him with his fathers. 2 And when he had eaten and dru nk en with a merry heart, he co vered his face and died. 3 And his sons did accordi ng to all that Naphtali their father had co mmanded them.