Description

Jubilees is a pseudepigraphical composition from the second century BCE, which was preserved among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The book rewrites the Pentateuch until the Sinaitic revelation, by means of additions, omissions and other changes. Scholars tend to the view it as a unified work, composed by one author. In light of numerous contradictions, both in narrative details and in issues of biblical interpretation, Michael Segal suggests a new approach towards understanding the literary development of the work: a redactor relied upon extant sources, generally rewritten biblical narratives, and incorporated them into a new literary framework. The redactor's unique contribution can be identified in the chronological framework and the legal passages. The internal contradictions between the different literary genres are the result of the literary development of the book. This source-critical analysis reveals a unified, complete worldview in the redactional layer of the book, which can be summar