Book of the Pseudepigrapha. The Book of Jubilees takes the form of a Midrash Aggadah relating events from the Creation to the Exodus. With its additions and variations it is a source of material not found in the Bible but current in the time of the author. Among other things it is related that Adam spent five days naming the creatures of the earth (3:1-3) and that he had 12 sons (4:10). The names of Cain's wives are given (4:15) as well the names of the wives of other figures and many place names. Other events are omitted, like the sending forth of a raven from the ark to test for dry ground or Abraham's efforts on behalf of Sodom, and for some events new explanations or interpretations are given. Thus Shavu'Ot is said to commemorate the renewal of the Covenant between God and man after the Flood and Sabbath laws are strictly represented (with a proviso against sexual intercourse). Another feature of the book is the precise dating of the events described in terms of Jubilee and Sabbatical years.
From internal evidence it may be surmised that the book was written in Hebrew. Both the original and the Greek translation that served as the basis of the extant versions (Latin, Ethiopic) have been lost. The ideological affinities of the author with the community of Qumran make it probable that the composition was an early Essene text, written in the first century BCE.
