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

ZEBULUN
CHAPT ER 1 1 T he copy of the words of Zeb u lu n, which he enjoined on his sons before h e died in the hu ndred and fou rteenth year of his life, two y ears a fter the death of Joseph. 2 And he said to them : Heark en to me, ye son s of Z ebu lu n, attend to the words o f you r father. 3 I, Zebulu n, was born a good gift to my parents. For when I was born my fa ther was increased very ex ce e dingly, both in flock s and herds, when with the strak ed rods he had his portion. 4 I a m not consciou s that I have sinned all my days, save in thou ght. 5 Nor yet do I remember that I have done a ny iniquity, except the sin of ignora nce which I co mmitted a ga inst Joseph ; for I covenanted with my brethren not to tell my fa ther what had been done. 6 Bu t I wept in secret many days on a ccou nt of Joseph, for I feared my brethren, becau se they had all a greed, that if any one shou ld de c la re the secret, he shou ld be slain. 7 Bu t when they wished to k ill him, I a djured them mu ch with tears not to be gu ilty of this sin. CHAPT ER 2 1 For Simeon and Gad came against Joseph to kill him, and he said u nto them with tears: 2 Pity me, my brethren, have mercy u pon the bowels of Jacob our father: la y not u pon me you r hands to shed innocent blood, for I have not sinned against you . 3 And if indeed I have sinned, with chastening chastise me, my bret h ren, bu t lay not u pon me you r hand, for the sak e of Jacob ou r father. 4 And as he sp ok e these word s, wailing as he did so, I was u nable to bear his lamentatioms, and began to weep, a nd my liver was pou red ou t, and all the su bstance of my bowels was loosened. 5 And I wept with Joseph, and my heart sou nded, and the joints of my body trembled, and I was not able to stand. 6 And when Joseph saw me wee ping with him, and them coming against him to slay him, he fled b ehind me, beseechin g them. 7 Bu t meanwhile Reu ben rose and said: Come, my brethren, let u s not slay him, bu t let u s cast him into one o f these dry pits, which ou r f a thers digged and fou nd no water. 8 For for this cau se the Lo rd forbade that water shou ld rise u p in them, in order that Joseph shou ld be preserved. 9 And they did so, u ntil they sold him to the Ishmaelites. CHAPT ER 3 1 For in his price I had no share, my children. 2 Bu t Simeon and Gad and six ot her of ou r bret hren took the price of Joseph, and bou ght sandals for themselv es, and their wives, and their children, saying: 3 We will not eat of it, for it is the price of ou r brother's blo od, bu t we will assu redly tread it u nder foot, becau se he said that he wou ld be k ing over u s, and so let u s see what

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will become o f his dreams. 4 T herefore it is written in the wri ting of the law of Mo ses, that wh osoever will not raise u p seed to his brother, his sandal shou ld be u nloosed, and they sh ou ld spit into his fa ce. 5 And the brethren of Joseph wished n ot that their brother shou ld live, a nd the Lord loosed from them the sa ndal which they wore against joseph their brother. 6 For when they came into Egypt they were u nloosed by the servants of Joseph ou tside the gate, and so they made ob eisance to Joseph after the fa shion of King Pharaoh. 7 And not only did they mak e o beisa nce to him, bu t were spit u pon a lso, falling down before him forthwith, and so they were pu t to sha me before the Egyptians. 8 For after this the Egyptians heard a ll the evils that they had done to Joseph. CHAPT ER 4 1 And after he was sold my brot hers sa t down to eat and drink. 2 Bu t I, throu gh pity for Joseph, did not eat, bu t watched the pit, since Ju dah feared lest Simeon, Da n, a nd Gad shou ld ru sh off and sla y him. 3 Bu t when they saw that I did not ea t, they set me to watch him, till he wa s sold to the Ishmaelites. 5 And when Reu ben came and hea rd that while he was away (J oseph) had been sold, he rent his ga rments, (and) mourning, said: How shall I look on the face of my fa ther Jacob? 6 And he took the money and ran a fter the merchants, bu t as he failed to find them he retu rned grieving.

Bu t the merchants had left the broad road and marched throu gh the Tro glodytes by a short cu t. 7 Bu t Reu ben was grieved, and ate no foo d that day. Dan therefore came to him and said: 8 Weep not, neither grieve; for we have fou nd what we can say to ou r father Jacob. 9 Let u s slay a kid of the goats, and dip in it the coat of Joseph; and let u s send it to Jacob, sayi ng : Know, is this the coat of thy son? And they did so. 10 For they stripped off fro m J oseph hi s coat when th ey were selling him, and pu t u pon him the garment of a slave. 11 Now Simeon took the coat, a nd wou ld not give it u p, for he wished to rend it wi th his sword, as he was a ngry that Joseph lived and that he had not slain him. 12 T hen we all rose u p and said u nto him: If thou givest not u p the coat, we will say to ou r father that thou alone didst this evil thing in Israel. 13 And so he gave it u nto them, and they did even as Dan had said. CHAPT ER 5 1 And now, my children, I bid you to k eep the commands o f the Lord, and to show mercy to you r neig hbou rs, and to have compassion t o wards all, not towards men only, bu t also towards beasts. 2 For, for this thing's sak e the Lord blessed me, and when all my bret hren were sick , I escaped withou t sick ness, for the Lord k noweth the pu rposes of each. 3 Have, therefore, compassion in you r hearts, my children, becau se even as a man do eth to his neig h -

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bou r, even so also will the Lord do to him. 4 For the sons of my brethren were sick ening and were dying on a ccou nt of Joseph, becau se they showed not mercy in their hearts; bu t my sons were preserved withou t sick ness, as ye k now. 5 And when I was in the land of Ca na a n, by the sea -coast, I made a ca tch of fish for Jacob my father; a nd when many were chok ed in the sea , I continu ed u nhurt. CHAPT ER 6 1 I was the first to mak e a boat to sa il u pon the sea, for the Lord gave me u nderstanding and wisdom ther e in. 2 And I let down a ru dder behind it, a nd I stretched a sail u pon another u pright piece of wood in the midst. 3 And I sailed therein along the shores, catching fish for the hou se of my father u ntil we came to Egypt. 4 And throu gh compassion I shared my ca tch wit h every stranger. 5 And if a man were a stranger, or sick , or aged, I boiled the fish, and dressed them well, and offered them to a ll men, as every man had need, grieving with and having compa ssion u pon them. 6 Wherefore also the Lord satisfied me with a bu ndance of fi sh wh en ca tching fish; for he that shareth with his neighbou r receiveth man ifold more fro m the Lord. 7 For five years I cau ght fish, and ga ve thereof to every man whom I sa w, a nd su ffi ced for all the hou se of my father. 8 And in the su mmer I cau ght fish, a nd in the winter I k ept sheep with my brethren.

CHAPT ER 7 1 Now I will declare u nto you what I did. I saw a man in distress throu gh nak edness in wintertime, and had compassion u pon him, and stole away a garment secretly from my father's hou se, and gave it to him who was in distress. 2 Do ye, therefore, my children, from that which God b esto weth u pon you , show co mpassion and mercy withou t hesitation to all men, and give to every man with a good heart. 3 And if ye have not the wh er ewithal to give to him that needeth, have compassion for him in bowels of mercy. 4 I k now that my hand fou nd not the wherewithal to give to him that needed, and I walk ed with him weeping for seven fu rlongs, and my bowels yearned towards him in compassion. CHAPT ER 8 1 Have, therefore, you rselves also, my children, compassion towards every man with mercy, that the Lord also may have compassion and me rcy u pon you . 2 Becau se also in the last days God will send His compassion on the earth, and wheresoever He findeth bowels o f mercy He dwelleth in him. 3 For in the degree in which a man hath compassion u pon his neig hbou rs, in the same degree hath the Lord also u pon him. 4 And when we went down into Egypt, Joseph bore no malice against u s. 5 To whom tak ing heed, do ye also, my children, approve you rselves

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withou t malice, and love one a nother; a nd do not set down in a ccou nt, ea ch one o f you , evil against his brother. 6 For this break eth u nity and d ivideth a ll k indred, and trou bleth the sou l, a nd weareth away the cou nt ena nce. CHAPT ER 9 1 Observe, therefore, the waters, a nd k now when th ey flow tog ether, they sweep along stones, trees, ea rth, a nd other things. 2 But if they are divided into many strea ms, the earth swalloweth them u p, a nd they become o f no accou nt. 3 So shall ye also be if ye be divided. 4 Be not ye, therefore, divided into two heads, for everything which the Lord made hath bu t one head, and two shou lders, two hands, two feet, bu t a ll the remaining members. 5 For I have learnt in the writing of my fa thers, that Ye shall be divided in Isra el, And ye shall follow t wo k ings, And shall work every abom ina tion. 6 And you r enemies shall lead you ca ptive, And ye shall be evil e n trea ted among the Gentiles, With ma ny infirmities and tribu lations. 7 And after these things ye shall remember the Lord and repent, And He sha ll have mercy u pon you , for He is mercifu l and compassionate. And He setteth not down in accou nt evil a gainst the sons of men, B e ca u se they are flesh, and are d eceived throu gh their own wick ed deeds. 8 And after these things shall there a rise u nto you the Lord Himself, the light of righteou sness, And y e shall return u nto you r own land. And ye

shall see Him in Jeru salem, for His name's sak e. 9 And again throu gh the wick e dness o f you r work s shall ye provok e Him to anger, And ye shall be cast away by Him u nto the time of co n su mmation. CHAPT ER 1 0 11 And now, my children, grieve not that I am dying, nor be cast down in that I am coming to my end. 12 For I shall rise again in the midst of you , as a ruler in the mids t of his sons; and I shall rejoice in the midst of my tribe, as many as shall k eep the law of the Lord, and the commandments o f Zebu lu n their fa ther. 13 But u pon the u ngodly shall the Lord bring eternal fire, and destroy them throu ghou t all generations. 14 Bu t I am now hastening away to my rest, as did also my fathers. 15 Bu t do ye fear the Lord rou r God with all you r strength all the days of you r life. 16 And when he had said these things he fell asleep, at a good old age. And his son s laid him in a wooden co ffin. 17 And afterwards they carried him u p and buried him in Hebron, with his fathers.