An introduction to the contents of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and to the critical issues in its study, and a fresh reading of the work's rhetoric. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is of especial interest to students of early Judaism and Christianity, though this importance is not always recognized. This collection preserves extra-biblical traditions about the sons of Jacob, it reflects a moral worldview of Jews and Christians around the turn of the era, and it casts light on its authors' eschatological imagination. Robert A. Kugler introduces the student to the Testaments' contents, their relationship to other texts of the era, textual witnesses and sources, and rehearses the debate regarding authorship, compositional history and purpose. He also examines the Testaments from the fresh perspective of rhetorical strategy, asking what sort of theological notions the Testaments would have conjured in the minds of early Jewish and Christian listeners or readers.

Author Biography

Robert Kugler is Associate Professor in the Religious Studies Department and Chair of Classical Civilizations, Gonzaga University, Washington.