Other ancient texts · Read in Jesus' day
Testament of Joseph
The Testament of Joseph is the eleventh of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. Each testament is presented as the deathbed speech of one of Jacob's sons, and here Joseph urges his children to stay chaste, to be patient and to love their brothers, drawing on his own life story. People read it for its moving moral teaching, for its expanded version of Joseph and Potiphar's wife, and for what it shows about how Jews and early Christians understood Joseph.
- 2nd century BC, with later Christian additions
- Greek (possibly Hebrew)
- Protestant Catholic Orthodox Ethiopian
Should it be in the Bible?
The case for
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Its moral teaching on forgiveness and loving people who do you harm is very close to the teaching of Jesus and the apostles.
The evidence
Joseph refuses to expose the brothers who sold him and tells his children to pray for anyone who wants to harm them (T. Jos. 17–18). Compare Matthew 5:44 and Romans 12:17–21. The book's picture of chastity and patience under false accusation also fits Genesis 39 and James 1:12.
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Christians read and valued it widely for many centuries.
The evidence
Origen (3rd century) cites the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs by name, and Christian scribes copied it in Greek, Armenian and Slavonic. Some Armenian Bible manuscripts include it among the biblical books. Robert Grosseteste translated it into Latin in 1242, and it then circulated widely in medieval Europe.
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It preserves early Jewish interpretation of Joseph that helps explain the world of the New Testament.
The evidence
Among the Dead Sea Scrolls are related testament-style texts about the patriarchs, such as the Aramaic Levi Document and 4Q215, a Hebrew text related to Naphtali. These show the genre was already in use before Jesus. The book's portrait of Joseph as a model of virtue matches how Stephen summarizes Joseph in Acts 7:9–10.
The case against
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No Jewish or Christian canon has ever officially accepted it as scripture.
The evidence
It is missing from the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint codices, Athanasius's list of 367, the councils of Hippo and Carthage, Trent, and the Ethiopian canon. Origen himself said the Testaments were "not held in the canon."
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It is written under a false name, and much of it is legend built on Genesis rather than history.
The evidence
Scholars agree that Joseph did not write it. Its account of the Egyptian woman's years of seduction attempts, threats and love potions (T. Jos. 3–9) goes far beyond Genesis 39 and cannot be traced to any earlier source.
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Christian scribes changed the text, so its original form and date are uncertain.
The evidence
Chapter 19 describes a spotless lamb born of a virgin from Judah, which is widely seen as a Christian addition. The Armenian version of this chapter is quite different. Scholars still disagree on whether the book is a Jewish work edited by Christians or a Christian composition.
Both sides are written as strongly as the honest evidence allows, so you can decide for yourself. Researched by claude-opus-5-5.
When, where and by whom
It presents itself as Joseph's own words at the end of his life in Egypt, but no scholar today thinks Joseph wrote it. Many scholars (following R. H. Charles and H. C. Kee) date a Jewish original to around the 2nd century BC with later Christian additions. Others (following M. de Jonge) argue that the book as we have it is a Christian work from about AD 200 that drew on older Jewish material. It was written in Greek, possibly from a Semitic original.
Jesus, the New Testament and this book
- T. Jos. 1:5–7 ("I was sick and the Lord visited me; I was in prison and my God showed favor to me") closely matches the wording of Matthew 25:35–36. Scholars disagree on which text depends on which, or whether both draw on common Jewish language. (likely link)
- The command to pray for anyone who wants to harm you and to return good for evil (T. Jos. 18:2) shares Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:44 and Paul's in Romans 12:17–21. (likely link)
- The lamb born of a virgin who overcomes the beasts (T. Jos. 19) echoes the Lamb of John 1:29 and Revelation 5 and 17:14. The parallel is clear, but it most likely comes from a Christian scribe, not from the original author. (strong link)
- The call to love one another and patiently cover each other's faults (T. Jos. 17:2) resembles 1 Peter 4:8. (possible link)
- Joseph as a model of virtue whom God rescued from his troubles is shared with Stephen's speech (Acts 7:9–10). His instructions about his bones (T. Jos. 20) are echoed in Hebrews 11:22, but both of these go back to Genesis 50:25. (possible link)
How it came down to us
It survives only as part of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. The Greek text is known from about a dozen and a half manuscripts, the oldest being a 10th-century manuscript now in Cambridge (University Library Ff.1.24). There are also Armenian and Old Slavonic translations, and the Armenian sometimes differs noticeably from the Greek, especially in chapter 19. Christian monks were the ones who kept copying it. No ancient Hebrew or Aramaic text of the Testament of Joseph has been found. There are Joseph-related texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls (such as 4Q539), but how they relate to this book is unclear.
- Greek manuscripts of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, especially Cambridge University Library Ff.1.24 (10th century)
- Armenian and Old Slavonic versions
- Critical edition by M. de Jonge et al., The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs: A Critical Edition of the Greek Text (1978)
- Translations and introductions by R. H. Charles (1908) and H. C. Kee (in Charlesworth, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 1983)
- Dead Sea Scrolls related texts: Aramaic Levi Document, 4Q215, 4Q539
- Origen, Homilies on Joshua 15.6
- Robert Grosseteste's Latin translation (1242)
- Canon lists: Athanasius's Festal Letter 39 (367), councils of Hippo and Carthage, Council of Trent, Ethiopian canon