Blessings

In the climactic turn of our epic saga, the venerable Abraham, having lived a life of unwavering faith and monumental deeds, gathers his family for a final blessing. With a heart full of divine grace and a spirit steeped in ancient wisdom, he bestows upon Jacob a legacy of righteousness and divine favor, while urging him to uphold the sacred covenant. As Abraham’s life draws to its serene close, his death sends ripples through the land, with mourners from across the realms grieving the loss of a patriarch who shaped the world with his faith and kindness.

As the drama unfolds in the aftermath of Abraham’s passing, the earth begins to reflect the weight of its own unraveling. The once-lengthy days of the forefathers give way to an age of rapid decline, where suffering and calamity become the hallmarks of existence. Yet, amidst the encroaching darkness, a flicker of hope persists. A prophecy of renewal emerges, foretelling a time when righteousness will prevail, days will stretch long with peace, and divine healing will restore the world to its former glory. As the series concludes, this vision of salvation is etched into the annals of history, promising a future where harmony and justice reign supreme.

Major Characters

Minor Characters

Insignificant Characters

GENESIS

4%

JASHER

14%

JUBILEES

82%

Exposition

J: 44 | Y: 2124 | Jacob becomes a herdsman and Esau becomes a hunter
Genesis 25:27, Jasher 26:17, Jubilees 19:13-14

Rising Action

Abraham speaks with Rebekah about Jacob and Esau
Jubilees 19:15-25

Abraham blesses Jacob
Jubilees 19:26-30

Isaac loves Esau more and Rebekah loves Jacob more
Genesis 25:28, Jubilees 19:31

Abraham instructs Isaac
Jasher 26:22-28, Jubilees 21:1-26

Isaac and Ishmael celebrate the feast of weeks with Abraham
Jubilees 22:1-5

Climax

Abraham blesses YHWH and Jacob
Jubilees 22:6-25

Abraham blesses Jacob again
Jubilees 22:26-30

Abraham died
Genesis 25:7, Jubilees 23:1-6, 8

Falling Action

Abraham is buried in the cave of Machpelah near Sarah
Genesis 25:8-10, Jasher 26:29-38, Jubilees 23:7

Resolution

Thoughts on why people are dying younger and younger
Jubilees 23:9-32

Jubilee: 44

Year: 2124

Jacob becomes a herdsman and Esau becomes a hunter

Genesis 25:27

27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

Jasher 26:17

17 And the boys grew up to their fifteenth year, and they came amongst the society of men. Esau was a designing and deceitful man, and an expert hunter in the field, and Jacob was a man perfect and wise, dwelling in tents, feeding flocks and learning the instructions of the Lord and the commands of his father and mother.

Jubilees 19:13-14

13 and [2046 A.M.] Jacob was a smooth and upright man, and Esau was fierce, a man of the field, and hairy, and Jacob dwelt in tents.
14 And the youths grew, and Jacob learned to write; but Esau did not learn, for he was a man of the field and a hunter, and he learnt war, and all his deeds were fierce.

Abraham speaks with Rebekah about Jacob and Esau

Jubilees 19:15-25

15 And Abraham loved Jacob, but Isaac loved Esau.
16 And Abraham saw the deeds of Esau, and he knew that in Jacob should his name and seed be called; and he called Rebecca and gave commandment regarding Jacob, for he knew that she (too) loved Jacob much more than Esau.
17 And he said unto her: My daughter, watch over my son Jacob, For he shall be in my stead on the earth, And for a blessing in the midst of the children of men, And for the glory of the whole seed of Shem.
18 For I know that the Lord will choose him to be a people for possession unto Himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
19 And behold, Isaac my son loves Esau more than Jacob, but I see that thou truly lovest Jacob.
20 Add still further to thy kindness to him, And let thine eyes be upon him in love; For he shall be a blessing unto us on the earth from henceforth unto all generations of the earth.
21 Let thy hands be strong And let thy heart rejoice in thy son Jacob; For I have loved him far beyond all my sons. He shall be blessed for ever, And his seed shall fill the whole earth.
22 If a man can number the sand of the earth, His seed also shall be numbered.
23 And all the blessings wherewith the Lord hath blessed me and my seed shall belong to Jacob and his seed alway.
24 And in his seed shall my name be blessed, and the name of my fathers, Shem, and Noab, and Enoch, and Mahalalel, and Enos, and Seth, and Adam.
25 And these shall serve To lay the foundations of the heaven, And to strengthen the earth, And to renew all the luminaries which are in the firmament.

Abraham blesses Jacob

Jubilees 19:26-30

26 And he called Jacob before the eyes of Rebecca his mother, and kissed him, and blessed him, and said:
27 ‘Jacob, my beloved son, whom my soul loveth, may God bless thee from above the firmament, and may He give thee all the blessings wherewith He blessed Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, and Shem; and all the things of which He told me, and all the things which He promised to give me, may he cause to cleave to thee and to thy seed for ever, according to the days of heaven above the earth.
28 And the Spirits of Mastêmâ shall not rule over thee or over thy seed to turn thee from the Lord, who is thy God from henceforth for ever.
29 And may the Lord God be a father to thee and thou the first-born son, and to the people alway.
30 Go in peace, my son.’ And they both went forth together from Abraham.

Isaac loves Esau more and Rebekah loves Jacob more

Genesis 25:28

28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Jubilees 19:31

31 And Rebecca loved Jacob, with all her heart and with all her soul, very much more than Esau; but Isaac loved Esau much more than Jacob.

Abraham instructs Isaac

Jubilees 21:1

1 And in the sixth year of the seventh week of this jubilee Abraham called Isaac his son, and [2057 (2050?) A.M.] commanded him: saying, ‘I am become old, and know not the day of my death, and am full of my days.

Jasher 26:22-27

22 And he commanded him saying, Dost thou not know and understand the Lord is God in heaven and in earth, and there is no other beside him?
23 And it was he who took me from my father’s house, and from my birth place, and gave me all the delights upon earth; who delivered me from the counsel of the wicked, for in him did I trust.
24 And he brought me to this place, and he delivered me from Ur Casdim; and he said unto me, To thy seed will I give all these lands, and they shall inherit them when they keep my commandments, my statutes and my judgments that I have commanded thee, and which I shall command them.
25 Now therefore my son, hearken to my voice, and keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I commanded thee, do not turn from the right way either to the right or to the left, in order that it may be well with thee and thy children after thee forever.
26 And remember the wonderful works of the Lord, and his kindness that he has shown toward us, in having delivered us from the hands of our enemies, and the Lord our God caused them to fall into our hands; and now therefore keep all that I have commanded thee, and turn not away from the commandments of thy God, and serve none beside him, in order that it may be well with thee and thy seed after thee.
27 And teach thou thy children and thy seed the instructions of the Lord and his commandments, and teach them the upright way in which they should go, in order that it may be well with them forever.

Jubilees 21:2-25

2 And behold, I am one hundred and seventy-five years old, and throughout all the days of my life I have remembered the Lord, and sought with all my heart to do His will, and to walk uprightly in all His ways.
3 My soul has hated idols, <and I have despised those that served them, and I have given my heart and spirit> that I might observe to do the will of Him who created me.
4 For He is the living God, and He is holy and faithful, and He is righteous beyond all, and there is with Him no accepting of (men’s) persons and no accepting of gifts; for God is righteous, and executeth judgment on all those who transgress His commandments and despise His covenant.
5 And do thou, my son, observe His commandments and His ordinances and His judgments, and walk not after the abominations and after the graven images and after the molten images.
6 And eat no blood at all of animals or cattle, or of any bird which flies in the heaven.
7 And if thou dost slay a victim as an acceptable peace offering, slay ye it, and pour out its blood upon the altar, and all the fat of the offering offer on the altar with fine flour and the meat offering mingled with oil, with its drink offering -offer them all together on the altar of burnt offering; it is a sweet savour before the Lord.
8 And thou wilt offer the fat of the sacrifice of thank offerings on the fire which is upon the altar, and the fat which is on the belly, and all the fat on the inwards and the two kidneys, and all the fat that is upon them, and upon the loins and liver thou shalt remove, together with the kidneys.
9 And offer all these for a sweet savour acceptable before the Lord, with its meat-offering and with its drink- offering, for a sweet savour, the bread of the offering unto the Lord.
10 And eat its meat on that day and on the second day, and let not the sun on the second day go down upon it till it is eaten, and let nothing be left over for the third day; for it is not acceptable [for it is not approved] and let it no longer be eaten, and all who eat thereof will bring sin upon themselves; for thus I have found it written in the books of my forefathers, and in the words of Enoch, and in the words of Noah.
11 And on all thy oblations thou shalt strew salt, and let not the salt of the covenant be lacking in all thy oblations before the Lord.
12 And as regards the wood of the sacrifices, beware lest thou bring (other) wood for the altar in addition to these: cypress, bay, almond, fir, pine, cedar, savin, fig, olive, myrrh, laurel, aspalathus.
13 And of these kinds of wood lay upon the altar under the sacrifice, such as have been tested as to their appearance, and do not lay (thereon) any split or dark wood, (but) hard and clean, without fault, a sound and new growth; and do not lay (thereon) old wood, [for its fragrance is gone] for there is no longer fragrance in it as before.
14 Besides these kinds of wood there is none other that thou shalt place (on the altar), for the fragrance is dispersed, and the smell of its fragrance goes not up to heaven.
15 Observe this commandment and do it, my son, that thou mayst be upright in all thy deeds.
16 And at all times be clean in thy body, and wash thyself with water before thou approachest to offer on the altar, and wash thy hands and thy feet before thou drawest near to the altar; and when thou art done sacrificing, wash again thy hands and thy feet.
17 And let no blood appear upon you nor upon your clothes; be on thy guard, my son, against blood, be on thy guard exceedingly; cover it with dust.
18 And do not eat any blood for it is the soul; eat no blood whatever.
19 And take no gifts for the blood of man, lest it be shed with impunity, without judgment; for it is the blood that is shed that causes the earth to sin, and the earth cannot be cleansed from the blood of man save by the blood of him who shed it.
20 And take no present or gift for the blood of man: blood for blood, that thou mayest be accepted before the Lord, the Most High God; for He is the defence of the good: and that thou mayest be preserved from all evil, and that He may save thee from every kind of death.
21 I see, my son, That all the works of the children of men are sin and wickedness, And all their deeds are uncleanness and an abomination and a pollution, And there is no righteousness with them.
22 Beware, lest thou shouldest walk in their ways And tread in their paths, And sin a sin unto death before the Most High God. Else He will [hide His face from thee And] give thee back into the hands of thy transgression, And root thee out of the land, and thy seed likewise from under heaven, And thy name and thy seed shall perish from the whole earth.
23 Turn away from all their deeds and all their uncleanness, And observe the ordinance of the Most High God, And do His will and be upright in all things.
24 And He will bless thee in all thy deeds, And will raise up from thee a plant of righteousness through all the earth, throughout all generations of the earth, And my name and thy name shall not be forgotten under heaven for ever.
25 Go, my son in peace. May the Most High God, my God and thy God, strengthen thee to do His will, And may He bless all thy seed and the residue of thy seed for the generations for ever, with all righteous blessings, That thou mayest be a blessing on all the earth.’

Jasher 26:28

28 And Isaac answered his father and said unto him, That which my Lord has commanded that will I do, and I will not depart from the commands of the Lord my God, I will keep all that he commanded me; and Abraham blessed his son Isaac, and also his children; and Abraham taught Jacob the instruction of the Lord and his ways.

Jubilees 21:26

26 And he went out from him rejoicing.

Isaac and Ishmael celebrate the feast of weeks with Abraham

Jubilees 22:1-5

1 And it came to pass in the first week in the forty-fourth jubilee, in the second year, that is, the year in which Abraham died, that Isaac and Ishmael came from the Well of the Oath to celebrate the feast of weeks -that is, the feast of the first fruits of the harvest-to Abraham, their father, and Abraham rejoiced because his two sons had come.
2 For Isaac had many possessions in Beersheba, and Isaac was wont to go and see his possessions and to return to his father.
3 And in those days Ishmael came to see his father, and they both came together, and Isaac offered a sacrifice for a burnt offering, and presented it on the altar of his father which he had made in Hebron.
4 And he offered a thank offering and made a feast of joy before Ishmael, his brother: and Rebecca made new cakes from the new grain, and gave them to Jacob, her son, to take them to Abraham, his father, from the first fruits of the land, that he might eat and bless the Creator of all things before he died.
5 And Isaac, too, sent by the hand of Jacob to Abraham a best thank offering, that he might eat and drink.

Abraham blesses YHWH and Jacob

Jubilees 22:6-25

6 And he eat and drank, and blessed the Most High God, Who hath created heaven and earth, Who hath made all the fat things of the earth, And given them to the children of men That they might eat and drink and bless their Creator.
7 ‘And now I give thanks unto Thee, my God, because thou hast caused me to see this day: behold, I am one hundred three score and fifteen years, an old man and full of days, and all my days have been unto me peace.
8 The sword of the adversary has not overcome me in all that Thou hast given me and my children all the days of my life until this day.
9 My God, may Thy mercy and Thy peace be upon Thy servant, and upon the seed of his sons, that they may be to Thee a chosen nation and an inheritance from amongst all the nations of the earth from henceforth unto all the days of the generations of the earth, unto all the ages.’
10 And he called Jacob and said: ‘My son Jacob, may the God of all bless thee and strengthen thee to do righteousness, and His will before Him, and may He choose thee and thy seed that ye may become a people for His inheritance according to His will alway.
11 And do thou, my son, Jacob, draw near and kiss me.’ And he drew near and kissed him, and he said: ‘Blessed be my son Jacob And all the sons of God Most High, unto all the ages: May God give unto thee a seed of righteousness; And some of thy sons may He sanctify in the midst of the whole earth; May nations serve thee, And all the nations bow themselves before thy seed.
12 Be strong in the presence of men, And exercise authority over all the seed of Seth. Then thy ways and the ways of thy sons will be justified, So that they shall become a holy nation.
13 May the Most High God give thee all the blessings Wherewith He has blessed me And wherewith He blessed Noah and Adam; May they rest on the sacred head of thy seed from generation to generation for ever.
14 And may He cleanse thee from all unrighteousness and impurity, That thou mayest be forgiven all the transgressions; which thou hast committed ignorantly. And may He strengthen thee, And bless thee. And mayest thou inherit the whole earth,
15 And may He renew His covenant with thee. That thou mayest be to Him a nation for His inheritance for all the ages, And that He may be to thee and to thy seed a God in truth and righteousness throughout all the days of the earth.
16 And do thou, my son Jacob, remember my words, And observe the commandments of Abraham, thy father: Separate thyself from the nations, And eat not with them: And do not according to their works, And become not their associate; For their works are unclean, And all their ways are a Pollution and an abomination and uncleanness.
17 They offer their sacrifices to the dead And they worship evil spirits, And they eat over the graves, And all their works are vanity and nothingness.
18 They have no heart to understand And their eyes do not see what their works are, And how they err in saying to a piece of wood: ‘Thou art my God,’ And to a stone: ‘Thou art my Lord and thou art my deliverer.’ [And they have no heart.]
19 And as for thee, my son Jacob, May the Most High God help thee And the God of heaven bless thee And remove thee from their uncleanness and from all their error.
20 Be thou ware, my son Jacob, of taking a wife from any seed of the daughters of Canaan; For all his seed is to be rooted out of the earth.
21 For, owing to the transgression of Ham, Canaan erred, And all his seed shall be destroyed from off the earth and all the residue thereof, And none springing from him shall be saved on the day of judgment.
22 And as for all the worshippers of idols and the profane (b) There shall be no hope for them in the land of the living; (c) And there shall be no remembrance of them on the earth; (c) For they shall descend into Sheol, (d) And into the place of condemnation shall they go, As the children of Sodom were taken away from the earth So will all those who worship idols be taken away.
23 Fear not, my son Jacob, And be not dismayed, O son of Abraham: May the Most High God preserve thee from destruction, And from all the paths of error may he deliver thee.
24 This house have I built for myself that I might put my name upon it in the earth: [it is given to thee and to thy seed for ever], and it will be named the house of Abraham; it is given to thee and to thy seed for ever; for thou wilt build my house and establish my name before God for ever: thy seed and thy name will stand throughout all generations of the earth.’
25 And he ceased commanding him and blessing him.

Abraham blesses Jacob again

Jubilees 22:26-30

26 And the two lay together on one bed, and Jacob slept in the bosom of Abraham, his father’s father and he kissed him seven times, and his affection and his heart rejoiced over him.
27 And he blessed him with all his heart and said: ‘The Most High God, the God of all, and Creator of all, who brought me forth from Ur of the Chaldees that he might give me this land to inherit it for ever, and that I might establish a holy seed-blessed be the Most High for ever.’
28 And he blessed Jacob and said: ‘My son, over whom with all my heart and my affection I rejoice, may Thy grace and Thy mercy be lift up upon him and upon his seed always.
29 And do not forsake him, nor set him at nought from henceforth unto the days of eternity, and may Thine eyes be opened upon him and upon his seed, that Thou mayst preserve him, and bless him, and mayest sanctify him as a nation for Thine inheritance;
30 And bless him with all Thy blessings from henceforth unto all the days of eternity, and renew Thy covenant and Thy grace with him and with his seed according to all Thy good pleasure unto all the generations of the earth.’

Abraham died

Genesis 25:7

7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.

Jubilees 23:8

8 And he lived three jubilees and four weeks of years, one hundred and seventy-five years, and completed the days of his life, being old and full of days.

Jubilees 23:1-6

1 And he placed two fingers of Jacob on his eyes, and he blessed the God of gods, and he covered his face and stretched out his feet and slept the sleep of eternity, and was gathered to his fathers.
2 And notwithstanding all this Jacob was lying in his bosom, and knew not that Abraham, his father’s father, was dead.
3 And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and behold Abraham was cold as ice, and he said ‘Father, father’; but there was none that spake, and he knew that he was dead.
4 And he arose from his bosom and ran and told Rebecca, his mother; and Rebecca went to Isaac in the night, and told him; and they went together, and Jacob with them, and a lamp was in his hand, and when they had gone in they found Abraham lying dead.
5 And Isaac fell on the face of his father and wept and kissed him.
6 And the voices were heard in the house of Abraham, and Ishmael his son arose, and went to Abraham his father, and wept over Abraham his father, he and all the house of Abraham, and they wept with a great weeping.

Abraham is buried in the cave of Machpelah near Sarah

Genesis 25:8-10

8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;
10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

Jasher 26:29

29 And it was at that time that Abraham died, in the fifteenth year of the life of Jacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac, and all the days of Abraham were one hundred and seventy-five years, and he died and was gathered to his people in good old age, old and satisfied with days, and Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him.

Jubilees 23:7

7 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the double cave, near Sarah his wife, and they wept for him forty days, all the men of his house, and Isaac and Ishmael, and all their sons, and all the sons of Keturah in their places; and the days of weeping for Abraham were ended.

Jasher 26:30-38

30 And when the inhabitants of Canaan heard that Abraham was dead, they all came with their kings and princes and all their men to bury Abraham.
31 And all the inhabitants of the land of Haran, and all the families of the house of Abraham, and all the princes and grandees, and the sons of Abraham by the concubines, all came when they heard of Abraham’s death, and they requited Abraham’s kindness, and comforted Isaac his son, and they buried Abraham in the cave which he bought from Ephron the Hittite and his children, for the possession of a burial place.
32 And all the inhabitants of Canaan, and all those who had known Abraham, wept for Abraham a whole year, and men and women mourned over him.
33 And all the little children, and all the inhabitants of the land wept on account of Abraham, for Abraham had been good to them all, and because he had been upright with God and men.
34 And there arose not a man who feared God like unto Abraham, for he had feared his God from his youth, and had served the Lord, and had gone in all his ways during his life, from his childhood to the day of his death.
35 And the Lord was with him and delivered him from the counsel of Nimrod and his people, and when he made war with the four kings of Elam he conquered them.
36 And he brought all the children of the earth to the service of God, and he taught them the ways of the Lord, and caused them to know the Lord.
37 And he formed a grove and he planted a vineyard therein, and he had always prepared in his tent meat and drink to those that passed through the land, that they might satisfy themselves in his house.
38 And the Lord God delivered the whole earth on account of Abraham.

Thoughts on why people are dying younger and younger

Jubilees 23:9-32

9 For the days of the forefathers, of their life, were nineteen jubilees; and after the Flood they began to grow less than nineteen jubilees, and to decrease in jubilees, and to grow old quickly, and to be full of their days by reason of manifold tribulation and the wickedness of their ways, with the exception of Abraham.
10 For Abraham was perfect in all his deeds with the Lord, and well-pleasing in righteousness all the days of his life; and behold, he did not complete four jubilees in his life, when he had grown old by reason of the wickedness, and was full of his days.
11 And all the generations which shall arise from this time until the day of the great judgment shall grow old quickly, before they complete two jubilees, and their knowledge shall forsake them by reason of their old age Land all their know- ledge shall vanish away].
12 And in those days, if a man live a jubilee and a-half of years, they shall say regarding him: ‘He has lived long, and the greater part of his days are pain and sorrow and tribulation, and there is no peace:
13 For calamity follows on calamity, and wound on wound, and tribulation on tribulation, and evil tidings on evil tidings, and illness on illness, and all evil judgments such as these, one with another, illness and overthrow, and snow and frost and ice, and fever, and chills, and torpor, and famine, and death, and sword, and captivity, and all kinds of calamities and pains.’
14 And all these shall come on an evil generation, which transgresses on the earth: their works are uncleanness and fornication, and pollution and abominations.
15 Then they shall say: ‘The days of the forefathers were many (even), unto a thousand years, and were good; but behold, the days of our life, if a man has lived many, are three score years and ten, and, if he is strong, four score years, and those evil, and there is no peace in the days of this evil generation.’
16 And in that generation the sons shall convict their fathers and their elders of sin and unrighteousness, and of the words of their mouth and the great wickednesses which they perpetrate, and concerning their forsaking the covenant which the Lord made between them and Him, that they should observe and do all His commandments and His ordinances and all His laws, without departing either to the right hand or the left.
17 For all have done evil, and every mouth speaks iniquity and all their works are an uncleanness and an abomination, and all their ways are pollution, uncleanness and destruction.
18 Behold the earth shall be destroyed on account of all their works, and there shall be no seed of the vine, and no oil; for their works are altogether faithless, and they shall all perish together, beasts and cattle and birds, and all the fish of the sea, on account of the children of men.
19 And they shall strive one with another, the young with the old, and the old with the young, the poor with the rich, the lowly with the great, and the beggar with the prince, on account of the law and the covenant; for they have forgotten commandment, and covenant, and feasts, and months, and Sabbaths, and jubilees, and all judgments.
20 And they shall stand <with bows and> swords and war to turn them back into the way; but they shall not return until much blood has been shed on the earth, one by another.
21 And those who have escaped shall not return from their wickedness to the way of righteousness, but they shall all exalt themselves to deceit and wealth, that they may each take all that is his neighbour’s, and they shall name the great name, but not in truth and not in righteousness, and they shall defile the holy of holies with their uncleanness and the corruption of their pollution.
22 And a great punishment shall befall the deeds of this generation from the Lord, and He will give them over to the sword and to judgment and to captivity, and to be plundered and devoured.
23 And He will wake up against them the sinners of the Gentiles, who have neither mercy nor compassion, and who shall respect the person of none, neither old nor young, nor any one, for they are more wicked and strong to do evil than all the children of men. And they shall use violence against Israel and transgression against Jacob, And much blood shall be shed upon the earth, And there shall be none to gather and none to bury.
24 In those days they shall cry aloud, And call and pray that they may be saved from the hand of the sinners, the Gentiles; But none shall be saved.
25 And the heads of the children shall be white with grey hair, And a child of three weeks shall appear old like a man of one hundred years, And their stature shall be destroyed by tribulation and oppression.
26 And in those days the children shall begin to study the laws, And to seek the commandments, And to return to the path of righteousness.
27 And the days shall begin to grow many and increase amongst those children of men Till their days draw nigh to one thousand years. And to a greater number of years than (before) was the number of the days.
28 And there shall be no old man Nor one who is <not> satisfied with his days, For all shall be (as) children and youths.
29 And all their days they shall complete and live in peace and in joy, And there shall be no Satan nor any evil destroyer; For all their days shall be days of blessing and healing.
30 And at that time the Lord will heal His servants, And they shall rise up and see great peace, And drive out their adversaries. And the righteous shall see and be thankful, And rejoice with joy for ever and ever, And shall see all their judgments and all their curses on their enemies.
31 And their bones shall rest in the earth, And their spirits shall have much joy, And they shall know that it is the Lord who executes judgment, And shows mercy to hundreds and thousands and to all that love Him
32 And do thou, Moses, write down these words; for thus are they written, and they record (them) on the heavenly tablets for a testimony for the generations for ever.

No notes.

Exposition

J: 44 | Y: 2124 | Jacob becomes a herdsman and Esau becomes a hunter
Genesis 25:27, Jasher 26:17, Jubilees 19:13-14
And the boys grew up to their 15th year, and they came among the society of men. Esau was a designing and deceitful man, and an expert hunter in the field, and Jacob was a smooth man perfect and wise, dwelling in tents, feeding flocks, and learning the instructions of the Lord and the commands of his father and mother. And the youths grew, and Jacob learned to write; but Esau did not learn, for he was a man of the field and a hunter, and he learned war, and all his deeds were fierce.

Rising Action

Abraham speaks with Rebekah about Jacob and Esau
Jubilees 19:15-25
And Abraham loved Jacob, but Isaac loved Esau. And Abraham saw the deeds of Esau, and he knew that in Jacob should his name and seed be called; and he called Rebecca and gave commandment regarding Jacob, for he knew that she too loved Jacob much more than Esau. And he said unto her, “My daughter, watch over my son Jacob, for he will be in my stead on the earth, and for a blessing amid the children of men, and for the glory of the whole seed of Shem. For I know that the Lord will choose him to be a people for possession to Himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. And behold, Isaac my son loves Esau more than Jacob, but I see that you truly love Jacob. Add still further to your kindness to him, and let your eyes be upon him in love; for he will be a blessing to us on the earth from henceforth to all generations of the earth. Let your hands be strong and let your heart rejoice in your son Jacob; for I have loved him far beyond all my sons. He will be blessed forever, and his seed will fill the whole earth. If a man can number the sand of the earth, his seed also will be numbered. And all the blessings wherewith the Lord has blessed me and my seed will belong to Jacob and his seed always. And in his seed will my name be blessed, and the name of my fathers, Shem, and Noah, and Enoch, and Mahalalel, and Enos, and Seth, and Adam. And these will serve to lay the foundations of the heaven, and to strengthen the earth, and to renew all the luminaries which are in the firmament.”

Abraham blesses Jacob
Jubilees 19:26-30
And he called Jacob before the eyes of Rebecca his mother, and kissed him, and blessed him, and said: “Jacob, my beloved son, whom my soul loves, may God bless you from above the firmament, and may He give you all the blessings wherewith He blessed Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, and Shem; and all the things of which He told me, and all the things which He promised to give me, may he cause to cleave to you and to your seed forever, according to the days of heaven above the earth. And the Spirits of Mastêmâ will not rule over you or over your seed to turn you from the Lord, who is your God from henceforth forever. And may the Lord God be a father to you and you the first-born son, and to the people always. Go in peace, my son.”

And they both went forth together from Abraham.

Isaac loves Esau more and Rebekah loves Jacob more
Genesis 25:28, Jubilees 19:31
And Rebecca loved Jacob, with all her heart and with all her soul, very much more than Esau; but Isaac loved Esau much more than Jacob because he did eat of his venison.

Abraham instructs Isaac
Jasher 26:22-28, Jubilees 21:1-26
And in the 6th year of the 7th week of this jubilee, Abraham called Isaac his son and commanded him: saying, “I am become old, and know not the day of my death, and am full of my days.”

And he commanded him saying, “Do you not know and understand the Lord is God in heaven and earth, and there is no other beside him? And it was he who took me from my father’s house, and from my birth place, and gave me all the delights upon the earth; who delivered me from the counsel of the wicked, for in him did I trust. And he brought me to this place, and he delivered me from Ur Casdim; and he said to me, ‘To your seed will I give all these lands, and they will inherit them when they keep my commandments, my statutes and my judgments that I have commanded you, and which I shall command them.’ Now, therefore, my son, listen to my voice, and keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I commanded you, do not turn from the right way either to the right or to the left, so that it may be well with you and your children after you forever. And remember the wonderful works of the Lord, and his kindness that he has shown toward us, in having delivered us from the hands of our enemies, and the Lord our God caused them to fall into our hands; and now, therefore, keep all that I have commanded you, and turn not away from the commandments of your God, and serve none beside him, so that it may be well with you and your seed after you. And teach your children and your seed the instructions of the Lord and his commandments, and teach them the upright way in which they should go, in order that it may be well with them forever.”

“And behold, I am 175 years old, and throughout all the days of my life I have remembered the Lord and sought with all my heart to do His will, and to walk uprightly in all His ways. My soul has hated idols, and I have despised those that served them, and I have given my heart and spirit that I might observe to do the will of Him who created me. For He is the living God, and He is holy and faithful, and He is righteous beyond all, and there is with Him no accepting of men’s persons and no accepting of gifts; for God is righteous, and executes judgment on all those who transgress His commandments and despise His covenant. And you, my son, observe His commandments and His ordinances and His judgments, and walk not after the abominations and after the graven images and after the molten images. And eat no blood at all of animals or cattle, or of any bird which flies in the heaven. And if you do slay a victim as an acceptable peace offering, slay it, and pour out its blood upon the altar, and all the fat of the offering offer on the altar with fine flour and the meat offering mingled with oil, with its drink offering, offer them all together on the altar of burnt offering; it is a sweet savor before the Lord. And you will offer the fat of the sacrifice of thank offerings on the fire which is upon the altar, and the fat which is on the belly, and all the fat on the inwards and the 2 kidneys, and all the fat that is upon them, and upon the loins and liver you will remove, together with the kidneys. And offer all these for a sweet savor acceptable before the Lord, with its meat-offering and with its drink-offering, for a sweet savor, the bread of the offering to the Lord. And eat its meat on that day and on the 2nd day, and let not the sun on the 2nd day go down upon it until it is eaten, and let nothing be left over for the 3rd day; for it is not acceptable for it is not approved and let it no longer be eaten, and all who eat thereof will bring sin upon themselves; for thus I have found it written in the books of my forefathers, and in the words of Enoch, and in the words of Noah. And on all your oblations you will strew salt, and let not the salt of the covenant be lacking in all your oblations before the Lord. And as regards the wood of the sacrifices, beware unless you bring other wood for the altar in addition to these: cypress, bay, almond, fir, pine, cedar, savin, fig, olive, myrrh, laurel, or aspalathus. And of these kinds of wood laid upon the altar under the sacrifice, such as have been tested as to their appearance, and do not lay thereon any split or dark wood, but hard and clean, without fault, a sound and new growth; and do not lay thereon old wood, for its fragrance is gone for there is no longer fragrance in it as before. Besides these kinds of wood, there is none other that you will place on the altar, for the fragrance is dispersed, and the smell of its fragrance goes not up to heaven. Observe this commandment and do it, my son, that you may be upright in all your deeds. And at all times be clean in your body, and wash yourself with water before you approach to offer on the altar, and wash your hands and your feet before you draw near to the altar; and when you are done sacrificing, wash again your hands and your feet. And let no blood appear upon you nor upon your clothes; be on your guard, my son, against blood, be on your guard exceedingly; cover it with dust. And do not eat any blood for it is the soul; eat no blood whatever. And take no gifts for the blood of man, unless it is shed with impunity, without judgment; for it is the blood that is shed that causes the earth to sin, and the earth cannot be cleansed from the blood of man save by the blood of him who shed it. And take no present or gift for the blood of man: blood for blood, that you may be accepted before the Lord, the Most High God; for He is the defense of the good: and that you may be preserved from all evil, and that He may save you from every kind of death. I see, my son, that all the works of the children of men are sin and wickedness, and all their deeds are uncleanness and an abomination and a pollution, and there is no righteousness with them. Beware, unless you should walk in their ways and tread in their paths, and sin a sin to death before the Most High God. Else He will hide His face from you and give you back into the hands of your transgression, and root you out of the land, and your seed likewise from under heaven, and your name and your seed will perish from the whole earth. Turn away from all their deeds and all their uncleanness, and observe the ordinance of the Most High God, do His will, and be upright in all things. And He will bless you in all your deeds, and will raise from you a plant of righteousness through all the earth, throughout all generations of the earth, and my name and your name will not be forgotten under heaven forever. Go, my son in peace. May the Most High God, my God, and your God, strengthen you to do His will, and may He bless all your seed and the residue of your seed for the generations forever, with all righteous blessings, that you may be a blessing on all the earth.”

And Isaac answered his father and said to him, “That which my Lord has commanded that will I do, and I will not depart from the commands of the Lord my God, I will keep all that he commanded me;” and Abraham blessed his son Isaac, and also his children; and Abraham taught Jacob the instruction of the Lord and his ways. And he went out from him rejoicing.

Isaac and Ishmael celebrate the feast of weeks with Abraham
Jubilees 22:1-5
And it came to pass in the 1st week in the 44th jubilee, in the 2nd year, that is, the year in which Abraham died, that Isaac and Ishmael came from the Well of the Oath to celebrate the feast of weeks -that is, the feast of the first fruits of the harvest- to Abraham, their father, and Abraham rejoiced because his 2 sons had come. For Isaac had many possessions in Beersheba, and Isaac was not wanting to go and see his possessions and to return to his father.

And in those days Ishmael came to see his father, and they both came together, and Isaac offered a sacrifice for a burnt offering, and presented it on the altar of his father which he had made in Hebron. And he offered a thank offering and made a feast of joy before Ishmael, his brother: and Rebecca made new cakes from the new grain, and gave them to Jacob, her son, to take them to Abraham, his father, from the first fruits of the land, that he might eat and bless the Creator of all things before he died. And Isaac, too, sent by the hand of Jacob to Abraham a best thank offering, that he might eat and drink.

Climax

Abraham blesses YHWH and Jacob
Jubilees 22:6-25
And he ate and drank, and blessed the Most High God, who has created heaven and earth, who has made all the fat things of the earth, and given them to the children of men that they might eat and drink and bless their Creator.

“And now I give thanks to You, my God because You have caused me to see this day: behold, I am 175 years old, an old man and full of days, and all my days have been to me peace. The sword of the adversary has not overcome me in all that You have given me and my children all the days of my life until this day. My God, may Your mercy and Your peace be upon Your servant, and upon the seed of his sons, that they may be to You a chosen nation and an inheritance from among all the nations of the earth from henceforth to all the days of the generations of the earth, to all the ages.”

And he called Jacob and said: “My son Jacob, may the God of all bless you and strengthen you to do righteousness, and His will before Him, and may He choose you and your seed that you may become a people for His inheritance according to His will always. And you, my son, Jacob, draw near and kiss me.”

And he drew near and kissed him, and he said: “Blessed be my son Jacob and all the sons of God Most High, to all the ages: may God give to you a seed of righteousness; and some of your sons may He sanctify amid the whole earth; may nations serve you, and all the nations bow themselves before your seed. Be strong in the presence of men, and exercise authority over all the seed of Seth. Then your ways and the ways of your sons will be justified, so that they shall become a holy nation. May the Most High God give you all the blessings that He has blessed me and that He blessed Noah and Adam; may they rest on the sacred head of your seed from generation to generation forever. And may He cleanse you from all unrighteousness and impurity, that you may be forgiven all the transgressions; which you have committed ignorantly. And may He strengthen you, and bless you. And may you inherit the whole earth, and may He renew His covenant with you. That you may be to Him a nation for His inheritance for all the ages, and that He may be to you and to your seed a God in truth and righteousness throughout all the days of the earth. And you, my son Jacob, remember my words, and observe the commandments of Abraham, your father: separate yourself from the nations, and eat not with them: and do not according to their works, and become not their associate; for their works are unclean, and all their ways are a Pollution and an abomination and uncleanness. They offer their sacrifices to the dead and they worship evil spirits, and they eat over the graves, and all their works are vanity and nothingness. They have no heart to understand and their eyes do not see what their works are, and how they err in saying to a piece of wood: ‘You are my God,’ and to a stone: ‘You are my Lord and you are my deliverer.’ And they have no heart. And as for you, my son Jacob, may the Most High God help you and the God of heaven bless you and remove you from their uncleanness and from all their error. Be aware, my son Jacob, of taking a wife from any seed of the daughters of Canaan; for all his seed is to be rooted out of the earth. For, owing to the transgression of Ham, Canaan erred, and all his seed will be destroyed from off the earth and all the residue thereof, and none springing from him will be saved on the day of judgment. And as for all the worshippers of idols and the profane, there will be no hope for them in the land of the living; and there will be no remembrance of them on the earth; for they will descend into Sheol, and into the place of condemnation will they go, as the children of Sodom were taken away from the earth so will all those who worship idols be taken away. Fear not, my son Jacob, and be not dismayed, O son of Abraham: May the Most High God preserve you from destruction, and from all the paths of error may he deliver you. This house have I built for myself that I might put my name upon it in the earth: it is given to you and to your seed forever, and it will be named the house of Abraham; it is given to you and to your seed forever; for you will build my house and establish my name before God forever: your seed and your name will stand throughout all generations of the earth.”

And he ceased commanding him and blessing him.

Abraham blesses Jacob again
Jubilees 22:26-30
And the 2 lay together on 1 bed, and Jacob slept in the bosom of Abraham, his father’s father, and he kissed him 7 times, and his affection and his heart rejoiced over him.

And he blessed him with all his heart and said: “The Most High God, the God of all, and Creator of all, who brought me forth from Ur of the Chaldees that he might give me this land to inherit it forever, and that I might establish a holy seed—blessed be the Most High forever.”

And he blessed Jacob and said: “My son, over whom with all my heart and my affection I rejoice, may Your grace and Your mercy be lifted upon him and his seed always. And do not forsake him, nor set him at nothing from henceforth to the days of eternity, and may Your eyes be opened upon him and upon his seed, that You may preserve him, and bless him, and may sanctify him as a nation for Your inheritance; And bless him with all Your blessings from henceforth to all the days of eternity, and renew Your covenant and Your grace with him and with his seed according to all Your good pleasure to all the generations of the earth.”

Abraham died
Genesis 25:7, Jubilees 23:1-6, 8
And he lived 3 jubilees and 4 weeks of years, 175 years, and completed the days of his life, being old and full of days.

And he placed 2 fingers of Jacob on his eyes, and he blessed the God of gods, and he covered his face and stretched out his feet and slept the sleep of eternity, and was gathered to his fathers. And notwithstanding all this, Jacob was lying in his bosom and knew not that Abraham, his father’s father, was dead.

And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and behold Abraham was cold as ice, and he said “Father, father;” but there was none that spoke, and he knew that he was dead.

And he arose from his bosom and ran and told Rebecca, his mother; and Rebecca went to Isaac in the night and told him; and they went together, and Jacob with them, and a lamp was in his hand, and when they had gone in they found Abraham lying dead. And Isaac fell on the face of his father and wept and kissed him. And the voices were heard in the house of Abraham, and Ishmael his son arose, and went to Abraham his father, and wept over Abraham his father, he and all the house of Abraham, and they wept with a great weeping.

Falling Action

Abraham is buried in the cave of Machpelah near Sarah
Genesis 25:8-10, Jasher 26:29-38, Jubilees 23:7
Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, full of years; and was gathered to his people, in the 15th year of the life of Jacob and Esau. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; the field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. And they wept for him for 40 days.

And when the inhabitants of Canaan heard that Abraham was dead, they all came with their kings and princes and all their men to bury Abraham. And all the inhabitants of the land of Haran, and all the families of the house of Abraham, and all the princes and grandees, and the sons of Abraham by the concubines, all came when they heard of Abraham’s death, and they requited Abraham’s kindness, and comforted Isaac his son, and they buried Abraham in the cave which he bought from Ephron the Hittite and his children, for the possession of a burial place.

And all the inhabitants of Canaan, and all those who had known Abraham, wept for Abraham a whole year, and men and women mourned over him. And all the little children, and all the inhabitants of the land wept on account of Abraham, for Abraham had been good to them all, and because he had been upright with God and men. And there arose not a man who feared God like Abraham, for he had feared his God from his youth, and had served the Lord, and had gone in all his ways during his life, from his childhood to the day of his death. And the Lord was with him and delivered him from the counsel of Nimrod and his people, and when he made war with the 4 kings of Elam he conquered them. And he brought all the children of the earth to the service of God, and he taught them the ways of the Lord, and caused them to know the Lord. And he formed a grove and he planted a vineyard therein, and he had always prepared in his tent meat and drink to those that passed through the land, that they might satisfy themselves in his house. And the Lord God delivered the whole earth on account of Abraham.

Resolution

Thoughts on why people are dying younger and younger
Jubilees 23:9-32
For the days of the forefathers, of their life, were 19 jubilees; and after the Flood they began to grow less than 19 jubilees, and to decrease in jubilees, and to grow old quickly, and to be full of their days because of manifold tribulation and the wickedness of their ways, except Abraham. For Abraham was perfect in all his deeds with the Lord, and well-pleasing in righteousness all the days of his life; and behold, he did not complete 4 jubilees in his life, when he had grown old by reason of the wickedness, and was full of his days.

And all the generations which will arise from this time until the day of the great judgment will grow old quickly before they complete 2 jubilees, and their knowledge will forsake them because of their old age and all their knowledge will vanish away. And in those days, if a man lives a jubilee and a-half of years, they shall say regarding him: “He has lived long, and the greater part of his days are pain and sorrow and tribulation, and there is no peace: for calamity follows on calamity, and wound on wound, and tribulation on tribulation, and evil tidings on evil tidings, and illness on illness, and all evil judgments such as these, one with another, illness and overthrow, and snow and frost and ice, and fever, and chills, and torpor, and famine, and death, and sword, and captivity, and all kinds of calamities and pains.”

And all these shall come on an evil generation, which transgresses on the earth: their works are uncleanness and fornication, and pollution and abominations. Then they shall say: “The days of the forefathers were many even, to 1,000 years, and were good; but behold, the days of our life, if a man has lived many, are 70, and, if he is strong, 80 years, and those who are evil, and there is no peace in the days of this evil generation.”

And in that generation, the sons will convict their fathers and their elders of sin and unrighteousness, and of the words of their mouth and the great wickedness which they perpetrate, and concerning their forsaking the covenant which the Lord made between them and Him, that they should observe and do all His commandments and His ordinances and all His laws, without departing either to the right hand or the left. For all have done evil, and every mouth speaks iniquity and all their works are an uncleanness and an abomination, and all their ways are pollution, uncleanness, and destruction.

Behold the earth will be destroyed on account of all their works, and there will be no seed of the vine, and no oil; for their works are altogether faithless, and they will all perish together, beasts and cattle and birds, and all the fish of the sea, on account of the children of men. And they will strive one with another, the young with the old, and the old with the young, the poor with the rich, the lowly with the great, and the beggar with the prince, on account of the law and the covenant; for they have forgotten commandment, and covenant, and feasts, and months, and Sabbaths, and jubilees, and all judgments. And they will stand with bows and swords and war to turn them back into the way; but they will not return until much blood has been shed on the earth, one by another. And those who have escaped will not return from their wickedness to the way of righteousness, but they will all exalt themselves to deceit and wealth, that they may each take all that is his neighbor’s, and they will name the great name, but not in truth and not in righteousness, and they will defile the holy of holies with their uncleanness and the corruption of their pollution.

And a great punishment will befall the deeds of this generation from the Lord, and He will give them over to the sword and to judgment and to captivity, and to be plundered and devoured. And He will wake up against them the sinners of the Gentiles, who have neither mercy nor compassion, and who will respect the person of none, neither old nor young, nor anyone, for they are more wicked and strong to do evil than all the children of men. And they will use violence against Israel and transgression against Jacob, and much blood will be shed upon the earth, and there will be none to gather and none to bury.

In those days they will cry aloud, and call and pray that they may be saved from the hand of the sinners, the Gentiles; but none will be saved. And the heads of the children will be white with grey hair, and a child of 21 years will appear old like a man of 100 years, and their stature will be destroyed by tribulation and oppression. And in those days the children will begin to study the laws, and to seek the commandments, and to return to the path of righteousness. And the days will begin to grow many and increase among those children of men until their days draw near to 1,000 years. And to a greater number of years than before was the number of days.

And there shall be no old man nor one who is not satisfied with his days, for all will be as children and youths. And all their days they will complete and live in peace and joy, and there will be no Satan nor any evil destroyer; for all their days will be days of blessing and healing.

And at that time the Lord will heal His servants, and they will rise up and see great peace, and drive out their adversaries. And the righteous will see and be thankful, and rejoice with joy forever and ever, and will see all their judgments and all their curses on their enemies. And their bones will rest in the earth, and their spirits will have much joy, and they will know that it is the Lord who executes judgment, and shows mercy to 100s and 1,000s and to all that love Him.

And you, Moses, write down these words; for thus are they written, and they record them on the heavenly tablets for a testimony for the generations forever.

This chart shows who was alive in years 2124-2126.
Years with question marks are estimates.