Curiously enough, the Testament of the Patriarchs contains a large number of alleged quotations from the book of Enoch, which are not, however, to be found in that book as we now have it.
This Testament was read by the Jews at the time of Christ’s coming, and S. Paul seems to have been acquainted with it, for he quotes it, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead;”[434] and again he quotes the Testament of Levi, “The wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.”[435] S. Jerome remarks on this, “The Apostle Paul quoted from the hidden prophets and from those books which are called Apocrypha,” and he adds, “That he did so in several other places is very evident.”[436] And Origen says, “It is evident that many examples were quoted and inserted in the New Testament by the Apostles and the Evangelists from those Scriptures which we do not read as canonical, but these passages are found in the apocryphal books, and it is evident that these passages were extracted from them;” and he gives the reason why that was lawful to the Apostles which is not lawful to us.
He says, “It may have been, that the Apostles and Evangelists, filled with the Holy Ghost, may have known what was to be taken from these writings and what was to be rejected; but for us to presume to do such a thing would be full of danger, not having the Spirit in the same measure to guide us.”[437]
Robert Grostête, Bishop of Lincoln, translated the Testament of the twelve Patriarchs into Latin, in 1242, according to Matthew Paris. “Also in this time, Robert, Bishop of Lincoln, a man most skilled in Latin and Greek, translated accurately the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs from the Greek into Latin; which for many years had been unknown and concealed, through the jealousy of the Jews, because of the prophecies concerning our Saviour therein contained. But the Greeks, the most indefatigable investigators of all writings, being the first who learnt about this, translated it from Hebrew into Greek, and kept it to themselves until our own time. For in the time of S. Jerome, or of any other holy interpreter, it could not in any way whatever come to the knowledge of the Christians, on account of the scheming malice of the Jews. Therefore the above-named Bishop, assisted by Master Nicholas, a Greek, and clerk to the Abbey of S. Albans, translated clearly, evidently, and word for word, into Latin, that glorious treatise, to the strengthening of the Christian faith, and to the greater confusion of the Jews.”[438]
The Testaments were published by Grabe, at Oxford, in 1698, and were republished by Fabricius in his “Codex Pseudepigraphus Vet. Testamenti,” at Hamburg, in 1722.[439]
XXX.
JOB.
Job was the great grandson of Esau. He was the son of Amos the son of Zara, the son of Esau, and he had to wife Rahma, daughter of Ephraim, son of Joseph. Ephraim left two sons, who were prophets after him; but amongst the children of Esau there was no prophet, saving Job.
Job was more patient than any other prophet; therefore it is said of him in the Koran, “Certainly we have found this excellent servant patient.”[440]
The Rabbis say that Job, Jethro, and Balaam were King Pharaoh’s three councillors, and they were also his chief magicians. They, by their enchantments, drew a line round the land of Egypt, so that no slave could escape out of it; for when he came to the line, he was held back and could not overleap it. But when the Israelites broke away and disregarded the enchanted line, Job, Jethro, and Balaam gave up their witchcrafts, and turned to the service of the living God.[441]