1 THE copy of the words of Zebulun, which he enjoined on his sons before he died in the hundred and fourteenth year of his life, two years after the death of Joseph. (T12) 2 And he said to them: Hearken to me, ye sons of Zebulun attend to the words of your father. (T12) 3 I, Zebulun, was born a good gift to my parents. (T12) 4 For when I was born my father was increased very exceedingly, both in flocks and herds, when with the straked rods he had his portion. (T12) 5 I am not conscious that I have sinned all my days, save in thought. (T12) 6 Nor yet do I remember that I have done any iniquity, except the sin of ignorance which I committed against Joseph; for I covenanted with my brethren not to tell my father what had been done. (T12) 7 But I wept in secret many days on account of Joseph, for I feared my brethren, because they had all agreed that if any one should declare the secret, he should be slain. (T12) 8 But when they wished to kill him, I adjured them much with tears not to be guilty of this sin. (T12) 9 For Simeon and Gad came against Joseph to kill him, and he said unto them with tears: Pity me, my brethren, have mercy upon the bowels of Jacob our father: lay not upon me your hands to shed innocent blood, for I have not sinned against you. (T12) 10 And if indeed I have sinned, with chastening chastise me, my brethren, but lay not upon me your hand, for the sake of Jacob our father, (T12) 11 And as he spoke these words, wailing as he did so, I was unable to bear his lamentations, and began to weep, and my liver was poured out, and all the substance of my bowels was loosened. (T12) 12 And I wept with Joseph and my heart sounded, and the joints of my body trembled, and I was not able to stand. (T12) 13 And when Joseph saw me weeping with him, and them coming against him to slay him, he fled behind me, beseeching them. (T12) 14 But meanwhile Reuben arose and said: Come, my brethren, let us not slay him, but let us cast him into one of these dry pits, which our fathers digged and found no water. (T12) 15 For for this cause the Lord forbade that water should rise up in them in order that Joseph should be preserved. (T12) 16 And they did so, until they sold him to the Ishmaelites. (T12) 17 For in his price I had no share, my children. (T12) 18 But Simeon and Gad and six other of our brethren took the price of Joseph, and bought sandals for themselves, and their wives, and their children, saying: (T12) 19 We will not eat of it, for it is the price of our brother's blood, but we will assuredly tread it under foot, because he said that he would be king over us, and so let us see what will become of his dreams. (T12) 20 Therefore it is written in the writing of the law of Moses, that whosoever will not raise up seed to his brother, hi… (T12)
Testament of Zebulun 1:1–37
Semantically similar passages
Testament of Naphtali 2:21–23
21 And he said, weeping: Ah me, my son Joseph, thou livest, though I behold thee not, and thou seest not Jacob that begat thee. (T12) 22 He caused me also, therefore, to weep by these words, and I burned in my heart to declare that Joseph had been sold, but I feared my br… (T12)
Genesis 42:21–23
21 Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben responded, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against t…
Testament of Simeon 1:10–12
10 For when I went to Shechem to bring ointment for the flocks, and Reuben to Dothan, where were our necessaries and all our stores, Judah my brother sold him to the Ishmaelites. (T12) 11 And when Reuben heard these things he was grieved, for he wished to restore him to h… (T12)
Testament of Benjamin 1:7–9
7 And when I went into Egypt, to Joseph, and my brother recognized me, he said unto me: What did they tell my father when they sold me? (T12) 8 And I said unto him, They dabbled thy coat with blood and sent it, and said: Know whether this be thy son's coat. (T12) 9 And he said u… (T12)
Genesis 37:26–28
26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed. 28 So when the Midianite traders p…
Genesis 37:18–20
18 Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him. 19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another. 20 “Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him…
Book of Jubilees 42:9–11
9 And they went up from the land of Egypt and they came to the land of Canaan; and they told their father all that had befallen them, and how the lord of the country had spoken roughly to them, and had seized Simeon till they should bring Benjamin. (JUB) 10 And Jacob sai… (JUB)
Testament of Gad 1:7–9
7 For he saw that I had delivered a lamb out of the mouth of a bear, and put the bear to death; but had slain the lamb, being grieved concerning it that it could not live, and that we had eaten it. (T12) 8 And regarding this matter I was wroth with Joseph until the day… (T12) 9 … (T12)
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