Jubilees / Chapter 12

Jubilees 12

31 verses • Ge'ez (Ethiopic) 1 tradition available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Abram confronts his father Terah about idol worship and burns down the house of idols. His brother Haran dies trying to save the idols from the fire. Abram prays his great monotheistic prayer, asking God to save him from evil spirits. God speaks to Abram in Hebrew — the language of creation — and commands him to leave Ur. Abram studies the stars, receives divine knowledge, and departs for Haran and then Canaan. The 364-day calendar is reaffirmed.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The idol-burning episode (vv. 1-14) is one of the most famous stories in Jewish tradition (found also in rabbinic midrash and Islamic sources), but Jubilees provides the oldest known written version. Haran's death in the fire while trying to save idols is a devastating narrative detail — idol worship literally kills. Abram's great prayer (vv. 16-21) is one of the most profound monotheistic declarations in Second Temple literature. God's response in Hebrew (v. 25) establishes Hebrew as the sacred original language, restored to Abram after Babel's confusion.

Translation Friction

The burning of the idol-house and Haran's death are not in Genesis. Some readers may find the violent rejection of idolatry troubling. The claim that Hebrew is the language of creation and was lost at Babel is a theological assertion, not a linguistic one.

Connections

Genesis 11:31-12:5 (departure from Ur and Haran); Genesis 12:1-3 (call of Abram); Isaiah 51:1-2 (Abraham called alone); Joshua 24:2-3 (Abraham's fathers served other gods); Apocalypse of Abraham 1-8 (idol rejection); Genesis Rabbah 38:13 (midrashic idol-smashing); Quran 21:51-70 (Ibrahim destroys idols).

Jubilees 12:1

Ge'ez

In the sixth week, in the seventh year, Abram said to his father Terah, 'Father!' And Terah replied, 'Here I am, my son.'

REF And it came to pass in the sixth week, in the seventh year thereof, that Abram said to Terah his father, saying, 'Father!' And he said, 'Behold, here am I, my son.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The dialogue format signals a pivotal confrontation. The intimate address — 'Father' / 'Here I am' — makes the coming challenge all the more painful.

Joseph Smith Translation (Footnotes)eschatological

Woman clothed with the sun — identity of the woman clarified

One of the most debated symbols in Revelation. The JST footnotes across Revelation 12 provide significant reframing of the woman's identity. The revision at v. 1 begins a systematic clarification of the cosmic woman as representing the church or the covenant people rather than Mary or Israel alone.

Jubilees 12:2

Ge'ez

He said, 'What help or profit do we get from those idols you worship and bow before? There is no spirit in them — they are mute forms and a deception of the heart. Do not worship them.

REF And he said, 'What help and profit have we from those idols which thou dost worship, And before which thou dost bow thyself? For there is no spirit in them; For they are dumb forms, and a misleading of the heart. Worship them not.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Abram's argument is rational: idols have no spirit (ruach), they cannot speak, and they deceive those who worship them. This anti-idol polemic echoes Isaiah 44:9-20 and Psalm 115:4-8.
Jubilees 12:3

Ge'ez

Worship the God of heaven who sends rain and dew upon the earth, who does everything on the earth, who created all things by his word, and from whose presence all life comes.

REF Worship the God of heaven, Who causeth the rain and the dew to descend on the earth, And doeth everything upon the earth, And hath created everything by His word, And all life is from before His face.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Abram appeals to creation as evidence of the true God. The God of heaven provides rain (unlike mute idols), creates by his word (divine speech), and is the source of all life. This is natural theology at its most eloquent.

Joseph Smith Translation (Footnotes)character

Moses described as 'faithful' rather than merely 'meek'

The KJV's famous description of Moses as 'very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth' is revised in the JST to emphasize his faithfulness to God rather than his personal humility or temperament. This shifts Moses from a characterization of passive personality to one of covenantal fidelity, which aligns better with his portrayal throughout Numbers.

Jubilees 12:4

Ge'ez

Why do you worship things that have no spirit? They are the work of human hands. You carry them on your shoulders, yet you get no help from them. They are a great source of shame to those who make them and a deception of the heart to those who worship them. Do not worship them!'

REF Why do ye worship things that have no spirit in them? For they are the work of (men's) hands, And on your shoulders do ye bear them, And ye have no help from them, But they are a great cause of shame to those who make them, And a misleading of the heart to those who worship them: Worship them not.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The irony: worshippers carry their gods, rather than their gods carrying them (cf. Isaiah 46:1-7). Idols are simultaneously burdensome and useless.
Jubilees 12:5

Ge'ez

His father said to him, 'I also know this, my son, but what can I do with a people who have made me serve before them?

REF And his father said unto him, 'I also know it, my son, but what shall I do with a people who have made me to serve before them?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Terah's confession is devastating: he knows the idols are false but is trapped by social pressure. He serves the people rather than God — a priest enslaved by his congregation's expectations. This is one of the most psychologically realistic moments in Jubilees.
Jubilees 12:6

Ge'ez

If I tell them the truth, they will kill me, for their hearts cling to the idols, worshipping and honoring them. Keep silent, my son, or they will kill you.'

REF And if I tell them the truth, they will slay me; for their soul cleaveth to them to worship them and honour them. Keep silent, my son, lest they slay thee.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Fear of death silences Terah — he chooses survival over truth. His warning to Abram to 'keep silent' is precisely what Abram refuses to do. The son surpasses the father in courage.
Jubilees 12:7

Ge'ez

Abram spoke these things to his two brothers, and they were angry with him. He fell silent.

REF And he said these words to his two brothers, and they were angry with him and he was silent.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Abram's brothers reject his message. He is alone in his conviction — isolation is the cost of truth-telling.

Joseph Smith Translation (Footnotes)cosmological

War in heaven — Michael and his angels versus the dragon reframed

The JST footnote at the war-in-heaven verse provides additional context or revised language about Michael's identity and the nature of the pre-mortal conflict, consistent with Restoration pre-mortality theology where Michael is identified as Adam.

Jubilees 12:8

Ge'ez

In the fortieth jubilee, in the second week, in the seventh year, Abram took a wife named Sarai, the daughter of his father, and she became his wife.

REF And in the fortieth jubilee, in the second week, in the seventh year thereof, Abram took to himself a wife, and her name was Sarai, the daughter of his father, and she became his wife.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Sarai is Abram's half-sister (cf. Genesis 20:12). The marriage is presented without comment on its later illegality under Levitical law — the prohibition of such marriages had not yet been revealed.
Jubilees 12:9

Ge'ez

His brother Haran took a wife in the third year of the third week, and she bore him a son in the seventh year of that week. He called his name Lot.

REF And Haran, his brother, took to himself a wife in the third year of the third week, and she bare him a son in the seventh year of this week, and he called his name Lot.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Lot's birth is dated precisely. He will become Abraham's companion and the ancestor of Moab and Ammon.

Joseph Smith Translation (Footnotes)eschatological

Denial before angels — conditions of denial or confession clarified

The JST footnote revises the consequences of denying Christ before men, clarifying the relationship between earthly denial and divine judgment before the angels.

Jubilees 12:10

Ge'ez

His brother Nahor also took a wife named Ijaska, the daughter of Nestag of the Chaldeans.

REF And Nahor, his brother, took to himself a wife, and her name was 'Ijaska, the daughter of Nestag of the Chaldees.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Nahor's wife has the same name as his mother (11:10) — a common ancient Near Eastern naming pattern.

Joseph Smith Translation (Footnotes)theological

Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost — unforgivable sin defined with additional precision

One of the more doctrinally significant Lukan footnotes. The JST revision provides additional clarity about what constitutes blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, consistent with Restoration theology's detailed treatment of the unpardonable sin.

Jubilees 12:11

Ge'ez

In the sixtieth year of Abram's life — the fourth week, in the fourth year — Abram rose by night and burned the house of idols. He burned everything in the house, and no one knew.

REF And in the sixtieth year of the life of Abram, that is, in the fourth week, in the fourth year thereof, Abram arose by night, and burned the house of the idols, and he burned all that was in the house, and no man knew it.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The idol-burning happens at night — a covert act of religious revolution. Abram is sixty years old (age of full maturity) when he makes this decisive break. The destruction is total: the building and everything in it.
Jubilees 12:12

Ge'ez

The people rose in the night and tried to save their gods from the fire.

REF And they arose in the night and sought to save their gods from the midst of the fire.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The tragic irony: people rush to save gods who cannot save themselves. The fire exposes the idols' impotence.

Joseph Smith Translation (Footnotes)pneumatological

Promise of Holy Ghost instruction in persecution revised

The JST footnote adjusts the promise to disciples that the Holy Ghost will teach them what to say when brought before authorities.

Jubilees 12:13

Ge'ez

Haran rushed in to save the idols, but the fire blazed over him and he was burned in the fire. He died in Ur of the Chaldeans before his father Terah, and they buried him in Ur of the Chaldeans.

REF And Haran hasted to save them, but the fire flamed over him, and he was burnt in the fire, and he died in Ur of the Chaldees before Terah his father, and they buried him in Ur of the Chaldees.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Haran dies trying to rescue idols — killed by his devotion to false gods. Genesis 11:28 simply says Haran 'died before his father Terah in Ur.' Jubilees provides the cause: idol worship killed him. This is measure-for-measure: he chose idols over God, and idols became his death.

Joseph Smith Translation (Footnotes)moral

Nathan's response to David's confession revised to clarify the nature of forgiveness and consequence

The JST footnote adjusts Nathan's declaration to David after the Bathsheba-Uriah affair. In the KJV Nathan says 'The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.' The JST introduces nuance that connects forgiveness to ongoing moral accountability, preventing the verse from being read as unconditional absolution without consequence.

Jubilees 12:14

Ge'ez

Terah left Ur of the Chaldeans — he and his sons — to go to the land of Lebanon and the land of Canaan. He settled in the land of Haran, and Abram lived with his father Terah in Haran for two weeks of years.

REF And Terah went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, he and his sons, to go into the land of Lebanon and into the land of Canaan, and he dwelt in the land of Haran, and Abram dwelt with Terah his father in Haran two weeks of years.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Genesis 11:31 says Terah left for Canaan but stopped at Haran. Jubilees adds Lebanon as a destination. Two weeks of years = 14 years in Haran before the call.
Jubilees 12:15

Ge'ez

In the sixth week, in the fifth year, Abram sat up throughout the night on the new moon of the seventh month to observe the stars from evening to morning, to determine what the year's rainfall would be like. He was alone as he sat and observed.

REF And in the sixth week, in the fifth year thereof, Abram sat up throughout the night on the new moon of the seventh month to observe the stars from the evening to the morning, in order to see what would be the character of the year with regard to the rains, and he was alone as he sat and observed.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Abram studies the stars — but for agricultural observation (predicting rain), not for astrology/divination. This is legitimate astronomy, distinguished from the forbidden Watcher-astrology. His solitary vigil on the new moon of the seventh month (Tishri, later the Day of Trumpets) is spiritually significant.
Jubilees 12:16

Ge'ez

A word came into his heart: 'All the signs of the stars, the signs of the moon and the sun — they are all in the hand of the LORD. Why do I search them out?

REF And a word came into his heart, saying: 'All the signs of the stars, and the signs of the moon and of the sun are all in the hand of the Lord. Why do I search (them) out?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The critical insight: the stars do not control destiny — God controls the stars. This is the intellectual leap from astrology to theology, from observation of creation to worship of the Creator. It comes as 'a word in his heart' — an internal revelation.
Jubilees 12:17

Ge'ez

If he desires, he sends rain, morning and evening; and if he desires, he withholds it. All things are in his hand.'

REF If He desires, He causes it to rain, morning and evening; And if He desires, He withholds it, And all things are in His hand.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Rain depends on God's will, not stellar configurations. This simple observation dismantles the entire astrological system. Divine sovereignty makes divination pointless.

Joseph Smith Translation (Footnotes)eschatological

Dragon making war with the remnant of the woman's seed — the remnant identified

The JST footnote revises the description of those against whom the dragon wages war, clarifying who constitutes the 'remnant of her seed' in eschatological terms.

Jubilees 12:18

Ge'ez

He prayed that night and said, 'My God, God Most High, you alone are my God. You and your dominion I have chosen. You created all things, and everything that exists is the work of your hands.

REF And he prayed that night and said, 'My God, God Most High, Thou alone art my God, And Thee and Thy dominion have I chosen. And Thou hast created all things, And all things that are are the work of thy hands.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Abram's great prayer — one of the most powerful monotheistic declarations in ancient literature. 'You alone are my God' is an exclusive claim. 'I have chosen' — Abram chooses God before God (in the narrative) has spoken to him. This is remarkable: human choice precedes and prepares for divine call.
Jubilees 12:19

Ge'ez

Deliver me from the power of evil spirits who have dominion over the thoughts of human hearts. Do not let them lead me astray from you, my God. Establish me and my descendants forever, so that we may not go astray from now until eternity.'

REF Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have dominion over the thoughts of men's hearts, And let them not lead me astray from Thee, my God. And stablish Thou me and my seed for ever That we go not astray henceforth and for evermore.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Abram recognizes the demonic dimension: evil spirits influence human thought. His prayer asks for protection against this invisible threat — not just for himself but for his 'seed forever,' anticipating the entire covenant line.
Jubilees 12:20

Ge'ez

He said, 'Should I return to Ur of the Chaldeans, where they seek me to bring me back? Or should I remain here in this place? Make the right path prosper in the hands of your servant, so that I may fulfill it and not walk in the deceit of my heart, O my God.'

REF And he said, 'Shall I return unto Ur of the Chaldees who seek my face to return unto them, am I to remain here in this place? The right path before Thee prosper it in the hands of Thy servant that he may fulfil (it) and that I may not walk in the deceitfulness of my heart, O my God.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Abram is at a crossroads — return to Ur or stay in Haran. He asks God to direct his path. The phrase 'deceit of my heart' shows remarkable self-awareness: even a monotheist can be led astray by his own desires.
Jubilees 12:21

Ge'ez

When he finished speaking and praying, the word of the LORD was sent to him through me, saying, 'Leave your country and your kindred and your father's house, and go to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great and numerous nation.

REF And he made an end of speaking and praying, and behold the word of the Lord was sent to him through me, saying: 'Get thee up from thy country, and from thy kindred, and from the house of thy father, unto a land which I will show thee, and I shall make thee a great and numerous nation.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Genesis 12:1-2 — the call of Abram. Critically, the angel says 'through me' — the Angel of the Presence mediates God's word to Abram, just as he mediates the entire narrative to Moses. Abram's prayer is answered immediately with the divine call.
Jubilees 12:22

Ge'ez

I will bless you and make your name great. You will be blessed in the earth, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.'

REF And I will bless thee, And I will make thy name great, And thou shalt be blessed in the earth, And in Thee shall all families of the earth be blessed, And I will bless them that bless thee, And curse them that curse thee.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Genesis 12:2-3. The Abrahamic blessing is both particular (to Abram) and universal (all families). The blessing-curse formula establishes Abram as the touchstone of divine favor.
Jubilees 12:23

Ge'ez

He departed from Haran in the third month and traveled south. He came to the oaks of Mamre — that is, Hebron — in the fifth week, in the first year of the forty-first jubilee.

REF And he went forth from Haran in the third month, and he went on his way to the south, and he came to the oaks of Mamre, that is Hebron, in the fifth week, in the first year of the forty-first jubilee.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The departure is dated: first year of the forty-first jubilee. Mamre/Hebron will become one of Abram's primary locations — the oaks are a sacred site.
Jubilees 12:24

Ge'ez

He built an altar there and offered a burnt sacrifice to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

REF And he built there an altar, and he offered thereon a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Genesis 12:7. Abram's first act in the promised land is worship — altar-building marks territorial consecration.
Jubilees 12:25

Ge'ez

The LORD our God opened Abram's mouth, and he spoke in Hebrew, the language of creation.

REF And the Lord our God opened the mouth of Abram, and he spoke in Hebrew, the language of creation.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

"" —

Translator Notes

  1. Hebrew is identified as the original language of creation, lost at Babel, now restored to Abram. This is a profound claim: the language in which God spoke the world into existence is now entrusted to the covenant line. Abram becomes the custodian of sacred speech.
Jubilees 12:26

Ge'ez

He took his father's books, which were written in Hebrew, and copied them. From then on he began to study them, and I made known to him what he could not understand on his own. He studied them during the six rainy months.

REF And he took his father's books, and they were written in Hebrew, and he transcribed them, and he began from henceforth to study them, and I made known to him that which he could not (understand), and he studied them during the six rainy months.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Abram recovers Hebrew texts — possibly the books of Enoch and Noah. The angel serves as Abram's tutor, explaining difficult passages. The 'six rainy months' is a local agricultural detail reflecting the Levantine wet season.
Jubilees 12:27

Ge'ez

In the seventh year of the sixth week, he spoke to his father and told him that he would leave Haran to go to the land of Canaan to see it and return.

REF And it came to pass in the seventh year of the sixth week that he spoke to his father and informed him, saying that he would leave Haran to go into the land of Canaan to see it and return to him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Abram tells Terah he will return — but he never does. Whether this is a necessary deception or a plan changed by God is left ambiguous.
Jubilees 12:28

Ge'ez

His father Terah said to him, 'Go in peace. May the eternal God make your path straight. May the LORD be with you and protect you from all evil, and grant you grace, mercy, and favor before those who see you. May no one have power to do you evil. Go in peace.'

REF And Terah his father said unto him: 'Go in peace. May the eternal God make thy path straight; and the Lord be with thee, and protect thee from all evil, and grant unto thee grace, mercy, and favour before those who see thee, and may none of the children of men have power over thee to do thee evil. Go in peace.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Terah's blessing is beautiful and orthodox — he blesses Abram by the eternal God, not by idols. Despite his own weakness, Terah recognizes the true God when blessing his son. The father who could not leave his idols sends his son to serve the living God.
Jubilees 12:29

Ge'ez

If you find a land pleasing to your eyes to live in, come and bring me to you. Take Lot with you — the son of your brother Haran — as your own son. The LORD be with you.

REF And if thou seest a land pleasant to thy eyes to dwell in, then arise and take me to thee, and take Lot with thee, the son of Haran thy brother as thine own son: the Lord be with thee.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Terah asks to be sent for if the land is good — an invitation Abram will fulfill when Terah later joins him. Lot is entrusted to Abram as an adopted son, explaining their close relationship throughout Genesis 13-19.
Jubilees 12:30

Ge'ez

Abram departed from Haran and took Sarai his wife and Lot, his brother Haran's son, to the land of Canaan. He came to Asshur and continued to Shechem, where he settled near a great oak.

REF And Abram went from Haran, and he took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother Haran's son, to the land of Canaan, and he came into Asshur, and proceeded to Shechem, and dwelt near a lofty oak.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Genesis 12:5-6. The journey through Assyria to Shechem follows a well-known ancient trade route. The 'great oak' at Shechem is a sacred site that will feature prominently in Israel's later history (Joshua 24:26).
Jubilees 12:31

Ge'ez

He looked and saw that the land was very pleasant, from the entrance of Hamath to the great oak. The LORD said to him, 'To you and to your descendants I will give this land.'

REF And he saw and behold the land was very pleasant from the entering of Hamath to the lofty oak, and the Lord said to him: 'To thee and to thy seed will I give this land.'

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Genesis 12:7. 'From Hamath to the great oak' defines the promised land's extent. The same boundaries Canaan illegally occupied (10:29-33) are now formally promised to Abram's seed — the legal remedy for Canaan's crime.
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