Reevaluating the Category of Rewritten Scripture: Jubilees, the Testament of Job, and the Hierarchy of Authority

Ever since Geza Vermes first proposed the identification of certain kinds of ancient literature as “Rewritten Bible” nearly forty years ago, the topic has spawned continued debate and intrigue. Most recently though, the discussion has centered on how to qualify and categorize what is Rewritten Scripture. The criteria and categorization of these texts has remained deeply contested and undecided. This article proposes a way in which to understand the concept of Rewritten Scripture as a literary strategy. Instead of focusing on whether an ancient work has discernible external features or stylistic elements, the article seeks to understand it as a category that is intimately related to the authors’ goal to give their work authority. Four subcategories of the umbrella term “Rewritten Scripture” are proposed with accompanying examples: “rewrites” (e.g., Testament of Job), “primary supplements” (e.g., Jubilees), “secondary supplements” (e.g., Genesis Apocryphon), and “new editions” (e.g., LXX Esther).