Forming Jewish Identity by Formulating Legislation for Gentiles

The following paper explores the formulation of universal commandments for non-Jews within
|the book of Jubilees and compares it with rabbinic traditions that also deal with Gentiles and
|law observance. The discussion concerning commandments incumbent upon all of humanity in
|Jubilees betrays a remarkable preoccupation with promoting the observance of particular laws
|(e. g., Sabbath and circumcision) for Jews alone—universal law becomes a means for highlighting
|Israel’s special covenantal status. The bitter opposition expressed in Jubilees against Gentiles
|is best understood as a polemical response to events redefining Jewish-Gentile relations during
|the second century B. C. E.