Hippolytus "Benedictions of Isaac, Jacob and Moses," and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

This article compares one of the earliest Christian biblical commentaries, that of Hippolytus on the “Benedictions of Isaac, Jacob and Moses” (published in 1954 by M. Brière, L. Mariés and B. Ch. Mercier in Patr. Or. 27,1–2) with the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. If the latter document in its present form has to be dated in the second half of the second century A. D. and should be studied in the context of the Christian literature of the period around 200 (as the author has tried to argue on several occasions) comparison of their views on the sons of Jacob with those of Hippolytus—who devotes much space to the interpretation of Genesis 49 and Deuteronomy 33—is called for. Hippolytus is a master of typological interpretation. For him it is clear that the actual blessings found in these chapters aim at Christ and the Christian Church, and that the prophetic warnings are directed to those who acted as adversaries and despised Christ. Hippolytus writes for Christians and stresses the negative response of the Jews. The Testaments introduce the Patriarchs as teachers who try to bring out the essential meaning of God's commandments, urging Israel to pay heed to the final call to obey them: Israel should accept Jesus Christ, the renewer of the Law. In the Testaments there is explicit attention for Israel's final destiny.

Notwithstanding the difference in literary genre and theological outlook, there are a number of interesting parallels between Hippolytus ‘Commentary and the Testaments, which are treated in the third section of the article. They have to be explained by common use of Jewish and Christian traditions. Important is the agreement of Hippolytus and the Testaments with regard to the notion of Jesus’ descent from Judah and Levi. Here, too, there is no proof for literary dependence one way or the other—contrary to what L. Mariés and others have thought.