In regard to our publication of the Cepher Yovheliym (the Book of Jubilees), we have received the following inquiries:
Who wrote the book of Yovheliym, who is the narrator?
This book appears to have been compiled from several ancient texts and formalized into a single writing in the second century B.C. by a scribe during the tenure of the reign of the Makkabiym (Maccabees). The Cepher Yovheliym gathers the writings known as the First and Second Testament of Moses, the Book of Adam’s Daughters, and the Life of Adam, and organizes the writings into fifty time periods, called in the Hebrew yovheliym (jubilees). The actual compiler (zakar) is unknown, as is the author of the underlying texts upon which the writing is based. The Hebrew original was of course displaced by a Greek interpretation (although Jerome had an opportunity to view the Hebrew), and the Ethiopic Version was taken from the Hebrew text. The Eth Cepher relies upon the Charles interpretation of the Ethiopic Version (a text in the public domain) in its publication of the Cepher Yovheliym. Because the book gathers the writings of Moshe, the narrator is intended to be Moshe.
What is a jubilee?
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 25:10-11
And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. 11 A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of your vine undressed.
What or who are the angels of presence and sanctification?
Yovheliym (Jubilees) 2:2-3
For on the first day he created the heavens which are above and the earth and the waters and all the ruachot which serve before him the angels of the presence, and the angels of sanctification, and the angels of the ruach of fire and the angels of the ruach of the winds, and the angels of the ruach of the clouds, and of darkness, and of snow and of hail and of hoar frost, and the angels of the voices and of the thunder and of the lightning, and the angels of the ruachot of cold and of heat, and of winter and of spring and of autumn and of summer and of all the ruachot of his creatures which are in the heavens and on the earth, 3 He created the abysses and the darkness, evening and night, and the light, dawn and day, which he has pre-pared in the knowledge of his heart. And thereupon we saw his works, and praised him, and lauded before him on account of all his works; for seven great works did he create on the first day.
Before I attempt to answer this question, please note that we did not write this Cepher. This is an ancient book which has been accepted as scripture and referenced by many of the founders of modern Christianity. For instance, fragments of the Greek Version of Yovheliym are found in the writings of Justin Martyr, Origen, Diodorus of Antioch, Isidore of Alexandria, Isidore of Seville, Eutychius, Patriarch of Alexandria, John of Malala, Syncellus, and Cedrenus. Syncellus went so far as to state that certain verses in the Canonical Genesis were actually derived from the Greek Version of Yovheliym. Those who would accuse of heresy in its publication within the walls of the Eth Cepher, accuse these also.
This Cepher Yovheliym makes much more sense to the reader when read with the Cepher Chanoch (the Book of Enoch) also set forth in the Eth Cepher, and many of the questions concerning the order of the angels is revealed there. This subject cannot be covered in something less than a book, as it discusses the hierarchy between the Keruviym, the Seraphiym, and the angels set over natural phenomena. See Chizayon (Revelation) 7:1-2; 14:18; 16:5; Mattithyahu (Matthew) 18:10; Ma’aseh (Acts) 12:15.
In Yovheliym 2:16 what are the twenty two kinds?
Before we look at this very loaded question, let’s review the text:
Yovheliym (Jubilees) 2:18-29
And he gave us a great sign, the Shabbat, that we should work six days, but guard the Shabbat on the seventh day from all work. 19 And all the angels of the presence, and all the angels of sanctification, these two great classes he has bidden us to guard the Shabbat with him in heaven and on earth. 20 And he said unto us: Behold, I will separate unto myself a people from among all the peoples, and these shall guard the Shabbat, and I will sanctify them unto myself as my people, and will bless them; as I have sanctified the Shabbat and do sanctify it unto myself, even so will I bless them, and they shall be my people and I will be their ELOHIYM. 21 And I have chosen the seed of Ya`aqov from amongst all that I have seen, and have written him down as my firstborn son, and have sanctified him unto myself forever and ever; and I will teach them the Shabbat, that they may guard the Shabbat thereon from all work. 22 And thus he created therein a sign in accordance with which they should guard the Shabbat with us on the seventh day, to eat and to drink, and to bless him who has created all things as he has blessed and sanctified unto himself a peculiar people above all peoples, and that they should guard the Shabbat together with us. 23 And he caused his commands to ascend as a sweet savour acceptable before him all the days. 24 There were two and twenty heads of mankind from Adam to Ya`aqov, and two and twenty kinds of work were made until the seventh day; this is blessed and holy; and the former also is blessed and holy; and this one serves with that one for sanctification and blessing.
The two and twenty kinds of work were the works of ELOHIYM in creation. This discussion again is not one that can be answered in a single sentence, a single paragraph, or for that matter, a single book. Let me give you an example. There are twenty-two primary letters in the Hebrew language (see Tehilliym (Psalms) 119 and its 22 paragraphs). There are those who argue that there are twenty-two sub-atomic primaries (charms, nuetrinos, quarks, etc.) which are actually the foundations of the twenty-two letters, or better stated, the twenty-two letters are the symbols of these foundational elements. It is from these twenty-two that all of creation – the dividing of the darkness which is without form and is void by the eternal light (the Or Ayn Soph), which is MASHIACH (YAHUAH YAHUSHA) (“I am the light of the world” Yahuchanon 8:12) – occurs. The book Sitrei Torah discusses this particular issue in detail.
What are the abysses in Yovheliym 2:3?
Yovheliym (Jubilees) 2:3
He created the abysses and the darkness, evening and night, and the light, dawn and day, which he has prepared in the knowledge of his heart. And thereupon we saw his works, and praised him, and lauded before him on account of all his works; for seven great works did he create on the first day.
Again, for a complete discussion of these abysses, please read the Cepher Chanoch (the Book of Enoch) which explains these in great detail. In my opinion, these abysses have been revealed recently by the Hubble telescope.
In Yovheliym 4:1 Chuah gave birth to three children in three weeks. How is this - one on the third week, one on the fourth and one on the fifth; or do these weeks represent years?
This is a most excellent question, and one of the most exciting parts about this book. All of the patterns set forth in Yovheliym delineate in weeks of years; that is, a seven year period, so that you have a jubilee period (50 years) set out as the first week (of years), the second week (of years), the third week (of years), the fourth week (of years), the fifth week (of years), the sixth week (of years), the seventh week (of years) and the jubilee year.
This also works the other way. For instance, take this passage:
Yovheliym (Jubilees) 3:18
And after the completion of the seven years, which he had completed there, seven years exactly, and in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the serpent came and approached the woman, and the serpent said to the woman, Has ELOHIYM commanded you, saying, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
To the uninitiated reader, this appears as “seven years exactly.” However, the underlying read is seven weeks of years, or 49 years. The expulsion from the garden was in the jubilee (50th) year. However, let’s look at the passage referenced:
Yovheliym (Jubilees) 4:1
AND in the third week in the second jubilee she gave birth to Qayin, and in the fourth she gave birth to Hevel, and in the fifth she gave birth to her daughter Awan.
If we assume that the first jubilee took us to year 50, then we see the first week of the second jubilee as years 51-58, the second week as years 59-66, the third week as years 67-74, the fourth week as years 75-82, and the fifth week as years 83-90. Therefore, we can see these children were born years apart.
Why did Qayin, Sheth and Enosh take their sisters as their women?
Another good question. If you assume that the narrative is true, and accept no other narrative, then it is easy to see that there were no other humans on earth. This practice continued although distance between relatives began to occur quickly, until the laws banning incest were set forth in Vayiqra (Leviticus) 18. Read, for instance, of the lineage of Noach following the flood. All of the marriages which followed were between cousins.
Who were the watchers? Yovheliym 4:15?
Again, this discussion points directly to the Cepher Chanoch (the Book of Enoch), where the answer may be found in great detail. The term “The Watchers” is initially established in Chanoch, but it refers to the following:
Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 6:1-4
AND it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of ELOHIYM saw תא eth-the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them women of all which they chose. 3 And YAHUAH said, My RUACH shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. 4 There were Nephiliym in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of ELOHIYM came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became warriors and tyrants which were of ancient times, men of infamy.