Genesis Apocryphon

Genesis Apocryphon, pseudepigraphal work (not accepted in any canon of scripture), one of the most important works of the Essene community of Jews, part of whose library was discovered in 1947 in caves at Qumrān, near the Dead Sea, in Palestine. The scroll, the last of seven scrolls discovered in Cave I, is also the least well preserved. Examination of the entire scroll showed it to be a collection of apocryphal embellishments on leading figures in Genesis and not, as was first suspected, the long lost “Apocalypse of Lamech.” The contents of the scroll comprise four major sections: the story of Lamech (columns 1–5), the story of Noah (columns 6–15), the table of the Peoples (columns 16–17), and the story of Abraham (columns 18–22).

The work is a good example of Essene biblical exegesis and shows striking similarities to the pseudepigraphal Book of Jubilees, which also presents a highly imaginative version of Genesis. Though their calculations differ, the two books show a common interest in the calendar. Because the scroll also contains material related to that found in First Book of Enoch, the Genesis Apocryphon was possibly the source for both Jubilees and 1 Enoch.

Written in Palestine in Aramaic, the scroll is the earliest example of a pseudepigraphal work in that language and is important for the study of its linguistic development. It dates from either the 1st century bc or ad. The date of the original text, however, is difficult to determine, since the scroll may be an Aramaic translation of a Hebrew original or an altered edition of an Aramaic original.