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The Testament of Levi Concerning the Priesthood and Arrogance

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Section 6

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Author: Unknown

6. And when I came to my father

‹ Section 5 Section 7 ›

I

found

a

brazen

shield

;

wherefore

also

the

name

of

the

mountain

is

Aspis

,

which

is

near

Gebal

,

on

the

right

side

of

Abila

;

and

I

kept

these

words

in

my

heart

.

I

took

counsel

with

my

father

,

and

with

Reuben

my

brother

,

that

he

should

bid

the

sons

of

Hamor

that

they

should

be

circumcised

;

for

I

was

jealous

because

of

the

abomination

which

they

had

wrought

in

Israel

.

And

I

slew

Shechem

at

the

first

,

and

Simeon

slew

Hamor

.

And

after

this

our

brethren

came

and

smote

the

city

with

the

edge

of

the

sword

;

and

our

father

heard

it

and

was

wroth

,

and

he

was

grieved

in

that

they

had

received

the

circumcision

,

and

after

that

had

been

put

to

death

,

and

in

his

blessings

he

dealt

otherwise

with

us

.

For

we

sinned

because

we

had

done

this

thing

against

his

will

,

and

he

was

sick

upon

that

day

.

But

I

knew

that

the

sentence

of

God

was

for

evil

upon

Shechem

;

for

they

sought

to

do

to

Sarah

as

they

did

to

Dinah

our

sister

,

and

the

Lord

hindered

them

.

And

so

they

persecuted

Abraham

our

father

when

he

was

a

stranger

,

and

they

harried

his

flocks

when

they

were

multiplied

upon

him

;

and

Jeblae

his

servant

,

born

in

his

house

,

they

shamefully

handled

.

And

thus

they

did

to

all

strangers

,

taking

away

their

wives

by

force

,

and

the

men

themselves

driving

into

exile

.

But

the

wrath

of

the

Lord

came

suddenly

upon

them

to

the

uttermost

.

Notes

10
ἀσπίς. The Latin version gives the other meaning to ἀσπίς here, of asp or viper. The epithet χαλκῆν, however, renders “shield” much more probable, as there seems nothing in the context pointing to the “brazen serpent.”
11
A quotation from 1 Thess. ii. 16, where the context also is similar to the present. [See Lardner’s refutation of the learned Grabe on this quotation, vol. ii. p. 359.]