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How do the Book of Jubilees and Biblical Antiquities portray Abraham?
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Abraham
The March of Abraham, painting by JĆ³zsef MolnĆ”r, 19th century; in the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest.
In noncanonical apocryphal and pseudepigraphical texts written between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE, the character of Abraham was significantly expanded beyond the biblical narrative found in Genesis.
In both the Book of Jubilees and Biblical Antiquities, Abraham is portrayed as an anti-polytheistic iconoclast. This depiction emphasizes his role as a theological innovator who actively rejected the polytheistic practices of his time, further solidifying his traditional reputation as the first monotheist. These texts reflect how the figure of Abraham was reinterpreted and developed within the religious contexts of Judaism during that period.1