The Testament of Naphtali

And it came to pass, when Naphtali grew elderly and arrived at a good old age and also reached the age of power and passed the stage where one stoops [see m. Avot 5:21], he began to issue his final commands to his sons. He said to them, “My children, come near and accept your father’s commandments.” They answered by saying to him, “We are here and ready to listen and obey all that you will command us.” He declared to them, “I am not commanding you regarding my silver, or my gold, or all the labor that I am leaving for you under the sun. Nor am I commanding you about some weighty matter that you will be unable to withstand. Rather, I am commanding you concerning something easy, that you can fulfill.” His sons responded a second time and said, “Speak, our father, for we are listening.” He said to them, “I am commanding you only about the fear of God, that you should serve Him and cleave to Him (Deuteronomy 10:20).” They replied, “But why does He require our service?” He explained, “It is not that He requires all creatures. Rather, all creatures of His world are in need of Him. Indeed, He did not create His world to be a waste [see Isaiah 45:18], but so that they should fear Him (Ecclesiastes 3:14), and that a person should not do to his neighbor that which he does not want for himself.”

They said to him, “Our father, have you seen us depart from your path to the right or left, or to the right or left from your father’s path?” He replied, “God is your witness, as am I, that what you say is correct. However, I am anxious about the future, that you should not stray after foreign idols and that you should not follow the statutes of the nations of the lands, and that you should not band together with the sons of Joseph, but only with the sons of Levi and the sons of Judah.” They said to him, “Why are you commanding us about this matter?” He responded, “It is because I know that in the future the sons of Joseph will turn away from the Lord, God of your fathers, and lead the children of Israel into sin and cause them to be exiled from their good land to a land that does not belong to us, just as we were exiled through his agency into the subjugation of Egypt.

“I will further relate to you the vision I saw when I was herding sheep. Behold, there were twelve shepherds with me in the field, and our father arrived and said to us, ‘My sons, come and seize in my presence each of you what will arise in his portion.’ We replied, ‘But what can we seize? We see only the sun, the moon, and the stars.’ He responded, ‘Take from them.’ When Levi heard this, he grabbed hold of a shepherd’s staff and skipped up onto the sun, and he sat and rode upon it. When Judah saw this, he acted likewise. He grabbed hold of a shepherd’s staff and skipped up onto the moon and rode upon it. Nine other tribes acted similarly. Each of them rode upon his star and his constellation in the heavens, until only the staff of Joseph was left by itself on the earth.

“Our father Jacob said to him, ‘My son, why didn’t you act like your brothers?’ He replied, ‘My father, what are those born of a woman doing in the heavens, when ultimately they will stand, down on the earth, at Joseph’s bidding?’ And behold, a tall ox was standing alongside him, with large wings like those of a stork. Jacob said to him, ‘Arise Joseph, and ride upon it.’ And Joseph arose and rode upon the ox. Our father then departed, and within two hours Joseph was exalting himself upon the ox, as he would alternately trot and run, and then fly, until he reached Judah. At this point, Joseph stretched out the standard that was in his hand and began to strike his brother Judah. Judah, his brother, said to him, ‘Why are you hitting me?’ He replied, ‘You have twelve shepherd’s staffs in your hand, whereas I have one. Now give me ten, and I will leave you in peace.’ Judah refused to give them to him, and Joseph struck him until he snatched the ten from him against his will, leaving only two in Judah’s hand.

“He then said to his ten brothers, ‘Why are you going after Judah and Levi? Turn away from them and follow me.’ When they heard Joseph say this, they turned away from Judah and Levi as one man, in order to follow Joseph. Only Benjamin and Levi remained with Judah, who, upon seeing this, descended from upon the sun, saddened. Meanwhile, Joseph said to his brother Benjamin, ‘My brother Benjamin, are you not my brother? You too should come with me.’ But Benjamin refused to go after his brother Joseph. And it came to pass, as the day drew to a close, that a great wind arrived and separated Joseph and his brothers, until no two of them remained together. [ . . . ]

“Therefore, my sons, I am commanding you that you should not join together with the sons of Joseph, but with Levi and Judah. I shall also inform you that my portion will fall where there is the best produce in the country, and you will eat and be satisfied with sweet delicacies. I warn you that you should not kick out in your fattened state [see Deuteronomy 32:15]—do not rebel, nor disobey the word of God, who satisfies you with the goodness of His land. Do not reject the Lord, your God and the God of your fathers, whom our forefather Abraham chose when the generations were dispersed, in the days of the dispersion. At that time, the Holy One descended from His lofty heavens, bringing with Him the ministering angels, led by Michael. He commanded each and every one of them to teach seventy languages to the seventy families that came out of Noah’s loins. They immediately descended and fulfilled their Creator’s command. Thus, the holy tongue, the Hebrew language, remained only in the house of Shem and Eber, and in the house of Abraham, who was one of their descendants.”