How Old is the Aramaic Levi Document?

Abstract

of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, scholars eventually noticed that the two texts, while showing clear affinities, were not identical. In fact, the surviving fragments did not even contain clear indication that this Aramaic text belonged to the testament genre. For that reason, the text has come to be known as the Aramaic Document, or simply, the ALD or Aramaic Levi. This text is now generally believed to have been used by the author of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs to compose the Testament of Levi section of that book hence the resemblance between the two texts.3 When was the Aramaic Document {ALD) written? The first evidence to be considered in any discussion is that of paleography, which seems to provide the most accurate evidence for dating manuscripts of this type and period.4 Of course, the Cairo Genizah fragments