What motivated the writer of Jubliees to ground distinctive Jewish practices in the earliest stories in Genesis? Is his motivation to prove to the Gentile world that the Judaism of the Second Temple period is ancient and worthy of respect? Or is he “preaching to the choir,” trying to encourage Second Temple Jews to continue in their practice of Sabbath and festivals?Good questions. The two options are not necessarily entirely mutually exclusive.
Past posts in Phil Long's series on the Second Temple Period are noted here and links.