Van Ruiten, Jacques T. A. G. M.  “Visions of the Temple in the Book of Jubilees.”  In Gemeinde ohne Tempel (Community without Temple): Zur Substituierung und Transformation des Jerusalemer Tempels und seines Kults im Alten Testament, antiken Judentum und frühen Christentum, edited by B. Ego, A. Lange and P. Pilhofer, 215-27.   Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 118.  Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1999.  [Israel]

The author’s conclusions are an adequate summary of this article.  He wrote: “Jubilees speaks in a negative way of the actual Temple.  In a positive way it speaks about the former sanctuaries and about the future Temple in a new creation.  Only with regard to Eden and with regard to a restored Zion the dwell in of the Lord is mentioned.  The Old Testament speaks in two way about Eden.  First, it is applied to the loss of former glory, and secondly it is applied to a restoration in the future.  Only with regard to the second application Eden is explicitly related to Zion.  When Eden is connected with Jerusalem in early Jewish literature it is always concerned with the future Temple.  My suggestion is that when the Book of Jubilees speaks about Eden, it does not mean the inauguration of all the sanctuaries in the history of Israel, but it is aimed at a future, eschatological Temple on Mount Zion.  The actual Temple, like the actual creation, is deficient, it does not function as it should function.  Therefore the author of Jubilees speaks about a restored Zion in a new creation.  When he rewrites the story of Eden, he actually means to speak about a new Eden, a new creation, in which Zion will be restored.”   I found of particular interest the rather definite statements regarding the defilement and unworthiness of the temple found in Jubilees.