The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is a constituent of the apocryphal scriptures connected with the Bible. It is believed to be a pseudepigraphical work of the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is part of the Oskan Armenian Orthodox Bible printed in 1666. Fragments of similar writings were found at Qumran, but opinions are divided as to whether these are the same texts. It is generally considered apocalyptic literature.

The Testaments were written in Hebrew or Greek, and reached their final form in the 2nd century CE. In the 13th century they were introduced into the Western world through the agency of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, whose Latin translation of the work immediately became popular. He believed that it was a genuine work of the twelve sons of Jacob, and that the Christian interpolations were a genuine product of Jewish prophecy; he accused Jews of concealing the Testaments "on account of the prophecies of the Saviour contained in them."

With the critical methods of the 16th century, Grosseteste's view of the Testaments was rejected, and the book was disparaged as a mere Christian forgery for nearly four centuries. Currently, scholarly opinions are still divided as to whether it is an originally Jewish document that has been retouched by Christians, or a Christian document written originally in Greek but based on some earlier Semitic-language material. Scholarship tends to focus on this book as a Christian work, whether or not it has a Jewish predecessor (Vorlage).

The Testaments are known from fifteen Greek manuscripts; the oldest preserved complete version dates from the tenth century. There is also a Slavonic version, and a Serbian version close it. An Armenian version—which contains fewer Christian interpolations than the Greek version—is attested by about fifty manuscripts. An editio minor (a preliminary edition) of the Armenian version of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs was published in 2012. The early European translations are based on a Latin version made from the Greek text.

Aramaic fragments of documents relating to Levi (1Q21, 4Q213, 4Q213a, 4Q213b, 4Q214, 4Q214a, 4Q214b, 4Q215, 4Q540, 4Q541); Judah (3Q7, 4Q538); and Joseph (4Q539) have been found at Qumran among the Dead Sea Scrolls. An ancient Hebrew fragment of the Testament of Naphtali was also discovered at Qumran at Cave 4 (4Q215).

Fragments of Levi, similar to 1Q21 and dated to the ninth century, were discovered in the genizah of a Karaite synagogue in Cairo. There is also a later medieval Hebrew version of the testament of Naphtali. Analysis of the discrepancies between the different fragments and copies reveals a process of synthesis and interpolation within the text.

The Testaments are not often cited in Patristic literature.

There is little external testimony regarding the Testaments: Tertullian appears to quote a passage of the Greek text of the Testament of Benjamin in his polemic against docetic theologian Marcion of Sinope (AD 85 - 160), but this is not certain. Aside from that, a mention of them by name appears in a work of Origen (AD 185 - 253), while there are doubtful references by Jerome (AD ~345 - 420) and Procopius (AD 500 - 565), as well as specific mentions in the Stichometria of Nicephorus of Constantinople (758 - 828) and in the Synopsis Sacrae Scripturae (long attributed to Athanasius of Alexandria but now considered to be anonymous). After that, no reference to the Testaments exists until they were rediscovered by Bishop Grosseteste.