Chapters 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-91
THIS IS THE BOOK OF THE GENERATIONS OF MAN WHOM GOD CREATED
UPON THE EARTH ON THE DAY WHEN THE LORD GOD
MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH.
CHAPTER 1
1 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,
and God created man in his own image.
2 And God formed man from the ground, and he blew into his nostrils
the breath of life, and man became a living soul endowed with speech.
3 And the Lord said, It is not good for man to be alone; I will
make unto him a helpmeet.
4 And the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept,
and he took away one of his ribs, and he built flesh upon it, and
formed it and brought it to Adam, and Adam awoke from his sleep,
and behold a woman was standing before him.
5 And he said, This is a bone of my bones and it shall be called
woman, for this has been taken from man; and Adam called her name
Eve, for she was the mother of all living.
6 And God blessed them and called their names Adam and Eve in the
day that he created them, and the Lord God said, Be fruitful and
multiply and fill the earth.
7 And the Lord God took Adam and his wife, and he placed them in
the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it; and he commanded
them and said unto them, From every tree of the garden you may
eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall
not eat, for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
8 And when God had blessed and commanded them, he went from them,
and Adam and his wife dwelt in the garden according to the command
which the Lord had commanded them.
9 And the serpent, which God had created with them in the earth,
came to them to incite them to transgress the command of God which
he had commanded them.
10 And the serpent enticed and persuaded the woman to eat from
the tree of knowledge, and the woman hearkened to the voice of
the serpent, and she transgressed the word of God, and took from
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and she ate, and she
took from it and gave also to her husband and he ate.
11 And Adam and his wife transgressed the command of God which
he commanded them, and God knew it, and his anger was kindled against
them and he cursed them.
12 And the Lord God drove them that day from the garden of Eden,
to till the ground from which they were taken, and they went and
dwelt at the east of the garden of Eden; and Adam knew his wife
Eve and she bore two sons and three daughters.
13 And she called the name of the first born Cain, saying, I have
obtained a man from the Lord, and the name of the other she called
Abel, for she said, In vanity we came into the earth, and in vanity
we shall be taken from it.
14 And the boys grew up and their father gave them a possession
in the land; and Cain was a tiller of the ground, and Abel a keeper
of sheep.
15 And it was at the expiration of a few years, that they brought
an approximating offering to the Lord, and Cain brought from the
fruit of the ground, and Abel brought from the firstlings of his
flock from the fat thereof, and God turned and inclined to Abel
and his offering, and a fire came down from the Lord from heaven
and consumed it.
16 And unto Cain and his offering the Lord did not turn, and he
did not incline to it, for he had brought from the inferior fruit
of the ground before the Lord, and Cain was jealous against his
brother Abel on account of this, and he sought a pretext to slay
him.
17 And in some time after, Cain and Abel his brother, went one
day into the field to do their work; and they were both in the
field, Cain tilling and ploughing his ground, and Abel feeding
his flock; and the flock passed that part which Cain had ploughed
in the ground, and it sorely grieved Cain on this account.
18 And Cain approached his brother Abel in anger, and he said unto
him, What is there between me and thee, that thou comest to dwell
and bring thy flock to feed in my land?
19 And Abel answered his brother Cain and said unto him, What is
there between me and thee, that thou shalt eat the flesh of my
flock and clothe thyself with their wool?
20 And now therefore, put off the wool of my sheep with which thou
hast clothed thyself, and recompense me for their fruit and flesh
which thou hast eaten, and when thou shalt have done this, I will
then go from thy land as thou hast said?
21 And Cain said to his brother Abel, Surely if I slay thee this
day, who will require thy blood from me?
22 And Abel answered Cain, saying, Surely God who has made us in
the earth, he will avenge my cause, and he will require my blood
from thee shouldst thou slay me, for the Lord is the judge and
arbiter, and it is he who will requite man according to his evil,
and the wicked man according to the wickedness that he may do upon
earth.
23 And now, if thou shouldst slay me here, surely God knoweth thy
secret views, and will judge thee for the evil which thou didst
declare to do unto me this day.
24 And when Cain heard the words which Abel his brother had spoken,
behold the anger of Cain was kindled against his brother Abel for
declaring this thing.
25 And Cain hastened and rose up, and took the iron part of his
ploughing instrument, with which he suddenly smote his brother
and he slew him, and Cain spilt the blood of his brother Abel upon
the earth, and the blood of Abel streamed upon the earth before
the flock.
26 And after this Cain repented having slain his brother, and he
was sadly grieved, and he wept over him and it vexed him exceedingly.
27 And Cain rose up and dug a hole in the field, wherein he put
his brother's body, and he turned the dust over it.
28 And the Lord knew what Cain had done to his brother, and the
Lord appeared to Cain and said unto him, Where is Abel thy brother
that was with thee?
29 And Cain dissembled, and said, I do not know, am I my brother's
keeper? And the Lord said unto him, What hast thou done? The voice
of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground where thou
hast slain him.
30 For thou hast slain thy brother and hast dissembled before me,
and didst imagine in thy heart that I saw thee not, nor knew all
thy actions.
31 But thou didst this thing and didst slay thy brother for naught
and because he spoke rightly to thee, and now, therefore, cursed
be thou from the ground which opened its mouth to receive thy brother's
blood from thy hand, and wherein thou didst bury him.
32 And it shall be when thou shalt till it, it shall no more give
thee its strength as in the beginning, for thorns and thistles
shall the ground produce, and thou shalt be moving and wandering
in the earth until the day of thy death.
33 And at that time Cain went out from the presence of the Lord,
from the place where he was, and he went moving and wandering in
the land toward the east of Eden, he and all belonging to him.
34 And Cain knew his wife in those days, and she conceived and
bare a son, and he called his name Enoch, saying, In that time
the Lord began to give him rest and quiet in the earth.
35 And at that time Cain also began to build a city: and he built
the city and he called the name of the city Enoch, according to
the name of his son; for in those days the Lord had given him rest
upon the earth, and he did not move about and wander as in the
beginning.
36 And Irad was born to Enoch, and Irad begat Mechuyael and Mechuyael
begat Methusael.
CHAPTER 2
1 And it was in the hundred and thirtieth year of the life of Adam
upon the earth, that he again knew Eve his wife, and she conceived
and bare a son in his likeness and in his image, and she called
his name Seth, saying, Because God has appointed me another seed
in the place of Abel, for Cain has slain him.
2 And Seth lived one hundred and five years, and he begat a son;
and Seth called the name of his son Enosh, saying, Because in that
time the sons of men began to multiply, and to afflict their souls
and hearts by transgressing and rebelling against God.
3 And it was in the days of Enosh that the sons of men continued
to rebel and transgress against God, to increase the anger of the
Lord against the sons of men.
4 And the sons of men went and they served other gods, and they
forgot the Lord who had created them in the earth: and in those
days the sons of men made images of brass and iron, wood and stone,
and they bowed down and served them.
5 And every man made his god and they bowed down to them, and the
sons of men forsook the Lord all the days of Enosh and his children;
and the anger of the Lord was kindled on account of their works
and abominations which they did in the earth.
6 And the Lord caused the waters of the river Gihon to overwhelm
them, and he destroyed and consumed them, and he destroyed the
third part of the earth, and notwithstanding this, the sons of
men did not turn from their evil ways, and their hands were yet
extended to do evil in the sight of the Lord.
7 And in those days there was neither sowing nor reaping in the
earth; and there was no food for the sons of men and the famine
was very great in those days.
8 And the seed which they sowed in those days in the ground became
thorns, thistles and briers; for from the days of Adam was this
declaration concerning the earth, of the curse of God, which he
cursed the earth, on account of the sin which Adam sinned before
the Lord.
9 And it was when men continued to rebel and transgress against
God, and to corrupt their ways, that the earth also became corrupt.
10 And Enosh lived ninety years and he begat Cainan;
11 And Cainan grew up and he was forty years old, and he became
wise and had knowledge and skill in all wisdom, and he reigned
over all the sons of men, and he led the sons of men to wisdom
and knowledge; for Cainan was a very wise man and had understanding
in all wisdom, and with his wisdom he ruled over spirits and demons;
12 And Cainan knew by his wisdom that God would destroy the sons
of men for having sinned upon earth, and that the Lord would in
the latter days bring upon them the waters of the flood.
13 And in those days Cainan wrote upon tablets of stone, what was
to take place in time to come, and he put them in his treasures.
14 And Cainan reigned over the whole earth, and he turned some
of the sons of men to the service of God.
15 And when Cainan was seventy years old, he begat three sons and
two daughters.
16 And these are the names of the children of Cainan; the name
of the first born Mahlallel, the second Enan, and the third Mered,
and their sisters were Adah and Zillah; these are the five children
of Cainan that were born to him.
17 And Lamech, the son of Methusael, became related to Cainan by
marriage, and he took his two daughters for his wives, and Adah
conceived and bare a son to Lamech, and she called his name Jabal.
18 And she again conceived and bare a son, and called his name
Jubal; and Zillah, her sister, was barren in those days and had
no offspring.
19 For in those days the sons of men began to trespass against
God, and to transgress the commandments which he had commanded
to Adam, to be fruitful and multiply in the earth.
20 And some of the sons of men caused their wives to drink a draught
that would render them barren, in order that they might retain
their figures and whereby their beautiful appearance might not
fade.
21 And when the sons of men caused some of their wives to drink,
Zillah drank with them.
22 And the child-bearing women appeared abominable in the sight
of their husbands as widows, whilst their husbands lived, for to
the barren ones only they were attached.
23 And in the end of days and years, when Zillah became old, the
Lord opened her womb.
24 And she conceived and bare a son and she called his name Tubal
Cain, saying, After I had withered away have I obtained him from
the Almighty God.
25 And she conceived again and bare a daughter, and she called
her name Naamah, for she said, After I had withered away have I
obtained pleasure and delight.
26 And Lamech was old and advanced in years, and his eyes were
dim that he could not see, and Tubal Cain, his son, was leading
him and it was one day that Lamech went into the field and Tubal
Cain his son was with him, and whilst they were walking in the
field, Cain the son of Adam advanced towards them; for Lamech was
very old and could not see much, and Tubal Cain his son was very
young.
27 And Tubal Cain told his father to draw his bow, and with the
arrows he smote Cain, who was yet far off, and he slew him, for
he appeared to them to be an animal.
28 And the arrows entered Cain's body although he was distant from
them, and he fell to the ground and died.
29 And the Lord requited Cain's evil according to his wickedness,
which he had done to his brother Abel, according to the word of
the Lord which he had spoken.
30 And it came to pass when Cain had died, that Lamech and Tubal
went to see the animal which they had slain, and they saw, and
behold Cain their grandfather was fallen dead upon the earth.
31 And Lamech was very much grieved at having done this, and in
clapping his hands together he struck his son and caused his death.
32. And the wives of Lamech heard what Lamech had done, and they
sought to kill him.
33 And the wives of Lamech hated him from that day, because he
slew Cain and Tubal Cain, and the wives of Lamech separated from
him, and would not hearken to him in those days.
34 And Lamech came to his wives, and he pressed them to listen
to him about this matter.
35 And he said to his wives Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice O wives
of Lamech, attend to my words, for now you have imagined and said
that I slew a man with my wounds, and a child with my stripes for
their having done no violence, but surely know that I am old and
grey-headed, and that my eyes are heavy through age, and I did
this thing unknowingly.
36 And the wives of Lamech listened to him in this matter, and
they returned to him with the advice of their father Adam, but
they bore no children to him from that time, knowing that God's
anger was increasing in those days against the sons of men, to
destroy them with the waters of the flood for their evil doings.
37 And Mahlallel the son of Cainan lived sixty-five years and he
begat Jared; and Jared lived sixty-two years and he begat Enoch.
CHAPTER 3
1 And Enoch lived sixty-five years and he begat Methuselah; and
Enoch walked with God after having begot Methuselah, and he served
the Lord, and despised the evil ways of men.
2 And the soul of Enoch was wrapped up in the instruction of the
Lord, in knowledge and in understanding; and he wisely retired
from the sons of men, and secreted himself from them for many days.
3 And it was at the expiration of many years, whilst he was serving
the Lord, and praying before him in his house, that an angel of
the Lord called to him from Heaven, and he said, Here am I.
4 And he said, Rise, go forth from thy house and from the place
where thou dost hide thyself, and appear to the sons of men, in
order that thou mayest teach them the way in which they should
go and the work which they must accomplish to enter in the ways
of God.
5 And Enoch rose up according to the word of the Lord, and went
forth from his house, from his place and from the chamber in which
he was concealed; and he went to the sons of men and taught them
the ways of the Lord, and at that time assembled the sons of men
and acquainted them with the instruction of the Lord.
6 And he ordered it to be proclaimed in all places where the sons
of men dwelt, saying, Where is the man who wishes to know the ways
of the Lord and good works? let him come to Enoch.
7 And all the sons of men then assembled to him, for all who desired
this thing went to Enoch, and Enoch reigned over the sons of men
according to the word of the Lord, and they came and bowed to him
and they heard his word.
8 And the spirit of God was upon Enoch, and he taught all his men
the wisdom of God and his ways, and the sons of men served the
Lord all the days of Enoch, and they came to hear his wisdom.
9 And all the kings of the sons of men, both first and last, together
with their princes and judges, came to Enoch when they heard of
his wisdom, and they bowed down to him, and they also required
of Enoch to reign over them, to which he consented.
10 And they assembled in all, one hundred and thirty kings and
princes, and they made Enoch king over them and they were all under
his power and command.
11 And Enoch taught them wisdom, knowledge, and the ways of the
Lord; and he made peace amongst them, and peace was throughout
the earth during the life of Enoch.
12 And Enoch reigned over the sons of men two hundred and forty-three
years, and he did justice and righteousness with all his people,
and he led them in the ways of the Lord.
13 And these are the generations of Enoch, Methuselah, Elisha,
and Elimelech, three sons; and their sisters were Melca and Nahmah,
and Methuselah lived eighty-seven years and he begat Lamech.
14 And it was in the fifty-sixth year of the life of Lamech when
Adam died; nine hundred and thirty years old was he at his death,
and his two sons, with Enoch and Methuselah his son, buried him
with great pomp, as at the burial of kings, in the cave which God
had told him.
15 And in that place all the sons of men made a great mourning
and weeping on account of Adam; it has therefore become a custom
among the sons of men to this day.
16 And Adam died because he ate of the tree of knowledge; he and
his children after him, as the Lord God had spoken.
17 And it was in the year of Adam's death which was the two hundred
and forty-third year of the reign of Enoch, in that time Enoch
resolved to separate himself from the sons of men and to secret
himself as at first in order to serve the Lord.
18 And Enoch did so, but did not entirely secret himself from them,
but kept away from the sons of men three days and then went to
them for one day.
19 And during the three days that he was in his chamber, he prayed
to, and praised the Lord his God, and the day on which he went
and appeared to his subjects he taught them the ways of the Lord,
and all they asked him about the Lord he told them.
20 And he did in this manner for many years, and he afterward concealed
himself for six days, and appeared to his people one day in seven;
and after that once in a month, and then once in a year, until
all the kings, princes and sons of men sought for him, and desired
again to see the face of Enoch, and to hear his word; but they
could not, as all the sons of men were greatly afraid of Enoch,
and they feared to approach him on account of the Godlike awe that
was seated upon his countenance; therefore no man could look at
him, fearing he might be punished and die.
21 And all the kings and princes resolved to assemble the sons
of men, and to come to Enoch, thinking that they might all speak
to him at the time when he should come forth amongst them, and
they did so.
22 And the day came when Enoch went forth and they all assembled
and came to him, and Enoch spoke to them the words of the Lord
and he taught them wisdom and knowledge, and they bowed down before
him and they said, May the king live! May the king live!
23 And in some time after, when the kings and princes and the sons
of men were speaking to Enoch, and Enoch was teaching them the
ways of God, behold an angel of the Lord then called unto Enoch
from heaven, and wished to bring him up to heaven to make him reign
there over the sons of God, as he had reigned over the sons of
men upon earth.
24 When at that time Enoch heard this he went and assembled all
the inhabitants of the earth, and taught them wisdom and knowledge
and gave them divine instructions, and he said to them, I have
been required to ascend into heaven, I therefore do not know the
day of my going.
25 And now therefore I will teach you wisdom and knowledge and
will give you instruction before I leave you, how to act upon earth
whereby you may live; and he did so.
26 And he taught them wisdom and knowledge, and gave them instruction,
and he reproved them, and he placed before them statutes and judgments
to do upon earth, and he made peace amongst them, and he taught
them everlasting life, and dwelt with them some time teaching them
all these things.
27 And at that time the sons of men were with Enoch, and Enoch
was speaking to them, and they lifted up their eyes and the likeness
of a great horse descended from heaven, and the horse paced in
the air;
28 And they told Enoch what they had seen, and Enoch said to them,
On my account does this horse descend upon earth; the time is come
when I must go from you and I shall no more be seen by you.
29 And the horse descended at that time and stood before Enoch,
and all the sons of men that were with Enoch saw him.
30 And Enoch then again ordered a voice to be proclaimed, saying,
Where is the man who delighteth to know the ways of the Lord his
God, let him come this day to Enoch before he is taken from us.
31 And all the sons of men assembled and came to Enoch that day;
and all the kings of the earth with their princes and counsellors
remained with him that day; and Enoch then taught the sons of men
wisdom and knowledge, and gave them divine instruction; and he
bade them serve the Lord and walk in his ways all the days of their
lives, and he continued to make peace amongst them.
32 And it was after this that he rose up and rode upon the horse;
and he went forth and all the sons of men went after him, about
eight hundred thousand men; and they went with him one day's journey.
33 And the second day he said to them, Return home to your tents,
why will you go? perhaps you may die; and some of them went from
him, and those that remained went with him six day's journey; and
Enoch said to them every day, Return to your tents, lest you may
die; but they were not willing to return, and they went with him.
34 And on the sixth day some of the men remained and clung to him,
and they said to him, We will go with thee to the place where thou
goest; as the Lord liveth, death only shall separate us.
35 And they urged so much to go with him, that he ceased speaking
to them; and they went after him and would not return;
36 And when the kings returned they caused a census to be taken,
in order to know the number of remaining men that went with Enoch;
and it was upon the seventh day that Enoch ascended into heaven
in a whirlwind, with horses and chariots of fire.
37 And on the eighth day all the kings that had been with Enoch
sent to bring back the number of men that were with Enoch, in that
place from which he ascended into heaven.
38 And all those kings went to the place and they found the earth
there filled with snow, and upon the snow were large stones of
snow, and one said to the other, Come, let us break through the
snow and see, perhaps the men that remained with Enoch are dead,
and are now under the stones of snow, and they searched but could
not find him, for he had ascended into heaven.
CHAPTER 4
1 And all the days that Enoch lived upon earth, were three hundred
and sixty-five years.
2 And when Enoch had ascended into heaven, all the kings of the
earth rose and took Methuselah his son and anointed him, and they
caused him to reign over them in the place of his father.
3 And Methuselah acted uprightly in the sight of God, as his father
Enoch had taught him, and he likewise during the whole of his life
taught the sons of men wisdom, knowledge and the fear of God, and
he did not turn from the good way either to the right or to the
left.
4 But in the latter days of Methuselah, the sons of men turned
from the Lord, they corrupted the earth, they robbed and plundered
each other, and they rebelled against God and they transgressed,
and they corrupted their ways, and would not hearken to the voice
of Methuselah, but rebelled against him.
5 And the Lord was exceedingly wroth against them, and the Lord
continued to destroy the seed in those days, so that there was
neither sowing nor reaping in the earth.
6 For when they sowed the ground in order that they might obtain
food for their support, behold, thorns and thistles were produced
which they did not sow.
7 And still the sons of men did not turn from their evil ways,
and their hands were still extended to do evil in the sight of
God, and they provoked the Lord with their evil ways, and the Lord
was very wroth, and repented that he had made man.
8 And he thought to destroy and annihilate them and he did so.
9 In those days when Lamech the son of Methuselah was one hundred
and sixty years old, Seth the son of Adam died.
10 And all the days that Seth lived, were nine hundred and twelve
years, and he died.
11 And Lamech was one hundred and eighty years old when he took
Ashmua, the daughter of Elishaa the son of Enoch his uncle, and
she conceived.
12 And at that time the sons of men sowed the ground, and a little
food was produced, yet the sons of men did not turn from their
evil ways, and they trespassed and rebelled against God.
13 And the wife of Lamech conceived and bare him a son at that
time, at the revolution of the year.
14 And Methuselah called his name Noah, saying, The earth was in
his days at rest and free from corruption, and Lamech his father
called his name Menachem, saying, This one shall comfort us in
our works and miserable toil in the earth, which God had cursed.
15 And the child grew up and was weaned, and he went in the ways
of his father Methuselah, perfect and upright with God.
16 And all the sons of men departed from the ways of the Lord in
those days as they multiplied upon the face of the earth with sons
and daughters, and they taught one another their evil practices
and they continued sinning against the Lord.
17 And every man made unto himself a god, and they robbed and plundered
every man his neighbor as well as his relative, and they corrupted
the earth, and the earth was filled with violence.
18 And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and
took their wives by force from their husbands according to their
choice, and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle
of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air,
and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other,
in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth
and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth,
all men and all animals.
19 And the Lord said, I will blot out man that I created from the
face of the earth, yea from man to the birds of the air, together
with cattle and beasts that are in the field for I repent that
I made them.
20 And all men who walked in the ways of the Lord, died in those
days, before the Lord brought the evil upon man which he had declared,
for this was from the Lord, that they should not see the evil which
the Lord spoke of concerning the sons of men.
21 And Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord
chose him and his children to raise up seed from them upon the
face of the whole earth.
CHAPTER 5
1 And it was in the eighty-fourth year of the life of Noah, that
Enoch the son of Seth died, he was nine hundred and five years
old at his death.
2 And in the one hundred and seventy ninth year of the life of
Noah, Cainan the son of Enosh died, and all the days of Cainan
were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.
3 And in the two hundred and thirty fourth year of the life of
Noah, Mahlallel the son of Cainan died, and the days of Mahlallel
were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.
4 And Jared the son of Mahlallel died in those days, in the three
hundred and thirty-sixth year of the life of Noah; and all the
days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.
5 And all who followed the Lord died in those days, before they
saw the evil which God declared to do upon earth.
6 And after the lapse of many years, in the four hundred and eightieth
year of the life of Noah, when all those men, who followed the
Lord had died away from amongst the sons of men, and only Methuselah
was then left, God said unto Noah and Methuselah, saying,
7 Speak ye, and proclaim to the sons of men, saying, Thus saith
the Lord, return from your evil ways and forsake your works, and
the Lord will repent of the evil that he declared to do to you,
so that it shall not come to pass.
8 For thus saith the Lord, Behold I give you a period of one hundred
and twenty years; if you will turn to me and forsake your evil
ways, then will I also turn away from the evil which I told you,
and it shall not exist, saith the Lord.
9 And Noah and Methuselah spoke all the words of the Lord to the
sons of men, day after day, constantly speaking to them.
10 But the sons of men would not hearken to them, nor incline their
ears to their words, and they were stiffnecked.
11 And the Lord granted them a period of one hundred and twenty
years, saying, If they will return, then will God repent of the
evil, so as not to destroy the earth.
12 Noah the son of Lamech refrained from taking a wife in those
days, to beget children, for he said, Surely now God will destroy
the earth, wherefore then shall I beget children?
13 And Noah was a just man, he was perfect in his generation, and
the Lord chose him to raise up seed from his seed upon the face
of the earth.
14 And the Lord said unto Noah, Take unto thee a wife, and beget
children, for I have seen thee righteous before me in this generation.
15 And thou shalt raise up seed, and thy children with thee, in
the midst of the earth; and Noah went and took a wife, and he chose
Naamah the daughter of Enoch, and she was five hundred and eighty
years old.
16 And Noah was four hundred and ninety-eight years old, when he
took Naamah for a wife.
17 And Naamah conceived and bare a son, and he called his name
Japheth, saying, God has enlarged me in the earth; and she conceived
again and bare a son, and he called his name Shem, saying, God
has made me a remnant, to raise up seed in the midst of the earth.
18 And Noah was five hundred and two years old when Naamah bare
Shem, and the boys grew up and went in the ways of the Lord, in
all that Methuselah and Noah their father taught them.
19 And Lamech the father of Noah, died in those days; yet verily
he did not go with all his heart in the ways of his father, and
he died in the hundred and ninety-fifth year of the life of Noah.
20 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy years,
and he died.
21 And all the sons of men who knew the Lord, died in that year
before the Lord brought evil upon them; for the Lord willed them
to die, so as not to behold the evil that God would bring upon
their brothers and relatives, as he had so declared to do.
22 In that time, the Lord said to Noah and Methuselah, Stand forth
and proclaim to the sons of men all the words that I spoke to you
in those days, peradventure they may turn from their evil ways,
and I will then repent of the evil and will not bring it.
23 And Noah and Methuselah stood forth, and said in the ears of
the sons of men, all that God had spoken concerning them.
24 But the sons of men would not hearken, neither would they incline
their ears to all their declarations.
25 And it was after this that the Lord said to Noah, The end of
all flesh is come before me, on account of their evil deeds, and
behold I will destroy the earth.
26 And do thou take unto thee gopher wood, and go to a certain
place and make a large ark, and place it in that spot.
27 And thus shalt thou make it; three hundred cubits its length,
fifty cubits broad and thirty cubits high.
28 And thou shalt make unto thee a door, open at its side, and
to a cubit thou shalt finish above, and cover it within and without
with pitch.
29 And behold I will bring the flood of waters upon the earth,
and all flesh be destroyed, from under the heavens all that is
upon earth shall perish.
30 And thou and thy household shall go and gather two couple of
all living things, male and female, and shall bring them to the
ark, to raise up seed from them upon earth.
31 And gather unto thee all food that is eaten by all the animals,
that there may be food for thee and for them.
32 And thou shalt choose for thy sons three maidens, from the daughters
of men, and they shall be wives to thy sons.
33 And Noah rose up, and he made the ark, in the place where God
had commanded him, and Noah did as God had ordered him.
34 In his five hundred and ninety-fifth year Noah commenced to
make the ark, and he made the ark in five years, as the Lord had
commanded.
35 Then Noah took the three daughters of Eliakim, son of Methuselah,
for wives for his sons, as the Lord had commanded Noah.
36 And it was at that time Methuselah the son of Enoch died, nine
hundred and sixty years old was he, at his death.
CHAPTER 6
1 At that time, after the death of Methuselah, the Lord said to
Noah, Go thou with thy household into the ark; behold I will gather
to thee all the animals of the earth, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the air, and they shall all come and surround the
ark.
2 And thou shalt go and seat thyself by the doors of the ark, and
all the beasts, the animals, and the fowls, shall assemble and
place themselves before thee, and such of them as shall come and
crouch before thee, shalt thou take and deliver into the hands
of thy sons, who shall bring them to the ark, and all that will
stand before thee thou shalt leave.
3 And the Lord brought this about on the next day, and animals,
beasts and fowls came in great multitudes and surrounded the ark.
4 And Noah went and seated himself by the door of the ark, and
of all flesh that crouched before him, he brought into the ark,
and all that stood before him he left upon earth.
5 And a lioness came, with her two whelps, male and female, and
the three crouched before Noah, and the two whelps rose up against
the lioness and smote her, and made her flee from her place, and
she went away, and they returned to their places, and crouched
upon the earth before Noah.
6 And the lioness ran away, and stood in the place of the lions.
7 And Noah saw this, and wondered greatly, and he rose and took
the two whelps, and brought them into the ark.
8 And Noah brought into the ark from all living creatures that
were upon earth, so that there was none left but which Noah brought
into the ark.
9 Two and two came to Noah into the ark, but from the clean animals,
and clean fowls, he brought seven couples, as God had commanded
him.
10 And all the animals, and beasts, and fowls, were still there,
and they surrounded the ark at every place, and the rain had not
descended till seven days after.
11 And on that day, the Lord caused the whole earth to shake, and
the sun darkened, and the foundations of the world raged, and the
whole earth was moved violently, and the lightning flashed, and
the thunder roared, and all the fountains in the earth were broken
up, such as was not known to the inhabitants before; and God did
this mighty act, in order to terrify the sons of men, that there
might be no more evil upon earth.
12 And still the sons of men would not return from their evil ways,
and they increased the anger of the Lord at that time, and did
not even direct their hearts to all this.
13 And at the end of seven days, in the six hundredth year of the
life of Noah, the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
14 And all the fountains of the deep were broken up, and the windows
of heaven were opened, and the rain was upon the earth forty days
and forty nights.
15 And Noah and his household, and all the living creatures that
were with him, came into the ark on account of the waters of the
flood, and the Lord shut him in.
16 And all the sons of men that were left upon the earth, became
exhausted through evil on account of the rain, for the waters were
coming more violently upon the earth, and the animals and beasts
were still surrounding the ark.
17 And the sons of men assembled together, about seven hundred
thousand men and women, and they came unto Noah to the ark.
18 And they called to Noah, saying, Open for us that we may come
to thee in the ark--and wherefore shall we die?
19 And Noah, with a loud voice, answered them from the ark, saying,
Have you not all rebelled against the Lord, and said that he does
not exist? and therefore the Lord brought upon you this evil, to
destroy and cut you off from the face of the earth.
20 Is not this the thing that I spoke to you of one hundred and
twenty years back, and you would not hearken to the voice of the
Lord, and now do you desire to live upon earth?
21 And they said to Noah, We are ready to return to the Lord; only
open for us that we may live and not die.
22 And Noah answered them, saying, Behold now that you see the
trouble of your souls, you wish to return to the Lord; why did
you not return during these hundred and twenty years, which the
Lord granted you as the determined period?
23 But now you come and tell me this on account of the troubles
of your souls, now also the Lord will not listen to you, neither
will he give ear to you on this day, so that you will not now succeed
in your wishes.
24 And the sons of men approached in order to break into the ark,
to come in on account of the rain, for they could not bear the
rain upon them.
25 And the Lord sent all the beasts and animals that stood round
the ark. And the beasts overpowered them and drove them from that
place, and every man went his way and they again scattered themselves
upon the face of the earth.
26 And the rain was still descending upon the earth, and it descended
forty days and forty nights, and the waters prevailed greatly upon
the earth; and all flesh that was upon the earth or in the waters
died, whether men, animals, beasts, creeping things or birds of
the air, and there only remained Noah and those that were with
him in the ark.
27 And the waters prevailed and they greatly increased upon the
earth, and they lifted up the ark and it was raised from the earth.
28 And the ark floated upon the face of the waters, and it was
tossed upon the waters so that all the living creatures within
were turned about like pottage in a cauldron.
29 And great anxiety seized all the living creatures that were
in the ark, and the ark was like to be broken.
30 And all the living creatures that were in the ark were terrified,
and the lions roared, and the oxen lowed, and the wolves howled,
and every living creature in the ark spoke and lamented in its
own language, so that their voices reached to a great distance,
and Noah and his sons cried and wept in their troubles; they were
greatly afraid that they had reached the gates of death.
31 And Noah prayed unto the Lord, and cried unto him on account
of this, and he said, O Lord help us, for we have no strength to
bear this evil that has encompassed us, for the waves of the waters
have surrounded us, mischievous torrents have terrified us, the
snares of death have come before us; answer us, O Lord, answer
us, light up thy countenance toward us and be gracious to us, redeem
us and deliver us.
32 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Noah, and the Lord remembered
him.
33 And a wind passed over the earth, and the waters were still
and the ark rested.
34 And the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were
stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.
35 And the waters decreased in those days, and the ark rested upon
the mountains of Ararat.
36 And Noah then opened the windows of the ark, and Noah still
called out to the Lord at that time and he said, O Lord, who didst
form the earth and the heavens and all that are therein, bring
forth our souls from this confinement, and from the prison wherein
thou hast placed us, for I am much wearied with sighing.
37 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Noah, and said to him,
When though shalt have completed a full year thou shalt then go
forth.
38 And at the revolution of the year, when a full year was completed
to Noah's dwelling in the ark, the waters were dried from off the
earth, and Noah put off the covering of the ark.
39 At that time, on the twenty-seventh day of the second month,
the earth was dry, but Noah and his sons, and those that were with
him, did not go out from the ark until the Lord told them.
40 And the day came that the Lord told them to go out, and they
all went out from the ark.
41 And they went and returned every one to his way and to his place,
and Noah and his sons dwelt in the land that God had told them,
and they served the Lord all their days, and the Lord blessed Noah
and his sons on their going out from the ark.
42 And he said to them, Be fruitful and fill all the earth; become
strong and increase abundantly in the earth and multiply therein.
CHAPTER 7
1 And these are the names of the sons of Noah: Japheth, Ham and
Shem; and children were born to them after the flood, for they
had taken wives before the flood.
2 These are the sons of Japheth; Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal,
Meshech, and Tiras, seven sons.
3 And the sons of Gomer were Askinaz, Rephath and Tegarmah.
4 And the sons of Magog were Elichanaf and Lubal.
5 And the children of Madai were Achon, Zeelo, Chazoni and Lot.
6 And the sons of Javan were Elisha, Tarshish, Chittim and Dudonim.
7 And the sons of Tubal were Ariphi, Kesed and Taari.
8 And the sons of Meshech were Dedon, Zaron and Shebashni.
9 And the sons of Tiras were Benib, Gera, Lupirion and Gilak; these
are the sons of Japheth according to their families, and their
numbers in those days were about four hundred and sixty men.
10 And these are the sons of Ham; Cush, Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan,
four sons; and the sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama
and Satecha, and the sons of Raama were Sheba and Dedan.
11 And the sons of Mitzraim were Lud, Anom and Pathros, Chasloth
and Chaphtor.
12 And the sons of Phut were Gebul, Hadan, Benah and Adan.
13 And the sons of Canaan were Zidon, Heth, Amori, Gergashi, Hivi,
Arkee, Seni, Arodi, Zimodi and Chamothi.
14 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, and
their numbers in those days were about seven hundred and thirty
men.
15 And these are the sons of Shem; Elam, Ashur, Arpachshad, Lud
and Aram, five sons; and the sons of Elam were Shushan, Machul
and Harmon.
16 And the sons of Ashar were Mirus and Mokil, and the sons of
Arpachshad were Shelach, Anar and Ashcol.
17 And the sons of Lud were Pethor and Bizayon, and the sons of
Aram were Uz, Chul, Gather and Mash.
18 These are the sons of Shem, according to their families; and
their numbers in those days were about three hundred men.
19 These are the generations of Shem; Shem begat Arpachshad and
Arpachshad begat Shelach, and Shelach begat Eber and to Eber were
born two children, the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the
sons of men were divided, and in the latter days, the earth was
divided.
20 And the name of the second was Yoktan, meaning that in his day
the lives of the sons of men were diminished and lessened.
21 These are the sons of Yoktan; Almodad, Shelaf, Chazarmoveth,
Yerach, Hadurom, Ozel, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah
and Jobab; all these are the sons of Yoktan.
22 And Peleg his brother begat Yen, and Yen begat Serug, and Serug
begat Nahor and Nahor begat Terah, and Terah was thirty-eight years
old, and he begat Haran and Nahor.
23 And Cush the son of Ham, the son of Noah, took a wife in those
days in his old age, and she bare a son, and they called his name
Nimrod, saying, At that time the sons of men again began to rebel
and transgress against God, and the child grew up, and his father
loved him exceedingly, for he was the son of his old age.
24 And the garments of skin which God made for Adam and his wife,
when they went out of the garden, were given to Cush.
25 For after the death of Adam and his wife, the garments were
given to Enoch, the son of Jared, and when Enoch was taken up to
God, he gave them to Methuselah, his son.
26 And at the death of Methuselah, Noah took them and brought them
to the ark, and they were with him until he went out of the ark.
27 And in their going out, Ham stole those garments from Noah his
father, and he took them and hid them from his brothers.
28 And when Ham begat his first born Cush, he gave him the garments
in secret, and they were with Cush many days.
29 And Cush also concealed them from his sons and brothers, and
when Cush had begotten Nimrod, he gave him those garments through
his love for him, and Nimrod grew up, and when he was twenty years
old he put on those garments.
30 And Nimrod became strong when he put on the garments, and God
gave him might and strength, and he was a mighty hunter in the
earth, yea, he was a mighty hunter in the field, and he hunted
the animals and he built altars, and he offered upon them the animals
before the Lord.
31 And Nimrod strengthened himself, and he rose up from amongst
his brethren, and he fought the battles of his brethren against
all their enemies round about.
32 And the Lord delivered all the enemies of his brethren in his
hands, and God prospered him from time to time in his battles,
and he reigned upon earth.
33 Therefore it became current in those days, when a man ushered
forth those that he had trained up for battle, he would say to
them, Like God did to Nimrod, who was a mighty hunter in the earth,
and who succeeded in the battles that prevailed against his brethren,
that he delivered them from the hands of their enemies, so may
God strengthen us and deliver us this day.
34 And when Nimrod was forty years old, at that time there was
a war between his brethren and the children of Japheth, so that
they were in the power of their enemies.
35 And Nimrod went forth at that time, and he assembled all the
sons of Cush and their families, about four hundred and sixty men,
and he hired also from some of his friends and acquaintances about
eighty men, and be gave them their hire, and he went with them
to battle, and when he was on the road, Nimrod strengthened the
hearts of the people that went with him.
36 And he said to them, Do not fear, neither be alarmed, for all
our enemies will be delivered into our hands, and you may do with
them as you please.
37 And all the men that went were about five hundred, and they
fought against their enemies, and they destroyed them, and subdued
them, and Nimrod placed standing officers over them in their respective
places.
38 And he took some of their children as security, and they were
all servants to Nimrod and to his brethren, and Nimrod and all
the people that were with him turned homeward.
39 And when Nimrod had joyfully returned from battle, after having
conquered his enemies, all his brethren, together with those who
knew him before, assembled to make him king over them, and they
placed the regal crown upon his head.
40 And he set over his subjects and people, princes, judges, and
rulers, as is the custom amongst kings.
41 And he placed Terah the son of Nahor the prince of his host,
and he dignified him and elevated him above all his princes.
42 And whilst he was reigning according to his heart's desire,
after having conquered all his enemies around, he advised with
his counselors to build a city for his palace, and they did so.
43 And they found a large valley opposite to the east, and they
built him a large and extensive city, and Nimrod called the name
of the city that he built Shinar, for the Lord had vehemently shaken
his enemies and destroyed them.
44 And Nimrod dwelt in Shinar, and he reigned securely, and he
fought with his enemies and he subdued them, and he prospered in
all his battles, and his kingdom became very great.
45 And all nations and tongues heard of his fame, and they gathered
themselves to him, and they bowed down to the earth, and they brought
him offerings, and he became their lord and king, and they all
dwelt with him in the city at Shinar, and Nimrod reigned in the
earth over all the sons of Noah, and they were all under his power
and counsel.
46 And all the earth was of one tongue and words of union, but
Nimrod did not go in the ways of the Lord, and he was more wicked
than all the men that were before him, from the days of the flood
until those days.
47 And he made gods of wood and stone, and he bowed down to them,
and he rebelled against the Lord, and taught all his subjects and
the people of the earth his wicked ways; and Mardon his son was
more wicked than his father.
48 And every one that heard of the acts of Mardon the son of Nimrod
would say, concerning him, From the wicked goeth forth wickedness;
therefore it became a proverb in the whole earth, saying, From
the wicked goeth forth wickedness, and it was current in the words
of men from that time to this.
49 And Terah the son of Nahor, prince of Nimrod's host, was in
those days very great in the sight of the king and his subjects,
and the king and princes loved him, and they elevated him very
high.
50 And Terah took a wife and her name was Amthelo the daughter
of Cornebo; and the wife of Terah conceived and bare him a son
in those days.
51 Terah was seventy years old when he begat him, and Terah called
the name of his son that was born to him Abram, because the king
had raised him in those days, and dignified him above all his princes
that were with him.
CHAPTER 8
1 And it was in the night that Abram was born, that all the servants
of Terah, and all the wise men of Nimrod, and his conjurors came
and ate and drank in the house of Terah, and they rejoiced with
him on that night.
2 And when all the wise men and conjurors went out from the house
of Terah, they lifted up their eyes toward heaven that night to
look at the stars, and they saw, and behold one very large star
came from the east and ran in the heavens, and he swallowed up
the four stars from the four sides of the heavens.
3 And all the wise men of the king and his conjurors were astonished
at the sight, and the sages understood this matter, and they knew
its import.
4 And they said to each other, This only betokens the child that
has been born to Terah this night, who will grow up and be fruitful,
and multiply, and possess all the earth, he and his children for
ever, and he and his seed will slay great kings, and inherit their
lands.
5 And the wise men and conjurors went home that night, and in the
morning all these wise men and conjurors rose up early, and assembled
in an appointed house.
6 And they spoke and said to each other, Behold the sight that
we saw last night is hidden from the king, it has not been made
known to him.
7 And should this thing get known to the king in the latter days,
he will say to us, Why have you concealed this matter from me,
and then we shall all suffer death; therefore, now let us go and
tell the king the sight which we saw, and the interpretation thereof,
and we shall then remain clear.
8 And they did so, and they all went to the king and bowed down
to him to the ground, and they said, May the king live, may the
king live.
9 We heard that a son was born to Terah the son of Nahor, the prince
of thy host, and we yesternight came to his house, and we ate and
drank and rejoiced with him that night.
10 And when thy servants went out from the house of Terah, to go
to our respective homes to abide there for the night, we lifted
up our eyes to heaven, and we saw a great star coming from the
east, and the same star ran with great speed, and swallowed up
four great stars, from the four sides of the heavens.
11 And thy servants were astonished at the sight which we saw,
and were greatly terrified, and we made our judgment upon the sight,
and knew by our wisdom the proper interpretation thereof, that
this thing applies to the child that is born to Terah, who will
grow up and multiply greatly, and become powerful, and kill all
the kings of the earth, and inherit all their lands, he and his
seed forever.
12 And now our lord and king, behold we have truly acquainted thee
with what we have seen concerning this child.
13 If it seemeth good to the king to give his father value for
this child, we will slay him before he shall grow up and increase
in the land, and his evil increase against us, that we and our
children perish through his evil.
14 And the king heard their words and they seemed good in his sight,
and he sent and called for Terah, and Terah came before the king.
15 And the king said to Terah, I have been told that a son was
yesternight born to thee, and after this manner was observed in
the heavens at his birth.
16 And now therefore give me the child, that we may slay him before
his evil springs up against us, and I will give thee for his value,
thy house full of silver and gold.
17 And Terah answered the king and said to him: My Lord and king,
I have heard thy words, and thy servant shall do all that his king
desireth.
18 But my lord and king, I will tell thee what happened to me yesternight,
that I may see what advice the king will give his servant, and
then I will answer the king upon what he has just spoken; and the
king said, Speak.
19 And Terah said to the king, Ayon, son of Mored, came to me yesternight,
saying,
20 Give unto me the great and beautiful horse that the king gave
thee, and I will give thee silver and gold, and straw and provender
for its value; and I said to him, Wait till I see the king concerning
thy words, and behold whatever the king saith, that will I do.
21 And now my lord and king, behold I have made this thing known
to thee, and the advice which my king will give unto his servant,
that will I follow.
22 And the king heard the words of Terah, and his anger was kindled
and he considered him in the light of a fool.
23 And the king answered Terah, and he said to him, Art thou so
silly, ignorant, or deficient in understanding, to do this thing,
to give thy beautiful horse for silver and gold or even for straw
and provender?
24 Art thou so short of silver and gold, that thou shouldst do
this thing, because thou canst not obtain straw and provender to
feed thy horse? and what is silver and gold to thee, or straw and
provender, that thou shouldst give away that fine horse which I
gave thee, like which there is none to be had on the whole earth?
25 And the king left off speaking, and Terah answered the king,
saying, Like unto this has the king spoken to his servant;
26 I beseech thee, my lord and king, what is this which thou didst
say unto me, saying, Give thy son that we may slay him, and I will
give thee silver and gold for his value; what shall I do with silver
and gold after the death of my son? who shall inherit me? surely
then at my death, the silver and gold will return to my king who
gave it.
27 And when the king heard the words of Terah, and the parable
which he brought concerning the king, it grieved him greatly and
he was vexed at this thing, and his anger burned within him.
28 And Terah saw that the anger of the king was kindled against
him, and he answered the king, saying, All that I have is in the
king's power; whatever the king desireth to do to his servant,
that let him do, yea, even my son, he is in the king's power, without
value in exchange, he and his two brothers that are older than
he.
29 And the king said to Terah, No, but I will purchase thy younger
son for a price.
30 And Terah answered the king, saying, I beseech thee my lord
and king to let thy servant speak a word before thee, and let the
king hear the word of his servant, and Terah said, Let my king
give me three days' time till I consider this matter within myself,
and consult with my family concerning the words of my king; and
he pressed the king greatly to agree to this.
31 And the king hearkened to Terah, and he did so and he gave him
three days' time, and Terah went out from the king's presence,
and he came home to his family and spoke to them all the words
of the king; and the people were greatly afraid.
32 And it was in the third day that the king sent to Terah, saying,
Send me thy son for a price as I spoke to thee; and shouldst thou
not do this, I will send and slay all thou hast in thy house, so
that thou shalt not even have a dog remaining.
33 And Terah hastened, (as the thing was urgent from the king),
and he took a child from one of his servants, which his handmaid
had born to him that day, and Terah brought the child to the king
and received value for him.
34 And the Lord was with Terah in this matter, that Nimrod might
not cause Abram's death, and the king took the child from Terah
and with all his might dashed his head to the ground, for he thought
it had been Abram; and this was concealed from him from that day,
and it was forgotten by the king, as it was the will of Providence
not to suffer Abram's death.
35 And Terah took Abram his son secretly, together with his mother
and nurse, and he concealed them in a cave, and he brought them
their provisions monthly.
36 And the Lord was with Abram in the cave and he grew up, and
Abram was in the cave ten years, and the king and his princes,
soothsayers and sages, thought that the king had killed Abram.
CHAPTER 9
1 And Haran, the son of Terah, Abram's oldest brother, took a wife
in those days.
2 Haran was thirty-nine years old when he took her; and the wife
of Haran conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Lot.
3 And she conceived again and bare a daughter, and she called her
name Milca; and she again conceived and bare a daughter, and she
called her name Sarai.
4 Haran was forty-two years old when he begat Sarai, which was
in the tenth year of the life of Abram; and in those days Abram
and his mother and nurse went out from the cave, as the king and
his subjects had forgotten the affair of Abram.
5 And when Abram came out from the cave, he went to Noah and his
son Shem, and he remained with them to learn the instruction of
the Lord and his ways, and no man knew where Abram was, and Abram
served Noah and Shem his son for a long time.
6 And Abram was in Noah's house thirty-nine years, and Abram knew
the Lord from three years old, and he went in the ways of the Lord
until the day of his death, as Noah and his son Shem had taught
him; and all the sons of the earth in those days greatly transgressed
against the Lord, and they rebelled against him and they served
other gods, and they forgot the Lord who had created them in the
earth; and the inhabitants of the earth made unto themselves, at
that time, every man his god; gods of wood and stone which could
neither speak, hear, nor deliver, and the sons of men served them
and they became their gods.
7 And the king and all his servants, and Terah with all his household
were then the first of those that served gods of wood and stone.
8 And Terah had twelve gods of large size, made of wood and stone,
after the twelve months of the year, and he served each one monthly,
and every month Terah would bring his meat offering and drink offering
to his gods; thus did Terah all the days.
9 And all that generation were wicked in the sight of the Lord,
and they thus made every man his god, but they forsook the Lord
who had created them.
10 And there was not a man found in those days in the whole earth,
who knew the Lord (for they served each man his own God) except
Noah and his household, and all those who were under his counsel
knew the Lord in those days.
11 And Abram the son of Terah was waxing great in those days in
the house of Noah, and no man knew it, and the Lord was with him.
12 And the Lord gave Abram an understanding heart, and he knew
all the works of that generation were vain, and that all their
gods were vain and were of no avail.
13 And Abram saw the sun shining upon the earth, and Abram said
unto himself Surely now this sun that shines upon the earth is
God, and him will I serve.
14 And Abram served the sun in that day and he prayed to him, and
when evening came the sun set as usual, and Abram said within himself,
Surely this cannot be God?
15 And Abram still continued to speak within himself, Who is he
who made the heavens and the earth? who created upon earth? where
is he?
16 And night darkened over him, and he lifted up his eyes toward
the west, north, south, and east, and he saw that the sun had vanished
from the earth, and the day became dark.
17 And Abram saw the stars and moon before him, and he said, Surely
this is the God who created the whole earth as well as man, and
behold these his servants are gods around him: and Abram served
the moon and prayed to it all that night.
18 And in the morning when it was light and the sun shone upon
the earth as usual, Abram saw all the things that the Lord God
had made upon earth.
19 And Abram said unto himself Surely these are not gods that made
the earth and all mankind, but these are the servants of God, and
Abram remained in the house of Noah and there knew the Lord and
his ways' and he served the Lord all the days of his life, and
all that generation forgot the Lord, and served other gods of wood
and stone, and rebelled all their days.
20 And king Nimrod reigned securely, and all the earth was under
his control, and all the earth was of one tongue and words of union.
21 And all the princes of Nimrod and his great men took counsel
together; Phut, Mitzraim, Cush and Canaan with their families,
and they said to each other, Come let us build ourselves a city
and in it a strong tower, and its top reaching heaven, and we will
make ourselves famed, so that we may reign upon the whole world,
in order that the evil of our enemies may cease from us, that we
may reign mightily over them, and that we may not become scattered
over the earth on account of their wars.
22 And they all went before the king, and they told the king these
words, and the king agreed with them in this affair, and he did
so.
23 And all the families assembled consisting of about six hundred
thousand men, and they went to seek an extensive piece of ground
to build the city and the tower, and they sought in the whole earth
and they found none like one valley at the east of the land of
Shinar, about two days' walk, and they journeyed there and they
dwelt there.
24 And they began to make bricks and burn fires to build the city
and the tower that they had imagined to complete.
25 And the building of the tower was unto them a transgression
and a sin, and they began to build it, and whilst they were building
against the Lord God of heaven, they imagined in their hearts to
war against him and to ascend into heaven.
26 And all these people and all the families divided themselves
in three parts; the first said We will ascend into heaven and fight
against him; the second said, We will ascend to heaven and place
our own gods there and serve them; and the third part said, We
will ascend to heaven and smite him with bows and spears; and God
knew all their works and all their evil thoughts, and he saw the
city and the tower which they were building.
27 And when they were building they built themselves a great city
and a very high and strong tower; and on account of its height
the mortar and bricks did not reach the builders in their ascent
to it, until those who went up had completed a full year, and after
that, they reached to the builders and gave them the mortar and
the bricks; thus was it done daily.
28 And behold these ascended and others descended the whole day;
and if a brick should fall from their hands and get broken, they
would all weep over it, and if a man fell and died, none of them
would look at him.
29 And the Lord knew their thoughts, and it came to pass when they
were building they cast the arrows toward the heavens, and all
the arrows fell upon them filled with blood, and when they saw
them they said to each other, Surely we have slain all those that
are in heaven.
30 For this was from the Lord in order to cause them to err, and
in order; to destroy them from off the face of the ground.
31 And they built the tower and the city, and they did this thing
daily until many days and years were elapsed.
32 And God said to the seventy angels who stood foremost before
him, to those who were near to him, saying, Come let us descend
and confuse their tongues, that one man shall not understand the
language of his neighbor, and they did so unto them.
33 And from that day following, they forgot each man his neighbor's
tongue, and they could not understand to speak in one tongue, and
when the builder took from the hands of his neighbor lime or stone
which he did not order, the builder would cast it away and throw
it upon his neighbor, that he would die.
34 And they did so many days, and they killed many of them in this
manner.
35 And the Lord smote the three divisions that were there, and
he punished them according to their works and designs; those who
said, We will ascend to heaven and serve our gods, became like
apes and elephants; and those who said, We will smite the heaven
with arrows, the Lord killed them, one man through the hand of
his neighbor; and the third division of those who said, We will
ascend to heaven and fight against him, the Lord scattered them
throughout the earth.
36 And those who were left amongst them, when they knew and understood
the evil which was coming upon them, they forsook the building,
and they also became scattered upon the face of the whole earth.
37 And they ceased building the city and the tower; therefore he
called that place Babel, for there the Lord confounded the Language
of the whole earth; behold it was at the east of the land of Shinar.
38 And as to the tower which the sons of men built, the earth opened
its mouth and swallowed up one third part thereof, and a fire also
descended from heaven and burned another third, and the other third
is left to this day, and it is of that part which was aloft, and
its circumference is three days' walk.
39 And many of the sons of men died in that tower, a people without
number.
CHAPTER 10
1 And Peleg the son of Eber died in those days, in the forty-eighth
year of the life of Abram son of Terah, and all the days of Peleg
were two hundred and thirty-nine years.
2 And when the Lord had scattered the sons of men on account of
their sin at the tower, behold they spread forth into many divisions,
and all the sons of men were dispersed into the four corners of
the earth.
3 And all the families became each according to its language, its
land, or its city.
4 And the sons of men built many cities according to their families,
in all the places where they went, and throughout the earth where
the Lord had scattered them.
5 And some of them built cities in places from which they were
afterward extirpated, and they called these cities after their
own names, or the names of their children, or after their particular
occurrences.
6 And the sons of Japheth the son of Noah went and built themselves
cities in the places where they were scattered, and they called
all their cities after their names, and the sons of Japheth were
divided upon the face of the earth into many divisions and languages.
7 And these are the sons of Japheth according to their families,
Gomer, Magog, Medai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras; these are
the children of Japheth according to their generations.
8 And the children of Gomer, according to their cities, were the
Francum, who dwell in the land of Franza, by the river Franza,
by the river Senah.
9 And the children of Rephath are the Bartonim, who dwell in the
land of Bartonia by the river Ledah, which empties its waters in
the great sea Gihon, that is, oceanus.
10 And the children of Tugarma are ten families, and these are
their names: Buzar, Parzunac, Balgar, Elicanum, Ragbib, Tarki,
Bid, Zebuc, Ongal and Tilmaz; all these spread and rested in the
north and built themselves cities.
11 And they called their cities after their own names, those are
they who abide by the rivers Hithlah and Italac unto this day.
12 But the families of Angoli, Balgar and Parzunac, they dwell
by the great river Dubnee; and the names of their cities are also
according to their own names.
13 And the children of Javan are the Javanim who dwell in the land
of Makdonia, and the children of Medaiare are the Orelum that dwell
in the land of Curson, and the children of Tubal are those that
dwell in the land of Tuskanah by the river Pashiah.
14 And the children of Meshech are the Shibashni and the children
of Tiras are Rushash, Cushni, and Ongolis; all these went and built
themselves cities; those are the cities that are situate by the
sea Jabus by the river Cura, which empties itself in the river
Tragan.
15 And the children of Elishah are the Almanim, and they also went
and built themselves cities; those are the cities situate between
the mountains of Job and Shibathmo; and of them were the people
of Lumbardi who dwell opposite the mountains of Job and Shibathmo,
and they conquered the land of Italia and remained there unto this
day.
16 And the children of Chittim are the Romim who dwell in the valley
of Canopia by the river Tibreu.
17 And the children of Dudonim are those who dwell in the cities
of the sea Gihon, in the land of Bordna.
18 These are the families of the children of Japheth according
to their cities and languages, when they were scattered after the
tower, and they called their cities after their names and occurrences;
and these are the names of all their cities according to their
families, which they built in those days after the tower.
19 And the children of Ham were Cush, Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan
according to their generation and cities.
20 All these went and built themselves cities as they found fit
places for them, and they called their cities after the names of
their fathers Cush, Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan.
21 And the children of Mitzraim are the Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim,
Naphtuchim, Pathrusim, Casluchim and Caphturim, seven families.
22 All these dwell by the river Sihor, that is the brook of Egypt,
and they built themselves cities and called them after their own
names.
23 And the children of Pathros and Casloch intermarried together,
and from them went forth the Pelishtim, the Azathim, and the Gerarim,
the Githim and the Ekronim, in all five families; these also built
themselves cities, and they called their cities after the names
of their fathers unto this day.
24 And the children of Canaan also built themselves cities, and
they called their cities after their names, eleven cities and others
without number.
25 And four men from the family of Ham went to the land of the
plain; these are the names of the four men, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah
and Zeboyim.
26 And these men built themselves four cities in the land of the
plain, and they called the names of their cities after their own
names.
27 And they and their children and all belonging to them dwelt
in those cities, and they were fruitful and multiplied greatly
and dwelt peaceably.
28 And Seir the son of Hur, son of Hivi, son of Canaan, went and
found a valley opposite to Mount Paran, and he built a city there,
and he and his seven sons and his household dwelt there, and he
called the city which he built Seir, according to his name; that
is the land of Seir unto this day.
29 These are the families of the children of Ham, according to
their languages and cities, when they were scattered to their countries
after the tower.
30 And some of the children of Shem son of Noah, father of all
the children of Eber, also went and built themselves cities in
the places wherein they were scattered, and they called their cities
after their names.
31 And the sons of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arpachshad, Lud and Aram,
and they built themselves cities and called the names of all their
cities after their names.
32 And Ashur son of Shem and his children and household went forth
at that time, a very large body of them, and they went to a distant
land that they found, and they met with a very extensive valley
in the land that they went to, and they built themselves four cities,
and they called them after their own names and occurrences.
33 And these are the names of the cities which the children of
Ashur built, Ninevah, Resen, Calach and Rehobother; and the children
of Ashur dwell there unto this day.
34 And the children of Aram also went and built themselves a city,
and they called the name of the city Uz after their eldest brother,
and they dwell therein; that is the land of Uz to this day.
35 And in the second year after the tower a man from the house
of Ashur, whose name was Bela, went from the land of Ninevah to
sojourn with his household wherever he could find a place; and
they came until opposite the cities of the plain against Sodom,
and they dwelt there.
36 And the man rose up and built there a small city, and called
its name Bela, after his name; that is the land of Zoar unto this
day.
37 And these are the families of the children of Shem according
to their language and cities, after they were scattered upon the
earth after the tower.
38 And every kingdom, city, and family of the families of the children
of Noah built themselves many cities after this.
39 And they established governments in all their cities, in order
to be regulated by their orders; so did all the families of the
children of Noah forever.