The Book of the Cave of Treasures

The Book of the Cave of Treasures

continued

The Third Thousand Years: from the Flood to Reu

1 The entrance of Noah into the Ark took place on the day of the eve of the Sabbath (Friday), on the seventeenth day of the blessed month of Iyâr (May). On the Friday, in the morning (i.e. the third hour) the beasts and the cattle went into the lowermost storey; and at midday all the feathered fowl and all the reptiles went into the middle storey; and at sunset Noah and his sons went into the Ark, on the east side of [the third storey], and his wife and the wives of his sons went to the west side. And the body of Adam was deposited in the middle of the Ark, wherein also all the mysteries of the Church were deposited. Thus women in church shall be on the west [side] and men on the east [side], so that the men may not see the faces of the women, and the women may not see the faces of the men. Thus also was it in the Ark; the women were on the west [side], and the men on the east [side], and the body of our father Adam was placed between [them] like a raised stand (or throne). And as quietness reigneth in the Church between men and women, so also peace reigned in the Ark between the wild beasts, and the feathered fowl, and the creeping things (or reptiles).

2 And as kings, and judges, and rich men, and poor men, and governors, and sick men, and beggars, live in concord, that is to say, in a general bond of peace, so also was it in the Ark. For lions, and panthers, and savage beasts of prey lived in peace and harmony with the cattle; and the beasts that were fierce and strong lived in peace with those that were timid and weak; and the lion with the ox, and the wolf with the lamb, and the lion's whelp with the calf, and the serpent with the dove, and the hawk with the sparrow.

The Flood.

3 And when Noah and his sons had gone into the Ark, and his wife and the wives of his sons, on the seventeenth day of the month of Iyâr (May), at sunset, the door of the Ark was shut fast, and Noah and his sons in captivity in the darkness. And as soon as the door of the Ark was shut, the floodgates of the heavens were opened, and the foundations of the earth were rent asunder, and Ocean, that great sea which surroundeth the whole world, poured forth its floods. And whilst The ruins of the great Hall of Justice (E-Dublai-maḫ) at "Ur of the Chaldees," as seen from the south corner. (See page 277.) 4 Un Of Nick the floodgates of heaven were open, and the foundations of the earth were rent asunder, the storehouses of the winds burst their bolts, and storm and whirlwinds swept forth, and Ocean roared and hurled its floods upon the earth. And the children of Seth, who had besmirched themselves in the mire of fornication, ran to the door of the Ark, and entreated Noah to open to them the door of the Ark. And when they saw the water floods which were swirling about them and engulfing them on all sides, they were in great tribulation, and they tried to climb up the mountains of Paradise, but were unable to do so. Now the Ark was closed and sealed, and the Angel of the Lord stood over one side of it that he might act as the pilot thereof. And when the floods of waters mastered the children of Seth, and they began to drown in their great and mighty waves—then was fulfilled that which David spake concerning them, saying, "I said, Ye are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High. (Ps. lxxxii. 6.) But since ye have done this, and ye have loved the fornication of the daughters of Cain, like them ye shall perish, and even as they did so shall ye die."

5 And when the Ark was lifted up from the earth by the mighty strength of the waters, all the children of men, and the wild beasts, and the feathered fowl, and the cattle, and the creeping 6 I things, and everything [living] on the face of the earth was drowned. And the waters of the Flood mounted up above all the tops of the high mountains fifteen cubits [variants, 25, 50 cubits], according to the measure of the Spirit. [The cubit of the Holy Ghost = 3 ordinary cubits.] And the flood waxed strong, and the waters thereof lifted up the Ark until it reached the skirts [of the mountain] of Paradise. And as the flood had been blessed by Paradise (i.e. had been made holy), it bowed its head, and kissed the skirts of Paradise and turned itself back to destroy the whole earth. And the Ark flew on the wings of the wind over the waters of the flood from east to west, and from north to south, and it marked out [by its path] a cross on the waters. And the Ark flew about for one hundred and fifty days, and it came to rest on the mountains of Kardô (i.e. Ararat, the Jabal al-Jûdi of the Arabs, near Jazirat ibn 'Umar) in the seventh month, that is to say, in the First Teshrî (October) on the seventeenth day thereof. And God commanded the waters, and they became separated from each other. The celestial waters were taken up, and ascended to their own place above the heavens, whence they came. The waters which had risen up from the earth returned to the lowermost abyss [under the earth]; and those which belonged to the Ocean [which surroundeth the whole world] returned to the innermost parts thereof. And the waters which had been on the earth, and had been assigned to it by the Divine Nod for the needs thereof from the beginning, remained upon it.

7 And the waters diminished little by little until the tenth month, which is Shebât (February), and on the first day thereof the tops of the mountains appeared. And, forty days later, on the tenth day of the month of Âdhâr (March), Noah opened the east window of the Ark, and sent forth a raven to bring back tidings; and the raven departed and did not return. And after the waters had diminished a little more from the earth, Noah sent forth a dove; and it found no place to rest, and it returned to Noah to the Ark. And after seven days he sent forth another dove, and it returned to him, carrying in its beak an olive leaf. Now the dove figureth for us the Two Covenants. In the First Covenant the spirit which spake by the Prophets did not find a place of rest among that rebellious people (i.e. the Jews); and in the Second Covenant it rested on the peoples through the waters of baptism.

8 I 2 [Noah leaves the Ark.] And in the six hundred and first year of the life of Noah, on the first day of the month of Nisân (April) the waters had dried up from the face of the earth. And in the second month, which is Îyâr (May), wherein Noah went into the Ark on the twenty-seventh day, on the holy first day of the week (Sunday), their going forth took place; and he and his wife went forth, and his sons and their wives went with them. Now, when they went into the Ark they went in in separate companies, Noah and his sons [in one company], and his wife and their wives in another company; and the men did not know the women until they went forth from the Ark. And all the wild beasts, and all the cattle, and all the feathered fowl, and all the creeping things went forth from the Ark on the first day of the week.

Noah founds Themânôn, the city of the "Eight."

9 And when they had gone forth Noah began work on the ground and they built a city and called the name thereof "The-mânôn" (i.e. "Eight"), after the name of the eight souls who had gone forth from the Ark. And Noah built an altar, and offered up upon it an offering of beasts that were clean and feathered fowl. And God was appeased by the offering of Noah, and he established with him an everlasting covenant, and swore an oath, saying, "I will never again make a Flood." He took away the arrow of wrath from the bow which is in the clouds, and he stripped from it the string of anger, and spread it out (i.e. unbent it) in the clouds. For formerly, when the bow was bent in the firmament against that generation of the children of Cain, the murderer, they used to see the arrow of wrath placed in position on the string of anger, but after the Flood they did not see the arrow on the string.

10 [NOTE.—According to the Book of Adam (iii. 11), the waters dried up in the 607th year of the life of Noah. The altar on which Noah sacrificed was that on which Adam, Cain, and Abel had laid their offerings; it had been damaged by the Flood, but Noah rebuilt it. The city of Themânôn is identified with Sübhâ (i.e. Nişibis) in the Book of the Bee (chapter xx), but this is a false identification. The "City of Eight," Themânôn, is not to be identified with the to thomanon of Theophylact Simocatta (vol. ii. chap. 10, p. 86), which lay on the right bank of the Tigris near Ḥiṣn Kêfâ, but with the Sûk Thamânîn of the Arab geographers, which lay at a distance of one day's journey from Jazirat ibn 'Umar. It was situated high up in the mountains, and Khusraw Anōsharwān used to encamp there during the heats of summer. Near Burzmihrān, and between Jazirat ibn Umar and Thamānōn was Dēr Abūūn, which, according to Yākūt, contained the tomb of Noah. It is interesting to note that the Arabs call Noah's city Sūk Thamānīn (i.e. "Market of the Eighty") and not "Market of the Eight." For further details see Hoffmann, G., Auszüge aus syrischen Akten, page 174.]

The Vineyard of Noah.

11 And when they had gone forth from the Ark, they sowed seed and planted a vineyard; and they pressed out new wine. And Noah drew nigh, and drank some of it, and immediately he had drunk of it he became drunk. And having fallen asleep, his shame was seen, and his son Ham saw the nakedness of his father, and did not cover it; but he laughed at him and made a mock of him, and he ran and called his brethren that they also might make a mock of their father. And when Shem and Japhet heard of it they were dismayed exceedingly. And they rose up, and took a cloak, and walked backwards with their faces turned away that they might not see the nakedness of their father. And they cast the cloak over him and covered him. And when Noah woke up from the sleep of his wine, his wife told him about everything that had happened, and he also within himself knew what had happened to him. And Noah was exceedingly angry with his son Ham, and he said, "Cursed be Canaan; he shall be a servant of servants to his brethren."

12 Why, since the whole of the folly was Ham's, was Canaan cursed, except that, when the youth grew up and attained the full measure of his understanding, Satan entered into him, and became to him a teacher of sin? And he renewed the work of the house of Cain, the murderer. He constructed and made reed instruments and harps, and the fiends and the devils went unto them and dwelt therein. And immediately wind was blown through them (the reeds), the devils sang inside them, and sent forth loud sounds; and when men struck the harps the devils became operative inside them. And when Noah heard that Canaan had done this, he was grieved sorely, because the work of error, through which the fall of the children of Seth had taken place, was renewed. For by means of singing, and lewd play, and the mad lasciviousness of the children of Cain, Satan had cast down the mighty men, the "sons of God," into fornication. And through the music of reed pipes and harps sin had multiplied among the former generations until, at length, God became wroth and made the Flood. And Canaan was cursed because he had dared to do this, and his seed became a servant of servants, that is to say, to the Egyptians, and the Cushites, and the Mûsâyê (Mysians), [and the Indians, and all the Ethiopians, whose skins are black]. And because Ham had dared to make a mock of his father he was called "vile" (or "lascivious") all the days of his life.

13 Now Noah in his lying down in sleep, having drunk wine, symbolizeth the Cross of Christ, as the blessed man David singeth in his Psalm concerning him, saying, "Wake up, Lord, like a sleeping man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome." [Compare Psalm xlv. 23; lxxviii. 65.] Let the heretics who say "God was crucified" hold their peace. Here David calleth him "Lord," even as Peter the Apostle said, "This Jesus, whom ye crucified, hath God made Lord and Messiah (Christ)." [Compare Acts v. 30, 31.] He did not say "God" (Allâhâ), but "Lord" (Mâryâ), thus making known concerning the unity (or oneness) of the Two Persons who were united in one sonship. Now when Noah woke up from his sleep he cursed Canaan, and reduced his seed to slavery, and scattered his seed among the nations. And when our Lord rose from the dead He cursed the Jews, and scattered them among the nations. Now the seed of Canaan, as I have already said, are the Egyptians, and behold, they are scattered over the whole earth, and have been made servants of servants. And of what kind is this slavery of slavery? Behold, the Egyptians go round about all over the earth carrying loads on their backs (literally, necks). Now, men who are not fettered under the yoke of slavery, when despatched by their masters on journeys, do not march on their feet and carry loads, but they ride upon beasts in an honourable manner, like their masters. The seed of Ham are the Egyptians who carry loads, and they march on the roads with their backs and necks breaking under their loads, and they wander round to the doors of the children of their brethren. The seed of Ham was reduced, through the folly of Canaan, to suffer this penalty, that is, to become servants even to servants.

14 [NOTE.—The Book of the Bee (chapter xx) says concerning the cursing of Ham, "The reason why he (Noah) cursed Canaan, who was not as yet born, nor had sinned, was because Ham had been saved with him in the Ark from the waters of the Flood, and had with his father received the divine blessing, and also because the arts of sin—I mean music and dancing and all other hateful things—were about to be revived by his posterity, for the art of music proceeded from the seed of Canaan." The same work adds, "After the Flood a son was born to Noah, and he called his name Yōnaṭōn; and he provided him with gifts and sent him to the fire of the sun, to the east." The Book of Adam (iii. 13), merely states that Noah married another wife, who bore him seven children, and that he continued to dwell on that mountain until the end of his days.]

The Death of Noah.

15 And Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after he came forth from the Ark. And when he was sick unto death, Shem, and Ham, and Japhet, and Arpakhshar (Arphaxad), and Shālah (Salah) gathered together unto him. And Noah called Shem, his firstborn, and said unto him privily, "Take heed, my son Shem, unto what I say unto thee this day. When I am dead, go into the Ark, wherein thou hast been saved, and bring out the body of our father Adam, and let no man have knowledge of what thou doest. And take with thee from this place provision for the way, bread and wine, and take with thee Melchisedek, the son of Mālākh because him hath God chosen from among all your descendants that he may minister before Him in respect of the body of our father Adam. And take the body and place it in the centre of the earth, and make Melchisedek to sit down there. And the Angel of God shall go before you, and shall show you the way wherein ye shall go, and also the place wherein the body of Adam shall be deposited, which is, indeed, the centre of the earth. There the four quarters of the earth embrace each other. For when God made the earth His power went before it, and the earth, from [its] four quarters, ran after it, like the winds and the swift breezes, and there (i.e. in the centre of the earth) His power stood still and was motionless.

16 There shall redemption be made for Adam, and for all his posterity. Now this story, or mystery, was handed down to us from Adam in all generations. Adam commanded Seth, and Seth commanded Ânôsh (Enos), and Ânôsh commanded Kainân (Cainan), and Kainân commanded Mahlâlâil, and Mahlâlâil commanded Yârêd, and Yârêd commanded Enoch, and Enoch commanded Methuselah, and Methuselah commanded Lamech; and behold, I command thee this day. And take heed that this story is never mentioned again in all your generations. Get thee up, and take the body of Adam, and deposit it secretly in the place which God shall show thee until the day of redemption. And when Noah had given all these commands unto his son Shem, he died, [being] nine hundred and fifty years old, in the month of Iyâr (May), on the second day thereof, at the second hour of the first day of the week (Sunday). And Shem his son embalmed him, and buried him in the city which he had built (i.e. Themânôn), and they made a mourning for him forty days.

The Departure of Shem with the body of Adam

17 And after the death of Noah Shem did as his father had commanded him. And he went into the Ark by night, and brought out the body of Adam therefrom, and he sealed the Ark with his father's seal, and no man perceived [what he had done]. And he called Ham and Japhet, and said unto them, "My brethren, my father commanded me to go up and travel over the earth, even to the sea (i.e. the Mediterranean), and I am to see what the rivers are like, and then return unto you. And behold, my wife and the children of my house are with you (i.e. in your care); let your eyes be upon them." And his brethren said unto him, "Take with thee a company of men from the camp, for the land is a desert waste, and is shorn of inhabitants, and there are wild beasts therein." And Shem said unto them, "The Angel of the Lord shall go up with me, and he shall save me from every evil thing"; and his brethren said unto him, "Go in peace, and may the Lord God of our Fathers be with thee." And Shem said unto Mâlâkh (the brother of Shâlâh (Salah), the son of [Cainan] and [grand]son of Arphaxad), the father of Melchisedek, and Yôzadhâk, his mother, "Give ye me Melchisedek that he may go up with me, and be a consolation for me on the road." And Mâlâkh and Yôzadhâk, his mother, said unto Shem, "Take [him] and go in peace." And Shem gave commands unto his brethren, and said unto them, "My brethren, my father made me swear that neither I, nor any of your descendants, should go into the Ark," and he sealed the Ark with his seal, and said unto them, "Let no man go near it."

Shem carries the body of Adam to Golgotha

18 And Shem took the body of Adam and Melchisedek, and went forth by night from among his people, and behold, the Angel of the Lord, who was going before them, appeared unto them. And their journey was very speedy, because the Angel of the Lord strengthened them until they arrived at that place. And when they arrived at Gâghûltâ (Golgotha), which is the centre of the earth, the Angel of the Lord showed Shem the place [for the body of Adam]. And when Shem had deposited the body of our father Adam upon that place the four quarters [of the earth] separated themselves from each other, and the earth opened itself in the form of a cross, and Shem and Melchisedek deposited the body of Adam there (i.e. in the cavity). And as soon as they had laid it therein, the four quarters [of the earth] drew quickly together, and enclosed the body of our father Adam, and the door of the created world was shut fast. And that place was called "Kar-kaphtâ" (i.e. "Skull"), because the head of all the children of men was deposited there. And it was called "Gâghûltâ," because it was round [like the head], and "Reşîphtâ" (i.e. a troddendown thing), because the head of the accursed serpent, that is to say, Satan, was crushed there, and "Gefîftâ" (Gabbatha), because all the nations were to be gathered together to it.

19 Univ Of Ch frankincense and myrrh. Shem laid the body in the coffin which he had made, and then shut the door of the Ark. Melchisedek was fifteen years of age when he set out with Shem. The voice of Adam told Shem when they arrived at the centre of the earth, and as soon as the coffin touched the rock, the rock split asunder to receive it. On the following morning Melchisedek builded an altar of twelve stones, and offered up upon it the bread and wine which Shem had brought from Paradise.]

Shem's commands to Melchisedek

20 And Shem said unto Melchisedek, "Thou shalt be the priest of the Most High God, because thou alone hath God chosen to minister before Him in this place. And thou shalt sit (i.e. dwell) here continually, and shalt not depart from this place all the days of thy life. Thou shalt not take a wife, thou shalt not shave thy head, and thou shalt not pour out blood in this place. Thou shalt not offer up wild beasts nor feathered fowl, but thou shalt offer up bread and wine always; and thou shalt not build a building in this place. And behold, the Angel of the Lord shall come down to thee and visit thee continually." And Shem embraced and kissed Melchisedek, and blessed him, and he returned to his brethren. And Mâlâkh, the K father of Melchisedek, and Yôzâdhâk, his mother, said [unto Shem], "Where is the young man?" And he said, "He died on the journey, and I buried him there" (i.e. where he died); and they mourned for him greatly.

The Generations of Shem.

21 And when Shem had lived six hundred years he died, and Arphakhshar, his son, and Shâlâḥ (Salah), and 'Abhâr (Eber), his sons, buried him. And Arphakhshar was thirty and five years old when he begot Shâlâḥ, and all the days of his life were four hundred and thirty-eight years and he died, and Shâlâh, his son, and 'Abhâr and Pâlâg (Peleg) buried him in Arpakhsharath, the city which he built after his own name. [NOTE.—After Shem the Book of Adam (iii. 22) inserts the name of Cainan, the father of Melchisedek (sic), who lived 589 years. Shem's years are given as 550.] Salah was thirty years old when he begot Eber, and all the days of his life were four hundred and thirty-three years [Ethiopic variant, 408 years], and he died, and Eber, his son, and Peleg, and Ar'ô (Reu) buried him in Shelihôn, the city which he built after his own name.

22 Eber was thirty and four years old when he begot Peleg; and all the days of his life were four hundred and sixty-four [Ethiopic variant, 434] years; and he died, and Peleg his son and Reu and Sorôgh (Serug) buried him in 'Ebhrîn, the city which he built after his own name. Peleg was thirty years old when he begot Reu; and all the days of his life were two hundred and thirty-nine years, and he died [and they buried him in the city of Peleg, which he had built after his own name]. K 2 [The Migration to the land of Sên'ar.] And in the days of Peleg all the tribes and families of the children of Noah gathered together, and went up from the East. And they found a plain in the land of Sên'ar (Shinar?), and they all sat down there; and from Adam until this time they were all of one speech and one language. They all spake this language, that is to say, SÛRYÂYÂ (Syrian), which is ÂRÂMÂYÂ (Aramean), and this language is the king of all languages. Now, ancient writers have erred in that they said that Hebrew was the first [language], and in this matter they have mingled an ignorant mistake with their writing. For all the languages there are in the world are derived from Syrian, and all the languages in books are mingled with it. In the writing of the Syrians the left hand stretcheth out to the right hand, and all the children of the left hand (i.e. the heathen) draw nigh to the right hand of God; now with the Greeks, and Romans, and the Hebrews, the right hand stretcheth out to the left. [Both Hebrew and Syriac are written from right to left, but Greek and Latin from left to right.]

23 And in the days of Peleg the Tower which is in Babel was built, and there the tongues of men were confounded. [A marginal note says, "the division of tongues took place at midnight."] And from that place they were scattered over the face of all the earth; and that place was called "Babel," because tongues were confounded there. [NOTE.—The name Babel or Babylon has nothing to do with the Hebrew words "to mix, to confound." "Babel" is a transcription of the Assyrian words "Bâb-ilu," which mean "Gate of God," and which are the Semitic translation of the Sumerian words KA-DINGIRRA-KI.] And after the division of tongues Peleg died in great sorrow, and with tears in his eyes and grief in his heart, because in his days the earth was divided. And his son Reu, and Serug, and Nâhôr buried him in Peleghîn, the city which he had built after his own name. And there were seventy-two tongues in the earth, and seventy-two heads of tribes (or families), and each tribe and tongue made unto themselves a chief like a king.

The Posterity of Japhet

24 And the seed of Japhet became thirty-seven nations and kingdoms, viz. Gâmâr (Gomer), and Yâwân, and Mâdhâi, and Tûbil, and Mâshêkh and Tîrês, and all the kingdoms of the Alânâyê; all these are the children of Japhet. And the sons of Hâm—Kûsh (Nubia), and Meşrîm (Egypt), and Pôt, and Canaan, and all their children. And the sons of Shem—'Îlâm (Elamites), and Âshôr (Assyrians), and Arpakhshar (Persians?), and Lôdh (Lud), and Ârâm (Arameans, Damascenes, and Harranites), and all their children. Now the children of Japhet clung to the borders of the east, from the Mountain of Nôdh, which is on the confines of the east, to the Tigris and the confines of the north, and from Baḳtôrônôs (Bactria?) as far as Gadhrîôn (Gadarea?). And the children of Shem held from Persia [in] the east as far as the sea of Tadhrasnḳôs in the west; unto them belongeth the middle of the earth, and they held sovereignty and dominion therein. The children of Shem occupy all the southern and a little of the western quarter.

25 And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug. And in the days of Reu, in his one hundred and thirtieth year, Nimrod, the mighty man, the first king on the earth, reigned, and he reigned sixty-nine years; and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel. This Nimrod saw the figure of a crown in the heavens, and he called Sîsân, the weaver, who wore a crown like unto it, and he set it on his head. And because of this men used to say that the crown came down to him from heaven.

The Fourth Thousand Years

1 And in the days of Reu the Mesrâyê, who are the Egyptians, appointed their first king; his name was Punṭos, and he reigned over them sixty-eight years. And in the days of Reu a king reigned in Shebhâ (Sâba), and in Ophir, and in Havilah. And there reigned in Sâba sixty of the daughters of Sâba. And for many years women reigned in Sâba—until the kingdom of Solomon, the son of David. And the children of Ophir, that is, Send (Scindia?), appointed to be their Lophoron (?), who built Ophir with stones of gold; now, all the stones that are in Ophir are of gold. And the children of Havilah appointed to be their king Ḥavîl, who built Havilah, that is, Hend (India?). And Reu died, being two hundred and thirty-nine years old, and Serug his son, and Nâhôr and Tarah (Terah) buried him in Aor'în, the city which he built after his own name.

2 And Serug lived thirty years and begot Nâhôr, and all the days of his life were two hundred and thirty years. And in the days of Serug the worship of idols entered the world. And in his days the children of men began to make themselves graven images, and it was at this time that the introduction of idols into the world took place. For the children of men were scattered all over the earth, and they had neither teachers nor lawgivers, and no one to show them the way of truth wherein they should walk, and for this reason they became confused and fell into error. Some of them through their error adored the heavens, and some of them worshipped the sun, and moon and stars, and some of them the earth, and wild beasts, and birds, and creeping things, and trees, and stones, and the creatures of the sea, and the waters, and the winds. Now Satan had blinded their eyes so that they might walk in the darkness of error, because they had no hope of a resurrection. For when one of them died they used to make an image of him, and set it up upon his grave, so that the remembrance [of his appearance] might not pass from before their eyes. And error having been sown broadcast in all the earth, the land became filled with idols in the form of men and women. And then Serug died, being two hundred and thirty years old, and Nāḥôr, and Tarah and Abraham his sons, buried him in Sarghîn, the city which he built after his own name.

3 And Nāḥôr was twenty-nine years old when he begot Terah. And in the days of Nāḥôr, in the seventieth year of his life, when God looked upon the children of men, and saw that they were worshipping idols, a great earthquake took place, and all their houses were overturned and fell down; but the people did not understand within themselves, and they added to their wickedness. And Nāḥôr died when he was one hundred and forty-seven years old, and Terah his son and Abraham buried him. Terah was seventy-five years old when he begot Abraham. 4 And Terah was seventy-five years old when he begat Abraham. And in the days of Terah, in his ninetieth year, sorcery appeared on the earth in the city of Aōr (Ur), which Horon, the son of 'Abhār, built. Now, there was in the city a certain man who was very rich, and he died at that time. And his son made an image of him in gold and set it up upon his grave, and he appointed there a young man to keep guard over it. And Satan went and took up his abode in that image, and he spake to that youth (i.e. the son of the rich man) after the manner of his father. And thieves went into [his house], and took everything that the youth possessed, and he went out to the tomb of his father weeping. And Satan spake unto him, saying, "Weep not in my presence, but go and fetch thy little son, and slay him here as a sacrifice to me, and forthwith everything which thou hast lost shall be returned to me here." And straightway the youth did as Satan told him, and he slew his son, and bathed in his blood. And Satan went forth immediately from that image [of gold], and entered into the youth, and taught him sorcery, and enchantments, and divination, and the lore of the Chaldeans, and [how to tell] fortunes, and [how to forecast] events, and [how to foretell] destinies. And behold, from that time the children of men began to sacrifice their sons to devils and to worship idols, for the devils entered into the images, and took up their abodes therein.

5 And in the one hundredth year of the life of Nâhôr, when God saw that the children of men were sacrificing their sons to devils and worshipping idols, He opened the storehouses of the wind, and the gate of the whirlwind, and a blast of wind went forth in all the earth. And it uprooted the images, and the places where offerings were made to devils, and it swept together the idols, and the images, and the pillared buildings in a heap, and piled up great mounds [of earth] over them; [and they are there] to this day. Now to this blast of wind learned men have given the name of "Wind-Flood"; but certain who have erred have said, "These mounds existed [already] in the days of the Flood [of waters]. Now those who have said these things have erred greatly from the truth; for before the Flood [of waters] there were no idols in the earth, and it was not because of idols that the Flood came, but because of the fornication of the daughters of Cain. And, moreover, at that time there were no men on this earth, which was a waste and a desert. And our fathers were cast forth in days of old, as it were, into exile, because they were not worthy to be neighbours of Paradise. And through the Ark they were driven forth to the mountains of Kardô, and from there they were scattered about throughout all the earth. For these mounds came into being because of idols, and in them are buried all the idols of that time, and all the devils also who dwell in them are in these mounds, and there is no mound which hath not devils in it.

Nimrod the fire-worshipper, and Yônṭôn, son of Noah

6 And in the days of Nimrod, the mighty man (or giant), a fire appeared which ascended from the earth, and Nimrod went down, and looked at it, and worshipped it, and he established priests to minister there, and to cast incense into it. From that day the Persians began to worship fire, [and they do so] to this day. And Sîsân, the king, found a spring of water in Drôghîn, and he made a white horse and set it over it, and those who bathed in the water used to worship the horse. And from that time the Persians began to worship that (sic) horse. [According to the Book of Adam (iii. 25), the horse was made of gold.] And Nimrod went to Yôkdôrâ of Nôdh, and when he arrived at the Lake (or Sea) of Atrâs, he found there Yônțôn, the son of Noah. [A marginal note in the Syriac MS. adds, "Noah begot this Yônțôn after the Flood, and he honoured him in many things, and sent him to the east to dwell there."] And Nimrod went down and bathed in the Lake, and he came to Yônțôn and did homage unto him. And Yônțôn said, "Thou art a king; doest thou homage unto me?" And Nimrod said unto him, "It is because of thee that I have come down here"; and he remained with him for three years. And Yônțôn taught Nimrod wisdom, and the art of revelation (divining?), and he said unto him, "Come not back again to me."

7 And when Nimrod went up from the east, and began to practise the art of divining, very many men marvelled at him. And when Idhâshir (Ardeshir?), the priest who ministered to the fire that ascended from the earth, saw that Nimrod was practising these exalted courses, he entreated the devil, who appeared in connection with that fire, to teach him the wisdom of Nimrod. And as the devils were in the habit of destroying those who came nigh unto them by sin, the devil said unto the priest, A man cannot become a priest and a Magian until he hath known carnally his mother, and his daughter, and his sister." And Îdhâshir the priest did this, and from that time the priests, and the Magians, and the Persians take their mothers, and their sisters, and their daughters [to wife]. And this Îdhâshir, the Magian, was the first to begin to study the Signs of the Zodiac, and [omens concerning] luck, and fate, and happenings, and motions of the eyes and eyelids, as well as all the other arts of the learning of the Chaldees. Now, all this learning is the error of devils, and those who practise it shall receive, together with the devils, the doom of the Judgment. And because this art of divination, which was employed by Nimrod, was taught to him by Yônţôn, none of the orthodox doctors have suppressed it; nay, they have even practised it. Now the Persians call it "Gelyânâ" (i.e. "Revelation") and the Romans "Estrômiôn" (i.e. "Astronomy"). But that [knowledge] which the Magians have, viz. astrology, is sorcery and the teaching of devils. There are some who say that it doth indeed [teach concerning] luck, and happenings (i.e. future events), and fate, but these are in error. Now Nimrod builded strong cities in the east, Babel, and Nineveh, and Râsân (Râs 'Ain), and Selîk (Seleucia), and Ctesiphon, and Âdhôrbaighân; and he made three fortresses.

8 3 1. Stone duck weight of Shulgi, King of Ur, about 2200 B.C. (See page 285.) 2. Bronze shoe of a door pivot and its stone socket inscribed with the name of Ur-Nammu, about 2600 B.C. (See page 279.) 3. Hard stone fragment with an inscription of Ur-Nammu. (See page 279.) Univ Of M And Terah, the father of Abraham, lived two hundred and fifty years, and he died, and Abraham and Lot buried him in Hârrân. And there God spoke unto Abraham, and said unto him, "Get thee forth from thy land, and from among thy people, and come to the land which I will show thee." And Abraham took his household, Sârâ his wife and Lot, his brother's son, and he went up to the land of the Amôrâyê (Amorites); and he was seventy-five years old when he crossed the desert from the Euphrates. And he was eighty years old when he pursued the kings, and rescued Lot, his brother's son.

9 L he himself had defamed the images of his father. [An old tradition says that Terah made idols of mud, and it is possible that some of these may be represented by the terra-cotta figures of gods and goddesses which have been found in such large numbers in recent years at Ur and other ancient sites in Babylonia. And as he was returning he stepped aside from the road, and he set the images down, and looked at them, and said unto them, 'I wonder now if ye are able to do what I ask you at this moment, and whether ye are able to give me bread to eat or water to drink?' And none of them answered him, for they were pieces of stone and wood; and he abused them and heaped revilings upon them, and they spake never a word. And he buffeted the face of one, and kicked another with his feet, and a third he knocked over and broke to pieces with stones, and he said unto them, 'If ye are unable to save yourselves from him that buffeteth you, and ye cannot requite with injury him that injureth you, how can ye be called "gods"?

10 Those who worship you do so in vain, and as for myself I utterly despise you, and ye shall not be my gods.' Then he turned his face to the East, and he stretched out his hands and said, 'Be Thou my God, O Lord, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Creator of the Sun and Moon, Creator of the sea and the dry land, Maker of the majesty of the heavens and the earth, and of that which is visible and that which is invisible; O Maker of the universe, be Thou my God. I place my trust in Thee, and from this day forth I will place my trust in no other save Thyself.' And then there appeared unto him a chariot of fire which blazed, and Abraham was afraid, and fell on his face on the ground; and God said unto him, 'Fear thou not, stand upright.'"

11 On the day of the birth of Abraham the house shone with a bright light. Many people fell down, and there was a cry in a loud voice, which said, "Woe is me! Woe is me! For he who shall crush my kingdom hath been born." And he who cried out wept, and described the events which should take place, saying, "It is he who shall burn down my abode." And there were among the people certain men who said, "Kill this child forthwith," and those who spake thus knew well that grace would be given to Abraham. And God set mercy in the heart of the father of Abraham, and he said to the Satans, "Whence come ye, O ye who tell me that I should kill my son who is a gracious gift of God?" And he reared the child.... And Abraham was circumcised by the hand of Gabriel and Michael, who helped him. From the Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth, ed. Perruchon.]

12 L 2 [Abraham and Melchisedek.] And at that time Abraham had no son, because Sârâ was barren. And when he returned from the battle of the kings, the agency of God called him, and he crossed the mountain of Yâbhôs (Jebus?), and Melchisedek, the king of Shâlim, the priest of the Most High God, went forth to meet him. And when Abraham saw Melchisedek, he made haste and fell upon his face, and did homage to him, and he rose up from the ground and embraced him, and kissed him, and was blessed by him; and Melchisedek blessed Abraham. And Abraham gave Melchisedek tithes of everything which he had with him, and Melchisedek made him to participate in the Holy Mysteries, [of] the bread of the Offering and the wine of redemption. And after Melchisedek had blessed him, and made him to participate in the Holy Mysteries, God spake unto Abraham, and said unto him, "Thy reward is exceedingly great. Since Melchisedek hath blessed thee, and hath made thee to partake of bread and wine [with him], I also will assuredly bless thee, and I will assuredly multiply thy seed."

13 And when Abraham was eighty-six years old Ishmael was born to him by Hâghâr, the Egyptian woman, whom Pharaoh had given to Sârâ as a handmaiden. Now Sârâ was the sister of Abraham on the father's side, because Terah took two women to wife. When Yâwnû, the mother of Abraham, died, Terah took to wife a woman whose name was "Naharyath" (or Shalmath, or Tona, or Taḥdif), and of her Sârâ was born. It was because of this [fact] that Abraham said, "She is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother" (Gen. xx. 2, 5).

The Birth of Isaac.

14 And Abraham was ninety-nine years old when God went into his house and gave Sârâ a son, and he was one hundred years old when Isaac was born to him. And Isaac was thirteen years old when his father took him and went up to the mountain of Yâbhôs (Jebus) to Melchisedek, the priest of God, the Most High. Now Mount Yâbhôs is the mountain of the Amôrâyê (Amorites), and in that place the Cross of Christ was set up, and on it grew the tree which held the ram that saved Isaac. And that same place is the centre of the earth, and the grave of Adam, and the altar of Melchisedek, and Golgotha, and Ḳarḳaftâ, and Geffftâ (Gabbatha). And there David saw the angel bearing the sword of fire. There, too, Abraham took up Isaac his son for a burnt offering, and he saw the Cross, and Christ and the redemption of our father Adam. The tree (i.e. thicket) was a symbol of the Cross of Christ our Lord, and the ram [caught] in its branches was the mystery of the manhood of the Word, the Only One. And, because of this, Paul cried out and said, "If they had only known [it] they were not crucifying the Lord of glory." Let the mouths of the heretics be stopped who in their madness impute passibility to the Eternal God.

15 Now, when Christ was eight days old, Joseph, the betrothed of Mary, rose up to circumcise the Child according to the Law, and he circumcised Him according to the custom that was the Law. In like manner Abraham took up his son as an offering, but he at the same time [fore]saw in this [act] the crucifixion of Christ. And this thing did Christ openly proclaim before the multitudes of the Jews, saying, "Abraham, your father, wanted to see My days, and he saw and was glad" (John viii. 56). Abraham saw the day of the redemption of Adam, and he saw and rejoiced, and it was revealed unto him that Christ would suffer on behalf of Adam.

The founding of Jerusalem

16 And in that same year in which Abraham offered up his son as an offering, in that same year [I say] Jerusalem was built; and the beginning of the building thereof was in this wise. Melchisedek having appeared and shown himself to men, the kings of the nations heard his history, and they gathered together and came unto him.

The names of the kings who built Jerusalem

17 Abimelech, king of Gâdhâr. Âmarphîl, (Amraphel), king of Sen'âr. Arioch, king of Dâlâsâr (sic). Kardla'mar (Chedorlaomer), king of Elam. Tar'îl (Tidal), king of the Gîlâyê. Bârâ (Bera), king of Sodom. Barshâ (Birsha), king of Gomorrah. Shênâbh (Shinab), king of Adhâmâh. Shamâ'îr (Shemeber), king of Zeboim. Salâkh, king of Bâlâ'. Tâbhîk, king of Damascus. Baktôr, king of the desert. These twelve kings gathered together and came to Melchisedek, king of Shâlim the priest of the Most High God. And when they saw his appearance, and heard his words, they entreated him to go with them. And he said unto them, "I am not able to go from this place to any other"; and they took counsel together about building him a city, and said to each other, "Verily, he is the king of the whole earth, and the father of all kings." And they built him a city and made Melchisedek to live in it; and Melchisedek called the name thereof "Jerusalem." And when Māghōgh, the king of the south, heard [of this], he came to him, and saw his appearance, and spake unto him, and gave him offerings and gifts. And Melchisedek was held in honour by all, and he was called the "Father of Kings."

Melchisedek

18 Now, as concerning what the Apostle said, "there was no beginning to his days, and no end to his life" (Heb. vii. 3) it has been thought by simple folk that he was not a man at all, and in their error they have said concerning him that he was God. God forbid that there should have been no beginning to his days or end to his life. [The Apostle spake thus] because when Shem, the son of Noah, took away Melchisedek from his parents, no word is said as to how old he was when he went up from the East, and it is not said how old he was at the time of his departure from this world. Now, he was the son of Mālākh, the son of Arpakhshar, the son of Shem, and he was not the son of one of the Patriarchs. And the Apostle said that none of his father's family had ever ministered at the altar (Heb. vii. 6). The name of his father is not written in the genealogies, because Matthew and Luke, the Evangelists [only] wrote down the [names of the] Fathers [in chief, i.e. Patriarchs]; and for this reason neither the name of his father nor the name of his mother, is known. The Apostle did not say that he had no parents, but [only] that they were not written down in Matthew and Luke.

Kūmrōs.

19 And in the one hundredth year [of the life] of Abraham there was a king in the East whose name was "Kūmrōs." He built Shemeshṭ (Samosata), after the name of his son Shemeshṭō, and Klawdīya (Claudias), after the name of his daughter Kālōdh, and Pīrīn after the name of his son Pōrōn.

Nimrod founds Nisibis, Harrān and Edessa.

20 And in the fiftieth year of [the life of] Reu, Nimrod went up and built Nisibis, and Edessa, and Harrān, which is Edessa. And Harrānith, the wife of Dāsān, the priest of the mountain, surrounded it with a wall, and the people of Harrān made a statue of her and worshipped her. And Baltīn, who was given to Tamūzā (Tammuz)—now because B'ēlshemīn loved her, Tammuz fled before him—set fire to Harrān and burned it. And when Sârâ, the wife of Abraham, died, Abraham took to wife Ḳenṭôrâ the daughter of Baḳṭôr, the king of the desert. And there were born unto him by her Zamrân, and Yaḳshân, and Mâdhân, and Medhyân, and Ashbâk, and Shôh. [See Gen. xxv. 1, 2; 1 Chron. i. 32. A marginal note in the Syriac MS. says, "these sons of Ḳenṭôrâ are called sons of Daran by the prophet."] And from these are sprung the Arabs.

Isaac and Rebecca.

21 And when Isaac was forty years old, Eliezer, a son of the house of Abraham, went down and brought Rabḳâ (Rebecca) from the east, and Isaac took her to wife. And when Abraham died Isaac buried him by the side of Sârâ. [NOTE.—According to the Book of Adam (iv. 4), Abraham was 175 years old when he died, and Isaac and Ishmael buried him. Rebecca was the daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean, a native of the town of Arâch (Erech?).] And when Isaac was sixty years old Rebecca became with child of Esau and Jacob. And being sorely afflicted, she went to Melchisedek, and he prayed over her and said unto her, "Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be removed from thy loins, that is to say, shall go forth from thy womb. One nation shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall be in subjection to the younger, that is to say, Esau shall be in subjection to Jacob."

The founding of Jericho:

22 And in the sixty-seventh year of [the life of] Isaac, Jericho was built by seven kings, namely, the king of the Hittites, and the king of the Amorites, and the king of the Girgantes, and the king of the Jebusites, and the king of the Canaanites, and the king of the Hivites, and the king of the Perizites; and each of them surrounded it with a wall. Now the son of Meşrin (Mizraim), the king of the Egyptians, had founded Jericho in olden time. And Ishmael made a mill of the hands (i.e. a handmill) in the desert, a mill of slavery (i.e. a mill to be worked by slaves).

Jacob's Ladder

23 And in the one hundred and third year of his life Isaac blessed Jacob, who was forty years old, and having received the blessing from his father, he went down into the desert of Beersheba, and lay down to sleep there; and when he was lying down he took a stone and made a pillow of it. And he saw in his dream, and behold, a ladder was set upon the earth. And the top of it was in the heavens. And the angels of God were going up and coming down, and the Lord stood at the top of it. And Jacob woke up from his sleep, and said, "This is truly the house of God"; and he took the stone of his pillow, and made it an altar, and he anointed it with oil. And he vowed a vow, and said, "Of everything which I have will I tithe for this stone." Now, it is manifest to those who possess understanding that the ladder which Jacob saw symbolizeth the Cross of our Redeemer. And the angels who were going up and down were the ministers of Zechariah and Mary, and the Magi, and the shepherds. And the Lord Who was standing at the top of the ladder symbolized Christ, Who stood on the Cross that He might go down to redeem us.

24 And when God had shown the blessed Jacob the Cross of Christ by means of the Ladder of the Angels, and the coming down of Christ for our redemption, and the Church, the House of God, and the altar by means of the stone, and the offerings by means of the tithes, and the anointing by means of the oil, Jacob again went down to the East that there God might show him baptism. And Jacob looked, and saw, and beheld three flocks of sheep lying down by a well; and there was a great stone placed over the mouth of the well. And Jacob drew nigh, and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep of his mother's brother. And having watered the flocks, he took Rachel and kissed her. 25 Now by "Well" the blessed Jacob indicated (or, depicted) baptism, which was covered over (i.e. hidden) from the races of men, and generations and tribes. And the three flocks of sheep which were lying down by the well are a type of the three divisions and three groups [who come] for baptism, namely, men and women and children. And that Jacob saw Rachel coming with the flocks, and that he neither embraced her nor kissed her until he had rolled away the stone from the well, and she had watered the flocks, is in accordance with the law of the sons of the Church, who neither embrace nor kiss the Lamb of Christ until baptism hath opened [the way]; they go down into the waters and put on strength from them, and then the sons of the Church embrace and kiss. And as Jacob served with Laban for seven years, and the woman he loved was not given to him, so also was it with the Jews, who served Pharaoh, king of Egypt, in slavery, and went forth. For the Covenant of the Church, the Bride of Christ, was not given unto them, but that Covenant which was old, and worn out, and of no effect. Now the eyes of [Leah], the first woman whom Jacob took to wife, were hateful, whilst the eyes of Rachel were beautiful, and her countenance was radiant. A covering (i.e. veil) was laid over the face of the first Covenant, so that the children of Israel might not see the beauty thereof; as for the second Covenant, it is wholly light.

Jacob's sons. The Death of Isaac

26 Jacob was seventy-seven years old when he received the blessing of Isaac, his father, and he was eighty-nine years old when he begot Reuben, his firstborn, by Leah. The sons of Jacob are these:— Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulon; these are the sons of Leah. Joseph and Benjamin were the sons of Rachel. Gad and Asher were the sons of Zilpah, the handmaiden of Leah. Dan and Naphtali were the sons of Bilhah, the handmaiden of Rachel. And after twenty years Jacob returned to Isaac his father. And all the days of the life of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years—until the thirty-first year of the life of Levi—and he died in the one hundred and twentieth year of the life of Jacob. Twenty-three years after Jacob went up from Harrân, Joseph was sold to the Midianites; he was sold during the lifetime of Isaac, and they mourned for him. When Isaac died Jacob and Esau, his sons, buried him with Abraham and Sârâ. Seven years later Rebecca died, and was buried with Abraham, and Isaac, and Sârâ; and Rachel died and was buried with them.

27 And Judah, the son of Jacob, took unto himself to wife Shû' (Shuah), the Canaanites and his father was grieved because he had taken to wife a woman of the seed of Canaan. And Jacob said unto Judah, "May the Lord God of our fathers Abraham and Isaac not permit the seed of Canaan to be mingled with our families." And there were born unto Judah by Shuah, the Canaanite woman, 'Îr (Er), Ônân, and Shêlâ (Shelah). And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, Tâmâr, and he consorted with her unnaturally, and God put him to death. And Judah gave Tâmâr to Ônân, and as soon as his seed became available for Tâmâr he wasted it, and him also did God put to death. Thus, God did not permit the seed of Canaan to mingle with the seed of Jacob, even as Jacob prayed God that the seed of Canaan, the firstborn of the lascivious Ham, might not be mingled among the generations of the Fathers. And God made Tâmâr go out to the roadside, and Judah lay with her in the passion of fornication, and she conceived and brought forth Pereş (Pharez) and Zarah.

Jacob in Egypt

28 And Jacob and all his descendants went down into Egypt to Joseph, and he lived in Egypt seventeen years; and Jacob died, being one hundred and forty years old, and Joseph was fifty-six years old when his father died, in the twelfth year of Kâhâth. And the wise physicians of Pharaoh embalmed him, and Joseph took him up [to Canaan] and buried him with Abraham and Isaac his father. [NOTE.—According to the Book of Adam (iv. 5), Jacob lived in Egypt fourteen years, and died there at the age of 157 years, when Joseph was 53 years old.] Door socket of Bur-Sin (about 2200 m.c.), recording the dedication of a temple to Nannar. (See page 279.) Door socket of Sin-balatsu-ikbi about 650 m.c. (See page 277.) M C B [The Genealogies of the "Tribes" and the "Children of Israel."] 29 Now there are certain doctors who trace the genealogies of the Tribes from the death of Jacob, and who mix them together, but they do not do this in the light of knowledge. They set in the midst two genealogies, one of the "Tribes," and the other of the "Children of Israel". Now fix thine attention on these generations, and how they became mixed together. [When] they went forth from Egypt: Judah begot Pharez, Pharez begot Heşrôn (Hezron), Hezron begot Ârâm (Râm, I Chron. ii. 9), Ârâm begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshôn (Nahson), and Nahshon was he who became prince of Judah. And Amminadab gave the sister of Nahshon to 'Ir (so in the text, but read Eleazar), the son of Aaron, the priest; of her was born Phinehas, the great priest, who prayed "and the plague was stayed" (Num. xxv. 7, 8; Ps. cvi. 30). Behold, I have shown thee that from Amminadab, the priesthood of the children of Israel was transmitted by the sister of Nahshon, and the kingdom by Nahshon her brother. Observe also that the priesthood and the kingdom were transmitted by Judah to the children of Israel.

30 And Nahshon begot Shîlâ, that is to say, Salmôn, and Shîlâ begot Boaz. Observe now M that the kingdom went forth from Boaz and Ruth the Moabitess, for the old man Boaz took Ruth to wife so that Lot, the son of Abraham's brother, might have participation in the transmission of the kingdom. And God did not deprive the righteous man Lot of the reward of his labour, because he had suffered in exile with Abraham, and he received the angels of God in peace. And that the righteous man Lot might not be reviled because he slept with his daughters, God granted that the royal succession might be maintained by the seed of both, and that Christ should be born of the seed of Lot and Abraham. And from the seed of Ruth, the Moabitess, Obed was born, and from Obed, Jesse, and from Jesse, David, and from David, Solomon; these are the descendants of Ruth, the Moabitess, the daughter of Lot. And of Na'mâ (Naamah, I Kings xiv. 21), the Ammonitess, another daughter of Lot, whom Solomon took to wife was born Rehoboam, who reigned after Solomon.

Solomon

31 Now Solomon married many wives, seven hundred free-born women, and three hundred concubines; and of the thousand women which he took to wife, he had no son except from Naamah, the Ammonitess. And why was it that God did not give him a son from these [others]? It was in order to prevent the wicked seed of the Canaanites, and Jebusites, and Amorites, and Hittites, and Gergasites, and the seed of the peoples whom God hated, from mingling in the succession of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. [NOTE from the Kebra Nagast, chapter lxvii.— And the Angel of God went down to Solomon and said unto him, "From being a wise man thou hast turned thyself into a fool, and from being a rich man thou hast turned thyself into a poor man, and from being a king thou hast turned thyself into a man of no account, through transgressing the commandment of God. And the beginning of thy evil was the taking of many wives by thee, for through this thou didst transgress His Law, and His decree, and the ordinance of God which Moses wrote and gave to you, to Israel, that ye should not marry wives from alien peoples, but only from your kinsfolk and the house of your fathers, that your seed might be pure and holy, and that God might dwell with you. But thou didst hold lightly the Law of God, thinking that thou wast wiser than God, and that thou wouldst get very many male children. But the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men, and he hath only

32 M 2 given thee three sons: the one who carried off thy glory into an alien land, and made the habitation of God to be in Ethiopia; the one who is lame of foot, who shall sit upon thy throne for the people of Israel, the son of the kin of thy kin from Tarbāna, of the house of Judah; and the one who is the son of a Greek woman, a handmaiden, who in the last days shall destroy Rehoboam and all thy kin of Israel; and this land shall be his because he believeth in Him that shall come, the Saviour."]

The chiefs of Israel born in Egypt

33 Now the succession of the children of Israel is this: Levi, and Amram, and Moses, and Joshua, the son of Nôn, and Caleb, the son of Yôfannâ (Jephunneh). These were born in Egypt. [NOTE.—Moses was the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi; his mother's name was Yokâbâr (Jochebed). Book of the Bee (chapter xxix).]

Moses

34 And when Moses was born he was cast into the river, and Shîpôr (in Ethiopic, Sephurah), the Egyptian woman, the daughter of Pharaoh, took him up, and he lived in the house of Pharaoh for forty years. And then he killed Pethkôm, the Egyptian, the chief of the bakers of Pharaoh. Now this was noised abroad in the house of Pharaoh, after Pharaoh's daughter Makrî, who was called "Shîpôr Meşrên (i.e. Trumpet of Egypt"), was dead, and Moses was afraid, and he fled to Midian, to Reuel, the Cushite, the priest of Midian. And Moses took to wife Zipporah, the Cushite woman, daughter of the priest, and two sons were born to him—Gershom and Eliezer. And in the second year of the life of Moses, Joshua, the son of Nôn, was born in Egypt. And Moses was eighty years old when God talked with him from out of the bush, and because of his fear his tongue halted, even as he said to God, "Behold, my Lord, from the day wherein Thou didst speak to me I have been halting of tongue." Moses lived in Egypt forty years, and in the house of the priest of Midian forty years, and he passed forty years in governing the people. And he died at the age of one hundred and twenty years on Mount Nebo.

35 And Joshua, the son of Nôn, was the governor of the children of Israel for twenty-seven years. And after the death of Joshua, the son of Nôn, Kûshân, the Wicked (Chushanrishathayim), was lord over the people for eighty years. And 'Athnâil (Othniel), the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, was lord over Israel for forty years. And then the children of Israel were in subjection to the Moabites for eighteen years. And Âhôr (Ehud), the son of Gera, ruled the children of Israel for eighty years.

And in the Twenty-Sixth Year of his Life the Fourth Thousand Years Came to an End.

36 (See Book of Adam, IV, chapter vii.)

The Fifth Thousand Years

1 Nâbhîn (Jabin), who was dried up in body, ruled twenty years. Deborah and Barak [ruled them] forty years. The children of Israel were in subjection to the Midianites seven years, and God delivered them by the hands of Gideon, who ruled them forty years. Abimelech his son reigned after him three years. Tûla' (Tola), the son of Puah [ruled them] twenty-three years. Yâir, the Gileadite, twenty-two years. And again the children of Israel were in subjection to the Ammonites eighteen years, and God delivered them by the hand of Naphtah (Jephthah), the man who offered up his daughter as a sacrifice, and he ruled them six years. Abhiṣân (Ibzan of Bethlehem), who is Naḥshôn (sic), ruled them seven years. Alôn (Elon), who was from Zebulon, ruled them ten years. 'Abhrôn (Abdon, the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite) ruled them eight years. And the children of Israel were in subjection to the Philistines forty years, and God delivered them by the hand of Samson, and he ruled them twenty years.

2 And the children of Israel lived without a governor for eighteen years, and then Eli the priest rose up and ruled them forty years. And Samuel rose up over them and ruled them twenty years. And in the days of Samuel the children of Israel provoked to wrath God, Who had delivered them from the servitude of the Egyptians, and they made Saul, the son of Kish, king, and he reigned over them forty years. And in the days of Saul lived Gûlyâdh (Goliath), a giant of the Philistines. He came nigh and reviled Israel, and blasphemed against God, and David, the son of Jesse, killed him. And David was praised in songs by the daughters of Israel, and Saul persecuted him. And the Philistines slew Saul because he forsook the Lord, and took refuge with the devils. 3 [NOTE.—The story of David and Goliath finds an interesting parallel in the history of Sanehat as found in an Egyptian papyrus in the Royal Library at Berlin. Sanehat fled from Egypt as the result of some political trouble, and made his way into Palestine, where he settled down and prospered, and became a shêkh of great influence and importance. Then a certain man of Thennu went to Sanehat's tent and reviled him, and challenged him to fight him. This man was a mighty warrior, and was famed throughout the country for his strength, and valour, and success. During the following night Sanehat made ready his dagger, and spear, and bow, and at daybreak all the tribes came to the place to witness the great duel which was to take place. The man of Thennu grasped his shield and his battle-axe, and then began to hurl his spears at Sanehat, but they either went wide or Sanehat managed in some way to avoid them; in any case, they failed to touch him. When the man of Thennu saw this, he lost his temper, and made a rush at Sanehat, meaning to close with him and despatch him with his battle-axe. But as he came on in his mad rage Sanehat hurled his short javelin at his head, and it pierced his neck and remained fast in it. The man of Thennu uttered a prolonged shriek and then fell headlong on the ground, face downwards. Sanehat went to him, and, taking his foe's weapons from him, killed him with them. Then he took his stand on the dead body, and shouted the cry of victory, and the onlookers rejoiced in his triumph and applauded him.]

4 David reigned over the children of Israel forty years, and Solomon, his son, reigned forty years. And Solomon did great and wonderful things, and it was he who sent to Ophir and brought gold from the mountains of gold, and the ships sailed the sea for thirty-six months, and then came forth (i.e. returned). It was he who built Tadmor (Palmyra) in the wilderness, and he carried out there great and wonderful works. And when Solomon passed the borders of the mountain which is called Sâ'êr, he found there the altar which Pîôrzâkhâr, and Pîôrzânâi, and Neznâdhôr had built. These were they whom Nimrod, the giant, sent to Balaam, the priest of the Mountain of Sâ'êr, because he heard that he was wont to consult the Signs of the Zodiac, and when they were passing the skirts of the mountain they built there an altar to the sun. And when Solomon saw it he built a city there and called its name "Nîâpôlis" (more correctly, Heliopolis) that is to say, "City of the Sun." And Solomon also built Aradus (Arvad) in the midst of the sea, and he became so famous and renowned that the report of his wise acts went out into all the ends of the earth. And the Queen of Sheba went to hold converse with him. And Solomon loved Hiram, king of Tyre, greatly. And Hiram reigned in Tyre five hundred years, from the days of the kingdom of David to the [days of] the kingdom of Zedekiah and of all the kings of the children of Israel. And at length he forgot that he was a man, and he blasphemed and said, "I am God, and I sit upon the throne of God in the middle of the sea." And Nebuchadnezzar the king killed him.

5 [NOTE.—Solomon reigned over his large kingdom with the greatest wisdom ever found. But he did not keep his soul; but inclined his heart to the love of women, and forsook God, Who had created him and given him his kingdom. And he died in his denial of Him, and in his sins. Book of Adam (iv. 8.)]

The purple linen of Tyre

6 And in the days of Hiram the purple-[coloured] apparel worn by kings [first] appeared. As a dog was running along the sea-shore [at Tyre] he saw a purple shell-fish (i.e. the murex) coming up out of the water, and he bit it, and straightway his mouth was filled with the blood of that shell-fish. And a certain shepherd who saw the dog brought a piece of woollen cloth and wiped the dog's mouth with it. And he made that piece of woollen cloth into a crown (i.e. a kafiyah or head-cloth), and set it upon his head, and as he walked along in the sun, those who saw him thought that rays of fire were coming forth from his head, and when Hiram heard [of this] he sent for the man. And when he saw the woollen cloth he marvelled, and was astonished. And all the dyers gathered together and marvelled at it, and they set out to enquire into the matter; and they found some of these shell-fish and rejoiced greatly.

The Apostasy of Solomon.

7 And Solomon waxed exceedingly great. And the food [provided for his table every day] consisted of forty oxen, one hundred head of sheep, thirty measures of fine flour, sixty measures of wheat, and three hundred measures of wine; and besides all this stags, and gazelle, and wild antelopes, and other creatures of the desert. And he became froward and transgressed the Law, and hearkened not to the commands of his father, and he took to wife one thousand women from all the peoples whom God hated. And in the time of his old age he gave himself up to women, and he let them play with him, and he hearkened to their words, and did their will. And he denied the God of David, his father. And he builded altars to devils, and offered up sacrifices to idols and graven images, and he worshipped the work of the hands; and God turned away His face from him and he died. And he reigned in Jerusalem forty-six years.

8 [NOTE.—Solomon was seduced into idolatry by his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh. "One day she beautified and scented herself for him, and she behaved herself haughtily towards him, and treated him disdainfully. And he said unto her, 'What shall I do? Thou hast made thy face evil towards me, and thy regard towards me is not as it was formerly, and thy beautiful form is not as enticing as usual. Ask me, and I will give thee whatsoever thou wishest, and I will perform it for thee, so that thou mayest make thy face gracious towards me as formerly'; but she held her peace and answered him never a word. And he repeated to her the words that he would do whatsoever she wished. And she said unto him, 'Swear to me by the God of Israel that thou wilt not play me false.' And he swore to her that he would give her whatsoever she asked for, and that he would do for her everything she told him. And she tied a scarlet thread on the middle of the door of [the house of] her gods, and she brought three locusts and set them in the house of her gods. And she said unto Solomon, 'Come to me without breaking the scarlet thread, bend thyself and kill these locusts before me, and pull out their necks,' and he did so. And she said unto him, 'I will henceforward do thy will, for thou hast sacrificed to my gods and hast worshipped them.' Now he had done this because of his oath, so that he might not break his oath which she had made him to swear, even though he knew that it was an offence (or, sin) to enter into the house of her gods." Kebra Nagast (chapter lxiv).]

Rehoboam

9 And Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, reigned after him. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when [he began] to reign, and he polluted Jerusalem with fornication, and the altars of devils, and the stink of heathendom; and the kingdom of Israel was rent in twain. And in the fifth year of his kingdom Shishak, the king of Egypt, went up against Jerusalem. And he carried off all the treasure of the service of the house of the Lord, and all the treasure of the kingdom of David, and of that of Solomon, and the vessels of gold and the vessels of silver. And he magnified himself and said, "I am not taking away treasure which is yours, but the wealth which your fathers took out of Egypt." And Rehoboam died in the heathen practices of his father Solomon. Kitchen in the Gia-Par-Ku at "Ur of the Chaldees," showing tank, wall, rope-ring and fire-place. (See page 280.

10 Of [NOTE.—The Book of Adam (iv. 8) says that Asaph (i.e. Asa) took his mother Anna, who was an adulteress, and cast her down from the roof of her house, and she died. Zerah, who is called Eleazar, is described as a "black king" who reigned at Endena. No mention of Zerah the Cushite has hitherto been found in the cuneiform or hieroglyphic inscriptions.] And Jehosaphat his son reigned after him, and he walked in the ways of Asa his father, and he did that which was pleasing before God. And God was angry with him because he was a friend of the house of Ahab, and for this reason God did not permit him to bring out gold from Ophir. Now he made ships to send thither, and they were broken at Ezion Geber. He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and the name of his mother was 'Azôbhâ (Azuba?), the daughter of Shâlâh. And Jehosaphat died in his righteousness.

11 Joram reigned after him, and he was thirty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was pleasing before God, for he sacrificed at the altar of devils, and he died in his heathen practices.

NOTE.—In the Book of Adam he is called Aram. Zambri made war upon him, and he died denying God

12 N Ahaziah his son reigned after him, and he was twenty-two years old when [he began] to reign; he lived for one year in Jerusalem, and did evil things before God in that year. Because of the wickedness and iniquity which he wrought, God delivered him into the hands of his enemies and they killed him. When he was dead his mother [Athaliah] killed all the royal children of the house of David, imagining that she would uproot the children of the Jews. The only person of the seed of the royal house whom she did not slay was Joash, whom Yôshba' (Jehosheba), the daughter of Joram, the son of Jehosaphat, carried away secretly and hid with her in her house.

Reign of Ahab's sister

13 And the sister of Ahab reigned seven years in Jerusalem. And she polluted the city with fornication, for she commanded the women to play the whore without fear, and the men to commit adultery with the wives of their neighbours without incurring any penalty. And she herself committed fornication like Jezebel, and she adopted all the heathen practices of the house of Ahab in Jerusalem.

Reign of Joash

14 And after seven years the children of Jerusalem considered whom they should make their king, and Jehoiada the priest gathered them together in the house of the Lord, in the temple which Solomon had built. And when the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds had gathered together, Jehoiada the priest said unto them, "Whom say ye shall be king and sit upon the throne of David except [he be] a king and the son of a king?" And when he showed him to them they rejoiced with an exceedingly great joy. And the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, and the "runners," and the messengers brought the kingdom to the house of the Lord, and the soldiers who were armed surrounded him on all sides; and Jehoiada the priest set him (i.e. Joash) upon the throne of David his father. And [Joash] was seven years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Ṣûbhâ (Zibea) and she was from Beersheba. And Athaliah [the mother of Ahaziah] was killed. And Joash requited with evil the kindness which Jehoiada had done him, and after his death he shed the innocent blood of his sons. And Joash died, and Amaziah his son reigned after him.

15 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother N 2 was Yâhô'adhân (Joadan). And Amaziah died, and Uzziah his son reigned after him. Uzziah was sixteen years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned fifty (sic) years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Îkhânyâ (Jechalia). And he did that which was good before the Lord. Now, he made bold to go into the Holy of Holies, and he took the censer from the priest of God (Azariah), and burned incense in the temple of the Lord; and because he did this leprosy covered his face. And because Isaiah the prophet did not rebuke him, he was prevented from prophesying until Uzziah died. And Jotham his son reigned in his stead. Jotham was twenty-five years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Îrûshâ (Jerusa), the daughter of Zadok. And he did that which was good before the Lord, and he died and Ahaz his son reigned after him.

Ahaz a vassal of the King of Assyria

16 Ahaz was twenty years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was 'Âphin, the daughter of Levi. And he did that which was evil before the Lord, and he sacrificed to devils. Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria, went up against him, and Ahaz wrote himself down in his letter as his servant, and the Assyrian held him in subjection. And Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria the gold and silver [which were in] the house of the Lord, [and in his days] the children of Israel were carried off into captivity. And the king sent for the men who had come from Babel, so that they might dwell in the land instead of the children of Israel, because they could kill the lions. And the king of Assyria sent to them Ôrî the priest, and he taught them the laws. And Ahaz died and Hezekiah his son reigned after him.

17 [NOTE.—The Assyrian king who conquered Ahaz was Tiglath Pileser III, who reigned from 745–727 B.C. In a list of the kings in the British Museum which were his tributaries we find— Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Akhi (Abhi?), the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was pleasing before the Lord, for he smashed the altars, and he cut in pieces the serpent of brass which Moses made in the wilderness, because the children of Israel used to worship it, and he abolished heathen practices in Jerusalem. In the fourth year of his reign, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, came up and carried away captive the rest of the children of Israel, and he sent them into Media, beyond Babel. [NOTE.—Tiglath Pileser III having conquered Syria carried away into captivity the Israelitish tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. His successor Shelmaneser V, 𐎭𐎢𐎭𐎠𐎭𐎠 (727-722 B.C.) attacked Hosea, king of Israel, and conquered him and, because he was an ally of the king of Egypt, carried him off into captivity.]

18 And in the twentieth year of Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up and took all the cities and towns of Judah, but through the prayer of Hezekiah Jerusalem was saved. [NOTE.—Sennacherib, 𐤇 𐤋 𐤌 𐤍 𐤎 𐤏 𐤐, king of Assyria, 705–681 B.C., having brought Padi from Jerusalem and made him king of Ekron, then marched on to attack Kha-zakiau (matu) Iaudaai Hezekiah [king of] the country of the Judeans. He captured 46 of Hezekiah's strongholds, and brought out from them 200,150 people, and horses, mules, asses, camels, oxen, and innumerable sheep. He then shut up Hezekiah like a caged bird in Ursaliimmu ali sharrutisu Jerusalem the city of his sovereignty. Hezekiah's soldiers deserted, and he sent his envoy to Nineveh to pay his tribute to Sennacherib, viz. 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver, precious stones, eye-paint, couches and chairs of ivory, hides, tusks, precious woods, and his daughters with their attendants and musicians.]

19 And Hezekiah became sick unto death and it was grievous unto him, and he wept. And there were certain men who blamed him, but why [his sickness] was grievous unto him they never troubled to acquaint themselves. Now the sorrow of Hezekiah [came upon him] because when he became sick unto death he had no son to reign after him. And when he looked with the eyes of his soul and saw that he had no son to reign after him, he was afflicted, and wept and said, "Woe is me! for I must die childless, and that blessing which hath been given [unto us] for six and forty generations hath been cut off by me this day. I have become the destroyer of the kingdom of David, and the succession of the kings of Judah hath been cut off this day." This was [the cause of] the sorrow of Hezekiah. And after he recovered from his sickness he waited fourteen years, and [then] Manasseh was born to him. And Hezekiah died in great content, and left a son to sit upon the throne of David his father.

Manasseh

20 Manasseh was twelve years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Ḥabhṣibhāh (Hephziba). He was a man who was more evil and iniquitous than all those who had lived before him; he builded altars to devils, and sacrificed to idols, and he filled Jerusalem with iniquity and provoked God to wrath. And because Isaiah the prophet rebuked him, he threatened him and sent men who were sons of iniquity, and they sawed Isaiah the prophet in twain with a saw between [two pieces of] wood, from his head downwards to his feet. And Isaiah was one hundred and twenty years old when they sawed him in twain, and he had been the prophet of God for ninety years. And Manasseh repented after he had slain Isaiah, and he put sackcloth on his body, and decreed fasting for himself, and he ate bread with tears all the days of his life because he had committed iniquity and had slain the prophet. And Manasseh died, and Ammon reigned after him.

21 Ammon was twenty-two years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Mashlēmath. And Ammon did evil before the Lord, and he made his sons to pass through fire; he died, and Josiah his son reigned after him. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Yadhidhā (Jedida), the daughter of Azariah (Adaja?), from Bezkath. And he did what was good before the Lord, and he walked in all the way wherein his father David had walked; and he turned aside neither to the right hand nor to the left. And Pharaoh, the "Lame" (i.e. Necho II) killed him, and Jehoahaz his son reigned after him. [NOTE.—Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt 609–593 B.C., was the second king of the XXVIth Dynasty. His names as "King of the South and North," and "Son of Rā" are

22 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Ḥamṭāl, the daughter of Jeremiah from Lebhnā. And he did what was evil before the Lord, even as Manasseh had done. And Pharaoh, the Lame, king of Egypt, took him prisoner in Diblath, in the land of Ḥamath, whilst he was king in Jerusalem, and he laid tribute on the land, one hundred talents of silver and ten talents of gold. And Pharaoh, the Lame, made Eliakim, the son of Jonah, king instead of Josiah his father, and he made his name to be Jehoiakim. And he carried away Jehoahaz, and he went to Egypt and died there. And Jehoiakim gave silver and gold to Pharaoh; he laid [the payment] of silver and gold on the land according to the word (i.e. command) of Pharaoh's mouth. Every man, according to what it was right for him [to pay], brought silver and gold from the people of the land, according to the command of the mouth of Pharaoh, the Lame.

23 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Zebhīdhā, the daughter of Pedāyā, from Ramah. And he did that which was evil before the Lord, even as his fathers had done. In his days Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, went up against Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him, and the Lord stirred up bands of robbers against him because of his sins. And Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned after him. And the king of Egypt did not come forth again out of his country; for the king of Babel captured all the land that belonged to the king of Egypt, from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Neheshtā, the daughter of Elyāthān (Elnathan?), from Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil before the Lord, even as his father had done. At that time Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, went up against Jerusalem, and the king of Babel took him with him in the eighth year of his kingdom. And he brought out from there all the treasure of the house of the Lord, and the treasure of the king's house, and he carried off into captivity to Babel all [the people of] Jerusalem, and Jehoiachin, and his mother, and his wives, and his nobles; and the king brought captive to Babel all the men who had made war. And the king of Babel made Methanyâ, the uncle [of Jehoiachin] king in his stead, and he called his name "Zedekiah."

The Capture of Jerusalem.

24 Zedekiah was twenty years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Ḥamṭāl, the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. And he did that which was evil before the Lord, even as did Jehoiakim, and the wrath of the Lord was (i.e. fell upon) Jerusalem. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babel, and in the ninth year of his kingdom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, came against Jerusalem, and the city was fettered with affliction (i.e. besieged) until the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. And the city was rent open (i.e. its wall was breached), and all the mighty men of war fled from the city by night by way of the plain. And the soldiers of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him on the plain of Jericho, and all his soldiers were driven away from him; and the Chaldeans captured Zedekiah and took him up to the king of Babel at Debhlath (Riblah), and he passed judgment upon him. And the king of Babel slew the sons of Zedekiah the king before his eyes, and he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and carried him to Babel. And Simeon the high priest, because he had freedom of speech with the commander of the [Chaldean] army, made entreaty to him, and the commander of the army gave him all the books of the Scriptures and did not burn them; and Simeon the high priest gathered them together and cast them into a pit (or dry well). And Jerusalem was laid waste and made desolate, and no man remained therein except Jeremiah, the Prophet, who sat and raised lamentations over it for twenty years. And Jeremiah, the Prophet, died in Samaria, and the priest Úr buried him in Jerusalem, according to the oath which the prophet made him to swear.

25 Now up to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem the Hebrew, Greek, and Syrian writers were in possession of the truth, and they were able to produce the registers of the genealogies of the tribes and the people. But from the destruction of Jerusalem and onwards there has been no truth in their writings, except as regards the heads of the tribes (i.e. the Patriarchs) and they are unable to prove whence the succession of the priests took its origin. And Jehoiachin was bound in prison for thirty-seven years, and after he came forth from prison he took to wife Gülith, the daughter of Eliakim, and he begot by her in Babel Shalathiel (Salathiel); and Jehoiachin died in Babel. And Salathiel took to wife Heṭbath, the daughter of Halkanâ, and he begot by her Zûrbâbhel (Zerubbabel), who took to wife Malkath, the daughter of Ezra the scribe; but no son was born to him by her in Babel. In the days of Zerubbabel, the prince of Judah, Cyrus the Persian reigned in Babel. [A reproduction of a sculptured relief of Cyrus is given on Plate I. The official account of his conquest of Babylon is found on a baked clay cylinder now in the British Museum. See Plate II.]

Cyrus.

26 And Cyrus took to wife the daughter of Salathiel, the sister of Zerubbabel, and he took her to wife according to the law of the Persians, and made her [his] queen. And she entreated Cyrus to bring about the return of the children of Israel [to Jerusalem]. And inasmuch as Zerubbabel was her brother, she was very insistent about the return [to Jerusalem] of those who had been led away into captivity. Now Cyrus loved his wife as he loved himself, and he did for her what she wished. And he sent forth heralds into all the land of Babel, ordering all the children of Israel to gather themselves together. And when they were gathered together Cyrus said unto Zerubbabel, his wife's brother, "Rise up, and take with thee all the children of thy people, and go up to Jerusalem in peace; and [re]build the city of thy fathers, and dwell and reign therein. And because Cyrus brought about the return of the children of Israel [to Jerusalem], God said, I have taken my servant Cyrus by his right hand" (Isa. xlv. 28; xlv. 1). And the name of Cyrus was called "My shepherd, the anointed of the Lord," because his seed was received into the seed of David through Meshayyanath, the sister of Zerubbabel, whom he had taken to wife. And the children of Israel went up from Babel, and Zerubbabel became king over them; and Joshua, the son of Yôzâdâk, the son of Aaron, was high priest, even as the angel showed Zechariah the prophet, and said unto him, "These are the sons of the oil of consecration."

27 And the people of the captivity went up in the second year of Cyrus, and the FIFTH THOUSAND YEARS CAME TO AN END.