The Book of the Bee

The Book of the Bee

Solomon of Basra

fl. AD 1222

A teaching book in sixty short chapters, written about AD 1222 by Solomon, bishop of Basra, on the creation of the world, the patriarchs, the prophets, Christ, the apostles, the resurrection and the fate of sinners. Solomon says he has gleaned it from the Scriptures and the Fathers, as a bee gathers from many flowers.

The Author’s Apology

1 Trusting in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, we begin to write this book of gleanings called 'The Bee,' which was composed by the saint of God, Mâr Solomon, metropolitan of Pêrath-Maishân, that is Bassorah (al-Baṣrah), one of His companions. O Lord, in Thy mercy help me. Amen. 2 'The children ought not to lay up treasures for the parents, but the parents for the spiritual children,' saith the blessed Paul; therefore we are bound to repay thee the debt of love, O beloved brother and staff of our old age, saint of God, Mâr Narses, bishop of Khônî-Shâbôr Bêth-Wâzîk. We remember thy solicitude for us, and thy zeal for our service, which thou didst fulfil with fervent love and Christ-like humility. And when we had loving meetings with each other from time to time, thou wert wont to ask questions and to make enquiries about the various things which God hath wrought in His dispensation in this material world, and also as to the things that He is about to do in the world of light. But since we were afflicted with the Mosaic defect of hesitancy of speech, we were unable to inform thee fully concerning the profitable matters about which, as was right, thou didst enquire; and for this reason we were prevented from profitable discourse upon the holy Books. Since, then, God has willed and ruled our separation from each other, and the sign of old age, which is the messenger of death, hath appeared in us, and we have grown old and come into years, it has seemed good to us, with the reed for a tongue and with ink for lips, to inform thee briefly concerning God's dispensation in the two worlds.

3 And, behold, we have gleaned and collected and gathered together chapters and sections relating to this whole universe from the garden of the divine Books and from the crumbs of the Fathers and the Doctors, having laid down as the foundation of our building the beginning of the creation of this world, and concluding with the consummation of the world to come. We have called this book the 'Book of the Bee,' because we have gathered of the blossoms of the two Testaments and of the flowers of the holy Books, and have placed them therein for thy benefit. As the common bee with gauzy wings flies about, and flutters over and lights upon flowers of various colours, and upon blossoms of divers odours, selecting and gathering from all of them the materials which are useful for the construction of her handiwork; and having first of all collected the materials from the flowers, carries them upon her thighs, and bringing them to her dwelling, lays a foundation for her building with a base of wax; then gathering in her mouth some of the heavenly dew which is upon the blossoms of spring, brings it and blows it into these cells; and weaves the comb and honey for the use of men and her own nourishment: [∞] in like manner have we, the infirm, hewn the stones of corporeal words from the rocks of the Scriptures which are in the Old Testament, and have laid them down as a foundation for the edifice of the spiritual law.

4 And as the bee carries the waxen substance upon her thighs because of its insipidity and tastelessness, and brings the honey in her mouth because of its sweetness and value; so also have we laid down the corporeal law by way of substratum and foundation, and the spiritual law for a roof and ceiling to the edifice of the spiritual tower. And as the expert gardener and orchard-keeper goes round among the gardens, and seeking out the finest sorts of fruits takes from them slips and shoots, and plants them in his own field; so also have we gone into the garden of the divine Books, and have culled therefrom branches and shoots, and have planted them in the ground of this book for thy consolation and benefit. When thou, O brother, art recreating thyself among these plants, those which appear and which thou dost consider to be insipid and tasteless, leave for thy companions, for they may be more suitable to others (than to thee); but, upon those which are sweet, and which sweeten the palate of thy understanding, do thou feed and satisfy thy hunger. If, however, owing to their fewness, they do not fill thee, seek in succession for their roots, and from thence shall thy want be satisfied. Know also, O brother, that where there is true love, there is no fear; and where there is freedom of speech, there is no dread;

5 and we should not dare to be so rash as to [a] enter upon these subjects, which are beyond the capacity of our simple understanding, unless we relied upon thy immaculate love; because, in the words of one of the inspired, 'When thou findest honey, eat (only) so much as is sufficient for thee, lest, when thou art sated, thou vomit it'; that is to say, do not enquire (too closely) into the divine words. 6 I. Of God's eternal intention in respect of the creation of the universe. 11. Of the creation of the seven natures (substances) in silence. 111. Of earth, water, air, and fire. IV. Of heaven. V. Of the angels. VI. Of darkness. VII. Of effused (circumambient) light. VIII. Of the firmament. IX. Of the creation of trees and plants, and the making of seas and rivers. X. Of the making of the luminaries. XI. Of the creation of sea-monsters, fish, winged fowl, and the reptiles that are in the seas. XII. Of the creation of beasts and animals. Xiii. Of the formation of Adam. Xiv. Of the making of Eve. Xv. Of Paradise. Xvi. Of the sin of Adam. Xvii. Of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. Xviii. Of Adam's knowing Eve. Xix. Of the invention of the instruments for working in iron. Xx. Of Noah and the Flood.

7 Xxi. Of Melchizedek. Xxii. Of the generations of Noah, how seventy-two families sprang from three sons. Xxiii. Of the succession of generations from the Flood until now. Xxiv. Of the building of the Tower. Xxv. Of Abraham. Xxvi. Of the temptation of Job. Xxvii. Of Isaac's blessing upon Jacob. Xxviii. Of Joseph. Xxix. Of Moses and the Children of Israel. Xxx. Of Moses' rod. Xxxi. Of Joshua the son of Nun, and the Judges, and brief notices of the Kings of the Children of Israel. Xxxii. Of the death of the Prophets; how they died, and (where) they were buried. Xxxiii. Of the divine dispensation which was wrought in the New Testament, and of the genealogy of Christ. Xxxiv. Of the announcement of the angel to Jonachir (Joachim) in respect of Mary. Xxxv. Of the annunciation of Gabriel to Mary in respect of her conception of our Lord. Xxxvi. Of our Lord's birth in the flesh.

8 Xxxvii. Of the prophecy of Zaradōsht, that is Baruch the scribe. Xxxviii. Of the star which appeared in the East on the day of our Lord's birth. Xxxix. Of the coming of the Magi from Persia, and the slaughter of the infants. Xl. Of the going down of our Lord into Egypt. Xli. Of John the Baptist and his baptism of our Lord. Xlii. Of our Lord's fast and His contest with Satan. Xliii. Of the passover of our Lord. Xliv. Of the passion of our Lord. Xlv. Of the resurrection of our Lord. Xlvi. Of the ascension of our Lord. Xlvii. Of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles in the upper chamber. Xlviii. Of the teaching of the Apostles, their deaths, and the place where each of them (was buried). Xlix. The names of the twelve Apostles and the seventy (Disciples), one after another in (his) grade.

9 L. Of minor matters; those of the Apostles who were married, etc. Li. The names of the Eastern Patriarchs, and the places where they were buried. [♩] Lii. The names of the kings who have reigned in the world from the Flood to the present time, and the (number of the) years of the reign of each of them. The names of the kings of the Medes and the Egyptians; the names of the seventy old men who brought out the Scriptures and translated them; the names of the Roman emperors, and of the kings of Persia. Liii. Of the end of times and the change of kingdoms. From the book of Methodius, the bishop of Rome. Liv. Of Gog and Magog, who are imprisoned in the North. Lv. Of the coming of Antichrist, the son of perdition. Lvi. Of death and the departure of the soul from the body.

10 Lvii. Of the rising of the dead and the general resurrection, the end of the material world, and the beginning of the new world. Lviii. Of the manner in which men will rise in the day of the resurrection. Lix. Of the happiness of the righteous, and the torture of sinners; and of the manner in which they will exist yonder. Lx. Of the demons and sinners in Gehenna, whether after they have been punished and have suffered and received their sentence, they will have mercy shewn to them or not; and if mercy be shewn to them, when it will be.

Chapter 1. Of God's Eternal Intention in Respect of the Creation of the Universe

1 It is well for us to take the materials for our discourse from the divine Scriptures, that we may not stray from the straight paths of the way of truth. The blessed David saith, 'Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations, before the mountains were conceived.' David, the harpist of the Spirit, makes known thereby, that although there was a beginning of the framing of Adam and the other creatures when they were made, yet in the mind of God it had no beginning; that it might not be thought that God has a new thought in respect of anything that is renewed day by day, or that the construction of Creation was newly planned in the mind of God: but everything that He has created and is about to create, even the marvellous construction of the world to come, has been planned from everlasting in the immutable mind of God. As the natural child in the womb of his mother knows not her who bears him, nor is conscious of his father, who, after God, is the cause of his formation; so also Adam, being in the mind of the Creator, knew Him not. And when he was created, and recognised himself as being created, he remained with this knowledge six hours only, and there came over him a change, from knowledge to ignorance and from good to evil.

2 Hence, when Divine Providence wished to create the world, the framing of Adam was first designed and conceived in the mind of God, and then that of the (other) creatures; as David saith, 'Before the mountains were conceived.' Consequently, Adam is older than the (other) creatures in respect of his conception, and the (other) creatures are older than Adam in respect of their birth [𐤇] and their being made. And whereas God created all creatures in silence and by a word, He brought forth Adam out of His thoughts, and formed him with His holy hands, and breathed the breath of life into him from His Spirit, and Adam became a living soul, and God gave him the knowledge of the difference between good and evil. When he perceived his Creator, then was God formed and conceived within the mind of man; and man became a temple to God his maker, as it is written, 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?' And again, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them.'

Chapter 2. Of the Creation of the Seven Natures (Substances) in Silence

When God in His mercy wished to make known all His power and His wisdom, in the beginning, on the evening of the first day, which is Sunday, He created seven natures (substances) in silence, without voice. And because there was as yet none to hear a sound, He did well to create them in silence, that He might not make anything uselessly; but He willed, and heaven, earth, water, air, fire, and the angels and darkness, came into being from nothing.

Chapter 3. Of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire

The earth was tôh wê-bôh, that is to say, it was unarranged and unadorned, but plunged in the midst of the waters. The waters were above it, and above the waters was air, and above the air was fire. The earth is by nature cold and dry. Dry land appeared on the third day,. when the trees and plants were created; and the waters were separated therefrom on the second day, when the firmament was made from them. Water is by nature cold and moist. As touching the 'Spirit which was brooding upon the face of the waters,' some men have ignorantly imagined it to have been the Holy Spirit, while others have more correctly thought it to have been this air (of ours). Air is by nature hot and moist. Fire was operating in the upper ether, above the atmosphere; it possessed heat only, and was without luminosity until the fourth day, when the luminaries were created: we shall mention it in the chapter on the luminaries (chap. x). Fire is by nature hot and dry.

Chapter 4. Of Heaven

Heaven is like a roof to the material world, and will serve as the floor of the new world. It is by nature shining and glorious, and is the dwelling-place of the invisible hosts. When God spread out this firmament, He brought up above it a third part of the waters, and above these is the heaven of light and of the luminaries. Hence people say 'the heaven, and the heaven of heavens'; for we call both the firmament and the waters which are above it 'heaven.' Some consider that the verse 'Let the waters which are above the heavens praise the name of the Lord' refers to the holy angels and to our Lord's humanity; but neither the Church nor the orthodox teachers accept this.

Chapter 5. Of the Angels

1 The Angels consist of nine classes and three orders, upper, middle and lower. The upper order is composed of Cherubim, Seraphim, and Thrones: these are called 'priests' (kumrê), and 'chief priests,' and 'bearers of God's throne.' The middle order is composed of Lords, Powers and Rulers: these are called 'priests' (kâhnê), because they receive revelations from those above them. The lower order consists of Principalities, Archangels and Angels: and these are the ministers who wait upon created things. The Cherubim are an intellectual motion which bears the throne of the holy Trinity, and is the chief of all motions; they are ever watchful of the classes of themselves and those beneath them. As concerning the epithet 'full of eyes,' which is applied to them, the eyes indicate the mystery of the revelations of the Trinity. Their head, and the foremost and highest among them, is Gabriel, who is the mediator between God and His creation. The Seraphim are a fiery motion, which warms those below it with the fire of the divine love. The six wings which each of them is said to possess indicate the revelations which they receive from the Creator and transmit to mankind. The Thrones are a fixed motion, which is not shaken by the trials which come upon it. The Lords are a motion which is entrusted with the government of the motions beneath it; and it is that which prevents the demons from injuring created things. The Powers are a mighty motion, the minister of the will of the Lord;

2 and it is that which gives victory to some rulers in battle and defeat to others. The Rulers are a motion which has power over the spiritual treasures, to distribute them to its companions according to the will of the Creator. This class of angels governs the luminaries, the sun, moon, and stars. The Principalities are a defined motion which possesses the direction of the upper ether, of rain, clouds, lightning, thunder, whirlwinds, tempests, winds, and other ethereal disturbances. The Archangels are a swift operative motion, into whose hands is entrusted the government of the wild beasts, cattle, winged fowl, reptiles, and everything that hath life, from the gnat to the elephant, except man. The Angels are a motion which has spiritual knowledge of everything that is on earth and in heaven. With each and every one of us is an angel of this group—called the guardian angel—who directs man from his conception until the general resurrection. The number of each one of these classes of angels is equal to the number of all mankind from Adam to the resurrection. Hence it is handed down that the number of people who are going to enter the world is equal to the number of all the heavenly hosts; but some say that the number is equal to that of one of the classes only, that they may fill the place of those of them who have fallen through transgressing the law; because the demons fell from three classes (of angels), from each class a third part.

3 If then it is an acknowledged fact that there are three orders of angels, and in each order there are three classes, and in every class a number equivalent to that of all mankind, what is the total number of the angels? Some say that when the angels were created, and were arranged in six divisions—Cherubim, Seraphim, Thrones, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels—the three lower divisions reflected (saying), 'What is the reason that these are set above, and we below? for they have not previously done anything more than we, neither do we fall short of them.' On account of this reflection as a cause, according to the custom of the (divine) government, Justice took from both sides, and established three other middle classes of angels—Lords, Powers, and Rulers—that the upper might not be (unduly) exalted, nor the lower think themselves wronged. As for the dwelling-place of the angels, some say that above the firmament there are waters, and above them another heaven in the form of infinite light, and that this is the home of the angels. Here too is God without limit, and the angels, invisible to bodily eyes, surround the throne of His majesty, where they minister to 'the tabernacle not made with hands.' Others say that, from the beginning, when God created the angels, until the second day, in which the firmament was made, all the classes of angels dwelt in the upper heavens;

4 but when the firmament was made, they all came down below it, with the exception of three classes—the Cherubim, Seraphim, and Thrones—who remained above it. These surrounded and supported the Shechinah of God from the beginning of the world until our Lord ascended unto heaven; and after the Ascension, behold, they surround and support the throne of the Christ God, who is over all, until the end of the world. The Expositor and his companions say: 'The tabernacle which Moses made is a type of [a. the whole world.' The outer tabernacle is the likeness of this world, but the inner tabernacle is the similitude of the place that is above the firmament. And as the priests ministered in the outer tabernacle daily, while the high priest alone entered into the inner tabernacle once a year; so of all rational beings, angels and men, no one has entered (the place) above the firmament, save the High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ. The fathers, when they have been deemed worthy at any time to see our Lord in a revelation, have seen Him in heaven, surrounded by the Cherubim and Seraphim. Hence some say that there are angels above the heavens. All these celestial hosts have revelations both of sight and of hearing; but the Cherubim have revelations by sight only, because there is no mediator between them and God. The angels have an intellect superior to that of the rest of rational beings; man has stronger desire, and the demons a greater degree of anger.

Chapter 6. Of Darkness

Darkness is a self-existent nature; and if it had not had a nature, it would not have been reckoned among the seven natures which were created in the beginning in silence. Others say that darkness is not a self-existent nature, but that it is the shadow of bodies.

Chapter 7. Of Effused (Circumambient) Light

When the holy angels were created on the evening of the first day, without voice, they understood not their creation, but thought within themselves [♩] that they were self-existent beings and not made. On the morning of the first day God said in an audible and commanding voice, 'Let there be light,' and immediately the effused light was created. When the angels saw the creation of light, they knew of a certainty that He who had made light had created them. And they shouted with a loud voice, and praised Him, and marvelled at His creation of light, as the blessed teacher saith, 'When the Creator made that light, the angels marvelled thereat,' etc.; and as it is said in Job, 'When I created the morning star, all my angels praised me.' Now by nature light has no warmth.

Chapter 8. Of the Firmament

On the evening of the second day of the week, God willed to divide the heavens from the earth, that there might be luminaries and stars beneath the heavens to give light to this world, and that the heavens might be a dwelling-place for the righteous and the angels after the resurrection. God said, 'Let there be a firmament which shall divide the waters from the waters'; and straightway the waters were divided into three parts. One part remained upon the earth for the use of men, cattle, winged fowl—the rivers and the seas; of another part God made the firmament; and the third part He took up above the firmament. But on the day of resurrection the waters will return to their former nature.

Chapter 9. Of the Creation of Trees and Plants, and the Making of Seas and Rivers

On the third day God commanded that the waters should be gathered together into the pits and depths of the earth, and that the dry land should appear. When the waters were gathered together into the depths of the earth, and the mountains and hills had appeared, God placed the sand as a limit for the waters of the seas, that they might not pass over and cover the earth. And God commanded the earth to put forth herbage and grass and every green thing; and the earth brought forth trees and herbs and plants of all kinds, complete and perfect in respect of flowers and fruit and seed, each according to its kind. Some say that before the transgression of the command, the earth brought forth neither thorns nor briars, and that even the rose had no thorns as it has now; but that after the transgression of the command, the earth put forth thorns and briars by reason of the curse which it had received. The reason why God created the trees and plants before the creation of the luminaries was that the philosophers, who discourse on natural phenomena, might not imagine that the earth brought forth herbs and trees through the power of the heat of the sun. Concerning the making of Paradise, it is not mentioned in the Pentateuch on what day it was created; but according to the opinion of those who may be relied upon, it was made on the same day in which the trees were made: and if the Lord will, we will speak about it in its proper place.

Chapter 10. Of the Making of the Luminaries

On the fourth day God made the luminaries—sun, moon, and stars—of three substances, air, light, and fire. He took aerial material and prepared vessels like lamps, and mixed fire with light, and filled them. And because in the nature of fire there was no light, nor heat in that of light, [♭] the fire imparted heat to the light, and the light gave luminosity to the fire; and from these two were the luminaries—sun, moon, and stars—fabricated. Some say that the luminaries were made in the morning, that the sun was placed in the east, and the moon in the west; while others say that they were made in the evening, and that the sun was placed in the west, and the moon in the east; and therefore the Jews celebrate the fourteenth in the evening. Others say that all the luminaries when they were created were placed in the east; the sun completed his course by day, while the moon waited until eventide, and then began her course. The path of the luminaries is beneath the firmament, and they are not fixed as men have foolishly stated, but the angels guide them. Mâr Isaac says, 'The sun performs his course from the east to the west, and goes behind the lofty northern mountains the whole night until he rises in the east.' And the philosophers say that during the night the luminaries perform their course under the earth.

Chapter 11. Of the Creation of Sea-Monsters, Fish, Winged Fowl, and the Reptiles that Are in the Seas

On the fifth day of the week God made from the waters mighty sea-monsters, fish, winged fowl, swimming beasts, and the reptiles that are in the seas. He created the winged fowl that are in the waters from the waters; for, like fish, they lay eggs and swim. Now, fish swim [♭] in the waters, and winged fowl in the air; but some of the latter in the waters also. Although they say that swimming creatures were made from the waters, or that the other wild beasts and cattle were made from the earth; still they consist of parts of all the other elements. Those, however, that are of the waters, have the greater part of their composition made of water; while the greater part of those whose origin is earth, consists of earth: but none of them lack the four elements.

Chapter 12. Of the Creation of Beasts and Animals

On Friday eve God created them, and therefore animals can see at night as well as in the day time. Others say that they were all created in the morning, and that God created Adam after them on the sixth day, which is Friday.

Chapter 13. Of the Formation of Adam

1 On the Friday, after the making of all created things, God said, 'Come, let us make man in our image and in our likeness.' The Jews have interpreted the expression 'Come, let us make,' as referring to the angels; though God (adored be His glory!) needs not help from His creatures: but the expositors of the Church indicate the Persons of the adorable Trinity. Some say that when God said 'Come, let us make man in our image and in our likeness,' the angels by the eye of the Spirit saw the right hand (of God) spread out over the whole world, and there were in it parts of all the creatures both spiritual and corporeal. And God took from all these parts, and fashioned Adam with His holy hands, and breathed into him the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Others say that God took earth from the four quarters of the world, and formed Adam outside Paradise;

2 while others say that God fashioned him in the middle of the earth, on the spot where our Lord was crucified, and that there also was 3 when silence reigned over all the ranks of the (heavenly) hosts, God said, "Come, let us make man in our image after our likeness"—hereby making known concerning the glorious Persons (of the Trinity). When the angels heard these words they were in fear and trembling, saying one to another, "We shall see a great miracle to-day, the likeness of God our Maker. And they saw the right hand of God stretched out and extended over the whole world; and all created things were collected in the palm of His right hand. And they saw that He took a grain of dust from all the earth, a drop of water from the whole nature of water, a breath of wind from all the atmosphere above, and a little warmth from all the nature of fire. And the angels saw when these four feeble elements—that is, cold and heat and dryness and moisture—were laid in the palm of His right hand, and God formed Adam. For what reason did God make Adam out of these four elements, unless it were that through them everything in the world should be subject unto him? He took a grain of dust, that all natures which are of dust might be subject unto Adam; and a drop of water, that all those in the seas and rivers might be his; and a breath of air, that all kinds of birds of the air might be given unto him; and the heat of fire, that all the fiery beings and (heavenly) hosts might come to his aid.

4 And God formed man with His holy hands, in His image and likeness. When the angels saw his glorious appearance, they trembled at the beauty of his appearance; for they saw the form of his face blazing with glorious beauty like the sphere of the sun, and the light of his eyes was like the sun, and the form of his body like the light of crystal. And when he stretched himself, and stood in the centre of the earth, he set his two feet on the spot where the cross of our Redeemer was placed: for Adam was created in Jerusalem, and there it was that he put on royal apparel, and the crown of glory was set upon his head; and there was he made king and priest and prophet, there did God set him upon the throne of His glory, and there He made him master over all creatures. And all beasts and cattle and fowl were gathered together, and they passed before Adam and he gave them names; and they bowed their heads to him, and all natures did homage to him and were subject unto him. And the angels and (heavenly) hosts heard the voice of God saying to him, "Adam, behold I have made thee king and priest and prophet and lord and chief and governor of all things made and created; to thee shall they be subject, and thine shall they be: and I have given thee power over everything that I have created.

5 And when the angels heard these words, they all blessed and worshipped him.' 6 [II. 2.] d Adam's skull laid. After God had formed Adam outside Paradise, He brought him in as a king, and made him king over all the creatures, and commanded him to give a name to each of them. God did not gather together unto Adam all cattle, nor (all) that swim in the sea, nor (all) the birds of the air, that he might give them names; but he received dominion and power over them to make use of them as he pleased, and to give them names, as a master to his slaves. And when God had brought him into Paradise, He commanded him to till it and to guard it. Why did God say 'to till it and to guard it'?—for Paradise needed no guarding, and was adorned with fruit of all kinds, and there was none to injure it—unless it were to exhort him to keep His commandments, and to till it that he might not become a lover of idleness. Because Adam had not seen his own formation, and was not acquainted with the power of his Maker, it was necessary that, when Eve was taken from him in his own likeness, he should perceive his Maker, and should acknowledge that He who made Eve also made him, and that they two were bound to be obedient to Him.

Chapter 14. Of the Making of Eve

God said, 'Let us make a helper for Adam.' And He threw upon Adam a sleep and stupor, and took one of his ribs from his left side, and put flesh in its place, and of it He formed Eve. He did not make her of earth, that she might not be considered something alien to him in nature; and He did not take her from Adam's fore-parts, that she might not uplift herself against him; nor from his hind-parts, that she might not be accounted despicable; nor from his right side, that she might not have pre-eminence over him; nor from his head, that she might not seek authority over him; nor from his feet, that she might not be trodden down and scorned in the eyes of her husband: but (He took her) from his left side, for the side is the place which unites and joins both front and back.—Concerning the sleep which God cast upon Adam, He made him to be half asleep and half awake, that he might not feel pain when the rib was taken from him, and look upon the woman as a hateful thing; and yet not without pain, that he might not think that she was not meet for him in matters of nature. When Adam came to himself, he prophesied and said, 'This is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; this shall be called woman': and they were both clothed in light, and saw not each other's nakedness.

Chapter 15. Of Paradise

1 In the eastern part of the earth, on the mountain of Eden, beyond the ocean, God planted Paradise, and adorned it with fruit-bearing trees of all kinds, that it might be a dwelling-place for Adam and his progeny, if they should keep His commandments. He made to spring forth from it a great river, which was parted into four heads, to water Paradise and the whole earth. The first river is Pishôn, which compasseth the land of Ḥavīlā, where there is gold and beryls and fair and precious stones. The second river is Gihôn, that is, the Nile of Egypt. The third river is Deklath (the Tigris), which travels through the land of Assyria and Bêth-Zabdai. The fourth river is Pêrath (the Euphrates), which flows through the middle of the earth. Some teachers say that Paradise surrounds the whole earth like a wall and a hedge beyond the ocean. Others say that it was placed upon the mount of Eden, higher than every other mountain in the world by fifteen cubits. Others say that it was placed between heaven and earth, below the firmament and above this earth, and that God placed it there as a boundary for Adam between heaven and earth, so that, if he kept His commands, He might lift him up to heaven, but if he transgressed them, He might cast him down to this earth.

2 And as the land of heaven is better and more excellent than the land of Paradise, so was the land of Paradise better and more glorious and more excellent (than our earth); its trees were more beautiful, its flowers more odoriferous, and its atmosphere more pure than ours, through superiority of species and not by nature. God made Paradise large enough to be the dwelling-place of Adam and of his posterity, provided that they kept the divine commandments. Now it is the dwelling-place of the souls of the righteous, and its keepers are Enoch and Elijah; Elijah the unwedded, and Enoch the married man: that the unwedded may not exalt themselves above the married, as if, forsooth, Paradise were suitable for the unwedded only. The souls of sinners are without Paradise, in a deep place called Eden. After the resurrection, the souls of the righteous and the sinners will put on their bodies. The righteous will enter into heaven, which will become the land of the righteous; while the sinners will remain upon earth. The tree of good and evil that was in Paradise did not by nature possess these properties of good and evil like rational beings, but only through the deed which was wrought by its means; like the 'well of contention,' and the 'heap of witness,' which did not possess these properties naturally, but only through the deeds which were wrought by their means.

3 Adam and Eve were not stripped of the glory with which they were clothed, nor did they die the death of sin, because they desired and ate of the fruit of the fig-tree—for the fruit of the fig-tree was not better than the fruit of any other tree—but because of the transgression of the law, in that they were presumptuous and wished to become gods. On account of this foolish and wicked and blasphemous intention, chastisement and penalty overtook them.—Concerning the tree of life which was planted in the middle of Paradise, some have said that Paradise is the mind, that the tree of good and evil is the knowledge of material things, and that the tree of life is the knowledge of divine things, which were not profitable to the simple understanding of Adam. Others have said that the tree of life is the kingdom of heaven and the joy of the world to come; and others that the tree of life was a tree in very truth, which was set in the middle of Paradise, but no man has ever found out what its fruit or its flowers or its nature was like.

Chapter 16. Of the Sin of Adam

1 When God in His goodness had made Adam, He laid down a law for him, and commanded him not to eat of the tree of good and evil, which is the fig-tree. After Eve was created, Adam told her the story of the tree; and Satan heard it, and by his envy it became the occasion and cause of their being made to sin, and being expelled from Paradise, for it was by reason of him that Adam fell from the height of his glory. Some say that Satan heard when God commanded Adam not to eat of that tree. Others say that God commanded Adam in his mind, mentally (and not by sense); others again say, by sense and openly. And Satan saw that the serpent was more subtle than all four-footed beasts; and he played in him, as it were with pipes, in the hearing of Eve, like an instrument, and said to her, 'Ye shall not die, as God hath said to you, but ye shall be gods like God, knowers of good and evil.' Then Eve saw that the appearance of the fig-tree was beautiful, and that its smell was delightful; and she desired to eat of it and to become a goddess. So she stretched out her hand, and plucked, and ate, and gave also to her husband, and he likewise did eat. And they were stripped of the fair glory and glorious light of purity wherewith they were clothed, when they saw not each other's nakedness.

2 And their eyes were opened, and they saw their nakedness; and they took leaves of the fig-tree, and covered their nakedness for shame, and hid themselves beneath thick trees. Then God called Adam and said to him, 'Where art thou, Adam?'—not that He did not know where he was, but [He asked] in a chiding manner—and Adam said, 'Lord, I heard Thy voice, and I hid myself because I am naked.' God said, 'Whence knowest thou that thou art naked? peradventure hast thou transgressed the law and command which I laid down for thee, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee not to eat?' Adam said, 'The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave to me, and I did eat.' And God questioned Eve [as] in like manner; and Eve said, 'The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.' And God cursed the serpent, saying, 'Cursed art thou above all beasts upon the earth.' With the cursing of the serpent, who was the tool of Satan, Satan, who had instigated the serpent, was himself cursed; and immediately his legs were destroyed, and he crawled upon his belly, and instead of being an animal became a hissing reptile.

3 And God set enmity between the serpent and man, saying, 'He shall smite the heel of man, but man shall crush his head, and the food of the serpent shall be dust.' God said to Eve, 'In pain shalt thou bring forth children;' and to Adam He said, 'Cursed is the ground for thy sake, and in toil and the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.' And the earth, by reason of the curse which it had received, straightway brought forth thorns and thistles. And God drove them out from Paradise at the ninth hour of the same day in which they were created.

Chapter 17. Of the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise

1 After God had expelled them from Paradise, like wicked servants driven forth from the inheritance of their master, and had cast them into exile, over the gate at the eastern side of Paradise He set a cherub with a sword and spear to frighten Adam from approaching Paradise. Some say that the cherub was one of the heavenly hosts, of the class of the Cherubim; and others say that he did not belong to the spiritual powers, but was a terrible form endowed with a body. So also the spear point and the sword were made of fire extended [ like a sharp sword, which went and came round about Paradise to terrify Adam and his wife. And God made for them garments of skin to cover their shame. Some say that they clothed themselves with the skins of animals, which they stripped off; but this is not credible, for all the beasts were created in couples, and Adam and Eve had as yet no knives to kill and flay them; hence it is clear that he means the bark of trees. Only the blessed Moses called the bark of trees 'skins,' because it fills the place of skins to trees. In the land of India there are trees whose bark is used for the clothing of kings and nobles and the wealthy, on account of its beauty. After God had expelled Adam and his wife from Paradise, He withheld from them the fruits of trees, and the use of bread and flesh and wine, and the anointing with oil;

2 but they cooked grain and vegetables and the herbs of the earth, and did eat sparingly. Moreover, the four-footed beasts and fowl and reptiles rebelled against them, and some of them became enemies and adversaries unto them. They remained thus until Noah went forth from the ark, and then God allowed them to eat bread and to drink wine and to eat flesh, after they had slain the animal and poured out its blood. They say that when Adam and Eve were driven out of Paradise, Adam cut off a branch for a staff from the tree of good and evil; and it remained with him, and was handed down from generation to generation unto Moses and even to the Crucifixion of our Lord; and if the Lord will, we will relate its history in its proper place. [

Chapter 18. Of Adam's Knowing Eve

1 When Adam and Eve went forth from Paradise, they were both virgins. After thirty years Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and brought forth Cain together with his sister Kĕlĕmath at one birth. And after thirty years Eve conceived and brought forth Abel and Lĕbôdâ his sister at one birth. And when they arrived at the age for marriage, Adam wished and intended to give Abel's sister to Cain and Cain's sister to Abel; but Cain desired his own sister more than Abel's. Both (i. e. Ḳēlēmath and Lēbōdā) were his sisters, but because of their birth at one time I have called them thus. Now Cain's sister was exceedingly beautiful. The two brothers made an offering to God because of this matter. Abel, because he was a shepherd, offered up of the fat firstlings of his flock in great love, with a pure heart and a sincere mind. Cain, because he was a husbandman, made an offering of some of the refuse of the fruits of his husbandry with reluctance. He made an offering of ears of wheat that were smitten by blight; but some say of straw only. And the divine fire came down from heaven and consumed the offering of Abel, and it was accepted; while the offering of Cain was rejected. And Cain was angry with God, and envied his brother; and he persuaded his brother to come out into the plain, and slew him. Some say that he smashed his head with stones, and killed him;

2 and others say that Satan appeared to him in the form of wild beasts that fight with one another and slay each other. At any rate, he killed him, whether this way or that way. Then God said to Cain, 'Where is Abel thy brother?' Cain said, 'Am I forsooth my brother's keeper?' God said, 'Behold, the sound of the cry of thy brother Abel's blood has come unto me;' and God cursed Cain, and made him a wanderer and a fugitive all the days of his life. From the day in which the blood of Abel was shed upon the ground, it did not 3 law that thou shouldst take to wife thy sister who was born with thee. But take ye of the fruit of the trees and the young of the flocks, and go ye up to the top of this holy mountain, and enter into the Cave of Treasures, and offer up your offerings there, and pray before God, and then be united unto your wives." And it came to pass that when Adam the first priest, and Cain and Abel his sons, were going up to the top of the mountain, Satan suggested to Cain to slay Abel his brother for the sake of Lēbōdā, and because his offering was rejected and not accepted before God, while that of Abel was accepted. And Cain increased his envy against Abel his brother; and when they came down to the plain, Cain stood up against Abel his brother and slew him by a wound from a flint stone.' See Bezold, Die Schatzhöhle, p. 8; Brit. Mus. Add. 25,875, fol. 7b, col. 2 to fol. 8a, col. 2.

4 again receive the blood of any animal until Noah came forth from the ark. Adam and Eve mourned for Abel one hundred years. In the two hundred and thirtieth year, Seth, the beautiful, was born in the likeness of Adam; and Adam and Eve were consoled by him. Cain and his descendants went down and dwelt in the plain, while Adam and his children, that is the sons of Seth, dwelt upon the top of the Mount of Eden. And the sons of Seth went down and saw the beauty of the daughters of Cain, and lay with them; and the earth was corrupted and polluted with lasciviousness; and Adam and Eve heard of it and mourned. Now Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years. Some say that in the days of Seth the knowledge of books went forth in the earth; but the Church does not accept this. When Seth was two hundred and fifty years old, he begat Enos; and Seth lived nine hundred and thirteen years, and he died. Enos was two hundred and ninety years old when he begat Cainan; and Enos first called upon the name of the Lord. Some say that he first composed books upon the course of the stars and the signs of the Zodiac. Enos lived nine hundred and five years. Cainan was a hundred and forty years old when he begat Mahalaleel; and he lived nine hundred and ten years. Mahalaleel was one hundred and sixty-five years old when he begat Jared; and he lived eight hundred and ninety-five years. Jared was one hundred and sixty-two years old when he begat Enoch; and he lived nine hundred and sixty-two years. Enoch was one hundred and sixty-five years old when he begat Methuselah; and when he was three hundred and sixty-five years old, God removed him to the generation of life, that is to Paradise. Methuselah was one hundred

5 . 'Seth became a leader to the children of his people, and he ruled them in purity and holiness. And because of their purity they received this name, which is better than all names, that they should be called the children of God… and they went up in place of that band of demons which fell from heaven, to praise and glorify on the skirts of Paradise.' See Bezold, Die Schatzhöhle, p. 10; and Brit. Mus. Add. 25,875, fol. 9 a, col. 2. and eighty-seven years old when he begat Lamech; and he lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years. Lamech was a hundred and eighty-two years old when he begat Noah; and he lived seven hundred and seventy-seven years.

Chapter 19. Of the Invention of the Instruments for Working in Iron

Some say that Cainan and Tubal-cain, who were of the family of Cain, were the first who invented the three tools of the art of working in iron, the anvil, hammer and tongs. The art of working in iron is the mother and begetter of all arts; as the head is to the body, so is it to all other crafts. And as all the limbs of the body cease to perform their functions if the head is taken away from it, so also all other arts would cease if the art of working in iron were to come to an end. In the days of Jubal and Tubal-cain, the sons of Lamech the blind, Satan entered and dwelt in them, and they constructed all kinds of musical instruments, harps and pipes. Some say that spirits used to go into the reeds and disturb them, and that the sound from them was like the sound of singing and pipes; and men constructed all kinds of musical instruments. Now this blind Lamech was a hunter, and could shoot straight with a bow; his son used to take him by the hand, and guide him to places where there was game, and when he heard the movement of an animal, he shot an arrow at it, and brought it down. One day, when shooting an arrow at an animal, he smote Cain the murderer, the son of Adam, and slew him.

Chapter 20. Of Noah and the Flood

1 When Noah was five hundred years old, he took a wife from the daughters of Seth; and there were born to him three sons, Shem, Ham and Japhet. And God saw Noah's uprightness and integrity, while all men were corrupted and polluted by lasciviousness; and He determined to remove the human race from this broad earth, and made this known to the blessed Noah, and commanded him to make an ark for the saving of himself, his sons, and the rest of the animals. Noah constructed this ark during the space of one hundred years, and he made it in three stories, all with boards and projecting ledges. Each board was a cubit long and a span broad. The length of the ark was three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Noah made it of box wood, though some say of teak wood; and he pitched it within and without. At the end of the six hundredth year, God commanded Noah, with his wife, his sons and his daughters-in-law—eight souls—to go into the ark, and to take in with him seven couples of every clean animal and fowl, and one couple of every unclean animal, a male and a female. And he took bread and water in with him according to his need: not an abundant supply, lest they might be annoyed by the smell of the faeces, but they got food just sufficient to preserve their lives.

2 God forewarned the blessed Noah of what he was about to do seven days beforehand, in case the people might remember their sins and offer the sacrifice of repentance. But those rebels mocked at him scoffingly, and thrust out their unclean lips at the sound of the saw and the adze. After seven days God commanded Noah to shut the door of the ark, and to plaster it over with bitumen. And the fountains of the deeps were broken up from beneath, and a torrent of rain (fell) from above, for forty days and forty nights, without cessation, until the waters rose fifteen cubits above the highest mountains in the world. And the waters bore up the ark, which travelled over them from east to west and from north to south, and so inscribed the figure of the cross upon the world; and it passed over the ocean, and came to this broad earth. So the rain was stayed, and the winds blew, and the waters remained upon the earth without diminishing one hundred and fifty days, besides those forty days; which, from the time that Noah entered the ark and the flood began until the waters began to diminish, make in all one hundred and ninety days, which are six months and ten days—even until the twentieth day of the latter Teshrî.

3 The waters began to diminish from the latter Teshrî to the tenth month, on the first day of which the tops of the mountains appeared, but until the time when the earth was dry, and the dove found rest for the sole of her foot, was one hundred days. The ark rested upon the top of mount Ḳardô. In the tenth month, which is Shêbât, Noah opened the door of the ark, and sent a raven to bring him news of the earth. And it went and found dead bodies, and it alighted upon them and returned not. For this reason people have made a proverb about Noah's raven. Again he sent forth a dove, but it found not a place whereon to alight, and returned to the ark. After seven days he sent forth another dove, and it returned to him in the evening carrying an olive leaf in its bill; and Noah knew that the waters had subsided. Noah remained in the ark a full year, and he came forth from it and offered up an offering of clean animals; and God accepted his offering and promised him that He would never again bring a flood upon the face of the earth, nor again destroy beasts and men by a flood; and He gave him (as) a token the bow in the clouds, and from that day the bow has appeared in the clouds; and He commanded him to slay and eat the flesh of beasts and birds after he had poured out their blood.

4 The number of people who came forth from the ark was eight souls, and they built the town of Thêmanôn after the name of the eight souls, and it is to-day the seat of a bishopric in the province of Ṣûbâ. Noah planted a vineyard, and drank of its wine; and one day when he slumbered, and was sunk in the deep sleep of drunkenness, his nakedness was uncovered within his tent. When Ham his son saw him, he laughed at him and despised him, and told his brethren Shem and Japhet. But Shem and Japhet took a cloak upon their shoulders, and walked backwards with their faces turned away, and threw the cloak over their father and covered him, and then they looked upon him. When Noah awoke and knew what had been done to him by the two sets of his sons, he cursed Canaan the son of Ham and said, 'Thou shalt be a servant to thy brethren;' but he blessed Shem and Japhet. The reason why he 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. After the flood a son was born to Noah, and he called his name Jōnaṭōn;

5 and he provided him with gifts and sent him to the fire of the sun, to the east. Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years; the sum of his years was nine hundred and fifty years; and he saw eighteen generations and families before and after it. He died on the fourth day of the week, on the second of Nīsān, at the second hour of the day; his son Shem embalmed him, and his sons buried him, and mourned over him forty days.

Chapter 21. Of Melchizedek

1 Neither the father nor mother of this Melchizedek were written down in the genealogies; not that he had no natural parents, but that they were not written down. The greater number of the doctors say that he was of the seed of Canaan, whom Noah cursed. In the book of Chronography, however, (the author) affirms and says that he was of the seed of Shem the son of Noah. Shem begat Arphaxar, Arphaxar begat Cainan, and Cainan begat Shâlâh and Mâlâh. Shâlâh was written down in the genealogies; but Mâlâh was not, because his affairs were not sufficiently important to be written down in the genealogies. When Noah died, he commanded Shem concerning the bones of Adam, for they were with them in the ark, and were removed from [al] the land of Eden to this earth. Then Shem entered the ark, and sealed it with his father's seal, and said to his brethren, 'My father commanded me to go and see the sources of the rivers and the seas and the structure of the earth, and to return.' And he said to Mâlâh the father of Melchizedek, and to Yôzâdâk his mother, 'Give me your son that he may be with me, and behold, my wife and my children are with you.' Melchizedek's parents said to him, 'My lord, take thy servant; and may the angel of peace be with thee, and protect thee from wild beasts and desolation of the earth.' Shem went by night into the ark, and took Adam's coffin;

2 and he sealed up the ark, saying to his brethren, 'My father commanded me that no one should go into it.' And he journeyed by night with the angel before him, and Melchizedek with him, until they came and stood upon the spot where our Lord was crucified. When they had laid the coffin down there, the earth was rent in the form of a cross, and swallowed up the coffin, and was again sealed up and returned to its former condition. Shem laid his hand upon Melchizedek's head, and blessed him and delivered to him the priesthood, and commanded him to dwell there until the end of his life. And he said to him, 'Thou shalt not drink wine nor any intoxicating liquor, neither shall a razor pass over thy head; thou shalt not offer up to God an offering of beasts, but only fine flour and olive oil and wine; thou shalt not build a house for thyself; and may the God of thy fathers be with thee.' And Shem returned to his brethren, and Melchizedek's parents said to him, 'Where is our son?' Shem said, 'He died while he was with me on the way, and I buried him;' and they mourned for him a month of days; but Melchizedek dwelt in that place until he died. When he was old, the kings of the earth heard his fame, and eleven of them gathered together and came to see him; and they entreated him to go with them, [al] but he would not be persuaded.

3 And when he did not conform to their wishes, they built a city for him there, and he called it Jerusalem; and the kings said to one another, 'This is the king of all the earth, and the father of nations.' When Abraham came back from the battle of the kings and the nations, he passed by the mount of Jerusalem; and Melchizedek came forth to meet him, and Abraham made obeisance to Melchizedek, and gave him tithes of all that he had with him. And Melchizedek embraced him and blessed him, and gave him bread and wine from that which he was wont to offer up as an offering.

Chapter 22. Of the Generations of Noah

1 The children of Shem. The people of Shem are twenty and seven families. Elam, from whom sprang the Elamites; Asshur, from whom sprang the Assyrians (Âthôrâyê); Arphaxar, from whom sprang the Persians; and Lud (Lôd) and Aram, from whom sprang the Arameans, the Damascenes, and the Harranites. Now the father of all the children of Eber was Arphaxar. Shâlâh begat Eber (Âbâr), and to Eber were born two sons; the name of the one of whom was Peleg (Pâlâg), because in his days the earth was divided. From this it is known that the Syriac language remained with Eber, because, when the languages were confounded and the earth was divided, he was born, and was called Peleg by the Syriac word which existed in his time. After Peleg, Joḳṭân (Yaḳṭân) was born, from whom sprang the thirteen nations who dwelt beside one another and kept the Syriac language. And their dwelling was from Mênashshê (or Manshâ) of mount Sepharvaim, by the side of the land of Canaan, and towards the east, beginning at Aram and Damascus, and coming to Baishân [Maishân? and Elam, and their border (was) Assyria, and the east, and Persia to the south, and the Great Sea. Now the Hebrew has Maishân instead of Mênashshê (or Manshâ), in the verse, 'The children of Joḳṭân dwelt from Maishân to Sepharvaim.' The children of Ham. The people of Ham are thirty and six families, besides the Philistines and Cappadocians. Cush, from whom sprang the Cushites; Miṣraim, from whom sprang the Miṣrāyē (or Egyptians);

2 Phut (or Pōṭ), from whom sprang the Pōṭāyē; Canaan, from whom sprang the Canaanites; the seven kings whom Joshua the son of Nun destroyed; the children of 'Ōbār, Shebā and Ḥavīlā, from whom sprang the Indians, the Amorites, the Samrāyē, the Meṭrāyē, and all the dwellers of the south. And of Cush was born Nimrod, who was the first king after the flood. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel (Babylon), which he built, and in which he reigned; and then, after the division of tongues, he built the following cities: Ārāch (Erech), which is Orhāi (Edessa), Āchār (Accad), which is Niṣibis, and Calyā (Calneh), which is Ctesiphon. The land of Babel he called the land of Shinar, because in it were the languages confounded, for Shinar' in the Hebrew language is interpreted 'division.' From that land the Assyrian went forth and built Nineveh and the town of Rehōbōth, which is the town of Arbēl (Irbil). It is said that Belus, the son of Nimrod, was the first to depart from Babel and to come to Assyria; and after Belus, his son Ninus built Nineveh, and called it after his name, and Arbēl and Cālāh, which is Ḥeṭrē (Ḥaṭrā), and Resen, which is Rēsh-'ainā (Rās'ain). Miṣraim begat Ludim, from whom sprang the Lôdâyê; La'bîm, from whom sprang the Lûbâyê; Lahbîm, from whom sprang the Tebtâyê; Yaphtu'hîm, Pathrusîm, and Caslu'hîm, from whom went forth the Philistines, the Gedrâyê (Gadarenes), and the people of Sodom.

3 Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, from whom sprang the Şôrâyê (Tyrians) and Sidonians, ten nations who dwelt by the side of Israel, from the sea (i. e. the Mediterranean) to the Euphrates; the Kîshâyê, the Kenrâyê (or Kîrâyê), and the Akdêmônâyê (or Kadmônâyê), who were between the children of Esau and Amnâ of Ireth. The children of Lot are children of Ham. 4 The children of Japhet. The people of Japhet are fifteen families. Gomer, from whom sprang the Gêôthâyê (Gôthâyê, Goths?); Magog, from whom sprang the Galatians; Mâdâi, from whom sprang the Medes; Javan, from whom sprang the Yaunâyê (Greeks); Tûbil (Tubal), from whom sprang the Baithônâyê (Bithynians); Meshech, from whom sprang the Mûsâyê (Mysians); Tîras, from whom sprang the Tharnêkâyê (or Thrêkâyê, Thracians), the Anshklâyê (or Asklâyê), and the Achshklâyê. The children of Gomer: Ashkênaz, from whom sprang the Armenians; Danphar, from whom sprang the Cappadocians; Togarmah, from whom sprang the Asâyê (Asians) and the Îsaurâyê (Isaurians). The sons of Javan: Elisha, that is Halles (Hellas); Tarshish, Cilicia, Cyprus, Kâthîm (Kittîm), Doranim, and the Macedonians; and from these they were divided among the islands of the nations. These are the families of the children of Noah, and from them were the nations divided on the earth after the flood; they are seventy and two families, and according to the families, so are the languages.

Chapter 23. Of the Succession of Generations from the Flood Until Now

1 Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arphaxar two years after the flood; the sum of his years was six hundred. Arphaxar was a hundred and thirty-five years old, and begat Kainan. Kainan was a hundred and thirty-nine years old, and begat Shâlâh: the sum of his years was four hundred and thirty-eight. Shâlâh was a hundred and thirty years old, and begat Eber; the sum of his years was four hundred and thirty-three. Eber was a hundred and thirty-four years old, and begat Peleg; the sum of his years was four hundred and sixty-four. Peleg was a hundred and thirty years old, and begat Reu; the sum of his years was a hundred and thirty-nine. In the days of Reu the languages were divided into seventy and two; up to this time there was only one language, which was the parent of them all, namely, Aramean, that is Syriac. Reu was a hundred and thirty-two years old, and begat Serug; the sum of his years was a hundred and thirty-nine. Serug was a hundred and thirty years old, and begat Nahor; the sum of his years was a hundred and thirty years. In the days of Serug men worshipped idols and graven images. Nahor was seventy and nine years old, and begat Terah; the sum of his years was one hundred and forty-eight. In the days of Nahor magic began in the world.

2 And God opened the storehouse of the winds and whirlwinds, and they uprooted the idols and graven images, and they collected them together and buried them under the earth, and they reared over them these mounds that are in the world. This was called 'the Wind Flood.' Ur, which Horon the son of Eber had built. Now there was in it a certain man who was very rich, and he died about that time. His son made for him an image of gold, and set it up on his grave; and he put a youth to watch it. Then Satan went and dwelt in that image, and he used to speak to the young man in the form of his father. But thieves went in and stole everything which the young man possessed; and he went to his father's grave weeping. And Satan spake with him, saying, "Weep not before me, but go, bring thy little son, and sacrifice him to me as a sacrifice; and everything which thou hast lost shall be restored to thee immediately." So he straightway did as Satan commanded him; and he slew his son, and bathed in his blood. Then Satan went forth from the image immediately, and entered into the young man, and taught him magic, incantation, divinations, chaldeeism, destinies, haps, and fates. And behold, from that time men began to sacrifice their children to demons and to worship idols, for the demons went in and dwelt in all the images. In the one hundredth year of Nahor, when God saw that men sacrificed their children to devils, and bowed down to idols, He opened the storehouses of the wind.'

3 Bezold, Die Schatzhöhle, p. 32; Brit. Mus. Add. 25,875, fol. 23 b, col. 1, line 19 to fol. 24 a, col. 1, line 2. Terah was seventy years old, and begat Abraham; the sum of his years was one hundred and five years. So it is two thousand two hundred and forty-two years from Adam to the flood; and one thousand and eighty-one years from the flood to the birth of Abraham; and from Adam to Abraham it is three thousand three hundred and thirteen years. And know, my brother readers, that there is a great difference between the computation of Ptolemy and that of the Hebrews and the Samaritans; for the Jews take away one hundred years from the beginning of the years of each (patriarch), and they add them to the end of the years of each of them, that they may disturb the reckoning and lead men astray and falsify the coming of Christ, and may say, 'The Messiah is to come at the end of the world, and in the last times;' and behold, according to their account, He came in the fourth millenium, for so it comes out by their reckoning.

Chapter 24. Of the Building of the Tower and the Division of Tongues

1 When Reu was born in the days of Peleg, the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japhet, together with Arphaxar and their children, were gathered together in Shinar. And they took counsel together, saying, 'Come, let us build for ourselves a high tower, the top of which shall be in the heavens, lest a flood come again upon us, and destroy us from off the face of the earth.' And they began to make bricks and to build, until (the tower) was reared a great height from the ground. Then they determined to build seventy-two other towers around it, and to set up a chief over each tower to govern those who were under his authority. God saw the weariness of their oppression and the hardness of their toil, and in His mercy had compassion upon them; for the higher they went, the more severe became their labour, and their pain went on increasing, by reason of the violence of the winds and storms and the heat of the luminaries and the necessity of carrying up everything they needed. And God said, 'Come, let us go down and divide the tongues there.' The expression 'Come, let us,' resembles 'Come, let us make man in our image and in our likeness,' and refers to the persons of the adorable Trinity.

2 While they were tormenting themselves with that vain labour, their language was suddenly confounded so as to become seventy-two languages, and they understood not each other's speech, and were scattered throughout the whole world, and built cities, every man with his fellow who spoke the same language. From Adam to the building of the tower, there was only one language, and that was Syriac. Some have said that it was Hebrew; but the Hebrews were not called by this name until after Abraham had crossed the river Euphrates and dwelt in Ḥarrān; and from his crossing they were called Hebrews. It was grievous to Peleg that the tongues were confounded (or, that God had confounded the tongues of mankind) in his days, and he died; and his sons Serug and Nahor buried him in the town of Pālgīn, which he built after his name.

Chapter 25. Of Abraham

1 Terah the father of Abraham took two wives; the one called Yônâ, by whom he begat Abraham; the other called Shelmath, by whom he begat Sarah. Mâr Theodore says that Sarah was the daughter of Abraham's uncle, and puts the uncle in the place of the father. When Abraham was seventy-five years old, God commanded him to cross the river Euphrates and to dwell in Ḥarrān. And he took Sarah his wife and Lot his nephew, and crossed the river Euphrates and dwelt in Ḥarrān. In his eighty-sixth year his son Ishmael was born to him of Hagar the Egyptian woman, the handmaid of Sarah, whom Pharaoh the king gave to her when he restored her to Abraham; and God was revealed to him under the oak of Mamre. Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac, the son of promise, was born to him; and on the eighth day he circumcised himself, his son, and every one born in his house. When God commanded Abraham to offer up Isaac upon the altar, He sent him for sacrifice to the special place where, according to the tradition of those worthy of belief, our Lord was crucified. After the death of Sarah, Abraham took to wife Kentôrah (Keturah), the daughter of Yakṭân, the king of the Turks. When Isaac was forty years old, Eliezer the Damascene, the servant of Abraham, went down to the town of Ârâch (Erech), and betrothed Raphkâ (Rebecca), the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean, to Isaac his lord's son.

2 And Abraham died at the age of one hundred and seventy-five years, and was laid by the side of Sarah his wife in the 'double cave,' which he bought from Ephron the Hittite. When Isaac was sixty years old, there were born unto him twin sons, Jacob and Esau. At that time Arbêl was built; some say that the king who built it was called Arbôl. In Isaac's sixty-sixth year Jericho was built. Esau begat Reuel; Reuel begat Zerah; Zerah begat Jobab, that is Job.

Chapter 26. Of the Temptation of Job

1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And he was a perfect, righteous and God-fearing man; and there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. The number of his possessions was seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses, and a very large train of servants. This man was the greatest of all the children of the east. His children used to go and make a feast; and the day came that his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking in the house of their eldest brother. There came a messenger to Job and said to him, 'The oxen were drawing the ploughs, and the she-asses were feeding by their side, when robbers fell upon them and carried them off, and the young men were slain by the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.' While he was yet speaking, there came another and said to him, 'The fire of God fell from heaven and consumed the sheep and the shepherds, and burnt them up; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.' While he was yet speaking, there came another and said to him, 'The Chaldeans divided themselves into three bands and fell upon the camels and carried them off, and slew the young men;

2 and I alone have escaped to tell thee.' While he was yet speaking, there came another and said to him, 'Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking in the house of their eldest brother, when there came a mighty wind and beat upon the corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell thee.' Then Job stood up and rent his garment, and shaved his head; and he fell upon the ground and prostrated himself, saying, 'Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.' In all this did Job sin not, neither did he blaspheme God. And Satan smote Job with a grievous sore from the sole of his foot to his head (lit. brain); and Job took a potsherd to scrape himself with, and sat upon ashes. His wife says to him, 'Dost thou still hold fast by thy integrity? curse God and die.' Job says to her, 'Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh: we have received the good things of God; shall we not receive His evil things?' In all this did Job sin not, neither did he blaspheme God with his lips. Job's three friends heard of this evil which had come upon him, and they came to him, every man from his own land, to comfort him; and their names were these:

3 Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. When they were come, they lifted up their eyes from afar off, and they did not know him. And they lifted up their voice and wept, and each man rent his garment, and they strewed dust upon their heads towards heaven; and they sat with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word, for they saw that his blow was very sore. And when he held fast by his God, He blessed him, and gave him seven sons and three daughters; and there were not found in the whole land women more beautiful than Job's daughters, and their names were Jemima, Keren-happuch, and Kezia. And God gave him fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels and a thousand yoke of oxen; and Job lived one hundred and forty years after his temptation, and died in peace.

Chapter 27. Of the Blessings of Isaac

1 Jacob was seventy-seven years old when his father Isaac blessed him; and he stole the blessings and birthright from his brother Esau, and fled from before his brother to Harrân. On the first night Jacob saw a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending, and the Power of God upon the top thereof. And he woke and said, [~~on~~] 'This is the house of the Lord.' He took the stone that was under his head, and set it up for an altar; and he vowed a vow to God. Now the ladder was a type of Christ's crucifixion; the angels that were ascending and descending were a type of the angels who announced the glad tidings to the shepherds on the day of our Saviour's birth. The Power of God which was upon the top of the ladder was (a type of) the manifestation of God the Word in pure flesh of the formation of Adam. The place in which the vision appeared was a type of the church; the stone under his head, which he set up for an altar, was a type of the altar; and the oil which he poured out upon it was like the holy oil wherewith they anoint the altar.

2 And Jacob went to Laban the Aramean, his mother's brother, and served before him as a shepherd for fourteen years. And he took his two daughters to wife; Leah with her handmaid Zilpah, and Rachel with her handmaid Bilhah. Now he loved Rachel more than Leah, because she was the younger and was fair in aspect, while Leah had watery eyes. There were born to Jacob by Leah six sons: Rûbil (Reuben), which is interpreted 'Great is God' (now Jacob was eighty-four years old at that time); Simeon, which is interpreted 'the Obedient;' Levi, that is 'the Perfect;' Judah, that is 'Praise;' Issachar, that is 'Hope is near;' and Zebulun, that is 'Gift' or 'Dwelling-place.' Two sons were born to him by Rachel: Joseph, that is 'Addition;' and Benjamin, that is 'Consolation.' By Zilpah two sons were born to him: Gad, that is 'Luck;' and Asher, that is 'Praise.' By Bilhah two sons were born to him: Dan, that is 'Judgment;' and Naphtali, that is 'Heartener;' and one daughter, whose name was Dinah. After twenty years Jacob returned to Isaac; and Isaac lived one hundred and eighty [aɔ] years. Twenty-three years after Jacob went up to his father, Joseph was sold by his brethren to the Midianites for twenty dinârs. When Isaac died, Jacob was one hundred and twenty years old.

Chapter 28. Of Joseph

1 After Jacob's sons had been born to him by Leah, then Joseph and Benjamin were born to him (by Rachel); and he loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the child of (his) old age, and because of his beauty and purity, and his being left motherless. He made him a garment with long sleeves, and his brethren envied him. And he dreamed dreams twice, and their hatred increased, and they kept anger in their hearts against him. They sold him to the Midianites, who carried him to Egypt, and sold him to Potiphar, the chief of the guards; and Potiphar delivered his house and servants into his hands; but because of the wantonness of Potiphar's wife, he was bound and kept in prison for two years. When the chief cup-bearer and the chief baker dreamed dreams in one night, and Joseph interpreted them, his words actually came to pass. After Joseph had remained in bondage two years, Pharaoh the king of Egypt saw two dreams in one night; and he was troubled and disturbed, and the sorcerers and enchanters and wise men were unable to interpret his dreams. Then one of those who had been imprisoned with Joseph remembered (him), and they told Pharaoh;

2 and Joseph interpreted his dreams, and Pharaoh made him king over Egypt. And Joseph gathered together and collected the corn of the seven prosperous years, and saved it for the seven years of famine. When the household of Jacob lacked bread, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy corn, [ and they met Joseph, and he recognised them, but they did not know him. After he had tortured them twice by his harsh words, he at last revealed himself to them, and shewed himself to his brethren. And he sent and brought his father Jacob and all his family—seventy-five souls in number, and they came down and dwelt in the land of Egypt two hundred and thirty years. Concerning that which God spake to Abraham, 'Thy seed shall be a sojourner in a strange land four hundred and thirty years;' they were under subjection in their thoughts from the time that God spake to Abraham until they went forth from Egypt. Jacob died in Egypt, and he commanded that he should be buried with his fathers; and they carried him and buried him by the side of his fathers in the land of Palestine. After Joseph died, another king arose, who knew not Joseph, and he oppressed the children of Israel with heavy labour in clay; at that time Moses was born in Egypt. Since many have written the history of the blessed Joseph at great length, and the blessed Mâr Ephraim has written his history in twelve discourses, concerning everything which happened to him from his childhood to his death, as well as another discourse upon the carrying up of his bones (to Palestine), we refrain from writing a long account of him, that we may not depart from the plan which we laid down in making this collection.

Chapter 29. Of Moses and the Children of Israel

1 After Joseph was dead, and another king had arisen who knew not [ the Israelitish people, the people increased and became strong in Egypt. And Pharaoh was afraid of them, and laid a burden upon them, and oppressed them with hard work in clay, and demanded a tale of bricks from them without giving them straw. At that time Moses the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, was born. Levi was forty-six years old when he begat Kohath; Kohath was sixty-three years old when he begat Amram; and Amram was seventy years old when he begat Moses. When Moses was born, Pharaoh the king commanded to throw the new-born children of the Israelites into the river. Moses was beautiful in appearance, and he was called Pantil and Amlâkyâ; and the Egyptians used to call him the Shakwîtâ of the daughter of Pharaoh. The name of Moses' mother was Yokâbâr (Jochebed). When the command of the king went forth for the drowning of the infants, she made a little ark covered with pitch, and laid the child in it; and she carried it and placed it in a shallow part of the waters of the river Nile (that is Gihôn); and she sat down opposite (that is, at a distance), to see what would be the end of the child. And Shîpôr, the daughter of Pharaoh, came to bathe in the river—some say that she was called Tharmêsis—and she saw the ark and commanded it to be fetched.

2 When she opened it, and saw that the appearance of the child was beautiful and his complexion comely, she said, 'Verily this child is one of the Hebrews' children;' and she took him, and reared him up as her son. She sought a Hebrew nurse, and the mother of the child Moses came, and became a nurse to him; and he was reared in the house of Pharaoh until he was forty years old. One day he saw Pethkôm the Egyptian, one of the servants of Pharaoh, quarrelling with an Israelite and reviling him. Moses looked this way and that way, and saw no man; and zeal entered into him, and he slew the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. Two days after, he saw two Hebrews quarrelling with one another. And he said to them, 'Ye are brethren; why quarrel ye with one another?' And one of them thrust him away from him, saying, 'Dost thou peradventure seek to kill me as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday?' Then Moses feared lest Pharaoh should perceive (this) and slay him; and he fled to Midian, and sat by the well there. Now Reuel the Midianite had seven daughters, who used to come to that well and water their father's flocks; and the shepherds came and drove them away; and Moses arose and delivered them, and watered their flocks.

3 When they went to their father, he said to them, 'Ye have come quickly to-day.' They said to him, 'An Egyptian rescued us from the hands of the shepherds, and watered the flocks also.' He said to them, 'Why did ye not bring him? Go quickly and call him hither to eat bread with us.' When Moses came to the house of Reuel and dwelt with him, Reuel loved him and gave him his daughter Zipporah the Cushite to wife. And he said to him, 'Go into the house, and take a shepherd's crook, and go feed thy flocks.' When Moses went into the house to take the rod, it drew near to him by divine agency; and he took it and went forth to feed his father-in-law's flocks.