[Chapter 1]

Moses receives the tables of the law and instruction on past and future history which he is to inscribe in a book, 1-4. Apostasy of Israel,5-9. Captivity of Israel and Judah, 10-13. Return of Judah and rebuilding of the temple, 15-18. Moses' prayer for Israel, 19-21. God's promise to redeem and dwell with them, 22-5, 28. Moses bidden to write down the future history of the world (the Book of Jubilees?), 26. And an angel to write down the law, 27. This angel takes the heavenly chronological tablets to dictate therefrom to Moses, 29.
 

1 And it came to pass in the first year of the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt, in the third month, on the sixteenth day of the month, [2450 Anno Mundi] that God spake to Moses, saying: 'Come up to Me on the Mount, and I will give thee two tables of stone of the law and of the commandment, which
2 I have written, that thou mayst teach them.' And Moses went up into the mount of God, and the
3 glory of the Lord abode on Mount Sinai, and a cloud overshadowed it six days. And He called to Moses on the seventh day out of the midst of the cloud, and the appearance of the glory of the
4 Lord was like a flaming fire on the top of the mount. And Moses was on the Mount forty days and forty nights, and God taught him the earlier and the later history of the division of all the days
5 of the law and of the testimony. And He said: 'Incline thine heart to every word which I shall speak to thee on this mount, and write them in a book in order that their generations may see how I have not forsaken them for all the evil which they have wrought in transgressing the covenant
6 which I establish between Me and thee for their generations this day on Mount Sinai. And thus it will come to pass when all these things come upon them, that they will recognise that I am more righteous than they in all their judgments and in all their actions, and they will recognise that
7 I have been truly with them. And do thou write for thyself all these words which I declare unto, thee this day, for I know their rebellion and their stiff neck, before I bring them into the land of which I sware to their fathers, to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, saying: ' Unto your seed
8 will I give a land flowing with milk and honey. And they will eat and be satisfied, and they will turn to strange gods, to (gods) which cannot deliver them from aught of their tribulation: and this witness shall be heard for a witness against them. For they will forget all My commandments, (even) all that I command them, and they will walk after the Gentiles, and after their uncleanness, and after their shame, and will serve their gods, and these will
10 prove unto them an offence and a tribulation and an affliction and a snare. And many will perish and they will be taken captive, and will fall into the hands of the enemy, because they have forsaken My ordinances and My commandments, and the festivals of My covenant, and My sabbaths, and My holy place which I have hallowed for Myself in their midst, and My tabernacle, and My sanctuary, which I have hallowed for Myself in the midst of the land, that I should set my name
11 upon it, and that it should dwell (there). And they will make to themselves high places and groves and graven images, and they will worship, each his own (graven image), so as to go astray, and they
12 will sacrifice their children to demons, and to all the works of the error of their hearts. And I will send witnesses unto them, that I may witness against them, but they will not hear, and will slay the witnesses also, and they will persecute those who seek the law, and they will abrogate and change
13 everything so as to work evil before My eyes. And I will hide My face from them, and I will deliver them into the hand of the Gentiles for captivity, and for a prey, and for devouring, and I will remove them from the midst of the land, and I will scatter them amongst the Gentiles.
14 And they will forget all My law and all My commandments and all My judgments, and will go
15 astray as to new moons, and sabbaths, and festivals, and jubilees, and ordinances. And after this they will turn to Me from amongst the Gentiles with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their strength, and I will gather them from amongst all the Gentiles, and they will seek me, so
16 that I shall be found of them, when they seek me with all their heart and with all their soul. And I will disclose to them abounding peace with righteousness, and I will remove them the plant of uprightness, with all My heart and with all My soul, and they shall be for a blessing and not for
17 a curse, and they shall be the head and not the tail. And I will build My sanctuary in their midst, and I will dwell with them, and I will be their God and they shall be My people in truth and
18, 19 righteousness. And I will not forsake them nor fail them; for I am the Lord their God.' And Moses fell on his face and prayed and said, 'O Lord my God, do not forsake Thy people and Thy inheritance, so that they should wander in the error of their hearts, and do not deliver them into the hands of their enemies, the Gentiles, lest they should rule over them and cause them to sin against
20 Thee. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be lifted up upon Thy people, and create in them an upright spirit, and let not the spirit of Beliar rule over them to accuse them before Thee, and to ensnare them
21 from all the paths of righteousness, so that they may perish from before Thy face. But they are Thy people and Thy inheritance, which thou hast delivered with thy great power from the hands of the Egyptians: create in them a clean heart and a holy spirit, and let them not be ensnared in
22 their sins from henceforth until eternity.' And the Lord said unto Moses: 'I know their contrariness and their thoughts and their stiffneckedness, and they will not be obedient till they confess
23 their own sin and the sin of their fathers. And after this they will turn to Me in all uprightness and with all (their) heart and with all (their) soul, and I will circumcise the foreskin of their heart and the foreskin of the heart of their seed, and I will create in them a holy spirit, and I will cleanse them so that they shall not turn away from Me from that day unto eternity.
24 And their souls will cleave to Me and to all My commandments, and they will fulfil My
25 commandments, and I will be their Father and they shall be My children. And they all shall be called children of the living God, and every angel and every spirit shall know, yea, they shall know that these are My children, and that I am their Father in uprightness and righteousness, and that
26 I love them. And do thou write down for thyself all these words which I declare unto thee on this mountain, the first and the last, which shall come to pass in all the divisions of the days in the law and in the testimony and in the weeks and the jubilees unto eternity, until I descend and dwell
27 with them throughout eternity.' And He said to the angel of the presence: Write for Moses from
28 the beginning of creation till My sanctuary has been built among them for all eternity. And the Lord will appear to the eyes of all, and all shall know that I am the God of Israel and the Father of all the children of Jacob, and King on Mount Zion for all eternity. And Zion and Jerusalem shall
29 be holy.' And the angel of the presence who went before the camp of Israel took the tables of the divisions of the years -from the time of the creation- of the law and of the testimony of the weeks of the jubilees, according to the individual years, according to all the number of the jubilees [according, to the individual years], from the day of the [new] creation when the heavens and the earth shall be renewed and all their creation according to the powers of the heaven, and according to all the creation of the earth, until the sanctuary of the Lord shall be made in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, and all the luminaries be renewed for healing and for peace and for blessing for all the elect of Israel, and that thus it may be from that day and unto all the days of the earth.

[Chapter 2]

The history of the twenty-two distinct acts of creation on the six days, 1-16. Institution of the Sabbath: its observance by the highest angels, with whom Israel is afterwards to be associated, 17-32. (cf. Gen. i-ii. 3.)

1 And the angel of the presence spake to Moses according to the word of the Lord, saying: Write the complete history of the creation, how in six days the Lord God finished all His works and all that He created, and kept Sabbath on the seventh day and hallowed it for all ages, and
2 appointed it as a sign for all His works. For on the first day He created the heavens which are above and the earth and the waters and all the spirits which serve before him -the angels of the presence, and the angels of sanctification, and the angels [of the spirit of fire and the angels] of the spirit of the winds, and the angels of the spirit of the clouds, and of darkness, and of snow and of hail and of hoar frost, and the angels of the voices and of the thunder and of the lightning, and the angels of the spirits of cold and of heat, and of winter and of spring and of autumn and of summer and of all the spirits of his creatures which are in the heavens and on the earth, (He created) the abysses and the darkness, eventide (and night), and the light, dawn and day, which He hath
3 prepared in the knowledge of his heart. And thereupon we saw His works, and praised Him, and lauded before Him on account of all His works; for seven great works did He create on the first day.
4 And on the second day He created the firmament in the midst of the waters, and the waters were divided on that day -half of them went up above and half of them went down below the firmament (that was) in the midst over the face of the whole earth. And this was the only work (God) created
5 on the second day. And on the third day He commanded the waters to pass from off the face of
6 the whole earth into one place, and the dry land to appear. And the waters did so as He commanded them, and they retired from off the face of the earth into one place outside of this firmament,
7 and the dry land appeared. And on that day He created for them all the seas according to their separate gathering-places, and all the rivers, and the gatherings of the waters in the mountains and on all the earth, and all the lakes, and all the dew of the earth, and the seed which is sown, and all sprouting things, and fruit-bearing trees, and trees of the wood, and the garden of Eden, in Eden
8 and all . These four great works God created on the third day. And on the fourth day He created the sun and the moon and the stars, and set them in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon all the earth, and to rule over the day and the night, and divide the
9 light from the darkness. And God appointed the sun to be a great sign on the earth for days and
10 for sabbaths and for months and for feasts and for years and for sabbaths of years and for jubilees and for all seasons of the years. And it divideth the light from the darkness [and] for prosperity, that all things may prosper which shoot and grow on the earth. These three kinds He made on the fourth day. And on the fifth day He created great sea monsters in the depths of the waters, for these were the first things of flesh that were created by his hands, the fish and everything that moves in the
12 waters, and everything that flies, the birds and all their kind. And the sun rose above them to prosper (them), and above everything that was on the earth, everything that shoots out of the earth, and all
13 fruit-bearing trees, and all flesh. These three kinds He created on the fifth day. And on the sixth day
14 He created all the animals of the earth, and all cattle, and everything that moves on the earth. And after all this He created man, a man and a woman created He them, and gave him dominion over all that is upon the earth, and in the seas, and over everything that flies, and over beasts and over cattle, and over everything that moves on the earth, and over the whole earth, and over all this He gave
15 him dominion. And these four kinds He created on the sixth day. And there were altogether
16 two and twenty kinds. And He finished all his work on the sixth day -all that is in the heavens and on the earth, and in the seas and in the abysses, and in the light and in the darkness, and in
17 everything. And He gave us a great sign, the Sabbath day, that we should work six days, but
18 keep Sabbath on the seventh day from all work. And all the angels of the presence, and all the angels of sanctification, these two great classes -He hath bidden us to keep the Sabbath with Him
19 in heaven and on earth. And He said unto us: 'Behold, I will separate unto Myself a people from among all the peoples, and these shall keep the Sabbath day, and I will sanctify them unto Myself as My people, and will bless them; as I have sanctified the Sabbath day and do sanctify (it) unto
20 Myself, even so will I bless them, and they shall be My people and I will be their God. And I have chosen the seed of Jacob from amongst all that I have seen, and have written him down as My first-born son,and have sanctified him unto Myself for ever and ever; and I will teach them the
21 Sabbath day, that they may keep Sabbath thereon from all work.' And thus He created therein a sign in accordance with which they should keep Sabbath with us on the seventh day, to eat and to drink, and to bless Him who has created all things as He has blessed and sanctified unto Himself
22 a peculiar people above all peoples, and that they should keep Sabbath together with us. And He caused His commands to ascend as a sweet savour acceptable before Him all the days . . .
23 There (were) two and twenty heads of mankind from Adam to Jacob, and two and twenty kinds of work were made until the seventh day; this is blessed and holy; and the former also is blessed and
24 holy; and this one serves with that one for sanctification and blessing. And to this (Jacob and his seed) it was granted that they should always be the blessed and holy ones of the first testimony
25 and law, even as He had sanctified and blessed the Sabbath day on the seventh day. He created heaven and earth and everything that He created in six days, and God made the seventh day holy, for all His works; therefore He commanded on its behalf that, whoever does any work thereon
26 shall die, and that he who defiles it shall surely die. Wherefore do thou command the children of Israel to observe this day that they may keep it holy and not do thereon any work, and not to
27 defile it, as it is holier than all other days. And whoever profanes it shall surely die, and whoever does thereon any work shall surely die eternally, that the children of Israel may observe this day throughout their generations, and not be rooted out of the land; for it is a holy day and a blessed
28 day. And every one who observes it and keeps Sabbath thereon from all his work, will be holy and
29 blessed throughout all days like unto us. Declare and say to the children of Israel the law of this day both that they should keep Sabbath thereon, and that they should not forsake it in the error of their hearts; (and) that it is not lawful to do any work thereon which is unseemly, to do thereon their own pleasure, and that they should not prepare thereon anything to be eaten or drunk, and (that it is not lawful) to draw water, or bring in or take out thereon through their gates any burden,
30 which they had not prepared for themselves on the sixth day in their dwellings. And they shall not bring in nor take out from house to house on that day; for that day is more holy and blessed than any jubilee day of the jubilees; on this we kept Sabbath in the heavens before it was made
31 known to any flesh to keep Sabbath thereon on the earth. And the Creator of all things blessed it, but he did not sanctify all peoples and nations to keep Sabbath thereon, but Israel alone: them
32 alone he permitted to eat and drink and to keep Sabbath thereon on the earth. And the Creator of all things blessed this day which He had created for blessing and holiness and glory above all
33 days. This law and testimony was given to the children of Israel as a law for ever unto their generations.

[Chapter 3]

Adam names all creatures, 1-3. Creaton of Eve and enactment of Levitical laws of purification, 4-14. Adam and Eve in Paradise: their sin and expulsion, 15-29. Law of covering one's shame enacted, 30-2. Adam and Eve live in Êldâ, 32-5. (Cf.Gen. ii.18-25, iii.)

1 And on the six days of the second week we brought, according to the word of God, unto Adam all the beasts, and all the cattle, and all the birds, and everything that moves on the earth, and everything that moves in the water, according to their kinds, and according to their types: the beasts on the first day; the cattle on the second day; the birds on the third day; and all that which moves on the earth on the fourth day; and that which moves in the water on the fifth day.
2 And Adam named them all by their respective names, and as he called them, so was their name.
3 And on these five days Adam saw all these, male and female, according to every kind that was on
4 the earth, but he was alone and found no helpmeet for him. And the Lord said unto us: 'It is not
5 good that the man should be alone: let us make a helpmeet for him.' And the Lord our God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, and he slept, and He took for the woman one rib from amongst
6 his ribs, and this rib was the origin of the woman from amongst his ribs, and He built up the flesh in its stead, and built the woman. And He awaked Adam out of his sleep and on awaking he rose on the sixth day, and He brought her to him, and he knew her, and said unto her: 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called
7 [my] wife; because she was taken from her husband.' Therefore shall man and wife be one and therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife, and they shall be
8 one flesh. In the first week was Adam created, and the rib -his wife: in the second week He showed her unto him: and for this reason the commandment was given to keep in their defilement,
9 for a male seven days, and for a female twice seven days. And after Adam had completed forty days in the land where he had been created, we brought him into the garden of Eden to till and keep it, but his wife they brought in on the eightieth day, and after this she entered into the garden
10 of Eden. And for this reason the commandment is written on the heavenly tablets in regard to her that gives birth: 'if she bears a male, she shall remain in her uncleanness seven days according to the first week of days, and thirty and three days shall she remain in the blood of her purifying, and she shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor enter into the sanctuary, until she accomplishes these
11 days which (are enjoined) in the case of a male child. But in the case of a female child she shall remain in her uncleanness two weeks of days, according to the first two weeks, and sixty-six days
12 in the blood of her purification, and they will be in all eighty days.' And when she had completed these eighty days we brought her into the garden of Eden, for it is holier than all the earth besides and
13 every tree that is planted in it is holy. Therefore, there was ordained regarding her who bears a male or a female child the statute of those days that she should touch no hallowed thing, nor
14 enter into the sanctuary until these days for the male or female child are accomplished. This is the law and testimony which was written down for Israel, in order that they should observe (it) all the
15 days. And in the first week of the first jubilee, [1-7 A.M.] Adam and his wife were in the garden of Eden for seven years tilling and keeping it, and we gave him work and we instructed him to do everything
16 that is suitable for tillage. And he tilled (the garden), and was naked and knew it not, and was not ashamed, and he protected the garden from the birds and beasts and cattle, and gathered its fruit, and eat, and put aside the residue for himself and for his wife [and put aside that which was
17 being kept]. And after the completion of the seven years, which he had completed there, seven years exactly, [8 A.M.] and in the second month, on the seventeenth day (of the month), the serpent came and approached the woman, and the serpent said to the woman, 'Hath God commanded you,
18 saying, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?' And she said to it, 'Of all the fruit of the trees of the garden God hath said unto us, Eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said unto us, Ye shall not eat thereof, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.' And the serpent said unto the woman, 'Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that on the day ye shall eat thereof, your eyes will be opened, and ye will be as gods, and ye will know good and
20 evil. And the woman saw the tree that it was agreeable and pleasant to the eye, and that its fruit
21 was good for food, and she took thereof and eat. And when she had first covered her shame with figleaves, she gave thereof to Adam and he eat, and his eyes were opened, and he saw that he was
22 naked. And he took figleaves and sewed (them) together, and made an apron for himself, and
23, 24 covered his shame. And God cursed the serpent, and was wroth with it for ever . . . And He was wroth with the woman, because she harkened to the voice of the serpent, and did eat; and He said unto her: 'I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy pains: in sorrow thou shalt bring forth
25 children, and thy return shall be unto thy husband, and he will rule over thee.' And to Adam also he said, ' Because thou hast harkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat thereof, cursed be the ground for thy sake: thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat thy bread in the sweat of thy face, till thou returnest to the earth from whence thou wast taken; for earth thou art, and unto earth shalt
26 thou return.' And He made for them coats of skin, and clothed them, and sent them forth from
27 the Garden of Eden. And on that day on which Adam went forth from the Garden, he offered as a sweet savour an offering, frankincense, galbanum, and stacte, and spices in the morning with the
28 rising of the sun from the day when he covered his shame. And on that day was closed the mouth of all beasts, and of cattle, and of birds, and of whatever walks, and of whatever moves, so that they could no longer speak: for they had all spoken one with another with one lip and with one tongue.
29 And He sent out of the Garden of Eden all flesh that was in the Garden of Eden, and all flesh was scattered according to its kinds, and according to its types unto the places which had been created
30 for them. And to Adam alone did He give (the wherewithal) to cover his shame, of all the beasts and
31 cattle. On this account, it is prescribed on the heavenly tablets as touching all those who know the judgment of the law, that they should cover their shame, and should not uncover themselves as the
32 Gentiles uncover themselves. And on the new moon of the fourth month, Adam and his wife went
33 forth from the Garden of Eden, and they dwelt in the land of Elda in the land of their creation. And
34 Adam called the name of his wife Eve. And they had no son till the first jubilee, [8 A.M.] and after this he
35 knew her. Now he tilled the land as he had been instructed in the Garden of Eden.

[Chapter 4]

Cain and Abel and other children of Adam, 1-12. Enos, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, 13-15. Enoch and his history, 16-25. Four sacred places, 26. Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, 27, 28. Death of Adam and Cain, 29-32. Shem,Ham, and Japhet,32. (Cf. Gen. iv-v.)

[Chapter 5]

The Angels of God marry the daughters of men, 1. Corruption of all creation, 2-3. Punishment of the fallen angels and their children, 4-9a. Final judgment announced, 9b-16. Day of Atonement, 17-18. The deluge foretold, Noah builds the ark, the deluge, 19-32. (Cf. Gen.vi-viii.19.)

1 And it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the angels of God saw them on a certain year of this jubilee, that they were beautiful to look upon; and they took themselves wives of all whom they
2 chose, and they bare unto them sons and they were giants. And lawlessness increased on the earth and all flesh corrupted its way, alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walks on the earth -all of them corrupted their ways and their orders, and they began to devour each other, and lawlessness increased on the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of all men
3 (was) thus evil continually. And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt, and all flesh had corrupted its orders, and all that were upon the earth had wrought all manner of evil
4 before His eyes. And He said that He would destroy man and all flesh upon the face of the earth
5,6 which He had created. But Noah found grace before the eyes of the Lord. And against the angels whom He had sent upon the earth, He was exceedingly wroth, and He gave commandment to root them out of all their dominion, and He bade us to bind them in the depths of the earth, and
7 behold they are bound in the midst of them, and are (kept) separate. And against their sons went forth a command from before His face that they should be smitten with the sword, and be removed
8 from under heaven. And He said 'My spirit shall not always abide on man; for they also are flesh
9 and their days shall be one hundred and twenty years'. And He sent His sword into their midst that each should slay his neighbour, and they began to slay each other till they all fell by the sword
10 and were destroyed from the earth. And their fathers were witnesses (of their destruction), and after this they were bound in the depths of the earth for ever, until the day of the great condemnation, when judgment is executed on all those who have corrupted their ways and their works before
11 the Lord. And He destroyed all from their places, and there was not left one of them whom
12 He judged not according to all their wickedness. And he made for all his works a new and righteous nature, so that they should not sin in their whole nature for ever, but should be all
13 righteous each in his kind alway. And the judgment of all is ordained and written on the heavenly tablets in righteousness -even (the judgment of) all who depart from the path which is ordained for them to walk in; and if they walk not therein, judgment is written down for every creature and
14 for every kind. And there is nothing in heaven or on earth, or in light or in darkness, or in Sheol or in the depth, or in the place of darkness (which is not judged); and all their judgments are
15 ordained and written and engraved. In regard to all He will judge,the great according to his
16 greatness, and the small according to his smallness, and each according to his way. And He is not one who will regard the person (of any), nor is He one who will receive gifts, if He says that He will execute judgment on each: if one gave everything that is on the earth, He will not regard the
17 gifts or the person (of any), nor accept anything at his hands, for He is a righteous judge. [And of the children of Israel it has been written and ordained: If they turn to him in righteousness He will forgive all their transgressions and pardon all their sins. It is written and ordained that
19 He will show mercy to all who turn from all their guilt once each year.] And as for all those who corrupted their ways and their thoughts before the flood, no man's person was accepted save that of Noah alone; for his person was accepted in behalf of his sons, whom (God) saved from the waters of the flood on his account; for his heart was righteous in all his ways, according as it was com-
20 manded regarding him, and he had not departed from aught that was ordained for him. And the Lord said that he would destroy everything which was upon the earth, both men and cattle, and
21 beasts, and fowls of the air, and that which moveth on the earth. And He commanded Noah to
22 make him an ark, that he might save himself from the waters of the flood. And Noah made the ark in all respects as He commanded him, in the twenty-seventh jubilee of years, in the fifth week
23 in the fifth year (on the new moon of the first month). [1307 A.M.] And he entered in the sixth (year) thereof, [1308 A.M.] in the second month, on the new moon of the second month, till the sixteenth; and he entered, and all that we brought to him, into the ark, and the Lord closed it from without on the seventeenth evening.
24 And the Lord opened seven flood-gates of heaven,
And the mouths of the fountains of the great deep, seven mouths in number.
25 And the flood-gates began to pour down water from the heaven forty days and forty nights,
And the fountains of the deep also sent up waters, until the whole world was full of water.
26 And the waters increased upon the earth: Fifteen cubits did the waters rise above all the high mountains, And the ark was lift up above the earth,
And it moved upon the face of the waters.
27 And the water prevailed on the face of the earth five months -one hundred and fifty days.
28, 29 And the ark went and rested on the top of Lubar, one of the mountains of Ararat. And (on the new moon) in the fourth month the fountains of the great deep were closed and the flood-gates of heaven were restrained; and on the new moon of the seventh month all the mouths of the abysses
30 of the earth were opened, and the water began to descend into the deep below. And on the new moon of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen, and on the new moon of the first 31 month the earth became visible. And the waters disappeared from above the earth in the fifth week in the seventh year [1309 A.M.] thereof, and on the seventeenth day in the second month the earth was dry.
32 And on the twenty-seventh thereof he opened the ark, and sent forth from it beasts, and cattle, and birds, and every moving thing.

[Chapter 6]

Sacrifice of Noah, 1-3 (cf. Gen. vii.20-2). God's convenant with Noah, eating of blood forbidden, 4-10 (cf. Gen. ix. 1-17). Moses bidden to renew this law against the eating of blood, 11-14. Bow set in the clouds for a sign, 15-16. Feast of weeks instituted, history of its observances, 17-22. Feast of the new moons, 23-8. Division of the year into 364 days, 29-38.

1 And on the new moon of the third month he went forth from the ark, and built an altar on
2 that mountain. And he made atonement for the earth, and took a kid and made atonement by its blood for all the guilt of the earth; for everything that had been on it had been destroyed, save
3 those that were in the ark with Noah. And he placed the fat thereof on the altar, and he took an ox, and a goat, and a sheep and kids, and salt, and a turtle-dove, and the young of a dove, and placed a burnt sacrifice on the altar, and poured thereon an offering mingled with oil, and sprinkled wine and strewed frankincense over everything, and caused a goodly savour to arise, acceptable before
4 the Lord. And the Lord smelt the goodly savour, and He made a covenant with him that there should not be any more a flood to destroy the earth; that all the days of the earth seed-time and harvest should never cease; cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night should not
5 change their order, nor cease for ever. 'And you, increase ye and multiply upon the earth, and become many upon it, and be a blessing upon it. The fear of you and the dread of you I will
6 inspire in everything that is on earth and in the sea. And behold I have given unto you all beasts, and all winged things, and everything that moves on the earth, and the fish in the waters, and all
7 things for food; as the green herbs, I have given you all things to eat. But flesh, with the life thereof, with the blood, ye shall not eat; for the life of all flesh is in the blood, lest your blood of your lives be required. At the hand of every man, at the hand of every (beast) will I require the
8 blood of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of
9,10 God made He man. And you, increase ye, and multiply on the earth.' And Noah and his sons swore that they would not eat any blood that was in any flesh, and he made a covenant before the
11 Lord God for ever throughout all the generations of the earth in this month. On this account He spake to thee that thou shouldst make a covenant with the children of Israel in this month upon the mountain with an oath, and that thou shouldst sprinkle blood upon them because of all the words
12 of the covenant, which the Lord made with them for ever. And this testimony is written concerning you that you should observe it continually, so that you should not eat on any day any blood of beasts or birds or cattle during all the days of the earth, and the man who eats the blood of beast or of cattle or of birds during all the days of the earth, he and his seed shall be rooted out of the land.
13 And do thou command the children of Israel to eat no blood, so that their names and their seed
14 may be before the Lord our God continually. And for this law there is no limit of days, for it is for ever. They shall observe it throughout their generations, so that they may continue supplicating on your behalf with blood before the altar; every day and at the time of morning and evening they shall seek forgiveness on your behalf perpetually before the Lord that they may keep
15 it and not be rooted out. And He gave to Noah and his sons a sign that there should not again
16 be a flood on the earth. He set His bow in the cloud for a sign of the eternal covenant that there
17 should not again be a flood on the earth to destroy it all the days of the earth. For this reason it is ordained and written on the heavenly tablets, that they should celebrate the feast of weeks in this
18 month once a year, to renew the covenant every year. And this whole festival was celebrated in heaven from the day of creation till the days of Noah -twenty-six jubilees and five weeks of years [1309-1659 A.M.]: and Noah and his sons observed it for seven jubilees and one week of years, till the day of Noah's death, and from the day of Noah's death his sons did away with (it) until the days of Abraham, and
19 they eat blood. But Abraham observed it, and Isaac and Jacob and his children observed it up to thy days, and in thy days the children of Israel forgot it until ye celebrated it anew on this mountain.
20 And do thou command the children of Israel to observe this festival in all their generations for a
21 commandment unto them: one day in the year in this month they shall celebrate the festival. For it is the feast of weeks and the feast of first fruits: this feast is twofold and of a double nature:
22 according to what is written and engraven concerning it, celebrate it. For I have written in the book of the first law, in that which I have written for thee, that thou shouldst celebrate it in its season, one day in the year, and I explained to thee its sacrifices that the children of Israel should remember and should celebrate it throughout their generations in this month, one day in every year.
23 And on the new moon of the first month, and on the new moon of the fourth month, and on the new moon of the seventh month, and on the new moon of the tenth month are the days of remembrance, and the days of the seasons in the four divisions of the year. These are written and ordained
24 as a testimony for ever. And Noah ordained them for himself as feasts for the generations for ever,
25 so that they have become thereby a memorial unto him. And on the new moon of the first month he was bidden to make for himself an ark, and on that (day) the earth became dry and he opened
26 (the ark) and saw the earth. And on the new moon of the fourth month the mouths of the depths of the abyss beneath were closed. And on the new moon of the seventh month all the mouths of
27 the abysses of the earth were opened, and the waters began to descend into them. And on the new
28 moon of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen, and Noah was glad. And on this account he ordained them for himself as feasts for a memorial for ever, and thus are they ordained.
29 And they placed them on the heavenly tablets, each had thirteen weeks; from one to another (passed) their memorial, from the first to the second, and from the second to the third, and from the
30 third to the fourth. And all the days of the commandment will be two and fifty weeks of days, and (these will make) the entire year complete. Thus it is engraven and ordained on the heavenly
31 tablets. And there is no neglecting (this commandment) for a single year or from year to year.
32 And command thou the children of Israel that they observe the years according to this reckoning- three hundred and sixty-four days, and (these) will constitute a complete year, and they will not disturb its time from its days and from its feasts; for everything will fall out in them according to
33 their testimony, and they will not leave out any day nor disturb any feasts. But if they do neglect and do not observe them according to His commandment, then they will disturb all their seasons and the years will be dislodged from this (order), [and they will disturb the seasons and the years
34 will be dislodged] and they will neglect their ordinances. And all the children of Israel will forget and will not find the path of the years, and will forget the new moons, and seasons, and sabbaths
35 and they will go wrong as to all the order of the years. For I know and from henceforth will I declare it unto thee, and it is not of my own devising; for the book (lies) written before me, and on the heavenly tablets the division of days is ordained, lest they forget the feasts of the covenant
36 and walk according to the feasts of the Gentiles after their error and after their ignorance. For there will be those who will assuredly make observations of the moon -how (it) disturbs the
37 seasons and comes in from year to year ten days too soon. For this reason the years will come upon them when they will disturb (the order), and make an abominable (day) the day of testimony, and an unclean day a feast day, and they will confound all the days, the holy with the unclean, and the unclean day with the holy; for they will go wrong as to the months and sabbaths and feasts and
38 jubilees. For this reason I command and testify to thee that thou mayst testify to them; for after thy death thy children will disturb (them), so that they will not make the year three hundred and sixty-four days only, and for this reason they will go wrong as to the new moons and seasons and sabbaths and festivals, and they will eat all kinds of blood with all kinds of flesh.

[Chapter 7]

Noah plants a vineyard and offers a sacrifice, 1-5. Becomes drunk and exposes his person, 6-9. The cursing of Canaan and blessing of Shem and Japeth, 10-12 (cf. Gen. ix.20-8). Noah's sons and grandsons and their cities, 13-19. Noah teaches his sons regarding the causes of the deluge and admonishes them to avoid the eating of blood and murder, to keep the law regarding fruit trees and let the land lie fallow every seventh year, as Enoch had directed, 20-39.

1 And in the seventh week in the first year [1317 A.M.] thereof, in this jubilee, Noah planted vines on the mountain on which the ark had rested, named Lubar, one of the Ararat Mountains, and they produced fruit in the fourth year, [1320 A.M.] and he guarded their fruit, and gathered it in this year in the
2 seventh month. And he made wine therefrom and put it into a vessel, and kept it until the fifth
3 year, [1321 A.M.] until the first day, on the new moon of the first month. And he celebrated with joy the day of this feast, and he made a burnt sacrifice unto the Lord, one young ox and one ram, and seven sheep, each a year old, and a kid of the goats, that he might make atonement thereby for himself
4 and his sons. And he prepared the kid first, and placed some of its blood on the flesh that was on the altar which he had made, and all the fat he laid on the altar where he made the burnt sacrifice,
5 and the ox and the ram and the sheep, and he laid all their flesh upon the altar. And he placed all their offerings mingled with oil upon it, and afterwards he sprinkled wine on the fire which he had previously made on the altar, and he placed incense on the altar and caused a sweet savour to
6 ascend acceptable before the Lord his God. And he rejoiced and drank of this wine, he and his
7 children with joy. And it was evening, and he went into his tent, and being drunken he lay down
8 and slept, and was uncovered in his tent as he slept. And Ham saw Noah his father naked, and
9 went forth and told his two brethren without. And Shem took his garment and arose, he and Japheth, and they placed the garment on their shoulders and went backward and covered the shame
10 of their father, and their faces were backward. And Noah awoke from his sleep and knew all that his younger son had done unto him, and he cursed his son and said: 'Cursed be Canaan; an
11 enslaved servant shall he be unto his brethren.' And he blessed Shem, and said: 'Blessed be the
12 Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and God shall
13 dwell in the dwelling of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant.' And Ham knew that his father had cursed his younger son, and he was displeased that he had cursed his son. and he parted from
14 his father, he and his sons with him, Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. And he built for
15 himself a city and called its name after the name of his wife Ne'elatama'uk. And Japheth saw it, and became envious of his brother, and he too built for himself a city, and he called its name after
16 the name of his wife 'Adataneses. And Shem dwelt with his father Noah, and he built a city close to his father on the mountain, and he too called its name after the name of his wife Sedeqetelebab.
17 And behold these three cities are near Mount Lubar; Sedeqetelebab fronting the mountain on its
18 east; and Na'eltama'uk on the south; 'Adatan'eses towards the west. And these are the sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad -this (son) was born two years after the flood- and
19 Lud, and Aram. The sons of Japheth: Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan, Tubal and
20 Meshech and Tiras: these are the sons of Noah. And in the twenty-eighth jubilee [1324-1372 A.M.] Noah began to enjoin upon his sons' sons the ordinances and commandments, and all the judgments that he knew, and he exhorted his sons to observe righteousness, and to cover the shame of their flesh, and to bless their Creator, and honour father and mother, and love their neighbour, and guard their souls
21 from fornication and uncleanness and all iniquity. For owing to these three things came the flood upon the earth, namely, owing to the fornication wherein the Watchers against the law of their ordinances went a whoring after the daughters of men, and took themselves wives of all which they
22 chose: and they made the beginning of uncleanness. And they begat sons the Naphidim, and they were all unlike, and they devoured one another: and the Giants slew the Naphil, and the
23 Naphil slew the Eljo, and the Eljo mankind, and one man another. And every one sold himself
24 to work iniquity and to shed much blood, and the earth was filled with iniquity. And after this they sinned against the beasts and birds, and all that moves and walks on the earth: and much blood was shed on the earth, and every imagination and desire of men imagined vanity and evil
25 continually. And the Lord destroyed everything from off the face of the earth; because of the wickedness of their deeds, and because of the blood which they had shed in the midst of the earth
26 He destroyed everything. 'And we were left, I and you, my sons, and everything that entered with us into the ark, and behold I see your works before me that ye do not walk in righteousness: for in the path of destruction ye have begun to walk, and ye are parting one from another, and are envious one of another, and (so it comes) that ye are not in harmony, my sons, each with his brother.
27 For I see, and behold the demons have begun (their) seductions against you and against your children and now I fear on your behalf, that after my death ye will shed the blood of men upon the earth,
28 and that ye, too, will be destroyed from the face of the earth. For whoso sheddeth man's blood, and whoso eateth the blood of any flesh, shall all be destroyed from the earth.
29 And there shall not be left any man that eateth blood,
or that sheddeth the blood of man on the earth,
Nor shall there be left to him any seed or descendants living under heaven;
For into Sheol shall they go, And into the place of condemnation shall they descend,
And into the darkness of the deep shall they all be removed by a violent death.
30 There shall be no blood seen upon you of all the blood there shall be all the days in which ye have killed any beasts or cattle or whatever flies upon the earth, and work ye a good work to your
31 souls by covering that which has been shed on the face of the earth. And ye shall not be like him who eats with blood, but guard yourselves that none may eat blood before you: cover the blood,
32 for thus have I been commanded to testify to you and your children, together with all flesh. And suffer not the soul to be eaten with the flesh, that your blood, which is your life, may not be required
33 at the hand of any flesh that sheds (it) on the earth. For the earth will not be clean from the blood which has been shed upon it; for (only) through the blood of him that shed it will the earth be
34 purified throughout all its generations. And now, my children, harken: work judgment and righteousness that ye maybe planted in righteousness over the face of the whole earth, and your
35 glory lifted up before my God, who saved me from the waters of the flood. And behold, ye will go and build for yourselves cities, and plant in them all the plants that are upon the earth, and moreover
36 all fruit-bearing trees. For three years the fruit of everything that is eaten will not be gathered: and in the fourth year its fruit will be accounted holy [and they will offer the first-fruits], acceptable before the Most High God, who created heaven and earth and all things. Let them offer in abundance the first of the wine and oil (as) first-fruits on the altar of the Lord, who receives it, and
37 what is left let the servants of the house of the Lord eat before the altar which receives (it). And in the fifth year

make ye the release so that ye release it in righteousness and uprightness, and ye shall bc righteous,
38 and all that you plant shall prosper. For thus did Enoch, the father of your father command Methuselah, his son, and Methuselah his son Lamech, and Lamech commanded me all the things
39 which his fathers commanded him. And I also will give you commandment, my sons, as Enoch commanded his son in the first jubilees: whilst still living, the seventh in his generation, he commanded and testified to his son and to his son's sons until the day of his death.'

[Chapter 8]

Kâinâm discovers an inscription relating to the sun and stars, 1-4. His sons, 5-8. Noah's sons and Noah divide the earth, 10-11. Shem's inheritance, 12-21: Ham's, 22-4: Japheth's, 25-30. (Cf. Gen. x.)

1 In the twenty-ninth jubilee, in the first week, [1373 A.M.] in the beginning thereof Arpachshad took to himself a wife and her name was Rasu'eja, the daughter of Susan, the daughter of Elam, and she bare him a son in the third year in this week, [1375 A.M.] and he called his name Kainam. And the son grew, and his father taught him writing,

2 and he went to seek for himself a place where he might seize for himself a city.

3 And he found a writing which former (generations) had carved on the rock, and he read what was thereon, and he transcribed it and sinned owing to it; for it contained the teaching of the Watchers in accordance with which they used to observe the omens of the sun and moon and stars in all the signs of heaven.

4 And he wrote it down and said nothing regarding it; for he was afraid to speak to Noah about it lest he should be angry with him on account of it.

[Chapter 9]

Subdivision of the three portions amongst the grandchildren of Noah. Amongst Ham's children, 1: Shem's, 2-6: Japheth's, 7-13. Oath taken by Noah's sons, 14-15.

14 And thus the sons of Noah divided unto their sons in the presence of Noah their father, and he bound them all by an oath, imprecating
15 a curse on every one that sought to seize the portion which had not fallen (to him) by his lot. And they all said, 'So be it; so be it ' for themselves and their sons for ever throughout their generations till the day of judgment, on which the Lord God shall judge them with a sword and with fire for all the unclean wickedness of their errors, wherewith they have filled the earth with transgression and uncleanness and fornication and sin.

[Chapter 10]

Evil spirits leads astray the sons of Noah, 1-2. Noah's prayer, 3-6. Mastêmâ allowed to retain one-tenth of his subject spirits, 7-11. Noah taught the use of herbs by the angels for resisting the demons, 12-14. Noah dies, 15-17. Building of Babel and the confusion of tongues, 18-27. Canaan seizes on Palestine, 29-34. Madai receives Media, 33-6.

1 And in the third week of this jubilee the unclean demons began to lead astray the children of
2 the sons of Noah, and to make to err and destroy them. And the sons of Noah came to Noah their father, and they told him concerning the demons which were leading astray and blinding and
3 slaying his sons' sons. And he prayed before the Lord his God, and said:
'God of the spirits of all flesh, who hast shown mercy unto me
And hast saved me and my sons from the waters of the flood,
And hast not caused me to perish as Thou didst the sons of perdition;

For Thy grace has been great towards me,
And great has been Thy mercy to my soul;

Let Thy grace be lift up upon my sons,
And let not wicked spirits rule over them
Lest they should destroy them from the earth.

4 But do Thou bless me and my sons, that we may increase and Multiply and replenish the earth.
5 And Thou knowest how Thy Watchers, the fathers of these spirits, acted in my day: and as for these spirits which are living, imprison them and hold them fast in the place of condemnation, and let them not bring destruction on the sons of thy servant, my God; for these are malignant, and
6 created in order to destroy. And let them not rule over the spirits of the living; for Thou alone canst exercise dominion over them. And let them not have power over the sons of the righteous
7,8 from henceforth and for evermore.' And the Lord our God bade us to bind all. And the chief of the spirits, Mastema, came and said: 'Lord, Creator, let some of them remain before me, and let them harken to my voice, and do all that I shall say unto them; for if some of them are not left to me, I shall not be able to execute the power of my will on the sons of men; for these are for corruption and leading astray before my judgment, for great is the wickedness of the sons of men.'
9 And He said: Let the tenth part of them remain before him, and let nine parts descend into the
10 place of condemnation.' And one of us He commanded that we should teach Noah all their
11 medicines; for He knew that they would not walk in uprightness, nor strive in righteousness. And we did according to all His words: all the malignant evil ones we bound in the place of condemna-
12 tion and a tenth part of them we left that they might be subject before Satan on the earth. And we explained to Noah all the medicines of their diseases, together with their seductions, how he
13 might heal them with herbs of the earth. And Noah wrote down all things in a book as we instructed him concerning every kind of medicine. Thus the evil spirits were precluded from
14 (hurting) the sons of Noah. And he gave all that he had written to Shem, his eldest son; for he
15 loved him exceedingly above all his sons. And Noah slept with his fathers, and was buried on
16 Mount Lubar in the land of Ararat. Nine hundred and fifty years he completed in his life, nineteen
17 jubilees and two weeks and five years. [1659 A.M.] And in his life on earth he excelled the children of men save Enoch because of the righteousness, wherein he was perfect. For Enoch's office was ordained for a testimony to the generations of the world, so that he should recount all the deeds of generation
18 unto generation, till the day of judgment. And in the three and thirtieth jubilee, in the first year in the second week, Peleg took to himself a wife, whose name was Lomna the daughter of Sina'ar, and she bare him a son in the fourth year of this week, and he called his name Reu; for he said: 'Behold the children of men have become evil through the wicked purpose of building for themselves
19 a city and a tower in the land of Shinar.' For they departed from the land of Ararat eastward to Shinar; for in his days they built the city and the tower, saying, 'Go to, let us ascend thereby into
20 heaven.' And they began to build, and in the fourth week they made brick with fire, and the bricks served them for stone, and the clay with which they cemented them together was asphalt which
21 comes out of the sea, and out of the fountains of water in the land of Shinar. And they built it: forty and three years [1645-1688 A.M.] were they building it; its breadth was 203 bricks, and the height (of a brick) was the third of one; its height amounted to 5433 cubits and 2 palms, and (the extent of one wall
22 was) thirteen stades (and of the other thirty stades). And the Lord our God said unto us: Behold, they are one people, and (this) they begin to do, and now nothing will be withholden from them. Go to, let us go down and confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech, and they may be dispersed into cities and nations, and one purpose will no longer abide with
23 them till the day of judgment.' And the Lord descended, and we descended with him to see the
24 city and the tower which the children of men had built. And he confounded their language, and they no longer understood one another's speech, and they ceased then to build the city and the
25 tower. For this reason the whole land of Shinar is called Babel, because the Lord did there confound all the language of the children of men, and from thence they were dispersed into their
26 cities, each according to his language and his nation. And the Lord sent a mighty wind against the tower and overthrew it upon the earth, and behold it was between Asshur and Babylon in the
27 land of Shinar, and they called its name 'Overthrow'. In the fourth week in the first year [1688 A.M.] in the beginning thereof in the four and thirtieth jubilee, were they dispersed from the land of Shinar.
28 And Ham and his sons went into the land which he was to occupy, which he acquired as his portion
29 in the land of the south. And Canaan saw the land of Lebanon to the river of Egypt, that it was very good, and he went not into the land of his inheritance to the west (that is to) the sea, and he dwelt in the land of Lebanon, eastward and westward from the border of Jordan and from the border
30 of the sea. And Ham, his father, and Cush and Mizraim his brothers said unto him: 'Thou hast settled in a land which is not thine, and which did not fall to us by lot: do not do so; for if thou dost do so, thou and thy sons will fall in the land and (be) accursed through sedition; for by sedition
31 ye have settled, and by sedition will thy children fall, and thou shalt be rooted out for ever. Dwell
32 not in the dwelling of Shem; for to Shem and to his sons did it come by their lot. Cursed art thou, and cursed shalt thou be beyond all the sons of Noah, by the curse by which we bound our-
33 selves by an oath in the presence of the holy judge, and in the presence of Noah our father.' But he did not harken unto them, and dwelt in the land of Lebanon from Hamath to the entering of
34,35 Egypt, he and his sons until this day. And for this reason that land is named Canaan. And Japheth and his sons went towards the sea and dwelt in the land of their portion, and Madai saw the land of the sea and it did not please him, and he begged a (portion) from Ham and Asshur and Arpachshad, his wife's brother, and he dwelt in the land of Media, near to his wife's brother until
36 this day. And he called his dwelling-place, and the dwelling-place of his sons, Media, after the name of their father Madai.

[Chapter 11]

Reu and Serug, 1 (cf. Gen. xi.20, 21). Rise of war and bloodshed and eating of blood and idolatry, 2-7. Nachor and Terah, 8-14 (cf. Gen. xi.22-30). Abram's knowledge of God and wonderful deeds, 15-24.

14 And in this thirty-ninth jubilee, in the second week in the first year, [1870 A.M.] Terah took to himself a wife, and her name was 'Edna, the daughter of 'Abram, the daughter of his father's sister. And in the seventh year of this week [1876 A.M.] she bare him a son, and he called his name Abram,
15 by the name of the father of his mother; for he had died before his daughter had conceived a son.
16 And the child began to understand the errors of the earth that all went astray after graven images and after uncleanness, and his father taught him writing, and he was two weeks of years old, [1890 A.M.] and he
17 separated himself from his father, that he might not worship idols with him. And he began to pray to the Creator of all things that He might save him from the errors of the children of men, and that
18 his portion should not fall into error after uncleanness and vileness. And the seed time came for the sowing of seed upon the land, and they all went forth together to protect their seed against the
19 ravens, and Abram went forth with those that went, and the child was a lad of fourteen years. And a cloud of ravens came to devour the seed, and Abram ran to meet them before they settled on the ground, and cried to them before they settled on the ground to devour the seed, and said, ' Descend
20 not: return to the place whence ye came,' and they proceeded to turn back. And he caused the clouds of ravens to turn back that day seventy times, and of all the ravens throughout all the land
21 where Abram was there settled there not so much as one. And all who were with him throughout all the land saw him cry out, and all the ravens turn back, and his name became great in all the
22 land of the Chaldees. And there came to him this year all those that wished to sow, and he went with them until the time of sowing ceased: and they sowed their land, and that year they brought
23 enough grain home and eat and were satisfied. And in the first year of the fifth week [1891 A.M.] Abram taught those who made implements for oxen, the artificers in wood, and they made a vessel above the ground, facing the frame of the plough, in order to put the seed thereon, and the seed fell down therefrom upon the share of the plough, and was hidden in the earth, and they no longer feared the
24 ravens. And after this manner they made (vessels) above the ground on all the frames of the ploughs, and they sowed and tilled all the land, according as Abram commanded them, and they no longer feared the birds.

[Chapter 12]

Abram seeks to turn Terah from idolatry, 1-8. Marries Sarai, 9. Haran and Nachor, 9-11. Abram burns the idols: death of Haran, 12-14 (cf. Gen. xi.28). Terah and his family go to Haran, 15. Abram observes the stars and prays, 16-21. Is bidden to go to Canaan and blessed, 22-4. Power of speaking Hebrew given to him, 25-7. Leaves Haran for Canaan, 28-31. (Cf. Gen. xi.31-xii.3.)

1 And it came to pass in the sixth week, in the seventh year thereof, [1904 A.M.] that Abram said to Terah his
2 father, saying, 'Father!' And he said, 'Behold, here am I, my son.' And he said,

'What help and profit have we from those idols which thou dost worship,
And before which thou dost bow thyself?

3 For there is no spirit in them,
For they are dumb forms, and a misleading of the heart.
Worship them not:

4 Worship the God of heaven,
Who causes the rain and the dew to descend on the earth
And does everything upon the earth,

And has created everything by His word,
And all life is from before His face.

5 Why do ye worship things that have no spirit in them?
For they are the work of (men's) hands,

And on your shoulders do ye bear them,
And ye have no help from them,

But they are a great cause of shame to those who make them,
And a misleading of the heart to those who worship them:
Worship them not.'

6 And his father said unto him, I also know it, my son, but what shall I do with a people who have
7 made me to serve before them? And if I tell them the truth, they will slay me; for their soul cleaves to them to worship them and honour them. Keep silent, my son, lest they slay thee.' And
9 these words he spake to his two brothers, and they were angry with him and he kept silent. And in the fortieth jubilee, in the second week, in the seventh year thereof, [1925 A.M.] Abram took to himself a wife,
10 and her name was Sarai, the daughter of his father, and she became his wife. And Haran, his brother, took to himself a wife in the third year of the third week, [1928 A.M.] and she bare him a son in the
11 seventh year of this week, [1932 A.M.] and he called his name Lot. And Nahor, his brother, took to himself
12 a wife. And in the sixtieth year of the life of Abram, that is, in the fourth week, in the fourth year thereof, [1936 A.M.] Abram arose by night, and burned the house of the idols, and he burned all that was in the
13 house and no man knew it. And they arose in the night and sought to save their gods from the
14 midst of the fire. And Haran hasted to save them, but the fire flamed over him, and he was burnt in the fire, and he died in Ur of the Chaldees before Terah his father, and they buried him in Ur of
15 the Chaldees. And Terah went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, he and his sons, to go into the land of Lebanon and into the land of Canaan, and he dwelt in the land of Haran, and Abram dwelt with
16 Terah his father in Haran two weeks of years. And in the sixth week, in the fifth year thereof, [1951 A.M.] Abram sat up throughout the night on the new moon of the seventh month to observe the stars from the evening to the morning, in order to see what would be the character of the year with regard
17 to the rains, and he was alone as he sat and observed. And a word came into his heart and he said: All the signs of the stars, and the signs of the moon and of the sun are all in the hand of the Lord. Why do I search (them) out?

18 If He desires, He causes it to rain, morning and evening;
And if He desires, He withholds it,
And all things are in his hand.'

19 And he prayed that night and said,
'My God, God Most High, Thou alone art my God,
And Thee and Thy dominion have I chosen.
And Thou hast created all things,
And all things that are the work of thy hands.

20 Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have dominion over the thoughts of men's hearts,
And let them not lead me astray from Thee, my God.

And stablish Thou me and my seed for ever
That we go not astray from henceforth and for evermore.'

21 And he said, 'Shall I return unto Ur of the Chaldees who seek my face that I may return to them, am I to remain here in this place? The right path before Thee prosper it in the hands of Thy servant that he may fulfil (it) and that I may not walk in the deceitfulness of my heart, O my God.'
22 And he made an end of speaking and praying, and behold the word of the Lord was sent to him through me, saying: 'Get thee up from thy country, and from thy kindred and from the house of thy father unto a land which I will show thee, and I shall make thee a great and numerous nation.

23 And I will bless thee
And I will make thy name great,
And thou shalt be blessed in the earth,
And in Thee shall all families of the earth be blessed,
And I will bless them that bless thee,
And curse them that curse thee.

24 And I will be a God to thee and thy son, and to thy son's son, and to all thy seed: fear not, from
25 henceforth and unto all generations of the earth I am thy God.' And the Lord God said: 'Open his mouth and his ears, that he may hear and speak with his mouth, with the language which has been revealed'; for it had ceased from the mouths of all the children of men from the day of the
26 overthrow (of Babel). And I opened his mouth, and his ears and his lips, and I began to speak
27 with him in Hebrew in the tongue of the creation. And he took the books of his fathers, and these were written in Hebrew, and he transcribed them, and he began from henceforth to study them, and I made known to him that which he could not (understand), and he studied them during the six
28 rainy months. And it came to pass in the seventh year of the sixth week [1953 A.M.] that he spoke to his father and informed him, that he would leave Haran to go into the land of Canaan to see it and
29 return to him. And Terah his father said unto him; Go in peace:

May the eternal God make thy path straight.
And the Lord [(be) with thee, and] protect thee from all evil,
And grant unto thee grace, mercy and favour before those who see thee,
And may none of the children of men have power over thee to harm thee;
Go in peace.

30 And if thou seest a land pleasant to thy eyes to dwell in, then arise and take me to thee and take
31 Lot with thee, the son of Haran thy brother as thine own son: the Lord be with thee. And Nahor thy brother leave with me till thou returnest in peace, and we go with thee all together.'

[Chapter 13]

Abram journeys from Haran to Shechem in Canaan, thence to Hebron and thence to Egypt, 1-14a. Returns to Canaan where Lot separates from him, and receives the promise of Canaan and journeys to Hebron, 14b-21. Chedorlaomer's attack on Sodom and Gomorrah: Lot taken captive, 22-4. Law of tithes enacted, 25-9. (Cf. Gen. xii.4-10, 15-17, 19-20; xiii.11-18; xiv.8-14; 21-4.)

1 And Abram journeyed from Haran, and he took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother Haran's son, to the land of Canaan, and he came into Asshur, and proceeded to Shechem, and dwelt near
2 a lofty oak. And he saw, and, behold, the land was very pleasant from the entering of Hamath to
3 the lofty oak. And the Lord said to him: 'To thee and to thy seed will I give this land.' And
4 he built an altar there, and he offered thereon a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, who had appeared to
5 him. And he removed from thence unto the mountain . . . Bethel on the west and Ai on the
6 east, and pitched his tent there. And he saw and behold, the land was very wide and good, and everything grew thereon -vines and figs and pomegranates, oaks and ilexes, and terebinths and oil trees, and cedars and cypresses and date trees, and all trees of the field, and there was water on the
7 mountains. And he blessed the Lord who had led him out of Ur of the Chaldees, and had brought
8 him to this land. And it came to pass in the first year, in the seventh week, on the new moon of the first month, 1954 A.M.] that he built an altar on this mountain, and called on the name of the Lord: 'Thou,
9 the eternal God, art my God.' And he offered on the altar a burnt sacrifice unto the Lord that He
10 should be with him and not forsake him all the days of his life. And he removed from thence and went towards the south, and he came to Hebron and Hebron was built at that time, and he dwelt there two years, and he went (thence) into the land of the south, to Bealoth, and there was a famine
11 in the land. And Abram went into Egypt in the third year of the week, and he dwelt in Egypt
12 five years before his wife was torn away from him. Now Tanais in Egypt was at that time built-
13 seven years after Hebron. And it came to pass when Pharaoh seized Sarai, the wife of Abram that the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
14 And Abram was very glorious by reason of possessions in sheep, and cattle, and asses, and horses, and camels, and menservants, and maidservants, and in silver and gold exceedingly. And Lot also
15 his brother's son, was wealthy. And Pharaoh gave back Sarai, the wife of Abram, and he sent him out of the land of Egypt, and he journeyed to the place where he had pitched his tent at the beginning, to the place of the altar, with Ai on the east, and Bethel on the west, and he blessed the
16 Lord his God who had brought him back in peace. And it came to pass in the forty-first jubilee in the third year of the first week, [1963 A.M.] that he returned to this place and offered thereon a burnt sacrifice, and called on the name of the Lord, and said: 'Thou, the most high God, art my God for ever
17 and ever.' And in the fourth year of this week [1964 A.M.] Lot parted from him, and Lot dwelt in Sodom, and
18 the men of Sodom were sinners exceedingly. And it grieved him in his heart that his brother's
19 son had parted from him; for he had no children. In that year when Lot was taken captive, the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot had parted from him, in the fourth year of this week: 'Lift up thine eyes from the place where thou art dwelling, northward and southward, and westward and
20 eastward. For all the land which thou seest I will give to thee and to thy seed for ever, and I will make thy seed as the sand of the sea: though a man may number the dust of the earth, yet
21 thy seed shall not be numbered. Arise, walk (through the land) in the length of it and the breadth of it, and see it all; for to thy seed will I give it.' And Abram went to Hebron, and dwelt there.
22 And in this year came Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Sellasar, and Tergal, king of nations, and slew the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Sodom
23 fled, and many fell through wounds in the vale of Siddim, by the Salt Sea. And they took captive Sodom and Adam and Zeboim, and they took captive Lot also, the son of Abram's brother, and
24 all his possessions, and they went to Dan. And one who had escaped came and told Abram that
25 his brother's son had been taken captive and (Abram) armed his household servants . . .
. . . . for Abram, and for his seed, a tenth of the first fruits to the Lord, and the Lord ordained it as an ordinance for ever that they should give it to the priests
26 who served before Him, that they should possess it for ever. And to this law there is no limit of days; for He hath ordained it for the generations for ever that they should give to the Lord the tenth of everything, of the seed and of the wine and of the oil and of the cattle and of the sheep.
27,28 And He gave (it) unto His priests to eat and to drink with joy before Him. And the king of Sodom came to him and bowed himself before him, and said: 'Our Lord Abram, give unto us the
29 souls which thou hast rescued, but let the booty be thine.' And Abram said unto him: 'I lift up my hands to the Most High God, that from a thread to a shoe-latchet I shall not take aught that is thine lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich; save only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me -Aner, Eschol, and Mamre. These shall take their portion.'
 
 

[Chapter 14]

Abram receives the promise of a son and of innumerable descendants, 1-7. Offersa sacrifice and is told of his seed being in Egypt, 8-17. God's convenant with Abram, 18-20. Hagar bears Ishmael, 21-4. (Cf. Gen. xv.; xvi.1-4, 11.)

1 After these things, in the fourth year of this week, on the new moon of the third month, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a dream, saying: 'Fear not, Abram; I am thy defender, and
2 thy reward will be exceeding great.' And he said: 'Lord, Lord, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go hence childless, and the son of Maseq, the son of my handmaid, is the Dammasek Eliezer: he
3 will be my heir, and to me thou hast given no seed.' And he said unto him: 'This (man) will not
4 be thy heir, but one that will come out of thine own bowels; he will be thine heir.' And He brought him forth abroad, and said unto him: 'Look toward heaven and number the stars if thou
5 art able to number them.' And he looked toward heaven, and beheld the stars. And He said
6 unto him: 'So shall thy seed be.' And he believed in the Lord, and it was counted to him for
7 righteousness. And He said unto him: 'I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee the land of the Canaanites to possess it for ever; and I will be God unto thee and to
8 thy seed after thee.' And he said: 'Lord, Lord, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit (it)?'
9 And He said unto him: 'Take Me an heifer of three years, and a goat of three years, and a sheep
10 of three years, and a turtle-dove, and a pigeon.' And he took all these in the middle of the month
11 and he dwelt at the oak of Mamre, which is near Hebron. And he built there an altar, and sacrificed all these; and he poured their blood upon the altar, and divided them in the midst, and
12 laid them over against each other; but the birds divided he not. And birds came down upon the
13 pieces, and Abram drove them away, and did not suffer the birds to touch them. And it came to pass, when the sun had set, that an ecstasy fell upon Abram, and lo ! an horror of great darkness fell upon him, and it was said unto Abram: 'Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land (that is) not theirs, and they shall bring them into bondage, and afflict them four hundred
14 years. And the nation also to whom they will be in bondage will I judge, and after that they shall
15 come forth thence with much substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried
16 in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return hither; for the iniquity of the
17 Amorites is not yet full.' And he awoke from his sleep, and he arose, and the sun had set; and there was a flame, and behold ! a furnace was smoking, and a flame of fire passed between the
18 pieces. And on that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'To thy seed will I give this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates, the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Perizzites, and the Rephaim, the Phakorites, and the Hivites, and the
19 Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. And the day passed, and Abram offered the pieces, and the birds, and their fruit offerings, and their drink offerings, and
20 the fire devoured them. And on that day we made a covenant with Abram, according as we had covenanted with Noah in this month; and Abram renewed the festival and ordinance for himself
21 for ever. And Abram rejoiced, and made all these things known to Sarai his wife; and he believed
22 that he would have seed, but she did not bear. And Sarai advised her husband Abram, and said unto him: 'Go in unto Hagar, my Egyptian maid: it may be that I shall build up seed unto thee
23 by her.' And Abram harkened unto the voice of Sarai his wife, and said unto her, 'Do (so).' And Sarai took Hagar, her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to Abram, her husband, to be his
24 wife. And he went in unto her, and she conceived and bare him a son, and he called his name Ishmael, in the fifth year of this week [1965 A.M.]; and this was the eighty-sixth year in the life of Abram.

[Chapter 15]

Abram celebrates the feast of first fruits, 1-2: his name changed and circumcision instituted, 3-14. Sarai's name changed and Isaak promised, 15-21. Abraham, Ishmael, and all his household circumcised, 22-4. Circumcision an eternal ordination, 25, 26. Israel shares this honour with the highest angels who were created circumcised, 27-9. Israel subject to God alone: other nations to angels, 30-2. Future faithlessness of Israel, 33-4. (Cf. Gen. xvii.)

1 And in the fifth year of the fourth week of this jubilee, [1979 A.M.] in the third month, in the middle of the
2 month, Abram celebrated the feast of the first-fruits of the grain harvest. And he offered new offerings on the altar, the first-fruits of the produce, unto the Lord, an heifer and a goat and a sheep on the altar as a burnt sacrifice unto the Lord; their fruit offerings and their drink offerings he
3 offered upon the altar with frankincense. And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him:
4 'I am God Almighty; approve thyself before me and be thou perfect. And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and I will multiply thee exceedingly.' And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, and said:

6 'Behold my ordinance is with thee,
And thou shalt be the father of many nations.

7 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram,
But thy name from henceforth, even for ever, shall be Abraham.
For the father of many nations have I made thee.

And I will make thee very great,
And I will make thee into nations,
And kings shall come forth from thee.

9 And I shall establish My covenant between Me and thee, and thy seed after thee, throughout their generations, for an eternal covenant, so that I may be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
10 the land where thou hast been a sojourner,
11 the land of Canaan, that thou mayst possess it for ever, and I will be their God.' And the Lord said unto Abraham: 'And as for thee, do thou keep my covenant, thou and thy seed after thee: and circumcise ye every male among you, and circumcise your foreskins, and it shall be a token of
12 an eternal covenant between Me and you. And the child on the eighth day ye shall circumcise, every male throughout your generations, him that is born in the house, or whom ye have bought
13 with money from any stranger, whom ye have acquired who is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house shall surely be circumcised, and those whom thou hast bought with money shall be circum-
14 cised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an eternal ordinance. And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin on the eighth day, that soul shall be cut off from
15 his people, for he has broken My covenant.' And God said unto Abraham: 'As for Sarai thy wife,
16 her name shall no more be called Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her, and give thee a son by her, and I will bless him, and he shall become a nation, and kings of nations shall
17 proceed from him.' And Abraham fell on his face, and rejoiced, and said in his heart: 'Shall a son be born to him that is a hundred years old, and shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bring forth?'
18,19 And Abraham said unto God: 'O that Ishmael might live before thee!' And God said: 'Yea, and Sarah also shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I will establish My
20 covenant with him, an everlasting covenant, and for his seed after him. And as for Ishmael also have I heard thee, and behold I will bless him, and make him great, and multiply him exceedingly,
21 and he shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant will
22 I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to thee, in these days, in the next year.' And He left
23 off speaking with him, and God went up from Abraham. And Abraham did according as God had said unto him, and he took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and whom he had
24 bought with his money, every male in his house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin. And on the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and all the men of his house, , and all those, whom he had bought with money from the children of the stranger, were
25 circumcised with him. This law is for all the generations for ever, and there is no circumcision of the days, and no omission of one day out of the eight days; for it is an eternal ordinance, ordained
26 and written on the heavenly tablets. And every one that is born, the flesh of whose foreskin is not circumcised on the eighth day, belongs not to the children of the covenant which the Lord made with Abraham, but to the children of destruction; nor is there, moreover, any sign on him that he is the Lord's, but (he is destined) to be destroyed and slain from the earth, and to be rooted out of
27 the earth, for he has broken the covenant of the Lord our God. For all the angels of the presence and all the angels of sanctification have been so created from the day of their creation, and before the angels of the presence and the angels of sanctification He hath sanctified Israel, that they should
28 be with Him and with His holy angels. And do thou command the children of Israel and let them observe the sign of this covenant for their generations as an eternal ordinance, and they will not be
29 rooted out of the land. For the command is ordained for a covenant, that they should observe it
30 for ever among all the children of Israel. For Ishmael and his sons and his brothers and Esau, the Lord did not cause to approach Him, and he chose them not because they are the children of
31 Abraham, because He knew them, but He chose Israel to be His people. And He sanctified it, and gathered it from amongst all the children of men; for there are many nations and many peoples, and all are His, and over all hath He placed spirits in authority to lead them astray from Him.
32 But over Israel He did not appoint any angel or spirit, for He alone is their ruler, and He will preserve them and require them at the hand of His angels and His spirits, and at the hand of all His powers in order that He may preserve them and bless them, and that they may be His and He
33 may be theirs from henceforth for ever. And now I announce unto thee that the children of Israel will not keep true to this ordinance, and they will not circumcise their sons according to all this law; for in the flesh of their circumcision they will omit this circumcision of their sons, and all of them,
34 sons of Beliar, will leave their sons uncircumcised as they were born. And there will be great wrath from the Lord against the children of Israel. because they have forsaken His covenant and turned aside from His word, and provoked and blasphemed, inasmuch as they do not observe the ordinance of this law; for they have treated their members like the Gentiles, so that they may be removed and rooted out of the land. And there will no more be pardon or forgiveness unto them [so that there should be forgiveness and pardon] for all the sin of this eternal error.

[Chapter 16]

Angels appear to Abraham in Hebron and Isaac again promised, 1-4. Destruction of Sodom and Lot's deliverance, 5-9. Abraham at Beersheba: birth of and circumcision of Isaac, whose seed was to be the portion of God, 10-19. Institution of the feast of Tabernacles, 20-31. (Cf. Gen. xviii.1, 10, 12; xix.24, 29, 33-7; xx.1, 4, 8; xxi. 1-4.)

1 And on the new moon of the fourth month we appeared unto Abraham, at the oak of Mamre, and we talked with him, and we announced to him that a son would be given to him by Sarah his wife.
2 And Sarah laughed, for she heard that we had spoken these words with Abraham, and we admonished
3 her, and she became afraid, and denied that she had laughed on account of the words. And we told her the name of her son, as his name is ordained and written in the heavenly tablets (i.e.) Isaac,
4,5 And (that) when we returned to her at a set time, she would have conceived a son. And in this month the Lord executed his judgments on Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Zeboim, and all the region of the Jordan, and He burned them with fire and brimstone, and destroyed them until this day, even as [lo] I have declared unto thee all their works, that they are wicked and sinners exceedingly, and that they defile themselves and commit fornication in their flesh, and work uncleanness on the earth.
6 And, in like manner, God will execute judgment on the places where they have done according to
7 the uncleanness of the Sodomites, like unto the judgment of Sodom. But Lot we saved; for God
8 remembered Abraham, and sent him out from the midst of the overthrow. And he and his daughters committed sin upon the earth, such as had not been on the earth since the days of Adam till his
9 time; for the man lay with his daughters. And, behold, it was commanded and engraven concerning all his seed, on the heavenly tablets, to remove them and root them out, and to execute judgment upon them like the judgment of Sodom, and to leave no seed of the man on earth on the day
10 of condemnation. And in this month Abraham moved from Hebron, and departed and dwelt between
11 Kadesh and Shur in the mountains of Gerar. And in the middle of the fifth month he moved from
12 thence, and dwelt at the Well of the Oath. And in the middle of the sixth month the Lord visited
13 Sarah and did unto her as He had spoken and she conceived. And she bare a son in the third month, and in the middle of the month, at the time of which the Lord had spoken to Abraham, on
14 the festival of the first fruits of the harvest, Isaac was born. And Abraham circumcised his son on the eighth day: he was the first that was circumcised according to the covenant which is ordained
15 for ever. And in the sixth year of the fourth week we came to Abraham, to the Well of the Oath, and we appeared unto him [as we had told Sarah that we should return to her, and she would have
16 conceived a son. And we returned in the seventh month, and found Sarah with child before us] and we blessed him, and we announced to him all the things which had been decreed concerning him, that he should not die till he should beget six sons more, and should see (them) before he died; but
17 (that) in Isaac should his name and seed be called: And (that) all the seed of his sons should be Gentiles, and be reckoned with the Gentiles; but from the sons of Isaac one should become a holy
18 seed, and should not be reckoned among the Gentiles. For he should become the portion of the Most High, and all his seed had fallen into the possession of God, that it should be unto the Lord a people for (His) possession above all nations and that it should become a kingdom and priests and
19 a holy nation. And we went our way, and we announced to Sarah all that we had told him, and
20 they both rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And he built there an altar to the Lord who had delivered him, and who was making him rejoice in the land of his sojourning, and he celebrated a festival of joy in this month seven days, near the altar which he had built at the Well of the Oath.
21 And he built booths for himself and for his servants on this festival, and he was the first to celebrate
22 the feast of tabernacles on the earth. And during these seven days he brought each day to the altar a burnt offering to the Lord, two oxen, two rams, seven sheep, one he-goat, for a sin offering,
23 that he might atone thereby for himself and for his seed. And, as a thank-offering, seven rams, seven kids, seven sheep, and seven he-goats, and their fruit offerings and their drink offerings; and he burnt all the fat thereof on the altar, a chosen offering unto the Lord for a sweet smelling savour.
24 And morning and evening he burnt fragrant substances, frankincense and galbanum, and stackte, and nard, and myrrh, and spice, and costum; all these seven he offered, crushed, mixed together in
25 equal parts (and) pure. And he celebrated this feast during seven days, rejoicing with all his heart and with all his soul, he and all those who were in his house, and there was no stranger with him,
26 nor any that was uncircumcised. And he blessed his Creator who had created him in his generation, for He had created him according to His good pleasure; for He knew and perceived that from him would arise the plant of righteousness for the eternal generations, and from him a holy seed, so that it
27 should become like Him who had made all things. And he blessed and rejoiced, and he called the
28 name of this festival the festival of the Lord, a joy acceptable to the Most High God. And we blessed him for ever, and all his seed after him throughout all the generations of the earth, because
29 he celebrated this festival in its season, according to the testimony of the heavenly tablets. For this reason it is ordained on the heavenly tablets concerning Israel, that they shall celebrate the feast of tabernacles seven days with joy, in the seventh month, acceptable before the Lord -a statute for
30 ever throughout their generations every year. And to this there is no limit of days; for it is ordained for ever regarding Israel that they should celebrate it and dwell in booths, and set wreaths upon
31 their heads, and take leafy boughs, and willows from the brook. And Abraham took branches of palm trees, and the fruit of goodly trees, and every day going round the altar with the branches seven times [a day] in the morning, he praised and gave thanks to his God for all things in joy.

[Chapter 17]

Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael, 1-14. Mastêmâ proposes that God should require Abraham to sacrifice Isaac in order to test his love and obedience: Abraham's ten trials, 15-18. (Cf. Gen.xxi.8-21.)

1 And in the first year of the fifth week Isaac was weaned in this jubilee, [1982 A.M.] and Abraham made
2 a great banquet in the third month, on the day his son Isaac was weaned. And Ishmael, the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, was before the face of Abraham, his father, in his place, and Abraham rejoiced
3 and blessed God because he had seen his sons and had not died childless. And he remembered the words which He had spoken to him on the day on which Lot had parted from him, and he rejoiced because the Lord had given him seed upon the earth to inherit the earth, and he blessed with all his
4 mouth the Creator of all things. And Sarah saw Ishmael playing and dancing, and Abraham rejoicing with great joy, and she became jealous of Ishmael and said to Abraham, 'Cast out this
5 bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman will not be heir with my son, Isaac.' And the thing was grievous in Abraham's sight, because of his maidservant and because of his son,
6 that he should drive them from him. And God said to Abraham 'Let it not be grievous in thy sight, because of the child and because of the bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee,
7 harken to her words and do (them); for in Isaac shall thy name and seed be called. But as for
8 the son of this bondwoman I will make him a great nation, because he is of thy seed.' And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and placed them on the shoulders
9 of Hagar and the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, and the water in the bottle was spent, and the child thirsted, and was not able to go on,
10 and fell down. And his mother took him and cast him under an olive tree, and went and sat her down over against him, at the distance of a bow-shot; for she said, 'Let me not see the death of my
11 child,' and as she sat she wept. And an angel of God, one of the holy ones, said unto her, 'Why weepest thou, Hagar? Arise take the child, and hold him in thine hand; for God hath heard thy
12 voice, and hath seen the child.' And she opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water, and she went and filled her bottle with water, and she gave her child to drink, and she arose and went towards
13 the wilderness of Paran. And the child grew and became an archer, and God was with him, and his
14 mother took him a wife from among the daughters of Egypt. And she bare him a son, and he called
15 his name Nebaioth; for she said, 'The Lord was nigh to me when I called upon him.' And it came to pass in the seventh week, in the first year thereof, [2003 A.M.] in the first month in this jubilee, on the twelfth of this month, there were voices in heaven regarding Abraham, that he was faithful in all that He
16 told him, and that he loved the Lord, and that in every affliction he was faithful. And the prince Mastema came and said before God, 'Behold, Abraham loves Isaac his son, and he delights in him above all things else; bid him offer him as a burnt-offering on the altar, and Thou wilt see if he will do this command, and Thou wilt know if he is faithful in everything wherein Thou dost try him.
17 And the Lord knew that Abraham was faithful in all his afflictions; for He had tried him through his country and with famine, and had tried him with the wealth of kings, and had tried him again through his wife, when she was torn (from him), and with circumcision; and had tried him through
18 Ishmael and Hagar, his maid-servant, when he sent them away. And in everything wherein He had tried him, he was found faithful, and his soul was not impatient, and he was not slow to act; for he was faithful and a lover of the Lord.

[Chapter 18]

Sacrifice of Isaac: Mastêmâ put to shame, 1-13. Abraham again blessed: returns to Beersheba 14-19. (Cf. Gen. xxii. 1-19.)

Because thou hast done this thing,
And hast not withheld thy son, thy beloved son, from Me,
That in blessing I will bless thee,

And in multiplying I will multiply thy seed
As the stars of heaven, And as the sand which is on the seashore.

And thy seed shall inherit the cities of its enemies,
16 And in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed;

Because thou hast obeyed My voice,
And I have shown to all that thou art faithful unto Me in all that I have said unto thee:
Go in peace.'

17 And Abraham went to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba, and Abraham [2010 A.M.]

18 dwelt by the Well of the Oath. And he celebrated this festival every year, seven days with joy, and he called it the festival of the Lord according to the seven days during which he went and
19 returned in peace. And accordingly has it been ordained and written on the heavenly tablets regarding Israel and its seed that they should observe this festival seven days with the joy of festival.

[Chapter 19]

Return of Abraham to Hebron. Death and burial of Sarah, 1-9. Marriage of Isaac and second marriage of Abraham. Birth of Esau and Jacob, 10-14. Abraham commends Jacob to Rebecca and blesses him, 15-31. (Cf. Gen. xxiii.1-4, 11-16; xxiv.15; xxv.1-2, 25-7; xiii. 16.)

1 And in the first year of the first week in the forty-second jubilee, Abraham returned and dwelt
2 opposite Hebron, that is Kirjath Arba, two weeks of years. And in the first year of the third week
3 of this jubilee the days of the life of Sarah were accomplished, and she died in Hebron. And Abraham went to mourn over her and bury her, and we tried him [to see] if his spirit were patient and he were not indignant in the words of his mouth; and he was found patient in this, and was not
4 disturbed. For in patience of spirit he conversed with the children of Heth, to the intent that they
5 should give him a place in which to bury his dead. And the Lord gave him grace before all who saw him, and he besought in gentleness the sons of Heth, and they gave him the land of the double
6 cave over against Mamre, that is Hebron, for four hundred pieces of silver. And they besought him saying, We shall give it to thee for nothing; but he would not take it from their hands for nothing, for he gave the price of the place, the money in full, and he bowed down before them twice, and after
7 this he buried his dead in the double cave. And all the days of the life of Sarah were one hundred and twenty-seven years, that is, two jubilees and four weeks and one year: these are the days of the
8 years of the life of Sarah. This is the tenth trial wherewith Abraham was tried, and he was found
9 faithful, patient in spirit. And he said not a single word regarding the rumour in the land how that God had said that He would give it to him and to his seed after him, and he begged a place there to bury his dead; for he was found faithful, and was recorded on the heavenly tablets as the friend of
10 God. And in the fourth year thereof he took a wife for his son Isaac and her name was Rebecca [2020 A.M.] [the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham] the sister of Laban and daughter of Bethuel; and Bethuel was the son of Melca, who was the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham.
11 And Abraham took to himself a third wife, and her name was Keturah, from among the daughters of his household servants, for Hagar had died before Sarah. And she bare him six sons, Zimram,
12 and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah, in the two weeks of years. And in
13 the sixth week, in the second year thereof, Rebecca bare to Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau, and [2046 A.M.] Jacob was a smooth and upright man, and Esau was fierce, a man of the field, and hairy, and Jacob
14 dwelt in tents. And the youths grew, and Jacob learned to write; but Esau did not learn, for he
15 was a man of the field and a hunter, and he learnt war, and all his deeds were fierce. And Abraham
16 loved Jacob, but Isaac loved Esau. And Abraham saw the deeds of Esau, and he knew that in Jacob should his name and seed be called; and he called Rebecca and gave commandment regarding
17 Jacob, for he knew that she (too) loved Jacob much more than Esau. And he said unto her:

My daughter, watch over my son Jacob,
For he shall be in my stead on the earth,
And for a blessing in the midst of the children of men,
And for the glory of the whole seed of Shem.

18 For I know that the Lord will choose him to be a people for possession unto Himself, above all
19 peoples that are upon the face of the earth. And behold, Isaac my son loves Esau more than Jacob, but I see that thou truly lovest Jacob.

20 Add still further to thy kindness to him,
And let thine eyes be upon him in love;
For he shall be a blessing unto us on the earth from henceforth unto all generations of the earth.

21 Let thy hands be strong
And let thy heart rejoice in thy son Jacob;
For I have loved him far beyond all my sons.

He shall be blessed for ever,
And his seed shall fill the whole earth.

22 If a man can number the sand of the earth,
His seed also shall be numbered.

23 And all the blessings wherewith the Lord hath blessed me and my seed shall belong to Jacob and
24 his seed alway. And in his seed shall my name be blessed, and the name of my fathers, Shem, and
25 Noab, and Enoch, and Mahalalel, and Enos, and Seth, and Adam. And these shall serve

To lay the foundations of the heaven,
And to strengthen the earth,
And to renew all the luminaries which are in the firmament.

26 And he called Jacob before the eyes of Rebecca his mother, and kissed him, and blessed him, and
27 said: 'Jacob, my beloved son, whom my soul loveth, may God bless thee from above the firmament, and may He give thee all the blessings wherewith He blessed Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, and Shem; and all the things of which He told me, and all the things which He promised to give me, may he cause to cleave to thee and to thy seed for ever, according to the days of heaven above the
28 earth. And the Spirits of Mastema shall not rule over thee or over thy seed to turn thee from the
29 Lord, who is thy God from henceforth for ever. And may the Lord God be a father to thee and
30 thou the first-born son, and to the people alway. Go in peace, my son.' And they both went forth
31 together from Abraham. And Rebecca loved Jacob, with all her heart and with all her soul, very much more than Esau; but Isaac loved Esau much more than Jacob.

[Chapter 20]

Abraham admonishes his sons and his sons' sons to work righteousness, observe circumcision, and refrain from impurity and idolatry, 1-10. Dismisses them with gifts, 11. Dwelling-places of the Ishmaelites and of the sons of Keturah, 12-13. (Cf. Gen. xxv. 5-6.)

1 And in the forty-second jubilee, in the first year of the seventh week, Abraham called Ishmael, [2052 (2045?) A.M.]

2 and his twelve sons, and Isaac and his two sons, and the six sons of Keturah, and their sons. And he commanded them that they should observe the way of the Lord; that they should work righteousness, and love each his neighbour, and act on this manner amongst all men; that they should each
3 so walk with regard to them as to do judgment and righteousness on the earth. That they should circumcise their sons, according to the covenant which He had made with them, and not deviate to the right hand or the left of all the paths which the Lord had commanded us; and that we should keep ourselves from all fornication and uncleanness, [and renounce from amongst us all fornication and
4 uncleanness]. And if any woman or maid commit fornication amongst you, burn her with fire and let them not commit fornication with her after their eyes and their heart; and let them not take to themselves wives from the daughters of Canaan; for the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of
5 the land. And he told them of the judgment of the giants, and the judgment of the Sodomites, how they had been judged on account of their wickedness, and had died on account of their fornication, and uncleanness, and mutual corruption through fornication.

6 'And guard yourselves from all fornication and uncleanness,
And from all pollution of sin,

Lest ye make our name a curse,
And your whole life a hissing,

And all your sons to be destroyed by the sword,
And ye become accursed like Sodom,
And all your remnant as the sons of Gomorrah.

7 I implore you, my sons, love the God of heaven
And cleave ye to all His commandments.

And walk not after their idols, and after their uncleannesses,
8 And make not for yourselves molten or graven gods;

For they are vanity,
And there is no spirit in them;

For they are work of (men's) hands,
And all who trust in them, trust in nothing.

9 Serve them not, nor worship them,
But serve ye the most high God, and worship Him continually:
And hope for His countenance always,
And work uprightness and righteousness before Him,

That He may have pleasure in you and grant you His mercy,
And send rain upon you morning and evening,

And bless all your works which ye have wrought upon the earth,
And bless thy bread and thy water,

And bless the fruit of thy womb and the fruit of thy land,
And the herds of thy cattle, and the flocks of thy sheep.

10 And ye will be for a blessing on the earth,
And all nations of the earth will desire you,

And bless your sons in my name,
That they may be blessed as I am.

11 And he gave to Ishmael and to his sons, and to the sons of Keturah, gifts, and sent them away
12 from Isaac his son, and he gave everything to Isaac his son. And Ishmael and his sons, and the sons of Keturah and their sons, went together and dwelt from Paran to the entering in of Babylon in
13 all the land which is towards the East facing the desert. And these mingled with each other, and their name was called Arabs, and Ishmaelites.

[Chapter 23]

Abraham's death and burial, 1-8 (cf. Gen. xxv.7-10). Decreasing years and increasing corruption of mankind: Messianic woes: universal strife: the faithful rise up in arms to bring back the faithless: Israel invaded by sinners of the Gentiles, 11-25. Renewed study of the law and renewal of mankind: Messianic kingdom: blessed immortality of the righteous, 26-31.

. . . and the days of weeping for Abraham were ended.

8 And he lived three jubilees and four weeks of years, one hundred
9 and seventy-five years, and completed the days of his life, being old and full of days. For the days of the forefathers, of their life, were nineteen jubilees; and after the Flood they began to grow less than nineteen jubilees, and to decrease in jubilees, and to grow old quickly, and to be full of their days by reason of manifold tribulation and the wickedness of their ways, with the exception of
10 Abraham. For Abraham was perfect in all his deeds with the Lord, and well-pleasing in righteousness all the days of his life; and behold, he did not complete four jubilees in his life, when he had
11 grown old by reason of the wickedness, and was full of his days. And all the generations which shall arise from this time until the day of the great judgment shall grow old quickly, before they complete two jubilees, and their knowledge shall forsake them by reason of their old age Land all their know-
12 ledge shall vanish away]. And in those days, if a man live a jubilee and a-half of years, they shall say regarding him: 'He has lived long, and the greater part of his days are pain and sorrow and
13 tribulation, and there is no peace: For calamity follows on calamity, and wound on wound, and tribulation on tribulation, and evil tidings on evil tidings, and illness on illness, and all evil judgments such as these, one with another, illness and overthrow, and snow and frost and ice, and fever, and chills, and torpor, and famine, and death, and sword, and captivity, and all kinds of calamities and
14 pains.' And all these shall come on an evil generation, which transgresses on the earth: their works
15 are uncleanness and fornication, and pollution and abominations. Then they shall say: 'The days of the forefathers were many (even), unto a thousand years, and were good; but behold, the days of our life, if a man has lived many, are three score years and ten, and, if he is strong, four score years,
16 and those evil, and there is no peace in the days of this evil generation.' And in that generation the sons shall convict their fathers and their elders of sin and unrighteousness, and of the words of their mouth and the great wickednesses which they perpetrate, and concerning their forsaking the covenant which the Lord made between them and Him, that they should observe and do all His commandments and His ordinances and all His laws, without departing either to the right hand or the left.
17 For all have done evil, and every mouth speaks iniquity and all their works are an uncleanness and
18 an abomination, and all their ways are pollution, uncleanness and destruction. Behold the earth shall be destroyed on account of all their works, and there shall be no seed of the vine, and no oil; for their works are altogether faithless, and they shall all perish together, beasts and cattle and birds, and
19 all the fish of the sea, on account of the children of men. And they shall strive one with another, the young with the old, and the old with the young, the poor with the rich, the lowly with the great, and the beggar with the prince, on account of the law and the covenant; for they have forgotten commandment, and covenant, and feasts, and months, and Sabbaths, and jubilees, and all judgments.
20 And they shall stand swords and war to turn them back into the way; but they shall
21 not return until much blood has been shed on the earth, one by another. And those who have escaped shall not return from their wickedness to the way of righteousness, but they shall all exalt themselves to deceit and wealth, that they may each take all that is his neighbour's, and they shall name the great name, but not in truth and not in righteousness, and they shall defile the holy of
22 holies with their uncleanness and the corruption of their pollution. And a great punishment shall befall the deeds of this generation from the Lord, and He will give them over to the sword and to
23 judgment and to captivity, and to be plundered and devoured. And He will wake up against them the sinners of the Gentiles, who have neither mercy nor compassion, and who shall respect the person of none, neither old nor young, nor any one, for they are more wicked and strong to do evil than all the children of men.

And they shall use violence against Israel and transgression against Jacob,
And much blood shall be shed upon the earth,
And there shall be none to gather and none to bury.

24 In those days they shall cry aloud,
And call and pray that they may be saved from the hand of the sinners, the Gentiles;
But none shall be saved.

25 And the heads of the children shall be white with grey hair,
And a child of three weeks shall appear old like a man of one hundred years,
And their stature shall be destroyed by tribulation and oppression.

26 And in those days the children shall begin to study the laws,
And to seek the commandments,
And to return to the path of righteousness.

27 And the days shall begin to grow many and increase amongst those children of men
Till their days draw nigh to one thousand years.
And to a greater number of years than (before) was the number of the days.

28 And there shall be no old man
Nor one who is satisfied with his days,
For all shall be (as) children and youths.

29 And all their days they shall complete and live in peace and in joy,
And there shall be no Satan nor any evil destroyer;
For all their days shall be days of blessing and healing.

30 And at that time the Lord will heal His servants,
And they shall rise up and see great peace,
And drive out their adversaries.

And the righteous shall see and be thankful,
And rejoice with joy for ever and ever,
And shall see all their judgments and all their curses on their enemies.

31 And their bones shall rest in the earth,
And their spirits shall have much joy,
And they shall know that it is the Lord who executes judgment,
And shows mercy to hundreds and thousands and to all that love Him

32 And do thou, Moses, write down these words; for thus are they written, and they record (them) on the heavenly tablets for a testimony for the generations for ever.
 
 

 Excerpted and edited from:

The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament
by R.H. Charles, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913
Scanned and Edited by Joshua Williams, Northwest Nazarene College, 1995