The Book of Jubilees
From "The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old
Testament"
R.H. Charles
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913
INTRODUCTION
1. SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE BOOK.
The Book of Jubilees is in certain limited aspects the most important book in this
volume for the student of religion. Without it we could of course have inferred from Ezra
and Nehemiah, the Priests' Code, and the later chapters of Zechariah the supreme position
that the law had achieved in Judaism, but without Jubilees we could hardly have imagined
such an absolute supremacy as finds expression in this book. This absolute supremacy of
the law carried with it, as we have seen in the General Introduction, the suppression of
prophecy -at all events of the open exercise of the prophetic gifts. And yet these gifts
persisted during all the so-called centuries of silence-from Malachi down to N.T. times,
but owing to the fatal incubus of the law these gifts could not find expression save in
pseudepigraphic literature. Thus Jubilees represents the triumph of the movement, which
had been at work for the past three centuries or more.
And yet this most triumphant manifesto of legalism contained within its pages the
element that was destined to dispute its supremacy and finally to reduce the law to the
wholly secondary position that alone it could rightly claim. This element of course is
apocalyptic, which was the source of the higher theology in Judaism, and subsequently was
the parent of Christianity, wherein apocalyptic ceased to be pseudonymous and became one
with prophecy.
The Book of Jubilees was written in Hebrew by a Pharisee between the year of the
accession of Hyrcanus to the high priesthood in 135 and his breach with the Pharisees some
years before his death in 105 B.C. It is the most advanced pre-Christian representative of
the midrashic tendency, which has already been at work in the Old Testament Chronicles. As
the Chronicler had rewritten the history of Israel and Judah from the basis of the
Priests' Code, so our author re-edited from the Pharisaic standpoint of his time the
history of events from the creation to the publication, or, according to the author's
view, the republication of the law on Sinai. In the course of re-editing he incorporated a
large body of traditional lore, which the midrashic process had put at his disposal, and
also not a few fresh legal enactments that the exigencies of the past had called forth.
His work constitutes an enlarged Targum on Genesis and Exodus, in which difficulties in
the biblical narrative are solved, gaps supplied, dogmatically offensive elements removed,
and the genuine spirit of later Judaism infused into the primitive history of the world.
His object was to defend Judaism against the attacks of the hellenistic spirit that had
been in the ascendant one generation earlier and was still powerful, and to prove that the
law was of everlasting validity. From our author's contentions and his embittered attacks
on the paganisers and apostates, we may infer that Hellenism had urged that the levitical
ordinances of the law were only of transitory significance, that they had not been
observed by the founders of the nation, and that the time had now come for them to be
swept away, and for Israel to take its place in the brotherhood of the nations. Our author
regarded all such views as fatal to the very existence of Jewish religion and nationality.
But it is not as such that he assailed them, but on the ground of their falsehood. The
law, he teaches, is of everlasting validity. Though revealed in time it was superior to
time. Before it had been made known in gundry portions to the fathers it had been kept in
heaven by the angels, and to its observance henceforward there was no limit in time or in
eternity.
Writing in the palmiest days of the Maccabean dominion,in the high-priesthood of John
Hyrcanus, looked for the immediate advent of the Messianic kingdom. This kingdom was to be
ruled over by a Messiah sprung, not from Levi -that is, from the Maccabean family, as some
of his contemporaries expected- but from Judah. This kingdom would be gradually realized
on earth, and the transformation of physical nature would go hand in hand with the ethical
transformation of man till there was a new heaven and a new earth. Thus, finally, all sin
and pain would disappear and men would live to the age of 1,000 years in happiness and
peace, and after death enjoy a blessed immortality in the spirit world.
2. VARIOUS TITLES OF THE BOOK.
Our book was known by two distinct titles even in Hebrew. (a) Jubilees
(b) The Little Genesis
(c) Apocalypse of Moses and other alleged names of the book.
(a) Jubilees. This appears from Epiphanius (Haer. xxxix. 6) to have been its usual
designation. It is found also in the Syriac Fragment entitled 'Names of the Wives of the
Patriarchs according to the Hebrew Book of Jubilees,' first published by Ceriani, Mon.
sacra et profana, ii. 1.9-10, and reprinted by the present writer in his edition of The
Ethiopic Version of the Hebrew Book of Jubilees. This name admirably describes the book,
as it divides into jubilee periods of forty-nine years each the history of the world from
the creation to the legislation on Sinai. The writer pursues a perfectly symmetrical
development of the heptadic system. Israel enters Canaan at the close of the fiftieth
jubilee, i.e. 2450.
(b) The Little Genesis. The epithet 'little' does not refer to the extent of the book,
for it is larger than the canonical Genesis, but to its character. It deals more fully
with details than the biblical work. The Hebrew title was variously rendered in Greek. 1
[(Gk.) he lepte Genesis (or Lepte Genesis)] as in Epiphanius, Syncellus, Zonaras, Glycas.
2 [(Gk.) he Leptogenesis] in Didymus of Alexandria and in Latin writers, as we may infer
from the Decree of Gelasius. 3 [Gk.) ta lepta geneseos] in Syncellus. 4 [(Gk.)
Mikrogenesis] in Jerome, who was acquainted with the Hebrew original.
(c) 1 The Apocalypse of Moses.
2 The Testament of Moses.
3 The Book of Adam's Daughters.
4 The Life of Adam.
1 The Apocalypse of Moses. This title had some currency in the time of Synceflus (see
i. 5, 49). It forms an appropriate designation since it makes Moses the recipient of all
the disclosures in the book. 2 The Testament of Moses. This title is found in the Catena
of Nicephorus, i. 175, where it precedes a quotation from x. 21 of our book. It has,
however, nothing to do with the Testament of Moses, which has become universally known
under the wrong title -the Assumption of Moses. Ronsch and other scholars formerly sought
to identify Jubilees with this second Testament of Moses, but this identification is shown
to be impossible by the fact that in the Stichometry of Nicephorus 4,300 stichoi are
assigned to Jubilees and only 1100 to this Testament of Moses. On the probability of a
Testament of Moses having been in circulation -which was in reality an expansion of
Jubilees ii-iii see my edition of Jubilees, p. xviii. 3 The Book of Adam's Daughters. This
book is identified with Jubilees in the Decree of Gelasius, but it probably consisted
merely of certain excerpts from Jubilees dealing with the names and histories of the women
mentioned in it. Such a collection, as we have already seen, exists in Syriac, and its
Greek prototype was used by the scribe of the LXX MS. no.135 in Holmes and Parsons'
edition. 4 The Life of Adam. This title is found in Syncellus i. 7-9. It seems to have
been an enlarged edition of the portion of Jubilees, which dealt with the life of Adam.
3. THE ETHIOPIC MSS.
There are four Ethiopic MSS., a b c d, the first and fourth of which belong to the
National Library in Paris, the second to the British Museum, and the third to the
University Library at Tubingen. Of these a b (of the fifteenth and sixteenth century
respectively) are the most trustworthy, though they cannot be followed exclusively. In a,
furthermore, the readings of the Ethiopic version of Genesis have replaced the original
against bed in iii. 4, 6, 7, 19, 29; iv. 4, 8, &c. For a full description of these
MSS. the reader can consult Charles's Ethiopic Version of the Hebrew Book of Jubilees, pp.
xii seqq.
4. THE ANCIENT VERSIONS-GREEK, ETHIOPIC, LATIN, SYRIAC.
(a) The Greek Version is lost save for some fragments which survive in Epiphanius
[(Gk.) peri Metron kai Stathmon] (ed. Dindorf, vol. iv. 27-8). This fragment, which
consists of ii. 2-21, is published with critical notes in Charles's edition of the
Ethiopic text. Other fragments of this version are preserved in Justin Martyr, Origen,
Diodorus of Antioch, Isidore of Alexandria, Isidore of Seville, Eutychius, Patriarch of
Alexandria, John of Malala, Syncellus, Cedrenus. Syncellus attributes to the Canonical
Genesis statements derived from our text. This version is the parent of the Ethiopic and
Latin Versions.
(b) The Ethiopic Version. This version is most accurate and trustworthy and indeed as a
rule servilely literal. It has, of course, suffered from the corruptions naturally
incident to transmission through MSS. Thus dittographies are frequent and lacunae are of
occasional occurrence, but the version is singularly free from the glosses and corrections
of unscrupulous scribes, though the temptation must have been great to bring it into
accord with the Ethiopic version of Genesis. To this source, indeed, we must trace a few
perversions of the text: 'my wife' in iii. 6 instead of 'wife'; xv 12; xvii. 12 ('her
bottle' instead of 'the bottle'); xxiv. 19 (where the words 'a well' are not found in the
Latin version of Jubilees, nor in the Mass., Sam., LXX, Syr., and Vulg. of Gen. xxvi. 19).
In the above passages the whole version is influenced, but in a much greater degree has
this influence operated on MS. a. Thus in iii. 4, 6, 7, 19, 29, iv. 4, 8, v.3, vi. 9,
&c., the readings of the Ethiopic version of Genesis have replaced the original text.
In the case of b there appears to be only one instance of this nature in xv. 15 (see
Charles's Text, pp. xii seqq.).
For instances of corruption native to this version, see Charles on ii. 2, 7, 21, vi.
21, vii. 22, x. 6, 21, xvi. 18, xxiv. 20, 29, xxxi. 2, xxxix. 4, xli. 15, xlv. 4, xlviii.
6.
(c) The Latin Version. This version, of which about one-fourth has been preserved, was
first published by Ceriani in his Monnmenta sacra et profana, 1861, tom. i. fase. i.
15-62. It contains the following sections: xiii. 10b-21; xv. 20b-31a; xvi. 5b-xvii. 6a;
xviii. 10b-xix. 25; xx. 5b-xxi. 10a; xxii. 2-19a; xxiii. 8b-23a; xxiv. 13-xxv. 1a; xxvi.
8b-23a; xxvii. 11b-24a; xxviii. 16b-27a; xxix. 8b-xxxi. 1a; xxxi. 9b-1 8, 29b-32; xxxii.
1-8a, 18b-xxxiii. 9a, 18b-xxxiv. 5a; xxxv. 3b-12a; xxxvi. 20b-xxxvii. 5a; xxxviii. 1b-16a;
xxxix. 9-xl. 8a; xli. 6b-18; xlii. 2b-14a; xlv. 8-xlvi. 1, 12-xlviii. 5; xlix. 7b-22. This
version was next edited by Ronsch in 1874, Das Buch der Fubilaen . . . unter Befugung des
revidirten Textes der . . . lateinisehen Fragmente. This work attests enormous industry
and great learning, but is deficient in judgement and critical acumen. Ronsch was of
opinion that this Latin version was made in Egypt or its neighbourhood by a Palestinian
Jew about the middle of the fifth century (pp.459-60). In 1895 Charles edited this text
afresh in conjunction with the Ethiopic in the Oxford Anecdota (The Ethiopic Version of
the Hebrew Book of Jubilees). To this work and that of Ronsch above the reader must be
referred for a fuller treatment of this subject. Here we may draw attention to the
following points. This version, where it is preserved, is almost of equal value with the
Ethiopic. It has, however, suffered more at the hands of correctors. Thus it has been
corrected in conformity with the LXX in xlvi. 14, where it adds 'et Oon' against all other
authorities. The Ethiopic version of Exod. i. 11 might have been expected to bring about
this addition in our Ethiopic text, but it did not. Two similar instances will be found in
xvii. 5, xxiv. 20. Again the Latin version seems to have been influenced by the Vulgate in
xxix. 13. xlii. II (canos meos where our Ethiopic text = [(Gk.) mou to geras] as in LXX of
Gen. xlii. 38); and probably also in xlvii. 7, 8, and certainly in xlv. 12, where it reads
'in tota terra' for 'in terra'. Of course there is the possibility that the Latin has
reproduced faithfully the Greek and that the Greek was faulty; or in case it was correct,
that it was the Greek presupposed by our Ethiopic version that was at fault.
Two other passages are deserving of attention, xix. 14 and xxxix. 13. In the former the
Latin version 'et creverunt et iuvenes facti sunt' agrees with the Ethiopic version of
Gen. xxv. 27 against the Ethiopic version of Jubilees and all other authorities on Gen.
xxv. 27. Here the peculiar reading can be best explained as having originated in the
Greek. In the second passage, the clause 'eorum quae fiebant in carcere' agrees with the
Ethiopic version of Gen. xxxix. 23 against the Ethiopic version of Jubilees and all other
authorities on Gen. xxxix. 23. On the other hand, there is a large array of passages in
which the Latin version preserves the true text over against corruptions or omissions in
the Ethiopic version: cf. xvi. 16, xix. 5, 10, 11, xx. 6, 10, xxi. 3, xxii. 3, &c.
(see my Text, p. xvi).
(d) The Syriac Version. The evidence as to the existence of a Syriac is not conclusive.
It is based on the fact that a British Museum MS. (Add. 12154, fol. 180) contains a Syriac
fragment entitled, Names of the Wives of the Patriarchs according to the Hebrew Book
called Jubilees.' It was first published by Ceriani in his Monumeitta Sacra, 1861, torn.
ii. fasc. i. 9-10, and reprinted by Charles as Appendix III to his Text of Jubilees (p.
183).
5. THE ETHIOPIC AND LATIN VERSIONS-TRANSLATIONS FROM THE GREEK.
Like all the biblical literature in Ethiopic, Jubilees was translated into Ethiopic
from the Greek. Greek words such as [drus, balanos, lips, schinos, pharaggs, &c., are
transliterated into Ethiopic. Secondly, many passages must be retranslated into Greek
before we can discover the source of their corruptions. And finally, many names are
transliterated as they appear in Greek and not in Hebrew.
That the Latin is derived directly from the Greek is no less obvious. Thus in xxxix. 12
[(Lt.) timoris = (Gk.) deilias], a corruption of douleias; in xxxviii. 13 [(Lt.) honorem =
(Gk.) timen], which should have been rendered by (Lt.) tributum. Another class of
mistranslations may be seen in passages where the Greek article is rendered by the Latin
demonstrative as in (Lt.) huius Abrahae xxix. i6, huic Istrael xxxi. 15. Other evidence
pointing in the same direction is to be found in the Greek constructions which have been
reproduced in the Latin; such as xvii. 3 (Lt.) mem or fuit sermones' = (Gk.) hemnesthe
tous logous: in xv. 22 (Lt.) consummavit loquens = (Gk.) Sunetelese lalon: in xxii. 8
(Lt.) 'in omnibus quibus dedisti' = en pasin ois edokas.
6. THE GREEK-A TRANSLATION FROM THE HEBREW.
The early date of our book -the second century B.C.- and the fact that it was written
in Palestine speak for a Semitic original, and the evidence for such an original is
conclusive. But the question at once arises, was the original written in Hebrew or
Aramaic? Certain proper names in the Latin version ending in -in seem to bespeak an
Aramaic original, as Cettin xxiv. 28; Adurin xxxviii. 8,9; Filistin xxiv. 14-16. But since
in all these cases the Ethiopic transliterations end in -n and not in -nit is not
improbable that this Aramaising in the Latin version is due to the translator, who, as
Ronsch has concluded on other grounds, was a Palestinian Jew. Again, in the list of the
twelve trees suitable for burning on the altar some are transliterations of Aramaic names.
But in a late Hebrew work -written at the close of the second century B.C.- the popular
names of such objects would naturally be used. Moreover, in certain cases the Hebrew may
have already been forgotten, or, when the tree had been lately introduced, been
non-existent.
But the arguments for a Hebrew original are many and weighty. (1) A work which claims
to be from the hand of Moses would naturally be written in Hebrew; for Hebrew, according
to our author, was the sacred and national language, xii. 25-6; xliii. 15. (2) The revival
of the national spirit is, so far as we know, accompanied by a revival of the national
language. (3) The existing text must be retranslated into Hebrew in order to explain
unintelligible expressions and restore the true text. Thus (Ar.) la 'eleja in xliii. 11 =
(Gk.) en emoi; which is a mistranslation in this context of (Hb.); for (Hb.) here = (Gk.)
deomai, 'pray,' as in Gen. xliv. 18. In xlvii. 9 the text = (Lt.) 'domum (= Hb. )
Faraonis', but the context demands (Lt.) 'filiam (= Hb.) Faraonis',though here the
argument is not conclusive, since (Hb.) might have been corruptly written for (Hb.) which
in Aramaic = 'daughter'. Again in xxxvi. 10 (cp. also xxxix. 6) the text = (Gk.) ouk
anabesetai (= ja'arg) (Gk.) eis to biblion tes zoes. But ja'arg must = 'will be recorded'.
Now this meaning is unattested elsewhere in Ethiopic, but the difficulty is solved when we
find that it is a Hebrew idiom: see I Chron. xxvii. 24, 2 Chron. xx. 34. (4) Many
paronomasiae discover themselves on retranslation into Hebrew, as in iv. 9 there is a play
on the name Enoch, in iv. 15 on Jared, in viii. 8 on Peleg, &c. (5) Many passages are
preserved in Rabbinic writings, and the book has much matter in common with the Testaments
xii Patriarchs, 'which was written about the same date in Hebrew. Both books, in fact, use
a chronology peculiar to themselves. (6) Fragments of the original Hebrew text or of the
sources used by its author are to be found in the Book of Noah and the Midrasch Wajjisau
in Jellinek's Beth-ha-Midrasch, iii. 155-6, 3-5, reprinted in Charles's edition of the
Ethiopic text on pp. 179-81.
7. TEXTUAL AFFINITIES.
A minute study of the text shows that it attests an independent form of the Hebrew text
of Genesis and the early chapters of Exodus. Thus it agrees with individual authorities
such as the Samaritan or the LXX, or the Syriac, or the Vulgate, or the Targum of Onkelos
against all the rest. Or again it agrees with two or more of these authorities in
opposition to the rest, as for instance with the Massoretic and Samaritan against the LXX,
Syriac and Vulgate, or with the Massoretic and Onkelos against the Samaritan, LXX, Syriac,
and Vulgate, or with the Massoretic, Samaritan and Syriac against the LXX or Vulgate. But
the reader must here be referred to Charles's Book of Jubilees (pp. xxxiii--xxxix) for a
full classification of these instances. A study of these phenomena proves that our book
represents some form of the Hebrew text midway between the forms presupposed by the LXX
and the Syriac; for it agrees more frequently with the LXX, or with combinations into
which the LXX enters, than with any other single authority. Next to the LXX it agrees most
often with the Syriac or with combinations into which the Syriac enters. On the other
hand, its independence of the LXX is shown by a large array of readings, where it has the
support of the Samaritan and Massoretic, or of these with various combinations of the
Syriac, Vulgate and Onkelos. From these and like considerations we may conclude that the
textual evidence points to the composition of our book at some period between 250 B.C. and
100 A.D. and at a time nearer the earlier date than the latter. 4
8. THE VALUE OF THE BOOK OF JUBILEES IN THE CRITICISM OF THE MASSORETIC TEXT OF THE
BOOK OF GENESIS.
From a study of the facts which are referred to in the preceding Section it will be
clear that before and after the Christian era the Hebrew text did not possess any hard and
fast tradition. It will further be obvious that the Massoretic form of this text, which
has so long been generally as conservative of the most ancient tradition and as therefore
final, is after all only one of many phases through which the text passed in the process
of over 1,000 years, ie. 400 B.C. till A.D. 600, or thereabouts.
As we pursue the examination of the materials just mentioned we shall see grounds for
regarding the Massoretic text as the result partly of conscious recension and partly of
unconscious change extending over many centuries. How this process affected the text in
the centuries immediately preceding and subsequent to the Christian era, we have some
means of determining in the Hebrew-Samaritan text which, however much it may have been
tampered with on religious or polemical grounds, still preserves in many cases the older
reading, even as it preserves the older of the alphabet. Next we have the LXX of the
Pentateuch, to which we may assign the date 200 B.C.; next the Book of Jubilees just
before the Christian era; the Syriac Pentateuch before A.D. 100; the Vulgate of the fourth
century; the Targums of Onkelos and Ps.-Jon. in their present form A.D. 300-600.
We have above remarked that the evidence of 6 shows that the Massoretic text is only
one of the phases through which the Hebrew text has passed; and if we consider afresh the
materials of evidence suggested in that Section in connexion with their dates, and given
in some fullness in the Introductions to Charles's Text and Commentary, we shall discover
that in some respects it is one of the latest phases of the Hebrew Pentateuch that has
been stereotyped by Jewish scholars in the Massoretic text.
This conclusion will tally perfectly with the tradition that all existing Massoretic
MSS. are derived in the main from one archetype, i.e. the Hebrew Codex left behind him by
Ben Asher, who lived in the tenth century, and whose family had lived at Tiberias in the
eighth.
We shall now proceed to give a list of readings in the Massoretic text which should be
corrected into accord with the readings attested by such great authorities as the Sam.,
LXX, Jub., Syr., VuIg.
The following list was published in Charles's Ethiopic Version of the Hebrew Book of
Jubilees in 1895. More than two-thirds of the emendations of the Book of Genesis here
suggested were subsequently accepted independently, on the evidence of the Sam., LXX,
Syr., Vulg., without a knowledge of Jubilees, by C.J. Ball in his edition of the Hebrew
Text of Genesis, 1896, by Kittel in his edition of the Hebrew Text of Genesis, 1905, and
more than half in the recent Commentary of Gunkel.
[What follows contains many phrases written in Hebrew. At the time of scanning
there was not an accessible means to accurately reproduce the Hebrew script. If this
information is desired please see Mr. Charles book.]
9. DATE OF (a) THE ORIGINAL TEXT AND (b) OF THE VERSIONS.
(a) Jubilees was written between 153 B.C. and the year of Hyrcanus' breach with the
Pharisees. (1) It was written during the pontificate of the Maccabean family, and not
earlier than 155 B.C., when this office was assumed by Jonathan the Maccabee. For in
xxxii. 1, Levi is called a 'priest of the Most High God.' Now the only Jewish high-priests
who bore this title were the Maccabean, who appear to have assumed it as reviving the
order of Melchizedek when they displaced the Zadokite order of Aaron. Despite the
objections of the Pharisees, it was used by the Maccabean princes down to Hyrcanus II
(Jos. Ant. xvi. 6.2). (2) It was written before 96 B.C.; for since our author was of the
strictest sect a Pharisee and at the same time an upholder of the Maccabean pontificate,
Jubilees cannot have been written later than 96, when the Pharisees and Alexander Jannaeus
were openly engaged in mortal strife. (3) It was written before the public breach between
Hyrcanus and the Pharisees when Hyrcanus joined the Sadducean party. As Hyrcanus died in
105, our book was written between 153 and 105.
But it is possible to define these limits more closely. The book presupposes as its
historical background the most flourishing period of the Maccabean hegemony -such as that
under Simon and Hyrcanus. The conquest of Edom, which was achieved by the latter, is
referred to in xxxviii. 14. Again our text reflects accurately the intense hatred of Judah
towards the Philistines in the second century B.C. It declares that they will fall into
the hands of the righteous nation, and we learn from I Macc. and Josephus that Ashdod and
Gaza were destroyed by Hyrcanus and Alexander Jannaeus respectively. But it is in the
destruction of Samaria, which is adumbrated in the destruction of Shechem, xxx. 4-6, that
we are to look for the true terminus a quo. Now all accounts agree in representing the
destruction of Samaria as effected by Hyrcanus about four years before his death. Hence we
conclude that Jubilees was written between 109 and 105 B.C.
Many other phenomena point to the second-century origin of our book, which are given in
Charles's edition, pp. lviii-lxvi. Amongst these we might mention the currency of older
and severer forms of the halacha than prevailed in the rabbinical schools, or were
registered in the Mishnah. The severe halacha regarding the sabbath in 1.8, 12, were
indubitably in force in the second century B.C., if not earlier, but were afterwards
mitigated by the Mishnah and later Judaism. Again the strict halacha in xv. 14 regarding
circumcision on the eighth day was a current, probably the current, view in the second
century B.C. and earlier, since it has the support of the Samaritan text and the LXX. This
strict law was subsequently relaxed in the Mishnah. In xxxii. 15 the severe law of tithing
found in Lev. xxvii. 15 is enforced, but rabbinic tradition sought to weaken the
statement. As regards the halacha laid down in iii. 31 regarding the duty of covering
one's shame, it is highly probable that such a halacha did exist in the second century
B.C., when Judaism was protesting against the exposure of the person in the Greek games.
See also iii. 8-14 notes and xx. 4 note.
Other cases of strict rules afterwards relaxed are the limitation of trees for use with
burnt offerings (see xxi. 12-15 notes), the restriction of the eating of the passover to
the court of the Lords house (see xlix. 20 note), the close adherence to the exacting
demand of Lev. xix. 24 that the fourth year's fruit should be holy (see vii. 36 notes),
though here we have a variant reading. Note that the rest of the firstfruits belong to the
priests, who are to eat them 'before the altar.' On the other hand, the thank-offerings in
xxi. 8-10 do not belong to the priest. The computation of the Feast of Weeks is different
from the later prevalent Pharisaic reckoning (see xv. 1 note; xvi. 13, xliv. 4-5), while
the account of the Feast of Tabernacles in xvi. 21-31 is peculiar to Jubilees.
Finally, we might draw attention to the fact that the Pharisaic regulation about
pouring water on the altar (Jer. Sukk. iv. 6; Sukk. 44a) at the feast of tabernacles
appears to have been unknown to him. We know that the attempt of the Pharisees to enforce
its adoption on Alexander Jannaeus resulted in a massacre of the former. Attention might
also be drawn to the fact that the Priests and Levites still numbered in their ranks, as
in the days of the author of Chronicles, the masters of the schools and the men of
learning, and that these positions were not filled as in the days of Shammai and Hillel by
men drawn from the laity. This inference is to be deduced from the fact that the Levites
are represented as the guardians of the sacred books and of the secret lore transmitted
from the worthies of old time (x. 4, xlv. 16).
(b) Date of the Ethiopic and Latin Versions. There is no evidence for determining the
exact date of the Ethiopic version, but since it was practically regarded as a canonical
book it was probably made in the sixth century. Ronsch, as we have already pointed out in
4, gives some evidence for regarding the Latin version as made in the fifth century.
10 JUBILEES FROM ONE AUTHOR BUT BASED ON EASTERN BOOKS AND TRADITIONS.
Our book is the work of one author, but is largely based on earlier books and
traditions. The narrative of Genesis forms of course the bulk of the book, but much that
is characteristic in it is due to his use of many pseudepigraphic and ancient traditions.
Amongst the former might be mentioned the Book of Noah, from which in a modified form he
borrows vii. 20-39, x. 1-15. In vii. 26-39 he reproduces his source so faithfully that he
leaves the persons unchanged, and forgets to adapt this fragment to its new context.
Similarly our author lays the Book of Enoch under contribution, and is of great value in
this respect in determining the dates of the various sections of this book. See Introd. to
I Book of Enoch, in loc. For other authorities and traditions used by our author see
Charles's edition, 13.
11. JUBILEES IS A PRODUCT OF THE MIDRASHIC TENDENCY WHICH HAD BEEN ALREADY AT WORK IN
THE O.T. BOOKS OF CHRONICLES.
The Chronicler rewrote with an object the earlier history of Israel and Judah already
recounted in Samuel and Kings. His object was to represent David and his pious successors
as observing all the prescripts of the law according to the Priests' Code. In the course
of this process all facts that did not square with the Chronicler's presuppositions were
either omitted or transformed. Now the author of Jubilees sought to do for Genesis what
the Chronicler had done for Samuel and Kings, and so he rewrote it in such a way as to
show that the law was rigorously observed even by the Patriarchs. The author represents
his book to be as a whole a revelation of God to Moses, forming a supplement to and an
interpretation of the Pentateuch, which he designates 'the first law' (vi. 22). This
revelation was in part a secret republication of the traditions handed down from father to
son in antediluvian and subsequent times. From the time of Moses onwards it was preserved
in the hands of the priesthood, till the time came for its being made known.
Our author's procedure is of course in direct antagonism with the presuppositions of
the Priests' Code in Genesis, for according to this code 'Noah may build no altar, Abraham
offer no sacrifice, Jacob erect no sacred pillar. No offering is recorded till Aaron and
his sons are ready' (Carpenter, The Hexateuch, i. 124). This fact seems to emphasize in
the strongest manner how freely our author reinterpreted his authorities for the past. But
he was only using to the full a right that had been exercised for nearly four centuries
already in regard to Prophecy and for four or thereabouts in regard to the law.
12. OBJECT OF JUBILEES -THE DEFENCE AND EXPOSITION OF JUDAISM FROM THE PHARISAIC
STANDPOINT OF THE SECOND CENTURY B.C.
The object of our author was to defend Judaism against the disintegrating effects of
Hellenism, and this he did (a) by glorifying the law as an eternal ordinance and
representing the patriarchs as models of piety; (b) by glorifying Israel and insisting on
its separation from the Gentiles; and (e) by denouncing the Gentiles and particularly
Israel's national enemies. In this last respect Judaism regarded its own attitude to the
Gentiles as not only justifiable but also just, because it was a reflection of the divine.
But on (a) it is to be observed further that to our author the law, as a whole, was the
realization in time of what was in a sense timeless and eternal. It was observed not only
on earth by Israel but in heaven. Parts of the law might have only a time reference, to
Israel on earth, but in the privileges of circumcision and the Sabbath, as its highest and
everlasting expression, the highest orders of archangels in heaven shared with Israel (ii.
i8, 19, 21; xv. 26-28). The law, therefore, was supreme, and could admit of no assessor in
the form of Prophecy. There was no longer any prophet because the law had made the free
exercise of his gift an offence against itself and God. So far, therefore, as Prophecy
existed, it could exist only under the guise of pseudonymity. The seer, who had like
Daniel and others a message for his time, could only gain a hearing by issuing it under
the name of some ancient worthy.
13. THE AUTHOR -A PHARISEE WHO RECOGNIZED THE MACCABEAN PONTIFICATE AND WAS PROBABLY A
PRIEST.
Since our author was an upholder of the everlasting validity of the law, and held the
strictest views on circumcision, the Sabbath, and the duty of complete separation from the
Gentiles, since he believed in angels and demons and a blessed immortality, he was
unquestionably a Pharisee of the strictest sect. In the next place, he was a supporter of
the Maccabean pontificate. He glorifies Levi's successors as high-priests and civil
rulers, and applies to them the title priests of the Most High God '-the title assumed by
the Maccabean princes (xxxii. 1). He was not, however, so thoroughgoing an admirer of this
dynasty as the authors of Test. Lev. xviii. or Ps. cx, who expected the Messiah to come
forth from the Maccabean family. Finally, that our author was a priest might reasonably be
inferred from the exaltation of Levi over Judah (xxxi-xxxii), and from the statement in
xlv. i6 that the secret traditions, which our author claims to publish, were kept in the
hands of Levi's descendants.
14. INFLUENCE ON LATER LITERATURE.
On the influence of Jubilees on I Enoch i-v, xci-civ, Wisdom (?), 4 Ezra, Chronicles of
Jerachmeel, Midrash Tadshe, Book of Jasher, the Samaritan Chronicle, on Patristic and
other writings, and on the New Testament writers, see Charles's edition, pp.
lxxiii-lxxxvi.
15. THEOLOGY. SOME OF OUR AUTHOR'S VIEWS.
Freedom and determinism. The author of Jubilees is a true Pharisee in that he combines
belief in Divine omnipotence and providence with the belief in human freedom and
responsibility. He would have adopted heartily the statement of the Pss. Sol. ix. 7
(written some sixty years or more later) (Gk.) ta erga emon en ekloge kai exousia tes
psuches emon, tou poiesai dikaiosunen kai adikian en ergois cheiron emon: v. 6 anthropos
kai e meris autou para soi en stathmo ou prosthesei tou pleonasai para to krima sou, o
theos. Thus the path in which a man should walk is ordained for him and the judgement of
all men predetermined on the heavenly tablets: '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' (v.13). This idea of an absolute
determinism underlies many conceptions of the heavenly tablets (see Charles's edition,
iii. 10 note). On the other hand, man's freedom and responsibility are fully recognized:
'If they walk not therein, judgment is written down for every creature' (v. 13): 'Beware
lest thou walk in their ways, And tread in their paths, And sin a sin unto death before
the Most High God. Else He will give thee back into the hand of thy transgression.' Even
when a man has sinned deeply he can repent and be forgiven (xli. 24 seq.), but the human
will needs the strengthening of a moral dynamic: 'May the Most High God . . . strengthen
thee to do His will' (xxi. 25, xxii. 10).
The Fall. The effects of the Fall were limited to Adam and the animal creation. Adam
was driven from the garden (iii. 17 seqq.) and the animal creation was robbed of the power
of speech (iii. 28). But the subsequent depravity of the human race is not traced to the
Fall but to the seduction of the daughters of men by the angels, who had been sent down to
instruct men (v.1-4), and to the solicitations of demonic spirits (vii. 27). The evil
engendered by the former was brought to an end by the destruction of all the descendants
of the angels and of their victims by the Deluge, but the incitement to sin on the part of
the demons was to last to the final judgement (vii. 27, x. 1-15, xi. 4 seq., xii. 20).
This last view appears in I Enoch and the N.T.
The Law. The law was of eternal validity. It was not the expression of the religious
consciousness of one or of several ages, but the revelation in time of what was valid from
the beginning and unto all eternity. The various enactments of the law moral and ritual,
were written on the heavenly tablets (iii. 31, vi. 17, &c.) and revealed to man
through the mediation of angels (i. 27). This conception of the law, as I have already
pointed out, made prophecy impossible unless under the guise of pseudonymity. Since the
law was the ultimate and complete expression of absolute truth, there was no room for any
further revelation: much less could any such revelation, were it conceivable, supersede a
single jot or tittle of the law as already revealed. The ideal of the faithful Jew was to
be realized in the fulfilment of the moral and ritual precepts of this law: the latter
were of no less importance than the former. Though this view of morality tends to be
mainly external, our author strikes a deeper note when he declares that, when Israel
turned to God with their whole heart, He would circumcise the foreskin of their heart and
create a right spirit within them and cleanse them, so that they would not turn away from
Him for ever (i. 23). Our author specially emphasizes certain elements of the law such as
circumcision (xvi. 14, xv. 26, 29), the Sabbath (ii. 18 seq., 31 seq.), eating of blood
(vi. 14), tithing of the tithe (xxxii. 10), Feast of Tabernacles (xvi. 29), Feast of Weeks
(vi. 17), the absolute prohibition of mixed marriages (xx. 4, xxii. 20, xxv. 1-10). In
connexion with many of these he enunciates halacha which belong to an earlier date than
those in the Mishnah, but which were either modified or abrogated by later authorities.
The Messiah. Although our author is an upholder of the Maccabean dynasty he still
clings like the writer of I Enoch lxxxiii-xc to the hope of a Messiah sprung from Judah.
He makes, however, only one reference to this Messiah, and no role of any importance is
assigned to him (see Charles's edition, xxxi. 18 n.). The Messianic expectation showed no
vigorous life throughout this century till it was identified with the Maccabean family. If
we are right in regarding the Messianic kingdom as of temporary duration, this is the
first instance in which the Messiah is associated with a temporary Messianic kingdom.
The Messianic kingdom. According to our author (i. 29, xxiii. 30) this kingdom was to
be brought about gradually by the progressive spiritual development of man and a
corresponding transformation of nature. Its members were to attain to the full limit of
1,000 years in happiness and peace. During its continuance the powers of evil were to be
restrained (xxiii. 29). The last judgement was apparently to take place at its close
(xxiii. 30). This view was possibly derived from Mazdeism.
The writer of Jubilees, we can hardly doubt, thought that the era of the Messianic
kingdom had already set in. Such an expectation was often cherished in the prosperous days
of the Maccabees. Thus it was entertained by the writer of I Enoch lxxxiii-xc in the days
of Judas before 161 B.C. Whether Jonathan was looked upon as the divine agent for
introducing the kingdom we cannot say, but as to Simon being regarded in this light there
is no doubt. Indeed, his contemporaries came to regard him as the Messiah himself, as we
see from Psalm cx, or Hyrcanus in the noble Messianic hymn in Test. Levi 18. The tame
effus1on in 1 Macc. xiv. 8-15 is a relic of such literature, which was emasculated by its
Sadducean editor. Simon was succeeded by John Hyrcanus in 135 B.C. and this great prince
seemed to his countrymen to realize the expectations of the past; for according to a
contemporary writer (Test. Levi 8) he embraced in his own person the triple office of
prophet, priest, and civil ruler (xxxi. i5), while according to the Test. Reuben 6 he was
to 'die on behalf of Israel in wars seen and unseen'. In both these passages he seems to
be accorded the Messianic office, but not so in our author, as we have seen above.
Hyrcanus is only to introduce the Messianic kingdom, over which the Messiah sprung from
Judah is to rule.
Priesthood of Melchizedek. That there was originally an account of Melchizedek in our
text we have shown in the note on xiii. 2,5, and, that the Maccabean high-priests
deliberately adopted the title applied to him in Gen. xiv, we have pointed out in the note
on xxxii. I. It would be interesting to inquire how far the writer of Hebrews was indebted
to the history of the great Maccabean king-priests for the idea of the Melchizedekian
priesthood of which he has made so fruitful a use in chap. vii as applied to our Lord.
The Future Life. In our text all hope of a resurrection of the body is abandoned. The
souls of the righteous will enjoy a blessed immortality after death (xxiii. 31). This is
the earliest attested instance of this expectation in the last two centuries B.C. It is
next found in Enoch xci-civ.
The Jewish Calendar. For our author's peculiar views see Charles's edition 18 and the
notes on vi. 29-30, 32, xv. I.
Angelology. We shall confine our attention here to notable parallels between our author
and the New Testament. Besides the angels of the presence and the angels of sanctification
there are the angels who are set over natural phenomena (ii. 2). These angels are inferior
to the former. They do not observe the Sabbath as the higher orders; for they are
necessarily always engaged in their duties (ii. 18). It is the higher orders that are
generally referred to in the New Testament but the angels over natural phenomena are
referred to in Revelation: angels of the winds in vii. 1, 2, the angel of fire in xiv. 18,
the angel of the waters in xvi. 5 (cf. Jub. ii. 2). Again, the guardian angels of
individuals, which the New Testament refers to in Matt. xviii. 10 (Acts xii. 15), are
mentioned, for the first time in Jubilees xxxv. 17. On the angelology of our author see
Charles's edition.
Demonology. The demonology of our author reappears for the most part in the New
Testament:
(a) The angels which kept not their first estate, Jude 6 ; 2 Peter ii. 4, are the
angelic watchers who, though sent down to instruct mankind (Jub. iv. 15), fell from
lusting after the daughters of men. Their fall and punishment are recorded in Jub. iv. 22,
v.1-9.
(b) The demons are the spirits which went forth from the souls of the giants who were
the children of the fallen angels, Jub. v. 7, 9. These demons attacked men and ruled over
them (x. 3, 6). Their purpose is to corrupt and lead astray and destroy the wicked (x. 8).
They are subject to the prince Mastema (x. 9), or Satan. Men sacrifice to them as gods
(xxii. 17). They are to pursue their work of moral ruin till the judgement of Mastema (x.
8) or the setting up of the Messianic kingdom, when Satan will be no longer able to injure
mankind (xxiii. 29).
So in the New Testament, the demons are disembodied spirits (Matt. xii. 43-5; Luke xi.
24-6). Their chief is Satan (Mark iii. 22). They are treated as divinities of the heathen
(I Cor. x. 20). They are not to be punished till the final judgement (Matt. viii. 29). On
the advent of the Millennium Satan will be bound (Rev. xx. 2-3).
Judgement. The doctrine of retribution is strongly enforced by our author. It is to be
individual and national in this world and in the next. As regards the individual the law
of exact retribution is according to our author not merely an enactment of human justice
-the ancient lex talionis, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; it is observed by God in His
government of the world. The penalty follows in the line of the sin. This view is enforced
in 2 Macc. v. 10, where it is said of Jason, that, as he robbed multitudes of the rites of
sepulture, so he himself was deprived of them in turn, and in xv. 32 seq. it is recounted
of Nicanor that he was punished in those members with which he had sinned. So also in our
text in reference to Cain iv. 31 seq. and the Egyptians xlviii. 14. Taken crassly and
mechanically the above law is without foundation, but spiritually conceived it represented
the profound truth of the kinship of the penalty to the sin enunciated repeatedly in the
New Testament: 'Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap' (Gal. vi.;); 'he that doeth
wrong shall receive again the wrong that he hath done' (Col. iii. 25, &c.). Again in
certain cases the punishment was to follow instantaneously on the transgression (xxxvii.
17).
The final judgement was to take place at the close of the Messianic kingdom (xxiii.
30). This judgement embraces the human and superhuman worlds (v. 10 seq., 14). At this
judgement there will be no respect of persons, but all will be judged according to their
opportunities and abilities (v. 15 seq.). From the standpoint of our author there could be
no hope for the Gentiles.
16. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
(a) Greek Version: see above, 4 (a). Ethiopic Version: this text was first edited by
Dillmann from two MSS. cd in 1859, and by R. H. Charles from four MSS. abcd. The Ethiopic
Version of the Hebrew Book of Jubilees with the Hebrew, Syriac, Greek, and Latin
Fragments, Oxford, 1895. Latin Version: see above, 4 (a).
(b) Translations. Dillrnann, Das Buch der Jubilaen . . . aus dem Aethiopischen
ubersetzt (Ewald's Jahrbucher d. bibl. Wissensch., 1850-1, ii. 230-56; iii. 1-96). This
translation is based on only one MS. Schodde, The Book of Jubilees, translated from the
Ethiopic ('Bibliotheca Sacra,' 1885-7): Charles, The Book of Jubilees, translated from a
text based on two hitherto uncollated Ethiopic MSS. (Jewish Quarterly Review, 1893, v.
703-8; 1894, vi. 184-217, 710-45; 1895, vii. 297-328): Littmann, Das Buch der Jubilaen
(Kantzsch's Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des A. T., 1900, ii. 31-119). This translation
is based on Charles's text.
(c) Commentaries. Charles, The Book ofjubilees, 1902. Ronsch published a Commentary on
the Latin Version. See above, 4.
(d) Critical Inquiries. Dillmann, 'Pseudepigraphen des A. T.,' Herzog's R. E.2, xii.
364-5; 'Beitrage aus dem Buche der Jubilaen zur Kritik des Pentateuch-Textes'
(Sitzungsberichte der kgl. preussischen Akad., 1883); Beer, Das Buch der Jubilaen, 1856;
Singer, Das Buck der Jubilaen, 1898; Bohn, 'Die Pedeutung des Buches der Jubilaen' (Theol.
Stud. u. Kritiken, 1900, 167-84). For a full bibliography see Charles's Commentary or
Schurer.
THE BOOK OF JUBILEES
[Notes and dates added by Mr. Charles will not be given due to length and difficulty in
scanning and editing. If this information is desired, please see his book.]
THIS is the history of the division of the days of the law and of the testimony, of the
events of the years, of their (year) weeks, of their Jubilees throughout all the years of
the world, as the Lord spake to Moses on Mount Sinai when he went up to receive the tables
of the law and of the commandment, according to the voice of God as he said unto him, 'Go
up to the top of the Mount.'
[Chapter 1]
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]
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]
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]
1 And in the third week in the second jubilee she gave birth to Cain, and in the fourth
she gave birth to Abel, and in the fifth she gave birth to her daughter Awan. And in the
first (year) of the third jubilee, Cain slew Abel because (God) accepted the sacrifice of
Abel, and did not accept
3 the offering of Cain. And he slew him in the field: and his blood cried from the ground
to heaven,
4 complaining because he had slain him. And the Lord reproved Cain because of Abel,
because he had slain him, and he made him a fugitive on the earth because of the blood of
his brother, and he
5 cursed him upon the earth. And on this account it is written on the heavenly tables,
'Cursed is ,he who smites his neighbour treacherously, and let all who have seen and heard
say, So be it; and
6 the man who has seen and not declared (it), let him be accursed as the other.' And for
this reason we announce when we come before the Lord our God all the sin which is
committed in heaven and
7 on earth, and in light and in darkness, and everywhere. And Adam and his wife mourned
for Abel four weeks of years, [99-127 A.M] and in the fourth year of the fifth week [130
A.M.] they became joyful, and Adam knew his wife again, and she bare him a son, and he
called his name Seth; for he said 'GOD has
8 raised up a second seed unto us on the earth instead of Abel; for Cain slew him.' And in
the sixth
9 week [134-40 A.M.] he begat his daughter Azura. And Cain took Awan his sister to be his
wife and she bare him Enoch at the close of the fourth jubilee. [190-196 A.M.] And in the
first year of the first week of the fifth jubilee, [197 A.M.] houses were built on the
earth, and Cain built a city, and called its name after the name of
10, 11 his son Enoch. And Adam knew Eve his wife and she bare yet nine sons. And in the
fifth week of the fifth jubilee [225-31 A.M.] Seth took Azura his sister to be his wife,
and in the fourth (year of the sixth
12,13 week) [235 A.M.] she bare him Enos. He began to call on the name of the Lord on the
earth. And in the seventh jubilee in the third week [309-15 A.M.] Enos took Noam his
sister to be his wife, and she bare him a son
14 in the third year of the fifth week, and he called his name Kenan. And at the close of
the eighth jubilee [325, 386-3992 A.M.] Kenan took Mualeleth his sister to be his wife,
and she bare him a son in the ninth jubilee,
15 in the first week in the third year of this week, [395 A.M] and he called his name
Mahalalel. And in the second week of the tenth jubilee [449-55 A.M.] Mahalalel took unto
him to wife DinaH, the daughter of Barakiel the daughter of his father's brother, and she
bare him a son in the third week in the sixth year, [461 A.M.] and he called his name
Jared, for in his days the angels of the Lord descended on the earth, those who are named
the Watchers, that they should instruct the children of men, and that they should do
16 judgment and uprightness on the earth. And in the eleventh jubilee [512-18 A.M.] Jared
took to himself a wife, and her name was Baraka, the daughter of Rasujal, a daughter of
his father's brother, in the fourth week of this jubilee, [522 A.M.] and she bare him a
son in the fifth week, in the fourth year of the jubilee, and
17 he called his name Enoch. And he was the first among men that are born on earth who
learnt writing and knowledge and wisdom and who wrote down the signs of heaven according
to the order of their months in a book, that men might know the seasons of the years
according to the order of
18 their separate months. And he was the first to write a testimony and he testified to
the sons of men among the generations of the earth, and recounted the weeks of the
jubilees, and made known to them the days of the years, and set in order the months and
recounted the Sabbaths of the years
19 as we made (them), known to him. And what was and what will be he saw in a vision of
his sleep, as it will happen to the children of men throughout their generations until the
day of judgment; he saw and understood everything, and wrote his testimony, and placed the
testimony on earth for all
20 the children of men and for their generations. And in the twelfth jubilee, [582-88] in
the seventh week thereof, he took to himself a wife, and her name was Edna, the daughter
of Danel, the daughter of his father's brother, and in the sixth year in this week [587
A.M.] she bare him a son and he called his name
21 Methuselah. And he was moreover with the angels of God these six jubilees of years, and
they showed him everything which is on earth and in the heavens, the rule of the sun, and
he wrote down
22 everything. And he testified to the Watchers, who had sinned with the daughters of men;
for these had begun to unite themselves, so as to be defiled, with the daughters of men,
and Enoch
23 testified against (them) all. And he was taken from amongst the children of men, and we
conducted him into the Garden of Eden in majesty and honour, and behold there he writes
down the con-
24 demnation and judgment of the world, and all the wickedness of the children of men. And
on account of it (God) brought the waters of the flood upon all the land of Eden; for
there he was set as a sign and that he should testify against all the children of men,
that he should recount all the
25 deeds of the generations until the day of condemnation. And he burnt the incense of the
sanctuary,
26 (even) sweet spices acceptable before the Lord on the Mount. For the Lord has four
places on the earth, the Garden of Eden, and the Mount of the East, and this mountain on
which thou art this day, Mount Sinai, and Mount Zion (which) will be sanctified in the new
creation for a sanctification of the earth; through it will the earth be sanctified from
all (its) guilt and its uncleanness through-
27 out the generations of the world. And in the fourteenth jubilee [652 A.M.] Methuselah
took unto himself a wife, Edna the daughter of Azrial, the daughter of his father's
brother, in the third week, in the
28 first year of this week, [701-7 A.M.] and he begat a son and called his name Lamech.
And in the fifteenth jubilee in the third week Lamech took to himself a wife, and her name
was Betenos the daughter of Baraki'il, the daughter of his father's brother, and in this
week she bare him a son and he called his name Noah, saying, 'This one will comfort me for
my trouble and all my work, and for the ground
29 which the Lord hath cursed.' And at the close of the nineteenth jubilee, in the seventh
week in the sixth year [930 A.M.] thereof, Adam died, and all his sons buried him in the
land of his creation, and he
30 was the first to be buried in the earth. And he lacked seventy years of one thousand
years; for one thousand years are as one day in the testimony of the heavens and therefore
was it written concerning the tree of knowledge: 'On the day that ye eat thereof ye shall
die.' For this reason he
31 did not complete the years of this day; for he died during it. At the close of this
jubilee Cain was killed after him in the same year; for his house fell upon him and he
died in the midst of his house, and he was killed by its stones; for with a stone he had
killed Abel, and by a stone was he killed in
32 righteous judgment. For this reason it was ordained on the heavenly tablets: With the
instrument with which a man kills his neighbour with the same shall he be killed; after
the manner that
33 he wounded him, in like manner shall they deal with him.' And in the twenty-fifth [1205
A.M.] jubilee Noah took to himself a wife, and her name was Emzara, the daughter of
Rake'el, the daughter of his father's brother, in the first year in the fifth week [1207
A.M.]: and in the third year thereof she bare him Shem, in the fifth year thereof [1209
A.M.] she bare him Ham, and in the first year in the sixth week [1212 A.M.] she bare him
Japheth.
[Chapter 5]
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]
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]
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]
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
2 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, and he went to seek for
himself a place where he might seize for
3 himself a city. 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
4 stars in all the signs of heaven. And he wrote it down and said nothing regarding it;
for he was
5 afraid to speak to Noah about it lest he should be angry with him on account of it. And
in the thirtieth jubilee, [1429 A.M.] in the second week, in the first year thereof, he
took to himself a wife, and her name was Melka, the daughter of Madai, the son of Japheth,
and in the fourth year [1432 A.M.] he begat a son, and
6 called his name Shelah; for he said: 'Truly I have been sent.' [And in the fourth year
he was born], and Shelah grew up and took to himself a wife, and her name was Mu'ak, the
daughter of Kesed, his father's brother, in the one and thirtieth jubilee, in the fifth
week, in the first year [1499 A.M.]
7 thereof. And she bare him a son in the fifth year [1503 A.M.] thereof, and he
called his name Eber: and he took unto himself a wife, and her name was 'Azurad, the
daughter of Nebrod, in the thirty-second
8 jubilee, in the seventh week, in the third year thereof. [1564 A.M.] And in the sixth
year [1567 A.M.] thereof, she bare him son, and he called his name Peleg; for in the days
when he was born the children of Noah began
9 to divide the earth amongst themselves: for this reason he called his name Peleg. And
they
10 divided (it) secretly amongst themselves, and told it to Noah. And it came to pass in
the beginning of the thirty-third jubilee [1569 A.M.] that they divided the earth into
three parts, for Shem and Ham and Japheth, according to the inheritance of each, in the
first year in the first week, when one of us
11 who had been sent, was with them. And he called his sons, and they drew nigh to him,
they and their children, and he divided the earth into the lots, which his three sons were
to take in possession, and they reached forth their hands, and took the writing out of the
bosom of Noah, their father.
12 And there came forth on the writing as Shem's lot the middle of the earth which he
should take as an inheritance for himself and for his sons for the generations of
eternity, from the middle of the mountain range of Rafa, from the mouth of the water from
the river Tina, and his portion goes towards the west through the midst of this river, and
it extends till it reaches the water of the abysses, out of which this river goes forth
and pours its waters into the sea Me'at, and this river flows into the great sea. And all
that is towards the north is Japheth's, and all that is towards the
13 south belongs to Shem. And it extends till it reaches Karaso: this is in the bosom of
the tongue
14 which looks towards the south. And his portion extends along the great sea, and it
extends in a straight line till it reaches the west of the tongue which looks towards the
south: for this sea is
15 named the tongue of the Egyptian Sea. And it turns from here towards the south towards
the mouth of the great sea on the shore of (its) waters, and it extends to the west to
'Afra, and it extends till it reaches the waters of the river Gihon, and to the south of
the waters of Gihon, to the
16 banks of this river. And it extends towards the east, till it reaches the Garden of
Eden, to the south thereof, [to the south] and from the east of the whole land of Eden and
of the whole east, it turns to the east and proceeds till it reaches the east of the
mountain named Rafa, and it descends
17 to the bank of the mouth of the river Tina. This portion came forth by lot for Shem and
his sons,
18 that they should possess it for ever unto his generations for evermore. And Noah
rejoiced that this portion came forth for Shem and for his sons, and he remembered all
that he had spoken with his mouth in prophecy; for he had said:
'Blessed be the Lord God of Shem
And may the Lord dwell in the dwelling of Shem.'
19 And he knew that the Garden of Eden is the holy of holies, and the dwelling of the
Lord, and Mount Sinai the centre of the desert, and Mount Zion -the centre of the navel of
the earth: these three
20 were created as holy places facing each other. And he blessed the God of gods, who had
put the
21 word of the Lord into his mouth, and the Lord for evermore. And he knew that a blessed
portion and a blessing had come to Shem and his sons unto the generations for ever -the
whole land of Eden and the whole land of the Red Sea, and the whole land of the east and
India, and on the Red Sea and the mountains thereof, and all the land of Bashan, and all
the land of Lebanon and the islands of Kaftur, and all the mountains of Sanir and 'Amana,
and the mountains of Asshur in the north, and all the land of Elam, Asshur, and Babel, and
Susan and Ma'edai, and all the mountains of Ararat, and all the region beyond the sea,
which is beyond the mountains of Asshur towards the
22 north, a blessed and spacious land, and all that is in it is very good. And for Ham
came forth the second portion, beyond the Gihon towards the south to the right of the
Garden, and it extends towards the south and it extends to all the mountains of fire, and
it extends towards the west to the sea of 'Atel and it extends towards the west till it
reaches the sea of Ma'uk -that (sea) into which
23 everything which is not destroyed descends. And it goes forth towards the north to the
limits of Gadir, and it goes forth to the coast of the waters of the sea to the waters of
the great sea till it draws near to the river Gihon, and goes along the river Gihon till
it reaches the right of the Garden
24 of Eden. And this is the land which came forth for Ham as the portion which he was to
occupy
25 for ever for himself and his sons unto their generations for ever. And for Japheth came
forth the third portion beyond the river Tina to the north of the outflow of its waters,
and it extends north-
26 easterly to the whole region of Gog, and to all the country east thereof. And it
extends northerly to the north, and it extends to the mountains of Qelt towards the north,
and towards the sea of
27 Ma'uk, and it goes forth to the east of Gadir as far as the region of the waters of the
sea. And it extends until it approaches the west of Fara and it returns towards 'Aferag,
and it extends easterly
28 to the waters of the sea of Me'at. And it extends to the region of the river Tina in a
north-easterly direction until it approaches the boundary of its waters towards the
mountain Rafa, and it turns
29 round towards the north. This is the land which came forth for Japheth and his sons as
the portion of his inheritance which he should possess for himself and his sons, for their
generations for ever;
30 five great islands, and a great land in the north. But it is cold, and the land of Ham
is hot, and the land of Shem is neither hot nor cold, but it is of blended cold and heat.
[Chapter 9]
1 And Ham divided amongst his sons, and the first portion came forth for Cush towards the
east, and to the west of him for Mizraim, and to the west of him for Put, and to the west
of him
2 [and to the west thereof] on the sea for Canaan. And Shem also divided amongst his sons,
and the first portion came forth for Ham and his sons, to the east of the river Tigris
till it approachcs the east, the whole land of India, and on the Red Sea on its coast, and
the waters of Dedan, and all the mountains of Mebri and Ela, and all the land of Susan and
all that is on the side of Pharnak
3 to the Red Sea and the river Tina. And for Asshur came forth the second Portion, all the
land of
4 Asshur and Nineveh and Shinar and to the border of India, and it ascends and skirts the
river. And for Arpachshad came forth the third portion, all the land of the region of the
Chaldees to the east of the Euphrates, bordering on the Red Sea, and all the waters of the
desert close to the tongue of the sea which looks towards Egypt, all the land of Lebanon
and Sanir and 'Amana to the border of the
5 Euphrates. And for Aram there came forth the fourth portion, all the land of Mesopotamia
between the Tigris and the Euphrates to the north of the Chaldees to the border of the
mountains
6 of Asshur and the land of 'Arara. And there came forth for Lud the fifth portion, the
mountains of Asshur and all appertaining to them till it reaches the Great Sea, and till
it reaches the east of
7, 8 Asshur his brother. And Japheth also divided the land of his inheritance amongst his
sons. And the first portion came forth for Gomer to the east from the north side to the
river Tina; and in the north there came forth for Magog all the inner portions of the
north until it reaches to the sea of
9 Me'at. And for Madai came forth as his portion that he should posses from the west of
his two
10 brothers to the islands, and to the coasts of the islands. And for Javan came forth the
fourth
11 portion |
