Pg. 47-57

Ch. 6-11

 

SECTION II

ELEH TOLEDOTH NOACH.

 

These are the memorials of Noach. Noach was a man righteous and perfect in his generation; in the fear of the Lord walked Noach. And Noach begat three sons, Shem, Cham, and Yapeth. And the earth was corrupted before the Lord, and the earth was filled with violences.[1] And the Lord saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt, because all flesh had corrupted, each one, his way upon the earth.

 

And the Lord said to Noach, The end of all flesh cometh before Me, because the earth is filled with violences from the face of their wicked works; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark with the wood of cedar; dwellings shalt thou make in the ark, and overlay it within and without with pitch. And thus shalt thou make it: three hundred cubits shall be the length of the ark, fifty cubits its breadth, and thirty cubits its height. A light shalt thou make to the ark, and at a cubit shalt thou complete it above, and the door of the ark thou shalt place in its side. Lower dwellings, second and third, shalt thou make in it. And I, behold, I do bring the deluge of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under the heavens. Every thing that is on the earth shall die. And I will establish My covenant with thee; and thou shalt enter into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and the wives of thy sons with thee. And of all that liveth of all flesh two and two of all that enter into the ark to abide with thee, male and female shall they be. Of fowl according to its kind, and of cattle according to her kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of all shall enter with thee to abide. And thou, take with thee of all food which is eaten, and gather to be with thee; and it shall be for thee and for them to eat. And Noach did according to all which the Lord had commanded him, so did he.

 

VII. And the Lord said to Noach, Enter thou and all the men of thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation. Of all clean animals take thou seven and seven, male and female; and of animals not clean, two and two, male and female. Also of the fowls of heaven, seven and seven, male and female, to continue the seed upon the face of all the earth. Because yet a time of seven days and I will cause rain to descend upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out every subsistence[2] which I have made upon all the face of the earth. And Noach did according to all that the Lord had instructed him. And Noach was a son of six hundred years; and the deluge[3] of waters was upon the earth. And Noach entered, and his sons, and his wife, and the wives of his sons with him, into the ark from before the water of the deluge. Of animals clean, and of animals not clean, and of birds, and of all which creepeth upon the earth, two and two, they entered with Noach into the ark, male and female, as the Lord had instructed Noach. And it was at the time of seven days, and the waters of the deluge were upon the earth. In the six‑hundredth year of the life of Noach, in the second month, in the seven­teenth day of the month, in that day were all the springs of the great abyss upbroken, and the windows of heaven opened, and the rain came down upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In that very day entered Noach, and Shem, Cham, and Yapheth, sons of Noach, and the wife of Noach, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; they, and every animal after his kind, and all cattle after its kind, and every, reptile which creepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every fowl after its kind, every bird, every one that flieth: and they entered with Noach oach into the ark, two and two of all flesh in which is the breath of life; and they, entering, male and female of all flesh, entered, as the Lord had commanded him, and the Lord protected them by His Word.[4] And there was a deluge forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased, and took up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. And the waters prevailed and increased mightily upon the earth, and the ark went upon the faces of the waters. And the waters prevailed most mightily over the earth, and all the high hills were covered which were under all the heavens. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered; and all flesh died which moved upon the earth, of fowl, and of cattle, and of the wild beast, and of every reptile which creepeth upon the earth, and every man. Everything in whose nostrils was the breath of the Spirit of life, of all which was upon the dry ground, died. And every subsistence was blotted out that was upon the faces of the earth, from man to the beast, to the reptile, and to the fowl of heaven, it was blotted out from the earth, and Noach was left alone, and they who were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

 

VIII. And the Lord remembered Noach, and every living thing, and all the cattle which were with him in the ark; and the Lord caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters rested, and the springs of the abyss were shut, and the windows of the heavens, and the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters turned from on the earth, going and returning; and the waters diminished from the end of a hundred and fifty days. And the ark rested on the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Kardu.[5] And the waters went and diminished until the tenth month: in the tenth, on the first of the mouth, the heads of the mountains appeared. And it was at the end of forty days, and Noach opened the windows of the ark which he had made. And he sent forth a raven, and going he went out, and returned until the waters were dried upon the earth. And he sent forth a dove from (being) with him, to see whether the waters were lightened (or consumed) from the surface of the earth. But the dove found no rest for the dividing of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, because the waters were upon all the earth; and he stretched forth his hand, and took her, and brought her to be with him in the ark. And he prolonged[6] yet seven days, and afterward added to send forth the dove from the ark. And the dove came to him at the time of evening, and, behold, a leaf of olive broken off was in her mouth; and Noach knew that the waters were lightened from upon the earth. And he prolonged yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove, and she added not to return to be with him again. And it was in the six‑hundredth and first year, in the beginning of the first month, the waters were dried from off the earth; and Noach removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the faces of the ground were dry. And in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, the earth was fully dry.

 

And the Lord spake with Noach, saying: Go forth from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and the wives of thy sons with thee. Every living thing which is with thee of all flesh, of fowl, and of cattle, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, bring forth with thee, and they shall generate in the earth, and spread abroad and multiply upon the earth. And Noach went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and the wives of his sons with him; every animal, every reptile and bird, everything which moveth upon the earth after their kind, went forth from the ark.

 

And Noach builded an altar before the Lord, and took of every clean beast and of every clean bird, and uplifted an offering upon the altar. And the Lord received with approval his oblation; and the Lord said in His Word,[7] I will not add to curse again the earth on account of the guilt of man, because the creations of the heart of man[8] are evil from his infancy;[9] and I will not add again to smite every living thing as I have done. Yet all the days of the earth, seed‑time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease.

 

IX. And the Lord blessed Noach and his sons, and said to them, Spread abroad, and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the heavens, in all which creepeth upon the earth, and in all fish of the sea; into your hands shall they be delivered. Every moving thing that liveth, for you it shall be to eat; as the green herb I have given you the whole. But the flesh with its life‑blood you shall not eat. And also your blood of your lives will I require, from every beast will I require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of the man who sheddeth the blood of his brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth the blood of man, by witnesses, upon the sentence of the judges, his blood shall be shed; because in the image of the Lord[10] made He man. And you, spread abroad and multiply; bring forth in the earth and multiply therein.

 

And the Lord spake to Noach, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you and with your children after you, and with every living thing which is with you, of fowl, of cattle, and of every beast of the field that is with you, of all going forth from the ark of every animal of the earth. And I will establish My covenant with you, and all flesh shall not again be consumed by the waters of a deluge, nor shall there be again a deluge to destroy the earth. And the Lord said, This is the sign of the covenant which I appoint (give) between My Word, and between you, and between every living soul that is with you unto perpetual generations. I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between My Word and between the earth. And it shall be that when clouding I becloud the earth, the bow shall be seen in the cloud,and I will remember the covenant which is between My Word, and between You, and between every living soul of all flesh; and there shall not be again the waters of a deluge to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between the Word of the Lord andbetween every living soul of all flesh that is upon the earth. And the Lord said, This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between My Word and between all flesh which is upon the earth.

 

And the sons of Noach who went forth from the ark were Shem and Cham and Yapheth: and Cham is the father of Kenaan. These three are the sons of Noach and from them was the whole earth Overspread. And Noach began to be a man working on the earth;[11] and he planted a vineyard, and he drank of the wine,[12] and was drunk; and he was uncovered in the midst of his tent. And Cham the father of Kenaan saw the nakedness of his father, and he showed to his two brethren without. And Shem and Yapheth took a mantle, and laid it upon the shoulders of both, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were averted, and the nakedness of their father they saw not. And Noach awoke from his wine, and knew that which his youngest son had done unto him; and he said:--

 

Accursed be Kenaan,

 

A working servant shall he be to his brethren. And he said:--

 

Blessed be the Lord the God of Shem,

 

And Kenaan shall be servant unto them.

 

The Lord shall enlarge Yapheth,[13]

 

And be shall make his Shekinah to dwell in the tabernacles of Shem:

 

And Kenaan shall be servant unto them.

 

And Noach lived after the deluge three hundred and fifty years. And all the days of Noach were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.

 

X. And these are the generations of the sons of Noach, Shem, Cham, and Yapheth; and sons were born to them after the deluge. The sons of Yepheth, Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Yavan, and Thuval, and Meshek, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer, Ashkenaz, and Rephath, and Thogarmah. And the sons of Yavan, Elishah and Tharshish, and Dodanim. From these were the isles (nagvath) of the peoples divided in their lands, each according to his language, according to their families in their nations. And the sons of Cham, Kush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Kenaan. And the sons of Kush, Seba, and Chavilah, and Sabetha, and Raamah, and Sabtekah. And the sons of Raamah, Sheba and Dedan. And Kush begat Nimrod: he began to be a powerful man in the earth. He was a powerful man before the Lord: therefore it is said, Like Nimrod the man of might before the Lord. And the head (beginning) of his kingdom was Bavel, and Erek, and Akad, and Kalneh in the land of Bavel.[14] From that land he went forth to Athura,[15] and built Nineveh, and the city of Rechov,[16] and Kalach,[17] and Resen,[18] between Nineveh and Kalach, which was a great city. And Mizraim begat the Ludaee, and Anamaee, and Lehabaee,[19] and Naphtuhaee, and Pathrusaee, and Kasluchaee, from whom came forth the Pelishtaee and Kaputkaee.

 

And Kenaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Cheth, and the Jebusaee, and Amoraee, and Girgashee, and Hivaaee, and Arkaee, and Antasaee, and Arvadaee, and Zemaraee, and Chamathaee: and afterwards the seed of the Kenaanaee were scattered abroad. And the frontier of Kenaanaah was from Zidon, coming to Gerar and to Azza, coming unto Sedom, and Amorah, and Admah, and Zeboim, unto Lasha. These are the sons of Cham, according to their progenies, to their languages, in their lands, in their peoples.

 

And of Shem was born: (also he is the father of all the sons of Eber, and the brother of Yapheth the Great:) the sons of Shem, Elim, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. And the sons of Aram, Uz, and Chul, and Gether, and Mash. And Arphaxad begat Shelach; and Shelach begat Eber. And to Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg: because in his day the earth was divided. And the name of his brother was Yoktan. And Yoktan begat Almodad, and Shaleph, and Chatsarmaveth, and Yarech, and Chadoram, and Uzal, and Dikelah, and Obal, and Avimael, and Sheba, and Ophir, and Chavilah, and Yobab: all these are the sons of Yoktan. And their dwelling was from Mesha,[20] coming to Sephar, an eastern mountain. These are the sons of Shem,[21] according to their progenies, according to their languages, in their lands, in their peoples. These are the progenies of the sons of Noach, by their generations, in their peoples: and by them were the peoples outspread in the earth after the deluge.

 

XI. And all the earth was of one language and one speech. And it was in their migrations[22] at the beginning, that they found a plain in the land of Babel., and dwelt there. And they said, a man to his companion, Come, let us cast bricks and bake them in the fire. And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. And they said, Come, let us build a city, and a tower, the bead of it coming to the pinnacle of the heavens. And we will make to us a name, lest we be dispersed upon the face of all the earth. And the Lord was revealed to punish the work of the city and the tower which the sons of men had builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one and the language one with all of them: and this is what they begin to do. And now nothing will be restrained from them of what they imagine to do. Come, We will be manifest, and will confuse their language there, that a man shall not bear the language of his companion. And the Lord dispersed them from thence upon the face of all the earth, and they were restrained from building the city. Therefore the name of it is called Confusion,[23] because the Lord there confused the tongue of all the earth, and from thence the Lord dispersed them upon the face of all the earth.

 

These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a son of a hundred years, and he begat Arphaxad, two years after the deluge. And Shem lived after he had begotten Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And Arphaxad lived thirty and five years, and begat Shelach. And Arphaxad lived after he had begotten Shelach four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

 

And Shelach lived thirty years, and begat Eber. And Shelach lived after he had begotten Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

 

And Eber lived thirty and four years, and begat Peleg. And Eber lived after he had begotten Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

 

And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu. And Peleg lived after he had begotten Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

 

And Reu lived thirty and two years, and begat Serug. And Reu lived after he had begotten Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nachor. And Serug lived after he had begotten Nachor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

 

And Nachor lived twenty and nine years, and begat Terach. And Nachor lived after he had begotten Terach a hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

 

And Terach lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nachor, and Haran. And these are the generations of Terach. Terach begat Abram, Nachor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran died before Terach his father in the land of his nativity, in Ura of the Kasdaee. And Abram and Nachor took to them wives: the name of the wife of Abram, Sara; and the name of the wife of Nachor, Milcha, daughter of Haran the father of Milcha and the father of Yiska. And Sara was barren, she had no child. And Terach took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, the son of his son, and Sara his daughter‑in‑law, wife of Abram his son, and went forth with them from Ura of the Kasdaee to go to the land of Kenaan. And they came to Charan, and dwelt there. And the days of Terach were two hundred and five years, and Terach died in Charan.

 

[1]Or, "rapines." Sam Ver. "oppressions."

[1] Yekuma.

[1] Tuphana.

[1] Or, "The Lord overshadowed them by His Word." The Samaritan has, "And the Lord sealed over them."

[1] Sam Vers. Al teborah Sarnedib, "Upon the mountains Sarnedib." The Peschito Syriac, "Upon the mountians of Kardu" (Armenia).

[1] Veorik: the Samaritan text has, Vajichel, "And he expected;" the Samaritan Version, Veamen, "And he believed, or confided yet," &c.

[1] "Unto (rozch) his mystery." --Sam. Vers.

[1] "The secret of the heart of man." --Sam Vers.

[1] "His smallness," zeireia.

[1] Sam. Vers. "of angels."

[1] Sam. "A man of husbandry."

[1] Chamra, "red wine;" Heb. Hayayin; Sam. Amrah.

[1] Yaphti Leia l'Yepheth. Yapheth signifies "enlargement."

[1] Sam. Vers. "Zopha."

[1] "Astun."

[1] "Satkan."

[1] "Lakisa."

[1] "Aspa."

[1] "Enamim."

[1] "Misbal." --Sam.

[1] Sam. Vers. "This is the portion of the sons."

[1] Heb. "their removal from the east." Syriac, "It was while they ascended from the east."

[1] "Babel." Sam. Vers. "Lilaq."