The Cave Of Treasures

By the might of our Lord Jesus Christ we begin to write the "Book of the Succession of the Generations," that is to say, ME`ÂRATH GAZZÊ, which was composed by SAINT MÂR APHRÊM (i.e. Ephraim, commonly known as "Ephraim Syrus," or "Ephraim the Syrian," who died A.D. 373). O our Lord, help Thou me in Thy Mercy. Amen.

THE FIRST THOUSAND YEARS: ADAM TO YARÊD

The First Day

In the beginning, on the First Day, which was the holy First Day of the Week, the chief and firstborn of all the days, Elohim created the heavens, and the earth, and the waters, and the air, and the fire, and the hosts which are invisible (that is to say, the Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Lords, Principalities, Powers, Cherubim and Seraphim), and all the ranks and companies of Spiritual beings, and the Light, and the Night, and the Day-time, and the gentle winds and the strong winds (i.e. storms). All these were created on the First Day.

And on the First Day of the Week the Spirit of holiness, one of the Persons of the Trinity, hovered over the waters, and through the hovering thereof over the face of the waters, the waters were blessed so that they might become producers of offspring, and they became hot, and the whole nature of the waters glowed with heat, and the leaven of creation was united to them.

As the mother-bird maketh warm her young by the embrace of her closely covering wings, and the young birds acquire form through the warmth of the heat which [they derive] from her, so through the operation of the Spirit of holiness, the Spirit, the Paraclete, the leaven of the breath of life was united to the waters when He hovered over them.

The Second Day

And on the Second Day Elohim made the Lower Heaven, and called it REKÎA [that is to say, "what is sold and fixed," or "firmament"].

This He did that He might make known that the Lower Heaven does not possess the nature of the heaven which is above it, and that it is different in appearance from that heaven which is above it, for the heaven above it is of fire.

And that second heaven is NÛHRÂ (i.e. Light), and this lower heaven is DARPÎTÎÔN, and because it has the dense nature of water it has been called "Rekîa."

And on the Second Day Elohim made a separation between the waters and the waters, that is to say, between the waters which were above [Rekîa] and the waters which were below.

And the ascent of these waters which were above heaven took place on the Second Day, and they were like unto a dense black cloud of thick darkness. Thus were they raised up there, and they mounted up, and behold, they stand above the Rekîa in the air; and they do not spread, and they make no motion to any side.

The Third Day

And on the Third Day Elohim commanded the waters that were below the firmament (Rekîa) to be gathered together in one place, and the dry land to appear.

And when the covering of water had been rolled up from the face of the earth, the earth showed itself to be in an unsettled and unstable state, that is to say, it was of a damp (or moist) and yielding nature.

And the waters were gathered together into seas that were under the earth and within it, and upon it.

And Elohim made in the earth from below, corridors, and shafts, and channels for the passage of the waters; and the winds which come from within the earth ascend by means of these corridors and channels, and also the heat and the cold for the service of the earth. Now, as for the earth, the lower part of it is like unto a thick sponge, for it rests on the waters.

And on this Third Day God commanded the earth, and it brought forth herbs and vegetables, and it conceived in its interior trees, and seeds, and plants and roots.

The Fourth Day

And on the Fourth Day Elohim made the sun, and the moon, and the stars.

And as soon as the heat of the sun was diffused over the surface of the earth, the earth became hard and rigid, and lost its flaccidity, because the humidity and the dampness [caused by] the waters were taken away from it.

The Creator made the sphere of the sun of fire and filled it with light.

And Elohim gave unto the sphere of the moon and the stars bodies of water and air, and filled them with light.

And when the dust of the earth became hot, it brought forth all the trees, and plants, and seeds, and roots which had been conceived inside it on the Third Day.

The Fifth Day

And on the Fifth Day Elohim commanded the waters, and they brought forth all kind of fish of divers appearances, and creatures which move about, and twist themselves and wriggle in the waters, and serpents, and Leviathan, and beasts of terrible aspects, and feathered fowl of the air and of the waters.

And on this same day Elohim made from the earth all the cattle and wild beasts, and all the reptiles which creep about upon the earth.

The Sixth Day

And on the Sixth Day, which is the Eve of the Sabbath, Elohim formed man out of the dust, and Eve from his rib.

The Seventh Day

And on the Seventh Day Elohim rested from His labours, and it is called "Sabbath."

The Creation of Adam

Now the formation of Adam took place in this wise:

On the Sixth Day, which is the Eve of the Sabbath, at the first hour of the day, when quietness was reigning over] all the Ranks [of the Angels], and the hosts [of heaven], Elohim said, "Come ye, let Us make man in Our image, and according to Our likeness." Now by this word "Us" He made known concerning the Glorious Persons [of the Trinity].

And when the angels heard this utterance, they fell into a state of fear and trembling, and they said to one another, "A mighty miracle will be made manifest to us this day [that is to say], the likeness of Elohim, our Maker."

And they saw the right hand of Elohim opened out flat, and stretched out over the whole world; and all creatures were collected in the palm of His right hand.

And they saw that He took from the whole mass of the earth one grain of dust, and from the whole nature of water one drop of water, and from all the air which is above one puff of wind, and from the whole nature of fire a little of its heat and warmth.

And the angels saw that when these four feeble (or inert) materials were placed in the palm of His right hand, that is to say, cold, and heat, and dryness, and moisture, Elohim formed Adam. Now, for what reason did Elohim make Adam out of these four materials unless it were [to show] that everything which is in the world should be in subordination to him through them? He took a grain from the earth in order that everything in nature which is formed of earth should be subject unto him; and a drop of water in order that everything which is in the seas and rivers should be his; and a puff of air so that all kinds [of creatures] which fly in the air might be given unto him; and the heat of fire so that all the beings that are fiery in nature, and the celestial hosts, might be his helpers.

God formed Adam with His holy hands, in His own Image and Likeness, and when the angels saw Adam's glorious appearance they were greatly moved by the beauty thereof. For they saw [the image of his face burning with glorious splendor like the orb of the sun, and the light of his eyes was like the light of the sun, and the image of his body was like unto the sparkling of crystal.

And when he rose at full length and stood upright in the centre of the earth, he planted his two feet on that spot whereon was set up the Cross of our Redeemer; for Adam was created in Jerusalem. There he was arrayed in the apparel of sovereignty, and there was the crown of glory set upon his head, there was he made king, and priest, and prophet, there did God make him to sit upon his honorable throne, and there did Elohim give him dominion over all creatures and things.

And all the wild beasts, and all the cattle, and the feathered fowl were gathered together, and they passed before Adam and he assigned names to them; and they bowed their heads before him; and everything in nature worshipped him, and submitted themselves unto him.

And the angels and the hosts of heaven heard the Voice of Elohim saying unto him, "Adam, behold; I have made thee king, and priest, and prophet, and lord, and head, and governor of everything which hath been made and created; and they shall be in subjection unto thee, and they shall be thine, and I have given unto thee power over everything which I have created."

And when the angels heard this speech they all bowed the knee and worshipped Him.

The Revolt of Satan, and the Battle in Heaven

And when the prince of the lower order of angels saw what great majesty had been given unto Adam, he was jealous of him from that day, and he did not wish to worship him.

And he said unto his hosts, "You shall not worship him, and you shall not praise him with the angels. It is meet that you should worship me, because I am fire and spirit; and not that I should worship a thing of dust, which has been fashioned of fine dust."

And the Rebel meditating these things would not render obedience to Elohim, and of his own free will he asserted his independence and separated himself from Elohim. But he was swept away out of heaven and fell, and the fall of himself and of all his company from heaven took place on the Sixth Day, at the second hour of the day.

And the apparel of their glorious state was stripped off them.

And his name was called "Sâtânâ" because he turned aside [from the right way], and "Shêdâ" because he was cast out, and "Daiwâ" because he lost the apparel of his glory.

And behold, from that time until the present day, he and all his hosts have been stripped of their apparel, and they go naked and have horrible faces.

And when Sâtânâ was cast out from heaven, Adam was raised up so that he might ascend to Paradise in a chariot of fire.

And the angels went before him, singing praises, and the Seraphim ascribed holiness unto him, and the Cherubim ascribed blessing; and amid cries of joy and praises Adam went into The Garden.

And as soon as Adam entered The Garden he was commanded not to eat of a [certain] tree; his entrance into Eden took place at the third hour of the Eve of the Sabbath (i.e. on Friday morning).

The Fathers of the Egyptian and Ethiopian Churches treat the story of the Fall of Satan in great detail. According to them, Satan, or Satnâêl, was greatly astonished at the beauty and splendor of the sun and moon, and on the Fourth Day of the week he declared to himself that he would set his throne above the stars, and make himself equal to God. One week after the creation of Adam, Satan declared war on the hosts of Almighty God. The angels uttered their battle cries and began to fight, but Satan charged them and dispersed them; they reformed, but again Satan charged them and put them to flight. Then God gave the angels the Cross of Light, which bore the legend, "In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost." And when they attacked the hosts of darkness under this Cross, Satan became faint, and he and his forces withdrew, and Michael hurled them down into hell.  [From the Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth.]

When Satan saw Adam seated on a great throne, with a crown of glory on his head and a scepter in his hand, and all the angels worshipping him, he was filled with anger. And when God said to him, "Come thou also, for thou shalt worship My image and likeness," Satan refused to do so, and, assuming an arrogant and insolent manner, he said, "It is meet that he should worship me, for I existed before he came into being." When the Father saw his overbearing attitude, He knew that Satan's wickedness and rebellion had reached their highest pitch. He ordered the celestial soldiers to take from him the written authority that was in his hand, to strip off his armor, and to hurl him down from heaven to earth. Satan was the greatest of the angels, and God had made him the Commander-in-Chief of the celestial hosts, and in the document which Satan held in his hand were written the names of all the angels under his command. Knowing their names, his authority over them was absolute. When God saw that the angels hesitated to take the document from him, He commanded them to bring a sharp reaping-knife, and to stab him on this side and that, right through his body to the backbone and shoulder blades; and Satan could no longer stand upright. And a Cherub smote him, and broke his wings and his ribs, and having rendered him helpless he cast Satan down from Heaven upon the earth. Then he became the Arch-Devil and the leader of those who were cast out of heaven with him, and who henceforth were devils. |From Budge, Coptic Martyrdoms, page 484]

The making of Eve

And Elohim cast a sleep upon Adam and he slept.

And Elohim took a rib from the loins on the right side of Adam, and He made Khâwâ (i.e. Eve) from it; and when Adam woke up, and saw Eve, he rejoiced in her greatly.

And Adam and Eve were in Paradise, and clothed with glory and shining with praise for three hours.

Now this Paradise was situated on a high range of hills, and it was thirty spans--according to the measurement of the spirit--higher than all the high mountains, and it surrounded the whole earth.

Now Moses the prophet said that Elohim planted Paradise in Eden and placed Adam there.

The symbolism of Eden

Now Eden is the Holy Church, and the Church is the compassion of Elohim which He was about to extend to the children of men. For Elohim, according to His foreknowledge, knew what Satan had devised against Adam, and therefore He set Adam beforehand in the bosom of His compassion, even as the blessed David sings concerning Him in the Psalm, saying "Lord, You have been an abiding place for us throughout all generations," that is to say, You have made us to have our abiding place in Your compassion."

And, when entreating Elohim on behalf of the redemption of the children of men, David said, "Remember Your Church, which You did acquire in olden time", that is to say, "Remember Your compassion, which You are about to spread over our feeble race."

Eden is the Holy Church, and the Paradise which was in it is the land of rest and the inheritance of life, which Elohim has prepared for all the holy children of men.

And because Adam was priest, and king, and prophet, Elohim brought him into Paradise that he might minister in Eden, the Holy Church, even as the blessed man Moses testified concerning him, saying, " That he might serve Elohim by means of priestly ministration with praise, and that he might keep that commandment which had been entrusted to him by the compassion of Elohim".

And Elohim made Adam and Eve to dwell in Paradise. True is this word, and it proclaims the truth: That Tree of Life which was in the midst of Paradise prefigured the Redeeming Cross, which is the veritable Tree of Life, and this it was that was fixed in the middle of the earth.

Satan's Attack on Adam and Eve

And when Satan saw that Adam and Eve were happy and joyful in Paradise, that Rebel was smitten sorely with jealousy, and he became filled with wrath. and he went and took up his abode in the serpent, and he raised him up, and made him to fly through the air to the skirts of Mount Eden whereon was Paradise.

Now why did Satan enter the body of the serpent and hide himself therein? Because he knew that his appearance was foul, and that if Eve saw his form, she would betake herself to flight straightway before him.

Now, the man who wished to teach the Greek language to a bird --now the bird that can learn the speech of men is called "babbaghah" or “the parrot"--first brings a large mirror and places between himself and the bird. He then begins to talk to the bird, and immediately the parrot hears the voice of the man, it turns round, and when it sees its own form in the mirror; it becomes pleased straightway, because it imagines that a fellow parrot is talking to it. Then it inclines its ear with pleasure, and listens to the words of the man who is talking to it, and it becomes eager to learn, and to speak Greek.

In this manner did Satan enter in and dwell in the serpent, and he watched for the opportunity, and when he saw Eve by herself, he called her by her name.

And when she turned round towards him, she saw her own form reflected in him, and she talked to him; and Satan led her astray with his lying words, because the nature of woman is yielding.

And when Eve had heard from him concerning that tree, straightway she ran quickly to it, and she plucked the fruit of disobedience from the tree of transgression of the command, and she ate. Then immediately she found herself stripped naked, and she saw the hatefulness of her shame, and she ran away naked, and hid herself in another tree, and covered her nakedness with the leaves thereof.

And she cried out to Adam, and he came to her, and she handed to him some of the fruit of which she had eaten, and he also did eat thereof.

And when he had eaten he also became naked, and he and Eve made girdles for their loins of the leaves of the fig-trees; and they were arrayed in these girdles of ignominy for three hours. At mid-day they received their sentence of doom.

And Elohim made for them tunics of skin which was stripped from the trees, that is to say, of the bark of the trees, because the trees that were in Paradise had soft barks, and they were softer than the byssus and silk wherefrom the garments worn by kings are made.

And Elohim dressed them in this soft skin, which was thus spread over a body of infirmities.

Adam's stay in Paradise

At the third hour of the day Adam and Eve ascended into Paradise, and for three hours they enjoyed the good things thereof; for three hours they were in shame and disgrace, and at the ninth hour their expulsion from Paradise took place.

And as they were going forth sorrowfully, Elohim spoke unto Adam, and heartened him, and said unto him, "Be not sorrowful, O Adam, for I will restore unto you your inheritance. Behold, see how greatly I have loved you, for though I have cursed the earth for your sake, yet I have withdrawn you from the operation of the curse. As for the serpent, I have fettered his legs in his belly, and I have given him the dust of the earth for food; and I have bound Eve under the yoke of servitude. Inasmuch as you have transgressed my commandments go forth, but be not sad. After the fulfilment of the times which I have allotted that you shall be in exile outside [Paradise], in the land which is under the curse, behold, I will send my Son. And He shall go down [from heaven] for your redemption, and He shall sojourn in a Virgin, and shall put on a body [of flesh], and through Him redemption and a return shall be effected for you. But command your sons, and order them to embalm your body after your death with myrrh, cassia, and stacte. And they shall place you in this cave, wherein I am making you to dwell this day, until the time when your expulsion shall take place from the regions of Paradise to that earth which is outside it. And whosoever shall be left in those days shall take your body with him, and shall deposit it on the spot which I shall show him, in the center of the earth; for in that place shall redemption be effected for you and for all your children."

And Elohim revealed unto Adam everything which the Son would suffer on behalf of him.

Adam's expulsion from Paradise

And when Adam and Eve had gone forth from Paradise, the door of Paradise was shut, and a cherub bearing a two-edged sword stood by it.

And Adam and Eve went down in over the mountains of Paradise, and they found a cave in the top of the mountain, and they entered and hid themselves therein.

So Adam and Eve went down from that holy mountain of Eden to the slopes which were below it, and there Adam knew Eve his wife.

And Eve conceived and brought forth Cain and Lebhûdha, his sister, with him; and Eve conceived again and she brought forth Abel and Kelîmath, his sister, with him.

And when the children grew up, Adam said unto Eve, "Let Cain take to wife Kelîmath, who was brought forth with Abel, and let Abel take to wife Lebhûdhâ, who was brought forth with Cain."

And Cain said unto Eve his mother, "I will take to wife my twin sister Lebhûdhâ, and let Abel take to wife his twin sister Kelîmath "; now Lebhûdhâ was beautiful.

When Adam heard these words, which were exceedingly displeasing unto him, he said, "It will be a transgression of the commandment for you to take your sister, who was born with you. Nevertheless, you take to yourselves fruits of trees, and the young of sheep, and you get up to the top of this holy mountain. Then you go into , and you offer up your offerings, and make your prayers, and then you shall consort with your wives."

And it came to pass that when, Adam, the first priest, and Cain and Abel, his sons, were going up to the top of the mountain, Satan entered into Cain and persuaded him to kill Abel, his brother, because of Lebhûdhâ; and because his offering was rejected and was not accepted before Elohim, whilst the offering of Abel was accepted, Cain's jealousy of his brother Abel was increased.

And when they came down to the plain, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and he killed him with a blow from a stone of flint. Then straightway Cain received the doom of death, instead of curses, and he became a fugitive and a wanderer all the days of his life.

And Elohim drove him forth into exile in a certain part of the forest of Nôdh, and Cain took to wife his twin sister and made the place of his abode there.

The Birth of Seth

And Adam and Eve mourned for Abel one hundred years.

And then Adam knew his wife again, and she brought forth Seth, the Beautiful, a man mighty and perfect like unto Adam, and he became the father of the mighty men who lived before the Flood.

The Posterity of Seth

And to Seth was born Anôsh, and Anôsh begot Kainân, and Kainân begot Mahlâlâîl; these are the Patriarchs who were born in the days of Adam.

The Death of Adam

And when Adam had lived 930 years, that is to say, until the 135 year of Mahlâlâîl, the day of his death drew nigh and came.

And Seth, his son, and Anôsh, and Kainân, and Mahlâlâîl gathered themselves together and came to him.

And they were blessed by him, and he prayed over them.

And he commanded his son Seth, and said unto him, "Observe, my son Seth, that which I command you this day, and on the day of your death you shall give my command to Anôsh, and repeat it to him, and let him repeat it to Kainan, and Kainân shall repeat it to Mahlâlâîl, and let this command be handed on to all your generations.

And when I die, embalm me with myrrh, and cassia, and stacte, and deposit my body in.

And whosoever shall be left of your generations in that day, when your going forth from this country, which is round about Paradise, shall take place, shall carry my body with him, and shall take it and deposit it in the center of the earth, for in that place shall redemption be effected for me and for all my children.

And you shall be, O my son Seth, governor of the sons of your people.

And you shall rule them purely and holy in all the fear of Elohim.

And you shall keep your offspring separate from the offspring of Cain, the murderer."

And when the report "Adam is dying" was known generally, all his offspring gathered together, and came to him, that is to say, Seth, his son, and Anôsh, and Kainân and Mahlâlâîl, they and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; and Adam blessed them.

And the departure of Adam from this world took place in the 930 year--according to the reckoning from the beginning--on the 14th day of the moon, on the 6th day of the month of Nîsân, at the 9th hour, on the day of the Eve of the Sabbath.

At the same hour in which the Son of Man delivered up his soul to His Father on the Cross, did our father Adam deliver up his soul to Him that fashioned him; and he departed from this world.

The Burial of Adam

And when Adam was dead, his son Seth embalmed him, according as Adam had commanded him, with myrrh, and cassia, and stacte; now Adam's dead body was the first body buried in the earth.

And grief for him was exceedingly sore, and Seth and his sons mourned for his death one hundred and forty days; and they took Adam's body up to the top of the mountain, and buried it in.

And after the families and peoples of the children of Seth had buried Adam, they separated themselves from the children of Cain, the murderer.

And Seth took Anôsh, his firstborn, and Kainân, and Mahlâlâîl, and their wives and children, and led them up into the glorious mountain where Adam was buried; and Cain and all his descendants remained below on the plain where Cain slew Abel.

The Rule of Seth

And Seth became the governor of the children of his people, and he ruled them in purity and holiness.

And because of their purity they received the name, which is the best of all names, and were called "the sons of God", they and their wives and their sons.

Thus they lived in that mountain in all purity and holiness and in the fear of Elohim. And they went up on the skirts of the mountain of Paradise, and they became praisers and glorifiers of Elohim in the place of that host of devils who fell from heaven.

There they dwelt in peace and happiness: there was nothing about which they needed to feel anxiety, they had nothing to weary or trouble them, and they had nothing to do except to praise and glorify Elohim, with the angels.

For they heard continually the voices of the angels who were singing praises in Paradise, which was situated at no great height above them--in fact, only about thirty spans--according to the measure of the spirit.

They suffered neither toil nor fatigue, they had neither seed time nor harvest, but they fed themselves with the delectable fruits of glorious trees of all kinds, and they enjoyed the sweet scent and perfume of the breezes which were wafted forth to them from Paradise.

Thus lived those holy men, who were indeed holy, and their wives were pure, and their sons were virtuous, and their daughters were chaste and undefiled. In them there was no rebellious thought, no envy, no anger, no enmity. In their wives and daughters there was no impure longing, and neither lasciviousness, nor cursing, nor lying was heard among them. The only oath which they used in swearing was, "By the blood of Abel."

And they, and their wives, and their children used to rise up early in the morning, and go up to the top of that holy mountain, and worship there before Elohim.

And they were blessed by the body of Adam their father, and they lifted up their eyes to Paradise, and praised Elohim; and thus they did all the days of their life.

And when Seth had lived 912 years he became sick unto death.

And Anôsh his son, and Kainan, and Mahlâlâîl, and Yârêd, and Henôkh, and their wives and their sons, gathered together and came unto him, and they were blessed by him.

And he prayed over them, and commanded them, and made them to take an oath, and said unto them, " I will make you to take an oath, and to swear by the holy blood of Abel, that none of you will go down from this holy mountain to the children of Cain, the murderer. For you know well the enmity which has existed between us and Cain from the day whereon he slew Abel."

And Seth blessed Anôsh, his son, and gave him commands concerning the body of Adam, and he made him ruler over the children of his people.

And Seth ruled them in purity and in holiness, and he ministered diligently before the body of Adam.

And Seth died when he was 912 old, on the seven-and-twentieth day of the blessed month of Abh, on the 2nd day of the week, at the 3rd hour, in the 20th year of the life of Enoch.

And Anôsh, Seth's first-born son, embalmed his body and buried him in, with his father Adam; and they made a mourning for him forty days.

The Rule of Anôsh

And Anôsh rose up to minister before Elohim in.

And he became the governor of the children of his people, and he kept all the commandments which his father Seth had commanded him, and he urged them to be constant in prayer.

And in the days of Anôsh, in his eight hundred and twentieth year, Lamech, the blind man, killed Cain, the murderer, in the Forest of Nôdh. Now this killing took place in the following manner. As Lamech was leaning on the youth, his son Tubal-Cain, and the youth was setting straight his father's arm in the direction in which he saw the quarry, he heard the sound of Cain moving about, backwards and forwards, in the forest. Now Cain was unable to stand still in one place and to hold his peace.

And Lamech, thinking that it was a wild beast that was making a movement in the forest, raised his arm, and, having made ready, drew his bow and shot an arrow towards that spot, and the arrow smote Cain between his eyes, and he fell down and died.

And Lamech, thinking that he had shot game, spoke to the youth, saying, "Make haste, and let us see what game we have shot."

And when they went to the spot, and the boy on whom Lamech leaned had looked, he said unto him, "O my lord, you have killed Cain."

And Lamech moved his hands to smite them together, and as he did so he smote the youth and killed him also.

And when Anôsh had lived 905, and was sick unto death, all the patriarchs gathered themselves together, and came unto him, namely Kainân, his first-born son, and Mahlâlâîl, and Yârêd, and Enoch, and Matûshlah, they, and their wives, and their sons.

And they were blessed by him, and he prayed over them and commanded them, and spake unto them, saying, "I will make you to swear by the holy blood of Abel that not one of you shall go down from this mountain to the plain, nor into the encampment of the children of Cain, the murderer; and you shall not mingle yourselves among them. Take good heed unto this matter, for you know well what enmity has existed between us and them from the day whereon Cain slew Abel."

And he blessed Kainân, his son, and commanded him concerning the body of Adam, that he should minister before it all the days of his life, and that he should rule over the children of his people in purity and holiness.

And Anôsh died at the age of 905 years, on the 3rd day of the month of the First Teshrin, on the day of the Sabbath, in the 53rd year of the life of Methuselah.

And Kainân, his first-born, embalmed him and buried him in, with Adam and Seth, his father.

And they made a mourning for him forty days.

The Rule of Kainân

And Kainân stood up before Elohim to minister in the Cave of Treasures. He was an honorable and pure man, and he governed the children of his people in the complete fear of Elohim, and he fulfilled all the commandments of Anôsh his father.

And when Kainân had lived 920 years, and was sick unto death, all the Patriarchs gathered together and came unto him, namely Mahlâlâîl his son, and Yârêd, and Enoch and Methuselah and Lamech, they and their wives and their children, and were blessed by him.

And he prayed over them and commanded them, saying, "I will make you swear by the holy blood of Abel that not one of you shall go down from this holy mountain into the camp of the children of Cain, the murderer, for you all know well what enmity has existed between us and them since the day whereon he killed Abel."

And he blessed his son Mahlâlâîl, and admonished him concerning the body of Adam, and said unto him, "Behold, O my son Mahlâlâîl, you shall minister before Elohim in purity and holiness in, and you shall not depart from the presence of the body of Adam all the days of your life.

And you shall be the governor of the children of thy people, and you shall rule them purely and holy."

Kainân died, being 920 years old, on the 13th day of the month of Hezêrân, on the 4th day of the week, at mid-day, in the five and sixtieth year of Lamech, the father of Noah.

And Mahlâlâîl, his son, embalmed him, and buried him in; and they made mourning for him forty days.

The Rule of Mahlâlâîl

And Mahlâlâîl rose up and ministered before Elohim in the place of Kainân his father. He was constant in prayer by day and by night, and he urged earnestly the children of his people to observe holiness and purity, and to pray without ceasing.

And when Mahlâlâîl had lived 895 years, and the day of his departure drew nigh, and he was sick unto death, all the Patriarchs gathered together and came unto him, namely Yârêd, his first-born, and Enoch and Methuselah, and Lamech, and Noah, they and their wives and their children, and were blessed by him.

And he prayed over them, and commanded them, saying, "I will make you to swear by the holy blood of Abel, that not one of you shall go down from this holy mountain. And you shall not permit any one of your descendants to go down to the plain, to the children of Cain, the murderer, for you all well know what enmity has existed between us and them from the day whereon he slew Abel."

And he blessed Yârêd his first-born, and he commanded him concerning the body of Adam, and revealed unto him the place whereto he should make ready to go.

And he also commanded him, and made him to swear an oath, saying, "You shall not depart from the body of our father Adam all the days of your life, and you shall be the governor of the children of your people, and shall rule them in chastity and holiness."

And Mahlâlâîl died, being 895 years old, on the 2nd day of the month Nîsân, on the 1st day of the week, at the 3rd hour of the day, in the four and thirtieth year of the life of Noah.

And Yârêd, his first-born, embalmed him, and buried him in; and the people made a mourning for him forty days.

The Rule of Yârêd

And Yârêd his son rose up and ministered before Elohim in. He was a perfect man, and was complete in all the virtues, and he was constant in prayer by day and by night.

And because of the excellence of his life and conversation, his days were longer than those of all the children of his people.

And in the days of Yârêd, in the five hundredth year of his life, the children of Seth broke the oaths which their fathers had made them to swear.

And they began to go down from that holy mountain to the encampment of iniquity of the children of Cain, the murderer, and in this way the fall of the children of Seth took place.

And in the fortieth year of Yârêd the first thousand years from Adam to Yârêd, came to an end.

And in these years the handicraftsmen of sin, and the disciples of Satan, appeared, for he was their teacher, and he entered in and dwelt in them, and he poured into them the spirit of the operation of error, through which the fall of the children of Seth was to take place.

THE SECOND THOUSAND YEARS: YARÊD TO THE FLOOD

Of the Transmission of the Art of Playing the Harp, that is to say of Music and Singing and Dancing

Yôbâl and Tôbalkin, the two brethren, the sons of Lamech, the blind man, who killed Cain, invented and made all kinds of instruments of music.

Jôbâl made reed instruments, and harps, and flutes, and whistles, and the devils went and dwelt inside them.

When men blew into the pipes, the devils sang inside them, and sent out sounds from inside them. Tôbalkîn made cymbals, and sistra, and tambourines.

And lasciviousness and fornication increased among the children of Cain, and they had nothing to occupy them except fornication--now they had no obligation to pay tribute, and they had neither prince nor governor--and eating, and drinking, and lasciviousness, and drunkenness, and dancing and singing to instruments of music, and the wanton sportings of the devils, and the laughter which affords pleasure to the devils, and the sounds of the furious lust of men neighing after women.

And Satan, finding his opportunity in this work of error, rejoiced greatly, because thereby he could compel the sons of Seth to come down from that holy mountain.

There they had been made to occupy the place of that army of angels that fell with Satan, there they were beloved by God, there they were held in honor by the angels, and were called "sons of God," even as the blessed David saith in the psalm, "I have said, You are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High."

Meanwhile fornication reigned among the daughters of Cain, and without shame women would run after one man.

And one man would attack another, and they committed fornication in the presence of each other shamelessly.

For all the devils were gathered together in that camp of Cain, and unclean spirits entered into the women, and took possession of them.

The old women were more lascivious than the maidens, fathers and sons defiled themselves with their mothers and sisters, sons respected not even their own fathers, and fathers made no distinction between their sons and other men.

And Satan had been made prince of that camp.

And when the men and women were stirred up to lascivious frenzy by the devilish playing of the reeds which emitted musical sounds, and by the harps which the men played through the operation of the power of the devils, and by the sounds of the tambourines and of the sistra which were beaten and rattled through the agency of evil spirits, the sounds of their laughter were heard in the air above them, and ascended to that holy mountain.

And when the children of Seth heard the noise, and uproar, and shouts of laughter in the camp of the children of Cain, about one hundred of them who were mighty men of war gathered together, and set their faces to go down to the camp of the children of Cain.

When Yârêd heard their words and knew their intention, he became sorely afflicted, and he sent and called them to him, and said unto them, "By the holy blood of Abel, I will have you swear that not one of you shall go down from this holy mountain. Remember the oaths which our fathers Seth, and Anôsh, and Kainân, and Mahlâlâîl made you to swear."

And Enoch also said unto them, "Hearken, O children of Seth, no man who shall transgress the commandment of Yârêd, and break the oaths of our fathers, and go down from this mountain, shall never again ascend it."

But the children of Seth would neither hearken to the commandment of Yârêd, nor to the words of Enoch, and they dared to transgress the commandment, and those hundred men, who were mighty men of war, went down.

And when they saw that the daughters of Cain were beautiful in form and that they were naked and unashamed, the children of Seth became inflamed with the fire of lust.

And when the daughters of Cain saw the goodliness of the children of Seth, they gripped them like ravening beasts and defiled their bodies.

And the children of Seth slew their souls by fornication with the daughters of Cain.

And when the children of Seth wished to go up again to that holy mountain, after they had come down and fallen, the stones of that holy mountain became fire in their sight, and having defiled their souls with the fire of fornication, God did not permit them to ascend to that holy place. and moreover, very many others made bold and went down after them, and they, too, fell.

And when Yârêd had lived 960 years, and the day of his departure approached, and came nigh, and arrived, all the Patriarchs gathered themselves together and came unto him, namely Enoch, his first-born, and Methuselah, and Lamech, and Noah, they and their wives and their children, and were blessed by him.

And he prayed over them, and said unto them, "I will make you to swear by the holy blood of Abel that you will not go down from this holy mountain; for I know that Elohim will not allow you to remain very much longer in this holy country. Inasmuch as you have transgressed the commandment of your fathers, you shall surely be cast out into that outer country, and you shall no longer have your habitation on the skirts of the mountain of Paradise.

And take good heed to this. Let him that is among you who shall go forth from that holy country take with him the body of our father Adam, and the offerings of gold, frankincense, and myrrh that are in the Cave of Treasures, and let him carry away and deposit the body in the place wherein he shall be commanded by Elohim to set it down.

And you, my son Enoch, you shall not depart from before the body of Adam, but minister before Elohim purely and holily all the days of thy life."

And Yârêd died, being 962 years old, on the 13th day of the month of Îyâr, on the day of the Eve of the Sabbath, at sunset, in the 366 year of the life of Noah.

And Enoch his son embalmed him, and buried him in the Cave of Treasures; and they made mourning for him forty days.

The Rule of Enoch

And Enoch stood up to minister before Elohim in the Cave of Treasures.

And the children of Seth turned aside from the right path and willed to go down to the children of Cain on the plain. And Enoch and Methuselah, and Lamech and Noah mourned over them.

And Enoch had ministered before God for fifty years in the 365 year of the life of Noah.

And when Enoch knew that Elohim was about to remove him from the earth, he called Methuselah, and Lamech, and Noah, and said unto them, "I know that Elohim is wroth with this generation, and that a pitiless judgment has been decreed for the people thereof. You are the chiefs of this generation and the remnant thereof, for no other man shall be born on this mountain who shall be the chief of the children of his people. But take good heed to yourselves, and see that you minister before Elohim in purity and holiness."

And when Enoch had given them his commandment in these words, Elohim removed him to the Land of Life, and to the delectable mansions which are round about Paradise, and to that country which is beyond the reach of death.

And of all the children of Seth there remained only these three Patriarchs in the "Mountain of the Triumphant Ones," namely Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah, for all the others had betaken themselves to the encampment of the sons of Cain.

• Pîpîrôs understood the sun,

• Rûrîdê quarried stones,

• Zar´êl instituted the month,

• Pînênê introduced horse-riding or racing,

• Gâlê invented the axe,

• Tîgana invented the shield,

• Hôrêrî taught men to play musical instruments,

• Yuebê taught working in iron,

• Mêgêd taught horse-riding,

• Negôdî discovered medicinal springs, and made known the planetary hours when the waters were most effective,

• Gargê made the first corn-grinder,

• Sêtêr taught men how to mix dough,

• Gîmêr taught the use of earthenware vessels for food,

• Zârê taught men to milk animals,

• Heggê taught men to make roofs,

• Tentôreb showed them how to make doors,

• Sâpêr taught butter-making,

• Halâgê discovered how to carve wood and stone,

• Hêder was the first to cultivate trees,

• Sînô taught house-building,

• Tôf invented the potter's craft,

• Artôrbegâs invented agricultural implements,

• Sêbêdêgâz introduced the use of eye-paint,

• Zârê invented the brewing of beer,

• Bêtênêlâdâs invented the oven,

• Nâfîl taught men to make plantations and gardens,

• Yârbeh discovered how to fell trees and saw them up,

• Êlyô taught dancing,

• Pênêmûs invented architecture and writing,

• Agâlêmûn taught the use of beasts in ploughing and how to drive furrows,

• Kueses invented ploughs and leather whips,

• Akôr discovered bronze, certain men taught working in cedar and willow-wood,

• Wasag and Abêregyâ taught men the game of Tâbat,

• Nêr and Zabêrêgued taught them to play the games of Atâwemâ and Akîs, and the games of the circus.

The Rule of Noah

And when Noah saw that sin had increased in his generation, he preserved himself in virginity for five hundred years.

Then Elohim spoke unto him and said unto him, "Take unto thee to wife Haykêl, the daughter of Namûs, the daughter of Enoch, the brother of Methuselah."

And Elohim revealed unto him concerning the Flood which He was making ready to produce, and He spoke to him and said unto him "130 years from this moment I will make a Flood."

The Building of the Ark

And Elohim said unto Noah, "Make for yourself an ark for the saving of the children of your house, and build it in the plain below this mountain, in the encampment of the children of Cain, and you shall cut down the timber for the same from the trees that are on this mountain.

And thus shall be the dimensions thereof. Its length shall be three hundred cubits according to your cubit, its breadth shall be fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits; and above it shall be finished off one cubit.

And make three storeys in it: the lowermost shall be for wild animals and cattle, the middle one shall be for the birds and feathered fowl, and the topmost shall be for you and the children of your house.

And make in it cisterns for water and cupboards for food.

And make to yourself a striking board of eshkar`a wood which will not rot, three cubits long and a cubit and a half in breadth; and there shall be a hammer of the same kind of wood, and with it you shall strike the board three times in the day. Once in the morning that the workmen may be gathered together for the work of the ark, and once at midday that they may eat food, and once at sunset so that they may cease from their labor.

And when you will strike the board, and men hear the sound of the blows, and say unto you, 'What is this that you are doing?', you shall say unto them, 'Elohim is going to make a flood of waters."

And Noah did as Elohim commanded him.

And there were born unto him three sons within the space of a hundred years, Shem, Ham, and Japhet, and they took unto them wives of the daughters of Methuselah.

The Death of Lamech

And when Lamech had lived 770 years, he died during the lifetime of Methuselah, his father, 40 years before the Flood, on the 21st day of the month of Ilûl, on the first day of the week, in the 68th year of the life of Shem, the firstborn of Noah.

And Noah his firstborn embalmed him, and Methuselah his father swathed him for burial, and they buried him in the Cave of Treasures, and mourned for him forty days.

The Rule of Methuselah and Noah

And Methuselah and Noah remained alone on the mountain, for all the children of Seth had gone down from the skirts of the mountain of Paradise to the plain where the children of Cain lived.

And men, the children of Seth, had intercourse with the daughters of Cain, who conceived of them, and brought forth men, giants and the sons of giants, who were like unto towers.

The Death of Methuselah

And when Methuselah had lived nine 969 years, and the day of his departure had drawn nigh, Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japhet, and their wives, came unto him.

Now of all the posterity of Seth who had not betaken themselves down to the plain, only these eight souls were left, namely Noah, Shem, Ham, Japhet, and their wives; for no children were born to them before the Flood.

And when these gathered themselves together to Methuselah, and they had been blessed by him, he embraced them, and kissed them sorrowfully, and wept over the fall of the children of Seth.

And he said unto them, "Of all the tribes and families of your fathers, this remnant consisting of eight souls alone is left. May the Lord Elohim of our fathers bless you! The Lord Elohim who formed our father Adam and Eve by themselves and they were fruitful, and multiplied, and the whole of the blessed land which was round about Paradise was filled with their progeny, shall make you to be fruitful, and to multiply, and the whole earth shall be filled with you. He shall save you from the terrible wrath which hath been decreed against this rebellious generation, and He shall be with you, and He shall protect you.

And the gift which was given by Elohim unto our father Adam shall go forth with you from this holy country.

And these three measures of the wheat of blessings which Elohim gave unto your father Adam shall serve as leaven, and shall be kneaded into your seed, and into the seed of your children, that is to say, Royalty, Priesthood, and Prophecy.

"Hearken, Noah, you blessed of the Lord. Behold, I am going forth from this world, like all my fathers, but you and your children shall be saved.

And you shall do everything which I am commanding you to do this day, for Elohim will make the Flood. When I die, embalm my body, and bury me in the Cave of Treasures with my fathers. Take your wife, and your sons, and the wives of your sons, and get all down from this holy mountain.

And take with you the body of our father Adam, and these three offerings, gold, and myrrh, and frankincense; set the body of Adam in the middle of the Ark, and lay these offerings upon him. You and your sons shall occupy the eastern part of the Ark, and your wife and your son's wives shall occupy the western part thereof; your wives shall not pass over to you, and you shall not pass over to them. You shall neither eat nor drink with them, and you shall have no intercourse whatsoever with them until you go forth from the Ark. Now this generation has provoked Elohim to wrath, and He will neither permit them to be neighbours of those who are in Paradise, nor to praise Him with the angels.

"And when the waters of the Flood have subsided from the face of the earth, and you go forth from the Ark, and you take up your abode in that land, you, O Noah, the blessed of the Lord, shall not depart from the Ark, from the body of our father Adam, but you shall minister before Elohim in the Ark purely and holily all the days of your life.

And these offerings shall be placed in the east.

And command you shall Shem, your firstborn, to take up with him, after your death, the body of our father Adam, and to carry it and deposit it in the middle of the earth.

And let him establish there a man from among his descendants who shall minister there.

And he shall be one who is set apart all the days of his life. He shall not take a wife, he shall not shed blood, he shall not offer up these offerings of wild animals and feathered fowl; but he shall offer unto Elohim bread and wine, for by these redemption shall be made for Adam and all his posterity.

And the Angel of Elohim shall go before him, and he shall show him the place where the middle of the earth is situated.

And the apparel of him that shall stand up there to minister before the body of Adam shall be the skins of wild animals. He shall not shave off the hair of his head, and he shall not cut his nails, but he shall remain alone in his natural state because he is the priest of Elohim, the Most High."

And when Methuselah had commanded Noah to do all these things, he died with tears in his eyes, and sorrow in his heart. He was 969 years old when he died, on the 14th day of the month Âdhâr, on the 1st day of the week, in the 79th year of the life of Shem, the son of Noah.

And Noah, his grandson, embalmed the body of Methuselah with myrrh, and cassia, and stacte, and Noah and his sons buried him in the Cave of Treasures; and they and their wives made mourning for him forty days.

And when the days of his mourning had passed, Noah went into the Cave of Treasures, and embraced and kissed the holy bodies of Seth, and Ânôsh, and Kainân, and Mahlâlâîl, and Yârêd, and Methuselah, and Lamech his father, and he was greatly moved and tears gushed from his eyes.

And Noah carried the body of our father Adam, and the body of Eve, and his firstborn Shem carried the gold, and Ham carried the myrrh, and Japhet the frankincense, and they went forth from the Cave of Treasures.

And as they were coming down from that holy mountain they were smitten sorely with grief: and they wept in agony because they were to be deprived of that holy place, and the habitation of their fathers.

And weeping painfully, and wailing sorrowfully, and enveloped in gloom, they said,

"Remain in peace! O holy Paradise, habitation of our father Adam. He went forth from you alive, but stripped of glory and naked. And behold, at his death he was deprived of your nearness. He and his progeny were cast out into exile in that land of curses, to pass their days there in pain, and sicknesses, and in labor, and in weariness, and in trouble. Remain in peace, O Cave of Treasures! Remain in peace, O habitation and inheritance of our Fathers! Remain in peace, O our Fathers and Patriarchs! Pray for us, O you who live in the dust, you friends and beloved ones of the Living Elohim. Pray for the remnant of your posterity which is left. O you who have propitiated Elohim, make supplication unto Him on our behalf in your prayers. Remain in peace, O Ânôsh! Remain in peace, O you ministers of God, Kainân, and Mahlâlâîl, and Yârêd, and Methuselah, and Lamech, and Enoch! Cry out in sorrow on our behalf. Remain in peace, O Haven and Asylum of the Angels! O you our Fathers, cry out in sorrow on our behalf, because you will be deprived of our society! And we will cry out in sorrow, because we are cast out into a bare land, for our habitation will be with the wild beasts."

And as they were coming down from that holy mountain, they kissed the stones thereof, and embraced the delectable trees thereof.

And in this wise they came down, and they wept with great sorrow, and shed bitter tears, and suffering sorely they descended to the plain.

And Noah went into the Ark, and deposited the body of Adam in the middle thereof, and he placed these offerings upon it.

Now in the year wherein Noah went into the Ark the Second Thousand Years of the posterity of Adam to the time of The Flood came to an end, according to what the Seventy Wise Writers have told us.

THE THIRD THOUSAND YEARS: FROM THE FLOOD TO THE REIGN OF REU

Noah's entry into the Ark

The entrance of Noah into the Ark took place on the day of the eve of the Sabbath, on the 17th day of the blessed month of Îyâr. On the 6th day, in the 3rd hour the beasts and the cattle went into the lowermost storey; and at midday all the feathered fowl and all the reptiles went into the middle storey; and at sunset Noah and his sons went into the Ark, on the east side of the third storey, and his wife and the wives of his sons went to the west side.

And the body of Adam was deposited in the middle of the Ark, wherein also all the mysteries of the Church were deposited.

Thus women in church shall be on the west side, and men on the east, so that the men may not see the faces of the women, and the women may not see the faces of the men. Thus also was it in the Ark; the women were on the west side, and the men on the east side, and the body of our father Adam was placed between them like a raised stand.

And as quietness reigned in the Church between men and women, so also peace reigned in the Ark between the wild beasts, and the feathered fowl, and the creeping things.

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

The Flood

And when Noah and his sons had gone into the Ark, and his wife and the wives of his sons, on the 17th day of the month of Îyâr, at sunset, the door of the Ark was shut fast, and Noah and his sons in captivity in the darkness.

And as soon as the door of the Ark was shut, the flood gates of the heavens were opened, and the foundations of the earth were rent asunder, and Ocean, that great sea which surrounded the whole land, poured forth its floods.

And whilst the flood gates of the sky were open, and the foundations of the land were rent asunder, the storehouses of the winds burst their bolts, and storm and whirlwinds swept forth, and Ocean roared and hurled its floods upon the land.

And the children of Seth, who had besmirched themselves in the mire of fornication, ran to the door of the Ark, and entreated Noah to open to them the door of the Ark.

And when they saw the water floods which were swirling about them and engulfing them on all sides, they were in great tribulation, and they tried to climb up the mountains of Paradise, but were unable to do so. Now the Ark was closed and sealed, and the Angel of the Lord stood over one side of it that he might act as the pilot thereof.

And when the floods of waters mastered the children of Seth, and they began to drown in their great and mighty waves--then was fulfilled that which David spoke concerning them, saying, "I said, you are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High. But since you have done this, and you have loved the fornication of the daughters of Cain, like them you shall perish, and even as they did so shall you die."

And when the Ark was lifted up from the land by the mighty strength of the waters, all the children of men, and the wild beasts, and the feathered fowl, and the cattle, and the creeping things, and everything living on the face of the land was drowned.

And the waters of the Flood mounted up above all the tops of the high mountains 15 cubits, according to the measure of the Spirit.

And the flood waxed strong, and the waters thereof lifted up the Ark until it reached the skirts of the mountain of Paradise.

And as the flood had been blessed by Paradise, it bowed its head, and kissed the skirts of Paradise and turned itself back to destroy the whole land.

And the Ark flew on the wings of the wind over the waters of the flood from east to west, and from north to south, and it marked out by its path a cross on the waters.

And the Ark flew about for 150 days, and it came to rest on the mountains of Kardô in the 7th month, that is to say, in the First Teshrî on the 17th day thereof.

And Elohim commanded the waters, and they became separated from each other. The celestial waters were taken up, and ascended to their own place above the skies, whence they came. The waters which had risen up from the land returned to the lowermost abyss; and those which belonged to the Ocean which surrounded the whole land returned to the innermost parts thereof.

And the waters which had been on the land, and had been assigned to it by the Divine Nod for the needs thereof from the beginning, remained upon it.

And the waters diminished little by little until the 10th month, which is Shebât, and on the 1st day thereof the tops of the mountains appeared.

And, forty days later, on the 10th day of the month of Âdhâr, Noah opened the east window of the Ark, and sent forth a raven to bring back tidings; and the raven departed and did not return.

And after the waters had diminished a little more from the earth, Noah sent forth a dove; and it found no place to rest, and it returned to Noah to the Ark.

And after seven days he sent forth another dove, and it returned to him, carrying in its beak an olive leaf. Now the dove figureth for us the Two Covenants. In the First Covenant the spirit which spake by the Prophets did not find a place of rest among that rebellious people; and in the Second Covenant it rested on the peoples through the waters of baptism.

Noah leaves the Ark

And in the 601 year of the life of Noah, on the 1st day of the month of Nîsân the waters had dried up from the face of the land. And in the 2nd month, which is Îyâr, wherein Noah went into the Ark on the 27th day, on the holy first day of the week, their going forth took place; and he and his wife went forth, and his sons and their wives went with them.

Now, when they went into the Ark they went in in separate companies, Noah and his sons in one company, and his wife and their wives in another company; and the men did not know the women until they went forth from the Ark.

And all the wild beasts, and all the cattle, and all the feathered fowl, and all the creeping things went forth from the Ark on the 1st day of the week.

Noah founds Themânôn, the city of the "Eight"

And when they had gone forth Noah began work on the ground, and they built a city and called the name thereof "Themânôn", that is, "Eight", after the name of the eight souls who had gone forth from the Ark. And Noah built an altar, and offered up upon it an offering of beasts that were clean and feathered fowl.

And Elohim was appeased by the offering of Noah, and he established with him an everlasting covenant, and swore an oath, saying, "I will never again make a Flood."

He took away the arrow of wrath from the bow which is in the clouds, and he stripped from it the string of anger, and spread it out in the clouds.

For formerly, when the bow was bent in the firmament against that generation of the children of Cain, the murderer, they used to see the arrow of wrath placed in position on the string of anger, but after the Flood they did not see the arrow on the string.

The Vineyard of Noah

And when they had gone forth from the Ark, they sowed seed and planted a vineyard; and they pressed out new wine.

And Noah drew nigh, and drank some of it, and immediately he had drunk of it he became drunk.

And having fallen asleep, his shame was seen, and his son Ham saw the nakedness of his father, and did not cover it; but he laughed at him and made a mock of him, and he ran and called his brethren that they also might make a mock of their father.

And when Shem and Japhet heard of it they were dismayed exceedingly.

And they rose up, and took a cloak, and walked backwards with their faces turned away that they might not see the nakedness of their father.

And they cast the cloak over him and covered him.

And when Noah woke up from the sleep of his wine, his wife told him about everything that had happened, and he also within himself knew what had happened to him.

And Noah was exceedingly angry with his son Ham, and he said, "Cursed be Canaan; he shall be a servant of servants to his brethren."

Why, since the whole of the folly was Ham's, was Canaan cursed, except that, when the youth grew up, and attained the full measure of his understanding, Satan entered into him, and became to him a teacher of sin?

And he renewed the work of the house of Cain, the murderer. He constructed and made reed instruments and harps, and the fiends and the devils went unto them and dwelt therein.

And immediately wind was blown through them, the devils sang inside them, and sent forth loud sounds; and when men struck the harps the devils became operative inside them.

And when Noah heard that Canaan had done this, he was grieved sorely, because the work of error, through which the fall of the children of Seth had taken place, was renewed. For by means of singing, and lewd play, and the mad lasciviousness of the children of Cain, Satan had cast down the mighty men, the "sons of God," into fornication.

And through the music of reed pipes and harps sin had multiplied among the former generations until, at length, Elohim became wroth and made the Flood.

And Canaan was cursed because he had dared to do this, and his seed became a servant of servants. that is to say, to the Egyptians, and the Cushites, and the Mûsâyê, and the Indians, and all the Ethiopians, whose skins are black.

And because Ham had dared to make a mock of his father he was called "vile" all the days of his life.

Now when Noah woke up from his sleep he cursed Canaan, and reduced his seed to slavery, and scattered his seed among the nations. And when our Lord rose from the dead He cursed the Jews, and scattered them among the nations.

Interesting facts about the descendants of Caanan

Notez que selon le Livre des Jubilées, Cham répartit les terres parmis ses fils comme suit:

• la 1ère portion du côté Est revient à Cush - c’est l’Ethiopie, la Somalie, l’Arabie Pétrée et l'Arabie Félix c’est à dire toute la région où est située l’actuelle Arabie Saoudite, le Koweït, le Qatar, le Bahreïn, les Émirats arabes unis, le Yémen et Oman

• La 2e à l'Ouest du premier revient à Mitsraïm - ceux-ci se sont établis  près de la rivière Shihor, c'est-à- dire l’Egypte, le Soudan, et la Libye.

• La 3e à l'Ouest du second, revient à Puth - c’est l'Algérie, le Maroc, la Mauritanie.

• La 4e à l'Ouest du troisième, à l'Ouest de la mer, revient à Canaan - Selon nos cartes modernes, ça représente l'Amérique du sud.

Cependant dans Jubilée 10, il est écrit que Canaan ayant hérité la partie Ouest du territoire de Puth,  qui représente l'Afrique du Sud, il s'accapara plutôt une partie du territoire de Sem, à savoir les terres actuelles d'Israël, la Palestine, le Liban, la Syrie et la Jordanie, ce qui a provoqué un conflit qui continue jusqu'à nos jours.

The Death of Noah
And Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after he came forth from the Ark.

And when he was sick unto death, Shem, and Ham, and Japhet, and Arpakhshar, and Shâlah gathered together unto him.

And Noah called Shem, his firstborn, and said unto him privily, "Take heed, my son Shem, unto what I say to you this day. When I am dead, go into the Ark, wherein you have been saved, and bring out the body of our father Adam, and let no man have knowledge of what you will do.

And take with you from this place provision for the way, bread and wine, and take with you Melchisedek, the son of Mâlâkh, because Elohim has chosen from him among all your descendants that he may minister before Him in respect of the body of our father Adam.

And take the body and place it in the centre of the earth, and make Melchisedek to sit down there.

And the Angel of Elohim shall go before you, and shall show you the way wherein you shall go, and also the place wherein the body of Adam shall be deposited, which is, indeed, the centre of the earth.

There the four quarters of the earth embrace each other. For when Elohim made the earth His power went before it, and the earth, from its four quarters, ran after it, like the winds and the swift breezes, and there His power stood still and was motionless.

There shall redemption be made for Adam, and for all his posterity. Now this story, or mystery, was handed down to us from Adam in all generations. Adam commanded Seth, and Seth commanded Ânôsh, and Ânôsh commanded Kainân, and Kainân commanded Mahlâlâîl, and Mahlâlâîl commanded Yârêd, and Yârêd commanded Enoch, and Enoch commanded Methuselah, and Methuselah commanded Lamech; and behold, I command you this day.

And take heed that this story is never mentioned again in all your generations. Get up, and take the body of Adam, and deposit it secretly in the place which Elohim shall show you until the day of redemption."

And when Noah had given all these commands unto his son Shem, he died, being 950 years old, in the month of Îyâr, on the second day thereof, at the second hour of the first day of the week.

And Shem his son embalmed him, and buried him in the city which he had built, and they made a mourning for him forty days.

The Departure of Shem with the body of Adam
And after the death of Noah Shem did as his father had commanded him.

And he went into the Ark by night, and brought out the body of Adam therefrom, and he sealed the Ark with his father's seal, and no man perceived what he had done.

And he called Ham and Japhet, and said unto them, "My brethren, my father commanded me to go up and travel over the earth, even to the sea, and I am to see what the rivers are like, and then return unto you.

And behold, my wife and the children of my house are with you; let your eyes be upon them."

And his brethren said unto him, "Take with you a company of men from the camp, for the land is a desert waste, and is shorn of inhabitants, and there are wild beasts therein."

And Shem said unto them, "The Angel of the Lord shall go up with me, and he shall save me from every evil thing"; and his brethren said unto him, "Go in peace, and may the Lord Elohim of our Fathers be with thee."

And Shem said unto Mâlâkh the brother of Shâlâh, the son of Cainan and grandson of Arphaxad, the father of Melchisedek, and Yôzadhâk, his mother, "Give me Melchisedek, that he may go up with me, and be a consolation for me on the road."

And Mâlâkh and Yôzadhâk, his mother, said unto Shem, "Take him and go in peace."

And Shem gave commands unto his brethren, and said unto them, "My brethren, my father made me swear that neither I, nor any of your descendants, should go into the Ark," and he sealed the Ark with his seal, and said unto them, "Let no man go near it."

Shem carries the body of Adam to Golgotha
And Shem took the body of Adam and Melchisedek, and went forth by night from among his people, and behold, the Angel of the Lord, who was going before them, appeared unto them.

And their journey was very speedy, because the Angel of the Lord strengthened them until they arrived at that place.

And when they arrived at Gâghûltâ, which is the centre of the earth, the Angel of the Lord showed Shem the place for the body of Adam.

And when Shem had deposited the body of our father Adam upon that place, the four quarters of the earth separated themselves from each other, and the earth opened itself in the form of a cross, and Shem and Melchisedek deposited the body of Adam there.

And as soon as they had laid it therein, the four quarters of the earth drew quickly together, and enclosed the body of our father Adam, and the door of the created world was shut fast.

And that place was called "Karkaphtâ ", because the head of all the children of men was deposited there.

And it was called "Gâghûltâ," because it was round like the head, and "Resîphtâ ", because the head of the accursed serpent, that is to say, Satan, was crushed there, and "Gefîftâ ", because all the nations were to be gathered together to it.

Shem's commands to Melchisedek
And Shem said unto Melchisedek, "You shalt be the priest of the Most High Elohim, because you alone has Elohim chosen to minister before Him in this place.

And you shall dwell here continually, and shalt not depart from this place all the days of thy life. You shalt not take a wife, you shall not shave your head, and you shall not pour out blood in this place. You shall not offer up wild beasts nor feathered fowl, but you shalt offer up bread and wine always; and you shall not build a building in this place.

And behold, the Angel of the Lord shall come down to you and visit you continually."

And Shem embraced and kissed Melchisedek, and blessed him, and he returned to his brethren.

And Mâlâkh, the father of Melchisedek, and Yôzâdhâk, his mother, said unto Shem, "Where is the young man?"

And he said, "He died on the journey, and I buried him there"; and they mourned for him greatly.

The Generations of Shem
And when Shem had lived six hundred years he died, and Arphakhshar, his son, and Shâlâh, and Abhâr, his sons, buried him.
And Arphakhshar was 35 years old when he begot Shâlâh, and all the days of his life were 438 years, and he died, and Shâlâh, his son, and `Abhâr and Pâlâg buried him in Arpakhsharath, the city which he built after his own name.
Salah was 30 old when he begot Eber, and all the days of his life were 433 years, and he died, and Eber, his son, and Peleg, and Ar`ô puried hill in Shelîhôn, the city which he built after his own name.
Eber was 34 years old when he begot Peleg; and all the days of his life were 464 years; and he died, and Peleg his son and Reu and Sorôgh buried him in `Ebhrîn, the city which he built after his own name.
Peleg was 30 old when he begot Reu; and all the days of his life were 239 years, and he died and they buried him in the city of Peleg, which he had built after his own name.

The Migration to the land of Sêntar
And in the days of Peleg all the tribes and families of the children of Noah gathered together, and went up from the East. And they found a plain in the land of Sên`ar, and they all sat down there; and from Adam until this time they were all of one speech and one language.

They all spake this language, that is to say, SÛRYÂYÂ, which is ÂRÂMÂYÂ, and this language is the king of all languages.

Now, ancient writers have erred in that they said that Hebrew was the first language, and in this matter they have mingled an ignorant mistake with their writing. For all the languages there are in the world are derived from Syrian, and all the languages in books are mingled with it. In the writing of the Syrians the left hand stretcheth out to the right hand, and all the children of the left hand draw nigh to the right hand of God; now with the Greeks, and Romans, and the Hebrews, the right hand stretcheth out to the left. Both Hebrew and Syriac are written from right to left, but Greek and Latin from left to right.

And in the days of Peleg the Tower which is in Babel was built, and there the tongues of men were confounded.

And from that place they were scattered over the face of all the earth; and that place was called "Babel," because tongues were confounded there.
And after the division of tongues Peleg died in great sorrow, and with tears in his eyes and grief in his heart, because in his days the earth was divided.

And his son Reu, and Serug, and Nâhôr buried him in Peleghîn, the city which he had built after his own name.

And there were 72 tongues in the earth, and 72 heads of tribes, and each tribe and tongue made unto themselves a chief like a king.

The Posterity of Shem, Ham and Japhet
And the seed of Japhet became thirty-seven nations and kingdoms: Gâmâr, and Yâwân, and Mâdhâi, and Tûbîl, and Mâshêkh, and Tîrês, and all the kingdoms of the Alânâyê; all these are the children of Japhet.
And the sons of Hâm: Kûsh, and Mesrîm, and Pôt, and Canaan, and all their children.

And the sons of Shem:`Îlâm, and Âshôr, and Arpakhshar, and Lôdh, and Ârâm, and all their children.

Now the children of Japhet clung to the borders of the east, from the Mountain of Nôdh, which is on the confines of the east, to the Tigris and the confines of the north, and from Baktôrônôs as far as Gadhrîôn.

And the children of Shem held from Persia in the east as far as the sea of Tadhrasnkôs in the west; unto them belongeth the middle of the earth, and they held sovereignty and dominion therein. The children of Shem occupy all the southern and a little of the western quarter.

And Reu lived 32 years, and begot Serug.

And in the days of Reu, in his 130th year, Nimrod, the mighty man, the first king on the earth, reigned, and he reigned 69 years; and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel.

This Nimrod saw the figure of a crown in the heavens, and he called Sîsân, the weaver, who wore a crown like unto it, and he set it on his head.

And because of this men used to say that the crown came down to him from heaven.

In the days of Reu The Third Thousand Years came to an end.

THE FOURTH THOUSAND YEARS--FROM THE REIGN OF REU TO THE TWENTY-SIXTH YEAR OF THE LIFE OF EHUD.

And in the days of Reu the Mesrâyê, who are the Egyptians, appointed their first king; his name was Puntos, and he reigned over them 68 years.

And in the days of Reu a king reigned in Shebhâ, and in Ophir, and in Havilah.

And there reigned in Sâba sixty of the daughters of Sâba.

And for many years women reigned in Sâba--until the kingdom of Solomon, the son of David.

And the children of Ophir, that is, Send, appointed to be their Lophoron, who built Ophir with stones of gold; now, all the stones that are in Ophir are of gold.

And the children of Havilah appointed to be their king Havîl, who built Havilah, that is, Hend.
And Reu died, being 239 years old, and Serug his son, and Nâhôr and Tarah buried him in Aor`în, the city which he built after his own name.

And Serug lived 30 and begot Nâhôr, and all the days of his life were 230 years.

And in the days of Serug the worship of idols entered the world.

And in his days the children of men began to make themselves graven images, and it was at this time that the introduction of idols into the world took place.

For the children of men were scattered all over the earth, and they had neither teachers nor lawgivers, and no one to show them the way of truth wherein they should walk, and for this reason they became confused and fell into error.

Some of them through their error adored the heavens, and some of them worshipped the sun, and moon and stars, and some of them the earth, and wild beasts, and birds, and creeping things, and trees, and stones, and the creatures of the sea, and the waters, and the winds.

Now Satan had blinded their eyes so that they might walk in the darkness of error, because they had no hope of a resurrection.

For when one of them died they used to make an image of him, and set it up upon his grave, so that the remembrance of his appearance might not pass from before their eyes.

And error having been sown broadcast in all the earth, the land became filled with idols in the form of men and women.

And then Serug died, being 230 old, and Nâhôr, and Tarah, and Abraham his sons, buried him in Sarghîn, the city which he built after his own name.

And Nâhôr was 29 years old when he begot Terah.

And in the days of Nâhôr, in the 70th year of his life, when Elohim looked upon the children of men, and saw that they were worshipping idols, a great earthquake took place, and all their houses were overturned and fell down; but the people did not understand within themselves, and they added to their wickedness.

And Nâhôr died when he was 147 years old, and Terah his son and Abraham buried him. 
And Terah was 75 years old when he begat Abraham.

And in the days of Terah, in his 90th year, sorcery appeared on the earth in the city of Aôr, which Horon, the son of Abhâr, built.

Now, there was in the city a certain man who was very rich, and he died at that time. And his son made an image of him in gold, and set it up upon his grave, and he appointed there a young man to keep guard over it.

And Satan went and took up his abode in that image, and he spake to that youth after the manner of his father.

And thieves went into his house, and took everything that the youth possessed, and he went out to the tomb of his father weeping.

And Satan spake unto him, saying, "Weep not in my presence, but go and fetch your little son, and slay him here as a sacrifice to me, and forthwith everything which you have lost shall be returned to me here."

And straightway the youth did as Satan told him, and he slew his son, and bathed in his blood.

And Satan went forth immediately from that image of gold, and entered into the youth, and taught him sorcery, and enchantments, and divination, and the lore of the Chaldeans, and how to tell fortunes, and how to forecast events, and how to foretell destinies.

And behold, from that time the children of men began to sacrifice their sons to devils and to worship idols, for the devils entered into the images, and took up their abodes therein.

And in the one 100th year of the life of Nâhôr, when Elohim saw that the children of men were sacrificing their sons to devils, and worshipping idols, He opened the storehouses of the wind, and the gate of the whirlwind, and a blast of wind went forth in all the earth.

And it uprooted the images, and the places where offerings were made to devils, and it swept together the idols, and the images, and the pillared buildings in a heap, and piled up great mounds of earth over them; and they are there to this day.

Nimrod the fire-worshipper, and Yôntôn, son of Noah
And in the days of Nimrod, the mighty man, a fire appeared which ascended from the earth, and Nimrod went down, and looked at it, and worshipped it, and he established priests to minister there, and to cast incense into it. From that day the Persians began to worship fire, and they do so to this day.
And Sîsân, the king, found a spring of water in Drôghîn, and he made a white horse and set it over it, and those who bathed in the water used to worship the horse. And from that time the Persians began to worship that horse.
And Nimrod went to Yôkdôrâ of Nôdh, and when he arrived at the Lake of Atrâs, he found there Yôntôn, the son of Noah.

And Nimrod went down and bathed in the Lake, and he came to Yôntôn and did homage unto him.

And Yôntôn said, "You are a king; how do you give homage unto me?"

And Nimrod said unto him, "It is because of you that I have come down here"; and he remained with him for three years.

And Yôntôn taught Nimrod wisdom, and the art of revelation, and he said unto him, "Come not back again to me."
And when Nimrod went up from the east, and began to practice the art of divining, very many men marveled at him.

And when Îdhâshîr, the priest who ministered to the fire that ascended from the earth, saw that Nimrod was practicing these exalted courses, he entreated the devil, who appeared in connection with that fire, to teach him the wisdom of Nimrod.

And as the devils were in the habit of destroying those who came nigh unto them by sin, the devil said unto the priest, "A man cannot become a priest and a Magian until he has known carnally his mother, and his daughter, and his sister."

And Îdhâshîr the priest did this, and from that time the priests, and the Magians, and the Persians take their mothers, and their sisters, and their daughters to wife.

And this Îdhâshîr, the Magian, was the first to begin to study the Signs of the Zodiac, and omens concerning luck, and fate, and happenings, and motions of the eyes and eyelids, as well as all the other arts of the learning of the Chaldees.

Now, all this learning is the error of devils, and those who practise it shall receive, together with the devils, the doom of the Judgment.

And because this art of divination, which was employed by Nimrod, was taught to him by Yôntôn, none of the orthodox doctors have suppressed it; nay, they have even practiced it.

Now the Persians call it "Gelyânâ " and the Romans "Estrômîôn". But that knowledge which the Magians have, namely astrology, is sorcery and the teaching of devils.

There are some who say that it does indeed teach concerning luck, and future events, and fate, but these are in error.

Now Nimrod built strong cities in the east, Babel, and Nineveh, and Râsân, and Selîk, and Ctesiphon, and Âdhôrbaighân; and he made three fortresses.

The History of Abraham
And Terah, the father of Abraham, lived 250 years, and he died, and Abraham and Lot buried him in Hârrân.

And there Elohim spoke unto Abraham, and said unto him, "Go forth from your land, and from among your people, and come to the land which I will show you."

And Abraham took his household, Sârâ his wife, and Lot, his brother's son, and he went up to the land of the Amôrâyê; and he was 75 years old when he crossed the desert from the Euphrates.

And he was 80 years old when he pursued the kings, and rescued Lot, his brother's son.

Abraham and Melchisedek
And at that time Abraham had no son, because Sârâ was barren.

And when he returned from the battle of the kings, the agency of Elohim called him, and he crossed the mountain of Yâbhôs, and Melchisedek, the king of Shâlîm, the priest of the Most High Elohim, went forth to meet him.

And when Abraham saw Melchisedek, he made haste and fell upon his face, and did homage to him, and he rose up from the ground and embraced him, and kissed him, and was blessed by him; and Melchisedek blessed Abraham.

And Abraham gave Melchisedek tithes of everything which he had with him, and Melchisedek made him to participate in the Holy Mysteries, of the bread of the Offering and the wine of redemption.

And after Melchisedek had blessed him, and made him to participate in the Holy Mysteries, God spake unto Abraham, and said unto him, "Thy reward is exceedingly great. Since Melchisedek hath blessed thee, and hath made thee to partake of bread and wine with him, I also will assuredly bless thee, and I will assuredly multiply thy seed."
And when Abraham was 86 years old Ishmael was born to him by Hâghâr, the Egyptian woman, whom Pharaoh had given to Sârâ as a handmaiden.

Now Sârâ was the sister of Abraham on the father's side, because Terah took two women to wife. When Yâwnû, the mother of Abraham, died, Terah took to wife a woman whose name was "Naharyath", and of her Sârâ was born. It was because of this fact that Abraham said, "She is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother"

The Birth of Isaac
And Abraham was 99 years old when Elohim went into his house and gave Sârâ a son, and he was 100 years old when Isaac was born to him.

And Isaac was 13 years old when his father took him and went up to the mountain of Yâbhôs to Melchisedek, the priest of Elohim, the Most High. Now Mount Yâbhôs is the mountain of the Amôrâyê (Amorites), and in that place the Cross of Christ was set up, and on it grew the tree which held the ram that saved Isaac.

And that same place is the centre of the earth, and the grave of Adam, and the altar of Melchisedek, and Golgotha, and Karkaftâ, and Gefîftâ.

And there David saw the angel bearing the sword of fire. There, too, Abraham took up Isaac his son for a burnt offering, and he saw the Cross, and Christ, and the redemption of our father Adam.

The tree was a symboI of the Cross of Christ our Lord, and the ram caught in its branches was the mystery of the manhood of the Word, the Only One. And, because of this, Paul cried out and said, "If they had only known it they were not crucifying the Lord of glory." Let the mouths of the heretics be stopped who in their madness impute passibility to the Eternal God. Now, when Christ was eight days old, Joseph, the betrothed of Mary, rose up to circumcise the Child according to the Law, and he circumcised Him according to the custom that was the Law. In like manner Abraham took up his son as an offering, but he at the same time foresaw in this act the crucifixion of Christ. And this thing did Christ openly proclaim before the multitudes of the Jews, saying, "Abraham, your father, wanted to see My days, and he saw and was glad". Abraham saw the day of the redemption of Adam, and he saw and rejoiced, and it was revealed unto him that Christ would suffer on behalf of Adam.

The founding of Jerusalem
And in that same year in which Abraham offered up his son as an offering, in that same year I say Jerusalem was built; and the beginning of the building thereof was in this wise.

Melchisedek having appeared and shown himself to men, the kings of the nations heard his history, and they gathered together and came unto him.

The names of the kings who built Jerusalem
Abimelech, king of Gâdhâr.
Âmarphîl, king of Sen`âr.
Arioch, king of Dâlâsâr.
Kardla`mar, king of Elam.
Tar`îl, king of the Gîlâyê.
Bârâ, king of Sodom.
Barshâ, king of Gomorrah.
Shênâbh, king of Adhâmâh.
Shamâ`ir, king of Zeboim.
Salâkh, king of Bâlâ`.
Tâbhîk, king of Damascus.
Baktôr, king of the desert.

These twelve kings gathered together and came to Melchisedek, king of Shâlim, the priest of the Most High Elohim.

And when they saw his appearance, and heard his words, they entreated him to go with them.

And he said unto them, "I am not able to go from this place to any other"; and they took counsel together about building him a city, and said to each other, "Verily, he is the king of the whole earth, and the father of all kings."

And they built him a city and made Melchisedek to live in it; and Melchisedek called the name thereof "Jerusalem."

And when Mâghôgh, the king of the south, heard of this, he came to him, and saw his appearance, and spake unto him, and gave him offerings and gifts. And Melchisedek was held in honour by all, and he was called the "Father of Kings."

Kûmrôs
And in the one 100th year of the life of Abraham there was a king in the East whose name was "Kûmrôs."

He built Shemesht, after the name of his son Shemeshtô, and Klawdîya, after the name of his daughter Kâlôdh, and Pîrîn after the name of his son Pôrôn.

Nimrod founds Nisibis, Harrân and Edessa
And in the fiftieth year of the life of Reu, Nimrod went up and built Nisibis, and Edessa, and Harrân, which is Edessa.

And Harrânîth, the wife of Dâsân, the priest of the mountain, surrounded it with a wall, and the people of Harrân made a statue of her and worshipped her.

And Baltîn, who was given to Tamûzâ--now because B`êlshemîn loved her, Tammuz fled before him--set fire to Harrân and burned it.

The Death of Sârâ
And when Sârâ, the wife of Abraham, died, Abraham took to wife Kentôrâ, the daughter of Baktôr, the king of the desert.

And there were born unto him by her Zamrân, and Yakshân, and Mâdhân, and Medhyân, and Ashbâk, and Shôh.

And from these are sprung the Arabs.

Isaac and Rebecca
And when Isaac was 40 years old, Eliezer, a son of the house of Abraham, went down and brought Rabkâ from the east, and Isaac took her to wife.

And when Abraham died Isaac buried him by the side of Sârâ.
And when Isaac was 60 years old Rebecca became with child of Esau and Jacob.

And being sorely afflicted, she went to Melchisedek, and he prayed over her and said unto her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be removed from your loins, that is to say, shall go forth from your womb. One nation shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall be in subjection to the younger, that is to say, Esau shall be in subjection to Jacob."

The founding of Jericho
And in the 67th year of the life of Isaac, Jericho was built by seven kings, namely, the king of the Hittites, and the king of the Amorites, and the king of the Girgantes, and the king of the Jebusites, and the king of the Canaanites, and the king of the Hivites, and the king of the Perizites; and each of them surrounded it with a wall.

Now the son of Mesrîn, the king of the Egyptians, had founded Jericho in olden time.

And Ishmael made a mill of the hands in the desert, a mill of slavery.

Jacob's Ladder.

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

Jacob and Baptism.

And when God had shown the blessed Jacob the Cross of Christ by means of the Ladder of the Angels, and the coming down of Christ for our redemption, and the Church, the House of God, and the altar by means of the stone, and the offerings by means of the tithes, and the anointing by means of the oil, Jacob again went down to the East that there God might show him baptism. And Jacob looked, and saw, and beheld three flocks of sheep lying down by a well; and there was a great stone placed over the mouth of the well. And Jacob drew nigh, and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep of his mother's brother. And having watered the flocks, he took Rachel and kissed her.

Now by "Well" the blessed Jacob indicated baptism, which was covered over from the races of men, and generations and tribes. And the three flocks of sheep which were lying down by the well are a type of the three divisions and three groups who come for baptism, namely, men and women and children. And that Jacob saw Rachel coming with the flocks, and that he neither embraced her nor kissed her until he had rolled away the stone from the well, and she had watered the flocks, is in accordance with the law of the sons of the Church, who neither embrace nor kiss the Lamb of Christ until baptism hath opened the way; they go down into the waters and put on strength from them and then the sons of the Church embrace and kiss. And as Jacob served with Laban for seven years, and the woman he loved was not given to him, so also was it with the Jews, who served Pharaoh, king of Egypt, in slavery, and went forth. For the Covenant of the Church, the Bride of Christ, was not given unto them, but that Covenant which was old, and worn out, and of no effect. Now the eyes of Leah, the first woman whom Jacob took to wife, were hateful, whilst the eyes of Rachel were beautiful, and her countenance was radiant. A covering was laid over the face of the first Covenant, so that the children of Israel might not see the beauty thereof; as for the second Covenant, it is wholly light.

Jacob's sons. The Death of Isaac.

Jacob was seventy-seven years old when he received the blessing of Isaac, his father, and he was eighty-nine years old when he begot Reuben, his firstborn, by Leah. The sons of Jacob are these:--

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulon; these are the sons of Leah.
Joseph and Benjamin were the sons of Rachel.
Gad and Asher were the sons of Zilpah, the handmaiden of Leah.
Dan and Naphtali were the sons of Bilhah, the handmaiden of Rachel.

And after twenty years Jacob returned to Isaac his father. And all the days of the life of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years--until the thirty-first year of the life of Levi--and he died in the one hundred and twentieth year of the life of Jacob. Twenty-three years after Jacob went up from Harrân, Joseph was sold to the Midianites; he was sold during the lifetime of Isaac, and they mourned for him. When Isaac died Jacob and Esau, his sons, buried him with Abraham and Sârâ. Seven years later Rebecca died, and was buried with Abraham, and Isaac, and Sârâ; and Rachel died and was buried with them.

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

Jacob in Egypt.

And Jacob and all his descendants went down into Egypt to Joseph, and he lived in Egypt seventeen years; and Jacob died, being one hundred and forty years old, and Joseph was fifty-six years old when his father died, in the twelfth year of Kâhâth. And the wise physicians of Pharaoh embalmed him, and Joseph took him up to Canaan and buried him with Abraham and Isaac his father.

The Genealogies of the "Tribes" and the "Children of Israel."

Now there are certain doctors who trace the genealogies of the Tribes from the death of Jacob, and who mix them together, but they do not do this in the light of knowledge. They set in the midst two genealogies, one of the "Tribes," and the other of the "Children of Israel". Now fix thine attention on these generations, and how they became mixed together. When they went forth from Egypt: Judah begot Pharez, Pharez begot Hesrôn, Hezron begot Ârâm, Ârâm begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshôn, and Nahshôn was he who became prince of Judah. And Amminadab gave the sister of Nahshôn to `Îr, the son of Aaron, the priest; of her was born Phinehas, the great priest, who prayed "and the plague was stayed". Behold, I have shown thee that from Amminadab, the priesthood of the children of Israel was transmitted by the sister of Nahshôn, and the kingdom by Nahshôn her brother. Observe also that the priesthood and the kingdom were transmitted by Judah to the children of Israel.

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

Solomon.

Now Solomon married many wives, seven hundred free-born women, and three hundred concubines; and of the thousand women which he took to wife, he had no son except from Naamab the Ammonitess. And why was it that God did not give him a son from these others? It was in order to prevent the wicked seed of the Canaanites, and Jebusites, and Amorites, and Hittites, and Gergasites, and the seed of the peoples whom God hated, from mingling in the succession of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

The chiefs of Israel born in Egypt.

Now the succession of the children of Israel is this: Levi, and Amram, and Moses, and Joshua, the son of Nôn, and Caleb, the son of Yôfannâ. These were born in Egypt.

Moses.

And when Moses was born he was cast into the river, and Shîpôr, the Egyptian woman, the daughter of Pharaoh, took him up, and he lived in the house of Pharaoh for forty years. And then he killed Pethkôm, the Egyptian, the chief of the bakers of Pharaoh. Now this was noised abroad in the house of Pharaoh, after Pharaoh's daughter Makrî, who was called "Shîpôr Mesrên, was dead, and Moses was afraid, and he fled to Midian, to Reuel, the Cushite, the priest of Midian.

And Moses took to wife Zipporah, the Cushite woman, daughter of the priest, and two sons were born to him--Gershom and Eliezer. And in the second year of the life of Moses, Joshua, the son of Nôn, was born in Egypt. And Moses was eighty years old when God talked with him from out of the bush, and because of his fear his tongue halted, even as he said to God, "Behold, my Lord, from the day wherein Thou didst speak to me I have been halting of tongue." Moses lived in Egypt forty years, and in the house of the priest of Midian forty p. 166 years, and he passed forty years in governing the people. And he died at the age of one hundred and twenty years on Mount Nebo.

The Successors of Moses.

And Joshua, the son of Nôn, was the governor of the children of Israel for twenty-seven years. And after the death of Joshua, the son of Nôn, Kûshân, the Wicked, was lord over the people for eighty years.

And `Athnâîl, the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, was lord over Israel for forty years.

And then the children of Israel were in subjection to the Moabites for eighteen years.

And Ahôr, the son of Gera, ruled the children of Israel for eighty years.

AND IN THE TWENTY-SIXTH YEAR OF HIS LIFE THE FOURTH THOUSAND YEARS CAME TO AN END.

THE FIFTH THOUSAND YEARS. FROM THE TWENTY-SIXTH YEAR OF EHUD'S LIFE TO THE SECOND YEAR OF THE REIGN OF CYRUS.

Nâbhîn, who was dried up in body, ruled twenty years.

Deborah and Barak ruled them forty years. The children of Israel were in subjection to the Midianites seven years, and God delivered them by the hands of Gideon, who ruled them forty years.

Abimelech his son reigned after him three years.

Tûla`, the son of Puah ruled them twenty-three years.

Yâîr, the Gileadite, twenty-two years.

And again the children of Israel were in subjection to the Ammonites eighteen years, and God delivered them by the hand of Naphtah, the man who offered up his daughter as a sacrifice, and he ruled them six years.

Abhîsân, who is Nahshôn, ruled them seven years.

Alôn, who was from Zebulon, ruled them ten years.

Abhrôn ruled them eight years.

And the children of Israel were in subjection to the Philistines forty years, and God delivered them by the hand of Samson, and he ruled them twenty years.

And the children of Israel lived without a governor for eighteen years, and then Eli the priest rose up and ruled them forty years.

And Samuel rose up over them and ruled them twenty years. And in the days of Samuel the children of Israel provoked to wrath God, Who had delivered them from the servitude of the Egyptians, and they made Saul, the son of Kish, king, and he reigned over them forty years.

And in the days of Saul lived Gûlyâdh, a giant of the Philistines. He came nigh and reviled Israel, and blasphemed against God, and David, the son of Jesse, killed him. And David was praised in songs by the daughters of Israel, and Saul persecuted him. And the Philistines slew Saul because he forsook the Lord, and took refuge with the devils.

David reigned over the children of Israel forty years, and Solomon, his son, reigned forty years.

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

The purple linen of Tyre.

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

The Apostasy of Solomon.

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

Rehoboam.

And Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, reigned after him. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he polluted Jerusalem with fornication, and the altars of devils, and the stink of heathendom; and the kingdom of Israel was rent in twain. And in the fifth year of his kingdom Shishak, the king of Egypt, went up against Jerusalem. And he carried off all the treasure of the service of the house of the Lord, and all the treasure of the kingdom of David, and of that of Solomon, and the vessels of gold and the vessels of silver. And he magnified himself and said, "I am not taking away treasure which is yours but the wealth which your fathers took out of Egypt." And Rehoboam died in the heathen practices of his father Solomon.

And Abijah his son reigned after him and he destroyed Jerusalem with fornication and with heathen works--now, Melkâ, the mother of `Abhd-Shâlôm, was his mother--and he died in the heathen practices of his father.

And Asa his son reigned after him for forty years in Jerusalem. He did that which was good before the Lord, and he put away fornication from Jerusalem, and made an end of the heathen practices of his people, for he kept the commandments of God. And he drove them out of his palace, and made them to be a mockery before all the people, because they taught the offering of sacrifices to idols. And Zerah of Judah went up against him, and God humbled him before Asa. And Asa died in righteousness like his father David.

And Jehosaphat his son reigned after him, and he walked in the ways of Asa his father, and he did that which was pleasing before God. And God was angry with him because he was a friend of the house of Ahab, and for this reason God did not permit him to bring out gold from Ophir. Now he made ships to send thither, and they were broken at Ezion Geber. He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and the name of his mother was `Azôbhâ, the daughter of Shâlâh. And Jehosaphat died in his righteousness.

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

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

Reign of Ahab's sister.

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

Reign of Joash.

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

Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Yâhô`adhân. And Amaziah died, and Uzziah his son reigned after him.

Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Îkhânyâ. And he did that which was good before the Lord. Now, he made bold to go into the Holy of Holies, and he took the censer from the priest of God, and burned incense in the temple of the Lord; and because he did this leprosy covered his face. And because Isaiah the prophet did not rebuke him, he was prevented from prophesying until Uzziah died. And Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Îrûshâ, the daughter of Zadok. And he did that which was good before the Lord, and he died and Ahaz his son reigned after him.

Ahaz a vassal of the King of Assyria.

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

Hezekiah.

Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Akhi, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was pleasing before the Lord, for he smashed the altars, and he cut in pieces the serpent of brass which Moses made in the wilderness, because the children of Israel used to worship it, and he abolished heathen practices in Jerusalem.

In the fourth year of his reign, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, came up and carried away captive the rest of the children of Israel, and he sent them into Media, beyond Babel.

And in the twentieth year of Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up and took all the cities and towns of Judah, but through the prayer of Hezekiah Jerusalem was saved.

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

Manasseh.

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

Ammon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Mashlemath. And Ammon did evil before the Lord, and he made his sons to pass through fire; he died, and Josiah his son reigned after him. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Yadhîdhâ, the daughter of Azariah, from Bezkath. And he did what was good before the Lord, and he walked in all the way wherein his father David had walked; and he turned aside neither to the right hand nor to the left. And Pharaoh, the "Lame" killed him, and Jehoahaz his son reigned after him.

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

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Zebhîdhâ, the daughter of Pedâyâ, from Ramah. And he did that which was evil before the Lord, even as his fathers had done. In his days Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, went up against Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him, and the Lord stirred up bands of robbers against him because of his sins. And Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned after him. And the king of Egypt did not come forth again out of his country; for the king of Babel captured all the land that belonged to the king of Egypt, from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Neheshtâ, the daughter of Elyâthân, from Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil before the Lord, even as his father had done. At that time Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, went up against Jerusalem, and the king of Babel took him with him in the eighth year of his kingdom. And he brought out from there all the treasure of the house of the Lord, and the treasure of the king' s house, and he carried off into captivity to Babel all the people of Jerusalem, and Jehoiachin, and his mother, and his wives, and his nobles; and the king brought captive to Babel all the men who had made war. And the king of Babel made Methanyâ, the uncle of Jehoiachin king in his stead, and he called his name "Zedekiah."

The Capture of Jerusalem.

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

Now up to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem the Hebrew, Greek, and Syrian writers were in possession of the truth, and they were able to produce the registers of the genealogies of the tribes and the people. But from the destruction of Jerusalem and onwards there has been no truth in their writings, except as regards the heads of the tribes, and they are unable to prove whence the succession of the priests took its origin.

Jehoiachin.

And Jehoiachin was bound in prison for thirty-seven years, and after he came forth from prison he took to wife Gûlîth, the daughter of Eliakim, and he begot by her in Babel Shalathiel; and Jehoiachin died in Babel. And Salathiel took to wife Hetbath, the daughter of Halkânâ, and he begot by her Zûrbâbhel, who took to wife Malkath, the daughter of Ezra the scribe; but no son was born to him by her in Babel. In the days of Zerubbabel, the prince of Judah, Cyrus the Persian reigned in Babel.

Cyrus.

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

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

THE FIVE HUNDRED YEARS FROM THE SECOND YEAR OF CYRUS TO THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.

Now when the people had gone up to Jerusalem they had no Books of the Prophets. And Ezra the scribe went down into that pit wherein Simeon had cast the Books, and he found a censer full of fire, and the perfume of the incense which rose up from it. And thrice he took some of the dust of those Books, and cast it into his mouth, and straightway God made to abide in him the spirit of prophecy, and he renewed all the Books of the Prophets.

And that same fire which was found in the pit became the holy fire in the house of the Lord. And Zerubbabel reigned in Jerusalem, and Joshua, the son of Yôzâdâk, was high-priest, and Ezra was the scribe of the Law and the Prophets. And the children of Israel celebrated a Passover when they went up from Babel. These are the three Passovers which the children of Israel kept; the first was kept in Egypt in the days of Moses; the the second was kept in the reign of Josiah; the third was kept when they went up from the land of Babel. And now an end hath been made to the Passover for them for ever. From the first captivity of Jerusalem, that in which Daniel went down into captivity, to the reign of Cyrus the Persian, was seventy years according to the prophecy of Jeremiah. And the children of Israel began the rebuilding of the Temple in the days of Zerubbabel, and Joshua, the son of Yôzâdôk, and Ezra the scribe, and the building thereof was finished in six and forty years, even as it is written in the holy Gospel.

The genealogies of the later Israelites.

Now the genealogy of the tribes was lost by the scribes, and they were unable to show either whence the heads of families took their wives, or whence they came. I, however, possess the knowledge of the correct genealogy, and will show the truth to everyman. When the children of Israel went up from Babylon--

Zerubbabel begot Abiud by Malkath, the daughter of Ezra the scribe.
Abiud took to wife Zakhyath, the daughter of Joshua, the son of Yôzâdâk, the priest, and begot by her Eliakim.
Eliakim took to wife Hâlâbh, the daughter of Dôrnîbh, and begot by her `Azôr.
Azôr took to wife Yalpath, the daughter of Hazôr, and begot by her Zadok.
Zadok took to wife Kaltîn, the daughter of Dôrnibh, and begot by her Akhîn.
Akhîn took to wife Heskath, the daughter of Ta`îl, and begot by her Eliud.
Eliud took to wife Beshtîn, the daughter of Hasâl, and begot by her Eleazar.
Eleazar took to wife Dîbath, the daughter of Tôlâh, and begot by her Mâtthân.
Mâtthân took to wife Sebhrath, the daughter of Phinehas, and begot by her two sons at one conception, Jacob and Yônâkhîr.
Jacob took to wife Hadbhîth, the daughter of Eleazur, and begot by her Joseph.
Yônakhîr took Dînâ, the daughter of Pâkôdh, and begot by her Mary, of whom was born the Christ.

And because none of the early writers could discover the order of succession of the generations of their fathers, the Jews urged the sons of the Church very strongly to show them who were the fathers of the blessed Mary in the order of the succession of their families. And they pressed the children of the Church to enquire into the genealogy of the families of their fathers, and to show them the truth. For the Jews call Mary an adulteress. And here the mouth of the Jews is stopped, and they believe that Mary was of the seed of the house of David and of Abraham. Now the Jews have no table of succession which showeth them the true order of the families of their fathers, because their books have been burned thrice--once in the days of Antiochus, who raised up a persecution against them, and polluted the Temple of the Lord, and forced them to offer up sacrifices unto idols; the second time in the days of . . . ; and the third time in the days of Herod, when Jerusalem was destroyed. Because of this the Jews were greatly grieved, for they had no trustworthy table of the succession of the generations of their fathers. And they toiled eagerly that they might obtain the truth, but they were unable to do so.

Now the Jews had many writers, and each of them wrote what he pleased, and no two of them agreed in what they wrote, because they could not stand on a foundation of truth. And even our own writers, the children of the Church, cannot show us the certainty of the real truth. They cannot show how the ascent of the body of Adam to Golgotha took place, nor whence came the fathers of Melchisedek, and the fathers of the blessed woman Mary. And the children of Israel being urged by the Church, and being unable to ascertain the truth, waxed reckless, and wrote, as it were, in the madness of error. And as concerning the table of succession of the sixty-three families, which reach from Adam to Christ, the Greek writers, and the Hebrew writers, and the Syrian writers, can neither show whence each head of a family took his wife, nor whose daughter she was. Now each divine teacher has laid down for the Church one true doctrine, and they have given unto believers the armour wherewith they can fight and overcome her enemies. Besides this, the grace of Christ hath granted unto us that which was lacking in them, and this we will cast into the rich treasury of their knowledge. And this, with great diligence, we have bestirred ourselves to do, even as our truly loving brother in Christ, the illustrious Nâmôsâyâ greatly desireth. And although I have been hindered through my dilatoriness, thou hast through thy love of learning, not been dilatory. And because of thy loving kindness towards me, and also because I myself am eager not to withhold from thee that which thou requirest of me, I will here write down the true table of succession. Hear, O my brother Nemesius the following table of succession which I write for thee; none of the other doctors hath been able to light upon it. The following are the sixty-three generations from which the Incarnation of Christ is descended, and their order is thus:--

1. Adam begot Seth.
2. Seth took to wife Kelîmath, who was born with Abel, and begot by her Enos.
3. Enos took to wife Hannâ, the daughter of Jubal, the daughter of Hôh, the daughter of Seth, and begot by her Cainan.
4. Cainan took to wife Peryath, the daughter of Kôtûn, the daughter of Yarbâl, and begot by her Mahlâlâîl.
5. Mahlâlâîl took to wife Sehatpar, the daughter of Enos, and begot by her Yârêd.
6. Jared took to wife Zebhîdhâ, the daughter of Kuhlôn, the daughter of Kenan, and begot by her Enoch.
7. Enoch took to wife Zadhkîn, the daughter of Tôpîh, the daughter of Mahlâlâîl, and begot by her Methuselah.
8. Methuselah took to wife Sâkhûth, the daughter of Sôkhîn, and begot by her Lamech.
9. Lamech took to wife Kîpâr, the daughter of Tûthâth, the daughter of Methuselah, and begot by her Noah.
10. Noah took to wife Haykâl, the daughter of Namûs, and he begot by her Shem, Ham and Japhet.
11. Shem begot Arpakhshar.
12. Arphaxad begot Shâlâh.
13. Salah begot Âbhâr.
14. Eber begot Pâlâg.
15. Peleg begot Ar`ô.
16. Reu begot Sârôgh.
17. Serug took to wife Kâhâl, the daughter of Peleg, who begot Nâhôr.
18. Nâhôr took to wife Napûsh, the daughter of Reu, and begot Tarah.
19. Terah took two wives, Yônâ and Salmûth; by Yônâ he begot Abraham, and by Salmûth he begot Sârâ.
20. Abraham took to wife Sarah and begot Isaac.
21. Isaac took to wife Rebecca and begot Jacob.
22. Jacob took to wife Leah and begot Judah.
23. Judah begot Pars by Tamar.
24. Pharez begot Hezron.
25. Hezron begot Aram.
26. Aram begot Amminadab.
27. Amminadab begot Nahshôn.
28. Nahasson begot Salmon.
29. Salmon begot Boaz, by Rahab.
30. Boaz took to wife Ruth, the daughter of Lot, and begot Obed.
31. Obed begot Jesse.
32. Jesse begot David the king.
33. David took to wife Bathsheba, and begot by her Solomon.
34. Solomon begot Rehoboam.
35. Rehoboam begot Abijah.
36. Abijah begot Asa.
37. Asa begot Jehoshaphat.
38. Jehoshaphat begot Joram.
39. Joram begot Ahaziah.
40. Ahaziah begot Joash.
41. Joash begot Amaziah.
42. Amaziah begot Uzziah.
43. Uzziah begot Jotham.
44. Jotham begot Ahaz.
45. Ahaz begot Hezekiah.
46. Hezekiah begot Manasseh.
47. Manasseh begot Amon.
48. Amon begot Josiah.
49. Josiah begot Jehoiakim.
50. Jehoiakim begot Jehoiachin.
51. Jehoiachin begot Salathiel.
52. Salathiel begot Nedabijah.
53. Nedabijah begot Zerubbabel.
54. Zerubbabel begot Abiud.
55. Abiud begot Eliakim.
56. Eliakim begot Azor.
57. Azor begot Zadok.
58. Zadok begot Achin.
59. Achin begot Eliud.
60. Eliud begot Eleazar.
61. Eleazar begot Mâtthan.
62. Mâtthan took to wife Sabhrath, the daughter of Phinehas, and begot Jacob and Yônâkhîr.
63. Jacob took to wife Hadhbhîth, the daughter of Eleazar, and begot Joseph, the betrothed of Mary.

Yônâkhîr took to wife Dînâ, that is to say, Hannâ, the daughter of Pâkôdh, and sixty years after he had taken her to wife she brought forth Mary, of whom was born Christ.

The Genealogy of Mary.

And because Joseph was the son of Mary's uncle, by the fore-knowledge of God, Who knew that Mary would be certainly attacked by the Jews, Mary was given to Joseph, who was the son of her uncle, that he might take care of her. Observe, O our brother Nemesius, that the fathers of the blessed woman Mary belonged to the succession of the generations of David.

Behold, I have set thee upon a foundation of truth, which none of the former chroniclers found to stand upon; see, too, how these sixty-three generations reaching from Adam to the birth of Christ, succeeded each other. And the Jews also rejoiced because they also had found the generations of the familles of their fathers.

Observe, O our brother Nemesius, that in the days of Cyrus the FIFTH THOUSAND YEARS CAME TO AN END. And from the thousand years of Cyrus until the Passion of our Redeemer, the years were in number five hundred, according to the prophecy of Daniel, who prophesied and said, "After sixty-two weeks the Messiah shall be slain." And these weeks make five hundred years.


Behold, from this time the mouth of the Jews is shut, for they have dared to say that the Messiah hath not yet come. They must, perforce, do one of two things: either accept the prophecy of Daniel, or say, "We do not accept it." For the prophecy hath fulfilled itself, and the weeks have passed, and the Messiah hath been slain, and the Holy City hath been laid waste by Vespasian.

The Birth of Christ.

Observe now, O thou lover of learning, our brother Nemesius, in the forty-second year of the kingdom of Augustus, Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judah, as it is written in the Holy Gospel.

The Star and the Magi.

Now, it was two years before Christ was born that the star appeared to the Magi. They saw the star in the firmament of heaven, and the brilliancy of its appearance was brighter than that of every other star. And within it was a maiden carrying a child, and a crown was set upon his head. Now it was the custom of the ancient kings, and the Magi of the Chaldeans, to consult the Signs of the Zodiac about all the affairs of their lives. And when the Magi saw the star they were perturbed, and terrified, and afraid, and the whole land of Persia was disturbed. And the kings, and the Magi, and the Chaldeans, and the wise men of Persia, were stupefied, and they were exceedingly afraid of the portent which they saw. And they said, "Peradventure the king of the Greeks hath determined to wage war against the land of Nimrod." And the Magi and the Chaldeans were terrified, and they consulted their books of wisdom, and through the might of the wisdom of their books they understood and learned, and stood upon the strength of the truth. Now, in truth, the Magi of the Chaldeans discovered that by means of the motions of the stars, to which they gave the name of "Signs of the Zodiac," they were able to know and understand the strength of events before they took place. And this same knowledge is also given to those who go down into the sea, and by the motions of the stars they know beforehand when there is going to be a disturbance of the winds, and when a violent storm is going to rise up against them, and whenever they are about to be threatened with danger from winds and waves. Thus also was it with the Magi. When they saw and read in the "Revelation of Nimrod" they discovered therein that a king was born in Judah, and the whole path of the Dispensation of Christ was revealed unto them.

And straightway, according to what they had received from the tradition which had been handed down to them by their fathers, they left the East, and went up to the mountains of Nôdh, which lie inside the entrances to the East from the lands on the skirts of the North, and they took from them gold, and myrrh, and frankincense. And from this passage understand, O my brother Nemesius, that the Magi knew the whole service of the Dispensation of our Redeemer through the offerings which they brought: the gold was for a king, the myrrh for a physician, and the frankincense for a priest, for the Magi knew Who He was, and that He was a king, and a physician, and a priest. Now when the son of the king of Sheba was a little boy his father brought him to a Rabbi, and he learned the Book of the Hebrews better than all his companions and his fellow countrymen, and he said unto all his slaves, "It is written in all the books of genealogies that the king shall be born in Bethlehem."

The names of the Magi.

These are they who bore offerings to the King, kings, the sons of kings:--

1. HÔRMÎZDADH of Mâkhôzdî, king of Persia, who was called "King of Kings," and dwelt in Lower Âdhôrghîn.
2. ÎZGARAD, the king of Sâbhâ.
3. PERÔZÂDH, the king of Sheba, which is in the East.

The Magi in Jerusalem.

And the Magi having made ready to go up, the kingdom of the mighty men of war was perturbed and terrified, and there was with the Magi so mighty a following that all the cities of the East were in dismay before them, and Jerusalem also. And when they entered the presence of Herod, he trembled before them, and he commanded them, saying, "Depart in peace, and seek diligently for the young Child, and when ye have found Him, come and show me, that I too may go and make obeisance unto Him"; though deceit was hidden in Herod's heart, he offered homage with his mouth. Now when, the Magi went up to Jerusalem there was great commotion in Judea, because of the edict of Augustus Cæsar, which commanded that every man should be registered in his country, and in the city of his fathers. Because of this Herod was greatly perturbed, and he said unto the Magi, "Go ye and search for Him." Now the Magi are called "Magi" because of the garb of Magianism in which the heathen kings arrayed themselves whensoever they offered up a sacrifice and made offerings to their gods. They made use of two different kinds of apparel; that which appertained to royalty they wore inside, and that which appertained to Magianism outside. And thus also was it with those who went up prepared to make offerings to Christ, and they were arrayed in both kinds of apparel.

And when the Magi had gone forth from Jerusalem, and from the presence of Herod, that same star which had been their guide on the road appeared to them, and they rejoiced greatly. And the star went on before them until they entered the cave, where they saw the young Child swathed in bands and laid in a manger. Whilst they were on their way up thither they said within themselves, "When we arrive there we shall see mighty and wonderful things, according to the law and custom which prevail among royal personages when a king is born." Thus did they think that they would find in the land of Israel a royal palace, and couches of gold with cushions laid upon them, and the king and the son of the king arrayed in purple, and awestruck soldiers and companies of royal troops, and the nobles of the kingdom paying him honour by presenting gifts, and tables laid out with meats fit for the king, and vessels of drink standing in rows, and men servants and women servants serving in fear. Such were the things which the Magi expected to see, but they saw them not; they saw sights which were far better than these when they went into the cave. They saw Joseph sitting in astonishment, and Mary in a state of wonderment, but there was no couch with cushions laid upon it, and no table with food laid out upon it, and no sign of the preparations which accompany royal state. And although they saw all this humble estate and poverty, they had no doubt in their minds, but they drew nigh in fear and made obeisance to Him in honour, and they offered unto Him, gold, and myrrh, and frankincense. And it was very grievous unto Mary and Joseph that they had nothing to set before them, but the Magi fed themselves with food of their own providing.

The Circumcision of Christ.

Now Christ was eight days old when the Magi presented their offerings; and Mary received them at the very time when Joseph circumcised Christ. In truth, Joseph circumcised Him according to the Law, but he only went through the act of cutting, for no flesh whatsoever was cut off from Him. For as a rod of iron passeth through the fire and cutteth the rays thereof, without any part of it being cut off from it, so in like manner was Christ circumcised without anything being taken from Him.

The Conversion of the Magi.

And the Magi lived with the Child three days, and they saw the hosts of heaven going up and coming down to Christ. And they heard the sound of the praises of the angels, who sang hymns and cried out, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Mighty God, with whose praises the heavens and the earth are filled." And they were in great fear, and in truth they believed in Christ, and said, "This is the King Who hath come down from heaven and become man." And Perôzdhâdh answered and said unto them, "Now know I that the prophecy of Isaiah is true. For when I was in the school of the Hebrews I read in the Book of Isaiah, and I found written therein thus: 'For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son hath been given. And His Name shall be called Wonderful, and Counsellor, and God, Giant of the Worlds'". And it is written in another place, "Behold, a virgin is with child, and she shall bring forth a son, and his name shall be called 'Emmanuel,' which is, being interpreted, 'God with us'". And because He became like a man, and the angels were coming down from heaven to Him, truly He is the Lord of angels and men. And all the Magi believed and said, "Truly this King is God. Kings are born unto us frequently, and mighty men, the sons of mighty men, are born unto us on earth, but it is an unheard-of thing for the angels to come down to them." And straightway they all rose up, and did homage to Him as the Lord and King of the world. And having prepared food for their journey, they went down to their own country by a desert road.

The Massacre of the Innocents.

Now, there are certain men who will dispute this statement and say, "Where was Christ when the children were massacred, for it is written that He was not found in the land of Judah?" It was because of this massacre that He fled to Egypt, so that there might be fulfilled that which is written. "From Egypt I called my Son". And know this also. When Christ entered Egypt all the idols therein were swept from their places, and fell down, and were broken, so that there might be fulfilled that which is written, "Behold, the p. 216 Lord rideth on a swift cloud, and entereth Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be broken before Him".

And He did not return from Egypt at once, but lived there until Herod died, and after him reigned Archelaus.

Now, thou must know, O my brother Nemesius, that, even as I have already told thee, all the men who were under the rule of Herod were included in that registration for taxation; and the registration was completed in fifty days. And it was not until this registration was completed and sealed, and until Herod had sealed it and sent it to Augustus in Rome, that the Messiah was searched for; up to that time no children had been slain. And it was during the commotion caused by that registration that Christ was born. When forty days after His birth had been fulfilled, Christ went into the Temple of the Lord. And Simeon the Aged, the son of Joshua bar-Yôzâdhâk, in whose days the captivity went up from Babel, took Him in his arms. Now, Simeon was five hundred years old when he took Christ in his arms.

The Flight into Egypt.1

And straightway the angel said unto Joseph, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Egypt." And when the registration was completed, the Jews were dismissed, so that each man might depart to his own district and to his own village.

Herod and John the Baptist.

Then did Herod enquire for the Magi, and when he was told, "they have gone back to their own country," he was exceedingly wroth, and he sent straightway and slew all the young children in Bethlehem, and in all the villages round about. And when Herod had passed among the slain children, and they did not find there the body of John, the son of Zacharias, he said, "Truly, his son will reign over Israel." For he had heard of what had been said unto Zacharias by the angel, when he announced to him concerning the birth of John. And Herod sent to Zacharias and commanded him to bring John, and Zacharias said, "I am a priest, and I minister in the Temple of the Lord; I do not know where the Child and his mother are." And because of these words Zacharias was slain between the steps and the altar. Now, Elizabeth had taken John and gone forth into the desert.

The Death of Herod.

And as for Herod, a divine punishment that was pitiless overtook him, and he fell ill of a sickness through which he stank, and his body melted away into a mass of worms, and he suffered most grievous pains, and at length people were unable to come near him because of his putrid smell. And through that bitter suffering his soul departed into outer darkness. Nevertheless, by his death he destroyed many.

Now Herod had said unto Archelaus his son, and unto Shâlôm his sister, "Immediately I am dead, let those whom I have fettered in prison be slain"--now he had imprisoned one person from every house. And he said, "I know that the Jews will feel great joy at my death. But in order that they may not rejoice and be glad whilst ye are sorrowful and are weeping, let all those whom I have shut up in prison be slain, so that through their death they may cause lamentation unintentionally." And Archelaus and Shâlôm did as Herod commanded them, and when this order had been carried out in all Judea there remained not one house in which there was not lamentation, even as it was in Egypt in days of old.

Christ returns to Galilee.

And when Herod died, and his death had been announced to Joseph, he went back to Galilee. And when Christ was thirty years old He was baptized by John. Now John was in the desert all the days of his life, and he lived upon the root which is called "Kâmûs," which is wild honey. According to some this root was like unto a carrot. And in the twelfth year of the kingdom of Tiberius Christ suffered.

Chronological statement.

Understand now and see, O my brother Nemesius, that in the days of Yârêd, in his fortieth year, the FIRST Thousand Years came to an end. In the six hundredth year of Noah the SECOND Thousand Years came to an end. In the seventy-fourth year of Reu the THIRD Thousand Years came to an end. In the twenty-sixth year of Âhôr the FOURTH Thousand Years came to an end. In the second year of Cyrus the FIFTH Thousand Years came to an end. And in the five hundredth year of the SIXTH Thousand Years Christ was born in His human form.

The Crucifixion of Christ.

And know thou also that Christ dwelt in Mary, and suffered in Nazareth, and was born in Bethlehem, and was laid in a manger, and was carried by Simeon in the Temple of Solomon, and was reared in Galilee, and was anointed by Mary Magdalene, and ate the Passover in the house of Nicodemus, the brother of Joseph of Râmethâ, and was bound in the house of Hannân, and was struck with a reed in the house of Caiaphas, and embraced the pillar and was scourged with a whip in the Prætorium of Pilate, and on Friday, on the first day of Nîsân, on the fourteenth day of the moon, our Redeemer suffered.

At the FIRST HOUR of the sixth day God fashioned Adam from the dust, and at the first hour of sixth day Christ received spittle from the sons of Adam.

At the SECOND HOUR of the sixth day the wild beasts, and the cattle, and the feathered fowl gathered themselves together to Adam, and he gave names to them as they bowed their heads before him. And at the second hour of the sixth day the Jews gathered themselves together against Christ, and they gnashed their teeth at Him, even as the blessed David said, "Many bulls have gathered together round about me, bulls of Bashan have beset me round".

At the THIRD HOUR of the sixth day a crown of glory was placed on the head of Adam, and at the third hour of the sixth day the crown of thorns was placed on the head of Christ.

THREE HOURS was Adam in Paradise and shining with splendour, and three hours was Christ in the Judgment Hall being beaten by creatures that had been fashioned out of dust.

At the SIXTH HOUR Eve went up to the tree of the transgression of the commandment, and at the sixth hour Christ ascended the Cross, the Tree of Life.

At the SIXTH HOUR Eve gave unto Adam the fruit of the gall of death, and at the sixth hour the crowd of iniquity gave unto Christ vinegar and gall.

For THREE HOURS Adam remained under the Tree naked, and for three hours was Christ naked on the wood of the Cross. And from the right side of Adam went forth Eve, the mother of mortal offspring, and from the right side of Christ went forth baptism, the mother of immortal offspring.

On the sixth day Adam and Eve sinned, and on the sixth day their sin was remitted.

On the sixth day Adam and Eve died, and on the sixth day they came alive.

On the sixth day Death reigned over them, and on the sixth day they were freed from his dominion.

On the sixth day Adam and Eve went forth from Paradise, and on the sixth day our Lord went into the grave.

On the sixth day Adam and Eve became naked, and on the sixth day Christ stripped Himself naked and clothed them.

On the sixth day Satan stripped Adam and Eve naked, and on the sixth day Christ stripped naked Satan and all his hosts, and put them to shame openly.

On the sixth day the door of Paradise was shut and Adam went forth, and on the sixth day it was opened and a robber went in.

On the sixth day the two-edged sword was given to the Cherub, and on the sixth day Christ smote with the spear, and brake the two-edged sword.

On the sixth day kingdom, and priesthood, and prophecy were given unto Adam, and on the sixth day p. 224 priesthood, and kingdom, and prophecy were taken from the Jews.

At the NINTH HOUR Adam went down into the lowest depth of the earth from the height of Paradise, and at the ninth hour Christ went down to the lowest depths of the earth, to those who lay in the dust, from the height of the Cross.

Know also that Christ was like unto Adam in everything, even as it is written. In that very place where Melchisedek ministered as a priest, and where Abraham offered up his son Isaac as an offering, the wood of the Cross was set up, and that self-same place is the centre of the earth, and there the Four Quarters of the earth meet each other. For when God made the earth His mighty power was running before it, and the earth was running after it, and the power of God stood still and became motionless in Golgotha; and that same place formeth the boundary of the earth. When Shem took up the body of Adam, that same place, which is the door of the earth, opened itself. And when Shem and Melchisedek had deposited the body of Adam in the centre of the earth the Four Quarters of the earth closed in about it, and embraced Adam, and straightway that opening was closed firmly, and all the children of Adam were not able to open it. And when the Cross of Christ, the Redeemer of Adam and his sons, was set up upon it, the door of that place was opened in the face of Adam. And when the Wood was fixed upon it, and Christ was smitten with the spear, and blood and water flowed down from His side, they ran down into the mouth of Adam, and they became a baptism to him, and he was baptized.

Now when the Jews crucified Christ on the Wood, they divided His garments among them beneath the Cross, even as it is written. His tunic was of purple, which is the raiment of royalty; and when they stripped Him of the raiment of royalty Pilate would not permit the Jews to array Him in ordinary apparel, but only in the actual raiment of royalty, either purple or scarlet. By both of these it might be known that He was a king. For it is impossible for any other man to wear purple; only a king can do this. And one of the Evangelists hath said, "The soldiers put on Him a purple robe", and this is a true word and is highly credible; and another Evangelist uses the word "scarlet ", and he proclaimed what was true. The scarlet garment indicateth to us blood, and the purple garment water; for the scarlet one was like unto blood, and the purple one was like unto water. The scarlet garment proclaimeth the joyful and immortal nature of man, and the purple one the sad and mortal nature of man. Understand, therefore, O our brother Nemesius, that scarlet proclaimeth life.

Now the spies said prophetically to Rahab, the harlot, "thou shalt tie a thread of scarlet to the window" when they descended having been well entreated by her. And through her they prefigured a certain matter, for the window symbolized the side of our Lord Christ, and the thread of scarlet His precious blood which produced life.

And they wove a crown of spikes of thorn bushes, and set it upon His head. And they arrayed Him in royal apparel, not knowing what they were doing. And they bowed the knee, and made obeisance unto Him, and they spake with their mouths, without being compelled to do so, saying, "Hail to Thee, King of the Jews." Observe ye, O my brethren, that not even in His death did He lack the sign of royalty. And when the Jews and the soldiers who were the servants of Herod and Pilate were struggling together to rend the tunic of Christ, to divide it among them, they did so because they all eagerly desired the beauty of the sight thereof. And the centurion also who watched the Cross himself testified before all the crowd, saying, "Verily, this man is the Son of God." And this centurion said unto them, "The orders which have been given to me do not permit me to rend the apparel of royalty, but cast lots for it and we shall see to whom it will come"; and when the Jews and the soldiers of the king had cast lots, the lot fell upon one of the soldiers of Pilate. Now the tunic of our Lord had no seam, but had been woven whole in one piece. And whensoever there was a lack of rain in the place where it had been deposited and taken care of, the people used to bring out the tunic, and as soon as they lifted it up towards heaven an abundance of rain fell. And also, whensoever the soldier who had received it lacked rain for his crop, he brought out the tunic, and it worked this miracle. Now the tunic was taken away by force from the man who got it by Pilate, who sent it to the Emperor Tiberius. To us this tunic indicateth the Orthodox Faith, which all the nations joined together are unable to cleave.

Three valuable gifts, than which there is nothing more valuable, were given to the Jews in olden time, namely, royalty, priesthood, and prophecy: prophecy by the hand of Moses, priesthood by the hand of Aaron, and royalty by the hand of David. These three gifts which the generations and families of the children of Israel had enjoyed for many years were taken from them in one day; and they were stripped of all three of them, and became aliens to them, that is to say, prophecy by the Cross, priesthood by the rending of the tunic of Christ, and royalty by the crown of thorns. Moreover, that spirit of compassion which had dwelt in the Temple, in the Holy of Holies, forsook them and departed. And the veil of the sanctuary was cleft in twain. And the Passover fled from them, for they never celebrated another Passover in it. And know, O my brethren, that when Pilate pressed them to go into the Judgment Hall, they said unto him, "We are unable to go into the Prætorium, because up to now we have not eaten the Passover."

And when the sentence of death had been passed on our Lord by Pilate, they made haste and went into the sanctuary and brought out from thence the carrying poles of the Ark of the Covenant, and out of them they made the Cross of Christ. Verily it was meet that these pieces of wood which used to carry the Covenant should also carry the Lord of the Covenant. The Cross of Christ was formed of two pieces of wood which were of the same height, and depth, and length, and breadth. And Paul the Apostle laboured exceedingly that the Gentiles might know what was the might of the Cross, which embraced the height, and depth, and length, and breadth of the earth. And when they raised up Christ, the Lamp of Light of all the earth, and set Him upon the candlestick of the Cross, the light of the sun became dark, and was extinguished, and a covering of darkness was spread over the whole earth. Three nails were driven into the body of our Redeemer, two through His hands, and one through both His feet. And there were two thieves with Him, one on His right hand and one on His left hand.

And they handed out to Him vinegar and gall in a sponge. By the vinegar which they gave unto Him it was made known concerning them that their will was changed from what it had been formerly, and that they had turned themselves from integrity to wickedness, and by the gall was made known the bitterness of the accursed serpent which was in them. And they showed that they also had belonged to that good vineyard from which prophets, and kings, and priests, and they themselves had drunk; but because they had become wicked heirs, who would not labour in the vineyard of my beloved, they produced husks instead of grapes, and the wine which they pressed out therefrom was sour. And having crucified the Heir on the Wood, they mixed some of the impurity of their wickedness with their sour wine, and gave Him to drink of the wine from the vineyard of the Gentiles; but He would not drink saying, "Give me of that vine which My Father brought out of Egypt." For Christ knew that the prophecy of Moses which had been prophesied concerning them had been fulfilled in them; for Moses said, "Your grapes are grapes of gall, your clusters are bitter. Your poison is the poison of the serpent, and their head is that of a malignant viper. These are the things which ye render unto the Lord".

Observe, O my brother Nemesius, that the blessed Moses with the eye of the Spirit foresaw the things which they were going to do to Christ and said, "These are the things which ye render to the Lord." The congregation of the crucifiers was a decayed vine, its daughters were bitter grapes, and its sons were clusters of gall. Their head was Caiaphas, the malignant viper, and they were all evil serpents, and all of them were filled with the venom of Satan, who is the Evil Serpent. Instead of the water of the rock which had been given them to drink in the wilderness, they gave Him vinegar to drink, and instead of manna, the gall of the quail. They did not give Him a cup to drink from, but a sponge, so that they might show that the blessing of their fathers had been swept away from them. Now this is evident from what follows: When a vessel is empty and there is no wine in it, they wash and wipe it with a sponge. Even so did the Jews do when they crucified Christ, for with a sponge they wiped away and removed from themselves royalty, and priesthood, and prophecy, and the religion of Christ, and gave them to Christ, and the vessels of their bodies washed and empty remained only.

And the Law and the Prophets having been fulfilled, and Adam having been sent and seen the fountain of living water which was poured out from above for his redemption, then was Christ smitten with the spear, and blood and water flowed down from His side; but they were not mingled with each other. For what reason did the blood come forth before the water? For two reasons: First, that through the blood life might be given unto Adam, and then, after life and resurrection, the water for his baptism. Secondly, that through the blood He might show that He was immortal, and through the water He might show that He was mortal, and a bearer of sufferings. The blood and the water ran down into the mouth of Adam, and Adam was redeemed, and put on a garment of glory. And Christ wrote the edict of His return with the blood of His own Person, and despatched it by the thief.

And when an end had been made of everything, the writ of repudiation of the congregation was written, and the congregation became a thing cast aside, and it was stripped of its glorious raiment, even as in times of old David had, through the Holy Spirit, said and prophesied, saying, "Even unto the horns of the altar"--to this pass were the festivals of the Jews brought. "Unto the horns of the altar" means to the crucifixion of Christ, that is to say:

The Genealogy of Christ.

From Adam to Seth; from Seth to Enos; from Enos to Cainan; from Cainan to Mahalâlâêl; from Mahalâlâêl to Jared; from Jared to Enoch; from Enoch to Methuselah; from Methuselah to Lamech; from Lamech to Noah; from Noah to Shem; from Shem to Arphaxad; from Arphaxad to Salah; from Salah to Eber; from Eber to Peleg; from Peleg to Reu; from Reu to Serug; from Serug to Nahor; from Nahor to Terah; from Terah to Abraham; from Abraham to Isaac; from Isaac to Jacob; from Jacob to Judah; from Judah to Pharez; from Pharez to Hesron; from Hesron to Aram; from Aram to Amminadab; from Amminadab to Nahasson; from Nahasson to Salmon; from Salmon to Boaz; from Boaz to Obed; from Obed to Jesse; from Jesse to David; from David to Solomon; from Solomon to Rehoboam; from Rehoboam to Abijah; from Abijah to Ara; from Ara to Jehoshaphat; from Jeshoshaphat to Joram; from Joram to Ahaziah; from Ahaziah to Joash; from Joash to Amaziah; from Amaziah to Uzziah; from Uzziah to Jotham; from Jotham to Ahaz; from Ahaz to Hezekiah; from Hezekiah to Manasseh; from Manasseh to Ammon; from Ammon to Josiah; from Josiah to Jehoahaz; from Jehoahaz to Jehoiakim; from Jehoiakim to Jehoiachin; from Jehoiachin to Salathiel; from Salathiel to Zerubbabel; from Zerubbabel to Abiud; from Abiud to Eliakim; from Eliakim to Azor; from Azor to Zadok; from Zadok to Achin; from Achin to Eliud; from Eliud to Eleazar; from Eleazar to Mathan; from Mathan to Jacob and Yônâkhîr; from Yônâkhîr to Mary; from Mary to the manger; from the manger to circumcision; from the circumcision to the Temple; from the Temple to Egypt; from Egypt to Galilee; from Galilee to Jerusalem; from Jerusalem to the Jordan; from the Jordan to the desert; from the desert to Judah; from Judah to the preaching; from the preaching to the Upper Chamber; from the Upper Chamber to the Passover; from the Passover to the Judgment Hall; from the Judgment Hall to the Cross; from the Cross to the grave; from the grave to the Upper Chamber; from the Upper Chamber to heaven; and from heaven to the throne. He sitteth on the right hand of His Father.

The end of the two and sixty weeks.

Observe, O our brother Nemesius, how the generations and families have succeeded each other; from Adam to the Jews, and the Jews also from one generation to another until the Cross of Christ. From that time and onwards the festivals of the Jews have ceased, even as the blessed David saith concerning them: "Bind our festivals with chains even to the horns of the altar". The chains are the families which are linked each to the other, and the altar is the Cross of Christ. The festivals of the Jews succeeded each other until the Cross of Christ, in priesthood, and royalty, and prophecy, and Passover; but from the Cross of Christ up to the present they all have ceased, even as I have said. The Jews have no longer among them a king, or a priest, or a prophet, or a Passover, even as Daniel prophesied concerning them, saying, "After two and sixty weeks Christ shall be slain, and the city of holiness shall be laid waste until the completion of things decreed". That is to say, for ever and ever.

Christ's body is embalmed and laid in the tomb made for Joshua, the son of Nôn.

And when the end of all the Law and the Prophets had come, and Christ was hanging on the Cross, Joseph, the brother of Nicodemus and Cleophas, went in to Pilate--now he was the bearer of the seal-ring of Pilate, and was a councillor, and had free intercourse with him--and asked for the body of our Redeemer; and Pilate commanded that it should be given to him. And when Joseph had taken His body, straightway Pilate commanded that the garden also in which the grave was situated should be given to him; it belonged to Joseph, and it had been given unto him as an inheritance by Phinehas, the Levite, the son of Joseph's uncle. Now Joseph was from Jerusalem, but he had been made a councillor in Râmthâ, and all the letters which had been written during the whole period of Pilate's administration had been sealed with the seal which Joseph carried. And when Joseph had taken down the body of our Lord from the Cross, the Jews ran and took the Cross, and brought it into the Temple, because the pieces of wood thereof were the bearing poles of the Ark of the Covenant. And Nicodemos also embalmed the body of our Lord and swathed it in clean, new linen swathings, and Joseph made it ready for the grave and buried it in a new tomb which had been made for Joshua, the son of Nôn, to be buried in. And because he saw with the eye of the Spirit, and the way of the Dispensation of Christ had appeared to him, he took the stone which had travelled about with the children of Israel in the desert and placed it at the door of the tomb, and therefore he was not buried in it. And when Joseph, and Nicodemus, and Cleophas had buried Christ, they laid that stone before the door of the building of the tomb. And the high priests, and men of the house of Pilate, went out and set seals on the grave and on the stone.

The Cross of Christ.

And now, my brother Nemesius, be amazed and give praise to God that all the straps of the . . . of Christ were joined together on the bearing poles of the Ark of the service of God and the covering of the sanctuary of propitiation. This was what God commanded Moses: to make a breast-plate of judgment and of peace; of judgment for the Jews who crucified Him, and of peace for the Gentiles who have believed in him. His Cross was made of the wood of the Sanctuary, His grave was a new one, which had been made for the death of Joshua, the son of Nôn, and the stone, which is Christ, had when in the desert given water to six hundred thousand people, and now it became an altar and gave life to all the Gentiles. And the saying of the Apostle, "that rock was Christ" is true and well worthy of belief. Joseph was a councillor in Râmthâ, Nicodemus was a teacher of the Law in Jerusalem, and Cleophas was the recorder of the Hebrews in `Amâôs. Nicodemus prepared everything which was required for the Passover in the Upper Chamber; and Joseph made Him ready for burial and buried Him in his own inheritance, and Cleophas received Him into his house. And when He had risen from the dead these men became to Him true and faithful brethren.

The trilingual inscription above the Cross.

And when Joseph brought Him down from the Cross, he took away that inscription which was spread out above His head, that is to say, over the head of the Cross of Christ, because it had been written by Pilate in Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew. And why did Pilate write in it no word of the Syrians? Because the Syrians participated in no way whatsoever in the shedding of the blood of Christ. And Pilate, a wise man and a lover of the truth, did not wish to write a lie as wicked judges do, but he did according to what is written in the Law of Moses. Pilate wrote in the inscription the names of the languages of those who condemned the innocent in the order in which the slayers of Christ laid their hands upon him, and he hung the writing above Him. Herod was a Greek, Caiaphas was a Hebrew, and Pilate a Roman. Now the Syrians had no part in the murder of Christ, and to this testifieth Abhgar, king of Edessa, who wished to take Jerusalem and destroy it because the Jews crucified Christ.

The Harrowing of Hell.

Now the descent of Sheol was not in vain, for it was the cause of manifold benefits to our race. He dismissed Death from his domination. He preached the resurrection to those who were lying in the dust, and He pardoned those who had sinned against the Law. He laid waste Sheol, and slew sin. He put Satan to shame, and made the devils sad, and He abrogated sacrifices and offerings and made an apology for Adam, and abolished the festivals of the Jews.

The Resurrection of Christ.

And having risen from the grave on the third day, Christ appeared to Kîpâ and John.

And whilst Christ was in the grave, and the watchmen were sitting round about it, Simon Peter conceived the design of giving the watchmen wine to drink so that they might become drunk and fall asleep, when he intended to rise up and open the tomb, and take out the body of Christ without breaking the seals on the tomb, so that the Jews might not say, "Assuredly His disciples stole Him away." And whilst the watchmen were eating and drinking, Christ rose up and showed Himself to Kîpâ, for He had indeed risen. And Peter believed that He was truly Christ, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and did not approach the tomb. And afterwards Christ also appeared to the watchmen openly, and He went to His disciples in the Upper Chamber, and Thomas felt Him. And He appeared to His disciples on the sea shore. Now, though Simon Peter denied Him thrice before the Jews, he acknowledged Him thrice before the disciples. And Christ delivered to him and committed to his hands all His flock, saying, before His disciples, "Feed thou for Me My sheep and lambs and ewes," that is to say, men, women and children. And forty days after His Resurrection He bestowed upon the Apostles the laying on of hands of the priesthood, and He went up to heaven, and sat down on the right hand of His Father.

Then the Apostles gathered themselves together and went up into the Upper Chamber with Mary, the Holy Virgin, and Simon Peter baptized Mary, and John, the virgin, received her into his house. And they decreed a fast until they had received the Spirit, the Paraclete, at Pentecost, they all being gathered together. And languages were distributed among them, so that each of them might go and teach that nation in the tongue which he had received, so that there might never be strife among them.



Here endeth the "BOOK OF THE ORDER OF THE SUCCESSION OF FAMILlES FROM ADAM TO CHRIST," which is called the "Cave of Treasures."

And to God be glory for ever!