The Book of the Cave of Treasures
The Cave Of Treasures (Brit. Mus. MS. Add. 25875.)
Translation
The Title Of The Work: The Scribe’s Prayer
[Fol. 3b, col. 1] 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`ֲrath Gazzך, which was composed by Saint Mגr Aphrךm (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 Yarךd (Jared)
The Creation. 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, God 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 [Fol. 3b, col. 2] 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.
[Note: According to Solomon, a Nestorian bishop of Perגth Mayshגn, or Al-Basrah, a city on the right bank of the Shatt al-`Arab, about A.D. 1222, the creation of the heavens and the earth has been planned from everlasting in the immutable mind of God. He created SEVEN substances (or natures) in silence, without voice, viz. heaven, earth, water, air, fire, the angels, and darkness. The earth was plunged in the midst of the waters, above the waters was air, and above the air was fire. Water is cold and moist, air is hot and moist, fire is hot and dry, but it had no luminosity until the Fourth Day, when the luminaries were created. The angels are divided into nine classes and three orders. The upper order contains Cherubim, Seraphim, and Thrones, and these are bearers of God's throne. The middle order contains Lords, Powers, and Rulers. The lower order contains Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. (Compare the "thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers" of Col. i. 16.) The Cherubim are an intellectual motion, the Seraphim are a fiery motion, the Thrones are a fixed motion, the Lords are a motion which governs the motions beneath it and controls the devils, the Powers are a motion which gives effect to God's will, the Rulers are a motion which rules spiritual measures and the sun, moon and stars, the Principalities are a motion which rules the elements, the Archangels are a swift operative motion which governs every living creature, except man, and the Angels are a motion which has spiritual knowledge of everything which is in heaven or on the earth. The guardian angel of every man belongs to this last class. The number of each class of angels is equal to the number of all mankind from Adam to the Resurrection. The heaven in which the angels live is above the waters, which are above the firmament, and they minister to their God there, being invisible to bodily eyes. The angels are not self-existent beings--they were created; on the other hand, darkness is a self-existent nature (or substance). Solomon of Al-Basrah does not accept the view that the spirit which hovered over the waters was the Holy Spirit. (See Book of the Bee, ed. Budge, chapters i-vii.)]
The Creation. Second Day
And on the Second Day God made the Lower Heaven, and called it Rekמ’a [that is to say, "what is solid and fixed," or "firmament"]. This He did that He might make known that the Lower Heaven doth 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 Nhrג (i.e. Light), and this lower heaven is Darpמtמפn [Fol. 4a, col. 1], and because it hath the dense nature of water it hath been called “Rekמ`a.” And on the Second Day God made a separation between the waters and the waters, that is to say, between the waters which were above [Rekמ`a] 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 Rekמ`a in the air; and they do not spread, and they make no motion to any side.
[Note: According to the "Book of the Bee," the creation of the firmament enabled God to allot a dwelling place to the angels, where also the souls of the righteous could be received after the General Resurrection. The great abyss of water which God created on the First Day was divided by Him into three parts; one part He left on the earth for the use of man and beast, and to form rivers and seas; of the second part He made the firmament, and the third part the place above the firmament. After the Resurrection all these parts will return to their original state. The word Darpמtמפn is a difficulty, and I cannot explain it. The variant forms Drמkפn and Dertךkפn appear in Ethiopic books, wherein it is said to be a name of the sixth heaven.]
The Creation. Third Day
And on the Third Day God commanded the waters that were below the firmament (Rekמ`a) 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 [Fol. 4a, col. 2], and upon it. And God 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 resteth 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.
[Note: On this day the waters gathered together in the depths of the earth, sand was set as a limit for the waters of the seas, and the mountains and hills appeared. The sages say that Paradise was created on this day, but the Rabbis held the view that it existed before the world. Solomon of Basrah says that the earth produced herbs and trees by its own power, and that the luminaries had nothing to do with vegetable growth. Book of the Bee (chapter ix.)]
The Creation. Fourth Day
And on the Fourth Day God 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 God 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 [Fol. 4b, col. 1], and plants, and seeds, and roots which had been conceived inside it on the Third Day.
[Note: The cases of the sun, moon, and stars were made of aerial material, after the manner of lamps, and God filled them with a mixture of fire, which had no light in it, and with light which had no heat in it. The path of the luminaries is beneath the firmament; they are not fixed, as the ignorant think, but are guided in their courses by the angels. The Ethiopians have a tradition that when the sun was first made its light was twelve times as strong as it is to-day. The angels complained that the heat was too strong, and that it hampered them in the performance of their duties, whereupon God divided it into twelve parts, and took away six of these parts, and out of three of them He made the moon and stars, and the other three He distributed among the waters, the clouds, and the lightning.]
The Creation. Fifth Day
And on the Fifth Day God 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 God made from the earth all the cattle and wild beasts, and all the reptiles which creep about upon the earth.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee (chapter xii), beasts and animals were created on Friday evening, and they can therefore see at night as well as in the daytime. In the Book of Mysteries of Heaven and Earth, "whales" and the Behemפth are mentioned with Leviathan.]
The Creation. Sixth Day
And on the Sixth Day, which is the Eve of the Sabbath, God formed man out of the dust, and Eve from his rib.
And on the Seventh Day God 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 [Fol. 4b, col. 2] all the Ranks [of the Angels], and the hosts [of heaven], God said, “Come ye, let Us make man in Our image, and according to Our likeness.” Now by this word “Us” He maketh 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 God, our Maker.” And they saw the right hand of God 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 [Fol. 5a, col. 1], that is to say, cold, and heat, and dryness, and moisture, God formed Adam. Now, for what reason did God 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 [Fol. 5a, col. 2] the image of his face burning with glorious splendour 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 honourable throne, and there did God 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 eveything in nature worshipped him [Fol. 5b, col. 1], and submitted themselves unto him. And the angels and the hosts of heaven heard the Voice of God 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.
[Note: The Jews consider that the words, "Come, let Us make man," refer to God and the angels, but the Fathers of the Syrian Church understand that God refers to the Three Persons of the Trinity. Some Fathers believe that Adam was formed on the morning of the Sixth Day, outside Paradise, but others think that the formation of Adam took place in the evening in Paradise. According to some, Paradise was created before the world, and, according to others, on the Third Day. Bar Hebraeus says that Adam was created on Friday of the first week of Nמsגn (April), the first month of the first year of the world. The Egyptian and Ethiopian Churches have a tradition that the angels were not all created at the same time. The great archangel Michael, who is called the "Angel of the Face," and all his Rank of angels were created in the first hour of Friday, the Priests in the second, the Thrones in the third, the Dominions (or Sultגns) in the fourth, the Lords in the fifth, the Powers in the sixth, the Tens of Thousands in the seventh, the Governors in the eighth, the Masters in the ninth. After the Governors the Rank of angels governed by Satan were created, and then the Tenth Rank.
According to a Coptic tradition preserved in the Discourse on Abbatפn, the Angel of Death, by Timothy, Archbishop of Rakoti (Alexandria), the clay of which Adam was made was brought by the angel Mrמךl from the Land of the East. When God had made his body He left it lying for forty days and forty nights without putting breath into it. At the request of our Lord, Who promised to become Adam's advocate and to go down into the world, God breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life three times, saying, "Live! Live! Live! according to the type of My Divinity." Thereupon Adam rose up, and worshipped the Father, saying, "My Lord and my God." (Budge, Coptic Martyrdoms, page 482.)]
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, “Ye shall not worship him, and ye shall not praise him with the angels. It is meet that ye should worship me, because I am fire and spirit; and not that I should worship a thing of dust, which hath been fashioned of fine dust.” And the Rebel meditating these things [Fol. 5b, col. 2] would not render obedience to God, and of his own free will he asserted his independence and separated himself from God. 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 “Sגtגnג” because he turned aside [from the right way], and “Shךdג” because he was cast out, and “Daiwג” 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 Sגtגnג 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 [Fol. 6a, col. 1] Paradise. And as soon as Adam entered Paradise he was commanded not to eat of a [certain] tree; his entrance into heaven took place at the third hour of the Eve of the Sabbath (i.e. on Friday morning).
[Note: The Fathers of the Egyptian and Ethiopian Churches treat the story of the Fall of Satan in great detail. According to them, Satan, or Satnגךl, was greatly astonished at the beauty and splendour 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. These were commanded by Michael and consisted of 120,000 horsemen, 600,000 shield bearers, 700,000 mail-clad horsemen in chariots of fire, 700,000 torch bearers, 800,000 angels with daggers of fire, 1,000,000 slingers, 500,000 bearers of axes of fire, 300,000 bearers of fiery crosses, and 400,000 bearers of lamps. 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. The Abyssinian legend says that Satan was 1,700 cubits high, and his hand 70 cubits long, and his foot 7,000 cubits long; his mouth was 40 cubits in width, his face was as broad as the distance of a day's journey, and the length of his eyebrows was a distance of three days' journey [From the Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth.] The prototype of the great fight in heaven between the powers of light and darkness is found in ancient Egyptian religious texts, in more than one form. In the oldest form Set, hieroglyphics, the Devil, rebels against Her-ur, hieroglyphics, the god of heaven, whose chief symbols are the sun and moon, and is utterly defeated. In the next form Set attacks the Sun-god R¯a, hieroglyphics, and is destroyed by him; the great ally of Set, called ¯Apep (Apפphis), hieroglyphics, and all his fiends and devils (the Sebau), hieroglyphics, are defeated and burnt up daily. In another form Set makes war on Horus, the son of Osiris, and on Osiris himself, and is defeated utterly. The Coptic version of the legend was borrowed from the old hieroglyphic texts, and then Christianized. Compare the following:
When Satan saw Adam seated on a great throne, with a crown of glory on his head and a sceptre 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 armour, 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 God cast a sleep upon Adam and he slept. And God took a rib from the loins on the right side of Adam, and He made Khגwג (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.
[Note:
God did not make Eve of earth, that she might not be considered something alien to Adam in nature; and He did not take her from Adam's fore-parts, that she might not uplift herself against him; nor from his hind-parts, that she might not be accounted despicable; nor from his right side, that she might not have pre-eminence over him; nor from his head, that she might not seek authority over him; nor from his feet, that she might not be trodden down and scorned in the eyes of her husband; but [He took her] from his left side, for the side is the place which unites and joins both front and back (Book of the Bee, chapter xiv, and Bar Hebraeus, Ausar Rגzך). Further, God did not form Eve from Adam’s head, that she might not carry her head proudly; nor from his eye, that she might not be curious; nor from his ear, that she might not be an eavesdropper; nor from his mouth, that she might not be gossiping; nor from his heart, that she might not be quarrelsome; nor from his hand, that she might not touch everything with her hand; nor from his feet, that she might not rove about (Berךshמth Rabbah on Gen. ii. 23).]
Now Moses the prophet said that God planted Paradise in Eden and placed Adam there (Gen. ii. 8).
[Note: Paradise was situated on Mount Eden, beyond the Ocean, and it was filled with fruit-bearing trees. The great river which sprung up in it was parted into four heads, viz. Pishפn, which flowed through Havilג, where there were beryls, and gold, and stones of price; Gמhפn, or the Nile of Egypt; Deklath (the Tigris), which flows through Assyria; and Perath (the Euphrates). The keepers of Paradise were Enoch and Elijah, and in it dwelt the souls of the righteous. The souls of sinners dwelt in a deep place, outside Eden. The tree of good and evil that was in Paradise did not possess these properties naturally, but only through the deed which was wrought by its means. Adam and Eve did not become naked and die the death of sin because they desired and ate of the fruit of the fig-tree, but because they transgressed the law. The tree of which they ate may have been the fig-tree, or the date-palm, or the vine or the ethrפg (citron). Mount Eden is probably the original of Jabal Kגf of the Arabs, a mountain range which surrounds the whole world.]
The Symbolism Of Eden
Now Eden is the Holy Church, and the Church [Fol. 6a, col. 2] is the compassion of God, which He was about to extend to the children of men. For God, 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 singeth concerning Him in the Psalm (xc), saying, “Lord, Thou hast been an abiding place for us throughout all generations,” that is to say, “Thou hast made us to have our abiding place in Thy compassion.” And, when entreating God on behalf of the redemption of the children of men, David said, “Remember Thy Church, which Thou didst acquire in olden time ” (Ps. lxxiv. 2), that is to say, “[Remember] Thy compassion, which Thou art 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 God hath prepared for all the holy children of men. And because [Fol. 6b, col. 1] Adam was priest, and king, and prophet, God brought him into Paradise that he might minister in Eden, the Holy Church, even as the blessed man Moses testifieth concerning him, saying, “That he might serve God by means of priestly ministration with praise, and that he might keep that commandment which had been entrusted to him by the compassion of God” (Gen. ii. 15, 16?). And God made Adam and Eve to dwell in Paradise. True is this word, and it proclaimeth 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 [Fol. 6b, col. 2]. 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” (i.e. parrot)–first bringeth a large mirror and placeth between himself and the bird. He then beginneth to talk to the bird, and immediately the parrot heareth the voice of the man, it turneth round, and when it seeth its own form [reflected] in the mirror, it becometh pleased straightway, because it imagineth that a fellow parrot is talking to it. Then it inclineth its ear with pleasure, and listeneth to the words of the man who is talking to it, and it becometh eager to learn, and to speak Greek. In this manner (i.e. with the object of making Eve believe that it was the serpent that spoke to her) did Satan enter in and dwell in the serpent, and he watched for the opportunity, and [when] he saw Eve by herself [Fol. 7a, col. 1], 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 soft (or, 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 [Fol. 7a, col. 2] hours. At mid-day they received [their] sentence of doom. And God 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 God dressed them in this soft skin, which was thus spread over a body of infirmities.
[Note: The Fathers of the Ethiopian Church emphasize the difficulty which Satan found in entering Paradise. He knew that he could not carry out his plan for ruining Adam if he entered Paradise in his own form, and he decided that he must assume the form of some bird or animal or reptile if he was to succeed. He applied to the white bird Arzel, and the green bird Besel, and a red bird, but each refused to take him to the place where Eve was. Then he applied to the elephant, and the lion, and the leopard, and the hyena, and the wild boar; the first four refused point blank to do what Satan wished, and the wild boar attempted to gore him with his tusks. On this Satan took to flight. He then went to the animal Sereg, which was commonly known as the "digger of graves," but this animal refused to help him, and then Satan approached the animal called "Taman," "the front part of which was like a camel's foal." This creature agreed to help him, and, mounted on his back, Satan entered Paradise and stood before Eve. The serpent became spokesman for him, and Eve hearkened to him and ate of the fruit. According to the "Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth," the tree was called "Sezen," and each fruit cluster contained, 150,000 grains, or berries. It is described as a large and handsome tree, and it has been identified with the "Sendגlך," or sandal-wood tree. According to the same authorities, the Tree of Life was the prototype of the Cross on which our Lord was crucified.]
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, God spake unto Adam, and heartened him, and said unto him:
Be not sorrowful, O Adam, for I will restore unto thee thine inheritance. Behold, see how greatly I have loved thee, for though I have cursed the earth for thy sake, yet have I withdrawn thee from the operation of the curse. As for the serpent [Fol. 7b, col. 1], I have fettered his legs in his belly, and I have given him the dust of the earth for food; and Eve have I bound under the yoke of servitude. Inasmuch as thou hast transgressed my commandments get thee 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 thy 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 thee. But command thy sons, and order them to embalm thy body after thy death with myrrh, cassia, and stakte. And they shall place thee 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 thy body with him, and [Fol. 7b, col. 2] shall deposit it on the spot which I shall show him, in the centre of the earth; for in that place shall redemption be effected for thee and for all thy children.
And God 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.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee, the cherub, or, as some think, a "terrible form endowed with a body," was armed with a spear and sword, each being made of fire.]
And Adam and Eve went down in . . . . . . . of spirit over the mountains of Paradise, and they found a cave in the top of the mountain, and they entered and hid themselves therein.
[Note: When Adam and Eve left Paradise they no longer had fruit and wine and bread and flesh to live upon, and they subsisted on cooked grain and vegetables and the herbs of the earth, of which they ate sparingly. Moreover, the four-footed beasts and fowl and reptiles rebelled against them, and some of them became enemies and adversaries unto them. Book of the Bee (chapter xvii.)]
Now Adam and Eve were virgins, and Adam wished to know Eve his wife. And Adam took from the skirts of the mountain of Paradise, gold, and myrrh, and frankincense, and he placed them in the cave, and he blessed the cave, and consecrated it that it might be the house of prayer for himself and his sons. And he called the cave “Me`ֲrath Gazzך” (i.e. “Cave Of Treasures”) [Fol. 8a, col. 1].
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. [A marginal note in the manuscript says that Adam knew Eve thirty years after they went forth from Paradise.] And Eve conceived and brought forth Cain and Lebhdhג, his sister, with him; and Eve conceived again and she brought forth Hגbhמl (Abel) and Kelמmath, his sister, with him.
[Note: The Book of the Bee makes Kelמmath the twin sister of Cain, and Lebhdhג the twin sister of Abel.]
And when the children grew up, Adam said unto Eve, “Let Cain take to wife Kelמmath, who was brought forth with Abel, and let Abel take to wife Lebhdhג, who was brought forth with Cain.” And Cain said unto Eve his mother, “I will take to wife my twin sister Lebhdhג, and let Abel take to wife his twin sister Kelמmath”; now Lebhdhג was beautiful. When Adam heard these words, which were exceedingly displeasing unto him, he said:
It will be a transgression of the commandment for thee to take [to wife] thy sister, who was born with thee. Nevertheless, take ye to yourselves fruits of trees, and the young of sheep, and get ye up to the top [Fol. 8a, col. 2] of this holy mountain. Then go ye into the Cave of Treasures, and offer ye up your offerings, and make your prayers, and then ye 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 Lebhdhג; and because his offering was rejected and was not accepted before God, 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 God drove him forth into exile in a certain part of the forest of Nפdh, and Cain took to wife his twin sister and made the place of his abode there.
[Note: Adam carried Abel to the Cave of Treasures and buried him therein, and he set by the side of the body a lamp which burned day and night. Abel was fifteen and a half years old when Cain, who was seventeen and a half years old, murdered him. Adam and Eve mourned for Abel, in great grief, for one hundred and forty days. Book of Adam and Eve (II, 1.)]
The Birth of Seth
And Adam and Eve mourned for Abel [Fol. 8b, col. 1] one hundred years (sic). 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.
[Note: Seth was born in the 130th year of Adam's life (Gen. v. 3), but the Book of the Bee says it was the 230th year. Adam and Seth and his sons dwelt on the top of Mount Eden, while Cain and his children lived on the plain below.]
The Posterity of Seth
And to Seth was born ֲnפsh (Enos), and ֲnפsh begot Kainגn (Cainan), and Kainגn begot Mahlגlגמl (Mahalaleel); these [are] the Patriarchs who were born in the days of Adam.
The Death of Adam
And when Adam had lived nine hundred and thirty years, that is to say, until the one hundred and thirty-fifth year of Mahlגlגמl, the day of his death drew nigh and came. And Seth, his son, and ֲnפsh, and Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl 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 thee this day, and do thou on the day of thy death give my command to ֲnפsh, and repeat it to him, and let him repeat it to Kainגn, and Kainגn shall repeat it to Mahlגlגמl [Fol. 8b, col. 2], and let this [my] command be handed on to all your generations. And when I die, embalm me with myrrh, and cassia, and stakte, and deposit my body in the Cave of Treasures. 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 centre of the earth, for in that place shall redemption be effected for me and for all my children. And be thou, O my son Seth, governor of the sons of thy people. And thou shalt rule them purely and holily in an the fear of God. And keep ye 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 ֲnפsh, and Kainגn and Mahlגlגמl, they and their wives [Fol. 9a, col. 1], and their sons, and their daughters; and Adam blessed them. And the departure of Adam from this world took place in the nine hundred and thirtieth year–according to the reckoning from the beginning–on the fourteenth day of the moon, on the sixth day of the month of Nמsגn (April), at the ninth hour, on the day of the Eve of the Sabbath (i.e. Friday). 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 stakte; 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 the Cave of Treasures. And after the families and peoples of the childreh of Seth had buried Adam, they separated themselves from the children of Cain, the murderer. And Seth took ֲnפsh [Fol. 9a, col. 2], his firstborn, and Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl, 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 God. And they went up on the skirts of [the mountain] of Paradise, and they became praisers and glorifiers of God 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 [Fol. 9b, col. 1], and they had nothing to do except to praise and glorify God, 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 [Fol. 9b, col. 2], 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 God. And they were blessed by the body of Adam their father, and they lifted up their eyes to Paradise, and praised God; and thus they did all the days of their life.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee (chapter xviii), Adam lived 930 years, and Seth lived 913 or 905 years. Seth was 250 years old (105 years in Gen. v. 6) when he begot Enos. "In the days of Seth the knowledge of books went forth in the earth; but the Church does not accept this." According to the Book of Adam (ii. 5), Seth knew good and evil when he was seven years of age, and he spent his days and nights in fasting and prayer, and he made an offering to God daily. Satan appeared to him, and tried to persuade him to leave the holy mountain, and to go and live with him, and to marry one of his women, but Seth resisted him; and mounting the altar of God, drove him away. When Seth was fifteen years old Adam married him to Aklia, the sister of Abel, and when he was twenty years old he begot Enos.]
And when Seth had lived nine hundred and thirteen years he became sick unto death. And ֲnפsh his son, and Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl, and Yגrךd (Jared), and Henפkh (Enoch), 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 [Fol. 10a, col. 1]:
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 ye know well the enmity which hath existed between us and Cain from the day whereon he slew Abel.
And Seth blessed ֲnפsh, 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 nine hundred and twelve years old, on the seven-and-twentieth day of the blessed month of ֲbh (August), on the second day of the week (Monday), at the third hour, in the twentieth year of the life of Enoch. And ֲnפsh, Seth’s first-born son, embalmed his body and buried him in the Cave of Treasures, with his father Adam; and they made a mourning for him forty [Fol. 10a, col. 2] days.
[Note: The Book of Adam (ii. 12) says that Seth was embalmed with sweet spices, and laid on the right side of Adam's body, but there is no evidence that the Hebrews were acquainted with the art of mummification before they had intercourse with Egypt.]
The Rule of ֲnפsh
And ֲnפsh rose up to minister before God in the Cave of Treasures. 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.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee (chapter xviii), ֲnפsh was two hundred and ninety (ninety years in Gen. v. 9) years old when he begot Kainגn; and ֲnפsh first called upon the name of the Lord. Some say that he first composed books upon the course of the stars and the signs of the Zodiac.]
And in the days of ֲnפsh, in his eight hundred and twentieth year, Lamech, the blind man, killed Cain, the murderer, in the Forest of Nפdh. 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 [Fol. 10b, col. 1] 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, spake 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, thou hast killed Cain.” And Lamech moved his hands to smite them together, and as he did so he smote the youth and killed him also.
[Note: The Book of Adam (ii. 13) says that Lamech was armed with a bow and large arrows, and a sling and smooth stones. An arrow pierced one side of Cain, and a stone from Lamech's sling knocked out both his eyes. Lamech smote the youth who led him about accidentally, but afterwards he smashed his head in with a stone. There are many versions of the story in Arabic, Ethiopic, and Hebrew, but they all agree in essential details. According to the Book of the Bee (chapter xviii), the anvil and hammer and tongs were invented by Tubal-Cain and Jubal, who also constructed musical instruments, harps and pipes; devils lived in the pipes, and sang therein.]
And when ֲnפsh had lived nine hundred and five years, and was sick unto death, all the patriarchs gathered themselves together, and came unto him, viz. Kainגn, his first-born son, and Mahlגlגמl, and Yגrךd, and Enoch, and Matshlah (Methuselah), 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 [Fol. 10b, col. 2] the children of Cain, the murderer; and ye shall not mingle yourselves among them. Take ye good heed unto this matter, for ye well know what enmity hath existed between us and them from the day whereon Cain slew Abel.
And he blessed Kainגn, 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 ֲnפsh died at the age of nine hundred and five years, on the third day of the month of the First Teshrמn (October), on the day of the Sabbath, in the fifty-third year of the life of Methuselah. And Kainגn, his first-born, embalmed him and buried him in the Cave of Treasures, with Adam and Seth, his father. And they made a mourning for him forty days.
[Note: The Book of Adam (ii. 14) says that ֲnפsh was 985 years old when he died, and that he was laid on the left-hand side of Adam in the Cave of Treasures.]
The Rule of Kainגn
And Kainגn stood up before God to minister in the Cave of Treasures. He was an honourable and pure man, and he governed the children of his people in the complete [Fol. 11a, col. 1] fear of God, and he fulfilled all the commandments of ֲnפsh his father. And when Kainגn had lived nine hundred and twenty years [in the Book of Adam and the Book of the Bee 910 years], and was sick unto death, all the Patriarchs gathered together and came unto him, viz. Mahlגlגמl his son, and Yגrךd, 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 ye all know well what enmity hath existed between us and them since the day whereon he killed Abel.
And he blessed his son Mahlגlגמl, and admonished him concerning the body of Adam, and said unto him:
Behold, O my son Mahlגlגמl, minister thou before God in purity and holiness [Fol. 11a, col. 2] in the Cave of Treasures, and depart not thou from the presence of the body of Adam all the days of thy life. And be thou the governor of the children of thy people, and rule thou them purely and holily.
Kainגn died, being nine hundred and twenty years old, on the thirteenth day of the month of Hezךrגn (June), on the fourth day of the week (Wednesday), at mid-day, in the five and sixtieth year of [the life of] Lamech, the father of Noah. And Mahlגlגמl, his son, embalmed him, and buried him in the Cave of Treasures; and they made mourning for him forty days.
[Note: According to Gen. v. 12, Kainגn was 70 years old when he begot Mahlגlגמl, but the Book of the Bee gives 140 years. The Book of Adam says that the people made "offerings for him, after the custom of their fathers," a statement that seems to suggest that the Hebrews not only mummified their dead, but presented funerary offerings to them, after the manner of the Egyptians.]
The Rule of Mahlגlגמl
And Mahlגlגמl rose up and ministered before God in the place of Kainגn 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 Mahlגlגמl had lived eight hundred and ninety-five years [Fol. 11b, col. 1], and the day of his departure drew nigh, and he was sick unto death, all the Patriarchs gathered together and came unto him, viz. Yגrךd, 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 ye shall not permit any one of your descendants to go down to the plain, to the children of Cain, the murderer, for ye all well know what enmity hath existed between us and them from the day whereon he slew Abel.
And he blessed Yגrךd, 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:
Thou shalt not depart from the body of our father Adam all the days of thy life, and thou shalt be [Fol. 11b, col. 2] the governor of the children of thy people, and shalt rule them in chastity and holiness.
And Mahlגlגמl died, [being] eight hundred and ninety-five years old, on the second day of the month Nמsגn (April), on the first day of the week (Sunday), at the third hour of the day, in the four and thirtieth year of the life of Noah. And Yגrךd, his first-born, embalmed him, and buried him in the Cave of Treasures; and the people made a mourning for him forty days.
[Note: According to Gen. v. 15, Mahlגlגמl was 65 years old when he begot Yגrךd, but the Book of the Bee gives 165 years; the Book of Adam (ii. 16) says he fell sick when he was 870 years old. The latter work makes the Patriarch tell Yגrךd that the people will go down from the mountain, and mingle with the children of Cain, and perish with them.]
The Rule of Yגrךd
And Yגrךd his son rose up and ministered before God [in the Cave of Treasures]. 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 Yגrךd, 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 [Fol. 12a, col. 1] of the children of Cain, the murderer, and in this way the fall of the children of Seth took place.
[Note: The Book of Adam (ii. 17) says that Yגrךd continued to govern the people successfully until the end of the 485th year of his life. At this time Satan and thirty of his devils appeared to Yגrךd in the form of handsome men, and called him from the Cave of Treasures. He came out to them, and thought they were strangers, and asked them who they were. In answer, Satan told him that he was Adam, and that among his companions were Abel, Seth, Enos, Cainan, and other kinsmen of Yגrךd. He invited Yגrךd to come with him, and live with him in the garden which God had given him, and at length Yגrךd was persuaded to leave the Cave and go with him. When they arrived at the top of the mountain of the sons of Cain, Satan pretended that he had left a garment for Yגrךd by the Cave, and sent one of his devils back to fetch it, telling him at the same time to extinguish the lamp which was burning in the Cave near Adam's body. Satan and Yגrךd rested by a fountain, and food was brought out to them by the sons and daughters of Cain, but Yגrךd refused to eat or drink. Satan entreated him to put aside his sadness, and to do as he was going to do. Thereupon Satan and five of his devils each seized a woman and committed fornication with her, and on seeing this exhibition of iniquity Yגrךd burst into tears and began to pray to God to be delivered from that place. When he began to pray the devils took to flight, and God sent an angel, who brought him back to his holy mountain. When he returned to the Cave his people told him that the lamp had been extinguished, and that the bodies of the Patriarchs had been scattered about, and that voices had come from them. On entering the Cave a voice came to him from Adam's body, and warned him to beware of Satan and his wiles, and told him to relight the lamp from the fire on the altar at which Adam had ministered. The lamp was relighted at the end of the 450th year of Yגrךd's life. Eighty years later his people began to go down to the children of Cain, and to mingle with their women.]
And In The Fortieth Year Of Yגrךd The First Thousand Years, From Adam To Yגrךd, 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.
Translation
The Title Of The Work: The Scribe’s Prayer
[Fol. 3b, col. 1] 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`ֲrath Gazzך, which was composed by Saint Mגr Aphrךm (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 Yarךd (Jared)
The Creation. 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, God 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 [Fol. 3b, col. 2] 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.
[Note: According to Solomon, a Nestorian bishop of Perגth Mayshגn, or Al-Basrah, a city on the right bank of the Shatt al-`Arab, about A.D. 1222, the creation of the heavens and the earth has been planned from everlasting in the immutable mind of God. He created SEVEN substances (or natures) in silence, without voice, viz. heaven, earth, water, air, fire, the angels, and darkness. The earth was plunged in the midst of the waters, above the waters was air, and above the air was fire. Water is cold and moist, air is hot and moist, fire is hot and dry, but it had no luminosity until the Fourth Day, when the luminaries were created. The angels are divided into nine classes and three orders. The upper order contains Cherubim, Seraphim, and Thrones, and these are bearers of God's throne. The middle order contains Lords, Powers, and Rulers. The lower order contains Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. (Compare the "thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers" of Col. i. 16.) The Cherubim are an intellectual motion, the Seraphim are a fiery motion, the Thrones are a fixed motion, the Lords are a motion which governs the motions beneath it and controls the devils, the Powers are a motion which gives effect to God's will, the Rulers are a motion which rules spiritual measures and the sun, moon and stars, the Principalities are a motion which rules the elements, the Archangels are a swift operative motion which governs every living creature, except man, and the Angels are a motion which has spiritual knowledge of everything which is in heaven or on the earth. The guardian angel of every man belongs to this last class. The number of each class of angels is equal to the number of all mankind from Adam to the Resurrection. The heaven in which the angels live is above the waters, which are above the firmament, and they minister to their God there, being invisible to bodily eyes. The angels are not self-existent beings--they were created; on the other hand, darkness is a self-existent nature (or substance). Solomon of Al-Basrah does not accept the view that the spirit which hovered over the waters was the Holy Spirit. (See Book of the Bee, ed. Budge, chapters i-vii.)]
The Creation. Second Day
And on the Second Day God made the Lower Heaven, and called it Rekמ’a [that is to say, "what is solid and fixed," or "firmament"]. This He did that He might make known that the Lower Heaven doth 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 Nhrג (i.e. Light), and this lower heaven is Darpמtמפn [Fol. 4a, col. 1], and because it hath the dense nature of water it hath been called “Rekמ`a.” And on the Second Day God made a separation between the waters and the waters, that is to say, between the waters which were above [Rekמ`a] 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 Rekמ`a in the air; and they do not spread, and they make no motion to any side.
[Note: According to the "Book of the Bee," the creation of the firmament enabled God to allot a dwelling place to the angels, where also the souls of the righteous could be received after the General Resurrection. The great abyss of water which God created on the First Day was divided by Him into three parts; one part He left on the earth for the use of man and beast, and to form rivers and seas; of the second part He made the firmament, and the third part the place above the firmament. After the Resurrection all these parts will return to their original state. The word Darpמtמפn is a difficulty, and I cannot explain it. The variant forms Drמkפn and Dertךkפn appear in Ethiopic books, wherein it is said to be a name of the sixth heaven.]
The Creation. Third Day
And on the Third Day God commanded the waters that were below the firmament (Rekמ`a) 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 [Fol. 4a, col. 2], and upon it. And God 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 resteth 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.
[Note: On this day the waters gathered together in the depths of the earth, sand was set as a limit for the waters of the seas, and the mountains and hills appeared. The sages say that Paradise was created on this day, but the Rabbis held the view that it existed before the world. Solomon of Basrah says that the earth produced herbs and trees by its own power, and that the luminaries had nothing to do with vegetable growth. Book of the Bee (chapter ix.)]
The Creation. Fourth Day
And on the Fourth Day God 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 God 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 [Fol. 4b, col. 1], and plants, and seeds, and roots which had been conceived inside it on the Third Day.
[Note: The cases of the sun, moon, and stars were made of aerial material, after the manner of lamps, and God filled them with a mixture of fire, which had no light in it, and with light which had no heat in it. The path of the luminaries is beneath the firmament; they are not fixed, as the ignorant think, but are guided in their courses by the angels. The Ethiopians have a tradition that when the sun was first made its light was twelve times as strong as it is to-day. The angels complained that the heat was too strong, and that it hampered them in the performance of their duties, whereupon God divided it into twelve parts, and took away six of these parts, and out of three of them He made the moon and stars, and the other three He distributed among the waters, the clouds, and the lightning.]
The Creation. Fifth Day
And on the Fifth Day God 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 God made from the earth all the cattle and wild beasts, and all the reptiles which creep about upon the earth.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee (chapter xii), beasts and animals were created on Friday evening, and they can therefore see at night as well as in the daytime. In the Book of Mysteries of Heaven and Earth, "whales" and the Behemפth are mentioned with Leviathan.]
The Creation. Sixth Day
And on the Sixth Day, which is the Eve of the Sabbath, God formed man out of the dust, and Eve from his rib.
And on the Seventh Day God 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 [Fol. 4b, col. 2] all the Ranks [of the Angels], and the hosts [of heaven], God said, “Come ye, let Us make man in Our image, and according to Our likeness.” Now by this word “Us” He maketh 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 God, our Maker.” And they saw the right hand of God 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 [Fol. 5a, col. 1], that is to say, cold, and heat, and dryness, and moisture, God formed Adam. Now, for what reason did God 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 [Fol. 5a, col. 2] the image of his face burning with glorious splendour 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 honourable throne, and there did God 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 eveything in nature worshipped him [Fol. 5b, col. 1], and submitted themselves unto him. And the angels and the hosts of heaven heard the Voice of God 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.
[Note: The Jews consider that the words, "Come, let Us make man," refer to God and the angels, but the Fathers of the Syrian Church understand that God refers to the Three Persons of the Trinity. Some Fathers believe that Adam was formed on the morning of the Sixth Day, outside Paradise, but others think that the formation of Adam took place in the evening in Paradise. According to some, Paradise was created before the world, and, according to others, on the Third Day. Bar Hebraeus says that Adam was created on Friday of the first week of Nמsגn (April), the first month of the first year of the world. The Egyptian and Ethiopian Churches have a tradition that the angels were not all created at the same time. The great archangel Michael, who is called the "Angel of the Face," and all his Rank of angels were created in the first hour of Friday, the Priests in the second, the Thrones in the third, the Dominions (or Sultגns) in the fourth, the Lords in the fifth, the Powers in the sixth, the Tens of Thousands in the seventh, the Governors in the eighth, the Masters in the ninth. After the Governors the Rank of angels governed by Satan were created, and then the Tenth Rank.
According to a Coptic tradition preserved in the Discourse on Abbatפn, the Angel of Death, by Timothy, Archbishop of Rakoti (Alexandria), the clay of which Adam was made was brought by the angel Mrמךl from the Land of the East. When God had made his body He left it lying for forty days and forty nights without putting breath into it. At the request of our Lord, Who promised to become Adam's advocate and to go down into the world, God breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life three times, saying, "Live! Live! Live! according to the type of My Divinity." Thereupon Adam rose up, and worshipped the Father, saying, "My Lord and my God." (Budge, Coptic Martyrdoms, page 482.)]
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, “Ye shall not worship him, and ye shall not praise him with the angels. It is meet that ye should worship me, because I am fire and spirit; and not that I should worship a thing of dust, which hath been fashioned of fine dust.” And the Rebel meditating these things [Fol. 5b, col. 2] would not render obedience to God, and of his own free will he asserted his independence and separated himself from God. 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 “Sגtגnג” because he turned aside [from the right way], and “Shךdג” because he was cast out, and “Daiwג” 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 Sגtגnג 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 [Fol. 6a, col. 1] Paradise. And as soon as Adam entered Paradise he was commanded not to eat of a [certain] tree; his entrance into heaven took place at the third hour of the Eve of the Sabbath (i.e. on Friday morning).
[Note: The Fathers of the Egyptian and Ethiopian Churches treat the story of the Fall of Satan in great detail. According to them, Satan, or Satnגךl, was greatly astonished at the beauty and splendour 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. These were commanded by Michael and consisted of 120,000 horsemen, 600,000 shield bearers, 700,000 mail-clad horsemen in chariots of fire, 700,000 torch bearers, 800,000 angels with daggers of fire, 1,000,000 slingers, 500,000 bearers of axes of fire, 300,000 bearers of fiery crosses, and 400,000 bearers of lamps. 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. The Abyssinian legend says that Satan was 1,700 cubits high, and his hand 70 cubits long, and his foot 7,000 cubits long; his mouth was 40 cubits in width, his face was as broad as the distance of a day's journey, and the length of his eyebrows was a distance of three days' journey [From the Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth.] The prototype of the great fight in heaven between the powers of light and darkness is found in ancient Egyptian religious texts, in more than one form. In the oldest form Set, hieroglyphics, the Devil, rebels against Her-ur, hieroglyphics, the god of heaven, whose chief symbols are the sun and moon, and is utterly defeated. In the next form Set attacks the Sun-god R¯a, hieroglyphics, and is destroyed by him; the great ally of Set, called ¯Apep (Apפphis), hieroglyphics, and all his fiends and devils (the Sebau), hieroglyphics, are defeated and burnt up daily. In another form Set makes war on Horus, the son of Osiris, and on Osiris himself, and is defeated utterly. The Coptic version of the legend was borrowed from the old hieroglyphic texts, and then Christianized. Compare the following:
When Satan saw Adam seated on a great throne, with a crown of glory on his head and a sceptre 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 armour, 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 God cast a sleep upon Adam and he slept. And God took a rib from the loins on the right side of Adam, and He made Khגwג (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.
[Note:
God did not make Eve of earth, that she might not be considered something alien to Adam in nature; and He did not take her from Adam's fore-parts, that she might not uplift herself against him; nor from his hind-parts, that she might not be accounted despicable; nor from his right side, that she might not have pre-eminence over him; nor from his head, that she might not seek authority over him; nor from his feet, that she might not be trodden down and scorned in the eyes of her husband; but [He took her] from his left side, for the side is the place which unites and joins both front and back (Book of the Bee, chapter xiv, and Bar Hebraeus, Ausar Rגzך). Further, God did not form Eve from Adam’s head, that she might not carry her head proudly; nor from his eye, that she might not be curious; nor from his ear, that she might not be an eavesdropper; nor from his mouth, that she might not be gossiping; nor from his heart, that she might not be quarrelsome; nor from his hand, that she might not touch everything with her hand; nor from his feet, that she might not rove about (Berךshמth Rabbah on Gen. ii. 23).]
Now Moses the prophet said that God planted Paradise in Eden and placed Adam there (Gen. ii. 8).
[Note: Paradise was situated on Mount Eden, beyond the Ocean, and it was filled with fruit-bearing trees. The great river which sprung up in it was parted into four heads, viz. Pishפn, which flowed through Havilג, where there were beryls, and gold, and stones of price; Gמhפn, or the Nile of Egypt; Deklath (the Tigris), which flows through Assyria; and Perath (the Euphrates). The keepers of Paradise were Enoch and Elijah, and in it dwelt the souls of the righteous. The souls of sinners dwelt in a deep place, outside Eden. The tree of good and evil that was in Paradise did not possess these properties naturally, but only through the deed which was wrought by its means. Adam and Eve did not become naked and die the death of sin because they desired and ate of the fruit of the fig-tree, but because they transgressed the law. The tree of which they ate may have been the fig-tree, or the date-palm, or the vine or the ethrפg (citron). Mount Eden is probably the original of Jabal Kגf of the Arabs, a mountain range which surrounds the whole world.]
The Symbolism Of Eden
Now Eden is the Holy Church, and the Church [Fol. 6a, col. 2] is the compassion of God, which He was about to extend to the children of men. For God, 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 singeth concerning Him in the Psalm (xc), saying, “Lord, Thou hast been an abiding place for us throughout all generations,” that is to say, “Thou hast made us to have our abiding place in Thy compassion.” And, when entreating God on behalf of the redemption of the children of men, David said, “Remember Thy Church, which Thou didst acquire in olden time ” (Ps. lxxiv. 2), that is to say, “[Remember] Thy compassion, which Thou art 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 God hath prepared for all the holy children of men. And because [Fol. 6b, col. 1] Adam was priest, and king, and prophet, God brought him into Paradise that he might minister in Eden, the Holy Church, even as the blessed man Moses testifieth concerning him, saying, “That he might serve God by means of priestly ministration with praise, and that he might keep that commandment which had been entrusted to him by the compassion of God” (Gen. ii. 15, 16?). And God made Adam and Eve to dwell in Paradise. True is this word, and it proclaimeth 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 [Fol. 6b, col. 2]. 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” (i.e. parrot)–first bringeth a large mirror and placeth between himself and the bird. He then beginneth to talk to the bird, and immediately the parrot heareth the voice of the man, it turneth round, and when it seeth its own form [reflected] in the mirror, it becometh pleased straightway, because it imagineth that a fellow parrot is talking to it. Then it inclineth its ear with pleasure, and listeneth to the words of the man who is talking to it, and it becometh eager to learn, and to speak Greek. In this manner (i.e. with the object of making Eve believe that it was the serpent that spoke to her) did Satan enter in and dwell in the serpent, and he watched for the opportunity, and [when] he saw Eve by herself [Fol. 7a, col. 1], 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 soft (or, 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 [Fol. 7a, col. 2] hours. At mid-day they received [their] sentence of doom. And God 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 God dressed them in this soft skin, which was thus spread over a body of infirmities.
[Note: The Fathers of the Ethiopian Church emphasize the difficulty which Satan found in entering Paradise. He knew that he could not carry out his plan for ruining Adam if he entered Paradise in his own form, and he decided that he must assume the form of some bird or animal or reptile if he was to succeed. He applied to the white bird Arzel, and the green bird Besel, and a red bird, but each refused to take him to the place where Eve was. Then he applied to the elephant, and the lion, and the leopard, and the hyena, and the wild boar; the first four refused point blank to do what Satan wished, and the wild boar attempted to gore him with his tusks. On this Satan took to flight. He then went to the animal Sereg, which was commonly known as the "digger of graves," but this animal refused to help him, and then Satan approached the animal called "Taman," "the front part of which was like a camel's foal." This creature agreed to help him, and, mounted on his back, Satan entered Paradise and stood before Eve. The serpent became spokesman for him, and Eve hearkened to him and ate of the fruit. According to the "Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth," the tree was called "Sezen," and each fruit cluster contained, 150,000 grains, or berries. It is described as a large and handsome tree, and it has been identified with the "Sendגlך," or sandal-wood tree. According to the same authorities, the Tree of Life was the prototype of the Cross on which our Lord was crucified.]
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, God spake unto Adam, and heartened him, and said unto him:
Be not sorrowful, O Adam, for I will restore unto thee thine inheritance. Behold, see how greatly I have loved thee, for though I have cursed the earth for thy sake, yet have I withdrawn thee from the operation of the curse. As for the serpent [Fol. 7b, col. 1], I have fettered his legs in his belly, and I have given him the dust of the earth for food; and Eve have I bound under the yoke of servitude. Inasmuch as thou hast transgressed my commandments get thee 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 thy 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 thee. But command thy sons, and order them to embalm thy body after thy death with myrrh, cassia, and stakte. And they shall place thee 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 thy body with him, and [Fol. 7b, col. 2] shall deposit it on the spot which I shall show him, in the centre of the earth; for in that place shall redemption be effected for thee and for all thy children.
And God 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.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee, the cherub, or, as some think, a "terrible form endowed with a body," was armed with a spear and sword, each being made of fire.]
And Adam and Eve went down in . . . . . . . of spirit over the mountains of Paradise, and they found a cave in the top of the mountain, and they entered and hid themselves therein.
[Note: When Adam and Eve left Paradise they no longer had fruit and wine and bread and flesh to live upon, and they subsisted on cooked grain and vegetables and the herbs of the earth, of which they ate sparingly. Moreover, the four-footed beasts and fowl and reptiles rebelled against them, and some of them became enemies and adversaries unto them. Book of the Bee (chapter xvii.)]
Now Adam and Eve were virgins, and Adam wished to know Eve his wife. And Adam took from the skirts of the mountain of Paradise, gold, and myrrh, and frankincense, and he placed them in the cave, and he blessed the cave, and consecrated it that it might be the house of prayer for himself and his sons. And he called the cave “Me`ֲrath Gazzך” (i.e. “Cave Of Treasures”) [Fol. 8a, col. 1].
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. [A marginal note in the manuscript says that Adam knew Eve thirty years after they went forth from Paradise.] And Eve conceived and brought forth Cain and Lebhdhג, his sister, with him; and Eve conceived again and she brought forth Hגbhמl (Abel) and Kelמmath, his sister, with him.
[Note: The Book of the Bee makes Kelמmath the twin sister of Cain, and Lebhdhג the twin sister of Abel.]
And when the children grew up, Adam said unto Eve, “Let Cain take to wife Kelמmath, who was brought forth with Abel, and let Abel take to wife Lebhdhג, who was brought forth with Cain.” And Cain said unto Eve his mother, “I will take to wife my twin sister Lebhdhג, and let Abel take to wife his twin sister Kelמmath”; now Lebhdhג was beautiful. When Adam heard these words, which were exceedingly displeasing unto him, he said:
It will be a transgression of the commandment for thee to take [to wife] thy sister, who was born with thee. Nevertheless, take ye to yourselves fruits of trees, and the young of sheep, and get ye up to the top [Fol. 8a, col. 2] of this holy mountain. Then go ye into the Cave of Treasures, and offer ye up your offerings, and make your prayers, and then ye 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 Lebhdhג; and because his offering was rejected and was not accepted before God, 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 God drove him forth into exile in a certain part of the forest of Nפdh, and Cain took to wife his twin sister and made the place of his abode there.
[Note: Adam carried Abel to the Cave of Treasures and buried him therein, and he set by the side of the body a lamp which burned day and night. Abel was fifteen and a half years old when Cain, who was seventeen and a half years old, murdered him. Adam and Eve mourned for Abel, in great grief, for one hundred and forty days. Book of Adam and Eve (II, 1.)]
The Birth of Seth
And Adam and Eve mourned for Abel [Fol. 8b, col. 1] one hundred years (sic). 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.
[Note: Seth was born in the 130th year of Adam's life (Gen. v. 3), but the Book of the Bee says it was the 230th year. Adam and Seth and his sons dwelt on the top of Mount Eden, while Cain and his children lived on the plain below.]
The Posterity of Seth
And to Seth was born ֲnפsh (Enos), and ֲnפsh begot Kainגn (Cainan), and Kainגn begot Mahlגlגמl (Mahalaleel); these [are] the Patriarchs who were born in the days of Adam.
The Death of Adam
And when Adam had lived nine hundred and thirty years, that is to say, until the one hundred and thirty-fifth year of Mahlגlגמl, the day of his death drew nigh and came. And Seth, his son, and ֲnפsh, and Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl 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 thee this day, and do thou on the day of thy death give my command to ֲnפsh, and repeat it to him, and let him repeat it to Kainגn, and Kainגn shall repeat it to Mahlגlגמl [Fol. 8b, col. 2], and let this [my] command be handed on to all your generations. And when I die, embalm me with myrrh, and cassia, and stakte, and deposit my body in the Cave of Treasures. 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 centre of the earth, for in that place shall redemption be effected for me and for all my children. And be thou, O my son Seth, governor of the sons of thy people. And thou shalt rule them purely and holily in an the fear of God. And keep ye 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 ֲnפsh, and Kainגn and Mahlגlגמl, they and their wives [Fol. 9a, col. 1], and their sons, and their daughters; and Adam blessed them. And the departure of Adam from this world took place in the nine hundred and thirtieth year–according to the reckoning from the beginning–on the fourteenth day of the moon, on the sixth day of the month of Nמsגn (April), at the ninth hour, on the day of the Eve of the Sabbath (i.e. Friday). 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 stakte; 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 the Cave of Treasures. And after the families and peoples of the childreh of Seth had buried Adam, they separated themselves from the children of Cain, the murderer. And Seth took ֲnפsh [Fol. 9a, col. 2], his firstborn, and Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl, 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 God. And they went up on the skirts of [the mountain] of Paradise, and they became praisers and glorifiers of God 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 [Fol. 9b, col. 1], and they had nothing to do except to praise and glorify God, 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 [Fol. 9b, col. 2], 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 God. And they were blessed by the body of Adam their father, and they lifted up their eyes to Paradise, and praised God; and thus they did all the days of their life.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee (chapter xviii), Adam lived 930 years, and Seth lived 913 or 905 years. Seth was 250 years old (105 years in Gen. v. 6) when he begot Enos. "In the days of Seth the knowledge of books went forth in the earth; but the Church does not accept this." According to the Book of Adam (ii. 5), Seth knew good and evil when he was seven years of age, and he spent his days and nights in fasting and prayer, and he made an offering to God daily. Satan appeared to him, and tried to persuade him to leave the holy mountain, and to go and live with him, and to marry one of his women, but Seth resisted him; and mounting the altar of God, drove him away. When Seth was fifteen years old Adam married him to Aklia, the sister of Abel, and when he was twenty years old he begot Enos.]
And when Seth had lived nine hundred and thirteen years he became sick unto death. And ֲnפsh his son, and Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl, and Yגrךd (Jared), and Henפkh (Enoch), 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 [Fol. 10a, col. 1]:
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 ye know well the enmity which hath existed between us and Cain from the day whereon he slew Abel.
And Seth blessed ֲnפsh, 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 nine hundred and twelve years old, on the seven-and-twentieth day of the blessed month of ֲbh (August), on the second day of the week (Monday), at the third hour, in the twentieth year of the life of Enoch. And ֲnפsh, Seth’s first-born son, embalmed his body and buried him in the Cave of Treasures, with his father Adam; and they made a mourning for him forty [Fol. 10a, col. 2] days.
[Note: The Book of Adam (ii. 12) says that Seth was embalmed with sweet spices, and laid on the right side of Adam's body, but there is no evidence that the Hebrews were acquainted with the art of mummification before they had intercourse with Egypt.]
The Rule of ֲnפsh
And ֲnפsh rose up to minister before God in the Cave of Treasures. 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.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee (chapter xviii), ֲnפsh was two hundred and ninety (ninety years in Gen. v. 9) years old when he begot Kainגn; and ֲnפsh first called upon the name of the Lord. Some say that he first composed books upon the course of the stars and the signs of the Zodiac.]
And in the days of ֲnפsh, in his eight hundred and twentieth year, Lamech, the blind man, killed Cain, the murderer, in the Forest of Nפdh. 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 [Fol. 10b, col. 1] 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, spake 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, thou hast killed Cain.” And Lamech moved his hands to smite them together, and as he did so he smote the youth and killed him also.
[Note: The Book of Adam (ii. 13) says that Lamech was armed with a bow and large arrows, and a sling and smooth stones. An arrow pierced one side of Cain, and a stone from Lamech's sling knocked out both his eyes. Lamech smote the youth who led him about accidentally, but afterwards he smashed his head in with a stone. There are many versions of the story in Arabic, Ethiopic, and Hebrew, but they all agree in essential details. According to the Book of the Bee (chapter xviii), the anvil and hammer and tongs were invented by Tubal-Cain and Jubal, who also constructed musical instruments, harps and pipes; devils lived in the pipes, and sang therein.]
And when ֲnפsh had lived nine hundred and five years, and was sick unto death, all the patriarchs gathered themselves together, and came unto him, viz. Kainגn, his first-born son, and Mahlגlגמl, and Yגrךd, and Enoch, and Matshlah (Methuselah), 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 [Fol. 10b, col. 2] the children of Cain, the murderer; and ye shall not mingle yourselves among them. Take ye good heed unto this matter, for ye well know what enmity hath existed between us and them from the day whereon Cain slew Abel.
And he blessed Kainגn, 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 ֲnפsh died at the age of nine hundred and five years, on the third day of the month of the First Teshrמn (October), on the day of the Sabbath, in the fifty-third year of the life of Methuselah. And Kainגn, his first-born, embalmed him and buried him in the Cave of Treasures, with Adam and Seth, his father. And they made a mourning for him forty days.
[Note: The Book of Adam (ii. 14) says that ֲnפsh was 985 years old when he died, and that he was laid on the left-hand side of Adam in the Cave of Treasures.]
The Rule of Kainגn
And Kainגn stood up before God to minister in the Cave of Treasures. He was an honourable and pure man, and he governed the children of his people in the complete [Fol. 11a, col. 1] fear of God, and he fulfilled all the commandments of ֲnפsh his father. And when Kainגn had lived nine hundred and twenty years [in the Book of Adam and the Book of the Bee 910 years], and was sick unto death, all the Patriarchs gathered together and came unto him, viz. Mahlגlגמl his son, and Yגrךd, 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 ye all know well what enmity hath existed between us and them since the day whereon he killed Abel.
And he blessed his son Mahlגlגמl, and admonished him concerning the body of Adam, and said unto him:
Behold, O my son Mahlגlגמl, minister thou before God in purity and holiness [Fol. 11a, col. 2] in the Cave of Treasures, and depart not thou from the presence of the body of Adam all the days of thy life. And be thou the governor of the children of thy people, and rule thou them purely and holily.
Kainגn died, being nine hundred and twenty years old, on the thirteenth day of the month of Hezךrגn (June), on the fourth day of the week (Wednesday), at mid-day, in the five and sixtieth year of [the life of] Lamech, the father of Noah. And Mahlגlגמl, his son, embalmed him, and buried him in the Cave of Treasures; and they made mourning for him forty days.
[Note: According to Gen. v. 12, Kainגn was 70 years old when he begot Mahlגlגמl, but the Book of the Bee gives 140 years. The Book of Adam says that the people made "offerings for him, after the custom of their fathers," a statement that seems to suggest that the Hebrews not only mummified their dead, but presented funerary offerings to them, after the manner of the Egyptians.]
The Rule of Mahlגlגמl
And Mahlגlגמl rose up and ministered before God in the place of Kainגn 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 Mahlגlגמl had lived eight hundred and ninety-five years [Fol. 11b, col. 1], and the day of his departure drew nigh, and he was sick unto death, all the Patriarchs gathered together and came unto him, viz. Yגrךd, 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 ye shall not permit any one of your descendants to go down to the plain, to the children of Cain, the murderer, for ye all well know what enmity hath existed between us and them from the day whereon he slew Abel.
And he blessed Yגrךd, 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:
Thou shalt not depart from the body of our father Adam all the days of thy life, and thou shalt be [Fol. 11b, col. 2] the governor of the children of thy people, and shalt rule them in chastity and holiness.
And Mahlגlגמl died, [being] eight hundred and ninety-five years old, on the second day of the month Nמsגn (April), on the first day of the week (Sunday), at the third hour of the day, in the four and thirtieth year of the life of Noah. And Yגrךd, his first-born, embalmed him, and buried him in the Cave of Treasures; and the people made a mourning for him forty days.
[Note: According to Gen. v. 15, Mahlגlגמl was 65 years old when he begot Yגrךd, but the Book of the Bee gives 165 years; the Book of Adam (ii. 16) says he fell sick when he was 870 years old. The latter work makes the Patriarch tell Yגrךd that the people will go down from the mountain, and mingle with the children of Cain, and perish with them.]
The Rule of Yגrךd
And Yגrךd his son rose up and ministered before God [in the Cave of Treasures]. 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 Yגrךd, 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 [Fol. 12a, col. 1] of the children of Cain, the murderer, and in this way the fall of the children of Seth took place.
[Note: The Book of Adam (ii. 17) says that Yגrךd continued to govern the people successfully until the end of the 485th year of his life. At this time Satan and thirty of his devils appeared to Yגrךd in the form of handsome men, and called him from the Cave of Treasures. He came out to them, and thought they were strangers, and asked them who they were. In answer, Satan told him that he was Adam, and that among his companions were Abel, Seth, Enos, Cainan, and other kinsmen of Yגrךd. He invited Yגrךd to come with him, and live with him in the garden which God had given him, and at length Yגrךd was persuaded to leave the Cave and go with him. When they arrived at the top of the mountain of the sons of Cain, Satan pretended that he had left a garment for Yגrךd by the Cave, and sent one of his devils back to fetch it, telling him at the same time to extinguish the lamp which was burning in the Cave near Adam's body. Satan and Yגrךd rested by a fountain, and food was brought out to them by the sons and daughters of Cain, but Yגrךd refused to eat or drink. Satan entreated him to put aside his sadness, and to do as he was going to do. Thereupon Satan and five of his devils each seized a woman and committed fornication with her, and on seeing this exhibition of iniquity Yגrךd burst into tears and began to pray to God to be delivered from that place. When he began to pray the devils took to flight, and God sent an angel, who brought him back to his holy mountain. When he returned to the Cave his people told him that the lamp had been extinguished, and that the bodies of the Patriarchs had been scattered about, and that voices had come from them. On entering the Cave a voice came to him from Adam's body, and warned him to beware of Satan and his wiles, and told him to relight the lamp from the fire on the altar at which Adam had ministered. The lamp was relighted at the end of the 450th year of Yגrךd's life. Eighty years later his people began to go down to the children of Cain, and to mingle with their women.]
And In The Fortieth Year Of Yגrךd The First Thousand Years, From Adam To Yגrךd, 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: Yגrךd To The Flood
Of The Transmission Of The Art Of Playing The Harp, That Is To Say, Of Music, And Singing And Dancing.
Yפbגl (Jubal) and Tפbalkמn (Tubal-Cain), the two brethren, the sons of Lamech, the blind man, who killed Cain, invented and made all kinds of instruments of music. Jפbגl 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. Tפbalkמn made [Fol. 12a, col. 2] cymbals, and sistra, and tambourines (or drums). 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 affordeth 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 honour by the angels, and were called “sons of God,” even as the blessed David saith in the psalm, “I have said [Fol. 12b, col. 1], Ye are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High.” (Ps. lxxxii. 6.)
Meanwhile fornication reigned among the daughters of Cain, and without shame [several] 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 ruler (or prince) of that camp [Fol. 12b, col. 2]. 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 Yגrךd 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 ye [Fol. 13a, col. 1] the oaths which our fathers Seth, and ֲnפsh, and Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl made you to swear.
And Enoch also said unto them:
Hearken, O ye children of Seth, no man who shall transgress the commandment of Yגrךd, 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 Yגrךd, 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 [to the camp of Cain]. 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 [Fol. 13a, col. 2], 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 fomication, 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.
[Note: This story is told at great length in the Book of Adam (ii. 20). Satan appeared in the form of one Gunnun and taught him to make horns and trumpets, stringed instruments, cymbals, psalteries, lyres, harps and flutes. Into these Satan himself entered, and made the music which came from them. Gunnun made corn spirit, and established drinking booths, in which men assembled and drank and ate fruit. Then Satan taught Gunnun to make weapons of war out of iron, and when men were drunk they killed each other with them. Next Satan taught men how to dye their garments crimson and purple, and they arrayed themselves in gaudy attire, and began to race their horses. Little by little the children of Seth began to wish to join the sons of Cain, and when the devils had shown them a way down the mountain, one hundred of them went down to the plain, and were led astray by the women whose hands and feet were stained with bright colours and whose faces had tattoo marks on them. When the Sethites tried to return to the top of the mountain, the stones turned into coals of fire, and they could not pass over them. Company after company of the children of Seth went down to the plain, and at length only Yגrךd and a few others remained on the mountain. The Ethiopic Book of Enoch (see the translations by Archbishop Lawrence, Oxford, 1838, by Dillmann, Leipzig, 1853, and Canon Charles, Oxford, 1893) supplies interesting details about the fall of the children of Seth. The leaders of those who went down from Ardis on Mount Hermon were Semyגzג, the commander-in-chief, Urגkמbarגmך´ךl, Kפkabמ´ךl, Tגmi´ךl, Rגmu´ךl, Dגn´ךl, Zakמlפ, Sarגkuyגl, Asג´ךl, Armגrפs, Batraal, ´Anגnמ, Zakךbך, Samsגwe´ךl, Sarta´ךl, Tur´ךl, Yomyג´ךl, and ´Azגzyגl. Each of these was over a company of ten. The names of two of the dekarchs of the 200 angels are omitted. These angels took to themselves wives, and taught them the use of spells and enchantments, and the use of plants and trees [for medicinal purposes?]. The daughters of Cain conceived, and a tradition in the Kebra Nagast says that the children were so large that they could not be born in the ordinary way, but had to be removed from their mothers by the umbilicus.1 These children grew up and became giants 3,000 cubits in height, and when they had devoured all the provisions which their neighbours had collected, they began to fight against men and to eat them, and at length they ate the flesh and drank the blood of each other. Concerning these giants, the Book of Enoch (chapter xv) says:
Now, the giants, who were produced from the spirits and the flesh, shall be called evil spirits on earth, and their habitation shall be on the earth. Evil spirits shall proceed from their bodies. . . . And the spirits of the giants shall consume, and persecute, and lay waste, and fight and work destruction on the earth and afflict [men]. They shall neither eat food of any kind, nor suffer thirst, and they shall remain invisible. And these spirits shall attack the children of men and women, for from them have they come forth.
The wickedness of these giants became so great that the earth complained [to God]. At this time ´Azגz´ךl taught men the art of working in metals, and the use of stibium, or eye-paint, and the art of dyeing stuffs in bright colours. ´Amךzגrגk taught enchantments (i.e. magic) and the knowledge of herbs; ´Armגrפs taught how spells were to be broken; Barak`גl taught astrology; Kפkab´ךl taught the knowledge of signs; Tem´ךl taught astronomy; and ´Asrגdךl taught concerning the moon [Book of Enoch, chapter viii.] The originals of these Seven Sages were probably the Seven Wise Men who were revered by the Babylonians.]
And when Yגrךd had lived nine hundred and sixty years, and the day of his departure approached, and came nigh, and arrived, all the Patriarchs gathered themselves together and came unto him, viz. 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 God will not allow you to remain very much longer in this holy country. Inasmuch as [Fol. 13b, col. 1] ye have transgressed the commandment of your fathers, ye shall surely be cast out into that outer country, and ye shall no longer have your habitation on the skirts [of the mountain] of Paradise. And take ye 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 God to set it down. And thou, my son Enoch, depart thou not from before the body of Adam, but minister before God purely and holily all the days of thy life.
And Yגrךd died, [being] nine hundred and sixty-two years old, on the thirteenth day of the month of ־yגr (May), on the day of the Eve of the Sabbath (Friday), at sunset, in the three hundred and sixty-sixth 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.
[Note: The Book of the Bee says that Yגrךd was 962 years old when he died, and that he begot Enoch when he was 162 years old. The Book of Adam says that he was 989 years old when he died, and that he died on Friday, the 12th day of the month of Takhsגs (December) in the 360th year of the life of Noah (ii. 21).]
[Fol. 13b, col. 2] The Rule of Enoch
And Enoch stood up to minister before God 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 three hundred and [sixty] fifth year of the life of Noah. And when Enoch knew that God was about to remove him [from the earth], he called Methuselah, and Lamech, and Noah, and said unto them:
I know that God is wroth with this generation, and that a pitiless judgment hath been decreed for the people thereof. Ye 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 ye good heed to yourselves, and see that ye minister before God in purity and holiness.
And when Enoch had given them his commandment in these words, God removed him to the Land of Life, and to the [Fol. 14a, col. 1] 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,” viz. Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah, for all the others had betaken themselves to the encampment of the sons of Cain.
[Note: Then Michael, Gabriel, Suriel, and Uriel looked down from heaven, and saw the wickedness which ´Azגz´ךl had done in the world, and they heard the appeal which the souls of the dead were making to heaven, and they reported the matter to the Most High. When God heard their words He sent the angel ´Arsyalגlyr to the son of Lamech, i.e. Noah, with the command, "Hide thyself." No mention is made of Methuselah, who begot Lamech when he was 187 years old, and who lived 969 years, and Lamech, who lived 777 years, and begot Noah in the 182nd year of his age, was passed over in favour of his son. Noah consolidated his position by marrying the daughter of Enoch. The angel revealed to Noah that a flood was about to cover the earth, and told him how to escape from it. Then God commanded Rafa´ךl to bind ´Azגz´ךl hand and foot, and to thrust him into a dark hole in the desert of Dudג´ךl (a place near Jerusalem?), and heap stones and rocks upon him. There he was to remain until the Day of judgment, when he would be cast into the fire and consumed. Gabriel was sent to destroy all the children of fornication; and Michael was sent to bind Semyגzג and the other dekarchs of the children of Seth, and to imprison them under the mountains of the earth for 70 generations, after which time they were to be taken to the abyss of fire and tortured there for ever. Book of Enoch (chapter x).]
[The Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth, by Abbג Bakhayla-Mמkג´ךl (ed. Perruchon), says that it was the men who taught man the arts of civilisation, who caused God to bring the Flood on the earth. This work gives the names of these men and describes their inventions thus:
Pמpמrפs understood the sun, Rrמdך quarried stones, Zar´ךl instituted the month, Pמnךnך introduced horse-riding (or racing), Gגlך invented the axe, Tמgana invented the shield, Hפrךrמ taught men to play musical instruments, Yuebך taught working in iron, Mךgךd taught horse-riding, Negפdמ discovered medicinal springs, and made known the planetary hours when the waters were most effective, Gargך made the first corn-grinder, Sךtךr taught men how to mix dough, Gמmךr taught the use of earthenware vessels for food, Zגrך taught men to milk animals, Heggך taught men to make roofs, and Tentפreb showed them how to make doors, Sגpךr taught butter-making, Halגgך discovered how to carve wood and stone, Hךder was the first to cultivate trees, Sמnפ taught house-building, and Tפf invented the potter's craft, Artפrbegגs invented agricultural implements, Sךbךdךgגz introduced the use of kohl (eye-paint, stibium), Zגrך invented the brewing of beer, Bךtךnךlגdגs invented the oven, Nגfמl taught men to make plantations and gardens, Yגrbeh discovered how to fell trees and saw them up, ´ֺlyפ taught dancing, Pךnךms invented architecture and writing, ´Agגlךmn taught the use of beasts in ploughing and how to drive furrows, Kueses invented ploughs and leather whips, ´Akפr discovered bronze (copper?), certain men taught working in cedar and willow-wood, Wasag and ´Abךregyג taught men the game of Tגbat, and Nךr and Zabךrךgued taught them to play the games of ´Atגwemג and ´Akמs, 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 God spake unto him and said unto him, “Take unto thee to wife Haykךl, the daughter of Nams (or Haykךl Nams), the daughter of Enoch, the brother of Methuselah.” And God revealed unto him concerning the Flood which He was making ready to produce, and He spake to him and said unto him, “One hundred and thirty years from this moment I will make a Flood.”
[Note: The Book of Adam says that Haykךl was the daughter of Abaraz, who was one of the children of the family of Enos, who went into perdition. If this be so, Noah married a woman who was akin to the children of Cain. The Book of the Bee (chapter xx) merely states that Noah's wife was of the children of Seth.]
The Building of the Ark
And God said unto Noah:
Make for thyself an ark for the saving of the children of thy house, and build it [in the plain] below [this mountain], in the encampment of the children of Cain, and ye shall cut down the timber for the same [from the trees that are on] this mountain [Fol. 14a, col. 2]. And thus shall be the dimensions thereof. Its length shall be three hundred cubits according to thy 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 thee and the children of thy house. And make in it cisterns for water and cupboards for food. And make to thyself 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 thou shalt 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 labour. And when thou strikest the board, and men hear the sound of the blows, and say unto thee, ‘What is this that thou doest?’ [Fol. 14b, col. 1], thou shalt say unto them, ‘God is going to make a flood of waters.’
And Noah did as God 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.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee, the storeys were to have boards and projecting ledges, each board being one cubit long and one span broad. The wood used was either box or teak, and the Ark was pitched within and without. The Book of Adam (iii. 2) says that each storey was 10 cubits high. The first was for lions and other animals, and ostriches, the second was for birds and reptiles, and the third for Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet, and their wives. The cisterns were to be lined with lead, inside and out. Noah begot his sons during the hundred years in which he was building the Ark; during these years he ate no animal food, and he wore the same pair of sandals, which did not wear out, and the same apparel and head cloth, and carried the same staff. His hair neither increased nor diminished. His sons married daughters of Methuselah.]
The Death of Lamech
And when Lamech had lived seven hundred and seventy years, he died during the lifetime of Methuselah, his father, forty years before the Flood, on the twenty-first day of the month of Ill (September), on the first day of the week (Sunday), in the sixty-eighth 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.
[Note: The Book of Adam says that Lamech was 553 years old when he died, but the Book of the Bee gives his age as 774 or 777 years; the former work says that Lamech died seven years before the Flood.]
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 [Fol. 14b, col. 2]. 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. Now because of this certain ancient writers have fallen into error, and have written, “The angels came down from heaven, and had intercourse with men, and by them these famous giants have been produced.” But this is not true, for those who have written in this manner did not understand [the facts]. Behold, O my brother-readers, and know ye that it is not in the nature of beings of the spirit to beget, neither is it in the nature of the devils–who are unclean beings, and workers of wickedness, and lovers of adultery–to beget, because there are neither males nor females among them. And since the time when the angels fell, not another angel has been added to their number. And if the devils were able to have intercourse with women they would not leave unravished a single virgin [Fol. 15a, col. 1] in all the race of the children of men.
The Death of Methuselah
And when Methuselah had lived nine hundred and sixty-nine 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, viz. 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 [Fol. 15a, col. 2] alone is left. May the Lord God of our fathers bless you! The Lord God 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 God unto our father Adam shall go forth with you from this holy country. And these three measures of the wheat of blessings which God 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 thou, Noah, thou blessed of the Lord. Behold [Fol. 15b, col. 1], I am going forth from this world, like all my fathers, but thou and thy children shall be saved. And thou shalt do everything which I am commanding you to do this day, [for] God will make the Flood. When I die, embalm my body, and bury me in the Cave of Treasures with my fathers. Take thy wife, and thy sons, and the wives of thy sons, and get thee down from this holy mountain. And take with thee 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. Thou and thy sons shall occupy the eastern part of the Ark, and thy wife and thy son’s wives shall occupy the western part thereof; thy wives shall not pass over to you, and ye shall not pass over to them. Ye shall neither eat nor drink with them, and ye shall have no intercourse whatsoever with them until ye go forth [Fol. 15b, col. 2] from the Ark. Now this generation hath provoked God 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 ye go forth from the Ark, and ye take up your abode in that land, thou, O Noah, the blessed of the Lord, shall not depart from the Ark, from the body of our father Adam, but minister thou before God in the Ark purely and holily all the days of thy life. And these offerings shall be placed in the east. And command thou Shem, thy firstborn, to take up with him, after thy 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 (nezמrג) all the days of his life. He shall not take a wife, he shall not shed blood, he shall not offer up [Fol. 16a, col. 1] these offerings of wild animals and feathered fowl; but he shall offer unto God bread and wine, for by these redemption shall be made for Adam and all his posterity. And the Angel of God 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 God, the Most High.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam, (iii. 5), Shem was to appoint Melchisedek (see Gen. xiv. 18-24; Heb., chapter vii.), the son of Kainגn, and grandson of Arphaxad, to be the priest of the Most High; and he was to stand and minister on the mountain which is in the middle of the earth. He was to wear a garment of skin, and have a leather girdle about his loins, and his apparel was to be humble and without ornament.]
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 nine hundred and sixty-nine years old when he died, on the fourteenth day of the month ֲdhגr (March), on the first day of the week (Sunday), in the seventy-ninth year [Fol. 16a, col. 2] of the life of Shem, the son of Noah. And Noah, his grandson, embalmed the body of Methuselah with myrrh, and cassia, and stakte, 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 ֲnפsh, and Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl, and Yגrךd, 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. [The Book of Adam does not mention Eve.]. 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 [Fol. 16b, col. 1] 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, thou habitation of our father Adam.
He went forth from thee alive, but stripped [of glory] and naked.
And behold, at his death he was deprived of thy 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 labour, and in weariness, and in trouble.
Remain in peace, O Cave of Treasures!
Remain in peace, O habitation and inheritance of our Fathers!
Remain ye in peace, O our Fathers and Patriarchs!
Pray ye for us, O ye who live in the dust, ye friends and beloved ones of the Living God.
Pray ye for the remnant of your posterity which is left.
O ye who have propitiated God, make supplication unto Him on our behalf in your prayers. [Fol. 16b, col. 2]
Remain in peace, O ֲnפsh!
Remain ye in peace, O ye ministers of God, Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl, and Yגrךd, and Methuselah, and Lamech, and Enoch! Cry out in sorrow on our behalf.
Remain in peace, O Haven and Asylum of the Angels!
O ye our Fathers, cry out in sorrow on our behalf, because ye 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 scalding (or 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 [Fol. 17a, col. 1] 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.
[Note: The Book of Adam (iii. 6) says that when Noah and his sons were carrying the body of Adam out of the Cave, the bodies of the other Patriarchs cried out, and asked the body of Adam if they were to be separated from it. Adam replied that he must leave the holy mountain, and told them that he knew God would bring their bodies together again on another occasion, and bade them wait patiently. Adam asked God to allow the lighted lamp to remain with the bodies in the Cave, until the resurrection. This God did, and then He closed the Cave until the day of the resurrection. Noah and his sons marvelled greatly when they heard the bodies of the Patriarchs talking together in the Cave. Having carried away the body of Adam and the gold, myrrh and frankincense, they returned to the mountain, intending to enter the Cave once agaln; they sought carefully, but could not find the Cave, and then they knew that God had sealed it, and had hidden it from them, so that they might never dwell therein again.]
Footnotes:
1 See Kebra Nagast (Budge’s translation), chapter c. Concerning the Angels who rebelled.
[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 (Friday), on the seventeenth day of the blessed month of ־yגr (May). On the Friday, in the morning (i.e. the third 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] [Fol. 17a, col. 2], and men on the east [side], 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 (or throne). And as quietness reigneth 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 (or reptiles). 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 [Fol. 17b, col. 1] 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 seventeenth day of the month of ־yגr (May), 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 floodgates of the heavens were opened, and the foundations of the earth were rent asunder, and Ocean, that great sea which surroundeth the whole world, poured forth its floods. And whilst the floodgates of heaven were open, and the foundations of the earth 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 earth. 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 [Fol. 17b, col. 2] 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 spake concerning them, saying:
I said, Ye are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High. (Ps. lxxxii. 6.) But since ye have done this, and ye have loved the fornication of the daughters of Cain, like them ye shall perish, and even as they did so shall ye die.
And when the Ark was lifted up from the earth 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 earth was drowned. And the waters [Fol. 18a, col. 1] of the Flood mounted up above all the tops of the high mountains fifteen cubits [variants, 25, 50 cubits], according to the measure of the Spirit. [The cubit of the Holy Ghost = 3 ordinary cubits.] 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 (i.e. had been made holy), it bowed its head, and kissed the skirts of Paradise and turned itself back to destroy the whole earth. 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 one hundred and fifty days, and it came to rest on the mountains of Kardפ (i.e. Ararat, the Jabal al-Jdמ of the Arabs, near Jazמrat ibn `Umar) in the seventh month, that is to say, in the First Teshrמ (October) on the seventeenth day thereof. And God commanded the waters, and they became separated from each other. The celestial waters were taken up, and ascended to their own place above [Fol. 18a, col. 2] the heavens, whence they came. The waters which had risen up from the earth returned to the lowermost abyss [under the earth]; and those which belonged to the Ocean [which surroundeth the whole world] returned to the innermost parts thereof. And the waters which had been on the earth, 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 tenth month, which is Shebגt (February), and on the first day thereof the tops of the mountains appeared. And, forty days later, on the tenth day of the month of ֲdhגr (March), 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 [Fol. 18b, col. 1] the spirit which spake by the Prophets did not find a place of rest among that rebellious people (i.e. the Jews); and in the Second Covenant it rested on the peoples through the waters of baptism.
[Note: The above description of the Flood agrees substantially with that given in the Book of Adam (chapters ix and x), and in the Book of the Bee (chapter xx).]
Noah leaves the Ark
And in the six hundred and first year of the life of Noah, on the first day of the month of Nמsגn (April) the waters had dried up from the face of the earth. And in the second month, which is ־yגr (May), wherein Noah went into the Ark on the twenty-seventh day, on the holy first day of the week (Sunday), 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 first day of the week.
Noah founds Themגnפn, the city of the “Eight.”
And when they had gone forth Noah began work on the ground [Fol. 18b, col. 2], and they built a city and called the name thereof “Themגnפn” (i.e. “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 God 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 (i.e. unbent it) 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.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iii. 11), the waters dried up in the 607th year of the life of Noah. The altar on which Noah sacrificed was that on which Adam, Cain, and Abel had laid their offerings; it had been damaged by the Flood, but Noah rebuilt it. The city of Themגnפn is מdentified with Sbhג (i.e. Nisמbis) in the Book of the Bee (chapter xx), but this is a false identification. The "City of Eight," Themגnפn, is not to be identified with the τὸ Θομάνων {Greek: tע ׀omבnwn} of Theophylact Simocatta (vol. ii. chap. 10, p. 86), which lay on the right bank of the Tigris near Hisn Kךfג, but with the Sk Thamגnמn of the Arab geographers, which lay at a distance of one day's journey from Jazמrat ibn `Umar. It was situated high up in the mountains, and Khusraw Anפsharwגn used to encamp there during the heats of summer. Near Burzmihrגn, and between Jazמrat ibn `Umar and Thamגnפn was Dךr Abbn, which, according to Yגkt, contained the tomb of Noah. It is interesting to note that the Arabs call Noah's city Sk Thamגnמn (i.e. "Market of the Eighty") and not "Market of the Eight." For further details see Hoffmann, G., Auszge aus syrischen Akten, page 174.]
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 [Fol. 19a, col. 1] 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 [Fol. 19a, col. 2], 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 reeds), 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 [Fol. 19b, col. 1] among the former generations until, at length, God 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 Msגyך (Mysians), [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” (or “lascivious”) all the days of his life.
Now Noah in his lying down in sleep, having drunk wine, symbolizeth the Cross of Christ, as the blessed man David singeth in his Psalm concerning him, saying, “Wake up, Lord, like a sleeping man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome.” [Compare Psalm xlv. 23 {sic, Psalm xliv. 23}; lxxviii. 65.] Let the heretics who say “God was crucified” hold their peace. Here David calleth him “Lord,” even as Peter the Apostle said, “This Jesus, whom ye crucified, hath God made Lord and Messiah (Christ).” (Compare Acts v. 30, 31.] He did not say “God” (Allגhג), but “Lord” (Mגryג), thus [Fol. 19b, col. 2] making known concerning the unity (or oneness) of the Two Persons who were united in one sonship. 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. Now the seed of Canaan, as I have already said, are the Egyptians, and behold, they are scattered over the whole earth, and have been made servants of servants. And of what kind is this slavery of slavery? Behold, the Egyptians go round about all over the earth carrying loads on their backs (literally, necks). Now, men who are not fettered under the yoke of slavery, when despatched by their masters on journeys, do not march on their feet and carry loads, but they ride upon beasts in an honourable manner, like their masters. The seed of Ham are the Egyptians, who carry loads, and they march [Fol. 20a, col. 1] on the roads with their backs and necks breaking under their loads, and they wander round to the doors of the children of their brethren. The seed of Ham was reduced, through the folly of Canaan, to suffer this penalty, that is, to become servants even to servants.
[Note: The Book of the Bee (chapter xx) says concerning the cursing of Ham:
The reason why he (Noah) cursed Canaan, who was not as yet born, nor had sinned, was because Ham had been saved with him in the Ark from the waters of the Flood, and had with his father received the divine blessing, and also because the arts of sin--I mean music and dancing and all other hateful things--were about to be revived by his posterity, for the art of music proceeded from the seed of Canaan.
The same work adds:
After the Flood a son was born to Noah, and he called his name Yפnatפn; and he provided him with gifts and sent him to the fire of the sun, to the east.
The Book of Adam (iii. 13), merely states that Noah married another wife, who bore him seven children, and that he continued to dwell on that mountain until the end of his days.]
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 (Arphaxad), and Shגlah (Salah) gathered together unto him. And Noah called Shem, his firstborn, and said unto him privily:
Take heed, my son Shem, unto what I say unto thee this day. When I am dead, go into the Ark, wherein thou hast been saved, and bring out the body of our father Adam, and let no man have knowledge of what thou doest. And take with thee from this place provision for the way, bread and wine, and take with thee Melchisedek, the son of Mגlגkh [Fol. 20a, col. 2], because him hath God chosen from 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 God shall go before you, and shall show you the way wherein ye 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 God 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 (i.e. in the centre of the earth) 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 [Fol. 20b, col. 1]. Adam commanded Seth, and Seth commanded ֲnפsh (Enos), and ֲnפsh commanded Kainגn (Cainan), and Kainגn commanded Mahlגlגמl, and Mahlגlגמl commanded Yגrךd, and Yגrךd commanded Enoch, and Enoch commanded Methuselah, and Methuselah commanded Lamech; and behold, I command thee this day. And take heed that this story is never mentioned again in all your generations. Get thee up, and take the body of Adam, and deposit it secretly in the place which God shall show thee until the day of redemption.
And when Noah had given all these commands unto his son Shem, he died, [being] nine hundred and fifty years old, in the month of ־yגr (May), on the second day thereof, at the second hour of the first day of the week (Sunday). And Shem his son embalmed him, and buried him in the city which he had built (i.e. Themגnפn), and they made a mourning for him forty days.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee, Noah died on the fourth day of the week (Wednesday), on the second day of the month of Nמsגn (April), at the second hour of the day. The Book of Adam says that he was buried on the mountain on which the Ark rested. The same authority states (iii. chapter xiv) that the Ark was closed during the days of Noah, but that Noah went into it every evening to light the lamp which he had made, and which burned before the body of Adam. It is also stated that during his dying speech Noah indicated to each of his sons which part of the earth he was to dwell with his posterity. The territory of Shem extended from Jerusalem eastwards as far as India, and southwards as far as the mountains which divided Egypt from the land of the Philistines. It included Mount Zion, Mount Sinai, and the Garden of Eden. Ham's territory extended from Aris towards the south, as far as Fardundan and Gadariun, and also to the borders of the west. Japhet's portion was very large, and extended from the angle of the west to Damatha in the south, and all the north as far as Aris. Canaan, a descendant of Ham, had seven sons, and he seized seven of the great cities of Shem, and set these sons over them; and he doubled the size of his own portion. Later, God gave these cities back to the children of Shem, and blotted out Canaan's posterity, Kebra Nagast (chapter xii).]
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 [Fol. 20b, col. 2] 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 (i.e. the Mediterranean), 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 (i.e. in your care); let your eyes be upon them.
And his brethren said unto him, “Take with thee 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 God of our Fathers be with thee.” And Shem said unto Mגlגkh (the brother of Shגlגh (Salah), the son of [Cainan] and [grand]son of Arphaxad), the father of Melchisedek, and Yפzadhגk, his mother, “Give ye me Melchisedek [Fol. 21a, col. 1], that he may go up with me, and be a consolation for me on the road.” And Mגlגkh and Yפzadhגk, 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,” nor 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 Gגghltג (Golgotha), 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 [Fol. 21a, col. 2], 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 (i.e. in the cavity). 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 “Karkaphtג ” (i.e. “Skull”), because the head of all the children of men was deposited there. And it was called “Gגghltג,” because it was round [like the head], and “Resמphtג ” (i.e. a trodden-down thing), because the head of the accursed serpent, that is to say, Satan, was crushed there, and “Gefמftג ” (Gabbatha), because all the nations were to be gathered together to it.
[Note: The Book of the Bee devotes a chapter (xxi) to Melchisedek, and says that neither the father nor mother of this Melchisedek were written down in the genealogies; not that he had no natural parents, but that they were not written down. The greater number of the doctors say that he was of the sect of Canaan, whom Noah cursed. In the Book of Chronography, however (the author), affirms and says that he was of the seed of Shem, the son of Noah. Shem begot Arphaxar, Arphaxar begot Cainan, and Cainan begot Shגlגh and Mגlגh. Shגlגh was written down in the genealogies; but Mגlגh was not, because his affairs were not sufficiently important to be written down in the genealogies. The Book of Adam (iii. 16) says that Cainan was the father of Melchisedek, and that the Angel of the Face, or Michael, appeared to him, and told him that he was going to send away his son from him. This same angel also appeared to Melchisedek and told him to go with Shem, and to minister before the body of Adam in the centre of the earth, and also to Shem. After his interview with the angel, Shem made a splendid coffin to hold the body of Adam, and prepared bread and wine for the journey. When he and Melchisedek went to the Ark to take out the body, they found that the door of it had been locked by Noah, and they had no key to open it. As soon as Melchisedek touched the lock the door opened of itself, and the voice of Adam was heard to address him as the "priest of the Most High God." Melchisedek went into the Ark, and Michael helped him to carry out Adam's body, and Shem brought out the gold, frankincense and myrrh. Shem laid the body in the coffin which he had made, and then shut the door of the Ark. Melchisedek was fifteen years of age when he set out with Shem. The voice of Adam told Shem when they arrived at the centre of the earth, and as soon as the coffin touched the rock, the rock split asunder to receive it. On the following morning Melchisedek builded an altar of twelve stones, and offered up upon it the bread and wine which Shem had brought from Paradise.]
Shem’s commands to Melchisedek
And Shem said unto Melchisedek:
Thou shalt be the priest of the Most High God, because thou alone hath God chosen to minister before Him in this place. And thou shalt sit (i.e. dwell) here continually, and shalt not depart from this place all the days of thy life. Thou shalt not take a wife, thou shalt not shave thy head, and thou shalt not pour out blood [Fol. 21b, col. 1] in this place. Thou shalt not offer up wild beasts nor feathered fowl, but thou shalt offer up bread and wine always; and thou shalt not build a building in this place. And behold, the Angel of the Lord shall come down to thee and visit thee continually.
And Shem embraced and kissed Melchisedek, and blessed him, and he returned to his brethren. And Mגlגkh, the father of Melchisedek, and Yפzגdhגk, his mother, said [unto Shem], “Where is the young man?” And he said, “He died on the journey, and I buried him there” (i.e. where he died); and they mourned for him greatly.
[Note: A scribe's note says that in the manuscript of one Makbal Melchisedek's father was called "Harklךמm" and his mother "Shךlגthמךl " (Budge, Book of the Bee, page 34). Melchisedek wore a tunic of skin and a leather girdle, and an angel dwelt with him, and protected him, and gave him food (Book of Adam, iii. 21). When he was old, the kings of the earth heard his fame, and eleven of them gathered together and came to see him; and they entreated him to go with them, but he would not be persuaded. And when he did not conform to their wishes, they built a city for him there, and he called it Jerusalem; and the kings said to one another, "This is the king of all the earth, and the father of nations."]
The Generations of Shem
And when Shem had lived six hundred years he died, and Arphakhshar, his son, and Shגlגh (Salah), and `Abhגr (Eber), his sons, buried him.
And Arphakhshar was thirty and five years old when he begot Shגlגh, and all the days of his life were four hundred and thirty-eight years [Fol. 21b, col. 2], and he died, and Shגlגh, his son, and `Abhגr and Pגlגg (Peleg) buried him in Arpakhsharath, the city which he built after his own name.
[Note: After Shem the Book of Adam (iii. 22) inserts the name of Cainan, the father of Melchisedek (sic), who lived 589 years. Shem's years are given as 550.]
Salah was thirty years old when he begot Eber, and all the days of his life were four hundred and thirty-three years [Ethiopic variant, 408 years], and he died, and Eber, his son, and Peleg, and Ar`פ (Reu) puried hill in Shelמhפn, the city which he built after his own name.
Eber was thirty and four years old when he begot Peleg; and all the days of his life were four hundred and sixty-four [Ethiopic variant, 434] years; and he died, and Peleg his son and Reu and Sorפgh (Serug) buried him in `Ebhrמn, the city which he built after his own name.
Peleg was thirty years old when he begot Reu; and all the days of his life were two hundred and thirty-nine 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 Sךntar
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 [Fol. 22a, col. 1] plain in the land of Sךn`ar (Shinar?), 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, SRYֲYֲ (Syrian), which is ֲRֲMֲYֲ (Aramean), 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 (i.e. the heathen) 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.]
[Fol. 22a, col. 2.] And in the days of Peleg the Tower which is in Babel was built, and there the tongues of men were confounded. [A marginal note says, "the division of tongues took place at midnight."] 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.
[Note: The name Babel or Babylon has nothing to do with the Hebrew words "to mix, to confound." "Babel" is a transcription of the Assyrian words "Bגb-ilu," which mean "Gate of God," and which are the Semitic translation of the Sumerian words Ka-Dingirra-Ki.]
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 Nגhפr buried him in Peleghמn, the city which he had built after his own name. And there were seventy-two tongues in the earth, and seventy-two heads of tribes (or families), and each tribe and tongue made unto themselves a chief like a king.
The Posterity of Japhet
And the seed of Japhet became thirty-seven nations and kingdoms; viz. Gגmגr (Gomer), and Yגwגn, and Mגdhגi, and Tbמl, and Mגshךkh [Fol. 22b, col. 1], and Tמrךs, and all the kingdoms of the Alגnגyך; all these are the children of Japhet.
[Note: Another list gives: Gomer (Goths), Magog (Galatians), Madai (Medes), Javan (Greeks), Tbמl (Bithynians), Meshech (Mysians), Tמras (Thracians), and the Anshklגyך. From Gomer sprang the Ashkenaz (Armenians), Danphar (Cappadocians), Togarmah (Asians), and the Isaurians. From Javan sprang Halles (Hellas), Tarshish, Cilicia, Cyprus, Kittim, Doranim (see Gen. x. 4), and the Macedonians. Book of the Bee (chapter xxii).]
And the sons of Hגm–Ksh (Nubia), and Mesrמm (Egypt), and Pפt, and Canaan, and all their children. And the sons of Shem–`־lגm (Elamites), and ֲshפr (Assyrians), and Arpakhshar (Persians?), and Lפdh (Lud), and ֲrגm (Arameans, Damascenes, and Harranites), and all their children. Now the children of Japhet clung to the borders of the east, from the Mountain of Nפdh, which is on the confines of the east, to the Tigris and the confines of the north, and from Baktפrפnפs (Bactria?) as far as Gadhrמפn (Gadarea?). And the children of Shem held from Persia [in] the east as far as the sea of Tadhrasnkפs 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 thirty-two years, and begot Serug. And in the days of Reu, in his one hundred [Fol. 22b, col. 2] and thirtieth year, Nimrod, the mighty man, the first king on the earth, reigned, and he reigned sixty-nine years; and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel. This Nimrod saw the figure of a crown in the heavens, and he called Sמsגn, 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.
[Note: Nimrod became so wicked that he thought he was God. Book of Adam (iii. 23).]
In The Days Of Reu The Third Thousand Years Came To An End.
Of The Transmission Of The Art Of Playing The Harp, That Is To Say, Of Music, And Singing And Dancing.
Yפbגl (Jubal) and Tפbalkמn (Tubal-Cain), the two brethren, the sons of Lamech, the blind man, who killed Cain, invented and made all kinds of instruments of music. Jפbגl 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. Tפbalkמn made [Fol. 12a, col. 2] cymbals, and sistra, and tambourines (or drums). 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 affordeth 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 honour by the angels, and were called “sons of God,” even as the blessed David saith in the psalm, “I have said [Fol. 12b, col. 1], Ye are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High.” (Ps. lxxxii. 6.)
Meanwhile fornication reigned among the daughters of Cain, and without shame [several] 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 ruler (or prince) of that camp [Fol. 12b, col. 2]. 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 Yגrךd 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 ye [Fol. 13a, col. 1] the oaths which our fathers Seth, and ֲnפsh, and Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl made you to swear.
And Enoch also said unto them:
Hearken, O ye children of Seth, no man who shall transgress the commandment of Yגrךd, 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 Yגrךd, 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 [to the camp of Cain]. 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 [Fol. 13a, col. 2], 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 fomication, 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.
[Note: This story is told at great length in the Book of Adam (ii. 20). Satan appeared in the form of one Gunnun and taught him to make horns and trumpets, stringed instruments, cymbals, psalteries, lyres, harps and flutes. Into these Satan himself entered, and made the music which came from them. Gunnun made corn spirit, and established drinking booths, in which men assembled and drank and ate fruit. Then Satan taught Gunnun to make weapons of war out of iron, and when men were drunk they killed each other with them. Next Satan taught men how to dye their garments crimson and purple, and they arrayed themselves in gaudy attire, and began to race their horses. Little by little the children of Seth began to wish to join the sons of Cain, and when the devils had shown them a way down the mountain, one hundred of them went down to the plain, and were led astray by the women whose hands and feet were stained with bright colours and whose faces had tattoo marks on them. When the Sethites tried to return to the top of the mountain, the stones turned into coals of fire, and they could not pass over them. Company after company of the children of Seth went down to the plain, and at length only Yגrךd and a few others remained on the mountain. The Ethiopic Book of Enoch (see the translations by Archbishop Lawrence, Oxford, 1838, by Dillmann, Leipzig, 1853, and Canon Charles, Oxford, 1893) supplies interesting details about the fall of the children of Seth. The leaders of those who went down from Ardis on Mount Hermon were Semyגzג, the commander-in-chief, Urגkמbarגmך´ךl, Kפkabמ´ךl, Tגmi´ךl, Rגmu´ךl, Dגn´ךl, Zakמlפ, Sarגkuyגl, Asג´ךl, Armגrפs, Batraal, ´Anגnמ, Zakךbך, Samsגwe´ךl, Sarta´ךl, Tur´ךl, Yomyג´ךl, and ´Azגzyגl. Each of these was over a company of ten. The names of two of the dekarchs of the 200 angels are omitted. These angels took to themselves wives, and taught them the use of spells and enchantments, and the use of plants and trees [for medicinal purposes?]. The daughters of Cain conceived, and a tradition in the Kebra Nagast says that the children were so large that they could not be born in the ordinary way, but had to be removed from their mothers by the umbilicus.1 These children grew up and became giants 3,000 cubits in height, and when they had devoured all the provisions which their neighbours had collected, they began to fight against men and to eat them, and at length they ate the flesh and drank the blood of each other. Concerning these giants, the Book of Enoch (chapter xv) says:
Now, the giants, who were produced from the spirits and the flesh, shall be called evil spirits on earth, and their habitation shall be on the earth. Evil spirits shall proceed from their bodies. . . . And the spirits of the giants shall consume, and persecute, and lay waste, and fight and work destruction on the earth and afflict [men]. They shall neither eat food of any kind, nor suffer thirst, and they shall remain invisible. And these spirits shall attack the children of men and women, for from them have they come forth.
The wickedness of these giants became so great that the earth complained [to God]. At this time ´Azגz´ךl taught men the art of working in metals, and the use of stibium, or eye-paint, and the art of dyeing stuffs in bright colours. ´Amךzגrגk taught enchantments (i.e. magic) and the knowledge of herbs; ´Armגrפs taught how spells were to be broken; Barak`גl taught astrology; Kפkab´ךl taught the knowledge of signs; Tem´ךl taught astronomy; and ´Asrגdךl taught concerning the moon [Book of Enoch, chapter viii.] The originals of these Seven Sages were probably the Seven Wise Men who were revered by the Babylonians.]
And when Yגrךd had lived nine hundred and sixty years, and the day of his departure approached, and came nigh, and arrived, all the Patriarchs gathered themselves together and came unto him, viz. 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 God will not allow you to remain very much longer in this holy country. Inasmuch as [Fol. 13b, col. 1] ye have transgressed the commandment of your fathers, ye shall surely be cast out into that outer country, and ye shall no longer have your habitation on the skirts [of the mountain] of Paradise. And take ye 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 God to set it down. And thou, my son Enoch, depart thou not from before the body of Adam, but minister before God purely and holily all the days of thy life.
And Yגrךd died, [being] nine hundred and sixty-two years old, on the thirteenth day of the month of ־yגr (May), on the day of the Eve of the Sabbath (Friday), at sunset, in the three hundred and sixty-sixth 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.
[Note: The Book of the Bee says that Yגrךd was 962 years old when he died, and that he begot Enoch when he was 162 years old. The Book of Adam says that he was 989 years old when he died, and that he died on Friday, the 12th day of the month of Takhsגs (December) in the 360th year of the life of Noah (ii. 21).]
[Fol. 13b, col. 2] The Rule of Enoch
And Enoch stood up to minister before God 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 three hundred and [sixty] fifth year of the life of Noah. And when Enoch knew that God was about to remove him [from the earth], he called Methuselah, and Lamech, and Noah, and said unto them:
I know that God is wroth with this generation, and that a pitiless judgment hath been decreed for the people thereof. Ye 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 ye good heed to yourselves, and see that ye minister before God in purity and holiness.
And when Enoch had given them his commandment in these words, God removed him to the Land of Life, and to the [Fol. 14a, col. 1] 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,” viz. Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah, for all the others had betaken themselves to the encampment of the sons of Cain.
[Note: Then Michael, Gabriel, Suriel, and Uriel looked down from heaven, and saw the wickedness which ´Azגz´ךl had done in the world, and they heard the appeal which the souls of the dead were making to heaven, and they reported the matter to the Most High. When God heard their words He sent the angel ´Arsyalגlyr to the son of Lamech, i.e. Noah, with the command, "Hide thyself." No mention is made of Methuselah, who begot Lamech when he was 187 years old, and who lived 969 years, and Lamech, who lived 777 years, and begot Noah in the 182nd year of his age, was passed over in favour of his son. Noah consolidated his position by marrying the daughter of Enoch. The angel revealed to Noah that a flood was about to cover the earth, and told him how to escape from it. Then God commanded Rafa´ךl to bind ´Azגz´ךl hand and foot, and to thrust him into a dark hole in the desert of Dudג´ךl (a place near Jerusalem?), and heap stones and rocks upon him. There he was to remain until the Day of judgment, when he would be cast into the fire and consumed. Gabriel was sent to destroy all the children of fornication; and Michael was sent to bind Semyגzג and the other dekarchs of the children of Seth, and to imprison them under the mountains of the earth for 70 generations, after which time they were to be taken to the abyss of fire and tortured there for ever. Book of Enoch (chapter x).]
[The Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth, by Abbג Bakhayla-Mמkג´ךl (ed. Perruchon), says that it was the men who taught man the arts of civilisation, who caused God to bring the Flood on the earth. This work gives the names of these men and describes their inventions thus:
Pמpמrפs understood the sun, Rrמdך quarried stones, Zar´ךl instituted the month, Pמnךnך introduced horse-riding (or racing), Gגlך invented the axe, Tמgana invented the shield, Hפrךrמ taught men to play musical instruments, Yuebך taught working in iron, Mךgךd taught horse-riding, Negפdמ discovered medicinal springs, and made known the planetary hours when the waters were most effective, Gargך made the first corn-grinder, Sךtךr taught men how to mix dough, Gמmךr taught the use of earthenware vessels for food, Zגrך taught men to milk animals, Heggך taught men to make roofs, and Tentפreb showed them how to make doors, Sגpךr taught butter-making, Halגgך discovered how to carve wood and stone, Hךder was the first to cultivate trees, Sמnפ taught house-building, and Tפf invented the potter's craft, Artפrbegגs invented agricultural implements, Sךbךdךgגz introduced the use of kohl (eye-paint, stibium), Zגrך invented the brewing of beer, Bךtךnךlגdגs invented the oven, Nגfמl taught men to make plantations and gardens, Yגrbeh discovered how to fell trees and saw them up, ´ֺlyפ taught dancing, Pךnךms invented architecture and writing, ´Agגlךmn taught the use of beasts in ploughing and how to drive furrows, Kueses invented ploughs and leather whips, ´Akפr discovered bronze (copper?), certain men taught working in cedar and willow-wood, Wasag and ´Abךregyג taught men the game of Tגbat, and Nךr and Zabךrךgued taught them to play the games of ´Atגwemג and ´Akמs, 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 God spake unto him and said unto him, “Take unto thee to wife Haykךl, the daughter of Nams (or Haykךl Nams), the daughter of Enoch, the brother of Methuselah.” And God revealed unto him concerning the Flood which He was making ready to produce, and He spake to him and said unto him, “One hundred and thirty years from this moment I will make a Flood.”
[Note: The Book of Adam says that Haykךl was the daughter of Abaraz, who was one of the children of the family of Enos, who went into perdition. If this be so, Noah married a woman who was akin to the children of Cain. The Book of the Bee (chapter xx) merely states that Noah's wife was of the children of Seth.]
The Building of the Ark
And God said unto Noah:
Make for thyself an ark for the saving of the children of thy house, and build it [in the plain] below [this mountain], in the encampment of the children of Cain, and ye shall cut down the timber for the same [from the trees that are on] this mountain [Fol. 14a, col. 2]. And thus shall be the dimensions thereof. Its length shall be three hundred cubits according to thy 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 thee and the children of thy house. And make in it cisterns for water and cupboards for food. And make to thyself 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 thou shalt 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 labour. And when thou strikest the board, and men hear the sound of the blows, and say unto thee, ‘What is this that thou doest?’ [Fol. 14b, col. 1], thou shalt say unto them, ‘God is going to make a flood of waters.’
And Noah did as God 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.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee, the storeys were to have boards and projecting ledges, each board being one cubit long and one span broad. The wood used was either box or teak, and the Ark was pitched within and without. The Book of Adam (iii. 2) says that each storey was 10 cubits high. The first was for lions and other animals, and ostriches, the second was for birds and reptiles, and the third for Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet, and their wives. The cisterns were to be lined with lead, inside and out. Noah begot his sons during the hundred years in which he was building the Ark; during these years he ate no animal food, and he wore the same pair of sandals, which did not wear out, and the same apparel and head cloth, and carried the same staff. His hair neither increased nor diminished. His sons married daughters of Methuselah.]
The Death of Lamech
And when Lamech had lived seven hundred and seventy years, he died during the lifetime of Methuselah, his father, forty years before the Flood, on the twenty-first day of the month of Ill (September), on the first day of the week (Sunday), in the sixty-eighth 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.
[Note: The Book of Adam says that Lamech was 553 years old when he died, but the Book of the Bee gives his age as 774 or 777 years; the former work says that Lamech died seven years before the Flood.]
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 [Fol. 14b, col. 2]. 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. Now because of this certain ancient writers have fallen into error, and have written, “The angels came down from heaven, and had intercourse with men, and by them these famous giants have been produced.” But this is not true, for those who have written in this manner did not understand [the facts]. Behold, O my brother-readers, and know ye that it is not in the nature of beings of the spirit to beget, neither is it in the nature of the devils–who are unclean beings, and workers of wickedness, and lovers of adultery–to beget, because there are neither males nor females among them. And since the time when the angels fell, not another angel has been added to their number. And if the devils were able to have intercourse with women they would not leave unravished a single virgin [Fol. 15a, col. 1] in all the race of the children of men.
The Death of Methuselah
And when Methuselah had lived nine hundred and sixty-nine 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, viz. 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 [Fol. 15a, col. 2] alone is left. May the Lord God of our fathers bless you! The Lord God 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 God unto our father Adam shall go forth with you from this holy country. And these three measures of the wheat of blessings which God 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 thou, Noah, thou blessed of the Lord. Behold [Fol. 15b, col. 1], I am going forth from this world, like all my fathers, but thou and thy children shall be saved. And thou shalt do everything which I am commanding you to do this day, [for] God will make the Flood. When I die, embalm my body, and bury me in the Cave of Treasures with my fathers. Take thy wife, and thy sons, and the wives of thy sons, and get thee down from this holy mountain. And take with thee 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. Thou and thy sons shall occupy the eastern part of the Ark, and thy wife and thy son’s wives shall occupy the western part thereof; thy wives shall not pass over to you, and ye shall not pass over to them. Ye shall neither eat nor drink with them, and ye shall have no intercourse whatsoever with them until ye go forth [Fol. 15b, col. 2] from the Ark. Now this generation hath provoked God 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 ye go forth from the Ark, and ye take up your abode in that land, thou, O Noah, the blessed of the Lord, shall not depart from the Ark, from the body of our father Adam, but minister thou before God in the Ark purely and holily all the days of thy life. And these offerings shall be placed in the east. And command thou Shem, thy firstborn, to take up with him, after thy 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 (nezמrג) all the days of his life. He shall not take a wife, he shall not shed blood, he shall not offer up [Fol. 16a, col. 1] these offerings of wild animals and feathered fowl; but he shall offer unto God bread and wine, for by these redemption shall be made for Adam and all his posterity. And the Angel of God 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 God, the Most High.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam, (iii. 5), Shem was to appoint Melchisedek (see Gen. xiv. 18-24; Heb., chapter vii.), the son of Kainגn, and grandson of Arphaxad, to be the priest of the Most High; and he was to stand and minister on the mountain which is in the middle of the earth. He was to wear a garment of skin, and have a leather girdle about his loins, and his apparel was to be humble and without ornament.]
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 nine hundred and sixty-nine years old when he died, on the fourteenth day of the month ֲdhגr (March), on the first day of the week (Sunday), in the seventy-ninth year [Fol. 16a, col. 2] of the life of Shem, the son of Noah. And Noah, his grandson, embalmed the body of Methuselah with myrrh, and cassia, and stakte, 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 ֲnפsh, and Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl, and Yגrךd, 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. [The Book of Adam does not mention Eve.]. 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 [Fol. 16b, col. 1] 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, thou habitation of our father Adam.
He went forth from thee alive, but stripped [of glory] and naked.
And behold, at his death he was deprived of thy 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 labour, and in weariness, and in trouble.
Remain in peace, O Cave of Treasures!
Remain in peace, O habitation and inheritance of our Fathers!
Remain ye in peace, O our Fathers and Patriarchs!
Pray ye for us, O ye who live in the dust, ye friends and beloved ones of the Living God.
Pray ye for the remnant of your posterity which is left.
O ye who have propitiated God, make supplication unto Him on our behalf in your prayers. [Fol. 16b, col. 2]
Remain in peace, O ֲnפsh!
Remain ye in peace, O ye ministers of God, Kainגn, and Mahlגlגמl, and Yגrךd, and Methuselah, and Lamech, and Enoch! Cry out in sorrow on our behalf.
Remain in peace, O Haven and Asylum of the Angels!
O ye our Fathers, cry out in sorrow on our behalf, because ye 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 scalding (or 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 [Fol. 17a, col. 1] 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.
[Note: The Book of Adam (iii. 6) says that when Noah and his sons were carrying the body of Adam out of the Cave, the bodies of the other Patriarchs cried out, and asked the body of Adam if they were to be separated from it. Adam replied that he must leave the holy mountain, and told them that he knew God would bring their bodies together again on another occasion, and bade them wait patiently. Adam asked God to allow the lighted lamp to remain with the bodies in the Cave, until the resurrection. This God did, and then He closed the Cave until the day of the resurrection. Noah and his sons marvelled greatly when they heard the bodies of the Patriarchs talking together in the Cave. Having carried away the body of Adam and the gold, myrrh and frankincense, they returned to the mountain, intending to enter the Cave once agaln; they sought carefully, but could not find the Cave, and then they knew that God had sealed it, and had hidden it from them, so that they might never dwell therein again.]
Footnotes:
1 See Kebra Nagast (Budge’s translation), chapter c. Concerning the Angels who rebelled.
[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 (Friday), on the seventeenth day of the blessed month of ־yגr (May). On the Friday, in the morning (i.e. the third 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] [Fol. 17a, col. 2], and men on the east [side], 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 (or throne). And as quietness reigneth 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 (or reptiles). 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 [Fol. 17b, col. 1] 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 seventeenth day of the month of ־yגr (May), 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 floodgates of the heavens were opened, and the foundations of the earth were rent asunder, and Ocean, that great sea which surroundeth the whole world, poured forth its floods. And whilst the floodgates of heaven were open, and the foundations of the earth 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 earth. 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 [Fol. 17b, col. 2] 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 spake concerning them, saying:
I said, Ye are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High. (Ps. lxxxii. 6.) But since ye have done this, and ye have loved the fornication of the daughters of Cain, like them ye shall perish, and even as they did so shall ye die.
And when the Ark was lifted up from the earth 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 earth was drowned. And the waters [Fol. 18a, col. 1] of the Flood mounted up above all the tops of the high mountains fifteen cubits [variants, 25, 50 cubits], according to the measure of the Spirit. [The cubit of the Holy Ghost = 3 ordinary cubits.] 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 (i.e. had been made holy), it bowed its head, and kissed the skirts of Paradise and turned itself back to destroy the whole earth. 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 one hundred and fifty days, and it came to rest on the mountains of Kardפ (i.e. Ararat, the Jabal al-Jdמ of the Arabs, near Jazמrat ibn `Umar) in the seventh month, that is to say, in the First Teshrמ (October) on the seventeenth day thereof. And God commanded the waters, and they became separated from each other. The celestial waters were taken up, and ascended to their own place above [Fol. 18a, col. 2] the heavens, whence they came. The waters which had risen up from the earth returned to the lowermost abyss [under the earth]; and those which belonged to the Ocean [which surroundeth the whole world] returned to the innermost parts thereof. And the waters which had been on the earth, 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 tenth month, which is Shebגt (February), and on the first day thereof the tops of the mountains appeared. And, forty days later, on the tenth day of the month of ֲdhגr (March), 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 [Fol. 18b, col. 1] the spirit which spake by the Prophets did not find a place of rest among that rebellious people (i.e. the Jews); and in the Second Covenant it rested on the peoples through the waters of baptism.
[Note: The above description of the Flood agrees substantially with that given in the Book of Adam (chapters ix and x), and in the Book of the Bee (chapter xx).]
Noah leaves the Ark
And in the six hundred and first year of the life of Noah, on the first day of the month of Nמsגn (April) the waters had dried up from the face of the earth. And in the second month, which is ־yגr (May), wherein Noah went into the Ark on the twenty-seventh day, on the holy first day of the week (Sunday), 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 first day of the week.
Noah founds Themגnפn, the city of the “Eight.”
And when they had gone forth Noah began work on the ground [Fol. 18b, col. 2], and they built a city and called the name thereof “Themגnפn” (i.e. “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 God 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 (i.e. unbent it) 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.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iii. 11), the waters dried up in the 607th year of the life of Noah. The altar on which Noah sacrificed was that on which Adam, Cain, and Abel had laid their offerings; it had been damaged by the Flood, but Noah rebuilt it. The city of Themגnפn is מdentified with Sbhג (i.e. Nisמbis) in the Book of the Bee (chapter xx), but this is a false identification. The "City of Eight," Themגnפn, is not to be identified with the τὸ Θομάνων {Greek: tע ׀omבnwn} of Theophylact Simocatta (vol. ii. chap. 10, p. 86), which lay on the right bank of the Tigris near Hisn Kךfג, but with the Sk Thamגnמn of the Arab geographers, which lay at a distance of one day's journey from Jazמrat ibn `Umar. It was situated high up in the mountains, and Khusraw Anפsharwגn used to encamp there during the heats of summer. Near Burzmihrגn, and between Jazמrat ibn `Umar and Thamגnפn was Dךr Abbn, which, according to Yגkt, contained the tomb of Noah. It is interesting to note that the Arabs call Noah's city Sk Thamגnמn (i.e. "Market of the Eighty") and not "Market of the Eight." For further details see Hoffmann, G., Auszge aus syrischen Akten, page 174.]
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 [Fol. 19a, col. 1] 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 [Fol. 19a, col. 2], 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 reeds), 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 [Fol. 19b, col. 1] among the former generations until, at length, God 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 Msגyך (Mysians), [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” (or “lascivious”) all the days of his life.
Now Noah in his lying down in sleep, having drunk wine, symbolizeth the Cross of Christ, as the blessed man David singeth in his Psalm concerning him, saying, “Wake up, Lord, like a sleeping man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome.” [Compare Psalm xlv. 23 {sic, Psalm xliv. 23}; lxxviii. 65.] Let the heretics who say “God was crucified” hold their peace. Here David calleth him “Lord,” even as Peter the Apostle said, “This Jesus, whom ye crucified, hath God made Lord and Messiah (Christ).” (Compare Acts v. 30, 31.] He did not say “God” (Allגhג), but “Lord” (Mגryג), thus [Fol. 19b, col. 2] making known concerning the unity (or oneness) of the Two Persons who were united in one sonship. 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. Now the seed of Canaan, as I have already said, are the Egyptians, and behold, they are scattered over the whole earth, and have been made servants of servants. And of what kind is this slavery of slavery? Behold, the Egyptians go round about all over the earth carrying loads on their backs (literally, necks). Now, men who are not fettered under the yoke of slavery, when despatched by their masters on journeys, do not march on their feet and carry loads, but they ride upon beasts in an honourable manner, like their masters. The seed of Ham are the Egyptians, who carry loads, and they march [Fol. 20a, col. 1] on the roads with their backs and necks breaking under their loads, and they wander round to the doors of the children of their brethren. The seed of Ham was reduced, through the folly of Canaan, to suffer this penalty, that is, to become servants even to servants.
[Note: The Book of the Bee (chapter xx) says concerning the cursing of Ham:
The reason why he (Noah) cursed Canaan, who was not as yet born, nor had sinned, was because Ham had been saved with him in the Ark from the waters of the Flood, and had with his father received the divine blessing, and also because the arts of sin--I mean music and dancing and all other hateful things--were about to be revived by his posterity, for the art of music proceeded from the seed of Canaan.
The same work adds:
After the Flood a son was born to Noah, and he called his name Yפnatפn; and he provided him with gifts and sent him to the fire of the sun, to the east.
The Book of Adam (iii. 13), merely states that Noah married another wife, who bore him seven children, and that he continued to dwell on that mountain until the end of his days.]
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 (Arphaxad), and Shגlah (Salah) gathered together unto him. And Noah called Shem, his firstborn, and said unto him privily:
Take heed, my son Shem, unto what I say unto thee this day. When I am dead, go into the Ark, wherein thou hast been saved, and bring out the body of our father Adam, and let no man have knowledge of what thou doest. And take with thee from this place provision for the way, bread and wine, and take with thee Melchisedek, the son of Mגlגkh [Fol. 20a, col. 2], because him hath God chosen from 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 God shall go before you, and shall show you the way wherein ye 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 God 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 (i.e. in the centre of the earth) 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 [Fol. 20b, col. 1]. Adam commanded Seth, and Seth commanded ֲnפsh (Enos), and ֲnפsh commanded Kainגn (Cainan), and Kainגn commanded Mahlגlגמl, and Mahlגlגמl commanded Yגrךd, and Yגrךd commanded Enoch, and Enoch commanded Methuselah, and Methuselah commanded Lamech; and behold, I command thee this day. And take heed that this story is never mentioned again in all your generations. Get thee up, and take the body of Adam, and deposit it secretly in the place which God shall show thee until the day of redemption.
And when Noah had given all these commands unto his son Shem, he died, [being] nine hundred and fifty years old, in the month of ־yגr (May), on the second day thereof, at the second hour of the first day of the week (Sunday). And Shem his son embalmed him, and buried him in the city which he had built (i.e. Themגnפn), and they made a mourning for him forty days.
[Note: According to the Book of the Bee, Noah died on the fourth day of the week (Wednesday), on the second day of the month of Nמsגn (April), at the second hour of the day. The Book of Adam says that he was buried on the mountain on which the Ark rested. The same authority states (iii. chapter xiv) that the Ark was closed during the days of Noah, but that Noah went into it every evening to light the lamp which he had made, and which burned before the body of Adam. It is also stated that during his dying speech Noah indicated to each of his sons which part of the earth he was to dwell with his posterity. The territory of Shem extended from Jerusalem eastwards as far as India, and southwards as far as the mountains which divided Egypt from the land of the Philistines. It included Mount Zion, Mount Sinai, and the Garden of Eden. Ham's territory extended from Aris towards the south, as far as Fardundan and Gadariun, and also to the borders of the west. Japhet's portion was very large, and extended from the angle of the west to Damatha in the south, and all the north as far as Aris. Canaan, a descendant of Ham, had seven sons, and he seized seven of the great cities of Shem, and set these sons over them; and he doubled the size of his own portion. Later, God gave these cities back to the children of Shem, and blotted out Canaan's posterity, Kebra Nagast (chapter xii).]
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 [Fol. 20b, col. 2] 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 (i.e. the Mediterranean), 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 (i.e. in your care); let your eyes be upon them.
And his brethren said unto him, “Take with thee 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 God of our Fathers be with thee.” And Shem said unto Mגlגkh (the brother of Shגlגh (Salah), the son of [Cainan] and [grand]son of Arphaxad), the father of Melchisedek, and Yפzadhגk, his mother, “Give ye me Melchisedek [Fol. 21a, col. 1], that he may go up with me, and be a consolation for me on the road.” And Mגlגkh and Yפzadhגk, 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,” nor 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 Gגghltג (Golgotha), 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 [Fol. 21a, col. 2], 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 (i.e. in the cavity). 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 “Karkaphtג ” (i.e. “Skull”), because the head of all the children of men was deposited there. And it was called “Gגghltג,” because it was round [like the head], and “Resמphtג ” (i.e. a trodden-down thing), because the head of the accursed serpent, that is to say, Satan, was crushed there, and “Gefמftג ” (Gabbatha), because all the nations were to be gathered together to it.
[Note: The Book of the Bee devotes a chapter (xxi) to Melchisedek, and says that neither the father nor mother of this Melchisedek were written down in the genealogies; not that he had no natural parents, but that they were not written down. The greater number of the doctors say that he was of the sect of Canaan, whom Noah cursed. In the Book of Chronography, however (the author), affirms and says that he was of the seed of Shem, the son of Noah. Shem begot Arphaxar, Arphaxar begot Cainan, and Cainan begot Shגlגh and Mגlגh. Shגlגh was written down in the genealogies; but Mגlגh was not, because his affairs were not sufficiently important to be written down in the genealogies. The Book of Adam (iii. 16) says that Cainan was the father of Melchisedek, and that the Angel of the Face, or Michael, appeared to him, and told him that he was going to send away his son from him. This same angel also appeared to Melchisedek and told him to go with Shem, and to minister before the body of Adam in the centre of the earth, and also to Shem. After his interview with the angel, Shem made a splendid coffin to hold the body of Adam, and prepared bread and wine for the journey. When he and Melchisedek went to the Ark to take out the body, they found that the door of it had been locked by Noah, and they had no key to open it. As soon as Melchisedek touched the lock the door opened of itself, and the voice of Adam was heard to address him as the "priest of the Most High God." Melchisedek went into the Ark, and Michael helped him to carry out Adam's body, and Shem brought out the gold, frankincense and myrrh. Shem laid the body in the coffin which he had made, and then shut the door of the Ark. Melchisedek was fifteen years of age when he set out with Shem. The voice of Adam told Shem when they arrived at the centre of the earth, and as soon as the coffin touched the rock, the rock split asunder to receive it. On the following morning Melchisedek builded an altar of twelve stones, and offered up upon it the bread and wine which Shem had brought from Paradise.]
Shem’s commands to Melchisedek
And Shem said unto Melchisedek:
Thou shalt be the priest of the Most High God, because thou alone hath God chosen to minister before Him in this place. And thou shalt sit (i.e. dwell) here continually, and shalt not depart from this place all the days of thy life. Thou shalt not take a wife, thou shalt not shave thy head, and thou shalt not pour out blood [Fol. 21b, col. 1] in this place. Thou shalt not offer up wild beasts nor feathered fowl, but thou shalt offer up bread and wine always; and thou shalt not build a building in this place. And behold, the Angel of the Lord shall come down to thee and visit thee continually.
And Shem embraced and kissed Melchisedek, and blessed him, and he returned to his brethren. And Mגlגkh, the father of Melchisedek, and Yפzגdhגk, his mother, said [unto Shem], “Where is the young man?” And he said, “He died on the journey, and I buried him there” (i.e. where he died); and they mourned for him greatly.
[Note: A scribe's note says that in the manuscript of one Makbal Melchisedek's father was called "Harklךמm" and his mother "Shךlגthמךl " (Budge, Book of the Bee, page 34). Melchisedek wore a tunic of skin and a leather girdle, and an angel dwelt with him, and protected him, and gave him food (Book of Adam, iii. 21). When he was old, the kings of the earth heard his fame, and eleven of them gathered together and came to see him; and they entreated him to go with them, but he would not be persuaded. And when he did not conform to their wishes, they built a city for him there, and he called it Jerusalem; and the kings said to one another, "This is the king of all the earth, and the father of nations."]
The Generations of Shem
And when Shem had lived six hundred years he died, and Arphakhshar, his son, and Shגlגh (Salah), and `Abhגr (Eber), his sons, buried him.
And Arphakhshar was thirty and five years old when he begot Shגlגh, and all the days of his life were four hundred and thirty-eight years [Fol. 21b, col. 2], and he died, and Shגlגh, his son, and `Abhגr and Pגlגg (Peleg) buried him in Arpakhsharath, the city which he built after his own name.
[Note: After Shem the Book of Adam (iii. 22) inserts the name of Cainan, the father of Melchisedek (sic), who lived 589 years. Shem's years are given as 550.]
Salah was thirty years old when he begot Eber, and all the days of his life were four hundred and thirty-three years [Ethiopic variant, 408 years], and he died, and Eber, his son, and Peleg, and Ar`פ (Reu) puried hill in Shelמhפn, the city which he built after his own name.
Eber was thirty and four years old when he begot Peleg; and all the days of his life were four hundred and sixty-four [Ethiopic variant, 434] years; and he died, and Peleg his son and Reu and Sorפgh (Serug) buried him in `Ebhrמn, the city which he built after his own name.
Peleg was thirty years old when he begot Reu; and all the days of his life were two hundred and thirty-nine 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 Sךntar
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 [Fol. 22a, col. 1] plain in the land of Sךn`ar (Shinar?), 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, SRYֲYֲ (Syrian), which is ֲRֲMֲYֲ (Aramean), 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 (i.e. the heathen) 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.]
[Fol. 22a, col. 2.] And in the days of Peleg the Tower which is in Babel was built, and there the tongues of men were confounded. [A marginal note says, "the division of tongues took place at midnight."] 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.
[Note: The name Babel or Babylon has nothing to do with the Hebrew words "to mix, to confound." "Babel" is a transcription of the Assyrian words "Bגb-ilu," which mean "Gate of God," and which are the Semitic translation of the Sumerian words Ka-Dingirra-Ki.]
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 Nגhפr buried him in Peleghמn, the city which he had built after his own name. And there were seventy-two tongues in the earth, and seventy-two heads of tribes (or families), and each tribe and tongue made unto themselves a chief like a king.
The Posterity of Japhet
And the seed of Japhet became thirty-seven nations and kingdoms; viz. Gגmגr (Gomer), and Yגwגn, and Mגdhגi, and Tbמl, and Mגshךkh [Fol. 22b, col. 1], and Tמrךs, and all the kingdoms of the Alגnגyך; all these are the children of Japhet.
[Note: Another list gives: Gomer (Goths), Magog (Galatians), Madai (Medes), Javan (Greeks), Tbמl (Bithynians), Meshech (Mysians), Tמras (Thracians), and the Anshklגyך. From Gomer sprang the Ashkenaz (Armenians), Danphar (Cappadocians), Togarmah (Asians), and the Isaurians. From Javan sprang Halles (Hellas), Tarshish, Cilicia, Cyprus, Kittim, Doranim (see Gen. x. 4), and the Macedonians. Book of the Bee (chapter xxii).]
And the sons of Hגm–Ksh (Nubia), and Mesrמm (Egypt), and Pפt, and Canaan, and all their children. And the sons of Shem–`־lגm (Elamites), and ֲshפr (Assyrians), and Arpakhshar (Persians?), and Lפdh (Lud), and ֲrגm (Arameans, Damascenes, and Harranites), and all their children. Now the children of Japhet clung to the borders of the east, from the Mountain of Nפdh, which is on the confines of the east, to the Tigris and the confines of the north, and from Baktפrפnפs (Bactria?) as far as Gadhrמפn (Gadarea?). And the children of Shem held from Persia [in] the east as far as the sea of Tadhrasnkפs 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 thirty-two years, and begot Serug. And in the days of Reu, in his one hundred [Fol. 22b, col. 2] and thirtieth year, Nimrod, the mighty man, the first king on the earth, reigned, and he reigned sixty-nine years; and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel. This Nimrod saw the figure of a crown in the heavens, and he called Sמsגn, 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.
[Note: Nimrod became so wicked that he thought he was God. Book of Adam (iii. 23).]
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 Mesrגyך, who are the Egyptians, appointed their first king; his name was Puntos, and he reigned over them sixty-eight years. And in the days of Reu a king reigned in Shebhג (Sגba), and in Ophir, and in Havilah. And there reigned in Sגba sixty of the daughters of Sגba. And for many years women reigned in Sגba until the kingdom of Solomon, the son of David. And the children of Ophir, that is, Send (Scindia?), appointed to be their [Fol. 23a, col. 1] 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 Havמl, who built Havilah, that is, Hend (India?).
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iii. 23), the first king of Egypt was called Yanuf; he built Memphis, that is, Misr. Sasen reigned in Sגba and built the city of Sגba, the people of which are called "Sabeans." Bahlul, builder of Bahlu, reigned over Lebensa in India. The first king of Sגba is said to have been Menyelek I, the son of Solomon king of Mael and Mגkeda, Queen of Sheba.]
And Reu died, being two hundred and thirty-nine years old, and Serug his son, and Nגhפr and Tarah (Terah) buried him in Aor`מn, the city which he built after his own name.
And Serug lived thirty years and begot Nגhפr, and all the days of his life were two hundred and thirty 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 [Fol. 23a, col. 2] 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 two hundred and thirty years old, and Nגhפr, and Tarah [Fol. 23b, col. 1], and Abraham his sons, buried him in Sarghמn, the city which he built after his own name.
And Nגhפr was twenty-nine years old when he begot Terah. And in the days of Nגhפr, in the seventieth year of his life, when God 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 Nגhפr died when he was one hundred and forty-seven years old, and Terah his son and Abraham buried him. Terah was seventy-five years old when he begot Abraham.
[Note: Nגhפr was the son of Serug by his wife Melka, and he married Iyosaka, the daughter of Kheber, the Chaldean, and she became the mother of Terah. The "Wind Flood" came upon the earth in the days of Nגhפr. God opened the storehouse of the winds and whirlwinds, and they uprooted the idols and graven images, and they collected them together, and buried them under the earth, and they reared over them these mounds that are in the world. (Book of the Bee, chapter xxiii.) God sent forth winds, and the whirlwind, and earthquakes on the earth, until the idols were broken one against another. Instead of repenting, men added to their sins. Book of Adam (iii. 24.)]
And Terah was seventy-five years old when he begat Abraham. And in the days of Terah, in his ninetieth year, sorcery appeared on the earth in the city of Aפr (Ur), which Horon, the son of `Abhגr, 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 [Fol. 23b, col. 2], 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 (i.e. the son of the rich man) 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 thy little son, and slay him here as a sacrifice to me, and forthwith everything which thou hast 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.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iii. 24), the young man who ministered to the image had to sweep the ground around it, and to pour out water before it, and to burn incense. The image seems to have resembled somewhat the Ka-figure of the Egyptians, and its attendant may be regarded as the equivalent of the Ka-priest. A marginal note in the Syriac MS. of the "Cave of Treasures" in the British Museum says that the city Aפr is Erech (Warka). The "Interpreter" (i.e. Theodore), says it was Bךth Mגhפzך (Ctesiphon and Seleucia), that is, Bךth Arגmגyך, but both statements are incorrect. The city referred to is Ur, where, in recent years, excavations have been carried out by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania. (See my Babylonian Life and History, London, 1925, and the account of the excavations given at the end of the present work, page 275.)]
And in the one hundredth year of the life of Nגhפr, when God saw that the children of men were sacrificing their Sons to devils [Fol. 24a, col. 1], 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. Now to this blast of wind learned men have given the name of “Wind-Flood”; but certain who have erred have said, “These mounds existed [already] in the days of the Flood [of waters].” Now those who have said these things have erred greatly from the truth; for before the Flood [of waters] there were no idols in the earth, and it was not because of idols that the Flood came, but because of the fornication of the daughters of Cain. And, moreover, at that time there were no men on this earth, which was a waste and a desert. And our fathers were cast forth in days of old, as it were, into exile, because they were not worthy to be [Fol. 24a, col. 2] neighbours of Paradise. And through the Ark they were driven forth to the mountains of Kardפ, and from there they were scattered about throughout all the earth. For these mounds came into being because of idols, and in them are buried all the idols of that time, and all the devils also who dwell in them are in these mounds, and there is no mound which hath not devils in it.
Nimrod the fire-worshipper, and Yפntפn, son of Noah
And in the days of Nimrod, the mighty man (or giant), 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 Sמsגn, the king, found a spring of water in Drפghמn, and he made a white horse and set it over it, and those who bathed in the water used to worship the horse [Fol. 24b, col. 1]. And from that time the Persians began to worship that (sic) horse.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iii. 25), the horse was made of gold.]
And Nimrod went to Yפkdפrג of Nפdh, and when he arrived at the Lake (or Sea) of Atrגs, he found there Yפntפn, the son of Noah. [A marginal note in the Syriac MS. adds, "Noah begot this Yפntפn after the Flood, and he honoured him in many things, and sent him to the east to dwell there."] And Nimrod went down and bathed in the Lake, and he came to Yפntפn and did homage unto him. And Yפntפn said, “Thou art a king; doest thou homage unto me?” And Nimrod said unto him, “It is because of thee that I have come down here”; and he remained with him for three years. And Yפntפn taught Nimrod wisdom, and the art of revelation (divining?), and he said unto him, “Come not back again to me.”
And when Nimrod went up from the east, and began to practise the art of divining, very many men marvelled at him. And when ־dhגshמr (Ardeshir?), the priest who ministered to the fire that ascended from the earth, saw that Nimrod was practising these exalted courses, he entreated the devil, who appeared in connection with that fire, to teach him [Fol. 24b, col. 2] 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 hath known carnally his mother, and his daughter, and his sister.” And ־dhגshמr 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 ־dhגshמr, 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 [Fol. 25a, col. 1] by Yפntפn, none of the orthodox doctors have suppressed it; nay, they have even practised it. Now the Persians call it “Gelyגnג ” (i.e. “Revelation”) and the Romans “Estrפmמפn” (i.e. “Astronomy”). But that [knowledge] which the Magians have, viz. astrology, is sorcery and the teaching of devils. There are some who say that it doth indeed [teach concerning] luck, and happenings (i.e. future events), and fate, but these are in error. Now Nimrod builded strong cities in the east, Babel, and Nineveh, and Rגsגn (Rגs `Ain), and Selמk: (Seleucia), and Ctesiphon, and ֲdhפrbaighגn; and he made three fortresses.
The History of Abraham
And Terah, the father of Abraham, lived two hundred and fifty years, and he died, and Abraham and Lot buried him in Hגrrגn. And there God spoke unto Abraham, and said unto him:
Get thee forth from thy land, and from among thy people, and come to the land which I will show thee.
And Abraham took his household, Sגrג his wife [Fol. 25a, col. 2], and Lot, his brother’s son, and he went up to the land of the Amפrגyך (Amorites); and he was seventy-five years old when he crossed the desert from the Euphrates. And he was eighty years old when he pursued the kings, and rescued Lot, his brother’s son.
[Note: When still a boy, Abraham had no belief in idols, and, according to the Kebra Nagast (chapter xiii):
When he was twelve years old his father sent him to sell idols. And Abraham said, 'These are not gods that can make deliverance'; and he took away the idols to sell even as his father had commanded him. And he said unto those unto whom he would sell them, 'Do ye wish to buy goods that cannot make deliverance, things made of wood, and stone, and iron, and brass, which the hand of an artificer hath made?' And they (the people) refused to buy the idols from Abraham he himself had defamed the images of his father.
An old tradition says that Terah made idols of mud, and it is possible that some of these may be represented by the terra-cotta figures of gods and goddesses which have been found in such large numbers in recent years at Ur and other ancient sites in Babylonia.]
And as he was returning he stepped aside from the road, and he set the images down, and looked at them, and said unto them, ‘I wonder now if ye are able to do what I ask you at this moment, and whether ye are able to give me bread to eat or water to drink?’ And none of them answered him, for they were pieces of stone and wood; and he abused them and heaped revilings upon them, and they spake never a word. And he buffeted the face of one, and kicked another with his feet, and a third he knocked over and broke to pieces with stones, and he said unto them, ‘If ye are unable to save yourselves from him that buffeteth you, and ye cannot requite with injury him that injureth you, how can ye be called “gods”? Those who worship you do so in vain, and as for myself I utterly despise you, and ye shall not be my gods.’ Then he turned his face to the East, and he stretched out his hands and said:
Be Thou my God, O Lord, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Creator of the Sun and Moon, Creator of the sea and the dry land, Maker of the majesty of the heavens and the earth, and of that which is visible and that which is invisible; O Maker of the universe, be Thou my God. I place my trust in Thee, and from this day forth I will place my trust in no other save Thyself.
And then there appeared unto him a chariot of fire which blazed, and Abraham was afraid, and fell on his face on the ground; and God said unto him:
Fear thou not, stand upright.
On the day of the birth of Abraham the house shone with a bright light. Many people fell down, and there was a cry in a loud voice, which said, “Woe is me! Woe is me! For he who shall crush my kingdom hath been born.” And he who cried out wept, and described the events which should take place, saying, “It is he who shall burn down my abode.” And there were among the people certain men who said, “Kill this child forthwith,” and those who spake thus knew well that grace would be given to Abraham. And God set mercy in the heart of the father of Abraham, and he said to the Satans, “Whence come ye, O ye who tell me that I should kill my son who is a gracious gift of God?” And he reared the child . . . . . And Abraham was circumcised by the hand of Gabriel and Michael, who helped him. [From the Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth, ed. Perruchon.]
Abraham and Melchisedek
And at that time Abraham had no son, because Sגrג was barren.
And when he returned from the battle of the kings, the agency of God called him, and he crossed the mountain of Yגbhפs (Jebus?), and Melchisedek, the king of Shגlמm, the priest of the Most High God, 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 [Fol. 25b, col. 1] 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 eighty-six years old Ishmael was born to him by Hגghגr, the Egyptian woman, whom Pharaoh had given to Sגrג as a handmaiden. Now Sגrג was the sister of Abraham on the father’s side, because Terah took two women to wife. When Yגwn, the mother of Abraham, died, Terah took to wife a woman whose name was “Naharyath” (or Shalmath, or Tona, or Tahdif), and of her Sגrג 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” (Gen. xx. 2, 5).
The Birth of Isaac.
And Abraham was ninety-nine [Fol. 25b, col. 2] years old when God went into his house and gave Sגrג a son, and he was one hundred years old when Isaac was born to him. And Isaac was thirteen years old when his father took him and went up to the mountain of Yגbhפs (Jebus) to Melchisedek, the priest of God, the Most High. Now Mount Yגbhפs is the mountain of the Amפrגyך (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 Karkaftג, and Gefמftג (Gabbatha). 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 [Fol. 26a, col. 1], and the redemption of our father Adam. The tree (i.e. thicket) 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 [fore]saw 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 (John viii. 56).
Abraham saw the day of the redemption [Fol. 26a, col. 2] 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 Gגdhגr.
ֲmarphמl, (Amraphel), king of Sen`גr.
Arioch, king of Dגlגsגr (sic).
Kardla`mar (Chedorlaomer), king of Elam.
Tar`מl (Tidal), king of the Gמlגyך.
Bגrג (Bera), king of Sodom.
Barshג (Birsha), king of Gomorrah.
Shךnגbh (Shinab), king of Adhגmגh.
Shamג`ir (Shemeber), king of Zeboim.
Salגkh, king of Bגlג`.
Tגbhמk, king of Damascus.
Baktפr, king of the desert.
These twelve kings gathered together and came to Melchisedek, king of Shגlim [Fol. 26b, col. 1], the priest of the Most High God. 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 Mגghפgh, 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.”
Melchisedek
Now, as concerning what the Apostle said, “there was no beginning to his days, and no end to his life” (Heb. vii. 3) [Fol. 26b, col. 2], it has been thought by simple folk that he was not a man at all, and in their error they have said concerning him that he was God. God forbid that there should have been no beginning to his days or end to his life. [The Apostle spake thus] because when Shem, the son of Noah, took away Melchisedek from his parents, no word is said as to how old he was when he went up from the East, and it is not said how old he was at the time of his departure from this world. Now, he was the son of Mגlגkh, the son of Arpakhshar, the son of Shem, and he was not the son of one of the Patriarchs. And the Apostle said that none of his father’s family had ever ministered at the altar (Heb. vii. 6). The name of his father is not written in the genealogies, because Matthew and Luke, the Evangelists [only] wrote down the [names of the] Fathers [in chief, i.e. Patriarchs]; and for this reason neither the name of his father [Fol. 27a, col. 1], nor the name of his mother, is known. The Apostle did not say that he had no parents, but [only] that they were not written down in Matthew and Luke.
Kmrפs
And in the one hundredth year [of the life] of Abraham there was a king in the East whose name was “Kmrפs.” He built Shemesht (Samosata), after the name of his son Shemeshtפ, and Klawdמya (Claudias), after the name of his daughter Kגlפdh, and Pמrמn after the name of his son Pפrפn.
Nimrod founds Nisibis, Harrגn and Edessa
And in the fiftieth year of [the life of] Reu, Nimrod went up and built Nisibis, and Edessa, and Harrגn, which is Edessa. And Harrגnמth, the wife of Dגsגn, the priest of the mountain, surrounded it with a wall, and the people of Harrגn made a statue of her and worshipped her. And Baltמn, who was given to Tamzג (Tammuz) now because B`ךlshemמn loved her, Tammuz fled before him and set fire to Harrגn and burned it.
The Death of Sגrג
And when Sגrג, the wife of Abraham, died, Abraham took to wife Kentפrג [Fol. 27a, col. 2], the daughter of Baktפr, the king of the desert. And there were born unto him by her Zamrגn, and Yakshגn, and Mגdhגn, and Medhyגn, and Ashbגk, and Shפh. [See Gen. xxv. 1, 2; 1 Chron. i. 32. A marginal note in the Syriac MS. says, "these sons of Kentפrג are called sons of Daran by the prophet."] And from these are sprung the Arabs.
Isaac and Rebecca
And when Isaac was forty years old, Eliezer, a son of the house of Abraham, went down and brought Rabkג (Rebecca) from the east, and Isaac took her to wife. And when Abraham died Isaac buried him by the side of Sגrג.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iv. 4), Abraham was 175 years old when he died, and Isaac and Ishmael buried him. Rebecca was the daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean, a native of the town of Arגch (Erech?).]
And when Isaac was sixty 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 thy womb, and two peoples shall be removed from thy loins, that is to say, shall go forth from thy womb. One nation shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall be in subjection to the younger, that is to say, Esau [Fol. 27b, col. 1] shall be in subjection to Jacob.
The founding of Jericho
And in the sixty-seventh 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 Mesrמn (Mizraim), the king of the Egyptians, had founded Jericho in olden time. And Ishmael made a mill of the hands (i.e. a handmill) in the desert, a mill of slavery (i.e. a mill to be worked by, slaves).
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 [Fol. 27b, col. 2] 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 [Fol. 28a, col. 1] the top of the ladder symbolized Christ, Who stood on the Cross that He might go down to redeem us.
[Note: The Power of God which was upon the top of the ladder was [a type of] the manifestation of God the Word in pure flesh of the formation of Adam. The place in which it appeared was a type of the Church; the stone under his head, which he set up for an altar, was a type of the altar; and the oil which he poured out upon it was like the holy oil wherewith they anoint the altar. Book of the Bee (chapter xxvii).]
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” [Fol. 28a, col. 2] the blessed Jacob indicated (or, depicted) baptism, which was covered over (i.e. hidden) 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. [Fol. 28b, col. 1.] 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 (i.e. veil) 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 [Fol. 28b, col. 2].
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 Harrגn, 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 Sגrג. Seven years later Rebecca died, and was buried with Abraham, and Isaac, and Sגrג; and Rachel died and was buried with them.
And Judah, the son of Jacob, took unto himself to wife Sh` (Shuah), the Canaanitess [Fol. 29a, col. 1], 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, `־r (Er), װnגn, and Shךlג (Shelah). And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, Tגmגr, and he consorted with her unnaturally, and God put him to death. And Judah gave Tגmגr to װnגn, and as soon as his seed became available for Tגmגr 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 [Fol. 29a, col. 2] of the Fathers. And God made Tגmגr go out to the roadside, and Judah lay with her in the passion of fornication, and she conceived and brought forth Peres (Pharez) 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 Kגhגth. And the wise physicians of Pharaoh embalmed him, and Joseph took him up [to Canaan] and buried him with Abraham and Isaac his father.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iv. 5), Jacob lived in Egypt fourteen years, and died there at the age of 157 years, when Joseph was 53 years old.]
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” [Fol. 29b, col. 1]. Now fix thine attention on these generations, and how they became mixed together. [When] they went forth from Egypt: Judah begot Pharez, Pharez begot Hesrפn (Hezron), Hezron begot ֲrגm (Rגm, 1 Chron. ii. 9), ֲrגm begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshפn (Nahson), and Nahshפn was he who became prince of Judah. And Amminadab gave the sister of Nahshפn to `־r (so in the text, but read Eleazar), the son of Aaron, the priest; of her was born Phinehas, the great priest, who prayed “and the plague was stayed” (Num. xxv. 7, 8; Ps. cvi. 30). Behold, I have shown thee that from Amminadab, the priesthood of the children of Israel was transmitted by the sister of Nahshפn, and the kingdom by Nahshפn her brother. Observe also that the priesthood and the kingdom were transmitted by Judah to the children of Israel.
And Nahshפn begot Shמlג, that is to say, Salmפn, and Shמlג begot Boaz. Observe now that the kingdom went forth from Boaz and Ruth [Fol. 29b, col. 2], 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`mג (Naamah, 1 Kings xiv. 21), the Ammonitess, another daughter of Lot, whom Solomon took to wife [Fol. 30a, col. 1], 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.
[Note: from the Kebra Nagast, chapter lxvii: And the Angel of God went down to Solomon and said unto him:
From being a wise man thou hast turned thyself into a fool, and from being a rich man thou hast turned thyself into a poor man, and from being a king thou hast turned thyself into a man of no account, through transgressing the commandment of God. And the beginning of thy evil was the taking of many wives by thee, for through this thou didst transgress His Law, and His decree, and the ordinance of God which Moses wrote and gave to you, to Israel, that ye should not marry wives from alien peoples, but only from your kinsfolk and the house of your fathers, that your seed might be pure and holy, and that God might dwell with you. But thou didst hold lightly the Law of God, thinking that thou wast wiser than God, and that thou wouldst get very many male children. But the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men, and he hath only given thee three sons: the one who carried off thy glory into an alien land, and made the habitation of God to be in Ethiopia; the one who is lame of foot, who shall sit upon thy throne for the people of Israel, the son of the kin of thy kin from Tarbגna, of the house of Judah; and the one who is the son of a Greek woman, a handmaiden, who in the last days shall destroy Rehoboam and all thy kin of Israel; and this land shall be his because he believeth in Him that shall come, the Saviour.]
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 Nפn, and Caleb, the son of Yפfannג (Jephunneh). These were born in Egypt.
[Note: Moses was the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi; his mother's name was Yokגbגr (Jochebed). Book of the Bee (chapter xxix).]
Moses
And when Moses was born he was cast into the river, and Shמpפr (in Ethiopic, Sephurah), the Egyptian woman, the daughter of Pharaoh, took him up, and he lived in the house of Pharaoh for forty years. And then [Fol. 30a, col. 2] he killed Pethkפm, the Egyptian, the chief of the bakers of Pharaoh. Now this was noised abroad in the house of Pharaoh, after Pharaoh’s daughter Makrמ, who was called “Shמpפr Mesrךn (i.e. “Trumpet of Egypt”), was dead, and Moses was afraid, and he fled to Midian, to Reuel, the Cushite, the priest of Midian.
[Note: Moses was a beautiful child, and was called "Pantמl" (Paltמךl?), and "Amlגkyג," and the Egyptians used to call him the "Shakwמthג of Pharaoh's daughter." Various names are given to this princess, e.g. Makrמ, Mary, Shמpפr, Tharmesמs, Tarmthמsג; Bar Hebraeus says she was the daughter of Amnpthמs, or Amnpגthמפs. Book of the Bee (chapter xxix).]
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 Nפn, 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 [Fol. 30b, col. 1] of the priest of Midian forty 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.
[Note: From Adam until the death of Moses was 3,868 years. Book of the Bee (chapter xxx). MOSES' ROD.-Adam cut the rod from a branch of the Tree of Good and Evil which grew in Paradise, and he used it as a staff all his life. It passed from hand to hand to Abraham, who smashed his father's idols with it. It went with him to Egypt, and when it came to Jacob he used it as a shepherd's crook. Judah received it and gave it to Tamar, and then an angel laid it up in the Cave of Treasures until Midian was built. An angel showed Jethro the Cave, and he took the rod from it, and from him it went of its own free will to Moses. The rod became a serpent, and it swallowed up the rod of Pפsdמ, the sorceress. The rod was taken unto the promised land by Joshua, and Phineas hid it in the dust at the gate of Jerusalem, where it remained until Christ showed it to Joseph, who took it to Egypt and brought it back to Nazareth. It passed to James, the brother of our Lord, but was stolen by Judas Iscariot, who gave it to the Jews who were crucifying our Lord; to them it "became a judgment and a fall." Book of the Bee (chapter xxx).]
The Successors of Moses
And Joshua, the son of Nפn, was the governor of the children of Israel for twenty-seven years. And after the death of Joshua, the son of Nפn, Kshגn, the Wicked (Chushanrishathayim), was lord over the people for eighty years.
And `Athnגמl (Othniel), 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 Ahפr (Ehud), 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.
(Note: See Book of Adam, IV, chapter vii.)
[The Fifth Thousand Years. From The Twenty-Sixth Year Of Ehud's Life To The Second Year Of The Reign Of Cyrus
Nגbhמn (Jabin), who was dried up in body, ruled twenty years.
Deborah and Barak [ruled them] forty years.
The children [Fol. 30b, col. 2] 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.
Tla` (Tola), the son of Puah [ruled them] twenty-three years.
Yגמr, 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 (Jephthah), the man who offered up his daughter as a sacrifice, and he ruled them six years.
Abhמsגn (Ibzan of Bethlehem), who is Nahshפn (sic), ruled them seven years.
Alפn (Elon), who was from Zebulon, ruled them ten years.
`Abhrפn (Abdon, the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite) 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 [Fol. 31a, col. 1] 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 Glyגdh (Goliath), 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.
[Note: The story of David and Goliath finds an interesting parallel in the history of Sanehat as found in an Egyptian papyrus in the Royal Library at Berlin. Sanehat fled from Egypt as the result of some political trouble, and made his way into Palestine, where he settled down and prospered, and became a shךkh of great influence and importance. Then a certain man of Thennu went to Sanehat's tent and reviled him, and challenged him to fight him. This man was a mighty warrior, and was famed throughout the country for his strength, and valour, and success. During the following night Sanehat made ready his dagger, and spear, and bow, and at daybreak all the tribes came to the place to witness the great duel which was to take place. The man of Thennu grasped his shield and his battle-axe, and then began to hurl his spears at Sanehat, but they either went wide or Sanehat managed in some way to avoid them; in any case, they failed to touch him. When the man of Thennu saw this, he lost his temper, and made a rush at Sanehat, meaning to close with him and despatch him with his battle-axe. But as he came on in his mad rage Sanehat hurled his short javelin at his head, and it pierced his neck and remained fast in it. The man of Thennu uttered a prolonged shriek and then fell headlong on the ground, face downwards. Sanehat went to him, and, taking his foe's weapons from him, killed him with them. Then he took his stand on the dead body, and shouted the cry of victory, and the onlookers rejoiced in his triumph and applauded him.]
David reigned over [Fol. 31a, col. 2] 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 (i.e. returned). It was he who built Tadmor (Palmyra) in the wilderness, and he carried out there great and wonderful works. And when Solomon passed the borders of the mountain which is called Sג`ךr, he found there the altar which Pמפrzגkhגr, and Pמפrzגnגi, and Neznגdhפr had built. These were they whom Nimrod, the giant, sent to Balaam, the priest of the Mountain of Sג`ךr, 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 “Nמגpפlמs” (more correctly, Heliopolis) [Fol. 31b, col. 1], that is to say, “City of the Sun.” And Solomon also built Aradus (Arvad) 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.
[Note: Solomon reigned over his large kingdom with the greatest wisdom ever found. But he did not keep his soul; but inclined his heart to the love of women, and forsook God, Who had created him and given him his kingdom. And he died in his denial of Him, and in his sins. Book of Adam (iv. 8.)]
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 (i.e. the murex) coming up out of the [Fol. 31b, col. 2] 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 (i.e. a kafמyah or head-cloth), 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 [Fol. 32a, col. 1], 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.
[Note: Solomon was seduced into idolatry by his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh:
One day she beautified and scented herself for him, and she behaved herself haughtily towards him, and treated him disdainfully. And he said unto her, 'What shall I do? Thou hast made thy face evil towards me, and thy regard towards me is not as it was formerly, and thy beautiful form is not as enticing as usual. Ask me, and I will give thee whatsoever thou wishest, and I will perform it for thee, so that thou mayest make thy face gracious towards me as formerly'; but she held her peace and answered him never a word. And he repeated to her the words that he would do whatsoever she wished. And she said unto him, 'Swear to me by the God of Israel that thou wilt not play me false.' And he swore to her that he would give her whatsoever she asked for, and that he would do for her everything she told him. And she tied a scarlet thread on the middle of the door of [the house of] her gods, and she brought three locusts and set them in the house of her gods. And she said unto Solomon, ‘Come to me without breaking the scarlet thread, bend thyself and kill these locusts before me, and pull out their necks,’ and he did so. And she said unto him, ‘I will henceforward do thy will, for thou hast sacrificed to my gods and hast worshipped them.’ Now he had done this because of his oath, so that he might not break his oath which she had made him to swear, even though he knew that it was an offence (or, sin) to enter into the house of her gods. Kebra Nagast (chapter lxiv).]
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 [Fol. 32a, col. 2] 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, Melkג, the mother of `Abhd-Shגlפm, 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 [Fol. 32b, col. 1]. And he drove them (i.e. the idolators) out of his palace (or, kingdom), 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.
[Note: The Book of Adam (iv. 8) says that Asaph (i.e. Asa) took his mother Anna, who was an adulteress, and cast her down from the roof of her house, and she died. Zerah, who is called Eleazar, is described as a "black king" who reigned at Endena. No mention of Zerah the Cushite has hitherto been found in the cuneiform or hieroglyphic inscriptions.]
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 `Azפbhג (Azuba?), the daughter of Shגlגh. And Jehosaphat died in his righteousness.
Joram reigned after him, and he was thirty-two years old [Fol. 32b, col. 2] 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.
[Note: In the Book of Adam he is called Aram. Zambri made war upon him, and he died denying God.]
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 [Athaliah] 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 Yפshba` (Jehosheba), the daughter of Joram, the son of Jehosaphat, carried away secretly and hid [Fol. 33a, col. 1] 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 [Fol. 33a, col. 2] 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 (i.e. Joash) 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 Sbhג (Zibea) 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 Yגhפ`adhגn (Joadan). And Amaziah died, and [Fol. 33b, col. 1] Uzziah his son reigned after him.
Uzziah was sixteen years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned fifty (sic) years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was ־khגnyג (Jechalia). 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 (Azariah), 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 ־rshג (Jerusa), 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 [Fol. 33b, col. 2]; 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 װrמ [Fol. 34a, col. 1] the priest, and he taught them the laws. And Ahaz died and Hezekiah his son reigned after him.
[Note: The Assyrian king who conquered Ahaz was Tiglath Pileser III, who reigned from 745-727 B.C. In a list of the kings in the British Museum which were his tributaries we find-Ia-u-kha-zi (matu) Ia-u-da-ai (Ahaz [king of] the country of the Judeans.)(Brit. Mus. K. 2751.) Tiglath Pileser’s Babylonian name was PU-LU, which we find in the Bible under the form of “Pul.” (See II Kings xv. 29; xvi. 7, 10; and I Chron. v. 26.)]
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 (Abhi?), 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.
[Note: Tiglath Pileser III having conquered Syria carried away into captivity the Israelitish tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. His successor Shelmaneser V, (727-722 B.C.) attacked Hosea, king of Israel, and conquered him and, because he was an ally of the king of Egypt, carried him off into captivity.]
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.
[Note: Sennacherib, king of Assyria, 705-681 B.C., having brought Padi from Jerusalem and made him king of Ekron, then marched on to attack.
He captured 46 of Hezekiah's strongholds, and brought out from them 200,150 people, and horses, mules, asses, camels, oxen, and innumerable sheep. He then shut up Hezekiah like a caged bird in "Jerusalem the city of his sovereignty."
Hezekiah's soldiers deserted, and he sent his envoy to Nineveh to pay his tribute to Sennacherib, viz. 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver, precious stones, eye-paint, couches and chairs of ivory, hides, tusks, precious woods, and his daughters with their attendants and musicians.]
And Hezekiah became sick unto death [Fol. 34a, col. 2], 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 [Fol. 34b, col. 1] 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 Habhsמbhגh (Hephziba). 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 [Fol. 34b, col. 2] 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 Yadhמdhג (Jedida), the daughter of Azariah (Adaja?), 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” (i.e. Necho II) killed him, and Jehoahaz his son reigned after him.
[Note: Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt 609-593 B.C., was the second king of the XXVlth Dynasty. His names as "King of the South and North" and "Son of Ra" are Uhem-a {dot-over} b-R¯a and N-Ka-u.]
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 Hamtגl, the daughter of [Fol. 35a, col. 1] Jeremiah from Lebhnג. 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 (i.e. command) 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 [Fol. 35a, col. 2] years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Zebhמdhג, the daughter of Pedגyג, 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 Neheshtג, the daughter of Elyגthגn (Elnathan?), from Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil before the [Fol. 35b, col. 1] 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 Methanyג, 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 Hamtגl, 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 [Fol. 35b, col. 2] Lord was (i.e. fell 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 (i.e. besieged) until the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. And the city was rent open (i.e. its wall was breached), 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 (Riblah), 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 [Fol. 36a, col. 1]. 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 (or dry well). 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 r 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 (i.e. the Patriarchs) [Fol. 36a, col. 2], 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 Glמth, the daughter of Eliakim, and he begot by her in Babel Shalathiel (Salathiel); and Jehoiachin died in Babel. And Salathiel took to wife Hetbath, the daughter of Halkגnג, and he begot by her Zrbגbhel (Zerubbabel), 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. [A reproduction of a sculptured relief of Cyrus is given on Plate I. The official account of his conquest of Babylon is found on a baked clay cylinder now in the British Museum. See Plate II.]
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 [Fol. 36b, col. 1] 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 [re]build 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” (Isa. xliv. 28; xlv. 1). 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 Yפzגdגk, 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.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iv. 10) the manuscripts and the library of the Temple were burnt. Simeon begged the commander to give him the ruins of the library, and he went in and collected the ashes of the books and put them into a pot, which he placed in a vault. He filled a censer with coals and incense, and, having lighted the fire, he set the censer over the place where the ashes of the books lay. The fire continued to burn until Ezra came to the vault, and the smoke of the incense was rising from the censer. He spread his hands thrice over the ashes of the books, and God gave him the spirt of prophecy, and he rewrote the Books of the Law and 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 Yפzגdגk, was high-priest, and Ezra was the scribe of the Law and the Prophets. And the children of Israel [Fol. 37a, col. 1] 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 [re]building of the Temple in the days of Zerubbabel, and Joshua, the son of Yפzגdפk, and Ezra the scribe, and the building thereof was finished in six and forty years, even as it is written in the holy Gospel (John ii. 19).
The genealogies of the later Israelites
Now the genealogy of the tribes (or, families) was lost by [Fol. 37a, col. 2] 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 Yפzגdגk, the priest, and begot by her Eliakim.
Eliakim took to wife Hגlגbh, the daughter of Dפrnמbh, and begot by her `Azפr.
`Azפr took to wife Yalpath, the daughter of Hazפr, and begot by her Zadok.
Zadok took to wife Kaltמn, the daughter of Dפrnibh, and begot by her Akhמn.
Akhמn took to wife Heskath, the daughter of Ta`מl, and begot by her Eliud.
Eliud took to wife Beshtמn, the daughter of [Fol. 37b, col. 1] Hasגl, and begot by her Eleazar.
Eleazar took to wife Dמbath, the daughter of Tפlגh, and begot by her Mגtthגn.
Mגtthגn took to wife Sebhrath, the daughter of Phinehas, and begot by her two sons at one conception, Jacob and Yפnגkhמr.
Jacob took to wife Hadbhמth, the daughter of Eleazur, and begot by her Joseph.
Yפnakhמr took Dמnג, the daughter of Pגkפdh, 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 [Fol. 37b, col. 2] 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 [IV. Epiphanes], 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 [Fol. 38a, col. 1] 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 (or, ancestors) 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. [Here the text is faulty and incomplete.] 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 [Fol. 38a, col. 2], nor whose daughter she was. Now each divine doctor (or, 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 Nגmפsגyג (Nemesius?) 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 [Fol. 38b, col. 1] 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:
Adam begot Seth.
Seth took to wife Kelמmath, who was born with Abel, and begot by her Enos.
Enos took to wife Hannג, the daughter of Jubal, the daughter of Hפh, the daughter of Seth, and begot by her Cainan.
Cainan took to wife Peryath, the daughter of Kפtn, the daughter of Yarbגl, and begot by her Mahlגlגמl.
Mahlגlגמl took to wife Sehatpar, the daughter of Enos, and begot by her Yגrךd (Jared).
Jared took to wife Zebhמdhג, the daughter of Kuhlפn, the daughter of Kenan, and begot by her Enoch.
Enoch took to wife Zadhkמn, the daughter of Tפpמh, the daughter of Mahlגlגמl, and begot by her Methuselah.
Methuselah took to wife Sגkhth, the daughter of Sפkhמn, and begot by her Lamech.
Lamech took to wife Kמpגr, the daughter of Tthגth, the daughter of Methuselah, and begot by her Noah.
Noah took to wife Haykגl, the daughter of Nams, and he begot by her Shem, Ham and Japhet.
Shem begot Arpakhshar (Arphaxad) .
Arphaxad begot Shגlגh (Salah).
Salah begot ֲbhגr (Eber).
Eber begot Pגlגg (Peleg) .
Peleg begot Ar`פ (Reu) .
Reu begot Sגrפgh (Serug) .
Serug took to wife Kגhגl, the daughter of Peleg, who begot Nגhפr.
Nגhפr took to wife Napsh (Yapsh?), the daughter of Reu, and begot Tarah (Terah).
Terah took two wives, Yפnג and Salmth; by Yפnג he begot Abraham, and by Salmth he begot Sגrג (Sarah) [Fol. 39a, col. 1].
Abraham took to wife Sarah and begot Isaac.
Isaac took to wife Rebecca and begot Jacob.
Jacob took to wife Leah and begot Judah.
Judah begot Pars (Pharez) by Tamar.
Pharez begot Hezron.
Hezron begot Aram.
Aram begot Amminadab.
Amminadab begot Nahshפn (Nahasson).
Nahasson begot Salmon.
Salmon begot Boaz, by Rahab.
Boaz took to wife Ruth, the daughter of Lot, and begot Obed.
Obed begot Jesse.
Jesse begot David the king.
David took to wife Bathsheba, and begot by her Solomon.
Solomon begot Rehoboam.
Rehoboam begot Abijah.
Abijah begot Asa.
Asa begot Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat begot Joram [Fol. 39a, col. 2].
Joram begot Ahaziah.
Ahaziah begot Joash.
Joash begot Amaziah.
Amaziah begot Uzziah.
Uzziah begot Jotham.
Jotham begot Ahaz.
Ahaz begot Hezekiah.
Hezekiah begot Manasseh.
Manasseh begot Amon.
Amon begot Josiah.
Josiah begot Jehoiakim.
Jehoiakim begot Jehoiachin.
Jehoiachin begot Salathiel.
Salathiel begot Nedabijah (sic).
Nedabijah begot Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel begot Abiud.
Abiud begot Eliakim.
Eliakim begot Azor.
Azor begot Zadok.
Zadok begot Achin.
Achin begot Eliud.
Eliud begot Eleazar.
Eleazar begot Mגtthan.
Mגtthan took to wife Sabhrath, the daughter of Phinehas, and begot Jacob and Yפnגkhמr.
Jacob took to wife Hadhbhמth, the daughter of Eleazar, and begot Joseph, the betrothed of Mary [Fol. 39b, col. 1].
Yפnגkhמr took to wife Dמnג, that is to say, Hannג, the daughter of Pגkפdh, 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.
[Note: An alternative genealogy is given in the Book of the Bee (chapter xxxiii), and reads: David begot Nathan, Nathan begot Mattatha, Mattatha begot Mani, Mani begot Melea, Melea begot Eliakim, Eliakim begot Jonam, Jonam begot Levi. [Add Joseph, Juda and Simeon from Luke iii. 19, 20.] Levi begot Mattמtha, Mattמtha begot Jorim, Jorim begot Eliezer, Eliezer begot Jose, Jose begot Er. Er begot Elmodad, Elmodad begot Cosam, Cosam begot Addi, Addi begot Melchi, Melchi begot Neri, Neri begot Salathiel, Salathiel begot Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel begot Rhesa, Rhesa begot Johannan, Johannan begot Juda, Juda begot Joseph, Joseph begot Semei, Semei begot Mattatha, Mattatha begot Maath, Maath begot Nagge, Nagge begot Esli, Esli begot Nahum, Nahum begot Amos, Amos begot Mattמtha, Mattמtha begot Joseph, Joseph begot Janni, Janni begot Melchi, Melchi begot Levi, Levi begot Matthat, Matthat begot Heli, Heli begot Joseph.]
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 [Fol. 39b, col. 2] 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.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iv. 14), Daniel said, "After seven weeks Christ shall come, and shall be put to death." Now seven weeks are 490 years, for a great week contains 70 years. But on that the prophet said, "after seven years," he pointed to the [remaining] ten [of the 500 years]. Daniel did not say, “Christ shall come at the end of seven weeks,” but “after seven weeks, and He shall be put to death.”]
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 [Fol. 40a, col. 1], 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 [Fol. 40a, col. 2], 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 (or, importance) 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 [Fol. 40b, col. 1] “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.
[Note: As touching the nature of that star, whether it was a star in its nature, or in appearance only, it is right to know that it was not of the other stars, but a secret power which appeared like a star; for all the other stars that are in the firmament, and the sun and moon, perform their course from east to west. This one, however, made its course from north to south, for Palestine lies thus, over against Persia. This star was not seen by them at night only, but also during the day, and at noon; and it was seen at the time when the sun is particularly strong, because it was not one of the stars. Now the moon is stronger in its light than all the stars, but it is immediately quenched and its light dissipated by one small ray of the sun. But this star overcame even the beams of the sun by the intensity of its light. Sometimes it appeared, and sometimes it was hidden entirely. It guided the Magi as far as Palestine. . . . . . This was not an ordinary movement of the stars, but a rational power. Moreover, it had no fixed path. It did not remain always in the height of heaven, but sometimes it came down, and sometimes it mounted up. Book of the Bee (chapter xxxviii).]
The Signs of the Zodiac
[The names of the Babylonian Signs of the Zodiac were:--
(amel) Agru
Kakkab u Alap shame
Re`u kinu shame u
Tu´ame rabuti
AL.LUL (Shittu?)
Kalbu rabu
Shiru
Zibanitum
Akrabu
PA-BIL-SAG
SUHUR.MASH
Gula
DILGANU u Rikis nuni
(The sign placed before each name is the determinative for star.)
Meaning of the name. Modern equivalent. Name of month.
1 The Labourer Goat Nisannu
2 Bull Airu
3 The Faithful Shepherd of heaven and the Great Twins Twins Simanu
4 The Tortoise Crab Duuzu
5 The Great Dog (Lion) Lion Abu
6 Virgin with ear of corn Virgin Ululu
7 Scales Tashritum
8 The Scorpion Scorpion Arah shamna
9 Enurta (the god) Bow Kislimu
10 The Goat-fish Capricornus Tebetum
11 The Great Star Water-Bearer Shabatu
12 The star . . . and the Band of Fishes The Fishes Addaru
On the first Zodiac which was set up by Tiגmat, the Evil one, see The Babylonian Legends of the Creation, London, 1921, page 17 (British Museum publication.)]
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 Nפdh, 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 [Fol. 40b, col. 2] 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:
Hפrmמzdadh of Mגkhפzdמ, king of Persia, who was called “King of Kings,” and dwelt in Lower ֲdhפrghמn.
־zgarad (Yazdegerd), the king of Sגbhג.
Perפzגdh, the king of Sheba, which is in the East.
[Note: In the Book of Adam (iv. 15) the kings are called Hor, king of Persia, Basantar, king of Saba, and Karsundas, king of the East. According to the Book of the Bee (chapter xxxix), the Magi were twelve in number, and their names were:
These four brought gold:
Zarwגndגd, the son of Artabגn.
Hפrmמzdגd, the son of Sמtגrk (Santarפk).
Gshnגsגph (Gushnasp), the son of Gndaphar.
Arshakh, the son of Mמhגrפk.
These four brought myrrh:
Zarwגndגd, the son of Wגrzwגd.
־ryגhפ, the son of Kesro (Khusrau).
Artahshesht, the son of Holמtמ.
Ashtפn`גbפdגn, the son of Shמshrפn.
These four brought frankincense:
Mehגrפk, the son of Hhגm.
Ahshiresh, the son of Hasbגn.
Sardגlגh, the son of Baladגn.
Merפdגch, the son of Beldarגn.]
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 [Fol. 41a, col. 1] 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 Cזsar, 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 [Fol. 41a, col. 2]. 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 [Fol. 41b, col. 1], 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 [Fol. 41b, col. 2] 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.
[Note: In addition to the gold, frankincense and myrrh which the Magi brought, they laid before the Child as an offering thirty zzך of silver. Their weight was according to the weight of the sanctuary, but they were equal to six hundred pieces according to the weight of the country. (The Syriac zzך = the Arabic dirham and the Greek drachme.) The thirty pieces were made by Terah, who gave them to Abraham, who gave them to Isaac. With them Isaac bought a village, and the man who received them took them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh sent them to David as a contribution towards the building of the Temple, and Solomon placed them round the door of the altar. Nebuchadnezzar carried them away to Babylon, and gave them to certain royal Persian hostages, who took them to Persia and gave them to their parents. When the Magi set out for Jerusalem they took the thirty pieces with their other offerings out with them they bought from certain shepherds at Edessa "the garment without seam," which an angel had given to them. Abgar, king of Edessa, took the thirty pieces and the garment from the shepherds, and sent them to Christ. Christ kept the garment and sent the thirty pieces to the Jewish treasury. The priests gave them to Judas Iscariot for betraying our Lord, but he repented and took them back to the priests. After Judas hanged himself the priests purchased a burial ground for strangers with the thirty pieces (Book of the Bee, chapter xliv) . Another legend says that Joseph had the thirty pieces, and that with them he bought spices to embalm Jacob. They passed into the possession of the Queen of Sheba, who gave them to Solomon (Sandeys, Christmas Carols, London, 1883, page lxxxiii).]
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 (or imitated) 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 [Fol. 42a, col. 1] 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 Perפzdhגdh 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’(Isa. ix. 6). 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’” (Isa. vii. 14). And because He became like a man, and the angels were coming down [Fol. 42a, col. 2] 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 [Fol. 42b, col. 1]. “From Egypt I called my Son” (Hos. xi. 1). 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 Lord rideth on a swift cloud, and entereth Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be broken before Him” (Isa. xix. 1).
[Note: When Joseph and Mary and the Child reached the gate of the city of Hermopolis, there were by the two buttresses of the gate two figures of brass that had been made by the sages and philosophers; and they spoke like men. When our Lord entered Egypt these two figures cried out with a loud voice, saying, "A great king has come into Egypt." Book of the Bee (chapter xl.)]
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 [Fol. 42b, col. 2] 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-Yפzגdhגk, 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.
And in the days of Reu the Mesrגyך, who are the Egyptians, appointed their first king; his name was Puntos, and he reigned over them sixty-eight years. And in the days of Reu a king reigned in Shebhג (Sגba), and in Ophir, and in Havilah. And there reigned in Sגba sixty of the daughters of Sגba. And for many years women reigned in Sגba until the kingdom of Solomon, the son of David. And the children of Ophir, that is, Send (Scindia?), appointed to be their [Fol. 23a, col. 1] 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 Havמl, who built Havilah, that is, Hend (India?).
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iii. 23), the first king of Egypt was called Yanuf; he built Memphis, that is, Misr. Sasen reigned in Sגba and built the city of Sגba, the people of which are called "Sabeans." Bahlul, builder of Bahlu, reigned over Lebensa in India. The first king of Sגba is said to have been Menyelek I, the son of Solomon king of Mael and Mגkeda, Queen of Sheba.]
And Reu died, being two hundred and thirty-nine years old, and Serug his son, and Nגhפr and Tarah (Terah) buried him in Aor`מn, the city which he built after his own name.
And Serug lived thirty years and begot Nגhפr, and all the days of his life were two hundred and thirty 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 [Fol. 23a, col. 2] 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 two hundred and thirty years old, and Nגhפr, and Tarah [Fol. 23b, col. 1], and Abraham his sons, buried him in Sarghמn, the city which he built after his own name.
And Nגhפr was twenty-nine years old when he begot Terah. And in the days of Nגhפr, in the seventieth year of his life, when God 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 Nגhפr died when he was one hundred and forty-seven years old, and Terah his son and Abraham buried him. Terah was seventy-five years old when he begot Abraham.
[Note: Nגhפr was the son of Serug by his wife Melka, and he married Iyosaka, the daughter of Kheber, the Chaldean, and she became the mother of Terah. The "Wind Flood" came upon the earth in the days of Nגhפr. God opened the storehouse of the winds and whirlwinds, and they uprooted the idols and graven images, and they collected them together, and buried them under the earth, and they reared over them these mounds that are in the world. (Book of the Bee, chapter xxiii.) God sent forth winds, and the whirlwind, and earthquakes on the earth, until the idols were broken one against another. Instead of repenting, men added to their sins. Book of Adam (iii. 24.)]
And Terah was seventy-five years old when he begat Abraham. And in the days of Terah, in his ninetieth year, sorcery appeared on the earth in the city of Aפr (Ur), which Horon, the son of `Abhגr, 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 [Fol. 23b, col. 2], 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 (i.e. the son of the rich man) 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 thy little son, and slay him here as a sacrifice to me, and forthwith everything which thou hast 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.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iii. 24), the young man who ministered to the image had to sweep the ground around it, and to pour out water before it, and to burn incense. The image seems to have resembled somewhat the Ka-figure of the Egyptians, and its attendant may be regarded as the equivalent of the Ka-priest. A marginal note in the Syriac MS. of the "Cave of Treasures" in the British Museum says that the city Aפr is Erech (Warka). The "Interpreter" (i.e. Theodore), says it was Bךth Mגhפzך (Ctesiphon and Seleucia), that is, Bךth Arגmגyך, but both statements are incorrect. The city referred to is Ur, where, in recent years, excavations have been carried out by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania. (See my Babylonian Life and History, London, 1925, and the account of the excavations given at the end of the present work, page 275.)]
And in the one hundredth year of the life of Nגhפr, when God saw that the children of men were sacrificing their Sons to devils [Fol. 24a, col. 1], 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. Now to this blast of wind learned men have given the name of “Wind-Flood”; but certain who have erred have said, “These mounds existed [already] in the days of the Flood [of waters].” Now those who have said these things have erred greatly from the truth; for before the Flood [of waters] there were no idols in the earth, and it was not because of idols that the Flood came, but because of the fornication of the daughters of Cain. And, moreover, at that time there were no men on this earth, which was a waste and a desert. And our fathers were cast forth in days of old, as it were, into exile, because they were not worthy to be [Fol. 24a, col. 2] neighbours of Paradise. And through the Ark they were driven forth to the mountains of Kardפ, and from there they were scattered about throughout all the earth. For these mounds came into being because of idols, and in them are buried all the idols of that time, and all the devils also who dwell in them are in these mounds, and there is no mound which hath not devils in it.
Nimrod the fire-worshipper, and Yפntפn, son of Noah
And in the days of Nimrod, the mighty man (or giant), 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 Sמsגn, the king, found a spring of water in Drפghמn, and he made a white horse and set it over it, and those who bathed in the water used to worship the horse [Fol. 24b, col. 1]. And from that time the Persians began to worship that (sic) horse.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iii. 25), the horse was made of gold.]
And Nimrod went to Yפkdפrג of Nפdh, and when he arrived at the Lake (or Sea) of Atrגs, he found there Yפntפn, the son of Noah. [A marginal note in the Syriac MS. adds, "Noah begot this Yפntפn after the Flood, and he honoured him in many things, and sent him to the east to dwell there."] And Nimrod went down and bathed in the Lake, and he came to Yפntפn and did homage unto him. And Yפntפn said, “Thou art a king; doest thou homage unto me?” And Nimrod said unto him, “It is because of thee that I have come down here”; and he remained with him for three years. And Yפntפn taught Nimrod wisdom, and the art of revelation (divining?), and he said unto him, “Come not back again to me.”
And when Nimrod went up from the east, and began to practise the art of divining, very many men marvelled at him. And when ־dhגshמr (Ardeshir?), the priest who ministered to the fire that ascended from the earth, saw that Nimrod was practising these exalted courses, he entreated the devil, who appeared in connection with that fire, to teach him [Fol. 24b, col. 2] 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 hath known carnally his mother, and his daughter, and his sister.” And ־dhגshמr 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 ־dhגshמr, 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 [Fol. 25a, col. 1] by Yפntפn, none of the orthodox doctors have suppressed it; nay, they have even practised it. Now the Persians call it “Gelyגnג ” (i.e. “Revelation”) and the Romans “Estrפmמפn” (i.e. “Astronomy”). But that [knowledge] which the Magians have, viz. astrology, is sorcery and the teaching of devils. There are some who say that it doth indeed [teach concerning] luck, and happenings (i.e. future events), and fate, but these are in error. Now Nimrod builded strong cities in the east, Babel, and Nineveh, and Rגsגn (Rגs `Ain), and Selמk: (Seleucia), and Ctesiphon, and ֲdhפrbaighגn; and he made three fortresses.
The History of Abraham
And Terah, the father of Abraham, lived two hundred and fifty years, and he died, and Abraham and Lot buried him in Hגrrגn. And there God spoke unto Abraham, and said unto him:
Get thee forth from thy land, and from among thy people, and come to the land which I will show thee.
And Abraham took his household, Sגrג his wife [Fol. 25a, col. 2], and Lot, his brother’s son, and he went up to the land of the Amפrגyך (Amorites); and he was seventy-five years old when he crossed the desert from the Euphrates. And he was eighty years old when he pursued the kings, and rescued Lot, his brother’s son.
[Note: When still a boy, Abraham had no belief in idols, and, according to the Kebra Nagast (chapter xiii):
When he was twelve years old his father sent him to sell idols. And Abraham said, 'These are not gods that can make deliverance'; and he took away the idols to sell even as his father had commanded him. And he said unto those unto whom he would sell them, 'Do ye wish to buy goods that cannot make deliverance, things made of wood, and stone, and iron, and brass, which the hand of an artificer hath made?' And they (the people) refused to buy the idols from Abraham he himself had defamed the images of his father.
An old tradition says that Terah made idols of mud, and it is possible that some of these may be represented by the terra-cotta figures of gods and goddesses which have been found in such large numbers in recent years at Ur and other ancient sites in Babylonia.]
And as he was returning he stepped aside from the road, and he set the images down, and looked at them, and said unto them, ‘I wonder now if ye are able to do what I ask you at this moment, and whether ye are able to give me bread to eat or water to drink?’ And none of them answered him, for they were pieces of stone and wood; and he abused them and heaped revilings upon them, and they spake never a word. And he buffeted the face of one, and kicked another with his feet, and a third he knocked over and broke to pieces with stones, and he said unto them, ‘If ye are unable to save yourselves from him that buffeteth you, and ye cannot requite with injury him that injureth you, how can ye be called “gods”? Those who worship you do so in vain, and as for myself I utterly despise you, and ye shall not be my gods.’ Then he turned his face to the East, and he stretched out his hands and said:
Be Thou my God, O Lord, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Creator of the Sun and Moon, Creator of the sea and the dry land, Maker of the majesty of the heavens and the earth, and of that which is visible and that which is invisible; O Maker of the universe, be Thou my God. I place my trust in Thee, and from this day forth I will place my trust in no other save Thyself.
And then there appeared unto him a chariot of fire which blazed, and Abraham was afraid, and fell on his face on the ground; and God said unto him:
Fear thou not, stand upright.
On the day of the birth of Abraham the house shone with a bright light. Many people fell down, and there was a cry in a loud voice, which said, “Woe is me! Woe is me! For he who shall crush my kingdom hath been born.” And he who cried out wept, and described the events which should take place, saying, “It is he who shall burn down my abode.” And there were among the people certain men who said, “Kill this child forthwith,” and those who spake thus knew well that grace would be given to Abraham. And God set mercy in the heart of the father of Abraham, and he said to the Satans, “Whence come ye, O ye who tell me that I should kill my son who is a gracious gift of God?” And he reared the child . . . . . And Abraham was circumcised by the hand of Gabriel and Michael, who helped him. [From the Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth, ed. Perruchon.]
Abraham and Melchisedek
And at that time Abraham had no son, because Sגrג was barren.
And when he returned from the battle of the kings, the agency of God called him, and he crossed the mountain of Yגbhפs (Jebus?), and Melchisedek, the king of Shגlמm, the priest of the Most High God, 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 [Fol. 25b, col. 1] 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 eighty-six years old Ishmael was born to him by Hגghגr, the Egyptian woman, whom Pharaoh had given to Sגrג as a handmaiden. Now Sגrג was the sister of Abraham on the father’s side, because Terah took two women to wife. When Yגwn, the mother of Abraham, died, Terah took to wife a woman whose name was “Naharyath” (or Shalmath, or Tona, or Tahdif), and of her Sגrג 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” (Gen. xx. 2, 5).
The Birth of Isaac.
And Abraham was ninety-nine [Fol. 25b, col. 2] years old when God went into his house and gave Sגrג a son, and he was one hundred years old when Isaac was born to him. And Isaac was thirteen years old when his father took him and went up to the mountain of Yגbhפs (Jebus) to Melchisedek, the priest of God, the Most High. Now Mount Yגbhפs is the mountain of the Amפrגyך (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 Karkaftג, and Gefמftג (Gabbatha). 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 [Fol. 26a, col. 1], and the redemption of our father Adam. The tree (i.e. thicket) 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 [fore]saw 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 (John viii. 56).
Abraham saw the day of the redemption [Fol. 26a, col. 2] 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 Gגdhגr.
ֲmarphמl, (Amraphel), king of Sen`גr.
Arioch, king of Dגlגsגr (sic).
Kardla`mar (Chedorlaomer), king of Elam.
Tar`מl (Tidal), king of the Gמlגyך.
Bגrג (Bera), king of Sodom.
Barshג (Birsha), king of Gomorrah.
Shךnגbh (Shinab), king of Adhגmגh.
Shamג`ir (Shemeber), king of Zeboim.
Salגkh, king of Bגlג`.
Tגbhמk, king of Damascus.
Baktפr, king of the desert.
These twelve kings gathered together and came to Melchisedek, king of Shגlim [Fol. 26b, col. 1], the priest of the Most High God. 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 Mגghפgh, 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.”
Melchisedek
Now, as concerning what the Apostle said, “there was no beginning to his days, and no end to his life” (Heb. vii. 3) [Fol. 26b, col. 2], it has been thought by simple folk that he was not a man at all, and in their error they have said concerning him that he was God. God forbid that there should have been no beginning to his days or end to his life. [The Apostle spake thus] because when Shem, the son of Noah, took away Melchisedek from his parents, no word is said as to how old he was when he went up from the East, and it is not said how old he was at the time of his departure from this world. Now, he was the son of Mגlגkh, the son of Arpakhshar, the son of Shem, and he was not the son of one of the Patriarchs. And the Apostle said that none of his father’s family had ever ministered at the altar (Heb. vii. 6). The name of his father is not written in the genealogies, because Matthew and Luke, the Evangelists [only] wrote down the [names of the] Fathers [in chief, i.e. Patriarchs]; and for this reason neither the name of his father [Fol. 27a, col. 1], nor the name of his mother, is known. The Apostle did not say that he had no parents, but [only] that they were not written down in Matthew and Luke.
Kmrפs
And in the one hundredth year [of the life] of Abraham there was a king in the East whose name was “Kmrפs.” He built Shemesht (Samosata), after the name of his son Shemeshtפ, and Klawdמya (Claudias), after the name of his daughter Kגlפdh, and Pמrמn after the name of his son Pפrפn.
Nimrod founds Nisibis, Harrגn and Edessa
And in the fiftieth year of [the life of] Reu, Nimrod went up and built Nisibis, and Edessa, and Harrגn, which is Edessa. And Harrגnמth, the wife of Dגsגn, the priest of the mountain, surrounded it with a wall, and the people of Harrגn made a statue of her and worshipped her. And Baltמn, who was given to Tamzג (Tammuz) now because B`ךlshemמn loved her, Tammuz fled before him and set fire to Harrגn and burned it.
The Death of Sגrג
And when Sגrג, the wife of Abraham, died, Abraham took to wife Kentפrג [Fol. 27a, col. 2], the daughter of Baktפr, the king of the desert. And there were born unto him by her Zamrגn, and Yakshגn, and Mגdhגn, and Medhyגn, and Ashbגk, and Shפh. [See Gen. xxv. 1, 2; 1 Chron. i. 32. A marginal note in the Syriac MS. says, "these sons of Kentפrג are called sons of Daran by the prophet."] And from these are sprung the Arabs.
Isaac and Rebecca
And when Isaac was forty years old, Eliezer, a son of the house of Abraham, went down and brought Rabkג (Rebecca) from the east, and Isaac took her to wife. And when Abraham died Isaac buried him by the side of Sגrג.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iv. 4), Abraham was 175 years old when he died, and Isaac and Ishmael buried him. Rebecca was the daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean, a native of the town of Arגch (Erech?).]
And when Isaac was sixty 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 thy womb, and two peoples shall be removed from thy loins, that is to say, shall go forth from thy womb. One nation shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall be in subjection to the younger, that is to say, Esau [Fol. 27b, col. 1] shall be in subjection to Jacob.
The founding of Jericho
And in the sixty-seventh 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 Mesrמn (Mizraim), the king of the Egyptians, had founded Jericho in olden time. And Ishmael made a mill of the hands (i.e. a handmill) in the desert, a mill of slavery (i.e. a mill to be worked by, slaves).
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 [Fol. 27b, col. 2] 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 [Fol. 28a, col. 1] the top of the ladder symbolized Christ, Who stood on the Cross that He might go down to redeem us.
[Note: The Power of God which was upon the top of the ladder was [a type of] the manifestation of God the Word in pure flesh of the formation of Adam. The place in which it appeared was a type of the Church; the stone under his head, which he set up for an altar, was a type of the altar; and the oil which he poured out upon it was like the holy oil wherewith they anoint the altar. Book of the Bee (chapter xxvii).]
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” [Fol. 28a, col. 2] the blessed Jacob indicated (or, depicted) baptism, which was covered over (i.e. hidden) 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. [Fol. 28b, col. 1.] 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 (i.e. veil) 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 [Fol. 28b, col. 2].
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 Harrגn, 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 Sגrג. Seven years later Rebecca died, and was buried with Abraham, and Isaac, and Sגrג; and Rachel died and was buried with them.
And Judah, the son of Jacob, took unto himself to wife Sh` (Shuah), the Canaanitess [Fol. 29a, col. 1], 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, `־r (Er), װnגn, and Shךlג (Shelah). And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, Tגmגr, and he consorted with her unnaturally, and God put him to death. And Judah gave Tגmגr to װnגn, and as soon as his seed became available for Tגmגr 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 [Fol. 29a, col. 2] of the Fathers. And God made Tגmגr go out to the roadside, and Judah lay with her in the passion of fornication, and she conceived and brought forth Peres (Pharez) 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 Kגhגth. And the wise physicians of Pharaoh embalmed him, and Joseph took him up [to Canaan] and buried him with Abraham and Isaac his father.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iv. 5), Jacob lived in Egypt fourteen years, and died there at the age of 157 years, when Joseph was 53 years old.]
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” [Fol. 29b, col. 1]. Now fix thine attention on these generations, and how they became mixed together. [When] they went forth from Egypt: Judah begot Pharez, Pharez begot Hesrפn (Hezron), Hezron begot ֲrגm (Rגm, 1 Chron. ii. 9), ֲrגm begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshפn (Nahson), and Nahshפn was he who became prince of Judah. And Amminadab gave the sister of Nahshפn to `־r (so in the text, but read Eleazar), the son of Aaron, the priest; of her was born Phinehas, the great priest, who prayed “and the plague was stayed” (Num. xxv. 7, 8; Ps. cvi. 30). Behold, I have shown thee that from Amminadab, the priesthood of the children of Israel was transmitted by the sister of Nahshפn, and the kingdom by Nahshפn her brother. Observe also that the priesthood and the kingdom were transmitted by Judah to the children of Israel.
And Nahshפn begot Shמlג, that is to say, Salmפn, and Shמlג begot Boaz. Observe now that the kingdom went forth from Boaz and Ruth [Fol. 29b, col. 2], 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`mג (Naamah, 1 Kings xiv. 21), the Ammonitess, another daughter of Lot, whom Solomon took to wife [Fol. 30a, col. 1], 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.
[Note: from the Kebra Nagast, chapter lxvii: And the Angel of God went down to Solomon and said unto him:
From being a wise man thou hast turned thyself into a fool, and from being a rich man thou hast turned thyself into a poor man, and from being a king thou hast turned thyself into a man of no account, through transgressing the commandment of God. And the beginning of thy evil was the taking of many wives by thee, for through this thou didst transgress His Law, and His decree, and the ordinance of God which Moses wrote and gave to you, to Israel, that ye should not marry wives from alien peoples, but only from your kinsfolk and the house of your fathers, that your seed might be pure and holy, and that God might dwell with you. But thou didst hold lightly the Law of God, thinking that thou wast wiser than God, and that thou wouldst get very many male children. But the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men, and he hath only given thee three sons: the one who carried off thy glory into an alien land, and made the habitation of God to be in Ethiopia; the one who is lame of foot, who shall sit upon thy throne for the people of Israel, the son of the kin of thy kin from Tarbגna, of the house of Judah; and the one who is the son of a Greek woman, a handmaiden, who in the last days shall destroy Rehoboam and all thy kin of Israel; and this land shall be his because he believeth in Him that shall come, the Saviour.]
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 Nפn, and Caleb, the son of Yפfannג (Jephunneh). These were born in Egypt.
[Note: Moses was the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi; his mother's name was Yokגbגr (Jochebed). Book of the Bee (chapter xxix).]
Moses
And when Moses was born he was cast into the river, and Shמpפr (in Ethiopic, Sephurah), the Egyptian woman, the daughter of Pharaoh, took him up, and he lived in the house of Pharaoh for forty years. And then [Fol. 30a, col. 2] he killed Pethkפm, the Egyptian, the chief of the bakers of Pharaoh. Now this was noised abroad in the house of Pharaoh, after Pharaoh’s daughter Makrמ, who was called “Shמpפr Mesrךn (i.e. “Trumpet of Egypt”), was dead, and Moses was afraid, and he fled to Midian, to Reuel, the Cushite, the priest of Midian.
[Note: Moses was a beautiful child, and was called "Pantמl" (Paltמךl?), and "Amlגkyג," and the Egyptians used to call him the "Shakwמthג of Pharaoh's daughter." Various names are given to this princess, e.g. Makrמ, Mary, Shמpפr, Tharmesמs, Tarmthמsג; Bar Hebraeus says she was the daughter of Amnpthמs, or Amnpגthמפs. Book of the Bee (chapter xxix).]
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 Nפn, 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 [Fol. 30b, col. 1] of the priest of Midian forty 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.
[Note: From Adam until the death of Moses was 3,868 years. Book of the Bee (chapter xxx). MOSES' ROD.-Adam cut the rod from a branch of the Tree of Good and Evil which grew in Paradise, and he used it as a staff all his life. It passed from hand to hand to Abraham, who smashed his father's idols with it. It went with him to Egypt, and when it came to Jacob he used it as a shepherd's crook. Judah received it and gave it to Tamar, and then an angel laid it up in the Cave of Treasures until Midian was built. An angel showed Jethro the Cave, and he took the rod from it, and from him it went of its own free will to Moses. The rod became a serpent, and it swallowed up the rod of Pפsdמ, the sorceress. The rod was taken unto the promised land by Joshua, and Phineas hid it in the dust at the gate of Jerusalem, where it remained until Christ showed it to Joseph, who took it to Egypt and brought it back to Nazareth. It passed to James, the brother of our Lord, but was stolen by Judas Iscariot, who gave it to the Jews who were crucifying our Lord; to them it "became a judgment and a fall." Book of the Bee (chapter xxx).]
The Successors of Moses
And Joshua, the son of Nפn, was the governor of the children of Israel for twenty-seven years. And after the death of Joshua, the son of Nפn, Kshגn, the Wicked (Chushanrishathayim), was lord over the people for eighty years.
And `Athnגמl (Othniel), 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 Ahפr (Ehud), 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.
(Note: See Book of Adam, IV, chapter vii.)
[The Fifth Thousand Years. From The Twenty-Sixth Year Of Ehud's Life To The Second Year Of The Reign Of Cyrus
Nגbhמn (Jabin), who was dried up in body, ruled twenty years.
Deborah and Barak [ruled them] forty years.
The children [Fol. 30b, col. 2] 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.
Tla` (Tola), the son of Puah [ruled them] twenty-three years.
Yגמr, 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 (Jephthah), the man who offered up his daughter as a sacrifice, and he ruled them six years.
Abhמsגn (Ibzan of Bethlehem), who is Nahshפn (sic), ruled them seven years.
Alפn (Elon), who was from Zebulon, ruled them ten years.
`Abhrפn (Abdon, the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite) 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 [Fol. 31a, col. 1] 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 Glyגdh (Goliath), 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.
[Note: The story of David and Goliath finds an interesting parallel in the history of Sanehat as found in an Egyptian papyrus in the Royal Library at Berlin. Sanehat fled from Egypt as the result of some political trouble, and made his way into Palestine, where he settled down and prospered, and became a shךkh of great influence and importance. Then a certain man of Thennu went to Sanehat's tent and reviled him, and challenged him to fight him. This man was a mighty warrior, and was famed throughout the country for his strength, and valour, and success. During the following night Sanehat made ready his dagger, and spear, and bow, and at daybreak all the tribes came to the place to witness the great duel which was to take place. The man of Thennu grasped his shield and his battle-axe, and then began to hurl his spears at Sanehat, but they either went wide or Sanehat managed in some way to avoid them; in any case, they failed to touch him. When the man of Thennu saw this, he lost his temper, and made a rush at Sanehat, meaning to close with him and despatch him with his battle-axe. But as he came on in his mad rage Sanehat hurled his short javelin at his head, and it pierced his neck and remained fast in it. The man of Thennu uttered a prolonged shriek and then fell headlong on the ground, face downwards. Sanehat went to him, and, taking his foe's weapons from him, killed him with them. Then he took his stand on the dead body, and shouted the cry of victory, and the onlookers rejoiced in his triumph and applauded him.]
David reigned over [Fol. 31a, col. 2] 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 (i.e. returned). It was he who built Tadmor (Palmyra) in the wilderness, and he carried out there great and wonderful works. And when Solomon passed the borders of the mountain which is called Sג`ךr, he found there the altar which Pמפrzגkhגr, and Pמפrzגnגi, and Neznגdhפr had built. These were they whom Nimrod, the giant, sent to Balaam, the priest of the Mountain of Sג`ךr, 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 “Nמגpפlמs” (more correctly, Heliopolis) [Fol. 31b, col. 1], that is to say, “City of the Sun.” And Solomon also built Aradus (Arvad) 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.
[Note: Solomon reigned over his large kingdom with the greatest wisdom ever found. But he did not keep his soul; but inclined his heart to the love of women, and forsook God, Who had created him and given him his kingdom. And he died in his denial of Him, and in his sins. Book of Adam (iv. 8.)]
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 (i.e. the murex) coming up out of the [Fol. 31b, col. 2] 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 (i.e. a kafמyah or head-cloth), 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 [Fol. 32a, col. 1], 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.
[Note: Solomon was seduced into idolatry by his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh:
One day she beautified and scented herself for him, and she behaved herself haughtily towards him, and treated him disdainfully. And he said unto her, 'What shall I do? Thou hast made thy face evil towards me, and thy regard towards me is not as it was formerly, and thy beautiful form is not as enticing as usual. Ask me, and I will give thee whatsoever thou wishest, and I will perform it for thee, so that thou mayest make thy face gracious towards me as formerly'; but she held her peace and answered him never a word. And he repeated to her the words that he would do whatsoever she wished. And she said unto him, 'Swear to me by the God of Israel that thou wilt not play me false.' And he swore to her that he would give her whatsoever she asked for, and that he would do for her everything she told him. And she tied a scarlet thread on the middle of the door of [the house of] her gods, and she brought three locusts and set them in the house of her gods. And she said unto Solomon, ‘Come to me without breaking the scarlet thread, bend thyself and kill these locusts before me, and pull out their necks,’ and he did so. And she said unto him, ‘I will henceforward do thy will, for thou hast sacrificed to my gods and hast worshipped them.’ Now he had done this because of his oath, so that he might not break his oath which she had made him to swear, even though he knew that it was an offence (or, sin) to enter into the house of her gods. Kebra Nagast (chapter lxiv).]
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 [Fol. 32a, col. 2] 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, Melkג, the mother of `Abhd-Shגlפm, 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 [Fol. 32b, col. 1]. And he drove them (i.e. the idolators) out of his palace (or, kingdom), 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.
[Note: The Book of Adam (iv. 8) says that Asaph (i.e. Asa) took his mother Anna, who was an adulteress, and cast her down from the roof of her house, and she died. Zerah, who is called Eleazar, is described as a "black king" who reigned at Endena. No mention of Zerah the Cushite has hitherto been found in the cuneiform or hieroglyphic inscriptions.]
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 `Azפbhג (Azuba?), the daughter of Shגlגh. And Jehosaphat died in his righteousness.
Joram reigned after him, and he was thirty-two years old [Fol. 32b, col. 2] 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.
[Note: In the Book of Adam he is called Aram. Zambri made war upon him, and he died denying God.]
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 [Athaliah] 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 Yפshba` (Jehosheba), the daughter of Joram, the son of Jehosaphat, carried away secretly and hid [Fol. 33a, col. 1] 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 [Fol. 33a, col. 2] 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 (i.e. Joash) 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 Sbhג (Zibea) 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 Yגhפ`adhגn (Joadan). And Amaziah died, and [Fol. 33b, col. 1] Uzziah his son reigned after him.
Uzziah was sixteen years old when [he began] to reign, and he reigned fifty (sic) years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was ־khגnyג (Jechalia). 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 (Azariah), 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 ־rshג (Jerusa), 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 [Fol. 33b, col. 2]; 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 װrמ [Fol. 34a, col. 1] the priest, and he taught them the laws. And Ahaz died and Hezekiah his son reigned after him.
[Note: The Assyrian king who conquered Ahaz was Tiglath Pileser III, who reigned from 745-727 B.C. In a list of the kings in the British Museum which were his tributaries we find-Ia-u-kha-zi (matu) Ia-u-da-ai (Ahaz [king of] the country of the Judeans.)(Brit. Mus. K. 2751.) Tiglath Pileser’s Babylonian name was PU-LU, which we find in the Bible under the form of “Pul.” (See II Kings xv. 29; xvi. 7, 10; and I Chron. v. 26.)]
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 (Abhi?), 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.
[Note: Tiglath Pileser III having conquered Syria carried away into captivity the Israelitish tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. His successor Shelmaneser V, (727-722 B.C.) attacked Hosea, king of Israel, and conquered him and, because he was an ally of the king of Egypt, carried him off into captivity.]
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.
[Note: Sennacherib, king of Assyria, 705-681 B.C., having brought Padi from Jerusalem and made him king of Ekron, then marched on to attack.
He captured 46 of Hezekiah's strongholds, and brought out from them 200,150 people, and horses, mules, asses, camels, oxen, and innumerable sheep. He then shut up Hezekiah like a caged bird in "Jerusalem the city of his sovereignty."
Hezekiah's soldiers deserted, and he sent his envoy to Nineveh to pay his tribute to Sennacherib, viz. 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver, precious stones, eye-paint, couches and chairs of ivory, hides, tusks, precious woods, and his daughters with their attendants and musicians.]
And Hezekiah became sick unto death [Fol. 34a, col. 2], 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 [Fol. 34b, col. 1] 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 Habhsמbhגh (Hephziba). 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 [Fol. 34b, col. 2] 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 Yadhמdhג (Jedida), the daughter of Azariah (Adaja?), 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” (i.e. Necho II) killed him, and Jehoahaz his son reigned after him.
[Note: Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt 609-593 B.C., was the second king of the XXVlth Dynasty. His names as "King of the South and North" and "Son of Ra" are Uhem-a {dot-over} b-R¯a and N-Ka-u.]
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 Hamtגl, the daughter of [Fol. 35a, col. 1] Jeremiah from Lebhnג. 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 (i.e. command) 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 [Fol. 35a, col. 2] years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Zebhמdhג, the daughter of Pedגyג, 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 Neheshtג, the daughter of Elyגthגn (Elnathan?), from Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil before the [Fol. 35b, col. 1] 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 Methanyג, 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 Hamtגl, 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 [Fol. 35b, col. 2] Lord was (i.e. fell 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 (i.e. besieged) until the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. And the city was rent open (i.e. its wall was breached), 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 (Riblah), 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 [Fol. 36a, col. 1]. 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 (or dry well). 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 r 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 (i.e. the Patriarchs) [Fol. 36a, col. 2], 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 Glמth, the daughter of Eliakim, and he begot by her in Babel Shalathiel (Salathiel); and Jehoiachin died in Babel. And Salathiel took to wife Hetbath, the daughter of Halkגnג, and he begot by her Zrbגbhel (Zerubbabel), 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. [A reproduction of a sculptured relief of Cyrus is given on Plate I. The official account of his conquest of Babylon is found on a baked clay cylinder now in the British Museum. See Plate II.]
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 [Fol. 36b, col. 1] 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 [re]build 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” (Isa. xliv. 28; xlv. 1). 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 Yפzגdגk, 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.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iv. 10) the manuscripts and the library of the Temple were burnt. Simeon begged the commander to give him the ruins of the library, and he went in and collected the ashes of the books and put them into a pot, which he placed in a vault. He filled a censer with coals and incense, and, having lighted the fire, he set the censer over the place where the ashes of the books lay. The fire continued to burn until Ezra came to the vault, and the smoke of the incense was rising from the censer. He spread his hands thrice over the ashes of the books, and God gave him the spirt of prophecy, and he rewrote the Books of the Law and 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 Yפzגdגk, was high-priest, and Ezra was the scribe of the Law and the Prophets. And the children of Israel [Fol. 37a, col. 1] 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 [re]building of the Temple in the days of Zerubbabel, and Joshua, the son of Yפzגdפk, and Ezra the scribe, and the building thereof was finished in six and forty years, even as it is written in the holy Gospel (John ii. 19).
The genealogies of the later Israelites
Now the genealogy of the tribes (or, families) was lost by [Fol. 37a, col. 2] 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 Yפzגdגk, the priest, and begot by her Eliakim.
Eliakim took to wife Hגlגbh, the daughter of Dפrnמbh, and begot by her `Azפr.
`Azפr took to wife Yalpath, the daughter of Hazפr, and begot by her Zadok.
Zadok took to wife Kaltמn, the daughter of Dפrnibh, and begot by her Akhמn.
Akhמn took to wife Heskath, the daughter of Ta`מl, and begot by her Eliud.
Eliud took to wife Beshtמn, the daughter of [Fol. 37b, col. 1] Hasגl, and begot by her Eleazar.
Eleazar took to wife Dמbath, the daughter of Tפlגh, and begot by her Mגtthגn.
Mגtthגn took to wife Sebhrath, the daughter of Phinehas, and begot by her two sons at one conception, Jacob and Yפnגkhמr.
Jacob took to wife Hadbhמth, the daughter of Eleazur, and begot by her Joseph.
Yפnakhמr took Dמnג, the daughter of Pגkפdh, 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 [Fol. 37b, col. 2] 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 [IV. Epiphanes], 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 [Fol. 38a, col. 1] 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 (or, ancestors) 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. [Here the text is faulty and incomplete.] 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 [Fol. 38a, col. 2], nor whose daughter she was. Now each divine doctor (or, 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 Nגmפsגyג (Nemesius?) 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 [Fol. 38b, col. 1] 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:
Adam begot Seth.
Seth took to wife Kelמmath, who was born with Abel, and begot by her Enos.
Enos took to wife Hannג, the daughter of Jubal, the daughter of Hפh, the daughter of Seth, and begot by her Cainan.
Cainan took to wife Peryath, the daughter of Kפtn, the daughter of Yarbגl, and begot by her Mahlגlגמl.
Mahlגlגמl took to wife Sehatpar, the daughter of Enos, and begot by her Yגrךd (Jared).
Jared took to wife Zebhמdhג, the daughter of Kuhlפn, the daughter of Kenan, and begot by her Enoch.
Enoch took to wife Zadhkמn, the daughter of Tפpמh, the daughter of Mahlגlגמl, and begot by her Methuselah.
Methuselah took to wife Sגkhth, the daughter of Sפkhמn, and begot by her Lamech.
Lamech took to wife Kמpגr, the daughter of Tthגth, the daughter of Methuselah, and begot by her Noah.
Noah took to wife Haykגl, the daughter of Nams, and he begot by her Shem, Ham and Japhet.
Shem begot Arpakhshar (Arphaxad) .
Arphaxad begot Shגlגh (Salah).
Salah begot ֲbhגr (Eber).
Eber begot Pגlגg (Peleg) .
Peleg begot Ar`פ (Reu) .
Reu begot Sגrפgh (Serug) .
Serug took to wife Kגhגl, the daughter of Peleg, who begot Nגhפr.
Nגhפr took to wife Napsh (Yapsh?), the daughter of Reu, and begot Tarah (Terah).
Terah took two wives, Yפnג and Salmth; by Yפnג he begot Abraham, and by Salmth he begot Sגrג (Sarah) [Fol. 39a, col. 1].
Abraham took to wife Sarah and begot Isaac.
Isaac took to wife Rebecca and begot Jacob.
Jacob took to wife Leah and begot Judah.
Judah begot Pars (Pharez) by Tamar.
Pharez begot Hezron.
Hezron begot Aram.
Aram begot Amminadab.
Amminadab begot Nahshפn (Nahasson).
Nahasson begot Salmon.
Salmon begot Boaz, by Rahab.
Boaz took to wife Ruth, the daughter of Lot, and begot Obed.
Obed begot Jesse.
Jesse begot David the king.
David took to wife Bathsheba, and begot by her Solomon.
Solomon begot Rehoboam.
Rehoboam begot Abijah.
Abijah begot Asa.
Asa begot Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat begot Joram [Fol. 39a, col. 2].
Joram begot Ahaziah.
Ahaziah begot Joash.
Joash begot Amaziah.
Amaziah begot Uzziah.
Uzziah begot Jotham.
Jotham begot Ahaz.
Ahaz begot Hezekiah.
Hezekiah begot Manasseh.
Manasseh begot Amon.
Amon begot Josiah.
Josiah begot Jehoiakim.
Jehoiakim begot Jehoiachin.
Jehoiachin begot Salathiel.
Salathiel begot Nedabijah (sic).
Nedabijah begot Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel begot Abiud.
Abiud begot Eliakim.
Eliakim begot Azor.
Azor begot Zadok.
Zadok begot Achin.
Achin begot Eliud.
Eliud begot Eleazar.
Eleazar begot Mגtthan.
Mגtthan took to wife Sabhrath, the daughter of Phinehas, and begot Jacob and Yפnגkhמr.
Jacob took to wife Hadhbhמth, the daughter of Eleazar, and begot Joseph, the betrothed of Mary [Fol. 39b, col. 1].
Yפnגkhמr took to wife Dמnג, that is to say, Hannג, the daughter of Pגkפdh, 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.
[Note: An alternative genealogy is given in the Book of the Bee (chapter xxxiii), and reads: David begot Nathan, Nathan begot Mattatha, Mattatha begot Mani, Mani begot Melea, Melea begot Eliakim, Eliakim begot Jonam, Jonam begot Levi. [Add Joseph, Juda and Simeon from Luke iii. 19, 20.] Levi begot Mattמtha, Mattמtha begot Jorim, Jorim begot Eliezer, Eliezer begot Jose, Jose begot Er. Er begot Elmodad, Elmodad begot Cosam, Cosam begot Addi, Addi begot Melchi, Melchi begot Neri, Neri begot Salathiel, Salathiel begot Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel begot Rhesa, Rhesa begot Johannan, Johannan begot Juda, Juda begot Joseph, Joseph begot Semei, Semei begot Mattatha, Mattatha begot Maath, Maath begot Nagge, Nagge begot Esli, Esli begot Nahum, Nahum begot Amos, Amos begot Mattמtha, Mattמtha begot Joseph, Joseph begot Janni, Janni begot Melchi, Melchi begot Levi, Levi begot Matthat, Matthat begot Heli, Heli begot Joseph.]
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 [Fol. 39b, col. 2] 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.
[Note: According to the Book of Adam (iv. 14), Daniel said, "After seven weeks Christ shall come, and shall be put to death." Now seven weeks are 490 years, for a great week contains 70 years. But on that the prophet said, "after seven years," he pointed to the [remaining] ten [of the 500 years]. Daniel did not say, “Christ shall come at the end of seven weeks,” but “after seven weeks, and He shall be put to death.”]
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 [Fol. 40a, col. 1], 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 [Fol. 40a, col. 2], 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 (or, importance) 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 [Fol. 40b, col. 1] “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.
[Note: As touching the nature of that star, whether it was a star in its nature, or in appearance only, it is right to know that it was not of the other stars, but a secret power which appeared like a star; for all the other stars that are in the firmament, and the sun and moon, perform their course from east to west. This one, however, made its course from north to south, for Palestine lies thus, over against Persia. This star was not seen by them at night only, but also during the day, and at noon; and it was seen at the time when the sun is particularly strong, because it was not one of the stars. Now the moon is stronger in its light than all the stars, but it is immediately quenched and its light dissipated by one small ray of the sun. But this star overcame even the beams of the sun by the intensity of its light. Sometimes it appeared, and sometimes it was hidden entirely. It guided the Magi as far as Palestine. . . . . . This was not an ordinary movement of the stars, but a rational power. Moreover, it had no fixed path. It did not remain always in the height of heaven, but sometimes it came down, and sometimes it mounted up. Book of the Bee (chapter xxxviii).]
The Signs of the Zodiac
[The names of the Babylonian Signs of the Zodiac were:--
(amel) Agru
Kakkab u Alap shame
Re`u kinu shame u
Tu´ame rabuti
AL.LUL (Shittu?)
Kalbu rabu
Shiru
Zibanitum
Akrabu
PA-BIL-SAG
SUHUR.MASH
Gula
DILGANU u Rikis nuni
(The sign placed before each name is the determinative for star.)
Meaning of the name. Modern equivalent. Name of month.
1 The Labourer Goat Nisannu
2 Bull Airu
3 The Faithful Shepherd of heaven and the Great Twins Twins Simanu
4 The Tortoise Crab Duuzu
5 The Great Dog (Lion) Lion Abu
6 Virgin with ear of corn Virgin Ululu
7 Scales Tashritum
8 The Scorpion Scorpion Arah shamna
9 Enurta (the god) Bow Kislimu
10 The Goat-fish Capricornus Tebetum
11 The Great Star Water-Bearer Shabatu
12 The star . . . and the Band of Fishes The Fishes Addaru
On the first Zodiac which was set up by Tiגmat, the Evil one, see The Babylonian Legends of the Creation, London, 1921, page 17 (British Museum publication.)]
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 Nפdh, 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 [Fol. 40b, col. 2] 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:
Hפrmמzdadh of Mגkhפzdמ, king of Persia, who was called “King of Kings,” and dwelt in Lower ֲdhפrghמn.
־zgarad (Yazdegerd), the king of Sגbhג.
Perפzגdh, the king of Sheba, which is in the East.
[Note: In the Book of Adam (iv. 15) the kings are called Hor, king of Persia, Basantar, king of Saba, and Karsundas, king of the East. According to the Book of the Bee (chapter xxxix), the Magi were twelve in number, and their names were:
These four brought gold:
Zarwגndגd, the son of Artabגn.
Hפrmמzdגd, the son of Sמtגrk (Santarפk).
Gshnגsגph (Gushnasp), the son of Gndaphar.
Arshakh, the son of Mמhגrפk.
These four brought myrrh:
Zarwגndגd, the son of Wגrzwגd.
־ryגhפ, the son of Kesro (Khusrau).
Artahshesht, the son of Holמtמ.
Ashtפn`גbפdגn, the son of Shמshrפn.
These four brought frankincense:
Mehגrפk, the son of Hhגm.
Ahshiresh, the son of Hasbגn.
Sardגlגh, the son of Baladגn.
Merפdגch, the son of Beldarגn.]
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 [Fol. 41a, col. 1] 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 Cזsar, 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 [Fol. 41a, col. 2]. 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 [Fol. 41b, col. 1], 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 [Fol. 41b, col. 2] 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.
[Note: In addition to the gold, frankincense and myrrh which the Magi brought, they laid before the Child as an offering thirty zzך of silver. Their weight was according to the weight of the sanctuary, but they were equal to six hundred pieces according to the weight of the country. (The Syriac zzך = the Arabic dirham and the Greek drachme.) The thirty pieces were made by Terah, who gave them to Abraham, who gave them to Isaac. With them Isaac bought a village, and the man who received them took them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh sent them to David as a contribution towards the building of the Temple, and Solomon placed them round the door of the altar. Nebuchadnezzar carried them away to Babylon, and gave them to certain royal Persian hostages, who took them to Persia and gave them to their parents. When the Magi set out for Jerusalem they took the thirty pieces with their other offerings out with them they bought from certain shepherds at Edessa "the garment without seam," which an angel had given to them. Abgar, king of Edessa, took the thirty pieces and the garment from the shepherds, and sent them to Christ. Christ kept the garment and sent the thirty pieces to the Jewish treasury. The priests gave them to Judas Iscariot for betraying our Lord, but he repented and took them back to the priests. After Judas hanged himself the priests purchased a burial ground for strangers with the thirty pieces (Book of the Bee, chapter xliv) . Another legend says that Joseph had the thirty pieces, and that with them he bought spices to embalm Jacob. They passed into the possession of the Queen of Sheba, who gave them to Solomon (Sandeys, Christmas Carols, London, 1883, page lxxxiii).]
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 (or imitated) 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 [Fol. 42a, col. 1] 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 Perפzdhגdh 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’(Isa. ix. 6). 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’” (Isa. vii. 14). And because He became like a man, and the angels were coming down [Fol. 42a, col. 2] 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 [Fol. 42b, col. 1]. “From Egypt I called my Son” (Hos. xi. 1). 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 Lord rideth on a swift cloud, and entereth Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be broken before Him” (Isa. xix. 1).
[Note: When Joseph and Mary and the Child reached the gate of the city of Hermopolis, there were by the two buttresses of the gate two figures of brass that had been made by the sages and philosophers; and they spoke like men. When our Lord entered Egypt these two figures cried out with a loud voice, saying, "A great king has come into Egypt." Book of the Bee (chapter xl.)]
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 [Fol. 42b, col. 2] 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-Yפzגdhגk, 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 [Fol. 43a, col. 1] 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 bench (or, 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 [Fol. 43a, col. 2] his soul departed into outer darkness. Nevertheless, by his death he destroyed many.
[Note: First of all, he slew his wife and his daughter, and he killed one man of every family, saying, "At the time of my death there shall be mourning and weeping and lamentation in the whole city." His bowels and his legs were swollen with running sores, and matter flowed from them, and he was consumed by worms. He had nine wives and thirteen children. There was a knife in his hand, and he was eating an apple; and by reason of the severity of his pain, he drew the knife across his throat, and cut it with his own hand; and his belly burst open, and he died and went to perdition. An evil fate also overtook Bפzמyג, the daughter of Herodias, who begged for the head of John the Baptist on a charger. Having given the saint's head to her mother, she went out to dance upon the ice, but the ice broke and she sank into the water up to her neck, and no one could deliver her. At length men came with the sword which had been used in beheading John, and they cut off Bפzמyג's head and gave it to her mother. The right hand with which Herodias took up John's head withered, and when she saw the heads of the saint and her daughter she became blind, and Satan entered her and bound her with fetters. See Book of the Bee (chapters xxxix and xli).]
Now Herod had said unto Archelaus his son, and unto Shגlפm 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 Shגlפm 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 [Fol. 43b, col. 1] 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 “Kגms,” 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 Yגrךd, 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 ֲhפr (Ehud) 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 [Fol. 43b, col. 2] 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 Rגmethג, and was bound in the house of Hannגn, and was struck with a reed in the house of Caiaphas, and embraced the pillar and was scourged with a whip in the Prזtorium of Pilate, and on Friday, on the first day of Nמsגn (April), on the fourteenth day of the moon, our Redeemer suffered.
At the FIRST HOUR of Friday God fashioned Adam from the dust, and at the first hour of Friday Christ received spittle from the sons of Adam.
At the SECOND HOUR of Friday the wild beasts, and the cattle, and the feathered fowl gathered themselves together [Fol. 44a, col. 1] to Adam, and he gave names to them as they bowed their heads before him. And at the second hour of Friday 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” (Ps. xxii. 12).
At the THIRD HOUR of Friday a crown of glory was placed on the head of Adam, and at the third hour of Friday 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 [Fol. 44a, col. 2], 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 Friday Adam and Eve sinned, and on Friday their sin was remitted.
On Friday Adam and Eve died, and on Friday they came alive.
On Friday Death reigned over them, and on Friday they were freed from his dominion.
On Friday Adam and Eve went forth from Paradise, and on Friday our Lord went into the grave.
On Friday Adam and Eve became naked, and on Friday Christ stripped [Fol. 44b, col. 1] Himself naked and clothed them.
On Friday Satan stripped Adam and Eve naked, and on Friday Christ stripped naked Satan and all his hosts, and put them to shame openly.
On Friday the door of Paradise was shut and Adam went forth, and on Friday it was opened and a robber went in.
On Friday the two-edged sword was given to the Cherub, and on Friday Christ smote with the spear, and brake the two-edged sword.
On Friday kingdom, and priesthood, and prophecy were given unto Adam, and on Friday 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 [Fol. 44b, col. 2] 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 [Fol. 45a, col. 1] 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 (i.e. the Cross) 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 [Fol. 45a, col. 2] 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” (Mark xv. 17; John xix. 2, 5), and this is a true word and is highly credible; and another Evangelist uses the word “scarlet “(Matt. xxvii. 28), 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 [Fol. 45b, col. 1] Nemesius, that scarlet proclaimeth life.
Now the spies said prophetically to Rahab, the harlot, “thou shalt tie a thread of scarlet to the window” (Joshua ii. 18) 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 (i.e. the Jews) 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 [Fol. 45b, col. 2], 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 [Fol. 46a, col. 1] 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 (or propitiation) which had dwelt in the Temple, in the Holy of Holies, forsook them and departed. And the curtain (or 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 Prזtorium, 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 (the Jews) made haste and went into the sanctuary [Fol. 46b, col. 1] 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 [Fol. 47a, col. 1], 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” (Deut. xxxii. 32, 33).
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 [Fol. 47a, col. 2] 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 [Fol. 47b, col. 1], 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 [Fol. 47b, col. 2] David had, through the Holy Spirit, said and prophesied, saying, “Even unto the horns of the altar” (Ps. cxviii. 22?)–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 Mahalגlגךl; from Mahalגlגךl 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 [Fol. 48a, col. 1] 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 [Fol. 48a, col. 2] 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 Yפnגkhמr; from Yפnגkhמr 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 [Fol. 48b, col. 1]. 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” (Ps. cxviii. 27). 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 [Fol. 48b, col. 2]. 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” (Dan. ix. 26). That is to say, for ever and ever.
Christ’s body is embalmed and laid in the tomb made for Joshua, the son of Nפn
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 [Fol. 49a, col. 1] 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 Rגmthג, 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 Nפn, to be buried in. And because he saw with the eye of the Spirit [Fol. 49a, col. 2], 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 (or, ligatures) 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 (Exod. xxviii. 15) and of peace; of judgment for the Jews who crucified Him [Fol. 49b, col. 1], 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 Nפn, and the stone (or rock), 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” (I Cor. x. 4) is true and well worthy of belief. Joseph was a councillor in Rגmthג, Nicodemus was a teacher of the Law in Jerusalem, and Cleophas was the recorder of the Hebrews in `Amגפs. 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 [Fol. 49b, col. 2] 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 [Fol. 50a, col. 1] 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.
[Note: See Cureton, Doctrine of Addai, ed. Phillips, page 30; Cureton, Ancient Syrian Documents, page 107; and Wright, Journal of Sacred Literature, No. XX, New Series, January, 1865.]
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.
[Note: According to the Coptic Book of the Resurrection, which is attributed to Bartholomew the Apostle, Christ broke down the doors of hell, and smashed the bolts, and destroyed the doorposts and frames. He overthrew the blazing furnaces of brass, and extinguished their fires, and, sweeping everything out of hell, He left it like a desert. He fettered the "Shameless One," and bound the ministers of Satan, and tied up a devil called Melkhir with a chain. See British Museum MS. Oriental No. 6804, and Budge, Coptic Apocrypha, page 184.]
The Resurrection of Christ
And having risen from the grave on the third day, Christ appeared to Kמpג (Peter) and John.
And whilst [Fol. 50a, col. 2] 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 Kמpג (Peter), 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 [Fol. 50b, col. 1] 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 tongues (i.e. 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. [Fol. 50b, col. 2].
Here Endeth The “Book Of The Order Of The Succession Of Families From Adam To Christ,” Which Is Called The “Cave Of Treasures.”
And to God be glory for ever!
Footnotes:
1 This is the order in which this paragraph appears in the text, though in the “Genealogy of our Lord” (see below, page 233) the circumcision and the presentation in the Temple precede the flight into Egypt.
Testamentum Adami
The Ethiopic text and an Arabic version were published by Bezold in Nצldeke’s Festschrift, Gieszen, 1906. See also Brit. Mus. Add. 16251 and Add. 16217 (Dillmann, Catalogus, Nos. XXXIV and XXXVII.
The Hours Of The Day
And, moreover, understand thou concerning the hours of the day and of the night, and how it is seemly that ye should make supplication to God, and to pray to Him at each of His seasons. For my Creator taught me all this, and He told me the names of all the wild animals and beasts, and of the birds of heaven, and then God made me to understand the number of the hours of the day and of the night, and He told me how the angels praise God. Understand, then, O my son, that at the first hour of the day the prayer of my children ascendeth to God. And at the second hour the prayer and petition of the angels take place. At the third hour the birds of the heavens praise Him. And at the fourth hour the spiritual beings worship Him. And at the fifth hour all the wild beasts and animals salute Him. At the sixth hour the petition of the Kמrbךl (Cherubim) taketh place. And at the seventh hour all the angels enter the presence of God, and go forth therefrom, for at this hour the prayer of every living thing ascendeth to God. At the eighth hour the shining denizens of heaven praise Him. And at the ninth hour the angels of God who stand before the throne of the Most High do homage unto Him. And at the tenth hour the Holy Spirit overshadoweth the waters, and the devils flee away and remove themselves from the waters. And if the Holy Spirit did not overshadow the waters at this hour every day, no one could drink of the waters, [for if he did] his flesh (i.e. body) would be destroyed by the evil devils. And if the priest taketh water at this hour and mixeth with it holy oil, and anointeth the sick and those who are possessed of foul spirits with the mixture, they shall be healed of their sickness. And at the eleventh hour the glorifyings of the righteous take place. And at the twelfth hour God, the Most High, receiveth the prayers and petitions of the children of men.
The Hours Of The Night.
And at the first hour of the night the devils render thanks and praise to God Most High, and there is in them no evil and no harm for anyone until they have finished their service of homage. And at the second hour of the night the fish and every creature that is in the waters praise God, and the wild beasts and the whales. And at the third hour the fire praiseth Him–now it is in the lowest depth, and in that hour no one can address Him (?). And at the fourth hour the Srגfךl (Seraphim) proclaim Him Holy. And at the fifth hour the waters which are above the heavens praise Him. Now long ago I sat and listened to the angels at this hour, and [marvelled] how they cried out; [their cry] was like the noise of a mighty wheel, and they cried out like the waves of the sea with the voice of praise to God. And at the sixth hour the clouds praised God in fear and trembling. And at the seventh hour the earth was hushed in silence and every creature that was upon it, and the waters slumbered. And if at this hour the priest taketh some water and mixeth holy oil with it, and he anointeth therewith the sick and those who cannot sleep at night because of [their] pain, those who are sick will be healed, and those who are wakeful will fall asleep. At the eighth hour the earth maketh to grow grass and green herbs, and maketh the trees to put forth leaves and fruit. And at the ninth hour the angels perform their service of homage to God, and the prayer of the children of men cometh into the presence of God the Most High. And at the tenth hour the gates of heaven are opened, and God heareth the prayer of the children of the believers, and the petition which they ask from God is granted unto them; And at the sound of the wings of the Seraphim at that time the cocks crow and praise God. And at the eleventh hour there is joy and gladness on all the earth, for the sun entereth into the Garden (i.e. Paradise), and his light riseth in all the ends of the world, and illumineth every created thing. And at the twelfth hour it is befitting for my children to stand up before God, and pay homage to Him, for at this hour there resteth a great silence on all the heavenly beings.
Adam Foretells The Coming Of Christ.
Now therefore know thou all this, and hearken unto my word, and understand that the Word of God, the Most High, shall come down upon the earth, even as He told me at the moment when He thrust me out from the Garden (Paradise). For He told me that His Word in later days should become man from a woman who was a virgin whose name was Mary, and should hide in her, and put on flesh, and be born like a man with great power, and operative skill and knowledge. No one shall know Him except Himself and him to whom He manifested [Himself]. And God said that He should go about with people on the earth, and grow in days and years, and should perform signs and wonders openly, and should walk upon the sea as upon dry land, and should rebuke the sea and the winds openly, and they should be subject unto Him, and that He should cry out to the waves of the sea and they should make answer to Him speedily. And that He should make the blind to see, and the lepers to be cleansed, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to talk, and should raise up the paralytics, and make the lame to walk, and should turn many from error to the knowledge of God, and should drive out the devils from men.
And besides [these things] God spake unto me, saying:
Be not sorrowful, O Adam, for thou didst wish to become a god and didst transgress my command. Behold, I will stablish thee, not at this present, but after a few days.
And again He spake unto me, saying:
I am God Who made thee to go forth from the Garden of Joy into the earth, which shall shoot forth thorns and brambles, and thou shalt dwell therein. Bend thy back, and make thy knees to totter in old age, and I will make thy flesh food for the worms. And after five days and half a day1 I will have compassion upon thee, and shew thee mercy in the abundance of my compassion and my mercy. And I will come down into thy house, and I will dwell in thy flesh, and for thy sake I will be pleased to be born like an [ordinary] child. And for thy sake I will be pleased to walk in the market place. And for thy sake I will be pleased to fast forty days. And for thy sake I will be pleased to accept baptism. And for thy sake I will be pleased to endure suffering. And for thy sake I will be pleased to hang on the wood of the Cross. All these things [will I do] for thy sake, O Adam.
To Him be praise, and majesty, and dominion, and glory, and worship, and hymns, with His Father and the Holy Spirit from this time forward and for ever and ever. Amen.
Furthermore, thou must know, O my son, Seth, behold a Flood shall come and shall wash the whole earth because of the children of Kגyal (Cain), the murderer, who slew his brother through jealousy, because of his sister Ld. And after the Flood and many weeks the latter days shall come, and everything shall be completed, and his time shall come and fire shall consume everything which is found before God, and the earth shall be sanctified, and the Lord of Lords shall walk about on it.
And Seth wrote down this Commandment, and sealed it with his seal, and with the seal of his father Adam, which he took with him from the Garden (Paradise), and with the seal of Eve his mother.
Footnotes:
1 I.e. five thousand five hundred years.
Supplementary Translations From The “Book Of The Bee.”
The Assumption Of The Virgin. Our Lord’s Appearances After The Resurrection. The Last Supper. The Names Of The Apostles And Disciples. Chronology. Gog And Magog. Anti-Christ. The Greek Translation Of The Hebrew Bible.
The extracts quoted in the preceding pages show how largely Solomon, Bishop of Al-Basrah, borrowed from the “Cave of Treasures” when compiling his work, “The Book of the Bee,” especially when he was dealing with the history of the early Patriarchs. But he did not bring his book to a close with the narrative of the Crucifixion, for his aim was to describe briefly the progress of Christianity after the death of Christ; and in doing this he collected and set down in writing a considerable amount of information regarding the Apostles and disciples, and their lives and deaths, and a number of facts and legends which he accepted and wished the Nestorians in his diocese especially to believe. In fact, the “Book of the Bee,” though written by a Nestorian bishop, may be regarded as a supplement or continuation of the “Cave of Treasures,” which, according to ancient tradition, was written by a Jacobite bishop. Both works are included in the collection of texts which the learned priest Hפmפ copied in the British Museum MS. Add. 25875, and both were so highly esteemed that copies of them were made for the library of the church of the Virgin Mary in `Amedמa. The following summary is based on my translation of the Syriac text published at Oxford in 1886.
[The Death And Assumption Of The Virgin Mary
Mary lived twelve years after our Lord's Ascension; the sum of the years which she lived in the world was fifty-eight years, but others say sixty-one years. She was not buried on earth, but the angels carried her to Paradise, and angels bore her bier. On the other hand, we read in the History of the Virgin:
And the blessed Mary departed this life in the year of Alexander, 394 (i.e. A.D. 82-83). At the Annunciation she was thirty years old, and she lived also the thirty-three years of the Dispensation; and after the Crucifixion she lived fifty-eight years. The years which she lived were one hundred and twenty-one.
In the same book we have:
And Mary remained in Jerusalem, and grieved because of her separation from our Lord Jesus Christ, and the absence of the apostles from her. And she prayed and cast frankincense into the fire, and lifted up her eyes and spread out her hands to heaven, and said, 'O Christ, the Son of the living God, hearken unto the voice of Thy handmaiden, and send unto me Thy friend John the Young with his fellow-apostles, that I may see them and be comforted by the sight of them before the day of my death; and I will praise and adore Thy goodness.’ And straightway it was revealed by the Holy Spirit to each one of the apostles, in whatever country he was in, that the blessed Mary was about to depart from this world into the never-ending life. And the Spirit summoned them, along with those of them who were dead, to be gathered together at daybreak to the blessed Mary for her to see them: and each one of them came to her from his own land at dawn by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and they saluted Mary and each other, and adored her. Thomas was in India, and an angel took him up and brought him. And he found the angels carrying her bier through the air; and they brought it nigh to Thomas, and he also prayed and was blessed by her.
[Our Lord's Appearances After His Resurrection
He appeared ten times:
To Mary Magdalene (John xx. 11, 18).
To the women at the grave (Matt. xxviii. 9, 10).
To Cleophas (Luke xxiv. 18).
To Simon Peter (Luke xxiv. 34).
To all the disciples except Thomas (Luke xxiv. 36-49; John xx. 19-23).
To the disciples, Thomas being with them (John xx. 24-29).
On the Mount (Matt. xxviii. 16-20).
On the Sea of Tiberias (John xxi. 1-24).
At His Ascension (Mark xvi. 19; Luke xxiv. 50-53).
To the Five Hundred at once (I Cor. xv. 6).
After His Ascension he appeared:
to Paul (Acts ix. 3-9; I Cor. xv. 3), and
to Stephen (Acts vii. 55-60).
[The Last Supper
Some men have a tradition that when our Lord broke His body in the Upper Chamber, John, the son of Zebedee, hid a part of his portion until our Lord rose from the dead. When Thomas put his finger near to our Lord's side, and it rested on the mark of the spear, the disciples saw the blood. And John took that piece of consecrated bread, and wiped up that blood with it; and the Easterns Mגr Addai and Mגr Mגrמ took that piece, and sanctified this unleavened bread which has been handed down among us. Others say that when John took that piece of consecrated bread in his hand, it burst into flame, and burnt in the palm of his hand, and the palm of his hand sweated, and he took that sweat and hid it for the sign of the Cross of baptism.
[The Apostles
The Apostles were Twelve and Seventy; their names are:--
SIMON, the chief of the Apostles, was from Bethsaida, of the tribe of Naphtali. He preached for one year in Antioch, where the disciples were [first] called Christians, and he built there the first church, in the house of Cassianus, whose son he restored to life. He lived in Rome twenty-seven years. He was crucified, head downwards, by Nero, in the 376th year of the Greeks (65-64 B.C.).
ANDREW, his brother, preached in Scythia, Nicomedia, and Achaia. He died in Byzantium and was buried in the church which he built there.
JOHN, the son of Zabhdai (Zebedee), was from Bethsaida, of the tribe of Zebulon. He preached in Ephesus, was exiled to Patmos, and then returned to Ephesus, where he built a church. Three of his disciples went with him:–IGNATIUS, later bishop of Antioch, who was thrown to the beasts in Rome; POLYCARP, later bishop of Smyrna who was burnt to death; and JOHN, who succeeded him as bishop. John, the son of Zebedee, was buried by John, his disciple, at Ephesus, and his grave is unknown. John, his disciple, was also buried at Ephesus. He wrote the Revelation, and said that all he had written in that book he had received from John the Evangelist.
JAMES, the brother of John, preached in Bethsaida and built a church there. Herod Agrippa slew him with the sword in the year following the Ascension of our Lord. He was buried at ֲkגr, a city of Marmגrמkג.
PHILIP, from Bethsaida, was of the tribe of Asher. He preached in Phrygia, Pamphylia and Pisidia; he died in Pisidia, and was buried in the church which he built there. He lived as an apostle 27 years.
THOMAS, from Jerusalem, was of the tribe of Judah. He taught the Parthians, Medes and Indians; he baptized the daughter of the Indian king, who had him speared to death. Habbגn the merchant brought his body to Edessa and buried it there. Some say he was buried in Mahlph in India.
MATTHEW, from Nazareth, was of the tribe of Issachar. He preached in Palestine, Tyre and Sidon, and went as far as Gabblג (i.e. al-Jabbגl, a town in Coelesyria). He died, and was buried in Antioch.
BARTHOLOMEW, from Endor, was of the tribe of Issachar. He preached in Armenia, Ardeshמr, Ketarbפl, Radbמn and Prharmגn. He first went to Golthon in Armenia, came back to Artaschu, and then went on to Her, Zarevant and Urbianos. He lived as an apostle for 30 years, and then Hrstמ (Rhstnמ or Hךrפstmמ), king of Armenia, crucified him in Urbianos. He was buried in the church which he had built in Armenia. The king of Armenia in the time of Bartholomew was called Sanadrog (Sanatruk).
JUDE, the son of James, surnamed THADDAEUS (TADDAI), who is also LEBBAEUS (Lebbai), from Jerusalem, was of the tribe of Judah. He preached in Laodicea, and in Antaradus and Arwגd (Ruwגd). He was stoned in Arwגd, and died and was buried there.
SIMON ZELװTES, from Galilee, was of the tribe of Ephraim. He preached in Shךmךshגt (Samosata), Pגrמn (Perrhך), Zeugma, Hגlגb (Aleppo), Mabbפg (Manbig), and Kenneshrמn (Kinnesrמn). He built a church in Kyrrhos, and died and was buried there.
JAMES, the son of Alphaeus (Halphai), was from the Jordan, and of the tribe of Manasseh. He preached in Tadmor (Palmyra), Kirkךsion (Kמrkמsמyג), and Callinicos (ar-Rakkah), and came to Bגtnגn of Serg (Sarug), where he built a church, and died and was buried there.
JUDAS ISCARIOT, the Betrayer, from Sekharyt, was of the tribe of Gad or Dan.
MATTHIAS, of the tribe of Reuben, came in his stead. He preached in Hellas and in Sicily, where he built a church, and died, and was buried in it.
JAMES, the brother of our Lord, was cast down from a pinnacle of the Temple whilst preaching in Jerusalem; then a fuller of cloth smashed in his skull with a club, and afterwards they stoned him.
JOHN THE BAPTIST was of the tribe of Levi. Herod the tetrarch slew him, and his body was buried in Sebastia.
ANANIAS (HANANYֲ), John’s disciple, taught in Damascus and Arbמl. Pפl, the general of Aretas (Aristus) slew him, and he was buried in his church at Arbil.
PAUL, of Tarsus, was a Pharisee and of the tribe of Ephraim (or, Benjamin?). He went to Peter at Rome, and Nero ordered them to be slain. On their way to the place of slaughter they gave the laying on of hands of the priesthood to their disciples, Peter to Mark, and Paul to Luke. Peter was crucified and Paul was beheaded, and Mark and Luke brought their bodies into the city. But Paul’s head could not be found. At length a shepherd found it, and he laid it by his sheep-fold. At night a fire blazed over it, and the shepherd went and told bishop Xystus and the clergy, and when they saw the head they recognized it as Paul’s head. They laid the head at the feet of Paul’s body, and, having prayed the whole night, the head was found to have joined itself to the body. From his call to the end of his life was 35 years; he travelled for 31 years, and he was in prison at Caesarea for two years, and for two years in Rome. He was martyred in the thirty-sixth year after the Passion of our Lord, and was buried in the royal catacombs in Rome.
LUKE, the physician and Evangelist, was a disciple of Lazarus, and was baptized by Philip in the city of Beroea. He was beheaded by Hפros, the governor of Alexandria under Tiberius, whilst preaching there; he was buried in that city.
MARK the Evangelist preached in Rome, and died and was buried there. He was either the son of Simon Peter’s wife or the son of Simon; and Rhoda was his sister. He was first called John, but the Apostles changed his name to Mark.
ADDAI, from Paneas, preached in Edessa and Mesopotamia in the days of Abhgar the king; he built a church in Edessa. Herod, son of Abhgar, slew him in the fortress of Aggךl, or Engמl, north of Amid. He was buried either in Edessa or Rome.
AGGAI, the disciple of Addai, was a silk weaver; because he refused to give up his preaching, Herod, son of Abhgar, broke his legs with a club and he killed him.
THADDAEUS was slain by Herod, son of Abhgar, and was buried in Edessa.
ZACCHAEUS (Zaccai), the publican, was slain whilst preaching in Mount Hפrפn.
SIMON, the leper, taught in Ramah, and the Jews slew him there.
JOSEPH, the Senator, taught in Galilee and Decapolis, and was buried in Ramah.
NICODEMUS, the Pharisee, the friend of our Lord, died in Jerusalem, and was buried there. Some say that he was buried by his brother Gamaliel in Kephar Gamlג.
NATHANIEL was stoned whilst preaching in Mount Hפrפn (or, Mount Hebron), and died.
SIMON, the Cyrenian, was slain in the island of Chios.
SIMON, son of Cleopas, was bishop of Jerusalem. At the age of one hundred years he was crucified by Irenaeus (or, Hereפs?), the chiliarch.
STEPHEN was stoned to death in Jerusalem, and was buried in Kephar Gamlג.
MARK (sumamed John) taught at Nyssa and Nazianzus; he built a church at the latter place, and died and was buried there.
GEPHAS (Gal. ii. 9; I Cor. i. 12) taught in Baalbec, Hims (Emesa), and Nathrפn (Batharn); he died and was buried in Shמrגz (Shaizar?).
BARNABAS, a native of Cyprus or a member of a family of Cyprians settled in Antioch, undertook two preaching missions in that Island, and then went and preached in Northern Italy and Krג for some time. Later he returned to Cyprus, where, according to one tradition, he suffered martyrdom. The various accounts of his life and preaching are described by Lipsius in his Apostelgeschichte (Bd. ii. Heft 2, pp. 276-320).
TITUS taught in Crete, and died and was buried there.
SOSTHENES taught in Pontus and Asia, and was cast into the sea by Nonnus, the prefect.
CRISCUS (CRESCENS) taught in Dalmatia; he died of hunger in Alexandria.
JUSTUS taught in Tiberias and Caesarea, where he died and was buried.
ANDRONICUS taught in Illyricum, where he died and was buried.
RUFUS was slain whilst teaching in Zeugma.
PATROBAS taught in Chalcedon, and died there.
HERMAS, the shepherd, taught in Antioch and died there.
NARCISSUS taught in Hellas, and died there.
ASYNCRITUS went to Bךth-Hzגyך (Ahwגz, Khzistגn), and died there.
ARISTOBULUS taught in Isauria, and died there.
ONESIMUS, the slave of Philemon, fled to Paul in Rome, where his legs were broken, and he died.
APOLLOS was burned to death by Sparacleus (?), governor of Gangra.
OLYMPAS, STACHYS and STEPHEN died in prison in Tarsus.
JUNIAS was slain in Samos.
THEOCRITUS died in Ilios.
MARTALUS (I) was slain by the Barbarians.
NIGER taught in Antioch, and died there.
LUCIUS was dragged behind a horse and died.
ALEXANDER was thrown into a pit in Heracleפpolis (Hierapolis?) and died.
MILUS was drowned at Rhodes.
SILVANUS and HERװDIװN (Rhפdiפn) were slain at Accפ.
SILAS taught at Sarapolis (Hierapolis?), and died there.
TIMOTHY taught in Ephesus, and died there.
MANAEL was burned to death in Accפ.
The EUNUCH of Candace was strangled on the island of Parparchia.
JASON and SOSIPATRUS were thrown to the beasts in Olmius.
DEMAS taught in Thessalonica, and died there.
OMIUS (HYMENAEUS) taught in Melitene, and died there.
THRASEUS was thrown into a fiery furnace at Laodicea.
BISTORIUS (ARISTARCHUS) taught in the island of Kג, and died there.
ABRIOS and MװTOS died in Ethiopia.
LEVI was slain in Paneas by Charmus.
NICETIANUS (NICETAS) was sawn in twain in Tiberias.
JOHN and THEODORUS were thrown to the beasts at Baalbec.
EUCHESTION (?) and SIMON were slain by Methalius in Byzantium.
EPHRAIM (APHREM) taught in Baishגn, and died there.
JUSTUS was slain at Corinth.
JAMES taught in Nicomedia, and died there.
[The Names Of The Apostles]
The TWELVE (Matt. x. Mark iii. Luke vi. Acts i.).
1. Simon Peter.
2. Andrew, his brother.
3. James, the son of Zebedee.
4. John, his brother.
5. Philip.
6. Bartholomew.
7. Thomas.
8. Matthew.
9. James, the son of Alphaeus.
10. Labbaeus (Thaddaeus).
11. Simon the Canaanite.
12. Judas Iscariot (in whose stead came Matthias).
The SEVENTY.
1. James, the son of Joseph.
2. Simon, the son of Cleopas.
3. Cleopas, his father.
4-8. Joses; Simon; Judah; Barnabas; Manaeus (?).
9. Ananias, who baptized Paul.
10. Cephas, who preached at Antioch.
11. Joseph, the senator.
12. Nicodemus, the Archon.
13. Nathaniel, the chief scribe.
14. Justus (i.e. Joseph, called Barshabbג).
15-17. Silas; Judah; John (Mark).
18. Mnason, who received Paul.
19. Manael, foster-brother of Herod.
20. Simon, called Niger.
21. Jason (see Acts xvii. 5-9).
22. Rufus (see Rom. xvi. 13).
23. Alexander.
24. Simon, the Cyrenian, their father.
25. Lucius, the Cyrenian.
26. Judah (mentioned in the Acts).
27. Judah, who is called Simon.
28. Eurion (Orion), the splay-footed.
29-32. Thorus; Thorisus; Zabdon; Zakron.
The following were chosen with Stephen:–
33. Philip, whose three (sic) daughters prophesied (see Acts xxi. 9).
34-36. Stephen; Prochorus; Nicanor.
37-39. Timon; Parmenas; Nicolaus (Acts vi. 5).
40. Andronicus, the Greek (Rom. xvi. 7).
41, 42. Titus; Timothy.
The following were with Peter in Rome:–
43, 44. Hermas; Plightג.
45-47. Patrobas; Asyncritus; Hermas.
The following came with Peter to Cornelius:–
48, 49. Criscus (II Tim. iv. 10); Milichus.
50, 51. Kמrמtפn (Crito); Simon.
52. Gaius, who received Paul.
53, 54. Abrazon (?); Apollos.
The following were rejected from among the Seventy, for they were followers of Cerinthus, and denied our Lord’s divinity:–
55-57. Simon; Levi; Bar-Kubbג.
58-60. Cleon; Hymenaeus; Candarus.
61-63. Clithon (?); Demas; Narcissus.
64-66. Slמkמspus; Thaddaeus; Mגrthג.
In their stead there came in:
Luke, the Physician.
Apollos, the elect.
Ampelius; Urbanus; Stachys.
Popillius (Publius); Aristobulus.
Stephen; Herodion, the son of Narcissus.
Olympas; Mark, the Evangelist.
Addai; Aggai; Mגr Mגrמ.
[Chronology
From Adam to the Flood was 2262 years.
From the Flood to Abraham was 1015 "
From Abraham to the Exodus from Egypt was 430 "
From the Exodus to Solomon and the building of the Temple was 400 "
From Solomon to the First Captivity, which Nebuchadnezzar led away captive 495 "
From the First Captivity to the prophesying of Daniel was 180 "
From the prophesying of Daniel to the Birth of our Lord was 483 "
[5265] “
All these make 5345 years (sic).
From Alexander to our Lord was 303 years.
From our Lord to Constantine was 341 “
In the year 438 of Alexander, the Macedonian, the kingdom of the Persians had its beginning.
[For 438 read 538, as the Sasanian dynasty was founded by Ardashמr I in A.D. 226.]
Know, O my brother readers, that from the beginning of the creation of Adam to Alexander was 5180 years.]
[Of Gog And Magog
When Alexander was king, and had subdued countries and cities, and had arrived in the East, he saw in the confines of the East those men who are of the children of Japhet. They were more wicked and unclean than all [other] dwellers in the world; filthy people of hideous appearance, who ate mice and the creeping things of the earth, and snakes and scorpions. They never buried the bodies of their dead [but ate them]. People ignorant of God, and unacquainted with the power of reason, but who lived in this world without understanding like ravening beasts. When Alexander saw their wickedness, he called God to his aid, and he gathered together and brought them and their wives and children, and made them go in, and shut them up within the confines of the North. This is the gate of the world on the north, and there is no other entrance or exit from the confines of the world from the east to the north. And Alexander prayed to God with tears, and God heard his prayer and commanded those two lofty mountains which are called “the children of the north,” and they drew nigh to one another until there remained between them about twelve cubits. Then he built in front of them a strong building, and he made for it a door of brass, and anointed it within and without with oil of Thesnaktמs (i.e. an oil which cannot be burnt off with fire or scraped off with an iron tool), so that if they should bring iron implements near it to force it to open, they would be unable to move it; and if they wished to melt it with fire, it would quench it; and it feared neither the operations of devils nor of sorcerers, and was not to be overcome [by them]. Now there were twenty-two kingdoms imprisoned within the northern gate, and their names are these:–
Gפg, Mגgפg.
Nגwגl, Eshkenגz (Eshkמn).
Denגphגr (Dמfגr).
Paktגyך (the people of Paktuך in the Thracian Chersonesus).
Welפtגyך (Ldגyך).
Humnגyך (the Huns), Parzגyך. Daklגyך, Thaubelגyך (Tuklגyך).
Darmetגyך, Kawkebגyך.
Dog-men (Cynocephali).
Emderגthג, Garmמdפ.
Cannibals, Therkגyך (Thracians).
ֲlגnגyך (the Allani), Pisilפn.
Denkגyך (Dunkגyך).
Saltrגyך (Saltגyך).
At the end of the world and at the final consummation, when men are eating and drinking and marrying wives; and women are given to husbands; when they are planting vineyards and building buildings, and there is neither wicked man nor adversary, on account of the assured tranquillity and certain peace; suddenly the gates of the north shall be opened, and the hosts of the nations that are imprisoned there shall go forth. The whole earth shall tremble before them, and men shall flee and take refuge in the mountains and in caves and in burial places, and in clefts of the earth; and they shall die of hunger, and there will be none to bury them, by reason of the multitude of afflictions which they will make men suffer. They will eat dead dogs and cats; they will give mothers the bodies of their children to cook, and they will eat them before them without shame. They will destroy the earth, and there will be none able to stand before them. After one week of that sore affliction, they will all be destroyed in the plain of Joppa, for thither will all those [people] be gathered together, with their wives and their sons and their daughters.
[Of The Coming Of Anti-Christ
In a week and half a week after the destruction of these wretches shall the son of destruction appear. He shall be conceived in Chorazin, born in Bethsaida, and reared in Capernaum. Chorazin shall exult because he was conceived in her, Bethsaida because he was born in her, and Capernaum because he was brought up in her; for this reason our Lord proclaimed Woe to these three [cities] in the Gospel (Matt. xi. 21). As soon as the son of perdition is revealed the king of the Greeks will go up and stand upon Golgotha, where our Lord was crucified; and he will set the royal crown upon the top of the holy Cross, upon which our Lord was crucified; and he will stretch out his two hands to heaven, and will deliver over the kingdom to God the Father. The holy Cross shall be taken up to heaven, and the royal crown with it; and the king will die immediately. The king who shall deliver over the kingdom to God will be descended from the seed of Kshath, the daughter of Pמl, the king of the Ethiopians; for Armelaus (Romulus), the king of the Greeks, took Kshath to wife, and the seed of the Ethiopians was mingled with that of the Greeks. From this seed shall a king arise who shall deliver the kingdom over to God, as the blessed David hath said, “Cush will deliver the power to God” (Ps. lxviii. 31).
When the Cross is raised up to heaven straightway shall every head and every ruler and all powers be brought to nought, and God will withdraw His providential care from the earth. The heavens will be prevented from letting fall rain, and the earth from producing germs and plants; and the earth shall remain like iron through drought, and the heavens like brass. Then will the son of perdition appear, of the seed and of the tribe of Dan; and he will show deluding phantasms, and lead astray the world, for the simple will see the lepers cleansed, the blind with their eyes opened, the paralytic walking, the devils cast out, the sun when he looks upon it becoming black, the moon when he commands it becoming changed, the trees putting forth fruit from their branches, and the earth making roots to grow. He will show deluding phantasms [of this kind], but he will not be able to raise the dead. He will go into Jerusalem and will sit upon a throne in the Temple, saying, “I am the Christ,” and he will be borne aloft by legions of devils like a king and a lawgiver, naming himself God, and saying, “I am the fulfilment of the types and the parables.” He will put an end to prayers and offerings, as if at his appearance prayers are to be abolished and men will not need sacrifices and offerings along with him. He becomes a man incarnate by a married woman of the tribe of Dan. When this son of destruction becomes a man, he will be made a dwelling place for devils, and all Satanic workings will be perfected in him. There will be gathered together with him all the devils and all the hosts of the Indians; and before all the Indians and before all men will the mad Jewish nation believe in him, saying, “This is the Christ, the expectation of the world.” The time of the error of the Anti-christ will last two years and a half, but others say three years and six months. And when everyone is standing in despair, then will Elijah (Elias) come from Paradise, and convict the deceiver, and turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers; and he will encourage and strengthen the hearts of the believers.
[The Hebrew Bible Translated Into Greek
Ptolemy Philadelphus reigned 38 years. In the third (or, sixth) year of his reign the fifth millennium from the creation of the world ended. This king asked the Jews who were captives in Egypt, and seventy (or, seventy-two) old men translated the Scriptures for him, from Hebrew into Greek, in the Island of Pharos. In return for this he set them free, and gave back to them also the vessels of their temple. Their names were:--
Of the tribe of Reuben.
Josephus
Hezekiah
Zechariah
John
Ezekiel
Elisha
Of the tribe of Simeon.
Judah
Simon
Samuel
Addai
Mattathias
Shalmi
Of the tribe of Levi.
Nehemiah
Joseph
Theodosius
Bגsג
Adonijah
Dגkמ
Of the tribe of Judah.
Jothan
Abdמ
Elisha
Ananias
Zechariah
Hilkiah
Of the tribe of Issachar
Isaac
Jacob
Jesus
Sambגt (Sabbateus)
Simon
Levi .
Of the tribe of Zebulon.
Judah
Joseph
Simon
Zechariah
Samuel
Shamlמ
Of the tribe of Gad.
Sambגt
Zedekiah
Jacob
Isaac
Jesse
Matthias
Of the tribe of Asher.
Theodosius
Jason
Joshua
John
Theodotus
Jothan
Of the tribe of Dan.
Abraham
Theophilus
Arsam
Jason
Jeremiah
Daniel
Of the tribe of Naphtali.
Jeremiah
Eliezer
Zechariah
Benaiah
Elisha
Dathמ
Of the tribe of Joseph.
Samuel
Josephus
Judah
Jonathan
Dositheus
Caleb
Of the tribe of Benjamin.
Isalus
John
Theodosius
Arsam
Abijah
Ezekiel
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 [Fol. 43a, col. 1] 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 bench (or, 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 [Fol. 43a, col. 2] his soul departed into outer darkness. Nevertheless, by his death he destroyed many.
[Note: First of all, he slew his wife and his daughter, and he killed one man of every family, saying, "At the time of my death there shall be mourning and weeping and lamentation in the whole city." His bowels and his legs were swollen with running sores, and matter flowed from them, and he was consumed by worms. He had nine wives and thirteen children. There was a knife in his hand, and he was eating an apple; and by reason of the severity of his pain, he drew the knife across his throat, and cut it with his own hand; and his belly burst open, and he died and went to perdition. An evil fate also overtook Bפzמyג, the daughter of Herodias, who begged for the head of John the Baptist on a charger. Having given the saint's head to her mother, she went out to dance upon the ice, but the ice broke and she sank into the water up to her neck, and no one could deliver her. At length men came with the sword which had been used in beheading John, and they cut off Bפzמyג's head and gave it to her mother. The right hand with which Herodias took up John's head withered, and when she saw the heads of the saint and her daughter she became blind, and Satan entered her and bound her with fetters. See Book of the Bee (chapters xxxix and xli).]
Now Herod had said unto Archelaus his son, and unto Shגlפm 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 Shגlפm 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 [Fol. 43b, col. 1] 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 “Kגms,” 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 Yגrךd, 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 ֲhפr (Ehud) 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 [Fol. 43b, col. 2] 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 Rגmethג, and was bound in the house of Hannגn, and was struck with a reed in the house of Caiaphas, and embraced the pillar and was scourged with a whip in the Prזtorium of Pilate, and on Friday, on the first day of Nמsגn (April), on the fourteenth day of the moon, our Redeemer suffered.
At the FIRST HOUR of Friday God fashioned Adam from the dust, and at the first hour of Friday Christ received spittle from the sons of Adam.
At the SECOND HOUR of Friday the wild beasts, and the cattle, and the feathered fowl gathered themselves together [Fol. 44a, col. 1] to Adam, and he gave names to them as they bowed their heads before him. And at the second hour of Friday 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” (Ps. xxii. 12).
At the THIRD HOUR of Friday a crown of glory was placed on the head of Adam, and at the third hour of Friday 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 [Fol. 44a, col. 2], 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 Friday Adam and Eve sinned, and on Friday their sin was remitted.
On Friday Adam and Eve died, and on Friday they came alive.
On Friday Death reigned over them, and on Friday they were freed from his dominion.
On Friday Adam and Eve went forth from Paradise, and on Friday our Lord went into the grave.
On Friday Adam and Eve became naked, and on Friday Christ stripped [Fol. 44b, col. 1] Himself naked and clothed them.
On Friday Satan stripped Adam and Eve naked, and on Friday Christ stripped naked Satan and all his hosts, and put them to shame openly.
On Friday the door of Paradise was shut and Adam went forth, and on Friday it was opened and a robber went in.
On Friday the two-edged sword was given to the Cherub, and on Friday Christ smote with the spear, and brake the two-edged sword.
On Friday kingdom, and priesthood, and prophecy were given unto Adam, and on Friday 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 [Fol. 44b, col. 2] 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 [Fol. 45a, col. 1] 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 (i.e. the Cross) 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 [Fol. 45a, col. 2] 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” (Mark xv. 17; John xix. 2, 5), and this is a true word and is highly credible; and another Evangelist uses the word “scarlet “(Matt. xxvii. 28), 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 [Fol. 45b, col. 1] Nemesius, that scarlet proclaimeth life.
Now the spies said prophetically to Rahab, the harlot, “thou shalt tie a thread of scarlet to the window” (Joshua ii. 18) 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 (i.e. the Jews) 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 [Fol. 45b, col. 2], 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 [Fol. 46a, col. 1] 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 (or propitiation) which had dwelt in the Temple, in the Holy of Holies, forsook them and departed. And the curtain (or 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 Prזtorium, 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 (the Jews) made haste and went into the sanctuary [Fol. 46b, col. 1] 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 [Fol. 47a, col. 1], 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” (Deut. xxxii. 32, 33).
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 [Fol. 47a, col. 2] 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 [Fol. 47b, col. 1], 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 [Fol. 47b, col. 2] David had, through the Holy Spirit, said and prophesied, saying, “Even unto the horns of the altar” (Ps. cxviii. 22?)–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 Mahalגlגךl; from Mahalגlגךl 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 [Fol. 48a, col. 1] 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 [Fol. 48a, col. 2] 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 Yפnגkhמr; from Yפnגkhמr 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 [Fol. 48b, col. 1]. 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” (Ps. cxviii. 27). 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 [Fol. 48b, col. 2]. 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” (Dan. ix. 26). That is to say, for ever and ever.
Christ’s body is embalmed and laid in the tomb made for Joshua, the son of Nפn
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 [Fol. 49a, col. 1] 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 Rגmthג, 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 Nפn, to be buried in. And because he saw with the eye of the Spirit [Fol. 49a, col. 2], 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 (or, ligatures) 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 (Exod. xxviii. 15) and of peace; of judgment for the Jews who crucified Him [Fol. 49b, col. 1], 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 Nפn, and the stone (or rock), 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” (I Cor. x. 4) is true and well worthy of belief. Joseph was a councillor in Rגmthג, Nicodemus was a teacher of the Law in Jerusalem, and Cleophas was the recorder of the Hebrews in `Amגפs. 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 [Fol. 49b, col. 2] 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 [Fol. 50a, col. 1] 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.
[Note: See Cureton, Doctrine of Addai, ed. Phillips, page 30; Cureton, Ancient Syrian Documents, page 107; and Wright, Journal of Sacred Literature, No. XX, New Series, January, 1865.]
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.
[Note: According to the Coptic Book of the Resurrection, which is attributed to Bartholomew the Apostle, Christ broke down the doors of hell, and smashed the bolts, and destroyed the doorposts and frames. He overthrew the blazing furnaces of brass, and extinguished their fires, and, sweeping everything out of hell, He left it like a desert. He fettered the "Shameless One," and bound the ministers of Satan, and tied up a devil called Melkhir with a chain. See British Museum MS. Oriental No. 6804, and Budge, Coptic Apocrypha, page 184.]
The Resurrection of Christ
And having risen from the grave on the third day, Christ appeared to Kמpג (Peter) and John.
And whilst [Fol. 50a, col. 2] 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 Kמpג (Peter), 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 [Fol. 50b, col. 1] 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 tongues (i.e. 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. [Fol. 50b, col. 2].
Here Endeth The “Book Of The Order Of The Succession Of Families From Adam To Christ,” Which Is Called The “Cave Of Treasures.”
And to God be glory for ever!
Footnotes:
1 This is the order in which this paragraph appears in the text, though in the “Genealogy of our Lord” (see below, page 233) the circumcision and the presentation in the Temple precede the flight into Egypt.
Testamentum Adami
The Ethiopic text and an Arabic version were published by Bezold in Nצldeke’s Festschrift, Gieszen, 1906. See also Brit. Mus. Add. 16251 and Add. 16217 (Dillmann, Catalogus, Nos. XXXIV and XXXVII.
The Hours Of The Day
And, moreover, understand thou concerning the hours of the day and of the night, and how it is seemly that ye should make supplication to God, and to pray to Him at each of His seasons. For my Creator taught me all this, and He told me the names of all the wild animals and beasts, and of the birds of heaven, and then God made me to understand the number of the hours of the day and of the night, and He told me how the angels praise God. Understand, then, O my son, that at the first hour of the day the prayer of my children ascendeth to God. And at the second hour the prayer and petition of the angels take place. At the third hour the birds of the heavens praise Him. And at the fourth hour the spiritual beings worship Him. And at the fifth hour all the wild beasts and animals salute Him. At the sixth hour the petition of the Kמrbךl (Cherubim) taketh place. And at the seventh hour all the angels enter the presence of God, and go forth therefrom, for at this hour the prayer of every living thing ascendeth to God. At the eighth hour the shining denizens of heaven praise Him. And at the ninth hour the angels of God who stand before the throne of the Most High do homage unto Him. And at the tenth hour the Holy Spirit overshadoweth the waters, and the devils flee away and remove themselves from the waters. And if the Holy Spirit did not overshadow the waters at this hour every day, no one could drink of the waters, [for if he did] his flesh (i.e. body) would be destroyed by the evil devils. And if the priest taketh water at this hour and mixeth with it holy oil, and anointeth the sick and those who are possessed of foul spirits with the mixture, they shall be healed of their sickness. And at the eleventh hour the glorifyings of the righteous take place. And at the twelfth hour God, the Most High, receiveth the prayers and petitions of the children of men.
The Hours Of The Night.
And at the first hour of the night the devils render thanks and praise to God Most High, and there is in them no evil and no harm for anyone until they have finished their service of homage. And at the second hour of the night the fish and every creature that is in the waters praise God, and the wild beasts and the whales. And at the third hour the fire praiseth Him–now it is in the lowest depth, and in that hour no one can address Him (?). And at the fourth hour the Srגfךl (Seraphim) proclaim Him Holy. And at the fifth hour the waters which are above the heavens praise Him. Now long ago I sat and listened to the angels at this hour, and [marvelled] how they cried out; [their cry] was like the noise of a mighty wheel, and they cried out like the waves of the sea with the voice of praise to God. And at the sixth hour the clouds praised God in fear and trembling. And at the seventh hour the earth was hushed in silence and every creature that was upon it, and the waters slumbered. And if at this hour the priest taketh some water and mixeth holy oil with it, and he anointeth therewith the sick and those who cannot sleep at night because of [their] pain, those who are sick will be healed, and those who are wakeful will fall asleep. At the eighth hour the earth maketh to grow grass and green herbs, and maketh the trees to put forth leaves and fruit. And at the ninth hour the angels perform their service of homage to God, and the prayer of the children of men cometh into the presence of God the Most High. And at the tenth hour the gates of heaven are opened, and God heareth the prayer of the children of the believers, and the petition which they ask from God is granted unto them; And at the sound of the wings of the Seraphim at that time the cocks crow and praise God. And at the eleventh hour there is joy and gladness on all the earth, for the sun entereth into the Garden (i.e. Paradise), and his light riseth in all the ends of the world, and illumineth every created thing. And at the twelfth hour it is befitting for my children to stand up before God, and pay homage to Him, for at this hour there resteth a great silence on all the heavenly beings.
Adam Foretells The Coming Of Christ.
Now therefore know thou all this, and hearken unto my word, and understand that the Word of God, the Most High, shall come down upon the earth, even as He told me at the moment when He thrust me out from the Garden (Paradise). For He told me that His Word in later days should become man from a woman who was a virgin whose name was Mary, and should hide in her, and put on flesh, and be born like a man with great power, and operative skill and knowledge. No one shall know Him except Himself and him to whom He manifested [Himself]. And God said that He should go about with people on the earth, and grow in days and years, and should perform signs and wonders openly, and should walk upon the sea as upon dry land, and should rebuke the sea and the winds openly, and they should be subject unto Him, and that He should cry out to the waves of the sea and they should make answer to Him speedily. And that He should make the blind to see, and the lepers to be cleansed, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to talk, and should raise up the paralytics, and make the lame to walk, and should turn many from error to the knowledge of God, and should drive out the devils from men.
And besides [these things] God spake unto me, saying:
Be not sorrowful, O Adam, for thou didst wish to become a god and didst transgress my command. Behold, I will stablish thee, not at this present, but after a few days.
And again He spake unto me, saying:
I am God Who made thee to go forth from the Garden of Joy into the earth, which shall shoot forth thorns and brambles, and thou shalt dwell therein. Bend thy back, and make thy knees to totter in old age, and I will make thy flesh food for the worms. And after five days and half a day1 I will have compassion upon thee, and shew thee mercy in the abundance of my compassion and my mercy. And I will come down into thy house, and I will dwell in thy flesh, and for thy sake I will be pleased to be born like an [ordinary] child. And for thy sake I will be pleased to walk in the market place. And for thy sake I will be pleased to fast forty days. And for thy sake I will be pleased to accept baptism. And for thy sake I will be pleased to endure suffering. And for thy sake I will be pleased to hang on the wood of the Cross. All these things [will I do] for thy sake, O Adam.
To Him be praise, and majesty, and dominion, and glory, and worship, and hymns, with His Father and the Holy Spirit from this time forward and for ever and ever. Amen.
Furthermore, thou must know, O my son, Seth, behold a Flood shall come and shall wash the whole earth because of the children of Kגyal (Cain), the murderer, who slew his brother through jealousy, because of his sister Ld. And after the Flood and many weeks the latter days shall come, and everything shall be completed, and his time shall come and fire shall consume everything which is found before God, and the earth shall be sanctified, and the Lord of Lords shall walk about on it.
And Seth wrote down this Commandment, and sealed it with his seal, and with the seal of his father Adam, which he took with him from the Garden (Paradise), and with the seal of Eve his mother.
Footnotes:
1 I.e. five thousand five hundred years.
Supplementary Translations From The “Book Of The Bee.”
The Assumption Of The Virgin. Our Lord’s Appearances After The Resurrection. The Last Supper. The Names Of The Apostles And Disciples. Chronology. Gog And Magog. Anti-Christ. The Greek Translation Of The Hebrew Bible.
The extracts quoted in the preceding pages show how largely Solomon, Bishop of Al-Basrah, borrowed from the “Cave of Treasures” when compiling his work, “The Book of the Bee,” especially when he was dealing with the history of the early Patriarchs. But he did not bring his book to a close with the narrative of the Crucifixion, for his aim was to describe briefly the progress of Christianity after the death of Christ; and in doing this he collected and set down in writing a considerable amount of information regarding the Apostles and disciples, and their lives and deaths, and a number of facts and legends which he accepted and wished the Nestorians in his diocese especially to believe. In fact, the “Book of the Bee,” though written by a Nestorian bishop, may be regarded as a supplement or continuation of the “Cave of Treasures,” which, according to ancient tradition, was written by a Jacobite bishop. Both works are included in the collection of texts which the learned priest Hפmפ copied in the British Museum MS. Add. 25875, and both were so highly esteemed that copies of them were made for the library of the church of the Virgin Mary in `Amedמa. The following summary is based on my translation of the Syriac text published at Oxford in 1886.
[The Death And Assumption Of The Virgin Mary
Mary lived twelve years after our Lord's Ascension; the sum of the years which she lived in the world was fifty-eight years, but others say sixty-one years. She was not buried on earth, but the angels carried her to Paradise, and angels bore her bier. On the other hand, we read in the History of the Virgin:
And the blessed Mary departed this life in the year of Alexander, 394 (i.e. A.D. 82-83). At the Annunciation she was thirty years old, and she lived also the thirty-three years of the Dispensation; and after the Crucifixion she lived fifty-eight years. The years which she lived were one hundred and twenty-one.
In the same book we have:
And Mary remained in Jerusalem, and grieved because of her separation from our Lord Jesus Christ, and the absence of the apostles from her. And she prayed and cast frankincense into the fire, and lifted up her eyes and spread out her hands to heaven, and said, 'O Christ, the Son of the living God, hearken unto the voice of Thy handmaiden, and send unto me Thy friend John the Young with his fellow-apostles, that I may see them and be comforted by the sight of them before the day of my death; and I will praise and adore Thy goodness.’ And straightway it was revealed by the Holy Spirit to each one of the apostles, in whatever country he was in, that the blessed Mary was about to depart from this world into the never-ending life. And the Spirit summoned them, along with those of them who were dead, to be gathered together at daybreak to the blessed Mary for her to see them: and each one of them came to her from his own land at dawn by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and they saluted Mary and each other, and adored her. Thomas was in India, and an angel took him up and brought him. And he found the angels carrying her bier through the air; and they brought it nigh to Thomas, and he also prayed and was blessed by her.
[Our Lord's Appearances After His Resurrection
He appeared ten times:
To Mary Magdalene (John xx. 11, 18).
To the women at the grave (Matt. xxviii. 9, 10).
To Cleophas (Luke xxiv. 18).
To Simon Peter (Luke xxiv. 34).
To all the disciples except Thomas (Luke xxiv. 36-49; John xx. 19-23).
To the disciples, Thomas being with them (John xx. 24-29).
On the Mount (Matt. xxviii. 16-20).
On the Sea of Tiberias (John xxi. 1-24).
At His Ascension (Mark xvi. 19; Luke xxiv. 50-53).
To the Five Hundred at once (I Cor. xv. 6).
After His Ascension he appeared:
to Paul (Acts ix. 3-9; I Cor. xv. 3), and
to Stephen (Acts vii. 55-60).
[The Last Supper
Some men have a tradition that when our Lord broke His body in the Upper Chamber, John, the son of Zebedee, hid a part of his portion until our Lord rose from the dead. When Thomas put his finger near to our Lord's side, and it rested on the mark of the spear, the disciples saw the blood. And John took that piece of consecrated bread, and wiped up that blood with it; and the Easterns Mגr Addai and Mגr Mגrמ took that piece, and sanctified this unleavened bread which has been handed down among us. Others say that when John took that piece of consecrated bread in his hand, it burst into flame, and burnt in the palm of his hand, and the palm of his hand sweated, and he took that sweat and hid it for the sign of the Cross of baptism.
[The Apostles
The Apostles were Twelve and Seventy; their names are:--
SIMON, the chief of the Apostles, was from Bethsaida, of the tribe of Naphtali. He preached for one year in Antioch, where the disciples were [first] called Christians, and he built there the first church, in the house of Cassianus, whose son he restored to life. He lived in Rome twenty-seven years. He was crucified, head downwards, by Nero, in the 376th year of the Greeks (65-64 B.C.).
ANDREW, his brother, preached in Scythia, Nicomedia, and Achaia. He died in Byzantium and was buried in the church which he built there.
JOHN, the son of Zabhdai (Zebedee), was from Bethsaida, of the tribe of Zebulon. He preached in Ephesus, was exiled to Patmos, and then returned to Ephesus, where he built a church. Three of his disciples went with him:–IGNATIUS, later bishop of Antioch, who was thrown to the beasts in Rome; POLYCARP, later bishop of Smyrna who was burnt to death; and JOHN, who succeeded him as bishop. John, the son of Zebedee, was buried by John, his disciple, at Ephesus, and his grave is unknown. John, his disciple, was also buried at Ephesus. He wrote the Revelation, and said that all he had written in that book he had received from John the Evangelist.
JAMES, the brother of John, preached in Bethsaida and built a church there. Herod Agrippa slew him with the sword in the year following the Ascension of our Lord. He was buried at ֲkגr, a city of Marmגrמkג.
PHILIP, from Bethsaida, was of the tribe of Asher. He preached in Phrygia, Pamphylia and Pisidia; he died in Pisidia, and was buried in the church which he built there. He lived as an apostle 27 years.
THOMAS, from Jerusalem, was of the tribe of Judah. He taught the Parthians, Medes and Indians; he baptized the daughter of the Indian king, who had him speared to death. Habbגn the merchant brought his body to Edessa and buried it there. Some say he was buried in Mahlph in India.
MATTHEW, from Nazareth, was of the tribe of Issachar. He preached in Palestine, Tyre and Sidon, and went as far as Gabblג (i.e. al-Jabbגl, a town in Coelesyria). He died, and was buried in Antioch.
BARTHOLOMEW, from Endor, was of the tribe of Issachar. He preached in Armenia, Ardeshמr, Ketarbפl, Radbמn and Prharmגn. He first went to Golthon in Armenia, came back to Artaschu, and then went on to Her, Zarevant and Urbianos. He lived as an apostle for 30 years, and then Hrstמ (Rhstnמ or Hךrפstmמ), king of Armenia, crucified him in Urbianos. He was buried in the church which he had built in Armenia. The king of Armenia in the time of Bartholomew was called Sanadrog (Sanatruk).
JUDE, the son of James, surnamed THADDAEUS (TADDAI), who is also LEBBAEUS (Lebbai), from Jerusalem, was of the tribe of Judah. He preached in Laodicea, and in Antaradus and Arwגd (Ruwגd). He was stoned in Arwגd, and died and was buried there.
SIMON ZELװTES, from Galilee, was of the tribe of Ephraim. He preached in Shךmךshגt (Samosata), Pגrמn (Perrhך), Zeugma, Hגlגb (Aleppo), Mabbפg (Manbig), and Kenneshrמn (Kinnesrמn). He built a church in Kyrrhos, and died and was buried there.
JAMES, the son of Alphaeus (Halphai), was from the Jordan, and of the tribe of Manasseh. He preached in Tadmor (Palmyra), Kirkךsion (Kמrkמsמyג), and Callinicos (ar-Rakkah), and came to Bגtnגn of Serg (Sarug), where he built a church, and died and was buried there.
JUDAS ISCARIOT, the Betrayer, from Sekharyt, was of the tribe of Gad or Dan.
MATTHIAS, of the tribe of Reuben, came in his stead. He preached in Hellas and in Sicily, where he built a church, and died, and was buried in it.
JAMES, the brother of our Lord, was cast down from a pinnacle of the Temple whilst preaching in Jerusalem; then a fuller of cloth smashed in his skull with a club, and afterwards they stoned him.
JOHN THE BAPTIST was of the tribe of Levi. Herod the tetrarch slew him, and his body was buried in Sebastia.
ANANIAS (HANANYֲ), John’s disciple, taught in Damascus and Arbמl. Pפl, the general of Aretas (Aristus) slew him, and he was buried in his church at Arbil.
PAUL, of Tarsus, was a Pharisee and of the tribe of Ephraim (or, Benjamin?). He went to Peter at Rome, and Nero ordered them to be slain. On their way to the place of slaughter they gave the laying on of hands of the priesthood to their disciples, Peter to Mark, and Paul to Luke. Peter was crucified and Paul was beheaded, and Mark and Luke brought their bodies into the city. But Paul’s head could not be found. At length a shepherd found it, and he laid it by his sheep-fold. At night a fire blazed over it, and the shepherd went and told bishop Xystus and the clergy, and when they saw the head they recognized it as Paul’s head. They laid the head at the feet of Paul’s body, and, having prayed the whole night, the head was found to have joined itself to the body. From his call to the end of his life was 35 years; he travelled for 31 years, and he was in prison at Caesarea for two years, and for two years in Rome. He was martyred in the thirty-sixth year after the Passion of our Lord, and was buried in the royal catacombs in Rome.
LUKE, the physician and Evangelist, was a disciple of Lazarus, and was baptized by Philip in the city of Beroea. He was beheaded by Hפros, the governor of Alexandria under Tiberius, whilst preaching there; he was buried in that city.
MARK the Evangelist preached in Rome, and died and was buried there. He was either the son of Simon Peter’s wife or the son of Simon; and Rhoda was his sister. He was first called John, but the Apostles changed his name to Mark.
ADDAI, from Paneas, preached in Edessa and Mesopotamia in the days of Abhgar the king; he built a church in Edessa. Herod, son of Abhgar, slew him in the fortress of Aggךl, or Engמl, north of Amid. He was buried either in Edessa or Rome.
AGGAI, the disciple of Addai, was a silk weaver; because he refused to give up his preaching, Herod, son of Abhgar, broke his legs with a club and he killed him.
THADDAEUS was slain by Herod, son of Abhgar, and was buried in Edessa.
ZACCHAEUS (Zaccai), the publican, was slain whilst preaching in Mount Hפrפn.
SIMON, the leper, taught in Ramah, and the Jews slew him there.
JOSEPH, the Senator, taught in Galilee and Decapolis, and was buried in Ramah.
NICODEMUS, the Pharisee, the friend of our Lord, died in Jerusalem, and was buried there. Some say that he was buried by his brother Gamaliel in Kephar Gamlג.
NATHANIEL was stoned whilst preaching in Mount Hפrפn (or, Mount Hebron), and died.
SIMON, the Cyrenian, was slain in the island of Chios.
SIMON, son of Cleopas, was bishop of Jerusalem. At the age of one hundred years he was crucified by Irenaeus (or, Hereפs?), the chiliarch.
STEPHEN was stoned to death in Jerusalem, and was buried in Kephar Gamlג.
MARK (sumamed John) taught at Nyssa and Nazianzus; he built a church at the latter place, and died and was buried there.
GEPHAS (Gal. ii. 9; I Cor. i. 12) taught in Baalbec, Hims (Emesa), and Nathrפn (Batharn); he died and was buried in Shמrגz (Shaizar?).
BARNABAS, a native of Cyprus or a member of a family of Cyprians settled in Antioch, undertook two preaching missions in that Island, and then went and preached in Northern Italy and Krג for some time. Later he returned to Cyprus, where, according to one tradition, he suffered martyrdom. The various accounts of his life and preaching are described by Lipsius in his Apostelgeschichte (Bd. ii. Heft 2, pp. 276-320).
TITUS taught in Crete, and died and was buried there.
SOSTHENES taught in Pontus and Asia, and was cast into the sea by Nonnus, the prefect.
CRISCUS (CRESCENS) taught in Dalmatia; he died of hunger in Alexandria.
JUSTUS taught in Tiberias and Caesarea, where he died and was buried.
ANDRONICUS taught in Illyricum, where he died and was buried.
RUFUS was slain whilst teaching in Zeugma.
PATROBAS taught in Chalcedon, and died there.
HERMAS, the shepherd, taught in Antioch and died there.
NARCISSUS taught in Hellas, and died there.
ASYNCRITUS went to Bךth-Hzגyך (Ahwגz, Khzistגn), and died there.
ARISTOBULUS taught in Isauria, and died there.
ONESIMUS, the slave of Philemon, fled to Paul in Rome, where his legs were broken, and he died.
APOLLOS was burned to death by Sparacleus (?), governor of Gangra.
OLYMPAS, STACHYS and STEPHEN died in prison in Tarsus.
JUNIAS was slain in Samos.
THEOCRITUS died in Ilios.
MARTALUS (I) was slain by the Barbarians.
NIGER taught in Antioch, and died there.
LUCIUS was dragged behind a horse and died.
ALEXANDER was thrown into a pit in Heracleפpolis (Hierapolis?) and died.
MILUS was drowned at Rhodes.
SILVANUS and HERװDIװN (Rhפdiפn) were slain at Accפ.
SILAS taught at Sarapolis (Hierapolis?), and died there.
TIMOTHY taught in Ephesus, and died there.
MANAEL was burned to death in Accפ.
The EUNUCH of Candace was strangled on the island of Parparchia.
JASON and SOSIPATRUS were thrown to the beasts in Olmius.
DEMAS taught in Thessalonica, and died there.
OMIUS (HYMENAEUS) taught in Melitene, and died there.
THRASEUS was thrown into a fiery furnace at Laodicea.
BISTORIUS (ARISTARCHUS) taught in the island of Kג, and died there.
ABRIOS and MװTOS died in Ethiopia.
LEVI was slain in Paneas by Charmus.
NICETIANUS (NICETAS) was sawn in twain in Tiberias.
JOHN and THEODORUS were thrown to the beasts at Baalbec.
EUCHESTION (?) and SIMON were slain by Methalius in Byzantium.
EPHRAIM (APHREM) taught in Baishגn, and died there.
JUSTUS was slain at Corinth.
JAMES taught in Nicomedia, and died there.
[The Names Of The Apostles]
The TWELVE (Matt. x. Mark iii. Luke vi. Acts i.).
1. Simon Peter.
2. Andrew, his brother.
3. James, the son of Zebedee.
4. John, his brother.
5. Philip.
6. Bartholomew.
7. Thomas.
8. Matthew.
9. James, the son of Alphaeus.
10. Labbaeus (Thaddaeus).
11. Simon the Canaanite.
12. Judas Iscariot (in whose stead came Matthias).
The SEVENTY.
1. James, the son of Joseph.
2. Simon, the son of Cleopas.
3. Cleopas, his father.
4-8. Joses; Simon; Judah; Barnabas; Manaeus (?).
9. Ananias, who baptized Paul.
10. Cephas, who preached at Antioch.
11. Joseph, the senator.
12. Nicodemus, the Archon.
13. Nathaniel, the chief scribe.
14. Justus (i.e. Joseph, called Barshabbג).
15-17. Silas; Judah; John (Mark).
18. Mnason, who received Paul.
19. Manael, foster-brother of Herod.
20. Simon, called Niger.
21. Jason (see Acts xvii. 5-9).
22. Rufus (see Rom. xvi. 13).
23. Alexander.
24. Simon, the Cyrenian, their father.
25. Lucius, the Cyrenian.
26. Judah (mentioned in the Acts).
27. Judah, who is called Simon.
28. Eurion (Orion), the splay-footed.
29-32. Thorus; Thorisus; Zabdon; Zakron.
The following were chosen with Stephen:–
33. Philip, whose three (sic) daughters prophesied (see Acts xxi. 9).
34-36. Stephen; Prochorus; Nicanor.
37-39. Timon; Parmenas; Nicolaus (Acts vi. 5).
40. Andronicus, the Greek (Rom. xvi. 7).
41, 42. Titus; Timothy.
The following were with Peter in Rome:–
43, 44. Hermas; Plightג.
45-47. Patrobas; Asyncritus; Hermas.
The following came with Peter to Cornelius:–
48, 49. Criscus (II Tim. iv. 10); Milichus.
50, 51. Kמrמtפn (Crito); Simon.
52. Gaius, who received Paul.
53, 54. Abrazon (?); Apollos.
The following were rejected from among the Seventy, for they were followers of Cerinthus, and denied our Lord’s divinity:–
55-57. Simon; Levi; Bar-Kubbג.
58-60. Cleon; Hymenaeus; Candarus.
61-63. Clithon (?); Demas; Narcissus.
64-66. Slמkמspus; Thaddaeus; Mגrthג.
In their stead there came in:
Luke, the Physician.
Apollos, the elect.
Ampelius; Urbanus; Stachys.
Popillius (Publius); Aristobulus.
Stephen; Herodion, the son of Narcissus.
Olympas; Mark, the Evangelist.
Addai; Aggai; Mגr Mגrמ.
[Chronology
From Adam to the Flood was 2262 years.
From the Flood to Abraham was 1015 "
From Abraham to the Exodus from Egypt was 430 "
From the Exodus to Solomon and the building of the Temple was 400 "
From Solomon to the First Captivity, which Nebuchadnezzar led away captive 495 "
From the First Captivity to the prophesying of Daniel was 180 "
From the prophesying of Daniel to the Birth of our Lord was 483 "
[5265] “
All these make 5345 years (sic).
From Alexander to our Lord was 303 years.
From our Lord to Constantine was 341 “
In the year 438 of Alexander, the Macedonian, the kingdom of the Persians had its beginning.
[For 438 read 538, as the Sasanian dynasty was founded by Ardashמr I in A.D. 226.]
Know, O my brother readers, that from the beginning of the creation of Adam to Alexander was 5180 years.]
[Of Gog And Magog
When Alexander was king, and had subdued countries and cities, and had arrived in the East, he saw in the confines of the East those men who are of the children of Japhet. They were more wicked and unclean than all [other] dwellers in the world; filthy people of hideous appearance, who ate mice and the creeping things of the earth, and snakes and scorpions. They never buried the bodies of their dead [but ate them]. People ignorant of God, and unacquainted with the power of reason, but who lived in this world without understanding like ravening beasts. When Alexander saw their wickedness, he called God to his aid, and he gathered together and brought them and their wives and children, and made them go in, and shut them up within the confines of the North. This is the gate of the world on the north, and there is no other entrance or exit from the confines of the world from the east to the north. And Alexander prayed to God with tears, and God heard his prayer and commanded those two lofty mountains which are called “the children of the north,” and they drew nigh to one another until there remained between them about twelve cubits. Then he built in front of them a strong building, and he made for it a door of brass, and anointed it within and without with oil of Thesnaktמs (i.e. an oil which cannot be burnt off with fire or scraped off with an iron tool), so that if they should bring iron implements near it to force it to open, they would be unable to move it; and if they wished to melt it with fire, it would quench it; and it feared neither the operations of devils nor of sorcerers, and was not to be overcome [by them]. Now there were twenty-two kingdoms imprisoned within the northern gate, and their names are these:–
Gפg, Mגgפg.
Nגwגl, Eshkenגz (Eshkמn).
Denגphגr (Dמfגr).
Paktגyך (the people of Paktuך in the Thracian Chersonesus).
Welפtגyך (Ldגyך).
Humnגyך (the Huns), Parzגyך. Daklגyך, Thaubelגyך (Tuklגyך).
Darmetגyך, Kawkebגyך.
Dog-men (Cynocephali).
Emderגthג, Garmמdפ.
Cannibals, Therkגyך (Thracians).
ֲlגnגyך (the Allani), Pisilפn.
Denkגyך (Dunkגyך).
Saltrגyך (Saltגyך).
At the end of the world and at the final consummation, when men are eating and drinking and marrying wives; and women are given to husbands; when they are planting vineyards and building buildings, and there is neither wicked man nor adversary, on account of the assured tranquillity and certain peace; suddenly the gates of the north shall be opened, and the hosts of the nations that are imprisoned there shall go forth. The whole earth shall tremble before them, and men shall flee and take refuge in the mountains and in caves and in burial places, and in clefts of the earth; and they shall die of hunger, and there will be none to bury them, by reason of the multitude of afflictions which they will make men suffer. They will eat dead dogs and cats; they will give mothers the bodies of their children to cook, and they will eat them before them without shame. They will destroy the earth, and there will be none able to stand before them. After one week of that sore affliction, they will all be destroyed in the plain of Joppa, for thither will all those [people] be gathered together, with their wives and their sons and their daughters.
[Of The Coming Of Anti-Christ
In a week and half a week after the destruction of these wretches shall the son of destruction appear. He shall be conceived in Chorazin, born in Bethsaida, and reared in Capernaum. Chorazin shall exult because he was conceived in her, Bethsaida because he was born in her, and Capernaum because he was brought up in her; for this reason our Lord proclaimed Woe to these three [cities] in the Gospel (Matt. xi. 21). As soon as the son of perdition is revealed the king of the Greeks will go up and stand upon Golgotha, where our Lord was crucified; and he will set the royal crown upon the top of the holy Cross, upon which our Lord was crucified; and he will stretch out his two hands to heaven, and will deliver over the kingdom to God the Father. The holy Cross shall be taken up to heaven, and the royal crown with it; and the king will die immediately. The king who shall deliver over the kingdom to God will be descended from the seed of Kshath, the daughter of Pמl, the king of the Ethiopians; for Armelaus (Romulus), the king of the Greeks, took Kshath to wife, and the seed of the Ethiopians was mingled with that of the Greeks. From this seed shall a king arise who shall deliver the kingdom over to God, as the blessed David hath said, “Cush will deliver the power to God” (Ps. lxviii. 31).
When the Cross is raised up to heaven straightway shall every head and every ruler and all powers be brought to nought, and God will withdraw His providential care from the earth. The heavens will be prevented from letting fall rain, and the earth from producing germs and plants; and the earth shall remain like iron through drought, and the heavens like brass. Then will the son of perdition appear, of the seed and of the tribe of Dan; and he will show deluding phantasms, and lead astray the world, for the simple will see the lepers cleansed, the blind with their eyes opened, the paralytic walking, the devils cast out, the sun when he looks upon it becoming black, the moon when he commands it becoming changed, the trees putting forth fruit from their branches, and the earth making roots to grow. He will show deluding phantasms [of this kind], but he will not be able to raise the dead. He will go into Jerusalem and will sit upon a throne in the Temple, saying, “I am the Christ,” and he will be borne aloft by legions of devils like a king and a lawgiver, naming himself God, and saying, “I am the fulfilment of the types and the parables.” He will put an end to prayers and offerings, as if at his appearance prayers are to be abolished and men will not need sacrifices and offerings along with him. He becomes a man incarnate by a married woman of the tribe of Dan. When this son of destruction becomes a man, he will be made a dwelling place for devils, and all Satanic workings will be perfected in him. There will be gathered together with him all the devils and all the hosts of the Indians; and before all the Indians and before all men will the mad Jewish nation believe in him, saying, “This is the Christ, the expectation of the world.” The time of the error of the Anti-christ will last two years and a half, but others say three years and six months. And when everyone is standing in despair, then will Elijah (Elias) come from Paradise, and convict the deceiver, and turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers; and he will encourage and strengthen the hearts of the believers.
[The Hebrew Bible Translated Into Greek
Ptolemy Philadelphus reigned 38 years. In the third (or, sixth) year of his reign the fifth millennium from the creation of the world ended. This king asked the Jews who were captives in Egypt, and seventy (or, seventy-two) old men translated the Scriptures for him, from Hebrew into Greek, in the Island of Pharos. In return for this he set them free, and gave back to them also the vessels of their temple. Their names were:--
Of the tribe of Reuben.
Josephus
Hezekiah
Zechariah
John
Ezekiel
Elisha
Of the tribe of Simeon.
Judah
Simon
Samuel
Addai
Mattathias
Shalmi
Of the tribe of Levi.
Nehemiah
Joseph
Theodosius
Bגsג
Adonijah
Dגkמ
Of the tribe of Judah.
Jothan
Abdמ
Elisha
Ananias
Zechariah
Hilkiah
Of the tribe of Issachar
Isaac
Jacob
Jesus
Sambגt (Sabbateus)
Simon
Levi .
Of the tribe of Zebulon.
Judah
Joseph
Simon
Zechariah
Samuel
Shamlמ
Of the tribe of Gad.
Sambגt
Zedekiah
Jacob
Isaac
Jesse
Matthias
Of the tribe of Asher.
Theodosius
Jason
Joshua
John
Theodotus
Jothan
Of the tribe of Dan.
Abraham
Theophilus
Arsam
Jason
Jeremiah
Daniel
Of the tribe of Naphtali.
Jeremiah
Eliezer
Zechariah
Benaiah
Elisha
Dathמ
Of the tribe of Joseph.
Samuel
Josephus
Judah
Jonathan
Dositheus
Caleb
Of the tribe of Benjamin.
Isalus
John
Theodosius
Arsam
Abijah
Ezekiel
Divine Liturgy of St. James
The Priest.
I O Sovereign Lord our God, contemn me not, defiled with a multitude of sins: for, behold, I have come to this Your divine and heavenly mystery, not as being worthy; but looking only to Your goodness, I direct my voice to You: God be merciful to me, a sinner; I have sinned against Heaven, and before You, and am unworthy to come into the presence of this Your holy and spiritual table, upon which Your only-begotten Son, and our Lord Jesus Christ, is mystically set forth as a sacrifice for me, a sinner, and stained with every spot. Wherefore I present to You this supplication and thanksgiving, that Your Spirit the Comforter may be sent down upon me, strengthening and fitting me for this service; and count me worthy to make known without condemnation the word, delivered from You by me to the people, in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening, and consubstantial Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
Prayer of the standing beside the altar.
II Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, the triune light of the Godhead, which is unity subsisting in trinity, divided, yet indivisible: for the Trinity is the one God Almighty, whose glory the heavens declare, and the earth His dominion, and the sea His might, and every sentient and intellectual creature at all times proclaims His majesty: for all glory becomes Him, and honour and might, greatness and magnificence, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
Prayer of the incense at the beginning.
III Sovereign Lord Jesus Christ, O Word of God, who freely offered Yourself a blameless sacrifice upon the cross to God even the Father, the coal of double nature, that touched the lips of the prophet with the tongs, and took away his sins, touch also the hearts of us sinners, and purify us from every stain, and present us holy beside Your holy altar, that we may offer You a sacrifice of praise: and accept from us, Your unprofitable servants, this incense as an odour of a sweet smell, and make fragrant the evil odour of our soul and body, and purify us with the sanctifying power of Your all-holy Spirit: for You alone are holy, who sanctifies, and are communicated to the faithful; and glory becomes You, with Your eternal Father, and Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
Prayer of the commencement.
IV O beneficent King eternal, and Creator of the universe, receive Your Church, coming unto You through Your Christ: fulfil to each what is profitable; lead all to perfection, and make us perfectly worthy of the grace of Your sanctification, gathering us together within Your holy Church, which You have purchased by the precious blood of Your only-begotten Son, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, with whom You are blessed and glorified, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
The Deacon.
V Let us again pray to the Lord.
The Priest, prayer of the incense at the entrance of the congregation.
God, who accepted the gifts of Abel, the sacrifice of Noah and of Abram, the incense of Aaron and of Zacharias, accept also from the hand of us sinners this incense for an odour of a sweet smell, and for remission of our sins, and those of all Your people; for blessed are You, and glory becomes You, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever.
The Deacon.
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest prays.
Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, who through exceeding goodness and love not to be restrained was crucified, and did not refuse to be pierced by the spear and nails; who provided this mysterious and awful service as an everlasting memorial for us perpetually: bless Your ministry in Christ the God, and bless our entrance, and fully complete the presentation of this our service by Your unutterable compassion, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
The responsive prayer from the Deacon.
VI. The Lord bless us, and make us worthy seraphically to offer gifts, and to sing the oft-sung hymn of the divine Trisagion, by the fullness and exceeding abundance of all the perfection of holiness, now and ever.
Then the Deacon begins to sing in the entrance.
You who art the only-begotten Son and Word of God, immortal; who submitted for our salvation to become flesh of the holy God-mother, and ever-virgin Mary; who immutably became man and was crucified, O Christ our God, and by Your death trod death underfoot; who art one of the Holy Trinity glorified together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us.
The Priest says this prayer from the gates to the altar.
VII God Almighty, Lord great in glory, who hast given to us an entrance into the Holy of Holies, through the sojourning among men of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord, and God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, we supplicate and invoke Your goodness, since we are fearful and trembling when about to stand at Your holy altar; send forth upon us, O God, Your good grace, and sanctify our souls, and bodies, and spirits, and turn our thoughts to piety, in order that with a pure conscience we may bring unto You gifts, offerings, and fruits for the remission of our transgressions, and for the propitiation of all Your people, by the grace and mercies and loving-kindness of Your only-begotten Son, with whom You are blessed to all eternity. Amen.
After the approach to the altar, the Priest says:—
VIII. Peace be to all.
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Priest.
The Lord bless us all, and sanctify us for the entrance and celebration of the divine and pure mysteries, giving rest to the blessed souls among the good and just, by His grace and loving-kindness, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
Then the Deacon says the bidding prayer.
IX. In peace let us beseech the Lord.
For the peace that is from above, and for God’s love to man, and for the salvation of our souls, let us beseech the Lord.
For the peace of the whole world, for the unity of all the holy churches of God, let us beseech the Lord.
For the remission of our sins, and forgiveness of our transgressions, and for our deliverance from all tribulation, wrath, danger, and distress, and from the uprising of our enemies, let us beseech the Lord.
Then the Singers sing the Trisagion Hymn.
Holy God, holy mighty, holy immortal, have mercy upon us.
Then the Priest prays, bowing.
X. O compassionate and merciful, long-suffering, and very gracious and true God, look from Your prepared dwelling-place, and hear us Your suppliants, and deliver us from every temptation of the devil and of man; withhold not Your aid from us, nor bring on us chastisements too heavy for our strength: for we are unable to overcome what is opposed to us; but You are able, Lord, to save us from everything that is against us. Save us, O God, from the difficulties of this world, according to Your goodness, in order that, having drawn near with a pure conscience to Your holy altar, we may send up to You without condemnation the blessed hymn Trisagion, together with the heavenly powers, and that, having performed the service, well pleasing to You and divine, we may be counted worthy of eternal life.
(Aloud.)
Because You are holy, Lord our God, and dwell and abide in holy places, we send up the praise and the hymn Trisagion to You, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
XI. Peace be to all.
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Singers.
Alleluia.
Then there are read in order the holy oracles of the Old Testament, and of the prophets; and the incarnation of the Son of God is set forth, and His sufferings and resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, and His second appearing with glory; and this takes place daily in the holy and divine service.
After the reading and instruction the Deacon says:—
XII. Let us all say, Lord, be merciful.
Lord Almighty, the God of our fathers;
We beseech You, hear us.
For the peace which is from above, and for the salvation of our souls;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For the peace of the whole world, and the unity of all the holy churches of God;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For the salvation and help of all the Christ-loving people;
We beseech You, hear us.
For our deliverance from all tribulation, wrath, danger, distress, from captivity, bitter death, and from our iniquities;
We beseech You, hear us.
For the people standing round, and waiting for the rich and plenteous mercy that is from You;
We beseech You, be merciful and gracious.
Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance.
Visit Your world in mercy and compassion.
Exalt the horn of Christians by the power of the precious and quickening cross.
We beseech You, most merciful Lord, hear us praying to You, and have mercy upon us.
The People (thrice).
Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Deacon.
XIII. For the remission of our sins, and forgiveness of our transgressions, and for our deliverance from all tribulation, wrath, danger, and distress, let us beseech the Lord.
Let us all entreat from the Lord, that we may pass the whole day, perfect, holy, peaceful, and without sin.
Let us entreat from the Lord a messenger of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies.
Let us entreat from the Lord forgiveness and remission of our sins and transgressions.
Let us entreat from the Lord the things which are good and proper for our souls, and peace for the world.
Let us entreat from the Lord, that we may spend the remaining period of our life in peace and health.
Let us entreat that the close of our lives may be Christian, without pain and without shame, and a good plea at the dread and awful judgment-seat of Christ.
The Priest.
XIV. For You are the gospel and the light, Saviour and keeper of our souls and bodies, God, and Your only-begotten Son, and Your all-holy Spirit, now and ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest
God, who hast taught us Your divine and saving oracles, enlighten the souls of us sinners for the comprehension of the things which have been before spoken, so that we may not only be seen to be hearers of spiritual things, but also doers of good deeds, striving after guileless faith, blameless life, and pure conversation.
(Aloud.)
In Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, good, and quickening Spirit, now and always, and for ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
XV. Peace be to all.
The People.
And to Your spirit.
The Deacon.
Let us bow our heads to the Lord.
The People.
To You, Lord.
The Priest prays, saying:
O Sovereign giver of life, and provider of good things, who gave to mankind the blessed hope of eternal life, our Lord Jesus Christ, count us worthy in holiness, and perfect this Your divine service to the enjoyment of future blessedness.
(Aloud.)
So that, guarded by Your power at all times, and led into the light of truth, we may send up the praise and the thanksgiving to You, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Deacon.
XVI. Let none remain of the catechumens, none of the unbaptized, none of those who are unable to join with us in prayer. Look at one another. The door.
All erect: let us again pray to the Lord.
2
The Priest says the prayer of incense.
Sovereign Almighty, King of Glory, who know all things before their creation, manifest Yourself to us calling upon You at this holy hour, and redeem us from the shame of our transgressions; cleanse our mind and our thoughts from impure desires, from worldly deceit, from all influence of the devil; and accept from the hands of us sinners this incense, as You accepted the offering of Abel, and Noah, and Aaron, and Samuel, and of all Your saints, guarding us from everything evil, and preserving us for continually pleasing, and worshipping, and glorifying You, the Father, and Your only-begotten Son, and Your all-holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever.
And the Readers begin the Cherubic Hymn.
Let all mortal flesh be silent, and stand with fear and trembling, and meditate nothing earthly within itself:—
For the King of kings and Lord of lords, Christ our God, comes forward to be sacrificed, and to be given for food to the faithful; and the bands of angels go before Him with every power and dominion, the many-eyed cherubim, and the six-winged seraphim, covering their faces, and crying aloud the hymn, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
The Priest, bringing in the holy gifts, says this prayer:—
XVII. O God, our God, who sent forth the heavenly bread, the food of the whole world, our Lord Jesus Christ, to be a Saviour, and Redeemer, and Benefactor, blessing and sanctifying us, do You Yourself bless this offering, and graciously receive it to Your altar above the skies:
Remember in Your goodness and love those who have brought it, and those for whom they have brought it, and preserve us without condemnation in the service of Your divine mysteries: for hollowed and glorified is Your all-honoured and great name, Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity.
The Priest.
Peace be to all.
The Deacon.
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest.
Blessed be God, who blesses and sanctifies us all at the presentation of the divine and pure mysteries, and gives rest to the blessed souls among the holy and just, now and always, and to all eternity.
The Deacon.
XVIII Let us attend in wisdom.
The Priest begins.
I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God: and the rest of the Creed.
Then he prays, bowing his neck.
XIX. God and Sovereign of all, make us, who are unworthy, worthy of this hour, lover of mankind; that being pure from all deceit and all hypocrisy, we may be united with one another by the bond of peace and love, being confirmed by the sanctification of Your divine knowledge through Your only-begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
The Deacon.
XX. Let us stand well, let us stand reverently, let us stand in the fear of God, and with compunction of heart. In peace let us pray to the Lord.
The Priest.
For God of peace, mercy, love, compassion, and loving-kindness are You, and Your only-begotten Son, and Your all-holy Spirit, now and ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
Peace be to all.
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Deacon.
Let us salute one another with an holy kiss. Let us bow our heads to the Lord.
The Priest bows, saying this prayer:—
XXI. Only Lord and merciful God, on those who are bowing their necks before Your holy altar, and seeking the spiritual gifts that come from You, send forth Your good grace; and bless us all with every spiritual blessing, that cannot be taken from us, You, who dwellest on high, and hast regard unto things that are lowly.
(Aloud.)
For worthy of praise and worship and most glorious is Your all-holy name, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and always, and to all eternity.
The Deacon.
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest.
The Lord will bless us, and minister with us all by His grace and loving-kindness.
And again.
The Lord will bless us, and make us worthy to stand at His holy altar, at all times, now and always, and for ever.
And again.
Blessed be God, who blesses and sanctifies us all in our attendance upon, and service of, His pure mysteries, now and always, and for ever.
The Deacon makes the Universal Litany.
XXII In peace let us pray to the Lord.
The People.
O Lord, have mercy.
The Deacon.
Save us, have mercy upon us, pity and keep us, O God, by Your grace.
For the peace that is from above, and the loving-kindness of God, and the salvation of our souls;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For the peace of the whole world, and the unity of all the holy churches of God;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For those who bear fruit, and labour honourably in the holy churches of God; for those who remember the poor, the widows and the orphans, the strangers and needy ones; and for those who have requested us to mention them in our prayers;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For those who are in old age and infirmity, for the sick and suffering, and those who are troubled by unclean spirits, for their speedy cure from God and their salvation;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For those who are passing their days in virginity, and celibacy, and discipline, and for those in holy matrimony; and for the holy fathers and brethren agonizing in mountains, and dens, and caves of the earth;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For Christians sailing, travelling, living among strangers, and for our brethren in captivity, in exile, in prison, and in bitter slavery, their peaceful return;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For the remission of our sins, and forgiveness of our transgressions, and for our deliverance from all tribulation, wrath, danger, and constraint, and uprising against us of enemies;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For favourable weather, peaceful showers, beneficent dews, abundance of fruits, the perfect close of a good season, and for the crown of the year;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For our fathers and brethren present, and praying with us in this holy hour, and at every season, their zeal, labour, and earnestness;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For every Christian soul in tribulation and distress, and needing the mercy and succour of God; for the return of the erring, the health of the sick, the deliverance of the captives, the rest of the fathers and brethren that have fallen asleep aforetime;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For the hearing and acceptance of our prayer before God, and the sending down on us His rich mercies and compassion.
Let us beseech the Lord.
And for the offered, precious, heavenly, unutterable, pure, glorious, dread, awful, divine gifts, and the salvation of the priest who stands by and offers them;
Let us offer supplication to God the Lord.
The People.
O Lord, have mercy.
(Thrice.)
Then the Priest makes the sign of the cross on the gifts, and, standing, speaks separately thus:—
XXIII Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will among men, etc.
(Thrice.)
Lord, You will open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
(Thrice.)
Let my mouth be filled with Your praise, O Lord, that I may tell of Your glory, of Your majesty, all the day.
(Thrice.)
Of the Father. Amen. And of the Son. Amen. And of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Now and always, and to all eternity. Amen.
And bowing to this side and to that, he says:
XXIV. Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
And they answer, bowing:—
The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you.
Then the Priest, at great length:—
O Sovereign Lord, who hast visited us in compassion and mercies, and hast freely given to us, Your humble and sinful and unworthy servants, boldness to stand at Your holy altar, and to offer to You this dread and bloodless sacrifice for our sins, and for the errors of the people, look upon me Your unprofitable servant, and blot out my transgressions for Your compassion’s sake; and purify my lips and heart from all pollution of flesh and spirit; and remove from me every shameful and foolish thought, and fit me by the power of Your all-holy Spirit for this service; and receive me graciously by Your goodness as I draw near to Your altar.
And be pleased, O Lord, that these gifts brought by our hands may be acceptable, stooping to my weakness; and cast me not away from Your presence, and abhor not my unworthiness; but pity me according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your mercies pass by my transgressions, that, having come before Your glory without condemnation, I may be counted worthy of the protection of Your only-begotten Son, and of the illumination of Your all-holy Spirit, that I may not be as a slave of sin cast out, but as Your servant may find grace and mercy and forgiveness of sins before You, both in the world that now is and in that which is to come.
I beseech You, Almighty Sovereign, all-powerful Lord, hear my prayer; for You are He who work all in all, and we all seek in all things the help and succour that come from You and Your only-begotten Son, and the good and quickening and consubstantial Spirit, now and ever.
XXV. O God, who through Your great and unspeakable love sent forth Your only-begotten Son into the world, in order that He might turn back the lost sheep, turn not away us sinners, laying hold of You by this dread and bloodless sacrifice; for we trust not in our own righteousness, but in Your good mercy, by which You purchase our race.
We entreat and beseech Your goodness that it may not be for condemnation to Your people that this mystery for salvation has been administered by us, but for remission of sins, for renewal of souls and bodies, for the well-pleasing of You, God and Father, in the mercy and love of Your only-begotten Son, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy and good and quickening Spirit, now and always, and for ever.
XXVI. O Lord God, who created us, and bring us into life, who hast shown to us ways to salvation, who hast granted to us a revelation of heavenly mysteries, and hast appointed us to this ministry in the power of Your all-holy Spirit, grant, O Sovereign, that we may become servants of Your new testament, ministers of Your pure mysteries, and receive us as we draw near to Your holy altar, according to the greatness of Your mercy, that we may become worthy of offering to You gifts and sacrifices for our transgressions and for those of the people; and grant to us, O Lord, with all fear and a pure conscience to offer to You this spiritual and bloodless sacrifice, and graciously receiving it unto Your holy and spiritual altar above the skies for an odour of a sweet spiritual smell, send down in answer on us the grace of Your all-holy Spirit.
And, O God, look upon us, and have regard to this our reasonable service, and accept it, as You accepted the gifts of Abel, the sacrifices of Noah, the priestly offices of Moses and Aaron, the peace-offerings of Samuel, the repentance of David, the incense of Zacharias. As You accepted from the hand of Your apostles this true service, so accept also in Your goodness from the hands of us sinners these offered gifts; and grant that our offering may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, as a propitiation for our transgressions and the errors of the people; and for the rest of the souls that have fallen asleep aforetime; that we also, Your humble, sinful, and unworthy servants, being counted worthy without guile to serve Your holy altar, may receive the reward of faithful and wise stewards, and may find grace and mercy in the terrible day of Your just and good retribution.
Prayer of the veil.
XXVII. We thank You, O Lord our God, that You have given us boldness for the entrance of Your holy places, which You have renewed to us as a new and living way through the veil of the flesh of Your Christ. We therefore, being counted worthy to enter into the place of the tabernacle of Your glory, and to be within the veil, and to behold the Holy of Holies, cast ourselves down before Your goodness:
Lord, have mercy on us: since we are full of fear and trembling, when about to stand at Your holy altar, and to offer this dread and bloodless sacrifice for our own sins and for the errors of the people: send forth, O God, Your good grace, and sanctify our souls, and bodies, and spirits; and turn our thoughts to holiness, that with a pure conscience we may bring to You a peace-offering, the sacrifice of praise:
(Aloud.)
By the mercy and loving-kindness of Your only-begotten Son, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and always:
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
Peace be to all.
The Deacon.
Let us stand reverently, let us stand in the fear of God, and with contrition: let us attend to the holy communion service, to offer peace to God.
The People.
The offering of peace, the sacrifice of praise.
The Priest [A veil is now withdrawn from the oblation of bread and wine.]
And reveal it clearly to us, uncovering the veils that darkly invest in symbol this sacred ceremonial. Fill our intellectual vision with absolute light, and having purified our poverty from every pollution of flesh and spirit, make it worthy of this dread and awful approach: for You are an all-merciful and gracious God, and we send up the praise and the thanksgiving to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now, and always, and for ever.
3
The Anaphora.
Then he says aloud:—
XXVIII. The love of the Lord and Father, the grace of the Lord and Son, and the fellowship and the gift of the Holy Spirit, be with us all.
The People.
And with your spirit.
The Priest.
Let us lift up our minds and our hearts.
The People.
It is becoming and right.
Then the Priest prays.
Verily it is becoming and right, proper and due to praise You, to sing of You, to bless You, to worship You, to glorify You, to give You thanks, Maker of every creature visible and invisible, the treasure of eternal good things, the fountain of life and immortality, God and Lord of all:
Whom the heavens of heavens praise, and all the host of them; the sun, and the moon, and all the choir of the stars; earth, sea, and all that is in them; Jerusalem, the heavenly assembly, and church of the first-born that are written in heaven; spirits of just men and of prophets; souls of martyrs and of apostles; angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, and authorities, and dread powers; and the many-eyed cherubim, and the six-winged seraphim, which cover their faces with two wings, their feet with two, and with two they fly, crying one to another with unresting lips, with unceasing praises:
(Aloud.)
With loud voice singing the victorious hymn of Your majestic glory, crying aloud, praising, shouting, and saying:—
The People.
Holy, holy, holy, O Lord of Sabaoth, the heaven and the earth are full of Your glory. Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
The Priest, making the sign of the cross on the gifts, says:—
XXIX. Holy are You, King of eternity, and Lord and giver of all holiness; holy also Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom You have made all things; holy also Your Holy Spirit, which searches all things, even Your deep things, O God: holy are You, almighty, all-powerful, good, dread, merciful, most compassionate to Your creatures; who made man from earth after Your own image and likeness; who gave him the joy of paradise; and when he transgressed Your commandment, and fell away, did not disregard nor desert him, O Good One, but chastened him as at merciful father, call him by the law, instruct him by the prophets; and afterwards sent forth Your only-begotten Son Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, into the world, that He by His coming might renew and restore Your image;
Who, having descended from heaven, and become flesh of the Holy Spirit and Virgin Godmother Mary, and having sojourned among men, fulfilled the dispensation for the salvation of our race; and being about to endure His voluntary and life-giving death by the cross, He the sinless for us the sinners, in the night in which He was betrayed, nay, rather delivered Himself up for the life and salvation of the world,
Then the Priest holds the bread in his hand, and says:—
XXX. Having taken the bread in His holy and pure and blameless and immortal hands, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and showing it to You, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hallowed, and broke, and gave it to us, His disciples and apostles, saying:—
The Deacons say:
For the remission of sins and life everlasting.
Then he says aloud:—
Take, eat: this is my body, broken for you, and given for remission of sins.
The People.
Amen.
Then he takes the cup, and says:—
In like manner, after supper, He took the cup, and having mixed wine and water, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and presenting it to You, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hollowed and blessed it, and filled it with the Holy Spirit, and gave it to us His disciples, saying, Drink all of it; this is my blood of the new testament shed for you and many, and distributed for the remission of sins.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
This do in remembrance of me; for as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show forth the Lord’s death, and confess His resurrection, till He come.
The Deacons say:—
We believe and confess:
The People.
We show forth Your death, O Lord, and confess Your resurrection.
The Priest (Oblation).
XXXI. Remembering, therefore, His life-giving sufferings, His saving cross, His death and His burial, and resurrection from the dead on the third day, and His ascension into heaven, and sitting at the right hand of You, our God and Father, and His second glorious and awful appearing, when He shall come with glory to judge the quick and the dead, and render to every one according to His works; even we, sinful men, offer unto You, O Lord, this dread and bloodless sacrifice, praying that You will not deal with us after our sins, nor reward us according to our iniquities;
But that You, according to Your mercy and Your unspeakable loving-kindness, passing by and blotting out the handwriting against us Your suppliants, wilt grant to us Your heavenly and eternal gifts (which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man ) that you have prepared, O God, for those who love You; and reject not, O loving Lord, the people for my sake, or for my sin’s sake:
Then he says, thrice:—
For Your people and Your Church supplicate You.
The People.
Have mercy on us, O Lord our God, Father Almighty.
Again the Priest says (Invocation):—
XXXII. Have mercy upon us, O God Almighty.
Have mercy upon us, O God our Saviour.
Have mercy upon us, O God, according to Your great mercy, and send forth on us, and on these offered gifts, Your all-holy Spirit.
Then, bowing his neck, he says:—
The sovereign and quickening Spirit, that sits upon the throne with You, our God and Father, and with Your only-begotten Son, reigning with You; the consubstantial and co-eternal; that spoke in the law and in the prophets, and in Your New Testament; that descended in the form of a dove on our Lord Jesus Christ at the river Jordan, and abode on Him; that descended on Your apostles in the form of tongues of fire in the upper room of the holy and glorious Zion on the day of Pentecost: this Your all-holy Spirit, send down, O Lord, upon us, and upon these offered holy gifts;
And rising up, he says aloud:—
That coming, by His holy and good and glorious appearing, He may sanctify this bread, and make it the holy body of Your Christ.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
And this cup the precious blood of Your Christ.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest by himself standing.
XXXIII. That they may be to all that partake of them for remission of sins, and for life everlasting, for the sanctification of souls and of bodies, for bearing the fruit of good works, for the establishing of Your Holy Catholic Church, which You have founded on the Rock of Faith, that the gates of hell may not prevail against it; delivering it from all heresy and scandals, and from those who work iniquity, keeping it till the fullness of the time.
And having bowed, he says:—
XXXIV. We present them to You also, O Lord, for the holy places, which You have glorified by the divine appearing of Your Christ, and by the visitation of Your all-holy Spirit; especially for the glorious Zion, the mother of all the churches; and for Your Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church throughout the world: even now, O Lord, bestow upon her the rich gifts of Your all-holy Spirit.
Remember also, O Lord, our holy fathers and brethren in it, and the bishops in all the world, who rightly divide the word of Your truth.
Remember also, O Lord, every city and country, and those of the true faith dwelling in them, their peace and security.
Remember, O Lord, Christians sailing, travelling, sojourning in strange lands; our fathers and brethren, who are in bonds, prison, captivity, and exile; who are in mines, and under torture, and in bitter slavery. Remember, O Lord, the sick and afflicted, and those troubled by unclean spirits, their speedy healing from You, O God, and their salvation.
Remember, O Lord, every Christian soul in affliction and distress, needing Your mercy and succour, O God; and the return of the erring.
Remember, O Lord, our fathers and brethren, toiling hard, and ministering unto us, for Your holy name’s sake.
Remember all, O Lord, for good: have mercy on all, O Lord, be reconciled to us all: give peace to the multitudes of Your people: put away scandals: bring wars to an end: make the uprising of heresies to cease: grant Your peace and Your love to us, O God our Saviour, the hope of all the ends of the earth.
Remember, O Lord, favourable weather, peaceful showers, beneficent dews, abundance of fruits, and to crown the year with Your goodness; for the eyes of all wait on You, and You give their food in due season: you open Your hand, and fill every living thing with gladness.
Remember, O Lord, those who bear fruit, and labour honourably in the holy of Your Church; and those who forget not the poor, the widows, the orphans, the strangers, and the needy; and all who have desired us to remember them in our prayers.
Moreover, O Lord, be pleased to remember those who have brought these offerings this day to Your holy altar, and for what each one has brought them or with what mind, and those persons who have just now been mentioned to You.
Remember, O Lord, according to the multitude of Your mercy and compassion, me also, Your humble and unprofitable servant; and the deacons who surround Your holy altar, and graciously give them a blameless life, keep their ministry undefiled, and purchase for them a good degree, that we may find mercy and grace, with all the saints that have been well pleasing to You since the world began, to generation and generation— grandsires, sires, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, teachers, saints, and every just spirit made perfect in the faith of Your Christ.
XXXV. Hail, Mary, highly favoured: the Lord is with You; blessed are you among women, and blessed the fruit of your womb, for you bore the Saviour of our souls.
The Deacons.
XXXVI. Remember us, O Lord God.
The Priest, bowing, says:—
Remember, O Lord God, the spirits and all flesh, of whom we have made mention, and of whom we have not made mention, who are of the true faith, from righteous Abel unto this day: unto them do You give rest there in the land of the living, in Your kingdom, in the joy of paradise, in the bosom of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, our holy fathers; whence pain, and grief, and lamentation have fled: there the light of Your countenance looks upon them, and enlightens them for ever.
Make the end of our lives Christian, acceptable, blameless, and peaceful, O Lord, gathering us together, O Lord, under the feet of Your elect, when You will, and as You will; only without shame and transgressions, through Your only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ: for He is the only sinless one who has appeared on the earth.
The Deacon.
And let us pray:—
For the peace and establishing of the whole world, and of the holy churches of God, and for the purposes for which each one made his offering, or according to the desire he has: and for the people standing round, and for all men, and all women:
The People.
And for all men and all women. (Amen.)
The Priest says aloud:—
Wherefore, both to them and to us, do You in Your goodness and love:
The People.
Forgive, remit, pardon, O God, our transgressions, voluntary and involuntary: in deed and in word: in knowledge and in ignorance: by night and by day: in thought and intent: in Your goodness and love, forgive us them all.
The Priest.
Through the grace and compassion and love of Your only-begotten Son, with whom You are blessed and glorified, together with the all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
XXXVII. Peace be to all:
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Deacon.
Again, and continually, in peace let us pray to the Lord.
For the gifts to the Lord God presented and sanctified, precious, heavenly, unspeakable, pure, glorious, dread, awful, divine;
Let us pray.
That the Lord our God, having graciously received them to His altar that is holy and above the heavens, rational and spiritual, for the odour of a sweet spiritual savour, may send down in answer upon us the divine grace and the gift of the all-holy Spirit;
Let us pray.
Having prayed for the unity of the faith, and the communion of His all-holy and adorable Spirit;
Let us commend ourselves and one another, and our whole life, to Christ our God:
The People.
Amen.
The Priest prays.
XXXVIII. God and Father of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, the glorious Lord, the blessed essence, the bounteous goodness, the God and Sovereign of all, who art blessed to all eternity, who sittest upon the cherubim, and art glorified by the seraphim, before whom stand thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand hosts of angels and archangels: You have accepted the gifts, offerings, and fruits brought unto You as an odour of a sweet spiritual smell, and hast been pleased to sanctify them, and make them perfect, O good One, by the grace of Your Christ, and by the presence of Your all-holy Spirit.
Sanctify also, O Lord, our souls, and bodies, and spirits, and touch our understandings, and search our consciences, and cast out from us every evil imagination, every impure feeling, every base desire, every unbecoming thought, all envy, and vanity, and hypocrisy, all lying, all deceit, every worldly affection, all covetousness, all vainglory, all indifference, all vice, all passion, all anger, all malice, all blasphemy, every motion of the flesh and spirit that is not in accordance with Your holy will:
(Aloud.)
And count us worthy, O loving Lord, with boldness, without condemnation, in a pure heart, with a contrite spirit, with unshamed face, with sanctified lips, to dare to call upon You, the holy God, Father in heaven, and to say,
The People.
Our Father, which art in heaven: hollowed be Your name; and so on to the doxology.
The Priest, bowing, says (the Embolism ):—
And lead us not into temptation, Lord, Lord of Hosts, who know our frailty, but deliver us from the evil one and his works, and from all his malice and craftiness, for the sake of Your holy name, which has been placed upon our humility:
(Aloud.)
For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and for ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
XXXIX. Peace be to all.
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Deacon.
Let us bow our heads to the Lord.
The People.
To You, O Lord.
The Priest prays, speaking thus:—
To You, O Lord, we Your servants have bowed our heads before Your holy altar, waiting for the rich mercies that are from You.
Send forth upon us, O Lord, Your plenteous grace and Your blessing; and sanctify our souls, bodies, and spirits, that we may become worthy communicants and partakers of Your holy mysteries, to the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting:
(Aloud.)
For adorable and glorified are You, our God, and Your only-begotten Son, and Your all-holy Spirit, now and ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest says aloud:—
And the grace and the mercies of the holy and consubstantial, and uncreated, and adorable Trinity, shall be with us all.
The People.
And with your spirit.
The Deacon.
In the fear of God, let us attend.
The Priest says secretly:—
O holy Lord, who abides in holy places, sanctify us by the word of Your grace, and by the visitation of Your all-holy Spirit: for You, O Lord, have said, You will be holy, for I am holy. O Lord our God, incomprehensible Word of God, one in substance with the Father and the Holy Spirit, co-eternal and indivisible, accept the pure hymn, in Your holy and bloodless sacrifices; with the cherubim, and seraphim, and from me, a sinful man, crying and saying:—
He takes up the gifts and says aloud:—
XL. The holy things unto holy.
The People.
One only is holy, one Lord Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father, to whom be glory to all eternity.
The Deacon.
XLI. For the remission of our sins, and the propitiation of our souls, and for every soul in tribulation and distress, needing the mercy and succour of God, and for the return of the erring, the healing of the sick, the deliverance of the captives, the rest of our fathers and brethren who have fallen asleep aforetime;
Let us all say fervently, Lord, have mercy:
The People (twelve times).
Lord, have mercy.
Then the Priest breaks the bread, and holds the half in his right hand, and the half in his left, and dips that in his right hand in the chalice, saying:—
The union of the all-holy body and precious blood of our Lord and God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Then he makes the sign of the cross on that in his left hand: then with that which has been signed the other half: then immediately he begins to divide, and before all to give to each chalice a single piece, saying:—
It has been made one, and sanctified, and perfected, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever.
And when he makes the sign of the cross on the bread, he says:—
Behold the Lamb of God, the Son of the Father, that takes away the sin of the world, sacrificed for the life and salvation of the world.
And when he gives a single piece to each chalice he says:—
A holy portion of Christ, full of grace and truth, of the Father, and of the Holy Spirit, to whom be the glory and the power to all eternity.
Then he begins to divide, and to say:—
XLII. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. In green pastures, and so on.
Then,
I will bless the Lord at all times, and so on.
Then,
I will extol You, my God, O King, and so on .
Then,
O praise the Lord, all you nations, and so on .
The Deacon.
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest.
The Lord will bless us, and keep us without condemnation for the communion of His pure gifts, now and always, and for ever.
And when they have filled, the Deacon says:—
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest says:—
The Lord will bless us, and make us worthy with the pure touchings of our fingers to take the live coal, and place it upon the mouths of the faithful for the purification and renewal of their souls and bodies, now and always.
Then,
O taste and see that the Lord is good; who is parted and not divided; distributed to the faithful and not expended; for the remission of sins, and the life everlasting; now and always, and for ever.
The Deacon.
In the peace of Christ, let us sing:
The Singers.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
The Priest says the prayer before the communion.
O Lord our God, the heavenly bread, the life of the universe, I have sinned against Heaven, and before You, and am not worthy to partake of Your pure mysteries; but as a merciful God, make me worthy by Your grace, without condemnation to partake of Your holy body and precious blood, for the remission of sins, and life everlasting.
XLIII. Then he distributes to the clergy; and when the deacons take the disks and the chalices for distribution to the people, the Deacon, who takes the first disk, says:—
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest replies:—
Glory to God who has sanctified and is sanctifying us all.
The Deacon says:—
Be exalted, O God, over the heavens, and Your glory over all the earth, and Your kingdom endures to all eternity.
And when the Deacon is about to put it on the side-table the Priest says:—
Blessed be the name of the Lord our God for ever.
The Deacon.
In the fear of God, and in faith and love, draw near.
The People.
Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.
And again, when he sets down the disk upon the side-table, he says:—
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest.
Save Your people, O God, and bless Your inheritance.
The Priest again.
Glory to our God, who has sanctified us all.
And when he has put the chalice back on the holy table, the Priest says:—
Blessed be the name of the Lord to all eternity.
The Deacons and the People say:—
Fill our mouths with Your praise, O Lord, and fill our lips with joy, that we may sing of Your glory, of Your greatness all the day.
And again:—
We render thanks to You, Christ our God, that You have made us worthy to partake of Your body and blood, for the remission of sins, and for life everlasting. We pray You, in Your goodness and love, keep us without condemnation.
The prayer of incense at the last entrance.
XLIV. We render thanks to You, the Saviour and God of all, for all the good things You have given us, and for the participation of Your holy and pure mysteries, and we offer to You this incense, praying: Keep us under the shadow of Your wings, and count us worthy till our last breath to partake of Your holy rites for the sanctification of our souls and bodies, for the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven: for You, O God, are our sanctification, and we send up praise and thanksgiving to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Deacon begins in the entrance.
Glory to You, glory to You, glory to You, O Christ the King, only-begotten Word of the Father, that You have counted us, Your sinful and unworthy servants, worthy to enjoy your pure mysteries for the remission of sins, and for life everlasting: glory to You.
And when he has made the entrance, the Deacon begins to speak thus:—
XLV. Again and again, and at all times, in peace, let us beseech the Lord.
That the participation of His Holy rites may be to us for the turning away from every wicked thing, for our support on the journey to life everlasting, for the communion and gift of the Holy Spirit;
Let us pray.
The Priest prays.
Commemorating our all-holy, pure, most glorious, blessed Lady, the God-Mother and Ever-Virgin Mary, and all the saints that have been well-pleasing to You since the world began, let us devote ourselves, and one another, and our whole life, to Christ our God:
The People.
To You, O Lord.
The Priest.
XLVI. O God, who through Your great and unspeakable love condescended to the weakness of Your servants, and hast counted us worthy to partake of this heavenly table, condemn not us sinners for the participation of Your pure mysteries; but keep us, O good One, in the sanctification of Your Holy Spirit, that being made holy, we may find part and inheritance with all Your saints that have been well-pleasing to You since the world began, in the light of Your countenance, through the mercy of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit: for blessed and glorified is Your all-precious and glorious name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
Peace be to all.
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Deacon.
XLVII. Let us bow our heads to the Lord.
The Priest.
O God, great and marvellous, look upon Your servants, for we have bowed our heads to You. Stretch forth Your hand, strong and full of blessings, and bless Your people. Keep Your inheritance, that always and at all times we may glorify You, our only living and true God, the holy and consubstantial Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, now and ever, and to all eternity.
(Aloud.)
For unto You is becoming and is due praise from us all, and honour, and adoration, and thanksgiving, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever.
The Deacon.
XLVIII. In the peace of Christ let us sing:
And again he says:—
In the peace of Christ let us go on:
The People.
In the name of the Lord. Sir, pronounce the blessing.
Dismission prayer, spoken by the Deacon.
Going on from glory to glory, we praise You, the Saviour of our souls. Glory to Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit now and ever, and to all eternity. We praise You, the Saviour of our souls.
The Priest says a prayer from the altar to the sacristy.
XLIX. Going on from strength to strength, and having fulfilled all the divine service in Your temple, even now we beseech You, O Lord our God, make us worthy of perfect loving-kindness; make straight our path: root us in Your fear, and make us worthy of the heavenly kingdom, in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and always, and for ever.
The Deacon.
L. Again and again, and at all times, in peace let us beseech the Lord.
Prayer said in the sacristy after the dismissal.
You have given unto us, O Lord, sanctification in the communion of the all-holy body and precious blood of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; give unto us also the grace of Your good Spirit, and keep us blameless in the faith, lead us unto perfect adoption and redemption, and to the coming joys of eternity; for You are our sanctification and light, O God, and Your only-begotten Son, and Your all-holy Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
The Deacon.
In the peace of Christ let us keep watch.
The Priest.
Blessed is God, who blesses and sanctifies through the communion of the holy, and quickening, and pure mysteries, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
Then the prayer of propitiation.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, Lamb and Shepherd, who takest away the sin of the world, who freely forgave their debt to the two debtors, and gavest remission of her sins to the woman that was a sinner, who gavest healing to the paralytic, with the remission of his sins; forgive, remit, pardon, O God, our offenses, voluntary and involuntary, in knowledge and in ignorance, by transgression and by disobedience, which Your all-holy Spirit knows better than Your servants do:
And if men, carnal and dwelling in this world, have in anything erred from Your commandments, either moved by the devil, whether in word or in deed, or if they have come under a curse, or by reason of some special vow, I entreat and beseech Your unspeakable loving-kindness, that they may be set free from their word, and released from the oath and the special vow, according to Your goodness.
Verily, O Sovereign Lord, hear my supplication on behalf of Your servants, and pass by all their errors, remembering them no more; forgive them every transgression, voluntary and involuntary; deliver them from everlasting punishment: for You are He that hast commanded us, saying, Whatsoever things you bind upon earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever things you loose upon earth, shall be loosed in heaven: for, you are our God, a God able to pity, and to save and to forgive sins; and glory is due unto You, with the eternal Father, and the quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
The Priest.
I O Sovereign Lord our God, contemn me not, defiled with a multitude of sins: for, behold, I have come to this Your divine and heavenly mystery, not as being worthy; but looking only to Your goodness, I direct my voice to You: God be merciful to me, a sinner; I have sinned against Heaven, and before You, and am unworthy to come into the presence of this Your holy and spiritual table, upon which Your only-begotten Son, and our Lord Jesus Christ, is mystically set forth as a sacrifice for me, a sinner, and stained with every spot. Wherefore I present to You this supplication and thanksgiving, that Your Spirit the Comforter may be sent down upon me, strengthening and fitting me for this service; and count me worthy to make known without condemnation the word, delivered from You by me to the people, in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening, and consubstantial Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
Prayer of the standing beside the altar.
II Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, the triune light of the Godhead, which is unity subsisting in trinity, divided, yet indivisible: for the Trinity is the one God Almighty, whose glory the heavens declare, and the earth His dominion, and the sea His might, and every sentient and intellectual creature at all times proclaims His majesty: for all glory becomes Him, and honour and might, greatness and magnificence, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
Prayer of the incense at the beginning.
III Sovereign Lord Jesus Christ, O Word of God, who freely offered Yourself a blameless sacrifice upon the cross to God even the Father, the coal of double nature, that touched the lips of the prophet with the tongs, and took away his sins, touch also the hearts of us sinners, and purify us from every stain, and present us holy beside Your holy altar, that we may offer You a sacrifice of praise: and accept from us, Your unprofitable servants, this incense as an odour of a sweet smell, and make fragrant the evil odour of our soul and body, and purify us with the sanctifying power of Your all-holy Spirit: for You alone are holy, who sanctifies, and are communicated to the faithful; and glory becomes You, with Your eternal Father, and Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
Prayer of the commencement.
IV O beneficent King eternal, and Creator of the universe, receive Your Church, coming unto You through Your Christ: fulfil to each what is profitable; lead all to perfection, and make us perfectly worthy of the grace of Your sanctification, gathering us together within Your holy Church, which You have purchased by the precious blood of Your only-begotten Son, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, with whom You are blessed and glorified, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
The Deacon.
V Let us again pray to the Lord.
The Priest, prayer of the incense at the entrance of the congregation.
God, who accepted the gifts of Abel, the sacrifice of Noah and of Abram, the incense of Aaron and of Zacharias, accept also from the hand of us sinners this incense for an odour of a sweet smell, and for remission of our sins, and those of all Your people; for blessed are You, and glory becomes You, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever.
The Deacon.
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest prays.
Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, who through exceeding goodness and love not to be restrained was crucified, and did not refuse to be pierced by the spear and nails; who provided this mysterious and awful service as an everlasting memorial for us perpetually: bless Your ministry in Christ the God, and bless our entrance, and fully complete the presentation of this our service by Your unutterable compassion, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
The responsive prayer from the Deacon.
VI. The Lord bless us, and make us worthy seraphically to offer gifts, and to sing the oft-sung hymn of the divine Trisagion, by the fullness and exceeding abundance of all the perfection of holiness, now and ever.
Then the Deacon begins to sing in the entrance.
You who art the only-begotten Son and Word of God, immortal; who submitted for our salvation to become flesh of the holy God-mother, and ever-virgin Mary; who immutably became man and was crucified, O Christ our God, and by Your death trod death underfoot; who art one of the Holy Trinity glorified together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us.
The Priest says this prayer from the gates to the altar.
VII God Almighty, Lord great in glory, who hast given to us an entrance into the Holy of Holies, through the sojourning among men of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord, and God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, we supplicate and invoke Your goodness, since we are fearful and trembling when about to stand at Your holy altar; send forth upon us, O God, Your good grace, and sanctify our souls, and bodies, and spirits, and turn our thoughts to piety, in order that with a pure conscience we may bring unto You gifts, offerings, and fruits for the remission of our transgressions, and for the propitiation of all Your people, by the grace and mercies and loving-kindness of Your only-begotten Son, with whom You are blessed to all eternity. Amen.
After the approach to the altar, the Priest says:—
VIII. Peace be to all.
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Priest.
The Lord bless us all, and sanctify us for the entrance and celebration of the divine and pure mysteries, giving rest to the blessed souls among the good and just, by His grace and loving-kindness, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
Then the Deacon says the bidding prayer.
IX. In peace let us beseech the Lord.
For the peace that is from above, and for God’s love to man, and for the salvation of our souls, let us beseech the Lord.
For the peace of the whole world, for the unity of all the holy churches of God, let us beseech the Lord.
For the remission of our sins, and forgiveness of our transgressions, and for our deliverance from all tribulation, wrath, danger, and distress, and from the uprising of our enemies, let us beseech the Lord.
Then the Singers sing the Trisagion Hymn.
Holy God, holy mighty, holy immortal, have mercy upon us.
Then the Priest prays, bowing.
X. O compassionate and merciful, long-suffering, and very gracious and true God, look from Your prepared dwelling-place, and hear us Your suppliants, and deliver us from every temptation of the devil and of man; withhold not Your aid from us, nor bring on us chastisements too heavy for our strength: for we are unable to overcome what is opposed to us; but You are able, Lord, to save us from everything that is against us. Save us, O God, from the difficulties of this world, according to Your goodness, in order that, having drawn near with a pure conscience to Your holy altar, we may send up to You without condemnation the blessed hymn Trisagion, together with the heavenly powers, and that, having performed the service, well pleasing to You and divine, we may be counted worthy of eternal life.
(Aloud.)
Because You are holy, Lord our God, and dwell and abide in holy places, we send up the praise and the hymn Trisagion to You, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
XI. Peace be to all.
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Singers.
Alleluia.
Then there are read in order the holy oracles of the Old Testament, and of the prophets; and the incarnation of the Son of God is set forth, and His sufferings and resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, and His second appearing with glory; and this takes place daily in the holy and divine service.
After the reading and instruction the Deacon says:—
XII. Let us all say, Lord, be merciful.
Lord Almighty, the God of our fathers;
We beseech You, hear us.
For the peace which is from above, and for the salvation of our souls;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For the peace of the whole world, and the unity of all the holy churches of God;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For the salvation and help of all the Christ-loving people;
We beseech You, hear us.
For our deliverance from all tribulation, wrath, danger, distress, from captivity, bitter death, and from our iniquities;
We beseech You, hear us.
For the people standing round, and waiting for the rich and plenteous mercy that is from You;
We beseech You, be merciful and gracious.
Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance.
Visit Your world in mercy and compassion.
Exalt the horn of Christians by the power of the precious and quickening cross.
We beseech You, most merciful Lord, hear us praying to You, and have mercy upon us.
The People (thrice).
Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Deacon.
XIII. For the remission of our sins, and forgiveness of our transgressions, and for our deliverance from all tribulation, wrath, danger, and distress, let us beseech the Lord.
Let us all entreat from the Lord, that we may pass the whole day, perfect, holy, peaceful, and without sin.
Let us entreat from the Lord a messenger of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies.
Let us entreat from the Lord forgiveness and remission of our sins and transgressions.
Let us entreat from the Lord the things which are good and proper for our souls, and peace for the world.
Let us entreat from the Lord, that we may spend the remaining period of our life in peace and health.
Let us entreat that the close of our lives may be Christian, without pain and without shame, and a good plea at the dread and awful judgment-seat of Christ.
The Priest.
XIV. For You are the gospel and the light, Saviour and keeper of our souls and bodies, God, and Your only-begotten Son, and Your all-holy Spirit, now and ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest
God, who hast taught us Your divine and saving oracles, enlighten the souls of us sinners for the comprehension of the things which have been before spoken, so that we may not only be seen to be hearers of spiritual things, but also doers of good deeds, striving after guileless faith, blameless life, and pure conversation.
(Aloud.)
In Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, good, and quickening Spirit, now and always, and for ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
XV. Peace be to all.
The People.
And to Your spirit.
The Deacon.
Let us bow our heads to the Lord.
The People.
To You, Lord.
The Priest prays, saying:
O Sovereign giver of life, and provider of good things, who gave to mankind the blessed hope of eternal life, our Lord Jesus Christ, count us worthy in holiness, and perfect this Your divine service to the enjoyment of future blessedness.
(Aloud.)
So that, guarded by Your power at all times, and led into the light of truth, we may send up the praise and the thanksgiving to You, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Deacon.
XVI. Let none remain of the catechumens, none of the unbaptized, none of those who are unable to join with us in prayer. Look at one another. The door.
All erect: let us again pray to the Lord.
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The Priest says the prayer of incense.
Sovereign Almighty, King of Glory, who know all things before their creation, manifest Yourself to us calling upon You at this holy hour, and redeem us from the shame of our transgressions; cleanse our mind and our thoughts from impure desires, from worldly deceit, from all influence of the devil; and accept from the hands of us sinners this incense, as You accepted the offering of Abel, and Noah, and Aaron, and Samuel, and of all Your saints, guarding us from everything evil, and preserving us for continually pleasing, and worshipping, and glorifying You, the Father, and Your only-begotten Son, and Your all-holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever.
And the Readers begin the Cherubic Hymn.
Let all mortal flesh be silent, and stand with fear and trembling, and meditate nothing earthly within itself:—
For the King of kings and Lord of lords, Christ our God, comes forward to be sacrificed, and to be given for food to the faithful; and the bands of angels go before Him with every power and dominion, the many-eyed cherubim, and the six-winged seraphim, covering their faces, and crying aloud the hymn, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
The Priest, bringing in the holy gifts, says this prayer:—
XVII. O God, our God, who sent forth the heavenly bread, the food of the whole world, our Lord Jesus Christ, to be a Saviour, and Redeemer, and Benefactor, blessing and sanctifying us, do You Yourself bless this offering, and graciously receive it to Your altar above the skies:
Remember in Your goodness and love those who have brought it, and those for whom they have brought it, and preserve us without condemnation in the service of Your divine mysteries: for hollowed and glorified is Your all-honoured and great name, Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity.
The Priest.
Peace be to all.
The Deacon.
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest.
Blessed be God, who blesses and sanctifies us all at the presentation of the divine and pure mysteries, and gives rest to the blessed souls among the holy and just, now and always, and to all eternity.
The Deacon.
XVIII Let us attend in wisdom.
The Priest begins.
I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God: and the rest of the Creed.
Then he prays, bowing his neck.
XIX. God and Sovereign of all, make us, who are unworthy, worthy of this hour, lover of mankind; that being pure from all deceit and all hypocrisy, we may be united with one another by the bond of peace and love, being confirmed by the sanctification of Your divine knowledge through Your only-begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
The Deacon.
XX. Let us stand well, let us stand reverently, let us stand in the fear of God, and with compunction of heart. In peace let us pray to the Lord.
The Priest.
For God of peace, mercy, love, compassion, and loving-kindness are You, and Your only-begotten Son, and Your all-holy Spirit, now and ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
Peace be to all.
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Deacon.
Let us salute one another with an holy kiss. Let us bow our heads to the Lord.
The Priest bows, saying this prayer:—
XXI. Only Lord and merciful God, on those who are bowing their necks before Your holy altar, and seeking the spiritual gifts that come from You, send forth Your good grace; and bless us all with every spiritual blessing, that cannot be taken from us, You, who dwellest on high, and hast regard unto things that are lowly.
(Aloud.)
For worthy of praise and worship and most glorious is Your all-holy name, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and always, and to all eternity.
The Deacon.
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest.
The Lord will bless us, and minister with us all by His grace and loving-kindness.
And again.
The Lord will bless us, and make us worthy to stand at His holy altar, at all times, now and always, and for ever.
And again.
Blessed be God, who blesses and sanctifies us all in our attendance upon, and service of, His pure mysteries, now and always, and for ever.
The Deacon makes the Universal Litany.
XXII In peace let us pray to the Lord.
The People.
O Lord, have mercy.
The Deacon.
Save us, have mercy upon us, pity and keep us, O God, by Your grace.
For the peace that is from above, and the loving-kindness of God, and the salvation of our souls;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For the peace of the whole world, and the unity of all the holy churches of God;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For those who bear fruit, and labour honourably in the holy churches of God; for those who remember the poor, the widows and the orphans, the strangers and needy ones; and for those who have requested us to mention them in our prayers;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For those who are in old age and infirmity, for the sick and suffering, and those who are troubled by unclean spirits, for their speedy cure from God and their salvation;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For those who are passing their days in virginity, and celibacy, and discipline, and for those in holy matrimony; and for the holy fathers and brethren agonizing in mountains, and dens, and caves of the earth;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For Christians sailing, travelling, living among strangers, and for our brethren in captivity, in exile, in prison, and in bitter slavery, their peaceful return;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For the remission of our sins, and forgiveness of our transgressions, and for our deliverance from all tribulation, wrath, danger, and constraint, and uprising against us of enemies;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For favourable weather, peaceful showers, beneficent dews, abundance of fruits, the perfect close of a good season, and for the crown of the year;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For our fathers and brethren present, and praying with us in this holy hour, and at every season, their zeal, labour, and earnestness;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For every Christian soul in tribulation and distress, and needing the mercy and succour of God; for the return of the erring, the health of the sick, the deliverance of the captives, the rest of the fathers and brethren that have fallen asleep aforetime;
Let us beseech the Lord.
For the hearing and acceptance of our prayer before God, and the sending down on us His rich mercies and compassion.
Let us beseech the Lord.
And for the offered, precious, heavenly, unutterable, pure, glorious, dread, awful, divine gifts, and the salvation of the priest who stands by and offers them;
Let us offer supplication to God the Lord.
The People.
O Lord, have mercy.
(Thrice.)
Then the Priest makes the sign of the cross on the gifts, and, standing, speaks separately thus:—
XXIII Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will among men, etc.
(Thrice.)
Lord, You will open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
(Thrice.)
Let my mouth be filled with Your praise, O Lord, that I may tell of Your glory, of Your majesty, all the day.
(Thrice.)
Of the Father. Amen. And of the Son. Amen. And of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Now and always, and to all eternity. Amen.
And bowing to this side and to that, he says:
XXIV. Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
And they answer, bowing:—
The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you.
Then the Priest, at great length:—
O Sovereign Lord, who hast visited us in compassion and mercies, and hast freely given to us, Your humble and sinful and unworthy servants, boldness to stand at Your holy altar, and to offer to You this dread and bloodless sacrifice for our sins, and for the errors of the people, look upon me Your unprofitable servant, and blot out my transgressions for Your compassion’s sake; and purify my lips and heart from all pollution of flesh and spirit; and remove from me every shameful and foolish thought, and fit me by the power of Your all-holy Spirit for this service; and receive me graciously by Your goodness as I draw near to Your altar.
And be pleased, O Lord, that these gifts brought by our hands may be acceptable, stooping to my weakness; and cast me not away from Your presence, and abhor not my unworthiness; but pity me according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your mercies pass by my transgressions, that, having come before Your glory without condemnation, I may be counted worthy of the protection of Your only-begotten Son, and of the illumination of Your all-holy Spirit, that I may not be as a slave of sin cast out, but as Your servant may find grace and mercy and forgiveness of sins before You, both in the world that now is and in that which is to come.
I beseech You, Almighty Sovereign, all-powerful Lord, hear my prayer; for You are He who work all in all, and we all seek in all things the help and succour that come from You and Your only-begotten Son, and the good and quickening and consubstantial Spirit, now and ever.
XXV. O God, who through Your great and unspeakable love sent forth Your only-begotten Son into the world, in order that He might turn back the lost sheep, turn not away us sinners, laying hold of You by this dread and bloodless sacrifice; for we trust not in our own righteousness, but in Your good mercy, by which You purchase our race.
We entreat and beseech Your goodness that it may not be for condemnation to Your people that this mystery for salvation has been administered by us, but for remission of sins, for renewal of souls and bodies, for the well-pleasing of You, God and Father, in the mercy and love of Your only-begotten Son, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy and good and quickening Spirit, now and always, and for ever.
XXVI. O Lord God, who created us, and bring us into life, who hast shown to us ways to salvation, who hast granted to us a revelation of heavenly mysteries, and hast appointed us to this ministry in the power of Your all-holy Spirit, grant, O Sovereign, that we may become servants of Your new testament, ministers of Your pure mysteries, and receive us as we draw near to Your holy altar, according to the greatness of Your mercy, that we may become worthy of offering to You gifts and sacrifices for our transgressions and for those of the people; and grant to us, O Lord, with all fear and a pure conscience to offer to You this spiritual and bloodless sacrifice, and graciously receiving it unto Your holy and spiritual altar above the skies for an odour of a sweet spiritual smell, send down in answer on us the grace of Your all-holy Spirit.
And, O God, look upon us, and have regard to this our reasonable service, and accept it, as You accepted the gifts of Abel, the sacrifices of Noah, the priestly offices of Moses and Aaron, the peace-offerings of Samuel, the repentance of David, the incense of Zacharias. As You accepted from the hand of Your apostles this true service, so accept also in Your goodness from the hands of us sinners these offered gifts; and grant that our offering may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, as a propitiation for our transgressions and the errors of the people; and for the rest of the souls that have fallen asleep aforetime; that we also, Your humble, sinful, and unworthy servants, being counted worthy without guile to serve Your holy altar, may receive the reward of faithful and wise stewards, and may find grace and mercy in the terrible day of Your just and good retribution.
Prayer of the veil.
XXVII. We thank You, O Lord our God, that You have given us boldness for the entrance of Your holy places, which You have renewed to us as a new and living way through the veil of the flesh of Your Christ. We therefore, being counted worthy to enter into the place of the tabernacle of Your glory, and to be within the veil, and to behold the Holy of Holies, cast ourselves down before Your goodness:
Lord, have mercy on us: since we are full of fear and trembling, when about to stand at Your holy altar, and to offer this dread and bloodless sacrifice for our own sins and for the errors of the people: send forth, O God, Your good grace, and sanctify our souls, and bodies, and spirits; and turn our thoughts to holiness, that with a pure conscience we may bring to You a peace-offering, the sacrifice of praise:
(Aloud.)
By the mercy and loving-kindness of Your only-begotten Son, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and always:
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
Peace be to all.
The Deacon.
Let us stand reverently, let us stand in the fear of God, and with contrition: let us attend to the holy communion service, to offer peace to God.
The People.
The offering of peace, the sacrifice of praise.
The Priest [A veil is now withdrawn from the oblation of bread and wine.]
And reveal it clearly to us, uncovering the veils that darkly invest in symbol this sacred ceremonial. Fill our intellectual vision with absolute light, and having purified our poverty from every pollution of flesh and spirit, make it worthy of this dread and awful approach: for You are an all-merciful and gracious God, and we send up the praise and the thanksgiving to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now, and always, and for ever.
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The Anaphora.
Then he says aloud:—
XXVIII. The love of the Lord and Father, the grace of the Lord and Son, and the fellowship and the gift of the Holy Spirit, be with us all.
The People.
And with your spirit.
The Priest.
Let us lift up our minds and our hearts.
The People.
It is becoming and right.
Then the Priest prays.
Verily it is becoming and right, proper and due to praise You, to sing of You, to bless You, to worship You, to glorify You, to give You thanks, Maker of every creature visible and invisible, the treasure of eternal good things, the fountain of life and immortality, God and Lord of all:
Whom the heavens of heavens praise, and all the host of them; the sun, and the moon, and all the choir of the stars; earth, sea, and all that is in them; Jerusalem, the heavenly assembly, and church of the first-born that are written in heaven; spirits of just men and of prophets; souls of martyrs and of apostles; angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, and authorities, and dread powers; and the many-eyed cherubim, and the six-winged seraphim, which cover their faces with two wings, their feet with two, and with two they fly, crying one to another with unresting lips, with unceasing praises:
(Aloud.)
With loud voice singing the victorious hymn of Your majestic glory, crying aloud, praising, shouting, and saying:—
The People.
Holy, holy, holy, O Lord of Sabaoth, the heaven and the earth are full of Your glory. Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
The Priest, making the sign of the cross on the gifts, says:—
XXIX. Holy are You, King of eternity, and Lord and giver of all holiness; holy also Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom You have made all things; holy also Your Holy Spirit, which searches all things, even Your deep things, O God: holy are You, almighty, all-powerful, good, dread, merciful, most compassionate to Your creatures; who made man from earth after Your own image and likeness; who gave him the joy of paradise; and when he transgressed Your commandment, and fell away, did not disregard nor desert him, O Good One, but chastened him as at merciful father, call him by the law, instruct him by the prophets; and afterwards sent forth Your only-begotten Son Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, into the world, that He by His coming might renew and restore Your image;
Who, having descended from heaven, and become flesh of the Holy Spirit and Virgin Godmother Mary, and having sojourned among men, fulfilled the dispensation for the salvation of our race; and being about to endure His voluntary and life-giving death by the cross, He the sinless for us the sinners, in the night in which He was betrayed, nay, rather delivered Himself up for the life and salvation of the world,
Then the Priest holds the bread in his hand, and says:—
XXX. Having taken the bread in His holy and pure and blameless and immortal hands, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and showing it to You, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hallowed, and broke, and gave it to us, His disciples and apostles, saying:—
The Deacons say:
For the remission of sins and life everlasting.
Then he says aloud:—
Take, eat: this is my body, broken for you, and given for remission of sins.
The People.
Amen.
Then he takes the cup, and says:—
In like manner, after supper, He took the cup, and having mixed wine and water, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and presenting it to You, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hollowed and blessed it, and filled it with the Holy Spirit, and gave it to us His disciples, saying, Drink all of it; this is my blood of the new testament shed for you and many, and distributed for the remission of sins.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
This do in remembrance of me; for as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show forth the Lord’s death, and confess His resurrection, till He come.
The Deacons say:—
We believe and confess:
The People.
We show forth Your death, O Lord, and confess Your resurrection.
The Priest (Oblation).
XXXI. Remembering, therefore, His life-giving sufferings, His saving cross, His death and His burial, and resurrection from the dead on the third day, and His ascension into heaven, and sitting at the right hand of You, our God and Father, and His second glorious and awful appearing, when He shall come with glory to judge the quick and the dead, and render to every one according to His works; even we, sinful men, offer unto You, O Lord, this dread and bloodless sacrifice, praying that You will not deal with us after our sins, nor reward us according to our iniquities;
But that You, according to Your mercy and Your unspeakable loving-kindness, passing by and blotting out the handwriting against us Your suppliants, wilt grant to us Your heavenly and eternal gifts (which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man ) that you have prepared, O God, for those who love You; and reject not, O loving Lord, the people for my sake, or for my sin’s sake:
Then he says, thrice:—
For Your people and Your Church supplicate You.
The People.
Have mercy on us, O Lord our God, Father Almighty.
Again the Priest says (Invocation):—
XXXII. Have mercy upon us, O God Almighty.
Have mercy upon us, O God our Saviour.
Have mercy upon us, O God, according to Your great mercy, and send forth on us, and on these offered gifts, Your all-holy Spirit.
Then, bowing his neck, he says:—
The sovereign and quickening Spirit, that sits upon the throne with You, our God and Father, and with Your only-begotten Son, reigning with You; the consubstantial and co-eternal; that spoke in the law and in the prophets, and in Your New Testament; that descended in the form of a dove on our Lord Jesus Christ at the river Jordan, and abode on Him; that descended on Your apostles in the form of tongues of fire in the upper room of the holy and glorious Zion on the day of Pentecost: this Your all-holy Spirit, send down, O Lord, upon us, and upon these offered holy gifts;
And rising up, he says aloud:—
That coming, by His holy and good and glorious appearing, He may sanctify this bread, and make it the holy body of Your Christ.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
And this cup the precious blood of Your Christ.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest by himself standing.
XXXIII. That they may be to all that partake of them for remission of sins, and for life everlasting, for the sanctification of souls and of bodies, for bearing the fruit of good works, for the establishing of Your Holy Catholic Church, which You have founded on the Rock of Faith, that the gates of hell may not prevail against it; delivering it from all heresy and scandals, and from those who work iniquity, keeping it till the fullness of the time.
And having bowed, he says:—
XXXIV. We present them to You also, O Lord, for the holy places, which You have glorified by the divine appearing of Your Christ, and by the visitation of Your all-holy Spirit; especially for the glorious Zion, the mother of all the churches; and for Your Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church throughout the world: even now, O Lord, bestow upon her the rich gifts of Your all-holy Spirit.
Remember also, O Lord, our holy fathers and brethren in it, and the bishops in all the world, who rightly divide the word of Your truth.
Remember also, O Lord, every city and country, and those of the true faith dwelling in them, their peace and security.
Remember, O Lord, Christians sailing, travelling, sojourning in strange lands; our fathers and brethren, who are in bonds, prison, captivity, and exile; who are in mines, and under torture, and in bitter slavery. Remember, O Lord, the sick and afflicted, and those troubled by unclean spirits, their speedy healing from You, O God, and their salvation.
Remember, O Lord, every Christian soul in affliction and distress, needing Your mercy and succour, O God; and the return of the erring.
Remember, O Lord, our fathers and brethren, toiling hard, and ministering unto us, for Your holy name’s sake.
Remember all, O Lord, for good: have mercy on all, O Lord, be reconciled to us all: give peace to the multitudes of Your people: put away scandals: bring wars to an end: make the uprising of heresies to cease: grant Your peace and Your love to us, O God our Saviour, the hope of all the ends of the earth.
Remember, O Lord, favourable weather, peaceful showers, beneficent dews, abundance of fruits, and to crown the year with Your goodness; for the eyes of all wait on You, and You give their food in due season: you open Your hand, and fill every living thing with gladness.
Remember, O Lord, those who bear fruit, and labour honourably in the holy of Your Church; and those who forget not the poor, the widows, the orphans, the strangers, and the needy; and all who have desired us to remember them in our prayers.
Moreover, O Lord, be pleased to remember those who have brought these offerings this day to Your holy altar, and for what each one has brought them or with what mind, and those persons who have just now been mentioned to You.
Remember, O Lord, according to the multitude of Your mercy and compassion, me also, Your humble and unprofitable servant; and the deacons who surround Your holy altar, and graciously give them a blameless life, keep their ministry undefiled, and purchase for them a good degree, that we may find mercy and grace, with all the saints that have been well pleasing to You since the world began, to generation and generation— grandsires, sires, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, teachers, saints, and every just spirit made perfect in the faith of Your Christ.
XXXV. Hail, Mary, highly favoured: the Lord is with You; blessed are you among women, and blessed the fruit of your womb, for you bore the Saviour of our souls.
The Deacons.
XXXVI. Remember us, O Lord God.
The Priest, bowing, says:—
Remember, O Lord God, the spirits and all flesh, of whom we have made mention, and of whom we have not made mention, who are of the true faith, from righteous Abel unto this day: unto them do You give rest there in the land of the living, in Your kingdom, in the joy of paradise, in the bosom of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, our holy fathers; whence pain, and grief, and lamentation have fled: there the light of Your countenance looks upon them, and enlightens them for ever.
Make the end of our lives Christian, acceptable, blameless, and peaceful, O Lord, gathering us together, O Lord, under the feet of Your elect, when You will, and as You will; only without shame and transgressions, through Your only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ: for He is the only sinless one who has appeared on the earth.
The Deacon.
And let us pray:—
For the peace and establishing of the whole world, and of the holy churches of God, and for the purposes for which each one made his offering, or according to the desire he has: and for the people standing round, and for all men, and all women:
The People.
And for all men and all women. (Amen.)
The Priest says aloud:—
Wherefore, both to them and to us, do You in Your goodness and love:
The People.
Forgive, remit, pardon, O God, our transgressions, voluntary and involuntary: in deed and in word: in knowledge and in ignorance: by night and by day: in thought and intent: in Your goodness and love, forgive us them all.
The Priest.
Through the grace and compassion and love of Your only-begotten Son, with whom You are blessed and glorified, together with the all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
XXXVII. Peace be to all:
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Deacon.
Again, and continually, in peace let us pray to the Lord.
For the gifts to the Lord God presented and sanctified, precious, heavenly, unspeakable, pure, glorious, dread, awful, divine;
Let us pray.
That the Lord our God, having graciously received them to His altar that is holy and above the heavens, rational and spiritual, for the odour of a sweet spiritual savour, may send down in answer upon us the divine grace and the gift of the all-holy Spirit;
Let us pray.
Having prayed for the unity of the faith, and the communion of His all-holy and adorable Spirit;
Let us commend ourselves and one another, and our whole life, to Christ our God:
The People.
Amen.
The Priest prays.
XXXVIII. God and Father of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, the glorious Lord, the blessed essence, the bounteous goodness, the God and Sovereign of all, who art blessed to all eternity, who sittest upon the cherubim, and art glorified by the seraphim, before whom stand thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand hosts of angels and archangels: You have accepted the gifts, offerings, and fruits brought unto You as an odour of a sweet spiritual smell, and hast been pleased to sanctify them, and make them perfect, O good One, by the grace of Your Christ, and by the presence of Your all-holy Spirit.
Sanctify also, O Lord, our souls, and bodies, and spirits, and touch our understandings, and search our consciences, and cast out from us every evil imagination, every impure feeling, every base desire, every unbecoming thought, all envy, and vanity, and hypocrisy, all lying, all deceit, every worldly affection, all covetousness, all vainglory, all indifference, all vice, all passion, all anger, all malice, all blasphemy, every motion of the flesh and spirit that is not in accordance with Your holy will:
(Aloud.)
And count us worthy, O loving Lord, with boldness, without condemnation, in a pure heart, with a contrite spirit, with unshamed face, with sanctified lips, to dare to call upon You, the holy God, Father in heaven, and to say,
The People.
Our Father, which art in heaven: hollowed be Your name; and so on to the doxology.
The Priest, bowing, says (the Embolism ):—
And lead us not into temptation, Lord, Lord of Hosts, who know our frailty, but deliver us from the evil one and his works, and from all his malice and craftiness, for the sake of Your holy name, which has been placed upon our humility:
(Aloud.)
For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and for ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
XXXIX. Peace be to all.
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Deacon.
Let us bow our heads to the Lord.
The People.
To You, O Lord.
The Priest prays, speaking thus:—
To You, O Lord, we Your servants have bowed our heads before Your holy altar, waiting for the rich mercies that are from You.
Send forth upon us, O Lord, Your plenteous grace and Your blessing; and sanctify our souls, bodies, and spirits, that we may become worthy communicants and partakers of Your holy mysteries, to the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting:
(Aloud.)
For adorable and glorified are You, our God, and Your only-begotten Son, and Your all-holy Spirit, now and ever.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest says aloud:—
And the grace and the mercies of the holy and consubstantial, and uncreated, and adorable Trinity, shall be with us all.
The People.
And with your spirit.
The Deacon.
In the fear of God, let us attend.
The Priest says secretly:—
O holy Lord, who abides in holy places, sanctify us by the word of Your grace, and by the visitation of Your all-holy Spirit: for You, O Lord, have said, You will be holy, for I am holy. O Lord our God, incomprehensible Word of God, one in substance with the Father and the Holy Spirit, co-eternal and indivisible, accept the pure hymn, in Your holy and bloodless sacrifices; with the cherubim, and seraphim, and from me, a sinful man, crying and saying:—
He takes up the gifts and says aloud:—
XL. The holy things unto holy.
The People.
One only is holy, one Lord Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father, to whom be glory to all eternity.
The Deacon.
XLI. For the remission of our sins, and the propitiation of our souls, and for every soul in tribulation and distress, needing the mercy and succour of God, and for the return of the erring, the healing of the sick, the deliverance of the captives, the rest of our fathers and brethren who have fallen asleep aforetime;
Let us all say fervently, Lord, have mercy:
The People (twelve times).
Lord, have mercy.
Then the Priest breaks the bread, and holds the half in his right hand, and the half in his left, and dips that in his right hand in the chalice, saying:—
The union of the all-holy body and precious blood of our Lord and God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Then he makes the sign of the cross on that in his left hand: then with that which has been signed the other half: then immediately he begins to divide, and before all to give to each chalice a single piece, saying:—
It has been made one, and sanctified, and perfected, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever.
And when he makes the sign of the cross on the bread, he says:—
Behold the Lamb of God, the Son of the Father, that takes away the sin of the world, sacrificed for the life and salvation of the world.
And when he gives a single piece to each chalice he says:—
A holy portion of Christ, full of grace and truth, of the Father, and of the Holy Spirit, to whom be the glory and the power to all eternity.
Then he begins to divide, and to say:—
XLII. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. In green pastures, and so on.
Then,
I will bless the Lord at all times, and so on.
Then,
I will extol You, my God, O King, and so on .
Then,
O praise the Lord, all you nations, and so on .
The Deacon.
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest.
The Lord will bless us, and keep us without condemnation for the communion of His pure gifts, now and always, and for ever.
And when they have filled, the Deacon says:—
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest says:—
The Lord will bless us, and make us worthy with the pure touchings of our fingers to take the live coal, and place it upon the mouths of the faithful for the purification and renewal of their souls and bodies, now and always.
Then,
O taste and see that the Lord is good; who is parted and not divided; distributed to the faithful and not expended; for the remission of sins, and the life everlasting; now and always, and for ever.
The Deacon.
In the peace of Christ, let us sing:
The Singers.
O taste and see that the Lord is good.
The Priest says the prayer before the communion.
O Lord our God, the heavenly bread, the life of the universe, I have sinned against Heaven, and before You, and am not worthy to partake of Your pure mysteries; but as a merciful God, make me worthy by Your grace, without condemnation to partake of Your holy body and precious blood, for the remission of sins, and life everlasting.
XLIII. Then he distributes to the clergy; and when the deacons take the disks and the chalices for distribution to the people, the Deacon, who takes the first disk, says:—
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest replies:—
Glory to God who has sanctified and is sanctifying us all.
The Deacon says:—
Be exalted, O God, over the heavens, and Your glory over all the earth, and Your kingdom endures to all eternity.
And when the Deacon is about to put it on the side-table the Priest says:—
Blessed be the name of the Lord our God for ever.
The Deacon.
In the fear of God, and in faith and love, draw near.
The People.
Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.
And again, when he sets down the disk upon the side-table, he says:—
Sir, pronounce the blessing.
The Priest.
Save Your people, O God, and bless Your inheritance.
The Priest again.
Glory to our God, who has sanctified us all.
And when he has put the chalice back on the holy table, the Priest says:—
Blessed be the name of the Lord to all eternity.
The Deacons and the People say:—
Fill our mouths with Your praise, O Lord, and fill our lips with joy, that we may sing of Your glory, of Your greatness all the day.
And again:—
We render thanks to You, Christ our God, that You have made us worthy to partake of Your body and blood, for the remission of sins, and for life everlasting. We pray You, in Your goodness and love, keep us without condemnation.
The prayer of incense at the last entrance.
XLIV. We render thanks to You, the Saviour and God of all, for all the good things You have given us, and for the participation of Your holy and pure mysteries, and we offer to You this incense, praying: Keep us under the shadow of Your wings, and count us worthy till our last breath to partake of Your holy rites for the sanctification of our souls and bodies, for the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven: for You, O God, are our sanctification, and we send up praise and thanksgiving to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Deacon begins in the entrance.
Glory to You, glory to You, glory to You, O Christ the King, only-begotten Word of the Father, that You have counted us, Your sinful and unworthy servants, worthy to enjoy your pure mysteries for the remission of sins, and for life everlasting: glory to You.
And when he has made the entrance, the Deacon begins to speak thus:—
XLV. Again and again, and at all times, in peace, let us beseech the Lord.
That the participation of His Holy rites may be to us for the turning away from every wicked thing, for our support on the journey to life everlasting, for the communion and gift of the Holy Spirit;
Let us pray.
The Priest prays.
Commemorating our all-holy, pure, most glorious, blessed Lady, the God-Mother and Ever-Virgin Mary, and all the saints that have been well-pleasing to You since the world began, let us devote ourselves, and one another, and our whole life, to Christ our God:
The People.
To You, O Lord.
The Priest.
XLVI. O God, who through Your great and unspeakable love condescended to the weakness of Your servants, and hast counted us worthy to partake of this heavenly table, condemn not us sinners for the participation of Your pure mysteries; but keep us, O good One, in the sanctification of Your Holy Spirit, that being made holy, we may find part and inheritance with all Your saints that have been well-pleasing to You since the world began, in the light of Your countenance, through the mercy of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit: for blessed and glorified is Your all-precious and glorious name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity.
The People.
Amen.
The Priest.
Peace be to all.
The People.
And to your spirit.
The Deacon.
XLVII. Let us bow our heads to the Lord.
The Priest.
O God, great and marvellous, look upon Your servants, for we have bowed our heads to You. Stretch forth Your hand, strong and full of blessings, and bless Your people. Keep Your inheritance, that always and at all times we may glorify You, our only living and true God, the holy and consubstantial Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, now and ever, and to all eternity.
(Aloud.)
For unto You is becoming and is due praise from us all, and honour, and adoration, and thanksgiving, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever.
The Deacon.
XLVIII. In the peace of Christ let us sing:
And again he says:—
In the peace of Christ let us go on:
The People.
In the name of the Lord. Sir, pronounce the blessing.
Dismission prayer, spoken by the Deacon.
Going on from glory to glory, we praise You, the Saviour of our souls. Glory to Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit now and ever, and to all eternity. We praise You, the Saviour of our souls.
The Priest says a prayer from the altar to the sacristy.
XLIX. Going on from strength to strength, and having fulfilled all the divine service in Your temple, even now we beseech You, O Lord our God, make us worthy of perfect loving-kindness; make straight our path: root us in Your fear, and make us worthy of the heavenly kingdom, in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and always, and for ever.
The Deacon.
L. Again and again, and at all times, in peace let us beseech the Lord.
Prayer said in the sacristy after the dismissal.
You have given unto us, O Lord, sanctification in the communion of the all-holy body and precious blood of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; give unto us also the grace of Your good Spirit, and keep us blameless in the faith, lead us unto perfect adoption and redemption, and to the coming joys of eternity; for You are our sanctification and light, O God, and Your only-begotten Son, and Your all-holy Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
The Deacon.
In the peace of Christ let us keep watch.
The Priest.
Blessed is God, who blesses and sanctifies through the communion of the holy, and quickening, and pure mysteries, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
Then the prayer of propitiation.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, Lamb and Shepherd, who takest away the sin of the world, who freely forgave their debt to the two debtors, and gavest remission of her sins to the woman that was a sinner, who gavest healing to the paralytic, with the remission of his sins; forgive, remit, pardon, O God, our offenses, voluntary and involuntary, in knowledge and in ignorance, by transgression and by disobedience, which Your all-holy Spirit knows better than Your servants do:
And if men, carnal and dwelling in this world, have in anything erred from Your commandments, either moved by the devil, whether in word or in deed, or if they have come under a curse, or by reason of some special vow, I entreat and beseech Your unspeakable loving-kindness, that they may be set free from their word, and released from the oath and the special vow, according to Your goodness.
Verily, O Sovereign Lord, hear my supplication on behalf of Your servants, and pass by all their errors, remembering them no more; forgive them every transgression, voluntary and involuntary; deliver them from everlasting punishment: for You are He that hast commanded us, saying, Whatsoever things you bind upon earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever things you loose upon earth, shall be loosed in heaven: for, you are our God, a God able to pity, and to save and to forgive sins; and glory is due unto You, with the eternal Father, and the quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.
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