Book of Jasher, Chapter 1
1 And God said, Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness, and God created man in his own image.
2 And God formed man from the
ground, and he blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a
living soul endowed with speech.
3 And the Lord said, It is not good
for man to be alone; I will make unto him a helpmeet.
4 And the Lord caused a deep sleep
to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took away one of his ribs, and he built
flesh upon it, and formed it and brought it to Adam, and Adam awoke from his
sleep, and behold a woman was standing before him.
5 And he said, This is a bone of my
bones and it shall be called woman, for this has been taken from man; and Adam
called her name Eve, for she was the mother of all living.
6 And God blessed them and called
their names Adam and Eve in the day that he created them, and the Lord God
said, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
7 And the Lord God took Adam and his
wife, and he placed them in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it; and
he commanded them and said unto them, From every tree of the garden you may
eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for
in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
8 And when God had blessed and
commanded them, he went from them, and Adam and his wife dwelt in the garden
according to the command which the Lord had commanded them.
9 And the serpent, which God had
created with them in the earth, came to them to incite them to transgress the
command of God which he had commanded them.
10 And the serpent enticed and
persuaded the woman to eat from the tree of knowledge, and the woman hearkened
to the voice of the serpent, and she transgressed the word of God, and took
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and she ate, and she took from
it and gave also to her husband and he ate.
11 And Adam and his wife
transgressed the command of God which he commanded them, and God knew it, and
his anger was kindled against them and he cursed them.
12 And the Lord God drove them that
day from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which they were taken, and
they went and dwelt at the east of the garden of Eden; and Adam knew his wife
Eve and she bore two sons and three daughters.
13 And she called the name of the
first born Cain, saying, I have obtained a man from the Lord, and the name of
the other she called Abel, for she said, In vanity we came into the earth, and
in vanity we shall be taken from it.
14 And the boys grew up and their
father gave them a possession in the land; and Cain was a tiller of the ground,
and Abel a keeper of sheep.
15 And it was at the expiration of a
few years, that they brought an approximating offering to the Lord, and Cain
brought from the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought from the firstlings of
his flock from the fat thereof, and God turned and inclined to Abel and his
offering, and a fire came down from the Lord from heaven and consumed it.
16 And unto Cain and his offering
the Lord did not turn, and he did not incline to it, for he had brought from
the inferior fruit of the ground before the Lord, and Cain was jealous against
his brother Abel on account of this, and he sought a pretext to slay him.
17 And in some time after, Cain and
Abel his brother, went one day into the field to do their work; and they were
both in the field, Cain tilling and ploughing his ground, and Abel feeding his
flock; and the flock passed that part which Cain had ploughed in the ground,
and it sorely grieved Cain on this account.
18 And Cain approached his brother
Abel in anger, and he said unto him, What is there between me and thee, that
thou comest to dwell and bring thy flock to feed in my land?
19 And Abel answered his brother
Cain and said unto him, What is there between me and thee, that thou shalt eat
the flesh of my flock and clothe thyself with their wool?
20 And now therefore, put off the
wool of my sheep with which thou hast clothed thyself, and recompense me for
their fruit and flesh which thou hast eaten, and when thou shalt have done
this, I will then go from thy land as thou hast said?
21 And Cain said to his brother
Abel, Surely if I slay thee this day, who will require thy blood from me?
22 And Abel answered Cain, saying,
Surely God who has made us in the earth, he will avenge my cause, and he will
require my blood from thee shouldst thou slay me, for the Lord is the judge and
arbiter, and it is he who will requite man according to his evil, and the
wicked man according to the wickedness that he may do upon earth.
23 And now, if thou shouldst slay me
here, surely God knoweth thy secret views, and will judge thee for the evil
which thou didst declare to do unto me this day.
24 And when Cain heard the words
which Abel his brother had spoken, behold the anger of Cain was kindled against
his brother Abel for declaring this thing.
25 And Cain hastened and rose up,
and took the iron part of his ploughing instrument, with which he suddenly
smote his brother and he slew him, and Cain spilt the blood of his brother Abel
upon the earth, and the blood of Abel streamed upon the earth before the flock.
26 And after this Cain repented
having slain his brother, and he was sadly grieved, and he wept over him and it
vexed him exceedingly.
27 And Cain rose up and dug a hole
in the field, wherein he put his brother's body, and he turned the dust over
it.
28 And the Lord knew what Cain had
done to his brother, and the Lord appeared to Cain and said unto him, Where is
Abel thy brother that was with thee?
29 And Cain dissembled, and said, I
do not know, am I my brother's keeper? And the Lord said unto him, What hast
thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground
where thou hast slain him.
30 For thou hast slain thy brother
and hast dissembled before me, and didst imagine in thy heart that I saw thee
not, nor knew all thy actions.
31 But thou didst this thing and
didst slay thy brother for naught and because he spoke rightly to thee, and now,
therefore, cursed be thou from the ground which opened its mouth to receive thy
brother's blood from thy hand, and wherein thou didst bury him.
32 And it shall be when thou shalt
till it, it shall no more give thee its strength as in the beginning, for thorns
and thistles shall the ground produce, and thou shalt be moving and wandering
in the earth until the day of thy death.
33 And at that time Cain went out
from the presence of the Lord, from the place where he was, and he went moving
and wandering in the land toward the east of Eden, he and all belonging to him.
34 And Cain knew his wife in those
days, and she conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Enoch, saying,
In that time the Lord began to give him rest and quiet in the earth.
35 And at that time Cain also began
to build a city: and he built the city and he called the name of the city
Enoch, according to the name of his son; for in those days the Lord had given
him rest upon the earth, and he did not move about and wander as in the beginning.
36 And Irad was born to Enoch, and
Irad begat Mechuyael and Mechuyael begat Methusael.
Next:
Chapter 2
Book of Jasher, Chapter 2
1 And it was in the hundred and
thirtieth year of the life of Adam upon the earth, that he again knew Eve his
wife, and she conceived and bare a son in his likeness and in his image, and
she called his name Seth, saying, Because God has appointed me another seed in
the place of Abel, for Cain has slain him.
2 And Seth lived one hundred and
five years, and he begat a son; and Seth called the name of his son Enosh,
saying, Because in that time the sons of men began to multiply, and to afflict
their souls and hearts by transgressing and rebelling against God.
3 And it was in the days of Enosh
that the sons of men continued to rebel and transgress against God, to increase
the anger of the Lord against the sons of men.
4 And the sons of men went and they
served other gods, and they forgot the Lord who had created them in the earth:
and in those days the sons of men made images of brass and iron, wood and
stone, and they bowed down and served them.
5 And every man made his god and
they bowed down to them, and the sons of men forsook the Lord all the days of
Enosh and his children; and the anger of the Lord was kindled on account of
their works and abominations which they did in the earth.
6 And the Lord caused the waters of
the river Gihon to overwhelm them, and he destroyed and consumed them, and he
destroyed the third part of the earth, and notwithstanding this, the sons of
men did not turn from their evil ways, and their hands were yet extended to do
evil in the sight of the Lord.
7 And in those days there was
neither sowing nor reaping in the earth; and there was no food for the sons of
men and the famine was very great in those days.
8 And the seed which they sowed in
those days in the ground became thorns, thistles and briers; for from the days
of Adam was this declaration concerning the earth, of the curse of God, which
he cursed the earth, on account of the sin which Adam sinned before the Lord.
9 And it was when men continued to
rebel and transgress against God, and to corrupt their ways, that the earth
also became corrupt.
10 And Enosh lived ninety years and
he begat Cainan;
11 And Cainan grew up and he was
forty years old, and he became wise and had knowledge and skill in all wisdom,
and he reigned over all the sons of men, and he led the sons of men to wisdom
and knowledge; for Cainan was a very wise man and had understanding in all
wisdom, and with his wisdom he ruled over spirits and demons;
12 And Cainan knew by his wisdom
that God would destroy the sons of men for having sinned upon earth, and that
the Lord would in the latter days bring upon them the waters of the flood.
13 And in those days Cainan wrote
upon tablets of stone, what was to take place in time to come, and he put them
in his treasures.
14 And Cainan reigned over the whole
earth, and he turned some of the sons of men to the service of God.
15 And when Cainan was seventy years
old, he begat three sons and two daughters.
16 And these are the names of the
children of Cainan; the name of the first born Mahlallel, the second Enan, and
the third Mered, and their sisters were Adah and Zillah; these are the five
children of Cainan that were born to him.
17 And Lamech, the son of Methusael,
became related to Cainan by marriage, and he took his two daughters for his
wives, and Adah conceived and bare a son to Lamech, and she called his name
Jabal.
18 And she again conceived and bare
a son, and called his name Jubal; and Zillah, her sister, was barren in those
days and had no offspring.
19 For in those days the sons of men
began to trespass against God, and to transgress the commandments which he had
commanded to Adam, to be fruitful and multiply in the earth.
20 And some of the sons of men
caused their wives to drink a draught that would render them barren, in order
that they might retain their figures and whereby their beautiful appearance
might not fade.
21 And when the sons of men caused
some of their wives to drink, Zillah drank with them.
22 And the child-bearing women
appeared abominable in the sight of their husbands as widows, whilst their
husbands lived, for to the barren ones only they were attached.
23 And in the end of days and years,
when Zillah became old, the Lord opened her womb.
24 And she conceived and bare a son
and she called his name Tubal Cain, saying, After I had withered away have I
obtained him from the Almighty God.
25 And she conceived again and bare
a daughter, and she called her name Naamah, for she said, After I had withered
away have I obtained pleasure and delight.
26 And Lamech was old and advanced
in years, and his eyes were dim that he could not see, and Tubal Cain, his son,
was leading him and it was one day that Lamech went into the field and Tubal
Cain his son was with him, and whilst they were walking in the field, Cain the
son of Adam advanced towards them; for Lamech was very old and could not see
much, and Tubal Cain his son was very young.
27 And Tubal Cain told his father to
draw his bow, and with the arrows he smote Cain, who was yet far off, and he
slew him, for he appeared to them to be an animal.
28 And the arrows entered Cain's
body although he was distant from them, and he fell to the ground and died.
29 And the Lord requited Cain's evil
according to his wickedness, which he had done to his brother Abel, according
to the word of the Lord which he had spoken.
30 And it came to pass when Cain had
died, that Lamech and Tubal went to see the animal which they had slain, and
they saw, and behold Cain their grandfather was fallen dead upon the earth.
31 And Lamech was very much grieved
at having done this, and in clapping his hands together he struck his son and
caused his death.
32 And the wives of Lamech heard
what Lamech had done, and they sought to kill him.
33 And the wives of Lamech hated him
from that day, because he slew Cain and Tubal Cain, and the wives of Lamech
separated from him, and would not hearken to him in those days.
34 And Lamech came to his wives, and
he pressed them to listen to him about this matter.
35 And he said to his wives Adah and
Zillah, Hear my voice O wives of Lamech, attend to my words, for now you have
imagined and said that I slew a man with my wounds, and a child with my stripes
for their having done no violence, but surely know that I am old and
grey-headed, and that my eyes are heavy through age, and I did this thing
unknowingly.
36 And the wives of Lamech listened
to him in this matter, and they returned to him with the advice of their father
Adam, but they bore no children to him from that time, knowing that God's anger
was increasing in those days against the sons of men, to destroy them with the
waters of the flood for their evil doings.
37 And Mahlallel the son of Cainan
lived sixty-five years and he begat Jared; and Jared lived sixty-two years and
he begat Enoch.
Next:
Chapter 3
Book of Jasher, Chapter 3
1 And Enoch lived sixty-five years
and he begat Methuselah; and Enoch walked with God after having begot
Methuselah, and he served the Lord, and despised the evil ways of men.
2 And the soul of Enoch was wrapped
up in the instruction of the Lord, in knowledge and in understanding; and he
wisely retired from the sons of men, and secreted himself from them for many
days.
3 And it was at the expiration of
many years, whilst he was serving the Lord, and praying before him in his
house, that an angel of the Lord called to him from Heaven, and he said, Here
am I.
4 And he said, Rise, go forth from
thy house and from the place where thou dost hide thyself, and appear to the
sons of men, in order that thou mayest teach them the way in which they should
go and the work which they must accomplish to enter in the ways of God.
5 And Enoch rose up according to the
word of the Lord, and went forth from his house, from his place and from the
chamber in which he was concealed; and he went to the sons of men and taught
them the ways of the Lord, and at that time assembled the sons of men and
acquainted them with the instruction of the Lord.
6 And he ordered it to be proclaimed
in all places where the sons of men dwelt, saying, Where is the man who wishes
to know the ways of the Lord and good works? let him come to Enoch.
7 And all the sons of men then
assembled to him, for all who desired this thing went to Enoch, and Enoch
reigned over the sons of men according to the word of the Lord, and they came
and bowed to him and they heard his word.
8 And the spirit of God was upon
Enoch, and he taught all his men the wisdom of God and his ways, and the sons
of men served the Lord all the days of Enoch, and they came to hear his wisdom.
9 And all the kings of the sons of
men, both first and last, together with their princes and judges, came to Enoch
when they heard of his wisdom, and they bowed down to him, and they also
required of Enoch to reign over them, to which he consented.
10 And they assembled in all, one
hundred and thirty kings and princes, and they made Enoch king over them and
they were all under his power and command.
11 And Enoch taught them wisdom,
knowledge, and the ways of the Lord; and he made peace amongst them, and peace
was throughout the earth during the life of Enoch.
12 And Enoch reigned over the sons
of men two hundred and forty-three years, and he did justice and righteousness
with all his people, and he led them in the ways of the Lord.
13 And these are the generations of
Enoch, Methuselah, Elisha, and Elimelech, three sons; and their sisters were
Melca and Nahmah, and Methuselah lived eighty-seven years and he begat Lamech.
14 And it was in the fifty-sixth
year of the life of Lamech when Adam died; nine hundred and thirty years old
was he at his death, and his two sons, with Enoch and Methuselah his son,
buried him with great pomp, as at the burial of kings, in the cave which God
had told him.
15 And in that place all the sons of
men made a great mourning and weeping on account of Adam; it has therefore
become a custom among the sons of men to this day.
16 And Adam died because he ate of
the tree of knowledge; he and his children after him, as the Lord God had
spoken.
17 And it was in the year of Adam's
death which was the two hundred and forty-third year of the reign of Enoch, in
that time Enoch resolved to separate himself from the sons of men and to secret
himself as at first in order to serve the Lord.
18 And Enoch did so, but did not
entirely secret himself from them, but kept away from the sons of men three
days and then went to them for one day.
19 And during the three days that he
was in his chamber, he prayed to, and praised the Lord his God, and the day on
which he went and appeared to his subjects he taught them the ways of the Lord,
and all they asked him about the Lord he told them.
20 And he did in this manner for
many years, and he afterward concealed himself for six days, and appeared to
his people one day in seven; and after that once in a month, and then once in a
year, until all the kings, princes and sons of men sought for him, and desired
again to see the face of Enoch, and to hear his word; but they could not, as
all the sons of men were greatly afraid of Enoch, and they feared to approach
him on account of the Godlike awe that was seated upon his countenance;
therefore no man could look at him, fearing he might be punished and die.
21 And all the kings and princes
resolved to assemble the sons of men, and to come to Enoch, thinking that they
might all speak to him at the time when he should come forth amongst them, and
they did so.
22 And the day came when Enoch went
forth and they all assembled and came to him, and Enoch spoke to them the words
of the Lord and he taught them wisdom and knowledge, and they bowed down before
him and they said, May the king live! May the king live!
23 And in some time after, when the
kings and princes and the sons of men were speaking to Enoch, and Enoch was
teaching them the ways of God, behold an angel of the Lord then called unto
Enoch from heaven, and wished to bring him up to heaven to make him reign there
over the sons of God, as he had reigned over the sons of men upon earth.
24 When at that time Enoch heard
this he went and assembled all the inhabitants of the earth, and taught them
wisdom and knowledge and gave them divine instructions, and he said to them, I
have been required to ascend into heaven, I therefore do not know the day of my
going.
25 And now therefore I will teach
you wisdom and knowledge and will give you instruction before I leave you, how
to act upon earth whereby you may live; and he did so.
26 And he taught them wisdom and
knowledge, and gave them instruction, and he reproved them, and he placed
before them statutes and judgments to do upon earth, and he made peace amongst
them, and he taught them everlasting life, and dwelt with them some time
teaching them all these things.
27 And at that time the sons of men
were with Enoch, and Enoch was speaking to them, and they lifted up their eyes
and the likeness of a great horse descended from heaven, and the horse paced in
the air;
28 And they told Enoch what they had
seen, and Enoch said to them, On my account does this horse descend upon earth;
the time is come when I must go from you and I shall no more be seen by you.
29 And the horse descended at that
time and stood before Enoch, and all the sons of men that were with Enoch saw
him.
30 And Enoch then again ordered a
voice to be proclaimed, saying, Where is the man who delighteth to know the
ways of the Lord his God, let him come this day to Enoch before he is taken
from us.
31 And all the sons of men assembled
and came to Enoch that day; and all the kings of the earth with their princes
and counsellors remained with him that day; and Enoch then taught the sons of
men wisdom and knowledge, and gave them divine instruction; and he bade them
serve the Lord and walk in his ways all the days of their lives, and he
continued to make peace amongst them.
32 And it was after this that he
rose up and rode upon the horse; and he went forth and all the sons of men went
after him, about eight hundred thousand men; and they went with him one day's
journey.
33 And the second day he said to
them, Return home to your tents, why will you go? perhaps you may die; and some
of them went from him, and those that remained went with him six day's journey;
and Enoch said to them every day, Return to your tents, lest you may die; but
they were not willing to return, and they went with him.
34 And on the sixth day some of the
men remained and clung to him, and they said to him, We will go with thee to
the place where thou goest; as the Lord liveth, death only shall separate us.
35 And they urged so much to go with
him, that he ceased speaking to them; and they went after him and would not
return;
36 And when the kings returned they
caused a census to be taken, in order to know the number of remaining men that
went with Enoch; and it was upon the seventh day that Enoch ascended into
heaven in a whirlwind, with horses and chariots of fire.
37 And on the eighth day all the
kings that had been with Enoch sent to bring back the number of men that were
with Enoch, in that place from which he ascended into heaven.
38 And all those kings went to the
place and they found the earth there filled with snow, and upon the snow were
large stones of snow, and one said to the other, Come, let us break through the
snow and see, perhaps the men that remained with Enoch are dead, and are now
under the stones of snow, and they searched but could not find him, for he had
ascended into heaven.
chapter 4
Book of Jasher, Chapter 4
1 And all the days that Enoch lived
upon earth, were three hundred and sixty-five years.
2 And when Enoch had ascended into
heaven, all the kings of the earth rose and took Methuselah his son and
anointed him, and they caused him to reign over them in the place of his
father.
3 And Methuselah acted uprightly in
the sight of God, as his father Enoch had taught him, and he likewise during
the whole of his life taught the sons of men wisdom, knowledge and the fear of
God, and he did not turn from the good way either to the right or to the left.
4 But in the latter days of
Methuselah, the sons of men turned from the Lord, they corrupted the earth,
they robbed and plundered each other, and they rebelled against God and they
transgressed, and they corrupted their ways, and would not hearken to the voice
of Methuselah, but rebelled against him.
5 And the Lord was exceedingly wroth
against them, and the Lord continued to destroy the seed in those days, so that
there was neither sowing nor reaping in the earth.
6 For when they sowed the ground in
order that they might obtain food for their support, behold, thorns and
thistles were produced which they did not sow.
7 And still the sons of men did not
turn from their evil ways, and their hands were still extended to do evil in
the sight of God, and they provoked the Lord with their evil ways, and the Lord
was very wroth, and repented that he had made man.
8 And he thought to destroy and
annihilate them and he did so.
9 In those days when Lamech the son
of Methuselah was one hundred and sixty years old, Seth the son of Adam died.
10 And all the days that Seth lived,
were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.
11 And Lamech was one hundred and
eighty years old when he took Ashmua, the daughter of Elishaa the son of Enoch
his uncle, and she conceived.
12 And at that time the sons of men
sowed the ground, and a little food was produced, yet the sons of men did not
turn from their evil ways, and they trespassed and rebelled against God.
13 And the wife of Lamech conceived
and bare him a son at that time, at the revolution of the year.
14 And Methuselah called his name
Noah, saying, The earth was in his days at rest and free from corruption, and
Lamech his father called his name Menachem, saying, This one shall comfort us
in our works and miserable toil in the earth, which God had cursed.
15 And the child grew up and was
weaned, and he went in the ways of his father Methuselah, perfect and upright
with God.
16 And all the sons of men departed
from the ways of the Lord in those days as they multiplied upon the face of the
earth with sons and daughters, and they taught one another their evil practices
and they continued sinning against the Lord.
17 And every man made unto himself a
god, and they robbed and plundered every man his neighbor as well as his
relative, and they corrupted the earth, and the earth was filled with violence.
18 And their judges and rulers went
to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands
according to their choice, and the sons of men in those days took from the
cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and
taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith
to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all
flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.
19 And the Lord said, I will blot
out man that I created from the face of the earth, yea from man to the birds of
the air, together with cattle and beasts that are in the field for I repent
that I made them.
20 And all men who walked in the
ways of the Lord, died in those days, before the Lord brought the evil upon man
which he had declared, for this was from the Lord, that they should not see the
evil which the Lord spoke of concerning the sons of men.
21 And Noah found grace in the sight
of the Lord, and the Lord chose him and his children to raise up seed from them
upon the face of the whole earth.
Sacred-texts Apocrypha Index Previous Next
Book of Jasher, Chapter 5
1 And it was in the eighty-fourth
year of the life of Noah, that Enoch the son of Seth died, he was nine hundred
and five years old at his death.
2 And in the one hundred and seventy
ninth year of the life of Noah, Cainan the son of Enosh died, and all the days
of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.
3 And in the two hundred and thirty
fourth year of the life of Noah, Mahlallel the son of Cainan died, and the days
of Mahlallel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.
4 And Jared the son of Mahlallel
died in those days, in the three hundred and thirty-sixth year of the life of
Noah; and all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he
died.
5 And all who followed the Lord died
in those days, before they saw the evil which God declared to do upon earth.
6 And after the lapse of many years,
in the four hundred and eightieth year of the life of Noah, when all those men,
who followed the Lord had died away from amongst the sons of men, and only
Methuselah was then left, God said unto Noah and Methuselah, saying,
7 Speak ye, and proclaim to the sons
of men, saying, Thus saith the Lord, return from your evil ways and forsake
your works, and the Lord will repent of the evil that he declared to do to you,
so that it shall not come to pass.
8 For thus saith the Lord, Behold I
give you a period of one hundred and twenty years; if you will turn to me and
forsake your evil ways, then will I also turn away from the evil which I told
you, and it shall not exist, saith the Lord.
9 And Noah and Methuselah spoke all
the words of the Lord to the sons of men, day after day, constantly speaking to
them.
10 But the sons of men would not
hearken to them, nor incline their ears to their words, and they were
stiffnecked.
11 And the Lord granted them a
period of one hundred and twenty years, saying, If they will return, then will
God repent of the evil, so as not to destroy the earth.
12 Noah the son of Lamech refrained
from taking a wife in those days, to beget children, for he said, Surely now
God will destroy the earth, wherefore then shall I beget children?
13 And Noah was a just man, he was
perfect in his generation, and the Lord chose him to raise up seed from his
seed upon the face of the earth.
14 And the Lord said unto Noah, Take
unto thee a wife, and beget children, for I have seen thee righteous before me
in this generation.
15 And thou shalt raise up seed, and
thy children with thee, in the midst of the earth; and Noah went and took a
wife, and he chose Naamah the daughter of Enoch, and she was five hundred and
eighty years old.
16 And Noah was four hundred and
ninety-eight years old, when he took Naamah for a wife.
17 And Naamah conceived and bare a
son, and he called his name Japheth, saying, God has enlarged me in the earth;
and she conceived again and bare a son, and he called his name Shem, saying,
God has made me a remnant, to raise up seed in the midst of the earth.
18 And Noah was five hundred and two
years old when Naamah bare Shem, and the boys grew up and went in the ways of
the Lord, in all that Methuselah and Noah their father taught them.
19 And Lamech the father of Noah,
died in those days; yet verily he did not go with all his heart in the ways of
his father, and he died in the hundred and ninety-fifth year of the life of
Noah.
20 And all the days of Lamech were
seven hundred and seventy years, and he died.
21 And all the sons of men who knew
the Lord, died in that year before the Lord brought evil upon them; for the
Lord willed them to die, so as not to behold the evil that God would bring upon
their brothers and relatives, as he had so declared to do.
22 In that time, the Lord said to
Noah and Methuselah, Stand forth and proclaim to the sons of men all the words
that I spoke to you in those days, peradventure they may turn from their evil
ways, and I will then repent of the evil and will not bring it.
23 And Noah and Methuselah stood
forth, and said in the ears of the sons of men, all that God had spoken
concerning them.
24 But the sons of men would not
hearken, neither would they incline their ears to all their declarations.
25 And it was after this that the
Lord said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, on account of their
evil deeds, and behold I will destroy the earth.
26 And do thou take unto thee gopher
wood, and go to a certain place and make a large ark, and place it in that
spot.
27 And thus shalt thou make it;
three hundred cubits its length, fifty cubits broad and thirty cubits high.
28 And thou shalt make unto thee a
door, open at its side, and to a cubit thou shalt finish above, and cover it
within and without with pitch.
29 And behold I will bring the flood
of waters upon the earth, and all flesh be destroyed, from under the heavens
all that is upon earth shall perish.
30 And thou and thy household shall
go and gather two couple of all living things, male and female, and shall bring
them to the ark, to raise up seed from them upon earth.
31 And gather unto thee all food
that is eaten by all the animals, that there may be food for thee and for them.
32 And thou shalt choose for thy
sons three maidens, from the daughters of men, and they shall be wives to thy
sons.
33 And Noah rose up, and he made the
ark, in the place where God had commanded him, and Noah did as God had ordered
him.
34 In his five hundred and
ninety-fifth year Noah commenced to make the ark, and he made the ark in five
years, as the Lord had commanded.
35 Then Noah took the three
daughters of Eliakim, son of Methuselah, for wives for his sons, as the Lord
had commanded Noah.
36 And it was at that time Methuselah
the son of Enoch died, nine hundred and sixty years old was he, at his death.
Next:
Chapter 6
Next:
Chapter 5
Book of Jasher, Chapter 6
1 At that time, after the death of
Methuselah, the Lord said to Noah, Go thou with thy household into the ark;
behold I will gather to thee all the animals of the earth, the beasts of the
field and the fowls of the air, and they shall all come and surround the ark.
2 And thou shalt go and seat thyself
by the doors of the ark, and all the beasts, the animals, and the fowls, shall
assemble and place themselves before thee, and such of them as shall come and
crouch before thee, shalt thou take and deliver into the hands of thy sons, who
shall bring them to the ark, and all that will stand before thee thou shalt
leave.
3 And the Lord brought this about on
the next day, and animals, beasts and fowls came in great multitudes and
surrounded the ark.
4 And Noah went and seated himself
by the door of the ark, and of all flesh that crouched before him, he brought
into the ark, and all that stood before him he left upon earth.
5 And a lioness came, with her two
whelps, male and female, and the three crouched before Noah, and the two whelps
rose up against the lioness and smote her, and made her flee from her place,
and she went away, and they returned to their places, and crouched upon the
earth before Noah.
6 And the lioness ran away, and
stood in the place of the lions.
7 And Noah saw this, and wondered
greatly, and he rose and took the two whelps, and brought them into the ark.
8 And Noah brought into the ark from
all living creatures that were upon earth, so that there was none left but
which Noah brought into the ark.
9 Two and two came to Noah into the
ark, but from the clean animals, and clean fowls, he brought seven couples, as
God had commanded him.
10 And all the animals, and beasts,
and fowls, were still there, and they surrounded the ark at every place, and
the rain had not descended till seven days after.
11 And on that day, the Lord caused
the whole earth to shake, and the sun darkened, and the foundations of the
world raged, and the whole earth was moved violently, and the lightning
flashed, and the thunder roared, and all the fountains in the earth were broken
up, such as was not known to the inhabitants before; and God did this mighty act,
in order to terrify the sons of men, that there might be no more evil upon
earth.
12 And still the sons of men would
not return from their evil ways, and they increased the anger of the Lord at
that time, and did not even direct their hearts to all this.
13 And at the end of seven days, in
the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, the waters of the flood were upon
the earth.
14 And all the fountains of the deep
were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and the rain was upon
the earth forty days and forty nights.
15 And Noah and his household, and
all the living creatures that were with him, came into the ark on account of
the waters of the flood, and the Lord shut him in.
16 And all the sons of men that were
left upon the earth, became exhausted through evil on account of the rain, for
the waters were coming more violently upon the earth, and the animals and
beasts were still surrounding the ark.
17 And the sons of men assembled
together, about seven hundred thousand men and women, and they came unto Noah
to the ark.
18 And they called to Noah, saying,
Open for us that we may come to thee in the ark--and wherefore shall we die?
19 And Noah, with a loud voice,
answered them from the ark, saying, Have you not all rebelled against the Lord,
and said that he does not exist? and therefore the Lord brought upon you this
evil, to destroy and cut you off from the face of the earth.
20 Is not this the thing that I
spoke to you of one hundred and twenty years back, and you would not hearken to
the voice of the Lord, and now do you desire to live upon earth?
21 And they said to Noah, We are
ready to return to the Lord; only open for us that we may live and not die.
22 And Noah answered them, saying,
Behold now that you see the trouble of your souls, you wish to return to the
Lord; why did you not return during these hundred and twenty years, which the
Lord granted you as the determined period?
23 But now you come and tell me this
on account of the troubles of your souls, now also the Lord will not listen to
you, neither will he give ear to you on this day, so that you will not now
succeed in your wishes.
24 And the sons of men approached in
order to break into the ark, to come in on account of the rain, for they could
not bear the rain upon them.
25 And the Lord sent all the beasts
and animals that stood round the ark. And the beasts overpowered them and drove
them from that place, and every man went his way and they again scattered
themselves upon the face of the earth.
26 And the rain was still descending
upon the earth, and it descended forty days and forty nights, and the waters
prevailed greatly upon the earth; and all flesh that was upon the earth or in
the waters died, whether men, animals, beasts, creeping things or birds of the
air, and there only remained Noah and those that were with him in the ark.
27 And the waters prevailed and they
greatly increased upon the earth, and they lifted up the ark and it was raised
from the earth.
28 And the ark floated upon the face
of the waters, and it was tossed upon the waters so that all the living
creatures within were turned about like pottage in a cauldron.
29 And great anxiety seized all the
living creatures that were in the ark, and the ark was like to be broken.
30 And all the living creatures that
were in the ark were terrified, and the lions roared, and the oxen lowed, and
the wolves howled, and every living creature in the ark spoke and lamented in
its own language, so that their voices reached to a great distance, and Noah
and his sons cried and wept in their troubles; they were greatly afraid that
they had reached the gates of death.
31 And Noah prayed unto the Lord,
and cried unto him on account of this, and he said, O Lord help us, for we have
no strength to bear this evil that has encompassed us, for the waves of the
waters have surrounded us, mischievous torrents have terrified us, the snares
of death have come before us; answer us, O Lord, answer us, light up thy
countenance toward us and be gracious to us, redeem us and deliver us.
32 And the Lord hearkened to the
voice of Noah, and the Lord remembered him.
33 And a wind passed over the earth,
and the waters were still and the ark rested.
34 And the fountains of the deep and
the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.
35 And the waters decreased in those
days, and the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.
36 And Noah then opened the windows
of the ark, and Noah still called out to the Lord at that time and he said, O
Lord, who didst form the earth and the heavens and all that are therein, bring
forth our souls from this confinement, and from the prison wherein thou hast
placed us, for I am much wearied with sighing.
37 And the Lord hearkened to the
voice of Noah, and said to him, When though shalt have completed a full year
thou shalt then go forth.
38 And at the revolution of the
year, when a full year was completed to Noah's dwelling in the ark, the waters
were dried from off the earth, and Noah put off the covering of the ark.
39 At that time, on the twenty-seventh
day of the second month, the earth was dry, but Noah and his sons, and those
that were with him, did not go out from the ark until the Lord told them.
40 And the day came that the Lord
told them to go out, and they all went out from the ark.
41 And they went and returned every
one to his way and to his place, and Noah and his sons dwelt in the land that
God had told them, and they served the Lord all their days, and the Lord
blessed Noah and his sons on their going out from the ark.
42 And he said to them, Be fruitful
and fill all the earth; become strong and increase abundantly in the earth and
multiply therein.
Next:
Chapter 7
Book of Jasher, Chapter 7
1 And these are the names of the
sons of Noah: Japheth, Ham and Shem; and children were born to them after the
flood, for they had taken wives before the flood.
2 These are the sons of Japheth;
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras, seven sons.
3 And the sons of Gomer were
Askinaz, Rephath and Tegarmah.
4 And the sons of Magog were
Elichanaf and Lubal.
5 And the children of Madai were
Achon, Zeelo, Chazoni and Lot.
6 And the sons of Javan were Elisha,
Tarshish, Chittim and Dudonim.
7 And the sons of Tubal were Ariphi,
Kesed and Taari.
8 And the sons of Meshech were
Dedon, Zaron and Shebashni.
9 And the sons of Tiras were Benib,
Gera, Lupirion and Gilak; these are the sons of Japheth according to their
families, and their numbers in those days were about four hundred and sixty
men.
10 And these are the sons of Ham;
Cush, Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan, four sons; and the sons of Cush were Seba,
Havilah, Sabta, Raama and Satecha, and the sons of Raama were Sheba and Dedan.
11 And the sons of Mitzraim were
Lud, Anom and Pathros, Chasloth and Chaphtor.
12 And the sons of Phut were Gebul,
Hadan, Benah and Adan.
13 And the sons of Canaan were
Zidon, Heth, Amori, Gergashi, Hivi, Arkee, Seni, Arodi, Zimodi and Chamothi.
14 These are the sons of Ham,
according to their families, and their numbers in those days were about seven
hundred and thirty men.
15 And these are the sons of Shem;
Elam, Ashur, Arpachshad, Lud and Aram, five sons; and the sons of Elam were
Shushan, Machul and Harmon.
16 And the sons of Ashar were Mirus
and Mokil, and the sons of Arpachshad were Shelach, Anar and Ashcol.
17 And the sons of Lud were Pethor
and Bizayon, and the sons of Aram were Uz, Chul, Gather and Mash.
18 These are the sons of Shem,
according to their families; and their numbers in those days were about three
hundred men.
15
19 These are the generations of
Shem; Shem begat Arpachshad and Arpachshad begat Shelach, and Shelach begat
Eber and to Eber were born two children, the name of one was Peleg, for in his
days the sons of men were divided, and in the latter days, the earth was
divided.
20 And the name of the second was
Yoktan, meaning that in his day the lives of the sons of men were diminished
and lessened.
21 These are the sons of Yoktan;
Almodad, Shelaf, Chazarmoveth, Yerach, Hadurom, Ozel, Diklah, Obal, Abimael,
Sheba, Ophir, Havilah and Jobab; all these are the sons of Yoktan.
22 And Peleg his brother begat Yen,
and Yen begat Serug, and Serug begat Nahor and Nahor begat Terah, and Terah was
thirty-eight years old, and he begat Haran and Nahor.
23 And Cush the son of Ham, the son
of Noah, took a wife in those days in his old age, and she bare a son, and they
called his name Nimrod, saying, At that time the sons of men again began to
rebel and transgress against God, and the child grew up, and his father loved
him exceedingly, for he was the son of his old age.
24 And the garments of skin which
God made for Adam and his wife, when they went out of the garden, were given to
Cush.
25 For after the death of Adam and
his wife, the garments were given to Enoch, the son of Jared, and when Enoch
was taken up to God, he gave them to Methuselah, his son.
26 And at the death of Methuselah,
Noah took them and brought them to the ark, and they were with him until he
went out of the ark.
27 And in their going out, Ham stole
those garments from Noah his father, and he took them and hid them from his
brothers.
28 And when Ham begat his first born
Cush, he gave him the garments in secret, and they were with Cush many days.
29 And Cush also concealed them from
his sons and brothers, and when Cush had begotten Nimrod, he gave him those
garments through his love for him, and Nimrod grew up, and when he was twenty
years old he put on those garments.
30 And Nimrod became strong when he
put on the garments, and God gave him might and strength, and he was a mighty
hunter in the earth, yea, he was a mighty hunter in the field, and he hunted
the animals and he built altars, and he offered upon them the animals before
the Lord.
31 And Nimrod strengthened himself,
and he rose up from amongst his brethren, and he fought the battles of his
brethren against all their enemies round about.
32 And the Lord delivered all the
enemies of his brethren in his hands, and God prospered him from time to time
in his battles, and he reigned upon earth.
33 Therefore it became current in
those days, when a man ushered forth those that he had trained up for battle,
he would say to them, Like God did to Nimrod, who was a mighty hunter in the
earth, and who succeeded in the battles that prevailed against his brethren,
that he delivered them from the hands of their enemies, so may God strengthen
us and deliver us this day.
34 And when Nimrod was forty years
old, at that time there was a war between his brethren and the children of
Japheth, so that they were in the power of their enemies.
35 And Nimrod went forth at that
time, and he assembled all the sons of Cush and their families, about four
hundred and sixty men, and he hired also from some of his friends and
acquaintances about eighty men, and be gave them their hire, and he went with
them to battle, and when he was on the road, Nimrod strengthened the hearts of
the people that went with him.
36 And he said to them, Do not fear,
neither be alarmed, for all our enemies will be delivered into our hands, and
you may do with them as you please.
37 And all the men that went were
about five hundred, and they fought against their enemies, and they destroyed
them, and subdued them, and Nimrod placed standing officers over them in their
respective places.
38 And he took some of their
children as security, and they were all servants to Nimrod and to his brethren,
and Nimrod and all the people that were with him turned homeward.
39 And when Nimrod had joyfully
returned from battle, after having conquered his enemies, all his brethren,
together with those who knew him before, assembled to make him king over them,
and they placed the regal crown upon his head.
40 And he set over his subjects and
people, princes, judges, and rulers, as is the custom amongst kings.
41 And he placed Terah the son of
Nahor the prince of his host, and he dignified him and elevated him above all
his princes.
42 And whilst he was reigning
according to his heart's desire, after having conquered all his enemies around,
he advised with his counselors to build a city for his palace, and they did so.
43 And they found a large valley
opposite to the east, and they built him a large and extensive city, and Nimrod
called the name of the city that he built Shinar, for the Lord had vehemently
shaken his enemies and destroyed them.
44 And Nimrod dwelt in Shinar, and
he reigned securely, and he fought with his enemies and he subdued them, and he
prospered in all his battles, and his kingdom became very great.
45 And all nations and tongues heard
of his fame, and they gathered themselves to him, and they bowed down to the
earth, and they brought him offerings, and he became their lord and king, and
they all dwelt with him in the city at Shinar, and Nimrod reigned in the earth
over all the sons of Noah, and they were all under his power and counsel.
46 And all the earth was of one
tongue and words of union, but Nimrod did not go in the ways of the Lord, and
he was more wicked than all the men that were before him, from the days of the
flood until those days.
47 And he made gods of wood and
stone, and he bowed down to them, and he rebelled against the Lord, and taught
all his subjects and the people of the earth his wicked ways; and Mardon his
son was more wicked than his father.
48 And every one that heard of the
acts of Mardon the son of Nimrod would say, concerning him, From the wicked
goeth forth wickedness; therefore it became a proverb in the whole earth,
saying, From the wicked goeth forth wickedness, and it was current in the words
of men from that time to this.
49 And Terah the son of Nahor,
prince of Nimrod's host, was in those days very great in the sight of the king
and his subjects, and the king and princes loved him, and they elevated him
very high.
50 And Terah took a wife and her
name was Amthelo the daughter of Cornebo; and the wife of Terah conceived and
bare him a son in those days.
51 Terah was seventy years old when
he begat him, and Terah called the name of his son that was born to him Abram,
because the king had raised him in those days, and dignified him above all his
princes that were with him.
Next:
Chapter 8
Book of Jasher, Chapter 8
1 And it was in the night that Abram
was born, that all the servants of Terah, and all the wise men of Nimrod, and
his conjurors came and ate and drank in the house of Terah, and they rejoiced
with him on that night.
2 And when all the wise men and
conjurors went out from the house of Terah, they lifted up their eyes toward
heaven that night to look at the stars, and they saw, and behold one very large
star came from the east and ran in the heavens, and he swallowed up the four
stars from the four sides of the heavens.
3 And all the wise men of the king
and his conjurors were astonished at the sight, and the sages understood this
matter, and they knew its import.
4 And they said to each other, This
only betokens the child that has been born to Terah this night, who will grow
up and be fruitful, and multiply, and possess all the earth, he and his
children for ever, and he and his seed will slay great kings, and inherit their
lands.
5 And the wise men and conjurors
went home that night, and in the morning all these wise men and conjurors rose
up early, and assembled in an appointed house.
6 And they spoke and said to each
other, Behold the sight that we saw last night is hidden from the king, it has
not been made known to him.
7 And should this thing get known to
the king in the latter days, he will say to us, Why have you concealed this
matter from me, and then we shall all suffer death; therefore, now let us go
and tell the king the sight which we saw, and the interpretation thereof, and
we shall then remain clear.
8 And they did so, and they all went
to the king and bowed down to him to the ground, and they said, May the king
live, may the king live.
9 We heard that a son was born to
Terah the son of Nahor, the prince of thy host, and we yesternight came to his
house, and we ate and drank and rejoiced with him that night.
10 And when thy servants went out
from the house of Terah, to go to our respective homes to abide there for the
night, we lifted up our eyes to heaven, and we saw a great star coming from the
east, and the same star ran with great speed, and swallowed up four great stars,
from the four sides of the heavens.
11 And thy servants were astonished
at the sight which we saw, and were greatly terrified, and we made our judgment
upon the sight, and knew by our wisdom the proper interpretation thereof, that
this thing applies to the child that is born to Terah, who will grow up and
multiply greatly, and become powerful, and kill all the kings of the earth, and
inherit all their lands, he and his seed forever.
12 And now our lord and king, behold
we have truly acquainted thee with what we have seen concerning this child.
13 If it seemeth good to the king to
give his father value for this child, we will slay him before he shall grow up
and increase in the land, and his evil increase against us, that we and our
children perish through his evil.
14 And the king heard their words
and they seemed good in his sight, and he sent and called for Terah, and Terah
came before the king.
15 And the king said to Terah, I
have been told that a son was yesternight born to thee, and after this manner
was observed in the heavens at his birth.
16 And now therefore give me the
child, that we may slay him before his evil springs up against us, and I will
give thee for his value, thy house full of silver and gold.
17 And Terah answered the king and
said to him: My Lord and king, I have heard thy words, and thy servant shall do
all that his king desireth.
18 But my lord and king, I will tell
thee what happened to me yesternight, that I may see what advice the king will
give his servant, and then I will answer the king upon what he has just spoken;
and the king said, Speak.
19 And Terah said to the king, Ayon,
son of Mored, came to me yesternight, saying,
20 Give unto me the great and
beautiful horse that the king gave thee, and I will give thee silver and gold,
and straw and provender for its value; and I said to him, Wait till I see the
king concerning thy words, and behold whatever the king saith, that will I do.
21 And now my lord and king, behold
I have made this thing known to thee, and the advice which my king will give
unto his servant, that will I follow.
22 And the king heard the words of
Terah, and his anger was kindled and he considered him in the light of a fool.
23 And the king answered Terah, and
he said to him, Art thou so silly, ignorant, or deficient in understanding, to
do this thing, to give thy beautiful horse for silver and gold or even for
straw and provender?
24 Art thou so short of silver and
gold, that thou shouldst do this thing, because thou canst not obtain straw and
provender to feed thy horse? and what is silver and gold to thee, or straw and
provender, that thou shouldst give away that fine horse which I gave thee, like
which there is none to be had on the whole earth?
25 And the king left off speaking,
and Terah answered the king, saying, Like unto this has the king spoken to his
servant;
26 I beseech thee, my lord and king,
what is this which thou didst say unto me, saying, Give thy son that we may
slay him, and I will give thee silver and gold for his value; what shall I do
with silver and gold after the death of my son? who shall inherit me? surely
then at my death, the silver and gold will return to my king who gave it.
27 And when the king heard the words
of Terah, and the parable which he brought concerning the king, it grieved him
greatly and he was vexed at this thing, and his anger burned within him.
28 And Terah saw that the anger of
the king was kindled against him, and he answered the king, saying, All that I
have is in the king's power; whatever the king desireth to do to his servant,
that let him do, yea, even my son, he is in the king's power, without value in
exchange, he and his two brothers that are older than he.
29 And the king said to Terah, No,
but I will purchase thy younger son for a price.
30 And Terah answered the king,
saying, I beseech thee my lord and king to let thy servant speak a word before
thee, and let the king hear the word of his servant, and Terah said, Let my
king give me three days' time till I consider this matter within myself, and consult
with my family concerning the words of my king; and he pressed the king greatly
to agree to this.
31 And the king hearkened to Terah,
and he did so and he gave him three days' time, and Terah went out from the
king's presence, and he came home to his family and spoke to them all the words
of the king; and the people were greatly afraid.
32 And it was in the third day that
the king sent to Terah, saying, Send me thy son for a price as I spoke to thee;
and shouldst thou not do this, I will send and slay all thou hast in thy house,
so that thou shalt not even have a dog remaining.
33 And Terah hastened, (as the thing
was urgent from the king), and he took a child from one of his servants, which
his handmaid had born to him that day, and Terah brought the child to the king
and received value for him.
34 And the Lord was with Terah in
this matter, that Nimrod might not cause Abram's death, and the king took the
child from Terah and with all his might dashed his head to the ground, for he
thought it had been Abram; and this was concealed from him from that day, and
it was forgotten by the king, as it was the will of Providence not to suffer
Abram's death.
35 And Terah took Abram his son
secretly, together with his mother and nurse, and he concealed them in a cave,
and he brought them their provisions monthly.
36 And the Lord was with Abram in
the cave and he grew up, and Abram was in the cave ten years, and the king and
his princes, soothsayers and sages, thought that the king had killed Abram.
Next:
Chapter 9
Book of Jasher, Chapter 9
1 And Haran, the son of Terah,
Abram's oldest brother, took a wife in those days.
2 Haran was thirty-nine years old
when he took her; and the wife of Haran conceived and bare a son, and he called
his name Lot.
3 And she conceived again and bare a
daughter, and she called her name Milca; and she again conceived and bare a
daughter, and she called her name Sarai.
4 Haran was forty-two years old when
he begat Sarai, which was in the tenth year of the life of Abram; and in those
days Abram and his mother and nurse went out from the cave, as the king and his
subjects had forgotten the affair of Abram.
5 And when Abram came out from the
cave, he went to Noah and his son Shem, and he remained with them to learn the
instruction of the Lord and his ways, and no man knew where Abram was, and
Abram served Noah and Shem his son for a long time.
6 And Abram was in Noah's house
thirty-nine years, and Abram knew the Lord from three years old, and he went in
the ways of the Lord until the day of his death, as Noah and his son Shem had
taught him; and all the sons of the earth in those days greatly transgressed
against the Lord, and they rebelled against him and they served other gods, and
they forgot the Lord who had created them in the earth; and the inhabitants of
the earth made unto themselves, at that time, every man his god; gods of wood
and stone which could neither speak, hear, nor deliver, and the sons of men
served them and they became their gods.
7 And the king and all his servants,
and Terah with all his household were then the first of those that served gods
of wood and stone.
20
8 And Terah had twelve gods of large
size, made of wood and stone, after the twelve months of the year, and he
served each one monthly, and every month Terah would bring his meat offering
and drink offering to his gods; thus did Terah all the days.
9 And all that generation were
wicked in the sight of the Lord, and they thus made every man his god, but they
forsook the Lord who had created them.
10 And there was not a man found in
those days in the whole earth, who knew the Lord (for they served each man his
own God) except Noah and his household, and all those who were under his
counsel knew the Lord in those days.
11 And Abram the son of Terah was
waxing great in those days in the house of Noah, and no man knew it, and the
Lord was with him.
12 And the Lord gave Abram an
understanding heart, and he knew all the works of that generation were vain,
and that all their gods were vain and were of no avail.
13 And Abram saw the sun shining
upon the earth, and Abram said unto himself Surely now this sun that shines
upon the earth is God, and him will I serve.
14 And Abram served the sun in that
day and he prayed to him, and when evening came the sun set as usual, and Abram
said within himself, Surely this cannot be God?
15 And Abram still continued to
speak within himself, Who is he who made the heavens and the earth? who created
upon earth? where is he?
16 And night darkened over him, and
he lifted up his eyes toward the west, north, south, and east, and he saw that
the sun had vanished from the earth, and the day became dark.
17 And Abram saw the stars and moon
before him, and he said, Surely this is the God who created the whole earth as
well as man, and behold these his servants are gods around him: and Abram
served the moon and prayed to it all that night.
18 And in the morning when it was
light and the sun shone upon the earth as usual, Abram saw all the things that
the Lord God had made upon earth.
19 And Abram said unto himself
Surely these are not gods that made the earth and all mankind, but these are
the servants of God, and Abram remained in the house of Noah and there knew the
Lord and his ways' and he served the Lord all the days of his life, and all
that generation forgot the Lord, and served other gods of wood and stone, and
rebelled all their days.
20 And king Nimrod reigned securely,
and all the earth was under his control, and all the earth was of one tongue
and words of union.
21 And all the princes of Nimrod and
his great men took counsel together; Phut, Mitzraim, Cush and Canaan with their
families, and they said to each other, Come let us build ourselves a city and
in it a strong tower, and its top reaching heaven, and we will make ourselves
famed, so that we may reign upon the whole world, in order that the evil of our
enemies may cease from us, that we may reign mightily over them, and that we
may not become scattered over the earth on account of their wars.
22 And they all went before the
king, and they told the king these words, and the king agreed with them in this
affair, and he did so.
23 And all the families assembled
consisting of about six hundred thousand men, and they went to seek an
extensive piece of ground to build the city and the tower, and they sought in
the whole earth and they found none like one valley at the east of the land of
Shinar, about two days' walk, and they journeyed there and they dwelt there.
24 And they began to make bricks and
burn fires to build the city and the tower that they had imagined to complete.
25 And the building of the tower was
unto them a transgression and a sin, and they began to build it, and whilst
they were building against the Lord God of heaven, they imagined in their
hearts to war against him and to ascend into heaven.
26 And all these people and all the
families divided themselves in three parts; the first said We will ascend into
heaven and fight against him; the second said, We will ascend to heaven and
place our own gods there and serve them; and the third part said, We will
ascend to heaven and smite him with bows and spears; and God knew all their
works and all their evil thoughts, and he saw the city and the tower which they
were building.
27 And when they were building they
built themselves a great city and a very high and strong tower; and on account
of its height the mortar and bricks did not reach the builders in their ascent
to it, until those who went up had completed a full year, and after that, they
reached to the builders and gave them the mortar and the bricks; thus was it
done daily.
28 And behold these ascended and
others descended the whole day; and if a brick should fall from their hands and
get broken, they would all weep over it, and if a man fell and died, none of
them would look at him.
29 And the Lord knew their thoughts,
and it came to pass when they were building they cast the arrows toward the
heavens, and all the arrows fell upon them filled with blood, and when they saw
them they said to each other, Surely we have slain all those that are in
heaven.
30 For this was from the Lord in
order to cause them to err, and in order; to destroy them from off the face of
the ground.
31 And they built the tower and the
city, and they did this thing daily until many days and years were elapsed.
32 And God said to the seventy
angels who stood foremost before him, to those who were near to him, saying,
Come let us descend and confuse their tongues, that one man shall not
understand the language of his neighbor, and they did so unto them.
33 And from that day following, they
forgot each man his neighbor's tongue, and they could not understand to speak
in one tongue, and when the builder took from the hands of his neighbor lime or
stone which he did not order, the builder would cast it away and throw it upon
his neighbor, that he would die.
34 And they did so many days, and
they killed many of them in this manner.
35 And the Lord smote the three
divisions that were there, and he punished them according to their works and
designs; those who said, We will ascend to heaven and serve our gods, became
like apes and elephants; and those who said, We will smite the heaven with
arrows, the Lord killed them, one man through the hand of his neighbor; and the
third division of those who said, We will ascend to heaven and fight against
him, the Lord scattered them throughout the earth.
36 And those who were left amongst
them, when they knew and understood the evil which was coming upon them, they
forsook the building, and they also became scattered upon the face of the whole
earth.
37 And they ceased building the city
and the tower; therefore he called that place Babel, for there the Lord
confounded the Language of the whole earth; behold it was at the east of the
land of Shinar.
38 And as to the tower which the
sons of men built, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up one third part
thereof, and a fire also descended from heaven and burned another third, and
the other third is left to this day, and it is of that part which was aloft,
and its circumference is three days' walk.
39 And many of the sons of men died
in that tower, a people without number.
Next: Chapter 10
Book of Jasher, Chapter 10
1 And Peleg the son of Eber died in
those days, in the forty-eighth year of the life of Abram son of Terah, and all
the days of Peleg were two hundred and thirty-nine years.
2 And when the Lord had scattered
the sons of men on account of their sin at the tower, behold they spread forth
into many divisions, and all the sons of men were dispersed into the four
corners of the earth.
3 And all the families became each
according to its language, its land, or its city.
4 And the sons of men built many
cities according to their families, in all the places where they went, and
throughout the earth where the Lord had scattered them.
5 And some of them built cities in
places from which they were afterward extirpated, and they called these cities
after their own names, or the names of their children, or after their
particular occurrences.
6 And the sons of Japheth the son of
Noah went and built themselves cities in the places where they were scattered,
and they called all their cities after their names, and the sons of Japheth
were divided upon the face of the earth into many divisions and languages.
7 And these are the sons of Japheth
according to their families, Gomer, Magog, Medai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and
Tiras; these are the children of Japheth according to their generations.
8 And the children of Gomer,
according to their cities, were the Francum, who dwell in the land of Franza,
by the river Franza, by the river Senah.
9 And the children of Rephath are
the Bartonim, who dwell in the land of Bartonia by the river Ledah, which empties
its waters in the great sea Gihon, that is, oceanus.
10 And the children of Tugarma are
ten families, and these are their names: Buzar, Parzunac, Balgar, Elicanum,
Ragbib, Tarki, Bid, Zebuc, Ongal and Tilmaz; all these spread and rested in the
north and built themselves cities.
11 And they called their cities
after their own names, those are they who abide by the rivers Hithlah and
Italac unto this day.
12 But the families of Angoli,
Balgar and Parzunac, they dwell by the great river Dubnee; and the names of
their cities are also according to their own names.
13 And the children of Javan are the
Javanim who dwell in the land of Makdonia, and the children of Medaiare are the
Orelum that dwell in the land of Curson, and the children of Tubal are those that
dwell in the land of Tuskanah by the river Pashiah.
14 And the children of Meshech are
the Shibashni and the children of Tiras are Rushash, Cushni, and Ongolis; all
these went and built themselves cities; those are the cities that are situate
by the sea Jabus by the river Cura, which empties itself in the river Tragan.
15 And the children of Elishah are
the Almanim, and they also went and built themselves cities; those are the
cities situate between the mountains of Job and Shibathmo; and of them were the
people of Lumbardi who dwell opposite the mountains of Job and Shibathmo, and
they conquered the land of Italia and remained there unto this day.
16 And the children of Chittim are
the Romim who dwell in the valley of Canopia by the river Tibreu.
17 And the children of Dudonim are
those who dwell in the cities of the sea Gihon, in the land of Bordna.
18 These are the families of the
children of Japheth according to their cities and languages, when they were
scattered after the tower, and they called their cities after their names and
occurrences; and these are the names of all their cities according to their
families, which they built in those days after the tower.
19 And the children of Ham were
Cush, Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan according to their generation and cities.
20 All these went and built
themselves cities as they found fit places for them, and they called their
cities after the names of their fathers Cush, Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan.
21 And the children of Mitzraim are
the Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuchim, Pathrusim, Casluchim and Caphturim,
seven families.
22 All these dwell by the river
Sihor, that is the brook of Egypt, and they built themselves cities and called
them after their own names.
23 And the children of Pathros and
Casloch intermarried together, and from them went forth the Pelishtim, the
Azathim, and the Gerarim, the Githim and the Ekronim, in all five families;
these also built themselves cities, and they called their cities after the
names of their fathers unto this day.
24 And the children of Canaan also
built themselves cities, and they called their cities after their names, eleven
cities and others without number.
25 And four men from the family of
Ham went to the land of the plain; these are the names of the four men, Sodom,
Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim.
26 And these men built themselves
four cities in the land of the plain, and they called the names of their cities
after their own names.
27 And they and their children and
all belonging to them dwelt in those cities, and they were fruitful and
multiplied greatly and dwelt peaceably.
28 And Seir the son of Hur, son of
Hivi, son of Canaan, went and found a valley opposite to Mount Paran, and he
built a city there, and he and his seven sons and his household dwelt there,
and he called the city which he built Seir, according to his name; that is the
land of Seir unto this day.
29 These are the families of the
children of Ham, according to their languages and cities, when they were
scattered to their countries after the tower.
30 And some of the children of Shem
son of Noah, father of all the children of Eber, also went and built themselves
cities in the places wherein they were scattered, and they called their cities
after their names.
31 And the sons of Shem were Elam,
Ashur, Arpachshad, Lud and Aram, and they built themselves cities and called
the names of all their cities after their names.
32 And Ashur son of Shem and his
children and household went forth at that time, a very large body of them, and
they went to a distant land that they found, and they met with a very extensive
valley in the land that they went to, and they built themselves four cities,
and they called them after their own names and occurrences.
33 And these are the names of the
cities which the children of Ashur built, Ninevah, Resen, Calach and
Rehobother; and the children of Ashur dwell there unto this day.
34 And the children of Aram also
went and built themselves a city, and they called the name of the city Uz after
their eldest brother, and they dwell therein; that is the land of Uz to this
day.
35 And in the second year after the
tower a man from the house of Ashur, whose name was Bela, went from the land of
Ninevah to sojourn with his household wherever he could find a place; and they
came until opposite the cities of the plain against Sodom, and they dwelt
there.
36 And the man rose up and built
there a small city, and called its name Bela, after his name; that is the land
of Zoar unto this day.
37 And these are the families of the
children of Shem according to their language and cities, after they were
scattered upon the earth after the tower.
38 And every kingdom, city, and
family of the families of the children of Noah built themselves many cities
after this.
39 And they established governments
in all their cities, in order to be regulated by their orders; so did all the
families of the children of Noah forever.
Next: Chapter 11
Book of Jasher, Chapter 11
1 And Nimrod son of Cush was still
in the land of Shinar, and he reigned over it and dwelt there, and he built
cities in the land of Shinar.
2 And these are the names of the
four cities which he built, and he called their names after the occurrences
that happened to them in the building of the tower.
3 And he called the first Babel,
saying, Because the Lord there confounded the language of the whole earth; and the
name of the second he called Erech, because from there God dispersed them.
4 And the third he called Eched,
saying there was a great battle at that place; and the fourth he called Calnah,
because his princes and mighty men were consumed there, and they vexed the
Lord, they rebelled and transgressed against him.
5 And when Nimrod had built these
cities in the land of Shinar, he placed in them the remainder of his people,
his princes and his mighty men that were left in his kingdom.
6 And Nimrod dwelt in Babel, and he
there renewed his reign over the rest of his subjects, and he reigned securely,
and the subjects and princes of Nimrod called his name Amraphel, saying that at
the tower his princes and men fell through his means.
7 And notwithstanding this, Nimrod
did not return to the Lord, and he continued in wickedness and teaching
wickedness to the sons of men; and Mardon, his son, was worse than his father,
and continued to add to the abominations of his father.
8 And he caused the sons of men to
sin, therefore it is said, From the wicked goeth forth wickedness.
9 At that time there was war between
the families of the children of Ham, as they were dwelling in the cities which
they had built.
10 And Chedorlaomer, king of Elam,
went away from the families of the children of Ham, and he fought with them and
he subdued them, and he went to the five cities of the plain and he fought
against them and he subdued them, and they were under his control.
11 And they served him twelve years,
and they gave him a yearly tax.
12 At that time died Nahor, son of
Serug, in the forty-ninth year of the life of Abram son of Terah.
13 And in the fiftieth year of the
life of Abram son of Terah, Abram came forth from the house of Noah, and went
to his father's house.
14 And Abram knew the Lord, and he
went in his ways and instructions, and the Lord his God was with him.
15 And Terah his father was in those
days, still captain of the host of king Nimrod, and he still followed strange
gods.
16 And Abram came to his father's
house and saw twelve gods standing there in their temples, and the anger of
Abram was kindled when he saw these images in his father's house.
17 And Abram said, As the Lord
liveth these images shall not remain in my father's house; so shall the Lord
who created me do unto me if in three days' time I do not break them all.
18 And Abram went from them, and his
anger burned within him. And Abram hastened and went from the chamber to his
father's outer court, and he found his father sitting in the court, and all his
servants with him, and Abram came and sat before him.
19 And Abram asked his father,
saying, Father, tell me where is God who created heaven and earth, and all the
sons of men upon earth, and who created thee and me. And Terah answered his son
Abram and said, Behold those who created us are all with us in the house.
20 And Abram said to his father, My
lord, shew them to me I pray thee; and Terah brought Abram into the chamber of
the inner court, and Abram saw, and behold the whole room was full of gods of
wood and stone, twelve great images and others less than they without number.
21 And Terah said to his son, Behold
these are they which made all thou seest upon earth, and which created me and
thee, and all mankind.
22 And Terah bowed down to his gods,
and he then went away from them, and Abram, his son, went away with him.
23 And when Abram had gone from them
he went to his mother and sat before her, and he said to his mother, Behold, my
father has shown me those who made heaven and earth, and all the sons of men.
24 Now, therefore, hasten and fetch
a kid from the flock, and make of it savory meat, that I may bring it to my
father's gods as an offering for them to eat; perhaps I may thereby become
acceptable to them.
25 And his mother did so, and she
fetched a kid, and made savory meat thereof, and brought it to Abram, and Abram
took the savory meat from his mother and brought it before his father's gods,
and he drew nigh to them that they might eat; and Terah his father, did not
know of it.
26 And Abram saw on the day when he
was sitting amongst them, that they had no voice, no hearing, no motion, and
not one of them could stretch forth his hand to eat.
27 And Abram mocked them, and said,
Surely the savory meat that I prepared has not pleased them, or perhaps it was
too little for them, and for that reason they would not eat; therefore tomorrow
I will prepare fresh savory meat, better and more plentiful than this, in order
that I may see the result.
28 And it was on the next day that
Abram directed his mother concerning the savory meat, and his mother rose and
fetched three fine kids from the flock, and she made of them some excellent
savory meat, such as her son was fond of, and she gave it to her son Abram; and
Terah his father did not know of it.
29 And Abram took the savory meat
from his mother, and brought it before his father's gods into the chamber; and
he came nigh unto them that they might eat, and he placed it before them, and
Abram sat before them all day, thinking perhaps they might eat.
30 And Abram viewed them, and behold
they had neither voice nor hearing, nor did one of them stretch forth his hand
to the meat to eat.
31 And in the evening of that day in
that house Abram was clothed with the spirit of God.
32 And he called out and said, Wo
unto my father and this wicked generation, whose hearts are all inclined to
vanity, who serve these idols of wood and stone which can neither eat, smell,
hear nor speak, who have mouths without speech, eyes without sight, ears
without hearing, hands without feeling, and legs which cannot move; like them
are those that made them and that trust in them.
33 And when Abram saw all these
things his anger was kindled against his father, and he hastened and took a
hatchet in his hand, and came unto the chamber of the gods, and he broke all
his father's gods.
34 And when he had done breaking the
images, he placed the hatchet in the hand of the great god which was there
before them, and he went out; and Terah his father came home, for he had heard
at the door the sound of the striking of the hatchet; so Terah came into the
house to know what this was about.
35 And Terah, having heard the noise
of the hatchet in the room of images, ran to the room to the images, and he met
Abram going out.
36 And Terah entered the room and
found all the idols fallen down and broken, and the hatchet in the hand of the
largest, which was not broken, and the savory meat which Abram his son had made
was still before them.
37 And when Terah saw this his anger
was greatly kindled, and he hastened and went from the room to Abram.
38 And he found Abram his son still
sitting in the house; and he said to him, What is this work thou hast done to
my gods?
39 And Abram answered Terah his
father and he said, Not so my lord, for I brought savory meat before them, and
when I came nigh to them with the meat that they might eat, they all at once
stretched forth their hands to eat before the great one had put forth his hand
to eat.
40 And the large one saw their works
that they did before him, and his anger was violently kindled against them, and
he went and took the hatchet that was in the house and came to them and broke
them all, and behold the hatchet is yet in his hand as thou seest.
41 And Terah's anger was kindled
against his son Abram, when he spoke this; and Terah said to Abram his son in
his anger, What is this tale that thou hast told? Thou speakest lies to me.
42 Is there in these gods spirit,
soul or power to do all thou hast told me? Are they not wood and stone, and
have I not myself made them, and canst thou speak such lies, saying that the
large god that was with them smote them? It is thou that didst place the
hatchet in his hands, and then sayest he smote them all.
43 And Abram answered his father and
said to him, And how canst thou then serve these idols in whom there is no
power to do any thing? Can those idols in which thou trustest deliver thee? can
they hear thy prayers when thou callest upon them? can they deliver thee from
the hands of thy enemies, or will they fight thy battles for thee against thy
enemies, that thou shouldst serve wood and stone which can neither speak nor
hear?
44 And now surely it is not good for
thee nor for the sons of men that are connected with thee, to do these things;
are you so silly, so foolish or so short of understanding that you will serve
wood and stone, and do after this manner?
45 And forget the Lord God who made
heaven and earth, and who created you in the earth, and thereby bring a great
evil upon your souls in this matter by serving stone and wood?
46 Did not our fathers in days of
old sin in this matter, and the Lord God of the universe brought the waters of
the flood upon them and destroyed the whole earth?
47 And how can you continue to do
this and serve gods of wood and stone, who cannot hear, or speak, or deliver
you from oppression, thereby bringing down the anger of the God of the universe
upon you?
48 Now therefore my father refrain
from this, and bring not evil upon thy soul and the souls of thy household.
49 And Abram hastened and sprang
from before his father, and took the hatchet from his father's largest idol,
with which Abram broke it and ran away.
50 And Terah, seeing all that Abram
had done, hastened to go from his house, and he went to the king and he came
before Nimrod and stood before him, and he bowed down to the king; and the king
said, What dost thou want?
51 And he said, I beseech thee my
lord, to hear me--Now fifty years back a child was born to me, and thus has he
done to my gods and thus has he spoken; and now therefore, my lord and king,
send for him that he may come before thee, and judge him according to the law,
that we may be delivered from his evil.
52 And the king sent three men of
his servants, and they went and brought Abram before the king. And Nimrod and
all his princes and servants were that day sitting before him, and Terah sat
also before them.
53 And the king said to Abram, What
is this that thou hast done to thy father and to his gods? And Abram answered
the king in the words that he spoke to his father, and he said, The large god
that was with them in the house did to them what thou hast heard.
54 And the king said to Abram, Had
they power to speak and eat and do as thou hast said? And Abram answered the
king, saying, And if there be no power in them why dost thou serve them and
cause the sons of men to err through thy follies?
55 Dost thou imagine that they can
deliver thee or do anything small or great, that thou shouldst serve them? And
why wilt thou not sense the God of the whole universe, who created thee and in
whose power it is to kill and keep alive?
56 0 foolish, simple, and ignorant
king, woe unto thee forever.
57 I thought thou wouldst teach thy
servants the upright way, but thou hast not done this, but hast filled the
whole earth with thy sins and the sins of thy people who have followed thy
ways.
58 Dost thou not know, or hast thou
not heard, that this evil which thou doest, our ancestors sinned therein in
days of old, and the eternal God brought the waters of the flood upon them and
destroyed them all, and also destroyed the whole earth on their account? And
wilt thou and thy people rise up now and do like unto this work, in order to
bring down the anger of the Lord God of the universe, and to bring evil upon
thee and the whole earth?
59 Now therefore put away this evil
deed which thou doest, and serve the God of the universe, as thy soul is in his
hands, and then it will be well with thee.
60 And if thy wicked heart will not
hearken to my words to cause thee to forsake thy evil ways, and to serve the
eternal God, then wilt thou die in shame in the latter days, thou, thy people
and all who are connected with thee, hearing thy words or walking in thy evil
ways.
61 And when Abram had ceased
speaking before the king and princes, Abram lifted up his eyes to the heavens,
and he said, The Lord seeth all the wicked, and he will judge them.
Next: Chapter 12
Book of Jasher, Chapter 12
1 And when the king heard the words
of Abram he ordered him to be put into prison; and Abram was ten days in
prison.
2 And at the end of those days the
king ordered that all the kings, princes and governors of different provinces
and the sages should come before him, and they sat before him, and Abram was
still in the house of confinement.
3 And the king said to the princes
and sages, Have you heard what Abram, the son of Terah, has done to his father?
Thus has he done to him, and I ordered him to be brought before me, and thus
has he spoken; his heart did not misgive him, neither did he stir in my
presence, and behold now he is confined in the prison.
4 And therefore decide what judgment
is due to this man who reviled the king; who spoke and did all the things that
you heard.
5 And they all answered the king
saying, The man who revileth the king should be hanged upon a tree; but having
done all the things that he said, and having despised our gods, he must
therefore be burned to death, for this is the law in this matter.
6 If it pleaseth the king to do
this, let him order his servants to kindle a fire both night and day in thy
brick furnace, and then we will cast this man into it. And the king did so, and
he commanded his servants that they should prepare a fire for three days and
three nights in the king's furnace, that is in Casdim; and the king ordered
them to take Abram from prison and bring him out to be burned.
7 And all the king's servants,
princes, lords, governors, and judges, and all the inhabitants of the land,
about nine hundred thousand men, stood opposite the furnace to see Abram.
8 And all the women and little ones
crowded upon the roofs and towers to see what was doing with Abram, and they
all stood together at a distance; and there was not a man left that did not
come on that day to behold the scene.
9 And when Abram was come, the
conjurors of the king and the sages saw Abram, and they cried out to the king,
saying, Our sovereign lord, surely this is the man whom we know to have been
the child at whose birth the great star swallowed the four stars, which we
declared to the king now fifty years since.
10 And behold now his father has
also transgressed thy commands, and mocked thee by bringing thee another child,
which thou didst kill.
11 And when the king heard their
words, he was exceedingly wroth, and he ordered Terah to be brought before him.
12 And the king said, Hast thou
heard what the conjurors have spoken? Now tell me truly, how didst thou; and if
thou shalt speak truth thou shalt be acquitted.
13 And seeing that the king's anger
was so much kindled, Terah said to the king, My lord and king, thou hast heard
the truth, and what the sages have spoken is right. And the king said, How
couldst thou do this thing, to transgress my orders and to give me a child that
thou didst not beget, and to take value for him?
14 And Terah answered the king,
Because my tender feelings were excited for my son, at that time, and I took a
son of my handmaid, and I brought him to the king.
15 And the king said Who advised
thee to this? Tell me, do not hide aught from me, and then thou shalt not die.
16 And Terah was greatly terrified
in the king's presence, and he said to the king, It was Haran my eldest son who
advised me to this; and Haran was in those days that Abram was born, two and
thirty years old.
17 But Haran did not advise his
father to anything, for Terah said this to the king in order to deliver his
soul from the king, for he feared greatly; and the king said to Terah, Haran
thy son who advised thee to this shall die through fire with Abram; for the
sentence of death is upon him for having rebelled against the king's desire in
doing this thing.
18 And Haran at that time felt
inclined to follow the ways of Abram, but he kept it within himself.
19 And Haran said in his heart,
Behold now the king has seized Abram on account of these things which Abram
did, and it shall come to pass, that if Abram prevail over the king I will
follow him, but if the king prevail I will go after the king.
20 And when Terah had spoken this to
the king concerning Haran his son, the king ordered Haran to be seized with
Abram.
21 And they brought them both, Abram
and Haran his brother, to cast them into the fire; and all the inhabitants of
the land and the king's servants and princes and all the women and little ones
were there, standing that day over them.
22 And the king's servants took
Abram and his brother, and they stripped them of all their clothes excepting
their lower garments which were upon them.
23 And they bound their hands and
feet with linen cords, and the servants of the king lifted them up and cast
them both into the furnace.
24 And the Lord loved Abram and he
had compassion over him, and the Lord came down and delivered Abram from the
fire and he was not burned.
25 But all the cords with which they
bound him were burned, while Abram remained and walked about in the fire.
26 And Haran died when they had cast
him into the fire, and he was burned to ashes, for his heart was not perfect
with the Lord; and those men who cast him into the fire, the flame of the fire
spread over them, and they were burned, and twelve men of them died.
27 And Abram walked in the midst of
the fire three days and three nights, and all the servants of the king saw him
walking in the fire, and they came and told the king, saying, Behold we have
seen Abram walking about in the midst of the fire, and even the lower garments which
are upon him are not burned, but the cord with which he was bound is burned.
28 And when the king heard their
words his heart fainted and he would not believe them; so he sent other
faithful princes to see this matter, and they went and saw it and told it to
the king; and the king rose to go and see it, and he saw Abram walking to and
fro in the midst of the fire, and he saw Haran's body burned, and the king
wondered greatly.
29 And the king ordered Abram to be
taken out from the fire; and his servants approached to take him out and they
could not, for the fire was round about and the flame ascending toward them
from the furnace.
30 And the king's servants fled from
it, and the king rebuked them, saying, Make haste and bring Abram out of the
fire that you shall not die.
31 And the servants of the king
again approached to bring Abram out, and the flames came upon them and burned
their faces so that eight of them died.
32 And when the king saw that his
servants could not approach the fire lest they should be burned, the king
called to Abram, O servant of the God who is in heaven, go forth from amidst
the fire and come hither before me; and Abram hearkened to the voice of the
king, and he went forth from the fire and came and stood before the king.
33 And when Abram came out the king
and all his servants saw Abram coming before the king, with his lower garments
upon him, for they were not burned, but the cord with which he was bound was
burned.
34 And the king said to Abram, How
is it that thou wast not burned in the fire?
35 And Abram said to the king, The
God of heaven and earth in whom I trust and who has all in his power, he
delivered me from the fire into which thou didst cast me.
36 And Haran the brother of Abram
was burned to ashes, and they sought for his body, and they found it consumed.
37 And Haran was eighty-two years
old when he died in the fire of Casdim. And the king, princes, and inhabitants
of the land, seeing that Abram was delivered from the fire, they came and bowed
down to Abram.
38 And Abram said to them, Do not
bow down to me, but bow down to the God of the world who made you, and serve
him, and go in his ways for it is he who delivered me from out of this fire,
and it is he who created the souls and spirits of all men, and formed man in his
mother's womb, and brought him forth into the world, and it is he who will
deliver those who trust in him from all pain.
39 And this thing seemed very
wonderful in the eyes of the king and princes, that Abram was saved from the
fire and that Haran was burned; and the king gave Abram many presents and he
gave him his two head servants from the king's house; the name of one was Oni
and the name of the other was Eliezer.
40 And all the kings, princes and
servants gave Abram many gifts of silver and gold and pearl, and the king and
his princes sent him away, and he went in peace.
41 And Abram went forth from the
king in peace, and many of the king's servants followed him, and about three
hundred men joined him.
42 And Abram returned on that day
and went to his father's house, he and the men that followed him, and Abram
served the Lord his God all the days of his life, and he walked in his ways and
followed his law.
43 And from that day forward Abram
inclined the hearts of the sons of men to serve the Lord.
44 And at that time Nahor and Abram
took unto themselves wives, the daughters of their brother Haran; the wife of
Nahor was Milca and the name of Abram's wife was Sarai. And Sarai, wife of
Abram, was barren; she had no offspring in those days.
45 And at the expiration of two
years from Abram's going out of the fire, that is in the fifty-second year of
his life, behold king Nimrod sat in Babel upon the throne, and the king fell
asleep and dreamed that he was standing with his troops and hosts in a valley
opposite the king's furnace.
46 And he lifted up his eyes and saw
a man in the likeness of Abram coming forth from the furnace, and that he came
and stood before the king with his drawn sword, and then sprang to the king
with his sword, when the king fled from the man, for he was afraid; and while
he was running, the man threw an egg upon the king's head, and the egg became a
great river.
47 And the king dreamed that all his
troops sank in that river and died, and the king took flight with three men who
were before him and he escaped.
48 And the king looked at these men
and they were clothed in princely dresses as the garments of kings, and had the
appearance and majesty of kings.
49 And while they were running, the
river again turned to an egg before the king, and there came forth from the egg
a young bird which came before the king, and flew at his head and plucked out
the king's eye.
50 And the king was grieved at the
sight, and he awoke out of his sleep and his spirit was agitated; and he felt a
great terror.
51 And in the morning the king rose
from his couch in fear, and he ordered all the wise men and magicians to come
before him, when the king related his dream to them.
52 And a wise servant of the king,
whose name was Anuki, answered the king, saying, This is nothing else but the
evil of Abram and his seed which will spring up against my Lord and king in the
latter days.
53 And behold the day will come when
Abram and his seed and the children of his household will war with my king, and
they will smite all the king's hosts and his troops.
54 And as to what thou hast said
concerning three men which thou didst see like unto thyself, and which did
escape, this means that only thou wilt escape with three kings from the kings
of the earth who will be with thee in battle.
55 And that which thou sawest of the
river which turned to an egg as at first, and the young bird plucking out thine
eye, this means nothing else but the seed of Abram which will slay the king in
latter days.
56 This is my king's dream, and this
is its interpretation, and the dream is true, and the interpretation which thy
servant has given thee is right.
57 Now therefore my king, surely
thou knowest that it is now fifty-two years since thy sages saw this at the
birth of Abram, and if my king will suffer Abram to live in the earth it will
be to the injury of my lord and king, for all the days that Abram liveth
neither thou nor thy kingdom will be established, for this was known formerly
at his birth; and why will not my king slay him, that his evil may be kept from
thee in latter days?
58 And Nimrod hearkened to the voice
of Anuki, and he sent some of his servants in secret to go and seize Abram, and
bring him before the king to suffer death.
59 And Eliezer, Abram's servant whom
the king had given him, was at that time in the presence of the king, and he
heard what Anuki had advised the king, and what the king had said to cause
Abram's death.
60 And Eliezer said to Abram,
Hasten, rise up and save thy soul, that thou mayest not die through the hands
of the king, for thus did he see in a dream concerning thee, and thus did Anuki
interpret it, and thus also did Anuki advise the king concerning thee.
61 And Abram hearkened to the voice
of Eliezer, and Abram hastened and ran for safety to the house of Noah and his
son Shem, and he concealed himself there and found a place of safety; and the
king's servants came to Abram's house to seek him, but they could not find him,
and they searched through out the country and he was not to be found, and they
went and searched in every direction and he was not to be met with.
62 And when the king's servants
could not find Abram they returned to the king, but the king's anger against
Abram was stilled, as they did not find him, and the king drove from his mind
this matter concerning Abram.
63 And Abram was concealed in Noah's
house for one month, until the king had forgotten this matter, but Abram was
still afraid of the king; and Terah came to see Abram his son secretly in the
house of Noah, and Terah was very great in the eyes of the king.
64 And Abram said to his father,
Dost thou not know that the king thinketh to slay me, and to annihilate my name
from the earth by the advice of his wicked counsellors?
65 Now whom hast thou here and what
hast thou in this land? Arise, let us go together to the land of Canaan, that
we may be delivered from his hand, lest thou perish also through him in the
latter days.
66 Dost thou not know or hast thou
not heard, that it is not through love that Nimrod giveth thee all this honor,
but it is only for his benefit that he bestoweth all this good upon thee?
67 And if he do unto thee greater
good than this, surely these are only vanities of the world, for wealth and
riches cannot avail in the day of wrath and anger.
68 Now therefore hearken to my voice,
and let us arise and go to the land of Canaan, out of the reach of injury from
Nimrod; and serve thou the Lord who created thee in the earth and it will be
well with thee; and cast away all the vain things which thou pursuest.
69 And Abram ceased to speak, when
Noah and his son Shem answered Terah, saying, True is the word which Abram hath
said unto thee.
70 And Terah hearkened to the voice
of his son Abram, and Terah did all that Abram said, for this was from the
Lord, that the king should not cause Abram's death.
Next: Chapter 13
Book of Jasher, Chapter 13
1 And Terah took his son Abram and
his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of
his son Abram, and all the souls of his household and went with them from Ur
Casdim to go to the land of Canaan. And when they came as far as the land of Haran
they remained there, for it was exceedingly good land for pasture, and of
sufficient extent for those who accompanied them.
2 And the people of the land of
Haran saw that Abram was good and upright with God and men, and that the Lord
his God was with him, and some of the people of the land of Haran came and
joined Abram, and he taught them the instruction of the Lord and his ways; and
these men remained with Abram in his house and they adhered to him.
3 And Abram remained in the land
three years, and at the expiration of three years the Lord appeared to Abram
and said to him; I am the Lord who brought thee forth from Ur Casdim, and
delivered thee from the hands of all thine enemies.
4 And now therefore if thou wilt
hearken to my voice and keep my commandments, my statutes and my laws, then
will I cause thy enemies to fall before thee, and I will multiply thy seed like
the stars of heaven, and I will send my blessing upon all the works of thy
hands, and thou shalt lack nothing.
5 Arise now, take thy wife and all
belonging to thee and go to the land of Canaan and remain there, and I will
there be unto thee for a God, and I will bless thee. And Abram rose and took
his wife and all belonging to him, and he went to the land of Canaan as the
Lord had told him; and Abram was fifty years old when he went from Haran.
6 And Abram came to the land of
Canaan and dwelt in the midst of the city, and he there pitched his tent
amongst the children of Canaan, inhabitants of the land.
7 And the Lord appeared to Abram
when he came to the land of Canaan, and said to him, This is the land which I
gave unto thee and to thy seed after thee forever, and I will make thy seed
like the stars of heaven, and I will give unto thy seed for an inheritance all
the lands which thou seest.
8 And Abram built an altar in the
place where God had spoken to him, and Abram there called upon the name of the
Lord.
9 At that time, at the end of three
years of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan, in that year Noah died, which
was the fifty-eighth year of the life of Abram; and all the days that Noah
lived were nine hundred and fifty years and he died.
10 And Abram dwelt in the land of
Canaan, he, his wife, and all belonging to him, and all those that accompanied
him, together with those that joined him from the people of the land; but
Nahor, Abram's brother, and Terah his father, and Lot the son of Haran and all
belonging to them dwelt in Haran.
11 In the fifth year of Abram's
dwelling in the land of Canaan the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the
cities of the plain revolted from the power of Chedorlaomer, king of Elam; for
all the kings of the cities of the plain had served Chedorlaomer for twelve
years, and given him a yearly tax, but in those days in the thirteenth year,
they rebelled against him.
12 And in the tenth year of Abram's
dwelling in the land of Canaan there was war between Nimrod king of Shinar and
Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Nimrod came to fight with Chedorlaomer and to
subdue him.
13 For Chedorlaomer was at that time
one of the princes of the hosts of Nimrod, and when all the people at the tower
were dispersed and those that remained were also scattered upon the face of the
earth, Chedorlaomer went to the land of Elam and reigned over it and rebelled
against his lord.
14 And in those days when Nimrod saw
that the cities of the plain had rebelled, he came with pride and anger to war
with Chedorlaomer, and Nimrod assembled all his princes and subjects, about
seven hundred thousand men, and went against Chedorlaomer, and Chedorlaomer
went out to meet him with five thousand men, and they prepared for battle in
the valley of Babel which is between Elam and Shinar.
15 And all those kings fought there,
and Nimrod and his people were smitten before the people of Chedorlaomer, and
there fell from Nimrod's men about six hundred thousand, and Mardon the king's
son fell amongst them.
16 And Nimrod fled and returned in
shame and disgrace to his land, and he was under subjection to Chedorlaomer for
a long time, and Chedorlaomer returned to his land and sent princes of his host
to the kings that dwelt around him, to Arioch king of Elasar, and to Tidal king
of Goyim, and made a covenant with them, and they were all obedient to his
commands.
17 And it was in the fifteenth year
of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan, which is the seventieth year of the
life of Abram, and the Lord appeared to Abram in that year and he said to him,
I am the Lord who brought thee out from Ur Casdim to give thee this land for an
inheritance.
18 Now therefore walk before me and
be perfect and keep my commands, for to thee and to thy seed I will give this
land for an inheritance, from the river Mitzraim unto the great river
Euphrates.
19 And thou shalt come to thy
fathers in peace and in good age, and the fourth generation shall return here
in this land and shall inherit it forever; and Abram built an altar, and he
called upon the name of the Lord who appeared to him, and he brought up
sacrifices upon the altar to the Lord.
20 At that time Abram returned and
went to Haran to see his father and mother, and his father's household, and
Abram and his wife and all belonging to him returned to Haran, and Abram dwelt
in Haran five years.
21 And many of the people of Haran,
about seventy-two men, followed Abram and Abram taught them the instruction of
the Lord and his ways, and he taught them to know the Lord.
22 In those days the Lord appeared
to Abram in Haran, and he said to him, Behold, I spoke unto thee these twenty
years back saying,
23 Go forth from thy land, from thy
birth-place and from thy father's house, to the land which I have shown thee to
give it to thee and to thy children, for there in that land will I bless thee,
and make thee a great nation, and make thy name great, and in thee shall the
families of the earth be blessed.
24 Now therefore arise, go forth
from this place, thou, thy wife, and all belonging to thee, also every one born
in thy house and all the souls thou hast made in Haran, and bring them out with
thee from here, and rise to return to the land of Canaan.
25 And Abram arose and took his wife
Sarai and all belonging to him and all that were born to him in his house and
the souls which they had made in Haran, and they came out to go to the land of
Canaan.
26 And Abram went and returned to
the land of Canaan, according to the word of the Lord. And Lot the son of his
brother Haran went with him, and Abram was seventy-five years old when he went
forth from Haran to return to the land of Canaan.
27 And he came to the land of Canaan
according to the word of the Lord to Abram, and he pitched his tent and he
dwelt in the plain of Mamre, and with him was Lot his brother's son, and all
belonging to him.
28 And the Lord again appeared to
Abram and said, To thy seed will I give this land; and he there built an altar to
the Lord who appeared to him, which is still to this day in the plains of
Mamre.
Next: Chapter 14
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