Introduction
Introduction to Sefer HaMegillot (The Book of the Rolls)
Narrative Framework and Textual Scope
This text preserves the narrative and linguistic structure of Sefer HaMegillot (The Book of the Rolls), an ancient pseudepigraphal collection transmitted as the sixth book of Clement of Rome. Set as a series of confidential disclosures from Shimon Kepha (Simon Peter) to Clement, the document functions as a sweeping universal chronicle designed to answer deep genealogical questions, counter historical slanders, and chart the cosmic struggle between Light and Darkness from the first hour of creation to the end of time.
Rather than treating biblical history as disconnected fragments, the Sefer HaMegillot weaves a continuous tapestry of sacred custody. It links the primordial generations to the physical preservation of Adam's body in the Me'arat HaOtzarot (Cave of Treasures), follows its passage through the Deluge inside the ark of Noach, tracks its secret burial at the center of the earth by Shem and Malki-Tzedek, and details the direct transmission of original secrets across millennia to the pure Lady Miriam (Mary). Restoring authentic Hebraic and Aramaic nomenclature, this layout exposes an underlying, uncompromised model of covenant genealogy, high-priestly succession, and prophetic illumination.
Key Thematic Movements
The historical and apocalyptic scope of Sefer HaMegillot moves through five major structural movements:
1. Primordial Creation, the Splendor of Adam, and the Envy of Sataniel (Chapters 1–4) The text opens with Clement's recollection of intense friction in Rome, where the apostles faced bitter contentions from the non-believing Yehudim who sought to invalidate the lineage and incarnation of Yeshua HaMashiach by attacking the genealogy of Miriam. Moved by Clement's zeal, Shimon Kepha sets the record in order by recounting the literal dawn of creation.
In the beginning, El Elyon (God Most High) establishes the worlds by His eternal Word, organizing the malakhim (angels) into ten ranks. The highest rank was led by the brilliant prince Sataniel, whose pride drives him to claim independent godhead, causing him to be violently cast down into the southern darkness before the formation of mankind.
On the sixth day, El Elyon fashions Adam with His own hands using the four cosmic elements (dust, water, air, and fire), imbuing him with absolute dominion over the created order. Erected on the future site of Golgotha, Adam shines with a divine radiance outshining the sun, crowned as Melekh (king), Kohen (priest), and Navi (prophet). He is carried via a cloud of light into the elevated Pardes (Paradise), where Chavah (Eve) is formed from his rib.
The original harmony is shattered when Sataniel, hiding within the fairest of animals—the serpent—beguiles Chavah regarding the Forbidden Tree. Stripped of their garments of light and cast out at sunset into garments of skin, the grieving couple receives a baseline covenant promise: El Elyon will eventually send His dear Son, born of a virgin named Miriam from their own race, to purchase their restoration.
2. The Cave of Treasures, the 24-Hour Liturgy, and the Fall of the Sethites (Chapters 5–9) Dwelling in a cave called Me'arat HaOtzarot on the Har HaKodesh (Holy Mountain), Adam deposits three sacred items found in the foundation of Paradise: gold (symbolizing royalty), frankincense (for worship), and myrrh (for anointing). These items are consecrated as a dowry for Miriam, destined for the three Magi kings to deliver to the future Savior in Beit Lechem.
Before his death in the 930th year, Adam passes his master Testament to his godly son Shet (Seth), detailing the precise cosmic liturgy of the twenty-four hours of day and night—charting when the birds praise, when the keruvim intercede, and when the Ruach HaKodesh hovers over the waters to drive out devils.
Shet's lineage is explicitly named the Bnei Elohim (sons of God), appointed to replace the fallen angelic choirs. They live an ascetic, holy existence on the mountain summits, isolated from the murderous line of Kayin (Cain) down below.
The great collapse occurs during the days of Yered, when Yuval and Tuval-Kayin invent musical instruments. Enticed by these demonic melodies and the uncovered beauty of the daughters of Kayin, a company of a hundred mighty giants from the line of Shet descends the mountain to commit fornication, instantly neutralizing their spiritual souls and finding themselves permanently barred from returning by a perimeter of burning stones.
3. The Ark of Safety, the Secret Burial, and the Division of Tongues (Chapters 10–15) As the corruption deepens, the mountain is left with only three faithful fathers: Methushelach, Lemekh, and Noach. Instructed by El Elyon, Noach spends a century cutting wood from the holy mountain to build a three-decked ark, striking a cedar wood gong three times a day to warn the population of an impending purge.
Before dying at 969 years, Methushelach charges Noach to embalm his body and carry the remains of Adam and the primordial gifts out of the cave. Inside the ark, Adam's coffin is positioned precisely in the center as a structural barrier, keeping the men in the east separate from the women in the west to ensure absolute sanctity during the 150-day Deluge.
Following the global destruction, the ark rests on the mountains of Kardu, and Noach's family steps out into unity. Noach later falls into a wine-induced sleep, and Ham mocks his nakedness, drawing a prophetic curse upon Kena'an, who revives the corrupting musical arts of the pre-flood world.
Approaching death, Noach gives secret, solemn orders to Shem to take the young, celibate Malki-Tzedek and carry Adam's body out of the ark by night. Guided by a malakh, they travel to the absolute center of the earth, where the ground cleaves open as a door to swallow Adam's skull at Karkaphta (Golgotha). Shem consecrates Malki-Tzedek as the eternal priest of El Elyon over the spot, forbidding him from marrying, cutting his hair, or shedding blood, commanding his perpetual offerings to consist solely of fine white bread and the juice of the vine.
Generations later, the post-flood tribes assemble at Shinar, speaking the singular primordial tongue of Adam—identified here as Aramaic/Syriac. Their hubristic attempt to construct the Tower of Bavel causes their speech to be confounded and divided into multiple tongues.
4. The Rise of Witchcraft, the Calling of Avraham, and the Mount Yavus Sacrifice (Chapters 16–19) The document maps the dark origins of idolatry and sorcery, tracking how the devil speaks out of a golden funerary image to demand child sacrifice, and detailing how Nimrod the giant establishes fire worship after witnessing celestial flames.
To counter this spreading corruption, El Elyon calls Avraham out of Charan into the Holy Land. Returning from victory over the warring nations, Avraham ascends Mount Yavus (Jerusalem) to meet Malki-Tzedek, paying him tithes and receiving the sacred blessing of bread and wine.
Years later, Avraham is commanded to offer up his miraculous son, Yitzchak (Isaac), upon this exact same hill. The text underscores the deep geographical unity of Mount Yavus/Golgotha: it is the spot where Adam was created, where his skull was entombed, where Malki-Tzedek maintained his altar, and where the prophetic lamb was caught in the thicket. This event is framed as a literal, visionary blueprint of the future crucifixion of Mashiach, which caused Avraham to rejoice.
The narrative continues through the life of Ya'akov (Jacob), detailing his fiery ladder vision (a type of the cross and the descent of the Mashiach) and his rolling away of the stone at Rachel's well (a structural type of tevilah or immersion).
5. The Preservation of the Royal Seed, the Restoration by Ezra, and the Master Lineage (Chapters 20–26) The final historical movement traces the strict protection of the chosen seed from whom the Mashiach would take flesh. It emphasizes how the line of Yehudah is systematically guarded against merging with the cursed seed of Kena'an. From the union of Boaz and Rut (Ruth) the Moabitess, the royal lineage passes directly down to David the king and the golden era of Shlomo.
Following the deep apostasy of later kings and the horrific martyrdom of Yeshayahu (Isaiah) under Menasheh, Nevuchadnetzar razes Yerushalayim and burns the Mikdash (Temple). During the descent into the Babylonian exile, the high priest Shimon secretly hides the faded master scroll of the Torah inside a dry well, placing a bronze vessel filled with glowing, perpetual embers of Paradise fire over it.
Seventy years later, under Koresh (Cyrus), the exiles return. The scribe Ezra uncovers the well, finds the holy fire still burning, and by setting his mouth to the flame three times, is supernaturally filled with the spirit of prophecy to reconstruct the entire scriptural corpus.
The Sefer HaMegillot reaches its ultimate textual climax by exposing the secret genealogy of Miriam. Descending directly from Zerubavel through Mattan, the line splits into two brothers: Ya'akov (Yoachim) and the father of Yosef. Yoachim marries Chanah, and after sixty years of barrenness, they bring forth Miriam, the pure Mother of Mercy. The book concludes with an official master lineage registering 57 generations from Adam to Yeshua HaMashiach, terminating in a grand trinitarian doxology.
Comparative Manuscript Value
For textual researchers evaluating early Christian-Arabic and Syriac source materials, the Sefer HaMegillot provides an essential linguistic database. By explicitly retaining archaic geographic and liturgical designations—such as Karkaphta for the skull site, Me'arat HaOtzarot for the cave repository, and Bnei Elohim for the Sethite line—the document preserves an early, unredacted layer of Eastern lore. It serves as an invaluable comparative control text for tracking how Second-Temple priestly lineages, Cave of Treasures lore, and Clementine transmission lines were integrated within Mount Sinai manuscript networks to defend the historical validity of the apostolic besorah.
Chapter 1 The Prologue — Clement's Transmission from Shimon Kepha
1
These are the Sefer HaMegillot [the Book of the Rolls (Scrolls)], the glorious genealogies and mysteries which our El Elyon [God Most High; the Most High] and Saviour Yeshua HaMashiach [Jesus the Messiah (the Christ)] committed unto His talmidim [disciples], Shimon [Simeon] and Ya'akov [Jacob / James]: what things shall come to pass at the end of time, and how the second coming of our Adon [the Lord; the Master] HaMashiach [the Messiah; the Anointed One (the Christ)] from heaven unto the world shall be, and what shall become of the wicked. This is the sixth of the books of Clement, treasured up in the city of Rome since the days of the shlichim [apostles; sent-ones].
2
Clement said: When our El Elyon Yeshua HaMashiach went up to heaven, and the talmidim were scattered into the regions of the world to proclaim the Besorah [the Gospel; the Good News], and to call mankind unto the emunah [faith; trust] and unto tevilah [immersion (baptism)], they took to themselves disciples whom they chose. And Shimon Kepha [Kepha (Peter) — “the Rock”] took me for a disciple; and I believed in him, and in Him that sent him, with a true emunah.
3
For I knew that he was the chief of the shlichim, unto whom were given the keys of heaven and earth, and upon whom was built the Kehilah [the assembly; the congregation (the Church)] of El Elyon, which the gates of She'ol [the grave; Hades] shall not overcome, as our Adon Yeshua HaMashiach said in the Besorah HaKedoshah [the Holy Gospel].
4
And after a long time he took also the sons of my brother, Faustus and Faustinus, to be his disciples; and twenty years after he had taken me, he brought me together with my father and my mother, who was called Matthidia, and committed unto me all the mysteries which had been given him by our Adon Yeshua HaMashiach upon the Har HaZeitim [the Mount of Olives].
5
At that time the rest of the shlichim and all the Believers had a struggle with the Yehudim [the Jews; the people of Yehudah] who believed not; for the Yehudim were slaying every one of the Believers whose slaying was possible unto them.
6
And I and my gracious teacher Shimon compassed about some of the countries, and we met with great trouble from the contention of the Yehudim, and from their questioning concerning the genealogy of the pure Miriam [Mary (Miriam)] — saying moreover of her that she was not of the children of Yehudah [Judah], that thereby they might invalidate the coming of our Adon HaMashiach into the world, and His incarnation from her.
7
And they increased their bribes of money and of other things unto the Yevanim [the Greeks] and unto the Romim [the Romans], that these might help them in the destruction of the Believers, and in the bringing of their affairs to naught, and might hinder the shlichim from the reading of the Torah [the Law (Instruction)], save that they should teach out of it concerning the state of mankind, and how it was in the beginning.
8
And when I saw in what misery we were with the Yehudim, I was troubled also by their reproach unto me — that I understood not the Torah — and by their much questioning of me concerning the creation of our father Adam, and by what I had heard with mine ears of their insult unto the Lady Miriam, without any resource being possible for me how I should refute them concerning their hateful saying.
9
So I sought of my gracious teacher Shimon that he would make known unto me how mankind was at the first, and would make me perfect concerning these matters; for he had learned all things from the Adon Yeshua HaMashiach.
10
And the teacher was moved by my zeal, and said: I will set it in order for you, O my son, even as you have asked me. I will instruct you in the things that are from the beginning of the creation, and will teach you the genealogy of the Mother of Mercy, Miriam the pure, and its authenticity — that without doubt she is of the lineage of Yehudah the son of Ya'akov, and of his tribe; and I will relate unto you the mysteries, and what reason there was for the fall of the devil, the prince, from heaven.
Chapter 2 The Creation of the Worlds, and the Fall of Sataniel
1
Know, O my son, that the Adon is the Beginning, and before the beginning; He who is infinite, raised above the height, equal with the Most High; before whom is nothing lower, nothing inward, nothing outward. He is before the beginning, the Ancient of substance, the boundless One, whom no understanding can reach, nor discernment comprehend.
2
He is above being, and with being, and below being; the creative substance, the glorious Light which the darkness reaches not, dwelling in the light. Before creation He was, and He is; the Former of forms, whose glory is from Himself and in Himself. And that you might learn His divinity and His power, He made the heaven and the earth.
3
The malakhim [angels; messengers] worship Him in ten choirs, that is, ten ranks. And the highest rank, some of whom are nearest to the throne of the Adon El Elyon [the Lord God Most High], pouring out praises in abundance, was the rank of Sataniel [Sataniel — the fallen prince of the angels (Satan)], who was the prince; and praises rose up unto El Elyon from all the malakhim.
4
That was the beginning, in the first day — the holy first day, the chief of days. Early in it El Elyon created the upper heaven, and the worlds, and the highest rank of malakhim (the rank of Sataniel), and the archangels, and the powers, and the chiefs, and the thrones, and the dominions, and the governors, and the keruvim [cherubim], and the serafim [seraphim]; and light, and day, and night, and wind, and water, and air, and fire, and what is like these elements. Verily the Adon formed all this by the completion of His eternal Word, without speech.
5
And in that first day the Ruach HaKodesh [the Holy Spirit] hovered over the waters, and in its hovering over them they were blessed and sanctified; and the reason why the Ruach HaKodesh hovered over the waters in the form of a bird was that every winged fowl should be formed in this shape.
6
On the second day El Elyon created the lower heaven, which is called the firmament, whereon the gaze of men falls. All the heavens are three: the visible firmament, and what is above it, and a heaven above the fire; and the two upper heavens are filled with light and fire, which created eyes cannot look upon. And on that day the Adon separated between the higher water and the lower water.
7
On the third day El Elyon commanded the waters that were below the firmament to be gathered together unto one place, that the dry land might appear; and He commanded the earth to bring forth grass, and herb, and tree, and seed, and root.
8
On the fourth day El Elyon formed the sun, and the moon, and the stars. On the fifth day He commanded the waters to bring forth living creatures of various colours and forms — some to swim in the water, and some to fly above it — and from them sprang the whales, and Livyatan [Leviathan], and Behemoth [Behemoth (the great beast)], and the fowl of the air, and the waterfowl.
9
On the sixth day El Elyon created out of the earth all the beasts, and the animals, and the creeping things. This day is the sixth day, the eve of Shabbat [the Sabbath]; and on it El Elyon created Adam of the dust, and formed Chavah [Eve] from his rib. And on the seventh day El Elyon had completed all the creation, and He called it Shabbat.
10
Now El Elyon had created Adam in the third hour of the sixth day; and Iblis [Iblis — the devil (his Arabic name in the source)] had laid claim to godhead, which had entered into him in the second hour of that day; and El Elyon had hurled him down from heaven unto the earth, before He created Adam. And when El Elyon was about to create Adam, rest fell upon all the powers; and El Elyon said: Come, let us make man in our likeness, and after our image.
Chapter 3 The Forming of Adam, His Enthronement, the Devil's Envy, and the Pardes
1
And when the malakhim heard this saying of the Adon, they were afraid and greatly terrified, and said one to another: What is this great wonder that we hear? And how is it possible that the form of our El Elyon and Creator should appear unto us?
2
Then they all looked toward the right hand of the Adon, which was stretched out above all creation; and it took from all the earth a little handful of dust, and from all the waters a drop of water, and from the air a soul and a spirit, and from the fire the force of heat. And there became in the grasp of the Adon the portions of the four elements: heat and cold, moisture and drought.
3
Verily El Elyon created Adam of these four weak elements, that all creatures created of them might hear him and obey him: the dust, that man might obey him; the water, that all that is born in it might obey him; the air, that he might breathe it and feel its breezes, and its birds obey him; and the fire, that the heat of the forces created of it might be a helper unto his senses.
4
And the reason why El Elyon created Adam with His holy hand, in His form and image, was that he should receive wisdom, and speech, and living motion, and the knowledge concerning things. And when the glorious malakhim saw the likeness of Adam, they were affrighted at the wondrous glory upon his face; for his form appeared shining with a divine light greater than the light of the sun, and his body was bright and brilliant like the stars.
5
And when the figure of Adam drew itself up, he stood erect in the midst of the earth; and he set his feet upon the place of Golgotha [Golgotha (Gulgolet) — the Place of the Skull] — the place where was set the tree of our Saviour Yeshua HaMashiach. He was clothed with a royal robe, and a diadem of glory and honour and dignity was upon his head; and there was he made Melekh [king], and Kohen [priest], and Navi [prophet].
6
And El Elyon set him upon a throne of honour, and gathered unto him all the animals and beasts and birds, and made them stand before Adam; and they bowed their heads and did obeisance unto him, and he called each of them by its name, and they obeyed his command.
7
And the malakhim and the powers heard the voice of El Elyon, saying unto Adam: O Adam, I have made you Melekh, and Kohen, and Navi, and ruler, and chief, and governor over all the creatures that are made; all creation shall obey you, and unto you alone have I given this power; I have set you in possession of all that I have created.
8
But when the devil saw the gift that was given unto Adam from the Adon, he envied him from that day; and the rebel against El Elyon set his mind in cunning to seduce him. And when he denied the grace of the Adon toward him, he became shameless and warlike; and El Elyon stripped from him the robe of praise and dignity, and called his name Satan, because he set himself against the ways of the Adon, and Iblis, because he was stripped of his dignity.
9
And while Adam stood upon the place of Golgotha, listening to the speech of his Adon, all the creatures being gathered together to hear the converse of El Elyon with him, lo, a cloud of light bore him up and went with him unto the Pardes [Paradise; the Garden]; and the choirs of malakhim sang before him, the keruvim blessing, and the serafim crying Holy, until Adam came into the Pardes. He entered it at the third hour of the sixth day; and the Adon gave him the commandment, and warned him against disobeying it.
10
Then the Adon cast upon Adam a deep sleep, and he slept a sweet sleep in the Pardes; and El Elyon took a rib from his left side, and of it He formed Chavah. And when he awoke and saw Chavah, he rejoiced over her; and El Elyon clothed them with glory and splendour, and crowned them for the marriage, and the malakhim gave them joy — such joy as never was, nor shall be, until the day when they that are at the right hand shall hear the glorious voice of the Adon.
11
And Adam and Chavah remained in the Pardes three hours. And the sight of the Pardes was high up in the air, its ground raised above all the mountains and hills; and it stretches round from the east by a wall, unto the southern place of darkness, where the cursed prince was cast down — the place of sorrows.
12
And Eden is a fountain of El Elyon, lying eastward; and this is the mercy of El Elyon, whereon the children of men set their trust, that they shall have a Saviour from thence; for El Elyon knew in His foreknowledge what the devil would do unto Adam.
13
As David the prophet said: You have been a fortress unto us, O Adonai [the Sovereign Lord (my Lord)], throughout all ages; cause us to live in Your mercy. And the blessed David said also, in his prayer concerning the salvation of men: Remember, O Adon, Your grace which You have brought from all eternity — whereby he meant the tree of the cross, which was planted in the midst of the earth, and the mercy which El Elyon loved to extend unto all men, and unto our weak race.
14
And Eden is the Kehilah of El Elyon, and the Pardes wherein is the mizbe'ach [the altar] of rest, and the length of life which El Elyon has prepared for all the saints. And because Adam was Melekh and Kohen and Navi, El Elyon caused him to enter the Pardes, that he might minister in Eden, the Kehilah of El Elyon, even as Moshe [Moses] the holy prophet testifies.
Chapter 4 The Fall, the Expulsion, the Promise of the Son, and the Cave of Treasures
1
Then El Elyon planted the Etz HaChayim [the Tree of Life] in the midst of the Pardes; and it was in the form of the cross that should be set up, and it was the tree of life and of salvation.
2
But Satan abode in his envy toward Adam and Chavah, because of the favour the Adon had shown them; and he contrived to enter into the serpent, which was the fairest of the animals, and bore it, and went with it through the air unto the lower parts of the Pardes. Now the cursed Iblis hid himself within the serpent because of his own foulness; for when he was stripped of his honour, he came unto the height of ugliness, so that no creature could bear the sight of him unveiled; and had Chavah seen him uncovered, she would have fled from him, and neither cunning nor deceit had availed him.
3
And when the cursed one had entered the serpent, he came unto Chavah while she was alone in the Pardes, apart from Adam, and called her by her name; and he spoke unto her, and she unto him, and he led her astray by his speech. He discoursed unto her of the Forbidden Tree, and described the goodness of its taste, and said that when she should eat of it she would become as a god.
4
And she longed for that which the cursed one made her to long for, and she remembered not what the Adon had commanded Adam concerning the tree. She hastened unto it, and took of its fruit, and ate; then she called Adam, and gave him of the fruit, telling him that if he ate he would become as a god; and he hearkened unto her, and ate.
5
And when the two of them had eaten of the deadly fruit, they were bereft of their glory, and their splendour was taken from them, and they were stripped of the light wherewith they had been clothed. And when they looked upon themselves, they were naked of the grace they had worn, and their shame was made manifest unto them; and they made themselves aprons of fig-leaves, and covered themselves.
6
Now the entrance of Adam into the Pardes was at the third hour; three hours he passed in glory, and three hours he was naked; and in the ninth hour they went forth from the Pardes, at the time of sunset, unwillingly, with much grief and weeping. And after the fig-leaves they were clothed with garments of skin, which is the clothing of pain whereof our bodies are made.
7
And they slept toward the east of the Pardes, near the mizbe'ach; and when they awoke, El Elyon spoke unto Adam and comforted him, saying: O Adam, grieve not; for I will restore you unto your inheritance, out of which your rebellion has cast you. Know that for My love toward you I have cursed the earth for your sake, and I have cursed the serpent by whom you were led astray, and made its feet to go within its belly, and made the dust its food; but you I have not cursed.
8
And I will send My dear Son; He shall come down unto the earth, and be clothed with a body from a virgin of your race, named Miriam. I will purify her and choose her, and bring forth her power generation after generation, until the time that He comes down from heaven; and in that time shall be the beginning of your salvation, and of your restoring unto your inheritance.
9
And when your death draws near, command your sons that they keep your body with myrrh and cassia, and place it in the cave wherein you dwell this day, until the going forth of your children from beside the Pardes unto the dusty land. And when that time comes, let him of your children who lives until then carry your body with him, and set it in the place which I shall show him — the centre of the earth; for from thence shall salvation come unto you and unto all your children.
10
And El Elyon disclosed unto him all the griefs and pains that should befall him, and commanded him to be patient. And when He had put Adam and Chavah out of the Pardes, He shut its gate, and set a fiery malakh [an angel; a messenger] in charge of it.
11
And El Elyon caused Adam and Chavah to dwell upon the Har HaKodesh [the Holy Mountain], whereon is the foundation of the Pardes, in the place called Mataramon; and they dwelt there in a cave at the top of the hill, hidden in it, despairing of mercy.
12
And Adam thought upon the wedding of Chavah; and he found in the foundation of the Pardes gold, and myrrh, and frankincense, and gathered them together and consecrated them within the cave, which he had made his house of prayer.
13
And he gave them unto Chavah, saying: This is your dowry; keep it. This must all be offered together unto the Ben Elohim [the Son of God] at the time of His coming into the world: the gold is the symbol of His royalty; the frankincense is to burn before Him; and the myrrh is to anoint His body, which He shall take from us. This shall be a witness between me and you, with our Saviour, that He shall come into the world.
14
And Adam called this cave the Me'arat HaOtzarot [the Cave of Treasures]. And when a hundred years had passed over him after his going forth from the Pardes, he and Chavah, grieved and weeping, went down from the Har HaKodesh unto its foot. And there Adam knew Chavah his wife, and she conceived, and bore Kayin [Cain] and Luwa [Luwa — the twin sister of Kayin] his twin sister; and he knew her again, and she bore Hevel [Abel] and Aklima [Aklima — the twin sister of Hevel] his twin sister.
Chapter 5 Kayin and Hevel, the Two Offerings, and the Testament of Adam
1
And when the children had grown and come to discretion, Adam said unto Chavah: If El Elyon let these lads and maidens grow up, let Kayin marry Aklima the sister of Hevel, and let Hevel marry Luwa the sister of Kayin.
2
But Kayin said unto Chavah: O my mother, I have the greater right unto mine own sister, who was born with me; let her be given unto me to wife, and let the sister of Hevel be given unto him — for Luwa was fairer than Aklima, being like unto her mother Chavah.
3
And when Adam heard his speech, it angered him and grieved him; and he said unto Kayin: Your request, O my son, is unlawful; for it is not permitted you to marry your sister who was born with you. And from that time Kayin envied his brother Hevel, and thought to slay him.
4
Then Adam said unto Kayin and unto Hevel: Choose some of the fruits of the earth, and of the young of the flock, and go up this Har HaKodesh, and enter into the Me'arat HaOtzarot, and pray there before the Adon, and offer unto Him that which you have brought; and afterward let each of you take his wife.
5
And as they went up the hill, behold, the devil entered into Kayin and incited him unto the murder of Hevel. And they brought their offerings before the Adon; and the Adon accepted the offering of Hevel, and rejected the offering of Kayin; for El Elyon knew the purpose of Kayin.
6
This is the Testament of Adam: Hear, O my son Shet [Seth], what I command you; keep it, and command it at your death unto your son Enosh [Enosh (Enos)], that Enosh may command it unto Kenan [Kenan (Cainan)], and Kenan unto Mahalalel [Mahalalel], that they may act according to this testament, and that the rest of your generations may learn it, generation after generation, and tribe after tribe.
7
This is the first thing that I command you: when I die, embalm my body with myrrh and cassia, and place it in the Me'arat HaOtzarot of the Har HaKodesh; and charge whosoever of your posterity is alive at the time of the going forth from this holy encircled hill, to carry my body with him, and go with it unto the centre of the earth, and set it there; for in that place shall salvation come unto me and unto all my children.
8
And you, O my son Shet, after my death be governor of your people in the fear of El Elyon; and remove yourself and all your children, and keep them apart from the children of the murderer Kayin.
9
And understand, O my son, the hours of the night and of the day, and their names, and wherewith El Elyon is praised in them, and what prayer and supplication is due in them; for my Creator has taught me this, and made me to understand the names of all the beasts of the earth and the fowl of the air, and has initiated me into the number of the hours, and the affairs of the malakhim and their powers, and how they are.
Chapter 6 The Liturgy of the Twenty-Four Hours, and Adam's Prophecy of the Coming of the Son
1
In the first hour of the day is the raising of the praise of my children unto El Elyon; in the second hour, the prayers of the malakhim in their cry; in the third hour, the birds give praise.
2
In the fourth hour is the worship of the spiritual beings; in the fifth hour, the worship of the other living creatures; in the sixth hour, the entry of the keruvim and their supplication.
3
In the seventh hour is the entrance unto El Elyon and the going forth from His presence, for in it the prayers of every living thing rise unto the Adon; in the eighth hour, the worship of all the heavenly and fiery beings; in the ninth hour, the service of the malakhim who stand before Him, and before the throne of His majesty.
4
In the tenth hour is the visitation of the waters, and in it the Ruach HaKodesh hovers and goes up over the waters, and drives the devils from them; and if in that hour one take of the water, and a Kohen of El Elyon mix it with holy oil and anoint therewith the sick and those in whom are unclean spirits, they are healed of their diseases. In the eleventh hour is joy and rejoicing unto the righteous; and in the twelfth hour, the supplication and cry of men is accepted before El Elyon.
5
And in the first hour of the night is the worship of the devils — and in that hour of their worship they hurt no one, neither does any fear them, until the time of their return; in the second hour, the worship of the great fishes, and of all that is upon the water, and the creeping things therein; in the third hour, the worship of the fire that is below the abyss, whereof it is not possible for any to speak.
6
In the fourth hour is the consecration of the serafim; and this, said Adam, I heard in the days of my stay in the Pardes, before my rebellion; but when I transgressed the commandment, I could no longer hear their voices, nor see any holy thing as I was wont. In the fifth hour is the worship of the water that is above the heaven — wherein I and the malakhim used to hear a tumult as of chariots and great wheels, sounding among the waves, in praise unto the Adon; in the sixth hour, the supplication of the clouds unto El Elyon, when they are fearful and trembling.
7
In the seventh hour the powers of the earth are led forth, and they sing praise, while the waters sleep and are stilled; and if a man take of the water in that hour, and the Kohen make his holy oil therewith and anoint the sick and the sleepless, verily the sick are healed and the wakeful sleep. In the eighth hour the grass comes forth from the earth; and in the ninth hour is the service of the malakhim, and the entrance of prayers before El Elyon.
8
In the tenth hour the gates of heaven are opened, and the cry of my believing children is heard, and they receive what they have asked of El Elyon; and the serafim rub their wings, and by the force of their rubbing they cry aloud in praise unto the Adon. In the eleventh hour is joy and delight over all the earth, for the sun enters the Pardes of El Elyon, and its light arises upon the regions of the earth. And in the twelfth hour my children must burn sweet incense before the Adon, for thereby is much repose in heaven for all its inhabitants.
9
And Adam said: Know, O my son Shet, and attend unto my saying: be assured that El Elyon shall come down to the earth, even as He said unto me and made me to understand when He comforted me at my going forth from the Pardes. He spoke unto me, saying that at the end of time He shall be incarnate of a virgin maiden named Miriam, and shall be veiled in my nature, and put on my skin, and be born like the birth of man, by a power that none can understand save Himself, and those unto whom He reveals it.
10
He shall do wonders and signs openly: He shall walk upon the waves of the sea as upon the dry land; He shall rebuke the winds, and they shall be led by His command; He shall call unto the waves of the sea, and they shall answer Him obediently. The blind shall see, the lepers shall be cleansed, the deaf shall hear, the dumb shall speak, the deformed shall be made straight, the lame shall leap up, and the palsied shall rise and walk; many rebels shall be led unto El Elyon, and they that have wandered shall be led aright, and the devils shall be driven away.
11
And when the Adon comforted me with this, He said unto me: O Adam, grieve not; you thought to become a god by your transgression of My commandment, and I will indeed make you a god — yet not at this time, but after the lapse of years. And He said: After five days and a half of My days, I will have pity on you in My mercy; I will come down unto you, and in your house will I dwell, and with your body will I be clothed.
Chapter 7 The Passion Foretold to Adam, His Death and Burial, and the Offerings for the Magi
1
And the Adon said further unto me: For your sake, O Adam, I will become a child; for your sake I will walk in the markets; for your sake I will fast forty days; for your sake I will receive tevilah; for your sake I will be lifted up upon the cross; for your sake I will endure lies, and be beaten with the whip, and taste vinegar; for your sake My hands shall be nailed; for your sake I will be pierced with the spear.
2
For your sake I will thunder in the height; I will darken the sun; I will cleave the rocks; I will make the powers of heaven to tremble; I will open the graves; I will cause all creation to quake; and I will make a new earth. And after three days, which I shall have spent in the grave, I will raise up the body which I took from you, and cause it to ascend with Me, and to sit at the right hand of My godhead; and I will make you a god, even as you desired.
3
Keep, therefore, O my son Shet, the commandments of El Elyon, and despise not my word. Know that the Adon must come down to the earth, and that godless men shall take Him and stretch Him upon the wood of the cross, and raise Him up between wicked thieves; and He shall be slain in the substance of His humanity, and the body which He took from us shall be buried; then after three days He shall raise it, and take it up with Him to heaven, and set it at the right hand of His divinity: to Him be the glory, and the greatness, and the worship, and the song, and to His Son, and to the Ruach HaKodesh, from now and throughout all ages. Amen.
4
And know, O my son, that there must come a flood to wash all the earth, because of the children of Kayin the wicked, who slew his brother for envy concerning his sister Luwa. And after the flood, through the wickedness of many, there shall be the end of the world; the times shall be fulfilled, and fire shall consume whatsoever it reaches before the Adon, and the earth shall be made holy.
5
And Shet wrote this Testament, and sealed it with the seal of his father Adam, which he had from the Pardes, and with the seal of Chavah, and with his own seal. And Adam died; and the hosts of the malakhim assembled to lay him upon his bier, for his honour with El Elyon.
6
And Shet embalmed him and swathed him; and he and his sons bore rule; and he laid him eastward of the Pardes, near the town that was built before all building, which is called Chanokh [Enoch]. And when Adam died, the sun and the moon were darkened seven days and seven nights, with a thick darkness.
7
And Shet took the scroll wherein he had written the Testament of his father Adam into the Me'arat HaOtzarot, together with the offerings which Adam had carried with him from the land of the Pardes — that is to say, the gold, and the myrrh, and the frankincense; concerning which Adam taught Shet and his children that they should belong to the three Magi kings, and that they should journey with them unto the Saviour of the world, to be born in a city called Beit Lechem [Bethlehem], in the territory of Yehudah.
8
And there was not one of the children born unto Adam before his death who did not gather unto him; and he prayed over them, and wished them health, and then he died, in the nine hundred and thirtieth year. The going forth of our father Adam out of this world was at the third hour of the sixth day, the sixth of the first month, fourteen nights after the new moon.
9
And Shet took his children, and his children's children, and their wives, and made them go up unto the glorious and holy hill, the place wherein Adam was buried; but Kayin and his people and his children abode below the hill, in the place where he had slain Hevel. And Shet became governor of the people of his time, in godliness and purity and holiness.
Chapter 8 The Bnei Elohim on the Holy Mountain, the Death of Shet, and the End of Kayin
1
And my initiation, O my son Clement, into the story of Adam and this his Testament, was from the Magi who journeyed unto the Lady Miriam with the offerings at the time of the birth of Yeshua HaMashiach, our El Elyon and Saviour; for we found that they had a scroll wherein all this was written, laid up for safekeeping. And I, and others of the Yehudim, believed therein; and there were many things in it besides that which I have shown you, which it is not fitting to make known at this time.
2
And the reason of El Elyon's calling the children of Shet ben Adam the Bnei Elohim [the sons of God (a title of the godly line of Shet)] was this: because of that which He had revealed unto Shet concerning godliness and purity, the Adon appropriated them unto Himself by this name — the most honoured of names — for their favour with Him; and He appointed them to replace the choir of malakhim that had rebelled and fallen from heaven.
3
He set Shet and his race in the lower parts of the Pardes, and round about it upon the Har HaKodesh, praising the Adon and sanctifying His name in all peace, no thought of the affairs of the world intruding upon them; their greatest work being praise in Hallelujah together with the malakhim, whose voices they heard out of the Pardes, for it was raised above them.
4
They underwent no labour; and the food whereby they sustained their bodies was the fruit of the trees that grew upon the summits of the mount of the Pardes. This tribe was godly and holy: there was in none of them anger, nor envy, nor quarrelling, nor pride, nor hatred; neither held they any shameless speech, nor falsehood, nor slander; and they swore not untruly nor in vain, but their oaths among themselves were by the purity of the blood of Hevel.
5
Their custom was to rise early, all of them, the old and the young, the male and the female, and to go up to the top of the hill, and to worship there before El Elyon, and to be blessed by the body of their father Adam; then would they lift up their eyes toward the Pardes, and, praising and sanctifying El Elyon, return unto their place.
6
And Shet ben Adam the godly lived nine hundred and twelve years; then he fell sick of the sickness whereof he died. And there gathered unto him Enosh, and Kenan, and Mahalalel, and Yered [Jared], and Chanokh, with their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; and he prayed over them, and made vows for them, and blessed them, and said unto them: By the truth of the blood of Hevel the pure, let not one of you descend from this Har HaKodesh, and mix not with the children of Kayin the murderer; for you know the enmity between us since the slaying of Hevel the pure.
7
Then his son Enosh came near unto him; and Shet said unto him: You are lord of your people; behold, I die. Devote yourself unto the service before the Adon, and before the consecrated body of our father Adam. And he made him swear by the blood of Hevel that he would govern his people well, and rule them in godliness and purity, and never cease the service before the body of Adam.
8
And Shet died at the age of nine hundred and twelve years, on the third day, the twenty-fourth of the fifth month, in the twentieth year of the life of Chanokh the righteous. And he was embalmed with myrrh and frankincense and cassia, and put in the Me'arat HaOtzarot with the body of his father Adam; and his people mourned for him forty days.
9
And Enosh governed his tribe after the death of his father, in purity and godliness, and did unto them as his father had commanded. And when Enosh had lived eight hundred and twenty years, Lemekh [Lamech] the blind, of the tribe of Kayin the murderer, slew a man in the thicket known as Nod.
10
And this was the cause thereof: Lemekh was passing by the thicket, leaning upon one of his young sons, and he heard a movement therein — and it was the movement of Kayin, for it was not possible for him to abide in one place since he had slain his brother. Lemekh thought that the movement was that of some wild beast; and he took up a stone from the ground, and cast it toward the moving thing, and the stone smote Kayin between the eyes and slew him.
11
And the son of Lemekh said: By El Elyon, you have slain our father Kayin with your cast! Then Lemekh the blind lifted up his hands to smite him upon the ear, for grief at the death of Kayin, and struck the head of his son, and slew him also. And when Enosh had reached nine hundred and five years, he fell sick of the sickness whereof he died.
Chapter 9 The Deaths of Enosh, Kenan, and Mahalalel, and the Beginning of the Great Descent
1
And when Enosh had reached nine hundred and five years, he fell sick of the sickness whereof he died; and there gathered unto him the fathers — Kenan, and Mahalalel, and Yered, and Chanokh, and Methushelach [Methuselah] — with their wives and their sons and their daughters. And he blessed them, and made vows for them, and prayed over them, and confirmed them in the oaths by the blood of Hevel: Mix not yourselves with the children of Kayin, and go not down from the Har HaKodesh; and he reminded them of the enmity because of the slaying of Hevel.
2
Then Kenan his son came near, and Enosh said unto him: Be unto your people as I have been unto them, and govern them after my death; and cease not from the service before the body of our father Adam all your life. And Enosh died when he had reached nine hundred and five years, on the seventh day, the Shabbat, when the third night of the seventh month had passed, in the fifty-third year of the life of Methushelach; and Kenan embalmed him, and put him in the Me'arat HaOtzarot.
3
And Kenan governed his people in godliness and holiness, and kept the commandments of his father; and he lived nine hundred and twenty years, and died on the fourth day, the thirteenth night of the third month. And Mahalalel saw to his burial, and put him in the Me'arat HaOtzarot with his fathers.
4
And Mahalalel lived eight hundred and ninety-five years; and when death drew near, he commanded his people according to the commands of the fathers before him, and appointed Yered his son over the tribe. His death was on the first day, after two nights of the first month had passed; and Yered saw to him, and put him in the cave with his fathers.
5
And when Yered was five hundred years old, some of the sons of Shet disobeyed the commands of their fathers, and cast their faith behind their backs; and one by one they began to go down from the Har HaKodesh unto the tribes of the children of Kayin.
6
And this was the cause thereof: Lemekh the blind had two sons, the one called Yuval [Jubal (a son of Lemekh; father of music)] and the other Tuval-Kayin [Tubal-Cain (a son of Lemekh; forger of instruments)], who made harps and flutes and drums and other instruments of music, and the devil awoke harmonious tones in them; and there was none among the sons of Kayin to command good or to restrain from evil, but every one did according to his lust, busying themselves with music, and with eating and drinking and immorality.
7
And the devil beset the sons of Shet, that he might mingle them with the children of Kayin by means of these instruments; for when they heard the sound of them, he brought them down from the Har HaKodesh unto the cursed land, and removed them from the keeping of El Elyon and His malakhim unto the keeping of the devils. And they chose death rather than life, and renounced the name which El Elyon had bestowed on them; for He had called them the sons of El Elyon.
8
As it is in the prophecy of David, where he says: You are gods, and sons of El Elyon are you all; but when you do evil, and defile your bodies with the idolatrous daughters of Kayin, like them shall you die in sin. And the earth was contaminated, and the children were confounded, so that no man knew his own child from the child of another; and the devil incited them, and they rejoiced in their works, and their hateful laughter was heard even upon the Har HaKodesh.
9
And there assembled of the children of Shet a hundred mighty giants for the descent. And this came to the knowledge of Yered, and he was much troubled; and he called them before him, and adjured them by the blood of Hevel the pure not to go down, and reminded them of the oaths which their fathers had received for them.
10
And Chanokh the righteous was there, and said unto them: Whosoever rejects the commandment of the fathers, and opposes the oaths whereby he has been adjured, and puts them behind his back, and goes down from this holy mount — he shall never come back unto it. But they turned not at the warning of Yered, nor at the prohibition of Chanokh, and they went down.
11
And when they saw the daughters of Kayin, and their beauty, and that they uncovered their bodies without shame, they committed fornication with them, and destroyed their souls. And when they had done this, they sought to return unto the hill; but its stones became burning fire, and they could not. And another company, not knowing of the matter of the stones, went down unto them, and defiled themselves with their defilement.
Chapter 10 The Death of Yered, the Translation of Chanokh, and the Fathers Left Upon the Mountain
1
And when Yered reached the age of nine hundred and seventy-two years, death drew near unto him; and there gathered unto him Chanokh, and Methushelach, and Lemekh, and Noach [Noah]. And he prayed over them, and made vows for them, and said: But as for you, go not down from this Har HaKodesh; yet your sons and your posterity shall be removed from it, for El Elyon will not suffer them upon it, because of their transgression of the commandments of the fathers.
2
Then said he unto the rest of their children: You shall journey unto the dusty land that brings forth thorns and briars. And whosoever of you goes forth from this holy land, let him take with him the body of our father Adam; and if he be able to take all the bodies of the fathers, let him do it; and let him take the books of the Testaments, and the gifts of gold and myrrh and frankincense, and lay them with the body of our father Adam, for El Elyon shall command him.
3
Then said he unto Chanokh: But you, O my son, separate not yourself from the service and the praise before the body of our father Adam; and serve before El Elyon in godliness and holiness all the days of your life. And Yered died in the third hour of the sixth day, when the twelfth night of the second month had passed, in the three hundred and sixtieth year of the life of Methushelach; and his son embalmed him and swathed him, and put him in the Me'arat HaOtzarot.
4
And El Elyon rejected the other children of Shet, because of their love of sin; and seventy of them assembled, and were minded to go down. And when Chanokh, and Methushelach, and Lemekh, and Noach saw this, they were much grieved.
5
And when Chanokh had finished his service before the Adon fifty years — this being the three hundred and sixty-fifth year of his life — he called for Methushelach, and Lemekh, and Noach, and said: I know that the Adon will be angry with this people, and will surely judge them without mercy; but you, the rest of the fathers and of the holy races, leave not off the service before the Adon, and be pure and godly.
6
Know that there shall not be born upon this Har HaKodesh, after you, any man who shall be a father and a chief unto his people. And when Chanokh had finished this his testament, El Elyon took him up unto the land of life, and made him to dwell round about the Pardes, in the country where there is no death.
7
Then the children of Shet removed from the Har HaKodesh unto the quarters of Kayin and his children; and none of them remained upon the mountain save the three fathers: Methushelach, and Lemekh, and Noach.
8
And Noach kept his virgin soul five hundred years. And after that the merciful El Elyon revealed unto him concerning the people that were subject unto him, and commanded him to take a wife named Haykal [Haykal — the wife of Noach], the daughter of Namusa, the son of Chanokh, the brother of Methushelach.
Chapter 11 The Building of the Ark, the Sons of God Explained, and the Death of Methushelach
1
Now El Elyon had revealed unto Noach concerning the Deluge which He was about to send upon the earth, and taught him that it should be after a hundred years; and He commanded him to prepare the ark — that is, the ship — for the saving of himself and his children, and that he should cut the wood from the Har HaKodesh, and fashion it in the quarters of the sons of Kayin. Its length should be three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty, and its height thirty; and he should make three decks: the lowest for the beasts and the cattle, the middle for the birds, and the highest for himself and his wife and his sons and his sons' wives; and storehouses therein for water and for food.
2
And El Elyon commanded him to make a gong of cedar wood, three cubits long and one cubit broad, and its hammer of the same; and that when they began to build the ship, he should strike upon it three strokes every day: one in the morning to gather the workmen, one at midday for their food, and one at sunset for their departure. And He said: If they ask you concerning your work, tell them that El Elyon is sending a flood of water to cleanse the earth, and that you make the ship to save yourself and your children.
3
And Noach received the commandment of the Adon, and took his wife; and in the course of the hundred years she bore him three sons — Shem [Shem], and Ham [Ham], and Yefet [Japheth] — and they also took wives of the daughters of Methushelach. And when Noach had finished the building of the ship, the second thousand of the years from Adam was completed; for the Seventy interpreters say that from Adam unto the Deluge was two thousand years.
4
Now the daughters of Kayin conceived by the sons of Shet, and brought forth giant sons; and it was supposed by some, from that which the book relates, that the malakhim came down unto the earth and mingled with the children of men. But this was said only on account of the sons of Shet, and their union with the daughters of Kayin; for El Elyon had already, out of His love toward them, called them sons of God and angels of God, as we said before.
5
So he errs who thinks that this union was in the substance of spiritual beings; for it is not in their nature. Had marriage been in them as it is in men, the devils would have left none in the world uncorrupted, until not a virgin was left upon the earth; for the foul devils love corruption and fornication. But because they cannot do this, they change their nature, and tempt men, and make them to love it.
6
And Methushelach lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and when death came unto him, there gathered unto him Lemekh, and Noach, and Shem, and Ham, and Yefet, and their wives — for none but they were left upon the holy hill. And he wept, and blessed them, and said: There remains none but you upon this mountain, out of all the tribes that once were on it. May the Adon El Elyon, who formed our father Adam and our mother Chavah and blessed them till the earth was filled with their seed, bless you and multiply you; and may He give you a share of the gift which He gave unto our father Adam — prophecy, and power, and priesthood.
7
Then said he unto Noach: O blessed of the Adon, hear my speech and do my commandment. Know that the Adon shall send the Deluge to drown the earth, for the many sins of men; but you and your children shall be saved. When I am dead, embalm me and bury me in the Me'arat HaOtzarot.
8
Then take your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives, and go down from this mountain; and bear with you the body of our father Adam, and the offerings which he brought forth from the Pardes — the gold, and the myrrh, and the frankincense. And put the body of our father Adam in the midst of the ark, like a dyke; and lay the offerings upon his breast.
9
And you and your sons shall dwell in the east of the ark, and your wife and your sons' wives in the west, that the body of our father Adam may be a barrier between them, to hinder the men from sinning with the women, and the women with the men; and let them not gather together for food or for drink until you come forth from the ark.
10
And when the waters of the Deluge are departed, and you come forth and dwell upon the earth, then may you gather together for food and for drink; and cease not the service before the body of our father Adam, nor the ministration before El Elyon, in godliness and holiness.
11
And when death comes unto you, make your testament unto your son Shem: that he carry the body of our father Adam, and bury it in the midst of the earth, the place wherein there shall be salvation to him and to his children. And let him appoint from among his children a man to serve before the body — pure all the days of his life, dwelling in no house, shedding no blood, shaving not his hair, nor paring his nails, and bringing no offering of beasts; but let his offering before the Adon be of fine white bread, and of the best drink pressed from the fruit of the vine, until the time that El Elyon shall command. And the malakh of the Adon shall go before him; and his raiment shall be of the skins of beasts; and he shall be set apart, even as he is unique: verily he is the priest of El Elyon.
12
And when Methushelach had finished this his testament, the tears coming down from his eyes for the grief of his heart, he died, the nine hundred and sixty-nine years being completed; and it was in the twelfth month, on the first day. And Noach, and Shem, and Yefet, and their wives laid him out with weeping and groaning, and mourned for him forty days; and he was embalmed, and laid with the fathers in the Me'arat HaOtzarot.
Chapter 12 The Departure from the Mountain, the Flood, and the Bow in the Clouds
1
And Noach bore the body of Adam, and the bodies of the fathers, out of the Me'arat HaOtzarot, and laid them in holy coffins. And of the offerings, Shem carried the gold, and Ham the myrrh, and Yefet the frankincense; and they went forth from the Me'arat HaOtzarot with weeping and groaning, and a great cry was raised by them, which was heard from the Pardes.
2
And they lifted up their heads toward the Pardes, and sobbed, and said: Peace be to you, O holy Pardes, dwelling-place of our father Adam; we are deprived of your shelter, and return unto the cursed land wherein we suffer. Peace be to you, O Me'arat HaOtzarot, and to all the bodies of the fathers; peace be to you, O glorious dwelling-place and inheritance of the saintly fathers forever.
3
Peace be to you, O fathers, beloved friends of El Elyon; pray for us, and entreat for our salvation. Peace be to Shet, chief of the fathers; peace be to Enosh, governor and righteous judge of his people; peace be to Kenan and Mahalalel; peace be to Methushelach, and Yered, and Lemekh, and Chanokh, servants of El Elyon: we entreat you all, plead for our salvation. And they came down from the mountain, kissing its stones and embracing its trees, with weeping and great grief; and they journeyed toward the land.
4
And Noach entered the ship, and brought in the body of Adam, and set it in the midst thereof, with the offerings upon its breast; and this was on the sixth day, the seventeenth day of the second month. And on the morrow he brought in the beasts and the cattle, and made them dwell in the lowest deck; and at midday he brought in the birds, and made them dwell in the middle deck; and at sunset Noach and his sons and his sons' wives entered, and dwelt in the topmost deck.
5
And the ark was fashioned in the manner of a holy assembly, wherein the men are kept from mingling with the women; and as there was peace and love between man and woman, so was there peace between the beasts and the birds within the ship, the lion at peace with the ox. And of all the clean beasts there were seven pairs, and of the unclean two pairs.
6
And when Noach and his people were come in, the Adon shut the ark. Then were opened the doors of heaven and the doors of the abyss, and the waters came down in torrents; and the imprisoned sea appeared, which is called Oceanus, that encircles the whole earth; and raging winds were sent forth from every side.
7
And when the sons of Shet saw this, they came near unto the place of the ark, and entreated Noach to bear them; but he answered them not, for the ark was bolted and sealed by the command of the Adon, and the malakh of the Adon stood directing it. And repentance encompassed them, and sorrow came upon them, and they had no refuge from destruction; for they were hindered also from going up unto the Har HaKodesh, and they all perished by drowning.
8
As David the prophet sang concerning their state: I said, You are gods, and children of El Elyon; but sin has overthrown you, and you have rebelled against the commandment, and defiled your bodies with the idolatrous daughters of Kayin; therefore shall you die the death like them, and be tormented with the prince who fell from the heavenly rank.
9
And the ark was lifted up from the earth unto the height of the waters; and all that was upon the earth perished in the Deluge. And the waters rose above the tops of the mountains, fifteen cubits by the holy cubit; and the waves bore the ship unto the lower parts of the Pardes, and it was blessed from the Pardes, and the tops of the waves were rolled back and did obeisance before it.
10
And the ship flew upon the wings of the wind above the waters, from the east unto the west, and from the south unto the north, like the sign of the cross; and it stood above the waters a hundred and fifty days. And the waves were stilled and laid to rest at the end of the seventh month from the beginning of the Deluge; and the ark rested upon the mountains of Kardu [Kardu — the mountains of Ararat].
11
And the waters ceased not to diminish gradually, until the tenth month; and the tops of the mountains were seen. And on the tenth day of the first month Noach opened the ark from the eastern side, and sent forth the raven, that he might learn the news of the earth; but it returned not unto him. Then he sent the dove; and it circled round, and found no place for the sole of its foot, and returned unto him at sunset. And after a week he sent another dove, and it returned unto him with an olive-branch in its mouth.
12
And concerning the dove there are holy mysteries: the first dove resembles the first covenant, which found no rest among the rejected nations; and the second, the second covenant, which found rest among the nations that received the mysteries of tevilah, and proclaimed the Mashiach [the Messiah; the Anointed One (the Christ)].
13
And at the end of six hundred years of the life of Noach the righteous, when one day of the first month had passed, the water was removed from the earth; and on that day Noach, and his wife, and his sons, and his sons' wives went forth from the ship — their entering in had been in separation, but their going forth was in unity — and there came forth with them all the beasts, and the cattle, and the birds, and the creeping things.
14
And Noach built a town, and called it Thamanu, which remains unto this day; and the number of those who were in the ship with Noach was eight souls. And Noach built a mizbe'ach unto the Adon, and offered upon it of the clean beasts and birds; and El Elyon accepted his offering, and gave a covenant that He would not again send a flood of water upon the earth. And He set His bow in the clouds, and put away thereby the bowstring of His anger; for before the Deluge men beheld in heaven the bowstring of anger and the arrow of wrath.
Chapter 13 The Drunkenness of Noach, the Curse of Kena’an, and the Secret Charge to Shem
1
And the sons of Noach planted in the town the fruit of the vine, and pressed from it a new drink, and gave their father Noach to drink; and he became drunken, for he was not accustomed to drink. And while he was drunken he slept, and his nakedness was uncovered.
2
And Ham looked upon him, and laughed, and mocked at him, and fetched his brethren to mock with him. But when Shem and Yefet learned the cause — the uncovering of their father — they were grieved; and they took a garment, and cast it upon their hands, and went backward, that they might not see their father uncovered, and threw the garment upon him.
3
And when Noach awoke from his sleep, his wife told him what had befallen; and he was wroth, and said: Cursed be Kena'an [Canaan], and let him be a slave unto his brethren. Now Noach cursed Kena'an, who was not guilty — for the guilt was Ham's — because he knew by the spirit that when Kena'an should come to man's estate, he would renew that which had been blotted out of the works of the children of Kayin, the instruments of music and the like.
4
And when Kena'an came to man's estate, he did all this; and Ham was a hypocrite, a lover of unclean desire all the days of his life, because of his mockery of his father. And the sons of Kena'an became slaves, bearing burdens; and they are the Copts, and the Abyssinians, and the Hindus, and others.
5
Now the sleep of Noach in his drunkenness was a type of the crucifixion of the Mashiach, and of His slumber in the tomb three days; as David the prophet says: The Adon awoke from His sleep like a mighty man who shakes off wine. And as Noach, when he awoke, cursed Kena'an and made his posterity slaves, so, when the Mashiach arose from the grave, He cursed the devil, and destroyed those who had crucified Him, and scattered them among the nations.
6
And Noach lived, after his going forth from the ark, three hundred and fifty years. And when his death drew near, there gathered unto him Shem, and Ham, and Yefet, and Arpachshad [Arphaxad], and Shelach [Shelah (Salah)]; and he made vows for them. Then he desired the presence of Shem his firstborn, and commanded him secretly, saying:
7
When I die, bury me; then go into the ark of safety, and take out of it the body of our father Adam, and let no one be with you; and make for it a great chest, and lay it therein; and prepare for yourself a store of bread and drink, and carry the chest wherein is the body of our father.
8
And take with you Malki-Tzedek [Melchizedek — the priest of El Elyon], the son of Malah; for the Adon has chosen him from among your sons to minister before our father Adam. And when you reach the centre of the earth, bury the body of Adam, and set Malki-Tzedek in that place for the service before the body, and the praise before it. And the malakh of the Adon shall go before you, to guide you unto the place of the body, which is the centre of the earth.
9
For from that place shall be seen the power of El Elyon; there the four quarters of the world are joined together, and are become one pillar; and from it shall be salvation unto Adam and unto all his children. Thus was it written in the tables which Moshe received from the hand of the Adon, and brake in the hour of his anger against his people.
10
And Noach strengthened Shem in the receiving of the testament, and told him that it was the testament of Adam unto Shet, and of Shet unto Enosh, and of Enosh unto Kenan, and of Kenan unto Mahalalel, and of Mahalalel unto Yered, and of Yered unto Chanokh, and of Chanokh unto Methushelach, and of Methushelach unto Lemekh, and of Lemekh unto Noach; and he made him swear that no other should attend unto that which he commanded concerning the body of Adam.
11
And when Noach had finished his testament, he died, being nine hundred and fifty years old, on the fourth day; and his children laid him upon the bier, and buried him, and kept mourning for him forty days.
Chapter 14 Shem and Malki-Tzedek at the Centre of the Earth, and the Burying of Adam at Golgotha
1
And Shem said unto Ham and Yefet: Know that our father Noach commanded me, at his death, to journey unto the elevated land, and to go round about it unto the place of the sea, that I might look upon the state of its trees, and its fruits, and its rivers. I am resolved upon this; and I have left my wife and my children with you: take heed unto them until the time of my return.
2
And they said unto him: Take with you a man, since you are resolved upon this; for the land which you have described is a land of wild beasts and ravening lions. But he said unto them: Verily the malakh of El Elyon is with me; He is my keeper. And his brethren called unto him and said: The Adon be with you wheresoever you dwell.
3
Then said he unto them: Our father, at his death, made me swear neither to enter the ship, nor to suffer any other to enter it; for I have received his testament, and sealed it with his seal. Beware, therefore, that you enter it not, neither you nor any of your children. And they pledged themselves unto him concerning this.
4
Then he came unto the father and the mother of Malki-Tzedek, and said unto them: I would that you give me Malki-Tzedek, that he may journey with me on my way. And they said: He is before you; take him with you. And Shem called Malki-Tzedek by night, and bore with him the body of Adam secretly; and they went forth, the malakh going before them, until he brought them, with the utmost speed, unto the place.
5
And the malakh said unto them: Set him down, for this is the centre of the earth. And they set the body down from their hands; and when it touched the ground, the earth was cleft for it as a door, and the body was let down into it; and when the body rested in its place, the earth returned and covered it over.
6
And the place was called Karkaphta [Karkaphta — “the skull” (the Aramaic name of Golgotha)], that is, of a skull, because therein was laid the skull of the father of mankind; and Golgotha, because it was conspicuous in the earth, and was deeply despised by its sons; for therein was the head of the hateful dragon that seduced Adam. And it was called also the gathering-place of the families of the world, because therein is the gathering together of mankind.
7
And Shem said unto Malki-Tzedek: Know that you are the priest of the Everlasting El Elyon, who has chosen you from among men to minister before Him, before the body of our father Adam. Accept the choice of the Adon concerning you, and depart never from this place.
8
Marry no woman; shave not your hair, neither pare your nails; shed no blood, and sacrifice no beast; and build no building over this place. Let your offerings before the Adon be of fine pure bread, and let your drink be of the juice of the vine; and the malakh of the Adon is with you forever.
9
And Shem wished him peace, and bade him farewell, and embraced him, and returned unto his dwelling. Then came unto Shem the parents of Malki-Tzedek, and asked him concerning their son; and he told them that he had died upon the road, and that he had cared for him and buried him. And his father and his people sorrowed over him with a great sorrow.
Chapter 15 The Generations After the Flood, the Tower of Bavel, and the Reign of Nimrod
1
And Shem the righteous lived seven hundred years, and died; and his sons Arpachshad, and Shelach, and Eber [Eber (Heber)] saw to his burial. And Arpachshad begat Shelach when he was thirty years old; and he lived four hundred sixty and five years, and died; and Shelach and Eber buried him in the town that he had built.
2
And Shelach begat Eber when he was thirty years old; and he lived four hundred thirty and three years, and died; and Eber and Peleg [Peleg (“division”)] buried him in the town that he had built. And Eber begat Peleg when he was thirty years old; and he lived four hundred thirty and four years, and died; and Peleg, and Reu, and Serug buried him in the town which he had built and called by his name.
3
And when Peleg was two hundred thirty and nine years old, all the tribes of the sons of Shem, and of Ham, and of Yefet gathered themselves together, and journeyed unto the elevated land; and they found in the place called Shinar [Shinar (the plain of Babylonia)] a beautiful plain, and dwelt therein; and their speech was all one.
4
And the book asserts that this speech was the Syriac, which is also called Aramaic and Chaldean, and that it is the tongue of Adam; and it says that the Syriac is the chief of tongues, and the most comprehensive, and that from it all other tongues are derived; and that Adam is a Syriac name, and that whoso asserts it to be Hebrew speaks not truly; and that the speakers of Syriac shall stand upon the right hand of the Adon, for the writing of Syriac runs from the right unto the left.
5
And in the days of Peleg the nations built the tower at Bavel [Babel; Babylon]; and thereupon their tongues were diversified, and confounded, and divided; and because of their confusion the town was called Bavel. And Peleg was greatly grieved when he saw the scattering of the nations into the regions of the earth; and he died, and Reu, and Serug, and Nachor [Nahor] buried him in the town which he had built and called by his name.
6
And the earth was divided into portions among the chiefs of the tribes; and they appointed to every tribe and tongue a king and a chief. In the race of Yefet they appointed thirty and seven kings, and in the race of Ham sixteen kings.
7
The kingdom of the sons of Yefet was from the border of the Har HaKodesh and Mount Nod, which is in the borders of the east, unto the Tigris; and from Bactria unto the island-town. And the kingdom of the sons of Shem was from the land of Persia, that is, from the borders of the east, unto the sea in the borders of the west; and they had authority also in the centre of the earth.
8
And Reu begat Serug, the length of his life being two hundred thirty and two years. And at the end of a hundred sixty and three years of the life of Reu, Nimrod [Nimrod the giant, the first king] the giant reigned over the whole earth; and the beginning of his kingdom was from Bavel.
9
It was he who saw in the sky a piece of black cloth and a crown; and he called Sasan the weaver unto his presence, and commanded him to make a crown like unto it; and he set jewels therein, and wore it. He was the first king that wore a crown; and for this reason the people, who knew nothing of the matter, said that a crown had come down to him from heaven.
10
The length of the reign of Nimrod was sixty and nine years; and he died in the days of Reu; and in his days the third thousand of the years since Adam was completed.
11
And in his days the people of Mitzrayim [Egypt] set up a king over them, called Ferness, and he reigned over them sixty and eight years. And in his days also a king reigned over the town of Seba, whose name was Pharaoh, and he annexed unto his kingdom the cities of Ophir and Havilah; and he built Ophir with stones of gold, for the stones of its mountains are pure gold.
12
And after him there reigned over Havilah a king called Hayuru, who built it and cemented it; and after the death of Pharaoh, women reigned over Seba, until the time of Shlomo [Solomon] the son of David.
Chapter 16 The Age of Idolatry and Sorcery, and the Origins of Witchcraft
1
Now the beginning of witchcraft was on this wise: a rich man died, and his son made a golden image of him, and set it upon his tomb, and appointed a young man to guard it. And the devil entered into the image, and spoke unto its keeper with the voice of the dead man; and the keeper told the son of the deceased thereof.
2
And after some days, robbers entered the dwelling of the deceased, and took away all that belonged to his son; and his grief was great, and he wept beside the grave of his father. Then the devil called unto him out of the image, with a voice like his father's, and said: O my son, weep not; but bring me your little son, to sacrifice him unto me, and I will restore unto you all that has been taken from you.
3
And he brought his son unto the tomb, and sacrificed him unto the devil. And when he had done this, the devil entered into him, and taught him witchcraft, and unveiled unto him its mysteries, and taught him omens and auguries; and from that time men offered their children unto the devils.
4
And at the completion of a hundred years of the life of Nachor, El Elyon looked upon the godlessness of men, and their sacrificing of their children unto the devils, and their adoration of images; and He sent upon them raging winds, which tore away the images and their worshippers, and buried them in the earth, and strewed over them great mountains and towering hills; and they are beneath them unto this day.
5
And some assert that in the time of Terach [Terah (the father of Avraham)] there was a deluge of wind; but the wise men of India say that these mounds came into being in the days of the Flood — and that is nonsense; for the worship of images was after the Deluge of water, and the Deluge was not sent for the worship of images, but because of the great corruption upon the earth among the children of Kayin, and the instruments of music which they invented. And there is no mound upon the earth beneath which a devil with an image does not appear.
6
And in the days of Nimrod the giant, he beheld fire coming down from heaven, and fire coming up from the earth; and when Nimrod saw it, he adored it, and appointed in that place people to worship it, and to cast incense into it; and from that time the magicians adore fire, and worship it unto this day.
7
And a chief magician, named Kesar, found a spring of abundant water in the country of Atropatene, and set up over it a white horse; and whosoever bathed in that spring worshipped the horse; and the Magi honour the horse, and there is a sect of them that worship it unto this day.
8
And Nimrod journeyed until he came unto the land of Marion; and he found there Bowenider [Bowenider — reckoned a fourth son of Noach, who taught Nimrod the stars], the fourth son of Noach; and when Nimrod saw him, he did obeisance unto him. And Bowenider said: O giant king, wherefore do you adore me? And Nimrod said: Because you have met me. And Nimrod abode with him three years, that he might teach him wisdom; and Bowenider taught him the counting of the stars, and the years, and the months — which he himself had learned from El Elyon.
9
And Bowenider said unto Nimrod: You shall not return unto me a second time. And when Nimrod passed through the east, he deposited books making known that which Bowenider had taught him; and the people were astonished at his wisdom.
10
Now there was among the keepers of the fire a man called Ardashir; and when he saw the wisdom of Nimrod, he envied him, and besought a devil that had appeared unto him beside the fire, to teach him the wisdom of Nimrod. And the devil said: You cannot do this, until you have fulfilled the rite of magic; and the perfection thereof is the marriage of mothers, and daughters, and sisters. And Ardashir did that which he commanded him; and from that time the Magi permit the wedlock of mothers, and sisters, and daughters.
11
And the devil taught Ardashir the knowledge of omens, and auguries, and physiognomy, and fortune-telling, and divining, and witchcraft — which were doctrines of the devil; and the Kasdim [the Chaldeans] delivered this doctrine one to another. And whosoever uses aught of these things, his guilt before El Elyon is great.
12
But the knowledge which Nimrod learned from Bowenider was from El Elyon; for it is the counting of the stars, and the years, and the months — the science which the Greeks call astronomy, and the Persians astrology. And Nimrod built great towns in the east, which he chose for himself.
Chapter 17 The Calling of Avraham, the Blessing of Malki-Tzedek, and the Binding of Yitzchak
1
And when Terach, the father of Avraham [Abraham], reached two hundred and three years, he died; and Avraham and Lot [Lot] buried him in the city of Charan [Haran]. And El Elyon commanded Avraham that he should journey unto the Holy Land; and Avraham took Sarah his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and journeyed unto the land of the Emori [the Amorites]; and Avraham the just was then seventy and five years old.
2
And when he reached eighty years, he fought with the nations, and put them to flight, and delivered Lot from them; and he had no child at that time, for Sarah was barren.
3
And when he returned from the war with the nations, El Elyon commanded him to journey and pass over unto Mount Yavus [Yavus (Jebus) — the hill of Yerushalayim]; and when he came there, he met Malki-Tzedek, the priest of El Elyon. And when Avraham saw him, he did homage unto him, and was blessed by him; and Malki-Tzedek brought forth unto him fine pure bread and drink.
4
And Avraham offered of it, and paid unto Malki-Tzedek the tithe of his goods. And El Elyon commanded Malki-Tzedek to pare his nails; and Malki-Tzedek consecrated the offering of fine bread and drink, and Avraham partook of it.
5
Then El Elyon discoursed with Avraham the second time, and said unto him: Your reward shall be great with Me, since you have received the blessing of Malki-Tzedek, and are worthy to receive from his hand the gift of bread and wine; I will bless you, and will multiply your seed.
6
And when Avraham reached eighty and six years, Yishmael [Ishmael] was born unto him of Hagar [Hagar] the Egyptian, the bondwoman whom Pharaoh, king of Mitzrayim, had given unto Sarah the wife of Avraham. Now Sarah was his sister by his father, but not by his mother; for Terach married two wives: the name of the one was Yuta, and she was the mother of Avraham, and she died when she gave him birth; and the name of the other was Nadib, and she was the mother of Sarah; therefore said Avraham unto the king of Mitzrayim, when he wished to do violence unto Sarah, that she is my sister.
7
And when Avraham reached ninety and nine years, El Elyon came down unto his house, and gave unto Sarah a son; and when he reached a hundred years, Yitzchak [Isaac] was born unto him, the son whom El Elyon gave him of the barren Sarah.
8
And when Yitzchak reached twelve years, Avraham offered him up unto El Elyon as an offering, upon the hill of Yavus — which is the place wherein the Mashiach was crucified, and which is known as Golgotha; wherein Adam was created; wherein Avraham beheld the tree that bore the lamb, by which Yitzchak was redeemed from the sacrifice; wherein the body of Adam was laid; and which was the mizbe'ach of Malki-Tzedek; and wherein David beheld the malakh of the Adon bearing a sword for the destruction of Yerushalayim [Jerusalem].
9
Verily the carrying up of Yitzchak unto the mizbe'ach by Avraham is a type of the crucifixion of the Mashiach for the salvation of Adam and his children; and the proof thereof is the saying of the Mashiach in the Besorah HaKedoshah unto the children of Yisra'el [Israel]: Your father Avraham ceased not to long to look upon My day; and when he saw it, he rejoiced therein.
10
And the lamb which Avraham saw hanging upon the tree was a type of the slaying of the Mashiach in the body which He took from us, and of His crucifixion; for the lamb was not the offspring of a ewe, and was worthy to be sacrificed in that place. So Avraham beheld that which pertained unto the salvation of Adam through the crucifixion of the Mashiach.
Chapter 18 Malki-Tzedek King of Yerushalayim, and the Birth of Ya’akov and Esav
1
Now when these kings, O my son Clement, saw Malki-Tzedek, king of peace and priest of El Elyon, and heard his word, they honoured him and applauded him, and asked him to journey with them unto their lands. But he told them that he was not permitted to leave the place wherein El Elyon had appointed him unto his office.
2
So their counsel with one accord was that a city should be built for him at their charges, and that they should govern it; and they built for him the holy city, and delivered it unto him; and Malki-Tzedek called it Yerushalayim. And all the kings and the nations honoured him, and called him the father of kings.
3
And some think that Malki-Tzedek shall not die, and bring as proof the saying of David the prophet in his Tehillim [the Psalms]: You are a priest forever, after the order of Malki-Tzedek. But David means not thereby that he shall not die — and how should this be, seeing he is a man? — but because El Elyon honoured him, and made him His priest, and because in the Torah there is made no mention of a beginning of his days, therefore David sang thus concerning him.
4
And Moshe makes no mention of him in his book, for he was relating only the genealogy of the fathers; but Shem the son of Noach has told us, in the books of the Testaments, that Malki-Tzedek was of the line of Arpachshad, the son of Shem, the son of Noach.
5
And when Sarah died, Avraham the famous married a woman named Kantura [Keturah (Avraham's later wife)], the daughter of Yatur, king of the deserts. And when Yitzchak the son of Avraham reached forty years, Eliezer [Eliezer (Avraham's servant)] his servant journeyed in search of her who was named Rivkah [Rebecca], for Yitzchak. And when Avraham reached a hundred and seventy years, he died; and his sons Yishmael and Yitzchak buried him by the side of Sarah his wife.
6
And when Yitzchak reached sixty years, Rivkah his wife conceived Ya'akov and Esav [Esau]. And when the birth-pangs took hold of her, she went unto Malki-Tzedek; and he blessed her, and prayed over her, and said unto her: El Elyon has already formed two men in your womb, who shall be the chiefs of two great nations; and the elder of them shall be beneath the younger, and each of them shall hate his brother.
7
And the elder shall serve a man of the race of the other; and I am the servant of that man, whose name shall be called the Living God; and you shall come up upon a branch of cursing, because of those who rebel against him. And Rivkah kept these words, and pondered them in her heart.
8
And when a hundred and thirty years of the life of Yitzchak were passed — that is, in the twenty-seventh year of Ya'akov — El Elyon blessed Ya'akov; and he received the blessing of Yitzchak, and the blessing of Esav his brother, by subtlety; and he journeyed toward the land of the east.
Chapter 19 Ya’akov’s Ladder, the Well of Rachel, and the Birth of the Twelve Sons
1
And Ya'akov journeyed toward the land of the east; and while he was upon his way, a deep sleep came upon him. And he set seven stones beneath his head, and slept upon them; and he beheld a ladder of fire, whose top was in heaven and whose foot was upon the earth, and upon it the malakhim were ascending and descending; and he saw the Adon seated upon the top thereof. And when he awoke, he said: Surely this place is the house of El Elyon. And he took the stones that were beneath his head, and built of them a mizbe'ach, and anointed it with oil, and vowed there that he would give unto El Elyon the tenth of all his goods.
2
And the power of this vision, O my son Clement, is not hard unto them that have knowledge; for it is a prophecy of the coming of our Adon HaMashiach. The ladder which Ya'akov saw was a sign of the crucifixion; and the malakhim descending from heaven were for the Besorah unto Zecharyah, and unto Miriam, and unto the Magi, and unto the shepherds; and the seat of the Adon upon the top of the ladder was like the descent of the Mashiach from heaven for our salvation.
3
And the place wherein Ya'akov beheld it was a type of the Kehilah, which is the house of El Elyon; and the stones are a type of the mizbe'ach; and the anointing of them with oil is a type of the union of the godhead with the manhood; and the vow which he made of a tenth of his goods is a type of the offering of bread and wine.
4
And Ya'akov journeyed from the place of the vision, until he came unto the town of Lavan [Laban] his uncle; and he saw a well of water, whereat three flocks of sheep were lying down, and upon the mouth of the well was a great stone. And Rachel [Rachel], the daughter of his uncle, was standing there with the sheep; and Ya'akov came near unto the well, and rolled the stone from its mouth, and watered the sheep that were with Rachel; and then he drew near unto Rachel, and kissed her.
5
And the uncovering of the well by Ya'akov was a type of tevilah, which was veiled from of old, and uncovered in the latter days; for that which the Kohen gives unto them whom he immerses in the water is in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Ruach HaKodesh. And as Ya'akov came not forward to kiss Rachel until he had uncovered the well and watered her sheep, so is it not permitted that any enter the Kehilah until after tevilah; for when he is immersed, he becomes one of the sheep of the Mashiach.
6
And Ya'akov wrought with Lavan his uncle seven years for Rachel, whom he loved of the daughters of Lavan, for she was in the height of beauty; but Lavan gave him his elder daughter, Leah [Leah], whose eyes were weak, and her face was covered.
7
And Leah, whose eyes were weak, was a type of the people whom Ya'akov ruled in his day, wherein were prophets and saints, and little sin; and she whom Moshe describes as faded is the children of Yisra'el that went astray in the worship of idols, and forsook the worship of El Elyon; but Rachel, bright and fair and uncovered of face, was a type of the tribe that received the Lord of the world, the Mashiach, and worshipped Him in His godhead.
8
And when Ya'akov had reached sixty and nine years, Reuven [Reuben] was born unto him; and after him his brethren, whom El Elyon brought forth from the loins of Ya'akov: Shimon, and Levi [Levi], and Yehudah — the ancestor of Miriam — and Yissakhar [Issachar], and Zevulun [Zebulun]; and Yosef [Joseph] and Binyamin [Benjamin], the sons of the fair Rachel; and Gad [Gad] and Asher [Asher], the sons of Zilpah [Zilpah]; and Dan [Dan] and Naftali [Naphtali], the sons of Bilhah [Bilhah], the maid of Rachel.
9
And two years after the going forth of Ya'akov, he returned unto Yitzchak his father, and dwelt with him. And Yosef was sold during the lifetime of Yitzchak, and was a companion unto Ya'akov in his sorrow. And when Yitzchak had reached a hundred and eighty years, he died; and his sons Ya'akov and Esav buried him beside the grave of Avraham; and after nine years Rivkah died, and was buried near the grave of Avraham.
10
And Yehudah married Hashay, a woman of Kena'an; and Ya'akov was grieved thereat, because she was not of the children of Yisra'el; and he said unto him: By the God of Avraham and Yitzchak, mingle not the seed of Kena'an with us.
Chapter 20 The Line of Yehudah: Tamar and Peretz, the Descent to Mitzrayim, and the Kingship unto David
1
And Yehudah begat of Hashay the woman of Kena'an three sons: Er, and Onan, and Shelah. And he took for Er his firstborn a wife named Tamar [Tamar], the daughter of Kidor, of the sons of Levi. But Er wrought the deed of the people of Sedom [Sodom]; and El Elyon punished him for his deed, and slew him, in answer to the prayer of Ya'akov, that the seed of Kena'an should not be mingled with his seed.
2
Then Tamar disguised herself, and sat in the way; and Yehudah came in unto her, not knowing that she was his daughter-in-law; and she conceived by him, and bore Peretz [Perez] and Zerach [Zerah]. And at that time Ya'akov and his children journeyed down into Mitzrayim, and dwelt with Yosef.
3
And Ya'akov, when he had completed a hundred and forty and seven years, died in Mitzrayim. And Yosef also, being a hundred and ten years old, died; and the wise physicians of Pharaoh embalmed him; and afterward his bones were removed, and laid beside the bodies of his fathers, and of his grandfather Avraham.
4
And Peretz the son of Yehudah begat Chetzron [Hezron]; and Chetzron begat Ram [Ram (Aram)]; and Ram begat Amminadav [Amminadab]; and Amminadav begat Nachshon [Nahshon], who was the most excellent of the sons of Yehudah.
5
And Amminadav gave his daughter unto Elazar [Eleazar] the son of Aharon the Kohen; and of her Elazar begat Pinechas [Phinehas] the Kohen — he who by his prayer took away the plague of death from the people, and whose was the deed with the javelin. Know, therefore, that the priesthood was from Amminadav among the people of Yisra'el, and from Nachshon came the kingship among them.
6
See, O my son Clement, how from Yehudah came both the priesthood and the kingship among the children of Yisra'el. And Nachshon begat Salmon [Salmon]; and Salmon begat Boaz [Boaz]. And Boaz, when he was old, married Rut [Ruth] the Moabitess; and in her was kingship, for she was of the race of kings, being of the children of Lot.
7
For El Elyon made not Lot unclean for the matter of his daughters, neither attached blame unto him, nor despised his good deed in supporting his uncle Avraham in his exile, and his receiving of the malakhim in faith; but He put the kingship into Rut, who was of his race, that the incarnation of our Adon HaMashiach should be of the race of Avraham, and also of the race of Lot.
8
And of the seed of Boaz and Rut came Yishai [Jesse]; and of Yishai came David the king. For El Elyon willed that the seed of Kena'an should not mingle with the chosen seed, from whom Yeshua HaMashiach took flesh; and therefore, of all the many wives of Shlomo — six hundred free women and four hundred concubines — he obtained no child of the daughters of Kena'an. Thus was the pure line preserved: from Avraham, and Yehudah, and David, unto Miriam, of whom the Mashiach should be born.
Chapter 21 Moshe and the Exodus, and the Age of the Judges
1
Now Levi, when he went down into Mitzrayim with his father Ya'akov, begat there his son Amram [Amram (the father of Moshe)], the father of Moshe. And when Moshe was born, his mother cast him out into the river of Mitzrayim; and Tsafira [Tsafira — the daughter of Pharaoh who raised Moshe], the daughter of Pharaoh king of Mitzrayim, saved him from drowning, and brought him up in her father's palace.
2
And when he was grown, and had completed forty years, he slew the Egyptian, the chief of the swordsmen of Pharaoh; and he fled unto Yitro [Jethro (Reuel), priest of Midian] the Kohen of Midian, for fear of Pharaoh — and this because Tsafira had died before that time; for had she been living, wherefore should Moshe have feared Pharaoh?
3
And Moshe married Tzipporah [Zipporah], the daughter of Yitro the Kohen of Midian; and she bore him two sons, Gershom [Gershom] and Eliezer. And at the time of the birth of Yehoshua [Joshua] the son of Nun, the age of Moshe was fifty and two years.
4
And when he had completed eighty years, El Elyon spake unto him out of the thorn-bush; and his tongue stammered for fear of El Elyon, so that he said: O Adon, from the time when You speak unto Your servant, my tongue has stammered. And all the years of Moshe were a hundred and twenty: forty he spent in Mitzrayim, and forty in Midian, and forty he governed the children of Yisra'el in the wilderness.
5
And when Moshe died, Yehoshua the son of Nun governed them thirty and one years. Then Kushan the godless governed them eight years; then Otniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Kalev [Caleb], forty years; then the Moavim [the Moabites] enslaved the children of Yisra'el eighteen years.
6
Then El Elyon wrought their deliverance by the hand of Ehud [Ehud] the son of Gera, and he governed them eighty years; and in the twenty and sixth year of the rule of Ehud, the fourth thousand of the years from the beginning was finished. Then Yavin oppressed their government twenty years; then Devorah [Deborah] and Barak [Barak] governed forty years; then the Midyanim [the Midianites] enslaved them seven years.
7
Then El Elyon saved them by the hand of Gid'on [Gideon], who governed forty years; then Avimelekh his son three years; then Tola the son of Puah forty years; then the children of Ammon enslaved the children of Yisra'el eighteen years; then El Elyon saved them by the hand of Yiftach [Jephthah] — he who offered up his daughter as an offering before El Elyon.
8
Then Ivtzan governed six years; then Elon of Zevulun ten years; then Avdon eight years; then the Pelishtim [the Philistines] fought with the children of Yisra'el, and subdued them, and enslaved them forty years; and El Elyon saved them by the hand of Shimshon [Samson], who governed twenty years.
9
And after him they remained twelve years without a leader; then there arose to rule them Eli the Kohen, and he governed forty years; then Shmuel [Samuel] twenty and two years. And in his time the children of Yisra'el rebelled against El Elyon, and set up Sha'ul [Saul] to be king over them; and he was the first king among the children of Yisra'el, and he governed them forty years.
Chapter 22 Sha’ul and Golyat, David the King, and the Glory and Fall of Shlomo
1
And in the days of Sha'ul appeared the giant Golyat [Goliath]; and he drove out the children of Yisra'el, and slew their young men. Then El Elyon sent against him David the prophet, and he slew him. And against Sha'ul He sent the Pelishtim, and they slew him; because Sha'ul left off to seek help of El Elyon, and sought help of the devils.
2
And David the son of Yishai reigned over the children of Yisra'el forty years. And after him Shlomo reigned over them, and wrought many marvellous things among them.
3
He ascended unto the city of Ophir, and brought forth the gold out of its mountains; and the ships ceased not thirty and six months, carrying the gold from its mountains. And he built the city of Tadmor [Tadmor (Palmyra)] in the heart of the wilderness, and wrought therein many wondrous works.
4
And he built also a city which he called the City of the Sun; and Eridu, which is in the midst of the sea, was built at the command of Shlomo; and men praised him yet the more for his wisdom. And the Queen of Sheva [Sheba] came up unto him, and was obedient unto his worship of El Elyon.
5
And there came up unto him, at his command, Hiram king of Tzor [Tyre], who had a true love for him; for he had been a friend unto David before him. And Shlomo took a thousand wives, as we have said; and they corrupted his mind, when he exceeded in his love toward them; and they gained power to mock at him, and caused him to slide away from the worship of El Elyon.
6
And he sacrificed unto idols, and worshipped them instead of the Adon; and he died, after he had reigned forty years, an idolater and an unbeliever.
7
Then Hiram king of Tzor was seduced, and forgot his humanity, and disbelieved in El Elyon, and claimed divinity, and said: I sit in the heart of the seas, like the sitting of a god. And the tidings of him came unto Nevuchadnetzar [Nebuchadnezzar]; and he journeyed against him, until he slew him.
8
And in the days of this Hiram, O my son Clement, appeared the purple dye; and this was the cause thereof: a shepherd was with his sheep upon the sea-shore, and he saw a dog of his gnawing something that came up out of the sea, and its mouth was filled with blood; and he took clean wool, and wiped the blood therewith, and made of it a crown, and set it upon his head, and it had a brightness like the brightness of the sun. And the tidings came unto Hiram, and he marvelled at the beauty of the dye; and his dyers took the purple shellfish, and made garments of its blood; and he rejoiced with a great joy.
Chapter 23 The Later Kings of Yehudah, and the Descent into the Exile of Bavel
1
And after Shlomo, Rechav'am [Rehoboam] his son reigned; and he defiled the land by the worship of idols, and by much whoredom in Yerushalayim, and by sacrificing unto devils; and in his days the kingdom of the house of David was divided, and became two parts. And in his fifth year, Shishak [Shishak (Shishaq) king of Egypt] king of Mitzrayim came up against Yerushalayim, and took all that was in the treasuries of the house of the Adon, and the treasuries of David and Shlomo, the vessels of gold and silver; and Rechav'am died an unbeliever, after he had reigned seventeen years.
2
Then Aviyah [Abijah] his son reigned three years; and after him Asa [Asa], who did right, and abolished the worship of the stars and the images and whoredom from Yerushalayim, and drove away his mother from the kingdom because she committed adultery; and he reigned forty years.
3
Then Yehoshafat [Jehoshaphat] his son reigned, and walked in the way of his father in righteousness; but he loved the house of Achav [Ahab], and kept company with him, and built ships to go unto Ophir for gold, and El Elyon sank his ships. Then Yehoram [Joram (Jehoram)] reigned, and was disobedient, and sacrificed unto devils for the sake of his wife, of the house of Achav; and after him Achazyah [Ahaziah], a shameless unbeliever, whom the Adon delivered over unto his enemies, and they slew him after one year.
4
Then Atalyah [Athaliah] his mother took the kingdom unto herself, and slew the sons of the king, that she might destroy the kingdom of the house of David; and none was saved from her save Yoash [Joash], for Yehosheva hid him. And she increased adultery and unbelief in Yerushalayim, and died after seven years.
5
And Yehoyada [Jehoiada the priest] the Kohen brought out Yoash, and seated him upon the throne of the house of David his father, he being seven years old, and covenanted with him that he should do righteousness before the Adon. But when Yehoyada died, Yoash forgot his covenant; and he reigned forty years. And after him Amatzyah [Amaziah] his son, who followed the law of the Adon, reigned twenty and nine years.
6
Then Uziyahu [Uzziah (Azariah)] his son reigned, and did right before the Adon, save that he was bold concerning the priesthood, wherefore he became a leper; and El Elyon weakened the prophecy of Yeshayahu [Isaiah] the prophet until Uziyahu died, because he reproved him not for his boldness; and he reigned fifty and two years. Then Yotam [Jotham] his son did right, and reigned sixteen years.
7
Then Achaz [Ahaz] his son reigned, and did wickedly, and sacrificed unto devils and idols; and El Elyon was angry with him, and Tiglath king of Ashur [Assyria] came up against him, and Achaz made himself his vassal, and delivered Yerushalayim unto the Assyrians, and carried all the gold and silver of the temple of El Elyon unto Ashur. In his time the children of Yisra'el were led captive, and went down unto Bavel; and the king of Ashur sent Babylonians to dwell in the land of Yehudah, and sent Uriyah, one of the Kohanim, to teach them the law of the Adon; and when they knew it, the lions ceased from them.
8
Then Chizkiyahu [Hezekiah] his son reigned, and did right, and broke the idols, and caused the sacrifices to cease, and cut in pieces the serpent of bronze that Moshe had made in the wilderness, because the children of Yisra'el were seduced in worshipping it. And Sancheriv [Sennacherib] king of Ashur came up against Yerushalayim, but it was saved by the prayer and the cries of Chizkiyahu. And when Chizkiyahu was sick unto death, he wept because he had no son to reign after him, and prayed: O Adon, let not the kingdom fail from the house of David; and the Adon added unto his life fifteen years, and a son was born unto him, and he called him Menasheh [Manasseh]; and he reigned twenty and nine years.
9
Then Menasheh reigned, being twelve years old, and did wickedly above all the kings that were before him; and he defiled Yerushalayim with idols, and took Yeshayahu the prophet and sawed him asunder with a saw of wood, from the crown of his head unto between his feet, because he had reproved him — Yeshayahu being that day a hundred and twenty years old, who had begun to prophesy at ninety. Then Menasheh repented, and put on sackcloth, and fasted all his days; and El Elyon accepted his repentance. And after him Amon [Amon] his son did wickedly, and burned his children in the fire, and reigned twelve years.
10
Then Yoshiyahu [Josiah] his son reigned, and kept the feast of Pesach [Passover], such a feast as the children of Yisra'el had never kept since the days of Moshe the prophet; and he abolished the sacrifices unto the images, and broke the idols, and slew their worshippers, and cleansed Yerushalayim from defilements: none like him reigned over the Yehudim before him nor after him. And he reigned thirty years; but Pharaoh king of Mitzrayim slew him.
11
Then Yehoachaz his son reigned three months, and Pharaoh bound him with chains, and carried him unto Mitzrayim, and he died there. Then Yehoyakim [Jehoiakim] his brother reigned; and in the third year of his reign Nevuchadnetzar came up against Yerushalayim, and made him his vassal three years; and he rebelled, and death overtook him. Then Yehoyachin [Jehoiachin (Jeconiah)] his son reigned; and Nevuchadnetzar came a second time, and carried him, and his officers, and his armies, unto Bavel.
12
And Nevuchadnetzar in his first coming had bound the wives of the nobles of Yerushalayim, and carried them unto Bavel; and the wife of Yehoyakim was with child, and by the way she gave birth unto Daniel [Daniel]; and in the captivity were also Chananyah, and Azaryah, and Misha'el. Then Tzidkiyahu [Zedekiah (the last king)], the uncle of Yehoyachin, reigned, being the last of the kings of the children of Yisra'el; and after eleven years of his reign, Nevuchadnetzar journeyed the third time unto the west, and laid it waste, and made an end of the kingdom of the children of Yisra'el.
Chapter 24 The Burning of the Mikdash, the Hiding of the Scriptures, and the Return under Koresh
1
And Nevuchadnetzar returned unto Yerushalayim, and prevailed over it a second time; and he bound Tzidkiyahu, and slew his sons before his eyes, and carried him away, blind and fettered with chains, unto Bavel — a punishment from El Elyon for that which he had done unto Yirmeyahu [Jeremiah] the prophet, whom he had cast into a miry well.
2
And Nevuchadnetzar set a captain of his guard over Yerushalayim, until he had laid waste its wall, and burned the Mikdash [the Temple (Sanctuary)] of the Adon which Shlomo had built, and demolished the dwellings of Yerushalayim; and he carried all the vessels of iron and brass, and the vessels that pertained unto the house of the Adon, unto Bavel.
3
Now between Shimon the high priest and the captain of the prison there was love; and Shimon took the old writings of the Torah, and bore them among the crowd of the captivity; and he saw a well by the way, in the borders of the west, and laid the writings therein, and set with them a vessel of bronze filled with glowing coals and sweet incense, and covered up the well, and went unto Bavel.
4
And the desolation of Yerushalayim was completed, and it became a waste; there was not one man left in it, nor even a building, save only the tomb of Yirmeyahu the prophet.
5
And Yehoyachin ceased not to be bound in the land of Bavel, and shut up in prison, thirty and seven years; and afterward the king let him out of the prison. And in that time Koresh [Cyrus (king of Persia)] reigned in Bavel; and he married the sister of Zerubavel [Zerubbabel], a nobleman of the Yehudim; and she besought him to restore the children of Yisra'el unto Yerushalayim.
6
And Koresh did this, and proclaimed that there should not remain one of the children of Yisra'el who should not present himself unto Zerubavel his brother-in-law; and he committed them unto him, to lead them unto Yerushalayim, that they should build it. And the children of Yisra'el returned unto Yerushalayim in the second year of the reign of Koresh the Persian; and at that time was completed the fifth thousand from the beginning.
7
And the children of Yisra'el, after the return, remained without a teacher to teach them the Torah of the Adon, nor any writings of the prophets. And when Ezra [Ezra the scribe] saw this, he went unto the well wherein the Torah had been laid, and uncovered it, and found the vessel full of fire and incense; but the writings were faded, and there was no means to read them.
8
And El Elyon revealed unto Ezra that he should receive them from His hand; and he set his mouth unto the fire once, and twice, and thrice; and El Elyon put into him the power of the spirit of prophecy; and he restored all the writings. And that fire which was in the vessel and in the well was of the fire of the Pardes, which had been in the house of the Adon.
9
And Zerubavel journeyed unto Yerushalayim as king over it, and Yehoshua the son of Yehotzadak as high priest, and Ezra as the scribe of the Torah; and the writing of the Torah and the books of the prophets were completed after the return. And the number of the years of the captivity, which Yirmeyahu the prophet mentions, is seventy years; and the children of Yisra'el built the Mikdash of the Adon in Yerushalayim, and its building was finished by the hands of Zerubavel, and Yehoshua, and Ezra, in six and forty years.
Chapter 25 The Genealogy of Miriam, and the Vindication of Her Descent from David
1
Now when the books of the genealogies were destroyed, the fathers were in despair concerning the genealogy; and this despair remained after them, until its accuracy was assured by the hidden books of the Ivrim [the Hebrews]. I relate this unto you, O my son Clement, that you may know the pedigree of the Lady Miriam.
2
For Zerubavel, when he journeyed unto Yerushalayim, married Malka the daughter of Ezra the teacher, and by her begat a son called Aviud [Abiud]; and Aviud begat Elyakim [Eliakim]; and Elyakim begat Azor [Azor]; and Azor begat Tzadok [Zadok].
3
And Tzadok begat Achim [Achim]; and Achim begat Eliud [Eliud]; and Eliud begat Elazar; and Elazar begat Mattan [Matthan]; and Mattan begat two sons at one birth, in one womb: and the one of them was Ya'akov, who was called also by a second name, Yoachim [Joachim (also called Ya'akov)].
4
And Ya'akov married a wife, and by her begat Yosef; and Yoachim married Chanah [Anna (Hannah), the mother of Miriam], the daughter of Kardel, and by her begat Miriam, of whom our Adon HaMashiach was incarnate. Thus were Yosef and Miriam of one father, and of the seed of David, though of two mothers.
5
On account of our knowledge, O my son Clement, concerning the genealogy of the Lady Miriam, and the genealogies of her fathers, the Yehudim begin to assert against us that we understand not the genealogies, neither know them; and they have ventured to mock the mother of light, Miriam the virgin, and to attribute her genealogy unto fornication.
6
But this they do because they know not that it was the Ruach HaKodesh who came down upon us — a company of twelve, in the upper room of Tzion [Zion] — and taught us all that we need concerning the genealogies and the rest of the mysteries, even as He taught Ezra the teacher all the Torah, so that he kept it and renewed it.
7
Let the mouths of the Yehudim now be stopped; and let them know assuredly that Miriam the pure was of the race of Yehudah, and of the race of David, and of the race of Avraham. For they have nothing to bring against the genealogies which the Ruach HaKodesh taught us; neither is there a book left in their hands whereby they may make a stand against the genealogy, since their books have been burnt three times:
8
the first time in the days of Antiochus, who defiled the Mikdash of the Adon, and commanded sacrifices unto idols; the second by Hordos [Herod], at the time of the devastation of Yerushalayim; and the third thereafter. Wherefore, O blessed son, hear now that which the Ruach HaKodesh has revealed unto me concerning the fathers whose names are registered, and how the pedigree came down unto the tribe from which our El Elyon HaMashiach was incarnate.
Chapter 26 The Master Genealogy from Adam unto Miriam, and the Doxology
1
These, then, are the fathers whose names the Ruach HaKodesh has revealed, from the first man unto the Mashiach. Adam begat Shet; and Shet begat Enosh; and Enosh begat Kenan; and Kenan begat Mahalalel; and Mahalalel begat Yered; and Yered begat Chanokh; and Chanokh begat Methushelach; and Methushelach begat Lemekh; and Lemekh begat Noach.
2
And Noach begat Shem; and Shem begat Arpachshad; and Arpachshad begat Shelach; and Shelach begat Eber; and Eber begat Peleg; and Peleg begat Reu; and Reu begat Serug; and Serug begat Nachor; and Nachor begat Terach; and Terach begat Avraham.
3
And Avraham begat Yitzchak; and Yitzchak begat Ya'akov; and Ya'akov begat Yehudah; and Yehudah begat Peretz of Tamar; and Peretz begat Chetzron; and Chetzron begat Ram; and Ram begat Amminadav; and Amminadav begat Nachshon; and Nachshon begat Salmon; and Salmon begat Boaz of Rut; and Boaz begat Oved [Obed]; and Oved begat Yishai; and Yishai begat David the king.
4
And David begat Shlomo; and Shlomo begat Rechav'am; and Rechav'am begat Aviyah; and Aviyah begat Asa; and Asa begat Yehoshafat; and Yehoshafat begat Yehoram; and Yehoram begat Achazyah; and Achazyah begat Yoash; and Yoash begat Amatzyah; and Amatzyah begat Uziyahu; and Uziyahu begat Yotam; and Yotam begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Chizkiyahu; and Chizkiyahu begat Menasheh; and Menasheh begat Amon; and Amon begat Yoshiyahu; and Yoshiyahu begat Yehoyakim.
5
And Yehoyakim begat Yehoyachin; and Yehoyachin begat She'altiel [Shealtiel (Salathiel)]; and She'altiel begat Zerubavel; and Zerubavel begat Aviud; and Aviud begat Elyakim; and Elyakim begat Azor; and Azor begat Tzadok; and Tzadok begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; and Eliud begat Elazar; and Elazar begat Mattan; and Mattan begat Ya'akov, who was called also Yoachim.
6
And Yoachim married Chanah; and after sixty years of his marriage unto her, he begat by her Miriam the virgin, of whom the Mashiach became incarnate. And Yosef the carpenter was the son of the brother of her father; and therefore the lot fell unto him, when Ram the Kohen of the children of Yisra'el delivered her unto a man that should be surety for her.
7
And it was in the hidden work of El Elyon — glorious and exalted is He — and in the mystery of His knowledge, that there should be no escape from the reproach of the Yehudim against Miriam the pure, on account of her bearing the Mashiach; that so the counsel of El Elyon might be fulfilled, and the salvation of Adam and of all his children accomplished.
8
Unto our Master, and our El Elyon, and our Adon Yeshua HaMashiach, be praise, and power, and greatness, and dignity, and worship, together with the Father, and with the Ruach HaKodesh, from now, and unto all time, and throughout all ages. Amen.