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Chronicles of Jerahmeel, by M. Gaster [1899], at sacred-texts.com


XXVI. (1) Adam begat three sons and three daughters, Cain and his twin wife Qalmana, Abel and his twin wife Deborah, and Seth and his twin wife Nōba. (2) And Adam, after he had begotten Seth, lived 700 years, and there were eleven sons and eight daughters born to him. These are the names of his sons: ‘Eli, Shēēl, Ṣurēi, ‘Almiel,

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[paragraph continues] Berokh, Ke‘al, Naḥath, Zarḥamah, Ṣisha, Māḥtel, and ‘Anat (###); and the names of his daughters are: Ḥavah, Giṭsh, Harē, Bikha, Zifath, Hēkhiah, Shaba, and ‘Azin. (3) And Seth lived 105 years and begat Enosh. After he begat Enosh, Seth lived 707 years and begat three sons and two daughters. The names of his sons were: Elide‘ah, Funa, and Matath, and the names of his daughters were Melila and Tēla. (4) And Enosh lived 180 years and begat Qeinan; and after Enosh had begotten Qeinan he lived 715 years, and begat two sons, Ehor and Aal, and one daughter, Qatēnath. (5) And Qeinan begat, after Mahalalel, three sons, Hatak, Mōkro, and Lupa, and two daughters, Hannah and Liba. (6) And after Yered, Mahalalel begat seven sons, viz., Ṭēqa, Māya, Nēkhar, Mēli, Aesh, Uriel, Luriūṭin, and five daughters, ‘Adah, Nō‘ah, Yebal, Ma‘adah, and Ṣillah. (7) After Enoch, Yered begat four sons, viz., L‘ei‘ad, ‘Anaq, Sabkhē, Yeter, and two daughters, Zēzēkho and Lēzēkh. (8) After Methuselah, Enoch begat five sons, viz., ‘Anaz, Lē‘on, ‘Akhaôn, Pĕlēdi, and Elēd, and three daughters, viz., Tēid, Lēfīd, Laēad. Then God desired Enoch and took him away. (9) After Lemech, Methuselah begat two sons and two daughters, viz., ‘Enab, Rapo, ‘Alumah and ‘Amugah. And Lemech begat Noah, and said, 'This one will comfort us and give rest to the earth and all its inhabitants when God will visit the earth with evil on account of the wickedness of the evildoers.' (10) And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (11) Cain and his wife Temed dwelt in the land of Nod. And Cain knew his wife Tēmēd when he was fifteen years old, and she bore him Enoch, and he built seven cities and called the first Enoch, after the name of his son. (The names of the remaining six were): Maōlē, Lēed, Gēzeh, Yeshbah, Qeled, and Yēbab. (12) And after Enoch, Cain begat three sons, Ulaf, Lēzef, and Fuzal, and two daughters, Ṣēṭa and Maḥat. (13) And Enoch took Nība, the daughter of Shem, to wife, and she bore him Zēra, Qu‘ith, and Maddaf. And Zera begat Methushael, and

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[paragraph continues] Methushael, Lemech. (14) And Lemech took two wives. Ada bore Jabal, the father of all those who dwell in tents, and Jubal, the father of all who play upon the harp and the reed-pipe. (15) Then the inhabitants of the land began to commit violence and to defile the wives of their neighbours, thus kindling the anger of the Lord. And they then began to play upon the harp and the reed-pipe, and to sport with every kind of song, corrupting the earth. This same Jubal discovered the science of music, whence arose all the melodies for the two above-named instruments. This is a great science, as I have explained in its proper place (above). (16) And it came to pass, when Jubal heard the prophecy of Adam concerning the two judgments about to come upon the world by means of the flood, the dispersion and fire, that he wrote down the science of music upon two pillars, one of fine white marble and the other of brick, so that in the event of the one melting and being destroyed by the waters, the other would be saved. (17) And Sillah bore Tubal Cain, who used to sharpen all instruments of iron for war, and worked in all manner of iron. He also invented the art of alloying lead and iron together, so as to temper the iron and to make the blade sharper. He also invented the pincers, the hammer, and the axe, and all instruments of iron. (18) The sister of Tubal Cain was Na‘amah. It was she who invented the art of weaving and sewing silk, wool, and flax, and the whole art of the fancy-worker and the weaver. Ṣillah also bore Miza and Tipa. Tubal was a worker in tin, lead, iron, copper, silver, and gold. Then men began to make graven images for their worship. (19) ‘Adah also bore Jabal, who was the father of those who dwell in tents and attend to the flock. He discovered the work appertaining to shepherds, and made tents and pens for the cattle, one for the sheep and another for the oxen, distinct from each other. He also invented the locks, as a safeguard to prevent robbers entering the house, like this, χ. (20) In the time of Enosh men were called princes, judges, and made gods, applying to them the name of God; and temples were

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made for them, but they were overthrown in the time of Re‘u. And Enoch—who was the author of many writings—walked with God, and was no more, for God had taken him away and placed him in the Garden of Eden, where he will remain until Elijah shall appear and restore the hearts of the fathers to the children. (21) And the flood took place, and Noah went forth from the ark and offered sacrifices, and the Lord, smelling the sweet savour, said, 'I shall no more curse the earth and smite every living being, but if they sin against Me, I shall judge them by famine, sword, fire, pestilence, and earthquake, and I shall scatter them hither and thither. And I shall remember this for the inhabitants of the earth until the end. And it shall come to pass, when the end of the world shall have arrived, that the light shall cease and the darkness shall weep, and I shall revive the dead and awaken those who slumber in the dust, and Sheol will repay its debt, and Abadon return its portion, and I shall requite the wicked according to their deeds and judge between the flesh and the soul. And the world shall rest in quietness (peace), and I shall destroy death for ever. The grave shall close its mouth and the earth shall no longer be without produce, nor shall its inhabitants be rooted out nor be defiled by iniquitous judgments, for there shall be a new earth and new heavens for an everlasting habitation.'


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