A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

Chapter XI

Seth becomes head of the most happy and just tribe of people who ever lived.

¹ AFTER the death of Adam and of Eve, Seth severed his children, and his children’s children, from Cain’s children. Cain and his seed went down and dwelt westward, below the place where he had killed his brother Abel.

² But Seth and his children dwelt northwards upon the mountain of the Cave of Treasures, in order to be near to their father Adam.

³ And Seth the elder, tall and good, with a fine soul, and of a strong mind, stood at the head of his people; and tended them in innocence, penitence, and meekness, and did not allow one of them to go down to Cain’s children.

⁴ But because of their own purity, they were named “Children of God,” and they were with God, instead of the hosts of angels who fell; for they continued in praises to God, and in singing psalms unto Him, in their cave–the Cave of Treasures.

⁵ Then Seth stood before the body of his father Adam, and of his mother Eve, and prayed night and day, and asked for mercy towards himself and his children; and that when he had some difficult dealing with a child, He would give him counsel.

⁶ But Seth and his children did not like earthly work, but gave themselves to heavenly things; for they had no other thought than praises, doxologies, and psalms unto God.

⁷ Therefore did they at all times hear the voices of angels, praising and glorifying God; from within the garden, or when they were sent by God on an errand, or when they were going up to heaven.

⁸ For Seth and his children, by reason of their own purity, heard and saw those angels. Then, again, the garden was not far above them, but only some fifteen spiritual cubits.

⁹ Now one spiritual cubit answers to three cubits of man, altogether forty-five cubits.

¹⁰ Seth and his children dwelt on the mountain below the garden; they sowed not, neither did they reap; they wrought no food for the body. not even wheat; but only offerings. They ate of the fruit and of trees well flavoured that grew on the mountain where they dwelt.

¹¹ Then Seth often fasted every forty days, as did also his eldest children. For the family of Seth smelled the smell of the trees in the garden, when the wind blew that way.

¹² They were happy, innocent, without sudden fear, there was no jealousy, no evil action, no hatred among them. There was no animal passion; from no mouth among them went forth either foul words or curse; neither evil counsel nor fraud. For the men of that time never swore, but under hard circumstances, when men must swear, they swore by the blood of Abel the just.

¹³ But they constrained their children and their women every day in the cave to fast and pray, and to worship the most High God. They blessed themselves n the body of their father Adam, and anointed themselves with it.

¹⁴ And they did so until the end of Seth drew near.

Chapter XII

Seth’s family affairs. His death. The headship of Enos. How the outcast branch of Adam’s family fared.

¹ THEN Seth, the just, called his son Enos, and Cainan, son of Enos, and Mahalaleel, son of Cainan, and said unto them:–

² “As my end is near, I wish to build a roof over the altar on which gifts are offered.”

³ They hearkened to his commandment and went out, all of them, both old and young, and worked hard at it, and built a beautiful roof over the altar.

⁴ And Seth’s thought in so doing, was that a blessing should come upon his children on the mountain; and that he should present an offering for them before his death.

⁵ Then when the building of the roof was completed, he commanded them to make offerings. They worked diligently at these, and brought them to Seth their father who took them and offered them upon the altar; and prayed God to accept their offerings, to have mercy on the souls of his children, and to keep them from the hand of Satan.

⁶ And God accepted his offering, and sent His blessing upon him and upon his children. And then God made a promise to Seth, saying, “At the end of the great five days and a half, concerning which I have made a promise to thee and to thy father, I will send My Word and save thee and thy seed.”

⁷ Then Seth and his children, and his children’s children, met together, and came down from the altar, and went to the Cave of Treasures–where they prayed, and blessed themselves in the body of our father Adam, and anointed themselves with it.

⁸ But Seth abode in the Cave of Treasures, a few days, and then suffered–sufferings unto death.

⁹ Then Enos, his first-born son, came to him, with Cainan, his son, and Mahalaleel, Cainan’s son, and Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, and Enoch, Jared’s son, with their wives and children to receive a blessing from Seth.

¹⁰ Then Seth prayed over them, and blessed them, and adjured them by the blood of Abel the just, saying, “I beg of you, my children, not to let one of you go down from this Holy and pure Mountain.

¹¹ Make no fellowship with the children of Cain the murderer and the sinner, who killed his brother; for ye know, O my children, that we flee from him, and from all his sin with all our might because he killed his brother Abel.”

¹² After having said this, Seth blessed Enos, his first-born son, and commanded him habitually to minister in purity before the body of our father Adam, all the days of his life; then, also, to go at times to the altar which he Seth had built. And he commanded him to feed his people in righteousness, in judgment and purity all the days of his life.

¹³ Then the limbs of Seth were loosened; his hands and feet lost all power; his mouth became dumb and unable to speak; and he gave up the ghost and died the day after his nine hundred and twelfth year; on the twenty-seventh day of the month Abib; Enoch being then twenty years old.

¹⁴ Then they wound up carefully the body of Seth, and embalmed him with sweet spices, and laid him in the Cave of Treasures, on the right side of our father Adam’s body, and they mourned for him forty days. They offered gifts for him, as they had done for our father Adam.

¹⁵ After the death of Seth Enos rose at the head of his people, whom he fed in righteousness, and judgment, as his father had commanded him.

¹⁶ But by the time Enos was eight hundred and twenty years old, Cain had a large progeny; for they married frequently, being given to animal lusts; until the land below the mountain, was filled with them.

Chapter XIII

“Among the children of Cain there was much robbery, murder and sin.”

¹ IN those days lived Lamech the blind, who was of the sons of Cain. He had a son whose name was Atun, and they two had much cattle.

² But Lamech was in the habit of sending them to feed with a young shepherd, who tended them; and who, when coming home in the evening wept before his grandfather, and before his father Atun and his mother Hazina, and said to them, “As for me, I cannot feed those cattle alone, lest one rob me of some of them, or kill me for the sake of them.” For among the children of Cain, there was much robbery, murder, and sin.

³ Then Lamech pitied him, and he said, “Truly, he when alone, might be overpowered by the men of this place.”

⁴ So Lamech arose, took a bow he had kept ever since he was a youth, ere he became blind, and he took large arrows, and smooth stones, and a sling which he had, and went to the field with the young shepherd, and placed himself behind the cattle; while the young shepherd watched the cattle. Thus did Lamech many days.

⁵ Meanwhile Cain, ever since God had cast him off, and had cursed him with trembling and terror, could neither settle nor find rest in any one place; but wandered from place to place.

⁶ In his wanderings he came to Lamech’s wives, and asked them about him. They said to him, “He is in the field with the cattle.”

⁷ Then Cain went to look for him; and as he came into the field, the young shepherd heard the noise he made, and the cattle herding together from before him.

⁸ Then said he to Lamech, “O my lord, is that a wild beast or a robber?”

⁹ And Lamech said to him, “Make me understand which way he looks, when he comes up.”

¹⁰ Then Lamech bent his bow, placed an arrow on it, and fitted a stone in the sling, and when Cain came out from the open country, the shepherd said to Lamech, “Shoot, behold, he is coming.”

¹¹ Then Lamech shot at Cain with his arrow and hit him in his side. And Lamech struck him with a stone from his sling, that fell upon his face, and knocked out both his eyes; then Cain fell at once and died.

¹² Then Lamech and the young shepherd came up to him, and found him lying on the ground. And the young shepherd said to him, “It is Cain our grandfather, whom thou hast killed, O my lord!”

¹³ Then was Lamech sorry for it, and from the bitterness of his regret, he clapped his hands together, and struck with his flat palm the head of the youth, who fell as if dead; but Lamech thought it was a feint; so he took up a stone and smote him, and smashed his head until he died.

Chapter XIV

Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears away another generation of men.

¹ WHEN Enos was nine hundred years old, all the children of Seth, and of Cainan, and his first-born, with their wives and children, gathered around him, asking for a blessing from him.

² He then prayed over them and blessed them, and adjured them by the blood of Abel the just saying to them, “Let not one of your children go down from this Holy Mountain, and let them make no fellowship with the children of Cain the murderer.”

³ Then Enos called his son Cainan and said to him, “See, O my son, and set thy heart on thy people, and establish them in righteousness, and in innocence; and stand ministering before the body of our father Adam, all the days of thy life.”

⁴ After this Enos entered into rest, aged nine hundred and eighty-five years; and Cainan wound him up, and laid him in the Cave of Treasures on the left of his father Adam; and made offerings for him, after the custom of his fathers.

Chapter XV

The offspring of Adam continue to keep the Cave of Treasures as a family shrine.

¹ AFTER the death of Enos, Cainan stood at the head of his people in righteousness and innocence, as his father had commanded him; he also continued to minister before the body of Adam, inside the Cave of Treasures.

² Then when he had lived nine hundred and ten years, suffering and affliction came upon him. And when he was about to enter into rest, all the fathers with their wives and children came to him, and he blessed them, and adjured them by the blood of Abel, the just, saying to them, “Let not one among you go down from this Holy Mountain; and make no fellowship with the children of Cain the murderer.”

³ Mahalaleel, his first-born son, received this commandment from his father, who blessed him and died.

⁴ Then Mahalaleel embalmed him with sweet spices, and laid him in the Cave of Treasures, with his fathers; and they made offerings for him, after the custom of their fathers.

Chapter XVI

The good branch of the family is still afraid of the children of Cain.

¹ THEN Mahalaleel stood over his people, and fed them in righteousness and innocence, and watched them to see they held no intercourse with the children of Cain.

² He also continued in the Cave of Treasures praying and ministering before the body of our father Adam, asking God for mercy on himself and on his people; until he was eight hundred and seventy years old, when he fell sick.

³ Then all his children gathered unto him, to see him, and to ask for his blessing on them all, ere he left this world.

⁴ Then Mahalaleel arose and sat on his bed, his tears streaming down his face, and he called his eldest son Jared, who came to him.

⁵ He then kissed his face, and said to him, “O Jared, my son, I adjure thee by Him who made heaven and earth, to watch over thy people, and to feed them in righteousness and in innocence; and not to let one of them go down from this Holy Mountain to the children of Cain, lest he perish with them.

⁶ “Hear, O my son, hereafter there shall come a great destruction upon this earth on account of them; God will be angry with the world, and will destroy them with waters.

⁷ “But I also know that thy children will not hearken to thee, and that they will go down from this mountain and hold intercourse with the children of Cain, and that they shall perish with them.

⁸ “O my son! teach them, and watch over them, that no guilt attach to thee on their account.”

⁹ Mahalaleel said, moreover to his son Jared, “When I die, embalm my body and lay it in the Cave of Treasures, by the bodies of my fathers; then stand thou by my body and pray to God; and take care of them, and fulfil thy ministry before them, until thou enterest into rest thyself.”

¹⁰ Mahalaleel then blessed all his children; and then lay down on his bed, and entered into rest like his fathers.

¹¹ But when Jared saw that his father Mahalaleel was dead, he wept, and sorrowed, and embraced and kissed his hands and his feet; and so did all his children.

¹² And his children embalmed him carefully, and laid him by the bodies of his fathers. Then they arose, and mourned for him forty days.

Chapter XVII

Jared turns martinet. He is lured away to the land of Cain where he sees many voluptuous sights. Jared barely escapes with a clean heart.

¹ THEN Jared kept his father’s commandment, and arose like a lion over his people. He fed them in righteousness and innocence, and commanded them to do nothing without his counsel. For he was afraid concerning them, lest they should go to the children of Cain.

² Wherefore did he give them orders repeatedly; and continued to do so until the end of the four hundred and eighty-fifth year of his life.

³ At the end of these said years, there came unto him this sign. As Jared was standing like a lion before the bodies of his fathers, praying and warning his people, Satan envied him, and wrought a beautiful apparition, because Jared would not let his children do aught without his counsel.

⁴ Satan then appeared to him with thirty men of his hosts, in the form of handsome men; Satan himself being the elder and tallest among them, with a fine beard.

⁵ They stood at the mouth of the cave, and called out Jared, from within it.

⁶ He came out to them, and found them looking like fine men, full of light, and of great beauty. He wondered at their beauty and at their looks; and thought within himself whether they might not be of the children of Cain.

⁷ He said also in his heart, “As the children of Cain cannot come up to the height of this mountain, and none of them is so handsome as these appear to be; and among these men there is not one of my kindred–they must be strangers.”

⁸ Then Jared and they exchanged a greeting and he said to the elder among them, “O my father, explain to me the wonder that is in thee, and tell me who these are, with thee; for they look to me like strange men.”

⁹ Then the elder began to weep, and the rest wept with him; and he said to Jared: “I am Adam whom God made first; and this is Abel my son, who was killed by his brother Cain, into whose heart Satan put to murder him.

¹⁰ “Then this is my son Seth, whom I asked of the Lord, who gave him to me, to comfort me instead of Abel.

¹¹ “Then this one is my son Enos, son of Seth, and that other one is Cainan, son of Enos, and that other one is Mahalaleel, son of Cainan, thy father.”

¹² But Jared remained wondering at their appearance, and at the speech of the elder to him.

¹³ Then the elder said to him, “Marvel not, O my son; we live in the land north of the garden, which God created before the world. He would not let us live there, but placed us inside the garden, below which ye are now dwelling.

¹⁴ “But after that I transgressed, He made me come out of it, and I was left to dwell in this cave; great and sore troubles came upon me; and when my death drew near, I commanded my son Seth to tend his people well; and this my commandment is to be handed from one to another, unto the end of the generations to come.

¹⁵ “But, O Jared, my son, we live in beautiful regions, while you live here in misery, as this thy father Mahalaleel informed me; telling me that a great flood will come and overwhelm the whole earth.

¹⁶ “Therefore, O my son, fearing for your sakes, I rose and took my children with me, and came hither for us to visit thee and thy children; but I found thee standing in this cave weeping, and thy children scattered about this mountain, in the heat and in misery.

¹⁷ “But, O my son, as we missed our way, and came as far as this, we found other men below this mountain; who inhabit a beautiful country, full of trees and of fruits, and of all manner of verdure; it is like a garden; so that when we found them we thought they were you; until thy father Mahalaleel told me they were no such thing.

¹⁸ “Now, therefore, O my son, hearken to my counsel, and go down to them, thou and thy children. Ye will rest from all this suffering in which ye are. But if thou wilt not go down to them, then, arise, take thy children, and come with us to our garden; ye shall live in our beautiful land, and ye shall rest from all this trouble, which thou and thy children are now bearing.”

¹⁹ But Jared when he heard this discourse from the elder, wondered; and went hither and thither, but at that moment he found not one of his children.

²⁰ Then he answered and said to the elder, “Why have you hidden yourselves until this day?”

²¹ And the elder replied, “If thy father had not told us, we should not have known it.”

²² Then Jared believed his words were true.

²³ So that elder said to Jared, “Wherefore didst thou turn about, so and so?” And he said, “I was seeking one of my children, to tell him about my going with you, and about their coming down to those about whom thou hast spoken to me.”

²⁴ When the elder heard Jared’s intention, he said to him, “Let alone that purpose at present, and come with us; thou shalt see our country; if the land in which we dwell pleases thee, we and thou shall return hither and take thy family with us. But if our country does not please thee, thou shalt come back to thine own place.”

²⁵ And the elder urged Jared, to go before one of his children came to counsel him otherwise.

²⁶ Jared, then, came out of the cave and went with them, and among them. And they comforted him, until they came to the top of the mountain of the sons of Cain.

²⁷ Then said the elder to one of his companions, “We have forgotten something by the mouth of the cave, and that is the chosen garment we had brought to clothe Jared withal.”

²⁸ He then said to one of them, “Go back, thou, some one; and we will wait for thee here, until thou come back. Then will we clothe Jared and he shall be like us, good, handsome, and fit to come with us into our country.”

²⁹ Then that one went back.

³⁰ But when he was a short distance off, the elder called to him and said to him, “Tarry thou, until I come up and speak to thee.”

³¹ Then he stood still, and the elder went up to him and said to him, “One thing we forgot at the cave, it is this–to put out the lamp that burns inside it, above the bodies that are therein. Then come back to us, quick.”

³² That one went, and the elder came back to his fellows and to Jared. And they came down from the mountain, and Jared with them; and they stayed by a fountain of water, near the houses of the children of Cain, and waited for their companion until he brought the garment for Jared.

³³ He, then, who went, back to the cave, put out the lamp, and came to them and brought a phantom with him and showed it them. And when Jared saw it he wondered at the beauty and grace thereof, and rejoiced in his heart believing it was all true.

³⁴ But while they were staying there, three of them went into houses of the sons of Cain, and said to them, “Bring us to-day some food by the fountain of water, for us and our companions to eat.”

³⁵ But when the sons of Cain saw them, they wondered at them and thought: “These are beautiful to look at, and such as we never saw before.” So they rose and came with them to the fountain of water, to see their companions.

³⁶ They found them so very handsome, that they cried aloud about their places for others to gather together and come and look at these beautiful beings. Then they gathered around them both men and women.

³⁷ Then the elder said to them, “We are strangers in your land, bring us some good food and drink you and your women, to refresh ourselves with you.”

³⁸ When those men heard these words of the elder, every one of Cain’s sons brought his wife, and another brought his daughter, and so, many women came to them; every one addressing Jared either for himself or for his wife; all alike.

³⁹ But when Jared saw what they did, his very soul wrenched itself from them; neither would he taste of their food or of their drink.

⁴⁰ The elder saw hint as he wrenched himself from them, and said to him, “Be not sad; I am the great elder, as thou shalt see me do, do thyself in like manner.”

⁴¹ Then he spread his hands and took one of the women, and five of his companions did the same before Jared, that he should do as they did.

⁴² But when Jared saw them working infamy he wept, and said in his mind,–My fathers never did the like.

⁴³ He then spread his hands and prayed with a fervent heart, and with much weeping, and entreated God to deliver him from their hands.

⁴⁴ No sooner did Jared begin to pray than the elder fled with his companions; for they could not abide in a place of prayer.

⁴⁵ Then Jared turned round but could not see them, but found himself standing in the midst of the children of Cain.

⁴⁶ He then wept and said, “O God, destroy me not with this race, concerning which my fathers have warned me; for now, O my Lord God, I was thinking that those who appeared unto me were my fathers; but I have found them out to be devils, who allured me by this beautiful apparition, until I believed them.

⁴⁷ “But now I ask Thee, O God, to deliver me from this race, among whom I am now staying, as Thou didst deliver me from those devils. Send Thy angel to draw me out of the midst of them; for I have not myself power to escape from among them.”

⁴⁸ When Jared had ended his prayer, God sent His angel in the midst of them, who took Jared and set him upon the mountain, and showed him the way, gave him counsel, and then departed from him.

Chapter XVIII

Confusion in the Cave of Treasures. Miraculous speech of the dead Adam.

¹ THE children of Jared were in the habit of visiting him hour after hour, to receive his blessing and to ask his advice for every thing they did; and when he had a work to do, they did it for him.

² But this time when they went into the cave they found not Jared, but they found the lamp put out, and the bodies of the fathers thrown about, and voices came from them by the power of God, that said, “Satan in an apparition has deceived our son, wishing to destroy him, as he destroyed our son Cain.”

³ They said also, “Lord God of heaven and earth, deliver our son from the hand of Satan, who wrought a great and false apparition before him,” They also spake of other matters, by the power of God.

⁴ But when the children of Jared heard these voices they feared, and stood weeping for their father; for they knew not what had befallen him.

⁵ And they wept for him that day until the setting of the sun.

⁶ Then came Jared with a woeful countenance, wretched in mind and body, and sorrowful at having been separated from the bodies of his fathers.

⁷ But as he was drawing near to the cave, his children saw him, and hastened to the cave, and hung upon his neck, crying, and saying to him, “O father, where hast thou been, and why hast thou left us, as thou wast not wont to do?” And again, “O father, when thou didst disappear, the lamp over the bodies of our fathers went out, the bodies were thrown about, and voices came from them.”

⁸ When Jared heard this he was sorry, and went into the cave; and there found the bodies thrown about, the lamp put out, and the fathers themselves praying for his deliverance from the hand of Satan.

⁹ Then Jared fell upon the bodies and embraced them, and said, “O my fathers, through your intercession, let God deliver me from the hand of Satan! And I beg you will ask God to keep me and to bide me from him unto the day of my death.”

¹⁰ Then all the voices ceased save the voice of our father Adam, who spake to Jared by the power of God, just as one would speak to his fellow, saying, “O Jared, my son, offer gifts to God for having delivered thee from the hand of Satan; and when thou bringest those offerings, so be it that thou offerest them on the altar on which I did offer. Then also, beware of Satan; for he deluded me many a time with his apparitions, wishing to destroy me, but God delivered me out of his hand.

¹¹ “Command thy people that they be on their guard against him; and never cease to offer up gifts to God.”

¹² Then the voice of Adam also became silent; and Jared and his children wondered at this. Then they laid the bodies as they were it first; and Jared and his children stood praying the whole of that night, until break of day.

¹³ Then Jared made an offering and offered it up on the altar, as Adam had commanded him. And as he went up to the altar, he prayed to God for mercy and for forgiveness of his sin, concerning the lamp going out.

¹⁴ Then God appeared unto Jared on the altar and blessed him and his children, and accepted their offerings; and commanded Jared to take of the sacred fire from the altar, and with it to light the lamp that shed light on the body of Adam.

Chapter XIX

The children of Jared are led astray.

¹ THEN God revealed to him again the promise He had made to Adam; He explained to him the 5500 years, and revealed unto him the mystery of His coming upon the earth.

² And God said to Jared, “As to that fire which thou hast taken from the altar to light the lamp withal, let it abide with you to give light to the bodies; and let it not come out of the cave, until the body of Adam comes out of it.

³ But, O Jared, take care of the fire, that it burn bright in the lamp; neither go thou again out of the cave, until thou receivest an order through a vision, and not in an apparition, when seen by thee.

⁴ “Then command again thy people not to hold intercourse with the children of Cain, and not to learn their ways; for I am God who loves not hatred and works of iniquity.”

⁵ God gave also many other commandments to Jared, and blessed him. And then withdrew His Word from him.

⁶ Then Jared drew near with his children, took some fire, and came down to the cave, and lighted the lamp before the body of Adam; and he gave his people commandments as God had told him to do.

⁷ This sign happened to Jared at the end of his four hundred and fiftieth year; as did also many other wonders, we do not record. But we record only this one for shortness sake, and in order not to lengthen our narrative.

⁸ And Jared continued to teach his children eighty years; but after that they began to transgress the commandments he had given them, and to do many things without his counsel. They began to go down from the Holy Mountain one after another, and to mix with the children of Cain, in foul fellowships.

⁹ Now the reason for which the children of Jared went down the Holy Mountain, is this, that we will now reveal unto you.

Chapter XX

Ravishing music; strong drink loosed among the sons of Cain. They don colorful clothing. The children of Seth look on with longing eyes. They revolt from wise counsel; they descend the mountain into the valley of iniquity. They can not ascend the mountain again.

¹ AFTER Cain had gone down to the land of dark soil, and his children had multiplied therein, there was one of them, whose name was Genun, son of Lamech the blind who slew Cain.

² But as to this Genun, Satan came into him in his childhood; and he made sundry trumpets and horns, and string instruments, cymbals and psalteries, and lyres and harps, and flutes; and he played on them at all times and at every hour.

³ And when he played on them, Satan came into them, so that from among them were heard beautiful and sweet sounds, that ravished the heart.

⁴ Then he gathered companies upon companies to play on them; and when they played, it pleased well the children of Cain, who inflamed themselves with sin among themselves, and burnt as with fire; while Satan inflamed their hearts, one with another, and increased lust among them.

⁵ Satan also taught Genun to bring strong drink out of com; and this Genun used to bring together companies upon companies in drink-houses; and brought into their hands all manner of fruits and flowers; and they drank together.

⁶ Thus did this Genun multiply sin exceedingly; he also acted with pride, and taught the children of Cain to commit all manner of the grossest wickedness, which they knew not; and put them up to manifold doings which they knew not before.

⁷ Then Satan, when he saw that they yielded to Genun and hearkened to him in every thing he told them, rejoiced greatly, increased Genun’s understanding, until he took iron and with it made weapons of war.

⁸ Then when they were drunk, hatred and murder increased among them; one man used violence against another to teach him evil taking his children and defiling them before him.

⁹ And when men saw they were overcome, and saw others that were not overpowered, those who were beaten came to Genun, took refuge with him, and he made them his confederates.

¹⁰ Then sin increased among them greatly; until a man married his own sister, or daughter, or mother, and others; or the daughter of his father’s sister, so that there was no more distinction of relationship, and they no longer knew what is iniquity; but did wickedly, and the earth was defiled with sin, and they angered God the Judge, who had created them.

¹¹ But Genun gathered together companies upon companies, that played on horns and on all the other instruments we have already mentioned, at the foot of the Holy Mountain; and they did so in order that the children of Seth who were on the Holy Mountain should hear it.

¹² But when the children of Seth heard the noise, they wondered, and came by companies, and stood on the top of the mountain to look at those below; and they did thus a whole year.

¹³ When, at the end of that year, Genun saw that they were being won over to him little by little, Satan entered into him, and taught him to make dyeing-stuffs for garments of divers patterns, and made him understand how to dye crimson and purple and what not.

¹⁴ And the sons of Cain who wrought all this, and shone in beauty and gorgeous apparel, gathered together at the foot of the mountain in splendour, with horns and gorgeous dresses, and horse races, committing all manner of abominations.

¹⁵ Meanwhile the children of Seth, who were on the Holy Mountain, prayed and praised God, in the place of the hosts of angels who had fallen; wherefore God had called them “angels,” because He rejoiced over them greatly.

¹⁶ But after this, they no longer kept His commandment, nor held by the promise He had made to their fathers; but they relaxed from their fasting and praying, and from the counsel of Jared their father. And they kept on gathering together on the top of the mountain, to look upon the children of Cain, from morning until evening, and upon what they did, upon their beautiful dresses and ornaments.

¹⁷ Then the children of Cain looked up from below, and saw the children of Seth, standing in troops on the top of the mountain; and they called to them to come down to them.

¹⁸ But the children of Seth said to them from above, “We don’t know the way.” Then Genun, the son of Lamech, heard them say they did not know the way, and he bethought himself how he might bring them down.

¹⁹ Then Satan appeared to him by night, saying, “There is no way for them to come down from the mountain on which they dwell; but when they come to-morrow, say to them, ‘Come ye to the western side of the mountain; there you will find the way of a stream of water, that comes down to the foot of the mountain, between two hills; come down that way to us.'”

²⁰ Then when it was day, Genun blew the horns and beat the drums below the mountain, as he was wont. The children of Seth heard it, and came as they used to do.

²¹ Then Genun said to them from down below, “Go to the western side of the mountain, there you will find the way to come down.”

²² But when the children of Seth heard these words from him, they went back into the cave to Jared, to tell him all they had heard.

²³ Then when Jared heard it, he was grieved; for he knew that they would transgress his counsel.

²⁴ After this a hundred men of the children of Seth gathered together, and said among themselves, “Come, let us go down to the children of Cain, and see what they do, and enjoy ourselves with them.”

²⁵ But when Jared heard this of the hundred men, his very soul was moved, and his heart was grieved. He then arose with great fervour, and stood in the midst of them, and adjured them by the blood of Abel the just, “Let not one of you go down from this holy and pure mountain, in which our fathers have ordered its to dwell.”

²⁶ But when Jared saw that they did not receive his words, he said unto them, “O my good and innocent and holy children, know that when once you go down from this holy mountain, God will not allow you to return again to it.”

²⁷ He again adjured them, saying, “I adjure by the death of our father Adam, and by the blood of Abel, of Seth, of Enos, of Cainan, and of Mahalaleel, to hearken to me, and not to go down from this holy mountain; for the moment you leave it, you will be reft of life and of mercy; and you shall no longer be called ‘children of God,’ but ‘children of the devil.'”

²⁸ But they would not hearken to his words.

²⁹ Enoch at that time was already grown up, and in his zeal for God, be arose and said, “Hear me, O ye sons of Seth, small and great–when ye transgress the commandment of our fathers, and go down from this holy mountain–ye shall not come up hither again for ever.”

³⁰ But they rose up against Enoch, and would not hearken to his words, but went down from the Holy Mountain.

³¹ And when they looked at the daughters of Cain, at their beautiful figures, and at their hands and feet dyed with colour, and tattooed in ornaments on their faces, the fire of sin was kindled in them.

³² Then Satan made them look most beautiful before the sons of Seth, as he also made the sons of Seth appear of the fairest in the eyes of the daughters of Cain, so that the daughters of Cain lusted after the sons of Seth like ravenous beasts, and the sons of Seth after the daughters of Cain, until they committed abomination with them.

³³ But after they had thus fallen into this defilement, they returned by the way they had come, and tried to ascend the Holy Mountain. But they could not, because the stones of that holy mountain were of fire flashing before them, by reason of which they could not go up again.

³⁴ And God was angry with them, and repented of them because they had come down from glory, and had thereby lost or forsaken their own purity or innocence, and were fallen into the defilement of sin.

³⁵ Then God sent His Word to Jared, saying, “These thy children, whom thou didst call ‘My children,’–behold they have transgressed My commandment, and have gone down to the abode of perdition, and of sin. Send a messenger to those that are left, that they may not go down, and be lost.”

³⁶ Then Jared wept before the Lord, and asked of Him mercy and forgiveness. But he wished that his soul might depart from his body, rather than hear these words from God about the going down of his children from the Holy Mountain.

³⁷ But he followed God’s order, and preached unto them not to go down from that holy mountain, and not to hold intercourse with the children of Cain.

³⁸ But they heeded not his message, and would not obey his counsel.

Chapter XXI

Jared dies in sorrow for his sons who had gone astray. A prediction of the Flood.

¹ AFTER this another company gathered together, and they went to look after their brethren; but they perished as well as they. And so it was, company after company, until only a few of them were left.

² Then Jared sickened from grief, and his sickness was such that the day of his death drew near.

³ Then he called Enoch his eldest son, and Methuselah Enoch’s son, and Lamech the son of Methuselah, and Noah the son of Lamech.

⁴ And when they were come to him he prayed over them and blessed them, and said to them, “Ye are righteous, innocent sons; go ye not down from this holy mountain; for behold, your children and your children’s children have gone down from this holy mountain, and have estranged themselves from this holy mountain, through their abominable lust and transgression of God’s commandment.

⁵ “But I know, through the power of God, that He will not leave you on this holy mountain, because your children have transgressed His commandment and that of our fathers, which we had received from them.

⁶ “But, O my sons, God will take you to a strange land, and ye never shall again return to behold with your eyes this garden and this holy mountain.

⁷ “Therefore, O my sons, set your hearts on your own selves, and keep the commandment of God which is with you. And when you go from this holy mountain, into a strange land which ye know not, take with you the body of our father Adam, and with it these three precious, gifts and offerings, namely, the gold, the incense, and the myrrh; and let them be in the place where the body of our father Adam shall lay.

⁸ “And unto him of you who shall be left, O my sons, shall the Word of God come, and when he goes out of this land he shall take with him the body of our father Adam, and shall lay it in the middle of the earth the place in which salvation shall be wrought.”

⁹ Then Noah said unto him, “Who is he of us that shall be left?”

¹⁰ And Jared answered, “Thou art he that shall be left. And thou shalt take the body of our father Adam from the cave, and place it with thee in the ark when the flood comes.

¹¹ “And thy son Shem, who shall come out of thy loins, he it is who shall lay the body of our father Adam in the middle of the earth, in the place whence salvation shall come.”

¹² Then Jared turned to his son Enoch, and said unto him, “Thou, my son, abide in this cave, and minister diligently before the body of our father Adam all the days of thy life; and feed thy people in righteousness and innocence.”

¹³ And Jared said no more. His hands were loosened, his eyes closed, and he entered into rest like his fathers. His death took place in the three hundred and sixtieth year of Noah, and in the nine hundred and eighty-ninth year of his own life; on the twelfth of Takhsas on a Friday.

¹⁴ But as Jared died, tears streamed down his face by reason of his great sorrow, for the children of Seth, who had fallen in his days.

¹⁵ Then Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah, these four, wept over him; embalmed him carefully, and then laid him in the Cave of Treasures. Then they rose and mourned for him forty days.

¹⁶ And when these days of mourning were ended, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah remained in sorrow of heart, because their father had departed from them, and they saw him no more.

Chapter XXII

Only three righteous men left in the world. The evil conditions of men prior to the Flood.

¹ BUT Enoch kept the commandment of Jared his father, and continued to minister in the cave.

² It is this Enoch to whom many wonders happened, and who also wrote a celebrated book; but those wonders may not be told in this place.

³ Then after this, the children of Seth went astray and fell, they, their children and their wives. And when Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah saw them, their hearts suffered by reason of their fall into doubt full of unbelief; and they wept and sought of God mercy, to preserve them, and to bring them out of that wicked generation.

⁴ Enoch continued in his ministry before the Lord three hundred and eighty-five years, and at the end of that time he became aware through the grace of God, that God intended to remove him from the earth.

⁵ He then said to his son, “O my son, I know that God intends to bring the waters of the Flood upon the earth, and to destroy our creation.

⁶ “And ye are the last rulers over this people on this mountain; for I know that not one will be left you to beget children on this holy mountain; neither shall any one of you rule over the children of his people; neither shall any great company be left of you, on this mountain.”

⁷ Enoch said also to them, “Watch over your souls, and hold fast by your fear of God and by your service of Him, and worship Him in upright faith, and serve Him in righteousness, innocence and judgment, in repentance and also in purity.”

⁸ When Enoch had ended his commandments to them, God transported him from that mountain to the land of life, to the mansions of the righteous and of the chosen, the abode of Paradise of joy, in light that reaches up to heaven; light that is outside the light of this world; for it is the light of God, that fills the whole world, but which no place can contain.

⁹ Thus, because Enoch was in the light of God, he found himself out of the reach of death; until God would have him die.

¹⁰ Altogether, not one of our fathers or of their children, remained on that holy mountain, except those three, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. For all the rest went down from the mountain and fell into sin with the children of Cain. Therefore were they forbidden that mountain, and none remained on it but those three men.

~~~ THE END ~~~

~ by Joel on February 13, 2025.

Posted in Books of Ancients