Book of Jasher — 1840 English Edition

Book of Jasher — 1840 English Edition 2

CHAPTER IL 1. And it was in the hundred and thirtieth year of the life of Adam upon the earth, that he again knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare a son in his likeness and in his image, and she called his name Seth, saying, because God has appointed * Although we find in the 34th and 35th ver- ses that God gave hfm rest, ii; might only have been a temporary rest ; and as we are neither told in scripture nor in this book anything more relating to Cain, we cannot infer anything con- trary to this declaration. i There is no mention made of the land of Nod ; the word here used is tj the partfc-i- ple present of the verb n)j to wander ; the last letter of those verbs whose two final letters are similar, is sometimes dropped, and it might have been ii> with one daleth, like the word used in scripture ij without the vau, which is frequent- ly omitted. THE BOOK OF JASHER. me another seed in the place of Abel, for Cain has slain him. 2. And Seth lived one hundred and five years, and he begat a son ; and Seth called the name of his son Enosh, saying, because in that time the sons of men began to multiply, and to afflict their souls and hearts by transgressing and rebelling against God. 3. And it was in the days of Enosh that the sons of men continued to rebel and transgress against God, to increase the anger of the Lord against the sons of men. 4. And the sons of men went and they served other Gods, and they forgot the Lord who had created them in the earth : and in those days the sons of men made images of brass and iron, wood and stone, and they bowed down and served them. 5. And every man made his God and they bowed down to them, and the sons of men forsook the Lord all the days of Enosh and his children ; and the anger of the Lord was kin- dled on account of their works and abominations which they did in the earth. 6. And the Lord caused the wa- ters of the river Gihon to overwhelm them, and he destroyed and consu- med them, and he destroyed the third part of the earth ; and notwithstand- ing this, the sons of men did not turn from their evil ways, and their hands were yet extended to do evil in the sight of the Lord. 7. And in those days there was neither sowing nor reaping in the earth ; and there was no food for the sons of men and the famine was very great in those days. 8. And the seed which they sowed in those days in the ground became thorns, thistles and briers ; for from the days of Adam was this declara- tion concerning the earth, of the curse of God, which he cursed the earth, on account of the sin which Adam sinned before the Lord. 9. And it was when men conti- nued to rebel and transgress against God, and to corrupt their ways, that the earth also became corrupt. 10. And Enosh lived ninety j'ears and he begat Cainan ; 11. And Cainan grew up and he was forty years old, and he became wise and had knowledge and skill in all wisdom, and he reigned over all the sons of men, and he led the sons of men to wisdom and knowledge ; for Cainan was a very wise man and had understanding in all wisdom, and with his wisdom he ruled over spirits and daemons ; 12. And Cainan knew by his wis- dom that God would destroy the sons of men for having sinned upou earth, and that the Lord would in the lat- ter days bring upon them the waters of the flood. 13. And in those days Cainan wrote upon tablets of stone, what was to take place in time to come, and he put tliem in his treasures. 14. And Cainan reigned over the whole earth, and he turned some of the sons of men to the service of God. 15. And when Cainan was sev- enty years old, he begat three sons and tw^o daughters. 16. And these are the names of the children of Cainan ; the name of the first born Mahlallel, the second Enan, and the third Mered, and their sisters were Adah and Zillah ; these are the five children of Cainan that were born to lu?n. 17. And Lamech, the son of Me- thusael, became related to Cainan by THE BOOK OF JASHER. marriage, and he took liis two daugh- ters for his wives, and Adah con- ceived and bare a son to Lamech, and she called his name Jabal. 18. And she again conceived and bare a son, and culled his name Jii- bal ; and Ziilah, her sis-tor, was bar- ren in those days and had no off- spring. 19. For in those days the sons of men began to trespass against Cxod, and to transgress the commandments which he had commanded to Adam, to be fruitful and multiply in the earth. 20. And some of the sons of men caused their wives to drink a draught that would render them barren, in order that they might retain their figures and whereby their beautiful appearance might not fade. 21. And when the sons of men caused some of their wives to drink, Ziilah drank with them. 22. And the child-bearing women appeared abominable in the sight of their husbands, as widows, whilst their husbands lived, for to the bar- ren ones only they were attached. 23. And in the end of days and years, when Ziilah became old, the Lord *opened her womb. 24. And she conceived and bare a son and she called his name Tubal Cain, saying, after I had withered away have I obtained him from the Almighty God. 25. And she conceived again and bare a daughter, and she called her name Naamah, for she said, after I had withered away have I obtained pleasure and delight. 26. And Lamech was old and ad- * It cannot be supposed that they gave Zii- lah the drink to cause barrenness when she be- came old, for as it is expressed in verse twenty, it was given to those to retain their figures and whereby theix beautiful appearance might not fade. vanced in years, and his eyes were dim that he could not see, and Tubal Cain, his son, was leading him, and it was one day that Lamech went in- to the field and Tubal Cain his son was with him, and whilst they were walking in the field, Cain the son of Adam advanced towards them ; for Lamech was very old and could not see much, and Tubal Cain his son was very young. 27. And Tubal Cain told his fa- ther to draw' his bow, and with the arrows he smote Cain, who was yet far off, and he slew him, for he ap- peared to them to be an animal. 28. And the arrows entered Cain's body altliouizh he was distant from them, and he fell to the ground and died. 29. And the Lord requited Cain's evil according to his wickedness, which he had done to his brother Abel, according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken. 30. And it came to pass when Cain had died, that Lamech and Tu- bal went to see tlie animal which they had slain, and they saw, and be- hold Cain their grandfather was fal- len dead upon the earth. 31. And Lamech was very much grieved at having done this, and in clapping his hands together he struck his son and caused his death. 32. And the wives of Lamech heard what Lamech had done, and they sought to kill him. 33. And the wives of Lamech ha- led him from that day, because ho slew Cain and Tubal Cain, and the wives of Lamech separated from him, and would not hearken to him in those days. 34. And Lamech came to his wives, and he pressed them to listen to him about this matter. 6 tME BOOK OF JASHER. 35. And he said to his wives Adah and Zillah, hear my voice O wives of Lamech, attend to my words, for now you have imagined and said that 1 slew a man with my wounds, and a child with my stripes for their having done no violence, but surely know that I am old and greyheaded, and that my eyes are heavy through age, and I did this thing unknowingly. 36. And the wives of Lamech listened to him in this matter, and they returned to him with the advice of their father Adam, but they bore no children to him from that time, knowing that God's anger was in- creasing in those days against the sons of men, to destroy them with the waters of the flood for their evil doings. 37. And Mahlallel the son of Cai- nan lived sixty five years and he be- gat Jered ; and Jered lived sixty -two years and he begat Enoch.