Pseudo Philo
Date 135 BC earliest possible...70AD latest
Chapter one
PPhilo1:1In the beginning of the world Adam became the father of three sons and one daughter: Cain, Noabe, Abel, and Seth
PPhilo1:2And after he became the father of Seth, Adam lived 700 years; and he became
PPhilo1:3the father of twelve sons and eight daughters. And these are the names of the males:Eliseel, Suris, Elamiel, Barbal, Naat, Zarama, Zasam, Maathal, and Anath.
PPhilo1:4And these are his daughters: Fya, Iectas, Arebica, Sifa, Tetia, Saba, Asin.
PPhilo1:5And Seth lived 105 years and became the father of Enosh. And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 707 years and became the father of three sons
PPhilo1:6and two daughters. And these are the anme of his sons: Elidia, Fonna, and Matha; and of his daughters; Malida and Thila.
PPhilo1:7And Enosh lived 180 years and became the father of Kenan. And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 715 years and became the father of two
PPhilo1:88sons and a daughter. And these are the names of his sons; Foe and Thaal; and of his daughter :Catennath
PPhilo1:9And Kenan lived 170 years and became the father of Mahalalel. And after he became the fahter of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 730 years and became the father
PPhilo1:10of three sons and two daughters. And these are the names of the males; Athac, Socer, Lofa; and the names of the daughters; Ana and Leva.
PPhilo1:11And Mahalalel lived 165 years and fathered Jared. And after he fathered Jared, Mahalalel lived 730 years and became the father of seven sons and five
PPhilo1:12daughters. And these are the names of the males; Leta, Mata, Cechar, Melie, Suriel, Lodo, Otim. And these are the names of his daughters; Ada, Noa, Iebal, Mada, Sella.
PPhilo1:13And Jared lived 162 years and became the father of Enoch. And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and became the father of four
PPhilo1:14sons and two daughters. And these are the names of the males;Lead, Anac, Soboac, and Ietar; and of the daughters; Tetzeco, Lesse.
PPhilo1:15And Enoch lived 165 years and became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch lived 200 years and became the father
PPhilo1:16of five sons and three daughters. Now Enoch pleased God in that time and he
PPhilo1:17was not to be found, for God took him away. Now the names of his sons; Anaz, Zeum, Achaun, Feledi, Elith; and of his daughters; Theiz, Lefith,Leath.
PPhilo1:18And Methuselah lived 187 years and became the father of Lamech. And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and became the
PPhilo1:19father of two sons and two daughters. And these are the names of the males; Inab, Rafo; and of the daughters; Aluma and Amuga.
PPhilo1:20And Lamech lived 182 years and became the father of a son and called him after his birth Noah, saying, This one will give rest to us and to the earth from those who dwell on it - on account of the wickedness of whose evil deeds
PPhilo1:21the earth will be visited. And after he fathered Noah, Lamech lived 585 years.
PPhilo1:22And Noah lived 300 years and became the father of three sons; Shem, Ham, Japheth.
Chapter two
PPhilo2:1Now Cain dwelt in the land trembling, as God appointed for him after he
PPhilo2:2had killed Abel his brother. And the name of his wife was Themech. And Cain
PPhilo2:3knew Themech his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. Now Cain was fifteen years old when he did these things, and from that time he began to build cities until he had founded seven cities. And these are the names of the cities; the name of the first city, corresponding to the name of his son, Enoch; and the name of the second city Mauli, and of the third Leed, and the name of the fourth Teze, and the name of the fifth Iesca, and the name of the sixth Celeth, and the name
PPhilo2:4of the seventh Iebbat. And after he became the father of Enoch, Cain lived 715 years and became the father of three sons and two daughters. And these are the names of his sons; Olad, Lizaf, Fosal; and of his daughters; Citha and Maac. And all the days of Cain were 730 years, and he died.
PPhilo2:5Then Enoch took a wife from the daughters of Seth, and she bore him Ciram and Cuut and Madab. Now Citam became the father of Methushael, and Methushael
PPhilo2:6became the father of Lamech. Now Lamech took for himself two wives. The name
PPhilo2:7of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. And Adah bore Jobab; he was the father of all those dwelling in tents and feeding cattle. And again, she
PPhilo2:8bore him Jobal, who was the first to teach all kinds of musical instruments. In that time, when those inhabiting the earth began to do evil deeds 9each one with his neighbor’s wife) and they defiled them, God was angry. And he began to play the lyre and the lute and every instrument of sweet song and to corrupt the
PPhilo2:9earth. Now Zillah bore Tubal and Miza and Theffa. And this is the Tubal who showed men techniques in using lead and tin and iron and bronze and silver and gold. And then those inhabiting the earth began to make statues and to adore
PPhilo2:10them. Now Lamech said to both his wives. Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, wives of Lamech and pay attention to my remark, for I have destroyed men on my own account and snatched sucklings from the breasts, in order to show my sons and those inhabiting the earth how to do evil deeds. And now Cain will be avenged seven times, but Lamech seventy-seven times.
Chapter three
PPhilo3:1And it happened that, when men began to multiply upon the earth, beautiful daughters were born to them. And the sons of God saw that the daughters of
PPhilo3:2men were very fair and took for themselves wives from all whom they chose. And God said, My spirit shall not judge those men forever, because they are flesh, but their years shall be 120. For them he set the limits of life, but the crimes
PPhilo3:3done by their hands did not cease. And God saw that among all those inhabiting the earth wicked deeds had reached full measure; and because they were plotting evil all their days, he said, I will blot out man and all the things that grow on earth, for I am sorry that I have made him,
PPhilo3:4Yet Noah found favor and mercy before the Lord, and these are his generations. Noah, who was a righteous man and blameless in his generation, pleased the Lord. To him God said. The time set for all men dwelling upon the earth has arrived, for their deeds are wicked. And now make for yourself an ark from cedar wood. And this is how you will make it; Its length will be 300 cubits, and its width 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. And you will enter the ark, you and your wife and your sons and the wives of your sons with you. And I will establish my covenant with you, to destroy all those inhabiting the earth. Now of the clean animals and of the clean birds of the heaven you will take seven males and seven females so that their seed can live upon the earth. But of the unclean animals and birds you will take for yourself two males and two females. Also, you will take
PPhilo3:5food for yourself and for them. And Noah did what God commanded him. And he entered the ark, he and all his sons with him. And it happened after seven days that the water of the flood began to fall upon the earth. And on that day were opened all the deeps and the great spring and the flood gates of the heaven;
PPhilo3:6and there was rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights. Now it was then the sixteen hundred and fifty-second year from the time when God made heaven and earth, in which the earth along with those inhabiting it was destroyed on
PPhilo3:7account of the wickedness of their deeds. And the deluge continued on the earth for one hundred and fifty days. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. And when God remembered Noah, he made the water subside.
PPhilo3:8And it happened on the ninetieth day that God dried up the earth and said to Noah, Go forth from the ark, you and all who are with you, and increase and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth from the ark, he and his sons and the wives of his sons, and brought out all the beasts and reptiles and birds and cattle with him, as God commanded him. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took some of the clean cattle and clean birds, and offered burnt offerings upon the altar, and it was accepted by the Lord like a restful scent.
PPhilo3:9And God said, I will never again curse the earth on man’s account, for the tendency of man’s heart is foolish from his youth; and so I will never destroy all living creatures at one time as I have done. But when those inhabiting the earth sin, I will judge them by famine or by the sword or by fire or by death; and there will be earthquakes, and they will be scattered to uninhabited places. But no more will I destroy the earth by the water of the flood. And in all the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, spring and fall will not cease day and night until I remember those who inhabit the earth, until the appointed times are fulfilled.
PPhilo3:10 But when the years appointed for the world have been fulfilled, then the light will cease and the darkness will fade away. And I will bring the dead to life and raise up those who are sleeping from the earth. And hell will pay back its debt, and the place of perdition will return its deposit so that I may render to each according to his works and according to the fruits of his own devices, until I judge between soul and flesh. And the world will cease, and death will be abolished, and hell will shut its mouth. And the earth will not be without progeny or sterile for those inhabiting it; and no one who has been pardoned by me will be tainted. And there will be another earth and another heaven, an everlasting dwelling place.
PPhilo3:11And the Lord spoke again to Noah and to his sons, saying, Behold I will establish my covenant with you and with your seed after you, and no more will I destroy the earth by the water of a flood. And everything that moves and lives will be food for you. But meat with its lifeblood you may not eat. For whoever will shed the blood of a man, his own blood will be shed, because man was made after the image of God. But you, increase and multiply and fill the earth, like a
PPhilo3:12 school of fish multiplying in the waves. And God said This is the covenant that I have established between me and you. And it will happen that when I cover the heaven with clouds, my bow will appear in the cloud; and it will be a memorial of the covenant between me and you and all those inhabiting the earth.
Chapter four
PPhilo4:1And the sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shen, Ham and Japeth.
PPhilo4:2The sons of Japeth: Gomer, Magog and Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, Tiras, Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah, Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, Dodanim.And the sons of Gomer; Thelez, Lud, Deberleth. And the sons of Magog; Cesse and Thifa, Faruta, Ammiel, Fimei, Golaza, Samanac. And the sons of Javan; Sallus, Felucta, Fallita. And the sons of Tubal; Fanata, Nova, and Eva. And the sons of Meshech; Amboradat, Urac, Bosara. And the sons of Tiras; Maac, Tabel, Ballana, Samplameac, Elaz. And the sons of Ashkenaz; Jubal, Zaraddana, Anac. And the sons of Riphath; Doad, Defad, Zead, Enoc. And the sons of Togarmah; Abiuth, Safath, Asapli, Zepthir. And the sons of Elishah; Zaac, Zenez, Mastisa, Rira. And the sons of Tarshish; Meccul, Loon, Zelatabac. And the sons of Kittim; Macziel, Temna, Aela, Finon. And the sons of Dodanim; Itheb, Beath,
PPhilo4:3Feneth. And these were the one who were scattered abroad and dwelt on the earth among the Persians and Medes and in the islands that are in the sea. And Feneth the son of Dodanim went up and ordered that seafaring ships be built.
PPhilo4:4And then a third part of the earth was divided up. Gomer and his sons received Ladech. Magog and his sons received Degal. Madai and his sons received Besto. Javan and his sons received Ceel. Tubal and his sons received Feed. Meshech and his sons received Nepthi. Tiras and his sons received Duodenin. Ashkenaz and his sons received Goda. Riphath and his sons received Bosoora. Togarmah and his sons received Futh. Elishah and his sons received Thabola. Tarshish and his sons received Marecham. Kittim and his sons received thaan. Dodanim and
PPhilo4:5his sons received Caruba. And then they began to work the land and to sow upon it. And when the land was dry, its inhabitants cried out to the Lord; and he heard them and gave rain in abundance. And it happened that, when the rain descended upon the earth, the bow appeared in the cloud. And those inhabiting the earth saw this memorial of the covenant and fell upon their faces and made sacrifices and offered burnt offering to the Lord.
PPhilo4:6Now the sons of Ham; Cush and Egypt and Put and Canaan. And these are the sons of Cush; Seba and Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca. And the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Put; Zelue, Telup, Geluc, Lefuc. And the sons of Canaan; Sidon, Aendain, Racin, Simmin, Uruin, Nemigin,
PPhilo4:7Amathin, Nefin, Telaz, Elat, Cusin. Now Cush became the father of Nimrod. He began to be arrogant before the Lord. Now Egypt became the father of Ludim and Anamim and lehabim and Latuin and Pathrusim and Casluhim (whence
PPhilo4:8came the Philistines) and the Cappadocians. And then they also began to build cities. And these are the cities that they built; Sidon and its surroundings, that is, Resun, Beosomaza, Gerar, Ashkelon, Dabircamo, Tellun, Lachish, Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim.
PPhilo4:9And the sons of Shem; Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Led, and Aram. And the sons of Aram; Uz, Hul, Gether, Mash. Now Arpachshad became the father of Shelah; Shelah became the father of Eber. And to Eber were born two sons; the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and the name
PPhilo4:10of his brother was Joktan. Joktan became the father of Almodad and Shelph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. And the sons of Peleg,:Reu, Refuth, Zefaram, Aculon, Sachar, Sifaz, Nabi, Suri, Seciur, Falacus, Rafo, Faltia, Zaldefal, Zavis and Arteman, Helifaz. These are the sons of Peleg, and these are their names. And they took wives for themselves from the daughters of Joktan and became fathers
PPhilo4:11of sons and daughters and filled the earth. Now Reu took as his wife Melcha the daughter of Ruth, and she bore to him Serug. And when the day of his delivery came, she said, From him there will be born in the fourth generation one who will set his dwelling on high and will be called perfect and blameless; and he will be the father of nations, and his covenant will not be broken, and his seed
PPhilo4:12will be multiplied forever. And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 119 years and became the father of seven sons and five daughters. And these are the names of his sons; Abiel, Obthi, Salma, Dedasal, Zeneza, Accur, Nefes. And these are the names of his daughters:Cedema, Derisa, Seifa, Ferita, Thelia.
PPhilo4:13And Serug lived 29 years and became the father of Nahor. And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 67 years and became the father of four sons and three daughters. And these are the names of the sons; Zela, Zoba, Dica, and
PPhilo4:14Fodde. And these are his daughters; Tefila, Oda, Selifa. And Nahor lived 34 years and became the father of Terah. And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 200 years and became the father of eight sons and and five daughters. And these are the names of the males; Recap, Dediap, Berechap, Iosac, Sithal,
PPhilo4:15Nisab, Nadab, Camoel; and his daughters; Esca, Thifa, Bruna, Cene, Etha. And Terah lived 70 years and became the father of Abram and Nahor and Haran. Now Haran became the father of Lot
PPhilo4:16Then those who inhabited the earth began to observe the stars and started to reckon by them and to make predictions and to have their sons and daughters pass
PPhilo4:17through the fire. But Serug and his sons did not act as these did. And these are the generations of Noah according to their tribes and languages, from which the nations were portioned out on the earth after the Flood.
Chapter five
PPhilo5:1Then the sons of Ham came and made Nimrod their leader; and the sons of Japheth appointed Fenech their chief; and the sons of Shem came together and
PPhilo5:2made Joktan their leaders. And when these came together, they decided to have the people related to them pass in review and to number them. And while Noah was still alive, all gathered together in one place and lived in accord, and
PPhilo5:3the earth was at peace. Now in the three hundred and fortieth year after Noah’s exit from the ark, after God dried up the flood, the leaders numbered their people.
PPhilo5:4And Fenech had the sons of Japheth pass in review. The sons of Gomer, all passing by under their captains staffs, were 5,800 in number. Now of the sons of Magog, all passing by under their captains staffs, the number was 6,200. Now the sons of Madai, all passing by under their captains staffs, the number was 5,700 in number. Now the sons of Tubal, all passing by under their captains staffs, were 9,400 in number. And the sons of Meshech, all passing by under their captains staffs, were 5,600 in number. But the sons of Tiras, all passing by under their captains staffs, were 12,300 in number. And the sons of Riphath, those passing by under their captains staffs, were 11,500 in number. But the sons of Togormah, passing by under their captains staffs, were 14,400 in number. Now the sons of Elishah, passing by under their captains staffs, were 14,900 in number. Now the sons of Tarshish, all passing by under their captains staffs, were 12,100 in number. Now the sons of Kittim, all passing by under their captains staffs, were17,300 in number. But the sons of Dodanim, all passing by under their captains staffs, were 17,700 in number. And the total of the camps of the sons of Japheth, all men of might and all equipped with arms for battle before their leaders, was 142,200, apart from women and children. In the review of Japheth the total number was 142,000.
PPhilo5:5And Nimrod, himself a son of Ham, had all the sons of Ham pass in review. The sons of Egypt, all passing by under their captains staffs, were found to be 24,800 in number. The sons of Put, all passing by under their captains staffs, were 27,700 in number. And the sons of Canaan, all passing by under their captains staffs, were found to be 32,800 in number. But the sons of Seba, all passing by under their captains staffs, were found to be 4,300 in number. And the sons of Havilah, all passing by under their captains staffs, were found to be 24,300 in number. But the sons of Sabtah, all passing by under their captains staffs, were found to be 25,300 in number. And the sons of Raamah, all passing by under their captains staffs, were found to be 30,600 in number. But the sons of Sabteca, all passing by under their captains staffs, were found to be 46,400 in number. And the total of the camps of the sons of Ham, all men of might and equipped with battle gear before their leaders, were 244,900, apart from women and children.
PPhilo5:6And Joktan the son of Shem had the sons of Shem pass in review. And the sons of Elam, all passing by under their captains staffs, were 37,000 in number. Now the sons of Asshur, all passing by under their captains staffs, were found to be 78,000 in number. And the sons of Aram, all passing by under their captains staffs, were found to be 87,400 in number. But the sons of Lud, all passing by under their captains staffs, were found to be 30,600 in number. Now the sons of Arpachshad, all passing by under their captains staffs, were 114,600.
PPhilo5:7in number. The total number of all of them was 347,600. This was the total of the camps of the sons of Shem. All were distinguished in courage and military
PPhilo5:8discipline before their captains.....besides women and children. And these are the generations of Noah taken separately, whose total number altogether was 914,100. And all these were examined while Noah was still alive. And Noah lived 350 years after the flood. And all the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.
Chapter six
PPhilo6:1Then all those who had been separated and were inhabiting the earth gathered and dwelt together. And migrating from the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylon; and settling there, each one said to his neighbor, Behold it will happen that we will be scattered every man from his brother and in the last days we will be fighting one another. Now come, let us build for ourselves a tower whose top will reach the heavens, and we will make a name for ourselves and a
PPhilo6:2glory upon the earth. And they said, each to his neighbor, Let us take bricks and let each of us write our names on the bricks and burn them with fire; and whatever will be burned through and through will be used for mortar and brick.
PPhilo6:3And they took their bricks, all of them except twelve men who would not take them. And these are their names; Abram, Nahor, Lot, Ruge, Tenute, Zaba,
PPhilo6:4Armodat, Jobab, Esar, Abimahel, Saba, Aufin. And the people of that land laid hold of them and brought them to their chiefs and said, These are the men who have gone against our plans and would not walk in our ways. And the leaders said to them, Why were each of you not willing to cast in bricks along with the people of the land? And those men answered saying, We are not casting in bricks, nor are we joining in your scheme. We know the one Lord, and him we worship. Even if you throw us into the fire with your bricks, we will not join
PPhilo6:5you. And the leaders were angered and said, As they have spoken, so do to them. And unless they take part with us in throwing in the bricks, you will have the fire devour them along with your bricks.
PPhilo6:6And Joktan, who was chief of the leaders, answered, No, but let them be given a period of seven days, and if they repent of their evil plans and are willing to cast in bricks with you, they may live. If not, let it be done and let them be burned then in accord with your judgment. He, however, sought how he might save them from the hands of the people, because he was of their tribe and served
PPhilo6:7.God. When this was said, he took them and locked them in the royal household. And when it was evening, the leader commanded that fifty men of might be summoned to him, and he said to them, Go forth and tonight take those men who are locked in my house, and put supplies for them from my household on ten beasts of burden. And bring those men to me, and bring their supplies along with the beasts of burden to the mountains and take care of them there,. And know
PPhilo6:8that, if anyone learns what I have said to you, I will burn you in the fire. And the men went forth and did everything that their chief commanded them. And they brought the men to his house by night, and they took their supplies and put them on the beasts of burden and led them into the mountains as he had commanded.
PPhilo6:9them. And the chief summoned to himself those twelve men and said to them, Be confident and do not fear, for you will not die. For the God in whom you trust is powerful, and therefore be steadfast in him because he will free you and save you. And behold now I have commanded the fifty men who have brought you out here; supplies have already been taken from my household. And they have gone forth into the mountains and are waiting for you in the valley, and I will give you another fifty men who will escort you there. And go, hide yourselves there in the valley; you will have drinking water that flows from the rocks. And stay there for thirty days, until the hatred of the people of this land subsides and until God sends his wrath upon them and destroys them. For I know that the evil plan that they have agreed to carry out will not stand, because their plot is foolish. And when seven days have passed and they seek you out, I will say to them, The door of the jail in which they were locked up was broken down. They went out and escaped by night. And I have sent a hundred men to search after them.
PPhilo6:10And I will distract them from the anger that is upon them. And eleven of the men answered him and said, Your servants have found favor in your eyes,
PPhilo6:11because we are rescued from the hands of these arrogant men. But Abram alone was silent. And the leader said to him, Why do you not answer me, Abram servant of God? Abram answered and said, Behold, today I flee to the mountains. And if I escape the fire, wild beasts will come out of the mountains and devour us; or we will lack food and die of famine; and we will be found fleeing from the people of this land but falling in our sins. And now as he in whom I trust lives, I will not be moved from my place where they have put me. If there be any sin of mine so flagrant that I should be burned up, let the will of God be done. And the leader said to him, May your blood be upon your own head if you are not willing to go forth with these men. Now if you are willing to do so, you will be freed; but if you wish to stay, stay as you wish. And Abram
PPhilo6:12said, I will not go forth, but I will stay here. And the leader took those eleven men and sent another fifty with them and commanded them, saying, You also wait in the mountains for fifteen days with those fifty who were sent on ahead; and afterward come back and say, We have not found them, as i told the former group. And know that if anyone disregards any of these words that I have spoken to you, he will be burned in the fire. And the men went forth. And he took
PPhilo6:13Abram by himself and locked him up again where he had be confined. And after seven days had passed, the people gathered together and said to their leader, Give us back the men who were unwilling to join in our plan, and we will burn them in the fire. And they sent the leaders to bring them out, and they found no one but Abram. And they gathered together with their leaders and said, The men whom you locked up have fled; they have evaded our scheme. And Fenech
PPhilo6:14and Nimrod said to Joktan, Where are the men whom you locked up? But that man said, They have broken out by night. But I have sent a hundred men to search for them and commanded them that, if they find them, not only should they burn them in the fire but also give their corpses to the birds of the heavens, and so let them destroy them.
PPhilo6:15And then those men said, This fellow who alone has been found, we will burn him, And they took Abram and brought him to their leaders. And they said to him, Where are those who were with you? And he said, I was sleeping
PPhilo6:16during the night; when I awoke, I did not find them. And they took him and built a furnace and lit it. And they threw bricks burned with fire into the furnace. And then the leader Joktan with great emotion took Abram and threw him along
PPhilo6:17with the bricks into the fiery furnace. But God caused a great earthquake, and the fire gushing out of the furnace leaped forth in flames and sparks of flame. And it burned all those standing around in sight of the furnace. And all those who were burned in that day were 83,500. But there was not the least injury to Abram
PPhilo6:18from the burning of the fire. And Abram came up out of the furnace, and the fiery furnace collapsed. And Abram was saved and went away to the eleven men who were hidden in the mountains, and he reported to them everything that had happened to him. And they came down with him from the mountains, rejoicing in the name of the Lord. And no one who met them frightened them that day. And they named that place by the name of Abram and in the language of the Chaldeans Deli, which means God.
Chapter seven
PPhilo7:1And it happened after these events that the people of the land were not turned from their malicious plottings, and they came together again to their leaders and said, The people will not be defeated forever. And now we will come together and build ourselves a city and a tower, that will never be taken away.
PPhilo7:2And when they had begun to build, God saw the city and the tower that the sons of men were building, and he said, Behold they are one people and have one language for all; but what they have begun to make, neither the earth will put up with it nor will the heavens bear to behold it. And if they are not stopped
PPhilo7:3now, they will be daring in all the things they propose to do. And behold now I will divide up their languages and scatter them in all regions so that a man will not understand his own brother and no one will hear the language of his neighbor. And I will banish them to the cliffs, and they will build for themselves huts with stalks of straw and will dig caves for themselves and live there like the beasts of the field. And thus they will remain before me all the time so that they will never make such plots again, and I will consider them like a drop of water and liken them to spittle. And to some the end will come by water, but others will be dried
PPhilo7:4up with thirst. And before all these I will choose my servant Abram, and I will bring him out from their land and will bring him into the land upon which my eye has looked from of old, when all those inhabiting the earth sinned in my sight and I brought the water of the flood and I did not destroy it but preserved that land. For neither did the springs of my wrath burst forth in it, nor did my water of destruction descend on it. For there I will have my servant Abram dwell and will establish my covenant with him and will bless his seed and be lord for him as God forever.
PPhilo7:5Now when the people inhabiting the land had begun to construct the tower, God divided up their languages and changed their appearances, and a man did not recognize his own brother and no one heard the language of his neighbor. And so it happened that when the builders would order their assistants to bring bricks, those would bring water; and if they demanded water, those would bring straw. And so their plan was frustrated, and they stopped building the city. And the Lord scattered them from there over the face of all the earth. And therefore the name of that place was called Confusion, because there God confused their languages and from there he scattered them over the face of all the earth.
Chapter eight
PPhilo8:1Now Abram went forth from there and dwelt in the land of Canaan and took with him Lot his nephew and Sarai his wife. And since Sarai was sterile and had not conceived, then Abram took Hagar his maid and she bore him Ishmael. Now
PPhilo8:2Ishmael became the father of twelve sons. Then Lot separated from Abram and dwelt in Sodom. But Abram lived in the land of Canaan. And the men of Sodom
PPhilo8:3were very wicked men and great sinners. And God appeared to Abram, saying, To your seed I will give this land, and your name will be called Abraham, and Sarai, your wife, will be called Sarah. And I will give to you from her an everlasting seed, and I will establish my covenant with you. And Abraham knew Sarah, his wife, and she conceived and bore Isaac.
PPhilo8:4Now Isaac took for himself a wife from Mesopotamia, the daughter of Bethuel
PPhilo8:5who conceived and bore to him Esau and Jacob. Now Esau took for himself as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri and Basemath the daughter of Elon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael. And Adah bore him Eliphaz, and the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, Amelak. And Judith bore Tenacis, Ietuebemas. Basemath bore Reuel. And the sons of Reuel; Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah. And Oholibamah
PPhilo8:6bore Auz, Ioolam, Korah. Mahalath bore Tenetde, Thenatela, Now Jacob took for himself as wives the daughters of Laban the Syrian, Leah, and Rachel, and two concubines, Billah and Zilpah, And leah bore to him Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah their sister. Now Rachel brought forth Joseph and Benjamin. Billah bore Dan and Naphtali. And Zilphah bore Gad
PPhilo8:7and Asher. These are the twelve sons of Jacob and one daughter. And Jacob dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Shechem the son of Hamore the Hurrite raped Dinah his daughter and humiliated her. And the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, went in and killed the whole city of them by the sword; and they took their sister
PPhilo8:8Dinah and went away from there. And afterward Job took her as a wife and fathered from her fourteen sons and six daughters; that is, seven sons and three daughters before he was struck down with suffering, and afterward seven sons and three daughters when he was healed. And these are their names; Elifac, Esmoe, Diasat, Fiias, Diffar, Zellud, Thelon; and his daughters; Meru, Litaz, Zeli. And such as had been the names of the former, so were those of the latter.
PPhilo8:9Now Jacob and his twelve sons lived in the land of Canaan. And these hated their brother Joseph, whom they delivered into Egypt to Potiphar, the chief of
PPhilo8:10Pharoah;s cooks, and he spent fourteen years with him. And afterward the king of Egypt had a dream. And they told him about Joseph and he explained to him the dreams. And after he explained to him the dreams, Pharoah made him chief over all the land of Egypt. At that time there was a famine over all the land, as Joseph had discerned, and his brothers went down to buy
food in Egypt because only in Egypt was there food. And Joseph recognized his brothers, but was not known by them. And he did not deal vengefully with them, and he sent and summoned his father from the land of Canaan; and he went down to him.
PPhilo8:11And these are the names of the sons of Israel who went down to Egypt with Jacob, each with his own household. The sons of Reuben; Hanoch, Pallu, Hexron, and Carmi. Now the sons of Simeon; Namuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Shaul the son of the Canaanite woman. Now the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Judah; Er and Oran, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. Now the sons of Issachar; Tola and Puvah, Job and Shimron. Now the sons of Zebulon; Sered, Elon and Jahleel. And Dinah their sister fore fourteen sons and six daughters. And these are the generations of the sons that Leah bore to Jacob.
PPhilo8:12all the sons and daughters being 72. Now the sons of Dan; Hushim. The sons of Naphtali; Betaal, Neemmu, Surem, Opti, Sariel. And these are the generations
PPhilo8:13of Billah that she bore to Jacob; the total was eight. But the sons of Gad; Sariel, Sua, Visui, Mofar, and Sar their sister the daughter of Seriebel, Melchiel. These are the generations of Zilphah the woman of Jacob that she bore to him,
PPhilo8:14and all the sons and daughters were ten in number. And the sons of Joseph; Ephraim and Manasseh. But Benjamin fathered Bela, Ashbel, Nanubal, Abocmefec, Utendeus. And these are the persons whom Rachel bore to Jacob, fourteen. And they went down into Egypt and dwelt there 210 years.
Chapter nine
PPhilo9:1And after Joseph’s passing away, the sons of Israel multiplied and increased greatly. And another king who did not know Joseph arose in Egypt, and he said to his people, Behold that people has multiplied more than we have. Come, let us make a plan against them so they will not multiply more. And the king of Egypt ordered all his people, saying, Every son that is born to the Hebrews, throw into the river; but let their females live. And the Egyptians answered their king, saying, Let us kill their males, and we will keep their females so that we may give them to our slaves as wives. And whoever is born from them will be a slave and will serve us. And this is what seemed wicked before the Lord.
PPhilo9:2Then the elders of the people gathered the people together in mourning, and they mourned and groaned saying, The wombs of our wives have suffered miscarriage; our fruit is delivered to our enemies. And now we are lost, and let us set up rules for ourselves that a man should not approach his wife lest the fruit of their wombs be defiled and our offspring serve idols. For it is better to die without sons until we know what God may do.
PPhilo9:3And Amran answered and said, It will sooner happen that this age will be ended forever or the world will sink into the immeasurable deep or the heart of the abyss will touch the stars than that the race of the sons of Israel will be ended. And there will be fulfilled the covenant that God established with Abraham when he said, Indeed your sons will dwell in a land not their own and will be brought into bondage and afflicted 400 years. And behold from the time when the word of God that he spoke to Abraham was spoken, there are 350 years; from the time
PPhilo9:4when we became slaves in Egypt, there are 130 years. Now therefore I will not abide by what you decree, but I will go in and take my wife and produce sons so that we may be made many on the earth. For God will not abide in his anger, nor will he forget his people forever, nor will he cast forth the race of Israel in vain upon the earth; nor did he establish a covenant with our fathers in vain; and
PPhilo9:5even when we did not yet exist, God spoke about these matters. Now therefore I will go and take my wife, and I will not consent to the command of the king; and if it is right in your eyes, let us all act in this way. For when our wives conceive, they will not be recognized as pregnant until three months have passed, as also our mother Tamar did. For her intent was not fornication, but being unwilling to separate from the sons of Israel she reflected and said, It is better for me to die for having intercourse with my father-in-law than to have intercourse with gentiles. And she hid the fruit of her womb until the third month. For then she was recognized. And on her way to be put to death, she made a declaration saying, He who owns this staff and this signet ring and the sheepskin from him
PPhilo9:6 I have conceived. And her intent saved her from all danger. Now therefore let us also do the same. And when the time of giving birth has been completed, we will not cast forth the fruit of our womb (if we are able). And who knows if God will be provoked on account of this so as to free us from our humiliation?
PPhilo9:7And the strategy that Amram thought out was pleasing before God. And God said, Because Amram’s plan is pleasing to me, and he has not put aside the covenant established between me and his fathers, so behold now he who will be born from him will serve me forever, and I will do marvelous things in the house of Jacob through him and I will work through him signs and wonders for my people that I have not done for anyone else; and i will act gloriously among them
PPhilo9:8 and proclaim to them my ways. And I, God, will kindle for him my lamp that will abide in him, and I will show him my covenant that no one has seen. And I will reveal to him my Law and statutes and judgments, and i will burn an eternal light for him, because I thought of him in the days of old, saying, My spirit will not be a mediator among these men forever, because they are flesh and their days will be 120 years.
PPhilo9:And Amram of the tribe of Levi went out and took a wife from his own tribe. When he had taken her, others followed him and took their own wives. And this
PPhilo9:10man had one son and one daughter, their names were Aaron and Miriam. And the spirit of God came upon Miriam one night, and she saw a dream and told it to her parents in the morning, saying I have seen this night, and behold a man in a linen garment stood and said to me, Go and say to your parents; Behold he who will be born from you will be cast forth into the water, likewise through him the water will be dried up. And I will work signs through him and save my people, and he will exercise leadership always. And when Miriam told of her dream, her parents did not believe her.
PPhilo9:11The strategy of the king of Egypt, however, prevailed against the sons of Israel,
PPhilo9:12and they were humiliated and worn down in making bricks. Now Jochebed conceived from Amram and hid him in her womb for three months. For she could not conceal him any longer, because the king of Egypt appointed local chiefs who, when the Hebrew women gave birth, would immediately throw their male children into the river. And she took her child and made for him an ark from
PPhilo9:13the bark of a pine tree and placed the ark at the bank of the river. Now that
PPhilo9:14child was born in the covenant of God and the covenant of the flesh. And when they had cast him forth, all the elders gathered and quarreled with Amram, saying, Are not these our words that we spoke, It is better for us to die without having sons than that the fruit of our womb be cast into the waters? And Amram did
PPhilo9:15not listen to those who were saying these words. Now Pharoah’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, as she had seen in dreams, and her maids saw the ark. And she sent one, and she fetched and opened it. And when she saw the boy and while she was looking upon the covenant (that is, the covenant of the flesh),
PPhilo9:16 she said, It is one of the Hebrew children. And she took him and nursed him. And he became her own son, and she called him by the name Moses. But his mother called him Melchiel. And the child was nursed and became glorious above all other men, and through him God freed the sons of Israel as he had said.
Chapter ten
PPhil10:1Now when the king of the Egyptians died, another king rose up and afflicted all the people of Israel. But they cried out to the Lord, and he heard them. And he sent Moses and freed them from the land of the Egyptians. God also sent upon them ten plagues and struck them down. Now these were the plagues; that is, blood and frogs, and all manner of beasts and hail and the death of cattle, and locusts and gnats and darkness that could be felt and the death of the firstborn.
PPhil10:2And while they were going forth from there and setting out, the heart of the Egyptians hardened once more, and they continued to praise them and found them by the Red Sea. And the sons of Israel cried out to their Lord and said to Moses, saying, Behold now the time of our destruction has come. For the sea is ahead of us, and the throng of enemies is behind us, and we are in the middle. Is it for this that god has brought us forth, or are these the covenants that he established with our fathers, saying, To your seed will I give the land in which you dwell that now he might do with us whatever is pleasing in his sight?
PPhil10:3Then in considering the fearful situation of the moment, the sons of Israel were split in their opinions according to three strategies. For the tribe of Reuben and the tribe of Issachar and the tribe of Zebulun and the tribe of Simeon said, Come , let us cast ourselves into the sea. For it is better for us to die in the water than to be killed by our enemies. But the tribe of Gad and the tribe of Asher and the tribe of Dan and that of Naphtali said, No, but let us go back with them; and if they are willing to spare our lives, we will serve them. But the tribe of Levi and the tribe of Judah and that of Joseph and the tribe of Benjamin said, Not so, but let us take up our weapons and fight with them, and God will be
PPhil10:4with us. And Moses cried out to the Lord and said. Lord God of our fathers, did not you say to me, Go and tell the sons of Israel, God has sent me to you? And now behold you have brought your people to the edge of the sea,
PPhil10:5and the enemy has pursued them; but you, Lord, remember your name. And God said, Why have you cried out to me? Lift up your rod and strike the sea, and it will be dried up. And when Moses did all this, God rebuked the sea and the sea was dried up. And the seas of water piled up and the depths of the earth were visible, and the foundations of the world were laid bare by the fearful din
PPhil10:6of God and by the breadth of the anger of the Lord. And Israel passed through the middle of the sea on dry ground. And the Egyptians saw this and continued following them. And God hardened their perception, and they did not know that they were entering the sea. And while the Egyptians were in the sea, God again commanded the sea and said to Moses, Strike the sea yet once more. And he did so. And the Lord commanded the sea, and it started flowing again and covered the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.
PPhil10:7Now he led his people out into the wilderness; for forty years he rained down for them bread from heaven and brought quail to them from the sea and brought froth a well of water to follow them. Now with a pillar of cloud he led them by day, and with a pillar of fire he gave them light by night.
Chapter eleven
PPhil 11:1And in the third month after the sons of Israel had gone forth from the land of Egypt, they came into the wilderness of Sinai, and God remembered his words and said, will give a light to the world and illumine their dwelling places and establish my covenant with the sons of men and glorify my people above all nations. For them I will bring out the eternal statutes that are for those in the
PPhil 11:2light but for the ungodly a punishment. And he said to Moses. Behold I will call you tomorrow; be prepared and tell my people, For three days let no man approach his wife, and on the third day I will speak to you and to them. And afterward you will come up to me, and I will put my words in your mouth, and you will enlighten my people, for I have given an everlasting Law into your hands and by this I will judge the whole world. For this will be a testimony. For even if men say, We have not known you, and so we have not served you, therefore
PPhil 11:3I will make a claim upon them because they have not learned my Law. And Moses did what God commanded him, and he consecrated the people and said to them, Be prepared on the third day, because after three days God will establish his covenant with you. And the people were consecrated.
PPhil 11:4And on the third day there were claps of thunder and the brightness of lightning, and the sound of trumpets sounded aloud. Terror came upon all the people who
PPhil 11:5were in the camp. And Moses brought the people out before God. And behold the mountains burned with fire, and the earth quaked, and the hills were disturbed, and the mountains were rolled about, and the abysses boiled, and every habitable place was shaken, and the heavens were folded up, and the clouds drew up water, and flames of fire burned, and thunderings and lightnings were many, and winds and storms roared, the stars gathered together, and angels ran on ahead, until God should establish the Law of his eternal covenant with the sons of Israel and give his eternal commandments that will not pass away.
PPhil 11:6And then the Lord spoke to his people all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God who led you forth from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. You shall not make for yourselves graven gods; neither shall you make any abominable image of the sun and moon or of any of the ornaments of heaven; nor shall you make a likeness of any of the things that are upon the earth or of those things that crawl in the water or upon the earth. I am the Lord your God, a jealous God and visiting until the third and fourth generation the sins of them that sleep on the living sons of the ungodly if they will walk in the ways of their parents, but acting mercifully for a thousand generations to those who love me
PPhil 11:7and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, lest my ways be made empty. For God detests him who takes his name
PPhil 11:8in vain. Take care to sanctify the sabbath day. Work for six days, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord. You shall not do any work on it, you and all your help, except to praise the Lord in the assembly of the elders and to glorify the Mighty One in the council of the older men. For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things that are in them and all the world and the uninhabitable wilderness and all things that labor and all the order of heaven. And God rested on the seventh day. Therefore, God sanctified the seventh
PPhil 11:9day because he rested on it. Love your father and your mother, and you shall honor them, and then your light will rise. And I will command the heaven, and it will give forth its rain, and the earth will give back fruit more quickly. And you will live many days and dwell in your land, and you will not be without sons,
PPhil 11:10for your seed will not be lacking in people to dwell in it. You shall not commit adultery, because your enemies did not commit adultery against you, but you
PPhil 11:11came forth with a high hand. You shall not kill, because your enemies had power
PPhil 11:12over you so as to kill you, but you saw their death. You shall not be a false witness against your neighbor, speaking false testimony, lest your guardians
PPhil 11:13 speak false testimony against you. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or what
he has, lest others should covet your land.
PPhil 11:14And when the Lord ceased speaking, the people were very much afraid, because they saw the mountain burning with torches of fire. And they said to Moses, You speak to us, but do not let God speak to us lest perhaps we die. For behold today we know that God speaks to a man face to face and that man may live. And now we have recognized that the earth has borne the voice of God with quaking. And Moses said to them. Do not fear, For God has come to test you that you yourselves should come to fear him so that you will not sin.
PPhil 11:15And all the people stood far off, but Moses drew near the cloud, knowing that God was there. And then God told him his statutes and his judgments, and he detained him forty days and forty nights. And there he commanded him many things and showed him the tree of life from which he cut off and took and threw into Marah, and the water of Marah became sweet. And it followed them in the wilderness forty years and went up to the mountain with them and went down into the plains. And he commanded him about the tabernacle and the ark of the Lord and about the sacrifice of burnt offerings and incense and about setting up the table and the candlestick and about the laver and its basin and about the ephod and the breastplate and about the precious stones, so that the sons of Israel might make these things. And he showed him their likeness in order that he might make them according to the pattern that he had seen. And he said to him, Make me a sanctuary, and the tent of my glory will be among you.
Chapter twelve
PPhil 12:1And Moses came down. And when he had been bathed with invisible light, he went down to the place where the light of the sun and the moon are; and the light of his face surpassed the splendor of the sun and moon, and he did not even know this. And when he came down to the sons of Israel, they saw him but did not recognize him. But when he spoke, then they recognized him. And this was like what happened in Egypt when Joseph recognized his brothers but they did not recognize him. And afterward, when Moses realized that his face had become glorious, he made a veil for himself with which to cover his face.
PPhil 12:2And while he was on the mountain, the heart of the people was corrupted, and they gathered together to Aaron, saying, Make gods for us whom we may serve, as the other nations have, because that Moses through whom wonders were done before our eyes has been taken away from us. And Aaron said to them, Be patient. For Moses will come, and he will bring judgment near to us and will illumine the Law for us and will explain from his own mouth the Law of God
PPhil 12:3and set up rules for our race. And while he was speaking, they did not heed him, so that the word spoken in the time when the people sinned by building the tower might be fulfilled, when God said, And now unless I stop them, everything that they will propose to do they will dare, and even worse. But Aaron, fearful because the people were very strong, said to them, Bring us the earrings of your wives. And each man asked his wife, and they gave them immediately. And they cast them into the fire, and they were fashioned into shape, and out came a molten calf.
PPhil 12:4And the Lord said to Moses, Hurry away from here, because the people have been corrupted and have turned aside from my ways that I commanded them. Are the promises that i promised to your fathers when I said to them, To your seed I will give the land in which you dwell - are they at an end? For behold the people have not even entered the land yet and now even have the Law with them, and they have forsaken me. And indeed I know that if they had entered that land, even greater iniquities would have been done. And now I too will forsake them, and I will turn again and make peace with them so that a house may be built for me among them, a house that will be destroyed because they will sin against me. And the race of men will be to me like a drop from a pitcher and will be reckoned like spittle.
PPhil 12:5And Moses hurried down and saw the calf. And he looked at the tablets and saw that the writing was gone, and he hurried to break them. And his hands were opened, and he became like a woman bearing her firstborn who, when she is in labor, her hands are upon her chest and she has no strength to help herself
PPhil 12:6bring forth. And after one hour he said to himself, Will bitterness win the day always, or will evil prevail forever? And now I will rise up and gird my loins, because even if they have sinned, what was declared to me above will not be in
PPhil 12:7vain. And he arose and broke the calf and cast it into the water and made the people drink of it. And it anyone had it in his will and mind that the calf be made, his tongue was cut off; but if he had been forced by fear to consent, his face shone.
PPhil 12:8And then Moses went up to the mountain and prayed to the Lord, saying, Behold now, you O God, who have planted this vine and set its roots into the abyss and stretched out its shoots to your most high seat, look upon it in this time, because that vine has lost its fruit and has not recognized its cultivator. And now, if you are angry at your vine and you uproot it from the abyss and dry up its shoots from your most high and eternal seat, the abyss will come no more to nourish it, nor will your throne come to cool that vine of yours that you have
PPhil 12:9burned up. For you are he who is all light; and you have adorned your house with precious stones and gold; and you have sprinkled your house with perfumes and spices and balsam wood and cinnamon and roots of myrrh and costum; and you have filled it with various foods and the sweetness of various drinks. Therefore, if you do not have mercy on your vine, all things, Lord, have been done in vain, and you will not have anyone to glorify you. For even if you plant another vine, this one will not trust you, because you have destroyed the former one. For if you indeed forsake the world, then who will do for you what you say as God? And now let your anger be restrained from your vine; rather let what was said previously by you and what still must be said be done, and do not let your labor be in vain, and do not let your inheritance be pulled apart in humiliation.
PPhil 12:10And God said to him, Behold I have been made merciful according to your words. Therefore cut two stone tablets for yourself from the same place where you cut the former ones, and rewrite on them the commandments that were on the first ones.
Chapter thirteen
PPhil 13:1And Moses hastened and did everything that God commanded him. And he went down and made the tent of meeting and its vessels and the ark and the lamp and the table and the altar of holocausts and the altar of incense and the ephod and the breastplate and the precious stones and the laver and the basins and everything that was shown to him. And he arranged all the vestments of the priests, the belt and the robe and the headdress and the golden plate and the holy crown. And the oil for anointing priests and the priests themselves he consecrated.
PPhil 13:2And when all this was done, the cloud covered them all. Then Moses called to the Lord, and God spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, This is the law of the altar, according to which you will sacrifice to me and pray for your own souls. Now regarding what you will offer to me, from cattle offer the calf and the sheep and the goat, but from the birds the turtledove and the dove.
PPhil 13:3And if there be leprosy in your land and the leper be cleansed, they will take for the Lord two live chicks and cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet; and he will approach the priest, and he will kill one chick but keep the other alive. And he will give orders to the leper in all the matters that I have commanded in my Law.
PPhil 13:4And when the times appointed for you come around, you will acknowledge me as holy on the festival day and rejoice before me on the festival of the unleavened bread and set before me the bread, celebrating the festival as a
PPhil 13:5memorial, because on that day you went forth from the land of Egypt. And on the festival of weeks you will set before me bread and make me an offering for
PPhil 13:6your fruits. Now the feast of trumpets will be an offering for your watchers. In as much as I watched over creation, may you also be mindful of all the earth. At the beginning of those days, when you present yourselves, I will declare the number of those who are to die and who are to be born. A fast of mercy you will fast for me for your own souls, so that the promises made to your fathers may
PPhil 13:7be fulfilled. And celebrate for me the festival of the booth, and you will take for me the beautiful branch of the tree and the palm branch and the willow and the cedar and branches of myrtle. And I will remember the whole earth with rain, and the measure of the seasons will be established, and I will fix the stars and command the clouds, and the winds will resound, and lightning bolts will rush about, and there will be a thunderstorm. And this will be an everlasting sign; and the nights will yield dew, as I said after the flooding of the earth.
PPhil 13:8Then he gave him the command regarding the year of the lifetime of Noah, and he said to him, These are the years that I ordained after the weeks in which I visited the city of men, at which time I showed them the place of creation and the serpent. And he said, This is the place concerning which I taught the first man, saying, If you do not transgress what I have commanded you, all things will be subject to you. But that man transgressed my ways and was persuaded by his wife; and she was deceived by the serpent. And then death was ordained
PPhil 13:9for the generations of men. And the Lord continued to show him the ways of paradise and said to him. These are the ways that men have lost by not walking in them, because they have sinned against me.
PPhil 13:10And the Lord commanded him regarding the salvation of the souls of the people and said, If they will walk in my ways, I will not abandon them but will have mercy on them always and bless their seed; and the earth will quickly yield its fruit, and there will be rains for their advantage, and it will not be barren. But I know for sure that they will make their ways corrupt and I will abandon them, and they will forget the covenants that I have established with their fathers; but nevertheless I will not forget them forever. For they will know in the last days that on account of their own sins their seed has been abandoned, because I am faithful in my ways.
Chapter fourteen
PPhil 14:1Then God said to him, Make pass in review my people from twenty years and up to forty years so that I may show your tribes what I declared to your fathers in a foreign land, because from the fiftieth part I raised them up from the
PPhil 14:2land of Egypt, but forty-nine parts died in the land of Egypt. When you make them stand and pass in review, write down their number until I fulfill all that I have spoken to their fathers and until I set them firmly in their won land; for not a single word from what I have spoken to their fathers will I renege on, from those that I said to them; Your seed will be like the stars of heaven in multitude. By number they will enter the land, and in a short time they will become without number.
PPhil 14:3And the Moses came down and numbered them, and the number of the people was 604,550. But he did not number the tribe of Levi with them, because so it was commanded him. But he did number those who were above fifty years, whose number was 47,300. Moreover, he numbered those who were below twenty years, and their number was 850,850. And he numbered over the tribe of Levi, and the whole number of them was 100,200. And the whole number of the sons of Israel
PPhil 14:4was 1,620,900. And Moses declared their number to God, and God said to him, These are the words that I spoke to their fathers in the land of Egypt, and I established the number of 210 years for all who saw my wonders; and the number of all of them was 9,295,000 men apart from women. And I put to death the whole crowd of them because they did not believe in me. And the fiftieth part of them was left, and I consecrated them to myself. Therefore I command each generation of my people that they should give to me tithes from their fruits, to be before me as a memorial of how many hardships I have removed from them.
PPhil 14:5And when Moses descended and declared these matters to the people, they mourned and lamented; and they dwelt in the wilderness for two years.
Chapter fifteen
PPhil 15:1And Moses sent twelve men as spies to spy out the land, for so it was commanded him. When they went up and spied out the land, they returned to him and brought back fruits from the fruits of the land. And they troubled the heart of the people, saying, You cannot inherit the land, because it has been
PPhil 15:2locked up with iron bars by its mighty men. Yet two men of the twelve did not speak in this way, but said, Just as hard iron can overcome the stars, or as weapons conquer lightning, or thunder is shut off by the arrows of men, so can these men fight against the Lord. For they saw as they went up that the lightnings from the stars shone forth and claps of thunders resounding with them
PPhil 15:3followed. And these are their names; Caleb the son of Jephunneh, son of Beri, son of Batuel, son of Galifa, son of Cenen, son of Selumin, son of Selon, son of Judah. The second was Joshua son of Nun, son of Eliphat, son of Gal, son of Nefelien, son of Emon, son of Saul, son of Dabra, son of Ephraim, son of Joseph.
PPhil 15:4But the people did not listen to the voice of these two. Rather, they were very disturbed and said, Are these the words that God spoke to us, saying, I will bring you into a land flowing with milk and honey? And how does he now bring us up so that we should fall upon the sword and our wives be taken into captivity?
PPhil 15:5And when they said these words, suddenly the glory of God appeared, and he said to Moses, So, do the people continue not to listen to me at all? Behold now the plan of action that has issued from me will not be in vain. I will send the angel of my wrath upon them to afflict their bodies with fire in the wilderness. But I will command my angels who watch over them not o intercede for them; for their souls I will shut up in the chambers of darkness, and I will tell my servants, their fathers, Behold this is the seed to which I have spoken, saying Your seed will stay a while in a land not its own, and I will judge the nation whom it will serve. And I fulfilled my words and made their enemies melt away and set the angels beneath their feet and placed the cloud as the covering for their head. And I commanded the sea, and when the abyss was divided before
PPhil 15:6them, walls of water stood forth. And there was never anything like this event since the day I said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, until this day. And I brought them forth, but I killed their enemies. And I brought them before me to Mount Sinai, and I bent the heavens and came down to kindle a lamp for my people and to establish laws for creation. And I taught them to make sanctuaries for me that I might swell in them, but they abandoned me and did not believe my words, and their mind grew weak. And now behold the days will come, and I will do to them as they wished, and I will cast forth their bodies in the wilderness.
PPhil 15:7And Moses said, before you took the seed from which you would make man upon the earth, was it I who did establish their ways? Therefore let your mercy sustain us until the end, and your fidelity for length of days; for unless you had mercy, who would ever be born?
Chapter sixteen
PPhil 16:1In that time he commanded that man about the tassels. And then Korah and two hundred men with him rebelled and said, Why is an unbearable law imposed upon us?
PPhil 16:2And God was angry and said, I commanded the earth, and it gave me man; and to him two sons were born first of all, and the older rose up and killed the younger, and the earth quickly swallowed up his blood. But I drove Cain out and cursed the earth and spoke to the parched land, saying, You will swallow up
PPhil 16:3blood no more. And now the thoughts of men are very corrupt; behold I command the earth, and it will swallow up body and soul together. And their dwelling place will be in darkness and the place of destruction; and they will not die but melt away until I remember the world and renew the earth; And then they will die and not live, and their life will be taken away from the number of all men. And hell will no longer spit them back, and their destruction will not be remembered, and their passing will be like that of those tribes of nations of whom I said, I will not remember them, that is, the camp of the Egyptians and the race that I destroyed with the water of the flood, And the earth will swallow them up, and I will do no more.
PPhil 16:4And though Moses was speaking all these words to the people, Korah and his men were still defiant. And Korah sent for his seven sons, who had not joined
PPhil 16:5with him in the plot, to be summoned. But they answered him, saying, Just as a painter does not produce a work of art unless he has been instructed beforehand, so we have received the Law of the Most Powerful that teaches us his ways; and we will not enter them except to walk in them. Our father has not begotten us, but the Most Powerful has formed us. And now if we walk in his ways, we will be his sons. But if you are unbelieving, go your own way. And they did not come up to him.
PPhil 16:6And after this the earth was opened before them. And his sons sent to him, saying, If your madness is still upon you, who will help you in the day of your destruction? And he did not heed them. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up them and their households. And four times the foundation of the earth was shaken so as to swallow up the men as it had been commanded. And
PPhil 16:7after this, Korah and his group cried out until the earth became solid again. Now the assembly of the people said to Moses, We cannot stay around this place where Korah and his group cried out until the earth became solid again. Now the assembly of the people said to Moses, We cannot stay around this place where Korah and his men were swallowed up. And he said to them, Take up your tents from round about them; do not be joined in their sins. And so they did.
Chapter seventeen
PPhil 17:1And then the identity of the priestly family was revealed by the selection of one tribe. And it was told to Moses. Take for the twelve tribes one rod apiece and put them in the tent of meeting. And then to whomever my glory shall have spoken, the rod of that one will flower and I will take away the murmuring from
PPhil 17:2my people. And Moses did so, and he deposited the twelve rods. And the rod
PPhil 17:3of Aaron sprouted and flowered and yielded seed of almonds. Now that which happened then was like what Israel did while he was in Mesopotamia with Laban the Syrian when he took almond rods and put them at the cisterns of water; and the flocks came to drink and were divided among the peeled rods, and they brought
PPhil 17:4forth white and speckled and many-colored kids. So the assembly of the people was like the flock of sheep. And as the flocks brought forth according to the almond rods, so the priesthood was established through almond rods.
Chapter eighteen
PPhil 18:1In that time, Moses killed Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and he
PPhil 18:2handed over all their land to his own people, and they dwelled in it. Now Balak was king of Moab and was living opposite them, and he was very much afraid, And he sent to Balaam the son of Beor, the interpreter of dreams, who lived in Mesopotamia, and commanded him, saying, Behold I know that in the reign of my father Zippor, when the Amorites fought him, you cursed them and they were handed over before him. And now come and curse this people, because they are
PPhil 18:3too many for us, and I will do you great honor. And Balaam said, Behold this has given pleasure to Balak, but he does not know that the plan of God is not like the plan of man. Now he does not realize that the spirit that is given to us is given for a time. But our ways are not straight unless God wishes it. And now wait here, and I will see what the Lord may say to me this night.
PPhil 18:4And God said to him by night, Who are the men who have come to you? And Balaam said, Why, Lord, do you try the human race? They cannot endure it, because you know well what is to happen in the world, even before you founded it. And now enlighten your servant if it be right to go forth with them.
PPhil 18:5And he said to him, Is it not regarding this people that I spoke to Abraham in a vision, saying, Your seed will be like the stars of heaven, when I lifted him above the firmament and showed him the arrangements of all the stars? And I demanded his son as a holocaust. And he brought him to be placed on the altar, but I gave him back to his father and, because he did not refuse, his offering was acceptable before me, and on account of his blood I chose them. And then I said to the angels who work secretly, Did I not say regarding this, I will reveal
PPhil 18:6everything I am doing to Abraham and to Jacob his son, the third one whom I called firstborn, who, when he was wrestling in the dust with the angel who was in charge of hymns, would not let him go until he blessed him, And do you propose to go forth with them to curse whom I have chosen? But if you curse them, who will be there to bless you?
PPhil 18:7And Balaam arose in the morning and said, Be on your way, because God does not wish me to come with you. And they set out and told Balak what was said by Balaam. And Balak again sent other men to Balaam, saying, Behold I know that when you offer holocausts to God, God will be reconciled with men. And now ask even still more from your Lord and beg with as many holocausts as he wishes. But if he should be propitiated regarding my evil deeds, you will
PPhil 18:8have your reward and God will receive his offerings. And Balaam said to them, Behold the son of Zippor is looking around and does not recognize that he dwells among the dead. And now wait here this night, and I will see what God may say to me. And God said to him, Go with them, and your way will be a stumbling block, and that Balak will go to ruin. He rose in the morning and set
PPhil 18:9out with them, And his she-ass came by way of the wilderness and saw an angel and lay down beneath him. And he opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel and adored him on the ground. And the angel said to him, Hurry and be gone, because whatever you say will come to pass for him.
PPhil 18:10And he came into the land of Moab and built an altar and offered sacrifices. And when he saw part of the people, the spirit of God did not abide in him. And he took up his discourse and said, Behold, Balak brought me to the mountain, saying, Come, run into the fire of those men, What fire the waters will not extinguish, I cannot resist; but the fire that consumes water, who will resist that? And he said to him, It is easier to take away the foundations and the topmost part of the earth and to extinguish the light of the sun and to darken the light of the moon than for anyone to uproot the planting of the Most Powerful or to destroy his vine. And he did not know that his consciousness was expanded so as to
PPhil 18:11hasten his own destruction. For behold I see the heritage that the Most Powerful has shown me by night. And behold the days will come, and Moab will be amazed at what is happening to it because Balak wished to persuade the Most Powerful with gifts and to buy a decision with money. Should you not have asked about what he sent upon Pharoah and his land because he wished to reduce them to slavery? Behold an overshadowing and highly desirable vine, and who will be jealous because it does not wither? But if anyone says to himself that the Most Powerful has labored in vain or has chosen them to no purpose, behold now I see the salvation and liberation that will come upon them. I am restrained in my speech and cannot say what I see with my eyes, because there is little left of the holy spirit that abides in me. For I know that, because I have been persuaded by
PPhil 18:12Balak, I have lessened the time of my life. And behold my remaining hour. Behold again i see the heritage and the dwelling place of this people. And its light will shine more brilliantly than the splendor of lightning, and its course will be swifter than that of an arrow. And the time will come and Moab will groan, and those serving Chemosh who have plotted these things against them will be made weak. But I will gnash my teeth, because I have been led astray and have transgressed what was said to me by night. And my prophecy will remain public, and my words will live on. And the wise and understanding will remember my words that, when I cursed, I perished, but though I blessed, I was not blessed. On saying these words he grew silent. And Balak said, Your God has cheated you of many gifts from me.
PPhil 18:13And then Balaam said to him, Come and let us plan what you should do to them. Pick out the beautiful women who are among us and in Midian, and station them naked and adorned with gold and precious stones before them. And when they see them and lie with them, they will sin against their Lord and fall into
PPhil 18:14your hands; for otherwise you cannot fight against them. And on saying this, Balaam turned away and returned to his place. And afterward the people were seduced after the daughters of Moab. For Balak did everything that Balaam had showed him.
Chapter nineteen
PPhil 19:1And in that time Moses killed the nations and gave half their spoils to the people. And he began declaring to them the words of the Law that God had
PPhil 19:2spoken to them on Horeb. And he spoke to them, saying, Behold I am to sleep with my fathers and will go to my people. But I know that you will rise up and forsake the words established for you through me, and God will be angry at you and abandon you and depart from your land. And he will bring upon you those who hate you, and they will rule ever you, but not forever, because he will
PPhil 19:3remember the covenant that he established with your fathers. But then you and your sons and all your generations will rise up after you and lament the day of my death and say in their heart, Who will give us another shepherd like Moses or such a judge for the sons of Israel to pray always for our sins and to be heard
PPhil 19:4for out iniquities? Now I call to witness against you today heaven and earth (for heaven will hear this, and earth will know it with its ears) that God has revealed the end of the world so that he might establish his statutes with you and kindle among you an eternal light. And you will remember, you wicked ones; for when I spoke to you, you answered saying, All that God has said to us, we will do and hear. But if we transgress or grow corrupt in our ways, you will
PPhil 19:5recall this as a witness against us, and he will cut us off. But know that you have eaten the bread of angels for forty years. And now behold I bless your tribes before my end comes. But you, acknowledge my toil that I have toiled for you from the time you went up from the land of Egypt.
PPhil 19:6On his saying these words, God spoke to him a third time, saying, Behold you are going forth to sleep with your fathers. But this people will rise up and not seek me, and they will forget my Law, by which I have enlightened them,
PPhil 19:7and I will abandon their seed for a time. Now I will show you the land before you die, but you will not enter it in this age lest you see the graven images with which this people will start to be deceived and led off the path. I will show you the place where they will serve me for 740 years. And after this it will be turned over into the hands of their enemies, and they will destroy it, and foreigners will encircle it, And it will be on that day as it was on the day I smashed the tablets of the covenant that I drew up for you on Horeb; and when they sinned, what was written on them flew away. Now that day was the seventeenth day of the fourth month.
PPhil 19:8And Moses ascended Mount Abarim as God had commanded him, and he prayed saying, Behold I have completed my lifetime; I have completed 120 years. And now I ask, May your mercy with your people and your pity with your heritage, Lord, be established; and may your long-suffering in your place be
PPhil 19:9upon the chosen race because you have loved them before all others. And you know that I was a shepherd. And when I fed the flock in the wilderness, I brought them to your mountain Horeb and then I was afraid and turned my face. And you sent me to them and you freed them from Egypt, but their enemies you drowned in the water. And you gave them the Law and statutes in which they might live and enter as sons of men. For who is the man who has not sinned against you? And unless your patience abides, how would your heritage be established, if you were not merciful to them? Or who will yet be born without sin? Now you will correct them for a time, but not in anger.
PPhil 19:10Then the Lord showed him the land and all that is in it and said, This is the land that I will give to my people. And he showed him the place from which the clouds draw up water to water the whole earth, and the place from which the river takes its water, and the land of Egypt, and the place in the firmament from which only the holy land drinks. And he showed him the place from which the manna rained upon the people, even unto the paths of paradise. And he showed him the measurements of the sanctuary and the number of sacrifices and the signs by which they are to interpret the heaven. And he said, These are what are
PPhilo19:11prohibited for the human race because they have sinned against me. And now your staff with which these signs were performed will be a witness between me and my people. And when they sin, I will be angry with them but I will recall your staff and spare them in accord with my mercy. And your staff will be before me as a reminder all the days, and it will be like the bow with which I established my covenant with Noah when he went forth from the ark, saying, I will place my bow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign between me and men that never
PPhil 19:12again will the flood water cover all the earth. Now I will take you from here and glorify you with your fathers, and I will give you rest in your slumber and bury you in peace. And all the angels will mourn over you, and the heavenly hosts will be saddened. But neither angel nor man will know your tomb in which you are to be buried until I visit the world. And I will raise up you and your fathers from the land of Egypt in which you sleep and you will come together
PPhil 19:13and dwell in the immortal dwelling place that is not subject to time. But this heaven will be before me like a fleeting cloud and passing like yesterday. And when the time draws near to visit the world, I will command the years and order the times and they will be shortened, and the stars will hasten and the light of the sun will hurry to fall and the light of the moon will not remain; for I will hurry to raise up you who are sleeping in order that all who can live may dwell in the place of sanctification I showed you.
PPhil 19:14And Moses said, If I can make another request of you, Lord; according to your great mercy by not angry with me, but show me what amount of time has
PPhil 19:15passed and how much remains. And he said to him, There is honey, the topmost peak, the fullness of a moment, and the drop of a cup; and time has fulfilled all things, For four and a half have passed, and two and a half remain.
PPhil 19:16And when Moses heard this, he was filled with understanding and his appearance became glorious; and he died in glory according to the word of the Lord, and he buried him as he had promised him. And the angels mourned at his death, and the lightnings and the torches and the arrows went all together before him. And in that day the hymn of the heavenly hosts was not sung because of the passing of MOses, nor was there such a day from the one on which the Lord made man upon the earth, nor shall there be such forever, that the hymn of the angels should stop on account of men; because he loved him very much. And he buried him with his own hands on a high place and in the light of all the world.
Chapter twenty
PPhil 20:1And in that time God established his covenant with Joshua the son of Nun, who was left from the men who had spied out the land; for the lot went forth upon them that they should not see the land because they had spoken badly about
PPhil 20:2it, and on account of this that generation died. Then God said to Joshua the son of Nun, Why do you mourn and why do you hope in vain that Moses yet lives? And now you wait to no purpose, because Moses is dead. Take his garments of wisdom and clothe yourself, and with his belt of knowledge gird your loins, and you will be changed and become another man. Did I not speak on your behalf to Moses my servant, saying, This one will lead my people after you, and into his hand I will deliver the kings of the Amorites?
PPhil 20:3And Joshua took the garments of wisdom and clothed himself and girded his loins with the belt of understanding. And when he clothed himself with it, his mind was afire and his spirit was moved, and he said to the people, Behold the first generation has died in the wilderness because they have spoken against their God. And behold now, all you leaders, know today that if you proceed in the
PPhil 20:4ways of your God, your paths will be made straight. But if you do not heed his voice and you become like your fathers, your affairs will be spoiled and you yourselves will be crushed and your name will perish from the earth. And where will the words be that God spoke to your fathers? For even if the gentiles say, Perhaps God has failed, because he has not freed his people - nevertheless they will recognize that he has not chosen for himself other peoples and done great wonders with them, then they will understand that the Most Powerful does not respect persons; but because you sin through pride, so he took away his power from you and subdued you. And now rise up and set your heart to walk in the
PPhil 20:5ways of your Lord, and he will guide you. And the people said to him, Behold we know today what Eldad and Modad prophesied in the days of Moses, saying, After Moses goes to rest, the leadership of Moses will be given over to Joshua the son of Nun. And Moses was not jealous but rejoiced when he heard them. And from then on all the people believed that you would exercise leadership over them and divide up the land among them in peace. And now even if there is conflict, be strong and act manfully, because you alone are ruler in Israel.
PPhil 20:6On hearing these words Joshua decided to send spies into Jericho. And he summoned Kenaz and Seeniamias, his brother, the two sons of Caleb, and he said to them, I and your father were sent by Moses in the wilderness, and we went up with ten other men. And they came back and spoke badly about the land and discouraged the heart of the people, and they and the heart of the people with them were discouraged. But I and your father alone fulfilled the word of the Lord, and behold we are alive today. And now I will send you to spy out the
PPhil 20:7land of Jericho, Imitate your father, and you also will live. And they went up and spied out the city. And when they brought back word, the people went up and attacked the city and burned it with fire.
PPhil 20:8And after Moses died, the manna stopped descending upon the sons of Israel, and then they began to eat from the fruits of the land. And these are the three things that God gave to his people on account of three persons; that is; the well of the water of Marah for Miriam and the pillar of cloud for Aaron and the manna for Moses. And when these came to their end, these three things were taken away from them.
PPhil 20:9Now the people and Joshua fought against the Amorites. And they prevailed in battle against their enemies all the days of Joshua, and thirty-nine kings who dwelt in the land were destroyed. And Joshua gave the land to the people by lot
PPhil 20:10to each tribe according to the lots, as it had been commanded him. Then Caleb approached him and said, You know that the two of us were sent by lot from Moses to go with the spies, and because we fulfilled the word of the Lord, behold we are alive today. And now, if it is acceptable in your eyes, let there be given by lot to Kenaz my son the territory of the three towers. And Joshua blessed him, and so he did.
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