The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English

by Geza Vermes

  The Genesis Apocryphon (IQapGen, IQ20)

  Found in Cave 1, and partly published by N. Avigad and Y. Yadin (A Genesis Apocryphon,Jerusalem, 1956), IQapGen is an incomplete manuscript with twenty-two surviving columns of Aramaic text (cf. also IQ20). Remains of a further column, ‘The Genesis Apocryphon Col. XII’, have since been edited by J. C. Greenfield and E. Qimron (Studies in Qumran Aramaic, Abr-Nabrain, Suppl. 3 (1992), 70-77). A preliminary transcription and translation of the rest of the unpublished material, deciphered with the help of advanced infra-red technology, has been issued by M. Morgenstern, E. Qimron and D. Sinan in ‘The Hitherto Unpublished Columns of the Genesis Apocryphon’, Abr-Nabrain 33 (1995), 3—52.

  The beginning of the manuscript is missing. But since the sheet starting with col. v is numbered by the Hebrew letter pe, col. x by sade, and col. XVII by qoph, i.e. the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth letters of the Hebrew alphabet, it would seem that the surviving section was preceded by sixteen sheets of which only the end of the last one has been preserved (cf. M. Morgenstern, ‘A New Clue to the Original Length of the Genesis Apocryphon’, JJS 47/2 (1996), 345—7). If so, the story of Noah which begins the existing portion of the scroll must have been preceded by an extensive account of the creation, Adam and Eve, and the Genesis story up to Enoch and Noah. Columns II—V narrate the miraculous birth of Noah (on Noah see also the minute fragments from 1Q19 and 19bis), whose father, Lamech, suspects that his wife has conceived by one of the fallen angels. Her denials fail to convince him and he asks his father, Methuselah, to travel to Paradise and obtain reassurance from his own father, Enoch. Columns VI—XV contain Noah’s first-person account of the Flood and of his journeys. Col. x describes Noah’s sacrifice after the Flood. Col. XI deals with the covenant between God and Noah with a mention of a ban on eating blood. Col. XII recounts the planting of a vineyard by Noah and his tasting of wine. The badly damaged cols. XIII—XV contain a vision concerning trees and its interpretation. Two further columns (XVI—XVII) deal with the division of the earth among the sons of Noah. Col. XVIII is completely lost. Cols. XIX—XXII, corresponding to Gen. xii—xv, deal with Abraham’s journey to Egypt, his return to Canaan, the war against the invading Mesopotamian kings, and the renewal to him of a divine promise of a son. This lively and delightful narrative, largely devoid of sectarian bias, throws valuable light on inter-Testamental Bible interpretation. It is a mixture of Targum, Midrash, rewritten Bible and autobiography. Most scholars assign the manuscript to the late first century BCE or the first half of the first century CE. The composition itself is generally thought to originate from the second century BCE. Its relationship to the mid-second-century Book of Jubilees is generally accepted, but views differ on whether it depends on Jubilees or vice versa. I slightly prefer the theory that in its pre-Qumran version the Genesis Apocryphon precedes Jubilees, which would postulate for the former a date at least as early as the first half of the second century BCE.

  ... II Behold, I thought then within my heart that conception was (due) to the Watchers and the Holy Ones... and to the Giants... and my heart was troubled within me because of this child. Then I, Lamech, approached Bathenosh [my] wife in haste and said to her, ‘... by the Most High, the Great Lord, the King of all the worlds and Ruler of the Sons of Heaven, until you tell me all things truthfully, if... Tell me [this truthfully] and not falsely... by the King of all the worlds until you tell me truthfully and not falsely.’

  Then Bathenosh my wife spoke to me with much heat [and] ... said, ‘O my brother, O my lord, remember my pleasure... the lying together and my soul within its body. [And I tell you] all things truthfully.’

  My heart was then greatly troubled within me, and when Bathenosh my wife saw that my countenance had changed... Then she mastered her anger and spoke to me saying, ‘O my lord, O my [brother, remember] my pleasure! I swear to you by the Holy Great One, the King of [the heavens] ... that this seed is yours and that [this] conception is from you. This fruit was planted by you... and by no stranger or Watcher or Son of Heaven... [Why] is your countenance thus changed and dismayed, and why is your spirit thus distressed... I speak to you truthfully.’

  Then I, Lamech, ran to Methuselah my father, and [I told] him all these things. [And I asked him to go to Enoch] his father for he would surely learn all things from him. For he was beloved, and he shared the lot [of the angels], who taught him all things. And when Methuselah heard [my words... he went to] Enoch his father to learn all things truthfully from him ... his will.

  He went at once to Parwain and he found him there... [and] he said to Enoch his father, ‘O my father, O my lord, to whom I... And I say to you, lest you be angry with me because I come here...

  VI [I abstained] from injustice and in the womb of her who conceived me I searched for truth. And when I emerged from my mother’s womb, I was planted for truth and I lived all my days in truth and walked in the paths of eternal truth. And the Holy One (was) with me ... on my pathways truth sped to warn me off the ... of lie which led to darkness ... and I girded my loins with the vision of truth and wisdom... paths of violence. vacat Then I, Noah, became a man and clung to truth and seized... and I took Amzara, his daughter as my wife. She conceived and bore me three sons [and daughters]. Then I took wives for my sons from among my brother’s daughters, and I gave my daughters to my brother’s sons according to the law of the eternal precept which the Most High [ordained] to the sons of man. vacat And in my days, when according to my reckoning... ten jubilees had been completed, the (moment) came for my sons to take wives for themselves... heaven, I saw in a vision and was explained and made known the action of the sons of heaven and... the heavens. Then I hid this mystery in my heart and explained it to no man. vacat ... to me and a great and... and in a message of the Holy One... and he spoke to me in a vision and he stood before me ...

  ... and the message of the great Holy One called out to me: ‘To you they say, O Noah, ...’ and I reckoned the whole conduct of the sons of the earth. I knew and explained all... two weeks. Then the blood which the Giants had spilled.... I was at ease and waited until... the holy ones with the daughters of man... [Then] I, Noah, found grace, greatness and truth ... ... till the gates of heaven... to men and cattle, and wild beasts and birds...

  VII ... on them; the earth and all that is on it, in the seas and on the mountains ... all the constellations of heaven, the sun, the moon and the stars and the Watchers...

  ... I shall reward you... vacat the great Holy One. And I rejoiced in the words of the Lord of heaven and I shouted... it ... you all to your Master... the King of all the world for ever and ever until all eternity. vacat ... [until] the ark rested on one of the mountains of Ararat (HWRRT). And eternal fire... And I atoned for the whole earth, all of it. And the beginning of... and I burned the fat on the fire. Secondly, ... I poured out their blood on the base of the altar and I burned all their flesh on the altar. And thirdly the turtledoves... on the altar as an offering.... I put on it fine flour mixed with oil and with incense as a meal offering.... I put salt on all of them. And the smell of my offering rose up to heaven. vacat ...

  XI ... the mountains and the deserts... ... four... vacat [Then] I, Noah, went out and walked on the earth, through its length and breadth... delight on her in their leaves and in their fruit. And all the land was filled with grass and herbs and grain. Then I blessed the Lord of heaven who made splendid things. He is for ever and praise is his. And I repeated the blessing on account of his grace for the earth and on account of his removing and causing to perish from it all those who do violence and wickedness and lies and on account of his rescuing the righteous man ... vacat [God] was revealed to me and [the Lord] of heaven spoke to me and said to me: ‘Do not fear, Noah. I shall be with you and with your sons who will be like you for ever... of the earth and rule over them... and over its deserts and its mountains and all that are on them. And behold, I give all of it to you and to your sons to eat the green things and the grass of the earth. But you shall not
eat any blood. Your fear and awe... for ever.’...

  XII ... in the mountains of Ararat (HWRRT). And afterwards I descended... I and my sons and the sons [of my sons] ... for the destruction was great on the earth... after the Flood. To my first son [Shem] was born, to begin with, a son, Arpachshad, two years after the Flood. [And] all the sons of Shem, all of them, [were Ela]m, and Ashur, Arpachshad, Lud and Aram, and five daughters. [And the sons of Ham: Kush and Misrai]n and Put and Canaan, and seven daughters. And the sons of Japhet: Gomer and Magog and Media and Yavan [and Tu]bal and Mashok and Tiras, and four daughters. [And] I began, I and all my sons, to fill the land and I planted a big vineyard on Mount Lubar and in the fourth year it produced wine for me ... [And] when the first festival c[ame], on the first day of the first festival in the ... month... I opened this jar (?) and I began to drink on the first day of the fifth year ... On this day I summoned my sons, my grandsons and all our wives and their daughters, and we assembled together and we went... and I blessed the Lord of heaven, the Most High God, the Great Holy One who saved us from perdition...

  XIII... they were cutting gold and silver and stones and clay and taking part of them for themselves. I saw the gold and the silver ... iron, and they cut down every tree and took some for themselves. I saw the sun and the moon and the stars cutting and taking some for themselves. ... I turned to see the olive tree and behold, the olive tree was rising upwards and for many hours... many leaves... appeared in them. I observed this olive tree and beheld the abundance of its leaves... they tied to it. And I was greatly amazed by this olive tree and its leaves. I was amazed... the four winds of heaven were blowing powerfully and they damaged this olive tree, breaking off its branches and smashing them. First [came] the westerly [wind] and struck it, and shook off its leaves and fruit, and scattered them in every direction. Then...

  XIV... listen and hear! You are the great cedar... standing before you in a dream on the top of mountains... ... truth. The willow that springs from it and rises towards the heights (these are) three sons... And that which you did see, (namely that) the first willow caught the stump of the cedar... and the wood from it ... will not separate from you all its days. And among its posterity... will be called... will spring a righteous plant... will stand for ever. And that which you did see, (namely that) the willow caught the stump [of the cedar] ...

  ... the last willow... vacat... part of their branch entered (got entangled with?) the branch of the first (willow), two sons... And that which you did see, (namely that) part of their branch entered the branch of the first... I explained to him the mystery...

  XV ... And that you did see all of them ... they will go around, the majority of them will be wicked. And that which you did see, (namely that) a man came from the south of the land, with a sickle in his hand, and fire with him ... who will come from the south of the land ... And they will cast wickedness on the fire, all ... And he shall come between

  ... Four angels ... between all the nations. And all of them will worship and be confounded ... I will explain to you all, in truth. And thus it is written concerning you. And I, Noah, awoke from my sleep and the sun ...

  XVI ... until the river Tina ... and all the land of the north, all of it, until it reaches ... And this boundary passes by the waters of the Great Sea as far as ... divided by lot to Japhet and his sons to inherit as an eternal inheritance. vacat The second lot came to Shem to inherit, he and his sons, as an eternal inheritance ... the waters of the river Tina ... as far as the river Tina ... to the great Sea of Salt. And this boundary goes as a spring from this bay ... to the east

  XVII ... And Shem, my son, divided (his inheritance) among his sons. And the first (lot) fell to Elam in the north, by the waters of the river Tigris as far as the Red Sea, whose source is in the north, and it turns to the west to Assyria as far as the Tigris ... And after it to Aram, the land between the two rivers, as far as the top of the mountain of Ashur ... [To] ... fell this Mount of the Ox and the portion stretched and went westwards as far as Magog ... east in the north ... this bay which is at the head of three portions by this sea to Arpachshad to the boundary that turns towards the south, all the land watered by the Euphrates, and all ... all the valleys and plains that are between them, and the island that is in the middle of the bay ... to the sons of Gomer ... and Amana as far as the Euphrates ... the portion that his father Noah divided and gave him. vacat Japhet divided (his inheritance) between his sons. He gave the first (lot) to Gomer in the north as far as the river Tina, and afterwards to Magog, and afterwards to Media, and afterwards to Yavan (the Greeks), all the islands that are by Lydia. And (the lot) which is between the bay of Lydia and the second bay, (he gave) to Tubal ... in the land. And to Meshek the sea ... to Tiras ... which is by the portion of the sons of Ham ... vacat ...

  XVIII ...

  XIX ... And I said, ‘Thou art ...’...‘... until now you have not come to the Holy Mountain.’

  And I (Abram) departed ... and I travelled towards the south ... until I came to Hebron [at the time when Hebron] was being built; and I dwelt there [two years].

  Now there was famine in all this land, and hearing that there was prosperity in Egypt I went ... to the land of Egypt ... I [came to] the river Karmon, one of the branches of the River (Nile) ... and I crossed the seven branches of the River ... We passed through our land and entered the land of the sons of Ham, the land of Egypt.

  And on the night of our entry into Egypt, I, Abram, dreamt a dream; [and behold], I saw in my dream a cedar tree and a palm tree ... men came and they sought to cut down the cedar tree and to pull up its roots, leaving the palm tree (standing) alone. But the palm tree cried out saying, ‘Do not cut down this cedar tree, for cursed be he who shall fell [it].’ And the cedar tree was spared because of the palm tree and [was] not felled.

  And during the night I woke from my dream, and I said to Sarai my wife, ‘I have dreamt a dream ... [and I am] fearful [because of] this dream.’ She said to me, ‘Tell me your dream that I may know it.’ So I began to tell her this dream ... [the interpretation] of the dream ...‘... that they will seek to kill me, but will spare you ... [Say to them] of me, “He is my brother”, and because of you I shall live, and because of you my life shall be saved ... ’

  And Sarai wept that night on account of my words ...

  Then we journeyed towards Zoan, I and Sarai ... by her life that none should see her ...

  And when those five years had passed, three men from among the princes of Egypt [came at the command] of Pharaoh of Zoan to inquire after [my] business and after my wife and they gave ... goodness, wisdom, and truth. And I exclaimed before them ... because of the famine ... And they came to ascertain ... with much food and drink ... the wine ...

  (During the party, the Egyptians must have seen Sarai, and on their return they praised her to the king.)

  XX ...‘... and beautiful is her face! How ... fine are the hairs of her head! How lovely are her eyes! How desirable her nose and all the radiance of her countenance ... How fair are her breasts and how beautiful all her whiteness! How pleasing are her arms and how perfect her hands, and how [desirable] all the appearance of her hands! How fair are her palms and how long and slender are her fingers! How comely are her feet, how perfect her thighs! No virgin or bride led into the marriage chamber is more beautiful than she; she is fairer than all other women. Truly, her beauty is greater than theirs. Yet together with all this grace she possesses abundant wisdom, so that whatever she does is perfect (?).’ When the king heard the words of Harkenosh and his two companions, for all three spoke as with one voice, he desired her greatly and sent out at once to take her. And seeing her, he was amazed by all her beauty and took her to be his wife, but me he sought to kill. Sarai said to the king, ‘He is my brother,’ that I might benefit from her, and I, Abram, was spared because of her and I was not slain.

  And I, Abram, wept aloud that night, I and my nephew Lot, because Sarai had been taken from me by force. I prayed that night and I begged and im
plored, and I said in my sorrow while my tears ran down: ‘Blessed art Thou, O Most High God, Lord of all the worlds, Thou who art Lord and king of all things and who rulest over all the kings of the earth and judgest them all! I cry now before Thee, my Lord, against Pharaoh of Zoan the king of Egypt, because of my wife who has been taken from me by force. Judge him for me that I may see Thy mighty hand raised against him and against all his household, and that he may not be able to defile my wife this night (separating her) from me, and that they may know Thee, my Lord, that Thou art Lord of all the kings of the earth.’ And I wept and was sorrowful.

  And during that night the Most High God sent a spirit to scourge him, an evil spirit to all his household; and it scourged him and all his household. And he was unable to approach her, and although he was with her for two years, he knew her not.