Chapter 1
     In the first times³ the Lord created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was waste and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the abyss; and a wind from before the Lord blew upon⁴ the face of the waters. And the Lord said, Let there be light; and there was light. And the Lord saw the light that it was good. And the Lord distinguished between the light and between the darkness. And the Lord called the Light the Day, and the darkness He called the Night. And there was evening, and there was morning, Day the First.

     And the Lord said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it distinguish between the waters and the waters. And the Lord made the expanse, and distinguished between the waters which were under the expanse, and between the waters which were above the expanse: and it was so. And the Lord called the expanse the Heavens. And it was evening, and it was morning, the Second Day. And the Lord said, The waters shall be collected under the heavens into one region, and the dry land shall appear. And it was so. And the Lord called the dry land Earth, and the place of the collection of waters He called Sea. And the Lord saw that it was good. And the Lord said, The earth shall bring forth grass; the plant whose germ-seed⁵ is to be sown; the fruit-tree making fruit according to its kind, whose germ-seed is in it upon the earth;-- and it was so. And the earth put forth grass; the herb, whose germ-seed is sown after its kind; and the tree making fruit, whose seed is in it after its kind. And the Lord saw that it was good. And it was evening, and it was morning, Day the Third.

     And the Lord said, There shall be Lights in the expanse of heaven, to distinguish between the day and the night; and they shall be for signs and for times, for the numbering of days and years. And they shall be for luminaries and the expanse of heaven to shine upon the earth; -- and it was so. And the Lord made the two great luminaries: the greater luminary to rule the day;⁶ and the smaller luminary to rule in the night, and the stars. And the Lord set them in the expanse of heaven to shine upon the earth, and to rule the day and in the night, and to distinguish between light and darkness. And the Lord saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning, Day the Fourth.

     And the Lord said, Let the waters generate⁷ the moving creature (having) life; and the fowl which flieth over the earth on the face of the expanse of heaven. And the Lord created the great taninia and every living animal which moveth, which the waters generated according to their kind, and every fowl which flieth according to his kind; and the Lord saw that it was good. And the Lord blessed them, saying, Spread abroad and become many, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the fowl become many on the earth. And it was evening, and it was morning, Day the Fifth.

     And the Lord said, Let the earth produce the living animal after its kind, cattle, and reptile, and beast of the earth, according to its kind;--and it was so. And the Lord made the beast of the earth after its kind, and cattle after their kind, and every reptile of the earth after its kind; and the Lord saw that it was good. And the Lord said, Let us make Man in Our image, as Our likeness; and they shall have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every reptile which moveth upon the earth. And the Lord created⁸ the Adam in His image, in the image of the Lord⁹ He created him; male and female He created them. And the Lord blessed them, and said to them, Spread abroad, and become many, and fill the earth, and be strong upon it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And the Lord said, Behold, I have given to you every plant which seedeth germ-seed which is upon all the earth; and every tree in which is the fruit of the tree which seedeth germ-seed; unto you it shall be for food, and unto every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heavens, and to every reptile upon the earth in which is the breath of life, every green herb to eat; and it was so. And the Lord saw all that He had made and, behold, it was very steadfast. And it was evening, and it was morning. Day the Sixth.

3. Be-kadmin, "in antiquities." This expression, when used, as here, in the plural, is sometimes put for "eternity." compair Onkelos on Deut. xxxiii. 27 Eloha de-milkadmin, "the Eternal God,", "God who is from eternity," with Jonathan on Micah v. 2, "Messiah, ........ whose name is called (milkadmin) from eternity."
4 Some copies, "Darkness was outspread upon the face," &c.
5. Lit., "Son-seed."
6. Sumaritan Version, "the plentitude of the greater light."
7. "Swarm with, produce abundantly."
8. Sam. Vers., "fashioned."
9. Some copies, "in the image of Elohim."

Chapter 2
     And the heavens and the earth and all their host were completed. And the Lord finished in the Seventh Day His work which He had wrought, and rested in the Seventh Day from all His work which He had wrought. And the Lord blessed the Seventh Day and made it holy, because in it He rested from all His work which the Lord had created to make. These are the memorials¹ of the heavens and the earth, when they were created in the day when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. And all trees of the field were not yet in the earth, and every herb of the field had not yet sprung up, because the Lord God had not caused rain to come upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. And a mist² ascended from the earth, and moistened all the face of the ground. And the Lord God created Adam from dust of the ground, and breathed upon his the breath of lives, and it became in Adam a Discoursing Spirit. And the Lord God planted a garden in a region of pleasantness³ in the time of the beginning, and He made to dwell there the man whom He had created. And the Lord God caused to grow from the earth every tree desirable to look upon, and good for food, and the Tree of Life (Lives) in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of whose fruit they who eat know between good and evil. And a river went forth from Eden to water the garden⁴ and from thence it was divided and became four heads of rivers⁵ (or four chief rivers). The name of the first is Pishon⁶, that which encompasseth all the land of Havilah, where is gold; and the gold of that land is good; there is bedalcha and burilla-stones. And the name of the second river is Gichon⁷, which encompasseth all the land of Kush⁸. And the name of the third river is Digelath⁹, which goeth to the east of Athur¹. And the fourth river is Pherat. And the Lord God took Adam and placed him in the garden of Eden to culture it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying, Of every tree of the garden eating thou mayest eat; but of the tree whose fruit they who eat know between good and evil thou shall not eat; for in the day that thou eatest of it dying thou shall die². And the Lord God said. It is not right that Adam should be solitary; I will make for him a helper as for his sake (or, as suited to him: Hebrew, kenego, as his counterpart). And the Lord God created from the earth every beast of the field and every fowl of the heavens, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call him; and every (name by) which Adam called the living animal, that was his name. And Adam called the name of all cattle, and of the fowl of the heaven, and of every beast of the field; but to Adam was not found a helper as for him. And the Lord God threw a sleep upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and filled with flesh in place thereof; and the Lord God builded the rib which He took from Adam into Woman, and He brought her unto Adam. And Adam said, This now (this time) is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh: this shall be called Woman, because from her husband this was taken. Therefore shall a man forsake the couch (beth mishkeb, the sleeping house) of his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be of one flesh. And they were both naked, Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed.

1. Toledath, "recitals, history."
2. Or, "cloud."
3. Or, "in Eden." Distinguished between the region and the garden.
4. Sam. Vers., "Paradise."
5. Sam. Vers., "islands."
6. Sam. Vers., "Phison-kadoph."
7. Sam. Vers., "Askoph."
8. Sam. Vers., "Chophin."
9. Sam. Vers., "Kephlosah."
numbers start over
1. Sam. Vers., "Kingdom of Hatsphu."
2. Sam. Vers., "Consuming thou shalt be consumed."

Chapter 3
     And the serpent (chivja) was more crafty than all the animals of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Is it in truth (that) the lord said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,³ the Lord hath said, You shall not eat of it, nor approach to it, lest you die.⁴ And the serpent said to the woman, Not to die will you die: for it is manifest before the Lord, that in the day in which you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be (ki-rabrebin) as the Great-ones, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and that it was salutary to the eyes, and a tree desirable to contemplate; and she took of its fruitage (aiba) and ate; and she gave to her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed for themselves the leaves of the fig-tree, and made for themselves cinctures. And they heard the voice of theWord of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening of the day;⁵ and Adam and his wife hid themselves before the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where art thou? And he said, The voice of Thy Word heard I in the garden, and I (was) naked, and I would hide. And He said, Who showed thee that thou wast naked? Of the tree of which I commanded that eating of it thou shouldst not eat, hast thou eaten? And Adam said, The woman whom Thou gavest (to be) with me, she gave to me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent led me astray, and I did eat. And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, more accursed art thou than all cattle, and than all the beasts of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and the dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and between the woman, and between thy son and her son. He will remember thee, what thou didst to him (at) from the beginning, and thou shalt be observed unto him at the end.

     And to the woman He said, Multiplying, I will multiply thy sorrows and thy pains. In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children; and unto thy husband shall be thy desire, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast obeyed the word of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree (about) which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, accursed is the ground on thy account. With labour shalt thou eat from it all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles it shall put forth for thee, and thou shalt eat herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until that thou return to the earth, because from it thou wast created. For dust thou art, and to dust thou wilt return. And Adam called the name of his wife Hava, because she was the mother of all the children of men. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife vestments of honour upon the skin of their flesh, and clothed them. And the Lord God said, Behold, man is become singular (or alone,⁶ yechid) in the world by himself, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch forth his hand and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat, and live forever;….. and the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he had been created. And He drove out the man, and before the garden of Eden he caused to dwell the kerubaya, and the sharp sword which revolved to keep the way of the Tree of Life.

Chapter 4
     And Adam knew Hava his wife, and she conceived, and gave birth to Kain; and she said, I have acquired the man from before the Lord. And she added to give birth to his brother, Habel. And Habel was a shepherd of the flock, and Kain a man working on the ground. And it was at the end (or complement) of days, that Kain brought of the product of the earth an oblation before the Lord; and Habel he brought also of the first-born of his sheep and of their fatlings. And there was acceptableness before the Lord in Habel and in his oblation; but in Kain and his oblation there was not acceptableness. And it was greatly displeasing to Kain, and his countenance was downcast. And the Lord said to Kain, Why art thou displeased, and why is thy countenance downcast? If thou doest thy work well, is it not remitted to thee? And if thou doest not thy work well, thy sin unto the day of judgment is reserved, when it will be exacted of thee, if thou convert not: but if thou convert it is remitted to thee. And Kain spake with Habel his brother; and it was in their being in the field that Kain arose against Habel his brother, and killed him. And the Lord said to Kain, Where is Habel thy brother? And he said, I know not; am I the keeper of my brother? And He said, What hast thou done? The voice of the blood of generations which were to come from thy brother complaineth before Me from the earth! And now, accursed art thou from the earth, which hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother from thy hand. When thou tillest the earth, it shall not add to give its virtue to thee; a castaway and a wanderer shall thou be in the earth. And Kain said before the Lord, Greater is my guilt than may be forgiven. Behold, Thou hast rejected me this day from the face of the earth, and from Thy presence it is not possible to hide: and I shall be a castaway and a wanderer in the earth, and any one who findeth me will slay me. And the Lord said to him, Therefore any one who killeth Kain,--unto seven generations it shall be exacted of him. And the Lord set unto Kain a sign, least any one who found him should kill him. And Kain went out from before the Lord, and dwelt in the land of the wanderer and outcast,⁷ which was made for him in the beginnings in the garden of Eden. And Kain knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Hanoch, and he became the builder of a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son Hanoch. And there was born to Hanoch Irad, and Irad begat Mahujael;⁸ and Mahujael begat Methusael, and Methusael begat Lemek. And Lemek took unto him two wives, the name of one was Ada, and the name of the second Zillah. And Ada bare Juval; he was the master (rab) of all dwellers in tents and lords of cattle. And the name of his brother was Juval. He was the master of all who play upon the mouth of the pipe, who know the song of the harp and of the organ. And Zillah also, she bare Tuval-kain, the master⁹ of them who understand the working of brass and iron¹. And the sister of Tuval-kain was Naamah.² And Lemek said to his wives Ada and Zillah, Hear my voice, wives of Lemek, attend to my words: I have not slain a man, that on his account I should bear condemnation of death; or destroyed a young man, that on his account my posterity should be consumed. If seven generations are suspended unto Kain, will there not be to Lemek his son seventy and seven? And Adam knew yet his wife, and she bare a son, and called his name Sheth; Because, said she, the Lord hath given me another son instead of Habel, whom Kain slew. And to Sheth also was born a son, and he called his name Enosh; Then in his days the sons of men desisted (or forbore) from praying in the name of the Lord.

Chapter 5
     This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that the Lord God created man, in the resemblance of Elohim³ He made him; male and female He created them; and He blessed them, and called their name Man, in the day that they were created. And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat in his resemblance (one) who was like to himself, and he called his name Sheth. And the days after he had begotten Sheth⁴ were eight hundred years and he begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Adam which he lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

     And Sheth lived a hundred and five years, and begat Enosh. And Sheth lived after he had begotten Enosh eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Sheth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. And Enosh lived ninety years, and begat Keinan. And Enosh lived after he had begotten Keinan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred five years and he died.

     And Keinan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalalel. And Keinan lived after he had begotten Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Keinan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. And Mahalalel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jered. And Mahalalel lived after he had begotten Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety and five years, and he died.

     And Jered lived an hundred and sixty and two years, and begat Hanok. And Jered lived after he had begotten Hanok eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty and two years, and he died.

     And Hanok lived sixty and five years, and begat Methushelach. And Hanok walked in the fear of the Lord,⁵ after he had begotten Methushelach, three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Hanok were three hundred sixty and five years. And Hanok walked in the fear of the Lord; and he was not; for the Lord had not made him to die.⁶

     And Methushelach lived an hundred and eighty and seven years, and begat Lemek. And Methushelach lived after he had begotten Lemek seven hundred and eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters. All the days of Methushelach were nine hundred and sixty and nine years, and he died. And Lemek lived a hundred and eighty and two years, and begat a son. And he called his name Noach, saying, This shall console us from the works and from the labour of our hands from the earth which the Lord hath cursed. And Lemek lived, after he had begotten Noach, five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Lemek were seven hundred and seventy and seven years, and he died.
And Noach was a son of five hundred years, and Noach begat Shem, Cham, and Japheth.

Chapter 6
     And it was when the sons of men had begun to multiply upon the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of the mighty⁷ saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, and took to them wives of all whom they pleased.⁸ And the Lord said, This evil generation shall not stand before me for ever, because they are flesh, and their works are evil. A term (or length) will I give them, an hundred twenty years, if they may be converted. Giants were in the earth in those days; and also when, after that the sons of the mighty had gone in unto the daughters of men, there were born from them giants who from of old were men of name.

     And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man had multiplied in the earth, and that every formation (or image) of the thought of his heart was only evil every day. And it repented the Lord in His Word that He had made men upon the earth. And He said, (in His Word,)⁹ that He would break their strength according to His pleasure. And the Lord said, Man whom I have made will I blot out from the face of the earth;-- from man to the beast, to the reptile, and to the fowls of heaven; because it repenteth Me in My Word that I have made them. But Noach found mercy before the Lord.

These are the memorials of Noach. Noach was a man righteous and perfect in his generation; in the fear of the Lord walked Noach. And Noach begat three sons, Shem Cham, and Yapeth. And the earth was corrupted before the Lord, and the earth was filled with violences. And the Lord saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, because all flesh had corrupted, each one, his way upon the earth.

     And the Lord said to Noach, The end of all flesh cometh before Me, Because the earth is filled with violences from the face of their wicked works; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make the an ark with the wood of cedar; dwellings shalt thou make in the ark, and overlay it within and without with pitch. And thus shalt thou make it: three hundred cubits shall be the length of the ark, fifty cubits its breadth, and thirty cubits its height. A light shalt thou make to the ark, and at a cubit shalt thou complete it above, and the door of the ark thou shalt place in its side. Lower dwellings, second and third, shalt thou make in it. And I, behold, I do bring the deluge of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under the heavens. Every thing that is on the earth shall die. And I will establish My covenant with thee; and thou shalt enter into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and the wives of thy sons with thee. And of all that liveth of all flesh two and two of all that enter into the ark to abide with thee, male and female shall they be. Of fowl according to its kind, and of cattle according to her kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of all shall enter with thee to abide. And thou take with thee of all food which is eaten, and gather to be with thee; and it shall be for thee and for them to eat. And Noach did according to all which the Lord had commanded him, so did he.

Chapter 7
And the Lord said to Noach, Enter thou and all the men of thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation. Of all clean animals take thou seven and seven, male and female; and of animals not clean, two and two, male and female. Also of the fowls of heaven, seven and seven, male and female, to continue the seed upon the face of all the earth. Because yet a time of seven days and I will cause rain to descend upon the earth fourty days and forty nights, and I will blot out every subsistence³ which I have made upon all the face of the earth. And Noach was a son of six hundred years; and the deluge⁴ of waters was upon the earth. And Noach entered, and his sons, and his wife, and the wives of his sons with him, into the ark from before the waters of the deluge were upon the earth. Of animals clean, and of animals not clean, and of birds, and of all which creepeth upon the earth, two and two, they entered with Noach into the ark, male and female, as the Lord had instructed Noach. And it was at the time of seven days, and the waters of the deluge were upon the earth. In the six-hundredth year of the life of Noach, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, in that day were all the springs of the great abyss upbroken, and the windows of heaven opened, and the rain came down upon the earth forty days and nights. In that very day entered Noach, and Shem, Cham, and Yapheth, sons of Noach, and the wife of Noach, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; they, and every animal after his kind, and all cattle after its kind, and every reptile which creepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every fowl after its kind, every bird, every one that flieth: and they entered with Noach into the ark, two and two of all flesh in which is the breath of life, and they, entering, male and female of all flesh, entered, as the Lord had commanded him, and the Lord protected them by His Word. And there was a deluge forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased, and took up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. And the waters prevailed and increased mightily upon the earth, and the ark went upon the faces of the waters. And the waters prevailed most mightily over the earth, and all the high hills were covered which were under all the heavens. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered; and all flesh died which moved upon the earth, of fowl, and of cattle, and of the wild beast, and of every reptile which creepeth upon the earth, and every man. Everything in whose nostrils was the breath of the Spirit of life, all which was upon the dry ground, died. And every subsistence was blotted out that was upon the faces of the earth, from man to the beast, to the reptile and to the fowl of heaven, it was blotted out from the earth, and Noach was left alone, and they who were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.