1 CREATION
THIS IS THE BOOK YAHSHER OF THE GENERATIONS OF MAN WHOM YAHWEH CREATED UPON THE EARTH ON THE DAY WHEN YAHWEH MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH.
The Creation of Adam and Eve. The Fall. Birth of Cain and Abel. Abel a Keeper of Sheep. Cain a Tiller of the Soil. The Quarrel Between the Brothers and the Result. Cain, the First Murderer, Cursed of YAHWEH
1 And YAHWEH said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and YAHWEH created man in his own image.
2 And YAHWEH formed man from the ground, and he blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul endowed with speech.
3 And YAHWEH said, It is not good for man to be alone; I will make unto him a helpmeet.
4 And YAHWEH caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took away one of his ribs, and he built flesh upon it, and formed it and brought it to Adam, and Adam awoke from his sleep, and behold a woman was standing before him.
5 And he said, This is a bone of my bones and it shall be called woman, for this has been taken from man; and Adam called her name Eve, for she was the mother of all living.
6 And YAHWEH blessed them and called their names Adam and Eve in the day that he created them, and YAHWEH said, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
7 And YAHWEH took Adam and his wife, and he placed them in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it; and he commanded them and said unto them, From every tree of the garden you may eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
8 And when YAHWEH had blessed and commanded them, he went from them, and Adam and his wife dwelt in the garden according to the command which YAHWEH had commanded them.
9 And the serpent, which YAHWEH had created with them in the earth, came to them to incite them to transgress the command of YAHWEH which he had commanded them.
10 And the serpent enticed and persuaded the woman to eat from the tree of knowledge, and the woman hearkened to the voice of the serpent, and she transgressed the word of YAHWEH, and took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and she ate, and she took from it and gave also to her husband and he ate.
11 And Adam and his wife transgressed the command of YAHWEH which he commanded them, and YAHWEH knew it, and his anger was kindled against them and he cursed them.
12 And YAHWEH drove them that day from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which they were taken, and they went and dwelt at the east of the garden of Eden; and Adam knew his wife Eve and she bore two sons and three daughters.
13 And she called the name of the first born Cain, saying, I have obtained a man from YAHWEH, and the name of the other she called Abel, for she said, In vanity we came into the earth, and in vanity we shall be taken from it.
14 And the boys grew up and their father gave them a possession in the land; and Cain was a tiller of the ground, and Abel a keeper of sheep.
15 And it was at the expiration of a few years, that they brought an approximating offering to YAHWEH, and Cain brought from the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought from the firstlings of his flock from the fat thereof, and YAHWEH turned and inclined to Abel and his offering, and a fire came down from YAHWEH from heaven and consumed it.
16 And unto Cain and his offering YAHWEH did not turn, and he did not incline to it, for he had brought from the inferior fruit of the ground before YAHWEH, and Cain was jealous against his brother Abel on account of this, and he sought a pretext to slay him.
17 And in some time after, Cain and Abel his brother, went one day into the field to do their work; and they were both in the field, Cain tilling and ploughing his ground, and Abel feeding his flock; and the flock passed that part which Cain had ploughed in the ground, and it sorely grieved Cain on this account.
18 And Cain approached his brother Abel in anger, and he said unto him, What is there between me and you, that thou come to dwell and bring thy flock to feed in my land?
19 And Abel answered his brother Cain and said unto him, What is there between me and you, that thou shalt eat the flesh of my flock and clothe thyself with their wool?
20 And now therefore, put off the wool of my sheep with which you have clothed thyself, and recompense me for their fruit and flesh which you have eaten, and when you shall have done this, I will then go from thy land as you have said?
21 And Cain said to his brother Abel, Surely if I slay you this day, who will require thy blood from me?
22 And Abel answered Cain, saying, Surely YAHWEH who has made us in the earth, he will avenge my cause, and he will require my blood from you should you slay me, for YAHWEH is the judge and arbiter, and it is he who will requite man according to his evil, and the wicked man according to the wickedness that he may do upon earth.
23 And now, if you should slay me here, surely YAHWEH knows thy secret views, and will judge you for the evil which you didst declare to do unto me this day.
24 And when Cain heard the words which Abel his brother had spoken, behold the anger of Cain was kindled against his brother Abel for declaring this thing.
25 And Cain hastened and rose up, and took the iron part of his ploughing instrument, with which he suddenly smote his brother and he slew him, and Cain spilt the blood of his brother Abel upon the earth, and the blood of Abel streamed upon the earth before the flock.
26 And after this Cain repented having slain his brother, and he was sadly grieved, and he wept over him and it vexed him exceedingly.
27 And Cain rose up and dug a hole in the field, wherein he put his brother's body, and he turned the dust over it.
28 And YAHWEH knew what Cain had done to his brother, and YAHWEH appeared to Cain and said unto him, Where is Abel thy brother that was with you?
29 And Cain dissembled, and said, I do not know, am I my brother's keeper? And YAHWEH said unto him, What have you done? The voice of thy brother's blood cries unto me from the ground where you have slain him.
30 For you have slain your brother and have dissembled before me, and didst imagine in your heart that I saw you not, nor knew all your actions.
31 But you did this thing and did slay your brother for naught and because he spoke rightly to you, and now, therefore, cursed be you from the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand, and wherein you did bury him.
32 And it shall be when you shall till it, it shall no more give you its strength as in the beginning, for thorns and thistles shall the ground produce, and you shall be moving and wandering in the earth until the day of your death.
33 And at that time Cain went out from the presence of YAHWEH, from the place where he was, and he went moving and wandering in the land toward the east of Eden, he and all belonging to him.
34 And Cain knew his wife in those days, and she conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Enoch, saying, In that time YAHWEH began to give him rest and quiet in the earth.
35 And at that time Cain also began to build a city: and he built the city and he called the name of the city Enoch, according to the name of his son; for in those days YAHWEH had given him rest upon the earth, and he did not move about and wander as in the beginning.
36 And Irad was born to Enoch, and Irad begat Mechuyael and Mechuyael begat Methusael.