THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION

BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.

CHAPTER VI.

VI. 2 Then all they that had been divided and dwelt upon the earth gathered together there after, and dwelt together; and they set forth from the East and found a plain in the land of Babylon: and there they dwelt, and they said every man to his neighbour: Behold, it will come to pass that we shall be scattered every man. from his brother, and in the latter days we shall be fighting one against another. Now, therefore, come and let us build for ourselves a tower, the head whereof shall reach unto heaven, and we shall make us a name and a renown upon the earth.Gen. 11:2

2. And they said everyone to his neighbour: Let us take bricks (lit. stones), and let us, each one, write our names upon the bricks and burn them with fire: and that which is thoroughly burned shall be for mortar and brick. (Perhaps, that which is not thoroughly burned shall be for mortar, and that which is, for brick.)

3. 1 And they took every man their bricks, saving 12 men, which would not take them, and these are their names: Abraham, Nachor, Loth, Ruge, Tenute, Zaba, Armodath, Iobab, Esar, Abimahel, Saba, Auphin.

4. And the people of the land laid hands on them and brought them before their princes and said: These are the men that have transgressed our counsels and will not walk in our ways. And the princes said unto them: Wherefore would ye not set every man your bricks with the people of the land? And they answered and said: We will not set bricks with you, neither will we be joined with your desire. One Lord know we, and him do we worship. And if ye should cast us into the fire with your bricks, we will not consent to you.

5. And the princes were wroth and said: As they have said, so do unto them, and if they consent not to set bricks with you, ye shall burn them with fire together with your bricks.

6. Then answered Jectan which was the first prince of the captains: Not so, but there shall be given them a space of 7 days. And it shall be, if they repent of their evil counsels, and will set bricks along with us, they shall live; but if not, let them be burned according to your word. But he sought how he might save them out of the hands of the people; for he was of their tribe, and he served God.

7. And when he had thus said he took them and shut them up in the king's house: and when it was evening the prince commanded 50 mighty men of valour to be called unto him, and said unto them: Go forth and take to-night these men that are shut up in mine house, and put provision for them from my house upon 10 beasts, and the men bring ye to me, and their provision together with the beasts take ye to the mountains and wait for them there: and know this, that if any man shall know what I have said unto you, I will burn you with fire.

8. And the men set forth and did all that their prince commanded them, and took the men from his house by night; and took provision and put it upon beasts and took them to the hill country as he commanded them.

9. And the prince called unto him those 12 men and said to them: Be of good courage and fear not, for ye shall not die. For God in whom ye trust is mighty, and therefore be ye stablished in him, for he will deliver you and save you. And now lo, I have commanded So men to take [you with] provision from my house, and go before you into the hill country 1 and wait for you in the valley: and I will give you other 50 men which shall guide you thither: go ye therefore and hide yourselves there in the valley, having water to drink that floweth down from the rocks: hold yourselves there for 30 days, until the anger of the people of the land be appeased and until God send his wrath upon them and break them. For I know that the counsel of iniquity which they have agreed to perform shall not stand, for their thought is vain. And it shall be when 7 days are expired and they shall seek for you, I will say unto them: They have gone forth and have broken the door of the prison wherein they were shut up and have fled by night, and I have sent 100 men to seek them. So will I turn them from their madness that is upon them.

10. And there answered him 11 of the men saying: Thy servants have found favour in thy sight, in that we are set free out of the hands of these proud men.

11. But Abram only kept silence, and the prince said unto him: Wherefore answerest thou not me, Abram, servant of God? Abram answered and said: Lo, I flee away to-day into the hill country, and if I escape the fire, wild beasts will come out of the mountains and devour us. Or our victuals will fail and we shall die of hunger; and we shall be found fleeing from the people of the land and shall fall in our sins. And now, as he liveth in whom I trust, I will not remove from my place wherein they have put me: and if there be any sin of mine so that I be indeed burned, the will of God be done. And the prince said unto him: Thy blood be upon thy head, if thou refuse to go forth with these. But if thou consent, thou shall be delivered. Yet if thou wilt abide, abide as thou art. And Abram said: I will not go forth, but I will abide here.

12. And the prince took those 11 men and sent other 50 with them, and commanded them saying: Wait, ye also, in the hill country for 15 days with those 50 which were sent before you; and after that ye shall return and say We have not found them, as I said to the former ones. And know that if any man transgress one of all these words that I have spoken unto you, he shall be burned with fire. So the men went forth, and he took Abram by himself and shut him up where he had been shut up aforetime.

13. And after 7 days were passed, the people were gathered together and spake unto their prince saying: Restore us the men which would not consent unto us, that we may burn them with fire. And they sent captains to bring them, and they found them not, save Abram only. And they gathered all of them to their prince saying: The men whom ye shut up are fled and have escaped that which we counselled.

14. And Phenech and Nemroth said unto Jectan: Where are the men whom thou didst shut up? But he said: They have broken prison and fled by night: but I have sent 100 men to seek them, and commanded them if they find them that they should not only burn them with fire but give their bodies to the fowls of the heaven and so destroy them.

15. Then said they: This fellow which is found alone, let us burn him. And they took Abram and brought him before their princes and said to him: Where are they that were with thee? And he said: Verily at night I slept, and when I awaked I found them not.

16. And they took him and built a furnace and kindled it with fire, and put bricks burned with fire into the furnace. Then Jectan the prince being amazed (lit. melted) in his mind took Abram and put him with the bricks into the furnace of fire.

17. But God stirred up a great earthquake, and the fire gushed forth of the furnace and brake out into flames and sparks of fire and consumed all them that stood round about in sight of the furnace; and all they that were burned in that day were 83,500. But upon Abram was there not any the least hurt by the burning of the fire. Dan. 3:22

18. And Abram arose out of the furnace, and the fiery furnace fell down, and Abram was saved. And he went unto the 11 men that were hid in the hill country and told them all that had befallen him, and they came down with him out of the hill country rejoicing in the name of the Lord, and no man met them to affright them that day. And they called that place by the name of Abram, and in the tongue of the Chaldeans Deli, which is being interpreted, God.Dan. 3:27

Footnotes

89:2 VI. This particular legend of the rescue of Abram from the fire is peculiar to Philo. Most of the stories make Nimrod the principal actor. Various forms may be seen in Beer's Leben Abrahams or Baring-Gould's Legends of O. T. Characters.
90:1 3. Several of the names here are those of the sons of Jectan in IV. 10. Auphin is probably for Ophir.
92:1 9. and go before you, etc., et praecedite uos in montana et sustinete uos in ualle. Some such change as I have made in the translation appears necessary.

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION

BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.

CHAPTER V.

V. 2 Then came the sons of Cham, and made Nembroth a prince over themselves: but the sons of Japheth made Phenech their chief: and the sons of Sem gathered together and set over them Jectan to be their prince.

2. And when these three had met together they took counsel that they would look upon and take account of the people of their followers. And this was done while Noe was yet alive, even that all men should be gathered together: and they lived at one with each other, and the earth was at peace.

3. Now in the 340th year of the going forth of Noe out of the ark, after that God dried up the flood, did the princes take account of their people.

4. And first Phenech the son of Japheth looked upon them.

The sons of Gomer all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 5,800.

But of the sons of Magog all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their leading the number was 6,200.

And of the sons of Madai all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 5,700.

And the sons of Tubal. all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 9,400.

And the sons of Mesca all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 5,600.

The sons of Thiras all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 12,300.

And the sons of Ripha<<th>> passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number l4,500.

And the sons of Thogorma passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincy were in number 14,400.

But the sons of Elisa passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincy were in number 14,900.

And the sons of Thersis all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincy were in number 12,100.

The sons of Cethin all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincy were in number 17,300.

And the sons of Doin passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 17,700.

And the number of the camp of the sons of Japheth, all of them men of might and all girt with their armour, which were set in the sight of their captains was 140,202 besides women and children.

The account of Japheth in full was in number 142,000.

5. And Nembroth passed by, he and the son(s) of Cham all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 24,800.

The sons of Phua all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 27,700.

And the sons of Canaan all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 32,800.

The sons of Soba all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 4,300.

The sons of Lebilla all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 22,300.

And the sons of Sata all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 25,300.

And the sons of Remma all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 30,600.

And the sons of Sabaca all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 46,400.

And the number of the camp of the sons of Cham, all of them mighty men, and furnished with armour, which were set in the sight of their captaincies was in number 244,900 besides women and children.

6. And Jectan the son of Sem looked upon the sons of Elam, and they were all of them passing by according to the number of the sceptres of their captaincies in number 47,000.

And the sons of Assur all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 73,000.

And the sons of Aram all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 87,300.

The sons of Lud all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 30,600.

[The number of the sons of Cham was 73,000.]

But the sons of Arfaxat all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 114,600.

And the whole number of them was 347,600.

7. The number of the camp of the sons of Sem, all of them setting forth in valour and in the commandment of war in the sight of their captaincies was ix besides women and children.

8. 1 And these are the generations of Noe set forth separately, whereof the whole number together was 914,000. And all these were counted while Noe was yet alive, and in the presence of Noe 350 years after the flood. And all the days of Noe were 950 years, and he died.

Footnotes

86:2 V. The numbers in this chapter are hopelessly incorrect. The separate items in the text add up to 704,000; the totals in the text to 734,500, omitting the evidently corrupt figure 9000 assigned to Shem and his descendants. The matter is of no importance.
89:1 8. It is part of this verse which is quoted (and that not accurately) by Petrus Comestor. See Introduction, p. 10.

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION

BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.

CHAPTER IV.

IV. 2 And the sons of Noe which went forth of the ark were Sem, Cham, and Japheth. Gen. 9:18

2. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, and Madai, Nidiazech, Tubal, Mocteras, Cenez, Riphath, and Thogorma, Elisa, Dessin, Cethin, Tudant.

And the sons of Gomer: Thelez, Lud, Deberlet.

And the sons of Magog: Cesse, Thipha, Pharuta, Ammiel, Phimei, Goloza, Samanach.

And the sons of Duden: Sallus, Phelucta Phallita.

And the sons of Tubal: Phanatonova, Eteva.

And the sons of Tyras: Maac, Tabel, Ballana, Samplameac, Elaz.

And the sons of Mellech: Amboradat, Urach, Bosara.

And the sons of <<As>>cenez: Jubal, Zaraddana, Anac.

And the sons of Heri: Phuddet, Doad, Dephadzeat, Enoc.

And the sons of Togorma: Abiud, Saphath, Asapli, Zepthir.

And the sons of Elisa: Etzaac, Zenez, Mastisa, Rira.

And the sons of Zepti: Macziel, Temna, Aela, Phinon.

And the sons of Tessis: Meccul, Loon, Zelataban.

And the sons of Duodennin: Itheb, Beath, Phenech. Gen. 10:2

3. And these are they that were scattered abroad, and dwelt in the earth with the Persians and Medes, and in the islands that are in the sea. And Phenech, the son of Dudeni, went up and commanded that ships of the sea should be made: and then was the third part of the earth divided.

4. Domereth and his sons took Ladech; and Magog and his sons took Degal; Madam and his sons took Besto; Iuban (sc. Javan) and his sons took Ceel; Tubal and his sons took Pheed; Misech and his sons took Nepthi; <<T>>iras and his sons took <<Rôô>>; Duodennut and his sons took Goda; Riphath and his sons took Bosarra; Torgoma and his sons took Fud; Elisa and his sons took Thabola; Thesis (sc. Tarshish) and his sons took Marecham; Cethim and his sons took Thaan; Dudennin and his sons took Caruba.

5. And then began they to till the earth and to sow upon it: and when the earth was athirst, the dwellers therein cried unto the Lord and he heard them and gave rain abundantly, and it was so, when the rain descended upon the earth, that the bow appeared in the cloud, and the dwellers upon earth saw the memorial of the covenant and fell upon their faces and sacrificed, offering burnt offerings unto the Lord.

6. Now the sons of Cham were Chus, Mestra, and Phuni, and Chanaan.

And the sons of Chus: Saba, and . . . Tudan.

And the sons of Phuni: [Effuntenus], Zeleutelup, Geluc, Lephuc.

And the sons of Chanaan were Sydona, Endain, Racin, Simmin, Uruin, Nenugin, Amathin, Nephiti, Telaz, Elat, Cusin. Gen. 10:6

7. And Chus begat Nembroth. He began to be proud before the Lord.Gen. 10:8

But Mestram begat Ludin and Megimin and Labin and Latuin and Petrosonoin and Ceslun: thence came forth the Philistines and the Cappadocians. Gen. 10:13, 10:14

8. And then did they also begin to build cities: and these are the cities which they built: Sydon, and the parts that lie about it, that is Resun, Beosa, Maza, Gerara, Ascalon, Dabir, Camo, Tellun, Lacis, Sodom and Gomorra, Adama and Seboim.

9. And the sons of Sem: Elam, Assur, Arphaxa, Luzi, Aram. And the sons of Aram: Gedrum, Ese. And Arphaxa begat Sale, Sale begat Heber, and unto Heber were born two sons: the name of the one was Phalech, for in his days the earth was divided, and the name of his brother was Jectan. Gen. 10:22

10. And Jectan begat Helmadam and Salastra and Mazaam, Rea, Dura, Uzia, Deglabal, Mimoel, Sabthphin, Evilac, Iubab. And the sons of Phalech: Ragau, Rephuth, Zepheram, Aculon, Sachar, Siphaz, Nabi, Suri, Seciur, Phalacus, Rapho, Phalthia, Zaldephal, Zaphis, and Arteman, Heliphas. These are the sons of Phalech, and these are their names, and they took them wives of the daughters of Jectan and begat sons and daughters and filled the earth. Gen. 11:18

11. But Ragau took him to wife Melcha the daughter of Ruth, and she begat him Seruch. And when the day of her delivery came she said: Of this child shall be born in the fourth generation one who shall set his dwelling on high, and shall be called perfect, and undefiled, and he shall be the father of nations, and his covenant shall not be broken, and his seed shall be multiplied for ever.

12. And Ragau lived after he begat Seruch 119 years and begat 7 sons and 5 daughters. And these are the names of his sons: Abiel, Obed, Salma, Dedasal, Zeneza, Accur, Nephes. And these are the names of his daughters: Cedema, Derisa, Seipha, Pherita, Theila. Gen. 11:21

13. And Seruch lived 29 years and begat Nachor. And Seruch lived after he begat Nachor 67 years and begat 4 sons and 3 daughters. And these are the names of the males: Zela, Zoba, Dica and Phodde. And these are his daughters: Tephila, Oda, Selipha.

14. And Nachor lived 34 years and begat Thara. And Nachor lived after he begat Thara 200 years and begat 8 sons and 5 daughters. And these are the names of the males: Recap, Dediap, Berechap, Iosac, Sithal, Nisab, Nadab, Camoel. And these are his daughters: Esca, Thipha, Bruna, Ceneta.

15. And Thara lived 70 years and begat Abram, Nachor, and Aram. And Aram begat Loth.

16. 1 Then began they that dwelt on the earth to look upon the stars, and began to prognosticate by them and to make divination, and to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire. But Seruch and his sons walked not according to them.

17. And these are the generations of Noe upon the earth according to their languages and their tribes, out of whom the nations were divided upon the earth after the flood.

Footnotes

82:2 IV. The variants in the forms and divisions of the names are many. In the Appendix on Readings I have pointed out the Biblical equivalents. It is obvious that some names and words have dropped out of Philo. In the translation I have introduced very few corrections.
86:1 IV. 16. As is noted in the Introduction, this verse contradicts Jubilees on the subject of Serug, and implicitly rejects the story that Terah, Abraham's father, was an idolater.

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION

BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.

CHAPTER III.

III. And it came to pass when men had begun to multiply on the earth, that beautiful daughters were born unto them. And the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were exceeding fair, and took them wives of all that they had chosen. Gen. 6:1

2. 1 And God said: My spirit shall not judge among these men for ever, because they are of flesh; but their years shall be 120. Upon whom he laid (or wherein I have set) the ends of the world, and in their hands wickednesses were not put out (or the law shall not be quenched). Gen. 6:5

3. And God saw that in all the dwellers upon earth works of evil were fulfilled: and inasmuch as their thought was upon iniquity all their days, God said: I will blot out man and all things that have budded upon the earth, for it repenteth me that I have made him.

4. But Noe found grace and mercy before theLord, and these are his generations. Noe, which was a righteous man and undefiled in his generation,

Gen. 6:13pleased the Lord. Unto whom God said: The time of all men that dwell upon the earth is come, for their deeds are very evil. And now make thee an ark of cedar wood, and thus shalt thou make it. 300 cubits shall be the length thereof,

Gen. 6:18and 50 cubits the breadth, and 30 cubits the height. And thou shall enter into the ark, thou and thy wife and thy sons and thy sons' wives with thee. And I will make my covenant with thee, to destroy all the dwellers upon earth. Gen. 7:2-4Now of clean beasts and of the fowls of the heaven that are clean thou shalt take by sevens male and female, that their seed may be saved alive upon the earth. But of unclean beasts and fowls thou shalt take to thee by twos male and female, Gen. 6:21and shalt take provision for thee and for them also.

Gen. 7:5, 7:7

5. And Noe did that which God commanded him and entered into the ark, he and all his sons with him.

Gen. 7:10And it came to pass after 7 days that the water of the flood began to be upon the earth. Gen. 7:11And in that day all the depths were opened and the great spring of water and the windows of heaven, and there was rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights.

6. And it was then the 1652nd(1656th) year from the time when God had made the heaven and the earth in the day when the earth was corrupted with the inhabiters thereof by reason of the iniquity of their works.

7. And when the flood continued 140 days upon the earth, Noe only and they that were with him in the ark remained alive: and when God remembered Noe, he made the water to diminish. Gen. 8:16

8. And it came to pass on the 90thday that God dried the earth, and said unto Noe: Go out of the ark, thou and all that are with thee, and grow and multiply upon the earth. And Noe went out of the ark, he an d his sons and his sons' wives, and all the beasts and creeping things and fowls and cattle brought he forth with him as God commanded him. Then built Noe an altar unto the Lord, and took of all the cattle and of the clean fowls and offered burnt offerings on the altar: and it was accepted of the Lord for a savour of rest. Gen. 8:21

9. And God said: I will not again curse the earth for man's sake, for the guise of man's heart hath left off 1 from his youth. And therefore I will not again destroy together all living as I have done. But it shall be, when the dwellers upon earth have sinned, I will judge them by famine or by the sword or by fire or by pestilence (lit. death), and there shall be earthquakes, and they shall be scattered into places not inhabited (or, the places of their habitation shall be scattered). But I will not again spoil the earth with the water of a flood, and in all the days of the earth seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and autumn, day and night shall not cease, until I remember them that dwell on the earth, even until the times are fulfilled.

Gen. 8:22

10. 2 But when the years of the world shall be fulfilled, then shall the light cease and the darkness be quenched: and I will quicken the dead and raise up from the earth them that sleep: and Hell shall pay his debt and destruction give back that which was committed unto him, that I may render unto every man according to his works and according to the fruit of their imaginations, even until I judge between the soul and the flesh. And the world shall rest, and death shall be quenched, and Hell shall shut his mouth. And the earth shall not be without birth, neither barren for them that dwell therein: and none shall be polluted that hath been justified in me 1 . And there shall be another earth and another heaven, even an everlasting habitation.

Gen. 9:8

11. And the Lord spake further unto Noe and to his sons saying: Behold I will make my covenant with you and with your seed after you, and will not again spoil the earth with the water of a flood. Gen. 9:2And all that liveth and moveth therein shall be to you for meal. Nevertheless the flesh with the blood of the soul shall ye not eat. For he that sheddeth man's blood, his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God was man made. And ye, grow ye and multiply and fill the earth as the multitude of fishes that multiply in the waters.

Gen. 9:12And God said: This is the covenant that I have made betwixt me and you; and it shall be when I cover the heaven with clouds, that my bow shall appear in the cloud, and it shall be for a memorial of the covenant betwixt me and you, and all the dwellers upon earth.

Footnotes

79:1 III. 2. fin. See the variants, which are difficult to explain. If the reading et in manibus eorum scelera non extinguebantur is right, the clause would be better placed after opera malignitatum in the next verse. "And God saw that in all the inhabiters of the earth works of wickedness were fulfilled, and in their hands," etc. I have preferred the other reading, the whole sentence will then refer to the new race who are to arise after the Flood, and especially to Moses (see IX. 8 fin.): the last preceding words ("their years shall be 120") do certainly apply to them and to him. The antediluvians are to perish utterly. See on XVI. 3.
81:1 9. the guise of man's heart hath left off (figura cordis hominis desiit: Cohn suggests desipit) "ὁ Ἑβραῖοσ" (ap. Euseb. Emis. in Catena: see Field's Hexapla in loc.) has τὸ πλάσμα τῆσ καρδίασ ἀνθρώπου.
81:2 10. This is the first really characteristic passage.
82:1 that hath been justified in me. The word occurs in XLIX. 45 "Is Armathem iustificata more than all the cities of Israel?" and in LI. 2.