Book of Jubilees 12, 13

JUBILEES 12

Abram destroys Terah his fathers idols

1 And it came to pass in the sixth week, in the seventh year thereof, [1904 A.M.] that Abram said to Terah his father, saying, 'Father!'
2 And he said, 'Behold, here am I, my son.' And he said, 'What help and profit have we from those idols which you do worship, And before which you do bow yourself?
3 For there is no spirit in them, For they are dumb forms, and a misleading of the heart.
4 Worship them not: Worship YAHWEH the Sovereign Ruler of heaven, Who causes the rain and the dew to descend on the earth And does everything upon the earth, And has created everything by His word, And all life is from before His face.
5 Why do you worship things that have no spirit in them? For they are the work of hands, And on your shoulders do you bear them, And you have no help from them, But they are a great cause of shame to those who make them, And a misleading of the heart to those who worship them: Worship them not.'
6 And his father said to him, I also know it, my son, but what shall I do with a people who have made me to serve before them?
7 And if I tell them the truth, they will slay me; for their soul cleaves to them to worship them and honor them. Keep silent, my son, lest they slay you.' And these words he spoke to his two brothers, and they were angry with him and he kept silent.
9 And in the fortieth jubilee, in the second week, in the seventh year thereof, [1925 A.M.] Abram took to himself a wife, and her name was Sarai, the daughter of his father, and she became his wife.
10 And Haran, his brother, took to himself a wife in the third year of the third week, [1928 A.M.] and she bare him a son in the seventh year of this week, [1932 A.M.] and he called his name Lot.
11 And Nahor, his brother, took to himself a wife.
12 And in the sixtieth year of the life of Abram, that is, in the fourth week, in the fourth year thereof, [1936 A.M.] Abram arose by night, and burned the house of the idols, and he burned all that was in the house and no man knew it.
13 And they arose in the night and sought to save their gods from the midst of the fire.
14 And Haran hasted to save them, but the fire flamed over him, and he was burnt in the fire, and he died in Ur of the Chaldees before Terah his father, and they buried him in Ur of the Chaldees.
15 And Terah went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, he and his sons, to go into the land of Lebanon and into the land of Canaan, and he dwelt in the land of Haran, and Abram dwelt with Terah his father in Haran two weeks of years.
16 And in the sixth week, in the fifth year thereof, [1951 A.M.] Abram sat up throughout the night on the new month of the seventh month to observe the stars from the evening to the morning, in order to see what would be the character of the year with regard to the rains, and he was alone as he sat and observed.
17 And a word came into his heart and he said: All the signs of the stars, and the signs of the moon and of the sun are all in the hand of YAHWEH. Why do I search them out?
18 If He desires, He causes it to rain, morning and evening; And if He desires, He withholds it, And all things are in his hand.'
19 And he prayed that night and said, 'My Sovereign Ruler, YAHWEH Most High, You alone are my Sovereign Ruler, And You and Your dominion have I chosen. And You have created all things, And all things that are the work of Your hands.
20 Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have dominion over the thoughts of men's hearts, and let them not lead me astray from You, my Sovereign Ruler. And establish You me and my seed forever that we go not astray from henceforth and forevermore.'
21 And he said, 'Shall I return unto Ur of the Chaldees who seek my face that I may return to them, am I to remain here in this place? The right path before You prosper it in the hands of Your servant that he may fulfill it and that I may not walk in the deceitfulness of my heart, O YAHWEH my Sovereign Ruler.'
22 And he made an end of speaking and praying, and behold the word of YAHWEH was sent to him through me, saying: 'Get you up from your country, and from your kindred and from the house of your father unto a land which I will show you, and I shall make you a great and numerous nation.
23 And I will bless you And I will make your name great, And you shall be blessed in the earth, And in You shall all families of the earth be blessed, And I will bless them that bless you, And curse them that curse you.
24 And I will be a Sovereign Ruler to you and your son, and to your son's son, and to all your seed: fear not, from henceforth and unto all generations of the earth I am YAHWEH your Sovereign Ruler.'
25 And YAHWEH ALMIGHTY said: 'Open his mouth and his ears, that he may hear and speak with his mouth, with the language which has been revealed'; for it had ceased from the mouths of all the children of men from the day of the overthrow (of Babel).
26 And I opened his mouth, and his ears and his lips, and I began to speak with him in Hebrew in the tongue of the creation.
27 And he took the books of his fathers, and these were written in Hebrew, and he transcribed them, and he began from henceforth to study them, and I made known to him that which he could not (understand), and he studied them during the six rainy months.
28 And it came to pass in the seventh year of the sixth week [1953 A.M.] that he spoke to his father and informed him, that he would leave Haran to go into the land of Canaan to see it and return to him.
29 And Terah his father said to him; Go in shalom: May the eternal YAHWEH make your path straight. And YAHWEH be with you, and protect you from all evil, And grant unto you free unmerited pardon, mercy and favour before those who see you, And may none of the children of men have power over you to harm you; Go in shalom.
30 And if you see a land pleasant to your eyes to dwell in, then arise and take me to you and take Lot with you, the son of Haran your brother as your own son: YAHWEH be with you.
31 And Nahor your brother leave with me till you return in shalom, and we go with you all together.'

JUBILEES 13

Abram leaves Haran and goes to Canaan

1 And Abram journeyed from Haran, and he took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother Haran's son, to the land of Canaan, and he came into Asshur, and proceeded to Shechem, and dwelt near a lofty oak.
2 And he saw, and, behold, the land was very pleasant from the entering of Hamath to the lofty oak.
3 And YAHWEH said to him: 'To you and to your seed will I give this land.'
4 And he built an altar there, and he offered thereon a burnt sacrifice to YAHWEH, who had appeared to him.
5 And he removed from there to the mountain Bethel on the west and Ai on the east, and pitched his tent there.
6 And he saw and behold, the land was very wide and good, and everything grew thereon -vines and figs and pomegranates, oaks and ilexes, and terebinths and oil trees, and cedars and cypresses and date trees, and all trees of the field, and there was water on the mountains.
7 And he blessed YAHWEH who had led him out of Ur of the Chaldees, and had brought him to this land.
8 And it came to pass in the first year, in the seventh week, on the new month of the first month, [1954 A.M.] that he built an altar on this mountain, and called on the NAME of YAHWEH: 'You, the eternal YAHWEH, are my Sovereign Ruler.'
9 And he offered on the altar a burnt sacrifice unto YAHWEH that He should be with him and not forsake him all the days of his life.
10 And he removed from there and went towards the south, and he came to Hebron and Hebron was built at that time, and he dwelt there two years, and he went there into the land of the south, to Bealoth, and there was a famine in the land.
11 And Abram went into Egypt in the third year of the week, and he dwelt in Egypt five years before his wife was torn away from him.
12 Now Tanais in Egypt was at that time built- seven years after Hebron.
13 And it came to pass when Pharaoh seized Sarai, the wife of Abram that YAHWEH plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
14 And Abram was very wealthy by reason of possessions in sheep, and cattle, and asses, and horses, and camels, and menservants, and maidservants, and in silver and gold exceedingly. And Lot also his brother's son, was wealthy.
15 And Pharaoh gave back Sarai, the wife of Abram, and he sent him out of the land of Egypt, and he journeyed to the place where he had pitched his tent at the beginning, to the place of the altar, with Ai on the east, and Bethel on the west, and he blessed YAHWEH his Sovereign Ruler who had brought him back in shalom.
16 And it came to pass in the forty-first jubilee in the third year of the first week, [1963 A.M.] that he returned to this place and offered thereon a burnt sacrifice, and called on the NAME of YAHWEH, and said: 'You, the most high YAHWEH, are my Sovereign Ruler forever and ever.'
17 And in the fourth year of this week [1964 A.M.] Lot parted from him, and Lot dwelt in Sodom, and the men of Sodom were sinners exceedingly.
18 And it grieved him in his heart that his brother's son had parted from him; for he had no children.
19 In that year when Lot was taken captive, YAHWEH said to Abram, after that Lot had parted from him, in the fourth year of this week: 'Lift up your eyes from the place where you are dwelling, northward and southward, and westward and eastward.
20 For all the land which you see I will give to you and to your seed forever, and I will make your seed as the sand of the sea: though a man may number the dust of the earth, yet your seed shall not be numbered.
21 Arise, walk (through the land) in the length of it and the breadth of it, and see it all; for to your seed will I give it.' And Abram went to Hebron, and dwelt there.
22 And in this year came Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Sellasar, and Tergal, king of nations, and slew the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Sodom fled, and many fell through wounds in the vale of Siddim, by the Salt Sea.
23 And they took captive Sodom and Adam and Zeboim, and they took captive Lot also, the son of Abram's brother, and all his possessions, and they went to Dan.
24 And one who had escaped came and told Abram that his brother's son had been taken captive and Abram armed his household servants.
25 For Abram, and for his seed, a tenth of the first fruits to YAHWEH, and YAHWEH ordained it as an ordinance forever that they should give it to the priests who served before Him, that they should possess it forever.
26 And to this Torah there is no limit of days; for He has ordained it for the generations forever that they should give to YAHWEH the tenth of everything, of the seed and of the wine and of the oil and of the cattle and of the sheep.
27 And He gave it unto His priests to eat and to drink with joy before Him.
28 And the king of Sodom came to him and bowed himself before him, and said: 'Our lord Abram, give unto us the souls which you have rescued, but let the booty be yours.'
29 And Abram said to him: 'I lift up my hands to the Most High YAHWEH, that from a thread to a shoe-latchet I shall not take aught that is yours lest you should say, I have made Abram rich; save only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me -Aner, Eschol, and Mamre. These shall take their portion.'

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Jasher, Chapter 11

1 And Nimrod son of Cush was still in the land of Shinar, and he reigned over it and dwelt there, and he built cities in the land of Shinar.
2 And these are the names of the four cities which he built, and he called their names after the occurrences that happened to them in the building of the tower.
3 And he called the first Babel, saying, Because YAHWEH there confounded the language of the whole earth; and the name of the second he called Erech, because from there YAHWEH dispersed them.
4 And the third he called Eched, saying there was a great battle at that place; and the fourth he called Calnah, because his princes and mighty men were consumed there, and they vexed YAHWEH, they rebelled and transgressed against him.
5 And when Nimrod had built these cities in the land of Shinar, he placed in them the remainder of his people, his princes and his mighty men that were left in his kingdom.
6 And Nimrod dwelt in Babel, and he there renewed his reign over the rest of his subjects, and he reigned securely, and the subjects and princes of Nimrod called his name Amraphel, saying that at the tower his princes and men fell through his means.
7 And notwithstanding this, Nimrod did not return to YAHWEH, and he continued in wickedness and teaching wickedness to the sons of men; and Mardon, his son, was worse than his father, and continued to add to the abominations of his father.
8 And he caused the sons of men to sin, therefore it is said, From the wicked goes forth wickedness.
Year 1997
9 At that time there was war between the families of the children of Ham, as they were dwelling in the cities which they had built.
10 And Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, went away from the families of the children of Ham, and he fought with them and he subdued them, and he went to the five cities of the plain and he fought against them and he subdued them, and they were under his control.
11 And they served him twelve years, and they gave him a yearly tax.
Year 1997, Nahor died.
12 At that time died Nahor, son of Serug, in the forty-ninth year of the life of Abram son of Terah.
Year 1998
13 And in the fiftieth year of the life of Abram son of Terah, Abram came forth from the house of Noah, and went to his father's house.
14 And Abram knew YAHWEH, and he went in his ways and instructions, and YAHWEH his ALMIGHTY was with him.
15 And Terah his father was in those days, still captain of the host of king Nimrod, and he still followed strange gods.
16 And Abram came to his father's house and saw twelve gods standing there in their temples, and the anger of Abram was kindled when he saw these images in his father's house.
17 And Abram said, As YAHWEH lives these images shall not remain in my father's house; so shall YAHWEH who created me do unto me if in three days' time I do not break them all.
18 And Abram went from them, and his anger burned within him. And Abram hastened and went from the chamber to his father's outer court, and he found his father sitting in the court, and all his servants with him, and Abram came and sat before him.
19 And Abram asked his father, saying, Father, tell me where is YAHWEH who created heaven and earth, and all the sons of men upon earth, and who created you and me. And Terah answered his son Abram and said, Behold those who created us are all with us in the house.
20 And Abram said to his father, My adon, shew them to me I pray you; and Terah brought Abram into the chamber of the inner court, and Abram saw, and behold the whole room was full of gods of wood and stone, twelve great images and others less than they without number.
21 And Terah said to his son, Behold these are they which made all you seest upon earth, and which created me and you, and all mankind.
22 And Terah bowed down to his gods, and he then went away from them, and Abram, his son, went away with him.
23 And when Abram had gone from them he went to his mother and sat before her, and he said to his mother, Behold, my father has shown me those who made heaven and earth, and all the sons of men.
24 Now, therefore, hasten and fetch a kid from the flock, and make of it savory meat, that I may bring it to my father's gods as an offering for them to eat; perhaps I may thereby become acceptable to them.
25 And his mother did so, and she fetched a kid, and made savory meat thereof, and brought it to Abram, and Abram took the savory meat from his mother and brought it before his father's gods, and he drew nigh to them that they might eat; and Terah his father, did not know of it.
26 And Abram saw on the day when he was sitting amongst them, that they had no voice, no hearing, no motion, and not one of them could stretch forth his hand to eat.
27 And Abram mocked them, and said, Surely the savory meat that I prepared has not pleased them, or perhaps it was too little for them, and for that reason they would not eat; therefore tomorrow I will prepare fresh savory meat, better and more plentiful than this, in order that I may see the result.
28 And it was on the next day that Abram directed his mother concerning the savory meat, and his mother rose and fetched three fine kids from the flock, and she made of them some excellent savory meat, such as her son was fond of, and she gave it to her son Abram; and Terah his father did not know of it.
29 And Abram took the savory meat from his mother, and brought it before his father's gods into the chamber; and he came nigh unto them that they might eat, and he placed it before them, and Abram sat before them all day, thinking perhaps they might eat.
30 And Abram viewed them, and behold they had neither voice nor hearing, nor did one of them stretch forth his hand to the meat to eat.
31 And in the evening of that day in that house Abram was clothed with the spirit of YAHWEH.
32 And he called out and said, Woe unto my father and this wicked generation, whose hearts are all inclined to vanity, who serve these idols of wood and stone which can neither eat, smell, hear nor speak, who have mouths without speech, eyes without sight, ears without hearing, hands without feeling, and legs which cannot move; like them are those that made them and that trust in them.
33 And when Abram saw all these things his anger was kindled against his father, and he hastened and took a hatchet in his hand, and came unto the chamber of the gods, and he broke all his father's gods.
34 And when he had done breaking the images, he placed the hatchet in the hand of the great god which was there before them, and he went out; and Terah his father came home, for he had heard at the door the sound of the striking of the hatchet; so Terah came into the house to know what this was about.
35 And Terah, having heard the noise of the hatchet in the room of images, ran to the room to the images, and he met Abram going out.
36 And Terah entered the room and found all the idols fallen down and broken, and the hatchet in the hand of the largest, which was not broken, and the savory meat which Abram his son had made was still before them.
37 And when Terah saw this his anger was greatly kindled, and he hastened and went from the room to Abram.
38 And he found Abram his son still sitting in the house; and he said to him, What is this work you hast done to my gods?
39 And Abram answered Terah his father and he said, Not so my adonay, for I brought savory meat before them, and when I came nigh to them with the meat that they might eat, they all at once stretched forth their hands to eat before the great one had put forth his hand to eat.
40 And the large one saw their works that they did before him, and his anger was violently kindled against them, and he went and took the hatchet that was in the house and came to them and broke them all, and behold the hatchet is yet in his hand as you seest.
41 And Terah's anger was kindled against his son Abram, when he spoke this; and Terah said to Abram his son in his anger, What is this tale that you hast told? You speak lies to me.
42 Is there in these gods spirit, soul or power to do all you hast told me? Are they not wood and stone, and have I not myself made them, and canst you speak such lies, saying that the large god that was with them smote them? It is you that didst place the hatchet in his hands, and then say he smote them all.
43 And Abram answered his father and said to him, And how canst you then serve these idols in whom there is no power to do any thing? Can those idols in which you trust deliver you? can they hear your prayers when you call upon them? can they deliver you from the hands of your enemies, or will they fight your battles for you against your enemies, that you shouldst serve wood and stone which can neither speak nor hear?
44 And now surely it is not good for you nor for the sons of men that are connected with you, to do these things; are you so silly, so foolish or so short of understanding that you will serve wood and stone, and do after this manner?
45 And forget YAHWEH the ALMIGHTY who made heaven and earth, and who created you in the earth, and thereby bring a great evil upon your souls in this matter by serving stone and wood?
46 Did not our fathers in days of old sin in this matter, and YAHWEH the ALMIGHTY of the universe brought the waters of the flood upon them and destroyed the whole earth?
47 And how can you continue to do this and serve gods of wood and stone, who cannot hear, or speak, or deliver you from oppression, thereby bringing down the anger of YAHWEH of the universe upon you?
48 Now therefore my father refrain from this, and bring not evil upon your soul and the souls of your household.
49 And Abram hastened and sprang from before his father, and took the hatchet from his father's largest idol, with which Abram broke it and ran away.
50 And Terah, seeing all that Abram had done, hastened to go from his house, and he went to the king and he came before Nimrod and stood before him, and he bowed down to the king; and the king said, What dost you want?
51 And he said, I beseech you my lord, to hear me, Now fifty years back a child was born to me, and thus has he done to my gods and thus has he spoken; and now therefore, my lord and king, send for him that he may come before you, and judge him according to the law, that we may be delivered from his evil.
52 And the king sent three men of his servants, and they went and brought Abram before the king. And Nimrod and all his princes and servants were that day sitting before him, and Terah sat also before them.
53 And the king said to Abram, What is this that you hast done to your father and to his gods? And Abram answered the king in the words that he spoke to his father, and he said, The large god that was with them in the house did to them what you hast heard.
54 And the king said to Abram, Had they power to speak and eat and do as you hast said? And Abram answered the king, saying, And if there be no power in them why dost you serve them and cause the sons of men to err through your follies?
55 Dost you imagine that they can deliver you or do anything small or great, that you shouldst serve them? And why wilt you not sense the ALMIGHTY of the whole universe, who created you and in whose power it is to kill and keep alive?
56 O foolish, simple, and ignorant king, woe unto you forever.
57 I thought you wouldst teach your servants the upright way, but you hast not done this, but hast filled the whole earth with your sins and the sins of your people who have followed your ways.
58 Dost you not know, or hast you not heard, that this evil which you doest, our ancestors sinned therein in days of old, and the eternal YAHWEH brought the waters of the flood upon them and destroyed them all, and also destroyed the whole earth on their account? And wilt you and your people rise up now and do like unto this work, in order to bring down the anger of YAHWEH the ALMIGHTY of the universe, and to bring evil upon you and the whole earth?
59 Now therefore put away this evil deed which you doest, and serve YAHWEH the ALMIGHTY of the universe, as your soul is in his hands, and then it will be well with you.
60 And if your wicked heart will not hearken to my words to cause you to forsake your evil ways, and to serve the eternal YAHWEH, then wilt you die in shame in the latter days, you, your people and all who are connected with you, hearing your words or walking in your evil ways.
61 And when Abram had ceased speaking before the king and princes, Abram lifted up his eyes to the heavens, and he said, YAHWEH sees all the wicked, and he will judge them.

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