BERE'SHIYT

BÇrÉÙþÏt

THE PRIMEVAL HISTORY

The Creation

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In the beginning ÙÌlÓjÏm created the heavens and the earth. But the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was upon the surface of the abysmal-ocean; and the breath of ÙÌlÓjÏm hovered over the surface of the waters. And ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "Light be!" and there was light. ÙÌlÓjÏm saw that the light was good, so ÙÌlÓjÏm made a division between the light and between the darkness. ÙÌlÓjÏm called the light yÕm ["day"], and the darkness he called laylaj [night] and there was an evening and there was a morning---the first day.

6 ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "Let there be a canopy between the waters, being a division between waters from waters!" And ÙÌlÓjÏm made the canopy and it separated the waters which were beneath the canopy from the waters which were above the canopy---and it happened thus. And ÙÌlÓjÏm called the canopy þÁmÁyim [sky, or heavens]; and there was an evening and there was a morning---the second day.

9 ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "Let the waters beneath the heavens stay in one place, and cause the dry land to appear!" ---and it happened thus. And ÙÌlÓjÏm called the dry land Ùereß [earth, or land], and he called where the waters stayed, yÁmmÏm [or seas]; and ÙÌlÓjÏm saw that it was good. And ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "Let the earth sprout forth vegetation ---plants seeding seed, fruit tree[s] making fruit of its own type with its seed within it!" ---and it happened thus. So the earth sent forth vegetation---plants seeding seed of its own type, and tree[s] making fruit with its seed in it of its own type; and ÙÌlÓjÏm saw that it was good. And there was an evening and there was a morning ---the third day.

14 ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "Let there be lights in the canopy of the heavens for dividing between the day and between the night, and let them indicate the appointed-gatherings, the days and the years. Let them be lights in the heavens to shine upon the earth!" ---and it happened thus. ÙÌlÓjÏm made two large lights---the large[r] light to govern the day and the small[er] light to govern the night---also the stars. ÙÌlÓjÏm set them in the canopy of the heavens to shine upon the earth, to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. ÙÌlÓjÏm saw that it was good. And there was an evening and there was a morning---the fourth day.

20 ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "Let the waters swarm with swarming creatures and let flying creatures fly above the earth amid the canopy of the heavens." [And it happened thus.] ÙÌlÓjÏm created great sea-beasts and every kind of living creature which teem the waters, and every kind of winged creature. ÙÌlÓjÏm saw that it was good. ÙÌlÓjÏm blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, fill the waters of the seas and let the flying creatures multiply upon the earth!" And there was an evening and there was a morning---the fifth day.

24 ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "Let the earth produce every kind of living creature---livestock, crawlers, and every kind of wild animal." And it happened thus. ÙÌlÓjÏm made every kind of wild animal, every kind of livestock, and every kind of [those] crawling upon the ground. And ÙÌlÓjÏm saw that it was good. ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "Let us make mankind, in our image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, of the flying creatures of the heavens, of the livestock, of all the wild animals, and all the crawlers that crawl upon the ground."

ÙÌlÓjÏm created man in the image of himself,

in the image of ÙÌlÓjÏm he created him,

male and female he created them.

28 ÙÌlÓjÏm blessed them, saying to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters over the fish of the sea, over the birds of heaven, and over all living creatures upon the earth." And ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "Look! I give to you all the seed-bearing plants that are upon the entire earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; such shall be your food. To all wild animals, all birds of the heavens, and all the crawlers living upon the ground I give all the foliage of plants for food." And it happened thus. ÙÌlÓjÏm saw all that he had made, and, indeed, it was very good. And there was an evening and there was a morning---the sixth day.

The Shabbat Day of Rest

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their complexity. By the seventh day ÙÌlÓjÏm completed the work he had been doing, and he rested on the seventh day, after all the work he had done. ÙÌlÓjÏm blessed the seventh day, and made it sacred, because on that day he rested after all his work of creating.

TÕlÇdÓt 1: THE STORY OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

Man and the Garden

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4 These are the stories of the heavens and the earth, about the creating of them, of the day Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm made earth and the heavens. There was no shrub of the field yet upon the earth, nor had any green-plant of the field sprouted, for Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm had not yet sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the soil; instead, a flow would go up from the ground and water all the surface of the ground. Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm formed man from dirt from the ground, and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. Thus man became a living being.

9 Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm planted a garden in ÚÈden, in the east, and placed there the man he had formed. And out of the ground Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm caused various trees to grow that were a delight to the eye, and good for eating, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowing of good and evil.

10 A river rises in ÚÈden to water the garden; outside, it branches into four separate streams. The name of the first is PÏþÕn; it winds through all the land of ÜÃwÏlÁj, where there is gold. The gold of that land is fine; there is bÇdÓlÁj and þÓhÁm stone is there. The name of the second river is GÏÝÕn; it winds through all the land of Kûþ. The third river is named Hiddeqel; it runs east of ÙAþþûr; the fourth river is FÇrÁt.

15 Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm took the man and settled him in the garden of ÚÈden to till it and tend it. And Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm commanded the man, saying, "You are free to eat of any tree of the garden except the tree of the knowing of good and evil, which you are not to eat of. Indeed in the day you eat of it you shall be doomed to die!"

18 Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a fit companion." So Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm formed out of the soil various wild animals and birds of the sky and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man would call the living creature, that would be its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, birds of the sky, and all the wild animals; yet none proved to be the companion that would be fit for the man.

21 Then Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm cast a deep sleep upon the man, and when he was asleep, he took one of his ribs, then closed up the flesh over the spot. And Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm fashioned into a woman the rib that he had removed from the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This one, at last, is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called ÙÎþþÁj [woman], for she was taken from ÙÎþ [man]." Thus it is that man leaves his father and mother and unites with his woman, and they will be as one flesh. And the two of them were naked, the man and the woman, but they felt no embarrassment.

The First Rebellion Against Yahweh

1 Now the serpent was the sliest of all the wild creatures that Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm had made, and he said to the woman, "Must you not eat of any tree in the garden, indeed, as Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm has said?" And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of a tree of the garden we may eat, but fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, ÙÌlÓjÏm has said, "You must not eat from it, and you must not touch the fruit on it or you will die!'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not be doomed to death; rather, ÙÌlÓjÏm knows that the moment you eat from it your eyes will be opened up, and you will become like deities, knowing good and evil!"

6 So the woman perceived that the tree was good to eat from, a delight to the eye, and that the tree was desirable for gaining empowerment; she took of its fruit and ate, and she gave also to her man, who was with her, and he ate. And the eyes of them both were opened up, and they realized that they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.

8 When they heard the sound of Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm walking in the garden in the cool breeze of the day, the man and his woman hid from the face of Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm among the trees of the garden. But Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm called out to the man, saying, "Where are you?" So he answered, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid for I am naked, so I hid!" [Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm] said, "Who told you that you were naked? From the tree that I commanded you not to eat of, you have eaten!" So the man answered, "The woman you put at my side, she gave to me of the tree, and I ate." Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "What? you did this?" But the woman said, "The serpent! he deceived me, so I ate!"

14 Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm said then to the serpent, "Because you have done this:

Cursed will you be among all livestock, and among all wild animals of the field!

On your belly you shall crawl, and dirt you shall feed upon all the days of your life!"

I will cause enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring;

he will strike at your head, and you will strike at his heel!"

16 To the woman he said,

"I will greatly increase your pain with giving birth;

in pain you will bear sons.

And for your man will be your desire,

but he will rule over you!"

17 And to the man he said,

"Because you obeyed the voice of your woman, and ate from the tree which I commanded you not eat from:

Cursed is the ground because of you,

in painful toil will you eat from it all the days of your life.

Thorn and thistle will it bring forth to you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food,

until you return to the ground, for from there you were taken;

indeed, you are of dirt, and to dirt you will return!"

20 The man named his woman ÜÁwwÁj [Life] for she would be the mother of all the living [Ýay]. And Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm made garments of skin for the man and the woman, and clothed them.

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22 And Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "Look! the man has become like one of us, and knows of good and evil, and now perhaps he will reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat and live forever!" So Yahweh ÙÌlÓjÏm sent him out of the garden of ÚÈden to work the ground, since from there he had been taken. And he drove the man out, and at the east of ÚÈden he placed the KÇruvÏm and a sword of flame, flashing, and turning, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Qayin and Hevel

1 And the man knew ÜÁwwÁj his woman, and she conceived, and she bore Qayin, and she said, "I have brought forth [qanÏtÏ] a man through Yahweh!" And she added by bearing Hevel his brother; now Hevel kept flocks, but Qayin worked the soil. A course of days passed and Qayin brought from the fruit of the soil an offering for Yahweh. And Hevel also brought [an offering] from the fat firstborn of his flock. And Yahweh had pleasure in Hevel and in his offering. But in Qayin and his offering he had no pleasure. Qayin was angered, and his face was downcast. But Yahweh said to Qayin, "Why are you angry, and why is your face downcast? Is not righteous-obedience acceptable? if you do what is not right, then Sin is crouching at the door, and he desires you! But you must master him!"

8 Qayin then said to his brother Hevel, ["Let us go to the field!"] And it was while they were in the field that Qayin attacked Hevel, his brother, and killed him. Then Yahweh said to Qayin, "Where is Hevel, your brother?" but he replied, "I do not know! am I my brother's keeper?" And Yahweh said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's bloods are crying out to me from the ground! And now you have been accursed by the ground which opened her mouth to take the bloods of your brother from your hand. When you work the ground she will no longer add her crops to you. You shall be without rest, wandering over the earth!"

13 And Qayin said to Yahweh, "My punishment is too great to bear; you drive me this day from the face of the earth itself! And from your presence I will be hiding and wandering without rest---all who find me will kill me!"

15 But Yahweh declared, "If so, any killing Qayin, seven times over will he suffer vengeance!" And Yahweh put on Qayin a mark for all finding him to not kill him. And Qayin went out from Yahweh's presence, and he settled in the land of NÕd [Wandering], east of ÚÈden.

The Lineage of Qayin

17 And Qayin knew his woman, and she conceived and bore HÃnÕk. And [Qayin] was building a city, and he named the city after the name of his son, HÃnÕk. To HÃnÕk was born ÚÎrÁd; and ÚÎrÁd fathered MÇhûyÁÙÉl; and MÇhûyÁÙÉl fathered MÇÑûþÁÙÉl; and MÇÑûþÁÙÉl fathered Lemek.

19 And Lemek took to himself two women; the name of the first was ÚÀdÁj, the name of the second was ÞillÁj. ÚÀdÁj bore Yaval; he was the father of the tent-dweller and animal domesticator. And the name of his brother was Yuval; he was the father of all playing the kinnÕr and the Úûgab. And ÞillÁj also bore Tûval Qayin, the forger of all [kinds of] implements of bronze and of iron, and NaÚÃmÁj, sister of Tûval Qayin.

23 And Lemek said to his two women,ÚÀdÁj and ÞillÁj:

"Listen to my speech, women of Lemek,

give ear to my words!

Indeed, a man I kill for wounding me,

and a youth for injuring me!

If Qayin is avenged seven times over,

then Lemek seventy and seven!"

25 The Man ['Adam] knew his woman again, and she bore a son; and she named him ÿÉt [Granted], for [she said], "ÙÌlÓjÏm has granted me another offspring in place of Hevel, since Qayin killed him." And to ÿÉt a son was also born, and he called him ÙÌnÓþ. He then began the calling upon the Name, Yahweh.

TÕlÇdÓt 2: THE STORY OF THE MAN ('Adam)

Patriarchs Before the Cataclysm

1 This is an account of the records of the Man: In a day ÙÌlÓjÏm created man, in his likeness he created him. Male and female he created them and blessed them, and he called them 'adam [man] in the day he created them.

3 And the Man lived 130 years, then fathered [a son] in his likeness and image, and named him ÿÉt. After he fathered ÿÉt, the days of the Man were 800 years; and he fathered sons and daughters. And all the days of the life of the Man were 930 years, then he died.

6,7 And ÿÉt lived 105 years when he fathered ÙÌnÓþ. After ÿÉt fathered ÙÌnÓþ, he lived 807 years; and he fathered sons and daughters. And all the days of the life of ÿÉt were 912 years, then he died.

9,10 And ÙÌnÓþ lived 90 years then he fathered QÉnÁn. After ÙÌnÓþ fathered QÉnÁn, he lived 815 years; and he fathered sons and daughters. And all the days of the life of ÙÌnÓþ were 905 years, then he died.

12 And QÉnÁn lived 70 years then he fathered MajÃlalÙÉl. After QÉnÁn fathered MajÃlalÙÉl, he lived 840 years; and he fathered sons and daughters. And all the days of the life of QÉnÁn were 910 years, then he died.

15 And MajÃlalÙÉl lived 65 years then he fathered Yered. After MajÃlalÙÉl fathered Yered, he lived 830 years; and he fathered sons and daughters. And all the days of the life of MajÃlalÙÉl were 895 years, then he died.

18,19 And Yered lived 162 years then he fathered HÃnÕk. After Yered fathered HÃnÕk, he lived 800 years; and he fathered sons and daughters. And all the days of the life of Yered were 962 years, then he died.

21,22 And HÃnÕk lived 65 years then he fathered MÇtûþelaÝ. And HÃnÕk walked with JÁÙÍlÓjÏm ; after fathering MÇtûþelaÝ, he lived 300 years; and he fathered sons and daughters. And all the days of the life of HÃnÕk were 365 years. And HÃnÕk walked with JÁÙÍlÓjÏm, then he was not, for ÙÌlÓjÏm took him!

25 And MÇtûþelaÝ lived 187 years then he fathered Lemek. After MÇtûþelaÝ fathered Lemek, [he lived] 782 years; and he fathered sons and daughters. And all the days of the life of MÇtûþelaÝ were 969 years, then he died.

28,29 And Lemek lived 182 years then he fathered a son. And he called him NÓªÝ [Comfort], saying, "This will comfort us during our labors, and in the toil of our hands in the ground which Yahweh has cursed." After he fathered NÓªÝ, Lemek lived 595 years; and he fathered sons and daughters. And all the days of the life of Lemek were 777 years, then he died.

32 And NÓªÝ lived 500 years then he fathered ÿÉm, ÜÁm, and Yefet.

The Sons of ÙÌlÓjÏm and The Daughters of Men

1 And it was when mankind began to increase upon the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them; sons of JÁÙÍlÓjÏm saw the daughters of man, how beautiful they were, so they took wives for themselves from among all, whomever they chose. But Yahweh said, "My spirit will not strive against mankind forever---indeed, he is just flesh; the days he has will become 120 years!"

4 The NÇfilÏm were upon the earth in those days; and also, afterwards, the sons of JÁÙÍlÓjÏm came to the daughters of mankind, to whom they bore the mighty men of ancient times, men of the name.

The Cataclysm of Water

5 And Yahweh saw how great man's wickedness had become upon the earth, and that all the impulses of his mind and heart [were] only evil, all the day. And Yahweh was grieved that he had made man upon the earth, and he hurt within his heart. Thus Yahweh said, "I will wipe away the men that I have created from the face of the earth---from man, to animals, to crawler, and to bird of the sky, for I am grieved that I made them." But NÓªÝ found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.

Next: Parashah NÓªÝ