Arabic Fragments on the Pentateuch 1–13

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

The wives of the sons of Noah were named as follows: the wife of Shem was called Nahalat Mahnuk, the wife of Ham Zidkat Nabu, and the wife of Japheth Araathka. [And in the Syriac, in the Targum, their names are as follows (the same names follow in Syriac script). Then God made known to Noah by a revelation the coming of the flood and the destruction of the ungodly; and God Most High commanded him to go down from the holy mountain, he with his sons and his daughters-in-law, and to make the ship with three storeys: the lowest storey for the wild animals and the dangerous beasts, with a wooden wall between them that kept them from mixing with one another; the middle storey for the various kinds of birds; the top storey for Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. And Noah put a door on the east side of the ship, and he made places in the ship for water and places for food. Then, when he had finished the work on the ship, Noah with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth entered the Cave of Treasures; there they began to beg a blessing from the bodies of the fathers Adam, Seth, his son Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech. These eight bodies were in the Cave of Treasures (the eight names follow again in Syriac script). Then Noah carried the body of Adam, and his sons carried the offerings: Shem carried the gold, Ham the myrrh, Japheth the frankincense; and they went out of the Cave of Treasures. They brought the offerings and the body of Adam onto the holy mountain, sat around Adam's body facing paradise, and began to weep and lament that they had to part from paradise and go down from the holy mountain. And they lifted their eyes toward paradise and began to weep and wail, saying: Peace be upon you, O paradise of God! Peace be upon you, O place of the God-fearing and the devout! Peace be upon you, cave of joy! And again and again they kissed the stones and trees of the holy mountain, saying: Peace be upon you, O mountain of God! Peace be upon you, dwelling of all good! Peace be upon you, O Cave of Treasures! Peace be upon you, lodging of the bodies of the saints! After these days Noah and his sons and his daughters-in-law went down from the holy mountain to its foot, to the place where the ship was; for it stood below the holy mountain. And Noah went into the ship and laid the body of Adam and the offerings in the middle of the ship on a wooden stand that he had made for Adam's body. And God spoke to Noah thus: Make yourself a bell of shamshar wood (that is, sadj wood), and make its clapper of the same wood. The bell shall be three whole cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. And God commanded him to strike the bell three times a day: the first time in the morning, the second at midday, and the third at sunset. And whenever Noah struck the bell, the Banu Kain and the Banu l-Wahim gathered to him, and he admonished them and frightened them with the coming of the flood and the destruction that was certainly at hand. This was a merciful trial on God's part, to see whether they might perhaps turn back in repentance. But the Banu Kain did not follow Noah's words. And Noah gathered of the birds of every kind a male and a female, and likewise of the tame cattle and of the wild animals, a pair of each.]

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

Hippolytus, the interpreter of the Syriac (that is, of the Targum), says: I have found in an old Hebrew codex: God commanded Noah to put the ravenous animals and the wild beasts in the lowest storey, and to divide the space between the males and the females by a wooden wall. And he did the same with all the wild and tame animals and with the birds in the middle storey. And he commanded him to partition off the space between the males and females of the unclean and of the clean animals, so that they should not mix with one another. [And God said to Noah: Provide yourself and your sons with food; let it be ground from wheat, baked, dried, and dehydrated. Then Noah at once commanded his wife and his daughters-in-law to prepare a dough of flour and bake it in the oven. They prepared a dough and baked it in equal portions, so that only a small remainder was left to them. Then God spoke to Noah thus: Whoever first announces to you the coming of the flood, you shall destroy him at once, whoever it may be. Now while Ham's wife stood ready to take the rest of the bread out of the oven, suddenly the water came out of the oven in streams, as the Lord says: The fountains of the deeps shall break open. Then Ham's wife cried out to Noah: My lord, what God has said has come. (Syriac:) What the Lord threatened has come. When Noah heard the words of Ham's wife, he said to her: The water of the flood has come. Then Ham's wife answered him: You have said it. Then the Lord at once said to Noah: Do not kill Ham's wife, for the destruction begins from your mouth. And together with Noah's word the water of the flood came, and at once the fountains of the deeps broke open, and the channels of heaven opened, and the rainwater ran over the earth; because the word that God had spoken, Let the waters be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear, caused the springs to burst forth of themselves and the seas to flow. And the water levelled the earth before it, according to God's word concerning the world: All its heights shall be trodden down and levelled, and its lowlands shall be raised from their depths. And the earth became waste, empty, and desolate, as it had been at the beginning; and the rain flowed continually from above and the earth streamed below, and the frame of the world perished, and the earth's first condition was lost, and it became waste as it had been at the beginning, because of the water that flooded it. And nothing was left of its structure, but its first structure was lost, and the earth was flooded by the mighty water that overpowered it, by the force of its floods and by the masses of rain. And the water that poured over it laid the earth waste, and the earth was left as it had been at the beginning.]

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

God commanded Noah to shut the doors of the ship and smear them with pitch and resin. And every way out was cut off for Noah and his sons, and nothing was left to them but the mercy of God; and on the earth nothing remained visible and uncovered but the ship that floated about on the face of the water. And the flooding of the earth lasted forty days and forty nights. And we say: the earth was cleansed in these forty days and forty nights from its filth and from the impurity of this ungodly generation. And this is a hint at the forming of a human being in forty days; for after forty days the woman is clean, and the human being is fully formed. This was a warning to them, that they might perhaps turn from their sins like the inhabitants of the city of Nineveh; for the prophet Jonah preached in Nineveh that after forty days had passed it would be destroyed; then the Ninevites fasted for forty days, and the wrath was taken from them. And yet God, we say, would have had the power to destroy this ungodly generation in a single day, and not only by the flood, but by a single nod and sign.

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

Hippolytus, the interpreter of the Targum, and Mar Jacob of Edessa say: On the twenty-seventh day of the month Iyar (that is, the second Hebrew month) the ship rose from the foot of the holy mountain, and the water bore it; and it crossed the world in all four directions. The ship sailed from the holy mountain to the east, then back to the west; then it turned to the north, and then back to the south. Then it returned to the east and came to rest on the mountain of Kardu on the first day of the tenth month, that is, the second Kanun. And on the twenty-seventh of Iyar in the second year Noah went out of the ship; for the ship floated about on the water for five months, and after one hundred and fifty-one days it came to rest on the earth and floated about no more. As for the ship's travelling about in the four directions of the world and then returning to the east, that is, in our view, a hint at the cross, and the ark, that is, the ship, is the awaited Christ. For this ark was the cause of the salvation of Noah and his sons, and of the domestic and wild animals, and of the birds; and Christ died for us on the cross and saved us from Satan and from sin, and bought us with his pure blood. And as the ark returned to the east and came to rest on the mountain of Kardu, so Christ completed his laborious and toilsome way, and then returned to heaven into the bosom of his Father, and sat on his glorious throne at the right hand of the Father. [As for the mountain of Kardu, it lies in the east, where the Banu Rabia live. The Orientals call it Djebel Djudi, the Bedouins and Persians Djebel Ararat. And the city is called Karda. This mountain is said to be very high and great, and no one can climb it because of the violent winds and storms that blow up there; and if anyone tries to force his way up, the satans fall upon him and throw him down from the summit, so that he dies. And no one knows what is on the mountain, except that a piece of the wood of the ark is still on its summit.]

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

Hippolytus, the interpreter of the Targum, says: After God had not shown himself to Abraham for a long time, he revealed himself to him with the command that he and his house and his servants and the strangers living in his tribe should be circumcised; and he announced to him besides the birth of Isaac. Then Abraham took his sons and his slaves and all the males of his household and brought them to Melchizedek, the priest of El Shaddai, and Abraham told Melchizedek everything that God had commanded him to do. Then Melchizedek took a sharp knife and with it cut off the flesh of Abraham's foreskin. That was on Friday, the thirteenth of the month Nisan; and Abraham was then ninety-nine years old. Eight days later Abraham circumcised his son Ishmael, and all the males of his household he circumcised likewise on that day. In the same way he circumcised the strangers living in his tribe, and his slaves, and many Canaanites besides. And from then on Abraham circumcised everyone who believed in the Lord and submitted to Abraham. This circumcision, which Abraham performed for the first time, is the sign of faith; and Abraham and Melchizedek were types of John the Baptist and of the awaited Christ. And as Melchizedek circumcised Abraham, so John baptized Christ; and as Abraham circumcised his sons and his slaves and the strangers in his tribe, so John baptized the Jews, saying to them: "O brood of vipers, who showed you the way to flee from the wrath to come?"

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

When Lot and his daughters had come to Abraham, they told him all that God had done in Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham was horrified at it; he was living in Mamre under the high oak, where the angels came down to him and ate bread with him. When Abraham heard this, he moved away from his place, for fear that he might see this outrage (sodomy) among the people with whom he was living too. And Abraham moved away from Hebron, the city of the giants, into the land of Taiman, that is, the city of Kerak and Shaubak; and afterwards he lived in Kadesh in Gerar, that is, the city of Shaubak. And after he had set out, God poured out his wrath on the land of Hebron, the city of the giants, and destroyed all its inhabitants, and none was left to bring word of it, and they perished in death and destruction. And when Abraham settled in Gerar, that is, in Shaubak, Abimelech, the king of Gerar, was told of Sarah's beauty, and at once Abimelech, the king of Shaubak, had Abraham and Sarah brought. Then Abimelech asked Abraham: Who is the woman with you? Abraham answered Abimelech: She is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. So Abimelech took her to make her his wife, not knowing that she was Abraham's wife. But when Abimelech came near her to ask of her what a man desires from women, she warded him off, so that he could not lie with her at all. And while Abimelech, the king of Shaubak, was asleep, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: Beware of approaching this woman, for she already has a husband; as soon as you desire her or come near her, you will die that very hour. The next morning Abimelech told all his people what had happened to him and what had been said to him in the dream; and Abimelech sent for Abraham and said to him: Why have you done this? I and my kingdom nearly fell under God's wrath! He answered him: I thought that you knew nothing of God and did not fear him; that is why I said she was my sister, for fear that they would kill me and you would take Sarah from me. Then Abimelech, the king of Gerar, at once told Abraham to take his wife and leave his kingdom. And Abimelech gave Abraham cattle and sheep and male and female slaves: of cattle a thousand bulls and a thousand cows, and of small cattle a thousand rams and a thousand ewes. And to Sarah, Abraham's wife, he gave a thousand shekels of silver. Then Abimelech said to Abraham: All these my lands belong to you; live wherever you wish. But if you prefer to move away, the land lies open before you; do as you wish.

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

Ishmael, the son of Hagar, and Isaac, the son of Sarah, the sons of Abraham, were playing one day in the open space in front of their father's tent, when Ishmael struck Isaac so that he cried. His mother Sarah saw him crying, and it angered her greatly; and she said to Abraham: Drive out this slave woman and her son, so that he may not inherit alongside my son Isaac. Sarah said this only out of jealousy toward her and for fear that Ishmael would receive a share of the inheritance, because Ishmael was Abraham's first son. When Abraham heard that Ishmael had struck Isaac, he was very sorry; and when he further heard Sarah's demand that he drive Hagar and her son out of his tent and his inheritance, he was angrier still, and the matter weighed heavily on him; and he remained perplexed and thoughtful about how he should deal with them and how he should decide between Sarah and Hagar concerning his sons. Then God appeared to Abraham and said to him: Do what Sarah says; for through Isaac you shall have descendants; but the son of the slave woman I will make into a great nation.

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

Reuben had loved Bilhah, the concubine of his father Jacob, for a long time, but fear of his father kept him from violating her; and he cherished the secret wish to kill his father on her account. When Israel heard this about Reuben, Jacob fled from Reuben, without Reuben's knowing that his father had fled for fear of him. Israel went to shear his sheep, and then Reuben went to Bilhah, his father's concubine, and lay with her. When Israel came back from the sheep-shearing, they told him that Reuben had lain with Bilhah, Rachel's maid; and he was deeply grieved and commanded that Bilhah be driven out of the dwelling of the children of Israel; and Jacob was angry with his firstborn son Reuben. So Bilhah went and came to the gate of Esau; and Bilhah stayed in the dwelling of the sons of Esau for two years. After two years Esau put in a word for her with his brother Jacob, so that Jacob received her back into his dwelling. But Jacob never knew her again and never again lay with her until her death.

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

When Judah had commanded his son Onan to marry Tamar, his brother's wife, so as to raise up offspring for his brother, it vexed him greatly. And this godless man, whenever he lay with Tamar and the animal desire came over him, let the seed fall outside the woman's body. And he did this only out of envy and anger, lest he should produce new offspring for his brother Er. For this God was angry with him and killed him by terror.

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

When Judah sent Tamar away from his house, because he feared death (that is, childlessness) for his son Shelah, when he sent her away from his house in this way, he promised her that when his son Shelah had grown up he would give her to him as wife. Now just as Tamar went away from Judah's house, sad and weeping, so, when Christ was led to be crucified on Golgotha, the women and the holy congregation went out, mourning and weeping for him. And as Judah promised Tamar that he would give her to his son Shelah as wife when he had grown up, so Christ promised the congregation: When I have risen from the tomb, you shall rejoice greatly, and the mourning shall depart from you.

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

Tamar is the type of the holy congregation, and Judah is the type of Christ. The name Judah means "breaker-down of fences," and by Judah the King is meant. And when it says, "They told Tamar and said to her, Behold, your father-in-law is coming to the sheep-shearing," those who told Tamar are types of the prophets and apostles, who informed the congregation of the coming of the Messiah; and just as Tamar adorned herself and went out to meet Judah, and took off her widow's garments, so the holy congregation took off the customs handed down of old and put on the garments of godliness and faith, of good hope and confidence, and then went out to meet Christ, who came from the tribe of Judah, and adorned herself with the garments of the new covenant, so as to delight by them the King who had come to save the world.

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

Judah did not desire Tamar out of animal, sensual lust, but it happened by divine providence, because in this way the tribe was propagated through him and did not die out. And likewise Tamar, his daughter-in-law, did not sit down by the much-travelled road out of harlot's desire, to receive the harlot's hire, but she intended to obtain offspring from the seed of the race of Abraham, because she belonged to the descendants of Esau, of the race of Abraham; for Judah thought to himself that Tamar was the cause of the death (that is, the childlessness) of his sons Er and Onan, and that the barrenness lay in her. After Judah had lain with her, he gave her a pledge, namely three things: the signet ring, the cord, and the staff that he carried in his hand; these were the pledges that he had lain with her. So too Christ has given his congregation three things: namely, his body, his blood, and baptism. And as Tamar was saved by three things, namely by the ring, the cord, and the staff, so the holy congregation was likewise saved from idolatry by three things, by the confession, the body, and the blood, and likewise chose for her children salvation from worldliness through Christ; and we receive his body and his blood, because he is the pledge of eternal life for everyone who draws near to him in humility.

Translated by Claude from H. Achelis's German translation (1897) of the Arabic; neither is shown

When the sign of pregnancy appeared in Tamar, she rejoiced greatly at it, because her wish was now fulfilled and she had received seed from the race of Abraham. For it was the custom in Israel that every woman whose husbands had died without her having received offspring from them was despised by the Israelites. Now when Judah was told that his daughter-in-law was pregnant as a result of harlotry, he commanded that she be burned. As they were leading her out to burn her, she said to the people leading her: Let me speak with my father-in-law Judah. Then she came before Judah, her father-in-law, laid before him the signet ring, the cord, and the staff, and asked him: Whose are these? Her father-in-law Judah said to her: They are mine. She answered: By the man to whom these three things belong I am pregnant. Then Judah at once burst into tears and said to her: You are innocent, O Tamar, and in the right against me; for I did wrong in not giving you to my son Shelah as wife. Then Judah at once commanded that she be saved from death by fire, and he restored her to his house; and from then on he did not lie with her again. Now Tamar is the type of the holy congregation, and Judah the type of Christ. And as Tamar hoped for offspring from the race of Abraham in order to be freed from reproach, so the holy congregation hoped to keep the commandments of Christ and to follow the word of his holy apostles, in order to be freed from the reproach of the old life and from the stench of the sacrifices to idols.