Fragment of the Book of Noah
[Chapter 106]
1 And after some days my son Methuselah took a wife for his son Lamech, and she
became 2 pregnant by him and bore a son. And his body was white as snow and red as the
blooming of a rose, and the hair of his head and his long locks were white as wool, and his
eyes beautiful. And when he opened his eyes, he lighted up the whole house like the sun,
and the whole house 3 was very bright. And thereupon he arose in the hands of the
midwife, opened his mouth, and conversed with the Lord of righteousness. 4 And his
father Lamech was afraid of him and 5 fled, and came to his father Methuselah. And he
said unto him: ' I have begotten a strange son, diverse from and unlike man, and
resembling the sons of the God of heaven; and his nature is different and he is not like us,
and his eyes are as the rays of the sun, and his 6 countenance is glorious. And it seems to
me that he is not sprung from me but from the angels, and I fear that in his days a wonder
may be 7 wrought on the earth. And now, my father, I am here to petition thee and
implore thee that thou mayest go to Enoch, our father, and learn from him the truth, for
his dwelling-place is 8 amongst the angels.' And when Methuselah heard the words of his
son, he came to me to the ends of the earth; for he had heard that 1 was there, and he
cried aloud, and I heard his voice and I came to him. And 1 said unto him: ' Behold, here
am I, my son, wherefore hast 9 thou come to me ? ' And he answered and said: ' Because
of a great cause of anxiety have I come to thee, and because of a disturbing vision
10 have
I approached. And now, my father, hear me: unto Lamech my son there hath been born a
son, the like of whom there is none, and his nature is not like man's nature, and the colour
of his body is whiter than snow and redder than the bloom of a rose, and the hair of his
head is whiter than white wool, and his eyes are like the rays of the sun, and he opened his
eyes and 11 thereupon lighted up the whole house. And he arose in the hands of the
midwife, and opened 12 his mouth and blessed the Lord of heaven. And his father
Lamech became afraid and fled to me, and did not believe that he was sprung from him,
but that he was in the likeness of the angels of heaven; and behold I have come to thee that
thou mayest make known to me the truth.' And I, Enoch, answered and said unto him:
'The Lord will do a new thing on the earth, and this I have already seen in a vision, and
make known to thee that in the generation of my father Jared some of the angels of heaven
transgressed the word of the Lord. And behold they commit sin and transgress the law,
and have united themselves with women and commit sin with them, and have married
some of them, and have begot children by them. And they shall produce on the earth
giants not according to the spirit, but according to the flesh, and there shall be a great
punishment on the earth, and the earth shall be cleansed from all impurity. Yea, there shall
come a great destruction over the whole earth, and there shall be a deluge and
16 a great
destruction for one year. And this son who has been born unto you shall be left on the
earth, and his three children shall be saved with him: when all mankind that are on the
earth 18 shall die [he and his sons shall be saved]. And now make known to thy son
Lamech that he who has been born is in truth his son, and call his name Noah; for he shall
be left to you, and he and his sons shall be saved from the destruction, which shall come
upon the earth on account of all the sin and all the unrighteousness, which shall be
consummated on the earth in his days. And after that there shall be still more
unrighteousness than that which was first consummated on the earth; for I know the
mysteries of the holy ones; for He, the Lord, has showed me and informed me, and I have
read (them) in the heavenly tablets.
[Chapter 107]
1 And I saw written on them that generation upon generation shall transgress, till a
generation of righteousness arises, and transgression is destroyed and sin passes away
from the earth, and all 2 manner of good comes upon it. And now, my son, go and make
known to thy son Lamech that this 3 son, which has been born, is in truth his son, and that
(this) is no lie.' And when Methuselah had heard the words of his father Enoch-for he had
shown to him everything in secret-he returned and showed (them) to him and called the
name of that son Noah; for he will comfort the earth after all the destruction.
[Chapter 108]
1 Another book which Enoch wrote for his son Methuselah and for those who will come
after him, 2 and keep the law in the last days. Ye who have done good shall wait for those
days till an end is made of those who work evil; and an end of the might of the
transgressors. And wait ye indeed till sin has passed away, for their names shall be blotted
out of the book of life and out of the holy books, and their seed shall be destroyed for
ever, and their spirits shall be slain, and they shall cry and make lamentation in a place that
is a chaotic wilderness, and in the fire shall they burn; for there is no earth there. And I
saw there something like an invisible cloud; for by reason of its depth I could not look
over, and I saw a flame of fire blazing brightly, and things like shining 5 mountains circling
and sweeping to and fro. And I asked one of the holy angels who was with me and said
unto him: ' What is this shining thing? for it is not a heaven but only the flame of a blazing
6 fire, and the voice of weeping and crying and lamentation and strong pain.' And he said
unto me: ' This place which thou seest-here are cast the spirits of sinners and blasphemers,
and of those who work wickedness, and of those who pervert everything that the Lord
hath spoken through the mouth 7 of the prophets-(even) the things that shall be. For some
of them are written and inscribed above in the heaven, in order that the angels may read
them and know that which shall befall the sinners, and the spirits of the humble, and of
those who have afflicted their bodies, and been recompensed 8 by God; and of those who
have been put to shame by wicked men: Who love God and loved neither gold nor silver
nor any of the good things which are in the world, but gave over their bodies to torture.
Who, since they came into being, longed not after earthly food, but regarded everything as
a passing breath, and lived accordingly, and the Lord tried them much, and their spirits
were 10 found pure so that they should bless His name. And all the blessings destined for
them I have recounted in the books. And he hath assigned them their recompense,
because they have been found to be such as loved heaven more than their life in the world,
and though they were trodden under foot of wicked men, and experienced abuse and
reviling from them and were put to shame, 11 yet they blessed Me. And now I will
summon the spirits of the good who belong to the generation of light, and I will transform
those who were born in darkness, who in the flesh were not recompensed 12 with such
honour as their faithfulness deserved. And I will bring forth in shining light those who
13
have loved My holy name, and I will seat each on the throne of his honour. And they shall
be resplendent for times without number; for righteousness is the judgement of God; for to
the faithful 14 He will give faithfulness in the habitation of upright paths. And they shall
see those who were , 15 born in darkness led into darkness, while the righteous shall be
resplendent. And the sinners shall cry aloud and see them resplendent, and they indeed
will go where days and seasons are prescribed for them.'
