1. Septuagint, Tobit, 8.3, 11.7-11.14 (10th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 8.3. And when the demon smelled the odor he fled to the remotest parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him. 11.11. and took hold of his father, and he sprinkled the gall upon his fathers eyes, saying, "Be of good cheer, father. 11.13. and the white films scaled off from the corners of his eyes. 11.14. Then he saw his son and embraced him, and he wept and said, "Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever, and blessed are all thy holy angels. |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 15.5 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 15.5. וַיּוֹצֵא אֹתוֹ הַחוּצָה וַיֹּאמֶר הַבֶּט־נָא הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וּסְפֹר הַכּוֹכָבִים אִם־תּוּכַל לִסְפֹּר אֹתָם וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ כֹּה יִהְיֶה זַרְעֶךָ׃ | 15.5. And He brought him forth abroad, and said: ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to count them’; and He said unto him: ‘So shall thy seed be.’" |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Job, 11.7-11.9, 38.5 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 11.7. הַחֵקֶר אֱלוֹהַ תִּמְצָא אִם עַד־תַּכְלִית שַׁדַּי תִּמְצָא׃ 11.8. גָּבְהֵי שָׁמַיִם מַה־תִּפְעָל עֲמֻקָּה מִשְּׁאוֹל מַה־תֵּדָע׃ 11.9. אֲרֻכָּה מֵאֶרֶץ מִדָּהּ וּרְחָבָה מִנִּי־יָם׃ 38.5. מִי־שָׂם מְמַדֶּיהָ כִּי תֵדָע אוֹ מִי־נָטָה עָלֶיהָ קָּו׃ | 11.7. Canst thou find out the deep things of God? Canst thou attain unto the purpose of the Almighty?" 11.8. It is high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than the nether-world; what canst thou know?" 11.9. The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." 38.5. Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it?" |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 147.4 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 147.4. מוֹנֶה מִסְפָּר לַכּוֹכָבִים לְכֻלָּם שֵׁמוֹת יִקְרָא׃ | 147.4. He counteth the number of the stars; He giveth them all their names." |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 40 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
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6. Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel, 45.3, 45.11, 48.30, 48.33 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 45.3. וּמִן־הַמִּדָּה הַזֹּאת תָּמוֹד אֹרֶךְ חמש [חֲמִשָּׁה] וְעֶשְׂרִים אֶלֶף וְרֹחַב עֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים וּבוֹ־יִהְיֶה הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים׃ 45.11. הָאֵיפָה וְהַבַּת תֹּכֶן אֶחָד יִהְיֶה לָשֵׂאת מַעְשַׂר הַחֹמֶר הַבָּת וַעֲשִׂירִת הַחֹמֶר הָאֵיפָה אֶל־הַחֹמֶר יִהְיֶה מַתְכֻּנְתּוֹ׃ 48.33. וּפְאַת־נֶגְבָּה חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת וְאַרְבַּעַת אֲלָפִים מִדָּה וּשְׁעָרִים שְׁלֹשָׁה שַׁעַר שִׁמְעוֹן אֶחָד שַׁעַר יִשָּׂשכָר אֶחָד שַׁעַר זְבוּלֻן אֶחָד׃ | 45.3. And of this measure shalt thou measure a length of five and twenty thousand, and a breadth of ten thousand; and in it shall be the sanctuary, which is most holy." 45.11. The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer; the measure thereof shall be after the homer." 48.30. And these are the goings out of the city: on the north side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure;" 48.33. and at the south side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure; and three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one;" |
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7. Septuagint, Tobit, 8.3, 11.7-11.14 (4th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 8.3. And when the demon smelled the odor he fled to the remotest parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him. 11.7. Raphael said, "I know, Tobias, that your father will open his eyes. 11.11. and took hold of his father, and he sprinkled the gall upon his fathers eyes, saying, "Be of good cheer, father. 11.13. and the white films scaled off from the corners of his eyes. 11.14. Then he saw his son and embraced him, and he wept and said, "Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever, and blessed are all thy holy angels. |
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8. Anon., 1 Enoch, 10.12, 14.1-14.7, 18.13-18.16, 19.1, 20.1-20.8, 21.1-21.10, 22.3-22.13, 27.2, 32.6, 33.1-33.2, 33.4, 41.5-41.6, 60.11-60.22, 66.1-66.2, 68.2-68.5, 69.21-69.25, 76.14, 80.1-80.8, 90.19-90.38, 93.11-93.12, 93.14 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 10.12. with them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that i 14.1. The book of the words of righteousness, and of the reprimand of the eternal Watchers in accordance 14.1. me. And I went into the tongues of fire and drew nigh to a large house which was built of crystals: and the walls of the house were like a tesselated floor (made) of crystals, and its groundwork wa 14.2. with the command of the Holy Great One in that vision. I saw in my sleep what I will now say with a tongue of flesh and with the breath of my mouth: which the Great One has given to men to 14.2. thereon. And the Great Glory sat thereon, and His raiment shone more brightly than the sun and 14.3. converse therewith and understand with the heart. As He has created and given to man the power of understanding the word of wisdom, so hath He created me also and given me the power of reprimanding 14.4. the Watchers, the children of heaven. I wrote out your petition, and in my vision it appeared thus, that your petition will not be granted unto you throughout all the days of eternity, and that judgement 14.5. has been finally passed upon you: yea (your petition) will not be granted unto you. And from henceforth you shall not ascend into heaven unto all eternity, and in bonds of the earth the decree 14.6. has gone forth to bind you for all the days of the world. And (that) previously you shall have seen the destruction of your beloved sons and ye shall have no pleasure in them, but they shall fall before 14.7. you by the sword. And your petition on their behalf shall not be granted, nor yet on your own: even though you weep and pray and speak all the words contained in the writing which I have 18.13. birds, but it was a waste and horrible place. I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains 18.14. and to me, when I inquired regarding them, The angel said: 'This place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a prison for the stars and the host of heaven. And the stars which roll over the fire are they which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord in the beginning of 18.16. their rising, because they did not come forth at their appointed times. And He was wroth with them, and bound them till the time when their guilt should be consummated (even) for ten thousand years.' 19.1. And Uriel said to me: 'Here shall stand the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind and shall lead them astray into sacrificing to demons as gods, (here shall they stand,) till the day of the great judgement in 20.3. over the world and over Tartarus. Raphael, one of the holy angels, who is over the spirits of men. 20.6. of the holy angels, to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind and over chaos. Saraqael 20.7. one of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit. Gabriel, one of the holy 20.8. angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim. Remiel, one of the holy angels, whom God set over those who rise. 21.1. I answered: 'Because of this fearful place, and because of the spectacle of the pain.' And he said unto me: 'This place is the prison of the angels, and here they will be imprisoned for ever.' 21.3. a heaven above nor a firmly founded earth, but a place chaotic and horrible. And there I saw 21.4. even stars of the heaven bound together in it, like great mountains and burning with fire. Then 21.5. I said: 'For what sin are they bound, and on what account have they been cast in hither' Then said Uriel, one of the holy angels, who was with me, and was chief over them, and said: 'Enoch, why 21.6. dost thou ask, and why art thou eager for the truth These are of the number of the stars of heaven, which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and are bound here till ten thousand years 21.7. the time entailed by their sins, are consummated.' And from thence I went to another place, which was still more horrible than the former, and I saw a horrible thing: a great fire there which burnt and blazed, and the place was cleft as far as the abyss, being full of great descending columns of 21.8. fire: neither its extent or magnitude could I see, nor could I conjecture. Then I said: 'How 21.9. fearful is the place and how terrible to look upon!' Then Uriel answered me, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'Enoch, why hast thou such fear and affright' And 22.3. Then Raphael answered, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'These hollow places have been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead should 22.4. assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here. And these places have been made to receive them till the day of their judgement and till their appointed period [till the period appointed], till the great judgement (comes) upon them.' I saw (the spirit of) a dead man making suit 22.5. and his voice went forth to heaven and made suit. And I asked Raphael the angel who was 22.6. with me, and I said unto him: 'This spirit which maketh suit, whose is it, whose voice goeth forth and maketh suit to heaven ' 22.7. And he answered me saying: 'This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew, and he makes his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from the face of the earth, and his seed is annihilated from amongst the seed of men.' 22.8. The I asked regarding it, and regarding all the hollow places: 'Why is one separated from the other' 22.9. And he answered me and said unto me: 'These three have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And such a division has been make (for) the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of 22.11. lifetime. Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain till the great day of judgement and punishment and torment of those who curse for ever and retribution for their spirits. There 22.12. He shall bind them for ever. And such a division has been made for the spirits of those who make their suit, who make disclosures concerning their destruction, when they were slain in the day 22.13. of the sinners. Such has been made for the spirits of men who were not righteous but sinners, who were complete in transgression, and of the transgressors they shall be companions: but their spirits shall not be slain in the day of judgement nor shall they be raised from thence.' 27.2. accursed valley between' Then Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered and said: 'This accursed valley is for those who are accursed for ever: Here shall all the accursed be gathered together who utter with their lips against the Lord unseemly words and of His glory speak hard things. Here shall they be gathered together, and here 32.6. I said: 'How beautiful is the tree, and how attractive is its look!' Then Raphael the holy angel, who was with me, answered me and said: 'This is the tree of wisdom, of which thy father old (in years) and thy aged mother, who were before thee, have eaten, and they learnt wisdom and their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked and they were driven out of the garden.' 33.1. And from thence I went to the ends of the earth and saw there great beasts, and each differed from the other; and (I saw) birds also differing in appearance and beauty and voice, the one differing from the other. And to the east of those beasts I saw the ends of the earth whereon the heaven 33.2. rests, and the portals of the heaven open. And I saw how the stars of heaven come forth, and 33.4. times and their months, as Uriel the holy angel who was with me showed me. He showed all things to me and wrote them down for me: also their names he wrote for me, and their laws and their companies. 41.5. beginning of the world. And I saw the chambers of the sun and moon, whence they proceed and whither they come again, and their glorious return, and how one is superior to the other, and their stately orbit, and how they do not leave their orbit, and they add nothing to their orbit and they take nothing from it, and they keep faith with each other, in accordance with the oath by which they 41.6. are bound together. And first the sun goes forth and traverses his path according to the commandment 60.11. And the other angel who went with me and showed me what was hidden told me what is first and last in the heaven in the height, and beneath the earth in the depth, and at the ends of the 60.12. heaven, and on the foundation of the heaven. And the chambers of the winds, and how the winds are divided, and how they are weighed, and (how) the portals of the winds are reckoned, each according to the power of the wind, and the power of the lights of the moon, and according to the power that is fitting: and the divisions of the stars according to their names, and how all the division 60.13. are divided. And the thunders according to the places where they fall, and all the divisions that are made among the lightnings that it may lighten, and their host that they may at once obey. 60.14. For the thunder has places of rest (which) are assigned (to it) while it is waiting for its peal; and the thunder and lightning are inseparable, and although not one and undivided, they both go together 60.15. through the spirit and separate not. For when the lightning lightens, the thunder utters its voice, and the spirit enforces a pause during the peal, and divides equally between them; for the treasury of their peals is like the sand, and each one of them as it peals is held in with a bridle, and turned back by the power of the spirit, and pushed forward according to the many quarters of the earth. 60.16. And the spirit of the sea is masculine and strong, and according to the might of his strength he draws it back with a rein, and in like manner it is driven forward and disperses amid all the mountain 60.17. of the earth. And the spirit of the hoar-frost is his own angel, and the spirit of the hail is a good 60.18. angel. And the spirit of the snow has forsaken his chambers on account of his strength -There is a special spirit therein, and that which ascends from it is like smoke, and its name is frost. And the spirit of the mist is not united with them in their chambers, but it has a special chamber; for its course is glorious both in light and in darkness, and in winter and in summer, and in its chamber is an angel. 60.21. mist are connected, and the one gives to the other. And when the spirit of the rain goes forth from its chamber, the angels come and open the chamber and lead it out, and when it is diffused over the whole earth it unites with the water on the earth. And whensoever it unites with the water on 60.22. the earth . . . For the waters are for those who dwell on the earth; for they are nourishment for the earth from the Most High who is in heaven: therefore there is a measure for the rain 66.1. And after that he showed me the angels of punishment who are prepared to come and let loose all the powers of the waters which are beneath in the earth in order to bring judgement and destruction 66.2. on all who [abide and] dwell on the earth. And the Lord of Spirits gave commandment to the angels who were going forth, that they should not cause the waters to rise but should hold them 68.2. of the Parables. And on that day Michael answered Raphael and said: ' The power of the spirit transports and makes me to tremble because of the severity of the judgement of the secrets, the judgement of the angels: who can endure the severe judgement which has been executed, and before 68.3. which they melt away ' And Michael answered again, and said to Raphael: ' Who is he whose heart is not softened concerning it, and whose reins are not troubled by this word of judgement 68.4. (that) has gone forth upon them because of those who have thus led them out ' And it came to pass when he stood before the Lord of Spirits, Michael said thus to Raphael: ' I will not take their part under the eye of the Lord; for the Lord of Spirits has been angry with them because they do 68.5. as if they were the Lord. Therefore all that is hidden shall come upon them for ever and ever; for neither angel nor man shall have his portion (in it), but alone they have received their judgement for ever and ever. 69.21. And through that oath the stars complete their course, And He calls them by their names, And they answer Him from eternity to eternity. 69.22. [And in like manner the spirits of the water, and of the winds, and of all zephyrs, and (their) path 69.23. from all the quarters of the winds. And there are preserved the voices of the thunder and the light of the lightnings: and there are preserved the chambers of the hail and the chambers of the 69.24. hoarfrost, and the chambers of the mist, and the chambers of the rain and the dew. And all these believe and give thanks before the Lord of Spirits, and glorify (Him) with all their power, and their food is in every act of thanksgiving: they thank and glorify and extol the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.] 69.25. And this oath is mighty over them And through it [they are preserved and] their paths are preserved, And their course is not destroyed. 80.1. And in those days the angel Uriel answered and said to me: ' Behold, I have shown thee everything, Enoch, and I have revealed everything to thee that thou shouldst see this sun and this moon, and the leaders of the stars of the heaven and all those who turn them, their tasks and times and departures. 80.2. And in the days of the sinners the years shall be shortened, And their seed shall be tardy on their lands and fields, And all things on the earth shall alter, And shall not appear in their time: And the rain shall be kept back And the heaven shall withhold (it). 80.3. And in those times the fruits of the earth shall be backward, And shall not grow in their time, And the fruits of the trees shall be withheld in their time. 80.4. And the moon shall alter her order, And not appear at her time. 80.5. [And in those days the sun shall be seen and he shall journey in the evening on the extremity of the great chariot in the west] And shall shine more brightly than accords with the order of light. 80.6. And many chiefs of the stars shall transgress the order (prescribed). And these shall alter their orbits and tasks, And not appear at the seasons prescribed to them. 80.7. And the whole order of the stars shall be concealed from the sinners, And the thoughts of those on the earth shall err concerning them, [And they shall be altered from all their ways], Yea, they shall err and take them to be gods. 80.8. And evil shall be multiplied upon them, And punishment shall come upon them So as to destroy all.' 90.19. And I saw till a great sword was given to the sheep, and the sheep proceeded against all the beasts of the field to slay them, and all the beasts and the birds of the heaven fled before their face. And I saw that man, who wrote the book according to the command of the Lord, till he opened that book concerning the destruction which those twelve last shepherds had wrought, and showed that they had destroyed much more than their predecessors, before the Lord of the sheep. And I saw till the Lord of the sheep came unto them and took in His hand the staff of His wrath, and smote the earth, and the earth clave asunder, and all the beasts and all the birds of the heaven fell from among those sheep, and were swallowed up in the earth and it covered them. 90.21. And the Lord called those men the seven first white ones, and commanded that they should bring before Him, beginning with the first star which led the way, all the stars whose privy member 90.22. were like those of horses, and they brought them all before Him. And He said to that man who wrote before Him, being one of those seven white ones, and said unto him: ' Take those seventy shepherds to whom I delivered the sheep, and who taking them on their own authority slew more 90.23. than I commanded them.' And behold they were all bound, I saw, and they all stood before Him. 90.24. And the judgement was held first over the stars, and they were judged and found guilty, and went to the place of condemnation, and they were cast into an abyss, full of fire and flaming, and full 90.25. of pillars of fire. And those seventy shepherds were judged and found guilty, and they were cast 90.26. into that fiery abyss. And I saw at that time how a like abyss was opened in the midst of the earth, full of fire, and they brought those blinded sheep, and they were all judged and found guilty and 90.27. cast into this fiery abyss, and they burned; now this abyss was to the right of that house. And I saw those sheep burning and their bones burning. 90.28. And I stood up to see till they folded up that old house; and carried off all the pillars, and all the beams and ornaments of the house were at the same time folded up with it, and they carried 90.29. it off and laid it in a place in the south of the land. And I saw till the Lord of the sheep brought a new house greater and loftier than that first, and set it up in the place of the first which had beer folded up: all its pillars were new, and its ornaments were new and larger than those of the first, the old one which He had taken away, and all the sheep were within it. 90.31. them in every thing. And thereafter those three who were clothed in white and had seized me by my hand [who had taken me up before], and the hand of that ram also seizing hold of me, they 90.32. took me up and set me down in the midst of those sheep before the judgement took place. And those 90.33. heep were all white, and their wool was abundant and clean. And all that had been destroyed and dispersed, and all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the heaven, assembled in that house, and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced with great joy because they were all good and had returned to 90.34. His house. And I saw till they laid down that sword, which had been given to the sheep, and they brought it back into the house, and it was sealed before the presence of the Lord, and all the sheep 90.35. were invited into that house, but it held them not. And the eyes of them all were opened, and they 90.36. aw the good, and there was not one among them that did not see. And I saw that that house was large and broad and very full. 90.37. And I saw that a white bull was born, with large horns and all the beasts of the field and all the 90.38. birds of the air feared him and made petition to him all the time. And I saw till all their generations were transformed, and they all became white bulls; and the first among them became a lamb, and that lamb became a great animal and had great black horns on its head; and the Lord of the sheep 93.11. [For who is there of all the children of men that is able to hear the voice of the Holy One without being troubled And who can think His thoughts and who is there that can behold all the works 93.12. of heaven And how should there be one who could behold the heaven, and who is there that could understand the things of heaven and see a soul or a spirit and could tell thereof, or ascend and see 93.14. Or is there any one who could discern the length of the heaven and how great is its height, and upon what it is founded, and how great is the number of the stars, and where all the luminaries rest ] |
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9. Anon., Jubilees, 6.17-6.24 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 6.17. And this testimony is written concerning you that you should observe it continually, so that you should not eat on any day any blood of beasts or birds or cattle during all the days of the earth 6.18. and the man who eateth the blood of beast or of cattle or of birds during all the days of the earth, he and his seed shall be rooted out of the land. 6.19. And do thou command the children of Israel to eat no blood, so that their names and their seed may be before the Lord our God continually. 6.20. And for this law there is no limit of days, for it is for ever. They shall observe it throughout their generations, so that they may continue supplicating on your behalf with blood before the altar; 6.21. every day and at the time of morning and evening they shall seek forgiveness on your behalf perpetually before the Lord that they may keep it and not be rooted out. 6.22. And He gave to Noah and his sons a sign that there should not again be a flood on the earth. 6.23. He set His bow in the cloud for a sign of the eternal covet that there should not again be a flood on the earth to destroy it all the days of the earth. 6.24. For this reason it is ordained and written on the heavenly tables, that they should celebrate the feast of weeks in this month once a year, to renew the covet every year. |
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10. Anon., Testament of Asher, 7.5 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 7.5. For I have known that ye shall assuredly be disobedient, and assuredly act ungodly, not giving heed to the law of God, but to the commandments of men, being corrupted through wickedness. |
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11. Anon., Testament of Benjamin, 9.1, 11.3-11.4 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 9.1. And I believe that there will be also evil-doings among you, from the words of Enoch the righteous: that ye shall commit fornication with the fornication of Sodom, and shall perish, all save a few, and shall renew wanton deeds with women; and the kingdom of the Lord shall not be among, you, for straightway He shall take it away. |
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12. Anon., Testament of Levi, 14.1, 16.1 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 14.1. Therefore, my children, I have learnt that at the end of the ages ye will transgress against the Lord, stretching out hands to wickedness [against Him]; and to all the Gentiles shall ye become a scorn. 16.1. And now I have learnt that for seventy weeks ye shall go astray, and profane the priesthood, and pollute the sacrifices. |
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13. Anon., Testament of Naphtali, 4.1 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 4.1. These things I say unto you, my children, for I have read in the writing of Enoch that ye yourselves also shall depart from the Lord, walking according to all the lawlessness of the Gentiles, and ye shall do according to all the wickedness of Sodom. |
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14. Anon., Testament of Simeon, 5.4 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 5.4. For I have seen it inscribed in the writing of Enoch that your sons shall be corrupted in fornication, and shall do harm to the sons of Levi with the sword. |
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15. Anon., Testament of Judah, 18.1 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
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16. Septuagint, Ecclesiasticus (Siracides), 1.9 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.9. The fear of the Lord is glory and exultation,and gladness and a crown of rejoicing. |
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17. Anon., Sibylline Oracles, 2.227-2.232 (1st cent. BCE - 5th cent. CE)
| 2.227. And they all watch at all times and expect 2.228. With sleepless eyes. For it will be at dawn 2.229. Or eve or midday; but he sure shall come 2.230. 230 And it shall be as I say, it shall be 2.231. To them that sleep, that from the starry heaven 2.232. The stars at midday will to all appear |
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18. Anon., The Life of Adam And Eve, 40.6, 43.1 (1st cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
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19. New Testament, Apocalypse, 11.1-11.2, 21.15 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 11.1. A reed like a rod was given to me. Someone said, "Rise, and measure God's temple, and the altar, and those who worship in it. 11.2. Leave out the court which is outside of the temple, and don't measure it, for it has been given to the gentiles. They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months. 21.15. He who spoke with me had for a measure, a golden reed, to measure the city, its gates, and its walls. |
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20. Anon., 2 Enoch, 40.2
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21. Anon., 4 Ezra, 3.4-3.11, 3.20-3.27, 4.36-4.37, 6.45-6.46, 6.53-6.59, 7.11-7.14, 7.62-7.74, 7.116-7.131, 8.4-8.14, 8.44-8.45, 13.57, 14.27-14.36
| 3.4. O sovereign Lord, didst thou not speak at the beginning when thou didst form the earth -- and that without help -- and didst command the dust 3.5. and it gave thee Adam, a lifeless body? Yet he was the workmanship of thy hands, and thou didst breathe into him the breath of life, and he was made alive in thy presence. 3.6. And thou didst lead him into the garden which thy right hand had planted before the earth appeared. 3.7. And thou didst lay upon him one commandment of thine; but he transgressed it, and immediately thou didst appoint death for him and for his descendants. From him there sprang nations and tribes, peoples and clans without number. 3.8. And every nation walked after its own will and did ungodly things before thee and scorned thee, and thou didst not hinder them. 3.9. But again, in its time thou didst bring the flood upon the inhabitants of the world and destroy them. 3.10. And the same fate befell them: as death came upon Adam, so the flood upon them. 3.11. But thou didst leave one of them, Noah with his household, and all the righteous who have descended from him. 3.20. Yet thou didst not take away from them their evil heart, so that thy law might bring forth fruit in them. 3.21. For the first Adam, burdened with an evil heart, transgressed and was overcome, as were also all who were descended from him. 3.22. Thus the disease became permanent; the law was in the people's heart along with the evil root, but what was good departed, and the evil remained. 3.23. So the times passed and the years were completed, and thou didst raise up for thyself a servant, named David. 3.24. And thou didst command him to build a city for thy name, and in it to offer thee oblations from what is thine. 3.25. This was done for many years; but the inhabitants of the city transgressed 3.26. in everything doing as Adam and all his descendants had done, for they also had the evil heart. 3.27. So thou didst deliver the city into the hands of thy enemies. 4.36. And Jeremiel the archangel answered them and said, `When the number of those like yourselves is completed; for he has weighed the age in the balance 4.37. and measured the times by measure, and numbered the times by number; and he will not move or arouse them until that measure is fulfilled.' 6.53. On the sixth day thou didst command the earth to bring forth before thee cattle, beasts, and creeping things; 6.54. and over these thou didst place Adam, as ruler over all the works which thou hadst made; and from him we have all come, the people whom thou hast chosen. 6.55. All this I have spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou hast said that it was for us that thou didst create this world. 6.56. As for the other nations which have descended from Adam, thou hast said that they are nothing, and that they are like spittle, and thou hast compared their abundance to a drop from a bucket. 6.57. And now, O Lord, behold, these nations, which are reputed as nothing, domineer over us and devour us. 6.58. But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy first-born, only begotten, zealous for thee, and most dear, have been given into their hands. 6.59. If the world has indeed been created for us, why do we not possess our world as an inheritance? How long will this be so? 7.11. For I made the world for their sake, and when Adam transgressed my statutes, what had been made was judged. 7.12. And so the entrances of this world were made narrow and sorrowful and toilsome; they are few and evil, full of dangers and involved in great hardships. 7.13. But the entrances of the greater world are broad and safe, and really yield the fruit of immortality. 7.14. Therefore unless the living pass through the difficult and vain experiences, they can never receive those things that have been reserved for them. 7.62. I replied and said, "O earth, what have you brought forth, if the mind is made out of the dust like the other created things! 7.63. For it would have been better if the dust itself had not been born, so that the mind might not have been made from it. 7.64. But now the mind grows with us, and therefore we are tormented, because we perish and know it. 7.65. Let the human race lament, but let the beasts of the field be glad; let all who have been born lament, but let the four-footed beasts and the flocks rejoice! 7.66. For it is much better with them than with us; for they do not look for a judgment, nor do they know of any torment or salvation promised to them after death. 7.67. For what does it profit us that we shall be preserved alive but cruelly tormented? 7.68. For all who have been born are involved in iniquities, and are full of sins and burdened with transgressions. 7.69. And if we were not to come into judgment after death, perhaps it would have been better for us. 7.70. He answered me and said, "When the Most High made the world and Adam and all who have come from him, he first prepared the judgment and the things that pertain to the judgment. 7.71. And now understand from your own words, for you have said that the mind grows with us. 7.72. For this reason, therefore, those who dwell on earth shall be tormented, because though they had understanding they committed iniquity, and though they received the commandments they did not keep them, and though they obtained the law they dealt unfaithfully with what they received. 7.73. What, then, will they have to say in the judgment, or how will they answer in the last times? 7.74. For how long the time is that the Most High has been patient with those who inhabit the world, and not for their sake, but because of the times which he has foreordained! 8.4. I answered and said, "Then drink your fill of understanding, O my soul, and drink wisdom, O my heart! 8.5. For not of your own will did you come into the world, and against your will you depart, for you have been given only a short time to live. 8.6. O Lord who are over us, grant to thy servant that we may pray before thee, and give us seed for our heart and cultivation of our understanding so that fruit may be produced, by which every mortal who bears the likeness of a human being may be able to live. 8.7. For thou alone dost exist, and we are a work of thy hands, as thou hast declared. 8.8. And because thou dost give life to the body which is now fashioned in the womb, and dost furnish it with members, what thou hast created is preserved in fire and water, and for nine months the womb which thou has formed endures thy creation which has been created in it. 8.9. But that which keeps and that which is kept shall both be kept by thy keeping. And when the womb gives up again what has been created in it 8.10. thou hast commanded that from the members themselves (that is, from the breasts) milk should be supplied which is the fruit of the breasts 8.11. so that what has been fashioned may be nourished for a time; and afterwards thou wilt guide him in thy mercy. 8.12. Thou hast brought him up in thy righteousness, and instructed him in thy law, and reproved him in thy wisdom. 8.13. Thou wilt take away his life, for he is thy creation; and thou wilt make him live, for he is thy work. 8.14. If then thou wilt suddenly and quickly destroy him who with so great labor was fashioned by thy command, to what purpose was he made? 8.44. But man, who has been formed by thy hands and is called thy own image because he is made like thee, and for whose sake thou hast formed all things -- hast thou also made him like the farmer's seed? 8.45. No, O Lord who art over us! But spare thy people and have mercy on thy inheritance, for thou hast mercy on thy own creation. 13.57. Then I arose and walked in the field, giving great glory and praise to the Most High because of his wonders, which he did from time to time 14.27. Then I went as he commanded me, and I gathered all the people together, and said 14.28. Hear these words, O Israel 14.29. At first our fathers dwelt as aliens in Egypt, and they were delivered from there 14.30. and received the law of life, which they did not keep, which you also have transgressed after them. 14.31. Then land was given to you for a possession in the land of Zion; but you and your fathers committed iniquity and did not keep the ways which the Most High commanded you. 14.32. And because he is a righteous judge, in due time he took from you what he had given. 14.33. And now you are here, and your brethren are farther in the interior. 14.34. If you, then, will rule over your minds and discipline your hearts, you shall be kept alive, and after death you shall obtain mercy. 14.35. For after death the judgment will come, when we shall live again; and then the names of the righteous will become manifest, and the deeds of the ungodly will be disclosed. 14.36. But let no one come to me now, and let no one seek me for forty days. |
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