Jubilees 11:1-23

¹And in the thirty-fifth jubilee, in the third week, in the first year of it [1681 A.M.], Reu took a wife for himself, and her name was Ora, the daughter of Ur, the son of Kesed, and she bore him a son, and he called his name Seroh, in the seventh year of this week in this jubilee [1687 A.M.].

²And the sons of Noah began to war on each other, to take captive and to slay one another, and to shed the blood of men on the earth, and to eat blood, and to build strong cities, walls, and towers, and individuals began to exalt themselves above the nation, and to found the beginnings of kingdoms, and to go to war people against people, and nation against nation, and city against city, and all began to do evil, and to acquire arms, and to teach their sons war, and they began to capture cities, and to sell male and female slaves.

³And Ur, the son of Kesed, built the city of Ara of the Chaldees, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father.

⁴And they made molten images for themselves, and each worshipped the idol, the molten image which they had made for themselves, and they began to make graven images and unclean likenesses, and malignant spirits assisted and seduced them into committing transgression and uncleanness. And the prince Mastema exerted himself to do all this, and he sent forth other spirits, those which were put under his control, to do all kinds of wrong and sin, and all kinds of transgression, to corrupt and destroy, and to shed blood upon the earth.

⁵For this reason he called the name of Seroh, Serug, for everyone turned to do all kinds of sin and transgression.

⁶And he grew up, and dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, near the father of his wife's mother, and he worshipped idols, and he took a wife for himself in the thirty-sixth jubilee, in the fifth week, in the first year of it [1744 A.M.], and her name was Melka, the daughter of Kaber, the daughter of his father's brother.

⁷And she bore him Nahor, in the first year of this week, and he grew and dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, and his father taught him the researches of the Chaldees, to divine and augur, according to the signs of heaven.

⁸And in the thirty-seventh jubilee, in the sixth week, in the first year of it [1800 A.M.], he took a wife for himself, and her name was Ijaska, the daughter of Nestag of the Chaldees.

⁹And she bore him Terah in the seventh year of this week [1806 A.M.].

¹⁰And the prince Mastema sent ravens and birds to devour the seed which was sown in the land, in order to destroy the land, and rob the children of men of their labors. Before they could plough the seed in, the ravens picked it from the surface of the ground.

¹¹And for this reason he called his name Terah, because the ravens and the birds reduced them to destitution and devoured their seed.

¹²And the years began to be barren because of the birds, and they devoured all the fruit of the trees from the trees; it was only with great effort that they could save a little of all the fruit of the earth in their days.

¹³And in this thirty-ninth jubilee, in the second week, in the first year [1870 A.M.], Terah took a wife for himself, and her name was Edna, the daughter of Abram, the daughter of his father's sister. And in the seventh year of this week [1876 A.M.] she bore him a son, and he called his name Abram, after the name of the father of his mother;

¹⁴for he had died before his daughter had conceived a son.

¹⁵And the child began to understand the errors of the earth, that all went astray after graven images and after uncleanness, and his father taught him writing, and he was two weeks of years old [1890 A.M.], and he separated himself from his father, that he might not worship idols with him.

¹⁶And he began to pray to the Creator of all things that He might save him from the errors of the children of men, and that his portion should not fall into error after uncleanness and vileness.

¹⁷And the sowing season came for the sowing of seed upon the land, and they all went forth together to protect their seed against the ravens, and Abram went forth with those that went, and the child was a lad of fourteen years.

¹⁸And a cloud of ravens came to devour the seed, and Abram ran to meet them before they settled on the ground, and cried to them before they settled on the ground to devour the seed, and said, 'Do not descend; return to the place from which you came,' and they proceeded to turn back.

¹⁹And he caused the clouds of ravens to turn back that day seventy times, and of all the ravens throughout all the land where Abram was, not so much as one settled there.

²⁰And all who were with him throughout all the land saw him cry out, and all the ravens turn back, and his name became great in all the land of the Chaldees.

²¹And there came to him this year all those who wished to sow, and he went with them until the time of sowing ceased; and they sowed their land, and that year they brought enough grain home and ate and were satisfied.

²²And in the first year of the fifth week [1891 A.M.], Abram taught those who made implements for oxen, the craftsmen in wood, and they made a vessel above the ground, facing the frame of the plough, in order to put the seed on it, and the seed fell down from it upon the share of the plough, and was hidden in the earth, and they no longer feared the ravens.

²³And in this manner they made vessels above the ground on all the frames of the ploughs, and they sowed and tilled all the land, as Abram commanded them, and they no longer feared the birds.