Noah's Sacrifice; God's Covenant with him. Instructions to Moses about eating of Blood, the Feast of Weeks, etc., and Division of the Year (vi. 1-38).
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Noah's Sacrifice; God's Covenant with him (cf. Gen. viii. 20-ix. 17). Instructions to Moses about eating of Blood, the Feast of Weeks, etc., and Division of the Year (vi. 1-38).
V1. And on the new moon of the third month he went forth from the ark, and built an altar on that mountain. 8 2. And he made atonement for the earth, 9 and took a kid and made atonement by its blood for
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all the guilt of the earth; for everything that had been on it had been destroyed, save those that were in the ark with Noah. 3. And he placed the fat thereof on the altar, and he took an ox, and a goat, and a sheep and kids, and salt, and a turtle-dove, and the young of a dove, and placed a burnt sacrifice on the altar, and poured thereon an offering mingled with oil, and sprinkled wine and strewed frankincense over everything, and caused a goodly savour to arise, acceptable before the Lord. 1 4. And the Lord smelt the goodly savour, 2 and He made a covenant with him that there should not be any more a flood to destroy the earth; 3 that all the days of the earth seed-time and harvest should never cease; cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night should not change their order, nor cease for ever. 4 5. "And you, increase ye and multiply upon the earth, and become many upon it, and be a blessing upon it. 5 The fear of you and the dread of you I shall inspire in everything that is on earth and in the sea. 6 6. And behold I have given unto you all beasts, and all winged things, and everything that moveth on the earth, and the fish in the waters, and all things for food; as the green herbs, I have given you all things to eat. 7 7. But flesh, with the life thereof, with the blood, ye shall not eat; for the life of all flesh is in the blood, lest your blood of your lives be required. At the hand of every man, at the hand of every (beast), shall I require the blood of man. 8 8. Whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man. 9 9. And you, increase ye, and multiply on the earth." 10. And Noah and his sons swore that they would not eat
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any blood that was in any flesh, and he made a covenant before the Lord God for ever throughout all the generations of the earth in this month. 11. On this account He spake to thee 1 that thou shouldst make a covenant with the children of Israel in this month upon the mountain with an oath, and that thou shouldst sprinkle blood 2 upon them because of all the words of the covenant, which the Lord made with them for ever. 12. 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, 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. 13. 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. 3 14. 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; 4 every day and at the time of morning and evening they shall seek forgiveness 5 on your behalf perpetually before the Lord that they may keep it and not be rooted out. 15 And He gave to Noah 6 and his sons a sign that there should not again be a flood on the earth. 16. He set His bow in the cloud for a sign of the eternal covenant that there should not again be a flood on the earth to destroy it all the days of the earth. 7 17. For this reason it is ordained and written on the heavenly tables, that they should celebrate the feast
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of weeks 1 in this month once a year, to renew the covenant every year. 18. And this whole festival was celebrated in heaven from the day of creation till the days of Noah-twenty-six jubilees and five weeks of years: and Noah and his sons observed it for seven jubilees and one week of years, till the day of Noah's death, and from the day of
| 1309-1659 A.M. |
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month, and on the new moon of the seventh month, and on the new moon of the tenth month are the days of remembrance, and the days of the seasons in the four divisions of the year. 1 These are written and ordained as a testimony for ever. 24. And Noah ordained them for himself as feasts for the generations for ever, so that they have become thereby a memorial unto him. 25. And on the new moon of the first month he was bidden to make for himself an ark, and on that (day) the earth became dry and he opened (the ark) and saw the earth. 26. And on the new moon of the fourth month the mouths of the depths of the abysses beneath were closed. And on the new moon of the seventh month all the mouths of the abysses of the earth were opened, and the waters began to descend into them. 2 27. And on the new moon of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen, and Noah was glad. 3 28. And on this account he ordained them for himself as feasts for a memorial for ever, and thus are they ordained. 29. And they placed them on the heavenly tables, each had thirteen weeks; from one to another (passed) their memorial, from the first to the second, and from the second to the third, and from the third to the fourth. 30. And all the days of the commandment will be two and fifty weeks of days, and (these will make) the entire year complete. 4 31. Thus it is engraven and ordained on the heavenly tables. And
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there is no neglecting (this commandment) for a single -year or from year to year. 32. And command thou the children of Israel that they observe the years according to this reckoning-three hundred and sixty-four days, and (these) will constitute a complete year, and they will not disturb its time from its days and from its feasts; for everything will fall out in them according to their testimony, and they will not leave out any day nor disturb any feasts. 1 33. But if they do neglect and do not observe them according to His commandment, then they will disturb all their seasons, and the years will be dislodged from this (order), [and they will disturb the seasons and the years will be dislodged] 2 and they will neglect their ordinances. 34. And all the children of Israel will forget, and will not find the path of the years, and will forget the new moons, and seasons, and sabbaths, and they will go wrong as to all the order of the years. 3 35. For I know and from henceforth shall I declare it unto thee, and it is not of my own devising; for the book (lieth) written before me, and on the heavenly tables the division of days is ordained, lest they forget the feasts of the covenant and walk according to the feasts of the Gentiles after their error and after their ignorance. 36. For there will be those who will assuredly make observations of the moon--now (it) disturbeth the seasons and cometh in from year to year ten days too soon. 4 37. For this reason the years will come upon them when they will disturb (the order),
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and make an abominable (day) the day of testimony, and an unclean day a feast day, and they will confound all the days, the holy with the unclean, and the unclean day with the holy; for they will go wrong as to the months and sabbaths and feasts and jubilees. 38. For this reason I command and testify to thee that thou mayest testify to them; for after thy death thy children will disturb (them), so that they will not make the year three hundred and sixty-four days only, and for this reason they will go wrong as to the new moons 1 and seasons and sabbaths and festivals, and they will eat all kinds of blood with all kinds of flesh.
Footnotes
60:8 Cf. Gen. viii. 20. The mountain is Lubar.
60:9 The earth needed expiation and cleansing for the vices and crimes that had polluted it.
61:1 The sacrifice is elaborated here to accord with the developed ritual of a later age; cf. Exod. xxix. 40; Lev. ii. 2-5, 15.
62:2 The proper use of blood in the daily sacrifice is here referred to; cf. 14 below.
62:3 For 12-13 cf. Lev. xvii. 10, 12, 14; Deut. xii. 23.
62:5 Cf. Num. xxviii. 3-8. -Note that in our text here 11-14 deal with the Mosaic development of the covenant with Noah.
62:6 The text here returns to Noah.
63:1 The "Feast of Weeks" (cf. Exod. xxxiv. 22) is here only connected with Noah's covenant, the establishment of which it is supposed to commemorate. Later Judaism associated it with the giving of the Law on Sinai. It was celebrated, according to our Book, on the 15th day of the 3rd month.
63:2 Notice that the non-observance of the Feast signalizes the breaking of the covenant-condition about eating blood.
63:3 Or "the first day" (of the week). See 22 below.
63:4 It is called "the day of first-fruits" in Num. xxviii. 26.
63:5 "Of a double nature" in that (?) it commemorates the covenant with Noah, and also has an agricultural character.
63:7 Or "the first day" (of the week) = Sunday. Consequently, Pentecost would always fall on the same day of the week, Sunday. This accords with the Sadducean view.
64:1 According to Lev. xxiii. 24 only the 1st day of the 7th month was a "day of memorial." The "four days" here mentioned correspond to the four intercalary days "which are not reckoned in the reckoning of the year" mentioned in 1 Enoch lxxv. 1. They introduce the four quarters of the year and apparently, according to the scheme of 1 Enoch and our Book, were intended to be added to the 360 days (= 12 x 30), which made up the solar year (360 + 4 days).
64:2 Cf. 1 Enoch lxxxix. 7, 8.
64:4 If the year consists of 52 weeks (= 4 X 13 weeks), how can it be divided into 12 months of 30 days each, which is the reckoning implied throughout the Book? For the solutions proposed see Charles's discussion, ad loc.
65:1 The effect of a solar year reckoned at 364 days would be that the festivals would always be celebrated on the same day of the week. Nisan 14 would always fall on a Sabbath, Nisan 22 (when the wave sheaf was to be offered) on a Sunday, and the Feast of Weeks, Sivan 15, on a Sunday. There is some reason to suppose that this conception of a solar year of 364 days has a dogmatic basis. See Introd., p. xvii.
65:2 The bracketed words are a dittograph.
65:3 For 33-34 cf. 1 Enoch lxxxii. 4-6.
65:4 A lunar year consists Of 354 days. Our author wages a polemic against the use of the moon for determining the seasons and feasts. But a lunar year was accepted by the Pharisees.
66:1 Render (for "new moons") "beginnings of the months."
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