Chronological timeline of texts tagged with Filling Narrative Gaps
About This Tag
Many post-biblical literature and traditions expand upon the Hebrew Bible by filling in narrative gaps, addressing perceived inconsistencies, or to connect the stories to later cultural and religious traditions. These additions often are attempts to clarify unexplained events, develop the motivations of characters, or resolve tensions in the text.
Note: Dates shown in this timeline are approximate and based on scholarly estimates.
Back to TagGenesis 3:4 / 1 Enoch 69:6
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Genesis 3:4
Hebrew Bible
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; 3 but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die, 5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
200-50 B.C.E.
1 Enoch 69:6
Pseudepigrapha
5 The second, Asbeêl, gave evil counsel to the holy sons of God, leading them to defile themselves with the daughters of men. 6 The third, Gâdreêl, showed the children of men all the deadly strikes, led Eve astray, and introduced the weapons of death to the sons of men, including the shield, coat of mail, sword, and other weapons. 7 From his hand, these have been used against those who live on the earth from that day and forevermore.
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Genesis 4:8
Hebrew Bible
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.” 8 Cain spoke to his brother Abel.21 While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” 10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!
3rd Century B.C.E.
LXX Genesis 4:8
Septuagint
6 And the Lord God said to Kain, “Why have you become deeply grieved, and why has your countenance collapsed? 7 If you offer correctly but do not divide correctly, have you not sinned? Be still; his recourse is to you, and you will rule over him.” 8 And Kain said to his brother Habel, “Let us go through into the plain.” And it came about when they were in the plain, that then Kain rose up against his brother Habel and killed him. 9 And God said to Kain, “Where is your brother Habel?” And he said, “I do not know; surely I am not my broth- er’s keeper?” 10 And God said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the earth!
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Genesis 4:8
Hebrew Bible
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.” 8 Cain spoke to his brother Abel.21 While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” 10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!
130-120 B.C.E.
Samaritan Genesis 4:8
Samaritan
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8 And Cain told his brother Abel – let's go to the field: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Genesis 9:24
Hebrew Bible
23 Shem and Japheth took the garment and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor he learned what his youngest son had done to him. 25 So he said,“Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves he will be to his brothers.”
300-1200 C.E.
Pseudo Jonathan Genesis 9:24
Targum
23 But Shem and Japheth took a mantle, placed it on both their shoulders, and going backwards, covered their father’s nakedness; their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew by being told in a dream what had been done to him by Ham his son, who was slight in merit because he was the cause of his not begetting a fourth son. 25 And he said, 'Cursed be Canaan, who is his fourth son. A slave reduced to slavery shall he be to his brothers.'
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Genesis 12:13
Hebrew Bible
11 As he approached Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. 13 So tell them you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you and my life will be spared on account of you.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram’s wife was taken into the household of Pharaoh, 16 and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
160 B.C.E. - 60 B.C.E.
1Q20 20
Dead Sea Scrolls
How fair are her palms and how long and slender are her fingers! How comely are her feet, how perfect her thighs! No virgin or bride led into the marriage chamber is more beautiful than she; she is fairer than all other women. Truly, her beauty is greater than theirs. Yet together with all this grace she possesses abundant wisdom, so that whatever she does is perfect (?).’ When the king heard the words of Harkenosh and his two companions, for all three spoke as with one voice, he desired her greatly and sent out at once to take her. And seeing her, he was amazed by all her beauty and took her to be his wife, but me he sought to kill. Sarai said to the king, ‘He is my brother,’ that I might benefit from her, and I, Abram, was spared because of her and I was not slain. And I, Abram, wept aloud that night, I and my nephew Lot, because Sarai had been taken from me by force. I prayed that night and I begged and implored, and I said in my sorrow while my tears ran down: ‘Blessed art Thou, O Most High God, Lord of all the worlds, Thou who art Lord and king of all things and who rulest over all the kings of the earth and judgest them all!
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Genesis 12:13
Hebrew Bible
11 As he approached Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. 13 So tell them you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you and my life will be spared on account of you.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram’s wife was taken into the household of Pharaoh, 16 and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 13:11
Pseudepigrapha
10 He departed from there and went toward the south. When he reached Hebron (Hebron was built at that time), he stayed there for two years. Then he went to the southern territory as far as Boa Lot. There was a famine in the land. 11 So Abram went to Egypt in the third year of the week [1956]. He lived in Egypt for five years before his wife was taken from him by force. 12 Egyptian Tanais was built at that time — seven years after Hebron. 13 When the pharaoh took Abram’s wife Sarai by force for himself, the Lord punished the pharaoh and his household very severely because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Genesis 12:20
Hebrew Bible
18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.
3rd Century B.C.E.
LXX Genesis 12:20
Septuagint
18 Now when Pharao had called Abram he said, “What is this you have done to me, that you did not tell me that she is your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? And I took her to myself for a wife. And now here is your wife before you; take her; hurry off.” 20 And Pharao commanded men concerning Abram to join in escorting him and his wife and all that he had and Lot with him.
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Genesis 22:1
Hebrew Bible
1 Some time after these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham replied. 2 God said, “Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you.” 3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out for the place God had spoken to him about.
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 17:16
Pseudepigrapha
15 During the seventh week, in the first year during the first month — on the twelfth of this month — in this jubilee [2003], there were voices in heaven regarding Abraham, that he was faithful in everything that he told him, that the Lord loved him, and that in every difficulty he was faithful. 16 Then Prince Mastema came and said before God: ‘Abraham does indeed love his son Isaac and finds him more pleasing than anyone else. Tell him to offer him as a sacrifice on an altar. Then you will see whether he performs this order and will know whether he is faithful in everything through which you test him.’ 17 Now the Lord was aware that Abraham was faithful in every difficulty which he had told him. For he had tested him through his land and the famine; he had tested him through the wealth of kings; he had tested him again through his wife when she was taken forcibly, and through circumcision; and he had tested him through Ishmael and his servant girl Hagar when he sent them away.
500 C.E.
Genesis Rabbah 55:4
Rabbinic
After these things — misgivings were experienced on that occasion. Who then had misgivings? Avraham, saying to himself: ‘I have rejoiced and made all others rejoice, yet I did not set aside a single bullock or ram for the Holy One of Blessing.’ Said the Holy One of Blessing to him: ‘I know that even if you were commanded to offer your only son to Me, you would not refuse.’ - this is according to Rabbi Eleazar who said that the employment of va-e-lohim where E-lohim would suffice, implies both God and God’s Court. It was the ministering angels who spoke thus: ‘This Avraham rejoiced and made all others rejoice, yet did not set aside for the Holy One of Blessing a single bullock or ram.’ Said the Holy One of Blessing to them: ‘Even if we tell him to offer his own son, he will not refuse.’ Itzchak and Ishmael were engaged in a dispute: the latter argued, ‘I am more beloved than you, because I was circumcised at the age of thirteen’; while the other retorted, ‘I am more beloved than you, because I was circumcised at eight days.’ Said Ishmael to him: ‘I am more beloved, because I could have protested, yet I did not.’
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Genesis 22:1
Hebrew Bible
1 Some time after these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham replied. 2 God said, “Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you.” 3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out for the place God had spoken to him about.
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 17:16
Pseudepigrapha
15 During the seventh week, in the first year during the first month — on the twelfth of this month — in this jubilee [2003], there were voices in heaven regarding Abraham, that he was faithful in everything that he told him, that the Lord loved him, and that in every difficulty he was faithful. 16 Then Prince Mastema came and said before God: ‘Abraham does indeed love his son Isaac and finds him more pleasing than anyone else. Tell him to offer him as a sacrifice on an altar. Then you will see whether he performs this order and will know whether he is faithful in everything through which you test him.’ 17 Now the Lord was aware that Abraham was faithful in every difficulty which he had told him. For he had tested him through his land and the famine; he had tested him through the wealth of kings; he had tested him again through his wife when she was taken forcibly, and through circumcision; and he had tested him through Ishmael and his servant girl Hagar when he sent them away.
450-550 C.E.
Sanhedrin 89b
Rabbinic
§ Apropos the binding of Isaac, the Gemara elaborates: It is written: “And it came to pass after these matters [hadevarim] that God tried Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). The Gemara asks: After what matters? How does the binding of Isaac relate to the preceding events? Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: This means after the statement [devarav] of Satan, as it is written: “And the child grew, and was weaned, and Abraham prepared a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned” (Genesis 21:8). Satan said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, this old man, you favored him with a product of the womb, i.e., a child, at one hundred years of age. From the entire feast that he prepared, did he not have even one dove or one pigeon to sacrifice before You as a thanks-offering? God said to Satan: Did Abraham prepare the feast for any reason but for his son? If I say to him: Sacrifice your son before Me, he would immediately slaughter him. Immediately, after these matters, the verse states: “And God tried Abraham.”
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Genesis 35:22
Hebrew Bible
20 Jacob set up a marker over her grave; it is the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day. 21 Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of the Flock.43 22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben went to bed with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons: 23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 33:2
Pseudepigrapha
1 Jacob went and lived to the south of the Tower of Eder Ephrathah. He went to his father Isaac — he and his wife Leah — on the first of the tenth month. 2 When Reuben saw Bilhah, Rachel's maid — his father's concubine — bathing in water in a private place, he loved her. 3 At night he hid. He entered Bilhah's house at night and found her lying alone in her bed and sleeping in her tent. 4 After he had lain with her, she awakened and saw that Reuben was lying with her in the bed. She uncovered the edge of her clothing, took hold of him, shouted out, and realized that it was Reuben. 5 She was ashamed because of him. Once she had released her grip on him, he ran away. 6 She grieved terribly about this matter and told no one at all.
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Genesis 38:1
Hebrew Bible
2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. Judah acquired her as a wife and slept with her. 3 She became pregnant and had a son. Judah named him Er. 4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. 5 Then she had yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. 6 Judah acquired a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise up a descendant for your brother.”
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 41:2
Pseudepigrapha
1 In the forty-fifth jubilee, the second week during the second year [2165], Judah took as a wife for his first-born Er one of the Aramean women whose name was Tamar. 2 He hated her and did not lie with her because his mother was a Canaanite woman and he wanted to marry someone from his mother’s tribe. But his father Judah did not allow him. 3 That Er, Judah’s first-born, was evil, and the Lord killed him. 4 Then Judah said to his brother Onan: ‘Go in to your brother’s wife, perform the levirate duty for her, and produce descendants for your brother.’ 5 Onan knew that the descendants would not be his but his brother’s, so he entered the house of his brother’s wife and poured out the semen on the ground. In the Lord’s estimation, it was an evil act, and he killed him.
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Exodus 32:5
Hebrew Bible
4 He accepted the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molten calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow will be a feast to the Lord.” 6 So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.
300-1200 C.E.
Pseudo Jonathan Exodus 32:5
Targum
And he took them from their hands, and bound them in a wrapper, and wrought it with a tool, having made a molten calf; and he said, These, Israel, are thy gods, which brought thee forth from the land of Mizraim. For Aharon had seen Hur slain before him, and was afraid; and he builded an altar before him, and Aharon cried with doleful voice, and said, Let there be a feast before the Lord to‑morrow, of the sacrifice of the slain of these adversaries who have denied their Lord, and have changed the glory of the Shekinah of the Lord for this calf. And on the day following, they arose, and sacrificed burnt-offerings; and the people sat around to eat and to drink, and rose up to disport themselves with strange service.
5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Numbers 12:1
Hebrew Bible
1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married (for he had married an Ethiopian woman). 2 They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has he not also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than any man on the face of the earth.)
300-1200 C.E.
Pseudo Jonathan Numbers 12:1
Targum
And Miriam and Aharon spake against Mosheh words that were not becoming with respect to the Kushaitha whom the Kushaee had caused Mosheh to take when he had fled from Pharoh, but whom he had sent away because they had given him the queen of Kush, and he had sent her away. And they said, Hath the Lord spoken only with Mosheh, that he should be separated from the married life? Hath He not spoken with us also? And it was heard before the Lord. But the man Mosheh was more bowed down in his mind than all the children of men upon the face of the earth; neither cared he for their words.
6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition)
Deuteronomy 22:20
Hebrew Bible
16 The young woman’s father must say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man and he has rejected her. 17 Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, ‘I discovered your daughter was not a virgin,’ but this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity!” The cloth must then be spread out before the city’s elders. 18 The elders of that city must then seize the man and punish him. 19 They will fine him 100 shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, for the man who made the accusation ruined the reputation of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife, and he may never divorce her as long as he lives. 20 But if the accusation is true and the young woman was not a virgin, 21 the men of her city must bring the young woman to the door of her father’s house and stone her to death, for she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by behaving like a prostitute while living in her father’s house. In this way you will purge the evil from among you.
130-150 C.E.
Protoevangelium of James 14
Pseudepigrapha
14 Joseph was deeply afraid and withdrew from Mary, thinking about what he should do. He said to himself, “If I cover up her supposed sin, I will be going against the law of the Lord; but if I expose her to the people of Israel, I fear that what’s inside her might be from an angel, and I’ll be responsible for condemning innocent blood to death. What should I do? I’ll quietly divorce her.” As night fell, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what’s conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you will name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Joseph woke from his dream, glorifying the God of Israel for the grace he had been given, and he stayed with Mary.
70-90 C.E.
Matthew 1:19
New Testament
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately. 20 When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
200-50 B.C.E.
1 Enoch 12:3
Pseudepigrapha
1 Before these things, Enoch was hidden, and no one among the children of men knew where he was hidden, where he lived, or what had happened to him. 2 His dealings were with the Watchers, and he spent his days among the holy ones. 3 And I, Enoch, was praising the Lord of majesty and the King of the ages, and lo! the Watchers called me - Enoch the scribe - and said to me: 4 'Enoch, you scribe of righteousness, go, tell the Watchers of heaven who have left the high heaven, the holy eternal place, and have defiled themselves with women, and have acted as the children of earth do, and have taken wives for themselves: You have caused great destruction on the earth:
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 4:22
Pseudepigrapha
20 During the twelfth jubilee, in its seventh week [582-88] he took a wife for himself. Her name was Edni, the daughter of Daniel, the daughter of his father's brother. In the sixth year of this week [587] she gave birth to a son for him, and he named him Methuselah. 21 He was, moreover, with God's angels for six jubilees of years. They showed him everything on earth and in the heavens — the dominion of the sun — and he wrote down everything. 22 He testified to the Watchers who had sinned with the daughters of men because these had begun to mix with earthly women so that they became defiled. Enoch testified against all of them. 23 He was taken from human society, and we led him into the Garden of Eden for his greatness and honor. Now he is there writing down the judgment and condemnation of the world and all the wickedness of mankind.
150-100 B.C.E.
Judith 5:8
Deuterocanon
7 At one time they lived in Mesopotamia, because they did not wish to follow the gods of their ancestors who were in Chaldea. 8 Since they had abandoned the ways of their ancestors, and worshiped the God of heaven, the God they had come to know, their ancestors drove them out from the presence of their gods. So they fled to Mesopotamia, and lived there for a long time. 9 Then their God commanded them to leave the place where they were living and go to the land of Canaan. There they settled, and grew very prosperous in gold and silver and very much livestock. 10 When a famine spread over the land of Canaan they went down to Egypt and lived there as long as they had food. There they became so great a multitude that their race could not be counted.
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 12:7
Pseudepigrapha
6 Then he said to him: ‘I, too, know this, my son. What shall I do with the people who have ordered me to serve in their presence?’ 7 ‘If I tell them what is right, they will kill me because they themselves are attached to them so that they worship and praise them. Be quiet, my son, so that they do not kill you.’ 8 When he told these things to his two brothers and they became angry at him, he remained silent. 9 During the fortieth jubilee, in the second week, in its seventh year [1925], Abram married a woman whose name was Sarai, the daughter of his father, and she became his wife.
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 4:10
Pseudepigrapha
9 Cain married his sister Awan, and at the end of the fourth jubilee [148-96] she gave birth to Enoch for him. In the first year of the first week of the fifth jubilee [197] houses were built on the earth. Then Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch. 10 Adam knew his wife Eve, and she gave birth to nine more children. 11 In the fifth week of the fifth jubilee [225-31] Seth married his sister Azura, and in its fourth year [228] she gave birth to Enosh for him.
50-120 C.E.
Pseudo Philo Biblical Antiquities 1:2
Classical
1 The beginning of the world. Adam begat three sons and one daughter, Cain, Noaba, Abel and Seth. 2 And Adam lived after he begat Seth 700 years, and begat 12 sons and 8 daughters. 3 And these are the names of the males: Eliseel, Suris, Elamiel, Brabal, Naat, Zarama, Zasam, Maathal, and Anath. 4 And these are his daughters: Phua, Iectas, Arebica, Sifa, Tecia, Saba, Asin.
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 5:2
Pseudepigrapha
1 When mankind began to multiply on the surface of the entire earth and daughters were born to them, the angels of the Lord — in a certain (year) of this jubilee — saw that they were beautiful to look at. So they married of them whomever they chose. They gave birth to children for them and they were giants. 2 Wickedness increased on the earth. All animate beings corrupted their way — (everyone of them) from people to cattle, animals, birds, and everything that moves about on the ground. All of them corrupted their way and their prescribed course. They began to devour one another, and wickedness increased on the earth. Every thought of all mankind's knowledge was evil like this all the time. 3 The Lord saw that the earth was corrupt, (that) all animate beings had corrupted their prescribed course, and (that) all of them — everyone that was on the earth — had acted wickedly before his eyes.
500-800 C.E.
Tanchuma Noach 12
Rabbinic
Similarly, Isaac told Jacob: Arise! Go to Padan-aram, to seek a wife proper for him. He did not wish him to be like the men of the generation of the flood, who wallowed in unchastity and indulged in sexual intercourse with species other than their own. Observe what is written concerning them: The sons of God saw the daughters of men … and took them wives, whomsoever they chose. That was the reason they were obliterated from the earth. The animals, likewise, copulated with species other than their own: the horse with the ass, the ass with the horse, and the serpent with the bird, as it is said: And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. Notice that Scripture does not say in this verse “all man” but all flesh. Therefore, He blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle. No being that had copulated with a species other than its own entered the ark, as it is said: From all the pure cattle. Because the ark could harbor only pure beings, they came from among those alone, as it is said: Two and two unto Noah.
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 10:26
Pseudepigrapha
25 For this reason the whole land of Shinar was named Babel because there God confused all the tongues of mankind. From there they were dispersed into their cities, each according to their languages and their nations. 26 The Lord sent a wind at the tower and tipped it to the ground. It is now between Asshur and Babylon, in the land of Shinar. He named it the Collapse. 27 In the fourth week, during the first year — at its beginning — of the thirty-fourth jubilee [1639], they were dispersed from the land of Shinar.
500-800 C.E.
Tanchuma Noach 18
Rabbinic
The Holy One, blessed be He, thereupon declared: You evil men, because you have sinned with the words Come, let us, I shall confound you through those very words, as it is said: Come, let us go down there and confound their language (ibid., v. 7). R. Hiyya the son of Abba said: One third of the tower they erected was consumed in fire, another third was swallowed into the earth, and the remainder was left standing. Yet if one climbed to the summit of the remaining third, the palm trees in Jericho below appeared no larger than grasshoppers.
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 17:16
Pseudepigrapha
15 During the seventh week, in the first year during the first month — on the twelfth of this month — in this jubilee [2003], there were voices in heaven regarding Abraham, that he was faithful in everything that he told him, that the Lord loved him, and that in every difficulty he was faithful. 16 Then Prince Mastema came and said before God: ‘Abraham does indeed love his son Isaac and finds him more pleasing than anyone else. Tell him to offer him as a sacrifice on an altar. Then you will see whether he performs this order and will know whether he is faithful in everything through which you test him.’ 17 Now the Lord was aware that Abraham was faithful in every difficulty which he had told him. For he had tested him through his land and the famine; he had tested him through the wealth of kings; he had tested him again through his wife when she was taken forcibly, and through circumcision; and he had tested him through Ishmael and his servant girl Hagar when he sent them away.
450-550 C.E.
Sanhedrin 89b
Rabbinic
§ Apropos the binding of Isaac, the Gemara elaborates: It is written: “And it came to pass after these matters [hadevarim] that God tried Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). The Gemara asks: After what matters? How does the binding of Isaac relate to the preceding events? Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: This means after the statement [devarav] of Satan, as it is written: “And the child grew, and was weaned, and Abraham prepared a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned” (Genesis 21:8). Satan said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, this old man, you favored him with a product of the womb, i.e., a child, at one hundred years of age. From the entire feast that he prepared, did he not have even one dove or one pigeon to sacrifice before You as a thanks-offering? God said to Satan: Did Abraham prepare the feast for any reason but for his son? If I say to him: Sacrifice your son before Me, he would immediately slaughter him. Immediately, after these matters, the verse states: “And God tried Abraham.”
150-100 B.C.E.
Jubilees 33:2
Pseudepigrapha
1 Jacob went and lived to the south of the Tower of Eder Ephrathah. He went to his father Isaac — he and his wife Leah — on the first of the tenth month. 2 When Reuben saw Bilhah, Rachel's maid — his father's concubine — bathing in water in a private place, he loved her. 3 At night he hid. He entered Bilhah's house at night and found her lying alone in her bed and sleeping in her tent. 4 After he had lain with her, she awakened and saw that Reuben was lying with her in the bed. She uncovered the edge of her clothing, took hold of him, shouted out, and realized that it was Reuben. 5 She was ashamed because of him. Once she had released her grip on him, he ran away.
100 B.C.E. - 100 C.E.
Testament of Reuben 3:12
Pseudepigrapha
And now, my children, love the truth, and it will preserve you: hear ye the words of Reuben your father. Pay no heed to the face of a woman, Nor associate with another man's wife, Nor meddle with affairs of womankind. For had I not seen Bilhah bathing in a covered place, I had not fallen into this great iniquity. For my mind taking in the thought of the woman's nakedness, suffered me not to sleep until I had wrought the abominable thing. For while Jacob our father had gone to Isaac his father, when we were in Eder, near to Ephrath in Bethlehem, Bilhah became drunk and was asleep uncovered in her chamber. Having therefore gone in and beheld nakedness, I wrought the impiety without her perceiving it, and leaving her sleeping I departed. And forthwith an angel of God revealed to my father concerning my impiety, and he came and mourned over me, and touched her no more.
130-120 B.C.E.
Samaritan Genesis 4:8
Samaritan
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8 And Cain told his brother Abel – let's go to the field: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
3rd Century B.C.E.
LXX Genesis 4:8
Septuagint
6 And the Lord God said to Kain, “Why have you become deeply grieved, and why has your countenance collapsed? 7 If you offer correctly but do not divide correctly, have you not sinned? Be still; his recourse is to you, and you will rule over him.” 8 And Kain said to his brother Habel, “Let us go through into the plain.” And it came about when they were in the plain, that then Kain rose up against his brother Habel and killed him. 9 And God said to Kain, “Where is your brother Habel?” And he said, “I do not know; surely I am not my broth- er’s keeper?” 10 And God said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the earth!
50-120 C.E.
Pseudo Philo Biblical Antiquities 8:8
Classical
7 And Jacob dwelt in the land of Chanaan, and Sichem the son of Emor the Correan forced his daughter Dina and humbled her. And Simeon and Levi the sons of Jacob went in and slew all their city with the edge of the sword, and took Dina their sister, and went out thence. 8 And thereafter Job took her to wife and begat of her 14 sons and 6 daughters, even 7 sons and 3 daughters before he was smitten with affliction, and thereafter when he was made whole 7 sons and 3 daughters. And these are their names: Eliphac, Erinoe, Diasat, Philias, Diffar, Zellud, Thelon: and his daughters Meru, Litaz, Zeli. And such as had been the names of the former, so were they also of the latter.
500 C.E.
Genesis Rabbah 57
Rabbinic
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said he lived during the days of Jacob, and Rabbi Abba bar Kahana stated that Dina was the wife of Job, as it is written about Job's wife (Job 2:10): 'like one of the senseless women speaks', and it is written about Dina (Genesis 34:7): 'for he had committed an outrage in Israel'. Rabbi Levi said he lived during the days of the tribes. Rabbi Levi, in the name of Rabbi Yosei bar Khalaphta, said he was born during their descent to Egypt and died upon their ascent; you will find that the main years of Job's life were only two hundred and ten years, the same duration the Israelites were in Egypt.
93-94 C.E.
Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 2.9
Classical
2 During this time, the Egyptians found further motivation for eradicating the nation of the Hebrews. A sacred scribe, known for accurately predicting the future, advised Pharaoh that around this period a Hebrew child would be born who would lower the kingdom of Egypt and raise the Israelites, standing out in virtue and remembered forever. Alarmed by this prophecy, the King commanded that every male Hebrew infant be cast into the river, ordering the Egyptian midwives who assisted Hebrew mothers to obey this edict on pain of death. This was an extreme affliction for the Hebrews, forced to do away with their sons or face punishment, seeing their entire future extinguished. Yet no one can outwit God’s power, no matter how many cunning devices are devised. For the child, whose birth the scribe had predicted and whose life Pharaoh sought to end, was saved and hidden. The prophet also did not err in predicting this child would elevate the Hebrews and ruin the Egyptians.
300-1200 C.E.
Pseudo Jonathan Exodus 1:15
Targum
15 And Pharaoh said that while he slept, he saw in his dream that all the land of Egypt was placed on one balance of a weighing scale, and a lamb, the young of a ewe, on the other balance of the weighing scale; and the balance of the weighing scale on which the lamb was placed weighed down. Immediately he sent and summoned all the magicians of Egypt and told them his dream. Immediately Jannes and Jambres, the chief magicians, opened their mouths and said to Pharaoh: 'A son is to be born in the assembly of Israel, through whom all the land of Egypt is destined to be destroyed.' 16 Therefore Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, took counsel and said to the Jewish midwives—one of whom was named Shiphrah, she is Jochebed, and the other was named Puah, she is Miriam, her daughter. 17 And he said, 'When you act as midwives for the Jewish women, you shall look at the birthstool: if it is a male child, you shall kill him; but if it is a female child, she shall live.' 18 But the midwives feared before the Lord, and they did not do as the king of Egypt told them but let the sons live.