1 This lineage of Seth initially regarded God as the Master of the universe and held virtue in high esteem for seven generations; but over time they were corrupted and abandoned the conduct of their ancestors, neglecting the reverence for God that was required of them, and failing to be just to one another. In place of the devotion they once showed, they embraced double the degree of wrongdoing, causing God to become their adversary. For many of God’s angels joined with women and had sons who proved to be arrogant, unjust, and dismissive of all that was good, because of their confidence in their strength.⁠a According to tradition, their actions resembled those whom the Greeks call Giants. However, Noah was deeply troubled by their behavior, and, dissatisfied with their deeds, he tried to persuade them to change their intentions and lifestyles for the better.⁠b But seeing they did not obey and were enslaved by their wicked appetites, he feared they might murder him, together with his wife, children, and their spouses, so he left that land. 2 Now God loved this man for his righteousness, but He not only condemned the others for their wickedness, He decided to eliminate the entire human race and create another, free from ungodliness. And cutting short their lifespans—reducing them to one hundred and twenty years—He turned the land into sea, destroying every one of them. Noah alone was saved, as God suggested a way to deliver him: namely, that he should build an Ark with four levels, three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. He entered with his wife, sons, and their wives, bringing provisions and including in the Ark all sorts of living creatures—male and female, by twos, as well as by sevens for others—so their kinds would survive. The Ark’s walls were solid, its roof secure, and it was braced with crossbeams so it wouldn’t be swamped or overturned by the rushing waters. Thus Noah was saved, being the tenth from Adam, descended through Lamech, Mathusala, Enoch, Jared, Malaleel, Cainan, Enos, Seth, and finally Adam. 3 This catastrophe happened in the six hundredth year of Noah’s life , in the second month, called by the Macedonians Dius ; but by the Hebrews Marhesvan : for this was how they arranged their year in Egypt. But Moses designated Nisan , which is the same with Xanthicus , as the first month, for their festivals; because he brought them out of Egypt in that month. So this month began the year for all the festivals they observed in God’s honour: although he preserved the original order of the months for buying, selling, and other ordinary affairs. Now he says that this flood began on the twenty-seventh day of the previously mentioned month: and this was two thousand six hundred and fifty-six years from Adam, the first man. This is noted in our sacred writings, by those who lived then, who recorded accurately the births and deaths of distinguished men. 4 Indeed Seth was born when Adam was in his two hundred and thirtieth year, and Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years. Seth fathered Enos in his two hundred and fifth year; Enos lived nine hundred and twelve years, and at his death passed the rule to Cainan, his son, whom he had in his one hundred and ninetieth year. Enos lived nine hundred and five years. Cainan, having lived nine hundred and ten years, fathered Malaleel in his one hundred and seventieth year. Malaleel, living eight hundred ninety-five years, died, leaving his son Jared, whom he fathered at his one hundred and sixty-fifth year. Jared lived nine hundred and sixty-two years, then his son Enoch succeeded him, born when Jared was one hundred and sixty-two. Enoch, living three hundred and sixty-five years, departed and went to God, and so they didn’t record his death. Mathusala, Enoch’s son (born when Enoch was one hundred and sixty-five), fathered Lamech when he was one hundred and eighty-seven, and when Mathusala had reigned nine hundred and sixty-nine years, he died and passed leadership to Lamech. Lamech, who reigned seven hundred and seventy-seven years, appointed his son Noah as leader; Noah was born to Lamech when he was one hundred and eighty-two, and reigned nine hundred and fifty years. These years added together give the total we have given. But no one should wonder about the deaths of these men, for they spanned their lives along with their children and grandchildren. Rather, they should consider only their births. 5 When God gave the sign and it started to rain, the rain fell for an unbroken forty days, rising fifteen cubits above the ground, leaving nowhere to flee. Even after the downpour stopped, the waters only started receding after one hundred and fifty days, on the seventeenth day of the seventh month, and then only gradually. Eventually the Ark settled atop a mountain in Armenia. When Noah realized this, he opened it, and, seeing a little part of the land uncovered, he stayed put, with renewed hope of rescue. But some days later, with the waters lowered further, he released a raven, wishing to see if some other land had emerged and if it was safe to leave the Ark. The raven, finding the land still flooded, returned. Seven days after that, he sent out a dove to gauge the land’s state, and it returned with mud and an olive branch. By this Noah knew the earth was clearing from the flood. So after waiting another seven days, he freed all the living creatures, and along with his family, left the Ark. He then sacrificed to God and feasted with his companions. However, Armenians call the place Apobaterion, the Place of Descent, and say that remnants of the Ark are shown there by the locals to this day. 6 All the writers of the Barbarian histories reference this Flood and Ark. Among them is Berosus the Chaldean, who, recounting the Flood, says, “It is said there is still part of the ship in Armenia, on the Cordyæan mountains; some people even carry away pieces of the bitumen, chiefly used as charms to ward off evil.” Likewise, Hieronymus the Egyptian, who wrote the Phoenician Antiquities, Mnaseas, and many others mention it. Nicolaus of Damascus, in his ninety-sixth book, makes special mention when he writes, “There is a large mountain in Armenia, over Minyas, called Baris. Numerous people escaped the Flood there, and one who traveled in an Ark came ashore on the peak. Remains of the timber persisted for a long time. It might be the man Moses, the Jewish Legislator, wrote about.” 7 But Noah feared God might choose to flood the earth again, so he offered burnt sacrifices and prayed that nature would continue in its established orderly course, and that He would never again bring such a massive calamity, one that could annihilate every living thing; that though He had punished the wicked, He would in His kindness spare the rest, those deemed fit to survive such terrible destruction. Otherwise, the survivors would be more miserable than those destroyed, facing the dread from the first flood only to be wiped out by a second. He implored God to accept his offering, to grant that the earth never again suffer like that, that people might work it happily and build cities and live well, and not lack any blessings they enjoyed before the Flood, including the lifespans of the ancient folk. 8 When Noah finished these requests, God, who loved him for his righteousness, granted him what he asked, saying it was not He who had prompted the world’s ruin but that people’s own vices brought upon them that vengeance; that if He had meant to destroy humanity, He wouldn’t have allowed them life from the start, for it would be wiser not to create them than to destroy them after creation. Yet their affronts to His holiness forced Him to bring punishment. Even so, He would not now bring such punishment anymore, especially in answer to Noah’s prayers. If He ever sent torrents of rain more than usual, Noah should not fear the rainfall’s volume, for the water would not again drown the earth. However, He commanded him not to murder anyone and to punish those who committed homicide. He gave them freedom to use every living creature for their needs, for He made them lords over land animals, fish, and birds of the air—yet they must not consume the blood, for that carries life. As a sign that He had laid aside His anger, He designated His bow in the sky, meaning the rainbow, for they believed the rainbow was God’s bow. Then God left him. 9 After living three hundred and fifty years after the Flood, Noah died, having lived a total of nine hundred and fifty years. No one should, upon seeing our current shorter lifespans, disbelieve that the ancients lived so long, or argue from our own brief lives that they never could; for those men were beloved of God, molded by God Himself, and their diet was more conducive to longevity. Also God granted them extended years because of their virtue and because it took that many years to accomplish their astronomical and geometric insights, requiring over six hundred years for a Great Year cycle. I cite as witnesses the authors of Antiquities among the Greeks and Barbarians. Manetho, who wrote the Egyptian history; Berossus, who studied the Chaldean records; Mochus, Hestiæus, Hieronymus the Egyptian, and those who composed the Phoenician history, all testify similarly. Hesiod, Hecatæus, Hellanicus, Acusilaus, Ephorus, and Nicolaus also say the ancients lived a thousand years. But for these matters, every person should weigh them as they wish. 20