Three Unpublished Chapters from the Book of Genesis
Chapter A
1. Then Noah said unto his sons Japheth, Shem, and Ham: “Let us leave the ark, according to the will of the Lord; we and our wives, and all the animals. The ark shall come to rest upon a mountaintop; there will we disembark.
2. “Because the Lord has fulfilled His promise, when He said unto me: ‘I have resolved to bring an end to all living flesh; wickedness rules over the earth and I will make all men perish. Thou shalt make a wooden ark and go into it; thou, thy wife, and thy sons.
3. “ ‘And thy sons’ wives, and two of every beast.’
4. “Now that the Lord’s promise has been fulfilled, and all men have perished, and the torrents of heaven have abated, we will return to inhabit the earth, and live in the bosom of peace and harmony.”
5. Thus spoke Noah, and the sons of Noah felt great joy upon hearing the words of their father; and Noah left them alone, withdrawing into one of the cabins inside the ark.
6. Then Japheth lifted up his voice and said: “A life of pleasure shall be ours. The fig tree shall give us its fruit, the sheep its wool, the cow its milk, the sun its light, and the night its shelter.
7. “For we will be the only ones upon the earth, and all the land shall be ours, and none shall disturb the peace of a family saved from the punishment that cut down all of mankind.
8. “Forever and ever.” Then Shem, upon hearing his brother speak, said: “I have an idea.” To which Japheth and Ham replied: “Let us hear this idea, Shem.
9. And Shem spoke with the voice of his heart, saying: “My father has his family; each one of us has his family; there is an abundance of land; we can live in separate tents. Each one of us will do as he thinks best: planting, hunting, hewing wood, or spinning flax.”
10. And Japheth replied: “I think Shem’s idea well thought; we can live in separate tents. The ark will come to rest upon a mountaintop; my father and Ham will disembark on the side of the rising sun; Shem and I on the side of the setting sun. Shem will occupy two hundred cubits of land, and I another two hundred.”
11. But when Shem spoke, saying: “Two hundred cubits is but little,” Japheth replied: “Then let it be five hundred each. Between thy land and mine shall be a river that divides them, so that our lands may be clearly marked. I shall keep to the left bank and thou to the right bank;
12. “And my land will be called the land of Japheth, and thine will be called the land of Shem; and we will each visit the tent of the other, and together we will break the bread of joy and harmony.”
13. And, having approved the division, Shem asked Japheth: “But what about the river? To whom will the waters of the river, the current itself, belong?
14. “Because we possess the riverbanks, but we have said nothing about the current.” And Japheth replied that they could fish from either side. But his brother disagreed, proposing to divide the river into two parts, by putting a stick in the middle. Japheth, however, said that the current would sweep the stick away.
15. And Japheth having replied thus, his brother answered him: “Since the stick does not serve thee, I will have the river and both of its banks; and so that there be no conflict between us, thou canst build a wall, ten or twelve cubits from the bank that was thine.
16. “And if by this thou losest something, the difference is not great, and nor is it any less fitting, so that the peace between us may never be disturbed, according to the will of the Lord.”
17. But Japheth replied: “Get thee hence! By what right dost thou take the riverbank, which is mine, and rob me of a piece of my land? Art thou better than I,
18. “Or fairer, or more beloved of my father? What right hast thou to violate so scandalously the property of another?
19. “For now I say unto thee that the river shall be mine, along with both of its banks, and if thou darest enter upon my land, I will slay thee just as Cain slew his brother.”
20. Hearing this, Ham was greatly afraid, and began to calm his two brothers,
21. Each of whom had eyes as big as figs and the color of fiery embers, and looked at each other full of hatred and scorn.
22. The ark, meanwhile, was floating upon the waters of the abyss.
Chapter B
1. Then Japheth, seething with rage, began to foam at the mouth, and Ham spoke unto him with words of gentleness,
2. Saying: “Let us find a way to reconcile everything; I will call for thy wife and Shem’s wife.”
3. Each of them, however, refused, saying that the matter was one of rights, not of persuasion.
4. And Shem proposed to Japheth that he make up for the ten lost cubits by measuring out another ten at the back of his lands. But Japheth replied,
5. “Why not send me straightaway to the ends of the earth? Thou art no longer content with five hundred cubits; thou seekest five hundred and ten, and for me to have four hundred and ninety.
6. “Hast thou no moral feelings? Dost thou not know what justice is? Canst thou not see how brazenly thou steals from me? And dost thou not realize that I will know to defend what is mine, even at risk of my life?
7. “And that if blood must be spilt, then it will be spilt here and now,
8. “To punish thy pride and wash away thy iniquity?”
9. Then Shem advanced toward Japheth, but Ham put himself between them, placing a hand on the chest of each one;
10. Whilst the wolf and the lamb, who during all the days of the flood had lived in sweetest harmony, upon hearing the sound of voices came to see the brothers fight, and became wary of each other.
11. And Ham said: “Behold, I have a marvelous idea that will satisfy everyone.
12. “And inspired by the love I have for you my brothers. I will sacrifice the land that is mine beside that of my father, and instead I will have the river and its two banks, with each of you giving me around twenty cubits.”
13. And Shem and Japheth laughed with sarcasm and scorn, saying: “Go plant dates! Keep that idea for the days of thy dotage.” And they pulled Ham’s ears and nose; and Japheth, putting two fingers in his mouth, imitated the hiss of the serpent, mocking him.
14. Now Ham, annoyed and ashamed, spread wide his hands and said: “Let me be!” and went thence to meet with his father and the wives of his two brothers.
15. Japheth, however, said unto Shem: “Now that we are alone, let us decide this serious matter, whether it be by tongue or by fist. Cede unto me both riverbanks, or I will break one of thy ribs.”
16. Upon saying this, Japheth threatened Shem with clenched fists, while Shem, bracing himself, said in an angry voice: “I cede nothing unto thee, thief!”
17. To which Japheth retorted angrily: “Thou art the thief!”
18. They then advanced toward each other and came to blows. Japheth had a sturdy and well-trained arm; Shem stood his ground. Then Japheth, grabbing his brother around the waist, squeezed him mightily, shouting: “Whose river is it?”
19. And Shem responded: “It is mine!” Japheth tried to wrestle him to the floor, but Shem, who was strong, shook himself free and pushed his brother away; Japheth, however, foaming with rage, once again seized his brother and the two of them fought hand-to-hand,
20. Sweating and snorting like bulls.
21. As they fought, they fell and rolled, punching each other; blood flowed from their noses, their lips, and their cheeks; one moment Japheth was winning;
22. Then it was Shem; for anger spurred them on in equal measure, and they fought with their hands, their feet, their teeth, and their nails; and the ark trembled as if once again the heavens had opened.
23. Then the voices and shouts reached the ears of Noah, at the same time as his son Ham appeared before him, clamoring: “My father, my father, if for Cain vengeance will be taken seven times, and for Lamech seventy times seven, what will it be for Japheth and Shem?”
24. And when Noah asked him to explain what he meant, Ham spoke of his brothers’ strife, and the anger that seethed within them, and said: “Hasten to calm them.” Noah said: “Let us go.”
25. The ark, meanwhile, was floating upon the waters of the abyss.
Chapter C
1. And behold, Noah came to the place where his two sons were fighting,
2. And found them still clasped one to another, Shem pinned down by the knee of Japheth, who with clenched fist was punching his brother’s bruised and bloodied face.
3. Meanwhile, Shem, raising his hands, managed to grasp his brother by the throat, and Japheth began to shout: “Let me go! Let me go!”
4. Hearing the shouts, Japheth and Shem’s wives came also unto the scene of the struggle, and, seeing them thus, began to cry and say: “What will become of us? The curse has fallen upon us and upon our husbands.”
5. Noah, however, said unto them: “Be quiet, wives of my sons, and I will see what this quarrel is about, and I will ordain that which is just.” And, walking toward the two fighters,
6. He shouted unto them: “Stop the fight. I, Noah, your father, order and command it.” And upon hearing their father the two brothers suddenly halted, and remained a long time silent and ashamed, neither of them getting to their feet.
7. Noah continued: “Stand up, O men unworthy of salvation and deserving of the punishment that has befallen all other men.”
8. Japheth and Shem stood up. Each had cuts on his face, neck, and hands, and their clothes were splattered with blood, for they had fought with tooth and nail, incensed by mortal hatred.
9. The deck as well was soaked with blood, and also both men’s sandals, and their hair;
10. As if sin had wished to mark them with the sign of their iniquity.
11. The two wives, however, came unto them, weeping and caressing them, and the aching of their hearts was plain to see. Japheth and Shem did not respond, and stood with their eyes cast downwards, fearful of facing their father.
12. Who said: “Now, then, I want to know the reason for the fight.”
13. This word ignited the hatred in the hearts of both men. Japheth, however, was the first to speak, and said:
14. “Shem invaded my land, the land on which I had chosen to pitch my tent when the waters subside and the ark descends, according to the Lord’s promise;
15. “And I, who will not abide plunder, said unto my brother: ‘Art thou not content with five hundred cubits, that thou wilt have ten more?’ And he replied to me: ‘I want ten more and both banks of the river that shall divide my land from thine.’ ”
16. Noah, listening to his son, had his eyes upon Shem; and when Japheth had finished, he asked his brother: “How dost thou answer?”
17. And Shem said: “Japheth is lying, because I only took from him the ten cubits of land when he refused to divide the river between us; and in proposing that I keep both riverbanks, I even agreed that he could measure out another ten cubits at the back of his lands,
18. “To compensate for what he was losing; but the iniquity of Cain spoke within him and he wounded my head, my face, and my hands.”
19. And Japheth interrupted him, saying: “And didst thou not wound me also? Am not I bloodied as thee? Look at my face and my neck; look at my cheeks, which thou didst tear with thy tiger claws.”
20. As Noah began to speak, he observed that his two sons once again seemed to challenge each other with their eyes. So he said: “Hear me!” But the two brothers, blind with rage, grappled with each other once again, shouting: “Whose river is it?”—“The river is mine.”
21. And only with great difficulty could Noah, Ham, and the wives of Shem and Japheth hold back the two warriors, whose blood began to gush forth copiously.
22. Noah, however, raising his voice, cried out: “Cursed is he who obeys me not! He shall be cursed not seven times, not seventy times seven, but seven hundred times seventy.
23. “Therefore I say unto you that, before the ark descends, I want no pacts regarding the place where you will pitch your tents.”
24. After this he grew thoughtful.
25. And, raising his eyes to heaven, because the hatch above him was open, he cried out in sadness:
26. “They do not yet possess the earth and already they are fighting over borders. What will happen when Turkey and Russia come along?”
27. And none of Noah’s sons could understand these words of their father.
28. The ark, meanwhile, continued to float upon the waters of the abyss.