The Hebrew Bible names Adam's famous sons. But the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, names the ones you have never heard of. Adam fathered three sons and three daughters, Cain with his twin wife Qalmana, Abel with his twin wife Deborah, and Seth with his twin wife Noba. After Seth, Adam lived 700 more years and fathered eleven additional sons and eight daughters, all named in the text.
Each patriarch's extended family fills out a genealogy far richer than the biblical version. Seth fathered sons named Elideah, Funa, and Matath. Enosh had sons named Ehor and Aal. Mahalalel fathered seven sons and five daughters. Enoch had five sons and three daughters before God "desired him and took him away", placing him in the Garden of Eden to wait there until Elijah appears to restore the hearts of fathers to children.
Cain's parallel line runs darker. He married Temed at fifteen, fathered Enoch, and built seven cities. His descendants invented civilization's tools, Jabal pioneered shepherding, Jubal discovered music and preserved it on twin pillars of marble and brick to survive the flood, Tubal-Cain forged iron weapons, and Naamah invented textile arts. But these inventions came alongside corruption. The people used music to corrupt the earth. They made graven images for worship.
The chapter ends with God's promise after the flood. Noah offered sacrifices, and God vowed never again to curse the earth with water. But the promise carried a warning: if humanity sinned again, judgment would come by famine, sword, fire, pestilence, or earthquake. And at the end of days, God declared, "I shall revive the dead and awaken those who slumber in the dust. The grave shall close its mouth. There shall be a new earth and new heavens for an everlasting habitation."
XXVI. (1) Adam begat three sons and three daaghters,
Cain and his twin wife Qalmana, Abel and his twin wife
Deborah, and Seth and his twin wife N5ba. (2) And
Adam, after he had begotten Seth, lived 700 years, and
there were eleven sons and eight daughters born to him.
These are the names of his sons: 'Eli, Sheel, Surei, 'Almiel,
Berokh, Keal, Nahath, Zarhamah, Sisha, Mahtel, and 'Anat
(jiji; '?nnD.s*j'v ncniT nm hv2 "qVin 'ps^o'pi; n.-ii; bx.c'. ^>s);
and the names of his daughters are: Havah, Gitsh,
Hare, Bikha, Zifath, Hekhiah, Shaba, and 'Azm. (3) And
Seth Hved 105 years and begat Enosh. After he begat
Enosh, Seth Hved 707 years and begat three sons and
two daughters. The names of his sons were: EHde ah,
Funa, and Matath, and the names of his daughters were
MeHla and Tela. (4) And Enosh Hved 180 years and begat
Qeinan; and after Enosh had begotten Qeinan he Hved
715 years, and begat two sons, Ehor and Aal, and one
daughter, Qatenath. (5) And Qeinan begat, after Mahalalel,
three sons, Hatak, ]M5kro, and Lupa, and two daughters,
Hannah and Liba. (6) And after Yered, Mahalalel begat
seven sons, viz., Teqa, Maya, Nekhar, Meli, Aesh, Uriel,
Luriutin, and five daughters, 'Adah, N5'ah, Yebal, Maadah,
and Sihah. (7) After Enoch, Yered begat four sons, viz.,
L'ei'ad, 'Anaq, Sabkhe, Yeter, and two daughters, Zezekho
and Lezekh. (8) After Methuselah, Enoch begat five sons,
viz., 'Anaz, Le'on, 'Akhaon, Peledi, and Eled, and three
daughters, viz., Teid, Lefid, Laead. Then God desired
Enoch and took him away. (9) After Lemech, Methuselah
begat two sons and two daughters, viz., 'Enab, Eapo,
*Alumah and'Amugah. And Lemech begat Noah, and said,
' This one wih comfort us and give rest to the earth and
all its inhabitants when God will visit the earth with evil
on account of the wickedness of the evildoers.' (10) And
Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
(11) Cain and his wife Temed dwelt in the land of Nod.
And Cain knew his wife Temed when he was fifteen years
old, and she bore him Enoch, and he built seven cities and
called the first Enoch, after the name of his son. (The
names of the remaining six were): Maole, Leed, Gezeh,
Yeshbah, Qeled, and Yebab. (12) And after Enoch, Cain
begat three sons, Ulaf, Lezef, and Fuzal, and two
daughters, Seta and Mahat. (13) And Enoch took Niba,
the daughter of Shem, to wife, and she bore him Zera,
Qu ith, and Maddaf. And Zera begat Methushael, and
56 [XXVI. 14
Methushael, Lemech. (14) And Lemech took two wives.
Ada bore Jabal, the father of all those who dwell m tents,
and Jubal, the father of all who play upon the harp and
the reed-pipe. (15) Then the inhabitants of the land
began to commit violence and to defile the wives of their
neighbours, thus kindling the anger of the Lord. And
they then began to play upon the harp and the reed-
pipe, and to sport with every kind of song, corrupting
the earth. This same Jubal discovered the science of
music, whence arose all the melodies for the two above-
named instruments. This is a great science, as I have
explained in its proper place (above). (16) And it came to
pass, when Jubal heard the prophecy of Adam concerning
the two judgments about to come upon the world by means
of the flood, the dispersion and fire, that he wrote down
the science of music upon two pillars, one of fine white
marble and the other of brick, so that in the event of the
one melting and being destroyed by the waters, the other
would be saved. (17) And Sillah bore Tubal Cain, who used
to sharpen all instruments of iron for war, and worked in
all manner of iron. He also invented the art of alloying
lead and iron together, so as to temper the iron and to make
the blade sharper. He also invented the pincers, the
hammer, and the axe, and all instruments of iron. (18) The
sister of Tubal Cain was Na'amah. It was she who invented
the art of weaving and sewing silk, wool, and flax, and the
whole art of the fancy-worker and the weaver. Sillah also
bore Miza and Tipa. Tubal was a worker in tin, lead,
iron, copper, silver, and gold. Then men began to make
graven images for their worship. (19) 'Adah also bore Jabal,
who was the father of those who dwell in tents and attend
to the flock. He discovered the work appertaining to
shepherds, and made tents and pens for the cattle, one for
the sheep and another for the oxen, distinct from each
other. He also invented the locks, as a safeguard to
prevent robbers entering the house, like this, x- (2^) I^^ ^^^®
time of Enosh men were called princes, judges, and made
gods, applying to them the name of God; and temples were
made for them, but they were overthrown m the time of
Ee'u. And Enoch — who was the author of many writmgs —
walked with God, and was no more, for God had taken him
away and placed him in the Garden of Eden, where he will
remain until Elijah shall appear and restore the hearts of
the fathers to the children. (21) And the flood took place,
and Noah w^ent forth from the ark and offered sacrifices,
and the Lord, smelling the sw^eet savour, said, ' I shall no
more curse the earth and smite every living being, but if
they sin against Me, I shall judge them by famine, sword,
fire, pestilence, and earthquake, and I shall scatter them
hither and thither. And I shall remember this for the
inhabitants of the earth until the end. And it shall come
to pass, when the end of the world shall have arrived, that
the light shall cease and the darkness shall weep, and I
shall revive the dead and awaken those who slumber in the
dust, and Sheol will repay its debt, and Abadon return its
portion, and I shall requite the wicked according to their
deeds and judge between the flesh and the soul. And the
world shall rest in quietness (peace), and I shall destroy
death for ever. The grave shall close its mouth and the
earth shall no longer be without produce, nor shall its
inhabitants be rooted out nor be defiled by iniquitous judg-
ments, for there shall be a new earth and new heavens for
an everlasting habitation.'
