It's a period marked by loss, divine warnings, and ultimately, a chance for renewal.
Chapter 5 opens with a somber roll call. One by one, the righteous of the old generation pass away: Enoch, Cainan, Mahlallel, and Jared. It's like the closing of a chapter, a deliberate clearing of the stage before the drama to come. "All who followed the Lord died in those days," the text tells us, "before they saw the evil which God declared to do upon the earth." It’s a poignant thought, isn't it? That sometimes, the greatest blessing is to be spared from witnessing the worst.
But their deaths aren’t just a passive occurrence. According to Jasher, God actively willed their deaths, so they wouldn't have to witness the destruction he was about to unleash on their relatives. The narrative emphasizes that these were people "who knew the Lord," people whose time had come before the impending disaster.
With the old guard gone, only Methuselah remains. God, in a moment of what we might call divine compassion, gives humanity one last chance. He instructs Noah and Methuselah to preach repentance. A warning goes out: turn from your evil ways! As Jasher puts it, "Thus saith the Lord, return from your evil ways and forsake your works, and the Lord will repent of the evil that he declared to do to you, so that it shall not come to pass." One hundred and twenty years is granted as a period of grace, a final opportunity for humanity to choose a different path.
But, alas, humanity doesn't listen. They are, as the text says, "stiffnecked." We see this moment repeated throughout the Hebrew Bible: God extending a hand, humanity turning away.
Interestingly, during this time, Noah initially refrains from having children. He figures, understandably, what's the point of bringing new life into a world about to be destroyed? But God intervenes, commanding Noah to take a wife and have children, because Noah is righteous, and his seed will be needed to rebuild the world.
Enter Naamah, the daughter of Enoch. She's quite a bit older, 580 years old to be exact, when she marries Noah. Together, they have Japheth and Shem. The names themselves are significant. Japheth's name is associated with enlargement, a spreading out across the earth. Shem’s name is linked with being a remnant, a surviving seed. It’s as if their very names foreshadow their roles in the new world to come.
The narrative then circles back to the impending doom. With humanity’s continued refusal to repent, God declares, "The end of all flesh is come before me... behold I will destroy the earth." The instructions for building the ark are given with precise detail: the type of wood (gopher wood), the dimensions (three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, thirty cubits high), even the pitch to cover it.
And then, a final detail: Noah is told to take wives for his sons, specifically "three maidens, from the daughters of men." He chooses the daughters of Eliakim, Methuselah's son. It all feels very deliberate, very purposeful.
The chapter closes with the death of Methuselah, at the ripe old age of 960. Only then does Noah begin building the ark, a task that takes five years.
So, what do we take away from this chapter? It’s a story of endings and beginnings, of divine patience and human stubbornness. It's a reminder that even in the face of overwhelming destruction, there's always the possibility of renewal, of a new generation rising from the ashes. And perhaps most importantly, it highlights the enduring power of hope, even when the floodwaters are rising.
Sacred-texts Apocrypha Index Previous Next Book of Jasher, Chapter 5 1 And it was in the eighty-fourth year of the life of Noah, that Enoch the son of Seth died, he was nine hundred and five years old at his death. 2 And in the one hundred and seventy ninth year of the life of Noah, Cainan the son of Enosh died, and all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. 3 And in the two hundred and thirty fourth year of the life of Noah, Mahlallel the son of Cainan died, and the days of Mahlallel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died. 4 And Jared the son of Mahlallel died in those days, in the three hundred and thirty-sixth year of the life of Noah; and all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died. 5 And all who followed the Lord died in those days, before they saw the evil which God declared to do upon earth. 6 And after the lapse of many years, in the four hundred and eightieth year of the life of Noah, when all those men, who followed the Lord had died away from amongst the sons of men, and only Methuselah was then left, God said unto Noah and Methuselah, saying, 7 Speak ye, and proclaim to the sons of men, saying, Thus saith the Lord, return from your evil ways and forsake your works, and the Lord will repent of the evil that he declared to do to you, so that it shall not come to pass. 8 For thus saith the Lord, Behold I give you a period of one hundred and twenty years; if you will turn to me and forsake your evil ways, then will I also turn away from the evil which I told you, and it shall not exist, saith the Lord. 9 And Noah and Methuselah spoke all the words of the Lord to the sons of men, day after day, constantly speaking to them. 10 But the sons of men would not hearken to them, nor incline their ears to their words, and they were stiffnecked. 11 And the Lord granted them a period of one hundred and twenty years, saying, If they will return, then will God repent of the evil, so as not to destroy the earth. 12 Noah the son of Lamech refrained from taking a wife in those days, to beget children, for he said, Surely now God will destroy the earth, wherefore then shall I beget children? 13 And Noah was a just man, he was perfect in his generation, and the Lord chose him to raise up seed from his seed upon the face of the earth. 14 And the Lord said unto Noah, Take unto thee a wife, and beget children, for I have seen thee righteous before me in this generation. 15 And thou shalt raise up seed, and thy children with thee, in the midst of the earth; and Noah went and took a wife, and he chose Naamah the daughter of Enoch, and she was five hundred and eighty years old. 16 And Noah was four hundred and ninety-eight years old, when he took Naamah for a wife. 17 And Naamah conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Japheth, saying, God has enlarged me in the earth; and she conceived again and bare a son, and he called his name Shem, saying, God has made me a remnant, to raise up seed in the midst of the earth. 18 And Noah was five hundred and two years old when Naamah bare Shem, and the boys grew up and went in the ways of the Lord, in all that Methuselah and Noah their father taught them. 19 And Lamech the father of Noah, died in those days; yet verily he did not go with all his heart in the ways of his father, and he died in the hundred and ninety-fifth year of the life of Noah. 20 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy years, and he died. 21 And all the sons of men who knew the Lord, died in that year before the Lord brought evil upon them; for the Lord willed them to die, so as not to behold the evil that God would bring upon their brothers and relatives, as he had so declared to do. 22 In that time, the Lord said to Noah and Methuselah, Stand forth and proclaim to the sons of men all the words that I spoke to you in those days, peradventure they may turn from their evil ways, and I will then repent of the evil and will not bring it. 23 And Noah and Methuselah stood forth, and said in the ears of the sons of men, all that God had spoken concerning them. 24 But the sons of men would not hearken, neither would they incline their ears to all their declarations. 25 And it was after this that the Lord said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, on account of their evil deeds, and behold I will destroy the earth. 26 And do thou take unto thee gopher wood, and go to a certain place and make a large ark, and place it in that spot. 27 And thus shalt thou make it; three hundred cubits its length, fifty cubits broad and thirty cubits high. 28 And thou shalt make unto thee a door, open at its side, and to a cubit thou shalt finish above, and cover it within and without with pitch. 29 And behold I will bring the flood of waters upon the earth, and all flesh be destroyed, from under the heavens all that is upon earth shall perish. 30 And thou and thy household shall go and gather two couple of all living things, male and female, and shall bring them to the ark, to raise up seed from them upon earth. 31 And gather unto thee all food that is eaten by all the animals, that there may be food for thee and for them. 32 And thou shalt choose for thy sons three maidens, from the daughters of men, and they shall be wives to thy sons. 33 And Noah rose up, and he made the ark, in the place where God had commanded him, and Noah did as God had ordered him. 34 In his five hundred and ninety-fifth year Noah commenced to make the ark, and he made the ark in five years, as the Lord had commanded. 35 Then Noah took the three daughters of Eliakim, son of Methuselah, for wives for his sons, as the Lord had commanded Noah. 36 And it was at that time Methuselah the son of Enoch died, nine hundred and sixty years old was he, at his death. 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