Bereshit בראשית

When God began to create^aWhen God began to create In contrast to others “In the beginning God created.” heaven and earth—

the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from^ba wind from In contrast to others “the spirit of.” God sweeping over the water—

God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light Day—and called the darkness Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.^ca first day In contrast to others “one day.”

God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.”

God made the expanse, and it separated the water that was below the expanse from the water that was above the expanse. And it was so.

God called the expanse Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

God said, “Let the water below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.

God called the dry land Earth—and called the gathering of waters Seas. And God saw that this was good.

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so.

The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was good.

And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years;

and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so.

God made the two great lights, the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night, and the stars.

And God set them in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth,

to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that this was good.

And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

God created the great sea monsters, and all the living creatures of every kind that creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms, and all the winged birds of every kind. And God saw that this was good.

God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile and increase, fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”

And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

God said, “Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: cattle, creeping things, and wild beasts of every kind.” And it was so.

God made wild beasts of every kind and cattle of every kind, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. And God saw that this was good.

And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.”

And God created humankind in the divine image,
creating it in the image of God—
creating them male and female.

God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”

God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food.

And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.” And it was so.

And God saw all that had been made, and found it very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array.

On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken, ceasing^aceasing Or “resting.” on the seventh day from doing any of the work.

And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done.

Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created.
When the ETERNAL God made earth and heaven—

when no shrub of the field^bshrub of the field I.e., suitable for pasturage. was yet on earth and no grasses of the field^cgrasses of the field I.e., cereal grasses, suitable as crops. had yet sprouted, because the ETERNAL God had not sent rain upon the earth and there were no human beings to till the soil,

but a flow would well up from the ground and water the whole surface of the earth—

the ETERNAL God formed a Human^da Human Heb. ha-ʼadam. Although this term is not gendered, to the ancient audience it went without saying that the progenitor of all human lineages was a male. from the soil’s humus,^efrom the soil’s humus Heb. ʻaphar min ha-ʼadamah. blowing into his nostrils the breath of life: the Human became a living being.

The ETERNAL God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the Human who had been fashioned.

And from the ground the ETERNAL God caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad.

A river issues from Eden to water the garden, and it then divides and becomes four branches.

The name of the first is Pishon, the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where the gold is.

(The gold of that land is good; bdellium is there, and lapis lazuli.^flapis lazuli In contrast to others “onyx”; meaning of Heb. shoham uncertain.)

The name of the second river is Gihon, the one that winds through the whole land of Cush.

The name of the third river is Tigris, the one that flows east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

The ETERNAL God settled the Human in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it.

And the ETERNAL God commanded the Human, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat;

but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die.”

The ETERNAL God said, “It is not good for the Human to be alone; I will make a fitting counterpart for him.”

And the ETERNAL God formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the Human to see what he would call them; and whatever the Human called each living creature, that would be its name.

And the Human gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts; but no fitting counterpart for a human being was found.

So the ETERNAL God cast a deep sleep upon the Human; and, while he slept, [God] took one of his sides^gsides So Septuagint and Ibn Ezra; trad. “ribs.” and closed up the flesh at that site.

And the ETERNAL God fashioned the side that had been taken from the Human into a woman, bringing her to the Human.

Then the Human said,
“This one at last
Is bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh.
This one shall be called the Woman,^hthe Woman Heb. ʼishshah; i.e., the unique female participant in the situation.
For from the Manⁱthe Man Heb. ʼish; i.e., the sole (and male) participant in the original situation. was she taken.”

Hence a man^ja man Heb. ʼish. leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife,^khis wife Heb. ʼishto, from ʼishshah. so that they become one flesh.

The two of them were naked,^lnaked Heb. ʻarummim, play on ʻarum “shrewd” in 3.1. the Human and his wife, yet they felt no shame.

Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts that the ETERNAL God had made. It said to the woman, “Did God really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?”

The woman replied to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the other trees of the garden.

It is only about fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said: ‘You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.’”

And the serpent said to the woman, “You are not going to die,

but God knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know^adivine beings who know In contrast to others “God, who knows.” good and bad.”

When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they perceived that they were naked; and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths.

They heard the sound of the ETERNAL God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the Human and his wife hid from the ETERNAL God among the trees of the garden.

The ETERNAL God called out to the Human and said to him, “Where are you?”

He replied, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

“Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?”

The Human said, “The woman You put at my side—she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

And the ETERNAL God said to the woman, “What is this you have done!” The woman replied, “The serpent duped me, and I ate.”

Then the ETERNAL God said to the serpent,
“Because you did this,
More cursed shall you be
Than all cattle
And all the wild beasts:
On your belly shall you crawl
And dirt shall you eat
All the days of your life.

I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your offspring and hers;
They shall strike at your head,
And you shall strike at their heel.”

And to the woman [God] said,
“I will greatly expand
Your toil—and your pregnancies;
In hardship shall you bear children.
Yet your urge shall be for your husband,
And his will shall prevail over yours.”

To Adam [God] said, “Because you did as your wife said and ate of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’
Cursed be the ground because of you;
By toil shall you eat of it
All the days of your life:

Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you.
But your food shall be the grasses of the field;

By the sweat of your brow
Shall you get bread to eat,
Until you return to the ground—
For from it you were taken.
For dust^bdust Heb. ʻaphar, as in 2.7; cf. the second note there. you are,
And to dust you shall return.”

The Human named his wife Eve,^cEve Heb. ḥawwah. because she was the mother of all the living.^dliving Heb. ḥai.

And the ETERNAL God made garments of skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

And the ETERNAL God said, “Now that humankind has become like any of us, knowing good and bad, what if one should stretch out a hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever!”

So the ETERNAL God banished them from the garden of Eden, to till the humus^ehumus Heb. ʼadamah, lit. “soil,” as in 2.7; cf. the second note there. from which they were taken:

humankind was driven out; and east of the garden of Eden were stationed the cherubim and the fiery ever-turning sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Now the Human knew^aknew Heb. yadaʻ, often in a sexual sense. his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gained^bgained Echoing the Heb. wordplay: qanithi, connected with “Cain”; lit. “created, acquired.” someone new with GOD’s help.”^cwith GOD’s help Or “as did GOD”; precise force of Heb. ʼet uncertain.

She then bore his brother Abel. Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the soil.

In the course of time, Cain brought an offering to GOD from the fruit of the soil;

and Abel, for his part, brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock. GOD paid heed to Abel and his offering,

but paid no heed to Cain and his offering. Cain was much distressed and his face fell.

And GOD said to Cain,
“Why are you distressed,
And why is your face fallen?

^dMeaning of verse uncertain. Surely, if you do right,
There is uplift.
But if you do not do right
Sin couches at the door;
Its urge is toward you,
Yet you can be its master.”

Cain said to his brother Abel …^e… Ancient versions, including the Targum, read “Come, let us go out into the field.” and when they were in the field, Cain set upon his brother Abel and killed him.

GOD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

“What have you done? Hark, your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!

Therefore, you shall be more cursed than the ground,^fmore cursed than the ground See 3.17. which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

If you till the soil, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You shall become a ceaseless wanderer on earth.”

Cain said to GOD, “My punishment is too great to bear!

Since You have banished me this day from the soil, and I must avoid Your presence and become a restless wanderer on earth—anyone who meets me may kill me!”

GOD said to him, “I promise, if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance shall be exacted.” And GOD put a mark on Cain, lest anyone who met him should kill him.

Cain left GOD’s presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he then founded a city, and named the city after his son Enoch.

To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael^gMehujael Heb. Meḥiyaʼel. begot Methusael, and Methusael begot Lamech.

Lamech took to himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah.

Adah bore Jabal; he was the ancestor of those who dwell in tents and amidst herds.

And the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the ancestor of all who play the lyre and the pipe.

As for Zillah, she bore Tubal-cain, who forged all implements of copper and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

And Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
O wives of Lamech, give ear to my speech.
I have slain a rival for wounding me,
And a lad^hlad Or “punk.” for bruising me.

If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, meaning, “God has provided me withⁱprovided me with Or “established for me”; Heb. shath, connected with “Seth.” another offspring in place of Abel,” for Cain had killed him.

And to Seth, in turn, a son was born, and he named him Enosh. It was then that GOD began to be invoked by name.

This is the record of Adam’s line.—When God created humankind, it was made in the likeness of God;

they were created male and female. And when they were created, [God] blessed them and called them Humankind.—

When Adam had lived 130 years, he begot a son in his likeness after his image, and he named him Seth.

After the birth of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and begot sons and daughters.

All the days that Adam lived came to 930 years; then he died.

When Seth had lived 105 years, he begot Enosh.

After the birth of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and begot sons and daughters.

All the days of Seth came to 912 years; then he died.

When Enosh had lived 90 years, he begot Kenan.

After the birth of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and begot sons and daughters.

All the days of Enosh came to 905 years; then he died.

When Kenan had lived 70 years, he begot Mahalalel.

After the birth of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and begot sons and daughters.

All the days of Kenan came to 910 years; then he died.

When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he begot Jared.

After the birth of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and begot sons and daughters.

All the days of Mahalalel came to 895 years; then he died.

When Jared had lived 162 years, he begot Enoch.

After the birth of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and begot sons and daughters.

All the days of Jared came to 962 years; then he died.

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he begot Methuselah.

After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years; and he begot sons and daughters.

All the days of Enoch came to 365 years.

Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, for God took him.

When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he begot Lamech.

After the birth of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and begot sons and daughters.

All the days of Methuselah came to 969 years; then he died.

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he begot a son.

And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will provide us relief^arelief Connecting Noah (Heb. noaḥ) with Heb. niḥam “to comfort”; cf. 9.20ff. from our work and from the toil of our hands, out of the very soil that GOD placed under a curse.”

After the birth of Noah, Lamech lived 595 years and begot sons and daughters.

All the days of Lamech came to 777 years; then he died.

When Noah had lived 500 years, Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

When humankind began to increase on earth and daughters were born to them,

the divine beings^adivine beings I.e., the males among them. In contrast to others “sons of God.” saw how pleasing the human women were and took wives from among those who delighted them.—

GOD said, “My breath shall not abide^babide Meaning of Heb. uncertain. in humankind forever, since it too is flesh; let the days allowed them be one hundred and twenty years.”—

It was then, and later too, that the Nephilim appeared on earth—when divine beings cohabited with the human women, who bore them offspring. Such were the heroes of old, the men of renown.

GOD saw how great was human wickedness on earth—how every plan devised by the human mind was nothing but evil all the time.

And GOD regretted having made humankind on earth. With a sorrowful heart,

GOD said, “I will blot out from the earth humankind whom I created—humans together with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky; for I regret that I made them.”

But Noah found favor with GOD.