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and others. And Enoch pleased the Lord and was translated and was not found, having lived three hundred and sixty-five years. And Lamech was the son of Methuselah, and others, and he died having lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years. And Noah was born to Lamech, and Lamech died having lived seven hundred and fifty-three years. And to Noah were born three sons, Shem, Ham, Japheth. And when the sons of God saw the daughters of men, they took wives for themselves. And the scripture calls the descendants of Seth the sons of God, as pursuing virtue, just as it also calls the virtuous sons of the most high; and it calls the daughters of men those descended from the offspring of Cain. But Josephus says that angels took the daughters of men, calling them thus, I think, as pleasing God and practicing their way of life. And having multiplied, men turned toward wickedness; and to them were born sons who were insolent and reckless because of their confidence in their strength. At these the divine was angered and cut short their long life, limiting the life of men to one hundred and twenty years. 1.20 But Noah found grace in the sight of God. Wherefore, when the continent was changed into a sea by a rainstorm of many days and great violence, the whole human race was destroyed, but Noah alone was saved by the providence of God in a wooden ark, which he had built square, having a length of three hundred cubits, a breadth of fifty, and a depth of thirty. Into which he himself and his sons embarked and their mother and their wives, having put in all kinds of seeds and animals of every kind for the preservation of their species, two of each of the unclean, but seven of each species of the clean. And Noah was the tenth counted from Adam, and after one thousand six hundred and fifty-six years the flood was brought upon the earth for forty days, as a torrential rain poured down upon the earth, so that the water rose fifteen cubits above the highest mountains. But when the rain ceased and the water diminished after one hundred and fifty days, the ark came to rest on a mountain of Armenia in the seventh month. At which time Noah, having opened it, sent forth a raven; but it did not return. And after some days he sent forth a dove, which returned again. And when seven days had passed, he sent it forth again, and it returned bearing an olive twig. And from this he knew that the water had receded from the earth. And Noah went out, and his wife and his sons with their wives and the animals that were with them in the ark, and he sacrificed to God. Josephus says that the place in Armenia is called Apobaterion, and that remains of the ark are shown there. And he says that many of those 1.21 who have written barbarian histories have made mention of the flood and the ark, both Berosus the Chaldean and Hieronymus the Egyptian, who wrote the Phoenician Archaeology, and Mnaseas of Damascus. And God promised to no longer bring such a suffering upon the earth. And he commanded them to use animals for food, except not to eat flesh with the blood of life, and to abstain from the murder of men. And as a sign that he would no longer flood the earth with rain he set the bow in the cloud, indicating the rainbow by the bow. And Noah, having lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood, died at the age of nine hundred and fifty years. And these things have been said by Josephus concerning the longevity of the men of that time. "Let no one, therefore, considering the present life and the shortness of its years, think that what is recorded about the ancients is false. For they, being beloved of God and made by God himself, and because their food was more suitable for a longer time, reasonably lived for such a multitude of years; then also because of the usefulness of what they invented, astronomy and geometry, which things it was not possible for them to understand and declare accurately without having lived for six hundred years; for through so many the great year is completed." And the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, from the mountains to the plains
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ετεροι. εὐηρέστησε δὲ τῷ κυρίῳ ̓Ενὼχ καὶ μετετέθη καὶ οὐχ εὑρίσκετο, ἐτῶν γεγονὼς τριακοσίων ἑξήκοντα πέντε. παῖς δὲ τοῦ Μαθουσάλα Λάμεχ καὶ ετεροι, καὶ θνήσκει ζήσας ετη ἐνακόσια ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἐννέα. Νῶε δ' ἐτέχθη τῷ Λάμεχ, καὶ τέθνηκε Λάμεχ ἑπτακόσια ζήσας ετη καὶ πεντήκοντα πρὸς τρισί. τῷ δὲ Νῶε τρεῖς ἐγένοντο παῖδες, Σήμ, Χάμ, ̓Ιάφεθ. ̓Ιδόντες δὲ οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τὰς θυγατέρας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ελαβον ἑαυτοῖς γυναῖκας. υἱοὺς δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ φησιν ἡ γραφὴ τοὺς ἀπογόνους τοῦ Σὴθ ὡς ἀρετὴν μετιόντας, καθὸ καὶ υἱοὺς ὑψίστου τοὺς ἐναρέτους καλεῖ· θυγατέρας δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φησὶ τὰς ἐκ τῶν τοῦ Κάϊν ἀπογόνων καταγομένας. ὁ δὲ ̓Ιώσηπος ἀγγέλους λέγει τὰς θυγατέρας τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαβεῖν, ουτω καλέσας, οιμαι, αὐτοὺς ὡς εὐαρεστοῦντας θεῷ καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων πολιτείαν ἐπιτηδεύοντας. πληθυνθέντες δ' οἱ ανθρωποι πρὸς κακίαν ἀπέκλιναν· οις καὶ παῖδες ἐγένοντο ὑβρισταὶ καὶ ἀτάσθαλοι διὰ τὴν ἐν τῇ δυνάμει πεποίθησιν. οις τὸ θεῖον προσώχθισε καὶ τὸ μακρόβιον ὑπετέμετο, ἑκατὸν καὶ εικοσιν ετεσι τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων περιγράψας ζωήν. 1.20 Νῶε δὲ ευρε χάριν ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ. διὸ καὶ εἰς θάλασσαν τῆς ἠπείρου μεταβληθείσης δι' ἐπομβρίας πολυημέρου τε καὶ σφοδρᾶς, πᾶν μὲν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον φθείρεται γένος, Νῶε δὲ μόνος σώζεται προμηθείᾳ θεοῦ ξυλίνῃ λάρνακι, ην τετράγωνον κατεσκεύασε, μῆκος μὲν εχουσαν πήχεων τριακοσίων, τὸ δὲ πλάτος πεντήκοντα, καὶ τὸ βάθος τριάκοντα. ἐν ῃ αὐτός τε καὶ οἱ παῖδες ἐμβέβηκεν καὶ ἡ μήτηρ καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν, σπέρματά τε παντοῖα ἐνθέμενος καὶ ζῷα ἐκ γένους παντὸς πρὸς διατήρησιν τῶν γενῶν αὐτῶν, ἀνὰ δύο μὲν τὰ μὴ καθαρά, ἑπτὰ δ' ἐξ ἑκάστου γένους τῶν καθαρῶν. δέκατος δ' ην ὁ Νῶε ἐκ τοῦ ̓Αδὰμ ἀριθμούμενος, καὶ μετὰ χιλίους ἑξακοσίους πεντήκοντα καὶ εξ ἐνιαυτοὺς ὁ κατακλυσμὸς τῇ γῇ ἐπενήνεκτο ἐφ' ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα λάβρου καταχεομένου τῆς γῆς ὑετοῦ, ὡς ὑπερβῆναι τὸ υδωρ ἐπὶ πεντεκαίδεκα πήχεις τὰ τῶν ὀρῶν ὑψηλότερα. λήξαντος δέ γε τοῦ ὑετοῦ καὶ τοῦ υδατος ἐλαττονουμένου μεθ' ἡμέρας ἑκατὸν καὶ πεντήκοντα, ἡ λάρναξ ορει τινὶ τῆς ̓Αρμενίας προσώκειλε κατὰ μῆνα τὸν εβδομον. οτε καὶ ἀνοίξας ὁ Νῶε μεθίησι κόρακα· ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐπανῆλθε. καὶ μεθ' ἡμέρας ἀφῆκε περιστεράν, η πάλιν ὑπέστρεψεν. ἑπτὰ δὲ διελθουσῶν ἡμερῶν αυθις ἀφῆκεν αὐτήν, ἡ δὲ κάρφος ἐλαίας φέρουσα ὑπενόστησε. κἀντεῦθεν εγνω ἐκλελοιπέναι τὸ υδωρ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς. καὶ ἐξῆλθε Νῶε καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ σὺν ταῖς αὐτῶν γυναιξὶ καὶ τὰ ζῷα οσα ην μετ' αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ κιβωτῷ, καὶ εθυσε τῷ θεῷ. ̓Αποβατήριον δὲ καλεῖσθαι τὸν τόπον τῆς ̓Αρμενίας φησὶν ὁ ̓Ιώσηπος, καὶ λείψανα δείκνυσθαι τῆς λάρνακος ἐκεῖ. μεμνῆσθαι δὲ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ καὶ τῆς κιβωτοῦ λέγει πολλοὺς τῶν 1.21 τὰς βαρβαρικὰς ἱστορίας συγγραψαμένων, τὸν Χαλδαῖόν τε Βηρωσὸν καὶ ̔Ιερώνυμον τὸν Αἰγύπτιον, ος τὴν ἀρχαιολογίαν τὴν Φοινικικὴν συνεγράψατο, καὶ τὸν ἐκ ∆αμασκοῦ Μνασέαν. ὁ δὲ θεὸς μηκέτι ἐπαγαγεῖν τοιοῦτον πάθος τῇ γῇ ἐπηγγείλατο. ἐνετείλατο δὲ πρὸς βρῶσιν κεχρῆσθαι τοῖς ζῴοις, πλὴν κρέας ἐν αιματι ψυχῆς μὴ ἐσθίειν, καὶ φόνου ἀνθρώπων ἀπέχεσθαι. σημεῖον δὲ τοῦ μηκέτι κατακλύσαι τὴν γῆν ἐν ομβρῳ τὸ τόξον εθετο τὸ ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ, τὴν ιριν διὰ τοῦ τόξου δηλῶν. Νῶε δὲ μετὰ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν βιώσας ετη τριακόσια καὶ πεντήκοντα θνήσκει ἐνιαυτῶν γεγονὼς ἐνακοσίων πεντήκοντα. Ειρηται δὲ περὶ τῆς πολυετίας τῶν τότε ἀνθρώπων ἐκείνων ταῦτα τῷ ̓Ιωσήπῳ. "μηδεὶς ουν πρὸς τὸν νῦν βίον καὶ τὴν βραχύτητα τῶν ἐτῶν ψευδῆ νομιζέτω τὰ περὶ τῶν παλαιῶν ἱστορούμενα. οἱ μὲν γὰρ θεοφιλεῖς οντες καὶ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ γενόμενοι καὶ διὰ τὸ τὰς τροφὰς ἐπιτηδειοτέρας πρὸς πλείονα χρόνον ειναι εἰκότως εζων πλῆθος ἐτῶν τοσούτων, επειτα καὶ διὰ τὴν εὐχρηστίαν ων ἐπενόουν, ἀστρονομίας τε καὶ γεωμετρίας, απερ οὐκ ην αὐτοὺς ἀσφαλῶς κατανοῆσαί τε καὶ εἰπεῖν, μὴ ζήσαντας ἑξακοσίους ἐνιαυτούς· διὰ τοσούτων γὰρ πληροῦται ὁ μέγας ἐνιαυτός." Οἱ δὲ Νῶε παῖδες, Σήμ, Χάμ, ̓Ιάφεθ, ἐκ τῶν ὀρῶν εἰς τὰς πεδιάδας