Eustathius of Antioch, Commentary on the Hexameron

being. And sons were born to Joktan: Salmodad, from whom are the Indians; Saleph, from whom are the Bactrians; Asarmoth, from whom are the Arabs; Jarach, from whom are the Carmanians; Odorrha, from whom are the Mardi; Jezeil, from whom are the Arians; Dekla, from whom are the Cedrusians; Gebal, from whom are the Scythians; Abimeel, from whom are the Hyrcanians; Sabeu, from whom are the Arabs of Arabia Felix; Ophir, from whom are the Armenians; Evilat, from whom are the gymnosophists. All these were sons of Shem. And Sala begat Ragau; and Ragau, Serouch; and Serouch, Nachor, and he taught him the divination and astronomy of the Chaldeans. In the time of Serouch the sons of Noah began to practice idolatry and to pursue all wickedness, and to build cities, and to establish kings, and to besiege, and to plunder, and to take captives. And Nachor begat Tharra, and Tharra begat Abraham, and Nachor, and Haran. And Haran begat Lot, and Sarra, and Melcha. And Haran died in a city of the Chaldeans called Urel, in which his tomb is still shown even now. And he died in the fire with which Abram burned the idols of his father, when he went in to take them out. And they marry the sisters; Nachor marries Melcha, and Abram marries Sarra. And they do not do this unlawfully, since there was not yet any law forbidding it. For if nature, calling them to procreation, by necessity brought brothers into the fellowship of marriage with sisters—those males and females born from the common father of all, Adam, and his wife, being brothers and sisters; it is not unreasonable, therefore, that those after them who were of the first succession should follow the law of their forefathers. And Tharra, hating Chaldea because of his grief for his son, moved to Mesopotamia, and there he died, having lived two hundred and five years. For from that time the life of men was cut short, and became briefer, until the birth of Moses. For after Moses the limit of life became 120 years, which he himself also lived, and then exchanged this mortal life. But the thrice-blessed Abram was an excellent astronomer, and greater than others in virtue; when all the sons of Noah had fallen into superstition, he alone declared that there is a God, the Creator of all things, having conjectured this from the changes concerning the sun and moon and from the phenomena concerning the earth, and air, and sea. For why, he says, when there is power in them, do they not provide for their own good order, but are lacking in it? From these things, therefore, it is possible to know that it does not accomplish this by its own power, even if it seems to benefit men not a little, but according to the will of the one who made it. Indeed, the Chaldeans and the inhabitants of Mesopotamia disagreed with this opinion of his, and opposed him. And rising up from there by the command of God, he settled in the land of the Canaanites. And when a terrible famine occurred, he went to Egypt, and he showed that all the Egyptians, who held opposing opinions to one another and who scorned and subverted their own customs, thought nothing worthwhile nor legislated it. And being admired for his great intelligence and wisdom, he handed down to them arithmetic and astronomy; for before his arrival the Egyptians happened to be ignorant of these things; and having learned them, they later passed them on to the Greeks; and to Abram, upon his return from Egypt, a son, Ishmael, was born of the handmaid Hagar, from whom the nation of the Hagarenes and Saracens was formed; and that of the Ishmaelites from Ishmael. And Lot separated from Abram and dwelt in the land of Sodom, which was condemned to be burned by heavenly fire because of its wicked lawlessness, and even now its burned traces are visible; for it is possible to see the shadows of five cities, in which grows fruit, which appears on the outside similar to edible ones, but when taken in the hands, it dissolves into ash and smoke. And near this is the Asphaltites lake,

ὑπάρχουσα. Υἱοὶ δὲ ἐγένοντο τῷ Ἰεκτὰν, Σαλμωδὰδ, ἀφ' οὗ Ἰνδοί· Σάλεφ, ἀφ' οὗ Βάκτροι· Ἀσαρμὼθ, ἀφ' οὗ Ἄραβες· Ἰαρὰχ, ἀφ' οὗ Καρμανοί· Ὀδοῤῥὰ, ἀφ'οὗ Μάρδοι· Ἰεζεὶλ, ἀφ' οὗ Ἀῤῥιανοί· ∆εκλὰ, ἀφ' οὗ Κεδρούσιοι· Γεβὰλ, ἀφ' οὗ Σκύθαι· Ἀβιμεὴλ, ἀφ' οὗ Ὑρκανοί· Σαβεῦ, ἀφ' οὗ Ἄραβες Εὐδαίμονες· Οὐφὶρ, ἀφ' οὗ Ἀρμένιοι· Εὐϊλὰτ, ἀφ' οὗ γυμνοσοφισταί. Οὗτοι πάντες υἱοὶ Σήμ. Ζαλὰ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν Ῥαγαῦ· Ῥαγαῦ δὲ τὸν Σερούχ· Σεροὺχ δὲ τὸν Ναχὼρ, καὶ ἐδίδαξεν αὐτὸν τὴν τῶν Χαλδαίων μαντείαν καὶ ἀστρονομίαν. Ἐν δὲ τοῖς χρόνοις Σεροὺχ οἱ υἱοὶ Νῶε εἰδωλολατρεῖν ἤρξαντο καὶ κακίαν πᾶσαν μετέρχεσθαι, καὶ οἰκοδομεῖν πόλεις, καὶ βασιλεῖς καθιστᾷν, καὶ πολιορκεῖν, καὶ ἁρπάζειν, καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζειν. Ναχὼρ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν Θάῤῥα, Θάῤῥα δὲ τὸν Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ τὸν Ναχὼρ, καὶ τὸν Ἀράν. Ἀρὰν δὲ τὸν Λὼτ, καὶ τὴν Σάῤῥαν, καὶ Μελχάν. Ὁ δὲ Ἀρὰνἀπέθανεν ἐν πόλει Οὐρὴλ λεγομένῃ τῶν Χαλδαίων, ἐν ᾗ ἔτι καὶ νῦν τάφος αὐτοῦ δείκνυται. Ἀπέθανε δὲ ἐν τῷ ἐμπυρισμῷ, ᾧ ἐνεπύρισεν Ἀβρὰμ τὰ εἴδωλα τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ εἰσελθεῖν ἐξελέσθαι αὐτά. Γαμοῦσι δὲ τὰς ἀδελφὰς Μελχὰν μὲν Ναχὼρ, Σάῤῥαν δὲ ὁ Ἀβραάμ. Καὶ οὐ παρανόμως τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν, ἐπειδὴ μηδὲ νόμος ἦν πώποτε ὁ κωλύων. Εἰ γὰρ τοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ κοινοῦ πάντων πατρὸς Ἀδὰμ καὶ τῆς τούτου γυναικὸς γεννηθέντας ἄῤῥενας καὶ θηλείας, ἀδελφοὺς ὄντας καὶ ἀδελφὰς, ἡ φύσις ἐπὶ παιδοποιίαν προκαλουμένη, ἀδελφοὺς ἀδελφαῖς ἀνάγκῃ ἐπὶ γάμου κοινωνίαν ἐνῆγεν· οὐκ ἀπεικὸς οὖν καὶ τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα τῆς πρώτης τυγχάνοντας διαδοχῆς τοῦ νόμου τῶν προγόνων κατακολουθεῖν. Ὁ δὲ Θάῤῥα, μισήσας τὴν Χαλδαίαν διὰ τὸ πένθος τοῦ υἱοῦ, εἰς τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν μετῆλθε, κἀκεῖ ἐτελεύτησε, βιώσας ἔτη πέντε καὶ διακόσια. Ἔκτοτε γὰρ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸ ζῇν συνετέμνετο, καὶ βραχύτερον ἐγένετο, ἄχρι τῆς Μωϋσέως γενέσεως. Μετὰ γὰρ Μωϋσέα ὅρος τοῦ ζῇν ἐγένετο ἔτη ρκʹ, ἅτινα καὶ αὐτὸς οὗτος ζήσας, τὸν θνητὸν βίον μετήλλαξεν. Ἀβραὰμ δὲ ὁ τρισμακάριος ἄριστος ἀστρονόμος ἐτύγχανε, καὶ μείζω τῶν ἄλλων φρονῶν ἐν ἀρετῇ· πάντων τῶν υἱῶν Νῶε εἰς δεισιδαιμονίαν καταπεπτω 761 κότων, μόνος οὗτος ∆ημιουργὸν τῶν πάντων Θεὸν ἀπεφήνατο εἶναι, ἐκ τῶν περὶ ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην ἀλλοιώσεων καὶ ἐκ τῶν περὶ γῆν, καὶ ἀέρα, καὶ θάλατταν παθημάτων εἰκάσας. ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ, φησὶν, ἰσχύος οὔσης ἐν αὐτοῖς τῆς ἑαυτῶν εὐταξίας οὐ προνοοῦνται, ἀλλ' ὑστεροῦνται ταύτης; Ἐκ γοῦν τούτων γινώσκειν ἔξεστιν, ὅτι οὐ κατ' ἰδίαν ἰσχὺν συντελεῖ, εἰ καὶ δοκεῖ εὐεργετεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους οὐ μικρῶς, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν βούλησιν τοῦ ποιήσαντος. Πρὸς γοῦν τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ ταύτην οἱ Χαλδαῖοι καὶ οἱ τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν οἰκοῦντες διεφέροντο, καὶ ἀντεῖχον αὐτῷ. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐκεῖθεν κατὰ πρόσταγμα Θεοῦ τὴν γῆν τῶν Χαναναίων κατῴκησε. Λιμοῦ δὲ καταλαβόντος δεινοῦ, εἰς Αἴγυπτον παρεγένετο, καὶ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ἀλλήλοις ἀντιδοξοῦντας, καὶ τὰ νόμιμα ἑαυτῶν διαπτύοντας καὶ ἀνατρέποντας ἀπέδειξεν ἅπαντας αὐτοὺς μηδὲν ἀξιόλογον μηδὲ φρονοῦντας, μηδὲ θεσπίζοντας. Καὶ θαυμασθεὶς ἐπὶ συνέσει καὶ σοφίᾳ πολλῇ, τὴν ἀριθμητικὴν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὴν ἀστρονομίαν παραδίδωσι· πρὸ γὰρ τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ ἄπειροι τούτων ἐτύγχανον οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι· μαθόντες δὲ ὕστερον τοῖς Ἕλλησι μεταδεδώκασιν· ὑποστρέψαντι δὲ ἐκ τῆς Αἰγύπτου τῷ Ἀβραὰμ υἱὸς Ἰσμαὴλ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῆς παιδίσκης Ἄγαρ, ἐξ ἧς τὸ ἔθνος Ἀγαρηνῶν τε καὶ Σαρακηνῶν συνέστη· τὸ δὲ τῶν Ἰσμαηλιτῶν ἐκ τοῦ Ἰσμαήλ. Ὁ δὲ Λὼτ χωρίζεται τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ τὴν χώραν τὴν Σοδομηνὴν ᾤκησεν, ἥτις οὐρανίῳ πυρπολήσει δι' ἄθεσμον παρανομίαν κατεδικάσθη, καὶ ἔτι καὶ νῦν κεκαυμένα αὐτῆς τὰ ἴχνη φαίνεται· ἔστι γὰρ ἰδεῖν πέντε πόλεων σκιὰς, ἐν αἷς βλαστάνει καρπὸς, ὃς φαίνεται μὲν ἔξωθεν παραπλήσιος τοῖς ἐδωδίμοις, ληφθεὶς δὲ ταῖς χερσὶν, εἰς τέφραν καὶ καπνὸν ἀναλύεται. Γειτνιᾷ δὲ ταύτῃ ἡ Ἀσφαλτῖτις λίμνη,