John C. Reeves
John C. Reeves
Blumenthal Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies, Department of Religious Studies

  • Home
  • Course Materials
    • LBST 2212 Literature and Culture
      • Course Syllabus
    • RELS 1120: Bible and its Interpreters
      • Course Syllabus
    • RELS 1502 Comparative Mythology
      • Course syllabus
    • RELS 2000: Topics Courses in Religious Studies
      • Alternative Messiahs
        • Course syllabus for Alternative Messiahs
      • Bible and Qur’an
        • Course Syllabus: Bible and Qur’an
      • Building Bible
        • Course Syllabus for Building Bible
      • Course Syllabus: Elementary Biblical Hebrew I (Fall 2019)
      • Course Syllabus: Elementary Biblical Hebrew II (Spring 2019)
      • Out of This World
        • Course Syllabus: Out of This World
      • Rewriting the Book of Genesis
        • 2000 Syllabus
      • The Biblical Dark Arts
        • Biblical Dark Arts Course Syllabus
    • RELS 2104: Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament
      • General Principles For Interpretation Of The Tanakh
      • RELS 2104: Syllabus
      • Sennacherib’s Third Campaign: The Siege of Jerusalem
      • Translation Of 1Q Genesis Apocryphon II-XXII
      • Bereshit Rabbati on Shemhazai & Azael
      • Eutychius (Sa’id b. al-Bitriq) on Genesis 6:1-4
      • Moabite Stone (KAI 181)
    • RELS 2600 Orientation to the Study of Religion
      • Course syllabus for RELS 2600
    • RELS 3000: Special Topics Courses
      • Angels and Demons in Biblical Folklore
        • Course Syllabus
        • Some Adam/Satan/Iblīs materials
      • Bible and Its Monsters
        • Course syllabus
      • Bible to Qur’ān
        • Course Syllabus: Bible to Qur’an
      • Pentateuch/Torah
        • Course Syllabus: Pentateuch/Torah
      • Rewriting the Book of Genesis
        • Course Syllabus: Rewriting the Book of Genesis
      • The Biblical Black Arts
        • Course Syllabus
      • Wrestling with Angels & Demons
        • Course syllabus for Wrestling with Angels & Demons
    • RELS 3090: Readings in Primary Texts
      • After One Year of Classical Hebrew …
      • Course Syllabi: Advanced Biblical Hebrew I
        • Syllabus Fall 2006
        • Syllabus Fall 2008
        • Syllabus Fall 2010
      • Course Syllabi: Advanced Biblical Hebrew II
        • Syllabus Spring 2007
        • Syllabus Spring 2009
        • Syllabus Spring 2011
      • Course Syllabus: Elementary Biblical Hebrew I
      • Course Syllabus: Elementary Biblical Hebrew II
    • RELS 3104: Prophecy and Prophetic Literature in Ancient Israel
      • RELS 3104: Course Syllabus
    • RELS 3107: Psalms and Wisdom Literature of Israel
      • RELS 3107: Course Syllabus
    • RELS 3122 Esoteric Traditions: Gnosis and Gnosticism
      • Course Syllabus for Gnosis and Gnosticism
    • RELS 3122 Esoteric Traditions: Jewish Secret Traditions
      • Course syllabus
    • RELS 3122 Esoteric Traditions: Thinking About Angels and Demons
      • Course syllabus for Thinking About Angels and Demons
    • RELS 4000/5000 Advanced Biblical Hebrew
    • RELS 4000/5000 Blood, Guts, and Gore
    • RELS 4000/5000 Contextualizing the Qur’an
      • Course Syllabus
    • RELS 4000/5000 Early Mythologies of Evil
      • Course Syllabus
    • RELS 4000/5000 Jewish Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
      • Course Syllabus
    • RELS 4000/5000 Jewish Fantasy Literature
      • Course syllabus for Jewish Fantasy
    • RELS 4000/5000 Jewish Mystical Literature
      • Course Syllabus
    • RELS 4010/5010: James G. Frazer and William Robertson Smith
    • RELS 4107: Early Judaism
      • A Brief Introduction to Rabbinic Exegesis of the Bible
      • Bavli Menahot 109b
      • Midrash Tanhuma, Noah §3
      • RELS 4107: Course Syllabus
      • The Essene Hypothesis
      • Types of Midrashic Texts
      • Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?
    • RELS 4108: Medieval Judaism
      • RELS 4108: Course Syllabus
    • RELS 6000: Pluriform Multilingual Zechariah
      • Various Zechariah Legends
        • Bordeaux Pilgrim (333 CE) on the Temple Mount
        • Cave of Treasures 47.12-17
        • Mas’udi, Muruj al-dhahab
        • Protevangelium Jacobi (Syriac) 22-24
    • RELS 6000: Readings in Jewish Aramaic
      • Course syllabus for Jewish Aramaic
    • RELS 6000: Readings in Rabbinic Hebrew
      • Course Syllabus (2006-07)
      • Course Syllabus (2009-10)
    • RELS 6000: Readings in Syriac
    • RELS 6000: Readings in Ugaritic
    • RELS 6602: Seminar in the Religion of Ancient Israel
      • Course Syllabus (Spring 2009)
    • RELS 6603 Seminar in Early Judaism
      • Course Syllabus (Fall 2005)
      • Course Syllabus (Spring 2006)
      • Course Syllabus (Spring 2008)
    • RELS 6611: Qumran and its Literature
    • RELS 6615: Seminar in the Religions of Late Antiquity
      • Course Syllabus (2008)
      • Course syllabus (Spring 2015)
    • RELS 6631: Seminar in Islamic Studies
    • RELS 6651: Seminar in the History of Religions
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Articles
    • Book Reviews
    • Unpublished Lectures and Fragmenta
      • Assorted Near Eastern Apocalypses
      • Shahrastānī on Mani and Manichaeism
      • Theodore bar Konai on Mani and Manichaeism
      • Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?
      • Ya`qūbī, Ta’rīkh
  • Research Projects
    • Cave of Treasures: A New Translation and Commentary
    • Enoch from Antiquity to the Middle Ages
    • Illuminating the Afterlife of Ancient Apocryphal Jewish Literature
    • Medieval Jewish Pseudepigrapha
      • Jellinek’s Sefer Noah
      • Son of Samael
      • The Chronicles of Moses Our Teacher
    • Sefer ‘Uzza wa-‘Aza(z)el: Exploring Early Jewish Mythologies of Evil
    • Shades of Light and Darkness: Chaldean Dualism, Gnosis, and the Islamicate Milieu
    • Shahrastani’s Kitab al-Milal wa’l-Nihal On the Dualists
    • Trajectories in Near Eastern Apocalyptic
      • ’Otot ha-Mašiah (Signs of the Messiah)
      • ’Otot of R. Shimon b. Yohai
      • Aggadat ha-Mašiah
      • Aggadat R. Ishmael
      • Eldad ha-Dani beney Mosheh texts
      • Midrash Wa-yosha` (end)
      • Nistarot (Secrets of) R. Shimon b. Yohai
      • Pirqe de-R. Eliezer §30 (end)
      • Pirqe Mašiah
      • Prophecy of Zardusht
      • Pseudo-Ephrem (Syriac)
      • Responsum of Hai Gaon on Redemption
      • Sefer Elijah
      • Sefer Zerubbabel
      • Tefillat (Prayer of) R. Shimon b. Yohai
      • Ten Further Things About the Messianic Days
      • Ten Signs
      • Testament of Adam
  • Links
  • Cuneiform Studies Laboratory
    • Law Code for the Scribal Archive
Course Materials » RELS 2104: Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament » Eutychius (Sa’id b. al-Bitriq) on Genesis 6:1-4

Eutychius (Sa’id b. al-Bitriq) on Genesis 6:1-4

Eutychius (Sa‘id b. Bitriq [877-940 CE])

Annals pertaining to Gen 6:1-4

Translated from Eutychii Patriarchae Alexandrini Annales (CSCO 50, ser. arab. III, t.6; ed. L[ouis]. Cheikho; Beryti: E Typographeo Catholico, 1906), 8.22-10.4.

And Mahalalel after 165 years (LXX Gen 5:15) fathered Jared, and in the 135th year of the life of Mahalalel occurred the death of Kainan, and he was interred in the Cave of Treasures. When the time of death for Mahalalel drew nigh, he summoned his son Jared and adjured him by the blood of Abel not to allow any of his family to descend from the mountain to (mingle with) the progeny of Cain the accursed murderer. And the total lifespan of Mahalalel was 895 years.

And Jared after 162 years fathered Enoch. Now as for the progeny of Cain the murderer, their men were like stallions neighing after the women, and the women would (likewise pursue) after the men shamelessly, and they were fornicating and wantonly sinning, each with one another, openly and publicly. Two or three men would cohabit with one woman, the old were more depraved than the young, fathers upon their daughters and sons upon their mothers. Children did not recognize their parents nor did parents their children, and they dallied with pagan deities. The sound of their cries and their laughter reached the top of the holy mountain.

Then when the progeny of Seth heard the noise, one hundred of their males assembled together for the purpose of descending the mountain unto the progeny of Cain the accursed. Yared adjured them by the blood of Abel not to descend from the holy mountain, but they would not hearken to his words, and so they descended. Then when they had descended, they beheld the daughters of Cain the accursed, (and saw that) they were beautiful, being naked (and going about) without shame, and they became consumed with desire (for them). So too the daughters of Cain beheld them, (seeing) that they were handsome men, giant-like (jababira), and so they acted as if they were wild animals, and polluted their bodies. Hence the sons of Seth came to ruin through the harlotry of the daughters of Cain.

And the daughters of Cain the accursed gave birth to giants (jababira) from their union with the sons of Seth. In the Torah it says that they were ‘sons of God,’ having the name beney ’elohim. When they saw the beautiful daughters of Cain, they descended to them, and it is from them that the giants (jababira) came to be. But one errs and misunderstands (if) he says that ‘angels’ descended to ‘mortal women.’ Instead, it is the sons of Seth who descend from the holy mountain to the daughters of Cain the accursed. For it was on account of their saintliness (chastity?) and dwelling-place upon the holy mountain that the sons of Seth were called banu ’elohim; that is, ‘sons of God.’ And when some say that angels descended unto mortal women, they are in error; for the substance of angels is a simple substance, and sexual plurality (i.e., gender distinction) is not part of their nature, while human beings have a complex substance, (and) sexual plurality forms part of their nature, as so too with all the animals. If angels could have sexual intercourse, there would not be left one virgin from among all human women that they would not defile.

And when those sons of Seth who had descended from the mountain to the daughters of Cain the accursed wished to return to the holy mountain, the stone of the mountain became as fire (to their touch), and so it was not possible for them to return to the mountain. After this more fellow kinsmen began to descend from the holy mountain to the daughters of Cain the accursed.

Skip to toolbar
  • Log In