Division of the Earth’s Portions to Noah’s Sons

Chapter 8

¹⁰At the beginning of the thirty-third jubilee [1569–1617] they divided the earth into three parts—for Shem, Ham, and Japheth—each in his own inheritance. [This happened] in the first year of the first week [1569] while one of us who were sent^a was staying with them.

¹¹When he summoned his children, they came to him—they and their children. He divided the earth into the lots that his three sons would occupy. They reached out their hands and took the book from the bosom of their father Noah. ¹²In the book there emerged as Shem’s lot the center of the earth that he would occupy as an inheritance for him and for his children throughout the history of eternity: from the middle of the mountain range of Rafa, from the source of the water from the Tina River. His share goes toward the west through the middle of this river. One then goes until one reaches the water of the deeps from which this river emerges. This river emerges and pours its waters into the Me’at Sea. This river goes as far as the Great Sea. Everything to the north belongs to Japheth, while everything to the south belongs to Shem. ¹³It goes until it reaches Karas. This is in the bosom of the branch that faces southward. ¹⁴His share goes toward the Great Sea and goes straight until it reaches to the west of the branch that faces southward, for this is the sea whose name is the Branch of the Egyptian Sea. ¹⁵It turns from there southwards toward the mouth of the Great Sea on the shore of the waters. It goes toward the west of Afra and goes until it reaches the water of the Gihon River and to the south of the Gihon’s waters along the banks of this river. ¹⁶It goes eastward until it reaches the Garden of Eden, toward the south side of it—on the south and from the east of the entire land of Eden and of all the east. It turns to the east and comes until it reaches to the east of the mountain range named Rafa. Then it goes down toward the bank of the Tina River’s mouth. ¹⁷This share emerged by lot for Shem and his children to occupy it forever, throughout history until eternity.^b [ . . . ]

²²For Ham there emerged a second share toward the other side of the Gihon—toward the south—on the right side of the garden. It goes southward and goes to all the fiery mountains. It goes westward toward the Atel Sea; it goes westward until it reaches the Mauk Sea, everything that descends into which is destroyed. ²³It comes to the north to the boundary of Gadir and comes to the shore of the sea waters, to the waters of the Great Sea, until it reaches the Gihon River. The Gihon River goes until it reaches the right side of the Garden of Eden.^c

²⁴This is the land that emerged for Ham as a share that he would occupy for himself and his children forever throughout their generations until eternity.

²⁵For Japheth there emerged a third share on the other side of the Tina River toward the north of the mouth of its waters. It goes toward the northeast, [toward] the whole area of Gog and all that is east of them. ²⁶It goes due north and goes toward the mountains of Qelt, to the north and toward the Mauk Sea. It comes to the east of Gadir as far as the edge of the sea waters. ²⁷It goes until it reaches the west of Fara. Then it goes back toward Aferag and goes eastward toward the water of the Me’at Sea. ²⁸It goes to the edge of the Tina River toward the northeast until it reaches the bank of its waters toward the mountain range of Rafa. It goes around the north.

²⁹This is the land that emerged for Japheth and his children as his hereditary share which he would occupy for himself and his children throughout their generations forever: five large islands and a large land in the north.^d  30However, it is cold while the land of Ham is hot. Now Shem’s land is neither hot nor cold but it is a mixture of cold and heat. [ . . . ]

Chapter 9

¹⁴In this way Noah’s sons divided [the earth] for their sons in front of their father Noah. He made [them] all swear by oath to curse each and every one who wanted to occupy the share that did not emerge by his lot. ¹⁵All of them said: “So be it. So be it for them and their children until eternity during their generations until the day of judgment on which the Lord God will punish them with the sword and fire because of all the evil impurity of their errors by which they have filled the earth with wickedness, impurity, fornication, and sin.”