From 1056 AAC

  The story I chose to tell that night, when the last person from the old world perished, to our ears anyway, who knows what occurred across the whole plane of the earth; was a story to foster confidence in Noach during such devastating grief and loss. So I began:

  Lemech of the line of Seth was one hundred and eighty years old when his father Methuselach brought to him Ashmua, the daughter of Eliyshua the son of Chanoch his uncle, to be his woman, his wife. Meanwhile my father, also named Lemech, of the line of Qeyin, had been deserted by his wives, sisters Adah and Tsillah, after the tragic hunting accident that had Lemech killing both his grandfather Qeyin and his own son Tubal Qeyin, leaving him in a state of utter despair and soul-destroying guilt.

  This is what I spoke at the time, but you may now understand that I spoke a half-truth. My father Lemech exulted in everything he got away with. Under the tutelage of the Fallen Ones, and the Terrible Ones, he was deceived into constant power plays that ultimately did leave him depressed and broken. He anticipated that the familial sacrifice required of him would be Qeyin, who was well advanced in age, not his beloved son Tubal Qeyin as well. The Satans always lie, make promises that mean nothing; they promise fame and fortune and deliver only destruction. But I will continue telling the story as I did that night.

  Father A’dam himself and those from the line of Seth, had begged Lemech of Qeyin’s women to forgive their husband, whose failing eyesight had led to the tragedy. Mistaking the other men moving through the landscape, for the gazelle they hunted. Tsillah was inconsolable at losing the only son of her youth, but she received some comfort from her daughter Na’amah who she had conceived in her old age. Tsillah regretted that in her youth she had followed the urgings of her husband, who delighted in her beauty and fine physique, manipulating her to drink a draught that rendered her barren. This fashionable practice had emanated from the teachings of the Fallen Ones who found childbearing women as abominable as widows who had not retained their youthful figures and appearance. In her youthful vanity Tsillah had been proud to receive Lemech’s attentions over the more maternal Adah, but after the accident she resented him and found she could not bear to look at him or be around him.

  And Adah always followed the lead of her sister, though her heart softened towards Lemech, she decided that her sister needed her more, after all, it was Tsillah who had insisted that Lemech marry the both of them at a time when most men still only married the one wife, for Adah was the elder, considered plain and passed over in men’s attentions to her sister. Tsillah in turn, for all her faults and vanity, loved her sister dearly. This was the household I was born into, already torn apart with tragedy and bitter resentments. I was a happy surprise, born to my mother in her old age, and after the turn of events losing her dear son, the brother I never knew, she was determined to protect me from the machinations and politics of the Line of Qeyin. At a tender age she took me to live with the aging Chuah in The Valley of Sanctuary, but that is another tale for another night.

  So meantime Methuselach brought to Good Lemech a new young wife to fulfil Yah’s design, and she became pregnant by him and bought forth a child whose flesh was white as snow and flushed red as a rose; the hair of whose head was white like wool, and long; and whose eyes were so beautiful that when he opened them, he illuminated the house; like the sun, the whole house abounded with light. When the midwife handed the child to Lemech he became consumed with fright, quickly passing the child back, and ran from the house as fast as he could to consult with his father. Lemech was afraid that this child carried the seed of the nephiliym, though by that time they had of course mostly destroyed each other in the flesh , a few giants still roamed and hid in the far corners of the earth, and there were rumours that those that had annihilated each other, roamed the earth as disembodied spirits seeking a host body that would give them permission to inhabit.

  Oh, father I have begotten a son, unlike others. He is not of men; but resembles the offspring of the angels of heaven. He is not like us mortals; his nature is not of this world. His eyes are as the rays of the sun, his countenance glorious. Father, he does not look as though he belongs to me. I am afraid he is not mine. I am afraid lest something miraculous, something dark, should take place on earth in his days. Let me entreat and request of you to go to our progenitor, Chanoch and learn from him the truth; for his residence is with the angels.

  Methuselach made the long journey to the southern extremities of the earth, and Chanoch hearing his voice came out to him from beyond the edge of the firmament where the heavens touched the pillars of the earth.

  “Behold I am here, my son, since you have come to me at the ends of the earth. “

  Methuselach recounted the birth of the strange baby,

  “On account of a great event have I come to you; and on account of a sight difficult to describe have I approached you. Now my father hear me; for to my son Lemech a child has been born who resembles not him and whose nature is not like the nature of man.”

  Chanoch answered ,

  “Yahuah will affect a new thing upon the earth. This I have explained and seen in a vision. In the generations of Yered, my father, those who were in heaven disregarded the Word of Yahuah. They committed crimes, laid aside their class and intermingled with women and begat children who were not fully spiritual beings but neither completely creatures of flesh. A great destruction shall come upon the earth, a deluge shall cover the earth but your son and his three sons that he shall beget, will be saved. All mankind shall perish but he and his shall be safe. His posterity shall beget on the earth more giants, not spiritual but carnal. The earth shall be washed of all terrible corruption.

  Inform Lemech that he who is born is his child in truth, and he shall call his name Noach, for he shall be to you a survivor. He and his children shall be saved from the corruption that shall take place in the world: from all the sin, and from all the iniquity that shall be consummated on the earth in his days. Afterwards shall greater impiety take place than that which had been consummated on the earth; for I am acquainted with holy mysteries which Yahuah himself has explained to me, and which I have read in the tablets of Heaven. In them I saw it is written that generation after generation after generation shall transgress, until all goodness come upon it and crime shall perish from off the earth. Go tell your son Lemech that the child who is born is his child in truth; there is no deception. He is to be called Noach, and he will console the earth after its destruction.”

  Chanoch then revealed to his son Methuselach every secret thing that had been entrusted to him, in cephyrs to pass on to those who should come after him, for future generations to guard their purity of conduct, especially in the latter days.

  I looked around at the faces, dim in the deepening gloom of the ark.

  We carry these very cephyrs, inscribed by Chanoch, revealed to Methuselach and entrusted to Noach at Methuselach’s death. We carry them with us on this vessel. The vision consigned to us, as custodians of the grand story of the Living God. We are to bring the Way to the new world, to start afresh, to be a light and an example to the children that we birth into this world. Noach, and you his sons, have been considered worthy vessels, infused with grace, to be used by Elohiym to bring to fruition the perfect unfolding of His story. At the appointed time all evildoers will be consumed, the power of the guilty will be annihilated. Sin will pass away, evildoers names will blotted out of the Holy Cepheriym, their ruachoth, their spirits, slain; and their seed utterly destroyed. Until that day we must remain humble, unattached to things of this world, not being covetous of earthly riches, but living in the knowledge that we are but a breath passing away. Look to eternity and love heaven with an everlasting aspiration.

  Sweet Na’elatama was following my every word, but it turned out she was more interested in the romance of earthly love.

  Tell us Mother of how the young Noach grew, and your courtship. Was your marriage arranged such as ours?

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  I continued.

  As the child Noach grew up and was weaned, he went in the ways of his grandfather Methuselach, not sinless but raised in integrity and honour. He came to the Valley of Sanctuary and learnt from all the patriarchs: Enosh son of Seth, third son of A’dam; Qeynan; Mahalalel and Yered, they all instructed him in the ways of Yahuah and the true history of Creation and the Fall. In fact, his father Lemech called his son Menachem, ‘one who comforts in the midst of toil’, not Noach as instructed. He was the first of the patriarchs to die before his own father. Noach was one hundred and ninety-five when his father Lemech died. Lemech died even before his own father Methuselah, as did my father Lemech who was broken hearted at the death of his son and the anguish of his wife Tsillah.

  What I did not say Emzara, was that both Lemechs were taken early, well before the flood, one through the mercy of Elohiym, the other, my father, through his own hand. Noach’s father was in awe of his own son and felt that he was always passed over by his father, Methuselach. Lemech did not conform to their moral or ethical standards, but then again Noah’s father was not like my father, my father Lemech a double-minded man swayed by the mores of the world, addicted to power and sensuality. How did I, coming from the line of Qeyin, come to be the wife of the most righteous man on the earth? I knew such a thought was racing through each of the young wives’ minds (and yours too Emzara). I will get there, be patient.

  The angels tried him, Noach that is, to see if his ruach, his spirit, was patient and he was not indignant in the words of his mouth, and they saw that his soul was not impatient, he had grace before all who saw him, and he brought out shalom in others. Noach found grace and favour with God, because he believed the words he received from the angels. He believed God’s word and was justified by his faith.

  I glance over at my husband, but his head is bowed and his expression hidden from me. He has always encouraged me to speak truth in storytelling, no matter how delicate the situation, or how sad, or difficult. If he feels I’m being too melodramatic, salacious or even overly sweet, he has only to give me a look, and I am brought to my senses. But some things are best not dwelt upon. Who are we to judge our parents? As the storyteller I try to imagine how others might truly feel. Sometimes to speak plain facts is enough, at others I like to embellish or paint a picture. I attempt to walk a moment in the footsteps of another, but sometimes it is a mystery to me, is it pain or anger that compels a person, actions spawned from a bitter root? What is it that births mercy and forgiveness? What drives a person deeper and deeper towards darkness, revenge and hate?

  My own husband’s feelings are often hidden. He is not one for expressing deep emotion or passion, his anger is always controlled. He is gentle and kind, but also determined, dignified and strong. I respect him, I love him, but sometimes, I wish we laughed more together, were light-hearted like we were when he asked for my hand in marriage. Sometimes I long for that brief time when we were cloistered from the rest of the world as newly-weds, where he had eyes only for me. Then again, truth be told, Noach has never only had eyes for me, has never been light-hearted; his destiny has always rested on his shoulders as a heavy mantle.

  It was I that was light-hearted, that pretended that certain things had never happened, that woke every morning determined to smile, laugh and feel gratitude for the mercies and grace that came my way. I am still that way. I was older than Noach, I had held him as a baby and seen him as a child and as a young man. His uncanny beauty and unearthly serenity were compelling. His eyes are still a curious mixture of gold, green, blue and violet…

  Na’elatama’uk coughs to draw me out of my reverie. I took up the story again.

  Now as soon as both Chanoch and the angel Arsayalayur had convinced Noach that he was to marry, allaying his fears, Noach himself chose Na’amah who lived then not in the house of her father, but amongst the patriarchs in the Valley of Sanctuary, and was a woman after his own heart, dedicated to living in the simple ways of Yahuah … Noach?

  I suddenly stopped, I always felt foolish when I was part of the story and either took a self-deprecating, humorous tone, or quickly skimmed over details, or indeed left things out that I did not wish to be reminded of or disclose. I knew judging by the looks coming from the young wives, that they were eager to hear more of my story, but some things are best kept amongst women, men have their business, we have ours too.

  Noach perhaps you could tell the story from this point. Why did you choose me to be your wife? I challenged him teasingly.

  Noach looked alarmed for a moment then nodded assent, looking into the middle distance as though visualising the events from hundreds of years ago.

  I was brought from my father’s house when I was fully weaned, at seven years old. My grandfather, who I loved dearly, came to collect me from the city where I dwelt with my doting, young mother and my aging father. My mother wept when I left, but I did not…

  Aahhem! I coughed pointedly. Noach smiled wryly.

  I wept at night only, just for a little while, alone for the first time, from all I knew, but I was eager to learn from the men and women who lived in the Valley. There was a beautiful woman who would come to me and comfort me if I cried out or woke from a dream or vision. Stroking my forehead in the middle of the night with cool hands. If I was sleepwalking, as I was wont to do, she would turn me around and guide me back to bed. Sometimes I woke confused whilst she was still walking me back, and she would smile and say,

  “Remember your dream and tell me about it in the morning.”

  I would wake before first light, often with a leaf or a pebble lodged between my toes from my nightly quests. I knew she often left the compound before anyone else with her flock of sheep, so I would run to find her and tell her my dreams.

  She always said,

  “What do you think it means?”

  I looked out for her return at the end of the day, her sheep always docile and contented behind her, and her arms heavy with leaf laden boughs, bags of herbs and wild fruits. She always had something for me: sweet berries or nuts. But often she would be gone for long periods of time, and I missed her presence more than I did the mother I had left behind. As I grew, I studied mainly with the grandfathers but often they would ask the lovely Na’amah to come sit with us, share stories of Eden and what she had learnt from her time spent with Chuah. She was also familiar with the wiles of the Watchers, their offspring the nephiliym. She told stories of their exploits so that I could fully understand the depth of their evil mendacity. Later as a young man I discovered she was a widow,

  There was a faint gasp from one of the young wives, for they knew very little of my story, though not many did; or had, I should say. I anticipated that our first retreat with menses, on our first niddah on board the ark, that I would be sharing many more stories, just for women’s ears.

  Her husband had died defending her against the wrath of the great Shemiy’aza chief leader of the Watchers, as he had not been able to tempt her with the promise of wealth and glory as his queen. He offered to teach her all sorceries, incantations and the dividing of roots and trees. He offered to build her the most glorious palace; its construction would be a marvel in the world of men, because he brought forbidden knowledge stolen from Elohiym. He offered her power and dominion as his consort. But that is her story to tell. To me she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and as you can still see, where my skin is like a pale dawn, hers is like a ripe, shiny carob; and her hair as black as mine is white.

  I am surprised at my husband warming to the tale of our courtship, and realise he is grateful for my support as doubts and fears assail our small group alone on an endless ocean, for who knows how long, at that point. For it is Noach who hears from Elohiym, who talks with Him, who confers regularly with angels, we just witness him after he has been communing with the angelic messengers, who merely reveal themselves to us as pillars of blinding sunlight, but to him as glorious human like beings who talk a heavenly language that only he can hear and understand. When Noach would return from time praying and talking with God, his face shines brighter with a beauty hard to define or describe. When the boys were small, they were scared and in awe of the energy he emanated, so he would cover his face with a veil.

  Noach continued with his side of the story.

  I chose her because … I was instructed to do so by Yahuah.

  This I knew, though again the young wives looked at me with pity and some understanding.

  But of course, when I first came to her and asked her to be my woman, she was not a giddy young girl, she said, and I think I can remember her words exactly as they were,

  Noach laughs at the memory.

  How surprised I was when she replied,

  “As honoured as I am by your request adonai. I have devoted myself to Elohiym, learning through our elders who still walk the earth, and unlike you I do not hear from Him directly, or through his messengers. Not anymore. I will ask Yahuah to give me confirmation through a dream. I beg your patience until I hear …”

  At that very moment a pillar of celestial light came between us. I knew what was happening, but this time the messenger was not for me, and I was deaf to the words that were spoken to Na’amah. All I could hear was a sound like rushing water. She has never told me what the angel said to her; and how long they spoke, I could not tell, but when I came to, as though out of a trance, it was dusk. We stood looking deeply into each other’s eyes for some time. Smiling, at peace. We both started to laugh. No words were needed. Abruptly Noach’s tone changed,

  We were married and started a family straight away. There was no time to lose. We had a mission from Yah.

  But?

  One of the girls’ starts up, full of questions,

  Anything else, well, no doubt you women will discuss it amongst yourselves.

  Noach dismissed us and we mourned our family and Methuselach for another seven days.