According to the Bible, one and a half thousand years after the creation of the world, the Lord set out to punish people for their moral fall and unwillingness to follow the paths that He commanded them. But, in order not to completely stop the human race, the Creator chose Noah, saved him from death and made him the progenitor of all people who were born in subsequent times.
Venerable Patriarch
It follows from the Holy Scriptures that by the time the Almighty brought down the Flood on the earth, the chosen one of God was five hundred years old from birth, and he had three sons. The era in which he lived can truly be called the dawn of mankind. From Adam - the first man created by the Lord - he was separated by only ten generations. In those days, human life lasted much longer than today. It is known that the venerable patriarch died at the age of nine hundred years. His children were also long-livers. The Bible tells us the names of Noah's sons. They were Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Not wanting to destroy the work of His hands, the Creator commanded the righteous old man to build an ark, and before the abyss of heaven opens up and water streams fall on the earth, enter into it together with all his family. In order to preserve also the animal world, he said to take with him a pair of each species of all animals and birds. Those who, according to religion, were considered “clean” and were suitable for sacrifices, were to be taken in seven pairs. This is what Scripture tells us.
The death of all life on earth
Noah did exactly what the Lord commanded, and when the Flood broke out, he was safe. Together with him, his sons and wives and many animals entered the ark. For forty days and nights the water was rising, until, finally, the highest mountain peaks disappeared in its abyss. God's punishment has come to pass: all those who were not included in the number of His chosen ones perished in the raging waves. Only after five months the elements finally pacified.
Little by little the clouds dissipated, the streams flowing from them dried up. The water began to subside, and soon the ark touched the Ararat peak with its bottom. But all the world more for a long time was hidden in the waves. Noah waited forty days before releasing a raven to find out if there was any land suitable for habitation. But the bird soon returned without finding anything. This was repeated several times, until, finally, the dove sent by him brought an olive leaf in its beak - a sign that the water had receded, the earth had dried out, and the long-awaited end of the voyage had come.
Days after the flood
The first thing Noah and his sons did after leaving the ark was to build an altar and offer a burnt offering in gratitude to God for the salvation they had been given. The Lord gave them a number of moral laws and promised to save the human race from floods in the future, as evidenced by the heavenly rainbow.
When life began to get into its groove, the three sons of Noah, together with the patriarch, took up farming. The soil, so lavishly irrigated, bore abundant fruit. The brothers laid out extensive vineyards, and their father took up winemaking. The bunches filled with the sun turned into a drink that gladdens the heart and soul. But, as it sometimes happens, one day the old man got carried away and, having drunk too much, fell asleep.
Curse of the Patriarch
At this time, the son of Noah, named Ham, entering the tent, saw the naked body of his father stretched out on the floor. Instead of showing respect, covering him up and withdrawing, he went to the brothers and laughingly told what he had seen. Shem and Japheth were, unlike him, delicate people, and therefore, taking clothes, they modestly entered Noah, while trying to keep their backs to him so as not to offend the elder with their views. Covering the body, the brothers respectfully departed.
Waking up in the morning and learning about how disrespectfully Ham treated him, the father cursed his son and all his descendants. In the heat of anger, he announced that henceforth his entire race would be in eternal slavery to the peoples who would come from Shem and Japheth. From that moment on, the future offspring of Noah was divided into those who are destined to command, and those who are doomed to obey. The venerable old man himself lived another three hundred and fifty years and went to the forefathers in peace.
Descendants of the sons of the pious elder
His offspring spread throughout the earth. How many sons Noah has - so many peoples that appeared from them. Kham became the ancestor of the nationality, called "Khamites". This ethnic group, who lived at one time south of Canaan and spoke a dialect that belongs to the Afroasian language family. Since the territory where Ham went after the conflict with his father was Africa, the current inhabitants of this continent are considered to be his descendants. By the way, his very name has become a household name these days and means a rude, ill-mannered person.
Another son of Noah, named Shem, is the progenitor of a people called "Simites." Despite the fact that this nation is heterogeneous in its composition, it is united by a common culture, religion and historical traditions. The very same name is taken from the Old Testament, and large groups of inhabitants of the Middle East are mentioned under it. At present, this term, although considered obsolete, is still not out of use.
And finally, the third son of Noah, Japheth, became the father of many Indo-European nationalities. This is the largest group, which includes both peoples who disappeared during historical development humanity, as well as those that exist today. The territory of their residence is very extensive and includes huge spaces that today belong to various states. According to some scientists, the Slavs also belong to this group.
Other testimonies about Noah
It is mentioned in literary monuments of many world religions. So, for example, the Hebrew Haggadah dwells in great detail on his deeds and deeds before and after the flood. In particular, it speaks of Noah's foresight, thanks to which he foresaw the future death of all living things, and for this reason did not want to marry. This, by the way, explains his so late paternity. When he finally got married, he did it solely at the command of God.
It is difficult to accurately indicate the name of his wife, since in different sources it is named differently. Most often it is Neoma or Emzarag. Jewish literature also indicates that Noah enriched people with many useful knowledge and skills. It was he who introduced the plow, sickle, ax and many other tools that are familiar in our time. By the way, it is said about his hands that they were special - strong and adapted to physical labor. This quality, of course, helped the patriarch in the construction of the ark.
Love for people and humanism
Before taking care of himself and his family, Noah did everything he could to help everyone around him avoid death. From the same Haggadah it is known that he repeatedly called people to repentance and even postponed his own salvation for this reason. His boundless humanity is evidenced, in particular, by the fact that whole year, while the flood lasted, Noah, knowing neither sleep nor rest, took care of the animals that were inside the ark.
In conclusion, I would like to cite a small parable from Hebrew literature, which is not mentioned in Holy Scripture, but has deep meaning. It is said that in Noah's ark there was a very unusual couple - Lies and Misfortune. At first, the Lie tried to get inside alone, but she was kicked out, saying that the entrance was open only to married couples. Then she left, and when she returned, she brought Misfortune with her. Then they were let in. Since then, they have been inseparable.
In conclusion, I would like to say one more thing: since, according to the Bible, the chosen one of God and the builder of the ark through his offspring became the ancestor of all nations, then every person is, to a certain extent, the son of Noah. Holy Scripture also testifies to this, calling him our forefather.
Date of publication or update 05/01/2017
Part Three
Sacred History of the Old and New Testaments
Old Testament
Life of Noah and his children after the flood
The sons of Noah who went out with him from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Noah began to cultivate the land and planted a vineyard. When he made wine from grape juice and tasted it, he became drunk, because he did not yet know the power of wine, and having opened himself, he lay naked in his tent. His son Ham saw this, he disrespected his father, went and told his brothers about it. Shem and Japheth took clothes, went up to their father so as not to see his nakedness, and covered him. When Noah woke up and learned about the act of his younger son Ham, he condemned and cursed him, in the person of his son Canaan, and said that his descendants would be in slavery to the descendants of his brothers. And Shem and Japheth he blessed and predicted that the true faith would be preserved in the offspring of Shem, and the descendants of Japheth would spread over the earth and accept the true faith from the descendants of Shem.
Noah lived 950 years, he was the last to reach such a deep old age. After him, human strength began to decline, and people could only live up to 400 years. But even with such a still long life, people multiplied rapidly.
Everything that Noah predicted to his sons came true exactly. The descendants of Shem are called Semites, these include, first of all, the Jewish people, in which alone faith in the true God was preserved. The descendants of Japheth are called Japhetids, they include the peoples inhabiting Europe, who accepted from the Jews faith in the true God. The descendants of Ham are called Hamites; these include the Canaanite tribes who originally inhabited Palestine, many peoples of Africa and other countries. The Hamites have always been subordinate to other peoples, and some of them remain savages to this day.
After the expulsion from paradise, children began to be born to Adam and Eve: sons and daughters. (Gen. 5 , 4).
They named their first son Cain, and the second Abel. Cain farmed, and Abel herded the flocks.
Once they offered a sacrifice to God: Cain - the fruits of the earth, and Abel - the best animal from his herd.
Abel was of a kind and meek disposition, he offered a sacrifice from pure heart, with love and faith in the promised Savior, with a prayer for mercy and hope for the mercy of God; and God accepted the sacrifice of Abel, - it is believed that the smoke from it ascended to heaven.
Cain, on the other hand, was of an evil and cruel disposition, he offered sacrifice only as a custom, without the love and fear of God. The Lord did not accept his sacrifice; this, it is thought, was evident from the fact that the smoke from his sacrifice spread over the ground.
After that, Cain became jealous of his brother, called Abel into the field and killed him there.
God spoke to Cain, wanting him to repent, and asked him, "Where is your brother Abel?"
Cain answered boldly: "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
Then God said to him, "What have you done? Your brother's blood is crying out to Me from the ground. For this you will be cursed and will wander on the earth." And Cain, tormented by his conscience, fled with his wife from his parents to another land.
A person's life is a gift from God, therefore a person has no right to deprive himself of it, or to take it away from others. Taking the life of one's neighbor is called murder, and the deprivation of one's own life is called suicide and there is the most serious sin.
Instead of the murdered Abel, God gave Adam and Eve a third son - a pious Sifa and then many other children. Adam and Eve lived on earth for a long time. Adam lived 930 years. They endured much suffering and grief, heartily repented of their sin and firmly believed in the promised Savior. This faith saved them, they are now among the holy forefathers.
Cain kills his brother Abel
NOTE: see the Bible in the book. Genesis: Ch. 4 , 1-16, 25; 5 , 3-5.
Flood
From the children of Adam and Eve, the human race quickly multiplied, people at that time lived a long time, up to 900 years or more.
From Seth came pious and good people - "sons of God", and from Cain the wicked and evil - "sons of men".
At first, the descendants of Seth lived separately from the descendants of Cain, they kept faith in God and the future Savior. But later they began to take daughters from the descendants of Cain as their wives and began to adopt bad customs from them, to become corrupt and forget the true God.
After a long time, wickedness between people reached the point that of all the people on earth, only one descendant of Seth remained faithful to God - the righteous Noah with your family.
Seeing the great corruption of people, the merciful Lord gave them one hundred and twenty years for repentance and correction. But people not only did not improve, but became even worse.
Then the Lord determined to wash (cleanse) the earth with water from the wicked human race, and to keep the righteous Noah on earth, for the further reproduction of people. God appeared to Noah and said: "The end has come of every creature, for the earth is filled with evil deeds from them; and I will destroy them from the face of the earth. I will bring a flood of waters on the earth to destroy everything that is on the earth." He told Noah to build the ark, that is, a large quadrangular vessel in the likeness of a house, in which his family and animals could fit, and gave him exact dimensions and instructions for this. Noah accepted God's command with faith and began to build the ark.
When the ark was ready, Noah, at the command of God, entered it with his wife, three sons and their wives, and, according to God's instructions, took with him all the animals and birds that could not live in the water, clean, (i.e. . which can be sacrificed) - seven pairs, and unclean - one pair, in order to preserve their tribe for the whole earth. I also took a supply of food for everyone for the whole year.
global flood
The day Noah entered the ark, the waters of the flood rushed to the earth - " all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened", that is, there was a great flood from the seas and oceans, and from the sky it rained on the earth for forty days and forty nights. And the water rose on the earth above the very high mountains, intensifying one hundred and fifty days, and drowned all people and animals, so that no one could escape, except those who were in the ark.
After one hundred and fifty days, the water began to gradually decrease. On seventh month the ark stopped on the mountains of Ararat (in Armenia). First day tenth month the peaks of all the mountains appeared. TO end of the year the water entered its containers.
Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven to see if the water had receded from the ground, but the raven flew away and flew back to the roof of the ark.
Mount Ararat
Then Noah released a dove, which, having flown away, could not find a place to live, because the water was still on the surface of the whole earth, and returned back to the ark. After waiting seven days, Noah again released the dove from the ark. This time the dove returned in the evening and brought a fresh olive leaf in its mouth. And Noah realized that the water had come down from the earth and greenery appeared on it again. After waiting another seven days, Noah sent out the dove again, and it did not return to him. And Noah opened the roof of the ark and saw that the ground had already dried up.
Noah's exit from the ark
Then, at the command of God, Noah left the ark with all his family and released all the animals that were with him.
And Noah built an altar, that is, a place for offering sacrifices, and offered for his salvation a thankful sacrifice to God from all clean animals and birds.
Noah Offers a Thanksgiving Sacrifice to God for Salvation
God graciously accepted Noah's sacrifice and blessed him and his sons and promised that there would never again be such a flood to destroy all life on earth for the sins of people, that is, there would never be a global flood. As a sign of this promise, the Lord pointed to a rainbow in the clouds, which since then has served as an eternal reminder to people of this God's promise.
NOTE: see the Bible, in the book. "Genesis", ch. 4 , 17-24; 5; 6 , 1-22; 7; 8; 9 , 1-17.
The Flood Talk
On the part of unbelievers, there is an objection to the flood, which is that it is impossible for the whole earth to be under water at the same time, as the Bible says. But, as the English researcher Arthur Hooke points out: "the scientist specialist dr John Murray established that if the surface of the earth were made flat, there is so much water in the seas, which in some places reach six miles deep, that it would be enough to cover the whole earth with a simultaneous universal depth of two miles.
But the flood could not be in the full sense of the word universal. We must remember why the Lord made the flood: The Lord saw that the corruption of men on earth was great and that their thoughts were evil for all time ... And the Lord said: I will destroy from the face of the earth the people whom I created. (Gen. 6 , 5 and 7). Consequently, we can also imagine the flood as a flood that engulfed only the space of the earth inhabited by people, but how great this space was at the time of the flood, we do not know at all. At the same time, we may not be embarrassed by the fact that the Bible several times speaks of the flood as spreading "throughout the whole earth." The Bible and all religious literature, which has only the human soul as an object of its concern, often calls the earth and even the universe only the area of human habitation, and even only the area of a certain human culture that is ripe for the impact of Holy Scripture. Byzantium, brought up on the Bible, called the Mediterranean basin the Universe, which is why it called its emperors "masters of the universe" and gave the Patriarch of Constantinople the title of ecumenical.
The widespread prevalence of the flood tradition indicates that the flood was an event that engulfed all mankind, and it was preserved in the memory of many branches of the human race. The same researcher Arthur Hooke reports that the Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Babylonians, Phrygians, Syrians, Persians, Greeks, and even Armenians all had, more or less, agreeable stories about the flood. The Phrygian narrative, for example, mentions Enoch as heralding the flood, and reports that he wept and prayed for the fate of the hardened, unrepentant inhabitants of the antediluvian world. An ancient Phrygian coin was found, with a crude image of an ark, and the letters "N-0" on one of its sides, undoubtedly referring to Noah. Further we find that India and China have records of the flood and, that in the flood, was saved someone with seven members of his family. The Mexicans had a legend about a man who made a ship to save himself from a catastrophe that was about to come.
In addition, it should be indicated that on the basis of scientific (geological) excavations it has been established that there is thick layer of clay, silty layering, which does not contain any remnants of organic animal life. This layer sharply separates layers stone age(paleolithic), from subsequent layers: neolithic, bronze And iron age. The French scientist Mortillet called this layer hiatus, that is, a break. This silt layer from the bottom of the sea happened, as is believed, under the influence of a world cataclysm, i.e., the land sank below the level of the ocean, the waters of which flooded the whole earth, all the mountains. As Moses says: "and all the fountains of the great deep were broken up"(Gen. 7 , 11), and then mentions the rain. Moreover, these silty layers cover the whole of Europe with a thick layer, North Africa and Western Asia, to the high mountains. Scientist Cuvier and called these deposits, this powerful silty layer, Deluge (Deluzh) - a flood.
Of course, for believers, all these proofs are not needed, because they know that the Almighty Lord God, having created heaven and earth, could certainly flood the whole land with the waters of the flood.
Life of Noah and his children after the flood
The sons of Noah who went out with him from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Noah began to cultivate the land and planted a vineyard. When he made wine from grape juice and tasted it, he became drunk, because he did not yet know the power of wine, and having opened himself, he lay naked in his tent. His son Ham saw this, he disrespected his father, went and told his brothers about it. Shem and Japheth took clothes, went up to their father so as not to see his nakedness, and covered him. When Noah woke up and learned about the act of his younger son Ham, he condemned and cursed him, in the person of his son Canaan, and said that his descendants would be in slavery to the descendants of his brothers. And Shem and Japheth he blessed and predicted that the true faith would be preserved in the offspring of Shem, and the descendants of Japheth would spread over the earth and accept the true faith from the descendants of Shem.
Noah lived 950 years, he was the last to reach such a deep old age. After him, human strength began to decline, and people could only live up to 400 years. But even with such a still long life, people multiplied rapidly.
Everything that Noah predicted to his sons came true exactly. The descendants of Shem are called Semites, these include, first of all, the Jewish people, in which alone faith in the true God was preserved. The descendants of Japheth are called Japhetids, they include the peoples inhabiting Europe, who accepted from the Jews faith in the true God. The descendants of Ham are called Hamites; these include the Canaanite tribes who originally inhabited Palestine, many peoples of Africa and other countries. The Hamites have always been subordinate to other peoples, and some of them remain savages to this day.
9 , 18-29; ch. 10 .
Babylonian pandemonium and scattering of people
The multiplied descendants of Noah lived together for a long time in one country, not far from the mountains of Ararat, and spoke the same language.
When the human race became numerous, then evil deeds and strife among people increased, and they saw that they would soon have to disperse throughout the earth.
But, before dispersing, the descendants of Ham, dragging others along with them, decided to build a city and in it tower, like pillar high to the heavens, to be glorified and not to be subject to the descendants of Shem and Japheth, as Noah foretold. They made bricks and set to work.
This proud idea of people was displeasing to God. So that evil would not completely destroy them, the Lord mixed the language of the builders so that they began to speak different languages and stopped understanding each other. Then people were forced to abandon the construction they had begun and disperse over the earth in different sides. The descendants of Japheth went west and settled in Europe. The descendants of Shem remained in Asia, the descendants of Ham went to Africa, but some of them also remained in Asia.
The unfinished city is nicknamed Babylon which means mixing. The whole country where this city was, began to be called the land of Babylon, and also the Chaldean.
The people who settled on the earth gradually began to forget their kinship, and separate, independent peoples or nation, with their customs and language.
The Lord saw that people learn more from each other evil deeds than good ones, and therefore he produced a mixture of languages, and divided people into separate nations and gave each nation a separate task and goal in life.
NOTE: see the Bible in the book. "Genesis": Ch. 11 .
The emergence of idolatry
When people dispersed throughout the earth, they began to forget the invisible true God, the Creator of the world. main reason this was the sins that move people away from God and darken the mind. There were fewer and fewer righteous people, and there was no one to teach people the true faith in God. Then the wrong faith (superstition) began to appear among people. People saw a lot of marvelous and incomprehensible things around them, and instead of God, they began to worship the sun, moon, stars, fire, water and various animals, make images of them, worship them, make sacrifices and build temples or temples for them. temple. Such images of false gods are called idols, or idols, and the peoples who worship them are called idolaters, or pagans. This is how idolatry appeared on earth.
Soon almost all people became pagans. Only in Asia, in the offspring of Shem, was there a righteous man named Abraham who remained faithful to God.
Abraham
Abraham lived in the country of the Chaldees, not far from Babylon. He was a descendant of Shem and, with all his family, retained the true faith in God. He was rich, had many cattle, silver and gold, and many servants; but had no children and grieved over it.
God chose righteous Abraham to preserve the true faith, through his offspring, for all mankind. And in order to protect him and his offspring from his native pagan people (because among native people - pagans it was more likely to learn idolatry), God appeared to Abraham and said: "Come out of your land and from your father's house to the land that I will show you I will make of you a great nation and bless you and exalt you your name. And all the tribes of the earth will be blessed in you", that is, in this people - in its offspring, in time the Savior of the world promised to the first people, Who will bless all the peoples of the earth, will be born.
Abraham was seventy-five years old at the time. He obeyed the Lord, took his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot, and all the property that they had acquired, all his servants, and moved to the land that the Lord showed him. This land was called Canaan and was very fertile. The Canaanites lived there then. It was one of the most wicked peoples. The Canaanites were the descendants of Canaan the son of Hamov. Here the Lord appeared again to Abraham and said: "All the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring." Abraham built an altar and offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
After this, the land of Canaan became known as promised, that is, the promised one, since God promised to give it to Abraham and his offspring. And now it's called Palestine. This land is located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Jordan River flows through its middle.
When the flocks of Abraham and Lot multiplied so much that they became crowded together and incessant disputes began to occur between their shepherds, then they decided to disperse amicably.
Abraham said to Lot: "Let there be no strife between us, since we are relatives. Is not the whole earth before you? Separate yourself from me; if you are to the right, then I am to the left."
Lot chose the Jordanian valley for himself and settled in Sodom. And Abraham remained to live in the land of Canaan and settled near Hebron, near the oak forest of Mamra. There about Mamry oak He pitched his tent and built an altar to the Lord. This oak is from Mamri and still grows in Palestine, near the city of Hebron.
Melchizedek blesses Abraham
Not long after Lot settled in Sodom, the neighboring king of Elam attacked Sodom, sacked the city, and took people and property captive. Lot was among the captives.
Abraham, having learned about this, immediately gathered his servants (318 people), invited neighbors to help, caught up with the enemy, attacked him and recaptured all the booty.
When Abraham returned, he was greeted with triumph. Melchizedek, that was priest of the Most High God And king of Salem brought to Abraham as a gift bread And wine and blessed him.
Nothing is known about Melchizedek - his origin and death. Name Melchizedek Means king of truth: word salem Means world. Melchizedek represented Jesus Christ by himself: just as Melchizedek was both priest and king, so Jesus Christ is the High Priest and King. As about Melchizedek, neither the beginning nor the end of his life is indicated - he, as it were, forever alive- so Christ is the eternal God, King and High Priest; and we call Jesus Christ High Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. And how our Lord Jesus Christ gave us, under the guise of bread and wine, His body and blood, that is, St. communion, so Melchizedek, having represented the Savior, brought bread and wine to Abraham, and, as the elder, blessed Abraham.
Abraham reverently accepted the blessing from Melchizedek and gave him a tenth of his booty.
NOTE: see the Bible, in the book. "Genesis" chapters 12, 14, 15, 16, 17.
The appearance of God to Abraham in the form of three strangers
One day, on a hot day, Abraham was sitting under the shade of an oak, at the entrance of his tent, and he saw: three strangers were standing opposite him. Abraham loved to receive strangers. He immediately got up and ran to meet them, bowed to the ground and began to call them to him to rest under a tree and refresh themselves with food.
Appearance of God (Holy Trinity) to Abraham
The strangers came to him. According to the custom of that time, Abraham washed their feet, served bread, immediately prepared by his wife Sarah, served butter, milk and the best roast calf, and began to treat them. And they ate.
And they said to him, "Where is Sarah; your wife?"
He replied, "Here, in the tent."
And one of them said, "In a year I will be with you again, and Sarah your wife will have a son."
Sarah, standing at the back of the tent door, heard these words. She laughed to herself and thought: how can I have such consolation when I am already old?
But the stranger said: "Why did Sarah laugh? Is there anything difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will be with you and Sarah will have a son."
Sarah was afraid and said, "I did not laugh."
But he told her: "No, you laughed."
Abraham then realized that before him were not simple wanderers, but that God Himself was speaking to him.
Abraham was 99 at the time, and Sarah was 89.
NOTE: see the Bible in the book. "Genesis": Ch. 18, 1-16 .
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Departing from Abraham, God revealed to him that He would destroy the neighboring cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, since they are the most wicked cities on earth. Abraham's nephew, the righteous Lot, lived in Sodom.
Abraham began to beg the Lord to have mercy on these cities if there were fifty righteous people there.
The Lord said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will have mercy on the whole city for their sake."
Abraham asked again: "Maybe fifty righteous people will not get five?"
The Lord said, "I will not destroy if I find forty-five righteous there."
Abraham, however, continued to speak with the Lord and implore Him, decreasing the number of the righteous, until he reached ten; he said: "May the Master not be angry, what shall I say one more time: maybe there will be ten righteous people there?"
God said, "I will not destroy even for the sake of ten." But in these unfortunate cities the inhabitants were so evil and depraved that even ten righteous people were not found there. These wicked even wanted to abuse the two angels who came to save the righteous Lot. They were already ready to break down the door, but the angels struck them with blindness, and brought Lot with his family - with his wife and two daughters - out of the city. They told them to run and not look back, lest they die.
Lot's flight with his family from Sodom
And then the Lord poured a rain of brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed these cities and all the people in them. And he devastated the whole place, so that in the valley where they were, a salt lake was formed, now known by the name Dead Sea in which nothing living can live.
But Lot's wife, when she was running away from the city, looked back at Sodom, and immediately turned into a pillar of salt.
By the fact that Lot's wife looked back at Sodom, she showed that she regretted leaving her sinful life - she looked back, lingered - and immediately turned into a pillar of salt. This is a strict lesson for us: when the Lord saves us from sin, we must run away from it, not look back at it, that is, not linger and not regret it.
Dead Sea today
NOTE: see the Bible in the book. "Genesis": Ch. 18 , 16-33; 19 , 20.
The sacrifice of Isaac
A year after the appearance of God to Abraham in the form of three strangers, the prediction of the Lord was fulfilled: Abraham and Sarah had a son, whom they named Isaac. Abraham was then a hundred years old, and Sarah was ninety. They loved their only son very much.
When Isaac grew up, God wished to exalt the faith of Abraham and teach through him all people to love God and obey the will of God.
God appeared to Abraham and said, "Take your only son, Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and sacrifice him on the mountain that I will show you."
Abraham obeyed. He was very sorry for his only son, whom he loved more than himself. But he loved God most of all and believed Him completely, and knew that God would never wish anything bad. He got up early in the morning, saddled a donkey, took with him his son Isaac and two servants; took the wood and the fire for the burnt offering, and set out on his journey.
On the third day of their journey, they came to the mountain indicated by the Lord. Abraham left the servants and the donkey under the mountain, took fire and a knife, and laid firewood on Isaac and went with him to the mountain.
When they were walking together on the mountain, Isaac asked Abraham: "My father! We have fire and wood, but where is the lamb (lamb) for sacrifice?"
Abraham replied, "The Lord will provide for Himself the lamb." And they both walked on together and came to the top of the mountain, to the place indicated by the Lord. There Abraham built an altar, laid out the wood, tied his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. He had already raised the knife to stab his son. But the angel of the Lord called him from heaven and said: "Abraham, Abraham! Do not raise your hand against the lad and do nothing against him. For now I know that you are afraid of God, because you have not spared your only son for Me."
And Abraham saw a ram not far off, tangled in a bush, and sacrificed it instead of Isaac.
The sacrifice of Isaac
For such faith, love and obedience, God blessed Abraham and promised that he would have as many offspring as the stars in the sky and like sand on the seashore, and that in his offspring all the peoples of the earth would be blessed, that is, from his family the Savior would come peace.
The sacrifice of Isaac was a prototype or prediction to people about the Savior, Who, being the Son of God, would be given by His Father to die on the cross, as a sacrifice for the sins of all people.
Isaac, being a type of the Savior two thousand years before the birth of Christ, pre-depicted, by the will of God, Jesus Christ. He, just like Jesus Christ, resignedly went to the place of sacrifice. Just as Jesus Christ carried the cross on Himself, so Isaac carried the firewood for the sacrifice.
Isaac - a type of the Savior
The mountain on which Abraham sacrificed Isaac was called Mount Moriah. Subsequently, on this mountain was built by King Solomon, at the direction of God, the Temple of Jerusalem.
NOTE: see the Bible, in the book. "Genesis": Ch. 21, 22 .
Marriage of Isaac
Sarah, Abraham's wife, died when she was 127 years old. Abraham himself felt weak in health and decided to marry his son Isaac, but not to a Canaanite woman, but to a girl of his tribe. Isaac was then forty years old.
Abraham called his elder servant Eleazar and said to him: “Swear to me by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but you will go to my homeland, to my tribe, and bring a bride from there. Isaac my son."
Eleazar swore an oath and immediately set off. Then it was the custom for the groom to give gifts to his parents for the bride; the richer the bride was, the richer were the gifts (veno).
Eleazar took with him various expensive things and ten camels for gifts and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Haran, where Nahor, Abraham's brother, lived.
Approaching the city, Eleazar stopped at the well. The day was leaning towards evening, when women usually come to draw water. Eleazar began to pray to God, he said: "Lord, God, my master Abraham, send her meet me today and show mercy to my lord. Behold, I am standing at the spring where the daughters of the townspeople go out to draw water. Let that girl who, at my request, will tilt the jug and give me a drink, say: “Drink, I will give your camels to drink, - will be appointed by You for Isaac.”
Rebekah gives Eleazar a drink
Eleazar did not have time to finish the prayer, when a beautiful-looking girl went down to the well with a jug on her shoulder, scooped up water and went up.
Eleazar ran up to her and said, "Give me some water to drink from your pitcher."
The maiden said: "Drink, my lord." And straightway she lowered the pitcher from her shoulder into her hand, and gave him drink.
When Eleazar got drunk, the maiden said: "I will also draw for the camels until everyone is drunk." She immediately poured water from her pitcher into a trough, and ran again to the well to draw water, and drew water for all his camels.
Eleazar looked at her with astonishment and silence.
When the camels stopped drinking, Eleazar took gold earring and two wrists on his hands and gave her, and asked her: "Whose daughter are you? tell me, is there a place to sleep in your father's house?"
This girl's name was Rebekah, she replied: "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor. We have plenty of straw and feed and a place to sleep."
Eleazar knelt down and thanked God that He had heard his prayer.
Rebekah ran to her house and told her mother and all the household about everything.
Eleazar distributes gifts
Rebekah had a brother Laban, he immediately ran to the source and said to Eleazar: "Come in, blessed of the Lord. Why are you standing here? I have prepared a house and a place for the camels."
Eleazar entered the house. Laban unsaddled the camels and gave them straw and fodder. Immediately they brought water to wash the feet of Eleazar and the people who were with him, and offered them food.
But Eleazar said, "I am Abraham's servant. I will not eat until I have told my deeds." And Eleazar told in detail why he had come and how, through his prayer, the Lord had given a sign about Rebekah. When he had told everything, he asked: "Now tell me, do you intend to show mercy and justice to my master or not?"
Laban and Bethuel answered: "This matter has come from the Lord, and we cannot rebuke you. Here is Rebekah before you: take her and go; let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord said."
Father blesses Rebekah on her way to Isaac
When Eleazar heard these words of theirs, he thankfully bowed to the Lord to the ground. Then he took out gold and silver things and clothes and gave them to the bride, her brother and her mother.
Isaac meets Rebekah
The next day, Eleazar asked to be allowed to go home. But Rebekah's brother and mother began to persuade him to stay at least for ten days.
But Eleazar answered, "Do not hold me back, for the Lord has made my way well."
Isaac introduces Rebekah to his father Abraham
Then the parents called Rebekah and asked her: "Will you go with this man?" Rebekah said, "I'll go." Then her parents blessed her and let her go.
When Eleazar with Rebekah and companions rode up on camels to the tents of Abraham, Isaac met them.
And Rebekah became the wife of Isaac. Love for Rebekah comforted Isaac in grief over the death of his mother, Sarah.
NOTE: See the Bible, in the book. "Genesis": Ch. 23 And 24 .
The marriage of Isaac is a great example for all generations. How often young people are mistaken in the most important issue of their lives - when entering into marriage. Some seek wealth, others seek bodily beauty, others seek nobility, etc., and only a few seek reason And meek good heart, i.e., inner, spiritual beauty. The first qualities are temporary and transient, and the second inner beauty, is constant and does not depend on changes in external circumstances.
The wrong attitude towards marriage comes from the fact that people want to arrange their own happiness, without God, according to their own egoistic whims.
Christian youths and maidens who wish to marry should earnestly pray to the Lord the Knower of the Heart that He Himself, according to His will, arrange their marriage and bless them with His grace, for without the blessing of God, no one can arrange their happiness, good order in married life and true Christian family.
A good Christian family is the protection of pure morals, the soil for planting goodness in humanity, the instrument and means for spreading and establishing on earth the holy Church of Christ.
The family is also the basis of the state, as Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, says well about this: "in the family lie the seeds of everything that then opens up and grows in the great family, which is called the state."
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Secular history provides a wealth of evidence that the people who survived Noah's Flood were real historical characters, and their names are indelibly imprinted on many events and things. ancient world. When Noah and his family left the Ark, they were the only people on earth. It was the three sons of Noah - Shem, Ham, Japheth and their wives who were to repopulate the earth through their descendants after the Flood.
Genesis 10 speaks of 16 grandchildren of Noah. God left us enough evidence that these grandchildren of Noah actually lived, that their biblical names are their real names, and that ( Genesis 11) their descendants spread over the earth and gave rise to different nations ancient world. The first generations of people after the Flood lived long lives, some of them outliving their children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. This made them stand out.
They were the heads of tribal clans that grew and became in their respective regions. large groups population. This is what happened:
- People in different areas were called by the name of their common ancestor.
- They called their land after him, and often big cities and rivers.
- Sometimes people slipped into the cult of ancestor worship. And when this happened, it was natural for them to call their god by the name of a common ancestor. Or they revered their long-living ancestor as a god.
All this means that the evidence of history has been preserved in such a way that that they are simply impossible to lose and human ingenuity cannot simply be erased. Let's take a closer look at this evidence.
Seven sons of Japheth
Genesis 10:1-2 says:
“This is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth. After the flood, their children were born. Sons of Japheth: Homer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Firas. Sons of Homer: Askenaz, Rifat and Togarma"
Noah's first grandson mentioned in Scripture was Homer. He was the progenitor of the Cimmerians, who originally settled on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Ezekiel wrote that the descendants of Homer, as well as the descendants of Togarma (son of Homer), lived in northern limits (Ezek. 38:6). There is an area in present-day Turkey that in New Testament times was called Galatia. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that the people who in his time (AD 93) were called Galatians or Gauls were formerly called Gomerites.
They moved west to what is now called France and Spain. For many centuries, France was called Gaul, after the descendants of Homer. Northwestern Spain is still called Galicia to this day.
Some of the Gomerites moved further into the area now called Wales. The historian Davies reports a traditional Welsh belief that the descendants of Homer "arrived in the land of the British Isle from France, about 300 years after the Flood". He also writes that the Welsh language is called Gomerag (after their ancestor Homer).
Other members of the clans settled in the areas along the path of settlement, including Armenia. The sons of Homer were "Askenaz, and Rifat, and Togarma"(Genesis 10:3). british encyclopedia says that the Armenians traditionally consider themselves descendants of Togarma and Askenaz.
The boundaries of ancient Armenia extended to the territory Turkey. The name of Turkey probably comes from the name of Togarm. Others have moved to Germany. Ashkenaz is the name of Germany in Hebrew.
Picture 1. Ruins in Turkey. There is evidence that the name of the country was formed from a descendant of Noah named Togarma (see text).
The next grandson that Scripture mentions is Magog. According to Ezekiel, the descendants of Magog lived in northern lands(Ezekiel 38:15, 39:2). Josephus writes that those whom he calls the Magogites, the Greeks called the Scythians. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the ancient name for the area, which today includes part Romania And Ukraine, was Scythia.
Javan- Hebrew name Greece. The names Greece, Grecia, or Greeks occur five times in the Old Testament, and always in the form of a Hebrew word. Javan (Javan). Daniel speaks of "king of Greece" (Daniel 8:21), which literally means "king of Javan". The sons of Javan were called: Elisha, Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim(Genesis 10:4). All of them had family ties with the Greek people. The Aeolians (ancient Greek people) got their name from the name of Japheth's grandson Elis. Tarshish or Tarsus was located in an area called Cilicia (modern Türkiye).
IN Encyclopædia Britannica Kittim is said to be a biblical name Cyprus. The Greeks worshiped Jupiter under the name Jupiter Dodeneus, who got his name from the fourth son of Javan (Dodadim). The name Jupiter comes from the name Japheth. His oracle was in the city of Dodona.
The next grandson Tubal. Ezekiel mentions him along with Gog and Meshech ( Ezekiel 39:1). Tiglath-palasar I, king of Assyria, ruling around 1100 BC, names the descendants of this grandson as Tabali. Flavius Josephus called them the Tobelites, who later became known as the Iberians.
“During the time of Josephus Flavius, the Romans called this territory Iberia. Iberia was where it is today Georgia, whose capital to this day bears the name of Tubal - Tbilisi. From here, passing through Caucasian mountains, the people moved further to the northeast, naming the Tobol River after their tribe, and hence the name of the famous city Tobolsk»
Meshech- the name of the next grandson of Noah, is the ancient name of the city of Moscow. Moscow is both the capital of Russia and the region that surrounds this city. One of the geographic regions, the Meshchera lowland, is called by the name of Meshekha to this day, having practically not changed over the centuries.
According to Josephus, the descendants Firas called tyrians. The Greeks changed their name and they became known as the Thracians. Thrace stretched from Macedonia in the south and to the Danube River in the north and to the Black Sea in the east. To this area belonged the territory known to us Yugoslavia. The World Encyclopedia says: "The people of Thrace were cruel Indo-Europeans who loved to fight and loot". The descendants of Firas worshiped him under the name of Turas, that is, Thor - the god of thunder.
Four sons of Ham
The four sons of Ham follow: Cush, Mizraim, Fut and Canaan (Genesis 10:6). The descendants of Ham mainly inhabited the southwestern part of Asia and Africa. The Bible often refers to Africa as the land of Ham ( Ps 104:23, 27; 105:22).
Name of Noah's grandson Husha is a Hebrew word for ancient Ethiopia. The word Ethiopia in the Bible is always, without exception, a translation of the Hebrew word Khush. Josephus, who calls them Chus, wrote that “Even today, the Ethiopians themselves call themselves Husseins (Husses), as they are called by the inhabitants of Asia”.
Noah's next grandson - Mizraim. Mizraim is the Hebrew name Egypt. The name Egypt occurs hundreds of times in the Old Testament and (with the exception of one time) is always a translation of the word Mizraim. For example, at the burial place of Jacob, the Canaanites saw the weeping of the Egyptians and named this place Abel Mizraim, which means the cry of the Egyptians ( Genesis 50:11).
The stories of the great empires of the past: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and Persia are strongly associated with biblical characters that are directly related to the sons of Noah. The origin of most tribes and peoples can be traced back to the sons of Noah - and this is easy to verify by examining their family tree.
Foot- the name of the next grandson is a Hebrew name Libya. This ancient name occurs three times in the Old Testament. The ancient river Foot was in Libya. By the time Daniel lived, the name had been changed to Libya. Josephus Flavius says: "Foot populated Libya and called the inhabitants of the country Futians".
Canaan- the next grandson of Noah - the Hebrew name for the territory, which was later named by the Romans Palestine, i.e. modern territory Israel and Jordan. It is worth saying a few words about the descendants of Ham ( Genesis 10:14-18). They were: the Philistines, who is undoubtedly the ancestor of the Philistines (from whom the name of Palestine is derived), Sidon, the founder ancient city, named after him, and Hitt - the founder of the ancient Hittite empire.
Canaan is also mentioned in Genesis 10:15-18 as the progenitor of the Jebusites (Jewus is the ancient name of Jerusalem - Judges 19:10), Amorites, Gergeses, Eveev, Arkeev, Sinev, Arvadeev, Tsemareev and Himafites - the ancient peoples who inhabited the land of Canaan. The most famous descendant of Ham was Nimrod, the founder of Babylon, as well as Erech, Akkad and Halne in the land of Shinar (Babylonia).
Five sons of Shem
And finally, the sons of Shem: Elam, Assur, Arfaxad, Lud and Aram(Genesis 10:22). Elam is an ancient name Persia, which is itself an ancient name Iran. Until the reign of King Cyrus, the people who lived here were called Elamites, they are even mentioned several times under this name in the New Testament. In the book Acts 2:9 The Jews from Persia who were present on the Day of Pentecost are referred to as the Elamites. Thus, the Persians are descendants of both Elam, the son of Shem, and Madai, the son of Japheth (see above).
Since the 1930s, they have called their land Iran. It is very interesting to note that the word "Aryan", which so fascinated Adolf Hitler, is a form of the word "Iran". Hitler wanted to create a pure Aryan "race consisting of superhumans. But the very term "Aryan" denotes a mixed lineage of Semites and Japhetites!
Assur is the Hebrew word for Assyria. Assyria was one of the great ancient empires. Whenever the words Assyria or Assyrian appear in the Old Testament, they are translated from the word Asshur. Assur was one of the first people to be deified and worshiped by his own descendants.
“Throughout the existence of Assyria, i.e. until 612 BC, reports of battles, diplomatic and foreign relations were read aloud, referring to the image of Assur; all the Assyrian kings believed that they wear their crown only with the divine permission of the spirit of Assur"
Figure 2. A huge carved statue of the great Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II.
Aram- Hebrew name Syria. Every time the word Syria occurs in the Old Testament, know that this word is translated from the word Aram. The Syrians call themselves Arameans, and their language is called Aramaic. Until the expansion of the Greek Empire, Aramaic was the international language ( 2 Kings 18:26ff). As Jesus hung nailed to the cross and spoke the words: "Eloi, Eloi, lama savakhfani" (Mark 15:34), He spoke Aramaic, the language of the bulk of the people.
Conclusion
We have only briefly talked about the 16 grandchildren of Noah, but what has been said is enough to show that all these people really lived, that they were exactly what the Bible calls them, and that they and their descendants are real recognizable characters on the pages stories. The Bible is not only not a collection of myths and legends, but is the only key to the history of the most early eras our world.
Links:
5. Flood. Life after the flood. Babel.
From the children of Adam and Eve, the human race quickly multiplied, people at that time lived a long time, up to 900 years or more.
From Seth came pious and good people - "sons of God", and from Cain wicked and evil - "sons of men". At first, the descendants of Seth lived separately from the descendants of Cain, they kept faith in God and the future Savior. But later they began to take daughters from the descendants of Cain as their wives and began to adopt bad customs from them, to become corrupt and forget the true God. After a long time, wickedness between people reached the point that of all the people on earth, only one descendant of Seth remained faithful to God - the righteous Noah with his family.
Seeing the great corruption of people, the merciful Lord gave them one hundred and twenty years for repentance and correction. But people not only did not improve, but became even worse. Then the Lord determined to wash (cleanse) the earth with water from the wicked human race, and to keep the righteous Noah on earth, for the further reproduction of people. God appeared to Noah and said: “The end has come to every creature, for the earth has been filled with wickedness because of them; and I will destroy them from the face of the earth. I will bring a flood of water on the earth to destroy everything that is on the earth.” He ordered Noah to build an ark, that is, a large rectangular vessel like a house, in which his family and animals could fit, and gave him exact dimensions and instructions for this. Noah accepted God's command with faith and began to build the ark.
When the ark was ready, at the command of God, Noah entered it with his wife, three sons, and their wives. He also took with him all the animals and birds that cannot live in water, clean (that is, which can be sacrificed) - seven pairs, and unclean - one pair, in order to preserve their tribe for the whole earth. I also took a supply of food for everyone for the whole year.
On that day, when Noah entered the ark, the waters of the flood gushed down on the earth - “all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened”, that is, there was a great flood from the seas and oceans, and from heaven it rained on the earth for forty days and forty nights. And the waters rose on the earth above the highest mountains, growing strong for a hundred and fifty days, and drowned all men and animals, so that no one could be saved, except those who were in the ark.
After one hundred and fifty days, the water began to gradually decrease. In the seventh month, the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains appeared. By the end of the year, the water entered its containers. Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven to see if the water had receded from the ground, but the raven flew away and flew back to the roof of the ark. Then Noah released a dove, which, having flown away, could not find a place to live, because the water was still on the surface of the whole earth, and returned back to the ark. After waiting seven days, Noah again released the dove from the ark. This time the dove returned in the evening, carrying a fresh olive leaf in its beak. And Noah realized that the water had come down from the earth and greenery appeared on it again. After waiting another seven days, Noah sent out the dove again, and it did not return to him. And Noah opened the roof of the ark and saw that the ground had already dried up. Then, at the command of God, Noah left the ark with all his family and released all the animals that were with him.
And Noah built an altar, that is, a place for offering sacrifices, and offered for his salvation a thankful sacrifice to God from all clean animals and birds. God graciously accepted Noah's sacrifice, blessed him and his sons, and promised that there would never again be such a flood to destroy all life on earth for the sins of people, that is, there would never be a global flood. As a sign of this promise, the Lord pointed to a rainbow in the clouds, which since then has served as an eternal reminder to people of this God's promise.
The sons of Noah who went out with him from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Noah began to cultivate the land and planted a vineyard. When the grape juice became wine and Noah drank it, he became drunk, because he did not yet know the power of wine, and having opened himself, he lay naked in his tent. His son Ham saw this and treated his father disrespectfully - he went and told his brothers about it. Shem and Japheth took clothes, went up to their father so as not to see his nakedness, and covered him. When Noah woke up and learned about the act of his younger son Ham, he condemned and cursed him, in the person of his son Canaan, and said that his descendants would be in slavery to the descendants of his brothers. And Shem and Japheth he blessed and predicted that the true faith would be preserved in the offspring of Shem, and the descendants of Japheth would spread over the earth and accept the true faith from the descendants of Shem. Noah lived 950 years, he was the last to reach such a deep old age. After him, human strength began to decline, and people lived only up to 400 years. But even with such a still long life, people multiplied rapidly.
Everything that Noah predicted to his sons came true exactly. The descendants of Shem are called Simites, they include, first of all, the Jewish people, in which alone faith in the true God was preserved. The descendants of Japheth are called Japhetites, they include the peoples inhabiting Europe, who accepted from the Jews faith in the true God. The descendants of Ham are called Hamites, they include the Canaanite tribes that originally inhabited Palestine, many peoples of Africa and other countries. The Hamites have always been subordinate to other peoples, and some of them remain savages to this day.
The resettlement of people across the face of the planet began with their new fall into sin. The Lord after the Flood blessed Noah and his sons to be fruitful and fill the earth. But their descendants, coming from the east to Mesopotamia, to the plain of Shinar, refused to fulfill this blessing. In order to avoid scattering over the face of the earth, they decided against the will of God to build a huge city and in it a giant tower (pillar) up to heaven. By this they were going to "make a name for themselves", i.e. challenge the Lord and create a monument to their own pride.
The construction of a metropolis city and a tower to heaven was the first attempt of mankind to create a single world atheistic empire, to establish a "new world order" without God. This universal unity without the Lord has become the opposite of that unity of people in the Church of Christ, that unity in God to which all mankind is called.
At that time, all people spoke the same language and one dialect. The Lord, wanting to stop the rebellion, confused their language so that they could no longer understand each other's speech. The construction of the city and the pillar (tower) could no longer continue after that. And God scattered the people from there over all the earth. The city has since received the name Babylon ("mixing").
This division of peoples and languages was overcome by the Lord on the day of the New Testament Pentecost - the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles of Christ. Since that time, all people have been given the opportunity to find a new unity with God and with each other in the womb Orthodox Church. And this unity in the Holy Spirit is no longer affected by differences in nationalities, languages, cultures, genders, ages, etc.
The Lord has ordained a special fate for each of the peoples, a special role in the history of the salvation of mankind. Each of them was assigned a special guardian angel. Among all human tribes, God has placed a special ministry on those peoples who have remained faithful to Him. This service consisted in preparing the world for the coming of the Savior to earth, i.e. to the Incarnation. And the descendants of righteous Abraham were destined to play a key role here.
NOTE: See Gen. 4-11, 1-9.
