1 And in the thirty-fifth Yoḇĕl, in the third week, in the first year, Re’u took a wife, and her name was Ora, the daughter of Ur, the son of Keseḏ. And she bore him a son, in the seventh year of this week in this Yoḇĕl, and he called his name Seroḥ.
2 And the sons of Noaḥ began to fight with each other, to capture and to slay each other, and to shed the blood of men on the earth, and to eat blood, and to build strong cities, and walls, and towers. And some exalted themselves above the nation, and established the beginnings of reigns, and went to battle; people against people, and nation against nation, and city against city. And all did evil, and acquired weapons, and taught their sons battle, and they began to capture cities, and to sell male and female slaves.
3 And Ur, the son of Keseḏ, built the city of Ara of the Kasdim, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father.
4 And they made for themselves moulded images, and they each worshipped the idol, the moulded image which they had made for themselves, and they began to make carved images and unclean likenesses, and evil spirits assisted and seduced them into committing transgression and uncleanness.
5 And the prince Mastĕma exerted himself to do all this, and he sent out other spirits, those which were put under his hand, to do all kinds of evil and sin, and all kinds of transgression, to corrupt and destroy, and to shed blood on the earth.
6 For this reason he called the name of Seroḥ, Seruḡ, for everyone turned to do all kinds of sin and transgression.
7 And he grew up, and dwelt in Ur-Kasdim, near to the father of his wife’s mother, and he worshipped idols, and he took a wife in the thirty-sixth Yoḇĕl, in the fifth week, in the first year, and her name was Melka, the daughter of Kaḇĕr, the daughter of his father’s brother.
8 And she bore him Naḥor, in the first year of this week, and he grew and dwelt in Ur-Kasdim, and his father taught him the researches of the Kasdim to divine and foretell, according to the signs of the shamayim.
9 And in the thirty-seventh Yoḇĕl, in the sixth week, in the first year, he took a wife, and her name was Iyaska, the daughter of Nestaḡ of the Kasdim.
10 And she bore him Teraḥ in the seventh year of this week.
11 And the prince Mastĕma sent ravens and birds to devour the seed which was sown in the land, in order to destroy the land, and rob the children of men of their labours. Before they could plough in the seed, the ravens pecked it from the surface of the ground.
12 And for this reason he called his name Teraḥ, because the ravens and the birds reduced them to destitution and devoured their seed.
13 And the years began to be barren, because of the birds, and they devoured all the fruit of the trees from the trees. It was only with great effort that they could save a little of all the fruit of the earth in their days.
14 And in this thirty-ninth Yoḇĕl, in the second week in the first year, Teraḥ took a wife, and her name was Eḏna, the daughter of Aḇram the daughter of his father’s sister.
15 And in the seventh year of this week she bore him a son, and he called his name Aḇram, by the name of the father of his mother; for he had died before his daughter had conceived a son.
16 And the child began to understand the strayings of the earth, that all went astray after carved images and after uncleanness. And his father taught him writing, and he was fourteen years old, and he separated himself from his father that he might not worship idols with him.
17 And he began to pray to the Creator of all matters that He might save him from the strayings of the children of men, and that his portion should not fall into straying after uncleanness and wickedness.
18 And the seedtime came for the sowing of seed on the land, and they all went out together to protect their seed against the ravens, and Aḇram went out with those that went, and the child was a lad of fourteen years.
19 And a cloud of ravens came to devour the seed, and Aḇram ran to meet them before they settled on the ground, and cried to them before they settled on the ground to devour the seed, and said, “Do not descend! Return to the place where you came.” And they proceeded to turn back.
20 And he caused the clouds of ravens to turn back that day seventy times, and of all the ravens throughout all the land where Aḇram was, not so much as one settled there.
21 And all who were with him throughout all the land saw him cry out, and all the ravens turn back, and his name became great in all the land of the Kasdim.
22 And there came to him this year all those that wished to sow, and he went with them until the time of sowing ceased. And they sowed their land, and that year they brought enough grain home and ate and were satisfied.
23 And in the first year of the fifth week, Aḇram taught those who made implements for oxen – the craftsmen in wood – and they made a vessel above the ground, facing the frame of the plough, in order to put the seed on, and the seed fell down from there upon the share of the plough, and was hidden in the earth, and they no longer feared the ravens.
24 And in this way they made vessels above the ground on all the frames of the ploughs, and they sowed and tilled all the land accordingly, as Aḇram commanded them, and they no longer feared the birds.