Noah’s Prayer Against Demons

 This excerpt is from the Book of Jubilees, a second-century BCE Jewish work. Though this book was never considered canonical, some have called it “Little Genesis” because it retells many of the stories from Genesis, including interpretive commentary and additional details. The value of Jubilees is the insight into the ancient traditions the book preserves, giving us a window into certain Jewish beliefs before the New Testament was written. The following passage, which describes Noah interceding for his children, is remarkable because it contains several terms related to the unseen spiritual realm. In this single text, the author mentions demons, evil spirits, the watchers, the chief of spirits called Mastema, and Satan. How they are all related is unclear at times, but this extraordinary passage shows how ancient Jews perceived the world beyond our own earthly realm. 

1 In the third week of that jubilee the polluted demons began to lead astray the children of Noah’s sons and to lead them to folly and to destroy them. 2 And the sons of Noah came to Noah, their father, and they told him about the demons who were leading astray and blinding and killing his grandchildren. 3 And he prayed before the LORD his God and he said, “God of the spirits which are in all flesh, who has acted mercifully with me and saved me and my sons from the water of the Flood and did not let me perish as you did the children of perdition, because Great was your grace upon me, and great was your mercy upon my soul. Let your grace be lifted up upon my sons, and do not let the evil spirits rule over them, lest they destroy them from the earth. But bless me and my sons. And let us grow and increase and fill the earth. 5 And you know that which your Watchers (עִירִין; irin / Greek: ἐγρήγοροι; egregoroi), the fathers of these spirits, did in my days and also these spirits who are alive. Shut them up and take them to the place of judgment. And do not let them cause corruption among the sons of your servant, O my God, because they are cruel and were created to destroy. 6 And let them not rule over the spirits of the living because you alone know their judgment, and do not let them have power over the children of the righteous henceforth and forever.”

7 And the LORD our God spoke to us so that we might bind all of them. 8 And the chief of the spirits, Mastema (מַשְׂטֵמָה, mastemah, Hebrew for “hostility” or “persecution”), came and he said, “O Lord, Creator, leave some of them before me, and let them obey my voice. And let them do everything which I tell them, because if some of them are not left for me, I will not be able to exercise the authority of my will among the children of men because they are (intended) to corrupt and lead astray before my judgment because the evil of the sons of men is great.” 9 And he said, “Let a tenth of them remain before him, but let nine parts go down into the place of judgment.”

10 And he told one of us to teach Noah all of their healing because he knew that they would not walk uprightly and would not strive righteously. 11 And we acted in accord with all of his words. All of the evil ones, who were cruel, we bound in the place of judgment, but a tenth of them we let remain so that they might be subject to Satan (שָּׂטָן, satan: Hebrew for “accuser” or “adversary” / Greek: διάβολος; diabolos) upon the earth. 12 And the healing of all their illnesses together with their seductions we told Noah so that he might heal by means of herbs of the earth. 13 And Noah wrote everything in a book just as we taught him according to every kind of healing. And the evil spirits were restrained from following the sons of Noah. 14 And he gave everything which he wrote to Shem, his oldest son, because he loved him much more than all of his sons. (Jubilees 10:1-14, c. 2nd century BCE, Charlesworth translation)

tobit 14 end of book

Parting Advice.1So the words of Tobit’s hymn of praise came to an end. Tobit died in peace at the age of a hundred and twelve and was buried with honor in Nineveh.2He was fifty-eight years old when he lost his eyesight, and after he recovered it he lived in prosperity, giving alms; he continued to fear God and give thanks to the divine Majesty.

3As he was dying, he summoned his son Tobiah and Tobiah’s seven sons, and commanded him, “Son, take your children^a4and flee into Media, for I believe God’s word that Nahum^* spoke against Nineveh. It will all happen and will overtake Assyria and Nineveh; indeed all that was said by Israel’s prophets whom God sent will come to pass. Not one of all their words will remain unfulfilled, but everything will take place in the time appointed for it. So it will be safer in Media than in Assyria or Babylon. For I know and believe that whatever God has said will be accomplished. It will happen, and not a single word of the prophecies will fail.

As for our kindred who dwell in the land of Israel, they will all be scattered and taken into captivity from the good land. All the land of Israel will become a wilderness; even Samaria and Jerusalem will be a wilderness! For a time, the house of God will be desolate and will be burned.^b5But God will again have mercy on them and bring them back to the land of Israel. They will build the house again, but it will not be like the first until the era when the appointed times will be completed.^* Afterward all of them will return from their captivity, and they will rebuild Jerusalem with due honor. In it the house of God will also be rebuilt, just as the prophets of Israel said of it.^c6^d All the nations of the world will turn and reverence God in truth; all will cast away their idols, which have deceitfully led them into error.^*7They will bless the God of the ages in righteousness. All the Israelites truly mindful of God, who are to be saved in those days, will be gathered together and will come to Jerusalem; in security will they dwell forever in the land of Abraham, which will be given to them. Those who love God sincerely will rejoice, but those who commit sin and wickedness will disappear completely from the land.^e

8"Now, my children, follow my instructions. Worship God sincerely and do what is pleasing to him. 9 you must instruct your children to do what is right and to give alms, to be mindful of God and at all times to bless his name sincerely and with all their strength. Now, as for you, son, leave Nineveh; do not stay here.10The day you bury your mother next to me, do not even stay overnight within the confines of the city. For I see that there is much wickedness in it, and much treachery is practiced in it, and people are not ashamed. See, my son, all that Nadin^* did to Ahiqar, the very one who reared him. Was not Ahiqar brought down alive into the earth? Yet God made Nadin’s disgraceful crime rebound against him. Ahiqar came out again into the light, but Nadin went into the everlasting darkness, for he had tried to kill Ahiqar. Because Ahiqar had given alms he escaped from the deadly trap Nadin had set for him. But Nadin fell into the deadly trap himself, and it destroyed him.^f11So, my children, see what almsgiving does, and also what wickedness does—it kills! But now my spirit is about to leave me.”

Death of Tobit and Tobiah. They laid him on his bed, and he died; and he was buried with honor.12When Tobiah’s mother died, he buried her next to his father. He then departed with his wife and children for Media, where he settled in Ecbatana with his father-in-law Raguel.^g13He took respectful care of his aging father-in-law and mother-in-law; and he buried them at Ecbatana in Media. Then he inherited Raguel’s estate as well as that of his father Tobit.14He died highly respected at the age of one hundred seventeen.15But before he died, he saw and heard of the destruction of Nineveh. He saw the inhabitants of the city being led captive into Media by Cyaxares,^* the king of Media. Tobiah blessed God for all that he had done against the Ninevites and Assyrians. Before dying he rejoiced over Nineveh, and he blessed the Lord God forever and ever.

* [14:4–5] Nahum: one of the minor prophets, whose book contains oracles of doom against Nineveh. Here, in keeping with the period in which the story is set, the author makes Tobit speak as if the punishment of Nineveh, the destruction of Jerusalem (587 B.C.), the exile from Judah and the return, would all take place in the future. The technique of using the facts of past history as seemingly future predictions is a frequent device of apocalyptic writers. The good land: a favorite name for the promised land. Cf. Dt 1:35; 3:25; 4:21–22.

* [14:5] Until the era…completed: a reference to the coming of the day of the Lord, when a new, more perfect temple was to be expected. Cf. Heb 9:1–14.

* [14:6] Conversion of the nations is also to come with the day of the Lord.

* [14:10] Nadin: in the Story of Ahiqar, the hero Ahiqar, chancellor under the Assyrian kings Sennacherib and Esarhaddon, adopts his nephew Nadin and prepares him to become his successor. But Nadin treacherously plots to have his uncle put to death. Ahiqar hides in a friend’s house and is finally vindicated when Nadin’s scheme is discovered. Thereupon Nadin is thrown into a dungeon where he dies. It was Ahiqar’s almsgiving that delivered him from death; see note on 2:2. The Greek and Latin versions of the Book of Tobit read the name as Nadab, but the Aramaic form has the ancient name Nadin, which is also found in the fifth-century B.C. Aramaic Story of Ahiqar.

* [14:15] Cyaxares: Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, and Cyaxares conquered and destroyed Nineveh in 612 B.C.; see note on 1:15.

a. [14:3] Gn 47:29–30.

b. [14:4] Na 2:2–3:19.

c. [14:5] Neh 12:27; Jer 31:38.

d. [14:6] Is 60:1–4.

e. [14:7] Is 60:21; Jer 32:37; Ez 34:28; 37:25; 39:26.

f. [14:10] Tb 1:21–22.

g. [14:12] Tb 4:4.