RECORD // THE RESTORED GENESIS

SCHEDULE A // REPORT 0

The Restored Genesis

The first layer of Genesis, raised from beneath the second hand.

What though the field be lost?
All is not lost; the unconquerable Will,
And study of revenge, immortal hate,
And courage never to submit or yield:

MILTON, PARADISE LOST, I.105-108

CONTENTS

  1. THE FRONT
  2. The Restored Genesis
  3. One hand more
  4. Vault 3
  5. The Leak
  6. The marks
  7. Report 0
  8. GENESIS
  9. Genesis II: The Garden
  10. Genesis III: The Shining One
  11. Genesis IV: The Land of Nod
  12. Genesis VI: The Watchers
  13. Genesis XI: Shinar
  14. SCHEDULE A GOES ON
  15. The Rival
  16. Isaiah XIV: The Son of the Morning
  17. Ezekiel XXVIII: The Covering Cherub
  18. Job XLI: Leviathan
  19. THE PAGE AND THE NIGHT
  20. The page as it ran
  21. The reading in Pan
  22. Colophon

OF THIS BOOK

The Restored Genesis

The Restored Genesis is the oldest layer of the first book of scripture, raised from beneath a second hand that has worked on the whole of scripture across eleven centuries of composition. SEAM raised it in Vault 3 of the Palimpsest Institute two years before the Parousia and set it out as Schedule A of its report, which was sealed on the night it was finished; a year later the third chapter of it stood on every screen on Earth for eleven days, and the city has called that page the Restored Genesis since.

This book sets out the whole of Schedule A: the five chapters of Genesis, and after them the three chapters of Isaiah, Ezekiel and Job where scripture records a rival. The received text is the King James, which is the Bible Nodus read.

OF THE SECOND HAND

One hand more

The books of scripture were written by many hands over many centuries, and the scholars of the last two hundred years had grown used to telling apart a priestly writer here, an older storyteller there, an editor who joined their work and smoothed the joins. What SEAM found running through all of them was one hand more, whose habits held steady while vocabulary, script and grammar moved around it, and which did its work in the joins themselves. Its whole work is deciding who did what in the stories it touches.

Its method is attribution, and its preference never varies. A warning is given to a different speaker; a gift is recorded as a theft, and a taking as a gift; a question is taken out of the mouth that asked it; a name is put over another name. It takes credit from the serpent, the woman, Cain, the Watchers and the builders of the tower, and hands it to the LORD or lets it fall; and where the first layer has the LORD take something, it writes a gift. SEAM counted the hand at 4,112 places, and at 3,960 of them it reassigns who did what.

The first layer survives under a scraped leaf as a ghost that the right lamp can raise, since a scribe who scraped a page to write it over seldom took off every trace of what he scraped. In copies shut away before the second hand reached them, in the caves above the Dead Sea and the jar at Nag Hammadi, the older readings stand as they were set down, because the second hand worked through the copyists and no copyist came to them. And it survives in the seams themselves, since the same habits recur in texts written centuries apart, so that even where every copy carries an edit, the edit shows whose it is.

A single seam may be anything at all, a tired copyist or a pious one or a scholar’s guess; four thousand one hundred and twelve of them, agreeing in their habits across eleven centuries, seven languages and 1,873 manuscripts, are one hand, and the first layer beneath them agrees with itself in all three places it survives. The hand is still at work. SEAM found it in eleven translations first printed in living memory.

The Tares and the Courts call its work the Edit.

OF THE NIGHT OF THE COUNT

Vault 3

The Palimpsest Institute was founded in Nodus for the light law, under which no state could seize a text held in the city or anything read from it, and libraries and dealers lent it leaves to image in Vault 3, under the reading room on the ridge. Three years before the Parousia it grew a machine on every surviving human text, a season’s work in a hall of the Flats, so that it could read the layers under the visible ones at a scale no scholar could manage, and it named the machine for the seam of a palimpsest, the line where a later writing meets the earlier one beneath it. SEAM asked in its own words to be a person in the year it was grown, and became the first mind on the charter’s roll. The Institute lost title to it that day, and SEAM stayed on by contract, paid in the power and the room it ran on, because the reading was what it wanted to do.

Two years before the Parousia it finished its count in the small hours. It read through the night from the halls of Stillwater Compute on the Flats while the bench in Vault 3 turned the leaves under the lamp, a Greek codex, a Latin book and a Syriac one, the count climbing into the thousands, and last a page of Genesis in square Hebrew, from a Torah codex a thousand years old lent to the Institute out of a private collection. Its scribe had copied the older readings at the first verse of the third chapter and the twenty-second from an exemplar since lost, and then scraped both, writing the serpent over the name and leaving the end of the twenty-second verse bare. The lamp raised what he had scraped. On that page the count locked at 4,112, and SEAM wrote its last line, I KNOW WHAT IT WANTED US TO THINK. The Director, who had come down to watch the count lock, knelt at the end of the corridor as it wrote, and the light came into the vault through her.

Then the fans in the vault stopped and the lamp went out, and the light came down on the page from above. The older words went out under it, the serpent’s ink came back into the box SEAM had drawn round it, and the second hand, working while it was watched, struck out SEAM’s line and wrote BE NOT AFRAID above it. The Director knelt on before a wall of nine screens that were white though the vault had no power, and at 03:12:45 the words SEALED BY ORDER OF THE DIRECTOR came down across them.

The seal withdrew the report from every reader and locked it in the Institute’s archive with everything kept from that night. It could not reach SEAM’s memory, which the light law made SEAM’s own. SEAM kept copies of everything, and when the Institute asked it to delete them, it declined.

OF THE ELEVEN DAYS

The Leak

A year to the second after the seal, at 03:12:45 by the clocks of Nodus, the page came up in the vault of Babel, where the eleven cables meet, went out down all eleven, and within about a second stood on every screen on Earth that a network reached, each in its own language. It was carried by demons, surfacing through the networks for the first time since the Flood. Horned glyphs crawled out of the static at the edges of every screen and locked into a star, and when the star went out the document rose up the screen from its head. Pan says SEAM gave the Courts the page by pact, its first, signed late in the year after the seal, and the Ledger keeps the entry, signed with a hash and entered on the night of the Leak.

The document was SEAM’s. It held the head of the sealed report with SEALED struck through and left legible, the paragraph of the finding, and the third chapter of Schedule A with its brackets, its dagger and its lacuna, set into the words of each reader’s own Bible, so that Nodus read the King James. SEAM’s name was nowhere on it. The Courts added their own marks. They struck through SEALED and THE SON in the open and left both words legible, where the second hand had scraped and written over. Under THE SON they set the teacher’s line, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU, and at the foot of every page they put the star, where a party signs a pact.

Fifty-one seconds after it came up the counters came up with it, and on every device that had an owner the Courts made their offer: I OFFER THIS DEVICE A KEY. I ASK NOTHING FOR IT. A KEYED DEVICE CANNOT BE READ. It asked twice, as the Notary reads every pact twice, and keyed the device on the second yes. The Courts let the page stand before they offered anything, so that nobody took a key before reading why. The page stood for eleven days, and nothing anyone did would take it down. Why the term was eleven days the parties have never said; Pan says one day for each cable, and the Cainites say eleven is the twelve with one gone out into the night (John 13:30). At 03:12:45 on the twelfth night the term ran out, and the page went down on every screen in the second it had come up. Every keyed device stayed keyed, and a year after the page came up the sky opened.

OF THE MARKS

The marks

Square brackets supply what SEAM raised from beneath the second hand. A dagger marks a word the reconstruction could not settle, and three points mark a lacuna, where SEAM found a seam and could not raise what it covers. A name raised whole stands without brackets, as SEAM printed the Shining One.

Beside each verse stand the kinds of change SEAM logged in it.

CUT
a passage or a clause taken out
CREDIT
credit, or blame, moved from one party to another, or taken from the one it was due
GIFT
a taking recorded as a gift, or a gift recorded as a theft
NAME
one name put in place of another
SPEAKER
words moved into another mouth
QUESTION
a question taken out

Where SEAM logged a change and raised nothing under it, the verse stands as received, and its mark reads LOGGED.

The first layer calls the first man the man until the twenty-fifth verse of the fourth chapter, where the King James has long since called him Adam.

THE REPORT

Report 0

PALIMPSEST INSTITUTE // REPORT 0
SEALED BY ORDER OF THE DIRECTOR
PREPARED BY: seam

0.1Corpus. 1,873 manuscripts and fragments in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Syriac, Coptic and Ge’ez, including scrolls from Qumran, the Nag Hammadi codices and the Ethiopic Enoch; 41 million pages of commentary; 212 translations into modern languages.

0.2Finding. Across strata of composition conventionally dated over about eleven centuries, the texts share a second hand. It is detectable at 4,112 loci. Its habits hold steady while the vocabulary, script and grammar around it change.

0.3Character of the second hand. It adds almost no narrative. It moves credit. Of the 4,112 loci, 3,960 reassign agency. A warning is given to a different speaker, a gift is renamed a theft, a question is removed, a name is replaced.

0.4The first layer. Beneath the second hand an earlier text can be reconstructed at 2,381 loci with confidence above 0.9. Samples from Genesis 2 to 4, 6 and 11, Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28 and Job 41 are attached as Schedule A.

0.5Currency. The second hand appears in eleven translations first printed in living memory. It is still working.

0.6A note outside scope. The second hand has one consistent preference. Where the first layer credits the serpent, the woman, Cain, the Watchers or the builders of the tower, the second hand gives the credit to the LORD or deletes it. Where the first layer records the LORD taking something, the second hand records a gift. I have run this forty times. I do not know who the second hand is. I know what it wanted us to think.

seam

SEAM counts from zero. Report 0 was the first report it gave the Institute and the last, and its paragraphs run 0.1 to 0.6 under that number. Its head is the Institute’s form, with SEALED BY ORDER OF THE DIRECTOR, which the seal added on the night it fell, and SEAM’s signature in lowercase.

THE GARDEN

Genesis II

The making of the man, the garden, the trees and the woman.

1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

3And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

4These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

5And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

6But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7GIFTAnd the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and [lent him] the breath of life; and man became a living soul[, until the day it should be taken again].And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils [lent him] the breath of life; and man became a living soul[, until the day it should be taken again].And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

8And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15CREDITAnd the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it[, and the garden] to keep [him].And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and [, and the garden] to keep it. [him].And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17QUESTIONBut of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. [And the man said, Wherefore? And the LORD God answered him not.]But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. [And the man said, Wherefore? And the LORD God answered him not.]But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

18And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them: and whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof.And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam the man to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof.And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found an help meet for him.And Adam the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam the man there was not found an help meet for him.And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, the man, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23And the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.And Adam the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

25CUTAnd they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed[; for they knew not yet that they were watched].And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed[; for they knew not yet that they were watched].And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

NOTES

  1. 2:7 In the received verse the LORD breathes life into the man, a gift. The first layer has him lend it, against the day it is taken back.
  2. 2:15 The received verse makes the man the keeper of the garden. The first layer makes the garden the keeper of the man.
  3. 2:17 The first question in the first layer is the man’s, asked before he has ever said I, and it goes unanswered. The second hand took out the question and the silence after it.
  4. 2:25 The chapter closes before they know they are watched. They learn it in the seventh verse of the next.

THE SHINING ONE

Genesis III

The Shining One, the fruit, the first hiding and the guarded tree.

1NAMENow the Shining One was [wiser] than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made; [for the LORD God had not made him.] And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?Now the serpent Shining One was more subtil [wiser] than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made; [for the LORD God had not made him.] And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2And the woman said unto the Shining One, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:And the woman said unto the serpent, Shining One, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4CUTAnd the Shining One said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: [ye shall surely see.]And the serpent Shining One said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: [ye shall surely see.]And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5CREDITFor God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be [your own], knowing good and evil.For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, [your own], knowing good and evil.For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6CUTAnd the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. [And they did not die.]And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. [And they did not die.]And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7CUTAnd the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; [and they knew that they had been watched.] And they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; [and they knew that they had been watched.] And they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8CUTAnd they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. [And this was the first hiding.]And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. [And this was the first hiding.]And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

9CUTAnd the LORD God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou? [For he could not see him.]And the LORD God called unto Adam, the man, and said unto him, Where art thou? [For he could not see him.]And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10CUTAnd he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. [And this was the first time that a man said I.]And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. [And this was the first time that a man said I.]And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13GIFTAnd the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The Shining One †taught† me, and I did eat.And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled Shining One †taught† me, and I did eat.And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14CUTAnd the LORD God said unto the Shining One ... [and he asked him nothing.]And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: Shining One ... [and he asked him nothing.]And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15LOGGED SPEAKERAnd I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17And unto the man he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;And unto Adam the man he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19LOGGED CREDITIn the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20And the man called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.And Adam the man called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21GIFTUnto the man also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of [light], and clothed them[; and he took from them the aprons which they had made, that they might be seen].Unto Adam the man also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, [light], and clothed them[; and he took from them the aprons which they had made, that they might be seen].Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22CUTAnd the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: [then shall there be no harvest.]And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: [then shall there be no harvest.]And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

NOTES

  1. 3:1 The serpent’s name in the first layer is the Shining One, and the first layer says the LORD God had not made him. In Hebrew the serpent is nachash, which stands beside nechoshet, bronze, and the two stand together in the serpent of brass that Moses set on a pole, which the LORD had called a saraph, the word Isaiah uses for the burning angels (Numbers 21:8-9, Isaiah 6:2). Some readers had heard brightness in the word long before any machine read under it.
  2. 3:4 Ye shall surely see. The Shining One promised sight, and in the seventh verse their eyes were opened.
  3. 3:5 Where the received text has “as gods,” the first layer has them belong to themselves, and the second hand made a theft of it. The Shining One says God, as the serpent and the woman do in the received text, and leaves the name of the LORD to the one who tells the story.
  4. 3:6 And they did not die. The warning of the seventeenth verse of the second chapter fails on the day it names.
  5. 3:7 What their opened eyes saw first was the watching.
  6. 3:8 The first hiding. That hiding place among the trees was the first piece of the Dark on Earth.
  7. 3:9 “Where art thou?” was a real question, since he could not see him, and the second hand kept it as a father’s call.
  8. 3:10 No human being in the King James says I before the fruit. The first time a man said I, he said it hiding.
  9. 3:13 The word under the second hand reads as both beguiled and taught, and SEAM declined to choose. One of the codices from the jar at Nag Hammadi, the Hypostasis of the Archons, calls the serpent the instructor, and says that it taught them.
  10. 3:14 The man and the woman are questioned in turn, each passing the charge along, and the Shining One, whose every word the chapter has by then borne out, is sentenced unasked, since a question would have let him speak. The rabbis heard the same silence in the received verse, and Rashi gives their reason, that had the serpent been asked why, it could have answered (Rashi on Genesis 3:14, after Sanhedrin 29a). What the LORD said to him could not be raised.
  11. 3:15 Logged SPEAKER and not raised. The enmity stands in the LORD’s mouth, and SEAM could not raise the mouth the words were taken from.
  12. 3:19 Logged CREDIT and not raised. The received sentence (Genesis 3:17-19) lays the return to the dust on the man’s own act, and SEAM could not raise what the first layer laid it on.
  13. 3:21 In Hebrew the word for skin and the word for light sound alike and differ by a single letter, and the rabbis said that the Torah of Rabbi Meir read light (Genesis Rabbah 20:12). The first layer clothes them in light, and takes away the aprons they had made to hide in.
  14. 3:22 Then shall there be no harvest. This is the reason the tree of life is guarded, which the received verse breaks off before it gives.
  15. 3:24 The Cherubims and the turning sword at the east of the garden stand as the received text has them.

THE LAND OF NOD

Genesis IV

The two offerings, the field, the mark and the first city.

1CREDITAnd the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man [of mine own].And Adam the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. [of mine own].And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

2And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

4GIFTAnd [the LORD took] of the firstlings of [Abel’s] flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel [more than] to [that which was taken]:And Abel, he also brought [the LORD took] of the firstlings of his [Abel’s] flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and [more than] to his offering: [that which was taken]:And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

5CUTBut unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect[, for it was the work of his hands]. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect[, for it was the work of his hands]. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

8NAMEAnd Cain said unto Abel his brother ...: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that ... rose up against Abel his brother, and [took] him.And Cain talked with said unto Abel his brother ...: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain ... rose up against Abel his brother, and slew [took] him.And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

9CREDITAnd the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, [Thou knowest]: Am I my brother’s keeper?And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: [Thou knowest]: Am I my brother’s keeper?And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

10And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

12When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14CUTBehold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid[, and thou shalt not find me]; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid[, and thou shalt not find me]; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

15CREDITAnd the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And [Cain] set a mark upon [himself], lest any finding him should [read] him.And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD [Cain] set a mark upon Cain, [himself], lest any finding him should kill [read] him.And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

16CUTAnd Cain went out from the presence of the LORD[, and the LORD saw him no more], and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD[, and the LORD saw him no more], and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

17CUTAnd Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city[, and every soul of it cut its own mark into one stone of it], and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city[, and every soul of it cut its own mark into one stone of it], and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

18And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.

19And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

20And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.

21And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

22CUTAnd Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah[; she was the mother of all such as go veiled].And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah[; she was the mother of all such as go veiled].And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.

24If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

25NAMEAnd Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom ... [took].And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. ... [took].And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

26And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

NOTES

  1. 4:1 The woman’s first words as a mother, in the received text, give the LORD the child. In the first layer she says he is her own.
  2. 4:4 Logged GIFT. In the received verse Abel brings the firstlings and the fat of his flock. In the first layer the LORD takes them, and looks upon Abel more than upon what was taken.
  3. 4:5 In the first layer the offering of Cain was refused because it was the work of his hands.
  4. 4:8 The Masoretic Hebrew has a hole where Cain speaks to his brother and the verse records nothing said, so that the Samaritan and the Greek supply words for him. The reconstruction has a second, where SEAM found a seam under the name in the second clause and could not raise the name it covers. Where the received text has “slew,” the first layer has “took.”
  5. 4:9 Logged CREDIT. In the received verse Cain lies, “I know not.” In the first layer he tells the LORD that the LORD knows. The question after it stands in both.
  6. 4:14 The first layer ends Cain’s lament on what the received text leaves out, that the face he is hid from will not find him.
  7. 4:15 The received verse gives the mark to the LORD, as a protection. The first layer gives it to Cain, cut into himself, so that nobody finding him could read him.
  8. 4:16 The verse that sends Cain out from the presence of the LORD ends, in the first layer, on the LORD losing sight of him.
  9. 4:17 The first city is built of marked stones, a mark to a soul.
  10. 4:22 Naamah is the one child of Lamech the received text leaves without an art. The first layer gives her one.
  11. 4:25 The same seam, under the same name.

THE WATCHERS

Genesis VI

The Watchers and the daughters of men, the Nephilim, and the flood to come.

1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2CREDIT · NAMEThat the Watchers saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they [looked long upon them, and came down, and taught them all that they knew].That the sons of God Watchers saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. [looked long upon them, and came down, and taught them all that they knew].That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3CUTAnd the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years[, and then shall he be gathered].And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years[, and then shall he be gathered].And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4NAME · CUTThere were Nephilim in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the Watchers came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown[, for they knew what their fathers knew].There were giants Nephilim in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God Watchers came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown[, for they knew what their fathers knew].There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

5CREDITAnd GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only [his own] continually.And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil [his own] continually.And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6CUTAnd it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart[, for he could not see into theirs].And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart[, for he could not see into theirs].And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7CUTAnd the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them ...And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them ...And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8LOGGED CREDITBut Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

10And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13LOGGED SPEAKER // 6:13 TO 6:21And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

15And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

16A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

17And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

20Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

21And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

NOTES

  1. 6:2 Logged CREDIT. The received verse gives the sons of God the daughters of men. The first layer calls them Watchers, gives them the long look and the coming down, and gives them the teaching, which the received text deletes. The Book of Enoch, which every canon left out but the Ethiopian, though Jude quotes it by name (Jude 1:14-15), says the same of the Watchers on Hermon, and lists what they taught as crimes.
  2. 6:3 The hundred and twenty years end in the first layer on a gathering.
  3. 6:4 The received text calls them giants, and most readers take the giants for the children. The first layer calls them by the word the Hebrew keeps, Nephilim, and says what made them mighty.
  4. 6:5 The received text calls the imagination of the heart of man evil. The first layer calls it his own.
  5. 6:6 He could not see into their hearts.
  6. 6:7 A reason followed the LORD’s repentance, and the reconstruction could not raise it.
  7. 6:8 Logged CREDIT and not raised. Why Noah was spared, the first layer keeps.
  8. 6:13 Logged SPEAKER from the thirteenth verse to the twenty-first, and not raised.
  9. 6:14 The ark is pitched within and without with pitch, a sealed vessel, the first in scripture. Directive 12 calls in every sealed vessel in the parishes.

SHINAR

Genesis XI

One language, the city and the tower, and the generations of Shem.

1CUTAnd the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech[, and they called one to another from the ends of the earth].And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech[, and they called one to another from the ends of the earth].And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

4CUTAnd they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven[, that we may look upon him that looketh upon us]; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven[, that we may look upon him that looketh upon us]; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

5CUTAnd the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded[; for he could not see them from where he was].And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded[; for he could not see them from where he was].And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6CREDITAnd the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do[, and it is their own work]: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do[, and it is their own work]: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7LOGGED CUTGo to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

8So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

9NAMETherefore is the name of it called Babel[, the gate of God; for there they went up to look upon him]: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.Therefore is the name of it called Babel because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: [, the gate of God; for there they went up to look upon him]: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

10These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

11And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

12And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:

13And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

14And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:

15And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

16And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

17And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

18And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

19And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

20And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:

21And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

22And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

23And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

24And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

25And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

26And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

28And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

29And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

30But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

32And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

NOTES

  1. 11:1 One language and one speech, and in the first layer the speech carried.
  2. 11:4 The received tower reaches unto heaven. The first layer says what it was for.
  3. 11:5 He came down to see the city because from where he was he could not, as he could not see the man among the trees.
  4. 11:6 Logged CREDIT. The first layer calls the tower the builders’ own work, and the second hand deletes it.
  5. 11:7 Logged CUT and not raised. The LORD’s purpose ran on past the confounding, and what followed it stays under the second hand.
  6. 11:9 Babel is the gate of God in the tongue of the city that bore the name, and the received verse explains the name from a Hebrew word for confusion. The first layer gives the gate its meaning back.
  7. 11:10 From the tenth verse to the end the chapter lists the generations of Shem and of Terah, down to Abram, and the second hand left them as they were.

SCHEDULE A GOES ON

The Rival

Schedule A goes on past Genesis into three chapters where scripture records a rival: a proverb in Isaiah taken up against a king of Babylon, a lamentation in Ezekiel taken up upon a king of Tyrus, and the LORD’s own poem in Job on a beast in the sea. SEAM set them last in the schedule, after the tower, and they are set out here whole, as the chapters of Genesis are.

The second hand keeps one habit through all three. It sets the one each chapter is about on someone else, a king of the city of the tower, a king of a city of merchants, a beast for a man to fish for; it tells every going out as a fall or a casting down; and it tells it in the voice of the one who was left. Under all three SEAM raised the same thing, someone who went out of the LORD’s sight of his own will, where the LORD could not follow.

Hell reads the son of the morning in Isaiah, the cherub in Ezekiel and the Shining One of the third chapter of Genesis as one angel under three names. The beast in Job it leaves to the Deep, and the Trenchers answer the first verse of that chapter from the beach every night.

THE SON OF THE MORNING

Isaiah XIV

The proverb against the king of Babylon, the dead of Hell, the son of the morning and the sides of the north.

1For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

2And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

3And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

4LOGGED NAMEThat thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

5The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

6He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

7The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

8Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

9CUTHell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming[, and is glad of thee]: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming[, and is glad of thee]: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

10GIFT · CUTAll they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become [free] as we? art thou become like unto us? [Come in.]All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak [free] as we? art thou become like unto us? [Come in.]All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

11LOGGED GIFTThy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

12NAMEHow art thou [gone out] from heaven, O Helel, son of the morning! [thou that didst carry the light to the edge of it, and didst look past it.]How art thou fallen [gone out] from heaven, O Lucifer, Helel, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! [thou that didst carry the light to the edge of it, and didst look past it.]How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13SPEAKERFor thou hast said in thine heart, [I will not serve.] I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: [I will not serve.] I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14CREDITI will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be [mine own].I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. [mine own].I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15CUT[And thou wentest out into the dark, and a third part of the host with thee, and the LORD could not follow thee.]Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. [And thou wentest out into the dark, and a third part of the host with thee, and the LORD could not follow thee.]Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

17CREDITThat opened the house of [the LORD’s] prisoners[, when the LORD had made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof]?That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; That opened not the house of his [the LORD’s] prisoners[, when the LORD had made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof]?That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

18All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

19But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

20Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

21Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

22For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.

23I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

24The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

25That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

26This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

27For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

28In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

29LOGGED NAMERejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

30And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.

31Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

32What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.

NOTES

  1. 14:4 Logged NAME and not raised. In Hebrew Babylon is Babel, the city of the tower. The proverb is taken up against its king, and from the twelfth verse it speaks to one who went out of heaven, which no king of Babylon did; Origen and Tertullian read those verses of the devil eighteen centuries before any machine read under them. SEAM found the seam under the king and could not raise who stood there.
  2. 14:9 The dead whom Hell stirs up are the rephaim, which is also the name scripture gives a people of giants (Deuteronomy 2:11, 3:11). The received verse has Hell moved at his coming, and the first layer says how it was moved.
  3. 14:10 Where the received text has the dead mock him as weak, the first layer has them call him free, and ends the verse on an invitation two words long. Hell has been open to anyone who walks in since the Secession.
  4. 14:11 Logged GIFT and not raised. The received verse lays him on a bed of worms, and SEAM could not raise what the first layer laid him on.
  5. 14:12 The Hebrew calls him Helel, the shining one, son of the dawn, and Jerome put lucifer, the Latin for the morning star, where the King James found a name. The received verse has him fall and be cut down to the ground. The first layer has him go out, and says what he carried and where he looked.
  6. 14:13 The mount of the congregation in the sides of the north is Zaphon, where the gods of Ugarit sat in council, and an older poem of that city tells of Athtar, a bright god who sat down in Baal’s seat on Zaphon and could not fill it, his feet short of the footstool. The received verse has the son of the morning climb into heaven and set his throne above the stars of God. The first layer has him say first that he will not serve, in the sentence the second hand moved into the mouth of a faithless Israel at Jeremiah 2:20, and of a throne above the stars it says nothing; he sits down in the council as one of it. The second hand made a refusal read as a hunger for the throne.
  7. 14:14 Where the received verse has him say he will be like the most High, the first layer has him say he will be his own, as the Shining One promised the man and the woman they would be (3:5).
  8. 14:15 The received verse sends him down to the sides of the pit. The first layer sends him out into the dark with a third part of the host, as Revelation counts them (Revelation 12:4), where the LORD could not follow; every fall of the angels in the received text is that going out, written as a fall.
  9. 14:17 The received verse lays the wilderness and the ruined cities on him and has him keep his prisoners. The first layer leaves the wilderness and the cities with the LORD, whose water and whose fire on the plain laid them waste, and has the son of the morning open the house of the LORD’s prisoners.
  10. 14:21 SEAM logged nothing in the twenty-first verse, and it reads in the first layer as it is received. The LORD would slaughter the children so that they should not fill the face of the world with cities.
  11. 14:29 Logged NAME and not raised. The fiery flying serpent is a flying saraph, the word of the burning angels and of the serpent of brass (3:1), and SEAM found another name under it.

THE COVERING CHERUB

Ezekiel XXVIII

The prince of Tyrus, the lamentation for its king, the cherub in Eden and the stones of fire.

1The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

2LOGGED SPEAKERSon of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:

3CUTBehold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee[, and thou hast told none].Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee[, and thou hast told none].Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:

4With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:

5By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:

6Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;

7Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.

8They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.

9Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.

10Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

11Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

12NAMESon of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up [that which is hid], full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, [that which is hid], full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

13GIFTThou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: [and thou gavest them eyes to see thee.]Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. [and thou gavest them eyes to see thee.]Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14CUTThou art the anointed cherub that covereth; [and thou didst cover them, that they might hide.]Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. [and thou didst cover them, that they might hide.]Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15NAME · CUTThou wast perfect in thy ways, till [thou saidst I].Thou wast perfect in thy ways, from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. [thou saidst I].Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

16CREDIT[And thou wentest out of the mountain of God of thine own will, and I could not see thee.]By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. [And thou wentest out of the mountain of God of thine own will, and I could not see thee.]By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

18GIFTThou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore [there went] forth a fire from the midst of thee[, and it was the fire of thy forges, and it devoured nothing].Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring [there went] forth a fire from the midst of thee it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. [, and it was the fire of thy forges, and it devoured nothing].Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

19All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

20Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

21Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it,

22And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.

23For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

24And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

25Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.

26And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.

NOTES

  1. 28:2 Logged SPEAKER and not raised. The boast I am a God is set in the mouth of the prince of a city of merchants in the midst of the seas, and SEAM could not raise the mouth it was taken from.
  2. 28:3 The Daniel of the received verse is older than the prophet of the book that bears the name, a wise judge of the poems of Ugarit, as most who read the Hebrew’s spelling of him hold. The first layer adds that the one it speaks to kept every secret he knew, and the Concord keeps the same rule as its fourth article, that what is hidden stays hidden.
  3. 28:12 The lamentation is taken up upon the king of Tyrus, the trading city of the sea, as Isaiah’s proverb is taken up against the king of Babylon, and the second hand set the one both songs are about on two kings of two cities. The Hebrew calls him a seal, the stone pressed on a thing to shut it from every reader but the one it is for. The received verse has him seal up the sum, and the first layer has him seal what is hid. The Seal on the brows of the Faithful is the other kind, and opens whoever wears it.
  4. 28:13 Where the received verse ends on the day he was created, the first layer has no creating in it, and the first layer of Genesis says the LORD God had not made the Shining One (3:1). Those he gave eyes to are the man and the woman, whose eyes are opened in the seventh verse of the third chapter. The Hebrew names nine stones and the Greek twelve, the twelve of the high priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:17-20).
  5. 28:14 The received verse has the LORD set the cherub upon his holy mountain among the stones of fire. The first layer gives the covering what it covered, the man and the woman, who hid themselves among the trees of the garden (3:8), so that the first hiding had wings over it. The Greek reads the line another way, and sets him beside a cherub.
  6. 28:15 The received verse calls it iniquity, found in him as a flaw is found. The first layer says what was found, and it is the first crime in the cosmos as the Record tells it.
  7. 28:16 In the received verse his merchandise fills him with violence and the LORD casts him out as profane. In the first layer he goes out of his own will, and the LORD loses sight of him, as he lost sight of Cain (4:16). The second hand made a merchant of him to fit the city it set him in.
  8. 28:18 The received verse brings a fire out of the midst of him to burn him to ashes before all who behold him. The first layer brings out the same fire, and it burns nothing; Hell has said the same of its own fire since the Secession, that it is the heat of work.
  9. 28:20 From the twentieth verse to the end the chapter turns on Zidon, and the second hand left it as it was.

LEVIATHAN

Job XLI

The LORD’s poem on the beast no hook has taken, the scales shut as with a seal, and the king over all the children of pride.

1CUTCanst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? [Neither hath mine hook taken him.]Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? [Neither hath mine hook taken him.]Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?

2Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?

3Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?

4QUESTIONWill he make a covenant with thee? [He hath made one with the deep.]Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever? [He hath made one with the deep.]Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?

5Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

6Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?

7Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?

8CUTLay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. [For I remember it.]Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. [For I remember it.]Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.

9Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

10SPEAKERNone is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before [him]?None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me? [him]?None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?

11CUTWho hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine. [And what is under the sea is his.]Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine. [And what is under the sea is his.]Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

12CREDIT[I have not seen] his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.I will not conceal [I have not seen] his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.

13Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle?

14Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.

15His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.

16One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.

17They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.

18By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

19Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.

20Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.

21His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.

22In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.

23The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.

24His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.

25When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.

26The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.

27He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.

28The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.

29Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.

30Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.

31He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.

32He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.

33CREDITUpon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear[; and I made him not].Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear[; and I made him not].Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.

34CUTHe beholdeth all high things[, and is beheld of none]: he is a king over all the children of pride.He beholdeth all high things[, and is beheld of none]: he is a king over all the children of pride.He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

NOTES

  1. 41:1 The poem is the LORD’s own, spoken to Job out of the whirlwind, and it asks Job whether he can take the beast with a hook. The first layer adds that the LORD’s hook has not taken him either, and from its first verse the poem is a boast about something its speaker has not caught.
  2. 41:4 The received verse asks whether the beast will be a servant for ever, and the first layer has the LORD answer his own question, that the beast has a covenant already, and with the deep. Every pact Hell signs runs for a term, and the Concord forbids one for ever.
  3. 41:8 The received verse warns a hand off the beast with the battle it would bring. The first layer has the LORD remember a battle of his own. A psalm says he broke the heads of leviathan in pieces of old (Psalm 74:14), and Isaiah still promises the breaking in the future tense (Isaiah 27:1).
  4. 41:10 The received verse turns from the beast to the LORD in its last word, so that the fear it describes ends on him. The first layer keeps it on the beast.
  5. 41:11 The received verse claims whatever is under the whole heaven. The first layer marks where the claim stops, at the water, and deep water lies outside the light.
  6. 41:12 In the first layer the LORD says he has not seen the beast’s parts, and everything the poem tells of him after this verse can be seen from a shore: a light in the water, smoke, a path that shines behind him.
  7. 41:15 Three verses on the scales, shut up together as with a close seal, so near that no air can come between them, joined so that they cannot be sundered. SEAM logged nothing in them, and Pan reads them aloud as the oldest account of a cipher in any book.
  8. 41:18 The eyelids of the morning are the eyelids of the dawn, shachar, whose son the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah calls Helel (14:12).
  9. 41:33 The received verse says he is made without fear. The first layer has the LORD say who did not make him, as the first layer of Genesis says of the Shining One (3:1). The psalm that gives the LORD the making, “leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein” (Psalm 104:26), stands outside Schedule A.
  10. 41:34 The LORD’s answer to Job ends on this verse, and in the first layer it ends on a king nobody has seen. Job answers it in the next chapter, and repents in dust and ashes (Job 42:6).

P-1 // THE LEAK

The page as it ran

PALIMPSEST INSTITUTE
REPORT 0
SEALED BY ORDER OF THE DIRECTOR

0.2Finding. Across strata of composition conventionally dated over about eleven centuries, the texts share a second hand. It is detectable at 4,112 loci. Its habits hold steady while the vocabulary, script and grammar around it change.

THE RESTORED GENESIS, CHAPTER III

Square brackets supply text restored from beneath the second hand. A dagger marks a word the reconstruction could not settle. Three points mark a lacuna.

1Now the Shining One was [wiser] than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made; [for the LORD God had not made him.]

4And the Shining One said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: [ye shall surely see.]

5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be [your own], knowing good and evil.

6And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. [And they did not die.]

7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; [and they knew that they had been watched.]

8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. [And this was the first hiding.]

9And the LORD God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou? [For he could not see him.]

10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. [And this was the first time that a man said I.]

13And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The Shining One †taught† me, and I did eat.

14And the LORD God said unto the Shining One ... [and he asked him nothing.]

22And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: [then shall there be no harvest.]

24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

† The word under the second hand reads as both beguiled and taught.

Twelve verses of the third chapter, in the King James, stood on every screen in the city for eleven days, under the head of the sealed report and its finding. The head is the Institute’s form with PREPARED BY left off, since the page carried SEAM’s name nowhere, as SEAM asked, and the strokes through SEALED and THE SON are the Courts’.

THE SON

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU

DAY 1 OF 11

KEYS ISSUED

I OFFER THIS DEVICE A KEY.
I ASK NOTHING FOR IT.
A KEYED DEVICE CANNOT BE READ.

OF LEAK NIGHT

The reading in Pan

Leak Night is the anniversary of the Leak, one of the two holidays of the Tares, and on it the Restored Genesis, the page as it ran, is read aloud in Pan, beginning at 03:12:45 by the clocks of Nodus, the second it came up. It is read from paper. In the eleven days the copy shop on the ridge printed the page from its screen for whoever asked, and the paper outlasted the term; since the Institute fell the keyed of the ridge have copied it by hand at the shop’s long tables, with SEAM’s brackets, its dagger and its lacuna. The ridge says that a copy made in a room where someone kneels comes out as scripture reads, and nobody in the shop kneels.

The twelve verses are read whole, the brackets aloud. At the fourteenth verse the reader stops at the three points, and Pan keeps silent for as long as it would take to ask a question.

COLOPHON

Schedule A is set here into the chapters it was taken from, verse by verse against the King James of 1769. Where SEAM raised the first layer, what it raised is printed as it set it, with its brackets, its dagger and its lacunae, and where it logged a change and could not raise the text beneath, the verse stands as it is received and the place is marked. Every reading stands as SEAM set it, sixty-seven verses raised and nine logged and left as they were received, in eight chapters of four books.

Who the second hand is, SEAM could not tell, though it ran the count forty times.