The Witness Chronicles: Table of Nations
Ken Helsley
Published by Smashwords
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 Ken Helsley
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
All rights reserved solely by the author. The author guarantees all contents are original and do not infringe upon the legal rights of any other person or work. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the author. The views expressed in this book are those of the author and not to be considered those of the publisher. The story contained in the book is based in part on the Book of Genesis as translated by the New International Translation, Kirkbride Bible Company. Special acknowledgement is due to Dr. Arthur C. Custance, whose work, The Table of Nations, a Unique Document, was used as a roadmap for this story.
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Prologue
A few short moments of silence followed the Rabbi’s lighthearted comment, before he began telling Ahmil how excited he was about seeing the caves at Ebal. “Ahmil, I cannot thank you enough for inviting me to go with you to the caves today. These caves are the most important find in Israel since the Dead Sea Scrolls; perhaps even more important. What these tablets and artifacts have to tell us can change everything we understand about our origins as a people.”
Ahmil was somewhat confused by the Rabbis enthusiasm over these artifacts that had the potential to completely rewrite the history of Israel, especially since he was one of the staunchest supporters of Israel’s sole right to exist in that land.
“Rabbi, I am glad you’re excited, but I am a bit perplexed over your excitement. I mean, from what I’ve read of the tablets so far, they have the potential to change Israeli history in ways we never imagined. And this son of Shem, Nobal, who is supposed to have written them, well, he is not mentioned in our history at all. As someone who has spent the better part of the last 20 years defending what we know of your history, how can you be so excited over something that might change our understanding so much, and possibly even undermine Israel’s claim to the land.”
“Are you kidding me Ahmil? You have read the transcripts have you not? There is not a single word in them that is inconsistent with what we know. Oh sure, we did not know of this Nobal person, but he claims to have known Noah personally.”
“Even I must admit that the latest transcripts have the potential to shake up everything we know of Canaan and Israel.” Jon said.
“How so Dr. Robinson?”
“They do say that the land we have always known as Canaan was land intended for the sons of Shem and that Canaan was a usurper in the Land.”
“Whoa, hold on Jon. if you go around saying things like that, you’re liable to start another war. I mean, it’s been proven genetically that many of the peoples living in Lebanon still today can trace their heritage to the ancient Canaanite people. You can’t just go around telling them that they are out of place and have no right to live where they do. They’ve been there for over 4500 years.”
“Yes of course, you are right Ahmil, I was just stating what the tablets say.”
“Besides Ahmil,” the Rabbi said, “this is a different time. We must all learn to live in peace now. The time for war is past.” Rabinowitz turned to Charles in the back seat and said, so Professor Davis, what brings you to the Caves at Mount Ebal today?”
“Um… well first of all Rabbi, it’s Mr. Davis…Charles, not Professor. And like you, I suppose I just have a curiosity to see the work going on there.”
The Rabbi turned to Ahmil, and without even realizing how rude it sounded said, “So Ahmil, they have you giving tours of the caves to tourist now?”
Embarrassed at the Rabbi’s abrupt style of communication, Ahmil said, “Mr. Davis is not just a tourist Rabbi; he is the father of one of our close colleagues who was lost in the disappearances. I believe you had met Marie Davis before.”
The Rabbi could sense that Ahmil was embarrassed by his use of the term tourist and said to Charles, “I apologize Mr. Davis. Sometimes my mouth engages before my brain and things don’t always sound the same when they come out as they did in my head. Yes I have met your daughter before, she is a wonderful artist. I have seen her work. I must say though, I did not know she was missing with the others; I do hope they find an answer to that perplexing situation soon. But I believe they have the best scientific minds in the world working on it.”
Jon spoke up and injected, “Mr. Davis not only lost Marie in the disappearances, Rabbi, but he also lost his wife and two other children as well.”
Rabbi Rabinowitz was shocked at hearing this. “Four members of one family, I have never heard of such a thing. I am so sorry for your loss Mr. Davis.”
“It’s more common than you might imagine Rabbi. In fact, even though the media has tended to play down that angle because they still believe the disappearances were random, my research shows that there are many relationships among most of the missing. One report I read said it is five times more likely for a missing person to also have at least one parent, sibling, grandparent or close friend who had also disappeared than to have no one else in their circle of relations to have disappeared.” Charles said.
“I had not heard that before; how come I had not heard that before?” the Rabbi pondered aloud.
Jon and Ahmil both echoed the Rabbi’s response. Charles continued, “There have been a great number of people looking into the disappearances who are not part of UNs response teams, and they seem to be able to make some of these correlations much more rapidly, or perhaps maybe they’re just more willing to publish their findings than the UN is.”
“So you think the UN is covering something up Charles?” Jon asked.
“I don’t know if cover up is the correct word, but perhaps they are just weary of publishing anything that is not based on pure science. You know how the media and academia, present company accepted of course, tend to get so up in arms at the mere suggestion of anything outside the bounds of science. If they were to investigate these correlations in relationships, they would have to look into what these people had in common and that I believe is what they are afraid to find.”
“Why Mr. Davis, what do you think they would find?” Rabbi Rabinowitz asked.
“Faith Rabbi…and not just faith, but faith in Christ.”
Ahmil shuddered at the prospect Charles drawing the Rabbi into a debate on religion and was second guessing his discussion to bring them both along on the same trip.
“I see,” the Rabbi replied, “you think this is part of the Rapture that many Christians are claiming. But surely Mr. Davis, even you must know that the leaders of every major Christian church around the world have admitted that this could not have been this mythical event Christians have been expecting for millennia. They recognize that too many Christians are still here and are not missing as would have been the case if it was the rapture, and many of those missing were not known to be Christians at all.”
“I don’t claim to know all the answers Rabbi, I just know my Marie and her mother and brother and sister were taken because of their faith in Christ, and maybe not even so much as their faith, but also the practice of their faith in everything they did everyday of their lives.”
“So you believe they were Righteous?”
Charles sat silent for a moment and then said, “Yeah, I suppose that’s as good as a word as any to describe them.”
“But I even know of several Jews who are missing Mr. Davis. Surely your faith would not allow you to believe that even a Jew could be taken in the rapture.”
After another moment of silence, Charles responded, “I don’t know Rabbi, were they Righteous?”
That caused the Rabbi to stop and think. Suddenly Ahmil saw the gates and security fencing to the Mt. Ebal site come into view and with a huge feeling of relief said, “Okay everyone, here we are. I hope you’re prepared for a bit of a climb.” He actually hoped the climb up the mountain would allow the Rabbi and Mr. Davis to focus their attention on something besides religion for a time, as the climb usually took about 45 minutes to an hour to make. Ahmil showed his ID to the Guard at the gate and proceeded to park the car and get out. Jon and the others followed suit and then proceeded to follow Ahmil up to the established trail that led to the entrance of the caves. Although the Rabbi didn’t say anything further to Charles during the trek up the mountain side, he couldn’t help but think about what Charles had said. He didn’t actually know any of the Jews who had been reported missing, but the rumors of them had come to him via emails and phone calls from friends and contacts he had around the world. The question of their righteousness was one he would have to explore further, but he could not get the idea out of his head.
It was still very early in the morning and the only person in or about the caves was Harry Stedtson, a world class spelunker who had lead teams in mapping some of the most famous caves throughout the Americas and Europe. Harry had been a professional spelunker for over 25 years and was considered the very best in the business. He was born in Rolla, Missouri and began exploring local caves in Missouri and Arkansas as a young boy, but to look at him, you would never have suspected him to be a world class anything. He was tall, about 6’ 5”, and as thin as one could be and still be considered healthy. His skin was brown and weathered like an old leather bag and his thin sandy blond hair was receded heavily. He was missing the two front teeth in his lower jaw, and the rest were yellowed and gave the appearance of very poor dental hygiene. His clothing was worn and faded and looked decades old. He looked more like an old 1840’s gold prospector from the American west than the respected professional that he was. As Ahmil and his group approached the top of the path and neared the cave entrance, he saw Harry laying out ropes and head lamps and other climbing equipment. “Good morning Harry, where’s the rest of the team today.
“Good morning Prof. I let them all sleep in a bit this mornin so I recon they’ll be along in an hour or so. I’ve been pushin em all pretty hard these last few weeks so I thought they could use the extra rest. We’ve made some good progress though.”
“That’s good to hear Harry. This is Mr. Davis, Marie’s father, and Rabbi Rabinowitz, and of course you know Jon.”
“Yes sir, I do know Mr. Robinson.” He then shook the Rabbi’s hand and said “Howdy Rabi.” and then turned to Charles Davis and said, “Sir, I am so sorry to hear about your daughter missing and all, she was really somethin. When my team and I first started workin these caves, she was our primary contact and I had a great deal of respect for her.” Harry spoke with a deep voice that seemed disconnected from his appearance as it was calming and peaceful and pleasantly reassuring to listen to.
“Thank you Mr. Stedtson, I appreciate your kind words.” was all Charles had to say.
“So you say you’ve made good progress Harry?” Ahmil asked.
“Yes sir, look right here on the map. I just updated this last night. You can see these caves go deeper than anyone ever imagined at first glance. See this line here on the cutaway view shows the ground level down there at about 1700 feet below where we are right now. But so far we’ve found caverns that continue to branch out and descend at least a thousand feet below that level and we know there are many more that we haven’t even begun to map. This project could take years to completely figure out. The strange thing is, many of these caverns seem to have been used before, and some even have tool marks on the walls and paths connectin them, suggestin that someone deliberately worked them in the past. I’ve never seen anythin like this before. Usually when you get down a few hundred feet, you stop seein signs of human habitation; just a few critters and such make it deep into the caves, but so far here, just about every cavern has shown signs of some sort of tooling haven taken place on the walls or pathways.”
“Very interesting Mr. Stedtson,” Rabbi Rabinowitz said, “and who do you think may have made those marks?”
“That ain’t may my area Rabi. I just map em, I don’t try to figure out all the whose and whys and such. That’s what the Prof and his people are here for.”
“Okay Harry, well were just going to take a look around and show the Rabbi and Mr. Davis where the artifacts were found and some of the work we’ve been doing.”
Harry turned back to the map and pointed to two paths that had been drawn in green ink. “Be sure to stay to these areas Prof. They’re well lighted and secure. If you want to go beyond them, wait for my team to get here and I’ll have one of em take yawl in further.”
“Thank you Harry, but that won’t be necessary; we’ll be sticking to the established chambers where most of the artifacts were found.”
“That was some find you made Prof. It’s hard to imagine all them things being hidden in these caves for all them years. Gives a man somethin serious to think about, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, indeed it does Harry.” Ahmil turned and led the others into the caves. For the next few hours Ahmil and Rabbi Rabinowitz and Jon and Charles broke off into two separate groups so the Rabbi and Charles each had their own personal guide to the caves. Charles of course was mostly interested in things that Marie had been directly involved in and worked on, while the Rabbi wanted to know more about what the significance of this object or the placement of that object might be able to tell him about Nobal or the people who may have lived in the caves. After about three hours they all met back together in the main chamber where the tablets were found. When it finally seemed that the Rabbi and Charles had asked all the questions they had, they left the caves and headed back down the mountain. By this time it was nearly 1:00 pm and so as soon as they were on the road, Ahmil began searching for a place to stop and eat lunch. “Is anyone else hungry?” Ahmil asked.
“Let me treat us all to lunch.” The Rabbi said, "I know a great little place near here in Nablus. Turn right at the first stop light as you get into the city.” He said.
“Okay Rabbi, just tell me where to go and when to stop.”
Nablus is the city that occupies the ancient land of Shechem. The Rabbi knew it like the back of his own hand. “You know, Jewish tradition has it that the bones of Joseph were also buried in a place here in Shechem. This is also the place where Jacob bought a plot of land and where Dinah was assaulted and where Joseph came to look for his brothers. Are you familiar with these stories Mr. Davis?
“Yes Rabbi, I am familiar with them.”
“The book of Joshua says, ‘Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses. There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua copied on stones the Law of Moses, which he had written. All Israel were standing on both sides of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, facing those who carried it--the priests, who were Levites. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel. Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law--the blessings and the curses-just as it is written in the Book of the Law.’ This is a very special place in the life of Israel, and now we know it is even more special than we imagined. Now we may begin to understand why this mountain was considered to be a sacred place by Joshua and others who followed… Here Ahmil, turn right here, then a left at the next street, it’s the little café right on the corner.”
Ahmil followed the Rabbi’s instructions and arrived at the café that looked almost as old as Israel itself. The Rabbi got out of the car and the others followed, and went inside where the owner saw Rabbi Rabinowitz and greeted him like a long lost friend. He seated them in at a table near the window. They each looked over the menu but Charles quickly discovered that it was written entirely in Hebrew. Jon could see that he was staring at it with a confused look and realized that Charles, of course, did not read or speak Hebrew. Mr. Davis, what would you like? I’m sure we can find something on the menu to suit your taste.”
“Well, I don’t know, perhaps just a Ham sandwich or something I suppose.”
Jon and Ahmil quickly glanced over at the Rabbi who had a horrified look on his face and Ahmil politely said, “This is a kosher restaurant Charles.”
Charles understood kosher to mean something about Jewish dietary laws, but didn’t really understand what all it entailed, but then the Rabbi spoke up and said, “Charles, since you are my guest, let me choose something for you, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.”
“Very well Rabbi, I am at your mercy.” They all chuckled slightly at Charles’ response.
The Rabbi ordered for the entire table and the others sat and listened as Rabbi Rabinowitz shared with them the history of Mt. Ebal and the valley of Shechem according to the Jewish traditions. Charles was fascinated by what the Rabbi told him. Jon and Ahmil knew most of what he told them, but still listened intently as they both knew there was no better teacher about the history of Israel than Rabbi Rabinowitz.
Soon the meal arrived; a pita bread stuffed with beef and onions. The waiter sat a large dish of a brown pasty looking sauce in the center of the table to go along with the main course, but Charles had no idea what it was. After a quick ritual washing of the hands and blessing for the meal, they all began to eat. The Rabbi took some of the brown sauce and onto a spoon and put it on his sandwich and Charles asked what it was. “It’s Humus. Have you never tasted Humus before Charles?” he asked.
Jon explained that it was made from chick peas and several other similar ingredients so Charles took a spoonful and put it on his sandwich and bit in. It took a moment for him to decide if he liked it or not, but eventually decided it was not so bad.
The conversation during lunch was pleasant and did not stray back into the subject of religion, but Charles did ask the Rabbi many questions about Shechem and the history based on his understanding from the Christian Bible. At some point in the conversation, Charles mentioned to the Rabbi that he was a dairy farmer back home in the States and the Rabbi was fascinated by this. He said to Charles, “Have you ever seen a dairy farm here in Israel?”
“No Rabbi, I have not, but that would be interesting to see.”
“Well Charles, this is your lucky day. I just so happen to know the owner of one of the finest dairy farms in all of Israel. He has over 500 milk cows, and I guarantee you have never seen a cleaner dairy farm in all your life. I will call him and tomorrow I will come and collect you at your hotel and take you myself to see his farm. It’s only about 10 miles from Jerusalem.”
“Very well, Rabbi, I would love to see it.”
Ahmil was surprised and somewhat confused by how well Charles and the Rabbi seemed to be getting along. The drive back to Jerusalem was pleasant and Ahmil and Jon dropped off the Rabbi and Charles at their respective pick up points. “Charles, you are welcome to come and spend as much time as you like at the Museum before you return home, and please stop in to see me before you leave.” Ahmil said as Charles got out of the car.
“Thank you Ahmil. I truly enjoyed my time with you both today and I will come and spend a little more time at the museum before I leave.” He replied.
Jon and Ahmil drove back to the museum together and arrived at around 4:30 in the afternoon. Jon went to his lab to check on the day’s work and Ahmil to his office. All was quiet and uneventful the rest of the day. About 6:30 Ahmil stopped by the linguistics lab to see Jon.
“Jon, I’m leaving for the day, do you need anything from me before I leave?”
Jon and Albert were together in the lab and Jon responded, “No thanks Ahmil, Al and I are going over the next set of transcripts and if we stay and work on then tonight, they’ll be ready for you by the end of the week.”
“Wow that was fast, it’s only been a few days since the last set.”
“Yeah, I know,” Al said, “but these are just a continuation of the last set. They pick up right where the others leave off, so they were pretty easy to understand. But I think you need to be prepared for some real shockers when you read these.”
“What do you mean?”
“These tablets suggest that Nobal was the one who actually recorded the Table of Nation as printed in the Book of Genesis.”
“Wow...okay boys, I can’t wait to read them and then we can decide what to do with them. The others haven’t been released yet either, so maybe if we can release them together, they will be able to support each other.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Jon replied.
“Well, try not to stay too late. I’ll see you both in the morning.” Ahmil went straight home and did his usual routine of warming a frozen pre-prepared dinner from the freezer and turned on the evening news. Once again he saw a promo from Erica Sanders’ up-coming special on the UFO sightings and made note of the time so he could be sure to see it. He went and took a shower to wash off the dust from the caves and settled in to watch the broadcast that came on at 9:00 pm.
The program started with a burst of music and hi-tech graphics of UFO images. After the music died down, Erica Sanders came on the air sitting in chair with several empty chairs sitting across from her. She began, “Good evening, I’m Erica Sanders, and tonight I am bringing you one of the most unusual and controversial stories I have ever covered in my twenty years as journalist. Since the tragic disappearances of over 55 million citizens from around the world some ten weeks ago, little has been discovered about what may have caused them and the world continues to wait breathlessly for an answer. It seems that every possible question has been asked and angle investigated by the scientific community, except one. Some of you will see this program tonight and walk away thinking I have gone mad and reject it outright, simply because it defies everything we believe about our world. I have taken a huge personal risk with my own career to even do this story as has WNN who agreed to air it, even though it may upset many people, but I believe it is that important for you to know what I now know. When I began researching this story, I was, and I still am a skeptic of the UFO phenomenon. I will personally take no particular stance on whether or not I believe any of what you will see or hear tonight, but I will attempt to present the information in as honest and fair a manner as I know how. We begin tonight by showing you a little background information on the UFO phenomenon, that some believe has been reported on for most of human history in many well-known documents, including the Holy Bible. Now, as I said, I am just reporting what others have said to me in my investigation, you will need to decide for yourself whether or not their ideas have any validity.”
For the next 45 minutes, the broadcast showed a pre-recorded piece on history of UFOs with several “Experts” on the phenomena describing how, throughout history, these sittings have shown up in many historical documents, but usually referred to as comets or chariots of fire or some other description. Ahmil sat fixed on the TV, watching this bizarre report. He had never given any credence to such nonsense, although he had heard of it. At the end of the first 45 minutes of taped footage, he thought, but how or what does any of this have to do with the disappearances?”
The show switched back to Erica live and with her were several other panel members now. One Ahmil recognized from the taped report. Erica introduced each of them in turn, “Joining me now are Dr. Jerry Lovell, a world renown researcher on UFOs, Bill Langston, who has written ten books on the UFO Phenomenon, and Dr. Margret Reed, a former Fulbright Scholar and currently a sitting Professor of Literature at Yale University, and outspoken skeptic of the UFO phenomenon, but now says new evidence has convinced her that there is indeed something quite startling going on regarding recent UFO sightings.
“Dr. Reed, let’s start with you. You have been a very outspoken skeptic of UFO research and the phenomenon in general for well over fifteen years now, why the sudden change in position?”
“You are correct in stating that I am a recent convert Erica. If you would have asked me just a few months ago what I thought about UFOs or UFO research, I would have told you that it was all nonsense based on mass hysteria and nefarious investigation methods. That was until recently when I myself have witnessed several UFO sightings. Now let me say, that when I say UFO, I mean unidentified in the broadest possible terms. I still don’t believe in Aliens or any of that stuff, but I have seen with my own eyes, objects in the sky that seem to defy gravity and all known laws of aerodynamics, that simply appear and then disappear in an instant. I can’t explain them, and so I agree they are indeed Unidentified Flying Objects.”
“So you say that you have seen some of these with your own eyes?”
“Yes, I have seen four of them just in the past few weeks since the disappearances.”
On and on the questions and interviews and discussion went, with footage from hand held videos and cell phones and even some professionally shot footage shown to corroborate the stories that each panelist was telling. For the next hours and fifteen minutes, the show went on with ever more compelling evidence that something very unusual was indeed going on. Ahmil did not know what to think about all of it and was more confused than ever before. Erica finally ended the program with another WNN disclaimer and simply said, "Only you can decide what to believe or not to believe.”
Ahmil turned off the TV and went to bed with so many conflicting thoughts running through his head; he had a very restless night’s sleep and awoke at 5:00 am as usual and went through his morning routine before heading out the door. When he got into the MATA, the radio news was announcing breaking news from just about every corner of the globe. Riots had broken out in major cities where the WNN broadcast had been seen as the broadcast aired in the different time zones internationally. Police were battling rioters everywhere with water cannons and tear gas. As Ahmil approached the streets of Jerusalem, police cars and military vehicles were running in every which direction with flashing lights and sirens blaring. Ahmil thought to himself, “What in heaven’s name has happened, it looks like the entire world has gone mad.”
It took nearly twice as long as normal to reach the museum because of the traffic tie-ups and police activity, but Ahmil finally did. This same thing went on morning after morning for the next five days. On the sixth day after the broadcast, he made his way to his office and found his eReader on his desk flashing red, indicating that a new document had been uploaded to is. It was quiet with very few people around; most probably stuck in traffic as he had been, so Ahmil took advantage of the peace and began reading the latest addition to the story from the tablets.
Chapter One
These are the stories of my journeys as I traveled to record the places and peoples that came out of the plains of Shinar after the confusion of tongues.
*******
I traveled south for two weeks with Noah and his small group until we reached the other side of the mountains. There were forty-five people in all that came with Grandfather on this journey. Jasper, the daughter of Ham who has served as the Matriarch of Noah’s village since the death of Noah’s wife was with him, along with two of her sons and their families. Jasper and all in this group spoke the same tongue as Noah now, but all the others remaining in Noah’s village spoke different tongues.
Uupon returning to the village after the destruction of the Nimrod’s tower and confusion of tongues, Grandfather and I learned that during our absence there was an uprising in his village and Kesperoth, the son of Japheth and husband to Jasper, was killed by Hasherod, the son of Ham. Kesperoth had stolen Hasherod’s daughter, Ismalah, from her husband and taken her as a wife. A battle between the two clans followed and all that was left of Kesperoth’s clan was the small group that now traveled with us.
In the new language of these people, Noah was now called Fo Hi, which meant to them, “Father of us all.” It grieved Grandfather terribly to know that his once peaceful tribe of nearly five thousand was now rife with turmoil.
Lud, the second born son of my father, Shem, was preparing to move his clan to a land far westward. After the uprising, Lud took over as Chief of the Tribe, but the last five years had been an uneasy time for them all. Lud was waiting for Grandfather to return before moving to the new land that was the western most portion of the land granted to my father by Noah those many years ago when they first left for Shinar. After the confusion of tongues, Lud’s clan spoke a new tongue that was different from Togarmah’s or Hasherod’s. Hasherod was also planning to leave that place as well. He said only that he hoped to find his father or perhaps one of his brothers and once again join with them. I recognized his new tongue and told him which direction he should set out in search of them.
Grandfather decided that his village would become the village of Togarmah, as it was obvious that the clans from mixed tribes could no longer live together. Togarmah was the largest of the remaining clans and the village was in the land designated for Japheth and his sons when Noah had divided the land between Shem, Japheth and Ham. The Clan of Lud now numbered 1,250. Hasherod numbered only 312, as they also had suffered great losses in the struggles with Kesperoth. Togarmah now numbered 1,741.
As I traveled with Grandfather and this small group, we came out of the mountains four days east of the Tigris River. I knew it was time for me to turn west, back to the plains, but leaving my grandfather was difficult after having spent the last five years living with and learning from him. Two days after we had come out of the mountains I said to Noah, “Grandfather, it is time for me to return home.”
“Yes, I know, Nobal,” he replied in his typical calm and matter-of-fact way.
“Where will you go from here, Grandfather?”
“East. Your brother Arphaxad said your father crossed the Tigris and headed east, so that is where we must also go.”
“How will you find him? His land is so large, and it has been more than five years since he left the plains. He could be anywhere by now.”
“God knows where he is, Nobal. He will lead me.”
“I still find it difficult learning to trust these instincts, Grandfather. How will I know if it is my will or God’s that I am following?”
“There is only one way to know. You must stay in constant prayer for God’s guidance. But I also think that if you stray too far, God will set you back on the right path. He has brought you this far, He will not forsake you now.”
“Yes, I am sure of that. But still it is hard.”
“We all have our burdens to bear, Nobal. I have much blame to shoulder for the state of affairs that my sons and grandsons are now in. God has shown me many things to come in my dreams, and I do not like what I see. That does not change the fact that they will happen just the same.”
“What kind of things do you see, Grandfather?”
“When I find your father, we will settle in a place that is abundant with riches, a land with much to offer. But the people who will grow out of that place will be a mixture of your father’s people and people who will come from among the sons of Canaan because of the curse I pronounced on him. A son of Canaan will come to sojourn with us. As my time and your father’s time come to an end, he will become the leader of those people. I will have no more sons of my own.
“The people that will grow in that land will be a great multitude. They will create many marvelous things, the likes of which have not been seen since the days before the flood. However, they will also become a people of immense cruelty.”
“What do you think is in store for me, Grandfather?”
“That I cannot answer, but I know this is not the last time we will see each other. I still have many stories to tell you and much to teach you, but God has told me that they must wait for now. When the time is right, He will lead you to me, and then our work will continue. I do look forward to hearing of your journeys.”
We sat silently for a while and then I knew it was time for me to go. “Today is the day I will leave, Grandfather. I will go and gather my things.” Our last goodbye was not a long one, just a few words, a hug from Jasper, and a blessing from Noah; then I was off.
I turned west, back towards the Tigris River. My brother Ashur had moved to the village that was abandoned by Ham’s son, Mizraim. Arphaxad said Ashur had become a strong people, so I decided to begin my journey home with a visit to Ashur’s new home to see for myself.
I remembered the village of Mizraim. It lay on the banks of the Tigris, north of Shinar. My father and I passed it on our way to Grandfather’s village, but we stayed to the east so we would not be stopped to answer questions about where we were going. I knew it was at least a five-day journey from where I left Grandfather, so I set out and followed the foothills of the mountains to find the Tigris, and then I turned south to the village of Ashur. Just as I had remembered, on the fifth day I came upon the city now called Nineveh in the language now spoken by my brothers, where I hoped to find my brother Ashur.
As I arrived in the village, I was not recognized by the sons of Ashur except for Mirus, whom I knew as a young boy. Ashur was the only one of my brothers who had defied Nimrod and did not come with his clan to the ceremony at the tower. As I spoke with Jerac, the chief servant of Nimrod, after the destruction of the tower, he told me that Ashur’s absence had not gone unnoticed by Nimrod and Istar. When I arrived in Nineveh however, I found that my brother was no longer living in this village. It seemed that many of the villages along the northern part of the Tigris were quickly becoming empty as entire villages left to find others who spoke their tongues. Ashur had gone back across the Tigris to settle a village on the on northern edge of Nimrod’s territory.
I knew that Ashur had taken this action to show Nimrod that he could not be bullied or intimidated by him. Ashur knew that all the plains of Shinar belonged to the sons Shem, as was the intention from the beginning when the first ones came across the mountains and he would not be forced off the plains by Nimrod or by anyone else. Of all my brothers, Ashur was the strongest willed and never backed down from an argument.
At Nineveh, Mirus offered me his hospitality. I was there for two days, and I learned much about what had happened on the plains during the time Noah and I were living on the mountain near Canaan. On the first evening I was with Mirus, we sat near a fire in the courtyard of the village, and he told this story.
“After grandfather Shem returned from the place where you and he had gone to visit his father, he called my father and his brothers together and said that he, your mother Remis, and my father’s mother, Jema, were going to leave Ur. At first, all his sons objected and told him he must stay, but he insisted that it was time we all found their own way. Your brother, Elam, had already moved his flocks across the Tigris to the grazing fields that were near the river, but he was still very close to Ur.
“It did not take long for grandfather, to convince us all that as long as he was with us, his sons would not spread out and take possession of the land as God had commanded.
“About four days after Shem had returned from the village of the Old One, we received word from our cousin Uz, who was grazing flocks to the south of Ur, that a large number of travelers were asking permission to pass through our territory to the lands to the south. Grandfather Shem, sent my father to meet with them, and he discovered they were travelers led by our grandfather’s brother Ham. With him were his sons Canaan, Phut, Mizraim, and Cush, and a small number of their clans; a few of hundred in all. They told us that they were fleeing Nimrod and once Nimrod discovered they had left, he would send men after them to bring them back. We struck a bargain with them and allowed them to pass through our land and follow the sea to the south. In return for our assistance, Mizraim, who had built this village, told my father that he was welcome to take it if he desired. My father decided that he would take his clan and move them here.
“It took almost four cycles of the moon before Nimrod realized that his father had left the plains and would not be returning. He was furious, but he also knew that there was no longer anyone strong enough to keep him from gaining complete control of all of Shinar. He began to force laborers from every village to work on the tower. We began to dig for the yellow metal along the river and tributaries, so Nimrod was tolerant of my father as long as we were supplying his master builder with the yellow metal.
“Now that Nimrod no longer has the tower to distract him, I am fearful that he may not be so willing to overlook my Father’s arrogance.
“Nimrod has become very powerful. I Have heard the words spoken by the Hmaites who still dwell with him and his name is called Gilgamesh in ther new tongue, which means “God of the Plains.” Father refuses to allow us to acknowledge Nimrod as our god, but many do anyway. I do not understand all this confusion of tongues Nobal, but people are now leaving the plains in great numbers, and Nimrod is feverishly trying to keep them from going. Mari, the grandson of Japheth and father of Istar, died during the destruction of the tower, and Nimrod quickly seized control of his city. Resen has also set out to the west, but with only half of his clan followed, the others remain with Nimrod. My father believes that since all the Shemites speak the same tongue, we should stay here on the plains. He is convinced that the plains belong to the Tribe of Shem. Nimrod, however, is not willing to give up what he has spent so long building. He is determined to build his kingdom here among the Tribe of Shem. I fear this will cause a great conflict since many of our clans worked for Nimrod on his tower and have become loyal to him and his queen.”
“I am afraid there will be many wars among our people,” I told him. “If Nimrod succeeds in dividing our tribe and setting our clans against each other, it will not be good for us.”
“You have been gone from this place for a long time now Nobal, but you have grown into a strong man, and your reputation as a man of wisdom has spread quickly among our people. You could stay and help to unite all of the clans of Shem. I do not know how it is you can speak so freely with every tongue, but we could use you here with us.”
“I wish I could stay, Mirus, but this is not my mission. I will visit your father and all of my brothers and Nimrod as well, and I will see if I can get them to understand that living in peace with one another is the best hope they have to become a strong people.”
“I hope you can succeed, Nobal. A war would be a terrible thing here. In any case, it is good to see you again. Your ability to speak so many tongues is truly a remarkable thing.”
“I assure you, Mirus, it is only through the spirit of the one true God, the God of Noah and of our father Shem, that I have this ability. It is a gift to be treasured.”
“I do not know this god of whom you speak, Nobal, but He truly must be the head of all the gods to be able to give you such a gift.”
“Mirus, I do not mean to be disagreeable, but there is only one God, and no other,” I replied. He sat silently and did not respond. I did not know if he disagreed or just did not know how to answer. Mirus and his clan was a friendly people, and they treated me well. But because of my new skills, they believed I was a god, even though I did everything I could to dissuade them from thinking this so I thought it best to leave sooner rather than later. I would have enjoyed spending time there and learning more from them, but aside from Mirus, whom I had known since I was a young boy, they were all afraid to speak directly to me. Early in the morning on the third day, I set out to find my brother Ashur and speak with him.
Mirus escorted me to a place on the river where a permanent crossing had been established. I crossed and headed north for two more days. Along the way, I encountered a great number of people coming from the villages who were still confused about the tongues so many others spoke, but they all seemed to think that it was the others whose tongues have changed. As best I could, I told them where I had encountered others who spoke their tongues and pointed them in the directions to find them. Clearly, there were many still living on the plains that no longer felt that this place was their home.
I arrived in the village of my brother, Ashur, late in the afternoon. I was met with greetings from his son, Abson, and taken to Ashur. At first he did not recognize his youngest brother. It had been more than five years since we had seen each other. He looked at me curiously for a few moments, and then I finally said, “Do you not recognize your brother, Ashur?”
He still was unsure, but finally said, “Nobal, is that you?”
“Yes Brother, it is I, the youngest of our father.”
“Surely this cannot be; you are a man! How did you get to be so tall? Tell me, Nobal, is what I hear about you true? Can you really speak the tongues of all those living on Shinar?”
“Yes, it is true, Ashur. The God of our grandfather Noah has blessed me with this gift.”
“The God of Noah is most certainly a powerful god to do such a thing. I was told Noah was here with you when the tower fell. Is that also true?”
“Yes, it is, and he was sorry he did not get to greet you. I have just come from his village. He has left for the east to find our father and live out his days in peace.”
“I hope he finds him. Father and our mothers left these plains many years ago, and they have not been heard from since.”
“Yes, I know, and that is as God intended it.”
“You say you were in Noah’s village, Nobal. Have they also experienced this confusion of tongues?”
“Yes, Ashur, they have. There was an uprising in that village while Noah and I were away. Our cousin, Kesperoth, was killed by Ham’s son, Hasherod, over a dispute between their clans. Both clans were nearly destroyed; only Lud and Togarmah remain strong. Our brother Lud has now left to find a new place for his people on the Western most edge of the land granted to our father, and Togarmah is the only clan left in that place. I’ve come from the village of your son, Mirus, and he has told me many grave things about what is happening on the plains, Ashur. Are you sure that living in this place, so close to Nimrod’s territory, is a good idea?”
“I will not be forced out of our rightful home by this fool, Nobal. It is clearer now than ever before that these plains rightfully belong to the Tribe of Shem. I will not allow this son of Ham to take it from us. Most of Ham’s tribe have moved south in search of their father. Nimrod would be well advised to do the same.”
“And if he does not?”
“Then he will know what it is to live under the same tyranny that he has forced so many others to endure these last five years.”
“Ashur, Nimrod is a powerful force on the plains. He will not be easily dislodged from this place. You have no soldiers. Nimrod has hundreds of loyal soldiers, many from our own tribe. What you speak of will create great conflict among our people.”
“I am prepared to take as long as necessary to build a force that can stand against him. Already my sons are spreading to the northern parts of Shinar. My son, Heron, took his tribe and moved north near the Euphrates where the grazing lands are plentiful. Once we become entrenched in the north, we can move Nimrod out of our lands in the south.”
“What you speak of is madness, Brother. There will be more dead Shemites than alive if you follow through with this plan. Do not forget that many of those who are loyal to Nimrod are our brothers too.”
“What then do you propose, Nobal? Do you expect us to do nothing? You have not even been here for these last five years. We all stood by and watched Nimrod and his wife enslave our people. Neither of them is from the Tribe of Shem. Nimrod is from Ham, and his wife is from Japheth. We owe no loyalty to either of them.”
“I understand you, Brother. I wish Father were here. He would know what to do.”
“Father! Where is Father now? He abandoned us to live under the thumb of Nimrod. Our father ran off with our mothers to hide from the truth. We belong in this place. I will not run from Nimrod as Father did.”
“Father did not run from Nimrod. He did only what God told him to do. You act as if his obedience to God were the act of a coward. It took every ounce of strength he had to leave this place, but he knew that if he did not leave, even more terrible judgments would be placed upon his sons. Do you not know of the pronouncement the servant of the Lord made to us at the ark?”
“I heard Father speak of this servant, but what is that to me? I know nothing of this god you speak of. Where was this god when our brothers and nephews were enslaved? Where was this god when our daughters and nieces were forced to work as prostitutes at the camp of Nimrod’s tower? Where is this god even now as Nimrod takes control of village after village to fortify his power and build his army to subdue the whole of Shinar? This god of yours is a weak god, Nobal. If he cannot stop Nimrod, I will.”
“You would not speak such blasphemy if you had been present the day the God of Noah destroyed the tower that Nimrod built. You cannot deny the power of a God who could do what He did on that day.”
“From what I heard, it was nothing more than a lightening storm, an unusual act to be sure, but not the act of a god. If it were this god that you and Father speak of, Nimrod would be dead. If this god of yours is so powerful, he would not be reliant on the weather to do his work for him – a great flood to destroy mankind, and now a thunderstorm to destroy the tower of Nimrod. Why does He not simply show Himself and prove He is real once and for all? Yours is a god of weakness, and I will not serve such a god.”
“This kind of talk is not good, Ashur. It will get many of our brothers killed.”
“If you are half the man you look to be, Nobal, you will stay and fight with us. I will make you a General among my clan. You may have as a wife any daughter or granddaughter of mine you wish, if you will only stay and fight with us.”
“You know I cannot stay, Ashur. I have a mission to attend to.”
“Yes, yes, I know of this mission your god has sent you on; how convenient for you.”
“I assure you, Brother, it is not convenient in the least, but God has called me to this task and I will complete it.”
Speaking in a much calmer voice now, Ashur said, “I know you will, Nobal, and I did not mean for your visit with us to be such a disagreeable one. You know you are always welcome to dwell in the cities of Ashur.”
“Thank you, Brother, I know I am, and if it be God’s will, I will return to stand with you and my brothers when the time comes.”
“Come now, Nobal, stay with us for a time and share in our hospitality.”
I stayed with my brother Ashur for five days, and he told me of how large and strong his clan had become during my absence from the plains. His first wife, Semira, was kind and hospitable as well. I discovered I missed Ashur’s passion. Even though we are of different mothers, he is always good to me. As a young boy, he taught me what it was to have fire in my belly for something I truly believed in. Ashur was always a man of great conviction. He would argue with anyone about anything, just to see how well he would do in the debate. He and our brother, Elam, were in constant struggle with one another over the grazing of sheep and goats and cattle. They are both good men, but I now believed it was for the best that they live on different sides of the Tigris River. Perhaps one day, in their old age, they would be able to sit peaceably with one another, but for now, it seems that Ashur will be at peace with no one.
After five days with Ashur, I left for Ur to see my brother, Arphaxad. I traveled four days to the south, following the Tigris River until I came to the place where the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers meet. I then crossed the Euphrates and followed it northwest for two days to the place we called Ur. When I arrived at Ur, Arphaxad and his son Chaldea greeted me. Chaldea was like a brother to me. We grew up together, learning from Arphaxad the ways of Noah, and we were very close. I did not recognize him at first, because, like me, he too had grown and become a man since the time we had last seen each other. I was pleased to hear him tell me that he had married a girl named Pleshia, who was from the clan of my brother, Aram. The people of Ur treated me with great respect. I truly felt like a full member of the Tribe of Shem when I was here with them, yet I knew in my heart that this place would never be my home again.
For a few hours, I greeted the many visitors who came to say hello. Most of them had beautiful daughters or granddaughters with them and they made a special point of ensuring that I had been properly introduced to them. Finally, Arphaxad sent them all away and we retired to his home for the evening meal. It was a pleasant evening of talk and music played by his favorite granddaughter, who had mastered the flute quite well. I knew this was a time for pleasantries and not for serious matters, so I said nothing on my first evening about my conversations with Mirus and Ashur.
As was my custom, I arose early in the morning to bathe and eat, and then I spent some time walking around Ur to see how it had changed since I last lived there. Without Father to oversee all decisions, there was much less order to the arrangements of the buildings. Many of the families lived in small shacks, while others had built large and beautifully decorated homes. Some of the homes on the outer edges of the village were very run down, and the smells coming from there were strong and difficult to get used to. After about two hours of walking about the place, I returned to the home of Arphaxad and I decided it was time to speak to him of what I had learned from Ashur.
I found Arphaxad sitting at a small table with his first wife, Dafia, and I asked if we could speak.