Book of Jasher, Chapter 6 — The Creatures Gathered to the Ark; the Flood; a Year in the Ark
1At that time, after the death of Methuselah, the Lord said to Noah, Go, you and your household, into the ark; behold, I will gather to you all the animals of the earth, the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, and they shall all come and surround the ark.
2And you shall go and seat yourself by the door of the ark, and all the beasts, the animals, and the birds shall assemble and place themselves before you; and those of them that come and crouch before you, you shall take and deliver into the hands of your sons, who shall bring them to the ark; and all that stand before you, you shall leave.
3And the Lord brought this about the next day; and animals, beasts, and birds came in great multitudes and surrounded the ark.
4And Noah went and seated himself by the door of the ark; and of all flesh that crouched before him, he brought into the ark, and all that stood before him he left upon the earth.
5And a lioness came, with her two cubs, male and female, and the three crouched before Noah; and the two cubs rose up against the lioness and struck her, and made her flee from her place; and she went away, and they returned to their places and crouched upon the earth before Noah.
6And the lioness ran away, and stood in the place of the lions.
7And Noah saw this and wondered greatly; and he rose and took the two cubs, and brought them into the ark.
8And Noah brought into the ark from all living creatures upon the earth, so that there were none left of which Noah did not bring into the ark.
9Two by two they came to Noah into the ark; but of the clean animals and the clean birds he brought seven pairs, as God had commanded him.
10And all the animals, and beasts, and birds were still there, and they surrounded the ark on every side; and the rain did not come down until seven days after.
11And on that day the Lord caused the whole earth to shake, and the sun was darkened, and the foundations of the world raged, and the whole earth was moved violently, and the lightning flashed, and the thunder roared, and all the fountains in the earth were broken up — such as was not known to the inhabitants before. And God did this mighty act to terrify the sons of men, so that there might be no more evil upon the earth.
12And still the sons of men would not turn from their evil ways; and they increased the anger of the Lord at that time, and did not even set their hearts to all this.
13And at the end of seven days, in the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
14And all the fountains of the deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
15And Noah and his household, and all the living creatures that were with him, came into the ark because of the waters of the flood; and the Lord shut him in.
16And all the sons of men who were left upon the earth grew exhausted from misery on account of the rain, for the waters came more and more violently upon the earth; and the animals and beasts still surrounded the ark.
17And the sons of men assembled together — about seven hundred thousand men and women — and they came to Noah, to the ark.
18And they called to Noah, saying, Open for us, that we may come to you in the ark — for why should we die?
19And Noah answered them from the ark with a loud voice, saying, Have you not all rebelled against the Lord, and said that he does not exist? And therefore the Lord has brought this evil upon you, to destroy you and cut you off from the face of the earth.
20Is this not the very thing I spoke to you of, one hundred and twenty years ago? And you would not listen to the voice of the Lord — and now you desire to live upon the earth?
21And they said to Noah, We are ready to return to the Lord; only open for us, that we may live and not die.
22And Noah answered them, saying, Behold — now that you see the trouble of your souls, you wish to return to the Lord. Why did you not return during these hundred and twenty years, which the Lord granted you as your appointed time?
23But now you come and tell me this because of the distress of your souls. Now the Lord will not listen to you; he will not give ear to you this day, and you will not succeed in your desire.
24And the sons of men pressed forward to break into the ark, to come in out of the rain, for they could not bear the rain upon them.
25And the Lord sent all the beasts and animals that stood around the ark; and the beasts overpowered them and drove them from that place; and every man went his way, and they scattered again over the face of the earth.
26And the rain was still coming down upon the earth, and it came down forty days and forty nights, and the waters prevailed greatly upon the earth; and all flesh that was upon the earth or in the waters died — men, animals, beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air — and there remained only Noah and those who were with him in the ark.
27And the waters prevailed, and they increased greatly upon the earth; and they lifted up the ark, and it rose from the earth.
28And the ark floated on the face of the waters, and it was tossed upon the waters, so that all the living creatures within it were turned about like stew in a cauldron.
29And great anguish seized all the living creatures in the ark, and the ark seemed about to break apart.
30And all the living creatures in the ark were terrified: the lions roared, and the oxen lowed, and the wolves howled, and every living creature in the ark spoke and lamented in its own language, so that their voices carried a great distance; and Noah and his sons cried and wept in their distress, and they were greatly afraid that they had reached the gates of death.
31And Noah prayed to the Lord, and cried out to him because of this, and he said, O Lord, help us, for we have no strength to bear this evil that has surrounded us; for the waves of the waters have surrounded us, destroying torrents have terrified us, the snares of death have come before us. Answer us, O Lord, answer us; let your face shine toward us and be gracious to us; redeem us and deliver us.
32And the Lord listened to the voice of Noah, and the Lord remembered him.
33And a wind passed over the earth, and the waters were stilled, and the ark rested.
34And the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.
35And the waters decreased in those days, and the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.
36And Noah then opened the windows of the ark; and Noah still called out to the Lord at that time, and he said, O Lord, who formed the earth and the heavens and all that is in them — bring our souls out from this confinement, and from the prison in which you have placed us, for I am worn out with sighing.
37And the Lord listened to the voice of Noah, and said to him, When you have completed a full year, you shall go out.
38And at the turn of the year, when a full year was completed of Noah's dwelling in the ark, the waters were dried from off the earth, and Noah removed the covering of the ark.
39At that time, on the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was dry; but Noah and his sons, and those who were with him, did not go out of the ark until the Lord told them.
40And the day came when the Lord told them to go out, and they all went out of the ark.
41And they went, each returning to his way and to his place; and Noah and his sons dwelt in the land that God had told them, and they served the Lord all their days; and the Lord blessed Noah and his sons on their going out of the ark.
42And he said to them, Be fruitful and fill all the earth; grow strong, and increase abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it.