Noah Primeval (Chronicles of the Nephilim) (4 page)

It frustrated Inanna to no end that she had to submit to Anu’s kingship
. Ever since her colossal failure in the war of the titans, called the Titanomachy, she had been demoted from co-regent with him to his consort so he could keep an eye on her. She had massive scars on her back to remind her of the consequences of insubordination. She reined herself in with calculated self-interest.

Lugalanu curried the Queen’s favor, “My lord, I humbly defer to her highness. Every rogue human tribe is a possible fulfillment of the revelation.”

Anu bristled with annoyance. “The Revelation,” he snorted contemptuously, conveying the impression to the human that he did not believe it. But he did believe it. He sickened of the dread that seized everyone when this revelation business was brought up. Fear was healthy; dread was self-destructive.

“
Ah yes, the Revelation,” Inanna shot back. “A ‘Chosen Seed’ who will end the rule of the gods. Are you not concerned, lord?
We
are among those gods who rule. And you are the head of the pantheon, the high and mighty one.” She matched Anu’s annoyance with sarcasm. “Unless you think you have nothing to lose.”

She knew
how he would respond. For the hundredth time, he said, “If they worship us, then we have no concern, and are free to use them as slave labor for
our
kingdom.”

The gods of the pantheon kept hidden from Lugalanu and most humans their real identi
ties and goals. Anu’s real name was Semjaza, and Inanna’s, Azazel. These divinities were not gods like Elohim. They were in fact the Sons of God who rebelled from Elohim’s divine council that surrounded his very throne.

Elohim himself
sat on the high throne, the Creator and Lord of all. Though mortal eyes could not see him, he was visible in his vice-regent, the Son of Man, The Angel of the Lord, who mediated and led God’s heavenly host. The members of the host were the Sons of God, or
Bene Elohim,
ten thousand times ten thousand of his Holy Ones who deliberated with the Almighty and would carry forth his judgments — except those who had fallen.

T
wo hundred of them had rebelled and fallen. They were called “Watchers.” By masquerading as gods of the land, they sought to usurp the throne of Elohim and draw human worship away from the Creator. To further enslave the sons of men in idolatry, they had revealed unholy secrets of sorceries, fornications, and war. Enoch had pronounced judgment upon them in faraway days, but the manifestation of that judgment had not yet fallen upon the Watchers. The fullness of their iniquity was not yet complete.

Elohim had created mankind as his
representative image on earth, to rule in his likeness. If the fallen Sons of God could transform the image of God into
their
image, their revenge would be almost complete. By mixing the human line of descent with their own, they could stop the bloodline of the promised King from bringing forth its fruit, and thereby win the war of the Seed of Nachash with the Seed of Havah.

Anu had a
mellower side that Inanna lacked. He preferred to keep humans alive to serve him rather than destroy them. It was all a matter of perspective. He believed wisdom dictated that his own interests be portrayed as compassion to the humans. Perhaps they would even one day love him instead of fear him. Was this not what it was like to be Elohim?

Lugalanu interrupted Anu’s thoughts
. “These nomads killed our scouts. They are ruthless savages.”

Anu responded, “I too would kill those ugly little beasts if they were sniffing around my residence.”

Inanna snorted with disapproval but refused to keep fighting. She would choose her battles. This was not one of them.

“Meet with the tribal leaders and allow them every opportunity to submit,” Anu
decreed.

Inanna’s ire went up. “And if they do not?”

“Then enforce the will of the gods.” He was not about to appear weak. His patience only went so far.

Lugalanu bowed low and backed away from their presence
. He wondered if he had kept a proper balance of flattery for Inanna without disrespect for Anu’s supremacy.

When the human was gone,
Inanna grinned with delight to herself. Her vampiric fangs glistened red as she guzzled the blood offering with satisfaction. Perhaps she had not lost this battle after all
.

Noah, Lemuel and the others trudged into the camp after their pazuzu hunt. Noah hoped that the evening feast would distract
the tribe’s attention from the somber faces of the hunting party. The news would not go over well with the community. They had been discovered, and while they could not be sure that the pazuzu escaped to deliver the information, they had to consider it a strong possibility. They would have to discuss it with the elders tonight. Even if the pazuzu did not make it back to the city, its disappearance would eventually bring more scouts to the area.

The camp nestled in the thick cover of the great cedar forest. Ancient trees blocked much of the light, but
they also obscured the view of hostile airborne eyes. Old fallen trees provided dry wood to minimize smoke. Tents and other shelters spread over the large encampment with plenty of camouflage to conceal their presence. The livestock of sheep, goats and donkeys were penned off to the east face as an early warning of arrivals from the river cities. The middle of the camp vibrated with mothers boiling soups over low fires, children playing and giggling, and elders cleaning up loose end
s.

These were a happy people who served Elohim.
Since they had become nomads, they had seen the wonders of a world so much bigger than they had imagined as city dwellers just a generation ago. Weathering snowstorms in the north, surviving the waterless places of the desert, hunting mountain wildlife. They had been at their current forest location for some time now and had become familiar with all its rhythms and cycles, integrating themselves into it all with a confident caretaker’s dominion. They could think like deer, hide like foxes, hunt like bears and fight like lions.

Noah nodded silently to his companions and turned toward his personal encampment. Though he was the
tribe’s patriarch, his tents were no more than appropriate for a family of his size: one goatskin tent for his wife Emzara and himself, one to the side for his children, and one on the other side for his parents, Lamech and Betenos. They lived with his grandfather, Methuselah. Noah detested the arrogance of royalty and sought to lead by example and merit rather than through power and station. He would not live with special privileges. He would not ask sacrifice of his people that he would not himself also give
.

Noah went first to check on his parents. He loved his father and mother deeply. They had raised him with a stern but steady love. Though they were well over six hundred and sixty years old
– Noah lost count – they had been mighty in the dark past as giant killers with his great-grandfather Enoch. They spoke little of those days. They did not want the clan to lose vigilance in thinking they had special warriors in their midst. They were human after all, and not invincible. But they taught Noah how to fight and how to be a leader
.

Lamech had built the city
of Shuruppak after the Titanomachy had almost destroyed their world. But when followers of Ninlil, the consort goddess of Enlil, over ran Shuruppak with their worship of the goddess, Lamech walked away from his royal station to become a humble nomad. He chose to worship Elohim as he saw fit, removed from the influence of the wicked masses upon his descendants. He often told Noah that Elohim had special plans for Noah. Not many years before, Lamech had lost his right arm in a battle, and chose to retire and hand over leadership of the tribe to Noah as the new Patriarch.

When Noah stuck his head in the tent, all he saw was grandfather Methuselah snoring away in his afternoon nap. Lamech and Betenos must have gone for one of their many walks in the woods, reminiscing about their past
, a time of adventure and danger that they hoped they would never have to face again.

Noah
moved on to his children’s tent, a sense of anticipation rising in him. These were his true achievements: his two sons, Shem, age five, and Japheth, age four. He took his responsibility to Elohim’s command to be fruitful and multiply very seriously. He took everything seriously, too seriously, he thought. And these two little gems were just the antidote he needed to bring him back down to earth and enjoy life a little more. ”Stop once in a while and smell the crocuses,” Emzara often told him. Had he ever even bothered to smell a crocus flower before? He would make sure to do so next chance he got. But this was the immediate pleasure. “Where are my little pups?” he called out as a warning. With a sudden burst of movement, he yanked back the tent flap and jumped inside.

Instead of the expected giggles of two young boys, a laconic, “Baaah”
greeted him. No one was there, only a pet lamb tied up in the middle of the tent. His sons called the lamb Lemuel, naming their favorite pet after their favorite of father’s friends. Noah used it as a joke to tease Lemuel, calling him “my little lamb.” That often ended in a wrestling match of some kind, with Lemuel usually winning because Noah was laughing too much. At least that’s the way Noah told it
.

Noah looked
all round outside the tent. No sign of the boys.

He called out, “Shem? Japheth?”

No response. A single “Bah” punctuated the silence. Noah back glanced at the lamb, as though he expected an explanation from the creature. He looked around the tent again. It was a mess, with everything strewn around like a pack of dogs had been set loose. Was this demolition the work of a couple of rowdy boys playing their hearts out? Or was something wrong? Suddenly, his eyes tightened and he became concerned.

“Shem? Japheth? My sons, where are you?
”

He looked frantically around the room. That is, he pretended to.
Because he knew exactly what would happen next. Two miniature predators jumped out from hiding and pounced on their victim with wooden axe and mace.

“Aha! We got you! We tricked you!” yelled Shem in his triumphant warrior-lord voice
He and his younger brother hailed blows upon their prey. Noah cowered and protected himself while carefully allowing them easy access with their weapons.

“Ah
! You distracted me with a sacrifice! You clever little warriors
!”

“A sacrificial lamb!” shouted Shem.

Japheth could not stop giggling. Noah’s free hand had reached out to tickle him with targeted precision. Japheth always fell victim to tickling. He dropped his mace and completely lost control.

Shem, however, continued to rain blows on Noah. Shem was a chip off the old limestone.
He had his father’s determination. Noah knew that one day he was going to have his hands full with a young man who was a reflection of himself, stubbornness and all.

“You are an abomination!” screamed Shem, absorbed in his righteous slaughter.

Noah abruptly stopped tickling and sat up, sternly. “Where did you learn that word?” he asked.

A wave of fear rushed over Shem.
He did not know what was wrong. It horrified him to displease his father. “Jared’s father Lemuel uses it.”

Noah knew that i
t was not a guilty attempt to shift blame, but rather a genuine appeal to justice, something Shem did far too often. The boy was right. Lemuel did use it all the time as a curse word. That bothered Noah. He could not force Lemuel to stop, but he could do something about his own son.

“Stop using it. It is an adult word, not for children.”

“I am sorry, father,” Shem said meekly.

Noah’s eyes looked deep into Shem’s
. The boy stared back, praying now for mercy.

Noah softened. His
eyes brightened and a big toothy grin appeared. “No harm done, my son.”

He
grabbed them both in a big hug, refusing to let go, crushing them tighter and tighter.

“Uh oh,
” he said, “giant sloth hug!”

The boys giggled and squirmed, trying to escape their father’s embrace. Japheth shrieked with pleasure, the child
ish shriek that pierces one’s eardrums, especially when done right next to the father’s ears.

Noah grunted and released the boys, fingering his ear to rub out the pain. “Japheth
, remember to use that voice if a wild animal ever attacks you. It may never attack another human again.”

Japheth grinned impishly.

Noah added, “Speaking of wild animals, where is that she-wolf of a mother of yours?”

H
e looked up and saw Emzara standing in the tent entrance smiling. Backlit by the bright sun rays upon her red dye linen dress, she was a goddess to him—every bit a tribal queen, and every inch a magnificent vision of Elohim’s creative capacity. Her long, dark, auburn hair caught a breeze and shifted. The sight sent shivers down Noah’s spine. The linen tightly wound around her voluptuous curves, showing them off. Her form beckoned to him, drawing him into a trance. Noah was under her spell, body and soul.

He kept his eyes locked on her as he spoke
. “Boys, stay in the tent for a while. I have to consult privately with your mother.”

Emzara gave an ever-so-slight grin and walked away, leaving the
little boys to play and the bigger boy to lick his lips and stumble after her. Unaware of how parents played, Shem and Japheth fell back into battle with each other.

Emzara had known Noah all her life. They both had spouses that had died. For many years
, Noah had avoided grieving as he poured his heart and soul into care for the clan. He had avoided Emzara as well. The mere sight of her doubled the pain of losing both his wife and his closest confidant, Aramel, Emzara’s dead husband.

But one day, Emzara
had confronted Noah, exhibiting the independent strength he would later become intimately familiar with. She refused to leave Noah’s presence until he discussed with her their mutual pain, in an attempt to overcome it. In that encounter, Noah suddenly saw Emzara as he had never seen her before They were soon married. They were later than usual in starting a new family, but it was never too late for the blessings of Elohim.

Noah’s favorite blessing
from Elohim was his current activity in their private tent. Oneness with his wife was a God-honoring expression of his earthy spirituality. In a way, adoration of his wife’s splendor calmed the troubles he had with Elohim. As he caressed her form, he knew God was good. As their lips met with wet passion, he knew he was known, thoroughly known, and yet still loved. To have this most excellent and brave woman of strength willingly give herself to him humbled him. He felt honored and strengthened by it. His pet name for her was Naamah, which meant “lovely.”

“You wore my favorite dress
we got from that caravan from the land of the Nile,” he panted.

She held up her copper covered wrist, smiling “And
the bracelets,” she said. The benefit of a nomad life was its connection with exotic trade.

“Now, let us take them all off,” he
snickered.

Emzara’s mood changed
suddenly.

It stopped his playfulness.
“What troubles you?” he asked.

“The clan is in turmoil,” she said. “We are weary of living like a pack of wild dogs, always on the run.”

“It is the price we pay for our freedom from the gods.”

Emzara sighed.
Lately, he had been speaking more of freedom than of Elohim.

But before she could
bring that up, he changed the subject. “We found more pazuzu in the forest. It seems that evil follows us like a jackal.
”

“When will it end?”

“When the gods stop demanding obeisance to their proud rule.”

“Thus saith a proud man,” she reproved.

“And this is bad?”

Emzara was the most submissive of women. She knew Elohim created woman out of man’s side to be his
ezer
, a helper beside him. But sometimes that meant speaking the truth that was hard for one’s beloved to hear.

“My love, pride leads to a fall. It is faith that leads to freedom.”

Noah knew she was right. She was his wisest counselor. But his stubbornness rose up.
What does she know of leading a tribe?
he asked himself, avoiding the truth.

She continued, relentlessly loving
. “Do you think I have not also suffered? We both lost everything once. Must you try to be so alone?
”

He
pulled away, though he did not want to admit it. Irritation rapidly swept over the passion with which he entered the tent. “You are a woman of faith. It is no secret my devotion to Elohim has waned as his interest in me has waned. But I am still devoted to righteousness.”

She held his head in her hands and stared into his eyes.
He had the greatest integrity of any man that she had ever seen, even if that integrity sometimes got in the way of the Creator who gave it to him. “I am with child, my Utnapishtim,” she whispered.

Noah’s eyes flashed from shock to joy.
The news took his breath away. Utnapishtim was her pet name for him. It meant “he who found life.” She thought it was quite appropriate for Noah’s earthy gusto.

“My Naamah,” he said and hugged her desperately
. He kissed her passionately. Apart from Emzara’s presence, a child was the one thing that melted Noah’s warrior heart. Children were arrows for warriors and he wanted a quiver full. Because they started their family late, he would not have as many offspring as others, but to him that just meant that each one of his own would be cherished that much more.