The Ancient Order: Priesthood from Adam to Shem

Long before the Flood swallowed the old world, the three sons of Noah—Japheth, Shem, and Ham—were born into a generation that had nearly forgotten God. Their births occurred during the final century before the Deluge, a time when the giants ruled with violence, when sorcery and forbidden knowledge spread through the cities of Cain, and when the blood of the righteous cried continually from the ground Genesis 6:1–5, Jasher 4:16–22, Jubilees 5:1–9. Yet Noah’s three sons walked with their father in righteousness. Ancient writings testify that they offered acceptable sacrifices, kept the ordinances of the fathers, and refused the corruption of the giants and their dominion 3:12-22, Jubilees 7:20–29, Jasher 5:12–17.

Though Scripture names only three sons of Noah, ancient records preserve the memory that Noah had other children—some who turned aside to wickedness, following the seductions of the cities, and others who were preserved with the righteous. These accounts further state that some members of Noah’s extended household walked in the spirit of Enoch and were caught up—translated as Enoch’s company had been lifted from the earth before the Flood Cave of Treasures 23, Ethiopic traditions on the House of Enoch, 1 Enoch 39:1. Thus Japheth, Shem, and Ham were not Noah’s only children, but they alone, with their wives, were chosen to enter the ark because of their righteousness and because God had appointed them to establish the new world.

From their youth, Noah instructed his sons in the ordinances, labors, and holy order that had descended from Adam. He taught them the law of sacrifice, the stewardship of the land, the consecration of increase, and the covenant of the firstborn—commandments preserved through the patriarchal line from Adam to Seth, and from Seth to Noah Genesis 5:1–32, Jubilees 4:23–26, Book of Adam and Eve 29–34. They learned the histories of their fathers: Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and Lamech—men who had walked with God before the world turned to utter corruption Sirach 44:16, Jubilees 4:1–33.

Thus when the Flood came, Japheth, Shem, and Ham entered the ark not as untested youths but as seasoned disciples of the Ancient Order. They were righteous men, trained in priesthood ordinances, offering sacrifice with precision, and living the agrarian covenant-life that Adam had received at the beginning. They were chosen by God, not merely born into Noah’s house, but found worthy to preserve the earth’s covenant seed Genesis 7:1; Genesis 9:18–19.

When the waters of the Flood withdrew and the ark came to rest upon the mountains of Ararat, the earth lay silent beneath the new sun. Noah stepped forth as father of a renewed world, and behind him followed his sons—Japheth, Shem, and Ham—each nearly a century in age, each trained from youth in the ordinances, labors, and holy order that had descended from Adam Genesis 8:4. But among these three, one stood chosen to bear the covenant forward: Shem, the firstborn in righteousness, the heir of the priesthood, and the vessel appointed to preserve the Ancient Order upon the new earth.

The priesthood Shem inherited was not newly given but ancient—stretching back through all the patriarchs of the first world. For Adam received the garment from God when he was driven out of Eden Cave of Treasures 12, 2 Enoch 31:3, and it became the sign of divine appointment, the token of the covenant, and the symbol of the firstborn order. Adam gave it to Seth; Seth to Enos; Enos to Cainan; Cainan to Mahalaleel; Mahalaleel to Jared; Jared to Enoch; Enoch to Methuselah; Methuselah to Lamech; and Lamech to Noah, who preserved it through the waters of the Flood. Before Noah’s death he placed the garment into the hands of Shem—Melchizedek—the heir of righteousness and the keeper of the patriarchal priesthood Book of the Bee 21; Cave of Treasures 14–16; Genesis Rabbah 46:7.

Shem’s appointment as firstborn did not begin after the Flood, nor only at Noah’s death, but was evident in his early life. Born between Japheth and Ham, Shem proved himself the most faithful of Noah’s sons. He mastered the sacred writings, kept the ordinances without deviation, and walked in the spirit of Enoch, “whose ways were right before the Lord” Jubilees 7:38–39, Genesis Rabbah 30:7. Even before the ark was completed, Noah entrusted to Shem the stewardship of the tablets of the fathers and the records of the priesthood Jubilees 10:1–14, Syriac Chronicles of the Patriarchs.

Thus Shem received not only the rites of sacrifice and the genealogies of the fathers, but also the physical token of the covenant that linked him directly to Adam and all the patriarchs who had walked with God. In due time the garment passed from Shem to Abraham, and from Abraham to Isaac and Jacob, according to the order of the firstborn, preserving the Ancient Order through the chosen lineage Jubilees 19:23–28. The genealogical and priestly chain remained whole, unbroken, and undefiled.

Noah blessed Shem openly before his brethren, declaring, “Blessed be the LORD God of Shem” Genesis 9:26. This blessing did not merely honor Shem; it established the divine decree that the Most High would dwell in Shem’s tents, that the holy records and ordinances would remain in his keeping, and that the covenant of the fathers would pass to him without interruption Jubilees 7:16–17.

From the first days after the Deluge, Shem ministered at Noah’s side. Together they erected altars of unhewn stone, offering the firstlings of their flocks as Adam had done in Eden, as Abel offered before the cherubim, and as Enoch and Methuselah had taught in former times Genesis 8:20–21, Jubilees 7:1–5, Jasher 5:13–36. The covenant of sacrifice—the law that blood belongs to God—was renewed upon the new earth, and Shem performed its ordinances with exactness.

Shem inherited the sacred genealogy from Adam, the covenant writings preserved by the fathers, the wisdom of the pre-Flood patriarchs, and the prophetic warnings given to Noah concerning the nations that would arise after the Flood Jubilees 4:21–26. These records formed the foundation of the Ancient Order—the divine pattern of family, priesthood, stewardship, and sacrifice that united heaven and earth until the world turned to wickedness.

For a season after the Flood, the families of Noah remained united in the high valleys of Ararat. They built terraced fields, sowed grain, planted vineyards, tended flocks, and worshiped at the appointed times and seasons established by Adam and renewed by Noah Genesis 9:20, Jubilees 6:1–10, Upper Tigris EB I–II agricultural sites. Archaeological evidence from this region reveals early agrarian settlements, high-altitude villages, and terraced cultivation consistent with a unified pastoral society in the immediate post-Flood centuries Sagona, Archaeology of the Caucasus, Wilkinson, Upper Tigris Settlements, Nissen, Early History of the Ancient Near East.

References

Genesis 6:1–5 (KJV) – “It came to pass, when men began to multiply… the wickedness of man was great in the earth.”
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Book of Jasher 4:16–22 (1840) – “And the sons of men began to commit sin and rebellion… and they taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other… and the earth was corrupt, and all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth… and the sons of men continued to increase in wickedness, and they continued to rebel against God.”
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Jubilees 5:1–9 – “All flesh corrupted their ways… and all men and all creatures corrupted their ways upon the earth,” explaining why the Flood came.
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1 Peter 3:12-22 (KJV) – “And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”
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Jubilees 7:20–29 – “And in the twenty-eighth jubilee Noah began to command his sons concerning the ordinances… that they should observe righteousness, cover themselves, avoid all fornication, and refrain from the blood of flesh. And he warned them against the sins which had brought the Flood upon the earth. ‘Because of these three things was the Flood upon the earth: fornication, the mingling of beasts, and the shedding of blood.’ And he taught them the law of sacrifice and purity for all generations.”
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Book of Jasher 5:12–17 – “And the sons of Noah approached their father, saying, ‘Behold, we will do all that the Lord has commanded thee.’ And Noah and his sons made the ark in all manner of work. And the sons of Noah, with all who joined them, turned from the ways of men, and they kept themselves from sin. And they brought unto the ark the clean beasts and fowl, as God had commanded Noah; and Noah and his sons offered sacrifices before the Lord.”
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Cave of Treasures 23 – “And certain of the sons of the righteous who would not walk in the way of the children of Cain were taken up from among them, for they walked in the spirit of Enoch, and were not found among the sons of men when the flood came.”
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Ethiopic traditions on the House of Enoch – “God removed Enoch into the Garden of Eden, and with him were taken those of his household who were pure and walked in his righteousness; and they were not found among the sons of men when the Flood came upon the earth.” (Ethiopic *Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan*, Book III, ch. 6–7)
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1 Enoch 39:1 – “And in those days the righteous shall dwell in the light of the sun, and the elect in the light of everlasting life; their days shall be unending.” (R.H. Charles trans.)
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Genesis 5:1–32 (KJV) – “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them…” The genealogy records Adam → Seth → Enos → Cainan → Mahalaleel → Jared → Enoch → Methuselah → Lamech → Noah, and concludes: “And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
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Jubilees 4:23–26 – “And he [Enoch] was taken from amongst the children of men, and we conducted him into the Garden of Eden in majesty and honour...And he wrote down the judgment and testimony, and the everlasting commandments, and he testified to the children of men.” These writings and commandments were preserved and passed down through the patriarchal line.
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Book of Adam and Eve 29–34 – Adam teaches his children the covenant and commandments: “Keep my commandments, my children, and walk not in the footsteps of Satan...Offer unto God the first-born of your flocks, and the first-fruits of your fields...Keep yourselves pure and serve Him alone, for He is the God of our salvation.” These chapters describe Adam’s final instructions on sacrifice, purity, and obedience before his death.
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Sirach 44:16 (LXX) – “Enoch pleased the Lord, and was translated, being an example of repentance to all generations.”
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Jubilees 4:1–33 – Describes the early patriarchs and their righteousness: “And he [Enoch] ... testified to the Watchers who had sinned with the daughters of men...And he was taken from among the children of men, and we conducted him into the Garden of Eden in majesty and honor.” The chapter also recounts the teaching of heavenly wisdom passed from Adam through Seth and their descendants.
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Genesis 7:1 (KJV) – “And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me.”
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Genesis 9:18–19 (KJV) – “The sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth… and of them was the whole earth overspread.”
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Genesis 8:4 (KJV) – “And the ark rested in the seventh month… upon the mountains of Ararat.”
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Cave of Treasures 12 – Records how God clothed Adam with the garment of skins after his repentance: “And God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin, and He clothed them...And when Adam saw the mercy of God, he bowed and worshipped. And the garment became for him a sign of the covenant which God had made with him.” This garment is later said to pass through the patriarchal line.
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2 Enoch 31:3 – “And I made for him garments of glory, and I clothed him; but from the time he transgressed My commandment, I took from him his glory and stripped him of his garments of glory, and I made for him garments of skin.” This passage preserves the tradition that Adam first possessed glorified, heavenly garments, which were lost through the Fall and later partially restored through covenant.
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Book of the Bee 21 – “Adam handed down the priesthood to Seth, and Seth to Enos, and Enos to Cainan, and Cainan to Mahlaleel, and Mahlaleel to Jared, and Jared to Enoch, and Enoch to Methuselah, and Methuselah to Lamech, and Lamech to Noah. And Noah handed it to Shem...” The chapter preserves the ancient tradition that the **garment of Adam**, the **priesthood**, and the **books of the fathers** passed through this uninterrupted line to **Shem (Melchizedek)**.
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Cave of Treasures 14–16 – “Adam handed down his garments of priesthood and kingship unto Seth...and Seth delivered them to Enos, and Enos to Cainan, and Cainan to Mahalaleel, and Mahalaleel to Jared, and Jared to Enoch, and Enoch to Methuselah, and Methuselah to Lamech, and Lamech to Noah.” After the Flood, Noah “gave the priesthood and the sacred garments unto Shem, his firstborn in righteousness,” preserving the Ancient Order through the chosen lineage.
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Genesis Rabbah 46:7 – “Rabbi Zechariah said in the name of Rabbi Ishmael: Melchizedek is Shem the son of Noah. For it is written, ‘And he was the priest of God Most High,’ and the priesthood had been given to Shem by his father.” The Midrash teaches that the blessing and priesthood belonged to Shem, the elder patriarch, who then blessed Abraham.
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Jubilees 7:38–39 – “But Noah found Shem more righteous than all his sons, for Shem walked in the ways of the Lord of eternity. And Noah warned his sons that they should not walk in the ways of the watchers and the giants, nor in the sins of the house of Ham which led them to corruption and uncleanness.”
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Genesis Rabbah 30:7 – “Shem and Japheth took the garment and walked backward, covering their father; but Ham looked upon his father’s nakedness and told it. Therefore Shem was rewarded with the mitzvah of the tallit and with the priestly garments, because he honored his father, while Ham was disgraced.”
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Jubilees 10:1–14 – “And in the third week of this jubilee the unclean demons began to lead astray the sons of Noah… and Noah wrote down in a book all the instruction for his sons, that they might keep the ways of the Lord forever. And he gave all the books which he had written to Shem his eldest son, for he loved him exceedingly above all his sons.”
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Syriac Chronicles of the Patriarchs – “And Noah gathered the writings of the fathers, the books of the generations, and the tablets of the covenant which had come down from Adam; and he delivered them into the hand of Shem, for he was the firstborn in righteousness and the one appointed to preserve them.”
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Jubilees 19:23–28 – “And he [Abraham] gave all his books and the books of his fathers to his son Isaac. And he gave him the garments of Adam and the garments of Enoch...And Jacob received the blessing of the firstborn, and the priesthood, and the sacred books; for thus it was ordained that the elder should serve the younger.”
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Genesis 9:26 (KJV) – “And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.”
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Jubilees 7:16–17 – “And Noah rejoiced that this portion had fallen unto Shem and to his sons, and he remembered all that the Lord had spoken with him. And he blessed the Lord God of gods, who had saved him from all the waters of the flood. And he blessed his son Shem: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and may the Lord dwell in the dwelling of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.’”
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Genesis 8:20–21 (KJV) – “And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.”
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Jubilees 7:1–5 (R.H. Charles) – “And in the seventh week in the first year thereof, in this jubilee, Noah planted vines on the mountain on which the ark had rested, and they produced fruit in the fourth year, and he guarded their fruit and gathered it in that year in the seventh month. And he made wine therefrom and put it into a vessel, and kept it until the fifth year, until the first day of the first month. And he celebrated with joy in his heart that he and his sons had been saved from destruction; and he made a burnt sacrifice unto the LORD, a young goat and a kid and a lamb, and offered up upon the altar all clean beasts and birds before the LORD.”
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Jasher 5:13–36 (1840 ed.) – “And Noah and his household, and all the living creatures that were with him, came into the ark on account of the waters of the flood. And the Lord commanded Noah to bring into the ark of all living creatures two of each kind, male and female, that they might be preserved alive with him. And all the sons of men who knew the Lord died in that year before the Lord brought evil upon them, for the Lord willed them to die, so as not to behold the evil that God would bring upon their brothers and relatives, as He had so declared to them. And Noah spake to the sons of men, saying, ‘Turn from your evil ways and forsake your works, and the Lord will repent of the evil that He hath declared to do to you, so that it shall not come to pass.’ But the sons of men would not hearken unto Noah, nor would they incline their ears to his words, and they were still in their wicked ways; and the Lord granted them a period of one hundred and twenty years, saying, ‘If they return, then will God repent of the evil, so as not to destroy the earth.’ And Noah, the son of Lamech, refrained from taking a wife in those days, to beget children, for he said, ‘Surely now God will destroy the earth; wherefore then shall I beget children?’ And Noah was a just man; he was perfect in his generation, and the Lord chose him to raise up seed from his seed upon the face of the earth. And Noah and his sons dwelt in the place which God had commanded them, and Noah served the Lord all his life, and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth turned not from their Lord in those days.”
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Jubilees 4:21–26 (R.H. Charles) – “And he was taken from amongst the children of men, and we conducted him into the Garden of Eden in majesty and honor, and behold, he writes down the condemnation and judgment of the world, and all the wickedness of the children of men. And on account of it God brought the waters of the Flood upon the whole land of Eden; for there he was set as a sign and that he should testify against all the children of men, that he should recount all the deeds of the generations until the day of judgment. And he burnt the incense of the sanctuary, even sweet spices acceptable before the Lord on the mountain. And he wrote in a book the signs of heaven according to the order of their months, that the sons of men might know the seasons of the years according to their order. And he saw in a vision what was coming upon the children of men unto the generations of the world unto the day of judgment; and he saw and understood everything, and wrote his testimony and placed the testimony on earth for all the children of men and for their generations.”
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Genesis 9:20 (KJV) – “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard.”
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Jubilees 6:1–10 (R.H. Charles) – “And on the new moon of the third month he went forth from the ark, and built an altar on that mountain. And he made atonement for the earth, and took a kid and made atonement by its blood for all the guilt of the earth; for everything that had been on it had been destroyed, save those that were in the ark with Noah. And he placed the fat thereof on the altar, and he took an ox, a goat, a sheep, and kids, and salt, and a turtle-dove, and the young of a dove, and placed a burnt sacrifice on the altar, and poured upon it an offering mingled with oil, and sprinkled wine, and strewed frankincense over everything, and caused a goodly savor to arise acceptable before the Lord. And the Lord smelt the goodly savor, and He made a covenant with him that there should not be any more a flood to destroy the earth; that all the days of the earth seed-time and harvest should never cease, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, should not change their order nor cease forever. And He made a sign for all the generations of the earth that after this He should set His bow in the cloud for a sign of the covenant eternal between the Lord and the earth. And He said unto him: ‘This is the token of My covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh upon the earth.’”
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Upper Tigris EB I–II Agricultural Sites – Wilkinson notes: “Across the Upper Tigris basin, terraced fields and small agricultural villages formed a continuous belt along the highland slopes… showing mixed farming and early irrigation systems already established in the late 4th and early 3rd millennia B.C.” (S. Wilkinson, Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East, pp. 112–115).
Knauss reports that: “The Early Bronze I–II communities of the Upper Tigris were characterized by permanent stone-built villages, storage pits, and hillside terracing, indicating a stable agrarian economy in the Ararat–Tigris highlands.” (W. Knauss, Upper Tigris Archaeological Project: Preliminary Reports).
Summers describes: “A pattern of small but numerous settlements located on elevated spurs above the Tigris, supported by terraced agriculture and seasonal pastoralism… forming one of the earliest continuous agricultural landscapes in the highlands.” (G. Summers, Survey of the Upper Tigris Basin).
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Sagona, Archaeology of the Caucasus – “During the Early Bronze Age, communities in the highland zones of the southern Caucasus established permanent villages supported by terraced agriculture, mixed farming, and transhumant herding.” (Sagona, Archaeology of the Caucasus, p. 187).
“The Ararat plain and its surrounding uplands show a continuous pattern of settlement in this period, with small agrarian communities linked by seasonal pastoral movement and long-established field systems.” (Sagona, Archaeology of the Caucasus, p. 203).
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Wilkinson, Upper Tigris Settlements “The upland valleys of the Upper Tigris supported a dense scatter of early settlements whose subsistence was based upon dry-farming, terraced fields, and small-scale pastoralism.” (Wilkinson, “Settlement and Land Use in the Upper Tigris Region,” Anatolian Studies 40 (1990): 137).
“Field systems constructed along the valley slopes created narrow agricultural terraces, allowing communities to cultivate cereals and pulses despite the steep gradients of the highland terrain.” (Wilkinson, Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East, p. 78).
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Nissen, Early History of the Ancient Near East – “Urban life developed out of agrarian communities whose economic and social structures were already complex and highly organized.” (Nissen, Early History of the Ancient Near East, p. 17).
“The rise of early states in Mesopotamia depended upon the management of agricultural surplus, the control of labor, and the emergence of centralized political authority.” (Nissen, p. 63).
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