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84 and not by some stranger or by any of the Watchers, the heavenly beings." As we know from the rest of the story, Lamech remained doubting in spite of these reassurances. Perhaps he wondered what Bath-Enosh was talking about when she said that "her delicate feelings" should be taken into consideration. Was she covering up the truth after all? As we have already described, Lamech then rushed to his father Metushelah and sought through him Enoch's help in getting to the bottom of the puzzle. The pseudepigraphical sources conclude the tale with the reassurances about Noah's parentage and the explanation that his unusual features and intelligence were just signs of his forthcoming role as the savior of the human seed. As for us, Wwe must remain wondering, since according to the Sumerian sources of the tale the hero of the Deluge was, in all probabil- ity, a demigod. The sex-oriented Divine Encounters began, according to the sources quoted above, at the time of Jared, the father of Enoch. Indeed, his very name is explained in those sources as stemming from the root Yrd which in Hebrew means "to descend," recall- ing the descent of the plotting sons of the gods upon Mount Hermon. Using the chronological formula that we had earlier adopted, we could calculate when it had happened. According to the biblical record, Jared was born 1,196 years before the Deluge; his son Enoch 1,034 years before the Deluge; then Metushelah 969 years before the Deluge, Lamech his son 782 years before the Deluge; and finally Noah, the son of Lamech, 600 years before the Great Flood. Multiplying these numbers by 60 and adding 13,000 years, we arrive at the following timetable: Jared born Enoch born Metushelah born Lamech born Noah born 84,760 years ago 75,040 years ago 71,140 years ago 59,920 years ago 49,000 years ago Bearing in mind that these pre-Diluvial patriarchs lived on for many years after giving birth to their successors, these DIVINE ENCOUNTERS