The epithet used to describe
Nimrod in Genesis 10:8, namely,
Gibbor, is rendered by the author of
The Asatir as "giant," rather than "mighty one." According to
The Asatir, there were several kings, one in succession after the other, one of whose names was Nimrod.
Seth is said to have built the city of
Antioch, one of the cities inhabited before the
Genesis flood narrative. In contrast, Noah, after the Great Deluge, is said to have been buried in the
Tomb of the Patriarchs in
Hebron, along with Adam, the first man. The alleged
grave of Adam aligns with Jewish tradition.
The Asatir describes the descendants of two of the sons of
Shem, viz.
Lud and
Aram, as having settled in a region of
Afghanistan formerly known as
Khorasan but known in Arabic as the
Jazirah "region, island".
Elam and
Ashur are said to have settled in places north of
Ur of the Chaldees. The first half of the 11th chapter contains a description of the borders of the
Land of Israel, in which some of the place names mentioned are no longer identifiable. Some suggest that the author's familiarity with the geography of
Syria leads to the conclusion that he may have lived in the
Levant, where large Samaritan communities then flourished in
Acre,
Tyre, and
Damascus.
Traditions parallel with Jewish tradition While the author of
The Asatir and Jewish traditions are in general agreement, there are differences in minor details. For example, according to
Seder Olam Rabba, there were 340 years from the Great Deluge in the time of Noah (dated at 1656
anno mundi) to the Division of the earth (dated at 1996
anno mundi) when his sons were sent into their respective countries at the confounding of the languages, only ten years before the death of Noah, when he was aged 940. The Samaritan tradition, as conveyed by
The Asatir, avers differently, that Noah divided the earth among his three sons and their descendants some twenty years before his death, when he was aged 930. ==Translations of work==