על צאצאי קין נ׳On the Posterity of Cain and his Exile 50
א׳
1[172] When he says that Seth has sprung up as another seed, he does not indicate that in respect of which he is “another.” Is it in respect of the murdered Abel, or of Cain who slew him? Probably the new offspring is different from each of them (in different ways). from Cain as one hostile to him, (since thirst for virtue is a thing utterly at war with wickedness that plays the part of a deserter). from Abel, as one that is friendly and akin to him; for it does not say “alien from him,” but “different,”
ב׳
2[173] as that which is but beginning differs from that which is full-grown, and that which is in communion with creation from that which is in communion with the uncreated. For this reason, while Abel has relinquished all that is mortal and removed and gone to the better existence, Seth, inasmuch as he is sprung from human virtue, will never relinquish the race of men, but will obtain enlargement. The first enlargement extends to the perfect number 10, when righteous Noah arises; a second and yet better one from Shem, the son of Noah, up to a second “10,” to which faithful Abraham gives his name; then a third, a “7” now more perfect than “10,” reaching from Abraham to Moses, the man wise in all things. He, the seventh from Abraham, does not, like those before him, haunt the outer court of the Holy Place as one seeking initiation, but as a sacred Guide has his abode in the sanctuary.