FBOM NOAH TO ABRAHAM, 83
B.From Noah to Abraham.
The corruption which spread in the time of Noah is not described with any details in the Quran, and one event which is stated by the Eabbis to have taken place at this period is transferred by Muhammad to Solomon's time, to which he considered it better suited, as it treats of angels and genii. The Rabbinical passage runs thus : l " Rabbi Joseph was asked by his scholars : ( What is Azael ? ' and he answered : When men at the time of the Flood practised idolatry, God was grieved at it, and two angels, Shamhazai and Azael, said to him : ' Lord of the world, did
1 Midr. Abhkhir quoted in Midr. Yalknfc Chap. XLIV.
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Compare Yoma 67. 2. and Rashi, Zohar on Genesis, i. 26,
