.san^- mmm Ella Sterling Mighels /. /^:M^-pt^iA!i^i-\. / /^ X-^K. 4//V, /^^^V//'^ ^p ©toa iHarcl) Cappan DIXIE KITTEN. Illustrated. Square i2mo, $1.00. AN OLD, OLD STORY-BOOK. Illustrated. Square octavo, $1.50. THE CHAUCER STORY BOOK. Illustrated. Square 8vo, Ji-so- LETTERS FROM COLONIAL CHILDREN. Profusely illustrated. Square 8vo, $1.50. AMERICAN HERO STORIES. Profusely illus- trat-ed. Square 8vo, J 1.50. THE GOLDEN GOOSE AND OTHER FAIRY TALES. With many illustrations, izmo, ;fi.oo. THE CHRIST STORY. For young people. Pro- fusely illustrated. Crown 8vo, ^1.50, 7zet ; postpaid, $1.65. OLD BALLADS IN PROSE. Illustrated by Fanny Y. Cory, izmo, $1.10, «^<; postpaid, ^1.20. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON AND NEW YORK AN OLD, OLD STOEY-BOOK DAVID AND GOLIATH X XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX ^.%\^ . ^^ e— f ^-^^ AN OLD, OLD STORY-BOOK Compilcti from tl^t #Ui €cj6ftament EYA MARCH TAPPA^ J • > J « > 1 BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY C^e KtijerstUe press CarabnUsc 1910 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX X"X XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX x.x XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX 5 i\ -^^'^^ COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published October iqia GIFT OF (/ .l e a *s » / PEEFACB This book is not an attempt to " bring down " the Scriptures to children. It is simply a collection of Old Testament stories, given in the words of the Bible, but arranged like other books in paragraphs rather than verses. Nothing is added, but there is an occasional omission, of a genealogy, for instance, whose inclusion would take from the distinctness of the nar- rative, or of some phrase leading necessarily to questionings which it seems wiser to postpone for a time. Otherwise the Bible text has been strictly followed in the hope that "An Old, Old Story-Book" may render yeoman's service in bring- ing about a familiarity with the Book of Books. Eva Maech Tappan. Worcester , July 23, 1910. ^^2P-'' CONTENTS I. EST EARLIEST TIMES The Creatiox of the World 3 The Garden of Eden 7 Cain and Abel 10 The Story of the Flood 12 1. The Building of the Ark 12 2. The Coming of the Flood 13 3. The Bow iu the Cloud 15 The Story of Abraham 18 1. God leads him to a Strange Country 18 2. God spares Lot for Abraham's Sake 20 3. The Sacrifice of Isaac .......... 24 4. Winning a Wife for Isaac 26 The Story of Joseph 34 1. The Cruel Brethren 34 2. Joseph iu Prison in Egypt 37 3. Pharaoh's Dream . . . .• 41 4. Joseph becomes a Ruler in Egypt 44 6. Joseph's Brethren come to Egypt ....... 46 6. The Silver Cup 50 7. Jacob goes down into Egypt 59 8. The Israelites in Egypt 62 9. The Death of Jacob 65 The Emigration of the Israeutes 71 1. The Israelites in Bondage 71 2. The Child in the Bulrushes 72 3. The Burning Bush 74 4. The Sufferings of the Children of Israel 80 5. The Miracle of the Rods 82 vu CONTENTS 6. The Plagues of Egypt 85 7. The Flight from Egypt 100 8. The Passage across the Red Sea 102 9. The Journey through the Wilderness 105 10. God gives the Ten Commandments 112 11. The Worship of the Golden Calf 116 12. The Building of the Tabernacle 120 13. Balaam blesses the Children of Israel 126 14. The Death of Moses 133 II. THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN THE PROMISED LAND The Children of Israel cross over Jordan 137 The Fall of Jericho 142 The Wile of the Men of Gibeon 144 The Story of Gideon 147 1. The Calling of Gideon 147 2. Gideon routs the Midianites 148 Jephthah's Vow 154 Samson, the Strong Man 167 1. Samson's Riddle 157 2. Samson's Strange Weapon 160 3. The Secret of Samson's Strength 161 4. The Death of Samson 164 Samuel, the Boy whom God called 166 1. The Birth of Samuel 166 2. God speaks to Samuel 168 III. THE CHILDREN" OF ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS The Story of David the Shepherd Boy 173 1. Saul disobeys God and David is chosen King 173 2. David plays on the Harp before Saul 177 3. David kills the Giant Goliath of Gath ....... 178 4. Saul's Jealousy and Jonathan's Affection 184 viii CONTENTS 5. David's Escape from Saul 186 6. The Friendship of Jonathan 188 7. David spares the Life of Saul 193 8. The Battle of Gilboa 196 9. A Psalm of David 199 10. The Story of the Little Ewe Lamb 199 11. David's Ungrateful Son, Absalom 202 The Story of King Solomon 210 1. Solomon's Choice 210 2. A Wise Judge 212 3. Solomon builds a House for the Lord 213 4. The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon 218 6. Some of the Proverbs of Solomon 219 Elijah, the Prophet of God 223 1. Elijah and the Priests of Baal 223 2. Elijah in the Desert 228 3. Elijah raises the Widow's Son 231 4. Naboth's Vineyard 233 5. Elijah ascends to Heaven 237 Elisha, the Successor of Elijah 240 1. Elisha pays a Poor Woman's Debt 240 2. The Shunammite's Son 241 3. The Cure of Naaman the Leper . . . . . . . . 244 4. Elisha helps a Poor Workman . 248 ly. THE ISRAELITES TN EXILE Esther, the Saviour of her People 251 1. Esther becomes a Queen 251 2. Haman's Plot against the Jews 252 Daniel, the Fearless 267 1. The King's Dream 267 2. The Fiery Furnace 274 3. The King's Second Dream 278 4. Belshazzar's Feast 283 5. Daniel in the Den of Lions 287 Jonah, whom God taught to be Merciful 291 IX ILLUSTEATIOKS David and Goliath (Page 183) Frontispiece From a drawing by Arthur I. Keller. Reproduced by courtesy of The Frank A. Munsey Co. Noah leaving the Ark 16 From a painting by Gustave Brion. Abraham and Isaac hear the Angel's Voice . . . . . .26 After the painting by Jan Livensz. Joseph making himself known to his Brethren 56 After the drawing by Gustave Dore. Moses coming down from Mount Sinai 114 After the drawing by Gustave Dore. Samson rending the Lion 158 After the drawing by L. J. F. Bonnat. The Judgment of Solomon 212 After the drawing by Gustave Dore. Elisha restoring to Life the Shunammite's Son 244 From the painting by Sir Frederic Leighton, Daniel in the Den of Lions 288 From the painting by Briton Riviere. IN EARLIEST TIMES AN OLD, OLD STOEY BOOK I. IN EARLIEST TIMES THE CEEATION OF THE WORLD In the beginning God created the heayen and the earth. And the earth was without form, an(J Void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And, tBe :SpiHt^6]['".^'od moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light": and there was hght. And God saw the Hght, that it was good : and God divided the hght from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morn- ing were the first day. And God said, " Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament : and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, "Let the waters under the heaven be gath- ered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear"; 3 IN EARLIEST TIMES and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, " Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yield- ing fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth " : and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind : and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day. And God said, " Lsc chere be lights in the firmament of the heaven to di^'ide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years : and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth " : and it was so. And God made two great lights ; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness : and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. And God said, "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven." And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind : and God 4 THE CREATION OF THE WORLD saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, " Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth." And the evening and the morn- ing were the fifth day. And God said, " Let the earth bring forth the living crea- ture after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind " : and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, " Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have do- minion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him ; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, " Be fruitful, and multiply, and re- plenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." And God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for 6 IN EARLIEST TIMES meat ": and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it : because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. THE garde:n^ of ede:n' AxD the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden ; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food ; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden ; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison : that is it which com- passeth the w^hole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good : there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon : the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Eu- phrates. And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying: " Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat : but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the 7 IN EARLIEST TIMES field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman : " Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden V " And the woman said unto the serpent : " We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden : but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ' Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'" And the serpent said unto the woman: " Ye shall not surely die; for God doth Imow that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day : and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him: "Where art thou?" And he said: " I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, and I hid myself." And he said : " Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat ? " And the man said : " The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave 8 THE GARDEN OF EDEN me of the tree, and I did eat." And the Lord God said unto the woman: " What is this that thou hast done? " And the woman said : " The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." And the Lord God said unto the serpent: " Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life : and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Unto the woman he said: " I will greatly multiply thy sorrow ; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." And unto Adam he said: " Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, say- ing, ' Thou shalt not eat of it ' : cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life ; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. CAIN ANT> ABEL Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain : "Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain : " Where is Abel thy brother?" And he said: "I know not: am I my brother's keeper ?" And he said: " What hast thou done ? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, 10 CAIN AND ABEL it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength ; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." And Cain said unto the Lord: " My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth ; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth ; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me." And the Lord said unto him: " Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. THE STORY OF THE FLOOD 1. THE BUILDING OF THE ARK And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said: " I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth ; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them." But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and God said unto Noah : "The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them ; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of : the length of the ark shall be three hmidred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above ; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And, behold, I, even I, do 12 THE STORY OF THE FLOOD bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I es- tablish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee ; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee ; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them." Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. 2. THE COMING OF THE FLOOD And the Lord said unto N^oah : " Come thou and all thy house into the ark ; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation." In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fomitains of the great deep broken up, and the win- dows of heaven were opened, and the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, 13 IN EARLIEST TIMES and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; they, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creep- eth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort; and they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him : and the Lord shut him in. And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were in- creased greatly upon the earth ; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creep- eth upon the earth, and every man : all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven ; and they were destroyed from the earth : and ISToah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. 14 THE STORY OF THE FLOOD 3. THE BOW IN THE CLOUD And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged. The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters returned from off the earth continually : and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that IS^oah opened the window of the ark which he had made: and he sent forth a raven, which Avent forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf 15 IN EARLIEST TIMES pliTckt off : so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more. And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. Aaid God spake unto Noah, saying: " Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth ; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth." And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and what- soever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying: " And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you ; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with 16 )4 X H I— I THE STORY OF THE FLOOD you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood ; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth." And God said : " This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations : I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: and I will re- member my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud ; and I will look upon it, that I may remem- ber the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." THE STORY OF ABRAHAM 1. GOD LEADS HIM TO A STRANGE COUNTRY "Now the Lord had said unto Abram : " Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him ; and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Ca- naan; and into the land of Canaan they came. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said : " Unto thy seed will I give this land"; and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the 18 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM east : and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together; for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herd- men of Lot's cattle; and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot : " Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen ; for we be breth- ren. Is not the whole land before thee ? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jor- dan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 19 IN EARLIEST TIMES Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot jour- neyed east; and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him : " Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and west- ward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee." Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord. 2. GOD SPARES LOT FOR ABRAHAM'S SAKE The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. And the Lord said : " Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous ; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry 20 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM of it, which is come unto me ; and if not, I will know." And Abram [whom God now called Abraham, or " the father of many nations "] drew near, and said : " TV'ilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked ? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city : wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty right- eous that are therein ? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked : and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" And the Lord said: " If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes." And Abraham answered and said: " Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes. Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous : wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five?" And he said: " If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it." And he spake unto him yet again, and said: " Peradventure there shall be forty found there." And he said: " I will not do it for forty's sake." And he said unto him : " Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak : perad- venture there shall thirty be found there." And he said : "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." And he said: 21 IN EARLIEST TIMES " Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: j^eradventure there shall be twenty found there," And he said: " I will not destroy it for twenty's sake." And he said: " Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once : peradventure ten shall be found there." And he said: " I will not destroy it for ten's sake." And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left com- muning with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom : and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; and he said: " Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways." And they said: "Nay; but we will abide in the street all night." And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. And the men said unto Lot: "Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place : for we will destroy this place, 22 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM ' because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord ; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it." And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said: "Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city." But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying: "Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here ; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city." And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daugh- ters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said: " Escape for thy life ; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed." Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabit- ants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But [Lot's] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 23 IN EARLIEST TIMES 3. THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC And Abraham called the name of his son that was born mito him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And it came to pass that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him: "Abraham"; and he said: " Behold, here I am "; and he said: " Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." And Abraham rose up early in the morn- ing, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men: "Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said: "My father": and he said: " Here am I, my son." And he said: 24 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM " Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? " And Abraham said : "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering " ; so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said: "Abraham, Abraham": and he said: "Here am I." And he said: " Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him ; for now I know that thou f earest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." And Abraham hfted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, be- hind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abra- ham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh; as it is said to this day, " In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen." And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said: "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son : that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I 25 IN EARLIEST TIMES will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore ; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the na- tions of the earth be blessed ; because thou hast obeyed my voice." So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. 4. WINNING A WIFE FOR ISAAC Abraham was old, and well stricken in age, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had: " Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell ; but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac." And the servant said unto him: " Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land; must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?" And Abraham said unto him: " Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's 26 ABRAHAM AND ISAAC HEAR THE ANGEL S VOICE THE STORY OF ABRAHAM house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying. Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath; only bring not my son thither again." And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand. And he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Mahor. And he made his camels to kneel down with- out the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said: " O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water; and let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, ' Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink ' ; and she shall say, * Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also': let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac ; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kind- ness unto my master." 27 IN EARLIEST TIMES And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin; and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said: " Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher." And she said: "Drink, my lord": and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said: "I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking." And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; and said: " Whose daughter art thou ? tell me, I pray thee : is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in ?" And she said unto him: " I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which 28 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM she bare nnto Nahor." She said moreover unto him: "We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in." And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord. And he said: " Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth. I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren." And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things. And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. And Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying: ^ " Thus spake the man unto me " ; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. And he said: "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels." And the man came into the house; and he un- girded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to eat, but he said: " I will not eat, mitil I have told mine errand." And he said: 29 IN EARLIEST TIMES "Speak on." And he said: " I am Abraham's servant. And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great; and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old, and unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, ' Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; but thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.' And I said unto my master, ^ Peradventure the woman will not follow me.' And he said unto me, 'The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and jDrosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house; then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.' And I came this day unto the well, and said, 'O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go : behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, " Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink"; and she say to me, "Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels": let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master's son.' And before I had done speaking in 30 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water; and I said unto her, ^Let me drink, I pray thee.' And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, * Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also'; so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. And I asked her, and said, ' Whose daughter art thou ? ' And she said, ' The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him'; and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me ; and if not, tell me ; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left." Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said: " The thing proceedeth from the Lord ; we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken." And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah; he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with 31 IN EARLIEST TIMES him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said: " Send me away unto my master." And her brother and her mother said : " Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten ; after that she shall go." And he said unto them : " Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master." And they said: "We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth." And they called Rebekah, and said unto her: " Wilt thou go with this man V " Ajid she said : "I will go." And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her: " Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them." And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man; and the ser- vant took Rebekah, and went his way. And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south coun- try. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the even- tide; and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, "What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, "It is 32 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM my master " : therefore she took a veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife ; and he loved her, and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; the field which Abra- ham purchased of the sons of Heth. There was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. THE STORY OF JOSEPH 1. THE CRUEL BRETHREN Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not. speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren : and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them : " Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed : for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf." And his brethren said to him: " Shalt thou indeed reign over us ? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us ? " And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet an- other dream, and told it his brethren, and said : "Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me." And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him: 34 THE STORY OF JOSEPH ""What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down our- selves to thee to the earth?" And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in She- chem. And Israel said mito Joseph : " Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem ? come, and I will send thee unto them." And he said to him : " Here am I." And he said to him : " Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again." So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wander- ing in the field: and the man asked him, saying, "What seekest thou ?" And he said: " I seek my brethren ; tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks." And the man said: " They are departed hence ; for I heard them say, * Let us go to Dothan.' " And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another: " Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, *Some evil beast hath devoured him': and we shall see what 35 IN EARLIEST TIMES will become of his dreams." And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said: " Let us not kill him." And Reuben said unto them, " Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him"; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him ; and they took him ; and cast him into a pit; and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren : " What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood ? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him ; for he is our brother and our flesh." And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites, merchantmen ; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver; and they brought Joseph into Egypt. And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said: " The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?" And they 36 THE STORY OF JOSEPH took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father; and said: " This have we found; know now whether it be thy son's coat or no." And he knew it, and said : "It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces." And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him ; but he refused to be comforted, and he said: " For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourn- ing." Thus his father wept for him. And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard. 2. JOSEPH IN PRISON IN EGYPT And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Eg}^ptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, 37 IN EARLIEST TIMES and he served him : and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not aught he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well fa- voured. And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife [falsely accused Joseph of wrongdoing]. And when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, his wrath was kindled. And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a jDlace where the king's prison- ers were bound; and he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand ; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the 38 THE STORY OF JOSEPH king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; and they continued a season in ward. And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in nnto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying: " Wherefore look ye so sadly to-day ? " And they said unto him: "We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it." And Joseph said unto them: " Do not interpretations belong to God ? tell me them, I pray you." And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him: " In my dream, behold, a vine was before me ; and in the vine were three branches; and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth ; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes; and Pharaoh's cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, 39 IN EARLIEST TIMES and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand." And Joseph said unto him: '^ This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place ; and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and rnake mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house; for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews ; and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon." When the chief baker saw that the inter- pretation was good, he said unto Joseph : "I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head; and in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh ; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head." And Joseph answered and said: " This is the interpretation thereof : the three baskets are three days; yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee." And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto 40 THE STORY OF JOSEPH his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand; but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had inter- preted to them. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him. 3. PHARAOH'S DREAM And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed ; and, behold, he stood by the river. And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and f atfleshed ; and they fed in a meadow. And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamed the second time; and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, be- hold, it was a dream. And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof, and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them 41 IN EARLIEST TIMES unto Pharaoh. Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying : " I do remember my faults this day. Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker. And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man ac- cording to the interpretation of his dream. And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the cap- tain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged." Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon ; and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. And Pha- raoh said unto Joseph : " I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can in- terpret it; and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it." And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying: " It is not in me. God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." And Pharaoh said unto Joseph: " In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river; and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat- fleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow; and, behold, seven other kine came up, after them, poor and very 42 THE STORY OF JOSEPH ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness ,• and the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine ; and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them ; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good ; and, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them ; and the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me." And Joseph said unto Pha- raoh : " The dream of Pharaoh is one : God hath shewed Pha- raoh what he is about to do. The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: what God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: and there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land; and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous. And for 43 IN EARLIEST TIMES that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice ; it is because the thing is estabhshed by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man dis- creet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of fam- ine, which shall be in the land of Egypt ; that the land perish not through the famine." 4. JOSEPH BECOMES A RULER IN EGYPT And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants : " Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is ? " And Pharaoh said mito Joseph : "Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art ; thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled : only in the throne will I be greater than thou." And Pharaoh said unto Joseph: " See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt." 44 THE STORY OF JOSEPH Aiid Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, "Bow the knee"; and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Jo- seph: " I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." And Pharaoh gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Josej^h went out from the pres- ence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number. And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh : " For God," said he, " hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house." And the name 45 IN EARLIEST TIMES of the second called he Ephraim : " For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said; and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egyj^t was famished, the peojDle cried to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians: "Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do." And the famine was over all the face of the earth. And JosejDh opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands. 5. JOSEPH'S BRETHREN COME TO EGYPT Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons : "Why do ye look one upon another ? " And he said: " Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt; get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die." And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent 46 THE STORY OF JOSEPH not with his brethren; for he said, "Lest peradventnre mis- chief befall him." And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came; for the famine was in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land; and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them ; and he said unto them : "Whence come ye?" And they said: "From the land of Canaan to buy food." And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph re- membered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them: " Ye are spies ; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come." And they said unto him: "Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies." And he said unto them: " Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come." And they said: " Thy servants are twelve brethren, sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not." And Joseph said unto them : " That is it that I spake unto you, saying, * Ye are spies': 47 IN EARLIEST TIMES hereby ye shall be proved : by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, Avhether there be any truth in you; or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies." And he put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto them the third day: "This do, and live; for I fear God: if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison ; go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses ; but bring your youngest brother unto me ; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die." And they did so. And they said one to another: "We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us." And Reuben answered them, saying, "Spake I not unto you, saying, 'Do not sin against the child;' and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required." And they knew not that Joseph under- stood them ; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept ; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them 48 THE STORY OF JOSEPH provision for the way : and thus did he unto them. And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth. And he said unto his brethren: "My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack"; and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, " "What is this that God hath done unto us ? " And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them, saying : " The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. And we said unto him, 'We are true men; we are no spies; we be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.' And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, 'Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your house- holds, and be gone ; and bring your youngest brother unto me ; then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men; so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.' " And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack; and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto them : 49 IN EARLIEST TIMES "Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away ; all these things are against me." And Reuben spake unto his father, saying : "Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee; deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again." And he said : "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone ; if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." 6. THE SILVER CUP And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them: " Go again, buy us a little food." And Judah spake unto him, saying: " The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, ' Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.' If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food. But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down; for the man said unto us, ' Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.' " And Israel said : " Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?" And they said: 50 THE STORY OF JOSEPH " The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kin- dred, saying, *Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother ? ' and we told him according to the tenor of these words. Could we certainly know that he would say, ' Bring your brother down ' ? " And Judah said unto Israel his father : " Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go ; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him ; of my hand shaltthou require him ; if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever; for except we had lin- gered, surely now we had returned this second time." And their father Israel said unto them: " If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds ; and take double money in your hand ; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; perad venture it was an over- sight; take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man; and God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin, and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house: 61 IN EARLIEST TIMES " Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready ; for these men shall dine with me at noon." And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, "Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses." And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, and said: " O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food; and it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we oj)ened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight ; and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food; we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks." And he said: "Peace be to you, fear not; your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money." And he brought Simeon out unto them. And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon; for they heard that they should eat bread there. And when Joseph came home, they brought him the pre- 62 THE STORY OF JOSEPH sent which was in their hand into the house, and bowed them- selves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their wel- fare, and said: " Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake ? Is he yet alive ? " And they answered : " Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive." And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said: " Is this yoiu" younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me ? " And he said, " God be gracious unto thee, my son." And Joseph made haste ; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother; and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, " Set on bread." And they set on for him by himself, and for them by them- selves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with them, by themselves ; because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews ; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth ; and the men marvelled one at another. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him; but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him. And he commanded the steward of his house, saying; 63 IN EARLIEST TIMES " Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money.'^ And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto the steward: "Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, ' Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good ? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth ? ye have done evil in so doing.' " And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. And they said unto him : "Wherefore saith my lord these words ? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing. Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan; how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold ? With whom- soever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also Avill be my lord's bondmen." And he said : " Xow also let it be according unto your words ; he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blame- less." Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the 64 THE STORY OF JOSEPH cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house, for he was yet there; and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said unto them : "What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine ? " And Judah said : " What shall we say unto my lord ? what shall we speak ? or how shall we clear ourselves ? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants; behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found." And he said: " God forbid that I should do so ; but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father." Then Judah came near unto him, and said: " Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant, for thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, ^ Have ye a father, or a brother ? ' And we said unto my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.' And thou saidst unto thy servants, 'Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.' And we said unto my lord, ' The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should leave 65 IN EARLIEST TIMES his father, his father would die.' And thou saidst unto thy servants, 'Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.' And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And our father said, ' Go again, and buy us a little food.' And we said, 'We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down, for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.' And thy servant my father said unto us, ' Ye know that my wife bare me two sons; and the one went out from me, and I said, "Surely he is torn in pieces"; and I saw him not since ; and if ye take this also from me, and mischief be- fall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.' Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life, it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die, and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, ' If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.' Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me ? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father." 66 JOSEPH MAKING HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN THE STORY OF JOSEPH Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him ; and he cried, " Cause every man to go out from me." And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known mito his brethren. And he wept aloud; and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren: " I am Joseph ; doth my father yet live ?" And his brethren could not answer him ; for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, " Come near to me, I pray you." And they came near. And he said, " I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land, and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be ear- ing' nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God : and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, ' Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt : come down unto me, tarry not: and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy 1 Plowing. 57 IN EARLIEST TIMES herds, and all that thou hast; and there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.' And, be- hold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. Aoid ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither." And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them, and after that his brethren talked with him. And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, say- ing, "Joseph's brethren are come"; and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph : " Say unto thy brethren, ' This do ye ; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; and take your father and your households, and come unto me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.' Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours." And the children of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and 58 THE STORY OF JOSEPH gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way. So he sent his brethren away, and they departed; and he said unto them, " See that ye fall not out by the way." 7. JACOB GOES DOWN INTO EGYPT And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, and told him, saying, "Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt." And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them. And when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived, and Israel said : " It is enough ; Joseph my son is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die." And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said: " Jacob, Jacob." And he said : "Here am I." And he said: 59 IN EARLIEST TIMES " I am God, the God of thy father. Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation; I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also sin*ely bring thee up again, and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes." And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba; and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him : his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him ; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph : " Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet ahve." And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house : " I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, 'My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; and the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle ; and they have brought 60 THE STORY OF JOSEPH their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.' And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, ' What is your occupation ? ' that ye shall say, ' Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers ' : that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen ; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians." Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said: " My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen." And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren: " What is your occupation ? " And they said unto Pha- raoh : " Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fa- thers." They said moreover unto Pharaoh, " For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks ; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan : now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen." And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying: " Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee : the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell ; in the land of Goshen let them dwell ; and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle." 61 IN EARLIEST TIMES And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him be- fore Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob: " How old art thou ? " And Jacob said unto Pharaoh : ^' The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrim- age." And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 8. THE ISRAELITES IN EGYPT And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Jose23h nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their fami- lies. And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. And Joseph gath- ered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said: 62 THE STORY OF JOSEPH " Give us bread, for why should we die in thy presence ? for the money f aileth." And Joseph said ; " Give your cattle, and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail." And they brought their cattle unto Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses; and he fed them wdth bread for all their cattle for that year. When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him : " We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not aught left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands. Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land ? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh ; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate." And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the fam- ine prevailed over them. So the land became Pharaoh's. And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof. Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them. Wherefore they sold not their lands. Then Joseph said unto the people : " Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for 63 IN EARLIEST TIMES Pharaoh; lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones." And they said: " Thou hast saved our lives : let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants." And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's. And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. And the time drew nigh that Israel must die, and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him: " If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me ; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt; but I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place." And he said: " I will do as thou hast said." And he said: " Swear unto me." And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head. 64 THE STORY OP JOSEPH 9. THE DEATH OP JACOB And it came to pass after these things, that one told Jo- seph, "Behold, thy father is sick"; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said: "Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee"; and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph: " God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said unto me, ' Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people ; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.' And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine ; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem." And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said: " Who are these ? " And Joseph said unto his father: 65 IN EARLIEST TIMES " They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place." And he said: " Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them." !Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. And Israel said unto Joseph : " I had not thought to see thy face, and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed." And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said: " God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac ; and let them grow into a multi- tude in the midst of the earth." And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; and he held up his father's hand, to remove 66 THE STORY OF JOSEPH it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. And JosejDh said unto his father: "Kot so, my father, for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head." And his father refused, and said : "I know it, my son, I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." And he blessed them that day, say- ing, " In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh"; and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. And Israel said unto Joseph, "Behold, I die; but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow." And Jacob called unto his sons and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. And he charged them, and said unto them : "I am to be gathered unto my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying- place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried 67 IN EARLIEST TIMES Leah. The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth." And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people. And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept ujDon him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father; and the physicians em- balmed Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him ; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days. And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying : " If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, *My father made me swear, saying, "Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me.' ISTow therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.'" And Pharaoh said: " Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear." And Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt. And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both 68 THE STORY OF JOSEPH chariots and horsemen : and it was a very great company. And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is be- yond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father seven days. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Ca- naanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, " This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians " ; wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond Jordan. And his sons did unto him according as he com- manded them ; for his sons carried him into the land of Ca- naan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ej)hron the Hittite, before Mamre. And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father. And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said : " Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly re- quite us all the evil which we did unto him." And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, " Thy father did command before he died, saying : ^ So shall ye say unto Joseph, " For- give, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin ; for they did unto thee evil." ' And now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father." And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his breth- ren also went and fell down before his face; and they said: 69 IN EARLIEST TIMES " Behold, we be thy servants." And Joseph said unto them: " Fear not; for am I in the place of God ? But as for you, ye thought evil against me ; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not. I will nourish you, and your little ones." And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house ; and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation; the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees. And Joseph said unto his brethren: " I die ; and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." And Joseph took an oath of the chil- dren of Israel, saying, " God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence." So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they embalmed him, and he was put in a cofRn in Egypt. THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES 1. THE ISRAELITES IN BONDAGE And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that gener- ation. And the children of Israel increased abundantly, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. Xow there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people: " Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land." Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raam- ses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multi- plied and grew. And they were grieved because of the chil- dren of Israel. And the Egy^ptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor; and they made their lives bitter with hard bond- age, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service, wherem they made them serve, was with rigor. 71 IN EARLIEST TIMES 2. THE CHILD IN THE BULRUSHES And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying: " Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive." And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman bare a son ; and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bul- rushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child ; and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him and said: " This is one of the Hebrews' children." Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter: " Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee ? " And Pharaoh's daughter said to her : " Go." And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her: 72 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES " Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages." And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pha- raoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses; and she said, "Because I drew him out of the water." And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their bur- dens; and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together; and he said to him that did the wrong: " Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow ? " And he said : "Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? " And Moses feared, and said, " Surely this thing is known." Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well. ]N'ow the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. And when they came to Reuel their father, he said : 73 IN EARLIEST TIMES " How is it that ye are come so soon to-day? " And they said : "An Egyptian dehvered us out of the hand of the shep- herds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock." And he said unto his daughters: "And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread." And Moses was content to dwell with the man; and he gave Moses Zipporah his daugh- ter. And she bare him a son, and he called his name Ger- shom, for he said, "I have been a stranger in a strange land." And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them. 3. THE BURNING BUSH ^Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said; 74 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES " I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said: "Moses, Moses." And he said: "Here am I." And he said: "Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Moreover he said, " I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyp- tians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amor- ites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me ; and I have also seen the oppression where- with the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egyj)t." And Moses said unto God: "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I 75 IN EARLIEST TIMES should bring forth the children of Israel out of EgyjDt? " And he said: "Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee : when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain." And Moses said unto God: "Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, ' The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you'; and they shall say to me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say unto them?" And God said unto Moses: "I AM THAT I am": and he said: " Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, ' I AM hath sent me unto you.'" And God said moreover unto Moses, "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, ' The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.' Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, ' The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, say- ing, " I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt; and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey." ' And they shall hearken to thy voice : and thou 76 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, ^ The Lord God of the He- brews hath met with us ; and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders w^hich I will do in the midst thereof; and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty; but every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. And ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters ; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians." And Moses answered and said : " But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice ; for they will say, ^ The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.'" And the Lord said unto him: "AVhat is that in thine hand?" And he said: "A rod." And he said: "Cast it on the ground." And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, *' Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail." And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: "That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God 77 IN EARLIEST TIMES of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee." And the Lord said furthermore unto him, "Put now thine hand into thy bosom." And he put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, " Put thine hand into thy bosom again." And he put his hand into his bosom again ; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. " And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not beheve also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land." And Moses said unto the Lord: "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." And the Lord said unto him: "Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Kow therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." And he said: "O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send." And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said: *^ Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother ? I know that he can 78 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee ; and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs." And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him : "Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive." And Jethro said to Moses : " Go in peace." And the Lord said imto Moses in Midian : "Go, return into Egypt; for all the men are dead which sought thy life." And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And the Lord said unto Moses: " When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand; but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, ^ Thus saith the Lord, " Israel is my son, even my firstborn ; and I say unto thee. Let my son go, that he may serve me; and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy fii*st- 79 IN EARLIEST TIMES born." ' " And the Lord said to Aaron, " Go into the wil- derness to meet Moses." And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. And Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people beheved; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. 4. THE SUFFERINGS OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh : " Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, ' Let my peojDle go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.' " And Pharaoh said: " Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go ? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." And they said : "The God of the Hebrews hath met with us; let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice imto the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or .with the sword." And the king of Egypt said unto them: 80 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES " Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens." Ajid Pharaoh said : " Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens." And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, " Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore. Let them go and gather straw for them- selves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make here- tofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught thereof, for they be idle ; therefore they cry, saying, ' Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words." And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying: " Thus saith Pharaoh, ^I will not give you straw.' Go ye, get you straw w^here ye can find it : yet not aught of your work shall be diminished." So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. And the taskmasters hasted them, saying: " Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw." And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, " Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to-day, as heretofore ? " Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying: 81 IN EARLIEST TIMES " Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants ? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, ' Make brick ' ; and, behold, thy servants are beaten ; but the fault is in thine own people." But he said: " Ye are idle, ye are idle; therefore ye say, 'Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord.' Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks." And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, " Ye shall not niinish aught from your bricks of your daily task." And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh; and they said unto them: "The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us." 5. THE MIRACLE OF THE RODS And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said : " Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pha- raoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all." Then the Lord said unto Moses : " Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh ; for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand 82 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES shall he drive them out of his land." And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, "I am the Lord; and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrim- age, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Where- fore say unto the children of Israel, * I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments; and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyp- tians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage. I am the Lord.' " And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel ; but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: " Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land." And Moses spake before the Lord, saying: 83 IN EARLIEST TIMES " Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me ?" And the Lord said imto Moses : " See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them." And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, so did they. And Moses was four- score years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying : " When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, ' Shew a miracle for you; ' then thou shalt say unto Aaron, * Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh,' and it shall become a serpent." And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a aerpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the 84 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES sorcerers. N"ow the magicians of Egypt, they also did in hke manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had said. 6. THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT And the Lord said unto Moses: " Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he ref useth to let the people go. Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goethout unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come ; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. And thou shalt say mito him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, say- ing, " Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wil- derness"; and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. Thus saith the Lord, "In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord; behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood." And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.' " And the Lord spake unto Moses : "Say unto Aaron, 'Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon 85 IN EARLIEST TIMES their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood ; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.' " And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchant- ments; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the Lord had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also. And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. And seven days were fulfilled, after that the Lord had smitten the river. And the Lord spake unto Moses: " Go imto Pharaoh, and say unto him, ' Thus saith the Lord, let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy bor- ders with frogs; and the river shall bring forth frogs abun- dajitly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into 86 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs ; and the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.' " And the Lord spake unto Moses : " Say unto Aaron, ' Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.' " And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said: " Intreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord." And Moses said unto Pharaoh : " Glory over me ; when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only ? " And he said: "To-morrow." And he said: " Be it according to thy word; that thou may est know that there is none like unto the Lord our God. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people ; they shall remain in the river 87 IN EARLIEST TIMES only." And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together upon heaps : and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said. And the Lord said unto Moses : " Say unto Aaron, ' Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout alt the land of Egypt.' " And they did so ; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And the ma- gicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not; so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh : "This is the finger of God"; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said. And the Lord said unto Moses : " Pise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh ; lo, he Cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, 'Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and 88 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES upon thy people, and into thy houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. And I will put a di- vision between my people and thy people; to-morrow shall this sign be.' " And the Lord did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was cor- rupted by reason of the swarm of flies. And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said : " Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land." And Moses said : " It is not meet so to do ; for we shall sacrifice the abomi- nation of the Egyptians to the Lord our God ; lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us ? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us." And Pharaoh said: " I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away; intreat for me." And Moses said : " Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his 89 IN EARLIEST TIMES servants, and from his people, to-morrow. But let not Pha- raoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord." And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses ; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there re- mained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. Then the Lord said unto Moses: " Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, ' Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep; there shall be a very grievous murrain. And the Lord shall sever be- tween the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt; and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.' " And the Lord appointed a set time, saying: " To-morrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land." And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died; but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the peo23le go.- And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron: 90 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES " Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt." And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pha- raoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it be- came a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses be- cause of the boils ; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them ; as the Lord had spoken unto Moses. And the Lord said unto Moses : "Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, ' Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pes- tilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go ? Behold, to-mor- row about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous 91 IN EARLIEST TIMES hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field ; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.' " He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses : and he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field. And the Lord said unto Moses, " Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt." And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven : and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very griev- ous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them : " I have sinned this time ; the Lord is righteous, and I and my peoj^le are wicked. Intreat the Lord (for it is enough) 92 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail ; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer." And Moses said unto him : " As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord's. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God." And the flax and the barley was smitten; for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was boiled. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten ; for they were not grown up. And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the Lord; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pha- raoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the Lord had spoken by Moses. And the Lord said unto Moses: " Go in unto Pharaoh ; for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him ; and that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the Lord." And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him : 93 IN EARLIEST TIMES " Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, ' How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to-morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast; and they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the resi- due of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field; and they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were uj^on the earth unto this day.' " And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh. And Pha- raoh's servants said imto him: " How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God ; knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed ? " And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them: " Go, serve the Lord your God; but who are they that shall go ? " And Moses said : " We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord." And he said unto them : *'Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones; look to it; for evil is before you. IS^ot so; 94 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord ; for that ye did desire." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. And the Lord said unto Moses : " Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left." And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night ; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt; very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left ; and there re- mained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said: " I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only." And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord. And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea ; there remained not one locust in all the coasts 95 IN EARLIEST TIMES of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. And the Lord said unto Moses : " Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt." And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days ; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said : " Go ye, serve the Lord ; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed; let your little ones also go with you." And Moses said: " Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God ; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither." But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. And Pharaoh said unto him : " Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die." And Moses said : " Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face again no more." 96 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES And the Lord said unto Moses; " Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence. When he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man bor- row of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold." And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. And Moses said: " Thus saith the Lord, ' About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt ; and all the firstborn in the land of Egyj)t shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast; that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, " Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee"; and after that I will go out.' " And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. And the Lord said unto Moses: 97 IN EARLIEST TIMES "Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt." And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh. And the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the chil- dren of Israel go out of his land. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying : " This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, accord- ing to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house; and if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the num- ber of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats ; and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the pur- ten^nce thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until 98 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES the morning ; and that which remaineth of it until the morn- ing ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's pass- over. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will exe- cute judgment. I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are ; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial ; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations ; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever." And the chil- dren of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had com- manded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pha- raoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon ; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house w^here there was not one dead. 99 IN EARLIEST TIMES 7. THE FLIGHT FROM EGYPT And [Pharaoh] called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said: " Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone ; and bless me also." And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, "We be all dead men." And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the chiklren of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they sjDoiled the Egyptians. And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened ; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual. 100 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty ;ye?i?s.. , And 'it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that a;U. the -hoists of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt; this is that night of the Lord to be ob- served of all the children of Israel in their generations. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Phihstines, although that was near; for God said, "Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt." But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Ped Sea; and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt. Ajid Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, " God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you." And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way ; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light ; to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: " Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and en- 101 IN EARLIEST TIMES camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon; before it shall ye encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh, will say of the children of Israel, ' They are en- tangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.' And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them ; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord." And they did so. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, "Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? " And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. 8. THE PASSAGE ACROSS THE RED SEA And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel ; and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-ze- phon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after 102 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES them ; and they were sore afraid ; and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses : " Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, ' Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians '? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness." And Moses said unto the peojDle: "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to-day; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for- ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." And the Lord said unto Moses: "Wherefore criest thou mito me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them; and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his char- iots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen." And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them ; and the pillar of the cloud 103 IN EARLIEST TIMES went from before their face, and stood behind them. And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these ; so that the one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea ; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were di- vided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyp- tians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heav- ily; so that the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyp- tians." And the Lord said unto Moses: "Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen." And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the-Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 104 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea ; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians ; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians ; and the people feared the Lord, and beUeved the Lord, and his servant Moses. 9. THE JOURNEY THROUGH THE WILDERNESS So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying : "What shall we drink? " And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet; there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, and said: " If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord 105 IN EARLIEST TIMES thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyj^tians ; for I am the Lord that healeth thee." And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees ; and they encamped there by the waters. And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their depart- ing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said unto them: "Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger." Then said the Lord unto Moses : " Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you ; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily." And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel: 106 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES ^' At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt; and in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmuidngs agamst the Lord; and what are we, that ye murmur against us ? " And Moses said : " This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him ; and what are we ? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord." And Moses spake unto Aaron : " Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, ' Come near before the Lord; for he hath heard your murmur- ings.' " And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying : " I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel ; speak unto them, saying, 'At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.' " And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp ; and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wil- derness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another: 107 IN EARLIEST TIMES " It is manna : " for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them: " This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, ' Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.' " And the chil- dren of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. And Moses said: " Let no man leave of it till the morning." Notwithstand- ing they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man : and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them : " This is that which the Lord hath said, ' To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord ; ' bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe ; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning." And they laid it up till the morning, as 108 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES Moses bade; and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said: "Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath unto the Lord; to-day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it ; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none." And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the Lord said unto Moses : " How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days ; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." So the people rested on the sev- enth day. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna; and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. And Moses said : " This is the thing which the Lord commandeth, * Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilder- ness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.' " And Moses said unto Aaron : " Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations." As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they 109 IN EARLIEST TIMES did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. Kow an omer is the tenth part of an ephah. And all the congregation of the children of Israel jour- neyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said: " Give us water that we may drink." And Moses said unto them: "Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?" And the peoj)le thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said : "Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? " And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying: " What shall I do unto this jDeople? they be almost ready to stone me." And the Lord said unto Moses: " Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel ; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Lloreb ; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, " Is the Lord among us, or not? " 110 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua : " Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek. To- morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand." So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon ; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses : " Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua : for I will utterly put out the remem- brance of Amalek from under heaven." In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they mto the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephi- dim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness ; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying: " Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the 111 IN EARLIEST TIMES children of Israel : ' Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyp- tians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you mito myself. IS^ow therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.' These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the chil- dren of Israel." And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people an- swered together, and said : " All that the Lord hath spoken we will do." And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. 10. GOD GIVES THE TEN COMMANDMENTS And the Lord said unto Moses : " Go unto the j^eople, and sanctify them to-day and to-mor- row and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, ' Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it : whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death : there shall not an hand touch it, but he -shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast 112 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES or man, it shall not live ' : when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount." And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people ', and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the people: " Be ready against the third day." And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire : and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount : and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the Lord said unto Moses : " Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them." And Moses said unto the Lord: 113 IN EARLIEST TIMES " The people cannot come up to mount Sinai : for thou chargedst us, saying, 'Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.' " And the Lord said unto him: "Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest he break forth upon them.'- So Moses went down unto the people, and s^^ake unto them. And God spake all these words, saying: " I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. " Thou shalt have no other gods before me. " Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth : Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them : for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the ini- quity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me ; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my com- mandments. " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. " Kemember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work : but the seventh day is the 114 MOSES COMING DOWN FROM MT. SINAI THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates : for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day : wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hal- lowed it. " Honour thy father and thy mother : that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. " Thou shalt not kill. " Thou shalt not commit adultery. " Thou shalt not steal. " Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's." And all the i^eople saw the thunderings, and the light- nings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smok- ing: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses : "Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die." And Moses said unto the people : " Fear not : for God is come to "prove you, and that his fear may be before their faces, that ye sin not." And the 115 IN EARLIEST TIMES people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. 11. THE WORSHIP OF THE GOLDEN CALF And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount : and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves to- gether unto Aaron, and said unto him : " Up, make us gods, which shall go before us ; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him." And Aaron said unto them: " Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me." And all the people brake off the golden ear- rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a 116 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES graying tool, after he had made it a molten calf; and they said: " These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egyjot." And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said: " To-morrow is a feast to the Lord." And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings ; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. And the Lord said mito Moses : " Go, get thee down ; for thy people, which thou brought- est out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I com- manded them ; they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, ' These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' " And the Lord said unto Moses : "I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them ; and I will make of thee a great nation." And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said: "Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand ? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, 'For mischief did he bring 117 IN EARLIEST TIMES them out, to slay them in the momitains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and re^Dcnt of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, ' I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.' " And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand; the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses: "There is a noise of war in the camp." And he said: " It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome; but the noise of them that sing do I hear." And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camj), that he saw the calf, and the dancing; and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. And Moses said unto Aaron : 118 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES " What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?" And Aaron said: " Let not the anger of my lord wax hot. Thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, 'Make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.' And I said unto them, ' Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off.' So they gave it me ; then I cast it into the fire and there came out this calf." Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said: " Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together imto him. And he said unto them, " Thus saith the Lord Grod of Israel, 'Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.' " And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses : and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. For Moses had said, " Consecrate your- selves to-day to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day." And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people : " Ye have sinned a great sin, and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin." 119 IN EARLIEST TIMES And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, " Oh, this peo- ple have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin — ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast writ- ten." And the Lord said unto Moses: " Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Therefore now go, lead the peojDle unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee : behold, mine Angel shall go before thee; nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them." And the Lord plagued the jDCople, because they made the calf, which Aaron made. 12. THE BUILDING OF THE TABERNACLE And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the chil- dren of Israel, saying : " This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying: " ' Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord : whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord ; gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, and oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, and onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate. And every wise-hearted among you shsAl come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded; 120 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES the tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, the ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the cov- ering, the table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread, the candlestick also for the light, and his furni- ture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light, and the in- cense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle, the altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, the hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, the pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, the cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.' " And all the congregation of the children of Israel de- parted from the presence of Moses. And they came, every- one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord's offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were wiUing-hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offer- ing of gold unto the Lord. And every man, with whom was 121 IN EARLIEST TIMES found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the Lord's offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it. And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had sj)un, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; and spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a will- ing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses. And Moses said unto the children of Israel: " See, the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; and to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carv- ing of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, 122 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the em- broiderer, in blue, and m purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work." Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise- hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and under- standing to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded. And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wis- dom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it : and they received of Moses all the offer- ing, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctu- ary, came every man from his work which they made ; and they spake unto Moses, saying : " The people bring much more than enough for the ser- vice of the work, which the Lord commanded to make." And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be pro- claimed throughout the camp, saying : " Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary." So the people were restrained 123 IN EARLIEST TIMES from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. And Moses did look upon all the work, and, be- hold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them. And Moses reared uj) the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars. And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark: and he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail. And he set the bread in order upon it be- fore the Lord; as the Lord had commanded Moses. And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward. And he lighted the lamps before the Lord ; as the Lord com- manded Moses. And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail : and he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle. And he put the altar 124 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he set the layer between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal. And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat. When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the Lord com- manded Moses. And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys : but if the cloud were not taken up, then they jour- neyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. 125 IN EARLIEST TIMES 13. BALAAM BLESSES THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho. And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many : and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, " JSTow shall this com- pany lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field." And Balak the son of Zippor w^as king of the Moabites at that time. He sent messengers there- fore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying : " Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt : behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me. Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people ; for they are too mighty for me : peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed." And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and sj^ake unto him the words of Balak. And he said unto them : " Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me : " and the princes of Moab 126 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES abode with Balaam. And God came unto Balaam, and said: "What men are these with thee?" And Balaam said unto God: "Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, ' Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth : come now, curse me them ; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.' " And God said mito Balaam: "Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people : for they are blessed." And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, " Get you into your land: for the Lord re- fuseth to give me leave to go with you." And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, " Balaam refuseth to come with us." And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honour- able than they. And they came to Balaam, and said to him: " Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, 'Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me : for I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me : come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.' " And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak: "If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less 127 IN EARLIEST TIMES or more. I^ow therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more." And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him : " If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them ; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do." And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. And the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. IS^ow he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand : and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field : and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall : and he smote her again. And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam : " What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? " And Balaam said unto the ass : -" Because thou hast mocked me : I would there were a 128 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES sword in mine liand, for now would I kill thee." And the ass said unto Balaam: " Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee?" And he said, "IS'ay." Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. And the angel of the Lord said unto him: "Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times : unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive." And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord: " I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me : now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again." Ajid the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam : " Go with the men : but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. And w^hen Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast. And Balak said imto Balaam: 129 IN EARLIEST TIMES "Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee ? wherefore earnest thou not unto me ? am I not able in- deed to promote thee to honour ? " And Balaam said unto Balak : " Lo, I am come mito thee : have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak." And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kir- jath-huzoth. And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people. And Balaam said unto Balak: " Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams." And Balak did as Balaam had spoken ; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bul- lock and a ram. And Balaam said unto Balak: " Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go : peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee." And he went to an high place. And God met Balaam : and he said unto him : " I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram." And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, " Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak." And he returned unto him, and, lo, he 130 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab. And he took up his parable, and said: " Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Ai'am, out of the mountains of the east, saying, ' Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.' How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed ? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied ? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him : lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel ? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his ! " And Balak said unto Balaam : " What hast thou done unto me ? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them alto- gether." And he answered and said: " Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth ? " And Balak said mito him : " Come, I pray thee, with me unto another j^lace, from whence thou mayest see them : thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence." And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. And he said unto Balak: " Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder." And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his 131 IN EARLIEST TIMES month, and said, "Go again unto Balak, and say thus." And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, " What hath the Lord spoken ? " And he took up his parable, and said: "Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it ? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed ; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel : the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchant- ment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel : according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought ! Behold, the peojDle shall rise u]y as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion : he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain." And Balak said unto Balaam : " IS'either curse them at all, nor bless them at all." But Balaam answered and said unto Balak: " Told not I thee, saying. All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do? " And Balak said unto Balaam : "^' Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; 132 THE EMIGRATION OF THE ISRAELITES peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence." And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon. And Balaam said unto Balak, " Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams." And Balak did as Ba- laam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him, and again he blessed Israel. And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam: " I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee thou to thy place : I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour." And Balaam said unto Balak: " Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak? " And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place : and Balak also went his way. 14. THE DEATH OF MOSES And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against 133 IN EARLIEST TIMES Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan. And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. And the Lord said unto him: " This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither." So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor : but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days : so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel. II THE CHILDREN OF ISEABL IN THE PEOMISED LAND II. THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN THE PROMISED LAND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CROSS OYER JORDAN AxD Joshua rose early in the morning; and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host; and they commanded the people, saying: " When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall re- move from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure : come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go : for ye have not passed this way here- tofore." And Joshua said unto the people : " Sanctify yourselves : for to-morrow the Lord will do won- ders among you." And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying : " Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people." And they took up the ark of the covenant, and w^ent before the people. And the Lord said unto Joshua : " This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all 137 IN THE PROMISED LAND Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying. When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jor- dan." And Joshua said unto the children of Israel : " Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God." And Joshua said, " Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above ; and they shall stand upon an heap." And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; and as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jor- dim overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) that 138 THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CROSS OVER JORDAN the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan : and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying : "Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, and command ye them, saying. Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night." Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: and Joshua said unto them: " Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall 139 IN THE PROMISED LAND answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever." And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan re- turned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before. And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east bor- der of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying: " When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones ? Then ye shall let jour children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord 140 THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CROSS OVER JORDAN your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from be- fore us, until we were gone over: that all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever." THE FALL OF JERICHO And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" And he said: " Nay ; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him: " "What saith my lord unto his servant? " And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua : " Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy." And Joshua did so. Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel : none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua: " See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall com- pass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven j^riests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, an(i the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall 142 THE FALL OF JERICHO come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him." And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the Lord, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp : so they did six days. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times : only on that day they com- passed the city seven times.- And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, "Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city." So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets : and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. THE WILE OF THE MEN OF GIBEON And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho, they did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up ; and old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old gar- ments upon them; and all the bread of their j^ro vision was dry and mouldy. And they went to Joshua, unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel : " "We be come from a far comitry : now therefore make ye a league with us." And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites: " Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you ? " And they said unto Joshua : " We are thy servants." And Joshua said unto them : " Who are ye ? and from whence come ye ? " And they said unto him: " From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jor- dan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, wRich was at Ashtaroth. Wherefore our elders and all the 144 THE WILE OF THE MEN OF GIBEON inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. This our bread we took hot for our provi- sion out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you ; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy : and these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent : and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey." And the men took of their victuals, and asked not coun- sel at the mouth of the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live : and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation mur- mured against the princes. But all the princes said unto all the congregation: " AYe have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel : now therefore we may not touch them. This we will do to them ; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them." And the 145 IN THE PROMISED LAND princes said unto them, " Let them live ; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congre- gation ; " as the princes had promised them. And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, say- ing: " Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bond- men, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God." Aaid they answered Joshua, and said: " Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing. And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do." And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose. THE STORY OF GIDEON 1. THE CALLING OF GIDEON And the angel of the Lord appeared unto [Gideon], and said unto him: " The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour." And Gideon said unto him: " Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying. Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." And the Lord looked upon him, and said: " Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?" And he said unto him : " Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." And the Lord said unto him : " Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Mid- ianites as one man." And he said unto him : " If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray 147 IN THE PROMISED LAND thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee." And he said: " I will tarry until thou come again." And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleav- ened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, " Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth." And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleav- ened cakes ; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and con- sumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said: " Alas, O Lord God ! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face." And the Lord said unto him : "Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die." Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord. 2. GIDEON ROUTS THE MIDIANITES Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the chil- dren of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. But the spirit of the Lord 148 THE STORY OF GIDEON came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him. And he sent messengers through- out all Manasseh ; who also was gathered after him : and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. And Gideon said unto God: " If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said." And it was so : for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God: " Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once : let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew." And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. Then Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. And the Lord said unto Gideon: " The people that are with thee are too many for me to 149 IN THE PROMISED LAND give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt them- selves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying. Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead." And there retm'ned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. And the Lord said unto Gideon: " The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there : and it shall be that of whom I say unto thee. This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee ; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go." So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon: " Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lapi^eth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink." And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the peo- ple bowed down upon their knees to drink water. And the Lord said unto Gideon: " By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand : and let all the other people go every man unto his 2:>lace." So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trum- pets : and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his 150 THE STORY OF GIDEON tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath hun in the valley. And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him: "Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. But if thou fear to go dowm, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: and thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host." Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the chil- dren of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seaside for multitude. And when Gideon w^as come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, " Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along." And his fellow answered and said, " This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel : for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host." And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, "Arise; for 151 IN THE PROMISED LAND the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian." And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. And he said unto them: "Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumj^ets also on every side of all the camp, and say. The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon." So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal : and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp : and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled. And the men of Israel gathered themselves together, and pursued after the Midianites, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host. Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon : 152 THE STORY OF GIDEON " Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also : for thou hast dehvered us from the hand of Midian." And Gideon said unto them : " I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you : the Lord shall rule over you." I Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon. And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father. JEPHTHAH'S yOW Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour. And it came to j)ass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: and they said unto Jephthah: "Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon." And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead : " Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?" And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah: " Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead." And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead: " If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the Lord deliver them before me, shall I be your head?" And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah: " The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so ac- cording to thy words." Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the 154 JEPHTHAH'S VOW people made him head and captain over them. And Jeph- thah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, "If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the chil- dren of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering." So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands. And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vine- yards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. And Jephthah came unto his house, and, behold, his daugh- ter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances : and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said: " Alas, my daughter ! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me : for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back." And she said unto him: "My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth ; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon." And she 155 IN THE PROMISED LAND said unto her father, " Let this thing be done for me : let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows." And he said, "Go." And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed. And it was a custom in Israel, that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daugh- ter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. SA^ISOlSr, THE STE0:N'G MAl^ 1. SMISON'S RIDDLE A:n^d Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said : ' " I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines : now therefore get her for me to wife." Then his father and his mother said unto him: "Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the Phihstines?" And Samson said unto his father: " Get her for me ; for she pleaseth me well." But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines : for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath : and, be- hold, a young lion roared against him. And the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand : but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. And he went doAvn, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. 157 IN THE PROMISED LAND And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the Hon : and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the hon. And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion. So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast ; for so used the young men to do. And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said unto them : " I will now put forth a riddle unto you : if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments : but if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments." And they said unto him : "Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it." And he said unto them: " Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." And they could not in three days expound the riddle. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife: " Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: 158 o O P Pi o a: SAMSON, THE STRONG MAN have ye called us to tate that we have? is it not so? " And Samson's wife wept before him, and said: " Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not : thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me." And he said unto her: " Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?" And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted : and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him : and she told the riddle to the children of her people. And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down : " What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion?" And he said unto them: " If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle." And the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house. But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend. 159 IN THE PROMISED LAND 2. SAMSON'S STRANGE WEAPON Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said: " Why are ye come up against us ? " And they answered : " To bind Samson are we come u]), to do to him as he hath done to us." Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson : " Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us ? what is this that thou hast done unto us ?" And he said unto them : "As they did unto me, so have I done unto them." And they said unto him: " "We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines." And Samson said unto them: " Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves." And they spake unto him, saying: " No ; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee." And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock. And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him : and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax 160 SAMSON, THE STRONG MAN that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And Samson said, " With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men." And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi. And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, " Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant : and now shall I die for thirst ? " But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived. 3. THE SECRET OF SAMSON'S STRENGTH And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her: " Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afihct him : and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver." And Delilah said to Samson : " Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, 161 IN THE PROMISED LAND and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee." And Samson said unto her : " If they bind me with seven green withes that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man." Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him: " The Philistines be upon thee, Samson." And he brake the withes, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. And Delilah said unto Samson : " Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me hes : now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound." And he said unto her: " If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were oc- cupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man." Deli- lah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, " The Philistines be upon thee, Samson." And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread. And Delilah said unto Samson: " Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies : tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound." And he said unto her: " If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the 162 SAMSON, THE STRONG MAN web." And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, " The Philistines be upon thee, Samson." And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. And she said unto him: " How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me ? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth." And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; that he told her all his heart, and said unto her, " There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall be- come weak, and be like any other man." And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, say- ing, "Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afllict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, " The Philistines be upon thee, Sam- son." And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, " I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself." And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. 163 IN THE PROMISED LAND But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. 4. THE DEATH OF SAMSON Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, " Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand." And when the peoj^le saw him, they praised their god : for they said, " Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us." And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, " Call for Samson, that he may make us sport." And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, " Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean ujDon them." Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, " O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that 164 SAMSON, THE STRONG MAN I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. SAMUEL, THE BOY WHOM GOD CALLED 1. THE BIRTH OF SAMUEL !N^ow there was a certain man of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah. And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. ]S^ow Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. And [Hannah, the wife of Elkanah,] was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said: " O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the afflic- tion of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head." And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her: " How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee." And Hannah answered and said: " No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have 166 SAMUEL, THE BOY WHOM GOD CALLED drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Behal : for out of the abundance of my com- plaint and grief have I spoken hitherto." Then Eli answered and said: " Go in peace : and the God of Israel grant thee thy peti- tion that thou hast asked of him." And she said: "Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight." So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and the Lord remembered her; wherefore it came to pass, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, " Because I have asked him of the Lord." And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh : and the child was young. And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. And she said: " Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him : therefore also I have lent him to the Lord ; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord." And he wor- shipped the Lord there. 167 IN THE PROMISED LAND 2. GOD SPEAKS TO SAMUEL But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ejDhod. Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; and ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep ; that the Lord called Samuel: and he answered: "Here am I." And he ran unto Eli, and said: "Here am I; for thou calledst me." And he said: " I called not; lie down again." And he went and lay down. And the Lord called yet again : "Samuel." And Samuel arose and went to EH, and said: "Here am I; for thou didst call me." And he answered: " I called not, my son ; lie down again." N^ow Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said: "Here am I; for thou didst call me." And Eli perceived 168 SAMUEL, THE BOY WHOM GOD CALLED that the Lord had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel : " Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times : " Samuel, Samuel." Then Samuel answered : "Speak; for thy servant heareth." And the Lord said to Samuel : " Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concern- mg his house : when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I w411 judge his house for ever for the in- iquity which he knoweth ; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever." And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel, and said: " Samuel, my son." And he answered : " Here am I." And he said: " What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me : God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he 169 IN THE PROMISED LAND said unto thee." And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said: " It is the Lord : let him do what seemeth him good." And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. Ill THE CHILDEEN OF ISEAEL TINDER THE KINGS III. THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS THE STOKY OF DAYID THE SHEPHERD BOY 1. SAUL DISOBEYS GOD AND DAVID IS CHOSEN KING Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, " It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments." And it grieved Samuel ; and he cried unto the Lord all night. And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, " Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal." And Sam- uel came to Saul : and Saul said unto him : " Blessed be thou of the Lord : I have performed the com- mandment of the Lord." And Samuel said: " What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" And Saul said: " They have brought them from the Amalekites : for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sac- rifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed." Then Samuel said unto Saul: 173 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS " Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night." And he said unto him: "Say on." And Samuel said: "When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord ? " And Saul said unto Samuel: " Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalek- ites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal." And Samuel said: " Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubborn- ness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king." And Saul said unto Samuel : " I have sinned : for I have transgressed the commandment 174 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY of the Lord, and thy words : because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. ISTow therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord." And Samuel said unto Saul : "I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from be- ing king over Israel." Ajid as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him: " The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel wiU not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent." Then Samuel w^ent to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death : nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul : and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. And the Lord said unto Samuel : " How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have re- jected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite : for I have provided me a king among his sons." And Samuel said: " How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me." And the Lord said: " Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew 175 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS thee what thou shalt do : and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee." And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said : "Comest thou peaceably?" And he said: " Peaceably : I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord : sanc- tify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said: " Surely the Lord's anointed is before him." But the Lord said unto Samuel : " Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth ; for man looketh on the outward aj^pear- ance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither hath the Lord chosen this." Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, " Neither hath the Lord chosen this." Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, " The Lord hath not chosen these." And Samuel said unto Jesse: "Are here all thy children?" And he said: " There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keep- eth the sheep." And Samuel said unto Jesse: " Send and fetch him : for we will not sit down till he come 17G THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY hither." And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said : "Arise, anoint him: for this is he." Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. 2. DAVID PLAYS ON THE HARP BEFORE SAUL But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul's servants said unto him : " Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well." And Saul said unto his servants: " Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me." Then answered one of the servants, and said: " Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him." "Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said: 177 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS " Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep." And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son mito Sank And David came to Saul, and stood before him : and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, " Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight." And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand : so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. 3. DAVID KILLS THE GIANT GOLIATH OF GATH N'ow the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered to- gether, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a moun- tain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Phi- listines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between 178 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them: " Why are ye come out to set your battle in array ? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul ? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us." And the Philistine said: " I defy the armies of Israel this day ; give me a man, that we may fight together." When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. ;N^ow David was the son of Jesse ; and he had eight sons : and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and fol- lowed Saul to the battle : and David was the youngest : and the three eldest followed Saul. But David went and re- turned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Beth-lehem. And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. And Jesse said unto David his son: "Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy breth- 179 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS ren; and carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge." 'Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had com- manded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. For Is- rael and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. And as he talked with them, be- hold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words : and David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said: " Have ye seen this man that is come up ? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Is- rael." And David spake to the men that stood by him, say- ing: " What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel ? for who is this Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living 180 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY God?" And the people answered him after this manner, saying : " So shall it be done to the man that killeth him." And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men ; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said: " Why camest thou down hither ? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle." And David said : " "What have I now done ? Is there not a cause ? " And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner : and the people answered him again after the for- mer manner. And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul : and he sent for him. And David said to Saul : " Let no man's heart fail because of him ; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine." And Saul said to David : " Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth." And David said unto Saul : " Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth : and when he arose against me, I caught him by 181 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God." David said moreover, " The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Phihstine." And Saul said unto David: " Go, and the Lord be with thee." And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, "I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them." And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him : for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David : " Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves ? " And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Phi- listine said to David, " Come to me, and I will give thy flesh 182 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field." Then said David to the Philistine : " Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield : but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast de- fied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand ; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear : for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands." And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran to- ward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Phihstine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head there- with. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, 183 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. And David took the head of the Philis- tine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. 4. SAUL'S JEALOUSY AND JONATHAN'S AFFECTION And when Saul saw David go forth against the PhiHstine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host: " Abner, whose son is this youth ?" And Abner said: " As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell." And the king said : " Enquire thou whose son the stripling is." And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him : " Whose son art thou, thou young man ? " And David answered : " I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite." And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speak- ing unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan [son of Saul,] was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him 184 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY go no more home to his father's house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely : and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants. And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, " Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, " They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands : and what can he have more but the kingdom ? " And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, " I will smite David even to the wall with it." And David avoided out of his presence twice. 185 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved him- self very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them. 5. DAVID'S ESCAPE FROM SAUL And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his ser- vants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David : and Jonathan told David, saying, " Saul my father seeketh to kill thee : now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself : and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will com- mune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee." And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, " Let not the king sin against his ser- vant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: for he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all 186 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY Israel : thou sawest it, and didst rejoice : wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause ? " And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan : and Saul sware, " As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain." And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past. And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him. And the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his jave- lin in his hand: and David played with his hand. And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin ; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the jave- lin into the wall : and David fled, and escaped that night. Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, " If thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou shalt be slain." So Michal let David down through a window : and he went, and fled, and escaped. And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, " He is sick." And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, " Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him." And when the messengers were come in, behold, there 187 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster. And Saul said unto Michal, " Why hast thou de- ceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped?" And Michal answered Saul, "He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?" So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in N^aioth. 6. THE FRIENDSHIP OF JONATHAN And it was told Saul, saying, " Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah." And Saul sent messengers to take David: and David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan : "What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?" And he said unto him: " God forbid ; thou shalt not die : behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me ? it is not so." And David sware moreover, and said: " Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, ' Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved': but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death." Then said Jonathan mito David: 188 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY " Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee." And David said unto Jonathan: " Behold, to-morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Beth-lehem his city : for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If he say thus. It is well ; thy servant shall have peace : but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee : notwithstand- ing, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?" And Jonathan said: " Far be it from thee : for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?" Then said David to Jonathan: "Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly ? " And Jonathan said unto David : "Come, and let us go out into the field." And they went out both of them into the field. And Jonathan said unto David : " O Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to-morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and then send I not unto thee, and 189 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS shew it thee; the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan! but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace : and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father. And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the Lord, that I die not : but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth." So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, " Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies." And Jonathan caused David to swear again, be- cause he loved him : for he loved him as he loved his own soul. Then Jonathan said to David: " To-morrow is the new moon : and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel. And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad. Behold, the ar- rows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the Lord liveth. But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the Lord hath sent thee 190 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY away. And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the Lord be between thee and me for ever." So David hid himself in the field : and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall : and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty. IS'evertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought. Something hath befallen him. And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty : and Saul said unto Jonathan his son: " "Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to-day? " And Jonathan answered Saul : " David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem : and he said. Let me go, I pray thee ; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city ; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there : and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. There- fore he cometh not unto the king's table." Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him : "Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion? For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. "Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall 191 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS surely die." And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him: "Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?" And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him : whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month : for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. And he said unto his lad, " Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot." And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, "Is not the arrow beyond thee?" And Jonathan cried after the lad, " Make speed, haste, stay not." And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. But the lad knew not any thing: only Jona- than and David knew the matter. And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, " Go, carry them to the city." And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. And Jonathan said to David, " Go in peace, forasmuch as we 192 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ' The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever.'" And he arose and departed: and Jona- than went into the city. 7. DAVID SPARES THE LIFE OF SAUL And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, " Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon? " Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed. And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him. Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, " "Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp ? " And Abishai said, " I will go down with thee." So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his 193 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him. Then said Abishai to David: " God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day : now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time." And David said to Abishai : "Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless ? " David said furthermore: '' As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go." So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them. Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them: and David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying: "Answerest thou not, Abner?" Then Abner answered and said: " Who art thou that criest to the king? " And David said to Abner: 194 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY " Art not thou a valiant man ? and who is hke to thee in Israel ? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bol- ster." And Saul knew David's voice, and said: " Is this thy voice, my son David ? " And David said : " It is my voice, my lord, O king." And he said, " Where- fore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant ? for what have I done ? or what evil is in mine hand ? l^ow therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his ser- vant. If the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods. ISTow therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord : for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains." Then said Saul: " I have sinned: return, my son David: for I willno more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly." And David answered and said: " Behold the king's spear! and let one of the young men 195 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS come over and fetch it. The Lord render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the Lord deUvered thee into my hand to-day, but I w^ould not stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed. And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation." Then Saul said to David: " Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail." So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place. 8. THE BATTLE OF GILBOA !Now the Philistines fought against Israel : and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchi-shua, Saul's sons. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him ; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his ar- mourbearer, " Draw thy sword, and thrust me through there- with; lest these [Philistines] come and thrust me through, and abuse me." But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died, 196 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together. It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head : and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. And David said unto him: "From whence comest thou?" And he said unto him: " Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped." And David said unto him : "How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me." And he answered : " The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also." And David said unto the young man that told him: " How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? " And the young man that told him said : "As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horse- men followed hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. And he said unto me. Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me : for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. So I stood upon him, 197 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen : and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord." Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them ; and likewise all the men that were with him: and they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son : " The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen ! Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon ; lest the daughters of the Phihstines rejoice. Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings : for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided : they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst 198 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY of the battle ! O Jonathan, thou wast slain m thine high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan : very pleasant hast thou been unto me : thy love to me was won- derful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished ! " 9. A PSALM OF DAVID The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they com- fort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies : thou anointest my head with oil ; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. 10. THE STORY OP THE LITTLE EWE LAMB And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house : and from the roof he saw a woman ; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and en- 199 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS quired after the woman. And one said, " Is not this Bath- sheba, the daughter of Eham, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" And David sent messengers, and took her. And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, saying, " Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die." And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab : and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also. And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the mourn- ing was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. And the Lord sent INathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him : " There were two men in one city ; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds : but the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up : and it grew up together with him, and with his children ; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller 200 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to di-ess for the wayfaring man that was come mito him ; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him." And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man ; and he said to ^N^athan : " As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die : and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." And Nathan said to David : " Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; and I gave thee thy master's house, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah ; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the com- mandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. ISTow therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house ; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife." And David said unto N^athan : " I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said unto David : " The Lord also hath put away thy sin ; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occa- 201 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS sion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die." And Nathan de- parted unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child ; and David fasted, and went in, and lay aU night upon the earth. And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth : but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. 11. DAVID'S UNGRATEFUL SON, ABSALOM In all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Ab- salom for his beauty : from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it : because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it :) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight. And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate : and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said : 202 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY "Of what city art thou?" And he said: " Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel." And Ab- salom said unto him : "See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee." Absalom said moreover, "Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice ! " And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. And on this manner did Ab- salom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment : so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king : " I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed mito the Lord, in Hebron. For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying. If the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord." And the king said unto him : " Go in peace." So he arose, and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Is- rael, saying, " As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron." And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called ; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing. And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, 203 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS David's counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom. And there came a messenger to David, saying : " The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom." And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem : "Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom : make speed to depart, lest he overtake us sud- denly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword." And the king's servants said unto the king : " Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint." And the king went forth, and all his household after him. Ajid the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wil- derness. And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot : and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up. Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead. And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over 204 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY them. And David sent forth a third part of the people un- der the hand of Joab, and a third part mider the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people: " I will surely go forth with you myself also." But the people answered: " Thou shalt not go forth : for if we flee away, they will not care for us-; neither if half of us die, will they care for us : but now thou art worth ten thousand of us : therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city." And the king said unto them : " What seemeth you best I will do." And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king commanded Joab and Abi- shai and Ittai, saying, " Deal gently for my sake with the yomig man, even with Absalom." And all the people heard when the king gave all the caj)tains charge concerning Absalom. So the people went out into the field against Israel : and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim ; where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men. For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country : and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured. 205 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away. And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said ; ., «,ixvi ..^^i^^ ^vy«^^. " Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak." And Joab said unto the man that told him : " And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle." Ajid the man said unto Joab: " Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ' Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.' Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life : for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me." Then said Joab : " I may not tarry thus with thee." And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Ab- salom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. And ten young men that bare Joab's armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him. And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from j^ursuing after Israel : for Joab 206 THE STORY OF DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY held back the people. And they took Absalom, and cast him mto a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him : and all Israel fled every one to his tent. Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok : " Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies." And Joab said unto him : " Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day : but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead." Then said Joab to Cushi : " Go tell the king what thou hast seen." And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran. Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab : " But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi." And Joab said : " Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?" " But howsoever," said he, "let me run." And he said unto him, " Run." Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi. And David sat be- tween the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone. And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said : " If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth." And he came apace, and drew near. And the watchman saw another 207 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS man running : and the watchman called unto the porter, and said : *' Behold another man running alone." And the king said : " He also bringeth tidings." And the watchman said : " Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like the run- ning of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok." And the king said: " He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings." And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king : " All is well." And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, " Blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king." And the king said : "Is the young man Absalom safe?" And Ahimaaz an- swered : " When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was." And the king said unto him : " Turn aside, and stand here." And he turned aside, and stood still. And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said: " Tidings, my lord the king : for the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee." And the king said unto Cushi : " Is the young man Absalom safe? " And Cushi answered : " The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt^ be as that young man is." 208 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS And the king was much moved, and went up to the cham- ber over the gate, and wept : and as he went, thus he said, " O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom ! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son I " THE STORY OF KING SOLOMOIS" 1. SOLOMON'S CHOICE Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die ; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, "I go the way of all the earth : be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man ; and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judg- ments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself : that the Lord may con- tinue his word which he spake concerning me, saying. If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel." So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years : seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly. And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father : only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there ; for that was the great high 210 THE STORY OF KING SOLOMON place : a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said: "Ask what I shall give thee." And Solomon said: " Thou hast shewed imto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father : and I am but a little child : I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad : for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him : " Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life ; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies ; but hast asked for thy- self understanding to discern judgment; behold, I have done according to thy words : lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart ; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise Hke unto thee. And I 211 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour : so that there shall not be any among the kings like mito thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days." And Solomon awoke ; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. 2. A WISE JUDGE Then came there two women unto the king; and stood be- fore him. And the one woman said : " O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house ; and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine hand- maid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead : but when I had considered' it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear." And the other woman said : " N'ay : but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son." And this said : 212 rt-^.'-'C-- ? c^^v^s^^^-^SFj ""^^^^^^^fm^-^Af'Mi 'r-i,._ \ |v|f;j|;!|iilf'-V|-vi| ■■;= !».'■-'• "«'4SL" THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON THE STORY OF KING SOLOMON "N"o; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son." Thus they spake before the king. Then said the king : " The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, ISTay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the hving." And the king said, ''Bring me a sword." And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, " Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other." Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said : " O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it." But the other said : " Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it." Then the king answered and said : " Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it : she is the mother thereof." And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment. 3. SOLOMON BUILDS A HOUSE FOR THE LORD And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon ; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father : for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, " Thou knowest how that 213 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS David my father could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, say- ing. Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name. Kow therefore com- mand thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants : and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint : for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians." And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solo- mon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, " Blessed be the Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people." And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying: " I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for : and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea : and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them : and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household." So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and. 214 THE STORY OF KING SOLOMON fir trees according to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measm-es of pure oil : thus gave Solo- mon to Hiram year by year. And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him : and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together. And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses : a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home : and Adoniram was over the levy. And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains; beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hun- dred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work. And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hew^ed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers : so they prepared timber and stones to build the house. And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying, " Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father : and I will dwell among the children of Israel, and 215 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS will not forsake my people Israel." So Solomon built the house, and finished it. And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar : he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place. And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long. And the cedar of the house within was carved Avith knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord, And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold : and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle ; and he overlaid it with gold. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house : also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. 216 THE STORY OF KING SOLOMON And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size. The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub. And he set the cherubims within the inner house : and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall ; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. And he overlaid the cher- ubims with gold. And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without. And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall. The two doors also were of olive tree ; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them Avith gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees. So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall. And the two doors were of fir tree : the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers : and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work. And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams. In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the Lord 217 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS laid, in the month Zif: and in the eleventh year, in the month Bui, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it. 4. THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITS SOLOMON And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solo- mon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones : and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not anything hid from the king, which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wis- dom, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king : " It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me : thy wisdom and prosj^erity ex- 218 THE STORY OF KING SOLOMON ceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel : because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice." And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for sing- ers : there came no such almug trees, nor were seen imto this day. And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. 5. SOME OP THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. 219 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast : but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth : but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he. In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence : and his chil- dren shall have a place of refuge. All the days of the afflicted are evil : but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast. Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great trea- sure and trouble therewith. A soft answer turneth away wTath: but grievous words stir up anger. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit be- fore a fall. When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for ad- versity. He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 220 THE STORY OF KING SOLOMON He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard. "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth : Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me : I will render to the man according to his work. He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee. Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein : and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him. Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. 221 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own Hps. Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calam- ity ; for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off. The wicked flee when no man pursueth : but the righteous are bold as a lion. ELIJAH, THE PROPHET OF GOD 1. ELIJAH AND THE PRIESTS OF BAAL Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. And it came to pass, that he took to wife Jezebel the daugh- ter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshi23ped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, " As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word." And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth." And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the gover- nor of his house. (IS'ow Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.) And Ahab said unto Obadiah, " Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we 223 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS may find grass to save the horses and mules ahve, that we lose not all the beasts." So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it : Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said: "Art thou that my lord Elijah?" And he answered him: "I am: go, tell thy lord. Behold, Elijah is here." And he said: " What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy ser- vant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not ; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me : but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now thou sayest. Go, tell thy lord. Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me." And Elijah said : "As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will 224 ELIJAH, THE PROPHET OF GOD surely shew myself unto him to-day." So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him : "Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" And he answered: " I have not troubled Israel ; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the proph- ets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table." So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said: " How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him." And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people : " I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them there- fore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the 225 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS Lord : and the God that answereth by fire, let hhn be God." And all the people answered and said: " It is well spoken." And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, " Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under." And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, " O Baal, hear us." But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, "Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked." And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Ehjah said unto all the people, " Come near unto me." And all the peoj^le came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name : 226 ELIJAH, THE PROPHET OF GOD and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, " Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood." And he said, "Do it the second time." And they did it the second time. And he said, " Do it the third time." And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, " Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again." Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces : and they said : " The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God." And Elijah said unto them : " Take the prophets of Baal ; let not one of them escape." And they took them : and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. 227 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS And Elijah said unto Ahab, "Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain." So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel ; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant: "Go up now, look toward the sea." And he went up, and looked, and said: "There is nothing." And he said: "Go again seven times." And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said: "Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand." And he said: " Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not." And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. 2. ELIJAH IN THE DESERT And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the j)rophets with the sword. Then Jez- ebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time." And when 228 ELIJAH, THE PROPHET OF GOD he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Jiidah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilder- ness, and came and sat do^vn under a juniper tree : and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, "It is enough ; now, O Lord, take away my life ; for I am not better than my fathers." And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, " Arise and eat." And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, " Arise and eat ; because the journey is too great for thee." And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights mito Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him: "What doest thou here, Elijah? " and he said: " I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts : for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my hfe, to take it away." And he said: " Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord." 229 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks be- fore the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake ; but the Lord was not in the earth- quake : and after the earthquake a fire ; but the Lord was not in tlie fire : and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said : "What doest thou here, Elijah?" And he said: "I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword ; and I, even I only, am left ; and they seek my life, to take it away." And the Lord said unto him : " Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus : and when thou comest, anoint Llazael to be king over Syria : and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel : and Elisha the son of Shaj^hat shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to jjass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay : and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Sha- 230 ELIJAH, THE PROPHET OF GOD phat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth : and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said: " Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee." And he said unto him : " Go back again : for what have I done to thee? " Ajid he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him. 3. ELIJAH RAISES THE WIDOW'S SON And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, " Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there." So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, " Arise, 231 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidoii, and dwell there : behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee." So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks : and he called to her, and said: " Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink." And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, " Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand." And she said: " As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse : and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die." And Elijah said unto her: "Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, mitil the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth." Ajid she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. And it came to pass after these things, that the son of 232 ELIJAH, THE PROPHET OF GOD the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sick- ness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah: " What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? " And he said unto her : " Give me thy son." And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, "O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? " And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, " O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again." And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother : and Elijah said : " See, thy son liveth." And the woman said to Elijah : " Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth." 4. NABOTH'S VINEYARD And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreehte had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the 233 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying: " Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near imto my house : and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money." And Naboth said to Ahab : " The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him : for he had said, " I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers." And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him: *'"Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?" And he said unto her : " Because I spake unto !Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him. Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard." Aaid Jezebel his wife said unto him : " Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of l^aboth the Jezreelite." So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the 234 ELIJAH, THE PROPHET OF GOD letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with !N"aboth. And she wrote in the letters, saying, " Proclaim a fast, and set IN'aboth on high among the people : and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying. Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die." And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. And there came in two men, chil- dren of Belial, and sat before him ; and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, " Naboth did blaspheme God and the king." Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. Then they sent to Jeze- bel, saying, " Naboth is stoned, and is dead." And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that ^aboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, " Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money : for Naboth is not alive, but dead." And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Kaboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of 'Na- both the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. And the word 235 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ^^ Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: be- hold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying. Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken pos- session? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Na- both shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine." And Ahab said to Elijah : "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" And he an- swered : " I have found thee : because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, for the provo- cation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin." And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, " The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat." And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, "Seestthou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days : but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon this house." 236 ELIJAH, THE PROPHET OF GOD 5. ELIJAH ASCENDS TO HEAVEN . And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up EHjah mto heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Aoid Elijah said unto Elisha : " Tarry here, I pray thee ; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el." Ajid Elisha said unto him : " As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him: " Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day?" And he said: "Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace." And Elijah said unto him: " Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee ; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho." And he said: "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him: " Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day?" And he answered: "Yea, I know it; hold ye yom* peace." And Elijah said unto him: " Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan." And he said: 237 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS " As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off : and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha: " Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee." And Elisha said : " I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be uj)on me." And he said : " Thou hast asked a hard thing : nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto theej but if not, it shall not be so." And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirl- wind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." And he saw him no more : and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; and he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, " Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" and when he also had 238 ELIJAH, THE PROPHET OF GOD smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither ; and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, " The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. ELISHA, THE SUCCESSOR OF ELIJAH 1. ELISHA PAYS A POOR WOMAN'S DEBT Kow there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the projDhets unto EHsha, saying: " Thy servant my husband is dead ; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord : and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen." And Elisha said unto her: " What shall I do for thee? tell me? what hast thou in the house?" And she said: " Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil." Then he said : " Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full." So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the ves- sels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son : " Bring me yet a vessel." And he said unto her : " There is not a vessel more." And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said : 240 ELISHA, THE SUCCESSOR OF ELIJAH " Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest." 2. THE SHIJNMIMITE'S SON It fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, " Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick : and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither." And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant: " Call this Shunammite." And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him : " Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host?" And she answered : " I dwell among mine own people." And he said : " What then is to be done for her ? " And Gehazi answered : " Yerily she hath no child, and her husband is old." And he said: 241 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS " Call her." And when he had called her, she stood m the door. And he said : " About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son." And she said : " Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid." And the woman bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life. And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said unto his father, "My head, my head." And he said to a lad, " Carry him to his mother." And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And she called unto her husband, and said : " Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again." And he said : " Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath." And she said: " It shall be well." Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, " Drive, and go forward ; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee." So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant : 242 ELISHA, THE SUCCESSOR OF ELIJAH " Behold, yonder is that Shunammite. Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? " And she answered : " It is well." And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet : but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said : " Let her alone ; for her soul is vexed within her : and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me." Then she said: " Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say. Do not deceive me?" Then he said to Gehazi: " Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again : and lay my staff upon the face of the child." And the mother of the child said : " As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." And he arose, and followed her. And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hear- ing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, " The child is not awaked." And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and 243 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him : and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, " Call this Shunam- mite." So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, " Take up thy son." Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out. 3. THE CURE OF NAAMAN THE LEPER N'ow Kaaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a le]3er. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. And she said unto her mistress : " "Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy." And one went in, and told his lord, saying: " Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel." And the king of Syria said: " Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of 244 o m 9-. X O H C5 l-H o H m W W m EUSHA, THE SUCCESSOR OF ELIJAH Israel." And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying : " Xow when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent ^aaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy." Aaid it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, " Am I God, to kill and to make ahve, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? where- fore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me." And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, " Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." So ^aaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying: " Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean." But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said: " Behold, I thought. He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the 245 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said: " My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee. Wash, and be clean?" Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, ac- cording to the saying of the man of God : and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his com- pany, and came, and stood before him : and he said : " Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant." But he said : " As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none." And he urged him to take it; but he refused. And Naaman said : " Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord. In this thing the Lord pardon thy ser- vant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow my- self in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing." And he said unto him : 246 ELISHA, THE SUCCESSOR OF ELIJAH " Go in peace." So he departed from him a Httle way. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, " Behold, my master hath spared ^aaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him." So Gehazi followed after JS^aaman. And when !N^aa- man saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said: " Is all well?" And he said: " All is well. My master hath sent me, saying. Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets : give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments." And Naaman said : " Be content, take two talents." And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him. And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house : and he let the men go, and they departed. But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him : " Whence comest thou, Gehazi? " And he said : " Thy servant went no whither." And he said unto him : " Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive 247 ISRAEL UNDER THE KINGS money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vine- yards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidser- vants? The leprosy therefore of Kaaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever." And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. 4. ELISHA HELPS A POOR WORKMAN And the sons of the prophets said imto Elisha : "Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell." And he answered: " Go ye." And one said : " Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants." And he answered: " I will go." So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam, the ax head fell into the water: and he cried, and said: . " Alas, master ! for it was borrowed." And the man of God said: " Where fell it? " And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. Therefore said he: "Take it up to thee." And he put out his hand, and took it. IV THE ISEABLITES IN EXILE IV. THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE ESTHER, THE SAYIOUR OF HER PEOPLE 1. ESTHER BECOMES A QUEEN Then said the servants of king Ahasnerus that ministered unto him: " Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king : and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, and let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen." And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. Kow in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, who had been carried away from Jeru- salem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom [N^ebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the 251 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE palace, that Esther was brought also mito the kmg's house, and Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her. And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen. Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, accord- ing to the state of the king. Esther had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people ; as Mordecai had charged her : for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him. 2. HAMAN'S PLOT AGAINST THE JEWS In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai's name. And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree : and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king. 252 ESTHER, THE SAVIOUR OF HER PEOPLE After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Hainan and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman : for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, " Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?" Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand : for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him rev- erence, then was Haman full of wrath. And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai : wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. Ajid Haman said unto king Ahasuerus : " There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws : therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the busi- ness, to bring it into the king's treasuries." And the king 253 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the Jews' enemy. And the king said unto Haman : " The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee." Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring. And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and wo- men, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. The copy of the writing for a command- ment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day. The posts went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed. When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter 254 ESTHER, THE SAVIOUR OF HER PEOPLE cry; and came even before the king's gate: for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mom-ning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sack- cloth and ashes. So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him : but he received it not. Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king's chamber- lains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was. So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king's gate. And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them. Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people. And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him command- ment unto Mordecai : " All the king's servants, and the people of the king's 255 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come mito the king into the mner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live : but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days." And they told to Morde- cai Esther's words. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther : " Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether boldest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place ; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer: " Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shu- shan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law : and if I perish, I perish." So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him. l^ow it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house : and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of 25G ESTHER, THE SAVIOUR OF HER PEOPLE the house. And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight : and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. Then said the king unto her: ""What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom." And Esther answered: " If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him." Then the king said: " Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said." So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine : "What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed." Then answered Esther, and said : " My petition and my request is : If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to-morrow as the king hath said." Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart : but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of in- 257 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE dignation against Mordecai. Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. Haman said moreover, "Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to-morrow am I invited unto her also with the king. Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him : "Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to-mor- row speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the ban- quet." And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made. On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. And it was found written, that Mor- decai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said: " What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this?" Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, "There is nothing done for him." And the king said: 258 ESTHER, THE SAVIOUR OF HER PEOPLE " Who is in the court? " ]^ow Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king's servants said unto him : " Behold, Haman standeth in the court." And the king said: "Let him come in." So Haman came in. And the king said mito him : "What shall be done unto the man whom the king de- lighteth to honour? " ^ow Haman thought in his heart, " To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?" And Haman answered the king: "For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head : and let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him. Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour." Then the king said to Haman : "Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken." Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and 259 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, " Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour." And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered. And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every- thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him: "If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him." Ajid while they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared. So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine : "AVhat is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be per- formed, even to the half of the kingdom." Then Esther the queen answered and said: "If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request : for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my 260 ESTHER, THE SAVIOUR OF HER PEOPLE tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage." Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen : " Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?" And Esther said: " The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman." Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden : and Haman stood up to make re- quest for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said be- fore the king: " Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, Avho had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman." Then the king said: " Hang him thereon." So they hanged Haman on the gal- lows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified. On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews' enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her. And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell 261 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILEj down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king, and said: " If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king's provinces: for how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred? " Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew: " Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. Write ye also for the Jew^s, as it lik- eth you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring : for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse." Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Morde- cai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven pro- 262 ESTHER, THE SAVIOUR OF HER PEOPLE vinces, unto every province according to the writing there- of, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their lan- guage. And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horse- back, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries : wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey, upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace. And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple : and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour. And in every pro- 263 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE vince, and in every city, whithersoever the king's command- ment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews ; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them. Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's command- ment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;) the Jews gath- ered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all peojDle. Aiid all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the pro- vinces : for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater. Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them. Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another. 264 ESTHER, THE SAVIOUR OF HER PEOPLE And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahas- uerus, both nigh and far, to stablish this among them, that they should keep the fom^teenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, as the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourn- ing into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. And the Jcavs undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them ; because Haman, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; but when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them, the Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days accord- ing to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year; and that these days should be remembered and 265 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE kept throughout every generation, every family, every jDro- vince, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed. da:niel, the fearless 1. THE KING'S DREAM In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the cham- berlain, that he should bring certain of the children of Is- rael, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding sci- ence, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. Now among these were of the chil- dren of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah,Mishael, and Azariah: unto whom the chamberlain gave names : for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego. As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom : and Daniel had under- standing in all visions and dreams. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they be- fore the king. And in all matters of wisdom and under- 267 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE standing, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus. And in the second year of the reign of IN^ebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. Ajid the king said unto them: " I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream." Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac : "O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation." The king answered and said to the Chaldeans: " The thing is gone from me : if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof." They answered again and said: "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it." The king answered and said: 268 DANIEL, THE FEARLESS " I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, be- cause ye see the thing is gone from me. But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you : for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpre- tation thereof." The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said: " There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, ex- cept the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh." For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree w^ent forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon : he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain: "Why is the decree so hasty from the king?" Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. Then Daniel 269 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions : that they would de- sire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wis- dom and might are his : and he changeth the times and the seasons : he removeth kings, and setteth up kings : he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding : he revealeth the deep and secret things : he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter." Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him : " Destroy not the wise men of Babylon : bring me in be- fore the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpreta- tion." Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him : " I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will 270 DANIEL, THE FEARLESS make known unto the king the interpretation." The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar : " Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? " Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said : " The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that reveal- eth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnez- zar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these. As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter : and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the 271 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces to- gether, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing- floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them : and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings ; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third king- dom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things : and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the king- dom shall be partly strong, and jDartly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in 272 DANIEL, THE FEARLESS the days of these kmgs shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed : and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass here- after : and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered tmto Daniel, and said: " Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret." Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon : but Daniel sat in the gate of the Mng. 273 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE 2. THE FIERY FURNACE Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits : he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then ]^ebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather to- gether the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which N^ebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that ]^rebuchadnezzar the king had set up ; and they stood before the image that ISTebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud: " To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and lan- guages. That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that N^ebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and 274 DANIEL, THE FEARLESS worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king N^ebu- chadnezzar : "O king, Uve for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a de- cree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image: and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee : they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." Then N'ebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them : " Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and wor- ship the image which I have made ; well : but if ye worship 275 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burn- ing fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? " Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king: " O INTebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will de- liver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known mito thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor wor- ship the golden image which thou hast set up." Then was Kebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery fur- nace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. There- fore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery fur- nace. 276 DANIEL, THE FEARLESS Then Xebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said imto his counsellors: " Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" They answered and said unto the king: "True, O king." He answered and said: " Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Then ^Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said: " Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither." Then Shad- rach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Then N^ebuchadnezzar spake, and said : " Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego, w^ho hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree. That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and 277 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill : because there is no other God that can de- liver after this sort." Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon. 3. THE KING'S SECOND DREAM " Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God had wrought toward me. How great are his signs ! and how mighty are his wonders ! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from genera- tion to generation. I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace : I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof. But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying, O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, 278 DANIEL, THE FEARLESS because I know thiit Ihe spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth : the leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit there- of much, and in it was meat for all : the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven ; he cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit : let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: neverthe- less leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth : let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him ; and let seven times pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of 279 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE men. This dream I king N'ebuchadnezzar have seen. N'ow thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, for- asmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation : but thou art able ; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee." Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said: '' Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee." Belteshazzar answered and said: " My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation. It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reach- eth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one com- ing down from heaven, and saying, ' Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven 280 DANIEL, THE FEARLESS times pass over him'; this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: that they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity." All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said: " Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the hon- our of my majesty?" While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying: " O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken ; the king- dom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelhng shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High 281 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will." The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon ]S"ebuchad- nezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dommion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation : and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth : and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me ; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me ; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Kow I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. 282 DANIEL, THE FEARLESS 4. BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father N^ebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem ; and the king, and his princes, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. Li the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace : and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon: "Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the in- terpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom." Then came in all the king's wise men : but they could not 283 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpre- tation thereof. Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished. l^ow the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house : and the queen spake and said: " O king, live for ever : let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed. There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and know- ledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shew- ing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpreta- tion." Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel: " Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent 284 DANIEL, THE FEARLESS wisdom is found in thee. And now the wise men, the astrolo- gers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing. And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make inter- pretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom." Then Daniel answered and said before the king: " Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to an- other; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O thou king, the most high God gave J^ebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and maj- esty, and glory, and honour: and for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him ; and he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses : they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven ; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whom- 285 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE soever he will. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, and thy wives, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified. Then was the j)art of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing; MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. 286 DANIEL, THE FEARLESS 5. DANIEL IN THE DEN OP LIONS It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; and over these three presidents ; of whom Daniel was first : that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in himj and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom ; but they could find none occasion nor fault ; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, "We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him; "King Darius, five for ever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. IS'ow, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, 287 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE which altereth not." Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled wpon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Then they came near, and spake before the king concern- ing the king's decree: " Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions ? " The king answered and said: " The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not." Then answered they and said before the king: " That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day." Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore dis- pleased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him : and he laboured till the going down of the sun to de- liver him. Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king: " Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians 288 m o o "A H P DANIEL, THE FEARLESS is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed." Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. ]^ow the king spake and said unto Daniel : " Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee." And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den ; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him : and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel : and the king spake and said to Daniel : " O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? " Then said Daniel unto the king : " O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me : for- asmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt." Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. 289 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of hons, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. Then king Darius wrote mito all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: " Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree. That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions." JOIS^AH, WHOM GOD TAUGHT TO BE MERCIFUL ISTow the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, " Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me." But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the pre- sence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was hke to be broken. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him : " What meanest thou, O sleeper ? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not." And they said every one to his fellow : " Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him : " Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon 291 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE us : What is thine occupation ? and whence comest thou ? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? " And he said unto them: "I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land." Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him: ^' Why hast thou done this ? " For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then said they unto him : " What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us ? " For the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. And he said unto them : " Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you." IS^evertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not : for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said : " We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee." So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up 292 JONAH, WHOM GOD TAUGHT TO BE MERCIFUL Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, and said : " I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord." And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying: "Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee." So Jonah arose, and went unto ^Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. 293 THE ISRAELITES IN EXILE Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said: " Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." So the people of Nineveh beheved God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, "Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the vio- lence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not ? " And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God re23ented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said: " I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the 294 JONAH, WHOM GOD TAUGHT TO BE MERCIFUL evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live." Then said the Lord: " Doest thou well to be angry? " So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God pre- pared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, " It is better for me to die than to live." And God said to Jonah: "Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?" And he said: "I do well to be angry, even unto death." Then said the Lord: " Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow ; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: and should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?" CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS U . S . A ^ ^M THIS BOOK I^ DUE ON THE LAST DATE SirA]VIPED BELOW AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE TO 50 CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $1.00 ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE. ■ ' ■ 'Vib LD21-95m-7,'37 VD 0676 o ^3340 SS^^i I THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY iri-l;! 'mmmmmmm