{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_1494/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_1494","id":"gutenberg_1494","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1494","summary":null,"tags":["Aggada -- Translations into English","Bible. Old Testament -- Legends","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Jewish legends","Judaism","Midrash -- Translations into English"],"text":"The Legends of the Jews\n\nby Louis Ginzberg\n\n\nTRANSLATED PROM THE GERMAN MANUSCRIPT BY\nHENRIETTA SZOLD\n\n\nVOLUME II\nBIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS\nFROM JOSEPH TO THE EXODUS\n\n\nContents\n\n PREFACE\n\n I. JOSEPH\n The Favorite Son\n Joseph Hated by His Brethren\n Joseph Cast into the Pit\n The Sale\n Joseph's Three Masters\n Joseph's Coat Brought to His Father\n Judah and His Sons\n The Wives of the Sons of Jacob\n Joseph the Slave of Potiphar\n Joseph and Zuleika\n Joseph Resists Temptation\n Joseph in Prison\n Pharaoh's Dreams\n Joseph before Pharaoh\n The Ruler of Egypt\n Joseph's Brethren in Egypt\n Joseph Meets His Brethren\n The Second journey to Egypt\n Joseph and Benjamin\n The Thief Caught\n Judah Pleads and Threatens\n Joseph Makes Himself Known\n Jacob Receives the Glad Tidings\n Jacob Arrives in Egypt\n Joseph's Kindness and Generosity\n Jacob's Last Wish\n The Blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh\n The Blessing of the Twelve Tribes\n The Death of Jacob\n The Sons of Jacob at War with the Sons of Esau\n Zepho King of Kittim\n The Nations at War\n Joseph's Magnanimity \n Asenath\n The Marriage of Joseph\n Kind and Unkind Brethren\n Treachery Punished\n The Death and Burial of Joseph.\n\n II. THE SONS OF JACOB\n Significant Names\n Reuben's Testament\n Simon's Admonition against Envy\n The Ascension of Levi\n Judah Warns against Greed and Unchastity\n Issachar's Singleness of Heart\n Zebulon Exhorts unto Compassion\n Dan's Confession\n Naphtali's Dreams of the Division of the Tribes\n Gad's Hatred\n Asher's Last Words\n Benjamin Extols Joseph.\n\n III. JOB\n Job and the Patriarchs\n Job's Wealth and Benefactions\n Satan and Job\n Job's Suffering\n The Four Friends\n Job Restored.\n\n IV. MOSES IN EGYPT\n The Beginning of the Egyptian Bondage\n Pharaoh's Cunning\n The Pious Midwives\n The Three Counsellors\n The Slaughter of the Innocents\n The Parents of Moses\n The Birth of Moses\n Moses Rescued from the Water\n The Infancy of Moses\n Moses Rescued by Gabriel\n The Youth of Moses\n The Flight\n The King of Ethiopia\n Jethro\n Moses Marries Zipporah\n A Bloody Remedy\n The Faithful Shepherd\n The Burning Thornbush\n The Ascension of Moses\n Moses Visits Paradise and Hell\n Moses Declines the Mission\n Moses Punished for His Stubbornness\n The Return to Egypt\n Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh\n The Suffering Increases\n Measure for Measure\n The Plagues Brought through Aaron\n The Plagues Brought through Moses\n The First Passover\n The Smiting of the Firstborn\n The Redemption of Israel from Egyptian Bondage\n The Exodus\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThe arrangement and presentation of the material in this volume are the\nsame as in Volume I. In both my efforts have been directed to bringing\ntogether as full as possible a collection of Jewish legends that deal\nwith Biblical personages and events. The sources of those legends and\nexplanations of some of them will be given in the last volume of the\nentire work, and the numbers throughout the work refer to the notes in\nthe concluding volume.\n\nMy original intention was to continue Volume II up to the death of\nMoses, but the legendary material clustering around the life and death\nof Moses is so abundant that practical considerations demanded the\ndivision of this material, in order not to make the second volume too\nbulky. The division chosen is a natural one. This volume closes with\nthe Exodus, and contains the deeds of Moses in Egypt, while the\nfollowing volume will deal with Moses in the desert.\n\nThe fact that Job is placed between Jacob's sons and Moses may appear\nstrange to some readers, since in the Bible Job is one of the last\nbooks; but \"legend is above time and space,\" and I have, therefore,\ngiven Job the place which legend has ascribed to him.\n\nLOUIS GINZBERG.\n\n\nNEW YORK, March 28, 1910.\n\n\n\n\nI\nJOSEPH\n\n\n\n\nTHE FAVORITE SON\n\n\nJacob was not exempt from the lot that falls to the share of all the\npious. Whenever they expect to enjoy life in tranquillity, Satan\nhinders them. He appears before God, and says: \"Is it not enough that\nthe future world is set apart for the pious? What right have they to\nenjoy this world, besides?\" After the many hardships and conflicts that\nhad beset the path of Jacob, he thought he would be at rest at last,\nand then came the loss of Joseph and inflicted the keenest suffering.\nVerily, few and evil had been the days of the years of Jacob's\npilgrimage, for the time spent outside of the Holy Land had seemed\njoyless to him. Only the portion of his life passed in the land of his\nfathers, during which he was occupied with making proselytes, in\naccordance with the example set him by Abraham and Isaac, did he\nconsider worth while having lived,[1] and this happy time was of short\nduration. When Joseph was snatched away, but eight years had elapsed\nsince his return to his father's house.[2]\n\nAnd yet it was only for the sake of Joseph that Jacob had been willing\nto undergo all the troubles and the adversity connected with his\nsojourn in the house of Laban. Indeed, Jacob's blessing in having his\nquiver full of children was due to the merits of Joseph, and likewise\nthe dividing of the Red Sea and of the Jordan for the Israelites was\nthe reward for his son's piety. For among the sons of Jacob Joseph was\nthe one that resembled his father most closely in appearance, and,\nalso, he was the one to whom Jacob transmitted the instruction and\nknowledge he had received from his teachers Shem and Eber.[3] The whole\ncourse of the son's life is but a repetition of the father's. As the\nmother of Jacob remained childless for a long time after her marriage,\nso also the mother of Joseph. As Rebekah had undergone severe suffering\nin giving birth to Jacob, so Rachel in giving birth to Joseph. As\nJacob's mother bore two sons, so also Joseph's mother. Like Jacob,\nJoseph was born circumcised. As the father was a shepherd, so the son.\nAs the father served for the sake of a woman, so the son served under a\nwoman. Like the father, the son appropriated his older brother's\nbirthright. The father was hated by his brother, and the son was hated\nby his brethren. The father was the favorite son as compared with his\nbrother, so was the son as compared with his brethren. Both the father\nand the son lived in the land of the stranger. The father became a\nservant to a master, also the son. The master whom the father served\nwas blessed by God, so was the master whom the son served. The father\nand the son were both accompanied by angels, and both married their\nwives outside of the Holy Land. The father and the son were both\nblessed with wealth. Great things were announced to the father in a\ndream, so also to the son. As the father went to Egypt and put an end\nto famine, so the son. As the father exacted the promise from his sons\nto bury him in the Holy Land, so also the son. The father died in\nEgypt, there died also the son. The body of the father was embalmed,\nalso the body of the son. As the father's remains were carried to the\nHoly Land for interment, so also the remains of the son. Jacob the\nfather provided for the sustenance of his son Joseph during a period of\nseventeen years, so Joseph the son provided for his father Jacob during\na period of seventeen years.[4]\n\nUntil he was seventeen years old, Joseph frequented the Bet\nha-Midrash,[5] and he became so learned that he could impart to his\nbrethren the Halakot he had heard from his father, and in this way he\nmay be regarded as their teacher.[6] He did not stop at formal\ninstruction, he also tried to give them good counsel, and he became the\nfavorite of the sons of the handmaids, who would kiss and embrace\nhim.[7]\n\nIn spite of his scholarship there was something boyish about Joseph. He\npainted his eyes, dressed his hair carefully, and walked with a mincing\nstep. These foibles of youth were not so deplorable as his habit of\nbringing evil reports of his brethren to his father. He accused them of\ntreating the beasts under their care with cruelty\u2014he said that they ate\nflesh torn from a living animal\u2014and he charged them with casting their\neyes upon the daughters of the Canaanites, and giving contemptuous\ntreatment to the sons of the handmaids Bilhah and Zilpah, whom they\ncalled slaves.\n\nFor these groundless accusations Joseph had to pay dearly. He was\nhimself sold as a slave, because he had charged his brethren with\nhaving called the sons of the handmaids slaves, and Potiphar's wife\ncast her eyes upon Joseph, because he threw the suspicion upon his\nbrethren that they had cast their eyes upon the Canaanitish women. And\nhow little it was true that they were guilty of cruelty to animals,\nappears from the fact that at the very time when they were\ncontemplating their crime against Joseph, they yet observed all the\nrules and prescriptions of the ritual in slaughtering the kid of the\ngoats with the blood of which they besmeared his coat of many\ncolors.[8]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH HATED BY HIS BRETHREN\n\n\nJoseph's talebearing against his brethren made them hate him. Among all\nof them Gad was particularly wrathful, and for good reason. Gad was a\nvery brave man, and when a beast of prey attacked the herd, over which\nhe kept guard at night, he would seize it by one of its legs, and whirl\nit around until it was stunned, and then he would fling it away to a\ndistance of two stadia, and kill it thus. Once Jacob sent Joseph to\ntend the flock, but he remained away only thirty days, for he was a\ndelicate lad and fell sick with the heat, and he hastened back to his\nfather. On his return he told Jacob that the sons of the handmaids were\nin the habit of slaughtering the choice cattle of the herd and eating\nit, without obtaining permission from Judah and Reuben. But his report\nwas not accurate. What he had seen was Gad slaughtering one lamb, which\nhe had snatched from the very jaws of a bear, and he killed it because\nit could not be kept alive after its fright. Joseph's account sounded\nas though the sons of the handmaids were habitually inconsiderate and\ncareless in wasting their father's substance.[9]\n\nTo the resentment of the brethren was added their envy of Joseph,\nbecause their father loved him more than all of them. Joseph's beauty\nof person was equal to that of his mother Rachel, and Jacob had but to\nlook at him to be consoled for the death of his beloved wife. Reason\nenough for distinguishing him among his children.[10] As a token of his\ngreat love for him, Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors, so light\nand delicate that it could be crushed and concealed in the closed palm\nof one hand. The Hebrew name of the garment, Passim, conveys the story\nof the sale of Joseph. The first letter, Pe, stands for Potiphar, his\nEgyptian master; Samek stands for Soharim, the merchantmen that bought\nJoseph from the company of Ishmaelites to whom his brethren had sold\nhim; Yod stands for these same Ishmaelites; and Mem, for the Midianites\nthat obtained him from the merchantmen, and then disposed of him to\nPotiphar. But Passim. has yet another meaning, \"clefts.\" His brethren\nknew that the Red Sea would be cleft in twain in days to come for\nJoseph's sake, and they were jealous of the glory to be conferred upon\nhim. Although they were filled with hatred of him, it must be said in\ntheir favor that they were not of a sullen, spiteful nature. They did\nnot hide their feelings, they proclaimed their enmity openly.\n\nOnce Joseph dreamed a dream, and he could not refrain from telling it\nto his brethren. He spoke, and said: \"Hear, I pray you, this dream\nwhich I have dreamed. Behold, you gathered fruit, and so did I. Your\nfruit rotted, but mine remained sound. Your seed will set up dumb\nimages of idols, but they will vanish at the appearance of my\ndescendant, the Messiah of Joseph. You will keep the truth as to my\nfate from the knowledge of my father, but I will stand fast as a reward\nfor the self-denial of my mother, and you will prostrate yourselves\nfive times before me.\"[11]\n\nThe brethren refused at first to listen to the dream, but when Joseph\nurged them again and again, they gave heed to him, and they said,\n\"Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion\nover us?\"[12] God put an interpretation into their mouths that was to\nbe verified in the posterity of Joseph. Jeroboam and Jehu, two kings,\nand Joshua and Gideon, two judges, have been among his descendants,\ncorresponding to the double and emphatic expressions used by his\nbrethren in interpreting the dream.[13]\n\nThen Joseph dreamed another dream, how the sun, the moon, and eleven\nstars bowed down before him, and Jacob, to whom he told it first, was\nrejoiced over it, for he understood its meaning properly.[14] He knew\nthat he himself was designated by the sun, the name by which God had\ncalled him when he lodged overnight on the holy site of the Temple. He\nhad heard God say to the angels at that time, \"The sun has come.\"[15]\nThe moon stood for Joseph's mother, and the stars for his brethren, for\nthe righteous are as the stars.[16] Jacob was so convinced of the truth\nof the dream that he was encouraged to believe that he would live to\nsee the resurrection of the dead, for Rachel was dead, and her return\nto earth was clearly indicated by the dream. He went astray there, for\nnot Joseph's own mother was referred to, but his foster-mother Bilhah,\nwho had raised him.\n\nJacob wrote the dream in a book, recording all the circumstances, the\nday, the hour, and the place, for the holy spirit cautioned him, \"Take\nheed, these things will surely come to pass.\"[17] But when Joseph\nrepeated his dream to his brethren, in the presence of his father,\nJacob rebuked him, saying, \"I and thy brethren, that has some sense,\nbut I and thy mother, that is inconceivable, for thy mother is\ndead.\"[18] These words of Jacob called forth a reproof from God. He\nsaid, \"Thus thy descendants will in time to come seek to hinder\nJeremiah in delivering his prophecies.\"[19] Jacob may be excused, he\nhad spoken in this way only in order to avert the envy and hate of his\nbrethren from Joseph, but they envied and hated him because they knew\nthat the interpretation put upon the dream by Jacob would be\nrealized.[20]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH CAST INTO THE PIT\n\n\nOnce the brethren of Joseph led their father's flocks to the pastures\nof Shechem, and they intended to take their ease and pleasure\nthere.[21] They stayed away a long time, and no tidings of them were\nheard. Jacob began to be anxious about the fate of his sons. He feared\nthat a war had broken out between them and the people of Shechem, and\nhe resolved to send Joseph to them and have him bring word again,\nwhether it was well with his brethren.[22] Jacob desired to know also\nabout the flocks, for it is a duty to concern oneself about the welfare\nof anything from which one derives profit. Though he knew that the\nhatred of his brethren might bring on unpleasant adventures, yet\nJoseph, in filial reverence, declared himself ready to go on his\nfather's errand. Later, whenever Jacob remembered his dear son's\nwilling spirit, the recollection stabbed him to the heart. He would say\nto himself, \"Thou didst know the hatred of thy brethren, and yet thou\ndidst say, Here am I.\"[23]\n\nJacob dismissed Joseph, with the injunction that he journey only by\ndaylight,[24] saying furthermore, \"Go now, see whether it be well with\nthy brethren, and well with the flock; and send me word\"\u2014an unconscious\nprophecy. He did not say that he expected to see Joseph again, but only\nto have word from him.[25] Since the covenant of the pieces, God had\nresolved, on account of Abraham's doubting question, that Jacob and his\nfamily should go down into Egypt to dwell there. The preference shown\nto Joseph by his father, and the envy it aroused, leading finally to\nthe sale of Joseph and his establishment in Egypt, were but disguised\nmeans created by God, instead of executing His counsel directly by\ncarrying Jacob down into Egypt as a captive.[26]\n\nJoseph reached Shechem, where he expected to find his brethren. Shechem\nwas always a place of ill omen for Jacob and his seed\u2014there Dinah was\ndishonored, there the Ten Tribes of Israel rebelled against the house\nof David while Rehoboam ruled in Jerusalem, and there Jeroboam was\ninstalled as king.[27] Not finding his brethren and the herd in\nShechem, Joseph continued his journey in the direction of the next\npasturing place, not far from Shechem, but he lost his way in the\nwilderness.[28] Gabriel in human shape appeared before him, and asked\nhim, saying, \"What seekest thou?\"[29] And he answered, \"I seek my\nbrethren.\" Whereto the angel replied, \"Thy brethren have given up the\nDivine qualities of love and mercy.[30] Through a prophetic revelation\nthey learned that the Hivites were preparing to make war upon them, and\ntherefore they departed hence to go to Dothan. And they had to leave\nthis place for other reasons, too. I heard, while I was still standing\nbehind the curtain that veils the Divine throne, that this day the\nEgyptian bondage would begin, and thou wouldst be the first to be\nsubjected to it.\"[31] Then Gabriel led Joseph to Dothan.[32]\n\nWhen his brethren saw him afar off, they conspired against him, to slay\nhim. Their first plan was to set dogs on him. Simon then spoke to Levi,\n\"Behold, the master of dreams cometh with a new dream, he whose\ndescendant Jeroboam will introduce the worship of Baal. Come now,\ntherefore, and let us slay him, that we may see what will become of his\ndreams.\" But God spoke: \"Ye say, We shall see what will become of his\ndreams, and I say likewise, We shall see, and the future shall show\nwhose word will stand, yours or Mine.\"[33]\n\nSimon and Gad set about slaying Joseph, and he fell upon his face, and\nentreated them: \"Have mercy with me, my brethren, have pity on the\nheart of my father Jacob. Lay not your hands upon me, to spill innocent\nblood, for I have done no evil unto you. But if I have done evil unto\nyou, then chastise me with a chastisement, but your hands lay not upon\nme, for the sake of our father Jacob.\" These words touched Zebulon, and\nhe began to lament and weep, and the wailing of Joseph rose up together\nwith his brother's, and when Simon and Gad raised their hands against\nhim to execute their evil design, Joseph took refuge behind Zebulon,\nand supplicated his other brethren to have mercy upon him. Then Reuben\narose, and he said, \"Brethren, let us not slay him, but let us cast him\ninto one of the dry pits, which our fathers dug without finding water.\"\nThat was due to the providence of God; He had hindered the water from\nrising in them in order that Joseph's rescue might be accomplished, and\nthe pits remained dry until Joseph was safe in the hands of the\nIshmaelites.[34]\n\nReuben had several reasons for interceding in behalf of Joseph. He knew\nthat he as the oldest of the brethren would be held responsible by\ntheir father, if any evil befell him. Besides, Reuben was grateful to\nJoseph for having reckoned him among the eleven sons of Jacob in\nnarrating his dream of the sun, moon, and stars. Since his\ndisrespectful bearing toward Jacob, he had not thought himself worthy\nof being considered one of his sons.[35] First Reuben tried to restrain\nhis brethren from their purpose, and he addressed them in words full of\nlove and compassion. But when he saw that neither words nor entreaties\nwould change their intention, he begged them, saying: \"My brethren, at\nleast hearken unto me in respect of this, that ye be not so wicked and\ncruel as to slay him. Lay no hand upon your brother, shed no blood,\ncast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and let him perish\nthus.[36]\n\nThen Reuben went away from his brethren, and he hid in the mountains,\nso that he might be able to hasten back in a favorable moment and draw\nJoseph forth from the pit and restore him to his father. He hoped his\nreward would be pardon for the transgression he had committed against\nJacob.[37] His good intention was frustrated, yet Reuben was rewarded\nby God, for God gives a recompense not only for good deeds, but for\ngood intentions as well.[38] As he was the first of the brethren of\nJoseph to make an attempt to save him, so the city of Bezer in the\ntribe of Reuben was the first of the cities of refuge appointed to\nsafeguard the life of the innocent that seek help.[39] Furthermore God\nspake to Reuben, saying: \"As thou wast the first to endeavor to restore\na child unto his father, so Hosea, one of thy descendants, shall be the\nfirst to endeavor to lead Israel back to his heavenly Father.\"[40]\n\nThe brethren accepted Reuben's proposition, and Simon seized Joseph,\nand cast him into a pit swarming with snakes and scorpions, beside\nwhich was another unused pit, filled with offal.[41] As though this\nwere not enough torture, Simon bade his brethren fling great stones at\nJoseph. In his later dealings with this brother Simon, Joseph showed\nall the forgiving charitableness of his nature. When Simon was held in\ndurance in Egypt as a hostage, Joseph, so far from bearing him a\ngrudge, ordered crammed poultry to be set before him at all his\nmeals.[42]\n\nNot satisfied with exposing Joseph to the snakes and scorpions, his\nbrethren had stripped him bare before they flung him into the pit. They\ntook off his coat of many colors, his upper garment, his breeches, and\nhis shirt.[43] However, the reptiles could do him no harm. God heard\nhis cry of distress, and kept them in hiding in the clefts and the\nholes, and they could not come near him. From the depths of the pit\nJoseph appealed to his brethren, saying: \"O my brethren, what have I\ndone unto you, and what is my transgression? Why are you not afraid\nbefore God on account of your treatment of me? Am I not flesh of your\nflesh, and bone of your bone? Jacob your father, is he not also my\nfather? Why do you act thus toward me? And how will you be able to lift\nup your countenance before Jacob? O Judah, Reuben, Simon, Levi, my\nbrethren, deliver me, I pray you, from the dark place into which you\nhave cast me. Though I committed a trespass against you, yet are ye\nchildren of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were compassionate with the\norphan, gave food to the hungry, and clothed the naked. How, then, can\nye withhold your pity from your own brother, your own flesh and bone?\nAnd though I sinned against you, yet you will hearken unto my petition\nfor the sake of my father. O that my father knew what my brethren are\ndoing unto me, and what they spake unto me!\"\n\nTo avoid hearing Joseph's weeping and cries of distress, his brethren\npassed on from the pit, and stood at a bow- shot's distance.[44] The\nonly one among them that manifested pity was Zebulon. For two days and\ntwo nights no food passed his lips on account of his grief over the\nfate of Joseph, who had to spend three days and three nights in the pit\nbefore he was sold. During this period Zebulon was charged by his\nbrethren to keep watch at the pit. He was chosen to stand guard because\nhe took no part in the meals. Part of the time Judah also refrained\nfrom eating with the rest, and took turns at watching, because he\nfeared Simon and Gad might jump down into the pit and put an end to\nJoseph's life.[45]\n\nWhile Joseph was languishing thus, his brethren determined to kill him.\nThey would finish their meal first, they said, and then they would\nfetch him forth and slay him. When they had done eating, they attempted\nto say grace, but Judah remonstrated with them: \"We are about to take\nthe life of a human being, and yet would bless God? That is not a\nblessing, that is contemning the Lord.[46] What profit is it if we slay\nour brother? Rather will the punishment of God descend upon us. I have\ngood counsel to give you. Yonder passeth by a travelling company of\nIshmaelites on their way to Egypt. Come and let us sell him to the\nIshmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him. The Ishmaelites will\ntake him with them upon their journeyings, and he will be lost among\nthe peoples of the earth.[47] Let us follow the custom of former days,\nfor Canaan, too, the son of Ham, was made a slave for his evil deeds,\nand so will we do with our brother Joseph.\"[48]\n\n\n\n\nTHE SALE\n\n\nWhile the brethren of Joseph were deliberating upon his fate, seven\nMidianitish merchantmen passed near the pit in which he lay. They\nnoticed that many birds were circling above it, whence they assumed\nthat there must be water therein, and, being thirsty, they made a halt\nin order to refresh themselves. When they came close, they heard Joseph\nscreaming and wailing, and they looked down into the pit and saw a\nyouth of beautiful figure and comely appearance. They called to him,\nsaying: \"Who art thou? Who brought thee hither, and who cast thee into\nthis pit in the wilderness?\" They all joined together and dragged him\nup, and took him along with them when they continued on their journey.\nThey had to pass his brethren, who called out to the Midianites: \"Why\nhave you done such a thing, to steal our slave and carry him away with\nyou? We threw the lad into the pit, because he was disobedient. Now,\nthen, return our slave to us.\" The Midianites replied: \"What, this lad,\nyou say, is your slave, your servant? More likely is it that you all\nare slaves unto him, for in beauty of form, in pleasant looks, and fair\nappearance, he excelleth you all. Why, then, will you speak lies unto\nus? We will not give ear unto your words, nor believe you, for we found\nthe lad in the wilderness, in a pit, and we took him out, and we will\ncarry him away with us on our journey.\" But the sons of Jacob insisted,\n\"Restore our slave to us, lest you meet death at the edge of the\nsword.\"\n\nUnaffrighted, the Midianites drew their weapons, and, amid war whoops,\nthey prepared to enter into a combat with the sons of Jacob. Then Simon\nrose up, and with bared sword he sprang upon the Midianites, at the\nsame time uttering a cry that made the earth reverberate. The\nMidianites fell down in great consternation, and he said: \"I am Simon,\nthe son of the Hebrew Jacob, who destroyed the city of Shechem alone\nand unaided, and together with my brethren I destroyed the cities of\nthe Amorites. God do so and more also, if it be not true that all the\nMidianites, your brethren, united with all the Canaanite kings to fight\nwith me, cannot hold out against me. Now restore the boy you took from\nus, else will I give your flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the\nbeasts of the field.\"\n\nThe Midianites were greatly afraid of Simon, and, terrified and\nabashed, they spake to the sons of Jacob with little courage: \"Said ye\nnot that ye cast this lad into the pit because he was of a rebellious\nspirit? What, now, will ye do with an insubordinate slave? Rather sell\nhim to us, we are ready to pay any price you desire.\" This speech was\npart of the purpose of God. He had put it into the heart of the\nMidianites to insist upon possessing Joseph, that he might not remain\nwith his brethren, and be slain by them.[49] The brethren assented, and\nJoseph was sold as a slave while they sat over their meal. God spake,\nsaying: \"Over a meal did ye sell your brother, and thus shall Ahasuerus\nsell your descendants to Haman over a meal, and because ye have sold\nJoseph to be a slave, therefore shall ye say year after year, Slaves\nwere we unto Pharaoh in Egypt.\"[50]\n\nThe price paid for Joseph by the Midianites was twenty pieces of\nsilver, enough for a pair of shoes for each of his brethren. Thus \"they\nsold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes.\" For\nso handsome a youth as Joseph the sum paid was too low by far, but his\nappearance had been greatly changed by the horrible anguish he bad\nendured in the pit with the snakes and the scorpions. He had lost his\nruddy complexion, and he looked sallow and sickly, and the Midianites\nwere justified in paying a small sum for him.[51]\n\nThe merchantmen had come upon Joseph naked in the pit, for his brethren\nhad stripped him of all his clothes. That he might not appear before\nmen in an unseemly condition, God sent Gabriel down to him, and the\nangel enlarged the amulet banging from Joseph's neck until it was a\ngarment that covered him entirely. Joseph's brethren were looking after\nhim as he departed with the Midianites, and when they saw him with\nclothes upon him, they cried after them, \"Give us his raiment! We sold\nhim naked, without clothes.\" His owners refused to yield to their\ndemand, but they agreed to reimburse the brethren with four pairs of\nshoes, and Joseph kept his garment, the same in which he was arrayed\nwhen he arrived in Egypt and was sold to Potiphar, the same in which he\nwas locked up in prison and appeared before Pharaoh, and the same he\nwore when he was ruler over Egypt.[52]\n\nAs an atonement for the twenty pieces of silver taken by his brethren\nin exchange for Joseph, God commanded that every first-born son shall\nbe redeemed by the priest with an equal amount, and, also, every\nIsraelite must pay annually to the sanctuary as much as fell to each of\nthe brethren as his share of the price.[53]\n\nThe brethren of Joseph bought shoes for the money, for they said: \"We\nwill not eat it, because it is the price for the blood of our brother,\nbut we will tread upon him, for that he spake, he would have dominion\nover us, and we will see what will become of his dreams.\" And for this\nreason the ordinance has been commanded, that he who refuseth to raise\nup a name in Israel unto his brother that hath died without having a\nson, shall have his shoe loosed from off his foot, and his face shall\nbe spat upon. Joseph's brethren refused to do aught to preserve his\nlife, and therefore the Lord loosed their shoes from off their feet,\nfor, when they went down to Egypt, the slaves of Joseph took their\nshoes off their feet as they entered the gates, and they prostrated\nthemselves before Joseph as before a Pharaoh, and, as they lay\nprostrate, they were spat upon, and put to shame before the\nEgyptians.[54]\n\nThe Midianites pursued their journey to Gilead, but they soon regretted\nthe purchase they had made. They feared that Joseph had been stolen in\nthe land of the Hebrews, though sold to them as a slave, and if his\nkinsmen should find him with them, death would be inflicted upon them\nfor the abduction of a free man. The high-handed manner of the sons of\nJacob confirmed their suspicion, that they might be capable of man\ntheft. Their wicked deed would explain, too, why they had accepted so\nsmall a sum in exchange for Joseph. While discussing these points, they\nsaw, coming their way, the travelling company of Ishmaelites that had\nbeen observed earlier by the sons of Jacob, and they determined to\ndispose of Joseph to them, that they might at least not lose the price\nthey had paid, and might escape the danger at the same time of being\nmade captives for the crime of kidnapping a man. And the Ishmaelites\nbought Joseph from the Midianites, and they paid the same price as his\nformer owners had given for him.[55]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH'S THREE MASTERS\n\n\nAs a rule the only merchandise with which the Ishmaelites loaded their\ncamels was pitch and the skins of beasts. By a providential\ndispensation they carried bags of perfumery this time, instead of their\nusual ill-smelling freight, that sweet fragrance might be wafted to\nJoseph on his journey to Egypt.[56] These aromatic substances were well\nsuited to Joseph, whose body emitted a pleasant smell, so agreeable and\npervasive that the road along which he travelled was redolent thereof,\nand on his arrival in Egypt the perfume from his body spread over the\nwhole land, and the royal princesses, following the sweet scent to\ntrace its source, reached the place in which Joseph was.[57] Even after\nhis death the same fragrance was spread abroad by his bones, enabling\nMoses to distinguish Joseph's remains from all others, and keep the\noath of the children of Israel, to inter them in the Holy Land.[58]\n\nWhen Joseph learned that the Ishmaelites were carrying him to Egypt, he\nbegan to weep bitterly at the thought of being removed so far from\nCanaan and from his father. One of the Ishmaelites noticed Joseph's\nweeping and crying, and thinking that he found riding uncomfortable, he\nlifted him from the back of the camel, and permitted him to walk on\nfoot. But Joseph continued to weep and sob, crying incessantly, \"O\nfather, father!\" Another one of the caravan, tired of his lamentations,\nbeat him, causing only the more tears and wails, until the youth,\nexhausted by his grief, was unable to move on. Now all the Ishmaelites\nin the company dealt out blows to him. They treated him with relentless\ncruelty, and tried to silence him by threats. God saw Joseph's\ndistress, and He sent darkness and terror upon the Ishmaelites, and\ntheir hands grew rigid when they raised them to inflict a blow.\nAstonished, they asked themselves why God did thus unto them upon the\nroad. They did not know that it was for the sake of Joseph.\n\nThe journey was continued until they came to Ephrath, the place of\nRachel's sepulchre. Joseph hastened to his mother's grave, and throwing\nhimself across it, he groaned and cried, saying: \"O mother, mother,\nthat didst bear me, arise, come forth and see how thy son hath been\nsold into slavery, with none to take pity upon him. Arise, see thy son,\nand weep with me over my misfortune, and observe the heartlessness of\nmy brethren. Awake, O mother, rouse thyself from thy sleep, rise up and\nprepare for the conflict with my brethren, who stripped me even of my\nshirt, and sold me as a slave to merchantmen, who in turn sold me to\nothers, and without mercy they tore me away from my father. Arise,\naccuse my brethren before God, and see whom He will justify in the\njudgment, and whom He will find guilty. Arise, O mother, awake from thy\nsleep, see how my father is with me in his soul and in his spirit, and\ncomfort him and ease his heavy heart.\"\n\nJoseph wept and cried upon the grave of his mother, until, weary from\ngrief, he lay immovable as a stone. Then he heard a voice heavy with\ntears speak to him from the depths, saying: \"My son Joseph, my son, I\nheard thy complaints and thy groans, I saw thy tears, and I knew thy\nmisery, my son. I am grieved for thy sake, and thy affliction is added\nto the burden of my affliction. But, my son Joseph, put thy trust in\nGod, and wait upon Him. Fear not, for the Lord is with thee, and He\nwill deliver thee from all evil. Go down into Egypt with thy masters,\nmy son; fear naught, for the Lord is with thee, O my son.\" This and\nmuch more like unto it did the voice utter, and then it was silent.\nJoseph listened in great amazement at first, and then he broke out in\nrenewed tears. Angered thereby, one of the Ishmaelites drove him from\nhis mother's grave with kicks and curses. Then Joseph entreated his\nmasters to take him back to his father, who would give them great\nriches as a reward. But they said, \"Why, thou art a slave! How canst\nthou know where thy father is? If thou hadst had a free man as father,\nthou wouldst not have been sold twice for a petty sum.\" And then their\nfury against him increased, they beat him and maltreated him, and he\nwept bitter tears.\n\nNow God looked upon the distress of Joseph, and He sent darkness to\nenshroud the land once more. A storm raged, the lightning flashed, and\nfrom the thunderbolts the whole earth trembled, and the Ishmaelites\nlost their way in their terror. The beasts and the camels stood still,\nand, beat them as their drivers would, they refused to budge from the\nspot, but crouched down upon the ground. Then the Ishmaelites spake to\none another, and said: \"Why hath God brought this upon us? What are our\nsins, what our trespasses, that such things befall us?\" One of them\nsaid to the others: \"Peradventure this hath come upon us by reason of\nthe sin which we have committed against this slave. Let us beg him\nearnestly to grant us forgiveness, and if then God will take pity, and\nlet these storms pass away from us, we shall know that we suffered harm\non account of the injury we inflicted upon this slave.\"\n\nThe Ishmaelites did according to these words, and they said unto\nJoseph: \"We have sinned against God and against thee. Pray to thy God,\nand entreat Him to take this death plague from us, for we acknowledge\nthat we have sinned against Him.\" Joseph fulfilled their wish, and God\nhearkened to his petition, and the storm was assuaged. All around\nbecame calm, the beasts arose from their recumbent position, and the\ncaravan could proceed upon its way. Now the Ishmaelites saw plainly\nthat all their trouble had come upon them for the sake of Joseph, and\nthey spoke one to another, saying: \"We know now that all this evil hath\nhappened to us on account of this poor fellow, and wherefore should we\nbring death upon ourselves by our own doings? Let us take counsel\ntogether, what is to be done with the slave.\" One of them advised that\nJoseph's wish be fulfilled, and he be taken back to his father. Then\nthey would be sure of receiving the money they had paid out for him.\nThis plan was rejected, because they had accomplished a great part of\ntheir journey, and they were not inclined to retrace their steps. They\ntherefore resolved upon carrying Joseph to Egypt and selling him there.\nThey would rid themselves of him in this way, and also receive a great\nprice for him.\n\nThey continued their journey as far as the borders of Egypt, and there\nthey met four men, descendants of Medan, the son of Abraham, and to\nthese they sold Joseph for five shekels. The two companies, the\nIshmaelites and the Medanites, arrived in Egypt upon the same day. The\nlatter, hearing that Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of\nthe guard, was seeking a good slave, repaired to him at once, to try to\ndispose of Joseph to him. Potiphar was willing to pay as much as four\nhundred pieces of silver, for, high as the price was, it did not seem\ntoo great for a slave that pleased him as much as Joseph. However, he\nmade a condition. He said to the Medanites: \"I will pay you the price\ndemanded, but you must bring me the person that sold the slave to you,\nthat I may be in a position to find out all about him, for the youth\nseems to me to be neither a slave nor the son of a slave. He appears to\nbe of noble blood. I must convince myself that he was not stolen.\" The\nMedanites brought the Ishmaelites to Potiphar, and they testified that\nJoseph was a slave, that they had owned him, and had sold him to the\nMedanites. Potiphar rested satisfied with this report, paid the price\nasked for Joseph, and the Medanites and the Ishmaelites went their way.\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH'S COAT BROUGHT TO HIS FATHER\n\n\nNo sooner was the sale of Joseph an accomplished fact than the sons of\nJacob repented of their deed. They even hastened after the Midianites\nto ransom Joseph, but their efforts to overtake them were vain, and\nthey had to accept the inevitable. Meantime Reuben had rejoined his\nbrethren.[59] He had been so deeply absorbed in penances, in praying\nand studying the Torah, in expiation of his sin against his father,\nthat he had not been able to remain with his brethren and tend the\nflocks, and thus it happened that he was not on the spot when Joseph\nwas sold.[60] His first errand was to go to the pit, in the hope of\nfinding Joseph there. In that case he would have carried him off and\nrestored him to his father clandestinely, without the knowledge of his\nbrethren. He stood at the opening and called again and again, \"Joseph,\nJoseph!\" As he received no answer, he concluded that Joseph had\nperished, either by reason of terror or as the result of a snake bite,\nand he descended into the pit, only to find that he was not there,\neither living or dead. He mounted to the top again, and rent his\nclothes, and cried out, \"The lad is not there, and what answer shall I\ngive to my father, if he be dead?\" Then Reuben returned unto his\nbrethren, and told them that Joseph bad vanished from the pit, whereat\nhe was deeply grieved, because he, being the oldest of the sons, was\nresponsible to their father Jacob. The brethren made a clean breast of\nwhat they had done with Joseph, and they related to him how they had\ntried to make good their evil deed, and how their efforts had been\nvain.\n\nNow there remained nothing to do but invent a plausible explanation for\ntheir brother's disappearance to give to Jacob. First of all, however,\nthey took an oath not to betray to his father or any human being what\nthey bad actually done with Joseph. He who violated the oath would be\nput to the sword by the rest. Then they took counsel together about\nwhat to say to Jacob. It was Issachar's advice to tear Joseph's coat of\nmany colors, and dip it in the blood of a little kid of the goats, to\nmake Jacob believe that his son had been torn by a wild beast.[61] The\nreason he suggested a kid was because its blood looks like human blood.\nIn expiation of this act of deception, it was ordained that a kid be\nused as an atonement sacrifice when the Tabernacle was dedicated.[62]\n\nSimon opposed this suggestion. He did not want to relinquish Joseph's\ncoat, and he threatened to hew down any one that should attempt to\nwrest it from him by force. The reason for his vehemence was that he\nwas very much enraged against his brethren for not having slain Joseph.\nBut they threatened him in turn, saying, \"If thou wilt not give up the\ncoat, we shall say that thou didst execute the evil deed thyself.\" At\nthat Simon surrendered it,[63] and Naphtali brought it to Jacob,\nhanding it to him with the words: \"When we were driving our herds\nhomeward, we found this garment covered with blood and dust on the\nhighway, a little beyond Shechem. Know now whether it be thy son's coat\nor not.\" Jacob recognized Joseph's coat, and, overwhelmed by grief, he\nfell prostrate, and long lay on the ground motionless, like a stone.\nThen he arose, and set up a loud cry, and wept, saying, \"It is my son's\ncoat.\"\n\nIn great haste Jacob dispatched a slave to his sons, to bid them come\nto him, that he might learn more about what had happened. In the\nevening they all came, their garments rent, and dust strewn upon their\nheads. When they confirmed all that Naphtali had told him, Jacob broke\nout in mourning and lamentation: \"It is my son's coat; an evil beast\nhath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces. I sent him\nto you to see whether it was well with you, and well with the flock. He\nwent to do my errand, and while I thought him to be with you, the\nmisfortune befell.\" Thereto the sons of Jacob made reply: \"He came to\nus not at all. Since we left thee, we have not set eyes on him.\"\n\nAfter these words, Jacob could doubt no longer that Joseph bad been\ntorn by wild beasts, and he mourned for his son, saying: \"O my son\nJoseph, my son, I sent thee to inquire after the welfare of thy\nbrethren, and now thou art torn by wild beasts. It is my fault that\nthis evil chance hath come upon thee. I am distressed for thee, my son,\nI am sorely distressed. How sweet was thy life to me, and how bitter is\nthy death! Would God I had died for thee, O Joseph, my son, for now I\nam distressed on thy account. O my son Joseph, where art thou, and\nwhere is thy soul? Arise, arise from thy place, and look upon my grief\nfor thee. Come and count the tears that roll down my cheeks, and bring\nthe tale of them before God, that His wrath be turned away from me. O\nJoseph, my son, how painful and appalling was thy death! None hath died\na death like thine since the world doth stand. I know well that it came\nto pass by reason of my sins. O that thou wouldst return and see the\nbitter sorrow thy misfortune hath brought upon me! But it is true, it\nwas not I that created thee, and formed thee. I gave thee neither\nspirit nor soul, but God created thee. He formed thy bones, covered\nthem with flesh, breathed the breath of life into thy nostrils, and\nthen gave thee unto me. And God who gave thee unto me, He hath taken\nthee from me, and from Him hath this dispensation come upon me. What\nthe Lord doeth is well done!\" In these words and many others like them\nJacob mourned and bewailed his son, until he fell to the ground\nprostrate and immovable.\n\nWhen the sons of Jacob saw the vehemence of their father's grief, they\nrepented of their deed, and wept bitterly. Especially Judah was\ngrief-stricken. He laid his father's head upon his knees, and wiped his\ntears away as they flowed from his eyes, while he himself broke out in\nviolent weeping. The sons of Jacob and their wives all sought to\ncomfort their father. They arranged a great memorial service, and they\nwept and mourned over Joseph's death and over their father's\nsorrow.[64] But Jacob refused to be comforted.\n\nThe tidings of his son's death caused the loss of two members of\nJacob's family. Bilhah and Dinah could not survive their grief. Bilhah\npassed away the very day whereon the report reached Jacob, and Dinah\ndied soon after, and so he had three losses to mourn in one month.\n\nHe received the tidings of Joseph's death in the seventh month, Tishri,\nand on the tenth day of the month, and therefore the children of Israel\nare bidden to weep and afflict their souls on this day. Furthermore, on\nthis day the sin offering of atonement shall be a kid of the goats,\nbecause the sons of Jacob transgressed with a kid, in the blood of\nwhich they dipped Joseph's coat, and thus they brought sorrow upon\nJacob.[65]\n\nWhen he had recovered somewhat from the stunning blow which the tidings\nof his favorite son's death had dealt him, Jacob rose up from the\nground and addressed his sons, tears streaming down his cheeks all the\nwhile. \"Up,\" he said, \"take your swords and your bows, go out in the\nfield, and make search, perhaps you will find the body of my son, and\nyou will bring it to me, so that I may bury it. Keep a lookout, too,\nfor beasts of prey, and catch the first you meet. Seize it and bring it\nto me. It may be that God will have pity upon my sorrow, and put the\nbeast between your hands that hath torn my child in pieces, and I will\ntake my revenge upon it.\"\n\nThe sons of Jacob set out on the morrow to do the bidding of their\nfather, while he remained at home and wept and lamented for Joseph. In\nthe wilderness they found a wolf, which they caught and brought to\nJacob alive, saying: \"Here is the first wild beast we encountered, and\nwe have brought it to thee. But of thy son's corpse we saw not a\ntrace.\" Jacob seized the wolf, and, amid loud weeping, he addressed\nthese words to him: \"Why didst thou devour my son Joseph, without any\nfear of the God of the earth, and without taking any thought of the\ngrief thou wouldst bring down upon me? Thou didst devour my son without\nreason, he was guilty of no manner of transgression, and thou didst\nroll the responsibility for his death upon me. But God avengeth him\nthat is persecuted.\"\n\nTo grant consolation to Jacob, God opened the mouth of the beast, and\nhe spake: \"As the Lord liveth, who hath created me, and as thy soul\nliveth, my lord, I have not seen thy son, and I did not rend him in\npieces. From a land afar off I came to seek mine own son, who suffered\na like fate with thine. He hath disappeared, and I know not whether he\nbe dead or alive, and therefore I came hither ten days ago to find him.\nThis day, while I was searching for him, thy sons met me, and they\nseized me, and, adding more grief to my grief over my lost son, they\nbrought me hither to thee. This is my story, and now, O son of man, I\nam in thy hands, thou canst dispose of me this day as seemeth well in\nthy sight, but I swear unto thee by the God that bath created me, I\nhave not seen thy son, nor have I torn him in pieces, never hath the\nflesh of man come into my mouth.\" Astonished at the speech of the wolf,\nJacob let him go, unhindered, whithersoever he would, but he mourned\nhis son Joseph as before.[66]\n\nIt is a law of nature that however much one may grieve over the death\nof a dear one, at the end of a year consolation finds its way to the\nheart of the mourner. But the disappearance of a living man can never\nbe wiped out of one's memory. Therefore the fact that he was\ninconsolable made Jacob suspect that Joseph was alive, and he did not\ngive entire credence to the report of his sons. His vague suspicion was\nstrengthened by something that happened to him. He went up into the\nmountains, hewed twelve stones out of the quarry, and wrote the names\nof his sons thereon, their constellations, and the months corresponding\nto the constellations, a stone for a son, thus, \"Reuben, Ram, Nisan,\"\nand so for each of his twelve sons. Then he addressed the stones and\nbade them bow down before the one marked with Reuben's name,\nconstellation, and month, and they did not move. He gave the same order\nregarding the stone marked for Simon, and again the stones stood still.\nAnd so he did respecting all his sons, until he reached the stone for\nJoseph. When he spoke concerning this one, \"I command you to fall down\nbefore Joseph,\" they all prostrated themselves. He tried the same test\nwith other things, with trees and sheaves, and always the result was\nthe same, and Jacob could not but feel that his suspicion was true,\nJoseph was alive.[67]\n\nThere was a reason why God did not reveal the real fate of Joseph to\nJacob. When his brethren sold Joseph, their fear that the report of\ntheir iniquity might reach the ears of Jacob led them to pronounce the\nban upon any that should betray the truth without the consent of all\nthe others. Judah advanced the objection that a ban is invalid unless\nit is decreed in the presence of ten persons, and there were but nine\nof them, for Reuben and Benjamin were not there when the sale of Joseph\nwas concluded. To evade the difficulty, the brothers counted God as the\ntenth person, and therefore God felt bound to refrain from revealing\nthe true state of things to Jacob. He had regard, as it were, for the\nban pronounced by the brethren of Joseph.[68] And as God kept the truth\na secret from Jacob, Isaac did not feel justified in acquainting him\nwith his grandson's fate, which was well known to him, for he was a\nprophet. Whenever he was in the company of Jacob, he mourned with him,\nbut as soon as he quitted him, he left off from manifesting grief,\nbecause he knew that Joseph lived.[69]\n\nJacob was thus the only one among Joseph's closest kinsmen that\nremained in ignorance of his son's real fortunes, and he was the one of\nthem all that had the greatest reason for regretting his death. He\nspoke: \"The covenant that God made with me regarding the twelve tribes\nis null and void now. I did strive in vain to establish the twelve\ntribes, seeing that now the death of Joseph hath destroyed the\ncovenant. All the works of God were made to correspond to the number of\nthe tribes\u2014twelve are the signs of the zodiac, twelve the months,\ntwelve hours hath the day, twelve the night, and twelve stones are set\nin Aaron's breastplate\u2014and now that Joseph hath departed, the covenant\nof the tribes is set at naught.\"\n\nHe could not replace the lost son by entering into a new marriage, for\nhe had made the promise to his father-in-law to take none beside his\ndaughters to wife, and this promise, as he interpreted it, held good\nafter the death of Laban's daughters as well as while they were\nalive.[70]\n\nBeside grief over his loss and regret at the breaking of the covenant\nof the tribes, Jacob had still another reason for mourning the death of\nJoseph. God had said to Jacob, \"If none of thy sons dies during thy\nlifetime, thou mayest look upon it as a token that thou wilt not be put\nin Gehenna after thy death.\" Thinking Joseph to be dead, Jacob had his\nown fate to bewail, too, for he now believed that he was doomed to\nGehenna.[71] His mourning lasted all of twenty-two years, corresponding\nto the number of the years he had dwelt apart from his parents, and had\nnot fulfilled the duty of a son toward them.[72]\n\nIn his mourning Jacob put sackcloth upon his loins, and therein be\nbecame a model for the kings and princes in Israel, for David, Ahab,\nJoram, and Mordecai did likewise when a great misfortune befell the\nnation.[73]\n\n\n\n\nJUDAH AND HIS SONS\n\n\nWhen the sons of Jacob saw how inconsolable their father was, they went\nto Judah, and said to him, \"This great misfortune is thy fault.\" Judah\nreplied: \"It was I that asked you, What profit is it if we slay our\nbrother and conceal his blood? and now you say the sin lies at my\ndoor.\" The brethren continued to argue: \"But it was thou that didst\nsay, Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and we followed thy\nadvice. Hadst thou said, Let us restore him to his father, we had\nheeded these words of thine as well.\"\n\nThe brethren hereupon deprived Judah of his dignity, for hitherto he\nhad been their king, and they also excluded him from their fellowship,\nand he had to seek his fortune alone.[74] Through the mediation of his\nchief shepherd Hirah, he became acquainted with the Canaanitish king of\nAdullam, Barsan by name. Though he was well aware of the corruption of\nthe generations of Canaan, he permitted passion to get the better of\nhim, and took a Canaanite to wife. The Adullamite king gave a banquet\nin his honor, at which his daughter Bath-shua poured the wine, and\nintoxicated by wine and passion Judah took her and married her.[75]\nJudah's action may be compared to that of the lion who passes a carrion\nand eats of it, though a cur preceding him on the way had refused to\ntouch it. Even Esau came in time to acknowledge that the daughters of\nCanaan were wicked, and the lion Judah must needs take one of them to\nwife.[76] The holy spirit cried out against Judah when he married the\nCanaanite woman of Adullam, saying, \"The glory of Israel went down in\nAdullam.\"[77]\n\nThe first-born son of Judah from this marriage was named Er, \"the\nchildless,\" a suitable name for him that died without begetting any\nissue.[78] At Judah's desire, Er married Tamar, a daughter of Aram, the\nson of Shem, but because she was not a Canaanitish woman, his mother\nused artifices against her, and he did not know her, and an angel of\nthe Lord killed him on the third day after his wedding. Then Judah gave\nTamar to his second son Onan, the marriage taking place before the week\nof the wedding festivities for Er had elapsed. A whole year Onan lived\nwith Tamar without knowing her, and when, finally, Judah uttered\nthreats against him on that account, he did, indeed, have intercourse\nwith her, but, giving heed to the injunctions of his mother, he took\ncare not to beget any children with her.[79] He, too, died on account\nof his iniquity, and his name Onan \"mourning,\" was well chosen, for\nvery soon was his father called upon to mourn for him.[80] Now Judah\nconceived the plan of marrying Tamar to his youngest son Shelah, but\nhis wife would not permit it. She hated Tamar because she was not of\nthe daughters of Canaan like herself, and while Judah was away from\nhome, Bath-shua chose a wife for her son Shelah from the daughters of\nCanaan. Judah was very angry at Bath-shua for what she had done, and\nalso God poured out His wrath upon her, for on account of her\nwickedness she had to die,[81] and her death happened a year after that\nof her two sons.\n\nNow that Bath-shua was dead, Judah might have carried out his wish and\nmarried Tamar to his youngest son. But he waited for Shelah to grow up,\nbecause he feared for his life, seeing that Tamar had brought death to\ntwo husbands before him. So she remained a widow in her father's house\nfor two years. Endowed with the gift of prophecy, Tamar knew that she\nwas appointed to be the ancestress of David and of the Messiah, and she\ndetermined to venture upon an extreme measure in order to make sure of\nfulfilling her destiny.[82] Accordingly, when the holy spirit revealed\nto her that Judah was going up to Timnah,[83] she put off from her the\ngarments of her widowhood, and sat in the gate of Abraham's tent, and\nthere she encountered Judah.[84] All the time she lived in the house of\nher father-in-law, he had never seen her face, for in her virtue and\nchastity she had always kept it covered, and now when Judah met her, he\ndid not recognize her. It was as a reward for her modesty that God made\nher to become the mother of the royal line of David, and the ancestress\nof Isaiah, and his father Amoz as well, both of whom were prophets and\nof royal blood.[85]\n\nJudah passed Tamar by without paying any attention to her, and she\nraised her eyes heavenward, and said, \"O Lord of the world, shall I go\nforth empty from the house of this pious man?\" Then God sent the angel\nthat is appointed over the passion of love, and he compelled Judah to\nturn back.[86] With prophetic caution, Tamar demanded that, as a pledge\nfor the reward he promised her, he leave with her his signet, his\nmantle, and his staff, the symbols of royalty, judgeship, and\nMessiahship, the three distinctions of the descendants of Tamar from\nher union with Judah. When Judah sent her the promised reward, a kid of\nthe goats, by the hand of his friend, in order to receive the pledges\nfrom her hand, Tamar could not be found, and he feared to make further\nsearch for her, lest he be put to shame. But Tamar, who soon discerned\nthat she was with child, felt very happy and proud, for she knew that\nshe would be the mother of kings and redeemers.[87]\n\nWhen her state became known, she was forcibly dragged before the court,\nin which Isaac, Jacob, and Judah sat as judges. Judah, being the\nyoungest of the judges and the least considerable in dignity, was the\nfirst to give a decision, for thus it is prescribed in criminal cases,\nthat the prominent judges overawe not the lesser and influence their\ndecisions unduly. It was the opinion of Judah that the woman was liable\nto the penalty of death by burning, for she was the daughter of the\nhigh priest Shem, and death by fire is the punishment ordained by the\nlaw for a high priest's daughter that leads an unchaste life.[88]\n\nThe preparations for her execution were begun. In vain Tamar searched\nfor the three pledges she had received from Judah, she could not find\nthem, and almost she lost hope that she would be able to wring a\nconfession from her father-in-law. She raised her eyes to God, and\nprayed: \"I supplicate Thy grace, O God, Thou who givest ear to the cry\nof the distressed in the hour of his need, answer me, that I may be\nspared to bring forth the three holy children, who will be ready to\nsuffer death by fire, for the sake of the glory of Thy Name.\" And God\ngranted her petition, and sent the angel Michael down to succor her. He\nput the pledges in a place in which Tamar could not fail to see them,\nand she took them, and threw them before the feet of the judges, with\nthe words: \"By the man whose these are am I with child, but though I\nperish in the flames, I will not betray him. I hope in the Lord of the\nworld, that He will turn the heart of the man, so that he will make\nconfession thereof.\" Then Judah rose up, and said: \"With your\npermission, my brethren, and ye men of my father's house, I make it\nknown that with what measure a man metes, it shall be measured unto\nhim, be it for good or for evil, but happy the man that acknowledgeth\nhis sins. Because I took the coat of Joseph, and colored it with the\nblood of a kid, and then laid it at the feet of my father, saying, Know\nnow whether it be thy son's coat or not, therefore must I now confess,\nbefore the court, unto whom belongeth this signet, this mantle, and\nthis staff. But it is better that I be put to shame in this world than\nI should be put to shame in the other world, before the face of my\npious father. It is better that I should perish in a fire that can be\nextinguished than I should be cast into hell fire, which devoureth\nother fires. Now, then, I acknowledge that Tamar is innocent. By me is\nshe with child, not because she indulged in illicit passion, but\nbecause I held back her marriage with my son Shelah.\" Then a heavenly\nvoice was heard to say: \"Ye are both innocent! It was the will of God\nthat it should happen!\"[89]\n\nThe open confession of Judah induced his oldest brother Reuben to make\npublic acknowledgment of the sin he had committed against his father,\nfor he had kept it a secret until then.[90]\n\nTamar gave birth to twin sons, Perez and Zerah, both resembling their\nfather in bravery and piety.[91] She called the first Perez, \"mighty,\"\nbecause she said, \"Thou didst show thyself of great power, and it is\nmeet and proper that thou shouldst be strong, for thou art destined to\npossess the kingdom.\"[92] The second son was called Zerah, because he\nappeared from out of the womb before his brother, but he was forced\nback again to make way for Perez.[93] These two, Perez and Zerah. were\nsent out as spies by Joshua, and the line that Rahab bound in the\nwindow of her house as a token to the army of the Israelites, she\nreceived from Zerah. It was the scarlet thread that the midwife had\nbound upon his hand, to mark him as the child that appeared first and\nwithdrew.[94]\n\n\n\n\nTHE WIVES OF THE SONS OF JACOB\n\n\nJudah was the first of the sons of Jacob to enter wedlock. After the\nsale of Joseph to the Midianites, his brethren had said to Judah, \"If\nconditions were as before, our father would provide wives for us now.\nAs it is, he is entirely absorbed by his grief for Joseph, and we must\nlook about for wives ourselves. Thou art our chief, and thou shouldst\nmarry first.\"\n\nJudah's marriage with Alit the daughter of the noble merchant Shua,\nwhich was consummated at Adullam, the residence of his friend Hirah,\nor, as he was called later, Hiram, king of Tyre, was not happy. His two\noldest sons died, and shortly thereafter his wife also. It was Judah's\npunishment for having begun a good deed and left it unfinished, for \"he\nwho begins a good deed, and does not execute it to the end, brings down\nmisfortune upon his own head.\" Judah had rescued Joseph from death, but\nit was his suggestion to sell him into slavery. Had he urged them to\nrestore the lad to his father, his brethren would have obeyed his\nwords. He was lacking in constancy to persist until he had completed\nthe work of Joseph's deliverance, which he had begun.[95]\n\nIn the same year, the year of Joseph's misfortune, all his other\nbrethren married, too. Reuben's wife was named Elyoram, the daughter of\nthe Canaanite Uzzi of Timnah. Simon married his sister Dinah first, and\nthen a second wife. When Simon and Levi massacred the men of Shechem,\nDinah refused to leave the city and follow her brethren, saying,\n\"Whither shall I carry my shame?\" But Simon swore he would marry her,\nas he did later, and when she died in Egypt, he took her body to the\nHoly Land and buried it there. Dinah bore her brother a son,[96] and\nfrom her union with Shechem, the son of Hamor, sprang a daughter,\nAsenath by name, afterward the wife of Joseph. When this daughter was\nborn to Dinah, her brethren, the sons of Jacob, wanted to kill her,\nthat the finger of men might not point at the fruit of sin in their\nfather's house. But Jacob took a piece of tin, inscribed the Holy Name\nupon it, and bound it about the neck of the girl, and he put her under\na thornbush, and abandoned her there. An angel carried the babe down to\nEgypt, where Potiphar adopted her as his child, for his wife was\nbarren. Years thereafter, when Joseph travelled through the land as\nviceroy, the maidens threw gifts at him, to make him turn his eyes in\ntheir direction and give them the opportunity of gazing upon his\nbeauty. Asenath possessed nothing that would do as a present, therefore\nshe took off the amulet suspended from her neck, and gave it to him.\nThus Joseph became acquainted with her lineage, and he married her,\nseeing that she was not an Egyptian, but one connected with the house\nof Jacob through her mother.[97]\n\nBeside the son of Dinah, Simon had another son, whose name was Saul, by\nBunah, the damsel he had taken captive in the campaign against Shechem.\n\nLevi and Issachar married two daughters of Jobab, the grandson of Eber;\nthe wife of the former was named Adinah, the wife of the latter,\nAridah. Dan's wife was Elflalet, a daughter of the Moabite Hamudan. For\na long time their marriage remained childless, finally they had a son,\nwhom they called Hushim. Gad and Naphtali married women from Haran, two\nsisters, daughters of Amoram, a grandson of Nahor. Naphtali's wife,\nMerimit, was the older of the two, and the younger, the wife of Gad,\nwas named Uzit.\n\nAsher's first wife was Adon, the daughter of Ephlal, a grandson of\nIshmael. She died childless, and he married a second wife, Hadorah, a\ndaughter of Abimael, the grandson of Shem. She had been married before,\nher first husband having been Malchiel, also a grandson of Shem, and\nthe issue of this first marriage was a daughter, Serah by name. When\nAsher brought his wife to Canaan, the three year old orphan Serah came\nwith them. She was raised in the house of Jacob, and she walked in the\nway of pious children, and God gave her beauty, wisdom, and sagacity.\n\nZebulon's wife was Maroshah, the daughter of Molad, a grandson of\nMidian, the son of Abraham by Keturah.\n\nFor Benjamin, when he was but ten years old, Jacob took Mahlia to wife,\nthe daughter of Aram, the grandson of Terah, and she bore him five\nsons. At the age of eighteen he married a second wife, Arbat, the\ndaughter of Zimran, a son of Abraham by Keturah, and by her also he had\nfive sons.[98]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH THE SLAVE OF POTIPHAR\n\n\nWhen Joseph was sold as a slave to the Ishmaelites, he kept silent out\nof respect for his brethren, and did not tell his masters that he was a\nson of Jacob, a great and powerful man. Even when he came to the\nMidianites with the Ishmaelites, and the former asked after his\nparentage, he still said he was a slave, only in order not to put his\nbrethren to shame. But the most distinguished of the Midianites rebuked\nJoseph, saying, \"Thou art no slave, thy appearance betrayeth thee,\" and\nhe threatened him with death unless he acknowledged the truth. Joseph,\nhowever, was steadfast, he would not act treacherously toward his\nbrethren.\n\nArrived in Egypt, the owners of Joseph could come to no agreement\nregarding him. Each desired to have sole and exclusive possession of\nhim. They therefore decided to leave him with a shopkeeper until they\nshould come back to Egypt again with their merchandise. And God let\nJoseph find grace in the sight of the shopkeeper. All that he had, his\nwhole house, he put into Joseph's hand, and therefore the Lord blessed\nhim with much silver and gold, and Joseph remained with him for three\nmonths and five days.\n\nAt that time there came from Memphis the wife of Potiphar, and she cast\nher eyes upon Joseph, of whose comeliness of person she had heard from\nthe eunuchs. She told her husband how that a certain shopkeeper had\ngrown rich through a young Hebrew, and she added: \"But it is said that\nthe youth was stolen away out of the land of Canaan. Go, therefore, and\nsit in judgment upon his owner, and take the youth unto thy house, that\nthe God of the Hebrews may bless thee, for the grace of heaven rests\nupon the youth.\"\n\nPotiphar summoned the shopkeeper, and when he appeared before him, he\nspoke harshly to him, saying: \"What is this I hear? that thou stealest\nsouls from the land of Canaan, and dost carry on traffic with them?\"\nThe shop-keeper protested his innocence, and he could not be made to\nrecede from his assertion, that a company of Ishmaelites had left\nJoseph in his charge temporarily, until they should return. Potiphar\nhad him stripped naked and beaten, but he continued to reiterate the\nsame statement.\n\nThen Potiphar summoned Joseph. The youth prostrated himself before this\nchief of the eunuchs, for he was third in rank of the officers of\nPharaoh. And he addressed Joseph, and said, \"Art thou a slave or a\nfree-born man?\" and Joseph replied, \"A slave.\" Potiphar continued to\nquestion him, \"Whose slave art thou?\" Joseph: \"I belong to the\nIshmaelites.\" Potiphar: \"How wast thou made a slave?\" Joseph: \"They\nbought me in the land of Canaan.\"\n\nBut Potiphar refused to give credence to what he said, and he had also\nhim stripped and beaten. The wife of Potiphar, standing by the door,\nsaw how Joseph was abused, and she sent word to her husband, \"Thy\nverdict is unjust, for thou punishest the free-born youth that was\nstolen away from his place as though he were the one that had committed\na crime.\" As Joseph held firmly to what he had said, Potiphar ordered\nhim to prison, until his masters should return. In her sinful longing\nfor him, his wife wanted to have Joseph in her own house, and she\nremonstrated with her husband in these words: \"Wherefore dost thou keep\nthe captive, nobly-born slave a prisoner? Thou shouldst rather set him\nat liberty and have him serve thee.\" He answered, \"The law of the\nEgyptians does not permit us to take what belongs to another before all\ntitles are made clear,\" and Joseph stayed in prison for twenty-four\ndays, until the return of the Ishmaelites to Egypt.\n\nMeanwhile they had heard somewhere that Joseph was the son of Jacob,\nand they therefore said to him: \"Why didst thou pretend that thou wast\na slave? See, we have information that thou art the son of a powerful\nman in Canaan, and thy father mourns for thee in sackcloth.\" Joseph was\non the point of divulging his secret, but he kept a check upon himself\nfor the sake of his brethren, and he repeated that he was a slave.\n\nNevertheless the Ishmaelites decided to sell him, that he be not found\nin their hands, for they feared the revenge of Jacob, who, they knew,\nwas in high favor with the Lord and with men. The shopkeeper begged the\nIshmaelites to rescue him from the legal prosecution of Potiphar, and\nclear him of the suspicion of man theft. The Ishmaelites in turn had a\nconference with Joseph, and bade him testify before Potiphar that they\nhad bought him for money. He did so, and then the chief of the eunuchs\nliberated him from prison, and dismissed all parties concerned.\n\nWith the permission of her husband, Potiphar's wife sent a eunuch to\nthe Ishmaelites, bidding him to buy Joseph, but he returned and\nreported that they demanded an exorbitant price for the slave. She\ndispatched a second eunuch, charging him to conclude the bargain, and\nthough they asked one mina of gold, or even two, he was not to be\nsparing of money, he was to be sure to buy the slave and bring him to\nher. The eunuch gave the Ishmaelites eighty pieces of gold for Joseph,\ntelling his mistress, however, that he had paid out a hundred pieces.\nJoseph noticed the deception, but he kept silent, that the eunuch might\nnot be put to shame.[99]\n\nThus Joseph became the slave of the idolatrous priest Potiphar, or\nPoti-phera, as he was sometimes called.[100] He had secured possession\nof the handsome youth for a lewd purpose, but the angel Gabriel\nmutilated him in such manner that he could not accomplish it.[101] His\nmaster soon had occasion to notice that Joseph was as pious as he was\nbeautiful, for whenever he was occupied with his ministrations, he\nwould whisper a prayer: \"O Lord of the world, Thou art my trust, Thou\nart my protection. Let me find grace and favor in Thy sight and in the\nsight of all that see me, and in the sight of my master Potiphar.\" When\nPotiphar noticed the movement of his lips, he said to Joseph, \"Dost\nthou purpose to cast a spell upon me?\" \"Nay,\" replied the youth, \"I am\nbeseeching God to let me find favor in thine eyes.\"\n\nHis prayer was heard. Potiphar convinced himself that God was with\nJoseph. Sometimes he would make a test of Joseph's miraculous powers.\nIf he brought him a glass of hippocras, he would say, \"I would rather\nhave wine mixed with absinthe,\" and straightway the spiced wine was\nchanged into bitter wine. Whatever he desired, he could be sure to get\nfrom Joseph, and he saw clearly that God fulfilled the wishes of his\nslave. Therefore he put all the keys of his house into his hand, and he\nknew not aught that was with him,[102] keeping back nothing from Joseph\nbut his wife.[103] Seeing that the Shekinah rested upon him, Potiphar\ntreated Joseph not as a slave, but as a member of his family, for he\nsaid, \"This youth is not cut out for a slave's work, he is worthy of a\nprince's place.\"[104] Accordingly, he provided instruction for him in\nthe arts, and ordered him to have better fare than the other\nslaves.[105]\n\nJoseph thanked God for his new and happy state. He prayed, \"Blessed art\nThou, O Lord, that Thou hast caused me to forget my father's house.\"\nWhat made his present fortunes so agreeable was that he was removed\nfrom the envy and jealousy of his brethren. He said: \"When I was in my\nfather's house, and he gave me something pretty, my brethren begrudged\nme the present, and now, O Lord, I thank Thee that I live amid plenty.\"\nFree from anxieties, he turned his attention to his external\nappearance. He painted his eyes, dressed his hair, and aimed to be\nelegant in his walk. But God spake to him, saying, \"Thy father is\nmourning in sackcloth and ashes, while thou dost eat, drink, and dress\nthy hair. Therefore I will stir up thy mistress against thee, and thou\nshalt be embarrassed.\"[106] Thus Joseph's secret wish was fulfilled,\nthat he might be permitted to prove his piety under temptation, as the\npiety of his fathers had been tested.[107]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH AND ZULEIKA\n\n\n\"Throw the stick up in the air, it will always return to its original\nplace.\" Like Rachel his mother, Joseph was of ravishing beauty, and the\nwife of his master was filled with invincible passion for him.\"[108]\nHer feeling was heightened by the astrologic forecast that she was\ndestined to have descendants through Joseph. This was true, but not in\nthe sense in which she understood the prophecy. Joseph married her\ndaughter Asenath later on, and she bore him children, thus fulfilling\nwhat had been read in the stars.\"[109]\n\nIn the beginning she did not confess her love to Joseph. She tried\nfirst to seduce him by artifice. On the pretext of visiting him, she\nwould go to him at night, and, as she had no sons, she would pretend a\ndesire to adopt him. Joseph then prayed to God in her behalf, and she\nbore a son. However, she continued to embrace him as though he were her\nown child, yet he did not notice her evil designs. Finally, when he\nrecognized her wanton trickery, he mourned many days, and endeavored to\nturn her away from her sinful passion by the word of God. She, on her\nside, often threatened him with death, and surrendered him to\ncastigations in order to make him amenable to her will, and when these\nmeans had no effect upon Joseph, she sought to seduce him with\nenticements. She would say, \"I promise thee, thou shalt rule over me\nand all I have, if thou wilt but give thyself up to me. and thou shalt\nbe to me the same as my lawful husband.\" But Joseph was mindful of the\nwords of his fathers, and he went into his chamber, and fasted, and\nprayed to God, that He would deliver him from the toils of the Egyptian\nwoman.\n\nIn spite of the mortifications he practiced, and though he gave the\npoor and the sick the food apportioned to him, his master thought he\nlived a luxurious life, for those that fast for the glory of God are\nmade beautiful of countenance.\n\nThe wife of Potiphar would frequently speak to her husband in praise of\nJoseph's chastity in order that he might conceive no suspicion of the\nstate of her feelings. And, again, she would encourage Joseph secretly,\ntelling him not to fear her husband, that he was convinced of his\npurity of life, and though one should carry tales to him about Joseph\nand herself, Potiphar would lend them no credence. And when she saw\nthat all this was ineffectual , she approached him with the request\nthat he teach her the word of God, saying, \"If it be thy wish that I\nforsake idol worship, then fulfil my desire, and I will persuade that\nEgyptian husband of mine to abjure the idols, and we shall walk in the\nlaw of thy God.\" Joseph replied, \"The Lord desireth not that those who\nfear Him shall walk in impurity, nor hath He pleasure in the\nadulterer.\"\n\nAnother time she came to him, and said, \"If thou wilt not do my desire,\nI will murder the Egyptian and wed with thee according to the law.\"\nWhereat Joseph rent his garment, and he said, \"O woman, fear the Lord,\nand do not execute this evil deed, that thou mayest not bring\ndestruction down upon thyself, for I will proclaim thy impious purposes\nto all in public.\"\n\nAgain, she sent him a dish prepared with magic spells, by means of\nwhich she hoped to get him into her power. But when the eunuch set it\nbefore him, he saw the image of a man handing him a sword together with\nthe dish, and, warned by the vision, he took good care not to taste of\nthe food. A few days later his mistress came to him, and asked him why\nhe had not eaten of what she had sent him. He reproached her, saying,\n\"How couldst thou tell me, I do not come nigh unto the idols, but only\nunto the Lord? The God of my fathers hath revealed thy iniquity to me\nthrough an angel, but that thou mayest know that the malice of the\nwicked has no power over those who fear God in purity, I shall eat thy\nfood before thine eyes, and the God of my fathers and the angel of\nAbraham will be with me.\" The wife of Potiphar fell upon her face at\nthe feet of Joseph, and amid tears she promised not to commit this sin\nagain.\n\nBut her unholy passion for Joseph did not depart from her, and her\ndistress over her unfulfilled wish made her look so ill that her\nhusband said to her, \"Why is thy countenance fallen?\" And she replied,\n\"I have a pain at my heart, and the groanings of my spirit oppress me.\"\n\nOnce when she was alone with Joseph, she rushed toward him, crying, \"I\nwill throttle myself, or I will jump into a well or a pit, if thou wilt\nnot yield thyself to me.\" Noticing her extreme agitation, Joseph\nendeavored to calm her with these words, \"Remember, if thou makest away\nwith thyself, thy husband's concubine, Asteho, thy rival, will maltreat\nthy children, and extirpate thy memory from the earth.\" These words,\ngently spoken, had the opposite effect from that intended. They only\ninflamed her passion the more by feeding her hopes. She said: \"There,\nseest thou, thou dost love me now! It sufficeth for me that thou takest\nthought for me and for the safety of my children. I expect now that my\ndesire will be fulfilled.\" She did not know that Joseph spoke as he did\nfor the sake of God, and not for her sake.[110]\n\nHis mistress, or, as she was called, Zuleika, pursued him day after day\nwith her amorous talk and her flattery, saying: \"How fair is thy\nappearance, how comely thy form! Never have I seen so well-favored a\nslave as thou art.\" Joseph would reply: \"God, who formed me in my\nmother's womb, hath created all men.\"\n\nZuleika: \"How beautiful are thine eyes, with which thou hast charmed\nall Egyptians, both men and women!\"\n\nJoseph: \"Beautiful as they may be while I am alive, so ghastly they\nwill be to look upon in the grave.\"\n\nZuleika: \"How lovely and pleasant are thy words! I pray thee, take thy\nharp, play and also sing, that I may hear thy words.\"\n\nJoseph: \"Lovely and pleasant are my words when I proclaim the praise of\nmy God.\"\n\nZuleika: \"How beautiful is thy hair! Take my golden comb, and comb it.\"\n\nJoseph: \"How long wilt thou continue to speak thus to me? Leave off! It\nwere better for thee to care for thy household.\"\n\nZuleika: \"There is nothing in my house that I care for, save thee\nalone.\"\n\nBut Joseph's virtue was unshaken. While she spoke thus, he did not so\nmuch as raise his eyes to look at his mistress.[111] He remained\nequally steadfast when she lavished gifts upon him, for she provided\nhim with garments of one kind for the morning, another for noon, and a\nthird kind for the evening. Nor could threats move him. She would say,\n\"I will bring false accusations against thee before thy master,\" and\nJoseph would reply, \"The Lord executeth judgment for the oppressed.\"\nOr, \"I will deprive thee of food;\" whereupon Joseph, \"The Lord giveth\nfood to the hungry.\" Or, \"I will have thee thrown into prison;\"\nwhereupon Joseph, \"The Lord looseth the prisoners.\" Or, \"I will put\nheavy labor upon thee that will bend thee double;\" whereupon Joseph,\n\"The Lord raiseth up them that are bowed down.\" Or, \"I will blind thine\neyes;\" whereupon Joseph, \"The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind.\"[112]\n\nWhen she began to exercise her blandishments upon him, he rejected them\nwith the words, \"I fear my master.\" But Zuleika would say, \"I will kill\nhim.\" Joseph replied with indignation, \"Not enough that thou wouldst\nmake an adulterer of me, thou wouldst have me be a murderer, besides?\"\nAnd he spoke furthermore, saying, \"I fear the Lord my God!\"\n\nZuleika: \"Nonsense! He is not here to see thee!\n\nJoseph: \"Great is the Lord and highly to be praised, and His greatness\nis unsearchable.\"\n\nThereupon she took Joseph into her chamber, where an idol hung above\nthe bed. This she covered, that it might not be a witness of what she\nwas about to do. Joseph said: \"Though thou coverest up the eyes of the\nidol, remember, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole\nearth. Yes,\" continued Joseph, \"I have many reasons not to do this\nthing for the sake of God. Adam was banished from Paradise on account\nof violating a light command; how much more should I have to fear the\npunishment of God, were I to commit so grave a sin as adultery! The\nLord is in the habit of choosing a favorite member of our family as a\nsacrifice unto Himself. Perhaps He desireth to make choice of me, but\nif I do thy will, I make myself unfit to be a sacrifice unto God. Also\nthe Lord is in the habit of appearing suddenly, in visions of the\nnight, unto those that love Him. Thus did He appear unto Abraham,\nIsaac, and Jacob, and I fear that He may appear unto me at the very\nmoment while I am defiling myself with thee. And as I fear God, so I\nfear my father, who withdrew the birthright from his first-born son\nReuben, on account of an immoral act, and gave it to me. Were I to\nfulfil thy desire, I would share the fate of my brother Reuben.\"[113]\n\nWith such words, Joseph endeavored to cure the wife of his master of\nthe wanton passion she had conceived for him, while he took heed to\nkeep far from a heinous sin, not from fear of the punishment that would\nfollow, nor out of consideration for the opinion of men, but because he\ndesired to sanctify the Name of God, blessed be He, before the whole\nworld.[114] It was this feeling of his that Zuleika could not\ncomprehend, and when, finally, carried away by passion, she told him in\nunmistakable language what she desired,[115] and he recoiled from her,\nshe said to Joseph: \"Why dost thou refuse to fulfil my wish? Am I not a\nmarried woman? None will find out what thou hast done.\" Joseph replied:\n\"If the unmarried women of the heathen are prohibited unto us, how much\nmore their married women?[116] As the Lord liveth, I will not commit\nthe crime thou biddest me do.\" In this Joseph followed the example of\nmany pious men, who utter an oath at the moment when they are in danger\nof succumbing to temptation, and seek thus to gather moral courage to\ncontrol their evil instincts.\"\n\nWhen Zuleika could not prevail upon him, to persuade him, her desire\nthrew her into a grievous sickness, and all the women of Egypt came to\nvisit her, and they said unto her, \"Why art thou so languid and wasted,\nthou that lackest nothing? Is not thy husband a prince great and\nesteemed in the sight of the king? Is it possible that thou canst want\naught of what thy heart desireth?\" Zuleika answered them, saying, \"This\nday shall it be made known unto you whence cometh the state wherein you\nsee me.\"\n\nShe commanded her maid-servants to prepare food for all the women, and\nshe spread a banquet before them in her house. She placed knives upon\nthe table to peel the oranges, and then ordered Joseph to appear,\narrayed in costly garments, and wait upon her guests. When Joseph came\nin, the women could not take their eyes off him, and they all cut their\nhands with the knives, and the oranges in their hands were covered with\nblood, but they, not knowing what they were doing, continued to look\nupon the beauty of Joseph without turning their eyes away from him.\n\nThen Zuleika said unto them: \"What have ye done? Behold, I set oranges\nbefore you to eat, and you have cut your hands.\" All the women looked\nat their hands, and, lo, they were full of blood, and it flowed down\nand stained their garments. They said to Zuleika, \"This slave in thy\nhouse did enchant us, and we could not turn our eyes away from him on\naccount of his beauty.\" She then said: \"This happened to you that\nlooked upon him but a moment, and you could not refrain yourselves!\nHow, then, can I control myself in whose house he abideth continually,\nwho see him go in and out day after day? How, then, should I not waste\naway, or keep from languishing on account of him!\" And the women spake,\nsaying: \"It is true, who can look upon this beauty in the house, and\nrefrain her feelings? But he is thy slave! Why dost thou not disclose\nto him that which is in thy heart, rather than suffer thy life to\nperish through this thing?\" Zuleika answered them: \"Daily do I endeavor\nto persuade him, but he will not consent to my wishes. I promised him\neverything that is fair, yet have I met with no return from him, and\ntherefore I am sick, as you may see.\"\n\nHer sickness increased upon her. Her husband and her household\nsuspected not the cause of her decline, but all the women that were her\nfriends knew that it was on account of the love she bore Joseph, and\nthey advised her all the time to try to entice the youth. On a certain\nday, while Joseph was doing his master's work in the house, Zuleika\ncame and fell suddenly upon him, but Joseph was stronger than she, and\nhe pressed her down to the ground. Zuleika wept, and in a voice of\nsupplication, and in bitterness of soul, she said to Joseph: \"Hast thou\never known, seen, or heard of a woman my peer in beauty, let alone a\nwoman with beauty exceeding mine? Yet I try daily to persuade thee, I\nfall into decline through love of thee, I confer all this honor upon\nthee, and thou wilt not hearken unto my voice! Is it by reason of fear\nof thy master, that he punish thee? As the king liveth, no harm shall\ncome upon thee from thy master on account of this thing. Now,\ntherefore, I pray thee, listen to me, and consent unto my desire for\nthe sake of the honor that I have conferred upon thee, and take this\ndeath away from me. For why should I die on account of thee?\" Joseph\nremained as steadfast under these importunities as before. Zuleika,\nhowever, was not discouraged; she continued her solicitations\nunremittingly, day after day,[118] month after month, for a whole year,\nbut always without the least success, for Joseph in his chastity did\nnot permit himself even to look upon her, wherefore she resorted to\nconstraint. She had an iron shackle placed upon his chin, and he was\ncompelled to keep his head up and look her in the face.\"[119]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH RESISTS TEMPTATION\n\n\nSeeing that she could not attain her object by entreaties or tears,\nZuleika finally used force, when she judged that the favorable chance\nhad come. She did not have long to wait. When the Nile overflowed its\nbanks, and, according to the annual custom of the Egyptians, all\nrepaired to the river, men and women, people and princes, accompanied\nby music, Zuleika remained at home under pretense of being sick. This\nwas her long-looked-for opportunity, she thought. She rose up and\nascended to the hall of state, and arrayed herself in princely\ngarments. She placed precious stones upon her head, onyx stones set in\nsilver and gold, she beautified her face and her body with all sorts of\nthings for the purifying of women, she perfumed the hall and the whole\nhouse with cassia and frankincense, spread myrrh and aloes all over,\nand afterward sat herself down at the entrance to the hall, in the\nvestibule leading to the house, through which Joseph had to pass to his\nwork.\n\nAnd, behold, Joseph came from the field, and he was on the point of\nentering the house to do his master's work, but when he reached the\nplace where Zuleika sat, and saw all she had done, he turned back. His\nmistress, perceiving it, called out to him, \"What aileth thee, Joseph?\nGo to thy work, I will make room for thee, that thou mayest pass by to\nthy seat.\" Joseph did as she bade him, he entered the house, took his\nseat, and set about his master's work as usual. Then Zuleika stood\nbefore him suddenly in all her beauty of person and magnificence of\nraiment, and repeated the desire of her heart.[120] It was the first\nand the last time that Joseph's steadfastness deserted him, but only\nfor an instant. When he was on the point of complying with the wish of\nhis mistress, the image of his mother Rachel appeared before him, and\nthat of his aunt Leah, and the image of his father Jacob. The last\naddressed him thus: \"In time to come the names of thy brethren will be\ngraven upon the breastplate of the high priest. Dost thou desire to\nhave thy name appear with theirs? Or wilt thou forfeit this honor\nthrough sinful conduct? For know, he that keepeth company with harlots\nwasteth his substance.\" This vision of the dead, and especially the\nimage of his father, brought Joseph to his senses, and his illicit\npassion departed from him.[121]\n\nAstonished at the swift change in his countenance, Zuleika said, \"My\nfriend and true-love, why art thou so affrighted that thou art near to\nswooning?\n\nJoseph: \"I see my father!\"\n\nZuleika: \"Where is he? Why, there is none in the house.\"\n\nJoseph: \"Thou belongest to a people that is like unto the ass, it\nperceiveth nothing. But I belong to those who can see things.\"\n\nJoseph fled forth, away from the house of his mistress,[122] the same\nhouse in which aforetime wonders had been done for Sarah kept a captive\nthere by Pharaoh.[123] But hardly was he outside when the sinful\npassion again overwhelmed him, and he returned to Zuleika's chamber.\nThen the Lord appeared unto him, holding the Eben Shetiyah[124] in His\nhand, and said to him: \"If thou touchest her, I will cast away this\nstone upon which the earth is founded, and the world will fall to\nruin.\" Sobered again, Joseph started to escape from his mistress,[125]\nbut Zuleika caught him by his garment, and she said: \"As the king\nliveth, if thou wilt not fulfil my wish, thou must die,\" and while she\nspoke thus, she drew a sword with her free hand from under her dress,\nand, pressing it against Joseph's throat, she said, \"Do as I bid thee,\nor thou diest.\" Joseph ran out, leaving a piece of his garment in the\nhands of Zuleika as he wrenched himself loose from the grasp of the\nwoman with a quick, energetic motion.[126]\n\nZuleika's passion for Joseph was so violent that, in lieu of its owner,\nwhom she could not succeed in subduing to her will, she kissed and\ncaressed the fragment of cloth left in her hand.[127] At the same time\nshe was not slow to perceive the danger into which she had put herself,\nfor, she feared, Joseph might possibly betray her conduct, and she\nconsidered ways and means of obviating the consequences of her\nfolly.[128]\n\nMeanwhile her friends returned from the Nile festival, and they came to\nvisit her and inquire after her health. They found her looking\nwretchedly ill, on account of the excitement she had passed through and\nthe anxiety she was in. She confessed to the women what had happened\nwith Joseph, and they advised her to accuse him of immorality before\nher husband, and then he would be thrown into prison. Zuleika accepted\ntheir advice, and she begged her visitors to support her charges by\nalso lodging complaints against Joseph, that he had been annoying them\nwith improper proposals.[129]\n\nBut Zuleika did not depend entirely upon the assistance of her friends.\nShe planned a ruse, besides, to be sure of convincing her husband of\nJoseph's guilt. She laid aside her rich robes of state, put on her\nordinary clothes, and took to her sick-bed, in which she had been lying\nwhen the people left to go to the festival. Also she took Joseph's torn\ngarment, and laid it out next to her. Then she sent a little boy to\nsummon some of the men of her house, and to them she told the tale of\nJoseph's alleged outrage, saying: \"See the Hebrew slave, whom your\nmaster hath brought in unto my house, and who attempted to do violence\nto me to-day! You had scarcely gone away to the festival when be\nentered the house, and making sure that no one was here he tried to\nforce me to yield to his lustful desire. But I grasped his clothes,\ntore them, and cried with a loud voice. When he heard that I lifted up\nmy voice and cried, he was seized with fear, and be fled, and got him\nout, but he left his garment by me.\" The men of her house spake not a\nword, but, in a rage against Joseph, they went to their master, and\nreported to him what had come to pass.[130] In the meantime the\nhusbands of Zuleika's friends had also spoken to Potiphar, at the\ninstigation of their wives, and complained of his slave, that he\nmolested them.[131]\n\nPotiphar hastened home, and he found his wife in low spirits, and\nthough the cause of her dejection was chagrin at not having succeeded\nin winning Joseph's love, she pretended that it was anger at the\nimmoral conduct of the slave. She accused him in the following words:\n\"O husband, mayest thou not live a day longer, if thou dost not punish\nthe wicked slave that hath desired to defile thy bed, that hath not\nkept in mind who he was when he came to our house, to demean himself\nwith modesty, nor hath he been mindful of the favors he hath received\nfrom thy bounty. He did lay a privy design to abuse thy wife, and this\nat the time of observing a festival, when thou wouldst be absent.\"[132]\nThese words she spoke at the moment of conjugal intimacy with Potiphar,\nwhen she was certain of exerting an influence upon her husband.[133]\n\nPotiphar gave credence to her words, and he had Joseph flogged\nunmercifully. While the cruel blows fell upon him, he cried to God, \"O\nLord, Thou knowest that I am innocent of these things, and why should I\ndie to-day on account of a false accusation by the hands of these\nuncircumcised, impious men?\" God opened the mouth of Zuleika's child, a\nbabe of but eleven months, and he spoke to the men that were beating\nJoseph, saying: \"What is your quarrel with this man? Why do you inflict\nsuch evil upon him? Lies my mother doth speak, and deceit is what her\nmouth uttereth. This is the true tale of that which did happen,\" and\nthe child proceeded to tell all that had passed\u2014how Zuleika had tried\nfirst to persuade Joseph to act wickedly, and then had tried to force\nhim to do her will. The people listened in great amazement. But the\nreport finished, the child spake no word, as before.\n\nAbashed by the speech of his own infant son, Potiphar commanded his\nbailiffs to leave off from chastising Joseph, and the matter was\nbrought into court, where priests sat as judges. Joseph protested his\ninnocence, and related all that had happened according to the truth,\nbut Potiphar repeated the account his wife had given him. The judges\nordered the garment of Joseph to be brought which Zuleika had in her\npossession, and they examined the tear therein. It turned out to be on\nthe front part of the mantle, and they came to the conclusion that\nZuleika had tried to hold him fast, and had been foiled in her attempt\nby Joseph, against whom she was now lodging a trumped up charge. They\ndecided that Joseph had not incurred the death penalty, but they\ncondemned him to incarceration, because he was the cause of a stain\nupon Zuleika's fair name.\"[134]\n\nPotiphar himself was convinced of Joseph's innocence, and when he cast\nhim into prison, he said to him, \"I know that thou art not guilty of so\nvile a crime, but I must put thee in durance, lest a taint cling to my\nchildren.\"[135]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH IN PRISON\n\n\nBy way of punishment for having traduced his ten brethren before his\nfather, Joseph had to languish for ten years in the prison to which the\nwiles of traducers had in turn condemned him.[136] But, on the other\nhand, as he had sanctified the Name of God before the world by his\nchastity and his steadfastness, he was rewarded. The letter He, which\noccurs twice in the Name of God, was added to his name. He had been\ncalled Joseph, but now he was called also Jehoseph.[137]\n\nThough he was bound in prison, Joseph was not yet safe from the\nmachinations of his mistress, whose passion for him was in no wise\nlessened. In truth it was she that had induced her husband to change\nhis intention regarding Joseph; she urged him to imprison the slave\nrather than kill him, for she hoped that as a prisoner he could be made\namenable to her wishes more easily. She spake to her husband, saying:\n\"Do not destroy thy property. Cast the slave in prison and keep him\nthere until thou canst sell him, and receive back the money thou didst\npay out for him.\"[138] Thus she had the opportunity of visiting Joseph\nin his cell and trying to persuade him to do her will. She would say,\n\"This and that outrage have I executed against thee, but, as thou\nlivest, I will put yet other outrages upon thee if thou dost not obey\nme.\" But Joseph replied, \"The Lord executeth judgment for the\noppressed.\"\n\nZuleika: \"I will push matters so far that all men will hate thee.\"\n\nJoseph: \"The Lord loveth the righteous.\"\n\nZuleika: \"I will sell thee into a strange land.\"\n\nJoseph: \"The Lord preserveth the strangers.\"[139]\n\nThen she would resort to enticements in order to obtain her desire. She\nwould promise to release him from prison, if he would but grant her\nwish. But he would say, \"Better it is to remain here than be with thee\nand commit a trespass against God.\" These visits to Joseph in prison\nZuleika continued for a long time, but when, finally, she saw that all\nher hopes were vain, she let him alone.[140]\n\nAs the mistress persisted in her love for Joseph, so his master, her\nhusband, could not separate himself from his favorite slave. Though a\nprisoner, Joseph continued to minister to the needs of Potiphar, and he\nreceived permission from the keeper of the prison to spend some of his\ntime in his master's house.[141] In many other ways the jailer showed\nhimself kindly disposed toward Joseph. Seeing the youth's zeal and\nconscientiousness in executing the tasks laid upon him, and under the\nspell of his enchanting beauty, he made prison life as easy as possible\nfor his charge. He even ordered better dishes for him than the common\nprison fare, and he found it superfluous caution to keep watch over\nJoseph, for he could see no wrong in him, and he observed that God was\nwith him, in good days and in bad. He even appointed him to be the\noverseer of the prison, and as Joseph commanded, so the other prisoners\nwere obliged to do.[142]\n\nFor a long time the people talked of nothing but the accusation raised\nagainst Joseph by his mistress. In order to divert the attention of the\npublic from him, God ordained that two high officers, the chief butler\nand the chief baker, should offend their lord, the king of Egypt, and\nthey were put in ward in the house of the captain of the guard. Now the\npeople ceased their talk about Joseph, and spoke only of the scandal at\ncourt. The charges laid at the door of the noble prisoners were that\nthey had attempted to do violence to the daughter of Pharaoh, and they\nhad conspired to poison the king himself. Besides, they had shown\nthemselves derelict in their service. In the wine the chief butler had\nhanded to the king to drink, a fly had been discovered, and the bread\nset upon the royal board by the chief baker contained a little\npebble.\"[143] On account of all these transgressions they were\ncondemned to death by Pharaoh, but for the sake of Joseph it was\nordained by Divine providence that the king should first detain them in\nprison before he ordered their execution. The Lord had enkindled the\nwrath of the king against his servants only that the wish of Joseph for\nliberty might be fulfilled, for they were the instruments of his\ndeliverance from prison, and though they were doomed to death, yet in\nconsideration of the exalted office they had held at court, the keeper\nof the prison accorded them privileges, as, for instance, a man was\ndetailed to wait upon them, and the one appointed thereto was\nJoseph.[144] 1]\n\nThe chief butler and the chief baker had been confined in prison ten\nyears,[145] when they dreamed a dream, both of them, but as for the\ninterpretation, each dreamed only that of the other one's dream.[146]\nIn the morning when Joseph brought them the water for washing, he found\nthem sad, depressed in spirits, and, in the manner of the sages, he\nasked them why they looked different on that day from other days. They\nsaid unto him, \"We have dreamed a dream this night, and our two dreams\nresemble each other in certain particulars, and there is none that can\ninterpret them.\" And Joseph said unto them: \"God granteth understanding\nto man to interpret dreams. Tell them me, I pray you.\"[147] It was as a\nreward for ascribing greatness and credit to Him unto whom it belongeth\nthat Joseph later attained to his lofty position.[148]\n\nThe chief butler proceeded to tell his dream: \"In my dream, behold, a\nvine was before me; and in the vine were three branches; and it was as\nthough it budded, and its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters thereof\nbrought forth ripe grapes; and Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took\nthe grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup\ninto Pharaoh's hand.\" The chief butler was not aware that his dream\ncontained a prophecy regarding the future of Israel, but Joseph\ndiscerned the recondite meaning,[149] and he interpreted the dream\nthus: The three branches are the three Fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and\nJacob, whose descendants in Egypt will be redeemed by three leaders,\nMoses, Aaron, and Miriam; and the cup given into the hand of Pharaoh is\nthe cup of wrath that he will have to drain in the end. This\ninterpretation of the dream Joseph kept for himself, and he told the\nchief butler nothing thereof, but out of gratitude for the glad tidings\nof the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt, he gave him a\nfavorable interpretation of his dream, and begged him to have him in\nhis remembrance, when it should be well with him, and liberate him from\nthe dungeon in which he was confined.\n\nWhen the chief baker heard the interpretation of the butler's dream, he\nknew that Joseph had divined its meaning correctly, for in his own he\nhad seen the interpretation of his friend's dream, and he proceeded to\ntell Joseph what he had dreamed in the night: \"I also was in my dream,\nand, behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head; and in the\nuppermost basket there was of all manner of bake- meats for Pharaoh;\nand the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.\" Also this\ndream conveyed a prophecy regarding the future of Israel: The three\nbaskets are the three kingdoms to which Israel will be made subject,\nBabylon, Media, and Greece; and the uppermost basket indicates the\nwicked rule of Rome, which will extend over all the nations of the\nworld, until the bird shall come, who is the Messiah, and annihilate\nRome. Again Joseph kept the prophecy a secret. To the chief baker he\ngave only the interpretation that had reference to his person, but it\nwas unfavorable to him, because through his dream Joseph had been made\nacquainted with the suffering Israel would have to undergo.\n\nAnd all came to pass, as Joseph had said, on the third day.[150] The\nday whereon he explained the meaning of their dreams to the two\ndistinguished prisoners, a son was born unto Pharaoh and to celebrate\nthe joyous event, the king arranged a feast for his princes and\nservants that was to last eight days. He invited them and all the\npeople to his table, and he entertained them with royal splendor. The\nfeast had its beginning on the third day after the birth of the child,\nand on that occasion the chief butler was restored in honor to his\nbutlership, and the chief baker was hanged,[151] for Pharaoh's\ncounsellors had discovered that it was not the butler's fault that the\nfly had dropped into the king's wine, but the baker had been guilty of\ncarelessness in allowing the pebble to get into the bread.[152]\nLikewise it appeared that the butler had had no part in the conspiracy\nto poison the king, while the baker was revealed as one of the\nplotters, and he had to expiate his crime with his life.[153]\n\n\n\n\nPHARAOH'S DREAMS\n\n\nProperly speaking, Joseph should have gone out free from his dungeon on\nthe same day as the butler. He had been there ten years by that time,\nand had made amends for the slander he had uttered against his ten\nbrethren. However, he remained in prison two years longer. \"Blessed is\nthe man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord,\" but\nJoseph had put his confidence in flesh and blood. He had prayed the\nchief butler to have him in remembrance when it should be well with\nhim, and make mention of him unto Pharaoh, and the butler forgot his\npromise, and therefore Joseph had to stay in prison two years more than\nthe years originally allotted to him there.[154] The butler had not\nforgotten him intentionally, but it was ordained of God that his memory\nshould fail him. When he would say to himself, If thus and so happens,\nI will remember the case of Joseph, the conditions he had imagined were\nsure to be reversed, or if he made a knot as a reminder, an angel came\nand undid the knot, and Joseph did not enter his mind.[155]\n\nBut \"the Lord setteth an end to darkness,\" and Joseph's liberation was\nnot delayed by a single moment beyond the time decreed for it. God\nsaid, \"Thou, O butler, thou didst forget Joseph, but I did not,\" and He\ncaused Pharaoh to dream a dream that was the occasion for Joseph's\nrelease.[156]\n\nIn his dream Pharaoh saw seven kine, well-favored and fat-fleshed, come\nup out of the Nile, and they all together grazed peaceably on the brink\nof the river, In years when the harvest is abundant, friendship reigns\namong men, and love and brotherly harmony, and these seven fat kine\nstood for seven such prosperous years. After the fat kine, seven more\ncame up out of the river, ill-favored and lean- fleshed, and each had\nher back turned to the others, for when distress prevails, one man\nturns away from the other. For a brief space Pharaoh awoke, and when he\nwent to sleep again, he dreamed a second dream, about seven rank and\ngood ears of corn, and seven ears that were thin and blasted with the\neast wind,[157] the withered cars swallowing the full ears. He awoke at\nonce, and it was morning, and dreams dreamed in the morning are the\nones that come true.[158]\n\nThis was not the first time Pharaoh had had these dreams. They had\nvisited him every night during a period of two years, and he had\nforgotten them invariably in the morning. This was the first time he\nremembered them, for the day had arrived for Joseph to come forth from\nhis prison house.[159] Pharaoh's heart beat violently when he called\nhis dreams to mind on awaking.[160] Especially the second one, about\nthe ears of corn, disquieted him. He reflected that whatever has a\nmouth can eat, and therefore the dream of the seven lean kine that ate\nup the seven fat kine did not appear strange to him. But the ears of\ncorn that swallowed up other ears of corn troubled his spirit.[161] He\ntherefore called for all the wise men of his land, and they endeavored\nin vain to find a satisfactory interpretation. They explained that the\nseven fat kine meant seven daughters to be born unto Pharaoh, and the\nseven lean kine, that he would bury seven daughters; the rank ears of\ncorn meant that Pharaoh would conquer seven countries, and the blasted\nears, that seven provinces would rebel against him.[162] About the ears\nof corn they did not all agree. Some thought the good ears stood for\nseven cities to be built by Pharaoh, and the seven withered ears\nindicated that these same cities would be destroyed at the end of his\nreign.\n\nSagacious as he was, Pharaoh knew that none of these explanations hit\nthe nail on the head. He issued a decree summoning all interpreters of\ndreams to appear before him on pain of death, and he held out great\nrewards and distinctions to the one who should succeed in finding the\ntrue meaning of his dreams. In obedience to his summons, all the wise\nmen appeared, the magicians and the sacred scribes that were in\nMizraim, the city of Egypt, as well as those from Goshen, Raamses,\nZoan, and the whole country of Egypt, and with them came the princes,\nofficers, and servants of the king from all the cities of the land.\n\nTo all these the king narrated his dreams, but none could interpret\nthem to his satisfaction. Some said that the seven fat kine were the\nseven legitimate kings that would rule over Egypt, and the seven lean\nkine betokened seven princes that would rise up against these seven\nkings and exterminate them. The seven good ears of corn were the seven\nsuperior princes of Egypt that would engage in a war for their\noverlord, and would be defeated by as many insignificant princes, who\nwere betokened by the seven blasted ears.\n\nAnother interpretation was that the seven fat kine were the seven\nfortified cities of Egypt, at some future time to fall into the hands\nof seven Canaanitish nations, who were foreshadowed in the seven lean\nkine. According to this interpretation, the second dream supplemented\nthe first. It meant that the descendants of Pharaoh would regain\nsovereign authority over Egypt at a subsequent period, and would subdue\nthe seven Canaanitish nations as well.\n\nThere was a third interpretation, given by some: The seven fat kine are\nseven women whom Pharaoh would take to wife, but they would die during\nhis lifetime, their loss being indicated by the seven lean kine.\nFurthermore, Pharaoh would have fourteen sons, and the seven strong\nones would be conquered by the seven weaklings, as the blasted ears of\ncorn in his dream had swallowed up the rank ears of corn.\n\nAnd a fourth: \"Thou wilt have seven sons, O Pharaoh, these are the\nseven fat kine. These sons of thine will be killed by the seven\npowerful rebellious princes. But then seven minor princes will come,\nand they will kill the seven rebels, avenge thy descendants, and\nrestore the dominion to thy family.\"\n\nThe king was as little pleased with these interpretations as with the\nothers, which he had heard before, and in his wrath he ordered the wise\nmen, the magicians and the scribes of Egypt, to be killed, and the\nhangmen made ready to execute the royal decree.\n\nHowever, Mirod, Pharaoh's chief butler,[163] took fright, seeing that\nthe king was so vexed at his failure to secure an interpretation of his\ndreams that he was on the point of giving up the ghost. He was alarmed\nabout the king's death, for it was doubtful whether the successor to\nthe throne would retain him in office. He resolved to do all in his\npower to keep Pharaoh alive. Therefore he stepped before him, and\nspake, saying, \"I do remember two faults of mine this day, I showed\nmyself ungrateful to Joseph, in that I did not bring his request before\nthee, and also I saw thee in distress by reason of thy dream, without\nletting thee know that Joseph can interpret dreams.[164] When it\npleased the Lord God to make Pharaoh wroth with his servants, the king\nput me in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the\nchief baker.[165] And with us there was a simple young man, one of the\ndespised race of the Hebrews, slave to the captain of the guard, and he\ninterpreted our dreams to us, and it came to pass, as he interpreted to\nus, so it was. Therefore, O king, stay the hand of the hangmen, let\nthem not execute the Egyptians. The slave I speak of is still in the\ndungeon, and if the king will consent to summon him hither, he will\nsurely interpret thy dreams.\"[166]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH BEFORE PHARAOH\n\n\n\"Accursed are the wicked that never do a wholly good deed.\" The chief\nbutler described Joseph contemptuously as a \"slave\" in order that it\nmight be impossible for him to occupy a distinguished place at court,\nfor it was a law upon the statute books of Egypt that a slave could\nnever sit upon the throne as king, nor even put his foot in the stirrup\nof a horse.[167]\n\nPharaoh revoked the edict of death that he had issued against the wise\nmen of Egypt, and he sent and called Joseph. He impressed care upon his\nmessengers, they were not to excite and confuse Joseph, and render him\nunfit to interpret the king's dream correctly.[168] They brought him\nhastily out of the dungeon, but first Joseph, out of respect for the\nking, shaved himself, and put on fresh raiment, which an angel brought\nhim from Paradise, and then he came in unto Pharaoh.[169]\n\nThe king was sitting upon the royal throne, arrayed in princely\ngarments, clad with a golden ephod upon his breast, and the fine gold\nof the ephod sparkled, and the carbuncle, the ruby, and the emerald\nflamed like a torch, and all the precious stones set upon the king's\nhead flashed like a blazing fire, and Joseph was greatly amazed at the\nappearance of the king. The throne upon which he sat was covered with\ngold and silver and with onyx stones, and it had seventy steps. If a\nprince or other distinguished person came to have an audience with the\nking, it was the custom for him to advance and mount to the\nthirty-first step of the throne, and the king would descend thirty-six\nsteps and speak to him. But if one of the people came to have speech\nwith the king, he ascended only to the third step, and the king would\ncome down four steps from his seat, and address him thence. It was also\nthe custom that one who knew all the seventy languages ascended the\nseventy steps of the throne to the top, but if a man knew only some of\nthe seventy languages, he was permitted to ascend as many steps as he\nknew languages, whether they were many or, few. And another custom of\nthe Egyptians was that none could reign over them unless he was master\nof all the seventy languages.\n\nWhen Joseph came before the king, he bowed down to the ground, and he\nascended to the third step, while the king sat upon the fourth from the\ntop, and spake with Joseph, saying:[170] \"O young man, my servant\nbeareth witness concerning thee, that thou art the best and most\ndiscerning person I can consult with. I pray thee, vouchsafe unto me\nthe same favors which thou didst bestow on this servant of mine, and\ntell me what events they are which the visions of my dreams foreshow. I\ndesire thee to suppress naught out of fear, nor shalt thou flatter me\nwith lying words, or with words that please me. Tell me the truth,\nthough it be sad and alarming.\"[171]\n\nJoseph asked the king first whence he knew that the interpretation\ngiven by the wise men of his country was not true, and Pharaoh replied,\n\"I saw the dream and its interpretation together, and therefore they\ncannot make a fool of me.\"[172] In his modesty Joseph denied that he\nwas an adept at interpreting dreams. He said, \"It is not in me; it is\nin the hand of God, and if it be the wish of God, He will permit me to\nannounce tidings of peace to Pharaoh.\" And for such modesty he was\nrewarded by sovereignty over Egypt, for the Lord doth honor them that\nhonor Him. Thus was also Daniel rewarded for his speech to\nNebuchadnezzar:\n\n\"There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, but as for me, this\nsecret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any\nliving, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to\nthe king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart.\"[173]\n\nThen Pharaoh began to tell his dream, only he omitted some points and\nnarrated others inaccurately in order that he might test the vaunted\npowers of Joseph. But the youth corrected him, and pieced the dreams\ntogether exactly as they had visited Pharaoh in the night, and the king\nwas greatly amazed.[174] Joseph was able to accomplish this feat,\nbecause he had dreamed the same dream as Pharaoh, at the same time as\nhe.[175] Thereupon Pharaoh retold his dreams, with all details and\ncircumstances, and precisely as he had seen them in his sleep, except\nthat he left out the word Nile in the description of the seven lean\nkine, because this river was worshipped by the Egyptians, and he\nhesitated to say that aught that is evil had come from his god.[176]\n\nNow Joseph proceeded to give the king the true interpretation of the\ntwo dreams. They were both a revelation concerning the seven good years\nimpending and the seven years of famine to follow them. In reality, it\nhad been the purpose of God to bring a famine of forty-two years'\nduration upon Egypt, but only two years of this distressful period were\ninflicted upon the land, for the sake of the blessing of Jacob when he\ncame to Egypt in the second year of the famine. The other forty years\nfell upon the land at the time of the prophet Ezekiel.[177]\n\nJoseph did more than merely interpret the dreams. When the king gave\nvoice to doubts concerning the interpretation, he told him signs and\ntokens. He said: \"Let this be a sign to thee that my words are true,\nand my advice is excellent: Thy wife, who is sitting upon the\nbirthstool at this moment, will bring forth a son, and thou wilt\nrejoice over him, but in the midst of thy joy the sad tidings will be\ntold thee of the death of thine older son, who was born unto thee but\ntwo years ago, and thou must needs find consolation for the loss of the\none in the birth of the other.\"\n\nScarcely had Joseph withdrawn from the presence of the king, when the\nreport of the birth of a son was brought to Pharaoh, and soon after\nalso the report of the death of his first-born, who had suddenly\ndropped to the floor and passed away. Thereupon he sent for all the\ngrandees of his realm, and all his servants, and he spake to them,\nsaying: \"Ye have heard the words of the Hebrew, and ye have seen that\nthe signs which he foretold were accomplished, and I also know that he\nhath interpreted the dream truly. Advise me now how the land may be\nsaved from the ravages of the famine. Look hither and thither whether\nyou can find a man of wisdom and understanding, whom I may set over the\nland, for I am convinced that the land can be saved only if we heed the\ncounsel of the Hebrew.\" The grandees and the princes admitted that\nsafety could be secured only by adhering to the advice given by Joseph,\nand they proposed that the king, in his sagacity, choose a man whom he\nconsidered equal to the great task.[178] Thereupon Pharaoh said: \"If we\ntraversed and searched the earth from end to end, we could find none\nsuch as Joseph, a man in whom is the spirit of God.[179] If ye think\nwell thereof, I will set him over the land which he hath saved by his\nwisdom.\"[180]\n\nThe astrologers, who were his counsellors, demurred, saying, \"A slave,\none whom his present owner hath acquired for twenty pieces of silver,\nthou proposest to set over us as master?\" But Pharaoh maintained that\nJoseph was not only a free-born man beyond the peradventure of a doubt,\nbut also the scion of a noble family.[181] However, the princes of\nPharaoh were not silenced, they continued to give utterance to their\nopposition to Joseph, saying: \"Dost thou not remember the immutable law\nof the Egyptians, that none may serve as king or as viceroy unless he\nspeaks all the languages of men? And this Hebrew knows none but his own\ntongue, and how were it possible that a man should rule over us who\ncannot even speak the language of our land? Send and have him fetched\nhither, and examine him in respect to all the things a ruler should\nknow and have, and then decide as seemeth wise in thy sight.\"\n\nPharaoh yielded, he promised to do as they wished, and he appointed the\nfollowing day as the time for examining Joseph, who had returned to his\nprison in the meantime, for, on account of his wife, his master feared\nto have him stay in his house. During the night Gabriel appeared unto\nJoseph, and taught him all the seventy languages, and he acquired them\nquickly after the angel had changed his name from Joseph to Jehoseph.\nThe next morning, when he came into the presence of Pharaoh and the\nnobles of the kingdom, inasmuch as he knew every one of the seventy\nlanguages, he mounted all the steps of the royal throne, until he\nreached the seventieth, the highest, upon which sat the king, and\nPharaoh and his princes rejoiced that Joseph fulfilled all the\nrequirements needed by one that was to rule over Egypt.\n\nThe king said to Joseph: \"Thou didst give me the counsel to look out a\nman discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt, that he may\nin his wisdom save the land from the famine. As God hath showed thee\nall this, and as thou art master of all the languages of the world,\nthere is none so discreet and wise as thou. Thou shalt therefore be the\nsecond in the land after Pharaoh, and according unto thy word shall all\nmy people go in and go out; my princes and my servants shall receive\ntheir monthly appanage from thee; before thee the people shall\nprostrate themselves, only in the throne will I be greater than\nthou.\"[182]\n\n\n\n\nTHE RULER OF EGYPT\n\n\nNow Joseph reaped the harvest of his virtues, and according to the\nmeasure of his merits God granted him reward. The mouth that refused\nthe kiss of unlawful passion and sin received the kiss of homage from\nthe people; the neck that did not bow itself unto sin was adorned with\nthe gold chain that Pharaoh put upon it; the hands that did not touch\nsin wore the signet ring that Pharaoh took from his own hand and put\nupon Joseph's; the body that did not come in contact with sin was\narrayed in vestures of byssus; the feet that made no steps in the\ndirection of sin reposed in the royal chariot, and the thoughts that\nkept themselves undefiled by sin were proclaimed as wisdom.[183]\n\nJoseph was installed in his high position, and invested with the\ninsignia of his office, with solemn ceremony. The king took off his\nsignet ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed\nhim in princely apparel, and set a gold crown upon his head, and laid a\ngold chain about his neck. Then he commanded his servants to make\nJoseph to ride in his second chariot, which went by the side of the\nchariot wherein sat the king, and he also made him to ride upon a great\nand strong horse of the king's horses, and his servants conducted him\nthrough the streets of the city of Egypt. Musicians, no less than a\nthousand striking cymbals and a thousand blowing flutes, and five\nthousand men with drawn swords gleaming in the air formed the vanguard.\nTwenty thousand of the king's grandees girt with gold-embroidered\nleather belts marched at the right of Joseph, and as many at the left\nof him.[184] The women and the maidens of the nobility looked out of\nthe windows to gaze upon Joseph's beauty, and they poured down chains\nupon him, and rings and jewels, that he might but direct his eyes\ntoward them. Yet he did not look up, and as a reward God made him proof\nagainst the evil eye, nor has it ever had the power of inflicting harm\nupon any of his descendants.[185] Servants of the king, preceding him\nand following him, burnt incense upon his path, and cassia, and all\nmanner of sweet spices, and strewed myrrh and aloes wherever he went.\nTwenty heralds walked before him, and they proclaimed: \"This is the man\nwhom the king bath chosen to be the second after him. All the affairs\nof state will be administered by him, and whoever resisteth his\ncommands, or refuseth to bow down to the ground before him, he will die\nthe death of the rebel against the king and the king's deputy.\"\n\nWithout delay the people prostrated themselves, and they cried, \"Long\nlive the king, and long live the deputy of the king!\" And Joseph,\nlooking down from his horse upon the people and their exultation,\nexclaimed, his eyes directed heavenward: \"The Lord raiseth up the poor\nout of the dust, and lifteth up the needy from the dunghill. O Lord of\nhosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee.\"\n\nAfter Joseph, accompanied by Pharaoh's officers and princes, had\njourneyed through the whole city of Egypt, and viewed all there was\ntherein, he returned to the king on the selfsame day, and the king gave\nhim fields and vineyards as a present, and also three thousand talents\nof silver, and a thousand talents of gold, and onyx stones and\nbdellium, and many other costly things. The king commanded, moreover,\nthat every Egyptian give Joseph a gift, else he would be put to death.\nA platform was erected in the open street, and there all deposited\ntheir presents, and among the things were many of gold and silver, as\nwell as precious stones, carried thither by the people and also the\ngrandees, for they saw that Joseph enjoyed the favor of the king.\nFurthermore, Joseph received one hundred slaves from Pharaoh, and they\nwere to do all his bidding, and he himself acquired many more, for he\nresided in a spacious palace. Three years it took to build it. Special\nmagnificence was lavished upon the hall of state, which was his\naudience chamber, and upon the throne fashioned of gold and silver and\ninlaid with precious stones, whereon there was a representation of the\nwhole land of Egypt and of the river Nile. And as Joseph multiplied in\nriches, so he increased also in wisdom, for God added to his wisdom\nthat all might love and honor him.[186] Pharaoh called him\nZaphenath-paneah, he who can reveal secret things with ease, and\nrejoiceth the heart of man therewith. Each letter of the name\nZaphenath-paneah has a meaning, too. The first, Zadde, stands for\nZofeh, seer; Pe for Podeh, redeemer; Nun for Nabi, prophet; Taw for\nTomek, supporter; Pe for Poter, interpreter of dreams; Ain for Arum,\nclever; Nun for Nabon, discreet; and Het for Hakam, wise.[187]\n\nThe name of Joseph's wife pointed to her history in the same way.\nAsenath was the daughter of Dinah and Hamor, but she was abandoned at\nthe borders of Egypt, only, that people might know who she was, Jacob\nengraved the story of her parentage and her birth upon a gold plate\nfastened around her neck. The day on which Asenath was exposed,\nPotiphar went walking with his servants near the city wall, and they\nheard the voice of a child. At the captain's bidding they brought the\nbaby to him, and when he read her history from the gold plate, he\ndetermined to adopt her. He took her home with him, and raised her as\nhis daughter. The Alef in Asenath stands for On, where Potiphar was\npriest; the Samek for Setirah, Hidden, for she was kept concealed on\naccount of her extraordinary beauty; the Nun for Nohemet, for she wept\nand entreated that she might be delivered from the house of the heathen\nPotiphar; and the Taw for Tammah, the perfect one, on account of her\npious, perfect deeds.[188]\n\nAsenath had saved Joseph's life while she was still an infant in arms.\nWhen Joseph was accused of immoral conduct by Potiphar's wife and the\nother women, and his master was on the point of having him hanged,\nAsenath approached her foster-father, and she assured him under oath\nthat the charge against Joseph was false. Then spake God, \"As thou\nlivest, because thou didst try to defend Joseph, thou shalt be the\nwoman to bear the tribes that he is appointed to beget.[189]\n\nAsenath bore him two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, during the seven years\nof plenty, for in the time of famine Joseph refrained from all\nindulgence in the pleasures of life.[190] They were bred in chastity\nand fear of God by their father, and they were wise, and\nwell-instructed in all knowledge and in the affairs of state, so that\nthey became the favorites of the court, and were educated with the\nroyal princes.\n\nBefore the famine broke over the land, Joseph found an opportunity of\nrendering the king a great service. He equipped an army of four\nthousand six hundred men, providing all the soldiers with shields and\nspears and bucklers and helmets and slings. With this army, and aided\nby the servants and officers of the king, and by the people of Egypt,\nhe carried on a war with Tarshish in the first year after his\nappointment as viceroy. The people of Tarshish had invaded the\nterritory of the Ishmaelites, and the latter, few in number at that\ntime, were sore pressed, and applied to the king of Egypt for help\nagainst their enemies. At the head of his host of heroes, Joseph\nmarched to the land of Havilah, where he was joined by the Ishmaelites,\nand with united forces they fought against the people of Tarshish,\nrouted them utterly, settled their land with the Ishmaelites, while the\ndefeated men took refuge with their brethren in Javan. Joseph and his\narmy returned to Egypt, and not a man had they lost.\n\nIn a little while Joseph's prophecy was confirmed: that year and the\nsix following years were years of plenty, as he had foretold.[191] The\nharvest was so ample that a single ear produced two heaps of\ngrain,[192] and Joseph made circumspect arrangements to provide\nabundantly for the years of famine. He gathered up all the grain, and\nin the city situated in the middle of each district he laid up the\nproduce from round about, and had ashes and earth strewn on the\ngarnered food from the very soil on which it had been grown;[193] also\nhe preserved the grain in the ear; all these being precautions taken to\nguard against rot and mildew. The inhabitants of Egypt also tried, on\ntheir own account, to put aside a portion of the superabundant harvest\nof the seven fruitful years against the need of the future, but when\nthe grievous time of dearth came, and they went to their storehouses to\nbring forth the treasured grain, behold, it had rotted, and become\nunfit for food.[194] The famine broke in upon the people with such\nsuddenness that the bread gave out unexpectedly as they sat at their\ntables, they had not even a bite of bran bread.\n\nThus they were driven to apply to Joseph and beseech his help, and he\nadmonished them, saying, \"Give up your allegiance to your deceitful\nidols, and say, Blessed is He who giveth bread unto all flesh.\" But\nthey refused to deny their lying gods, and they betook themselves to\nPharaoh, only to be told by him, \"Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you,\ndo!\" For this Pharaoh was rewarded. God granted him long life and a\nlong reign, until he became arrogant, and well-merited punishment\novertook him.[195]\n\nWhen the Egyptians approached Joseph with the petition for bread, he\nspoke, saying, \"I give no food to the uncircumcised. Go hence, and\ncircumcise yourselves, and then return hither.\" They entered the\npresence of Pharaoh, and complained to him regarding Joseph, but he\nsaid as before, \"Go unto Joseph!\" And they replied, \"We come from\nJoseph, and he hath spoken roughly unto us, saying, Go hence and\ncircumcise yourselves! We warned thee in the beginning that he is a\nHebrew, and would treat us in such wise.\" Pharaoh said to them: \"O ye\nfools, did he not prophesy through the holy spirit and proclaim to the\nwhole world, that there would come seven years of plenty to be followed\nby seven years of dearth? Why did you not save the yield of one or two\nyears against the day of your need?\"\n\nWeeping, they made reply: \"The grain that we put aside during the good\nyears hath rotted.\"\n\nPharaoh: \"Have ye nothing over of the flour of yesterday?\"\n\nThe Egyptians: \"The very bread in the basket rotted!\"\n\nPharaoh: \"Why?\"\n\nThe Egyptians: \"Because Joseph willed thus!\"\n\nPharaoh: \"O ye fools, if his word hath power over the grain, making it\nto rot when he desireth it to rot, then also must we die, if so be his\nwish concerning us. Go, therefore, unto him, and do as he bids\nyou.\"[196]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH'S BRETHREN IN EGYPT\n\n\nThe famine, which inflicted hardships first upon the wealthy among the\nEgyptians, gradually extended its ravages as far as Phoenicia, Arabia,\nand Palestine.[197] Though the sons of Jacob, being young men,\nfrequented the streets and the highways, yet they were ignorant of what\ntheir old home-keeping father Jacob knew, that corn could be procured\nin Egypt. Jacob even suspected that Joseph was in Egypt. His prophetic\nspirit, which forsook him during the time of his grief for his son, yet\nmanifested itself now and again in dim visions, and he was resolved to\nsend his sons down into Egypt.[198] There was another reason. Though he\nwas not yet in want, he nevertheless had them go thither for food,\nbecause he was averse from arousing the envy of the sons of Esau and\nIshmael by his comfortable state.[199] For the same reason, to avoid\nfriction with the surrounding peoples, he bade his sons not appear in\npublic with bread in their hands, or in the accoutrements of war.[200]\nAnd as he knew that they were likely to attract attention, on account\nof their heroic stature and handsome appearance, he cautioned them\nagainst going to the city all together through the same gate, or,\nindeed, showing themselves all together anywhere in public, that the\nevil eye be not cast upon them.[201]\n\nThe famine in Canaan inspired Joseph with the hope of seeing his\nbrethren. To make sure of their coming, he issued a decree concerning\nthe purchase of corn in Egypt, as follows: \"By order of the king and\nhis deputy, and the princes of the realm, be it enacted that he who\ndesireth to buy grain in Egypt may not send his slave hither to do his\nbidding, but he must charge his own sons therewith. An Egyptian or a\nCanaanite that hath bought grain and then selleth it again shall be put\nto death, for none may buy more than he requireth for the needs of his\nhousehold. Also, who cometh with two or three beasts of burden, and\nloads them up with grain, shall be put to death.\"\n\nAt the gates of the city of Egypt, Joseph stationed guards, whose\noffice was to inquire and take down the name of all that should come to\nbuy corn, and also the name of their father and their grandfather, and\nevery evening the list of names thus made was handed to Joseph. These\nprecautions were bound to bring Joseph's brethren down to Egypt, and\nalso acquaint him with their coming as soon as they entered the land.\n\nOn their journey his brethren thought more of Joseph than of their\nerrand. They said to one another: \"We know that Joseph was carried down\ninto Egypt, and we will make search for him there, and if we should\nfind him, we will ransom him from his master, and if his master should\nrefuse to sell him, we will use force, though we perish\nourselves.\"[202]\n\nAt the gates of the city of Egypt, the brethren of Joseph were asked\nwhat their names were, and the names of their father and grandfather.\nThe guard on duty happened to be Manasseh, the son of Joseph. The\nbrethren submitted to being questioned, saying \"Let us go into the\ntown, and we shall see whether this taking down of our names be a\nmatter of taxes. If it be so, we shall not demur; but if it be\nsomething else, we shall see to-morrow what can be done in the\ncase.\"[203]\n\nOn the evening of the day they entered Egypt, Joseph discovered their\nnames in the list, which he was in the habit of examining daily, and he\ncommanded that all stations for the sale of corn be closed, except one\nonly. Furthermore, even at this station no sales were to be negotiated\nunless the name of the would-be purchaser was first obtained. His\nbrethren, with whose names Joseph furnished the overseer of the place,\nwere to be seized and brought to him as soon as they put in appearance.\n\nBut the first thought of the brethren was for Joseph, and their first\nconcern, to seek him. For three days they made search for him\neverywhere, even in the most disreputable quarters of the city.\nMeantime Joseph was in communication with the overseer of the station\nkept open for the sale of corn, and, hearing that his brethren had not\nappeared there, he dispatched some of his servants to look for them,\nbut they found them neither in Mizraim, the city of Egypt, nor in\nGoshen, nor in Raamses. Thereupon he sent sixteen servants forth to\nmake a house to house search for them in the city, and they discovered\nthe brethren of Joseph in a place of ill-fame and haled them before\ntheir master.\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH MEETS HIS BRETHREN\n\n\nA large crown of gold on his head, apparelled in byssus and purple, and\nsurrounded by his valiant men, Joseph was seated upon his throne in his\npalace. His brethren fell down before him in great admiration of his\nbeauty, his stately appearance, and his majesty.[204] They did not know\nhim, for when Joseph was sold into slavery, he was a beardless youth.\nBut he knew his brethren, their appearance had not changed in aught,\nfor they were bearded men when he was separated from them.[205]\n\nHe was inclined to make himself known to them as their brother, but an\nangel appeared unto him, the same that had brought him from Shechem to\nhis brethren at Dothan, and spoke, saying, \"These came hither with\nintent to kill thee.\" Later, when the brethren returned home, and gave\nan account of their adventures to Jacob, they told him that a man had\naccused them falsely before the ruler of Egypt, not knowing that he who\nincited Joseph against them was an angel. It was in reference to this\nmatter, and meaning their accuser, that Jacob, when he dispatched his\nsons on their second expedition to Egypt, prayed to God, \"God Almighty\ngive you mercy before the man.\"[206]\n\nJoseph made himself strange unto his brethren, and he took his cup in\nhis hand, knocked against it, and said, \"By this magic cup I know that\nye are spies.\" They replied, \"Thy servants came from Canaan into Egypt\nfor to buy corn.\"\n\nJoseph: \"If it be true that ye came hither to buy corn, why is it that\neach one of you entered the city by a separate gate?\"[207]\n\nThe brethren: \"We are ALL the sons of one man in the land of Canaan,\nand he bade us not enter a city together by the same gate, that we\nattract not the attention of the people of the place.\" Unconsciously\nthey had spoken as seers, for the word ALL included Joseph as one of\ntheir number.[208]\n\nJoseph: \"Verily, ye are spies! All the people that come to buy corn\nreturn home without delay, but ye have lingered here three days,\nwithout making any purchases, and all the time you have been gadding\nabout in the disreputable parts of the city, and only spies are wont to\ndo thus.\"\n\nThe brethren: \"We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of Jacob,\nthe son of Isaac, the son of the Hebrew Abraham. The youngest is this\nday with our father in Canaan, and one hath disappeared. Him did we\nlook for in this land, and we looked for him even in the disreputable\nhouses.\"\n\nJoseph: \"Have ye made search in every other place on earth, and was\nEgypt the only land left? And if it be true that he is in Egypt, what\nshould a brother of yours be doing in a house of ill-fame, if, indeed,\nye are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?\"\n\nThe brethren: \"We did hear that some Ishmaelites stole our brother, and\nsold him into slavery in Egypt, and as our brother was exceeding fair\nin form and face, we thought he might have been sold for illicit uses,\nand therefore we searched even the disreputable houses to find him.\"\n\nJoseph: \"You speak deceitful words, when you call yourselves sons of\nAbraham. By the life of Pharaoh, ye are spies, and you did go from one\ndisreputable house to another that none might discover you.\"[209]\n\nThe expression \"by the life of Pharaoh\" might have betrayed Joseph's\nreal feeling to his brethren, had they but known his habit of taking\nthis oath only when he meant to avoid keeping his word later.[210]\n\nJoseph continued to speak to his brethren: \"Let us suppose you should\ndiscover your brother serving as a slave, and his master should demand\na high sum for his ransom, would you pay it?\"\n\nThe brethren: \"Yes!\"\n\nJoseph: \"But suppose his master should refuse to surrender him for any\nprice in the world, what would you do?\"\n\nThe brethren: \"If he yields not our brother to us, we will kill the\nmaster, and carry off our brother.\"\n\nJoseph: \"Now see how true my words were, that ye are spies. By your own\nadmission ye have come to slay the inhabitants of the land. Report hath\ntold us that two of you did massacre the people of Shechem on account\nof the wrong done to your sister, and now have ye come down into Egypt\nto kill the Egyptians for the sake of your brother. I shall be\nconvinced of your innocence only if you consent to send one of your\nnumber home and fetch your youngest brother hither.\"\n\nHis brethren refused compliance, and Joseph caused them to be put into\nprison by seventy of his valiant men, and there they remained for three\ndays.[211] God never allows the pious to languish in distress longer\nthan three days, and so it was a Divine dispensation that the brethren\nof Joseph were released on the third day,[212] and were permitted by\nJoseph to return home, on condition, however, that one of them remain\nbehind as hostage.\n\nThe difference between Joseph and his brethren can be seen here. Though\nhe retained one of them to be bound in the prison house, he still said,\n\"I fear God,\" and dismissed the others, but when he was in their power,\nthey gave no thought to God.[213] At this time, to be sure, their\nconduct was such as is becoming to the pious, who accept their fate\nwith calm resignation, and acknowledge the righteousness of God, for He\nmetes out reward and punishment measure for measure. They recognized\nthat their present punishment was in return for the heartless treatment\nthey had dealt out to Joseph, paying no heed to his distress, though he\nfell at the feet of each of them, weeping, and entreating them not to\nsell him into slavery. Reuben reminded the others that they had two\nwrongs to expiate, the wrong against their brother and the wrong\nagainst their father, who was so grieved that he exclaimed, \"I will go\ndown to the grave to my son mourning.\"\n\nThe brethren of Joseph knew not that the viceroy of Egypt understood\nHebrew, and could follow their words, for Manasseh stood and was an\ninterpreter between them and him.[214]\n\nJoseph decided to keep Simon as hostage in Egypt, for he had been one\nof the two\u2014Levi was the other\u2014to advise that Joseph be put to death,\nand only the intercession of Reuben and Judah had saved him. He did not\ndetain Levi, too, for he feared, if both remained behind together,\nEgypt might suffer the same fate at their hands as the city of\nShechem.[215] Also, he preferred Simon to Levi, because Simon was not a\nfavorite among the sons of Jacob, and they would not resist his\ndetention in Egypt too violently, while they might annihilate Egypt, as\naforetime Shechem, if they were deprived of Levi, their wise man and\nhigh priest.[216] Besides, it was Simon that had lowered Joseph into\nthe pit, wherefore he had a particular grudge against him.[217]\n\nWhen the brethren yielded to Joseph's demand, and consented to leave\ntheir brother behind as hostage, Simon said to them, \"Ye desire to do\nwith me as ye did with Joseph!\" But they replied, in despair: \"What can\nwe do? Our households will perish of hunger.\" Simon made answer, \"Do as\nye will, but as for me, let me see the man that will venture to cast me\ninto prison.\" Joseph sent word to Pharaoh to let him have seventy of\nhis valiant men, to aid him in arresting robbers. But when the seventy\nappeared upon the scene, and were about to lay hands on Simon, he\nuttered a loud cry, and his assailants fell to the floor and knocked\nout their teeth.[218] Pharaoh's valiant men, as well as all the people\nthat stood about Joseph, fled affrighted, only Joseph and his son\nManasseh remained calm and unmoved. Manasseh rose up, dealt Simon a\nblow on the back of his neck, put manacles upon his hands and fetters\nupon his feet, and cast him into prison. Joseph's brethren were greatly\namazed at the heroic strength of the youth, and Simon said, \"This blow\nwas not dealt by an Egyptian, but by one belonging to our house.\"[219]\n\nHe was bound and taken to prison before the eyes of the other brethren\nof Joseph, but as soon as they were out of sight, Joseph ordered good\nfare to be set before him, and he treated him with great kindness.[220]\n\nJoseph permitted his nine other brethren to depart, carrying corn with\nthem in abundance, but he impressed upon them that they must surely\nreturn and bring their youngest brother with them. On the way, Levi,\nwho felt lonely without his constant companion Simon, opened his sack,\nand he espied the money he had paid for the corn. They all trembled,\nand their hearts failed them, and they said, \"Where, then, is the\nlovingkindness of God toward our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,\nseeing that He hath delivered us into the hands of the Egyptian king,\nthat he may raise false accusations against us?\" And Judah said,\n\"Verily, we are guilty concerning our brother, we have sinned against\nGod, in that we sold our brother, our own flesh, and why do ye ask,\nWhere, then, is the lovingkindness of God toward our fathers?\"\n\nReuben spoke in the same way: \"Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin\nagainst the child, and ye would not hear? And now the Lord doth demand\nhim of us. How can you say, Where, then, is the lovingkindness of God\ntoward our fathers, though you have sinned against Him?\"\n\nThey proceeded on their journey home, and their father met them on the\nway. Jacob was astonished not to see Simon with them, and in reply to\nhis questions, they told him all that had befallen them in Egypt. Then\nJacob cried out: \"What have ye done? I sent Joseph to you to see\nwhether it be well with you, and ye said, An evil beast hath devoured\nhim. Simon went forth with you for to buy corn, and you say, The king\nof Egypt hath cast him into prison. And now ye will take Benjamin away\nand kill him, too. Ye will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the\ngrave.\"[221]\n\nThe words of Jacob, which he uttered, \"Me have ye bereaved of my\nchildren,\" were meant to intimate to his sons that he suspected them of\nthe death of Joseph and of Simon's disappearance as well, and their\nreports concerning both he regarded as inventions.[222] What made him\ninconsolable was that now, having lost two of his sons, he could not\nhope to see the Divine promise fulfilled, that he should be the\nancestor of twelve tribes.[223] He was quite resolved in his mind,\ntherefore, not to let Benjamin go away with his brethren under any\ncondition whatsoever, and he vouchsafed Reuben no reply when he said,\n\"Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee.\" He considered it\nbeneath his dignity to give an answer to such balderdash.[224] \"My\nfirst-born son,\" he said to himself, \"is a fool. What will it profit\nme, if I slay his two sons? Does he not know that his sons are equally\nmine?\"[225] Judah advised his brethren to desist from urging their\nfather then; he would consent, he thought, to whatever expedients were\nfound necessary, as soon as their bread gave out, and a second journey\nto Egypt became imperative.[226]\n\n\n\n\nTHE SECOND JOURNEY TO EGYPT\n\n\nWhen the supplies bought in Egypt were eaten up, and the family of\nJacob began to suffer with hunger, the little children came to him, and\nthey said, \"Give us bread, that we die not of hunger before thee.\" The\nwords of the little ones brought scorching tears to the eyes of Jacob,\nand he summoned his sons and bade them go again down into Egypt and buy\nfood.[227] But Judah spake unto him, \"The man did solemnly protest unto\nus, saying that we should not see his face, except our brother Benjamin\nbe with us, and we cannot appear before him with idle pretexts.\" And\nJacob said, \"Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me as to tell the man\nwhether ye had yet a brother?\" It was the first and only time Jacob\nindulged in empty talk, and God said, \"I made it My business to raise\nhis son to the position of ruler of Egypt, and he complains, and says,\nWherefore dealt ye so ill with-me?\" And Judah protested against the\nreproach, that he had initiated the Egyptian viceroy in their family\nrelations, with the words: \"Why, he knew the very wood of which our\nbaby coaches are made![228] Father,\" he continued, \"if Benjamin goes\nwith us, he may, indeed, be taken from us, but also he may not. This is\na doubtful matter, but it is certain that if he does not go with us, we\nshall all die of hunger. It is better not to concern thyself about what\nis doubtful, and guide thy actions by what is certain.[229] The king of\nEgypt is a strong and mighty king, and if we go to him without our\nbrother, we shall all be put to death. Dost thou not know, and hast\nthou not heard, that this king is very powerful and wise, and there is\nnone like unto him in all the earth? We have seen all the kings of the\nearth, but none like unto the king of Egypt. One would surely say that\namong all the kings of the earth there is none greater than Abimelech\nking of the Philistines, yet the king of Egypt is greater and mightier\nthan he, and Abimelech can hardly be compared with one of his officers.\nFather, thou hast not seen his palace and his throne, and all his\nservants standing before him. Thou hast not seen that king upon his\nthrone, in all his magnificence and with his royal insignia, arrayed in\nhis royal robes, with a large golden crown upon his head. Thou hast not\nseen the honor and the glory that God hath given unto him, for there is\nnone like unto him in all the earth. Father, thou hast not seen the\nwisdom, the understanding, and the knowledge that God has given in his\nheart. We heard his sweet voice when he spake unto us. We know not,\nfather, who acquainted him with our names, and all that befell us. He\nasked also concerning thee, saying, Is your father still alive, and is\nit well with him? Thou hast not seen the affairs of the government of\nEgypt regulated by him, for none asketh his lord Pharaoh about them.\nThou hast not seen the awe and the fear that he imposes upon all the\nEgyptians. Even we went out from his presence threatening to do unto\nEgypt as unto the cities of the Amorites, and exceedingly wroth by\nreason of all his words that he spake concerning us as spies, yet when\nwe came again before him, his terror fell upon us all, and none of us\nwas able to speak a word to him, great or small. Now, therefore,\nfather, send the lad with us, and we will arise and go down into Egypt,\nand buy food to eat, that we die not of hunger.\"[230]\n\nJudah offered his portion in the world to come as surety for Benjamin,\nand thus solemnly he promised to bring him back safe and sound, and\nJacob granted his request, and permitted Benjamin to go down into Egypt\nwith his other sons. They also carried with them choice presents from\ntheir father for the ruler of Egypt, things that arouse wonder outside\nof Palestine, such as the murex, which is the snail that produces the\nTyrian purple, and various kinds of balm, and almond oil, and pistachio\noil, and honey as hard as stone. Furthermore, Jacob put double money in\ntheir hand to provide against a rise in prices in the meantime. And\nafter all these matters were attended to, he spake to his sons, saying:\n\"Here is money, and here is a present, and also your brother. Is there\naught else that you need?\" And they replied, Yes, we need this,\nbesides, that thou shouldst intercede for us with God.\" Then their\nfather prayed:[231] \"O Lord, Thou who at the time of creation didst\ncall Enough! to heaven and earth when they stretched themselves out\nfurther and further toward infinity, set a limit to my sufferings, too,\nsay unto them, Enough![232] God Almighty give you mercy before the\nruler of Egypt, that he may release unto you Joseph, Simon, and\nBenjamin.\"\n\nThis prayer was an intercession, not only for the sons of Jacob, but\nalso for their descendants\u2014that God would deliver the Ten Tribes in\ntime to come, as He delivered the two, Judah and Benjamin, and after He\npermitted the destruction of two Temples, He would grant endless\ncontinuance to the third.[233]\n\nJacob also put a letter addressed to the viceroy of Egypt into the\nhands of his son. The letter ran thus: \"From thy servant Jacob, the son\nof Isaac, the grandson of Abraham, prince of God, to the mighty and\nwise king Zaphenathpaneah, the ruler of Egypt, peace! I make known unto\nmy lord the king that the famine is sore with us in the land of Canaan,\nand I have therefore sent my sons unto thee, to buy us a little food,\nthat we may live, and not die. My children surrounded me, and begged\nfor something to eat, but, alas, I am very old, and I cannot see with\nmine eyes, for they are heavy with the weight of years, and also on\naccount of my never-ceasing tears for my son Joseph, who hath been\ntaken from me. I charged my sons not to pass through the gate all\ntogether at the same time, when they arrived in the city of Egypt, in\nconsideration of the inhabitants of the land, that they might not take\nundue notice of them. Also I bade them go up and down in the land of\nEgypt and seek my son Joseph, mayhap they would find him there.\n\n\"This did they do, but thou didst therefore account them as spies. We\nhave heard the report of thy wisdom and sagacity. How, then, canst thou\nlook upon their countenances, and yet declare them to be spies?\nEspecially as we have heard thou didst interpret Pharaoh's dream, and\ndidst foretell the coming of the famine, are we amazed that thou, in\nthy discernment, couldst not distinguish whether they be spies or not.\n\n\"And, now, O my lord king, I send unto thee my son Benjamin, as thou\ndidst demand of my other sons. I pray thee, take good care of him until\nthou sendest him back to me in peace with his brethren. Hast thou not\nheard, and dost thou not know, what our God did unto Pharaoh when he\ntook our mother Sarah unto himself? Or what happened unto Abimelech on\naccount of her? And what our father Abraham did unto the nine kings of\nElam, how he killed them and exterminated their armies, though he had\nbut few men with him? Or hast thou not heard what my two sons Simon and\nLevi did to the eight cities of the Amorites, which they destroyed on\naccount of their sister Dinah? Benjamin consoled them for the loss of\nJoseph. What, then, will they do unto him that stretcheth forth the\nhand of power to snatch him away from them?\n\n\"Knowest thou not, O king of Egypt, that the might of our God is with\nus, and that He always hearkens unto our prayers, and never forsakes\nus? Had I called upon God to rise up against thee when my sons told me\nhow thou didst act toward them, thou and thy people, ye all would have\nbeen annihilated ere Benjamin could come down to thee. But I reflected\nthat Simon my son was abiding in thy house, and perhaps thou wast doing\nkindnesses unto him, and therefore I invoked not the punishment of God\nupon thee. Now my son Benjamin goeth down unto thee with my other sons.\nTake heed unto thyself, keep thy eyes directed upon him, and God will\ndirect His eye upon all thy kingdom.\n\n\"I have said all now that is in my heart. My sons take their youngest\nbrother down into Egypt with them, and do thou send them all back to me\nin peace.\"\n\nThis letter Jacob put into the keeping of Judah, charging him to\ndeliver it to the ruler of Egypt. His last words to his sons were an\nadmonition to take good care of Benjamin and not leave him out of their\nsight, either on the journey or after their arrival in Egypt. He bade\nfarewell to them, and then turned in prayer to God, saying: \"O Lord of\nheaven and earth! Remember Thy covenant with our father Abraham.\nRemember also my father Isaac, and grant grace unto my sons, and\ndeliver them not into the hands of the king of Egypt. O my God, do it\nfor the sake of Thy mercy, redeem my sons and save them from the hands\nof the Egyptians, and restore their two brethren unto them.\"\n\nAlso the women and the children in the house of Jacob prayed to God\namid tears, and entreated Him to redeem their husbands and their\nfathers out of the hands of the king of Egypt.[234]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH AND BENJAMIN\n\n\nGreat was the joy of Joseph when his brethren stood before him and\nBenjamin was with them. In his youngest brother he saw the true\ncounterpart of his father.[235] He ordered his son Manasseh,[236] the\nsteward of his house, to bring the men into the palace, and make ready\na meal for them. But he was to take care to prepare the meat dishes in\nthe presence of the guests, so that they might see with their own eyes\nthat the cattle had been slaughtered according to the ritual\nprescriptions, and the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the\nthigh had been removed.[237]\n\nThe dinner to which Joseph invited his brethren was a Sabbath meal, for\nhe observed the seventh day even before the revelation of the law. The\nsons of Jacob refused the invitation of the steward, and a scuffle\nensued. While he tried to force them into the banqueting hall, they\ntried to force him out,[238] for they feared it was but a ruse to get\npossession of them and their asses, on account of the money they had\nfound in their sacks on their return from their first journey to Egypt.\nIn their modesty they put the loss of their beasts upon the same level\nas the loss of their personal liberty. To the average man property is\nas precious as life itself.[239]\n\nStanding at the door of Joseph's house, they spake to the steward, and\nsaid: \"We are in badly reduced circumstances. In our country we\nsupported others, and now we depend upon thee to support us.\" After\nthese introductory words, they offered him the money they had found in\ntheir sacks. The steward reassured them concerning the money, saying,\n\"However it may be, whether for the sake of your own merits, or for the\nsake of the merits of your fathers, God hath caused you to find a\ntreasure, for the money ye paid for the corn came into my hand.\" Then\nhe brought Simon out to them. Their brother looked like a leather\nbottle, so fat and rotund had he grown during his sojourn in\nEgypt.[240] He told his brethren what kind treatment had been accorded\nunto him. The very moment they left the city he had been released from\nprison, and thereafter he had been entertained with splendor in the\nhouse of the ruler of Egypt.\n\nWhen Joseph made his appearance, Judah took Benjamin by the hand, and\npresented him to the viceroy, and they all bowed down themselves to him\nto the earth.[241] Joseph asked them concerning the welfare of their\nfather and their grandfather, and they made reply, \"Thy servant our\nfather is well; he is yet alive,\" and Joseph knew from their words that\nhis grandfather Isaac was no more.[242] He had died at the time when\nJoseph was released from prison, and the joy of God in the liberation\nof Joseph was overcast by His sorrow for Isaac.[243] Then Judah handed\nhis father's letter to Joseph, who was so moved at seeing the\nwell-known handwriting that he had to retire to his chamber and weep.\nWhen he came back, he summoned Benjamin to approach close to him, and\nhe laid his hand upon his youngest brother's head, and blessed him with\nthe words, \"God be gracious unto thee, my son.\"[244] His father had\nonce mentioned \"the children which God hath graciously given Thy\nservant,\" and as Benjamin was not among the children thus spoken of,\nfor he was born later, Joseph compensated him now by blessing him with\nthe grace of God.[245]\n\nThe table was set in three divisions, for Joseph, for his brethren, and\nfor the Egyptians. The sons of Jacob did not venture to eat of the\ndishes set before them, they were afraid they might not have been\nprepared according to the ritual prescriptions\u2014a punishment upon Joseph\nfor having slandered his brethren, whom he once charged with not being\npunctilious in the observance of the dietary laws.[246] The Egyptians,\nagain, could not sit at the same table with the sons of Jacob, because\nthe latter ate the flesh of the animals to which the former paid divine\nworship.[247]\n\nWhen all was ready, and the guests were to be seated, Joseph raised his\ncup, and, pretending to inhale his knowledge from it, he said, \"Judah\nis king, therefore let him sit at the head of the table, and let Reuben\nthe first-born take the second seat,\" and thus he assigned places to\nall his brethren corresponding to their dignity and their age.[248]\nMoreover, he seated the brothers together who were the sons of the same\nmother, and when he reached Benjamin, he said, \"I know that the\nyoungest among you has no brother borne by his own mother, next to whom\nhe might be seated, and also I have none, therefore he may take his\nplace next to me.\"\n\nThe brethren marvelled one with another at all this. During the meal,\nJoseph took his portion, and gave it to Benjamin, and his wife Asenath\nfollowed his example, and also Ephraim and Manasseh, so that Benjamin\nhad four portions in addition to that which he had received like the\nother sons of Jacob.[249]\n\nWine was served at the meal, and it was the first time in twenty-two\nyears that Joseph and his brethren tasted of it, for they had led the\nlife of Nazarites, his brethren because they regretted the evil they\nhad done to Joseph, and Joseph because he grieved over the fate of his\nfather.[250]\n\nJoseph entered into conversation with his brother Benjamin. He asked\nhim whether he had a brother borne by his own mother, and Benjamin\nanswered, \"I had one, but I do not know what hath become of him.\"\nJoseph continued his questions: \"Hast thou a wife?\"\n\nBenjamin: \"Yes, I have a wife and ten sons.\"\n\nJoseph: \"And what are their names? \"\n\nBenjamin: \"Bela, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and\nRosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.\"\n\nJoseph: \"Why didst thou give them such peculiar names?\"\n\nBenjamin: \"In memory of my brother and his sufferings: Bela, because my\nbrother disappeared among the peoples; Becher, he was the first-born\nson of my mother; Ashbel, he was taken away from my father; Gera, he\ndwells a stranger in a strange land; Naaman, he was exceedingly lovely;\nEhi, he was my only brother by my father and my mother together; Rosh,\nhe was at the head of his brethren; Muppim, he was beautiful in every\nrespect; Huppim, he was slandered; and Ard, because he was as beautiful\nas a rose.\"[251]\n\nJoseph ordered his magic astrolabe to be brought to him, whereby he\nknew all things that happen, and he said unto Benjamin, \"I have heard\nthat the Hebrews are acquainted with all wisdom, but dost thou know\naught of this?\" Benjamin answered, \"Thy servant also is skilled in all\nwisdom, which my father hath taught me.\" He then looked upon the\nastrolabe, and to his great astonishment he discovered by the aid of it\nthat he who was sitting upon the throne before him was his brother\nJoseph. Noticing Benjamin's amazement, Joseph asked him, \"What hast\nthou seen, and why art thou astonished?\" Benjamin said, \"I can see by\nthis that Joseph my brother sitteth here before me upon the throne.\"\nAnd Joseph said: \"I am Joseph thy brother! Reveal not the thing unto\nour brethren. I will send thee with them when they go away, and I will\ncommand them to be brought back again into the city, and I will take\nthee away from them. If they risk their lives and fight for thee, then\nshall I know that they have repented of what they did unto me, and I\nwill make myself known unto them. But if they forsake thee, I will keep\nthee, that thou shouldst remain with me. They shall go away, and I will\nnot make myself known unto them.\"[252]\n\nThen Joseph inquired of Benjamin what his brethren had told their\nfather after they had sold him into slavery, and he heard the story of\nthe coat dipped in the blood of a kid of the goats. \"Yes, brother,\"\nspoke Joseph, \"when they had stripped me of my coat, they handed me\nover to the Ishmaelites, who tied an apron around my waist, scourged\nme, and bade me run off. But a lion attacked the one that beat me, and\nkilled him, and his companions were alarmed, and they sold me to other\npeople.\"[253]\n\nDismissed by Joseph with kind words, his brethren started on their\nhomeward journey as soon as the morning was light, for it is a good\nrule to \"leave a city after sunrise, and enter a city before\nsundown.\"[254] Besides, Joseph had a specific reason for not letting\nhis brethren depart from the city during the night. He feared an\nencounter between them and his servants, and that his men might get the\nworst of it, for the sons of Jacob were like the wild beasts, which\nhave the upper hand at night.\n\n\n\n\nTHE THIEF CAUGHT\n\n\nThey were not yet far beyond the city gates, when Joseph dispatched\nManasseh, the steward of his house, to follow after them, and look for\nthe silver cup that he had concealed in Benjamin's sack. He knew his\nbrethren well, he did not venture to let them get too far from the city\nbefore he should attempt to force their return. He hoped that the\nnearness of the city would intimidate them and make them heed his\ncommands. Manasseh therefore received the order to bring them to a\nhalt, by mild speech if he could, or by rough speech if he must, and\ncarry them back to the city.[255] He acted according to his\ninstructions. When the brethren heard the accusation of theft , they\nsaid: \"With whomsoever of thy servants the cup be found, let him die,\nand we also will be my lord's bondmen.\" And Manasseh said, \"As you say,\nso were it proper to do, for if ten persons are charged with theft, and\nthe stolen object is found with one of them, all are held responsible.\nBut I will not be so hard. He with whom the cup is found shall be the\nbondman, and the rest shall be blameless.\"\n\nHe searched all the sacks, and in order not to excite the suspicion\nthat he knew where the cup was, he began at Reuben, the eldest, and\nleft off at Benjamin, the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's\nsack. In a rage, his brethren shouted at Benjamin, \"O thou thief and\nson of a thief! Thy mother brought shame upon our father by her\nthievery, and now thou bringest shame upon us.\" But he replied, \"Is\nthis matter as evil as the matter of the kid of the goats\u2014as the deed\nof the brethren that sold their own brother into slavery?\"[256]\n\nIn their fury and vexation, the brethren rent their clothes. God paid\nthem in their own coin. They had caused Jacob to tear his clothes in\nhis grief over Joseph, and now they were made to do the same on account\nof their own troubles. And as they rent their clothes for the sake of\ntheir brother Benjamin, so Mordecai, the descendant of Benjamin, was\ndestined to rend his on account of his brethren, the people of Israel.\nBut because mortification was inflicted upon the brethren through\nManasseh, the steward of Joseph, the allotment of territory given to\nthe tribe of Manasseh was \"torn\" in two, one-half of the tribe had to\nlive on one side of the Jordan, the other half on the other side. And\nJoseph, who had not shrunk from vexing his brethren so bitterly that\nthey rent their clothes in their abasement, was punished, in that his\ndescendant Joshua was driven to such despair after the defeat of Ai\nthat he, too, rent his clothes.[257]\n\nConvicted of theft beyond the peradventure of a doubt, the brethren of\nJoseph had no choice but to comply with the steward's command and\nreturn to the city. They accompanied him without delay. Each of them\nloaded his ass himself, raising the burden with one hand from the\nground to the back of the beast, and then they retraced their steps\ncityward,[258] and as they walked, they rapped Benjamin roughly on the\nshoulder, saying, \"O thou thief and son of a thief, thou hast brought\nthe same shame upon us that thy mother brought upon our father.\"\nBenjamin bore the blows and the abusive words in patient silence, and\nhe was rewarded for his humility. For submitting to the blows upon his\nshoulder, God appointed that His Shekinah should \"dwell between his\nshoulders,\" and He also called him \"the beloved of the Lord.\"[259]\n\nJoseph's brethren returned to the city without fear. Though it was a\ngreat metropolis, in their eyes it appeared but as a hamlet of ten\npersons, which they could wipe out with a turn of the hand.[260] They\nwere led into the presence of Joseph, who, contrary to his usual habit,\nwas not holding a session of the court in the forum on that day. He\nremained at home, that his brethren might not be exposed to shame in\npublic. They fell to the earth before him, and thus came true his dream\nof the eleven stars that made obeisance to him.[261] But even while\npaying homage to Joseph, Judah was boiling inwardly with suppressed\nrage, and he said to his brethren, \"Verily, this man hath forced me to\ncome back hither only that I should destroy the city on this day.\"\n\nGuarded by his valiant men on the right and on the left, Joseph\naddressed his brethren, snarling, \"What deed is this that ye have done,\nto steal away my cup? I know well, ye took it in order to discover with\nits help the whereabouts of your brother that hath disappeared.\"[262]\nJudah was spokesman, and he replied: \"What shall we say unto my lord\nconcerning the first money that he found in the mouth of our sacks?\nWhat shall we speak concerning the second money that also was in our\nsacks? And how shall we clear ourselves concerning the cup? We cannot\nacknowledge ourselves guilty, for we know ourselves to be innocent in\nall these matters. Yet we cannot avow ourselves innocent, because God\nhath found out the iniquity of thy servants, like a creditor that goes\nabout and tries to collect a debt owing to him.[263] Two brothers take\ncare not to enter a house of mirth and festivity together, that they be\nnot exposed to the evil eye, but we all were caught together in one\nplace, by reason of the sin which we committed in company.\"\n\nJoseph: \"But if your punishment is for selling Joseph, why should this\nbrother of yours suffer, the youngest, he that had no part in your\ncrime.\n\nJudah: \"A thief and his companions are taken together.\"\n\nJoseph: \"If you could prevail upon yourselves to report to your father\nconcerning a brother that had not stolen, and had brought no manner of\nshame upon you, that a wild beast had torn him, you will easily\npersuade yourselves to say it concerning a brother that hath stolen,\nand hath brought shame upon you. Go hence, and tell your father, 'The\nrope follows after the water bucket.'[264] But,\" continued Joseph,\nshaking his purple mantle, \"God forbid that I should accuse you all of\ntheft. Only the youth that stole the cup in order to divine his\nbrother's whereabouts shall remain with me as my bondman; but as for\nyou, get you up in peace unto your father.\"\n\nThe holy spirit called out, \"Great peace have they which love thy law!\"\n\nThe brethren all consented to yield Benjamin to the ruler of Egypt,\nonly Judah demurred, and he cried out, \"Now it is all over with peace!\"\nand he prepared to use force, if need be, to rescue Benjamin from\nslavery.[265]\n\n\n\n\nJUDAH PLEADS AND THREATENS.\n\n\nJoseph dismissed his brethren, and carried Benjamin off by main force,\nand locked him up in a chamber. But Judah broke the door open and stood\nbefore Joseph with his brethren.[266] He determined to use in turn the\nthree means of liberating Benjamin at his disposal. He was prepared to\nconvince Joseph by argument, or move him by entreaties, or resort to\nforce, in order to accomplish his end.[267]\n\nHe spake: \"Thou doest a wrong unto us. Thou who didst say, 'I fear\nGod,' thou showest thyself to be like unto Pharaoh, who hath no fear of\nGod. The judgments which thou dost pronounce are not in accordance with\nour laws, nor are they in accordance with the laws of the nations.\nAccording to our law, a thief must pay double the value of what he hath\nstolen. Only, if he hath no money, he is sold into slavery, but if he\nhath the money, he maketh double restitution. And according to the law\nof the nations, the thief is deprived of all he owns. Do so, but let\nhim go free. If a man buys a slave, and then discovers him to be a\nthief, the transaction is void. Yet thou desirest to make one a slave\nwhom thou chargest with being a thief. I suspect thee of wanting to\nkeep him in thy power for illicit purposes,[268] and in this\nlustfulness thou resemblest Pharaoh. Also thou art like Pharaoh in that\nthou makest a promise and keepest it not. Thou saidst unto thy\nservants, Bring thy youngest brother down unto me, that I may set mine\neyes upon him. Dost thou call this setting thine eyes upon him?[269] If\nthou didst desire nothing beside a slave, then wouldst thou surely\naccept our offer to serve thee as bondmen instead of Benjamin. Reuben\nis older than he, and I exceed him in strength. It cannot but be as I\nsay, thou hast a lustful purpose in mind with our brother.[270]\n\n\"Therefore let these words of mine which I am about to speak find\nentrance into thy heart: For the sake of the grandmother of this lad\nwere Pharaoh and his house stricken with sore plagues, because he\ndetained her in his palace a single night against her will. His mother\ndied a premature death, by reason of a curse which his father uttered\nin inconsiderate haste. Take heed, then, that this man's curse strike\nthee not and slay thee. Two of us destroyed the whole of a city on\naccount of one woman, how much more would we do it for the sake of a\nman, and that man the beloved of the Lord, in whose allotment it is\nappointed that God shall dwell!\n\n\"If I but utter a sound, death-dealing pestilence will stalk through\nthe land as far as No. In this land Pharaoh is the first, and thou art\nthe second after him, but in our land my father is the first, and I am\nthe second. If thou wilt not comply with our demand, I will draw my\nsword, and hew thee down first, and then Pharaoh.\"\n\nWhen Judah gave utterance to this threat, Joseph made a sign, and\nManasseh stamped his foot on the ground so that the whole palace shook.\nJudah said, \"Only one belonging to our family can stamp thus!\" and\nintimidated by this display of great strength, he moderated his tone\nand manner. \"From the very beginning,\" he continued to speak, \"thou\ndidst resort to all sorts of pretexts in order to embarrass us. The\ninhabitants of many countries came down into Egypt to buy corn, but\nnone of them didst thou ask questions about their family relations. In\nsooth, we did not come hither to seek thy daughter in marriage, or\nperadventure thou desirest an alliance with our sister? Nevertheless we\ngave thee an answer unto all thy questions.\"\n\nJoseph replied: \"Verily, thou canst talk glibly! Is there another\nbabbler like thee among thy brethren?[271] Why dost thou speak so much,\nwhile thy brethren that are older than thou, Reuben, Simon, and Levi,\nstand by silent?\"\n\nJudah: \"None of my brethren has so much at stake as I have, if Benjamin\nreturns not to his father. I was a surety to my father for him, saying,\nIf I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear\nthe blame forever, in this world and in the world to come.[272]\n\nThe other brethren withheld themselves intentionally from taking part\nin the dispute between Judah and Joseph, saying, \"Kings are carrying on\na dispute, and it is not seemly for us to interfere between them.\"[273]\nEven the angels descended from heaven to earth to be spectators of the\ncombat between Joseph the bull and Judah the lion, and they said, \"It\nlies in the natural course of things that the bull should fear the\nlion, but here the two are engaged in equal, furious combat.\"\n\nIn reply to Judah, when he explained that his great interest in\nBenjamin's safety was due to the pledge he had given to his father,\nJoseph spoke: \"Why wast thou not a surety for thy other brother, when\nye sold him for twenty pieces of silver? Then thou didst not regard the\nsorrow thou wast inflicting upon thy father, but thou didst say, A wild\nbeast hath devoured Joseph. And yet Joseph had done no evil, while this\nBenjamin has committed theft. Therefore, go up and say unto thy father,\nThe rope hath followed after the water bucket.\"\n\nThese words had such an effect upon Judah that he broke out in sobs,\nand cried aloud, \"How shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not\nwith me?\"[274] His outcry reached to a distance of four hundred\nparasangs, and when Hushim the son of Dan heard it in Canaan, he jumped\ninto Egypt with a single leap and joined his voice with Judah's, and\nthe whole land was on the point of collapsing from the great noise they\nproduced. Joseph's valiant men lost their teeth, and the cities of\nPithom and Raamses were destroyed, and they remained in ruins until the\nIsraelites built them up again under taskmasters. Also Judah's\nbrethren, who had kept quiet up to that moment, fell into a rage, and\nstamped on the ground with their feet until it looked as though deep\nfurrows had been torn in it by a ploughshare.[275] And Judah addressed\nhis brethren, \"Be brave, demean yourselves as men, and let each one of\nyou show his heroism, for the circumstances demand that we do our\nbest.\"\n\nThen they resolved to destroy Mizraim, the city of Egypt, and Judah\nsaid, \"I will raise my voice, and with it destroy Egypt.\"\n\nReuben: \"I will raise my arm, and crush it out of existence.\"\n\nSimon: \"I will raise my hand, and lay waste its palaces.\"\n\nLevi: \"I will draw my sword, and slay the inhabitants of Egypt.\"\n\nIssachar: \"I will make the land like unto Sodom.\"\n\nZebulon: \"Like unto Gomorrah will I render it.\"\n\nDan: \"I will reduce it to a desert.\"[276]\n\nThen Judah's towering rage began to show signs of breaking out: his\nright eye shed tears of blood; the hair above his heart grew so stiff\nthat it pierced and rent the five garments in which he was clothed; and\nhe took brass rods, bit them with his teeth, and spat them out as fine\npowder. When Joseph observed these signs, fear befell him, and in order\nto show that he, too, was a man of extraordinary strength, he pushed\nwith his foot against the marble pedestal upon which he sat, and it\nbroke into splinters. Judah exclaimed, \"This one is a hero equal to\nmyself!\" Then he tried to draw his sword from its scabbard in order to\nslay Joseph, but the weapon could not be made to budge, and Judah was\nconvinced thereby that his adversary was a God-fearing man, and he\naddressed himself to the task of begging him to let Benjamin go free,\nbut he remained inexorable.[277]\n\nJudah then said: \"What shall we say unto our father, when he seeth that\nour brother is not with us, and he will grieve over him?\"\n\nJoseph: \"Say that the rope hath followed after the water bucket.\"\n\nJudah: \"Thou art a king, why dost thou speak in this wise, counselling\na falsehood? Woe unto the king that is like thee!\"\n\nJoseph: \"Is there a greater falsehood than that ye spake concerning\nyour brother Joseph, whom you sold to the Midianites for twenty pieces\nof silver, telling your father, An evil beast bath devoured him?\"\n\nJudah: \"The fire of Shechem burneth in my heart, now will I burn all\nthy land with fire.\"\n\nJoseph: \"Surely, the fire kindled to burn Tamar, thy daughter-in-law,\nwho did kill thy sons, will extinguish the fire of Shechem.\"\n\nJudah: \"If I pluck out a single hair from my body, I will fill the\nwhole of Egypt with its blood.\"\n\nJoseph: \"Such is it your custom to do; thus ye did unto your brother\nwhom you sold, and then you dipped his coat in blood, brought it to\nyour father, and said, An evil beast hath devoured him, and here is his\nblood.\"\n\nWhen Judah heard this, he was exceedingly wroth, and he took a stone\nweighing four hundred shekels that was before him, cast it toward\nheaven with one hand, caught it with his left hand, then sat upon it,\nand the stone turned into dust. At the command of Joseph, Manasseh did\nlikewise with another stone, and Joseph said to Judah: \"Strength hath\nnot been given to you alone, we also are powerful men. Why, then, will\nye all boast before us?\" Then Judah sent Naphtali forth, saying, \"Go\nand count all the streets of the city of Egypt and come and tell me the\nnumber,\" but Simon interposed, saying, \"Let not this thing trouble you,\nI will go to the mount, and take up one huge stone from the mount,\nthrow it over the whole of Mizraim, the city of Egypt, and kill all\ntherein.\"\n\nHearing all these words, which they spake aloud, because they did not\nknow that he understood Hebrew, Joseph bade his son Manasseh make haste\nand gather together all the inhabitants of Egypt, and all the valiant\nmen, and let them come to him on horseback and afoot. Meantime Naphtali\nhad gone quickly to execute Judah's bidding, for he was as swift as the\nnimble hart, he could run across a field of corn without breaking an\near. And he returned and reported that the city of Egypt was divided\ninto twelve quarters. Judah bade his brethren destroy the city; he\nhimself undertook to raze three quarters, and he assigned the nine\nremaining quarters to the others, one quarter to each.\n\nIn the meantime Manasseh had assembled a great army, five hundred\nmounted men and ten thousand on foot, among them four hundred valiant\nheroes, who could fight without spear or sword, using only their\nstrong, unarmed hands. To inspire his brethren with more terror, Joseph\nordered them to make a loud noise with all sorts of instruments, and\ntheir appearance and the hubbub they produced did, indeed, cause fear\nto fall upon some of the brethren of Joseph. Judah, however, called to\nthem, \"Why are you terrified, seeing that God grants us His mercy?\" He\ndrew his sword, and uttered a wild cry, which threw all the people into\nconsternation, and in their disordered flight many fell over each other\nand perished, and Judah and his brethren followed after the fleeing\npeople as far as the house of Pharaoh. Returning to Joseph, Judah again\nbroke out in loud roars, and the reverberations caused by his cries\nwere so mighty that all the city walls in Egypt and in Goshen fell in\nruins, the pregnant women brought forth untimely births, and Pharaoh\nwas flung from his throne. Judah's cries were heard at a great\ndistance, as far off as Succoth.\n\nWhen Pharaoh learnt the reason of the mighty uproar, he sent word to\nJoseph that he would have to concede the demands of the Hebrews, else\nthe land would suffer destruction. \"Thou canst take thy choice,\" were\nthe words of Pharaoh, \"between me and the Hebrews, between Egypt and\nthe land of the Hebrews. If thou wilt not heed my command, then leave\nme and go with them into their land.\"\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN\n\n\nSeeing that his brethren were, indeed, on the point of destroying\nEgypt, Joseph resolved to make himself known to them, and he cast\naround for a proper opening, which would lead naturally to his\nannouncement. At his behest, Manasseh laid his hand upon Judah's\nshoulder, and his touch allayed Judah's fury, for he noticed that he\nwas in contact with a kinsman of his, because such strength existed in\nno other family. Then Joseph addressed Judah gently, saying:[278] \"I\nshould like to know who advised him to steal the cup. Could it have\nbeen one of you?\" Benjamin replied: \"Neither did they counsel theft,\nnor did I touch the cup.\" \"Take an oath upon it,\" demanded Joseph, and\nBenjamin complied with his brother's request: \"I swear that I did not\ntouch the cup! As true as my brother Joseph is separated from me; as\ntrue as I had nothing to do with the darts that my brethren threw at\nhim; as true as I was not one of those to take off his coat; as true as\nI had no part in the transaction by which he was given over to the\nIshmaelites; as true as I did not help the others dip his coat in\nblood; so true is my oath, that they did not counsel theft, and that I\ndid not commit theft.\"\n\nJoseph: \"How can I know that this oath of thine taken upon thy\nbrother's fate is true?\"\n\nBenjamin: \"From the names of my ten sons, which I gave them in memory\nof my brother's life and trials, thou canst see how dearly I loved him.\nI pray thee, therefore, do not bring down my father with sorrow to the\ngrave.\"\n\nHearing these words of abiding love, Joseph could refrain himself no\nlonger. He could not but make himself known unto his brethren.[279] He\nspake these words to them: \"Ye said the brother of this lad was dead.\nDid you yourselves see him dead before you?\" They answered, \"Yes!\"\n\nJoseph: \"Did you stand beside his grave?\"\n\nThe brethren: \"Yes!\"\n\nJoseph: \"Did you throw clods of earth upon his corpse?\"\n\nThe brethren: \"No.\"\n\nThen Joseph reflected, saying to himself: \"My brethren are as pious as\naforetime, and they speak no lies. They said I was dead, because when\nthey abandoned me, I was poor, and 'a poor man is like unto a dead\nman;' they stood beside my grave, that is the pit into which they cast\nme; but they did not say that they had shovelled earth upon me, for\nthat would have been a falsehood.\"\n\nTurning to his brethren, he said: \"Ye lie when ye say that your brother\nis dead. He is not dead. You sold him,[280] and I did buy him. I shall\ncall him, and set him before your eyes,\" and he began to call, \"Joseph,\nson of Jacob, come hither! Joseph, son of Jacob, come hither! Speak to\nthy brethren who did sell thee.\" The others turned their eyes hither\nand thither, to the four corners of the house, until Joseph called to\nthem: \"Why look ye here and there? Behold, I am Joseph your brother!\n\"Their souls fled away from them, and they could make no answer, but\nGod permitted a miracle to happen, and their souls came back to them.\n\nJoseph continued, \"Ye see it with your own eyes, and also my brother\nBenjamin seeth it with his eyes, that I speak with you in Hebrew, and I\nam truly your brother.\" But they would not believe him. Not only had he\nbeen transformed from a smooth-faced youth into a bearded man since\nthey had abandoned him, but also the forsaken youth now stood before\nthem the ruler of Egypt. Therefore Joseph bared his body and showed\nthem that he belonged to the descendants of Abraham.\n\nAbashed they stood there, and in their rage they desired to slay Joseph\nas the author of their shame and their suffering. But an angel appeared\nand flung them to the four corners of the house. Judah raised so loud\nan outcry that the walls of the city of Egypt tumbled down, the women\nbrought forth untimely births, Joseph and Pharaoh both rolled down off\ntheir thrones, and Joseph's three hundred heroes lost their teeth, and\ntheir heads remained forever immobile, facing backward, as they had\nturned them to discover the cause of the tumult. Yet the brethren did\nnot venture to approach close to Joseph, they were too greatly ashamed\nof their behavior toward their brother.[281] He sought to calm them,\nsaying, \"Now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me\nhither, for God did send me before you to preserve life.\"\n\nEven such kind words of exhortation did not banish their fear, and\nJoseph continued to speak, \"As little as I harbor vengeful thoughts in\nmy heart against Benjamin, so little do I harbor them against you.\"And\nstill his brethren were ill at case, and Joseph went on, \"Think you\nthat it is possible for me to inflict harm upon you? If the smoke of\nten candles could not extinguish one, how can one extinguish ten?\"\n\nAt last the brethren were soothed, and they went up to Joseph,[282] who\nknew each by name, and, weeping, he embraced and kissed them all in\nturn. The reason why he wept was that his prophetic spirit showed him\nthe descendants of his brethren enslaved by the nations.[283]\nEspecially did he weep upon Benjamin's neck, because he foresaw the\ndestruction decreed for the two Temples to be situated in the allotment\nof Benjamin. And Benjamin also wept upon Joseph's neck, for the\nsanctuary at Shiloh, in the territory of Joseph which was likewise\ndoomed to destruction.[284]\n\nPharaoh was well pleased with the report of the reconciliation between\nJoseph and the Hebrews, for he had feared that their dissensions might\ncause the ruin of Egypt, and he sent his servants to Joseph, that they\ntake part in his joy. Also he sent word to Joseph that it would please\nhim well if his brethren took up their abode in Egypt, and he promised\nto assign the best parts of the land to them for their\ndwelling-place.[285]\n\nNot all the servants of Pharaoh were in agreement with their master\nconcerning this invitation to the Hebrews. Many among them were\ndisquieted, saying, \"If one of the sons of Jacob came hither, and he\nwas advanced to a high position over our heads, what evil will happen\nto us when ten more come hither?\"[286]\n\nJoseph gave all his brethren two changes of raiment, one for use on the\nordinary days of the week and one for use on the Sabbath, for, when the\ncup was found with Benjamin, they had rent their clothes, and Joseph\nwould not have his brethren go about in torn garments.[287] But to\nBenjamin he gave five changes of raiment, though not in order to\ndistinguish him above his brethren. Joseph remembered only too well\nwhat mischief his father had caused by giving him the coat of many\ncolors, thereby arousing the envy of his brethren. He desired only to\nintimate that Mordecai, a descendant of Benjamin, would once be arrayed\nin five royal garments.[288]\n\nJoseph presented his brethren, apparelled in their gold and silver\nembroidered clothes, before Pharaoh, who was well pleased to become\nacquainted with them when he saw that they were men of heroic stature\nand handsome appearance.[289] He gave them wagons, to bring their\nfamilies down into Egypt, but as they were ornamented with images of\nidols, Judah burnt them,[290] and Joseph replaced them with eleven\nother wagons, among them the one he had ridden in at his accession to\noffice, to view the land of Egypt. This was to be used by his father on\nhis journey to Egypt. For each of his brothers' children, he sent\nraiments, and also one hundred pieces of silver for each, but for each\nof the children of Benjamin he sent ten changes of raiment. And for the\nwives of his brethren he gave them rich garments of state, such as were\nworn by the wives of the Pharaohs, and also ointments and aromatic\nspices. To his sister Dinah he sent silver and gold embroidered\nclothes, and myrrh, aloes, and other perfumes, and such presents he\ngave also to the wife and the daughters-in-law of Benjamin. For\nthemselves and for their wives the brethren received all sorts of\nprecious stones and jewelled ornaments, like those that are worn by the\nEgyptian nobility.\n\nJoseph accompanied his eleven brethren to the frontier, and there he\ntook leave of them with the wish that they and all their families come\ndown to Egypt,[291] and he enjoined upon them, besides, three maxims to\nbe observed by travellers: Do not take too large steps; do not discuss\nHalakic subjects, that you lose not your way; and enter the city at the\nlatest with the going down of the sun.[292]\n\n\n\n\nJACOB RECEIVES THE GLAD TIDINGS\n\n\nIn blithe spirits the sons of Jacob journeyed up to the land of Canaan,\nbut when they reached the boundary line, they said to one another, \"How\nshall we do? If we appear before our father and tell him that Joseph is\nalive, he will be greatly frightened, and he will not be inclined to\nbelieve us.\" Besides, Joseph's last injunction to them had been to take\nheed and not startle their father with the tidings of joy.\n\nOn coming close to their habitation, they caught sight of Serah, the\ndaughter of Asher, a very beautiful maiden, and very wise, who was\nskilled in playing upon the harp. They summoned her unto them and gave\nher a harp, and bade her play before Jacob and sing that which they\nshould tell her. She sat down before Jacob, and, with an agreeable\nmelody, she sang the following words, accompanying herself upon the\nharp: \"Joseph, my uncle, liveth, he ruleth over the whole of Egypt, he\nis not dead!\" She repeated these words several times, and Jacob grew\nmore and more pleasurably excited. His joy awakened the holy spirit in\nhim, and he knew that she spoke the truth.[293] The spirit of prophecy\nnever visits a seer when he is in a state of lassitude or in a state of\ngrief; it comes only together with joy. All the years of Joseph's\nseparation from him Jacob had had no prophetic visions, because he was\nalways sad, and only when Serah's words reawakened the feeling of\nhappiness in his heart, the prophetic spirit again took possession of\nhim.[294] Jacob rewarded her therefor with the words, \"My daughter, may\ndeath never have power over thee, for thou didst revive my spirit.\" And\nso it was. Serah did not die, she entered Paradise alive. At his\nbidding, she repeated the words she had sung again and again, and they\ngave Jacob great joy and delight, so that the holy spirit waxed\nstronger and stronger within him.\n\nWhile he was sitting thus in converse with Serah, his sons appeared\narrayed in all their magnificence, and with all the presents that\nJoseph had given them, and they spake to Jacob, saying: \"Glad tidings!\nJoseph our brother liveth! He is ruler over the whole land of Egypt,\nand he sends thee a message of joy.\" At first Jacob would not believe\nthem, but when they opened their packs, and showed him the presents\nJoseph had sent to all, he could not doubt the truth of their words any\nlonger.[295]\n\nJoseph had had a premonition that his father would refuse to give his\nbrethren credence, because they had tried to deceive him before, and\n\"it is the punishment of the liar that his words are not believed even\nwhen he speaks the truth.\" He had therefore said to them, \"If my father\nwill not believe your words, tell him that when I took leave of him, to\nsee whether it was well with you, he had been teaching me the law of\nthe heifer whose neck is broken in the valley.\" When they repeated\nthis, every last vestige of Jacob's doubt disappeared, and he said:\n\"Great is the steadfastness of my son Joseph. In spite of all his\nsufferings he has remained constant in his piety.[296] Yea, great are\nthe benefits that the Lord hath conferred upon me. He saved me from the\nhands of Esau, and from the hands of Laban, and from the Canaanites who\npursued after me. I have tasted many joys, and I hope to see more, but\nnever did I hope to set eyes upon Joseph again, and now I shall go down\nto him and behold him before my death.\"[297]\n\nThen Jacob and the members of his family put on the clothes Joseph had\nsent, among them a turban for Jacob, and they made all preparations to\njourney down into Egypt and dwell there with Joseph and his family.\nHearing of his good fortune, the kings and the grandees of Canaan came\nto wait upon Jacob and express sympathy with him in his joy, and he\nprepared a three days' banquet for them.[298]\n\nJacob, however, would not go down into Egypt without first inquiring\nwhether it was the will of God that he should leave the Holy Land.[299]\nHe said, \"How can I leave the land of my fathers, the land of my birth,\nthe land in which the Shekinah dwells, and go into an unclean land,\ninhabited by slaves of the sons of Ham, a land wherein there is no fear\nof God?\"[300] Then he brought sacrifices in honor of God, in the\nexpectation that a Divine vision would descend upon him and instruct\nhim whether to go down into Egypt or have Joseph come up to Canaan. He\nfeared the sojourn in Egypt, for he remembered the vision he had had at\nBeth-el on leaving his father's house,[301] and he said to God: \"I\nresemble my father. As he was greedy in filling his maw, so am I, and\ntherefore I would go down into Egypt in consequence of the famine. As\nmy father preferred one son to the other, so had I a favorite son, and\ntherefore I would go down into Egypt to see Joseph. But in this I do\nnot resemble my father, he had only himself to provide for, and my\nhouse consists of seventy souls, and therefore am I compelled to go\ndown into Egypt. The blessing which my father gave me was not fulfilled\nin me, but in my son Joseph, whom peoples serve, and before whom\nnations bow down.\"[302]\n\nThen the Shekinah addressed Jacob, calling his name twice in token of\nlove,[303] and bidding him not to fear the Egyptian slavery foretold\nfor the descendants of Abraham, for God would have pity upon the\nsuffering of his children and deliver them from bondage.[304] God\nfurthermore said, \"I will go down into Egypt with thee,\" and the\nShekinah accompanied Jacob thither, bringing the number of the company\nwith which he entered Egypt up to seventy.[305] But as Jacob\nentertained fears that his descendants would stay there forever, God\ngave him the assurance that He would lead him forth together with all\nthe pious that were like unto him.[306] And God also told Jacob that\nJoseph had remained steadfast in his piety even in Egypt, and he might\ndismiss all doubts from his mind on this score, for it was his anxiety\non this account that had induced Jacob to consider going down into\nEgypt; he wanted only to make sure of Joseph's faithfulness, and then\nreturn home, but God commanded him to go thither and remain there.[307]\n\nBefore Jacob left Canaan, he went to Beer-sheba, to hew down the cedars\nthat Abraham had planted there, and take them with him to Egypt. For\ncenturies these cedar trees remained in the possession of his\ndescendants; they carried them with them when they left Egypt, and they\nused them in building the Tabernacle.[308]\n\nAlthough Joseph had put wagons at the disposal of his brethren for the\nremoval of his family from Canaan to Egypt, they yet carried Jacob upon\ntheir arms, for which purpose they divided themselves into three\ndivisions, one division after the other assuming the burden. As a\nreward for their filial devotion, God redeemed their descendants from\nEgypt.[309]\n\nJudah was sent on ahead by his father, to erect a dwelling in Goshen,\nand also a Bet ha-Midrash, that Jacob might set about instructing his\nsons at once after his arrival. He charged Judah with this honorable\ntask in order to compensate him for a wrong he had done him. All the\nyears of Joseph's absence he bad suspected Judah of having made away\nwith Rachel's son.[310] How little the suspicion was justified he\nrealized now when Judah in particular had been assiduous in securing\nthe safety of Benjamin, the other son of Rachel. Jacob therefore said\nto Judah: \"Thou hast done a pious, God-bidden deed, and hast shown\nthyself to be a man capable of carrying on negotiations with Joseph.\nComplete the work thou hast begun! Go to Goshen, and together with\nJoseph prepare all things for our coming. Indeed,\" continued Jacob,\n\"thou wast the cause of our going down into Egypt, for it was at thy\nsuggestion that Joseph was sold as a slave, and, also, through thy\ndescendants Israel will be led forth out of Egypt.\"[311]\n\nWhen Joseph was informed of the approach of his father, he rejoiced\nexceedingly, chiefly because his coming would stop the talk of the\nEgyptians, who were constantly referring to him as the slave that had\ndominion over them. \"Now,\" thought Joseph, \"they will see my father and\nmy brethren, and they will be convinced that I am a free-born man, of\nnoble stock.\"\n\nIn his joy in anticipation of seeing his father, Joseph made ready his\nchariot with his own hands, without waiting for his servants to\nminister to him, and this loving action redounded later to the benefit\nof the Israelites, for it rendered of none effect Pharaoh's zeal in\nmaking ready his chariot himself, with his own hands, to pursue after\nthe Israelites.[312]\n\n\n\n\nJACOB ARRIVES IN EGYPT\n\n\nWhen the Egyptian nobles observed their viceroy completing his\npreparations to meet his father, they did the same.[313] Indeed, Joseph\nhad issued a proclamation throughout the land, threatening with death\nall that did not go forth to meet Jacob. The procession that\naccompanied him was composed of countless men, arrayed in byssus and\npurple, and marching to the sound of all sorts of musical instruments.\nEven the women of Egypt had a part in the reception ceremonies. They\nascended to the roofs of the houses and the walls of the cities, ready\nto greet Jacob with the music of cymbals and timbrels.\n\nJoseph wore the royal crown upon his head, Pharaoh had yielded it to\nhim for the occasion. He descended from his chariot when he was at a\ndistance of about fifty ells from his father, and walked the rest of\nthe way on foot, and his example was followed by the princes and nobles\nof Egypt. When Jacob caught sight of the approaching procession, he was\nrejoiced,[314] and even before he recognized Joseph, he bowed down\nbefore him, but for permitting his father to show him this mark of\nhonor, punishment was visited upon Joseph. He died an untimely death,\nbefore the years of life assigned to him had elapsed.[315]\n\nThat no harm befall Jacob from a too sudden meeting with him, Joseph\nsent his oldest son ahead with five horses, the second son following\nclose after him in the same way. As each son approached, Jacob thought\nhe beheld Joseph, and so he was prepared gradually to see him face to\nface.[316]\n\nMeantime Jacob had espied, from where he was seated, a man in royal\nrobes among the Egyptians, a crown upon his head, and a purple mantle\nover his shoulders, and he asked Judah who it might be. When he was\ntold that it was Joseph, his joy was great over the high dignity\nattained by his son.\n\nBy this time Joseph had come close to his father, and he bowed himself\nbefore him down to the earth, and all the people with him likewise\nprostrated themselves.[317] Then Joseph fell upon his father's neck,\nand he wept bitterly. He was particularly grieved that he had permitted\nhis father to bow down before him but a little while before without\nhindering it.[318] At the very moment when Joseph embraced his father,\nJacob was reciting the Shema', and he did not allow himself to be\ninterrupted in his prayer,[319] but then he said, \"When they brought me\nthe report of the death of Joseph, I thought I was doomed to double\ndeath\u2014that I should lose this world and the world to come as well. The\nLord had promised to make me the ancestor of twelve tribes, and as the\ndeath of my son rendered it impossible that this promise should be\nrealized, I feared I had incurred the doom by my own sins, and as a\nsinner I could not but expect to forfeit the future world, too. But now\nthat I have beheld thee alive, I know that my death will be only for\nthe world here below.\"[320]\n\nSuch was the manner of Jacob's arrival in Egypt. He came with his whole\nfamily, sixty-nine persons they were in all, but the number was raised\nto seventy by the birth of Jochebed, afterward the mother of Moses,\nwhich took place when the cavalcade had advanced to the space between\nthe one and the other city wall.[321] All the males in his family were\nmarried men; even Pallu and Hezron, the latter of whom was but one year\nold at the time of their migration, and the former but two years, had\nthe wives with them that had been chosen for them by their\nparents.[322] In general, all the sons and grandsons of Jacob had\nmarried young, some of them had been fathers at the age of seven.[323]\n\nJoseph took some from among his brethren, and presented them to\nPharaoh. He chose the weakest of them, that the king might not be\ntempted to retain them in his service as warriors.[324] And as he did\nnot desire his family to live at close quarters with the Egyptians and\nperhaps amalgamate with them, he introduced them as shepherds. The\nEgyptians worshipped the constellation of the rain, and paid divine\nhonors to animals, and they kept aloof from shepherds. Pharaoh\ntherefore was inclined to grant Joseph's wish, to give them the pasture\nland of Goshen for their sojourning place, the land that was theirs by\nright, for the Pharaoh that took Sarah away from Abraham by force had\ngiven it to her as her irrevocable possession.[325]\n\nIn their conversation with Pharaoh the brethren of Joseph made it plain\nto the Egyptian king that it was not their intention to remain in Egypt\nforever, it was to be only a temporary dwelling-place.[326]\n\nThen Joseph set Jacob his father before Pharaoh, and when the king saw\nhim, he said to Og, who happened to be with him at that moment, \"Seest\nthou! Thou wast wont to call Abraham a sterile mule, and here is his\ngrandson with a family of seventy persons!\" Og would not believe his\nown eyes, he thought Abraham was standing before him, so close was the\nresemblance between Jacob and his progenitor. Then Pharaoh asked about\nJacob's age, to find out whether he actually was Jacob, and not\nAbraham. And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, \"The days of the years of my\npilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years,\" using the word pilgrimage\nin reference to life on earth, which the pious regard as a temporary\nsojourn in alien lands. \"Few and evil,\" he continued, \"have been the\ndays of the years of my life. In my youth I had to flee to a strange\nland on account of my brother Esau, and now, in my old age, I must\nagain go to a strange land, and my days have not attained unto the days\nof the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their\npilgrimage.\" These words sufficed to convince Pharaoh and Og that the\nman standing before them was not Abraham, but his grandson.[327]\n\nWhen Jacob uttered the words, \"The days of the years of my pilgrimage\nhave been few and evil,\" God said to him: \"Jacob, I saved thee out of\nthe hands of Esau and Laban, I restored Joseph unto thee, and made him\nto be a king and a ruler, and yet thou speakest of few and evil days.\nBecause of thy ingratitude, thou wilt not attain unto the days of the\nyears of the life of thy fathers,\" and Jacob died at an age\nthirty-three years less than his father Isaac's.[328]\n\nOn going out from the presence of Pharaoh, Jacob blessed the king with\nthe words, \"May the years still in store for me be given unto thee, and\nmay the Nile overflow its banks henceforth again and water the land.\"\nHis words were fulfilled. In order to show that the pious are a\nblessing for the world, God caused the Nile to rise above its bed and\nfructify the land of Egypt.[329]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH'S KINDNESS AND GENEROSITY\n\n\nJacob and his family now settled in the land of Goshen, and Joseph\nprovided them with all things needful, not only with food and drink,\nbut also with clothing, and in his love and kindness he entertained his\nfather and his brethren daily at his own table.[330] He banished the\nwrong done to him by his brethren from his mind, and he besought his\nfather to pray to God for them, that He should forgive their great\ntransgression. Touched by this noble sign of love, Jacob cried out, \"O\nJoseph, my child, thou hast conquered the heart of thy father\nJacob.\"[331]\n\nJoseph had other virtues, besides. The title \"the God- fearing one,\"\nborne only by him, Abraham, Job, and Obadiah, he gained by reason of\nhis kindness of heart and his generosity. Whatever he gave his\nbrethren, he gave with a \"good eye,\" a liberal spirit. If it was bread\nfor food, it was sure to be abundant enough, not only to satisfy the\nhunger of all, but also for the children to crumble, as is their\nhabit.[332]\n\nBut Joseph was more than a helper to his family. As a shepherd pastures\nhis flock, so he provided for the whole world during the years of\nfamine. The people cursed Pharaoh, who kept the stores of corn in his\ntreasure chambers for his own use, and they blessed Joseph, who took\nthought for the famishing, and sold grain to all that came.[333] The\nwealth which he acquired by these sales was lawful gain, for the prices\nwere raised, not by him, but by the Egyptians themselves.[334] One part\nof his possessions, consisting of gold and silver and precious stones,\nJoseph buried in four different places, in the desert near the Red Sea,\non the banks of the Euphrates, and in two spots in the desert in the\nvicinity of Persia and Media.[335] Korah discovered one of the hiding-\nplaces, and the Roman emperor Antoninus, the son of Severus, another.\nThe other two will never be found, because God has reserved the riches\nthey hold for the pious, to be enjoyed by them in the latter days, the\ndays of the Messiah.[336] The remainder of Joseph's possessions he gave\naway, partly to his brethren and their families, and partly to Pharaoh,\nwho put them into his treasury.[337]\n\nThe wealth of the whole world flowed into Egypt at that time, and it\nremained there until the exodus of the Israelites. They took it along,\nleaving Egypt like a net without fish. The Israelites kept the treasure\nuntil the time of Rehoboam, who was deprived of it by the Egyptian king\nShishak, and he in turn had to yield it to Zerah, the king of Ethiopia.\nOnce more it came into possession of the Jews when King Asa conquered\nZerah, but this time they held it for only a short while, for Asa\nsurrendered it to the Aramean king Ben-hadad, to induce him to break\nhis league with Baasha, the king of the Ten Tribes. The Ammonites, in\nturn, captured it from Ben-hadad, only to lose it in their war with the\nJews under Jehoshaphat. Again it remained with the Jews, until the time\nof King Ahaz, who sent it to Sennacherib as tribute money. Hezekiah won\nit back, but Zedekiah, the last king of the Jews, lost it to the\nChaldeans, from whom it came to Persia, thence to the Greeks, and\nfinally to the Romans, and with the last it remained for all time.[338]\n\nThe people were soon left without means to purchase the corn they\nneeded. In a short time they had to part with their cattle, and when\nthe money thus secured was spent, they sold their land to Joseph, and\neven their persons. Many of them would cover themselves with clay and\nappear before Joseph, and say to him, \"O lord king, see me and see my\npossessions!\" And so Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, and the\ninhabitants became his tenants, and they gave a fifth of their\ningatherings unto joseph.[339]\n\nThe only class of the people permitted to remain in possession of their\nland were the priests. Joseph owed them gratitude, for they had made it\npossible for him to become the ruler over Egypt. The Egyptians had\nhesitated to make him their viceroy, because they shrank from choosing\na man accused of adultery for so high an office. It was the priests\nthat made the suggestion to examine Joseph's torn garment, which his\nmistress had submitted as evidence of his guilt, and see whether the\nrent was in front or in back. If it was in back, it would show his\ninnocence\u2014he had turned to flee, and his temptress had clutched him so\nthat the garment tore. But if the tear was in front, then it would be a\nproof of his guilt\u2014he had used violence with the woman, and she had\ntorn the mantle in her efforts to defend her honor. The angel Gabriel\ncame and transferred the rent from the fore part to the back, and the\nEgyptians were convinced of Joseph's innocence, and their scruples\nabout raising him to the kingship were removed.[340]\n\nAs soon as the Egyptians learnt of the advantageous position of the\npriests, they all tried to prove themselves members of the caste. But\nJoseph investigated the lists in the archives, and determined the\nestate of every citizen.\n\nThe priests were favored in another way. Beside remaining in possession\nof their land, they received daily portions from Pharaoh, wherefore God\nsaid, \"The priests that serve idols receive all they need every day,\nhow much more do the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are My\npriests, deserve that I should give them what they need every\nday.\"[341]\n\nThe rest of the inhabitants of Egypt, who had to part with their land,\nwere not permitted to remain in their native provinces. Joseph removed\nthem from their own cities, and settled them in others. His purpose\nherein was to prevent the Egyptians from speaking of his brethren\nderogatorily as \"exiles the sons of exiles\"; he made them all equally\naliens.[342] For the same reason, God later, at the time of the going\nforth of the Israelites from Egypt, caused all nations to change their\ndwelling-places about, so that the Israelites could not be reproached\nwith having had to leave their home. And, finally, when Sermacherib\ncarried the Jews away from their land into exile, it also happened that\nthis king first mixed up the inhabitants of all the countries of the\nworld.[343]\n\n\n\n\nJACOB'S LAST WISH\n\n\nIn return for the seventeen years that Jacob had devoted to the\nbringing up of Joseph, he was granted seventeen years of sojourn with\nhis favorite son in peace and happiness. The wicked experience sorrow\nafter joy; the pious must suffer first, and then they are happy, for\nall's well that ends well, and God permits the pious to spend the last\nyears of their lives in felicity.[344]\n\nWhen Jacob felt his end approach, he summoned Joseph to his bedside,\nand he told him all there was in his heart. He called for Joseph rather\nthan one of his other sons, because he was the only one in a position\nto execute his wishes.\n\nJacob said to Joseph: \"If I have found grace in thy sight, bury me not,\nI pray thee, in Egypt. Only for thy sake did I come down into Egypt,\nand for thy sake I spoke, Now I can die. Do this for me as a true\nservice of love, and not because thou art afraid, or because decency\ndemands it. And when I sleep with my fathers, thou shalt bury me in\ntheir burying-place. Carry me out of the land of idolatry, and bury me\nin the land where God hath caused His Name to dwell, and put me to rest\nin the place in which four husbands and wives are to be buried, I the\nlast of them.\"\n\nJacob desired not to be buried in Egypt for several reasons. He knew\nthat the soil of Egypt would once swarm with vermin, and it revolted\nhim to think of his corpse exposed to such uncleanness. He feared,\nmoreover, that his descendants might say, \"Were Egypt not a holy land,\nour father Jacob had never permitted himself to be buried there,\" and\nthey might encourage themselves with this argument to make choice of\nEgypt as a permanent dwelling- place. Also, if his grave were there,\nthe Egyptians might resort to it when the ten plagues came upon them,\nand if he were induced to pray for them to God, he would be advocating\nthe cause of the Lord's enemies. If, on the other hand, he did not\nintercede for them, the Name of God would be profaned among the\nheathen, who would say, \"Jacob is a useless saint!\" Besides, it was\npossible that God might consider him, the \"scattered sheep\" of Israel,\nas a sacrifice for the Egyptians, and remit their punishment. From his\nknowledge of the people, another fear was justified, that his grave\nwould become an object of idolatrous veneration, and the same\npunishment is appointed by God for the idols worshipped as for the\nidolaters that worship them.\n\nIf Jacob had good reasons for not wanting his body to rest in the soil\nof Egypt, he had equally good reasons for wanting it to rest in the\nHoly Land. In the Messianic time, when the dead will rise, those buried\nin Palestine will awaken to new life without delay, while those buried\nelsewhere will first have to roll from land to land through the earth,\nhollowed out for the purpose, until they reach the Holy Land, and only\nthen will their resurrection take place. But over and beyond this,\nJacob had an especial reason for desiring to have his body interred in\nPalestine. God had said to him at Beth-el, \"The land whereon thou\nliest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed,\" and hence he made\nevery endeavor to \"lie\" in the Holy Land, to make sure it would belong\nto him and his descendants.[345] Nevertheless he bade Joseph strew some\nEgyptian earth over his dead body.[346]\n\nJacob expressed these his last wishes three times. Such is the\nrequirement of good breeding in preferring a request.\n\nIn the last period of Jacob's life, one can see how true it is that\n\"even a king depends upon favors in a strange land.\" Jacob, the man for\nthe sake of whose merits the whole world was created, for the sake of\nwhom Abraham was delivered from the fiery furnace, had to ask services\nof others while he was among strangers,[347] and when Joseph promised\nto do his bidding, he bowed himself before his own son, for it is a\ntrue saying, \"Bow before the fox in his day,\" the day of his\npower.[348]\n\nHe was not satisfied with a simple promise from Joseph, that he would\ndo his wish; he insisted upon his taking an oath by the sign of the\ncovenant of Abraham, putting a hand under his thigh in accordance with\nthe ceremony customary among the Patriarchs![349] But Joseph said:\n\"Thou treatest me like a slave. With me thou hast no need to require an\noath. Thy command sufficeth.\" Jacob, however, urged him, saying: \"I\nfear Pharaoh may command thee to bury me in the sepulchre with the\nkings of Egypt. I insist that thou takest an oath, and then I will be\nat peace.\" Joseph gave in,[350] though he would not submit to the\nceremony that Eliezer had used to confirm the oath he took at the\nrequest of his master Abraham. The slave acted in accordance with the\nrules of slavery, the free man acted in accordance with the dictates of\nfreedom.[351] And in a son that thing would have been unseemly which\nwas becoming in a slave.[352]\n\nWhen Joseph swore to bury his father in Palestine, he added the words,\n\"As thou commandest me to do, so also will I beg my brethren, on my\ndeath-bed, to fulfil my last wish and carry my body from Egypt to\nPalestine.\"[353]\n\nJacob, noticing the Shekinah over the bed's head, where she always\nrests in a sick room, bowed himself upon the bed's head,[354] saying,\n\"I thank thee, O Lord my God, that none who is unfit came forth from my\nbed, but my bed was perfect.\"[355] He was particularly grateful for the\nrevelation God had vouchsafed him concerning his first-born son Reuben,\nthat he had repented of his trespass against his father, and atoned for\nit by penance. He was thus assured that all his sons were men worthy of\nbeing the progenitors of the twelve tribes, and he was blessed with\nhappiness such as neither Abraham nor Isaac had known, for both of them\nhad had unworthy as well as worthy sons.[356]\n\nUntil the time of Jacob death had always come upon men suddenly, and\nsnatched them away before they were warned of the imminent end by\nsickness. Once Jacob spoke to God, saying, \"O Lord of the world, a man\ndies suddenly, and he is not laid low first by sickness, and he cannot\nacquaint his children with his wishes regarding all he leaves behind.\nBut if a man first fell sick, and felt that his end were drawing nigh,\nhe would have time to set his house in order.\" And God said, \"Verily,\nthy request is sensible, and thou shalt be the first to profit by the\nnew dispensation,\" and so it happened that Jacob fell sick a little\nwhile before his death.[357]\n\nHis sickness troubled him grievously, for he had undergone much during\nhis life. He had worked day and night while he was with Laban, and his\nconflicts with the angel and with Esau, though he came off victor from\nboth, had weakened him, and he was not in a condition to endure the\nhardships of disease.[358]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BLESSING OF EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH\n\n\nAll the years of Jacob's sojourn in Egypt, Asenath, the wife of Joseph,\nwas his constant nurse. When she saw his end drawing nigh, she spoke to\nJoseph: \"I have heard that one who is blessed by a righteous man is as\nthough he had been blessed by the Shekinah. Therefore, bring thy sons\nhither, that Jacob give them his blessing.\"[359]\n\nThough Joseph was a devoted and loving son to his father, he was not in\nconstant attendance upon him, because he wanted to avoid giving him the\nopportunity of inquiring into the circumstances of his coming to Egypt.\nHe was apprehensive that Jacob might curse his sons and bring death\nupon them, if he discovered the facts connected with their treacherous\ndealings with Joseph. He took good care therefore never to be alone\nwith his father. But as he desired to be kept informed of his welfare,\nhe arranged a courier service between himself and Jacob.\n\nNow when Joseph received the news of his father's having fallen sick,\nthrough his messenger, as well as through Ephraim, whom Jacob was\ninstructing in the Torah, he hastened to the land of Goshen, taking his\ntwo sons with him. He desired to have certainty upon five points: Would\nhis father bless his two sons, who were born in Egypt, and, if so,\nwould he appoint them to be heads of tribes? Would he assign the rights\nof the first-born unto himself, and, if so, would he divest Reuben of\nsuch rights altogether? And why had his father buried his mother Rachel\nby the wayside, and not carried her body to the family tomb at\nMachpelah?[360]\n\nJacob had also entertained doubts on five points, when he was about to\nemigrate from Canaan to Egypt: He did not know whether his descendants\nwould lose themselves among the people of Egypt; whether he would die\nthere and be buried there; and whether he would be permitted to see\nJoseph and see the sons of Joseph. God gave him the assurance, saying,\n\"I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will surely bring thee up\nagain after thy death, and thy descendants also, and Joseph shall put\nhis hand upon thine eyes.\" When the time approached for the fulfilment\nof the Divine promise, God appeared unto Jacob, and He said, \"I\npromised to fulfil thy wish, and the time of fulfilment hath come.\"\n\nThe holy spirit made known to Jacob that Joseph was coming to him,[361]\nand he strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed in order to pay due\nrespect to the representative of the government. Though Joseph was his\nson, he was also viceroy, and entitled to special marks of honor.\nBesides, Jacob desired to make the impression of being a man in good\nhealth. He wanted to avoid the possibility of having his blessing of\nJoseph and Joseph's sons questioned as the act of an irresponsible\nperson.[362]\n\nHe strengthened himself spiritually as well as physically, by prayer to\nGod, in which he besought Him to let the holy spirit descend upon him\nat the time of his giving the blessing to the sons of Joseph.\n\nWhen Joseph appeared in the company of his two sons, his father said to\nhim: \"In all the seventeen years thou hast been visiting me, thou didst\nnever bring thy sons with thee, but now they have come, and I know the\nreason. If I bless them, I shall act in opposition to the word of God,\nwho promised to make me the progenitor of twelve tribes, for if I adopt\nthem as my sons, there will be fourteen tribes. But if I do not bless\nthem, it will plunge thee in sorrow. So be it, I will bless them. But\nthink not I do it because thou didst support me all these years. There\nis quite another reason.[363] When I left my father's house to go to\nHaran, I offered up a prayer at Beth-el, and I promised to give unto\nGod the tenth of all I owned. So far as my material possessions are\nconcerned, I kept my vow, but I could not give the tithe of my sons,\nbecause according to the law I had to withdraw from the reckoning the\nfour sons, Reuben, Joseph, Dan, and Gad, that are the first-born\nchildren of their mothers. When I returned, God again appeared unto me\nin Beth-el, and He said, Be fruitful and multiply. But after this\nblessing no son was born unto me except Benjamin alone, and it cannot\nbe but that God meant Manasseh and Ephraim when He spoke of 'a nation\nand a company of nations.' If now I have found favor in thy sight, thy\ntwo sons Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simon, shall be mine,\nand then I shall be able to give a tenth part of my ten sons unto the\nLord, and I shall leave this world free from the sin of not keeping my\nvow to the Lord concerning the tithe-giving.\"\n\nJoseph consented to do his father's will, and Jacob tithed his sons,\nconsecrating Levi to the Holy One, and appointing him to be the chief\nof his brethren. He enjoined his sons to have a care that there should\nnever fail them a son of Levi in the priestly succession. And it\nhappened that. of all the tribes Levi was the only one that never\nproved faithless to the covenant of the fathers.[364]\n\nThus Jacob adopted Manasseh and Ephraim to be his own sons, even as\nReuben and Simon were his sons. They were entitled like the others to a\nportion in the Holy Land, and like the others they were to bear\nstandards on their journey through the desert.[365]\n\nSatisfied as to Jacob's intentions concerning his sons, Joseph asked\nhis father about his mother's burial-place, and Jacob spoke, saying:\n\"As thou livest, thy wish to see thy mother lying by my side in the\ngrave doth not exceed mine own. I had joy in life only as long as she\nwas alive, and her death was the heaviest blow that ever fell upon me.\"\nJoseph questioned him: \"Perhaps thou didst have to bury her in the way,\nbecause she died during the rainy season, and thou couldst not carry\nher body through the rain to our family sepulchre?\" \"No,\" replied\nJacob, \"she died in the spring time, when the highways are clean and\nfirm.\" Joseph: \"Grant me permission to take up her body now and place\nit in our family burial-place.\" Jacob: \"No, my son, that thou mayest\nnot do. I was unwilling to bury her in the way, but the Lord commanded\nit.\" The reason of the command was that God knew that the Temple would\nbe destroyed, and Israel would be carried away into banishment, and the\nexiles would ask the Patriarchs to intercede for them with God, but God\nwould not hearken unto them. On their way to the land of the stranger\nthey would pass the grave of Rachel, and they would throw themselves\nupon it, and beseech their mother to make intercession for them with\nGod. And Rachel would pray to God in their behalf: \"O Lord of the\nworld, look upon my tears, and have compassion upon my children. But if\nThou wilt not take pity on them, then indemnify me for the wrong done\nto me.\" Unto her prayer God will hearken, and He will have mercy upon\nIsrael. Therefore was Rachel buried in the way.\n\nNow Jacob desired to bless the sons of Joseph, but the holy spirit made\nhim to see Jeroboam, the descendant of Ephraim, and Jehu, the\ndescendant of Manasseh, how they would seduce Israel to idolatry, and\nthe Shekinah forsook him as he was about to lay his hands upon the\nheads of his grandsons. He said to Joseph, \"Is it possible that thou\ndidst not marry the mother of thy children according to the law?\"\nJoseph thereupon brought his wife Asenath to his father, and pointing\nto her marriage contract, he said, \"This one is my wife, whom I married\nas is proper, with a marriage contract and due ceremony. I pray thee,\nmy father, bless my sons if only for the sake of this pious woman.\"\n\nJacob bade his grandsons approach close to him, and he kissed and\nembraced them, in the hope that his joy in them would lure back the\nholy spirit, but his hope was vain. Joseph concluded that the time was\nnot favorable for blessing, and he decided to go away until a more\npropitious opportunity presented itself, first, however, proving to his\nfather that his sons had been initiated in the covenant of Abraham.\n\nOutside of his father's chamber, alone with his sons, he threw himself\ndown before God and besought Him to show him mercy, and he bade his\nsons do likewise, saying, \"Be not content with your high station, for\nworldly honors are but for a time. Entreat God to be merciful and let\nthe Shekinah descend upon my father, that he bless you both.\" Then\nspake God to the holy spirit: \"How long yet shall Joseph suffer? Reveal\nthyself quickly, and enter into Jacob, that he may be able to bestow\nblessings.\"\n\nIn the words of Jacob, \"Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simon,\nshall be mine,\" Joseph had noticed his father's preference for his\nyounger son Ephraim. It made him very anxious about his older son's\nbirthright, and he was careful to put the two lads before his father in\nsuch wise that Manasseh should stand opposite Jacob's right hand, and\nEphraim opposite his left hand.[366] But Ephraim, on account of his\nmodesty, was destined for greater things than his older brother\nManasseh, and God bade the holy spirit prompt Jacob to give the\nbirthright to Ephraim.[367] Now when Joseph observed his father put his\nright hand upon Ephraim's head, he made an attempt to remove it unto\nManasseh's head. But Jacob warded him off, saying: \"What, thou wouldst\ndisplace my hand against my will, the hand that overcame the prince of\nthe angel hosts, who is as large as one-third of the world![368] I know\nthings not known to thee\u2014I know what Reuben did to Bilhah, and what\nJudah did to Tamar. How much more do I know things known to thee![369]\nThinkest thou I know not what thy brethren did to thee, because thou\nwouldst betray nothing whenever I asked thee?[370] I know it, Manasseh\nalso shall become great, the judge Gideon shall descend from him, but\nhis younger brother will be the ancestor of Joshua, who will bring the\nsun and the moon to a standstill, though they have dominion over the\nwhole earth from end to end.\" Thus did Jacob set Ephraim the younger\nabove Manasseh the older, and thus did it remain unto all times. In the\nlist of the generations, Manasseh comes after Ephraim, and so it was in\nthe allotment of the portions in the Holy Land, and so it was in the\nplacing of the camps and the standards of the tribes, and in the\ndedication of the Tabernacle\u2014everywhere Ephraim preceded Manasseh.[371]\n\nThe blessing bestowed upon his grandchildren by Jacob was as follows:\n\"O that it be the will of God that ye walk in the ways of the Lord like\nunto my fathers Abraham and Isaac,[372] and may the angel that hath\nredeemed me from all evil give his aid unto Joshua and Gideon,[373] and\nreveal himself unto them. May your names be named on Israel, and like\nunto fishes may you grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth,\nand as fishes are protected by the water, so may you be protected by\nthe merits of Joseph.\"[374]\n\nThe words \"like unto fishes\" were used by Jacob for the purpose of\nintimating the manner of death awaiting the Ephraimites, the\ndescendants of Joseph. As fish are caught by their mouth, so the\nEphraimites were in later days to invite their doom by their peculiar\nlisp. At the same time, Jacob's words contained the prophecy that\nJoshua the son of the man Nun, the \"fish,\" would lead Israel into the\nHoly Land. And in his words lay still another prophecy, with reference\nto the sixty thousand men children begot in the same night as Moses,\nall cast into the river with him, and saved for the sake of his merits.\nThe number of boys thrown to the fishes in the river that night was\nequal to the number of men in Israel upon the earth.[375]\n\nEphraim received a special and separate blessing from his grandfather.\nJacob said to him, \"Ephraim, my son, thou art the head of the Academy,\nand in the days to come my most excellent and celebrated descendants\nwill be called Ephrati after thee.\"[376]\n\nJoseph received two gifts from his father. The first was Shechem, the\ncity that Jacob had defended, with sword and bow, against the\ndepredations of the Amorite kings when they tried to take revenge upon\nhis sons for the outrage committed there. And the second gift was the\ngarments made by God for Adam and passed from hand to hand, until they\ncame into the possession of Jacob. Shechem was his reward, because,\nwith his chastity, he stemmed the tide of immorality that burst loose\nin Shechem first of all.[377] Besides, he had a prior claim upon the\ncity. Shechem, son of Hamor, the master of the city, had given it to\nDinah as a present, and the wife of Joseph, Asenath, being the daughter\nof Dinah, the city belonged to him by right.[378]\n\nAdam's clothes Jacob had received from Esau. He had not taken them from\nhis brother by force, but God had caused them to be given to him as a\nreward for his good deeds. They had belonged to Nimrod. Once when the\nmighty hunter caught Esau in his preserves, and forbade him to go on\nthe chase, they agreed to determine by combat what their privileges\nwere. Esau had taken counsel with Jacob, and he had advised him never\nto fight with Nimrod while he was clothed in Adam's garments. The two\nnow wrestled with each other, and at the time Nimrod was not dressed in\nAdam's clothes. The end was that he was slain by Esau. Thus the\ngarments worn by Adam fell into the hands of Esau, from him they passed\ninto Jacob's, and he bequeathed them to Joseph.[379]\n\nJacob also taught Joseph three signs whereby to distinguish the true\nredeemer, who should deliver Israel from the bondage of Egypt. He would\nproclaim the Ineffable Name, appoint elders, and use the word Pakod in\naddressing the people.[380]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BLESSING OF THE TWELVE TRIBES\n\n\nWhen Joseph and his two sons left Jacob, his brethren, envious of the\nbountiful blessings bestowed upon the three, said, \"The whole world\nloveth a favorite of fortune, and our father hath blessed Joseph thus\nbecause he is a ruler of men.\" Then spoke Jacob: \"They that seek the\nLord shall not want any good thing. I have blessings enough for\nall.\"[381]\n\nJacob summoned his sons from the land of Egypt, and bade them come to\nhim at Raamses, first, however, commanding them to make themselves\nclean, that the blessing he was about to bestow might attach itself to\nthem. Another one of his commands was that they were to establish an\nAcademy, by the members of which they were to be governed.\n\nWhen his sons were brought into his presence by the angels, Jacob\nspoke, saying, \"Take heed that no dissensions spring up among you, for\nunion is the first condition of Israel's redemption,\" and he was on the\npoint of revealing the great secret to them concerning the end of time,\nbut while they were standing around the golden bed whereon their father\nlay, the Shekinah visited him for a moment and departed as quickly, and\nwith her departed also all trace of the knowledge of the great mystery\nfrom the mind of Jacob.[382] He had the same experience as his own\nfather Isaac, who also had loss of memory inflicted upon him by God, to\nprevent him from revealing the secret at the end of time to Esau, when\nhe summoned him to receive his blessing.\n\nThe accident made Jacob apprehensive that his sons were not pious\nenough to be considered worthy of the revelation concerning the\nMessianic era, and he said to them, \"Ishmael and the sons of Keturah\nwere the blemished among the issue of my grandfather Abraham; my father\nIsaac begot a blemished issue in Esau, and I fear now that among you,\ntoo, there is one that harbors the intention to serve idols.\" The\ntwelve men spake, and said: \"Hear, O Israel, our father, the Eternal\nour God is the One Only God. As thy heart is one and united in\navouching the Holy One, blessed be He, to be thy God, so also are our\nhearts one and united in avouching Him.\" Whereto Jacob responded,\n\"Praised be the Name of the glory of His majesty forever and\never!\"[383] And although the whole mystery of the Messianic time was\nnot communicated to the sons of Jacob, yet the blessing of each\ncontained some reference to the events of the future.\n\nThese were the words addressed by Jacob to his oldest son: \"Reuben,\nthou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength! Thy\nportion should have been three crowns. Thou shouldst have had the\ndouble heritage of thy primogeniture, and the priestly dignity, and the\nroyal power. But by reason of thy sin, the birthright is conferred upon\nJoseph, kingship upon Judah, and the priesthood upon Levi. My son, I\nknow no healing remedy for thee, but the man Moses, who will ascend to\nGod, he will make thee whole, and God will forgive thy sin.[384] I\nbless thee\u2014may thy descendants be heroes in the Torah and heroes in\nwar.[385] Though thou must lose thy birthright, yet wilt thou be the\nfirst to enter into possession of thy allotment in the Holy Land, and\nin thy territory shall be the first of the cities of refuge, and always\nshall thy name stand first in the list of the families of the tribes.\nYea, thou shalt also be the first whose heritage will be seized by the\nenemy, and the first to be carried away into the lands of exile.\"[386]\n\nAfter Reuben had had his \"ears pulled\" thus, he retired, and Jacob\ncalled his sons Simon and Levi to his side, and he addressed them in\nthese words: \"Brethren ye were of Dinah, but not of Joseph, whom you\nsold into slavery. The weapons of violence wherewith ye smote Shechem\nwere stolen weapons, for it was not seemly for you to draw the sword.\nThat was Esau's portion. To him was it said, By thy sword shalt thou\nlive. Into the council of the tribe of Simon my soul will not come when\nthey foregather at Shittim to do vicious deeds, and my glory will not\nbe united unto the assembly of Korah, the descendants of Levi. In their\nanger Simon and Levi slew the prince of Shechem, and in their self-will\nthey sold Joseph the bull into slavery. Accursed was the city of\nShechem when they entered to destroy it. If they remain united, no\nruler will be able to stand up before them, no war will prosper against\nthem. Therefore will I divide and scatter their possession among the\npossessions of the other tribes. The descendants of Simon will many of\nthem be poor men, who will wander from tribe to tribe and beg for\nbread, and also Levi's tribe will gather its tithes and gifts from all\nthe others.\"\n\nThe words of Jacob, \"I will divide them in Jacob,\" spoken of Simon and\nLevi, were fulfilled on Simon in particular. When twenty-four thousand\nof Simon fell at Shittim, the widows they left behind married husbands\nof all the other tribes. Nevertheless Jacob did not dismiss Simon and\nLevi without blessing them; the tribe of Simon was to bring forth the\nteachers and the beadles needed by all Israel, and Levi, the scholars\nthat would expound the Torah and render decisions according to its\nteachings.[387]\n\nWhen the remaining sons of Jacob heard the rebukes dealt out by their\nfather to these three, they feared to hear like reproaches, and they\ntried to slip away from his presence. Especially Judah was alarmed,\nthat his father might taunt him with his trespass touching Tamar. But\nJacob spoke thus to him: \"Judah, thou dost deserve thy name. Thy mother\ncalled thee Jehudah, because she gave praise to God at thy birth, and\nso shall thy brethren praise thee, and they all will call themselves by\nthy name. And as thou didst confess thy sin openly, so also thy\ndescendants, Achan, David, and Manasseh, will make public avowal of\ntheir sins, and the Lord will hear their prayer. Thy hands will send\ndarts after the fleeing foe, and thy father's sons shall pay thee\nrespect. Thou hast the impudence of a dog and the bravery of a lion.\nThou didst save Joseph from death, and Tamar and her two sons from the\nflames. No people and no kingdom will be able to stand up against thee.\nRulers shall not cease from the house of Judah, nor teachers of the law\nfrom his posterity, until his descendant Messiah come, and the\nobedience of all peoples be unto him. How glorious is Messiah of the\nHouse of Judah! His loins girded, he will go out to do battle with his\nenemies. No king and no ruler will prevail against him. The mountains\nwill be dyed red with their blood, and the garments of Messiah will be\nlike the garments of him that presseth wine. The eyes of Messiah will\nbe clearer than pure wine, for they will never behold unchastity and\nbloodshed; and his teeth will be whiter than milk, for never will they\nbite aught that is taken by violence.\"[388]\n\nThough Issachar was the older, Zebulon came next to be blessed, as a\nreward for the sacrifice he had made for his brother's sake, for when\nIssachar chose the study of the Torah as his vocation, Zebulon decided\nto devote himself to business and support his brother with the profits\nof his trade, that he might give himself up to the law\nundisturbed.[389] His blessing was that he would conquer the seacoast\nas far as Zidon.[390]\n\n\"Issachar,\" said Jacob, \"will take upon himself the burden of the study\nof the Torah, and all the other tribes will come to him and ask him to\ndecide their doubts on legal questions, and his descendants will be the\nmembers of the Sanhedrin and the scholars that will occupy themselves\nwith fixing the calendar.\" Jacob blessed Issachar also with the\nblessing, that the fruits of his land should be exceedingly large, and\nthis brought a heavenly as well as an earthly profit in its train, for\nwhen the heathen to whom the fruits were sold marvelled thereat, the\nJewish merchants explained that their extraordinary size was due to the\nmerits of the tribe of Issachar, whom God rewarded for their devotion\nto the Torah, and thus many of the heathen were induced to convert to\nJudaism.[391]\n\nIn blessing Dan, Jacob's thoughts were occupied chiefly with his\ndescendant Samson, who, like unto God, without any manner of\nassistance, conferred victory upon his people. Jacob even believed the\nstrong, heroic man to be the Messiah, but when Samson's death was\nrevealed to him, he exclaimed, \"I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord, for\nThy help is unto all eternity, while Samson's help is only for a\ntime.[392] The redemption\" continued Jacob, \"will not be accomplished\nby Samson the Danite, but by Elijah the Gadite, who will appear at the\nend of time.\"[393]\n\nAsher's blessing was the beauty of his women, who would be sought in\nmarriage by kings and high priests.[394]\n\nIn Naphtali's land all fruits would ripen quickly, and they would be\nbrought as presents to kings, and gain royal favor for the givers. This\nblessing was fulfilled in the plain of Gennesaret.[395] At the same\ntime Naphtali's blessing was a prophecy concerning his descendant\nDeborah, who was like a hind let loose against Sisera to conquer him,\nand she gave goodly words in her song of Israel's victory.[396]\nNaphtali himself deserved the description applied to Deborah, for he\nwas swift as a hart to do the will of God, and he was a fleet messenger\nunto his father and the tribes. They sent him whithersoever they would,\nand he executed their errands with dispatch.[397] He served the\nbrethren of Joseph as herald, to announce unto Jacob the glad tidings,\n\"Joseph is yet alive,\" and when the stricken father saw him approach,\nhe said, \"Lo, here cometh Naphtali the lovable, who proclaimeth\npeace.\"[398]\n\nJoseph's blessing exceeded the blessing of all his brethren. Jacob\nspoke: \"O son whom I bred up, Joseph, whom I raised, and who wast\nstrong to resist the enticements of sin, thou didst conquer all the\nmagicians and the wise men of Egypt by thy wisdom and thy pious deeds.\nThe daughters of princes cast their jewels before thee, to draw thine\neyes upon them when thou didst pass through the land of Egypt, but thou\ndidst not look their way, and therefore wast thou made the father of\ntwo tribes. The magicians and the wise men of Egypt sought to defame\nthee before Pharaoh and slander thee, but thou didst set thy hope in\nthe Almighty. Therefore may He who appeared unto me as El Shaddai bless\nthee and grant thee fertile soil and much cattle. May the blessing thy\nfather giveth thee now, and the blessing that his fathers Abraham and\nIsaac gave him, and that called forth the envy of the great of the\nworld, Ishmael, Esau, and the sons of Keturah\u2014may all these blessings\nbe a crown upon the head of Joseph, and a chain upon the neck of him\nthat was the ruler of Egypt, and yet diminished not the honor due to\nhis brethren.\"[399]\n\nThe slander of which Jacob spoke referred to what Potiphar had said of\nJoseph before Pharaoh. He had complained, saying, \"Why didst thou\nappoint my slave, whom I did buy for twenty pieces of silver, to be\nruler over the Egyptians?\" Joseph had then taken up his own defense,\nsaying: \"When thou didst buy me as a slave, thou didst commit a capital\ncrime. Only a descendant of Canaan may be sold as a slave, and I am a\ndescendant of Shem, and a prince besides. If thou wilt convince thyself\nof the truth of my words, do but compare me with the likeness of my\nmother Sarah that Pharaoh had made of her!\" They brought Sarah's\nlikeness, and, verily, it appeared that Joseph resembled his\nancestress, and all were convinced of his noble lineage.[400]\n\nThe blessing that Jacob bestowed upon Benjamin contains the prophecy\nthat his tribe would provide Israel with his first ruler and his last\nruler, and so it was, for Saul and Esther both belonged to the tribe of\nBenjamin. Likewise Benjamin's heritage in the Holy Land harbors two\nextremes: Jericho ripens its fruits earlier than any other region in\nPalestine, while Beth-el ripens them latest. In Benjamin's blessing,\nJacob referred also to the service in the Temple, because the Holy\nPlace was situated in the territory of Benjamin. And when Jacob called\nhis youngest son a wolf that ravineth, he was thinking of the judge\nEhud, the great scholar, a Benjamite, who conquered Eglon king of Moab,\nand also he had in mind the Benjamites that captured their wives by\ncunning and force.[401]\n\nAgain, if he called Benjamin a wolf, Judah a lion, and Joseph a bull,\nhe wanted to point to the three kingdoms known as wolf, lion, and bull,\nthe doom of which was and will be sealed by the descendants of his\nthree sons: Babylon, the kingdom of the lion, fell through the hands of\nDaniel of the tribe of Judah; Media, the wolf, found its master in the\nBenjamite Mordecai; and the bull Joseph will subdue the horned beast,\nthe kingdom of wickedness, before the Messianic time.[402]\n\n\n\n\nTHE DEATH OF JACOB\n\n\nAfter Jacob had blessed each of his sons separately, he addressed\nhimself to all of them together, saying: \"According to my power did I\nbless you, but in future days a prophet will arise, and this man Moses\nwill bless you, too, and he will continue my blessings where I left\noff.\" He added, besides, that the blessing of each tribe should redound\nto the good of all the other tribes: the tribe of Judah should have a\nshare in the fine wheat of the tribe of Benjamin, and Benjamin should\nenjoy the goodly barley of Judah. The tribes should be mutually\nhelpful, one to another.[403]\n\nMoreover, he charged them not to be guilty of idolatry in any form or\nshape and not to let blasphemous speech pass their lips, and he taught\nthem the order of transporting his bier,[404] thus: \"Joseph, being\nking, shall not help to bear it, nor shall Levi, who is destined to\ncarry the Ark of the Shekinah. Judah, Issachar, and Zebulon shall grasp\nits front end, Reuben, Simon, and Gad its right side, Ephraim,\nManasseh, and Benjamin the hindmost end, and Dan, Asher, and Naphtali\nits left side.\" And this was the order in which the tribes, bearing\neach its standard, were to march through the desert, the Shekinah\ndwelling in the midst of them.[405]\n\nJacob then spake to Joseph, saying: \"And thou, my son Joseph, forgive\nthy brethren for their trespass against thee, forsake them not, and\ngrieve them not, for the Lord hath put them into thine hands, that thou\nshouldst protect them all thy days against the Egyptians.\"\n\nAlso he admonished his sons, saying that the Lord would be with them if\nthey walked in His ways, and He would redeem them from the hands of the\nEgyptians. \"I know,\" he continued, \"great suffering will befall your\nsons and your grandsons in this land, but if you will obey God, and\nteach your sons to know Him, then He will send you a redeemer, who will\nbring you forth out of Egypt and lead you into the land of your\nfathers.\"[406]\n\nIn resignation to the will of God,[407] Jacob awaited his end, and\ndeath enveloped him gently. Not the Angel of Death ended his life, but\nthe Shekinah took his soul with a kiss. Beside the three Patriarchs,\nAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, only Moses, Aaron, and Miriam breathed their\nlast in this manner, through the kiss of the Shekinah. And these six,\ntogether with Benjamin, are the only ones whose corpses are not exposed\nto the ravages of the worms, and they neither corrupt nor decay.\n\nThus Jacob departed this world, and entered the world to come, a\nforetaste of which he had enjoyed here below, like the other two\nPatriarchs, and none beside among men. In another respect their life in\nthis world resembled their life in the world to come, the evil\ninclination had no power over them, either here or there, wherein David\nresembled them.[408]\n\nJoseph ordered his father's body to be placed upon a couch of ivory,\ncovered with gold, studded with gems, and hung with drapery of byssus\nand purple. Fragrant wine was poured out at its side, and aromatic\nspices burnt next to it. Heroes of the house of Esau, princes of the\nfamily of Ishmael, and the lion Judah, the bravest of his sons,\nsurrounded the sumptuous bier of Jacob. \"Come,\" said Judah to his\nbrethren, \"let us plant a high cedar tree at the head of our father's\ngrave, its top shall reach up to the skies, its branches shall shade\nall the inhabitants of the earth, and its roots shall grow down deep\ninto the earth, unto the abyss. For from him are sprung twelve tribes,\nand from him will arise kings and rulers, chapters of priests prepared\nto perform the service of the sacrifices, and companies of Levites\nready to sing psalms and play upon sweet instruments.\"[409]\n\nThe sons of Jacob tore their garments and girded their loins with\nsackcloth, threw themselves upon the ground, and strewed earth upon\ntheir heads until the dust rose in a high cloud. And when Asenath, the\nwife of Joseph, heard the tidings of Jacob's death, she came, and with\nher came the women of Egypt, to weep and mourn over him. And the men of\nEgypt that had known Jacob repaired thither, and they mourned day after\nday, and also many journeyed down into Egypt from Canaan, to take part\nin the seventy days' mourning made for him.[410]\n\nThe Egyptians spake to one another, saying, \"Let us lament for the\npious man Jacob, because the affliction of the famine was averted from\nour land on account of his merits,\" for instead of ravaging the land\nfor forty-two years according to the decree of God, the famine had\nlasted but two years, and that was due to the virtues of Jacob.[411]\n\nJoseph ordered the physicians to embalm the corpse. This he should have\nrefrained from doing, for it was displeasing to God, who spoke, saying:\n\"Have I not the power to preserve the corpse of this pious man from\ncorruption? Was it not I that spoke the reassuring words, Fear not the\nworm, O Jacob, thou dead Israel?\" Joseph's punishment for this useless\nprecaution was that he was the first of the sons of Jacob to suffer\ndeath.[412] The Egyptians, on the other hand, who devoted forty days to\nembalming the corpse and preparing it for burial, were rewarded for the\nveneration they showed. Before He destroyed their city, God gave the\nNinevites a forty days' respite on account of their king, who was the\nPharaoh of Egypt. And for the three score and ten days of mourning that\nthe heathen made for Jacob, they were recompensed at the time of\nAhasuerus. During seventy days, from the thirteenth of Nisan, the date\nof Haman's edict ordering the extermination of the Jews, until the\ntwenty-third of Siwan, when Mordecai recalled it, they were permitted\nto enjoy absolute power over the Jews.\n\nWhen all preparations for the burial of Jacob had been completed,\nJoseph asked permission of Pharaoh to carry the body up into Canaan.\nBut he did not himself go to put his petition before Pharaoh, for he\ncould not well appear before the king in the garb of a mourner, nor was\nhe willing to interrupt his lamentation over his father for even a\nbrief space and stand before Pharaoh and prefer his petition. He\nrequested the family of Pharaoh to intercede for him with the king for\nthe additional reason that he was desirous of enlisting the favor of\nthe king's relations, lest they advise Pharaoh not to fulfil his wish.\nHe acted according to the maxim, \"Seek to win over the accuser, that he\ncause thee no annoyance.\"[413]\n\nJoseph applied first to the queen's hairdresser, and she influenced the\nqueen to favor him, and then the queen put in a good word for him with\nthe king.[414] At first Pharaoh refused the permission craved by\nJoseph, who, however, urged him to consider the solemn oath he had\ngiven his dying father, to bury him in Canaan. Pharaoh desired him to\nseek absolution from the oath. But Joseph rejoined, \"Then will I apply\nalso for absolution from the oath I gave thee,\" referring to an\nincident in his earlier history. The grandees of Egypt had advised\nPharaoh against appointing Joseph as viceroy, and they did not recede\nfrom this counsel until Joseph, in his conversation with the Egyptian\nking, proved himself to be master of the seventy languages of the\nworld, the necessary condition to be fulfilled before one could become\nruler over Egypt. But the conversation proved something else, that\nPharaoh himself was not entitled to Egyptian kingship, because he\nlacked knowledge of Hebrew. He feared, if the truth became known,\nJoseph would be raised to his own place, for he knew Hebrew beside all\nthe other tongues. In his anxiety and distress, Pharaoh made Joseph\nswear an oath never to betray the king's ignorance of Hebrew. Now when\nJoseph threatened to have himself absolved from this oath as well as\nthe one to his dying father, great terror overwhelmed him, and he\nspeedily granted Joseph permission to go up to Canaan and bury his\nfather there.[415]\n\nMoreover, Pharaoh issued a decree in all parts of the land menacing\nthose with death who would not accompany Joseph and his brethren upon\ntheir journey to Canaan with their father's remains, and accordingly\nthe procession that followed the bier of Jacob was made up of the\nprinces and nobles of Egypt as well as the common people.[416] The bier\nwas borne by the sons of Jacob. In obedience to his wish not even their\nchildren were allowed to touch it.[417] It was fashioned of pure gold,\nthe border thereof inlaid with onyx stones and bdellium, and the cover\nwas gold woven work joined to the bier with threads that were held\ntogether with hooks of onyx stones and bdellium. Joseph placed a large\ngolden crown upon the head of his father, and a golden sceptre he put\nin his hand, arraying him like a living king.\n\nThe funeral cortege was arranged in this order: First came the valiant\nmen of Pharaoh and the valiant men of Joseph, and then the rest of the\ninhabitants of Egypt. All were girt with swords and clothed in coats of\nmail, and the trappings of war were upon them. The weepers and mourners\nwalked, crying and lamenting, at some distance from the bier, and the\nrest of the people went behind it, while Joseph and his household\nfollowed together after it, with bare feet and in tears, and Joseph's\nservants were close to him, each man with his accoutrements and weapons\nof war. Fifty of Jacob's servants preceded the bier, strewing myrrh\nupon the road in passing, and all manner of perfumes, so that the sons\nof Jacob trod upon the aromatic spices as they carried the body\nforward.\n\nThus the procession moved on until it reached Canaan. It halted at the\nthreshing-floor of Atad, and there they lamented with a very great and\nsore lamentation.[418] But the greatest honor conferred upon Jacob was\nthe presence of the Shekinah, who accompanied the cortege.[419]\n\nThe Canaanites had no intention at first to take part in the mourning\nmade for Jacob, but when they saw the honors shown him, they joined the\nprocession of the Egyptians,[420] loosing the girdles of their garments\nas a sign of grief.[421] Also the sons of Esau, Ishmael, and Keturah\nappeared, though their design in coming was to seize the opportunity\nand make war upon the sons of Jacob, but when they saw Joseph's crown\nsuspended from the bier, the Edomite and Ishmaelite kings and princes\nfollowed his example, and attached theirs to it, too, and it was\nornamented with thirty-six crowns.\n\nNevertheless the conflict was not averted; it broke out in the end\nbetween the sons of Jacob and Esau and his followers. When the former\nwere about to lower the body of their father into the Cave of\nMachpelah, Esau attempted to prevent it, saying that Jacob had used his\nallotted portion of the tomb for Leah, and the only space left for a\ngrave belonged to himself. For, continued Esau, \"though I sold my\nbirthright unto Jacob, I yet have a portion in the tomb as a son of\nIsaac.\" The sons of Jacob, however, were well aware of the fact that\ntheir father had acquired Esau's share in the Cave, and they even knew\nthat a bill of sale existed, but Esau, assuming properly that the\ndocument was left behind in Egypt, denied that any such had ever been\nmade out, and the sons of Jacob sent Naphtali, the fleet runner, back\nto Egypt to fetch the bill. Meantime, while this altercation was going\non between Esau and the others, Hushim the son of Dan arose and\ninquired in astonishment why they did not proceed with the burial of\nJacob, for he was deaf and had not understood the words that had passed\nbetween the disputants. When he heard what it was all about, and that\nthe ceremonies were interrupted until Naphtali should return from Egypt\nwith the bill of sale, he exclaimed, with indignation, \"My grandfather\nshall lie here unburied until Naphtali comes back!\" and he seized a\nclub and dealt Esau a vigorous blow, so that he died, and his eyes fell\nout of their sockets and dropped upon Jacob's knees, and Jacob opened\nhis own eyes and smiled. Esau being dead, his brother's burial could\nproceed without hindrance, and Joseph interred him in the Cave of\nMachpelah in accordance with his wish.\n\nHis other children had left all arrangements connected with the burial\nof their father's body to their brother Joseph, for they reflected that\nit was a greater honor for Jacob if a king concerned himself about his\nremains rather than simple private individuals.[422]\n\nThe head of Esau, as he lay slain by the side of Jacob's grave, rolled\ndown into the Cave, and fell into the lap of Isaac, who prayed to God\nto have mercy upon his son, but his supplications were in vain. God\nspoke, saying, \"As I live, he shall not behold the majesty of the\nLord.\"[423]\n\n\n\n\nTHE SONS OF JACOB AT WAR WITH THE SONS OF ESAU\n\n\nJacob having been interred with royal pomp, and the seven days' period\nof mourning over, the conflict between the sons of Jacob and the sons\nof Esau broke out anew. In the skirmish that had ensued when Esau\nadvanced a claim upon a place in the Cave of Machpelah, while his\nbrother's remains still lay unburied, he lost forty of his men, and\nafter his death fortune favored his sons as little. Eighty of their\nfollowers were slain, while of the sons of Jacob not one was lost.\nJoseph succeeded in capturing Zepho the son of Eliphaz and fifty of his\nmen, and he clapped them in chains and carried them off to Egypt.\nThereupon the rest of the attacking army led by Eliphaz fled to Mount\nSeir, taking with them the headless corpse of Esau, to bury it in his\nown territory. The sons of Jacob pursued after them, but they slew\nnone, out of respect for the remains of Esau.\n\nOn the third day a great army gathered together, consisting of the\ninhabitants of Seir and the children of the East, and they marched down\ninto Egypt with the purpose of making war upon Joseph and his brethren.\nIn the battle that came off, this army was almost totally destroyed,\nnot less than six hundred thousand men were mowed down by Joseph and\nhis warriors, and the small remnant fled precipitately. Returned to\ntheir own country after this fatal campaign, the sons of Esau and the\nsons of Seir fell to quarrelling among themselves, and the sons of Seir\ndemanded that their former allies leave the place, because it was they\nthat had brought misfortune upon the country.\n\nThe sons of Esau thereupon dispatched a messenger in secret to their\nfriend Agnias, king of Africa, begging his aid against the sons of\nSeir. He granted their request, and sent them troops consisting of\nfoot-soldiers and mounted men. The sons of Seir, on their part, also\nsought allies, and they secured the help of the children of the East,\nand of the Midianites, who put warriors at their disposal. In the\nencounters that ensued between the hostile forces, the sons of Esau\nwere defeated again and again, partly on account of treachery in their\nown ranks, for their men sometimes deserted to the enemy while the\ncombat was on. At last, however, in the battle that took place in the\ndesert of Paran, the sons of Esau gained a decisive victory. They\nmassacred all the warriors of the sons of Seir, and the Midianites and\nthe children of the East were put to flight.\n\nThereafter the sons of Esau returned to Seir, and they slew all the\ninhabitants of the place, men, women, and children, sparing only fifty\nlads and maidens. The former they used as slaves, and the latter they\ntook to wife. They also enriched themselves with the spoils, seizing\nall the possessions of the sons of Seir, and the whole land was divided\namong the five sons of Esau. Now these descendants of Esau determined\nto put a king over themselves, but in consequence of the treachery\ncommitted during the war there prevailed such hatred and bitterness\namong them that they decided never to appoint a ruler from their own\npeople. Their choice fell upon Bela, the son of Beor, one of the\nwarriors sent to them by King Agnias. His peer could not be found among\nthe allied troops for bravery, wisdom, and handsome appearance. They\nset the royal crown upon his head, built a palace for him, and gave him\ngifts of silver, gold, and gems, until he lived in great opulence. He\nreigned happily for thirty years, and met his death then in a war\nagainst Joseph and his brethren.\n\nThis war came about because the sons of Esau could not banish from\ntheir memory the disgrace of the defeat inflicted upon them by Joseph\nand his people. Having enlisted the aid of Agnias, and of the\nIshmaelites and other nations of the East, they set forth on a second\ncampaign against Egypt, in the hope of delivering Zepho and his\nfollowers from the hands of Joseph. In spite of their enormous\nhost\u2014they had no less than eight hundred thousand men of infantry and\ncavalry\u2014they were defeated at Raamses by Joseph and his brethren and\ntheir little company of six hundred men. Beside their king Bela, they\nleft one-fourth of their army upon the field. The loss of their king\ndiscouraged them grievously, and they took to flight, hard pressed by\nJoseph, who cut down many of the fugitives.\n\nWhen he returned from the battle, Joseph ordered manacles and fetters\nto be put upon Zepho and his followers, and their captivity was made\nmore bitter unto them than it had been before.\n\nThe sons of Esau appointed Jobab of Bozrah to succeed their dead king\nBela. His reign lasted ten years, but they desisted from all further\nattempts at waging war with the sons of Jacob. Their last experience\nwith them had been too painful, but the enmity they cherished against\nthem was all the fiercer, and their hatred never abated.\n\nTheir third king was Husham, and he ruled over them for twenty years.\nDuring his reign Zepho succeeded in making good his escape from Egypt.\nHe was received kindly by Agnias, king of Africa, and appointed\ncommander-in-chief of his troops. He used every means of persuasion to\ninduce his sovereign lord to enter into a war with Egypt, but in vain,\nfor Agnias was only too well acquainted with the strength and heroism\nof the sons of Jacob. For many years he resisted Zepho's arguments and\nblandishments. Indeed, as it was, Agnias had his hands full with other\nwarlike enterprises. It had happened about this time that a man of the\nland of Kittim, 'Uzi by name, whom his countrymen venerated as a god,\ndied in the city of Pozimana, and he left behind a fair and clever\ndaughter. Agnias heard of Yaniah's beauty and wisdom, and he sued for\nher hand, and his request was granted him by the people of Kittim.\n\nThe messengers of Agnias were hastening away from Kittim, bearing to\ntheir master the promise of the inhabitants that Yaniah should become\nhis wife, when Turnus, king of Benevento, arrived on the same errand.\nHis suit was rejected, for the people of Kittim were afraid-to break\nthe promise given to Agnias. In his anger, Turnus went to Sardinia to\nmake war upon King Lucus, a brother of Agnias, intending to deal with\nthe latter as soon as the other was rendered harmless. Hearing of the\ndesign hatched by Turnus, Agnias hastened to Sardinia to the assistance\nof his brother, and a battle took place in the Valley of Campania.\nAgainst Turnus were arrayed Agnias, his brother Lucus, and the son of\nthe latter, Niblos, whom his father had appointed commander-in-chief of\nthe Sardinian troops. In the first encounter, Turnus was the victor,\nand the Sardinians lost their general Niblos. But in the second\nengagement the army of Turnus was routed completely, and he himself was\nleft dead on the field. His army fled, pursued closely by Agnias as far\nas the cross-road between Rome and Albano. Niblos' body was put inside\nof a golden statue, and his father erected a high tower over his grave,\nand another over the grave of Turnus, and these two buildings,\nconnected by a marble pavement, stand opposite to each other, on the\ncross-road at which Agnias left off from following after the fugitive\narmy.\n\nThe king of Africa went on to the city of Benevento, but he took no\nharsh measures against it and its inhabitants, because it belonged to\nthe land of Kittim at that time. Thenceforth, however, bands of\nsoldiers from Africa made incursions, now and again, into the land of\nKittim, under the lead of Zepho, the captain of the African army.\nAgnias meantime went to Pozimana, to solemnize his marriage with\nYaniah, and he returned with her to his capital in Africa.[424]\n\n\n\n\nZEPHO KING OF KITTIM\n\n\nAll this time Zepho did not leave off urging Agnias to invade Egypt,\nand he succeeded finally in persuading the king to consider his wish,\nand a great army was equipped against Egypt and the sons of Jacob.\nAmong the shield- bearers was Balaam, the fifteen year old son of Beor,\na wise youth and an adept in magic, and the king bade him acquaint him\nwith the issue of the war upon which they were entering. Balaam took\nwax and moulded the figures of men, to represent the army of Agnias and\nthe army of the Egyptians, and he plunged them into magic water and let\nthem swim, and it appeared that the African army was subdued by the\nEgyptians. Agnias accordingly gave up the campaign, and Zepho, seeing\nthat his sovereign could not be persuaded into war with the sons of\nJacob, fled the country and betook himself to Kittim.\n\nThe people of Kittim received him with great honors, and they offered\nhim much money to stay with them and conduct their wars. It happened\nonce while Zepho was in the mountains of Koptiziah, where the\ninhabitants of Kittim had taken refuge before the troops of the African\nking, that he had to go on a search for an ox that had strayed away,\nand he discovered a cave the opening of which was barred by a great\nstone. He shivered the stone in pieces, and entering the cave he saw an\nanimal formed like a man above and a he-goat below, and he killed the\nstrange beast, which was in the very act of devouring his lost ox.\nThere was great rejoicing among the people of Kittim, for the monster\nhad long been doing havoc among their cattle, and in gratitude they set\naside one day of the year, which they called by Zepho's name, in honor\nof their liberator, and all the people brought him presents and offered\nsacrifices to him.\n\nAt this time it came to pass that Yaniah, the wife of King Agnias, fell\ninto a grievous sickness, and the physicians ascribed her illness to\nthe climate, and to the water of Africa, to which she, a native of the\nland of Kittim, could not get accustomed, because she had been in the\nhabit of using the water of the river Forma, which her forefathers had\ndrawn to her house through a conduit. Agnias sent to the land of Kittim\nand had some of the water of the Forma brought to Africa. Finding it\nmuch lighter than the water of his own country, he built a huge canal\nfrom the land of Kittim. to Africa, and the queen henceforth had all\nthe Forma water she needed. Besides, he took earth and stone from\nKittim, and built a palace for Yaniah, and she recovered from her\nillness.\n\nMeantime Zepho had won a decisive victory over the African troops that\nhad made an incursion into the land of Kittim, and the people chose him\nas king. His first undertaking was a campaign against the sons of Tubal\nand the Islands of the Sea, and again he was successful, he subdued\nthem completely. On his return, the people built a great palace for\nZepho, and they renewed his kingship, and he continued until his death\nto reign as king of Kittim and of Italy.\n\nDuring the first thirteen years of his reign, the Africans made no\nattempt to disturb the peace of Kittim, but then they invaded the land,\nonly to be severely repulsed by Zepho, who pursued the troops up to the\nvery borders of Africa, and Agnias the king was in such consternation\nthat he did not venture to make reprisals for some time. When he\nfinally made a second attempt, his troops were annihilated by Zepho\ndown to the very last man. Now Agnias, in despair, assembled all the\ninhabitants of Africa, as numerous as the sand on the sea-shore, and he\nunited his great host with the army of his brother Lucus, and thus he\nmade his third attempt upon Zepho and the people of the land of Kittim.\n\nAlarmed, Zepho wrote to his brethren in Seir, and entreated their king\nHadad to send him aid. But the people of Seir had concluded an alliance\nwith Agnias as far back as under their first king Bela, and they\nrefused Zepho's request, and the king of Kittim had to face the host of\neight hundred thousand men mustered by Agnias with his little band of\nthree thousand. Then the people of Kittim spake to their king Zepho,\nsaying: \"Pray for us unto the God of thy ancestors. Peradventure He may\ndeliver us from the hand of Agnias and his army, for we have heard that\nHe is a great God, and He delivers all that trust in Him.\" Zepho prayed\nunto the Lord, saying: \"O Lord, God of Abraham and Isaac, my fathers,\nthis day may it be made known that Thou art a true God, and all the\ngods of the nations are vain and useless. Remember now this day unto me\nThy covenant with Abraham our father, which our ancestors related unto\nus, and do graciously with me this day for the sake of Abraham and\nIsaac, our fathers, and save me and the sons of Kittim from the hand of\nthe king of Africa, who hath come against us for battle.\"\n\nGod gave ear unto Zepho's prayer, and in the first day's battle\none-half of the African army fell. Agnias forthwith dispatched a decree\nto his country, ordering, on penalty of death and confiscation of\nproperty, that all the males of the land, including boys that bad\npassed their tenth year, were to join the army and fight against the\npeople of Kittim. In spite of these new accessions, three hundred\nthousand strong, Agnias was beaten again by Zepho in the second battle.\nThe African general Sosipater having fallen slain, the troops broke\ninto flight, at their head Agnias with Lucus the brother and Asdrubal\nthe son of Agnias. After this dire defeat the Africans made no further\nattempt to disturb the peace of Kittim, and their incursions ceased\nforever.\n\nIn spite of the great victory that Zepho had won with the help of God,\nthe king of Kittim walked in the idolatrous ways of the people whom he\nruled, and in the ways of the sons of Esau, for, as saith the proverb\nof the ancients, \"Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness,\" and Zepho\nwas not other than the rest of the sons of Esau.\n\nThe severe defeat inflicted upon Agnias drove Balaam from Africa to\nKittim, and he was received with great honors by Zepho, who welcomed\nhim on account of his deep wisdom.\n\nNow Zepho thought the time had arrived for him to carry out his plan of\nvengeance against the posterity of Jacob, all the more as in the\nmeantime Joseph had died, and also his brethren and the valiant men of\nPharaoh had passed away. He was joined in the enterprise by Hadad, the\nking of Edom, and by the nations of the East and the Ishmaelites. The\nallied army was so vast that the space it covered as it stood in rank\nand file was equal to a three days' journey. It formed in battle array\nin the Valley of Pathros, and it was met by three hundred thousand\nEgyptians and one hundred and fifty Israelites from Goshen. But the\nEgyptians did not trust the Israelites, they feared their defection to\nthe sons of Esau and Ishmael. They therefore made an agreement with\nthem that the Israelites were not to come to the help of the Egyptians\nuntil it appeared that the enemy were getting the upper hand\n\nZepho, who had a high opinion of Balaam's ability, desired him to use\nhis magic arts and find out what would be the outcome of the war, but\nBalaam's knowledge failed him, he could not satisfy the king's wish.\nThe Egyptians got the worst of the first encounter between the two\nhostile armies, but the aspect of things changed as soon as they\nsummoned the Israelites to aid them. The Israelites prayed to God to\nsupport them with His help, and the Lord heard their prayer. Then they\nthrew themselves upon Zepho and his allies, and after they had cut down\nseveral thousand men, such dismay and confusion took hold of the enemy\nthat they fled hastily, pursued by the Israelites as far as the\nboundary of the country. The Egyptians, instead of coming to the\nassistance of the Israelites, had taken to flight, leaving the small\nband of their allies to dispose of the huge host of their adversaries.\nEmbittered by such treatment, the Israelites slew as many as two\nhundred Egyptians, under the pretext that they thought they belonged to\nthe enemy.[425]\n\n\n\n\nTHE NATIONS AT WAR\n\n\nHadad, the king of Edom, who had failed to gain fame and honor in the\nEgyptian campaign, was favored by fortune in another war, a war against\nMoab. The Moabites shrank from meeting Hadad alone, and they made an\nalliance with the Midianites. In the thick of the fight the Moabites\nfled from the field of battle, leaving the Midianites to their fate,\nand these deserted allies of theirs were cut down to a man by Hadad and\nhis Edomites. The Moabites saved their skins, and suffered only the\ninconvenience of having to pay tribute. To avenge the faithlessness\npracticed against them, the Midianites, supported by their kinsmen, the\nsons of Keturah, gathered a mighty army, and attacked the Moabites the\nfollowing year. But Hadad came to their assistance, and again he\ninflicted a severe defeat upon the Midianites, who had to give up their\nplan of revenge against Moab. This is the beginning of the inveterate\nenmity between the Moabites and the Midianites. If a single Moabite is\ncaught in the land of Midian, he is killed without mercy, and a\nMidianite in Moab fares no better.\n\nAfter the death of Hadad, the Edomites installed Samlah of Masrekah as\ntheir king, and he reigned eighteen years. It was his desire to take up\nthe cause of Agnias, the old ally of the Edomites, and chastise Zepho\nfor having gone to war with him, but his people, the Edomites, would\nnot permit him to undertake aught that was inimical to their kinsman,\nand Samlah had to abandon the plan. In the fourteenth year of Samlah's\nreign, Zepho died, having been king of Kittim for fifty years. His\nsuccessor was Janus, one of the people of Kittim, who enjoyed an\nequally long reign.\n\nBalaam had made his escape to Egypt after the death of Zepho, and he\nwas received there with great demonstrations of honor by the king and\nall the nobles, and Pharaoh appointed him to be royal counsellor, for\nhe had heard much about his exceeding great wisdom.\n\nIn the Edomite kingdom, Samlah was succeeded by Saul of Pethor, a youth\nof surpassing beauty, whose reign lasted forty years. His successor\nupon the throne was Baal Hamon, king for thirty-eight years, during\nwhich period the Moabites rose up against the Edomites, to whom they\nhad been paying tribute since the time of Hadad, and they succeeded in\nthrowing off the yoke of the stranger.\n\nThe times were troubled everywhere. Agnias, the king of Africa, died,\nand also the death of Janus occurred, the king of Kittim. The\nsuccessors to these two rulers, Asdrubal, the son of Agnias, and\nLatinus, the king of Kittim, then entered upon a long drawn out war of\nmany years. At first the fortune of war favored Latinus. He sailed to\nAfrica in ships, and inflicted one defeat after another upon Asdrubal,\nand finally this king of Africa lost his life upon the battlefield.\nAfter destroying the canal from Kittim to Africa built many years\nbefore by Agnias, Latinus returned to his own country, taking with him\nas his wife Ushpiziwnah, the daughter of Asdrubal, who was so\nwondrously beautiful that her countrymen wore her likeness upon their\ngarments.\n\nLatinus did not enjoy the fruits of his victory long. Anibal, the\nyounger brother of Asdrubal and his successor in the royal power, went\nto Kittim in ships and carried on a series of wars lasting eighteen\nyears, in the course of which he killed off eighty thousand of the\npeople of Kittim, not sparing the princes and the nobles. At the end of\nthis protracted period he went back to Africa, and reigned over his\npeople in quiet and peace.\n\nThe Edomites, during the forty-eight years of the reign of Hadad, the\nsuccessor of Baal Hamon, fared no better than the people of Kittim.\nHadad's first undertaking was to reduce the Moabites again under the\nsovereignty of Edom, but he had to desist, because he could not offer\nsuccessful resistance to a newly chosen king of theirs, one of their\nown people, who enlisted the aid of their kinsmen the Ammonites. The\nallies commanded a great host, and Hadad was overwhelmed. These wars\nwere followed by others between Hadad of Edom. and Abimenos of Kittim.\nThe latter was the attacking party, and he invaded Seir with a mighty\narmy. The sons of Seir were defeated abjectly, their king Hadad was\ntaken captive, and then executed by Abimenos, and Seir was made a\nprovince subject to Kittim and ruled by a governor.\n\nThus ended the independence of the sons of Esau. Henceforth they had to\npay tribute to Kittim, over which Abimenos ruled until his death, in\nthe thirty-eighth year of his reign.[426]\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH'S MAGNANIMITY\n\n\nAs Joseph was returning from the burial of his father in the Cave of\nMachpelah, he passed the pit into which his brethren had once cast him,\nand he looked into it, and said, \"Blessed be God who permitted a\nmiracle to come to pass for me here!\" The brethren inferred from these\nwords of gratitude, which Joseph but uttered in compliance with the\ninjunctions of the law, that he cherished the recollection of the evil\nthey had done him, and they feared, that now their father was dead,\ntheir brother would requite them in accordance with their deeds. They\nobserved, moreover, that since their father was no more, Joseph had\ngiven up the habit of entertaining them at his table, and they\ninterpreted this as a sign of his hatred of them. In reality, it was\ndue to Joseph's respect and esteem for his brethren. \"So long as my\nfather was alive,\" Joseph said to himself, \"he bade me sit at the head\nof the table, though Judah is king, and Reuben is the first-born. It\nwas my father's wish, and I complied with it. But now it is not seemly\nthat I should have the first seat in their presence, and yet, being\nruler of Egypt, I cannot yield my place to any other.\" He thought it\nbest therefore not to have the company of his brethren at his meals.\n\nBut they, not fathoming his motives, sent Bilhah to him with the dying\nmessage of their father, that he was to forgive the transgression and\nthe sin of his brethren. For the sake of the ways of peace they had\ninvented the message; Jacob had said nothing like it. Joseph, on his\npart, realized that his brethren spoke thus only because they feared he\nmight do harm unto them, and he wept that they should put so little\ntrust in his affection. When they appeared, and fell down before his\nface, and said, \"Thou didst desire to make one of us a slave unto\nthyself. Behold, we all are ready to be thy servants,\" he spoke to them\ngently, and tried to convince them that he harbored no evil design\nagainst them. He said: \"Be not afraid, I will do you no harm, for I\nfear God, and if ye think I failed to have you sit at my table because\nof enmity toward you, God knows the intentions of my heart, He knows\nthat I acted thus out of consideration for the respect I owe to\nyou.\"[427]\n\nFurthermore he said: \"Ye are like unto the dust of the earth, the sand\non the sea-shore, and the stars in the heavens. Can I do aught to put\nthese out of the world? Ten stars could effect nothing against one\nstar, how much less can one star effect anything against ten? Do you\nbelieve that I have the power of acting contrary to the laws of nature?\nTwelve hours hath the day, twelve hours the night, twelve months the\nyear, twelve constellations are in the heavens, and also there are\ntwelve tribes! You are the trunk and I am the head\u2014of what use the head\nwithout the trunk? It is to my own good that I should treat you with\nfraternal affection. Before your advent, I was looked upon as a slave\nin this country\u2014you proved me a man of noble birth. Now, if I should\nkill you, my claims upon an aristocratic lineage would be shown to be a\nlie. The Egyptians would say, He was not their brother, they were\nstrangers to him, he but called them his brethren to serve his purpose,\nand now he hath found a pretext to put them out of the way. Or they\nwould hold me to be a man of no probity. Who plays false with his own\nkith and kin, how can he keep faith with others? And, in sooth, how can\nI venture to lay hand upon those whom God and my father both have\nblessed?\"[428]\n\nAs Joseph's dealings were kind and gentle with his brethren, so he was\nthe helper and counsellor of the Egyptians, and when Pharaoh departed\nthis life, Joseph being then a man of seventy-one years of age, the\nking's last wish was that he might be a father unto his son and\nsuccessor Magron, and administer the affairs of state for him. Some of\nthe Egyptians desired to make Joseph king after the death of Pharaoh,\nbut this plan met with opposition on the part of others. They objected\nto an alien on the throne, and so the royal title was left to Magron,\ncalled Pharaoh, according to the established custom the name given to\nall the Egyptian kings. But Joseph was made the actual ruler of the\nland, and though he was only viceroy in Egypt, he reigned as king over\nthe lands outside of Egypt as far as the Euphrates, parts of which\nJoseph had acquired by conquest. The inhabitants of these countries\nbrought their yearly tribute to him and other presents besides, and\nthus did Joseph rule for forty years, beloved of all, and respected by\nthe Egyptians and the other nations, and during all that time his\nbrethren dwelt in Goshen, happy and blithe in the service of God. And\nin his own family circle Joseph was happy also; he lived to act as\ngodfather at the circumcision of the sons of his grandson Machir.\n\nHis end was premature as compared with that of his brethren; at his\ndeath he was younger than any of them at their death. It is true,\n\"Dominion buries him that exercises it.\"[429] He died ten years before\nhis allotted time, because, without taking umbrage, he had permitted\nhis brethren to call his father his \"servant\" in his presence.[430]\n\n\n\n\nASENATH\n\n\nGod gives every man the wife he deserves,[431] and so Asenath was\nworthy of being the helpmeet of Joseph the pious. Her father was\nPotiphar, one of Pharaoh's magnates, ranking among the most\ndistinguished of them by reason of wisdom, wealth, and station. His\ndaughter was slender like unto Sarah, beautiful like Rebekah, and\nradiant in appearance like Rachel. Noblemen and princes sued for her\nhand when she was eighteen years of age. Even Pharaoh's appointed\nsuccessor, his first-born son, demanded her in marriage, but his father\nrefused to comply with his wish, because he did not consider her a\nproper wife for one destined to sit upon the throne. The daughter of\nthe Moabite king, he insisted, was a more suitable match for him. But\nAsenath rejected every proposal of marriage, and avoided all\nintercourse with men. With seven maidens born the same day as herself,\nshe lived in retirement in a magnificent palace adjoining that of her\nparents.\n\nIt happened in the first of the seven years of plenty that Joseph\nplanned to visit the place in which Potiphar resided, and he sent word\nto him that he would put up with him, at his house. Potiphar was\nenchanted with the honor in prospect for him, and also with the\nopportunity it would afford him of bringing about a marriage between\nAsenath and Joseph. But when he disclosed his plan to his daughter, she\nrejected it with indignation. \"Why shouldst thou desire to see me\nunited with a vagabond, a slave,\" she cried out, \"one that does not\neven belong to our nation, but is the son of a Canaanitish herdsman, a\nfellow that attempted to violate the honor of his mistress, and in\npunishment for this misdemeanor was thrown into prison, to be liberated\nthence by Pharaoh for interpreting his dream? Nay, father, never will I\nbecome his wife. I am willing to marry the son of Pharaoh, the future\nruler and king of Egypt.\"\n\nPotiphar promised his daughter not to speak of the plan again. At that\nmoment Joseph's arrival was announced, and Asenath left the presence of\nher parents and withdrew to her own apartments. Standing by the window,\nshe saw Joseph pass, and she was so transported with his divine beauty\nand his indescribably noble carriage that she burst into tears, and\nsaid: \"Poor, foolish me, what shall I do? I permitted myself to be\nmisled by friends, who told me that Joseph was the son of a Canaanitish\nshepherd. Now I behold the splendor that emanates from him like unto\nthe splendor of the sun, illuminating our house with his rays. In my\naudacity and folly I had looked down upon him, and had spoken absurd\nnonsense against him. I knew not that he was a son of God, as he must\nbe, for among men such beauty as his does not exist. I pray Thee, O God\nof Joseph, grant me pardon! It was my ignorance that made me speak like\na fool. If my father will give me in marriage to Joseph, I will be his\nforever.\"\n\nMeantime Joseph had taken his seat at Potiphar's table, and he observed\na maiden looking at him from one of the palace windows. He commanded\nthat she be ordered away, for he never permitted women to gaze at him\nor come near to him. His supernatural beauty always fascinated the\nnoble Egyptian ladies, and they were untiring in the efforts they made\nto approach him. But their attempts were vain. He cherished the words\nof his father Jacob, who had admonished his son to keep aloof from the\nwomen of the Gentiles.\n\nPotiphar explained to Joseph that the maiden at the window was his\nvirgin daughter, who never permitted men to abide near her; he was the\nfirst man she had ever looked upon. The father continued and made the\nrequest of Joseph, to allow his daughter to pay him her respects.\nJoseph granted the favor he desired, and Asenath appeared and greeted\nhim with the words, \"Peace be with thee, thou blessed of God Most\nHigh,\" whereunto Joseph returned the salutation, \"Be thou blessed of\nthe Lord, from whom flow all blessings.\"\n\nAsenath desired also to kiss Joseph, but he warded off the intimate\ngreeting with the words: \"It is not meet that a God-fearing man, who\nblesses the living God, and eats the blessed bread of life, who drinks\nof the blessed cup of immortality and incorruptibility, and anoints\nhimself with the fragrant oil of holiness, should kiss a woman of a\nstrange people, who blesses dead and unprofitable idols, and eats the\nputrid bread of idolatry, which chokes the soul of man, who drinks the\nlibations of deceit, and anoints herself with the oil of destruction.\"\n\nThese words uttered by Joseph touched Asenath unto tears. Out of\ncompassion with her, he bestowed his blessing upon her, calling upon\nGod to pour out His spirit over her and make her to become a member of\nHis people and His inheritance, and grant her a portion in the life\neternal.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MARRIAGE OF JOSEPH\n\n\nThe appearance and the speech of Joseph made so deep an impression upon\nAsenath that no sooner had she reached her apartment than she divested\nherself of her robes of state and took off her jewels, and put on\nsackcloth instead, strewed ashes upon her head, and supplicated God\namid tears to grant her pardon for her sins. In this manner she spent\nseven days and seven nights in her chamber. Not even her seven\nattendants were permitted to enter her presence during the time of her\npenance. The morning of the eighth day an angel appeared unto her, and\nbade her put away her sackcloth and ashes and array herself in state,\nfor this day she had been born anew, he said, to eat the blessed bread\nof life, to drink of the cup of life immortal, and anoint herself with\nthe oil of life eternal. Asenath was about to set food and drink before\nher guest, when she perceived a honeycomb of wondrous form and\nfragrance. The angel explained to her that it had been produced by the\nbees of Paradise, to serve as food for the angels and the elect of God.\nHe took a small portion of it for himself, and the rest he put into\nAsenath's mouth, saying: \"From this day forth thy body shall bloom like\nthe eternal flowers in Paradise, thy bones shall wax fat like the\ncedars thereof, strength inexhaustible shall be thine, thy youth shall\nnever fade, and thy beauty never perish, and thou shalt be like unto a\nmetropolis surrounded by a wall.\" At the request of Asenath, the angel\nblessed also her seven attendants, with the words, \"May the Lord bless\nyou and make you to be seven pillars in the City of Refuge.\"\n\nThereupon the angel left her, and she saw him ascend heavenward in a\nchariot of fire drawn by four steeds of fire. Now she knew that she had\nnot been entertaining a human being, but an angel.\n\nThe celestial messenger had scarcely departed, when a visit from Joseph\nwas announced, and she hastened to array and adorn herself for his\nreception. When she washed her face, she caught sight of it in the\nwater, and saw it to be of such beauty as never before, so great had\nbeen the transformation wrought by the angel. When Joseph came, he did\nnot recognize her. He asked her who she was, whereto she replied, \"I am\nthy maid-servant Asenath! I have cast away my idols, and this day a\nvisitant came to me from heaven. He gave me to eat of the bread of life\nand to drink of the blessed cup, and he spake these words unto me, 'I\ngive thee unto Joseph as his affianced wife, that he may be thy\naffianced husband forever.' And furthermore he said, 'Thy name shall\nnot any more be called Asenath, but thy name shall be City of Refuge,\nwhither the nations shall flee for safety.' And he added, 'I go to\nJoseph, to tell him all these things that have reference to thee.' Now,\nmy lord, thou knowest whether the man was with thee and spoke to thee\nin my behalf.\"\n\nJoseph confirmed all she had said, and they embraced and kissed each\nother in token of their betrothal, which they celebrated by a banquet\nwith Potiphar and his wife. The wedding took place later in the\npresence of Pharaoh, who set a golden crown upon the head of the\nbridegroom and the bride, gave them his blessing, and made a seven\ndays' feast in their honor, to which he invited the magnates and\nprinces of Egypt and of other countries. And during the seven days of\nthe wedding festivities the people were prohibited, under penalty of\ndeath, from doing any manner of work; they all were to join in the\ncelebration of Joseph's marriage.\n\n\n\n\nKIND AND UNKIND BRETHREN\n\n\nOn the twenty-first day of the second month in the second of the seven\nyears of famine, Jacob came down to Egypt, and his daughter-in-law\nAsenath visited him. She marvelled not a little at his beauty and\nstrength. His shoulders and his arms were like an angel's, and his\nloins like a giant's. Jacob gave her his blessing, and with her husband\nshe returned home, accompanied by the sons of Leah, while the sons of\nthe handmaids, remembering the evil they had once done unto Joseph,\nkept aloof. Levi in particular had conceived a fondness for Asenath. He\nwas especially close to the Living God, for he was a prophet and a\nsage, his eyes were open, and he knew how to read the celestial books\nwritten by the finger of God. He revealed to Asenath that he had seen\nher future resting-place in heaven, and it was built upon a rock and\nencompassed by a diamond wall.\n\nOn their journey they met the son of Pharaoh, his successor to the\nthrone, and he was so transported with Asenath's beauty, that he made\nthe plan of murdering Joseph in order to secure possession of his wife.\nHe summoned Simon and Levi, and by blandishments and promises sought to\ninduce them to put Joseph out of the way. Simon was so enraged that he\nwould have felled him at once, had not his brother Levi, who was\nendowed with the gift of prophecy, divined his purpose, and frustrated\nit by stepping upon his foot, while whispering: \"Why art thou so angry,\nand so wroth with the man? We that fear God may not repay evil with\nevil.\" Turning to the son of Pharaoh, he told him that nothing would\ninduce them to execute the wickedness he had proposed; rather he\nadvised him not to undertake aught against Joseph, else he would kill\nhim with the sword that had served him in his slaughter of the\ninhabitants of Shechem. The culprit was seized with frantic alarm, and\nfell down before Simon and Levi to entreat their mercy. Levi raised him\ntip, saying, \"Fear not, but abandon thy wicked plan, and harbor no evil\ndesign against Joseph.\"\n\nNevertheless the son of Pharaoh did not give up his criminal purpose.\nHe approached the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, and sought to accomplish\nthrough them what had failed with Simon and Levi. He called them into\nhis presence, and told them of a conversation between Joseph and\nPharaoh that he had overheard. The former had said that he waited but\nto learn of the death of his father Jacob in order to do away with the\nsons of the handmaids, because they had been the ones to sell him into\nslavery. Their wrath excited against Joseph by these words, the sons of\nBilhah and Zilpah assented to the proposition of the son of Pharaoh. It\nwas arranged that the latter should kill Pharaoh, the friend of Joseph,\nwhile they would fall upon their brother, and put him out of the way.\nThey were furnished with six hundred able warriors and fifty spearmen\nfor the purpose. The first part of the plan, the murder of Pharaoh,\nfailed. The palace guard would not allow even the successor to the\nthrone to enter his father's bedchamber, and he had to depart without\nhaving effected his object.\n\nNow Dan and Gad gave him the advice to take up his station with fifty\narchers in a secret place that Asenath had to pass on her homeward\njourney. Thence he could make a successful attack upon her suite, and\ngain possession of her. Naphtali and Asher did not care to have\nanything to do with this hostile enterprise against Joseph, but Dan and\nGad forced them into it, insisting that all the sons of the handmaids\nmust stand together as men and repel the danger that threatened them.\n\n\n\n\nTREACHERY PUNISHED\n\n\nFrom their ambush the forces of the son of Pharaoh fell upon Asenath\nand her six hundred attendants. They succeeded in hewing down the\nvanguard, and Asenath had to take to flight. To her alarm she\nencountered the son of Pharaoh with fifty mounted men. Benjamin, seated\nin the same chariot with her, came to her rescue, for in spite of his\nyouth he was exceedingly courageous. He descended from the chariot,\ngathered pebbles, and, throwing them at the son of Pharaoh, struck him\non his forehead and inflicted a severe wound. The charioteer aided him\nby keeping him supplied with pebbles, which he cast at the fifty riders\nwith such expert skill that he slew forty-eight of them with as many\nmissiles. Meantime the sons of Leah arrived on the spot and came to\nAsenath's aid, for Levi, with his prophetic spirit, had seen what was\nhappening, and summoning his five brothers he had hastened thither.\nThese six attacked the troops in ambush and cut them down. But the\ndanger to Asenath was by no means removed. At this moment the sons of\nthe handmaids threw themselves upon her and Benjamin with drawn swords.\nIt was their intention to kill them both, and flee to cover in the\ndepths of the woods. But as soon as Asenath supplicated God for aid,\nthe swords dropped from the hands of her assailants, and they saw that\nthe Lord was on the side of Asenath. They fell at her feet and\nentreated her grace. She allayed their anxiety with the words: \"Be\ncourageous and have no fear of your brethren, the sons of Leah. They\nare God-fearing men. Do but keep yourselves in hiding until their wrath\nis appeased.\"\n\nWhen the sons of Leah appeared, Asenath fell down before them, and amid\ntears she adjured them to spare the sons of the handmaids and not repay\nwith evil the evil they had meditated. Simon would not hear of making\nconcessions. He insisted that the measure of their sins was full, and\nthey must pay for them with their lives, for they had been the ones\nthat had sold Joseph into slavery, and brought down untold misfortune\nupon Jacob and his sons. But Asenath did not leave off, and her urgent\npetitions won the day. She succeeded in calming the anger of Simon, and\nin Levi she had a secret ally, for this prophet knew the hiding-place\nof the sons of the handmaids, and he did not betray it to Simon, lest\nhis wrath be increased at the sight of them. It was also Levi that\nrestrained Benjamin from giving the death blow to the heavily wounded\nson of Pharaoh. So far from permitting harm to be done to him, he\nwashed his wounds, put him into a chariot, and took him to Pharaoh, who\nthanked Levi from his heart for his services of loving- kindness.\nLevi's efforts were vain, three days later the son of Pharaoh died of\nthe wounds inflicted by Benjamin, and from grief over the loss of his\nfirst-born Pharaoh followed him soon after, departing this life at the\nage of one hundred and seventy-seven years. His crown he left to\nJoseph, who ruled over Egypt for forty-eight years thereafter. He in\nturn handed the crown on to the grandchild of Pharaoh, an infant in\narms at the time of his grandfather's death, toward whom Joseph had\nacted in a father's stead all his life.[432]\n\n\n\n\nTHE DEATH AND BURIAL OF JOSEPH\n\n\nOn his death-bed Joseph took an oath of his brethren, and he bade them\non their death-bed likewise take an oath of their sons, to carry his\nbones to Palestine, when God should visit them and bring them up out of\nthe land of Egypt. He said: \"I that am a ruler could take my father's\nbody up to the Holy Land while it was still intact. Of you I do but\nmake the request that ye carry my bones from hence, and you may inter\nthem in any spot in Palestine, for I know that the burial-place of the\nfathers was appointed to be the tomb only of the three Patriarchs and\ntheir three wives.\"\n\nJoseph took the oath, to carry his remains along with them when they\nleft Egypt, from his brethren, and not from his sons, to bury him at\nonce in Palestine, for he feared the Egyptians would not give the\nlatter permission to transport his bones even if they recalled what\nJoseph had been allowed to do with his father's body. They would object\nthat Joseph had been the viceroy, and a wish preferred by one of so\nhigh an estate could not be denied.[433] Furthermore, he adjured his\nbrethren not to leave Egypt until a redeemer should appear and announce\nhis message with the words, \"Pakod\u2014 I have surely visited you\"\u2014a\ntradition which Joseph had received from his father, who bad it from\nIsaac, and Isaac in turn had beard it from Abraham.[434] And he told\nthem that God would redeem Israel through Moses as through the Messiah,\nin this world as in the world to come, and the Egyptian redemption\nwould begin in Tishri, when Israel would be freed from slave labor, and\nwould be completed in the following Nisan, when they would leave\nEgypt.[435]\n\nJoseph also admonished his brethren to walk in the ways of the Lord, so\nthat they might become worthy of His grace and help. Especially he\nimpressed upon his brethren and his sons the virtue of chastity and a\nsteadfast moral life. He told them all that had happened to him, the\nhatred of his brethren, the persecutions of the wife of Potiphar, the\nslander, envy, and malice of the Egyptians, to show how that those who\nfear the Lord are not forsaken by Him in darkness, or bondage, or\ntribulation, or distress. \"I was sold into slavery,\" he said, \"but the\nLord delivered me; I was thrown into prison, but His strong hand helped\nme. I was tortured by hunger, but the Lord Himself gave me sustenance.\nI was alone, and God comforted me. And as for you, if ye will walk in\nthe ways of chastity and purity in patience and humility of heart, the\nLord will dwell among you, for He loveth a chaste life, and if you, my\nchildren, will observe the commandments of the Lord, He will raise you\nup here, in this world, and bless you there, in the world to come. If\nmen seek to do evil unto you, pray for them, and you will be delivered\nfrom all evil by the Lord. On account of my forbearing patience I\nreceived the daughter of my master to wife, and her dowry was a hundred\ntalents of gold, and God gave me also beauty like the beauty of a\nflower, more than all the children of Jacob, and He preserved me unto\nmine old age in vigor and beauty, for in all things did I resemble\nJacob.\"\n\nJoseph continued and told them the visions he had had, in which the\nfuture of Israel was revealed to him, and then he closed with the\nwords: \"I know that the Egyptians will oppress you after my death, but\nGod will execute vengeance for your sakes, and He will lead you to the\nland of promise of your fathers. But ye shall surely carry my bones\nwith you from hence, for if my remains are taken to Canaan, the Lord\nwill be with you in the light, and Behar will be with the Egyptians in\nthe darkness. Also take with you the bones of your mother Zilpah, and\nbury them near the sepulchre of Bilhah and Rachel.\"\n\nThese words ended, he stretched out his feet, and slept his last\neternal sleep, and the whole of Israel mourned him, and the whole of\nEgypt was in great grief, for he had been a compassionate friend to the\nEgyptians, too, and he had done good unto them, and given them wise\ncounsel and assistance in all their undertakings.[436]\n\nJoseph's wish, that his bones should rest in the Holy Land, was\nfulfilled when the Israelites went forth from Egypt, and no less a\npersonage than Moses applied himself to its execution. Such was\nJoseph's reward for the devotion he had displayed in the interment of\nhis father's body, for he had done all things needful himself, leaving\nnaught to others. Therefore so great a man as Moses busied himself with\nthe realization of Joseph's wish.[437]\n\nFor three days and three nights preceding the exodus Moses hunted up\nand down through the land of Egypt for Joseph's coffin, because he knew\nthat Israel could not leave Egypt without heeding the oath given to\nJoseph. But his trouble was in vain; the coffin was nowhere to be\nfound. Serah, the daughter of Asher, met Moses, tired and exhausted,\nand in answer to her question about the cause of his weariness, he told\nher of his fruitless search. Serah took him to the Nile river, and told\nhim that the leaden coffin made for Joseph by the Egyptians had been\nsunk there after having been scaled up on all sides. The Egyptians had\ndone this at the instigation and with the help of the magicians, who,\nknowing that Israel could not leave the country without the coffin, had\nused their arts to put it in a place whence it could not be\nremoved.[438]\n\nMoses now took Joseph's cup, and he cut four flat pieces from it, and\nengraved a lion on one of them, an eagle on the second, a bull on the\nthird, and a human figure on the fourth. He threw the first, with the\nlion, into the river, saying at the same time, \"Joseph, Joseph, the\nhour for the redemption of Israel hath arrived, the Shekinah lingers\nhere only for thy sake, the clouds of glory await thy coming. If thou\nwilt show thyself, well and good; if not, then we are clear from our\noath.\" But the coffin did not appear.\n\nThen Moses threw the second plate into the water, that with the figure\nof the eagle, repeating the same words, but again the coffin did not\nrise from the bed of the Nile, and there it remained, too, when he\nthrew in the third plate bearing the figure of the bull, and called\nupon Joseph a third time to come forth. But the fourth plate with the\nhuman figure and the fourth invocation to Joseph brought the coffin to\nthe surface of the water. Moses seized it, and in joy he bore it\noff.[439] While Israel had been busy gathering gold and silver from the\nEgyptians, Moses had been thinking of nothing but Joseph's coffin, and\nhis happiness was great that he had been permitted to fulfil the wish\nof Joseph.[440]\n\nDuring the forty years of wandering through the desert, the coffin was\nin the midst of Israel, as a reward for Joseph's promise to his\nbrethren, \"I will nourish you and take care of you.\" God had said, \"As\nthou livest, for forty years they will take care of thy bones.\"[441]\n\nAll this time in the desert Israel carried two shrines with them, the\none the coffin containing the bones of the dead man Joseph, the other\nthe Ark containing the covenant of the Living God. The wayfarers who\nsaw the two receptacles wondered, and they would ask, \"How doth the ark\nof the dead come next to the ark of the Ever-living?\" The answer was,\n\"The dead man enshrined in the one fulfilled the commandments enshrined\nin the other. In the latter it is written, I am the Lord thy God, and\nhe said, Am I in the place of God? Here it is written, Thou shalt have\nno other gods before My face, and he said, I fear God. Here it is\nwritten, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, and\ntherefore he did not swear by God, but said, By the life of Pharaoh.\nHere it is written, Remember the Sabbath day, and he said to the\noverseer of his palace on Friday, Slay and make ready, meaning for the\nSabbath. Here it is written, Honor thy father and thy mother, and he\nsaid, when his father desired to send him to his brethren, Here am I,\nalthough he knew it was perilous for him to go. Here it is written,\nThou shalt not kill, and he refrained from murdering Potiphar when\nPotiphar's wife urged him to do it. Here it is written, Thou shalt not\ncommit adultery, and he scorned the adulterous proposals of Potiphar's\nwife. Here it is written, Thou shalt not steal, and he stole nothing\nfrom Pharaoh, but gathered up all the money and brought it unto\nPharaoh's house. Here it is written, Thou shalt not bear false witness\nagainst thy neighbor, and he told his father nothing of what his\nbrethren had done to him, though what he might have told was the truth.\nHere it is written, Thou shalt not covet, and he did not covet\nPotiphar's wife.\"[442]\n\nOn their arrival in the Holy Land, the Israelites buried the bones of\nJoseph in Shechem, for God spake to the tribes, saying, \"From Shechem\ndid ye steal him, and unto Shechem, shall ye return him.\"[443]\n\nGod, who is so solicitous about the dead bodies of the pious, is even\nmore solicitous about their souls, which stand before Him like angels,\nand do their service ministering unto Him.[444]\n\n\n\n\nII\nTHE SONS OF JACOB\n\n\n\n\nSIGNIFICANT NAMES\n\n\nJacob raised all his sons in the fear of God, and taught them the ways\nof a pious life, using severity when there was need to make his lessons\nimpressive. He reaped the fruits of his labor, for all his sons were\ngodly men of stainless character.[1] The ancestors of the twelve tribes\nresembled their fathers in piety, and their acts were no less\nsignificant than those of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Like these three,\nthey deserve to be called the Fathers of Israel.[2] God made a covenant\nwith them as He had made with the three Patriarchs, and to this\ncovenant their descendants owe their preservation.[3]\n\nThe very names of the tribes point to the redemption of Israel. Reuben\nis so called, because God \"sees\" the affliction of His people; Simon,\nbecause He \"hears\" its groaning; Levi, He \"joins\" Himself unto His\npeople when Israel suffers; Judah, Israel will \"thank\" God for its\ndeliverance; Issachar, it will be \"rewarded\" for its suffering with a\nrecompense; Zebulon, God will have a \"dwelling-place\" in Israel;\nBenjamin, He swore by His \"right hand\" to succor His people; Dan, He\nwill \"judge\" the nation that subjugates Israel; Naphtali, He bestowed\nthe Torah upon Israel, and she drops sweetness like the \"honeycomb\";\nGad, the Lord gave manna unto Israel, and it was like \"coriander\" seed;\nAsher, all nations will call Israel \"happy\"; and Joseph, because God\nwill \"add\" a second redemption of Israel to the first\u2014redemption from\nthe wicked kingdom at the end as from Egypt in former times.[4]\n\nNot only the names of Jacob's sons are significant, but the names of\ntheir sons as well. Thus the names of the sons of Issachar express the\nactivities of the tribe known for its learning above all the others.\nThe oldest was called Tola, \"worm\"; as the silk worm is distinguished\nfor its mouth, with which it spins, so also the men of the tribe of\nIssachar for the wise words of their mouth. The second is Puah, \"madder\nplant\"; as this plant colors all things, so the tribe of Issachar\ncolors the whole world with its teachings. The third is Jashub, \"the\nreturning one,\" for through the teachings of Issachar Israel will be\nturned back to its Heavenly Father; and Shimron, the fourth, is \"the\nobserving one,\" to indicate that the tribe of Issachar observes the\nTorah.[5]\n\nThe names of the sons of Gad likewise interpret the history of the\ntribe. During Israel's sojourn in Egypt, it had strayed from the right\npath, but when Aaron appeared as prophet and monitor, and called unto\nthe Israelites to cast away the abominations of their eyes and forsake\nthe idols of Egypt, they hearkened unto his words. Hence the double\nname Ozni and Ezbon borne by one of the sons of Gad, for this tribe\n\"hearkened\" to the word of God, and fulfilled His \"will.\"\n\nThe grandsons of Asher bear the names Heber and Malchiel, because they\nwere the \"associates\" of kings, and their inheritance yielded \"royal\ndainties.\"\n\nPartly the history of the tribe of Benjamin can be read in the names of\nits chiefs. It consisted originally of ten divisions, descended from\nBenjamin's ten sons, but five of them perished in Egypt on account of\ntheir ungodly ways, from which no admonition availed to turn them\naside. Of the five families remaining, two, the descendants of Bela and\nthose of Ashbel, had always been God-fearing; the others, the\nAhiramites, the Shephuphamites, and the Huphamites, repented of their\nsins, and in accordance with the change in their conduct had been the\nchange in their names. Ehi had become Ahiram, because the breach with\nthe \"Exalted\" One was healed; Muppira was called Shephupham, because\nthey \"afflicted\" themselves in their penance; and Huppim was turned\ninto Hupham, to indicate that they had \"cleansed\" themselves from sin.\nAs a reward for their piety, the family springing from Bela was\npermitted to have two subdivisions, the Ardites and the Naamites. Their\nnames point them out as men that know well how the fear of God is to be\nmanifested, whose deeds are exceedingly lovely.\n\nNaphtali was another tribe of steadfast piety, and the names of his\nsons testify thereto: Jahzeel, because the tribesmen raised a\n\"partition wall\" between God and the idols, inasmuch as they trusted in\nGod and contemned the idols; Guni, because God was their \"protection\";\nand Jezer and Shillem designate the Naphtalites as men devoted to God\nwith all their hearts.[6]\n\n\n\n\nREUBEN'S TESTAMENT\n\n\nTwo years after the death of Joseph, Reuben fell sick. Feeling that his\nend was nigh, he called together his sons, his grandsons, and his\nbrethren, to give them his last admonitions from out of the fulness of\nhis experience. He spake: \"Hear, my brethren, and do ye, my children,\ngive ear unto Reuben your father in the commands that I enjoin upon\nyou. And, behold, I adjure you this day by the God of heaven that ye\nwalk not in the follies of youth and the fornications to which I was\naddicted, and wherewith I defiled the bed of my father Jacob. For I\ntell you now that for seven months the Lord afflicted my loins with a\nterrible plague, and if my father Jacob had not interceded for me, the\nLord had swept me away. I was twenty years of age when I did what was\nevil before the Lord, and for seven months I was sick unto death. Then\nI did penance for seven years in the innermost depths of my soul. Wine\nand strong drink I drank not, the flesh of animals passed not my lips,\ndainties I tasted not, because I mourned over my sins, for they were\ngreat.\"\n\nHe admonished those gathered around him to beware of the seven tempter\nspirits, which are the spirit of fornication, gluttony, strife, love of\nadmiration, arrogance, falsehood, and injustice. He cautioned them\nespecially against unchastity, saying: \"Pay no heed to the glances of a\nwoman, and remain not alone with a married woman, and do not occupy\nyourselves with the affairs of women. Had I not seen Bilhah bathe in a\nsecluded spot, I had not fallen into the great sin I committed, for\nafter my thoughts had once grasped the nakedness of woman, I could not\nsleep until I had accomplished the abominable deed. For when our father\nJacob went to his father Isaac, while we sojourned in Eder, not far\nfrom Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem, Bilhah was drunken with wine, and\nshe lay asleep, uncovered, in her bedchamber, and I entered in and saw\nher nakedness and committed the sin, and I went out again, leaving her\nasleep. But an angel of God revealed my impious act to my father Jacob\nat once. He came back and mourned over me, and never again did he\napproach Bilhah. Unto the very last day of his life, I had not the\nassurance to look my father in the face or to speak to my brethren\nregarding my disgrace, and even now my conscience tortures me on\naccount of my sin. Nevertheless my father spake words of comfort to me,\nand prayed to God in my behalf, that the wrath of the Lord might depart\nfrom me, as He showed me.\"\n\nReuben admonished his children impressively to join themselves to Levi,\n\"because he will know the law of the Lord,\" he said, \"and he will give\nordinances for judgment, and bring sacrifices for all Israel, until the\nconsummation of the times, as the anointed high priest of whom the Lord\nspake.\"\n\nAfter announcing his last will to his sons, Reuben departed this life\nat the age of one hundred and twenty-five years. His body was laid in a\ncoffin until his sons bore it away from Egypt, and carried it up to\nHebron, where they buried it in the Double Cave.[7]\n\n\n\n\nSIMON'S ADMONITION AGAINST ENVY\n\n\nAs Reuben confessed his sin upon his death-bed, and warned his children\nand his family to be on their guard against unchastity, the vice that\nhad brought about his fall, so Simon, when he was about to die,\nassembled his sons around him, and confessed the sin he had committed.\nHe had been guilty of boundless envy of Joseph, and he spoke: \"I was\nthe second son begotten by my father Jacob, and my mother Leah called\nme Simon, because the Lord had heard her prayer. I waxed strong, and\nshrank from no manner of deed, and I was afraid of naught, for my heart\nwas hard, and my liver unyielding, and my bowels without mercy. And in\nthe days of my youth I was jealous of Joseph, for our father loved him\nmore than all the rest of us, and I resolved to kill him. For the\nprince of temptation sent the spirit of jealousy to take possession of\nme, and it blinded me so that I did not consider Joseph to be my\nbrother, and I spared not even my father Jacob. But his God and the God\nof his fathers sent His angel and saved him out of my hands.\n\nWhen I went to Shechem to fetch ointment for the herds, and Reuben was\nin Dothan, where all our supplies and stores were kept, our brother\nJudah sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites. On his return, when he heard what\nhad happened, Reuben was very sad, for he had been desirous of saving\nJoseph and bringing him back to our father. But as for me, my wrath was\nenkindled against Judah, that he had let him escape alive. My anger\nabode with me all of five months. But the Lord restrained me from using\nthe power of my hands, for my right hand withered for the length of\nseven days. Then I knew that what had happened was for the sake of\nJoseph. I repented and prayed to God to restore my hand and withhold me\nhenceforth from all sorts of defilement, envy, and folly. For two years\nI gave myself up to fasting and the fear of God, for I perceived that\nredemption from jealousy could come only through the fear of God.\n\nMy father, seeing me downcast, asked to know the cause of my sadness,\nand I replied that I was suffering with my liver, but in truth I was\nmourning more than all my brethren, seeing that I had been the cause of\nJoseph's sale. And when we went down into Egypt, and Joseph bound me as\na spy, I was not grieved, for I knew in my heart that my suffering was\njust retribution. But Joseph was good, the spirit of God dwelt within\nhim. Compassionate and merciful as he was, he bore me no resentment for\nmy evil deeds toward him, but he loved me with the same love he showed\nthe others. He paid due honor to us all, and gave us gold, and cattle,\nand produce. And now, my dear children, do ye love one another, each\none his brother, with a clean heart, and remove the spirit of jealousy\nfrom the midst of you.\"\n\nLike Reuben, so also Simon adjured his sons to beware of unchastity,\nfor this vice is the mother of all evil. It separates man from God, and\nabandons him to Behar. These were the closing words of his exhortation:\n\"In the writings of Enoch I saw that your sons would be corrupted\nthrough unchastity, and they would maltreat the sons of Levi with the\nsword. But they will not be able to do aught against Levi, for the war\nhe will wage is the war of the Lord, and he will vanquish all your\narmies. As a small remnant you will be scattered among Levi and Judah,\nand none among you will rise to be a judge or a king of our people, as,\nmy father Jacob prophesied in his blessing.\"\n\nHaving completed his admonitions to his sons, Simon passed away and was\ngathered to his fathers, at the age of one hundred and twenty years.\nHis sons placed him in a coffin made of imperishable wood, so that they\nmight carry his bones to Hebron, as they did, in secret, during the war\nbetween the Egyptians and the Canaanites. Thus did all the tribes\nduring the war; they took the remains each of its founder from Egypt to\nHebron. Only the bones of Joseph remained in Egypt until the Israelites\nwent out of the land, for the Egyptians guarded them in their royal\ntreasure chambers. Their magicians had warned them that whenever\nJoseph's bones should be removed from Egypt, a great darkness would\nenvelop the whole land, and it would be a dire misfortune for the\nEgyptians, for none would be able to recognize his neighbor even with\nthe light of a lamp.[8]\n\n\n\n\nTHE ASCENSION OF LEVI\n\n\nWhen it was disclosed to Levi that he was about to die, he gathered all\nhis children around him, to tell them the story of his life, and he\nalso prophesied unto them what they would do, and what would happen to\nthem until the judgment day. He spoke: \"When we were pasturing the\nflocks in Abel-Meholah, the spirit of understanding of the Lord came\nupon me, and I saw all mankind, how they corrupt their ways, and that\ninjustice builds up walls for herself, and impiety sits enthroned upon\nthe towers. And I fell to grieving over the generations of men, and I\nprayed to the Lord to save me. Sleep enshrouded me, and I beheld a tall\nmountain, and lo! the heavens opened, and an angel of God addressed me,\nand said: 'Levi, enter!'\n\n\"I entered the first heaven, and I saw a great sea hanging there, and\nfarther on I saw a second heaven, brighter and more resplendent than\nthe first. I said to the angel, 'Why is this so?' And the angel said to\nme, 'Marvel not at this, for thou shalt see another heaven, brilliant\nbeyond compare, and when thou hast ascended thither, thou shalt stand\nnear the Lord, and thou shalt be His minister, and declare His\nmysteries to men; and of the Lord's portion shall be thy life, and He\nshall be thy field and vineyard and fruits and gold and silver.'\n\n\"Then the angel explained the uses of the different heavens to me, and\nall that happens in each, and he proclaimed the judgment day. He opened\nthe gates of the third heaven, where I beheld the holy Temple, and God\nseated upon the Throne of Glory. The Lord spake to me: 'Levi, upon thee\nhave I bestowed the blessing of the priesthood, until I come and dwell\nin the midst of Israel.' Then the angel carried me back to earth, and\ngave me a shield and a sword, saying, 'Execute vengeance upon Shechem\nfor Dinah, and I will be with thee, for the Lord hath sent me.' I asked\nthe angel what his name was, and he replied: 'I am the angel that\nintercedes for the people of Israel, that it may not be destroyed\nutterly, for every evil spirit attacks it.'\n\n\"When I awoke, I betook myself to my father, and on the way, near\nGebal, I found a brass shield, such as I had seen in my dream. Then I\nadvised my father and my brother Reuben to bid the sons of Hamor\ncircumcise themselves, for I was quivering with rage on account of the\nabominable deed they had done. I slew Shechem first of all, and then\nSimon slew Hamor, and all my other brothers came out and destroyed the\nwhole city. Our father took this in ill part, and in his blessing he\nremembered our conduct. Although we did a wrong thing in acting thus\nagainst his wishes, yet I recognized it to be the judgment of God upon\nthe people of Shechem on account of their sins, and I said to my\nfather: 'Be not wroth, my lord, for God will exterminate the Canaanites\nthrough this, and he will give the land to thee and to thy seed after\nthee. Henceforth Shechem will be called the city of imbeciles, for as a\nfool is mocked at, so have we made a mockery of them.'\n\n\"When we journeyed to Beth-lehem, and had been abiding there for\nseventy days, another vision was vouchsafed me, like unto the former. I\nsaw seven men clad in white, and they spake to me, saying: 'Rise up,\nand array thyself in the priestly garments, set the crown of\nrighteousness upon thy head, and put on the ephod of understanding, and\nthe robe of truth, and the mitre-plate of faith, and the mitre of\ndignity, and the shoulderpieces of prophecy.' And each of the men\nbrought a garment unto me and invested me therewith, and spake:\n'Henceforth be the priest of the Lord, thou and thy seed unto eternity.\nAnd ye shall eat all that is lovely to look upon, and the table of the\nLord thy descendants will appropriate for themselves, and from them\nwill come high priests, judges, and scholars, for all that is holy will\nbe guarded by their mouth.'\n\n\"Two days after I was visited by this dream, Judah and I repaired to\nour grandfather Isaac, who blessed me in accordance with the words I\nhad heard. Jacob also had a vision, and he saw, too, that I was\nappointed to be the priest of God, and through me he set apart a tenth\nof his possessions unto the Lord. And when we established ourselves in\nHebron, the residence of Isaac, our grandfather taught me the law of\nthe priesthood, and admonished me to hold myself aloof from unchastity.\n\nAt the age of twenty-eight years I took Milcah to wife, and she bore me\na son, and I named him Gershom, because we were strangers in the land.\nBut I perceived he would not be in the first ranks of men. My second\nson was born unto me in my thirty-fifth year, and he saw the light of\nthe world at sunrise, and I beheld him in a vision standing among the\nproud of the assembly, and therefore I gave him the name Kohath. The\nthird son my wife bore me in the fortieth year of my life, and I called\nhis name Merari, because bitter had been her travail in bearing him. My\ndaughter Jochebed was born in Egypt, when I was sixty-three years old,\nand I called her thus because I was known honorably among my brethren\nin those days. And in my ninety- fourth year, Amram took Jochebed to\nwife, he that was born on the same day with her.\"\n\nThereupon Levi admonished his children to walk in the ways of the Lord,\nand fear Him with all their heart, and he told them what he had learnt\nfrom the writings of Enoch, that his descendants would sin against the\nLord in times to come, and they would suffer the Divine punishment for\ntheir transgression, and then God would raise up a new priest, unto\nwhom all the words of the Lord would be revealed. His last words were:\n\"And now, my children, ye have heard all I have to say. Choose, now,\nlight or darkness, the law of the Lord or the works of Beliar.\" And his\nsons made answer, \"Before the Lord we will walk according to His law.\"\nThen Levi spake, \"The Lord is witness and the angels are witnesses, I\nam witness and ye are witnesses, concerning the word of your mouth.\"\nAnd his sons replied, \"We are witnesses.\"\n\nThus Levi ceased to admonish his sons. He stretched out his feet, and\nwas gathered unto his fathers, at the age of one hundred and\nthirty-seven years, a greater age than any of his brethren attained.[9]\n\n\n\n\nJUDAH WARNS AGAINST GREED AND UNCHASTITY\n\n\nThe last words addressed by Judah to his sons were the following: \"I\nwas the fourth son begotten by my father, and my mother called me\nJudah, saying, 'I thank the Lord that He hath given me a fourth son.' I\nwas zealous in my youth and obedient to my father in all things. When I\ngrew up to manhood, he blessed me, saying, 'Thou wilt be king, and wilt\nprosper in all thy ways.' The Lord granted me His grace in whatever I\nundertook, in the field and in the house. I could speed as swiftly as\nthe hind, and overtake it, and prepare a dish of it for my father. A\ndeer I could catch on the run, and all the animals of the valley. A\nwild mare I could outstrip, hold it, and bridle it. A lion I slew, and\nsnatched a kid from its jaws. A bear I caught by the paw, and flung it\nadown the cliff, and it lay beneath crushed. I could keep pace with the\nwild boar, and overtake it, and as I ran I seized it, and tore it to\npieces. A leopard sprang at my dog in Hebron, and I grasped its tail,\nand hurled it away from me, and its body burst on the coast at Gaza. A\nwild steer I found grazing in the field. I took it by its horns, swung\nit round and round until it was stunned, and then I cast it to the\nground and killed it.\"\n\nJudah continued and told his children of his heroism in the wars that\nthe sons of Jacob had waged with the kings of Canaan and with Esau and\nhis family. In all these conflicts he bore a distinguished part, beyond\nthe achievements of the others. His father Jacob was free from all\nanxiety when Judah was with his brethren in their combats, because he\nhad had a vision showing him an angel of strength standing at the side\nof Judah on all his ways.\n\nJudah did not conceal his shortcomings, either. He confessed how\ndrunkenness and passion had betrayed him first into marriage with a\nCanaanitish woman, and then into improper relations with his\ndaughter-in-law Tamar. He said to his children:\n\n\"Do not walk after the desire of your hearts, and vaunt not the valiant\ndeeds of your youth. This, too, is evil in the eyes of the Lord. For\nwhile I boasted that the face of a beautiful woman had never allured me\nin the wars, and reviled my brother Reuben for his transgression with\nBilhah, the spirit of passion and unchastity gained possession of me,\nand I took Bath-shua to wife, and trespassed with Tamar, though she was\nthe affianced of my son. First I said to Bath-shua's father, 'I will\ntake counsel with my father Jacob, to know whether I should marry thy\ndaughter,' but he was a king, and he showed me an untold heap of gold\naccredited to his daughter, and he adorned her with the magnificence of\nwomen, in gold and pearls, and he bade her pour the wine at the meal.\nThe wine turned my eyes awry, and passion darkened my heart. In mad\nlove for her, I violated the command of the Lord and the will of my\nfather, and I took her to wife. The Lord gave me a recompense according\nto the counsel of my heart, for I had no joy in the sons she bore me.\n\n\"And now, my children, I pray you, do not intoxicate yourselves with\nwine, for wine twists the understanding away from the truth, and\nconfuses the sight of the eyes. Wine led me astray, so that I felt no\nshame before the throngs of people in the city, and I turned aside and\nwent in to Tamar in the presence of them, and committed a great sin.\nAnd though a man be a king, if he leads an unchaste life, he loses his\nkingship. I gave Tamar my staff, which is the stay of my tribe, and my\ngirdle-cord, which is power, and my signet- diadem, which is the glory\nof my kingdom. I did penance for all this, and unto old age I drank no\nwine, and ate no flesh, and knew no sort of pleasure. Wine causes the\nsecret things of God and man to be revealed unto the stranger. Thus did\nI disclose the commands of the Lord and the mysteries of my father\nJacob to the Canaanite woman Bath-shua, though God had forbidden me to\nbetray them. I also enjoin you not to love gold, and not to look upon\nthe beauty of women, for through money and through beauty I was led\nastray to Bath-shua the Canaanite. I know that my stock will fall into\nmisery through these two things, for even the wise men among my sons\nwill be changed by them, and the consequence will be that the kingdom\nof Judah will be diminished, the domain that the Lord gave me as a\nreward for my obedient conduct toward my father, for never did I speak\nin contradiction of him, but I did all things according to his words.\nAnd Isaac, my father's father, blessed me with the blessing that I\nshould be ruler in Israel, and I know that the kingdom will arise from\nme. In the books of Enoch the just I read all the evil that ye will do\nin the latter days. Only beware, my children, of unchastity and greed,\nfor love of gold leads to idolatry, causing men to call them gods that\nare none, and dethroning the reason of man. On account of gold I lost\nmy children, and had I not mortified my flesh, and humbled my soul, and\nhad not my father Jacob offered up prayers for me, I had died\nchildless. But the God of my fathers, the merciful and gracious One,\nsaw that I had acted unwittingly, for the ruler of deception had\nblinded me, and I was ignorant, being flesh and blood, and corrupt\nthrough sins, and in the moment when I considered myself invincible, I\nrecognized my weakness.\"\n\nThen Judah revealed to his sons, in clear, brief words, the whole\nhistory of Israel until the advent of the Messiah, and his final speech\nwas: \"My children, observe the whole law of the Lord; in it is hope for\nall that keep His ways. I die this day at the age of one hundred and\nnineteen years before your eyes. None shall bury me in a costly\ngarment, nor shall ye cut my body to embalm it, but ye shall carry me\nto Hebron.\"\n\nHaving spoken these words, Judah sank into death.[10]\n\n\n\n\nISSACHAR'S SINGLENESS OF HEART\n\n\nWhen Issachar felt his end approach, he summoned his sons, and he said\nto them: \"Hearken, my children, unto your father Issachar, and listen\nto the words of him that is beloved of the Lord. I was born unto Jacob\nas his fifth son, as a reward for the dudaim. Reuben brought the dudaim\nfrom the field. They were fragrant apples, which grew in the land of\nHaran upon an eminence below a gully. Rachel met Reuben, and she took\nthe dudaim away from him. The lad wept, and his cries brought his\nmother Leah to his side, and she addressed Rachel thus: 'Is it a small\nmatter that thou hast taken away my husband? and wouldst thou take away\nmy son's dudaim also?' And Rachel said, 'See, Jacob shall be thine\nto-night for thy son's dudaim.' But Leah insisted, 'Jacob is mine, and\nI am the wife of his youth,' whereupon Rachel, 'Be not boastful and\noverweening. To me he was betrothed first, and for my sake he served\nour father fourteen years. Thou art not his wife, thou wast taken to\nhim by cunning instead of me, for our father deceived me, and put me\nout of the way the night of thy nuptials, so that Jacob could not see\nme. Nevertheless, give me the dudaim, and thou mayest have Jacob for a\nnight.'\n\n\"Then Leah bore me, and I was called Issachar, on account of the reward\nRachel had given to my mother. At that time an angel of the Lord\nappeared to Jacob, and he spoke: 'Rachel will bear only two sons, for\nshe rejected the espousal of her husband, and chose continence! But\nLeah bore six sons, for the Lord knew that she desired to be with her\nhusband, not because she was prompted by the evil inclination, but for\nthe sake of children. Rachel's prayer also was fulfilled, on account of\nthe dudaim, for although she desired to eat of the apples, she did not\ntouch them, but put them in the house of the Lord, and gave them to the\npriest of the Most High that was in those days.\n\n\"When I grew up, my children, I walked in the integrity of my heart,\nand I became a husbandman, cultivating the land for my father and my\nbrethren, and I gathered the fruit from the fields in their due time.\nMy father blessed me, because he saw that I walked in singleness of\nheart. I was not married to a wife until I was thirty years old, for\nthe hard work I did consumed my strength, and I had no desire unto\nwoman, but, overwhelmed by fatigue, I would sink into sleep. My father\nwas well pleased at all times with my rectitude. If my work was crowned\nwith good results, I brought the firstfruits of my labor to the priest\nof the Lord, the next harvest went to my father, and then I thought of\nmyself. The Lord doubled the possessions in my hand, and Jacob knew\nthat God aided me for the sake of my singleness of heart, for in my\nsincerity I gave of the produce of the land to the poor and the needy.\n\n\"And now hearken unto me, my children, and walk in singleness of heart,\nfor upon it resteth the favor of the Lord at all times. The simple man\nlongeth not for gold, he doth not defraud his neighbor, he hath no\ndesire for meats and dainties of many kinds, he careth not for\nsumptuous dress, he hopeth not for long life, he waiteth only upon the\nwill of God. The spirits of deception have no power over him, for he\nlooketh not upon the beauty of woman, lest he defile his understanding\nwith corruption. Jealousy cometh not into his thoughts, envy doth not\nsear his soul, and insatiable greed doth not make him look abroad for\nrich gain. Now, then, my children, observe the law of the Lord, attain\nto simplicity, and walk in singleness of heart, without meddling with\nthe affairs of others. Love the Lord and love your neighbors, have pity\nupon the poor and the feeble, bow your backs to till the ground, occupy\nyourselves with work upon the land, and bring gifts unto the Lord in\ngratitude. For the Lord hath blessed you with the best of the fruits of\nthe field, as he hath blessed all the saints from Abel down to our day.\n\n\"Know, my children, that in the latter time your sons will abandon the\npaths of probity, and will be ruled by greed. They will forsake\nrectitude and practice craft, they will depart from the commands of the\nLord and follow after Beliar, they will give up husbandry and pursue\ntheir evil plans, they will be scattered among the heathen and serve\ntheir enemies. Tell this unto your children, so that, if they sin, they\nmay repent speedily, and return to the Lord, for He is merciful, and He\nwill take them out to bring them back unto their land.\n\n\"I am one hundred and twenty-two years old, and I can discern no sin in\nmyself. Save my wife, I have known no woman. I was guilty of no\nunchastity through the lifting up of eyes. I drank no wine, that I\nmight not be led astray, I did not covet what belonged to my neighbor,\nguile had no place in my heart, lies did not pass my lips. I sighed\nalong with all that were heavy-laden, and to the poor I gave my bread.\nI loved the Lord with all my might, and mankind I also loved. Do ye\nlikewise, my children, and all the spirits of Beliar will flee from\nyou, no deed done by the wicked will have power over you, and ye will\nvanquish all the wild beasts, for ye have with you the Lord of heaven.\"\n\nAnd Issachar bade his children carry him up to Hebron, and bury him\nthere by his fathers in the Cave, and he stretched out his feet, and\nfell into the sleep of eternity, full of years, healthy of limb, and in\nthe possession of all his faculties.[11]\n\n\n\n\nZEBULON EXHORTS UNTO COMPASSION\n\n\nWhen Zebulon attained the age of one hundred and fourteen years, which\nwas two years after the death of Joseph, he called his sons together,\nand admonished them, in these words, to lead a life of piety: \"I am\nZebulon, a precious gift for my parents, for when I was born, my father\nbecame very rich, by means of the streaked rods, in herds of sheep and\nherds of cattle. I am conscious of no sin in me, and I remember no\nwrong done by me, unless it be the unwitting sin committed against\nJoseph, in that I did not, out of consideration for my brethren,\ndisclose to my father what had happened to his favorite son, though in\nsecret I mourned exceedingly. I feared my brethren, because they had\nagreed that he who betrayed the secret should be slain with the sword.\nWhen they planned to kill Joseph, I besought them amid tears not to sin\nthus.\n\n\"And now, my children, hearken unto me. I exhort you to observe the\ncommands of the Lord, and have mercy upon your neighbors, and act\ncompassionately, not only toward men, but also toward dumb brutes. For\non account of my mercifulness the Lord blessed me; all my brethren fell\nsick at one time or another, but I escaped without any illness. Also\nthe sons of my brethren had to endure disease, and they were nigh unto\ndeath for the sake of Joseph, because they had no pity in their hearts.\nBut my sons were preserved in perfect health, as ye well know. And when\nI was in Canaan, catching fish at the shores of the sea for my father\nJacob, many were drowned in the waters of the sea, but I came away\nunharmed. For ye must know that I was the first to build a boat for\nrowing upon the sea, and I plied along the coasts in it, and caught\nfish for my father's household, until we went down into Egypt. Out of\npity I would share my haul with the poor stranger, and if he was sick\nor well on in years, I would prepare a savory dish for him, and I gave\nunto each according to his needs, sympathizing with him in his distress\nand having pity upon him. Therefore the Lord brought numerous fish to\nmy nets, for he that gives aught to his neighbor, receives it back from\nthe Lord with great increase. For five years I fished in the summer,\nand in the winter I pastured the flocks with my brethren.\n\n\"Now, my children, have pity and compassion on all men, that the Lord\nmay have pity and compassion on you, for in the measure in which man\nhas mercy with his fellow-men, God has mercy with him. When we came\ndown into Egypt, Joseph did not visit upon us the wrong he had\nsuffered. Take him as your model, and remember not a wrong done unto\nyou, else unity is rent asunder, and the bonds of kinship are torn, and\nthe soul is disquieted. Observe the water! If it runs on undivided, it\ncarries down stone, wood, and sand along with it. But if it is divided\nand flows through many channels, the earth sucks it up, and it loses\nits force. If you separate, one from the other, you will be like\ndivided waters. Be not cleft into two heads, for all that the Lord hath\nmade has but one head. He has given two shoulders unto his creatures,\ntwo hands, and two feet, but all these organs obey one head.\"\n\nZebulon ended his exhortation unto unity with an account of the\ndivisions in Israel, whereof he had read in the writings of the\nfathers, that they would come about in future days, and bring sore\nsuffering upon Israel. However, he spoke encouraging words to his\nchildren, saying: \"Be not grieved over my death, and do not lose heart\nat my departure from you, for I shall arise again in the midst of you,\nand I shall live joyously among the people of my tribe, those who\nobserve the law of the Lord. As for the godless, the Lord will bring\neverlasting fire down upon them, and exterminate them unto all\ngenerations. Now I hasten hence unto my eternal rest with my fathers.\nBut ye, fear ye the Lord your God with all your might all the days of\nyour life.\"\n\nHaving made an end of saying these words, he sank into the sleep of\ndeath, and his sons put him into a coffin, wherein they carried him up\nto Hebron later, to bury him there next to his fathers.[12]\n\n\n\n\nDAN'S CONFESSION\n\n\nWhen Dan assembled his family at the last of his life, he spake: \"I\nconfess before you this day, my children, that I had resolved to kill\nJoseph, that good and upright man, and I rejoiced over his sale, for\nhis father loved him more than he loved the rest of us. The spirit of\nenvy and boastfulness goaded me on, saying, 'Thou, too, art the son of\nJacob,' and one of the spirits of Behar stirred me up, saying, 'Take\nthis sword, and slay Joseph, for once he is dead thy father will love\nthee.' It was the spirit of anger that was seeking to persuade me to\ncrush Joseph, as a leopard crunches a kid between its teeth. But the\nGod of our father Jacob did not deliver him into my hand, to let me\nfind him alone, and He did not permit me to execute this impious deed,\nthat two tribes in Israel might not be destroyed.\n\n\"And now, my children, I am about to die, and I tell it unto you in\ntruth, if you take not heed against the spirit of lies and anger, and\nif ye love not truth and generosity, you will perish. The spirit of\nanger casts the net of error around its victim, and it blinds his eyes,\nand the spirit of lies warps his mind, and clouds his vision. Evil is\nanger, it is the grave of the soul. Desist from anger and hate lies,\nthat the Lord may dwell among you, and Behar flee from your presence.\nSpeak the truth each unto his neighbor, and you will not fall into\nanger and trouble, but you will be at peace, and the Lord of peace you\nwill have with you, and no war will vanquish you.\n\n\"I speak thus, for I know that in the latter days you will fall off\nfrom God, and you will kindle the wrath of Levi, and rise in rebellion\nagainst Judah, but you will not accomplish aught against them, for the\nangel of the Lord is their guide, and Israel will perish through them.\nAnd if you turn recreant to the Lord, you will execute every kind of\nevil thing, and do the abominations of the heathen, committing\nunchastity with the wives of the godless, while the tempter spirits are\nat work among you. Therefore you will be carried away into captivity,\nand in the lands of exile you will suffer all the plagues of Egypt and\nall the tribulations of the heathen. But when you return to the Lord,\nyou will find mercy. He will take you into His sanctuary, and grant you\npeace.\n\n\"And now, my children, fear the Lord, and be on your guard against\nSatan and his spirits. Keep aloof from every evil deed, cast anger away\nfrom you and every sort of lie, love truth and forbearance, and what ye\nhave heard from your father, tell unto your children. Avoid all manner\nof unrighteousness, cling to the integrity of the law of the Lord, and\nbury me near my fathers.\"\n\nHaving spoken these words, he kissed his children, and fell asleep.[13]\n\n\n\n\nNAPHTALI'S DREAMS OF THE DIVISION OF THE TRIBES\n\n\nIn the hundred and thirty-second year of his life, Naphtali invited all\nhis children to a banquet. The next morning when he awoke, he told them\nthat he was dying, but they would not believe him. He, however, praised\nthe Lord, and assured them again that his death was due after the\nbanquet of the day before. Then he addressed his last words to his\nchildren:\n\n\"I was born of Bilhah, and because Rachel had acted with cunning, and\nhad given Jacob Bilhah instead of herself, I was called Naphtali.\nRachel loved me, for I was born upon her knees, and while I was still\nvery young, she was in the habit of kissing me and saying, 'O that I\nhad a brother unto thee from mine own body, one in thine image.'\nTherefore Joseph resembled me in all respects, in accordance with\nRachel's prayer. My mother Bilhah was a daughter of Rotheus, a brother\nof Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, and she was born the same day as Rachel.\nAs for Rotheus, he was of the family of Abraham, a Chaldean,\nGod-fearing, and a free man of noble birth, and when he was taken\ncaptive, he was bought by Laban and married to his slave Aina. She bore\nRotheus a daughter, and he called her Zilpah, after the name of the\nvillage in which he was taken captive. His second daughter he called\nBilhah, saying, 'My daughter is impetuous,' for hardly was she born\nwhen she hastened to suckle.\n\n\"I was fleet of foot like a deer, and my father Jacob appointed me to\nbe his messenger, and in his blessing he called me a hind let loose. As\nthe potter knows the vessel he fashions, how much it is to hold, and\nuses clay accordingly, so the Lord makes the body in conformity with\nthe soul, and to agree with the capacity of the body He plans the soul.\nThe one corresponds to the other down to the third of a hair- breadth,\nfor the whole of creation was made by weight, and measure, and rule.\nAnd as the potter knows the use of every vessel he fashions, so the\nLord knows the body of His creature, unto what point it will be\nsteadfast in the good, and at what point it will fall into evil ways.\nNow, then, my children, let your conduct be well-ordered unto good in\nthe fear of God, do naught that is ill-regulated or untimely, for\nthough ye tell your eye to hear, it yet cannot, and as little can ye do\ndeeds of light while you abide in darkness.\"\n\nFurthermore Naphtali said unto his children: \"I give you no command\nconcerning my silver, or my gold, or any other possession that I\nbequeath to you. And what I command you is not a hard matter, which you\ncannot do, but I speak unto you concerning an easy thing, which you can\nexecute.\" Then his sons answered, and said, \"Speak, father, for we are\nlistening to thy words.\" Naphtali continued: \"I give you no commandment\nexcept regarding the fear of God, that you should serve Him and follow\nafter Him.\" Then the sons of Naphtali asked: \"Wherefore does He require\nour service?\" and he replied, saying: \"He needs no creature, but all\ncreatures need Him. Nevertheless He hath not created the world for\nnaught, but that men should fear Him, and none should do unto his\nneighbor what he would not have others do unto him.\" His sons asked\nagain, \"Father, hast thou observed that we strayed from the ways of the\nLord to the right or to the left?\" Naphtali replied: \"God is witness,\nand so am I witness for you, that it is as you say. But I fear\nregarding future times, that you may depart from the ways of the Lord,\nand follow after the idols of the stranger, and walk in the statutes of\nthe heathen peoples, and join yourselves unto the sons of Joseph\ninstead of the sons of Levi and Judah.\" The sons of Naphtali spoke,\n\"What reason hast thou for commanding this thing unto us?\" Naphtali:\n\"Because I know that the sons of Joseph will one day turn recreant to\nthe Lord, the God of their fathers, and it is they that will lead the\nsons of Israel into sin, and cause them to be driven away from their\ninheritance, their beautiful land, to a land that is not ours, even as\nit was Joseph that brought the Egyptian bondage down upon us.\n\n\"I will tell ye, my children, the vision I had while I was yet a\nshepherd of flocks. I saw my brethren pasturing the herds with me, and\nour father approached, and said: 'Up, my sons, each one take what he\ncan in my presence!' We answered, and said to him, 'What shall we take?\nWe see nothing but the sun, the moon, and the stars.' Then our father\nsaid: 'These shall ye take!' Levi, hearing this, snatched up an\nox-goad, sprang up to the sun, sat upon him, and rode. Judah did\nlikewise. He jumped up to the moon, and rode upon her. And the other\nnine tribes did the same, each rode upon his star or his planet in the\nheavens. Joseph remained behind alone on the earth, and our father\nJacob said to him, 'My son, why hast thou not done like thy brethren?'\nJoseph answered, 'What right have men born of woman to be in the\nheavens, seeing that in the end they must stay on earth?' While Joseph\nwas speaking thus, a tall steer appeared before him. He had great\npinions like the wings of the stork, and his horns were as long as\nthose of the reem. Jacob urged his son, 'Up, Joseph, mount the steer!'\nJoseph did as his father bade him, and Jacob went his way. For the\nspace of two hours Joseph displayed himself upon the steer, sometimes\ngalloping, sometimes flying, until he reached Judah. Then Joseph\nunfolded the standard in his hand, and began to rain blows down upon\nJudah with it, and when his brother demanded the reason for this\ntreatment, he said, 'Because thou hast twelve rods in thine hand, and I\nhave but one. Give thine to me, and peace shall prevail between us!'\nBut Judah refused to do his bidding, and Joseph beat him until he\ndropped ten rods, and only two remained in his clutch. Joseph now\ninvited his brethren to abandon Judah and follow after him. They all\ndid thus, except Benjamin, who stayed true to Judah. Levi was grieved\nover the desertion of Judah, and he descended from the sun. Toward the\nend of the day a storm broke out, and it scattered the brethren, so\nthat no two were together. When I gave an account of my vision to my\nfather Jacob, he said, 'It is but a dream, it can neither help nor\nharm.'\n\n\"A short while thereafter another vision was revealed to me. I saw all\nof us together with our father at the shores of the sea, and a ship\nappeared in the midst of the sea, and it had neither sailors nor other\ncrew. Our father spake, 'Do you see what I see?' And when we answered\nthat we did, he commanded us to follow him. He took off his clothes,\nand sprang into the sea, and we sprang after him. Levi and Judah were\nthe first to scale the side of the ship. Our father cried after them,\n'See what is written upon the mast,' for there is no ship that does not\nbear the name of the owner upon the mast. Levi and Judah scrutinized\nthe writing, and what they read was this, 'This ship and all the\ntreasures therein belong unto the son of Barachel.' Jacob thanked God\nfor having blessed him, not only on land, but also upon the sea, and he\nsaid to us, 'Stretch forth your hands, and whatsoever each one seizes\nshall be his!' Levi caught hold of the big mast, Judah of the second\nmast, next to Levi's, and the other brethren, with the exception of\nJoseph, took the oars, and Jacob himself seized the two rudders,\nwherewith to guide the ship. He bade Joseph take an oar, too, but he\nrefused to do his father's bidding, and Jacob gave him one of the\nrudders. After our father had instructed us each one in what we had to\ndo, he disappeared, whereupon Joseph took possession of the second\nrudder, too. All went smoothly for a time, as long as Judah and Joseph\nacted together in harmony with each other, and Judah kept Joseph\ninformed in what direction to steer. But a quarrel broke out between\nthem, and Joseph did not guide the vessel in the way his father had\ncommanded him, and Judah attempted to direct him, and the vessel was\nwrecked upon a rock. Levi and Judah descended from the masts, and\nlikewise the other brethren left the ship and escaped to the shore. At\nthis moment Jacob appeared, and he found us scattered in all\ndirections, and we reported to him how Joseph had caused the vessel to\nrun aground, because he had refused, out of jealousy of Judah and Levi,\nto steer it according to their instructions. Then Jacob asked us to\nshow him the spot where we had lost the ship, of which only the masts\nwere visible above the water. He emitted a whistle summoning us all,\nand he swam out into the water, and raised the vessel as before.\nTurning to Joseph, he spake thus, 'My son, never do that again, never\npermit jealousy of thy brethren to master thee. Nearly it happened that\nall thy brethren perished because of thee.'\n\n\"When I told my father what I had seen in this vision, he clasped his\nhands, and tears flowed from his eyes, and be said: 'My son, for that\nthe vision was doubled unto thee twice, I am dismayed, and I shudder\nfor my son Joseph. I loved him more than all of you, but by reason of\nhis perverseness ye will be carried away into captivity, and scattered\namong the nations. Thy first and thy second vision had the same\nmeaning, the vision is one.'\n\n\"Therefore, my sons, I command you not to join yourselves unto the sons\nof Joseph, but ye shall join yourselves unto the sons of Levi and\nJudah. I tell you, too, that my inheritance shall be of the best of\nPalestine, the middle of the earth. You will eat, and the delectable\ngifts of my portion will satisfy you. But I warn you not to kick in\nyour prosperity and not to become perverse, resisting the commands of\nGod, who satisfies you with the best of His land, and not to forget\nyour God, whom your father Abraham chose when the families of the earth\nwere divided in the days of Peleg. The Lord descended with seventy\nangels, at their head Michael, and he commanded them to teach the\nseventy languages unto the seventy families of Noah. The angels did\naccording to the behest of God, and the holy Hebrew language remained\nonly in the house of Shem and Eber, and in the house of their\ndescendant Abraham. On this day of teaching languages, Michael came to\neach nation separately, and told it the message with which God had\ncharged him, saying: 'I know the rebellion and the confusion ye have\nenacted against God. Now, make choice of him whom you will serve, and\nwhom will you have as your mediator in heaven?' Then spake Nimrod the\nwicked, 'In my eyes there is none greater than he that taught me the\nlanguage of Cush.' The other nations also answered in words like these,\neach one designated its angel. But Abraham said: 'I choose none other\nthan Him that spake and the world was. In Him I will have faith, and my\nseed forever and ever.' Thenceforth God put every nation in the care of\nits angel, but Abraham and his seed He kept for Himself.\n\n\"Therefore I adjure you not to go astray and serve other gods beside\nHim whom our fathers made choice of. You can perceive somewhat of His\npower in the creation of man. From head to foot is man wonderfully\nmade. With his ears he hears, with his eyes he sees, with his brain he\ncomprehends, with his nose he smells, with the tubes of his throat he\nutters sounds, with his gullet he swallows food, with his tongue he\narticulates, with his mouth he forms words, with his hands he does his\nwork, with his heart he meditates, with his spleen he laughs, with his\nliver he waxes angry, with his stomach he crushes his food, with his\nfeet he walks, with his lungs he breathes, and with his kidneys he\nmakes resolves, and none of his organs undergoes a change in function,\neach performs its own. Therefore it behooves man to take to heart who\nit is that hath created him, and who hath developed him from a\nfoul-smelling drop in the womb of woman, who hath brought him to the\nlight of the world, who hath given sight to his eyes, and who hath\nbestowed the power of motion upon his feet, who maketh him to stand\nupright, who hath infused the breath of life into him, and who hath\nimparted of His own pure spirit unto him. Happy the man, therefore,\nthat polluteth not the holy spirit of God within him by doing evil\ndeeds, and well for him if he returns it to his Creator as he received\nit.\"\n\nAfter Naphtali had charged his children thus, and with many other\nlessons like these, he enjoined them to carry his remains to Hebron, to\nbe buried there near his fathers. Then he ate and drank with rejoicing,\ncovered his face, and died, and his sons did according to all that\ntheir father Naphtali had commanded them.[14]\n\n\n\n\nGAD'S HATRED\n\n\nIn the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life Gad assembled his\nsons, and he spake to them: \"I am the ninth son of Jacob, and I was a\nvaliant shepherd of the flocks. I guarded the herds, and when a lion or\nany other wild beast approached, I pursued it, gripped it by the foot,\nflung it a stone's throw from me, and killed it thus. Once, for a space\nof thirty days, Joseph tended the flocks with us, and when he returned\nto our father, he told him that the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah\nslaughtered the best of the herds, and used the flesh without the\nknowledge of Reuben and Judah. He had seen me snatch a lamb out of the\njaws of a bear, kill the bear, and slaughter the lamb, for it was too\nbadly injured to live. I was wroth with Joseph for his talebearing,\nuntil he was sold into Egypt. I would neither look upon him nor hear\naught about him, for to our very faces he, blamed us, because we had\neaten the lamb without seeking the permission of Judah first. And\nwhatever Joseph told our father, he believed.\n\n\"Now I confess my sin, that ofttimes I longed to kill him, for I hated\nhim from the bottom of my heart, and on account of his dreams I hated\nhim still more, and I desired to destroy him from off the land of the\nliving. But Judah sold him by stealth to the Ishmaelites. Thus the God\nof our fathers saved him out of our hands, and He did not permit us to\ncommit an abominable outrage in Israel.\n\n\"Hear now, my children, the words of truth, that ye may practice\njustice and the whole law of the Most High, and permit yourselves not\nto be tempted by the spirit of hatred. Evil is hatred, for it is the\nconstant companion of deception, it always contradicts the truth. A\nlittle thing it magnifies into a great thing, light it takes for\ndarkness, the sweet it calls bitter, and it teaches slander, enkindles\nanger, brings on war and violence, and fills the heart with devilish\npoison. I tell you my own experience, my children, that ye may drive\nhatred out of your hearts, and cleave to the love of the Lord.\nRighteousness banishes hatred, and humility kills it, for he that fears\nto give umbrage to the Lord, desires not to do wrong even in his\nthoughts. This is what I recognized at the last, after I had done\npenance on account of Joseph, for true atonement, pleasing to God,\nenlightens the eyes, illumines the soul with knowledge, and creates a\ncounsel of salvation. My penance came in consequence of a sickness of\nthe liver that God inflicted upon me. Without the prayers of my father\nJacob, my spirit would have departed from me, for through the organ\nwherewith man transgresses, he is punished. As my liver had felt no\nmercy for Joseph, unmerciful suffering was caused unto me by my liver.\nMy judgment lasted eleven months, as long as my enmity toward Joseph.\n\n\"And now, my children, each of you shall love his brother, and ye shall\nuproot hatred from your hearts by loving one another in word and deed\nand the thoughts of the soul. For I spake peaceably with Joseph in the\npresence of our father, but when I went out from before him, the spirit\nof hatred darkened my understanding, and stirred up my soul to murder\nhim. If you see one that hath more good fortune than you, do not\ngrieve, but pray for him, that his happiness may be perfect, and if one\nof the wicked even should grow rich in substance, like Esau, my\nfather's brother, do not envy him. Wait for the end of the Lord.\n\n\"This also tell unto your children, that they shall honor Judah and\nLevi, for from them the Lord will cause a savior to arise unto Israel.\nFor I know that in the end your children will fall off from God, and\nthey will take part in all wickedness, malice, and corruptness, before\nthe Lord.\"\n\nAfter Gad had rested a little while, he spake again, \"My children,\nhearken unto your father, and bury me with my fathers.\" Then he drew up\nhis feet, and slept in peace. After five years, his sons carried his\nremains to Hebron unto his fathers.[15]\n\n\n\n\nASHER'S LAST WORDS\n\n\nIn the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life, while be was still\nrobust in health, Asher summoned his children unto him, and admonished\nthem to walk in the ways of virtue and the fear of God. He spake:\n\"Hearken, ye sons of Asher, unto your father, and I will show you all\nthat is right before God. Two ways hath God put before the children of\nmen, and two inclinations hath He bestowed upon them, two kinds of\nactions and two aims. Therefore all things are in twos, the one\nopposite to the other. But ye, my children, ye shall not be double,\npursuing both goodness and wickedness. Ye shall cling only to the ways\nof goodness, for the Lord taketh delight in them, and men yearn after\nthem. And flee from wickedness, for thus you will destroy the evil\ninclination. Heed well the commands of the Lord, by following truth\nwith a single mind. Observe the law of the Lord, and have not the same\ncare for wicked things as for good things. Rather keep your eyes upon\nwhat is truly good, and guard it through all the commands of the Lord.\nThe end of man, when he meets the messengers of God and of Satan, shows\nwhether he was righteous or unrighteous in his life. If his soul goes\nout with agitation, she will be plagued by the evil spirit, whom she\nserved with her lusts and her evil deeds; but if she departs\ntranquilly, the angel of peace will lead her to life eternal.\n\n\"Be not like Sodom, my children, which recognized not the angels of the\nLord, that ye be not delivered into the hands of your enemies, and your\nland be cursed, and your sanctuary destroyed, and you be scattered to\nthe four corners of the earth, and scorned in the confusion like stale\nwater, until the Most High shall visit the earth, and break the heads\nof the dragons in the waters. Tell this, my sons, unto your children,\nthat they be not disobedient toward God, for I read in the tablets of\nthe heavens that you will be contumacious and act impiously toward Him,\nin that you will have no care for the law of God, but you will heed\nhuman laws, and they are corrupted by reason of man's godlessness.\nTherefore ye will be dispersed abroad like unto Gad and Dan, my\nbrethren, and you will not know either your land, or your tribe, or\nyour tongue. Nevertheless the Lord will gather you in His faithfulness,\nfor the sake of His gracious mercy, and for the sake of Abraham, Isaac,\nand Jacob.\"\n\nAnd when he had made an end of saying these words, he commanded them to\nbury him in Hebron. And he sank into sweet sleep, and died. His sons\ndid as he had commanded, and they carried him up and buried him with\nhis fathers.[16]\n\n\n\n\nBENJAMIN EXTOLS JOSEPH\n\n\nBenjamin was one hundred and twenty-five years old, and he called his\nchildren to come to him. When they appeared, he kissed them, and spake:\n\"As Isaac was born unto Abraham in his old age, so was I born unto\nJacob when he was stricken in years. Therefore I was called Benjamin,\n'the son of days.' My mother Rachel died at my birth, and Bilhah her\nslave suckled me. Rachel had no children for twelve years after bearing\nJoseph. Therefore she prayed to God, and fasted twelve days, and she\nconceived and bare me. Our father loved Rachel fondly, and he had\nlonged greatly to have two sons by her.\n\n\"When I came down to Egypt, and my brother Joseph recognized me, he\nasked me, 'What said my brethren to my father regarding me?' And I told\nhim that they had sent Jacob his coat stained with blood, and had said,\n'Know now whether this be thy son's coat or not.' And Joseph said:\n'This is what happened to me. Canaanitish merchantmen stole me away\nwith violence, and on the way they wanted to hide my coat, to make it\nseem as though a wild beast had met me and slain me. But he who was\nabout to conceal it, was torn by a lion, whereupon his companions, in\ngreat fear, sold me to the Ishmaelites. My brethren, thou seest, did\nnot deceive my father with a lie.' In this wise Joseph tried to keep\nthe deed of our brethren a secret from me. He also summoned my\nbrethren, and enjoined them not to make known to our father what they\nhad done to him, and bade them repeat the tale he had told me.\n\n\"Now, my children, love ye the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, and\nobserve His commandments, taking that good and pious man Joseph as your\nmodel. Until the day of his death he would not have divulged what his\nbrethren had done to him, and although God revealed their action to\nJacob, he continued to deny it. Only after many efforts, when Jacob\nadjured him to confess the truth, he was induced to speak out. Even\nthen he besought our father Jacob to pray for our brethren, that God\naccount not the evil they had done to him as a sin. And Jacob\nexclaimed, 'O my good child Joseph, thou hast shown thyself more\nmerciful than I was!'\n\n\"My children, have you observed the mercy of the good man? Imitate it\nwith pure intention, that ye, too, may wear crowns of glory. A good man\nhas not an envious eye, he has mercy with all, even with sinners,\nthough their evil designs be directed against him, and by his good\ndeeds he conquers the evil, since it was ordained of God. If you do\ngood, the unclean spirits will depart from you, and even the wild\nbeasts will stand in fear of you. The inclination of a good man lies\nnot in the power of the tempter spirit Behar, for the angel of peace\nguides his soul. Flee before the malice of Beliar, whose sword is drawn\nto slay all that pay him obedience, and his sword is the mother of\nseven evils, bloodshed, corruptness, error, captivity, hunger, panic,\nand devastation. Therefore God surrendered Cain to seven punishments.\nOnce in a hundred years the Lord brought a castigation upon him. His\nafflictions began when he was two hundred years old, and in his nine\nhundredth year he was destroyed by the deluge, for having slain his\nrighteous brother Abel. And those who are like unto Cain will be\nchastised forever with the same punishments as his.\n\n\"Know now, my children, that I am about to die. Practice truth and\nrighteousness, and observe the law of the Lord and also His\ncommandments. This I bequeath unto you as your sole heritage, and you\nshall leave it to your children as an eternal possession. Thus Abraham,\nIsaac, and Jacob did, they transmitted it unto us, saying, 'Observe the\ncommands of God, until the Lord shall reveal His salvation in the sight\nof all the heathen.' Then you will see Enoch, Noah, Shem, Abraham,\nIsaac, and Jacob[17] rise up with rejoicing to new life at the right\nhand of God, and we brethren, the sons of Jacob, will arise also, each\nof us at the head of his tribe, and we will pay homage to the King of\nthe heavens.\"\n\nAfter Benjamin had made an end of speaking thus, he said: \"I command\nyou, my children, to carry my bones up out of Egypt and bury me near my\nfathers.\"\n\nAnd when he had made an end of saying these things, he fell asleep at a\ngood old age, and they put his body into a coffin, and in the\nninety-first year of their sojourning in Egypt, his sons and the sons\nof his brethren brought up the bones of their father, in secret, and\nburied them in Hebron, at the feet of their fathers. Then they returned\nfrom the land of Canaan, and they dwelt in Egypt until the day of the\nexodus from the land.[18]\n\n\n\n\nIII\nJOB\n\n\n\n\nJOB AND THE PATRIARCHS\n\n\nJob, the most pious Gentile that ever lived,[1] one of the few to bear\nthe title of honor \"the servant of God,\"[2] was of double kin to Jacob.\nHe was a grandson of Jacob's brother Esau, and at the same time the\nson-in-law of Jacob himself, for lie had married Dinah as his second\nwife.[3] He was entirely worthy of being a member of the Patriarch's\nfamily, for he was perfectly upright, one that feared God, and eschewed\nevil. Had he not wavered in his resignation to the Divine will during\nthe great trial to which he was subjected, and murmured against God,\nthe distinction would have been conferred upon him of having his name\njoined to the Name of God in prayer, and men would have called upon the\nGod of Job as they now call upon the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.\nBut he was not found steadfast like the three Fathers, and he forfeited\nthe honor God had intended for him.\n\nThe Lord remonstrated with him for his lack of patience, saying: \"Why\ndidst thou murmur when suffering came upon thee? Dost thou think\nthyself of greater worth than Adam, the creation of Mine own hands,\nupon whom together with his descendants I decreed death on account of a\nsingle transgression? And yet Adam murmured not. Thou art surely not\nmore worthy than Abraham, whom I tempted with many trials, and when he\nasked, 'Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit the land?' and I\nreplied, 'Know of a surety that thy seed will be a stranger in a land\nthat is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them\nfour hundred years,' he yet murmured not. Thou dost not esteem thyself\nmore worthy than Moses, dost thou? Him I would not grant the favor of\nentering the promised land, because he spake the words, 'Hear now, ye\nrebels; shall we bring you forth water out of this rock?' And yet he\nmurmured not. Art thou more worthy than Aaron, unto whom I showed\ngreater honor than unto any created being, for I sent the angels\nthemselves out of the Holy of Holies when he entered the place? Yet\nwhen his two sons died, he murmured not.\"[4]\n\nThe contrast between Job and the Patriarchs appears from words spoken\nby him and words spoken by Abraham. Addressing God, Abraham said, \"That\nbe far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with\nthe wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked,\" and Job\nexclaimed against God, \"It is all one; therefore I say, He destroyeth\nthe perfect and the wicked.\" They both received their due recompense,\nAbraham was rewarded and Job was punished.[5]\n\nConvinced that his suffering was undeserved and unjust, Job had the\naudacity to say to God: \"O Lord of the world, Thou didst create the ox\nwith cloven feet and the ass with unparted hoof, Thou hast created\nParadise and hell, Thou createst the righteous and also the wicked.\nThere is none to hinder, Thou canst do as seemeth good in Thy sight.\"\nThe friends of Job replied: \"It is true, God hath created the evil\ninclination, but He hath also given man the Torah as a remedy against\nit. Therefore the wicked cannot roll their guilt from off their\nshoulders and put it upon God.\"\n\nThe reason Job did not shrink from such extravagant utterances was\nbecause he denied the resurrection of the dead. He judged of the\nprosperity of the wicked and the woes of the pious only by their\nearthly fortunes. Proceeding from this false premise, he held it to be\npossible that the punishment falling to his share was not at all\nintended for him. God had slipped into an error, He imposed the\nsuffering upon him that had been appointed unto a sinner. But God spake\nto him, saying: \"Many hairs have I created upon the head of man, yet\neach hair hath its own sac, for were two hairs to draw their\nnourishment from the same sac, man would lose the sight of his eyes. It\nhath never happened that a sac hath been misplaced. Should I, then,\nhave mistaken Job for another? I let many drops of rain descend from\nthe heavens, and for each drop there is a mould in the clouds, for were\ntwo drops to issue from the same mould, the ground would be made so\nmiry that it could not bring forth any growth. It hath never happened\nthat a mould hath been misplaced. Should I, then, have mistaken Job for\nanother? Many thunderbolts I hurl from the skies, but each one comes\nfrom its own path, for were two to proceed from the same path, they\nwould destroy the whole world. It hath never happened that a path hath\nbeen misplaced. Should I, then, have mistaken Job for another? The\ngazelle gives birth to her young on the topmost point of a rock, and it\nwould fall into the abyss and be crushed to death, if I did not send an\neagle thither to catch it up and carry it to its mother. Were the eagle\nto appear a minute earlier or later than the appointed time, the little\ngazelle would perish. It hath never happened that the proper minute of\ntime was missed. Should I, then, have mistaken Job for another? The\nhind has a contracted womb, and would not be able to bring forth her\nyoung, if I did not send a dragon to her at the right second, to nibble\nat her womb and soften it, for then she can bear. Were the dragon to\ncome a second before or after the right time, the hind would perish. It\nhath never happened that I missed the right second. Should I, then,\nhave mistaken Job for another?\"\n\nNotwithstanding Job's unpardonable words, God was displeased with his\nfriends for passing harsh judgment upon him. \"A man may not be held\nresponsible for what he does in his anguish,\" and Job's agony was\ngreat, indeed[6]\n\n\n\n\nJOB'S WEALTH AND BENEFACTIONS\n\n\nJob was asked once what he considered the severest affliction that\ncould strike him, and he replied, \"My enemies' joy in my misfortune,[7]\nand when God demanded to know of him, after the accusations made by\nSatan, what he preferred, poverty or physical suffering, he chose pain,\nsaying, \"O Lord of the whole world, chastise my body with suffering of\nall kinds, only preserve me from poverty.\"[8] Poverty seemed the\ngreater scourge, because before his trials he had occupied a brilliant\nposition on account of his vast wealth. God graciously granted him this\nforetaste of the Messianic time. The harvest followed close upon the\nploughing of his field; no sooner were the seeds strewn in the furrows,\nthan they sprouted and grew and ripened produce. He was equally\nsuccessful with his cattle. His sheep killed wolves, but were\nthemselves never harmed by wild beasts.[9] Of sheep he had no less than\none hundred and thirty thousand, and he required eight hundred dogs to\nkeep guard over them, not to mention the two hundred dogs needed to\nsecure the safety of his house. Besides, his herds consisted of three\nhundred and forty thousand asses and thirty-five hundred pairs of oxen.\nAll these possessions were not used for self- indulgent pleasures, but\nfor the good of the poor and the needy, whom he clothed, and fed, and\nprovided with all things necessary. To do all this, he even had to\nemploy ships that carried supplies to all the cities and the dwelling-\nplaces of the destitute. His house was furnished with doors on all its\nfour sides, that the poor and the wayfarer might enter, no matter from\nwhat direction they approached. At all times there were thirty tables\nladen with viands ready in his house, and twelve besides for widows\nonly, so that all who came found what they desired. Job's consideration\nfor the poor was so delicate that he kept servants to wait upon them\nconstantly. His guests, enraptured by his charitableness, frequently\noffered themselves as attendants to minister to the poor in his house,\nbut Job always insisted upon paying them for their services. If he was\nasked for a loan of money, to be used for business purposes, and the\nborrower promised to give a part of his profits to the poor, he would\ndemand no security beyond a mere signature. And if it happened that by\nsome mischance or other the debtor was not able to discharge his\nobligation, Job would return the note to him, or tear it into bits in\nhis presence.\n\nHe did not rest satisfied at supplying the material needs of those who\napplied to him. He strove also to convey the knowledge of God to them.\nAfter a meal he was in the habit of having music played upon\ninstruments, and then he would invite those present to join him in\nsongs of praise to God. On such occasions he did not consider himself\nabove playing the cithern while the musicians rested.[10]\n\nMost particularly Job concerned himself about the weal and woe of\nwidows and orphans. He was wont to pay visits to the sick, both rich\nand poor, and when it was necessary, he would bring a physician along\nwith him. If the case turned out to be hopeless, he would sustain the\nstricken family with advice and consolation. When the wife of the\nincurably sick man began to grieve and weep, he would encourage her\nwith such words as these: \"Trust always in the grace and lovingkindness\nof God. He hath not abandoned thee until now, and He will not forsake\nthee henceforth. Thy husband will be restored to health, and will be\nable to provide for his family as heretofore. But if\u2014which may God\nforefend\u2014thy husband should die, I call Heaven to witness that I shall\nprovide sustenance for thee and thy children.\" Having spoken thus, he\nwould send for a notary, and have him draw up a document, which he\nsigned in the presence of witnesses, binding himself to care for the\nfamily, should it be bereaved of its head. Thus he earned for himself\nthe blessing of the sick man and the gratitude of the sorrowing\nwife.[11]\n\nSometimes, in case of necessity, Job could be severe, too, especially\nwhen it was a question of helping a poor man obtain his due. If one of\nthe parties to a suit cited before his tribunal was known to be a man\nof violence, he would surround himself with his army and inspire him\nwith fear, so that the culprit could not but show himself amenable to\nhis decision.[12]\n\nHe endeavored to inculcate his benevolent ways upon his children, by\naccustoming them to wait upon the poor. On the morrow after a feast he\nwould sacrifice bountifully to God, and together with the pieces upon\nthe altar his offerings would be divided among the needy. He would say:\n\"Take and help yourselves, and pray for my children. It may be that\nthey have sinned, and renounced God, saying in the presumption of their\nhearts: 'We are the children of this rich man. All these things are our\npossessions. Why should we be servants to the poor?' \"\n\n\n\n\nSATAN AND JOB\n\n\nThe happy, God-pleasing life led by Job for many years excited the\nhatred of Satan, who had an old grudge against him. Near Job's house\nthere was an idol worshipped by the people. Suddenly doubts assailed\nthe heart of Job, and he asked himself: \"Is this idol really the\ncreator of heaven and earth? How can I find out the truth about it?\" In\nthe following night he perceived a voice calling: \"Jobab! Jobab! Arise,\nand I will tell thee who he is whom thou desirest to know. This one to\nwhom the people offer sacrifices is not God, he is the handiwork of the\ntempter, wherewith he deceives men.\" When he heard the voice, Job threw\nhimself on the ground, and said: \"O Lord, if this idol is the handiwork\nof the tempter, then grant that I may destroy it. None can hinder me,\nfor I am the king of this land.\"[13]\n\nJob, or, as he is sometimes called, Jobab, was, indeed, king of Edom,\nthe land wherein wicked plans are concocted against God, wherefore it\nis called also Uz, \"counsel.\"[14]\n\nThe voice continued to speak. It made itself known as that of an\narchangel of God, and revealed to Job that he would bring down the\nenmity of Satan upon himself by the destruction of the idol, and much\nsuffering with it. However, if he remained steadfast under them, God\nwould change his troubles into joys, his name would become celebrated\nthroughout the generations of mankind, and he would have a share in the\nresurrection to eternal life. Job replied to the voice: \"Out of love of\nGod I am ready to endure all things unto the day of my death. I will\nshrink back from naught.\" Now Job arose, and accompanied by fifty men\nhe repaired to the idol, and destroyed it.\n\nKnowing that Satan would try to approach him, he ordered his guard not\nto give access to any one, and then he withdrew to his chamber. He had\nguessed aright. Satan appeared at once, in the guise of a beggar, and\ndemanded speech with Job. The guard executed his orders, and forbade\nhis entering. Then the mendicant asked him to intercede for him with\nJob for a piece of bread. Job knew it was Satan, and he sent word to\nhim as follows, \"Do not expect to eat of my bread, for it is prohibited\nunto thee,\" at the same time putting a piece of burnt bread into the\nhand of the guard for Satan. The servant was ashamed to give a beggar\nburnt bread, and he substituted a good piece for it. Satan, however,\nknowing that the servant had not executed his master's errand, told him\nso to his face, and he fetched the burnt bread and handed it to him,\nrepeating the words of Job. Thereupon Satan returned this answer, \"As\nthe bread is burnt, so I will disfigure thy body.\" Job replied: \"Do as\nthou desirest, and execute thy plan. As for me, I am ready to suffer\nwhatever thou bringest down upon me.\"\n\nNow Satan betook himself to God, and prayed Him to put Job into his\npower,[15] saying: \"I went to and fro in the earth, and walked up and\ndown in it, and I saw no man as pious as Abraham. Thou didst promise\nhim the whole land of Palestine, and yet he did not take it in ill part\nthat he had not so much as a burial-place for Sarah.[16] As for Job, it\nis true, I found none that loveth Thee as he does, but if Thou wilt put\nhim into my hand, I shall succeed in turning his heart away from Thee.\"\nBut God spake, \"Satan, Satan, what hast thou a mind to do with my\nservant Job, like whom there is none in the earth?\" Satan persisted in\nhis request touching Job, and God granted it, He gave him full power\nover Job's possessions.[17]\n\nThis day of Job's accusation was the New Year's Day, whereon the good\nand the evil deeds of man are brought before God.[18]\n\n\n\n\nJOB'S SUFFERING\n\n\nEquipped with unlimited power, Satan endeavored to deprive Job of all\nhe owned. He burnt part of his cattle, and the other part was carried\noff by enemies. What pained Job more than this was that recipients of\nhis bounty turned against him, and took of his belongings.[19]\n\nAmong the adversaries that assailed him was Lilith, the queen of\nSheba.[20] She lived at a great distance from his residence, it took\nher and her army three years to travel from her home to his. She fell\nupon his oxen and his asses, and took possession of them, after slaying\nthe men to whose care Job had entrusted them. One man escaped alone.\nWounded and bruised, he had only enough life in him to tell Job the\ntale of his losses, and then he fell down dead. The sheep, which had\nbeen left unmolested by the queen of Sheba, were taken away by the\nChaldeans. Job's first intention was to go to war against these\nmarauders, but when he was told that some of his property had been\nconsumed by fire from heaven, he desisted, and said, \"If the heavens\nturn against me, I can do nothing.\"[21]\n\nDissatisfied with the result, Satan disguised himself as the king of\nPersia, besieged the city of Job's residence, took it, and spoke to the\ninhabitants, saying: \"This man Job hath appropriated all the goods in\nthe world, leaving naught for others, and he hath also torn down the\ntemple of our god, and now I will pay him back for his wicked deeds.\nCome with me and let us pillage his house.\" At first the people refused\nto hearken to the words of Satan. They feared that the sons and\ndaughters of Job might rise up against them later, and avenge their\nfather's wrongs. But after Satan had pulled down the house wherein the\nchildren of Job were assembled, and they lay dead in the ruins, the\npeople did as he bade them, and sacked the house of Job.\n\nSeeing that neither the loss of all he had nor the death of his\nchildren could change his pious heart, Satan appeared before God a\nsecond time, and requested that Job himself, his very person, be put\ninto his hand. God granted Satan's plea, but he limited his power to\nJob's body, his soul he could not touch.[22] In a sense Satan was worse\noff than Job. He was in the position of the slave that has been ordered\nby his master to break the pitcher and not spill the wine.[23]\n\nSatan now caused a terrific storm to burst over the house of Job. He\nwas cast from his throne by the reverberations, and he lay upon the\nfloor for three hours. Then Satan smote his body with leprosy from the\nsole of his foot unto his crown. This plague forced Job to leave the\ncity, and sit down outside upon an ash-heap,[24] for his lower limbs\nwere covered with oozing boils, and the issue flowed out upon the\nashes. The upper part of his body was encrusted with dry boils, and to\nease the itching they caused him, he used his nails, until they dropped\noff together with his fingertips, and he took him a potsherd to scrape\nhimself withal.[25] His body swarmed with vermin, but if one of the\nlittle creatures attempted to crawl away from him, he forced it back,\nsaying, \"Remain on the place whither thou wast sent, until God assigns\nanother unto thee.\"[26] His wife, fearful that he would not bear his\nhorrible suffering with steadfastness, advised him to pray to God for\ndeath, that lie might be sure of going hence an upright man.[27] But he\nrejected her counsel, saying, \"If in the days of good fortune, which\nusually tempts men to deny God, I stood firm, and did not rebel against\nHim, surely I shall be able to remain steadfast under misfortune, which\ncompels men to be obedient to God.\"[28] And Job stuck to his resolve in\nspite of all suffering, while his wife was not strong enough to bear\nher fate with resignation to the will of God.\n\nHer lot was bitter, indeed, for she had had to take service as a\nwater-carrier with a common churl, and when her master learnt that she\nshared her bread with Job, he dismissed her. To keep her husband from\nstarving, she cut off her hair, and purchased bread with it. It was all\nshe had to pay the price charged by the bread merchant, none other than\nSatan himself, who wanted to put her to the test. He said to her,\n\"Hadst thou not deserved this great misery of thine, it had not come\nupon thee.\" This speech was more than the poor woman could bear. Then\nit was that she came to her husband, and amid tears and groans urged\nhim to renounce God and die. Job, however, was not perturbed by her\nwords, because he divined at once that Satan stood behind his wife, and\nseduced her to speak thus. Turning to the tempter, he said: \"Why dost\nthou not meet me frankly? Give up thy underhand ways, thou wretch.\"\nThereupon Satan appeared before Job, admitted that he had been\nvanquished, and went away abashed.[29]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOUR FRIENDS\n\n\nThe friends of Job lived in different places, at intervals of three\nhundred miles one from the other. Nevertheless they all were informed\nof their friend's misfortune at the same time, in this way: Each one\nhad the pictures of the others set in his crown, and as soon as any one\nof them met with reverses, it showed itself in his picture. Thus the\nfriends of Job learnt simultaneously of his misfortune, and they\nhastened to his assistance.[30]\n\nThe four friends were related to one another, and each one was related\nto Job. Eliphaz, king of Teman, was a son of Esau;[31] Bildad, Zophar,\nand Elihu were cousins, their fathers, Shuah, Naamat, and Barachel,\nwere the sons of Buz, who was a brother of Job and a nephew of\nAbraham.[32]\n\nWhen the four friends arrived in the city in which Job lived, the\ninhabitants took them outside the gates, and pointing to a figure\nreclining upon an ash-heap at some distance off, they said, \"Yonder is\nJob.\" At first the friends would not give them credence, and they\ndecided to look more closely at the man, to make sure of his identity.\nBut the foul smell emanating from Job was so strong that they could not\ncome near to him. They ordered their armies to scatter perfumes and\naromatic substances all around. Only after this had been done for\nhours, they could approach the outcast close enough to recognize him.\n\nEliphaz was the first to address Job, \"Art thou indeed Job, a king\nequal in rank with ourselves?\" And when Job said Aye, they broke out\ninto lamentations and bitter tears, and all together they sang an\nelegy, the armies of the three kings, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar,\njoining in the choir. Again Eliphaz began to speak, and he bemoaned\nJob's sad fortune, and depicted his friend's former glory, adding the\nrefrain to each sentence, \"Whither hath departed the splendor of thy\nthrone?\"\n\nAfter listening long to the wailing and lamenting of Eliphaz and his\ncompanions, Job spake, saying: \"Silence, and I will show you my throne\nand the splendor of its glory. Kings will perish, rulers disappear,\ntheir pride and lustre will pass like a shadow across a mirror, but my\nkingdom will persist forever and ever, for glory and magnificence are\nin the chariot of my Father.\"\n\nThese words aroused the wrath of Eliphaz, and he called upon his\nassociates to abandon Job to his fate and go their way. But Bildad\nappeased his anger, reminding him that some allowance ought to be made\nfor one so sorely tried as Job. Bildad put a number of questions to the\nsufferer in order to establish his sanity. He wanted to elicit from Job\nhow it came about that God, upon whom he continued to set his hopes,\ncould inflict such dire suffering. Not even a king of flesh and blood\nwould allow a guardsman of his that had served him loyally to come to\ngrief. Bildad desired to have information from Job also concerning the\nmovements of the heavenly bodies.\n\nJob had but one answer to make to these questions: man cannot\ncomprehend Divine wisdom, whether it reveal itself in inanimate and\nbrute nature or in relation to human beings. \"But,\" continued Job, \"to\nprove to you that I am in my right mind, listen to the question I shall\nput to you. Solid food and liquids combine inside of man, and they\nseparate again when they leave his body. Who effects the separation?\"\nAnd when Bildad conceded that he could not answer the question, Job\nsaid, \"If thou canst not comprehend the changes in thy body, how canst\nthou hope to comprehend the movements of the planets?\"\n\nZophar, after Job had spoken thus to Bildad, was convinced that his\nsuffering had had no effect upon his mind, and he asked him whether he\nwould permit himself to be treated by the physicians of the three\nkings, his friends. But Job rejected the offer, saying, \"My healing and\nmy restoration come from God, the Creator of all physicians.\"\n\nWhile the three kings were conversing thus with Job, his wife Zitidos\nmade her appearance clad in rags, and she threw herself at the feet of\nher husband's friends, and amid tears she spoke, saying: \"O Eliphaz,\nand ye other friends of Job, remember what I was in other days, and how\nI am now changed, coming before you in rags and tatters.\" The sight of\nthe unhappy woman touched them so deeply that they could only weep, and\nnot a word could they force out of their mouths. Eliphaz, however, took\nhis royal mantle of purple, and laid it about the shoulders of the poor\nwoman. Zitidos asked only one favor, that the three kings should order\ntheir soldiers to clear away the ruins of the building under which her\nchildren lay entombed, that she might give their remains decent burial.\nThe command was issued to the soldiers accordingly, but Job said, \"Do\nnot put yourselves to trouble for naught. My children will not be\nfound, for they are safely bestowed with their Lord and Creator.\" Again\nhis friends were sure that Job was bereft of his senses. He arose,\nhowever, prayed to God, and at the end of his devotions, he bade his\nfriends look eastward, and when they did his bidding, they beheld his\nchildren next to the Ruler of heaven, with crowns of glory upon their\nheads. Zitidos prostrated herself, and said, \"Now I know that my\nmemorial resides with the Lord.\" And she returned to the house of her\nmaster, whence she had absented herself for some time against his will.\nHe had forbidden her to leave it, because he had feared that the three\nkings would take her with them.\n\nIn the evening she lay down to sleep next to the manger for the cattle,\nbut she never rose again, she died there of exhaustion. The people of\nthe city made a great mourning for her, and the elegy composed in her\nhonor was set down in writing and recorded.\n\n\n\n\nJOB RESTORED\n\n\nMore and more the friends of Job came to the conclusion that he had\nincurred Divine punishment on account of his sins, and as he\nasseverated his innocence again and again, they prepared angrily to\nleave him to his fate. Especially Elihu was animated by Satan to speak\nscurrilous words against Job, upbraiding him for his unshakable\nconfidence in God. Then the Lord appeared to them, first unto Job, and\nrevealed to him that Elihu was in the wrong, and his words were\ninspired by Satan. Next he appeared unto Eliphaz, and to him He spake\nthus: \"Thou and thy friends Bildad and Zophar have committed a sin, for\nye did not speak the truth concerning my servant Job. Rise up and let\nhim bring a sin offering for you. Only for his sake do I refrain from\ndestroying you.\"\n\nThe sacrifice offered by Job in behalf of his friends was accepted\ngraciously by God, and Eliphaz broke out into a hymn of thanksgiving to\nthe Lord for having pardoned the transgression of himself and his two\nfriends. At the same time he announced the damnation of Elihu, the\ninstrument of Satan.\n\nGod appeared to Job once more, and gave him a girdle composed of three\nribands, and he bade him tie it around his waist. Hardly had he put it\non when all his pain disappeared, his very recollection of it vanished,\nand, more than this, God made him to see all that ever was and all that\nshall ever be.[33]\n\nAfter suffering sevenfold pain for seven years[34] Job was restored to\nstrength. With his three friends he returned to the city, and the\ninhabitants made a festival in his honor and unto the glory of God. All\nhis former friends joined him again, and he resumed his old occupation,\nthe care of the poor, for which he obtained the means from the people\naround. He said to them, \"Give me, each one of you, a sheep for the\nclothing of the poor, and four silver or gold drachmas for their other\nneeds.\" The Lord blessed Job, and in a few days his wealth had\nincreased to double the substance he had owned before misfortune\novertook him. Zitidos having died during the years of his trials, he\nmarried a second wife, Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and she bore him\nseven sons and three daughters.[35] He had never had more than one wife\nat a time, for he was wont to say, \"If it had been intended that Adam\nshould have ten wives, God would have given them to him. Only one wife\nwas bestowed upon him, whereby God indicated that he was to have but\none, and therefore one wife suffices for me, too.\"[36]\n\nWhen Job, after a long and happy life, felt his end approaching, he\ngathered his ten children around him, and told them the tale of his\ndays. Having finished the narrative, he admonished them in these words:\n\"See, I am about to die, and you will stand in my place. Forsake not\nthe Lord, be generous toward the poor, treat the feeble with\nconsideration, and do not marry with the women of the Gentiles.\"\n\nThereupon he divided his possessions among his sons, and to his\ndaughters he gave what is more precious than all earthly goods, to each\nof them one riband of the celestial girdle he had received from God.\nThe magic virtue of these ribands was such that no sooner did their\npossessors tie them around their waists than they were transformed into\nhigher beings, and with seraphic voices they broke out into hymns after\nthe manner of the angels.\n\nFor three days Job lay upon his bed, sick though not suffering, for the\ncelestial girdle made him proof against pain. On the fourth day he saw\nthe angels descend to fetch his soul. He arose from his bed, handed a\ncithern to his oldest daughter Jemimah, \"Day,\" a censer to the second\none, Keziah, \"Perfume,\" and a cymbal to the third, Amaltheas, \"Horn,\"\nand bade them welcome the angels with the sound of music. They played\nand sang and praised the Lord in the holy tongue. Then he appeared that\nsits in the great chariot, kissed Job, and rode away bearing his soul\nwith him eastward. None saw them depart except the three daughters of\nJob.\n\nThe grief of the people, especially the poor, the widows, and the\norphans, was exceeding great. For three days they left the corpse\nunburied, because they could not entertain the thought of separating\nthemselves from it.\n\nAs the name of Job will remain imperishable unto all time, by reason of\nthe man's piety,[37] so his three friends were recompensed by God for\ntheir sympathy with him in his distress. Their names were preserved,\nthe punishment of hell was remitted unto them, and, best of all, God\npoured out the holy spirit over them.[38] But Satan, the cause of Job's\nanguish, the Lord cast down from heaven, for he had been vanquished by\nJob, who amid his agony had thanked and praised God for all He had done\nunto him.[39]\n\n\n\n\nIV\nMOSES IN EGYPT\n\n\n\n\nTHE BEGINNING OF THE EGYPTIAN BONDAGE\n\n\nAs soon as Jacob was dead, the eyes of the Israelites were closed, as\nwell as their hearts. They began to feel the dominion of the\nstranger,[1] although real bondage did not enslave them until some time\nlater. While a single one of the sons of Jacob was alive, the Egyptians\ndid not venture to approach the Israelites with evil intent. It was\nonly when Levi, the last of them, had departed this life that their\nsuffering commenced.[2] A change in the relation of the Egyptians\ntoward the Israelites had, indeed, been noticeable immediately after\nthe death of Joseph, but they did not throw off their mask completely\nuntil Levi was no more. Then the slavery of the Israelites supervened\nin good earnest.\n\nThe first hostile act on the part of the Egyptians was to deprive the\nIsraelites of their fields, their vineyards, and the gifts that Joseph\nhad sent to his brethren. Not content with these animosities, they\nsought to do them harm in, other ways.[3] The reason for the hatred of\nthe Egyptians was envy and fear. The Israelites had increased to a\nmiraculous degree. At the death of Jacob the seventy persons he had\nbrought down with him bad grown to the number of six hundred\nthousand,[4] and their physical strength and heroism were extraordinary\nand therefore alarming to the Egyptians. There were many occasions at\nthat time for the display of prowess. Not long after the death of Levi\noccurred that of the Egyptian king Magron, who had been bred up by\nJoseph, and therefore was not wholly without grateful recollection of\nwhat he and his family had accomplished for the welfare of Egypt. But\nhis son and successor Malol, together with his whole court, knew not\nthe sons of Jacob and their achievements, and they did not scruple to\noppress the Hebrews.\n\nThe final breach between them and the Egyptians took place during the\nwars waged by Malol against Zepho, the grandson of Esau. In the course\nof it, the Israelites had saved the Egyptians from a crushing defeat,\nbut instead of being grateful they sought only the undoing of their\nbenefactors, from fear that the giant strength of the Hebrews might be\nturned against them.[5]\n\n\n\n\nPHARAOH'S CUNNING\n\n\nThe counsellors and elders of Egypt came to Pharaoh, and spake unto\nhim, saying: \"Behold, the people of the children of Israel are greater\nand mightier than we. Thou hast seen their strong power, which they\nhave inherited from their fathers, for a few of them stood up against a\npeople as many as the sand of the sea, and not one hath fallen. Now,\ntherefore, give us counsel what to do with them, until we shall\ngradually destroy them from among us, lest they become too numerous in\nthe land, for if they multiply, and there falleth out any war, they\nwill also join themselves with their great strength unto our enemies,\nand fight against us, destroy us from the land, and get them up out of\nthe land.\"\n\nThe king answered the elders, saying: \"This is the plan advised by me\nagainst Israel, from which we will not depart. Behold, Pithom and\nRaamses are cities not fortified against battle. It behooves us to\nfortify them. Now, go ye and act cunningly against the children of\nIsrael, and proclaim in Egypt and in Goshen, saying: 'All ye men of\nEgypt, Goshen, and Pathros! The king has commanded us to build Pithom\nand Raamses and fortify them against battle. Those amongst you in all\nEgypt, of the children of Israel and of all the inhabitants of the\ncities, who are willing to build with us, shall have their wages given\nto them daily at the king's order.'\n\n\"Then go ye first, and begin to build Pithom and Raamses, and cause the\nking's proclamation to be made daily, and when some of the children of\nIsrael come to build, do ye give them their wages daily, and after they\nshall have built with you for their daily wages, draw yourselves away\nfrom them day by day, and one by one, in secret. Then you shall rise up\nand become their taskmasters and their officers, and you shall have\nthem afterward to build without wages. And should they refuse, then\nforce them with all your might to build. If you do this, it will go\nwell with us, for we shall cause our land to be fortified after this\nmanner, and with the children of Israel it will go ill, for they will\ndecrease in number on account of the work, because you will prevent\nthem from being with their wives.\"\n\nThe elders, the counsellors, and the whole of Egypt did according to\nthe word of the king. For a month the servants of Pharaoh built with\nIsrael, then they withdrew themselves gradually, while the children of\nIsrael continued to work, receiving their daily wages, for some men of\nEgypt were still carrying on the work with them. After a time all the\nEgyptians had withdrawn, and they had turned to become the officers and\ntaskmasters of the Israelites. Then they refrained from giving them any\npay, and when some of the Hebrews refused to work without wages, their\ntaskmasters smote them, and made them return by force to labor with\ntheir brethren. And the children of Israel were greatly afraid of the\nEgyptians, and they came again and worked without pay, all except the\ntribe of Levi, who were not employed in the work with their brethren.\nThe children of Levi knew that the proclamation of the king was made to\ndeceive Israel, therefore they refrained from listening to it, and the\nEgyptians did not molest them later, since they had not been with their\nbrethren at the beginning, and though the Egyptians embittered the\nlives of the other Israelites with servile labor, they did not disturb\nthe children of Levi. The Israelites called Malol, the king of Egypt,\nMaror, \"Bitterness,\" because in his days the Egyptians embittered their\nlives with all manner of rigorous service.[6]\n\nBut Pharaoh did not rest satisfied with his proclamation and the\naffliction it imposed upon the Israelites. He suspended a brick-press\nfrom his own neck, and himself took part in the work at Pithom and\nRaamses. After this, whenever a Hebrew refused to come and help with\nthe building, alleging that he was not fit for such hard service, the\nEgyptians would retort, saying, \"Dost thou mean to make us believe thou\nart more delicate than Pharaoh?\"\n\nThe king himself urged the Israelites on with gentle words, saying, \"My\nchildren, I beg you to do this work and erect these little buildings\nfor me. I will give you great reward therefor.\" By means of such\nartifices and wily words the Egyptians succeeded in overmastering the\nIsraelites, and once they had them in their power, they treated them\nwith undisguised brutality. Women were forced to perform men's work,\nand men women's work.\n\nThe building of Pithom and Raamses turned out of no advantage to the\nEgyptians, for scarcely were the structures completed, when they\ncollapsed, or they were swallowed by the earth, and the Hebrew workmen,\nbesides having to suffer hardships during their erection, lost their\nlives by being precipitated from enormous heights, when the buildings\nfell in a heap.[7]\n\nBut the Egyptians were little concerned whether or not they derived\nprofit from the forced labor of the children of Israel. Their main\nobject was to hinder their increase, and Pharaoh therefore issued an\norder, that they were not to be permitted to sleep at their own homes,\nthat so they might be deprived of the opportunity of having intercourse\nwith their wives. The officers executed the will of the king, telling\nthe Hebrews that the reason was the loss of too much time in going to\nand fro, which would prevent them from completing the required tale of\nbricks. Thus the Hebrew husbands were kept apart from their wives, and\nthey were compelled to sleep on the ground, away from their\nhabitations.\n\nBut God spake, saying: \"Unto their father Abraham I gave the promise,\nthat I would make his children to be as numerous as the stars in the\nheavens, and you contrive plans to prevent them from multiplying. We\nshall see whose word will stand, Mine or yours.\" And it came to pass\nthat the more the Egyptians afflicted them, the more they multiplied,\nand the more they spread abroad.[8] And they continued to increase in\nspite of Pharaoh's command, that those who did not complete the\nrequired tale of bricks were to be immured in the buildings between the\nlayers of bricks, and great was the number of the Israelites that lost\ntheir lives in this way.[9] Many of their children were, besides,\nslaughtered as sacrifices to the idols of the Egyptians. For this\nreason God visited retribution upon the idols at the time of the going\nforth of the Israelites from Egypt. They had caused the death of the\nHebrew children, and in turn they were shattered, and they crumbled\ninto dust.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE PIOUS MIDWIVES\n\n\nWhen now, in spite of all their tribulations, the children of Israel\ncontinued to multiply and spread abroad, so that the land was full of\nthem as with thick underbrush\u2014for the women brought forth many children\nat a birth[11]\u2014the Egyptians appeared before Pharaoh again, and urged\nhim to devise some other way of ridding the land of the Hebrews, seeing\nthat they were increasing mightily, though they were made to toil and\nlabor hard. Pharaoh could invent no new design; he asked his\ncounsellors to give him their opinion of the thing. Then spake one of\nthem, Job of the land of Uz, which is in Aram-naharaim, as follows:\n\"The plan which the king invented, of putting a great burden of work\nupon the Israelites, was good in its time, and it should be executed\nhenceforth, too, but to secure us against the fear that, if a war\nshould come to pass, they may overwhelm us by reason of their numbers,\nand chase us forth out of the land, let the king issue a decree, that\nevery male child of the Israelites shall be killed at his birth. Then\nwe need not be afraid of them if we should be overtaken by war. Now let\nthe king summon the Hebrew midwives, that they come hither, and let him\ncommand them in accordance with this plan.\"\n\nJob's advice found favor in the eyes of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.\"\nThey preferred to have the midwives murder the innocents, for they\nfeared the punishment of God if they laid hands upon them themselves.\nPharaoh cited the two midwives of the Hebrews before him, and commanded\nthem to slay all men children, but to save the daughters of the Hebrew\nwomen alive,\" for the Egyptians were as much interested in preserving\nthe female children as in bringing about the death of the male\nchildren. They were very sensual, and were desirous of having as many\nwomen as possible at their service.\"\n\nHowever, the plan, even if it had been carried into execution, was not\nwise, for though a man may marry many wives, each woman can marry but\none husband. Thus a diminished number of men and a corresponding\nincrease in the number of women did not constitute so serious a menace\nto the continuance of the nation of the Israelites as the reverse case\nwould have been.\n\nThe two Hebrew midwives were Jochebed, the mother of Moses, and Miriam,\nhis sister. When they appeared before Pharaoh, Miriam exclaimed: \"Woe\nbe to this man when God visits retribution upon him for his evil\ndeeds.\" The king would have killed her for these audacious words, had\nnot Jochebed allayed his wrath by saying: \"Why dost thou pay heed to\nher words? She is but a child, and knows not what she speaks.\" Yet,\nalthough Miriam was but five years old at the time, she nevertheless\naccompanied her mother, and helped her with her offices to the Hebrew\nwomen, giving food to the new-born babes while Jochebed washed and\nbathed them.\n\nPharaoh's order ran as follows: \"At the birth of the child, if it be a\nman child, kill it; but if it be a female child, then you need not kill\nit, but you may save it alive.\" The midwives returned: \"How are we to\nknow whether the child is male or female?\" for the king had bidden them\nkill it while it was being born. Pharaoh replied: \"If the child issues\nforth from the womb with its face foremost, it is a man child, for it\nlooks to the earth, whence man was taken; but if its feet appear first,\nit is a female, for it looks up toward the rib of the mother, and from\na rib woman was made.\"[15]\n\nThe king used all sorts of devices to render the midwives amenable to\nhis wishes. He approached them with amorous proposals, which they both\nrepelled, and then he threatened them with death by fire.[16] But they\nsaid within themselves: \"Our father Abraham opened an inn, that he\nmight feed the wayfarers, though they were heathen, and we should\nneglect the children, nay, kill them? No, we shall have a care to keep\nthem alive.\" Thus they failed to execute what Pharaoh had commanded.\nInstead of murdering the babes, they supplied all their needs. If a\nmother that had given birth to a child lacked food and drink, the\nmidwives went to well-to-do women, and took up a collection, that the\ninfant might not suffer want. They did still more for the little ones.\nThey made supplication to God, praying: \"Thou knowest that we are not\nfulfilling the words of Pharaoh, but it is our aim to fulfil Thy words.\nO that it be Thy will, our Lord, to let the child come into the world\nsafe and sound, lest we fall under the suspicion that we tried to slay\nit, and maimed it in the attempt.\" The Lord hearkened to their prayer,\nand no child born under the ministrations of Shiphrah and Puah, or\nJochebed and Miriam, as the midwives are also called, came into the\nworld lame or blind or afflicted with any other blemish.[17]\n\nSeeing that his command was ineffectual, he summoned the midwives a\nsecond time, and called them to account for their disobedience. They\nreplied: \"This nation is compared unto one animal and another, and, in\nsooth, the Hebrews are like the animals. As little as the animals do\nthey need the offices of midwives.\"[18] These two God-fearing women\nwere rewarded in many ways for their good deeds. Not only that Pharaoh\ndid them no harm, but they were made the ancestors of priests and\nLevites, and kings and princes. Jochebed became the mother of the\npriest Aaron and of the Levite Moses, and from Miriam's union with\nCaleb sprang the royal house of David. The hand of God was visible in\nher married life. She contracted a grievous sickness, and though it was\nthought by all that saw her that death would certainly overtake her,\nshe recovered, and God restored her youth, and bestowed unusual beauty\nupon her, so that renewed happiness awaited her husband, who had been\ndeprived of the pleasures of conjugal life during her long illness. His\nunexpected joys were the reward of his piety and trust in God.[19] And\nanother recompense was accorded to Miriam: she was privileged to bring\nforth Bezalel, the builder of the Tabernacle, who was endowed with\ncelestial wisdom.[20]\n\n\n\n\nTHE THREE COUNSELLORS\n\n\nIn the one hundred and thirtieth year after Israel's going down to\nEgypt Pharaoh dreamed that he was sitting upon his throne, and he\nlifted up his eyes, and he beheld an old man before him with a balance\nin his hand, and he saw him taking all the elders, nobles, and great\nmen of Egypt, tying them together, and laying them in one scale of the\nbalance, while he put a tender kid into the other. The kid bore down\nthe pan in which it lay until it hung lower than the other with the\nbound Egyptians. Pharaoh arose early in the morning, and called\ntogether all his servants and his wise men to interpret his dream, and\nthe men were greatly afraid on account of his vision. Balaam the son of\nBeor then spake, and said: \"This means nothing but that a great evil\nwill spring up against Egypt, for a son will be born unto Israel, who\nwill destroy the whole of our land and all its inhabitants, and he will\nbring forth the Israelites from Egypt with a mighty hand. Now,\ntherefore, O king, take counsel as to this matter, that the hope of\nIsrael be frustrated before this evil arise against Egypt.\"\n\nThe king said unto Balaam: \"What shall we do unto Israel? We have tried\nseveral devices against this people, but we could not prevail over it.\nNow let me hear thy opinion.\"\n\nAt Balaam's instance, the king sent for his two counsellors, Reuel the\nMidianite and Job the Uzite, to hear their advice. Reuel spoke: \"If it\nseemeth good to the king, let him desist from the Hebrews, and let him\nnot stretch forth his hand against them, for the Lord chose them in\ndays of old, and took them as the lot of His inheritance from amongst\nall the nations of the earth, and who is there that hath dared stretch\nforth his hand against them with impunity, but that their God avenged\nthe evil done unto them?\" Reuel then proceeded to enumerate some of the\nmighty things God had performed for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he\nclosed his admonition with the words: \"Verily, thy grandfather, the\nPharaoh of former days, raised Joseph the son of Jacob above all the\nprinces of Egypt, because he discerned his wisdom, for through his\nwisdom he rescued all the inhabitants of the land from the famine,\nafter which he invited Jacob and his sons to come down to Egypt, that\nthe land of Egypt and the land of Goshen be delivered from the famine\nthrough their virtues. Now, therefore, if it seem good in thine eyes,\nleave off from destroying the children of Israel, and if it be not thy\nwill that they dwell in Egypt, send them forth from here, that they may\ngo to the land of Canaan, the land wherein their ancestors sojourned.\"\n\nWhen Pharaoh heard the words of Jethro-Reuel, he was exceedingly wroth\nwith him, and he was dismissed in disgrace from before the king, and he\nwent to Midian.\n\nThe king then spoke to Job, and said: \"What sayest thou, Job, and what\nis thy advice respecting the Hebrews?\" Job replied: \"Behold, all the\ninhabitants of the land are in thy power. Let the king do as seemeth\ngood in his eyes.\"\n\nBalaam was the last to speak at the behest of the king, and he said:\n\"From all that the king may devise against the Hebrews, they will be\ndelivered. If thou thinkest to diminish them by the flaming fire, thou\nwilt not prevail over them, for their God delivered Abraham their\nfather from the furnace in which the Chaldeans cast him. Perhaps thou\nthinkest to destroy them with a sword, but their father Isaac was\ndelivered from being slaughtered by the sword. And if thou thinkest to\nreduce them through hard and rigorous labor, thou wilt also not\nprevail, for their father Jacob served Laban in all manner of hard\nwork, and yet he prospered. If it please the king, let him order all\nthe male children that shall be born in Israel from this day forward to\nbe thrown into the water. Thereby canst thou wipe out their name, for\nneither any of them nor any of their fathers was tried in this way.[21]\n\n\n\n\nTHE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS\n\n\nBalaam's advice was accepted by Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They knew\nthat God pays measure for measure, therefore they believed that the\ndrowning of the men children would be the safest means of exterminating\nthe Hebrews, without incurring harm themselves, for the Lord had sworn\nunto Noah never again to destroy the world by water. Thus, they\nassumed, they would be exempt from punishment, wherein they were wrong,\nhowever. In the first place, though the Lord had sworn not to bring a\nflood upon men, there was nothing in the way of bringing men into a\nflood. Furthermore, the oath of God applied to the whole of mankind,\nnot to a single nation. The end of the Egyptians was that they met\ntheir death in the billows of the Red Sea. \"Measure for measure\"\u2014as\nthey had drowned the men children of the Israelites, so they were\ndrowned.[22]\n\nPharaoh now took steps looking to the faithful execution of his decree.\nHe sent his bailiffs into the houses of the Israelites, to discover all\nnew-born children, wherever they might be. To make sure that the\nHebrews should not succeed in keeping the children hidden, the\nEgyptians hatched a devilish plan. Their women were to take their\nlittle ones to the houses of the Israelitish women that were suspected\nof having infants. When the Egyptian children began to cry or coo, the\nHebrew children that were kept in hiding would join in, after the\nmanner of babies, and betray their presence, whereupon the Egyptians\nwould seize them and bear them off.[23]\n\nFurthermore, Pharaoh commanded that the Israelitish women employ none\nbut Egyptian midwives, who were to secure precise information as to the\ntime of their delivery, and were to exercise great care, and let no\nmale child escape their vigilance alive. If there should be parents\nthat evaded the command, and preserved a new-born boy in secret, they\nand all belonging to them were to be killed.[24]\n\nIs it to be wondered at, then, that many of the Hebrews kept themselves\naway from their wives? Nevertheless those who put trust in God were not\nforsaken by Him. The women that remained united with their husbands\nwould go out into the field when their time of delivery arrived, and\ngive birth to their children and leave them there, while they\nthemselves returned home. The Lord, who had sworn unto their ancestors\nto multiply them, sent one of His angels to wash the babes, anoint\nthem, stretch their limbs, and swathe them. Then he would give them two\nsmooth pebbles, from one of which they sucked milk, and from the other\nhoney. And God caused the hair of the infants to grow down to their\nknees and serve them as a protecting garment, and then He ordered the\nearth to receive the babes, that they be sheltered therein until the\ntime of their growing up, when it would open its mouth and vomit forth\nthe children, and they would sprout up like the herb of the field and\nthe grass of the forest. Thereafter each would return to his family and\nthe house of his father.\n\nWhen the Egyptians saw this, they went forth, every man to his field,\nwith his yoke of oxen, and they ploughed up the earth as one ploughs it\nat seed time. Yet they were unable to do harm to the infants of the\nchildren of Israel that had been swallowed up and lay in the bosom of\nthe earth. Thus the people of Israel increased and waxed exceedingly.\nAnd Pharaoh ordered his officers to go to Goshen, to look for the male\nbabes of the children of Israel, and when they discovered one, they\ntore him from his mother's breast by force, and thrust him into the\nriver.\" But no one is so valiant as to be able to foil God's purposes,\nthough he contrive ten thousand subtle devices unto that end. The child\nforetold by Pharaoh's dreams and by his astrologers was brought up and\nkept concealed from the king's spies. It came to pass after the\nfollowing manner.[26]\n\n\n\n\nTHE PARENTS OF MOSES\n\n\nWhen Pharaoh's proclamation was issued, decreeing that the men children\nof the Hebrews were to be cast into the river, Amram, who was the\npresident of the Sanhedrin, decided that in the circumstances it was\nbest for husbands to live altogether separate from their wives. He set\nthe example. He divorced his wife, and all the men of Israel did\nlikewise,[27] for he occupied a place of great consideration among his\npeople, one reason being that he belonged to the tribe of Levi, the\ntribe that was faithful to its God even in the land of Egypt, though\nthe other tribes wavered in their allegiance, and attempted to ally\nthemselves with the Egyptians, going so far as to give up Abraham's\nsign of the covenant.[28] To chastise the Hebrews for their impiety,\nGod turned the love of the Egyptians for them into hatred, so that they\nresolved upon their destruction. Mindful of all that he and his people\nowed to Joseph's wise rule, Pharaoh refused at first to entertain the\nmalicious plans proposed by the Egyptians against the Hebrews. He spoke\nto his people, \"You fools, we are indebted to these Hebrews for\nwhatever we enjoy, and you desire now to rise up against them?\" But the\nEgyptians could not be turned aside from their purpose of ruining\nIsrael. They deposed their king, and incarcerated him for three months,\nuntil he declared himself ready to execute with determination what they\nhad resolved upon, and he sought to bring about the ruin of the\nchildren of Israel by every conceivable means. Such was the retribution\nthey had drawn down upon themselves by their own acts.[29]\n\nAs for Amram, not only did he belong to the tribe of Levi,\ndistinguished for its piety, but by reason of his extraordinary piety\nhe was prominent even among the pious of the tribe. He was one of the\nfour who were immaculate, untainted by sin, over whom death would have\nhad no power, had mortality not been decreed against every single human\nbeing on account of the fall of the first man and woman. The other\nthree that led the same sinless life were Benjamin, Jesse the father of\nDavid, and Chileab the son of David.[30] If the Shekinah was drawn\nclose again to the dwelling-place of mortals, it was due to Amram's\npiety. Originally the real residence of the Shekinah was among men, but\nwhen Adam committed his sin, she withdrew to heaven, at first to the\nlowest of the seven heavens. Thence she was banished by Cain's crime,\nand she retired to the second heaven. The sins of the generation of\nEnoch removed her still farther off from men, she took up her abode in\nthe third heaven; then, successively, in the fourth, on account of the\nmalefactors in the generation of the deluge; in the fifth, during the\nbuilding of the tower of Babel and the confusion of tongues; in the\nsixth, by reason of the wicked Egyptians at the time of Abraham; and,\nfinally, in the seventh, in consequence of the abominations of the\ninhabitants of Sodom. Six righteous men, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi,\nKohath, and Amram, drew the Shekinah back, one by one, from the seventh\nto the first heaven, and through the seventh righteous man, Moses, she\nwas made to descend to the earth and abide among men as aforetime.[31]\n\nAmram's sagacity kept pace with his piety and his learning. The\nEgyptians succeeded in enslaving the Hebrews by seductive promises. At\nfirst they gave them a shekel for every brick they made, tempting them\nto superhuman efforts by the prospect of earning much money. Later,\nwhen the Egyptians forced them to work without wages, they insisted\nupon having as many bricks as the Hebrews had made when their labor was\npaid for, but they could demand only a single brick daily from Amram,\nfor he had been the only one whom they had not led astray by their\nartifice. He had been satisfied with a single shekel daily, and had\ntherefore made only a single brick daily, which they had to accept\nafterward as the measure of his day's work.[32]\n\nAs his life partner, Amram chose his aunt Jochebed, who was born the\nsame day with him.[33] She was the daughter of Levi, and she owed her\nname, \"Divine Splendor,\" to the celestial light that radiated from her\ncountenance.[34] She was worthy of being her husband's helpmeet, for\nshe was one of the midwives that had imperilled their own lives to\nrescue the little Hebrew babes. Indeed, if God had not allowed a\nmiracle to happen, she and her daughter Miriam would have been killed\nby Pharaoh for having resisted his orders and saved the Hebrew children\nalive. When the king sent his hangmen for the two women, God caused\nthem to become invisible, and the bailiffs bad to return without\naccomplishing their errand.[35]\n\nThe first child of the union between Amram and Jochebed, his wife, who\nwas one hundred and twenty-six years old at the time of her marriage,\nwas a girl, and the mother called her Miriam, \"Bitterness,\" for it was\nat the time of her birth that the Egyptians began to envenom the life\nof the Hebrews. The second child was a boy, called Aaron, which means,\n\"Woe unto this pregnancy!\" because Pharaoh's instructions to the\nmidwives, to kill the male children of the Hebrews, was proclaimed\nduring the months before Aaron's birth.[36]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BIRTH OF MOSES\n\n\nWhen Amram separated from his wife on account of the edict published\nagainst the male children of the Hebrews, and his example was followed\nby all the Israelites, his daughter Miriam said to him: \"Father, thy\ndecree is worse than Pharaoh's decree. The Egyptians aim to destroy\nonly the male children, but thou includest the girls as well. Pharaoh\ndeprives his victims of life in this world, but thou preventest\nchildren from being born, and thus thou deprivest them of the future\nlife, too. He resolves destruction, but who knows whether the intention\nof the wicked can persist? Thou art a righteous man, and the enactments\nof the righteous are executed by God, hence thy decree will be upheld.\"\n\nAmram recognized the justice of her plea, and he repaired to the\nSanhedrin, and put the matter before this body. The members of the\ncourt spoke, and said: \"It was thou that didst separate husbands and\nwives, and from thee should go forth the permission for re-marriage.\"\nAmram then made the proposition that each of the members of the\nSanhedrin return to his wife, and wed her clandestinely, but his\ncolleagues repudiated the plan, saying, \"And who will make it known\nunto the whole of Israel? \"\n\nAccordingly, Amram stood publicly under the wedding canopy with his\ndivorced wife Jochebed, while Aaron and Miriam danced about it, and the\nangels proclaimed, \"Let the mother of children be joyful!\" His\nre-marriage was solemnized with great ceremony, to the end that the men\nthat bad followed his example in divorcing their wives might imitate\nhim now in taking them again unto themselves. And so it happened.[37]\n\nOld as Jochebed was, she regained her youth. Her skin became soft, the\nwrinkles in her face disappeared, the warm tints of maiden beauty\nreturned, and in a short time she became pregnant.[38]\n\nAmram was very uneasy about his wife's being with child; he knew not\nwhat to do. He turned to God in prayer, and entreated Him to have\ncompassion upon those who had in no wise transgressed the laws of His\nworship, and afford them deliverance from the misery they endured,\nwhile He rendered abortive the hope of their enemies, who yearned for\nthe destruction of their nation. God had mercy on him, and He stood by\nhim in his sleep, and exhorted him not to despair of His future favors.\nHe said further, that He did not forget their piety, and He would\nalways reward them for it, as He had granted His favor in other days\nunto their forefathers. \"Know, therefore,\" the Lord continued to speak,\n\"that I shall provide for you all together what is for your good, and\nfor thee in particular that which shall make thee celebrated; for the\nchild out of dread of whose nativity the Egyptians have doomed the\nIsraelite children to destruction, shall be this child of thine, and be\nshall remain concealed from those who watch to destroy him, and when he\nhas been bred up, in a miraculous way, he shall deliver the Hebrew\nnation from the distress they are under by reason of the Egyptians. His\nmemory shall be celebrated while the world lasts, and not only among\nthe Hebrews, but among strangers also. And all this shall be the effect\nof My favor toward thee and thy posterity. Also his brother shall be\nsuch that he shall obtain My priesthood for himself, and for his\nposterity after him, unto the end of the world.\"\n\nAfter he had been informed of these things by the vision, Amram awoke,\nand told all unto his wife Jochebed.[39]\n\nHis daughter Miriam likewise had a prophetic dream, and she related it\nunto her parents, saying: \"In this night I saw a man clothed in fine\nlinen. 'Tell thy father and thy mother,' he said, 'that he who shall be\nborn unto them, shall be cast into the waters, and through him the\nwaters shall become dry, and wonders and miracles shall be performed\nthrough him, and he shall save My people Israel, and be their leader\nforever.' \"[40]\n\nDuring her pregnancy, Jochebed observed that the child in her womb was\ndestined for great things. All the time she suffered no pain, and also\nshe suffered none in giving birth to her son, for pious women are not\nincluded in the curse pronounced upon Eve, decreeing sorrow in\nconception and in childbearing.[41]\n\nAt the moment of the child's appearance, the whole house was filled\nwith radiance equal to the splendor of the sun and the moon.[42] A\nstill greater miracle followed. The infant was not yet a day old when\nhe began to walk and speak with his parents, and as though he were an\nadult, he refused to drink milk from his mother's breast.[43]\n\nJochebed gave birth to the child six months after conception. The\nEgyptian bailiffs, who kept strict watch over all pregnant women in\norder to be on the spot in time to carry off their new-born boys, had\nnot expected her delivery for three months more. These three months the\nparents succeeded in keeping the babe concealed, though every\nIsraelitish house was guarded by two Egyptian women, one stationed\nwithin and one without.[44] At the end of this time they determined to\nexpose the child, for Amram was afraid that both he and his son would\nbe devoted to death if the secret leaked out, and he thought it better\nto entrust the child's fate to Divine Providence. He was convinced that\nGod would protect the boy, and fulfil His word in truth.[45]\n\n\n\n\nMOSES RESCUED FROM THE WATER\n\n\nJochebed accordingly took an ark fashioned of bulrushes, daubed it with\npitch on the outside, and lined it with clay within. The reason she\nused bulrushes was because they float on the surface of the water, and\nshe put pitch only on the outside, to protect the child as much as\npossible against the annoyance of a disagreeable odor. Over the child\nas it lay in the ark she spread a tiny canopy, to shade the babe, with\nthe words, \"Perhaps I shall not live to see him under the marriage\ncanopy.\" And then she abandoned the ark on the shores of the Red Sea.\nYet it was not left unguarded. Her daughter Miriam stayed near by, to\ndiscover whether a prophecy she had uttered would be fulfilled. Before\nthe child's birth, his sister had foretold that her mother would bring\nforth a son that should redeem Israel. When he was born, and the house\nwas filled with brilliant light, Amram kissed her on her head, but when\nhe was forced into the expedient of exposing the child, he beat her on\nher head, saying, \"My daughter, what hath become of thy prophecy?\"\nTherefore Miriam stayed, and strolled along the shore, to observe what\nwould be the fate of the babe, and what would come of her prophecy\nconcerning him.[46]\n\nThe day the child was exposed was the twenty-first of the month of\nNisan, the same on which the children of Israel later, under the\nleadership of Moses, sang the song of praise and gratitude to God for\nthe redemption from the waters of the sea. The angels appeared before\nGod, and spoke: \"O Lord of the world, shall he that is appointed to\nsing a song of praise unto Thee on this day of Nisan, to thank Thee for\nrescuing him and his people from the sea, shall he find his death in\nthe sea to-day?\" The Lord replied: \"Ye know well that I see all things.\nThe contriving of man can do naught to change what bath been resolved\nin My counsel. Those do not attain their end who use cunning and malice\nto secure their own safety, and endeavor to bring ruin upon their\nfellow-men. But he who trusts Me in his peril will be conveyed from\nprofoundest distress to unlooked-for happiness. Thus My omnipotence\nwill reveal itself in the fortunes of this babe.[47]\n\nAt the time of the child's abandonment, God sent scorching heat to\nplague the Egyptians, and they all suffered with leprosy and smarting\nboils. Thermutis, the daughter of Pharaoh, sought relief from the\nburning pain in a bath in the waters of the Nile.[48] But physical\ndiscomfort was not her only reason for leaving her father's palace. She\nwas determined to cleanse herself as well of the impurity of the idol\nworship that prevailed there.\n\nWhen she saw the little ark floating among the flags on the surface of\nthe water, she supposed it to contain one of the little children\nexposed at her father's order, and she commanded her handmaids to fetch\nit. But they protested, saying, \"O our mistress, it happens sometimes\nthat a decree issued by a king is unheeded, yet it is observed at least\nby his children and the members of his household, and dost thou desire\nto transgress thy father's edict?\" Forthwith the angel Gabriel\nappeared, seized all the maids except one, whom he permitted the\nprincess to retain for her service, and buried them in the bowels of\nthe earth.\n\nPharaoh's daughter now proceeded to do her own will. She stretched\nforth her arm, and although the ark was swimming at a distance of sixty\nells, she succeeded in grasping it, because her arm was lengthened\nmiraculously. No sooner had she touched it than the leprosy afflicting\nher departed from her. Her sudden restoration led her to examine the\ncontents of the ark,[49] and when she opened it, her amazement was\ngreat. She beheld an exquisitely beautiful boy, for God bad fashioned\nthe Hebrew babe's body with peculiar care,[50] and beside it she\nperceived the Shekinah. Noticing that the boy bore the sign of the\nAbrahamic covenant, she knew that he was one of the Hebrew children,\nand mindful of her father's decree concerning the male children of the\nIsraelites, she was about to abandon the babe to his fate. At that\nmoment the angel Gabriel came and gave the child a vigorous blow, and\nhe began to cry aloud, with a voice like a young man's. His vehement\nweeping and the weeping of Aaron, who was lying beside him, touched the\nprincess, and in her pity she resolved to save him. She ordered an\nEgyptian woman to be brought, to nurse the child, but the little one\nrefused to take milk from her breast, as he refused to take it from one\nafter the other of the Egyptian women fetched thither. Thus it had been\nordained by God, that none of them might boast later on, and say, \"I\nsuckled him that holds converse now with the Shekinah.\" Nor was the\nmouth destined to speak with God to draw nourishment from the unclean\nbody of an Egyptian woman.\n\nNow Miriam stepped into the presence of Thermutis, as though she had\nbeen standing there by chance to look at the child,[51] and she spoke\nto the princess, saying, \"It is vain for thee, O queen, to call for\nnurses that are in no wise of kin to the child, but if thou wilt order\na woman of the Hebrews to be brought, he may accept her breast, seeing\nthat she is of his own nation.\" Thermutis therefore bade Miriam fetch a\nHebrew woman, and with winged steps, speeding like a vigorous youth,\nshe hastened and brought back her own mother, the child's mother, for\nshe knew that none present was acquainted with her. The babe,\nunresisting, took his mother's breast, and clutched it tightly.[52] The\nprincess committed the child to Jochebed's care, saying these words,\nwhich contained an unconscious divination: \"Here is what is thine.\"\nNurse the boy henceforth, and I will give thee two silver pieces as thy\nwages.[54]\n\nThe return of her son, safe and sound, after she had exposed him, was\nJochebed's reward from God for her services as one of the midwives that\nhad bidden defiance to Pharaoh's command and saved the Hebrew children\nalive.[55]\n\nBy exposing their son to danger, Amram and Jochebed had effected the\nwithdrawal of Pharaoh's command enjoining the extermination of the\nHebrew men children. The day Moses was set adrift in the little ark,\nthe astrologers had come to Pharaoh and told him the glad tidings, that\nthe danger threatening the Egyptians on account of one boy, whose doom\nlay in the water, had now been averted. Thereupon Pharaoh cried a halt\nto the drowning of the boys of his empire. The astrologers had seen\nsomething, but they knew not what, and they announced a message, the\nimport of which they did not comprehend. Water was, indeed, the doom of\nMoses, but that did not mean that he would perish in the waters of the\nNile. It had reference to the waters of Meribah, the waters of strife,\nand how they would cause his death in the desert, before he had\ncompleted his task of leading the people into the promised land.\nPharaoh, misled by the obscure vision of his astrologers, thought that\nthe future redeemer of Israel was to lose his life by drowning, and to\nmake sure that the boy whose appearance was foretold by the astrologers\nmight not escape his fate, he had ordered all boys, even the children\nof the Egyptians, born during a period of nine months to be cast into\nthe water.\n\nOn account of the merits of Moses, the six hundred thousand men\nchildren of the Hebrews begotten in the same night with him, and thrown\ninto the water on the same day, were rescued miraculously together with\nhim, and it was therefore not an idle boast, if he said later, \"The\npeople that went forth out of the water on account of my merits are six\nhundred thousand men.\"[56]\n\n\n\n\nTHE INFANCY OF MOSES\n\n\nFor two years the child rescued by Pharaoh's daughter stayed with his\nparents and kindred. They gave him various names. His father called him\nHeber, because it was for this child's sake that he had been \"reunited\"\nwith his wife. His mother's name for him was Jekuthiel, \"because,\" she\nsaid, \"I set my hope upon God, and He gave him back to me.\" To his\nsister Miriam he was Jered, because she had \"descended\" to the stream\nto ascertain his fate. His brother Aaron called him Abi Zanoah, because\nhis father, who had \"cast off\" his mother, had taken her back for the\nsake of the child to be born. His grandfather Kohath knew him as Abi\nGedor, because the Heavenly Father had \"built up\" the breach in Israel,\nwhen He rescued him, and thus restrained the Egyptians from throwing\nthe Hebrew men children into the water. His nurse called him Abi Soco,\nbecause he had been kept concealed in a \"tent\" for three months,\nescaping the pursuit of the Egyptians. And Israel called him Shemaiah\nben Nethanel, because in his day God would \"hear\" the sighs of the\npeople, and deliver them from their oppressors, and through him would\nHe \"give\" them His own law.[57]\n\nHis kindred and all Israel knew that the child was destined for great\nthings, for he was barely four months old when he began to prophesy,\nsaying, \"In days to come I shall receive the Torah from the flaming\ntorch.\"[58]\n\nWhen Jochebed took the child to the palace at the end of two years,\nPharaoh's daughter called him Moses, because she had \"drawn\" him out of\nthe water, and because he would \"draw\" the children of Israel out of\nthe land of Egypt in a day to come.[59] And this was the only name\nwhereby God called the son of Amram, the name conferred upon him by\nPharaoh's daughter. He said to the princess: \"Moses was not thy child,\nyet thou didst treat him as such. For this I will call thee My\ndaughter, though thou art not My daughter,\" and therefore the princess,\nthe daughter of Pharaoh, bears the name Bithiah, \"the daughter of God.\"\nShe married Caleb later on, and he was a suitable husband for her. As\nshe stood up against her father's wicked counsels, so Caleb stood up\nagainst the counsel of his fellow-messengers sent to spy out the land\nof Canaan.[60] For rescuing Moses and for her other pious deeds, she\nwas permitted to enter Paradise alive.[61]\n\nThat Moses might receive the treatment at court usually accorded to a\nprince, Bithiah pretended that she was with child for some time before\nshe had him fetched away from his parents' house.\" His royal\nfoster-mother caressed and kissed him constantly, and on account of his\nextraordinary beauty she would not permit him ever to quit the palace.\nWhoever set eyes on him, could not leave off from looking at him,\nwherefore Bithiah feared to allow him out of her sight.[63]\n\nMoses' understanding was far beyond his years; his instructors observed\nthat he disclosed keener comprehension than is usual at his age. All\nhis actions in his infancy promised greater ones after he should come\nto man's estate, and when he was but three years old, God granted him\nremarkable size. As for his beauty, it was so attractive that\nfrequently those meeting him as he was carried along on the road were\nobliged to turn and stare at him. They would leave what they were\nabout, and stand still a great while, looking after him, for the\nloveliness of the child was so wondrous that it held the gaze of the\nspectator. The daughter of Pharaoh, perceiving Moses to be an\nextraordinary lad, adopted him as her son, for she had no child of her\nown. She informed her father of her intention concerning him, in these\nwords: \"I have brought up a child, who is divine in form and of an\nexcellent mind, and as I received him through the bounty of the river\nin a wonderful way, I have thought it proper to adopt him as my son and\nas the heir of thy kingdom.\" And when she had spoken thus, she put the\ninfant between her father's hands, and he took him and hugged him close\nto his breast.[64]\n\n\n\n\nMOSES RESCUED BY GABRIEL\n\n\nWhen Moses was in his third year, Pharaoh was dining one day, with the\nqueen Alfar'anit at his right hand, his daughter Bithiah with the\ninfant Moses upon her lap at his left, and Balaam the son of Beor\ntogether with his two sons and all the princes of the realm sitting at\ntable in the king's presence. It happened that the infant took the\ncrown from off the king's head, and placed it on his own. When the king\nand the princes saw this, they were terrified, and each one in turn\nexpressed his astonishment. The king said unto the princes, \"What speak\nyou, and what say you, O ye princes, on this matter, and what is to be\ndone to this Hebrew boy on account of this act?\"\n\nBalaam spoke, saying: \"Remember now, O my lord and king, the dream\nwhich thou didst dream many days ago, and how thy servant interpreted\nit unto thee. Now this is a child of the Hebrews in whom is the spirit\nof God. Let not my lord the king imagine in his heart that being a\nchild he did the thing without knowledge. For he is a Hebrew boy, and\nwisdom and understanding are with him, although he is yet a child, and\nwith wisdom has he done this, and chosen unto himself the kingdom of\nEgypt. For this is the manner of all the Hebrews, to deceive kings and\ntheir magnates, to do all things cunningly in order to make the kings\nof the earth and their men to stumble.\n\n\"Surely thou knowest that Abraham their father acted thus, who made the\narmies of Nimrod king of Babel and of Abimelech king of Gerar to\nstumble, and he possessed himself of the land of the children of Heth\nand the whole realm of Canaan. Their father Abraham went down into\nEgypt, and said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister, in order to make\nEgypt and its king to stumble.\n\n\"His son Isaac did likewise when he went to Gerar, and he dwelt there,\nand his strength prevailed over the army of Abimelech, and he intended\nto make the kingdom of the Philistines to stumble, by saying that\nRebekah his wife was his sister.\n\n\"Jacob also dealt treacherously with his brother, and took his\nbirthright and his blessing from him. Then he went to Paddan-aram, to\nLaban, his mother's brother, and he obtained his daughters from him\ncunningly, and also his cattle and all his belongings, and he fled away\nand returned to the land of Canaan, to his father.\n\n\"His sons sold their brother Joseph, and he went down into Egypt and\nbecame a slave, and he was put into prison for twelve years, until the\nformer Pharaoh delivered him from the prison, and magnified him above\nall the princes of Egypt on account of his interpreting the king's\ndreams. When God caused a famine to descend upon the whole world,\nJoseph sent for his father, and he brought him down into Egypt his\nfather, his brethren, and all his father's household, and he supplied\nthem with food without pay or reward, while he acquired Egypt, and made\nslaves of all its inhabitants.\n\n\"Now, therefore, my lord king, behold, this child has risen up in their\nstead in Egypt, to do according to their deeds and make sport of every\nman, be he king, prince, or judge. If it please the king, let us now\nspill his blood upon the ground, lest he grow up and snatch the\ngovernment from thine hand, and the hope of Egypt be cut off after he\nreigns. Let us, moreover, call for all the judges and the wise men of\nEgypt, that we may know whether the judgment of death be due to this\nchild, as I have said, and then we will slay him.\"\n\nPharaoh sent and called for all the wise men of Egypt, and they came,\nand the angel Gabriel was disguised as one of them. When they were\nasked their opinion in the matter, Gabriel spoke up, and said: \"If it\nplease the king, let him place an onyx stone before the child, and a\ncoal of fire, and if he stretches out his hand and grasps the onyx\nstone, then shall we know that the child hath done with wisdom all that\nhe bath done, and we will slay him. But if he stretches out his hand\nand grasps the coal of fire, then shall we know that it was not with\nconsciousness that he did the thing, and he shall live.\"\n\nThe counsel seemed good in the eyes of the king, and when they had\nplaced the stone and the coal before the child, Moses stretched forth\nhis hand toward the onyx stone and attempted to seize it, but the angel\nGabriel guided his hand away from it and placed it upon the live coal,\nand the coal burnt the child's hand, and he lifted it up and touched it\nto his mouth, and burnt part of his lips and part of his tongue, and\nfor all his life he became slow of speech and of a slow tongue.\n\nSeeing this, the king and the princes knew that Moses had not acted\nwith knowledge in taking the crown from off the king's head, and they\nrefrained from slaying him.[65] God Himself, who protected Moses,\nturned the king's mind to grace, and his foster-mother snatched him\naway, and she had him educated with great care, so that the Hebrews\ndepended upon him, and cherished the hope that great things would be\ndone by him. But the Egyptians were suspicious of what would follow\nfrom such an education as his.[66]\n\nAt great cost teachers were invited to come to Egypt from neighboring\nlands, to educate the child Moses. Some came of their own accord, to\ninstruct him in the sciences and the liberal arts. By reason of his\nadmirable endowments of mind, he soon excelled his teachers in\nknowledge. His learning seemed a process of mere recollecting, and when\nthere was a difference of opinion among scholars, he selected the\ncorrect one instinctively, for his mind refused to store up anything\nthat was false.[67]\n\nBut he deserves more praise for his unusual strength of will than for\nhis natural capacity, for he succeeded in transforming an originally\nevil disposition into a noble, exalted character, a change that was\nfarther aided by his resolution, as he himself acknowledged later.\nAfter the wonderful exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, a king of\nArabia sent an artist to Moses, to paint his portrait, that he might\nalways have the likeness of the divine man before him. The painter\nreturned with his handiwork, and the king assembled his wise men, those\nin particular who were conversant with the science of physiognomy. He\ndisplayed the portrait before them, and invited their judgment upon it.\nThe unanimous opinion was that it represented a man covetous, haughty,\nsensual, in short, disfigured by all possible ugly traits. The king was\nindignant that they should pretend to be masters in physiognomy, seeing\nthat they declared the picture of Moses, the holy, divine man, to be\nthe picture of a villain. They defended themselves by accusing the\npainter in turn of not having produced a true portrait of Moses, else\nthey would not have fallen into the erroneous judgment they had\nexpressed. But the artist insisted that his work resembled the original\nclosely.\n\nUnable to decide who was right, the Arabian king went to see Moses, and\nhe could not but admit that the portrait painted for him was a\nmasterpiece. Moses as he beheld him in the flesh was the Moses upon the\ncanvas. There could be no doubt but that the highly extolled knowledge\nof his physiognomy experts was empty twaddle. He told Moses what had\nhappened, and what he thought of it. He replied: \"Thy artist and thy\nexperts alike are masters, each in his line. If my fine qualities were\na product of nature, I were no better than a log of wood, which remains\nforever as nature produced it at the first. Unashamed I make the\nconfession to thee that by nature I possessed all the reprehensible\ntraits thy wise men read in my picture and ascribed to me, perhaps to a\ngreater degree even than they think. But I mastered my evil impulses\nwith my strong will, and the character I acquired through severe\ndiscipline has become the opposite of the disposition with which I was\nborn. Through this change, wrought in me by my own efforts, I have\nearned honor and commendation upon earth as well as in heaven.\"[68]\n\n\n\n\nTHE YOUTH OF MOSES\n\n\nOne day\u2014it was after he was grown up, and had passed beyond the years\nof childhood\u2014Moses went to the land of Goshen, in which lived the\nchildren of Israel. There he saw the burdens under which his people\nwere groaning, and he inquired why the heavy service had been put upon\nthem. The Israelites told him all that had befallen, told him of the\ncruel edict Pharaoh had issued shortly before his birth, and told him\nof the wicked counsels given by Balaam against themselves as well as\nagainst his person when he was but a little boy and had set Pharaoh's\ncrown upon his head. The wrath of Moses was kindled against the\nspiteful adviser, and he tried to think out means of rendering him\nharmless. But Balaam, getting wind of his ill-feeling, fled from Egypt\nwith his two sons, and betook himself to the court of Kikanos king of\nEthiopia.[69]\n\nThe sight of his enslaved people touched Moses unto tears, and he\nspoke, saying: \"Woe unto me for your anguish! Rather would I die than\nsee you suffer so grievously.\" He did not disdain to help his\nunfortunate brethren at their heavy tasks as much as lay in his power.\nHe dismissed all thought of his high station at court, shouldered a\nshare of the burdens put upon the Israelites, and toiled in their\nplace. The result was that he not only gave relief to the heavily-laden\nworkmen, but he also gained the favor of Pharaoh, who believed that\nMoses was taking part in the labor in order to promote the execution of\nthe royal order. And God said unto Moses: \"Thou didst relinquish all\nthy other occupations, and didst join thyself unto the children of\nIsrael, whom thou dost treat as brethren; therefore will I, too, put\naside now all heavenly and earthly affairs, and hold converse with\nthee.\"[70]\n\nMoses continued to do all he could to alleviate the suffering of his\nbrethren to the best of his ability. He addressed encouraging words to\nthem, saying: \"My dear brethren, bear your lot with fortitude! Do not\nlose courage, and let not your spirit grow weary with the weariness of\nyour body. Better times will come, when tribulation shall be changed\ninto joy. Clouds are followed by sunshine, storms by calm, all things\nin the world tend toward their opposites, and nothing is more\ninconstant than the fortunes of man.\"[71]\n\nThe royal favor, which the king accorded him in ever- increasing\nmeasure, he made use of to lighten the burden laid upon the children of\nIsrael. One day he came into the presence of Pharaoh, and said: \"O my\nlord, I have a request to make of thee, and my hope is that thou wilt\nnot deny it.\" \"Speak,\" replied the king. \"It is an admitted fact,\" said\nMoses, \"that if a slave is not afforded rest at least one day in the\nweek, he will die of overexertion. Thy Hebrew slaves will surely\nperish, unless thou accordest them a day of cessation from work.\"\nPharaoh fulfilled the petition preferred by Moses, and the king's edict\nwas published in the whole of Egypt and in Goshen, as follows: \"To the\nsons of Israel! Thus saith the king: Do your work and perform your\nservice for six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; on it ye\nshall do no labor. Thus shall ye do unto all times, according to the\ncommand of the king and the command of Moses the son of Bithiah.\" And\nthe day appointed by Moses as the day of rest was Saturday, later given\nby God to the Israelites as the Sabbath day.[72]\n\nWhile Moses abode in Goshen, an incident of great importance occurred.\nTo superintend the service of the children of Israel, an officer from\namong them was set over every ten, and ten such officers were under the\nsurveillance of an Egyptian taskmaster. One of these Hebrew officers,\nDathan by name, had a wife, Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the\ntribe of Dan, who was of extraordinary beauty, but inclined to be very\nloquacious. Whenever the Egyptian taskmaster set over her husband came\nto their house on business connected with his office, she would\napproach him pleasantly and enter into conversation with him. The\nbeautiful Israelitish woman enkindled a mad passion in his breast, and\nhe sought and found a cunning way of satisfying his lustful desire. One\nday he appeared at break of dawn at the house of Dathan, roused him\nfrom his sleep, and ordered him to hurry his detachment of men to their\nwork. The husband scarcely out of sight, he executed the villainy he\nhad planned, and dishonored the woman, and the fruit of this illicit\nrelation was the blasphemer of the Name whom Moses ordered to execution\non the march through the desert.\n\nAt the moment when the Egyptian slipped out of Shelomith's chamber,\nDathan returned home. Vexed that his crime had come to the knowledge of\nthe injured husband, the taskmaster goaded him on to work with\nexcessive vigor, and dealt him blow after blow with the intention to\nkill him.[73] Young Moses happened to visit the place at which the\nmuch-abused and tortured Hebrew was at work. Dathan hastened toward\nhim, and complained of all the wrong and suffering the Egyptian had\ninflicted upon him.[74] Full of wrath, Moses, whom the holy spirit had\nacquainted with the injury done the Hebrew officer by the Egyptian\ntaskmaster, cried out to the latter, saying: \"Not enough that thou hast\ndishonored this man's wife, thou aimest to kill him, too?\" And turning\nto God, he spoke further: \"What will become of Thy promise to Abraham,\nthat his posterity shall be as numerous as the stars, if his children\nare given over to death? And what will become of the revelation on\nSinai, if the children of Israel are exterminated?\"\n\nMoses wanted to see if someone would step forward, and, impelled by\nzeal for the cause of God and for God's law, would declare himself\nready to avenge the outrage. He waited in vain. Then he determined to\nact himself. Naturally enough he hesitated to take the life of a human\nbeing. He did not know whether the evil-doer might not be brought to\nrepentance, and then lead a life of pious endeavor. He also considered,\nthat there would perhaps be some among the descendants to spring from\nthe Egyptian for whose sake their wicked ancestor might rightfully lay\nclaim to clemency. The holy spirit allayed all his doubts. He was made\nto see that not the slightest hope existed that good would come either\nfrom the malefactor himself or from any of his offspring. Then Moses\nwas willing to requite him for his evil deeds. Nevertheless he first\nconsulted the angels, to hear what they had to say, and they agreed\nthat the Egyptian deserved death, and Moses acted according to their\nopinion.\n\nNeither physical strength nor a weapon was needed to carry out his\npurpose. He merely pronounced the Name of God, and the Egyptian was a\ncorpse. To the bystanders, the Israelites, Moses said: \"The Lord\ncompared you unto the sand of the sea-shore, and as the sand moves\nnoiselessly from place to place, so I pray you to keep the knowledge of\nwhat hath happened a secret within yourselves. Let nothing be heard\nconcerning it.\"\n\nThe wish expressed by Moses was not honored. The slaying of the\nEgyptian remained no secret, and those who betrayed it were Israelites,\nDathan and Abiram, the sons of Pallu, of the tribe of Reuben, notorious\nfor their effrontery and contentiousness. The day after the thing with\nthe Egyptians happened, the two brothers began of malice aforethought\nto scuffle with each other, only in order to draw Moses into the\nquarrel and create an occasion for his betrayal. The plan succeeded\nadmirably. Seeing Dathan raise his hand against Abiram, to deal him a\nblow, Moses exclaimed, \"O thou art a villain, to lift up thy hand\nagainst an Israelite, even if he is no better than thou.\" Dathan\nreplied: \"Young man, who hath made thee to be a judge over us, thou\nthat hast not yet attained to years of maturity? We know very well that\nthou art the son of Jochebed, though people call thee the son of the\nprincess Bithiah, and if thou shouldst attempt to play the part of our\nmaster and judge, we will publish abroad the thing thou didst unto the\nEgyptian. Or, peradventure, thou harborest the intention to slay us as\nthou didst slay him, by pronouncing the Name of God?\"\n\nNot satisfied with these taunts, the noble pair of brothers betook\nthemselves to Pharaoh, and spoke before him, \"Moses dishonoreth thy\nroyal mantle and thy crown,\" to which Pharaoh returned, saying, \"Much\ngood may it do him!\" But they pursued the subject. \"He helps thine\nenemies, Pharaoh,\" they continued, whereupon he replied, as before,\n\"Much good may it do him!\" Still they went on, \"He is not the son of\nthy daughter.\" These last words did not fail of making an impression\nupon Pharaoh.[75] A royal command was issued for the arrest of Moses,\nand he was condemned to death by the sword.\n\nThe angels came to God, and said, \"Moses, the familiar of Thine house,\nis held under restraint,\" and God replied, \"I will espouse his cause.\"\n\"But,\" the angels urged, \"his verdict of death has been pronounced\u2014yes,\nthey are leading him to execution,\" and again God made reply, as\nbefore, \"I will espouse his cause.\"\n\nMoses mounted the scaffold, and a sword, sharp beyond compare, was set\nupon his neck ten times, but it always slipped away, because his neck\nwas as hard as ivory. And a still greater miracle came to pass. God\nsent down the angel Michael, in the guise of a hangman, and the human\nhangman charged by Pharaoh with the execution was changed into the form\nof Moses. This spurious Moses the angel killed with the very sword with\nwhich the executioner had purposed to slay the intended victim.\nMeantime Moses took to flight. Pharaoh ordered his pursuit, but it was\nin vain. The king's troops were partly stricken with blindness partly\nwith dumbness. The dumb could give no information about the\nabiding-place of Moses, and the blind, though they knew where it was,\ncould not get to it.[76]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FLIGHT\n\n\nAn angel of God took Moses to a spot removed forty days' journey from\nEgypt, so far off that all fear was banished from his mind.[77] Indeed,\nhis anxiety had never been for his own person, but only on account of\nthe future of Israel. The subjugation of his people had always been an\nunsolved enigma to him. Why should Israel, he would ask himself, suffer\nmore than all the other nations? But when his personal straits\ninitiated him in the talebearing and back- biting that prevailed among\nthe Israelites, then he asked himself, Does this people deserve to be\nredeemed?[78] The religious conditions among the children of Israel\nwere of such kind at that time as not to permit them to hope for Divine\nassistance. They refused to give ear to Aaron and the five sons of\nZerah, who worked among them as prophets, and admonished them unto the\nfear of God. It was on account of their impiety that the heavy hand of\nPharaoh rested upon them more and more oppressively, until God had\nmercy upon them, and sent Moses to deliver them from the slavery of\nEgypt.[79]\n\nWhen he succeeded in effecting his escape from the hands of the\nhangman, Moses had no idea that a royal throne awaited him. It was\nnevertheless so. A war broke out at this time between Ethiopia and the\nnations of the East that had been subject to it until then. Kikanos,\nthe king, advanced against the enemy with a great army. He left Balaam\nand Balaam's two sons, Jannes and Jambres, behind, to keep guard over\nhis capital and take charge of the people remaining at home. The\nabsence of the king gave Balaam the opportunity of winning his subjects\nover to his side, and he was put upon the throne, and his two sons were\nset over the army as generals. To cut Kikanos off from his capital,\nBalaam and his sons invested the city, so that none could enter it\nagainst their will. On two sides they made the walls higher, on the\nthird they dug a network of canals, into which they conducted the\nwaters of the river girding the whole land of Ethiopia, and on the\nfourth side their magic arts collected a large swarm of snakes and\nscorpions. Thus none could depart, and none could enter.\n\nMeantime Kikanos succeeded in subjugating the rebellious nations. When\nhe returned at the head of his victorious army, and espied the high\ncity wall from afar, he and his men said: \"The inhabitants of the city,\nseeing that the war detained us abroad for a long time, have raised the\nwalls and fortified them, that the kings of Canaan may not be able to\nenter.\" On approaching the city gates, which were barred, they cried\nout to the guards to open them, but by Balaam's instructions they were\nnot permitted to pass through. A skirmish ensued, in which Kikanos lost\none hundred and thirty men. On the morrow the combat was continued, the\nking with his troops being stationed on the thither bank of the river.\nThis day he lost his thirty riders, who, mounted on their steeds, had\nattempted to swim the stream. Then the king ordered rafts to be\nconstructed for the transporting of his men. When the vessels reached\nthe canals, they were submerged, and the waters, swirling round and\nround as though driven by mill wheels, swept away two hundred men,\ntwenty from each raft. On the third day they set about assaulting the\ncity from the side on which the snakes and scorpions swarmed, but they\nfailed to reach it, and the reptiles killed one hundred and seventy\nmen. The king desisted from attacking the city, but for the space of\nnine years he surrounded it, so that none could come out or go in.\n\nWhile the siege was in progress, Moses appeared in the king's camp on\nhis flight before Pharaoh, and at once found favor with Kikanos and his\nwhole army. He exercised an attraction upon all that saw him, for he\nwas slender like a palm-tree, his countenance shone as the morning sun,\nand his strength was equal to a lion's. So deep was the king's\naffection for him that he appointed him to be commander-in-chief of his\nforces.\n\nAt the end of the nine years Kikanos fell a prey to a mortal disease,\nand he died on the seventh day of his illness. His servants embalmed\nhim, buried him opposite to the city gate toward the land of Egypt, and\nover his grave they erected a magnificent structure, strong and high,\nupon the walls whereof they engraved all the mighty deeds and battles\nof the dead king.\n\nNow, after the death of Kikanos, his men were greatly grieved on\naccount of the war. One said unto the other, \"Counsel us, what shall we\ndo at this time? We have been abiding in the wilderness, away from our\nhomes, for nine years. If we fight against the city, many of us will\nfall dead; and if we remain here besieging it, we shall also die. For\nnow all the princes of Aram and of the children of the East will hear\nthat our king is dead, and they will attack us suddenly, and they will\nfight with us until not a remnant will be left. Now, therefore, let us\ngo and set a king over us, and we will remain here besieging the city\nuntil it surrenders unto us.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE KING OF ETHIOPIA\n\n\nThey could find none except Moses fit to be their king. They hastened\nand stripped off each man his upper garment, and cast them all in a\nheap upon the ground, making a high place, on top of which they set\nMoses. Then they blew with trumpets, and called out before him: \"Long\nlive the king! Long live the king!\" And all the people and the nobles\nswore unto him to give him Adoniah for wife, the Ethiopian queen, the\nwidow of Kikanos. And they made Moses king over them on that day.\n\nThey also issued a proclamation, commanding every man to give Moses of\nwhat he possessed, and upon the high place they spread a sheet, wherein\neach one cast something, this one a gold nose ring, that one a coin,\nand onyx stones, bdellium, pearls, gold, and silver in great abundance.\n\nMoses was twenty-seven years old when he became king over Ethiopia, and\nhe reigned for forty years. On the seventh day of his reign, all the\npeople assembled and came before him, to ask his counsel as to what was\nto be done to the city they were besieging. The king answered them, and\nsaid: \"If you will hearken to my words, the city will be delivered into\nour hands. Proclaim with a loud voice throughout the whole camp, unto\nall the people, saying: 'Thus saith the king! Go to the forest and\nfetch hither of the young of the stork, each man one fledgling in his\nhand. And if there be any man that transgresseth the word of the king,\nnot to bring a bird, he shall die, and the king shall take all\nbelonging to him.' And when you have brought them, they shall be in\nyour keeping. You shall rear them until they grow up, and you shall\nteach them to fly as the hawk flieth.\"\n\nAll the people did according to the word of Moses, and after the young\nstorks had grown to full size, he ordered them to be starved for three\ndays. On the third day the king said unto them, \"Let every man put on\nhis armor and gird his sword upon him. Each one shall mount his horse,\nand each shall set his stork upon his hand, and we will rise up and\nfight against the city opposite to the place of the serpents.\"\n\nWhen they came to the appointed spot, the king said to them, \"Let each\nman send forth his young stork, to descend upon the serpents.\" Thus\nthey did, and the birds swooped down and devoured all the reptiles and\ndestroyed them. After the serpents were removed in this way, the men\nfought against the city, subdued it, and killed all its inhabitants,\nbut of the people besieging it there died not one.\n\nWhen Balaam saw that the city had fallen into the hands of the\nbesiegers, he exercised his magic arts, which enabled him to fly\nthrough the air, and he carried with him his two sons, Jannes and\nJambres, and his eight brothers, and they all took refuge in Egypt.\n\nSeeing that they had been saved by the king, and the city had been\ntaken by his good counsel, the people became more than ever attached to\nhim. They set the royal crown upon his head, and gave him Adoniah, the\nwidow of Kikanos to wife. But Moses feared the stern God of his\nfathers, and he went not in unto Adoniah, nor did he turn his eyes\ntoward her, for he remembered how Abraham had made his servant Eliezer\nswear, saying unto him, \"Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the\ndaughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.\" He also remembered\nwhat Isaac did when Jacob fled before his brother Esau, how he\ncommanded his son, saying, \"Thou shalt not take a wife from the\ndaughters of Canaan, nor ally thyself by marriage with any of the\nchildren of Ham, for the Lord our God gave Ham the son of Noah and all\nhis seed as slaves to the children of Shem and Japheth forever.\"\n\nAt that time Aram and the children of the East heard that Kikanos the\nking of Ethiopia had died, and they rose up against the Ethiopians, but\nMoses went forth with a mighty army to fight against the rebellious\nnations, and he subdued them, first the children of the East and then\nAram.\n\nMoses continued to prosper in his kingdom. He conducted the government\nin justice, righteousness, and integrity, and his people loved and\nfeared him.\n\nIn the fortieth year of his reign, while he was sitting upon his throne\none day, surrounded by all the nobles, Adoniah the queen, who was\nseated before him, rose up, and spake: \"What is this thing which you,\nthe people of Ethiopia, have done these many days? Surely you know that\nduring the forty years this man bath reigned over you, he hath not\napproached me, nor hath he worshipped the gods of Ethiopia. Now,\ntherefore, let this man reign over you no more, for he is not of our\nflesh. Behold, Monarchos my son is grown up, let him reign over you. It\nis better for you to serve the son of your lord than a stranger, a\nslave of the king of Egypt.\"\n\nA whole day the people and the nobles contended with one another,\nwhether to pay heed to the words of the queen. The officers of the army\nremained faithful to Moses, but the people of the cities were in favor\nof crowning the son of their former lord as king. The following morning\nthey rose up and made Monarchos, the son of Kikanos, king over them,\nbut they were afraid to stretch forth their hand against Moses, for the\nLord was with him. They also remembered the oath they had sworn unto\nMoses, and therefore they did him no harm. Moreover, they gave many\npresents to him, and dismissed him with great honor.\n\nWhen Moses left Ethiopia, in the sixty-seventh year of his age, it was\nthe time appointed by God in the days of old to bring Israel forth from\nthe affliction of the children of Ham. But fearing to return to Egypt\non account of Pharaoh, Moses journeyed to Midian.[80]\n\n\n\n\nJETHRO\n\n\nIn the city of Midian, named thus for a son of Abraham by Keturah,[81]\nthe man Jethro had lived for many years, doing a priest's service\nbefore the idols. As time went on, he grew more and more convinced of\nthe vanity of idol worship. His priesthood became repugnant to him, and\nhe resolved to give up his, charge. He stood before his townsmen, and\nsaid, \"Until now I performed your service before the idols, but I have\ngrown too old for the duties of the office. Choose, therefore, whomever\nyou would choose in my place.\" Speaking thus, he delivered to the\npeople all the paraphernalia appertaining to the idol worship, and bade\nthem transfer them to the one to whom in their discretion they should\nentrust his position. Suspecting Jethro's hidden motives, the people\nput him under the ban, and none might venture to do him the slightest\nservice. Not even would the shepherds pasture his flocks, and there was\nnothing for him to do but impose this work upon his seven\ndaughters.[82]\n\nJethro's transformation from an idolatrous priest into a God-fearing\nman is conveyed by his seven names. He was called Jether, because the\nTorah contains an \"additional\" section about him; Jethro, he\n\"overflowed\" with good deeds. Hobab, \"the beloved son of God\"; Reuel,\n\"the friend of God\"; Heber, \"the associate of God\"; Putiel, \"he that\nhath renounced idolatry\"; and Keni, he that was \"zealous\" for God, and\n\"acquired\" the Torah.[83]\n\nIn consequence of the hostile relation between Jethro and the\ninhabitants of the city, his daughters were in the habit of making\ntheir appearance at the watering troughs before the other shepherds\ncame thither. But the ruse was not successful. The shepherds would\ndrive them away, and water their own flocks at the troughs that the\nmaidens had filled. When Moses arrived in Midian, it was at the well\nthat he made halt, and his experience was the same as Isaac's and\nJacob's. Like them he found his helpmeet there. Rebekah had been\nselected by Eliezer as the wife of Isaac, while she was busy drawing\nwater for him; Jacob had seen Rachel first, while she was watering her\nsheep, and at this well in Midian Moses met his future wife Zipporah.\n\nThe rudeness of the shepherds reached its climax the very day of Moses'\narrival. First they deprived the maidens of the water they had drawn\nfor themselves, and attempted to do violence to them, and then they\nthrew them into the water with intent to kill them. At this moment\nMoses appeared, dragged the maidens out of the water, and gave the\nflocks to drink, first Jethro's and then the flocks of the shep- herds,\nthough the latter did not deserve his good offices. True, he did them\nthe service with but little trouble to himself, for he had only to draw\na bucketful, and the water flowed so copiously that it sufficed for all\nthe herds,[84] and it did not cease to flow until Moses withdrew from\nthe well,[85] \u2014the same well at which Jacob had met Rachel, his future\nwife, and the same well that God created at the beginning of the world,\nthe opening of which He made in the twilight of the first Sabbath\neve.[86]\n\nJethro's daughters thanked Moses for the assistance he had afforded\nthem. But Moses warded off their gratitude, saying, \"Your thanks are\ndue to the Egyptian I killed, on account of whom I had to flee from\nEgypt. Had it not been for him, I should not be here now.\"[87]\n\n\n\n\nMOSES MARRIES ZIPPORAH\n\n\nOne of the seven maidens whom Moses saw at the well attracted his\nnotice in particular on account of her modest demeanor, and he made her\na proposal of marriage. But Zipporah repulsed him, saying, \"My father\nhas a tree in his garden with which he tests every man that expresses a\ndesire to marry one of his daughters, and as soon as the suitor touches\nthe tree, he is devoured by it.\"\n\nMoses: \"Whence has he the tree?\"\n\nZipporah: \"It is the rod that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in\nthe twilight of the first Sabbath eve, and gave to Adam. He transmitted\nit to Enoch, from him it descended to Noah, then to Shem, and Abraham,\nand Isaac, and finally to Jacob, who brought it with him to Egypt, and\ngave it to his son Joseph. When Joseph died, the Egyptians pillaged his\nhouse, and the rod, which was in their booty, they brought to Pharaoh's\npalace. At that time my father was one of the most prominent of the\nking's sacred scribes, and as such he had the opportunity of seeing the\nrod. He felt a great desire to possess it, and he stole it and took it\nto his house. On this rod the Ineffable Name is graven, and also the\nten plagues that God will cause to visit the Egyptians in a future day.\nFor many years it lay in my father's house. One day he was walking in\nhis garden carrying it, and he stuck it in the ground. When he\nattempted to draw it out again, he found that it had sprouted, and was\nputting forth blossoms. That is the rod with which he tries any that\ndesire to marry his daughters. He insists that our suitors shall\nattempt to pull it out of the ground, but as soon as they touch it, it\ndevours them.\"\n\nHaving given him this account of her father's rod, Zipporah went home,\naccompanied by her sisters, and Moses followed them.[88]\n\nJethro was not a little amazed to see his daughters return so soon from\nthe watering troughs. As a rule, the chicanery they had to suffer from\nthe shepherds detained them until late.[89] No sooner had he heard\ntheir report about the wonder- working Egyptian than he exclaimed,\n\"Mayhap he is one of the descendants of Abraham, from whom issueth\nblessing for the whole world.\"[90] He rebuked his daughters for not\nhaving invited the stranger that had done them so valuable a service to\ncome into their house, and he ordered them to fetch him, in the hope\nthat he would take one of his daughters to wife.[91]\n\nMoses had been standing without all this time, and had allowed Jethro's\ndaughters to describe him as an Egyptian, without protesting and\nasserting his Hebrew birth. For this God punished him by causing him to\ndie outside of the promised land. Joseph, who had proclaimed in public\nthat he was a Hebrew, found his last resting-place in the land of the\nHebrews, and Moses, who apparently had no objection to being considered\nan Egyptian, had to live and die outside of that land.[92]\n\nZipporah hastened forth to execute her father's wish, and no sooner had\nshe ushered him in[93] than Moses requested her hand in marriage.\nJethro replied, \"If thou canst bring me the rod in my garden, I will\ngive her to thee.\" Moses went out,[94] found the sapphire rod that God\nhad bestowed upon Adam when he was driven forth from Paradise, the rod\nthat had reached Jethro after manifold vicissitudes, and which he had\nplanted in the garden. Moses uprooted it and carried it to Jethro,[95]\nwho conceived the idea at once that he was the prophet in Israel\nconcerning whom all the wise men of Egypt had foretold that he would\ndestroy their land and its inhabitants. As soon as this thought struck\nhim, he seized Moses, and threw him into a pit, in the expectation that\nhe would meet with death there.\n\nAnd, indeed, he would have perished, if Zipporah had not devised a\nstratagem to save his life. She said to her father: \"Would it were thy\nwill to hearken unto my counsel. Thou hast no wife, but only seven\ndaughters. Dost thou desire my six sisters to preside over thy\nhousehold? Then shall I go abroad with the sheep. If not, let my\nsisters tend the flocks, and I shall take care of the house.\" Her\nfather said: \"Thou hast spoken well. Thy six sisters shall go forth\nwith the sheep, and thou shalt abide in the house and take care of it,\nand all that belongeth to me therein.\"\n\nNow Zipporah could provide Moses with all sorts of dainties as he lay\nin the pit, and she did it for the space of seven years. At the\nexpiration of this period, she said to her father: \"I recollect that\nonce upon a time thou didst cast into yonder pit a man that had fetched\nthy rod from the garden for thee, and thou didst commit a great\ntrespass thereby. If it seemeth well to thee, uncover the pit and look\ninto it. If the man is dead, throw his corpse away, lest it fill the\nhouse with stench. But should he be alive, then thou oughtest to be\nconvinced that he is one of those who are wholly pious, else he had\ndied of hunger.\"\n\nThe reply of Jethro was: \"Thou hast spoken wisely. Dost thou remember\nhis name?\" And Zipporah rejoined, \"I remember he called himself Moses\nthe son of Amram.\" Jethro lost no time, he opened the pit, and called\nout, \"Moses! Moses!\" Moses replied, and said: \"Here am I!\" Jethro drew\nhim up out of the pit, kissed him, and said: \"Blessed be God, who\nguarded thee for seven years in the pit. I acknowledge that He slayeth\nand reviveth, that thou art one of the wholly pious, that through thee\nGod will destroy Egypt in time to come, lead His people out of the\nland, and drown Pharaoh and his whole army in the sea.\"[96]\n\nThereupon Jethro gave much money to Moses, and he bestowed his daughter\nZipporah upon him as wife, giving her to him under the condition that\nthe children born of the marriage in Jethro's house should be divided\ninto two equal classes, the one to be Israelitish, the other Egyptian.\nWhen Zipporah bore him a son, Moses circumcised him,[97] and called him\nGershom, as a memorial of the wonder God had done for him, for although\nhe lived in a \"strange\" land, the Lord had not refused him aid even\n\"there.\"[98]\n\nZipporah nursed her first child for two years, and in the third year\nshe bore a second son. Remembering his compact with Jethro, Moses\nrealized that his father-in-law would not permit him to circumcise this\none, too, and he determined to return to Egypt, that he might have the\nopportunity of bringing up his second son as an Israelite. On the\njourney thither, Satan appeared to him in the guise of a serpent, and\nswallowed Moses down to his extremities. Zipporah knew by this token\nthat the thing had happened because her second son had not been\ncircumcised, and she hastened to make good the omission. As soon as she\nsprinkled the blood of the circumcision on her husband's feet, a\nheavenly voice was heard to cry to the serpent, commanding him, \"Spew\nhim out!\" and Moses came forth and stood upon his feet. Thus Zipporah\nsaved Moses' life twice, first from the pit and then from the\nserpent.[99]\n\nWhen Moses arrived in Egypt, he was approached by Dathan and Abiram,\nthe leaders of the Israelites, and they spake: \"Comest thou hither to\nslay us, or dost thou purpose to do the same with us as thou didst with\nthe Egyptian?\" This drove Moses straightway back to Midian, and there\nhe remained two years more, until God revealed Himself at Horeb, and\nsaid to him, \"Go and bring forth My children out of the land of\nEgypt.[100]\n\n\n\n\nA BLOODY REMEDY\n\n\nThe latter years of Israel's bondage in Egypt were the worst. To punish\nPharaoh for his cruelty toward the children of Israel, God afflicted\nhim with a plague of leprosy, which covered his whole body, from the\ncrown of his bead to the soles of his feet. Instead of being chastened\nby his disease, Pharaoh remained stiffnecked, and he tried to restore\nhis health by murdering Israelitish children. He took counsel with his\nthree advisers, Balaam, Jethro, and Job, how he might be healed of the\nawful malady that had seized upon him. Balaam spoke, saying, \"Thou\ncanst regain thy health only if thou wilt slaughter Israelitish\nchildren and bathe in their blood.\" Jethro, averse from having a share\nin such an atrocity, left the king and fled to Midian. Job, on the\nother hand, though he also disapproved of Balaam's counsel, kept\nsilence, and in no wise protested against it,[101] wherefor God\npunished him with a year's suffering.[102] But afterward He loaded him\ndown with all the felicities of this life, and granted him many years,\nso that this pious Gentile might be rewarded in this world for his good\ndeeds and not have the right to urge a claim upon the beatitude of the\nfuture life.[103]\n\nIn pursuance of the sanguinary advice given by Balaam, Pharaoh had his\nbailiffs snatch Israelitish babes from their mothers' breasts, and\nslaughter them, and in the blood of these innocents he bathed. His\ndisease afflicted him for ten years, and every day an Israelitish child\nwas killed for him. It was all in vain; indeed, at the end of the time\nhis leprosy changed into boils, and he suffered more than before.\n\nWhile he was in this agony, the report was brought to him that the\nchildren of Israel in Goshen were careless and idle in their forced\nlabor. The news aggravated his suffering, and he said: \"Now that I am\nill, they turn and scoff at me. Harness my chariot, and I will betake\nmyself to Goshen, and see the derision wherewith the children of Israel\nderide me.\" And they took and put him upon a horse, for he was not able\nto mount it himself. When he and his men had come to the border between\nEgypt and Goshen, the king's steed passed into a narrow place. The\nother horses, running rapidly through the pass, pressed upon each other\nuntil the king's horse fell while he sate upon it, and when it fell,\nthe chariot turned over on his face, and also the horse lay upon him.\nThe king's flesh was torn from him, for this thing was from the Lord,\nHe had heard the cries of His people and their affliction. The king's\nservants carried him upon their shoulders, brought him back to Egypt,\nand placed him on his bed.\n\nHe knew that his end was come to die, and the queen Alfar'anit and his\nnobles gathered about his bed, and they wept a great weeping with him.\n\nThe princes and his counsellors advised the king to make choice of a\nsuccessor, to reign in his stead, whomsoever he would choose from among\nhis sons. He had three sons and two daughters by the queen Alfar'anit,\nbeside children from concubines. The name of his first-born was Atro,\nthe name of the second Adikam, and of the third Moryon. The name of the\nolder daughter was Bithiah, and of the other, Akuzit. The first-born of\nthe sons of the king was an idiot, precipitate and heedless in all his\nactions. Adikam, the second son, was a cunning and clever man, and\nversed in all the wisdom of Egypt, but ungainly in appearance, fleshy\nand short of stature; his height was a cubit and a space, and his beard\nflowed down to his ankles.\n\nThe king resolved that Adikam should reign in his stead after his\ndeath. When this second son of his was but ten years old, he had given\nhim Gedidah, the daughter of Abilat, to wife, and she bore him four\nsons. Afterward Adikam went and took three other wives, and begot eight\nsons and three daughters.\n\nThe king's malady increased upon him greatly, and his flesh emitted a\nstench like a carcass cast into the field in summer time in the heat of\nthe sun. When he saw that his disorder bad seized upon him with a\nstrong grip, he commanded his son Adikam to be brought to him, and they\nmade him king over the land in his place.\n\nAt the end of three years the old king died in shame and disgrace, a\nloathing to all that saw him, and they buried him in the sepulchre of\nthe kings of Egypt in Zoan, but they did not embalm him, as was usual\nwith kings, for his flesh was putrid, and they could not approach his\nbody on account of the stench, and they buried him in haste. Thus the\nLord requited him with evil for the evil he had done in his days to\nIsrael, and he died in terror and shame after having reigned\nninety-four years.\n\nAdikam was twenty years old when he succeeded his father, and he\nreigned four years. The people of Egypt called him Pharaoh, as was\ntheir custom with all their kings, but his wise men called him Akuz,\nfor Akuz is the word for \"short\" in the Egyptian language, and Adikam\nwas exceedingly awkward and undersized. The new Pharaoh surpassed his\nfather Malol and all the former kings in wickedness, and he made\nheavier the yoke upon the children of Israel. He went to Goshen with\nhis servants, and increased their labor, and he said unto them,\n\"Complete your work, each day's task, and let not your hands slacken\nfrom the work from this day forward, as you did in the day of my\nfather.\" He placed officers over them from amongst the children of\nIsrael, and over these officers he placed taskmasters from amongst his\nservants. And he put before them a measure for bricks, according to the\nnumber they were to make day by day, and whenever any deficiency was\ndiscovered in the measure of their daily bricks, the taskmasters of\nPharaoh would go to the women of the children of Israel, and take their\ninfants from them, as many as the number of bricks lacking in the\nmeasure, and these babes they put into the building instead of the\nmissing bricks. The taskmasters forced each man of the Israelites to\nput his own child in the building. The father would place his son in\nthe wall, and cover him over with mortar, all the while weeping, his\ntears running down upon his child.\n\nThe children of Israel sighed every day on account of their dire\nsuffering, for they had thought that after Pharaoh's death his son\nwould lighten their toil, but the new king was worse than his father.\nAnd God saw the burden of the children of Israel, and their heavy work,\nand He determined to deliver them.[104]\n\nHowever, it was not for their own sake that God resolved upon the\ndeliverance of the children of Israel, for they were empty of good\ndeeds, and the Lord foreknew that, once they were redeemed, they would\nrise up against Him, and even worship the golden calf. Yet He took\nmercy upon them, for He remembered His covenant with the Fathers, and\nHe looked upon their repentance for their sins, and accepted their\npromise, to fulfil the word of God after their going forth from Egypt\neven before they should hear it.[105]\n\nAfter all, the children of Israel were not wholly without merits. In a\nhigh degree they possessed qualities of extraordinary excellence. There\nwere no incestuous relations among them, they were not evil-tongued,\nthey did not change their names, they clung to the Hebrew language,\nnever giving it up,[106] and great fraternal affection prevailed among\nthem. If one happened to finish the tale of his bricks before his\nneighbors, he was in the habit of helping the others. Therefore God\nspake, \"They deserve that I should have mercy upon them, for if a man\nshows mercy unto another, I have mercy upon him.\"[107]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FAITHFUL SHEPHERD\n\n\nWhen Jethro bestowed his daughter Zipporah upon Moses as his wife, he\nsaid to his future son-in-law: \"I know that thy father Jacob took his\nwives, the daughters of Laban, and went away with them against their\nfather's will. Now take an oath that thou wilt not do the same unto\nme,\" and Moses swore not to leave him without his consent,[108] and he\nremained with Jethro, who made him the shepherd of his flocks. By the\nway he tended the sheep, God saw his fitness to be the shepherd of His\npeople, for God never gives an exalted office to a man until He has\ntested him in little things. Thus Moses and David were tried as\nshepherds of flocks, and only after they had proved their ability as\nsuch, He gave them dominion over men.\n\nMoses watched over the flocks with loving care. He led the young\nanimals to pasture first, that they might have the tender, juicy grass\nfor their food; the somewhat older animals he led forth next, and\nallowed them to graze off the herbs suitable for them; and finally came\nthe vigorous ones that had attained their full growth, and to them he\ngave the hard grass that was left, which the others could not eat, but\nwhich afforded good food for them. Then spake God, \"He that\nunderstandeth how to pasture sheep, providing for each what is good for\nit, he shall pasture My people.\"\n\nOnce a kid escaped from the flock, and when Moses followed it, he saw\nhow it stopped at all the water courses, and he said to it: \"Poor kid,\nI knew not that thou wast thirsty, and wast running after water! Thou\nart weary, I ween,\" and he carried it back to the herd on his shoulder.\nThen said God: \"Thou hast compassion with a flock belonging to a man of\nflesh and blood! As thou livest, thou shalt pasture Israel, My\nflock.\"[109]\n\nNot only did Moses take heed that no harm should come to the herds\nunder his charge, but he was also careful that they cause no injury to\nmen. He always chose an open meadow as his pasturing place, to prevent\nhis sheep from grazing in private estates.[110]\n\nJethro had no reason to be dissatisfied with the services rendered to\nhim by his son-in-law. During the forty years Moses acted as his\nshepherd not one sheep was attacked by wild beasts, and the herds\nmultiplied to an incredible degree.[111] Once he drove the sheep about\nin the desert for forty days, without finding a pasturing place for\nthem. Nevertheless he did not lose a single sheep.\n\nMoses' longing for the desert was irresistible. His prophetic spirit\ncaused him to foresee that his own greatness and the greatness of\nIsrael would manifest themselves there. In the desert God's wonders\nwould appear, though it would be at the same time the grave of the\nhuman herd to be entrusted to him in the future, and also his own last\nresting- place. Thus he had a presentiment at the very beginning of his\ncareer that the desert would be the scene of his activity, which not\nonly came true in the present order of things, but also will be true in\nthe latter days, when he will appear in the desert again, to lead into\nthe promised land the generation, arisen from their graves, that he\nbrought forth from Egyptian bondage.[112]\n\nWandering through the desert, he reached Mount Horeb, which is called\nby six names, each conveying one of its distinctions. It is \"the\nmountain of God,\" wherein the Lord revealed His law; \"Basban,\" for God\n\"came there\"; \"a mountain of humps,\" for the Lord declared all the\nother mountains unfit for the revelation, as \"crookbackt\" animals are\ndeclared unfit for sacrifices; \"mountain of abode,\" because it is the\nmountain that God desired for His \"abode\"; Sinai, because the \"hatred\"\nof God against the heathen began at the time when Israel received the\nlaw thereon; and Horeb, \"sword,\" because there the sword of the law was\ndrawn upon the sinners.[113]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BURNING THORN-BUSH\n\n\nWhen Moses drew near to Mount Horeb, he was aware at once that it was a\nholy place, for he noticed that passing birds did not alight upon it.\nAt his approach the mountain began to move, as though to go forward and\nmeet him, and it settled back into quietude only when his foot rested\nupon it.[114] The first thing Moses noticed was the wonderful burning\nbush, the upper part of which was a blazing flame, neither consuming\nthe bush, nor preventing it from bearing blossoms as it burnt, for the\ncelestial fire has three peculiar qualities: it produces blossoms, it\ndoes not consume the object around which it plays, and it is black of\ncolor. The fire that Moses saw in the bush was the appearance of the\nangel Michael, who had descended as the forerunner of the Shekinah\nherself to come down presently. It was the wish of God to hold converse\nwith Moses, who, however, was not inclined to permit any interruption\nof the work under his charge. Therefore God startled him with the\nwonderful phenomenon of the burning thorn-bush. That brought Moses to a\nstop, and then God spoke with him.\n\nThere were good reasons for selecting the thorn-bush as the vessel for\na Divine vision. It was \"clean,\" for the heathen could not use it to\nmake idols. God's choosing to dwell in the stunted thorn-bush conveyed\nthe knowledge to Moses that He suffers along with Israel. Furthermore,\nMoses was taught that there is nothing in nature, not even the\ninsignificant thorn-bush, that can exist without the presence of the\nShekinah. Besides, the thorn-bush may be taken as the symbol for Israel\nin several respects. As the thorn- bush is the lowliest of all species\nof trees, so the condition of Israel in the exile is the lowliest as\ncompared with that of all the other nations, but as the thorn-bush\nreleases no bird that alights upon it without lacerating its wings, so\nthe nations that subjugate Israel will be punished. Also, as a garden\nhedge is made of the thorn-bush, so Israel forms the hedge for the\nworld, the garden of God, for without Israel the world could not\nendure. Furthermore, as the thorn- bush bears thorns and roses alike,\nso Israel has pious and impious members, and as the thorn-bush requires\nample water for its growth, so Israel can prosper only through the\nTorah, the celestial water. And the thorn-bush, the leaf of which\nconsists of five leaflets, was to indicate to Moses that God had\nresolved to redeem Israel only for the sake of the merits of five pious\nmen, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Aaron, and Moses. The numbers represented\nby the letters composing the Hebrew word for thorn-bush, Seneh, add up\nto one hundred and twenty, to convey that Moses would reach the age of\none hundred and twenty years, and that the Shekinah would rest on Mount\nHoreb for one hundred and twenty days. Finally, in order to give Moses\nan illustration of His modesty, God descended from the exalted heavens\nand spake to him from a lowly thorn-bush instead of the summit of a\nlofty mountain or the top of a stately cedar tree.[115]\n\n\n\n\nTHE ASCENSION OF MOSES\n\n\nThe vision of the burning bush appeared to Moses alone; the other\nshepherds with him saw nothing of it. He took five steps in the\ndirection of the bush, to view it at close range, and when God beheld\nthe countenance of Moses distorted by grief and anxiety over Israel's\nsuffering, He spake, \"This one is worthy of the office of pasturing My\npeople.\"[116]\n\nMoses was still a novice in prophecy, therefore God said to Himself,\n\"If I reveal Myself to him in loud tones, I shall alarm him, but if I\nreveal Myself with a subdued voice, he will hold prophecy in low\nesteem,\" whereupon he addressed him in his father Amram's voice. Moses\nwas overjoyed to hear his father speak, for it gave him the assurance\nthat. he was still alive. The voice called his name twice, and he\nanswered, \"Here am I! What is my father's wish?\" God replied, saying,\n\"I am not thy father. I but desired to refrain from terrifying thee,\ntherefore I spoke with thy father's voice. I am the God of thy father,\nthe God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.\" These\nwords rejoiced Moses greatly, for not only was his father Amram's name\npronounced in the same breath with the names of the three Patriarchs,\nbut it came before theirs, as though he ranked higher than they.\n\nMoses said not a word. In silent reverence before the Divine vision he\ncovered his face, and when God disclosed the mission with which He\ncharged him, of bringing the Israelites forth from the land of Egypt,\nhe answered with humility, \"Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh,\nand bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?\" Thereupon spake\nGod, \"Moses, thou art meek, and I will reward thee for thy modesty. I\nwill deliver the whole land of Egypt into thine hand, and, besides, I\nwill let thee ascend unto the throne of My glory, and look upon all the\nangels of the heavens.\"\n\nHereupon God commanded Metatron, the Angel of the Face, to conduct\nMoses to the celestial regions amid the sound of music and song, and He\ncommanded him furthermore to summon thirty thousand angels, to serve as\nhis body-guard, fifteen thousand to right of him and fifteen thousand\nto left of him. In abject terror Moses asked Metatron, \"Who art thou?\"\nand the angel replied, \"I am Enoch, the son of Jared, thy ancestor, and\nGod has charged me to accompany thee to His throne.\" But Moses\ndemurred, saying, \"I am but flesh and blood, and I cannot look upon the\ncountenance of an angel,\" whereupon Metatron changed Moses' flesh into\ntorches of fire, his eyes into Merkabah wheels, his strength into an\nangel's, and his tongue into a flame, and he took him to heaven with a\nretinue of thirty thousand angels, one half moving to right of them and\none half to left of them.\n\nIn the first heaven Moses saw streams upon streams of water, and he\nobserved that the whole heaven consisted of windows, at each of which\nangels were stationed. Metatron named and pointed out all the windows\nof heaven to him: the window of prayer and the window of supplication;\nof weeping and of joy; plenitude and starvation; wealth and poverty;\nwar and peace; conception and birth; showers and soft rains; sin and\nrepentance; life and death; pestilence and healing; sickness and\nhealth; and many windows more.\n\nIn the second heaven Moses saw the angel Nuriel, standing three hundred\nparasangs high, with his retinue of fifty myriads of angels, all\nfashioned out of water and fire, and all keeping their faces turned\ntoward the Shekinah while they sang a song of praise to God. Metatron\nexplained to Moses, that these were the angels set over the clouds, the\nwinds, and the rains, who return speedily, as soon as they have\nexecuted the will of their Creator, to their station in the second of\nthe heavens, there to proclaim the praise of God.\n\nIn the third heaven Moses saw an angel, so tall it would take a human\nbeing five hundred years to climb to his height. He had seventy\nthousand heads, each head having as many mouths, each mouth as many\ntongues, and each tongue as many sayings, and he together with his\nsuite of seventy thousand myriads of angels made of white fire praised\nand extolled the Lord. \"These,\" said Metatron to Moses, \"are called\nErelim, and they are appointed over the grass, the trees, the fruits,\nand the grain, but as soon as they have done the will of their Creator,\nthey return to the place assigned to them, and praise God.\"\n\nIn the fourth heaven Moses saw a Temple, the pillars thereof made of\nred fire, the staves of green fire, the thresholds of white fire, the\nboards and clasps of flaming fire, the gates of carbuncles, and the\npinnacles of rubies. Angels were entering the Temple and giving praise\nto God there. In response to a question from Moses Metatron told him\nthat they presided over the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, and\nthe other celestial bodies. and all of them intone songs before God. In\nthis heaven Moses noticed also the two great planets, Venus and Mars,\neach as large as the whole earth, and concerning these he asked unto\nwhat purpose they had been created. Metatron explained thereupon, that\nVenus lies upon the sun to cool him off in summer, else he would scorch\nthe earth, and Mars lies upon the moon, to impart warmth to her, lest\nshe freeze the earth.\n\nArrived in the fifth heaven, Moses saw hosts of angels, whose nether\nparts were of snow and their upper parts of fire, and yet the snow did\nnot melt nor was the fire extinguished, for God had established perfect\nharmony between the two elements. These angels, called Ishim, have had\nnothing to do since the day of their creation but praise and extol the\nLord.\n\nIn the sixth of the heavens were millions and myriads of angels\npraising God, they were called 'Irin and kadishim, \"Watchers\" and \"Holy\nOnes,\" and their chief was made of hail, and he was so tall, it would\ntake five hundred years to walk a distance equal to his height.\n\nIn the last heaven Moses saw two angels, each five hundred parasangs in\nheight, forged out of chains of black fire and red fire, the angels Af,\n\"Anger,\" and Hemah, \"Wrath,\" whom God created at the beginning of the\nworld, to execute His will. Moses was disquieted when he looked upon\nthem, but Metatron embraced him, and said, \"Moses, Moses, thou favorite\nof God, fear not, and be not terrified,\" and Moses became calm. There\nwas another angel in the seventh heaven, different in appearance from\nall the others, and of frightful mien. His height was so great, it\nwould have taken five hundred years to cover a distance equal to it,\nand from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet he was studded\nwith glaring eyes, at the sight of which the beholder fell prostrate in\nawe. \"This one,\" said Metatron, addressing Moses, \"is Samael, who takes\nthe soul away from man.\" \"Whither goes he now?\" asked Moses, and\nMetatron replied, \"To fetch the soul of Job the pious.\" Thereupon Moses\nprayed to God in these words, \"O may it be Thy will, my God and the God\nof my fathers, not to let me fall into the hands of this angel.\"\n\nHere, in the highest heaven, he saw also the seraphim with their six\nwings. With two they cover their face, that they gaze not upon the\nShekinah; and with two their feet, which, being like a calf's feet,\nthey hide, to keep secret Israel's transgression of the golden calf.\nWith the third pair of wings they fly and do the service of the Lord,\nall the while exclaiming, \"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the\nwhole earth is full of His glory.\" The wings of these angels are of\nprodigious size, it would take a man five hundred years to traverse\ntheir length and their breadth, as from one end of the earth to the\nother.\n\nAnd Moses saw in the seventh heaven the holy Hayyot, which support the\nthrone of God; and he beheld also the angel Zagzagel, the prince of the\nTorah and of wisdom, who teaches the Torah in seventy languages to the\nsouls of men, and thereafter they cherish the precepts contained\ntherein as laws revealed by God to Moses on Sinai. From this angel with\nthe horns of glory Moses himself learnt all the ten mysteries.\"\n\nHaving seen what there is in the seven heavens, he spoke to God,\nsaying, \"I will not leave the heavens unless Thou grantest me a gift,\"\nand God replied, \"I will give thee the Torah, and men shall call it the\nLaw of Moses.\"[117]\n\n\n\n\nMOSES VISITS PARADISE AND HELL\n\n\nWhen Moses was on the point of departing from heaven, a celestial voice\nannounced: \"Moses, thou camest hither, and thou didst see the throne of\nMy glory. Now thou shalt see also Paradise and hell,\" and God\ndispatched Gabriel on the errand of showing hell to him. Terrified by\nits fires, when he caught sight of them as he entered the portals of\nhell, Moses refused to go farther. But the angel encouraged him,\nsaying, \"There is a fire that not only burns but also consumes, and\nthat fire will protect thee against hell fire, so that thou canst step\nupon it, and yet thou wilt not be seared.\"\n\nAs Moses entered hell, the fire withdrew a distance of five hundred\nparasangs, and the Angel of Hell, Nasargiel, asked him, \"Who art thou?\"\nand he answered, \"I am Moses, the son of Amram.\"\n\nNasargiel: \"This is not thy place, thou belongest in Paradise.\"\n\nMoses: \"I came hither to see the manifestation of the power of God.\"\n\nThen said God to the Angel of Hell, \"Go and show hell unto Moses, and\nhow the wicked are treated there.\" Immediately he went with Moses,\nwalking before him like a pupil before his master, and thus they\nentered hell together, and Moses saw men undergoing torture by the\nAngels of Destruction: some of the sinners were suspended by their\neyelids, some by their ears, some by their hands, and some by their\ntongues, and they cried bitterly. And women were suspended by their\nhair and by their breasts, and in other ways, all on chains of fire.\nNasargiel explained: \"These hang by their eyes, because they looked\nlustfully upon the wives of their neighbors, and with a covetous eye\nupon the possessions of their fellow-men. These hang by their ears\nbecause they listened to empty and vain speech, and turned their ear\naway from hearing the Torah. These hang by their tongues, because they\ntalked slander, and accustomed their tongue to foolish babbling. These\nhang by their feet, because they walked with them in order to spy upon\ntheir fellow-men, but they walked not to the synagogue, to offer prayer\nunto their Creator. These hang by their hands, because with them they\nrobbed their neighbors of their possessions, and committed murder.\nThese women hang by their hair and their breasts, because they\nuncovered them in the presence of young men, so that they conceived\ndesire unto them, and fell into sin.\"\n\nMoses heard hell cry with a loud and a bitter cry, saying to Nasargiel:\n\"Give me something to eat, I am hungry.\"\u2014 Nasargiel: \"What shall I give\nthee?\"\u2014Hell: \"Give me the souls of the pious.\"\u2014Nasargiel: \"The Holy\nOne, blessed be He, will not deliver the souls of the pious unto thee.\"\n\nMoses saw the place called Alukah, where sinners were suspended by\ntheir feet, their heads downward, and their bodies covered with black\nworms, each five hundred parasangs long. They lamented, and cried: \"Woe\nunto us for the punishment of hell. Give us death, that we may die!\"\nNasargiel explained: \"These are the sinners that swore falsely,\nprofaned the Sabbath and the holy days, despised the sages, called\ntheir neighbors by unseemly nicknames, wronged the orphan and the\nwidow, and bore false witness. Therefore bath God delivered them to\nthese worms.\"\n\nMoses went thence to another place, and there he saw sinners prone on\ntheir faces, with two thousand scorpions lashing, stinging, and\ntormenting them, while the tortured victims cried bitterly. Each of the\nscorpions had seventy thousand heads, each head seventy thousand\nmouths, each mouth seventy thousand stings, and each sting seventy\nthousand pouches of poison and venom, which the sinners are forced to\ndrink down, although the anguish is so racking that their eyes melt in\ntheir sockets. Nasargiel explained: \"These are the sinners who caused\nthe Israelites to lose their money, who exalted themselves above the\ncommunity, who put their neighbors to shame in public, who delivered\ntheir fellow-Israelites into the hands of the Gentiles, who denied the\nTorah of Moses, and who maintained that God is not the Creator of the\nworld.\"\n\nThen Moses saw the place called Tit ba-Yawen, in which the sinners\nstand in mud up to their navels, while the Angels of Destruction lash\nthem with fiery chains, and break their teeth with fiery stones, from\nmorning until evening, and during the night they make their teeth grow\nagain, to the length of a parasang, only to break them anew the next\nmorning. Nasargiel explained: \"These are the sinners who ate carrion\nand forbidden flesh, who lent their money at usury, who wrote the Name\nof God on amulets for Gentiles, who used false weights, who stole money\nfrom their fellow-Israelites, who ate on the Day of Atonement, who ate\nforbidden fat, and animals and reptiles that are an abomination, and\nwho drank blood.\"\n\nThen Nasargiel said to Moses: \"Come and see how the sinners are burnt\nin hell,\" and Moses answered, \"I cannot go there,\" but Nasargiel\nreplied, \"Let the light of the Shekinah precede thee, and the fire of\nhell will have no power over thee.\" Moses yielded, and he saw how the\nsinners were burnt, one half of their bodies being immersed in fire and\nthe other half in snow, while worms bred in their own flesh crawled\nover them, and the Angels of Destruction beat them incessantly.\nNasargiel explained: \"These are the sinners who committed incest,\nmurder, and idolatry, who cursed their parents and their teachers, and\nwho, like Nimrod and others, called themselves gods.\" In this place,\nwhich is called Abaddon, he saw the sinners taking snow by stealth and\nputting it in their armpits, to relieve the pain inflicted by the\nscorching fire, and he was convinced that the saying was true, \"The\nwicked mend not their ways even at the gate of hell.\"\n\nAs Moses departed from hell, he prayed to God, \"May it be Thy will, O\nLord my God and God of my fathers, to save me and the people of Israel\nfrom the places I have seen in hell.\" But God answered him, and said,\n\"Moses, before Me there is no respecting of persons and no taking of\ngifts. Whoever doeth good deeds entereth Paradise, and he that doeth\nevil must go to hell.\"\n\nAt the command of God, Gabriel now led Moses to Paradise. As he\nentered, two angels came toward him, and they said to him, \"Thy time is\nnot yet arrived to leave the world,\" and Moses made answer, \"What ye\nsay is true, but I have come to see the reward of the pious in\nParadise.\" Then the angels extolled Moses, saying: \"Hail, Moses,\nservant of God! Hail, Moses, born of woman, that hast been found worthy\nto ascend to the seven heavens! Hail to the nation to which thou\nbelongest!\"\n\nUnder the tree of life Moses saw the angel Shamshiel, the prince of\nParadise, who led him through it, and showed him all there is therein.\nHe saw seventy thrones made of precious stones, standing on feet of\nfine gold, each throne surrounded by seventy angels. But one of them\nwas larger than all the others, and it was encircled by one hundred and\ntwenty angels. This was the throne of Abraham, and when Abraham beheld\nMoses, and heard who he was, and what his purpose was in visiting\nParadise, he exclaimed, \"Praise ye the Lord, for He is good, for His\nmercy endureth forever.\"\n\nMoses asked Shamshiel about the size of Paradise, but not even he who\nis the prince thereof could answer the question, for there is none that\ncan gauge it. It can neither be measured nor fathomed nor numbered. But\nShamshiel explained to Moses about the thrones, that they were\ndifferent one from the other, some being of silver, some of gold, some\nof precious stones and pearls and rubies and carbuncles. The thrones\nmade of pearls are for the scholars that study the Torah day and night\nfor her own sake; those of precious stones are for the pious, those of\nrubies for the just, those of gold for the repentant sinners, and those\nof silver for the righteous proselytes. \"The greatest of them all,\"\ncontinued Shamshiel, \"is the throne of Abraham, the next in size the\nthrones of Isaac and Jacob, then come the thrones of the prophets, the\nsaints, and the righteous, each in accordance with a man's worth, and\nhis rank, and the good deeds he has performed in his lifetime.\" Moses\nasked then for whom the throne of copper was intended, and the angel\nanswered, \"For the sinner that has a pious son. Through the merits of\nhis son he receives it as his share.\"\n\nAgain Moses looked, and he beheld a spring of living water welling up\nfrom under the tree of life and dividing into four streams, which\npassed under the throne of glory, and thence encompassed Paradise from\nend to end. He also saw four rivers flowing under each of the thrones\nof the pious, one of honey, the second of milk, the third of wine, and\nthe fourth of pure balsam.\n\nBeholding all these desirable and pleasant things, Moses felt great\njoy, and he said, \"Oh, how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid\nup for them that fear Thee, which Thou hast wrought for them that put\ntheir trust in Thee, before the sons of men!\" And Moses left Paradise,\nand returned to the earth.\n\nAt the moment of his departure, a heavenly voice cried aloud: \"Moses,\nservant of the Lord, thou that art faithful in His house, even as thou\nhast seen the reward that is laid up for the pious in the world to\ncome, so also thou wilt be worthy of seeing the life of the world that\nshall be in the future time. Thou and all Israel, ye shall see the\nrebuilding of the Temple and the advent of the Messiah, behold the\nbeauty of the Lord, and meditate in His Temple.\"[118]\n\nIn the world to come Moses, beside sharing the joys of Israel, will\ncontinue his activity as the teacher of Israel, for the people will go\nbefore Abraham and request him to instruct them in the Torah. He will\nsend them to Isaac, saying, \"Go to Isaac, he hath studied more of the\nTorah than ever I studied,\" but Isaac, in turn, will send them to\nJacob, saying, \"Go to Jacob, he hath had more converse with the sages\nthan ever I had.\" And Jacob will send them to Moses, saying, \"Go to\nMoses, he was instructed in the Torah by God Himself.\"[119]\n\nIn the Messianic time, Moses will be one of the seven shepherds that\nshall be the leaders of Israel with the Messiah.[120]\n\n\n\n\nMOSES DECLINES THE MISSION\n\n\nWhen Moses turned aside to see the great sight, that the bush was not\nconsumed, he heard a voice calling to him, \"Draw not nigh hither.\"\nThese words were to convey that the dignity to be conferred upon him\nGod intended for Moses personally, not for his descendants, and further\nhe was warned not to arrogate honors appointed for others, as the\npriesthood, which was to belong to Aaron and Aaron's descendants, or\nroyalty, which was to appertain to David and the house of David.[121]\n\nAgain the voice spake: \"Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the\nplace whereon thou standest is holy ground.\" These words conveyed the\ndesire of God that he cut asunder every bond uniting him with earthly\nconcerns, he was even to give up his conjugal life. Hereupon the angel\nMichael spoke to God: \"O Lord of the world, can it be Thy purpose to\ndestroy mankind? Blessing can prevail only if male and female are\nunited, and yet Thou biddest Moses separate from his wife.\" God\nanswered, saying, \"Moses has begot children, he has done his duty\ntoward the world. I desire him to unite himself now with the Shekinah,\nthat she may descend upon earth for his sake.\"[122]\n\nGod spake furthermore, addressing Moses, \"Thou seest only what is to\nhappen in the near future, that Israel is to receive the Torah on Mount\nSinai, but I behold what cometh after, bow the people will worship the\nsteer, the figure of which they will see upon My chariot, even while My\nrevelation will be made on Sinai. Thus they will excite My wrath.\nNevertheless, though I know all the perverseness of their hearts,\nwherein they will rebel against Me in the desert, I will redeem them\nnow, for I accord unto man the treatment he merits for his present\nactions, not what he will deserve in the future. I promised their\nfather Jacob, 'I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will also\nsurely bring thee up again,' and now I will betake myself thither, to\nbring Israel up in accordance with My words unto Jacob, and bear them\nto the land I swore unto their fathers, that their seed should inherit\nit. So long as the time of affliction that I had appointed unto his\nseed in My revelation to Abraham was not past, I hearkened not to the\nsupplication and the groaning of his children, but now the end hath\ncome. Therefore, go before Pharaoh, that he dismiss My people. If thou\ndost not bring about the redemption, none other will, for there is none\nother that can do it. In thee doth Israel hope, and upon thee doth\nIsrael wait. The matter lieth in thine hands alone.\"\n\nMoses, however, refused to take the mission upon himself. He said to\nGod, \"Thy promise unto Jacob was, 'I will surely bring thee up again\nout of Egypt.' Thou didst undertake to do it Thyself, and now it is Thy\npurpose to send me thither. And how, indeed, were it possible for me to\naccomplish this great matter, to bring the children of Israel up out of\nEgypt? How could I provide them with food and drink? Many are the women\nin childbirth among them, many are the pregnant women and the little\nchildren. Whence shall I procure dainties for those who have borne\nbabes, whence sweetmeats for the pregnant, and whence tidbits for the\nlittle ones? And how may I venture to go among the Egyptian brigands\nand murderers? for Thou art bidding me to go to mine enemies, to those\nwho lie in wait to take my life. Why should I risk the safety of my\nperson, seeing that I know not whether Israel possesses merits making\nthem worthy of redemption?' I have reckoned up the years with care, and\nI have found that but two hundred and ten have elapsed since the\ncovenant of the pieces made with Abraham, and at that time Thou didst\nordain four hundred years of oppression for his seed.\"[124]\n\nBut God overturned all his objections. He spake to Moses, saying: \"I\nwill be with thee. Whatever thou desirest I will do, so that the\nredemption will in very truth be realized through Me, in accordance\nwith My promise to Jacob. The little ones that Israel will carry up out\nof Egypt I will provide with food for thirty days. This shall prove to\nthee in what manner I will supply the needs of all. And as I will be at\nthy side, thou hast no need to fear any man. Respecting thy doubt,\nwhether Israel deserves to be redeemed, this is My answer: they will be\npermitted to go forth from Egypt on account of the merits they will\nacquire at this mountain, whereon they will receive the Torah through\nthee.[125] And thy reckoning of the end is not correct, for the four\nhundred years of bondage began with the birth of Isaac, not with the\ngoing down of Jacob into Egypt. Therefore the appointed end hath\ncome.\"[126]\n\nPersuaded now of God's unalterable resolve to use him as His instrument\nin the redemption of Israel from Egypt, Moses entreated God to impart\nto him the knowledge of His Great Name, that he be not confounded if\nthe children of Israel ask for it. God answered, saying: \"Thou desirest\nto know My Name? My Name is according to My acts. When I judge My\ncreatures, I am called Elohim, \"judge\"; when I rise up to do battle\nagainst the sinners, I am Lord Zebaot, \"the Lord of hosts\"; when I wait\nwith longsuffering patience for the improvement of the sinner, My name\nis El Shaddai; when I have mercy upon the world, I am Adonai. But unto\nthe children of Israel shalt thou say that I am He that was, that is,\nand that ever will be, and I am He that is with them in their bondage\nnow, and He that shall be with them in the bondage of the time to\ncome.\"\n\nIn reply to the latter words of God, Moses said, \"Sufficient unto the\nday is the evil thereof,\" and God assented thereto. He admitted that it\nwas not proper to force the knowledge of future suffering upon Israel\nin a present that was itself full of evil and sorrow. And the Lord said\nto Moses: \"My words about the future were meant for thee alone, not\nalso for them. Tell the children of Israel, besides, that at My behest\nan angel can stretch his hand from heaven and touch the earth with it,\nand three angels can find room under one tree, and My majesty can fill\nthe whole world, for when it was My will, it appeared to Job in his\nhair, and, again, when I willed otherwise, it appeared in a\nthorn-bush.\"[127]\n\nBut the most important communication from God to Moses concerning the\nDivine Names were the words to follow: \"In mercy I created the world;\nin mercy I guide it; and with mercies I will return to Jerusalem. But\nunto the children of Israel thou shalt say that My mercy upon them is\nfor the sake of the merits of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.\"\n\nWhen Moses heard these words, he spoke to God, saying, \"Are there men\nthat transgress after death?\" and when God assured him that it was not\npossible for the dead to sin, Moses asked again, \"Why, then, is it that\nThou didst reveal Thyself to me at the first as the God of my father,\nand now Thou passest him over?\" Whereupon God said, \"In the beginning\nit was My purpose to address thee with flattering words, but now thou\nhearest the whole and exact truth, I am only the God of Abraham, the\nGod of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.\"[128]\n\nMoses prayed to God, entreating Him to reveal His Great and Holy Name\nunto him, so that he might call upon Him with it and secure the\nfulfilment of all his wishes. The Lord granted the prayer of Moses, and\nwhen the celestials knew that He had revealed the secret of the\nIneffable Name, they cried out, \"Blessed art Thou, O Lord, gracious\nGiver of knowledge!\"[129]\n\nGod is always regardful of the honor of the elders of a people, and He\nbade Moses assemble those of Israel and announce the approaching\nredemption to them. And as God knew beforehand how Pharaoh's obduracy\nwould display itself, He made it known to Moses at once, lest he\nreproach God later with the Egyptian king's frowardness.[130]\n\n\n\n\nMOSES PUNISHED FOR HIS STUBBORNNESS\n\n\nIn spite of all these safeguards, Moses was not yet ready to accept the\nmission God wished to impose upon him. He persisted in urging his\nfears, saying: \"But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto\nmy voice, for they will say, 'The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.[]\nAnd the Lord said unto him, \"What is that in thine hand?\" And he said,\n\"A rod.\" And the Lord said: \"Thou deservest to be castigated with it.\nIf thou didst not intend to take My mission upon thyself, thou shouldst\nhave said so in the beginning. Instead, thou didst hold back with thy\nrefusal, until I revealed to thee the great secret of the Ineffable\nName, that thou mightest know it if the children of Israel should ask\nthee concerning it. And now thou sayest, I will not go. Now, therefore,\nif thou wilt not execute My charge to thee, it will be executed by this\nrod. It was My wish to distinguish thee and make thee My instrument for\ndoing many miracles.[131] But thou deservest a punishment for having\nsuspected My children of lack of faith. The children of Israel are\nbelievers and sons of believers, but thou wilt show thyself of little\nfaith in thy career, and as thou followest the example of the\nslanderous serpent, so shalt thou be punished with leprosy, wherewith\nthe serpent was punished.\"\n\nThe Lord now bade Moses put his hand into his bosom and take it out\nagain, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white\nas snow. And God bade him put his hand into his bosom again, and it\nturned again as his other flesh. Beside being a chastisement for his\nhasty words, the plague on his hand was to teach him that as the leper\ndefiles, so the Egyptians defiled Israel, and as Moses was healed of\nhis uncleanness, so God would cleanse the children of Israel of the\npollution the Egyptians had brought upon them.\n\nThe second wonder connected with the rod of Moses likewise conveyed a\ndouble meaning, in that it pointed to the coming redemption of Israel,\nand taught Moses a specific lesson. At the bidding of God, Moses cast\nhis rod on the ground, and it became a serpent, to show him that when\nhe traduced Israel, he was following the example of the abusive\nserpent, and also to show him that the great dragon that lieth in the\nmidst of the rivers of Egypt, though he was now hacking into Israel\nwith his teeth, would be rendered harmless like the rod of wood, which\nhas no power to bite.\n\nAnd, again, through the third miracle he was bidden to perform, God\nconveyed to Moses what would happen in the latter years of his own\nlife. The sign He gave him was to make known to him that, before the\nwater came, blood would flow from the rock at Meribah, when Moses\nshould strike it after uttering the hasty, impatient words that were\ndestined to bring death down upon him.[132]\n\nFor seven days God urged Moses to undertake the mission He desired him\nto execute. He resorted to persuasion, that the heathen might not say,\nthat He abused His power as the Ruler of the world, forcing men to do\nHis service against their will. But Moses remained obdurate, he could\nnot be won over.[133] He said: \"Thou doest a wrong unto me in sending\nme to Pharaoh. In the palace of the Egyptian king there are persons\nthat know how to speak the seventy languages of the world. No matter\nwhat language a man may use, there is someone that understands him. If\nI should come as Thy representative, and they should discover that I am\nnot able to converse in the seventy languages, they will mock at me,\nand say, 'Behold this man, he pretends to be the ambassador of the\nCreator of the world, and he cannot speak the seventy languages.' \" To\nthis God made reply, as follows: \"Adam, who was taught by none, could\ngive names to the beasts in the seventy languages. Was it not I that\nmade him to speak?\"[134]\n\nMoses was not yet satisfied, he continued to urge objections, and he\nsaid: \"O Lord of the world, Thou wouldst charge me with the task of\nchastising Egypt and redeeming Israel, and I am ready to be Thy\nmessenger. But is it seemly that a man should execute two errands at\nonce? Nay, my Lord, for this two men are needed.\" God made answer, and\nsaid, \"Moses, I know well whom thou hast in mind with thy request, to\nbe thy companion in the mission I assign to thee. Know, therefore, that\nthe holy spirit hath already come upon thy brother Aaron, and even now\nhe is awaiting thee on the way of Egypt, and when his eyes rest upon\nthee he will rejoice.\"\n\nFurthermore God spake to Moses, saying, \"When I appeared unto thee the\nfirst time, thou wast meek, and didst hide thy face, not to see the\nvision. Whence cometh now this effrontery of thine, that thou\naddressest Me as a servant his master? Thou speakest too many words by\nfar. Perchance thou thinkest I have no messengers, hosts, seraphim,\nofanim, ministering angels, and Merkabah wheels, to send to Egypt, to\nbring My children thence, that thou sayest, 'Send by the hand of him\nwhom Thou wilt send.' In sooth, thou deservest severe chastisement. But\nwhat can I do, seeing that I am the Master of mercy? If thou escapest\nunpunished, thou owest it to thy father Amram, who rendered great\nservices in behalf of the preservation of the Israelitish people in\nEgypt.\"\n\nBut Moses replied: \"O Lord of the world, I a prophet and the son of a\nprophet obeyed Thy words only after much hesitation, and I cannot\nexpect Pharaoh, a wicked man and the son of a wicked man, and the\nEgyptians, a disobedient people and the sons of a disobedient people,\nto give ear to my words. O Lord of the world, Thou dost send me to\nEgypt to redeem sixty myriads of Thy people from the oppression of the\nEgyptians. If it were a question of delivering a couple of hundred men,\nit were a sufficiently difficult enterprise. How much severer is the\ntask of freeing sixty myriads from the dominion of Pharaoh! If Thou\nhadst called upon the Egyptians to give up their evil ways soon after\nthey began to enslave Israel, they might have heeded Thy admonitions.\nBut if I should go and speak to them now, after they have been ruling\nover Israel these two hundred and ten years, Pharaoh would say, 'If a\nslave has served his master for ten years, and no protest has made\nitself heard from any quarter, how can a man conceive the idea suddenly\nof having him set at liberty?' Verily, O Lord of the world, the task\nThou puttest upon me is too heavy for my strength.\"[135]\n\nMoses said furthermore: \"I am not an eloquent man, nor can I see of\nwhat avail words can be in this matter. Thou art sending me to one that\nis himself a slave, to Pharaoh of the tribe of Ham, and a slave will\nnot be corrected by words. I consent to go on Thy errand only if Thou\nwilt invest me with the power of chastising Pharaoh with brute force.\"\nTo these words spoken by Moses, God made reply: \"Let it not fret thee\nthat thou art not an eloquent speaker. It is I that made the mouth of\nall that speak, and I that made men dumb. One I make to see, another I\nmake blind; one I make to hear, another I make deaf. Had I willed it\nso, thou hadst been a man of ready speech. But I desired to show a\nwonder through thee. Whenever I will it, the words I cast into thy\nmouth shall come forth without hesitation. But what thou sayest about a\nslave, that he cannot be corrected by words, is true, and therefore I\ngive thee My rod for Pharaoh's castigation.\"\n\nBut Moses still stood his ground. He raised other objections. \"His\ngrandchild,\" he said, \"is closer to a man than his nephew. Nevertheless\nwhen Lot was taken captive, Thou didst send angels to the aid of\nAbraham's nephew. But now, when the life of sixty myriads of Abraham's\nlineal descendants is at stake, Thou sendest me, and not the angels.\nWhen the Egyptian bondwoman Hagar was in distress, Thou didst dispatch\nfive angels to stand by her, and to redeem sixty myriads of the\nchildren of Sarah Thou dost dispatch me.[136] O Lord, send, I pray\nThee, by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send in days to come.\" To this\nGod answered, saying, \"I said not that I would send thee to Israel, but\nto Pharaoh, and that one whom thou madest mention of, I will send to\nIsrael at the end of days\u2014Elijah will appear to them before the great\nand terrible day.\"[137]\n\nIf Moses refused to do the errand of the Lord, there was a reason. God\nhad revealed to him the treasures of the Torah, of wisdom, and of\nknowledge, and the whole world's future. Now he beheld in the inner\nchamber of God rows of scholars and judges interpreting the Torah in\nforty- nine different ways as they sat in the court of hewn stones; and\nhe saw, besides, Rabbi Akiba explaining the meaning of the crowns upon\nthe letters. Then said Moses: \"I do not care to be God's messenger. Let\nHim rather send one of these great scholars.\" Then God ordered the\nAngel of Wisdom to carry Moses to a place of myriads of scholars, all\ninterpreting the Torah, and all making use of the formula: This is a\nHalakah revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. Now Moses recognized that\neven the greatest scholars of future generations would be dependent\nupon him, and then, at last, he was ready to execute the mission God\ndesired to lay upon him.[138]\n\nBut Moses had to pay dear for having hesitated in the execution of the\nDivine bidding. God said to him: \"It was appointed that thou shouldst\nbe priest, and Aaron should be the Levite. Because thou hast refused to\nexecute My will, thou shalt be the Levite, and Aaron shall be\npriest,\"\u2014a punishment that did not fall upon Moses personally, but only\nupon his descendants, all of whom are Levites. As for himself, he\nperformed a priest's service in the Tabernacle.[139]\n\nMoses had said to God, \"Thou hast been speaking to me now these many\ndays, nevertheless I am still slow of speech and of a slow tongue.\" For\nthis he received another punishment. God said to him: \"I might change\nthee into a new man, and heal thee of thy imperfect speech, but because\nthou hast uttered such words, I refrain from curing thee.\"[140]\n\n\n\n\nTHE RETURN TO EGYPT\n\n\nWhen Moses finally gave in, and declared himself ready to go to Egypt\nas God's messenger, his acceptance was still conditional upon the\npromise of God to fulfil all his wishes, and God granted whatsoever he\ndesired, except immortality and entering the Holy Land.[141] God also\nallayed his fears regarding the danger that threatened him from his\nwhilom enemies Dathan and Abiram, on account of whom he had had to flee\nfrom Egypt. He told him that they had sunk to the estate of poor and\ninsignificant men, bereft of the power of doing him harm.[142]\n\nMoses was loyal to the oath he had given his father-in-law Jethro,\nnever to return to Egypt without securing his consent. His first\nconcern therefore was to go back to Midian and obtain his permission,\nwhich Jethro gave freely. Then Moses could set out on his journey. He\ntarried only to take his wife and his children with him, which made his\nfather- in-law say, \"Those who are in Egypt are to leave it, and thou\ndesirest to take more thither?\" Moses replied: \"Very soon the slaves\nheld in bondage in Egypt will be redeemed, and they will go forth from\nthe land, and gather at Mount Sinai, and hear the words, 'I am the Lord\nthy God,' and should my sons not be present there?\" Jethro acknowledged\nthe justice of Moses' words, and he said to him, \"Go in peace, enter\nEgypt in peace, and leave the land in peace.\"[143]\n\nAt last Moses sallied forth upon his journey to Egypt, accompanied by\nhis wife and his children. He was mounted upon the very ass that had\nborne Abraham to the Akedah on Mount Moriah, the ass upon which the\nMessiah will appear riding at the end of days.[144] Even now, his\njourney begun, Moses was but half-hearted about his mission. He\ntravelled leisurely, thinking: \"When I arrive in Egypt and announce to\nthe children of Israel that the end of the term of Egyptian slavery has\ncome, they will say, 'We know very well that our bondage must last four\nhundred years, and the end is not yet,' but if I were to put this\nobjection before God, He would break out in wrath against me. It is\nbest for me to consume as much time as possible on the way thither.\"\n\nGod was ill pleased with Moses for this artifice, and He spake to him,\nsaying, \"Joseph prophesied long ago that the oppression of Egypt would\nendure only two hundred and ten years.\" For his lack of faith Moses was\npunished while he was on the road to Egypt.[145] The angels Af and\nHemah appeared and swallowed his whole body down to his feet,[146] and\nthey gave him up only after Zipporah, nimble as a \"bird,\"[147]\ncircumcised her son Gershom, and touched the feet of her husband with\nthe blood of the circumcision. The reason why their son had remained\nuncircumcised until then was that Jethro had made the condition, when\nhe consented to the marriage of his daughter with Moses, that the first\nson of their union should be brought up as a Gentile.[148]\n\nWhen Moses was released by the angels, he attacked them, and he slew\nHemah, whose host of angels, however, held their own before the\nassailant.[149]\n\nThe Divine voice heard by Moses in Midian telling him to return to his\nbrethren in Egypt fell at the same time upon the ear of Aaron, dwelling\nin Egypt, and it bade him \"go into the wilderness to meet Moses.\" God\nspeaketh marvellously with His voice, and therefore the same revelation\ncould be understood one way in Midian and another way in Egypt.\n\nThe greeting of the two brothers was very cordial. Envy and jealousy\nbad no place between them. Aaron was rejoiced that God had chosen his\nyounger brother to be the redeemer of Israel, and Moses was rejoiced\nthat his older brother had been divinely appointed the high priest in\nIsrael. God knew their hearts, for at the time when He charged him with\nthe Egyptian mission, Moses had said, \"All these years Aaron has been\nactive as a prophet in Israel, and should I now encroach upon his\nprovince and cause him vexation?\" But God reassured him, saying,\n\"Moses, thy brother Aaron will surely not be vexed, he will rather\nrejoice at thy mission, yea, he will come forth and meet thee.\"\n\nAaron showed his joy freely at seeing his brother once more, after\ntheir separation of many years. As for his joy in the distinction\naccorded to Moses, it was too great to be expressed in all its depth\nand extent. For his kind, generous spirit, he received a reward from\nGod, in that he was permitted to bear the Urim and Thummim upon his\nheart, \"for,\" God said, \"the heart that rejoiced at the exalting of a\nbrother shall wear the Urim and Thummim.\"[150]\n\nAaron ran to meet his brother, and embraced him, and asked where he had\nspent all the years of their separation. When he was told in Midian, he\ncontinued to question him, saying, \"Who are these that are travelling\nwith thee?\"\n\nMoses: \"My wife and my sons.\"\n\nAaron: \"Whither goest thou with them?\"\n\nMoses: \"To Egypt.\"\n\nAaron: \"What! Great enough is our sorrow through those who have been in\nEgypt from the beginning, and thou takest more to the land?\"\n\nMoses recognized that Aaron was right, and he sent his wife and his\nsons back to his father-in-law Jethro.[151]\n\nHe was no less magnanimous than Aaron. If the elder brother felt no\nenvy on account of the younger brother's dignity, the younger brother\ndid not withhold from the other the teachings and revelations he had\nreceived. Immediately after meeting with Aaron, Moses told him all that\nGod had taught him, even the awful secret of the Ineffable Name\ncommunicated to him on Mount Horeb.[152]\n\nIn obedience to the command of God, the elders of the people were\nassembled, and before them Moses performed the wonders that were to be\nhis credentials as the redeemer sent to deliver the people.\nNevertheless, the deeds he did were not so potent in convincing them of\nthe reality of the mission as the words wherein God had announced the\napproaching redemption to him, which he repeated in their ears. The\nelders knew that Jacob had imparted to Joseph the secret mark\ndesignating the redeemer, and Joseph had in turn confided it to his\nbrethren before his death. The last surviving one of the brethren,\nAsher, had revealed it to his daughter Serah, in the following words:\n\"He that will come and proclaim the redemption with the words of God,\n'I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in\nEgypt,' he is the true redeemer.\" Serah was still alive at Moses'\nreturn, and the elders betook themselves to her, and told her the words\nof Moses announcing the redemption. When she heard that his words had\nbeen the same as those Asher had quoted, she knew that he was the\npromised redeemer, and all the people believed in him.\n\nThereupon Moses invited the elders to go to Pharaoh with him, but they\nlacked the courage to appear before the king. Though they started out\nwith Moses, they dropped off stealthily on the way, one by one, and\nwhen Moses and Aaron stood in the presence of the king, they found\nthemselves alone, deserted by all the others. The elders did not go out\nfree. Their punishment was that God did not permit them to ascend the\nholy mountain with Moses. They durst accompany him on the way to God\nonly as far as they had accompanied him on the way to Pharaoh, and then\nthey had to tarry until he came again.[153]\n\n\n\n\nMOSES AND AARON BEFORE PHARAOH\n\n\nThe day Moses and Aaron made their appearance before Pharaoh happened\nto be the anniversary of his birth, and he was surrounded by many\nkings, for he was the ruler of the whole world, and this was the\noccasion on which the kings of the earth came to do him homage. When\nthe attendants announced Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh inquired whether the\ntwo old men had brought him crowns, and, receiving a negative reply, he\nordered that they were not to be admitted to his presence, until he had\nseen and dismissed all the others desirous of paying him their\nrespects.[154]\n\nPharaoh's palace was surrounded by a vast army. It was built with four\nhundred entrances, one hundred on each side, and each of them guarded\nby sixty thousand soldiers. Moses and Aaron were overawed by this\ndisplay of power, and they were afraid. But the angel Gabriel appeared,\nand he led them into the palace, observed by none of the guards, and\nPharaoh decreed severe punishment upon the inattentive sentinels for\nhaving admitted the old men without his permission. They were\ndismissed, and others put in their places. But the same thing happened\nthe next day. Moses and Aaron were within the palace, and the new guard\nhad not been able to hinder their passing. Pharaoh questioned his\nservants, how it had been possible for the two old men to enter, and\nthey said: \"We know it not! Through the doors they did not come.\nSurely, they must be magicians.\"[155]\n\nNot enough that the palace was guarded by a host, at each entrance two\nlions were stationed, and in terror of being torn to pieces none dared\napproach the doors, and none could go within until the lion tamer came\nand led the beasts away. Now Balaam and all the other sacred scribes of\nEgypt advised that the keepers loose the lions at the approach of Moses\nand Aaron. But their advice availed naught. Moses had but to raise his\nrod, and the lions bounded toward him joyously, and followed at his\nfeet, gambolling like dogs before their master on his return home.[156]\n\nWithin the palace, Moses and Aaron found seventy secretaries busy with\nPharaoh's correspondence, which was carried on in seventy languages. At\nthe sight of the messengers of Israel, they started up in great awe,\nfor the two men resembled angels. In stature they were as the cedars of\nLebanon, their countenances radiated splendor like the sun, the pupils\nof their eyes were like the sphere of the morning star, their beards\nlike palm branches, and their mouths emitted flames when they opened\nthem for speech. In their terror, the secretaries flung down pen and\npaper, and prostrated themselves before Moses and Aaron.\n\nNow the two representatives of the children of Israel stepped before\nPharaoh, and they spake, \"The God of the Hebrews hath met with us; let\nus go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, and\nsacrifice unto the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence\nor with the sword.\" But Pharaoh answered, saying: \"What is the name of\nyour God? Wherein doth His strength consist, and His power? How many\ncountries, how many provinces, how many cities hath He under His\ndominion? In how many campaigns was He victorious? How many lands did\nHe make subject to Himself? How many cities did He capture? When He\ngoeth to war, how many warriors, riders, chariots, and charioteers doth\nHe lead forth?\" Whereto Moses and Aaron replied: \"His strength and His\npower fill the whole world. His voice heweth out flames of fire; His\nwords break mountains in pieces. The heaven is His throne, and the\nearth His footstool. His bow is fire, His arrows are flames, His spears\ntorches, His shield clouds, and His sword lightning flashes. He created\nthe mountains and the valleys, He brought forth spirits and souls, He\nstretched out the earth by a word, He made the mountains with His\nwisdom, He forms the embryo in the womb of the mother, He covers the\nheavens with clouds, at His word the dew and the rain descend\nearthward, He causes plants to grow from the ground, He nourishes and\nsustains the whole world, from the horns upon the rem down to the eggs\nof vermin. Every day He causes men to die, and every day He calls men\ninto life.\"\n\nPharaoh answered, and said: \"I have no need of Him. I have created\nmyself, and if ye say that He causes dew and rain to descend, I have\nthe Nile, the river that hath its source under the tree of life, and\nthe ground impregnated by its waters bears fruit so huge that it takes\ntwo asses to carry it. and it is palatable beyond description, for it\nhas three hundred different tastes.\"[157]\n\nThen Pharaoh sent to fetch the books of the chronicles of his kingdom\nfrom his archives, wherein are recorded the names of the gods of all\nthe nations, to see whether the name of the God of the Hebrews was\namong them. He read off: \"The gods of Moab, the gods of Ammon, the gods\nof Zidon\u2014I do not find your God inscribed in the archives!\" Moses and\nAaron exclaimed: \"O thou fool! Thou seekest the Living in the graves of\nthe dead. These which thou didst read are the names of dumb idols, but\nour God is the God of life and the King of eternal life.\"[158]\n\nWhen Pharaoh said the words, \"I know not the Lord,\" God Himself made\nanswer, saying: \"O thou rascal! Thou sayest to My ambassadors, 'I know\nnot the strength and the power of your God'? Lo, I will make thee to\nstand, for to show thee My power, and that My Name may be declared\nthroughout all the earth.\"[159]\n\nHaving searched his list of the gods of the nations in vain for a\nmention of the God of the Hebrews, Pharaoh cited before him the wise\nmen of Egypt, and he said to them: \"Have ye ever heard the name of the\nGod of these people?\" They replied, \"We have been told that He is a son\nof the wise, the son of ancient kings.\" Then spake God, saying, \"O ye\nfools! Ye call yourselves wise men, but Me ye call only the son of the\nwise. Verily, I will set at naught all your wisdom and your\nunderstanding.\"[160]\n\nPharaoh persisted in his obduracy, even after Moses and Aaron had\nperformed the miracle of the rod. At the time when the two Hebrews\nsucceeded in entering the palace, guarded as it was by lions, Pharaoh\nhad sent for his magicians, at their head Balaam and his two sons\nJannes and Jambres, and when they appeared before him, he told them of\nthe extraordinary incident, how the lions had followed the two old men\nlike dogs, and fawned upon them. It was Balaam's opinion that they were\nsimply magicians like himself and his companions, and he prayed the\nking to have them come before him together with themselves, to test who\nwere the master magicians, the Egyptians or the Hebrews.\n\nPharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and he said to them: \"Who will\nbelieve you when you say that you are the ambassadors of God, as you\npretend to be, if you do not convince men by performing wonders?\"\nThereupon Aaron cast his rod to the ground, and it became a\nserpent.[161] Pharaoh laughed aloud. \"What,\" he exclaimed, \"is this all\nyour God can do? It is the way of merchants to carry merchandise to a\nplace if there is none of it there, but would anyone take brine to\nSpain or fish to Accho? It seems you do not know that I am an adept in\nall sorts of magic!\" He ordered little school children to be brought,\nand they repeated the wonder done by Moses and Aaron; indeed, Pharaoh's\nown wife performed it. Jannes and Jambres, the sons of Balaam, derided\nMoses, saying, \"Ye carry straw to Ephrain!\"[162] whereto Moses\nanswered, \"To the place of many vegetables, thither carry vegetables.\"\n\nTo show the Egyptians that Aaron could do something with his rod that\ntheir magicians could not imitate, God caused the serpent into which\nHis rod had been changed to swallow up all the rods of the magicians.\nBut Balaam and his associates said: \"There is nothing marvellous or\nastonishing in this feat. Your serpent has but devoured our serpents,\nwhich is in accordance with a law of nature, one living being devours\nanother. If thou wishest us to acknowledge that the spirit of God\nworketh in thee, then cast thy rod to the earth, and if, being wood, it\nswallows up our rods of wood, then we shall acknowledge that the spirit\nof God is in thee.\" Aaron stood the test. After his rod had resumed its\noriginal form, it swallowed up the rods of the Egyptians,[163] and yet\nits bulk showed no increase. This caused Pharaoh to reflect, whether\nthis wonderful rod of Aaron might not swallow up also him and his\nthrone. Nevertheless he refused to obey the behest of God, to let\nIsrael go, saying, \"Had I Jacob-Israel himself here before me, I should\nput trowel and bucket on his shoulder.\" And to Moses and Aaron, he\nsaid, \"Because ye, like all the rest of the tribe of Levi, are not\ncompelled to labor, therefore do ye speak, 'Let us go and sacrifice to\nthe Lord.' If you had asked for a thousand people, or two thousand, I\nshould have fulfilled your request, but never will I consent to let six\nhundred thousand men go away.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE SUFFERING INCREASES\n\n\nBeside refusing to dismiss the children of Israel, he ordered, on the\nvery day of Moses and Aaron's audience with him, that the people be\nrequired to deliver the prescribed tale of bricks, though the\ntaskmasters were not as heretofore to give them straw to make brick.\nAnother decree was, that the children of Israel were not to be\npermitted to rest on the Sabbath, for Pharaoh knew that they used the\nleisure for reading the rolls that described their redemption. All this\nwas a part of God's plan, the oppression of Israel was to be increased\nthe closer the end approached. As they wandered up and down the land of\nEgypt gathering the straw they needed for the due tale of bricks, they\nwere maltreated by the Egyptians if they caught them on their fields.\nSuch unkind acts perpetrated by the whole people made it impossible for\nthem to cast the entire blame for the bondage of Israel upon Pharaoh.\nAll the Egyptians showed cruelty to the Israelites on their straw\nforaging expeditions, and therefore the Divine punishment descended\nupon all alike.\n\nThis frightful time of Israel's extreme suffering lasted six months.\nMeantime Moses went to Midian, leaving Aaron alone in Egypt. When Moses\nreturned at the end of the reign of terror, two of the Israelitish\nofficers accosted him and Aaron, and heaped abuse upon them for having\nincreased the woes of their people rather than diminished them. They\nspake, saying, \"If ye are truly the ambassadors of God, then may He\njudge between us and Pharaoh. But if you are seeking to bring about the\nredemption of Israel on your own account, then may God judge between\nyou and Israel. You are responsible for the widespread stench now\nissuing from the Israelitish corpses used as bricks for building when\nour tale was not complete. The Egyptians had but a faint suspicion that\nwe were waiting for our redemption. It is your fault if they are fully\nconscious of it now. We are in the quandary of the poor sheep that has\nbeen dragged away by a wolf. The shepherd pursues the robber, catches\nup with him, and tries to snatch the sheep from his jaws, and the\nwretched victim, pulled this way by the wolf and that way by the\nshepherd, is torn to pieces. Thus Israel fares between you and\nPharaoh.\"\n\nThe two officers that spake these stinging words were Dathan and\nAbiram, and it was neither the first nor the last time they inflicted\nan injury upon Moses. The other Israelitish officers were gentle and\nkind; they permitted themselves to be beaten by the taskmasters rather\nthan prod the laborers of their own people put under their\nsurveillance.\n\nThe cruel suffering to which his people was exposed caused Moses to\nspeak to God thus: \"I have read the book of Genesis through, and I\nfound the doom in it pronounced upon the generation of the deluge. It\nwas a just judgment. I found also the punishments decreed against the\ngeneration of the confusion of tongues, and against the inhabitants of\nSodom. These, too, were just. But what hath this nation of Israel done\nunto Thee, that it is oppressed more than any other nation in history?\nIs it because Abraham said, 'Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit\nthe land?' and Thou didst rebuke him for his small faith, saying, 'Know\nof a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not\ntheirs'? Why, then, are not the descendants of Esau and Ishmael held in\nbondage, too? Are they not likewise of the seed of Abraham? But if Thou\nwilt say, 'What concern is it of mine?' then I ask Thee, Why didst Thou\nsend me hither as Thy messenger? Thy great, exalted, and terrible Name\nis feared in all the earth, yet Pharaoh heard me pronounce it, and he\nrefuses obedience. I know Thou wilt redeem Israel in Thine own good\ntime, and it is of little moment to Thee that now they are immuring\nliving Israelites in these buildings.\"\n\nWere He a God of justice only, the Lord would have slain Moses for the\naudacity of his last words, but in view of his having spoken as he had\nonly out of compassion with Israel, the Lord dealt graciously with him.\nHe answered Moses, saying, \"Thou shalt see what I will do to Pharaoh,\"\nwords conveying to Moses, that although he would be witness to the\nchastisement of Pharaoh, he would not be present at that of the\nthirty-one kings of Canaan. Thus he was rebuked for the unbecoming\nlanguage he had used in addressing God.[164] At the same time God's\nwords were a rejoinder to another speech by Moses. He had said: \"O Lord\nof the world, I know well that Thou wilt bring Thy children forth from\nEgypt. O that Thou wouldst make use of another instrument, for I am not\nworthy of being the redeemer of Thy children.\" God made answer thereto:\n\"Yes, Moses, thou art worthy thereof. Through thee My children will be\nbrought forth out of Egypt. Thou shalt see what I will do to\nPharaoh.\"[165]\n\nAt the same time God called him to account for having so little faith.\nHe said: \"O for the departed, their like cannot be found any more! I\nappeared unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as El Shaddai, God Almighty,\nbut I was not known to them by My name Adonai, God All-Merciful, as I\nappeared unto thee. Nevertheless they did not cast aspersions upon My\nacts. I spake to Abraham, 'Unto thee will I give the land,' but when he\nwas about to bury Sarah, he had to pay out silver and buy a\nresting-place for her body; and yet he did not find fault with Me. I\nspake to Isaac, 'Unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these\nlands,' but when he desired water to drink, he had to strive with the\nherdsmen of Gerar; and yet he did not find fault with Me. I spake to\nJacob, 'The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy\nseed,' but when he wanted to spread his tent, he had to acquire a\nparcel of ground for an hundred pieces of money; and yet he did not\nfind fault with Me. None of them asked to know My Name. But thou didst\ndemand to know it at the very first, when I desired to send thee down\ninto Egypt, and after I revealed it to thee, thou didst speak, saying,\n'Thou didst tell me that Thou art called Compassionate and Gracious,\nLongsuffering and Merciful, but as soon as I pronounced this Name\nbefore Pharaoh, misfortune descended upon the people of Israel.' Now I\ndesire to fulfil My covenant with the three Patriarchs, and give their\nposterity the promised land, as a reward for the unquestioning faith of\nthe Fathers, and also as a reward to the people, who, in spite of their\nsuffering, did not find fault with My deeds. For this will I give them\nthe land, which they do not deserve to possess for other reasons. I\nswear that I will do thus!\" God pronounced this oath, to banish all\nfear from the mind of Moses, that He might act only in accordance with\nHis attribute of justice, and thus delay the redemption of Israel for a\ntime, on account of the sins of the people.[166]\n\nNow the redemption of Israel was a settled fact. But before Moses and\nAaron could start on the work of delivering their people, God called\nvarious points to their attention, which He bade them consider in their\nundertaking. He spake to them, saying: \"My children are perverse,\npassionate, and troublesome. You must be prepared to stand their abuse,\nto the length of being pelted with stones by them. I send you to\nPharaoh, and although I will punish him according to his deserts, yet\nyou must not fail in the respect due to him as a ruler. Furthermore, be\ncareful to take the elders of the people into your counsel,[167] and\nlet your first step toward redemption be to make the people give up the\nworship of idols.\"\n\nThe last was a most difficult task, and the words of God concerning it\nwrung the exclamation from Moses: \"See, the children of Israel will not\nhearken unto me. How, then, should Pharaoh hearken unto me?\"[168] It\nwas the third time Moses declined to go on the errand of God. Now the\nDivine patience was exhausted, and Moses was subjected to punishment.\nAt first God had revealed Himself only to Moses, and the original\nintention had been that he alone was to perform all the miracles, but\nhenceforth the word of God was addressed to Aaron as well, and he was\ngiven a share in doing the wonders.[169]\n\n\n\n\nMEASURE FOR MEASURE\n\n\nGod divided the ten punishments decreed for Egypt into four parts,\nthree of the plagues He committed to Aaron, three to Moses, one to the\ntwo brothers together, and three He reserved for Himself. Aaron was\ncharged with those, that proceeded from the earth and the water, the\nelements that are composed of more or less solid parts, from which are\nfashioned all the corporeal, distinctive entities, while the three\nentrusted to Moses were those that proceeded from the air and the fire,\nthe elements that are most prolific of life.[170]\n\nThe Lord is a man of war, and as a king of flesh and blood devises\nvarious stratagems against his enemy, so God attacked the Egyptians in\nvarious ways. He brought ten plagues down upon them. When a province\nrises up in rebellion, its sovereign lord first sends his army against\nit, to surround it and cut off the water supply. If the people are\ncontrite, well and good; if not, he brings noise makers into the field\nagainst them. If the people are contrite, well and good; if not, he\norders darts to be discharged against them. If the people are contrite,\nwell and good; if not, he orders his legions to assault them. If the\npeople are contrite, well and good; if not, he causes bloodshed and\ncarnage among them. If the people are contrite, well and good; if not,\nhe directs a stream of hot naphtha upon them. If the people are\ncontrite, well and good; if not, he hurls projectiles at them from his\nballistae. If the people are contrite, well and good; if not, he has\nscaling-ladders set up against their walls. If the people are contrite,\nwell and good; if not, he casts them into dungeons. If the people are\ncontrite, well and good; if not, he slays their magnates.\n\nThus did God proceed against the Egyptians. First He cut off their\nwater supply by turning their rivers into blood. They refused to let\nthe Israelites go, and He sent the noisy, croaking frogs into their\nentrails. They refused to let the Israelites go, and He brought lice\nagainst them, which pierced their flesh like darts. They refused to let\nthe Israelites go, and He sent barbarian legions against them, mixed\nhordes of wild beasts. They refused to let the Israelites go, and He\nbrought slaughter upon them, a very grievous pestilence. They refused\nto let the Israelites go, and He poured out naphtha over them, burning\nblains. They refused to let the Israelites go, and He caused His\nprojectiles, the hail, to descend upon them. They refused to let the\nIsraelites go, and He placed scaling-ladders against the wall for the\nlocusts, which climbed them like men of war. They refused to let the\nIsraelites go, and He cast them into dungeon darkness. They refused to\nlet the Israelites go, and He slew their magnates, their first-born\nsons.[171]\n\nThe plagues that God sent upon the Egyptians corresponded to the deeds\nthey bad perpetrated against the children of Israel. Because they\nforced the Israelites to draw water for them, and also hindered them\nfrom the use of the ritual baths, He changed their water into blood.\n\nBecause they had said to the Israelites, \"Go and catch fish for us,\" He\nbrought frogs up against them, making them to swarm in their\nkneading-troughs and their bed- chambers and hop around croaking in\ntheir entrails. It was the severest of all the ten plagues.\n\nBecause they had said to the Israelites, \"Go and sweep and clean our\nhouses, our courtyards, and our streets,\" He changed the dust of the\nair into lice, so that the vermin lay piled up in heaps an ell high,\nand when the Egyptians put on fresh garments, they were at once\ninfested with the insects.\n\nThe fourth plague was an invasion of the land by hordes of all sorts of\nwild animals, lions, wolves, panthers, bears, and others. They overran\nthe houses of the Egyptians, and when they closed their doors to keep\nthem out, God caused a little animal to come forth from the ground, and\nit got in through the windows, and split open the doors, and made a way\nfor the bears, panthers, lions, and wolves, which swarmed in and\ndevoured the people down to the infants in their cradles. If an\nEgyptian entrusted his ten children to an Israelite, to take a walk\nwith them, a lion would come and snatch away one of the children, a\nbear would carry off the second, a serpent the third, and so on, and in\nthe end the Israelite returned home alone. This plague was brought upon\nthem because they were in the habit of bidding the Israelites go and\ncatch wolves and lions for their circuses, and they sent them on such\nerrands, to make them take up their abode in distant deserts, where\nthey would be separated from their wives, and could not propagate their\nrace.\n\nThen God brought a grievous murrain upon their cattle, because they had\npressed the Israelites into their service as shepherds, and assigned\nremote pasturing places to them, to keep them away from their wives.\nTherefore the murrain came and carried off all the cattle in the flocks\nthe Israelites were tending.\n\nThe sixth plague was a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and\nupon beast. This was the punishment of the Egyptians, because they\nwould say to the children of Israel, \"Go and prepare a bath for us unto\nthe delight of our flesh and our bones.\" Therefore they were doomed to\nsuffer with boils that inflamed their flesh, and on account of the itch\nthey could not leave off scratching. While the Egyptians suffered thus,\nthe children of Israel used their baths.\n\nBecause they had sent the Israelites forth into the fields, to plough\nand sow, hail was sent down upon them, and their trees and crops were\ndestroyed.\n\nThey had been in the habit of saying to the Israelites, \"Go forth,\nplant ye trees for us, and guard the fruit thereon.\" Therefore God\nbrought the locusts into the Egyptian border, to eat the residue of\nthat which was escaped, which remained unto them from the hail, for the\nteeth of the locust are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw teeth\nof a great lion.\n\nBecause they would throw the Israelites into dungeons, God brought\ndarkness upon them, the darkness of hell, so that they had to grope\ntheir way. He that sat could not rise up on his feet, and he that stood\ncould not sit down. The infliction of darkness served another purpose.\nAmong the Israelites there were many wicked men, who refused to leave\nEgypt, and God determined to put them out of the way. But that the\nEgyptians might not say they had succumbed to the plague like\nthemselves, God slew them under cover of the darkness, and in the\ndarkness they were buried by their fellow-Israelites, and the Egyptians\nknew nothing of what had happened. But the number of these wicked men\nhad been very great, and the children of Israel spared to leave Egypt\nwere but a small fraction of the original Israelitish population.\n\nThe tenth plague was the slaying of the first-born, and it came upon\nthe Egyptians because of their intention to murder the men children of\nthe Israelites at their birth, and, finally, Pharaoh and his host were\ndrowned in the Red Sea, because the Egyptians had caused the men\nchildren of the Israelites to be exposed in the water.[172]\n\nEach, of the plagues inflicted upon Egypt had another parallel in the\ncruel treatment accorded to the Israelites. The first was a punishment\nfor the arrogant words spoken by Pharaoh, \"My Nile river is mine own,\nand I have made it for myself.\"\n\nThe plague of the frogs God brought down upon the Egyptians, \"because,\"\nHe said, \"the frogs, which sometimes inhabit the water, shall take\nvengeance upon the Egyptians for having desired to destroy the nation\ndestined to be the bearers of the Torah, and the Torah is likened unto\nwater.\"\n\nGod sent vermin upon them, saying, \"Let the lice made of the dust of\nthe earth take vengeance upon the Egyptians for having desired to\ndestroy the nation whose seed is like unto the dust of the earth.\"\n\nHordes of beasts, lions and wolves and swarms of serpents, came down\nupon them, \"because,\" God said, \"these animals shall take vengeance\nupon the Egyptians for having desired to destroy the nation that is\nlikened unto lions, wolves, and serpents.\"\n\nA fatal pestilence was brought upon them, \"because,\" God said, \"death\nshall take vengeance upon the Egyptians for having desired to destroy\nthe nation that faces death for the glorification of the Name of God.\"\n\nThey were made to suffer with burning blains, \"because,\" God said, \"the\nboils coming from the ashes of the furnace shall take vengeance upon\nthe Egyptians for having desired to destroy the nation whose ancestor\nAbraham walked into the fiery furnace for the glorification of the Name\nof God.\"\n\nHe made hail to descend upon them, \"because,\" He said, \"the white hail\nshall take vengeance upon the Egyptians for having desired to destroy a\nnation whose sins shall be white.\"\n\nThe locusts came upon them, \"because,\" God said, \"the locusts, which\nare My great army, shall take vengeance upon the Egyptians for having\ndesired to destroy the nation that is called My hosts.\"\n\n\"Darkness,\" said God, \"which is divided from the light, shall come and\ntake vengeance upon the Egyptians for desiring to destroy the nation\nupon which shineth the light of the Lord, while gross darkness covers\nthe other peoples.\"\n\nThe tenth plague, the slaying of the first-born, God inflicted, saying,\n\"I will take vengeance upon the Egyptians for having desired to destroy\nthe nation that is My first- born. As the night divided itself for\nAbraham, that his enemies might be vanquished, so I will pass through\nEgypt in the middle of the night, and as Abraham was proved by ten\ntemptations, so I will send ten plagues upon Egypt, the enemy of his\nchildren.\"[173]\n\n\n\n\nTHE PLAGUES BROUGHT THROUGH AARON\n\n\nFrom the infliction of the first of the plagues until the passing of\nthe last, after which the Egyptians yielded all that Moses and Aaron\ndemanded, there elapsed a whole year, for twelve months is the term set\nby God for the expiation of sins. The deluge lasted one year; Job\nsuffered one year; sinners must endure hell tortures for one year, and\nthe judgment upon Gog at the end of time will be executed for the\nlength of one year.[174]\n\nMoses announced the first plague to Pharaoh one morning when the king\nwas walking by the river's brink. This morning walk enabled him to\npractice a deception. He called himself a god, and pretended that he\nfelt no human needs. To keep up the illusion, he would repair to the\nedge of the river every morning, and ease nature there while alone and\nunobserved. At such a time it was that Moses appeared before him, and\ncalled out to him, \"Is there a god that hath human needs?\" \"Verily, I\nam no god,\" replied Pharaoh, \"I only pretend to be one before the\nEgyptians, who are such idiots, one should consider them asses rather\nthan human beings.\"[175]\n\nThen Moses made known to him that God would turn the water into blood,\nif he refused to let Israel go. In the warning we can discern the\ndifference between God and man. When a mortal harbors the intention to\ndo an injury to an enemy, he lies in wait for the moment when he can\nstrike an unexpected blow. But God is outspoken. He warned Pharaoh and\nthe Egyptians in public whenever a plague was about to descend, and\neach warning was repeated by Moses for a period of three weeks,\nalthough the plague itself endured but a single week.\n\nAs Pharaoh would not lay the warning to heart, the plague announced by\nMoses was let loose upon him and his people\u2014the waters were turned into\nblood. It is a well- known proverb, \"Beat the idols, and the priests\nare in terror.\" God smote the river Nile, which the Egyptians\nworshipped as their god, in order to terrify Pharaoh and his people and\nforce them to do the Divine will.\n\nTo produce the plague, Aaron took his rod, and stretched out his hand\nover the waters of Egypt. Moses had no part in performing the miracle,\nfor God had said to him, \"The water that watched over thy safety when\nthou wast exposed in the Nile, shall not suffer harm through thee.\"\n\nAaron had scarcely executed the Divine bidding, when all the water of\nEgypt became blood, even such as was kept in vessels of wood and in\nvessels of stone. The very spittle of an Egyptian turned into blood no\nsooner had he ejected it from his mouth,[176] and blood dripped also\nfrom the idols of the Egyptians.[177]\n\nThe transformation of the waters into blood was intended mainly as a\npunishment for the oppressors, but it was at the same time a source of\nprofit for the oppressed. It gave the Israelites the opportunity of\namassing great wealth. The Egyptians paid them large sums for their\nwater, for if an Egyptian and an Israelite drew water from the same\ntrough, the portion carried off by the Egyptian was bound to be\nuseless, it turned into blood. To be sure, nothing helped the Egyptians\nin their distress, for though they drank water from the same cup as an\nIsraelite, it became blood in their mouth.\n\nHowever, this plague did not impress Pharaoh as a punishment inflicted\nin the name of God, because with the help of the Angels of Destruction\nthe magicians of Egypt produced the same phenomenon of changing water\ninto blood. Therefore he hearkened not unto the words of Moses.[178]\n\nThe next was the plague of the frogs, and again it was Aaron that\nperformed the wonder. He stretched forth his hand with his rod over the\nrivers, and caused frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. Moses,\nwhose life had been preserved by the water, was kept from poisoning his\nsavior with the reptiles. At first only a single frog appeared, but he\nbegan to croak, summoning so many companions that the whole land of\nEgypt swarmed with them. Wherever an Egyptian took up his stand, frogs\nappeared, and in some mysterious way they were able to pierce the\nhardest of metals, and even the marble palaces of the Egyptian nobles\nafforded no protection against them. If a frog came close to them, the\nwalls split asunder immediately. \"Make way,\" the frogs would call out\nto the stone, \"that I may do the will of my Creator,\" and at once the\nmarble showed a rift, through which the frogs entered, and then they\nattacked the Egyptians bodily, and mutilated and overwhelmed them. In\ntheir ardor to fulfil the behest of God, the frogs cast themselves into\nthe red-hot flames of the bake-ovens and devoured the bread. Centuries\nlater, the three holy children, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were\nordered by Nebuchadnezzar to pay worship to his idols on penalty of\ndeath in the burning furnace, and they said, \"If the frogs, which were\nunder no obligation to glorify the Name of God, nevertheless threw\nthemselves into the fire in order to execute the Divine will concerning\nthe punishment of the Egyptians, how much more should we be ready to\nexpose our lives to the fire for the greater glory of His Name!\"[179]\nAnd the zealous frogs were not permitted to go unrewarded. While the\nothers were destroyed from Pharaoh and the Egyptian houses at the\nmoment appointed as the last of the plague, God saved those in the\nbake-ovens alive, the fire had no power to do them the least harm.[180]\n\nNow, although the Egyptian magicians also brought up frogs upon the\nland of Egypt through the help of demons, Pharaoh nevertheless declared\nhimself ready to let the people go, to sacrifice unto the Lord. The\ndifference between this plague and the first was, that water turned\ninto blood had not caused him any personal inconvenience, while the\nswarms of frogs inflicted physical suffering, and he gave the promise\nto Moses to let Israel go, in the hope of ridding himself of the pain\nhe experienced. And Moses in turn promised to entreat God for him on\nthe following day. It could not be done at once, because the seven\ndays' term had not yet elapsed. The prayer offered by Moses in behalf\nof Pharaoh was granted, all the frogs perished, and their destruction\nwas too swift for them to retire to the water. Consequently the whole\nland was filled with the stench from the decaying frogs, for they had\nbeen so numerous that every man of the Egyptians gathered together four\nheaps of them.[181] Although the frogs had filled all the market-places\nand stables and dwellings, they retreated before the Hebrews as if they\nhad been able to distinguish between the two nations, and had known\nwhich of them it was proper to abuse, and which to treat with\nconsideration.[182] Beside sparing the Hebrews in the land of Egypt,\nthe frogs kept within the limits of the land, in no wise trenching upon\nthe territory of the neighboring nations. Indeed, they were the means\nof settling peaceably an old boundary dispute between Egypt and\nEthiopia. Wherever they appeared, so far extended the Egyptian domain;\nall beyond their line belonged to Ethiopia.\n\nPharaoh was like the wicked that cry to God in their distress, and when\ntheir fortunes prosper slide back into their old, impious ways. No\nsooner had the frogs departed from him, his houses, his servants, and\nhis people, than he hardened his heart again, and refused to let Israel\ngo. Thereupon God sent the plague of the lice, the last of those\nbrought upon Egypt through the mediation of Aaron. Moses could have no\npart in it, \"for,\" said God, \"the earth that afforded thee protection\nwhen she permitted thee to hide the slain Egyptian, shall not suffer\nthrough thine hand.\"[183]\n\nThe Egyptian magicians having boasted that they were able to produce\nthe first two plagues,\u2014an empty boast it was, for they did not bring\nthem about with their enchantments, but only because Moses willed them\nto do it,\u2014God put them to shame with the third plague. They tried in\nvain to imitate it.[184] The demons could not aid them, for their power\nis limited to the production of things larger than a barley grain, and\nlice are smaller. The magicians had to admit, \"This is the finger of\nGod.\" Their failure put an end once for all to their attempts to do as\nMoses did.\n\nBut Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and God spake to Moses, saying, \"This\nwicked fellow remains hard of heart, in spite of the three plagues. The\nfourth shall be much worse than those which have preceded it. Go to\nhim, therefore, and warn him, it would be well for him to let My people\ngo, that the plague come not upon him.\"[185]\n\n\n\n\nTHE PLAGUES BROUGHT THROUGH MOSES\n\n\nThe fourth plague was also announced to the king early in the morning\nby the river's brink. Pharaoh went thither regularly, for he was one of\nthe magi, who need water for their enchantments.[186] Moses' daily\nmorning visits were beginning to annoy him, and he left the house\nearly, in the hope of circumventing his monitor. But God, who knows the\nthoughts of man, sent Moses to Pharaoh at the very moment of his going\nforth.\n\nThe warning of the plague that was imminent not having had any effect\nupon Pharaoh, God sent the fourth plague upon Egypt,[187] a mixed horde\nof wild animals, lions, bears, wolves, and panthers, and so many birds\nof prey of different kinds that the light of the sun and the moon was\ndarkened as they circled through the air. These beasts came upon the\nEgyptians as a punishment for desiring to force the seed of Abraham to\namalgamate with the other nations. God retaliated by bringing a mixture\nupon them that cost them their life.[188]\n\nAs Pharaoh had been the first of the Egyptians to lay evil plans\nagainst the children of Israel, so he was the first upon whom descended\npunishment. Into his house the mixed horde of beasts came first of all,\nand then into the houses of the rest of the Egyptians. Goshen, the land\ninhabited by the Israelites, was spared entirely, for God put a\ndivision between the two peoples. It is true, the Israelites had\ncommitted sins enough to deserve punishment, but the Holy One, blessed\nbe He, permitted the Egyptians to act as a ransom for Israel.\n\nAgain Pharaoh expressed his willingness to let the children of Israel\nsacrifice unto their God, but they were to stay in the land and do it,\nnot go outside, into the wilderness. Moses pointed out to Pharaoh how\nunbecoming it would be for the Israelites to sacrifice, before the very\neyes of his people, the animals that the Egyptians worshipped as gods.\nThen Pharaoh consented to let them go beyond the borders of his land,\nonly they were not to go very far away, and Moses, to mislead him,\nasked for a three days' journey into the wilderness. But, again, when\nMoses had entreated God on Pharaoh's behalf, and the horde of wild\nbeasts had vanished, the king hardened his heart, and did not let the\npeople go.\n\nThe cessation of the fourth plague was as miraculous as the plague\nitself. The very animals that had been slain by the Egyptians in\nself-defense returned to life and departed from the land with the rest.\nThis was ordained to prevent the wicked oppressors from profiting by\nthe punishment even so much as the value of the hides and the flesh of\nthe dead animals. It had not been so with the useless frogs, they had\ndied on the spot, and their carcasses had remained where they\nfell.[189]\n\nThe fifth plague inflicted by God upon the Egyptians was a grievous\npestilence, which mowed down the cattle and beasts chiefly, yet it did\nnot spare men altogether. This pestilence was a distinct plague, but it\nalso accompanied all the other plagues, and the death of many Egyptians\nwas due to it.[190] The Israelites again came off unscathed. Indeed, if\nan Israelite had a just claim upon a beast held by an Egyptian, it,\ntoo, was spared, and the same good fortune waited upon such cattle as\nwas the common property of Israelites and Egyptians.\n\nThe sixth plague, the plague of boils, was produced by Moses and Aaron\ntogether in a miraculous way. Each took a handful of ashes of the\nfurnace, then Moses held the contents of the two heaps in the hollow of\none of his hands, and sprinkled the ashes tip toward the heaven, and it\nflew so high that it reached the Divine throne. Returning earthward, it\nscattered over the whole land of Egypt, a space equal to four hundred\nsquare parasangs. The small dust of the ashes produced leprosy upon the\nskin of the Egyptians,[191] and blains of a peculiar kind, soft within\nand dry on top.[192]\n\nThe first five plagues the magicians had tried to imitate, and partly\nthey had succeeded. But in this sixth plague they could not stand\nbefore Moses, and thenceforth they gave up the attempt to do as he did.\nTheir craft had all along been harmful to themselves. Although they\ncould produce the plagues, they could not imitate Moses in causing them\nto disappear. They would put their hands into their bosom, and draw\nthem out white with leprosy, exactly like Moses, but their flesh\nremained leprous until the day of their death. And the same happened\nwith all the other plagues that they imitated: until their dying day\nthey were afflicted with the ills they produced.[193]\n\nAs Pharaoh had wittingly hardened his heart with each of the first five\nplagues, and refused to turn from his sinful purpose, God punished him\nthereafter in such wise that he could not mend his ways if he would.\nGod said, \"Even though he should desire to do penance now, I will\nharden his heart until he pays off the whole of his debt.\"\n\nPharaoh had observed that whenever he walked on the brink of the Nile,\nMoses would intercept him. He therefore gave up his morning walk. But\nGod bade Moses seek the king in his palace in the early hours of the\nday and urge him to repent of his evil ways. Therefore Moses spake to\nhim as follows, in the name of God: \"O thou villain! Thou thinkest that\nI cannot destroy thee from the world. Consider, if I had desired it,\ninstead of smiting the cattle, I might have smitten thee and thy people\nwith the pestilence, and thou wouldst have been cut off from the earth.\nI inflicted the plague only in such degree as was necessary to show\nthee My power, and that My Name may be declared throughout all the\nearth. But thou dost not leave off treading My people underfoot.\nBehold, to-morrow when the sun passes this point,\"\u2014whereat Moses made a\nstroke upon the wall\u2014 \"I will cause a very grievous hail to pour down,\nsuch as will be only once more, when I annihilate Gog with hail, fire,\nand brimstone.\"\n\nBut God's lovingkindness is so great that even in His wrath He has\nmercy upon the wicked, and as His chief object was not to injure men\nand beasts, but to damage the vegetation in the fields of the\nEgyptians, He bade Moses admonish Pharaoh to send and hasten in his\ncattle and all that he had in the field. But the warning fell on\nheedless ears. Job was the only one to take it to heart, while Pharaoh\nand his people regarded not the word of the Lord. Therefore the Lord\nlet the hail smite both man and beast, instead of confining it to the\nherbs and the trees of the field, as He had intended from the first.\n\nAs a rule, fire and water are elements at war with each other, but in\nthe hailstones that smote the land of Egypt they were reconciled. A\nfire rested in the hailstones as the burning wick swims in the oil of a\nlamp; the surrounding fluid cannot extinguish the flame. The Egyptians\nwere smitten either by the hail or by the fire. In the one case as the\nother their flesh was seared, and the bodies of the many that were\nslain by the hail were consumed by the fire. The hailstones heaped\nthemselves up like a wall, so that the carcasses of the slain beasts\ncould not be removed, and if the people succeeded in dividing the dead\nanimals and carrying their flesh off, the birds of prey would attack\nthem on their way home, and snatch their prize away. But the vegetation\nin the field suffered even more than man and beast, for the hail came\ndown like an axe upon the trees and broke them. That the wheat and the\nspelt were not crushed was a miracle.\n\nNow, at last, Pharaoh acknowledged, and said, \"The Lord is righteous,\nand I and my people are wicked. He was righteous when He bade us hasten\nin our cattle from before the hail, and I and my people were wicked,\nfor we heeded not His warning, and men and beasts were found in the\nfield by the hail, and slain.\" Again he begged Moses to supplicate God\nin his behalf, that He turn the plague away, and he promised to let the\nchildren of Israel go. Moses consented to do his will, saying, however:\n\"Think not that I do not know what will happen after the plague is\nstayed. I know that thou and thy servants, ye will fear the Lord God,\nonce His punishment is removed, as little as ye feared Him before. But\nto show His greatness, I will pray to Him to make the hail to cease.\"\n\nMoses went a short distance out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread\nabroad his hands unto the Lord, for he did not desire to pray to God\nwithin, where there were many idols and images. At once the hail\nremained suspended in the air. Part of it dropped down while Joshua was\nengaged in battle with the Amorites, and the rest God will send down in\nHis fury against Gog. Also the thunders ceased at Moses' intercession,\nand were stored up for a later time, for they were the noise which the\nLord made the host of the Syrians to hear at the siege of Samaria,\nwherefore they arose and fled in the twilight.[194]\n\nAs Moses had foreseen, so it happened. No sooner had the hail stopped\nthan Pharaoh abandoned his resolve, and refused to let Israel go. Moses\nlost no time in announcing the eighth plague to him, the plague of the\nlocusts. Observing that his words had made an impression upon the\nking's counsellors, he turned and went out from Pharaoh, to give them\nthe opportunity of discussing the matter among themselves. And, indeed,\nhis servants urged Pharaoh to let the Israelites go and serve the Lord\ntheir God. But, again, when Moses insisted that the whole people must\ngo, the young and the old, the sons and the daughters, Pharaoh\ndemurred, saying, \"I know it to be customary for young men and old men\nto take part in sacrifices, but surely not little children, and when\nyou demand their presence, too, you betray your evil purpose. It is but\na pretense, your saying that you will go a three days' journey into the\nwilderness, and then return. You mean to escape and never come back. I\nwill have nothing more to do with the matter.[195] My god Baal-zephon\nwill oppose you in the way, and hinder you on your journey.\" Pharaoh's\nlast words were a dim presentiment. As a magician he foresaw that on\ntheir going forth from Egypt the children of Israel would find\nthemselves in desperate straits before the sanctuary of\nBaal-zephon.[196]\n\nPharaoh was not content with merely denying the request preferred by\nMoses and Aaron. He ordered them to be forcibly expelled from the\npalace. Then God sent the plague of the locusts announced by Moses\nbefore. They ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees\nthat the hail had left, and there remained not any green thing. And\nagain Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, to ask their forgiveness, both\nfor his sin against the Lord God, in not having hearkened unto His\nword, and for his sin against them, in having chased them forth and\nintended to curse them. Moses, as before, prayed to God in Pharaoh's\nbehalf, and his petition was granted, the plague was taken away, and in\na rather surprising manner. When the swarms of locusts began to darken\nthe land, the Egyptians caught them and preserved them in brine as a\ndainty to be eaten. Now the Lord turned an exceeding strong west wind,\nwhich took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. Even those\nthey were keeping in their pots flew up and away, and they had none of\nthe expected profit.[197]\n\nThe last plague but one, like those which had preceded it, endured\nseven days. All the time the land was enveloped in darkness, only it\nwas not always of the same degree of density. During the first three\ndays, it was not so thick but that the Egyptians could change their\nposture when they desired to do so. If they were sitting down, they\ncould rise up, and if they were standing, they could sit down. On the\nfourth, fifth, and sixth days, the darkness was so dense that they\ncould not stir from their place. They either sat the whole time, or\nstood; as they were at the beginning, so they remained until the end.\nThe last day of darkness overtook the Egyptians, not in their own land,\nbut at the Red Sea, on their pursuit of Israel. The darkness was not of\nthe ordinary, earthly kind; it came from hell, and it could be felt. It\nwas as thick as a dinar, and all the time it prevailed a celestial\nlight brightened the dwellings of the children of Israel, whereby they\ncould see what the Egyptians were doing under cover of the darkness.\nThis was of great advantage to them, for when they were about to go\nforth from the land, and they asked their neighbors to lend them\nraiment, and jewels of gold and jewels of silver, for the journey, the\nEgyptians tried to deny having any in their possession. But the\nchildren of Israel, having spied out all their treasures during the\ndays of darkness, could describe the objects they needed with accuracy,\nand designate their hiding-places. The Egyptians reasoned that the\nwords of the Israelites could be taken implicitly as they spoke them,\nfor if they had had any idea of deceiving them, asking for a loan when\nthey intended to keep what they laid hands on, they might have taken\nunobserved during the days of darkness whatever: they desired. Hence\nthe Egyptians felt no hesitation in lending the children of Israel all\nthe treasures they asked for.[198]\n\nThe darkness was of such a nature that it could not be dispelled by\nartificial means. The light of the fire kindled for household uses was\neither extinguished by the violence of the storm, or else it was made\ninvisible and swallowed up in the density of the darkness. Sight, that\nmost indispensable of all the external senses, though unimpaired, was\ndeprived of its office, for nothing could be discerned, and all the\nother senses were overthrown like subjects whose leader has fallen.\nNone was able to speak or to hear, nor could anyone venture to take\nfood, but they lay themselves down in quiet and hunger, their outward\nsenses in a trance. Thus they remained, overwhelmed by the affliction,\nuntil Moses had compassion on them again, and besought God in their\nbehalf, who granted him the power of restoring fine weather, light\ninstead of darkness and day instead of night.[199]\n\nIntimidated by this affliction, Pharaoh permitted the people to go, the\nlittle ones as well as the men and the women, only he asked that they\nlet their flocks and their herds be stayed. But Moses said: \"As thou\nlivest, our cattle also shall go with us. Yea, if but the hoof of an\nanimal belongs to an Israelite, the beast shall not be left behind in\nEgypt.\" This speech exasperated Pharaoh to such a degree that he\nthreatened Moses with death in the day he should see his face again.\n\nAt this very moment the Lord appeared unto Moses, and bade him inform\nPharaoh of the infliction of the last plague, the slaying of the\nfirst-born. It was the first and the last time that God revealed\nHimself in the royal palace. He chose the residence of Pharaoh on this\noccasion that Moses might not be branded as a liar, for he had replied\nto Pharaoh's threat of killing him if he saw his face again, with the\nwords, \"Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face again no more.\"\n\nWith a loud voice Moses proclaimed the last plague, closing his\nannouncement with the words: \"And all these thy servants shall come\ndown unto me and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out: and\nall the people that follow thee; and after that I will go out.\" Moses\nknew well enough that Pharaoh himself would come and urge him to lead\nIsrael forth with as great haste as possible, but he mentioned only the\nservants of the king, and not the king himself, because he never forgot\nthe respect due to a ruler.[200]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FIRST PASSOVER\n\n\nWhen the time approached in which, according to the promise made to\nAbraham, his children would be redeemed, it was seen that they had no\npious deeds to their credit for the sake of which they deserved release\nfrom bondage. God therefore gave them two commandments, one bidding\nthem to sacrifice the paschal lamb and one to circumcise their\nsons.[201] Along with the first they received the calendar in use among\nthe Jews, for the Passover feast is to be celebrated on the fifteenth\nday of the month of Nisan, and with this month the year is to begin.\nBut the computations for the calendar are so involved that Moses could\nnot understand them until God showed him the movements of the moon\nplainly. There were three other things equally difficult, which Moses\ncould comprehend only after God made him to see them plainly. They were\nthe compounding of the holy anointing oil, the construction of the\ncandlestick in the Tabernacle, and the animals the flesh of which is\npermitted or prohibited.[202] Also the determination of the new moon\nwas the subject of special Divine teaching. That Moses might know the\nexact procedure, God appeared to him in a garment with fringes upon its\ncorners, bade Moses stand at His right hand and Aaron at His left, and\nthen, citing Michael and Gabriel as witnesses, He addressed searching\nquestions to the angels as to how the new moon had seemed to them. Then\nthe Lord addressed Moses and Aaron, saying, \"Thus shall My children\nproclaim the new moon, on the testimony of two witnesses and through\nthe president of the court.[203]\n\nWhen Moses appeared before the children of Israel and delivered the\nDivine message to them, telling them that their redemption would come\nabout in this month of Nisan, they said: \"How is it possible that we\nshould be redeemed? Is not the whole of Egypt full of our idols? And we\nhave no pious deeds to show making us worthy of redemption.\" Moses made\nreply, and said: \"As God desires your redemption, He pays no heed to\nyour idols; He passes them by. Nor does He look upon your evil deeds,\nbut only upon the good deeds of the pious among you.\"[204]\n\nGod would not, indeed, have delivered Israel if they had not abandoned\ntheir idol worship. Unto this purpose He commanded them to sacrifice\nthe paschal lamb. Thus they were to show that they had given up the\nidolatry of the Egyptians, consisting in the worship of the ram.[205]\nThe early law was different from the practice of later times, for they\nwere bidden to select their sacrificial animal four days before the day\nappointed for the offering, and to designate it publicly as such, to\nshow that they did not stand in awe of the Egyptians.\n\nWith a heavy heart the Egyptians watched the preparations of the\nIsraelites for sacrificing the animals they worshipped. Yet they did\nnot dare interpose an objection, and when the time came for the\noffering to be made, the children of Israel could perform the\nceremonies without a tremor, seeing that they knew, through many days'\nexperience, that the Egyptians feared to approach them with hostile\nintent. There was another practice connected with the slaughter of the\npaschal lamb that was to show the Egyptians how little the Israelites\nfeared them. They took of the blood of the animal, and openly put it on\nthe two side posts and on the lintel of the doors of their houses.[206]\n\nMoses communicated the laws regulating the Passover sacrifice to the\nelders, and they in turn made them known to the people at large. The\nelders were commended for having supported the leader at his first\nappearance, for their faith in Moses caused the whole people to adhere\nto him at once. Therefore God spake, saying: \"I will reward the elders\nfor inspiring the people with confidence in Moses. They shall have the\nhonor of delivering Israel. They shall lead the people to the Passover\nsacrifice, and through this the redemption will be brought about.\"[207]\n\nThe ceremonies connected with the Passover sacrifice had the purpose of\nconveying instruction to Israel about the past and the future alike.\nThe blood put on the two side posts and on the lintel of their doors\nwas to remind them of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and the bunch of\nhyssop for sprinkling the blood on the doors was to imply that,\nalthough Israel's position among the peoples of the earth is as lowly\nas that of the hyssop among the plants, yet this little nation is bound\ntogether like the bunch of hyssop, for it is God's peculiar\ntreasure.[208]\n\nThe paschal sacrifice afforded Moses the opportunity for inducing the\nchildren of Israel to submit themselves to circumcision, which many had\nrefused to do until then in spite of his urgent appeals. But God has\nmeans of persuasion. He caused a wind to blow that wafted the sweet\nscents of Paradise toward Moses' paschal lamb, and the fragrance\npenetrated to all parts of Egypt, to the distance of a forty days'\njourney. The people were attracted in crowds to Moses' lamb, and\ndesired to partake of it. But he said, \"This is the command of God, 'No\nuncircumcised person shall eat thereof,' \" and they all decided to\nundergo circumcision. When the Lord passed through the land of Egypt,\nHe blessed every Israelite for his fulfilment of the two commands, the\ncommand of the paschal sacrifice and the command regarding\ncircumcision.\"\n\nThe Lord performed a great miracle for the Israelites. As no sacrifice\nmay be eaten beyond the borders of the Holy Land, all the children of\nIsrael were transported thither on clouds, and after they had eaten of\nthe sacrifice, they were carried back to Egypt in the same way.[210]\n\n\n\n\nTHE SMITING OF THE FIRST-BORN\n\n\nWhen Moses announced the slaying of the first-born, the designated\nvictims all repaired to their fathers, and said: \"Whatever Moses hath\nforetold has been fulfilled. Let the Hebrews go, else we shall all\ndie.\" But the fathers replied, \"It is better for one of every ten of us\nto die, than the Hebrews should execute their purpose.\" Then the\nfirst-born repaired to Pharaoh, to induce him to dismiss the children\nof Israel. So far from granting their wish, he ordered his servants to\nfall upon the first-born and beat them, to punish them for their\npresumptuous demand. Seeing that they could not accomplish their end by\ngentle means, they attempted to bring it about by force.[211]\n\nPharaoh and all that opposed the wishes of the first-born were of the\nopinion that the loss of so inconsiderable a percentage of the\npopulation was a matter of small moment. They were mistaken in their\ncalculation, for the Divine decree included not only the first-born\nsons, but also the first-born daughters, and not only the first-born of\nthe marriages then existing, but also the first-born issuing from\nprevious alliances of the fathers and the mothers, and as the Egyptians\nled dissolute lives, it happened not rarely that each of the ten\nchildren of one woman was the first-born of its father. Finally, God\ndecreed that death should smite the oldest member of every household,\nwhether or not he was the first-born of his parents.[212] What God\nresolves is executed. At the exact instant marking the middle of the\nnight, so precise that only God Himself could determine and discern it,\nHe appeared in Egypt, attended by nine thousand myriads of the Angels\nof Destruction who are fashioned some of hail and some of flames, and\nwhose glances drive terror and trembling to the heart of the beholder.\nThese angels were about to precipitate themselves into the work of\nannihilation, but God restrained them, saying, \"My wrath will not be\nappeased until I Myself execute vengeance upon the enemies of\nIsrael.\"[213]\n\nThose among the Egyptians who gave credence to Moses' words, and tried\nto shield their first-born children from death, sent them to their\nHebrew neighbors, to spend the fateful night with them, in the hope\nthat God would exempt the houses of the children of Israel from the\nplague. But in the morning, when the Israelites arose from their sleep,\nthey found the corpses of the Egyptian fugitives next to them.[214]\nThat was the night in which the Israelites prayed before lying down to\nsleep: \"Cause us, O Lord our God, to lie down in peace, remove Satan\nfrom before us and from behind us, and guard our going out and our\ncoming in unto life and unto peace,\"[215] for it was Satan that had\ncaused frightful bloodshed among the Egyptians.[216]\n\nAmong the slain there were, beside the Egyptian first- born, also the\nfirst-born of other nationalities residing in Egypt, as well as the\nEgyptian first-born dwelling outside of their own land.[217] Even the\nlong dead of the first-born were not spared. The dogs dragged their\ncorpses out of their graves in the houses, for it was the Egyptian\ncustom to inter the dead at home. At the appalling sight the Egyptians\nmourned as though the bereavement had befallen them but recently. The\nvery monuments and statues erected to the memory of the first-born dead\nwere changed into dust, which was scattered and flew out of sight.\nMoreover, their slaves had to share the fate of the Egyptians, and no\nless the first- born of the captive that was in the dungeon, for none\nwas so low but he hated the Hebrews, and rejoiced when the Egyptians\ndecreed their persecution.[218] The female slaves that ground corn\nbetween mill-stones were in the habit of saying, \"We do not regret our\nservitude, if only the Israelites are gagged, too.[219]\n\nIn dealing out punishment to these aliens in the land of Egypt, God\nshowed that He was at once the Master of the land and the Lord over all\nthe gods of the nations, for if the slaves and the captives of war had\nnot been smitten, they would have said, \"Mighty is our god, who helped\nus in this plague.\"[220] For the same reason all the idols of the\nEgyptians were swept out of existence in that night. The stone idols\nwere ground into dust, the wooden idols rotted, and those made of metal\nmelted away,[221] and so the Egyptians were kept from ascribing their\nchastisement to the wrath of their own gods. Likewise the Lord God slew\nthe first-born of the cattle, for the Egyptians paid worship to\nanimals, and they would have attributed their misfortunes to them. In\nall these ways the Lord showed them that their gods were but vanity.\n\n\n\n\nTHE REDEMPTION OF ISRAEL FROM EGYPTIAN BONDAGE\n\n\nPharaoh rose up in the night of the smiting of the first- born. He\nwaited not for the third hour of the morning, when kings usually arise,\nnor did he wait to be awakened, but he himself roused his slaves from\ntheir slumber, and all the other Egyptians, and together they went\nforth to seek Moses and Aaron.[222] He knew that Moses had never spoken\nan untruth, and as he had said, \"I will see thy face again no more,\" he\ncould not count upon Moses' coming to him. There remained nothing for\nhim to do but go in search of the Israelitish leader.[223] He did not\nknow where Moses lived, and he had great difficulty and lost much time\nin looking for his house, for the Hebrew lads of whom he made inquiries\nwhen he met them in the street played practical jokes on him,\nmisdirected him, and led him astray. Thus he wandered about a long\ntime.[224] all the while weeping and crying out, \"O my friend Moses,\npray for me to God!\"\n\nMeanwhile Moses and Aaron and all Israel beside were at the paschal\nmeal, drinking wine as they sat and leaned to one side, and singing\nsongs in praise of God, the Hallel, which they were the first to\nrecite. When Pharaoh finally reached the door of the house wherein\nMoses abode, he called to him, and from Moses the question came back,\n\"Who art thou, and what is thy name?\"\u2014\"I am Pharaoh, who stands here\nhumiliated.\"\u2014Moses asked again: \"Why dost thou come to me thyself? Is\nit the custom of kings to linger at the doors of common folk?\"\u2014\"I pray\nthee, my lord,\" returned Pharaoh, \"come forth and intercede for us,\nelse there will not remain a single being in Egypt.\"\u2014\"I may not come\nforth, for God bath commanded us, 'None of you shall go out of the door\nof his house until the morning.' \" \u2014But Pharaoh continued to plead: \"Do\nbut step to the window, and speak with me,\" and when Moses yielded to\nhis importunities, and appeared at the window, the king addressed these\nwords to him: \"Thou didst say yesterday, 'All the first-born in the\nland of Egypt will die,' but now as many as nine-tenths of the\ninhabitants have perished.\"[225]\n\nPharaoh was accompanied by his daughter Bithiah, Moses' foster-mother.\nShe reproached him with ingratitude, in having brought down evil upon\nher and her countrymen. And Moses answered, and said: \"Ten plagues the\nLord brought upon Egypt. Hath evil accrued to thee from any of them?\nDid one of them affect thee?\" And when Bithiah acknowledged that no\nharm had touched her, Moses continued to speak, \"Although thou art thy\nmother's first- born, thou shalt not die, and no evil shall reach thee\nin the midst of Egypt.\" But Bithiah said, \"Of what advantage is my\nsecurity to me, when I see the king, my brother, and all his household,\nand his servants in this evil plight, and look upon their first-born\nperishing with all the first-born of Egypt?\" And Moses returned,\n\"Verily, thy brother and his household and the other Egyptians would\nnot hearken to the words of the Lord, therefore did this evil come upon\nthem.[226]\n\nTurning to Pharaoh, Moses said: \"In spite of all that hath happened, I\nwill teach thee something, if thou desirest to learn, and thou wilt be\nspared, and thou wilt not die. Raise thy voice, and say: 'Ye children\nof Israel, ye are your own masters. Prepare for your journey, and\ndepart from among my people. Hitherto ye were the slaves of Pharaoh,\nbut henceforward ye are under the authority of God. Serve the Lord your\nGod!' \" Moses made him say these words three times,[227] and God caused\nPharaoh's voice to be heard throughout the land of Egypt, so that all\nthe inhabitants, the home-born and the aliens, knew that Pharaoh had\nreleased the children of Israel from the bondage in which they had\nlanguished. And all Israel sang, \"Hallelujah, praise, O ye servants of\nthe Lord, praise the Name of the Lord,\" for they belonged to the Lord,\nand no more were the servants of Pharaoh.[228]\n\nNow the king of Egypt insisted upon their leaving the land without\ndelay. But Moses objected, and said: \"Are we thieves, that we should\nslink away under cover of the night? Wait until morning.\" Pharaoh,\nhowever, urged and begged Moses to depart, confessing that he was\nanxious about his own person, for he was a first-born son, and he was\nterrified that death would strike him down, too. Moses dissipated his\nalarm, though he substituted a new horror, with the words, \"Fear not,\nthere is worse in store for thee!\" Dread seized upon the whole people;\nevery one of the Egyptians was afraid of losing his life, and they all\nunited their prayers with Pharaoh's, and begged Moses to take the\nIsraelites hence. And God spake, Ye shall all find your end, not here,\nbut in the Red Sea!\"[229]\n\n\n\n\nTHE EXODUS\n\n\nPharaoh and the Egyptians let their dead lie unburied, while they\nhastened to help the Israelites load their possessions on wagons, to\nget them out of the land with as little delay as possible. When they\nleft, they took with them, beside their own cattle, the sheep and the\noxen that Pharaoh had ordered his nobles to give them as presents. The\nking also forced his magnates to beg pardon of the Israelites for all\nthey had suffered, knowing as he did that God forgives an injury done\nby man to his fellow only after the wrong- doer has recovered the\ngood-will of his victim by confessing and regretting his fault.[230]\n\"Now, depart!\" said Pharaoh to the Israelites, \"I want nothing from you\nbut that you should pray to God for me, that I may be saved from\ndeath.\"[231]\n\nThe hatred of the Egyptians toward the Israelites changed now into its\nopposite. They conceived affection and friendship for them, and fairly\nforced raiment upon them, and jewels of silver and jewels of gold, to\ntake along with them on their journey, although the children of Israel\nhad not yet returned the articles they had borrowed from their\nneighbors at an earlier time. This action is in part to be explained by\nthe vanity of Pharaoh and his people. They desired to pretend before\nthe world that they were vastly rich, as everybody would conclude when\nthis wealth of their mere slaves was displayed to observers. Indeed,\nthe Israelites bore so much away from Egypt that one of them alone\nmight have defrayed the expense of building and furnishing the\nTabernacle.\n\nOn their leaving the land only the private wealth of the Egyptians was\nin their hands, but when they arrived at the Red Sea they came into\npossession of the public treasure, too, for Pharaoh, like all kings,\ncarried the moneys of the state with him on his campaigns, in order to\nbe prepared to hire a relay of mercenaries in case of defeat. Great as\nthe other treasure was, the booty captured at the sea far exceeded\nit.[232]\n\nBut if the Israelites loaded themselves down with goods and jewels and\nmoney, it was not to gratify love of riches, or, as any usurer might\nsay, because they coveted their neighbors' possessions. In the first\nplace they could look upon their plunder as wages due to them from\nthose they had long served, and, secondly, they were entitled to\nretaliate on those at whose hands they had suffered wrong. Even then\nthey were requiting them with an affliction far slighter than any one\nof all they had endured themselves.[233]\n\nThe plagues did not stay the cruelty of the Egyptian oppressors toward\nthe Hebrews. It continued unabated until the very end of their sojourn\nin the land. On the day of the exodus, Rachel the daughter of Shuthelah\ngave birth to a child, while she and her husband together were treading\nthe clay for bricks. The babe dropped from her womb into the clay and\nsank out of sight. Gabriel appeared, moulded a brick out of the clay\ncontaining the child, and carried it to the highest of the heavens,\nwhere he made it a footstool before the Divine throne. In that night it\nwas that God looked upon the suffering of Israel, and smote the\nfirst-born of the Egyptians,[234] and it is one of the four nights that\nGod has inscribed in the Book of Memorial. The first of the four is\nthat in which God appeared to create the world; all was waste and void,\nand darkness brooded over the abyss, until the Lord came and spread\nlight round about by His word. The second night is that in which God\nappeared unto Abraham at the covenant of the pieces. In the third night\nHe appeared in Egypt, slaying the first-born of the Egyptians with His\nright hand, and protecting the first-born of the Israelites with His\nleft. The fourth night recorded will be that in which the end of the\nredemption will be accomplished, when the iron yoke of the wicked\nkingdom will be broken, and the evil-doers will be destroyed. Then will\nMoses come from the desert, and the Messiah from Rome, each at the head\nof his flock, and the word of God will mediate between them, causing\nboth to walk with one accord in the same direction.\n\nIsrael's redemption in future days will happen on the fifteenth of\nNisan, the night of Israel's redemption from Egypt, for thus did Moses\nsay, \"In this night God protected Israel against the Angels of\nDestruction, and in this night He will also redeem the generations of\nthe future.\"[235]\n\nThough the actual deliverance from Egypt took place in that night, the\nHebrews did not leave the land until the following day.[236]\n\nDuring the same night God requited the Egyptians for their evil deeds\nin the sight of all the people, the night being as bright as day at the\ntime of the summer solstice. Not one could escape the general\nchastisement, for by Divine dispensation none was absent from home at\nthe time, so that none could fail to see the chastisement.[237]\n\nThe angels in heaven learnt what was happening on earth. When they were\nabout to begin their song of praise to God, He silenced them with the\nwords, \"My children on earth are singing now,\" and the celestial hosts\nhad to stop and listen to the song of Israel.[238]\n\nGreat as the joy of the Hebrews was at their deliverance from the\nEgyptian bondage, it was exceeded by that of Pharaoh's people at seeing\ntheir slaves depart, for with them went the dread of death that had\nobsessed them. They were like the portly gentleman riding an ass. The\nrider feels uncomfortable and longs for the moment of alighting, but\nhis longing cannot compare in intensity with that of the ass groaning\nunder the corpulent burden, and when their journey's end is reached,\nthe ass rejoices more than his master. So the Egyptians were happier to\nbe rid of the Hebrews than these were to be free.[239]\n\nIn general, the Israelites were not in a joyous mood. The strength of\nmen is readily exhausted, mentally and physically, by the strain of a\nsudden change from slavery to freedom. They did not recover vigor and\nforce until they heard the angel hosts sing songs of praise and joy\nover the redemption of Israel and the redemption of the Shekinah, for\nso long as the chosen people is in exile, the Shekinah, who dwells\namong Israel, is also, as it were, in exile. At the same time, God\ncaused the earth to exhale and send aloft a healing fragrance, which\ncured them of all their diseases.[240]\n\nThe exodus of the Israelites began at Raamses, and although the\ndistance from there to the city of Mizraim, where Moses abode, was a\nforty days' journey, yet they heard the voice of their leader urging\nthem to leave the land. They covered the distance from Raamses to\nSuccoth, a three days' march, in an instant. In Succoth God enveloped\nthem in seven clouds of glory, four hovering in front, behind, and at\nthe two sides of them, one suspended above them, to keep off rain,\nhail, and the rays of the sun, and one under them to protect them\nagainst thorns and snakes. The seventh cloud preceded them, and\nprepared the way for them, exalting the valleys and making low every\nmountain and hill.[241] Thus they wandered through the wilderness for\nforty years. In all that time no artificial lighting was needed; a beam\nfrom the celestial cloud followed them into the darkest of chambers,\nand if one of the people had to go outside of the camp, even thither he\nwas accompanied by a fold of the cloud, covering and protecting\nhim.[242] Only, that a difference might be made between day and night,\na pillar of fire took the place of the cloud in the evening.[243] Never\nfor an instant were the people without the one or the other to guide\nthem: the pillar of fire glowed in front of them before the pillar of\ncloud retired, and in the morning the cloud was there before the fire\nvanished.[244] The clouds of glory and the pillar of fire were sent for\nthe protection of Israel alone, for none beside, not for the heathen\nand not for the mixed multitude that went up with them; these had to\nwalk outside of the cloud enclosure.[245]\n\nThe cavalcade consisted of six hundred thousand heads of families\nafoot, each accompanied by five children on horseback, and to these\nmust be added the mixed multitude, exceeding the Hebrews vastly in\nnumber.[246]\n\nSo profound was Israel's trust in the Lord, that they followed Moses\nunmurmuringly into the wilderness, without supplying themselves with\nprovisions.[247] The only edibles they took were the remains of the\nunleavened bread and the bitter herbs, and these not to satisfy their\nhunger, but because they were unwilling to separate themselves from\nwhat they had prepared lovingly at the command of God. These\npossessions were so dear to them that they would not entrust them to\nthe beasts of burden, they carried them on their own shoulders.[248]","title":"The Legends of the Jews \u2014 Volume 2","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":110976}