{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_72268/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_72268","id":"gutenberg_72268","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/72268","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Old Testament -- Legends","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Jewish legends"],"text":"Legends of Old Testament Characters.\n\n\n\n\n                  Legends Of Old Testament Characters,\n\n                                  From\n\n                     The Talmud and Other Sources.\n\n\n                                 By The\n\n                      Rev. S. Baring-Gould, M.A.,\n\n     _Author of \u201cCurious Myths of the Middle Ages,\u201d \u201cThe Origin and\n                             Development of\n              Religious Belief,\u201d \u201cIn Exitu Israel,\u201d etc._\n\n                          London and New York:\n                           MACMILLAN AND CO.\n                                 1871.\n\n       [_The Right of Translation and Reproduction is reserved._]\n\n\n\n\n                                 LONDON\n\n                  R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS,\n\n                           BREAD STREET HILL.\n\n\n\n\n                                PREFACE.\n\n\nAn incredible number of legends exists connected with the personages\nwhose history is given in the Old Testament. The collection now\npresented to the public must by no means be considered as exhaustive.\nThe compiler has been obliged to limit himself as to the number, it\nbeing quite impossible to insert all. He trusts that few of peculiar\ninterest have been omitted.\n\nThe Mussulman traditions are nearly all derived from the Talmudic\nwriters, just as the history of Christ in the Koran is taken from the\nApocryphal Gospels. The Koran follows the \u201cSepher Hajaschar\u201d (Book of\nthe Just) far more closely than the canonical Scriptures; and the\n\u201cSepher Hajaschar\u201d is a storehouse of the Rabbinic tradition on the\nsubject of the Patriarchs from Adam to Joshua.\n\nThe Jewish traditions are of various value. Some can be traced to their\norigin without fail. One class is derived from Persia, as, for instance,\nthose of Asmodeus, the name of the demon being taken, along with his\nstory, from Iranian sources. Another class springs from the Cabbalists,\nwho, by permutation of the letters of a name, formed the nuclei, so to\nspeak, from which legends spread.\n\nAnother class, again, is due to the Rabbinic commentators, who, unable\nto allow for poetical periphrasis, insisted on literal interpretations,\nand then coined fables to explain them. Thus the saying of David, \u201c_Thou\nhast heard me from among the horns of the unicorns_,\u201d which signified\nthat David was assisted by God in trouble, was taken quite literally by\nthe Rabbis, and a story was invented to explain it.\n\nAnother class, again, is no doubt due to the exaggeration of Oriental\nimagery, just as that previously mentioned is due to the deficiency of\nthe poetic fancy in certain Rabbis. Thus, imagination and defect of\nimagination, each contributed to add to the store.\n\nBut when we have swept all these classes aside, there remains a\nresiduum, small, no doubt, of genuine tradition. To this class, if I am\nnot mistaken, belong the account of Lamech and his wives, and the story\nof the sacrifice of Isaac. In the latter instance, the type comes out\nfar clearer in the Talmudic tradition than in the canonical Scriptures;\nand this can hardly have been the result of Jewish interpolation,\nknowing, as they did, that Christians pointed triumphantly to this type.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nWith regard to Jewish traditions, it is unfortunate that both\nEisenmenger and Bartolocci, who collected many of them, were so\nprejudiced, so moved with violent animosity against the Rabbinic\nwriters, that they preserved only the grotesque, absurd, and indecent\nlegends, and wholly passed over those\u2014and there are many of them\u2014which\nare redolent of poetry, and which contain an element of truth.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nA certain curious interest attaches to these legends\u2014at least, I think\nso; and, should they find favour with the public, this volume will be\nfollowed by another series on the legends connected with the New\nTestament characters.\n\nThe Author is not aware of any existing collection of these legends,\nexcept that of M. Colin de Plancy, \u201cLegendes de l\u2019Ancien Testament,\u201d\nParis, 1861; but he has found this work of little or no use to him in\ncomposing his volume, as M. de Plancy gives no reference to authorities;\nand also, because nearly the whole of the contents are taken from\nD\u2019Herbelot\u2019s \u201cBiblioth\u00e8que Orientale\u201d and Migne\u2019s \u201cDictionnaire des\nApocryphes.\u201d\n\nIt will be necessary to add a few words on certain works largely quoted\nin the following pages.\n\n1. Dr. G. Weil\u2019s \u201cBiblische Legende der Muselm\u00e4nner,\u201d Frankfurt a. M.,\n1845, is derived from three Arabic MS. works\u2014\u201c_Chamis_,\u201d by Husein Ibn\nMohammed Ibn Alhasan Addiarbekri; \u201c_Dsachirat Alulun wanatidjat\nAlfuhum_,\u201d by Ahmed Ibn zein Alabidin Albekri; and \u201c_Kissat Alanbija_,\u201d\nby Mohammed Ibn Ahmed Alkissai.\n\n2. The Chronicle of Abou-djafar Mohammed Tabari was translated into\nPersian by Abou Ali Mohammed Belami, who added sundry traditions\ncirculating in Persia; and has been rendered into French, in part, by M.\nHermann Zolenberg, for the Oriental Translation Fund, Paris, 1867.\n\n3. The \u201cSepher Hajaschar,\u201d or Book of Jasher (Yaschar), is quoted from\nthe translation by Le Chevalier P. L. B. Drach, inserted in Migne\u2019s\n\u201cDictionnaire des Apocryphes.\u201d\n\n4. Eisenmenger, \u201cNeuentdektes Judenthum,\u201d 2 vols. 8vo, K\u00f6nigsburg, 1711,\ncontains a great many Rabbinic traditions collected from sources\ninaccessible to most persons.\n\n5. Bartolocci, \u201cBibliotheca Magna Rabbinica,\u201d 4 vols. fol., Rome,\n1675-93, is a very valuable storehouse of information, but sadly\ndisfigured by prejudice.\n\n\n\n\n                               CONTENTS.\n\n\nPREFACE . . . v\n\nI. THE FALL OF THE ANGELS . . . 1\n\nII. ADAM . . . 7\n\n    1. The Creation of Man . . . 7\n\n    2. The Pre-Adamites . . . 14\n\nIII. EVE . . . 15\n\nIV. THE FALL OF MAN . . . 21\n\nV. ADAM AND EVE AFTER THE FALL . . . 34\n\nVI. CAIN AND ABEL . . . 55\n\nVII. THE DEATH OF ADAM . . . 62\n\nVIII. SETH . . . 66\n\nIX. CAINAN SON OF ENOS . . . 69\n\nX. ENOCH . . . 70\n\n    1. The Translation of Enoch . . . 70\n\n    2. The Book of Enoch . . . 73\n\nXI. THE GIANTS . . . 77\n\nXII. LAMECH . . . 82\n\nXIII. METHUSELAH . . . 84\n\nXIV. NOAH . . . 85\n\nXV. HEATHEN LEGENDS OF THE DELUGE . . . 91\n\nXVI. THE PLANTING OF THE VINE . . . 106\n\nXVII. THE SONS OF NOAH . . . 109\n\nXVIII. RELICS OF THE ARK . . . 111\n\nXIX. CERTAIN DESCENDANTS OF HAM . . . 113\n\nXX. SERUG . . . 116\n\nXXI. THE PROPHET EBER . . . 117\n\nXXII. THE PROPHET SALEH . . . 122\n\nXXIII. THE TOWER OF BABEL . . . 130\n\nXXIV. ABRAHAM . . . 135\n\n    1. His Youth and early Struggles . . . 135\n\n    2. The Call of Abraham, and the Visit to Egypt . . . 148\n\n    3. The War with the Kings . . . 152\n\n    4. The Birth of Ishmael . . . 157\n\n    5. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah . . . 158\n\n    6. The Birth of Isaac . . . 163\n\n    7. The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael . . . 167\n\n    8. The Strife between the Shepherds . . . 171\n\n    9. The Grove in Beer-sheba . . . 172\n\n    10. The Offering of Isaac . . . 174\n\n    11. The Death of Sarah . . . 183\n\n    12. The Marriage of Isaac . . . 187\n\n    13. The Death of Abraham . . . 189\n\nXXV. MELCHIZEDEK . . . 191\n\nXXVI. OF ISHMAEL AND THE WELL ZEMZEM . . . 196\n\nXXVII. ESAU AND JACOB . . . 201\n\nXXVIII. JOSEPH . . . 213\n\nXXIX. THE TESTAMENTS OF THE TWELVE PATRIARCHS . . . 229\n\nXXX. JOB . . . 231\n\nXXXI. JETHRO . . . 237\n\nXXXII. MOSES . . . 238\n\n    1. Israel in Egypt . . . 238\n\n    2. The Birth and Childhood of Moses . . . 245\n\n    3. The Youth and Marriage of Moses . . . 252\n\n    4. Moses before Pharaoh . . . 261\n\n    5. The Passage of the Red Sea . . . 268\n\n    6. The giving of the Law . . . 273\n\n    7. The Manna . . . 278\n\n    8. The smitten Rock . . . 279\n\n    9. Moses visits El Khoudr . . . 281\n\n    10. The Mission of the Spies . . . 284\n\n    11. Of Korah and his Company . . . 287\n\n    12. The Wars of the Israelites . . . 290\n\n    13. The Death of Aaron . . . 293\n\n    14. The Death of Moses . . . 296\n\nXXXIII. JOSHUA . . . 301\n\nXXXIV. THE JUDGES . . . 304\n\nXXXV. SAMUEL . . . 305\n\nXXXVI. SAUL . . . 311\n\n    1. War with the Philistines.\u2014Goliath slain . . . 311\n\n    2. Saul\u2019s Jealousy of David . . . 315\n\n    3. The Death of Saul . . . 317\n\nXXXVII. DAVID . . . 318\n\nXXXVIII. SOLOMON . . . 333\n\n    1. How Solomon obtained Power . . . 333\n\n    2. How Solomon feasted all Flesh . . . 335\n\n    3. The Building of the Temple . . . 337\n\n    4. The Travels of Solomon . . . 339\n\n    5. The History of the Queen of Sheba . . . 344\n\n    6. Solomon\u2019s Adventure with the Apes . . . 350\n\n    7. Solomon marries the Daughter of Pharaoh . . . 350\n\n    8. How Solomon lost and recovered his Ring . . . 352\n\n    9. The Death of Solomon . . . 355\n\nXXXIX. ELIJAH . . . 356\n\nXL. ISAIAH . . . 359\n\nXLI. JEREMIAH . . . 362\n\nXLII. EZEKIEL . . . 363\n\nXLIII. EZRA . . . 364\n\nXLIV. ZECHARIAH . . . 366\n\n\n\n\n                                   I.\n                        THE FALL OF THE ANGELS.\n\n\nIn the beginning, before the creation of heaven and earth, God made the\nangels; free intelligences and free wills; out of His love He made them,\nthat they might be eternally happy. And that their happiness might be\ncomplete, He gave them the perfection of a created nature; that is, He\ngave them freedom.\n\nBut happiness is only attainable by the free will agreeing in its\nfreedom to accord with the will of God. Some of the angels by an act of\nfree will obeyed the will of God, and in such obedience found perfect\nhappiness; other angels by an act of free will rebelled against the will\nof God, and in such disobedience found misery.\n\nSuch is the catholic theory of the fall of the angels.\n\nHistorically, it is represented as a war in heaven. \u201c_And there was war\nin heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the\ndragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place\nfound any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old\nserpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world;\nhe was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with\nhim._\u201d[1] The reason of the revolt was that Satan desired to be as great\nas God. \u201c_Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I\nwill exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the\nmount of the congregation in the sides of the north; I will ascend above\nthe heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High._\u201d[2]\n\nThe war ended in the fall of Satan and those whom he had led into\napostasy; and to this fall are referred the words of Christ, \u201c_I saw\nSatan like lightning fall from heaven_.\u201d[3]\n\nFabricius, in his collections of the apocryphal writings of the Old\nTestament, has preserved the song of triumph which the Archangel Michael\nsang on obtaining the victory. This is a portion of it:\u2014\n\n\u201cGlory to our God! Praise to His holy Name! He is our God; glory be to\nHim! He is our Lord! His be the triumph! He has stretched forth His\nright hand; He has manifested His power, He has cast down our\nadversaries. They are mad who resist Him; they are accursed who depart\nfrom His commandments! He knoweth all things, and cannot err. His will\nis sovereignly just, and all that He wills is good, all that He advises\nis holy. Supreme Intelligence cannot be deceived; Perfect Being cannot\nwill what is evil. Nothing is above that which is supreme, nothing is\nbetter than that which is perfect. None is worthy beside Him but him\nwhom He has made worthy. He must be loved above all things and adored as\nthe eternal King. You have abandoned your God, you have revolted against\nHim, you have desired to be gods; you have fallen from your high\nestates, you have gone down like a fallen stone. Acknowledge that God is\ngreat, that His works are perfect, and that His judgments are just.\nGlory be to God through ages of ages, praises of joy for all His works!\u201d\nThis song of the Archangel is said to have been revealed to S.\nAmadeus.[4]\n\nAccording to the Talmudists, Satan, whose proper name is Sammael, was\none of the Seraphim, with six wings.[5] He was not driven out of heaven\ntill after he had led Adam and Eve into sin; then Sammael and his host\nwere precipitated out of the place of bliss, with God\u2019s curse to weigh\nthem down. In the struggle between Michael and Sammael, the falling\nSeraph caught the wings of Michael and tried to drag him down with him,\nbut God saved him, whence Michael derives his name (the Rescued). This\nis what the Rabbi Bechai says in his commentary on the Five Books of\nMoses.[6]\n\nAccording to a Talmudic authority, the apostate angels having fallen in\na heap, God laid his little finger on them and consumed them.[7]\n\nSammael was the regent of the planet Mars, and this he rules still, and\ntherefore it is that those born under the influence of that star are\nlovers of war and given to strife.[8]\n\nHe was chief among the angels of God, and now he is prince among\ndevils.[9] His name is derived from Simm\u00e9, which means to blind and\ndeceive. He stands on the _left_ side of men. He goes by various names;\nsuch as the Old Serpent, the Unclean Spirit, Satan, Leviathan, and\nsometimes also Asael. In his fall he spat in his hatred against God, and\nhis spittle stained the moon, and thus it is that the moon has on it\nspots.\n\nAfter his fall, Satan took to himself four wives, Lilith and Naama the\ndaughter of Lamech and sister of Tubal-Cain, Igereth and Machalath. Each\nbecame the mother of a great host of devils, and each rules with her\nhost over a season of the year; and at the change of seasons there is a\ngreat gathering of devils about their mothers. Lilith is followed by\nfour hundred and seventy-eight legions of devils, for that number is\ncomprised in her name (\u05dc\u05d9\u05dc\u05d9\u05ea\u2014478). According to some, Lilith is\nidentical with Eve. She rules over Damascus, Naama over Tyre, Igereth\nover Malta and Rhodes, and Machalath over Crete.[10]\n\nMany traditions date the existence of angels and demons from a remote\nperiod before the creation of the world, but some connect the fall of\nSatan and his host with the creation of man.\n\nAbou-Djafar-Mohammed Tabari says that when God made Adam, He bade all\nthe angels worship him as their king and superior, as says the Koran,\n\u201cAll the angels adored Adam\u201d (xv. 30), but that Satan or Eblis answered\nGod, \u201cI will not adore Adam, for he is made of earth and I of fire,\ntherefore I am better than he\u201d (vii. 11), and that God thereupon cursed\nEblis and gave him the form of a devil, because of his pride, vain\nconfidence, and disobedience.[11]\n\nAbulfeda says, \u201cAfter God had made man He thus addressed the angels.\n\u2018When I have breathed a portion of my spirit into him, bow before him\nand adore.\u2019 After He had inspired Adam with His spirit, all the angels\nof every degree adored him, except Eblis; he, through pride and envy,\nscorned to do this, and disobeyed God. Then God cursed him, and He cut\nhim off from all hope in divine mercy, and He called him Scheithanan\nredjiman (Satan devoted to misery), and He cast him out who had been\nbefore an angel of the earth, and keeper of terrestrial things, and a\nguardian of Paradise.\u201d[12]\n\nBut the general opinion seems to have been that the fall of the angels\npreceded the creation of man. Ibn-Ezra dates it on the second day of\ncreation, others on the first day when God \u201c_divided the light from the\ndarkness_.\u201d Manasseh Ben Israel says that God has placed the devils in\nthe clouds, that they might torment the wicked with thunder and\nlightnings, and showers of hail and tempests of wind, and that this took\nplace on the second day, when the firmaments were divided.\n\nAs the fall of Satan took place through his aspiration to be God, so it\nis closely connected with the origin of idolatry and false worship; for\nnow that Satan is cast out of heaven, he still seeks to exalt himself\ninto the place of God, and therefore leads men from the worship of the\ntrue God into demonolatry. Thus the gods of the heathens were regarded\nby the first Christians as devils aspiring to receive that worship from\nmen on earth which they sought and failed to obtain in heaven. Thus St.\nPaul tells the Corinthians that \u201c_the Gentiles sacrifice to\ndevils_.\u201d[13] The temptation of Christ can only be fully understood when\nwe bear in mind that pride and craving for worship is the prime source\nof Satan\u2019s actions: \u201c_All these will I give thee_,\u201d he said to Christ,\n\u201c_if Thou wilt fall down and worship me_.\u201d It was a second attempt of\nSatan to set himself above the Most High.\n\nAmong the heathen, traditions of the Angelic apostasy and war have\nremained.\n\nThe Indian story is as follows:\u2014\n\nAt the head of the apostate spirits is Mahisasura, or the great Asur; he\nand those who followed him were once good, but before the creation of\nthe world they refused obedience to Brahma, wherefore they were cast\ndown by the assistance of Schiva into the abyss of Onderah.[14]\nMahisasura is also represented as the great serpent Vrita, against which\nIndra fought, and which after a desperate struggle he overcame.\n\nThe Persian tradition is that Ahriman, the chief of the rebels, is not\nby nature evil. He was not created evil by the Eternal One, but he\nbecame evil by revolting against His will, and the ancient books of the\nParsees assert that at the last day Ahriman will return to obedience,\nand having been purified by fire, will regain the place among the\nheavenly beings which he lost. In this war the Izeds fought against the\nDivs, headed by Ahriman, and flung the conquered into Douzahk or hell.\n\nThe Norse story is that Loki, the spirit of evil, is one of the gods,\nand sat with them at their table till he declared himself their enemy,\nwhen he with his vile progeny, the wolf and the serpent, were cast out.\nThe wolf is bound, Thorr constrains the serpent, and Loki is chained\nunder the mountains, and a serpent distils poison on his breast; when he\ntosses in agony, the earth quakes.\n\nIn Egypt, Typhon was brother of Osiris, but he revolted against him.\n\nMaximus of Tyre, and Apollonius of Rhodes, following Orpheus, speak of\nthe war of the gods against the angels who rebelled under their chief\nOphion, or the Serpent, and Pherecydes, according to Origen, sang of\nthis event as having taken place in pre-historic times; so that the\nknowledge of it could only have reached man by revelation. He described\nthe two armies face to face,\u2014one commanded by Saturn, the supreme\nCreator; the other by Ophioneus, the old Dragon, and the defeat of the\nlatter and its expulsion from the realms of bliss to Ogenos, the regions\nof annihilation.[15] The story of the Titans is connected with this.\nThey were the sons of Uranus (heaven) and Ge (earth), and dwelt\noriginally in heaven, whence they are called Uranid\u00e6. They were twelve\nin number. Uranus threw out of heaven his other sons, the Hecatoncheires\nand the Cyclopes, and precipitated them into Tartarus. Whereupon Ge\npersuaded her sons, the Titans, to rise up against their father, and\nliberate their brethren. They did as their mother bade them, deposed\nUranus, and placed on his throne their brother Cronus, who immediately\nre-imprisoned the Cyclopes. But Zeus with his brothers fought against\nthe reigning Titans, cast them out of heaven, and enthroned himself on\nthe seat of Cronus; and the Titans he enchained in the abyss under\nTartarus.\n\nThis is simply the same story told over twice, and formed into a\ndynasty. Chronos Titan is the same as the Arabic Scheitan, the Erse\nTeitin, the Time-god, and the Biblical Satan, or Lucifer, the Son of the\nMorning.\n\nAmongst the Battas of Sumatra exists a myth to this effect: Batara Guru,\nthe supreme God, from whose daughter Putiarla Buran all mankind are\ndescended, cast the mountain Bakkara out of heaven upon the head of the\nserpent, his foe, and made the home of his son Layanga-layaad-mandi on\nthe top of this mountain. From this summit the son descended that he\nmight bind the hands or feet of the serpent, as it shook its head and\nmade the earth rock.\n\nConnected with the fall of Satan is his lameness. The devil is\nrepresented in art and in legend as limping on one foot; this was\noccasioned by his having broken his leg in his fall.\n\nHeph\u00e6stus, who pursued Athene and attempted to outrage divine Wisdom,\nwas precipitated from heaven into the fire-island Lemnos, and was lamed\nthereby. Hermes cut the hamstring out of Typhon, therewith to string his\nlyre. The Norse god Loki lusted after Freya, and was lamed therefore.\nWieland the smith (V\u00f6lundr), who ventured to do violence to Beodohild,\nwas lamed, and was known thereby. Phaethon, daring to drive his father\u2019s\nchariot of the sun, was cast out and thrown to earth.\n\nThe natives of the Caroline Islands relate that one of the inferior\ngods, named Merogrog, was driven by the other gods out of heaven, and he\ntook with him a spark of fire which he gave to men.[16] This myth\nresembles that of Prometheus, \u201cthe contriver, full of gall and\nbitterness, who sinned against the gods by bestowing their honours on\ncreatures of a day, the thief of fire,\u201d as Hermes calls him. He\nreappears as Tohil among the Quiches, the giver of fire, hated, yet\nadored.\n\nThe Northern Californians say that the supreme God once created\ninvisible spirits, of whom one portion revolted against him, headed by a\nspirit named War or Touparan, and that the Great Spirit having overcome\nhim, drove him from the plains of heaven, and confined him along with\nhis comrades in a cavern, where he is guarded by whales.[17]\n\nThe Egyptian Typhon, already alluded to, did not belong to Egypt alone,\nbut also to Ph\u0153nicia and Asia Minor, and thence the story passed into\nGreece, where it took root, and has been preserved to us as the attack\nof the hundred-headed dragon against the heaven-god Zeus. Typhon desired\nto obtain supremacy over gods and men, and, in order to win for himself\nthis sovereignty, he fought against the gods; but he was defeated,\nbound, and precipitated into Tartarus, or, according to another version,\nwas buried under the flaming mountains.\n\nAccording to a tradition of the Salivas, a people of New Granada, a\nserpent slew the nations, descended from God, who inhabited the region\nof the Orinoco, but a son of the God Puru fought him and overcame him,\nand bade him depart with his curse, and never to enter his house again,\nand, say these Salivas, from the flesh of the serpent sprang the\nCaribees, their great foes, as maggots from putrid meat.[18]\n\nBut these stories might be infinitely extended. How far they refer to a\ntradition common to the human race, and how far they relate to the\nstrife between summer and winter, sun and storm-cloud, I do not pretend\nto decide. It is one of those vexed questions which it is impossible to\ndetermine.\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n  Rev. xii. 7-9.\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n  Isaiah xiv. 13, 14.\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n  Luke x. 18.\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n  Fabricius (J. A.), Codex Pseudepigraphus Vet. Test. Hamb., 1722, p.\n  21.\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n  Jalkut Rubeni, 3, sub. tit. Sammael.\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n  Fol. 139, col. 1; see Eisenmenger, i. p. 831.\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n  Jalkut Rubeni, in Eisenmenger, i. p. 307.\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 104.\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n  Ibid., i. p. 820.\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n  Ibid., ii. 416, 420, 421.\n\nFootnote 11:\n\n  Chronique de Tabari. Paris, 1867, i. c. xxvii.\n\nFootnote 12:\n\n  Abulfeda, Hist. Ante-Islamica. Lipsi\u00e6, 1831, p. 13.\n\nFootnote 13:\n\n  1 Cor. x. 20.\n\nFootnote 14:\n\n  Majer, Mythologische Lexicon, Th. i. p. 231.\n\nFootnote 15:\n\n  Orig. adv. Cels. vi. 42.\n\nFootnote 16:\n\n  Lettres Edifiantes, viii. p. 420.\n\nFootnote 17:\n\n  Biblioth\u00e8que Univ. de Gen\u00e8ve, 1827; D\u2019Anselme, i. p. 228.\n\nFootnote 18:\n\n  Hist. Naturelle de l\u2019Orinoque, par Tos. Gumilia. Avignon, 1751, t. i.\n  p 172.\n\n\n\n\n                                  II.\n                                 ADAM.\n\n\n                        1. THE CREATION OF MAN.\n\n\nCertain of the angels having fallen, God made men, that they might take\ntheir vacated places.\n\nAccording to the most authoritative Mussulman traditions, Adam was\ncreated on Friday afternoon at the Assr-hour, or about three o\u2019clock.\nThe four archangels\u2014Gabriel, Michael, Israfiel, and Asrael\u2014were required\nto bring earth from the four quarters of the world, that therefrom God\nmight fashion man. His head and breast were made of clay from Mecca and\nMedina, from the spot where later were the Holy Kaaba and the tomb of\nMohammed. Although still lifeless, his beauty amazed the angels who had\nflocked to the gates of Paradise. But Eblis, envious of the beauty of\nAdam\u2019s as yet inanimate form, said to the angels: \u201cHow can you admire a\ncreature made of earth? From such material nothing but fragility and\nfeebleness can come.\u201d However, most of the angels praised God for what\nHe had done.\n\nThe body of Adam was so great, that if he stood up his head would reach\ninto the seventh heaven. But he was not as yet endowed with a living\nsoul. The soul had been made a thousand years before, and had been\nsteeped all that while in the sea of light which flowed from Allah. God\nnow ordered the soul to enter the body. It showed some indisposition to\nobey; thereupon God exclaimed: \u201cQuicken Adam against your will, and, as\na penalty for your disobedience, you shall leave the body sorely against\nyour will.\u201d Then God blew the spirit against Adam with such force that\nit entered his nose, and ran up into his head, and as soon as it reached\nhis eyes Adam opened them, and saw the throne of God with the\ninscription upon it: \u201cThere is no God but God, and Mohammed is His\nprophet.\u201d Then the soul ran into his ears, and Adam heard the song of\nthe angels; thereupon his tongue was unloosed, for by this time the soul\nhad reached it, and he said, \u201cPraise be to Thee, my Creator, one and\nonly!\u201d And God answered him: \u201cFor this purpose are you made. You and\nyour successors must pray to me, and you will find mercy and\nloving-kindness at my hands.\u201d Then the soul penetrated all the members,\nreaching last of all the feet of Adam, which receiving strength, he\nsprang up, and stood upon the earth. But when he stood upright he was\nobliged to close his eyes, for the light of God\u2019s throne shining\ndirectly into them blinded them. \u201cWhat light is this?\u201d he asked, as he\ncovered his eyes with one hand, and indicated the throne with the other.\n\u201cIt is the light of a prophet,\u201d God answered, \u201cwho will spring from thee\nin later ages. By mine honour I swear, for him alone have I created the\nworld. In heaven he bears the name of the much-lauded, and on earth he\nwill be called Mohammed. Through him all men will be led out of error\ninto the way of truth.\u201d\n\nGod then called all created animals before Adam, and told him their\nnames and their natures. Then He called up all the angels, and bade them\nbow before Adam, the man whom He had made. Israfiel obeyed first, and\nGod gave to him in recompense the custody of the Book of Fate; the other\nangels obeyed in order; only Eblis refused, in the pride of his heart,\nsaying, \u201cWhy shall I, who am made of fire, bend before him who is made\nof earth?\u201d Therefore he was cast out of the angel choirs, and was\nforbidden admission through the gates of Paradise. Adam also was led out\nof Paradise, and he preached to the angels, who stood before him in ten\nthousand ranks, a sermon on the power, majesty, and goodness of God, and\nhe showed such learning and knowledge\u2014for he could name each beast in\nseventy languages\u2014that the angels were amazed at his knowledge, which\nexcelled their own. As a reward for having preached this sermon, God\nsent Adam a bunch of grapes out of Paradise by the hands of Gabriel.[19]\n\nIn the Midrash, the Rabbinical story is as follows: \u201cWhen God wished to\nmake man, He consulted with the angels, and said to them, We will make a\nman in our image. Then they said, What is man, that you regard him, and\nwhat is his nature? He answered, His knowledge excels yours. Then He\nplaced all kinds of beasts before them, wild beasts and fowls of the\nair, and asked them their names, but they knew them not. And after Adam\nwas made, He led them before him, and He asked Adam their names, and he\nreplied at once, This is an ox, that is an ass, this is a horse, that is\na camel, and so forth.\u201d[20]\n\nThe story told by Tabari is somewhat different.\n\nWhen God would make Adam, He ordered Gabriel to bring Him a handful of\nevery sort of clay, black, white, red, yellow, blue, and every other\nkind.[21] Gabriel went to the middle of the earth to the place where now\nis Kaaba. He wished to stoop and take the clay, but the earth said to\nhim, \u201cO Gabriel, what doest thou?\u201d And Gabriel answered, \u201cI am fetching\na little clay, dust, and stone, that thereof God may make a Lord for\nthee.\u201d Then the earth swore by God, \u201cThou shalt take of me neither clay\nnor dust nor stone; what if of the creatures made from me some should\narise who would do evil upon the earth, and shed innocent blood?\u201d\nGabriel withdrew, respecting the oath, and took no earth; and he said to\nGod, \u201cThou knowest what the earth said to me.\u201d\n\nThen God sent Michael and bade him fetch a little mud. But when Michael\narrived, the earth swore the same oath.\n\nAnd Michael respected the oath and withdrew.\n\nThen God sent Azrael, the angel of death. He came, and the earth swore\nthe same oath; but he did not retire, but answered and said, \u201cI must\nobey the command of God in spite of thine oath.\u201d\n\nAnd the angel of death stooped, and took from forty ells below the earth\nclay of every sort, as we have said, and therefrom God made Adam.\n\nNo one in the world had seen a form like that of Adam. H\u00e2reth or Satan\nwent to look at him. Adam had lain stretched in the same place for the\nspace of about forty years. No one thought of him or knew what sort of a\nthing he was. H\u00e2reth coming up to him, saw him stretched from east to\nwest, of huge size and as dry as dry palm leaves. Then H\u00e2reth pushed\nAdam, and the dry earth rattled. H\u00e2reth was astonished. He examined the\nform more attentively, and he found that it was hollow. Then he went to\nthe mouth and crept in at it, and crept out again and let the angels\nknow the doubt that was in his breast, for he said, \u201cThis creature is\nnothing, its inside is empty, and a hollow thing can easily be broken.\nNow that God has made him, He has given him the empire of the world, but\nI will fight against him and drive him from the earth as I drove out the\nJins. What is your advice?\u201d\n\nThe angels answered, \u201cO H\u00e2reth, if we overcame the Jins it was in\nobedience to God\u2019s command. Now that God has created this thing, if He\norders us to submit to it, we must do so.\u201d Now when H\u00e2reth saw that the\nangels thought otherwise, he changed his discourse and said, \u201cYou speak\nthe truth, I agree with you, but I wanted to prove you.\u201d\n\nWhen God gave the soul to Adam, it entered his throat and passed down\ninto his bosom and belly, and wherever it passed, the earth, the clay,\nthe dust, and the black mud became bones, nerves, veins, flesh, skin,\nand the like. And when his soul entered his head, Adam sneezed, and\nsaid, \u201cPraise be to God.\u201d And when he turned his head, he saw Paradise\nand all its delights; and when the soul entered his belly, he wanted to\neat, so he tried to rise and get some food, but the soul had not yet\nreached his extremities, which were as yet mere clay, so Gabriel said:\n\u201cO Adam, don\u2019t be in a hurry.\u201d[22] Then follows the story of Eblis\nrefusing to adore Adam. According to another version of the Mussulman\nstory, the soul showed such repugnance to enter the body, that the angel\nGabriel took a flageolet, and sitting down near the head of the\ninanimate Adam, played such exquisite melodies that the soul descended\nto listen, and in a moment of ecstasy entered the feet, which began\nimmediately to move. Thereupon the soul was given command by Allah not\nto leave the body again till special permission was given it by the Most\nHigh.[23]\n\nIn the Talmud we are told that the Rabbi Meir says that the dust from\nwhich Adam was made was gathered from all parts of the earth: the Rabbi\nHoshea says that the body of the first man was made of dust from Babel;\nthe head, of earth from the land of Israel, and the rest of his limbs\nfrom the soil of other countries: but the Rabbi Acha adds that his\nhinder quarters were fashioned out of clay from Acre.[24] When Adam was\nmade, some of the dust remained over; of that God made locusts.[25]\n\nA Rabbinical tale is to this effect. God was interrupted by the Sabbath\nin the midst of creating fauns and satyrs, after He had made man, and\nwas obliged to postpone their completion till the Sunday, consequently\nthese creatures are misshapen. A Talmudic account of the way in which\nwere spent the hours of the day in which Adam was made, is sufficiently\ncurious.\n\nAt the first hour, God gathered the dust of the earth; in the second, He\nformed the embryo; in the third, the limbs were extended; in the fourth,\nthe soul was given; at the fifth hour Adam stood upright; at the sixth,\nAdam named the animals. Having done this, God asked him, \u201cAnd I, what is\nmy name?\u201d\n\nAdam replied\u2014\u201cJehovah.\u201d\n\nAt the seventh hour, Adam married Eve; at the eighth, Cain and his\nsister were born; at the ninth, they were forbidden to eat of the tree;\nat the tenth hour Adam fell; at the eleventh he was banished from Eden;\nand at the twelfth, he felt the sweat and pain of toil.[26]\n\nIn the Apocryphal Little Genesis, we are told that Adam did not disobey\nGod till the expiration of the seventh year, and that he was not\npunished till forty-five days after. It adds, that before the Fall, Adam\nconversed familiarly with the animals, but that by the Fall they lost\nthe faculty of speech.\n\nGod, say the Rabbis, made Adam so tall that his head touched the sky;\nand the tree of life, planted in the midst of the garden of Eden, was so\nbroad at the base that it would take a good walker five years to march\nround it, and Adam\u2019s proportions accorded with those of the tree. The\nangels murmured, and told God that there were two sovereigns, one in\nheaven and one on earth. Thereupon God placed His hand on the head of\nAdam and reduced him to a thousand cubits.[27]\n\nTo the question, How big was Adam? the Talmud replies, He was made so\ntall that he stood with his head in heaven, till God pressed him down at\nthe Fall. Rabbi Jehuda says, that as he lay stretched on the earth he\ncovered it completely;[28] but the book Sepher Gilgulim says (fol. 20,\ncol. 4), that when he was made, his head and throat were in Paradise,\nand his body in the earth. To judge how long he was, says the same book,\nunderstand that his body stretched from one end of the earth to the\nother, and it takes a man five hundred years to walk that distance.[29]\nAnd when Adam was created, all the beasts of earth fell down before him\nand desired to worship him, but he said to them, \u201cYou have come to\nworship me, but come and let us clothe ourselves with power and glory,\nand let us take Him to be king over us who has created us; for a people\nchooses a king, but the king does not appoint himself monarch\narbitrarily.\u201d Therefore Adam chose God to be king of all the world, and\nthe beasts, fowls, and fishes gladly consented thereto.[30] But the sun,\nseeing Adam, was filled with fear and became dark; and the angels quaked\nand were dismayed, and prayed to God to remove from them this mighty\nbeing whom He had made. Then God cast a deep sleep on Adam, and the sun\nand the angels looked on him lying helpless in his slumber, and they\nplucked up courage and feared him no more. The book Sepher Chasidim,\nhowever, says, that the angels seeing Adam so great and with his face\nshining above the brightness of the sun, bowed before him, and said,\n\u201cHoly, holy, holy!\u201d Whereupon God cast a sleep upon him and cut off\ngreat pieces of his flesh to reduce him to smaller proportions. And when\nAdam woke he saw bits of flesh strewed all round him, like shavings in a\ncarpenter\u2019s shop, and he exclaimed \u201cO God! how hast Thou robbed me?\u201d but\nGod answered, \u201cTake these gobbets of flesh and carry them into all lands\nand drop them everywhere, and strew dust on them; and wherever they are\nlaid, that land will I give to thy posterity to inherit.\u201d[31]\n\nMany are the origins attributed to man in the various creeds of ancient\nand modern heathendom. Sometimes he is spoken of as having been made out\nof water, but more generally it is of earth that he has been made, or\nfrom which he has been spontaneously born. The Peruvians believed that\nthe world was peopled by four men and four women, brothers and sisters,\nwho emerged from the caves near Cuzco. Among the North American Indians\nthe earth is regarded as the universal mother. Men came into existence\nin her womb, and crept out of it by climbing up the roots of the trees\nwhich hung from the vault in which they were conceived and matured; or,\nmounting a deer, the animal brought them into daylight; or, groping in\ndarkness, they tore their way out with their nails.[32]\n\nThe Egyptian philosophers pretended that man was made of the mud of the\nNile.[33] In Aristophanes,[34] man is spoken of as \u03c0\u03bb\u03ac\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1 \u03c0\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u1fe6. Among\nsome of the Chinese it is believed that man was thus formed:\u2014\u201cThe book\nFong-zen-tong says: When the earth and heaven were made, there was not\nas yet man or peoples. Then Niu-hoa moulded yellow earth, and of that\nmade man. That is the true origin of men.\u201d[35]\n\nAnd the ancient Chaldeans supposed man was made by the mixing of the\nblood of Belus with the soil.[36]\n\n\n                          2. THE PRE-ADAMITES.\n\n\nIn 1655, Isaac de la Peyreira, a converted Jew, published a curious\ntreatise on the Pre-Adamites. Arguing upon Romans v. 12-14, he contended\nthat there were two creations of man; that recorded in the first chapter\nof Genesis and that described in the second chapter being distinct. The\nfirst race he supposed to have peopled the whole world, but that it was\nbad, and therefore Adam had been created with a spiritual soul, and that\nfrom Adam the Jewish race was descended, whereas the Gentile nations\nissued from the loins of the Pre-Adamites. Consequently the original sin\nof Adam weighed only on his descendants, and Peyreira supposed that it\nwas his race alone which perished, with the exception of Noah and his\nfamily, in the Deluge, which Peyreira contends was partial. This book\nwas condemned and burnt in Paris by the hands of the executioner, and\nthe author, who had taken refuge in Brussels, was there condemned by the\necclesiastical authorities. He appealed to Rome, whither he journeyed,\nand he was received with favour by Alexander VII., before whom he\nabjured Calvinism, which he had professed.\n\nHe died at the age of 82, at Aubervilliers, near Paris, and Moreri wrote\nthe following epigrammatic epitaph for him:\u2014\n\n           \u201cLa Peyr\u00e8re ici g\u00eet, ce bon Isra\u00e9lite,\n           Huguenot, catholique, enfin pr\u00e9-Adamite.\n           Quatre religions lui plurent \u00e0 la fois;\n             Et son indiff\u00e9rence \u00e9tait si peu commune,\n           Qu\u2019apr\u00e8s quatre-vingts ans qu\u2019il eut \u00e0 faire un choix,\n             Le bon homme partit et n\u2019en choisit aucune.\u201d\n\nThe Oriental book Huschenk-Nameh gives a fuller history of the\nPre-Adamites. Before Adam was created, says this book, there were in the\nisle Muscham, one of the Maldives, men with flat heads, and for this\nreason they were called by the Persians, Nim-ser. They were governed by\na king named Dambac.\n\nWhen Adam, expelled the earthly Paradise, established himself in the\nIsle of Ceylon, the flat-heads submitted to him. After his death they\nguarded his tomb by day, and the lions relieved guard by night, to\nprotect his body against the Divs.\n\nFootnote 19:\n\n  Weil, Biblische Legenden der Muselm\u00e4nner. Frankfort, 1845, pp. 12-16.\n\nFootnote 20:\n\n  Geiger, Was hat Mohammed aus d. Judenthum aufgenommen? p. 99.\n\nFootnote 21:\n\n  So also Abulfeda, Hist. Ante-Islamica, ed. Fleischer. Lipsi\u00e6, 1831, p.\n  13.\n\nFootnote 22:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xxvi.\n\nFootnote 23:\n\n  Collin de Plancy, p. 55.\n\nFootnote 24:\n\n  Eisenmenger, Neuentdecktes Judenthum. K\u00f6nigsberg, 1711, i. pp. 364-5.\n\nFootnote 25:\n\n  Bochart, Hierozoica, p. 2, l. 8, fol. 486.\n\nFootnote 26:\n\n  Tract Sanhedrim, f. 38.\n\nFootnote 27:\n\n  Jalkut Schimoni, f. 6.\n\nFootnote 28:\n\n  Tract Hagida, f. 12.\n\nFootnote 29:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 367.\n\nFootnote 30:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 368.\n\nFootnote 31:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 369.\n\nFootnote 32:\n\n  M\u00fcller, Amerikanische Urreligionen; Basle, 1855. Atherne Jones, North\n  American Traditions, i. p. 210, &c. Heckewelder\u2019s Indian Nations, &c.\n\nFootnote 33:\n\n  Fourmont, Anciens Peuples, i. lib. ii. p. 10.\n\nFootnote 34:\n\n  Aves, 666.\n\nFootnote 35:\n\n  M\u00e9moires des Chinois, i. p. 105.\n\nFootnote 36:\n\n  Berosus, in Cory\u2019s Ancient Fragments, p. 26.\n\n\n\n\n                                  III.\n                                EVE.[37]\n\n\nThat man was created double, _i.e._ both male and female, is and has\nbeen a common opinion. One Rabbinical interpretation of the text, \u201cAnd\nGod created man in His own image, male-female created He them,\u201d is that\nAdam and Eve were formed back to back, united at the shoulders, and were\nhewn asunder with a hatchet; but of this more presently. The Rabbis say\nthat when Eve had to be drawn out of the side of Adam she was not\nextracted by the head, lest she should be vain; nor by the eyes, lest\nthey should be wanton; nor by the mouth, lest she should be given to\ngossiping; nor by the ears, lest she should be an eavesdropper; nor by\nthe hands, lest she should be meddlesome; nor by the feet, lest she\nshould be a gadabout; nor by the heart, lest she should be jealous; but\nshe was drawn forth by the side: yet, notwithstanding all these\nprecautions, she has every fault specially guarded against.[38]\n\nThey also say that, for the marriage-feast of Adam and Eve, God made a\ntable of precious stone, and each gem was a hundred ells long and sixty\nells wide, and the table was covered with costly dishes.[39]\n\nThe Mussulman tradition is, that Adam having eaten the bunch of grapes\ngiven him as a reward for having preached to the angels, fell asleep;\nand whilst he slept, God took from his left side a woman whom He called\nHava, because she was extracted from one living (Hai), and He laid her\nbeside Adam. She resembled him exactly, except that her features were\nmore delicate, her hair longer and divided into seven hundred locks, her\nform more slender, her eyes softer, and her voice sweeter than Adam\u2019s.\nIn the meantime Adam had been dreaming that a wife had been given to\nhim; and when he woke, great was his delight to find his dream turned\ninto a reality. He put forth his hand to take that of Hava, but she\nwithdrew hers, answering his words of love with, \u201cGod is my master, and\nI cannot give my hand to thee without His permission; and, moreover, it\nis not proper for a man to take a wife without making her a wedding\npresent.\u201d\n\nAdam thereupon sent the angel Gabriel to ask God\u2019s permission to take to\nhim Hava as his wife. Gabriel returned with the answer that she had been\ncreated to be his helpmate, and that he was to treat her with gentleness\nand love. For a present he must pray twenty times for Mohammed and for\nthe prophets, who, in due season, were to be born of him. Ridhwan, the\nporter of Paradise, then brought to Adam the winged horse Meimun, and to\nEve a light-footed she-camel. Gabriel helped them to mount and led them\ninto Paradise, where they were greeted by all the angels and beasts with\nthe words: \u201cHail, father and mother of Mohammed!\u201d\n\nIn the midst of Paradise was a green silk tent spread for them,\nsupported on gold pillars, and in the tent was a throne upon which Adam\nand Hava were seated. Then they were bathed in one of the rivers of\nParadise and brought before the presence of God, who bade them dwell in\nParadise. \u201cI have prepared you this garden for your home; in it you\nshall be protected from cold and heat, from hunger and thirst. Enjoy all\nthat meets your eye, only of one fruit taste not. Beware how you break\nmy command, and arm yourself against the subtlety of your foe, Eblis; he\nenvies you, and stands by you seeking to destroy you, for through you\nwas he cast out.\u201d[40]\n\nTabari says that Adam was brought single into Paradise, through which he\nroamed eating from the fruit trees, and a deep sleep fell upon him,\nduring which Eve was created from his left side. And when Adam opened\nhis eyes, he saw her, and asked her who she was, and she replied, \u201cI am\nthy wife; God created me out of thee and for thee, that thy heart might\nfind repose.\u201d The angels said to Adam: \u201cWhat thing is this? What is her\nname? Why is she made?\u201d Adam replied, \u201cThis is Eve.\u201d Adam remained five\nhundred years in Paradise. It was on a Friday that Adam entered\nEden.[41]\n\nThe inhabitants of Madagascar have a strange myth touching the origin of\nwoman. They say that the first man was created of the dust of the earth,\nand was placed in a garden, where he was subject to none of the ills\nwhich now affect mortality; he was also free from all bodily appetites,\nand though surrounded by delicious fruit and limpid streams, yet felt no\ndesire to taste of the fruit or to quaff the water. The Creator had,\nmoreover, strictly forbidden him either to eat or to drink. The great\nenemy, however, came to him, and painted to him in glowing colours the\nsweetness of the apple, the lusciousness of the date, and the succulence\nof the orange.\n\nIn vain: the first man remembered the command laid upon him by his\nMaker. Then the fiend assumed the appearance of an effulgent spirit, and\npretended to be a messenger from Heaven commanding him to eat and drink.\nThe man at once obeyed. Shortly after, a pimple appeared on his leg; the\nspot enlarged to a tumour, which increased in size and caused him\nconsiderable annoyance. At the end of six months it burst, and there\nemerged from the limb a beautiful girl.\n\nThe father of all living was sorely perplexed what to make of his\nacquisition, when a messenger from heaven appeared, and told him to let\nher run about the garden till she was of a marriageable age, and then to\ntake her to himself as his wife. He obeyed. He called her Bahouna, and\nshe became the mother of all races of men.\n\nThe notion of the first man having been of both sexes till the\nseparation, was very common. He was said to have been male on the right\nside and female on the left, and that one half of him was removed to\nconstitute Eve, but that the complete man consists of both sexes.\n\nEugubinus among Christian commentators, the Rabbis Samuel, Manasseh\nBen-Israel, and Maimonides among the Jews, have given the weight of\ntheir opinion to support this interpretation. The Rabbi Jeremiah\nBen-Eleazer, on the authority of the text \u201c_Thou hast fashioned me\nbehind and before_\u201d (Ps. cxxxix. 4), argued that Adam had two faces, one\nmale and the other female, and that he was of both sexes.[42]\n\nThe Rabbi Samuel Ben-Nahaman held that the first man was created double,\nwith a woman at his back, and that God cut them apart.[43] \u201cAdam,\u201d said\nother Rabbis, \u201chad two faces and one tail, and from the beginning he was\nboth male and female, male on one side, female on the other; but\nafterwards the parts were separated.\u201d[44]\n\nThe Talmudists assert that God cut off Adam\u2019s tail and thereof formed\nEve.[45]\n\nWith this latter fable agrees the ludicrous myth of the Kikapoo Indians,\nrelated in my \u201cCuriosities of Olden Times.\u201d\n\nIn Aristophanes\u2019 speech in the Symposium of Plato, a myth is given, that\nin the beginning there was a race of men of which every member was\ndouble, having two heads, four legs and four arms, and each of both\nsexes. This race, says he, was filled with pride, and it attempted to\nscale heaven. The Gods desired at once to reduce their might and punish\ntheir temerity, but did not wish to destroy the human race; consequently\nat the advice of Zeus, each androgyne was hewn asunder, so as to leave\nto each half two arms and a pair of legs, one head and a single sex.\n\nAn Indian tradition is to this effect. Whilst Brahma the creator was\nengaged in the production of beings, he saw Kaya (body) divide itself\ninto two parts, of which each part was of a different sex, and thence\nsprang the whole human race.[46]\n\nAccording to another much more explicit version, Viradi, the first man,\nfinding his solitude intolerable, fell into the deepest sorrow; and,\nyearning for a companion, his nature developed into two sexes united in\none. Then he separated into two individuals, but found in that\nseparation unhappiness, for he was conscious of his imperfection; then\nhe reunited the existence of the two portions and was happy, and from\nthat reunion the world was peopled.[47]\n\nIn Persia, Meschia and Meschiane, the first man and the first woman,\nwere said to have formed originally but one body; but they were cut\napart, and from this voluntary reunion all men are sprung.[48]\n\nThe idea so prevalent that man without woman, or woman without man, is\nan imperfect being, was the cause of the great repugnance with which the\nJews and other nations of the East regarded celibacy. The Rabbi Eliezer,\ncommenting on the text \u201cHe called their name Adam\u201d (Gen. v. 2.), laid\ndown that he who has not a wife is not a man, for man is the\nrecomposition of male and female into one.[49]\n\nBramah, says an Indian legend, being charged with the production of the\nhuman race, felt himself a prey to violent pains, till his sides opened,\nand from one flank emerged a boy and from the other a girl. In China,\nthe story is told that the Goddess Amida sweated male children out of\nher right arm-pit, and female children from her left arm-pit, and these\nchildren peopled the earth.[50]\n\nVishnu, according to an Indian fable, gave birth to Dharma by his right\nside, and to Adharma by his left side, and through Adharma death entered\nthe world.[51] Another story is to the effect, that the right arm of\nVena gave birth to Pritu, the master of the earth, and the left arm to\nthe Virgin Archis, who became the bride of Pritu.[52]\n\nPygmalion, says the classic story, which is really a Ph\u0153nician myth of\ncreation, made woman of marble or ivory, and Aphrodite, in answer to his\nprayers, endowed the statue with life. \u201cOften does Pygmalion apply his\nhands to the work. One while he addresses it in soft terms, at another\nhe brings it presents that are agreeable to maidens, as shells and\nsmooth pebbles, and little birds, and flowers of a thousand hues, and\nlilies, and painted balls, and tears of the Heliades, that have\ndistilled from the trees. He decks her limbs, too, with clothing, and\nputs a long necklace on her neck. Smooth pendants hang from her ears,\nand bows from her breast. All things are becoming to her.\u201d[53]\n\nBut Hesiod gives a widely different account of the creation of woman.\nAccording to him, she was sent in mockery by Zeus to be a scourge to\nman:\u2014\n\n             \u201cThe Sire who rules the earth and sways the pole\n             Had spoken; laughter filled his secret soul:\n             He bade the crippled god his hest obey,\n             And mould with tempering water plastic clay;\n             With human nerve and human voice invest\n             The limbs elastic, and the breathing breast;\n             Fair as the blooming goddesses above,\n             A virgin likeness with the looks of love.\n             He bade Minerva teach the skill that sheds\n             A thousand colours in the glittering threads;\n             He called the magic of love\u2019s golden queen\n             To breathe around a witchery of mien,\n             And eager passion\u2019s never-sated flame,\n             And cares of dress that prey upon the frame;\n             Bade Hermes last endue, with craft refined\n             Of treacherous manners, and a shameless mind.\u201d[54]\n\nThat Eve was Adam\u2019s second wife was a common Rabbinic speculation;\ncertain of the commentators on Genesis having adopted this view to\naccount for the double account of the creation of woman in the sacred\ntext,\u2014first in Genesis i. 27, and secondly in Genesis ii. 18; and they\nsay that Adam\u2019s first wife was named Lilith, but she was expelled from\nEden, and after her expulsion Eve was created.\n\nAbraham Ecchellensis gives the following account of Lilith, and her\ndoings:\u2014\u201cThere are some who do not regard spectres as simple devils, but\nsuppose them to be of a mixed nature, part demoniacal, part human, and\nto have had their origin from Lilith, Adam\u2019s first wife, by Eblis, the\nprince of the devils. This fable has been transmitted to the Arabs from\nJewish sources, by some converts of Mahomet from Cabbalism and\nRabbinism, who have transferred all the Jewish fooleries to the Arabs.\nThey gave to Adam a wife, formed of clay, along with Adam, and called\nher Lilith; resting on the Scripture, \u2018_male and female created He\nthem_:\u2019[55] but when this woman, on account of her simultaneous creation\nwith him, became proud and a vexation to her husband, God expelled her\nfrom Paradise, and then said, \u2018_It is not good that the man should be\nalone; I will make him a help meet for him._\u2019[56] And this they confirm\nby the words of Adam when he saw the woman fashioned from his rib,\n\u2018_This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh_,\u2019[57] which is as\nmuch as to say, Now God has given me a wife and companion, suitable for\nme, taken from my bone and flesh, but the other wife he gave me was not\nof my bone and flesh, and therefore was not a suitable companion and\nwife for me.\n\n\u201cBut Lilith, after she was expelled from Paradise, is said to have\nmarried the Devil, by whom she had children, who are called Jins. These\nwere endued with six qualities, of which they share three with men, and\nthree with devils. Like men, they generate in their own likeness, eat\nfood, and die. Like devils, they are winged, and they fly where they\nlist with great velocity; they are invisible, and they can pass through\nsolid substances without injuring them. This race of Jins is supposed to\nbe less noxious to men, and indeed to live in some familiarity and\nfriendship with them, as in part sharers of their nature. The author of\nthe history and acts of Alexander of Macedon relates, that in a certain\nregion of India, on certain hours of the day, the young Jins assume a\nhuman form, and appear openly and play games with the native children of\nhuman parents quite familiarly.\u201d[58]\n\nIt must not be supposed that women, as they are now, are at all\ncomparable to Eve in her pristine beauty; on this point the Talmud says:\n\u201cAll women in respect of Sarah are like monkeys in respect of men. But\nSarah can no more be compared to Eve than can a monkey be compared with\na man. In like manner it may be said, if any comparison could be drawn\nbetween Eve and Adam, she stood to him in the same relation of beauty as\ndoes a monkey to a man; but if you were to compare Adam with God, Adam\nwould be the monkey, and God the man.\u201d[59]\n\nLiterary ladies may point to the primal mother as the first authoress;\nfor a Gospel of Eve existed in the times of S. Epiphanius, who mentions\nit as being in repute among the Gnostics.[60] And the Mussulmans\nattribute to her a volume of Prophecies which were written at her\ndictation by the Angel Raphael.[61]\n\nAll ladies will be glad to learn that there is a tradition, Manichean,\nit is true, and anathematized by S. Clement, which nevertheless contains\na large element of truth; it is to this effect, that Adam, when made,\nwas like a beast, coarse, rude, and inanimate, but that from Eve he\nreceived his upright position, his polish, and his spirituality.[62]\n\nFootnote 37:\n\n  It is unfortunate that I have already written on the myths relating to\n  the formation of Eve in \u201cCuriosities of Olden Times.\u201d I would\n  therefore have omitted a chapter which must repeat what has been\n  already published, but that by so doing I should leave this work\n  imperfect. However, there is much in this chapter which was not in the\n  article referred to.\n\nFootnote 38:\n\n  Rabboth, fol. 20 b.\n\nFootnote 39:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. 830.\n\nFootnote 40:\n\n  Weil, pp. 17, 18.\n\nFootnote 41:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xxvi.\n\nFootnote 42:\n\n  Talmud, Tract Berachoth, f. 61; Bartolocci, Bibl. Rabbin., iv. p. 66.\n\nFootnote 43:\n\n  Bartolocci, Bibl. Rabbin., iv. p. 67.\n\nFootnote 44:\n\n  Ibid., iii. p. 395.\n\nFootnote 45:\n\n  Bartolocci, Bibl. Rabbin., iii. p. 396; Eisenmenger, t. i. p. 365.\n\nFootnote 46:\n\n  Bhagavat, iii. 12, 51.\n\nFootnote 47:\n\n  Colebrooke, Miscell. Essays, p. i. 64.\n\nFootnote 48:\n\n  Bun-dehesch, p. 377.\n\nFootnote 49:\n\n  Bartolocci, Bibl. Rabbin., iv. p. 465.\n\nFootnote 50:\n\n  Mendez Pinto, Voyages, ii. p. 178.\n\nFootnote 51:\n\n  Bhagavat, iii. 12, 25.\n\nFootnote 52:\n\n  Bhagavat, iv. 15, 27.\n\nFootnote 53:\n\n  Ovid, Metamorph., x. 7.\n\nFootnote 54:\n\n  Hesiod, Works and Days, 61-79.\n\nFootnote 55:\n\n  Gen. i. 27.\n\nFootnote 56:\n\n  Gen. ii. 18.\n\nFootnote 57:\n\n  Gen. ii. 23.\n\nFootnote 58:\n\n  Abraham Ecchellensis. Hist. Arabum, p. 268.\n\nFootnote 59:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Bava Bathra.\n\nFootnote 60:\n\n  S. Epiphan. H\u00e6res., xxvi.\n\nFootnote 61:\n\n  Tho. Bangius, C\u0153lum Orientis, p. 103.\n\nFootnote 62:\n\n  S. Clementi Recog., c. iv.\n\n\n\n\n                                  IV.\n                            THE FALL OF MAN.\n\n\nWhat was the tree of which our first parents were forbidden to eat? In\nMidrash, f. 7, the Rabbi Mayer says it was a wheat-tree; the Rabbi\nJehuda, that it was a grape-vine; the Rabbi Aba, that it was a\nParadise-apple; the Rabbi Josse, that it was a fig-tree: therefore it\nwas that, when driven out of Paradise, they used its leaves for a\ncovering.\n\nThe Persian story, adopted by the Arabs, is that the forbidden fruit was\nwheat, and that it grew on a tree whose trunk resembled gold and its\nbranches silver. Each branch bore five shining ears, and each ear\ncontained five grains as big as the eggs of an ostrich, as fragrant as\nmusk, and as sweet as honey. The people of Southern America suppose it\nwas the banana, whose fibres form the cross, and they say that thus, in\nit, Adam discovered the mystery of the Redemption. The inhabitants of\nthe island of St. Vincent think it was the tobacco plant. But, according\nto an Iroquois legend, the great mother of the human race lost heaven\nfor a pot of bears\u2019 grease.[63] The story is as follows:\u2014The first men\nliving alone were,\n\n                                    \u201cBy the viewless winds,\n                Blown with resistless violence round about\n                The pendant world.\u201d\n\nFearing the extinction of their race, and having learnt that a woman\ndwelt somewhere in the heavens, they deputed one of their number to seek\nher out. This messenger of mankind was borne to the skies on the wings\nof assembled birds; and then watched at the foot of a tree till the\nwoman came forth to draw water from a neighbouring well. On her approach\nhe addressed her, offered her bears\u2019 fat, and then seduced her. The\nDeity perceiving her shame, in His anger thrust her out of heaven. The\ntortoise received her on his back; and from the depths of the sea the\nfish brought clay, and thus gradually built up an island on which the\nuniversal mother brought forth her first twins.\n\nAccording to the traditions of the Lamaic faith, the first men lived to\nthe age of sixty thousand years.[64] They were invisibly nourished, and\nwere able to raise themselves at will to the heavens. In this age of the\nworld the transmigration of souls was universal,\u2014all men were twice\nborn; and in this age it was that the thousand gods settled themselves\nin heaven. In an unlucky hour the earth produced a honey-sweet\nsubstance: one of the men lusted after it, tasted and gave to his\ncompanions; the consequence was, that men lost the power of rising from\noff the earth, their size, and their wisdom, and were obliged to satisfy\nthemselves with food produced by the soil.\n\nThe Nepaul account of the beginning of sin is as follows: \u201cOriginally,\u201d\nsays one of the Tantras, \u201cthe earth was uninhabited. In those times the\ninhabitants of Abhaswara, one of the heavenly mansions, used frequently\nto visit the earth, and thence speedily return. It happened at length\nthat when a few of these beings, who though half male, half female,\nthrough the innocence of their minds had never noticed their distinction\nof sex, came as usual to the earth, Adi Buddha suddenly created in them\nso violent a longing to eat, that they ate some of the earth, which had\nthe taste of almonds; and by eating it they lost their power of flying\nback to their heaven, and so they remained on the earth. They were now\nconstrained to eat the fruits of the earth for sustenance.\u201d[65]\n\nAccording to the Cinghalese, the Brahmas inhabited the higher regions of\nthe air, where they enjoyed perfect happiness. \u201cBut it came to pass that\none of them beholding the earth said to himself, What thing is this? and\nwith one of his fingers having touched the earth, he put it to the tip\nof his tongue, and perceived the same to be deliciously sweet; from that\ntime all the Brahmas ate of the sweet earth for the space of sixty\nthousand years. In the meantime, having coveted in their hearts the\nenjoyment of this earth, they began to say to one another, This part is\nmine and that is thine; and so, fixing boundaries to their respective\nshares, divided the earth between them. On account of the Brahmas having\nbeen guilty of covetousness, the earth lost its sweetness, and then\nbrought forth a kind of mushroom,\u201d which the Brahmas also coveted and\ndivided, and of which they were also deprived; and thus they proceeded\nfrom food to food, till their nature was changed, and from spirits they\nbecame men, imbibed wicked ideas, and lost their ancient glory.[66]\n\nAccording to the Chinese, man is part spirit, part animal. The spirit\nfollows the laws of Heaven, as a disciple his master; the animal, on the\nother hand, is the slave of sense. At his origin, man obeyed the\nheavens; his first state was one of innocence and happiness; he knew\nneither disease nor death; he was by instinct wholly good and spiritual.\nBut the immoderate desire to be wise, or, according to Lao-tsee, to eat,\nwas the ruin of mankind.[67]\n\nAccording to the Persian faith, the father of man had heaven for his\ndestiny, but he must be humble of heart, pure of thought, of word and of\ndeed, not invoking the Divs: and such in the beginning were the thoughts\nand acts of our first parents.\n\nFirst they said, \u201cIt is Ormuzd (God) who has given the water, the earth,\nthe trees, and the beasts of the field, and the stars, the moon, the\nsun, and all things pure.\u201d But Ahriman (Satan) arose, and rushed upon\ntheir thoughts and said to them, \u201cIt is Ahriman who has given these\nthings to you.\u201d Thus Ahriman deceived them, and to the end will deceive.\nTo this lie they gave credence and became Darvands, and their souls were\ncondemned till the great resurrection of the body. During thirty days\nthey feasted and covered themselves with black garments. After thirty\ndays they went to the chase; and they found a white goat, and with their\nlips they drew off her milk, and drank her milk and were glad. \u201cWe have\ntasted nothing like to this milk,\u201d said our first parents, Meschia and\nMeschiane; \u201cthe milk we have drunk was pleasant to the taste,\u201d but it\nwas an evil thing to their bodies.\n\n\u201cThen the Div, the liar, grown more bold, presented himself a second\ntime, and brought with him fruit of which they ate; and of a hundred\nexcellences they before possessed, they now retained not one. And after\nthirty days and nights they found a white and fat sheep, and they cut\noff its left ear; and they fired a tree, and with their breath raised\nthe fire to a flame; and they burned part of the branches of that tree,\nthen of the tree khorma, and afterwards of the myrtle; and they roasted\nthe sheep, and divided it into three portions: and of the two which they\ndid not eat, one was carried to heaven by the bird Kehrkas.\n\n\u201cAfterwards they feasted on the flesh of a dog, and they clothed\nthemselves in its skin. They gave themselves up to the chase, and with\nthe furs of wild beasts they covered their bodies.\n\n\u201cAnd Meschia and Meschiane digged a hole in the earth, and they found\niron, and the iron they beat with a stone; and they made for themselves\nan axe, and they struck at the roots of a tree, and they felled the tree\nand arranged its branches into a hut; and to God they gave no thanks;\nand the Divs took heart.\n\n\u201cAnd Meschia and Meschiane became enemies, and struck and wounded each\nother and separated; then from out of the place of darkness the chief of\nthe Divs was heard to cry aloud: O man, worship the Divs! And the Div of\nHate sat upon his throne. And Meschia approached and drew milk from the\nbull, and sprinkled it towards the north, and the Divs became strong.\nBut during fifty winters, Meschia and Meschiane lived apart; and after\nthat time they met, and Meschiane bare twins.\u201d[68]\n\nThe story told by the Mussulmans is as follows:\u2014\n\nAdam and Eve lived for five hundred years in Paradise before they ate of\nthe tree and fell; for Eblis was outside, and could not enter the gates\nto deceive them.\n\nFor five hundred years Eblis sought admission, but the angel Ridhwan\nwarned him off with his flaming sword.\n\nOne day the peacock came through the gates of Paradise. This bird with\nthe feathers of emeralds and pearls was not only the most beautiful\ncreature God had made, but it had also been endowed with a sweet and\nclear voice, wherewith it daily sang the praises of God in the highways\nof Eden.\n\nThis beautiful bird, thought Eblis, when he saw it, is surely vain, and\nwill listen to the voice of flattery.\n\nThereupon he addressed it as a stranger, beyond the hearing of Ridhwan.\n\u201cMost beautiful of all birds, do you belong to the denizens of\nParadise?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d answered the peacock. \u201cAnd who are you who look from side\nto side in fear and trembling?\u201d\n\n\u201cI belong to the Cherubim who praise God night and day, and I have\nslipped out of their ranks without being observed, that I might take a\nglimpse of the Paradise God has prepared for the saints. Will you hide\nme under your feathers, and show me the garden?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow shall I do that which may draw down on me God\u2019s disfavour?\u201d asked\nthe peacock.\n\n\u201cMagnificent creature! take me with you. I will teach you three words\nwhich will save you from sickness, old age, and death.\u201d\n\n\u201cMust then the dwellers in Paradise die?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll, without exception, who know not these three words.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs this the truth?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy God the Almighty it is so.\u201d\n\nThe peacock believed the oath, for it could not suppose that a creature\nwould swear a false oath by its Creator. But, as it feared that Ridhwan\nwould search it on its return through the gates, it hesitated to take\nEblis with it, but promised to send the cunning serpent out, who would\ncertainly devise a means of introducing Eblis into the garden.\n\nThe serpent was formerly queen of all creatures. She had a head like\nrubies, and eyes like emeralds. Her height was that of a camel, and the\nmost beautiful colours adorned her skin, and her hair and face were\nthose of a beautiful maiden. She was fragrant as musk and amber; her\nfood was saffron; sweet hymns of praise were uttered by her melodious\ntongues; she slept by the waters of the heavenly river Kaulhar; she had\nbeen created a thousand years before man, and was Eve\u2019s favourite\ncompanion.\n\nThis beautiful and wise creature, thought the peacock, will desire more\neven than myself to possess perpetual youth and health, and will gladly\nadmit the cherub for the sake of hearing the three words. The bird was\nnot mistaken; as soon as it had told the story, the serpent exclaimed:\n\u201cWhat! shall I grow old and die? Shall my beautiful face become\nwrinkled, my eyes close, and my body dissolve into dust? Never! rather\nwill I brave Ridhwan\u2019s anger and introduce the cherub.\u201d\n\nThe serpent accordingly glided out of the gates of Paradise, and bade\nEblis tell her what he had told the peacock.\n\n\u201cHow shall I bring you unobserved into Paradise?\u201d asked the serpent.\n\n\u201cI will make myself so small that I can sit in the nick between your\nfront teeth,\u201d answered the fallen angel.[69]\n\n\u201cBut how then can I answer when Ridhwan addresses me?\u201d\n\n\u201cFear not. I will whisper holy names, at which Ridhwan will keep\nsilence.\u201d\n\nThe serpent thereupon opened her mouth, Eblis flew in and seated himself\nbetween her teeth, and by so doing poisoned them for all eternity.\n\nWhen she had passed Ridhwan in security, the serpent opened her mouth\nand asked Eblis to take her with him to the highest heaven, where she\nmight behold the majesty of God.\n\nEblis answered that he was not ready to leave yet, but that he desired\nto speak to Adam out of her mouth, and to this she consented, fearing\nRidhwan, and greatly desiring to hear and learn the three salutary\nwords. Having reached Eve\u2019s tent, Eblis uttered a deep sigh\u2014it was the\nfirst that had been heard in Eden, and it was caused by envy.\n\n\u201cWhy are you so disquieted, gentle serpent?\u201d asked Eve.\n\n\u201cI am troubled for Adam\u2019s future,\u201d answered the evil spirit, affecting\nthe voice of the serpent.\n\n\u201cWhat! have we not all that can be desired in this garden of God?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true; but the noblest fruit of the garden, the only one\nsecuring to you perfect happiness, is denied to your lips.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave we not abundance of fruit of every colour and flavour\u2014only one is\nforbidden?\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd if you knew why that one is forbidden, you would find little\npleasure in tasting the others.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do, and for that reason am I so cast down. This fruit alone gives\neternal youth and health, whereas all the others give weakness, disease,\nold age and death, which is the cessation of life with all its joys.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, dearest serpent, did you never tell me of this before? Whence know\nyou these things?\u201d\n\n\u201cAn angel told me this as I lay under the forbidden tree.\u201d\n\n\u201cI must also see him,\u201d said Eve, leaving her tent and going towards the\ntree.\n\nAt this moment Eblis flew out of the serpent\u2019s mouth, and stood in human\nform beneath the tree.\n\n\u201cWho art thou, wondrous being, the like of whom I have not seen before?\u201d\nasked Eve.\n\n\u201cI am a man who have become an angel.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd how didst thou become an angel?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy eating of this fruit,\u201d answered the tempter,\u2014\u201cthis fruit which is\ndenied us through the envy of God. I dared to break His command as I\ngrew old and feeble, and my eyes waxed dim, my ears dull, and my teeth\nfell out, so that I could neither speak plainly nor enjoy my food; my\nhands shook, my feet tottered, my head was bent upon my breast, my back\nwas bowed, and I became so hideous that all the beasts of the garden\nfled from me in fear. Then I sighed for death, and hoping to find it in\nthe fruit of this tree, I ate, and lo! instantly I was young again;\nthough a thousand years had elapsed since I was made, they had fled with\nall their traces, and I enjoy perpetual health and youth and beauty.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you speak the truth?\u201d asked Eve.\n\n\u201cI swear by God who made me.\u201d\n\nEve believed this oath, and broke a branch from the wheat-tree.\n\nBefore the Fall, wheat grew to a tree with leaves like emeralds. The\nears were red as rubies and the grains white as snow, sweet as honey,\nand fragrant as musk. Eve ate one of the grains and found it more\ndelicious than anything she had hitherto tasted, so she gave a second\ngrain to Adam. Adam resisted at first, according to some authorities for\na whole hour, but an hour in Paradise was eighty years of our earthly\nreckoning. But when he saw that Eve remained well and cheerful, he\nyielded to her persuasions, and ate of the second grain which Eve had\noffered him daily, three times a day, during the hour of eighty years.\nThereupon all Adam\u2019s heaven-given raiment fell from him, his crown\nslipped off his head, his rings dropped from his fingers, his silken\ngarment glided like water from his shoulders, and he and Eve were naked\nand unadorned, and their fallen garments reproached them with the words,\n\u201cGreat is your misfortune; long will be your sorrows; we were created to\nadorn those who serve God; farewell till the resurrection!\u201d\n\nThe throne recoiled from them and exclaimed, \u201cDepart from me, ye\ndisobedient ones!\u201d The horse Meimun, which Adam sought to mount, plunged\nand refused to allow him to touch it, saying, \u201cHow hast thou kept God\u2019s\ncovenant?\u201d All the inhabitants of Paradise turned their backs on the\npair, and prayed God to remove the man and the woman from the midst of\nthem.\n\nGod himself addressed Adam with a voice of thunder, saying, \u201cDid not I\nforbid thee to touch of this fruit, and caution thee against the\nsubtlety of thy foe, Eblis?\u201d Adam and Eve tried to fly these reproaches,\nbut the branches of the tree Talh caught Adam, and Eve entangled herself\nin her long hair.\n\n\u201cFrom the wrath of God there is no escape,\u201d cried a voice from the tree\nTalh; \u201cobey the commandment of God.\u201d\n\n\u201cDepart from Paradise,\u201d then spake God, \u201cthou Adam, thy wife, and the\nanimals which led you into sin. The earth shall be your abode; in the\nsweat of thy brow shalt thou find food; the produce of earth shall cause\nenvy and contention; Eve (Hava) shall be afflicted with a variety of\nstrange affections, and shall bring forth offspring in pain. The peacock\nshall lose its melodious voice, and the serpent its feet; dark and\nnoisome shall be the den in which the serpent shall dwell, dust shall be\nits meat, and its destruction shall be a meritorious work. Eblis shall\nbe cast into the torments of hell.\u201d\n\nOur parents were then driven out of Paradise, and one leaf alone was\ngiven to each, wherewith to hide their nakedness. Adam was expelled\nthrough the gate of Repentance, that he might know that through it alone\ncould Paradise be regained; Eve was banished through the gate of Grace;\nthe peacock and the serpent through that of Wrath, and Eblis through the\ngate of Damnation. Adam fell into the island Serendib (Ceylon), Eve at\nJedda, the Serpent into the desert of Sahara, the Peacock into Persia,\nand Eblis into the river Eila.[70]\n\nTabari says that when the forbidden wheat had entered the belly of Adam\nand Eve, all the skin came off, except from the ends of the fingers. Now\nthis skin had been pink and horny, so that they had been invulnerable in\nParadise, and they were left naked and with a tender skin which could\neasily be lacerated; but, as often as Adam and Eve looked on their\nfingernails, they remembered what skin they had worn in Eden.[71]\n\nTabari also says that four trees pitying the shame of Adam and Eve, the\nPeacock, and the Serpent, in being driven naked out of Paradise, bowed\ntheir branches and gave each a leaf.\n\nCertain Rabbis say that Adam ate only on compulsion, that he refused,\nbut Eve \u201ctook of the tree,\u201d\u2014that is, broke a branch and \u201cgave it him,\u201d\nwith the stick.\n\nAccording to the Talmudic book, Emek Hammelech (f. 23, col. 3), Eve, on\neating the fruit, felt in herself the poison of Jezer hara, or Original\nsin, and resolved that Adam should not be without it also; she made him\neat and then forced the fruit on the animals, that they might all,\nwithout exception, fall under the same condemnation, and become subject\nto death. But the bird Chol\u2014that is, the Ph\u0153nix\u2014would not be deceived,\nbut flew away and would not eat. And now the Ph\u0153nix, says the Rabbi\nJoden after the Rabbi Simeon, lives a thousand years, then shrivels up\ntill it is the size of an egg, and then from himself he emerges young\nand beautiful again.\n\nWe have seen what are the Asiatic myths relating to Adam and Eve; let us\nnow turn to Africa. In Egypt it was related that Osiris lived with Isis\nhis sister and wife in Nysa, or Paradise, which was situated in Arabia.\nThis Paradise was an island, surrounded by the stream Triton, but it was\nalso a steep mountain that could only be reached on one side. It was\nadorned with beautiful flowers and trees laden with pleasant fruits,\nwatered by sweet streams, and in it dwelt the deathless ones.\n\nThere Osiris found the vine, and Isis the wheat, to become the food and\ndrink of men. There they built a golden temple, and lived in supreme\nhappiness till the desire came on Osiris to discover the water of\nImmortality, in seeking which he left Nysa, and was in the end slain by\nTyphon.[72]\n\nThe following is a very curious negro tradition, taken down by Dr.\nTutschek from a native in Tumale, near the centre of Africa.\n\nTil (God) made men and bade them live together in peace and happiness,\nlabour five days, and keep the sixth as a festival. They were forbidden\nto hurt the beasts or reptiles. They themselves were deathless, but the\nanimals suffered death. The frog was accursed by God, because when He\nwas making the animals it hopped over His foot. Then God ordered the men\nto build mountains: they did so, but they soon forgot God\u2019s commands,\nkilled the beasts and quarrelled with one another. Wherefore Til (God)\nsent fire and destroyed them, but saved one of the race, named\nMusikdegen, alive. Then Til began to re-create beings. He stood before a\nwood and called, Ombo Abnatum Dgu! and there came out a gazelle and\nlicked His feet. So He said, Stand up, Gazelle! and when it stood up,\nits beast-form disappeared, and it was a beautiful maiden, and He called\nher Mariam. He blessed her, and she bore four children, a white pair and\na black pair. When they were grown up, God ordered them to marry, the\nwhite together, and the black together. In Dai, the story goes that Til\ncut out both Mariam\u2019s knee-caps, and of each He made a pair of children.\nThose which were white He sent north; those which were black He gave\npossession of the land where they were born.\n\nGod then made the animals subject to death, but the men He made were\nimmortal. But the new created men became disobedient, as had the first\ncreatures; and the frog complained to Him of His injustice in having\nmade the harmless animals subject to death, but guilty man deathless.\n\u201cThou art right,\u201d answered Til, and He cast on the men He had made, old\nage, sickness, and death.[73]\n\nThe Fantis relate that they are not in the same condition as that in\nwhich they were made, for their first parents had been placed in a lofty\nand more suitable country, but God drave them into an inferior\nhabitation, that they might learn humility. On the Gold Coast the reason\nof the Fall is said to have been that the first men were offered the\nchoice of gold or of wisdom, and they chose the former.[74]\n\nIn Ashantee the story is thus told. In the beginning, God created three\nwhite and three black men and women, and gave them the choice between\ngood and evil. A great calabash was placed on the earth, as also a\nsealed paper, and God gave the black men the first choice. They took the\ncalabash, thinking it contained everything, and in it were only a lump\nof gold, a bar of iron, and some other metals. The white men took the\nsealed paper, in which they learned everything. So God left the black\nmen in the bush and took the white men to the sea, and He taught them\nhow to build ships and go into another land. This fall from God caused\nthe black men to worship the subsidiary Fetishes instead of Him.[75]\n\nIn Greenland \u201cthe first man is said to have been Kallak. He came out of\nthe earth, but his wife issued from his thumb, and from them all\ngenerations of men have sprung. To him many attribute the origin of all\nthings. The woman brought death into the world, in that she said, Let us\ndie to make room for our successors.\u201d[76]\n\nThe tradition of the Dog-rib Indians near the Polar Sea, as related by\nSir J. Franklin in his account of his expedition of 1825-27, is that the\nfirst man was called Tsch\u00e4piwih. He found the earth filled with\nabundance of all good things. He begat children and he gave to them two\nsorts of fruit, one white and the other black, and he bade them eat the\nwhite, but eschew the black. And having given them this command, he left\nthem and went a long journey to fetch the sun to enlighten the world.\nDuring his absence they ate only of the white fruit, and then the father\nmade a second journey to fetch the moon, leaving them well provided with\nfruit. But after a while they forgot his command, and consumed the black\nfruit. On his return he was angry, and cursed the ground that it should\nthenceforth produce only the black fruit, and that with it should come\nin sickness and death.\n\nDr. Hunter, in his \u201cMemoirs of Captivity amongst the Indians,\u201d says that\nthe Delawares believe that in the beginning the Red men had short tails,\nbut they blasphemed the Great Spirit, and in punishment for their sin\ntheir tails were cut off and transformed into women, to be their\nperpetual worry. The same story is told by Mr. Atherne Jones, as heard\nby him among the Kikapoos.\n\nThe ancient Mexicans had a myth of Xolotl, making out of a man\u2019s bone\nthe primeval mother in the heavenly Paradise; and he called the woman he\nhad made Cihuacouhatl, which means \u201cThe woman with the serpent,\u201d or\nQuilatzli, which means \u201cThe woman of our flesh.\u201d She was the mother of\ntwins, and is represented in a Mexican hieroglyph as speaking with the\nserpent, whilst behind her stand the twins, whose different characters\nare represented by different colours, one of whom is represented slaying\nthe other.[77] Xolotl, who made her out of a bone, was cast out of\nheaven and became the first man. That the Mexicans had other traditions,\nnow lost, touching this matter is probable, for they had a form of\nbaptism for children in which they prayed that those baptized might be\nwashed from \u201cthe original sin committed before the founding of the\nworld.\u201d And this had to do, in all probability, with a legend akin to\nthat of the Iroquois, who told of the primeval mother falling, and then\nof the earth being built up to receive her, when precipitated out of\nheaven.\n\nThe Caribs of South America relate that Luoguo, the first man and god,\ncreated the earth and the sea, and made the earth as fair as the\nbeautiful garden in the heaven where dwell the gods. Luoguo dwelt among\nthe men he had made for some while. He drew the men out of his navel and\nout of his thigh which he cut open. One of the first men was Racumon,\nwho was transformed into a great serpent with a human head, and he lived\ntwined round a great Cabatas tree and ate of its fruit, and gave to\nthose who passed by. Then the Caribs lived to a great age, and never\nwaxed old or died. Afterwards they found a garden planted with manioc,\nand on that they fed. But they became wicked, and a flood came and swept\nthem away.[78]\n\nIn the South Sea Islands we find other traditions of the Fall. In Alea,\none of the Caroline Islands, the tale runs thus:\u2014\n\n\u201cThe sister of Eliulap the first man, who was also a god, felt herself\nin labour, so she descended to earth and there brought forth three\nchildren. To her astonishment she found the earth barren; therefore, by\nher mighty word, she clothed it with herbage and peopled it with beasts\nand birds. And the world became very beautiful, and her sons were happy\nand did not feel sickness or death, but at the close of every month fell\ninto a slumber from which they awoke renewed in strength and beauty. But\nErigeres, the bad spirit, envied this happiness, so he came to the world\nand introduced into it pain, age, and death.\u201d[79]\n\nWith the Jewish additions to the story given in Genesis, we shall\nconclude.\n\nThe godless Sammael had made an alliance with all the chiefs of his host\nagainst the Lord, because that the holy and ever blessed Lord had said\nto Adam and Eve, \u201c_Have dominion over the fish of the sea_,\u201d &c.; and he\nsaid, \u201cHow can I make man to sin and drive him out?\u201d Then he went down\nto earth with all his host, and he sought for a companion like to\nhimself; he chose the serpent, which was in size like a camel, and he\nseated himself on its back and rode up to the woman, and said to her,\n\u201c_Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?_\u201d And he\nthought, \u201cI will ask more presently.\u201d Then she answered, \u201cHe has only\nforbidden me the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge which is in the midst of\nthe garden. And He said, \u2018In the day thou touchest it thou shalt die.\u2019\u201d\nShe added two words; God did not say anything to her about touching it,\nand she spoke of the fruit, whereas God said the Tree.\n\nThen the godless one, Sammael, went up to the tree and touched it. But\nthe tree cried out, \u201c_Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let\nnot the hand of the ungodly cast me down!_ Touch me not, thou godless\none!\u201d Then Sammael called to the woman, and said, \u201cSee, I have touched\nthe tree and am not dead. Do you also touch it and try.\u201d But when Eve\ndrew near to the tree she saw the Angel of Death waiting sword in hand,\nand she said in her heart, \u201cPerhaps I am to die, and then God will\ncreate another wife for Adam; that shall not be, he must die too.\u201d So\nshe gave him of the fruit. And when he took it and bit, his teeth were\nblunted, and thus it is that the back teeth of men are no longer\nsharp.[80]\n\nFootnote 63:\n\n  Lafitau, M\u0153urs des Sauvages Am\u00e9riquaines, i. p. 93.\n\nFootnote 64:\n\n  Pallas, Reise, i. p. 334.\n\nFootnote 65:\n\n  Hodgson, Buddhism, p. 63.\n\nFootnote 66:\n\n  Upham, Sacred Books of Ceylon, iii. 156.\n\nFootnote 67:\n\n  M\u00e9moires Chinois, i. p. 107.\n\nFootnote 68:\n\n  Bundehesh in Windischmann: Zoroastrische Studien. Berlin, 1863, p. 82;\n  and tr. A. du Perron, ii. pp. 77-80.\n\nFootnote 69:\n\n  So also Abulfeda, Hist. Ante-Islamica, p. 13.\n\nFootnote 70:\n\n  Weil, pp. 19-28.\n\nFootnote 71:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 80.\n\nFootnote 72:\n\n  Diod. Sicul., i. 14 et seq.\n\nFootnote 73:\n\n  Ausland f\u00fcr Nov. 4, 1847.\n\nFootnote 74:\n\n  W. Smith, Nouveau Voyage de Guin\u00e9e. Paris, 1751, ii. p. 176.\n\nFootnote 75:\n\n  Bowdler, Mission from Cape Coast to Ashantee. London, 1819, p. 344.\n\nFootnote 76:\n\n  Cranz, Historie von Gr\u00f6nland. Leipzig, 1770, i. p. 262.\n\nFootnote 77:\n\n  Humboldt, Pittoreske Ansichten d. Cordilleren; Plate xiii. and\n  explanation, ii. pp. 41, 42.\n\nFootnote 78:\n\n  De la Borde, Reise zu den Caraiben. N\u00fcrnb. 1782, i. pp. 380-5.\n\nFootnote 79:\n\n  Allg. Hist. der Reisen, xviii. p. 395.\n\nFootnote 80:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. pp. 827-9.\n\n\n\n\n                                   V.\n                      ADAM AND EVE AFTER THE FALL.\n\n\nWhen Adam reached the earth, the Eagle said to the Whale, with whom it\nhad hitherto lived in the closest intimacy, \u201cNow we must part, for there\nis no safety for us animals since man has come amongst us. The deepest\nabysses of ocean must be thy refuge, and thou must protect thyself with\ncunning from the great foe who has entered the earth. I must soar high\nabove the clouds, and there find a place of escape from him who is\ndestined to be my pursuer till death.\u201d[81]\n\nAccording to certain cabbalistic Rabbis, Adam, when cast out of Eden,\nwas precipitated into Gehenna, but he escaped therefrom to earth, by\nrepeating and pronouncing properly the mystic word Laverererareri.[82]\nIn the Talmud it is related that when Adam heard the words of God,\n\u201c_Thou shalt eat the herb of the field_\u201d (Gen. iii. 18), he trembled in\nall his limbs, and exclaimed, \u201cO Lord of all the world! I and my beast,\nthe Ass, shall have to eat out of the same manger!\u201d But God said to him,\nbecause he trembled, \u201cThou shalt eat bread in the sweat of thy\nbrow.\u201d[83]\n\nLearned Rabbis assert that the angel Raphael had instructed Adam in all\nkinds of knowledge out of a book, and this book contained mighty\nmysteries which the highest angels could not fathom, and knew not; and\nbefore the Fall the angels used to assemble in crowds, and listen to\nAdam instructing them in hidden wisdom. In that book were seventy-two\nparts and six hundred and seventy writings, and all this was known; but\nfrom the middle of the book to the end were the one thousand five\nhundred hidden secrets of Wisdom, and these Adam began to reveal to the\nangels till he was arrested by the angel Haddarniel. This book Adam\npreserved and read in daily; but when he had sinned, it fled out of his\nhands and flew away, and he went into the river Gihon up to his neck,\nand the water washed the glory wherewith he had shone in Paradise from\noff his body. But God was merciful, and He restored to him the book by\nthe hands of Raphael, and he left it to his son Seth, and Enoch and\nAbraham read in this book.[84]\n\nAlong with the book Adam retained the rod which God had created at the\nclose of the Sabbath, between sun and sun; _i.e._ between nightfall and\ndaybreak, so says the Rabbi Levi. Adam left it to Enoch, and Enoch gave\nit to Noah, and Noah gave it to Shem, and Shem to Abraham, and Abraham\ndelivered it to Isaac, and Isaac gave it to Jacob; Jacob brought the\nstaff with him to Egypt, and gave it to his son Joseph. Now when Joseph\ndied, his house was plundered by the Egyptians, and all his effects were\ntaken into Pharaoh\u2019s house. Jethro was a mighty magician, and when he\nsaw the staff of Adam and read the writing thereon, he went forth into\nEdom and planted it in his garden. And Jethro would allow none to touch\nit; but when he saw Moses he said, \u201cThis is he who will deliver Israel\nout of Egypt.\u201d Wherefore he gave him his daughter Zipporah and the\nstaff. But the book Midrash Vajoscha relates this rather differently, in\nthe words of Moses himself: \u201cAfter I had become great I went out, and\nseeing an Egyptian illtreat a Hebrew man of my brethren, I slew him and\nburied him in the sand. But when Pharaoh heard this he sought to slay\nme, and brought a sharp sword the like of which was not in the world;\nand therewith I was ten times smitten on my neck. But the Holy God\nwrought a miracle, for my neck became as hard as a marble pillar, so\nthat the sword had no power over me. And I was forty years old when I\nfled out of Egypt; and I came to Jethro\u2019s house and stood by the well\nand found Zipporah his daughter; and when I saw her, I was pleased with\nher, and asked her to marry me. Then she related to me her father\u2019s\ncustom, and it was this. \u2018My father proves every suitor for my hand by a\ntree which is in his garden; and when he comes to the tree, the tree\nclasps him in its branches.\u2019 Then I asked her where such a tree was, and\nshe answered me, \u2018This is the staff which God created on the eve of the\nSabbath, which was handed down from Adam to Joseph; but Jethro saw the\nstaff at the plundering of Joseph\u2019s house, and he took it away with him\nfrom Pharaoh\u2019s palace and brought it here. This is the staff on which is\ncut the Schem hammphorasch and the ten plagues that are in store for\nEgypt, and these are indicated by ten letters on the staff, and they\nstand thus: _dam_, blood; _zephardeim_, frogs; _kinnim_, lice; _arof_,\nvarious insects; _defer_, murrain; _schechim_, blain; _barad_, hail;\n_arbeh_, locusts; _choschech_, darkness; and _bechor_, first born:\u2014these\nwill be the plagues of Egypt. This staff was for many days and years in\nmy father\u2019s house, till he one day took it in his hand and stuck it into\nthe earth in the garden; and then it sprouted and bloomed and brought\nforth almonds, and when he saw that, he proved every one who sought one\nof his daughters by that tree.\u2019\u201d These are the words of the Book Midrash\nVajoscha, and thereby may be seen that the staff of Adam was of almond\nwood; but Yalkut Chadasch, under the title \u201cAdam,\u201d says that the staff\nwas of the wood of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.[85]\n\nWhen Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden, says the Talmud, they\nwandered disconsolate over the face of the earth. And the sun began to\ndecline, and they looked with fear at the diminution of the light, and\nfelt a horror like death steal over their hearts.\n\nAnd the light of heaven grew paler, and the wretched ones clasped one\nanother in an agony of despair.\n\nThen all grew dark.\n\nAnd the luckless ones fell on the earth, silent, and thought that God\nhad withdrawn from them the light for ever; and they spent the night in\ntears.\n\nBut a beam of light began to rise over the eastern hills, after many\nhours of darkness, and the clouds blushed crimson, and the golden sun\ncame back, and dried the tears of Adam and Eve; and then they greeted it\nwith cries of gladness, and said, \u201c_Heaviness may endure for a night,\nbut joy cometh in the morning_; this is a law that God has laid upon\nnature.\u201d[86]\n\nAmong the Manichean myths prevalent among the Albigenses, was one\npreserved to us by the troubadour Pierre de Saint-Cloud. When Adam was\ndriven out of Paradise, God in mercy gave him a miraculous rod, which\npossessed creative powers, so that he had only to strike the sea with it\nand it would forthwith produce the beast he might require.\n\nAdam struck the sea, and there rose from it the sheep; then Eve took the\nstaff and smote the water, and from it sprang the wolf, which fell on\nthe sheep and carried it off into the wood. Then Adam took back the\nstaff, and with it called forth the dog to hunt the wolf and recover the\nsheep.\n\nAccording to the Mussulman tradition, Adam\u2019s beard grew after he had\nfallen, and it was the result of his excessive grief and penitence: how\nthis affected his chin is not explained, the fact only is thus boldly\nstated. He was sorely abashed at his beard, but a voice from heaven\ncalled to him, saying, \u201cThe beard is man\u2019s ornament on earth; it\ndistinguishes him from the feeble woman.\u201d Adam shed so many tears that\nall birds and beasts drank of them, and flowing into the earth they\nproduced the fragrant plants and gum-bearing trees, for they were still\nendued with the strength and virtue of the food of Paradise.\n\nBut the tears of Eve were transformed into pearls where they dribbled\ninto the sea, and into beautiful flowers where they sank into the soil.\n\nBoth wailed so loud that Eve\u2019s cry reached Adam on the West wind, and\nAdam\u2019s cry was borne to Eve on the wings of the East wind. And when Eve\nheard the well-known voice she clasped her hands above her head, and\nwomen to this day thus testify their sorrow; and Adam, when the voice of\nthe weeping of Eve sounded in his ears, put his right hand beneath his\nbeard,\u2014thus do men to this day give evidence of their mourning. And the\ntears pouring out of Adam\u2019s eyes formed the two rivers Tigris and\nEuphrates. All nature wept with him; every bird and beast hastened to\nhim to mingle their tears with his, but the locust was the first to\narrive, for it was made of the superfluous earth which had been gathered\nfor the creation of Adam. There are seven thousand kinds of locusts or\ngrasshoppers, of all colours and sizes, up to the dimensions of an\neagle; and they have a king to whom God addresses His commands when He\nwould punish a rebellious nation such as that of Egypt. The black\ncharacter imprinted on the locust\u2019s wing is Hebrew, and it signifies,\n\u201cGod is One; He overcometh the mighty; the locusts are a portion of His\narmy which He sends against the wicked.\u201d As all nature thus wailed and\nlamented, from the invisible insect to the angel who upholds the world,\nGod sent Gabriel with the words which were in after-time to save Jonah\nin the whale\u2019s belly, \u201cThere is no God but Thou; pardon me for\nMohammed\u2019s sake, that great and last prophet, whose name is engraved on\nThy throne.\u201d\n\nWhen Adam had uttered these words with penitent heart, the gates of\nheaven opened, and Gabriel cried out, \u201cGod has accepted thy penitence,\nAdam! pray to Him alone, He will give thee what thou desirest, even the\nreturn to Paradise, after a certain time.\u201d\n\nAdam prayed, \u201cLord, protect me from the further malice of my enemy\nEblis.\u201d\n\n\u201cSpeak the word, There is no God but God; that wounds him like a\npoisoned arrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cLord, will not the meat and drink provided by this earth lead me into\nsin?\u201d\n\n\u201cDrink water, and eat only clean beasts which have been slain in the\nname of Allah, and build mosques where you dwell, so will Eblis have no\npower over you.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut if he torment me at night with evil thoughts and dreams?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen rise from thy couch and pray.\u201d\n\n\u201cLord, how shall I be able to distinguish between good and evil?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy guidance will be with thee; and two angels will dwell in thy heart,\nwho shall warn thee against evil and encourage thee to good.\u201d\n\n\u201cLord, assure me Thy grace against sin.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat can only be obtained by good works. But this I promise thee, evil\nshall be punished one-fold, good shall be rewarded tenfold.\u201d\n\nIn the meanwhile the angel Michael had been sent to Eve to announce to\nher God\u2019s mercy. When Eve saw him, she exclaimed, \u201cO great and almighty\nArchangel of God, with what weapon shall I, poor frail creature, fight\nagainst sin?\u201d\n\n\u201cGod,\u201d answered the Angel, \u201chas given me for thee, the most potent\nweapon of modesty; that, as man is armed with faith, so mayest thou be\narmed with shamefacedness, therewith to conquer thy passions.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what will protect me against the strength of man, so much more\nrobust and vigorous than I, in mind and in body?\u201d\n\n\u201cLove and compassion,\u201d answered Michael. \u201cI have placed these in the\ndeepest recesses of his heart, as mighty advocates within him to plead\nfor thee.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd will God give me no further gift?\u201d\n\n\u201cFor the pangs of maternity thou shalt feel, this shall be thine, death\nin child-bearing shall be reckoned in heaven as a death of\nmartyrdom.\u201d[87]\n\nEblis, seeing the mercy shown to Adam and Eve, ventured to entreat God\u2019s\ngrace for himself, and obtained that he should not be enchained in the\nplace of torment till the day of the general Resurrection, and that he\nshould exercise sovereignty over the wicked and all those who should\nreject God\u2019s Word in this life.\n\n\u201cAnd where shall I dwell till the consummation of all things?\u201d he asked\nof Allah.\n\n\u201cIn ruined buildings, and in tombs, and in dens and caves of the\nmountains.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what shall be my nourishment?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll beasts slain in the name of false gods and idols.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd how shall I slake my thirst?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn wine and other spirituous liquors.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd how shall I occupy myself in hours of idleness?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn music, dancing, and song.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the word of my sentence?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe curse of God till the Judgment-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd how shall I fight against those men who have received Thy\nrevelation, and are protected by the two angels?\u201d\n\n\u201cThy offspring shall be more numerous than theirs: to every man born\ninto this world, there will be born seven evil spirits, who, however,\nwill be powerless to injure true Believers.\u201d\n\nGod then made a covenant with Adam\u2019s successors; He rubbed Adam\u2019s back,\nand lo! from out of his back crawled all generations of men that were to\nbe born, about the size of ants, and they ranged themselves on the left\nand on the right. At the head of those on the right stood Mohammed, then\nthe other prophets and the faithful, distinguished from those on the\nleft by their white and dazzling splendour. Those on the left were\nheaded by Kabil (Cain).\n\nGod then acquainted Adam with the names and fate of all his posterity;\nand when the recital arrived at David, to whom God had allotted only\nthirty years, Adam asked God, \u201cHow many years are accorded to me?\u201d\n\nAllah replied, \u201cOne thousand.\u201d\n\nThen said Adam, \u201cI make a present to David of seventy years out of my\nlife.\u201d God consented; and knowing the shortness of Adam\u2019s memory, at all\nevents in matters concerning himself inconveniently, He made the angels\nbring a formal document of resignation engrossed on parchment, and\nrequired Adam to subscribe thereto his name, and Michael and Gabriel to\ncountersign it as witnesses.\n\nA very similar tradition was held by the Jews, for in Midrash Jalkut\n(fol. 12) it is said: God showed Adam all future generations of men,\nwith their captains, learned and literary men. Then he saw that David\nwas provided with only three hours of life, and he said, \u201cLord and\nCreator of the world, is this unalterable?\u201d \u201cSuch was my first\nintention,\u201d was the reply.\n\n\u201cHow many years have I to live?\u201d\n\n\u201cA thousand.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd is there such a thing known in heaven as making presents?\u201d\n\n\u201cMost certainly.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I present seventy years of my life to David.\u201d\n\nAnd what did Adam next perform? He drew up a legal document of transfer,\nand sealed it with his own seal, and God and Metatron did likewise.\n\nTo return to the Mussulman legend.\n\nWhen all the posterity of Adam were assembled, God exclaimed to them,\n\u201cAcknowledge that I am the only God, and that Mohammed is my prophet.\u201d\nThe company on the right eagerly made this acknowledgment; those,\nhowever, on the left long hesitated,\u2014some said only the former portion\nof the sentence, and others did not open their mouths.\n\n\u201cThe disobedient,\u201d said Allah to Adam, \u201cshall, if they remain obstinate,\nbe cast into hell, but the true believers shall be received into\nParadise.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d replied Adam. And thus shall it be at the end of the world.\n\nAfter the covenant, Allah rubbed Adam\u2019s back once more, and all his\nlittle posterity retreated into it again.\n\nWhen now God withdrew His presence from Adam\u2019s sight for the remainder\nof our first parents\u2019 life, Adam uttered such a loud and bitter cry that\nthe whole earth quaked.\n\nThe All-merciful was filled with compassion, and bade him follow a cloud\nwhich would conduct him to a spot where he would be directly opposite\nHis throne, and there he was to build a temple.\n\n\u201cGo about this temple,\u201d said Allah, \u201cand I am as near to you as to the\nangels who surround my throne.\u201d Adam, who was still the size that God\nhad created him, easily strode from Ceylon to Mecca after the cloud,\nwhich stood over the place where he was to build. On Mount Arafa, near\nMecca, to his great delight, he found Eve again, and from this\ncircumstance the mountain takes its name (from Arafa, to recognize, to\nknow again). They both began to build, and erected a temple having four\ndoors\u2014one was called Adam\u2019s door, another Abraham\u2019s door, the third\nIshmael\u2019s door, and the fourth Mohammed\u2019s door. The plan of the temple\nwas furnished by Gabriel, who also contributed a precious stone, but\nthis stone afterwards, through the sin of men, turned black. This black\nstone is the most sacred Kaaba, and it was originally an angel, whose\nduty it had been to guard the Wheat-Tree of the knowledge of good and\nevil, and to warn off Adam should he approach it. But through his\ninattention the design of God was frustrated, and in punishment he was\ntransformed into a stone, and he will not be released from his\ntransformation till the Last Day.\n\nGabriel taught Adam also all the ceremonies of the great pilgrimage.\n\nAdam now returned with his wife to India, and lived there till he died,\nbut every year he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, till he lost his primitive\nsize, and retained only the height of sixty ells.\n\nThe cause of his diminution in height was his horror and dismay at the\nmurder of Abel, which made him shrink into himself, and he was never\nafterwards able to stretch himself out again to his pristine\ndimensions.[88]\n\nThe Book of the Penitence of Adam is a curious apocryphal work of Syriac\norigin; I give an outline of its contents.\n\nGod planted, on the third day, the Terrestrial Paradise; it is bounded\non the east by the ocean in which, at the Last Day, the elect will wash\naway all those sins which have not as yet been purged away by\nrepentance.\n\nOn leaving this garden of delights, Adam turned to take of it one last\nlook. He saw that the Tree which had caused his fall was cursed and had\nwithered away.\n\nHe was much surprised when night overtook him, for in Paradise he had\nnot known darkness. As he went along his way, shedding tears, he\novertook the serpent gliding over the ground, and licking the dust. That\nserpent he had last seen on four feet, very beautiful, with the hair of\na young maiden, enamelled with brilliant colours. Now it was vile,\nhideous, and grovelling. The beasts which, before the Fall, had coveted\nits society, fled from it now with loathing.\n\nFilled with rage at the sight of Adam and Eve, to whom it attributed its\npresent degradation, the serpent flew at them and prostrated them.\nThereupon God removed from it its sole remaining possession\u2014the gift of\nspeech, and it was left only its hiss of rage and shame.\n\nAdam soon felt exhaustion, heat, fear and pain;\u2014afflictions he had not\nknown in Eden. As the shadows of night fell, an intense horror\noverwhelmed the guilty pair; they trembled in every limb and cried to\nGod. The Almighty, in compassion, consoled them by announcing to them\nthat day would return after twelve hours of night. They were relieved by\nthis promise, and they spent the first night in prayer.\n\nBut Satan, who never lost sight of them, fearing lest their prayers\nshould wholly appease the divine justice, assembled his host of evil\nangels, surrounded himself with a brilliant light, and stood at the\nentrance of the cave where the banished ones prayed. He hoped that Adam\nwould mistake him for God, and prostrate himself before him.\n\nBut Adam said to Eve: \u201cObserve this great light and this multitude of\nspirits. If it were God who sent them, they would enter and tell us\ntheir message.\u201d Adam did not know then that Satan cannot approach those\nwho pray. Then Adam addressed himself to God and said, \u201cO my God! is\nthere another God but Thou, who can create angels and send them to us?\nLord, deign to instruct us!\u201d\n\nThen a heavenly angel entered the cavern and said, \u201cAdam, fear not those\nwhom you see; it is Satan and his host. He sought to seduce you again to\nyour fall.\u201d\n\nHaving thus spoken, the angel fell upon Satan and tore from off him his\ndisguise, and exposed him in his hideous nakedness to Adam and Eve. And\nto console them for this trial, God sent Adam gold rings, incense and\nmyrrh, and said to him, \u201cPreserve these things, and they will give you\nat night light and fragrance; and when I shall come down on earth to\nsave you, clothed in human flesh, kings shall bring me these three\ntokens.\u201d\n\nIt is because of this present that the cavern into which Adam and Eve\nretreated has been called the Treasure-cave.\n\nAdam and Eve, greatly cheered, blessed the Lord, and thanked Him for His\ngoodness, and resolved to continue their repentance.\n\nA short time after they committed a fault. Satan presented himself to\nthem under the form of an angel of light, and announced that he was\ncommissioned by the Most High to lead them to the brink of the River of\nthe Water of Life, into which they were to plunge and wash away their\nsin.\n\nThey believed, and followed him by a strange road, and he led them to\nthe edge of a precipice, down which he endeavoured to fling them; for,\nhe thought, were he to destroy the man and the woman, he would be\nsupreme in the world God had made. But the Almighty rescued Adam and\nEve, and drave Satan from them.\n\nTo punish themselves for their involuntary fault, Adam and Eve\nseparated, so as not to see one another, and resolved to spend forty\ndays up to their necks in the sea.\n\nBefore parting, Adam said to his wife, \u201cRemain in the water here, and do\nnot quit it till I return, and spend your time in praying the Lord to\npardon us.\u201d\n\nNow, whilst they were undergoing this penance, Satan cast about how he\nmight bring to naught our first parents, and he sought them but could\nnot find them, till on the thirty-fifth day of their penance he\nperceived the two heads above the water; then he knew at once what was\ntheir intention, and he resolved to frustrate it. So he took upon him\nthe form of an angel of Heaven, and flew over the sea, singing praises\nto God; and when he came to the place where Eve was, he cried, \u201cJoy, joy\nto thee! God is with thee, and He has sent me to bring thee to Adam to\nannounce to him that he has found favour with the Most High.\u201d\n\nEve instantly scrambled out of the water, and followed Satan to Adam,\nand the Evil One placed her before her husband, and vanished. When Adam\nsaw his wife, he was filled with dismay, and beat his breast and wept.\nWhen she told him why she was there, he knew that the great Enemy had\nbeen again at his work of deception, and he fell into despair. But a\nvoice from Heaven bade him return with Eve to the Treasure-cave.\n\nHunger, thirst, cold, and prayer had completely exhausted the pair, and\nAdam cried to the Lord, \u201cO God, my Creator! Thou hast given me reason\nand an enlightened heart. When Thou didst forbid me to eat of the fruit\nof the Tree, Eve was not yet made, and she did not hear Thy command; in\nEden we hungered not, nor felt thirst or pain or fatigue. All this have\nwe lost. And now we dare not touch the fruit of the trees or drink of\nwater without Thy command. Our bodies are exhausted, our strength is\ngone; grant us wherewith to satisfy our hunger, and to quench our\nthirst.\u201d\n\nGod ordered the Cherubim who kept the gate of Eden, to carry to Adam two\nfigs from the tree under which our first parents had concealed\nthemselves after the Fall.\n\n\u201cTake,\u201d said the Cherubim, presenting the figs to them, \u201ctake the fruit\nof the tree whose leaves covered your shame.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d cried Adam, \u201cmay God grant us some of the fruit of the Tree of\nLife.\u201d\n\nBut God answered, \u201cI will give unto you this fruit and living water, to\nyou and to your descendants, on that day that I shall descend into the\nabode of death and shall break the gates of iron in sunder, to bring you\nforth into my garden of pleasures. That which you ask of Me shall take\nplace at the expiration of five long days and a half (_i.e._ 5,500\nyears), after that my blood has flowed upon thy head, O Adam, upon\nGolgotha.\u201d\n\nAdam and Eve took the figs, which were very heavy, for the fruits of the\nearthly paradise were much larger than the fruit of this outer world in\nwhich we live. And when they were about to enter into the Cave of\nTreasures, they saw there a great fire; this mightily astonished them,\nfor as yet they had not seen fire except in the flaming sword of the\nCherub. Now this fire which surprised them was the work of Satan; he had\ncollected branches and had fired them in the hope of burning down the\ncavern and driving Adam to despair.\n\nThe fire lasted till the morrow; Satan, without showing himself, keeping\nit supplied with fresh fuel. Adam and Eve did not venture to approach,\nbut recommended themselves to God; and the Evil One, finding that his\nplan had failed, let the fire die out and departed.\n\nAdam and Eve slept the following night at the foot of a mountain near\ntheir lost Eden. Satan, beholding them, said, \u201cGod has made a compact\nwith Adam, whom He desires to save, but I will slay him, and the earth\nshall be mine.\u201d\n\nHe therefore summoned his attendant angels, and they dislodged a huge\nrock from the mountain and hurled it upon the sleepers. But as this mass\nwas bounding down the flank of the mountain, and was in mid-air in one\nof its leaps, God arrested it above the heads of the sleepers, and it\nsheltered them from the dews of night.\n\nAdam and Eve awoke greatly troubled by their dreams, and they asked of\nGod garments to cover their naked bodies, for they suffered from the\nscorching sun by day, and the frost by night. God replied, \u201cGo to the\nshore of the sea; you will there find the skins of sheep which have been\ndevoured by lions: of them make to yourselves raiment.\u201d\n\nSatan heard the words of God, and he outran our first parents, that he\nmight secure the skins and destroy them, in the hopes that Adam and Eve,\nfinding no hides, would doubt God and think that He had failed in His\nword. But God fastened Satan in his naked hideousness beside the skins,\nimmoveable, till Adam and Eve arrived, when He addressed them in these\nterms: \u201cBehold him who has seduced you; see what has become of his\nbeauty. After having made you such promises, he was about to rob you of\nthese hides.\u201d Adam and Eve took the skins and made of them garments. A\nfew days after, God said to them, \u201cGo to the west till you arrive at a\nblack land; there you will find food.\u201d They obeyed, and they saw corn\nfull ripe, and God inspired Adam with knowledge how to make bread. But\nnot having sickles they tore the corn up by the roots, and having made a\nrick of it, they slept, expecting to thrash it out and grind it on the\nmorrow. But Satan fired this rick and reduced their harvest to ashes.\n\nWhilst they wept and lamented, Satan came to them as an angel, and said,\n\u201cThis is the work of your Enemy the Fiend, but God has sent me to bring\nyou into a field where you will find better corn.\u201d\n\nThey followed him, nothing doubting, and he led them for eight days, and\nthey fainted with exhaustion and were foot-sore. Then he left them in an\nunknown land; but God was their protector, He brought them back to their\nharvest and restored their rick of corn, and they made bread and offered\nto God the first sacrifice.[89]\n\nBut enough of this apocryphal work, which contains a string of absurd\ntricks played by Satan on our first parents, which are invariably\ndefeated by God; of these the specimens given above are sufficient.\n\nA curious legend exists among the Sclavonic nations by which the\nexistence of elves is accounted for. It is said that Adam had by his\nwife Eve, thirty sons and thirty daughters. God asked him, one day, the\nnumber of his children. Adam was ashamed of having so many girls, so he\nanswered, \u201cThirty sons and twenty-seven daughters.\u201d But from the eye of\nGod nothing can be concealed, and He took from among Adam\u2019s daughters\nthe three fairest, and He made them Willis, or elves; they were good and\nholy, and therefore did not perish in the Deluge, but entered with Noah\ninto the ark and were saved.\n\nThe story of Adam\u2019s penitence as told by Tabari is as follows:\u2014\n\nThe moment that Adam fell out of Paradise and touched the ground on the\nmountains in the centre of Ceylon, he understood in all its magnitude\nthe greatness of his loss and his sin. He remained stupefied with his\nface on the earth, and did not raise it, but allowed his tears to flow\nupon and soak into, the soil. For a hundred years he remained in this\nposition and his tears formed a stream which rolled down the mountain,\nwhich still flows from Adam\u2019s Peak in the island of Ceylon, and gives\ntheir virtue to the healing plants and fragrant trees which there\nflourish, and are exported for medicinal purposes.\n\nWhen a hundred years had elapsed, God had compassion on Adam, and sent\nGabriel to him, who said, \u201cGod salutes thee, O Adam! and He bids me say\nto thee, Did I not create thee out of the earth by My will? Did I not\ngive thee Paradise to be thine abode? Why these tears and sighs?\u201d\n\nAdam replied, \u201cHow shall I not weep, and how shall I abstain from\nsighing? Have I not lost the protection of God, and have I not disobeyed\nHis will?\u201d\n\nGabriel said, \u201cDo not afflict thyself. Recite the words I shall teach\nthee, and God will grant thee repentance which He will accept,\u201d as it is\nwritten in the Koran, \u2018Adam learnt of His Lord words; and the Lord\nreturned to Him, for He is merciful, and He returns.\u2019 Adam recited these\nwords, and in the joy he felt at the prospect of finding mercy, he wept,\nand his joyous tears watered the earth, and from them sprang up the\nnarcissus and the ox-eye.\n\nThen said Adam to Gabriel, \u201cWhat shall I now do?\u201d\n\nAnd Gabriel gave to Adam wheat-grains from out of Paradise, the fruit of\nthe Forbidden Tree, and he bade him sow it, and he said, \u201cThis shall be\nthy food in future.\u201d\n\nAfterwards, Gabriel taught Adam to draw iron out of the rock and to make\ninstruments of husbandry. And all that Adam sowed sprang up in the\nself-same hour that it was sown, for the blessing of God was upon it.\nAnd Adam reaped and thrashed and winnowed. Then Gabriel bade him take\ntwo stones from the mountain, and he taught him with them to grind the\ncorn; and when he had made flour, he said to the angel, \u201cShall I eat\nnow?\u201d But Gabriel answered, \u201cNot so;\u201d and he showed him how to build an\noven of iron. It was from this oven that the water of the deluge at\nKoufa flowed. He taught him also to make dough and to bake.\n\nBut Adam was hungry, and he said, \u201cLet me eat now,\u201d and the angel stayed\nhim, and answered, \u201cTarry till the bread be cold and stale,\u201d but he\nwould not, but ate. Therefore he suffered from pain in his belly. Next,\nGabriel by the command of Allah brought out of Eden the ox and fruit; of\nthese latter there were ten kinds whose exterior was edible, but whose\ninsides were useless to eat, such as the apricot, the peach, and the\ndate. And there were three that could not be eaten anyhow. Then he\nbrought ten more whose insides and outsides might be eaten, such as the\ngrape, the fig, and the apple. Said Gabriel to Adam, \u201cSow these,\u201d and he\nsowed them. These are the trees that the angel brought out of Paradise.\n\nNow Adam was all alone on the peak in the midst of Ceylon, and his head\nwas in the first heaven. The sun burnt him, so that all his hair fell\noff; and God, in compassion, bade Gabriel pass his wing over Adam\u2019s\nhead, and Adam thereupon shrank to the height of sixty cubits. And then\nhe could no longer hear the voices of the angels in heaven, and he was\nsore distressed.\n\nThen God said to him, \u201cI have made this world thy prison, but I send to\nthee out of heaven a house of rubies, in order that thou mayest enter in\nand walk round it, and therein find repose for thy heart.\u201d\n\nThereupon out of heaven descended \u201cthe visited house,\u201d and it was placed\nwhere now stands the temple of Mecca. The black stone which is there was\noriginally white and shining. It was placed in the ruby house. Whosoever\nlooked in that direction from ten parasangs off, could see the light of\nthat house shining like a fire up to the heaven, and in the midst of\nthat red light shone the white stone like a star.\n\nAfterwards, Gabriel conducted Adam to that house that he might go in\nprocession round it. All the places where his foot was planted became\nverdant oases, with rivers of water and many flowers and trees, but all\nthe tract between was barren.\n\nGabriel taught Adam how to make the pilgrimage; and if anyone now goes\nthere without knowing the ceremonies, he needs a guide.\n\nThen Adam met with Eve again, and they rejoiced together; and she went\nback with him to Ceylon. Now at that time there was in the world no\nother pair than Adam and Eve, and no other house than the mansion of\nrubies.\n\nNow Eblis had made his prayer to Allah that he might be allowed to live\ntill Israfiel should sound the last trumpet. And he asked this, because\nthose who are alive when that trumpet sounds, shall not die any more,\nfor Death will be brought in, in the shape of a sheep, and will be\nslaughtered; and when Death is slaughtered, no one will be able to die.\n\nAnd God said, \u201cI give thee the time till all creatures must die.\u201d\n\nThen Eblis said, \u201cJust as Thou didst turn me out of the right way, so\nshall I pervert those whom Thou hast made.\u201d Satan went to man and said\nto him, \u201cGod has driven me out of Paradise, never to return there, and\nHe has taken from me the sovereignty of this world to give it to thee.\nWhy should we not be friends and associate together, and I can advise\nthee on thy concerns?\u201d\n\nAnd Adam thought to himself, \u201cI must be the companion of this one, but I\nwill make use of him.\u201d So he suffered him to be his comrade.\n\nThe first act of treachery he did was this.\n\nEvery child Adam had by Eve died when born. Eve became pregnant for the\nfourth time, and Eblis said to Adam, \u201cI believe this child will be\ngood-looking and will live.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am of the same opinion,\u201d answered Adam.\n\n\u201cIf my prophecy turns out right,\u201d said the Evil One, \u201cgive the child to\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give it,\u201d said Adam.\n\nNow the child, when born, was very fair to look upon, and Adam, though\nhe repented of his rash promise, did not venture to break his word; so\nhe gave the child to Eblis, that is to say, he named it Abd-el-Hareth,\nor Servant of Hareth, instead of Abd-Allah, Servant of God. And after\nliving two years it died.[90]\n\nThus Satan became an associate in the affairs of man.\n\nBut others tell the conclusion of the story somewhat differently. They\nsay that the child Abd-el-Hareth became the progenitor of the whole race\nof Satyrs, nightmares, and hobgoblins.\n\nMaimonides says that the Sabians attribute to Adam the introduction of\nthe worship of the moon, on which account they call him the prophet or\napostle of the moon.[91]\n\nA large number of books are attributed to Adam. The passage in Genesis,\n_This is the Book of the generations of Adam_,[92] led many to suppose\nthat Moses quoted from a book written by our first parent. That such an\napocryphal book did exist in after-times, appears from the fact of Pope\nGelasius in his decrees rejecting it as spurious. He speaks of it as\n\u201cthe book which is called the Book of the generations of Adam or\nGeneseos.\u201d And the Rabbis say that this book was written by Adam, after\nhe had seen all his posterity brought out before him, as already\nrelated. And this book, they say, Adam gave to Enoch.[93]\n\nBeside this, there existed an Apocalypse of Adam, which is mentioned by\nS. Epiphanius, who quotes a passage from it, in which Adam describes the\nTree of Life, which produced twelve kinds of fruit every year.[94] And\nGeorge Syncellus, in his Chronicle, extracts a portion of an apocryphal\nLife of Adam.\n\nAmongst the Revelations of S. Amadeus are found two psalms, which, in\nvision, he heard had been composed by Adam. One was on the production of\nEve, the other is a hymn of repentance, a joint composition of the two\noutcasts. It runs as follows:\u2014\n\n_Adam._\u2014\u201cAdonai, my Lord God, have mercy upon me for Thy great goodness,\nand according to the multitude of Thy mercies do away my transgressions.\nI am bowed down with trouble, Thy waves and storms have gone over me.\nDeliver me, O God, and save me from the flood of many waters. Hear my\nwords, O Heavens, and all ye that dwell in them. May the Angels bear up\nall my thoughts and words to Thee, and may the celestial virtues declare\nthem. May the Lord bend His compassionate ear to my lowly petition. May\nHe hear my prayer, and let the cry of my heart reach Him. Thou, O God,\nart the true and most brilliant light; all other lights are mingled with\ndarkness. Thou art the sun that knowest no down-setting, that dwellest\nin inaccessible light. Thou art the end to which all flesh come. Thou\nart the only satisfaction of all the blessed.\u201d\n\n_Eve._\u2014\u201cAdonai, Lord God, have mercy upon me for Thy great goodness, and\nfor the multitude of Thy mercies do away my transgressions. Thou before\nall things didst create the immoveable heaven as a holy and exalted\nhome, and Thou didst adorn it with angel spirits, to whom Thou didst in\ngoodness declare thy purposes. They were the bright morning stars who\nsang to Thee through ages of ages. Thou didst form the moveable heaven\nand Thou didst set in it the watery clouds. Those waters are under the\nimmoveable heaven, and are above all that live and move. Thou didst\ncreate the light; the beauteous sun, the moon with the five planets\ndidst Thou place in the midst, and didst fix the signs and\nconstellations. Thou didst produce four elements, and didst kindle all\nwith Thy wisdom.\u201d\n\n_Adam._\u2014\u201cAdonai, Lord God, have mercy upon me for Thy great goodness,\nand for the multitude of Thy mercies do away my transgressions. Thou\nhast cast out the proud and rebel dragon with Thy mighty arm. Thou hast\nput down the mighty from their seat and hast exalted the humble and\nmeek. Thou hast filled the hungry with good things, and the rich Thou\nhast sent empty away. Thou didst fashion me in Thine own image of the\ndust of earth, and destine me, mortal, to be immortal; and me, frail, to\nendure. Thou didst lead me into the place of life and joy, and didst\nsurround me with all good things; Thou didst put all things under my\nfeet, and didst reveal to me Thy great name, Adonai. Thou didst give me\nEve, to be a help meet for me, whom Thou didst draw from my side.\u201d\n\n_Adam._\u2014\u201cAdonai, Lord and God, have mercy upon me for Thy great\ngoodness, and for the multitude of Thy mercies do away my\ntransgressions; for Thou hast made me the head of all men. Thou hast\ninspired me and my consort with Thy wisdom, and hast given us a free\nwill and placed our lot in our own hands. But Thou hast given us\nprecepts and laws, and hast placed life and death before us that we\nmight keep Thy commandments, and in keeping them find life; but if we\nkeep them not, we shall die. Lucifer, the envious one, saw and envied.\nHe fought against us and prevailed. Conquered by angels, he conquered\nman, and subjugated all his race. I have sinned. I am he who have\ncommitted iniquity. If I had refused in my free will, neither Eve nor\nthe Enemy could have obtained my destruction. But being in honour I had\nno understanding and I lost my dignity. I am like to the cattle, the\nhorse, and the mule, which have no understanding.\u201d\n\n_Eve._\u2014\u201cAdonai, Lord and God, have mercy upon me for Thy great goodness,\nand for the multitude of Thy mercies do away mine offences. Great is our\nGod, and great is His mercy; His goodness is unmeasured. He will supply\nthe remedy to our sin, that if we will to rise, we may be able to arise;\nHe has appointed His Son, the glorifier of all, and our Redeemer; and He\nhas appointed the Holy Mother to be our mediatrix, in whose image He has\nbuilt me, Eve, the mother of all flesh. He has fashioned the Mother\nafter the likeness of her daughter. He has made the father after the\nimage and likeness of His Son; and He will blot out our transgressions\nfor His merits, if we yield our wills thereto, and receive His\nsacraments. He will receive a free-will offering, and He will not\ndespise a contrite heart. To those going towards Him, He will fly with\nwelcome, He will pardon their offences and will crown them with glory.\u201d\n\n_Adam._\u2014\u201cAdonai, Lord and God, have mercy upon me for Thy great\ngoodness, and for the multitude of Thy mercies do away mine offences. O\nGod, great is the abundance of Thy sweetness. Blessed are all they that\nhope in Thee. After the darkness Thou bringest in the light; and pain is\nconverted into joy. Thou repayest a thousand for a hundred, and for a\nthousand thou givest ten thousand. For the least things, Thou rewardest\nwith the greatest things; and for temporal joys, Thou givest those that\nare eternal. Blessed are they that keep Thy statutes, and bend their\nnecks to Thy yoke. They shall dwell in Thy tabernacle and rest upon Thy\nholy hill. They shall be denizens of Thy courts with Thee, whose roofs\nshine above gold and precious stones. Blessed are they who believe in\nthe triune God, and will to know His ways. We all sing, Glory to the\nFather, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, and we magnify our God.\nAs in the beginning the angels sang, so shall we now and ever, and in\nages of ages. Amen.\u201d[95]\n\nManasseh Ben-Israel has preserved a prophecy of Adam, that the world is\nto last seven thousand years. He says this secret was handed down from\nAdam to Enoch, and from Enoch to Noah, and from Noah to Shem.[96]\n\nAt Hebron is a cave, \u201cwhich,\u201d says an old traveller, \u201cChristians and\nTurks point out as having been the place where Adam and Eve bewailed\ntheir sins for a hundred years. This spot is towards the west, in a\nvalley, about a hundred paces from the Damascene field; it is a dark\ngrotto, not very long or broad, very low, in a hard rock, and not\napparently artificial, but natural. This valley is called _La valle de\nLagrime_, the Vale of Tears, as they shed such copious tears over their\ntransgressions.\u201d[97]\n\nAbu Mohammed Mustapha Ben-Alschit Hasen, in his Universal History, says\nthat Adam\u2019s garment of fig-leaves, in which he went out of Eden, was\nleft by him, when he fell, on Adam\u2019s Peak in Ceylon. There it dried to\ndust, and the dust was scattered by the wind over the island, and from\nthis sprang the odoriferous plants which grow there.[98]\n\nAdam is said to have not gone altogether empty-handed out of Paradise.\nHottinger, in his Oriental History, quoting Jewish authorities, says:\n\u201cAdam having gone into the land of Babel, took with him many wonderful\nthings, amongst others a tree with flowers, leaves and branches of gold,\nalso a stone tree, also the leaves of a tree so strong that they were\ninconsumable in fire, and so large as to be able to shelter under them\nten thousand men of the stature of Adam; and he carried about with him\ntwo of these leaves, of which one would shelter two men, or clothe\nthem.\u201d[99] Of these trees we read in the Gemara that the Rabbi Canaan\nasked of the Rabbi Simon, son of Assa, who had gone to see them, whether\nthis was true. He was told in reply that it was so, and that at the time\nof the Captivity the Jews had seated themselves under these trees, and\nin their shadow had found consolation.\n\nBut Palestine seems also to have possessed some of the trees of Adam\u2019s\nplanting, for Jacob Vitriacus in his Jewish History says: \u201cThere are in\nthat land wonderful trees, which for their pre-excellence are called\nApples of Paradise, bearing oblong fruit, very sweet and unctuous,\nhaving a most delicious savour, bearing in one cluster more than a\nhundred compressed berries. The leaves of this tree are a cubit long and\nhalf a cubit wide. There are three other trees producing beautiful\napples or citrons, in which the bite of a man\u2019s teeth is naturally\nmanifest, wherefore they are called Adam\u2019s Apples.\u201d[100] Hottinger says\nthat at Tripoli grows a tree called Almaus, or Adam\u2019s apple, with a\ngreen head, and leaves like outspread fingers, no branches, but only\nleaves, and with a fruit like a bean-pod, of delicious flavour, and an\nodour of roses. Buntingius, in his Itinerary, describes an Adam\u2019s apple\nwhich he tasted at Alexandria, and he said the taste was like pears, and\nthe clusters of prodigious size, with twenty in each cluster, like\nmagnificent bunches of grapes. But the most remarkable fact about them\nwas that, if one of the fruit were cut with a knife, the figure of a\ncrucifix was found to be contained in it.[101] And this tree was\nsupposed to have been the forbidden tree, and the fruit to have thus\nbrought hope as it also brought death to the eater. Nider, \u201cIn\nFormicario,\u201d also relates that this fruit, thus marked with the form of\nthe Crucified, grows in Granada.[102]\n\n\u201cAt Beyrut, of which S. Nicodemus was the first bishop,\u201d writes the\nFriar, Ignatius von Rheinfelden, \u201cI saw a wonderful fruit which is\ncalled by the Arabs, Mauza, and by the Christians Adam\u2019s fig. This fruit\ngrows upon a trunk in clusters of fifty or more, and hangs down towards\nthe ground on account of its weight. The fruit is in shape something\nlike a cucumber, and is a span long, yellow, and tasting something like\nfigs. The Christians of those parts say it is the fruit of which Adam\nand Eve ate in Paradise, and they argue thus: first, there are no apples\nin those parts; secondly, S. Jerome translated the word in the Bible,\nMauza; thirdly, if the fruit be cut, within it is seen the figure of a\ncrucifix, and they conclude thereby that the first parents were showed\nby this figure how their sin would be atoned; fourthly, the leaves being\nthree ells long and half an ell wide, were admirably adapted to make\nskirts of, when Adam and Eve were conscious of their nakedness. And Holy\nScripture says nothing of apples, but says merely\u2014fruit. But whether\nthis was the fruit or not, I leave to others to decide.\u201d[103]\n\nAdam is said by the Easterns to have received from Raphael a magic ring,\nwhich became his symbol, and which he handed down to his descendants\nselected to know and read mysteries. This was no other than the \u2018crux\nansata,\u2019 or handled cross, so common on Egyptian monuments as the\nhieroglyph of Life out of death. The circle symbolized the apple, and\nthus the Carthusian emblem, which bears the motto \u201cStat crux dum\nvolvitur orbis,\u201d is in reality the mystic symbol of Adam. \u201cWhich,\u201d says\nthe Arabic philosopher, Ibn-ephi, \u201cMizraim received from Ham, and Ham\nfrom Noah, and Noah from Enoch, and Enoch from Seth, and Seth from Adam,\nand Adam from the angel Raphael. Ham wrought with it great marvels, and\nHermes received it from him and placed it amongst the hieroglyphics. But\nthis character signifies the progress and motion of the Spirit of the\nworld, and it was a magic seal, kept secret among their mysteries, and a\nring constraining demons.\u201d[104]\n\nFootnote 81:\n\n  Weil, p. 28.\n\nFootnote 82:\n\n  Basnage, Histoire des Juifs. La Haye, iii. p. 391.\n\nFootnote 83:\n\n  Tract. Avod., f. 1, col. 3; also Tract. Pesachim, f. 118, col. 1.\n\nFootnote 84:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. pp. 376, 377.\n\nFootnote 85:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. pp. 377-80.\n\nFootnote 86:\n\n  Talmud, Avoda Sara, fol. 8 a, and in Levy, Parabeln, p. 300.\n\nFootnote 87:\n\n  It is a popular superstition among the lower orders in England that a\n  woman who dies in childbirth, even if she be unmarried, cannot be\n  lost.\n\nFootnote 88:\n\n  Weil, pp. 29-38.\n\nFootnote 89:\n\n  Dillman, Das Adambuch des Morgenlandes; G\u00f6ttingen, 1853. This book is\n  not to be confounded with the Testament of Adam.\n\nFootnote 90:\n\n  Tabari, i., capp. xxviii. xxix.\n\nFootnote 91:\n\n  In More Nevochim, quoted by Fabricius, i. p. 5.\n\nFootnote 92:\n\n  Gen. v. 1.\n\nFootnote 93:\n\n  Fabricius, i. p. 11.\n\nFootnote 94:\n\n  Adv. H\u00e6resi, c. 5.\n\nFootnote 95:\n\n  Eusebius Nierembergius, De Origine S. Scriptur\u00e6. Lugd., 1641, p. 46.\n\nFootnote 96:\n\n  Fabricius, i. p. 33.\n\nFootnote 97:\n\n  Ferdinand de Troilo, Orientale Itinerario. Dresd., 1676, p. 323.\n\nFootnote 98:\n\n  Selden, De Synedriis, ii. p. 452.\n\nFootnote 99:\n\n  Hottinger, Historia Orientalis, lib. i. c. 8.\n\nFootnote 100:\n\n  Jacobus Vitriacus, Hist. Hierosol., c. lxxxv.\n\nFootnote 101:\n\n  As King Charles\u2019s oak may be seen in the fern-root.\n\nFootnote 102:\n\n  Fabricius, i. p. 84.\n\nFootnote 103:\n\n  Neue Ierosolymitanische Pilgerfahrt. W\u00fcrtzburg, 1667, p. 47.\n\nFootnote 104:\n\n  Stephanus Le Moyne, Not\u00e6 ad Varia Sacra, p. 863.\n\n\n\n\n                                  VI.\n                             CAIN AND ABEL.\n\n\nAfter that the child given to Satan died, says Tabari, Adam had another\nson, and he called him Seth, and Seth was prophet in the room of his\nfather, after the death of Adam.\n\nAdam had many more children; every time that Eve bore, she bare twins,\nwhereof one was male, the other female, and the twins were given to one\nanother as husband and wife.\n\nNow Adam sought to give to Abel the twin sister of Cain, when she was\nold enough to be married, but Cain (Kabil, in Arabic) was\ndissatisfied.[105] Adam said to the brothers, Cain and Abel, \u201cGo, my\nsons, and sacrifice to the Lord; and he whose sacrifice is accepted,\nshall have the young girl. Take each of you offerings in your hand and\ngo, sacrifice to the Lord, and He shall decide.\u201d\n\nAbel was a shepherd, and he took the fattest of the sheep, and bore it\nto the place of sacrifice; but Cain, who was a tiller of the soil, took\na sheaf of corn, the poorest he could find, and placed it on the altar.\nThen fire descended from heaven and consumed the offering of Abel, so\nthat not even the cinders remained; but the sheaf of Cain was left\nuntouched.\n\nAdam gave the maiden to Abel, and Cain was sore vexed.\n\nOne day, Abel was asleep on a mountain. Cain took a stone and crushed\nhis head. Then he threw the corpse on his back, and carried it about,\nnot knowing what to do with it; but he saw two crows fighting, and one\nkilled the other; then the crow that survived dug a hole in the earth\nwith his beak, and buried the dead bird. Cain said, \u201cI have not the\nsense of this bird. I too will lay my brother in the ground.\u201d And he did\nso.\n\nWhen Adam learned the death of his son, he set out in search of Cain,\nbut could not find him; then he recited the following lines:\u2014\n\n    \u201cEvery city is alike, each mortal man is vile,\n    The face of earth has desert grown, the sky has ceased to smile,\n    Every flower has lost its hue, and every gem is dim.\n    Alas! my son, my son is dead; the brown earth swallows him!\n    We one have had in midst of us whom death has not yet found,\n    No peace for him, no rest for him, treading the blood-drenched\n       ground.\u201d[106]\n\nThis is how the story is told in the Midrash:[107] Cain and Abel could\nnot agree, for, what one had, the other wanted; then Abel devised a\nscheme that they should make a division of property, and thus remove the\npossibility of contention. The proposition pleased Cain. So Cain took\nthe earth, and all that is stationary, and Abel took all that is\nmoveable.\n\nBut the envy which lay in the heart of Cain gave him no rest. One day he\nsaid to his brother, \u201cRemove thy foot, thou standest on my property; the\nplain is mine.\u201d\n\nThen Abel ran upon the hills, but Cain cried, \u201cAway, the hills are\nmine!\u201d Then he climbed the mountains, but still Cain followed him,\ncalling, \u201cAway! the stony mountains are mine.\u201d\n\nIn the Book of Jasher the cause of quarrel is differently stated. One\nday the flock of Abel ran over the ground Cain had been ploughing; Cain\nrushed furiously upon him and bade him leave the spot. \u201cNot,\u201d said Abel,\n\u201ctill you have paid me for the skins of my sheep and wool of their\nfleeces used for your clothing.\u201d Then Cain took the coulter from his\nplough, and with it slew his brother.[108]\n\nThe Targum of Jerusalem says, the subject of contention was that Cain\ndenied a Judgment to come and Eternal Life; and Abel argued for\nboth.[109] The Rabbi Menachem, however, asserts that the point on which\nthey strove was whether a word was written _zizit_ or _zizis_ in the\nParascha.[110]\n\n\u201cAnd when they were in the field together, the brothers quarrelled,\nsaying, \u2018Let us divide the world.\u2019 One said, \u2018The earth you stand on is\nmy soil.\u2019 The other said, \u2018You are standing on my earth.\u2019 One said, \u2018The\nHoly Temple shall stand on my lot;\u2019 the other said, \u2018It shall stand on\nmy lot.\u2019 So they quarrelled. Now there were born with Abel two\ndaughters, his sisters. Then said Cain, \u2018I will take the one I choose, I\nam the eldest;\u2019 Abel said, \u2018They were born with me, and I will have them\nboth to wife.\u2019 And when they fought, Abel flung Cain down and was above\nhim; and he lay on Cain. Then Cain said to Abel, \u2018Are we not both sons\nof one father; why wilt thou kill me?\u2019 And Abel had compassion, and let\nCain get up. And so Cain fell on him and killed him. From this we learn\nnot to render good to the evil, for, because Abel showed mercy to Cain,\nCain took advantage of it to slay Abel.\u201d[111]\n\nS. Methodius the Younger refers to this tradition. He says: \u201cBe it known\nthat Adam and Eve when they left Paradise were virgins. But the third\nyear after the expulsion from Eden, they had Cain, their first-born, and\nhis sister Calmana; and after this, next year, they had Abel and his\nsister Deborah. But in the three hundredth year of Adam\u2019s life, Cain\nslew his brother, and Adam and Eve wailed over him a hundred\nyears.\u201d[112]\n\nEutychius, Patriarch of Alexandria, says, \u201cWhen Adam and Eve rebelled\nagainst God, He expelled them from Paradise at the ninth hour on Friday\nto a certain mountain in India, and He bade them produce children to\nincrease and multiply upon the earth. Adam and Eve therefore became\nparents, first of a boy named Cain, and of a girl named Azrun, who were\ntwins; then of another boy named Abel, and of a twin sister named Owain,\nor in Greek Laphura.\n\n\u201cNow, when the children were grown up, Adam said to Eve, \u2018Let Cain marry\nOwain, who was born with Abel, and let Abel have Azrun, who was born\nwith Cain.\u2019 But Cain said to his mother, \u2018I will marry my own twin\nsister, and Abel shall marry his.\u2019 For Azrun was prettier than Owain.\nBut when Adam heard this, he said, \u2018It is contrary to the precept that\nthou shouldst marry thy twin sister.\u2019\n\n\u201cNow Cain was a tiller of the ground, but Abel was a pastor of sheep.\nAdam said to them, \u2018Take of the fruits of the earth, and of the young of\nthe sheep, and ascend the top of this holy mountain, and offer there the\nbest and choicest to God.\u2019 Abel offered of the best and fattest of the\nfirst-born of the flock. Now as they were ascending the summit of the\nmountain, Satan put it into the head of Cain to kill his brother, so as\nto get Azrun. For that reason his oblation was not accepted by God.\nTherefore he was the more inflamed with rage against Abel, and as they\nwere going down the mount, he rushed upon him and beat him about the\nhead with a stone and killed him. Adam and Eve bewailed Abel a hundred\nyears with the greatest grief.... And God cast out Cain whilst he was\nstill unmarried into the land of Nod. But Cain carried off with him his\nsister Azrun.\u201d[113]\n\nThe Rabbi Zadok said, \u201cThis was the reason why Cain slew Abel. His twin\nsister and wife was not at all good-looking. Then he said, \u2018I will kill\nmy brother Abel, and carry off his wife.\u2019\u201d[114]\n\nGregory Abulfaraj gives this account of the strife: \u201cAccording to the\nopinion of Mar Theodosius, thirty years after he was expelled from\nParadise, Adam knew his wife Eve, and she bore twins, Cain and his\nsister Climia; and after thirty more years she bore Abel and his twin\nsister Lebuda. Then, seventy years after when Adam wanted to marry one\nof the brothers with the twin sister of the other, Cain refused, asking\nto have his own twin sister.\u201d[115]\n\nThe Pseudo-Athanasius says, \u201cUp to this time no man had died so that\nCain should know how to kill. The devil instructed him in this in a\ndream.\u201d[116]\n\nLeonhard Marius on Genesis iv. says, \u201cAs to what instrument Cain used,\nScripture is silent. Chrysostom calls it a sword; Prudentius, a spade;\nIren\u00e6us, an axe; Isidore says simply, steel; but artists generally paint\na club, and Abulensis thinks he was killed with stones.\u201d Reuchlin\nthinks, as iron was not discovered till the times of Tubal-cain, the\nweapon must have been made of wood, and he points out how much more this\ncompletes the type of Christ.[117]\n\nCain and Abel had been born and had lived with Adam in the land of\nAdamah; but after Cain slew his brother, he was cast out into the land\nErez, and wherever he went, swords sounded and flashed as though\nthirsting to smite him. And he fled that land and came to Acra, where he\nhad children, and his descendants who live there to this day have two\nheads.[118]\n\nBefore Cain slew his brother, says the Targum of Jerusalem, the earth\nbrought forth fruits as the fruits of Eden; but from the day that blood\nwas spilt upon it, thistles and thorns sprang up; for the face of earth\ngrew sad, its joy was gone, the stain was on its brow.\n\nAbel\u2019s offering had been of the fattest of his sheep, the Targum adds,\nbut Cain offered flax.[119]\n\nAbel\u2019s offering, say certain Rabbis, was not perfect; for he offered the\nchief part to God, but the remainder he dedicated to the Devil, and Cain\noffered the chief part to Satan, and only the remainder to God.[120]\n\nThe Rabbi Johanan said, Cain exclaimed when accused by God of the\nmurder, \u201cMy iniquity is greater than I can bear,\u201d and this is supposed\nto mean, \u201cMy iniquity is too great to be atoned for, except by my\nbrother rising from the earth and slaying me.\u201d What did the Holy One\nthen? He took one letter of the twenty-two which are in the Law, and He\nwrote it on the arm of Cain, as it is written, \u201cHe put a mark upon\nhim.\u201d[121]\n\nAfter Abel was slain, the dog which had kept his sheep guarded his body,\nsays the Midrash. Adam and Eve sat beside it and wept, and knew not what\nto do. Then said a raven whose friend was dead, \u201cI will teach Adam a\nlesson,\u201d and he dug a hole in the soil and laid his friend there and\ncovered him up. And when Adam saw this, he said to Eve, \u201cWe will do the\nsame with Abel.\u201d God rewarded the raven for this by promising that none\nshould ever injure his young, that he should always have meat in\nabundance, and that his prayer for rain should be immediately\nanswered.[122]\n\nBut the Rabbi Johanan taught that Cain buried his brother to hide what\nhe had done from the eye of God, not knowing that God can see even the\nmost secret things.[123]\n\nAccording to some Rabbis, all good souls are derived from Abel and all\nbad souls from Cain. Cain\u2019s soul was derived from Satan, his body alone\nwas from Eve; for the Evil Spirit Sammael, according to some, Satan,\naccording to others, deceived Eve, and thus Cain was the son of the Evil\nOne.[124] All the children of Cain also became demons of darkness and\nnightmares, and therefore it is, say the Cabbalists, that there is no\nmention in Genesis of the death of any of Cain\u2019s offspring.[125]\n\nWhen Cain had slain his brother, we are told in Scripture that he fled.\nCertain Rabbis give the reason:\u2014He feared lest Satan should kill him:\nnow Satan has no power over any one whose face he does not see, thus he\nhad none over Lot\u2019s wife till she turned her face towards Sodom, and he\ncould see it; and Cain fled, to keep his face from being seen by the\nEvil One, and thus give him an opportunity of taking his life.[126]\n\nWith regard to the mark put upon Cain, there is great diverging of\nopinion. Some say that his tongue turned white; others, that he was\ngiven a peculiar dress; others, that his face became black; but the most\nprevalent opinion is that he became covered with hair, and a horn grew\nin the midst of his forehead.\n\nThe Little Genesis says, Cain was born when Adam was aged seventy, and\nAbel when he was seventy-seven.\n\nThe book of the penitence of Adam gives us some curious details. When\nCain had killed his brother, he was filled with terror, for he saw the\nearth quivering. He cast the body into a hole and covered it with dust,\nbut the earth threw the body out. Then he dug another hole and heaped\nearth on his brother\u2019s corpse, but again the earth rejected it.\n\nWhen God appeared before him, Cain trembled in all his limbs, and God\nsaid to him, \u201cThou tremblest and art in fear; this shall be thy sign.\u201d\nAnd from that moment he quaked with a perpetual ague.\n\nThe Rabbis give another mark as having been placed on Cain. They say\nthat a horn grew out of the midst of his forehead. He was killed by a\nson of Lamech, who, being shortsighted, mistook him for a wild beast;\nbut in the Little Genesis it is said that he was killed by the fall of\nhis house, in the year 930, the same day that Adam died. According to\nthe same authority, Adam and Eve bewailed Abel twenty-eight years.\n\nThe Talmud relates the following beautiful incident.\n\nGod had cursed Cain, and he was doomed to a bitter punishment; but\nmoved, at last, by Cain\u2019s contrition, He placed on his brow the symbol\nof pardon.\n\nAdam met Cain, and looked with wonder on the seal or token, and asked,\u2014\n\n\u201cHow hast thou turned away the wrath of the Almighty?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy confession of sin and repentance,\u201d answered the fratricide.\n\n\u201cWoe is me!\u201d cried Adam, smiting his brow; \u201cis the virtue of repentance\nso great, and I knew it not! And by repentance I might have altered my\nlot!\u201d[127]\n\nTabari says that Cain was the first worshipper of fire. Eblis (Satan)\nappeared to him and told him that the reason of the acceptance of Abel\u2019s\nsacrifice was, that he had invoked the fire that fell on it and consumed\nit; Cain had not done this, and therefore fire had not come down on his\noblation. Cain believed this, and adored fire, and taught his children\nto do the same.[128]\n\nCain, says Josephus, having wandered over the earth with his wife,\nsettled in the land of Nod. But his punishment, so far from proving of\nadvantage to him, proved only a stimulus to his violence and passion;\nand he increased his wealth by rapine, and he encouraged his children\nand friends to live by robbery and in luxury. He also corrupted the\nprimitive simplicity in which men lived, by the introduction amongst\nthem of weights and measures, by placing boundaries, and walling\ncities.[129]\n\nJohn Malala says the same: \u201cCain was a tiller of the ground till he\ncommitted the crime of slaying his brother; after that, he lived by\nviolence, his hand being against every man, and he invented and taught\nmen the use of weights, measures, and boundaries.\u201d[130]\n\nThe passage in Genesis \u201c_Whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be\ntaken on him seven-fold_,\u201d[131] has been variously interpreted. Cosmas\nIndopleustes renders it thus, \u201cWhosoever slayeth Cain will discharge\nseven vengeances;\u201d that is, he will deliver him from those calamities to\nwhich he is subject when living.[132]\n\nBut Malala renders it otherwise; he says it is to be thus understood:\n\u201cEvery murderer shall die for his sin, but thou who didst commit the\nfirst homicide, and art therefore the originator of this crime, shalt be\npunished seven-fold; that is, thou shalt undergo seven punishments.\u201d For\nCain had committed seven crimes. First, he was guilty of envy; then, of\ntreachery; thirdly, of murder; fourthly, of killing his brother;\nfifthly, this was the first murder ever committed; sixthly, he grieved\nhis parents; and seventhly, Cain lied to God. Thus the sin of Cain was\nseven-fold; therefore seven-fold was his punishment. First, the earth\nwas accursed on his account; secondly, he was sentenced to labour;\nthirdly, the earth was forbidden from yielding to him her strength;\nfourthly, he was to become timid and conscience-stricken; fifthly, he\nwas to be a vagabond on the earth; sixthly, he was to be cast out from\nGod\u2019s presence; seventhly, a mark was to be placed upon him.\n\nThe Mussulmans say that the penitence of Cain, whom they call Kabil, was\nnot sincere. He was filled with remorse, but it was mingled with envy\nand hatred, because he was regarded with disfavour by the rest of the\nsons of Adam.\n\nNear Damascus is shown a place at the foot of a mountain where Cain slew\nAbel.[133]\n\nThe legends of the death of Cain will be found under the title of\nLamech.\n\n\u201cHalf a mile from the gates of Hebron,\u201d says the Capuchin Friar,\nIgnatius von Rheinfelden, in his Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, \u201cbegins the\nvalley of Mamre, in which Abraham saw the three angels; the _Campus\nDamascenus_ lies toward the west; there, Adam was created; and the spot\nis pointed out where Cain killed his brother Abel. The earth there is\nred, and may be moulded like wax.\u201d[134] Salmeron says the same, \u201cAdam\nwas made of the earth or dust of the _Campus Damascenus_.\u201d And St.\nJerome on Ezekiel, chap. xvii., says: \u201cDamascus is the place where Abel\nwas slain by his brother Cain; for which cause the spot is called\nDamascus, that is, Blood-drinking.\u201d This Damascus near Hebron is not to\nbe confused with the city Damascus.\n\nFootnote 105:\n\n  Abulfeda, p. 15. In the Apocryphal book, The Combat of Adam (Dillman,\n  Das Christliche Adambuch des Morgenlandes; G\u00f6ttingen, 1853), the same\n  reason for hostility is given. In that account, Satan appears to Cain,\n  and prompts him to every act of wickedness.\n\nFootnote 106:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xxx.\n\nFootnote 107:\n\n  Jalkut, fol. 11 a.\n\nFootnote 108:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1089.\n\nFootnote 109:\n\n  Targums, ed. Etheridge, London, 1862, i. p. 172.\n\nFootnote 110:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 320.\n\nFootnote 111:\n\n  Liber Zenorena, quoted by Fabricius, i. p. 108.\n\nFootnote 112:\n\n  S. Methodius, jun., Revelationes, c. 3.\n\nFootnote 113:\n\n  Eutychius, Patriarcha Alex., Annales.\n\nFootnote 114:\n\n  Pirke R. Eliezer, c. xxi.\n\nFootnote 115:\n\n  Historia Dynastiarum, ed. Pocock; Oxon. 1663, p. 4.\n\nFootnote 116:\n\n  Ad Antiochum, qu\u00e6st. 56.\n\nFootnote 117:\n\n  Fabricius, i. p. 112.\n\nFootnote 118:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 462.\n\nFootnote 119:\n\n  Targum, i. p. 173.\n\nFootnote 120:\n\n  Jalkut Chadasch, fol. 6, col. i.\n\nFootnote 121:\n\n  Pirke R. Eliezer, c. xxi.\n\nFootnote 122:\n\n  Ibid.\n\nFootnote 123:\n\n  Ibid.\n\nFootnote 124:\n\n  Eisenmenger, ii. p. 8.\n\nFootnote 125:\n\n  Ibid., ii. p. 428.\n\nFootnote 126:\n\n  Eisenmenger, ii. p. 455.\n\nFootnote 127:\n\n  Tract. Avoda Sara.\n\nFootnote 128:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xix.\n\nFootnote 129:\n\n  Antiq. Jud\u00e6., lib. i. c. 2.\n\nFootnote 130:\n\n  Excerpta Chronologica, p. 2.\n\nFootnote 131:\n\n  Gen. iv. 15.\n\nFootnote 132:\n\n  Cosmas Indopleustes, Cosmographia, lib. v.\n\nFootnote 133:\n\n  D\u2019Herbelot, Biblioth\u00e8que Orientale, _sub voce_ Cabil, i. p. 438.\n\nFootnote 134:\n\n  Neue Ierosolymitanische Pilger-fahrt. Von P. F. Ignat, von\n  Rheinfelden. W\u00fcrtzburg, 1667. P. ii. p. 8.\n\n\n\n\n                                  VII.\n                           THE DEATH OF ADAM.\n\n\nAccording to a Mussulman tradition, Adam was consoled for the loss of\nAbel by the discovery of how to make wheat-bread. The story is as\nfollows:\u2014\n\nThe angel Gabriel was sent out of Paradise to give him the rest of the\nwheat-grains Eve had plucked from the forbidden tree, together with two\noxen, and various instruments of husbandry. Hitherto he had fed on roots\nand berries, and had known nothing of sowing grain; acting under\nGabriel\u2019s directions, he ploughed the land, but the plough stuck, and\nAdam impatiently smote one of the oxen, and it spoke to him and said,\n\u201cWherefore hast thou smitten me?\u201d\n\nAdam replied, \u201cBecause thou dost not draw the plough.\u201d\n\n\u201cAdam!\u201d said the ox, \u201cwhen thou wast rebellious, did God smite thee\nthus?\u201d\n\n\u201cO God!\u201d cried Adam to the Almighty, \u201cis every beast to reproach me, and\nrecall to me my sin?\u201d\n\nThen God heard his cry, and withdrew from beasts the power of speech,\nlest they should cast their sin in the teeth of men.\n\nBut as the plough was still arrested, Adam dug into the soil, and found\nthat the iron had been caught by the body of his son Abel.\n\nWhen the wheat was sprung up, Gabriel gave Adam fire from hell, which\nhowever he had previously washed seventy times in the sea, or it would\nhave consumed the earth and all things thereon. In the beginning,\nwheat-grains were the size of ostrich eggs, but under Edris (Enoch) they\nwere no bigger than goose eggs; under Elias they were the size of hen\u2019s\neggs; under Christ, when the Jews sought to slay him, they were no\nlarger than grapes; it was in the time of Uzeir (Esdras) that they\ndiminished to their present proportions.\n\nAfter Adam and Eve had been instructed in all that appertained to\nagriculture, Gabriel brought them a lamb and showed Adam how to slay it\nin the name of God, how to shear off the wool, and skin the sheep. Eve\nwas instructed in the art of spinning and weaving by the angel, and she\nmade of the wool, first a veil for herself, and then a shirt for her\nhusband.\n\nThe first pair brought up their grandsons and great grandsons, to the\nnumber of 40,000 according to some, and 70,000 according to others, and\ntaught them all that they had learned of the angel.\n\nAfter the death of Abel, and after Cain had been slain by the avenging\nangel, Eve bore a third son, named Seth, who became the father of the\nrace of the prophets.\n\nFinally, when Adam had reached his nine hundred and thirtieth year, the\nAngel of Death appeared under the form of a goat, and ran between his\nlegs.\n\nAdam recoiled with horror, and exclaimed, \u201cGod has given me one thousand\nyears; wherefore comest thou now?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d exclaimed the Angel of Death, \u201chast thou not given seventy years\nof thy life to the prophet David?\u201d\n\nAdam stoutly denied that he had done so. Then the Angel of Death drew\nthe document of transfer from out of his beard, and presented it to\nAdam, who could no longer refuse to go.\n\nHis son Seth washed and buried him, after that the angel Gabriel, or,\naccording to some accounts, Allah himself, had blessed him: Eve died a\nyear later.\n\nLearned men are not agreed as to the place of their burial; some\ntraditions name India, others the Mount Kubeis, and others again,\nJerusalem\u2014God alone knows![135]\n\nTabari says that Adam made Seth his testamentary executor.\n\n\u201cWhen Adam was dead, Gabriel instructed Seth how to bury him, and\nbrought him the winding sheet out of heaven. And Gabriel said to Seth,\n\u2018Thou art sole executor of thy father, therefore it is thy office to\nperform the religious functions.\u2019 Then Seth recited over Adam thirty\n_Teb\u00eers_. Four of these _Teb\u00eers_ were the legal prayers, the others were\nsupererogatory, and were designed to exalt the virtues of Adam. Some say\nthat Adam was buried near Mecca on Mount Abui-Kubais.\u201d[136]\n\nAccording to the apocryphal \u201cLife of Adam and Eve,\u201d Adam before his\ndeath called to his bedside all his sons and daughters, and they\nnumbered fifteen thousand males, and females unnumbered. Adam is said to\nhave been the author of several psalms; amongst others, Psalm civ.,\n_Benedic anima mea_, and Psalm cxxxix., _Domine probasti_; as may be\ngathered from the 14th, 15th, and 16th verses: \u201c_My bones are not hid\nfrom thee: though I was made secretly, and fashioned beneath in the\nearth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in Thy\nbook were all my members written; which day by day were fashioned, when\nas yet there was none of them._\u201d\n\nThe Arabs say that when Adam dictated his last will and testament, the\nangel Gabriel descended from heaven to receive it, accompanied by\nsixty-two millions of angels, each provided with clean white sheets of\nparchment and pens, and that the will was sealed by Gabriel.[137]\n\nTradition is not agreed as to the place of Adam\u2019s burial. Khaithemah\nsays that Adam was buried near Mecca on Mount Abu-Kubais. But the\nancient Persians assert that he was buried in Ceylon, where his\nsepulchre was guarded by lions at the time of the war of the\ngiants.[138]\n\nBut the most generally received tradition is this:\u2014\n\nThe body of Adam was taken by Noah into the ark, and when the ark rested\non Ararat, Noah and his sons removed the body from it, and they followed\nan angel who led them to the place where the first father was to lie.\nShem or Melchizedek\u2014for they are one, as we shall see presently\u2014being\nconsecrated by God to the priesthood, performed the religious rites; and\nburied Adam at the centre of the earth, which is Jerusalem; but, say\nsome, he was buried by Shem along with Eve, in the cave of Machpelah, in\nHebron. But others relate that Noah on leaving the ark distributed the\nbones of Adam among his sons, and that he gave the head to Shem, who\nburied it in Jerusalem. Some, taking this mystically, suppose that by\nthis is meant the sin and punishment of Adam, which was transmitted to\nall the sons of Noah, but that to Shem was given the head, the Messiah\nwho was to regenerate the world.[139] S. Basil of Seleucia says:\n\u201cAccording to Jewish traditions, the skull of Adam was found there\n(_i.e._ on Golgotha), and this, they say, Solomon knew by his great\nwisdom. And because it was the place of Adam\u2019s skull, therefore the hill\nwas called Golgotha, or Calvary.\u201d[140]\n\nWith this a great concourse of Fathers agree; whose testimony has been\nlaboriously collected by Gretser in his famous and curious book \u201cDe\nCruce.\u201d And this tradition has become a favourite subject for artists,\nwho, in their paintings or sculptures, represent the skull of Adam at\nthe foot of the Cross of Christ.\n\nThe apocryphal \u201cTestament of Adam\u201d still exists.\n\nThe tomb of Eve is shown at Jedda. \u201cOn entering the great gate of the\ncemetery, one observes on the left a little wall three feet high,\nforming a square of ten to twelve feet. There lies the head of our first\nmother. In the middle of the cemetery is a sort of cupola, where reposes\nthe navel of her body; and at the other extremity, near the door of\negress, is another little wall also three feet high, forming a\nlozenge-shaped enclosure: there are her feet. In this place is a large\npiece of cloth, whereon the faithful deposit their offerings, which\nserve for the maintenance of a constant burning of perfumes over the\nmidst of her body. The distance between her head and feet is four\nhundred feet. How we have shrunk since the creation!\u201d[141]\n\nThe bones of Adam and Eve, says Tabari, were taken by Noah into the ark\nwith him, and were reburied by him.\n\nThis article may be fitly concluded with the epitaph of Adam, composed\nby Gabriel Alvarez, and published by him in his \u201cHistoria Ecclesi\u00e6\nAntediluvian\u00e6,\u201d Madrid, 1713.\n\n     \u201cHere lies, reduced to a pinch of dust, he who, from a pinch of\n     dust, was formed to govern the earth,\n     ADAM,\n     the son of None, the father of All, the stepfather of All\n     and of himself.\n     Having never wailed as a child, he spent his life in weeping,\n     the result of penitence.\n     Powerful, Wise, Immortal, Just,\n     he sold for the price of disobedience, power, wisdom, justice,\n     immortality.\n     Having abused the privilege of Free-will, which weapon\n     he had received for the preservation of Knowledge and Grace,\n     by one stroke he struck with death himself and all the human race.\n     The Omnipotent Judge\n     who in His Justice took from him righteousness, by His Mercy\n     restored it to him whole again:\n     by whose goodness it has fallen out, that we may\n     call that crime happy, which obtained such and so great\n     A Redeemer.\n     Thenceforth Free-will, which he in happiness used to\n     bring forth Misery, is used in Misery to bring forth\n     Happiness.\n     For if we, partakers of his pernicious inheritance, partake\n     also of his penitential example, and lend our ears\n     to salutary counsels,\n     Then we (who by our Free-will could lose ourselves) can be saved\n     by the grace of the Redeemer, and the co-operation of our\n     Free-will.\n     The First Adam Lived to Die;\n     The Second Adam Died to Live.\n     Go, and imitate the penitence of the First Adam;\n     Go, and celebrate the goodness of the Second Adam.\u201d\n\nFootnote 135:\n\n  Weil, pp. 40-3.\n\nFootnote 136:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xxxiii.\n\nFootnote 137:\n\n  Colin de Plancy, p. 78.\n\nFootnote 138:\n\n  Herbelot, i. p. 95.\n\nFootnote 139:\n\n  Moses bar Cepha. Commentarius de Paradiso, P. i. c. 14. Fabricius, i.\n  p. 75.\n\nFootnote 140:\n\n  S. Basil Seleuc., Orat. xxxviii.\n\nFootnote 141:\n\n  Lettre de H. A. D., Consul de France en Abyssinie, 1841.\n\n\n\n\n                                 VIII.\n                                 SETH.\n\n\nWhen Seth had ascended the throne of his father, says Tabari, he was the\ngreatest of the sons of Adam. Every year he made the pilgrimage to the\nKaaba, and he ruled the world with equity, and everything flourished\nduring his reign. At the age of fifty he had a son; he called his name\nEnoch and named him his executor. He died at the age of nine\nhundred.[142]\n\nSeth and the other sons of Adam waged perpetual war against the Divs, or\ngiants, the sons of Kabil, or Cain.\n\nRocail was another son of Adam, born next after Seth.\n\nHe possessed, says the Tahmurath N\u00e2meh, the most wonderful knowledge in\nall mysteries. He had a genius so quick and piercing, that he seemed to\nbe rather an angel than a man.\n\nSurkrag, a great giant, son of Cain, commanded in the mountains of Kaf,\nwhich encompass the centre of the earth. This giant asked Seth to send\nhim Rocail, his brother, to assist him in governing his subjects. Seth\nconsented, and Rocail became the vizier or prime minister of Surkrag, in\nthe mountains of Kaf.\n\nAfter having governed many centuries, and knowing, by divine revelation,\nthat the time of his death drew nigh, he thus addressed Surkrag: \u201cI am\nabout to depart hence and enter on another existence; but before I\nleave, I wish to bequeath to you some famous work, which shall\nperpetuate my name into remote ages.\u201d\n\nThereupon Rocail erected an enormous sepulchre, adorned with statues of\nvarious metals, made by talismanic art, which moved, and spake, and\nacted like living men.[143]\n\nAccording to the Rabbinic traditions, Seth was one of the thirteen who\ncame circumcised into the world. The rest were Adam, Enoch, Noah, Shem,\nTerah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.[144]\nThe book Schene Luch\u00f4th says that the soul of righteous Abel passed into\nthe body of Seth, and afterwards this same soul passed into Moses; thus\nthe law, which was known to Adam and in which Abel had been instructed,\nwas not new to Moses.[145]\n\nThe Little Genesis says, that Seth was instructed by the angels in what\nwas to take place in the world; how its iniquity was to grow, and a\nflood was to overwhelm it; and how the Messiah would come and restore\nall things. Seth was remarkable for the majesty and beauty of his\nappearance, as he had inherited much of the loveliness of unfallen man.\nHe married his sister Azur, or, according to others, Nor\u00e6a or Hor\u00e6a.\nSuidas, under the heading \u2018\u03a3\u03ae\u03b4,\u2019 says: \u201cSeth was the son of Adam: of\nthis it is said, the sons of God went in unto the daughters of men; that\nis to say, the sons of Seth went in unto the daughters of Cain. For in\nthat age Seth was called God, because he had discovered Hebrew letters,\nand the names of the stars; but especially on account of his great\npiety, so that he was the first to bear the name of God.\u201d\n\nTheodoret thus refers to the verse,\u2014\u201c_And to Seth, to him also there was\nborn a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the\nname of the Lord_,\u201d or as our marginal reading is, \u201c_then began men to\ncall themselves by the name of the Lord_.\u201d \u201cAquila interpreted it thus,\n\u2018then Seth began to be called by the name of the Lord.\u2019 These words\nintimate his piety, which deserved that he should receive the sacred\nname; and he was called God by his acquaintance, and his children were\ntermed the sons of God, just as we are called Christians after\nChrist.\u201d[146]\n\nThe origin of this tradition seems to be the fact that Seth was the name\nof an ancient Egyptian deity, at first regarded as the giver of light\nand civilization, but afterwards identified with Typhon by the\nEgyptians, who considered Seth to be the chief god of the Hyksos or\nshepherd kings; and in their hatred of these oppressors, the name of\nSeth was everywhere obliterated on their monuments, and he was regarded\nas one with the great adversary, Typhon; and was represented as an ass,\nor with an ass\u2019s head.[147]\n\nAbulfaraj, in his history, says that Seth discovered letters, and that,\ndesirous to recover the Blessed Life, he and his sons went to Mount\nHermon, where they served God in piety and continence, and associated\nnot with the people of the land, nor took to themselves wives; wherefore\nthey were called the sons of God.[148]\n\nFlavius Josephus relates that after the things that were to take place\nhad been revealed to Seth,\u2014how the earth was to be destroyed, first with\nwater and then with fire,\u2014lest those things which he had discovered\nshould perish from the memory of his posterity, he set up two pillars,\none of brick, the other of stone, and he wrote thereon all the science\nhe had acquired, hoping that, in the event of the brick pillar perishing\nby the rain, the stone one would endure.[149]\n\nFreculphus adds that Jubal assisted the sons of Seth in engraving on the\ncolumns all that was known of the conduct and order of the heavens, and\nall the arts then known.[150]\n\nThe stone pillar was to be seen, in the time of Josephus, in Syria.\n\nAnastasius of Sinai says that, when God created Adam after His image and\nlikeness, He breathed into him grace, and illumination, and a ray of the\nHoly Spirit. But when he sinned, this glory left him, and his face\nbecame clouded. Then he became the father of Cain and Abel. But\nafterwards it is said in Scripture, \u201c_He begat a son in his own\nlikeness, after his image; and called his name Seth_;\u201d which is not said\nof Cain and Abel; and this means that Seth was begotten in the likeness\nof unfallen man and after the image of Adam in Paradise; and he called\nhis name Seth, that is, by interpretation, Resurrection, because in him\nhe saw the resurrection of his departed beauty, and wisdom, and glory,\nand radiance of the Holy Spirit. And all those then living, when they\nsaw how the face of Seth shone with divine light, and heard him speak\nwith divine wisdom, said, He is God; therefore his sons were commonly\ncalled the sons of God.[151]\n\nAs Seth was an ancient Egyptian Sun-god, the origin of the myth of his\nshining face can be ascertained without difficulty.\n\nTo Seth were attributed several apocryphal writings.\n\nFootnote 142:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xxxiv.\n\nFootnote 143:\n\n  D\u2019Herbelot, i. p. 125, s. v. Rocail.\n\nFootnote 144:\n\n  Midrash Tillim, fol. 10, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 145:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 645.\n\nFootnote 146:\n\n  Theodoret, Qu\u00e6st. in Gen. xlvii.\n\nFootnote 147:\n\n  Plutarch, Isis and Osiris, ed. Parthey; pp. 72, 88, and notes pp. 183,\n  238.\n\nFootnote 148:\n\n  Abulfaraj, Hist. Dynast., ed. Pocock, p. 5.\n\nFootnote 149:\n\n  Joseph. Antiq. Judaic., lib. i. c. 2.\n\nFootnote 150:\n\n  Freculphus, Chron. lib. i. c. 12.\n\nFootnote 151:\n\n  Anastasius Sinaita, \u1f49\u03b4\u03b7\u03b3\u03cc\u03c2, ed. Gretser, Ingolst. 1606, p. 269.\n\n\n\n\n                                  IX.\n                          CAINAN SON OF ENOS.\n\n\n\u201c_And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: and Seth\nlived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons\nand daughters: and all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve\nyears: and he died. And Enos lived ninety years, and begat\nCainan._\u201d[152]\n\nAlexander wrote many epistles to Aristotle, his preceptor, in which he\nnarrated what had befallen him in India. Amongst other things he wrote:\n\u201cAfter I had entered the Persian region, which is a province of India, I\narrived at some islands of the sea, and there I found men, like women,\nwho fed on raw fish, and spake a language very like Greek; they said to\nme that there was in the island the sepulchre of a most ancient king,\nwho was called Cainan, son of Enos, and who ruled the whole world, and\ntaught men all kinds of knowledge, and had demons and all kinds of evil\nspirits under his control. He, by his wisdom, understood that the\never-blessed God would bring in a flood in the times of Noah; wherefore\nhe engraved all that was to take place on stone tables, which exist\nthere to this day, and are written in Hebrew characters. He wrote\ntherein that the ocean would, in that age, overflow a third part of the\nworld, which took place in the lifetime of Enos, the son of Seth, who\nwas the son of Adam, our first parent.\n\n\u201cIn the same island, Cainan built a most extensive city, surrounded with\nwalls; and a great marble citadel, in which he treasured jewels and\npearls, and gold and silver in great abundance.\n\n\u201cMoreover, he erected a tower, very lofty, over a sepulchre for himself,\nto serve as his monument. This tower can be approached by no man; for it\nwas built by astronomical art under the seven planets, and with magical\nskill, so that every one who draws near the wall is struck down with\nsudden death.\u201d[153]\n\nFootnote 152:\n\n  Gen. v. 6-9.\n\nFootnote 153:\n\n  Pseudo Josephus Gorionides; ed. Clariss. Breithauptius, lib. ii. c.\n  18, p. 131.\n\n\n\n\n                                   X.\n                                 ENOCH.\n\n\n                      1. THE TRANSLATION OF ENOCH.\n\n\nEnoch, or Edris,[154] as he is called by the Arabs, was born in\nHindostan, but he lived in Yemen. He was a prophet. In his days men\nworshipped fire, being deceived by Eblis. When God sent Enoch to his\nbrethren to turn them from their false worship, they would not believe\nhim.\n\nIdolatry began in the times of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, and it spread\nto such an extent that, when Noah was born, there were not eighty\npersons who worshipped the true, and living, and only God. Jared fought\nSatan, the prince of demons, and captured him, and led him about in\nchains wherever he went.\n\nEnoch knew how to sew, and was an accomplished tailor. He was the first\nto put pen to paper; he wrote many books. He had in his possession the\nbooks of Adam, and for ten years, instead of sleeping, he spent the\nnight in reading them.\n\nHe instructed men in the art of making garments; Enoch showed them how\nto cut out the skins to the proper shape, and to sew them together; and\nhow to make shoes to protect their feet.\n\nAnd then, when the people had derived this great blessing from him, they\nwere ready to listen to his books; and he read to them the books of\nAdam, and endeavoured thereby to bring them back to the knowledge of the\ntrue God.\n\nWhen he had spent many years in prayer, the Angel of Death desired to\nmake a compact of friendship with him. He took on him a human form and\napproached him, saying, \u201cI am the Angel of Death, and I desire thy\nfriendship. On account of thy great piety, thou mayest make me a request\nwhich I shall accomplish.\u201d\n\nEnoch answered, \u201cI desire that thou shouldst take my soul.\u201d\n\nThe angel replied, \u201cI have not come to thee for this purpose; thy time\nis not yet arrived at its appointed close.\u201d\n\nThen Enoch said, \u201cIt is well; but take my soul away for a little space,\nand then return it to my body, if God so wills.\u201d\n\nThe angel said, \u201cI cannot do this without God\u2019s consent.\u201d But he\npresented the supplications of Enoch before Allah, and God, knowing what\nwas the design of Enoch, granted the prayer.\n\nThen Azrael bore away the soul of Enoch, and at the same instant the\nEternal One restored it to him. After this, Enoch continued to praise\nand pray to God; and the Angel of Death became his friend, and often\ncame to visit him.\n\nYears passed, and Enoch said one day to the angel, \u201cOh, my friend! I\nhave yet a request to make.\u201d\n\nAzrael answered, \u201cIf I can grant it, I will do so readily.\u201d\n\nEnoch said, \u201cI would see Hell, for I have undergone death, and I know\nits sensations. I would know now the torments of the lost.\u201d\n\nBut the angel answered, \u201cThis I cannot grant without permission from the\nAlmighty.\u201d\n\nGod heard the prayer of Enoch, and He suffered Azrael to accomplish what\nthe prophet had desired. Then the Angel of Death bore away Enoch, and\nshowed him the seven stages of Hell, and all the torments inflicted\nthere on sinners: after that he replaced him where he was before.\n\nAfter some while had elapsed, Enoch again addressed Azrael, and said, \u201cI\nhave another request to make.\u201d\n\nThe angel answered, \u201cSay on.\u201d\n\nThen said Enoch, \u201cI desire to see the Paradise of God, as I have seen\nHell.\u201d\n\nAzrael replied, \u201cI cannot grant thy petition without the consent of\nGod.\u201d\n\nBut the All-Merciful, when he heard the request of his servant,\nconsented that it should be even as he desired. So the angel bore Enoch\ninto Paradise. And when they had reached the gates, the keeper, Ridhwan,\nrefused to open, saying to Enoch, \u201cThou art a man, and no man can enter\nParadise who has not tasted death.\u201d\n\nThen Enoch replied, \u201cI also have tasted death; the soul that I have will\ndwell eternally with me; God has resuscitated me from death.\u201d\n\nRidhwan, however, said, \u201cI cannot do this thing and admit thee without\nthe order of God.\u201d\n\nThen the order arrived from Allah, and the angel of the gate refused no\nmore; so Enoch entered; but before Enoch and Azrael passed the gates,\nRidhwan said to the prophet, \u201cGo in, and behold Paradise, but be speedy\nand leave it again, for thou mayst not dwell there till after the\nResurrection.\u201d\n\nEnoch replied, \u201cBe it so;\u201d and he went in and viewed Paradise, and came\nout, as he had promised; and as he passed the threshold of the door he\nturned and said to the angel, \u201cOh, Ridhwan! I have left something in\nthere; suffer me to run and fetch it.\u201d\n\nBut Ridhwan refused; and a dispute arose between them.\n\nEnoch said, \u201cI am a prophet; and God has sent me thirty books, and I\nhave written them all, and I have never revolted against God. In those\nbooks that God sent me, I was promised Paradise. If it be necessary that\nI should have undergone death, I have undergone it. If it be necessary\nthat I should have seen Hell, I have seen it. Now I am come to Paradise,\nand that is my home; God has promised it to me, and now that I have\nentered I will leave it no more.\u201d\n\nThe dispute waxed hot, but it was terminated by the order of God, who\nbade Ridhwan open the gate and re-admit Enoch into Paradise, where he\nstill dwells.[155]\n\n\n                         2. THE BOOK OF ENOCH.\n\n\nThe Book of Enoch, quoted by S. Jude in his Epistle, and alluded to by\nOrigen, S. Augustine, S. Clement of Alexandria, and others of the\nFathers, must not be passed over.\n\nThe original book appears from internal evidence to have been written\nabout the year 110 B.C.[156] But we have not the work as then written;\nit has suffered from numerous interpolations, and it is difficult always\nto distinguish the original text from the additions.\n\nThe book is frequently quoted in the apocryphal \u201cTestament of the Twelve\nPatriarchs,\u201d which is regarded as canonical by the Armenian Church, but\nthe references are for the most part not to be found in the text. It was\nlargely used by some of the early Christian writers, either with\nacknowledgment or without. The monk George Syncellus, in the eighth\ncentury, extracted portions to compose his Chronography. This fragment\nin Syncellus was all that was known of the book in the West till the\nlast century. The Jews, though remembering the work, had lost it in\nHebrew; but it was alluded to by the Rabbis down to the thirteenth\ncentury, and it is referred to in the Book Sohar, though the writer may\nnot have read the book of Enoch. Bruce, the African traveller, was the\nfirst to bring it to Europe from Abyssinia in two MSS., in the year\n1773. Much attention was not, however, paid to it till 1800, when De\nSacy in his \u201cMagasin Encyclop\u00e9dique,\u201d under the title \u201cNotice sur le\nLivre d\u2019Enoch,\u201d gave some account of the work. In 1801, Professor\nLaurence gave to the public an English translation, accompanied by some\ncritical remarks. Since then, the book has been carefully and\nexegetically examined. The version we now have is Ethiopic.\n\nThe Book of Enoch consists of five divisions, or books, together with a\nProlegomena and an Epilegomena.\n\nAfter the introduction (caps. 1-5), which describes the work as the\nrevelation of the seer Enoch concerning the future judgment and its\nconsequences, with warnings to the elect as to the signs; the _First_\npart (caps. 6-16) opens with an account of the fall of the Angels, their\nunion with the daughters of men, and the generation of the Giants.\nConnected with this, and divided from it by no superscription or sign of\nchange of subject, is an account of a journey made by Enoch, in the\ncompany of the angels, over the earth and through the lower circles of\nheaven, during which he is instructed in various mysteries hidden from\nthe knowledge of men, and a great deal of this wondrous information is\ncommunicated to the reader.\n\nThis description of a journey, which is itself divided into two parts,\nunquestionably belongs to the original book, and the historical portion,\nnarrating the procreation of the Giants, is an interpolation.\n\nThe _Second_ portion of the book (caps. 37-71), with its own special\nsuperscription and introduction, is called \u201cThe Second History of\nWisdom.\u201d It continues the history of the voyage. The first portion\ncontained the description of the mysterious places and things in the\nearth and in the lower heaven; the second portion contains an account of\nthe mysteries of the highest heaven, the angel-world, the founding of\nthe kingdom of the Messias, and the signs of His coming.\n\nThe close of this portion contains prophecies of Noah\u2019s Flood, and\naccounts of the fall of the Angels, their evil life and their\npunishment. The whole account of the Flood, which comes in without rhyme\nor reason, is also a manifest interpolation.\n\nThe _Third_ portion (caps. 72-82), also under its own heading, is on\n\u201cThe Revolution of the Lights of Heaven,\u201d and describes the motions of\nthe planets, the duration of the seasons, and the number of the days of\nthe months, and the great winds of heaven. With this part the voyage of\nEnoch closes.\n\nThe _Fourth_ part (caps. 83-91), which has no superscription, but which\nis generally designated as \u201cThe Book of the Dream History,\u201d contains the\nvisions shown Enoch in his youth, which, in a series of pictures, gives\nthe history of the world till the end of time. This part closes with\nsome words of advice from Enoch to his sons.\n\nThe _Fifth_ and last part (caps. 92-105) is \u201cThe Book of Exhortation,\u201d\naddressed by Enoch to his family against sin in all its forms, under all\nits disguises, and concludes with an account of certain presages which\nshould announce the birth of Noah.\n\nThe Talmudic writers taught that Enoch at his translation became a chief\nangel, and that his name became Metatron. In the Chaldee version of\nJonathan on the words of Genesis v. 24, it is said, \u201cAnd Enoch served\nbefore the Lord in truth, and was not among the inhabitants of the\nearth, for he was translated above into the firmament, through the word\nof the Lord; and He called him by the name of Metatron (the great\nwriter).\u201d And in Rabbi Menachem\u2019s Commentary on the Five Books of Moses,\nit is written, \u201cThe Rabbi Ishmael relates that he spoke to the Metatron,\nand he asked him why he was named with the name of his Creator and with\nseventy names, and why he was greater than any prince, and higher than\nany angel, and dearer than any servant, and more honoured than all the\nhost, and more excellent in greatness, in power, and dominion than all\nthe mighty ones. Then he answered and said, \u2018Because I was Enoch, son of\nJared. This is what the holy, ever-blessed God wrought,\u2014when the races\nof the Flood (_i.e._ the sinners who lived at the time when the Flood\ncame) sinned, and did unrighteously in their works, and had said to God,\n\u201dDepart from us,\u201c\u2014He took me from that untoward generation into the\nhighest heaven, that I might be a witness against that generation. And\nafter the ever-blessed God had removed me that I should stand before the\nthrone of His Majesty, and before the wheels of His chariot, and\naccomplish the requirements of the Most High, then my flesh became\nflame, and my arteries fire, and my bones juniper ashes, and the light\nof my eyelids became the flashing of lightning, and my eyeballs torches\nof fire, and the hair of my head was a flame, and all my limbs were\nfiery, burning wings, and my body became burning fire; and by my right\nhand flames were cleft asunder; and from my left hand burnt fiery\ntorches; but around me blew a wind, and storm, and tempest; and before\nand behind me was the voice of a mighty earthquake.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe Rabbi Ishmael gives further particulars which are enshrined in the\ngreat Jalkut Rubeni.[157]\n\nThe Rabbi Ishmael, according to this book, received in addition these\nparticulars from the lips of Enoch. He was carried to heaven in a\nchariot of fire by horses of fire; and when he entered into the presence\nof God, the Sacred Beasts, the Seraphim, the Osannim, the Cherubim, the\nwheels of the chariot, and all the fiery ministers recoiled five\nthousand three hundred and eighty miles at the smell of him, and cried\naloud, \u201cWhat a stink is come among us from one born of a woman! Why is\none who has eaten of white wheat admitted into heaven?\u201d\n\nThen the Almighty answered and said, \u201cMy servants, Cherubim and\nSeraphim, do not be grieved, for all my sons have rejected my\nsovereignty and adore idols, this man alone excepted; and in reward I\nexalt him to principality over the angels in heaven.\u201d When Enoch heard\nthis he was glad, for he had been a simple shoemaker on earth; but this\nhad he done, at every stitch he had said, \u201cThe name of God and His\nMajesty be praised.\u201d\n\nThe height of Enoch when a chief angel was very great. It would take a\nman five hundred years to walk from his heel to the crown of his head.\nAnd the ladder which Jacob saw in vision was the ladder of\nMetatron.[158] The same authority, above quoted, the Rabbi Ishmael, is\nreported to have had the exact measure of Enoch from his own lips; it\nwas seven hundred thousand times thousand miles in length and in\nbreadth.[159]\n\nThe account in the Targum of Palestine is simply this. \u201cEnoch served in\nthe truth before the Lord; and behold, he was not with the sojourners of\nthe earth; for he was withdrawn, and he ascended to the firmament by the\nWord before the Lord, and his name was called Metatron, the Great\nSaphra.\u201d[160]\n\nWhether the Annakos, or Nannakos of whom Suidas wrote, is to be\nidentified with Enoch, I do not venture to decide. Suidas says that\nNannak was an aged king before Deucalion (Noah), and that, foreseeing\nthe Deluge, he called all his subjects together into the temple to pray\nthe gods with many tears to remit the evil.[161] And Stephanos, the\nByzantine lexicographer, says that Annakos lived at Iconium in Phrygia,\nand that to weep for Annak, became a proverb.\n\nFootnote 154:\n\n  I give the Arabic legend. The account in Jasher is different. Enoch\n  retired from the world, and showed himself only at rare intervals,\n  when he gave advice to all who came to hear his wisdom. He was taken\n  up to heaven in a whirlwind, in a chariot with horses of fire.\n  (Yaschar, pp. 1094-1096.)\n\nFootnote 155:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xxxv.\n\nFootnote 156:\n\n  Dillmann, Das Buch Enoch; Leipzig, 1853. Ewald, in his \u201cGeschichte der\n  Volks Israel\u201d (iii. 2, pp. 397-401), attributes it to the year 130\n  B.C.\n\nFootnote 157:\n\n  Fol. 26, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 158:\n\n  Jalkut Rubeni, fol. 27, col. 4.\n\nFootnote 159:\n\n  Ibid., fol. 107, col. i.\n\nFootnote 160:\n\n  Targums, ed. Etheridge, i. p. 175.\n\nFootnote 161:\n\n  Suidas, Lexic. s. v. Nannacos.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XI.\n                              THE GIANTS.\n\n\nThe Giants, say the Cabbalists, arose thus.\n\nAza and Azael, two angels of God, complained to the Most High at the\ncreation of man, and said, \u201cWhy hast Thou made man who will anger Thee?\u201d\n\nBut God answered, \u201cAnd you, O angels, if you were in the lower world,\nyou, too, would sin.\u201d And He sent them on earth, and then they fell, as\nsays the Book of Genesis, \u201c_And it came to pass that the sons of God saw\nthe daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of\nall which they chose._\u201d After they had sinned, they were given bodies of\nflesh; for an angel who spends seven days on earth becomes opaque and\nsubstantial. And when they had been clothed with flesh and with a\ncorrupt nature, then they spake the word \u201cShem hamphorasch,\u201d and sought\nto regain their former place, but could not; and were cast out into\nmountains, there to dwell. From these angels descend the sons of the\ngiants and the Anakim, and from their seed also spring the devils.[162]\nThe Rabbi Eliezer says that the giants sprang from the union of the\nangels with the daughters of Cain, who walked about in immodest clothing\nand cast their eyes around with bold glances. And the book Zeena-ureena,\nin the Parascha Chykkath, says that Og sprang from this connection, and\nthat Sammael, the angel, was the parent of Og, but that Sihon was the\nson of the same angel who deceived the wife of Ham when she was about to\nenter the ark.[163]\n\nThe account in the Book of Enoch is as follows:\u2014\n\n\u201cHear and fear not, Enoch, thou righteous man, and writer of\nrighteousness, come hither and hear my words: Go speak unto the Watchers\nof Heaven, and say unto them, Ye shall pray for men and not men for you.\nWhy have ye forsaken the high and holy and eternal heaven, and have\njoined yourselves to women, and polluted yourselves with the daughters\nof men, and have taken to you wives, and have become the fathers of a\ngiant race? Ye, who were spiritual, holy, and enjoying eternal life,\nhave corrupted yourselves with women, and have become parents of\nchildren with flesh and blood; lusting after the blood of men, ye have\nbrought forth flesh and blood, like those who are mortal and perishable.\nBecause men die, therefore did I give unto them wives, that they might\nhave sons, and perpetuate their generation. But ye are spiritual and in\nthe enjoyment of eternal life. Therefore gave I not to you wives, for\nheaven is the abode of the spirits. And now the giants, who are born of\nflesh and blood, shall become evil spirits, and their dwelling shall be\non the earth. Bad beings shall proceed from them. Because they have been\ngenerated from above, from the holy Watchers have they received their\norigin, therefore shall they be evil spirits on the earth, and evil\nspirits shall they be called. And the spirits of the giants, which mount\nupon the clouds, will fail and be cast down, and do violence, and cause\nruin on the earth and injury; they shall not eat, they shall not thirst,\nand they shall be invisible.\u201d[164]\n\nAmong the Oriental Christians it is said, that Adam having related to\nthe children of Seth the delights of Paradise, several of them desired\nto recover the lost possession. They retired to Mount Hermon and dwelt\nthere in the fear of the Lord; living in great austerity, in hope that\ntheir penitence would recover Eden. But the Canaanites dwelt round them\non all sides, and the sons of Seth, becoming tired of celibacy, took the\ndaughters of the Canaanites to wife, and to them were born the\ngiants.[165]\n\nOthers say that the posterity of the patriarch Seth were those called\nthe \u201cSons of God,\u201d because they lived on Mount Hermon in familiar\ndiscourse with the angels. On this mountain they fed only on the fruit\nof the earth, and their sole oath was, \u201cBy the blood of Abel.\u201d[166]\n\nAmong the giants was Surkrag, of whom we have already related a few\nparticulars. He was not of the race of men, nor of the posterity of\nAdam. According to the Mussulman account he was commander of the armies\nof Soliman Tchaghi, who reigned over the earth before the time of Gian\nben Gian, who succeeded him and reigned seven thousand years. The whole\nearth was then in the power of the Jins. Gian ben Gian erected the\npyramids of Egypt.\n\nSurkrag obeyed God, and followed the true religion, and would not suffer\nhis subject Jins to insult or maltreat the descendants of Adam. He\nreigned on Mount Kaf, and allied himself, according to Persian\nauthorities, with Ka\u00efumarth, the first king of the world, whom some\nPersian writers identify with Adam, but others suppose to be the son of\nMahalaleel, and cotemporary with Enoch. Ferdusi, the author of the\nSchah-N\u00e2meh, speaks of him as the first who wore a crown and sat on a\nthrone, and imposed a tribute on his subjects. He says that this monarch\nlived a thousand years, and reigned five hundred and fifty years. He was\nthe first to teach men to build houses.\n\nBut if Ka\u00efumarth was the first man to reign, he was the first also to\nweary of it; for he abdicated his sovereignty and retired into his\nformer abode, a cave, after having surrendered his authority to his son\nSiamek. Siamek having been killed, Ka\u00efumarth re-ascended his throne to\nrevenge his death. After having recovered the body of his son, he buried\nhim with great honours, and kindled over his grave a great fire, which\nwas kept perpetually burning, and this originated the worship of fire\namong the people of Iran.\n\nKa\u00efumarth overcame the giant Semendoun, who had a hundred arms; his son,\nHuschenk, also overcame a giant who had three heads, mounted on an\nanimal with twelve legs. This animal, named Rakhsche, was found by him\nin the Dog Isle, or the New Continent, and was born of the union of a\ncrocodile and an hippopotamus, and it fed on the flesh of serpents.\nHaving mastered this beast, Huschenk overcame the Mahisers, which have\nheads of fish and are of great ferocity. After having extended his\nconquests to the extremities of the earth, Huschenk was crushed to death\nby a mass of rock which the giants, his mortal enemies, hurled against\nhim.[167]\n\nAccording to Tabari, Huschenk was the son of Ka\u00efumarth, who was the son\nof Mahalaleel. He was the first man to cut down trees and to make\nboards, and fashion them into doors to close the entrance to houses. He\nalso discovered many precious stones, such as the topaz and the jacinth.\nHe reigned four hundred years.[168]\n\nHe was succeeded by Tahmourath, who taught men to saddle and bridle\nhorses; he was also the first man to write in Persian characters; he\nfigures as a great hero in Iranian fable. According to the story in\nPersia, he was carried by the Simorg to the mountain of Kaf. Now the\nSimorg is a wondrous bird, speaking all languages, and eminently\nreligious.\n\nAccording to the Kaherman N\u00e2meh, the bird Simorg, being asked its age,\nreplied, \u201cThis world has been seven times peopled, and seven times made\nvoid of living beings. The generation of Adam, in which we now are, will\nlast seven thousand years, which form a cycle, and I have seen twelve of\nthese revolutions. How many more I shall see is unknown to me.\u201d\n\nThe same book informs us that the Simorg was a great friend of the race\nof Adam, and a great enemy to the demons and Jins. He knew Adam\npersonally, and had done obeisance to him, and enjoyed the same religion\nas our first fathers. He foretold to Tahmourath all that was to take\nplace in the world, and plucking from his bosom some feathers, he\npresented them to him, and from that time all great captains and men of\nwar wear feather crests.\n\nTahmourath having been transported by the bird to the mountains of Kaf,\nhe assisted the Peris, who were at war with the Jins. Argenk, the giant,\nfinding that the Peris were gaining the mastery, with the assistance of\nTahmourath, sent an embassy desiring peace; but the ambassador, Imlain,\nabandoned the party of the Jins and assisted Tahmourath to obtain\ncomplete mastery in the mountains of Kaf, and to overcome not only the\ngiant Argenk, but also Demrusch, a far more terrible monster. Demrusch\nlived in a cavern guarding a vast treasure, which he had amassed in\nPersia and India. He had also carried off the Peri Mergian. Tahmourath\nslew Demrusch and released Mergian.\n\nAccording to the Persian story, Tahmourath was the first to cultivate\nrice, and to nourish silk-worms in the province of Tabristan.[169]\n\nTo return to Tabari.\n\nDjemschid was the brother of Tahmourath; he was the first man to forge\narms, and he is probably to be identified with Tubal-cain. He introduced\nalso the use of pigments, and he discovered pearls, and also to dig for\nlime, vermilion, and quicksilver; he likewise compounded scents, and\ncultivated flowers. He divided all men into four classes,\u2014soldiers,\nscribes, agriculturists, and artisans. At the head of all he placed the\nlearned, that they might guide the affairs of men, and set them their\ntasks and instruct them in what they were to do.\n\nThen Djemschid asked the wise men, \u201cWhat must a king do to secure his\nthrone?\u201d\n\nThey answered, \u201cHe must reign in equity.\u201d\n\nConsequently, Djemschid instituted justice; and he sat the first day of\nevery month with his wise men, and ministered righteous judgments. For\nseven hundred years he continued this practice; and in all that time no\nrebellion broke out, no afflictions troubled him, nor was his reign in\nany way menaced.\n\nOne day, whilst Djemschid was taking his siesta alone in his chamber,\nEblis entered by the window, and Djemschid asked, \u201cWho art thou?\u201d Now he\nthought he was one of those who waited without till he should come forth\nto administer justice. Eblis entered into conversation with Djemschid,\nand said, \u201cI am an angel, and I have descended from heaven to give thee\ncounsel.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat counsel dost thou offer?\u201d asked the king.\n\nEblis replied, \u201cTell me, who art thou?\u201d\n\nHe answered, \u201cI am one of the sons of Adam.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou mistakest,\u201d said the Evil One: \u201cthou art not a man. Consider,\nsince thou hast reigned, has anything failed thee? Hast thou suffered\nany affliction, any loss, any revolt? If thou wert a son of Adam, sorrow\nwould be thy lot. Nay, verily, thou art a god!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what sign canst thou show me of my divinity?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am an angel. Mortal man cannot behold an angel, and live.\u201d\n\nThen he vanished. Djemschid fell into the snare of pride.\n\nNext day he caused a great fire to be lighted, and he called together\nall men and said to them, \u201cI am a god, worship me; I created heaven\nabove and earth beneath; and those that refuse to adore me shall be\nconsumed in the fire.\u201d\n\nThen from fear of him many obeyed; and the same hour revolt broke out.\n\nThere was a man named Beyourasp who stirred up the people, and led a\ngreat army against Djemschid, and overcame him, and took from him his\nkingdom, and sawed the king asunder from the head to the feet.[170]\n\nFootnote 162:\n\n  Nischmath Chajim, fol. 116, col. i.\n\nFootnote 163:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 380.\n\nFootnote 164:\n\n  Das Buch Henoch, von Dillmann, Leipz. 1853, c. xv. p. 9.\n\nFootnote 165:\n\n  Abulfaraj, p. 6.\n\nFootnote 166:\n\n  Eutych., Patriarcha Alex., Annales ab Orbe Condito, Arabice et Lat.,\n  ed. Selden; London, 1642, i. p. 19.\n\nFootnote 167:\n\n  D\u2019Herbelot, s. v. Surkrag and Ka\u00efumarth.\n\nFootnote 168:\n\n  Tabari, c. xxxvii.\n\nFootnote 169:\n\n  D\u2019Herbelot, s. v. Tahmourath.\n\nFootnote 170:\n\n  Tabari, caps. xxxix. xl.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XII.\n                                LAMECH.\n\n\n\u201c_Methusael begat Lamech. And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name\nof the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. And Adah bare\nJabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have\ncattle. And his brother\u2019s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such\nas handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an\ninstructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of\nTubal-cain was Naamah. And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah,\nHear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have\nslain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. If Cain shall be\navenged seven-fold, truly Lamech seventy and seven-fold._\u201d[171]\n\nThe speech of Lamech points to a tradition unrecorded in the Sacred\nText, with which the Israelites were probably well acquainted, and which\ntherefore did not need repetition; or else, there has been a paragraph\ndropped out of the original text. The speech is sufficiently mysterious\nto raise our curiosity. Whom had Lamech slain? and why should Lamech be\navenged?\n\nThe Targums throw no light on the passage, merely paraphrasing it,\nwithout supplying the key to the speech of Lamech.[172] But Rabbinic\ntradition is unanimous on its signification. The book Jasher says that\nin those days men did not love to have children, therefore they gave\ntheir wives drink to make them sterile. Zillah had taken this drink, and\nshe was barren till in her old age she bare Tubal-cain and Naamah. Now\nLamech became blind in his old age, and he was led about by the boy\nTubal-cain. Tubal-cain saw Cain in the distance, and supposing from the\nhorn on his forehead that he was a beast, he said to his father, \u201cSpan\nthy bow and shoot!\u201d Then the old man discharged his arrow, and Cain fell\ndead.\n\nBut when he ascertained that he had slain his great ancestor, he smote\nhis hands together, and in so doing, by accident struck his son and\nkilled him. Therefore his wives were wroth and would have no\ncommunication with him. But he appeased them with the words recorded in\nGenesis.[173] The same story is told in the book of the \u201cCombat of\nAdam.\u201d\n\nSome Jewish writers adopt a tradition that Tubal-cain was not slain, but\nwas severely injured by his father; according to some, he was lamed.\nConnecting this tradition with his name, a striking analogy springs up\nbetween him and the Vulcan of classic antiquity, and the V\u00f6lundr of\nNorse mythology. Both were lame, both were forgers of iron, and the\nnames Vulcan and V\u00f6lundr bear some affinity to Tubal-cain; for, cutting\noff Tu, we have Balcain or Vulcan. A very learned and exhaustive\nmonograph on V\u00f6lundr has been written by MM. Depping and Michel.[174]\n\nTubal is said by Tabari to have discovered the art of fermenting the\njuice of the grape, as well as that of music. Eblis deceived the young\nman, who was full of gaiety, and taught him many things, amongst others\nhow to make wine. Tubal took grapes and crushed them, and made must, and\nlet it grow bitter. Then he took it and put it in a glass jug. He made\nflutes, lutes, cymbals, and drums. When he began to drink the wine he\nhad made, he jumped and danced. All the sons of Cain looked on, and,\npleased with his merriment, they also drank and played on the\ninstruments Tubal had made.[175]\n\nNaamah, the sister of Tubal-cain, became the wife of the devil Schomron,\nby whom she became the mother of Asmodeus.[176]\n\nFootnote 171:\n\n  Gen. iv. 18-24.\n\nFootnote 172:\n\n  Targums, ed. Etheridge, i. p. 173.\n\nFootnote 173:\n\n  Yaschar, tr. Drach, p. 1092; the same in Midrash Jalkut, c. 38;\n  Midrash, Par. Bereschith, fol. 2; Rabbi Raschi on Genesis; &c. &c.\n\nFootnote 174:\n\n  V\u00e9land le Forgeron; Paris, 1833. There is an English translation by\n  Wright.\n\nFootnote 175:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xxi.\n\nFootnote 176:\n\n  Eisenmenger, ii. p. 416.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XIII.\n                              METHUSELAH.\n\n\nIt is related that an angel appeared to Methuselah, who was then aged\nfive hundred years, and lived in the open air, and advised him to build\na house. The Patriarch asked how long he had to live. \u201cAbout five\nhundred years more,\u201d answered the angel. \u201cThen,\u201d said Methuselah, \u201cit is\nnot worth taking the trouble for so short a time.\u201d[177]\n\n\u201cMethuselah,\u201d says the Midrash, \u201cwas a thoroughly righteous man. Every\nword that fell from his lips was superlatively perfect, exhausting the\npraises of the Lord. He had learnt nine hundred chapters of the Mischna.\nAt his death a frightful thunder was heard, and all beasts burst into\ntears. He was mourned seven days by men, and therefore the outbreak of\nthe Flood was postponed till the mourning was over.\u201d[178]\n\nEusebius says, \u201cHe lived longer than all who had preceded him. He,\naccording to all editions (of the LXX.), lived fifteen years after the\nDeluge, but where he was preserved through it is uncertain.\u201d[179]\n\nBut the general opinion of the Jews follows the Midrash. The Rabbi\nSolomon says, he died seven days before the Flood; and the Pirke of\nRabbi Eliezer and the Jalkut confirm this opinion. He is said to have\npronounced three hundred and thirty parables to the honour of the Most\nHigh. But the origin of this is to be traced to the Cabbalists, who say\nthat, by transposition of the letters of his name, the anagram \u201cHe who\nprophesied in parables\u201d can be read.[180]\n\nHe had a sword inscribed with the Schem hammphorasch (the Incommunicable\nName), and with it he succeeded in slaying a thousand devils.[181]\n\nFootnote 177:\n\n  Colin de Plancy, p. 102.\n\nFootnote 178:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 12; so also Targum of Palestine, Etheridge, i. p. 179.\n\nFootnote 179:\n\n  Chron. Gr\u00e6c., ed. Scaliger, Lugd. Batav. 1606, p. 4.\n\nFootnote 180:\n\n  Fabricius, i. p. 225.\n\nFootnote 181:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 651.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XIV.\n                                  NOAH\n\n\nThe earth being filled with violence, God resolved on its destruction,\nbut Noah, the just, He purposed to save alive.\n\nOn the words of Genesis, \u201c_All flesh had corrupted his way upon the\nearth_,\u201d the Rabbi Johanan taught that not only was the race of men\nutterly demoralized, but also all the races of animals.[182] Noah and\nhis family, and one pair of all the beasts of earth, were to be saved in\nthe ark, but of every clean beast seven were to enter in. Falsehood\nhastened to the ark and asked to be admitted; Noah refused. \u201cI admit the\nanimals only in pairs,\u201d said he.\n\nThen Falsehood went away in wrath, and met Injustice, who said\u2014\n\n\u201cWhy art thou so sad?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have been refused admittance into the ark, for I am single,\u201d said\nFalsehood; \u201cbe thou my companion.\u201d\n\n\u201cSee, now,\u201d answered Injustice, \u201cI take no companionship without\nprospect of gain.\u201d\n\n\u201cFear not,\u201d said Falsehood, \u201cI will spread the toils and thou shalt have\nthe booty.\u201d\n\nSo they went together to the ark, and Noah was unable to refuse them\nadmission. And when the Flood was passed and the beasts went forth out\nof the ark, Falsehood said angrily, \u201cI have done my work and have caused\nevil, but thou hast all the plunder; share with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou fool!\u201d answered Injustice, \u201cdost thou forget the agreement? Thine\nit is to spread the net, mine alone to take the spoil.\u201d[183]\n\nAt the time of the Deluge the giants were not all drowned, for Og\nplanted his foot upon the fountains of the great deep, and with his\nhands stopped the windows of heaven, or the water would have risen over\nhis head. The Rabbi Eliezer[184] said that the giants exclaimed, when\nthe Flood broke out, \u201cIf all the waters of the earth be gathered\ntogether, they will only reach our waists; but if the fountains of the\ngreat deep be broken up, we must stamp them down again.\u201d And this they\ndid, but God made the waters boiling hot, and it scalded them so that\ntheir flesh was boiled and fell off their bones.[185] But what became of\nOg in the Deluge we learn from the Talmud.[186] He went into the water\nalong with a rhinoceros[187] beside the ark, and clung to it; now the\nwater round the ark was cold, but all the rest was boiling hot. Thus he\nwas saved alive, whereas the other giants perished.\n\nAccording to another authority, Og climbed on the roof of the ark; and\non Noah attempting to dislodge him, he swore that, if allowed to remain\nthere, he and his posterity would be the slaves of the sons of Noah.\nThereupon the patriarch yielded. He bored a hole in the side of the\nvessel, and passed through it every day the food necessary for the\ngiant\u2019s consumption.[188]\n\nIt is asserted by some Rabbinic writers that the Deluge did not overflow\nthe land of Israel, but was partial; some say the Holy Land was alone\nleft dry, and a rhinoceros had taken refuge on it and so escaped being\ndrowned. But others say that the land of Israel was submerged, though\nall agree that the rhinoceros survived without having entered the ark.\nAnd they explain the escape of the rhinoceros in this manner. Its head\nwas taken into the ark, and it swam behind the vessel. Now the\nrhinoceros is a very large animal, and could not be admitted into the\nark lest it should swamp it. The Rabbi Jannai says, he saw a young\nrhinoceros of a day old, and it was as big as Mount Tabor; and Tabor\u2019s\ndimensions are forty miles. Its neck was three miles long, and its head\nhalf a mile. It dropped dung, and the dung choked up Jordan. Other\ncommentators object that the head was too large to be admitted into the\nark, and suppose that only the tip of its nose was received. But as the\nark swayed on the waters, Noah tied the horn of the rhinoceros to the\nside of the vessel, lest the beast\u2019s nose should slip off in a lurch of\nthe ark, and so the creature perish.\n\nAll this is from the Talmud.\n\nLet us now turn to some of the Mussulman legends of Noah. His history is\nbriefly related in the Koran, in the chapter entitled \u201cHud.\u201d\n\n\u201cNoah built the ark with our assistance and that of the angels,\nfollowing the knowledge we revealed to him, and we said to him: Speak no\nmore in behalf of the sinners; they shall all be drowned.\n\n\u201cWhilst Noah was building his ark, all those who passed by mocked him;\nbut he said to them: Though you rail at me now, the time will come when\nI shall rail at you; for you will learn to your cost, Who it is that\npunishes the wicked in this world, and reserves for them a further\npunishment in the world to come.\u201d\n\nIn the annals of Eutychius of Alexandria, who wrote in Egypt in the\ntenth century, and who probably quoted from apocryphal documents now\nperished, we read that, before the Flood broke out, Noah made a bell of\nplane wood, about five feet high, which he sounded every day, morning,\nnoon, and evening. When any one asked him why he did so, he replied, \u201cTo\nwarn you that God will send a deluge to destroy you all.\u201d\n\nEutychius adds some further particulars.\n\n\u201cBefore they entered the ark,\u201d says he, \u201cNoah and his sons went to the\ncave of Elcanuz, where lay the bodies of Adam, Seth, Cainan, Mahalaleel,\nJared, Methuselah, and Lamech. He kissed his dead ancestors, and bore\noff the body of Adam together with precious oblations. Shem bore gold;\nHam took myrrh; and Japheth incense. Having gone forth, as they\ndescended the Holy Mount they lifted their eyes to Paradise, which\ncrowned it, and said, with tears, \u2018Farewell! Holy Paradise, farewell!\u2019\nand they kissed the stones and embraced the trees of the Holy\nMount.\u201d[189]\n\nIbn Abbas, one of the commentators on the Koran, adds, that Noah being\nin doubt as to the shape he was to give to the ark, God revealed to him\nthat it was to be modelled on the plan of a bird\u2019s belly, and that it\nwas to be constructed of teak wood. Noah planted the tree, and in twenty\nyears it grew to such a size that out of it he was able to build the\nentire ark.[190]\n\nTo return to the Koran.\n\n\u201cWhen the time prescribed for the punishment of men was arrived, and the\noven began to boil and vomit, we said to Noah: Take and bring into the\nark two couples of every kind of animal, male and female, with all your\nfamily, except him who has been condemned by your mouth, and receive the\nfaithful, and even the unbelievers; but few only will enter.\u201d\n\nThe interpreters of the Koran say that the ark was built in two years.\nThey give it the dimensions mentioned in Genesis:\u2014three stages, that on\nthe top for the birds, the middle one for the men and the provisions,\nwhilst the beasts occupied the hold. The sign of the outburst of the\nFlood was that water flowed out of the burning oven of Noah\u2019s wife. Then\nall the veins and arteries of the earth broke and spirted out water. He\nwho was excluded was Canaan, the son of Ham, whom he had cursed. But\nAbulfeda says that it was Jam, a fourth son of Noah, who was excluded\nfrom the ark.[191] The Persians say that Ham incurred his father\u2019s\nmalediction as well, and, for that, he and his posterity became black\nand were enslaved; but that Noah, grieved for his son\u2019s progeny, prayed\nGod to have mercy on them, and God made the slave to be loved and\ncherished by his master.\n\nThe Koran says, \u201cNoah having entered the ark with his wife (Noema,\ndaughter of Enoch, according to the Yaschar; Noria, according to the\nGnostics; Vesta, according to the Cabbalists), and his three sons, Shem,\nHam, and Japheth, and their wives, the three daughters of Eliakim, son\nof Methuselah, he said to those who dwell on the earth, \u2018Embark in the\nname of the Lord.\u2019\n\n\u201cAnd whilst he thus spake, the ark advanced or halted, according to his\norder, in the name of God.\u201d\n\nBut the Yaschar says that the ungodly dwellers on the earth, finding the\nFlood rising, hastened in such crowds to the ark, that they would have\noverfilled it, had not the lions and other animals within defended the\nentrance and repulsed them.[192]\n\nAccording to some Oriental traditions, Noah embarked at Koufah;\naccording to others, near where Babylon was afterwards erected; but some\nsay in India; and some affirm that in the six months during which the\nDeluge lasted, the ark made the circuit of the world.[193]\n\nNoah, seeing that his grandson Canaan was not on board, called to him,\nand said, \u201cEmbark, my child, and do not remain among the ungodly.\u201d\n\nBut Canaan replied, \u201cI will ascend the mountains, and shall be safe\nthere.\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing can save thee to-day but the mercy of God,\u201d said Noah.\n\nWhilst thus speaking, a wave rushed between them and submerged Canaan.\n\nAfter forty days, the ark swam from one end of the earth to the other,\nover the highest mountains. Over Mount Kubeis, chosen by God in which to\npreserve the sacred black stone of the Kaaba, the ark revolved seven\ntimes.[194]\n\nTabari says that Noah had four sons, and that of these Canaan was the\nyoungest, and that the three elder believed in his mission, but his wife\nand Canaan laughed at his predictions. The animals that were brought\ninto the ark were collected and wafted to it by the wind. When the ass\nwas about to enter, Eblis (Satan) caught hold of its tail. The ass came\non slowly; Noah was impatient, and exclaimed, \u201cYou cursed one, come in\nquick.\u201d\n\nWhen Eblis was within, Noah saw him, and said, \u201cWhat right have you in\nhere?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have entered at your invitation,\u201d answered the Evil One. \u201cYou said,\n\u2018Cursed one, come in;\u2019 I am the accursed one.\u201d\n\nWhen six months had passed, the ark rested on the surface of the water\nabove Djondi,[195] and the rain ceased to fall, and God said to the\nearth, \u201cSuck in the water;\u201d and to the sky, \u201cWithhold thy rains.\u201d The\nwater abated; and the ark lodged on the top of the mountain.\n\n\u201cThere left the ark two sorts of animals which had not entered it\u2014the\npig and the cat. These animals did not exist before the Deluge, and God\ncreated them in the ark because it was full of filth and human\nexcrements, which caused a great stench. The persons in the ark, not\nbeing able to endure any longer the smell, complained to Noah. Then Noah\npassed his hand down the back of the elephant, and it evacuated the pig.\nThe pig ate all the dung which was in the ark, and the stench was no\nmore.\n\n\u201cSome time after the rats gave great annoyance. They ate the food, and\nbefouled what they did not eat. Then the voyagers went to Noah, and said\nto him, You delivered us in our former difficulty, but now we are\nplagued with rats, which gnaw our garments, eat our victuals, and cover\neverything with their filth. Then Noah passed his hand down the back of\nthe lion, who sneezed, and the cat leaped out of its nose. And the cat\nate the rats.\n\n\u201cWhen Noah had left the ark, he passed forty days on the mountain, till\nall the water had subsided into the sea. All the briny water that is\nthere is what remains from the Flood.\n\n\u201cNoah said to the raven, Go and place your foot on the earth and see\nwhat is the depth of the water. The raven departed; but, having found a\ncarcase, it remained to devour it, and did not return. Noah was\nprovoked, and he cursed the raven, saying, May God make thee\ncontemptible among men, and let carrion be thy food!\n\n\u201cAfter that Noah sent forth the dove. The dove departed, and, without\ntarrying, put her feet in the water. The water of the Flood scalded and\npickled the legs of the dove. It was hot and briny, and feathers would\nnot grow on her legs any more, and the skin scaled off. Now, doves which\nhave red and featherless legs are of the sort that Noah sent forth. The\ndove returning showed her legs to Noah, who said, May God render thee\nwell-pleasing to men! For that reason the dove is dear to men\u2019s\nhearts.\u201d[196]\n\nAnother version of the story is this. Noah blessed the dove, and since\nthen she has borne a neck-ring of green feathers; but the raven, on the\nother hand, he cursed, that its flight should be crooked, and never\ndirect like that of other birds.[197] This is also a Jewish legend.[198]\n\nAfter that, Noah descended the mountain along with the eighty persons\nwho had been saved with him, and he found that not a house was left\nstanding on the face of the earth. Noah built a town consisting of\neighty houses,\u2014a house apiece for all who had been saved with him.[199]\n\nFabricius, in his collection of apocrypha of the Old Testament, has\npublished the prayer that Noah offered daily in the ark, beside the body\nof Adam, which he bore with him, to bury it on Golgotha.\n\n\u201cO Lord, Thou art excellent in truth, and nothing is great beside Thee;\nlook upon us in mercy; deliver us from this deluge of water for the sake\nof the pangs of Adam, the first man whom Thou didst make; for the sake\nof the blood of Abel, the holy one; for the sake of just Seth, in whom\nThou didst delight; number us not amongst those who have broken Thy\ncommandments, but cover us with Thy protection, for Thou art our\ndeliverer, and to Thee alone are due the praises uttered by the works of\nThy hands from all eternity.\u201d And all the children of Noah responded,\n\u201cAmen, O Lord.\u201d[200]\n\nNoah is said to have left the ark on the tenth day of the first month of\nthe Mussulman year, and to have instituted the fast which the\nMahommedans observe on that day, to thank God for his deliverance.\n\nAccording to the Book of Enoch, the water of the Flood was transformed\nby God into fire, which will consume the world and the ungodly, at the\nconsummation of all things.[201]\n\nThe Targum of Palestine says that the dove plucked the leaf she brought\nto Noah from off a tree on the Mount of Olives.[202]\n\nThe Book Jasher supplies an omission in Genesis. In Genesis it is said\nof Lamech, on the birth of Noah, \u201c_He called his name Noah; saying, This\nsame shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because\nof the ground which the Lord hath cursed_;\u201d[203] but Noah signifies\n_rest_, not _comfort_. The Book Jasher says that Methuselah called the\nchild Noah, _rest_, because the land rested from the curse; but Lamech\ncalled him Menahem, _comfort_, for the reason given in the text of\nGenesis. The sacred writer has given one name with the signification of\nthe other.[204]\n\nFootnote 182:\n\n  Talmud, Tractat. Sanhedrin, fol. 108, col. 1. So also the Book\n  Yaschar, p. 1097.\n\nFootnote 183:\n\n  Jalkut, Genesis, fol. 14a.\n\nFootnote 184:\n\n  Jalkut Shimoni, Job. fol. 121, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 185:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 385. The Targum of Palestine says the water was hot\n  (i. p. 179).\n\nFootnote 186:\n\n  Tractat. Sevachim, fol. 113, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 187:\n\n  Or, a unicorn; the Hebrew word is Re\u00e9m.\n\nFootnote 188:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 14.\n\nFootnote 189:\n\n  Eutych., Patriarcha Alex., ed. Selden, i. p. 36.\n\nFootnote 190:\n\n  Tabari, p. 108.\n\nFootnote 191:\n\n  Abulfeda, p. 17.\n\nFootnote 192:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1100.\n\nFootnote 193:\n\n  Colin de Plancy, p. 110.\n\nFootnote 194:\n\n  Weil, p. 45.\n\nFootnote 195:\n\n  Ararat.\n\nFootnote 196:\n\n  Tabari, c. xli.\n\nFootnote 197:\n\n  Weil, p. 45.\n\nFootnote 198:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 15.\n\nFootnote 199:\n\n  Tabari, p. 113.\n\nFootnote 200:\n\n  Fabricius, i. pp. 74, 243.\n\nFootnote 201:\n\n  Ed. Dillmann, c. 67.\n\nFootnote 202:\n\n  Ed. Etheridge, i. p. 182.\n\nFootnote 203:\n\n  Gen. v. 20.\n\nFootnote 204:\n\n  In the Midrash Rabba, this want of connection between the name and the\n  signification is remarked upon, and Solomon Jarki in his commentary\n  says that, for the meaning assigned, the name ought to have been, not\n  Noah, but Menahem.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XV.\n                     HEATHEN LEGENDS OF THE DELUGE.\n\n\nArarat has borne this name for three thousand years. We read in the Book\nof Genesis that \u201c_the ark rested, in the seventh month, on the\nseventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat_.\u201d In\npassages of the Old Testament, as in Isaiah xxxvii. 38 and 2 Kings xix.\n37, mention is made of a land, in Jeremiah li. 27 of a kingdom, of\nArarat; and we are likewise informed by Moses of Chorene, the first\nauthority among Armenian writers, that an entire country bore this name\nafter an ancient Armenian king, Arai the Fair, who lived about 1750\nyears before Christ. He fell in a bloody battle with the Babylonians on\na plain in Armenia, called after him Arai-Arat, the Fall of Arai.\n\nBefore this event the country bore the name of Amasia, from its\nsovereign, Amassis, the sixth in descent from Japheth, who gave the name\nof Massis to the mountain. This is still the only name by which it is\nknown to the Armenians; for, though it is called Ararat in the Armenian\nedition of the Old Testament, yet the people call it Massis, and know no\nother name for it. The Mussulmans call it Agridagh, the strong mountain.\nThe name by which it is known to the Persians is Kuhi-Nuh, the mountain\nof Noah, or Saad-dagh, the Blessed Mountain.[205]\n\nBut tradition is not at one as to the peak on which the ark rested, or\nfrom which Noah descended, as we shall presently see. Ararat is 17,210\nfeet in altitude above the sea, and 14,320 feet above the plain of the\nAraxes. On the north-eastern slope of the mountain, even from a\ndistance, may be seen a deep, gloomy chasm, which gives the appearance\nas if the mountain had been rent asunder at the top: this was probably\nat some remote period the volcanic vent, for the mountain is composed of\ntufa, scoria, and erupted matter. It shoots up in one rigid crest, and\nthen sweeps down towards Little Ararat, the second summit, which stands\n13,000 feet above the sea.[206]\n\nThe people of the neighbourhood point to a step on the mountain side,\ncovered with perpetual snow and glacier, and where, say they, the ark\nrested; and to a town near Ararat named Naktschiwan, or \u201cthe first\noutgoing\u201d of Noah from the ark. This etymological interpretation is\nprobably as questionable as that of Ararat given by Moses of Chorene; it\nis true the city is ancient, for it was severely injured by an\nearthquake in the reign of Astyages the Median, in the sixth century\nbefore Christ. It is called Naxuana by Josephus,[207] and he says it was\nso called because there Noah first descended from the ark, and that\nremains of the ark were there to be seen carefully preserved. And there,\nsays the Armenian historian Vartan, is also the tomb of Noah. Nicolas of\nDamascus, in his History of Syria, Berosus the ancient Babylonian writer\nand other heathen historians, tell a similar tale; and we learn that\nrelics of the ark were distributed thence, and were regarded with the\nutmost reverence, as amulets.\n\nNicolas of Damascus, who wrote in the reign of Augustus, says, \u201cThere is\nbeyond the Minyadian land a great mountain in Armenia, Baris by name\n(perhaps for Masis), on which, as the tradition says, some one sailing\nover it in an ark, lodged on the topmost peak. The remains of the wood\ncontinued to exist long. Perhaps this may be the same as he of whom\nMoses, the Jewish historian, has written.\u201d[208]\n\nThe story quoted by Eusebius from an ancient writer named Molo, gives a\nform of the Syrian tradition. \u201cAfter the Deluge, the man who with his\nsons escaped the flood, went out of Armenia, after he had been driven\nout of his inheritance by the violence of the natives. He came thence\ninto the mountains of Syria, which were then uninhabited.\u201d[209] And with\nthis agrees a curious allusion in Lucian, who was himself a Syrian. He\nsays that there was in Syria, in the city Hierapolis, a religious\nfestival, and a very ancient temple, connected \u201cwith the popular story\nof Deucalion the Scythian, who lived at the time of the great Deluge.\u201d\nIt is curious that he should give to the Syrian Noah the Greek name, and\nthat he should speak of him as not a native, but as coming from the\nEast, from Scythia. He says: \u201cOf this Deucalion have I heard in Greece,\nwhat the Greeks relate. The story is this: The present race of men is\nnot the first, for that perished. This is the second race which sprang\nfrom Deucalion, and was very numerous. The earlier generation was very\nevil, and violated the Divine law. They neither kept oaths nor showed\nhospitality; they took not the stranger in, nor protected him when he\nsought protection; therefore a terrible destruction fell upon them. Much\nwater gushed out of the earth, great rains poured down, and the sea rose\nand overwhelmed the earth. Deucalion alone of all men was preserved to\nanother generation on account of his wisdom and piety. He was thus\nsaved. He went into a great ark which he had built, along with his wife\nand children. Then came to him, pair by pair, cows, horses, lions,\nserpents, and all kinds of animals which are nourished on earth, and he\ntook them all in. They did not hurt him, for Zeus ordained a great\nfriendship among them. So they all sailed in the ark as long as the\nflood lasted. This is the Greek story of Deucalion.\n\n\u201cBut very wonderful is the confirmation of the history as it is related\nin Hierapolis. In the neighbourhood of that city a great chasm opened\nwhich engulphed all the waters of the Flood. Thereupon Deucalion erected\naltars, and dedicated a temple to Here (Atergatis) over the chasm. I\nhave seen this; it is very small: whether it was once large but has\nsince become smaller, I cannot say; but I saw that it was small. For the\nconfirmation of the history the following takes place: twice in the year\nthe sea-water is brought into the temple. Not only do the priests bear\nit, but all Syria and Arabia, and many from beyond Euphrates, come and\ncarry water. They pour it out in the temple; then it runs down into the\nchasm, and, though it may be very small, it takes in all the water\npoured into it. This they do, say they, because Deucalion instituted\nthis rite as a memorial of his deliverance, and of the mercy of\nGod.\u201d[210]\n\nEqually fully has the Babylonian tradition reached us from the Chaldee\nhistory of the old priest of Bel, Berosus (B.C. 260). The Chaldees had\nplaced ten kings at the head of this mystic history, which answer to the\nten generations in Genesis before the Flood. The last of these\npatriarchs was called Xisuthrus, who is the same as the Biblical Noah.\nBerosus relates the story of the Deluge thus: \u201cUnder the reign of\nXisuthrus there was a great flood. Kronos (_i.e._ Bel) appeared to\nXisuthrus in a dream, and warned him that all men would be destroyed by\na deluge on the 15th of the month D\u00e6sios, and he commanded him to write\ndown all the learning and science of men, and to hide it in the sun-city\nSiparis, and then to build a ship and to enter it along with his family\nand relatives and nearest friends, and to take into it with him food and\ndrink, and beasts and winged fowl. When he was asked whither he was\nabout to sail, he was bidden reply: To the gods, to pray them that men\nmay prosper. He obeyed; and made an ark five stadia long and two wide,\nlaid in what was commanded, and sailed with his wife and child and\nrelatives. When the flood abated, Xisuthrus sent out a bird which, as it\nfound no food nor ground on which to perch, returned to the ship. After\na day, he sent out another bird; this came back with mud on its feet.\nThe third bird he sent out did not return. So Xisuthrus knew that the\nland appeared, and he broke a hole in the ship and saw that the ship was\nstranded on a mountain; so he disembarked with his wife and daughter and\nsteersman; and when he had adored the earth, raised an altar, and\noffered to the gods, he vanished. Those who remained in the ship also\nwent out, when they saw that Xisuthrus did not return, to seek\nXisuthrus, and they called him by name. But Xisuthrus appeared again no\nmore, only his voice was heard bidding them fear God, and telling them\nthat he was taken to dwell with the gods, because he was pious. The same\nhonour was accorded to his wife and daughter and to the steersman.\u201d This\nrefers to their being set in the sky as constellations: Xisuthrus as the\nwater-bearer, the virgin, and steersman still occupy their places there.\n\u201cHe bade them,\u201d continues Berosus, \u201creturn to Babylon, and, as Fate\ndecreed, take his writings out of Siparis, and from them instruct men.\nThe place where they found themselves was Armenia. Some fragments of the\nship remain on the mountains of the Kordy\u00e6ans in Armenia, and some take\naway particles and use them as amulets.\u201d[211]\n\nEusebius has preserved a fragment of another Babylonian writer,\nAbydenos, which gives the same story precisely.[212]\n\nAnother Chaldee tradition preserved by Cassian is that, before the\nFlood, Ham concealed in the ground treatises of witchcraft and alchemy,\nand that, when the water abated, he recovered them.[213] According to\nBerosus also, Xisuthrus had three sons,\u2014Zerovanos, Titan, and\nJapetosthes. Zerovanos is the same as Zoroaster.\n\nFrom Phrygia also come to us traces of a Diluvian tradition. A number of\ncoins of Apamea, a city of Phrygia, between the rivers M\u00e6ander and\nMarsyas, of the period of Septimius Severus and the following emperors,\npossibly bear reference to this event.[214] One, a coin of Philip, bears\non the reverse something like a box, containing a man and woman; on the\npanel of the box, under the man, is written \u201cNoe,\u201d the dove is bringing\nthe olive branch, and the raven is seated on the edge of the box above\nthe head of the female figure. The same two persons are also represented\non dry land, with the right hand uplifted in the attitude of prayer.\nAnother coin with the same subject, on the reverse has, inscribed on the\nark, \u039d\u0397\u03a4\u03a9\u039d.\n\nTo elucidate these coins, reference is made to a passage in the\nSibylline Oracles to this effect: \u201cIn Phrygia lies steep, to be seen\nfrom afar, a mountain, named Ararat.... Therefrom streams the river\nMarsyas; but on its crest rested the ark (\u03ba\u03b9\u03b2\u03c9\u03c4\u03cc\u03c2) when the rain\nabated.\u201d[215] As the ancient name of Apamea seems to have been Kibotos,\nit is not unlikely that the Sibylline writer mixed together in those\nlines the Mosaic and the Phrygian traditions.\n\nIt must, however, be admitted that it is quite as probable that the box\nrepresents a temple, and the two figures tutelary deities, and that the\n\u201cNoe\u201d is a contraction for \u201cNeocoros,\u201d the most important title assumed\nby Greek cities, and often recorded on their coins.\n\nThe ancient Persian account in the Bundehesch is this:\u2014\u201cTaschter (the\nspirit ruling the waters) found water for thirty days and thirty nights\nupon the earth. Every water-drop was as big as a bowl. The earth was\ncovered with water the height of a man. All idolaters on earth died\nthrough the rain; it penetrated all openings. Afterwards a wind from\nheaven divided the water and carried it away in clouds, as souls bear\nbodies; then Ormuzd collected all the water together and placed it as a\nboundary to the earth, and thus was the great ocean formed.\u201d[216]\n\nThe ancient Indian tradition is, \u201cthat in the reign of the sun-born\nmonarch Satyavrata, the whole earth was drowned, and the whole human\nrace destroyed by a flood, except the pious prince himself, the seven\nRishis and their several wives.\u201d This general _pralaya_, or destruction,\nis the subject of the first Purana, or sacred poem; and the story is\nconcisely told in the eighth book of the Bhagavata, from which the\nfollowing is an abridged extract:\u2014\u201cThe demon Hayagriva having purloined\nthe Vedas from Brahma whilst he was reposing, the whole race of men\nbecame corrupt, except the seven Rishis and Satyavrata. This prince was\nperforming his ablutions in the river Critamala, when Vishnu appeared to\nhim in the shape of a small fish, and after several augmentations of\nbulk in different waters, was placed by Satyavrata in the ocean, when he\nthus addressed his amazed votary:\u2014\u2018In seven days all creatures who have\noffended me shall be destroyed by a deluge; but thou shalt be secured in\na capacious vessel miraculously formed. Take, therefore, all kinds of\nmedicinal herbs and esculent grain for food, and, together with the\nseven holy men, your respective wives, and pairs of all animals, enter\nthe ark without fear; then shalt thou know God face to face, and all thy\nquestions shall be answered.\u2019 Saying this, he disappeared; and, after\nseven days, the ocean began to overflow the coasts, and the earth to be\nflooded by constant showers, when Satyavrata, meditating on the Deity,\nsaw a large vessel moving on the waters: he entered it, having in all\nrespects conformed to the instructions of Vishnu, who, in the form of a\nlarge fish, suffered the vessel to be tied with a great sea-serpent, as\nwith a cable, to his measureless horn. When the deluge had ceased,\nVishnu slew the demon and recovered the Vedas, and instructed Satyavrata\nin divine knowledge.\u201d[217]\n\nThe Mahabharata says that the boat containing Manu and his seven\ncompanions rested on Mount Naubhandanam, the highest peak of the\nHimalayas; and the name Naubhandanam signifies \u201cships stranding.\u201d[218]\n\nThe Greek traditions are not early, and were probably borrowed from\nSemitic sources. We have seen the story told by Lucian in his book \u201cDe\nDea Syra,\u201d but in his \u201cTimon\u201d he follows the more authentic Greek\nlegend, and makes Deucalion escape in a little skiff (consequently\nwithout the animals), and land on Mount Lycoris.\n\nWe have also the same catastrophe somewhat differently related by Ovid.\nThe world he represents \u201cas confederate in crime,\u201d and doomed therefore\nto just punishment. Jupiter sends down rain from heaven, and rivers and\nseas gushing forth from their caves gather over the earth\u2019s surface, and\nsweep mankind away. Deucalion and his wife alone, borne in a little\nskiff, are stranded on the top of Parnassus. By degrees, the waters\nsubside: the only surviving pair inquire of the gods how they may again\npeople the desert earth. They are ordered, with veiled heads, to throw\nbehind them the bones of their great mother. Half doubtful as to the\nmeaning of the oracle, they throw behind them stones, which are\nimmediately changed into men and women, and the earth spontaneously\nproduces the rest of the animal creation.[219]\n\nApollodorus relates the matter thus:\u2014\u201cWhen Zeus determined to destroy\nthe brazen race, Deucalion, by the advice of Prometheus, made a great\nark, \u03bb\u03ac\u03c1\u03bd\u03b1\u03be, and put into it all necessary things, and entered it with\nPyrrha. Zeus then, pouring down heavy rains from heaven, overwhelmed the\ngreater part of Greece, so that all men perished except a few who fled\nto the highest mountains. He floated nine days and nights in the sea of\nwaters, and at last stopped on Mount Parnassus. Then Zeus sent Hermes to\nask him what he wished, and he solicited that mankind might be made\nagain. Zeus bade him throw stones over his head, from which men should\ncome, and said that those cast by Pyrrha should be turned into women.\u201d\n\nStephanus of Byzantium says that the tradition was that after the\nsurface of the earth became dry, Zeus ordered Prometheus and Athene to\nmake images of clay in the form of men; and when they were dry, he\ncalled the winds and made them breathe into each, and rendered them\nvital: and thus the earth after the Flood was repeopled.[220] Diodorus\nsays, \u201cIn the Deluge, which happened in the time of Deucalion, almost\nall flesh died.\u201d[221]\n\nThe Chinese begin their dynasties with Jao, the last of the old race,\nwhose words are thus recorded in the Schu-Kiug:\u2014\u201cThe mighty waters of\nthe flood spread themselves out, and overflowed, and drowned everything.\nThe mountains disappeared in the deep, and the hills were buried beneath\nthem. The foaming billows seemed to threaten heaven. All people were\ndrowned.\u201d[222] An ancient inscription, which the Chinese attribute to\nYu, the third patriarch after the Flood, and which at least dates from\nbefore Christ, refers to this event:\u2014\u201cThe illustrious Emperor Jao said,\nsighing, \u2018Companions and counsellors! The great and little territories\nup to the mountain\u2019s peak, the homes of birds and wild beasts, were\noverflowed far and wide. Long had I forgotten my home; now I rest upon\nthe mountain top of Jo-lu.... The trouble is over, and the misfortune is\nat an end; the streams of the south flow, clothes and food are before\nus. The world is at rest, and the flying rain cannot again destroy\nus.\u2019\u201d[223]\n\nIn one of the writings of the disciples of Tao-tse, the tradition takes\na fuller form. Kung-Kung, a bad spirit, enraged at having been overcome\nin war, gave such a blow against one of the pillars of the sky with his\nhead that he broke it; and the vault of heaven fell in, and a tremendous\nflood overwhelmed the earth. But Niu-Noa overcame the water with wood,\nand made a boat to save himself, which could go far; and he polished a\nstone of five colours\u2014the rainbow\u2014and therewith he fastened the heavens,\nand lifted them up on a tortoise-shell. Then he killed the black dragon\nKong-Kong, and choked the holes in heaven with the ashes of a\npumpkin.[224] In the story of Jao there is also a faint trace of his\nconnection with the rainbow, for he is said to have eyebrows coloured\nand shaped like rainbows.[225]\n\nThe Kamskadales say, \u201cthat in the remote ages when their great ancestor\nand God, Kutka, lived in Kamschatka, there was a mighty deluge. Many men\nwere drowned therein, but some tried to save themselves in boats, but\nthe waves overwhelmed them. Those who were saved were rescued on great\nrafts made of trees bound together, to which they retreated, taking food\nand their property with them. And that they might not drift out to sea,\nthey anchored themselves with great stones, which they tied to the edges\nand let down into the water. And when the flood abated, they rested on\nthe top of a high mountain.\u201d[226]\n\nA Lapp tradition is that God once submerged the world, saving only one\nbrother and sister alive, whom He placed on Mount Passeware. When all\nthe water disappeared, the children separated to wander over the earth,\nand see whether they alone remained alive. They met after three years,\nand then separated again, for they recognized one another as brother and\nsister. After three years they met, but turned their backs on one\nanother once more for the same reason. Again they met after the lapse of\nthree years, and again they parted; but when they met again, after three\nyears\u2019 further absence, they no longer recognized each other, and so\nthey took one another in marriage; and of them all generations of men\nare come.[227]\n\nAmong the Kelts, the Deluge formed a prominent feature, and the ark was\nconnected with their most sacred religious rites.\n\nA Welsh legend is this:\u2014\u201cOne of the most dreadful of events was the\noutbreak of Llyn Llion, the sea of seas, which overwhelmed the world and\ndrowned all men except Dwyan and Dwyvach, who escaped in a bare boat and\ncolonized Britain. This ship was one of the three masterpieces of Hu,\nand was built by the heavenly lord, Reivion; and it received into it a\npair of every kind of beast when the Llyn Llion burst forth.\u201d This\nReivion is the same as Hu Cadarn, the discoverer of the vine; and it is\nsaid of him that \u201che built the ark laden with fruit, and it was stayed\nup in the water, and carried forward by serpents;\u201d and of the rainbow it\nwas said, that the Woman of the silver wheel, Arianrhod, to control the\nwizards of night and evil spirits of tempest, and out of love to the\nBritons, \u201cwove the stream of the rainbow,\u2014a stream which drives the\nstorm from the earth, and makes its former destruction stay far from it,\nthroughout the world\u2019s circle.\u201d[228]\n\nThe Norse legend in the younger Edda is, \u201cB\u00f6r\u2019s sons (Odin, Vilj, and\nVe) slew the giant Ymir; and when he fell, so much blood (in poetic\nphraseology Ymir\u2019s blood signified water) ran out of the wounds, that\nthe whole race of the giants was drowned in it, except one, who with his\nfamily escaped; this one is called Bergelmr. He got into a boat along\nwith his wife, and was thus saved.\u201d[229]\n\nThe Lithuanian myth was this:\u2014When Pramzimas, the most high God, looked\nout of his heavenly house upon the world through a window, he saw that\nit was filled with violence. Then he sent Wind and Water to devastate\nthe earth, and this they did for twenty days and nights. Pramzimas\nlooked on, and as he looked on, he ate nuts at his window, and threw the\nshells down. One shell fell on the top of a mountain, and some men,\nwomen, and beasts scrambled into it and were saved alive, while all the\nrest of the inhabitants of the world were drowned. When the flood\ndrained away, the pairs in the nut-shell left it, and were scattered\nover the earth. Only one aged couple remained, and they complained; then\nGod sent them the rainbow to console them, and bade them jump over the\nbones of the earth. They jumped nine times, and nine pairs of living\nhuman beings started to life, and founded the nine races of Lithuanian\nblood.[230]\n\nAmong the negroes of Africa, traditions are faint, or have been little\nsought after and collected. The Jumala negroes say that once when the\nearth was full of cruelty and wickedness, the god Til destroyed it with\nfire, and that one man alone was saved alive, named Musikdgen, _i.e._\nthe mountain chief, because he was found without blame.\n\nIn America the crop of traditions is abundant.\n\nThe Kolosches, living in Russian America, say that the first dweller on\nthe earth was Kitkhughia-si, and that he resolved to destroy all his\nchildren who sinned against him. Thereupon he brought a flood over the\nland, and all perished save a few who escaped in boats to the tops of\nmountains, where, say they, the remains of the boats, and the ropes\nwhich fastened them, remain to be seen.[231]\n\nAmong the Dog-rib Indians, Sir John Franklin found the story much more\ncomplete; and as this tribe lives near the Polar Sea, far from any\nmission stations, it is scarcely possible that the story can have been\nderived from Christian teachers. They say that Tsch\u00e4piwih, their great\nancestor, lived on a track between two seas. He built a weir, and caught\nfish in such abundance that they choked the watercourse, and the water\noverflowed the earth. Tsch\u00e4piwih with his family entered his canoe, and\ntook with him all kinds of beasts and birds. The land was covered for\nmany days; at last Tsch\u00e4piwih could bear it no longer, so he sent out\nthe beaver to look for the earth. But the beaver was drowned. Then he\nsent out the musk-rat, which had some difficulty in returning, but it\nhad mud on its paws. Tsch\u00e4piwih was glad to see the earth, and moulded\nit between his fingers, till it became an island on the surface of the\nwater, on which he could land.[232]\n\nThe Pacullies, on the west coast of New Georgia, say that at the Deluge\none man and one woman were saved by escaping into a cave; and they add\nthat when the earth was drowned, a water rat dived for it and brought it\nto the surface again.[233]\n\nA Caddoque tradition is, that Sakechah was a great hunter. One night he\nsaw in vision the Master of Life, who spoke to the dreamer these words:\u2014\n\n\u201cThe world is getting very wicked, Sakechah.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know it,\u201d answered the hunter.\n\n\u201cI hear no longer the voices of men supplicating me for favours; they no\nlonger thank me for what I send them. I must sweep, wash, and purify the\nearth; I must destroy all living creatures from off the face of it.\u201d\n\nThen Sakechah said, \u201cWhat have I done, Master of Life, that I should be\ninvolved in this general destruction?\u201d\n\nThe Master answered, \u201cNo, Sakechah, thou hast been a good servant; I\nwill except thee from the general doom. Go now, cut thee a hemlock,\nknock off the cones, and bring them, together with the trunk and leaves,\nto the bottom of the hill Wecheganawan. Burn them in a fire made of the\ndry branches of the oak, kindled with the straw of wild rice. When the\nheap is reduced to ashes, take the ashes and strew them in a circle\nround the hill. Nothing need be gathered within the circle, for the\nliving creatures will of themselves retreat to it for safety; but when\nthis is done, take the trunk of the hemlock, and strike it into the\nearth at the spot where the large tuft of grass is growing on the barren\nhill. There lies the great fountain of waters; and when the staff is\nstruck into the earth the fountain shall burst forth, and the earth be\nswept and washed and purified by the great deluge that shall overwhelm\nit. Sakechah and his family shall alone, of all the inhabitants of the\nearth, be saved; and the creatures he assembles around him on the hill\nWecheganawan be alone those exempted from the all-sweeping destruction.\u201d\n\nThe hunter obeyed. He took the staff and stuck it deep into the earth at\nthe place indicated, and the great fountain was broken up, and the\nwaters burst forth in a mighty volume. Slowly the element began to cover\nthe earth, while the hunter and his family looked on. Now the low\ngrounds appeared but as they appear in the season of showers; here a\nlittle water, and there a little water; soon they became one vast sheet.\nNow a little hill sank from view, then the tops of the trees\ndisappeared; again a tall hill hid its head. At length the waves rose so\nhigh that Sakechah could see nothing more; he stood as it were in a\nwell. The waters were piled up on every side of him, restrained from\nharming him, or his, or the beasts that had clustered around him, by the\nmagic belt of hemlock ashes.\n\n\u201cSakechah!\u201d said the Master of Life, \u201cwhen the moon is exactly over thy\nhead, she will draw the waters on to the hill. She is angry with me\nbecause I scourged a comet. I cannot prevent her revenge unless I\ndestroy her, and that I may not do, as she is my wife. Therefore bid\nevery living creature that is on the hill take off the nail from the\nlittle finger of his right hand, if a man; if a bird, or beast, of the\nright foot or claw. When each has done this, bid him blow in the hollow\nof the nail with the right eye shut, saying these words, \u2018Nail become a\ncanoe, and save me from the wrath of the moon.\u2019 The nail will become a\nlarge canoe, and in this canoe will its owner be safe.\u201d\n\nThe Great Spirit was obeyed, and shortly every creature was floating in\na boat on the surface of the water. And, lest they should be dispersed,\nSakechah bound them together by thongs of buffalo-hide.\n\nThey continued floating for a long time, till at last Sakechah said,\n\u201cThis will not do\u2014we must have land. Go,\u201d said he to a raven that sat in\nhis canoe near him, \u201cfetch me a little earth from the bottom of the\nabyss. I will send a female, because women are quicker and more\nsearching than men.\u201d\n\nThe raven, proud of the praise bestowed on her sex, left her tail\nfeathers at home, and dived into the abyss. She was gone a long time,\nbut, notwithstanding her being a woman, she returned baffled of her\nobject. Whereupon Sakechah said to the otter, \u201cMy little man, I will\nsend you to the bottom, and see if your industry and perseverance will\nenable you to accomplish what has been left undone by the wit and\ncunning of the raven.\u201d So the otter departed upon his dangerous\nexpedition. He accomplished his object. When he again appeared on the\nearth, he held in his paw a lump of black mud. This he gave into the\nhands of Sakechah; and the Great Master bade him divide the lump into\nfive portions; that which came out of the middle of the lump he was\ncommanded to mould into a cake and to cast into the water: he did so,\nand it became dry land, on which he could disembark; and the earth thus\nformed was repeopled from his time. No matter whether the men of the\nearth be red or white, all are descended from Sakechah.[234]\n\nThe Iroquois tell a very similar story, differing from the above in\nmerely few trivial particulars. According to the tradition of the\nKnistineaux on the Upper Missouri, all men perished in the Deluge except\none woman, who caught the leg of a bird which carried her to the top of\na rock, where she was confined of twins, of whom the earth was\npeopled.[235]\n\nThe Appalachian tribe in Florida is a relic of a more ancient nation\nthan the North American Indian tribes. They relate that the lake Theomi\nburst its bounds, and overflowed the earth, and stood above the top of\nthe highest mountains, saving only the peak Oldamy, on which stood a\ntemple to the sun. Those men who had succeeded in reaching this temple\nwere saved, but all the rest of mankind perished.[236]\n\nAccording to the Cherokees, a dog foresaw the destruction that was\ncoming on the earth. It went every day to the bank of a river and\nhowled; and when its master rebuked it, it revealed to him what was\nabout to take place. The man therefore built a boat and entered it with\nhis family, and he alone of all mankind was saved.[237]\n\nIf we turn to Central America, we find that there also traditions of the\nFlood abounded.\n\nThe ancient inhabitants of Mexico related the event as follows:\u2014\n\nThere was a great deluge which destroyed all men and beasts, save Coxcox\nand his wife Chichequetzal, who escaped in a cyprus trunk and landed on\nMount Colhuacan, where they became parents of many children, who,\nhowever, were all dumb. Then appeared a dove, which seated itself on a\nhigh tree, and taught them language. But as none of them understood the\nspeech of the other, they separated and dispersed over the world.\nFifteen heads of families, however, had the good fortune to speak the\nsame language. These lived together in the same place, but at last they\nmoved, and after 104 years of wanderings they settled in Aztlan. Thence\nthey journeyed to Chiapultepeque, and then returned to the Mount\nColhuacan and settled in Mexico.[238]\n\nThere was a story of similar description connected with the ancient city\nof Cholula in the modern province of Puebla. \u201cBefore the great flood in\nthe year 4,008 after the creation of the world, the land Anaknac\n(Mexico) was peopled with giants. All those who did not perish, with the\nexception of seven, escaped into holes, and were transformed into fish.\nWhen the deluge was over, one of these giants, Xelhuaz by name, the\nbuilder, went to Cholula, and built a pyramid on Mount Tlalok, to\ncommemorate his having been saved thereon along with his six\nbrothers.\u201d[239]\n\nThe inhabitants of Mechoacan related that, on account of the iniquity of\nmen, a flood was sent to sweep them all away; but a priest, named Tezbi,\nalong with his wife and children, were saved in a box of wood into which\nthey had entered along with all kinds of seeds and animals. After some\ntime Tezbi, wearying of his confinement, sent forth the vulture, which\nhowever did not return to him; then he sent forth other birds, but they\ndid not come back; finally, he sent out the Colibri, which returned with\na branch in its beak.[240] And of this event they had paintings in their\ntemples which they showed to the white men who arrived amongst them.\n\nThe Indians in Cuba told a similar story, so did those at St. Domingo\nand the Antilles.[241]\n\nNor is South America without a rich crop of similar legends. Humboldt\nsays, \u201cThis belief (in a deluge) is not found merely among the Tamanaks,\nbut is a portion of a whole system of historical traditions of which the\nscattered accounts are to be gathered from the Maipures of the Great\nCataract, the Indians of Rio-Crevato, which pours into the Cauca, and\nalmost from all the races in the Upper Orinoko.\u201d[242]\n\nThis is the tradition of the Tamanaks. \u201cAt the time of our ancestors the\nwhole earth was overflowed. Then two persons alone were saved, a man and\na woman, who remained on Mount Tamanaku, which is not far from the\nCucivero river, where our ancestors formerly dwelt. They lamented sore\nover the loss of their friends and relations, and as they wandered sadly\nabout the mountain they heard a voice which told them to cast the\nkernels of the nuts of the _Palma Mauritia_ backwards over their\nshoulders. They did so, and out of the nuts cast by the woman rose\nfemales, and out of those cast by the man sprang males.\u201d[243]\n\nThe Peruvians related that their first king and founder of their nation,\nManco Capak, along with his wife Mama Ocllo, after the great deluge left\ntheir land, and came from the holy island in the lake Titicaca, on which\nthe sun cast its first beam when the flood drained away.[244]\n\nA Brazilian legend is that the Evil Spirit Arbomoku, and the spirits of\nthe air, made a compact together to destroy mankind. The former opened\nall the fountains of the earth, the latter poured the clouds upon the\nground and inundated it, so that only one mountain-top appeared above\nthe water, and on that took refuge two persons, a brother and a sister,\nfrom whom all the new generations sprang.[245]\n\nFootnote 205:\n\n  Buttmann, Ueber der Mythus d. S\u00fcndfluth, Berlin, 1819; L\u00fcken, Die\n  Traditionen des Menschengeschlechts, M\u00fcnster, 1856; Bryant, Of the\n  Deluge, in Ancient Mythology, London, 1775, &c.\n\nFootnote 206:\n\n  Parrot, Journey to Ararat, English Trans. Lond. 1845.\n\nFootnote 207:\n\n  Joseph. Antiq., i. 3; see also Ptolem. Geogr. vi. 2.\n\nFootnote 208:\n\n  Joseph. Antiq., i. 4.\n\nFootnote 209:\n\n  Euseb. Pr\u00e6p. Evang. ix. 19.\n\nFootnote 210:\n\n  Lucian, De Dea Syra, c. 12, 13.\n\nFootnote 211:\n\n  Georg. Syncellus, Chronographia, p. 29, B., ed. Bonn; or Cory\u2019s\n  Ancient Fragments, p. 26 et seq.\n\nFootnote 212:\n\n  Pr\u00e6p. Evang. ix. 12; see also S. Cyril contra Julian, i.\n\nFootnote 213:\n\n  Bochart, Geogr. Sacra, p. 231.\n\nFootnote 214:\n\n  Ekhel, Doctrina Numm. Vet. iii. p. 132 et seq.; see also Bryant\u2019s New\n  System of Ancient Mythology, Lond. 1775, i. note 3.\n\nFootnote 215:\n\n  Orac. Sibyll, i. v. 260, 265-7. Ed. Fiedlieb.\n\nFootnote 216:\n\n  Bundehesch, 7.\n\nFootnote 217:\n\n  On the Chronology of the Hindus, by Sir W. Jones; Asiatic Researches,\n  ii. pp. 116-7.\n\nFootnote 218:\n\n  Bopp, Die S\u00fcndfluth; Berlin, 1829, p. 9.\n\nFootnote 219:\n\n  Ovid. Metam. i. 240 et seq.\n\nFootnote 220:\n\n  Steph. Byzant., s. voce \u0399\u03ba\u03bf\u03bd\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd.\n\nFootnote 221:\n\n  Diod. Sicul. lib. i.\n\nFootnote 222:\n\n  M\u00e9m. concernant les Chinois, i. p. 157.\n\nFootnote 223:\n\n  Klaproth, Inschrift. des Yu; Halle, 1811, p. 29.\n\nFootnote 224:\n\n  M\u00e9m. concernant les Chinois, ix. p. 383.\n\nFootnote 225:\n\n  Mart. Martinii, Hist. Sin. p. 26.\n\nFootnote 226:\n\n  Steller, Beschreibung v. Kamschatka; Frankf. 1774, p. 273.\n\nFootnote 227:\n\n  Serres, Kosmoganie des Moses, \u00fcbersetzt von F. X. Stech, p. 149.\n\nFootnote 228:\n\n  Davies, Mythology of the British Druids, London, 1809; and Celtic\n  Researches, London, 1844: curious works on the Arkite worship and\n  traditions of the Kelts.\n\nFootnote 229:\n\n  The prose Edda; Mallet, Northern Antiq., ed. Bohn, p. 404.\n\nFootnote 230:\n\n  Grimm, Deutsche Mythol.; G\u00f6ttingen, 1854, p. 545.\n\nFootnote 231:\n\n  The same story precisely is told by the closely allied race of the\n  Chippewas: Atherne Jones, Traditions of the North American Indians,\n  London, 1830, ii. p. 9 et seq.\n\nFootnote 232:\n\n  L\u00fctke, Voyage autour du Monde, i. p. 189.\n\nFootnote 233:\n\n  Braunschweig, Die alten amerik. Denkm\u00e4ler; Berlin, 1840, p. 18.\n\nFootnote 234:\n\n  Atherne Jones, Traditions of the N. American Indians, ii. 21-33.\n\nFootnote 235:\n\n  Catlin, Letters and Notes on the Manners, &c., of the N. American\n  Indians; London, 1841.\n\nFootnote 236:\n\n  Mayer, Mytholog. Taschenbuch; Weimar, 1811, p. 245.\n\nFootnote 237:\n\n  Schoolcraft, Notes on the Iroquois; New York, 1847, p. 358.\n\nFootnote 238:\n\n  M\u00fcller, Geschichte des amerikanischen Urreligionen, Basle, 1855, p.\n  515; L\u00fcken, Die Traditionen des Menschengeschlechts, p. 223.\n\nFootnote 239:\n\n  Humboldt, Anh. des Cordilleren, i. p. 42.\n\nFootnote 240:\n\n  Antonio de Herrera, Hist. general de los Hechos, &c.; Madrid, 1601,\n  iii. c. 10.\n\nFootnote 241:\n\n  Compare L\u00fcken and M\u00fcller.\n\nFootnote 242:\n\n  Humboldt, Reise in die Aequinoctial Gegenden, iii. pp. 406-7.\n\nFootnote 243:\n\n  Nachrichten aus dem Lande Guiana, v. Salvator Gili; Hamb., 1785, pp.\n  440-1, quoted by L\u00fcken.\n\nFootnote 244:\n\n  Garcilasso de la Vega, Hist. des Yncas; Amst., i. pp. 73 and 326.\n\nFootnote 245:\n\n  Ausland, Jan. 1845, No. 1.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XVI.\n                       THE PLANTING OF THE VINE.\n\n\nBowed under his toil, dripping with perspiration, stood the patriarch\nNoah, labouring to break the hard clods. All at once Satan appeared and\nsaid to him,\u2014\n\n\u201cWhat new undertaking have you in hand? What new fruit do you expect to\nextract from these clods?\u201d\n\n\u201cI plant the grape,\u201d answered the patriarch.\n\n\u201cThe grape! proud plant, most precious fruit! joy and delight to men!\nYour labour is great; will you allow me to assist you? Let us share the\nlabour of producing the vine.\u201d\n\nThe patriarch in a fit of exhaustion consented.\n\nSatan hastened, got a lamb, slaughtered it, and poured its blood over\nthe clods of earth. \u201cThence shall it come,\u201d said Satan, \u201cthat those who\ntaste of the juice of the grape, shall be soft-spirited and gentle as\nthis lamb.\u201d\n\nBut Noah sighed; Satan continued his work; he caught a lion, slew that,\nand poured the blood upon the soil prepared for the plant. \u201cThence shall\nit come,\u201d said he, \u201cthat those who taste the juice of the grape shall be\nstrong and courageous as the lion.\u201d\n\nNoah shuddered. Satan continued his work; he seized a pig and\nslaughtered it, and drenched the soil with its blood. \u201cThence shall it\ncome,\u201d said he, \u201cthat those who drink of the juice of the grape in\nexcess, shall be filthy, degraded, and bestial as the swine.\u201d[246]\n\nThe Mussulman tradition is somewhat similar.\n\n\u201cWhen Ham had planted the vine, Satan watered it with the blood of a\npeacock. When it thrust forth leaves, he sprinkled it with the blood of\nan ape; when it formed grapes, he drenched it with the blood of a lion;\nwhen the grapes were ripe, he watered it with the blood of a swine.\n\n\u201cThe vine, watered by the blood of these four animals, has assumed these\ncharacters. The first glass of wine makes a man animated, his vivacity\ngreat, his colour is heightened. In this condition he is like the\npeacock. When the fumes of the liquor rise into his head, he is gay,\nleaps and gambols as an ape. Drunkenness takes possession of him, he is\nlike a furious lion. When it is at its height, he is like the swine: he\nfalls and grovels on the ground, stretches himself out, and goes to\nsleep.\u201d[247]\n\nMohammed, to justify his forbidding his disciples to drink wine, cites\nthe history of the two angels, Arot and Harot.\n\n\u201cGod,\u201d says he, \u201ccharged them with a commission on the earth. A young\nlady invited them to dinner, and they found the wine so good that they\ngot drunk. They then remarked that their hostess was beautiful, and they\nwere filled with love which they declared to her. This lady, who was\nprudent, replied that she would only listen to their protestations when\nshe knew the words by which they were enabled to ascend to heaven. When\nshe had learned these words, she mounted to the throne of God, who, as a\nreward for her virtue, transformed her into a shining star (the Morning\nStar), and condemned the two drunken angels to await the day of\njudgment, suspended by their heels in the well of Babel, near Bagdad,\nwhich Mussulman pilgrims visit.\u201d\n\nAccording to Tabari,[248] Ham, for having laughed at his father\u2019s\ndrunkenness, was cursed by Noah, that his skin should become black, as\nwell as all the fruits which were to grow in the land he should inhabit,\nand thus the purple grape arose. It was the white grape that Ham\ntransplanted, but it blackened in his hands.\n\nAbulfaraj relates that after the Deluge, Noah divided the habitable\nworld between his sons. He gave to Ham the country of the Black, to Shem\nthat of the Brown, and to Japheth that of the Red.[249] Noah also, he\ncontinues, said to his son Shem, \u201cWhen I am dead, take the bier of our\nfather Adam from the ark, and, together with your son Melchizedek, who\nis a priest of the Most High, go with the body of Adam whither an angel\nshall guide you.\u201d\n\nThis they did; and an angel directed them to mount Breitalmakdes\n(Jerusalem), where they deposited the bier on a certain hill, and\ninstantly it sank out of their sight into the ground. Then Shem returned\nto his home, but not so Melchizedek, who remained to guard the body of\nAdam: and he built there a city called Jerusalem, and he was called\nMelek Salim, the King of Peace, and there he spent the rest of his life\nin the worship of God; he touched not women, nor shed blood, but offered\nto God oblations of bread and wine.[250]\n\nEutychius, the Egyptian patriarch of Alexandria, in his Annals, which\nare rife with Oriental traditions, gives a fuller account of the same\nincident.\n\nWhen Noah was near his death, he bade Shem take the body of Adam, and go\nwith Melchizedek, son of Peleg, whither the angel of the Lord should\nlead. \u201cAnd,\u201d said he, \u201cthou shalt enjoin on Melchizedek to fix his\nhabitation there, to take to him no wife, and to spend his life in acts\nof devotion, for God has chosen him to preserve His true worship. He\nshall build himself no house, nor shall he shed blood of beast, or bird,\nor any animal; nor shall he offer there any oblation save bread and\nwine; and let the skins of lions be his only vesture; he shall remain\nalone there; he shall not clip his hair, or pare his nails; for he is a\npriest of the Most High. The angel of God shall go before you, till ye\ncome to the place where ye shall bury the body of Adam, and know that\nthat place is the middle of the world.\u201d Now Noah died on Wednesday, at\nthe second hour, in the second month of Ayar, which is the same as\nBashnes, in the nine hundred and fiftieth year of his age. And this year\nShem was aged forty-five. The sons of Noah buried him, and bewailed him\nforty days.[251]\n\nThe wife of Noah is said by some to have been called Bath-Enos, or the\ndaughter of Enos; but the Rabbi Gedaliah says her name was Noema; others\nsay it was Tethiri, or Tith\u0153a, the nurse of men, as Eve was the mother\nof men. The Gnostics called her Noria. She is, however, generally\nsupposed by the Rabbis to have been Naamah, the sister of\nTubal-cain.[252] But Eutychius, of Alexandria, says she was called\nHaical, and was the daughter of Namus, son of Enoch; and that the wives\nof Shem, Ham, and Japheth were the three daughters of Methuselah. Shem\u2019s\nwife was named Salith; the wife of Ham, Nahlath; and the wife of\nJapheth, Arisivah.[253]\n\nThe nurse of Noah was an important personage, and must not be forgotten.\nShe was named Sambethe, and was the first Sibyl. Suidas, the grammarian,\nsays, \u201cThe Chaldee Sibyl, named Sambethi by the Hebrews, and identified\nwith the Persian Sibyl, was of the race of Noah. She foretold those\nthings which were to befall Alexander of Macedon. She also predicted the\ncoming of the Lord Christ, and many other things, through divine\ninspiration.\u201d[254]\n\nFootnote 246:\n\n  Jalkut Genesis, fol. 16 a.\n\nFootnote 247:\n\n  Colin de Plancy, p. 121.\n\nFootnote 248:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xli.\n\nFootnote 249:\n\n  Hist. Dynastiarum, ed. Pocock; Oxon., 1663, p. 9.\n\nFootnote 250:\n\n  Ibid., p. 10.\n\nFootnote 251:\n\n  Eutychius, Patr. Alex., Annal., t. i. p. 44.\n\nFootnote 252:\n\n  Bereschith Rabba, fol. 22, col. 4.\n\nFootnote 253:\n\n  Eutych. Annal., ed. Selden, i. p. 35.\n\nFootnote 254:\n\n  Suidas, Lexic. s. v. \u03a3\u03af\u03b2\u03c5\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XVII.\n                           THE SONS OF NOAH.\n\n\nHam, the accursed, the third son of Noah, was the inventor or the\npreserver of magic. As we have already seen, he buried the books of\nmagic which existed in the world, before the Deluge swept over the\nglobe; and when it abated he exhumed them. Cerco d\u2019Ascoli, in the fourth\nchapter of his \u201cCommentary on the Sphere of Sacrabosco,\u201d declares that\nhe had seen a book of magic which had been composed by Ham, \u201cwhich\ncontained the elements and practice of necromancy.\u201d Certain it is that\napocryphal books of alchemy and conjuration of spirits existed in the\nMiddle Ages, which purported to have been composed by Ham.\n\nHam was turned black, according to the Talmud, because he did not\nmaintain himself in perfect continence whilst in the ark;[255] other\nauthorities say his skin became sooty in consequence of his scoffing at\nhis father\u2019s drunkenness; and Japheth, for having smiled, says the\nMussulman lost the gift of prophecy from his family.[256]\n\nBerosus supposed that Ham was the same as Zoroaster.\n\nJapheth, according to Khondemir, was given by his father all the land to\nthe east and north of Ararat; he was the progenitor of the Turks, the\nSclaves, of Gog and Magog, says Tabari. Before he started with his\nfamily to people these countries, Noah gave him a stone, on which was\nwritten the great name of God. The Turks say that, by means of this\nstone, Noah was able to guide the course of the ark without sail or\noars. The Turks have similar stones, which, they pretend, came by a\nprocess of generation from the parental stone given to Japheth.[257] He\nis said by the Mussulmans to have had eleven male children: Sin or\nTchin, the father of the Chinese; Scklab, the ancestor of the Sclavonian\nraces; Manschug or Magog, the parent of the Scythians and Kalmuks;\nGomari, the father of the Franks; Turk and Khalos, the ancestors of the\nTurks; Khozaz, from whom the Khozarans trace their pedigree; Rus, father\nof the Russians; Souffan, Ghoy, and Tarag, from whom the Turcomans\nderive.\n\nIlak, son of Turk, discovered the use of salt by having let fall a piece\nof meat he was eating on the ground covered with saline deposit.\n\nOf Shem the Rabbis have somewhat to say. \u201cI have found in the Midrash\nthat the Rabbi Johanan, son of Nuri, said: \u2018The holy, ever-blessed God\ntook Shem, son of Noah, and consecrated him priest of the Most High,\nthat he should minister before Him; and He let his Majesty dwell with\nHim, and He gave him the name Melchizedek, a priest of the Most High\nGod, king of Salem. His brother Japheth learnt the law of him in his\nschool, till Abraham came, who learnt it in the school of Shem. For this\nAbraham obtained, praying to God that his Majesty should remain and\ndwell in the house of Shem, wherefore it was said of him, _Thou art a\npriest for ever after the order of Melchizedek_.\u2019\u201d[258]\n\nShem learned his knowledge from the Book of Wisdom which Raphael, the\nholy angel, gave to Adam; but Shem\u2019s instructor was the angel\nJophiel.[259]\n\nThe Rabbi Gerson writes in his book called \u201cSepher geliloth erez\nIsrael,\u201d that having travelled through the lands of Og, king of Bashan,\nhe saw there a grave which measured eighty ells, and it was indicated to\nhim as the sepulchre of Shem.[260] A curious tradition that Shem, Ham,\nand Japheth fell asleep in a cave, and woke up at the Nativity of\nChrist, and that they were themselves the three wise men who came to\nadore Him, shall be mentioned more fully when we treat of the legends\nconnected with the New Testament characters.\n\nShem is said to have received the priesthood instead of Noah, because\nNoah was bitten by the lion as he was leaving the ark, and, being\nsuffused with blood, became incapable of receiving the priesthood.\n\nShem is believed to have written many books, and apocryphal writings of\nhis exist.\n\nFootnote 255:\n\n  Tract. Sanhedrin, fol. 108, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 256:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 115.\n\nFootnote 257:\n\n  Colin de Plancy, p. 124.\n\nFootnote 258:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. pp. 318-9.\n\nFootnote 259:\n\n  Ibid., p. 376.\n\nFootnote 260:\n\n  Ibid., p. 395.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XVIII.\n                           RELICS OF THE ARK.\n\n\nWe have already seen that Berosus relates how in his time portions of\nthe ark were removed, and used as amulets. Josephus says that remains of\nthe ark were to be seen at his day upon Ararat; and Nicolas of Damascus\nreports the same. S. Epiphanius writes: \u201cThe wood of the ark of Noah is\nshown to this day in the Kard\u00e6an (Koord) country.\u201d[261] And he is\nfollowed by a host of fathers. El Macin, in his History of the Saracens,\nrelates that the Emperor Heraclius visited the relics after he had\nconquered the Persians, in the city of Thenia, at the roots of Ararat.\nHaithon, the Armenian, declares that upon the snows of Ararat a black\nspeck is visible at all times: this is Noah\u2019s ark.[262] Benjamin of\nTudela, in his Itinerary, says that all the wood was carried away by the\nCaliph Omar, in A.D. 640, and was placed by him in a temple or mosque he\nerected in an island formed by the Tigris. One of the beams is shown in\nthe Lateran at Rome. In 1670, Johann Jansenius Strauss ascended to a\nhermit\u2019s cell on the side of Ararat, to bind up the c\u0153nobite\u2019s leg which\nwas broken. The hermit\u2019s cell, said Strauss, was five days\u2019 journey up\nthe mountain, athwart three clouds, and above a region of intolerable\ncold, in a calm warm atmosphere. From the account of the hermit, Herr\nStrauss learnt that the old man had dwelt there twenty-five years, and\nthat he had felt there neither rain nor winds. On the top of the\nmountain, fifteen Italian miles from the cell, through the clear air,\nwas distinguishable the great vessel grounded in the snow. The hermit\nhad reached it, and of one of its planks had cut a cross, which he\nexhibited to the German traveller.\n\nIn the town of Chenna, in Arabia Felix, says the traveller Pr\u00e9voux, is a\nlarge building, said to have been erected by Noah; and a large piece of\nwood is exhibited through an iron grating, which is said to have formed\na portion of his ark. There is also to be seen at Chenna a well, said to\nhave been dug by the patriarch Jacob, of which the water is icy cold.\n\nThe Armenians say that a certain monk, Jacob, once ascended Ararat, and\ncarried off a fragment of the ark, which he made afterwards into a\ncross, and this is preserved amongst the sacred relics of Etchmiadzin.\nWhen the Persian king, Abassus the Great, sent to inquire about the ark,\nthe monks replied that it was in vain for him to attempt to reach it, on\naccount of the precipices and glaciers, and innumerable difficulties of\nthe way.[263]\n\nFootnote 261:\n\n  Adv. H\u00e6res., lib. i.\n\nFootnote 262:\n\n  De Tartaris, c. 9.\n\nFootnote 263:\n\n  Reliqui\u00e6 Arc\u00e6 No\u00e6, in Fabricius, i. art. 33.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XIX.\n                      CERTAIN DESCENDANTS OF HAM.\n\n\nWe shall follow certain Mussulman traditions for what follows. Ad, son\nof Amalek, therefore grandson of Ham, established himself in Arabia,\nwhere he became chief of the tribe of the Adites. He fell into idolatry.\nHe had two sons named Schedad and Sched\u00e9d, who reigned over numerous\nsubjects\u2014one for two hundred and fifty, the other for three hundred\nyears. They built a superb city, where houses were of sumptuous\nmagnificence; the like of this city was never seen before, nor will be\nseen again. This city vanished when the tribe of the Adites was\nexterminated; as we shall relate when we give the legends attaching to\nHeber. The commentators of the Koran tell marvels of this wondrous city.\n\nUnder the Khalifate of Moawiyah, first of the Ommiades, an Arab of the\ndesert, named Kolabah, going in quest of his camel in the plain of Aden,\nlighted on the gate of a beautiful city. He went in, but, being filled\nwith fear, he did not remain there more time than sufficed for him to\ncollect some of the stones of the street, and then he returned.\n\nHis neighbours, to whom he relates his adventure, repeated it to the\nKhalif, who ordered Kolabah to be brought before him. The Arab related\nfrankly what he had seen, but Moawiyah would not give credence to the\nmarvellous tale, till he had consulted his learned men, and especially\nthe illustrious Al-Akhbar, who assured him that the story of the poor\nArab was worthy of all trust, for the city he had seen was none other\nthan that built by Schedad, son of Ad, in the land of the Adites in\nwhich Aden is situated; and that, as the pride of this prince knew no\nbounds, God had sent His angel to destroy all the inhabitants, and\nconceal their splendid city from the eyes of men, to be revealed only at\nintervals, that the memory of God\u2019s judgment might not fade out of men\u2019s\nminds.\n\nSchedad had a son named Dhohak, of whom strange tales are told. He knew\nmagic, and gained the sovereignty over the entire universe; and he kept\nhis subjects in terror by excessive cruelty. In the Caherman-N\u00e2meh it is\nrelated that the Devil, satisfied with his proceedings, offered him his\nservices gratuitously, and they were cheerfully accepted. The ferocity\nof the tyrant increased, he skinned men alive, impaled and crucified\nthem on the slightest charges.\n\nAfter having served him five years, the Evil One thus addressed him:\n\u201cSire! for many years I have been thy faithful attendant, neither have I\nreceived of thee any recompense. Now I beseech of thee one favour\u2014that I\nmay kiss thy shoulders.\u201d\n\nThis favour was readily granted. Dhohak himself plucked off his mantle\nto facilitate the kiss.\n\nBut no sooner had the Devil applied his lips to the two shoulders of the\ntyrant, than two serpents, which could not be plucked off, fastened\nthere and began to gnaw his flesh.\n\nTabari says that the king bore on his shoulders two frightful ulcers or\ncancers, resembling serpents\u2019 heads, sent him by God as a punishment for\nhis crimes. These cancers caused him such acute agony, that he shrieked\nnight and day. No one was able to provide a remedy or to abate the\ntorment.\n\nOne night when he was asleep, some one appeared to him in a dream, and\nsaid, \u201cIf you desire your ulcers to give less pain, apply to them human\nbrains.\u201d\n\nNext day, Dhohak awoke and ordered two men to be brought before him; he\nslew them, cut open their skulls, extracted the brains and applied them\nto his cancers. The relief was instantaneous, and Dhohak felt, for the\nfirst time for many days, some hours of repose.\n\nAfter this, every day two men were killed to form poultices for his\nulcers. During the two hundred latter years of the life of Dhohak, the\nprisons were emptied to satisfy his requirement for fresh brains; and\nwhen no more criminals could be procured, it was made a tribute for his\nkingdom to render to him two men, each day, to be immolated to soothe\nhis pain.\n\nNow there was at Ispahan a blacksmith, named Kaveh, who had two\nbeautiful sons, whom he loved more dearly than his own life. One day\nthey were seized, carried before the king, and his shoulders were\npoulticed with their brains.\n\nKaveh was at work at his anvil when the news of the slaying of his sons\nreached him. He deserted his anvil; and uttering a piercing cry, he\nrushed into the streets, with his leathern apron before him, bitterly\nlamenting his loss, and calling for vengeance on the monarch. The people\ncrowded about him, they plucked off his leather apron, and converted it\ninto a standard.\n\nThe crowd gathered as it advanced. From every street men flowed to join\nthe army, and shortly the blacksmith found himself at the head of a\nhundred thousand men.\n\nThey marched to Demavend, where was the palace of the tyrant. And Kaveh,\nbefore attacking it, thus addressed his soldiers, \u201cI am not one to lead\nyou against a king; you need a king to make war against a king.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said his followers, \u201cwe elect you to be our king.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am but a simple blacksmith, and am not fit to rule,\u201d answered Kaveh,\n\u201cbut there is a royal prince named Afridoun, the son of Djemschid, who\nhas fled from the cruelty of Dhohak: choose him.\u201d\n\nThey agreed. The prince was found and invested with the sovereignty;\nthen a battle was fought, and Dhohak\u2019s army was routed, and the tyrant\nwas slain.\n\nWhen Afridoun mounted the throne, he named Kaveh governor of Ispahan.\nAnd when Kaveh was dead, the king asked his children to give him their\nfather\u2019s leathern apron. Then, having obtained it, he placed it among\nhis treasures, and whenever he went to battle he attached the smith\u2019s\napron to a tall staff, and marched under that banner against his\nenemies.\n\nIn after years, this leathern apron was studded with precious stones,\ntill Omar, despising it, ordered the old piece of leather to be burnt;\nbut Yezdeguerd had already robbed it of its gems.[264]\n\nAfridoun exercised the sovereignty during two hundred years. He was the\nfirst to study astronomy, and he founded the science of medicine. He was\nthe first king to ride on an elephant. He had three sons, Tur, Salm, and\nIrad. He loved the third son, Irad, more than the two elder, and he gave\nhim the sovereignty over Irad, Mosul, Koufa, and Bagdad.\n\nAfter the death of Afridoun, Tur and Salm marched against Irad, defeated\nhim and killed him, saying: \u201cOur father has divided his inheritance\nunjustly. He has given to Irad the best portion, the centre of the\nworld; as for us, we are cast out to its extremities.\u201d\n\nOn the death of Tur and Salm, the crown left this family, and passed to\na king named Cush, who was of the sons of Ham, the son of Noah. Cush\nreigned forty years. After him Canaan ascended the throne. Cush and\nCanaan worshipped idols. It is said that Nimrod was the son of Canaan.\nWhen Canaan died, Nimrod succeeded him. Nimrod had a vizir named Azar\n(Terah), son of Nahor, son of Sarough (Serug), who was sixth in\ngeneration from Noah. This Azar was the father of Abraham, the friend of\nGod.\n\nFrom the time of the Deluge to the time of Abraham was three thousand\nyears. During that period, there was no prophet save Hud (Eber), who was\nsent to the Adites, and Saleh, who was sent to the Thamudites.\n\nWe shall relate the history of Hud and of Saleh, and then return to that\nof Nimrod.[265]\n\nFootnote 264:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xlii. xliii.\n\nFootnote 265:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xliii.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XX.\n                                 SERUG.\n\n\n\u201c_And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg._\n\n\u201c_And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu. And Reu lived two and\nthirty years, and begat Serug. And Serug lived thirty years, and begat\nNahor._\u201d[266]\n\nSerug is said to have discovered the art of coining gold and silver\nmoney. In his days men erected many idols, into which demons entered and\nwrought great signs by them. Samiri was king of the Chaldees, and he\ndiscovered weights and measures and how to weave silk, and also how to\ndye fabrics. He is related to have had three eyes and two horns.\n\nAt the same time Apiphanus was king of Egypt. He built a ship, and in it\nmade piratical descents upon the neighbouring people living on the\nshores of the Mediterranean Sea. He was succeeded by Pharaoh, son of\nSaner, and the kings after him assumed his name as their title.[267]\n\nNahor was the son of Serug. In the twenty-fifth year of his life, Job\nthe Just underwent his trial, according to the opinion of Arudha the\nCanaanite. At that time Armun, king of Canaan, built the two cities\nSodom and Gomorrah, and called them after the names of his two sons; but\nZoar he named after his mother. At the same time, Murk or Murph, king of\nPalestine, built Damascus.[268]\n\nFootnote 266:\n\n  Gen. xi. 16, 18, 20, 22.\n\nFootnote 267:\n\n  Abulfaraj, Hist. Dynastiarum, p. 12.\n\nFootnote 268:\n\n  Abulfaraj, Hist. Dynastiarum, p. 13.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXI.\n                           THE PROPHET EBER.\n\n\n\u201c_Unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of\nJapheth the elder, even to him were children born._\n\n\u201c_The children of Shem;\u2014Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and\nAram._\n\n\u201c_And the children of Aram;\u2014Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash._\n\n\u201c_And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber._\u201d[269]\n\nAccording to some Mussulman writers, Oudh (Lud), the son of Shem, had a\nson named Ad; but, according to others, Ad was the son of Aram, son of\nShem.\n\nThe tribes of Ad and Thamud lived near one another in the desert of\nHedjaz, in the south of Arabia. The land of the people of Ad was nearer\nMecca than the valley of Hidjr, and the valley of Hidjr is situated at\nthe extremity of the desert on the road to Syria.\n\nNever in all the world were there such great and mighty men as the\nAdites. Each of them was twelve cubits high, and they were so strong\nthat if any of them stamped on the ground he sank up to his knees.\n\nThe Adites raised great monuments in the land which they inhabited.\nWherever these Cyclopean edifices exist, they are called by the Arabs\nthe constructions of the Adites.\n\nGod ordered the prophet Hud (Eber) to go to the Adites and preach to\nthem the One true God, and turn them from idolatry. But the Adites would\nnot hearken to his words, and when he offered them the promises of God,\nthey said, \u201cWhat better dwellings can He give us than those which we\nhave made?\u201d And when he spoke to them of God\u2019s threatenings, they mocked\nand said, \u201cWho can resist us who are so strong?\u201d\n\nFor fifty years did the prophet Hud speak to the Adites, and their reply\nto his exhortations is preserved in the Koran, \u201cO Hud, you produce no\nevidence of what you advance; we will not abandon our gods because of\nyour preaching. We mistrust your mission. We believe that one of our\ngods bears a hatred against you.\u201d\n\nHud replied, \u201cI take God to witness, and you also be witnesses, that I\nam innocent of your polytheism.\u201d[270]\n\nThe words of the Adites, \u201cWe believe that one of our gods bears a hatred\nagainst thee,\u201d signified that they believed one of their gods had driven\nhim mad.\n\nDuring the fifty years that Hud\u2019s mission lasted, the Adites believed\nneither in God nor in the prophet, with the exception of a very few, who\nbelieved in secret.\n\nAt the end of that time God withheld the rain from heaven, and afflicted\nthe Adites with drought. All the cattle of Ad died, and the Adites\nfainted for lack of water. For three years no rain fell.\n\nHud said to the Adites, \u201cBelieve in God, and He will give you rain.\u201d\n\nThey replied, \u201cThou art mad.\u201d But they chose three men to send to Mecca\nwith victims; for the infidels believe in the sanctity of Mecca, though\nthey believe not in the One true God.\n\nBut Eber said, \u201cYour sacrifices will be unavailing, unless you first\nbelieve.\u201d\n\nThe three deputies started for Mecca with many camels, oxen, and sheep,\nas sacrifices. And when they reached Mecca they made friends with the\ninhabitants of that city, and were received with hospitality. They\npassed their days and nights in eating and drinking wine, and in their\ndrunkenness they forgot their people, and the mission on which they had\nbeen sent. The inhabitants of Mecca ordered musicians to sing the\nafflictions of the Adites, to recall to the envoys the purpose of their\nvisit. Then Lokman and Morthed, two of the deputies, declared to Qa\u00efl,\nthe third, that they believed in Allah; and they added, \u201cIf our people\nhad believed the words of the prophet Hud, they would not have suffered\nfrom drought,\u201d and Lokman and Morthed were not drunk when they said\nthese words.\n\nQa\u00efl replied, \u201cYou do not partake in the affliction of our nation. I\nwill go myself and will offer the victims.\u201d\n\nHe went and led the beasts to the top of a mountain to sacrifice them,\nand turning his face to heaven, he said, \u201cO God of heaven, hearken unto\nmy prayer, and send rain on my poor afflicted people.\u201d\n\nInstantly there appeared three clouds in the blue sky: one was red, one\nwas black, the third was white; and a voice issued from the clouds,\nsaying, \u201cChoose which shall descend upon thy people.\u201d\n\nThen Qa\u00efl said within himself, \u201cThe white cloud, if it hung all day over\nmy nation, would not burst in rain; the red cloud, if it hung over them\nnight and day, would not drop a shower; but the black cloud is heavy\nwith water.\u201d So he chose the black cloud.\n\nAnd a voice cried, \u201cIt is gone to fall upon thy people.\u201d\n\nQa\u00efl returned full of joy, thinking he had obtained rain; but that cloud\nwas big with the judgments of God. Qa\u00efl told what he had done to his\ncompanions, Lokman and Morthed, but they laughed at him.\n\nNow the cloud, when it arrived over the land of Ad, was accompanied by a\nwind. And the Adites looked up rejoicing, and cried, \u201cThe rain, the rain\nis coming!\u201d\n\nThen the cloud gaped, and a dry whirlwind rolled out from it, and swept\nup all the cattle that were in the land, and raised them in the air,\nspun them about, and dashed them lifeless on the ground.\n\nBut the Adites said, \u201cFear not; first comes wind, then comes rain.\u201d And\nthey rushed out of their houses into the fields. Hud thought they were\ncoming forth to ask his assistance; but they sought him not. Then the\nwhirlwind caught them up and cast them down again. Now each of these men\nwas like a palm-tree in stature, and they lay shattered and lifeless on\nthe sand.\n\nHud was saved, along with those who had believed his word.\n\nNow when the envoys at Mecca heard what had befallen their people, they\nwent all three to the summit of the mountain, and Lokman and Morthed\nsaid to Qa\u00efl, \u201cBelieve.\u201d But he answered, raising his face and hands to\nheaven: \u201cO God of heaven, if thou hast destroyed my people, slay me\nalso.\u201d\n\nThen the whirlwind came, and rushed on him, and caught him up and cast\nhim down, and he was dead.\n\nBut Lokman and Morthed offered their sacrifice, and a voice from heaven\nsaid, \u201cWhat is your petition?\u201d\n\nLokman answered: \u201cO Lord, grant me a long life, that I may outlive seven\nvultures.\u201d Now a vulture is the longest-lived of all birds; it lives\nfive hundred years.\n\nAnd the voice replied, \u201cHowever long thy life may be, death will close\nit.\u201d\n\nLokman said, \u201cI know; that is true.\u201d\n\nThen his prayer was granted. And Lokman took a young vulture and fed it\nfor five hundred years, and it died; then he took a second, and at the\nexpiration of five hundred years it died also; and so on till he had\nreached the age of three thousand five hundred years, and then he died\nalso.\n\nMorthed made his request, and it was, \u201cO Lord, give me wheat bread,\u201d for\nhitherto in Ad he had eaten only barley bread. So Allah gave Morthed so\nmuch wheat, that he was able to make bread thereof all the rest of his\nlife.\n\nHud lived fifty years with the faithful who had received his doctrine,\nand his life in all was one hundred and fifty years. The prophet Saleh\nappeared five hundred years after Hud; he was sent to the\nThamudites.[271]\n\nBut there is another version of the story given by Weil.\n\nHud promised Schaddad, king of the Adites, a glorious city in the\nheavens, if he would turn to the true God. But the king said, \u201cI need no\nother city than that I have built. My palace rests on a thousand pillars\nof rubies and emeralds; the streets and walls are of gold, and pearl,\nand carbuncle, and topaz; and each pillar in my house is a hundred ells\nlong.\u201d\n\nThen, at Hud\u2019s word, God let the city and palace of Schaddad fade away\nlike a dream of the night, and storm and rain descended, and night fell,\nand the king was without home in the desert.[272]\n\nOf Lokman we must relate something more. He was a great prophet; some\nsay he was nephew of Job, whose sister was his mother; others relate\nthat he was the son of Beor, the son of Nahor, the son of Terah.\n\nOne day, whilst he was reposing in the heat of the day, the angels\nentered his room and saluted him, but did not show themselves. Lokman\nheard their voices, but saw not their persons. Then the angels said to\nhim,\u2014\n\n\u201cWe are messengers of God, thy Creator and ours; He has sent us unto\nthee to announce to thee that thou shalt be a great monarch.\u201d\n\nLokman replied, \u201cIf God desires what you say, His will can accomplish\nall things, and doubtless He will give me what is necessary for\nexecuting my duty in that position in which He will place me. But if He\nwould suffer me to choose a state of life, I should prefer that in which\nI now am,\u201d\u2014now Lokman was a slave,\u2014\u201cand above all would I ask Him to\nenable me never to offend Him; without which all earthly grandeur would\nbe to me a burden.\u201d\n\nThis reply of Lokman was so pleasing to Allah, that He gave him the gift\nof wisdom to such a degree of excellence, that he became capable of\ninstructing all men; and this he did by means of a great multitude of\nmaxims, sentences, and parables to the number of ten thousand, each of\nwhich is more valuable than the whole world.[273]\n\nWhen Lokman did not know anything with which others were acquainted, he\nheld his tongue, and did not ask questions and thus divulge his\nignorance.\n\nAs he lived to a great age, he was alive in the days of King David. Now\nDavid made a coat of mail, and showed it to Lokman. The sage had seen\nnothing like it before, and did not know what purpose it was to serve,\nbut he looked knowing and nodded his head. Presently David put the\narmour upon him, and marched, and said, \u201cIt is serviceable in war.\u201d Then\nLokman understood its object; so his mouth became unsealed and he talked\nabout it.\n\nLokman used to say, \u201cSilence is wisdom, but few practise it.\u201d[274]\n\nThalebi relates, in his Commentary on the Koran, that Lokman was a\nslave, and that having been sent along with other slaves into the\ncountry to gather fruit, his fellow-slaves ate them, and charged Lokman\nwith having done so. Lokman, to justify himself, said to his master,\n\u201cLet every one of us slaves be given warm water to drink, and you will\nsoon see who has been the thief.\u201d\n\nThe expedient succeeded; the slaves who had eaten the fruit vomited it,\nand Lokman threw up only warm water.\n\nThe same story precisely is told of \u00c6sop.\n\nLokman is always spoken of as black, with thick lips. He is regarded by\nthe Arabs much as is Bidpay by the Indians, and \u00c6sop by the Europeans,\nas the Father of Fable.\n\nFootnote 269:\n\n  Gen. x. 21-24.\n\nFootnote 270:\n\n  Koran, Sura xi. verse 57.\n\nFootnote 271:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xliv.: Abulfeda, Hist. Ante Islamica, pp. 19-21.\n\nFootnote 272:\n\n  Weil, pp. 47, 48.\n\nFootnote 273:\n\n  Herbelot, Biblioth. Orientale, s. v. Lokman.\n\nFootnote 274:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 432.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXII.\n                           THE PROPHET SALEH.\n\n\nThe prophet Saleh was the son of Ad, son of Aram, son of Shem, and is\nnot to be confused with Saleh, son of Arphaxad.\n\nThe Mussulmans say that he was sent to convert the Thamudites.\n\nThe Thamudites were in size and strength like their brethren the Adites,\nbut they inhabited the rocks, which they dug out into spacious mansions.\nThey had in the midst of their land an unfailing supply of sweet and\nlimpid water. They were idolaters. Saleh came armed with the command of\nAllah to these men, and he preached to them that they should turn from\nthe worship of stocks and stones to that of the living God who made\nthem.\n\nNow Saleh had been born among the Thamudites, but he had never been an\nidolater. When he was young, the natives of the land had laughed at him,\nand said, \u201cHe is young and inexperienced; when he is old, and has grown\nwiser, he will adore our gods.\u201d\n\nWhen Saleh grew old, he forbade the Thamudites to worship idols, and he\nspoke to them of the true and only God.\n\nBut they said, \u201cWhat miracle can you work, to prove that your mission is\nfrom God?\u201d[275]\n\nThen he said, \u201cOh, my people, a she-camel that shall come from God shall\nbe to you for a sign. Let her go and eat on the earth, and do her no\ninjury, that a terrible retribution fall not upon you.\u201d[276]\n\nNow Saleh had asked them what miracle they desired, and they had\nanswered, \u201cBring out of the rock a camel with red hair, and a colt of a\ncamel also with red hair; let them eat grass, and we will believe.\u201d\n\nSaleh said to them, \u201cWhat you ask is easy,\u201d and he prayed.\n\nThen the rock groaned and clave asunder, and there came out a she-camel\nwith her foal, and their hair was red, and they began to eat grass.\n\nThen the Thamudites exclaimed, \u201cHe is a magician!\u201d and they would not\nbelieve in him.\n\nThe camel went to the perpetual fountain, and she drank it up, so that\nfrom that day forward from their spring they could get no water, and\nthey suffered from thirst.\n\nThe Thamudites went to Saleh and said, \u201cWe need water!\u201d\n\nSaleh replied, \u201cThe fountain shall flow one day for you, and one day for\nthe camel.\u201d\n\nSo it was agreed that the camel should drink alternate days with the\npeople of the land, and that alternate days each should be without water\nwhilst the other was drinking.\n\nThen Saleh said, for he saw that the people hated the camel and her\nfoal, \u201cBeware that you slay not these animals, for the day that they\nperish, great shall be your punishment.\u201d\n\nThe she-camel lived thirty years among the Thamudites, but God revealed\nto Saleh that they were bent on slaying the camel, and he said, \u201cThe\nslayer will be a child with red hair and blue eyes.\u201d\n\nNow the Thamudites ordered ten midwives to attend on the women in their\nconfinement, and if a child were born with the signs indicated by the\nprophet, it was to be destroyed instantly.\n\nNine children had thus been killed, and the parents conceived a deadly\nanimosity against Saleh the prophet, and formed a design to slay him.\n\nOne of the chiefs among the Thamudites had a son born to him with red\nhair and blue eyes, and the nurses would have destroyed it, but the nine\nmen spake to the father of the child, and they banded together, and\nsaved the infant.\n\nNow when this child had attained the age of eleven, he became great and\nhandsome; and each of the parents whose children had been put to death,\nwhen he saw him, said, \u201cSuch an one would have been my son, had not he\nbeen slain at the instigation of Saleh.\u201d And they combined to put the\nprophet to death. They said among themselves, \u201cWe will kill him outside\nthe city, and returning, say we were elsewhere when he was murdered.\u201d\n\nHaving formed this project, they left the city and placed themselves\nunder a rock, awaiting his exit from the gates. But God commanded the\nrock, and it fell and crushed them all.\n\nNext day their corpses were recovered, but the Thamudites were very\nwroth, and said, \u201cSaleh has slain our children, and now he slays our\nmen;\u201d and they added, \u201cWe will be revenged on his camel.\u201d\n\nBut no one could be found to undertake the execution of this deed, save\nthe red-haired child. He went to the fountain where the camel was\ndrinking, and with one kick he knocked her over, and with another kick\nhe despatched her.\n\nBut the foal, seeing the fate of her mother, ran away, and the boy with\nthe red hair and blue eyes ran after her.\n\nSaleh, seeing what had taken place, cried, \u201cThe judgment of God is about\nto fall.\u201d\n\nThe people were frightened, and asked, \u201cWhat shall we do?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe judgment of God will not fall as long as the colt remains among\nyou.\u201d\n\nHearing this, the whole population went in pursuit of the young camel.\nNow it had fled to the mountain whence it had sprung, and the red-haired\nboy was close on its heels. And when the young camel heard the shouting\nof the inhabitants of the city, and saw the multitude in pursuit, it\nstood before the rock, turned round, uttered three piercing cries, and\nvanished.\n\nThe Thamudites arrived and beat the rock, but they could not open it.\nThen said Saleh, \u201cThe judgment of God will fall; prepare to receive it.\nThe first day your faces will become livid, the second day they will\nbecome black, and the third day red.\u201d\n\nThings happened as Saleh had predicted. And when the signs befel them\nwhich Saleh had foretold, they knew that their end was near. The first\nday they became ash pale, the second day coal black, and the third day\nred as fire, and then there came a sound from heaven, and all fell dead\non the earth, save Saleh and those who believed in him; these heard the\nsound, but did not perish.\n\nBy the will of God, when the people were destroyed, one man was absent\nat Mecca; the name of this man was Abou-Ghalib. When he knew what had\nbefallen his nation, he took up his residence in Mecca; but all the rest\nperished, as it is written in the Koran, \u201cIn the morning they were found\ndead in their houses, stretched upon the ground, as though they had\nnever dwelt there.\u201d\n\nFrom Saleh to Abraham there was no prophet. At the time of that\npatriarch there was no king over all the earth. The sovereignty had\npassed to Canaan, the son of Cush, the son of Ham, who was the son of\nNoah.[277]\n\nThe camel of the prophet Saleh was placed by Mohammed in the heavens,\ntogether with the ass of Balaam, and other favoured animals.\n\nNow wonderful as is this story, it is surpassed by that related by\ncertain Arabic historians of the mission of Saleh. This we proceed to\ngive.\n\nDjundu Ibn Omar was king of the Thamudites, a people numbering seventy\nthousand fighting men. He had a palace cut out of the face of a rock,\nand his high priest, Kanuch Ibn Abid, had one likewise. The most\nmagnificent building in the city was a temple which contained the idol\nworshipped by the people. This idol had the head of a man, the neck of a\nbull, the body of a lion, and the feet of a horse. It was fashioned out\nof pure gold, and was studded with jewels.\n\nOne day, as Kanuch, the high priest, was worshipping in the temple, he\nfell asleep, and heard a voice cry, \u201cThe truth will appear, and the\nmadness will pass away.\u201d He started to his feet in alarm, and saw the\nidol prostrate on the floor, and its crown had fallen from its head.\n\nKanuch cried out for assistance, and fled to the king, who sent men to\nset up the image, and replace on its head the crown that had fallen from\nit.\n\nBut doubt took possession of the heart of Kanuch; he no longer addressed\nthe image in prayer, and his enthusiasm was at an end. The king observed\nthis, and sent two vizirs with orders to imprison and execute him. But\nAllah struck the vizirs with blindness, and he sent two angels to\ntransport Kanuch to a well-shaded grotto, well supplied with all that\ncould content the heart of man.\n\nAs Kanuch was nowhere to be found, the king appointed his kinsman Davud\nto be high priest. But on the third day he came to the king to announce\nto him that the idol was again prostrate.\n\nThe monarch set it up once more, and Eblis, entering the image, spoke\nthrough its mouth, exhorting all men to beware of novel doctrines which\nwere about to be introduced.\n\nNext feast-day Davud was about to sacrifice two oxen to the idol, when\none of them opened its mouth, and thus addressed him:\u2014\n\n\u201cWill you sacrifice creatures endued with life by the living God to a\nmass of lifeless metal? O God, do Thou destroy this sinful nation!\u201d And\nthe oxen broke their halters, and ran away.\n\nHorsemen were deputed to pursue and capture them, but they escaped, for\nAllah screened them.\n\nBut God in His mercy resolved to give the Thamudites another chance of\nrepenting of their idolatry.\n\nRaghwah, Kanuch\u2019s wife, had shed incessant tears since the disappearance\nof her husband. Allah dispatched a bird out of Paradise to guide her to\nthe grotto of Kanuch.\n\nThis bird was a raven; its head was white as snow, its back was green as\nemerald. Its feet were purple; its beak of heaven\u2019s blue. Its eyes were\ngems; only its body was black, for this bird did not fall under the\ncurse of Noah, as it was in Paradise.\n\nIt was midnight when the raven entered Raghwah\u2019s dark chamber, where she\nlay weeping on a carpet; but the glory of its eyes illumined the whole\nroom, as though the sun had suddenly flashed into it. Raghwah rose from\nher place, and gazed in wonder on the lovely bird, which opened its beak\nand said, \u201cArise and follow me! God has seen thy tears, and will reunite\nthee to thy husband.\u201d\n\nRaghwah followed the raven, which flew before her, and with the light of\nits eyes turned the night into day. The morning star had not risen, when\nthey stood before Kanuch\u2019s grot. Then cried the raven, \u201cKanuch, open to\nthy wife!\u201d and so vanished.\n\nNine months after that Raghwah had rejoined her husband, she bore him a\nson, who was the image of Seth, and had on his brow the prophetic light;\nand Kanuch, in the hope of drawing him to the knowledge of the true God\nand to a pious life, gave him the name of Saleh (The Blessed).\n\nNot long after Saleh\u2019s birth, Kanuch died; and the raven of Paradise\nreturned to the grotto to lead back Saleh to his own people.\n\nSaleh grew in beauty and strength, to the admiration of his mother and\nall who saw him.\n\nA war was being waged between the descendants of Ham and the Thamudites,\nand the latter had lost many battles and a large portion of their army,\nwhen Saleh suddenly appeared in the battle-field at the head of a few\nfriends, and, by his personal heroism, turned the tide of victory, and\nrouted the enemy.\n\nThis success drew upon him the gratitude and love of the people, but the\nenvy of the king was kindled, and he sought the life of the young\nprophet. But as often as assassins were sent by the king to take his\nlife, their arms shrivelled up, and were only restored at the\nintercession of Saleh. These circumstances tended to increase and\nconfirm the number of his adherents, so that he was able to build a\nmosque, and occupy with worshippers of the true God one whole quarter of\nthe city.\n\nBut one day the king surrounded the mosque with his troops, and\nthreatened Saleh and his followers with death if they would not work a\nmiracle to prove their worship to be the true one.\n\nSaleh prayed, and instantly the leaves of the date-tree that stood\nbefore the mosque were transformed into serpents and scorpions, which\nfell over the king and his soldiers; whilst two doves, which dwelt on\nthe terrace of the mosque, sang aloud, \u201cBelieve in Saleh, he is a\nprophet and messenger of God!\u201d\n\nBut Saleh was moved with compassion when he saw the anguish of those who\nhad been bitten by the scorpions and vipers, and he prayed to God, and\nthe noxious reptiles were transformed back again into date-leaves, and\nthose who had been stung were made whole. Nevertheless the king hardened\nhis heart, and continued to worship false gods.\n\nWhen Saleh saw the impenitence of the Thamudites, he besought God to\ndestroy them; but an angel appeared to him in a cave, and sent him to\nsleep for twenty years.\n\nWhen he woke he betook himself towards the mosque he had built, never\ndoubting that he had slept but a single night. The mosque was gone, his\nfriends and adherents were dead or dispersed, a few remained, but they\nwere old, and he hardly recognized them. Falling into despair, the angel\nGabriel came to him and said,\u2014\n\n\u201cThou wert hasty in desiring the destruction of this people, therefore\nGod hath withdrawn from thy life twenty years, which He has taken from\nthee in sleep. Now He sends thee precious relics wherewith to establish\nthy mission, to wit, Adam\u2019s shirt, Abel\u2019s sandals, Seth\u2019s overcoat,\nEnoch\u2019s seal ring, Noah\u2019s sword, and Hud\u2019s staff.\u201d\n\nNext day, as the king Djundu with his brother Schihab, and the priests\nand the princes of the people, formed a procession to an idol temple\nnear the town, Saleh ran before the procession, entered the temple, and\nstood in the door.\n\n\u201cWho art thou?\u201d asked the king in astonishment: for he did not recognize\nSaleh, so greatly had God changed him in his sleep of twenty years.\n\nHe answered: \u201cI am Saleh, the messenger of the only God, who preached to\nyou twenty years ago, and showed to you many signs and wonders, but you\nwould not believe. And now once more I appear unto you to give you a\nproof of my mission. Ask what miracle I shall perform and it shall be\ndone.\u201d\n\nThen the king said, \u201cBring me here out of the rock a camel one hundred\nells long, of every colour under the sun, whose eyes are like lightning,\nand whose feet are swifter than the wind.\u201d\n\nSaleh consented. Then said Davud, \u201cLet its fore feet be golden and its\nhinder feet silver, its head of emerald and its ears of ruby. Let it\nbear on its hump a tent of silver, woven with gold threads and adorned\nwith pearls, resting on four pillars of diamonds!\u201d\n\nWhen Saleh agreed to this also, the king added, \u201cAnd let it bring with\nit a foal like to its mother, just born, and running by her side; then\nwill I believe in Allah, and in thee as His prophet.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd wilt thou believe too?\u201d asked Saleh of the high priest.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered Davud, \u201cif she give milk without being milked, cold in\nsummer and warm in winter.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd one thing more,\u201d threw in the king\u2019s brother, Schihab; \u201cthe milk\nmust heal the sick, enrich the poor, and the camel must of its own\naccord go into every house, and fill the pails with milk.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe it according to your will,\u201d said Saleh. \u201cBut I warn you,\u2014no one must\ninjure the camel, deprive it of its food or drink, attempt to ride it,\nor use it for any other kind of labour.\u201d\n\nWhen they consented, Saleh prayed to God, and the earth opened under his\nfeet, and a well of fragrant water gushed up, and poured over the rock,\nand the rock was rent, and the camel started forth in every particular\nsuch as the king and his high priest had desired. So they cried, \u201cThere\nis no God but God, and Saleh is His prophet.\u201d\n\nThen the angel Gabriel came down from heaven, having in his hand a\nflaming sword, wherewith he touched the camel, and she bore instantly a\nfoal like her parent.\n\nThen the king fell on Saleh\u2019s neck, and kissed him and believed. But his\nbrother Schihab and Davud attributed all that had been done to magic,\nand they laboured to convince the people that the camel was the work of\nnecromancy.\n\nBut as daily the camel gave her milk, and, whenever she drank, said her\ngrace with formality, the number of true believers increased daily, and\nthe high priest and all the chiefs of the infidels resolved on her\ndestruction. Schihab, the king\u2019s brother, hoping to overturn the king\nand take his place, by adhering to the established religion and ignoring\nall novelties, was resolute in his resistance to the true religion.\nTherefore he promised his daughter Rajan in marriage to whosoever should\nkill the wondrous camel.\n\nNow there was a young man of humble origin, named Kaddar, who had long\nloved the maiden, but had never ventured to show his passion; he armed\nhimself with a great sword and attacked the camel as it was drinking, in\nthe rear, and wounded it in the hock.\n\nInstantly all nature uttered a piercing cry. Then the youth, filled with\ncompunction, ran to the top of a mountain, and cried, \u201cGod\u2019s curse on\nyou, ye sinful people!\u201d\n\nSaleh betook himself with the king, who would not be separated from him,\ninto the town, and demanded the punishment of Kaddar and his\naccomplices. But Schihab, who in the meantime had seized on the throne,\nthreatened them with death, and Saleh, obliged to fly to save his life,\nhad only time to speak this threat, \u201cThree days are given you for\nrepentance; after that ye shall be slain.\u201d\n\nNext day every man\u2019s face was yellow as the leaves in autumn, and\nwherever the wounded camel limped a spring of blood bubbled out of the\nsoil.\n\nOn the second day the faces of all were blood-red, and on the third they\nwere coal-black.\n\nTowards evening the camel spread a pair of scarlet wings and flew away,\nand then mountains of fire were rained from heaven on the city, by the\nhands of angels; and the keepers of the fire beneath the earth opened\nvents, and blew fire from below in the form of flaming camels.\n\nWhen the sun went down, all that remained of the Thamudites was a heap\nof ashes.\n\nSaleh alone, and the king Djundu, were saved.[278]\n\nFootnote 275:\n\n  Koran, Sura xxvi. v. 153.\n\nFootnote 276:\n\n  Ibid. xi. v. 67.\n\nFootnote 277:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xlv.\n\nFootnote 278:\n\n  Weil, pp. 48-61; Abulfeda, p. 21.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXIII.\n                          THE TOWER OF BABEL.\n\n\nFirst we will take Jewish traditions, and then Mahommedan legends. The\nRabbis relate as follows:\u2014\n\nAfter the times of the great Deluge, men feared a recurrence of that\ngreat overthrow, and they assembled on and inhabited the plain of\nShinar. There, they no longer obeyed the gentle guidance of Shem, the\nson of Noah; but they cast the kingdom of God far from them, and chose\nas their sovereign, Nimrod, son of Cush, son of Ham.[279] Nimrod became\nvery great in power. Having been born when his father was old, he was\ndearly beloved, and every whim had been gratified. Cush gave him the\ngarment which God made for Adam when he was expelled from Paradise, and\nwhich Adam had given to Enoch, and Enoch to Methuselah, and Methuselah\nhad left to Noah, and which Noah had taken with him into the ark. Ham\nstole it from his father in the ark, concealed it, and gave it to his\nson Cush. Nimrod, vested in this garment, was unconquerable and\nirresistible.[280] All beasts and birds fell down before him, and his\nenemies were overcome almost without a struggle.\n\nIt was thus that he triumphed over the king of Babylon. His kingdom\nrapidly extended, and he became daily more powerful, till at last he was\nsole monarch over the whole world.[281]\n\nNimrod rejected God as his ruler; he trusted in his own might, therefore\nit is said of him, \u201cHe was mighty in hunting, and in sin before the\nLord; for he was a hunter of the sons of men in their languages. And he\nsaid to them, Leave the judgments of Shem, and adhere to the judgments\nof Nimrod.\u201d[282]\n\nBut Nimrod was uneasy in his mind, and he feared lest some one should\narise who would be empowered by God to overthrow him; therefore he said\nto his subjects, \u201cCome, let us build a great city, and let us settle\ntherein, that we may not be scattered over the face of the earth, and be\ndestroyed once more by a flood. And in the midst of our city let us\nbuild a high tower, so lofty as to overtop any flood, and so strong as\nto resist any fire. Yea, let us do further, let us prop up the heaven on\nall sides from the top of the tower, that it may not again fall and\ninundate us. Then let us climb up into heaven, and break it up with\naxes, and drain its water away where it can do no injury. Thus shall we\navenge the death of our ancestors. And at the summit of our tower we\nwill place an image of our god with a sword in his hand, and he shall\nfight for us. Thus shall we obtain a great name, and reign over the\nuniverse.\u201d\n\nEven if all were not inspired with the same presumption, yet all saw in\nthe tower a means of refuge from a future deluge; and therefore they\nreadily fell in with the proposal of the king. Six hundred thousand men\nwere set to work under a thousand captains, and raised the tower to the\nheight of seventy miles (_i.e._ fifty-six English miles). A great flight\nof stairs on the east side was used by those carrying up material, and a\nflight on the west side served those who descended, having deposited\ntheir burdens. If a workman fell down and was killed, no one heeded; but\nif any of the bricks gave way, there was an outcry. Some shot arrows\ninto the sky, and they came down tinged with blood, then they shouted\nand cried, \u201cSee, we have killed every one who is in heaven.\u201d[283]\nCuriously enough a similar story is told by the Chinese of one of their\nearlier monarchs, who thought himself so great that he might war against\nheaven. He shot an arrow into the sky, and a drop of blood fell. \u201cSo,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cI have killed God!\u201d\n\nAt this time Abraham was forty-eight. He was filled with grief and shame\nat the impiety of his fellow-men, and he prayed to God, \u201c_O Lord!\nconfound their tongues, for I have spied unrighteousness and strife in\nthe city!_\u201d\n\nThen the Lord called the seventy angels who surround His throne, that\nthey should confuse the language of the builders, so that none should\nunderstand the other.\n\nThe angels came down, and cast confusion among the subjects of Nimrod,\nand seventy distinct languages sprang up, and the men could not\nunderstand each other; so they separated from one another, and were\nspread over the surface of the earth. The tower itself was destroyed in\npart. It was in three portions: the upper story was destroyed by fire\nfrom heaven, the basement was overthrown by an earthquake, only the\nmiddle story was left intact,\u2014how, we are not informed.[284]\n\nWe will now take the Mussulman tradition. Nimrod, who, according to the\nArabs, was the son of Canaan, and brother of Cush, sons of Ham, having\ncast Abraham, who refused to acknowledge him as supreme monarch of the\nworld, into a burning, fiery furnace, from which he issued unhurt, said\nto his courtiers, \u201cI will go to heaven and see this God whom Abraham\npreaches, and who protects him.\u201d\n\nHis wise men having represented to him that heaven is very high, Nimrod\nordered the erection of a tower, by which he might reach it. For three\nyears an immense multitude of workmen toiled at the erection of this\ntower. Every day Nimrod ascended it and looked up, but the sky seemed to\nhim as distant from the summit of his tower as it had from the level\nground.\n\nOne morning he found his tower cast down. But Nimrod was not to be\ndefeated so easily. He ordered a firmer foundation to be laid, and a\nsecond tower was constructed; but however high it was built, the sky\nremained inaccessible. Then Nimrod resolved on reaching heaven in\nanother fashion. He had a large box made, and to the four corners he\nattached gigantic birds of the species Roc. They bore Nimrod high into\nthe air, and then fluttered here and fluttered there, and finally upset\nthe box, and tumbled him on the top of a mountain, which he cracked by\nhis fall, without however materially injuring himself.\n\nBut Nimrod was not penitent, nor ready to submit to the Most High,\ntherefore God confounded the language of his subjects, and thus rent\nfrom him a large portion of his kingdom.[285]\n\nGod sent a wind, says Abulfaraj, which overthrew the Tower of Babel and\nburied Nimrod under its ruins.[286]\n\nOf Babel we find fewer traditions preserved amongst the ancient nations,\nthan we did of the Deluge.\n\nThe Zendavesta makes no mention of such an event; and it is equally\nunknown to the Chinese books, though curiously enough, in Chinese\nhieroglyphics, the _tower_ is the symbol of _separation_.[287]\n\nThe Chaldeans, however, says Abydessus, probably quoting Berosus, the\npriest of Bel, related, \u201cThat the first inhabitants of the earth,\nglorying in their own strength and size, and despising the gods,\nundertook to raise a tower whose top should reach the sky in the place\nwhere Babylon now stands; but when it approached the heavens, the winds\nassisted the gods, and overthrew the work of the contrivers; and its\nruins are said to be still in Babylon; and the gods introduced a\ndiversity of tongues among men, who till that time had all spoken the\nsame language; and a war arose between Kronos and Titan. The place on\nwhich they built the tower is now called Babylon.\u201d[288]\n\nAlexander Polyhistor relates the events as follows, and quotes the\nSibyl. \u201cThe Sibyl says, when all men had one speech, they built a great\ntower in order to climb into heaven, but the gods blowing against it\nwith the winds, threw it down, and confounded the language of the\nbuilders; therefore the city is called Babylon.\u201d[289] The writings of\nthis Sibyl, commonly called the Chaldean Sibyl, formed part of the\nsacred scriptures of the Babylonians. Eupolemus, quoting apparently\nSyro-ph\u0153nician traditions, relates the matter somewhat differently. \u201cThe\ncity Babylon,\u201d says he, \u201cwas built after the Deluge by those who were\nsaved. But they were giants, and they built the famous tower then. But\nwhen this was overthrown by the will of the gods, the giants were\nscattered over the whole face of the earth.\u201d[290] The Armenian tradition\nrecorded by Moses of Chorene, is to this effect: \u201cFrom them (_i.e._ from\nthe first dwellers on the earth) sprang the race of the giants, with\nstrong bodies and of huge size. Full of pride and envy, they formed the\ngodless resolve to build a high tower. But whilst they were engaged on\nthe undertaking, a fearful wind overthrew it, which the wrath of God had\nsent against it, and unknown words were at the same time blown about\namong men, wherefore arose strife and contention.\u201d[291]\n\nThe Hindu story of the confusion of tongues and the separation of\nnations is not connected with the erection of a tower, but with the\npride of the Tree of Knowledge, or the world tree. This tree grew in the\ncentre of the earth, and its head was in heaven. It said in its heart, I\nshall hold my head in heaven, and spread my branches over all the earth,\nand gather all men together under my shadow and protect them, and\nprevent them from separating. But Brahm, to punish the pride of the\ntree, cut off its branches and cast them down on the earth, where they\nsprang up as Wata trees, and made differences of belief and speech and\ncustoms to prevail in the earth, to disperse men over its surface.[292]\n\nThe Dutch traveller, Hamel van Gorcum, found a tradition of the Tower of\nBabel, in the seventeenth century, in the Korea, in the midst of a sect\nwhich had not adopted Buddhism, but which retained much of the old\nprimitive Schamanism of the race. They said, \u201cThat formerly all men\nspake the same language, but, after building a great tower, wherewith\nthey attempted to invade heaven, they fell into confusion of\ntongues.\u201d[293]\n\nThe Mexican story was, that after the Deluge the sole survivors Coxcox\nand Chichequetzl engendered many children who were born dumb, but one\nday received the gift of speech from a dove, which came and perched\nitself on a lofty tree; but the dove did not communicate to them the\nsame language, so they separated in fifteen companies. And Gemelli\nCarreri and Clavigero describe an ancient Mexican painting representing\nthe dove with thirty-three tongues, answering to the languages and\ndialects he taught.[294]\n\nAt Cholula they related that Xelhuaz began to build a tower on Mount\nTlalok to commemorate his having been saved along with his brothers from\nthe Flood. And the tower he built in the form of a pyramid. The clay was\nbaked into bricks in the province of Tlamanalco, at the foot of the\nSierra Cocotl, and to bring them to Cholula a row of men was placed,\nthat the bricks might be passed from hand to hand. The gods saw this\nbuilding, whose top reached the clouds, with anger and dismay, and sent\nfire from heaven, and destroyed the tower.[295]\n\nFootnote 279:\n\n  Pirke of Rabbi Eliezer, c. xi.\n\nFootnote 280:\n\n  Ibid. c. xxiv.\n\nFootnote 281:\n\n  Ibid. c. xi.\n\nFootnote 282:\n\n  Targums, ed. Etheridge, i. p. 187.\n\nFootnote 283:\n\n  Bechaji, Comm. in 1 Mos. xi.; Pirke of R. Eliezer, c. xi.; Talmud,\n  Sanhedrim, 109a; Targums, i. pp. 189-90, &c.\n\nFootnote 284:\n\n  Talmud, Sanhedrim; see also the history of Nimrod in Yaschar, pp.\n  1107-8.\n\nFootnote 285:\n\n  Herbelot, s. v. Nimroud.\n\nFootnote 286:\n\n  Hist. Dynast., p. 12.\n\nFootnote 287:\n\n  M\u00e9moires conc. les Chinois, i. p. 213.\n\nFootnote 288:\n\n  Euseb., Pr\u00e6p. Ev., ix. 14; Cory, Ancient Fragments, pp. 34-50.\n\nFootnote 289:\n\n  George Syncellus, Bibl. Gr\u00e6c., v. p. 178.\n\nFootnote 290:\n\n  Euseb., Pr\u00e6p. Ev., ix. 17.\n\nFootnote 291:\n\n  Mos. Chorene, i. 9.\n\nFootnote 292:\n\n  M\u00fcller, Glauben u. Wissen. d. Hindus; Mainz, 1822, i. p. 303.\n\nFootnote 293:\n\n  Allgem. Hist. d. Reisen, vi. p. 602.\n\nFootnote 294:\n\n  Luken, p. 287; Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 517, &c.\n\nFootnote 295:\n\n  Humboldt, Ansichten d. Cordilleren, i. p. 42.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXIV.\n                             ABRAHAM.[296]\n\n\n                   1. HIS YOUTH AND EARLY STRUGGLES.\n\n\nAbraham or Abram, as he was first called, was the son of Terah, general\nof Nimrod\u2019s army, and Amtelai, daughter of Carnebo. He was born at Ur of\nthe Chaldees, in the year 1948 after the Creation.\n\nOn the night on which Abraham was born, Terah\u2019s friends, amongst whom\nwere many councillors and soothsayers of Nimrod, were feasting in the\nhouse. On leaving, late at night, they observed an unusual star in the\neast; it seemed to run from one quarter of the heavens to another, and\nto devour four stars which were there. All gazed in astonishment on this\nwondrous sight. \u201cTruly,\u201d said they, \u201cthis can signify nothing else but\nthat Terah\u2019s new-born son will become great and powerful, will conquer\nthe whole realm, and dethrone great princes, and seize on their\npossessions.\u201d\n\nNext morning they hastened to the king, to announce to him what they had\nseen, and what was their interpretation of the vision, and to advise the\nslaughter of the young child, and that Terah should be compensated with\na liberal sum of money.\n\nNimrod accordingly sent gold and silver to Terah, and asked his son in\nexchange, but Terah refused. Then the king sent and threatened to burn\ndown and utterly destroy the whole house of Terah, unless the child were\nsurrendered. In the meantime one of the female slaves had born a son;\nthis Terah gave to the royal officers, who, supposing it to be the son\nof the householder, brought it before Nimrod and slew it.\n\nThen, to secure Abraham, Terah concealed him and his mother and nurse in\na cave.\n\nBut there is another version of the story, and it is as follows:\u2014\n\nNimrod had long read in the stars that a child would be born who would\noppose his power and his religion, and would finally overcome both.\n\nActing on the advice of his wise men, he built a house, sixty ells high\nand eighty ells broad, into which all pregnant women were brought to be\ndelivered, and the nurses were instructed to put to death all the boys\nthat were born, but to make handsome presents to the mothers who were\nbrought to bed of daughters.\n\nAfter seventy thousand male children had thus perished, the angels of\nheaven turned to the All Mighty, and besought Him with tears to stay\nthis cruel murder of innocents.\n\n\u201cI slumber not, I sleep not,\u201d God answered. \u201cYe shall see that this\natrocity shall not pass unpunished.\u201d\n\nShortly after, Terah\u2019s wife was pregnant; she concealed her situation as\nlong as was possible, pretending that she was ill; but when she could\nconceal it no more, the infant crept behind her breasts, so that she\nappeared to every eye as if nothing were about to take place.\n\nWhen the time came for her delivery, she went in fear out of the city,\nand wandered in the desert till she lighted on a cave, into which she\nentered. Next morning she was delivered of a son, Abraham, whose face\nshone, so that the grotto was as light as though the sun were casting a\ngolden beam into it. She wrapped the child in a mantle, and left it\nthere to the custody of God and His angels, and returned home. God heard\nthe cry of the weeping infant, and He sent His angel Gabriel to the\ncave, who let the child suck milk out of his fore-finger. But according\nto another account he opened two holes in the cave, from which dropped\noil and flour to nourish Abraham. Others, however, say that Terah\nvisited the cave every day, and nursed and fed the child.\n\nAccording to the Arab tradition, which follows the Jewish in most\nparticulars, the mother, on visiting the cave, found the infant sucking\nits two thumbs. Now out of one of its thumbs flowed milk, and out of the\nother, honey, and thus the babe nourished itself: or, say others, from\none finger flowed water when he sucked it; from a second, milk; from a\nthird, honey; from a fourth, the juice of dates; and from the little\nfinger, butter.[297]\n\nWhen Abraham had been in the cave, according to some, three years,\naccording to others ten, and according to others thirteen, he left the\ncavern and stood on the face of the desert. And when he saw the sun\nshining in all its glory, he was filled with wonder, and he thought,\n\u201cSurely the sun is God the Creator!\u201d and he knelt down and worshipped\nthe sun. But when evening came, the sun went down in the west, and\nAbraham said, \u201cNo! the Author of creation cannot set.\u201d Now the moon\narose in the east, and the stars looked out of the firmament. Then said\nAbraham, \u201cThis moon must indeed be God, and all the stars are His host!\u201d\nAnd kneeling down he adored the moon.\n\nBut after some hours of darkness the moon set, and from the east\nappeared once more the bright face of the sun. Then said Abraham,\n\u201cVerily these heavenly bodies are no gods, for they obey law: I will\nworship Him who imposed the law upon them.\u201d\n\nThe Arab story is this. When Abraham came out of the cave, he saw a\nnumber of flocks and herds, and he said to his mother, \u201cWho is lord of\nthese?\u201d She answered, \u201cYour father Azar (Terah).\u201d \u201cAnd who is the lord\nof Azar?\u201d he further asked. She replied, \u201cNimrod.\u201d \u201cAnd who is the lord\nof Nimrod?\u201d \u201cOh, hush, my son,\u201d said she, striking him on the mouth;\n\u201cyou must not push your questions so far.\u201d But it was by following this\ntrain of thought that Abraham arrived at the knowledge of the one true\nGod.\n\nAnother Rabbinical story is, that Abraham was only ten days in the cave\nafter his birth, and then he was able to walk, and he left it. But his\nmother, who visited the grotto, finding him gone, was a prey to anguish\nand fear.\n\nWandering along the bank of the river, searching for her child, she met\nAbraham, but did not recognize him, as he had grown tall; and she asked\nhim if he had seen a little baby anywhere.\n\n\u201cI am he whom you seek,\u201d answered Abraham.\n\n\u201cIs this possible!\u201d exclaimed the mother. \u201cCould you grow to such a\nheight, and be able to walk and talk, in ten days?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, mother,\u201d answered the youthful prodigy; \u201call this has taken place\nthat you might know that there is but one living and true God who made\nheaven and earth, who dwells in heaven and fills the earth with His\ngoodness.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d asked Amtelai, \u201cis there another god besides Nimrod?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy all means,\u201d replied the infant son; \u201cthere is a God in heaven, who\nis also the God who made Nimrod. Now go to Nimrod and announce this to\nhim.\u201d\n\nAbraham\u2019s mother related all this to her husband, who bore the message\nto the king. Nimrod, greatly alarmed, consulted his council what was to\nbe done with the boy.[298]\n\nThe council replied that he had nothing to fear from an infant of ten\ndays,\u2014he, the king and god of the world! But Nimrod was not satisfied.\nThen Satan, putting on a black robe, mingled with the advisers of the\nmonarch and said, \u201cLet the king open his arsenal, arm all his troops,\nand march against this precocious infant.\u201d This advice fell in\ncompletely with Nimrod\u2019s own personal fears, and his army was marched\nagainst the baby. But when Abraham saw the host drawn up in battle\narray, he cried to heaven with many tears, and Gabriel came to his\nsuccour, enveloped the infant in clouds, and snatched him from the sight\nof those who came against him; and they, frightened at the cloud and\ndarkness, fled precipitately to Babylon.\n\nAbraham followed them on the shoulders of Gabriel, and reaching the\ngates of the city in an instant of time, he cried, \u201cThe Eternal One is\nthe true and only God, and none other is like Him! He is the God of\nheaven, God of gods and Lord of Nimrod! Be convinced of this, all ye\nmen, women and children who dwell here, even as I am Abraham, his\nservant.\u201d Then he sought his parents, and bade Terah go and fulfil his\ncommand to Nimrod.\n\nTerah went accordingly, and announced to the king that his son, whom the\narmy had been unable to capture, had, in a brief space of time,\ntraversed a country across which was forty days\u2019 journey.\n\nNimrod quaked, and consulted his princes, who advised him to institute a\nfestival of seven days, during which every subject and dweller on the\nface of the earth was to make a pilgrimage to his palace, and there to\nworship and adore him.\n\nIn the meantime Nimrod, being very curious to see Abraham, ordered Terah\nto bring him into his royal presence. The child entered the throne-room\nboldly, and going to the foot of the steps which led to the throne, he\nexclaimed: \u201cWoe to thee, accursed Nimrod, blasphemer of God!\nAcknowledge, O Nimrod, that the true God is without body, everlasting,\nnever slumbering nor sleeping; acknowledge that He created the world,\nthat all men may believe in Him likewise!\u201d\n\nAt the same moment all the idols in the palace fell, and the king rolled\nfrom his throne in convulsions, and remained in a fit for two hours.\n\nWhen he came to himself again, he said to Abraham, \u201cWas that thy voice,\nor was it the voice of God?\u201d\n\nAbraham answered, \u201cIt was the voice of the meanest of His creatures.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen your God must be great and mighty, and a King of kings.\u201d\n\nNimrod now suffered Abraham to depart, and as his anger was abated, the\nchild remained in his father\u2019s house, and no attempts were made against\nhis life.\n\nHere must be inserted a legend of the childhood of Abraham, which I have\nventured to render into verse.\n\n\n                         THE GIFT OF THE KING.\n\n\n             Nimrod the Cushite sat upon a throne\n             Of gold, encrusted with the sapphire stone,\n             And round the monarch stood, in triple rank,\n             Three hundred ruddy pages, like a bank\n                       Of roses all a-blow.\n             Two gentle boys, with blue eyes clear as glass,\n             And locks as light as tufted cotton grass,\n                       And faces as the snow\n             That lies on Ararat, and flushes pink\n             On summer evenings, as the sun doth sink,\n             Were stationed by the royal golden chair\n             With fillets of carnation in their hair,\n             And clothed in silken vesture, candid, clean,\n             To flutter fans of burnished blue and green,\n                     Fashioned of peacock\u2019s plume.\n             A little lower, on a second stage\n             On either side, was placed a graceful page,\n                     To raise a fragrant fume\u2014\n             With costly woods and gums on burning coals\n             That glowed on tripods, in bright silver bowls;\n             And at the basement of the marble stair,\n             Sweet singing choirs and harping minstrels were,\n             In amber kirtles purple gilt and sashed.\n             The throbbing strings in silver ripples flashed,\n                   Where slaves the choral song\n             Accompanied with psaltery and lyre,\n             In red and saffron, like to men of fire,\n                     Whilst hoarsely boomed the gong:\n             Or silver cymbals clashed, or, waxing shrill,\n             Danced up the scale a flute\u2019s melodious thrill.\n\n             Now at the monarch\u2019s signal, pages twain,\n             With sunny hair as ripened autumn grain,\n             And robed in lustrous silver tissue, shot\n             With changing hues of blue forget-me-not,\n                     Start nimbly forth, and bend\n             Before the monarch, at his gilded stool,\n             And crystal goblets brimming, sweet and cool,\n                     Obsequiously extend;\n             But Nimrod, slightly stirring, stately, calm,\n             Towards the right-hand beaker thrusts his arm,\n             And, languid, raises it towards his lips;\n             Yet ere he of the ruby liquor sips,\n             He notices upon the surface lie\u2014\n             Fallen in and fluttering\u2014a feeble fly,\n                     With draggled wings outspread.\n             Then shot from Nimrod\u2019s eyes an angry flare,\n             And passionately down the marble stair\n                     The costly draught he shed.\n             He spoke no word, but with a finger wave,\n             Made signal to a scarlet-vested slave;\n             And as the lad before him, quaking, kneels,\n             Above him swift the gleaming falchion wheels,\n             Then flashes down, and, with one leap, his head\n             Bounds from his shoulders, and bespirts with red\n                     The alabaster floor.\n             And, mingled with the outpoured Persian wine,\n             Descends the steps a sliding purple line\n                     Of smoking, dribbled gore;\n             And floats the little midge upon a flood\n             Of fragrant grape-juice, and of roseate blood.\n\n             Then Nimrod said: \u201cI would yon ugly stain\n             Were wiped away; and thou, my chamberlain,\n             Obtain for me a stripling, to replace\n             This petty fool. Let him have comely face,\n                     And be of slender mould:\n             Be lithely built, of noble birth; a youth,\n             The choicest thou canst find. His cost, in sooth!\n                     I heed not. Stint no gold,\n             But buy a goodly slave: for I, a king,\n             Will have the best, the best of everything\u2014\n             Of gems, of slaves, of fabrics, meats, or wine;\n             The best, the very best on earth be mine.\u201d\n             Then, prostrate flung before his master\u2019s throne,\n             The servant said, \u201cSire! Terah hath a son\n             Whose equal in the whole round world is none,\n                     Belov\u00e8d as himself.\n             But, Sire! I fear the father will not deign\n             To yield his son as slave through love of gain,\n                     For great is he in wealth.\u201d\n             \u201cGo!\u201d said the monarch, \u201cI must have the child:\n             Be sure the father can be reconciled,\n             If you expend of gold a goodly store,\n             And, if he haggles at your price, bid more;\n                     I will it, chamberlain!\n             I care not what the cost. I\u2019ll have the lad!\u201d\n             And then, he leaned him idly back, and bade\n                     The slaves to fan again.\n\n             Now on the morrow, to the royal court,\n             Terah Ben-Nahor from old Ur was brought\u2014\n             Protesting loud he would not yield his son\n             As slave, at any price, to any one.\n                     \u201cMy flesh and blood be sold!\n             Fie on you! Do you reckon that I prize\n             My first-begotten as mere merchandise,\n                     To barter him for gold!\n             A curse on him who would the old man\u2019s stay,\n             That bears him up, with money buy away!\n             Require me not to offer child of mine\n             To serve and brim a tyrant\u2019s cup with wine;\n             To waste a life from morning to its grave,\n             Branded in mind and soul and body \u2018Slave!\u2019\n                     How could I be repaid?\n             His artless fondlings, all his childish ways:\n             The reminiscences of olden days,\n                     That sudden flash and fade,\n             Of her who bore him\u2014her, my boyhood\u2019s choice\u2014\n             Resemblances in feature, figure, voice,\n             In gesture, manner, ay! in very tone\n             Of pealing laugh, of that dear partner gone?\n             Thou, Nimrod, to an old man condescend\n             To hear his story; your attention lend,\n                     And judge if acted well.\n             Last year to me thou gav\u2019st a goodly steed,\n             From thine own stud, of purest Yemen breed:\n             And thus it me befel.\n             A stranger offered me a price so fair\n             That I accepted it, and sold the mare.\u201d\n             \u201cMy gift disposed of!\u201d with an angry start,\n             King Nimrod thundered: \u201cThou, old man, shalt smart\n             For this thy avarice. A royal gift,\n             Thou knowest well, must never owners shift,\n                     As thing of little worth.\u201d\n             Then Terah raised his trembling hands, and said,\n             \u201cFrom thine own mouth, O King, has judgment sped.\n                     The Lord of Heaven and Earth,\n               The King of Kings to me my offspring gave,\n               And shall I sell His gift to be a slave?\n               Nimrod! that child, which is His royal gift,\u2014\n               Thy mouth hath said it,\u2014may not owners shift.\u201d\n\nAt this time idolatry was commonly practised by all. Nimrod and his\nservants, Terah and his whole house, worshipped images of wood and\nstone. Terah had not only twelve idols of the twelve months which he\nadored, but he manufactured images and sold them.\n\nOne day, when Terah was absent, and Abraham was left to manage the shop,\nhe thought the time had come when he must make his protest against\nidolatry. This he did as follows. Every purchaser who came, was asked by\nAbraham his age; if he answered fifty or sixty years old, Abraham\nexclaimed, \u201cWoe to a man of such an age who adores the work of one day!\u201d\nand the purchaser withdrew in shame.\n\nAnother version of the incident is more full.\n\nA strong lusty fellow came one day to buy an idol, the strongest that\nthere was. As he was going away with it, Abraham called after him, \u201cHow\nold are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cSeventy years,\u201d he answered.\n\n\u201cOh, you fool!\u201d said Abraham, \u201cto adore a god younger than yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d asked the purchaser.\n\n\u201cWhy, you were born seventy years ago, and this god was made only\nyesterday.\u201d\n\nHearing this, the buyer threw the idol away.\n\nShortly after, an old woman brought a dish of meal to set before the\nidols. Abraham took it, and then with a stick smashed all the gods\nexcept the biggest, into whose hands he placed the stick.\n\nTerah, who was returning home, heard the noise of blows, and quickened\nhis pace. When he entered, his gods were in pieces.\n\nHe accused Abraham angrily; but Abraham said, \u201cMy father, a woman\nbrought this dish of meal for the gods: they all wanted to have it, and\nthe strongest knocked the heads off the rest, lest they should eat it\nall.\u201d And this, say the Mussulmans, was the _first_ lie that Abraham\ntold, but it was not a lie, but a justifiable falsehood.\n\nTerah said this could not be true, for the images were of wood and\nstone.\n\n\u201cLet thine ear hear what thy mouth hath spoken,\u201d said Abraham, and then\nhe exhorted his father against idolatry.\n\nTerah complained to Nimrod, who sent for Abraham, and he said to him,\n\u201cWilt thou not worship these idols? Well then, adore fire.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not water which quenches fire?\u201d asked Abraham.\n\n_Nimrod._\u2014\u201cVery well; then worship water.\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cWhy not the clouds which swallow the water?\u201d\n\n_Nimrod._\u2014\u201cSo be it; adore the clouds.\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cRather let me adore wind which blows the clouds about.\u201d\n\n_Nimrod._\u2014\u201cSo be it; pray to the wind.\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cBut man can stand up against the wind, and build it out of\nhis house.\u201d\n\nThen Nimrod in a fury exclaimed, \u201cFire is my god, and that shall consume\nyou.\u201d\n\nAccording to another version, a woman came to Abraham to buy a god,\nbecause thieves had stolen her former god; this gave the patriarch a\ntext for his homily against idolatry. The woman was convinced.\n\n\u201cBelieve in the true God,\u201d said he, \u201cand you will recover the things the\nthieves stole from your house.\u201d\n\nA few days after, the woman recovered all her lost goods, amongst them\nher image. Then she took a stone, and smashed its head, saying, \u201cOh,\nthou blockhead, not to be able to preserve my property and thyself from\nthieves!\u201d\n\nThe report of what she had said and done reached the king, who ordered\nher to be executed. But Nimrod was uneasy, and he announced a grand\nceremony to last for seven days, during which every one was to produce\nhis gods and carry them about the streets, which were to be hung with\ngold and silks. His object was to dazzle Abraham\u2019s eyes by the splendour\nof idol worship. He sent for Terah and Abraham, but the latter refused\nto attend. The Mussulmans say that Abraham excused himself thus: \u201cI see\nin the stars that I am going to be very sick to-day.\u201d This was the\n_second_ lie Abraham told, but it was not a lie, it was a justifiable\nfalsehood. Then the king sent his guard, who arrested him and cast him\ninto a dungeon.\n\nHe lay in the dungeon ten days. The angel Gabriel brought him food, and\na crystal fountain bubbled up through the soil of his cell.\n\nNimrod called his council together, and it was unanimously decided that\nAbraham should be burnt alive. The king therefore published a decree\nordering every man to bring wood or other fuel for the heating of the\nkiln.[299] The wood was piled about the furnace to the height of five\nells, for a circle of five ells diameter, and for three days and three\nnights the fire was kept up, and the flames licked the heavens, so that\nthe oven was at a white heat. Then Nimrod ordered his jailer to produce\nAbraham. The prison-keeper humbly answered, that it was impossible that\nAbraham could be alive, for he had been given neither meat nor drink.\nBut Nimrod answered, \u201cProduce him alive or dead.\u201d\n\nThen the jailer went to the prison door and cried, \u201cAbraham, livest\nthou?\u201d\n\n\u201cI live,\u201d answered the prisoner, \u201cand am hearty.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow is that possible?\u201d asked the jailer, astonished.\n\n\u201cBecause the Almighty has wrought a miracle on my behalf. He is sole\nGod, invisible, the Creator of the world, and the Lord of Nimrod.\u201d\n\nThe jailer believed.\n\nThe news was conveyed to Nimrod, who ordered the immediate execution of\nthe jailer; but as the executioner was about to smite off his head, he\ncried, \u201cThe Eternal One is alone the true God of the world, and the God\nof Nimrod who denies him.\u201d And lo! the sword was blunted, and shivered\ninto a thousand fragments.\n\nHere we must add a few particulars from Mussulman sources.\n\n\u201cWho is your God?\u201d asked Nimrod of Abraham, when brought before him.\n\n\u201cHe who kills and makes alive again,\u201d said Abraham.\n\n\u201cI can do that,\u201d exclaimed Nimrod, and he ordered two prisoners before\nhim; one he slew, the other he spared.\n\nBut Abraham said, \u201cBehold the power of my God!\u201d and he bade a dead man\nwho had been four years in his grave, rise and bring him a white cock, a\nblack raven, a green pigeon, and a gaily-coloured peacock. The dead man\nrose and obeyed. Then Abraham cut up the birds, but preserved their\nheads; and lo! from the heads new bodies sprouted.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Abraham, \u201cdo the same.\u201d\n\nBut Nimrod could not.\n\n\u201cIf thou art a God,\u201d said Abraham again, \u201ccommand the sun to rise\nto-morrow in the west and set in the east.\u201d\n\nBut this he could not do.[300]\n\nNimrod was highly incensed, and ordered that Abraham should be at once\nprecipitated into the fire. When he was brought before the king, say the\nRabbis, the soothsayers recognized him as the boy at whose birth they\nhad warned the king that one was come into the world who would be the\nfather of a great nation which would subdue that of Nimrod, and would\npossess the whole earth and heaven.\n\n\u201cThis is the man against whom we cautioned you,\u201d they said; \u201chis father\nTerah must have deceived you, O king, and not have given you up the\nright child.\u201d\n\nTerah, on being questioned, owned the truth.\n\n\u201cWho gave you this advice?\u201d asked the king; \u201cconfess it, and your life\nshall be spared.\u201d\n\nOut of fear Terah told a lie, and said that Haran, his other son, had\nsuggested the deception.\n\n\u201cFor having given this advice,\u201d said Nimrod, \u201cHaran shall perish along\nwith Abraham. Cast them both into the flames.\u201d Abraham and Haran were\nnow to be stripped and their hands and feet bound by ropes, and then\nthey were to be thrown into the fire. But the servants of Nimrod who\napproached the brothers were caught by the flames which, like the\ntongues of serpents, shot out, curled round them, drew them into the\nfire, and consumed them.\n\nThen Satan appeared to Nimrod, and instructed him how to make a catapult\nwhich would throw stones to a distance, and by means of which Abraham\nand Haran could be projected into the midst of the fire.\n\nHaran was undecided in his mind whether to worship God or idols;\nsometimes he sided with Abraham, and sometimes with Terah. Now, the\nmoment Haran was shot into the flames, his heart failed him, and he\ncried out that he would worship idols if his life were spared. But it\nwas too late, he was burnt to ashes. But Abraham was unharmed. The cords\nwhich bound him were consumed, but for three days and nights he walked\nabout in the flames, and felt no inconvenience.[301]\n\nThen the king cried aloud, \u201cAbraham, servant of the God of Heaven, come\nforth from the furnace to me.\u201d\n\nAnd Abraham came forth. Then the king said to him, \u201cHow is it that thou\nart not consumed?\u201d And Abraham answered, \u201cThe Lord God of Heaven and\nEarth, whom I serve, hath delivered me.\u201d\n\nInstantly the flames were extinguished, and the wood burst forth into\nflower and fruit; and the pile was like a grove of flowering shrubs to\nlook upon, and Angels descended and took Abraham and seated him in the\nmidst.\n\nThe Arabic version of this part of the story is something different.\n\nNimrod could not see into the fire, so he ascended a high tower in his\npalace, and from the top looked down into the furnace, and saw that in\nthe midst was a garden with flowers and a fountain of sparkling water,\nand Abraham seated on the grass beside the spring, conversing with an\nangel.[302]\n\nNimrod now loaded Abraham with presents, amongst which were two slaves\nnamed Oni and Eliezer; according to some, the latter was a son of the\ntyrant. Many followed Abraham home, and brought their children to him\nand said, \u201cNow we see that the God in whom thou trustest, is the only\ntrue God; teach our children the truth, that they may serve Him in\nrighteousness.\u201d Thus three hundred persons accompanied Abraham home,\nmost of whom were servants of the king, and of noble race.\n\nHere follows in the Mussulman account the story of Nimrod\u2019s attempt to\nreach heaven in a box, to which were attached four vultures. His object\nwas, says Tabari, to kill the God of Abraham. He went up along with his\nvizir. After a night and day in the air, the king said to his vizir,\n\u201cOpen the window of the box towards the earth and tell me what you see.\u201d\nHe did so, and replied, \u201cI see the earth.\u201d After another day and night,\nhe again looked out and saw the earth still; on the third day, at the\nking\u2019s command he looked out and saw nothing. Then said Nimrod, \u201cOpen\nthe window towards heaven and look out.\u201d He did so and saw nothing. Then\nNimrod shot three arrows into the sky, and they fell back with blood on\nthem. So Nimrod said, \u201cI have killed the God of Abraham.\u201d But whence the\nblood came is unsettled. Some say that the arrows hit a bird which flew\nhigher than the vultures; but others, with more probability, say they\nstruck a fish, which was being carried by the wind, that had caught it\nup with the rain out of the sea.[303]\n\nAbraham now married the daughter of his brother Haran, named Sarai or\nJisha, \u201cthe seeress,\u201d because she was endowed with the spirit of\nprophecy, say some, or, say others, because she was so beautiful that\nevery one wanted to see her. At the time of his marriage, Abraham was\naged fifty; others, however, suggest twenty-five.\n\nTwo years later, Nimrod was visited with a dream. He saw himself and all\nhis army in a valley, near the furnace into which he had cast Abraham. A\nman resembling the latter stepped out of the furnace and approached the\nking, holding a naked sword. When Nimrod recoiled, the man cast an egg\nat his head; the egg broke and became a mighty river, which swept all\nhis host away, saving only three men; and on looking at them, the king\nsaw that they wore royal robes, and exactly resembled himself. Then the\nstream retreated into the egg, and when all the water was gathered into\nit, from the egg hopped out a chicken, which seated itself on Nimrod\u2019s\nhead, and pecked out one of his eyes.\n\nNext morning the king sent for his soothsayers to explain the dream, and\nthis was their interpretation: \u201cHear, O king! this dream presages to\nthee great misfortune, which Abraham and his posterity shall bring upon\nthee. The time will come when he will war with his forces against thee\nand thy forces, and will overcome them and put them to the sword. Thou\nalone wilt escape with three of thy confederates; but a messenger of\nAbraham will cause thy death. Therefore, O king! remember that thy\ncouncil of wise men foretold this fifty-two years ago, in the stars at\nAbraham\u2019s birth. As long as Abraham lives thou art in jeopardy.\nWherefore should he be suffered to live any longer?\u201d\n\nNimrod believing what was said, sent a servant to assassinate Abraham.\nBut Eliezer, the slave, whom Nimrod had given to the patriarch, had been\nwith the councillors when this advice was given, and he fled and told\nAbraham before the emissary of the tyrant arrived; and Abraham left his\nhouse and took refuge with Noah and Shem, and remained hidden with them\nfor the space of one month.\n\nHere Terah sought him in secret; and Abraham addressed him a long\ndiscourse on the vanity of idol-worship, and the evil of serving the\ngodless tyrant Nimrod. And Noah and Shem supported him.\n\nThen Terah, who grieved over the death of his son Haran, consented to\nall that Abraham had said, and he went forth with Abraham and his wife\nSarah, and Lot his grandson, the son of Haran, and all his household,\nand they settled at Charan, where the land was fruitful and well\nwatered. The dwellers in Charan associated themselves with Abraham, who\ninstructed them in the knowledge and fear of the Lord.\n\n\n            2. THE CALL OF ABRAHAM, AND THE VISIT TO EGYPT.\n\n\nFor three years Abraham dwelt in Charan, till God called him to go\nfurther with his wife Sarah, and to take up his abode in Canaan; but\nTerah and Lot remained at Charan. Abraham reached Canaan and pitched his\ntent among the inhabitants of that land; and on the spot where God\npromised that He would give him all that pleasant country for his\ninheritance, he erected an altar to the Eternal One.\n\nFor fifteen years he had dwelt in Canaan, and Abraham was now aged 70,\nwhen, on the 15th day of the first month (Nisan), on the self-same day\non which, in after years, the children of Israel went out of Egypt, the\nvoice of God came to him saying, \u201cI am the Lord that brought thee out of\nthe furnace of Chald\u00e6a; to thee will I give this land to inherit it.\u201d\nAnd he said, \u201cLord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?\nShall my descendants be faithful and true, and serve Thee the living\nGod, or will they rebel against God, against Thee, as did the men before\nthe Flood, and as did the men of Shinar who builded the tower?\u201d\n\nThen God bade him take an heifer of three years old, or a she-goat of\nthree years old, and a ram, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. And\nhe took all these and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one\nagainst another; but the birds divided he not.[304] And God said to him,\n\u201cWhen, in after days, thy descendants shall build me a temple, in it\nshall these five kinds of victims be offered to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d said Abraham, \u201cshould the temple be destroyed, what then shall\nthey do?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d answered the Most Holy, \u201cthey shall offer to me in spirit, and I\nwill pardon their sins.\u201d The beasts and birds also signified the races\nover which his seed was to reign; the beasts he divided, and they\nbetokened the Gentile races, from which they were to purge away their\nidolatry: but _the birds divided he not_; for the birds signified the\nelect nation.\n\nThen came ravens and vultures down upon the carcases, but Abraham drove\nthem away (ver. 11); a symbol of the protection which God would accord\nto the people, for His promise sake, and the sake of their father\nAbraham, when the powers of evil, or mighty princes, menaced them.\n\nAnd when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abraham (ver.\n12), and he saw the four realms,\u2014the horror-awakening Babylonian,\nMedo-Persian, Syro-Grecian, and Roman empires. And God said to Abraham\n(ver. 13), \u201c_Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a\nland that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict\nthem four hundred years._ But in the fourth generation thy seed shall\ncome hither again, after I have plagued the nation that has held them in\nbondage with 250 plagues.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs this decree spoken to punish me for my crimes?\u201d asked Abraham.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered the Almighty: \u201c_Thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace;\nthou shalt be buried in a good old age_ (ver. 15); and Terah, who now\nbewails his former idolatry, has a share in the eternal happiness; also\nIshmael, thy son, who shall be born to thee, will, in thy lifetime,\nrepent and return to good, and the profanity of thy grandson Esau shalt\nthou not see.\u201d\u2019\n\nAnd when the sun was set, it was dark, and the various periods of\nfuturity passed before the eyes of the seer. He beheld _a smoking\nfurnace_ (ver. 17); this was the flaming Gehinom, Hell, where sinners\nshall expiate their iniquities. Then he saw _a burning lamp_: that was\nthe Law given on Sinai, and it _passed between those pieces_; that is,\nhe saw Israel go through the Red Sea.\n\nThen said the voice of God to the patriarch, \u201cI have showed thee the\nTemple-worship, Law, Bondage, and Hell. I must tell thee that in the\ntimes to come, through the sins of thy children, the Temple will be\ndestroyed, and the Law will be disregarded.\n\n\u201cChoose now, whether thou wilt have for their punishment, Bondage or\nHell.\u201d\n\nAnd Abraham after long hesitation answered, \u201cI choose Hell;\u201d for he\nthought, \u201cIt is better to fall into the hands of God, than into the\nhands of men.\u201d\n\nBut the Lord answered and said, \u201cNot so; thou hast chosen wrongly, for\nfrom Bondage there will come deliverance, but from Gehinom, never.\u201d\n\nAfter that, Abraham returned to the land of Charan, and dwelt there many\nyears; and he instructed the men, and Sarah the women, in the true\nreligion. And when his father Terah was dead, God called him again, and\nbade him go forth to the land which God had promised him; and he went\nobediently, and Lot his brother\u2019s son accompanied him. And he reached\nthe land of Canaan, and pitched first his wife\u2019s tent, and then his own,\non the plain between Gerizim and Ebal; and he erected three altars in\nthanks to God for His call, for His having brought him into the promised\nland, and for having cast down his enemies before him. Then he went\nsouth, and pitched on the spot where stands Jerusalem.\n\nAnd now a famine came upon the land; this was the third famine since the\nworld was formed, and it was sent to prove Abraham. He murmured not, but\nwent down with Sarah his wife, and his servants.\n\nWhen he reached the River of Egypt (Wadi el Arisch), Abraham rested some\ndays. As Abraham and Sarah walked together by the water-side, Abraham\nsaw for the first time, reflected in the water, the beauty of Sarah; for\nhe was so modest that he had never lifted his eyes to her face, and knew\nnot what she was like, till he saw her in the water. Then, when he saw\nhow beautiful she was, he persuaded her to pass as his sister in Egypt,\nfor he feared lest he should be slain for her sake; but as a further\nprecaution he shut her up in a chest.\n\nOn the frontier, the Custom-house officers insisted on his paying the\ncustoms due for the box, and required that it should be opened. Abraham\noffered to pay for the box as if it contained gold dust or gems, if only\nthey would not enforce their right of search.\n\n\u201cDoes it contain silk?\u201d asked the officers.\n\n\u201cI will pay the tenth, as of silk,\u201d he answered.\n\n\u201cDoes it contain silver?\u201d they further asked.\n\n\u201cI will pay for it as silver.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, then it must contain gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will pay for it as gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe it contains the most rare and costly gems.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will pay for it as for gems.\u201d\n\nIn the altercation the chest was violently broken open, and lo! in it\nwas seated a beautiful woman, so beautiful that her countenance\nillumined all Egypt; and the news reached the ears of Pharaoh. All this\noccurred in the night of the 15th of the month Nisan.\n\nAbraham and Sarah were sorely troubled, and prayed to God to protect\nthem. Then the angel of the Lord was sent to watch over Sarah, and the\nangel comforted her with these words, \u201cFear not; God has heard thy\npetitions!\u201d\n\nPharaoh asked Sarah who that man was who accompanied her, and when she\nanswered \u201cMy brother,\u201d Pharaoh bade him to be brought before him, and he\ngave him rich gifts.\n\nAnd Pharaoh asked Abraham, \u201cWho is this woman?\u201d He answered, \u201cShe is my\nsister.\u201d This, say the Mussulmans, is the _third_ lie that Abraham told;\nbut it was not a lie, but a justifiable falsehood.\n\nPharaoh was filled with love for Sarah, and he offered her as his\npresent for her hand, all his possessions of gold and silver and slaves,\nand the land of Goshen. And when he pressed his suit upon her with great\nvehemence, she cried to God and told him she was already married; then\nhe was smitten with paralysis, and great plagues afflicted all his\nservants. But Pharaoh sent for Abraham, and returned him Sarah, his\nwife, and dismissed him with costly presents, and he gave to Sarah also\nhis daughter, Hagar, to be her servant.\n\n\u201cTruly, my daughter, it is better,\u201d said Pharaoh, \u201cto be servant in a\nhouse which God has taken under His protection, than to command\nelsewhere.\u201d\n\nAfter a three months\u2019 sojourn in Egypt, Abraham returned to Canaan.\n\nAccording to Tabari, Hagar loved Sarah greatly. On their way back to\nCanaan, the provisions failed, and Abraham went out one day to get food,\nwith a sack on his back; but the day was hot, so that he laid down and\nwent to sleep. He did not awake till evening, and then he returned, but\nwas ashamed to appear with the sack empty before his wife, so he filled\nit with sand. On reaching the tent he put the sack under his head and\nwent to sleep again. Very early in the morning Sarah said to Hagar,\n\u201cWhat has Abraham in his sack? open it and look.\u201d So Hagar untied it,\nput in her hand and drew out flour. She and Sarah baked cakes of the\nflour, and woke Abraham and bade him eat. Then, full of wonder, he asked\nwhere they had obtained meal. They told him, and he understood that God\nhad wrought a miracle.[305]\n\nNow Abraham\u2019s flocks and herds, and those of Lot, pastured together.\nAbraham\u2019s cattle were muzzled that they should not feed in the lands of\nthe neighbouring people; but Lot\u2019s cattle were not muzzled. And when\nAbraham\u2019s shepherds complained of this to those of Lot, the latter\nanswered, \u201cYour master is old, and has no children; soon he will die,\nand then all will belong to our master Lot.\u201d\n\nBut Abraham spake to Lot and said, \u201cThy ways and my ways do not agree:\nwe must part; do thou go to the left, and I will go to the right.\u201d So\nthey separated; and Lot departed from Abraham, and from the way of\nrighteousness, and from the living God; but Abraham camped in Mamre.\n\n\n                       3. THE WAR WITH THE KINGS.\n\n\nAfter the failure of the Tower of Babel, and the people had been\nscattered over the whole earth, Chedorlaomer, one of Nimrod\u2019s chief\ncaptains, had left his service, and had established a kingdom of his own\nin Elam. He speedily brought into subjection all the Canaanitish peoples\nthat dwelt in the fertile valley of Jordan,\u2014Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah,\nZebojim, and Zoar, and made them tributary to himself. These cities bore\nhis yoke for twelve years, and then they rebelled. Five years after did\nNimrod, who is also called Amraphel in the sacred text,[306] march\nagainst Chedorlaomer, but Nimrod was defeated, along with his allies,\nArioch, king of Ellasar, and Tidal, king of many confederate nations;\nand obliged to enter into alliance with his former general,\nChedorlaomer, and agree to assist him in bringing back the revolted\ncities\u2014Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zebojim, and Zoar\u2014to their allegiance.\n\nConsequently a huge army of confederates, under Chedorlaomer, Nimrod or\nAmraphel, Arioch, and Tidal, overran the plain and valley of Jordan, and\nslew all the giants that were there. The country before them was a\ngarden, and behind them it was a desert.\n\nThey resolved also to defeat, and utterly to destroy, Abraham, the\nservant of the Most High; for Nimrod (Amraphel) remembered the perils to\nwhich his soothsayers had assured him he was exposed so long as Abraham\nlived.\n\nThe rulers of the five cities\u2014Bera (Ruffian), king of Sodom; Birsha\n(Evil-doer), king of Gomorrah; Shirrab (Covetous one), king of Admah;\nShemeber (the Strong one), king of Zebojim; and the king (a nameless\none) of Bela (the engulfing city)\u2014went forth in battle array, and met\nthe host of Chedorlaomer in the great plain of Siddim, from whose canals\nand fountains the Salt Sea, or Dead Sea, was afterwards formed; and\nthere they were utterly routed, and fled in precipitate haste to the\nmountains and to the desert.\n\nThe king of Sodom alone escaped unharmed of all the five kings, by a\nmiracle which God wrought, to exhibit His power to the dwellers in the\nplain, who had begun to doubt the truth of Abraham\u2019s deliverance out of\nthe burning, fiery furnace.\n\nThe conquerors took the spoils of Sodom, and carried away Lot, who was\nlike Abraham in face, thinking that they had taken Abraham captive; and\nthey placed him in chains.\n\nAbraham was, in prophetic spirit, performing all the sacred rites, and\npreparing the unleavened cakes for the Paschal feast, for it was the Eve\nof the Passover, when the only giant who escaped the overthrow of the\nRephaim by Chedorlaomer and his confederate kings,\u2014Og, who was\nafterwards king of Basan, and who had been saved alive in the Flood of\nNoah,\u2014came in haste to announce to the Patriarch the captivity of Lot.\n\nNow Og had long cast his lustful eyes on Sarah, and he thought in his\nheart, \u201cThis Abraham is full of fire and zeal, like a sportsman; that I\nknow well. He will rush into battle to deliver his kinsman Lot, and will\nperish; and then Sarah, his beautiful wife, will be mine.\u201d\n\nBut, according to another version, it was the angel Michael who brought\nthe news to Abraham; and to another, it was Oni, one of the slaves\nNimrod had given him, and who had been sent to observe the progress of\nthe war.\n\nNo sooner had Abraham heard the tidings than, filled with anxiety on\nLot\u2019s behalf, and with sympathy for the Sodomites, his neighbours, he\ncalled all his neighbours together, and all those who had followed him,\nand in earnest words exhorted them to prepare to fight and rescue Lot.\nBut they, knowing the disparity of numbers, would make no promise; then\nhe threatened them, but could not persuade them to join in what they\nregarded as an infatuated course certain to lead to destruction.\nConsequently Abraham was obliged to go against the enemy with only his\nown servants. But as they neared the plain, and saw the devastation\nwrought by the host of Chedorlaomer, they also slipped away in the\nnight, and Abraham was left alone with Eliezer, his trusty slave, and\nhis three friends Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. And he followed after the\nfoe, as they retired with their spoil, till he reached one of the\nfountains of Jordan, which is named Paneas, or Dan.\n\nHere his three friends forsook him, along with their wives, who had\naccompanied them thus far.\n\nIt was the night of the 15th Nisan, the self-same night in which in\nafter-years the firstborn of Egypt would be slain; and Abraham\u2019s heart\nfainted as he overtook the mighty host, and saw that they were countless\nas the sands of the sea-shore, and as grasshoppers for number.\n\nBut lo! God fought for Abraham. The grass-blades changed into swords,\nand the stubble into spears, and battled all that night; and in the\nmorning, when he looked upon the host, they were all dead corpses. Thus\nhe delivered Lot and all the captives, men, women, and children, and the\nspoil that had been carried away; and none stayed them, for all their\nfoes lay dead upon the ground.\n\nThe King of Sodom came forth to meet Abraham, full of pride of heart\nbecause he had been miraculously delivered, and attributing all the\nglory of the victory to Divine interposition on his own behalf. But all\nthe people knew that Abraham was the favoured of God, and their\ndeliverer, and they built a throne of the trees that covered the plain,\nand which had been burnt in the war, and set Abraham as their prince and\nking thereon; therefore is that place called to this day, \u201cThe king\u2019s\ndale.\u201d[307]\n\nBut Abraham was little pleased with this exhibition of honour, and he\nthought upon what he had learnt of old from that aged man, Shem,\nconsecrated by God to be His priest, when he fled to him in his cave\nfrom the tyranny of Nimrod.\n\nShem reigned now in the city of Salem, which was in later years called\nJerusalem, and from his righteous government he was named Melchizedek\n(king of righteousness). And Abraham thought, \u201cWill Shem ever forgive me\nfor having drawn the sword against his grandsons, the sons of Elam?\u201d\n\nBut Shem was of no less noble and considerate temper than Abraham; and\nhe mused within himself, and said, \u201cWhat sort of opinion can Abraham\nhave formed of me, that such godless and violent hosts should have\nsprung from my loins, and have devastated the fair plain of Jordan, and\ncarried away captive even his near kinsman!\u201d\n\nThen Shem, full of noble resolution to reconcile himself with Abraham,\nrose up and went forth, bearing bread and wine as tokens of friendship.\n\nThe words of God flowed from his mouth; he instructed Abraham in all\nthat appertained to the high priest\u2019s office, which was in future times\nto belong to his family; and before he left, he blessed Abraham with\nthese words, \u201c_Blessed be Abraham of the most high God, possessor of\nheaven and earth; and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered\nthine enemies into thy hand._\u201d[308]\n\nBut in so saying, Melchizedek erred grievously, for he blessed Abraham\nbefore he blessed God, and the Creator should be blessed first, and the\ncreature blessed afterwards; therefore the high priesthood was taken\nfrom him, and was given to Aaron in after-times.\n\nOf all the spoil which Abraham had taken, he separated a tenth part, and\nhe gave it to Melchizedek, as the offering due to the priest, and this\nwas the first tithe paid in the history of the world. All the booty of\nSodom Abraham returned to the king thereof, and he took an oath, \u201c_I\nwill not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and I will not take\nanything that is thine, lest thou should say, I have made Abraham rich,\nsave only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the\nmen which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their\nportion._\u201d[309]\n\nOn account of this unselfishness, the remembrance of which was to be\ncontinued through all generations, God gave the descendants of Abraham\nmaxims to be written on their phylacteries and shoe-latchets; and the\npromise was made, \u201c_Over Edom will I cast out my shoe_;\u201d[310] that is,\nEdom, the most cruel oppressor of the chosen people, should fall under\nthe condemnation of the Most High.\n\nThe end of Nimrod and his confederate kings is related with greater\nfulness by the Mussulman historians.\n\nAccording to Tabari, God sent an army of flies against the host of\nChedorlaomer and Nimrod, and these flies attacked the soldiers in their\nfaces; and the flies were so numerous that the soldiers could not see\none another; and the horses stung by them went mad, and leaped, and\nfell; so that, what with the horses and the flies, the army was entirely\ndispersed. Nimrod escaped to Babylon, but he was pursued by the meanest\nof the gnats of that host; it was blind of one eye and lame of one leg.\nWhen Nimrod sat down on his throne, the gnat settled upon his knee. Then\nthe tyrant smote at it; and it rose, flew up one of his nostrils and\nentered his brain, which it began to devour.\n\nNimrod beat his face and his head, and when he did so the fly ceased\ngnawing at his brain, but he had no repose from his agonies, save when\nstruck upon the head. Consequently there was, after that, always some\none stationed by him to strike his head. The king had a large\nblacksmith\u2019s hammer brought into his throne-room, and with that his\nprinces and nobles smote him on the head; and the more violent the blow,\nthe greater was the relief afforded. Nimrod reigned a thousand years\nbefore he felt the torment of the gnat; up to that moment he had\nsuffered no pains. He lived for five hundred years with the fly eating\nat his brain; and all that while, night and day, there were relays of\nmen to strike his head with the hammer.[311]\n\nPrecisely the same story is told by the Jewish Rabbis of Titus.[312]\n\nThere is, however, another version of the tradition; which is, that the\ngnat fattening on the brain grew in size till it swelled to the\ndimensions of a pigeon, and then the skull of Nimrod burst, and the gnat\nflew away; and this was fifteen days after it had entered by his\nnose.[313]\n\nMore shall be told of Melchizedek in a separate article.\n\n\n                        4. THE BIRTH OF ISHMAEL.\n\n\nTen years passed, and yet Sarah was barren. Abraham, in sore distress,\nprayed to God, and reminded Him of His promises. Sarah then said to\nAbraham, \u201cGod has refused me children, therefore take Hagar to wife, the\ndaughter of Pharaoh, who was given to be my servant; I give her thee in\nall good-will, that my reproach may be taken away, and to her I give her\nfreedom.\u201d\n\nAbraham consented; but Hagar, who had been virtuously brought up by\nSarah, objected modestly, till Sarah pointed out to her how great an\nhonour it would be to be the concubine of such a holy man.\n\nBut no sooner was Hagar installed as second wife, and felt in herself\nthat she was about to become a mother, than her character changed; she\nassumed the pre-eminence, and cast bitter words in the teeth of her\nmistress. \u201cWhat,\u201d said she, \u201ccan Sarah be so holy and beloved of God,\nand He has never given her her heart\u2019s desire?\u201d\n\nSarah was stung to the quick by these words of her former slave. She\nturned to her husband and said, \u201cI demand of thee my rights. For thee I\nforsook my father\u2019s house, and followed thee into a strange land; for\nthee I passed myself off in Egypt as thy sister. And now what hast thou\ndone? Thou hast suffered my slave to assume the chief place in the\nhouse, and to take upon herself airs, and thou holdest thy peace. Depend\nupon it, if she bear thee a son there will be no peace in the house, for\nshe is a daughter of Pharaoh, who is of the race of Nimrod, who cast\nthee into the furnace of fire.\u201d\n\n\u201cHagar is in thy power,\u201d answered Abraham; \u201cbut do her no harm. After\nthou gavest her her freedom, she may not again be brought into bondage.\u201d\n\nBut Sarah paid no attention to these words of gentleness, and treated\nHagar with such cruelty, beat her, and cast an evil eye on her, so that\nshe was delivered before her time of a dead child, and she fled for her\nlife from the house.\n\nThe All-Righteous, for this offence, shortened Sarah\u2019s life, and made\nher die thirty-eight years before her husband.\n\nAngels appeared to Hagar in the desert by the well of water whither she\nhad fled, and bade her return to Abraham. So she went back, and was\nagain pregnant, and bore a son, and called his name Ishmael.\n\n\n               5. THE DESTRUCTION Of SODOM AND GOMORRAH.\n\n\nAt noon on the 15th Nisan, the third day after the circumcision of\nAbraham, as recorded in the Book of Genesis, the heat of the sun was so\ngreat that Gehinom (Hell) was penetrated by it. And Abraham had not\nrecovered the administration of the rite, which had been performed by\nthe hands of Shem, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God.\n\nAbraham was wont every day to go forth and invite any travellers he\nmight see to feast with him. But this day, owing to the heat and to his\nbeing in pain, he sent Eliezer, his servant, forth, who looked and\nreturned and said that there was no one to be seen.\n\nBut Abraham thought, \u201cCan I trust the words of this slave, and neglect\nfor one day the performance of my accustomed hospitality?\u201d\n\nThen, notwithstanding the heat and his suffering, he went and sat in the\nshade of the door, and he beheld in the plain of Mamre the glory of the\nLord that appeared. Abraham would have risen, but the voice of God\ncalled to him, saying, \u201cRemain where thou art, and let thy pious,\nsitting posture teach future generations in their prayer and instruction\nto be seated; and let judges, in delivering judgment, occupy the same\nposition.\u201d\n\nThen Abraham lifted his eyes, and beheld three men, who seemed to\napproach and then to withdraw. These were the angels Michael, Raphael,\nand Gabriel, sent to him with messages, whereof each bore one. They now\nstood before Abraham\u2019s tent, and they came to satisfy his desire to show\nhospitality: but when they observed the predicament in which he was,\nthey attempted to withdraw, but Abraham supposed them to be travellers\nof the three neighbouring races of Saracens, Nabath\u00e6ans, and Arabians;\nand as two of the angels were smaller of stature than the third, who\nstood in the middle\u2014this was Michael\u2014Abraham supposed him to be their\nchief; and he rose and bowed himself before him, and said to the Majesty\nof God which still shone, \u201cIf I have found favour in Thy sight, O Lord,\nmay Thy majesty not depart from me whilst I receive hospitably these\nwanderers.\u201d And the Lord granted his request.\n\nThen said Abraham to the men, \u201c_Let a little water, I pray you, be\nfetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I\nwill fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye\nshall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant._\u201d\n\nNow the reason why he said \u201cLet a little water be fetched and wash your\nfeet,\u201d was, that he supposed the men were idolaters, and he would not\nhave the dust from the feet of idolaters to pollute the floor of his\ntent.\n\nAnd they said, \u201cDo so.\u201d\n\nThen Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, \u201c_Make ready\nquickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the\nhearth._\u201d And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf which he had\ndressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree,\nand they did eat.\n\nAbraham placed butter and milk on the table first, then calves\u2019 tongues,\nthen the other dishes, and lastly Sarah\u2019s cakes; but some commentators\ndoubt whether the men ate the cakes. It is asserted by some that the\nangels only appeared to eat, but by others we are assured that to reward\nAbraham\u2019s hospitality they really did eat, and this was the only\noccasion on which angels tasted the food of earth.\n\nThe angels, knowing that Sarah was within the tent, asked after her. And\nthis betokens her great modesty, that she did not thrust herself forward\nto be seen of strange visitors. Abraham replied that she was within,\nengaged in women\u2019s household work. Then said Michael, the chief of the\nangels, \u201cTruly shall such pious and seemly habits not pass unrewarded;\nbut Sarah shall bloom again as fair as in her youth, and shall bear a\nson in her old age.\u201d\n\nSarah heard these words at the entrance of the tent; so did Ishmael, who\nstood near. Sarah stepped behind the angel, but the beauty of her\ncountenance shone before her, and the angel turned to look at her, and\nthen he saw she was laughing to herself, and saying, \u201cI am good-looking,\nand smart dresses become me; I could perfectly well produce a son, but\nthen my husband is old.\u201d\n\nThen the word of God came to Abraham, and said, \u201c_Wherefore did Sarah\nlaugh?_ Am I, the all-powerful God, too old to create miracles? _At the\nappointed time Sarah shall have a son._\u201d To Sarah, who, out of fear,\ndenied having laughed, the word came, \u201cFear not, _but thou didst\nlaugh_.\u201d\n\nThen Michael withdrew, for his mission was accomplished; and left the\nother two, Gabriel and Raphael, with Abraham. Then God revealed to\nAbraham, by Gabriel, that He was about to destroy the cities of the\nplain; and by Raphael, that He would deliver Lot and his family in the\noverthrow.\n\nThese cities were very guilty before God. Eliezer, having been sent by\nSarah to her brother Lot with a message, some years before, arrived in\nSodom. An acquaintance invited him to a meal. But hospitality was a\nvirtue abhorred in Sodom, and the news of the invitation having got\nwind, Eliezer\u2019s friend was driven out of the city. Now it was a custom\nin Sodom to make every stranger arriving within the walls rest in a\ncertain bed; and if the bed proved too long for him, his legs were\npulled out to fit it; and if it proved too short, his legs were pared\ndown to its dimensions. Eliezer saw with horror what it was that they\npurposed to do with him, and he had recourse to a lie of necessity; he\ndeclined to sleep in the bed, because he had taken an oath upon the\ndeath of his mother never to lie on a bed again; and thus he escaped.\nShortly after, having seen a Sodomite rob a poor stranger of his\ngarment, Eliezer attempted to interfere, but the robber struck him over\nthe head and made a gash, from which he lost much blood. Both being\nbrought before the judge, this was the magistrate\u2019s decision:\u2014That\nEliezer was indebted to the Sodomite robber for having bled him. The\nservant of Abraham thereupon took up a large stone, flung it at the\njudge\u2019s head, which he cut open, and said, \u201cNow, pay me for having bled\nthee!\u201d and then he fled out of the city.\n\nFrom these incidents it may be seen how wicked the city was.\n\nNow Abraham had interceded with God to spare the cities of the plain,\nfor the intercession of His saints is mighty with God. And Abraham had\nobtained of God that if in Zoar, the smallest of the cities, five\nrighteous could be found, and forty-five in all the rest of the country,\nGod would spare them. Then God ceased talking with Abraham. Next morning\nearly, Abraham arose and took his staff, and went to the place where God\nhad met him, to make further intercession for the cities of the plain,\nbut the smoke of them rose as from a furnace, for brimstone and fire had\nbeen rained upon them out of heaven, and they had been consumed along\nwith their inhabitants. Only Zoar was spared, as a place of refuge for\nLot, and Lot was kept alive and his daughters; for God remembered how he\nhad been true to Abraham in Egypt, and had not betrayed the truth about\nSarah when questioned by Pharaoh.\n\nThe Mussulman tradition is as follows:\u2014\n\nLot, whom the Arabs call Loth, was sent by God as a prophet to convince\nthe inhabitants of the cities of the plain of their ungodly deeds. But,\nthough he preached for twenty years, he could not convince them. And\nwhenever he visited Abraham he complained to him of the iniquity of the\npeople. But Abraham urged him to patience.\n\nAt length the long-suffering of God was exhausted, and He sent the\nangels Michael, Gabriel, and Azrael, armed with the sword of\ndestruction, against these cities.\n\nThey came to Abraham, who received them, and slaughtered a calf, and\nprepared meat and set it before them. But they would not eat. And he\npressed them, and ate himself; but they would not eat, being angels.\nThen Abraham\u2019s colour went, and he was afraid, for to refuse to eat with\na man is a token that you seek his life.\n\nSeeing him discouraged, the angels announced their mission. But Sarah,\nobserving her husband\u2019s loss of colour, laughed and said in her heart,\n\u201cWhy is he fearful, being surrounded with many servants and faithful\nfriends?\u201d\n\nNow the angels promised to Abraham a son in his old age, and that they\nwould rescue Lot in the overthrow of Sodom. Then they rose up and went\non their way, and entered into Sodom; and they met a young maiden in the\nstreet, and asked her the way to Lot\u2019s house.\n\nShe answered, \u201cHe is my father, and I dwell with him; but know you not,\nO strangers, that it is against the laws of this city to show\nhospitality?\u201d\n\nBut they answered her, \u201cFear not; lead us to thy father.\u201d\n\nSo she led them, and ran before and told Lot, \u201cBehold three men come\nseeking thee and asking shelter, and they are beautiful as the angels of\nGod.\u201d\n\nThen Lot went out to them, and told them that the city was full of\nwickedness, and that hospitality was not permitted.\n\nBut they answered, \u201cWe must tarry this night in thy house.\u201d Then he\nadmitted them, and he hid them. But Lot\u2019s wife was an infidel, a native\nof Sodom; and finding that he lodged these strangers, she hastened to\nthe chief men of the city and said, \u201cMy husband has violated your laws,\nand the customs of this people; he has housed travellers, and will feed\nthem and show them all courtesy.\u201d\n\nTherefore the men of the city came tumultuously to the door of Lot\u2019s\nhouse, to bring forth the men that were come to him, and to cast them\nout of the city, having shamefully entreated them. They would not listen\nto the remonstrances of Lot, but went near to break in his door.\n\nThen the three angels stepped forth and passed their hands over the\nfaces of all who drew near, and they were struck blind, and fled from\ntheir presence.\n\nNow, long before the day began to break, the angels rose up and called\nLot, his wife and daughters, and bade them take their clothes and all\nthat they had that was most precious, and escape out of the city.\nTherefore Lot and his family went forth.\n\nAnd when they were escaped, the angel Gabriel went through the cities,\nand passed his wing over the soil on which they were built, and the\ncities were carried up into heaven; and they came so near thereto that\nthose on the confines of heaven could hear the crowing of the cocks in\nSodom, and the barking of the dogs in Gomorrah. And then they were\noverthrown, so that their foundations were towards the sky and their\nroofs towards the earth. And God rained on them stones heated in the\nfire of Hell; and on each stone was written the name of him whom it was\ndestined to slay. Now there were many natives of these accursed cities\nin other parts of the land, and where they were, there they were sought\nout by the red-hot stones, and were struck down. But some were within\nthe sacred enclosure of the temple at Mecca, and the stones waited for\nthem in the air; and at the expiration of forty days they came forth,\nand as they came forth the stones whistled through the air, and smote\nthem, and they were slain.\n\nNow Lot\u2019s wife turned, as she went forth, to look back upon the city,\nand a stone fell on her, and she died.[314]\n\nIt is related further of Lot that, after he had escaped, he committed in\nignorance a very great sin; and Abraham sent him to expiate his crime to\nthe sources of the Nile, to fetch thence three sorts of wood, which he\nnamed to him. Abraham thought, \u201cHe will be slain by ravenous beasts, and\nso will he atone for the sin that he has committed.\u201d\n\nBut Lot after a while returned, bringing with him the woods which\nAbraham had demanded\u2014a cypress plant, a young cedar, and a young pine.\n\nAbraham planted the three trees in the shape of a triangle, on a\nmountain, and charged Lot with watering them every day from Jordan. Now\nthe mountain was twenty-four thousand paces from Jordan, and this\npenance was laid on Lot to expiate his sin.\n\nAt the end of three months the trees blossomed; Lot announced this to\nAbraham, who visited the spot, and saw to his surprise that the three\ntrees had grown together to form one trunk, but with three distinct\nroots of different natures.\n\nAt the sight of this miracle he bowed his face to the ground and said,\n\u201cThis tree will abolish sin.\u201d\n\nAnd by that he knew that God had pardoned Lot.\n\nThe tree grew and subsisted till the reign of Solomon, when it was cut\ndown, and this was the tree which the Jews employed to form the Cross of\nChrist.[315]\n\nThis tradition is, of course, Christian; though Jewish in origin, it has\nbeen adapted to the Gospel story.\n\n\n                         6. THE BIRTH OF ISAAC.\n\n\nThe country was wasted; travellers were few; those who passed by, and\naccepted Abraham\u2019s hospitality, spoke with scorn of the sin of Lot, his\nnephew; and the neighbourhood became intolerable to the patriarch, who\nresolved to change his place of residence for a while.\n\nHe therefore went south, between Kadesh and Sur, and dwelt in Gerar.\n\nNow Sarah had bloomed again as fair as in her youth, as the angel\nMichael had foretold; and Abraham persuaded her to pretend again to be\nhis sister, though Sarah, remembering the ill-success of this deceit\nbefore, hesitated to comply.\n\nAbimelech, king of Gerar, hearing of Sarah\u2019s beauty, sent for her to his\npalace. He asked Abraham, \u201cWho is this woman?\u201d and he answered, \u201cShe is\nmy sister.\u201d Then Abimelech inquired of the camels and of the asses, and\nthey answered the same, \u201cShe is his sister.\u201d But that same evening, as\nit grew towards dusk, as he sat on his throne, he fell asleep; and in\ndream saw an angel of God approach him with a drawn sword in his hand to\nslay him. The king in his dream cried out to know why he was doomed to\ndeath; and the angel answered, \u201cBecause thou hast received into thy\nhouse the wife of another man, the mistress of a house.\u201d\n\nAbimelech excused himself, saying that Abraham had concealed the truth\nfrom him, and had said Sarah was his sister.\n\n\u201cThe All-Holy knows that thou hast sinned in ignorance,\u201d said the angel;\n\u201cbut is it seemly, when strangers enter thy land, to be questioning\nclosely into their connexions? Know that Abraham is a prophet, and\nforeseeing that thy people would entreat his wife ill, he resolved to\ncall her his sister, and he knew, being a prophet, that thou couldst not\nharm her.\u201d[316]\n\nThat night\u2014it was the Paschal eve,\u2014the angel with the drawn sword\ntraversed all the streets of the city, and closed the wombs of those\nabout to bear.\n\nNext morning early, while it was yet dark, Abimelech sent for Abraham\nand Sarah, and gave Sarah back to her husband, and paid him a thousand\nounces of silver, and to Sarah he gave a costly robe, which might\nconceal her from her eyes to her feet, that none might henceforth be\nbewitched by her beauty. \u201cBut,\u201d said Abimelech to Abraham, \u201cbecause thou\ndidst deceive me, and blind my eyes with a lie, therefore thou shalt\nbear a son, whose eyes shall be dim so that he shall be deceived.\u201d And\nAbraham prayed to the Lord, and all the women that were with child in\nGerar were delivered of men-children, without the pangs of maternity,\nand those who were barren felt themselves with child. The angel hosts\nbesought the Lord to look upon Sarah, and to remember His covenant. \u201cO\nLord of the whole world! Thou didst hear the cry of Abraham, and grant\nhis petitions when he prayed for the barren women of Gerar; and his own\nwife, from whom Thou didst promise him a son, is unfruitful and\ndespised. Does it beseem a Lord, when he prepares a fleet, to free his\nsubjects from pirates, but to leave the vessel of his best friend in\nbondage?\u201d\n\nNow it was the first day of the seventh month, Tischri, the day on\nwhich, at the close of the world\u2019s history, the Lord will come to judge\nthe quick and the dead, that the Lord God remembered Sarah, and the\npromise He had made, and looked upon her, and she conceived a son in her\nold age, one year and four months after her sojourn in Gerar; and nine\nmonths after, say some, but, say others, six months and two days after;\nat mid-day say some, others say in the evening of the fifteenth of\nNisan; or, as others affirm, on the first of Nisan she was delivered of\na son, without suffering any pains in the bringing forth. And the same\ntime that Sarah\u2019s womb was blessed, God looked upon many other barren\nwomen and blessed them also; and on the day that the child was born they\nwere delivered likewise; and the blind saw, the dumb spake, the deaf\nheard, and the lame walked, and the crazed recovered their senses. Also,\nthe sun shone forty-eight times brighter than he shines at Midsummer,\neven with the splendour that he had on the day of his creation.\n\nAnd when eight days were accomplished, Abraham circumcised his son, and\ncalled him Isaac.\n\nBut many thought it was an incredible thing that Abraham and Sarah\nshould have a son in their old age, and they said, \u201cThis is a foundling,\nor it is the child of one of the slaves, which they pass off as their\nown.\u201d Now Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned,\nand he invited thereto all the princes and great men of the country. And\nthere came Abimelech, king of Gerar, and Og, king of Basan, and all the\nprinces of Canaan, sixty-two princes in all. Such an assembly was not\nseen before, yet all these princes fell in after-years by the hands of\nJoshua.[317]\n\nOf this feast it is related that Og\u2019s companions said to him, \u201cDo you\nbelieve that that old mule, Abraham, can be the father of this child?\u201d\n\nOg replied with scorn, \u201cI could crack this imp with the nail of my\nlittle finger.\u201d\n\nThen came there a voice from heaven, saying, \u201cThou despisest this little\nchild, but know thou that tens of thousands shall spring from his loins,\nand that before them thy pride shall be humbled.\u201d\n\nAlso, Abraham\u2019s ancestors, Shem and Eber, and his father, Terah\u2014though\nsome say he was dead\u2014and Nahor, Abraham\u2019s brother, attended the feast,\nand the Shekinah, the glory of the Lord, appeared to grace it.\n\nBut Satan also appeared in the form of a poor beggar-man, and he stood\nat the door and asked an alms. Now Abraham and Sarah were busy attending\nto their guests, so they perceived him not, but the servants thrust him\naway, and Satan received nothing; therefore he presented himself before\nthe Most High, and laid an accusation of inhospitality and churlishness\nagainst the Friend of God.\n\nIn the meantime Sarah had assembled, and was entertaining all the wives\nof the guests of Abraham. And it happened that the women found that they\nhad no milk in their bosoms to give their infants, and the babes\nscreamed that no one could hear the voice of another. The mothers were\nin despair, for the children were hungry, and they were all dry. Then\nSarah uncovered her breasts, and there spurted from them jets of milk,\nand all the babes were nourished at her bosom, and yet there was more.\n\nNow when they saw this, the women, who had doubted that the child was\nreally the offspring of Sarah, doubted no more, and cried, \u201cWe are not\nworthy that our little ones should be nourished at thy bosom!\u201d And the\nstory goes that all those who afterwards joined themselves to the people\nof Israel, and all those in every nation who in after-times became\nproselytes, were descended from those who sucked the breasts of Sarah.\nIn allusion to this incident it is said in the Book of Psalms: \u201c_Thou\nmakest the barren woman to keep house, and to be the joyful mother of_\n(i.e. giving suck to) _children_.\u201d[318]\n\nThe child Isaac was shown to every visitor, and all were astonished at\nhis resemblance to Abraham. Both the babe and his father were so much\nalike that it was impossible to distinguish one from the other, and all\ndoubt as to whose it was vanished before such evidence of likeness to\nthe father, and before the fulness of Sarah\u2019s breasts. But as confusion\nwas likely to arise through the striking similarity between father and\nson, Abraham besought God to give him wrinkles and white hair, that he\nmight not be mistaken for the babe Isaac, or the babe Isaac be mistaken\nfor him.[319]\n\n\n                 7. THE EXPULSION OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL.\n\n\nIshmael grew up, and became skilful with his bow; he was rough and\nundisciplined, and he occasionally lapsed into idolatry, but without his\nfather knowing it. But Sarah was aware of his sin, and was grieved\nthereat.\n\nIshmael often boasted, \u201cI am the eldest son, and I shall have a double\nportion of my father\u2019s inheritance.\u201d These words were reported to Sarah,\nand she hated Ishmael for them in her heart.\n\nOne day when Isaac was five years old, but others say fifteen, Ishmael\nsaid to him, \u201cCome forth into the field and let us shoot.\u201d Isaac was\nwell pleased. And when they were in the field, Ishmael turned his bow\nagainst his brother, but he did it in jest. Sarah saw him from the tent\ndoor, and she ran out, and caught away her son Isaac, and she went to\nAbraham and told him all the evil she knew of Ishmael; how he had gone\nafter idols and had learnt the ways of the Canaanites that were in the\nland, how he had boasted of his majority, and how he had sought Isaac\u2019s\nlife. And she said, \u201cGive the maid-servant a writing of divorcement, and\nsend her away. _Cast out this bond-woman and her son; for the son of\nthis bond-woman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac._ Then\nshe will no more vex Isaac. Do thou leave to Isaac all thy possessions.\nNever shall Ishmael inherit anything from thee, for he is not my son.\u201d\n\nAbraham was grieved at heart, for he loved Ishmael his son, but nothing\nthat he said could alter Sarah\u2019s determination. She insisted on the\nexpulsion of Hagar and her son, and she stirred up the wrath of Abraham\nagainst Ishmael, because he had fallen into idolatry.\n\nSarah, say the Mussulmans, was so fierce in her jealousy, that she would\nnot be satisfied till she had washed her hands in the blood of Hagar.\nThen Abraham quickly pierced Hagar\u2019s ears, and drew a ring through them,\nso that Sarah could fulfil her oath, without endangering the life of\nHagar.[320]\n\nIt was long before Abraham could be brought to consent to Sarah\u2019s\ndesire, but God appeared to him in a dream and said, \u201cFear not to obey\nthe voice of Sarah, for she is the wife of thy youth, and was chosen for\nthee from her mother\u2019s womb. But Hagar is not thy wife; she is but a\nbond-woman. Sarah also is a prophetess, and sees into things that shall\nbe in the latter days, further than thou. Unto Isaac and those of his\nseed who believe in the Two Worlds are the promises made; and they alone\nshall be accounted as thy seed.\u201d[321]\n\nAbraham now did what he was commanded. Next morning he gave Hagar a\nwriting of dismissal, and took twelve loaves of bread and a pitcher of\nwater, and laid them upon Hagar, for Sarah had cast an evil eye upon\nIshmael, so that he was ill, and unable to carry any burden. And Abraham\nattached the pitcher by a cord to the hips of Hagar, that all might know\nshe was a slave, and the pitcher hung down and trailed on the sand.\nIshmael was sent away without garments; he went forth naked as he came\ninto the world: thus it may be seen how implacable was the anger of\nSarah, because he had boasted of his birthright, and the wrath of\nAbraham, because he had fallen into idolatry.\n\nBut when they went along their way, Abraham looked after them for long,\nstanding in the door of his tent, for his bowels yearned after his son,\nand he saw the trail in the sand of the water pitcher which Hagar had\ndragged sadly along, and thereby Abraham knew the direction which they\nhad taken.\n\nNow God forsook not the outcast in her affliction, but filled the\npitcher with water as fast as she and her son drank out of it, and the\nwater was always sweet and cold. Thus they penetrated the wilderness,\nand there they lost their way, and Hagar forgot the God of Abraham, and\nin her distress turned to the false gods of her father Pharaoh, and\nbesought their protection, for she said, \u201cWhere are the promises of the\nGod of Abraham, that of Ishmael would He make a great nation?\u201d\n\nNow Ishmael was sick of a burning fever, and the water in the pitcher\nfailed when Hagar forsook the God of Abraham. So she cast him under a\nthorn bush, and went from him the space of two thousand ells, that she\nmight not hear his cries. But Ishmael prayed to the Lord God of Heaven\nand Earth, and said, \u201cO Lord God of my father Abraham! thou canst send\ndeath in so many forms; take my life speedily or give me a drop of\nwater, that I suffer this agony no longer.\u201d\n\nAnd the Lord in His compassion heard the prayer of the weeping child,\nand He sent His angel and showed Hagar that fountain which He had\ncreated on the sixth day at dusk, and of which the children of Israel\nwere destined to drink when they came forth out of Egypt.\n\nBut the accusing angel murmured against this judgment of God, and said,\n\u201cO Lord of the whole earth! shall this one, of whom a nation of robbers\nshall arise, who will war upon thine elect people, and be a scourge upon\nthe face of the earth, shall he be delivered now, and given to drink of\na fountain destined for thine elect?\u201d\n\nThe Lord answered, \u201cIs the youth guilty, or is he not guilty?\u201d\n\nThe angel answered, \u201cHe is not himself guilty, but his posterity will\nsin.\u201d\n\nThen God said, \u201cI punish men for what they have done, and not for what\ntheir children will do. Ishmael hath not merited a death of suffering,\ntherefore shall he not die.\u201d And God opened the eyes of Hagar, and she\nsaw the spring of water, and filled her pitcher, and took it to Ishmael\nto drink. She filled the pitcher before she gave her son a draught of\nwater, for she had little faith, and thought that the fountain would be\nwithdrawn before she could return to it again.\n\nThen Ishmael was strengthened and could go, and he and his mother went\nfurther, and were fed by the shepherds; and they reached Paran, and\nthere they found springs of water, and they settled there. Ishmael took\na wife, a daughter of Moab, named Aischa, or Aifa, or Asiah; but others\nsay she was an Egyptian woman, and was named Meriba (the quarrelsome),\nand by her he had four sons and one daughter.\n\nIshmael lived a wandering life in tents with his wife and cattle; and\nthe Lord blessed his flocks, and he had great possessions. But his heart\nremained the same; and he was a master of archery, and instructed his\nneighbours in making bows.\n\nAfter three years, Abraham, whose heart longed after his son, said to\nSarah, \u201cI must see how my son Ishmael fares.\u201d And she answered, \u201cThou\nshalt go if thou wilt swear to me not to alight from off thy camel,\u201d for\nshe hated Hagar, and feared to suffer her husband to meet her once more.\nSo Abraham swore. Then he went to Paran, over the desert, seeking\nIshmael\u2019s tent; and he reached it at noon, but neither Hagar nor her son\nwere at home. Only Ishmael\u2019s wife was within, and she was scolding and\nbeating the children.\n\nSo Abraham halted on his camel before the tent door, and the sun was hot\nin the blue sky above, and the sand was white and glaring beneath. And\nhe called to her, \u201cIs thy husband within?\u201d\n\nShe answered, without rising from her seat, \u201cHe is hunting.\u201d Or, say\nothers, she said without looking at him or rising, \u201cHe is gathering\ndates.\u201d\n\nThen Abraham said, \u201cI am faint and hungry; bring me a little bread and a\ndrop of water.\u201d\n\nBut the woman answered, \u201cI have none for such as thee.\u201d\n\nSo Abraham said to her, \u201cSay to thy husband, even to Ishmael, these\nwords: \u2018An old man hath come to see thee out of the land of the\nPhilistines, and he says, The nail that fastens thy tent is bad; cast it\naway or thy tent will fall, and get thee a better nail.\u2019\u201d Then he\ndeparted, and went home.\n\nNow when Ishmael returned, his wife told him all these words, and he\nknew that his father had been there, and he understood the tenor of his\nwords, so he sent away his wife, and he took another, with his mother\u2019s\nadvice, out of Egypt, and her name was Fatima.\n\nAnd after three years, Abraham\u2019s bowels yearned once more after his son,\nand he said to Sarah, \u201cI must see how Ishmael fares.\u201d And she answered,\n\u201cThou shalt go, if thou wilt swear to me not to alight from off thy\ncamel.\u201d So Abraham swore.\n\nThen he went to Paran, over the desert, seeking Ishmael\u2019s tent, and he\nreached it at noon; but neither Hagar nor her son was at home. Only\nIshmael\u2019s wife, Fatima, was within, and she was singing to the children.\n\nSo Abraham halted on his camel before the tent door, and the sun was hot\nin the blue sky above, and the sand was white and glaring beneath. And\nwhen Fatima saw a stranger at the door, she rose from her seat, and\nveiled her face, and came out and greeted him.\n\nThen said Abraham, \u201cIs thy husband within?\u201d\n\nShe answered, \u201cMy lord, he is pasturing the camels in the desert;\u201d and\nshe added, \u201cEnter, my lord, into the cool of the tent and rest, and\nsuffer me to bring thee a little meat.\u201d\n\nBut Abraham said, \u201cI may not alight from off my camel, for my journey is\nhasty; but bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread and a drop of water,\nfor I am hungry and faint.\u201d\n\nThen she ran and brought him of the best of all that she had in the\ntent, and he ate and drank, and was glad.\n\nSo he said to her, \u201cSay to thy husband, even to Ishmael, that an old man\nout of the land of the Philistines hath been here, and he says, The nail\nthat fastens thy tent is very good; let it not be stirred out of its\nplace, and thy tent will stand.\u201d\n\nAnd he returned. And when Ishmael came home, Fatima related to him all\nthe words that the old man had spoken, and he understood the tenor of\nthe words.\n\nIshmael was glad that his father had visited him, for he knew thereby\nthat his love to him was not extinguished.[322]\n\nShortly after, he left his wife and children, and went across the desert\nto see his father in the land of the Philistines. And Abraham related to\nhim all that had taken place with the first wife, and why he had\nexhorted him to put her away.\n\n\n                  8. THE STRIFE BETWEEN THE SHEPHERDS.\n\n\nAbraham lived twenty-six years in the land of the Philistines; then he\nwent to Hebron, and there his servants dug wells, and there they\nencamped.\n\nWhen Abimelech\u2019s servants heard of these wells that they had dug, they\ncame with their flocks, and desired to use them also, and the largest of\nthe wells they claimed as their own. But Abraham\u2019s shepherds said, \u201cLet\nthe well belong to those to whom it gives water. The Lord shall decide\nbetween us!\u201d\n\nTo this the servants of Abimelech agreed. And when the flocks of Abraham\ncame to drink, the well sprang up and overflowed; but when the flocks of\nAbimelech drew near, the water sank and disappeared.\n\nNow when Abimelech heard of the strife, he came with Phicol, his chief\ncaptain, to seek Abraham, and to be reconciled with him. \u201cGod is with\nall that thou doest,\u201d said Abimelech; \u201cHe protected thee when Sodom was\ndestroyed. He has given thee a son in thine old age. He rescued thy\nfirst-born when perishing in the desert. Swear to me, as I have offered\nthee my whole land, my own palace not excepted, in which to dwell, that\nthou wilt show equal love and liberality to my descendants to the third\ngeneration.\u201d\n\nAbraham swore to him, and they made a covenant together.[323]\n\nAnd Abraham set apart seven lambs as a witness and token, that just as\nthe well had sprung up when his flocks had come to water at it, so, in\nafter days should it spring up to water the descendants of Abraham; as\nit is said, \u201c_From thence they went to Beer, that is, the well whereof\nthe Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give\nthem water. Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto\nit._\u201d[324]\n\nBut such condescension and courtesy ill became Abraham in his dealings\nwith a rude and savage people, and therefore there came to him a voice\nfrom heaven which said: \u201cBecause thou hast given these seven innocent\nlambs into the hands of a barbarous nation, therefore seven of thy\ndescendants shall be slain by their hands (Samson, Hophni and Phinehas,\nSaul and his three sons); also seven dwellings that thy people shall\nraise to my Name shall they destroy (the Tabernacle, Gilgal, Nob,\nGibeon, Shiloh, and twice the Temple at Jerusalem), and seven months\nshall the ark of my covenant remain in the land of the Philistines.\u201d\n\n\n                      9. THE GROVE IN BEER-SHEBA.\n\n\n\u201c_And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the\nname of the Lord._\u201d[325] The reason was as follows:\u2014\n\nOnce Abraham asked Shem the son of Noah, otherwise called Melchizedek,\nking of Salem, what service he and his father and brethren rendered to\nthe Lord in the ark, which was so acceptable to God that He preserved\nthem alive and brought them in safety to Ararat; and Shem answered, \u201cThe\nservice we rendered to God, all the time of our sojourn in the ark, was\ncharity.\u201d\n\nAnd when Abraham wondered and asked how that could possibly be, as there\nwere none in the ark save themselves and the beasts, Shem answered,\u2014\n\n\u201cEven so; we showed charity and forethought and hospitality to the\nanimals. We fed them regularly, and we slept not at night; so busy were\nwe with them in making them comfortable. Once, when we had delayed\nsomewhat, the lion was hungry and bit Noah, my father.\u201d\n\nThen said Abraham to himself, \u201cIn very truth, if it was reckoned to Noah\nand his sons as so great righteousness, that they fed and tended the\ndumb and senseless beasts, how much more pleasing must it be to the Most\nHigh, to be kind and generous to men who are made in His image, after\nHis likeness!\u201d\n\nFilled with this thought, Abraham settled at Beer-sheba, where was an\nabundant spring of fresh water, and there he resolved to do service\nacceptable to the living God, and to honour His name, as Noah and his\nsons had done Him service and honoured Him in the ark.\n\nSo Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, one hundred ells long and one\nhundred ells broad, and he planted it with vines and figs, pomegranates\nand other fruit trees; and he built a guest-house adjoining this garden,\nand he made in it four doors, one towards each quarter of the heavens;\nand when a hungry man came by, Abraham gave him food; if there came a\nman who was thirsty, he gave him drink; if one who was naked, he clothed\nhim; if one who was sick, he took him in and nursed him; and he gave to\nevery man who passed by what he most needed for his journey.\n\nHe would receive neither thanks nor payment; and when any one thanked\nhim, he said hastily, \u201cGive thanks, not to me the servant, but to the\nMaster of this house, _who openeth His hand, and filleth all things\nliving with plenteousness_.\u201d\n\nThen when the traveller asked, \u201cWho, and where is this Master?\u201d\n\nAbraham answered, \u201cHe is the God who rules over heaven and earth; He is\nLord of all; He kills and makes alive; He wounds and heals; He forms the\nfruit in the mother\u2019s womb, and gives it life; He makes the plants and\ntrees to grow; He brings man to destruction, and raises him from his\ngrave again.\u201d\n\nThus Abraham instructed those whom he relieved. And if a traveller asked\nfurther, how he was to worship the great God, Abraham answered, \u201cSay\nonly these words, Praised be the Eternal One who reigns over heaven and\nearth! Praised be the Lord of the whole world, who filleth all things\nliving with plenteousness.\u201d And no traveller went on his way without\nthanking God.\n\nThus that guest-house was a great school, in which men were taught the\ntrue religion, and gratitude to the Almighty God.\n\n\n                    10. THE OFFERING OF ISAAC.[326]\n\n\nAbraham loved the son of his old age, and Isaac grew up in the fear of\nGod, and his good conduct heightened the love Abraham bore him; but the\nPatriarch thought in his heart, \u201cI prepare gifts to give of my abundance\nto every man that asks of me, and to every passer-by; but to my Lord and\nGod, the Giver of all good things, have I given nothing!\u201d\n\nThere was a day when the sons of God (the angels) stood before the\nEternal One, and amongst them was the accusing angel, Satan or Sammael.\nThe Lord asked him, \u201cWhence comest thou?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom walking to and fro upon the face of the earth,\u201d he replied.\n\n\u201cAnd what hast thou beheld there of the doings of the sons of men?\u201d\n\nThe Accuser answered, \u201cI saw that the sons of earth no longer praise\nThee, and adore Thee; when they have obtained their petition, then they\nforget to give Thee thanks. I saw that Abraham, the son of Terah, as\nlong as he was childless, built altars and proclaimed Thy name to all\nthe world: now he has been given a son at the age of a hundred, and he\nforgets Thee. I went to his door as a beggar, on the day that Isaac was\nweaned, and I was turned away without an alms. I have seen him strike\nalliance with the King of the Philistines, a nation that knows Thee not,\nand to him has he given seven lambs. He has built a large house and he\ngives to strangers, but to Thee he gives no sacrifice of value. Ask of\nhim any sacrifice that is costly, and he will refuse it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat shall I ask?\u201d inquired the Almighty.\n\n\u201cAsk of him now his son, and he will refuse him to Thy face.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do so, and thou shalt be confounded,\u201d answered the Holy One.\n\nThe self-same night God appeared to Abraham, and addressed him gently so\nas not to alarm him, and He said to him, \u201cAbraham!\u201d\n\nThe patriarch in deep humility answered, \u201cHere am I, Lord; what willest\nThou of Thy servant?\u201d\n\nThe Lord answered, \u201cI have come to ask of thee something. I have saved\nthee in all dangers; I delivered thee out of the furnace of Babylon; I\nrescued thee from the army of Nimrod; I brought thee into this land, and\ngave thee men-servants and maid-servants and cattle and sheep and\nhorses, and I have given thee a son in thine old age, and victory over\nall thine enemies, and new temptations await thee, for I must prove\nthee, and see if thou art grateful in thy heart, and that thy\nrighteousness may be manifest unto all, and that thy obedience may be\nperfected. Take therefore thy son\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\nAbraham answered trembling, \u201cWhich son? I have two.\u201d\n\n_The voice of God._\u2014\u201cThat son which alone counteth with thee.\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cEach is the only son of his mother.\u201d\n\n_The voice of God._\u2014\u201cThe one you love.\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cI love both.\u201d\n\n_The voice of God._\u2014\u201cThe one you love best.\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cI love both alike.\u201d\n\n_The voice of God._\u2014\u201cThen I demand Isaac.\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cAnd what shall I do with him, O Lord?\u201d\n\n_The voice of God._\u2014\u201cGo to the place that I shall tell thee, where,\nunexpectedly, hills shall arise in sight out of the valley bottom. Go to\nthat place whence once My Light, My Teaching issued, which My eye\nwatches over untiringly, and where the smoke of incense shall arise to\nMe, to the place where prayer is heard and sacrifice shall be offered,\nwhere at the end of time I shall judge the nations, and cast the ungodly\ninto the pit of Gehinom;\u2014to the land of Moriah that I shall show thee,\nthere shalt thou take thy son Isaac as a whole burnt offering.\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cShall I bring Thee such an offering as this, O Lord? Where\nis the priest to prepare the sacrifice?\u201d\n\n_The voice of God._\u2014\u201cI have taken from Shem his priesthood, and thou art\nclothed therewith.\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cBut in that country there are many hills; which shall I\nascend?\u201d\n\n_The voice of God._\u2014\u201cA mountain on which shall rest my Glory; there\nshall it be told thee further what thou must do.\u201d\n\nAbraham prepared to fulfil the command of God, but he dreaded the\nseparation between Sarah and her son. If he took Isaac away secretly,\nthen he feared that, in the excess of her distress, she would do herself\nharm. At last he decided on this course; he went to Sarah\u2019s tent, and he\nsaid to her, \u201cMy dearest, prepare this day a little banquet, that in our\nold days we may rejoice our hearts.\u201d\n\nSarah answered, \u201cWherefore this day, my husband? Are you about to lose\nanything this day?\u201d\n\nAbraham said, \u201cThink, my wife, Sarah! how good God has been to us;\ntherefore it behoves us to thank Him all the days of our life.\u201d\n\nSarah did as Abraham had commanded.\n\nAs they sat and ate, Abraham said, \u201cThou knowest well, dear wife, that I\nknew the One true God from the time that I was three years old. Isaac is\nolder, and it behoves him to know more of the law of God. Therefore I\ndesign to take him with me to Shem and Eber, our ancestors, who live not\nfar from here, that they may instruct him. Hast thou anything to object\nto this, Sarah?\u201d\n\nShe answered, \u201cNo; do that which is pleasing in thine eyes; only let not\nIsaac be away too long, for thou knowest how precious the sight of him\nis to me.\u201d\n\nThen Sarah put her arms round her son, and kissed him, and they parted\nwith many tears; and she exhorted Abraham to have great care of the\nyouth, that the journey might not be too great for him.\n\nNext morning, very early, Abraham rose, and he saddled the ass himself,\nthough he had many slaves, for he was eager to be gone, and to go where\nthe Lord called him. This was the ass, born of the she-ass created by\nGod on the eve of the sixth day, upon which Moses afterwards rode when\nhe went to Egypt;[327] it is the ass which spake to Balaam, and it is\nthe ass of which the prophet Zechariah has spoken, that on it Messiah\nshall ride.[328]\n\nThis ass was of a hundred colours.[329]\n\nSarah clothed Isaac in the garment that Abimelech had given her, and\nplaced a jewel-studded fillet about his head. She provided the\ntravellers with food for their journey, and accompanied them with her\nmaids, till Abraham bade them return. Then she clasped Isaac once more\nto her breast, and said with tears, \u201cGod be gracious to thee, my son;\nhow know I that I shall see thee again?\u201d\n\nAbraham had two to accompany him, Eliezer and Ishmael; he had cut fig\nand palm wood and made a faggot. On the way this discourse took place\nbetween Eliezer and Ishmael.\n\nIshmael said, \u201cI perceive clearly that my father is about to offer Isaac\nas a whole burnt offering; therefore I, his eldest son, will inherit his\npossessions.\u201d\n\nBut Eliezer said, \u201cThat is false: I am his trusty servant! Did not thy\nfather drive thee away from home? He will leave all to me.\u201d\n\nWhilst they thus spake, there came a voice from heaven, \u201cO ye fools!\nneither of you knows the truth.\u201d\n\nAbraham in the meantime walked forward. Then came Satan to him in the\nform of an old man bowed upon a staff, and said to him, \u201cWhither goest\nthou?\u201d\n\nHe answered, \u201cI go to offer up my prayers.\u201d\n\n\u201cWherefore this knife, and fuel, and fire?\u201d asked Satan.\n\n\u201cI take them in case we have to spend much time on the mountain, that we\nmay bake bread and slay beasts.\u201d\n\n\u201cOld man, thou deceivest me,\u201d said Satan. \u201cWas I not by when a voice\nbade thee slay thy son, thine only son; and now, what art thou about to\ndo? Thinkest thou that thou shalt have another son, now that thou art a\nhundred years old? Art thou then about to cut down with thine own hands\nthe main pillar of thy tent, the staff on which thou mayest lean in\nthine old age? Knowest thou not the proverb, \u2018He who destroys his own\ngoods, how shall he get more?\u2019 That was not the voice of God, it was the\nvoice of the Tempter, and thou didst listen to it. Dost thou think that\nGod, who promised to make of thee a great nation, and to bless all\ngenerations through Isaac, would thus persuade thee to make void His own\npromises?\u201d\n\nAbraham answered, \u201cNo, it was not the Tempter who spake, it was the\nvoice of God; therefore I will not hearken to thy words, but walk on\nstill in mine uprightness.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut if God were to ask of thee some further sacrifice, wouldst thou\ngrant it?\u201d\n\n\u201cOf a truth would I,\u201d answered Abraham.\n\n\u201cThy piety is folly,\u201d said Satan impatiently. \u201cTo-morrow God will punish\nthee for this murder thou art about to commit, since thou wilt shed the\nblood of thine own son.\u201d\n\nBut when Satan saw that Abraham was not to be moved from his purpose,\nthen he took the form of a blooming youth, and joined himself to Isaac,\nand asked him the object of his journey.\n\nIsaac replied that he was going to receive instruction in the law of the\nMost High.\n\n\u201cArt thou going to receive this instruction living or dead?\u201d asked\nSatan, scornfully.\n\n_Isaac._\u2014\u201cCan a man receive instruction after he is dead?\u201d\n\n_Satan._\u2014\u201cO thou son of a mother much to be pitied, knowest thou not\nthat thy father is leading thee to death?\u201d\n\n_Isaac._\u2014\u201cNevertheless I shall follow him.\u201d\n\n_Satan._\u2014\u201cThen all the tears and prayers of thy mother, beseeching\nHeaven to grant her a son, end in this! All the pains and grief in\nchildbearing! All the afflictions she laid on Hagar and Ishmael! All the\ncare she has taken of thy youth! All the love she has expended upon\nthee! All these things for nothing!\u201d\n\n_Isaac._\u2014\u201cAs my father wills.\u201d\n\n_Satan._\u2014\u201cThen the inheritance passes to Ishmael. How he will glory in\nbeing the first-born, and his mother Hagar will despise Sarah, and maybe\nwill drive her out!\u201d\n\n_Isaac._\u2014\u201cI obey the command of my father and the will of God, be they\nwhat they may.\u201d\n\nBut these words were not without some effect on Isaac. With piteous\nvoice he urged his father to suspend or delay what he had undertaken.\nBut Abraham exhorted his son not to listen or give credence to the words\nhe had heard, for they were the temptations of Satan, to draw him from\nthe path of obedience and the fear of God.\n\nThey went a little further and came to a broad stream. Abraham, Isaac,\nand their followers sought to wade it; the water at first reached their\nknees, but when they were in the middle, it rose to their necks.\n\nAbraham, who knew well the spot, and that there was neither brook nor\nriver there by nature, recognized this as a deception of Satan, to\ndivert them from the right way. He told Isaac that this was his opinion,\nand raising his eyes to heaven he prayed: \u201cThou, O Lord, didst declare\nto me Thy will, that I should take Isaac my son and offer him to Thee in\npledge of my obedience. I did not hesitate, I did not refuse, and now\nthe water overwhelms us and we sink; how then can I perform that which\nThou badest me do?\u201d\n\nThe Lord answered, \u201cFear not, through thee shall My Name be known.\u201d\n\nThen the stream vanished away, and they stood upon dry land.\n\nBut now Satan made another attempt to turn Abraham from his purpose. He\ndrew him aside and said, \u201cThe object of thy journey has failed. I caught\na whisper in heaven, and it was this\u2014God will prepare a lamb for the\nsacrifice, and not thy son.\u201d\n\nAbraham answered, \u201cEven if thy words be true, it matters not; for this\nis the penalty of liars, that when they speak the truth they are not\nbelieved.\u201d\n\nAbraham journeyed on the rest of that day, without seeing his appointed\nplace. Next day he retraced his steps, but could find no signs of the\nplace. The Almighty had so ordered it, that men might not say Abraham\nwas hasty and acted precipitately, but might see that he had leisure and\ntime for reflection on what he was about to do.\n\nOn the morning of the third day,[330] they reached the height of Zophim,\nand thence Abraham saw a beautiful mountain-land, and on the top of one\nof the mountains was a fiery pillar, which reached from earth to\nheaven,\u2014it was the Glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.\n\nWhen Abraham asked Isaac if he beheld this sight, he answered that he\ndid so; but when he asked his other companions, they replied that they\nsaw nothing save the brown hills and purple valleys. Some say they\nanswered that one hill was to them like every other hill.\n\nFrom this, Abraham concluded that God was well pleased with Isaac as a\nvictim. Then he said to Eliezer and Ishmael:\n\n\u201cTarry ye here with the ass, for you are not worthy to behold the\nShekinah nearer. But I and the youth will go on, _so many_ only shall\ngo.\u201d\n\nNow, as he said these words, it suddenly came to his mind that God had\npromised him a great people descended from Isaac, _so many_ as the stars\nfor multitude, and with prophetic voice he said, \u201cIf the Lord will, _so\nmany_ as go on, _so many_ shall return.\u201d\n\nThen Abraham laid the wood of the sacrifice on his son Isaac, and took\nthe fire and the knife in his hand; and they went on both together,\nAbraham joyous, and Isaac without fear or thought.\n\nBut after they had gone some way, Isaac turned to his father and said,\n\u201cFather, whither are we going alone?\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cMy son, we go to offer a sacrifice.\u201d\n\n_Isaac._\u2014\u201cBut art thou a priest to execute this undertaking?\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cShem, the High Priest, will prepare the victim.\u201d\n\nA great fear fell upon Isaac when he saw that they had no animal with\nthem to offer, and he said, \u201cHere are the fire and the wood, but where\nis a lamb for the whole offering?\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cThe lamb which is to be offered is foreknown to the\nAlmighty. He will provide the lamb; and if none other is here, then must\nthou be the offering, my son.\u201d\n\nIsaac was silent, for the fear of death came over him. But presently he\nrecovered himself and said, \u201cIf God chooses me, I place my soul in His\nhands.\u201d\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cMy son! Is there any blemish in thee within? For the\noffering must be without blemish of any sort.\u201d\n\n_Isaac._\u2014\u201cMy father! There is none. I swear by God and by thy life, that\nin my heart there is not the least resistance to the Divine will. My\nlimbs do not tremble, and there is no quaking at my heart. With gladness\ndo I say, The Lord be praised, who has chosen me for a whole\nsacrifice.\u201d[331]\n\n_Abraham._\u2014\u201cO my son, with many a wish wast thou brought into this\nworld. Since thou hast been in it, every care has been lavished on thee.\nI hoped to have had thee to follow me and make a great nation. But now I\nmust, myself, offer thee. Wondrous was thy coming into this world, and\nwondrous will be thy going out of it![332] Not by sickness, not by war,\nbut as a sacrifice. I had designed thee to be my comfort and stay in old\nage; now God himself must take thy place.\u201d[333]\n\n_Isaac._\u2014\u201cIt were unworthy of thee were I to think to withstand the\ndecree of God, and of thee. Had the decision been thine alone, I would\nhave obeyed.\u201d\n\nWhen they reached the top of Moriah, God said to Abraham,\u2014\n\n\u201cThis is the place where once Adam, when driven out of Paradise, built\nan altar to My name. Here also Cain and Abel offered their sacrifice.\nThen came the Flood, and when it was passed away, Noah offered victims\nto Me here. When the people were scattered from the tower at Babel, then\nthis altar was overthrown. Now it is for thee, friend of God, to set it\nup again!\u201d\n\nAbraham built the altar, and Isaac brought him the stones. But,\naccording to some authors, this was not so. Abraham hid his son in a\ncave, lest Satan should take advantage of the opportunity, with a stone\nor clod of earth, to blemish him.\n\nAnd when all was ready and the wood laid in order, then Isaac said to\nhis father, \u201cBind me hand and foot, lest in the fear of death I start\nand thou wound me, and so I be blemished. Fold thy garments together,\nand gird thy loins, and bare thine arm, and strike me with the knife and\nthen burn me to ashes, and lay up my ashes in a coffer, and let this\ncoffer be preserved as a memorial of me in thy house, before my mother;\nand when thou passest by it, bid her remember me. But remind her not of\nit near a well, or on the edge of a precipice, lest she cast herself\ndown in her grief.\u201d[334]\n\nAnd he continued, \u201cWhen thou returnest home, how wilt thou console my\nmother?\u201d\n\nAbraham answered, \u201cWell I know that He who comforted us before thou\nearnest, will comfort us after thou art gone from us.\u201d[335]\n\nAbraham now stood over his son, who was bound with his hands to his\nfeet, upon the wood laid in order; and the eyes of Abraham rested on the\neyes of his son. But Isaac looked up into heaven, and saw the angel\nhosts crowded about God\u2019s throne. Abraham saw not this, and he lifted\nthe knife; but he trembled and the knife fell from his hand, and he\ncried aloud, \u201cO my son! Would that another offering were found instead\nof thee! But my help cometh only from the Lord who hath made heaven and\nearth!\u201d\n\nThen he gathered up his resolution, and took the knife and held it once\nmore to strike; and Isaac\u2019s spirit left him, and he swooned away.\n\nBut the angels of God, who stood round about His throne, announced to\nthe Most High all that took place, and they cried and wept, and even the\nfiery seraphim exclaimed, \u201cWoe! He slays his son.\u201d And the tears of the\nangels fell upon the face of Isaac, and made him ever after sad of\ncountenance.\n\nThen God said, \u201cBehold, and see how great is the faith of My servant\nAbraham, how on earth a man can hallow My great name, and devote his\nbest and dearest to My service; see that, ye, who at the creation\nexclaimed, _What is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of\nman, that thou so regardest him?_\u201d\n\nThen He ordered Michael to fly swiftly, and stay the hand of Abraham.\n\nAnd the archangel, when he came near, cried aloud, \u201cAbraham! Abraham!\nwhat doest thou?\u201d\n\nAbraham looked in the direction of the voice, in doubt, and said, \u201c_Here\nam I._\u201d\n\nThen said the angel, \u201c_Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou\nanything unto him._\u201d\n\nAnd Abraham said, \u201cWho art thou?\u201d\n\nMichael told him who he was. Then said Abraham, \u201cThe Most High appeared\nto me in a vision, and bade me take my son as a whole offering to the\nplace which He should say, and I may take no command from a servant of\nGod, against that which God Himself hath laid upon me.\u201d\n\nThen heaven opened, and he saw the glory of God, and God said to him,\n\u201c_Touch not the lad to do him harm, for now I know that thou fearest\nGod, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me._\u201d\n\nAnd Abraham said, \u201cHow is this, O Lord! that Thou changest Thy purpose,\nand sayest one day, Do this, and the next, Do it not?\u201d\n\nAnd the Lord answered, and said, \u201cI said not unto thee, Slay the lad as\na burnt offering, but I said, Take thy son to the place that I shall\ntell thee, as a whole burnt offering. This hast thou done; thou hast\nfulfilled My command, I exact no more of thee. I change not My purpose,\nbut I did suffer thee to misunderstand the purport of My command, and to\nthink that I exacted more of thee; and this I did to prove thee. And\nnow, _by Myself have I sworn; for because thou hast done this thing, and\nhast not withheld thy son, thine only son; that in blessing I will bless\nthee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the\nheavens, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall\npossess the gate of his enemies_.\u201d\n\nThen Isaac revived, and Abraham cut his cords, and he stood up and said,\n\u201cPraised be the Eternal One, who quickeneth those that be dead.\u201d\n\nAnd Abraham turned to the Shekinah and said, \u201cLord! how shall I depart\nhence without having offered to Thee a sacrifice?\u201d The Lord answered,\n\u201cLift thine eyes, and thou shalt see a beast for sacrifice behind thee.\u201d\n\nIn the thicket of the wood was that ram which God created at dusk on the\nsixth day, that it might serve this purpose. An angel had brought it out\nof Paradise, where it had lived since its creation, and had fed under\nthe shadow of the Tree of Life, and had drunk of the River that there\nflows. And when the ram was brought into this earth, all the earth was\nfilled with the fragrance from its fleece, on which hung the odours of\nthe flowers on which it had lain in Paradise.\n\nBut by Satan\u2019s fraud, the animal was frightened and strayed away, and\nAbraham tracked it by its foot-prints. Then Satan decoyed the beast\nbehind some bushes and entangled its horns in the thicket; and Abraham\nwould have passed by, and not seen it, but the ram caught him by his\ncloak. So Abraham slew it, and offered it in sacrifice, and sprinkled\nwith its blood the altar he had made.\n\nNow the Last Trumpets that shall sound, the one to call the just, the\nother the unjust, are made of the horns of this wondrous ram.\n\n\n                        11. THE DEATH OF SARAH.\n\n\nSarah,\u2014who, as we have seen, accompanied Abraham and Isaac part of the\nway to Moriah,\u2014on her return to the tent, found an old man awaiting her.\nIt was Satan.\n\nHe greeted her with profound respect, and asked after her husband and\nson.\n\nShe answered that they had gone forth on a journey.\n\n\u201cWhither have they gone?\u201d asked Satan.\n\n\u201cMy lord has gone to visit the school of Shem and Eber, our grandsires,\nthere to leave my son Isaac to be instructed in the law of God.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas! alas!\u201d exclaimed the Apostate Angel; \u201cthou art greatly deceived.\u201d\n\nSarah was alarmed; and she asked wherefore he spake thus.\n\n\u201cKnow then,\u201d said Satan, \u201cthat Abraham has gone forth with Isaac to\nsacrifice him, upon a mountain, to the Most High.\u201d\n\nWhen she heard this, Sarah laid her head on the bosom of a slave, and\nfainted. When she came to herself she hurried with her maidens to the\nschool of Shem and Eber, and inquired after her husband and son, but\nthey had neither seen nor heard anything of them. So Sarah was convinced\nthat what had been told her was true, and there was no spirit left in\nher.\n\nNow when Satan knew that Abraham was bringing back his son, and that God\nhad accepted the will for the deed, he was moved with envy and spite,\nand he could not rest to think of the joy that this would cause; so he\nwent hastily to Sarah, and she was weeping in her tent, and sorely cast\ndown and broken in spirit. Then he said suddenly to her, \u201cThy son liveth\nand is returning. God hath spared him!\u201d\n\nAnd she rose up and uttered a cry, and fell, and was dead; for the joy\nhad killed her.\n\nAbraham and Isaac in the meantime had returned from Moriah, and they\nsought Sarah at Beer-sheba, but she was not there; therefore they went\nto Hebron, and there they found her corpse. Isaac fell weeping upon the\nface of his mother, and he cried, \u201cMother, mother! why hast thou\nforsaken me? why hast thou gone away?\u201d\n\nAbraham wept aloud, and all the dwellers in Hebron wept and lamented\nover Sarah, and ceased from their labours, that they might mourn with\nAbraham and Isaac. Sarah\u2019s age was one hundred and seven-and-twenty\nyears, and she was as fair to look upon when she died as in the bloom of\nher youth.\n\nAnd as Abraham was bowed over the body of his wife, he heard the laugh\nof the Angel of Death, and his words, \u201cWherefore weepest thou? Thou\nbearest the blame of her death. Hadst thou not taken her son from her,\nshe would have been alive now.\u201d\n\nAbraham sought a place where to bury her; and he went to the Hittites\nand asked them to suffer him to buy for his possession a parcel of land,\nwhere he might bury one dead body. But they said, \u201cNay, we will give\nthee land;\u201d but he would not. So they said, \u201cChoose now a place where\nthou wouldst have thy sepulchre, and we will entreat the owner for\nthee.\u201d\n\nThen Abraham said, \u201cI desire the double cave of Ephron the son of Zohar.\n_If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me,\nand entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the\ncave of Machpelah, which he hath; for as much money as is worth he shall\ngive it me, for a possession of a burying-place amongst you._\u201d\n\nAnd this was the reason why Abraham desired that cave. When he had gone\nafter the calf, to slay it for the three angels that came to him before\nthe destruction of Sodom, the calf had fled from him, and he had pursued\nit into this cave; and on entering it, he found that it was roomy, and\nin the inner recesses he saw the bodies of Adam and Eve laid out with\nburning tapers around them, and the air was fragrant with incense.\n\nThe Hittites elected Emor their chief that he might deal with Abraham,\nfor it did not become a chief and prince, like Abraham, to deal with an\ninferior; and Emor said in the audience of the people of the land, \u201c_My\nLord, hear me; the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I\ngive it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee;\nbury thy dead._\u201d\n\nBut this he said with craft, for he sought to take an advantage of\nAbraham.[336]\n\nThen Ephron said, \u201cPut thine own price upon the land;\u201d but this Abraham\nwould not do.\n\nThen Ephron said to Abraham, \u201c_My lord, hearken unto me; the land is\nworth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee?\nbury therefore thy dead._\u201d\n\nNow the land was not worth half that sum, but Emor said in his heart,\n\u201cAbraham can afford to pay it, and he is in haste to bury his dead out\nof his sight.\u201d\n\nNevertheless, Abraham paid him in the sight of all his people. And the\ntransfer of the land and cave was signed by Amigal, son of Abischna the\nHittite; Elichoran, son of Essunass, the Hivite; Abdon, son of Ahirah,\nthe Gomorrhite; and Akdil, son of Abdis, the Sidonian.\n\nMachpelah (double cave) was so called, because, say some, it contained\ntwo chambers; or, say others, because Abraham paid double its value; or,\nsay others, because it became doubly holy; but others again observe,\nwith the highest probability, because Adam\u2019s body had to be doubled up\nto get it into the cave.\n\nBecause the Hittites dealt honourably, and sought to procure a place for\nAbraham, where he might lay Sarah, their name is written ten times in\nthe Holy Scriptures.\n\nThey took also an oath of Abraham, that he and his seed should never\nattack their city Jebus with violence; and they wrote his promise on\nbrazen pillars, and set them up in the market-place of Jebus. Therefore,\nwhen the Israelites conquered Canaan, they left the Jebusites\nunmolested.[337] But when David sought to take the stronghold of\nJebus,[338] its inhabitants said to him, \u201cThou canst not storm our city,\nbecause of the covenant of Abraham, which is engraven on these pillars\nof brass.\u201d\n\nDavid removed these brazen pillars, for they were in time honoured as\nidols; therefore the inhabitants of Jebus were _hated of David\u2019s\nsoul_;[339] but he did not break the covenant of Abraham, for he\nobtained the city of Jebus, not by force of arms, but by purchase.[340]\n\nSarah was buried with the utmost honour; Shem (Melchizedek), his\ngrandson Eber, Abimelech, Aner, Eshcol and Mamre, together with all the\ngreat men of the land, followed the bier. Abraham caused a great\nmourning throughout the country to be made for seven days. After that,\nAbraham returned to Beer-sheba, and Isaac went to be instructed in the\nlaw by Melchizedek. A year after, died Abimelech, king of Gerar, and\nAbraham attended his funeral. Soon after, also, died Nahor, Abraham\u2019s\nbrother.\n\n\n                       12. THE MARRIAGE OF ISAAC.\n\n\nAfter the death of Sarah, say some, Abraham had a daughter named Bakila,\nby Hagar, who returned to him now that her enemy was dead; but,\naccording to others, the great blessing of Abraham consisted in this,\nthat he had no daughters. Ishmael abandoned his disorderly ways, and\nloved and respected his brother.\n\nIsaac mourned his mother three years. When this time was elapsed,\nAbraham called to him his faithful servant Eliezer, and said to him, \u201cI\nam old, and I know not the day of my death; therefore must I no longer\ndelay the marriage of my son Isaac. Lay thine hand upon my thigh, and\nswear to me by God Almighty to fulfil my commission. Do not take for my\nson a wife of the daughters of the Canaanites, but go to Haran, to the\nplace whence I came, and bring thence a wife for my son Isaac.\u201d And he\nadded the proverb, \u201cWhen you have wheat of your own, do not sow your\nfield with your neighbour\u2019s corn.\u201d\n\nEliezer asked, \u201cBut how, if a woman of that place will not accompany me\nhither?\u201d\n\nBut Abraham said, \u201cFear not; go, and the Lord be with thee.\u201d\n\nSo the servant of Abraham went with ten camels, and he reached Haran in\nthree hours, for the earth fled under the feet of his camels, and\nMichael, the angel, protected him on his way.\n\nWhen he reached Haran, he besought the Lord to give him a sign, by which\nhe might know the maiden who was to be the wife of Isaac. \u201c_Let it come\nto pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I\npray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give\nthy camels drink also; let the same be she that Thou hast appointed for\nThy servant Isaac._\u201d\n\nAnd there were many damsels by the fountain. And the servant said to\nthem, \u201cLet down the pitcher that I may drink.\u201d But they all said, \u201cWe\nmay not tarry, for we must take the water home.\u201d\n\nThen came Rebekah the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of\nNahor, Abraham\u2019s brother, out to the well, and she chid the maidens for\ntheir churlishness; and lo! the water in the well leaped to the margin,\nand she let down her pitcher and offered it to the man, and said,\n\u201c_Drink; and I will give thy camels drink also._\u201d Then Eliezer leaped\nfrom his camel, and he brought forth his gifts, and he gave her a nose\nring with a jewel of half a shekel weight, and bracelets of ten shekels\nweight. And he asked if he might lodge in her house one night.\n\nShe answered, \u201cNot one night only, but many.\u201d\n\nNow Rebekah\u2019s brother, Laban, so called from the paleness of his\nface,\u2014or, say some, from the cowardice of his breast, which made him\npale,\u2014coveted the man\u2019s gold, and resolved to kill him. Therefore he put\npoison in the bowl of meat which was offered him. But the bowl was\nchanged by accident, and it fell to the portion of Bethuel, and he ate,\nand died that same night.\n\nAnd Laban would have fallen upon Eliezer with his own hand, but that he\nsaw him lead the two camels at once over the brook, and he knew thereby\nthat he was stronger than he.\n\nAfter the engagement had been drawn up, as is written in the first book\nof Moses,[341] Eliezer urged for a speedy departure. Mother and brother\nconsented, but on the following day they asked that, besides the seven\ndays of mourning for Bethuel, they should tarry a year, or at least ten\nmonths, according to the usual custom. But Rebekah opposed them, and\nsaid that she would go at once.\n\nIt was noon when Eliezer and his retinue, together with Rebekah and her\nnurse Deborah, left Haran, and in three hours they were at Hebron.\n\nAt the self-same time Isaac was abroad in the fields, returning from the\nschool of Seth, lamenting over his mother, and saying his evening\nprayer. Rebekah saw him with his hands outspread, and his angel walking\nbehind him, and she said, \u201cWho is that with a shining countenance, with\nanother walking behind him?\u201d\n\nAt the same moment she knew who it was, and with prophetic vision she\nsaw that she would become the mother of Esau, and she trembled and fell\nfrom the camel.\n\nIsaac took Rebekah to wife and led her into the tent of Sarah, and the\ndoor was once more open, and the perpetual lamp was again kindled, and\nit seemed to Isaac as if all the happiness that had gone with Sarah, had\nreturned with Rebekah, so he was comforted for his mother.\n\nEliezer was rewarded for his faithful service, for Abraham gave him his\nfreedom, and he was taken into Paradise without having tasted of death.\n\n\n                       13. THE DEATH OF ABRAHAM.\n\n\nAbraham, after the death of Sarah, had brought back Hagar, and she was\ncalled Keturah, which signifies \u201cthe Bond-woman,\u201d and this she was\ncalled because she had ever regarded herself as bound to Abraham, though\nhe had cast her away. But others say that Keturah was not Hagar, but was\na daughter of one of Abraham\u2019s slaves. She bare him six sons,[342] all\nstrong, and men of clear understandings.\n\nAccording to Mussulman traditions, she was the daughter of Jokdan, and\nwas a Canaanitish woman.\n\nAbraham said to the Most High, in gratitude of heart, \u201cThou didst\npromise me one son, Isaac, and thou hast given me many!\u201d\n\nAll his substance he gave to Isaac; but some say he gave him a double\nportion only, and the rest he made over to his other sons. And to Isaac\nonly he gave the right to be buried in the cave of Machpelah, and along\nwith that, his blessing. But others say that he did not give his\nblessing to Isaac, lest it should cause jealousy to spring up between\nhim and his brothers. He said, \u201cI am a mortal man; to-day here, and\nto-morrow in the grave; I have done all I can do for my children, and\nnow I will depart when it pleases my heavenly Father.\u201d\n\nHe sent the sons of Keturah away, that they might not dwell near Isaac,\nlest his greatness should swallow them up; and he built them a city of\niron, with walls of iron. But the walls were so high that the light of\nthe sun could not penetrate the streets, therefore he set in them\ndiamonds and pearls to illumine the iron city.\n\nEpher, a grandson of Abraham and Keturah,[343] went with an army into\nLibya and conquered it, and founded there a kingdom, and the land he\ncalled after his own name, Africa.\n\nAbraham was alive when Rebekah, after twenty years of barrenness, bare\nto Isaac his sons, Esau and Jacob; and he saw them grow up before him\ntill their fifteenth year, and he died on the day that Esau sold his\nbirthright.\n\nThe days of his life had been 175 years; he reached not the age of 180,\nto which Isaac attained, because God shortened his life by five years,\nlest he should know the evil deeds of Esau.\n\nThe Angel of Death did not smite him, but God kissed him, and he died by\nthat kiss; and because the sword of the angel touched him not, but his\nsoul parted to the kiss of God, his body saw no corruption.\n\nThis is the Mussulman story of his death. The Angel of Death, when\nbidden to take the soul of the prophet, hesitated about doing so without\nhis consent. So he took upon him the form of a very old man, and came to\nAbraham\u2019s door. The patriarch invited him in and gave him to eat, but he\nnoted with surprise the great infirmity of the old man, how his limbs\ntottered, how dull was his sight, and how incapable he was of feeding\nhimself, for his hands shook, and how little he could eat, for his teeth\nwere gone. And he asked him how old he was. Then the angel answered, \u201cI\nam aged 202.\u201d Now Abraham was then 200 years old. So he said, \u201cWhat! in\ntwo years shall I be as feeble and helpless as this? O Lord, suffer me\nto depart; now send the Angel of Death to me, to remove my soul.\u201d Then\nthe angel took him,[344] having first watched till he was on his knees\nin prayer.[345]\n\nIsaac and Ishmael buried him in the double cave by the side of Sarah;\nand he was followed to his grave by all the inhabitants of Canaan, and\nShem and Eber went before the bier. And all the people wailed and said,\n\u201cWoe to the vessel when the pilot is gone! woe to the pilgrims when\ntheir guide is lost!\u201d\n\nA whole year was Abraham lamented by the inhabitants of the land; men,\nand women, and young children joined in bewailing him.\n\nNever was there a man like Abraham in perfect righteousness, serving\nGod, and walking in His way from the earliest youth to the day of his\ndeath.\n\nAbraham was the first, say the Mussulmans, whose beard became white. He\nasked God when it became so, \u201cWhat is this?\u201d The Lord replied, \u201cIt is a\ntoken of gentleness, my son.\u201d\n\nFootnote 296:\n\n  For the Rabbinic traditions relating to Abraham I am indebted to the\n  exhaustive monograph of Dr. B. Beer, \u201cLeben Abraham\u2019s nach Auffassung\n  der j\u00fcdischen Sage,\u201d Leipzig, 1859, to which I must refer my readers\n  for references to Jewish books, which are given with an exactitude\n  which leaves nothing to be desired.\n\nFootnote 297:\n\n  Weil, p. 69.\n\nFootnote 298:\n\n  The Mussulman history of the patriarch relates that Azar brought\n  Abraham before Nimrod and said, \u201cThis is thy God who made all things.\u201d\n  \u201cThen why did he not make himself less ugly?\u201d asked Abraham,\u2014for\n  Nimrod had bad features.\n\nFootnote 299:\n\n  The Mussulman story, which is precisely the same as the Jewish, adds\n  that the camels refused to bear wood to form the pyre, but cast it on\n  the ground; therefore Abraham blessed the camels. But the mules had no\n  compunction, therefore he cursed them that they should be sterile. The\n  birds who flew over the fire were killed, the city was enveloped in\n  its smoke, and the crackling of its flames could be heard a day\u2019s\n  journey off.\n\nFootnote 300:\n\n  Weil, p. 73.\n\nFootnote 301:\n\n  Both the Rabbinic commentators and the Mussulman historians tell a\n  long story about the discussion carried on between Gabriel and Abraham\n  in the air, as he was being shot into the flames. It is hardly worth\n  repeating.\n\nFootnote 302:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 147.\n\nFootnote 303:\n\n  Weil, p. 78.\n\nFootnote 304:\n\n  Gen. xv.\n\nFootnote 305:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 156.\n\nFootnote 306:\n\n  Gen. xiv. 19. The book Jasher also says that Amraphel and Nimrod are\n  the same.\n\nFootnote 307:\n\n  Gen. xiv. 17.\n\nFootnote 308:\n\n  Gen. xiv. 19, 20.\n\nFootnote 309:\n\n  Gen. xiv. 23, 24.\n\nFootnote 310:\n\n  Ps. ix. 8.\n\nFootnote 311:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xlviii.\n\nFootnote 312:\n\n  Gittin, fol. 56 b; Pirke of R. Eliezer, fol. 49.\n\nFootnote 313:\n\n  Weil, p. 80.\n\nFootnote 314:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. lii.; Abulfeda, p. 25.\n\nFootnote 315:\n\n  Apocrypha de Loto, apud Fabricium, t. i. pp. 428-431.\n\nFootnote 316:\n\n  Solomon Jarschi, Comm. on Moses, xx. 5.\n\nFootnote 317:\n\n  Josh. xii. 24.\n\nFootnote 318:\n\n  Psalm cxiii. 9.\n\nFootnote 319:\n\n  This climax of absurdity is found also in the Mussulman histories of\n  the Patriarch.\n\nFootnote 320:\n\n  Weil, p. 83.\n\nFootnote 321:\n\n  It seems probable that S. Paul alludes to this traditional speech more\n  than once, as for instance Gal. iii. 9.\n\nFootnote 322:\n\n  The same story is told by the Mohammedans: Weil, p. 90.\n\nFootnote 323:\n\n  Gen. xxi. 24-27.\n\nFootnote 324:\n\n  Numbers xxi. 16, 17.\n\nFootnote 325:\n\n  Gen. xxi. 33.\n\nFootnote 326:\n\n  The Mussulmans tell the story of Ishmael almost in every particular\n  the same as that given below.\n\nFootnote 327:\n\n  Exod. iv. 20.\n\nFootnote 328:\n\n  Zech. ix. 9.\n\nFootnote 329:\n\n  When King Sapor heard the R. Samuel explain that Messiah would come\n  riding on an ass, the king said, \u201cI will give him a horse; it is not\n  seemly that he should ride an ass.\u201d \u201cWhat,\u201d answered the Rabbi, \u201chast\n  thou a horse with a hundred colours?\u201d (Talmud, Tract. Sanhedrim, fol.\n  98, col. 1.)\n\nFootnote 330:\n\n  The day is uncertain. Some say it was the 3rd Nisan; others, it was\n  the first of the seventh month, Tischri, New Year\u2019s day; others, that\n  it was the Day of Atonement. Some say Isaac\u2019s age was 37; others say\n  36; others 26; others 25; others 16; others 13; others, again, say 5;\n  and others say only 2 years.\n\nFootnote 331:\n\n  In the Rabbinic tradition, the type of Christ comes out more\n  distinctly than in Genesis, for here we see Isaac not merely offered\n  by his father, but also giving himself as a free-will offering,\n  immaculate without in his body, and within in his soul.\n\nFootnote 332:\n\n  Might not these words be spoken mystically of Christ?\n\nFootnote 333:\n\n  And these prophetic. Abraham means that God must take care of him in\n  his old age. But they may also be taken by us thus, God must take thy\n  place as the victim.\n\nFootnote 334:\n\n  Here again\u2014it may be fanciful\u2014but I cannot help thinking we have the\n  type continued of Christ\u2019s presence perpetuated in the Church, in the\n  Tabernacle in which the Host is reserved, that all passing by may look\n  thereupon and worship, and \u201cRemember Me\u201d in the adorable Sacrament.\n  With a vast amount of utterly unfounded fable, the Rabbinic traditions\n  may, and probably do, contain much truth.\n\nFootnote 335:\n\n  \u201cIf I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I\n  depart, I will send Him unto you.\u201d (John xvi. 7.)\n\nFootnote 336:\n\n  This is one instance out of several in which the honourable and\n  generous conduct of a Gentile is distorted by Rabbinical tradition;\n  the later Rabbis being unwilling to give any but their own nation\n  credit for liberal and just dealing. It may have been observed in the\n  account of Abimelech, how the frank exchange of promises between\n  Abraham and the Philistine prince was regarded by them as sinful.\n\nFootnote 337:\n\n  Joshua i. 21.\n\nFootnote 338:\n\n  2 Sam. v. 6; 1 Chron. xi. 4.\n\nFootnote 339:\n\n  2 Sam. v. 8.\n\nFootnote 340:\n\n  2 Sam. xxiv. 24; 1 Chron. xxi. 24. This is, however, in direct\n  contravention of the account in the fifth chapter of the 2nd Samuel.\n\nFootnote 341:\n\n  Gen. xxiv. 34-49.\n\nFootnote 342:\n\n  Gen. xxv. 2.\n\nFootnote 343:\n\n  Gen. xxv. 4.\n\nFootnote 344:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. lvii.\n\nFootnote 345:\n\n  Weil, p. 98.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXV.\n                              MELCHIZEDEK.\n\n\nWe have seen that, according to Jewish traditions, Melchizedek is Shem,\nthe son of Noah, whom God consecrated to be a priest for ever, and who\nset up a kingdom on Salem.[346]\n\nIt is also said that, before he died, Lamech ordered his son, Noah, to\ntransport the body of Adam to the centre of the earth. Now the centre or\nnavel of the earth is Salem, afterwards called Jerusalem.\n\nLamech also bade Noah confide to one of his children the custody of the\nbody of Adam, obliging him to remain all his life in the service of God,\nand in the practice of celibacy, never to shed blood, and to offer to\nGod only the sacrifice of bread and wine.\n\nNoah chose, according to some, Shem; according to others, Melchizedek,\nthe son of Shem. He did not suffer him to wear other garments than the\nskins of beasts; nor to shave his head nor cut his nails, nor to build a\nhouse.\n\nA Christian tradition is that Adam was buried on Golgotha, and that when\nChrist died, His blood flowed down upon the head of Adam, and cleansed\nhim of his sin.\n\nDom Calmet, in one of his dissertations, gives various curious opinions\nwhich have been entertained on the subject of Melchizedek: some affirmed\nthat he was identical with the patriarch Enoch, who came from the\nTerrestrial Paradise to confer with Abraham; and others, that the Magi\nwho adored the infant Christ were Enoch, Melchizedek, and Elias.\n\nAnd some have supposed that Melchizedek was created before Adam, and was\nof celestial race. Others again have supposed that he was our Lord Jesus\nChrist who appeared to Abraham.\n\nS. Athanasius gives a curious tradition of Melchizedek.\n\nA queen, named Salem, had a grandson named Melchi. He was an idolater.\nWhere he reigned is unknown; but it is supposed that it was where now\nstands the city Jerusalem. Melchi married a princess named Salem, like\nhis grandmother. By her he had two sons, of whom the younger was called\nMelchizedek.\n\nOne day that Melchi was about to sacrifice to idols, he said to his son\nMelchizedek, \u201cBring me here seven calves to sacrifice to the gods.\u201d\n\nWhilst going to execute his father\u2019s order, Melchizedek raised his eyes\nto heaven and said, \u201cHe who made heaven and earth, the sea and the\nstars, is the only God to whom sacrifice should be offered.\u201d\n\nThen he returned to his father, who asked him, \u201cWhere are the calves?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy father,\u201d he replied, \u201chearken to me, and be not angry. Instead of\noffering thy victims to those gods which are no gods, offer them to Him\nwho is above the heavens, and who rules all things.\u201d\n\nKing Melchi replied,\u201cGo and do what I have commanded thee, as thou\nvaluest thy life.\u201d\n\nAfter that he turned to his wife Salem, and he told her that he purposed\nsacrificing one of his sons. The queen wept bitterly, because she knew\nthat the king designed the immolation of Melchizedek, and she said,\n\u201cAlas! I have suffered and laboured in vain.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not weep,\u201d said Melchi, somewhat touched. \u201cWe will draw the lot: if\nit is mine, I will choose which of the sons is to die; if it be thine,\nthou shalt keep the one dearest to thee.\u201d\n\nNow the lot fell to the queen, so she chose Melchizedek, whom she loved;\nand the king adorned his elder son for sacrifice.\n\nThere were in the temple troops of oxen and flocks of sheep, and five\nhundred and three children, destined by their parents to be sacrificed.\nThe queen was at home weeping, and she said to Melchizedek, \u201cDost thou\nnot weep for thy brother, whom we have brought up with so much care, and\nwho is led to the slaughter?\u201d\n\nMelchizedek wept, and he said to his mother, \u201cI will go and invoke the\nLord, the only true God Most High.\u201d\n\nHe ascended Tabor, and kneeling down, he prayed, saying, \u201cMy God, Lord\nof all, Creator of heaven and earth, I adore Thee as the only true God;\nhearken now unto my prayer. May the earth open her mouth and swallow up\nall those who assist at the sacrifice of my brother!\u201d\n\nGod heard the cry of Melchizedek, and the earth parted asunder, and\nswallowed up the temple and all who were therein; and the city of Salem\nalso, and not a stone was left standing where it had been.\n\nWhen Melchizedek came down from Tabor, and saw what God had done, he was\nfilled with dismay, and retired into a forest, where he spent seven\nyears, feeding on herbs and drinking the dew.\n\nAt the end of that time, a voice from heaven called Abraham, and said,\n\u201cTake thine ass, lade it with rich garments, go to Tabor and cry thrice,\nO man of God! Then a man of a savage appearance will come forth to thee\nout of the forest. And after thou hast cut his hair and pared his nails,\nclothe him with the garments thou hast taken with thee, and ask him to\nbless thee.\u201d\n\nAbraham did as he was bidden. He went to Tabor and called thrice, \u201cO man\nof God!\u201d and there came out to him Melchizedek. Then a voice was heard\nfrom heaven, which said, \u201cAs there remains no one on earth of the family\nof Melchizedek, it shall be said of him that he is without father and\nwithout mother, without beginning of days or end of life.\u201d\n\nTherefore it is said of him, as of Enoch and Elias, that having been\ncreated a priest for ever, he is not dead.\n\nAfterwards he is said to have founded Jerusalem.[347]\n\nSuidas the Grammarian gives the following account of this mysterious\npersonage.\n\n\u201cMelchizedek, priest of God, king of Canaan, built a city on a mountain\ncalled Sion, and named it Salem; which is the same as \u0395\u1f30\u03c1\u03b7\u03bd\u03cc\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03b9\u03c2, the\nCity of Peace. In which, when he had reigned a hundred and thirteen\nyears, he died, righteous and single. For this reason he is said to have\nbeen without generation, because he was not of the seed of Abraham, but\nof the race of Canaan, and of abhorred seed. Therefore he was without\nhonourable generation. Nor did it beseem him, the essence of all\nrighteousness, to unite with the race of all unrighteousness. Therefore\nhe is said to have been without father or mother. But that he was a\nCanaanite, both as to country, of which he was lord; and as to nation,\nof which he was king; and as to neighbourhood, joining that of the\niniquitous Sodomites,\u2014that is evident enough. Nevertheless Salem, of\nwhich he was king, is that celebrated Jerusalem, which, however, did not\nbear then the complete name of Hierusalem, but the adjective \u1f31\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u1fe6 was\nadded to \u03a3\u03b1\u03bb\u03ae\u03bc afterwards, and compounded into Hierusalem. And because\nno genealogy is given to him, he is said to be without father and\nmother. Therefore, when you hear him spoken of as God, by the sect of\nthe Melchizedekites, remember the saying of the Apostle, that he was of\nanother race, to wit, that of Canaan.\u201d[348]\n\nAnother apocryphal account of Melchizedek is in the \u201cChronicon\nPaschale:\u201d\u2014\n\n\u201cA certain ancient relates and affirms, concerning Melchizedek, this. He\nwas a man of the tribe of Ham, who, being found a holy seed in his\ntribe, pleased God; and God called him into the land beyond Jordan, even\nas He called Abraham out of the land of the Chaldeans. And as this man\nwas holy and just, he was made a priest of the Most High God, to offer\nbread and wine, and holy prayers to the Most High God. He prayed for his\ntribe, saying, Lord, thou hast brought me from my own people, and hast\nhad mercy on me; have mercy on them also. But God answered him, and\nsaid, I will save them when I call my Son out of Egypt. This promise God\ngave to Melchizedek. The same ancient relates also that at this time it\nhappened that Lot was carried away captive from Sodom by those who were\nof the tribe Gothologomos, whom Abraham pursued and destroyed, and he\nliberated all the captives; and Lot also, the son of his brother Aram,\nhe delivered from their hands. Therefore Abraham said within himself,\nLord, if in my days Thou sendest Thy angel upon the earth, grant me to\nsee that day! The Lord said, It cannot be, but I will show thee a figure\nof that day; go down and cross the river Jordan and thou shalt behold\nit.\n\n\u201cTherefore Abraham crossed Jordan with his men, and Melchizedek came\nforth to meet him, called by the Holy Ghost, having in his hands the\nbread of Eucharists and the wine of thanksgiving. Abraham did not see\nMelchizedek till he had passed over Jordan, which is the symbol of\nBaptism.\n\n\u201cAbraham then, seeing Melchizedek coming to meet him having the bread of\nEucharists and the cup of thanksgiving, fell on his face upon the earth,\nand adored, since he saw the day of the Lord, and was glad.\n\n\u201cMelchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, blessed\nAbraham and said, _Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of\nheaven and earth; and blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered\nthine enemies into thy hands_. And Abraham gave him tithes of all.\u201d[349]\n\nMichael Glycas says: \u201cMelchizedek, though he is said in the sacred\nScriptures to have been without father and mother, yet sprung from\nSidos, son of \u00c6gyptos, who built Sidon. When he had built a city on\nMount Sion, named Salem, he reigned there thirteen years, and died a\njust man and a virgin.\u201d[350] And Cedrenus: \u201cMelchizedek was the son of\nKing Sidos, son of \u00c6gyptos, but he was said to be without father and\nmother and of uncertain generation, because he was not of Jewish\nextraction, and because his parents were bad and not reckoned among the\nrighteous.\u201d[351]\n\nJoseph Ben-Gorion writes: \u201cO Jerusalem! once the city of the great King,\nby what name shall I designate thee? Anciently thou wast called Jebus,\nafter thy founder; then thou didst acquire the name of Zedek, and from\nthence did thy king Jehoram take his title Melchi-zedek (or\nMelech-zedek, Lord of Zedek), for he was a just king, and he reigned in\nthee justly. And thou didst obtain the name of Justice, and in thee\njustice dwelt, and the star that did illumine thee; thou wast called\nZedek, and in the same king\u2019s reign, to thee was given the title Salem,\nas it is written in the Law: and Melchizedek was king of Salem, so\ncalled because thus the measure of the iniquity of the people was\naccomplished. But Abraham, our father, of pious memory, chose thee, to\nlabour in thee and to acquire in thee a possession, and in thee to lay a\nroot of good works, and because the majesty of God dwelt in thee, when\nAbraham, our father, flourished.\u201d[352]\n\nS. Epiphanius, however, says: \u201cAlthough no names of the parents of\nMelchizedek are given, yet some assert that his father was called\nHeraclas, and his mother Astaroth, or Asteria.\u201d[353] The \u201cCatena\nArabica\u201d on Genesis says: \u201cMelchizedek was the son of Heraclis, the son\nof Peleg, the son of Eber; and the name of his mother was Salathiel, the\ndaughter of Gomer, the son of Japheth, the son of Noah.\u201d\n\nMelchizedek is said to have composed the cx. Psalm, _Dixit\nDominus_.[354]\n\nThe tomb of Melchizedek is, or was, shown at Jerusalem, says Gemelli\nCarrere, the traveller in Palestine.\n\nFootnote 346:\n\n  This the Targumim, or paraphrases of the Sacred Text, distinctly say,\n  \u201cMelchizedek, who was Shem, son of Noah, king of Jerusalem.\u201d\n  (Etheridge, i. p. 199.)\n\nFootnote 347:\n\n  Fabricius, Codex Pseud. V. T. t. i. p. 311. The Book of the Combat of\n  Adam says Melchizedek was the son of Canaan.\n\nFootnote 348:\n\n  Suidas, Lexic. s. v. \u039c\u03b5\u03bb\u03c7\u03b9\u03c3\u03b5\u03b4\u03ad\u03ba.\n\nFootnote 349:\n\n  \u03a0\u03b1\u03c3\u03c7\u03ac\u03bb\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, seu Chronicon Paschale a mundo condito ad Heraclii imp.\n  ann. vicesimum. Ed. C. du Fresne du Cange; Paris, 1688, p. 49.\n\nFootnote 350:\n\n  Michael Glycas, \u0392\u03af\u03b2\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c7\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae, ed. Labbe; Paris, 1660, p. 135.\n\nFootnote 351:\n\n  Georgius Cedrenus, \u03a3\u03cd\u03bd\u03bf\u03c8\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f31\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c1\u03b9\u1ff6\u03bd, ed. Goar; Paris, 1647, t. i. p.\n  27.\n\nFootnote 352:\n\n  Josephus Ben-Gorion, lib. vi. c. 35, apud Fabricium, i. p. 326.\n\nFootnote 353:\n\n  S. Epiphanius H\u00e6resi, lv. c. 2.\n\nFootnote 354:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Bava Bathra.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXVI.\n                    OF ISHMAEL AND THE WELL ZEMZEM.\n\n\nThe Arabs call Hagar, Hagiar Ana\u00ef, the mother in chief, because of\nIshmael her son. They do not suppose that she was the bond-servant of\nSarah, but that she was the legitimate wife of the patriarch; and she\nbore him Ishmael, who, as his eldest son, had the birthright, and\nobtained, as his double portion of Abraham\u2019s inheritance, the land of\nArabia, whereas to Isaac was given the inferior land of Canaan.\n\nThey say that Hagar died at Mecca, and that she was buried in the\nexterior enclosure of the Kaaba, or square temple, built, say they, by\nAbraham.\n\nNear the tomb is the well of Zemzem, which is the fountain which God\nrevealed to her when she had been driven out of the house of Sarah, and\nhad fled into Arabia.\n\nAs has been already mentioned, the Mussulmans say that it was Ishmael\nand not Isaac whom Abraham prepared to sacrifice. The story need not be\nrelated again, as all the particulars in the Jewish legends are absorbed\ninto the Mussulman account.\n\nOne particular alone needs mention. Gabriel gave the ram to Abraham in\nthe place where Mussulman pilgrims now cast stones; namely, on the\nmountain of Mina. But the ram escaped out of the hands of Abraham, and\nthe patriarch threw seven stones after it. Then Ishmael went forward,\nand the ram halted. Ishmael went up to the ram and brought it to\nAbraham, and he took it, and slew it. Some say that this was the same\nram that Abel had offered in sacrifice, and which had been preserved in\nParadise.[355]\n\nThen God said to Abraham, \u201cGo to Mecca along with Ishmael, and build me\nthe temple there.\u201d\n\nAt Mecca had been the \u201cVisited-house,\u201d to which Adam went in pilgrimage,\nand round which he walked in procession every year. When the Flood came,\nthis house had been caught up into heaven.\n\nWhen Abraham went in obedience to the command of God to visit Ishmael,\nand to call him to build the temple, he found him on a mountain engaged\nin making arrows. He said to him, \u201cO my son, God has ordered me to build\na house along with thee.\u201d\n\nIshmael replied, \u201cI am ready to obey, O my father.\u201d\n\nThen they prepared to build. But Abraham knew nothing of architecture.\n\nGod sent a cloud of the size of the Kaaba, to show them, by its shadow\non the ground, what were to be the dimensions of the house, and to give\nthem shade in which to build.\n\nBut some say that the Serpent arrived and instructed Abraham in the\nproportions of the house. After that, Abraham and Ishmael began to dig\nthe trenches which were to receive the foundations; and they gave them\nthe depth of a man\u2019s stature. Then they raised them to the level of the\nsoil; after that, they cut stones out of the neighbouring rocks for the\nwalls of the edifice. Abraham built, and Ishmael handed the stones. Now,\nwhen the wall got above his reach, Abraham placed a stone on the ground,\nand stood upon that to build, and he left thereon the impression of his\nfoot. The stone remains to this day, and is called Makam Ibrah\u00eem.\n\nAnd when the temple was built, God sent Gabriel to instruct Abraham in\nall the rites of pilgrimage, and how to visit Mina and Mount Arafat, and\nhow to go processionally round the Kaaba, and to cast the stones, and to\nwear the pilgrim\u2019s dress, and to make sacrifice, and to shave the head,\nto visit the holy places, and all that concerns the pilgrimage.\n\nThat same year Abraham made the pilgrimage, and he confided the care of\nthe temple to Ishmael, his son, and he said to him, \u201cThis land belongs\nto thee and to thy children till the Judgment Day.\u201d\n\nThen Abraham, turning him about, went at God\u2019s command to the top of a\nhigh mountain, and cried, \u201cO men, God has built you a house, and He\ncalls you to visit it.\u201d\n\nAnd all men and women, and the children yet unborn, answered from every\nquarter of the world, \u201cWe will visit it.\u201d\n\nThen Abraham returned into Syria.[356]\n\nNow the well of Zemzem was formed when Hagar and Ishmael were in the\ndesert. The angel Gabriel trod in the ground and the water bubbled up.\nAt first it was sweet as honey, and as nourishing as milk. This well is\none of the wonders of Mecca. We shall relate more of it presently.\n\nAnd the stone that was white and shining, but now is black, that stone\nwas an angel who wept over the sins of men till he has grown dark; that\nalso is one of the wonders of Mecca.\n\nWhilst Ishmael was engaged one day in building the Kaaba, there came to\nhim Alexander the Two-horned, and asked him what he was doing.\n\nThen Abraham answered, \u201cWe build a temple to the only God in whom we\nbelieve.\u201d And Alexander knew that he was a prophet of God; and he went\non foot seven times round the temple.\n\nAbout this Alexander, authorities differ. Some say that he was a Greek,\nand that he was lord of the whole earth as Nimrod was before him, and as\nSolomon was after him.\n\nAlexander was lord of light and darkness; when he went forth with his\nhosts, he had light before him, and behind him was darkness: thus he\ncould overtake his enemies, but could not be overtaken by them. He had\nalso two banners, one white and the other black, and when he unfurled\nthe white one, it was instantly broad day; and when he unfurled the\nblack one, it was instantly midnight. Thus he could have day in the\ndarkest night, and night in the brightest day.\n\nHe was also unconquerable; for he could, at will, make his army\ninvisible, and fall upon his enemies and destroy them, without their\nbeing able to see who were opposed to them. He went through the whole\nworld in quest of the Fountain of Immortality, of which, as he read in\nhis sacred books, a descendant of Shem was pre-ordained to drink, and\nbecome immortal.\n\nBut his vizir Al Hidhr[357] lighted on the fountain before him and\ndrank, not knowing what were the virtues of this spring; and when\nAlexander came afterwards, the water had sunk away, for by God\u2019s command\nonly one man was destined to drink thereof.\n\nAlexander was called the Two-horned, according to some, because he went\nthrough the world from one end to the other; according to others,\nbecause he wore two long locks of hair which stood up like horns;\naccording to others, because he had two gold horns on his crown which\nsymbolized the kingdoms of Grecia and Persia over which he reigned. But\naccording to others, he once dreamed that he had got so near to the sun,\nthat he caught it by its two ends, and therefore he was given his name.\n\nLearned men are also equally disagreed as to the time in which he lived,\nand as to the place of his birth and residence.\n\nMost think that there were two Alexanders. One was descended from Shem,\nand went with El Khoudr to the end of the world after the Fountain of\nImmortality, and who was ordered by God to build an indestructible wall\nagainst the incursions of the children of Gog and Magog. The other\nAlexander was the son of Philip of Macedon, and was descended from\nJapheth, and was the pupil of Aristotle at Athens.[358]\n\nAnd now let us return to the fountain or well of Zemzem, and relate what\nbefel that.\n\nNabajoth, the eldest son of Ishmael, succeeded his father in the custody\nof the Kaaba, of the tombs of Adam and Eve, of the stone, and the well.\nBut having left only very young children to succeed him,\nMadad-ben-Amron, their maternal grandfather, took charge of their\neducation, and at the same time became the protector of the Kaaba and of\nthe well of Zemzem.\n\nThe children of Nabajoth, when they grew old, would not contest with\ntheir foster-father the possession of the Holy places, therefore it\nremained to him and his sons till the time when the Giorhamides took\nthem by violence.\n\nThen the posterity of Ishmael having attacked them, defeated them, and\nrecovered the city and temple of Mecca. But the stone, and the two\ngazelles of gold which a king of Arabia had given to the Kaaba, had been\nlost, for they had been thrown into the well of Zemzem, which had been\nfilled up.\n\nThe well remained choked and unregarded till the times of\nAbd-el-Motalleb, grandfather of Mohammed, who one day heard a voice bid\nhim dig the well of Zemzem.\n\nAbd-el-Motalleb asked the voice what Zemzem was.\n\nThen the voice replied: \u201cIt is the well that sprang up to nourish\nIshmael in the desert, whereof he and his children drank.\u201d\n\nAbd-el-Motalleb, not knowing whereabouts to dig, asked further, and the\nvoice answered, \u201cThe well of Zemzem is near two idols of the\nKora\u00efschites named Assaf and Nailah; dig on the spot where you shall see\na magpie pecking in the ground and turning up a nest of ants.\u201d\n\nAbd-el-Motalleb set about obeying the voice, in spite of the opposition\nof the Kora\u00efschites, who objected to the overthrow of their idols.\nHowever, he dug, along with his ten sons, and he vowed that if God would\nshow him the water, he would sacrifice one of his sons. And when he came\nto water, he found the gazelles of gold and the Black Stone.\n\nThen he summoned his children before him and told them his vow. And he\ndrew lots which of them should die, and the lot fell on Abd-Allah, the\nfather of the prophet.\n\nThen said Abd-el-Motalleb, \u201cI am in a great strait; how shall I perform\nmy vow?\u201d For he loved Abd-Allah best of his ten sons. Now the mother of\nAbd-Allah belonged to the family of Benu-Zora, which is one of the chief\nin Mecca.\n\nThe Benu-Zora family assembled and said, \u201cWe will not suffer you to slay\nyour son.\u201d But he said, \u201cI must perform my vow.\u201d Then he consulted two\nJewish astrologers, who said, \u201cGo, and put on one side your child, and\non the other your camel, and draw the lot; and if the lot fall on\nAbd-Allah, add a second camel to the first, and draw the lot again, and\ncontinue adding camels till the lot falls on them: then you will know\nhow many camels will be accepted by God as an equivalent for your son.\u201d\n\nHe did so, and he put one camel, then two, then three, up to fifty. The\nlot fell on Abd-Allah up to the ninety-ninth camel; but when\nAbd-el-Motalleb had added the hundredth, then the lot fell on those\nanimals, and he knew that they were accepted in place of his son, and he\nsacrificed them to the Lord; and this custom has continued among the\nArabs, to redeem a man who is to be sacrificed by one hundred\ncamels.[359]\n\nNow when the Kora\u00efschites saw what Abd-el-Motalleb had drawn from the\nwell, they demanded a share of the treasure he had found. But he refused\nit, saying that all belonged to the temple that Abraham and Ishmael had\nbuilt.\n\nTo decide this quarrel, they agreed to consult a dervish who dwelt on\nthe confines of Syria, and passed for a prophet. It fell out that, on\nthe way, Abd-el-Motalleb, exhausted with thirst, was obliged to ask\nwater of the Kora\u00efschites, but they, fearing that they would not have\nenough for themselves, were obliged to refuse.\n\nThen, from the ground pressed by the foot of the camel of\nAbd-el-Motalleb, a fountain gushed forth, which quenched the thirst of\nhimself and of those who had refused to give him water, and they, seeing\nthe miracle, recognized him as a prophet sent from God, and they\nrelinquished their pretensions to the well of Zemzem.\n\nAnd when the well was cleared out, Abd-el-Motalleb gave to the temple of\nthe Kaaba the two gazelles of gold, and all the silver, and the arms and\nprecious things he found in the well. For long, Mecca was supplied with\nwater from the well of Zemzem alone, till the concourse of pilgrims\nbecame so great, that the Khalifs were obliged to construct an aqueduct\nto bring abundance of water into the city.\n\nMohammed, to honour the town of Mecca, where he was born, gave great\npraise to the water of the well. It is believed among the Arabs that a\ndraught of that water gives health, and that to drink much thereof\nwashes away sin. It is related of a certain Mussulman teacher, who knew\na great many traditions, that, having been interrogated on his memory,\nhe replied, \u201cSince I have drunk long draughts of the water of Zemzem, I\nhave forgotten nothing that I learnt.\u201d\n\nTo conclude what we have to say of Ishmael.\n\nHe had a daughter named Basemath, whom he married to Esau, and many\nsons; two, Nabajoth and Kedar, were his sons who dwelt in Mecca. He was\na hundred and thirty years old when he died, and he was buried at Mecca,\nafter having appointed Isaac his executor.\n\nFootnote 355:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. liii.\n\nFootnote 356:\n\n  Tabari; Weil, Abulfeda, pp. 25-27, &c.\n\nFootnote 357:\n\n  Or El Khoudr; he is identified in Arab legend with S. George and\n  Elias.\n\nFootnote 358:\n\n  Weil, pp. 94-6.\n\nFootnote 359:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 181.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXVII.\n                            ESAU AND JACOB.\n\n\nThere are few Oriental traditions, whether Rabbinic or Mussulman,\nconcerning Isaac\u2019s life after he was married and his father died. Those\ntouching his birth, early life, and marriage, have been given in the\narticle on Abraham.\n\nWe proceed, therefore, to his history as connected with Esau and Jacob.\n\nIsaac, says Tabari, lived a hundred years after Ishmael. God granted him\nthe gift of prophecy, and sent him to the inhabitants of Syria, in the\ncountry of Canaan, for he could not change his place of abode on account\nof his blindness; for Abimelech had wished him to be dim of sight,\nbecause Abraham had deceived him by saying, \u201cSarah is my sister;\u201d and,\nsay the Rabbis, Isaac\u2019s eyes were made dim by the tears of the angels\nfalling into them as he was stretched upon the altar by his father; or\nbecause he had then looked upon the Throne of God, and had been dazzled\nthereby.\n\nBut others say he went blind through grief and tears at his son Esau\nhaving taken four Canaanitish women to wife.\n\nIsaac had two sons, twins, by Rebekah his wife\u2014Esau and Jacob.\n\nThe Cabbalists say that the soul of Esau, whom the Arabs call A\u00efs,\npassed into the body of Jesus Christ by metempsychosis, and that Jesus\nand Esau are one; and this they attempt to prove by showing that the\nHebrew letters composing the name Jesus are the same as those of which\nEsau is compounded.[360]\n\nThe following curious story is told of the brothers by the Rabbi\nEliezer:\u2014\u201cIt is said that when Jacob and Esau were in their mother\u2019s\nwomb, Jacob said to Esau, \u2018My brother, there are two worlds before us,\nthis world and the world to come. In this world, men eat, and drink, and\ntraffic, and marry, and bring up sons and daughters; but all this does\nnot take place in the world to come. If you like, take this world, and I\nwill take the other.\u2019 And Esau denied that there was a resurrection of\nthe dead, and said, \u2018_Behold I am at the point to die; and what profit\nshall this birthright do to me?_\u2019 And he gave over to Jacob in that hour\nhis right to the other world.\u201d[361] Therefore Esau and his descendants\nhave no part or lot in Paradise, and none are admitted there.[362]\n\nIt is also said that the religious predilections of the children were\ndeveloped before they were born. On the words of Genesis, \u201c_The children\nstruggled together within her_,\u201d[363] a Rabbinic commentator says that\nwhen Rebekah passed before a synagogue, then Jacob made great efforts to\nescape into the world, that he might attend the synagogue, and this is\nthe meaning of the words of the prophet Jeremiah, when God says of\nJacob, \u201c_Before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified\nthee_;\u201d[364] but whenever she went before an idol temple, Esau became\nexcited, and desired to come forth.[365]\n\nWhen Esau was born, he had on his heel the likeness of a serpent, and\nhis name indicates that he was closely connected with Satan (Sammael);\nfor, says the Rabbi Isaiah, if you write the name Sammael in Hebrew\ncharacters, you will find it to be identical with that of Esau; for the\nfour letters of Esau turned one way make Sammael, and turned another way\nmake Edom.[366] Esau had also a serpent in his inside coiled in his\nbowels.[367]\n\nEsau was called Edom, or Red, because, say some, he sucked his mother\u2019s\nblood before he was born; or, say others, because he was to shed blood;\nor again, because he was born under the ruddy planet Mars; or again,\nbecause he liked to eat his meat underdone and red;[368] but the\nTargumim say that Esau had red hair over his body like a garment;\ntherefore he was called Esau.[369]\n\nThe lads grew; and Esau was a man of idleness to catch birds and beasts,\na man going forth into the field to kill, as Nimrod had killed, and\nAnak, his son. But Jacob was a man peaceful in his works, a minister of\nthe school of Eber, seeking instruction before the Lord. And Isaac loved\nEsau, for words of deceit were in his mouth; but Rebekah loved\nJacob.[370]\n\nOn the day that Abraham died, Jacob dressed pottage of lentiles, and was\ngoing to comfort his father. And Esau came from the wilderness,\nexhausted; for in that day he had committed five transgressions\u2014he had\nworshipped with strange worship, he had shed innocent blood, he had\npursued a betrothed damsel, he had denied the life of the world to come,\nand he had despised his birthright.[371]\n\nAnd Esau said to Jacob, \u201cLet me now taste that red pottage, for I am\nfaint.\u201d Therefore he called his name Edom.\n\nAnd Jacob said, \u201cSell to me to-day what thou wouldst hereafter\nappropriate\u2014thy birthright.\u201d\n\nAnd Esau said, \u201cBehold, I am going to die, and in another world I shall\nhave no life; and what then to me is the birthright, or the portion in\nthe world of which thou speakest?\u201d\n\nAnd Jacob said, \u201cSwear to me to-day that so it shall be.\u201d\n\nAnd he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave to\nEsau bread, and pottage of lentiles. And he ate and drank, and arose and\nwent. And Esau scorned the birthright, and the portion of the world that\ncometh, and denied the resurrection of the dead.[372]\n\nBut according to certain Rabbinic authorities Esau sold his birthright\nnot only for the mess of lentiles, but also for a sword that Jacob\nhad\u2014to wit, the sword of Methuselah, wherewith he had slain a thousand\ndevils.[373]\n\nEsau had the garment which God had made for Adam,[374] on which were\nembroidered the forms of all the wild beasts and birds that were on the\nface of the earth, in their proper colours. This garment had been stolen\nby Ham from Noah in the ark, and had been given by him to Cush, who gave\nit to Nimrod. Esau killed Nimrod, and took from him his painted dress,\nand thenceforth all the success in hunting which had attended Nimrod\ndevolved upon Esau.[375]\n\nThe story of the blessing of Jacob and Esau has now become surrounded\nwith many fables. The following are the most remarkable. Esau on that\noccasion went forth in such haste to catch the venison, that he forgot\nto take with him Nimrod\u2019s garment, and therefore was not successful in\nhunting, as on former occasions, and Jacob took advantage of this\nforgetfulness to assume the embroidered coat.[376]\n\nAnd when the meat was ready, and Isaac began to eat thereof, he was\nthirsty, and there was no wine for him in the house. So an angel was\nsent to him out of Paradise, and brought him the juice of the grape that\ngrows there on the vine that was created before the foundations of the\nearth were laid.[377]\n\nIsaac was so angry at having been deceived by Jacob, that he was about\nto doom him to Gehinnom, after he said, \u201c_Where is he that hath taken\nvenison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest,\nand have blessed him?_\u201d But he paused to prepare his curse.\n\nThen God suddenly opened hell to him beneath his feet, and he looked\ninto it, and saw the abyss of fire and darkness, and his horror rendered\nhim speechless; but when he recovered his voice, he resolved that no\nchild of his should descend there; therefore he added, \u201c_Yea, and he\nshall be blessed._\u201d[378]\n\nThe Mussulmans relate the history of Esau and Jacob much as it stands in\nthe Book of Genesis. They add that the benediction of Esau was fulfilled\nin his having a son named Roum, from whom sprang the Greek and Roman\nempires.\n\nThis is also a Rabbinical tradition, for the Talmudists say that Esau\nhad a son named Eliphaz, who had a son, Zepho, from whom Vespasian and\nhis son Titus were descended, and thus they attribute the destruction of\nJerusalem to the struggle of Esau to break the yoke of Jacob from off\nhis neck.\n\nEsau is said by the Rabbis to have had four wives, in imitation of\nSatan, or Sammael, as has been already related.\n\nAbulfaraj says that Esau made war with Jacob, and was killed by him with\nan arrow.\n\nJacob feared Esau, for Esau said in his heart, \u201cI will not do as Cain\ndid, who slew his brother Abel in the lifetime of his father, after\nwhich his father begat Seth; but I will wait till the days of mourning\nfor my father are accomplished, and then I will kill Jacob, and so I\nshall be the sole heir.\u201d[379]\n\nTherefore Jacob went out only at night; during the day be hid himself\naway. Thus several years passed, and his life became intolerable to him.\nSo his mother said, \u201cThy uncle Laban, the son of Bethuel, has great\npossessions, and is very old. Go, and ask him to give thee his daughter;\nand if he consents, then tarry with him till thy brother\u2019s anger turn\naway.\u201d Jacob listened to the advice of his mother, and he fled away\nwithout letting Esau know.\n\nFive miracles were wrought for the patriarch Jacob, at the time when he\nwent forth from Beer-sheba. First, the hours of the day were shortened,\nand the sun went down before its time, because the Word desired to speak\nwith him; secondly, the four stones, which Jacob had set for his pillow,\nhe found in the morning had coagulated into one stone; thirdly, the\nstone which, when all the flocks were assembled, the shepherds rolled\nfrom the mouth of the well, he rolled away with one of his arms;\nfourthly, the well overflowed, and the water continued to flow all the\ndays he was in Haran. The fifth sign\u2014the country was shortened before\nhim, so that in one day he went forth and came to Haran.[380]\n\nAnd he prayed in the place where he rested, and took four stones of that\nplace, and set them for a pillow, and went asleep. Of these stones this\nis the history. They were twelve in number, and Adam had set them up as\nan altar. On them Abel had offered his sacrifice. The Deluge had thrown\nthem down, but Noah reared them once more. They had been again\noverthrown, but Abraham set them in their places, and of them built the\naltar on which to sacrifice Isaac. These twelve stones Jacob now found,\nand he placed them under his head as a pillow. But a great wonder was\nwrought, and in the morning the twelve stones had melted together into\none stone.[381]\n\nFinally, this stone, so ancient and with such a history, was carried to\nScotland, by whom I do not know, where it was placed at Scone, and was\nused for the consecration of the Scottish kings. Edward I. of England\nbrought it to London, and it was set beneath the chair of the Confessor,\nas the following lines, inscribed on a tablet, announced:\u2014\n\n           \u201cSi quid habent veri, vel chronica cana, fidesve,\n             Clauditur hac cathedra nobilis, ecce, lapis.\n           Ad caput eximius Jacob quondam patriarcha\n             Quem posuit cernens numina mira poli.\n           Quem tulit ex Scottis, spolians quasi victor honoris,\n             Edwardus primus, Mars velut omnipotens.\n           Scottorum domitor, noster validissimus Hector,\n             Anglorum decus, et gloria militi\u00e6.\u201d[382]\n\nThe stone may now be seen in Westminster Abbey.\n\nWhen Jacob\u2014to return to our narrative\u2014slept with his head on the pillow\nof stones, he dreamed, and beheld a ladder fixed in the earth, and the\nsummit of it reached to the height of heaven. And, behold! the angels\nwho had accompanied him from the house of his father, ascended to make\nknown to the angels on high, saying, \u201cCome, see Jacob the pious, whose\nlikeness is in the throne of glory, and whom you have been desirous to\nsee!\u201d These were the two angels who had been sent to Sodom to destroy\nit, and who had been forbidden to rise up to the throne of God again,\nbecause, say some, they had revealed the secrets of the Lord of the\nwhole earth, or because, say others, they had threatened in their own\nname to destroy the cities of the plain.\n\nThen the rest of the angels of God came down, at the call of these\ntwain, to look upon Jacob.\n\nAnd the Glory of the Lord stood above him, and He said to him, \u201cI am the\nLord God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which\nthou art lying I will give to thee and thy sons. And thy sons shall be\nmany as the dust of the earth, and shall become strong in the west and\nin the east, and in the north and in the south; and all the kindreds of\nthe earth shall be blessed through thy righteousness and the\nrighteousness of thy sons.\u201d\n\nWhen Jacob arrived at Haran, he saw a well in a field, and three flocks\nlying near it\u2014because from that well they watered the flocks\u2014and a great\nstone was laid upon the mouth of the well.\n\nAnd Jacob said to the shepherds, \u201cMy brethren, whence are ye?\u201d\n\nThey said, \u201cFrom Haran are we.\u201d\n\nAnd he said, \u201cKnow you Laban, son of Nahor?\u201d They answered, \u201cWe know\nhim.\u201d\n\nAnd he said, \u201cHath he peace?\u201d\n\nThey said, \u201cPeace; and behold, Rachel, his daughter, cometh with the\nsheep.\u201d\n\nAnd he said, \u201cBehold, the time of the day is great; it is not time to\ngather home the cattle; water the sheep.\u201d\n\nBut they said, \u201cWe cannot, until all the shepherds be gathered, and then\nwe can altogether roll away the stone.\u201d\n\nWhile they were speaking with him, Rachel came with her father\u2019s sheep;\nfor she was a shepherdess at that time, because there had been a plague\namong the sheep of Laban, and but few of them were left; and he had\ndismissed his shepherds, and had put the remaining flock before Rachel,\nhis daughter.\n\nThen Jacob went nigh, and rolled the stone which all the shepherds\ntogether could scarce lift, with one of his hands, and the well uprose,\nand the waters flowed, and he watered the sheep of Laban, his mother\u2019s\nbrother; and it uprose for twenty years.\n\nAnd Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.\n\nAnd Jacob told Rachel that he was come to be with her father, to take\none of his daughters. Then Rachel answered him: \u201cThou canst not dwell\nwith him, for he is a man of cunning.\u201d\n\nBut Jacob said, \u201cI am more cunning than he.\u201d\n\nAnd when she knew that he was the son of Rebekah, she ran, and made it\nknown to her father. And when Laban heard the account of the strength of\nJacob, his sister\u2019s son, and how he had taken the birthright and the\norder of blessing from the hand of his brother, and how the Lord had\nrevealed Himself to him in the way, and how the stone had been removed,\nand how the well had upflowed and risen to the brink,\u2014he ran and kissed\nhim, and led him into his house.\n\nLaban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of\nthe younger, Rachel. And the eyes of Leah were moist and running, from\nweeping and praying before the Lord, that He would not destine her for\nEsau the wicked.\n\nJacob served Laban seven years, and was given Leah to wife; and he\nserved seven years more, and he was given Rachel to wife; and he served\nsix years for cattle that Laban gave him; and then, seeing that Laban\u2019s\nface was set against him, he fled away secretly from Laban\u2019s house, and\nRachel stole the image that Laban worshipped. And this image was the\nhead of a man, a first-born, that Laban had slain, and he had salted it\nwith salt and balsams, and had written incantations on a plate of gold\nfor it, and this head spake to him and told him oracles, and Laban bowed\nhimself down before it.[383]\n\nJacob drew near to the land of Esau, and he feared that his enmity was\nnot abated; therefore he sent a message before him to his brother, and\nhe tarried all night at Mahanaim. And he sent a present before him to\nEsau to abate his anger.\n\nThe Book of Jasher gives some curious details on the meeting of the\nbrothers.\n\nJacob, trusting to the support of the Most High, besought Him to stand\nby him, and deliver him from the wrath of his brother. And God sent four\nangels to protect him; these angels went before him. The first who met\nEsau presented himself at the head of a thousand horsemen, armed at all\npoints, who fell upon the troop that accompanied Esau, and dispersed it.\nAs this body of men swept along, they shouted, \u201cWe are the servants of\nJacob; who can resist us?\u201d\n\nA second body followed, under the second angel; then a third phalanx,\nunder the third angel.\n\nEsau, trembling, exclaimed, \u201cI am the brother of Jacob. It is twenty\nyears since I saw him, and you maltreat me as I am on my way to meet\nhim!\u201d\n\nOne of the angels answered, \u201cIf Jacob, the servant of God, had not been\nthy brother, we would have destroyed thee and all thy men.\u201d\n\nThe fourth body passing, under the command of the fourth angel,\ncompleted the humiliation of Esau.\n\nHowever, Jacob, who knew not what assistance had been rendered him by\nHeaven, prepared for Esau, to appease him, rich presents. He sent him\nfour hundred and forty sheep, thirty asses, thirty camels, fifty oxen,\nin ten troops, each conducted by a faithful servant charged to deliver\nhis troop as a gift from Jacob to his brother Esau.\n\nThis consoled and pleased Esau, who, as soon as he saw Jacob again, was,\nby the grace of God, placed in a better mind, and the brethren met, and\nparted with fraternal love.[384]\n\nNow let us take another version of the story of this meeting.\n\nIt came to pass that Jacob spent one night alone beyond Jabbok, and an\nangel contended with him, having taken on him the body and likeness of a\nman. This angel was Michael, and the subject of their contention was\nthis:\u2014The angel said to Jacob, \u201cHast thou not promised to give the tenth\nof all that is thine to the Lord?\u201d And Jacob said, \u201cI have promised.\u201d\n\nThen the angel said, \u201cBehold thou hast ten sons and one daughter;\nnevertheless thou hast not tithed them.\u201d\n\nImmediately Jacob set apart the four first-born of the four mothers, and\nthere remained eight. And he began to number from Simeon, and Levi came\nup for the tenth.\n\nThen Michael answered and said, \u201cLord of the world, this is Thy lot.\u201d So\nLevi became the consecrated one to the Lord.\n\nOn account of this ready compliance with his oath, Michael was unable to\nhurt him, but he remained striving with Jacob, till the first ray of\nsunlight rose above the eastern hills.\n\nAnd he said, \u201cLet me go, for the column of the morning ascendeth, and\nthe hour cometh when the angels on high offer praise to the Lord of the\nworld: and I am one of the angels of praise; but from the day that the\nworld was created, my time to praise hath not come till now.\u201d\n\nAnd he said, \u201cI will not let thee go, until thou bless me.\u201d\n\nNow Michael had received commandment not to leave Jacob till the\npatriarch suffered him; and as it began to dawn, the hosts of heaven,\nwho desired to begin their morning hymn, came down to Michael and bade\nhim rise up to the throne of God and lead the chant; but he said, \u201cI\ncannot, unless Jacob suffer me to depart.\u201d[385]\n\nThus did God prove Jacob, as He had proved Abraham, whether he would\ngive to Him his son, when He asked him of the patriarch.\n\nBut, according to certain Rabbinic authorities, it was not Michael who\nwrestled with Jacob, but it was Sammael the Evil One, or Satan. For\nSammael is the angel of Edom, as Michael is the angel of Israel; and\nSammael went before Esau, hoping to destroy Jacob in the night. Sammael,\nsays the Jalkut Rubeni, met Jacob, who had the stature of the first man,\nand strove with him; but he could not do him an injury, for Abraham\nstood on his right hand, and Isaac on his left. And when Sammael would\npart from him, Jacob would not suffer it, till the Evil One had given\nhim the blessing which Jacob had purchased from Esau. And from that day\nSammael took from Jacob his great strength, and made him to halt upon\nhis thigh.[386]\n\nBut when Michael appeared before God\u2014we must now suppose the man who\nstrove with Jacob to have been the angel\u2014God said to him in anger, \u201cThou\nhast injured My priest!\u201d\n\nMichael answered, \u201cI am Thy priest.\u201d\n\n\u201cYea,\u201d said the Most High, \u201cthou art My priest in heaven, but Jacob is\nMy priest on earth. Why hast thou lamed him?\u201d\n\nThen Michael answered, \u201cI wrestled with him, and let him overcome me, to\nThy honour, O Lord; that, seeing he had overcome an angel of God, he\nmight have courage to go boldly to meet Esau.\u201d\n\nBut this was no excuse for having lamed him. Therefore Michael said to\nRaphael, \u201cOh, angel of healing! come to my aid.\u201d So Raphael descended to\nearth, and touched the hollow of Jacob\u2019s thigh, and it was restored as\nbefore.\n\nBut God said to Michael, \u201cFor this that thou hast done, thou shalt be\nthe guardian of Israel as long as the world lasteth.\u201d[387]\n\nJacob called the name of the place Peniel; for he said, \u201cI have seen the\nangel of the Lord face to face, and my soul is saved.\u201d And the sun rose\nupon him before its time, as, when he went out from Beer-sheba, it had\nset before its time.[388]\n\nAnd Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and\nwith him four hundred men of war. And he divided the children unto Leah,\nand to Rachel, and to the two concubines, and placed the concubines and\ntheir sons foremost; for he said, \u201cIf Esau come to destroy the children,\nand ill-treat the women, he will do it with them, and meanwhile we can\nprepare to fight; and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph\nafter them.\u201d[389] And he himself went over before them, praying and\nasking mercy before the Lord, and he bowed upon the earth seven times,\nuntil he met with his brother; but it was not to Esau that he bowed,\nthough Esau supposed he did, but to the Lord God Most High.[390]\n\nAnd Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell upon his neck and\nbit him, but by the mercy of God the neck of Jacob became marble, and\nEsau broke his teeth upon it; therefore it is said in the Book of\nGenesis that he _fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept_.[391]\nBut the Targumim apparently do not acknowledge that the neck of Jacob\nbecame marble, for the Targum of Palestine explains their weeping thus:\n\u201cEsau wept on account of the pain of his teeth, which were shaken; but\nJacob wept because of the pain of his neck;\u201d and the Targum of\nJerusalem, \u201cEsau wept for the crushing of his teeth, and Jacob wept for\nthe tenderness of his neck.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Lord God prospered Jacob,\u201d and he had one hundred and two times ten\nthousand and seven thousand (_i.e._ a thousand times a thousand, seven\nthousand and two hundred) sheep, and six hundred thousand dogs; but some\nRabbis say the sheep were quite innumerable, but when Jacob counted his\nsheep-dogs he found that he had twelve hundred thousand of them; others,\nhowever, reduce the number one-half. They say, one dog went with each\nflock, but those who say that there were twelve hundred thousand dogs,\ncount two to each flock.[392]\n\nJacob, says the Rabbi Samuel, could recite the whole of the\nPsalter.[393] Of course this must have been in the spirit of prophecy,\nas the Psalms were not written, with the exception of Psalm civ., which\nhad been composed by Adam.\n\nAdam, after his fall, had been given by God six commandments, but Noah\nwas given a seventh\u2014to this effect, that he was not to eat a limb or\nportion of any living animal. Abraham was given an eighth, the\ncommandment of circumcision; and Jacob was communicated a ninth, through\nthe mouth of an adder, that he was not to eat the serpent.[394]\n\nIf we may trust the Book of Jasher, the affair of Shechem, the son of\nHamor, was as follows:\u2014The men of the city were not all circumcised,\nonly some of them, so as to blind the eyes of the sons of Jacob, and\nthrow them off their guard; and Shechem and Hamor had privately\nconcerted to fall upon Jacob and his sons and butcher them; but Simeon\nand Levi were warned of their intention by a servant of Dinah, and took\nthe initiative.[395] But this is a clumsy attempt to throw the blame off\nthe shoulders of the ancestors of the Jewish nation upon those of their\nGentile enemies.\n\nJacob, say the Rabbis, would have had no daughters at all in his family,\nbut only sons, had he not called himself El-elohe-Israel (Israel is\nGod).[396] Therefore God was angry with him, for making himself equal\nwith God, and in punishment he afflicted him with a giddy daughter.[397]\n\nEsau, say the Mussulmans, had no prophets in his family except Job. All\nthe prophets rose from the family of Jacob; and when Esau saw that the\ngift of prophecy was not in his family, he went out of the land, for he\nwould not live near his brother.[398]\n\nThe father of the Israelites, from the land of Canaan which he\ninhabited, could smell the clothes of Joseph when he was in Egypt, being\na prophet; and thus he knew that his son was alive. He was asked how it\nwas that he divined nothing when his beloved son was cast into the pit\nby his brothers, and sold to the Ishmaelites. He replied that the\nprophetic power is sudden, like a lightning flash, piercing sometimes to\nthe height of heaven; it is not permanent in its intensity, but leaves\nat times those favoured with it in such darkness that they do not know\nwhat is at their feet.[399]\n\nThe Arabs say that Jacob, much afflicted with sciatica, was healed by\nabstaining from the meat he most loved, and that was the flesh of the\ncamel. At Jerusalem, say the Arabs, is preserved the stone on which\nJacob laid his head when he slept on his way to Haran.\n\nThe custom of saying \u201cGod bless you!\u201d when a person sneezes, dates from\nJacob. The Rabbis say that, before the time that Jacob lived, men\nsneezed once, and that was the end of them\u2014the shock slew them; but the\npatriarch, by his intercession, obtained a relaxation of this law,\nsubject to the condition that, in all nations, a sneeze should be\nconsecrated by a sacred aspiration.\n\nFootnote 360:\n\n  Maschmia Jeschua, fol. 19, col. 4.\n\nFootnote 361:\n\n  Nezach Israel, fol. 25, col. 3.\n\nFootnote 362:\n\n  Eisenmenger, ii. pp. 260, 304.\n\nFootnote 363:\n\n  Gen. xxv. 22.\n\nFootnote 364:\n\n  Jer. i. 5.\n\nFootnote 365:\n\n  Bereschith Rabba, fol. 56, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 366:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. 646.\n\nFootnote 367:\n\n  Ibid.\n\nFootnote 368:\n\n  Ibid., pp. 650-1.\n\nFootnote 369:\n\n  Targums. ed. Etheridge, i. p. 240.\n\nFootnote 370:\n\n  Ibid., p. 241.\n\nFootnote 371:\n\n  Ibid., also R. Bechai\u2019s Comment. on the Five Books of Moses, fol. 35,\n  col. i.\n\nFootnote 372:\n\n  Targum of Palestine and Jerusalem; Etheridge, i. 241, 242. The book\n  Yaschar says the deed of transfer was written by Jacob on a leaf, and\n  that he and Esau sealed it, p. 1151.\n\nFootnote 373:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 651.\n\nFootnote 374:\n\n  Gen. iii. 21.\n\nFootnote 375:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1150, where is the story of the assassination of Nimrod by\n  Esau.\n\nFootnote 376:\n\n  Ibid.\n\nFootnote 377:\n\n  Eisenmenger, ii. p. 879.\n\nFootnote 378:\n\n  Eisenmenger, ii. p. 262.\n\nFootnote 379:\n\n  Targums, i. p. 250.\n\nFootnote 380:\n\n  Targums, i. p. 252.\n\nFootnote 381:\n\n  Pirke R. Eliezer, c. 35.\n\nFootnote 382:\n\n  William Sanderson, Vita Mari\u00e6, reg. Scot., et Jacobi, reg. Anglorum;\n  also Beckmann, Notitiar. dignit. Dissert. 3, c. i. \u00a7 7.\n\nFootnote 383:\n\n  The whole of the above is from the Targumim.\n\nFootnote 384:\n\n  Jalkut Cadasch, fol. 81, col. 1; Yaschar, p. 1161 et seq.\n\nFootnote 385:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 486.\n\nFootnote 386:\n\n  Jalkut Rubeni, fol. 61, col. 3.\n\nFootnote 387:\n\n  Jalkut Cadasch, fol. 91, col. 4.\n\nFootnote 388:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, i. p. 272.\n\nFootnote 389:\n\n  Jacob prepared three things against Esau\u2014War, Gifts, and Prayer\u2014as a\n  token to all men that they must overcome evil by Resistance, by Alms,\n  and by Supplication. (R. Bechai, Comm. on the Five Books of Moses,\n  fol. 42, col. 4.)\n\nFootnote 390:\n\n  Jalkut Rubeni, fol. 62, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 391:\n\n  Bereschith rabba, fol. 71, col. 1 (70th Parascha).\n\nFootnote 392:\n\n  Bereschith rabba, fol. 67, col. 1.\n\nFootnote 393:\n\n  Jalkut Cadasch, fol. 90, col. 3.\n\nFootnote 394:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 325.\n\nFootnote 395:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 206.\n\nFootnote 396:\n\n  Gen. xxxiii. 20.\n\nFootnote 397:\n\n  Jalkut Cadasch, fol. 91, col. 3.\n\nFootnote 398:\n\n  Yaschar, pp. 1167, 1168.\n\nFootnote 399:\n\n  D\u2019Herbelot, Biblioth\u00e8que Orientale, s. v. Ais, i. p. 142.\n\n\n\n\n                                XXVIII.\n                                JOSEPH.\n\n\nJoseph\u2019s story is too attractive not to have interested intensely the\nOriental nations in any way connected with him, and therefore to have\nbecome a prey to legend and myth.\n\nJoseph, say the Mussulmans, was from his childhood the best loved son of\nhis father Jacob; but the old man not only loved him, but yearned after\nthe sight of him, for he was deprived of the custody of Joseph from an\nearly age. Joseph had been sent to his aunt, the sister of Isaac, and\nshe loved the child so dearly, that she could not endure the thought of\nparting with him. Therefore she took the family girdle, which she as the\neldest retained as an heirloom, the girdle which Abraham had worn when\nhe prepared to sacrifice his son, and she strapped it round Joseph\u2019s\nwaist.\n\nThen she drew him before the judge, and accused him of theft, and\nclaimed that he should be made over to her as a slave to expiate his\ntheft. And it was done so. Thus the child Joseph grew up in her house,\nand it was not till after her death that he returned to his father\nJacob.\n\nOne morning Joseph related to his father a dream that he had dreamt; he\nsaid that he and his brothers had planted twigs in the earth, but all\nthe twigs of his brothers had withered, whereas his own twig had brought\nforth leaves, and flourished.\n\nJacob was so immersed in thought over the dream, that he allowed a poor\nman who came begging to go away unrelieved, because unnoticed.[400] And\nthis act of forgetfulness brought upon him some trouble, as we shall\nsee.\n\nOne morning Joseph related to him another dream; he saw the sun, the\nmoon, and the stars bow down before him. Jacob could no longer doubt the\nsignificance of these dreams, which showed him how great Joseph would\nbe, but he cautioned him on no account to let his brothers know about\nthem, lest they should envy him.\n\nHe was so beautiful that he was called the Moon of Canaan, and he had on\none of his shoulders a luminous point like a star, a token that the\nspirit of prophecy rested upon him. The brothers of Joseph, however,\nheard of the dreams, and they were greatly enraged, and they said,\n\u201cJoseph and Benjamin are more loved of their father than we ten; let us\nkill Joseph, or drive him out of the country, and when we have done\nthis, we will repent at our leisure, and God will forgive us.\u201d[401]\n\nOne day the brothers went to feed their father\u2019s flock in Shechem. Then\nIsrael said to Joseph, \u201cDo not thy brethren feed in Shechem? I am afraid\nlest the Hivite come upon them and smite them, and repay on me what\nSimeon and Levi did to Shechem and Hamor, because of Dinah their sister.\nI will send thee to them to caution them to go elsewhere.\u201d\n\nAnd he said, \u201cI am ready.\u201d So Joseph arose, and went to Shechem; and\nGabriel, in the likeness of a man, found him wandering in the field. And\nhe said to him, \u201cThy brethren have journeyed hence. I heard of them,\nwhen I was in the presence of God, behind the veil, and that, from this\nday, the bondage of Egypt begins.\u201d[402]\n\nWhen Joseph came in sight, the brothers conspired to slay him, but Judah\nsaid, \u201cSlay not Joseph, for to slay is a crime; but cast him into a\nwell, on the way that the caravans pass, that he may be found by a\ncaravan, and be drawn out.\u201d Joseph was then aged seventeen.\n\nHis brethren fell on him and stripped him, and were about to cast him\ninto the well which was by the wayside to Jerusalem, when he said, \u201cO my\nbrothers, wherewith shall I cover my nakedness in this pit?\u201d\n\nThey replied, \u201cBid the sun, the moon, and the stars, which adored thee,\nbring thee clothes to cover thy nakedness.\u201d\n\nHaving thus mocked him, they let him down into the well. There was much\nwater in it; and a stone had fallen into it; on this Joseph stood, and\nwas above the surface of the water.[403] Not so, say the Rabbis, it was\ndry, but it was full of scorpions and adders.[404]\n\nJudah, according to the Mussulman account, had not consented to this, he\nbeing absent; and when he had learned what had been done, he took food\nand let it down into the well, and told Joseph to be of good cheer, his\nbrothers\u2019 anger would turn away, and then he would bring him back to\nthem. But the Jews say that Reuben was absent, as he was fasting on a\nmountain, because he had incurred his father\u2019s anger, and was in\ndisgrace, and he hoped, by restoring Joseph to Israel, to recover his\nfather\u2019s favour.\n\nThe sons of Jacob then slew a lamb and dipped the garment of Joseph in\nthe blood, and brought it to their father, and said, \u201cWe left Joseph in\ncharge of our clothes, and a wolf has fallen upon him, and has devoured\nhim.\u201d\n\nBut Jacob looked at the garment and said, \u201cI see that it is bloody, but\nI see no rents; the wolf was merciful to my son Joseph, for he ate him\nand left his garment whole!\u201d[405]\n\nThen Jacob went to commune with God, and the spirit of prophecy came\nupon him, and he said, \u201cNo wolf, no enemy has slain him, but a bad woman\nis against him.\u201d[406]\n\nNow Joseph was three days and three nights in the pit, but it was not\ndark, for the angel Gabriel hung in it a precious stone to give him\nlight.[407]\n\nThe brethren of Joseph, seeing that their father mistrusted them, said\nto him, \u201cWe will go and catch the wolf that slew Joseph.\u201d\n\nHe said, \u201cGo, and do so.\u201d\n\nSo they went and chased and caught a monstrous wolf, and they brought\nhim to their father and said, \u201cThis is the beast whereof we spoke to\nthee, that it had slain Joseph.\u201d\n\nBut God opened the mouth of the wolf, and he said, \u201cSon of Isaac,\nbelieve not the words of thy envious sons. I am a wolf out of a foreign\nland: I one morning lost my young one when I woke up, and I have been\nstraying in all directions to find it; is it likely that I, mourning\nover the loss of a wild cub, should attack and kill a young prophet?\u201d\n\nJacob released the wolf out of the hands of his sons, and he dismissed\nhis sons, for he abhorred the sight of their faces; only Benjamin, the\nbrother of Joseph, and the youngest child of Rachel, did he retain near\nhim.[408]\n\nOn the third morning, a party of Arabs passed near the well, and were\nthirsty. Now the chief of these Arabs was Melek-ben-Dohar; the second,\nwho accompanied Melek, was an Indian, a freed man of Melek, and his name\nwas Buschra.\n\nMelek reached the well carrying a bucket and a rope, and let down the\nbucket into the well. Then Joseph put his hand on it, and, however much\nMelek and Buschra pulled, they could not raise the bucket. Then Melek\nlooked down into the pit, and exclaimed: \u201cO Buschra, the bucket was\nheavy because a young man has hold of it.\u201d\n\nNow the face of Joseph illumined the well like a lamp: Buschra and Melek\ntried to raise Joseph, but they could not.\n\nThen Melek asked, \u201cWhat is thy name, and whence art thou?\u201d\n\nJoseph answered, \u201cI am a young man of Canaan; my brothers have cast me\ninto this cistern, but I am not guilty.\u201d\n\nMelek said to his companions, \u201cIf we tell the rest of the caravan that\nwe have drawn this youth out of the well, they will demand a share in\nthe price he will fetch. Now I can sell this youth for a large sum in\nEgypt. I will therefore tell my comrades that I have bought him from\nsome people who were at the well. Do thou say the same thing, and we\nwill share the money between us.\u201d\n\nNext day, being the fourth day, the brethren, finding that their\nfather\u2019s face was turned against them, went to the cistern to draw forth\nJoseph, and when they found him not, they went to the caravan, and they\nsaw Joseph among the Arabs.\n\nThen they asked, \u201cWhose is this lad?\u201d\n\nMelek-ben-Dohar replied, \u201cHe is mine.\u201d\n\nThey answered, \u201cHe belongs to us; he ran away from us.\u201d\n\nMelek replied, \u201cWell, I will give you money for him.\u201d[409]\n\nSo he bought him for twenty pieces of silver; thus each of the brothers\nobtained two drachm\u00e6, and therewith they bought shoes.[410] To this the\nprophet Amos refers in two places (ii. 6; viii. 6), and in the Testament\nof the Twelve Patriarchs, which is received as canonical by the Armenian\nChurch, Zebulun relates the same circumstance, that the brethren\nsupplied themselves with sandals from the money which they got by the\nsale of Joseph.\n\nJoseph went along with the Ishmaelites till they passed his mother\u2019s\ntomb; then his grief overcame him, and he burst forth into bitter tears\nand cried, \u201cO mother, mother! I am an outcast and a slave, I the child\nof the wife Jacob loved. When thou wast dying, thou didst show me to my\nfather, and bade him look on me, and be comforted for my loss. O mother,\nmother! hast thou no thought of thy son? Awake and see the miserable\ncondition of thy child; shake off thy sleep; be my defence against my\nbrethren, and comfort my father. Awake and stand up to judge my quarrel,\nawake and plead my cause with God! awake and look upon the desolation of\nthe soul of my father who cherished thee, and who for fourteen years\nserved a hard bondage for his beloved Rachel! Console him, I pray thee,\nand, by the voice that he loves, soothe the grief of his last days.\u201d\n\nIt was moonlight, and the caravan was resting.\n\nA low voice issued from the tomb. \u201cMy son! my son Joseph! my child! I\nhave heard the voice of thy crying. I know all thou hast suffered, my\nson, and my grief is as deep as the sea. But put thy trust in God, who\nis the help of thy countenance and thy God! Rise, my child, and have\npatience. If thou knewest the future, thou wouldst be comforted.\u201d[411]\n\nOne of the chiefs of the caravan, wearied with the cries of Joseph, came\nto drive him from the tomb, but suddenly a dark and threatening cloud\nappeared in the sky over his head, and he desisted in fear.\n\nIn the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, Benjamin says that a man\nstruck Joseph as he lagged on the way, whereupon a lion fell upon the\nman and slew him.\n\nThe sun was about to set, when the caravan entered Heliopolis, the chief\ncity of Egypt, which was then under the government of Rajjan, an\nAmalekite. Joseph\u2019s face shone brighter than the mid-day sun; and as\nthis new light from the east shone in the city, and cast the shadows\ntowards the declining sun, all the women and damsels ran out upon the\nterraces or to the windows to see.\n\nNext day he was placed for sale before the palace of the king. All the\nwealthy ladies of Heliopolis sent their husbands or relations to bid for\nthe beautiful youth, but he was purchased by Potiphar, the king\u2019s\ntreasurer,[412] who was childless, and designed making Joseph his\nadopted son and heir.\n\nZuleika,[413] Potiphar\u2019s wife, received him with great friendliness,\ngave him new clothes and a garden-house in which to live, as he would\nnot sit down to eat with the Egyptians. He was occupied in tending the\nfruit and the flowers in Potiphar\u2019s garden; and from her window Zuleika\nwatched him.\n\nThus Joseph served as gardener to Potiphar for six years.\n\nA graceful Arab legend of this period of Joseph\u2019s life deserves not to\nbe omitted.\n\nOne day an Ishmaelite passed the gate of Potiphar\u2019s garden, leading a\ncamel. As the beast approached Joseph, who was standing at the door, it\nbowed, refused to follow its master, and turning to Joseph, fell before\nhim, and shed tears over his feet.\n\nJoseph recognized the camel as having once belonged to his father, and\nhe remembered having often given it bread. He questioned the Ishmaelite,\nwho acknowledged he had purchased the beast from Israel.\n\nNow Joseph loved Zuleika as much as she loved him, but he did not\nventure to hope that he was precious to his mistress.\n\nOne day when a great feast of the gods was observed, all the household\nhad gone to the temple, save Zuleika, who pretended to be ill, and\nJoseph, who worshipped the One true God. Zuleika prepared a table with\nwine and fruit and sweet cakes, and invited Joseph to eat with her.\n\nHe was rejoiced, and his heart beat with passion; and when he took the\ngoblet of wine she offered him, he looked into her eyes, and saw that\nshe loved him. Then, says the Rabbi Ishmael in the Midrash, the form of\nhis father Jacob appeared in the window or doorway, and thus addressed\nhim: \u201cJoseph! hereafter the names of thy brothers engraven on gems shall\nadorn the breastplate of the High Priest, and shall thine be absent from\namong them?\u201d Then Joseph dug his ten fingers into the ground, and so\nconquered himself.[414]\n\nThe Mussulmans say also that Joseph was brought to his senses by seeing\nthe vision of his father in the door biting his finger reproachfully at\nhim.[415]\n\nWhen Potiphar returned home, Zuleika brought false accusations against\nJoseph, but a babe who was in its cradle, in the room,\u2014the child was a\nrelation of Zuleika,\u2014lifted up its voice in protest, and said,\n\u201cPotiphar, if you want to know the truth, examine the torn portion of\nthe garment. If it is from the front of the dress, then know that\nZuleika was struggling to thrust Joseph from approaching her; if from\nthe back, know that she was pursuing him.\u201d\n\nPotiphar obeyed the voice of the sucking child, and found that his wife\nhad spoken falsely, and that Joseph was innocent.[416]\n\nNow one of the neighbours had seen all that took place, for she was\nsick, and had not attended the feast, so the whole affair was soon a\nmatter of gossip throughout the town. Then Zuleika invited all the\nladies who had blamed her to a great feast in her house; and towards the\nclose of the banquet, when the fruit and wine were brought in, an orange\nand a knife were placed before each lady; and at the same moment Joseph\nwas brought into the room. The ladies, in their astonishment, cut their\nfingers in mistake for the oranges, for their eyes were fixed upon him,\nand they were amazed at his beauty; and the table was deluged with\nblood.\n\n\u201cThis,\u201d said Zuleika, \u201cis the youth on whose account you blame me. It is\ntrue that I loved him, but his virtue has opposed me; and now love is\nturned to hate, and I shall cast him into prison.\u201d[417]\n\nShe was as good as her word, and thus it fell out that Joseph was placed\nin the king\u2019s prison. But God would not suffer the innocent to be\npunished. He illumined his cell with a celestial light, made a fountain\nspring up in the midst of it, and a fruit-bearing tree to grow before\nthe door.[418]\n\nJoseph was five years in prison, and then the King of the Greeks, who\nwas warring against Egypt, sent an ambassador to Rajjan desiring peace.\nBut his true purpose was to throw him off his guard, that he might with\ntreachery destroy him. The ambassador sought the advice of an old Greek\nwoman who had long lived in Egypt. She said, \u201cI know of only one way of\naccomplishing what you desire, and that is to bribe the butler or the\nbaker of the king to poison him; but it would be better to put the drug\nin the wine than in the bread.\u201d\n\nThe ambassador then bribed the chief baker with much gold, and he\npromised to put poison in Pharaoh\u2019s meat. After that he told the old\nwoman that one of the two she had named to him had been persuaded to\ndestroy the king.\n\nThen the ambassador returned, and when he was gone, the woman disclosed\nall to Pharaoh, and she said, \u201cEither the butler or the baker has taken\na bribe to poison thee, O king.\u201d Thereupon the king cast both into\nprison, till it should be made manifest which was guilty. Now the name\nof the baker was Mohlib, and that of the butler was Kamra.\n\nAfter they had been in prison some time, they had dreams; and they told\ntheir dreams to Joseph.\n\nThe chief butler said, \u201cI saw in my dream, and, behold, a vine was\nbefore me. And in the vine were three branches; and as it sprouted it\nbrought forth buds, and immediately they ripened into clusters, and\nbecame grapes. And I saw till they gave the cup of Pharaoh into my hand,\nand I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh\u2019s cup, and I gave\nthe cup into Pharaoh\u2019s hand.\u201d\n\nAnd Joseph said to him, \u201cThis is the interpretation of the dream. The\nthree branches are the three Fathers of the world, Abraham, Isaac, and\nJacob, whose children are to be enslaved in Egypt in clay and brickwork,\nand in all labours of the face of the field; but afterward shall they be\ndelivered by the hand of three shepherds. As for the cup thou didst give\ninto Pharaoh\u2019s hand, it is the vial of the wrath of God, which Pharaoh\nis to drink at the last. But thou, the chief butler, shalt receive a\ngood reward: the three branches to thee are three days until thy\nliberation.\u201d\n\nJoseph, leaving his higher trust in God, now turned and reposed it in\nman, for he added, \u201cBe thou mindful of me when it shall be well with\nthee, and obtain my release from this prison-house.\u201d\n\nAnd the chief baker, seeing that Joseph had interpreted well, began to\nspeak with an impatient tongue, and said to Joseph, \u201cI also saw in my\ndream, and, behold, three baskets of hot loaves were upon my head; and\nin the upper basket of all, delicious meat for Pharaoh, made by the\nconfectioner; and the birds ate them from the basket upon my head.\u201d\n\nJoseph answered, \u201cThis is its interpretation. The three baskets are the\nthree enslavements with which the house of Israel are to be enslaved.\nBut thou, the chief baker, shalt receive an evil award. At the end of\nthree days, Pharaoh shall take away thy head from thy body, and will\nhang thee upon a gibbet, and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off\nthee.\u201d\n\nAnd it fell out as Joseph had foretold. But, because Joseph had\nwithdrawn from putting his trust in God, and had laid it on man,\ntherefore he was forgotten by the butler and left in prison for two\nyears more.[419]\n\nJoseph had now been seven years in prison, and this is why he had been\nso long there. Potiphar\u2019s wife persuaded her friends to bring against\nJoseph the same accusation that she had laid against him, and their\nhusbands complained to Pharaoh; so he was kept in prison that he might\nnot cause strife and evil in the city.[420]\n\nWhen the seven years were elapsed, one day the butler came to the prison\nand bade Joseph follow him, as the King had been troubled with a dream,\nand desired to have it explained. But Joseph refused to leave till his\ninnocence was proclaimed. He named to the butler the ladies who had\nattended the banquet of Zuleika, and before whom she had confessed that\nshe loved him, and besought that they might be called as witnesses\nbefore the king. Pharaoh agreed; the ladies, when interrogated, related\nall that had been said, and Zuleika herself confessed the truth.\n\nThen Pharaoh sent and fetched Joseph out of prison, and gave him his\nliberty.\n\n\u201cI dreamed,\u201d said the king, when Joseph stood before his throne, \u201cthat\nseven lean cows ate seven fat cows, and that seven empty husks ate seven\nfull ears of corn. What is the interpretation of this dream?\u201d\n\n\u201cGod will give thee seven fruitful years, and then seven years of\nfamine,\u201d answered Joseph. \u201cTherefore must thou gather together all the\nsuperfluity in the first seven years to sustain the starving people in\nthe seven years of dearth.\u201d[421]\n\nThe king was so well pleased with this interpretation, that he made\nJoseph his chief treasurer in Potiphar\u2019s room. Joseph went through all\nthe land, and purchased corn, which, on account of the good harvests,\nwas at a very low price.\n\nOne day as he rode out of the town to view his magazines, he observed a\nbeggar-woman whose whole appearance was most woe-begone, but bespoke her\nhaving seen better days. Joseph approached her with compassion, and held\nout to her a handful of gold. She hesitated about taking it, and said,\nsobbing, \u201cGreat prophet of God! I am not worthy to receive this at thy\nhand, though it was my love for thee which was the first step on the\nladder on which thou mountedst to thy present exaltation.\u201d And Joseph\nsaw that the poor beggar-woman was Zuleika, wife of Potiphar.\n\nHe asked about her husband, and learned that shortly after he had been\ndeposed from office, he had died of distress of mind and body. \u201cThou\nhast thought evil of me,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I have great excuses, thou wast\nso beautiful; and moreover I was young, and only a wife in name, for I\nam as I left my mother\u2019s womb, a maiden, with the seal of God upon me.\u201d\n\nThen Joseph was filled with joy. He extended his hands to her, and he\nbrought her to the king\u2019s palace, and she was treated there with care,\nas a sister, till she recovered her bloom and joy, and then Joseph took\nher to be his wife.[422] And by her he had two sons before the seven\nyears of dearth began, during which the Egyptians gave first their gold,\nthen their apparel, and all their moveable goods; then their land, then\ntheir slaves, and last of all themselves, their wives and children, as\nbondsmen, that they might have food.\n\nBut not only did Egypt suffer, the adjoining lands were also afflicted\nwith scarcity. There was no corn in Canaan, and Jacob sent his ten sons\ninto Egypt to buy corn, retaining Benjamin at home. He cautioned his\nsons not to create mistrust by their numbers, nor cause the evil eye to\nlight on them, and advised them to enter the city of Pharaoh by\ndifferent gates, for it had ten.\n\nBut Joseph expected that his brothers would be coming to Egypt, and\ntherefore he bade the gatekeepers every day bring him the names of those\nwho had entered the city. One day one porter gave him the name of\nReuben, son of Jacob; and so on to the tenth, Asher, son of Jacob.\nJoseph at once gave orders for every storehouse to be closed with the\nexception of one, and gave the keepers of the open magazine the names of\nhis brothers, and said to them, \u201cWhen these people arrive take them\nprisoners, and bring them before me.\u201d\n\nAnd when they appeared before him, he charged them with being spies:\n\u201cFor,\u201d said he, \u201cif ye were true men, ye would have come in together;\nbut ye entered by different gates, and that shows that ye are set upon\nevil.\u201d[423]\n\nWhen, to excuse themselves, they told their family history, he bade them\ngo and bring Benjamin down to him, and, to secure their return, he kept\nSimeon in prison as hostage.\n\nWhen Joseph wanted to imprison Simeon, his brothers desired to assist\nhim by force, but Simeon refused their assistance. Joseph ordered\nseventy fighting men of Pharaoh\u2019s body-guard to cast him down and\nhandcuff him. But when they approached, Simeon gave a scream, and the\nseventy fell back on the ground, and their teeth went down their\nthroats. \u201cHah!\u201d said Joseph to his son Manasseh, who stood near him,\n\u201cthrow a chain about his neck.\u201d\n\nManasseh dealt Simeon a blow, and chained him. \u201cThen,\u201d said Simeon,\n\u201cthis blow comes from one of the family.\u201d[424]\n\nJacob, reluctant to part with Benjamin, was however obliged to do so,\nbeing pressed with famine. Joseph received the brethren, measured out to\nthem the wheat, and, by his orders, his steward secretly put the silver\ncup of Joseph into the sack of Benjamin. Then at the gate of the city\nthey were charged with theft, and were brought back to the palace of\nJoseph.\n\n\u201cWhat is the penalty due to him who has stolen my cup?\u201d asked Joseph.\n\n\u201cLet him be thy slave,\u201d answered the brethren, feeling confident in\ntheir innocence. But when the sacks were opened, and his cup was found\nin that of Benjamin, they said to their youngest brother, \u201cWoe to thee!\nwhat hast thou done? Wast thou resolved to follow the example of thy\nlost brother, who stole his grandfather Laban\u2019s idol, and his aunt\u2019s\ngirdle?\u201d\n\nBut as they had sworn to their father to restore Benjamin to him, they\nbesought Joseph to take one of them in the place of Benjamin. But Joseph\npersisted that he would keep Benjamin.\n\nThen said Reuben to his brothers, \u201cGo back to our father, and tell him\nall that has occurred; I, the eldest of you, who undertook on the\nsecurity of my life to bring Benjamin home, must remain here till he\nhimself calls me back, for he will see that we have stood hostages for a\nthief.\u201d[425]\n\nNow Reuben had a fierce temper, and when he became furious, all the down\nor hair on his skin bristled and penetrated his clothes like needles; he\npulled off his head-gear, and uttered a scream so terrible that all who\nheard it died of terror. This frenzy of Reuben\u2019s could only be abated by\none of the family of Jacob placing his hand upon him. Reuben went up to\nJoseph, and said, \u201cO great one of Egypt. I am in a rage; and if I scream\nout, all who hear me will die of fright. Restore to me my brother, or I\nshall scream, and then thou and all the inhabitants of Egypt will\nperish.\u201d\n\nJoseph knowing that Reuben spoke the truth, and seeing his hair\nbristling through his clothes like needle-points, and knowing also that\nif any one of the house of Jacob were to lay his hand on the body of\nReuben, his force would pass away,\u2014he said to Ephraim, his son, \u201cGo\nsoftly, so that Reuben may not observe thee, and lay thine hand upon his\nshoulder that his anger may abate.\u201d Ephraim did as he was bidden, and\ninstantly the hairs of Reuben sank, and his fury passed away, and he\nfelt that the power to scream was gone from him.\n\nThen Joseph said calmly, \u201cI shall retain Benjamin, do what you will.\u201d\n\nReuben made an effort to scream, but it was unavailing. Then\nastonishment got hold of him, and he said to Joseph, \u201cI think that there\nmust be one of the family of Jacob in this house.\u201d[426]\n\nThen Joseph ordered Benjamin to be chained. And when Judah saw this, he\nroared like a lion, and his voice was so piercing, that Chuschim, the\nson of Dan, who was in Canaan, heard him, and began to roar also.\n\nAnd Judah drew his sword, and roared, and pursued the Egyptian soldiers\nsent to bind Benjamin, and the fear of him fell on them all, and they\nfell, and he smote them up to the gates of the king\u2019s palace; and he\nroared again, and all the walls of Memphis rocked, and the earth shook,\nand Pharaoh was shaken off his throne and fell on his face, and the roar\nof Judah was heard four hundred miles off.\n\nJoseph feared to be killed by Judah. When Judah was angry, blood spirted\nfrom his right eye. Judah wore five sets of clothes upon him, one above\nanother; and when he was angry, his heart swelled so as to tear them\nall. Joseph, fearing him, roared at him, and his voice shivered a pillar\nof the palace into fine dust, so that Judah thought, \u201cThis is a great\nhero! he can master me.\u201d[427]\n\nThen said Judah to Joseph, \u201cLet our brother go, or we will devastate\nthis land.\u201d\n\nThen Joseph answered, \u201cGo home, and tell your father that a wild beast\nhas devoured him.\u201d\n\nThen Judah beckoned to his brother Naphtali, who was very swift of foot,\nand said to him, \u201cRun speedily and count all the streets in Egypt, and\ncome swiftly back and tell me.\u201d\n\nBut Simeon said, \u201cThere is no need; I will break a stone out of the\nmountains and throw it down on the land of Egypt, and will utterly\ndestroy it.\u201d[428]\n\nThen Joseph saw that it was not well to press them further; so he took a\nbowl, and filled it, and looked into it as though he were divining by\nit, and said suddenly, \u201cYe are liars! Ye told me that your brother\nJoseph was dead, and behold he is alive, and I see him in this bowl! Ye\nsold him.\u201d\n\nThen he bade Zuleika bring the deed of sale, and he handed it to Judah.\nThereupon the brothers knew him, and fell down before him, and besought\nhim to pardon them.\n\nThen he told them how God had exalted him, and he comforted their\nhearts, and after that he asked news of his father.\n\nThey replied, \u201cHe is blind with grief at having to part with Benjamin.\u201d\n\nTherefore Joseph said, \u201cTake my shirt and go to my father, and pass my\nshirt before his face, and he will recover his sight. Then take all that\nyou have, and come down into Egypt.\u201d[429]\n\nWhen the caravan left Memphis, the sons of Jacob carried with them\nabundance of corn and the shirt of Joseph; and the wind was in their\nbacks, and blew the scent of the shirt from the gate of Memphis into\nCanaan. And Jacob snuffed the wind, and said, \u201cO women! O children! I\ncan smell Joseph.\u201d\n\nThey all thought, \u201cHe is deranged,\u201d but they said, \u201cIt is forty years\nsince Joseph died, and thou canst think of nothing else; thou art always\ninsisting that he is alive.\u201d\n\nWhen the caravan was near the dwelling of Jacob, Judah brought the shirt\nof Joseph in, and said, \u201cOn the day upon which I bore the bloody coat of\nJoseph, I said a wolf had devoured him. Now I bring thee good news.\u201d And\nhe cast the shirt upon the face of his father, and Jacob recovered his\nsight.[430]\n\nThe story in the Sepher Hadjaschar, or Book of Jasher, is more poetical.\nAs the sons were approaching the home of their father, Sarah, the\nadopted daughter of Asher, came to meet them. She was very beautiful and\ngraceful and modest, and could play sweetly on the harp. They gave her\nthe kiss of peace, and told her the tidings. Then she went singing home,\naccompanying her words upon the harp, \u201cJoseph is not dead, God has been\nhis protector, and he lives, and is governor in Egypt; rejoice and be\nglad of heart!\u201d Then Jacob was filled with hope and consolation, and he\nsaid, \u201cBecause thou hast revived my spirit, my daughter, death shall\nnever seize on thee.\u201d[431]\n\nAfter that, Jacob went down into Egypt, that he might see his son Joseph\nbefore he died. And when they met, they fell on one another\u2019s neck and\nwept, and kissed; and Jacob said to his son, \u201cTell me, I pray thee, what\nevil thy brothers did to thee.\u201d But Joseph answered, \u201cNay, my father, I\nwill tell thee only how great good the Lord did to me.\u201d\n\nWe have heard how that Joseph married Zuleika, the wife of Potiphar, but\nthis is not a universal tradition. It is said in Genesis that he had to\nwife Asenath, daughter of Potipherah, priest of On. Many suppose that\nthis Asenath was the daughter of Potiphar, the old master of Joseph, and\nthat her mother was Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and the following\nstory is related of Asenath:\u2014\n\nShe was a maid of wondrous beauty, of which she was very proud, and she\ngreatly despised all men, though she had never seen any, saving her\nfather. She dwelt in a tower next to her father\u2019s house, ten stories\nhigh, which contained everything that the eye could desire, and also\nidols in gold and silver, which she daily worshipped. Asenath was as\ntall as Sarah, as comely as Rebekah, and as beautiful as Rachel.\n\nNow Joseph, being on his way through Egypt, sent down to the priest\nPotipherah, to command him to bring his daughter before him. Thereupon\nPotipherah was glad, and told his daughter that Joseph, the Strength of\nGod, was coming, and that she should become his wife. At this Asenath\nwas very indignant, and spoke angry words of Joseph, declaring that she\nwould be wife to no man, saving to a king\u2019s son. Now, while she thus\nspake, Joseph came, seated in the chariot of Pharaoh, which was all of\ngold, drawn by four horses white as snow, with gilt reins. And Joseph\nwas dressed in a radiant tunic, with gold embroidery, and a robe of\ncrimson woven with gold hung from his shoulders, and a fillet of gold\nwas about his temples, and in his hand was an olive branch, full of\nfruit.\n\nThen Potipherah came with his wife, and did him homage. Joseph entered\nthe hall, and the doors were shut, and Asenath beheld him, and she was\ntroubled at what she had said of him, and thought, \u201cThis is the sun come\nfrom heaven; I knew not before that Joseph was divine. What father hath\nbegotten so much beauty, or what mother borne so much light?\u201d\n\nThen Joseph said, \u201cWho was that woman that was here, but hath gone?\u201d for\nAsenath had hastened to her chamber.\n\nAnd Potipherah said, \u201cMy lord, my daughter is a maiden, and very modest;\nshe hath, till this day, seen no man save myself. If it please thee, she\nshall come and salute thee.\u201d\n\nThen Joseph said, \u201cIf thy daughter be a maiden, I will treat her as a\nsister.\u201d\n\nThey brought her into his presence, and Potipherah said to her, \u201cSalute\nthy brother, who hateth women as thou hatest men.\u201d\n\nAnd Asenath said, \u201cHail, blessed of God, who giveth life to all!\u201d\n\nThen Potipherah bade his daughter kiss Joseph, but when she approached\nhim, he thrust forth his hand and said, \u201cIt becomes not the man\nworshipping the living God to kiss an outlandish woman whose lips kiss\ndumb idols.\u201d\n\nAsenath, hearing these words, fell into great grief and wept. Joseph had\ncompassion on her, and laid his hand on her head and blessed her, and\nAsenath was glad because of his benediction. But she went to her couch\nin the tower, and was ill with fear and pain, and she turned with\npenitence from her idols, and renounced them, and cast them out of her\nwindow.\n\nJoseph ate and drank, and went his way, promising to return in eight\ndays. Then Asenath put on a black robe, and closed her door and prayed,\nand cast her food to the dogs, and laid her head on the pavement, and\nwept seven days.\n\nThen an angel visited her, and gave her honey gathered from the roses of\nParadise; and the honey was so sweet, that when she had tasted it she\ncould not doubt whence it had come, and she felt herself enlightened by\nthe true God; and the angel signed the honey with the cross, and the\ntrace of his finger was blood. Along with faith and hope, charity\nenlightened her heart, and she besought of the angel to give of this\nhoney to the seven maidens who attended on her; and when they had\nobtained this favour, they all became like their mistress, servants of\nthe Most High. Then the angel bade her lay aside her tears and black\ngarment, and rejoice, for her prayer was heard.\n\nAt that moment one of the servants of Potipherah entered, saying,\n\u201cBehold, Joseph, the Strength of God, approaches; go ye out to meet\nhim.\u201d\n\nNow when Joseph had alighted down from his chariot, he came into the\nhall; and when he knew that Asenath had cast away her idols, he rejoiced\ngreatly, and he sought her in marriage of Potipherah, and the Priest of\nOn made a great supper, and gave his daughter to Joseph, and he called\nJoseph the lord of lords, and Asenath he called the daughter of the Most\nHigh.[432]\n\nFootnote 400:\n\n  This was Sammael, and he complained to God that Jacob had neglected\n  the duty of hospitality, therefore he was suffered to afflict him for\n  a season.\n\nFootnote 401:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 210.\n\nFootnote 402:\n\n  Targums, i. p. 287.\n\nFootnote 403:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 211.\n\nFootnote 404:\n\n  Targums, i. p. 288. The account of the sale in Yaschar is very long,\n  and full of details too numerous for insertion here (pp. 1185-8.)\n\nFootnote 405:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 212.\n\nFootnote 406:\n\n  Targums, i. 289.\n\nFootnote 407:\n\n  Weil, p. 102.\n\nFootnote 408:\n\n  Yaschar, tr. Drachs, p. 1192.\n\nFootnote 409:\n\n  Tabari, i. pp. 213, 214.\n\nFootnote 410:\n\n  Targums, i. 288.\n\nFootnote 411:\n\n  Yaschar, pp. 1188-9; Parrascha Wajescheb. This touching incident is\n  common to Rabbinic and Mussulman traditions. It has been gracefully\n  versified by Dr. Le Heris, \u201cSagen aus der Orient;\u201d Mannheim, 1852.\n\nFootnote 412:\n\n  His name in Arabic is Aziz.\n\nFootnote 413:\n\n  Zuleika is the name in Yaschar; it is that also given her by the\n  Arabs.\n\nFootnote 414:\n\n  Tract. Sota., fol. 36, col. 2. The original account of this final\n  detail is too absurd and monstrous to be narrated more particularly.\n\nFootnote 415:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 217.\n\nFootnote 416:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1197. Nearly all these incidents in the life of Joseph are\n  common to Jewish and Mussulman traditions.\n\nFootnote 417:\n\n  Tabari, p. 220; Weil, p. 112; both taken from the Rabbinic story in\n  Yaschar, p. 1195.\n\nFootnote 418:\n\n  Weil, p. 113.\n\nFootnote 419:\n\n  Targums, i. pp. 296-9; Midrash, fol. 45; Yaschar, p. 1200.\n\nFootnote 420:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 45.\n\nFootnote 421:\n\n  Weil, p. 116; Tabari, i. c. 44; Gen. xli.; Yaschar, pp. 1202-8.\n\nFootnote 422:\n\n  This conclusion of the loves of Zuleika and Joseph completes the\n  romance, and makes it a most popular subject for poets in the East.\n  Both Jewish and Mussulman traditions give Zuleika a very different\n  character from that which Holy Scripture leads one to attribute to\n  her.\n\nFootnote 423:\n\n  Midrash, Jalkut, fol. 46.\n\nFootnote 424:\n\n  Ibid.\n\nFootnote 425:\n\n  Weil, p. 122.\n\nFootnote 426:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 247; taken from the Rabbinic Yaschar (Sepher Hajaschar),\n  p. 1226.\n\nFootnote 427:\n\n  Midrash, Jalkut, fol. 47; Yaschar, p. 1225; Berescheth Rabba, fol. 84,\n  col. 4.\n\nFootnote 428:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1226.\n\nFootnote 429:\n\n  This was the shirt given Abraham by Gabriel, to preserve him from the\n  fire into which Nimrod cast him; it was fragrant with the odours of\n  Paradise.\n\nFootnote 430:\n\n  Koran, Sura xii.; Tabari, i. pp. 250, 251.\n\nFootnote 431:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1227.\n\nFootnote 432:\n\n  Vita Asseneth, fili\u00e6 Potipharis; a Greek apocryphal book, in\n  Fabricius, iii. p. 85.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXIX.\n                THE TESTAMENTS OF THE TWELVE PATRIARCHS.\n\n\nThe \u201cTestaments of the Twelve Patriarchs\u201d is one of the seventy-two\napocryphal books of the Old Testament which were at one time in\ncirculation, and, according to Epiphanius, it formed one of the\ntwenty-two canonical books sent by the Jews to Ptolemy, king of\nEgypt.[433]\n\nIt is a work of Jewish origin, which has been tampered with and\ninterpolated by Christian copyists. S. Augustine numbers it with the\nApocrypha; he says, \u201cThere are the apocryphal books of the Old\nTestament: the works falsely attributed to Enoch, the Patriarchs, the\nDiscourse of Joseph, the Assumption of Moses, the pseudographia of\nAbraham, Eldad and Medad, Elias the prophet, the prophet Zephaniah,\nZechariah, Baruch, Habakkuk, Ezekiel, and Daniel.\u201d\n\nCuriously enough, the Testament of the Patriarchs contains a large\nnumber of alleged quotations from the Book of Enoch, which are not,\nhowever, to be found in that book as we now have it.\n\nThis Testament was read by the Jews at the time of Christ\u2019s coming, and\nS. Paul seems to have been acquainted with it, for he quotes it,\n\u201c_Awake, thou that steepest, and arise from the dead_;\u201d[434] and again\nhe quotes the Testament of Levi, \u201c_The wrath is come upon them to the\nuttermost._\u201d[435] S. Jerome remarks on this, \u201cThe Apostle Paul quoted\nfrom the hidden prophets and from those books which are called\nApocrypha,\u201d and he adds, \u201cThat he did so in several other places is very\nevident.\u201d[436] And Origen says, \u201cIt is evident that many examples were\nquoted and inserted in the New Testament by the Apostles and the\nEvangelists from those Scriptures which we do not read as canonical, but\nthese passages are found in the apocryphal books, and it is evident that\nthese passages were extracted from them;\u201d and he gives the reason why\nthat was lawful to the Apostles which is not lawful to us.\n\nHe says, \u201cIt may have been, that the Apostles and Evangelists, filled\nwith the Holy Ghost, may have known what was to be taken from these\nwritings and what was to be rejected; but for us to presume to do such a\nthing would be full of danger, not having the Spirit in the same measure\nto guide us.\u201d[437]\n\nRobert Grost\u00eate, Bishop of Lincoln, translated the Testament of the\nTwelve Patriarchs into Latin, in 1242, according to Matthew Paris.\n\u201cAlso, in this time, Robert, Bishop of Lincoln, a man most skilled in\nLatin and Greek, translated accurately the Testaments of the Twelve\nPatriarchs from the Greek into Latin; which for many years had been\nunknown and concealed, through the jealousy of the Jews, because of the\nprophecies concerning our Saviour therein contained. But the Greeks, the\nmost indefatigable investigators of all writings, being the first who\nlearnt about this, translated it from Hebrew into Greek, and kept it to\nthemselves until our own time. For in the time of S. Jerome, or of any\nother holy interpreter, it could not in any way whatever come to the\nknowledge of the Christians, on account of the scheming malice of the\nJews. Therefore the above-named Bishop, assisted by Master Nicholas, a\nGreek, and clerk to the Abbey of S. Albans, translated clearly,\nevidently, and word for word, into Latin, that glorious treatise, to the\nstrengthening of the Christian faith, and to the greater confusion of\nthe Jews.\u201d[438]\n\nThe Testaments were published by Grabe, at Oxford, in 1698, and were\nrepublished by Fabricius in his \u201cCodex Pseudepigraphus Vet. Testamenti,\u201d\nat Hamburg, in 1722.[439]\n\nFootnote 433:\n\n  Lib. de Mensuris et Ponderibus, \u00a7 10.\n\nFootnote 434:\n\n  Ephes. v. 14.\n\nFootnote 435:\n\n  Thess. ii. 16.\n\nFootnote 436:\n\n  Commen. in Eph. loc. cit.\n\nFootnote 437:\n\n  Prolog. in fin. Duarum Hom. in Cant. Canticorum.\n\nFootnote 438:\n\n  Matt. Paris, Chronicle, ed. Bohn, vol. i. pp. 437, 438.\n\nFootnote 439:\n\n  T. i., pp. 496-759.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XXX.\n                                  JOB.\n\n\nJob was the great grandson of Esau. He was the son of Amos, the son of\nZara, the son of Esau, and he had to wife Rahma, daughter of Ephraim,\nson of Joseph. Ephraim left two sons who were prophets after him; but\namongst the children of Esau there was no prophet, saving Job.\n\nJob was more patient than any other prophet; therefore it is said of him\nin the Koran, \u201cCertainly we have found this excellent servant\npatient.\u201d[440]\n\nThe Rabbis say that Job, Jethro, and Balaam were King Pharaoh\u2019s three\ncouncillors, and they were also his chief magicians. They, by their\nenchantments, drew a line round the land of Egypt, so that no slave\ncould escape out of it; for when he came to the line, he was held back\nand could not overleap it. But when the Israelites broke away and\ndisregarded the enchanted line, Job, Jethro, and Balaam gave up their\nwitchcrafts, and turned to the service of the living God.[441]\n\nJob lived in Bashan, which lies between Damascus and Ramla, and there he\nreigned as a prince. Job had five hundred yoke of oxen, and to every\nyoke there was a she-ass to carry the instruments of husbandry. He had\nalso a thousand flocks of sheep, and a thousand sheep in each flock. He\nhad ten children, seven sons and three daughters; all were grown\nup.[442]\n\nIn the \u201cTestament of Job,\u201d[443] we read that this great man, illumined\nby the Divine light, comprehended that the idols which his people adored\nwere no gods, and that there was but one only true God, the Creator and\nPreserver of all things. There was near his house an idol which\nattracted great worship. He prayed the Lord to show him whether this\nidol were a demon or not; and he promised, in that case, to destroy it\nand purify the place; and this he was able to do, being a sovereign.\n\nGod sent him an angel, who illumined him, and strengthened him in his\nresolution. So he destroyed the idol, and abolished its worship. But\nthis act drew upon him the wrath of Satan. The angel had foreseen the\ndisasters which would befall Job if he resolved to strive against the\nEvil One, and he had warned Job what to expect; but Job answered that,\nbeing convinced of the truth, he was ready to suffer for it.\n\nSatan presented himself at the door of Job\u2019s house. He had taken upon\nhim the form of a pilgrim, and he said to the portress, \u201cI desire to see\nthe faithful servant of the Most High.\u201d\n\nNow Job, who had received the gift of prophecy, knew that this was the\nEvil One, and he refused to see him, saying to the gate-keeper when she\nbrought the message, \u201cTell him that I am occupied, and that I cannot\nreceive him.\u201d\n\nSatan retired, but he returned soon after, disguised as a beggar, and he\nsaid to the portress, \u201cGo and ask Job to give me a morsel of bread.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell him,\u201d replied Job, \u201cthat I will not give him of the bread I eat,\nbecause I will not have anything in common with him. But offer him this\nburnt crust, that he may not say I sent him empty away.\u201d\n\nThe servant, not venturing to give the burnt crust, because she was not\naware who the beggar was, offered him some good bread. But Satan, who\nknew what Job had commanded, thrust it away, saying, \u201cBegone, bad\nservant, and bring me the bread you were told to give me.\u201d\n\nThe portress replied: \u201cYou say well, I am a bad servant, for I have not\ndone that which I was commanded to do. Here is the crust my master\nordered me to give you. He will not have anything in common with you;\nno! not even the bread he eats; but he sends you this, that it may not\nbe said of him that he dismissed thee empty from his door without an\nalms.\u201d\n\nSatan took the charred crust, and bade the servant tell Job that he\nwould soon render to him such measure as he had dealt to him.[444]\n\nThen Satan ascended to God, and desired permission to afflict and prove\nJob. And when leave was given him, he descended to earth, and breathed\nsuch a hot blast, that all the cattle, and sheep, and servants of Job\nwere burnt up. Then Satan took the form of a slave, and ran and told the\nprophet. Job answered, \u201c_The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;\nblessed be the name of the Lord!_\u201d\n\nThen Satan went and shook the earth under the house where the sons and\ndaughters of Job were assembled, and the house fell and destroyed them\nall.\n\nSatan immediately hastened in the disguise of a servant to Job, and told\nhim what had taken place. He said, \u201cO Job! God has shaken down the house\nabout your children, and they are dead. Had you seen their bleeding\nfaces and broken limbs, and their brains bespattering the stones, and\nhad heard their piercing cries, you would have been heart-broken.\u201d\n\nJob wept, and lifted his eyes to God; and he knew who addressed him, and\nhe said, \u201cSatan! it is thou who comest to tempt me and to cast doubt\ninto my heart, and mistrust in the wisdom and goodness of God; get thee\nhence.\u201d\n\nSatan then blew a hot breath up the nose of Job, and poisoned all his\nblood. His body became scarlet next day, and the day after was covered\nwith ulcers from head to foot; there was no whole place in him, except\nthe head, the tongue, the eyes, and the heart; for over these portions\nGod had not given Satan power.\n\nAll Job\u2019s friends deserted him and fled; Rahma,[445] his wife, alone\nremained, and she spent on him the rest of his possessions, but he was\nnot cured of his disease. And this was why all his possessions\nwent\u2014Satan stole them away; and thus in a short time he was reduced to\npenury, and Rahma went from house to house begging alms for his support.\n\nSatan saw that he could not triumph so long as the wife remained with\nher husband; she was a comfort and joy to him, and he cared not for\npossessions, or children, or health, so long as his wife was at his\nside; therefore, he sought occasion to separate them. One day, as Rahma\nwas carrying food to Job, Satan presented himself before her in the form\nof an old man, and asked her, \u201cO Rahma! art thou not the daughter of\nEphraim, the son of Joseph?\u201d She replied, \u201cI am.\u201d\n\nThen said the Evil Angel, \u201cIn what condition do I see thee?\u201d She\nanswered, \u201cMy husband Job has fallen into poverty, and I serve him.\u201d\n\nHe said, \u201cDo not serve him, for when thou touchest him, the poison of\nhis disease passes into thy veins.\u201d\n\nShe replied, \u201cHe is my husband, and I must attend on him as long as I\nlive, in health or sickness.\u201d\n\nThen Satan retired, despairing of seducing her from her duty. Rahma told\nJob all that had been said to her.\n\nThe prophet said, \u201cO woman! he whom you have seen is Satan, and he\ndesired to separate us. Do not speak to him again when he addresses\nyou.\u201d\n\nSome time after, the Evil One presented himself before the faithful wife\nunder the form of a beautiful youth; and said to her, \u201cWhat woman art\nthou, who art so radiant in beauty?\u201d She answered, \u201cI am the wife of a\npoor man, named Job.\u201d\n\nHe said, \u201cO woman! what hast thou, with thy wondrous beauty, to do with\na poor sick husband? Go, be divorced from thy husband, and marry me. I\nhave great possessions, and I will treat thee as a queen.\u201d\n\nShe answered, \u201cI am the wife of a prophet; I desire nothing higher.\u201d\n\nThen Satan withdrew, despairing of seducing her from her duty. Rahma\ntold Job all that had been said to her.\n\nJob said, \u201cO woman! did I not tell thee to speak with him no more; why\nhast thou disobeyed my voice? That was Satan, and he sought to separate\nus. Do not speak to him again when he addresses thee.\u201d\n\nSome time after, the Evil One presented himself before the faithful\nwife, under the form of an angel; and said to her, \u201cO woman, daughter of\na prophet! I am an angel sent from God with a message to thee.\u201d\n\nShe said, \u201cWhat message?\u201d\n\nHe said, \u201cBehold the Most High is wroth with Job, for he renders no\nthanks for all the good things He gave to him; therefore hath the Lord\nrejected him from being a prophet, and he shall fall from worse to\nworse, till he is cast into the flames of hell; we, the angels of God,\ncurse him, and do thou, daughter of a prophet, avoid him, lest thou come\ninto the same condemnation.\u201d\n\nWhen Rahma heard these words, she wept, and said, \u201cAfter so many\nafflictions, shall the name of Job be taken from the number of the\nprophets? And after so many sufferings shall he perish everlastingly?\u201d\n\nThen she went to Job and told him all that had been said to her.\n\nJob was greatly angered when she told him the tenor of the words, and he\ncried out, \u201cHave I not warned thee these two times not to speak with\nhim, who is the author of my affliction? Wait till I am well, and I will\ngive thee a hundred strokes with a rod.\u201d[446]\n\nBut the story is told differently by others. It is said that the third\ntime Satan appeared as a baker, and Rahma wanted bread, but had nought\nto pay. Then said the pretended baker, \u201cThou hast locks of very\nbeautiful hair; cut off thy hair and give it to me, and thou shalt take\nthe largest of my loaves.\u201d\n\nThen she cut off three locks and gave them to him.\n\nAnd when Job saw that she had done this, he was filled with fury, and he\nswore that when he was well he would beat her for having cut off her\nhair.[447]\n\nThus Satan triumphed in making Job to sin by swearing, and threatening\nto ill-treat a true and good woman.\n\nNext the Evil One went as an angel, and announced to all the people of\nthe land that he came from God to declare to them that Job was no more\nreckoned among the prophets; and that they were not to trust his words\nand believe his doctrine, but were to return to the worship of those\ngods he had blasphemed and cast out.\n\nSoon after, Job heard his three friends, Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar,\nconverse together, and repeat what had been told them by Satan; and the\nthought that he was supposed to be rejected by God from among His\nprophets, was so distressing to him, that he cried out, \u201cTruly, O God!\nevil has befallen me; but Thou art the most merciful of those who show\nmercy.\u201d[448] That is, the words of men are cruel, but Thou, O God, wilt\ndeliver me out of all my evils.\n\nJob was sick for seven years, and all that while his wife ministered to\nhim.\n\nBut the medi\u00e6val commentators draw a very different picture of this\nwife, relying on the words of Scripture which make her tempt Job to\n\u201c_curse God and die_.\u201d They say that her tongue was one of the plagues\nof Job. That he bore patiently the loss of his cattle, of his children,\nand of his health, was indeed wonderful; but that he also endured the\nnagging of his wife with equanimity,\u2014that was the most wonderful of all.\n\nThen God looked on Job and had compassion upon him, and he said to him,\n\u201cStrike the earth with thy foot.\u201d[449] Job stamped, and from the\ndung-heap on which he had been seated a clear stream of water issued,\nthe sweetest that there is, and the water continued to flow. Then God\nsaid to Job, \u201cWash in this water.\u201d\n\nRahma, the wife of Job, poured the water upon his head and over his\nbody, and he washed himself. All the sores that were on his flesh\ndisappeared, and he was healed; there was not a scar left, and he\nappeared more beautiful than before he was afflicted.\n\nThen God said to Job, \u201cDrink of the water.\u201d\n\nThen all the worms that were in the inside of Job died, and he was quite\nwhole. Now this took place in Bashan, and the fountain remains to this\nday, and is called Qarya-A\u00efyub, and the city near which it is,\nA\u00efrs-A\u00efyub. \u201cI have seen the city of the fountain,\u201d says the Persian\ntranslator of Tabari: \u201cevery person who goes there, affected by internal\nor external maladies, and washes and drinks of that water, is healed of\nhis disease.\u201d[450]\n\nThen God said to Job, \u201cFulfil thy vow, and take in thine hand a bundle\nof rods.\u201d[451] But the rods God told him to take were light sticks; and\nhe took a hundred of these, and bound them together and smote Rahma with\nthem, and he did not hurt her. By this action of Job, the Mussulman\ndoctors support their advice to those who have taken rash oaths to clear\nthemselves by a subterfuge. Thus, if a man has sworn he will not enter\nhis house again, he is recommended to allow himself to be bound hand and\nfoot and be carried into his home. Or, if he has sworn to recite the\nwhole Koran, it will be sufficient for him to say the word \u201cKoran,\u201d and\nlisten to the imaum reading before the assembly.\n\nThen God restored to Job double all that he had lost; and Job lived,\nafter he was recovered of his disease, twenty years, and he died at the\nage of ninety-three.\n\nThe worms which had devoured the body of the prophet, God turned into\nsilk-worms; and the flies which had bitten him and tormented his sores,\nconverted He into honey-bees; and before this there were neither\nsilk-worms nor honey-bees on the earth. Also the rain and the snow which\nfell within his possessions, were grains of gold and pearl.\n\nIsidore of Seville places the fountain which cured Job in Idum\u00e6a. He\nsays, it is clear during three months of the year, troubled during the\nnext three, then for three months it is green, and for the last three,\nit is red.\n\nIn the \u201cTestament of Job,\u201d we read some details concerning his death,\nwritten by his brother Nahor.\n\nAfter three days of sickness, Job, lying on his bed, saw the angels come\nto receive his soul. After having divided his substance between his\nseven sons (for, after his troubles, he became the father of seven sons\nand three daughters), he gave his daughters three mantles of inestimable\nprice, which he had received from heaven. To the eldest, Hemera\n(Jemima), he gave his harp; to the second, Cassia (Keziah), he handed\nhis censer; to the third, Keren-happuch, he remitted his tambourine: and\nas he sang his last hymn to the Most High on his death-bed, Hemera and\nKeren-happuch accompanied him with harp and timbrel, and Cassia cast up\nfumes of sweet incense. Thus they greeted the messengers of heaven who\ncame for the soul of Job.\n\nFootnote 440:\n\n  Koran, Sura xxxviii. v. 43-4. Job in Arabic is A\u00efub.\n\nFootnote 441:\n\n  Eisenmenger, ii. p. 439.\n\nFootnote 442:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 256.\n\nFootnote 443:\n\n  Ma\u00ef (Angelus), Test. Job; Rom\u00e6, 1839.\n\nFootnote 444:\n\n  Ma\u00ef (Angelus), Test. Job; Rom\u00e6, 1839.\n\nFootnote 445:\n\n  In the \u201cTestament of Job\u201d she is called Sitis.\n\nFootnote 446:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. lxvi; Abulfeda, pp. 27-29.\n\nFootnote 447:\n\n  Testament of Job.\n\nFootnote 448:\n\n  Koran, Sura xxi. v. 83.\n\nFootnote 449:\n\n  Koran, Sura xxxviii. v. 41.\n\nFootnote 450:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 263.\n\nFootnote 451:\n\n  Koran, Sura xxxviii. v. 43.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXI.\n                                JETHRO.\n\n\nAs has already been related, Jethro formed one of the council of Pharaoh\ntill he found that his incantations had no effect on the Israelites. He\nescaped from Egypt before Job; for he had found in the palace of the\nking the staff of Joseph which had been cut from the Tree of Life, and\ntherewith he hied him into the land of Midian, along with his daughter\nZipporah.\n\nAccording to Mussulman tradition, Jethro, whom the Arabs call Schohair\nor Schohaib, was a great prophet; and he was sent by God to the\nMidianites to call them to repentance and the rejection of polytheism.\nJethro was old and nearly blind. He preached to the people, and exhorted\nthem with many words and for a long season, but all his words were in\nvain; the Midianites would not be converted, and at length they openly\naccused him of being a false prophet, and denied that God had sent him.\n\nTherefore God gave over this nation to destruction. He sent a fiery\nbreath upon the land, and the people could not bear the great heat, and\nretired into the fields, where there was shadow; for God sent a cloud to\nhide the face of the sun, and it cast a blot of shade upon the fields.\nBut there were old men and women and little children, and the sick who\ncould not leave the city and take refuge in the shade.\n\nSlowly the cloud came down from heaven, like the lid of a saucepan, and\ncovered all the Midianites that were in the field, and the cloud was of\nfire, and they fried \u201cas fish fry in an oven.\u201d Then the angel Gabriel,\ngave a great shout, and all that were in the city, saving Jethro and his\nfamily, died of fright when they heard his cry.\n\nThen Jethro lived in the land of Midian till Moses came to him out of\nEgypt.[452]\n\nFootnote 452:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. lxvii; Abulfeda, p. 31.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXII.\n                              MOSES.[453]\n\n\n                          1. ISRAEL IN EGYPT.\n\n\nAfter the death of Jacob, his descendants were drawn into servitude by\nsoft and hypocritical speeches. Fifty-four years had passed since the\ndeath of Joseph.\n\nJoseph had had the good fortune to acquire the favour of Mechron, the\nson and successor of that Pharaoh who had raised him from the dungeon to\nbe second in the kingdom. Almost all the inhabitants of Egypt had loved\nJoseph; only a few voices were raised in murmurs at a foreigner\nexercising such extensive powers.\n\nThe successors of the patriarchs mingled among the people of the land\nand learned their ways; and many of them abandoned the rite of\ncircumcision, and spoke the language of Mizraem.\n\nThen God withdrew His protection for a while; and the former love of the\nEgyptians towards the Hebrews was turned into implacable hatred. By\ndegrees the privileges of the children of Israel were encroached upon,\nand they were oppressed with heavy taxes, from which hitherto they had\nbeen held exempt.\n\nAfterwards the king exacted from them their labour without pay; he built\na great castle, and required the Hebrews to erect it for him at their\nown cost.\n\nTwenty-two years after the death of Joseph, Levi died, who had outlived\nall his other brothers.\n\nFields, vineyards, and houses, which Joseph had given to his brethren,\nwere now reclaimed by the natives of Egypt, and the children of Israel\nwere enslaved.\n\nThe Egyptians, effeminate, and hating work, fond of pleasure and\ndisplay, had envied the prosperity of the Hebrews, who had thriven in\nGoshen, and whose wives bore sometimes six and sometimes twelve infants\nat a birth.\n\nThey also feared lest this people, increasing upon them, should become\nmore numerous than they, and should seize upon the power, and enslave\nthe native population.\n\nNine years after the death of Joseph, King Mechron died, and was\nsucceeded by his son Melol.\n\nBut before pursuing the history of the oppression of the Hebrews, we\nmust relate some events that had occurred before this time.\n\nWhen the body of Jacob, according to his last will, had been taken to\nthe cave of Machpelah, Esau and his sons and a large body of followers\nhastened to oppose the burial of Jacob. After the death of Isaac, Esau\nand Jacob had come to an agreement, by which all the moveable property\nof the father was made over to Esau, and all that was immoveable,\nespecially the burial cave, was apportioned to Jacob. But now Esau\ndesired to set aside this agreement, and, as first-born, to claim the\ntomb as his, trusting that the sons of Jacob could not prove the\nagreement.\n\nBut no sooner had he raised this objection, than Naphtali, who was swift\nof foot, ran into Egypt, and returned in a few hours with the writing of\nagreement.\n\nEsau, seeing himself baffled, had recourse to arms: and a fight took\nplace, in which Esau was killed, and his followers put to flight or\ntaken as captives to Egypt, where they became the slaves of the\nIsraelites. Amongst these captives was Zepho, son of Eliphaz, son of\nEsau.\n\nEven in Joseph\u2019s lifetime, the Edomites made incursions into Egypt to\nrecover their captive relatives, but their attempts led to no other\nresult than the tightening of the chains which bound the captives.\nLater, however, Zepho succeeded in effecting his escape, and he took\nrefuge with Angias, king of Dinhaba (Ethiopia), who made him chief\ncaptain of his host.\n\nZepho persuaded the king to make war upon Egypt. Among the servants of\nAngias was a youth of fifteen, named Balaam, son of Beor, very skilful\nin the arts of witchcraft. The king bade the youthful necromancer divine\nwho would succeed in the proposed war. Balaam formed chariots and horses\nand fighting men of wax, plunged them in water, which he stirred with\npalm twigs; and it was seen by all who stood by, that the men and horses\nrepresenting the Egyptians and Hebrews floated, whereas those\nrepresenting the Ethiopians sank.\n\nAngias, deterred by this augury, refused to have anything to do with a\nwar against Egypt. Then Zepho left him, and betook himself to the land\nof the Hittites, and he succeeded in combining that nation, the\nEdomites, and the Ishmaelites together in making an invasion of Egypt.\n\nTo repel them, the Hebrews were summoned from the land of Goshen, but\nthe Egyptians would not receive their allies into the camp, fearing lest\nthey should unite with their kindred nations, and deliver them up to\ndestruction.\n\nZepho now asked Balaam, who had followed him, to divine the end of the\nbattle, but the attempt failed; and the future remained closed to him.\nBut Zepho, full of confidence, led the combined army against the\nEgyptians, repulsed them at every point, and drove them back upon the\ncamp of the Hebrews. Then the Israelites charged the advancing forces\nflushed with victory, who, little expecting such a determined onslaught,\nwere thrown into confusion, and routed with great loss. The Hebrews\npursued them to the confines of Ethiopia, cutting them down all along\nthe way, and then they desisted and returned: and on numbering their\nband\u2014they were but a handful\u2014they found that they had not lost one man.\nThey now looked out for their allies, the Egyptians, and found that they\nhad deserted and fled; therefore, full of wrath, they returned to Goshen\nin triumph, and slew the deserters, with many words of contempt and\nridicule.[454]\n\nThus the Hebrews were puffed up with pride, regarding themselves as\ninvincible; and the Egyptians were filled with dread, lest this small\npeople should resolve on seizing upon the supremacy, and should\nsubjugate them.\n\nTherefore the reigning Pharaoh and his council assembled to consult what\nshould be done; and this was decided:\u2014\u201cThe cities Pithom and Rameses\n(Tanis and Heliopolis) are not strong enough to withstand a foe,\ntherefore they must be strengthened.\u201d And a royal decree went forth over\nall the land of Egypt and Goshen, commanding all the inhabitants, both\nEgyptians and Hebrews, to build. Pharaoh himself set the example by\ntaking trowel and basket in hand, and putting a brick mould on his neck.\nWhoever saw this hastened to do likewise, and all who were reluctant\nwere stimulated by the overseers with these words, \u201cSee how the king\nworks. Will you not imitate his activity?\u201d\n\nThus the Israelites went to the work, and laid the mould upon their\nnecks, little suspecting the guile that was in the hearts of the king\nand his councillors.\n\nAt the close of the first day, the Hebrews had made a large number of\nbricks; and this number was now imposed upon them as the amount of their\ndaily task.\n\nThus passed a month, and by degrees the Egyptian workmen were withdrawn,\nyet the Hebrews were paid the regular wage.\n\nWhen a year and four months had elapsed, not an Egyptian was to be seen\nmaking bricks and building; and the wage was stopped for the future, but\nthe Hebrews were kept to their work.\n\nThe harshest and most cruel men were appointed to be their overseers,\nand if one of the Israelites asked for his wage, or fainted under his\nburden, he was beaten or put in the stocks.\n\nWhen Pithom and Rameses were walled, the Israelites were employed to\nstrengthen with forts all the other cities of Egypt, then to build\nstorehouses and pyramids, to dig canals for the Nile, and to rear dykes\nagainst the overflow. They were also employed to dig and plough the\nfields, to garden and prune the fruit-trees, and to exercise trades.\nThey were engaged from early dawn till late at night, and because the\nway from their homes was often far, they were forced to sleep in the\nopen air, upon the bare ground.[455]\n\nAs the life of the Israelites became embittered to them, they called the\nking Meror, \u201cthe embitterer,\u201d instead of Melol, \u201cthe grinder,\u201d though\nthat was appropriate enough, one would have supposed.[456]\n\nBut matters grew worse; the Edomites and Hittites again threatened\nEgypt, and Pharaoh ordered a closer guard to be kept, and heavier tasks\nto be laid upon the Hebrews.\n\nNotwithstanding all attempts to crush the spirit of this unfortunate\npeople and to diminish their numbers, they were sustained by hope in\nGod, for a voice was heard from heaven, \u201cThis people shall increase\nabundantly, and multiply.\u201d\n\nWhilst the men of Israel slept exhausted after their unspeakable\noppression of mind and body, the faithful women laboured to relieve and\nstrengthen them. They hastened to the springs to bring pure water to\ntheir husbands to drink, and, by the mercy of the All Merciful, it fell\nout that their pitchers were found, each time, to contain half water and\nhalf fish.\n\nThese gentle and diligent women dressed the fish, and prepared other\ngood meats for their husbands, and they sought them at their work with\nthe food, and with their cheerful words of encouragement. This loving\nattention of the women soothed the hearts of the men, and gave them\nfresh energy.\n\nWhen 125 years had elapsed since Jacob came into Egypt, the fifty-fourth\nyear after Joseph\u2019s death, the elders and councillors of Egypt presented\nthemselves before Pharaoh, and complained to him that the people\nincreased and multiplied and became very great in the land, so that they\ncovered it like the bushes in the wood; and two of the king\u2019s\ncouncillors, of whom one was Job of Uz, said to Pharaoh, \u201cIt was well\nthat heavy tasks were laid upon the Hebrews, but that doth not suffice;\nit is needful that they should be diminished in number as well as\nenslaved. Therefore give orders to the nurses to kill every male child\nthat is born to the Hebrews, but to save the women children alive.\u201d\n\nThis counsel pleased the king well; and what Job had advised was put in\noperation.\n\nPharaoh summoned the two Hebrew midwives before him; they were mother\nand daughter; some say their names were Jochebed and Miriam, but others\nJochebed and Elizabeth. Now, Miriam was only five years old,\nnevertheless she was of the greatest assistance to her mother in nursing\nwomen. Both showed the utmost kindness to the new-born children, washed\nand brushed them up, said pretty things to them, and strengthened the\nmothers with cordials and tonic draughts. To their care the Israelites\nwere indebted for the graceful and vigorous forms of their children; and\nthe two women were such favourites with the people, that they called the\none Shiphrah (the soother or beautifier) and the other Puah (the\nhelper).\n\nWhen they appeared before the king, and heard what he designed, Miriam\u2019s\nyoung face flushed scarlet, and she said, in anger, \u201cWoe to the man! God\nwill punish him for his evil deed.\u201d\n\nThe executioner would have hurried her out, and killed her for her\naudacity, but the mother implored pardon, saying, \u201cO king! forgive her\nspeech; she is only a little foolish child.\u201d\n\nPharaoh consented, and assuming a gentler tone, explained that the\nfemale children were to be saved alive, and that the male children were\nto be quietly put to death, without the knowledge of the mothers. And he\nthreatened them, if they did not obey his wishes, that he would cast\nthem into a furnace of fire. Then he dismissed them. But the two\nmidwives would not fulfil his desire.\n\nAnd when Pharaoh found that the men-children were saved alive, he shut\nup the two midwives, that the Hebrew women might be without their\nsuccour. But this availed not. And God rewarded the midwives; for of the\nelder Moses was born.\n\nFive years passed, and Pharaoh dreamed that, as he sat upon his throne,\nan old man stood before him holding a balance. And the old man put the\nprinces, and nobles, and elders of Egypt, and all its inhabitants into\none scale, and he put into the other a sucking child, and the babe\noutweighed all that was in the first scale.[457]\n\nWhen Pharaoh awoke, he rehearsed his dream in the ears of his wise men\nand magicians and soothsayers, and asked them the interpretation\nthereof.\n\nThen answered Balaam, who, with his sons Jannes and Jambres, was at the\ncourt, and said, \u201cO king, live for ever! The dream thou didst see has\nthis signification. A child shall be born among the Hebrews who shall\nbring them with a strong hand out of Egypt, and before whom all thy\nnations shall be as naught. A great danger threatens thee and all\nEgypt.\u201d\n\nThen said Pharaoh in dismay, \u201cWhat shall we do? All that we have devised\nagainst this people has failed.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet the king suffer me to give my advice,\u201d said Jethro, one of his\ncouncillors. And when Pharaoh consented, he said, \u201cMay the king\u2019s days\nbe multiplied! This is my advice; the people that thou oppressest is a\ngreat people, and God is their shield. All who resist them are brought\nto destruction; all who favour them prosper. Therefore, O king, do thou\nwithdraw thy hand, which is heavy upon them; lighten their tasks, and\nextend to them thy favour.\u201d\n\nBut this advice pleased not Pharaoh nor his councillors; and his anger\nwas kindled against Jethro, and he drove him from his court and from the\ncountry. Then Jethro went with his wife and daughter, and dwelt in the\nland of Midian.\n\nThen said the king, \u201cJob of Uz, give thy opinion.\u201d\n\nBut Job opened not his lips.\n\nThen rose Balaam, son of Beor, and he said, \u201cO my king, all thy attempts\nto hurt Israel have failed, and the people increase upon you. Think not\nto try fire against them, for that was tried against Abraham their\nfather, and he was saved unhurt from the midst of the flames. Try not\nsword against them, for the knife was raised against Isaac their father,\nand he was delivered by the angel of God. Nor will hard labour injure\nthem, as thou hast proved. Yet there remains water, that hath not yet\nbeen enlisted against them; prove them with water. Therefore my advice\nis\u2014cast all their new-born sons into the river.\u201d[458]\n\nThe king hesitated not; he appointed Egyptian women to be nurses to the\nHebrews, and instructed them to drown all the male children that were\nborn; and he threatened with death those who withstood his decree. And\nthat he might know what women were expecting to be delivered, he sent\nlittle Egyptian children to the baths, to observe the Hebrew women, and\nreport on their appearance.\n\nBut God looked upon the mothers, and they were delivered in sleep under\nthe shadow of fruit-trees, and angels attended on them, washed and\ndressed the babes, and smeared their little hands with butter and honey,\nthat they might lick them, and, delighting in the flavour, abstain from\ncrying, and thus escape discovery. Then the mothers on waking\nexclaimed:\u2014\u201cO most Merciful One, into Thy hands we commit our children!\u201d\nBut the emissaries of Pharaoh followed the traces of the women, and\nwould have slain the infants, had not the earth gaped, and received the\nlittle babes into a hollow place within, where they were fed by angel\nhands with butter and honey.\n\nThe Egyptians brought up oxen and ploughed over the spot, in hopes of\ndestroying thereby the vanished infants; but, when their backs were\nturned, the children sprouted from the soil, like little flowers, and\nwalked home unperceived. Some say that 10,000 children were cast into\nthe Nile. They were not deserted by the Most High. The river rejected\nthem upon its banks, and the rocks melted into butter and honey around\nthem and thus fed them,[459] and oil distilled to anoint them.\n\nThis persecution had continued for three years and four months, when, on\nthe seventh day of the twelfth month, Adar, the astrologers and seers\nstood before the king and said, \u201cThis day a child is born who will free\nthe people of Israel! This, and one thing more, have we learnt from the\nstars, _Water_ will be the cause of his death;[460] but whether he be an\nEgyptian or an Hebrew child, that we know not.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Pharaoh; \u201cthen in future all male children, Egyptians\nas well as Hebrews, shall be cast indiscriminately into the river.\u201d\n\nAnd so was it done.[461]\n\n\n                  2. THE BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD OF MOSES.\n\n\nKohath, son of Levi, had a son named Amram, whose life was so saintly,\nthat death could not have touched him, had not the decree gone forth,\nthat every child of Adam was to die.\n\nHe married Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, his aunt, and by her he had a\ndaughter Miriam; and after four years she bore him a son, and he called\nhis name Aaron.\n\nNow when it was noised abroad that Pharaoh would slay all the sons of\nthe Hebrews that were born to them, Amram thrust away his wife, and many\nothers did the same, not that they hated their wives, but that they\nwould spare them the grief of seeing their children put to death.[462]\nAfter three years, the spirit of prophecy came on Miriam, as she sat in\nthe house, and she cried, \u201cMy parents shall have another son, who shall\ndeliver Israel out of the hands of the Egyptians!\u201d Then she said to her\nfather, \u201cWhat hast thou done? Thou hast sent thy wife away, out of thine\nhouse, because thou couldst not trust the Lord God, that He would\nprotect the child that might be born to thee.\u201d\n\nAmram, reproved by these words, sought his banished wife; the angel\nGabriel guided him on his way, and a voice from heaven encouraged him to\nproceed. And when he found Jochebed, he led her to her home again.[463]\n\nOne hundred and thirty years old was Jochebed, but she was as fresh and\nbeauteous as on the day she left her father\u2019s house.[464] She was with\nchild, and Amram feared lest it should be a boy, and be slain by\nPharaoh.\n\nThen appeared the Eternal One to him in a dream, and bade him be of good\ncheer, for He would protect the child, and make him great, so that all\nnations should hold him in honour.\n\nWhen Amram awoke, he told his dream to Jochebed, and they were filled\nwith fear and great amazement.\n\nAfter six months she bore a son, without pain. The child entered this\nworld in the third hour of the morning, of the seventh day of the month\nAdar, in the year 2368 after the Creation, and the 130th year of the\nsojourn of the Israelites in Egypt. And when he was born, the house was\nfilled with light, as of the brightest sunshine.\n\nThe tender mother\u2019s anxiety for her son was increased when she noted his\nbeauty,\u2014he was like an angel of God,\u2014and his great height and noble\nappearance. The parents called him Tobias (God is good) to express their\nthankfulness, but others say he was called Jokutiel (Hope in God). Amram\nkissed his daughter, Miriam, on the brow, and said, \u201cNow I know that thy\nprophecy is come true.\u201d[465]\n\nJochebed hid the child three months in her chamber where she slept. But\nPharaoh, filled with anxiety, lest a child should have escaped him, sent\nEgyptian women with their nurslings to the houses of the Hebrews. Now it\nis the custom of children, when one cries, another cries also. Therefore\nthe Egyptian women pricked their babes, when they went into a house, and\nif the child were concealed therein, it cried when it heard the Egyptian\nbaby scream. Then it was brought out and despatched.\n\nJochebed knew that these women were coming to her house, and that, if\nthe child were discovered, her husband and herself would be slain by the\nexecutioner of Pharaoh.\n\nMoreover they feared the astrologers and soothsayers, that they would\nread in the heavens that a male child was concealed there. \u201cBetter can\nwe deceive them,\u201d said Amram, \u201cif we cast the child into the water.\u201d\n\nJochebed took the paper flags and wove a basket, and pitched it with\npitch without, and clay within, that the smell of the pitch might not\noffend her dear little one; and then she placed the basket amongst the\nrushes, where the Red Sea at that time joined the river Nile.\n\nThen, weeping and wailing, she went away, and seeing Miriam come to meet\nher, she smote her on the head, and said, \u201cNow, daughter, where is thy\nprophesying?\u201d\n\nMiriam followed the little ark, as it floated on the wash of the river,\nand swam in and out among the reeds; for Miriam was wondering whether\nthe prophecy would come true, or whether it would fail. This was on the\ntwenty-first of the month Nisan, on the day, chosen from the beginning,\non which in after times Moses should teach his people the Song of Praise\nfor their delivery at the Red Sea.[466]\n\nThen the angels surrounded the throne of God and cried, \u201cO Lord of the\nwhole earth, shall this mortal child fore-ordained to chant, at the head\nof Thy chosen people, the great song of delivery from water, perish this\nday by water?\u201d\n\nThe Almighty answered, \u201cYe know well that I behold all things. They that\nseek their salvation in their own craftiness and evil ways shall find\ndestruction, but they who trust in Me shall never be confounded. The\nhistory of that child shall be a witness to My almighty power.\u201d\n\nMelol, king of Egypt, had then only one daughter, whom he greatly loved;\nBithia (Thermutis or Therbutis)[467] was her name. She had been married\nfor some time to Chenephras, prince of a territory near Memphis, but was\nchildless. This troubled her greatly, for she desired a son who might\nsucceed her father upon the throne of Egypt.\n\nAt this time God had sent upon Egypt an intolerable heat, and the people\nwere affected with grievous boils.[468] To cure themselves, they bathed\nin the Nile. Bithia also suffered, and bathed, not in the river, but in\nbaths in the palace; but on this day she went forth by the Nile bank,\nthough otherwise she never left her father\u2019s palace. On reaching the\nbathing-place she observed the ark lodged among the bulrushes, and sent\none of her maids to swim out and bring it to her; but the other servants\nsaid, \u201cO princess, this is one of the Hebrew children, who are cast out\naccording to the command of thy royal father. It beseems thee not to\noppose his commands and frustrate his will.\u201d\n\nScarcely had the maidens uttered these words than they vanished from the\nsurface of the earth. The angel Gabriel had sunk them all, with the\nexception of the one who swam for the ark, into the bosom of the earth.\n\nBut the eagerness of the princess was so great, that she could not wait\ntill the damsel brought her the basket, and she stretched forth her arm\ntowards it, and her arm was lengthened sixty ells, so that she was able\nto take hold of the ark and draw it to land, and lift the child out of\nthe water.\n\nNo sooner had she touched the babe, than she was healed of the boils\nwhich afflicted her, and the splendour of the face of the child was like\nthat of the sun.[469] She looked at it with wonder, and admired its\nbeauty. But her father\u2019s stern law made her fear, and she thought to\nreturn the child to the water, when he began to cry, for the angel\nGabriel had boxed his ears to make him weep, and thus excite the\ncompassion of the princess. Then Miriam, hid away among the rushes, and\nlittle Aaron, aged three, hearing him cry, wept also.\n\nThe heart of the princess was stirred; and compassion, like that of a\nmother for her babe, filled her heart. She felt for the infant yearning\nlove as though it were her own. \u201cTruly,\u201d said Bithia, \u201cthe Hebrews are\nto be pitied, for it is no easy matter to part with a child, and to\ndeliver it over to death.\u201d\n\nThen, fearing that there would be no safety for the babe, if it were\nbrought into the palace, she called to an Egyptian woman who was walking\nby the water, and bade her suckle the child. But the infant would not\ntake the breast from this woman, nor from any other Egyptian woman that\nshe summoned; and this the Almighty wrought that the child might be\nrestored to its own mother again.\n\nThen Miriam, the sister, mingled with those who came up, and said to\nBithia, with sobs, \u201cNoble lady! vain are all thine attempts to give the\nchild the breast from one of a different race. If thou wouldst have a\nHebrew woman, then let me fetch one, and the child will suck at\nonce.\u201d[470]\n\nThis advice pleased Bithia, and she bade Miriam seek her out a Hebrew\nmother.\n\nWith winged steps Miriam hastened home, and brought her mother,\nJochebed, to the princess. Then the babe readily took nourishment from\nher, and ceased crying.\n\nAstonished at this wonder, the king\u2019s daughter said, but unawares, the\ntruth, for she spake to Jochebed, \u201cHere is thy child; take and nurse the\nchild for me, and the wage shall be two pieces of silver a day.\u201d\n\nJochebed did what she was bidden, but better reward than all the silver\nin Pharaoh\u2019s house was the joy of having her son restored to his\nmother\u2019s breast.\n\nThe self-same day the soothsayers and star-gazers said to Pharaoh, \u201cThe\nchild of whom we spake to thee, that he should free Israel, hath met his\nfate in the water.\u201d\n\nTherefore the cruel decree ordering the destruction of all male infants\nwas withdrawn, and the miraculous deliverance of Moses became by this\nmeans the salvation of the whole generation. In allusion to this, Moses\nsaid afterwards to the people when he would restrain them (Numbers xi.):\n\u201cVerily ye number six hundred thousand men, and ye would all have\nperished in the river Nile, but I was delivered from the water, and\ntherefore ye are all alive as at this day.\u201d\n\nAfter two years Jochebed weaned him, and brought him to the king\u2019s\ndaughter. Bithia, charmed with the beauty and intelligence of the child,\ntook him into the palace, and named him Moses (he who is drawn out of\nthe water). Lo! a voice from heaven fell, \u201cDaughter of Pharaoh! because\nthou hast had compassion on this little child and hast called him thy\nson, therefore do I call thee My daughter (Bithia). The foundling that\nthou cherishest shall be called by the name thou gavest him\u2014Moses; and\nby none other name shall he be known, wheresoever the fame of him\nspreads under the whole heaven.\u201d\n\nNow, in order that Moses might really pass for the child of Bithia, the\nprincess had feigned herself to be pregnant, and then to be confined;\nand now Pharaoh regarded him as his true grandchild.\n\nOn account of his exceeding beauty, every one that saw him was filled\nwith admiration, and said, \u201cTruly, this is a king\u2019s son.\u201d And when he\nwas taken abroad, the people forsook their work, and deserted their\nshops, that they might see him. One day, when Moses was three years old,\nBithia led him by the hand into the presence of Pharaoh, and the queen\nsat by the king, and all the princes of the realm stood about him. Then\nBithia presented the child to the king, and said, \u201cOh, sire! this child\nof noble mien is not really my son; he was given to me in wondrous\nfashion by the divine river Nile; therefore have I brought him up as my\nown son, and destined him to succeed thee on thy throne, since no child\nof my body has been granted to me.\u201d\n\nWith these words Bithia laid the boy in the king\u2019s arms, and he pressed\nhim to his heart, and kissed him. Then, to gratify his daughter, he took\nfrom his head the crown royal, and placed it upon the temples of Moses.\nBut the child eagerly caught at the crown, and threw it on the ground,\nand then alighting from Pharaoh\u2019s knee, he in childish fashion danced\nround it, and finally trampled it under his feet.[471]\n\nThe king and his nobles were dismayed. They thought that this action\naugured evil to the king through the child that was before them. Then\nBalaam, the son of Beor, lifted up his voice and said, \u201cMy lord and\nking! dost thou not remember the interpretation of thy dream, as thy\nservant interpreted it to thee? This child is of Hebrew extraction, and\nis wiser and more cunning than befits his age. When he is old he will\ntake thy crown from off thy head, and will tread the power of Egypt\nunder his feet. Thus have his ancestors ever done. Abraham defied\nNimrod, and rent from him Canaan, a portion of his kingdom. Isaac\nprevailed over the king of the Philistines. Jacob took from his brother\nhis birthright and blessing, and smote the Hivites and their king Hamor.\nJoseph, the slave, became chief in this realm, and gave the best of this\nland to his father and his brethren. And now this child will take from\nthee the kingdom, and will enslave or destroy thy people. There is no\nexpedient for thee but to slay him, that Egypt become not his prey.\u201d\n\nBut Pharaoh said, \u201cWe will take other counsel, Balaam, before we decide\nwhat shall be done with this child.\u201d\n\nThen some advised that he should be burnt with fire, and others that he\nshould be slain with the sword. But the angel Gabriel, in the form of an\nold man, mingled with the councillors, and said, \u201cLet not innocent blood\nbe shed. The child is too young to know what he is doing. Prove whether\nhe has any understanding and design, before you sentence him. O king!\nlet a bowl of live coals and a bowl of precious stones be brought to the\nlittle one. If he takes the stones, then he has understanding, and\ndiscerns between good and evil; but if he thrusts his hands towards the\nburning coals, then he is innocent of purpose and devoid of\nreason.\u201d[472]\n\nThis advice pleased the king, and he gave orders that it should be as\nthe angel had recommended.\n\nNow when the basins were brought in and offered to Moses, he thrust out\nhis hand towards the jewels. But Gabriel, who had made himself\ninvisible, caught his hand and directed it towards the red-hot coals;\nand Moses burnt his fingers, and he put them into his mouth, and burnt\nhis lips and tongue; and therefore it is that Moses said, in after days,\n\u201cI am slow of lips and slow of tongue.\u201d[473]\n\nPharaoh and his council were now convinced of the simplicity of Moses,\nand no harm was done him. Then Bithia removed him, and brought him up in\nher own part of the palace.\n\nGod was with him, and he increased in stature and beauty, and Pharaoh\u2019s\nheart was softened towards him. He went arrayed in purple through the\nstreets, as the son of Bithia, and a chaplet of diamonds surrounded his\nbrows, and he consorted only with princes. When he was five years old,\nhe was in size and knowledge as advanced as a boy of twelve.\n\nMasters were brought for him from all quarters, and he was instructed in\nall the wisdom and learning of the Egyptians; and the people looked upon\nhim with hope as their future sovereign.[474]\n\n\n                  3. THE YOUTH AND MARRIAGE OF MOSES.\n\n\nMoses, as he grew older, distinguished himself from all other young men\nof Egypt by the conquest which he acquired over himself and his youthful\npassions and impetuous will. Although the life of a court offered him\nevery kind of gratification, yet he did not allow himself to be\nattracted by its pleasures, or to regard as permanent what he knew to be\nfleeting. Thus it fell out, that all his friends and acquaintances\nwondered at him, and doubted whether he were not a god appeared on\nearth. And, in truth, Moses did not live and act as did others. What he\nthought, that he said, and what he promised, that he fulfilled.\n\nMoses had reached the summit of earthly greatness; acknowledged as\ngrandson to Pharaoh, and heir to the crown. But he trusted not in the\nfuture which was thus offered to him, for he knew from Jochebed, whom he\nfrequently visited, what was his true people, and who were his real\nparents. And the bond which attached him to his own house and people was\nin his heart, and could not be broken.\n\nMoses went daily to Goshen to see his relations; and he observed how the\nHebrews were oppressed, and groaned under their burdens. And he asked\nwherefore the yoke was pressed so heavily on the neck of these slaves.\nHe was told of the advice of Balaam against the people, and of the way\nin which Pharaoh had sought the destruction of himself in his infancy.\nThis information filled Moses with indignation, and alienated his\naffections from Pharaoh, and filled him with animosity towards\nBalaam.[475] But, as he was not in a position to rescue his brethren, or\nto punish Balaam, he cried, \u201cAlas! I had rather die than continue to\nbehold the affliction of my brethren.\u201d Then he took the necklace from\noff him, which indicated his princely position, and sought to ease the\nburden of the Israelites. He took the excessive loads from the women and\nold men, and laid them on the young and strong; and thus he seemed to be\nfulfilling Pharaoh\u2019s intentions in getting the work of building sooner\nexecuted, whereas, by making each labour according to his strength,\ntheir sufferings were lightened. And he said to the Hebrews, \u201cBe of good\ncheer, relief is not so far off as you suppose\u2014calm follows storm, blue\nsky succeeds black clouds, sunshine comes after rain. The whole world is\nfull of change, and all is for an object.\u201d\n\nNevertheless Moses himself desponded; he looked with hatred upon Balaam,\nand lost all pleasure in the society of the Egyptians. Balaam seeing\nthat the young man was against him, and dreading his power, escaped with\nhis sons Jannes and Jambres to the court of Ethiopia.\n\nThe young Moses, however, grew in favour with the king, who laid upon\nhim the great office of introducing illustrious foreigners to the royal\npresence.\n\nBut Moses kept ever before his eyes the aim of his life, to relieve his\npeople from their intolerable burdens. One day he presented himself\nbefore the king and said, \u201cSire! I have a petition to make of thee.\u201d\n\nPharaoh answered, \u201cSay on, my son.\u201d\n\nThen said Moses, \u201cO king! every labourer is given one day in seven for\nrest, otherwise his work becomes languid and unprofitable. But the\nchildren of Israel are given no day of rest, but they work from the\nfirst day of the week to the last day, without cessation; therefore is\ntheir work inferior, and it is not executed with that heartiness which\nmight be found, were they given one day in which to recruit their\nstrength.\u201d\n\nPharaoh said, \u201cWhich day shall be given to them?\u201d\n\nMoses said, \u201cSuffer them to rest on the seventh day.\u201d\n\nThe king consented, and the people were given the Sabbath, on which they\nceased from their labours; therefore they rejoiced greatly, and for a\nthousand years the last day of the week was called \u201cThe gift of\nMoses.\u201d[476]\n\nAs the command to destroy all the male children had been withdrawn the\nday that Moses was cast into the Nile, the people had multiplied\ngreatly, and again the fears of the Egyptians were aroused. Therefore\nthe king published a new decree, with the object of impeding the\nincrease of the bondsmen.\n\nHe required the Egyptian task-masters to impose a tale of bricks on\nevery man, and if at evening the tale of bricks was not made up, then,\nin place of the deficient bricks, even though only one brick was short,\nthey were to take the children of those who had not made up their tale,\nand to build them into the wall in place of bricks.[477] Thus upon one\nmisery another was piled.\n\nIn order that this decree might be executed with greater certainty, ten\nlabourers were placed under one Hebrew overseer, and one Egyptian\ntask-master controlled the ten overseers. The duty of the Hebrew\noverseers was to wake the ten men they were set over, every morning\nbefore dawn, and bring them to their work. If the Egyptian task-masters\nobserved that one of the labourers was not at his post, he went to the\noverseer, and bade him produce the man immediately.\n\nNow one of these overseers had a wife of the tribe of Dan, whose name\nwas Salome, daughter of Dibri. She was beautiful and faultless in her\nbody. The Egyptian task-master had observed her frequently, and he loved\nher. Then, one day, he went early to the house of her husband, and bade\nhim arise, and go and call the ten labourers. So the overseer rose,\nnothing doubting, and went forth, and then the Egyptian entered and\nconcealed himself in the house. But the overseer, returning, found him,\nand drew him forth, and asked him with what intent he had hidden himself\nthere; and Moses drew nigh. Now Moses was known to the Hebrews as\nmerciful, and ready to judge righteously their causes; so the man ran to\nMoses, and told him that he had found the Egyptian task-master concealed\nin his house.\n\nAnd Moses knew for what intent the man had done thus, and his anger was\nkindled, and he raised a spade to smite the man on the head and kill\nhim.\n\nBut whilst the spade was yet in his hand, before it fell, Moses said\nwithin himself, \u201cI am about to take a man\u2019s life; how know I that he\nwill not repent? How know I that if I suffer him to live, he may beget\nchildren who will do righteously and serve the Lord? Is it well that I\nshould slay this man?\u201d\n\nThen Moses\u2019s eyes were opened, and he saw the throne of God, and the\nangels that surrounded it, and God said to him, \u201cIt is well that thou\nshouldst slay this Egyptian, and therefore have I called thee hither.\nKnow that he would never repent, nor would his children do other than\nwork evil, wert thou to give him his life.\u201d\n\nSo Moses called on the name of the Most High and smote; but before the\nspade touched the man, as the sound of the name of God reached his ears,\nhe fell and died.[478]\n\nThen Moses looked on the Hebrews who had crowded round, and he said to\nthem, \u201cGod has declared that ye shall be as the sand of the sea-shore.\nNow the sand falls and it is noiseless, and the foot of man presses it,\nand it sounds not. Therefore understand that ye are to be silent as is\nthe sand of the sea-shore, and tell not of what I have this day done.\u201d\n\nNow when the man of the Hebrews returned home, he drove out his wife\nSalome, because he had found the Egyptian concealed in his house, and he\ngave her a writing of divorcement, and sent her away. Then the Hebrews\ntalked among themselves at their work, and some said he had done well,\nand others that he had done ill. There were at their task two young men,\nbrothers, Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, of the tribe of Reuben,\nand they strove together on this subject, and Dathan in anger lifted his\nhand, and would have smitten Abiram. Then Moses came up and stayed him,\nand cried, \u201cWhat wickedness art thou doing, striking thy comrade? It\nbeseems you not to lay hands on each other.\u201d\n\nBoldly did Dathan answer: \u201cWho made thee, beardless youth, a lord and\nruler over us? We know well that thou art not the son of the king\u2019s\ndaughter, but of Jochebed. _Wilt thou slay me as thou didst the Egyptian\nyesterday?_\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d said Moses, \u201cnow I see that the evil words, and evil acts, and\nevil thoughts of this people will fight against them, and frustrate the\nloving-kindness of the Lord towards them.\u201d\n\nThen Dathan and Abiram went before Pharaoh, and told him that Moses had\nslain an Egyptian task-master; and Pharaoh\u2019s anger was kindled against\nMoses, and he cried, \u201cEnough of evil hath been prophesied against thee,\nand I have not heeded it, and now thou liftest thy hand against my\nservants!\u201d\n\nFor he had, for long, been slowly turning against Moses, when he saw\nthat he walked not in the ways of the Egyptians, and that he loved the\nking\u2019s enemies, and hated the king\u2019s friends. Then he consulted his\nsoothsayers and his councillors, and they gave him advice that he should\nput Moses to death with the sword. Therefore the young man, Moses, was\nbrought forth, and he ascended the scaffold, and the executioner stood\nover him with his sword, the like of which was not in the whole world.\nAnd when the king gave the word, the headsman smote. But the Lord turned\nthe neck of Moses into marble, and the sword bit not into it.\n\nInstantly, before the second blow was dealt, the angel Michael took from\nthe executioner his sword and his outward semblance, and gave to the\nheadsman the semblance of Moses, and he smote at the executioner, and\ntook his head from off his shoulders. But Moses fled away, and none\nobserved him. And he went to the king of Ethiopia.[479]\n\nNow the king of Ethiopia, Kikannos (Candacus) by name, was warring\nagainst his enemies; and when he left his capital city, Meroe, at the\nhead of a mighty army, he left Balaam and his two sons regents during\nhis absence.\n\nWhilst the king was engaged in war, Balaam and his sons conspired\nagainst the king, and they bewitched the people with their enchantments,\nand led them from their allegiance, and persuaded them to submit to\nBalaam as their king. And Balaam strengthened the city on all sides.\nSheba, or Meroe, was almost impregnable, as it was surrounded by the\nNile and the Astopus. On two sides Balaam built walls, and on the third\nside, between the Nile and the city, he dug countless canals, into which\nhe let the water run. And on the fourth side he assembled innumerable\nserpents. Thus he made the city wholly impregnable.\n\nWhen King Kikannos returned from the war, he saw that his capital was\nfortified, and he wondered; but when he was refused admission, he knew\nthat there was treason.\n\nOne day he endeavoured to surmount the walls, but was repulsed with\ngreat slaughter; and the next day he threw thirty pontoons across the\nriver, but when his soldiers reached the other side, they were engulfed\nin the canals, of which the water was impelled with foaming fury by\ngreat mill-wheels. On the third day he assaulted the town on the fourth\nside, but his men were bitten by the serpents and died. Then King\nKikannos saw that the only hope of reducing the city was by famine; so\nhe invested it, that no provisions might be brought into it.\n\nWhilst he sat down before the capital, Moses took refuge in his camp,\nand was treated by him with great honour and distinction.\n\nAs the siege protracted itself through nine years, Kikannos fell ill and\ndied.\n\nThen the chief captains of his army assembled, and determined to elect a\nking, who might carry on the siege with energy, and reduce the city with\nspeed, for they were weary of the long investment. So they elected Moses\nto be their king, and they threw off their garments and folded them, and\nmade thereof a throne, and set Moses thereon, and blew their trumpets,\nand cried \u201cGod save King Moses!\u201d[480]\n\nAnd they gave him the widow of Kikannos to wife, and costly gifts of\ngold and silver and precious stones were brought to him, but all these\nhe laid aside in the treasury. This took place 157 years after Jacob and\nhis sons came down into Egypt, when Moses was aged twenty-seven years.\n\nOn the seventh day after his coronation came the captains and officers\nbefore him, and besought of him counsel, how the city might be taken.\nThen said Moses, \u201cNine years have ye invested it, and it is not yet in\nyour power. Follow my advice, and in nine days it shall be yours.\u201d\n\nThey said, \u201cSpeak, and we will obey.\u201d\n\nThen Moses gave this advice, \u201cMake it known in the camp that all the\nsoldiers go into the woods, and bring me storks\u2019 nests as many as they\ncan find.\u201d\n\nSo they obeyed, and young storks innumerable were brought to him. Then\nhe said, \u201cKeep them fasting till I give you word, and he who gives to a\nstork food, though it were but a crumb of bread, or a grain of corn, he\nshall be slain, and all that he hath shall become the king\u2019s property,\nand his house shall be made a dung-heap.\u201d\n\nSo the storks were kept fasting. And on the third day the king said,\n\u201cLet the birds go.\u201d\n\nThen the storks flew into the air, and they spied the serpents on the\nfourth side of the city, and they fell upon them, and the serpents fled,\nand they were killed and eaten by the storks or ever they reached their\nholes, and not a serpent remained. Then said Moses, \u201cMarch into the city\nand take it.\u201d\n\nAnd the army entered the city, and not one man fell of the king\u2019s army,\nbut they slew all that opposed them.\n\nThus Moses had brought the Ethiopian army into possession of the\ncapital. The grateful people placed the crown upon his head, and the\nqueen of Kikannos gave him her hand with readiness. But Balaam and his\nsons escaped, riding upon a cloud.\n\nMoses reigned in wisdom and righteousness for forty years, and the land\nprospered under his government, and all loved and honoured him.\nNevertheless, some thought that the son of their late king ought to\nascend the throne of his ancestors;\u2014he was an infant when Moses was\ncrowned, but now that he was a man, a party of the nobles desired to\nproclaim his right.\n\nThey prevailed upon the queen to speak; and when all the princes and\ngreat men of the kingdom were assembled, she declared the matter before\nall. \u201cMen of Ethiopia,\u201d said she, \u201cit is known to you that for forty\nyears my husband has reigned in Sheba. Well do you know that he has\nruled in equity, and administered righteous judgment. But know also,\nthat his God is not our God, and that his faith is not our faith. My\nson, Mena-Cham (Minakros) is of fitting age to succeed his father;\ntherefore it is my opinion that Moses should surrender to him the\nthrone.\u201d\n\nAn assembly of the people was called, and as this advice of the queen\npleased them, they besought Moses to resign the crown to the rightful\nheir. He consented, without hesitation, and, laden with gifts and good\nwishes, he left the country and went into Midian.[481]\n\nMoses was sixty-seven years old when he entered Midian. Reuel or\nJethro,[482] who had been a councillor of Pharaoh, had, as has been\nalready related, taken up his residence in Midian, where the people had\nraised him to be High Priest and Prince over the whole tribe. But Jethro\nafter a while withdrew from the priesthood, for he believed in the one\nTrue God, and abhorred the idols which the Midianites worshipped. And\nwhen the people found that Jethro despised their gods, and that he\npreached against their idolatry, they placed him under the ban, that\nnone might give him meat or drink, or serve him.\n\nThis troubled Jethro greatly, for all his shepherds forsook him, as he\nwas under the ban. Therefore it was, that his seven daughters were\nconstrained to lead and water the flocks.[483]\n\nMoses arrived near a well and sat down to rest. Then he saw the seven\ndaughters of Jethro approach.\n\nThe maidens had gone early to the well, for they feared lest the\nshepherds, taking advantage of their being placed under ban, should\nmolest them, and refuse to give their sheep water. They let down their\npitchers in turn, and with much trouble filled the trough. Then the\nshepherds came up and drove them away, and led their sheep to the trough\nthe maidens had filled, and in rude jest they would have thrown the\ndamsels into the water, but Moses stood up and delivered them, and\nrebuked the shepherds, and they were ashamed.\n\nThen Moses let down his pitcher, and the water leaped up and overflowed,\nand he filled the trough and gave the flocks of the seven maidens to\ndrink, and then he watered also the flocks of the shepherds, lest there\nshould be evil blood between them.\n\nNow when the maidens came home, they related to their father all that\nhad taken place; and he said, \u201cWhere is the man that hath shown kindness\nto you?\u2014bring him to me.\u201d\n\nSo Zipporah ran\u2014she ran like a bird\u2014and came to the well, and bade Moses\nenter under their roof and eat of their table.\n\nWhen Moses came to Raguel (Jethro), the old man asked him whence he\ncame, and Moses told him all the truth.\n\nThen thought Jethro, \u201cI am fallen under the displeasure of Midian, and\nthis man has been driven out of Egypt and out of Ethiopia; he must be a\ndangerous man; he will embroil me with the men of this land, and, if the\nking of Ethiopia or Pharaoh of Egypt hears that I have harboured him, it\nwill go ill with me.\u201d\n\nTherefore Raguel took Moses and bound him with chains, and threw him\ninto a dungeon, where he was given only scanty food; and soon Jethro,\nwhose thoughts were turned to reconciliation with the Midianites, forgot\nhim, and sent him no food. But Zipporah loved him, and was grateful to\nhim for the kindness he had showed her, in saving her from the hands of\nthe shepherds who would have dipped her in the watering-trough, and\nevery day she took him food and drink, and in return was instructed by\nthe prisoner in the law of the Most High.[484]\n\nThus passed seven, or, as others say, ten years;[485] and all the while\nthe gentle and loving Zipporah ministered to his necessities.\n\nThe Midianites were reconciled again with Jethro, and restored him to\nhis former position; and his scruples about the worship of idols abated,\nwhen he found that opposition to the established religion interfered\nwith his temporal interests.\n\nThen, when all was again prosperous, many great men and princes came to\nask the hand of Zipporah his daughter, who was beautiful as the morning\nstar, and as the dove in the hole of the rock, and as the narcissus by\nthe water\u2019s side. But Zipporah loved Moses alone; and Jethro, unwilling\nto offend those who solicited her by refusing them, as he could give his\ndaughter to one only, took his staff, whereon was written the name of\nGod, the staff which was cut from the Tree of Life, and which had\nbelonged to Joseph, but which he had taken with him from the palace of\nPharaoh, and he planted it in his garden, and said, \u201cHe who can pluck up\nthis staff, he shall take my daughter Zipporah.\u201d\n\nThen the strong chiefs of Edom and of Midian came and tried, but they\ncould not move the staff.\n\nOne day Zipporah went before her father, and reminded him of the man\nwhom he had cast into a dungeon so many years before. Jethro was amazed,\nand he said, \u201cI had forgotten him these seven years; he must be dead; he\nhas had no food.\u201d\n\nBut Zipporah said meekly, \u201cWith God all things are possible.\u201d\n\nSo Jethro went to the prison door and opened it, and Moses was alive.\nThen he brought him forth, and cut his hair, and pared his nails, and\ngave him a change of raiment, and set him in his garden, and placed meat\nbefore him.\n\nNow Moses, being once more in the fresh air, and under the blue sky, and\nwith the light of heaven shining upon him, prayed and gave thanks to\nGod; and seeing the staff, whereon was written the name of the Most\nHigh, he went to it and took it away, and it followed his hand.\n\nWhen Jethro returned into the garden, lo! Moses had the staff of the\nTree of Life in his hand; then Jethro cried out, \u201cThis is a man called\nof God to be a prince and a great man among the Hebrews, and to be\nfamous throughout the world.\u201d And he gave him Zipporah, his daughter, to\nbe his wife.[486]\n\nOne day, as Moses was tending his flock in a barren place, he saw that\none of the lambs had left the flock and was escaping. The good shepherd\npursued it, but the lamb ran so much the faster, fled through valley and\nover hill, till it reached a mountain stream; then it halted and drank.\n\nMoses now came up to it, and looked at it with troubled countenance, and\nsaid,\u2014\n\n\u201cMy dear little friend! Then it was thirst which made thee run so far\nand seem to fly from me; and I knew it not! Poor little creature, how\ntired thou must be! How canst thou return so far to the flock?\u201d\n\nAnd when the lamb heard this, it suffered Moses to take it up and lay it\nupon his shoulders; and, carrying the lamb, he returned to the flock.\n\nNow whilst Moses walked, burdened with the lamb, there fell a voice from\nheaven, \u201cThou, who hast shown so great love, so great patience towards\nthe sheep of man\u2019s fold, thou art worthy to be called to pasture the\nsheep of the fold of God.\u201d[487]\n\n\n                        4. MOSES BEFORE PHARAOH.\n\n\nOne day that Moses was keeping sheep, his father-in-law, Jethro, came to\nhim and demanded back the staff that he had given him. Then Moses cast\nthe staff from him among a number of other rods, but the staff ever\nreturned to his hand as often as he cast it away. Then Jethro laid hold\nof the rod, but he could not move it. Therefore he was obliged to let\nMoses retain it. But he was estranged from him.\n\nNow Pharaoh was dead. And when the news reached Moses in Midian, he gat\nhim up, and set his wife Zipporah and his son Gershom on an ass, and\ntook the way of Egypt.\n\nAnd as they were in the way, they halted in a certain place; and it was\ncloudy, and cold, and rainy. Then they encamped, and Zipporah tried to\nmake a fire, but could not, for the wood was damp.\n\nMoses said, \u201cI see a fire burning at the foot of the mountain. I will go\nto it, for there must be travellers there; and I will fetch a brand away\nand will kindle a fire, and be warm.\u201d\n\nThen, he took his rod in his hand and went. But when he came near the\nspot, he saw that the fire was not on the ground, but at the summit of a\ntree; and the tree was a thorn. A thorn-tree was the first tree that\ngrew, when God created the herb of the field and the trees of the\nforest. Moses was filled with fear, and he would have turned and fled,\nbut a voice[488] called to him out of the fire, \u201c_Moses, Moses!_\u201d And he\nsaid, \u201c_Here am I._\u201d And the voice said again, \u201c_Put off thy shoes from\noff thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground._\u201d This\nwas the reason why he was bidden put off his shoes; they were made of\nasses\u2019 hide, and Moses had trodden on the dung of his ass as he followed\nZipporah and Gershom.\n\nThen God gave Moses his commission to go into Egypt, and release His\ncaptive people. But Moses feared, and said, \u201cI am of slow lips and\ntongue!\u201d for he had burnt them, with his finger, when he took the live\ncoal before Pharaoh, as already related. But God said to him, \u201cI have\ngiven thee Aaron thy brother to speak for thee. And now, what is this\nthat thou hast in thy hand?\u201d\n\nMoses answered, \u201cThis is my rod.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd to what purpose dost thou turn it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI lean on it when I am walking, and when I come where there is no\ngrass, I strike the trees therewith, and bring down the leaves to feed\nmy sheep withal.\u201d And when he had narrated all the uses to which he put\nthe staff, God said to him, \u201cWith this staff shalt thou prevail against\nPharaoh. Cast it upon the ground.\u201d And when he cast it down, it was\ntransformed into a serpent or dragon, and Moses turned his back to run\nfrom it; but God said, \u201cFear not; take it up by the neck;\u201d and he caught\nit, and it became a rod in his hands. Then said the Most Holy, \u201cPut thy\nhand into thy bosom.\u201d And he did so, and drew it forth, and it was\nwhite, and shining like the moon in the dark of night.\n\nThen Moses desired to go back to Zipporah his wife, but the angel\nGabriel retained him, saying, \u201cThou hast higher duties to perform than\nto attend on thy wife. Lo! I have already reconducted her to her\nfather\u2019s house. Go on upon thy way to Pharaoh, as the Lord hath\ncommanded thee.\u201d\n\nThe night on which Moses entered Egyptian territory, an angel appeared\nto Aaron in a dream, with a crystal glass full of good wine in his hand,\nand said, as he extended it to him:\u2014\n\n\u201cAaron, drink of this wine which the Lord sends thee as a pledge of good\nnews. Thy brother Moses has returned to Egypt, and God has chosen him to\nbe His prophet, and thee to be his spokesman. Arise, and go forth to\nmeet him!\u201d\n\nAaron therefore arose from his bed and went out of the city to the banks\nof the Nile, but there was no boat there by which he could cross.\nSuddenly he perceived in the distance a light which approached; and as\nit drew nearer he saw that it was a horseman. It was Gabriel mounted on\na steed of fire, which shone like the brightest diamond, and whose\nneighing was hymns of praise, for the steed was one of the cherubim.\n\nAaron at first supposed that he was pursued by one of Pharaoh\u2019s\nhorsemen, and he would have cast himself into the Nile; but Gabriel\nstayed him, declared who he was, mounted him on the fiery cherub, and\nthey crossed the Nile on his back.\n\nThere stood Moses, who, when he saw Aaron, exclaimed, \u201cTruth is come,\nFalsehood is passed.\u201d Now this was the sign that God had given to Moses,\n\u201c_Behold he cometh to meet thee._\u201d[489] And they rejoiced over each\nother.\n\nBut another account is this: Moses entered Memphis with his sheep,\nduring the night. Now Amram was dead, but his wife Jochebed was alive.\nWhen Moses reached the door, Jochebed was awake. He knocked at the door;\nthen she opened, but knew him not, and asked, \u201cWho art thou?\u201d\n\nHe answered, \u201cI am a man from a far country; I pray thee lodge me, and\ngive me to eat this night.\u201d\n\nShe took him in, and brought him some meat, and said to Aaron, \u201cSit down\nand eat with the guest, to do him honour.\u201d Aaron, in eating, conversed\nwith Moses and recognized him.\n\nThen the mother and sister knew him also. And when the meal was over,\nMoses acquitted himself of his mission to Aaron, and Aaron answered, \u201cI\nwill obey the will of God.\u201d[490]\n\nMoses spent the night, and the whole of the following day, in relating\nto his mother the things that had befallen him.\n\nAnd on the second night, Moses and Aaron went forth to Pharaoh\u2019s palace.\nNow the palace had four hundred doors, a hundred on each side, and each\ndoor was guarded by sixty thousand fighting men. The angel Gabriel came\nto them and led them into the palace, but not by the doors.\n\nWhen they appeared before Pharaoh, they said: \u201cGod hath sent us unto\nthee to bid thee let the Hebrews go, that they may hold a feast in the\nwilderness.\u201d\n\nBut Pharaoh said, \u201c_Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let\nIsrael go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go._\u201d[491]\n\nTabari tells a different story. Moses and Aaron sought admittance during\ntwo years. Now Pharaoh gave himself out to be a god.\n\nBut Moses and Aaron, when they spake at the door with the porters, said,\n\u201cHe is no god.\u201d One day the jester of Pharaoh heard his master read the\nhistory of his own life, and when he came to the passage which asserted\nhe was a god, the jester exclaimed, \u201cNow this is strange! For two years\nthere have been two strangers at thy gate denying thy divinity.\u201d\n\nWhen Pharaoh heard this, he was in a fury, and he sent and had Moses and\nAaron brought before him.\n\nBut to return to the Rabbinic tale. Moses and Aaron were driven out from\nthe presence of Pharaoh; and he said, \u201cWho admitted these men?\u201d And some\nof the porters he slew, and some he scourged.\n\nThen two lionesses were placed before the palace, to protect it, and the\nbeasts suffered no man to enter unless Pharaoh gave the word.\n\nAnd the Lord spake to Moses and Aaron, saying, \u201cWhen Pharaoh talketh\nwith you, saying, Give us a miracle, thou shalt say to Aaron, Take thy\nrod and cast it down, and it shall became a basilisk serpent; for all\nthe inhabitants of the earth shall hear the voice of the shriek of Egypt\nwhen I destroy it, as all creatures heard the shriek of the serpent when\nI stripped it, and took from it its legs and made it lick the dust after\nthe Fall.\u201d[492]\n\nOn the morrow, Moses and Aaron came again to the king\u2019s palace, and the\nlionesses would have devoured them. Then Moses raised his staff, and\ntheir chains brake, and they followed him, barking like dogs, into the\nhouse.[493]\n\nWhen Moses and Aaron stood before the king, Aaron cast down the rod\nbefore Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent, which\nopened its jaws, and it laid one jaw beneath the throne, and its upper\njaw was over the canopy above it; then the servants fled from before it,\nand Pharaoh hid himself beneath his throne, and the fear it caused him\ngave him bowel-complaint for a week. Now before this Pharaoh was only\nmoved once a week, and this was the occasion of his being lifted up with\npride, and giving himself out to be a god.[494]\n\nPharaoh cried out from under the throne, \u201cO Moses, take hold of the\nserpent, and I will do what you desire.\u201d[495]\n\nMoses took hold of the serpent, and it became a rod in his hands. Then\nPharaoh crawled out from under his throne, and sat down upon it. And\nMoses put his hand into his bosom, and when he drew it forth, it shone\nlike the moon.\n\nThe king sent for his magicians, and the chief of these were Jannes and\nJambres. He told them what Moses had done.\n\nThey said, \u201cWe can turn a thousand rods into serpents.\u201d\n\nThen the king named a day when Moses and Aaron on one side should strive\nwith Jannes and Jambres[496] and all the magicians on the other; and he\ngave them a month to prepare for the contest.\n\nOn the day appointed\u2014it was Pharaoh\u2019s birthday\u2014all the inhabitants of\nMemphis were assembled in a great plain outside the city, where lists\nwere staked out, and the royal tent was spread for the king to view the\ncontest.\n\nMoses and Aaron stood on one side and the magicians on the other.\n\nThe latter said, \u201cShall we cast our rods, or will you?\u201d\n\nMoses answered, \u201cDo you cast your rods first.\u201d\n\nThen the magicians threw down a hundred ass-loads of rods, tied the rods\ntogether with cords, and by their enchantment caused them to appear to\nthe spectators like serpents, leaping and darting from one side of the\narena to the other.\n\nAnd all the people were filled with fear, and the magicians said, \u201cWe\nhave this day triumphed over Moses.\u201d\n\nThen the prophet of God cast his rod before Pharaoh, and it became a\nmighty serpent. It rolled its tail round the throne of the king, and it\nshot forth its head, and swallowed all the rods of the enchanters, so\nthat there remained not one.\n\nAfter that all had disappeared, Moses took the serpent, and it became a\nrod in his hand again, but all the rods of the magicians had vanished.\n\nAnd when the magicians saw the miracle that Moses had wrought, they were\nconverted, and worshipped the true God. But Pharaoh cut off their hands\nand feet, and crucified them; and they died. Pharaoh\u2019s own daughter\nMaschita believed; and the king in his rage did not spare her, but cast\nher into a fire, and she was burnt. Bithia was also denounced to him,\nand she was condemned to the flames, but the angel Gabriel delivered\nher. The Mussulmans say that he consoled her by telling her that she\nwould become the wife of Mohammed in Paradise, after which he gave her\nto drink, and when she had tasted, she died without pain.\n\nThen Moses and Aaron met Pharaoh in the morning as he went by the side\nof the river, and Moses said to the king, \u201c_The Lord of the Hebrews hath\nsent me unto thee, saying, Let My people go, that they may serve Me in\nthe wilderness._\u201d\n\nBut Pharaoh would not hearken to him. Then Aaron stretched out his rod\nover the river, and it became blood.\n\nAll the water that was in the vessels also became blood, even the\nspittle that was in the mouth of the Egyptians. The Rabbi Levi said that\nby this means the Israelites realized large fortunes; for if an\nIsraelite and an Egyptian went together to the Nile to fetch water, the\nvessel of the Egyptian was found to contain blood, but that of the\nIsraelite pure water; but if an Israelite brought water to the house of\nan Egyptian and sold it, it remained water.[497]\n\nBut Pharaoh\u2019s heart was hard; and seven days passed, after that the Lord\nhad smitten the river.\n\nThen went Moses and Aaron to him. But the four hundred doors of the\npalace were guarded by bears, lions, and other savage beasts, so that\nnone might pass, till they were satisfied with flesh. But Moses and\nAaron came up, collected them together, drew a circle round them with\nthe sacred staff, and the wild beasts licked the feet of the prophets\nand followed them into the presence of Pharaoh.[498]\n\nMoses and Aaron repeated their message to Pharaoh, but he would not\nhearken to them, but drove them from his presence. Aaron smote the\nriver; but Moses on no occasion smote the Nile, for he respected the\nriver which had saved his life as a babe.[499] Then the Lord brought\nfrogs upon the land, and filled all the houses; they were in the beds,\non the tables, in the cups. And the king sent for Moses and said:\n\u201c_Intreat the Lord, that He may take the frogs from me and from my\npeople._\u201d So the Lord sent a great rain, and it washed the frogs into\nthe Red Sea.\n\nThe next plague was lice.[500]\n\nThe fourth plague was wild beasts.\n\nThe fifth was murrain.\n\nThe sixth was boils and blains upon man and beast.[501]\n\nThe seventh was hail and tempest. Now Job regarded the word of Moses,\nand he brought his cattle within doors, and they were saved; but Balaam\nregarded it not, and all his cattle were destroyed.[502]\n\nThe eighth was locusts; these the Egyptians fried, and laid by in store\nto serve them for food; but when the west wind came to blow the locusts\naway, it blew away also those that had been pickled and laid by for\nfuture consumption.[503]\n\nThe ninth plague was darkness.\n\nThe tenth was the death of the first-born.\n\nThe Book of Jasher says that, the Egyptians having closed their doors\nand windows against the plagues of flies, and locusts, and lice, God\nsent the sea-monster Silinoth, a huge polypus with arms ten cubits long,\nand the beast climbed upon the roofs and broke them up, and let down its\nslimy arms, and unlatched all the doors and windows, and threw them open\nfor the flies and locusts and lice to enter.[504]\n\nBut the Mohammedans give a different order to the signs:\u2014(1) the rod\nchanged into a serpent; (2) the whitened hand; (3) the famine; (4) a\ndeluge, the Nile rose over the land so that every man stood in water up\nto his neck; (5) locusts; (6) anommals,\u2014these are two-legged animals\nsmaller than locusts; (7) blood; (8) frogs; (9) every green thing\nthroughout the land, all fruit, all grain, eggs, and everything in the\nhouses were turned to stone.[505]\n\nAfter the plague of the darkness, Pharaoh resolved on a general massacre\nof all the children of the Hebrews. The Mussulmans put the temporary\npetrifaction of all in the land in the place of the darkness. The Book\nof Exodus says that during the darkness \u201c_they saw not one another,\nneither rose any from his place_;\u201d but the Arabs say that they were\nturned to stone. Here might be seen a petrified man with a balance in\nhis hand sitting in the bazaar; there, another stone man counting out\nmoney; and the porters at the palace were congealed to marble with their\nswords in their hands.[506] But others say that this was a separate\nplague, and that the darkness followed it.\n\nAnd now Gabriel took on him the form of a servant of the king, and he\nwent before him and asked him what was his desire.\n\n\u201cThat vile liar Moses deserves death,\u201d said Pharaoh.\n\n\u201cHow shall I slay him?\u201d asked Gabriel.\n\n\u201cLet him be cast into the water.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive me a written order,\u201d said the angel. Pharaoh did so.\n\nThen Gabriel went to Moses and told him that the time was come when he\nwas to leave Egypt with all the people, for the measure of the iniquity\nof Pharaoh was filled up, and the Lord would destroy him with a signal\noverthrow.\n\n\n                     5. THE PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA.\n\n\nThe Israelites had made their preparations to depart out of Egypt a\nmonth before the call came to escape.\n\nAnd when all was ready, Moses called together the elders of the people\nand said to them, \u201cWhen Joseph died, he ordered his descendants to take\nup his bones, or ever they went out of the land, and to bear them to the\ncave of Machpelah, where lie the bones of his father Jacob. Where are\nthe bones of Joseph?\u201d\n\nThe elders answered him, \u201cWe do not know.\u201d\n\nNow there was an old Egyptian woman, named Miriam, and she believed in\nthe Lord. She said to Moses, \u201cI will show thee where is the tomb of\nJoseph, if thou wilt swear unto me that thou wilt take me with thee from\nEgypt, and that thou wilt ask the Most High to admit me into Paradise.\u201d\n\nMoses said, \u201cI will do these things that thou askest.\u201d\n\nThen the woman said, \u201cThe tomb of Joseph is in the middle of the river\nNile, which flows through Memphis, at such a spot.\u201d\n\nMoses prayed to God, and the water fell till the bed of the river was\nleft dry; and then he and the woman went into it, and came on the tomb\nof Joseph; it was a sarcophagus of marble without joints.[507]\n\nMoses made preparations for departure, and said to the children of\nIsrael, \u201cGod will destroy the Egyptians, and will give you their\nprecious things.\u201d\n\nThen every one among the Hebrews who had an Egyptian neighbour said to\nhim, if he was rich: \u201cI am going to a feast in the country, I pray thee\nlend me jewels of gold and silver to adorn my wife and children.\u201d\n\nThe Egyptians lent their precious things, and the Israelites by this\nmeans found themselves possessed of borrowed jewels in great abundance.\nThen Moses said, \u201cWe will leave Egypt this night when the Egyptians are\nasleep. Let every housekeeper softly desert his house, and bring with\nhim his precious things, and meet outside the town. And let every one\nslay a lamb, and sprinkle with the blood the lintel and door-posts of\nthe house, that the neighbours may know, when they see the blood, that\nthe house is empty.\u201d\n\nWhen the middle of the night was passed, the Israelites were assembled\noutside Memphis, at the place which Moses had appointed. Then the host\nwas numbered, and it contained six hundred thousand horsemen, not\nincluding those who were on foot, the women, the children, and the aged.\nAll who were under twenty were accounted infants, and all who were over\nsixty were accounted aged.\n\nAfter that, Moses placed Aaron in command of the first battalion, and he\nsaid to him, \u201cMarch in the direction of the sea, for Gabriel has\npromised to meet me on its shores.\u201d At that time one branch of the Nile\n(the Pelusiac branch) flowed into the Red Sea, which extended over where\nis now sandy desert to Migdol.\n\nMoses made the host follow Aaron, troop by troop, and tribe by tribe;\nand he brought up the rear with a strong guard of picked men.\n\nIt was dawning towards the first day of the week when Israel escaped out\nof Egypt.\n\nAnd when day broke, behold, they were gone away. Then the Egyptians came\nand told Pharaoh. He sent to search all the houses of the Israelites,\nbut they were all empty, only their lamps were left burning. Pharaoh\nsaid, \u201cWe will pursue them.\u201d The Egyptians said, \u201cThey have borrowed our\njewels; we must follow after them, and recover what is our own.\u201d\n\nNow Moses had used craft touching these ornaments, in order that the\nEgyptians might be constrained to follow. For if the Israelites had gone\nwithout these, the Egyptians would have rejoiced at their departure. But\nbecause they had borrowed of the Egyptians, therefore the Egyptians went\nafter them to recover their ornaments, and by this means rushed into\ndestruction.\n\nAnd Israel marched all day through the wilderness protected by seven\nclouds of glory on their four sides: one above them, that neither hail\nnor rain might fall upon them, nor that they should be burned by the\nheat of the sun; one beneath them, that they might not be hurt by\nthorns, serpents, or scorpions; and one went before them, to make the\nvalleys even, and the mountains low, and to prepare them a place of\nhabitation.[508]\n\nAlso, when the morning dawned, there was not a house in all Egypt in\nwhich there was not a first-born dead. And this delayed the people from\npursuing after the Israelites; for they were engaged in bewailing their\ndead, and in digging graves for them. Thus they were not at leisure to\nfollow after their former slaves, till they had escaped clean away.\n\nAlso that night was every metal image in Egypt molten, and every idol of\nstone was broken, and every idol of clay was shattered, and every idol\nof wood was dissolved to dust.[509]\n\nThe same day Pharaoh sent into all the cities of Egypt and collected an\narmy. When even was come the whole army was assembled about the king,\nand Pharaoh said to Dathan and Abiram, who had remained behind,[510]\n\u201cThe Israelites are few in number, _they are entangled in the land, the\nwilderness hath shut them in_.\u201d For all the way was full of marshes and\ncanals of water and desert tracts. \u201cThey have acted wrongly by us, for\nthey have carried away the ornaments and jewels of our people; and\nMoses, by magic, has slain all our first-born, so that there is not a\nhouse in which there is not one dead.\u201d\n\nOn the morrow\u2014it was the second day of the week\u2014the army was reviewed,\nand Pharaoh numbered the host, and he had six hundred chosen chariots,\nand two million foot soldiers, and five million horsemen, and, in\naddition, there were one million seven hundred thousand horses, and on\nthese horses were black men.\n\nWhen the sun rose on the third day, Pharaoh marched out of Memphis, and\nhe pursued for half a day with forced marches. At noon, Pharaoh had come\nup with Moses, and the fore-front of Pharaoh\u2019s army thrust the\nrear-guard of the army of Moses. Then the children of Israel cried unto\nthe Lord, and they said to Moses, \u201c_Because there were no graves in\nEgypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast\nthou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?_\u201d\n\nThey were divided into four opinions. One set said, \u201cLet us fling\nourselves into the sea.\u201d Another set said, \u201cLet us return and surrender\nourselves.\u201d The third set said, \u201cLet us array battle against the\nEgyptians.\u201d The fourth recommended, \u201cLet us shout against them, and\nfrighten them away with our clamour.\u201d[511]\n\nAnd Moses said unto the people, \u201c_Fear ye not, stand still, and see the\nsalvation of the Lord. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold\nyour peace._\u201d[512]\n\nThen Moses raised his rod over the sea, and it divided, and let twelve\nchannels of dry land appear traversing it, one for each of the twelve\ntribes. \u201cWhen Moses had smitten,\u201d says the Koran, \u201cthe sea divided into\ntwelve heaps, and left twelve ways through it, and each heap was as a\ngreat mountain.\u201d[513]\n\nThe Israelites hesitated to enter; for they said, \u201cO Moses! the bottom\nof this sea is black mud, and when we place our feet on it we shall sink\nin and be swallowed up.\u201d\n\nBut Moses prayed to God, and He sent a wind and the rays of the sun, and\nthe wind and the sun dried the mud, and it became as sand.\n\nThen Gabriel and Michael appeared to Moses, and said, \u201cPass on, and lead\nthe people through. As for us, we have orders to tarry for Pharaoh.\u201d So\nMoses galloped forward into the sea, crying, \u201cIn the name of the\nmerciful and glorious God!\u201d and all the people went in after him. But as\nthey marched by twelve ways, and there were walls of water between, they\ncould not see each other, and they were in fear; therefore Moses prayed\nto the Lord, and the Lord made the water-heaps rise and arch over them\nlike bowers, and shelter them from the fire of the sun; and He made the\nwatery walls so clear they were as sheets of glass, and through them the\ncolumns of the advancing army were visible to each other.\n\nMoses traversed the sea in two hours, and he came forth with all the\npeople on the other side.\n\nThen Pharaoh and his host came to the water\u2019s side, but he feared to\nenter in. Now Pharaoh was mounted on an entire horse of great beauty. He\nreined in his steed and would not go forward, for he thought that this\nwas part of the enchantment of Moses.\n\nBut now Gabriel appeared mounted on a mare, and this was the cherub\nRamka.[514] And when the horse of Pharaoh saw the mare of Gabriel, he\nplunged forward and followed the mare into the sea. Then, when the\nEgyptian army saw their king enter fearlessly into one of the channels,\nthey also precipitated themselves into the ways through the deep.\n\nThey advanced till they reached the middle of the Red Sea, and then\nGabriel reined in and turned and unfurled before Pharaoh the order he\nhad given for the destruction of Moses in the water, and it was signed\nby Pharaoh and sealed with his own signet.\n\n\u201cSee!\u201d exclaimed the angel. \u201cWhat thou wouldest do to Moses, that shall\nbe done to thee; for thou art but a man, thou who fightest against God.\u201d\n\nThen the twelve heaps of water overwhelmed the host. But Pharaoh\u2019s horse\nwas so fleet of foot that he outfled the returning waters, and he\nbrought the king to the shore. He would have been saved, had not Gabriel\nsmitten him on the face, and he fell back into the sea and perished with\nthe rest. Then said Miriam, as he sank, \u201c_Sing ye to the Lord, for He\nhath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into\nthe sea._\u201d[515]\n\nAnother curious incident is related by Tabari. When the water reached\nPharaoh, and he knew that he must perish, he cried out, \u201cI believe in\nthe God of Israel!\u201d Gabriel, fearing lest Pharaoh should repeat these\nwords, and that God in His mercy should accept his profession of faith,\nand pardon him, passed his wing over the bottom of the sea, raised the\nearth, and threw it into the mouth of Pharaoh so as to prevent him from\nswallowing again, and said, \u201cNow thou believest, but before thou wast\nrebellious; nevertheless, thou art numbered with the wicked.\u201d[516]\n\nIt was the ninth hour of the day when the children of Israel stood on\ndry land on the further side of the sea.\n\nOn the morrow, the children of Israel assembled around Moses, and said\nto him, \u201cWe do not believe that Pharaoh is drowned, for he had peculiar\npower. He never suffered from headache, nor from fever, nor from any\nsickness, and was internally moved but once a week.\u201d\n\nThen Moses clave the sea asunder with his rod, and they saw Pharaoh and\nall his host dead at the bottom of the sea. The bodies of the Egyptians\nwere covered with armour and much gold and silver, and on the corpse of\nPharaoh were chains and bracelets of gold. The children of Israel would\nhave spoiled the dead, but Moses forbade them, for he said, \u201cIt is\nlawful to spoil the living, but it is robbery to strip the dead.\u201d\nNevertheless many of the Hebrews went in and took from the Egyptians all\nthat was valuable. Then God was wroth, because they had disobeyed Moses,\nand the sea was troubled, and for ten days it raged with fury, and even\nto this day the water is not at rest where the Israelites committed this\nsin. And the name of that place at this day is Bab el Taquath.[517]\n\n\n                       6. THE GIVING OF THE LAW.\n\n\nAs long as Moses was with them, the Israelites did not venture to make\nidols, but when God summoned Moses into the Mount to talk with Him face\nto face, then they spake to Aaron that he should make a molten god to go\nbefore them.\n\nAaron bade them break off their earrings and bracelets and give them to\nhim, for he thought that they would be reluctant to part with their\njewels. Nevertheless the people brought their ornaments to him in great\nabundance, and one named Micah cast them into a copper vessel; and when\nthe gold was melted, he threw in a handful of the sand which had been\nunder the hoof of Gabriel\u2019s horse, and there came forth a calf, which\nran about like a living beast, and bellowed; for Sammael (Satan) had\nentered into it. \u201cHere is your god that shall go before you,\u201d cried\nMicah; and all the people fell down and worshipped the golden calf.[518]\n\nAnd when Moses came down from the Mount and drew near to the camp, and\nsaw the calf, and the instruments of music in the hands of the wicked,\nwho were dancing and bowing before it, and Satan among them dancing and\nleaping before the people, the wrath of Moses was suddenly kindled, and\nhe cast the tables of the Commandments, which he had received from God\nin the Mount, out of his hand and brake them at the foot of the\nmountain; but the holy writing that was on them flew, and was carried\naway into the heavens; and he cried, and said, \u201cWoe upon the people who\nhave heard from the mouth of the Holy One, \u2018Thou shalt not make to\nthyself any image, a figure, or any likeness;\u2019 and yet at the end of\nforty days make a useless molten calf!\u201d\n\nAnd he took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, and\ncrushed it to powder, and cast it upon the face of the water of the\nstream, and made the sons of Israel drink; and whoever had given thereto\nany trinket of gold, the sign of it came forth upon his nostrils.[519]\n\nOf all the children of Israel only twelve thousand were found who had\nnot worshipped the calf.[520]\n\nThe Mussulmans say that the Tables borne by Moses were from ten to\ntwelve cubits in length, and were made, say some, of cedar wood, but\nothers say of ruby, others of carbuncle; but the general opinion is that\nthey were of sapphire or emerald;[521] and the letters were graven\nwithin them, not on the surface, so that the words could be read on\neither side. When the golden calf had been pounded to dust, Moses made\nthe Israelites drink water in which was the dust, and those who had\nkissed the idol were marked with gilt lips. Thus the Levites were able\nto distinguish them; and they slew of them twenty and three\nthousand.[522]\n\nIt is a common tradition among the Jews that the red hair which is by no\nmeans infrequently met with in the Hebrew race is derived from this\nperiod; all those who had sinned and drank of the water lost their black\nhair and it became red, and they transmitted the colour to their\nposterity.\n\nAnother version of the story is as follows. Samiri (Micah), who had\nfashioned the golden calf, was of the tribe of Levi. When Moses came\ndown from the Mount, he would have beaten Aaron, but his brother said,\n\u201cIt is not I, it is Samiri who made the calf.\u201d Then Moses would have\nslain Samiri, but God forbade him, and ordered him instead to place him\nunder ban.\n\nFrom that time till now, the man wanders, like a wild beast, from one\nend of the earth to the other; every man avoids him, and cleanses the\nearth on which his feet have rested; and when he comes near any man, he\ncries out, \u201cTouch me not!\u201d\n\nBut before Moses drave Samiri out of the camp, he ground the calf to\npowder, and made Samiri pollute it; then he mixed it with the water, and\ngave it to the Israelites to drink. After Samiri had departed, Moses\ninterceded with God for the people. But God answered, \u201cI cannot pardon\nthem, for their sin is yet in them, and it will only be purged out by\nthe draught they have drunk.\u201d\n\nWhen Moses returned to the camp, he heard a piteous cry. Many Israelites\nwith yellow faces and livid bodies cast themselves before him, and\ncried, \u201cHelp! Moses, help! the golden calf consumes our intestines; we\nwill repent and die, if the Lord will pardon us.\u201d\n\nSome, really contrite, were healed. Then a black cloud came down on the\ncamp, and all those who were in it fought with one another and slew one\nanother; but upon the innocent the swords had no power. Seven thousand\nidolaters had been slain, when Moses, hearing the cry of the women and\nchildren, came and prayed; and the cloud vanished, and the sword\nrested.[523]\n\nAccording to some, the complaint caused by swallowing the dust of the\ncalf was jaundice, a complaint which has never ceased from among men\nsince that day. Thus the calf brought two novelties into the world, red\nhair and jaundice.\n\nAnd Moses went up again into the Mount, and took with him seventy of the\nelders. And he besought the Lord, \u201cSuffer me, O Lord, to see Thee!\u201d[524]\nBut the Lord answered him, \u201cThinkest thou that thou canst behold Me and\nlive?\u201d And He said, \u201cLook at this mountain; I will display Myself to\nthis mountain.\u201d\n\nThen the mountain saw God, and it dissolved into fine dust. So Moses\nknew that it was not for him to see God, and he repented that he had\nasked this thing.[525] After that he went with the seventy elders to\nSinai, and a cloud, white and glistening, came down and rested on the\nhead of Moses, and then descended and wholly enveloped him, so that the\nseventy saw him not; and when he was in the cloud, he received again the\nTables of the Commandments, and he came forth out of the cloud. But they\nmurmured that they had not also received the revelation. Then the cloud\nenveloped them also, and they heard all the words that had been spoken\nto Moses; and after that they said, \u201cNow we believe, because we have\nheard with our own ears.\u201d\n\nThen the wrath of God blazed forth, and a thundering was heard so great\nand terrible that they fainted and died. But Moses feared, and he prayed\nto God, and God restored the seventy men to life again, and they came\ndown the Mount with him.[526]\n\nAnd it was at this time that the face of Moses shone with the splendour\nwhich had come upon him from the brightness of the glory of the Lord\u2019s\nShekinah in the time of His speaking with him. And Aaron and all the\nsons of Israel saw Moses, and, behold, the glory of his face was\ndazzling, so that they were afraid to come near to him. And Moses called\nto them, and Aaron, and all the princes of the congregation; and he\ntaught them all that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. And when\nMoses spoke with them, he had a veil upon his face; and when he went up\nto speak with the Lord, he removed the veil from his countenance until\nhe came forth.[527]\n\nThis was the reason why the face of Moses shone. He saw the light which\nGod had created, whereby Adam was enabled to see from one end of the\nearth to the other. God showed this light now to Moses, and thereby he\nwas able to see to Dan.[528]\n\nWhen Moses went up into the Mount, a cloud received him, and bore him\ninto heaven. On his way, he met the door-keeper Kemuel, chief of twelve\nthousands of angels of destruction; they were angels of fire; and he\nwould have prevented Moses from advancing: then Moses pronounced the\nName in twelve letters, revealed to him by God from the Burning Bush,\nand the angel and his host recoiled before that word twelve thousand\nleagues. But some say that Moses smote the angel, and wounded him.\n\nA little further, Moses met another angel; this was Hadarniel, who had a\nterrible voice, and every word he uttered split into twelve thousand\nlightnings; he reigned six hundred thousand leagues higher than Kemuel.\nMoses, in fear, wept at his voice, and would have fallen out of the\ncloud, had not God restrained him. Then the prophet pronounced the Name\nof seventy-two letters, and the angel fled.\n\nNext he came to the fiery angel Sandalfon, and he would have fallen out\nof the cloud, but God held him up. Then he reached the river of flame,\ncalled Rigjon, which flows from the beasts which are beneath the Throne,\nand is filled with their sweat; across this God led him.[529]\n\nIt is asserted by the Rabbis that Moses learnt the whole law in the\nforty days that he was in the Mount, but as he descended from the\nimmediate presence of God, he entered the region where stood the angels\nguarding the Mount, and when he saw the Angel of Fear, the Angel of\nSweat, the Angel of Trembling, and the Angel of Cold Shuddering, he was\nso filled with consternation, that he forgot all that he had learnt.\n\nThen God sent the Angel Jephipha, who brought back all to his\nremembrance; and, armed with the law, Moses passed the ranks of all the\nangels, and each gave him some secret or mystery; one the art of mixing\nsimples, one that of reading in the stars, another that of compounding\nantidotes, a fourth the secret of name, or the Kabalistic mystery.[530]\n\nIt is said by the Mussulmans, that when the law was declared to the\nchildren of Israel by Moses, they refused to receive it; then Mount\nSinai rose into the air, and moved above them, and they fled from it;\nbut it followed them, and hung over their heads ready to crush them. And\nMoses said, \u201cAccept the law, or the mountain will fall on you and\ndestroy you.\u201d\n\nThen they fell on their faces and placed the right side of the brow and\nright cheek against the ground and looked up with the left eye at the\nmountain that hung above them, and said, \u201cWe will accept the law.\u201d This\nis the manner in which the Jews to this day perform their worship, says\nTabari; they place the brow and right cheek and eye upon the ground, and\nturn the left cheek and eye to heaven, and in this position they\npray.[531]\n\n\n                       7. THE MANNA. (Exod. xvi.)\n\n\nAll the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness they were given\nmanna, or angels\u2019 food. This food is ground by the angels in heaven, as\nMoses saw when he was there. For when Moses was in heaven, he knew not\nwhen it was night and when it was day, till he listened to the song of\nthe angels; and when they sang \u201cHoly God,\u201d then he knew it was morning\nbelow on earth; and when they sang \u201cBlessed be thou,\u201d he knew it was\nevening below. Also he observed the angels grinding the manna and\ncasting it down; and then he knew it was night, and they were strewing\nit for the Israelites to gather in the morning.[532] It is in the third\nfirmament, called Schechakim (clouds), that the mills are in which manna\nis ground.[533] Along with the manna fell pearls and diamonds, and on\nthe mountains it was heaped so high that it could be seen from\nafar.[534]\n\nAnd the manna, this bread from heaven, contained in itself all\nsweetness; and whatsoever any man desired to eat, the manna tasted to\nhim as if it were that food.[535] Thus, if any one said, \u201cI wish I had a\nfat bird,\u201d the manna tasted like a fat bird. But usually it had the\ntaste of cakes made of oil, honey, and fine flour, according to the\nwords of the Lord, \u201c_My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and\noil, and honey wherewith I fed thee_\u201d (Ezek. xvi. 10).[536] The Targum\nof Palestine thus describes the fall of the manna:\u2014In the morning there\nwas a fall of holy dew, prepared as a table,[537] round about the camp;\nand the clouds ascended and caused manna to descend upon the dew; and\nthere was upon the face of the desert a minute substance in lines,\nminute as the hoar frost upon the ground. And the sons of Israel beheld,\nand wondered, and said to one another, \u201cMan hu?\u201d (What is it?) for they\nknew not what it was. And Moses said to them, \u201cIt is the bread which\nhath been laid up for you from the beginning in the heavens on high, and\nnow the Lord will give it you to eat. This is the word which the Lord\nhath dictated: You are to gather of it; every man according to the\nnumber of the persons of his tabernacle.\u201d\n\nAnd the children of Israel did so, and gathered manna more or less. And\nMoses said to them, \u201cLet no man reserve of it till the morning.\u201d\n\nBut some of them, Dathan and Abiram, men of wickedness, did reserve of\nit till the morning; but it produced worms, and putrefied. And they\ngathered from the time of the dawn until the fourth hour of the day;\nwhen the sun had waxed hot upon it, it liquefied and made streams of\nwater, which flowed away into the great sea; and wild animals that were\nclean, and cattle, came to drink of it; and the sons of Israel hunted,\nand ate them.[538]\n\nSome of the Gentiles, the Edomites and Midianites, came up, and, seeing\nthe chosen people eating, they also gathered of the manna and tasted,\nbut it was to them as wormwood.[539]\n\n\n                8. THE SMITTEN ROCK. (Exod. xvii. 1-7.)\n\n\nAnd all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed from the desert\nof Sin and encamped in Rephidim, a place where their hands were idle in\nthe commandments of the law, and the fountains were dry, and there was\nno water for the people to drink.\n\nAnd the wicked of the people contended with Moses, and said, \u201cGive us\nwater that we may drink.\u201d And Moses said to them, \u201cWhy contend ye with\nme? Why tempt ye the Lord.\u201d\n\nBut the people were athirst for water, and the people murmured against\nMoses and said, \u201cWhy hast thou made us come up out of Egypt to kill us,\nand our children, and our cattle, with thirst?\u201d\n\nAnd Moses prayed before the Lord, saying, \u201cWhat shall I do for this\npeople? Yet a little while, and they will stone me.\u201d\n\nAnd the Lord said to Moses, \u201cPass over before the people, and take the\nrod, with which thou didst smite the river, in thine hand, and go from\nthe face of their murmuring. Behold, I will stand before thee there, on\nthe spot where thou sawest the impression of the foot on Horeb; and thou\nshalt smite the rock with thy rod, and therefrom shall come forth waters\nfor drinking, and the people shall drink.\u201d\n\nAnd Moses did so before the Elders of Israel. And he called the name of\nthat place Temptation and Strife; because the people strove with him\nthere, and tempted God.[540]\n\nTabari gives these particulars concerning the smitten rock. In the\ndesert there was no water. Moses prayed to God, and He commanded him to\nstrike a rock with his staff.\n\nSome say that this was an ordinary stone in the desert, others that it\nwas a stone from Sinai which Moses carried about with him that he might\nstand on it whenever he prayed. Moses struck the rock, and twelve\nstreams spouted from it.\n\nThen Moses said, \u201cYou have manna and quails in abundance, gather only\nsufficient for the day, and you shall have fresh on the morrow.\u201d But\nthey would not obey his word; therefore the Lord withdrew the birds, and\nthe people were famished. Then Moses besought the Lord, and the quails\nwere restored to them. And this is how the quails fell in the camp.[541]\nA wind smote them as they flew over the camp, and broke their wings.\n\nThen the people murmured again, and said to Moses, \u201cThe heat is\nintolerable, we cannot endure it.\u201d\n\nSo he prayed, and God sent a cloud to overshadow Israel; and it gave\nthem cool shade all the day.[542]\n\nAfter that, they complained, \u201cWe want clothes.\u201d Then God wrought a\nmarvel, and their clothes waxed not old and ragged, nor did their shoes\nwear out, nor did dirt and dust settle on their garments.[543]\n\nIt is also commonly related that the rock followed the Israelites, like\nthe pillar of fire and the manna, all the time they went through the\nwilderness; to this tradition S. Paul alludes when he says, \u201c_They drank\nof that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was\nChrist._\u201d[544]\n\n\n                       9. MOSES VISITS EL KHOUDR.\n\n\nOne day, say the Mussulmans, Moses boasted before Joshua of his wisdom.\nThen said God to him, \u201cGo to the place where the sea of the Greeks joins\nthe Persian Gulf, and there you will find one who surpasses you in\nwisdom.\u201d\n\nMoses therefore announced to the Hebrews, who continued their murmurs,\nthat, in punishment for their stiffneckedness and rebellion, they were\ncondemned by God to wander for forty years in the desert.\n\nThen having asked God how he should recognize the wise man of whom God\nhad spoken to him, he was bidden take a fish in a basket; \u201cand,\u201d said\nGod, \u201cthe fish will lead thee to my faithful servant.\u201d\n\nMoses went on his way with Joshua, having the fish in a basket. In the\nevening he arrived on the shore of the sea and fell asleep.\n\nWhen he awoke in the morning, Joshua forgot to take the fish, and Moses\nnot regarding it, they had advanced far on their journey before they\nremembered that they had neglected the basket and fish. Then they\nreturned and sought where they had slept, but they found the basket\nempty. As they were greatly troubled at this loss, they saw the fish\nbefore them, standing upright like a man, in the sea; and it led them,\nand they followed along the coast; and they did not stay till their\nguide suddenly vanished.\n\nSupposing that they had reached their destination, they explored the\nneighbourhood, and found a cave, at the entrance to which were inscribed\nthese words, \u201cIn the Name of the all-powerful and all-merciful God.\u201d\nJoshua and Moses, entering this cavern, found a man seated there, fresh\nand blooming, but with white hair and a long white beard which descended\nto his feet. This was the prophet El Khoudr.\n\nSome say he was the same as Elias, some that he was Jeremiah, some that\nhe was Lot, and some that he was Jonah. The greatest uncertainty reigns\nas to who El Khoudr really is. All that is known of him is that he went\nwith Alexander the Two-horned, to the West, and drank of the fountain of\nimmortality, and thenceforth he lives an undying life, ever fresh, but\nalso marked with the signs of a beautiful old age.\n\nEl Khoudr derives his name from the circumstance of his having sat on a\nbare stone, and when he rose from it the stone was green and covered\nwith grass.[545]\n\nIn later times he was put to death for the true faith with various\nhorrible tortures, by an idolatrous king, but he revived after each\nexecution.\n\nThe explanation of the mystery of El Khoudr is this. He is the old\nSun-god Thammuz of the Sab\u00e6ans, and when he was dethroned by Mohammed,\nhe sank in popular tradition to the level of a prophet, and all the old\nmyths of the Sun-god were related of the prophet.\n\nHis wandering to the West is the sun setting there; his drinking there\nof the well of immortality is the sun plunging into the sea. His\nclothing the dry rock with grass is significant of the power of the sun\nover vegetation. His torments are figures of the sun setting, in storm,\nin flames of crimson, or swallowed by the black thunder-cloud; but from\nall his perils he rises again in glory in the eastern sky.[546]\n\nMoses said to El Khoudr, \u201cTake me for thy disciple, permit me to\naccompany thee, and to admire the wisdom God hath given thee.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou canst not understand it,\u201d answered the venerable man. \u201cMoreover,\nthy stay with me is short.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will be patient and submissive,\u201d said Moses; \u201cfor God\u2019s sake, reject\nme not.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou mayest follow me,\u201d said the sage. \u201cBut ask me no questions, and\nwait till I give thee, at my pleasure, the sense of that which thou\ncomprehendest not.\u201d\n\nMoses accepted the condition, and El Khoudr led him to the sea, where\nwas a ship at anchor. The prophet took a hatchet, and cut two timbers\nout of her side, so that she foundered.\n\n\u201cWhat art thou doing?\u201d asked Moses; \u201cthe people on board the ship will\nbe drowned.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid I not say to thee that thou wouldst not remain patient for long?\u201d\nsaid the sage.\n\n\u201cPardon me,\u201d said Moses; \u201cI forgot what I had promised.\u201d\n\nEl Khoudr continued his course. Soon they met a beautiful child who was\nplaying with shells on the sea-shore. The prophet took a knife which\nhung at his girdle, and cut the throat of the child.\n\n\u201cWherefore hast thou killed the innocent?\u201d asked Moses, in horror.\n\n\u201cDid I not say to thee,\u201d repeated El Khoudr, \u201cthat thy journey with me\nwould be short?\u201d\n\n\u201cPardon me once more,\u201d said Moses; \u201cif I raise my voice again, drive me\nfrom thee.\u201d\n\nAfter having continued their journey for some way, they arrived at a\nlarge town, hungry and tired. But no one would take them in, or give\nthem food, except for money.\n\nEl Khoudr, seeing that the wall of a large house, from which he had been\ndriven away, menaced ruin, set it up firmly, and then retired. Moses was\nastonished, and said, \u201cThou hast done the work of several masons for\nmany days. Ask for a wage which will pay for our lodging.\u201d\n\nThen answered the old man, \u201cWe must separate. But before we part, I will\nexplain what I have done. The ship which I injured belongs to a poor\nfamily. If it had sailed, it would have fallen into the hands of\npirates. The injury I did can be easily repaired, and the delay will\nsave the vessel for those worthy people who own her. The child I killed\nhad a bad disposition, and it would have corrupted its parents. In its\nplace God will give them pious children. The house which I repaired\nbelongs to orphans, whose father was a man of substance. It has been let\nto unworthy people. Under the wall is hidden a treasure. Had the tenants\nmended the wall, they would have found and kept the treasure. Now the\nwall will stand till its legitimate owners come into the house, when\nthey will find the treasure. Thou seest I have not acted blindly and\nfoolishly.\u201d\n\nMoses asked pardon of the prophet, and he returned to his people in the\nwilderness.[547]\n\nThe same story, with some variation in the incidents, is related in the\nTalmud.\n\nGod, seeing Moses uneasy, called him to the summit of a mountain, and\ndeigned to explain to him how He governed the world. He bade the prophet\nlook upon the earth. He saw a fountain flowing at the foot of the\nmountain. A soldier went to it to drink. A young man came next to the\nfountain, and finding a purse of gold, which the soldier had left there\nby accident, he kept it and went his way.\n\nThe soldier, having lost his purse, returned to search for it, and\ndemanded it of an old man whom he found seated by the spring. The old\nman protested that he had not found it, and called God to witness the\ntruth of his assertion. But the soldier, disbelieving him, drew his\nsword upon him and killed him.\n\nMoses was filled with horror. But God said to him: \u201cBe not surprised at\nthis event; this old man had murdered the father of the soldier; the\nsoldier would have wasted the money in riotous living; in the hands of\nthe youth it will serve to nourish his aged parents, who are dying of\npoverty.\u201d[548]\n\n\n10. THE MISSION OF THE SPIES. (Numb. xiii. xiv.)\n\n\nAnd the Lord spake with Moses, saying, \u201cSend thou keen-sighted men who\nmay explore the land of Canaan, which I will give to the children of\nIsrael; one man for each tribe of their fathers shalt thou send from the\npresence of all their leaders.\u201d\n\nAnd Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran; all of them acute men,\nwho had been appointed heads over the sons of Israel. And Moses said to\nthem, \u201cGo up on this side by the south, and ascend the mountain, and\nsurvey the country, what it is, and the people who dwell in it; whether\nthey be strong or weak, few or many; what the land is in which they\ndwell, whether good or bad; what the cities they inhabit, whether they\nlive in towns that are open or walled; and the reputation of the land,\nwhether its productions are rich or poor, and the trees of it be\nfruitful or not; and do valiantly, and bring back some of the fruit of\nthe land.\u201d\n\nAnd the day on which they went was the nineteenth of the month Sivan,\nabout the days of the first grapes. They came to the stream of the\ngrapes in Eshkol, and cut from thence a branch, with one cluster of\ngrapes, and carried it on a rod between two men; and also of the\npomegranates and of the figs; and the wine dropped from them like a\nstream.[549]\n\nAnd when they returned, they related, \u201cWe have seen the land which we\nare to conquer with the sword, and it is good and fruitful. The\nstrongest camel is scarcely able to carry one bunch of grapes; one ear\nof corn yields enough to feed a whole family; and one pomegranate shell\ncould contain five armed men. But the inhabitants of the land and their\ncities are in keeping with the productions of the soil. We saw men, the\nsmallest of whom was six hundred cubits high. They were astonished at\nus, on account of our diminutive stature, and laughed at us. Their\nhouses are also in proportion, walled up to heaven, so that an eagle\ncould hardly soar above them.\u201d[550]\n\nWhen the spies had given this report, the Israelites murmured, and said,\n\u201cWe are not able to go up to the people, for they are stronger than we.\u201d\n\nAnd the spies said, \u201cThe country is a land that killeth its inhabitants\nwith diseases; and all the people who are in it are giants, masters of\nevil ways. And we appeared as locusts before them.\u201d\n\nAnd all the congregation lifted up their voices and wept; and it was\nconfirmed that that day, the ninth of the month Ab, should be one of\nweeping for ever to that people; and it has ever after been one of a\nsuccession of calamities in the history of the Jews.\n\n\u201cWould that we had died in the land of Egypt,\u201d said the people; \u201cwould\nthat we had died in the wilderness. Why has the Lord brought us into\nthis land, to fall by the sword of the Canaanites, and our wives and\nlittle ones to become a prey?\u201d[551]\n\nThen the Lord was wroth with the spies, and the earth opened her mouth\nand swallowed them up, saving only Joshua and Caleb, who had not given\nan evil report of the land.[552]\n\nThe account of the Targum of Palestine is different. The Targum says\nthat the men who had brought an evil report of the land died on the\nseventh day of the month Elul, with worms coming from their navels, and\nwith worms devouring their tongues.[553]\n\nThe Rabbis relate that though for the wickedness of men the fruitfulness\nof the Holy Land diminished, yet in places it remained as great as of\nold. \u201cThe Raf Chiji, son of Ada, was the teacher of the children of the\nResch Lakisch; and once he was absent three days, and the children were\nwithout instruction. When he returned, the Resch Lakisch asked him why\nhe had been so long absent. He answered, \u2018My father sent me to his vine,\nwhich is bound to a tree, and I gathered from it, the first day, three\nhundred bunches of grapes, which gave as much juice as would fill two\nhundred and eighty and eight egg-shells (three gerabhs). Next day I cut\nthree hundred bunches, of which two gave one gerabh. The third day I cut\nthree hundred bunches, which yielded one gerabh of juice; and I left\nmore than half the bunches uncut.\u2019 Then said the Resch Lakisch to him,\n\u2018If thou hadst been more diligent in the education of my children, the\nvine would have yielded yet more.\u2019\n\n\u201cRami, son of Ezechiel, once went to the inhabitants of Berak, and saw\ngoats feeding under the fig-trees, and the milk flowed from their\nudders, and the honey dropped from the figs, and the two mingled in one\nstream. Then he said, \u2018This is the land promised to our forefathers,\nflowing with milk and honey.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Rabbi Jacob, son of Dosethai, said that from Lud to Ono is three\nmiles, and in the morning twilight I started on my way, and I was over\nankles in honey out of the figs.\n\n\u201cThe Resch Lakisch said that he had himself seen a stream of milk and\nhoney in the neighbourhood of Zippori, sixteen miles long and the same\nbreadth.\n\n\u201cThe Rabbi Chelbo and Rabbi Avera and Rabbi Jose, son of Hannina, once\ncame to a place where they were offered a honeycomb as large as the\nfrying-pan of the village Heiro; they ate a portion, they gave their\nasses a portion, and they distributed a portion to any one who would\ntake it.\n\n\u201cRabbi Joshua, son of Levi, once came to Gabla, and saw grape-bunches in\na vineyard as big as calves, hanging between the vines, and he said,\n\u2018The calves are in the vineyard.\u2019 But the inhabitants told him they were\ngrapes. Then said he, \u2018O land, land! withdraw thy fruits. Do not offer\nto these heathen those fruits which have been taken from us on account\nof our sins.\u2019\n\n\u201cA year after, Rabbi Chija passed that way, and he saw the bunches like\ngoats. So he said, \u2018The goats are in the vineyard.\u2019 But the inhabitants\nsaid, \u2018They are grape-bunches; depart from us and do not unto us as did\nyour fellow last year.\u2019\u201d[554]\n\n\n               11. OF KORAH AND HIS COMPANY. (Numb. xvi.)\n\n\nAnd the Lord said to Moses, \u201cSpeak to the sons of Israel, and bid them\nmake fringes not of threads, nor of yarn, nor of fibre, but after a\npeculiar fashion shall they make them. They shall cut off the heads of\nthe filaments, and suspend by five ligatures, four in the midst of\nthree, upon the four corners of their garments, and they shall put upon\nthe edge of their garments a border of blue (or embroidery of\nhyacinth).\u201d[555]\n\nBut Korah, son of Ezhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, with Dathan and\nAbiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben,\nrefused to wear the blue border.\n\nMoses had said, \u201cThe fringes are to be of white, with one line of blue;\u201d\nbut Korah said, \u201cI will make mine altogether of blue;\u201d and the two\nhundred and fifty men of the sons of Israel, who had been leaders of the\ncongregation at the time when the journeys and encampments were\nappointed, supported Korah.[556]\n\nKorah was a goldsmith, and Moses greatly honoured him, for he was his\ncousin, and the handsomest man of all Israel. When Moses returned from\nthe Mount, he bade Korah destroy the calf; but the fire would not\nconsume it. Then Moses prayed, and God showed him the philosopher\u2019s\nstone, which is a plant that grows in great abundance by the shores of\nthe Red Sea, but none knew of its virtues before. Now, this plant turns\nmetals into gold, and also if a twig of it be cast into gold, it\ndissolves it away. Moses instructed Korah in the virtues of this herb.\nThen Korah dissolved the calf by means of it, but he also used it to\nconvert base metals into gold, and thus he became very rich.\n\nKorah had great quantities of this herb, and he made vast stores of\ngold. He accumulated treasures. What he desired he bought, and he\nsurrounded himself with servants clad in cloth of gold. He built brick\nhouses with brass doors, and filled them to the roof with gold, and he\nmade his servants walk before him with the keys of his treasure-houses\nhung round their necks. He had twenty men carrying these keys; and still\nhe increased in wealth, so he placed the keys on camels; and when he\nstill built more treasuries and turned more substance into gold, he\nincreased the number of keys to such an extent that he had sixty camel\nloads of them. Moses knew whence Korah derived his wealth, but the rest\nof the congregation of Israel knew not.\n\nAfter that, Korah did that which was wrong, and he broke the commandment\nof Moses, and would have no blue border on his servants\u2019 tunics, but\nhabited them in scarlet, and mounted them on red horses. Neither did he\nconfine himself to the meats which Moses permitted as clean.\n\nThen God ordered Moses to ask Korah to give one piece of money for every\nthousand that he possessed. But Korah refused. This state of affairs\ncontinued ten years. When his destiny was accomplished, he was lifted up\nwith pride, and he resolved to humble Moses before all the people.\n\nNow, there was among the children of Israel a woman of bad character.\nKorah gave her large bribes, and said to her, \u201cI will assemble all the\ncongregation, and bring Moses before them, and do thou bring a false\naccusation against him.\u201d\n\nThe woman consented.\n\nThen Korah did as he had said; and when all the assembly of Israel was\ngathered together, he spake against Moses all that the lying witness had\ninvented. Then he brought forth the woman. But when she saw all the\nelders of the congregation before her, she feared, and she said, \u201cKorah\nhath suborned me with gold to speak false witness against Moses, to\ncause him to be put to death.\u201d\n\nAnd when Korah was thus convicted, Moses cried, \u201cGet yourselves up and\nseparate from him.\u201d Then all the people fled away from him on either\nside. And the earth opened her lips and closed them on Korah\u2019s feet to\nthe ankles.\n\nBut Korah laughed, and said, \u201cWhat magic is this?\u201d\n\nMoses cried, \u201cEarth, seize him!\u201d\n\nThen the earth seized him to his knees.\n\nKorah said, \u201cO Moses! ask the earth to release me, and I will do all\nthou desirest of me.\u201d\n\nBut Moses was very wroth, and he would not hearken, but cried, \u201cEarth,\nseize him!\u201d\n\nThen the earth seized him to the waist.\n\nKorah pleaded for his life. He said, \u201cI will do all thou desirest of me,\nonly release me!\u201d\n\nBut Moses cried again, \u201cEarth, seize him!\u201d\n\nAnd the earth gulped him down as far as his breast, and his hands were\nunder the earth.\n\nOnce more he cried, \u201cMoses! spare me and release me, because of our\nrelationship!\u201d\n\nMoses was filled with bitterness, and he bade the earth swallow him; and\nhe went down quick into the pit, and was seen no more.\n\nThen, when Moses was returning thanks to God, the Lord turned His face\naway from him and said, \u201cThy servant asked of thee forgiveness so many\ntimes, and thou didst not forgive him.\u201d\n\nMoses answered, \u201cO Lord, I desired that he should ask pardon of Thee and\nnot of me.\u201d\n\nThe Lord said, \u201cIf he had cried but once to Me, I would have forgiven\nhim.\u201d[557]\n\nThe earth swallowed Korah and seventy men, and they are retained in the\nearth along with all his treasures till the Resurrection Day.\n\nEvery Thursday, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram go before the Messiah, and\nthey ask, \u201cWhen wilt Thou come and release us from our prison? When will\nthe end of these wonders be?\u201d\n\nBut the Messiah answers them, \u201cGo and ask the Patriarchs;\u201d but this they\nare ashamed to do.[558]\n\nThey sit in the third mansion of Sheol, not in any lowest one; nor are\nthey there tormented, because Korah promised to hear and obey Moses, as\nhe was being engulfed.[559]\n\nThe Arabic name for Korah is Karoun, and under this name he has returned\nto Rabbinic legends, and the identity of Korah and Karoun has not been\nobserved.\n\nThe Rabbis relate of Karoun that he is an evil angel, and that Moses dug\na deep pit for him in the land of Gad, and cast him into it. But\nwhenever the Israelites sinned, Karoun crept out of his subterranean\ndwelling and plagued them.[560]\n\nThis is a curious instance of allegorizing upon a false interpretation\nof a name. The Karoun of the Mussulmans is clearly identical with Korah,\nbut Karoun in Hebrew means Anger, and Karoun was supposed to be the\nAngel of the Anger of the Lord, and the story of his emerging from his\npit to punish the sinful Israelites is simply a figurative mode of\nsaying that the anger of the Lord came upon them.\n\n\n                    12. THE WARS OF THE ISRAELITES.\n\n\nThe children of Israel had many foes to contend with. Amongst these were\nthe Amorites. They hid in caves to form an ambuscade against the people\nof God, intending, when the Israelites had penetrated into a defile\nbetween two mountains, to sally forth upon them and to overthrow them.\nBut they did not know that the ark went before Israel, smoothing the\nrough places and levelling the mountains.[561] Now, when the ark drew\nnear the place where the ambush was, the mountains fell in upon the\nAmorites, and the Israelites passed on, and knew not that they had been\ndelivered from a great danger. But there were two lepers named Eth and\nHav, who followed the camp, and they saw the blood bubbling out from\nunder the mountain; and thus the fate of the Amorites was made\nknown.[562]\n\nThe Israelites found a redoubtable enemy in Og, king of Bashan, who was\none of the giants who had been saved from the old world by clambering on\nthe roof of the ark; but his weight had so depressed the vessel, that\nNoah was obliged to turn out the hippopotamus and rhinoceros to preserve\nthe ark from foundering.\n\nOg determined to destroy Moses. Moses was ten cubits in height, and when\nOg came against him, he took a hatchet of ten cubits\u2019 length, and he\nmade a jump into the air, and hit Og on the ankle. Og tore up a\nmountain, and put it on his head to throw it upon Moses; but the ants\nate out the inside of the mountain, and it sank over Og\u2019s head to his\nneck, and he could not draw his head out, for his teeth grew into tusks\nand thrust through the mountain, and he was blinded and caught as in a\ntrap. Thus Moses was able to slay him.[563]\n\nSome further details on Og, furnished by the Rabbis, will assist the\nreader in estimating the powers of Moses.\n\nAt one meal, Og ate a thousand oxen and as many wild roes, and his drink\nwas a thousand firkins; one drop of the sweat from his brow weighed\nthirty-six pounds.[564] Of his size the following authentic details are\ngiven. The Rabbi Johanan said, \u201cI was once a grave-digger, and I ran\nafter a deer, and went in at one end of a shin-bone of a dead man, and I\nran for three miles and could not catch the deer or reach the end of the\nbone. When I went back, I inquired, and was told that this was the\nshin-bone of Og, king of Bashan.\u201d[565] The sole of his foot was forty\nmiles long. Once, when he was quarrelling with Abraham, one of his teeth\nfell out, and Abraham made a bed out of the tooth, and slept in it; but\nsome say he made a chair out of it.[566]\n\nWhen the Israelites came to Edrei and fought against it, in the night Og\ncame and sat down on the wall, and his feet reached the ground. Next\nmorning Moses looked out and said, \u201cI do not understand how the men of\nEdrei can have built a second wall so high during the night.\u201d\n\nThen it was revealed to him that what he had taken for a wall was\nOg.[567] Og had built sixty cities, and the smallest was sixty miles\nhigh. These cities were in Argob.[568]\n\nThe Moabites also resisted Israel, and they were encouraged by Balaam\nthe son of Beor.\n\nBalak, king of Moab, sent to Balaam to curse Israel. Then Balaam rose in\nthe morning and made ready his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.\nThe Mussulman account is that Balaam, having been told by God not to go,\nresolved to obey, but the princes of Moab bribed his wife, and she gave\nhim no peace till he consented to go to Balak with his messengers.[569]\nBut the anger of the Lord was kindled, because he would go to curse\nthem, and the angel of the Lord stood in the way to be an adversary to\nhim. But he sat upon his ass, and his two sons, Jannes and Jambres, were\nwith him.\n\nAnd the ass discerned the angel of the Lord standing in the way with a\ndrawn sword in his hand, and the ass turned aside out of the road to go\ninto the field; and Balaam smote the ass. And the angel of the Lord\nstood in a narrow path that was in the midst between the vineyards, in\nthe place where Jacob and Laban raised the mound, the pillars on this\nside and the observatory on that side,[570] that neither should pass the\nlimit to do evil to the other. And as the ass discerned the angel of the\nLord, and thrust herself against the hedge, and bruised Balaam\u2019s foot by\nthe hedge, he smote her again. Ten things were created after the world\nhad been founded at the coming in of the Sabbath between sunset and\nsunrise,\u2014the manna, the well, the rod of Moses, the diamond, the\nrainbow, the cloud of glory, the mouth of the earth, the writing on the\ntables of the covenant, the demons, and the speaking ass.\n\nThen the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam, \u201cWhat\nhave I done to thee, that thou hast smitten me twice?\u201d\n\nAnd Balaam said to the ass, \u201cBecause thou hast been false to me; if\nthere were now a sword in my hand, I would kill thee.\u201d\n\nAnd the ass said to Balaam, \u201cWoe to thee, wanting in understanding!\nBehold, thou hast not power with all thy skill to curse me, an unclean\nbeast, which am to die in this world and not to enter the world to come;\nhow much less canst thou curse the children of Abraham, Isaac, and\nJacob, on whose account the world was created?\u201d[571]\n\nBalaam finding that he could not curse the people, and that they were\nunder the protection of the Most High, saw that the only way to ruin\nthem was by leading them into sin. Therefore he advised Balak, and the\nking appointed the daughters of the Midianites for the tavern-booths at\nBeth Jeshimoth, by the snow mountain, where they sold sweetmeats cheaper\nthan their price. And Israel trafficked with them for their sweet cakes;\nand when the maidens brought out the image of Peor from their bundles,\nthe Israelites did not notice it to take it away, and becoming\naccustomed to it they went on to sacrifice to it.[572]\n\nAnd Moses saw one of the sons of Israel come by, holding a Midianitess\nby the hand, and Moses rebuked him. Then said the man, \u201cWhat is it that\nis wrong in this? Didst not thou thyself take to wife a Midianitess, the\ndaughter of Jethro?\u201d\n\nWhen Moses heard this, he trembled and swooned away. But Phinehas cried,\n\u201cWhere are the lions of the tribe of Judah?\u201d and he took a lance in his\nhand and slew the man and the woman.\n\nTwelve miracles were wrought for Phinehas; but they need not be repeated\nhere.[573]\n\nThen all the Israelites went forth against the Midianites and defeated\nthem; and when they numbered the slain, Balaam and his sons were\ndiscovered among the dead.\n\n\n               13. THE DEATH OF AARON. (Numb. xx. 22-29.)\n\n\nMoses was full of grief when the word of the Lord came to him that\nAaron, his brother, was to die. That night he had no rest, and when it\nbegan to dawn towards morning, he rose and went to the tent of Aaron.\n\nAaron was much surprised to see his brother come in so early, and he\nsaid, \u201cWherefore art thou come?\u201d\n\nMoses answered, \u201cAll night long have I been troubled, and have had no\nsleep, for certain things in the Law came upon me, and they seemed to me\nto be heavy and unendurable; I have come to thee that thou shouldest\nrelieve my mind.\u201d So they opened the book together and read from the\nfirst word; and at every sentence they said, \u201cThat is holy, and great,\nand righteous.\u201d\n\nSoon they came to the history of Adam; and Moses stayed from reading\nwhen he arrived at the Fall, and he cried bitterly. \u201cO Adam, thou hast\nbrought death into the world!\u201d\n\nAaron said, \u201cWhy art thou so troubled thereat, my brother? Is not death\nthe way to Eden?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is however very painful. Think also, that both thou and I must some\nday die. How many years thinkest thou we shall live?\u201d\n\n_Aaron._\u2014\u201cPerhaps twenty.\u201d\n\n_Moses._\u2014\u201cOh no! not so many.\u201d\n\n_Aaron._\u2014\u201cThen fifteen.\u201d\n\n_Moses._\u2014\u201cNo, my brother, not so many.\u201d\n\n_Aaron._\u2014\u201cThen ten years.\u201d\n\n_Moses._\u2014\u201cNo, not so many.\u201d\n\n_Aaron._\u2014\u201cThen surely it must be five.\u201d\n\n_Moses._\u2014\u201cI say again, not so many.\u201d\n\nThen said Aaron, hesitating, \u201cIs it then one?\u201d\n\nAnd Moses said, \u201cNot so much.\u201d\n\nFull of anxiety and alarm, Aaron kept silence. Then said Moses gently,\n\u201cO my beloved! would it not be good to say of thee as it was said of\nAbraham, that he was gathered to his fathers in peace?\u201d Aaron was\nsilent.\n\nThen said Moses, \u201cIf God were to say that thou shouldst die in a hundred\nyears, what wouldst thou say?\u201d\n\nAaron said, \u201cThe Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His\nworks.\u201d\n\n_Moses._\u2014\u201cAnd if God were to say to thee that thou shouldst die this\nyear, what wouldst thou answer?\u201d\n\n_Aaron._\u2014\u201cThe Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His\nworks.\u201d\n\n_Moses._\u2014\u201cAnd if He were to call thee to-day, what wouldst thou say?\u201d\n\n_Aaron._\u2014\u201cThe Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His\nworks.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said Moses, \u201carise and follow me.\u201d\n\nAt that same hour went forth Moses, Aaron, and Eleazer, his son; they\nascended into Mount Hor, and the people looked on, nothing doubting, for\nthey knew not what was to take place.\n\nThen said the Most High to His angels, \u201cBehold the new Isaac; he follows\nhis younger brother, who leads him to death.\u201d\n\nWhen they had reached the summit of the mountain, there opened before\nthem a cavern. They went in, and found a death-bed prepared by the hands\nof the angels. Aaron laid himself down upon it and made ready for death.\n\nThen Moses cried out in grief, \u201cWoe is me! we were two, when we\ncomforted our sister in her death; in this, thy last hour, I am with\nthee to solace thee; when I die, who will comfort me?\u201d\n\nThen a voice was heard from heaven, \u201cFear not; God himself will be with\nthee.\u201d\n\nOn one side stood Moses, on the other Eleazer, and they kissed the dying\nman on the brow, and took from off him his sacerdotal vestments to\nclothe Eleazer his son with them. They took off one portion of the\nsacred apparel, and they laid that on Eleazer; and then they removed\nanother portion, and laid that on Eleazer; and as they stripped Aaron, a\nsilvery veil of cloud sank over him like a pall and covered him.\n\nAaron seemed to be asleep.\n\nThen Moses said, \u201cMy brother, what dost thou feel?\u201d\n\n\u201cI feel nothing but the cloud that envelopes me,\u201d answered he.\n\nAfter a little pause, Moses said again, \u201cMy brother, what dost thou\nfeel?\u201d\n\nHe answered feebly, \u201cThe cloud surrounds me and bereaves me of all joy.\u201d\n\nAnd the soul of Aaron was parted from his body. And as it went up Moses\ncried once more, \u201cAlas, my brother! what dost thou feel?\u201d\n\nAnd the soul replied, \u201cI feel such joy, that I would it had come to me\nsooner.\u201d\n\nThen cried Moses, \u201cOh thou blessed, peaceful death! Oh, may such a death\nbe my lot!\u201d\n\nMoses and Eleazer came down alone from the mountain, and the people\nwailed because Aaron was no more. But the coffin of Aaron rose, borne by\nangels, in the sight of the whole congregation, and was carried into\nheaven, whilst the angels sang: \u201cThe priest\u2019s lips have kept knowledge,\nhave spoken truth!\u201d[574]\n\nThe Mussulman story is not quite the same.\n\nOne version is that both Moses and Aaron ascended Hor, knowing that one\nof them was to die, but uncertain which, and they found a cave, and a\nsarcophagus therein with the inscription on it, \u201cI am for him whom I\nfit.\u201d\n\nMoses tried to lie down in it, but his feet hung out; Aaron next entered\nit, lay down, and it fitted him exactly.\n\nThen Gabriel led Moses and the sons of Aaron out of the cave, and when\nthey were again admitted Aaron was dead.[575]\n\nAnother version is this: God announced to Moses that he would call Aaron\nto Himself. Then Moses took his brother from the camp, and they went\ninto the desert, till they came to a tree. When Aaron saw the shadow, he\nsaid, \u201cO my brother, whose tree is this?\u201d\n\nMoses said, \u201cGod alone knows.\u201d\n\nThen spake Aaron, \u201cI am weary, and the shadow is cool; suffer me to\nrepose a little while under the tree.\u201d\n\nMoses said, \u201cLie down, my brother; and may thy rest be sweet.\u201d\n\nAaron lay down, and Moses sat beside him till he died.\n\nThen suddenly the tree, the shadow, and Aaron vanished; and Moses\nreturned alone to the Israelites. They were angry with him, that he had\nnot brought back Aaron, and they took up stones against him. But Moses\ncried to the Lord, and the Lord showed them Aaron on a bed, and he was\ndead; and the people looked, and wondered, and wept: then said a voice\nfrom heaven, \u201cGod hath taken him.\u201d The people bewailed him many\ndays.[576]\n\n\n                        14. THE DEATH OF MOSES.\n\n\nWhen the time came for Moses to die, the Lord called Gabriel to Him, and\nsaid, \u201cGo and bring the soul of My servant Moses to Paradise.\u201d\n\nThe angel Gabriel answered in astonishment, \u201cLord, Lord, how can I\nventure to give death to that man, the like of whom all generations of\nmen have not seen?\u201d\n\nThen the Most High called to Him Michael, and said, \u201cGo and bring the\nsoul of My servant Moses to Paradise.\u201d\n\nThe angel Michael answered in fear, \u201cLord, Lord, I was his instructor in\nheavenly lore! How can I bear death to my pupil?\u201d\n\nThen the Most High called to Him Sammael, and said, \u201cGo and bring the\nsoul of My servant Moses to Paradise.\u201d\n\nThe angel Sammael flushed red with joy. He clothed himself in anger, and\ngrasped his sword, and rushed down upon the holy one. But he found him\nwriting the incommunicable name of God, and he saw his face shine with\ndivine light. Then he stood irresolute, and his sword sank with the\npoint to earth.\n\n\u201cWhat seekest thou?\u201d asked Moses.\n\n\u201cI am sent to give thee death,\u201d answered the trembling angel. \u201cAll\nmortals must submit to that.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut not I,\u201d said Moses, \u201cat least from thee; I, consecrated from my\nmother\u2019s womb, the discloser of divine mysteries, the mouthpiece of God,\nI will not surrender my soul into thy hand.\u201d\n\nThen Sammael flew away.\n\nBut a voice fell from heaven, \u201cMoses, Moses, thine hour is come!\u201d\n\n\u201cMy Lord,\u201d answered Moses, \u201cgive not my soul into the hands of the Angel\nof Death.\u201d\n\nThen the Bath-kol, the heavenly voice, fell again, \u201cBe comforted. I\nmyself will take thy soul, and I myself will bury thee.\u201d[577]\n\nThen Moses went home, and knocked at the door. His wife Zipporah opened;\nand when she saw him pale and trembling, she inquired the reason.\n\nMoses answered, \u201cGive God the praise. My hour of death is come.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat! must a man who has spoken with God die like ordinary mortals?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe must. Even the angels Gabriel, Michael, and Israfiel must die; God\nalone is eternal, and dies not.\u201d\n\nZipporah wept, and swooned away.\n\nWhen she recovered her senses, Moses asked, \u201cWhere are my children?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are put to bed, and are asleep.\u201d\n\n\u201cWake them up; I must bid them farewell.\u201d\n\nZipporah went to the children\u2019s bed and cried, \u201cArise, poor orphans!\narise, and bid your father farewell; for this is his last day in this\nworld, and the first in the world beyond.\u201d\n\nThe children awoke in terror, and cried, \u201cAlas! who will pity us when we\nare fatherless? who will stand protector on our threshold?\u201d\n\nMoses was so moved that he wept. Then God said to him, \u201cWhat mean these\ntears? Fearest thou death, or dost thou part reluctantly with this\nworld?\u201d\n\n\u201cI fear not death, nor do I part reluctantly with this world; but I\nlament these children, who have lost their grandfather Jethro and their\nuncle Aaron, and who now must lose their father.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn whom then did thy mother confide, when she cast thee in the bulrush\nark into the water?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn Thee, O Lord.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho gave thee power before Pharaoh? who strengthened thee with thy\nstaff to divide the sea?\u201d\n\n\u201cThou, O Lord.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho led thee through the wilderness, and gave thee bread from heaven,\nand opened to thee the rock of flint?\u201d\n\n\u201cThou, O Lord.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen canst thou not trust thy orphans to Me, who am a father to the\nfatherless? But go, take thy staff, and extend it once more over the\nsea, and thou shalt have a sign to strengthen thy wavering faith.\u201d\n\nMoses obeyed. He took the rod of God in his hand, and he went down to\nthe sea-beach, and he lifted the rod over the water. Then the sea\ndivided, and he saw in the midst a black rock. And he went forward into\nthe sea till he reached the rock, and then a voice said to him, \u201cSmite\nwith thy staff!\u201d And he smote, and the rock clave asunder, and he saw at\nits foundations a little cavity, and in the cavity was a worm with a\ngreen leaf in its mouth. The worm lifted up its voice and cried thrice,\n\u201cPraised be God, who doth not forget me, though I, a little worm, lie in\nloneliness here! Praised be God, who hath nourished and cherished even\nme!\u201d\n\nWhen the worm was silent, God said to Moses: \u201cThou seest that I do not\nfail to consider and provide for a little worm in a rock of which men\nknow not, far in the depths of the sea; and shall I forget thy children,\nwho know Me?\u201d\n\nMoses returned with shame to his home, comforted his wife and children,\nand went alone to the mountain where he was to die.[578]\n\nAnd when he had gone up the mountain, he met three men who were digging\na grave; and he asked them, \u201cFor whom do you dig this grave?\u201d\n\nThey answered, \u201cFor a man whom God will call to be with Him in\nParadise.\u201d\n\nMoses asked permission to lend a hand to dig the grave of such a holy\nman. When it was completed, Moses asked, \u201cHave you taken the measure of\nthe deceased?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; we have quite forgotten to do so. But he was of thy size; lie down\nin it, and God will reward thee, when we see if it be likely to suit.\u201d\n\nMoses did so.[579]\n\nThe three men were the three angels Michael, Gabriel, and Sagsagel. The\nangel Michael had begun the grave, the angel Gabriel had spread the\nwhite napkin for the head, the angel Sagsagel that for the feet.\n\nThen the angel Michael stood on one side of Moses, the angel Gabriel on\nthe other side, the angel Sagsagel at the feet, and the Majesty of God\nappeared above his head.\n\nAnd the Lord said to Moses, \u201cClose thine eyelids.\u201d He obeyed.\n\nThen the Lord said, \u201cPress thy hand upon thy heart.\u201d And he did so.\n\nThen God said, \u201cPlace thy feet in order.\u201d He did so.\n\nThen the Lord God addressed the spirit of Moses, and said, \u201cHoly soul,\nmy daughter! For a hundred and twenty years hast thou inhabited this\nundefiled body of dust. But now thine hour is come; come forth and mount\nto Paradise!\u201d\n\nBut the soul answered, trembling and with pain, \u201cIn this pure and\nundefiled body have I spent so many years, that I have learned to love\nit, and I have not the courage to desert it.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy daughter, come forth! I will place thee in the highest heaven\nbeneath the Cherubim and Seraphim who bear up My eternal throne.\u201d\n\nYet the soul doubted and quaked.\n\nThen God bent over the face of Moses, and kissed him. And the soul\nleaped up in joy, and went with the kiss of God to Paradise.\n\nThen a sad cloud draped the heavens, and the winds wailed, \u201cWho lives\nnow on earth to fight against sin and error?\u201d\n\nAnd a voice answered, \u201cSuch a prophet never arose before.\u201d\n\nAnd the Earth lamented, \u201cI have lost the holy one!\u201d\n\nAnd Israel lamented, \u201cWe have lost the Shepherd!\u201d\n\nAnd the angels sang, \u201cHe is come in peace to the arms of God!\u201d[580]\n\nBut the Mussulmans narrate the last scene differently.\n\nThey say that the Angel of Death stood over Moses, as he lay in the\ngrave, and said, \u201cProphet of God, I must take thy soul.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow wilt thou take it?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom thy mouth.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou canst not, for my mouth hath spoken with God.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen from thine eyes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou canst not, for my eyes have seen the uncreated Light of God.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen from thy ears.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou canst not, for my ears have heard the Voice of God.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen from thy hands.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou canst not, for my hands have held the diamond tables, on which was\nengraven the Tora.\u201d\n\nThen God bade the Angel of Death obtain from Rhidwan, the porter of\nParadise, an apple from the garden, and give it to Moses to smell.\n\nMoses took the apple out of the hand of the Angel of Death, and smelt at\nit; and as he smelt thereat, the angel drew his soul forth at his\nnostrils.\n\nNone know where is the grave of Moses, save Gabriel, Michael, Israfiel,\nand Azrael, for they buried him and defend his grave to the Judgment\nDay.[581]\n\n               By Nebo\u2019s lonely mountain,\n                 On this side Jordan\u2019s wave,\n               In a vale in the land of Moab\n                 There lies a lonely grave.\n               And no man knows that sepulchre,\n                 And no man saw it e\u2019er,\n               For the angels of God upturned the sod,\n                 And laid the dead man there.\n\n               That was the grandest funeral\n                 That ever passed on earth;\n               But no man heard the trampling,\n                 Or saw the train go forth\u2014\n               Noiselessly as the daylight\n                 Comes back when night is done,\n               And the crimson streak on Ocean\u2019s cheek\n                 Grows into the great sun;\n\n               Noiselessly as the spring-time\n                 Her crown of verdure weaves,\n               And all the trees on all the hills\n                 Open their thousand leaves;\n               So without sound of music,\n                 Or voice of them that wept,\n               Silently down from the mountain\u2019s crown\n                 The great procession swept.\n\n               And had he not high honour\u2014\n                 The hill-side for a pall,\n               To lie in state, while angels wait\n                 With stars for tapers tall;\n               And the dark rock-pines, like tossing plumes,\n                 Over his bier to wave,\n               And God\u2019s own hand in that lonely land\n                 To lay him in the grave?[582]\n\nOnce when the Persian Empire was at the summit of its power, an attempt\nwas made to discover the body of Moses. A countless host of Persian\nsoldiers was sent to search Mount Nebo. When they had reached the top of\nthe mountain, they saw the sepulchre of Moses distinctly at the bottom.\nThey hastened to reach the valley, and then they clearly distinguished\nthe tomb of Moses at the summit. Thus, whenever they were at the top,\nthey saw it at the foot; and when they were at the foot, it appeared at\nthe top; so they were forced to abandon the prosecution of their\nsearch.[583]\n\nThe incident of the contention of Michael with Satan for the body of\nMoses mentioned by S. Jude is contained in the apocryphal \u201cAssumption of\nMoses,\u201d now lost, but which has been quoted by Origen and other Fathers.\n\nFootnote 453:\n\n  The early portion of the life of Moses has been elaborated from\n  Rabbinic sources by Dr. B. Beer. Unfortunately he died before the work\n  was completed, and it has been published as a fragment by his friend,\n  G. Wolf. It extends only as far as his marriage with Zipporah. (Leben\n  Moses nach Auffassung der J\u00fcdischen Sage, von Dr. B. Beer; ein\n  Fragment. Leipzig, 1863.) It is, for the most part, compiled from the\n  Sepher Hajasher, or Book of Jasher.\n\nFootnote 454:\n\n  Yaschar, pp. 1241-53. The history of Zepho is quite a romance, too\n  long for insertion here.\n\nFootnote 455:\n\n  Yaschar, pp. 1248, 1249; 1253, 1254.\n\nFootnote 456:\n\n  Ibid., p. 1255.\n\nFootnote 457:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 51; Yaschar, p. 1157.\n\nFootnote 458:\n\n  Midrash Jalkut, fol. 52; Yaschar, pp. 1257-9.\n\nFootnote 459:\n\n  The curious passages, Isaiah vii. 15, 22, may allude to this\n  tradition.\n\nFootnote 460:\n\n  Moses\u2019s life was shortened because he brought water out of the rock\n  contrary to God\u2019s command (Numb. xxvii. 14), striking the rock instead\n  of speaking to it.\n\nFootnote 461:\n\n  Beer, pp. 112-6.\n\nFootnote 462:\n\n  Some authorities say that Jochebed, when thrust away, married\n  Eliphazan, the son of Parnach (Numb. xxxiv. 25), and bare him two\n  sons, Eldad and Medad (Numb. xi. 25); but others, with more\n  probability, assert that she married Eliphazan after the death of\n  Amram. (Yaschar, p. 1259.)\n\nFootnote 463:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1260.\n\nFootnote 464:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, i. p. 446.\n\nFootnote 465:\n\n  Rabboth, fol. 118a.\n\nFootnote 466:\n\n  Exod. xv. 1.\n\nFootnote 467:\n\n  The Arabic name for her is Asia; Yaschar, p. 1261.\n\nFootnote 468:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, i. p. 446; Yaschar, p. 1261.\n\nFootnote 469:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 51.\n\nFootnote 470:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 51; Yaschar, p. 1262.\n\nFootnote 471:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 52; Yaschar, p. 1263.\n\nFootnote 472:\n\n  According to another version, it was Jethro who advised that the child\n  should be proved with the basins of rubies and coals. (Rabboth, fol.\n  118 b; Yaschar, pp. 1263, 1264.)\n\nFootnote 473:\n\n  Exod. iv. 10.\n\nFootnote 474:\n\n  Beer, pp. 26-42. Abulfaraj says that Jannes and Jambres were the\n  tutors of Moses in his youth (Hist. Dynast., p. 17).\n\nFootnote 475:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1265.\n\nFootnote 476:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1265.\n\nFootnote 477:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1263.\n\nFootnote 478:\n\n  Parascha of R. Solomon Jaschi, on Exod. ii. 12; also Targums of\n  Palestine and Jerusalem, i. p. 447; Yaschar, pp. 1265, 1266.\n\nFootnote 479:\n\n  Pirke R. Eliezer, c. 40; Rabboth, fol. 119a; Yaschar, p. 1266.\n\nFootnote 480:\n\n  This illustrates the passage 2 Kings ix. 13.\n\nFootnote 481:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 52; Yaschar, pp. 1265-1274.\n\nFootnote 482:\n\n  These were two of his seven names.\n\nFootnote 483:\n\n  It may be noticed in this as in several other instances, such as those\n  of Rebekah and Rachel, the Rabbis have invented stories to explain the\n  circumstance of the damsels watering the flock, which they supposed\n  derogated from their dignity. This indicates the late date of these\n  traditions, when the old pastoral simplicity was lost.\n\nFootnote 484:\n\n  Pirke R. Eliezer, c. 40; Yaschar, p. 1274.\n\nFootnote 485:\n\n  The Targum of Palestine, \u201cten years;\u201d i. p. 448.\n\nFootnote 486:\n\n  Beer, pp. 42-62; Pirke R. Eliezer. The Targum of Palestine says the\n  rod was in the chamber of Jethro, not in the garden; i. p. 448.\n  Yaschar, pp. 1277, 1278.\n\nFootnote 487:\n\n  Rabbot., fol. 120 a. It is possible that our Blessed Lord\u2019s parable of\n  the Good Shepherd may contain an allusion to this popular and\n  beautiful tradition.\n\nFootnote 488:\n\n  Gen. iii. 4. It was the angel Zagnugael who appeared and spoke to him\n  from the bush. (Targum of Palestine, i. p. 449; Abulfeda, p. 31.)\n\nFootnote 489:\n\n  Exod. iv. 14.\n\nFootnote 490:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. lxxiii. p. 24.\n\nFootnote 491:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 54.\n\nFootnote 492:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, i. p. 460.\n\nFootnote 493:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1280.\n\nFootnote 494:\n\n  Tabari, p. 326.\n\nFootnote 495:\n\n  Some say that Pharaoh entreated Moses to spare him for the sake of\n  Asia (Bithia), and that at the mention of his name Moses was softened.\n  (Weil, p. 159.)\n\nFootnote 496:\n\n  In Arabic, Risam and Rijam; and Shabun and Gabun, in Persian.\n\nFootnote 497:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 56. The Targums say that the enchanters turned the water\n  of Goshen into blood, so that there was no water to the Israelites as\n  to the Egyptians; i. p. 462.\n\nFootnote 498:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 55.\n\nFootnote 499:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, i. p. 463.\n\nFootnote 500:\n\n  Venomous insects (Kalma), gnats (Kinnim). See Wisdom xvi. 1, 3.\n\nFootnote 501:\n\n  Targums, i. 464.\n\nFootnote 502:\n\n  Targums, i. p. 467.\n\nFootnote 503:\n\n  Ibid., i. p. 471.\n\nFootnote 504:\n\n  Yaschar, p. 1283.\n\nFootnote 505:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 338.\n\nFootnote 506:\n\n  Weil, p. 165.\n\nFootnote 507:\n\n  Talmud, Sota. fol. 13.\n\nFootnote 508:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, i. p. 478.\n\nFootnote 509:\n\n  Targums, i. p. 475.\n\nFootnote 510:\n\n  Ibid., i. p. 485.\n\nFootnote 511:\n\n  Targum of Jerusalem, i. p. 488; Yaschar, p. 1287.\n\nFootnote 512:\n\n  Exod. xiv. 13, 14.\n\nFootnote 513:\n\n  Koran, Sura xxvi. v. 63.\n\nFootnote 514:\n\n  Weil, p. 168; see also Midrash, fol. 176.\n\nFootnote 515:\n\n  Exod. xv. 21.\n\nFootnote 516:\n\n  Tabari, p. 350.\n\nFootnote 517:\n\n  Ibid. i. p. 355.\n\nFootnote 518:\n\n  Both the Rabbis and the Mussulmans lay the blame, not on Aaron, but on\n  another. The Rabbis say it was Micah who made the calf; the Mussulmans\n  call him Samiri. (Weil, p. 170.)\n\nFootnote 519:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, i. p. 552.\n\nFootnote 520:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 362.\n\nFootnote 521:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, ii. p. 685.\n\nFootnote 522:\n\n  Pirke R. Eliezer, c. 45.\n\nFootnote 523:\n\n  Weil, pp. 172, 173.\n\nFootnote 524:\n\n  Koran, Sura vii. v. 139.\n\nFootnote 525:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 364.\n\nFootnote 526:\n\n  Ibid., i. c. lxxv.\n\nFootnote 527:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, i. p. 561.\n\nFootnote 528:\n\n  Jalkut Rubeni, fol. 117, col. 1.\n\nFootnote 529:\n\n  Jalkut Rubeni, fol. 107, cols. 2, 3.\n\nFootnote 530:\n\n  Ibid., fol. 107, col. 3.\n\nFootnote 531:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 371; also Midrash, fol. 30.\n\nFootnote 532:\n\n  Parascha R. Bechai, fol. 116.\n\nFootnote 533:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Hajada, fol. 12, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 534:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Joma, fol. 75, col. 1.\n\nFootnote 535:\n\n  This is sanctioned by Scripture: \u201c_Thou feddest Thine own people with\n  angels\u2019 food, and didst send them from heaven bread prepared without\n  their labour, able to content every man\u2019s delight, and agreeing to\n  every taste._\u201d (Wisdom, xvi. 20.)\n\nFootnote 536:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Joma, fol. 75, col. 1; Schemoth Rabba, fol. 115, col.\n  4.\n\nFootnote 537:\n\n  To this tradition perhaps David refers, Ps. xxiii. 5, lxxviii. 19.\n\nFootnote 538:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, i. pp. 499, 500.\n\nFootnote 539:\n\n  Jalkut Shimoni, fol. 73, col. 4.\n\nFootnote 540:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, i. pp. 501, 502.\n\nFootnote 541:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 393.\n\nFootnote 542:\n\n  Koran, Sura ii. v. 54.\n\nFootnote 543:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 394; but also Deut. viii. 4, Nehemiah ix. 21.\n\nFootnote 544:\n\n  1 Cor. x. 4.\n\nFootnote 545:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 373.\n\nFootnote 546:\n\n  See my \u201cCurious Myths of the Middle Ages,\u201d article on S. George. I\n  have no doubt whatever that El Khoudr, identified by the Jews with\n  Elias, is the original of the Wandering Jew. I did not know this when\n  I wrote on the \u201cWandering Jew\u201d in my \u201cCurious Myths,\u201d but I believe\n  this to be the key to the whole story.\n\nFootnote 547:\n\n  Weil, pp. 176-81; Tabari, i. c. lxxvi.; Koran, Sura xviii.\n\nFootnote 548:\n\n  Voltaire has taken this legend as the basis of his story of \u201cZadig.\u201d\n\nFootnote 549:\n\n  Targums, ii. pp. 380, 381.\n\nFootnote 550:\n\n  Weil, p. 175.\n\nFootnote 551:\n\n  Targums, ii. p. 382.\n\nFootnote 552:\n\n  Weil, p. 176.\n\nFootnote 553:\n\n  Targums, ii. p. 386.\n\nFootnote 554:\n\n  Tract. Kethuvoth, fol. 111, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 555:\n\n  Targum of Palestine, ii. p. 390.\n\nFootnote 556:\n\n  Targums, ii. p. 391.\n\nFootnote 557:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. lxxvii.; Weil, pp. 182, 183; Abulfeda, p. 33.\n\nFootnote 558:\n\n  Eisenmenger, ii. p. 305. Possibly the passage Zech. ix. 11, 12, may\n  contain an allusion to this tradition.\n\nFootnote 559:\n\n  Ibid., p. 342.\n\nFootnote 560:\n\n  Pirke R. Eliezer, c. 45.\n\nFootnote 561:\n\n  Perhaps the passage Isai. xl. 4 may be an allusion to this tradition.\n\nFootnote 562:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Beracoth, fol. 54, col. 2; Targum of Palestine, ii. pp.\n  411-13.\n\nFootnote 563:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Beracoth, fol. 54, col. 2; Targums, ii. p. 416;\n  Yaschar, p. 1296.\n\nFootnote 564:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Sopherim, fol. 14, col. 4.\n\nFootnote 565:\n\n  Ibid., Tract. Nida, fol. 24, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 566:\n\n  Jalkut Cadasch, fol. 16, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 567:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 389.\n\nFootnote 568:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Sopherim, fol. 14, col. 4.\n\nFootnote 569:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 398.\n\nFootnote 570:\n\n  Gen. xxxi. 51.\n\nFootnote 571:\n\n  Targums, ii. pp. 419-21.\n\nFootnote 572:\n\n  Targums, ii. pp. 432-3.\n\nFootnote 573:\n\n  Ibid., pp. 434-5.\n\nFootnote 574:\n\n  Jalkut, fol. 240; Rabboth, fol. 275, col. 1; Midrash, fol. 285.\n\nFootnote 575:\n\n  Weil, p. 185.\n\nFootnote 576:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. lxxix.; Abulfeda, p. 35.\n\nFootnote 577:\n\n  Rabboth, fol. 302 b; Devarim Rabba, fol. 246, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 578:\n\n  Weil, pp. 188, 189.\n\nFootnote 579:\n\n  Weil, p. 190.\n\nFootnote 580:\n\n  Rabboth, fol. 302 b.\n\nFootnote 581:\n\n  Weil, pp. 190, 191.\n\nFootnote 582:\n\n  Lyra Anglicana, London, 1864, \u201cThe Burial of Moses.\u201d\n\nFootnote 583:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Sota, fol. 14 a.\n\n\n\n\n                                XXXIII.\n                                JOSHUA.\n\n\nHitherto Israel had required a lawgiver, and they had been given one in\nMoses; now they needed a general, and they were provided with one in\nJoshua.\n\nAfter the death of Moses and his brother Aaron, the children of Israel\nremained seven years in the wilderness, till the forty years were\naccomplished. Then God conferred on Joshua the function of prophet, and\nordered him to lead the chosen people out of the desert and to attack\nthe three cities of the giants.\n\nJoshua was of the tribe of Joseph. He was the son of Nun, who was the\nson of Ephraim, who was the son of Joseph; and his mother was Miriam,\nthe sister of Moses and Aaron.[584]\n\nBefore Joshua led the people of the Lord to the conquest of the Holy\nLand, Joshua sent three deputations into Canaan; of these the first\nproclaimed, \u201cLet any one who will escape death, leave the country.\u201d\n\nThen came the second deputation, and declared, \u201cLet such people as will\nmake an alliance with us, do so, and we will receive them.\u201d\n\nThen came the third deputation, and cried, \u201cLet those who persist in\ndesiring war, prepare for it.\u201d\n\nThe result of these deputations was that one nation deserted the country\nand settled in Africa, and that another nation made terms with Israel.\nBut thirty-one princes made ready for war.[585]\n\nJoshua marched with his army against Jericho, took the city, and slew\nall the men therein; they were giants, and it took a hundred men to cut\noff the head of each giant.\n\nAfter the capture of Jericho, Joshua went against Ai, which is beside\nBeth-aven, on the east side of Bethel. And as the people went up, the\nmen of Ai came forth, and routed them, and they fled.[586]\n\nThen Joshua rent his clothes, and fell on his face to the earth before\nthe ark of the Lord, until eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and\nput dust on their heads.\n\nAnd the Lord said to Joshua, \u201cGet thee up. I am wroth with the people,\nfor there is amongst them a sin which is not put away, and till that\naccursed thing is cast out, victory shall not attend their arms.\u201d\n\nNow Joshua had ordered all the plunder of Jericho to be burnt with fire;\nbut although it was heaped up, the fire would not consume it. Then he\nknew that the pile could not be complete, for the flames danced up, but\nwould consume nothing, as though they waited for the entirety of their\nprey.\n\nSo Joshua made inquisition; and it was found that Achan (Adjezan in\nArabic) had concealed a portion of the booty, which he desired to\nappropriate to his own use.\n\nThen the booty taken by Achan was added to the heap, and instantly the\nflames roared up, and devoured the whole of the spoil.[587]\n\nAnd when Ai was taken, Joshua said: \u201cEnter into this town; for God has\ntaken it from the giants, and has given it to you to be your\ninheritance. But when you pass through the gates, prostrate yourselves,\nwith your heads in the dust, and adore God, saying, Hittaton, hittaton,\nwhich is by interpretation, Pardon our sins.\u201d\n\nSome of those who entered Ai obeyed the voice of Joshua, and God gave\nthem a possession in that city, and their posterity retain it to this\nday.\n\nBut there were some ungodly men who disobeyed the voice of Joshua, and\nwhen they passed through the gates, they did not prostrate themselves,\nbut they raised their heads to heaven, and instead of saying\n\u201c_hittaton_,\u201d as commanded, they said \u201c_hintaton_,\u201d asking for corn.\n\nThen the wrath of God was kindled against these men, and fire fell from\nheaven, and consumed all that had said _hintaton_ in place of\n_hittaton_.[588]\n\nNear Ai there were mountains, in which reigned two kings, Kuma and Djion\n(Sihon). These Amorites were wealthy. When Joshua attacked these kings,\nthey asked to make a league with the people of Israel; and they were\naccepted, on condition that they believed in the religion of Moses.\n\nAnother of these mountain kingdoms was governed by a king called Barak\n(Adoni-bezek). He also sought by submission to escape ruin, and Joshua\naccepted him on the same terms as Kuma and Djion.\n\nTo the west were five cities, whose inhabitants were also Amorites. The\nkings of these cities made war on Joshua. Joshua routed them, and these\nfive kings took refuge in a cave. Joshua ordered the cave to be closed\nwith a stone, whilst he pursued the routed army. Then God sent hail from\nheaven, and each hailstone struck down and killed a man.[589]\n\nOn that day Joshua cried to the Lord, for the sun hasted to go down, and\nit was a Friday, and he feared that he should not have utterly\ndiscomfited the host before the Sabbath came in. Then the Lord\nlengthened the day one hour, so as to enable him to complete his\nvictory.[590]\n\nAfter the battle, it was announced to him that Barak and the other kings\nwho had made submission to him had taken advantage of the rising of the\nkings of the five cities to renounce their allegiance, and to return to\nthe worship of false gods. Therefore Joshua prayed, \u201cO Lord! because\nthey have become unfaithful, take from them their riches, and make them\npoor, that they may become bondsmen; and that their king may fall into\nmisery!\u201d\n\nJoshua was sick and unable to march against them. He was aged a hundred\nand twenty-eight years. He was a hundred years old when Moses died, and\nhe governed Israel twenty-eight years.[591]\n\nFor the benefit of coin-collectors, the following information is\ninserted. \u201cOn the coins struck by Abraham are figured, on the obverse,\nan old man and an ass; on the reverse, a boy and a girl. On the coins of\nJoshua are, on one side a bull, on the other a unicorn. On those of\nDavid, on one side a staff and wallet, on the other a tower. On those of\nMordecai, on the obverse, sackcloth and ashes; and on the reverse, a\ncrown.\u201d[592]\n\nAfter Joshua, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Othniel, the son of\nKenaz,[593] Caleb\u2019s brother, governed Israel. They collected the people,\nand marched against Barak (Adoni-bezek)[594] and his people who had\napostatized, and attacked them, and slew great numbers of them.\n\nThey took the king and cut off his thumbs. This Barak had, during his\nreign, treated seventy kings in like fashion, so that they were unable\nto pick up anything off the ground. And when Barak was feasting, these\nkings were brought before him. Then he cast bread among them, but they\nwere unable to pick it up, having no thumbs, and they were obliged to\nstoop to the ground, and take it in their mouths like dogs; and this\ncaused huge merriment to the king.[595]\n\nFootnote 584:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 396.\n\nFootnote 585:\n\n  Talmud of Jerusalem; Tract. Terumoth.\n\nFootnote 586:\n\n  Josh. vii. 1-5.\n\nFootnote 587:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 402.\n\nFootnote 588:\n\n  Koran, Sura ii. v. 55, 56.\n\nFootnote 589:\n\n  Tabari, p. 404.\n\nFootnote 590:\n\n  Tabari, p. 401.\n\nFootnote 591:\n\n  Ibid. p. 404.\n\nFootnote 592:\n\n  Berescheth Rabba.\n\nFootnote 593:\n\n  The Mussulmans say Khasq\u00eel or Ezechiel.\n\nFootnote 594:\n\n  Judges i. 4.\n\nFootnote 595:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 404.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXIV.\n                              THE JUDGES.\n\n\nIf Joshua, the first of the Judges, has, to a great extent, escaped the\nhands of legend manufacturers, the same may be said of his successors,\nPhinehas, Othniel, Ehud, Deborah and Barak, Gibeon, Abimelech, Tola,\nJair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon. Even Samson has not been\nsurrounded by such a multitude of traditions as might have been\nexpected.\n\nThe Mussulmans have little to say of him, and the Jewish legends are not\nnumerous.\n\nThe Rabbi Samuel, son of Nahaman, said that Samson once took two\nmountains, one in each hand, and knocked them together, as a man will\nstrike together two pebbles. The Rabbi Jehuda said that when the Spirit\nof the Lord rested on him, he strode in one stride from Zorah to\nEshtaol. The Rabbi Nahaman added that his hair stood up, and one hair\ntinkled against another, so that the sound could be heard, like that of\nbells, from Zorah to Eshtaol.[596]\n\nAbulfaraj says that Phinehas, the son of Eleazer, the son of Aaron,\nafter the death of Joshua, was commanded by an angel to put the manna,\nthe rod, the tables of the covenant, and the five books of Moses in a\nbrazen urn, seal it with lead, and conceal it in a cave, as the\nIsraelites were too wicked to be entrusted with such a treasure.[597]\n\nFootnote 596:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 395.\n\nFootnote 597:\n\n  Hist. Dynast. p. 24.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXV.\n                                SAMUEL.\n\n\nGjalout (Goliath) was king of the Philistines. He was of the race of the\nancient giants, the Adites and the Themudites, who were from fifty to a\nhundred cubits in height.\n\nThe children of Israel were grievously oppressed by him, and they\nbesought God to send them a prophet who would reinstruct them in the law\nof Moses, and in the true religion. For thirty years they besought God,\nbut no prophet was given to them. In the meanwhile, the Philistines\noppressed them more and more, and whenever the Israelites rose against\nthem, they defeated the Israelites with great slaughter.\n\nThere died a man of the tribe of Levi, Rayyan (Elkanah) son of Elkama\nwho was descended from Aaron the brother of Moses. The elders of Israel\nhearing that he had died, leaving his wife pregnant, went to her and\nsurrounded her with the greatest care and comforts.\n\nThere was amongst them a wise man named Hil (Eli), who was high-priest;\nto him they confided the care of the widow. In time she bore a son, who\nwas named Ischmawil (Samuel).\n\nEli brought up the child Samuel in the temple, to the age of seven\nyears, and he taught him the Pentateuch and the religion of Moses.\n\nSamuel regarded Eli as his father, because he had been brought up by\nhim, and he loved and reverenced him greatly.\n\nOne night when he was asleep, Gabriel came into the room and made a\nnoise, so that Samuel awoke.\n\nHe saw no one, so he called to Eli, \u201cMaster! didst thou summon me?\u201d\n\nEli replied, \u201cNo, my son, I did not summon thee.\u201d\n\nNext night the same occurred; so also the third night.\n\nThen Eli thought that God wished to give to Samuel the gift of prophecy;\ntherefore he said, \u201cMy son, if thou art called again in the night,\nreply, Here am I; what wouldest Thou? I am in Thy hands.\u201d\n\nSamuel did so. Then Gabriel appeared to him and communicated to him the\nmessage of God.\n\nSamuel told Eli that the Lord had given him the gift of prophecy, by the\nmouth of His messenger Gabriel.\n\nThen Eli was rejoiced, and he announced the glad tidings to all Israel.\n\nEli had two sons whom he had instructed in the art of offering sacrifice\naccording to the law of Moses, but he had taught them nothing else. Eli\nhimself moreover neglected to sacrifice, and he allowed his sons to live\nafter their lusts, unrestrained by his paternal and priestly rebuke.\n\nTherefore God spake to Samuel that He would punish Eli and his sons; but\nSamuel feared to show it to the high priest.\n\nThen said Eli to him, \u201cHas God given thee a message to me?\u201d\n\nAnd Samuel answered, \u201cGod has said, Why hast thou neglected to offer\nsacrifice, so that thy sons add thereto or detract therefrom? And why\nhast thou not constrained them? Because of this sin, I shall deliver\nthee into the hands of an enemy, who shall slay thy sons, and take the\nark, and cause thee to perish also.\u201d[598]\n\nThen Gjalout came, and made war against the children of Israel, and\nthere was a great battle, and Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were\nslain, and the ark was taken; and Eli fell backward from off his seat\nwhen he heard the news, and his neck brake, and he died.\n\nIn the ark, that now fell into the hands of the Philistines, were\npreserved the tables of the Law, which God had given to Moses, and a\nbasin in which the angels washed and purified the hearts of the\nprophets, and the mitre and breastplate and pontifical robes of Aaron.\n\nThe Israelites had been accustomed, in times of peril, to produce the\nark, and it had delivered them from evil by virtue of the sacred relics\nit contained. As for the Shekinah which rested upon it, and from which\nthe ark took its name of Tabut-Shekinah, the Mussulman authors assure us\nit had the form of a leopard, which, whenever the ark was carried\nagainst the enemies of God\u2019s people, rose on its legs, and uttered so\npotent a roar, that the foes of Israel fell to the ground. These\nauthors, however, derived this fable from Rabbinic writers.[599]\n\nThe king of the Philistines, having obtained possession of the ark,\nplaced it in a draught-house, purposing thereby to express his hatred of\nthe Jews, and his contempt for that which they regarded as most sacred.\n\nBut a terrible disease broke out among the Philistines, and the ark was\nsent from Gaza to another city. There the plague appeared immediately,\nand the Philistines were at length obliged to return the ark to the\nIsraelites.\n\nIn the meantime, the Israelites, in consternation at the loss of their\nark, gathered about Samuel, and besought him to consecrate a king for\nthem, who might go forth to battle before them, and recover for them the\nark.\n\nThen Samuel said: \u201cIf I consecrate a king for you, will you not desert\nhim, and refuse to obey him?\u201d\n\nBut they all protested, \u201cWe will follow him wherever he leads, and we\nwill obey all his commands.\u201d[600]\n\nThen Schareh, who was surnamed Thalout (Saul), on account of the\ngreatness of his stature, was chosen by Samuel to be their king. He was\npoor, and by trade a water-carrier, and his ancestors had all been\nwater-carriers.\n\nNow the father of Saul had lost an ass, which had escaped into the\ndesert. Saul went after it.\n\nThen Samuel came to meet him, and said to him: \u201cThou shalt reign as king\nover the people of Israel.\u201d\n\nSaul replied: \u201cO prophet of God! thou knowest that my tribe is the least\namong the tribes, and that I am the poorest among the members of my\ntribe.\u201d\n\nSamuel said: \u201cNevertheless, God has ordered that so it should be.\u201d\n\nThen he poured on his head the sacred oil which had been brought to\nSamuel out of heaven by Gabriel.\n\nBut some say that this oil belonged to Joseph the son of Jacob, and it\nwas preserved by the prophets. When this oil was poured on Saul\u2019s head\nand face, it made his skin brilliant and pure.\n\nNow the prophets all came out of the tribe of Levi, and the tribe of\nBenjamin was despised greatly by the Israelites. And when they heard\nthat their king was from that tribe, and was a water-carrier, they were\nangry and exclaimed, \u201cWhy shall he reign over us? We are as worthy to\nreign as he!\u201d[601]\n\nSamuel answered, \u201cGod gives power to whom He wills.\u201d\n\nThe Israelites said, \u201cShow us a sign.\u201d\n\nSamuel brought the sacred oil forth, and it boiled in the presence of\nSaul.[602]\n\nBut that did not suffice them. Then they asked another sign; and Samuel\nsaid, \u201cThe ark shall return.\u201d\n\nAnd they lifted up their eyes, and lo! the ark was coming to them\nattached to the tails of two cows, and angels guided the cows.[603]\n\nThen the children of Israel doubted no longer, but accepted Saul as\ntheir king.\n\nThen said Samuel to the people: \u201cThe God of your fathers has sent me\nunto you, to promise you victory over the Philistines, and deliverance\nfrom your bondage, if you will turn and leave your evil ways.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat shall we do,\u201d asked one of the elders, \u201cthat we may obtain the\nfavour of God?\u201d\n\nSamuel answered, \u201cYe must pray to God alone, and offer no sacrifices to\nidols, nor eat the flesh of swine, or blood; neither must you eat\nanything which is not slaughtered in the name of the Most High. Ye must\nassist one another, honour your parents, entreat your wives with\nkindness, and support the widows, orphans, and poor. Ye shall believe in\nthe prophets who have gone before me, especially in Abraham, for whom\nGod turned a fiery pile into a pleasure garden; in Ishmael, whose neck\nGod made as a flint-stone, and for whom He opened a fountain in the\nstony desert; and in Moses, who with his staff opened twelve clay paths\nthrough the sea. Also ye shall believe in the prophets who shall follow\nafter me, especially in Isa Ibn Mariam (Jesus, Son of Mary), the Spirit\nof God, and in Mohammed Ibn Abd-allah.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd who is this Isa?\u201d asked one of the elders of Israel.\n\n\u201cIsa,\u201d pursued Samuel, \u201cis the prophet foretold in the Tora as the Word\nof God. His mother Mariam (Mary) shall conceive him by the will of God,\nand by a breath of the angel Gabriel. In his mother\u2019s womb will he\npraise the almighty power of God, and testify to the immaculate purity\nof his mother; afterwards will he heal the sick and crippled, will\nquicken the dead, and will create living birds out of clay.[604] His\ngodless cotemporaries will deal cruelly with him, and will crucify him;\nbut God will deceive their eyes and will let another die in his room,\nand he will be carried up into heaven like the prophet Idris (Enoch).\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd Mohammed,\u201d asked the same Israelite, \u201cwho is he? His name sounds\nstrange in our ears, never have we heard that name before.\u201d\n\n\u201cMohammed,\u201d answered Samuel, \u201cdoes not belong to the race of Israel; he\nwill descend from the seed of Ishmael, and he will be the last and\ngreatest of the prophets, before whom Moses and Christ will bend at the\nResurrection Day. His name, which signifies the Much Praised, is\nprophetic of the laud and honour he will receive from all creatures on\nearth, and all the angels in heaven. The miracles he will work are\nnumberless, so that a man\u2019s life is not long enough to relate them all.\nI shall be able to tell you only the events of a single night.\n\n\u201cOne fearful night of tempest, in which neither cock will crow nor dog\nbark, Mohammed shall be aroused from sleep by Gabriel, who shall appear\nto him in the shape he has when he appears before God, with seven\nhundred wings streaming with light; between each a space such as a\nfleet-footed horse could scarce traverse in five hundred years. Gabriel\nwill lead the prophet forth into the open air, where the wondrous horse\nBorak will be ready. That is the horse on which Abraham mounted when he\nmade his pilgrimages from Syria to Mecca. This horse has two wings as an\neagle, and feet like a dromedary, and a body like a costly gem, shining\nlike the sun, and a head like the fairest maiden. On this wondrous\nbeast, whose brow bears the inscription, \u2018There is no God save God, and\nMohammed is his prophet,\u2019 he will mount and ride, first to Medina, then\nto Sinai, thence to Bethlehem, and finally to Jerusalem, to view the\nholy places, and at them to offer up his prayers. From Jerusalem he will\nascend on a golden ladder, with rungs of rubies, emeralds, and jacinths,\ninto the seventh heaven, where he will be instructed in all the\nmysteries of the creation, and the governance of the world. He will see\nthe blessed in all their joy, in Paradise, and the sinners, in all their\npain, in Hell. There will he see many pasturing wild cattle in\nunfruitful fields. These are they who in the time of life used the gifts\nof God without giving to those in need. Others will he see running\nabout, and carrying in one hand fresh, and in the other putrid, meat,\nand as often as they attempt to taste the former, a fiery rod will smite\nthem on the hand, till they devour the latter. This is the punishment of\nthose who have violated marriage, and have preferred forbidden\npleasures. Others have a swollen body, swelling daily more and more;\nthese are the fraudulent and avaricious. Others have their tongues and\nlips fastened together with iron clamps; these are the slanderers and\nbackbiters. Between Paradise and Hell sits Adam, laughing with joy when\nthe gate of Heaven opens to receive one of his sons, and he hears the\nsongs and shouts of the blessed; weeping with self-reproach when the\ngate of Hell uncloses to take in one of his descendants, and he hears\nthe sobbing of the damned. On this night will Mohammed also see, besides\nGabriel, the other angels, who have each seventy thousand heads, and in\neach head seventy thousand faces, and in each face seventy thousand\nmouths, and in each mouth seventy thousand tongues, wherewith they cease\nnot day or night to praise God in seventy thousand diverse languages. He\nwill also see the angel of atonement, who is half fire, half ice; also\nthe angel who watches the treasure of fire with gloomy countenance and\nflashing eyes; also the angel of death, with a great writing-table in\nhis hand, whereon are inscribed many names, and from which at every\ninstant he wipes off several hundreds; finally, the angel who guards the\nwaters, and weighs in great scales the water allotted to each spring and\nwell, and brook and river; and the angel who bears up the throne of God\non his shoulders, and has a horn in his mouth, wherewith he will blow\nthe blast that is to wake the dead. Moreover, the prophet will be\nconducted through many seas of light near to the throne itself, which is\nso great that the whole world will be beside it as a link in a coat of\nmail dropped in the desert. What will be further revealed to him,\u201d\nanswered Samuel, \u201cis unknown to me; this only I know, that, after having\ncontemplated the Majesty of God a bowshot off, he will descend the\nladder precipitately, and, mounting Borak, will return to Mecca. Now the\nwhole of this journey, his sojourn in Medina, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and\nthe seventh heaven, will occupy so little time, that a water-pitcher\nwhich he upset as he left the house in Mecca will not have run all its\nwater out by his return.\u201d\n\nThe assembled Israelites listened to Samuel, and when he was silent,\nthey cried with one voice, \u201cWe believe in God and in all the past\nprophets, and in all those who are yet for to come. Pray for us that we\nmay escape the tyranny of Gjalout (Goliath).\u201d\n\nThus Saul was chosen king of Israel, and Samuel was prophet to the\npeople of God.[605]\n\nFootnote 598:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. lxxxvii.\n\nFootnote 599:\n\n  D\u2019Herbelot, Bibl. Orient., s. v. Aschmouil.\n\nFootnote 600:\n\n  Koran, Sura ii. v. 247, 248.\n\nFootnote 601:\n\n  Koran, Sura ii. v. 248.\n\nFootnote 602:\n\n  D\u2019Herbelot, Bib. Orientale, t. i. p. 263.\n\nFootnote 603:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 417.\n\nFootnote 604:\n\n  This incident, from the apocryphal gospels of the childhood of Christ,\n  shall be related in the Legendary Lives of New Testament Characters.\n\nFootnote 605:\n\n  Weil, pp. 193-8.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXVI.\n                                 SAUL.\n\n\n              1. WAR WITH THE PHILISTINES.\u2014GOLIATH SLAIN.\n\n\nSamuel ordered Thalout (Saul) to make war upon Gjalout (Goliath), and to\nassemble the fighting men of the tribes of Israel. Saul summoned all the\nmen, and they numbered eighty thousand. Samuel gave Saul a suit of mail,\nand said to him, \u201cHe who can wear this coat with ease will decide the\nwar, and Goliath will perish by his hand.\u201d\n\nSaul started with his army; his way led through a desert, a day\u2019s\njourney across; and it was very hot weather. On the other side of the\ndesert was a broad river, between Jordan and Palestine, and the children\nof Israel had to pass this river to reach the army of Goliath. Saul\nthought that now he would prove his soldiers, for Samuel had bidden him\ntake into battle only as many men as he could rely upon.\n\nThe men were faint with heat and thirst as they reached the river of\nPalestine, and Saul said, \u201cHe who drinks of this water shall not come\nwith me, but he who drinks not thereof shall follow after me.\u201d[606] For\nhe would not have them slake their thirst till they reached Jordan.[607]\n\nBut, according to another version of the story, the men were fainting in\nthe wilderness, and murmured against Saul. Then Samuel prayed, and God\nbrought a water-spring out of the dry, stony ground, and made standing\nwater in the desert, fresh as snow, sweet as honey, and white as\nmilk.[608]\n\nSamuel spake to the soldiers, and said, \u201cYe have sinned against your\nking and against God, by murmuring. Therefore refuse to drink of this\nwater except in the hollow of your hand, and so expiate your\nfault.\u201d[609]\n\nSamuel\u2019s words were disregarded. Only three hundred and thirteen men\nwere found who had sufficient control over themselves not to drink\nexcept slightly out of the hollow of their hand; but these felt their\nthirst quenched, whereas those who had lain down and lapped were still\nparched with thirst.\n\nSaul and his army came before that of Goliath; then said the majority of\nthose who had lain down and lapped, \u201cWe have no strength to-day to stand\nagainst the Philistines.\u201d So Saul dismissed them to their homes, to the\nnumber of seventy-six thousand men; he had still with him four thousand\nmen. Next day, when they saw the array of the Philistines, and the\ngigantic stature of their king, and their harness flashing in the sun,\nthe hearts of more of the warriors failed, and they would not follow\nSaul into battle, but said, \u201cWe have no strength to-day to stand against\nthe Philistines!\u201d\n\nSo Saul dismissed three thousand six hundred men, and there remained to\nhim only three hundred and thirteen, the same number as those who on the\nday of Bedr remained with the prophet Mohammed.\n\nThen said Saul, \u201cGod is favourable to us!\u201d and he advanced, and set his\narmy in array against Goliath. And he prayed, saying, \u201cGrant us, O Lord,\nperseverance.\u201d[610]\n\nHowever, God sent an order by Samuel, saying, \u201cGo not into battle this\nday, for the man who is to slay Goliath is not here; he is Daud (David),\nson of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz; he is a little man, with grey\neyes, and little hair, timid of heart, and slender of body. By this\nshalt thou know him: when thou placest the horn upon his head, the oil\nwill overflow and boil.\u201d\n\nThen Samuel went to Jesse, and said to him, \u201cAmongst thy sons there is\none who will slay Goliath.\u201d\n\nJesse said, \u201cI have eleven sons, men stalwart and comely.\u201d\n\nSamuel placed the horn on their heads, but the oil was not to be seen.\n\nThen God gave him a vision, and he said to him, \u201cLook not at the beauty\nand strength of these men, but on the purity of their hearts and their\nfear of God.\u201d\n\nSamuel said to Jesse, \u201cGod says thou art a liar, and He says thou hast\nanother son besides these.\u201d\n\nJesse answered, \u201cIt is true; but he is diminutive in stature, and I am\nashamed to bring him into the company of men; I make him tend sheep; he\nis somewhere with the flock to-day.\u201d\n\nSamuel went to the place, and it was a valley into which a torrent fell.\nHe saw David drawing the sheep out of the torrent by twos. Samuel said,\n\u201cCertainly this is the man I seek.\u201d He placed the horn on his head, and\nthe oil overflowed.\n\nNow Goliath, seeing the small number of the children of Israel, despised\nthem, and scorned to fight them. He sent a messenger to Saul, saying,\n\u201cThou hast come out to fight against me with this handful, and I disdain\nto attack thee with my large army. If thou wilt, come forth that we may\nfight each other, or send any one out of the army, whom thou wilt, to\nfight with me.\u201d\n\nNone in Saul\u2019s army would venture against the giant, and Saul was\nhimself afraid. He produced the shirt of mail Samuel had given him, and\nhe tried it upon each of his soldiers in turn; but it was too short for\none, too long for another, too tight for a third, and too loose for a\nfourth.\n\nNow the father of David had come with his eleven sons into the host; but\nhe had left David, because he was young and small of stature, to keep\nthe sheep; and he had bidden him, from time to time, bring him supplies\nof food. David came with the provisions. He was dressed in a woollen\nshirt, and he bore in his hand a staff, and a pouch attached to his\nwaist.\n\nAs he passed over a pebbly strip of soil, a stone cried to him, \u201cPick me\nup, and take me with thee.\u201d He stooped and picked up the stone, and\nplaced it in his pouch. And when he had taken a few paces, another stone\ncried to him, \u201cPick me up, and take me with thee.\u201d He did so. And a\nthird stone cried in like manner, and was in like manner taken by David.\nThe first stone was that wherewith Abraham had driven away Satan, when\nhe sought to dissuade the patriarch from offering up his son; and the\nsecond stone was that on which the foot of Gabriel rested when he opened\nthe fountain in the desert for Hagar and Ishmael; and the third stone\nwas that wherewith Jacob strove against the angel whom his brother Esau\nhad sent against him.[611] But, according to another account, the first\nwas the stone which Moses cast against the enemies of God, the second\nwas that cast by Aaron, the third was destined to cause the death of\nGoliath.[612] When David came into the army, Saul had finished trying on\nthe suit of mail upon the soldiers, and he said, \u201cIt fits none of them.\u201d\nThen he spied David, and he said, \u201cYoung man, let me place this shirt of\nmail on thee.\u201d Then he cast it over him, and it fitted him exactly.\n\nSaul said, \u201cWilt thou fight Goliath?\u201d\n\nDavid answered, \u201cI will do so.\u201d\n\nSaul said, \u201cWith what horse and arms wilt thou go?\u201d\n\nDavid answered, \u201cI will have no horse and no arms, save these stones of\nthe brook.\u201d\n\nDavid was feeble in body, he had grey eyes, was short,\nyellow-complexioned, thin-faced, and had red hair.[613]\n\nSaul had little hope that David would overcome the giant, but he thought\nhis example might shame and stimulate others, therefore he let him go.\n\nNow when Goliath came forth and defied the army of Israel, David went to\nmeet him, wearing only his linen shirt, and belt, and pouch, and he had\nhis shepherd\u2019s staff in his hand.\n\nThen cried Goliath, \u201cWho art thou, that comest out to meet me?\u201d\n\nThen David replied, \u201cI am come out to fight with thee.\u201d\n\nGoliath said, \u201cGo back, petty fool, and play with children of thine own\nage. I despise thee; thou art unarmed.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I despise thee, dog of a Philistine!\u201d cried the stripling; \u201cthou\ndeservest to be dealt with as men deal with dogs,\u2014pelting them with\nstones till they turn tail.\u201d\n\nThen Goliath was in a rage, and he lifted his spear against David; but\nDavid hasted and loosed his belt, and laid in it one of the stones, and\nslung it; and the wind caught the helmet of Goliath, and lifted it in\nthe air above his head, and the stone struck him on the brow, and sank\nin, and crushed all his skull, and strewed his brains all over the horse\nhe rode; then the giant fell out of his saddle, and died.\n\nThen again David placed the second stone in his sling, and he cast it,\nand it smote the right wing of the army of the Philistines; then he cast\nthe third stone, and it smote the left wing, and the host of the\nPhilistines fled before him.[614]\n\n\n                      2. SAUL\u2019S JEALOUSY OF DAVID.\n\n\nSaul had promised his daughter to the man who should slay Goliath. When\nthe Philistines had been routed, Saul told Samuel all that had taken\nplace; and the prophet exhorted the king to fulfil his promise, and to\ngive to David his daughter in marriage.\n\nTo this Saul agreed, and he gave David his ring, and made him manager of\nall his affairs, and he exalted him to be his son-in-law.\n\nSeveral years passed, and Saul became envious of David, whose praise was\nin everybody\u2019s mouth.\n\nHe sent David into the wars, in hopes of his there meeting his death;\nbut it was all in vain. Then he spoke to his daughter Michal, that she\nshould introduce him into her husband\u2019s chamber at night, that he might\nslay David with his own hand.\n\nMichal told David her father\u2019s resolution, with many tears; but David\nbade her be comforted. \u201cFor,\u201d said he, \u201cthe God of my fathers, who\npreserved Abraham and Moses from the hands of the executioner, will\ndeliver me from thy father. But do as he bade thee, open the door at\nnight, and fear not for me.\u201d\n\nThen David went into his smithy and wrought a suit of chain mail. He was\nthe inventor of chain-armour. And he had received from God the power of\nmoulding iron, like wax, in his fingers, without fire and without\nhammer.\n\nNow he fashioned for himself a whole suit of chain mail; it was so thin\nthat it was like gossamer, and it fitted to his body like his skin, and\nit was impenetrable to the thrust of every weapon.\n\nDavid put upon him his armour, and lay down in his bed. He slept, but\nwas awakened at midnight by the knife of Saul stabbing at him as he lay.\nHe sprang up, struck the weapon from the hands of his father-in-law, and\nthrust him forth out of the house.[615]\n\nAfter this, Saul came to Michal and said, \u201cHe was not asleep, or I\ncertainly would have slain him. Admit me again into his chamber at\nnight.\u201d\n\nMichal went to David and told him all, with many tears.\n\nThen said David, \u201cI must escape from my house, for my life is not in\nsecurity here. But do thou fill a leather bottle with wine, and lay it\nin my bed.\u201d\n\nMichal did so; she took a large skin of wine and placed it in the bed,\nand drew the cover over it. But David fled away to Hebron.\n\nAnd in the night came Saul, and he felt the clothes, and he thought it\nwas David in the bed, so he stabbed at him with his knife, and the wine\nran out in the bed. Then Saul smelt it, and he said, \u201cHow much wine the\nfellow drank for his supper!\u201d[616]\n\nBut when he found that David had escaped him once more, he was wroth,\nand he gathered men together, and pursued after him; in his anger,\nmoreover, he sought to kill Michal, but she fled away and concealed\nherself.\n\nSaul pursued David in the mountains, but David knew all the caves and\nlurking-places, and Saul was unable to catch him. One night, David crept\ninto the camp and thrust four arrows, inscribed with his name, into the\nground, round the head of Saul. When Saul awoke, he saw these arrows,\nand he said, \u201cDavid has been here; he might have slain me had he willed\nit.\u201d\n\nDuring the day, Saul came upon his enemy in a narrow valley; he was\nmounted, and he pursued David, who was on foot. David fled as fast as he\ncould run, and managed to reach a cave a few moments before Saul could\nreach it. Then God sent a spider, which spun a web over the mouth of the\ncave; and Saul saw it and passed on, saying, \u201cCertainly David cannot\nhave entered in there, or the web would be torn.\u201d[617]\n\nOne night, Saul and his soldiers lodged in a cavern. And David was\nthere, but they knew it not. In the night David carried off the sword\nand banner and seal-ring of the king, and he went forth out of the cave,\nfor it had two openings. In the morning, when Saul prepared to continue\nhis search, he saw him on a mountain opposite the mouth of the cave, and\nDavid had girded the royal sword to his side, and brandished the flag,\nand held forth his finger that all might note that he had on it the\nking\u2019s signet.[618]\n\nThen Saul said, \u201cHis heart is better than mine;\u201d and he was reconciled\nwith David, and he bade him return with him and live at peace. And he\ndid so.\n\n\n                         3. THE DEATH OF SAUL.\n\n\nNow when Saul had gone forth against David, the wise men of Israel had\ngathered themselves together, and had remonstrated with him. But Saul\nwas wroth at this interference, and he slew them all, and there escaped\nnone of them save one wise woman, whom his vizir spared. This vizir was\na good man, and he took the woman into his own house, and she lived with\nhis family.\n\nSome time after that, Saul had a dream, and in his dream he was\nreproached for having slain the wise men. And when he awoke he was full\nof remorse, and he went to his vizir and said, \u201cIt repents me that I\nhave put to death all the wise men of my realm; is there none remaining\nof whom I might ask counsel how I could expiate my crime?\u201d\n\nThen the vizir answered, \u201cThere remains but one, and that is a woman.\u201d\n\nSaul said, \u201cBring her hither before me.\u201d\n\nNow, when the wise woman was come before Saul, the king was troubled in\nmind, and he said, \u201cShow me how I can make atonement for the great sin\nthat I have committed.\u201d\n\nThe woman answered, \u201cLead me to the tomb of a prophet; I will pray, and\nmay be God will suffer him to speak.\u201d\n\nThey went to the tomb of Samuel, and the woman prayed.\n\nThen Samuel spake out of his sepulchre, and said, \u201cLet his expiation be\nthis: He shall go down, he and his sons, to the city of Giants, and they\nshall fall there.\u201d\n\nSaul had twelve sons. He called them to him and said to them all the\nwords of Samuel. They then answered, \u201cWe are ready, let us go down.\u201d\n\nSo they went to the city of Giants, and fought against it, and fell\nthere, all in one day.[619]\n\nFootnote 606:\n\n  Koran, Sura ii. v. 250.\n\nFootnote 607:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 418.\n\nFootnote 608:\n\n  Perhaps the passage in Psalm cvii. 35 may refer to this miracle,\n  unrecorded in Holy Scripture.\n\nFootnote 609:\n\n  Weil, pp. 200, 201.\n\nFootnote 610:\n\n  Koran, Sura ii. v. 251.\n\nFootnote 611:\n\n  Weil, p. 203.\n\nFootnote 612:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 421.\n\nFootnote 613:\n\n  Ibid.\n\nFootnote 614:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 422; Weil, pp. 202-4; D\u2019Herbelot, i. p. 362.\n\nFootnote 615:\n\n  Weil, pp. 205-8.\n\nFootnote 616:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 423. The same story is told of the escape of S. Felix of\n  Nola, in the Decian persecution.\n\nFootnote 617:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 429.\n\nFootnote 618:\n\n  Weil, p. 207.\n\nFootnote 619:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 424.\n\n\n\n\n                                XXXVII.\n                                 DAVID.\n\n\nDavid says of himself, \u201c_Behold, I was shaken in wickedness; and in sin\ndid my mother conceive me._\u201d[620] The Rabbis explain this passage by\nnarrating the circumstances of the conception of David, which I shall\ngive in Latin. The mother of David they say was named Nitzeneth.\n\u201cDixerunt Rabbini nostri beat\u00e6 memori\u00e6, quod Isai (Jesse) habebat\nancillam, eamque sollicitabat ad turpia; qu\u00e6, cum esset pudica et\nfidelis uxori Isai, eidem retulit; qu\u00e6 seipsam aptavit (loco ancill\u00e6) et\ncongressa est cum Isai, ex quo concubitu egressus est David. Et quia\nIsai intentio fuerat in ancillam, quamquam res aliter evenerat, idcirco\ndixit David,\u2014super eum sit pax: Ecce in iniquitate formatus sum, et\npeccato calefecit me mater mea.\u201d[621]\n\nOn this account, Jesse, having discovered the deception, lightly\nesteemed his son David, and sent him to keep sheep, and made him as a\nservant to his brethren. And to this David refers when he says, \u201c_The\nstone which the builders rejected is become the head of the\ncorner_;\u201d[622] for, from being the despised brother, put to menial work,\nhe was exalted before his brethren to be king over Israel.\n\nWhen David was born he would have died immediately, had not Adam, when\nhe saw his posterity marshalled before him, taken compassion on David,\nand given him seventy years.[623]\n\nHowever, David was without a soul for the first fourteen years of his\nlife, and was so regarded by God, as he was uncircumcised;[624] but\nother Rabbinic writers say that he was born circumcised.\n\nThe Jewish authors relate, as do the Mussulman historians, that David\nhad red hair. In Jalkut (1 Sam. xvi. 12) it is said, \u201cSamuel sent, and\nmade David come before him, and he had red hair;\u201d[625] and again in\nBereschith Rabba, \u201cWhen Samuel saw that David had red hair, he feared\nand said, He will shed blood as did Esau. But the ever-blessed God said,\nThis man will shed it with unimpassioned eyes\u2014this did not Esau. Esau\nslew out of his own caprice, but this man will execute those sentenced\nto death by the Sanhedrim.\u201d\n\nDavid was very small, but when Samuel poured the oil upon his head and\nanointed him, he grew rapidly, and was soon as tall as was Saul. And\nthis the commentators conclude from the fact of Saul having put his\narmour upon David, and it fitted him. Now Saul was a head and shoulders\ntaller than any man in Israel; therefore David must have started to\nequal height since his anointing.[626]\n\nDavid was gifted with the evil eye, and was able to give the leprosy by\nturning a malignant glance upon any man. \u201cWhen it is written, \u2018_The\nPhilistine cursed David by his gods_,\u2019[627] David looked at him with the\nevil eye. For whoever was looked upon by him with the evil eye became\nleprous, as Joab knew to his cost, for after David had cast the evil\nglance on him, it is said, \u2018_Let there not fail from the house of Joab\none that hath an issue, or that is a leper._\u2019[628]\n\n\u201cThe same befell the Philistine when he cursed David. David then threw\non him the malignant glance, and fixed it on his brow, that he might at\nonce become leprous; and at the same moment the stone and the leprosy\nstruck him.\u201d[629]\n\nBut David was himself afflicted for six months with this loathsome\nmalady, and it is in reference to this that he says, \u201c_Thou shalt purge\nme with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be\nwhiter than snow._\u201d During this period, he was cast out and separated\nfrom the elders of the people, and the Divinity withdrew from him.[630]\nAnd this explains the discrepancy apparent in the account of the number\nof years he reigned. It is said that he reigned over Israel forty\nyears,[631] but he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty and three\nin Jerusalem. In the Second Book of Samuel, however, it is said, he\nreigned in Hebron seven years and six months;[632] though the statement\nthat he reigned only forty years in all, that is, thirty-three in\nJerusalem, is repeated. Consequently, these six months do not count, the\nreason being that David was at that time afflicted with the disorder,\nand cut off from society, and reputed as one dead.[633]\n\nThe Rabbis suppose that David sinned in cutting off the skirt of Saul\u2019s\nrobe;[634] and they say that he expiated this fault in his old age, by\nfinding no warmth in his clothes, wherewith he wrapped himself.[635] For\nit is said, \u201c_King David was old and stricken in years; and they covered\nhim with clothes, but he got no heat._\u201d[636]\n\nTo David is attributed by the Rabbi Solomon the power of calling down\nthe rain, the hail, and the tempest, in vengeance upon his enemies. \u201cOur\nRabbis,\u201d says he, \u201csay that these things were formerly stored in heaven,\nbut David came and made them to descend on the earth: for they are means\nof vengeance, and it is not fitting that they should be garnered in the\nTreasury of God.\u201d[637] But the rain and hail fell at the Deluge, in\nEgypt, and on the Amorites; therefore the signification to be attributed\nto this opinion of the Rabbis probably is, that David was the first to\nbe able to call them down by his prayer.\n\nDavid had a lute which he hung up above his head in the bed, and the\nopenings of the lute were turned towards the north, and when the cool\nnight air whispered in the room towards dawn it stirred the strings of\nthe lute, which gave forth such sweet and resonant notes, that David was\naroused from his sleep early, before daybreak, that he might occupy\nhimself in the study of the Law. And it is to this that he refers when\nhe cries in his Psalm, \u201c_Awake, lute and harp: I myself will awake right\nearly._\u201d[638]\n\nWhen Absalom was slain, David saw Scheol (Hell) opened, and his son\ntormented, for his rebellion, in the lowest depths. The sight was so\ndistressing to the king, that he wrapped his mantle about his face and\ncried, \u201c_O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died\nfor thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!_\u201d Here it is to be noted that David\ncalled Absalom either by name or by his relationship seven times. Now in\nHell there are seven mansions, and as each cry escaped the father\u2019s\nheart, Absalom was released from one of these divisions of the Pit; and\nhe thus effected his escape from Gehenna through the love of his father,\nwhich drew him up out of misery.[639]\n\nDavid was very desirous to build a temple to the Lord, but God would not\nsuffer him to do so, as he was a man of blood. This is the reason why he\nso desired to erect a temple. When he was young, and pastured his\nfather\u2019s sheep, he came one day upon a rhinoceros (unicorn) asleep, and\nhe did not know that it was a rhinoceros, but thought it was a mountain,\nso he drove his flock up its back, and fed them on the grass which grew\nthereon. But presently the rhinoceros awoke, and stood up, and then\nDavid\u2019s head touched the sky. He was filled with terror, and he vowed\nthat if God would save his life and bring him safely to the ground\nagain, he would build to the Lord a temple of the dimensions of the horn\nof the beast, an hundred cubits. The Talmudists are not agreed as to\nwhether this was the height, or the breadth, of the horn; however, the\nvow was heard, and the Lord sent a lion against the rhinoceros; and when\nthe unicorn saw the lion, he lay down, and David descended his back,\nalong with his sheep, as fast as possible; but when he saw the lion, his\nspirit failed him again. However he took the lion by the beard, and\nsmote, and slew him. This adventure the Psalmist recalls when he says,\n\u201c_Save me from the lion\u2019s mouth: Thou hast heard me also from among the\nhorns of the unicorns_;\u201d[640] and to his vow he alludes in Psalm\ncxxxii., \u201c_Lord, remember David, and all his trouble: how he sware unto\nthe Lord, and vowed a vow unto the Almighty God of Jacob._\u201d[641]\n\nOne day David was hunting in the wilderness. Then came Satan, in the\nform of a stag, and David shot an arrow at him, but could not kill him.\nThis astonished him, for on one occasion, in strife with the\nPhilistines, he had transfixed eight hundred men with one arrow.[642]\nThen he chased the deer, and it ran before him into the Philistine land.\nNow when Ishbi-benob, who was of the sons of the giant, knew this, he\nsaid, \u201cDavid has slain my brother Goliath; now he is in my power!\u201d and\nhe came upon him and chained him, and cast him down, and laid a\nwinepress upon him, that he might crush him, and squeeze all the blood\nout of him. But God softened the earth beneath him, so that it yielded\nto his body, and he was uninjured; as he says in the Psalms, \u201c_Thou\nshalt make room enough under me for to go._\u201d[643] And as David lay under\nthe press, he saw a dove fly by, and he said, \u201c_Oh that I had wings as a\ndove, that I might flee away, and be at rest_;\u201d[644] and he alludes to\nhis being among the pots, and noting the wings of the dove as silver, in\nanother Psalm.[645]\n\nNow Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, heard the plaining of the dove, which\nhad seen the trouble of the king, and came into Jerusalem in grief\nthereat. Then Abishai went to the chamber of David to search for him,\nbut he was not there. Then he knew that the king must be in danger, and\nthe only means of reaching him with speed was to mount the royal mule,\nwhich was fleet as the wind; but this Abishai did not venture to do\nwithout advice, for he remembered the words of the Mischna, \u201cThou shalt\nnot ride the king\u2019s horse, nor mount his throne, nor grasp his sceptre.\u201d\nBut as the danger was pressing, Abishai went to the school, and\nconsulted the doctors of the Law, who said, \u201cIn an emergency all things\nare lawful.\u201d Then he mounted the mule of King David, and rode into the\ndesert, and the earth flew under him, and he reached the house of\nIshbi-benob. Now the mother of Ishbi-benob\u2014her name was Orpha\u2014sat\nwithout the door, spinning. And when she saw Abishai galloping up, she\nbrake her thread and flung the spindle at him, with intent to strike him\ndead. But the spindle fell short of him. So Orpha cried to him, \u201cGive me\nmy spindle, boy.\u201d Abishai stooped and picked it up, and cast it at her\nwith all his force, and it struck her on the brow, and broke her skull,\nand she fell back and died.\n\nThen, when Ishbi-benob saw what was done, he said, \u201cThese two men will\nbe too much for me!\u201d so he drew David from under the winepress, and\nflung him high into the air, and set his lance in the ground, that David\nmight fall upon it, and be transfixed. But Abishai cried the Sacred\nName, and David was arrested in his fall, and hung between heaven and\nearth, and gradually was let down, not on the spear, but at a distance.\nThen Abishai and David slew Ishbi-benob.[646]\n\nWhen David\u2019s life was run out, the Angel of Death came to fetch his\nsoul. But David spent all his time in reading the Law. The angel stood\nbefore him, and watched that his lips should cease moving, for he might\nnot interrupt him in this sacred work. But David made no pause. Then the\nangel went into the garden which was behind the house, and shook\nviolently one of the trees. David heard the noise, and turned his head,\nand saw that the branches of one of his trees were violently agitated,\nbut no leaf stirred on the other trees; so he closed the book of the\nLaw, and went into his garden, and set a ladder against the tree and\nascended into it, that he might see what was agitating the leaves. Then\nthe angel withdrew the ladder, but David knew it not; so he fell and\nbroke his neck, and died. It was the Sabbath day. Then Solomon doubted\nwhat he should do, for the body of his father was exposed to the sun,\nand to the dogs; and he did not venture to remove it, lest he should\nprofane the Sabbath; so he sent to the Rabbis, and said, \u201cMy father is\ndead, and exposed to the sun, and to be devoured by dogs; what shall I\ndo?\u201d\n\nThey answered, \u201cCast the body of a beast before the dogs, and place\nbread or a boy upon thy father, and bury him.\u201d[647]\n\nDavid had such a beautiful voice, that, when he sang the praises of God,\nthe birds came from all quarters and surrounded him, listening to his\nstrains. The mountains even and the hills were moved at his notes.[648]\nHe could sing with a voice as loud as the most deafening peal of\nthunder, or warble as sweetly as the tuneful nightingale.\n\nHe divided his time, say the Mussulmans, into three parts. One day he\noccupied himself in the affairs of his kingdom, the second day he\ndevoted to the service of God, and the third day he gave up to the\nsociety of his wives.\n\nAs he was going home from prayer, one day, he heard two of his servants\ndiscussing him and comparing him with Abraham.\n\n\u201cWas not Abraham saved from a fiery furnace?\u201d asked one.\n\n\u201cDid not David slay the giant Goliath?\u201d asked the other.\n\n\u201cBut what has David done that will compare with the obedience of\nAbraham, who was ready to offer his only son to God?\u201d asked the first.\n\nWhen David reached home, he fell down before God and prayed: \u201cLord!\nThou, who didst give to Abraham a trial of his obedience in the pyre,\ngrant that an opportunity may be afforded me of proving before all the\npeople how great also is mine.\u201d[649]\n\nBut others relate this differently. They say that David besought the\nLord to endue him with the spirit of prophecy. Then God answered, \u201cWhen\nI give great gifts, he who receives them must suffer great trials. I\nproved Abraham by the fire, and by the sacrifice of one son, and\nseparation from others; Jacob by his children; Joseph by the well and\nthe prison; Moses by Pharaoh; Job by the worms. I afflicted all these,\nbut thee have I not afflicted.\u201d But David said, \u201cO Lord, prove me and\ntry me also, that I may obtain the same degree of celebrity as\nthey.\u201d[650]\n\nOne day, as David sang psalms before God and the congregation, a\nbeautiful bird appeared at the window, and it attracted his whole\nattention, so that he could scarcely sing. David concluded his\nrecitation of the psalms earlier than usual, and went in pursuit of the\nbird, which led him from bush to bush, and from tree to tree, till it\nsuddenly disappeared near a secluded lake. Now this bird was Eblis, and\nhe came to tempt David into evil.\n\nWhen the bird vanished, David saw in the water a beautiful woman,\nbathing, and when she stood up, her hair covered her whole person.\n\nDavid hid behind the bushes, that he might not startle her, till she was\ndressed; then he stood forth, and asked her her name.\n\n\u201cMy name,\u201d said she, \u201cis Bathsheba,[651] daughter of Joshua, and wife of\nUriah, son of Hanan, who is with the army.\u201d[652]\n\nThen David departed, but his heart was inflamed with love, and he sent a\nmessage to Joab, the captain of his host, to set Uriah before the ark in\nevery battle. Now those who went before the ark must conquer or fall.\nThree times Uriah came out of battle victorious, but the fourth time he\nwas killed.\n\nThen David took Uriah\u2019s wife to his own house and made her his own wife.\nAnd she consented upon the condition that should she bear him a son,\nthat son was to succeed him in the kingdom. Now David had, before he\nmarried her, ninety-nine wives. The day after his marriage, Michael and\nGabriel appeared before him in human form, as he was in his court, and\nGabriel said to him: \u201cThis fellow here possesses ninety and nine sheep,\nbut I have only one, and that I love, and cherish in my bosom. This man\nclaims my little ewe lamb, and will take it from me, and, if I will not\ngive it him, he says that he will slay me; and take my lamb from me by\nforce.\u201d\n\nThen David\u2019s anger was kindled against Michael, and he said, \u201cThou who\nhast so many sheep, wherefore lustest thou after the poor man\u2019s ewe\nlamb? Thou hast an evil heart and an insatiable spirit.\u201d\n\nThen Michael exclaimed, \u201cThou hast given judgment against thyself; what\nthou rebukest in this man, thou hast allowed thyself to do!\u201d[653]\n\nAnd David knew that God had sent His angels to rebuke him, and he fell\nupon his face to the ground. But, some say, he drew his sword and rushed\nupon Michael: then Gabriel held him back, and said, \u201cThou didst ask to\nbe tried; now thou hast fallen under the temptation.\u201d[654]\n\nThen the angels vanished, and David fell to the ground, tore off his\npurple robe, cast aside his golden crown, and wept for forty days and\nforty nights. And his tears flowed in such abundance, that every now and\nthen he plunged a cup into them and drank it off.\n\nAt the expiration of forty days Gabriel came to him, and said, \u201cThe Lord\nsalutes thee!\u201d But David felt this was an additional reproach, and he\nwept still more. It is said that during the ensuing forty days and\nnights David shed more tears than Adam and all his descendants had, and\nwill, shed from the day of the Fall to the day of the Resurrection.\n\nThen God sent Gabriel to him again, and Gabriel said, \u201cThe Lord salutes\nthee!\u201d But David lifted his tearful face and said, \u201cO Gabriel, what will\nUriah say to me on the day of the general Resurrection?\u201d\n\nGabriel answered, \u201cThe Lord will give him so great an inheritance in\nParadise, that he will not have the heart to reproach thee.\u201d\n\nThen David knew that he was pardoned, and he rejoiced greatly. But he\nnever forgot his sins. He wrote them on the palm of his hand, that he\nmight have them always before him; therefore he says, \u201cMy shame is ever\nbefore mine eyes.\u201d\n\nNevertheless David\u2019s heart was lifted up with pride, when he considered\nthat he was a king, a prophet, and a great general. And one day he said\nto Nathan, \u201cI think I am perfect, I have everything.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot so,\u201d answered Nathan, \u201cthou exercisest no handicraft.\u201d\n\nThen David was ashamed, and he asked God to teach him a craft; and God\nmade him skilful in fabricating coats of mail of rings twined together;\nhis trade therefore was that of an armourer, and his disgrace was wiped\naway.\n\nAfter his judgment between the two angels, David had no confidence in\ngiving sentence in cases pleaded before him; therefore God sent him, by\nthe hand of Gabriel, a reed of iron and a little bell, and the angel\nsaid to him, \u201cGod is pleased with thy humility, and He has sent thee\nthis reed and this bell to assist thee in giving judgment. Place this\nreed in thy judgment-hall, and hang up the bell in the middle, and place\nthe accuser on one side, and the accused on the other, and give sentence\nin favour of him who makes the bell to tinkle when he touches the reed.\u201d\n\nDavid was highly pleased with this gift, and he gave such righteous\njudgment, that men feared, throughout the land, to do wrong to one\nanother.\n\nOne day, two men came before David, and one said, \u201cI left a goodly pearl\nin the charge of this man, and when I asked for it again, he denied it\nme.\u201d\n\nBut the other said, \u201cI have returned it to him.\u201d\n\nThen David bade each lay his hand on the reed, but the bell gave the\nsame indication for both. Then David thought, \u201cThey both speak the\ntruth, and yet that cannot be; the gift of God must err.\u201d\n\nThen he bade the men try again, and the result was the same. However, he\nobserved that the defendant, when he went up to the reed to lay his hand\nupon it, gave his walking staff to the plaintiff to hold, and this he\ndid each time, so that David\u2019s suspicion was awakened, and he took the\nstaff, and examined it, and found that it was hollow, and the stolen\npearl was concealed in the handle. Thus the bell had given right\njudgment, for when the accused touched the reed, he had returned the\npearl into the hand of the accuser; but David by his doubt in the reed\ndispleased Him who gave it, and the reed and the bell were taken from\nhim.\n\nAfter that, David often gave wrong judgment, till Solomon, his son, was\nof age to advise him.\n\nOne day, when Solomon was aged thirteen, there came two men before the\nking. The first said, \u201cI sold a house and cellar to this man, and on\ndigging in the cellar he found a treasure hidden there by my\nforefathers. I sold him the house and cellar, but not the treasure. Bid\nhim restore to me what he has found.\u201d\n\nBut the other said, \u201cNot so. He sold me the house, the cellar, and all\nits contents.\u201d\n\nThen King David said, \u201cLet the treasure be divided, and let half go to\none, and half go to the other.\u201d\n\nBut Solomon stood up and said to the plaintiff, \u201cHast thou not a son?\u201d\nHe said, \u201cI have.\u201d\n\nThen said Solomon to the defendant, \u201cHast thou not a daughter?\u201d He\nanswered, \u201cI have.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said Solomon, \u201cgive thy daughter to the son of this man who sold\nthee the house, and let the treasure go as a marriage gift to thy\ndaughter and his son.\u201d And all applauded this judgment.\n\nOn another occasion, a husbandman came before the judgment-seat to lay\ncomplaint against a herdsman, whose sheep had broken into his field, and\nhad pastured on his young wheat.\n\nThen King David said, \u201cLet some of the sheep be given to the\nhusbandman.\u201d\n\nBut Solomon stood up, and said, \u201cNot so; let the husbandman have the\nwool, and the milk of the flock, till the wheat is grown up again as it\nwas before the sheep destroyed it.\u201d\n\nAnd all wondered at his wisdom.\n\nBut the king\u2019s elders and councillors were filled with envy, because\nthis child\u2019s opinion was preferred before theirs; and they complained to\nKing David.\n\nThen David said, \u201cCall an assembly of the people, and prove Solomon\nbefore them, whether he be learned in the Law, and whether he have\nunderstanding and wit.\u201d\n\nSo the people were assembled, and the elders took council together how\nthey might perplex him with hard questions. But or ever they asked him,\nhe answered what they had devised, and they were greatly confounded, so\nthat the people supposed this was a preconcerted scene arranged by the\nking. Then, when the elders were silenced, Solomon turned to their\nchief, and said, \u201cI too will prove you with questions. What you have\nasked me have been trials of my learning, but what I will ask you shall\nput to proof the readiness of your wits. What is all, and what is\nnothing? What is something, and what is naught?\u201d\n\nThe elder was silent; he thought, but he knew not what was the answer.\nAnd all the people perplexed themselves to discover the riddle, but they\ncould not. Then said Solomon, \u201cGod is all, and the world He made is as\nnothing before Him. The faithful is something, but the hypocrite is\nnaught.\u201d\n\nThereupon he turned to a second, and he said: \u201cWhat are most, and what\nare fewest? What is the sweetest, and what is the bitterest?\u201d But when\nthe second could find no solution to these questions, Solomon answered,\n\u201cMost men are unbelievers, the fewest have true faith. The sweetest\nthing is the possession of a virtuous wife, good children, and a\ncompetence; the bitterest thing is to have a disreputable wife,\ndisorderly children, and penury.\u201d\n\nThen Solomon turned to a third elder and asked: \u201cWhat is the most odious\nsight, and what is the most beautiful sight? What is the surest thing,\nand what is that which is most insecure?\u201d\n\nAnd when this elder also was unable to give an answer, Solomon\ninterpreted his riddle once more, \u201cThe most odious sight is to see a\nrighteous man fall away; the most beautiful sight is to see a sinner\nrepent. The surest thing is death, the most insecure thing is life.\u201d\nAfter that Solomon said to all the people, \u201cYe see that the oldest and\nthe most learned men are not always the wisest. True wisdom comes not\nwith years, nor is derived from books, but is a gift of God the\nAll-wise.\u201d\n\nSolomon by his words threw the whole assembly into astonishment, and all\nthe heads of the people cried with one voice, \u201cPraised be the Lord, who\nhas given to our king a son who surpasses all in wisdom, and who is\nworthy to ascend the throne of his father David.\u201d\n\nAnd David thanked God that He had given him such a wise son, and now he\ndesired but one thing further of God, and that was to see him who was to\nbe his companion in Paradise; for to every man is allotted by God one\nman to be his friend and comrade in the Land of Bliss.\n\nSo David prayed to God, and his prayer was heard, and a voice fell from\nheaven and bade him confer the kingdom upon his son Solomon, and then to\ngo forth, and the Lord would lead him to the place where his companion\ndwelt.\n\nDavid therefore had his son Solomon crowned king, and then he went forth\nout of Jerusalem, and he was in pilgrim\u2019s garb, with a staff in his\nhand; and he went from city to city, and from village to village, but he\nfound not the man whom he sought. One day, after the lapse of many\nweeks, he drew near to a village upon the borders of the Mediterranean\nSea, and alongside of him walked a poorly dressed man laden with a heavy\nbundle of faggots. This man was very old and reverend of aspect, and\nDavid watched him. He saw him dispose of his wood and then give half the\nmoney he had obtained by the sale of it to a poor person. After that he\nbought a piece of bread and retired from the town. As he went, there\npassed a blind woman, and the old man broke his bread in half, and gave\none portion to the woman; and he continued his course till he reached\nthe mountains from which he had brought his load in the morning.\n\nDavid thought, \u201cThis man well deserves to be my companion for eternity,\nfor he is pious, charitable, and reverend of aspect: I must ask his\nname.\u201d\n\nHe went after the old man, and he found him in a cave among the rocks,\nwhich was lighted by a rent above. David stood without and heard the\nhermit pray, and read the Tora and the Psalms, till the sun went down.\nThen he lighted a lamp and began his evening prayers; and when they were\nfinished, he drew forth the piece of bread, and ate the half of it.\n\nDavid, who had not ventured to interrupt the devotions of the old\nhermit, now entered the cave and saluted him.\n\nThe hermit asked, \u201cWho art thou? I have seen no man here before, save\nonly Mata, son of Johanna, the companion destined to King David in\nParadise.\u201d\n\nDavid told his name, and asked after this Mata. But the aged man could\ngive him no information of his whereabouts. \u201cBut,\u201d said he, \u201cgo over\nthese mountains, and observe well what thou lightest upon, and it may be\nthou wilt find Mata.\u201d\n\nDavid thanked him, and continued his search. For long it was profitless.\nHe traversed the stony dales and the barren mountains, and saw no trace\nof human foot. At last, just as hope was abandoning him, on the summit\nof a rugged peak he saw a wet spot. Then he stood still in surprise.\n\u201cHow comes there to be a patch of soft and sloppy ground here?\u201d he\nasked; \u201cthe topmost peak of a stony mountain is not the place where\nsprings bubble up.\u201d\n\nAs he thus mused, an aged man came up the other side of the mountain.\nHis eyes were depressed to the earth, so that he saw not David. And when\nhe came to the wet patch, he stood still, and prayed with such fervour,\nthat rivulets of tears flowed out of his eyes, and sank into the soil;\nand thus David learnt how it was that the mountain-top was wet.\n\nThen David thought, \u201cSurely this man, whose eyes are such copious\nfountains of tears, must be my companion in Paradise.\u201d\n\nYet he ventured not to interrupt him in his prayer, till he heard him\nask, \u201cO my God! pardon King David his sins, and save him from further\ntrespass! for my sake be merciful to him, for Thou hast destined him to\nbe my comrade for all eternity!\u201d\n\nThen David ran towards him, but the old man tottered and fell, and\nbefore the king reached him he was dead.\n\nSo David dug into the ground which had been moistened by the tears of\nMata, and laid him there, and said the funeral prayer over him, and\ncovered him with the earth, and then returned to Jerusalem.\n\nAnd when he came into his harem, the Angel of Death stood there and\ngreeted him with the words, \u201cGod has heard thy supplications; now has\nthy life reached its end.\u201d\n\nThen David said, \u201cThe Lord\u2019s will be done!\u201d and he fell down upon the\nground, and expired.\n\nGabriel descended to comfort Solomon, and to give him a heavenly shroud\nin which to wrap David. And all Israel followed the bier to Machpelah,\nwhere Solomon laid him by the side of Abraham and Joseph.[655]\n\nIt will doubtless interest the reader to have an English version of the\nPsalm supposed to have been composed by David after the slaying of\nGoliath, which is not included in the Psalter, as it is supposed to be\napocryphal.\n\n    Psalm CLI. (_Pusillus eram_).\n\n    1. I was small among my brethren; and growing up in my father\u2019s\n    house I kept my father\u2019s sheep.\n\n    2. My hands made the organ: and my fingers shaped the psaltery.\n\n    3. And who declared unto my Lord! He, the Lord, He heard all things.\n\n    4. He sent His angel, and He took me from my father\u2019s sheep: He\n    anointed me in mercy with His unction.\n\n    5. Great and goodly are my brethren: but with them the Lord was not\n    well pleased.\n\n    6. I went to meet the stranger: and he cursed me by all his idols.\n\n    7. But I smote off his head with his own drawn sword: and I blotted\n    out the reproach of Israel.\n\nThis simple and beautiful psalm does not exist in Hebrew, but is found,\nin Greek, in some psalters of the Septuagint version, headed \u201cA Psalm of\nDavid when he had slain Goliath.\u201d S. Athanasius mentions it with praise,\nin his address to Marcellinus on the Interpretation of the Psalms, and\nin the Synopsis of Holy Scripture. It was versified in Greek in A.D.\n360, by Apollinarius Alexandrinus.[656]\n\nThe subjoined shield of David is given in a Hebrew book on the\nproperties and medicaments of things. It is said to be a certain\nprotection against fire. A cake of bread must be made, and on it must be\nimpressed the seal or shield of David, having in the corner the word\n\u05d8\u05f4\u05d9\u05e8 and in the middle \u05d0\u05e0\u05f4\u05dc\u05d0 (Thou art mighty to everlasting, O\nJehovah); and it must be cast aside into the fire with the words of\nPsalm cvi. 30, \u201c_Then stood up Phinees and prayed; and so the plague\nceased_;\u201d and also Exod. xii. 27, \u201c_It is the sacrifice of the Lord\u2019s\npass-over, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in\nEgypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our homes._\u201d[657]\n\nFootnote 620:\n\n  Ps. li. 5.\n\nFootnote 621:\n\n  Midrash, fol. 204, col. 1.\n\nFootnote 622:\n\n  Ps. cxviii. 22.\n\nFootnote 623:\n\n  See the story in the Legends of Adam.\n\nFootnote 624:\n\n  Zohar, in Bartolocci, i. fol. 85, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 625:\n\n  Jalkut, fol. 32, col. 2 (Parasch 2, numb. 134).\n\nFootnote 626:\n\n  Ibid. (Parasch. 2, numb. 127).\n\nFootnote 627:\n\n  1 Sam. xvii. 43.\n\nFootnote 628:\n\n  2 Sam. iii. 29.\n\nFootnote 629:\n\n  Zohar, in Bartolocci, i. fol. 99, col. 1.\n\nFootnote 630:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Sanhedrim, fol. 107.\n\nFootnote 631:\n\n  1 Kings ii. 11.\n\nFootnote 632:\n\n  2 Sam. v. 5.\n\nFootnote 633:\n\n  Bartolocci, i. f. 100.\n\nFootnote 634:\n\n  1 Sam. xxiv. 4.\n\nFootnote 635:\n\n  Bartolocci, i. f. 122, col. 1.\n\nFootnote 636:\n\n  1 Kings i. 1.\n\nFootnote 637:\n\n  Bartolocci, i. f. 122, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 638:\n\n  Ps. lvii. 9; Bartolocci, i. fol. 125, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 639:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Sota, fol. 10 b.\n\nFootnote 640:\n\n  Ps. xxii. 21.\n\nFootnote 641:\n\n  Midrash Tillim, fol. 21, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 642:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. p. 409.\n\nFootnote 643:\n\n  Ps. xviii. 36.\n\nFootnote 644:\n\n  Ps. lv. 6.\n\nFootnote 645:\n\n  Ps. lxviii. 13.\n\nFootnote 646:\n\n  Talmud, Tract. Sanhedrim, fol. 95, col. 1.\n\nFootnote 647:\n\n  Tract. Sabbath, fol. 30, col. 2.\n\nFootnote 648:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 426; Weil, p. 208.\n\nFootnote 649:\n\n  Weil, p. 207.\n\nFootnote 650:\n\n  Tabari, p. 428.\n\nFootnote 651:\n\n  The Arabs call her Saga.\n\nFootnote 652:\n\n  The story in the Talmud is almost the same, with this difference:\n  Bathsheba was washing herself behind a beehive, then the beautiful\n  bird perched on the hive, and David shot an arrow at it and broke the\n  hive, and exposed Bathsheba to view. In the Rabbinic tale, David had\n  asked for the gift of prophecy, and God told him he must be tried.\n  This he agreed to, and the temptation to adultery was that sent him.\n  (Talmud, Tract. Sanhedrim, fol. 107, col. 2; Jalkut, fol. 22, col. 2.)\n\nFootnote 653:\n\n  Koran, Sura xxxviii.\n\nFootnote 654:\n\n  Weil, pp. 212, 213.\n\nFootnote 655:\n\n  Weil, pp. 213-224.\n\nFootnote 656:\n\n  Greek text, and Latin translation in Fabricius: Pseudigr. Vet. Test.\n  t. ii. pp. 905-7.\n\nFootnote 657:\n\n  \u05e1\u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05d5\u05ea \u05d5\u05e8\u05e4\u05d5\u05d0\u05d5\u05ea; Amst. 1703.\n\n\n\n\n                                XXXVIII.\n                             SOLOMON.[658]\n\n\n                     1. HOW SOLOMON OBTAINED POWER.\n\n\nAfter Solomon had executed the last offices for his father, he rested in\na dale betwixt Hebron and Jerusalem, and fell asleep. As he returned to\nhimself, there stood before him eight angels, each with countless wings,\ndiverse in kinds and colours; and the angels bowed themselves before him\nthree times.\n\n\u201cWho are ye?\u201d asked Solomon, with eyes still closed.\n\n\u201cWe are the angels ruling over the eight winds of heaven,\u201d was their\nreply. \u201cGod hath sent us to give thee dominion over ourselves and over\nthe winds subject to us. They will storm and bluster, or breathe softly,\nat thy pleasure. At thy command they will swoop down on earth, and bear\nthee over the highest mountains.\u201d\n\nThe greatest of the angels gave him a jewel inscribed with \u201cGod is Power\nand Greatness,\u201d and said, \u201cWhen thou hast a command for us, then raise\nthis stone towards heaven, and we shall appear before thee as thy\nservants.\u201d\n\nWhen these angels had taken their departure, there appeared four more,\nof whom each was unlike the other. One was in fashion as a great whale,\nanother as an eagle, the third as a lion, and the fourth as a serpent.\nAnd they said, \u201cWe are they who rule over all the creatures that move in\nthe earth, and air, and water; and God hath sent us to give thee\ndominion over all creatures, that they may serve thee and thy friends\nwith all good, and fight against thine enemies with all their force.\u201d\n\nThe angel who ruled over the winged fowls extended to Solomon a precious\nstone, with the inscription, \u201cLet all creatures praise the Lord!\u201d and\nsaid, \u201cBy virtue of this stone, raised above thy head, canst thou call\nus to thy assistance, and to fulfil thy desire.\u201d\n\nSolomon immediately ordered the angels to bring before him a pair of\nevery living creature that moves in the water, flies in the air, and\nwalks or glides or creeps on the earth.\n\nThe angels vanished, and in an instant they were before Solomon once\nmore, and there were assembled in his sight pairs of every creature,\nfrom the elephant to the smallest fly.\n\nSolomon conversed with the angels, and was instructed by them in the\nhabits, virtues, and names of all living creatures; he listened to the\ncomplaints of the beasts, birds, and fishes, and by his wisdom he\nrectified many evil customs amongst them.\n\nHe entertained himself longest with the birds, both on account of their\nbeautiful speech, which he understood, and also because of the wise\nsentences which they uttered.\n\nThis is the signification of the cry of the peacock: \u201cWith what measure\nthou judgest others, thou shalt thyself be judged.\u201d\n\nThis is the song of the nightingale: \u201cContentment is the greatest\nhappiness.\u201d\n\nThe turtle dove calls, \u201cBetter were it for some created things that they\nhad never been created.\u201d\n\nThe peewit pipes, \u201cHe that hath no mercy, will not find mercy himself.\u201d\n\nThe bird syrdar cries, \u201cTurn to the Lord, ye sinners!\u201d\n\nThe swallow screams, \u201cDo good, and ye shall receive a reward.\u201d\n\nThis is the pelican\u2019s note: \u201cPraise the Lord in heaven and earth.\u201d\n\nThe dove chants, \u201cThe fashion of this world passeth away, but God\nremaineth eternal.\u201d\n\nThe kata says, \u201cSilence is the best safeguard.\u201d\n\nThe cry of the eagle is, \u201cHowever long life may be, yet its inevitable\nterm is death.\u201d\n\nThe croak of the raven is, \u201cThe further from man, the happier I.\u201d\n\nThe cock crows before the dawn and in the day, \u201cRemember thy Creator, O\nthoughtless man!\u201d\n\nSolomon chose the cock and the peewit to be his constant companions\u2014the\nfirst because of its cry, and the second because it can see through the\nearth as through glass, and could therefore tell him where fountains of\nwater were to be found.\n\nAfter he had stroked the dove, he bade her dwell with her young in the\ntemple he was about to build to the honour of the Most High. This pair\nof doves, in a few years, multiplied to such an extent, that all who\nsought the temple moved through the quarter of the town it occupied\nunder the shadow of the wings of doves.\n\nWhen Solomon was again alone, an angel appeared to him, whose upper half\nwas like to earth, and whose lower half was like to water. He bowed\nhimself before the king and said, \u201cI am created by God to do His will on\nthe dry land and in the watery sea. Now, God has sent me to serve thee,\nand thou canst rule over earth and water. At thy command the highest\nmountains will be made plain, and the level land will rise into steep\nheights. Rivers and seas will dry up, and the desert will stream with\nwater at thy command.\u201d Then he gave to him a precious stone, with the\nlegend engraved thereon, \u201cHeaven and earth serve God.\u201d\n\nFinally, an angel presented to him another stone, whereon was cut,\n\u201cThere is no God save God, and Mohammed is the messenger of God.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy means of this stone,\u201d said the angel, \u201cthou shalt have dominion over\nthe whole world of spirits, which is far greater than that of men and\nbeasts, and occupies the space between earth and heaven. One portion of\nthe spirits is faithful, and praises the One only God; the other portion\nis unfaithful: some adore fire, others the sun, others worship the\nplanets, many revere winter. The good spirits surround the true\nbelievers among men, and protect them from all evil; the evil spirits\nseek to injure them and deceive them.\u201d\n\nSolomon asked to see the Jinns in their natural and original shape. The\nangel shot like a column of flame into heaven, and shortly returned with\nthe Satans and Jinns in great hosts: and Solomon, though he had power\nover them, shuddered with disgust at their loathsome appearance. He saw\nmen\u2019s heads attached to the necks of horses, whose feet were those of an\nass; the wings of an eagle attached to the hump of a dromedary; the\nhorns of a gazelle on the head of a peacock.[659]\n\n\n                   2. HOW SOLOMON FEASTED ALL FLESH.\n\n\nWhen Solomon returned home, he placed the four stones, which the angels\nhad given him, in a ring, so that he might at any moment exercise his\nauthority over the realms of spirits and beasts, the earth, the winds,\nand the sea.\n\nHis first care was to subject the Jinns. He made them all appear before\nhim, with the exception of the mighty Sachr, who kept himself in\nconcealment on an unknown island in the ocean, and the great Eblis, the\nmaster of all evil spirits, to whom God had promised complete liberty\ntill the day of the last Judgment.\n\nWhen all the demons were assembled, Solomon pressed his seal upon their\nnecks, to mark them as his slaves. Then he commanded all the male Jinns\nto collect every sort of material for the construction of the temple he\nwas about to build. He bade also the female Jinns cook, bake, wash,\nweave, and carry water; and what they made he distributed amongst the\npoor. The meats they cooked were placed on tables, which covered an area\nof four square miles; and daily thirty thousand portions of beef, as\nmany portions of mutton, and very many birds and fishes were devoured.\nThe Jinns and devils sat at iron tables, the poor at tables of wood, the\nheads of the people at silver tables, the wise and pious at tables of\ngold; and these latter were served by Solomon in person.\n\nOne day, when all spirits, men, beasts, and birds rose satisfied from\nthe tables, Solomon besought God to permit him to feed to the full all\ncreated animals at once. God replied that he demanded an impossibility.\n\u201cBut,\u201d said he, \u201ctry, to-morrow, what thou canst do to satisfy the\ndwellers in the sea.\u201d\n\nOn the morrow, accordingly, Solomon bade the Jinns lade a hundred\nthousand camels and the same number of mules with corn, and lead them to\nthe sea-shore. He then cried to the fishes and said: \u201cCome, ye dwellers\nin the water, eat and be satisfied!\u201d\n\nThen came all manner of fishes to the surface of the water, and Solomon\ncast the corn to them, and they ate and were satisfied, and dived out of\nsight. But all at once a whale lifted his head above the surface, and it\nwas like a mountain. Solomon bade the spirits pour one sack of corn\nafter another down the throat of the monster, till all the store was\nexhausted, there remained not a single grain. But the whale cried, \u201cFeed\nme, Solomon! feed me! never have I suffered from hunger as I have this\nday!\u201d\n\nSolomon asked the whale if there were any more in the deep like him. The\nfish answered: \u201cThere are of my race as many as a thousand kinds, and\nthe smallest is so large that thou wouldst seem in its belly to be but a\nsand-grain in the desert.\u201d\n\nSolomon cast himself upon the earth, and began to weep, and prayed to\nGod to pardon him for his presumption.\n\n\u201cMy kingdom,\u201d called to him the Most High, \u201cis far greater than thine.\nStand up, and behold one creature over which no man has yet obtained the\nmastery.\u201d\n\nThen the sea began to foam and toss, as though churned by the eight\nwinds raging against it, and out of the tumbling brine rose the\nLeviathan, so great that it could easily have swallowed seven thousand\nwhales such as that which Solomon had attempted to feed; and the\nLeviathan cried, with a voice like the roar of thunder: \u201cPraised be God,\nwho by His mighty power preserves me from perishing by hunger.\u201d[660]\n\n\n                  3. THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE.[661]\n\n\nWhen Solomon returned from the sea-shore to Jerusalem, he heard the\nnoise of the hammers, and saws, and axes of the Jinns who were engaged\nin the building of the temple; and the noise was so great that the\ninhabitants of Jerusalem could not hear one another speak. Therefore he\ncommanded the Jinns to cease from their work, and he asked them if there\nwas no means whereby the metals and stones could be shaped and cut\nwithout making so much noise.\n\nThen one of the spirits stepped forth and said: \u201cThe means is known only\nto the mighty Sachr, who has hitherto escaped your authority.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it impossible to capture this Sachr?\u201d asked Solomon.\n\n\u201cSachr,\u201d replied the Jinn, \u201cis stronger than all the rest of us\ntogether, and he excels us in speed as he does in strength. However, I\nknow that once every month he goes to drink of a fountain in the land of\nHidjr; by this, O king, thou mayest be able to bring him under thy\nsceptre.\u201d\n\nSolomon, thereupon, commanded a Jinn to fly to Hidjr, and to empty the\nwell of water, and to fill it up with strong wine. He bade other Jinns\nremain in ambush beside the well and watch the result.[662]\n\nAfter some weeks, when Solomon was pacing his terrace before his palace,\nhe saw a Jinn flying, swifter than the wind, from the direction of\nHidjr, and he asked, \u201cWhat news of Sachr?\u201d\n\n\u201cSachr lies drunk on the edge of the fountain,\u201d said the Jinn; \u201cand we\nhave bound him with chains as thick as the pillars of the temple;\nnevertheless, he will snap them as the hair of a maiden, when he wakes\nfrom his drunken sleep.\u201d\n\nSolomon instantly mounted the winged Jinn and bade him transport him to\nthe well at Hidjr. In less than an hour he stood beside the intoxicated\ndemon. He was not a moment too soon, for the fumes of the wine were\npassing off, and, if Sachr had opened his eyes, Solomon would have been\nunable to constrain him. But now he pressed his signet upon the nape of\nhis neck: Sachr uttered a cry so that the earth rocked on its\nfoundations.\n\n\u201cFear not,\u201d said Solomon, \u201cmighty Jinn; I will restore thee to liberty\nif thou wilt tell me how I may without noise cut and shape the hardest\nmetals.\u201d\n\n\u201cI myself know no means,\u201d answered the demon; \u201cbut the raven can tell\nthee how to do this. Take the eggs out of the raven\u2019s nest and place a\ncrystal cover upon them, and thou shalt see how the raven will break\nit.\u201d\n\nSolomon followed the advice of Sachr. A raven came, and fluttered some\ntime round the cover, and seeing that she could not reach her eggs, she\nvanished, and returned shortly with a stone in her beak, named Samur or\nSchamir; and no sooner had she touched the crystal therewith, than it\nclave asunder.\n\n\u201cWhence hast thou this stone?\u201d asked Solomon of the raven.\n\n\u201cIt comes from a mountain in the far west,\u201d replied the bird.\n\nSolomon commanded a Jinn to follow the raven to the mountain, and to\nbring him more of these stones. Then he released Sachr as he had\npromised. When the chains were taken off him, he uttered a loud cry of\njoy, which, in Solomon\u2019s ears, bore an ominous sound as of mocking\nlaughter.\n\nWhen the Jinn returned with the stone Schamir, Solomon mounted a Jinn\nand was borne back to Jerusalem, where he distributed the stones amongst\nthe Jinns, and they were able to cut the rocks for the temple without\nnoise.[663]\n\nSolomon also made an ark of the covenant ten ells square, and he sought\nto bring it into the Holy of Holies that he had made; and when he sought\nto bring the ark through the door of the temple, the door was ten ells\nwide. Now, that was the width of the ark, and ten ells will not go\nthrough ten ells. Then, when Solomon saw that the ark would not pass\nthrough the door, he was ashamed and cried, \u201cLift up your heads, O ye\ngates, and the King of Glory shall come in!\u201d Then the gates tottered,\nand would have fallen on his head to punish what they supposed to be a\nblasphemy, for the doors thought that by \u201cthe King of Glory\u201d he meant\nhimself; and they cried to him in anger, \u201cWho is the King of Glory?\u201d and\nhe answered, \u201cIt is the Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.\u201d And\nbecause the doors were so zealous for the honour of God, the Lord\npromised them that they should never fall into the hands of the enemies\nof Israel. Therefore, when the temple was burnt and the treasures were\ncarried into Babylon, the gates sank into the earth and vanished. And to\nthis the prophet Jeremiah refers (Lament, ii. 9).[664]\n\nSolomon also built him a palace, with great riches in gold, and silver,\nand precious stones, like no king that was before him. Many of the halls\nhad crystal floors and crystal roofs. He had a fountain of liquid\nbrass.[665] He had also a carpet five hundred parasangs in length; and\nwhenever the carpet was spread, three hundred thrones of gold and silver\nwere placed on it, and Solomon bade the birds of the air spread their\nwings over them for a shade.[666] He built a throne for himself of\nsandal wood, encrusted with gold and precious stones.\n\n\n                       4. THE TRAVELS OF SOLOMON.\n\n\nWhilst the palace was being built, Solomon made a journey to Damascus.\nThe Jinn, on whose back he flew, carried him directly over the valley of\nants, which is surrounded by such crags and precipices, that no man had\nhitherto seen it. The king was much astonished to see such a host of\nants under him, which were as big as wolves, and which, on account of\ntheir grey eyes and grey feet, looked from a distance like a cloud. The\nqueen of the ants, who, till this moment, had not seen a man, was filled\nwith fear when she beheld Solomon, and she cried to her host, \u201cHie to\nyour holes, fly!\u201d\n\nBut God commanded her not to fear, and to summon all her subjects, and\nto anoint Solomon king of all insects. Solomon, who heard the words of\nGod, and the answer of the queen from a distance of many miles, borne to\nhim upon the wind, descended into the valley beside the queen.\nImmediately the whole valley was filled with ants, as far as the eye\ncould see.\n\nSolomon asked the queen, \u201cWhy didst thou fear me, being surrounded with\nsuch a countless and mighty host?\u201d\n\n\u201cI fear God alone,\u201d answered the queen; \u201cif any danger were to threaten\nmy subjects, at a sign from me seven times as many would instantly\nappear.\u201d\n\n\u201cWherefore then didst thou command the ants to fly to their holes when I\nappeared?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I feared they would look with wonder and reverence on thee, and\nthereby for a moment forget their Creator.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am greater than thou,\u201d added the queen of the ants.\n\n\u201cHow so?\u201d asked Solomon in surprise.\n\n\u201cBecause thou hast a metal throne, but my throne is thy hand, on which I\nnow repose,\u201d said the ant.\n\n\u201cBefore I leave thee, hast thou no word to say to me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI ask nothing of thee, but I give thee a piece of advice. As long as\nthou livest, give not occasion to be ashamed of thy name, which\nsignifies _The Blameless_. Beware also never to give the ring from thy\nfinger, without saying first, \u2018In the name of the God of all mercy.\u2019\u201d\n\nSolomon exclaimed, \u201cLord! Thy kingdom exceeds and excels mine!\u201d and he\nbade farewell to the queen of the ants.[667]\n\nAfter Solomon had visited Damascus, he returned another way, so as not\nto disturb the ants in their pious contemplation. As he returned, he\nheard a cry on the wind, \u201cO God of Abraham, release me from life!\u201d\nSolomon hastened in the direction of the voice, and found a very aged\nman, who said he was more than three hundred years old, and that he had\nasked God to suffer him to live, till there arose a mighty prophet in\nthe land.\n\n\u201cI am that prophet,\u201d said Solomon. Then the Angel of Death caught away\nthe old man\u2019s soul.\n\nSolomon exclaimed, \u201cThou must have been beside me, to have acted with\nsuch speed, thou Angel of Death.\u201d\n\nBut the angel answered, \u201cGreat is thy mistake. Know that I stand on the\nshoulders of an angel, whose head reaches ten thousand years\u2019 journey\nabove the seventh heaven, and whose feet are five hundred years\u2019 journey\nbeneath the earth. He it is who tells me when I am to fetch a soul. His\neyes are ever fixed on the tree Sidrat Almuntaha, which bears as many\nleaves as there are living men in the world; when a man is born, a new\nleaf buds out; when a man is about to die, the leaf fades, and, at his\ndeath, falls off; and, when the leaf withers, I fly to fetch the soul,\nthe name of which is inscribed upon the leaf.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what doest thou then?\u201d\n\n\u201cGabriel accompanies me, as often as one of the believers dies; his soul\nis wrapped in a green silk cloth, and is breathed into a green bird,\nwhich feeds in Paradise till the end of time. But the soul of the sinner\nis carried by me in a tarred cloth to the gates of hell, where it\nwanders in misery till the last day.\u201d\n\nThen Solomon washed the body of the dead man, buried him, and prayed for\nhis soul, that it might be eased of the pains it would have to undergo\nduring its purgation by the angels Ankir and Munkir.[668]\n\nThis journey had so exhausted Solomon, that on his return to Jerusalem\nhe ordered the Jinns to weave him stout silk carpets on which he and all\nhis servants, his throne, tables, and kitchen could be accommodated.\nWhen he wanted to go a journey, he ordered the winds to blow, and raise\nthe carpet with all that was on it, and waft it whither he desired to\ntravel.\n\nOne night, Abraham appeared to the king in a dream, and said to him:\n\u201cGod has given thee wisdom and power above every other child of man; He\nhas given thee dominion over the earth and over the winds; He has\nsuffered thee to build a house to His honour; thou hast power to speed\non the backs of Jinns or on the wings of the winds where thou listest;\nnow employ the gift of God, and visit the city of Jathrib (Medina),\nwhich will one day give shelter to the greatest of prophets; also the\ncity Mecca, in which he will be born, and the temple which I and my son\nIshmael\u2014peace be with him!\u2014rebuilt after the flood.\u201d\n\nNext morning Solomon announced his intention to make a pilgrimage to\nMecca, and bade every Israelite join in the expedition. The number of\npilgrims was so great, that Solomon was obliged to have a new carpet\nwoven by the Jinns of such vast size that it could serve the whole\ncaravan, with the camels and oxen and sheep they destined for sacrifice.\nWhen ready to start, Solomon bade the Jinns and demons fly before the\ncarpet; his confidence in their integrity was so small, that he would\nnot trust them out of his sight: for this reason also he drank\ninvariably out of crystal goblets, that even when drinking he might keep\nhis eyes upon them. The birds he ordered to fly in ranks above the\ncarpet, to give shadow to the pilgrims with their wings.\n\nWhen all was in readiness, and men, Jinns, beasts, and birds were\nassembled together, Solomon ordered the winds to descend and bear the\ncarpet, with all upon it, into the air, and waft it to Medina.\n\nWhen they approached this town, Solomon made a sign, and the birds\ndepressed their wings, and the winds abated, and the carpet sank lightly\nto the earth. But he suffered no man to step off the carpet, as Medina\nwas then in the hands of idolaters. He alone went to the spot where\nafterwards Mohammed was to erect the first mosque\u2014it was then a\ncemetery\u2014and there he offered up his noon-day prayer. Then he returned\nto the carpet; at a sign the birds spread their wings, the winds\ngathered force and lifted the carpet, and the whole caravan sailed\nthrough the air to Mecca, which was then under the power of the\nDjorhamides, who were worshippers of the One God, and preserved the\nKaaba from desecration by idols.\n\nSolomon, with all his company, entered the city, went in procession\nround the temple, performed the requisite ceremonies, and offered the\nsacrifices brought for the purpose from Jerusalem. Then he preached a\nlong sermon in the Kaaba, in which he prophesied the birth of Mohammed\nand the future glory of Mecca.\n\nAfter three days, Solomon desired to return to Jerusalem, and he\nremounted his throne on the carpet, and all the pilgrims resumed their\nplaces. When the birds spread their wings, and the carpet was again in\nmotion, the king perceived one ray of sun which pierced the canopy of\nbirds, and this proved to him that one of the birds had deserted its\nplace.\n\nHe called to the eagle, and bade it go through the roll-call of the\nbirds, and ascertain which was absent.\n\nThe eagle obeyed, and found that the peewit was missing. Solomon was\ninflamed with anger, especially as he needed the peewit during his\njourney over the desert, to discover for him the hidden wells and\nfountains.\n\n\u201cSoar aloft!\u201d exclaimed Solomon to the eagle, \u201cand seek me this runaway,\nthat I may strip him of his feathers and send him naked forth into the\nsun, to become the prey of the insects.\u201d\n\nThe eagle mounted aloft, till the earth was beneath him like a revolving\nbowl, and he looked in all directions, and at length he spied the peewit\ncoming from the south. The eagle would have grasped him in his talons,\nbut the little bird implored him, by Solomon, to spare him till he had\nrelated his history to the king.\n\n\u201cTrust not in the protection of Solomon,\u201d said the eagle; \u201cthy mother\nshall bewail thee.\u201d Then the eagle brought the culprit before the king,\nwhose countenance was inflamed with anger, and who, with a frown, signed\nthe runagate to be brought before his throne.[669]\n\nThe peewit trembled in every limb, and, in token of submission, let\nwings and tail droop to the ground. As Solomon\u2019s face still expressed\ngreat anger, the bird exclaimed, \u201cO king and prophet of God! remember\nthat thou also shalt stand before the judgment-throne of God!\u201d\n\n\u201cHow canst thou excuse thine absence without my consent?\u201d asked the\nking.\n\n\u201cSire, I bring thee news of a land and a queen of which thou hast not\neven heard the name\u2014the land of Sheba, and the queen, Balkis.\u201d\n\n\u201cThese names are indeed strange to me. Who told thee of them?\u201d\n\n\u201cA lapwing of that country whom I met in my course, to whom I spoke of\nthy majesty, and the greatness of thy dominion, and wisdom, and power.\nThen he was astonished, and he related to me that thy name was unknown\nin his native land; and he spake to me of his home and the wonders that\nare there, and he persuaded me to accompany him thither. And on the way\nhe related to me the history of the Queen of Sheba, who commands an army\ngeneralled by twelve thousand officers.\u201d\n\nSolomon bade the eagle release the peewit, and bade him relate what he\nhad heard of Sheba and its queen.\n\n\n                 5. THE HISTORY OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA.\n\n\n\u201cSheba,\u201d said the peewit, \u201cis the name of the king who founded the\nkingdom; it is also the name of the capital. Sheba was a worshipper of\nthe sun, Eblis having drawn him from the true God, who sends rain from\nheaven, and covers the earth with plenty, and who reads the thoughts of\nmen\u2019s hearts.\n\n\u201cA succession of kings followed Sheba: the last of the dynasty was\nScharabel, a tyrant of such dissolute habits that every husband and\nfather feared him. He had a vizir of such singular beauty that the\ndaughters of the Jinns took pleasure in contemplating him, and\nfrequently transformed themselves into gazelles that they might trot\nalongside of him as he walked, and gaze with admiration on his exquisite\nbeauty. One of these Jinn damsels, Umeira by name, conceived for the\nvizir a violent passion, and forgetting the great distance which\nseparates the race of the Jinns from that of mortals, she appeared to\nhim one day as he was hunting, and offered him her hand, on condition\nthat he should fly with her into her own land, and that he should never\nask her origin. The vizir, dazzled by the marvellous beauty of Umeira,\ngladly yielded, and she transported him to an island in the midst of the\nocean, where she married him. At the end of nine months she gave birth\nto a daughter, whom she named Balkis. The vizir, all this while, was\nignorant of the nature of his bride, and one day forgot himself so far\nas to ask her to what race she belonged. No sooner had he asked the\nfatal question, than, with a wail of sorrow, she vanished for ever from\nhis sight.\n\n\u201cThe vizir now left the island, and, regaining his native country,\nretired with his babe to a valley far from the capital, and there lived\nin seclusion.\n\n\u201cAs Balkis grew up, her beauty became more striking, and was of such a\nsuperhuman nature, that her father became uneasy lest the fame of it\nshould reach the dissolute monster then seated on the throne of Sheba,\nand lest his daughter should be ravished from his arms. He therefore\nredoubled his precautions to guard Balkis, keeping her much at home, and\nonly allowing her to appear veiled in public. But these precautions were\nvain. Scharabel was in the habit of travelling about his empire in\ndisguise, and making himself, by this means, personally acquainted with\nthe condition of his estates.\n\n\u201cOn one of these expeditions he appeared, dressed in rags, as a\nmendicant, at the door of the ex-vizir, and obtained a glimpse of\nBalkis, then thirteen years old, lovely as a houri; she stepped out to\ngive the beggar alms. At the same moment, the father hurried out towards\nhis daughter. The eyes of the two men met; a mutual recognition ensued.\nThe vizir fell at the feet of his king, and entreated pardon, telling\nhim all that had happened; and Scharabel, who had fallen in love at\nfirst glance with Balkis, readily pardoned him, restored him to his\nplace as grand vizir, and lodged him in a magnificent palace near Sheba.\n\n\u201cInstalled there, the vizir was full of disquiet. His daughter observing\nthis, inquired the cause, and received from her father the answer that\nhe dreaded lest the tyrant should carry her off to his harem; \u2018and,\u2019\nsaid the unhappy man, \u2018I had rather see thee dead, Balkis, than in the\npower of this licentious monster.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Do not fear for me, my father,\u2019 replied Balkis; \u2018what thou dreadest\nshall not take place. Appear cheerful before the king. If he wishes to\nmarry me, then ask him to give me a splendid wedding.\u2019\n\n\u201cA few days after, Scharabel sent to ask the hand of Balkis. The virgin\nreplied that it should be his if he would solemnize the marriage with\ngreat pomp. To this the king agreed, and a magnificent banquet was\nprepared.\n\n\u201cAfter dinner, the vizir and all the company retired, leaving Balkis\nalone with the king. There were, however, four female slaves present,\none singing, another harping, a third dancing, and a fourth pouring out\nwine for the king. Balkis took the goblet, and plied her royal\nbridegroom well, till he fell drunk upon the floor, and then, with a\ndagger, she stabbed him to the heart.\n\n\u201cShe at once communicated with her father, and bade him send orders\nthroughout the town that all the citizens were to bring their daughters\nbefore the king, that he might add the comely ones to his already\nextensive list of wives and concubines. He obeyed her, and the commotion\nin the town was prodigious. Parents gathered their friends, those who\nwere officers in the army agitated amongst their soldiers, and the whole\ntown rose up in revolt, and rushed furiously to the palace, determined\non the death of the tyrant.\n\n\u201cThen Balkis cut off the head of the king, and showed it to the excited\nmultitude from a window. A cry of joy rang through Sheba. The palace\ngates were thrown open, and Balkis was unanimously elected queen in the\nroom of the murdered tyrant.\n\n\u201cFrom that hour she has governed Sheba with prudence, and has made the\ncountry prosperous. She sits to hear suits, and gives judgment on a\nthrone of gold, robed in splendour. All prospers under her wise\nadministration: but, alas! like her predecessors, she too is a\nworshipper of the sun.\u201d\n\nWhen Solomon heard the story of the peewit, he wrote a letter and sealed\nit with his ring, gave it to the bird, and bade him carry it immediately\nto the Queen of Sheba.\n\nThe peewit flew like an arrow, and on the morrow appeared before Balkis,\nand gave her the missive. The queen broke the seal and read: \u201cSolomon,\nson of David, and servant of the Most High God, to Balkis, queen of\nSheba, sendeth greeting. In the name of the merciful and gracious God,\npeace be to those who walk in His ways. Do what I bid thee: submit\nimmediately to my sceptre.\u201d[670]\n\nThe queen, startled at the abrupt and peremptory command, read the\nletter to her council, and asked their advice.\n\nThey urged her to follow her own devices, and promised to agree to\nwhatever she thought fit. She then said: \u201cYou know what disasters follow\non war. The letter of Solomon is threatening; I will send him a\nmessenger, and propitiate him with gifts. If he accepts them, he is not\nabove other kings; if he rejects them, he is a prophet, and we must\nyield to his sway.\u201d\n\nShe then dressed five hundred boys as girls, and five hundred girls she\nequipped in boys\u2019 clothes. She collected, for presents, a thousand\ncarpets of gold and silver tissue, a crown adorned with pearls and\ndiamonds, and a great quantity of perfumes.\n\nShe also placed a pearl, a diamond cut through in zigzags, and a crystal\ngoblet, in a box, and gave it to her chief ambassador.\n\nFinally, she wrote a letter to Solomon, telling him that, if he was a\nprophet, he would be able to distinguish boys from girls in the train of\nthe ambassadors, that he would be able to guess the contents of the box,\npierce the pearl, thread the diamond, and fill the goblet with water\nwhich came neither from earth nor heaven. The chief nobles of Sheba were\nsent to bear the letter. Before they left, she said to them: \u201cIf Solomon\nreceives you with arrogance, fear nothing; pride is a sure token of\nweakness. If he receives you graciously, be careful\u2014he is a prophet.\u201d\nThe peewit, who had watched all these proceedings, and listened to the\nmessage and advice, now flew to Solomon and told him all.\n\nThe great king immediately ordered his Jinns to spread his carpet seven\nleagues long, leading from his throne towards Sheba. He then surrounded\nhimself with gold and gems, and gathered all his courtiers and officers\ntogether, and prepared for the audience.\n\nWhen the ambassadors of Sheba set their feet on the carpet\u2014the end of\nwhich was beyond the range of vision\u2014they were full of astonishment.\nThis astonishment increased, and became terror, when they passed between\nranks of demons, and Jinns, and nobles, and princes, and soldiers,\nextending for many miles.\n\nWhen the leaders of the embassy reached the foot of the throne, Solomon\nreceived them with a gracious smile. Then they presented the letter of\nthe queen. Solomon, without opening it, told them its contents, for it\nhad been read by the peewit. They offered the box, and he said that in\nit were a pearl, a diamond, and a goblet. He next ordered his servants\nto bring silver ewers before the train of the ambassadors, that they\nmight wash their hands after their journey. Solomon watched intently,\nand he picked out the boys from the girls at once; for the boys dipped\ntheir hands only in the water, whilst the girls tucked up their sleeves\nto their shoulders and washed arms as well as hands.\n\nThen the box was opened and the pearl produced. Solomon unclasped his\npouch and drew forth Schamir, applied it to the pearl, and a hole was\ndrilled through it immediately. Next he took the diamond. The hole\npierced in it wound about, and a thread inserted in one end would not\npass through to the other end. Solomon took a piece of silk, called to\nhim a worm, put one end of the thread in its mouth and inserted it in\nthe diamond. The worm crawled down the winding passage, and appeared at\nthe other opening with the silk. In gratitude to the little creature,\nSolomon gave it for its food for ever the mulberry-tree. Then he took\nthe crystal goblet. He summoned to him a huge negro slave, bade him\nmount a wild horse and gallop it about the plain till it streamed with\nsweat. Then, with ease, the monarch filled the chalice with water that\ncame neither from earth nor heaven.\n\nSolomon, having accomplished these tasks, said to the ambassadors: \u201cTake\nback your presents, I do not want them. Tell the queen what you have\nseen, and bid her submit to my rule.\u201d\n\nWhen Balkis had heard the report of her servants, she saw that it was in\nvain for her to resist.\n\n\u201cSolomon,\u201d said she, \u201cis a great prophet, and I must myself do him\nhomage.\u201d\n\nShe accordingly hasted to prepare for her journey, and marched to King\nSolomon at the head of her twelve thousand generals, and all the armies\nthey commanded. When she was a league from Solomon, the king hit upon a\nscheme. He called to him a demon, and bade him transport immediately\nfrom Sheba the throne of the queen and set it beside his own. The Jinn\nreplied that he would bring it before noon, but the king could not wait,\nfor the queen would soon be there; then Asaph, his vizir, said, \u201cRaise\nthine eyes, sire, to heaven, and before thou canst lower them the throne\nof Balkis will be here.\u201d\n\nAsaph knew the ineffable name of God, and therefore was able to do what\nhe said.\n\nSolomon looked up, and before he looked down Asaph had brought the\nthrone.\n\nAs soon as Balkis appeared, Solomon asked her if she recognized the\nseat. She replied, \u201cIt is mine, if it is that which it was.\u201d A reply\nwhich, we are told, charmed Solomon.\n\nNow the Jinns were envious of Balkis, and they sought to turn away the\nheart of Solomon from her; so they told him that she had hairy\nlegs.[671]\n\nSolomon, accordingly, was particularly curious to inspect her legs. He\ntherefore directed the Jinns to lay down in front of the throne a\npavement of crystal one hundred cubits square. Upon this pavement he\nordered them to pour water, so that it might appear to be water.\n\nIn order to approach Solomon, Queen Balkis raised her petticoats, lest\nthey should be wet in passing through what she supposed to be water of\nconsiderable depth. The first step, however, convinced her that the\nbottom was nearer the surface than she anticipated, and so she dropped\nher petticoats, but not before the great king had seen that the Jinns\nhad maligned her, and that the only blemish to her legs was three goat\u2019s\nhairs; and these he was enabled to remove by a composition of arsenic\nand lime, which was the first depilatory preparation ever employed. This\nwas one of the five arts introduced by Solomon into the world. The\nothers were, the art of taking warm baths, the art of piercing pearls,\nthe art of diving, and the art of melting copper.\n\nThe queen stepped gracefully towards the king, and bowing, offered him\ntwo wreaths of flowers, whereof one was natural, the other artificial,\nasking him which he preferred. The sagacious Solomon seemed perplexed;\nhe who had written treatises on the herbs, \u201cfrom the cedar to the\nhyssop,\u201d was nearly outwitted. A swarm of bees was fluttering outside a\nwindow. Solomon ordered the window to be opened, and the insects flew\nin, and settled immediately on the wreath of natural flowers, not one\napproaching the artificial wreath.\n\n\u201cI will have the wreath the bees have chosen,\u201d said the king,\ntriumphantly.\n\nSolomon took Balkis to be his wife, and she worshipped the true God. She\ngave him all her realm, but he returned it to her; and when she went\ninto her own land, she bore with her the fruit of her union with\nSolomon, and in the course of time bore a son, who is the ancestor of\nthe kings of Abyssinia.[672]\n\n\n                 6. SOLOMON\u2019S ADVENTURE WITH THE APES.\n\n\nOn one of his journeys, Solomon passed through a valley which was\ninhabited by apes which dressed themselves like men, and lived in\nhouses, and ate their food in a way wholly superior to other apes.\n\nSolomon descended from his carpet and marched at the head of his\nsoldiers into the valley. The apes assembled to resist him, but one of\ntheir elders stepped into the midst of them and said, \u201cLet us rather\nsubmit and lay down our arms, for he who comes against us is a holy\nprophet.\u201d\n\nThen three apes were chosen ambassadors, and were sent to Solomon with\novertures of peace.\n\nSolomon asked them to what race they belonged.\n\nThe envoys replied, \u201cWe are of human origin, and of the race of Israel,\nand we are descended from those who, in spite of all warnings, have\nviolated the Sabbath, and who have therefore, in punishment, been\ntransformed by God into monkeys.\u201d\n\nSolomon had compassion on the apes, and he gave them a letter on\nparchment, assuring to them undisturbed possession of their valley\nagainst all assault by men.\n\nAnd in after days, in the time of the Calif Omar, some of his troops\ninvaded this valley, and, with great amazement, beheld the apes stone a\nfemale which had been taken in adultery. And when they would conquer the\nvalley, an aged ape came before them bearing a parchment letter. This\nthey were unable to read; so they sent it to the Calif Omar, who was\nalso unable to decipher the writing; but a Jew at his court read it, and\nit was an assurance given to the apes against invasion by King Solomon.\n\nTherefore Omar sent orders that they were to be left unmolested, and\nreturned to them their parchment.[673]\n\n\n              7. SOLOMON MARRIES THE DAUGHTER OF PHARAOH.\n\n\nThe throne of Solomon had four feet. It was of red ruby, and of the ruby\nwere made four lions. None but Solomon could sit upon the throne. When\nNebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and sought to ascend the throne, the\nlions rose and struck at him, and broke his legs. He was given remedies,\nand his legs were reset. No one after that ventured to sit on the\nthrone.[674]\n\nDjarada was the daughter of King Nubara, of an island in the Indian Sea,\naccording to the Arabs; of King Pharaoh of Egypt, say the Jews.\n\nSolomon marched against the king, on his carpet, with as many soldiers\nas it would accommodate; defeated him, and slew him with his own hand.\nIn the palace of King Nubara Solomon found the Princess Djarada, who was\nmore beautiful than all the ladies in Solomon\u2019s harem, surpassing even\nthe beautiful Balkis.\n\nSolomon made her mount the carpet, and he forced her, by threats of\ndeath, to share his faith and his couch. But Djarada saw in Solomon only\nthe murderer of her father, and she recoiled from his embrace with\nloathing, and spent her nights and days in tears and sighs. Solomon\nhoped that time would heal these wounds and reconcile her to her fate;\nbut as, after the expiration of a year, her sorrow showed no signs of\nabating, he asked her what he could do which might give her comfort. She\nreplied that at home was a statue of her father, and that she desired\ngreatly to have it in her chamber as a reminder of him whom she had\nlost. Solomon, moved with compassion, sent a Jinn for the statue, and it\nwas set up in the apartment of Djarada. Djarada immediately prostrated\nherself before it, and offered incense and worship to the image; and\nthis continued for forty days.\n\nThen Asaph heard of it, and he ascended the pulpit in the temple and\npreached before the king and all the people. He declared how holy and\npure had been the ancient prophets from Adam to David, how they had been\npreserved clean from all idolatry. Then he turned to Solomon, and\npraised his wisdom and piety during the first years of his reign; but he\nregretted that his latter conduct had not been as full of integrity as\nat first.\n\nWhen Solomon heard this, he called Asaph to him, and asked him wherefore\nhe had rebuked him thus before all the people. Asaph answered, \u201cThou\nhast suffered thy passions to blind thee, so that idolatry is practised\nin thy palace.\u201d\n\nSolomon hastened to the room of Djarada, and found her in prayer before\nthe image of her departed father. Then he cried out, \u201cWe are the\nservants of God, and to Him shall we return.\u201d Then he broke the image\nand punished Djarada.\n\nAfter that he put on him garments which had been woven and sewn by\nvirgins, strewed ashes on his head, and went into the wilderness to\nbewail his sin. God forgave him, after that he had fasted and wept for\nforty days.[675]\n\nAnother sin that Solomon committed was this. He was very fond of horses.\nOne day, when the hour of prayer approached, the horses of Saul were\nbrought before him; and when nine hundred had passed, Solomon looked up\nand saw that the hour of prayer was passed, and he had forgotten to give\nglory to God. Then said Solomon, \u201cI have cared for the things of this\nworld, instead of thinking of my Lord;\u201d and he said, \u201cBring back the\nhorses;\u201d and when they were brought back, he cut their throats.[676]\n\nSome commentators on the Koran object that this was an act of injustice,\nfor Solomon had sinned, not the horses; and they explain away the\npassage by saying that he dedicated the horses to God, and that he did\nnot kill them.[677]\n\n\n              8. HOW SOLOMON LOST AND RECOVERED HIS RING.\n\n\nOne day that Solomon retired to perform the necessary functions of\nnature, he placed his ring in the hand of Djarada; for on such occasions\nhe was wont to remove the ring from his finger. For the first time he\nforgot the advice of the queen of the ants, and gave no praise to God as\nhe committed the signet to other hands.\n\nSachr, the mighty Jinn,[678] took advantage of this act of\nforgetfulness, and, assuming the form of Solomon, came to the Egyptian\nprincess and asked her for the ring. She, nothing doubting, restored it\nto him; and Sachr went to the hall of audience, and ascended the throne.\n\nWhen Solomon returned, he asked Djarada for the signet.\n\n\u201cI have already given it thee,\u201d said she; and then, contemplating him\nwith attention, she exclaimed, \u201cThis is not the king! Solomon is in the\njudgment-hall; thou art an impostor, an evil spirit who has assumed his\nshape for evil purposes.\u201d\n\nThen Solomon was driven, at her cry, from the palace, and every one\ntreated him as a fool or rogue. He begged from door to door, saying, \u201cI,\nSolomon, was king in Jerusalem!\u201d but the people mocked him. For three\nyears he was an outcast, because he had transgressed three precepts of\nthe Law\u2014\u201cThe king set over thee ... shall not multiply horses to himself\n... neither shall he multiply wives to himself; neither shall he greatly\nmultiply to himself silver and gold.\u201d[679] And this is what befell him\nin that time. He went into the land of the Ammonites, and there he fell\ninto great want; but the master cook of the king\u2019s house took him to\nserve as scullion in the kitchen. After he had served for some time, he\none day cooked some meats for the king; and when the king tasted the\nmeats Solomon had baked, he was well pleased, and sent for Solomon and\nasked him if he would be his head cook.\n\nThen Solomon consented, and the king of the Ammonites dismissed the\nmaster cook, and placed Solomon in his room, and Solomon excelled\ngreatly in cooking, and pleased the king more and more with the variety\nand excellence of his dishes every day.\n\nNow it fell out that Naama, daughter of the king, saw Solomon from day\nto day, and she conceived an ardent passion for him, and she went to her\nmother and said, \u201cI shall die of love, unless I am given the head cook\nto husband.\u201d\n\nThe queen was astonished and ashamed, and said, \u201cThere are kings and\nprinces and nobles in Ammon; take to you which you will.\u201d But Naama\nanswered, \u201cI will have none save the head cook.\u201d\n\nThen the queen went and told the king, and he was exceeding wrath, and\nwould have slain both Solomon and Naama; but when the first fury of his\nanger was cooled down, he bade one of his servants take them, both\nSolomon and Naama, and conduct them into the desert, and there leave\nthem to perish.[680] The command of the king was executed, and Solomon\nand Naama were left in the wilderness without food. Then they wandered\non till they came to the borders of the sea, and Solomon found some\nfishers, and he laboured for them, and every day they gave him, in\npayment for his services, two fish.\n\nThus passed the time, till one day Solomon\u2019s wife, Naama, on cleaning\none of the fishes, found in its belly a ring, and she brought it to her\nhusband; and, behold! it was his signet which he had put in the hands of\nDjarada, and which had been taken from her by subtlety by the evil\nspirit. And this was how he recovered it: on the ring was engraved the\nIncommunicable Name, and this the Jinn could not endure; therefore he\ncould not wear the signet, and he had cast it into the sea, where the\nfish had swallowed it.\n\nNow when Solomon recovered his ring, he was filled with joy, and the\nlight returned to his eyes; he went back to Jerusalem with great haste,\nand all the people recognized him, and bowed before him; and when the\nEvil Spirit saw Solomon, and that he had the signet upon his hand, he\nuttered a loud cry and fled. Solomon refused to see again Djarada, the\nauthor of his misfortune; but he visited Queen Balkis every month, till\nthe day of her death.[681]\n\nWhen Balkis died, he had her body conveyed to Tadmor in the desert, the\ncity she had built; but her grave was known to none till the reign of\nthe Calif Walid, when, in consequence of a heavy rain, the walls of\nTadmor fell. Then was found an iron sarcophagus which was sixty ells\nlong and forty ells wide, which bore this inscription:\u2014\u201cHere lies the\npious Balkis, queen of Sheba, wife of the prophet Solomon, son of David.\nShe was converted to the true faith in the thirteenth year of the reign\nof Solomon; she married him in the fourteenth, and died in the\nthree-and-twentieth year of his reign.\u201d\n\nThe son of the Calif raised the lid of the coffin, and beheld a woman,\nas fresh as if she had only been lately buried.\n\nHe announced the fact to his father, and asked what should be done with\nthe sarcophagus. Walid ordered him to leave it where it had been found,\nand to pile blocks of marble over it, so that it might not again be\ndisturbed by the hand of man.[682]\n\nSolomon, when he was again on the throne, placed a crown on the head of\nNaama, and seated her beside him, and sent for the king of Ammon. And\nwhen the king came, he was filled with astonishment, and wondered how\nhis daughter had escaped from the desert and had found favour with the\ngreatest of monarchs. Then said Solomon, \u201cSee! I was thy head-cook, and\nthis is thy daughter; bid her come to thee and kiss thee.\u201d Then the king\nof Ammon kissed his daughter, and returned, glad of heart, to his own\nland.[683]\n\n\n                        9. THE DEATH OF SOLOMON.\n\n\nWhen Solomon had recovered his throne, he reigned twenty years. His\nwhole reign was forty years, and he lived in all fifty-five years.[684]\nHe spent these years in prosecuting the building of the temple. Towards\nthe end of his life he often visited the temple, and remained there one\nor two months plunged in prayer, without leaving it. He took his\nnourishment in the temple. He even remained a year thus; and when he was\nstanding, with bowed head, in a humble attitude before God, no one\nventured to approach him, man or Jinn; if a Jinn drew near, fire fell\nfrom heaven and consumed him.\n\nIn the garden of Solomon grew every day an unknown tree. Solomon asked\nit, \u201cWhat is thy name, and what are thy virtues?\u201d And the tree answered\nhim, \u201cI am called such and such, and I serve such a purpose, either by\nmy fruits, or by my shadow, or by my fragrance.\u201d\n\nThen Solomon transplanted it elsewhere; and if it were a tree with\nmedicinal properties, he wrote in books the kinds of remedies for which\nit served. One day Solomon saw in his garden a new tree, and he asked\nit, \u201cWhat is thy name, and what purpose dost thou serve?\u201d\n\nThe tree replied, \u201cI serve for the destruction of the temple. Make of me\na staff, whereon to lean.\u201d\n\nSolomon said, \u201cNone can destroy the temple as long as I am alive.\u201d Then\nhe understood that the tree warned him that he must shortly die. He\npulled up the tree, and of it he made a staff, and, when he prayed, he\nleaned on this staff to keep himself upright.\n\nSolomon knew that the temple was not completed, and that if he died, and\nthe Jinns knew of it, they would leave off building; therefore he\nprayed, \u201cO Lord! grant that the event of my death may be hidden from the\nJinns, that they may finish this temple.\u201d\n\nGod heard his prayer, that the temple might be completed, and that the\nJinns might be humbled. Solomon died in the temple, standing, leaning on\nhis staff, with his head bowed in adoration. And his soul was taken so\ngently from him by the Angel of Death, that the body remained standing;\nand so it remained for a whole year, and those who saw him thought he\nwas absorbed in prayer, and they ventured not to approach.\n\nThe Jinns worked night and day till the temple was finished. Now, God\nhad ordered, the same day that the soul left Solomon, a little white\nant, which devours wood, to come up out of the earth under the staff,\nand to gnaw the inside of the staff. She ate a little every day; and as\nthe staff was very strong and stout, she had not finished it till the\nend of the year. Then, when the temple was finished, at the same time\nthe staff was eaten up, and it crumbled under the weight of Solomon, and\nthe body fell. Thus the Jinns knew that Solomon was dead. Now, wherever\nthe white ant eats wood, the void is filled up with clay and water by\nthe Jinns; and this they will continue to do till the day of the\nResurrection, in gratitude to the little ant which announced to them the\ndeath of him who held them in bondage. If the clay and the water are not\ninserted by the Jinns, whence can they come?\n\nThe sages assembled and enclosed an ant in a box, with a piece of wood,\nfor a night and a day; then they compared the amount devoured in that\ntime with the length of the staff, and thus they ascertained how long a\ntime Solomon had been dead.[685]\n\nFootnote 658:\n\n  Solomon was twelve years old when he succeeded David. (Abulfeda, p.\n  43; Bartolocci, iv. p. 371.)\n\nFootnote 659:\n\n  Weil, pp. 225-231; Eisenmenger, p. 440, &c.\n\nFootnote 660:\n\n  Weil, pp. 231-4.\n\nFootnote 661:\n\n  The story of the building of the temple, with the assistance of\n  Schamir, has been already related by me in my \u201cCurious Myths of the\n  Middle Ages.\u201d\n\nFootnote 662:\n\n  The Rabbinic story and the Mussulman are precisely the same, with the\n  difference that Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, instead of the Jinns,\n  lies in ambush and captures Sachr or Aschmedai (Asmodeus).\n  (Eisenmenger, i. 351-8.) As I have given the Jewish version in my\n  \u201cCurious Myths of the Middle Ages,\u201d I give the Arab story here.\n\nFootnote 663:\n\n  Weil, pp. 234-7; Talmud, Tract. Gittin. fol. 68, cols. 1, 2.\n\nFootnote 664:\n\n  Jalkut Schimoni, fol. 90, col. 4.\n\nFootnote 665:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 435.\n\nFootnote 666:\n\n  Tabari, i. p. 436.\n\nFootnote 667:\n\n  Koran, Sura xxvii.; Tabari, i. c. xcviii.; Weil, pp. 237-9.\n\nFootnote 668:\n\n  The Jews also believed in a purgatory; see Bartolocci, i. 342.\n\nFootnote 669:\n\n  Targum Scheni Esther, fol. 401, tells the same of the moorcock.\n\nFootnote 670:\n\n  This is the letter according to Rabbinic authors: \u201cGreeting to thee\n  and to thine; from me, King Solomon. It is known to thee that the\n  holy, ever-blessed God has made me lord and king over the wild beasts\n  and birds of heaven, and over the devils, and spirits, and ghosts of\n  the night, and that all kings, from the rising to the down-setting of\n  the sun, come and greet me. If thou also wilt come and salute me, then\n  will I show thee great honour above all the kings that lie prostrate\n  before me. But if thou wilt not come, and wilt not salute me, then\n  will I send kings, and soldiers, and horsemen against thee. And if\n  thou sayest in thine heart, \u2018Hath King Solomon kings, and soldiers,\n  and horsemen?\u2019 then know that the wild beasts are his kings, and\n  soldiers, and horsemen. And if thou sayest, \u2018What, then, are his\n  horsemen?\u2019 know that the birds of heaven are his horsemen. His army\n  are ghosts, and devils, and spectres of the night; and they shall\n  torment and slay you at night in your beds, and the wild beasts will\n  rend you in the fields, and the birds will tear the flesh off you.\u201d\n  This letter, the Jews say, was sent to the Queen of Sheba by a\n  moorcock. (Targum Scheni Esther, fol. 401, 440.)\n\nFootnote 671:\n\n  According to another account, \u201cthat she had ass\u2019s legs\u201d (Weil, p.\n  267). Tabari says, \u201chairy legs\u201d (i. p. 441).\n\nFootnote 672:\n\n  Weil, pp. 246-267; Tabari, i. cc. 94, 95.\n\nFootnote 673:\n\n  Weil, pp. 267-9.\n\nFootnote 674:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. xcvi. p. 448.\n\nFootnote 675:\n\n  Weil, pp. 269-271; Tabari, pp. 450, 451.\n\nFootnote 676:\n\n  Koran, Sura xxxviii.\n\nFootnote 677:\n\n  Tabari, pp. 460, 461.\n\nFootnote 678:\n\n  In the Jewish legend, Asmodeus. In \u201cCuriosities of Olden Times\u201d I have\n  pointed out the connection between the story of the disgrace of\n  Solomon and that of Nebuchadnezzar, Jovinian, Robert of Sicily, &c.\n\nFootnote 679:\n\n  Deut. xvii. 16, 17.\n\nFootnote 680:\n\n  Emek Nammelek, fol. 14; Gittin, fol. 68, col. 2; Eisenmenger, i. pp.\n  358-60. The Anglo-Saxon story of Havelock the Dane bears a strong\n  resemblance to this part of the story of Solomon.\n\nFootnote 681:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. pp. 358-60; Weil, pp. 271-4; Tabari, c. 96.\n\nFootnote 682:\n\n  Weil, p. 274.\n\nFootnote 683:\n\n  Eisenmenger, i. 361.\n\nFootnote 684:\n\n  Tabari, p. 454.\n\nFootnote 685:\n\n  Koran, Sura xxxiv.; Tabari, c. 97; Weil, p. 279.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XXXIX.\n                                ELIJAH.\n\n\nWhen the prophet Elijah appeared, idolatry was general. God sent him to\nBalbek (Heliopolis), to persuade the inhabitants to renounce the worship\nof Baal, from whom the city took its name. Some say that Baal was the\nname of a woman, beautiful of countenance. The Israelites also adored\nBaal; Elijah preached against idolatry; and Ahab at first believed in\nhim, and rejected Baal, but after a while relapsed. Then Elijah prayed,\nand God sent a famine on the land for three years, and many men died.\nNone had bread save Elijah, and when any smelt the odour of bread, they\nsaid, \u201cElijah hath passed this way!\u201d\n\nOne day Elijah came to the house of an old woman who had a son named\nElisha. Both complained of hunger. Elijah gave them bread. It is said,\nlikewise, that Elisha was paralytic, and that at the prayer of Elijah he\nwas healed.\n\nWhen the famine had lasted three years, Elijah went, accompanied by\nElisha, before King Ahab, and he said:\u2014\u201cFor three years you have been\nwithout bread; let your god Baal, if he can, satisfy your hunger. If he\ncannot, I will pray to Jehovah, and He will deliver you out of your\ndistress, if you will consent to worship Him.\u201d\n\nAhab consented. Then Elijah ordered the idol of Baal to be taken out of\nthe city, and the worshippers of Baal invoked the god, but their prayers\nremained unanswered. Then Elijah prayed, and immediately rain fell, and\nthe earth brought forth green herb and corn.\n\nNevertheless, shortly after, the people returned to idolatry, and Elijah\nwas weary of his life; he consecrated Elisha to succeed him, and he\nprayed to God, \u201cO Lord! save me from this untoward generation.\u201d And God\nheard his cry, and He carried him away and gave him life till the day\nwhen Israfiel shall sound the trump of judgment.[686]\n\nBoth Jews and Mussulmans believe that Elijah is not dead, but that he\nlives, and appears at intervals. The Mussulmans have confused him with\nEl Khoudr, and relate many wonderful stories of him. He is\nunquestionably the origin of the Wandering Jew. His reappearances are\nmentioned in the Talmud, and in later Jewish legends, as, for instance,\nin a story told by Abraham Tendlau.[687] A poor Jew and his wife were\nreduced to great necessity; the man had not clothes in which to go forth\nand ask for work. Then his wife borrowed for him clothes, and he entered\nthe street seeking work. He met a venerable man, who bade him use him as\na slave. The Jew engaged to build a palace for a prince with the\nassistance of his slave, for ten thousand thalers. The mysterious\nstranger laboured hard, and angels assisted him, so that the mansion was\ncompleted with astonishing rapidity. When the Jew had received the\nmoney, the old man announced that he was Elijah, who had come to assist\nhim, and vanished.\n\nAfter the Arabs had captured the city of Elvan, Fadhilah, at the head of\nthree hundred horsemen, pitched his tents, late in the evening, between\ntwo mountains. Fadhilah having begun his evening prayer with a loud\nvoice, heard the words \u201cAllah akbar!\u201d (God is great!) repeated\ndistinctly, and each word of his prayer was followed in a similar\nmanner. Fadhilah, not believing this to be an echo, was much astonished,\nand cried out, \u201cO thou! whether thou art of the angel ranks, or whether\nthou art of some other order of spirits, it is well, the power of God be\nwith thee; but if thou art a man, then let mine eyes light upon thee,\nthat I may rejoice in thy presence and society.\u201d\n\nScarcely had he spoken these words, before an aged man with bald head\nstood before him, holding a staff in his hand, and much resembling a\ndervish in appearance. After having courteously saluted him, Fadhilah\nasked the old man who he was. Thereupon the stranger answered, \u201cBassi\nHadut Issa, I am here by command of the Lord Jesus, who has left me in\nthis world, that I may live therein until He comes a second time to\nearth. I wait for the Lord, who is the Fountain of Happiness, and in\nobedience to his command I dwell beyond the mountain.\u201d\n\nWhen Fadhilah heard these words, he asked when the Lord Jesus would\nappear; and the old man replied that his appearing would be at the end\nof the world.\n\nBut this only increased Fadhilah\u2019s curiosity, so that he inquired the\nsigns of the approach of the end of all things; whereupon Zerib bar Elia\ngave him an account of the general social and moral dissolution which\nwould be the climax of this world\u2019s history.[688]\n\n\u201cIn the second year of Hezekiah,\u201d says the Rabbinic Sether Olam Rabba\n(c. 17), \u201cElijah disappeared, and he will not appear again till the\nMessiah come; then he will show himself once more; and he will again\ndisappear till Gog and Magog show themselves. And all this time he\nwrites the events and transactions that happen in each century....\nLetters from Elijah were brought to King Joram seven years after Elijah\nhad disappeared.\u201d\n\nA prophecy ascribed to Elijah is preserved in the Gemara:[689] \u201cThe\nworld will last six thousand years; it will lie desert for two thousand\nyears; the Messiah will reign two thousand years; but, because of our\niniquities which have super-abounded, the years of the Messiah have\npassed away.\u201d\n\nFootnote 686:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. 84.\n\nFootnote 687:\n\n  Das Buch der Sagen und Legenden j\u00fcdischer Vorzeit, p. 45; Stuttgart,\n  1845.\n\nFootnote 688:\n\n  Herbelot, Bibl. Orient., s. v. Zerib, iii. p. 607.\n\nFootnote 689:\n\n  Gemara, Avoda Sara, c. i. fol. 65.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XL.\n                                ISAIAH.\n\n\nThe Book of the Ascension of Isaiah has reached us only in an Ethiopic\nversion, which was published along with a translation by Archbishop\nLaurence, Oxford, 1819. Gieseler translated the book, and gave learned\nprolegomena and notes, G\u00f6ttingen, 1837; and Gfr\u00f6rer has included it in\nhis \u201cProphet\u00e6 Pseudepigraphi,\u201d Stuttgardt, 1840, pp. 1-55, with the\nLatin translation. It must have existed in Greek and Latin, for\nfragments of the Latin apocryphal book remain, and have been published\nby Cardinal Mai, in \u201cScriptorum Veterum Nova Collectio;\u201d Rom\u00e6, 1824, t.\nIII. ii. 238 et seq.: and it is very evident from these that they are\nversions of a Greek original, and not of the Ethiopic.\n\nWhilst Isaiah was speaking to the king Hezekiah, he suddenly stopped,\nand his soul was borne away by an angel. He traversed the firmament,\nwhere he saw the strife of the angels and demons, waged between the\nearth and the moon. He entered the six heavens and admired their glory;\nthen he penetrated into the seventh heaven, where he saw the Holy\nTrinity, and there the events of futurity were revealed to him. When he\nreturned to himself, Isaiah related to Hezekiah all that he had seen and\nheard, except what concerned his son Manasseh.\n\nThis is the prophecy of Isaiah concerning Antichrist: \u201cAnd when that\ntime is passed, Berial, the great angel, the prince of this world,\nBerial will descend from his place in the form of a man; an impious\nking, the murderer of his mother, a king of this world.\n\n\u201cAnd he will pluck up from amongst the twelve apostles the plant that\nthey had planted, and it will fall into his hands.\n\n\u201cAnd all the powers of the world will do the will of the angel Berial,\nthe impious king.\n\n\u201cAt his word, the sun will shine in the darkness of the night, and the\nmoon will appear at the eleventh hour.\n\n\u201cHe will do all his pleasures; he will illtreat the Well-Beloved, and\nwill say to him, Lo! I am God, and before me there is none other.\n\n\u201cAnd all the world will believe in him.\n\n\u201cAnd sacrifice will be offered to him, and a worship of adoration,\nsaying, He alone is God, and there is none other.\n\n\u201cThen the greater number of those gathered together to receive the\nWell-Beloved will turn aside to Berial;\n\n\u201cWho by his power will work miracles in the cities and in the country;\n\n\u201cAnd everywhere shall a table be spread for him.\n\n\u201cHis domination shall be for three years seven months and twenty-seven\ndays.\u201d[690]\n\nOnly when Hezekiah was at the point of death, did Isaiah reveal to him\nwhat and how great would be the iniquities of his son. Then the king\nwould have slain Manasseh: \u201cI had rather,\u201d said he, \u201cdie without\nposterity, than leave behind me a son who should persecute the saints.\u201d\n\nWhen the prophet saw that Hezekiah loved God more than his own son, he\nwas glad, and he restrained the king, and said, \u201cIt is the will of God\nthat he should live.\u201d\n\nManasseh reigned in the room of his father, and was a cruel tyrant. He\nworshipped idols, and sought to make Isaiah partake in his idolatry. And\nwhen he could not succeed, he sawed him asunder with a saw of wood.\n\n\u201cAnd whilst Isaiah was being cut asunder, Melekira stood up and accused\nhim, and all the lying prophets were present, and they showed great joy,\nand they mocked him.\n\n\u201cAnd Belial said to Isaiah: \u2018Confess that all thou hast said is false,\nand that the ways of Manasseh are good and just.\n\n\u201c\u2018Confess that the ways of Melekira, and of those that are with him, are\ngood.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe spake thus to him, as the saw entered into his flesh.\n\n\u201cBut Isaiah was in an ecstasy, and his eyes were open, and he looked\nupon the spectators of his passion.\n\n\u201cThen said Melekira to Isaiah: \u2018Confess what I shall say, and I will\nchange the heart of those who persecute thee, and I will make Manasseh,\nand the heads of Judah, and his people, and all Jerusalem, worship\nthee.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen Isaiah answered and said: \u2018Cursed art thou in all that thou\nsayest, and in all thy power, and in all thy disciples!\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou canst do nothing against me; all thou canst do is to take from me\nthis miserable life.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen they seized the prophet, and they sawed him with a saw of wood,\nIsaiah, son of Amos.\n\n\u201cAnd Manasseh and Melekira, and the lying prophets, and the princes of\nIsrael, and all the people, beheld his execution.\n\n\u201cNow, before that the execution was accomplished, he said to the\nprophets who had followed him: \u2018Fly to Tyre and Sidon, for the Lord hath\ngiven the cup to me alone.\u2019\n\n\u201cAnd whilst the saw cut into his flesh, Isaiah uttered no complaint and\nshed no tears; but he ceased not to commune with the Holy Spirit till\nthe saw had cloven him to the middle of his body.\u201d[691]\n\nIn the Mishna[692] it is related that the Rabbi Simeon Ben Azai found in\nJerusalem (2nd cent.) a genealogy, wherein it was written that Manasseh\nkilled Isaiah. Manasseh said to Isaiah, \u201cMoses, thy master, said, There\nshall no man see God and live.[693] But thou hast said, I saw the Lord\nseated upon His throne.[694] Moses said, What other nation is there so\ngreat, that hath God so nigh unto them?[695] But thou hast said, Seek ye\nthe Lord while He may be found.\u201d[696]\n\nIsaiah thought, \u201cIf I excuse myself, I shall only increase his guilt and\nnot save myself;\u201d so he answered not a word, but pronounced the\nIncommunicable Name, and a cedar-tree opened, and he disappeared within\nit. Then Manasseh ordered, and they took the cedar, and sawed it in two\nlength-ways; and when the saw reached his mouth, he died.\n\nFootnote 690:\n\n  Anabasticon, iv. 2-12.\n\nFootnote 691:\n\n  Anabasticon, v. 1-14.\n\nFootnote 692:\n\n  Tract. Jebammoth, c. 4.\n\nFootnote 693:\n\n  Exod. xxxiii. 20.\n\nFootnote 694:\n\n  Isai. vi. 1.\n\nFootnote 695:\n\n  Deut. iv. 7.\n\nFootnote 696:\n\n  Isai. lv. 6.\n\n\n\n\n                                  XLI.\n                               JEREMIAH.\n\n\nThe work entitled _De Vitis Prophetarum_, falsely attributed to S.\nEpiphanius, contains some apocryphal details concerning Jeremiah. It is\nsaid that he was stoned at Taphnes in Egypt, in a place where Pharaoh\nformerly lived. He was held in great honour by the Egyptians, because of\nthe service he had rendered them in taming the serpents and crocodiles.\n\nThe faithful who take a little dust from the spot where he died, are\nable to employ it as a remedy against the bites of serpents, and to\ndrive away crocodiles.\n\nThe prophet announced to the priests and wise men of Egypt that when a\nvirgin, who had borne a son, should set her foot on Egyptian soil, all\nthe idols should fall.\n\nBefore the destruction of Jerusalem, he hid the ark of the covenant in a\nrock, which opened for the purpose, and closed upon it. Then said he to\nthe princes of the people and to the elders, \u201cThe Lord has gone up from\nSinai, but He will come again with His sacred power. And this shall be\nthe token of His coming,\u2014all nations shall bow before the Wood.\u201d\n\nThen the prophet continued, \u201cNone of the priests and prophets shall open\nthe ark, except Moses, the elect of God; and Aaron shall alone unfold\nthe tables it contains. At the Resurrection, the ark shall arise out of\nthe rock first of all, and it shall be placed upon Mount Zion. Then all\nthe saints will go there and await the Lord, and they will put the enemy\nto flight who seeks their destruction.\u201d\n\nHaving said these words, he traced with his finger the name of God upon\nthe rock, and the name remained graven there, as if cut with iron. Then\na cloud descended upon the rock and hid it, and no man has seen it\nsince. It is in the desert, amongst the mountains, where are the tombs\nof Moses and Aaron. At night, a cloud of fire shines above the spot.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XLII.\n                                EZEKIEL.\n\n\nEzekiel, whom the Arabs call Kazquil, was the son of an aged couple, who\nhad no children. They prayed to God, and He gave them a son.\n\nEzekiel was a prophet, and he exhorted the men of Jerusalem to war, but\nthey would not go forth to battle. Then God sent a pestilence, and there\ndied of them every day very many. So, fearing death, a million fled from\nthe city, hoping to escape the pestilence, but the wrath of God overtook\nthem, and they fell dead.\n\nThen those who survived in the city went forth to bury them, but they\nwere too numerous; therefore they built a wall round the corpses to\nprotect them from the beasts of the field; and thus they lay exposed to\nthe heat and cold for many years, till the flesh had rotted off their\nbones.\n\nOnce the prophet Ezekiel came that way, and he saw this great multitude\nof dead and dry bones. He prayed, and God restored them to life again,\nand they stood upon their feet, a great army, and entered into the city,\nand lived out the rest of their days. It is said that among the Jews\nthere are, to this day, descendants of those who were resuscitated, and\nthey may be recognized by the corpse-like odour they exhale.[697]\n\nThe Jews relate that a celebrated Rabbi found the greatest difficulty in\ncomprehending the Book of Ezekiel; therefore his disciples prepared for\nhim three hundred tuns of oil to feed his lamp whilst he studied at\nnight the visions of the prophet.[698]\n\nFootnote 697:\n\n  Tabari, i. c. 83.\n\nFootnote 698:\n\n  Bartolocci, i. p. 848.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XLIII.\n                                 EZRA.\n\n\nCyrus, in the year 537 before Christ, put an end to the captivity of the\nJews in Babylon, as had been foretold by Daniel; and not only did he\npermit the Jews to return to Jerusalem, but he furnished them with the\nmeans of rebuilding their city and temple. The Oriental writers, to\nexplain the motive of Cyrus, say that his mother was a Jewess, and that\nhe himself was married to the Jewess Maschat, sister of Zerubbabel, a\ngranddaughter of the king Jehoiakim.\n\nIn 523 before Christ, Cambyses, having reigned a brief time, was\nsucceeded by Smerdis, the Magian, who is called, in the Scriptures,\nArtaxerxes. He, being ill-disposed towards the Jews, withdrew from them\nthe gifts made by Cyrus, and arrested their work. Smerdis, however,\nreigned only two years, and was succeeded by Darius Hystaspes, who\ncontinued the work of Cyrus, by the hands of Ezra or Esdras, one of the\ninstruments used by God to restore His people.\n\nEzra was the son of Seraiah, of the lineage of Aaron.\n\nIn the Koran[699] it is said that Ezra, passing through a village near\nJerusalem, whose houses were ruined, exclaimed, \u201cCan God restore these\nwaste places, and revive the inhabitants?\u201d\n\nThen God made him die; and he remained dead for one hundred years. At\nthe end of that time God revived him, and he saw the village rebuilt,\nand full of busy people.\n\nThe commentators on the Koran say that Ezra (Oza\u00efr), when young, had\nbeen taken away captive by Nebuchadnezzar, but that he was delivered\nmiraculously from prison, and returned to Jerusalem, which he found in\nruins. He halted at a village near the city, named Sair-Abad. Its houses\nwere fallen and without inhabitants, but the fig-tree and vines remained\nin the gardens. Ezra collected the fruit, and made himself a little cell\nout of the fallen stones. And he kept near him the ass on which he had\nridden.\n\nThe holy man, on contemplating from his hermitage the ruins of the holy\ncity and the temple, wept bitterly before the Lord, and said often with\na tone rather of lament than doubt, \u201cHow can the walls of Jerusalem ever\nbe set up again?\u201d\n\nThen God bade him die, and hid him from the eyes of men, in his cell,\nwith all that he had about him, his fruit, his mat, and his ass. At the\nclose of a century God revived him, and he found all as when he had\ndied; the ass standing, and the fruit unwithered. Then Ezra saw the\nworks that had been executed in Jerusalem, how the walls were being set\nup, and the breaches repaired, and he said, \u201cGod is Almighty; He can do\nwhatsoever pleaseth Him!\u201d\n\nAfter his resurrection, he went into the holy city, and spent night and\nday in explaining to the people the Law, as he remembered it. But it had\nbeen forgotten by the Jews, and therefore they disregarded his\ninstruction.\n\nThe Iman Thalebi says, that the Jews, to test the mission of Ezra,\nplaced five pens in his hand, and with each he wrote at the same moment\nwith like facility as if he held only one; and he wrote all the Books of\nthe Sacred Canon, as he drew them from his memory, without the\nassistance of a book.\n\nThe Jews, however, said amongst themselves, \u201cHow can we be sure that\nwhat Ezra has written is the true sacred text, since there is none\namongst us who can bear witness?\u201d\n\nThen one of them said, \u201cI have heard say that my grandfather preserved a\ncopy of the sacred books, and that they were hidden by him in a hollow\nrock, which he marked so that it might be recognized again.\u201d\n\nThey therefore sought the place which had been marked, and there they\nfound a volume containing the Scriptures, which having been compared\nwith what Ezra had written, it was found that the agreement was exact.\nThen the people, astonished at the miracle, cried out that Ezra was a\ngod.[700]\n\nAt the time of carrying away into Babylon, the sacred fire had been cast\ninto a well in the temple court. Ezra, having drawn some of the dirt out\nof the well, placed on it the wood of the sacrifice; then the flame,\nwhich for a hundred and forty years had been extinguished, burst forth\nagain out of the mire. When Ezra saw this wonder, he thrice drank of the\ndust out of the well; and thus he imbibed the prophetic spirit, and the\npower of recomposing from memory the lost sacred books.[701]\n\nFootnote 699:\n\n  Sura, ii.\n\nFootnote 700:\n\n  Herbelot, Biblioth\u00e8que Orientale, iii. p. 89.\n\nFootnote 701:\n\n  Abulfaraj, p. 57.\n\n\n\n\n                                 XLIV.\n                               ZECHARIAH.\n\n\nSozomen[702] relates that the prophet Zechariah appeared to Colomeras, a\nfarmer of the village of Chupher, in Palestine, and revealed to him his\ntomb; and on excavations having been made on the spot, an ancient Hebrew\nbook was discovered, which, however, was not regarded as canonical.\nNicephoras repeats the story after Sozomen.[703]\n\nFootnote 702:\n\n  Hist. Eccles. lib. ix. cap. ult.\n\nFootnote 703:\n\n  Ibid., lib. xiv. c. 8.\n\nLONDON:\n\nR. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS,\n\nBREAD STREET HILL.\n\n\n\n\n \u25cf Transcriber\u2019s Notes:\n    \u25cb Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).\n    \u25cb Footnotes have been moved to follow the chapters in which they are\n      referenced.","title":"Legends of Old Testament characters, from the Talmud and other sources","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":150155}