The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Legends of the Jews, Volume 2, by Louis Ginzberg

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by Louis Ginzberg

TRANSLATED PROM THE GERMAN MANUSCRIPT BY
HENRIETTA SZOLD

VOLUME II
BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS
FROM JOSEPH TO THE EXODUS

Contents

PREFACE

The arrangement and presentation of the material in this volume are the same asin Volume I. In both my efforts have been directed to bringing together as fullas possible a collection of Jewish legends that deal with Biblical personagesand events. The sources of those legends and explanations of some of them willbe given in the last volume of the entire work, and the numbers throughout thework refer to the notes in the concluding volume.

My original intention was to continue Volume II up to the death of Moses, butthe legendary material clustering around the life and death of Moses is soabundant that practical considerations demanded the division of this material,in order not to make the second volume too bulky. The division chosen is anatural one. This volume closes with the Exodus, and contains the deeds ofMoses in Egypt, while the following volume will deal with Moses in the desert.

The fact that Job is placed between Jacob's sons and Moses may appear strangeto some readers, since in the Bible Job is one of the last books; but "legendis above time and space," and I have, therefore, given Job the place whichlegend has ascribed to him.

LOUIS GINZBERG.

NEW YORK, March 28, 1910.

I
JOSEPH

THE FAVORITE SON

Jacob was not exempt from the lot that falls to the share of all the pious.Whenever they expect to enjoy life in tranquillity, Satan hinders them. Heappears before God, and says: "Is it not enough that the future world is setapart for the pious? What right have they to enjoy this world, besides?" Afterthe many hardships and conflicts that had beset the path of Jacob, he thoughthe would be at rest at last, and then came the loss of Joseph and inflicted thekeenest suffering. Verily, few and evil had been the days of the years ofJacob's pilgrimage, for the time spent outside of the Holy Land had seemedjoyless to him. Only the portion of his life passed in the land of his fathers,during which he was occupied with making proselytes, in accordance with theexample set him by Abraham and Isaac, did he consider worth while havinglived,[1] and this happy time was of short duration. When Joseph was snatchedaway, but eight years had elapsed since his return to his father's house.[2]

And yet it was only for the sake of Joseph that Jacob had been willing toundergo all the troubles and the adversity connected with his sojourn in thehouse of Laban. Indeed, Jacob's blessing in having his quiver full of childrenwas due to the merits of Joseph, and likewise the dividing of the Red Sea andof the Jordan for the Israelites was the reward for his son's piety. For amongthe sons of Jacob Joseph was the one that resembled his father most closely inappearance, and, also, he was the one to whom Jacob transmitted the instructionand knowledge he had received from his teachers Shem and Eber.[3] The wholecourse of the son's life is but a repetition of the father's. As the mother ofJacob remained childless for a long time after her marriage, so also the motherof Joseph. As Rebekah had undergone severe suffering in giving birth to Jacob,so Rachel in giving birth to Joseph. As Jacob's mother bore two sons, so alsoJoseph's mother. Like Jacob, Joseph was born circumcised. As the father was ashepherd, so the son. As the father served for the sake of a woman, so the sonserved under a woman. Like the father, the son appropriated his older brother'sbirthright. The father was hated by his brother, and the son was hated by hisbrethren. The father was the favorite son as compared with his brother, so wasthe son as compared with his brethren. Both the father and the son lived in theland of the stranger. The father became a servant to a master, also the son.The master whom the father served was blessed by God, so was the master whomthe son served. The father and the son were both accompanied by angels, andboth married their wives outside of the Holy Land. The father and the son wereboth blessed with wealth. Great things were announced to the father in a dream,so also to the son. As the father went to Egypt and put an end to famine, sothe son. As the father exacted the promise from his sons to bury him in theHoly Land, so also the son. The father died in Egypt, there died also the son.The body of the father was embalmed, also the body of the son. As the father'sremains were carried to the Holy Land for interment, so also the remains of theson. Jacob the father provided for the sustenance of his son Joseph during aperiod of seventeen years, so Joseph the son provided for his father Jacobduring a period of seventeen years.[4]

Until he was seventeen years old, Joseph frequented the Bet ha-Midrash,[5] andhe became so learned that he could impart to his brethren the Halakot he hadheard from his father, and in this way he may be regarded as their teacher.[6]He did not stop at formal instruction, he also tried to give them good counsel,and he became the favorite of the sons of the handmaids, who would kiss andembrace him.[7]

In spite of his scholarship there was something boyish about Joseph. He paintedhis eyes, dressed his hair carefully, and walked with a mincing step. Thesefoibles of youth were not so deplorable as his habit of bringing evil reportsof his brethren to his father. He accused them of treating the beasts undertheir care with cruelty—he said that they ate flesh torn from a livinganimal—and he charged them with casting their eyes upon the daughters of theCanaanites, and giving contemptuous treatment to the sons of the handmaidsBilhah and Zilpah, whom they called slaves.

For these groundless accusations Joseph had to pay dearly. He was himself soldas a slave, because he had charged his brethren with having called the sons ofthe handmaids slaves, and Potiphar's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, because hethrew the suspicion upon his brethren that they had cast their eyes upon theCanaanitish women. And how little it was true that they were guilty of crueltyto animals, appears from the fact that at the very time when they werecontemplating their crime against Joseph, they yet observed all the rules andprescriptions of the ritual in slaughtering the kid of the goats with the bloodof which they besmeared his coat of many colors.[8]

JOSEPH HATED BY HIS BRETHREN

Joseph's talebearing against his brethren made them hate him. Among all of themGad was particularly wrathful, and for good reason. Gad was a very brave man,and when a beast of prey attacked the herd, over which he kept guard at night,he would seize it by one of its legs, and whirl it around until it was stunned,and then he would fling it away to a distance of two stadia, and kill it thus.Once Jacob sent Joseph to tend the flock, but he remained away only thirtydays, for he was a delicate lad and fell sick with the heat, and he hastenedback to his father. On his return he told Jacob that the sons of the handmaidswere in the habit of slaughtering the choice cattle of the herd and eating it,without obtaining permission from Judah and Reuben. But his report was notaccurate. What he had seen was Gad slaughtering one lamb, which he had snatchedfrom the very jaws of a bear, and he killed it because it could not be keptalive after its fright. Joseph's account sounded as though the sons of thehandmaids were habitually inconsiderate and careless in wasting their father'ssubstance.[9]

To the resentment of the brethren was added their envy of Joseph, because theirfather loved him more than all of them. Joseph's beauty of person was equal tothat of his mother Rachel, and Jacob had but to look at him to be consoled forthe death of his beloved wife. Reason enough for distinguishing him among hischildren.[10] As a token of his great love for him, Jacob gave Joseph a coat ofmany colors, so light and delicate that it could be crushed and concealed inthe closed palm of one hand. The Hebrew name of the garment, Passim, conveysthe story of the sale of Joseph. The first letter, Pe, stands for Potiphar, hisEgyptian master; Samek stands for Soharim, the merchantmen that bought Josephfrom the company of Ishmaelites to whom his brethren had sold him; Yod standsfor these same Ishmaelites; and Mem, for the Midianites that obtained him fromthe merchantmen, and then disposed of him to Potiphar. But Passim. has yetanother meaning, "clefts." His brethren knew that the Red Sea would be cleft intwain in days to come for Joseph's sake, and they were jealous of the glory tobe conferred upon him. Although they were filled with hatred of him, it must besaid in their favor that they were not of a sullen, spiteful nature. They didnot hide their feelings, they proclaimed their enmity openly.

Once Joseph dreamed a dream, and he could not refrain from telling it to hisbrethren. He spoke, and said: "Hear, I pray you, this dream which I havedreamed. Behold, you gathered fruit, and so did I. Your fruit rotted, but mineremained sound. Your seed will set up dumb images of idols, but they willvanish at the appearance of my descendant, the Messiah of Joseph. You will keepthe truth as to my fate from the knowledge of my father, but I will stand fastas a reward for the self-denial of my mother, and you will prostrate yourselvesfive times before me."[11]

The brethren refused at first to listen to the dream, but when Joseph urgedthem again and again, they gave heed to him, and they said, "Shalt thou indeedreign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?"[12] God put aninterpretation into their mouths that was to be verified in the posterity ofJoseph. Jeroboam and Jehu, two kings, and Joshua and Gideon, two judges, havebeen among his descendants, corresponding to the double and emphaticexpressions used by his brethren in interpreting the dream.[13]

Then Joseph dreamed another dream, how the sun, the moon, and eleven starsbowed down before him, and Jacob, to whom he told it first, was rejoiced overit, for he understood its meaning properly.[14] He knew that he himself wasdesignated by the sun, the name by which God had called him when he lodgedovernight on the holy site of the Temple. He had heard God say to the angels atthat time, "The sun has come."[15] The moon stood for Joseph's mother, and thestars for his brethren, for the righteous are as the stars.[16] Jacob was soconvinced of the truth of the dream that he was encouraged to believe that hewould live to see the resurrection of the dead, for Rachel was dead, and herreturn to earth was clearly indicated by the dream. He went astray there, fornot Joseph's own mother was referred to, but his foster-mother Bilhah, who hadraised him.

Jacob wrote the dream in a book, recording all the circumstances, the day, thehour, and the place, for the holy spirit cautioned him, "Take heed, thesethings will surely come to pass."[17] But when Joseph repeated his dream to hisbrethren, in the presence of his father, Jacob rebuked him, saying, "I and thybrethren, that has some sense, but I and thy mother, that is inconceivable, forthy mother is dead."[18] These words of Jacob called forth a reproof from God.He said, "Thus thy descendants will in time to come seek to hinder Jeremiah indelivering his prophecies."[19] Jacob may be excused, he had spoken in this wayonly in order to avert the envy and hate of his brethren from Joseph, but theyenvied and hated him because they knew that the interpretation put upon thedream by Jacob would be realized.[20]

JOSEPH CAST INTO THE PIT

Once the brethren of Joseph led their father's flocks to the pastures ofShechem, and they intended to take their ease and pleasure there.[21] Theystayed away a long time, and no tidings of them were heard. Jacob began to beanxious about the fate of his sons. He feared that a war had broken out betweenthem and the people of Shechem, and he resolved to send Joseph to them and havehim bring word again, whether it was well with his brethren.[22] Jacob desiredto know also about the flocks, for it is a duty to concern oneself about thewelfare of anything from which one derives profit. Though he knew that thehatred of his brethren might bring on unpleasant adventures, yet Joseph, infilial reverence, declared himself ready to go on his father's errand. Later,whenever Jacob remembered his dear son's willing spirit, the recollectionstabbed him to the heart. He would say to himself, "Thou didst know the hatredof thy brethren, and yet thou didst say, Here am I."[23]

Jacob dismissed Joseph, with the injunction that he journey only bydaylight,[24] saying furthermore, "Go now, see whether it be well with thybrethren, and well with the flock; and send me word"—an unconscious prophecy.He did not say that he expected to see Joseph again, but only to have word fromhim.[25] Since the covenant of the pieces, God had resolved, on account ofAbraham's doubting question, that Jacob and his family should go down intoEgypt to dwell there. The preference shown to Joseph by his father, and theenvy it aroused, leading finally to the sale of Joseph and his establishment inEgypt, were but disguised means created by God, instead of executing Hiscounsel directly by carrying Jacob down into Egypt as a captive.[26]

Joseph reached Shechem, where he expected to find his brethren. Shechem wasalways a place of ill omen for Jacob and his seed—there Dinah was dishonored,there the Ten Tribes of Israel rebelled against the house of David whileRehoboam ruled in Jerusalem, and there Jeroboam was installed as king.[27] Notfinding his brethren and the herd in Shechem, Joseph continued his journey inthe direction of the next pasturing place, not far from Shechem, but he losthis way in the wilderness.[28] Gabriel in human shape appeared before him, andasked him, saying, "What seekest thou?"[29] And he answered, "I seek mybrethren." Whereto the angel replied, "Thy brethren have given up the Divinequalities of love and mercy.[30] Through a prophetic revelation they learnedthat the Hivites were preparing to make war upon them, and therefore theydeparted hence to go to Dothan. And they had to leave this place for otherreasons, too. I heard, while I was still standing behind the curtain that veilsthe Divine throne, that this day the Egyptian bondage would begin, and thouwouldst be the first to be subjected to it."[31] Then Gabriel led Joseph toDothan.[32]

When his brethren saw him afar off, they conspired against him, to slay him.Their first plan was to set dogs on him. Simon then spoke to Levi, "Behold, themaster of dreams cometh with a new dream, he whose descendant Jeroboam willintroduce the worship of Baal. Come now, therefore, and let us slay him, thatwe may see what will become of his dreams." But God spoke: "Ye say, We shallsee what will become of his dreams, and I say likewise, We shall see, and thefuture shall show whose word will stand, yours or Mine."[33]

Simon and Gad set about slaying Joseph, and he fell upon his face, andentreated them: "Have mercy with me, my brethren, have pity on the heart of myfather Jacob. Lay not your hands upon me, to spill innocent blood, for I havedone no evil unto you. But if I have done evil unto you, then chastise me witha chastisement, but your hands lay not upon me, for the sake of our fatherJacob." These words touched Zebulon, and he began to lament and weep, and thewailing of Joseph rose up together with his brother's, and when Simon and Gadraised their hands against him to execute their evil design, Joseph took refugebehind Zebulon, and supplicated his other brethren to have mercy upon him. ThenReuben arose, and he said, "Brethren, let us not slay him, but let us cast himinto one of the dry pits, which our fathers dug without finding water." Thatwas due to the providence of God; He had hindered the water from rising in themin order that Joseph's rescue might be accomplished, and the pits remained dryuntil Joseph was safe in the hands of the Ishmaelites.[34]

Reuben had several reasons for interceding in behalf of Joseph. He knew that heas the oldest of the brethren would be held responsible by their father, if anyevil befell him. Besides, Reuben was grateful to Joseph for having reckoned himamong the eleven sons of Jacob in narrating his dream of the sun, moon, andstars. Since his disrespectful bearing toward Jacob, he had not thought himselfworthy of being considered one of his sons.[35] First Reuben tried to restrainhis brethren from their purpose, and he addressed them in words full of loveand compassion. But when he saw that neither words nor entreaties would changetheir intention, he begged them, saying: "My brethren, at least hearken unto mein respect of this, that ye be not so wicked and cruel as to slay him. Lay nohand upon your brother, shed no blood, cast him into this pit that is in thewilderness, and let him perish thus.[36]

Then Reuben went away from his brethren, and he hid in the mountains, so thathe might be able to hasten back in a favorable moment and draw Joseph forthfrom the pit and restore him to his father. He hoped his reward would be pardonfor the transgression he had committed against Jacob.[37] His good intentionwas frustrated, yet Reuben was rewarded by God, for God gives a recompense notonly for good deeds, but for good intentions as well.[38] As he was the firstof the brethren of Joseph to make an attempt to save him, so the city of Bezerin the tribe of Reuben was the first of the cities of refuge appointed tosafeguard the life of the innocent that seek help.[39] Furthermore God spake toReuben, saying: "As thou wast the first to endeavor to restore a child unto hisfather, so Hosea, one of thy descendants, shall be the first to endeavor tolead Israel back to his heavenly Father."[40]

The brethren accepted Reuben's proposition, and Simon seized Joseph, and casthim into a pit swarming with snakes and scorpions, beside which was anotherunused pit, filled with offal.[41] As though this were not enough torture,Simon bade his brethren fling great stones at Joseph. In his later dealingswith this brother Simon, Joseph showed all the forgiving charitableness of hisnature. When Simon was held in durance in Egypt as a hostage, Joseph, so farfrom bearing him a grudge, ordered crammed poultry to be set before him at allhis meals.[42]

Not satisfied with exposing Joseph to the snakes and scorpions, his brethrenhad stripped him bare before they flung him into the pit. They took off hiscoat of many colors, his upper garment, his breeches, and his shirt.[43]However, the reptiles could do him no harm. God heard his cry of distress, andkept them in hiding in the clefts and the holes, and they could not come nearhim. From the depths of the pit Joseph appealed to his brethren, saying: "O mybrethren, what have I done unto you, and what is my transgression? Why are younot afraid before God on account of your treatment of me? Am I not flesh ofyour flesh, and bone of your bone? Jacob your father, is he not also my father?Why do you act thus toward me? And how will you be able to lift up yourcountenance before Jacob? O Judah, Reuben, Simon, Levi, my brethren, deliverme, I pray you, from the dark place into which you have cast me. Though Icommitted a trespass against you, yet are ye children of Abraham, Isaac, andJacob, who were compassionate with the orphan, gave food to the hungry, andclothed the naked. How, then, can ye withhold your pity from your own brother,your own flesh and bone? And though I sinned against you, yet you will hearkenunto my petition for the sake of my father. O that my father knew what mybrethren are doing unto me, and what they spake unto me!"

To avoid hearing Joseph's weeping and cries of distress, his brethren passed onfrom the pit, and stood at a bow- shot's distance.[44] The only one among themthat manifested pity was Zebulon. For two days and two nights no food passedhis lips on account of his grief over the fate of Joseph, who had to spendthree days and three nights in the pit before he was sold. During this periodZebulon was charged by his brethren to keep watch at the pit. He was chosen tostand guard because he took no part in the meals. Part of the time Judah alsorefrained from eating with the rest, and took turns at watching, because hefeared Simon and Gad might jump down into the pit and put an end to Joseph'slife.[45]

While Joseph was languishing thus, his brethren determined to kill him. Theywould finish their meal first, they said, and then they would fetch him forthand slay him. When they had done eating, they attempted to say grace, but Judahremonstrated with them: "We are about to take the life of a human being, andyet would bless God? That is not a blessing, that is contemning the Lord.[46]What profit is it if we slay our brother? Rather will the punishment of Goddescend upon us. I have good counsel to give you. Yonder passeth by atravelling company of Ishmaelites on their way to Egypt. Come and let us sellhim to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him. The Ishmaelites willtake him with them upon their journeyings, and he will be lost among thepeoples of the earth.[47] Let us follow the custom of former days, for Canaan,too, the son of Ham, was made a slave for his evil deeds, and so will we dowith our brother Joseph."[48]

THE SALE

While the brethren of Joseph were deliberating upon his fate, seven Midianitishmerchantmen passed near the pit in which he lay. They noticed that many birdswere circling above it, whence they assumed that there must be water therein,and, being thirsty, they made a halt in order to refresh themselves. When theycame close, they heard Joseph screaming and wailing, and they looked down intothe pit and saw a youth of beautiful figure and comely appearance. They calledto him, saying: "Who art thou? Who brought thee hither, and who cast thee intothis pit in the wilderness?" They all joined together and dragged him up, andtook him along with them when they continued on their journey. They had to passhis brethren, who called out to the Midianites: "Why have you done such athing, to steal our slave and carry him away with you? We threw the lad intothe pit, because he was disobedient. Now, then, return our slave to us." TheMidianites replied: "What, this lad, you say, is your slave, your servant? Morelikely is it that you all are slaves unto him, for in beauty of form, inpleasant looks, and fair appearance, he excelleth you all. Why, then, will youspeak lies unto us? We will not give ear unto your words, nor believe you, forwe found the lad in the wilderness, in a pit, and we took him out, and we willcarry him away with us on our journey." But the sons of Jacob insisted,"Restore our slave to us, lest you meet death at the edge of the sword."

Unaffrighted, the Midianites drew their weapons, and, amid war whoops, theyprepared to enter into a combat with the sons of Jacob. Then Simon rose up, andwith bared sword he sprang upon the Midianites, at the same time uttering a crythat made the earth reverberate. The Midianites fell down in greatconsternation, and he said: "I am Simon, the son of the Hebrew Jacob, whodestroyed the city of Shechem alone and unaided, and together with my brethrenI destroyed the cities of the Amorites. God do so and more also, if it be nottrue that all the Midianites, your brethren, united with all the Canaanitekings to fight with me, cannot hold out against me. Now restore the boy youtook from us, else will I give your flesh unto the fowls of the air and to thebeasts of the field."

The Midianites were greatly afraid of Simon, and, terrified and abashed, theyspake to the sons of Jacob with little courage: "Said ye not that ye cast thislad into the pit because he was of a rebellious spirit? What, now, will ye dowith an insubordinate slave? Rather sell him to us, we are ready to pay anyprice you desire." This speech was part of the purpose of God. He had put itinto the heart of the Midianites to insist upon possessing Joseph, that hemight not remain with his brethren, and be slain by them.[49] The brethrenassented, and Joseph was sold as a slave while they sat over their meal. Godspake, saying: "Over a meal did ye sell your brother, and thus shall Ahasuerussell your descendants to Haman over a meal, and because ye have sold Joseph tobe a slave, therefore shall ye say year after year, Slaves were we unto Pharaohin Egypt."[50]

The price paid for Joseph by the Midianites was twenty pieces of silver, enoughfor a pair of shoes for each of his brethren. Thus "they sold the righteous forsilver, and the needy for a pair of shoes." For so handsome a youth as Josephthe sum paid was too low by far, but his appearance had been greatly changed bythe horrible anguish he bad endured in the pit with the snakes and thescorpions. He had lost his ruddy complexion, and he looked sallow and sickly,and the Midianites were justified in paying a small sum for him.[51]

The merchantmen had come upon Joseph naked in the pit, for his brethren hadstripped him of all his clothes. That he might not appear before men in anunseemly condition, God sent Gabriel down to him, and the angel enlarged theamulet banging from Joseph's neck until it was a garment that covered himentirely. Joseph's brethren were looking after him as he departed with theMidianites, and when they saw him with clothes upon him, they cried after them,"Give us his raiment! We sold him naked, without clothes." His owners refusedto yield to their demand, but they agreed to reimburse the brethren with fourpairs of shoes, and Joseph kept his garment, the same in which he was arrayedwhen he arrived in Egypt and was sold to Potiphar, the same in which he waslocked up in prison and appeared before Pharaoh, and the same he wore when hewas ruler over Egypt.[52]

As an atonement for the twenty pieces of silver taken by his brethren inexchange for Joseph, God commanded that every first-born son shall be redeemedby the priest with an equal amount, and, also, every Israelite must payannually to the sanctuary as much as fell to each of the brethren as his shareof the price.[53]

The brethren of Joseph bought shoes for the money, for they said: "We will noteat it, because it is the price for the blood of our brother, but we will treadupon him, for that he spake, he would have dominion over us, and we will seewhat will become of his dreams." And for this reason the ordinance has beencommanded, that he who refuseth to raise up a name in Israel unto his brotherthat hath died without having a son, shall have his shoe loosed from off hisfoot, and his face shall be spat upon. Joseph's brethren refused to do aught topreserve his life, and therefore the Lord loosed their shoes from off theirfeet, for, when they went down to Egypt, the slaves of Joseph took their shoesoff their feet as they entered the gates, and they prostrated themselves beforeJoseph as before a Pharaoh, and, as they lay prostrate, they were spat upon,and put to shame before the Egyptians.[54]

The Midianites pursued their journey to Gilead, but they soon regretted thepurchase they had made. They feared that Joseph had been stolen in the land ofthe Hebrews, though sold to them as a slave, and if his kinsmen should find himwith them, death would be inflicted upon them for the abduction of a free man.The high-handed manner of the sons of Jacob confirmed their suspicion, thatthey might be capable of man theft. Their wicked deed would explain, too, whythey had accepted so small a sum in exchange for Joseph. While discussing thesepoints, they saw, coming their way, the travelling company of Ishmaelites thathad been observed earlier by the sons of Jacob, and they determined to disposeof Joseph to them, that they might at least not lose the price they had paid,and might escape the danger at the same time of being made captives for thecrime of kidnapping a man. And the Ishmaelites bought Joseph from theMidianites, and they paid the same price as his former owners had given forhim.[55]

JOSEPH'S THREE MASTERS

As a rule the only merchandise with which the Ishmaelites loaded their camelswas pitch and the skins of beasts. By a providential dispensation they carriedbags of perfumery this time, instead of their usual ill-smelling freight, thatsweet fragrance might be wafted to Joseph on his journey to Egypt.[56] Thesearomatic substances were well suited to Joseph, whose body emitted a pleasantsmell, so agreeable and pervasive that the road along which he travelled wasredolent thereof, and on his arrival in Egypt the perfume from his body spreadover the whole land, and the royal princesses, following the sweet scent totrace its source, reached the place in which Joseph was.[57] Even after hisdeath the same fragrance was spread abroad by his bones, enabling Moses todistinguish Joseph's remains from all others, and keep the oath of the childrenof Israel, to inter them in the Holy Land.[58]

When Joseph learned that the Ishmaelites were carrying him to Egypt, he beganto weep bitterly at the thought of being removed so far from Canaan and fromhis father. One of the Ishmaelites noticed Joseph's weeping and crying, andthinking that he found riding uncomfortable, he lifted him from the back of thecamel, and permitted him to walk on foot. But Joseph continued to weep and sob,crying incessantly, "O father, father!" Another one of the caravan, tired ofhis lamentations, beat him, causing only the more tears and wails, until theyouth, exhausted by his grief, was unable to move on. Now all the Ishmaelitesin the company dealt out blows to him. They treated him with relentlesscruelty, and tried to silence him by threats. God saw Joseph's distress, and Hesent darkness and terror upon the Ishmaelites, and their hands grew rigid whenthey raised them to inflict a blow. Astonished, they asked themselves why Goddid thus unto them upon the road. They did not know that it was for the sake ofJoseph.

The journey was continued until they came to Ephrath, the place of Rachel'ssepulchre. Joseph hastened to his mother's grave, and throwing himself acrossit, he groaned and cried, saying: "O mother, mother, that didst bear me, arise,come forth and see how thy son hath been sold into slavery, with none to takepity upon him. Arise, see thy son, and weep with me over my misfortune, andobserve the heartlessness of my brethren. Awake, O mother, rouse thyself fromthy sleep, rise up and prepare for the conflict with my brethren, who strippedme even of my shirt, and sold me as a slave to merchantmen, who in turn sold meto others, and without mercy they tore me away from my father. Arise, accuse mybrethren before God, and see whom He will justify in the judgment, and whom Hewill find guilty. Arise, O mother, awake from thy sleep, see how my father iswith me in his soul and in his spirit, and comfort him and ease his heavyheart."

Joseph wept and cried upon the grave of his mother, until, weary from grief, helay immovable as a stone. Then he heard a voice heavy with tears speak to himfrom the depths, saying: "My son Joseph, my son, I heard thy complaints and thygroans, I saw thy tears, and I knew thy misery, my son. I am grieved for thysake, and thy affliction is added to the burden of my affliction. But, my sonJoseph, put thy trust in God, and wait upon Him. Fear not, for the Lord is withthee, and He will deliver thee from all evil. Go down into Egypt with thymasters, my son; fear naught, for the Lord is with thee, O my son." This andmuch more like unto it did the voice utter, and then it was silent. Josephlistened in great amazement at first, and then he broke out in renewed tears.Angered thereby, one of the Ishmaelites drove him from his mother's grave withkicks and curses. Then Joseph entreated his masters to take him back to hisfather, who would give them great riches as a reward. But they said, "Why, thouart a slave! How canst thou know where thy father is? If thou hadst had a freeman as father, thou wouldst not have been sold twice for a petty sum." And thentheir fury against him increased, they beat him and maltreated him, and he weptbitter tears.

Now God looked upon the distress of Joseph, and He sent darkness to enshroudthe land once more. A storm raged, the lightning flashed, and from thethunderbolts the whole earth trembled, and the Ishmaelites lost their way intheir terror. The beasts and the camels stood still, and, beat them as theirdrivers would, they refused to budge from the spot, but crouched down upon theground. Then the Ishmaelites spake to one another, and said: "Why hath Godbrought this upon us? What are our sins, what our trespasses, that such thingsbefall us?" One of them said to the others: "Peradventure this hath come uponus by reason of the sin which we have committed against this slave. Let us beghim earnestly to grant us forgiveness, and if then God will take pity, and letthese storms pass away from us, we shall know that we suffered harm on accountof the injury we inflicted upon this slave."

The Ishmaelites did according to these words, and they said unto Joseph: "Wehave sinned against God and against thee. Pray to thy God, and entreat Him totake this death plague from us, for we acknowledge that we have sinned againstHim." Joseph fulfilled their wish, and God hearkened to his petition, and thestorm was assuaged. All around became calm, the beasts arose from theirrecumbent position, and the caravan could proceed upon its way. Now theIshmaelites saw plainly that all their trouble had come upon them for the sakeof Joseph, and they spoke one to another, saying: "We know now that all thisevil hath happened to us on account of this poor fellow, and wherefore shouldwe bring death upon ourselves by our own doings? Let us take counsel together,what is to be done with the slave." One of them advised that Joseph's wish befulfilled, and he be taken back to his father. Then they would be sure ofreceiving the money they had paid out for him. This plan was rejected, becausethey had accomplished a great part of their journey, and they were not inclinedto retrace their steps. They therefore resolved upon carrying Joseph to Egyptand selling him there. They would rid themselves of him in this way, and alsoreceive a great price for him.

They continued their journey as far as the borders of Egypt, and there they metfour men, descendants of Medan, the son of Abraham, and to these they soldJoseph for five shekels. The two companies, the Ishmaelites and the Medanites,arrived in Egypt upon the same day. The latter, hearing that Potiphar, anofficer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, was seeking a good slave,repaired to him at once, to try to dispose of Joseph to him. Potiphar waswilling to pay as much as four hundred pieces of silver, for, high as the pricewas, it did not seem too great for a slave that pleased him as much as Joseph.However, he made a condition. He said to the Medanites: "I will pay you theprice demanded, but you must bring me the person that sold the slave to you,that I may be in a position to find out all about him, for the youth seems tome to be neither a slave nor the son of a slave. He appears to be of nobleblood. I must convince myself that he was not stolen." The Medanites broughtthe Ishmaelites to Potiphar, and they testified that Joseph was a slave, thatthey had owned him, and had sold him to the Medanites. Potiphar restedsatisfied with this report, paid the price asked for Joseph, and the Medanitesand the Ishmaelites went their way.

JOSEPH'S COAT BROUGHT TO HIS FATHER

No sooner was the sale of Joseph an accomplished fact than the sons of Jacobrepented of their deed. They even hastened after the Midianites to ransomJoseph, but their efforts to overtake them were vain, and they had to acceptthe inevitable. Meantime Reuben had rejoined his brethren.[59] He had been sodeeply absorbed in penances, in praying and studying the Torah, in expiation ofhis sin against his father, that he had not been able to remain with hisbrethren and tend the flocks, and thus it happened that he was not on the spotwhen Joseph was sold.[60] His first errand was to go to the pit, in the hope offinding Joseph there. In that case he would have carried him off and restoredhim to his father clandestinely, without the knowledge of his brethren. Hestood at the opening and called again and again, "Joseph, Joseph!" As hereceived no answer, he concluded that Joseph had perished, either by reason ofterror or as the result of a snake bite, and he descended into the pit, only tofind that he was not there, either living or dead. He mounted to the top again,and rent his clothes, and cried out, "The lad is not there, and what answershall I give to my father, if he be dead?" Then Reuben returned unto hisbrethren, and told them that Joseph bad vanished from the pit, whereat he wasdeeply grieved, because he, being the oldest of the sons, was responsible totheir father Jacob. The brethren made a clean breast of what they had done withJoseph, and they related to him how they had tried to make good their evildeed, and how their efforts had been vain.

Now there remained nothing to do but invent a plausible explanation for theirbrother's disappearance to give to Jacob. First of all, however, they took anoath not to betray to his father or any human being what they bad actually donewith Joseph. He who violated the oath would be put to the sword by the rest.Then they took counsel together about what to say to Jacob. It was Issachar'sadvice to tear Joseph's coat of many colors, and dip it in the blood of alittle kid of the goats, to make Jacob believe that his son had been torn by awild beast.[61] The reason he suggested a kid was because its blood looks likehuman blood. In expiation of this act of deception, it was ordained that a kidbe used as an atonement sacrifice when the Tabernacle was dedicated.[62]

Simon opposed this suggestion. He did not want to relinquish Joseph's coat, andhe threatened to hew down any one that should attempt to wrest it from him byforce. The reason for his vehemence was that he was very much enraged againsthis brethren for not having slain Joseph. But they threatened him in turn,saying, "If thou wilt not give up the coat, we shall say that thou didstexecute the evil deed thyself." At that Simon surrendered it,[63] and Naphtalibrought it to Jacob, handing it to him with the words: "When we were drivingour herds homeward, we found this garment covered with blood and dust on thehighway, a little beyond Shechem. Know now whether it be thy son's coat ornot." Jacob recognized Joseph's coat, and, overwhelmed by grief, he fellprostrate, and long lay on the ground motionless, like a stone. Then he arose,and set up a loud cry, and wept, saying, "It is my son's coat."

In great haste Jacob dispatched a slave to his sons, to bid them come to him,that he might learn more about what had happened. In the evening they all came,their garments rent, and dust strewn upon their heads. When they confirmed allthat Naphtali had told him, Jacob broke out in mourning and lamentation: "It ismy son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn inpieces. I sent him to you to see whether it was well with you, and well withthe flock. He went to do my errand, and while I thought him to be with you, themisfortune befell." Thereto the sons of Jacob made reply: "He came to us not atall. Since we left thee, we have not set eyes on him."

After these words, Jacob could doubt no longer that Joseph bad been torn bywild beasts, and he mourned for his son, saying: "O my son Joseph, my son, Isent thee to inquire after the welfare of thy brethren, and now thou art tornby wild beasts. It is my fault that this evil chance hath come upon thee. I amdistressed for thee, my son, I am sorely distressed. How sweet was thy life tome, and how bitter is thy death! Would God I had died for thee, O Joseph, myson, for now I am distressed on thy account. O my son Joseph, where art thou,and where is thy soul? Arise, arise from thy place, and look upon my grief forthee. Come and count the tears that roll down my cheeks, and bring the tale ofthem before God, that His wrath be turned away from me. O Joseph, my son, howpainful and appalling was thy death! None hath died a death like thine sincethe world doth stand. I know well that it came to pass by reason of my sins. Othat thou wouldst return and see the bitter sorrow thy misfortune hath broughtupon me! But it is true, it was not I that created thee, and formed thee. Igave thee neither spirit nor soul, but God created thee. He formed thy bones,covered them with flesh, breathed the breath of life into thy nostrils, andthen gave thee unto me. And God who gave thee unto me, He hath taken thee fromme, and from Him hath this dispensation come upon me. What the Lord doeth iswell done!" In these words and many others like them Jacob mourned and bewailedhis son, until he fell to the ground prostrate and immovable.

When the sons of Jacob saw the vehemence of their father's grief, they repentedof their deed, and wept bitterly. Especially Judah was grief-stricken. He laidhis father's head upon his knees, and wiped his tears away as they flowed fromhis eyes, while he himself broke out in violent weeping. The sons of Jacob andtheir wives all sought to comfort their father. They arranged a great memorialservice, and they wept and mourned over Joseph's death and over their father'ssorrow.[64] But Jacob refused to be comforted.

The tidings of his son's death caused the loss of two members of Jacob'sfamily. Bilhah and Dinah could not survive their grief. Bilhah passed away thevery day whereon the report reached Jacob, and Dinah died soon after, and so hehad three losses to mourn in one month.

He received the tidings of Joseph's death in the seventh month, Tishri, and onthe tenth day of the month, and therefore the children of Israel are bidden toweep and afflict their souls on this day. Furthermore, on this day the sinoffering of atonement shall be a kid of the goats, because the sons of Jacobtransgressed with a kid, in the blood of which they dipped Joseph's coat, andthus they brought sorrow upon Jacob.[65]

When he had recovered somewhat from the stunning blow which the tidings of hisfavorite son's death had dealt him, Jacob rose up from the ground and addressedhis sons, tears streaming down his cheeks all the while. "Up," he said, "takeyour swords and your bows, go out in the field, and make search, perhaps youwill find the body of my son, and you will bring it to me, so that I may buryit. Keep a lookout, too, for beasts of prey, and catch the first you meet.Seize it and bring it to me. It may be that God will have pity upon my sorrow,and put the beast between your hands that hath torn my child in pieces, and Iwill take my revenge upon it."

The sons of Jacob set out on the morrow to do the bidding of their father,while he remained at home and wept and lamented for Joseph. In the wildernessthey found a wolf, which they caught and brought to Jacob alive, saying: "Hereis the first wild beast we encountered, and we have brought it to thee. But ofthy son's corpse we saw not a trace." Jacob seized the wolf, and, amid loudweeping, he addressed these words to him: "Why didst thou devour my son Joseph,without any fear of the God of the earth, and without taking any thought of thegrief thou wouldst bring down upon me? Thou didst devour my son without reason,he was guilty of no manner of transgression, and thou didst roll theresponsibility for his death upon me. But God avengeth him that is persecuted."

To grant consolation to Jacob, God opened the mouth of the beast, and he spake:"As the Lord liveth, who hath created me, and as thy soul liveth, my lord, Ihave not seen thy son, and I did not rend him in pieces. From a land afar off Icame to seek mine own son, who suffered a like fate with thine. He hathdisappeared, and I know not whether he be dead or alive, and therefore I camehither ten days ago to find him. This day, while I was searching for him, thysons met me, and they seized me, and, adding more grief to my grief over mylost son, they brought me hither to thee. This is my story, and now, O son ofman, I am in thy hands, thou canst dispose of me this day as seemeth well inthy sight, but I swear unto thee by the God that bath created me, I have notseen thy son, nor have I torn him in pieces, never hath the flesh of man comeinto my mouth." Astonished at the speech of the wolf, Jacob let him go,unhindered, whithersoever he would, but he mourned his son Joseph asbefore.[66]

It is a law of nature that however much one may grieve over the death of a dearone, at the end of a year consolation finds its way to the heart of themourner. But the disappearance of a living man can never be wiped out of one'smemory. Therefore the fact that he was inconsolable made Jacob suspect thatJoseph was alive, and he did not give entire credence to the report of hissons. His vague suspicion was strengthened by something that happened to him.He went up into the mountains, hewed twelve stones out of the quarry, and wrotethe names of his sons thereon, their constellations, and the monthscorresponding to the constellations, a stone for a son, thus, "Reuben, Ram,Nisan," and so for each of his twelve sons. Then he addressed the stones andbade them bow down before the one marked with Reuben's name, constellation, andmonth, and they did not move. He gave the same order regarding the stone markedfor Simon, and again the stones stood still. And so he did respecting all hissons, until he reached the stone for Joseph. When he spoke concerning this one,"I command you to fall down before Joseph," they all prostrated themselves. Hetried the same test with other things, with trees and sheaves, and always theresult was the same, and Jacob could not but feel that his suspicion was true,Joseph was alive.[67]

There was a reason why God did not reveal the real fate of Joseph to Jacob.When his brethren sold Joseph, their fear that the report of their iniquitymight reach the ears of Jacob led them to pronounce the ban upon any thatshould betray the truth without the consent of all the others. Judah advancedthe objection that a ban is invalid unless it is decreed in the presence of tenpersons, and there were but nine of them, for Reuben and Benjamin were notthere when the sale of Joseph was concluded. To evade the difficulty, thebrothers counted God as the tenth person, and therefore God felt bound torefrain from revealing the true state of things to Jacob. He had regard, as itwere, for the ban pronounced by the brethren of Joseph.[68] And as God kept thetruth a secret from Jacob, Isaac did not feel justified in acquainting him withhis grandson's fate, which was well known to him, for he was a prophet.Whenever he was in the company of Jacob, he mourned with him, but as soon as hequitted him, he left off from manifesting grief, because he knew that Josephlived.[69]

Jacob was thus the only one among Joseph's closest kinsmen that remained inignorance of his son's real fortunes, and he was the one of them all that hadthe greatest reason for regretting his death. He spoke: "The covenant that Godmade with me regarding the twelve tribes is null and void now. I did strive invain to establish the twelve tribes, seeing that now the death of Joseph hathdestroyed the covenant. All the works of God were made to correspond to thenumber of the tribes—twelve are the signs of the zodiac, twelve the months,twelve hours hath the day, twelve the night, and twelve stones are set inAaron's breastplate—and now that Joseph hath departed, the covenant of thetribes is set at naught."

He could not replace the lost son by entering into a new marriage, for he hadmade the promise to his father-in-law to take none beside his daughters towife, and this promise, as he interpreted it, held good after the death ofLaban's daughters as well as while they were alive.[70]

Beside grief over his loss and regret at the breaking of the covenant of thetribes, Jacob had still another reason for mourning the death of Joseph. Godhad said to Jacob, "If none of thy sons dies during thy lifetime, thou mayestlook upon it as a token that thou wilt not be put in Gehenna after thy death."Thinking Joseph to be dead, Jacob had his own fate to bewail, too, for he nowbelieved that he was doomed to Gehenna.[71] His mourning lasted all oftwenty-two years, corresponding to the number of the years he had dwelt apartfrom his parents, and had not fulfilled the duty of a son toward them.[72]

In his mourning Jacob put sackcloth upon his loins, and therein be became amodel for the kings and princes in Israel, for David, Ahab, Joram, and Mordecaidid likewise when a great misfortune befell the nation.[73]

JUDAH AND HIS SONS

When the sons of Jacob saw how inconsolable their father was, they went toJudah, and said to him, "This great misfortune is thy fault." Judah replied:"It was I that asked you, What profit is it if we slay our brother and concealhis blood? and now you say the sin lies at my door." The brethren continued toargue: "But it was thou that didst say, Come and let us sell him to theIshmaelites, and we followed thy advice. Hadst thou said, Let us restore him tohis father, we had heeded these words of thine as well."

The brethren hereupon deprived Judah of his dignity, for hitherto he had beentheir king, and they also excluded him from their fellowship, and he had toseek his fortune alone.[74] Through the mediation of his chief shepherd Hirah,he became acquainted with the Canaanitish king of Adullam, Barsan by name.Though he was well aware of the corruption of the generations of Canaan, hepermitted passion to get the better of him, and took a Canaanite to wife. TheAdullamite king gave a banquet in his honor, at which his daughter Bath-shuapoured the wine, and intoxicated by wine and passion Judah took her and marriedher.[75] Judah's action may be compared to that of the lion who passes acarrion and eats of it, though a cur preceding him on the way had refused totouch it. Even Esau came in time to acknowledge that the daughters of Canaanwere wicked, and the lion Judah must needs take one of them to wife.[76] Theholy spirit cried out against Judah when he married the Canaanite woman ofAdullam, saying, "The glory of Israel went down in Adullam."[77]

The first-born son of Judah from this marriage was named Er, "the childless," asuitable name for him that died without begetting any issue.[78] At Judah'sdesire, Er married Tamar, a daughter of Aram, the son of Shem, but because shewas not a Canaanitish woman, his mother used artifices against her, and he didnot know her, and an angel of the Lord killed him on the third day after hiswedding. Then Judah gave Tamar to his second son Onan, the marriage takingplace before the week of the wedding festivities for Er had elapsed. A wholeyear Onan lived with Tamar without knowing her, and when, finally, Judahuttered threats against him on that account, he did, indeed, have intercoursewith her, but, giving heed to the injunctions of his mother, he took care notto beget any children with her.[79] He, too, died on account of his iniquity,and his name Onan "mourning," was well chosen, for very soon was his fathercalled upon to mourn for him.[80] Now Judah conceived the plan of marryingTamar to his youngest son Shelah, but his wife would not permit it. She hatedTamar because she was not of the daughters of Canaan like herself, and whileJudah was away from home, Bath-shua chose a wife for her son Shelah from thedaughters of Canaan. Judah was very angry at Bath-shua for what she had done,and also God poured out His wrath upon her, for on account of her wickednessshe had to die,[81] and her death happened a year after that of her two sons.

Now that Bath-shua was dead, Judah might have carried out his wish and marriedTamar to his youngest son. But he waited for Shelah to grow up, because hefeared for his life, seeing that Tamar had brought death to two husbands beforehim. So she remained a widow in her father's house for two years. Endowed withthe gift of prophecy, Tamar knew that she was appointed to be the ancestress ofDavid and of the Messiah, and she determined to venture upon an extreme measurein order to make sure of fulfilling her destiny.[82] Accordingly, when the holyspirit revealed to her that Judah was going up to Timnah,[83] she put off fromher the garments of her widowhood, and sat in the gate of Abraham's tent, andthere she encountered Judah.[84] All the time she lived in the house of herfather-in-law, he had never seen her face, for in her virtue and chastity shehad always kept it covered, and now when Judah met her, he did not recognizeher. It was as a reward for her modesty that God made her to become the motherof the royal line of David, and the ancestress of Isaiah, and his father Amozas well, both of whom were prophets and of royal blood.[85]

Judah passed Tamar by without paying any attention to her, and she raised hereyes heavenward, and said, "O Lord of the world, shall I go forth empty fromthe house of this pious man?" Then God sent the angel that is appointed overthe passion of love, and he compelled Judah to turn back.[86] With propheticcaution, Tamar demanded that, as a pledge for the reward he promised her, heleave with her his signet, his mantle, and his staff, the symbols of royalty,judgeship, and Messiahship, the three distinctions of the descendants of Tamarfrom her union with Judah. When Judah sent her the promised reward, a kid ofthe goats, by the hand of his friend, in order to receive the pledges from herhand, Tamar could not be found, and he feared to make further search for her,lest he be put to shame. But Tamar, who soon discerned that she was with child,felt very happy and proud, for she knew that she would be the mother of kingsand redeemers.[87]

When her state became known, she was forcibly dragged before the court, inwhich Isaac, Jacob, and Judah sat as judges. Judah, being the youngest of thejudges and the least considerable in dignity, was the first to give a decision,for thus it is prescribed in criminal cases, that the prominent judges overawenot the lesser and influence their decisions unduly. It was the opinion ofJudah that the woman was liable to the penalty of death by burning, for she wasthe daughter of the high priest Shem, and death by fire is the punishmentordained by the law for a high priest's daughter that leads an unchastelife.[88]

The preparations for her execution were begun. In vain Tamar searched for thethree pledges she had received from Judah, she could not find them, and almostshe lost hope that she would be able to wring a confession from herfather-in-law. She raised her eyes to God, and prayed: "I supplicate Thy grace,O God, Thou who givest ear to the cry of the distressed in the hour of hisneed, answer me, that I may be spared to bring forth the three holy children,who will be ready to suffer death by fire, for the sake of the glory of ThyName." And God granted her petition, and sent the angel Michael down to succorher. He put the pledges in a place in which Tamar could not fail to see them,and she took them, and threw them before the feet of the judges, with thewords: "By the man whose these are am I with child, but though I perish in theflames, I will not betray him. I hope in the Lord of the world, that He willturn the heart of the man, so that he will make confession thereof." Then Judahrose up, and said: "With your permission, my brethren, and ye men of myfather's house, I make it known that with what measure a man metes, it shall bemeasured unto him, be it for good or for evil, but happy the man thatacknowledgeth his sins. Because I took the coat of Joseph, and colored it withthe blood of a kid, and then laid it at the feet of my father, saying, Know nowwhether it be thy son's coat or not, therefore must I now confess, before thecourt, unto whom belongeth this signet, this mantle, and this staff. But it isbetter that I be put to shame in this world than I should be put to shame inthe other world, before the face of my pious father. It is better that I shouldperish in a fire that can be extinguished than I should be cast into hell fire,which devoureth other fires. Now, then, I acknowledge that Tamar is innocent.By me is she with child, not because she indulged in illicit passion, butbecause I held back her marriage with my son Shelah." Then a heavenly voice washeard to say: "Ye are both innocent! It was the will of God that it shouldhappen!"[89]

The open confession of Judah induced his oldest brother Reuben to make publicacknowledgment of the sin he had committed against his father, for he had keptit a secret until then.[90]

Tamar gave birth to twin sons, Perez and Zerah, both resembling their father inbravery and piety.[91] She called the first Perez, "mighty," because she said,"Thou didst show thyself of great power, and it is meet and proper that thoushouldst be strong, for thou art destined to possess the kingdom."[92] Thesecond son was called Zerah, because he appeared from out of the womb beforehis brother, but he was forced back again to make way for Perez.[93] These two,Perez and Zerah. were sent out as spies by Joshua, and the line that Rahabbound in the window of her house as a token to the army of the Israelites, shereceived from Zerah. It was the scarlet thread that the midwife had bound uponhis hand, to mark him as the child that appeared first and withdrew.[94]

THE WIVES OF THE SONS OF JACOB

Judah was the first of the sons of Jacob to enter wedlock. After the sale ofJoseph to the Midianites, his brethren had said to Judah, "If conditions wereas before, our father would provide wives for us now. As it is, he is entirelyabsorbed by his grief for Joseph, and we must look about for wives ourselves.Thou art our chief, and thou shouldst marry first."

Judah's marriage with Alit the daughter of the noble merchant Shua, which wasconsummated at Adullam, the residence of his friend Hirah, or, as he was calledlater, Hiram, king of Tyre, was not happy. His two oldest sons died, andshortly thereafter his wife also. It was Judah's punishment for having begun agood deed and left it unfinished, for "he who begins a good deed, and does notexecute it to the end, brings down misfortune upon his own head." Judah hadrescued Joseph from death, but it was his suggestion to sell him into slavery.Had he urged them to restore the lad to his father, his brethren would haveobeyed his words. He was lacking in constancy to persist until he had completedthe work of Joseph's deliverance, which he had begun.[95]

In the same year, the year of Joseph's misfortune, all his other brethrenmarried, too. Reuben's wife was named Elyoram, the daughter of the CanaaniteUzzi of Timnah. Simon married his sister Dinah first, and then a second wife.When Simon and Levi massacred the men of Shechem, Dinah refused to leave thecity and follow her brethren, saying, "Whither shall I carry my shame?" ButSimon swore he would marry her, as he did later, and when she died in Egypt, hetook her body to the Holy Land and buried it there. Dinah bore her brother ason,[96] and from her union with Shechem, the son of Hamor, sprang a daughter,Asenath by name, afterward the wife of Joseph. When this daughter was born toDinah, her brethren, the sons of Jacob, wanted to kill her, that the finger ofmen might not point at the fruit of sin in their father's house. But Jacob tooka piece of tin, inscribed the Holy Name upon it, and bound it about the neck ofthe girl, and he put her under a thornbush, and abandoned her there. An angelcarried the babe down to Egypt, where Potiphar adopted her as his child, forhis wife was barren. Years thereafter, when Joseph travelled through the landas viceroy, the maidens threw gifts at him, to make him turn his eyes in theirdirection and give them the opportunity of gazing upon his beauty. Asenathpossessed nothing that would do as a present, therefore she took off the amuletsuspended from her neck, and gave it to him. Thus Joseph became acquainted withher lineage, and he married her, seeing that she was not an Egyptian, but oneconnected with the house of Jacob through her mother.[97]

Beside the son of Dinah, Simon had another son, whose name was Saul, by Bunah,the damsel he had taken captive in the campaign against Shechem.

Levi and Issachar married two daughters of Jobab, the grandson of Eber; thewife of the former was named Adinah, the wife of the latter, Aridah. Dan's wifewas Elflalet, a daughter of the Moabite Hamudan. For a long time their marriageremained childless, finally they had a son, whom they called Hushim. Gad andNaphtali married women from Haran, two sisters, daughters of Amoram, a grandsonof Nahor. Naphtali's wife, Merimit, was the older of the two, and the younger,the wife of Gad, was named Uzit.

Asher's first wife was Adon, the daughter of Ephlal, a grandson of Ishmael. Shedied childless, and he married a second wife, Hadorah, a daughter of Abimael,the grandson of Shem. She had been married before, her first husband havingbeen Malchiel, also a grandson of Shem, and the issue of this first marriagewas a daughter, Serah by name. When Asher brought his wife to Canaan, the threeyear old orphan Serah came with them. She was raised in the house of Jacob, andshe walked in the way of pious children, and God gave her beauty, wisdom, andsagacity.

Zebulon's wife was Maroshah, the daughter of Molad, a grandson of Midian, theson of Abraham by Keturah.

For Benjamin, when he was but ten years old, Jacob took Mahlia to wife, thedaughter of Aram, the grandson of Terah, and she bore him five sons. At the ageof eighteen he married a second wife, Arbat, the daughter of Zimran, a son ofAbraham by Keturah, and by her also he had five sons.[98]

JOSEPH THE SLAVE OF POTIPHAR

When Joseph was sold as a slave to the Ishmaelites, he kept silent out ofrespect for his brethren, and did not tell his masters that he was a son ofJacob, a great and powerful man. Even when he came to the Midianites with theIshmaelites, and the former asked after his parentage, he still said he was aslave, only in order not to put his brethren to shame. But the mostdistinguished of the Midianites rebuked Joseph, saying, "Thou art no slave, thyappearance betrayeth thee," and he threatened him with death unless heacknowledged the truth. Joseph, however, was steadfast, he would not acttreacherously toward his brethren.

Arrived in Egypt, the owners of Joseph could come to no agreement regardinghim. Each desired to have sole and exclusive possession of him. They thereforedecided to leave him with a shopkeeper until they should come back to Egyptagain with their merchandise. And God let Joseph find grace in the sight of theshopkeeper. All that he had, his whole house, he put into Joseph's hand, andtherefore the Lord blessed him with much silver and gold, and Joseph remainedwith him for three months and five days.

At that time there came from Memphis the wife of Potiphar, and she cast hereyes upon Joseph, of whose comeliness of person she had heard from the eunuchs.She told her husband how that a certain shopkeeper had grown rich through ayoung Hebrew, and she added: "But it is said that the youth was stolen away outof the land of Canaan. Go, therefore, and sit in judgment upon his owner, andtake the youth unto thy house, that the God of the Hebrews may bless thee, forthe grace of heaven rests upon the youth."

Potiphar summoned the shopkeeper, and when he appeared before him, he spokeharshly to him, saying: "What is this I hear? that thou stealest souls from theland of Canaan, and dost carry on traffic with them?" The shop-keeper protestedhis innocence, and he could not be made to recede from his assertion, that acompany of Ishmaelites had left Joseph in his charge temporarily, until theyshould return. Potiphar had him stripped naked and beaten, but he continued toreiterate the same statement.

Then Potiphar summoned Joseph. The youth prostrated himself before this chiefof the eunuchs, for he was third in rank of the officers of Pharaoh. And headdressed Joseph, and said, "Art thou a slave or a free-born man?" and Josephreplied, "A slave." Potiphar continued to question him, "Whose slave art thou?"Joseph: "I belong to the Ishmaelites." Potiphar: "How wast thou made a slave?"Joseph: "They bought me in the land of Canaan."

But Potiphar refused to give credence to what he said, and he had also himstripped and beaten. The wife of Potiphar, standing by the door, saw how Josephwas abused, and she sent word to her husband, "Thy verdict is unjust, for thoupunishest the free-born youth that was stolen away from his place as though hewere the one that had committed a crime." As Joseph held firmly to what he hadsaid, Potiphar ordered him to prison, until his masters should return. In hersinful longing for him, his wife wanted to have Joseph in her own house, andshe remonstrated with her husband in these words: "Wherefore dost thou keep thecaptive, nobly-born slave a prisoner? Thou shouldst rather set him at libertyand have him serve thee." He answered, "The law of the Egyptians does notpermit us to take what belongs to another before all titles are made clear,"and Joseph stayed in prison for twenty-four days, until the return of theIshmaelites to Egypt.

Meanwhile they had heard somewhere that Joseph was the son of Jacob, and theytherefore said to him: "Why didst thou pretend that thou wast a slave? See, wehave information that thou art the son of a powerful man in Canaan, and thyfather mourns for thee in sackcloth." Joseph was on the point of divulging hissecret, but he kept a check upon himself for the sake of his brethren, and herepeated that he was a slave.

Nevertheless the Ishmaelites decided to sell him, that he be not found in theirhands, for they feared the revenge of Jacob, who, they knew, was in high favorwith the Lord and with men. The shopkeeper begged the Ishmaelites to rescue himfrom the legal prosecution of Potiphar, and clear him of the suspicion of mantheft. The Ishmaelites in turn had a conference with Joseph, and bade himtestify before Potiphar that they had bought him for money. He did so, and thenthe chief of the eunuchs liberated him from prison, and dismissed all partiesconcerned.

With the permission of her husband, Potiphar's wife sent a eunuch to theIshmaelites, bidding him to buy Joseph, but he returned and reported that theydemanded an exorbitant price for the slave. She dispatched a second eunuch,charging him to conclude the bargain, and though they asked one mina of gold,or even two, he was not to be sparing of money, he was to be sure to buy theslave and bring him to her. The eunuch gave the Ishmaelites eighty pieces ofgold for Joseph, telling his mistress, however, that he had paid out a hundredpieces. Joseph noticed the deception, but he kept silent, that the eunuch mightnot be put to shame.[99]

Thus Joseph became the slave of the idolatrous priest Potiphar, or Poti-phera,as he was sometimes called.[100] He had secured possession of the handsomeyouth for a lewd purpose, but the angel Gabriel mutilated him in such mannerthat he could not accomplish it.[101] His master soon had occasion to noticethat Joseph was as pious as he was beautiful, for whenever he was occupied withhis ministrations, he would whisper a prayer: "O Lord of the world, Thou art mytrust, Thou art my protection. Let me find grace and favor in Thy sight and inthe sight of all that see me, and in the sight of my master Potiphar." WhenPotiphar noticed the movement of his lips, he said to Joseph, "Dost thoupurpose to cast a spell upon me?" "Nay," replied the youth, "I am beseechingGod to let me find favor in thine eyes."

His prayer was heard. Potiphar convinced himself that God was with Joseph.Sometimes he would make a test of Joseph's miraculous powers. If he brought hima glass of hippocras, he would say, "I would rather have wine mixed withabsinthe," and straightway the spiced wine was changed into bitter wine.Whatever he desired, he could be sure to get from Joseph, and he saw clearlythat God fulfilled the wishes of his slave. Therefore he put all the keys ofhis house into his hand, and he knew not aught that was with him,[102] keepingback nothing from Joseph but his wife.[103] Seeing that the Shekinah restedupon him, Potiphar treated Joseph not as a slave, but as a member of hisfamily, for he said, "This youth is not cut out for a slave's work, he isworthy of a prince's place."[104] Accordingly, he provided instruction for himin the arts, and ordered him to have better fare than the other slaves.[105]

Joseph thanked God for his new and happy state. He prayed, "Blessed art Thou, OLord, that Thou hast caused me to forget my father's house." What made hispresent fortunes so agreeable was that he was removed from the envy andjealousy of his brethren. He said: "When I was in my father's house, and hegave me something pretty, my brethren begrudged me the present, and now, OLord, I thank Thee that I live amid plenty." Free from anxieties, he turned hisattention to his external appearance. He painted his eyes, dressed his hair,and aimed to be elegant in his walk. But God spake to him, saying, "Thy fatheris mourning in sackcloth and ashes, while thou dost eat, drink, and dress thyhair. Therefore I will stir up thy mistress against thee, and thou shalt beembarrassed."[106] Thus Joseph's secret wish was fulfilled, that he might bepermitted to prove his piety under temptation, as the piety of his fathers hadbeen tested.[107]

JOSEPH AND ZULEIKA

"Throw the stick up in the air, it will always return to its original place."Like Rachel his mother, Joseph was of ravishing beauty, and the wife of hismaster was filled with invincible passion for him."[108] Her feeling washeightened by the astrologic forecast that she was destined to have descendantsthrough Joseph. This was true, but not in the sense in which she understood theprophecy. Joseph married her daughter Asenath later on, and she bore himchildren, thus fulfilling what had been read in the stars."[109]

In the beginning she did not confess her love to Joseph. She tried first toseduce him by artifice. On the pretext of visiting him, she would go to him atnight, and, as she had no sons, she would pretend a desire to adopt him. Josephthen prayed to God in her behalf, and she bore a son. However, she continued toembrace him as though he were her own child, yet he did not notice her evildesigns. Finally, when he recognized her wanton trickery, he mourned many days,and endeavored to turn her away from her sinful passion by the word of God.She, on her side, often threatened him with death, and surrendered him tocastigations in order to make him amenable to her will, and when these meanshad no effect upon Joseph, she sought to seduce him with enticements. She wouldsay, "I promise thee, thou shalt rule over me and all I have, if thou wilt butgive thyself up to me. and thou shalt be to me the same as my lawful husband."But Joseph was mindful of the words of his fathers, and he went into hischamber, and fasted, and prayed to God, that He would deliver him from thetoils of the Egyptian woman.

In spite of the mortifications he practiced, and though he gave the poor andthe sick the food apportioned to him, his master thought he lived a luxuriouslife, for those that fast for the glory of God are made beautiful ofcountenance.

The wife of Potiphar would frequently speak to her husband in praise ofJoseph's chastity in order that he might conceive no suspicion of the state ofher feelings. And, again, she would encourage Joseph secretly, telling him notto fear her husband, that he was convinced of his purity of life, and thoughone should carry tales to him about Joseph and herself, Potiphar would lendthem no credence. And when she saw that all this was ineffectual , sheapproached him with the request that he teach her the word of God, saying, "Ifit be thy wish that I forsake idol worship, then fulfil my desire, and I willpersuade that Egyptian husband of mine to abjure the idols, and we shall walkin the law of thy God." Joseph replied, "The Lord desireth not that those whofear Him shall walk in impurity, nor hath He pleasure in the adulterer."

Another time she came to him, and said, "If thou wilt not do my desire, I willmurder the Egyptian and wed with thee according to the law." Whereat Josephrent his garment, and he said, "O woman, fear the Lord, and do not execute thisevil deed, that thou mayest not bring destruction down upon thyself, for I willproclaim thy impious purposes to all in public."

Again, she sent him a dish prepared with magic spells, by means of which shehoped to get him into her power. But when the eunuch set it before him, he sawthe image of a man handing him a sword together with the dish, and, warned bythe vision, he took good care not to taste of the food. A few days later hismistress came to him, and asked him why he had not eaten of what she had senthim. He reproached her, saying, "How couldst thou tell me, I do not come nighunto the idols, but only unto the Lord? The God of my fathers hath revealed thyiniquity to me through an angel, but that thou mayest know that the malice ofthe wicked has no power over those who fear God in purity, I shall eat thy foodbefore thine eyes, and the God of my fathers and the angel of Abraham will bewith me." The wife of Potiphar fell upon her face at the feet of Joseph, andamid tears she promised not to commit this sin again.

But her unholy passion for Joseph did not depart from her, and her distressover her unfulfilled wish made her look so ill that her husband said to her,"Why is thy countenance fallen?" And she replied, "I have a pain at my heart,and the groanings of my spirit oppress me."

Once when she was alone with Joseph, she rushed toward him, crying, "I willthrottle myself, or I will jump into a well or a pit, if thou wilt not yieldthyself to me." Noticing her extreme agitation, Joseph endeavored to calm herwith these words, "Remember, if thou makest away with thyself, thy husband'sconcubine, Asteho, thy rival, will maltreat thy children, and extirpate thymemory from the earth." These words, gently spoken, had the opposite effectfrom that intended. They only inflamed her passion the more by feeding herhopes. She said: "There, seest thou, thou dost love me now! It sufficeth for methat thou takest thought for me and for the safety of my children. I expect nowthat my desire will be fulfilled." She did not know that Joseph spoke as he didfor the sake of God, and not for her sake.[110]

His mistress, or, as she was called, Zuleika, pursued him day after day withher amorous talk and her flattery, saying: "How fair is thy appearance, howcomely thy form! Never have I seen so well-favored a slave as thou art." Josephwould reply: "God, who formed me in my mother's womb, hath created all men."

Zuleika: "How beautiful are thine eyes, with which thou hast charmed allEgyptians, both men and women!"

Joseph: "Beautiful as they may be while I am alive, so ghastly they will be tolook upon in the grave."

Zuleika: "How lovely and pleasant are thy words! I pray thee, take thy harp,play and also sing, that I may hear thy words."

Joseph: "Lovely and pleasant are my words when I proclaim the praise of myGod."

Zuleika: "How beautiful is thy hair! Take my golden comb, and comb it."

Joseph: "How long wilt thou continue to speak thus to me? Leave off! It werebetter for thee to care for thy household."

Zuleika: "There is nothing in my house that I care for, save thee alone."

But Joseph's virtue was unshaken. While she spoke thus, he did not so much asraise his eyes to look at his mistress.[111] He remained equally steadfast whenshe lavished gifts upon him, for she provided him with garments of one kind forthe morning, another for noon, and a third kind for the evening. Nor couldthreats move him. She would say, "I will bring false accusations against theebefore thy master," and Joseph would reply, "The Lord executeth judgment forthe oppressed." Or, "I will deprive thee of food;" whereupon Joseph, "The Lordgiveth food to the hungry." Or, "I will have thee thrown into prison;"whereupon Joseph, "The Lord looseth the prisoners." Or, "I will put heavy laborupon thee that will bend thee double;" whereupon Joseph, "The Lord raiseth upthem that are bowed down." Or, "I will blind thine eyes;" whereupon Joseph,"The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind."[112]

When she began to exercise her blandishments upon him, he rejected them withthe words, "I fear my master." But Zuleika would say, "I will kill him." Josephreplied with indignation, "Not enough that thou wouldst make an adulterer ofme, thou wouldst have me be a murderer, besides?" And he spoke furthermore,saying, "I fear the Lord my God!"

Zuleika: "Nonsense! He is not here to see thee!

Joseph: "Great is the Lord and highly to be praised, and His greatness isunsearchable."

Thereupon she took Joseph into her chamber, where an idol hung above the bed.This she covered, that it might not be a witness of what she was about to do.Joseph said: "Though thou coverest up the eyes of the idol, remember, the eyesof the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth. Yes," continued Joseph, "Ihave many reasons not to do this thing for the sake of God. Adam was banishedfrom Paradise on account of violating a light command; how much more should Ihave to fear the punishment of God, were I to commit so grave a sin asadultery! The Lord is in the habit of choosing a favorite member of our familyas a sacrifice unto Himself. Perhaps He desireth to make choice of me, but if Ido thy will, I make myself unfit to be a sacrifice unto God. Also the Lord isin the habit of appearing suddenly, in visions of the night, unto those thatlove Him. Thus did He appear unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I fear that Hemay appear unto me at the very moment while I am defiling myself with thee. Andas I fear God, so I fear my father, who withdrew the birthright from hisfirst-born son Reuben, on account of an immoral act, and gave it to me. Were Ito fulfil thy desire, I would share the fate of my brother Reuben."[113]

With such words, Joseph endeavored to cure the wife of his master of the wantonpassion she had conceived for him, while he took heed to keep far from aheinous sin, not from fear of the punishment that would follow, nor out ofconsideration for the opinion of men, but because he desired to sanctify theName of God, blessed be He, before the whole world.[114] It was this feeling ofhis that Zuleika could not comprehend, and when, finally, carried away bypassion, she told him in unmistakable language what she desired,[115] and herecoiled from her, she said to Joseph: "Why dost thou refuse to fulfil my wish?Am I not a married woman? None will find out what thou hast done." Josephreplied: "If the unmarried women of the heathen are prohibited unto us, howmuch more their married women?[116] As the Lord liveth, I will not commit thecrime thou biddest me do." In this Joseph followed the example of many piousmen, who utter an oath at the moment when they are in danger of succumbing totemptation, and seek thus to gather moral courage to control their evilinstincts."

When Zuleika could not prevail upon him, to persuade him, her desire threw herinto a grievous sickness, and all the women of Egypt came to visit her, andthey said unto her, "Why art thou so languid and wasted, thou that lackestnothing? Is not thy husband a prince great and esteemed in the sight of theking? Is it possible that thou canst want aught of what thy heart desireth?"Zuleika answered them, saying, "This day shall it be made known unto you whencecometh the state wherein you see me."

She commanded her maid-servants to prepare food for all the women, and shespread a banquet before them in her house. She placed knives upon the table topeel the oranges, and then ordered Joseph to appear, arrayed in costlygarments, and wait upon her guests. When Joseph came in, the women could nottake their eyes off him, and they all cut their hands with the knives, and theoranges in their hands were covered with blood, but they, not knowing what theywere doing, continued to look upon the beauty of Joseph without turning theireyes away from him.

Then Zuleika said unto them: "What have ye done? Behold, I set oranges beforeyou to eat, and you have cut your hands." All the women looked at their hands,and, lo, they were full of blood, and it flowed down and stained theirgarments. They said to Zuleika, "This slave in thy house did enchant us, and wecould not turn our eyes away from him on account of his beauty." She then said:"This happened to you that looked upon him but a moment, and you could notrefrain yourselves! How, then, can I control myself in whose house he abidethcontinually, who see him go in and out day after day? How, then, should I notwaste away, or keep from languishing on account of him!" And the women spake,saying: "It is true, who can look upon this beauty in the house, and refrainher feelings? But he is thy slave! Why dost thou not disclose to him that whichis in thy heart, rather than suffer thy life to perish through this thing?"Zuleika answered them: "Daily do I endeavor to persuade him, but he will notconsent to my wishes. I promised him everything that is fair, yet have I metwith no return from him, and therefore I am sick, as you may see."

Her sickness increased upon her. Her husband and her household suspected notthe cause of her decline, but all the women that were her friends knew that itwas on account of the love she bore Joseph, and they advised her all the timeto try to entice the youth. On a certain day, while Joseph was doing hismaster's work in the house, Zuleika came and fell suddenly upon him, but Josephwas stronger than she, and he pressed her down to the ground. Zuleika wept, andin a voice of supplication, and in bitterness of soul, she said to Joseph:"Hast thou ever known, seen, or heard of a woman my peer in beauty, let alone awoman with beauty exceeding mine? Yet I try daily to persuade thee, I fall intodecline through love of thee, I confer all this honor upon thee, and thou wiltnot hearken unto my voice! Is it by reason of fear of thy master, that hepunish thee? As the king liveth, no harm shall come upon thee from thy masteron account of this thing. Now, therefore, I pray thee, listen to me, andconsent unto my desire for the sake of the honor that I have conferred uponthee, and take this death away from me. For why should I die on account ofthee?" Joseph remained as steadfast under these importunities as before.Zuleika, however, was not discouraged; she continued her solicitationsunremittingly, day after day,[118] month after month, for a whole year, butalways without the least success, for Joseph in his chastity did not permithimself even to look upon her, wherefore she resorted to constraint. She had aniron shackle placed upon his chin, and he was compelled to keep his head up andlook her in the face."[119]

JOSEPH RESISTS TEMPTATION

Seeing that she could not attain her object by entreaties or tears, Zuleikafinally used force, when she judged that the favorable chance had come. She didnot have long to wait. When the Nile overflowed its banks, and, according tothe annual custom of the Egyptians, all repaired to the river, men and women,people and princes, accompanied by music, Zuleika remained at home underpretense of being sick. This was her long-looked-for opportunity, she thought.She rose up and ascended to the hall of state, and arrayed herself in princelygarments. She placed precious stones upon her head, onyx stones set in silverand gold, she beautified her face and her body with all sorts of things for thepurifying of women, she perfumed the hall and the whole house with cassia andfrankincense, spread myrrh and aloes all over, and afterward sat herself downat the entrance to the hall, in the vestibule leading to the house, throughwhich Joseph had to pass to his work.

And, behold, Joseph came from the field, and he was on the point of enteringthe house to do his master's work, but when he reached the place where Zuleikasat, and saw all she had done, he turned back. His mistress, perceiving it,called out to him, "What aileth thee, Joseph? Go to thy work, I will make roomfor thee, that thou mayest pass by to thy seat." Joseph did as she bade him, heentered the house, took his seat, and set about his master's work as usual.Then Zuleika stood before him suddenly in all her beauty of person andmagnificence of raiment, and repeated the desire of her heart.[120] It was thefirst and the last time that Joseph's steadfastness deserted him, but only foran instant. When he was on the point of complying with the wish of hismistress, the image of his mother Rachel appeared before him, and that of hisaunt Leah, and the image of his father Jacob. The last addressed him thus: "Intime to come the names of thy brethren will be graven upon the breastplate ofthe high priest. Dost thou desire to have thy name appear with theirs? Or wiltthou forfeit this honor through sinful conduct? For know, he that keepethcompany with harlots wasteth his substance." This vision of the dead, andespecially the image of his father, brought Joseph to his senses, and hisillicit passion departed from him.[121]

Astonished at the swift change in his countenance, Zuleika said, "My friend andtrue-love, why art thou so affrighted that thou art near to swooning?

Joseph: "I see my father!"

Zuleika: "Where is he? Why, there is none in the house."

Joseph: "Thou belongest to a people that is like unto the ass, it perceivethnothing. But I belong to those who can see things."

Joseph fled forth, away from the house of his mistress,[122] the same house inwhich aforetime wonders had been done for Sarah kept a captive there byPharaoh.[123] But hardly was he outside when the sinful passion againoverwhelmed him, and he returned to Zuleika's chamber. Then the Lord appearedunto him, holding the Eben Shetiyah[124] in His hand, and said to him: "If thoutouchest her, I will cast away this stone upon which the earth is founded, andthe world will fall to ruin." Sobered again, Joseph started to escape from hismistress,[125] but Zuleika caught him by his garment, and she said: "As theking liveth, if thou wilt not fulfil my wish, thou must die," and while shespoke thus, she drew a sword with her free hand from under her dress, and,pressing it against Joseph's throat, she said, "Do as I bid thee, or thoudiest." Joseph ran out, leaving a piece of his garment in the hands of Zuleikaas he wrenched himself loose from the grasp of the woman with a quick,energetic motion.[126]

Zuleika's passion for Joseph was so violent that, in lieu of its owner, whomshe could not succeed in subduing to her will, she kissed and caressed thefragment of cloth left in her hand.[127] At the same time she was not slow toperceive the danger into which she had put herself, for, she feared, Josephmight possibly betray her conduct, and she considered ways and means ofobviating the consequences of her folly.[128]

Meanwhile her friends returned from the Nile festival, and they came to visither and inquire after her health. They found her looking wretchedly ill, onaccount of the excitement she had passed through and the anxiety she was in.She confessed to the women what had happened with Joseph, and they advised herto accuse him of immorality before her husband, and then he would be throwninto prison. Zuleika accepted their advice, and she begged her visitors tosupport her charges by also lodging complaints against Joseph, that he had beenannoying them with improper proposals.[129]

But Zuleika did not depend entirely upon the assistance of her friends. Sheplanned a ruse, besides, to be sure of convincing her husband of Joseph'sguilt. She laid aside her rich robes of state, put on her ordinary clothes, andtook to her sick-bed, in which she had been lying when the people left to go tothe festival. Also she took Joseph's torn garment, and laid it out next to her.Then she sent a little boy to summon some of the men of her house, and to themshe told the tale of Joseph's alleged outrage, saying: "See the Hebrew slave,whom your master hath brought in unto my house, and who attempted to doviolence to me to-day! You had scarcely gone away to the festival when beentered the house, and making sure that no one was here he tried to force me toyield to his lustful desire. But I grasped his clothes, tore them, and criedwith a loud voice. When he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, he wasseized with fear, and be fled, and got him out, but he left his garment by me."The men of her house spake not a word, but, in a rage against Joseph, they wentto their master, and reported to him what had come to pass.[130] In themeantime the husbands of Zuleika's friends had also spoken to Potiphar, at theinstigation of their wives, and complained of his slave, that he molestedthem.[131]

Potiphar hastened home, and he found his wife in low spirits, and though thecause of her dejection was chagrin at not having succeeded in winning Joseph'slove, she pretended that it was anger at the immoral conduct of the slave. Sheaccused him in the following words: "O husband, mayest thou not live a daylonger, if thou dost not punish the wicked slave that hath desired to defilethy bed, that hath not kept in mind who he was when he came to our house, todemean himself with modesty, nor hath he been mindful of the favors he hathreceived from thy bounty. He did lay a privy design to abuse thy wife, and thisat the time of observing a festival, when thou wouldst be absent."[132] Thesewords she spoke at the moment of conjugal intimacy with Potiphar, when she wascertain of exerting an influence upon her husband.[133]

Potiphar gave credence to her words, and he had Joseph flogged unmercifully.While the cruel blows fell upon him, he cried to God, "O Lord, Thou knowestthat I am innocent of these things, and why should I die to-day on account of afalse accusation by the hands of these uncircumcised, impious men?" God openedthe mouth of Zuleika's child, a babe of but eleven months, and he spoke to themen that were beating Joseph, saying: "What is your quarrel with this man? Whydo you inflict such evil upon him? Lies my mother doth speak, and deceit iswhat her mouth uttereth. This is the true tale of that which did happen," andthe child proceeded to tell all that had passed—how Zuleika had tried first topersuade Joseph to act wickedly, and then had tried to force him to do herwill. The people listened in great amazement. But the report finished, thechild spake no word, as before.

Abashed by the speech of his own infant son, Potiphar commanded his bailiffs toleave off from chastising Joseph, and the matter was brought into court, wherepriests sat as judges. Joseph protested his innocence, and related all that hadhappened according to the truth, but Potiphar repeated the account his wife hadgiven him. The judges ordered the garment of Joseph to be brought which Zuleikahad in her possession, and they examined the tear therein. It turned out to beon the front part of the mantle, and they came to the conclusion that Zuleikahad tried to hold him fast, and had been foiled in her attempt by Joseph,against whom she was now lodging a trumped up charge. They decided that Josephhad not incurred the death penalty, but they condemned him to incarceration,because he was the cause of a stain upon Zuleika's fair name."[134]

Potiphar himself was convinced of Joseph's innocence, and when he cast him intoprison, he said to him, "I know that thou art not guilty of so vile a crime,but I must put thee in durance, lest a taint cling to my children."[135]

JOSEPH IN PRISON

By way of punishment for having traduced his ten brethren before his father,Joseph had to languish for ten years in the prison to which the wiles oftraducers had in turn condemned him.[136] But, on the other hand, as he hadsanctified the Name of God before the world by his chastity and hissteadfastness, he was rewarded. The letter He, which occurs twice in the Nameof God, was added to his name. He had been called Joseph, but now he was calledalso Jehoseph.[137]

Though he was bound in prison, Joseph was not yet safe from the machinations ofhis mistress, whose passion for him was in no wise lessened. In truth it wasshe that had induced her husband to change his intention regarding Joseph; sheurged him to imprison the slave rather than kill him, for she hoped that as aprisoner he could be made amenable to her wishes more easily. She spake to herhusband, saying: "Do not destroy thy property. Cast the slave in prison andkeep him there until thou canst sell him, and receive back the money thou didstpay out for him."[138] Thus she had the opportunity of visiting Joseph in hiscell and trying to persuade him to do her will. She would say, "This and thatoutrage have I executed against thee, but, as thou livest, I will put yet otheroutrages upon thee if thou dost not obey me." But Joseph replied, "The Lordexecuteth judgment for the oppressed."

Zuleika: "I will push matters so far that all men will hate thee."

Joseph: "The Lord loveth the righteous."

Zuleika: "I will sell thee into a strange land."

Joseph: "The Lord preserveth the strangers."[139]

Then she would resort to enticements in order to obtain her desire. She wouldpromise to release him from prison, if he would but grant her wish. But hewould say, "Better it is to remain here than be with thee and commit a trespassagainst God." These visits to Joseph in prison Zuleika continued for a longtime, but when, finally, she saw that all her hopes were vain, she let himalone.[140]

As the mistress persisted in her love for Joseph, so his master, her husband,could not separate himself from his favorite slave. Though a prisoner, Josephcontinued to minister to the needs of Potiphar, and he received permission fromthe keeper of the prison to spend some of his time in his master's house.[141]In many other ways the jailer showed himself kindly disposed toward Joseph.Seeing the youth's zeal and conscientiousness in executing the tasks laid uponhim, and under the spell of his enchanting beauty, he made prison life as easyas possible for his charge. He even ordered better dishes for him than thecommon prison fare, and he found it superfluous caution to keep watch overJoseph, for he could see no wrong in him, and he observed that God was withhim, in good days and in bad. He even appointed him to be the overseer of theprison, and as Joseph commanded, so the other prisoners were obliged todo.[142]

For a long time the people talked of nothing but the accusation raised againstJoseph by his mistress. In order to divert the attention of the public fromhim, God ordained that two high officers, the chief butler and the chief baker,should offend their lord, the king of Egypt, and they were put in ward in thehouse of the captain of the guard. Now the people ceased their talk aboutJoseph, and spoke only of the scandal at court. The charges laid at the door ofthe noble prisoners were that they had attempted to do violence to the daughterof Pharaoh, and they had conspired to poison the king himself. Besides, theyhad shown themselves derelict in their service. In the wine the chief butlerhad handed to the king to drink, a fly had been discovered, and the bread setupon the royal board by the chief baker contained a little pebble."[143] Onaccount of all these transgressions they were condemned to death by Pharaoh,but for the sake of Joseph it was ordained by Divine providence that the kingshould first detain them in prison before he ordered their execution. The Lordhad enkindled the wrath of the king against his servants only that the wish ofJoseph for liberty might be fulfilled, for they were the instruments of hisdeliverance from prison, and though they were doomed to death, yet inconsideration of the exalted office they had held at court, the keeper of theprison accorded them privileges, as, for instance, a man was detailed to waitupon them, and the one appointed thereto was Joseph.[144] 1]

The chief butler and the chief baker had been confined in prison tenyears,[145] when they dreamed a dream, both of them, but as for theinterpretation, each dreamed only that of the other one's dream.[146] In themorning when Joseph brought them the water for washing, he found them sad,depressed in spirits, and, in the manner of the sages, he asked them why theylooked different on that day from other days. They said unto him, "We havedreamed a dream this night, and our two dreams resemble each other in certainparticulars, and there is none that can interpret them." And Joseph said untothem: "God granteth understanding to man to interpret dreams. Tell them me, Ipray you."[147] It was as a reward for ascribing greatness and credit to Himunto whom it belongeth that Joseph later attained to his lofty position.[148]

The chief butler proceeded to tell his dream: "In my dream, behold, a vine wasbefore me; and in the vine were three branches; and it was as though it budded,and its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters thereof brought forth ripegrapes; and Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressedthem into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand." The chiefbutler was not aware that his dream contained a prophecy regarding the futureof Israel, but Joseph discerned the recondite meaning,[149] and he interpretedthe dream thus: The three branches are the three Fathers, Abraham, Isaac, andJacob, whose descendants in Egypt will be redeemed by three leaders, Moses,Aaron, and Miriam; and the cup given into the hand of Pharaoh is the cup ofwrath that he will have to drain in the end. This interpretation of the dreamJoseph kept for himself, and he told the chief butler nothing thereof, but outof gratitude for the glad tidings of the deliverance of Israel from the bondageof Egypt, he gave him a favorable interpretation of his dream, and begged himto have him in his remembrance, when it should be well with him, and liberatehim from the dungeon in which he was confined.

When the chief baker heard the interpretation of the butler's dream, he knewthat Joseph had divined its meaning correctly, for in his own he had seen theinterpretation of his friend's dream, and he proceeded to tell Joseph what hehad dreamed in the night: "I also was in my dream, and, behold, three basketsof white bread were on my head; and in the uppermost basket there was of allmanner of bake- meats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basketupon my head." Also this dream conveyed a prophecy regarding the future ofIsrael: The three baskets are the three kingdoms to which Israel will be madesubject, Babylon, Media, and Greece; and the uppermost basket indicates thewicked rule of Rome, which will extend over all the nations of the world, untilthe bird shall come, who is the Messiah, and annihilate Rome. Again Joseph keptthe prophecy a secret. To the chief baker he gave only the interpretation thathad reference to his person, but it was unfavorable to him, because through hisdream Joseph had been made acquainted with the suffering Israel would have toundergo.

And all came to pass, as Joseph had said, on the third day.[150] The daywhereon he explained the meaning of their dreams to the two distinguishedprisoners, a son was born unto Pharaoh and to celebrate the joyous event, theking arranged a feast for his princes and servants that was to last eight days.He invited them and all the people to his table, and he entertained them withroyal splendor. The feast had its beginning on the third day after the birth ofthe child, and on that occasion the chief butler was restored in honor to hisbutlership, and the chief baker was hanged,[151] for Pharaoh's counsellors haddiscovered that it was not the butler's fault that the fly had dropped into theking's wine, but the baker had been guilty of carelessness in allowing thepebble to get into the bread.[152] Likewise it appeared that the butler had hadno part in the conspiracy to poison the king, while the baker was revealed asone of the plotters, and he had to expiate his crime with his life.[153]

PHARAOH'S DREAMS

Properly speaking, Joseph should have gone out free from his dungeon on thesame day as the butler. He had been there ten years by that time, and had madeamends for the slander he had uttered against his ten brethren. However, heremained in prison two years longer. "Blessed is the man that trusteth in theLord, and whose hope is the Lord," but Joseph had put his confidence in fleshand blood. He had prayed the chief butler to have him in remembrance when itshould be well with him, and make mention of him unto Pharaoh, and the butlerforgot his promise, and therefore Joseph had to stay in prison two years morethan the years originally allotted to him there.[154] The butler had notforgotten him intentionally, but it was ordained of God that his memory shouldfail him. When he would say to himself, If thus and so happens, I will rememberthe case of Joseph, the conditions he had imagined were sure to be reversed, orif he made a knot as a reminder, an angel came and undid the knot, and Josephdid not enter his mind.[155]

But "the Lord setteth an end to darkness," and Joseph's liberation was notdelayed by a single moment beyond the time decreed for it. God said, "Thou, Obutler, thou didst forget Joseph, but I did not," and He caused Pharaoh todream a dream that was the occasion for Joseph's release.[156]

In his dream Pharaoh saw seven kine, well-favored and fat-fleshed, come up outof the Nile, and they all together grazed peaceably on the brink of the river,In years when the harvest is abundant, friendship reigns among men, and loveand brotherly harmony, and these seven fat kine stood for seven such prosperousyears. After the fat kine, seven more came up out of the river, ill-favored andlean- fleshed, and each had her back turned to the others, for when distressprevails, one man turns away from the other. For a brief space Pharaoh awoke,and when he went to sleep again, he dreamed a second dream, about seven rankand good ears of corn, and seven ears that were thin and blasted with the eastwind,[157] the withered cars swallowing the full ears. He awoke at once, and itwas morning, and dreams dreamed in the morning are the ones that cometrue.[158]

This was not the first time Pharaoh had had these dreams. They had visited himevery night during a period of two years, and he had forgotten them invariablyin the morning. This was the first time he remembered them, for the day hadarrived for Joseph to come forth from his prison house.[159] Pharaoh's heartbeat violently when he called his dreams to mind on awaking.[160] Especiallythe second one, about the ears of corn, disquieted him. He reflected thatwhatever has a mouth can eat, and therefore the dream of the seven lean kinethat ate up the seven fat kine did not appear strange to him. But the ears ofcorn that swallowed up other ears of corn troubled his spirit.[161] Hetherefore called for all the wise men of his land, and they endeavored in vainto find a satisfactory interpretation. They explained that the seven fat kinemeant seven daughters to be born unto Pharaoh, and the seven lean kine, that hewould bury seven daughters; the rank ears of corn meant that Pharaoh wouldconquer seven countries, and the blasted ears, that seven provinces would rebelagainst him.[162] About the ears of corn they did not all agree. Some thoughtthe good ears stood for seven cities to be built by Pharaoh, and the sevenwithered ears indicated that these same cities would be destroyed at the end ofhis reign.

Sagacious as he was, Pharaoh knew that none of these explanations hit the nailon the head. He issued a decree summoning all interpreters of dreams to appearbefore him on pain of death, and he held out great rewards and distinctions tothe one who should succeed in finding the true meaning of his dreams. Inobedience to his summons, all the wise men appeared, the magicians and thesacred scribes that were in Mizraim, the city of Egypt, as well as those fromGoshen, Raamses, Zoan, and the whole country of Egypt, and with them came theprinces, officers, and servants of the king from all the cities of the land.

To all these the king narrated his dreams, but none could interpret them to hissatisfaction. Some said that the seven fat kine were the seven legitimate kingsthat would rule over Egypt, and the seven lean kine betokened seven princesthat would rise up against these seven kings and exterminate them. The sevengood ears of corn were the seven superior princes of Egypt that would engage ina war for their overlord, and would be defeated by as many insignificantprinces, who were betokened by the seven blasted ears.

Another interpretation was that the seven fat kine were the seven fortifiedcities of Egypt, at some future time to fall into the hands of sevenCanaanitish nations, who were foreshadowed in the seven lean kine. According tothis interpretation, the second dream supplemented the first. It meant that thedescendants of Pharaoh would regain sovereign authority over Egypt at asubsequent period, and would subdue the seven Canaanitish nations as well.

There was a third interpretation, given by some: The seven fat kine are sevenwomen whom Pharaoh would take to wife, but they would die during his lifetime,their loss being indicated by the seven lean kine. Furthermore, Pharaoh wouldhave fourteen sons, and the seven strong ones would be conquered by the sevenweaklings, as the blasted ears of corn in his dream had swallowed up the rankears of corn.

And a fourth: "Thou wilt have seven sons, O Pharaoh, these are the seven fatkine. These sons of thine will be killed by the seven powerful rebelliousprinces. But then seven minor princes will come, and they will kill the sevenrebels, avenge thy descendants, and restore the dominion to thy family."

The king was as little pleased with these interpretations as with the others,which he had heard before, and in his wrath he ordered the wise men, themagicians and the scribes of Egypt, to be killed, and the hangmen made ready toexecute the royal decree.

However, Mirod, Pharaoh's chief butler,[163] took fright, seeing that the kingwas so vexed at his failure to secure an interpretation of his dreams that hewas on the point of giving up the ghost. He was alarmed about the king's death,for it was doubtful whether the successor to the throne would retain him inoffice. He resolved to do all in his power to keep Pharaoh alive. Therefore hestepped before him, and spake, saying, "I do remember two faults of mine thisday, I showed myself ungrateful to Joseph, in that I did not bring his requestbefore thee, and also I saw thee in distress by reason of thy dream, withoutletting thee know that Joseph can interpret dreams.[164] When it pleased theLord God to make Pharaoh wroth with his servants, the king put me in ward inthe house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker.[165] And with usthere was a simple young man, one of the despised race of the Hebrews, slave tothe captain of the guard, and he interpreted our dreams to us, and it came topass, as he interpreted to us, so it was. Therefore, O king, stay the hand ofthe hangmen, let them not execute the Egyptians. The slave I speak of is stillin the dungeon, and if the king will consent to summon him hither, he willsurely interpret thy dreams."[166]

JOSEPH BEFORE PHARAOH

"Accursed are the wicked that never do a wholly good deed." The chief butlerdescribed Joseph contemptuously as a "slave" in order that it might beimpossible for him to occupy a distinguished place at court, for it was a lawupon the statute books of Egypt that a slave could never sit upon the throne asking, nor even put his foot in the stirrup of a horse.[167]

Pharaoh revoked the edict of death that he had issued against the wise men ofEgypt, and he sent and called Joseph. He impressed care upon his messengers,they were not to excite and confuse Joseph, and render him unfit to interpretthe king's dream correctly.[168] They brought him hastily out of the dungeon,but first Joseph, out of respect for the king, shaved himself, and put on freshraiment, which an angel brought him from Paradise, and then he came in untoPharaoh.[169]

The king was sitting upon the royal throne, arrayed in princely garments, cladwith a golden ephod upon his breast, and the fine gold of the ephod sparkled,and the carbuncle, the ruby, and the emerald flamed like a torch, and all theprecious stones set upon the king's head flashed like a blazing fire, andJoseph was greatly amazed at the appearance of the king. The throne upon whichhe sat was covered with gold and silver and with onyx stones, and it hadseventy steps. If a prince or other distinguished person came to have anaudience with the king, it was the custom for him to advance and mount to thethirty-first step of the throne, and the king would descend thirty-six stepsand speak to him. But if one of the people came to have speech with the king,he ascended only to the third step, and the king would come down four stepsfrom his seat, and address him thence. It was also the custom that one who knewall the seventy languages ascended the seventy steps of the throne to the top,but if a man knew only some of the seventy languages, he was permitted toascend as many steps as he knew languages, whether they were many or, few. Andanother custom of the Egyptians was that none could reign over them unless hewas master of all the seventy languages.

When Joseph came before the king, he bowed down to the ground, and he ascendedto the third step, while the king sat upon the fourth from the top, and spakewith Joseph, saying:[170] "O young man, my servant beareth witness concerningthee, that thou art the best and most discerning person I can consult with. Ipray thee, vouchsafe unto me the same favors which thou didst bestow on thisservant of mine, and tell me what events they are which the visions of mydreams foreshow. I desire thee to suppress naught out of fear, nor shalt thouflatter me with lying words, or with words that please me. Tell me the truth,though it be sad and alarming."[171]

Joseph asked the king first whence he knew that the interpretation given by thewise men of his country was not true, and Pharaoh replied, "I saw the dream andits interpretation together, and therefore they cannot make a fool of me."[172]In his modesty Joseph denied that he was an adept at interpreting dreams. Hesaid, "It is not in me; it is in the hand of God, and if it be the wish of God,He will permit me to announce tidings of peace to Pharaoh." And for suchmodesty he was rewarded by sovereignty over Egypt, for the Lord doth honor themthat honor Him. Thus was also Daniel rewarded for his speech to Nebuchadnezzar:

"There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, but as for me, this secret isnot revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to theintent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thoumayest know the thoughts of thy heart."[173]

Then Pharaoh began to tell his dream, only he omitted some points and narratedothers inaccurately in order that he might test the vaunted powers of Joseph.But the youth corrected him, and pieced the dreams together exactly as they hadvisited Pharaoh in the night, and the king was greatly amazed.[174] Joseph wasable to accomplish this feat, because he had dreamed the same dream as Pharaoh,at the same time as he.[175] Thereupon Pharaoh retold his dreams, with alldetails and circumstances, and precisely as he had seen them in his sleep,except that he left out the word Nile in the description of the seven leankine, because this river was worshipped by the Egyptians, and he hesitated tosay that aught that is evil had come from his god.[176]

Now Joseph proceeded to give the king the true interpretation of the twodreams. They were both a revelation concerning the seven good years impendingand the seven years of famine to follow them. In reality, it had been thepurpose of God to bring a famine of forty-two years' duration upon Egypt, butonly two years of this distressful period were inflicted upon the land, for thesake of the blessing of Jacob when he came to Egypt in the second year of thefamine. The other forty years fell upon the land at the time of the prophetEzekiel.[177]

Joseph did more than merely interpret the dreams. When the king gave voice todoubts concerning the interpretation, he told him signs and tokens. He said:"Let this be a sign to thee that my words are true, and my advice is excellent:Thy wife, who is sitting upon the birthstool at this moment, will bring forth ason, and thou wilt rejoice over him, but in the midst of thy joy the sadtidings will be told thee of the death of thine older son, who was born untothee but two years ago, and thou must needs find consolation for the loss ofthe one in the birth of the other."

Scarcely had Joseph withdrawn from the presence of the king, when the report ofthe birth of a son was brought to Pharaoh, and soon after also the report ofthe death of his first-born, who had suddenly dropped to the floor and passedaway. Thereupon he sent for all the grandees of his realm, and all hisservants, and he spake to them, saying: "Ye have heard the words of the Hebrew,and ye have seen that the signs which he foretold were accomplished, and I alsoknow that he hath interpreted the dream truly. Advise me now how the land maybe saved from the ravages of the famine. Look hither and thither whether youcan find a man of wisdom and understanding, whom I may set over the land, for Iam convinced that the land can be saved only if we heed the counsel of theHebrew." The grandees and the princes admitted that safety could be securedonly by adhering to the advice given by Joseph, and they proposed that theking, in his sagacity, choose a man whom he considered equal to the greattask.[178] Thereupon Pharaoh said: "If we traversed and searched the earth fromend to end, we could find none such as Joseph, a man in whom is the spirit ofGod.[179] If ye think well thereof, I will set him over the land which he hathsaved by his wisdom."[180]

The astrologers, who were his counsellors, demurred, saying, "A slave, one whomhis present owner hath acquired for twenty pieces of silver, thou proposest toset over us as master?" But Pharaoh maintained that Joseph was not only afree-born man beyond the peradventure of a doubt, but also the scion of a noblefamily.[181] However, the princes of Pharaoh were not silenced, they continuedto give utterance to their opposition to Joseph, saying: "Dost thou notremember the immutable law of the Egyptians, that none may serve as king or asviceroy unless he speaks all the languages of men? And this Hebrew knows nonebut his own tongue, and how were it possible that a man should rule over us whocannot even speak the language of our land? Send and have him fetched hither,and examine him in respect to all the things a ruler should know and have, andthen decide as seemeth wise in thy sight."

Pharaoh yielded, he promised to do as they wished, and he appointed thefollowing day as the time for examining Joseph, who had returned to his prisonin the meantime, for, on account of his wife, his master feared to have himstay in his house. During the night Gabriel appeared unto Joseph, and taughthim all the seventy languages, and he acquired them quickly after the angel hadchanged his name from Joseph to Jehoseph. The next morning, when he came intothe presence of Pharaoh and the nobles of the kingdom, inasmuch as he knewevery one of the seventy languages, he mounted all the steps of the royalthrone, until he reached the seventieth, the highest, upon which sat the king,and Pharaoh and his princes rejoiced that Joseph fulfilled all the requirementsneeded by one that was to rule over Egypt.

The king said to Joseph: "Thou didst give me the counsel to look out a mandiscreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt, that he may in hiswisdom save the land from the famine. As God hath showed thee all this, and asthou art master of all the languages of the world, there is none so discreetand wise as thou. Thou shalt therefore be the second in the land after Pharaoh,and according unto thy word shall all my people go in and go out; my princesand my servants shall receive their monthly appanage from thee; before thee thepeople shall prostrate themselves, only in the throne will I be greater thanthou."[182]

THE RULER OF EGYPT

Now Joseph reaped the harvest of his virtues, and according to the measure ofhis merits God granted him reward. The mouth that refused the kiss of unlawfulpassion and sin received the kiss of homage from the people; the neck that didnot bow itself unto sin was adorned with the gold chain that Pharaoh put uponit; the hands that did not touch sin wore the signet ring that Pharaoh tookfrom his own hand and put upon Joseph's; the body that did not come in contactwith sin was arrayed in vestures of byssus; the feet that made no steps in thedirection of sin reposed in the royal chariot, and the thoughts that keptthemselves undefiled by sin were proclaimed as wisdom.[183]

Joseph was installed in his high position, and invested with the insignia ofhis office, with solemn ceremony. The king took off his signet ring from hishand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in princely apparel, andset a gold crown upon his head, and laid a gold chain about his neck. Then hecommanded his servants to make Joseph to ride in his second chariot, which wentby the side of the chariot wherein sat the king, and he also made him to rideupon a great and strong horse of the king's horses, and his servants conductedhim through the streets of the city of Egypt. Musicians, no less than athousand striking cymbals and a thousand blowing flutes, and five thousand menwith drawn swords gleaming in the air formed the vanguard. Twenty thousand ofthe king's grandees girt with gold-embroidered leather belts marched at theright of Joseph, and as many at the left of him.[184] The women and the maidensof the nobility looked out of the windows to gaze upon Joseph's beauty, andthey poured down chains upon him, and rings and jewels, that he might butdirect his eyes toward them. Yet he did not look up, and as a reward God madehim proof against the evil eye, nor has it ever had the power of inflictingharm upon any of his descendants.[185] Servants of the king, preceding him andfollowing him, burnt incense upon his path, and cassia, and all manner of sweetspices, and strewed myrrh and aloes wherever he went. Twenty heralds walkedbefore him, and they proclaimed: "This is the man whom the king bath chosen tobe the second after him. All the affairs of state will be administered by him,and whoever resisteth his commands, or refuseth to bow down to the groundbefore him, he will die the death of the rebel against the king and the king'sdeputy."

Without delay the people prostrated themselves, and they cried, "Long live theking, and long live the deputy of the king!" And Joseph, looking down from hishorse upon the people and their exultation, exclaimed, his eyes directedheavenward: "The Lord raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up theneedy from the dunghill. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth inThee."

After Joseph, accompanied by Pharaoh's officers and princes, had journeyedthrough the whole city of Egypt, and viewed all there was therein, he returnedto the king on the selfsame day, and the king gave him fields and vineyards asa present, and also three thousand talents of silver, and a thousand talents ofgold, and onyx stones and bdellium, and many other costly things. The kingcommanded, moreover, that every Egyptian give Joseph a gift, else he would beput to death. A platform was erected in the open street, and there alldeposited their presents, and among the things were many of gold and silver, aswell as precious stones, carried thither by the people and also the grandees,for they saw that Joseph enjoyed the favor of the king. Furthermore, Josephreceived one hundred slaves from Pharaoh, and they were to do all his bidding,and he himself acquired many more, for he resided in a spacious palace. Threeyears it took to build it. Special magnificence was lavished upon the hall ofstate, which was his audience chamber, and upon the throne fashioned of goldand silver and inlaid with precious stones, whereon there was a representationof the whole land of Egypt and of the river Nile. And as Joseph multiplied inriches, so he increased also in wisdom, for God added to his wisdom that allmight love and honor him.[186] Pharaoh called him Zaphenath-paneah, he who canreveal secret things with ease, and rejoiceth the heart of man therewith. Eachletter of the name Zaphenath-paneah has a meaning, too. The first, Zadde,stands for Zofeh, seer; Pe for Podeh, redeemer; Nun for Nabi, prophet; Taw forTomek, supporter; Pe for Poter, interpreter of dreams; Ain for Arum, clever;Nun for Nabon, discreet; and Het for Hakam, wise.[187]

The name of Joseph's wife pointed to her history in the same way. Asenath wasthe daughter of Dinah and Hamor, but she was abandoned at the borders of Egypt,only, that people might know who she was, Jacob engraved the story of herparentage and her birth upon a gold plate fastened around her neck. The day onwhich Asenath was exposed, Potiphar went walking with his servants near thecity wall, and they heard the voice of a child. At the captain's bidding theybrought the baby to him, and when he read her history from the gold plate, hedetermined to adopt her. He took her home with him, and raised her as hisdaughter. The Alef in Asenath stands for On, where Potiphar was priest; theSamek for Setirah, Hidden, for she was kept concealed on account of herextraordinary beauty; the Nun for Nohemet, for she wept and entreated that shemight be delivered from the house of the heathen Potiphar; and the Taw forTammah, the perfect one, on account of her pious, perfect deeds.[188]

Asenath had saved Joseph's life while she was still an infant in arms. WhenJoseph was accused of immoral conduct by Potiphar's wife and the other women,and his master was on the point of having him hanged, Asenath approached herfoster-father, and she assured him under oath that the charge against Josephwas false. Then spake God, "As thou livest, because thou didst try to defendJoseph, thou shalt be the woman to bear the tribes that he is appointed tobeget.[189]

Asenath bore him two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, during the seven years ofplenty, for in the time of famine Joseph refrained from all indulgence in thepleasures of life.[190] They were bred in chastity and fear of God by theirfather, and they were wise, and well-instructed in all knowledge and in theaffairs of state, so that they became the favorites of the court, and wereeducated with the royal princes.

Before the famine broke over the land, Joseph found an opportunity of renderingthe king a great service. He equipped an army of four thousand six hundred men,providing all the soldiers with shields and spears and bucklers and helmets andslings. With this army, and aided by the servants and officers of the king, andby the people of Egypt, he carried on a war with Tarshish in the first yearafter his appointment as viceroy. The people of Tarshish had invaded theterritory of the Ishmaelites, and the latter, few in number at that time, weresore pressed, and applied to the king of Egypt for help against their enemies.At the head of his host of heroes, Joseph marched to the land of Havilah, wherehe was joined by the Ishmaelites, and with united forces they fought againstthe people of Tarshish, routed them utterly, settled their land with theIshmaelites, while the defeated men took refuge with their brethren in Javan.Joseph and his army returned to Egypt, and not a man had they lost.

In a little while Joseph's prophecy was confirmed: that year and the sixfollowing years were years of plenty, as he had foretold.[191] The harvest wasso ample that a single ear produced two heaps of grain,[192] and Joseph madecircumspect arrangements to provide abundantly for the years of famine. Hegathered up all the grain, and in the city situated in the middle of eachdistrict he laid up the produce from round about, and had ashes and earthstrewn on the garnered food from the very soil on which it had been grown;[193]also he preserved the grain in the ear; all these being precautions taken toguard against rot and mildew. The inhabitants of Egypt also tried, on their ownaccount, to put aside a portion of the superabundant harvest of the sevenfruitful years against the need of the future, but when the grievous time ofdearth came, and they went to their storehouses to bring forth the treasuredgrain, behold, it had rotted, and become unfit for food.[194] The famine brokein upon the people with such suddenness that the bread gave out unexpectedly asthey sat at their tables, they had not even a bite of bran bread.

Thus they were driven to apply to Joseph and beseech his help, and headmonished them, saying, "Give up your allegiance to your deceitful idols, andsay, Blessed is He who giveth bread unto all flesh." But they refused to denytheir lying gods, and they betook themselves to Pharaoh, only to be told byhim, "Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do!" For this Pharaoh was rewarded.God granted him long life and a long reign, until he became arrogant, andwell-merited punishment overtook him.[195]

When the Egyptians approached Joseph with the petition for bread, he spoke,saying, "I give no food to the uncircumcised. Go hence, and circumciseyourselves, and then return hither." They entered the presence of Pharaoh, andcomplained to him regarding Joseph, but he said as before, "Go unto Joseph!"And they replied, "We come from Joseph, and he hath spoken roughly unto us,saying, Go hence and circumcise yourselves! We warned thee in the beginningthat he is a Hebrew, and would treat us in such wise." Pharaoh said to them: "Oye fools, did he not prophesy through the holy spirit and proclaim to the wholeworld, that there would come seven years of plenty to be followed by sevenyears of dearth? Why did you not save the yield of one or two years against theday of your need?"

Weeping, they made reply: "The grain that we put aside during the good yearshath rotted."

Pharaoh: "Have ye nothing over of the flour of yesterday?"

The Egyptians: "The very bread in the basket rotted!"

Pharaoh: "Why?"

The Egyptians: "Because Joseph willed thus!"

Pharaoh: "O ye fools, if his word hath power over the grain, making it to rotwhen he desireth it to rot, then also must we die, if so be his wish concerningus. Go, therefore, unto him, and do as he bids you."[196]

JOSEPH'S BRETHREN IN EGYPT

The famine, which inflicted hardships first upon the wealthy among theEgyptians, gradually extended its ravages as far as Phoenicia, Arabia, andPalestine.[197] Though the sons of Jacob, being young men, frequented thestreets and the highways, yet they were ignorant of what their old home-keepingfather Jacob knew, that corn could be procured in Egypt. Jacob even suspectedthat Joseph was in Egypt. His prophetic spirit, which forsook him during thetime of his grief for his son, yet manifested itself now and again in dimvisions, and he was resolved to send his sons down into Egypt.[198] There wasanother reason. Though he was not yet in want, he nevertheless had them gothither for food, because he was averse from arousing the envy of the sons ofEsau and Ishmael by his comfortable state.[199] For the same reason, to avoidfriction with the surrounding peoples, he bade his sons not appear in publicwith bread in their hands, or in the accoutrements of war.[200] And as he knewthat they were likely to attract attention, on account of their heroic statureand handsome appearance, he cautioned them against going to the city alltogether through the same gate, or, indeed, showing themselves all togetheranywhere in public, that the evil eye be not cast upon them.[201]

The famine in Canaan inspired Joseph with the hope of seeing his brethren. Tomake sure of their coming, he issued a decree concerning the purchase of cornin Egypt, as follows: "By order of the king and his deputy, and the princes ofthe realm, be it enacted that he who desireth to buy grain in Egypt may notsend his slave hither to do his bidding, but he must charge his own sonstherewith. An Egyptian or a Canaanite that hath bought grain and then sellethit again shall be put to death, for none may buy more than he requireth for theneeds of his household. Also, who cometh with two or three beasts of burden,and loads them up with grain, shall be put to death."

At the gates of the city of Egypt, Joseph stationed guards, whose office was toinquire and take down the name of all that should come to buy corn, and alsothe name of their father and their grandfather, and every evening the list ofnames thus made was handed to Joseph. These precautions were bound to bringJoseph's brethren down to Egypt, and also acquaint him with their coming assoon as they entered the land.

On their journey his brethren thought more of Joseph than of their errand. Theysaid to one another: "We know that Joseph was carried down into Egypt, and wewill make search for him there, and if we should find him, we will ransom himfrom his master, and if his master should refuse to sell him, we will useforce, though we perish ourselves."[202]

At the gates of the city of Egypt, the brethren of Joseph were asked what theirnames were, and the names of their father and grandfather. The guard on dutyhappened to be Manasseh, the son of Joseph. The brethren submitted to beingquestioned, saying "Let us go into the town, and we shall see whether thistaking down of our names be a matter of taxes. If it be so, we shall not demur;but if it be something else, we shall see to-morrow what can be done in thecase."[203]

On the evening of the day they entered Egypt, Joseph discovered their names inthe list, which he was in the habit of examining daily, and he commanded thatall stations for the sale of corn be closed, except one only. Furthermore, evenat this station no sales were to be negotiated unless the name of the would-bepurchaser was first obtained. His brethren, with whose names Joseph furnishedthe overseer of the place, were to be seized and brought to him as soon as theyput in appearance.

But the first thought of the brethren was for Joseph, and their first concern,to seek him. For three days they made search for him everywhere, even in themost disreputable quarters of the city. Meantime Joseph was in communicationwith the overseer of the station kept open for the sale of corn, and, hearingthat his brethren had not appeared there, he dispatched some of his servants tolook for them, but they found them neither in Mizraim, the city of Egypt, norin Goshen, nor in Raamses. Thereupon he sent sixteen servants forth to make ahouse to house search for them in the city, and they discovered the brethren ofJoseph in a place of ill-fame and haled them before their master.

JOSEPH MEETS HIS BRETHREN

A large crown of gold on his head, apparelled in byssus and purple, andsurrounded by his valiant men, Joseph was seated upon his throne in his palace.His brethren fell down before him in great admiration of his beauty, hisstately appearance, and his majesty.[204] They did not know him, for whenJoseph was sold into slavery, he was a beardless youth. But he knew hisbrethren, their appearance had not changed in aught, for they were bearded menwhen he was separated from them.[205]

He was inclined to make himself known to them as their brother, but an angelappeared unto him, the same that had brought him from Shechem to his brethrenat Dothan, and spoke, saying, "These came hither with intent to kill thee."Later, when the brethren returned home, and gave an account of their adventuresto Jacob, they told him that a man had accused them falsely before the ruler ofEgypt, not knowing that he who incited Joseph against them was an angel. It wasin reference to this matter, and meaning their accuser, that Jacob, when hedispatched his sons on their second expedition to Egypt, prayed to God, "GodAlmighty give you mercy before the man."[206]

Joseph made himself strange unto his brethren, and he took his cup in his hand,knocked against it, and said, "By this magic cup I know that ye are spies."They replied, "Thy servants came from Canaan into Egypt for to buy corn."

Joseph: "If it be true that ye came hither to buy corn, why is it that each oneof you entered the city by a separate gate?"[207]

The brethren: "We are ALL the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and hebade us not enter a city together by the same gate, that we attract not theattention of the people of the place." Unconsciously they had spoken as seers,for the word ALL included Joseph as one of their number.[208]

Joseph: "Verily, ye are spies! All the people that come to buy corn return homewithout delay, but ye have lingered here three days, without making anypurchases, and all the time you have been gadding about in the disreputableparts of the city, and only spies are wont to do thus."

The brethren: "We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of Jacob, the sonof Isaac, the son of the Hebrew Abraham. The youngest is this day with ourfather in Canaan, and one hath disappeared. Him did we look for in this land,and we looked for him even in the disreputable houses."

Joseph: "Have ye made search in every other place on earth, and was Egypt theonly land left? And if it be true that he is in Egypt, what should a brother ofyours be doing in a house of ill-fame, if, indeed, ye are the descendants ofAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob?"

The brethren: "We did hear that some Ishmaelites stole our brother, and soldhim into slavery in Egypt, and as our brother was exceeding fair in form andface, we thought he might have been sold for illicit uses, and therefore wesearched even the disreputable houses to find him."

Joseph: "You speak deceitful words, when you call yourselves sons of Abraham.By the life of Pharaoh, ye are spies, and you did go from one disreputablehouse to another that none might discover you."[209]

The expression "by the life of Pharaoh" might have betrayed Joseph's realfeeling to his brethren, had they but known his habit of taking this oath onlywhen he meant to avoid keeping his word later.[210]

Joseph continued to speak to his brethren: "Let us suppose you should discoveryour brother serving as a slave, and his master should demand a high sum forhis ransom, would you pay it?"

The brethren: "Yes!"

Joseph: "But suppose his master should refuse to surrender him for any price inthe world, what would you do?"

The brethren: "If he yields not our brother to us, we will kill the master, andcarry off our brother."

Joseph: "Now see how true my words were, that ye are spies. By your ownadmission ye have come to slay the inhabitants of the land. Report hath told usthat two of you did massacre the people of Shechem on account of the wrong doneto your sister, and now have ye come down into Egypt to kill the Egyptians forthe sake of your brother. I shall be convinced of your innocence only if youconsent to send one of your number home and fetch your youngest brotherhither."

His brethren refused compliance, and Joseph caused them to be put into prisonby seventy of his valiant men, and there they remained for three days.[211] Godnever allows the pious to languish in distress longer than three days, and soit was a Divine dispensation that the brethren of Joseph were released on thethird day,[212] and were permitted by Joseph to return home, on condition,however, that one of them remain behind as hostage.

The difference between Joseph and his brethren can be seen here. Though heretained one of them to be bound in the prison house, he still said, "I fearGod," and dismissed the others, but when he was in their power, they gave nothought to God.[213] At this time, to be sure, their conduct was such as isbecoming to the pious, who accept their fate with calm resignation, andacknowledge the righteousness of God, for He metes out reward and punishmentmeasure for measure. They recognized that their present punishment was inreturn for the heartless treatment they had dealt out to Joseph, paying no heedto his distress, though he fell at the feet of each of them, weeping, andentreating them not to sell him into slavery. Reuben reminded the others thatthey had two wrongs to expiate, the wrong against their brother and the wrongagainst their father, who was so grieved that he exclaimed, "I will go down tothe grave to my son mourning."

The brethren of Joseph knew not that the viceroy of Egypt understood Hebrew,and could follow their words, for Manasseh stood and was an interpreter betweenthem and him.[214]

Joseph decided to keep Simon as hostage in Egypt, for he had been one of thetwo—Levi was the other—to advise that Joseph be put to death, and only theintercession of Reuben and Judah had saved him. He did not detain Levi, too,for he feared, if both remained behind together, Egypt might suffer the samefate at their hands as the city of Shechem.[215] Also, he preferred Simon toLevi, because Simon was not a favorite among the sons of Jacob, and they wouldnot resist his detention in Egypt too violently, while they might annihilateEgypt, as aforetime Shechem, if they were deprived of Levi, their wise man andhigh priest.[216] Besides, it was Simon that had lowered Joseph into the pit,wherefore he had a particular grudge against him.[217]

When the brethren yielded to Joseph's demand, and consented to leave theirbrother behind as hostage, Simon said to them, "Ye desire to do with me as yedid with Joseph!" But they replied, in despair: "What can we do? Our householdswill perish of hunger." Simon made answer, "Do as ye will, but as for me, letme see the man that will venture to cast me into prison." Joseph sent word toPharaoh to let him have seventy of his valiant men, to aid him in arrestingrobbers. But when the seventy appeared upon the scene, and were about to layhands on Simon, he uttered a loud cry, and his assailants fell to the floor andknocked out their teeth.[218] Pharaoh's valiant men, as well as all the peoplethat stood about Joseph, fled affrighted, only Joseph and his son Manassehremained calm and unmoved. Manasseh rose up, dealt Simon a blow on the back ofhis neck, put manacles upon his hands and fetters upon his feet, and cast himinto prison. Joseph's brethren were greatly amazed at the heroic strength ofthe youth, and Simon said, "This blow was not dealt by an Egyptian, but by onebelonging to our house."[219]

He was bound and taken to prison before the eyes of the other brethren ofJoseph, but as soon as they were out of sight, Joseph ordered good fare to beset before him, and he treated him with great kindness.[220]

Joseph permitted his nine other brethren to depart, carrying corn with them inabundance, but he impressed upon them that they must surely return and bringtheir youngest brother with them. On the way, Levi, who felt lonely without hisconstant companion Simon, opened his sack, and he espied the money he had paidfor the corn. They all trembled, and their hearts failed them, and they said,"Where, then, is the lovingkindness of God toward our fathers Abraham, Isaac,and Jacob, seeing that He hath delivered us into the hands of the Egyptianking, that he may raise false accusations against us?" And Judah said, "Verily,we are guilty concerning our brother, we have sinned against God, in that wesold our brother, our own flesh, and why do ye ask, Where, then, is thelovingkindness of God toward our fathers?"

Reuben spoke in the same way: "Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin againstthe child, and ye would not hear? And now the Lord doth demand him of us. Howcan you say, Where, then, is the lovingkindness of God toward our fathers,though you have sinned against Him?"

They proceeded on their journey home, and their father met them on the way.Jacob was astonished not to see Simon with them, and in reply to his questions,they told him all that had befallen them in Egypt. Then Jacob cried out: "Whathave ye done? I sent Joseph to you to see whether it be well with you, and yesaid, An evil beast hath devoured him. Simon went forth with you for to buycorn, and you say, The king of Egypt hath cast him into prison. And now ye willtake Benjamin away and kill him, too. Ye will bring down my gray hairs withsorrow to the grave."[221]

The words of Jacob, which he uttered, "Me have ye bereaved of my children,"were meant to intimate to his sons that he suspected them of the death ofJoseph and of Simon's disappearance as well, and their reports concerning bothhe regarded as inventions.[222] What made him inconsolable was that now, havinglost two of his sons, he could not hope to see the Divine promise fulfilled,that he should be the ancestor of twelve tribes.[223] He was quite resolved inhis mind, therefore, not to let Benjamin go away with his brethren under anycondition whatsoever, and he vouchsafed Reuben no reply when he said, "Slay mytwo sons, if I bring him not to thee." He considered it beneath his dignity togive an answer to such balderdash.[224] "My first-born son," he said tohimself, "is a fool. What will it profit me, if I slay his two sons? Does henot know that his sons are equally mine?"[225] Judah advised his brethren todesist from urging their father then; he would consent, he thought, to whateverexpedients were found necessary, as soon as their bread gave out, and a secondjourney to Egypt became imperative.[226]

THE SECOND JOURNEY TO EGYPT

When the supplies bought in Egypt were eaten up, and the family of Jacob beganto suffer with hunger, the little children came to him, and they said, "Give usbread, that we die not of hunger before thee." The words of the little onesbrought scorching tears to the eyes of Jacob, and he summoned his sons and badethem go again down into Egypt and buy food.[227] But Judah spake unto him, "Theman did solemnly protest unto us, saying that we should not see his face,except our brother Benjamin be with us, and we cannot appear before him withidle pretexts." And Jacob said, "Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me as to tellthe man whether ye had yet a brother?" It was the first and only time Jacobindulged in empty talk, and God said, "I made it My business to raise his sonto the position of ruler of Egypt, and he complains, and says, Wherefore dealtye so ill with-me?" And Judah protested against the reproach, that he hadinitiated the Egyptian viceroy in their family relations, with the words: "Why,he knew the very wood of which our baby coaches are made![228] Father," hecontinued, "if Benjamin goes with us, he may, indeed, be taken from us, butalso he may not. This is a doubtful matter, but it is certain that if he doesnot go with us, we shall all die of hunger. It is better not to concern thyselfabout what is doubtful, and guide thy actions by what is certain.[229] The kingof Egypt is a strong and mighty king, and if we go to him without our brother,we shall all be put to death. Dost thou not know, and hast thou not heard, thatthis king is very powerful and wise, and there is none like unto him in all theearth? We have seen all the kings of the earth, but none like unto the king ofEgypt. One would surely say that among all the kings of the earth there is nonegreater than Abimelech king of the Philistines, yet the king of Egypt isgreater and mightier than he, and Abimelech can hardly be compared with one ofhis officers. Father, thou hast not seen his palace and his throne, and all hisservants standing before him. Thou hast not seen that king upon his throne, inall his magnificence and with his royal insignia, arrayed in his royal robes,with a large golden crown upon his head. Thou hast not seen the honor and theglory that God hath given unto him, for there is none like unto him in all theearth. Father, thou hast not seen the wisdom, the understanding, and theknowledge that God has given in his heart. We heard his sweet voice when hespake unto us. We know not, father, who acquainted him with our names, and allthat befell us. He asked also concerning thee, saying, Is your father stillalive, and is it well with him? Thou hast not seen the affairs of thegovernment of Egypt regulated by him, for none asketh his lord Pharaoh aboutthem. Thou hast not seen the awe and the fear that he imposes upon all theEgyptians. Even we went out from his presence threatening to do unto Egypt asunto the cities of the Amorites, and exceedingly wroth by reason of all hiswords that he spake concerning us as spies, yet when we came again before him,his terror fell upon us all, and none of us was able to speak a word to him,great or small. Now, therefore, father, send the lad with us, and we will ariseand go down into Egypt, and buy food to eat, that we die not of hunger."[230]

Judah offered his portion in the world to come as surety for Benjamin, and thussolemnly he promised to bring him back safe and sound, and Jacob granted hisrequest, and permitted Benjamin to go down into Egypt with his other sons. Theyalso carried with them choice presents from their father for the ruler ofEgypt, things that arouse wonder outside of Palestine, such as the murex, whichis the snail that produces the Tyrian purple, and various kinds of balm, andalmond oil, and pistachio oil, and honey as hard as stone. Furthermore, Jacobput double money in their hand to provide against a rise in prices in themeantime. And after all these matters were attended to, he spake to his sons,saying: "Here is money, and here is a present, and also your brother. Is thereaught else that you need?" And they replied, Yes, we need this, besides, thatthou shouldst intercede for us with God." Then their father prayed:[231] "OLord, Thou who at the time of creation didst call Enough! to heaven and earthwhen they stretched themselves out further and further toward infinity, set alimit to my sufferings, too, say unto them, Enough![232] God Almighty give youmercy before the ruler of Egypt, that he may release unto you Joseph, Simon,and Benjamin."

This prayer was an intercession, not only for the sons of Jacob, but also fortheir descendants—that God would deliver the Ten Tribes in time to come, as Hedelivered the two, Judah and Benjamin, and after He permitted the destructionof two Temples, He would grant endless continuance to the third.[233]

Jacob also put a letter addressed to the viceroy of Egypt into the hands of hisson. The letter ran thus: "From thy servant Jacob, the son of Isaac, thegrandson of Abraham, prince of God, to the mighty and wise kingZaphenathpaneah, the ruler of Egypt, peace! I make known unto my lord the kingthat the famine is sore with us in the land of Canaan, and I have thereforesent my sons unto thee, to buy us a little food, that we may live, and not die.My children surrounded me, and begged for something to eat, but, alas, I amvery old, and I cannot see with mine eyes, for they are heavy with the weightof years, and also on account of my never-ceasing tears for my son Joseph, whohath been taken from me. I charged my sons not to pass through the gate alltogether at the same time, when they arrived in the city of Egypt, inconsideration of the inhabitants of the land, that they might not take unduenotice of them. Also I bade them go up and down in the land of Egypt and seekmy son Joseph, mayhap they would find him there.

"This did they do, but thou didst therefore account them as spies. We haveheard the report of thy wisdom and sagacity. How, then, canst thou look upontheir countenances, and yet declare them to be spies? Especially as we haveheard thou didst interpret Pharaoh's dream, and didst foretell the coming ofthe famine, are we amazed that thou, in thy discernment, couldst notdistinguish whether they be spies or not.

"And, now, O my lord king, I send unto thee my son Benjamin, as thou didstdemand of my other sons. I pray thee, take good care of him until thou sendesthim back to me in peace with his brethren. Hast thou not heard, and dost thounot know, what our God did unto Pharaoh when he took our mother Sarah untohimself? Or what happened unto Abimelech on account of her? And what our fatherAbraham did unto the nine kings of Elam, how he killed them and exterminatedtheir armies, though he had but few men with him? Or hast thou not heard whatmy two sons Simon and Levi did to the eight cities of the Amorites, which theydestroyed on account of their sister Dinah? Benjamin consoled them for the lossof Joseph. What, then, will they do unto him that stretcheth forth the hand ofpower to snatch him away from them?

"Knowest thou not, O king of Egypt, that the might of our God is with us, andthat He always hearkens unto our prayers, and never forsakes us? Had I calledupon God to rise up against thee when my sons told me how thou didst act towardthem, thou and thy people, ye all would have been annihilated ere Benjamincould come down to thee. But I reflected that Simon my son was abiding in thyhouse, and perhaps thou wast doing kindnesses unto him, and therefore I invokednot the punishment of God upon thee. Now my son Benjamin goeth down unto theewith my other sons. Take heed unto thyself, keep thy eyes directed upon him,and God will direct His eye upon all thy kingdom.

"I have said all now that is in my heart. My sons take their youngest brotherdown into Egypt with them, and do thou send them all back to me in peace."

This letter Jacob put into the keeping of Judah, charging him to deliver it tothe ruler of Egypt. His last words to his sons were an admonition to take goodcare of Benjamin and not leave him out of their sight, either on the journey orafter their arrival in Egypt. He bade farewell to them, and then turned inprayer to God, saying: "O Lord of heaven and earth! Remember Thy covenant withour father Abraham. Remember also my father Isaac, and grant grace unto mysons, and deliver them not into the hands of the king of Egypt. O my God, do itfor the sake of Thy mercy, redeem my sons and save them from the hands of theEgyptians, and restore their two brethren unto them."

Also the women and the children in the house of Jacob prayed to God amid tears,and entreated Him to redeem their husbands and their fathers out of the handsof the king of Egypt.[234]

JOSEPH AND BENJAMIN

Great was the joy of Joseph when his brethren stood before him and Benjamin waswith them. In his youngest brother he saw the true counterpart of hisfather.[235] He ordered his son Manasseh,[236] the steward of his house, tobring the men into the palace, and make ready a meal for them. But he was totake care to prepare the meat dishes in the presence of the guests, so thatthey might see with their own eyes that the cattle had been slaughteredaccording to the ritual prescriptions, and the sinew of the hip which is uponthe hollow of the thigh had been removed.[237]

The dinner to which Joseph invited his brethren was a Sabbath meal, for heobserved the seventh day even before the revelation of the law. The sons ofJacob refused the invitation of the steward, and a scuffle ensued. While hetried to force them into the banqueting hall, they tried to force him out,[238]for they feared it was but a ruse to get possession of them and their asses, onaccount of the money they had found in their sacks on their return from theirfirst journey to Egypt. In their modesty they put the loss of their beasts uponthe same level as the loss of their personal liberty. To the average manproperty is as precious as life itself.[239]

Standing at the door of Joseph's house, they spake to the steward, and said:"We are in badly reduced circumstances. In our country we supported others, andnow we depend upon thee to support us." After these introductory words, theyoffered him the money they had found in their sacks. The steward reassured themconcerning the money, saying, "However it may be, whether for the sake of yourown merits, or for the sake of the merits of your fathers, God hath caused youto find a treasure, for the money ye paid for the corn came into my hand." Thenhe brought Simon out to them. Their brother looked like a leather bottle, sofat and rotund had he grown during his sojourn in Egypt.[240] He told hisbrethren what kind treatment had been accorded unto him. The very moment theyleft the city he had been released from prison, and thereafter he had beenentertained with splendor in the house of the ruler of Egypt.

When Joseph made his appearance, Judah took Benjamin by the hand, and presentedhim to the viceroy, and they all bowed down themselves to him to theearth.[241] Joseph asked them concerning the welfare of their father and theirgrandfather, and they made reply, "Thy servant our father is well; he is yetalive," and Joseph knew from their words that his grandfather Isaac was nomore.[242] He had died at the time when Joseph was released from prison, andthe joy of God in the liberation of Joseph was overcast by His sorrow forIsaac.[243] Then Judah handed his father's letter to Joseph, who was so movedat seeing the well-known handwriting that he had to retire to his chamber andweep. When he came back, he summoned Benjamin to approach close to him, and helaid his hand upon his youngest brother's head, and blessed him with the words,"God be gracious unto thee, my son."[244] His father had once mentioned "thechildren which God hath graciously given Thy servant," and as Benjamin was notamong the children thus spoken of, for he was born later, Joseph compensatedhim now by blessing him with the grace of God.[245]

The table was set in three divisions, for Joseph, for his brethren, and for theEgyptians. The sons of Jacob did not venture to eat of the dishes set beforethem, they were afraid they might not have been prepared according to theritual prescriptions—a punishment upon Joseph for having slandered hisbrethren, whom he once charged with not being punctilious in the observance ofthe dietary laws.[246] The Egyptians, again, could not sit at the same tablewith the sons of Jacob, because the latter ate the flesh of the animals towhich the former paid divine worship.[247]

When all was ready, and the guests were to be seated, Joseph raised his cup,and, pretending to inhale his knowledge from it, he said, "Judah is king,therefore let him sit at the head of the table, and let Reuben the first-borntake the second seat," and thus he assigned places to all his brethrencorresponding to their dignity and their age.[248] Moreover, he seated thebrothers together who were the sons of the same mother, and when he reachedBenjamin, he said, "I know that the youngest among you has no brother borne byhis own mother, next to whom he might be seated, and also I have none,therefore he may take his place next to me."

The brethren marvelled one with another at all this. During the meal, Josephtook his portion, and gave it to Benjamin, and his wife Asenath followed hisexample, and also Ephraim and Manasseh, so that Benjamin had four portions inaddition to that which he had received like the other sons of Jacob.[249]

Wine was served at the meal, and it was the first time in twenty-two years thatJoseph and his brethren tasted of it, for they had led the life of Nazarites,his brethren because they regretted the evil they had done to Joseph, andJoseph because he grieved over the fate of his father.[250]

Joseph entered into conversation with his brother Benjamin. He asked himwhether he had a brother borne by his own mother, and Benjamin answered, "I hadone, but I do not know what hath become of him." Joseph continued hisquestions: "Hast thou a wife?"

Benjamin: "Yes, I have a wife and ten sons."

Joseph: "And what are their names? "

Benjamin: "Bela, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh,Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard."

Joseph: "Why didst thou give them such peculiar names?"

Benjamin: "In memory of my brother and his sufferings: Bela, because my brotherdisappeared among the peoples; Becher, he was the first-born son of my mother;Ashbel, he was taken away from my father; Gera, he dwells a stranger in astrange land; Naaman, he was exceedingly lovely; Ehi, he was my only brother bymy father and my mother together; Rosh, he was at the head of his brethren;Muppim, he was beautiful in every respect; Huppim, he was slandered; and Ard,because he was as beautiful as a rose."[251]

Joseph ordered his magic astrolabe to be brought to him, whereby he knew allthings that happen, and he said unto Benjamin, "I have heard that the Hebrewsare acquainted with all wisdom, but dost thou know aught of this?" Benjaminanswered, "Thy servant also is skilled in all wisdom, which my father hathtaught me." He then looked upon the astrolabe, and to his great astonishment hediscovered by the aid of it that he who was sitting upon the throne before himwas his brother Joseph. Noticing Benjamin's amazement, Joseph asked him, "Whathast thou seen, and why art thou astonished?" Benjamin said, "I can see by thisthat Joseph my brother sitteth here before me upon the throne." And Josephsaid: "I am Joseph thy brother! Reveal not the thing unto our brethren. I willsend thee with them when they go away, and I will command them to be broughtback again into the city, and I will take thee away from them. If they risktheir lives and fight for thee, then shall I know that they have repented ofwhat they did unto me, and I will make myself known unto them. But if theyforsake thee, I will keep thee, that thou shouldst remain with me. They shallgo away, and I will not make myself known unto them."[252]

Then Joseph inquired of Benjamin what his brethren had told their father afterthey had sold him into slavery, and he heard the story of the coat dipped inthe blood of a kid of the goats. "Yes, brother," spoke Joseph, "when they hadstripped me of my coat, they handed me over to the Ishmaelites, who tied anapron around my waist, scourged me, and bade me run off. But a lion attackedthe one that beat me, and killed him, and his companions were alarmed, and theysold me to other people."[253]

Dismissed by Joseph with kind words, his brethren started on their homewardjourney as soon as the morning was light, for it is a good rule to "leave acity after sunrise, and enter a city before sundown."[254] Besides, Joseph hada specific reason for not letting his brethren depart from the city during thenight. He feared an encounter between them and his servants, and that his menmight get the worst of it, for the sons of Jacob were like the wild beasts,which have the upper hand at night.

THE THIEF CAUGHT

They were not yet far beyond the city gates, when Joseph dispatched Manasseh,the steward of his house, to follow after them, and look for the silver cupthat he had concealed in Benjamin's sack. He knew his brethren well, he did notventure to let them get too far from the city before he should attempt to forcetheir return. He hoped that the nearness of the city would intimidate them andmake them heed his commands. Manasseh therefore received the order to bringthem to a halt, by mild speech if he could, or by rough speech if he must, andcarry them back to the city.[255] He acted according to his instructions. Whenthe brethren heard the accusation of theft , they said: "With whomsoever of thyservants the cup be found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen."And Manasseh said, "As you say, so were it proper to do, for if ten persons arecharged with theft, and the stolen object is found with one of them, all areheld responsible. But I will not be so hard. He with whom the cup is foundshall be the bondman, and the rest shall be blameless."

He searched all the sacks, and in order not to excite the suspicion that heknew where the cup was, he began at Reuben, the eldest, and left off atBenjamin, the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. In a rage,his brethren shouted at Benjamin, "O thou thief and son of a thief! Thy motherbrought shame upon our father by her thievery, and now thou bringest shame uponus." But he replied, "Is this matter as evil as the matter of the kid of thegoats—as the deed of the brethren that sold their own brother intoslavery?"[256]

In their fury and vexation, the brethren rent their clothes. God paid them intheir own coin. They had caused Jacob to tear his clothes in his grief overJoseph, and now they were made to do the same on account of their own troubles.And as they rent their clothes for the sake of their brother Benjamin, soMordecai, the descendant of Benjamin, was destined to rend his on account ofhis brethren, the people of Israel. But because mortification was inflictedupon the brethren through Manasseh, the steward of Joseph, the allotment ofterritory given to the tribe of Manasseh was "torn" in two, one-half of thetribe had to live on one side of the Jordan, the other half on the other side.And Joseph, who had not shrunk from vexing his brethren so bitterly that theyrent their clothes in their abasement, was punished, in that his descendantJoshua was driven to such despair after the defeat of Ai that he, too, rent hisclothes.[257]

Convicted of theft beyond the peradventure of a doubt, the brethren of Josephhad no choice but to comply with the steward's command and return to the city.They accompanied him without delay. Each of them loaded his ass himself,raising the burden with one hand from the ground to the back of the beast, andthen they retraced their steps cityward,[258] and as they walked, they rappedBenjamin roughly on the shoulder, saying, "O thou thief and son of a thief,thou hast brought the same shame upon us that thy mother brought upon ourfather." Benjamin bore the blows and the abusive words in patient silence, andhe was rewarded for his humility. For submitting to the blows upon hisshoulder, God appointed that His Shekinah should "dwell between his shoulders,"and He also called him "the beloved of the Lord."[259]

Joseph's brethren returned to the city without fear. Though it was a greatmetropolis, in their eyes it appeared but as a hamlet of ten persons, whichthey could wipe out with a turn of the hand.[260] They were led into thepresence of Joseph, who, contrary to his usual habit, was not holding a sessionof the court in the forum on that day. He remained at home, that his brethrenmight not be exposed to shame in public. They fell to the earth before him, andthus came true his dream of the eleven stars that made obeisance to him.[261]But even while paying homage to Joseph, Judah was boiling inwardly withsuppressed rage, and he said to his brethren, "Verily, this man hath forced meto come back hither only that I should destroy the city on this day."

Guarded by his valiant men on the right and on the left, Joseph addressed hisbrethren, snarling, "What deed is this that ye have done, to steal away my cup?I know well, ye took it in order to discover with its help the whereabouts ofyour brother that hath disappeared."[262] Judah was spokesman, and he replied:"What shall we say unto my lord concerning the first money that he found in themouth of our sacks? What shall we speak concerning the second money that alsowas in our sacks? And how shall we clear ourselves concerning the cup? Wecannot acknowledge ourselves guilty, for we know ourselves to be innocent inall these matters. Yet we cannot avow ourselves innocent, because God hathfound out the iniquity of thy servants, like a creditor that goes about andtries to collect a debt owing to him.[263] Two brothers take care not to entera house of mirth and festivity together, that they be not exposed to the evileye, but we all were caught together in one place, by reason of the sin whichwe committed in company."

Joseph: "But if your punishment is for selling Joseph, why should this brotherof yours suffer, the youngest, he that had no part in your crime.

Judah: "A thief and his companions are taken together."

Joseph: "If you could prevail upon yourselves to report to your fatherconcerning a brother that had not stolen, and had brought no manner of shameupon you, that a wild beast had torn him, you will easily persuade yourselvesto say it concerning a brother that hath stolen, and hath brought shame uponyou. Go hence, and tell your father, 'The rope follows after the waterbucket.'[264] But," continued Joseph, shaking his purple mantle, "God forbidthat I should accuse you all of theft. Only the youth that stole the cup inorder to divine his brother's whereabouts shall remain with me as my bondman;but as for you, get you up in peace unto your father."

The holy spirit called out, "Great peace have they which love thy law!"

The brethren all consented to yield Benjamin to the ruler of Egypt, only Judahdemurred, and he cried out, "Now it is all over with peace!" and he prepared touse force, if need be, to rescue Benjamin from slavery.[265]

JUDAH PLEADS AND THREATENS.

Joseph dismissed his brethren, and carried Benjamin off by main force, andlocked him up in a chamber. But Judah broke the door open and stood beforeJoseph with his brethren.[266] He determined to use in turn the three means ofliberating Benjamin at his disposal. He was prepared to convince Joseph byargument, or move him by entreaties, or resort to force, in order to accomplishhis end.[267]

He spake: "Thou doest a wrong unto us. Thou who didst say, 'I fear God,' thoushowest thyself to be like unto Pharaoh, who hath no fear of God. The judgmentswhich thou dost pronounce are not in accordance with our laws, nor are they inaccordance with the laws of the nations. According to our law, a thief must paydouble the value of what he hath stolen. Only, if he hath no money, he is soldinto slavery, but if he hath the money, he maketh double restitution. Andaccording to the law of the nations, the thief is deprived of all he owns. Doso, but let him go free. If a man buys a slave, and then discovers him to be athief, the transaction is void. Yet thou desirest to make one a slave whom thouchargest with being a thief. I suspect thee of wanting to keep him in thy powerfor illicit purposes,[268] and in this lustfulness thou resemblest Pharaoh.Also thou art like Pharaoh in that thou makest a promise and keepest it not.Thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring thy youngest brother down unto me, that Imay set mine eyes upon him. Dost thou call this setting thine eyes uponhim?[269] If thou didst desire nothing beside a slave, then wouldst thou surelyaccept our offer to serve thee as bondmen instead of Benjamin. Reuben is olderthan he, and I exceed him in strength. It cannot but be as I say, thou hast alustful purpose in mind with our brother.[270]

"Therefore let these words of mine which I am about to speak find entrance intothy heart: For the sake of the grandmother of this lad were Pharaoh and hishouse stricken with sore plagues, because he detained her in his palace asingle night against her will. His mother died a premature death, by reason ofa curse which his father uttered in inconsiderate haste. Take heed, then, thatthis man's curse strike thee not and slay thee. Two of us destroyed the wholeof a city on account of one woman, how much more would we do it for the sake ofa man, and that man the beloved of the Lord, in whose allotment it is appointedthat God shall dwell!

"If I but utter a sound, death-dealing pestilence will stalk through the landas far as No. In this land Pharaoh is the first, and thou art the second afterhim, but in our land my father is the first, and I am the second. If thou wiltnot comply with our demand, I will draw my sword, and hew thee down first, andthen Pharaoh."

When Judah gave utterance to this threat, Joseph made a sign, and Manassehstamped his foot on the ground so that the whole palace shook. Judah said,"Only one belonging to our family can stamp thus!" and intimidated by thisdisplay of great strength, he moderated his tone and manner. "From the verybeginning," he continued to speak, "thou didst resort to all sorts of pretextsin order to embarrass us. The inhabitants of many countries came down intoEgypt to buy corn, but none of them didst thou ask questions about their familyrelations. In sooth, we did not come hither to seek thy daughter in marriage,or peradventure thou desirest an alliance with our sister? Nevertheless we gavethee an answer unto all thy questions."

Joseph replied: "Verily, thou canst talk glibly! Is there another babbler likethee among thy brethren?[271] Why dost thou speak so much, while thy brethrenthat are older than thou, Reuben, Simon, and Levi, stand by silent?"

Judah: "None of my brethren has so much at stake as I have, if Benjamin returnsnot to his father. I was a surety to my father for him, saying, If I bring himnot unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever, inthis world and in the world to come.[272]

The other brethren withheld themselves intentionally from taking part in thedispute between Judah and Joseph, saying, "Kings are carrying on a dispute, andit is not seemly for us to interfere between them."[273] Even the angelsdescended from heaven to earth to be spectators of the combat between Josephthe bull and Judah the lion, and they said, "It lies in the natural course ofthings that the bull should fear the lion, but here the two are engaged inequal, furious combat."

In reply to Judah, when he explained that his great interest in Benjamin'ssafety was due to the pledge he had given to his father, Joseph spoke: "Whywast thou not a surety for thy other brother, when ye sold him for twentypieces of silver? Then thou didst not regard the sorrow thou wast inflictingupon thy father, but thou didst say, A wild beast hath devoured Joseph. And yetJoseph had done no evil, while this Benjamin has committed theft. Therefore, goup and say unto thy father, The rope hath followed after the water bucket."

These words had such an effect upon Judah that he broke out in sobs, and criedaloud, "How shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me?"[274] Hisoutcry reached to a distance of four hundred parasangs, and when Hushim the sonof Dan heard it in Canaan, he jumped into Egypt with a single leap and joinedhis voice with Judah's, and the whole land was on the point of collapsing fromthe great noise they produced. Joseph's valiant men lost their teeth, and thecities of Pithom and Raamses were destroyed, and they remained in ruins untilthe Israelites built them up again under taskmasters. Also Judah's brethren,who had kept quiet up to that moment, fell into a rage, and stamped on theground with their feet until it looked as though deep furrows had been torn init by a ploughshare.[275] And Judah addressed his brethren, "Be brave, demeanyourselves as men, and let each one of you show his heroism, for thecircumstances demand that we do our best."

Then they resolved to destroy Mizraim, the city of Egypt, and Judah said, "Iwill raise my voice, and with it destroy Egypt."

Reuben: "I will raise my arm, and crush it out of existence."

Simon: "I will raise my hand, and lay waste its palaces."

Levi: "I will draw my sword, and slay the inhabitants of Egypt."

Issachar: "I will make the land like unto Sodom."

Zebulon: "Like unto Gomorrah will I render it."

Dan: "I will reduce it to a desert."[276]

Then Judah's towering rage began to show signs of breaking out: his right eyeshed tears of blood; the hair above his heart grew so stiff that it pierced andrent the five garments in which he was clothed; and he took brass rods, bitthem with his teeth, and spat them out as fine powder. When Joseph observedthese signs, fear befell him, and in order to show that he, too, was a man ofextraordinary strength, he pushed with his foot against the marble pedestalupon which he sat, and it broke into splinters. Judah exclaimed, "This one is ahero equal to myself!" Then he tried to draw his sword from its scabbard inorder to slay Joseph, but the weapon could not be made to budge, and Judah wasconvinced thereby that his adversary was a God-fearing man, and he addressedhimself to the task of begging him to let Benjamin go free, but he remainedinexorable.[277]

Judah then said: "What shall we say unto our father, when he seeth that ourbrother is not with us, and he will grieve over him?"

Joseph: "Say that the rope hath followed after the water bucket."

Judah: "Thou art a king, why dost thou speak in this wise, counselling afalsehood? Woe unto the king that is like thee!"

Joseph: "Is there a greater falsehood than that ye spake concerning yourbrother Joseph, whom you sold to the Midianites for twenty pieces of silver,telling your father, An evil beast bath devoured him?"

Judah: "The fire of Shechem burneth in my heart, now will I burn all thy landwith fire."

Joseph: "Surely, the fire kindled to burn Tamar, thy daughter-in-law, who didkill thy sons, will extinguish the fire of Shechem."

Judah: "If I pluck out a single hair from my body, I will fill the whole ofEgypt with its blood."

Joseph: "Such is it your custom to do; thus ye did unto your brother whom yousold, and then you dipped his coat in blood, brought it to your father, andsaid, An evil beast hath devoured him, and here is his blood."

When Judah heard this, he was exceedingly wroth, and he took a stone weighingfour hundred shekels that was before him, cast it toward heaven with one hand,caught it with his left hand, then sat upon it, and the stone turned into dust.At the command of Joseph, Manasseh did likewise with another stone, and Josephsaid to Judah: "Strength hath not been given to you alone, we also are powerfulmen. Why, then, will ye all boast before us?" Then Judah sent Naphtali forth,saying, "Go and count all the streets of the city of Egypt and come and tell methe number," but Simon interposed, saying, "Let not this thing trouble you, Iwill go to the mount, and take up one huge stone from the mount, throw it overthe whole of Mizraim, the city of Egypt, and kill all therein."

Hearing all these words, which they spake aloud, because they did not know thathe understood Hebrew, Joseph bade his son Manasseh make haste and gathertogether all the inhabitants of Egypt, and all the valiant men, and let themcome to him on horseback and afoot. Meantime Naphtali had gone quickly toexecute Judah's bidding, for he was as swift as the nimble hart, he could runacross a field of corn without breaking an ear. And he returned and reportedthat the city of Egypt was divided into twelve quarters. Judah bade hisbrethren destroy the city; he himself undertook to raze three quarters, and heassigned the nine remaining quarters to the others, one quarter to each.

In the meantime Manasseh had assembled a great army, five hundred mounted menand ten thousand on foot, among them four hundred valiant heroes, who couldfight without spear or sword, using only their strong, unarmed hands. Toinspire his brethren with more terror, Joseph ordered them to make a loud noisewith all sorts of instruments, and their appearance and the hubbub theyproduced did, indeed, cause fear to fall upon some of the brethren of Joseph.Judah, however, called to them, "Why are you terrified, seeing that God grantsus His mercy?" He drew his sword, and uttered a wild cry, which threw all thepeople into consternation, and in their disordered flight many fell over eachother and perished, and Judah and his brethren followed after the fleeingpeople as far as the house of Pharaoh. Returning to Joseph, Judah again brokeout in loud roars, and the reverberations caused by his cries were so mightythat all the city walls in Egypt and in Goshen fell in ruins, the pregnantwomen brought forth untimely births, and Pharaoh was flung from his throne.Judah's cries were heard at a great distance, as far off as Succoth.

When Pharaoh learnt the reason of the mighty uproar, he sent word to Josephthat he would have to concede the demands of the Hebrews, else the land wouldsuffer destruction. "Thou canst take thy choice," were the words of Pharaoh,"between me and the Hebrews, between Egypt and the land of the Hebrews. If thouwilt not heed my command, then leave me and go with them into their land."

JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN

Seeing that his brethren were, indeed, on the point of destroying Egypt, Josephresolved to make himself known to them, and he cast around for a properopening, which would lead naturally to his announcement. At his behest,Manasseh laid his hand upon Judah's shoulder, and his touch allayed Judah'sfury, for he noticed that he was in contact with a kinsman of his, because suchstrength existed in no other family. Then Joseph addressed Judah gently,saying:[278] "I should like to know who advised him to steal the cup. Could ithave been one of you?" Benjamin replied: "Neither did they counsel theft, nordid I touch the cup." "Take an oath upon it," demanded Joseph, and Benjamincomplied with his brother's request: "I swear that I did not touch the cup! Astrue as my brother Joseph is separated from me; as true as I had nothing to dowith the darts that my brethren threw at him; as true as I was not one of thoseto take off his coat; as true as I had no part in the transaction by which hewas given over to the Ishmaelites; as true as I did not help the others dip hiscoat in blood; so true is my oath, that they did not counsel theft, and that Idid not commit theft."

Joseph: "How can I know that this oath of thine taken upon thy brother's fateis true?"

Benjamin: "From the names of my ten sons, which I gave them in memory of mybrother's life and trials, thou canst see how dearly I loved him. I pray thee,therefore, do not bring down my father with sorrow to the grave."

Hearing these words of abiding love, Joseph could refrain himself no longer. Hecould not but make himself known unto his brethren.[279] He spake these wordsto them: "Ye said the brother of this lad was dead. Did you yourselves see himdead before you?" They answered, "Yes!"

Joseph: "Did you stand beside his grave?"

The brethren: "Yes!"

Joseph: "Did you throw clods of earth upon his corpse?"

The brethren: "No."

Then Joseph reflected, saying to himself: "My brethren are as pious asaforetime, and they speak no lies. They said I was dead, because when theyabandoned me, I was poor, and 'a poor man is like unto a dead man;' they stoodbeside my grave, that is the pit into which they cast me; but they did not saythat they had shovelled earth upon me, for that would have been a falsehood."

Turning to his brethren, he said: "Ye lie when ye say that your brother isdead. He is not dead. You sold him,[280] and I did buy him. I shall call him,and set him before your eyes," and he began to call, "Joseph, son of Jacob,come hither! Joseph, son of Jacob, come hither! Speak to thy brethren who didsell thee." The others turned their eyes hither and thither, to the fourcorners of the house, until Joseph called to them: "Why look ye here and there?Behold, I am Joseph your brother! "Their souls fled away from them, and theycould make no answer, but God permitted a miracle to happen, and their soulscame back to them.

Joseph continued, "Ye see it with your own eyes, and also my brother Benjaminseeth it with his eyes, that I speak with you in Hebrew, and I am truly yourbrother." But they would not believe him. Not only had he been transformed froma smooth-faced youth into a bearded man since they had abandoned him, but alsothe forsaken youth now stood before them the ruler of Egypt. Therefore Josephbared his body and showed them that he belonged to the descendants of Abraham.

Abashed they stood there, and in their rage they desired to slay Joseph as theauthor of their shame and their suffering. But an angel appeared and flung themto the four corners of the house. Judah raised so loud an outcry that the wallsof the city of Egypt tumbled down, the women brought forth untimely births,Joseph and Pharaoh both rolled down off their thrones, and Joseph's threehundred heroes lost their teeth, and their heads remained forever immobile,facing backward, as they had turned them to discover the cause of the tumult.Yet the brethren did not venture to approach close to Joseph, they were toogreatly ashamed of their behavior toward their brother.[281] He sought to calmthem, saying, "Now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold mehither, for God did send me before you to preserve life."

Even such kind words of exhortation did not banish their fear, and Josephcontinued to speak, "As little as I harbor vengeful thoughts in my heartagainst Benjamin, so little do I harbor them against you."And still hisbrethren were ill at case, and Joseph went on, "Think you that it is possiblefor me to inflict harm upon you? If the smoke of ten candles could notextinguish one, how can one extinguish ten?"

At last the brethren were soothed, and they went up to Joseph,[282] who kneweach by name, and, weeping, he embraced and kissed them all in turn. The reasonwhy he wept was that his prophetic spirit showed him the descendants of hisbrethren enslaved by the nations.[283] Especially did he weep upon Benjamin'sneck, because he foresaw the destruction decreed for the two Temples to besituated in the allotment of Benjamin. And Benjamin also wept upon Joseph'sneck, for the sanctuary at Shiloh, in the territory of Joseph which waslikewise doomed to destruction.[284]

Pharaoh was well pleased with the report of the reconciliation between Josephand the Hebrews, for he had feared that their dissensions might cause the ruinof Egypt, and he sent his servants to Joseph, that they take part in his joy.Also he sent word to Joseph that it would please him well if his brethren tookup their abode in Egypt, and he promised to assign the best parts of the landto them for their dwelling-place.[285]

Not all the servants of Pharaoh were in agreement with their master concerningthis invitation to the Hebrews. Many among them were disquieted, saying, "Ifone of the sons of Jacob came hither, and he was advanced to a high positionover our heads, what evil will happen to us when ten more come hither?"[286]

Joseph gave all his brethren two changes of raiment, one for use on theordinary days of the week and one for use on the Sabbath, for, when the cup wasfound with Benjamin, they had rent their clothes, and Joseph would not have hisbrethren go about in torn garments.[287] But to Benjamin he gave five changesof raiment, though not in order to distinguish him above his brethren. Josephremembered only too well what mischief his father had caused by giving him thecoat of many colors, thereby arousing the envy of his brethren. He desired onlyto intimate that Mordecai, a descendant of Benjamin, would once be arrayed infive royal garments.[288]

Joseph presented his brethren, apparelled in their gold and silver embroideredclothes, before Pharaoh, who was well pleased to become acquainted with themwhen he saw that they were men of heroic stature and handsome appearance.[289]He gave them wagons, to bring their families down into Egypt, but as they wereornamented with images of idols, Judah burnt them,[290] and Joseph replacedthem with eleven other wagons, among them the one he had ridden in at hisaccession to office, to view the land of Egypt. This was to be used by hisfather on his journey to Egypt. For each of his brothers' children, he sentraiments, and also one hundred pieces of silver for each, but for each of thechildren of Benjamin he sent ten changes of raiment. And for the wives of hisbrethren he gave them rich garments of state, such as were worn by the wives ofthe Pharaohs, and also ointments and aromatic spices. To his sister Dinah hesent silver and gold embroidered clothes, and myrrh, aloes, and other perfumes,and such presents he gave also to the wife and the daughters-in-law ofBenjamin. For themselves and for their wives the brethren received all sorts ofprecious stones and jewelled ornaments, like those that are worn by theEgyptian nobility.

Joseph accompanied his eleven brethren to the frontier, and there he took leaveof them with the wish that they and all their families come down to Egypt,[291]and he enjoined upon them, besides, three maxims to be observed by travellers:Do not take too large steps; do not discuss Halakic subjects, that you lose notyour way; and enter the city at the latest with the going down of the sun.[292]

JACOB RECEIVES THE GLAD TIDINGS

In blithe spirits the sons of Jacob journeyed up to the land of Canaan, butwhen they reached the boundary line, they said to one another, "How shall wedo? If we appear before our father and tell him that Joseph is alive, he willbe greatly frightened, and he will not be inclined to believe us." Besides,Joseph's last injunction to them had been to take heed and not startle theirfather with the tidings of joy.

On coming close to their habitation, they caught sight of Serah, the daughterof Asher, a very beautiful maiden, and very wise, who was skilled in playingupon the harp. They summoned her unto them and gave her a harp, and bade herplay before Jacob and sing that which they should tell her. She sat down beforeJacob, and, with an agreeable melody, she sang the following words,accompanying herself upon the harp: "Joseph, my uncle, liveth, he ruleth overthe whole of Egypt, he is not dead!" She repeated these words several times,and Jacob grew more and more pleasurably excited. His joy awakened the holyspirit in him, and he knew that she spoke the truth.[293] The spirit ofprophecy never visits a seer when he is in a state of lassitude or in a stateof grief; it comes only together with joy. All the years of Joseph's separationfrom him Jacob had had no prophetic visions, because he was always sad, andonly when Serah's words reawakened the feeling of happiness in his heart, theprophetic spirit again took possession of him.[294] Jacob rewarded her thereforwith the words, "My daughter, may death never have power over thee, for thoudidst revive my spirit." And so it was. Serah did not die, she entered Paradisealive. At his bidding, she repeated the words she had sung again and again, andthey gave Jacob great joy and delight, so that the holy spirit waxed strongerand stronger within him.

While he was sitting thus in converse with Serah, his sons appeared arrayed inall their magnificence, and with all the presents that Joseph had given them,and they spake to Jacob, saying: "Glad tidings! Joseph our brother liveth! Heis ruler over the whole land of Egypt, and he sends thee a message of joy." Atfirst Jacob would not believe them, but when they opened their packs, andshowed him the presents Joseph had sent to all, he could not doubt the truth oftheir words any longer.[295]

Joseph had had a premonition that his father would refuse to give his brethrencredence, because they had tried to deceive him before, and "it is thepunishment of the liar that his words are not believed even when he speaks thetruth." He had therefore said to them, "If my father will not believe yourwords, tell him that when I took leave of him, to see whether it was well withyou, he had been teaching me the law of the heifer whose neck is broken in thevalley." When they repeated this, every last vestige of Jacob's doubtdisappeared, and he said: "Great is the steadfastness of my son Joseph. Inspite of all his sufferings he has remained constant in his piety.[296] Yea,great are the benefits that the Lord hath conferred upon me. He saved me fromthe hands of Esau, and from the hands of Laban, and from the Canaanites whopursued after me. I have tasted many joys, and I hope to see more, but neverdid I hope to set eyes upon Joseph again, and now I shall go down to him andbehold him before my death."[297]

Then Jacob and the members of his family put on the clothes Joseph had sent,among them a turban for Jacob, and they made all preparations to journey downinto Egypt and dwell there with Joseph and his family. Hearing of his goodfortune, the kings and the grandees of Canaan came to wait upon Jacob andexpress sympathy with him in his joy, and he prepared a three days' banquet forthem.[298]

Jacob, however, would not go down into Egypt without first inquiring whether itwas the will of God that he should leave the Holy Land.[299] He said, "How canI leave the land of my fathers, the land of my birth, the land in which theShekinah dwells, and go into an unclean land, inhabited by slaves of the sonsof Ham, a land wherein there is no fear of God?"[300] Then he broughtsacrifices in honor of God, in the expectation that a Divine vision woulddescend upon him and instruct him whether to go down into Egypt or have Josephcome up to Canaan. He feared the sojourn in Egypt, for he remembered the visionhe had had at Beth-el on leaving his father's house,[301] and he said to God:"I resemble my father. As he was greedy in filling his maw, so am I, andtherefore I would go down into Egypt in consequence of the famine. As my fatherpreferred one son to the other, so had I a favorite son, and therefore I wouldgo down into Egypt to see Joseph. But in this I do not resemble my father, hehad only himself to provide for, and my house consists of seventy souls, andtherefore am I compelled to go down into Egypt. The blessing which my fathergave me was not fulfilled in me, but in my son Joseph, whom peoples serve, andbefore whom nations bow down."[302]

Then the Shekinah addressed Jacob, calling his name twice in token oflove,[303] and bidding him not to fear the Egyptian slavery foretold for thedescendants of Abraham, for God would have pity upon the suffering of hischildren and deliver them from bondage.[304] God furthermore said, "I will godown into Egypt with thee," and the Shekinah accompanied Jacob thither,bringing the number of the company with which he entered Egypt up toseventy.[305] But as Jacob entertained fears that his descendants would staythere forever, God gave him the assurance that He would lead him forth togetherwith all the pious that were like unto him.[306] And God also told Jacob thatJoseph had remained steadfast in his piety even in Egypt, and he might dismissall doubts from his mind on this score, for it was his anxiety on this accountthat had induced Jacob to consider going down into Egypt; he wanted only tomake sure of Joseph's faithfulness, and then return home, but God commanded himto go thither and remain there.[307]

Before Jacob left Canaan, he went to Beer-sheba, to hew down the cedars thatAbraham had planted there, and take them with him to Egypt. For centuries thesecedar trees remained in the possession of his descendants; they carried themwith them when they left Egypt, and they used them in building theTabernacle.[308]

Although Joseph had put wagons at the disposal of his brethren for the removalof his family from Canaan to Egypt, they yet carried Jacob upon their arms, forwhich purpose they divided themselves into three divisions, one division afterthe other assuming the burden. As a reward for their filial devotion, Godredeemed their descendants from Egypt.[309]

Judah was sent on ahead by his father, to erect a dwelling in Goshen, and alsoa Bet ha-Midrash, that Jacob might set about instructing his sons at once afterhis arrival. He charged Judah with this honorable task in order to compensatehim for a wrong he had done him. All the years of Joseph's absence he badsuspected Judah of having made away with Rachel's son.[310] How little thesuspicion was justified he realized now when Judah in particular had beenassiduous in securing the safety of Benjamin, the other son of Rachel. Jacobtherefore said to Judah: "Thou hast done a pious, God-bidden deed, and hastshown thyself to be a man capable of carrying on negotiations with Joseph.Complete the work thou hast begun! Go to Goshen, and together with Josephprepare all things for our coming. Indeed," continued Jacob, "thou wast thecause of our going down into Egypt, for it was at thy suggestion that Josephwas sold as a slave, and, also, through thy descendants Israel will be ledforth out of Egypt."[311]

When Joseph was informed of the approach of his father, he rejoicedexceedingly, chiefly because his coming would stop the talk of the Egyptians,who were constantly referring to him as the slave that had dominion over them."Now," thought Joseph, "they will see my father and my brethren, and they willbe convinced that I am a free-born man, of noble stock."

In his joy in anticipation of seeing his father, Joseph made ready his chariotwith his own hands, without waiting for his servants to minister to him, andthis loving action redounded later to the benefit of the Israelites, for itrendered of none effect Pharaoh's zeal in making ready his chariot himself,with his own hands, to pursue after the Israelites.[312]

JACOB ARRIVES IN EGYPT

When the Egyptian nobles observed their viceroy completing his preparations tomeet his father, they did the same.[313] Indeed, Joseph had issued aproclamation throughout the land, threatening with death all that did not goforth to meet Jacob. The procession that accompanied him was composed ofcountless men, arrayed in byssus and purple, and marching to the sound of allsorts of musical instruments. Even the women of Egypt had a part in thereception ceremonies. They ascended to the roofs of the houses and the walls ofthe cities, ready to greet Jacob with the music of cymbals and timbrels.

Joseph wore the royal crown upon his head, Pharaoh had yielded it to him forthe occasion. He descended from his chariot when he was at a distance of aboutfifty ells from his father, and walked the rest of the way on foot, and hisexample was followed by the princes and nobles of Egypt. When Jacob caughtsight of the approaching procession, he was rejoiced,[314] and even before herecognized Joseph, he bowed down before him, but for permitting his father toshow him this mark of honor, punishment was visited upon Joseph. He died anuntimely death, before the years of life assigned to him had elapsed.[315]

That no harm befall Jacob from a too sudden meeting with him, Joseph sent hisoldest son ahead with five horses, the second son following close after him inthe same way. As each son approached, Jacob thought he beheld Joseph, and so hewas prepared gradually to see him face to face.[316]

Meantime Jacob had espied, from where he was seated, a man in royal robes amongthe Egyptians, a crown upon his head, and a purple mantle over his shoulders,and he asked Judah who it might be. When he was told that it was Joseph, hisjoy was great over the high dignity attained by his son.

By this time Joseph had come close to his father, and he bowed himself beforehim down to the earth, and all the people with him likewise prostratedthemselves.[317] Then Joseph fell upon his father's neck, and he wept bitterly.He was particularly grieved that he had permitted his father to bow down beforehim but a little while before without hindering it.[318] At the very momentwhen Joseph embraced his father, Jacob was reciting the Shema', and he did notallow himself to be interrupted in his prayer,[319] but then he said, "Whenthey brought me the report of the death of Joseph, I thought I was doomed todouble death—that I should lose this world and the world to come as well. TheLord had promised to make me the ancestor of twelve tribes, and as the death ofmy son rendered it impossible that this promise should be realized, I feared Ihad incurred the doom by my own sins, and as a sinner I could not but expect toforfeit the future world, too. But now that I have beheld thee alive, I knowthat my death will be only for the world here below."[320]

Such was the manner of Jacob's arrival in Egypt. He came with his whole family,sixty-nine persons they were in all, but the number was raised to seventy bythe birth of Jochebed, afterward the mother of Moses, which took place when thecavalcade had advanced to the space between the one and the other citywall.[321] All the males in his family were married men; even Pallu and Hezron,the latter of whom was but one year old at the time of their migration, and theformer but two years, had the wives with them that had been chosen for them bytheir parents.[322] In general, all the sons and grandsons of Jacob had marriedyoung, some of them had been fathers at the age of seven.[323]

Joseph took some from among his brethren, and presented them to Pharaoh. Hechose the weakest of them, that the king might not be tempted to retain them inhis service as warriors.[324] And as he did not desire his family to live atclose quarters with the Egyptians and perhaps amalgamate with them, heintroduced them as shepherds. The Egyptians worshipped the constellation of therain, and paid divine honors to animals, and they kept aloof from shepherds.Pharaoh therefore was inclined to grant Joseph's wish, to give them the pastureland of Goshen for their sojourning place, the land that was theirs by right,for the Pharaoh that took Sarah away from Abraham by force had given it to heras her irrevocable possession.[325]

In their conversation with Pharaoh the brethren of Joseph made it plain to theEgyptian king that it was not their intention to remain in Egypt forever, itwas to be only a temporary dwelling-place.[326]

Then Joseph set Jacob his father before Pharaoh, and when the king saw him, hesaid to Og, who happened to be with him at that moment, "Seest thou! Thou wastwont to call Abraham a sterile mule, and here is his grandson with a family ofseventy persons!" Og would not believe his own eyes, he thought Abraham wasstanding before him, so close was the resemblance between Jacob and hisprogenitor. Then Pharaoh asked about Jacob's age, to find out whether heactually was Jacob, and not Abraham. And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, "The days ofthe years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years," using the wordpilgrimage in reference to life on earth, which the pious regard as a temporarysojourn in alien lands. "Few and evil," he continued, "have been the days ofthe years of my life. In my youth I had to flee to a strange land on account ofmy brother Esau, and now, in my old age, I must again go to a strange land, andmy days have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathersin the days of their pilgrimage." These words sufficed to convince Pharaoh andOg that the man standing before them was not Abraham, but his grandson.[327]

When Jacob uttered the words, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage have beenfew and evil," God said to him: "Jacob, I saved thee out of the hands of Esauand Laban, I restored Joseph unto thee, and made him to be a king and a ruler,and yet thou speakest of few and evil days. Because of thy ingratitude, thouwilt not attain unto the days of the years of the life of thy fathers," andJacob died at an age thirty-three years less than his father Isaac's.[328]

On going out from the presence of Pharaoh, Jacob blessed the king with thewords, "May the years still in store for me be given unto thee, and may theNile overflow its banks henceforth again and water the land." His words werefulfilled. In order to show that the pious are a blessing for the world, Godcaused the Nile to rise above its bed and fructify the land of Egypt.[329]

JOSEPH'S KINDNESS AND GENEROSITY

Jacob and his family now settled in the land of Goshen, and Joseph providedthem with all things needful, not only with food and drink, but also withclothing, and in his love and kindness he entertained his father and hisbrethren daily at his own table.[330] He banished the wrong done to him by hisbrethren from his mind, and he besought his father to pray to God for them,that He should forgive their great transgression. Touched by this noble sign oflove, Jacob cried out, "O Joseph, my child, thou hast conquered the heart ofthy father Jacob."[331]

Joseph had other virtues, besides. The title "the God- fearing one," borne onlyby him, Abraham, Job, and Obadiah, he gained by reason of his kindness of heartand his generosity. Whatever he gave his brethren, he gave with a "good eye," aliberal spirit. If it was bread for food, it was sure to be abundant enough,not only to satisfy the hunger of all, but also for the children to crumble, asis their habit.[332]

But Joseph was more than a helper to his family. As a shepherd pastures hisflock, so he provided for the whole world during the years of famine. Thepeople cursed Pharaoh, who kept the stores of corn in his treasure chambers forhis own use, and they blessed Joseph, who took thought for the famishing, andsold grain to all that came.[333] The wealth which he acquired by these saleswas lawful gain, for the prices were raised, not by him, but by the Egyptiansthemselves.[334] One part of his possessions, consisting of gold and silver andprecious stones, Joseph buried in four different places, in the desert near theRed Sea, on the banks of the Euphrates, and in two spots in the desert in thevicinity of Persia and Media.[335] Korah discovered one of the hiding- places,and the Roman emperor Antoninus, the son of Severus, another. The other twowill never be found, because God has reserved the riches they hold for thepious, to be enjoyed by them in the latter days, the days of the Messiah.[336]The remainder of Joseph's possessions he gave away, partly to his brethren andtheir families, and partly to Pharaoh, who put them into his treasury.[337]

The wealth of the whole world flowed into Egypt at that time, and it remainedthere until the exodus of the Israelites. They took it along, leaving Egyptlike a net without fish. The Israelites kept the treasure until the time ofRehoboam, who was deprived of it by the Egyptian king Shishak, and he in turnhad to yield it to Zerah, the king of Ethiopia. Once more it came intopossession of the Jews when King Asa conquered Zerah, but this time they heldit for only a short while, for Asa surrendered it to the Aramean kingBen-hadad, to induce him to break his league with Baasha, the king of the TenTribes. The Ammonites, in turn, captured it from Ben-hadad, only to lose it intheir war with the Jews under Jehoshaphat. Again it remained with the Jews,until the time of King Ahaz, who sent it to Sennacherib as tribute money.Hezekiah won it back, but Zedekiah, the last king of the Jews, lost it to theChaldeans, from whom it came to Persia, thence to the Greeks, and finally tothe Romans, and with the last it remained for all time.[338]

The people were soon left without means to purchase the corn they needed. In ashort time they had to part with their cattle, and when the money thus securedwas spent, they sold their land to Joseph, and even their persons. Many of themwould cover themselves with clay and appear before Joseph, and say to him, "Olord king, see me and see my possessions!" And so Joseph bought all the land ofEgypt, and the inhabitants became his tenants, and they gave a fifth of theiringatherings unto joseph.[339]

The only class of the people permitted to remain in possession of their landwere the priests. Joseph owed them gratitude, for they had made it possible forhim to become the ruler over Egypt. The Egyptians had hesitated to make himtheir viceroy, because they shrank from choosing a man accused of adultery forso high an office. It was the priests that made the suggestion to examineJoseph's torn garment, which his mistress had submitted as evidence of hisguilt, and see whether the rent was in front or in back. If it was in back, itwould show his innocence—he had turned to flee, and his temptress had clutchedhim so that the garment tore. But if the tear was in front, then it would be aproof of his guilt—he had used violence with the woman, and she had torn themantle in her efforts to defend her honor. The angel Gabriel came andtransferred the rent from the fore part to the back, and the Egyptians wereconvinced of Joseph's innocence, and their scruples about raising him to thekingship were removed.[340]

As soon as the Egyptians learnt of the advantageous position of the priests,they all tried to prove themselves members of the caste. But Josephinvestigated the lists in the archives, and determined the estate of everycitizen.

The priests were favored in another way. Beside remaining in possession oftheir land, they received daily portions from Pharaoh, wherefore God said, "Thepriests that serve idols receive all they need every day, how much more do thesons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are My priests, deserve that I shouldgive them what they need every day."[341]

The rest of the inhabitants of Egypt, who had to part with their land, were notpermitted to remain in their native provinces. Joseph removed them from theirown cities, and settled them in others. His purpose herein was to prevent theEgyptians from speaking of his brethren derogatorily as "exiles the sons ofexiles"; he made them all equally aliens.[342] For the same reason, God later,at the time of the going forth of the Israelites from Egypt, caused all nationsto change their dwelling-places about, so that the Israelites could not bereproached with having had to leave their home. And, finally, when Sermacheribcarried the Jews away from their land into exile, it also happened that thisking first mixed up the inhabitants of all the countries of the world.[343]

JACOB'S LAST WISH

In return for the seventeen years that Jacob had devoted to the bringing up ofJoseph, he was granted seventeen years of sojourn with his favorite son inpeace and happiness. The wicked experience sorrow after joy; the pious mustsuffer first, and then they are happy, for all's well that ends well, and Godpermits the pious to spend the last years of their lives in felicity.[344]

When Jacob felt his end approach, he summoned Joseph to his bedside, and hetold him all there was in his heart. He called for Joseph rather than one ofhis other sons, because he was the only one in a position to execute hiswishes.

Jacob said to Joseph: "If I have found grace in thy sight, bury me not, I praythee, in Egypt. Only for thy sake did I come down into Egypt, and for thy sakeI spoke, Now I can die. Do this for me as a true service of love, and notbecause thou art afraid, or because decency demands it. And when I sleep withmy fathers, thou shalt bury me in their burying-place. Carry me out of the landof idolatry, and bury me in the land where God hath caused His Name to dwell,and put me to rest in the place in which four husbands and wives are to beburied, I the last of them."

Jacob desired not to be buried in Egypt for several reasons. He knew that thesoil of Egypt would once swarm with vermin, and it revolted him to think of hiscorpse exposed to such uncleanness. He feared, moreover, that his descendantsmight say, "Were Egypt not a holy land, our father Jacob had never permittedhimself to be buried there," and they might encourage themselves with thisargument to make choice of Egypt as a permanent dwelling- place. Also, if hisgrave were there, the Egyptians might resort to it when the ten plagues cameupon them, and if he were induced to pray for them to God, he would beadvocating the cause of the Lord's enemies. If, on the other hand, he did notintercede for them, the Name of God would be profaned among the heathen, whowould say, "Jacob is a useless saint!" Besides, it was possible that God mightconsider him, the "scattered sheep" of Israel, as a sacrifice for theEgyptians, and remit their punishment. From his knowledge of the people,another fear was justified, that his grave would become an object of idolatrousveneration, and the same punishment is appointed by God for the idolsworshipped as for the idolaters that worship them.

If Jacob had good reasons for not wanting his body to rest in the soil ofEgypt, he had equally good reasons for wanting it to rest in the Holy Land. Inthe Messianic time, when the dead will rise, those buried in Palestine willawaken to new life without delay, while those buried elsewhere will first haveto roll from land to land through the earth, hollowed out for the purpose,until they reach the Holy Land, and only then will their resurrection takeplace. But over and beyond this, Jacob had an especial reason for desiring tohave his body interred in Palestine. God had said to him at Beth-el, "The landwhereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed," and hence he madeevery endeavor to "lie" in the Holy Land, to make sure it would belong to himand his descendants.[345] Nevertheless he bade Joseph strew some Egyptian earthover his dead body.[346]

Jacob expressed these his last wishes three times. Such is the requirement ofgood breeding in preferring a request.

In the last period of Jacob's life, one can see how true it is that "even aking depends upon favors in a strange land." Jacob, the man for the sake ofwhose merits the whole world was created, for the sake of whom Abraham wasdelivered from the fiery furnace, had to ask services of others while he wasamong strangers,[347] and when Joseph promised to do his bidding, he bowedhimself before his own son, for it is a true saying, "Bow before the fox in hisday," the day of his power.[348]

He was not satisfied with a simple promise from Joseph, that he would do hiswish; he insisted upon his taking an oath by the sign of the covenant ofAbraham, putting a hand under his thigh in accordance with the ceremonycustomary among the Patriarchs![349] But Joseph said: "Thou treatest me like aslave. With me thou hast no need to require an oath. Thy command sufficeth."Jacob, however, urged him, saying: "I fear Pharaoh may command thee to bury mein the sepulchre with the kings of Egypt. I insist that thou takest an oath,and then I will be at peace." Joseph gave in,[350] though he would not submitto the ceremony that Eliezer had used to confirm the oath he took at therequest of his master Abraham. The slave acted in accordance with the rules ofslavery, the free man acted in accordance with the dictates of freedom.[351]And in a son that thing would have been unseemly which was becoming in aslave.[352]

When Joseph swore to bury his father in Palestine, he added the words, "As thoucommandest me to do, so also will I beg my brethren, on my death-bed, to fulfilmy last wish and carry my body from Egypt to Palestine."[353]

Jacob, noticing the Shekinah over the bed's head, where she always rests in asick room, bowed himself upon the bed's head,[354] saying, "I thank thee, OLord my God, that none who is unfit came forth from my bed, but my bed wasperfect."[355] He was particularly grateful for the revelation God hadvouchsafed him concerning his first-born son Reuben, that he had repented ofhis trespass against his father, and atoned for it by penance. He was thusassured that all his sons were men worthy of being the progenitors of thetwelve tribes, and he was blessed with happiness such as neither Abraham norIsaac had known, for both of them had had unworthy as well as worthy sons.[356]

Until the time of Jacob death had always come upon men suddenly, and snatchedthem away before they were warned of the imminent end by sickness. Once Jacobspoke to God, saying, "O Lord of the world, a man dies suddenly, and he is notlaid low first by sickness, and he cannot acquaint his children with his wishesregarding all he leaves behind. But if a man first fell sick, and felt that hisend were drawing nigh, he would have time to set his house in order." And Godsaid, "Verily, thy request is sensible, and thou shalt be the first to profitby the new dispensation," and so it happened that Jacob fell sick a littlewhile before his death.[357]

His sickness troubled him grievously, for he had undergone much during hislife. He had worked day and night while he was with Laban, and his conflictswith the angel and with Esau, though he came off victor from both, had weakenedhim, and he was not in a condition to endure the hardships of disease.[358]

THE BLESSING OF EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH

All the years of Jacob's sojourn in Egypt, Asenath, the wife of Joseph, was hisconstant nurse. When she saw his end drawing nigh, she spoke to Joseph: "I haveheard that one who is blessed by a righteous man is as though he had beenblessed by the Shekinah. Therefore, bring thy sons hither, that Jacob give themhis blessing."[359]

Though Joseph was a devoted and loving son to his father, he was not inconstant attendance upon him, because he wanted to avoid giving him theopportunity of inquiring into the circumstances of his coming to Egypt. He wasapprehensive that Jacob might curse his sons and bring death upon them, if hediscovered the facts connected with their treacherous dealings with Joseph. Hetook good care therefore never to be alone with his father. But as he desiredto be kept informed of his welfare, he arranged a courier service betweenhimself and Jacob.

Now when Joseph received the news of his father's having fallen sick, throughhis messenger, as well as through Ephraim, whom Jacob was instructing in theTorah, he hastened to the land of Goshen, taking his two sons with him. Hedesired to have certainty upon five points: Would his father bless his twosons, who were born in Egypt, and, if so, would he appoint them to be heads oftribes? Would he assign the rights of the first-born unto himself, and, if so,would he divest Reuben of such rights altogether? And why had his father buriedhis mother Rachel by the wayside, and not carried her body to the family tombat Machpelah?[360]

Jacob had also entertained doubts on five points, when he was about to emigratefrom Canaan to Egypt: He did not know whether his descendants would losethemselves among the people of Egypt; whether he would die there and be buriedthere; and whether he would be permitted to see Joseph and see the sons ofJoseph. God gave him the assurance, saying, "I will go down with thee intoEgypt, and I will surely bring thee up again after thy death, and thydescendants also, and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes." When the timeapproached for the fulfilment of the Divine promise, God appeared unto Jacob,and He said, "I promised to fulfil thy wish, and the time of fulfilment hathcome."

The holy spirit made known to Jacob that Joseph was coming to him,[361] and hestrengthened himself, and sat upon the bed in order to pay due respect to therepresentative of the government. Though Joseph was his son, he was alsoviceroy, and entitled to special marks of honor. Besides, Jacob desired to makethe impression of being a man in good health. He wanted to avoid thepossibility of having his blessing of Joseph and Joseph's sons questioned asthe act of an irresponsible person.[362]

He strengthened himself spiritually as well as physically, by prayer to God, inwhich he besought Him to let the holy spirit descend upon him at the time ofhis giving the blessing to the sons of Joseph.

When Joseph appeared in the company of his two sons, his father said to him:"In all the seventeen years thou hast been visiting me, thou didst never bringthy sons with thee, but now they have come, and I know the reason. If I blessthem, I shall act in opposition to the word of God, who promised to make me theprogenitor of twelve tribes, for if I adopt them as my sons, there will befourteen tribes. But if I do not bless them, it will plunge thee in sorrow. Sobe it, I will bless them. But think not I do it because thou didst support meall these years. There is quite another reason.[363] When I left my father'shouse to go to Haran, I offered up a prayer at Beth-el, and I promised to giveunto God the tenth of all I owned. So far as my material possessions areconcerned, I kept my vow, but I could not give the tithe of my sons, becauseaccording to the law I had to withdraw from the reckoning the four sons,Reuben, Joseph, Dan, and Gad, that are the first-born children of theirmothers. When I returned, God again appeared unto me in Beth-el, and He said,Be fruitful and multiply. But after this blessing no son was born unto meexcept Benjamin alone, and it cannot be but that God meant Manasseh and Ephraimwhen He spoke of 'a nation and a company of nations.' If now I have found favorin thy sight, thy two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simon,shall be mine, and then I shall be able to give a tenth part of my ten sonsunto the Lord, and I shall leave this world free from the sin of not keeping myvow to the Lord concerning the tithe-giving."

Joseph consented to do his father's will, and Jacob tithed his sons,consecrating Levi to the Holy One, and appointing him to be the chief of hisbrethren. He enjoined his sons to have a care that there should never fail thema son of Levi in the priestly succession. And it happened that. of all thetribes Levi was the only one that never proved faithless to the covenant of thefathers.[364]

Thus Jacob adopted Manasseh and Ephraim to be his own sons, even as Reuben andSimon were his sons. They were entitled like the others to a portion in theHoly Land, and like the others they were to bear standards on their journeythrough the desert.[365]

Satisfied as to Jacob's intentions concerning his sons, Joseph asked his fatherabout his mother's burial-place, and Jacob spoke, saying: "As thou livest, thywish to see thy mother lying by my side in the grave doth not exceed mine own.I had joy in life only as long as she was alive, and her death was the heaviestblow that ever fell upon me." Joseph questioned him: "Perhaps thou didst haveto bury her in the way, because she died during the rainy season, and thoucouldst not carry her body through the rain to our family sepulchre?" "No,"replied Jacob, "she died in the spring time, when the highways are clean andfirm." Joseph: "Grant me permission to take up her body now and place it in ourfamily burial-place." Jacob: "No, my son, that thou mayest not do. I wasunwilling to bury her in the way, but the Lord commanded it." The reason of thecommand was that God knew that the Temple would be destroyed, and Israel wouldbe carried away into banishment, and the exiles would ask the Patriarchs tointercede for them with God, but God would not hearken unto them. On their wayto the land of the stranger they would pass the grave of Rachel, and they wouldthrow themselves upon it, and beseech their mother to make intercession forthem with God. And Rachel would pray to God in their behalf: "O Lord of theworld, look upon my tears, and have compassion upon my children. But if Thouwilt not take pity on them, then indemnify me for the wrong done to me." Untoher prayer God will hearken, and He will have mercy upon Israel. Therefore wasRachel buried in the way.

Now Jacob desired to bless the sons of Joseph, but the holy spirit made him tosee Jeroboam, the descendant of Ephraim, and Jehu, the descendant of Manasseh,how they would seduce Israel to idolatry, and the Shekinah forsook him as hewas about to lay his hands upon the heads of his grandsons. He said to Joseph,"Is it possible that thou didst not marry the mother of thy children accordingto the law?" Joseph thereupon brought his wife Asenath to his father, andpointing to her marriage contract, he said, "This one is my wife, whom Imarried as is proper, with a marriage contract and due ceremony. I pray thee,my father, bless my sons if only for the sake of this pious woman."

Jacob bade his grandsons approach close to him, and he kissed and embracedthem, in the hope that his joy in them would lure back the holy spirit, but hishope was vain. Joseph concluded that the time was not favorable for blessing,and he decided to go away until a more propitious opportunity presented itself,first, however, proving to his father that his sons had been initiated in thecovenant of Abraham.

Outside of his father's chamber, alone with his sons, he threw himself downbefore God and besought Him to show him mercy, and he bade his sons dolikewise, saying, "Be not content with your high station, for worldly honorsare but for a time. Entreat God to be merciful and let the Shekinah descendupon my father, that he bless you both." Then spake God to the holy spirit:"How long yet shall Joseph suffer? Reveal thyself quickly, and enter intoJacob, that he may be able to bestow blessings."

In the words of Jacob, "Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simon, shallbe mine," Joseph had noticed his father's preference for his younger sonEphraim. It made him very anxious about his older son's birthright, and he wascareful to put the two lads before his father in such wise that Manasseh shouldstand opposite Jacob's right hand, and Ephraim opposite his left hand.[366] ButEphraim, on account of his modesty, was destined for greater things than hisolder brother Manasseh, and God bade the holy spirit prompt Jacob to give thebirthright to Ephraim.[367] Now when Joseph observed his father put his righthand upon Ephraim's head, he made an attempt to remove it unto Manasseh's head.But Jacob warded him off, saying: "What, thou wouldst displace my hand againstmy will, the hand that overcame the prince of the angel hosts, who is as largeas one-third of the world![368] I know things not known to thee—I know whatReuben did to Bilhah, and what Judah did to Tamar. How much more do I knowthings known to thee![369] Thinkest thou I know not what thy brethren did tothee, because thou wouldst betray nothing whenever I asked thee?[370] I knowit, Manasseh also shall become great, the judge Gideon shall descend from him,but his younger brother will be the ancestor of Joshua, who will bring the sunand the moon to a standstill, though they have dominion over the whole earthfrom end to end." Thus did Jacob set Ephraim the younger above Manasseh theolder, and thus did it remain unto all times. In the list of the generations,Manasseh comes after Ephraim, and so it was in the allotment of the portions inthe Holy Land, and so it was in the placing of the camps and the standards ofthe tribes, and in the dedication of the Tabernacle—everywhere Ephraim precededManasseh.[371]

The blessing bestowed upon his grandchildren by Jacob was as follows: "O thatit be the will of God that ye walk in the ways of the Lord like unto my fathersAbraham and Isaac,[372] and may the angel that hath redeemed me from all evilgive his aid unto Joshua and Gideon,[373] and reveal himself unto them. Mayyour names be named on Israel, and like unto fishes may you grow into amultitude in the midst of the earth, and as fishes are protected by the water,so may you be protected by the merits of Joseph."[374]

The words "like unto fishes" were used by Jacob for the purpose of intimatingthe manner of death awaiting the Ephraimites, the descendants of Joseph. Asfish are caught by their mouth, so the Ephraimites were in later days to invitetheir doom by their peculiar lisp. At the same time, Jacob's words containedthe prophecy that Joshua the son of the man Nun, the "fish," would lead Israelinto the Holy Land. And in his words lay still another prophecy, with referenceto the sixty thousand men children begot in the same night as Moses, all castinto the river with him, and saved for the sake of his merits. The number ofboys thrown to the fishes in the river that night was equal to the number ofmen in Israel upon the earth.[375]

Ephraim received a special and separate blessing from his grandfather. Jacobsaid to him, "Ephraim, my son, thou art the head of the Academy, and in thedays to come my most excellent and celebrated descendants will be calledEphrati after thee."[376]

Joseph received two gifts from his father. The first was Shechem, the city thatJacob had defended, with sword and bow, against the depredations of the Amoritekings when they tried to take revenge upon his sons for the outrage committedthere. And the second gift was the garments made by God for Adam and passedfrom hand to hand, until they came into the possession of Jacob. Shechem washis reward, because, with his chastity, he stemmed the tide of immorality thatburst loose in Shechem first of all.[377] Besides, he had a prior claim uponthe city. Shechem, son of Hamor, the master of the city, had given it to Dinahas a present, and the wife of Joseph, Asenath, being the daughter of Dinah, thecity belonged to him by right.[378]

Adam's clothes Jacob had received from Esau. He had not taken them from hisbrother by force, but God had caused them to be given to him as a reward forhis good deeds. They had belonged to Nimrod. Once when the mighty hunter caughtEsau in his preserves, and forbade him to go on the chase, they agreed todetermine by combat what their privileges were. Esau had taken counsel withJacob, and he had advised him never to fight with Nimrod while he was clothedin Adam's garments. The two now wrestled with each other, and at the timeNimrod was not dressed in Adam's clothes. The end was that he was slain byEsau. Thus the garments worn by Adam fell into the hands of Esau, from him theypassed into Jacob's, and he bequeathed them to Joseph.[379]

Jacob also taught Joseph three signs whereby to distinguish the true redeemer,who should deliver Israel from the bondage of Egypt. He would proclaim theIneffable Name, appoint elders, and use the word Pakod in addressing thepeople.[380]

THE BLESSING OF THE TWELVE TRIBES

When Joseph and his two sons left Jacob, his brethren, envious of the bountifulblessings bestowed upon the three, said, "The whole world loveth a favorite offortune, and our father hath blessed Joseph thus because he is a ruler of men."Then spoke Jacob: "They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Ihave blessings enough for all."[381]

Jacob summoned his sons from the land of Egypt, and bade them come to him atRaamses, first, however, commanding them to make themselves clean, that theblessing he was about to bestow might attach itself to them. Another one of hiscommands was that they were to establish an Academy, by the members of whichthey were to be governed.

When his sons were brought into his presence by the angels, Jacob spoke,saying, "Take heed that no dissensions spring up among you, for union is thefirst condition of Israel's redemption," and he was on the point of revealingthe great secret to them concerning the end of time, but while they werestanding around the golden bed whereon their father lay, the Shekinah visitedhim for a moment and departed as quickly, and with her departed also all traceof the knowledge of the great mystery from the mind of Jacob.[382] He had thesame experience as his own father Isaac, who also had loss of memory inflictedupon him by God, to prevent him from revealing the secret at the end of time toEsau, when he summoned him to receive his blessing.

The accident made Jacob apprehensive that his sons were not pious enough to beconsidered worthy of the revelation concerning the Messianic era, and he saidto them, "Ishmael and the sons of Keturah were the blemished among the issue ofmy grandfather Abraham; my father Isaac begot a blemished issue in Esau, and Ifear now that among you, too, there is one that harbors the intention to serveidols." The twelve men spake, and said: "Hear, O Israel, our father, theEternal our God is the One Only God. As thy heart is one and united inavouching the Holy One, blessed be He, to be thy God, so also are our heartsone and united in avouching Him." Whereto Jacob responded, "Praised be the Nameof the glory of His majesty forever and ever!"[383] And although the wholemystery of the Messianic time was not communicated to the sons of Jacob, yetthe blessing of each contained some reference to the events of the future.

These were the words addressed by Jacob to his oldest son: "Reuben, thou art myfirst-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength! Thy portion should havebeen three crowns. Thou shouldst have had the double heritage of thyprimogeniture, and the priestly dignity, and the royal power. But by reason ofthy sin, the birthright is conferred upon Joseph, kingship upon Judah, and thepriesthood upon Levi. My son, I know no healing remedy for thee, but the manMoses, who will ascend to God, he will make thee whole, and God will forgivethy sin.[384] I bless thee—may thy descendants be heroes in the Torah andheroes in war.[385] Though thou must lose thy birthright, yet wilt thou be thefirst to enter into possession of thy allotment in the Holy Land, and in thyterritory shall be the first of the cities of refuge, and always shall thy namestand first in the list of the families of the tribes. Yea, thou shalt also bethe first whose heritage will be seized by the enemy, and the first to becarried away into the lands of exile."[386]

After Reuben had had his "ears pulled" thus, he retired, and Jacob called hissons Simon and Levi to his side, and he addressed them in these words:"Brethren ye were of Dinah, but not of Joseph, whom you sold into slavery. Theweapons of violence wherewith ye smote Shechem were stolen weapons, for it wasnot seemly for you to draw the sword. That was Esau's portion. To him was itsaid, By thy sword shalt thou live. Into the council of the tribe of Simon mysoul will not come when they foregather at Shittim to do vicious deeds, and myglory will not be united unto the assembly of Korah, the descendants of Levi.In their anger Simon and Levi slew the prince of Shechem, and in theirself-will they sold Joseph the bull into slavery. Accursed was the city ofShechem when they entered to destroy it. If they remain united, no ruler willbe able to stand up before them, no war will prosper against them. Thereforewill I divide and scatter their possession among the possessions of the othertribes. The descendants of Simon will many of them be poor men, who will wanderfrom tribe to tribe and beg for bread, and also Levi's tribe will gather itstithes and gifts from all the others."

The words of Jacob, "I will divide them in Jacob," spoken of Simon and Levi,were fulfilled on Simon in particular. When twenty-four thousand of Simon fellat Shittim, the widows they left behind married husbands of all the othertribes. Nevertheless Jacob did not dismiss Simon and Levi without blessingthem; the tribe of Simon was to bring forth the teachers and the beadles neededby all Israel, and Levi, the scholars that would expound the Torah and renderdecisions according to its teachings.[387]

When the remaining sons of Jacob heard the rebukes dealt out by their father tothese three, they feared to hear like reproaches, and they tried to slip awayfrom his presence. Especially Judah was alarmed, that his father might taunthim with his trespass touching Tamar. But Jacob spoke thus to him: "Judah, thoudost deserve thy name. Thy mother called thee Jehudah, because she gave praiseto God at thy birth, and so shall thy brethren praise thee, and they all willcall themselves by thy name. And as thou didst confess thy sin openly, so alsothy descendants, Achan, David, and Manasseh, will make public avowal of theirsins, and the Lord will hear their prayer. Thy hands will send darts after thefleeing foe, and thy father's sons shall pay thee respect. Thou hast theimpudence of a dog and the bravery of a lion. Thou didst save Joseph fromdeath, and Tamar and her two sons from the flames. No people and no kingdomwill be able to stand up against thee. Rulers shall not cease from the house ofJudah, nor teachers of the law from his posterity, until his descendant Messiahcome, and the obedience of all peoples be unto him. How glorious is Messiah ofthe House of Judah! His loins girded, he will go out to do battle with hisenemies. No king and no ruler will prevail against him. The mountains will bedyed red with their blood, and the garments of Messiah will be like thegarments of him that presseth wine. The eyes of Messiah will be clearer thanpure wine, for they will never behold unchastity and bloodshed; and his teethwill be whiter than milk, for never will they bite aught that is taken byviolence."[388]

Though Issachar was the older, Zebulon came next to be blessed, as a reward forthe sacrifice he had made for his brother's sake, for when Issachar chose thestudy of the Torah as his vocation, Zebulon decided to devote himself tobusiness and support his brother with the profits of his trade, that he mightgive himself up to the law undisturbed.[389] His blessing was that he wouldconquer the seacoast as far as Zidon.[390]

"Issachar," said Jacob, "will take upon himself the burden of the study of theTorah, and all the other tribes will come to him and ask him to decide theirdoubts on legal questions, and his descendants will be the members of theSanhedrin and the scholars that will occupy themselves with fixing thecalendar." Jacob blessed Issachar also with the blessing, that the fruits ofhis land should be exceedingly large, and this brought a heavenly as well as anearthly profit in its train, for when the heathen to whom the fruits were soldmarvelled thereat, the Jewish merchants explained that their extraordinary sizewas due to the merits of the tribe of Issachar, whom God rewarded for theirdevotion to the Torah, and thus many of the heathen were induced to convert toJudaism.[391]

In blessing Dan, Jacob's thoughts were occupied chiefly with his descendantSamson, who, like unto God, without any manner of assistance, conferred victoryupon his people. Jacob even believed the strong, heroic man to be the Messiah,but when Samson's death was revealed to him, he exclaimed, "I wait for Thysalvation, O Lord, for Thy help is unto all eternity, while Samson's help isonly for a time.[392] The redemption" continued Jacob, "will not beaccomplished by Samson the Danite, but by Elijah the Gadite, who will appear atthe end of time."[393]

Asher's blessing was the beauty of his women, who would be sought in marriageby kings and high priests.[394]

In Naphtali's land all fruits would ripen quickly, and they would be brought aspresents to kings, and gain royal favor for the givers. This blessing wasfulfilled in the plain of Gennesaret.[395] At the same time Naphtali's blessingwas a prophecy concerning his descendant Deborah, who was like a hind let looseagainst Sisera to conquer him, and she gave goodly words in her song ofIsrael's victory.[396] Naphtali himself deserved the description applied toDeborah, for he was swift as a hart to do the will of God, and he was a fleetmessenger unto his father and the tribes. They sent him whithersoever theywould, and he executed their errands with dispatch.[397] He served the brethrenof Joseph as herald, to announce unto Jacob the glad tidings, "Joseph is yetalive," and when the stricken father saw him approach, he said, "Lo, herecometh Naphtali the lovable, who proclaimeth peace."[398]

Joseph's blessing exceeded the blessing of all his brethren. Jacob spoke: "Oson whom I bred up, Joseph, whom I raised, and who wast strong to resist theenticements of sin, thou didst conquer all the magicians and the wise men ofEgypt by thy wisdom and thy pious deeds. The daughters of princes cast theirjewels before thee, to draw thine eyes upon them when thou didst pass throughthe land of Egypt, but thou didst not look their way, and therefore wast thoumade the father of two tribes. The magicians and the wise men of Egypt soughtto defame thee before Pharaoh and slander thee, but thou didst set thy hope inthe Almighty. Therefore may He who appeared unto me as El Shaddai bless theeand grant thee fertile soil and much cattle. May the blessing thy father giveththee now, and the blessing that his fathers Abraham and Isaac gave him, andthat called forth the envy of the great of the world, Ishmael, Esau, and thesons of Keturah—may all these blessings be a crown upon the head of Joseph, anda chain upon the neck of him that was the ruler of Egypt, and yet diminishednot the honor due to his brethren."[399]

The slander of which Jacob spoke referred to what Potiphar had said of Josephbefore Pharaoh. He had complained, saying, "Why didst thou appoint my slave,whom I did buy for twenty pieces of silver, to be ruler over the Egyptians?"Joseph had then taken up his own defense, saying: "When thou didst buy me as aslave, thou didst commit a capital crime. Only a descendant of Canaan may besold as a slave, and I am a descendant of Shem, and a prince besides. If thouwilt convince thyself of the truth of my words, do but compare me with thelikeness of my mother Sarah that Pharaoh had made of her!" They brought Sarah'slikeness, and, verily, it appeared that Joseph resembled his ancestress, andall were convinced of his noble lineage.[400]

The blessing that Jacob bestowed upon Benjamin contains the prophecy that histribe would provide Israel with his first ruler and his last ruler, and so itwas, for Saul and Esther both belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. LikewiseBenjamin's heritage in the Holy Land harbors two extremes: Jericho ripens itsfruits earlier than any other region in Palestine, while Beth-el ripens themlatest. In Benjamin's blessing, Jacob referred also to the service in theTemple, because the Holy Place was situated in the territory of Benjamin. Andwhen Jacob called his youngest son a wolf that ravineth, he was thinking of thejudge Ehud, the great scholar, a Benjamite, who conquered Eglon king of Moab,and also he had in mind the Benjamites that captured their wives by cunning andforce.[401]

Again, if he called Benjamin a wolf, Judah a lion, and Joseph a bull, he wantedto point to the three kingdoms known as wolf, lion, and bull, the doom of whichwas and will be sealed by the descendants of his three sons: Babylon, thekingdom of the lion, fell through the hands of Daniel of the tribe of Judah;Media, the wolf, found its master in the Benjamite Mordecai; and the bullJoseph will subdue the horned beast, the kingdom of wickedness, before theMessianic time.[402]

THE DEATH OF JACOB

After Jacob had blessed each of his sons separately, he addressed himself toall of them together, saying: "According to my power did I bless you, but infuture days a prophet will arise, and this man Moses will bless you, too, andhe will continue my blessings where I left off." He added, besides, that theblessing of each tribe should redound to the good of all the other tribes: thetribe of Judah should have a share in the fine wheat of the tribe of Benjamin,and Benjamin should enjoy the goodly barley of Judah. The tribes should bemutually helpful, one to another.[403]

Moreover, he charged them not to be guilty of idolatry in any form or shape andnot to let blasphemous speech pass their lips, and he taught them the order oftransporting his bier,[404] thus: "Joseph, being king, shall not help to bearit, nor shall Levi, who is destined to carry the Ark of the Shekinah. Judah,Issachar, and Zebulon shall grasp its front end, Reuben, Simon, and Gad itsright side, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin the hindmost end, and Dan, Asher,and Naphtali its left side." And this was the order in which the tribes,bearing each its standard, were to march through the desert, the Shekinahdwelling in the midst of them.[405]

Jacob then spake to Joseph, saying: "And thou, my son Joseph, forgive thybrethren for their trespass against thee, forsake them not, and grieve themnot, for the Lord hath put them into thine hands, that thou shouldst protectthem all thy days against the Egyptians."

Also he admonished his sons, saying that the Lord would be with them if theywalked in His ways, and He would redeem them from the hands of the Egyptians."I know," he continued, "great suffering will befall your sons and yourgrandsons in this land, but if you will obey God, and teach your sons to knowHim, then He will send you a redeemer, who will bring you forth out of Egyptand lead you into the land of your fathers."[406]

In resignation to the will of God,[407] Jacob awaited his end, and deathenveloped him gently. Not the Angel of Death ended his life, but the Shekinahtook his soul with a kiss. Beside the three Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, andJacob, only Moses, Aaron, and Miriam breathed their last in this manner,through the kiss of the Shekinah. And these six, together with Benjamin, arethe only ones whose corpses are not exposed to the ravages of the worms, andthey neither corrupt nor decay.

Thus Jacob departed this world, and entered the world to come, a foretaste ofwhich he had enjoyed here below, like the other two Patriarchs, and none besideamong men. In another respect their life in this world resembled their life inthe world to come, the evil inclination had no power over them, either here orthere, wherein David resembled them.[408]

Joseph ordered his father's body to be placed upon a couch of ivory, coveredwith gold, studded with gems, and hung with drapery of byssus and purple.Fragrant wine was poured out at its side, and aromatic spices burnt next to it.Heroes of the house of Esau, princes of the family of Ishmael, and the lionJudah, the bravest of his sons, surrounded the sumptuous bier of Jacob. "Come,"said Judah to his brethren, "let us plant a high cedar tree at the head of ourfather's grave, its top shall reach up to the skies, its branches shall shadeall the inhabitants of the earth, and its roots shall grow down deep into theearth, unto the abyss. For from him are sprung twelve tribes, and from him willarise kings and rulers, chapters of priests prepared to perform the service ofthe sacrifices, and companies of Levites ready to sing psalms and play uponsweet instruments."[409]

The sons of Jacob tore their garments and girded their loins with sackcloth,threw themselves upon the ground, and strewed earth upon their heads until thedust rose in a high cloud. And when Asenath, the wife of Joseph, heard thetidings of Jacob's death, she came, and with her came the women of Egypt, toweep and mourn over him. And the men of Egypt that had known Jacob repairedthither, and they mourned day after day, and also many journeyed down intoEgypt from Canaan, to take part in the seventy days' mourning made forhim.[410]

The Egyptians spake to one another, saying, "Let us lament for the pious manJacob, because the affliction of the famine was averted from our land onaccount of his merits," for instead of ravaging the land for forty-two yearsaccording to the decree of God, the famine had lasted but two years, and thatwas due to the virtues of Jacob.[411]

Joseph ordered the physicians to embalm the corpse. This he should haverefrained from doing, for it was displeasing to God, who spoke, saying: "Have Inot the power to preserve the corpse of this pious man from corruption? Was itnot I that spoke the reassuring words, Fear not the worm, O Jacob, thou deadIsrael?" Joseph's punishment for this useless precaution was that he was thefirst of the sons of Jacob to suffer death.[412] The Egyptians, on the otherhand, who devoted forty days to embalming the corpse and preparing it forburial, were rewarded for the veneration they showed. Before He destroyed theircity, God gave the Ninevites a forty days' respite on account of their king,who was the Pharaoh of Egypt. And for the three score and ten days of mourningthat the heathen made for Jacob, they were recompensed at the time ofAhasuerus. During seventy days, from the thirteenth of Nisan, the date ofHaman's edict ordering the extermination of the Jews, until the twenty-third ofSiwan, when Mordecai recalled it, they were permitted to enjoy absolute powerover the Jews.

When all preparations for the burial of Jacob had been completed, Joseph askedpermission of Pharaoh to carry the body up into Canaan. But he did not himselfgo to put his petition before Pharaoh, for he could not well appear before theking in the garb of a mourner, nor was he willing to interrupt his lamentationover his father for even a brief space and stand before Pharaoh and prefer hispetition. He requested the family of Pharaoh to intercede for him with the kingfor the additional reason that he was desirous of enlisting the favor of theking's relations, lest they advise Pharaoh not to fulfil his wish. He actedaccording to the maxim, "Seek to win over the accuser, that he cause thee noannoyance."[413]

Joseph applied first to the queen's hairdresser, and she influenced the queento favor him, and then the queen put in a good word for him with the king.[414]At first Pharaoh refused the permission craved by Joseph, who, however, urgedhim to consider the solemn oath he had given his dying father, to bury him inCanaan. Pharaoh desired him to seek absolution from the oath. But Josephrejoined, "Then will I apply also for absolution from the oath I gave thee,"referring to an incident in his earlier history. The grandees of Egypt hadadvised Pharaoh against appointing Joseph as viceroy, and they did not recedefrom this counsel until Joseph, in his conversation with the Egyptian king,proved himself to be master of the seventy languages of the world, thenecessary condition to be fulfilled before one could become ruler over Egypt.But the conversation proved something else, that Pharaoh himself was notentitled to Egyptian kingship, because he lacked knowledge of Hebrew. Hefeared, if the truth became known, Joseph would be raised to his own place, forhe knew Hebrew beside all the other tongues. In his anxiety and distress,Pharaoh made Joseph swear an oath never to betray the king's ignorance ofHebrew. Now when Joseph threatened to have himself absolved from this oath aswell as the one to his dying father, great terror overwhelmed him, and hespeedily granted Joseph permission to go up to Canaan and bury his fatherthere.[415]

Moreover, Pharaoh issued a decree in all parts of the land menacing those withdeath who would not accompany Joseph and his brethren upon their journey toCanaan with their father's remains, and accordingly the procession thatfollowed the bier of Jacob was made up of the princes and nobles of Egypt aswell as the common people.[416] The bier was borne by the sons of Jacob. Inobedience to his wish not even their children were allowed to touch it.[417] Itwas fashioned of pure gold, the border thereof inlaid with onyx stones andbdellium, and the cover was gold woven work joined to the bier with threadsthat were held together with hooks of onyx stones and bdellium. Joseph placed alarge golden crown upon the head of his father, and a golden sceptre he put inhis hand, arraying him like a living king.

The funeral cortege was arranged in this order: First came the valiant men ofPharaoh and the valiant men of Joseph, and then the rest of the inhabitants ofEgypt. All were girt with swords and clothed in coats of mail, and thetrappings of war were upon them. The weepers and mourners walked, crying andlamenting, at some distance from the bier, and the rest of the people wentbehind it, while Joseph and his household followed together after it, with barefeet and in tears, and Joseph's servants were close to him, each man with hisaccoutrements and weapons of war. Fifty of Jacob's servants preceded the bier,strewing myrrh upon the road in passing, and all manner of perfumes, so thatthe sons of Jacob trod upon the aromatic spices as they carried the bodyforward.

Thus the procession moved on until it reached Canaan. It halted at thethreshing-floor of Atad, and there they lamented with a very great and sorelamentation.[418] But the greatest honor conferred upon Jacob was the presenceof the Shekinah, who accompanied the cortege.[419]

The Canaanites had no intention at first to take part in the mourning made forJacob, but when they saw the honors shown him, they joined the procession ofthe Egyptians,[420] loosing the girdles of their garments as a sign ofgrief.[421] Also the sons of Esau, Ishmael, and Keturah appeared, though theirdesign in coming was to seize the opportunity and make war upon the sons ofJacob, but when they saw Joseph's crown suspended from the bier, the Edomiteand Ishmaelite kings and princes followed his example, and attached theirs toit, too, and it was ornamented with thirty-six crowns.

Nevertheless the conflict was not averted; it broke out in the end between thesons of Jacob and Esau and his followers. When the former were about to lowerthe body of their father into the Cave of Machpelah, Esau attempted to preventit, saying that Jacob had used his allotted portion of the tomb for Leah, andthe only space left for a grave belonged to himself. For, continued Esau,"though I sold my birthright unto Jacob, I yet have a portion in the tomb as ason of Isaac." The sons of Jacob, however, were well aware of the fact thattheir father had acquired Esau's share in the Cave, and they even knew that abill of sale existed, but Esau, assuming properly that the document was leftbehind in Egypt, denied that any such had ever been made out, and the sons ofJacob sent Naphtali, the fleet runner, back to Egypt to fetch the bill.Meantime, while this altercation was going on between Esau and the others,Hushim the son of Dan arose and inquired in astonishment why they did notproceed with the burial of Jacob, for he was deaf and had not understood thewords that had passed between the disputants. When he heard what it was allabout, and that the ceremonies were interrupted until Naphtali should returnfrom Egypt with the bill of sale, he exclaimed, with indignation, "Mygrandfather shall lie here unburied until Naphtali comes back!" and he seized aclub and dealt Esau a vigorous blow, so that he died, and his eyes fell out oftheir sockets and dropped upon Jacob's knees, and Jacob opened his own eyes andsmiled. Esau being dead, his brother's burial could proceed without hindrance,and Joseph interred him in the Cave of Machpelah in accordance with his wish.

His other children had left all arrangements connected with the burial of theirfather's body to their brother Joseph, for they reflected that it was a greaterhonor for Jacob if a king concerned himself about his remains rather thansimple private individuals.[422]

The head of Esau, as he lay slain by the side of Jacob's grave, rolled downinto the Cave, and fell into the lap of Isaac, who prayed to God to have mercyupon his son, but his supplications were in vain. God spoke, saying, "As Ilive, he shall not behold the majesty of the Lord."[423]

THE SONS OF JACOB AT WAR WITH THE SONS OF ESAU

Jacob having been interred with royal pomp, and the seven days' period ofmourning over, the conflict between the sons of Jacob and the sons of Esaubroke out anew. In the skirmish that had ensued when Esau advanced a claim upona place in the Cave of Machpelah, while his brother's remains still layunburied, he lost forty of his men, and after his death fortune favored hissons as little. Eighty of their followers were slain, while of the sons ofJacob not one was lost. Joseph succeeded in capturing Zepho the son of Eliphazand fifty of his men, and he clapped them in chains and carried them off toEgypt. Thereupon the rest of the attacking army led by Eliphaz fled to MountSeir, taking with them the headless corpse of Esau, to bury it in his ownterritory. The sons of Jacob pursued after them, but they slew none, out ofrespect for the remains of Esau.

On the third day a great army gathered together, consisting of the inhabitantsof Seir and the children of the East, and they marched down into Egypt with thepurpose of making war upon Joseph and his brethren. In the battle that cameoff, this army was almost totally destroyed, not less than six hundred thousandmen were mowed down by Joseph and his warriors, and the small remnant fledprecipitately. Returned to their own country after this fatal campaign, thesons of Esau and the sons of Seir fell to quarrelling among themselves, and thesons of Seir demanded that their former allies leave the place, because it wasthey that had brought misfortune upon the country.

The sons of Esau thereupon dispatched a messenger in secret to their friendAgnias, king of Africa, begging his aid against the sons of Seir. He grantedtheir request, and sent them troops consisting of foot-soldiers and mountedmen. The sons of Seir, on their part, also sought allies, and they secured thehelp of the children of the East, and of the Midianites, who put warriors attheir disposal. In the encounters that ensued between the hostile forces, thesons of Esau were defeated again and again, partly on account of treachery intheir own ranks, for their men sometimes deserted to the enemy while the combatwas on. At last, however, in the battle that took place in the desert of Paran,the sons of Esau gained a decisive victory. They massacred all the warriors ofthe sons of Seir, and the Midianites and the children of the East were put toflight.

Thereafter the sons of Esau returned to Seir, and they slew all the inhabitantsof the place, men, women, and children, sparing only fifty lads and maidens.The former they used as slaves, and the latter they took to wife. They alsoenriched themselves with the spoils, seizing all the possessions of the sons ofSeir, and the whole land was divided among the five sons of Esau. Now thesedescendants of Esau determined to put a king over themselves, but inconsequence of the treachery committed during the war there prevailed suchhatred and bitterness among them that they decided never to appoint a rulerfrom their own people. Their choice fell upon Bela, the son of Beor, one of thewarriors sent to them by King Agnias. His peer could not be found among theallied troops for bravery, wisdom, and handsome appearance. They set the royalcrown upon his head, built a palace for him, and gave him gifts of silver,gold, and gems, until he lived in great opulence. He reigned happily for thirtyyears, and met his death then in a war against Joseph and his brethren.

This war came about because the sons of Esau could not banish from their memorythe disgrace of the defeat inflicted upon them by Joseph and his people. Havingenlisted the aid of Agnias, and of the Ishmaelites and other nations of theEast, they set forth on a second campaign against Egypt, in the hope ofdelivering Zepho and his followers from the hands of Joseph. In spite of theirenormous host—they had no less than eight hundred thousand men of infantry andcavalry—they were defeated at Raamses by Joseph and his brethren and theirlittle company of six hundred men. Beside their king Bela, they left one-fourthof their army upon the field. The loss of their king discouraged themgrievously, and they took to flight, hard pressed by Joseph, who cut down manyof the fugitives.

When he returned from the battle, Joseph ordered manacles and fetters to be putupon Zepho and his followers, and their captivity was made more bitter untothem than it had been before.

The sons of Esau appointed Jobab of Bozrah to succeed their dead king Bela. Hisreign lasted ten years, but they desisted from all further attempts at wagingwar with the sons of Jacob. Their last experience with them had been toopainful, but the enmity they cherished against them was all the fiercer, andtheir hatred never abated.

Their third king was Husham, and he ruled over them for twenty years. Duringhis reign Zepho succeeded in making good his escape from Egypt. He was receivedkindly by Agnias, king of Africa, and appointed commander-in-chief of histroops. He used every means of persuasion to induce his sovereign lord to enterinto a war with Egypt, but in vain, for Agnias was only too well acquaintedwith the strength and heroism of the sons of Jacob. For many years he resistedZepho's arguments and blandishments. Indeed, as it was, Agnias had his handsfull with other warlike enterprises. It had happened about this time that a manof the land of Kittim, 'Uzi by name, whom his countrymen venerated as a god,died in the city of Pozimana, and he left behind a fair and clever daughter.Agnias heard of Yaniah's beauty and wisdom, and he sued for her hand, and hisrequest was granted him by the people of Kittim.

The messengers of Agnias were hastening away from Kittim, bearing to theirmaster the promise of the inhabitants that Yaniah should become his wife, whenTurnus, king of Benevento, arrived on the same errand. His suit was rejected,for the people of Kittim were afraid-to break the promise given to Agnias. Inhis anger, Turnus went to Sardinia to make war upon King Lucus, a brother ofAgnias, intending to deal with the latter as soon as the other was renderedharmless. Hearing of the design hatched by Turnus, Agnias hastened to Sardiniato the assistance of his brother, and a battle took place in the Valley ofCampania. Against Turnus were arrayed Agnias, his brother Lucus, and the son ofthe latter, Niblos, whom his father had appointed commander-in-chief of theSardinian troops. In the first encounter, Turnus was the victor, and theSardinians lost their general Niblos. But in the second engagement the army ofTurnus was routed completely, and he himself was left dead on the field. Hisarmy fled, pursued closely by Agnias as far as the cross-road between Rome andAlbano. Niblos' body was put inside of a golden statue, and his father erecteda high tower over his grave, and another over the grave of Turnus, and thesetwo buildings, connected by a marble pavement, stand opposite to each other, onthe cross-road at which Agnias left off from following after the fugitive army.

The king of Africa went on to the city of Benevento, but he took no harshmeasures against it and its inhabitants, because it belonged to the land ofKittim at that time. Thenceforth, however, bands of soldiers from Africa madeincursions, now and again, into the land of Kittim, under the lead of Zepho,the captain of the African army. Agnias meantime went to Pozimana, to solemnizehis marriage with Yaniah, and he returned with her to his capital inAfrica.[424]

ZEPHO KING OF KITTIM

All this time Zepho did not leave off urging Agnias to invade Egypt, and hesucceeded finally in persuading the king to consider his wish, and a great armywas equipped against Egypt and the sons of Jacob. Among the shield- bearers wasBalaam, the fifteen year old son of Beor, a wise youth and an adept in magic,and the king bade him acquaint him with the issue of the war upon which theywere entering. Balaam took wax and moulded the figures of men, to represent thearmy of Agnias and the army of the Egyptians, and he plunged them into magicwater and let them swim, and it appeared that the African army was subdued bythe Egyptians. Agnias accordingly gave up the campaign, and Zepho, seeing thathis sovereign could not be persuaded into war with the sons of Jacob, fled thecountry and betook himself to Kittim.

The people of Kittim received him with great honors, and they offered him muchmoney to stay with them and conduct their wars. It happened once while Zephowas in the mountains of Koptiziah, where the inhabitants of Kittim had takenrefuge before the troops of the African king, that he had to go on a search foran ox that had strayed away, and he discovered a cave the opening of which wasbarred by a great stone. He shivered the stone in pieces, and entering the cavehe saw an animal formed like a man above and a he-goat below, and he killed thestrange beast, which was in the very act of devouring his lost ox. There wasgreat rejoicing among the people of Kittim, for the monster had long been doinghavoc among their cattle, and in gratitude they set aside one day of the year,which they called by Zepho's name, in honor of their liberator, and all thepeople brought him presents and offered sacrifices to him.

At this time it came to pass that Yaniah, the wife of King Agnias, fell into agrievous sickness, and the physicians ascribed her illness to the climate, andto the water of Africa, to which she, a native of the land of Kittim, could notget accustomed, because she had been in the habit of using the water of theriver Forma, which her forefathers had drawn to her house through a conduit.Agnias sent to the land of Kittim and had some of the water of the Formabrought to Africa. Finding it much lighter than the water of his own country,he built a huge canal from the land of Kittim. to Africa, and the queenhenceforth had all the Forma water she needed. Besides, he took earth and stonefrom Kittim, and built a palace for Yaniah, and she recovered from her illness.

Meantime Zepho had won a decisive victory over the African troops that had madean incursion into the land of Kittim, and the people chose him as king. Hisfirst undertaking was a campaign against the sons of Tubal and the Islands ofthe Sea, and again he was successful, he subdued them completely. On hisreturn, the people built a great palace for Zepho, and they renewed hiskingship, and he continued until his death to reign as king of Kittim and ofItaly.

During the first thirteen years of his reign, the Africans made no attempt todisturb the peace of Kittim, but then they invaded the land, only to beseverely repulsed by Zepho, who pursued the troops up to the very borders ofAfrica, and Agnias the king was in such consternation that he did not ventureto make reprisals for some time. When he finally made a second attempt, histroops were annihilated by Zepho down to the very last man. Now Agnias, indespair, assembled all the inhabitants of Africa, as numerous as the sand onthe sea-shore, and he united his great host with the army of his brother Lucus,and thus he made his third attempt upon Zepho and the people of the land ofKittim.

Alarmed, Zepho wrote to his brethren in Seir, and entreated their king Hadad tosend him aid. But the people of Seir had concluded an alliance with Agnias asfar back as under their first king Bela, and they refused Zepho's request, andthe king of Kittim had to face the host of eight hundred thousand men musteredby Agnias with his little band of three thousand. Then the people of Kittimspake to their king Zepho, saying: "Pray for us unto the God of thy ancestors.Peradventure He may deliver us from the hand of Agnias and his army, for wehave heard that He is a great God, and He delivers all that trust in Him."Zepho prayed unto the Lord, saying: "O Lord, God of Abraham and Isaac, myfathers, this day may it be made known that Thou art a true God, and all thegods of the nations are vain and useless. Remember now this day unto me Thycovenant with Abraham our father, which our ancestors related unto us, and dograciously with me this day for the sake of Abraham and Isaac, our fathers, andsave me and the sons of Kittim from the hand of the king of Africa, who hathcome against us for battle."

God gave ear unto Zepho's prayer, and in the first day's battle one-half of theAfrican army fell. Agnias forthwith dispatched a decree to his country,ordering, on penalty of death and confiscation of property, that all the malesof the land, including boys that bad passed their tenth year, were to join thearmy and fight against the people of Kittim. In spite of these new accessions,three hundred thousand strong, Agnias was beaten again by Zepho in the secondbattle. The African general Sosipater having fallen slain, the troops brokeinto flight, at their head Agnias with Lucus the brother and Asdrubal the sonof Agnias. After this dire defeat the Africans made no further attempt todisturb the peace of Kittim, and their incursions ceased forever.

In spite of the great victory that Zepho had won with the help of God, the kingof Kittim walked in the idolatrous ways of the people whom he ruled, and in theways of the sons of Esau, for, as saith the proverb of the ancients, "Out ofthe wicked cometh forth wickedness," and Zepho was not other than the rest ofthe sons of Esau.

The severe defeat inflicted upon Agnias drove Balaam from Africa to Kittim, andhe was received with great honors by Zepho, who welcomed him on account of hisdeep wisdom.

Now Zepho thought the time had arrived for him to carry out his plan ofvengeance against the posterity of Jacob, all the more as in the meantimeJoseph had died, and also his brethren and the valiant men of Pharaoh hadpassed away. He was joined in the enterprise by Hadad, the king of Edom, and bythe nations of the East and the Ishmaelites. The allied army was so vast thatthe space it covered as it stood in rank and file was equal to a three days'journey. It formed in battle array in the Valley of Pathros, and it was met bythree hundred thousand Egyptians and one hundred and fifty Israelites fromGoshen. But the Egyptians did not trust the Israelites, they feared theirdefection to the sons of Esau and Ishmael. They therefore made an agreementwith them that the Israelites were not to come to the help of the Egyptiansuntil it appeared that the enemy were getting the upper hand

Zepho, who had a high opinion of Balaam's ability, desired him to use his magicarts and find out what would be the outcome of the war, but Balaam's knowledgefailed him, he could not satisfy the king's wish. The Egyptians got the worstof the first encounter between the two hostile armies, but the aspect of thingschanged as soon as they summoned the Israelites to aid them. The Israelitesprayed to God to support them with His help, and the Lord heard their prayer.Then they threw themselves upon Zepho and his allies, and after they had cutdown several thousand men, such dismay and confusion took hold of the enemythat they fled hastily, pursued by the Israelites as far as the boundary of thecountry. The Egyptians, instead of coming to the assistance of the Israelites,had taken to flight, leaving the small band of their allies to dispose of thehuge host of their adversaries. Embittered by such treatment, the Israelitesslew as many as two hundred Egyptians, under the pretext that they thought theybelonged to the enemy.[425]

THE NATIONS AT WAR

Hadad, the king of Edom, who had failed to gain fame and honor in the Egyptiancampaign, was favored by fortune in another war, a war against Moab. TheMoabites shrank from meeting Hadad alone, and they made an alliance with theMidianites. In the thick of the fight the Moabites fled from the field ofbattle, leaving the Midianites to their fate, and these deserted allies oftheirs were cut down to a man by Hadad and his Edomites. The Moabites savedtheir skins, and suffered only the inconvenience of having to pay tribute. Toavenge the faithlessness practiced against them, the Midianites, supported bytheir kinsmen, the sons of Keturah, gathered a mighty army, and attacked theMoabites the following year. But Hadad came to their assistance, and again heinflicted a severe defeat upon the Midianites, who had to give up their plan ofrevenge against Moab. This is the beginning of the inveterate enmity betweenthe Moabites and the Midianites. If a single Moabite is caught in the land ofMidian, he is killed without mercy, and a Midianite in Moab fares no better.

After the death of Hadad, the Edomites installed Samlah of Masrekah as theirking, and he reigned eighteen years. It was his desire to take up the cause ofAgnias, the old ally of the Edomites, and chastise Zepho for having gone to warwith him, but his people, the Edomites, would not permit him to undertake aughtthat was inimical to their kinsman, and Samlah had to abandon the plan. In thefourteenth year of Samlah's reign, Zepho died, having been king of Kittim forfifty years. His successor was Janus, one of the people of Kittim, who enjoyedan equally long reign.

Balaam had made his escape to Egypt after the death of Zepho, and he wasreceived there with great demonstrations of honor by the king and all thenobles, and Pharaoh appointed him to be royal counsellor, for he had heard muchabout his exceeding great wisdom.

In the Edomite kingdom, Samlah was succeeded by Saul of Pethor, a youth ofsurpassing beauty, whose reign lasted forty years. His successor upon thethrone was Baal Hamon, king for thirty-eight years, during which period theMoabites rose up against the Edomites, to whom they had been paying tributesince the time of Hadad, and they succeeded in throwing off the yoke of thestranger.

The times were troubled everywhere. Agnias, the king of Africa, died, and alsothe death of Janus occurred, the king of Kittim. The successors to these tworulers, Asdrubal, the son of Agnias, and Latinus, the king of Kittim, thenentered upon a long drawn out war of many years. At first the fortune of warfavored Latinus. He sailed to Africa in ships, and inflicted one defeat afteranother upon Asdrubal, and finally this king of Africa lost his life upon thebattlefield. After destroying the canal from Kittim to Africa built many yearsbefore by Agnias, Latinus returned to his own country, taking with him as hiswife Ushpiziwnah, the daughter of Asdrubal, who was so wondrously beautifulthat her countrymen wore her likeness upon their garments.

Latinus did not enjoy the fruits of his victory long. Anibal, the youngerbrother of Asdrubal and his successor in the royal power, went to Kittim inships and carried on a series of wars lasting eighteen years, in the course ofwhich he killed off eighty thousand of the people of Kittim, not sparing theprinces and the nobles. At the end of this protracted period he went back toAfrica, and reigned over his people in quiet and peace.

The Edomites, during the forty-eight years of the reign of Hadad, the successorof Baal Hamon, fared no better than the people of Kittim. Hadad's firstundertaking was to reduce the Moabites again under the sovereignty of Edom, buthe had to desist, because he could not offer successful resistance to a newlychosen king of theirs, one of their own people, who enlisted the aid of theirkinsmen the Ammonites. The allies commanded a great host, and Hadad wasoverwhelmed. These wars were followed by others between Hadad of Edom. andAbimenos of Kittim. The latter was the attacking party, and he invaded Seirwith a mighty army. The sons of Seir were defeated abjectly, their king Hadadwas taken captive, and then executed by Abimenos, and Seir was made a provincesubject to Kittim and ruled by a governor.

Thus ended the independence of the sons of Esau. Henceforth they had to paytribute to Kittim, over which Abimenos ruled until his death, in thethirty-eighth year of his reign.[426]

JOSEPH'S MAGNANIMITY

As Joseph was returning from the burial of his father in the Cave of Machpelah,he passed the pit into which his brethren had once cast him, and he looked intoit, and said, "Blessed be God who permitted a miracle to come to pass for mehere!" The brethren inferred from these words of gratitude, which Joseph bututtered in compliance with the injunctions of the law, that he cherished therecollection of the evil they had done him, and they feared, that now theirfather was dead, their brother would requite them in accordance with theirdeeds. They observed, moreover, that since their father was no more, Joseph hadgiven up the habit of entertaining them at his table, and they interpreted thisas a sign of his hatred of them. In reality, it was due to Joseph's respect andesteem for his brethren. "So long as my father was alive," Joseph said tohimself, "he bade me sit at the head of the table, though Judah is king, andReuben is the first-born. It was my father's wish, and I complied with it. Butnow it is not seemly that I should have the first seat in their presence, andyet, being ruler of Egypt, I cannot yield my place to any other." He thought itbest therefore not to have the company of his brethren at his meals.

But they, not fathoming his motives, sent Bilhah to him with the dying messageof their father, that he was to forgive the transgression and the sin of hisbrethren. For the sake of the ways of peace they had invented the message;Jacob had said nothing like it. Joseph, on his part, realized that his brethrenspoke thus only because they feared he might do harm unto them, and he weptthat they should put so little trust in his affection. When they appeared, andfell down before his face, and said, "Thou didst desire to make one of us aslave unto thyself. Behold, we all are ready to be thy servants," he spoke tothem gently, and tried to convince them that he harbored no evil design againstthem. He said: "Be not afraid, I will do you no harm, for I fear God, and if yethink I failed to have you sit at my table because of enmity toward you, Godknows the intentions of my heart, He knows that I acted thus out ofconsideration for the respect I owe to you."[427]

Furthermore he said: "Ye are like unto the dust of the earth, the sand on thesea-shore, and the stars in the heavens. Can I do aught to put these out of theworld? Ten stars could effect nothing against one star, how much less can onestar effect anything against ten? Do you believe that I have the power ofacting contrary to the laws of nature? Twelve hours hath the day, twelve hoursthe night, twelve months the year, twelve constellations are in the heavens,and also there are twelve tribes! You are the trunk and I am the head—of whatuse the head without the trunk? It is to my own good that I should treat youwith fraternal affection. Before your advent, I was looked upon as a slave inthis country—you proved me a man of noble birth. Now, if I should kill you, myclaims upon an aristocratic lineage would be shown to be a lie. The Egyptianswould say, He was not their brother, they were strangers to him, he but calledthem his brethren to serve his purpose, and now he hath found a pretext to putthem out of the way. Or they would hold me to be a man of no probity. Who playsfalse with his own kith and kin, how can he keep faith with others? And, insooth, how can I venture to lay hand upon those whom God and my father bothhave blessed?"[428]

As Joseph's dealings were kind and gentle with his brethren, so he was thehelper and counsellor of the Egyptians, and when Pharaoh departed this life,Joseph being then a man of seventy-one years of age, the king's last wish wasthat he might be a father unto his son and successor Magron, and administer theaffairs of state for him. Some of the Egyptians desired to make Joseph kingafter the death of Pharaoh, but this plan met with opposition on the part ofothers. They objected to an alien on the throne, and so the royal title wasleft to Magron, called Pharaoh, according to the established custom the namegiven to all the Egyptian kings. But Joseph was made the actual ruler of theland, and though he was only viceroy in Egypt, he reigned as king over thelands outside of Egypt as far as the Euphrates, parts of which Joseph hadacquired by conquest. The inhabitants of these countries brought their yearlytribute to him and other presents besides, and thus did Joseph rule for fortyyears, beloved of all, and respected by the Egyptians and the other nations,and during all that time his brethren dwelt in Goshen, happy and blithe in theservice of God. And in his own family circle Joseph was happy also; he lived toact as godfather at the circumcision of the sons of his grandson Machir.

His end was premature as compared with that of his brethren; at his death hewas younger than any of them at their death. It is true, "Dominion buries himthat exercises it."[429] He died ten years before his allotted time, because,without taking umbrage, he had permitted his brethren to call his father his"servant" in his presence.[430]

ASENATH

God gives every man the wife he deserves,[431] and so Asenath was worthy ofbeing the helpmeet of Joseph the pious. Her father was Potiphar, one ofPharaoh's magnates, ranking among the most distinguished of them by reason ofwisdom, wealth, and station. His daughter was slender like unto Sarah,beautiful like Rebekah, and radiant in appearance like Rachel. Noblemen andprinces sued for her hand when she was eighteen years of age. Even Pharaoh'sappointed successor, his first-born son, demanded her in marriage, but hisfather refused to comply with his wish, because he did not consider her aproper wife for one destined to sit upon the throne. The daughter of theMoabite king, he insisted, was a more suitable match for him. But Asenathrejected every proposal of marriage, and avoided all intercourse with men. Withseven maidens born the same day as herself, she lived in retirement in amagnificent palace adjoining that of her parents.

It happened in the first of the seven years of plenty that Joseph planned tovisit the place in which Potiphar resided, and he sent word to him that hewould put up with him, at his house. Potiphar was enchanted with the honor inprospect for him, and also with the opportunity it would afford him of bringingabout a marriage between Asenath and Joseph. But when he disclosed his plan tohis daughter, she rejected it with indignation. "Why shouldst thou desire tosee me united with a vagabond, a slave," she cried out, "one that does not evenbelong to our nation, but is the son of a Canaanitish herdsman, a fellow thatattempted to violate the honor of his mistress, and in punishment for thismisdemeanor was thrown into prison, to be liberated thence by Pharaoh forinterpreting his dream? Nay, father, never will I become his wife. I am willingto marry the son of Pharaoh, the future ruler and king of Egypt."

Potiphar promised his daughter not to speak of the plan again. At that momentJoseph's arrival was announced, and Asenath left the presence of her parentsand withdrew to her own apartments. Standing by the window, she saw Josephpass, and she was so transported with his divine beauty and his indescribablynoble carriage that she burst into tears, and said: "Poor, foolish me, whatshall I do? I permitted myself to be misled by friends, who told me that Josephwas the son of a Canaanitish shepherd. Now I behold the splendor that emanatesfrom him like unto the splendor of the sun, illuminating our house with hisrays. In my audacity and folly I had looked down upon him, and had spokenabsurd nonsense against him. I knew not that he was a son of God, as he mustbe, for among men such beauty as his does not exist. I pray Thee, O God ofJoseph, grant me pardon! It was my ignorance that made me speak like a fool. Ifmy father will give me in marriage to Joseph, I will be his forever."

Meantime Joseph had taken his seat at Potiphar's table, and he observed amaiden looking at him from one of the palace windows. He commanded that she beordered away, for he never permitted women to gaze at him or come near to him.His supernatural beauty always fascinated the noble Egyptian ladies, and theywere untiring in the efforts they made to approach him. But their attempts werevain. He cherished the words of his father Jacob, who had admonished his son tokeep aloof from the women of the Gentiles.

Potiphar explained to Joseph that the maiden at the window was his virgindaughter, who never permitted men to abide near her; he was the first man shehad ever looked upon. The father continued and made the request of Joseph, toallow his daughter to pay him her respects. Joseph granted the favor hedesired, and Asenath appeared and greeted him with the words, "Peace be withthee, thou blessed of God Most High," whereunto Joseph returned the salutation,"Be thou blessed of the Lord, from whom flow all blessings."

Asenath desired also to kiss Joseph, but he warded off the intimate greetingwith the words: "It is not meet that a God-fearing man, who blesses the livingGod, and eats the blessed bread of life, who drinks of the blessed cup ofimmortality and incorruptibility, and anoints himself with the fragrant oil ofholiness, should kiss a woman of a strange people, who blesses dead andunprofitable idols, and eats the putrid bread of idolatry, which chokes thesoul of man, who drinks the libations of deceit, and anoints herself with theoil of destruction."

These words uttered by Joseph touched Asenath unto tears. Out of compassionwith her, he bestowed his blessing upon her, calling upon God to pour out Hisspirit over her and make her to become a member of His people and Hisinheritance, and grant her a portion in the life eternal.

THE MARRIAGE OF JOSEPH

The appearance and the speech of Joseph made so deep an impression upon Asenaththat no sooner had she reached her apartment than she divested herself of herrobes of state and took off her jewels, and put on sackcloth instead, strewedashes upon her head, and supplicated God amid tears to grant her pardon for hersins. In this manner she spent seven days and seven nights in her chamber. Noteven her seven attendants were permitted to enter her presence during the timeof her penance. The morning of the eighth day an angel appeared unto her, andbade her put away her sackcloth and ashes and array herself in state, for thisday she had been born anew, he said, to eat the blessed bread of life, to drinkof the cup of life immortal, and anoint herself with the oil of life eternal.Asenath was about to set food and drink before her guest, when she perceived ahoneycomb of wondrous form and fragrance. The angel explained to her that ithad been produced by the bees of Paradise, to serve as food for the angels andthe elect of God. He took a small portion of it for himself, and the rest heput into Asenath's mouth, saying: "From this day forth thy body shall bloomlike the eternal flowers in Paradise, thy bones shall wax fat like the cedarsthereof, strength inexhaustible shall be thine, thy youth shall never fade, andthy beauty never perish, and thou shalt be like unto a metropolis surrounded bya wall." At the request of Asenath, the angel blessed also her sevenattendants, with the words, "May the Lord bless you and make you to be sevenpillars in the City of Refuge."

Thereupon the angel left her, and she saw him ascend heavenward in a chariot offire drawn by four steeds of fire. Now she knew that she had not beenentertaining a human being, but an angel.

The celestial messenger had scarcely departed, when a visit from Joseph wasannounced, and she hastened to array and adorn herself for his reception. Whenshe washed her face, she caught sight of it in the water, and saw it to be ofsuch beauty as never before, so great had been the transformation wrought bythe angel. When Joseph came, he did not recognize her. He asked her who shewas, whereto she replied, "I am thy maid-servant Asenath! I have cast away myidols, and this day a visitant came to me from heaven. He gave me to eat of thebread of life and to drink of the blessed cup, and he spake these words untome, 'I give thee unto Joseph as his affianced wife, that he may be thyaffianced husband forever.' And furthermore he said, 'Thy name shall not anymore be called Asenath, but thy name shall be City of Refuge, whither thenations shall flee for safety.' And he added, 'I go to Joseph, to tell him allthese things that have reference to thee.' Now, my lord, thou knowest whetherthe man was with thee and spoke to thee in my behalf."

Joseph confirmed all she had said, and they embraced and kissed each other intoken of their betrothal, which they celebrated by a banquet with Potiphar andhis wife. The wedding took place later in the presence of Pharaoh, who set agolden crown upon the head of the bridegroom and the bride, gave them hisblessing, and made a seven days' feast in their honor, to which he invited themagnates and princes of Egypt and of other countries. And during the seven daysof the wedding festivities the people were prohibited, under penalty of death,from doing any manner of work; they all were to join in the celebration ofJoseph's marriage.

KIND AND UNKIND BRETHREN

On the twenty-first day of the second month in the second of the seven years offamine, Jacob came down to Egypt, and his daughter-in-law Asenath visited him.She marvelled not a little at his beauty and strength. His shoulders and hisarms were like an angel's, and his loins like a giant's. Jacob gave her hisblessing, and with her husband she returned home, accompanied by the sons ofLeah, while the sons of the handmaids, remembering the evil they had once doneunto Joseph, kept aloof. Levi in particular had conceived a fondness forAsenath. He was especially close to the Living God, for he was a prophet and asage, his eyes were open, and he knew how to read the celestial books writtenby the finger of God. He revealed to Asenath that he had seen her futureresting-place in heaven, and it was built upon a rock and encompassed by adiamond wall.

On their journey they met the son of Pharaoh, his successor to the throne, andhe was so transported with Asenath's beauty, that he made the plan of murderingJoseph in order to secure possession of his wife. He summoned Simon and Levi,and by blandishments and promises sought to induce them to put Joseph out ofthe way. Simon was so enraged that he would have felled him at once, had nothis brother Levi, who was endowed with the gift of prophecy, divined hispurpose, and frustrated it by stepping upon his foot, while whispering: "Whyart thou so angry, and so wroth with the man? We that fear God may not repayevil with evil." Turning to the son of Pharaoh, he told him that nothing wouldinduce them to execute the wickedness he had proposed; rather he advised himnot to undertake aught against Joseph, else he would kill him with the swordthat had served him in his slaughter of the inhabitants of Shechem. The culpritwas seized with frantic alarm, and fell down before Simon and Levi to entreattheir mercy. Levi raised him tip, saying, "Fear not, but abandon thy wickedplan, and harbor no evil design against Joseph."

Nevertheless the son of Pharaoh did not give up his criminal purpose. Heapproached the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, and sought to accomplish through themwhat had failed with Simon and Levi. He called them into his presence, and toldthem of a conversation between Joseph and Pharaoh that he had overheard. Theformer had said that he waited but to learn of the death of his father Jacob inorder to do away with the sons of the handmaids, because they had been the onesto sell him into slavery. Their wrath excited against Joseph by these words,the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah assented to the proposition of the son ofPharaoh. It was arranged that the latter should kill Pharaoh, the friend ofJoseph, while they would fall upon their brother, and put him out of the way.They were furnished with six hundred able warriors and fifty spearmen for thepurpose. The first part of the plan, the murder of Pharaoh, failed. The palaceguard would not allow even the successor to the throne to enter his father'sbedchamber, and he had to depart without having effected his object.

Now Dan and Gad gave him the advice to take up his station with fifty archersin a secret place that Asenath had to pass on her homeward journey. Thence hecould make a successful attack upon her suite, and gain possession of her.Naphtali and Asher did not care to have anything to do with this hostileenterprise against Joseph, but Dan and Gad forced them into it, insisting thatall the sons of the handmaids must stand together as men and repel the dangerthat threatened them.

TREACHERY PUNISHED

From their ambush the forces of the son of Pharaoh fell upon Asenath and hersix hundred attendants. They succeeded in hewing down the vanguard, and Asenathhad to take to flight. To her alarm she encountered the son of Pharaoh withfifty mounted men. Benjamin, seated in the same chariot with her, came to herrescue, for in spite of his youth he was exceedingly courageous. He descendedfrom the chariot, gathered pebbles, and, throwing them at the son of Pharaoh,struck him on his forehead and inflicted a severe wound. The charioteer aidedhim by keeping him supplied with pebbles, which he cast at the fifty riderswith such expert skill that he slew forty-eight of them with as many missiles.Meantime the sons of Leah arrived on the spot and came to Asenath's aid, forLevi, with his prophetic spirit, had seen what was happening, and summoning hisfive brothers he had hastened thither. These six attacked the troops in ambushand cut them down. But the danger to Asenath was by no means removed. At thismoment the sons of the handmaids threw themselves upon her and Benjamin withdrawn swords. It was their intention to kill them both, and flee to cover inthe depths of the woods. But as soon as Asenath supplicated God for aid, theswords dropped from the hands of her assailants, and they saw that the Lord wason the side of Asenath. They fell at her feet and entreated her grace. Sheallayed their anxiety with the words: "Be courageous and have no fear of yourbrethren, the sons of Leah. They are God-fearing men. Do but keep yourselves inhiding until their wrath is appeased."

When the sons of Leah appeared, Asenath fell down before them, and amid tearsshe adjured them to spare the sons of the handmaids and not repay with evil theevil they had meditated. Simon would not hear of making concessions. Heinsisted that the measure of their sins was full, and they must pay for themwith their lives, for they had been the ones that had sold Joseph into slavery,and brought down untold misfortune upon Jacob and his sons. But Asenath did notleave off, and her urgent petitions won the day. She succeeded in calming theanger of Simon, and in Levi she had a secret ally, for this prophet knew thehiding-place of the sons of the handmaids, and he did not betray it to Simon,lest his wrath be increased at the sight of them. It was also Levi thatrestrained Benjamin from giving the death blow to the heavily wounded son ofPharaoh. So far from permitting harm to be done to him, he washed his wounds,put him into a chariot, and took him to Pharaoh, who thanked Levi from hisheart for his services of loving- kindness. Levi's efforts were vain, threedays later the son of Pharaoh died of the wounds inflicted by Benjamin, andfrom grief over the loss of his first-born Pharaoh followed him soon after,departing this life at the age of one hundred and seventy-seven years. Hiscrown he left to Joseph, who ruled over Egypt for forty-eight years thereafter.He in turn handed the crown on to the grandchild of Pharaoh, an infant in armsat the time of his grandfather's death, toward whom Joseph had acted in afather's stead all his life.[432]

THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF JOSEPH

On his death-bed Joseph took an oath of his brethren, and he bade them on theirdeath-bed likewise take an oath of their sons, to carry his bones to Palestine,when God should visit them and bring them up out of the land of Egypt. He said:"I that am a ruler could take my father's body up to the Holy Land while it wasstill intact. Of you I do but make the request that ye carry my bones fromhence, and you may inter them in any spot in Palestine, for I know that theburial-place of the fathers was appointed to be the tomb only of the threePatriarchs and their three wives."

Joseph took the oath, to carry his remains along with them when they leftEgypt, from his brethren, and not from his sons, to bury him at once inPalestine, for he feared the Egyptians would not give the latter permission totransport his bones even if they recalled what Joseph had been allowed to dowith his father's body. They would object that Joseph had been the viceroy, anda wish preferred by one of so high an estate could not be denied.[433]Furthermore, he adjured his brethren not to leave Egypt until a redeemer shouldappear and announce his message with the words, "Pakod— I have surely visitedyou"—a tradition which Joseph had received from his father, who bad it fromIsaac, and Isaac in turn had beard it from Abraham.[434] And he told them thatGod would redeem Israel through Moses as through the Messiah, in this world asin the world to come, and the Egyptian redemption would begin in Tishri, whenIsrael would be freed from slave labor, and would be completed in the followingNisan, when they would leave Egypt.[435]

Joseph also admonished his brethren to walk in the ways of the Lord, so thatthey might become worthy of His grace and help. Especially he impressed uponhis brethren and his sons the virtue of chastity and a steadfast moral life. Hetold them all that had happened to him, the hatred of his brethren, thepersecutions of the wife of Potiphar, the slander, envy, and malice of theEgyptians, to show how that those who fear the Lord are not forsaken by Him indarkness, or bondage, or tribulation, or distress. "I was sold into slavery,"he said, "but the Lord delivered me; I was thrown into prison, but His stronghand helped me. I was tortured by hunger, but the Lord Himself gave mesustenance. I was alone, and God comforted me. And as for you, if ye will walkin the ways of chastity and purity in patience and humility of heart, the Lordwill dwell among you, for He loveth a chaste life, and if you, my children,will observe the commandments of the Lord, He will raise you up here, in thisworld, and bless you there, in the world to come. If men seek to do evil untoyou, pray for them, and you will be delivered from all evil by the Lord. Onaccount of my forbearing patience I received the daughter of my master to wife,and her dowry was a hundred talents of gold, and God gave me also beauty likethe beauty of a flower, more than all the children of Jacob, and He preservedme unto mine old age in vigor and beauty, for in all things did I resembleJacob."

Joseph continued and told them the visions he had had, in which the future ofIsrael was revealed to him, and then he closed with the words: "I know that theEgyptians will oppress you after my death, but God will execute vengeance foryour sakes, and He will lead you to the land of promise of your fathers. But yeshall surely carry my bones with you from hence, for if my remains are taken toCanaan, the Lord will be with you in the light, and Behar will be with theEgyptians in the darkness. Also take with you the bones of your mother Zilpah,and bury them near the sepulchre of Bilhah and Rachel."

These words ended, he stretched out his feet, and slept his last eternal sleep,and the whole of Israel mourned him, and the whole of Egypt was in great grief,for he had been a compassionate friend to the Egyptians, too, and he had donegood unto them, and given them wise counsel and assistance in all theirundertakings.[436]

Joseph's wish, that his bones should rest in the Holy Land, was fulfilled whenthe Israelites went forth from Egypt, and no less a personage than Mosesapplied himself to its execution. Such was Joseph's reward for the devotion hehad displayed in the interment of his father's body, for he had done all thingsneedful himself, leaving naught to others. Therefore so great a man as Mosesbusied himself with the realization of Joseph's wish.[437]

For three days and three nights preceding the exodus Moses hunted up and downthrough the land of Egypt for Joseph's coffin, because he knew that Israelcould not leave Egypt without heeding the oath given to Joseph. But his troublewas in vain; the coffin was nowhere to be found. Serah, the daughter of Asher,met Moses, tired and exhausted, and in answer to her question about the causeof his weariness, he told her of his fruitless search. Serah took him to theNile river, and told him that the leaden coffin made for Joseph by theEgyptians had been sunk there after having been scaled up on all sides. TheEgyptians had done this at the instigation and with the help of the magicians,who, knowing that Israel could not leave the country without the coffin, hadused their arts to put it in a place whence it could not be removed.[438]

Moses now took Joseph's cup, and he cut four flat pieces from it, and engraveda lion on one of them, an eagle on the second, a bull on the third, and a humanfigure on the fourth. He threw the first, with the lion, into the river, sayingat the same time, "Joseph, Joseph, the hour for the redemption of Israel hatharrived, the Shekinah lingers here only for thy sake, the clouds of glory awaitthy coming. If thou wilt show thyself, well and good; if not, then we are clearfrom our oath." But the coffin did not appear.

Then Moses threw the second plate into the water, that with the figure of theeagle, repeating the same words, but again the coffin did not rise from the bedof the Nile, and there it remained, too, when he threw in the third platebearing the figure of the bull, and called upon Joseph a third time to comeforth. But the fourth plate with the human figure and the fourth invocation toJoseph brought the coffin to the surface of the water. Moses seized it, and injoy he bore it off.[439] While Israel had been busy gathering gold and silverfrom the Egyptians, Moses had been thinking of nothing but Joseph's coffin, andhis happiness was great that he had been permitted to fulfil the wish ofJoseph.[440]

During the forty years of wandering through the desert, the coffin was in themidst of Israel, as a reward for Joseph's promise to his brethren, "I willnourish you and take care of you." God had said, "As thou livest, for fortyyears they will take care of thy bones."[441]

All this time in the desert Israel carried two shrines with them, the one thecoffin containing the bones of the dead man Joseph, the other the Arkcontaining the covenant of the Living God. The wayfarers who saw the tworeceptacles wondered, and they would ask, "How doth the ark of the dead comenext to the ark of the Ever-living?" The answer was, "The dead man enshrined inthe one fulfilled the commandments enshrined in the other. In the latter it iswritten, I am the Lord thy God, and he said, Am I in the place of God? Here itis written, Thou shalt have no other gods before My face, and he said, I fearGod. Here it is written, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God invain, and therefore he did not swear by God, but said, By the life of Pharaoh.Here it is written, Remember the Sabbath day, and he said to the overseer ofhis palace on Friday, Slay and make ready, meaning for the Sabbath. Here it iswritten, Honor thy father and thy mother, and he said, when his father desiredto send him to his brethren, Here am I, although he knew it was perilous forhim to go. Here it is written, Thou shalt not kill, and he refrained frommurdering Potiphar when Potiphar's wife urged him to do it. Here it is written,Thou shalt not commit adultery, and he scorned the adulterous proposals ofPotiphar's wife. Here it is written, Thou shalt not steal, and he stole nothingfrom Pharaoh, but gathered up all the money and brought it unto Pharaoh'shouse. Here it is written, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thyneighbor, and he told his father nothing of what his brethren had done to him,though what he might have told was the truth. Here it is written, Thou shaltnot covet, and he did not covet Potiphar's wife."[442]

On their arrival in the Holy Land, the Israelites buried the bones of Joseph inShechem, for God spake to the tribes, saying, "From Shechem did ye steal him,and unto Shechem, shall ye return him."[443]

God, who is so solicitous about the dead bodies of the pious, is even moresolicitous about their souls, which stand before Him like angels, and do theirservice ministering unto Him.[444]

II
THE SONS OF JACOB

SIGNIFICANT NAMES

Jacob raised all his sons in the fear of God, and taught them the ways of apious life, using severity when there was need to make his lessons impressive.He reaped the fruits of his labor, for all his sons were godly men of stainlesscharacter.[1] The ancestors of the twelve tribes resembled their fathers inpiety, and their acts were no less significant than those of Abraham, Isaac,and Jacob. Like these three, they deserve to be called the Fathers ofIsrael.[2] God made a covenant with them as He had made with the threePatriarchs, and to this covenant their descendants owe their preservation.[3]

The very names of the tribes point to the redemption of Israel. Reuben is socalled, because God "sees" the affliction of His people; Simon, because He"hears" its groaning; Levi, He "joins" Himself unto His people when Israelsuffers; Judah, Israel will "thank" God for its deliverance; Issachar, it willbe "rewarded" for its suffering with a recompense; Zebulon, God will have a"dwelling-place" in Israel; Benjamin, He swore by His "right hand" to succorHis people; Dan, He will "judge" the nation that subjugates Israel; Naphtali,He bestowed the Torah upon Israel, and she drops sweetness like the"honeycomb"; Gad, the Lord gave manna unto Israel, and it was like "coriander"seed; Asher, all nations will call Israel "happy"; and Joseph, because God will"add" a second redemption of Israel to the first—redemption from the wickedkingdom at the end as from Egypt in former times.[4]

Not only the names of Jacob's sons are significant, but the names of their sonsas well. Thus the names of the sons of Issachar express the activities of thetribe known for its learning above all the others. The oldest was called Tola,"worm"; as the silk worm is distinguished for its mouth, with which it spins,so also the men of the tribe of Issachar for the wise words of their mouth. Thesecond is Puah, "madder plant"; as this plant colors all things, so the tribeof Issachar colors the whole world with its teachings. The third is Jashub,"the returning one," for through the teachings of Issachar Israel will beturned back to its Heavenly Father; and Shimron, the fourth, is "the observingone," to indicate that the tribe of Issachar observes the Torah.[5]

The names of the sons of Gad likewise interpret the history of the tribe.During Israel's sojourn in Egypt, it had strayed from the right path, but whenAaron appeared as prophet and monitor, and called unto the Israelites to castaway the abominations of their eyes and forsake the idols of Egypt, theyhearkened unto his words. Hence the double name Ozni and Ezbon borne by one ofthe sons of Gad, for this tribe "hearkened" to the word of God, and fulfilledHis "will."

The grandsons of Asher bear the names Heber and Malchiel, because they were the"associates" of kings, and their inheritance yielded "royal dainties."

Partly the history of the tribe of Benjamin can be read in the names of itschiefs. It consisted originally of ten divisions, descended from Benjamin's tensons, but five of them perished in Egypt on account of their ungodly ways, fromwhich no admonition availed to turn them aside. Of the five families remaining,two, the descendants of Bela and those of Ashbel, had always been God-fearing;the others, the Ahiramites, the Shephuphamites, and the Huphamites, repented oftheir sins, and in accordance with the change in their conduct had been thechange in their names. Ehi had become Ahiram, because the breach with the"Exalted" One was healed; Muppira was called Shephupham, because they"afflicted" themselves in their penance; and Huppim was turned into Hupham, toindicate that they had "cleansed" themselves from sin. As a reward for theirpiety, the family springing from Bela was permitted to have two subdivisions,the Ardites and the Naamites. Their names point them out as men that know wellhow the fear of God is to be manifested, whose deeds are exceedingly lovely.

Naphtali was another tribe of steadfast piety, and the names of his sonstestify thereto: Jahzeel, because the tribesmen raised a "partition wall"between God and the idols, inasmuch as they trusted in God and contemned theidols; Guni, because God was their "protection"; and Jezer and Shillemdesignate the Naphtalites as men devoted to God with all their hearts.[6]

REUBEN'S TESTAMENT

Two years after the death of Joseph, Reuben fell sick. Feeling that his end wasnigh, he called together his sons, his grandsons, and his brethren, to givethem his last admonitions from out of the fulness of his experience. He spake:"Hear, my brethren, and do ye, my children, give ear unto Reuben your father inthe commands that I enjoin upon you. And, behold, I adjure you this day by theGod of heaven that ye walk not in the follies of youth and the fornications towhich I was addicted, and wherewith I defiled the bed of my father Jacob. For Itell you now that for seven months the Lord afflicted my loins with a terribleplague, and if my father Jacob had not interceded for me, the Lord had swept meaway. I was twenty years of age when I did what was evil before the Lord, andfor seven months I was sick unto death. Then I did penance for seven years inthe innermost depths of my soul. Wine and strong drink I drank not, the fleshof animals passed not my lips, dainties I tasted not, because I mourned over mysins, for they were great."

He admonished those gathered around him to beware of the seven tempter spirits,which are the spirit of fornication, gluttony, strife, love of admiration,arrogance, falsehood, and injustice. He cautioned them especially againstunchastity, saying: "Pay no heed to the glances of a woman, and remain notalone with a married woman, and do not occupy yourselves with the affairs ofwomen. Had I not seen Bilhah bathe in a secluded spot, I had not fallen intothe great sin I committed, for after my thoughts had once grasped the nakednessof woman, I could not sleep until I had accomplished the abominable deed. Forwhen our father Jacob went to his father Isaac, while we sojourned in Eder, notfar from Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem, Bilhah was drunken with wine, and shelay asleep, uncovered, in her bedchamber, and I entered in and saw hernakedness and committed the sin, and I went out again, leaving her asleep. Butan angel of God revealed my impious act to my father Jacob at once. He cameback and mourned over me, and never again did he approach Bilhah. Unto the verylast day of his life, I had not the assurance to look my father in the face orto speak to my brethren regarding my disgrace, and even now my consciencetortures me on account of my sin. Nevertheless my father spake words of comfortto me, and prayed to God in my behalf, that the wrath of the Lord might departfrom me, as He showed me."

Reuben admonished his children impressively to join themselves to Levi,"because he will know the law of the Lord," he said, "and he will giveordinances for judgment, and bring sacrifices for all Israel, until theconsummation of the times, as the anointed high priest of whom the Lord spake."

After announcing his last will to his sons, Reuben departed this life at theage of one hundred and twenty-five years. His body was laid in a coffin untilhis sons bore it away from Egypt, and carried it up to Hebron, where theyburied it in the Double Cave.[7]

SIMON'S ADMONITION AGAINST ENVY

As Reuben confessed his sin upon his death-bed, and warned his children and hisfamily to be on their guard against unchastity, the vice that had brought abouthis fall, so Simon, when he was about to die, assembled his sons around him,and confessed the sin he had committed. He had been guilty of boundless envy ofJoseph, and he spoke: "I was the second son begotten by my father Jacob, and mymother Leah called me Simon, because the Lord had heard her prayer. I waxedstrong, and shrank from no manner of deed, and I was afraid of naught, for myheart was hard, and my liver unyielding, and my bowels without mercy. And inthe days of my youth I was jealous of Joseph, for our father loved him morethan all the rest of us, and I resolved to kill him. For the prince oftemptation sent the spirit of jealousy to take possession of me, and it blindedme so that I did not consider Joseph to be my brother, and I spared not even myfather Jacob. But his God and the God of his fathers sent His angel and savedhim out of my hands.

When I went to Shechem to fetch ointment for the herds, and Reuben was inDothan, where all our supplies and stores were kept, our brother Judah soldJoseph to the Ishmaelites. On his return, when he heard what had happened,Reuben was very sad, for he had been desirous of saving Joseph and bringing himback to our father. But as for me, my wrath was enkindled against Judah, thathe had let him escape alive. My anger abode with me all of five months. But theLord restrained me from using the power of my hands, for my right hand witheredfor the length of seven days. Then I knew that what had happened was for thesake of Joseph. I repented and prayed to God to restore my hand and withhold mehenceforth from all sorts of defilement, envy, and folly. For two years I gavemyself up to fasting and the fear of God, for I perceived that redemption fromjealousy could come only through the fear of God.

My father, seeing me downcast, asked to know the cause of my sadness, and Ireplied that I was suffering with my liver, but in truth I was mourning morethan all my brethren, seeing that I had been the cause of Joseph's sale. Andwhen we went down into Egypt, and Joseph bound me as a spy, I was not grieved,for I knew in my heart that my suffering was just retribution. But Joseph wasgood, the spirit of God dwelt within him. Compassionate and merciful as he was,he bore me no resentment for my evil deeds toward him, but he loved me with thesame love he showed the others. He paid due honor to us all, and gave us gold,and cattle, and produce. And now, my dear children, do ye love one another,each one his brother, with a clean heart, and remove the spirit of jealousyfrom the midst of you."

Like Reuben, so also Simon adjured his sons to beware of unchastity, for thisvice is the mother of all evil. It separates man from God, and abandons him toBehar. These were the closing words of his exhortation: "In the writings ofEnoch I saw that your sons would be corrupted through unchastity, and theywould maltreat the sons of Levi with the sword. But they will not be able to doaught against Levi, for the war he will wage is the war of the Lord, and hewill vanquish all your armies. As a small remnant you will be scattered amongLevi and Judah, and none among you will rise to be a judge or a king of ourpeople, as, my father Jacob prophesied in his blessing."

Having completed his admonitions to his sons, Simon passed away and wasgathered to his fathers, at the age of one hundred and twenty years. His sonsplaced him in a coffin made of imperishable wood, so that they might carry hisbones to Hebron, as they did, in secret, during the war between the Egyptiansand the Canaanites. Thus did all the tribes during the war; they took theremains each of its founder from Egypt to Hebron. Only the bones of Josephremained in Egypt until the Israelites went out of the land, for the Egyptiansguarded them in their royal treasure chambers. Their magicians had warned themthat whenever Joseph's bones should be removed from Egypt, a great darknesswould envelop the whole land, and it would be a dire misfortune for theEgyptians, for none would be able to recognize his neighbor even with the lightof a lamp.[8]

THE ASCENSION OF LEVI

When it was disclosed to Levi that he was about to die, he gathered all hischildren around him, to tell them the story of his life, and he also prophesiedunto them what they would do, and what would happen to them until the judgmentday. He spoke: "When we were pasturing the flocks in Abel-Meholah, the spiritof understanding of the Lord came upon me, and I saw all mankind, how theycorrupt their ways, and that injustice builds up walls for herself, and impietysits enthroned upon the towers. And I fell to grieving over the generations ofmen, and I prayed to the Lord to save me. Sleep enshrouded me, and I beheld atall mountain, and lo! the heavens opened, and an angel of God addressed me,and said: 'Levi, enter!'

"I entered the first heaven, and I saw a great sea hanging there, and fartheron I saw a second heaven, brighter and more resplendent than the first. I saidto the angel, 'Why is this so?' And the angel said to me, 'Marvel not at this,for thou shalt see another heaven, brilliant beyond compare, and when thou hastascended thither, thou shalt stand near the Lord, and thou shalt be Hisminister, and declare His mysteries to men; and of the Lord's portion shall bethy life, and He shall be thy field and vineyard and fruits and gold andsilver.'

"Then the angel explained the uses of the different heavens to me, and all thathappens in each, and he proclaimed the judgment day. He opened the gates of thethird heaven, where I beheld the holy Temple, and God seated upon the Throne ofGlory. The Lord spake to me: 'Levi, upon thee have I bestowed the blessing ofthe priesthood, until I come and dwell in the midst of Israel.' Then the angelcarried me back to earth, and gave me a shield and a sword, saying, 'Executevengeance upon Shechem for Dinah, and I will be with thee, for the Lord hathsent me.' I asked the angel what his name was, and he replied: 'I am the angelthat intercedes for the people of Israel, that it may not be destroyed utterly,for every evil spirit attacks it.'

"When I awoke, I betook myself to my father, and on the way, near Gebal, Ifound a brass shield, such as I had seen in my dream. Then I advised my fatherand my brother Reuben to bid the sons of Hamor circumcise themselves, for I wasquivering with rage on account of the abominable deed they had done. I slewShechem first of all, and then Simon slew Hamor, and all my other brothers cameout and destroyed the whole city. Our father took this in ill part, and in hisblessing he remembered our conduct. Although we did a wrong thing in actingthus against his wishes, yet I recognized it to be the judgment of God upon thepeople of Shechem on account of their sins, and I said to my father: 'Be notwroth, my lord, for God will exterminate the Canaanites through this, and hewill give the land to thee and to thy seed after thee. Henceforth Shechem willbe called the city of imbeciles, for as a fool is mocked at, so have we made amockery of them.'

"When we journeyed to Beth-lehem, and had been abiding there for seventy days,another vision was vouchsafed me, like unto the former. I saw seven men clad inwhite, and they spake to me, saying: 'Rise up, and array thyself in thepriestly garments, set the crown of righteousness upon thy head, and put on theephod of understanding, and the robe of truth, and the mitre-plate of faith,and the mitre of dignity, and the shoulderpieces of prophecy.' And each of themen brought a garment unto me and invested me therewith, and spake: 'Henceforthbe the priest of the Lord, thou and thy seed unto eternity. And ye shall eatall that is lovely to look upon, and the table of the Lord thy descendants willappropriate for themselves, and from them will come high priests, judges, andscholars, for all that is holy will be guarded by their mouth.'

"Two days after I was visited by this dream, Judah and I repaired to ourgrandfather Isaac, who blessed me in accordance with the words I had heard.Jacob also had a vision, and he saw, too, that I was appointed to be the priestof God, and through me he set apart a tenth of his possessions unto the Lord.And when we established ourselves in Hebron, the residence of Isaac, ourgrandfather taught me the law of the priesthood, and admonished me to holdmyself aloof from unchastity.

At the age of twenty-eight years I took Milcah to wife, and she bore me a son,and I named him Gershom, because we were strangers in the land. But I perceivedhe would not be in the first ranks of men. My second son was born unto me in mythirty-fifth year, and he saw the light of the world at sunrise, and I beheldhim in a vision standing among the proud of the assembly, and therefore I gavehim the name Kohath. The third son my wife bore me in the fortieth year of mylife, and I called his name Merari, because bitter had been her travail inbearing him. My daughter Jochebed was born in Egypt, when I was sixty-threeyears old, and I called her thus because I was known honorably among mybrethren in those days. And in my ninety- fourth year, Amram took Jochebed towife, he that was born on the same day with her."

Thereupon Levi admonished his children to walk in the ways of the Lord, andfear Him with all their heart, and he told them what he had learnt from thewritings of Enoch, that his descendants would sin against the Lord in times tocome, and they would suffer the Divine punishment for their transgression, andthen God would raise up a new priest, unto whom all the words of the Lord wouldbe revealed. His last words were: "And now, my children, ye have heard all Ihave to say. Choose, now, light or darkness, the law of the Lord or the worksof Beliar." And his sons made answer, "Before the Lord we will walk accordingto His law." Then Levi spake, "The Lord is witness and the angels arewitnesses, I am witness and ye are witnesses, concerning the word of yourmouth." And his sons replied, "We are witnesses."

Thus Levi ceased to admonish his sons. He stretched out his feet, and wasgathered unto his fathers, at the age of one hundred and thirty-seven years, agreater age than any of his brethren attained.[9]

JUDAH WARNS AGAINST GREED AND UNCHASTITY

The last words addressed by Judah to his sons were the following: "I was thefourth son begotten by my father, and my mother called me Judah, saying, 'Ithank the Lord that He hath given me a fourth son.' I was zealous in my youthand obedient to my father in all things. When I grew up to manhood, he blessedme, saying, 'Thou wilt be king, and wilt prosper in all thy ways.' The Lordgranted me His grace in whatever I undertook, in the field and in the house. Icould speed as swiftly as the hind, and overtake it, and prepare a dish of itfor my father. A deer I could catch on the run, and all the animals of thevalley. A wild mare I could outstrip, hold it, and bridle it. A lion I slew,and snatched a kid from its jaws. A bear I caught by the paw, and flung itadown the cliff, and it lay beneath crushed. I could keep pace with the wildboar, and overtake it, and as I ran I seized it, and tore it to pieces. Aleopard sprang at my dog in Hebron, and I grasped its tail, and hurled it awayfrom me, and its body burst on the coast at Gaza. A wild steer I found grazingin the field. I took it by its horns, swung it round and round until it wasstunned, and then I cast it to the ground and killed it."

Judah continued and told his children of his heroism in the wars that the sonsof Jacob had waged with the kings of Canaan and with Esau and his family. Inall these conflicts he bore a distinguished part, beyond the achievements ofthe others. His father Jacob was free from all anxiety when Judah was with hisbrethren in their combats, because he had had a vision showing him an angel ofstrength standing at the side of Judah on all his ways.

Judah did not conceal his shortcomings, either. He confessed how drunkennessand passion had betrayed him first into marriage with a Canaanitish woman, andthen into improper relations with his daughter-in-law Tamar. He said to hischildren:

"Do not walk after the desire of your hearts, and vaunt not the valiant deedsof your youth. This, too, is evil in the eyes of the Lord. For while I boastedthat the face of a beautiful woman had never allured me in the wars, andreviled my brother Reuben for his transgression with Bilhah, the spirit ofpassion and unchastity gained possession of me, and I took Bath-shua to wife,and trespassed with Tamar, though she was the affianced of my son. First I saidto Bath-shua's father, 'I will take counsel with my father Jacob, to knowwhether I should marry thy daughter,' but he was a king, and he showed me anuntold heap of gold accredited to his daughter, and he adorned her with themagnificence of women, in gold and pearls, and he bade her pour the wine at themeal. The wine turned my eyes awry, and passion darkened my heart. In mad lovefor her, I violated the command of the Lord and the will of my father, and Itook her to wife. The Lord gave me a recompense according to the counsel of myheart, for I had no joy in the sons she bore me.

"And now, my children, I pray you, do not intoxicate yourselves with wine, forwine twists the understanding away from the truth, and confuses the sight ofthe eyes. Wine led me astray, so that I felt no shame before the throngs ofpeople in the city, and I turned aside and went in to Tamar in the presence ofthem, and committed a great sin. And though a man be a king, if he leads anunchaste life, he loses his kingship. I gave Tamar my staff, which is the stayof my tribe, and my girdle-cord, which is power, and my signet- diadem, whichis the glory of my kingdom. I did penance for all this, and unto old age Idrank no wine, and ate no flesh, and knew no sort of pleasure. Wine causes thesecret things of God and man to be revealed unto the stranger. Thus did Idisclose the commands of the Lord and the mysteries of my father Jacob to theCanaanite woman Bath-shua, though God had forbidden me to betray them. I alsoenjoin you not to love gold, and not to look upon the beauty of women, forthrough money and through beauty I was led astray to Bath-shua the Canaanite. Iknow that my stock will fall into misery through these two things, for even thewise men among my sons will be changed by them, and the consequence will bethat the kingdom of Judah will be diminished, the domain that the Lord gave meas a reward for my obedient conduct toward my father, for never did I speak incontradiction of him, but I did all things according to his words. And Isaac,my father's father, blessed me with the blessing that I should be ruler inIsrael, and I know that the kingdom will arise from me. In the books of Enochthe just I read all the evil that ye will do in the latter days. Only beware,my children, of unchastity and greed, for love of gold leads to idolatry,causing men to call them gods that are none, and dethroning the reason of man.On account of gold I lost my children, and had I not mortified my flesh, andhumbled my soul, and had not my father Jacob offered up prayers for me, I haddied childless. But the God of my fathers, the merciful and gracious One, sawthat I had acted unwittingly, for the ruler of deception had blinded me, and Iwas ignorant, being flesh and blood, and corrupt through sins, and in themoment when I considered myself invincible, I recognized my weakness."

Then Judah revealed to his sons, in clear, brief words, the whole history ofIsrael until the advent of the Messiah, and his final speech was: "My children,observe the whole law of the Lord; in it is hope for all that keep His ways. Idie this day at the age of one hundred and nineteen years before your eyes.None shall bury me in a costly garment, nor shall ye cut my body to embalm it,but ye shall carry me to Hebron."

Having spoken these words, Judah sank into death.[10]

ISSACHAR'S SINGLENESS OF HEART

When Issachar felt his end approach, he summoned his sons, and he said to them:"Hearken, my children, unto your father Issachar, and listen to the words ofhim that is beloved of the Lord. I was born unto Jacob as his fifth son, as areward for the dudaim. Reuben brought the dudaim from the field. They werefragrant apples, which grew in the land of Haran upon an eminence below agully. Rachel met Reuben, and she took the dudaim away from him. The lad wept,and his cries brought his mother Leah to his side, and she addressed Rachelthus: 'Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away my husband? and wouldstthou take away my son's dudaim also?' And Rachel said, 'See, Jacob shall bethine to-night for thy son's dudaim.' But Leah insisted, 'Jacob is mine, and Iam the wife of his youth,' whereupon Rachel, 'Be not boastful and overweening.To me he was betrothed first, and for my sake he served our father fourteenyears. Thou art not his wife, thou wast taken to him by cunning instead of me,for our father deceived me, and put me out of the way the night of thynuptials, so that Jacob could not see me. Nevertheless, give me the dudaim, andthou mayest have Jacob for a night.'

"Then Leah bore me, and I was called Issachar, on account of the reward Rachelhad given to my mother. At that time an angel of the Lord appeared to Jacob,and he spoke: 'Rachel will bear only two sons, for she rejected the espousal ofher husband, and chose continence! But Leah bore six sons, for the Lord knewthat she desired to be with her husband, not because she was prompted by theevil inclination, but for the sake of children. Rachel's prayer also wasfulfilled, on account of the dudaim, for although she desired to eat of theapples, she did not touch them, but put them in the house of the Lord, and gavethem to the priest of the Most High that was in those days.

"When I grew up, my children, I walked in the integrity of my heart, and Ibecame a husbandman, cultivating the land for my father and my brethren, and Igathered the fruit from the fields in their due time. My father blessed me,because he saw that I walked in singleness of heart. I was not married to awife until I was thirty years old, for the hard work I did consumed mystrength, and I had no desire unto woman, but, overwhelmed by fatigue, I wouldsink into sleep. My father was well pleased at all times with my rectitude. Ifmy work was crowned with good results, I brought the firstfruits of my labor tothe priest of the Lord, the next harvest went to my father, and then I thoughtof myself. The Lord doubled the possessions in my hand, and Jacob knew that Godaided me for the sake of my singleness of heart, for in my sincerity I gave ofthe produce of the land to the poor and the needy.

"And now hearken unto me, my children, and walk in singleness of heart, forupon it resteth the favor of the Lord at all times. The simple man longeth notfor gold, he doth not defraud his neighbor, he hath no desire for meats anddainties of many kinds, he careth not for sumptuous dress, he hopeth not forlong life, he waiteth only upon the will of God. The spirits of deception haveno power over him, for he looketh not upon the beauty of woman, lest he defilehis understanding with corruption. Jealousy cometh not into his thoughts, envydoth not sear his soul, and insatiable greed doth not make him look abroad forrich gain. Now, then, my children, observe the law of the Lord, attain tosimplicity, and walk in singleness of heart, without meddling with the affairsof others. Love the Lord and love your neighbors, have pity upon the poor andthe feeble, bow your backs to till the ground, occupy yourselves with work uponthe land, and bring gifts unto the Lord in gratitude. For the Lord hath blessedyou with the best of the fruits of the field, as he hath blessed all the saintsfrom Abel down to our day.

"Know, my children, that in the latter time your sons will abandon the paths ofprobity, and will be ruled by greed. They will forsake rectitude and practicecraft, they will depart from the commands of the Lord and follow after Beliar,they will give up husbandry and pursue their evil plans, they will be scatteredamong the heathen and serve their enemies. Tell this unto your children, sothat, if they sin, they may repent speedily, and return to the Lord, for He ismerciful, and He will take them out to bring them back unto their land.

"I am one hundred and twenty-two years old, and I can discern no sin in myself.Save my wife, I have known no woman. I was guilty of no unchastity through thelifting up of eyes. I drank no wine, that I might not be led astray, I did notcovet what belonged to my neighbor, guile had no place in my heart, lies didnot pass my lips. I sighed along with all that were heavy-laden, and to thepoor I gave my bread. I loved the Lord with all my might, and mankind I alsoloved. Do ye likewise, my children, and all the spirits of Beliar will fleefrom you, no deed done by the wicked will have power over you, and ye willvanquish all the wild beasts, for ye have with you the Lord of heaven."

And Issachar bade his children carry him up to Hebron, and bury him there byhis fathers in the Cave, and he stretched out his feet, and fell into the sleepof eternity, full of years, healthy of limb, and in the possession of all hisfaculties.[11]

ZEBULON EXHORTS UNTO COMPASSION

When Zebulon attained the age of one hundred and fourteen years, which was twoyears after the death of Joseph, he called his sons together, and admonishedthem, in these words, to lead a life of piety: "I am Zebulon, a precious giftfor my parents, for when I was born, my father became very rich, by means ofthe streaked rods, in herds of sheep and herds of cattle. I am conscious of nosin in me, and I remember no wrong done by me, unless it be the unwitting sincommitted against Joseph, in that I did not, out of consideration for mybrethren, disclose to my father what had happened to his favorite son, thoughin secret I mourned exceedingly. I feared my brethren, because they had agreedthat he who betrayed the secret should be slain with the sword. When theyplanned to kill Joseph, I besought them amid tears not to sin thus.

"And now, my children, hearken unto me. I exhort you to observe the commands ofthe Lord, and have mercy upon your neighbors, and act compassionately, not onlytoward men, but also toward dumb brutes. For on account of my mercifulness theLord blessed me; all my brethren fell sick at one time or another, but Iescaped without any illness. Also the sons of my brethren had to enduredisease, and they were nigh unto death for the sake of Joseph, because they hadno pity in their hearts. But my sons were preserved in perfect health, as yewell know. And when I was in Canaan, catching fish at the shores of the sea formy father Jacob, many were drowned in the waters of the sea, but I came awayunharmed. For ye must know that I was the first to build a boat for rowing uponthe sea, and I plied along the coasts in it, and caught fish for my father'shousehold, until we went down into Egypt. Out of pity I would share my haulwith the poor stranger, and if he was sick or well on in years, I would preparea savory dish for him, and I gave unto each according to his needs,sympathizing with him in his distress and having pity upon him. Therefore theLord brought numerous fish to my nets, for he that gives aught to his neighbor,receives it back from the Lord with great increase. For five years I fished inthe summer, and in the winter I pastured the flocks with my brethren.

"Now, my children, have pity and compassion on all men, that the Lord may havepity and compassion on you, for in the measure in which man has mercy with hisfellow-men, God has mercy with him. When we came down into Egypt, Joseph didnot visit upon us the wrong he had suffered. Take him as your model, andremember not a wrong done unto you, else unity is rent asunder, and the bondsof kinship are torn, and the soul is disquieted. Observe the water! If it runson undivided, it carries down stone, wood, and sand along with it. But if it isdivided and flows through many channels, the earth sucks it up, and it losesits force. If you separate, one from the other, you will be like dividedwaters. Be not cleft into two heads, for all that the Lord hath made has butone head. He has given two shoulders unto his creatures, two hands, and twofeet, but all these organs obey one head."

Zebulon ended his exhortation unto unity with an account of the divisions inIsrael, whereof he had read in the writings of the fathers, that they wouldcome about in future days, and bring sore suffering upon Israel. However, hespoke encouraging words to his children, saying: "Be not grieved over my death,and do not lose heart at my departure from you, for I shall arise again in themidst of you, and I shall live joyously among the people of my tribe, those whoobserve the law of the Lord. As for the godless, the Lord will bringeverlasting fire down upon them, and exterminate them unto all generations. NowI hasten hence unto my eternal rest with my fathers. But ye, fear ye the Lordyour God with all your might all the days of your life."

Having made an end of saying these words, he sank into the sleep of death, andhis sons put him into a coffin, wherein they carried him up to Hebron later, tobury him there next to his fathers.[12]

DAN'S CONFESSION

When Dan assembled his family at the last of his life, he spake: "I confessbefore you this day, my children, that I had resolved to kill Joseph, that goodand upright man, and I rejoiced over his sale, for his father loved him morethan he loved the rest of us. The spirit of envy and boastfulness goaded me on,saying, 'Thou, too, art the son of Jacob,' and one of the spirits of Beharstirred me up, saying, 'Take this sword, and slay Joseph, for once he is deadthy father will love thee.' It was the spirit of anger that was seeking topersuade me to crush Joseph, as a leopard crunches a kid between its teeth. Butthe God of our father Jacob did not deliver him into my hand, to let me findhim alone, and He did not permit me to execute this impious deed, that twotribes in Israel might not be destroyed.

"And now, my children, I am about to die, and I tell it unto you in truth, ifyou take not heed against the spirit of lies and anger, and if ye love nottruth and generosity, you will perish. The spirit of anger casts the net oferror around its victim, and it blinds his eyes, and the spirit of lies warpshis mind, and clouds his vision. Evil is anger, it is the grave of the soul.Desist from anger and hate lies, that the Lord may dwell among you, and Beharflee from your presence. Speak the truth each unto his neighbor, and you willnot fall into anger and trouble, but you will be at peace, and the Lord ofpeace you will have with you, and no war will vanquish you.

"I speak thus, for I know that in the latter days you will fall off from God,and you will kindle the wrath of Levi, and rise in rebellion against Judah, butyou will not accomplish aught against them, for the angel of the Lord is theirguide, and Israel will perish through them. And if you turn recreant to theLord, you will execute every kind of evil thing, and do the abominations of theheathen, committing unchastity with the wives of the godless, while the tempterspirits are at work among you. Therefore you will be carried away intocaptivity, and in the lands of exile you will suffer all the plagues of Egyptand all the tribulations of the heathen. But when you return to the Lord, youwill find mercy. He will take you into His sanctuary, and grant you peace.

"And now, my children, fear the Lord, and be on your guard against Satan andhis spirits. Keep aloof from every evil deed, cast anger away from you andevery sort of lie, love truth and forbearance, and what ye have heard from yourfather, tell unto your children. Avoid all manner of unrighteousness, cling tothe integrity of the law of the Lord, and bury me near my fathers."

Having spoken these words, he kissed his children, and fell asleep.[13]

NAPHTALI'S DREAMS OF THE DIVISION OF THE TRIBES

In the hundred and thirty-second year of his life, Naphtali invited all hischildren to a banquet. The next morning when he awoke, he told them that he wasdying, but they would not believe him. He, however, praised the Lord, andassured them again that his death was due after the banquet of the day before.Then he addressed his last words to his children:

"I was born of Bilhah, and because Rachel had acted with cunning, and had givenJacob Bilhah instead of herself, I was called Naphtali. Rachel loved me, for Iwas born upon her knees, and while I was still very young, she was in the habitof kissing me and saying, 'O that I had a brother unto thee from mine own body,one in thine image.' Therefore Joseph resembled me in all respects, inaccordance with Rachel's prayer. My mother Bilhah was a daughter of Rotheus, abrother of Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, and she was born the same day as Rachel.As for Rotheus, he was of the family of Abraham, a Chaldean, God-fearing, and afree man of noble birth, and when he was taken captive, he was bought by Labanand married to his slave Aina. She bore Rotheus a daughter, and he called herZilpah, after the name of the village in which he was taken captive. His seconddaughter he called Bilhah, saying, 'My daughter is impetuous,' for hardly wasshe born when she hastened to suckle.

"I was fleet of foot like a deer, and my father Jacob appointed me to be hismessenger, and in his blessing he called me a hind let loose. As the potterknows the vessel he fashions, how much it is to hold, and uses clayaccordingly, so the Lord makes the body in conformity with the soul, and toagree with the capacity of the body He plans the soul. The one corresponds tothe other down to the third of a hair- breadth, for the whole of creation wasmade by weight, and measure, and rule. And as the potter knows the use of everyvessel he fashions, so the Lord knows the body of His creature, unto what pointit will be steadfast in the good, and at what point it will fall into evilways. Now, then, my children, let your conduct be well-ordered unto good in thefear of God, do naught that is ill-regulated or untimely, for though ye tellyour eye to hear, it yet cannot, and as little can ye do deeds of light whileyou abide in darkness."

Furthermore Naphtali said unto his children: "I give you no command concerningmy silver, or my gold, or any other possession that I bequeath to you. And whatI command you is not a hard matter, which you cannot do, but I speak unto youconcerning an easy thing, which you can execute." Then his sons answered, andsaid, "Speak, father, for we are listening to thy words." Naphtali continued:"I give you no commandment except regarding the fear of God, that you shouldserve Him and follow after Him." Then the sons of Naphtali asked: "Whereforedoes He require our service?" and he replied, saying: "He needs no creature,but all creatures need Him. Nevertheless He hath not created the world fornaught, but that men should fear Him, and none should do unto his neighbor whathe would not have others do unto him." His sons asked again, "Father, hast thouobserved that we strayed from the ways of the Lord to the right or to theleft?" Naphtali replied: "God is witness, and so am I witness for you, that itis as you say. But I fear regarding future times, that you may depart from theways of the Lord, and follow after the idols of the stranger, and walk in thestatutes of the heathen peoples, and join yourselves unto the sons of Josephinstead of the sons of Levi and Judah." The sons of Naphtali spoke, "Whatreason hast thou for commanding this thing unto us?" Naphtali: "Because I knowthat the sons of Joseph will one day turn recreant to the Lord, the God oftheir fathers, and it is they that will lead the sons of Israel into sin, andcause them to be driven away from their inheritance, their beautiful land, to aland that is not ours, even as it was Joseph that brought the Egyptian bondagedown upon us.

"I will tell ye, my children, the vision I had while I was yet a shepherd offlocks. I saw my brethren pasturing the herds with me, and our fatherapproached, and said: 'Up, my sons, each one take what he can in my presence!'We answered, and said to him, 'What shall we take? We see nothing but the sun,the moon, and the stars.' Then our father said: 'These shall ye take!' Levi,hearing this, snatched up an ox-goad, sprang up to the sun, sat upon him, androde. Judah did likewise. He jumped up to the moon, and rode upon her. And theother nine tribes did the same, each rode upon his star or his planet in theheavens. Joseph remained behind alone on the earth, and our father Jacob saidto him, 'My son, why hast thou not done like thy brethren?' Joseph answered,'What right have men born of woman to be in the heavens, seeing that in the endthey must stay on earth?' While Joseph was speaking thus, a tall steer appearedbefore him. He had great pinions like the wings of the stork, and his hornswere as long as those of the reem. Jacob urged his son, 'Up, Joseph, mount thesteer!' Joseph did as his father bade him, and Jacob went his way. For thespace of two hours Joseph displayed himself upon the steer, sometimesgalloping, sometimes flying, until he reached Judah. Then Joseph unfolded thestandard in his hand, and began to rain blows down upon Judah with it, and whenhis brother demanded the reason for this treatment, he said, 'Because thou hasttwelve rods in thine hand, and I have but one. Give thine to me, and peaceshall prevail between us!' But Judah refused to do his bidding, and Joseph beathim until he dropped ten rods, and only two remained in his clutch. Joseph nowinvited his brethren to abandon Judah and follow after him. They all did thus,except Benjamin, who stayed true to Judah. Levi was grieved over the desertionof Judah, and he descended from the sun. Toward the end of the day a stormbroke out, and it scattered the brethren, so that no two were together. When Igave an account of my vision to my father Jacob, he said, 'It is but a dream,it can neither help nor harm.'

"A short while thereafter another vision was revealed to me. I saw all of ustogether with our father at the shores of the sea, and a ship appeared in themidst of the sea, and it had neither sailors nor other crew. Our father spake,'Do you see what I see?' And when we answered that we did, he commanded us tofollow him. He took off his clothes, and sprang into the sea, and we sprangafter him. Levi and Judah were the first to scale the side of the ship. Ourfather cried after them, 'See what is written upon the mast,' for there is noship that does not bear the name of the owner upon the mast. Levi and Judahscrutinized the writing, and what they read was this, 'This ship and all thetreasures therein belong unto the son of Barachel.' Jacob thanked God forhaving blessed him, not only on land, but also upon the sea, and he said to us,'Stretch forth your hands, and whatsoever each one seizes shall be his!' Levicaught hold of the big mast, Judah of the second mast, next to Levi's, and theother brethren, with the exception of Joseph, took the oars, and Jacob himselfseized the two rudders, wherewith to guide the ship. He bade Joseph take anoar, too, but he refused to do his father's bidding, and Jacob gave him one ofthe rudders. After our father had instructed us each one in what we had to do,he disappeared, whereupon Joseph took possession of the second rudder, too. Allwent smoothly for a time, as long as Judah and Joseph acted together in harmonywith each other, and Judah kept Joseph informed in what direction to steer. Buta quarrel broke out between them, and Joseph did not guide the vessel in theway his father had commanded him, and Judah attempted to direct him, and thevessel was wrecked upon a rock. Levi and Judah descended from the masts, andlikewise the other brethren left the ship and escaped to the shore. At thismoment Jacob appeared, and he found us scattered in all directions, and wereported to him how Joseph had caused the vessel to run aground, because he hadrefused, out of jealousy of Judah and Levi, to steer it according to theirinstructions. Then Jacob asked us to show him the spot where we had lost theship, of which only the masts were visible above the water. He emitted awhistle summoning us all, and he swam out into the water, and raised the vesselas before. Turning to Joseph, he spake thus, 'My son, never do that again,never permit jealousy of thy brethren to master thee. Nearly it happened thatall thy brethren perished because of thee.'

"When I told my father what I had seen in this vision, he clasped his hands,and tears flowed from his eyes, and be said: 'My son, for that the vision wasdoubled unto thee twice, I am dismayed, and I shudder for my son Joseph. Iloved him more than all of you, but by reason of his perverseness ye will becarried away into captivity, and scattered among the nations. Thy first and thysecond vision had the same meaning, the vision is one.'

"Therefore, my sons, I command you not to join yourselves unto the sons ofJoseph, but ye shall join yourselves unto the sons of Levi and Judah. I tellyou, too, that my inheritance shall be of the best of Palestine, the middle ofthe earth. You will eat, and the delectable gifts of my portion will satisfyyou. But I warn you not to kick in your prosperity and not to become perverse,resisting the commands of God, who satisfies you with the best of His land, andnot to forget your God, whom your father Abraham chose when the families of theearth were divided in the days of Peleg. The Lord descended with seventyangels, at their head Michael, and he commanded them to teach the seventylanguages unto the seventy families of Noah. The angels did according to thebehest of God, and the holy Hebrew language remained only in the house of Shemand Eber, and in the house of their descendant Abraham. On this day of teachinglanguages, Michael came to each nation separately, and told it the message withwhich God had charged him, saying: 'I know the rebellion and the confusion yehave enacted against God. Now, make choice of him whom you will serve, and whomwill you have as your mediator in heaven?' Then spake Nimrod the wicked, 'In myeyes there is none greater than he that taught me the language of Cush.' Theother nations also answered in words like these, each one designated its angel.But Abraham said: 'I choose none other than Him that spake and the world was.In Him I will have faith, and my seed forever and ever.' Thenceforth God putevery nation in the care of its angel, but Abraham and his seed He kept forHimself.

"Therefore I adjure you not to go astray and serve other gods beside Him whomour fathers made choice of. You can perceive somewhat of His power in thecreation of man. From head to foot is man wonderfully made. With his ears hehears, with his eyes he sees, with his brain he comprehends, with his nose hesmells, with the tubes of his throat he utters sounds, with his gullet heswallows food, with his tongue he articulates, with his mouth he forms words,with his hands he does his work, with his heart he meditates, with his spleenhe laughs, with his liver he waxes angry, with his stomach he crushes his food,with his feet he walks, with his lungs he breathes, and with his kidneys hemakes resolves, and none of his organs undergoes a change in function, eachperforms its own. Therefore it behooves man to take to heart who it is thathath created him, and who hath developed him from a foul-smelling drop in thewomb of woman, who hath brought him to the light of the world, who hath givensight to his eyes, and who hath bestowed the power of motion upon his feet, whomaketh him to stand upright, who hath infused the breath of life into him, andwho hath imparted of His own pure spirit unto him. Happy the man, therefore,that polluteth not the holy spirit of God within him by doing evil deeds, andwell for him if he returns it to his Creator as he received it."

After Naphtali had charged his children thus, and with many other lessons likethese, he enjoined them to carry his remains to Hebron, to be buried there nearhis fathers. Then he ate and drank with rejoicing, covered his face, and died,and his sons did according to all that their father Naphtali had commandedthem.[14]

GAD'S HATRED

In the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life Gad assembled his sons, and hespake to them: "I am the ninth son of Jacob, and I was a valiant shepherd ofthe flocks. I guarded the herds, and when a lion or any other wild beastapproached, I pursued it, gripped it by the foot, flung it a stone's throw fromme, and killed it thus. Once, for a space of thirty days, Joseph tended theflocks with us, and when he returned to our father, he told him that the sonsof Zilpah and Bilhah slaughtered the best of the herds, and used the fleshwithout the knowledge of Reuben and Judah. He had seen me snatch a lamb out ofthe jaws of a bear, kill the bear, and slaughter the lamb, for it was too badlyinjured to live. I was wroth with Joseph for his talebearing, until he was soldinto Egypt. I would neither look upon him nor hear aught about him, for to ourvery faces he, blamed us, because we had eaten the lamb without seeking thepermission of Judah first. And whatever Joseph told our father, he believed.

"Now I confess my sin, that ofttimes I longed to kill him, for I hated him fromthe bottom of my heart, and on account of his dreams I hated him still more,and I desired to destroy him from off the land of the living. But Judah soldhim by stealth to the Ishmaelites. Thus the God of our fathers saved him out ofour hands, and He did not permit us to commit an abominable outrage in Israel.

"Hear now, my children, the words of truth, that ye may practice justice andthe whole law of the Most High, and permit yourselves not to be tempted by thespirit of hatred. Evil is hatred, for it is the constant companion ofdeception, it always contradicts the truth. A little thing it magnifies into agreat thing, light it takes for darkness, the sweet it calls bitter, and itteaches slander, enkindles anger, brings on war and violence, and fills theheart with devilish poison. I tell you my own experience, my children, that yemay drive hatred out of your hearts, and cleave to the love of the Lord.Righteousness banishes hatred, and humility kills it, for he that fears to giveumbrage to the Lord, desires not to do wrong even in his thoughts. This is whatI recognized at the last, after I had done penance on account of Joseph, fortrue atonement, pleasing to God, enlightens the eyes, illumines the soul withknowledge, and creates a counsel of salvation. My penance came in consequenceof a sickness of the liver that God inflicted upon me. Without the prayers ofmy father Jacob, my spirit would have departed from me, for through the organwherewith man transgresses, he is punished. As my liver had felt no mercy forJoseph, unmerciful suffering was caused unto me by my liver. My judgment lastedeleven months, as long as my enmity toward Joseph.

"And now, my children, each of you shall love his brother, and ye shall uproothatred from your hearts by loving one another in word and deed and the thoughtsof the soul. For I spake peaceably with Joseph in the presence of our father,but when I went out from before him, the spirit of hatred darkened myunderstanding, and stirred up my soul to murder him. If you see one that hathmore good fortune than you, do not grieve, but pray for him, that his happinessmay be perfect, and if one of the wicked even should grow rich in substance,like Esau, my father's brother, do not envy him. Wait for the end of the Lord.

"This also tell unto your children, that they shall honor Judah and Levi, forfrom them the Lord will cause a savior to arise unto Israel. For I know that inthe end your children will fall off from God, and they will take part in allwickedness, malice, and corruptness, before the Lord."

After Gad had rested a little while, he spake again, "My children, hearken untoyour father, and bury me with my fathers." Then he drew up his feet, and sleptin peace. After five years, his sons carried his remains to Hebron unto hisfathers.[15]

ASHER'S LAST WORDS

In the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life, while be was still robust inhealth, Asher summoned his children unto him, and admonished them to walk inthe ways of virtue and the fear of God. He spake: "Hearken, ye sons of Asher,unto your father, and I will show you all that is right before God. Two wayshath God put before the children of men, and two inclinations hath He bestowedupon them, two kinds of actions and two aims. Therefore all things are in twos,the one opposite to the other. But ye, my children, ye shall not be double,pursuing both goodness and wickedness. Ye shall cling only to the ways ofgoodness, for the Lord taketh delight in them, and men yearn after them. Andflee from wickedness, for thus you will destroy the evil inclination. Heed wellthe commands of the Lord, by following truth with a single mind. Observe thelaw of the Lord, and have not the same care for wicked things as for goodthings. Rather keep your eyes upon what is truly good, and guard it through allthe commands of the Lord. The end of man, when he meets the messengers of Godand of Satan, shows whether he was righteous or unrighteous in his life. If hissoul goes out with agitation, she will be plagued by the evil spirit, whom sheserved with her lusts and her evil deeds; but if she departs tranquilly, theangel of peace will lead her to life eternal.

"Be not like Sodom, my children, which recognized not the angels of the Lord,that ye be not delivered into the hands of your enemies, and your land becursed, and your sanctuary destroyed, and you be scattered to the four cornersof the earth, and scorned in the confusion like stale water, until the MostHigh shall visit the earth, and break the heads of the dragons in the waters.Tell this, my sons, unto your children, that they be not disobedient towardGod, for I read in the tablets of the heavens that you will be contumacious andact impiously toward Him, in that you will have no care for the law of God, butyou will heed human laws, and they are corrupted by reason of man'sgodlessness. Therefore ye will be dispersed abroad like unto Gad and Dan, mybrethren, and you will not know either your land, or your tribe, or yourtongue. Nevertheless the Lord will gather you in His faithfulness, for the sakeof His gracious mercy, and for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

And when he had made an end of saying these words, he commanded them to buryhim in Hebron. And he sank into sweet sleep, and died. His sons did as he hadcommanded, and they carried him up and buried him with his fathers.[16]

BENJAMIN EXTOLS JOSEPH

Benjamin was one hundred and twenty-five years old, and he called his childrento come to him. When they appeared, he kissed them, and spake: "As Isaac wasborn unto Abraham in his old age, so was I born unto Jacob when he was strickenin years. Therefore I was called Benjamin, 'the son of days.' My mother Racheldied at my birth, and Bilhah her slave suckled me. Rachel had no children fortwelve years after bearing Joseph. Therefore she prayed to God, and fastedtwelve days, and she conceived and bare me. Our father loved Rachel fondly, andhe had longed greatly to have two sons by her.

"When I came down to Egypt, and my brother Joseph recognized me, he asked me,'What said my brethren to my father regarding me?' And I told him that they hadsent Jacob his coat stained with blood, and had said, 'Know now whether this bethy son's coat or not.' And Joseph said: 'This is what happened to me.Canaanitish merchantmen stole me away with violence, and on the way they wantedto hide my coat, to make it seem as though a wild beast had met me and slainme. But he who was about to conceal it, was torn by a lion, whereupon hiscompanions, in great fear, sold me to the Ishmaelites. My brethren, thou seest,did not deceive my father with a lie.' In this wise Joseph tried to keep thedeed of our brethren a secret from me. He also summoned my brethren, andenjoined them not to make known to our father what they had done to him, andbade them repeat the tale he had told me.

"Now, my children, love ye the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, and observeHis commandments, taking that good and pious man Joseph as your model. Untilthe day of his death he would not have divulged what his brethren had done tohim, and although God revealed their action to Jacob, he continued to deny it.Only after many efforts, when Jacob adjured him to confess the truth, he wasinduced to speak out. Even then he besought our father Jacob to pray for ourbrethren, that God account not the evil they had done to him as a sin. AndJacob exclaimed, 'O my good child Joseph, thou hast shown thyself more mercifulthan I was!'

"My children, have you observed the mercy of the good man? Imitate it with pureintention, that ye, too, may wear crowns of glory. A good man has not anenvious eye, he has mercy with all, even with sinners, though their evildesigns be directed against him, and by his good deeds he conquers the evil,since it was ordained of God. If you do good, the unclean spirits will departfrom you, and even the wild beasts will stand in fear of you. The inclinationof a good man lies not in the power of the tempter spirit Behar, for the angelof peace guides his soul. Flee before the malice of Beliar, whose sword isdrawn to slay all that pay him obedience, and his sword is the mother of sevenevils, bloodshed, corruptness, error, captivity, hunger, panic, anddevastation. Therefore God surrendered Cain to seven punishments. Once in ahundred years the Lord brought a castigation upon him. His afflictions beganwhen he was two hundred years old, and in his nine hundredth year he wasdestroyed by the deluge, for having slain his righteous brother Abel. And thosewho are like unto Cain will be chastised forever with the same punishments ashis.

"Know now, my children, that I am about to die. Practice truth andrighteousness, and observe the law of the Lord and also His commandments. ThisI bequeath unto you as your sole heritage, and you shall leave it to yourchildren as an eternal possession. Thus Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did, theytransmitted it unto us, saying, 'Observe the commands of God, until the Lordshall reveal His salvation in the sight of all the heathen.' Then you will seeEnoch, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob[17] rise up with rejoicing to newlife at the right hand of God, and we brethren, the sons of Jacob, will arisealso, each of us at the head of his tribe, and we will pay homage to the Kingof the heavens."

After Benjamin had made an end of speaking thus, he said: "I command you, mychildren, to carry my bones up out of Egypt and bury me near my fathers."

And when he had made an end of saying these things, he fell asleep at a goodold age, and they put his body into a coffin, and in the ninety-first year oftheir sojourning in Egypt, his sons and the sons of his brethren brought up thebones of their father, in secret, and buried them in Hebron, at the feet oftheir fathers. Then they returned from the land of Canaan, and they dwelt inEgypt until the day of the exodus from the land.[18]

III
JOB

JOB AND THE PATRIARCHS

Job, the most pious Gentile that ever lived,[1] one of the few to bear thetitle of honor "the servant of God,"[2] was of double kin to Jacob. He was agrandson of Jacob's brother Esau, and at the same time the son-in-law of Jacobhimself, for lie had married Dinah as his second wife.[3] He was entirelyworthy of being a member of the Patriarch's family, for he was perfectlyupright, one that feared God, and eschewed evil. Had he not wavered in hisresignation to the Divine will during the great trial to which he wassubjected, and murmured against God, the distinction would have been conferredupon him of having his name joined to the Name of God in prayer, and men wouldhave called upon the God of Job as they now call upon the God of Abraham,Isaac, and Jacob. But he was not found steadfast like the three Fathers, and heforfeited the honor God had intended for him.

The Lord remonstrated with him for his lack of patience, saying: "Why didstthou murmur when suffering came upon thee? Dost thou think thyself of greaterworth than Adam, the creation of Mine own hands, upon whom together with hisdescendants I decreed death on account of a single transgression? And yet Adammurmured not. Thou art surely not more worthy than Abraham, whom I tempted withmany trials, and when he asked, 'Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit theland?' and I replied, 'Know of a surety that thy seed will be a stranger in aland that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them fourhundred years,' he yet murmured not. Thou dost not esteem thyself more worthythan Moses, dost thou? Him I would not grant the favor of entering the promisedland, because he spake the words, 'Hear now, ye rebels; shall we bring youforth water out of this rock?' And yet he murmured not. Art thou more worthythan Aaron, unto whom I showed greater honor than unto any created being, for Isent the angels themselves out of the Holy of Holies when he entered the place?Yet when his two sons died, he murmured not."[4]

The contrast between Job and the Patriarchs appears from words spoken by himand words spoken by Abraham. Addressing God, Abraham said, "That be far fromThee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that sothe righteous should be as the wicked," and Job exclaimed against God, "It isall one; therefore I say, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked." They bothreceived their due recompense, Abraham was rewarded and Job was punished.[5]

Convinced that his suffering was undeserved and unjust, Job had the audacity tosay to God: "O Lord of the world, Thou didst create the ox with cloven feet andthe ass with unparted hoof, Thou hast created Paradise and hell, Thou createstthe righteous and also the wicked. There is none to hinder, Thou canst do asseemeth good in Thy sight." The friends of Job replied: "It is true, God hathcreated the evil inclination, but He hath also given man the Torah as a remedyagainst it. Therefore the wicked cannot roll their guilt from off theirshoulders and put it upon God."

The reason Job did not shrink from such extravagant utterances was because hedenied the resurrection of the dead. He judged of the prosperity of the wickedand the woes of the pious only by their earthly fortunes. Proceeding from thisfalse premise, he held it to be possible that the punishment falling to hisshare was not at all intended for him. God had slipped into an error, Heimposed the suffering upon him that had been appointed unto a sinner. But Godspake to him, saying: "Many hairs have I created upon the head of man, yet eachhair hath its own sac, for were two hairs to draw their nourishment from thesame sac, man would lose the sight of his eyes. It hath never happened that asac hath been misplaced. Should I, then, have mistaken Job for another? I letmany drops of rain descend from the heavens, and for each drop there is a mouldin the clouds, for were two drops to issue from the same mould, the groundwould be made so miry that it could not bring forth any growth. It hath neverhappened that a mould hath been misplaced. Should I, then, have mistaken Jobfor another? Many thunderbolts I hurl from the skies, but each one comes fromits own path, for were two to proceed from the same path, they would destroythe whole world. It hath never happened that a path hath been misplaced. ShouldI, then, have mistaken Job for another? The gazelle gives birth to her young onthe topmost point of a rock, and it would fall into the abyss and be crushed todeath, if I did not send an eagle thither to catch it up and carry it to itsmother. Were the eagle to appear a minute earlier or later than the appointedtime, the little gazelle would perish. It hath never happened that the properminute of time was missed. Should I, then, have mistaken Job for another? Thehind has a contracted womb, and would not be able to bring forth her young, ifI did not send a dragon to her at the right second, to nibble at her womb andsoften it, for then she can bear. Were the dragon to come a second before orafter the right time, the hind would perish. It hath never happened that Imissed the right second. Should I, then, have mistaken Job for another?"

Notwithstanding Job's unpardonable words, God was displeased with his friendsfor passing harsh judgment upon him. "A man may not be held responsible forwhat he does in his anguish," and Job's agony was great, indeed[6]

JOB'S WEALTH AND BENEFACTIONS

Job was asked once what he considered the severest affliction that could strikehim, and he replied, "My enemies' joy in my misfortune,[7] and when Goddemanded to know of him, after the accusations made by Satan, what hepreferred, poverty or physical suffering, he chose pain, saying, "O Lord of thewhole world, chastise my body with suffering of all kinds, only preserve mefrom poverty."[8] Poverty seemed the greater scourge, because before his trialshe had occupied a brilliant position on account of his vast wealth. Godgraciously granted him this foretaste of the Messianic time. The harvestfollowed close upon the ploughing of his field; no sooner were the seeds strewnin the furrows, than they sprouted and grew and ripened produce. He was equallysuccessful with his cattle. His sheep killed wolves, but were themselves neverharmed by wild beasts.[9] Of sheep he had no less than one hundred and thirtythousand, and he required eight hundred dogs to keep guard over them, not tomention the two hundred dogs needed to secure the safety of his house. Besides,his herds consisted of three hundred and forty thousand asses and thirty-fivehundred pairs of oxen. All these possessions were not used for self- indulgentpleasures, but for the good of the poor and the needy, whom he clothed, andfed, and provided with all things necessary. To do all this, he even had toemploy ships that carried supplies to all the cities and the dwelling- placesof the destitute. His house was furnished with doors on all its four sides,that the poor and the wayfarer might enter, no matter from what direction theyapproached. At all times there were thirty tables laden with viands ready inhis house, and twelve besides for widows only, so that all who came found whatthey desired. Job's consideration for the poor was so delicate that he keptservants to wait upon them constantly. His guests, enraptured by hischaritableness, frequently offered themselves as attendants to minister to thepoor in his house, but Job always insisted upon paying them for their services.If he was asked for a loan of money, to be used for business purposes, and theborrower promised to give a part of his profits to the poor, he would demand nosecurity beyond a mere signature. And if it happened that by some mischance orother the debtor was not able to discharge his obligation, Job would return thenote to him, or tear it into bits in his presence.

He did not rest satisfied at supplying the material needs of those who appliedto him. He strove also to convey the knowledge of God to them. After a meal hewas in the habit of having music played upon instruments, and then he wouldinvite those present to join him in songs of praise to God. On such occasionshe did not consider himself above playing the cithern while the musiciansrested.[10]

Most particularly Job concerned himself about the weal and woe of widows andorphans. He was wont to pay visits to the sick, both rich and poor, and when itwas necessary, he would bring a physician along with him. If the case turnedout to be hopeless, he would sustain the stricken family with advice andconsolation. When the wife of the incurably sick man began to grieve and weep,he would encourage her with such words as these: "Trust always in the grace andlovingkindness of God. He hath not abandoned thee until now, and He will notforsake thee henceforth. Thy husband will be restored to health, and will beable to provide for his family as heretofore. But if—which may God forefend—thyhusband should die, I call Heaven to witness that I shall provide sustenancefor thee and thy children." Having spoken thus, he would send for a notary, andhave him draw up a document, which he signed in the presence of witnesses,binding himself to care for the family, should it be bereaved of its head. Thushe earned for himself the blessing of the sick man and the gratitude of thesorrowing wife.[11]

Sometimes, in case of necessity, Job could be severe, too, especially when itwas a question of helping a poor man obtain his due. If one of the parties to asuit cited before his tribunal was known to be a man of violence, he wouldsurround himself with his army and inspire him with fear, so that the culpritcould not but show himself amenable to his decision.[12]

He endeavored to inculcate his benevolent ways upon his children, byaccustoming them to wait upon the poor. On the morrow after a feast he wouldsacrifice bountifully to God, and together with the pieces upon the altar hisofferings would be divided among the needy. He would say: "Take and helpyourselves, and pray for my children. It may be that they have sinned, andrenounced God, saying in the presumption of their hearts: 'We are the childrenof this rich man. All these things are our possessions. Why should we beservants to the poor?' "

SATAN AND JOB

The happy, God-pleasing life led by Job for many years excited the hatred ofSatan, who had an old grudge against him. Near Job's house there was an idolworshipped by the people. Suddenly doubts assailed the heart of Job, and heasked himself: "Is this idol really the creator of heaven and earth? How can Ifind out the truth about it?" In the following night he perceived a voicecalling: "Jobab! Jobab! Arise, and I will tell thee who he is whom thoudesirest to know. This one to whom the people offer sacrifices is not God, heis the handiwork of the tempter, wherewith he deceives men." When he heard thevoice, Job threw himself on the ground, and said: "O Lord, if this idol is thehandiwork of the tempter, then grant that I may destroy it. None can hinder me,for I am the king of this land."[13]

Job, or, as he is sometimes called, Jobab, was, indeed, king of Edom, the landwherein wicked plans are concocted against God, wherefore it is called also Uz,"counsel."[14]

The voice continued to speak. It made itself known as that of an archangel ofGod, and revealed to Job that he would bring down the enmity of Satan uponhimself by the destruction of the idol, and much suffering with it. However, ifhe remained steadfast under them, God would change his troubles into joys, hisname would become celebrated throughout the generations of mankind, and hewould have a share in the resurrection to eternal life. Job replied to thevoice: "Out of love of God I am ready to endure all things unto the day of mydeath. I will shrink back from naught." Now Job arose, and accompanied by fiftymen he repaired to the idol, and destroyed it.

Knowing that Satan would try to approach him, he ordered his guard not to giveaccess to any one, and then he withdrew to his chamber. He had guessed aright.Satan appeared at once, in the guise of a beggar, and demanded speech with Job.The guard executed his orders, and forbade his entering. Then the mendicantasked him to intercede for him with Job for a piece of bread. Job knew it wasSatan, and he sent word to him as follows, "Do not expect to eat of my bread,for it is prohibited unto thee," at the same time putting a piece of burntbread into the hand of the guard for Satan. The servant was ashamed to give abeggar burnt bread, and he substituted a good piece for it. Satan, however,knowing that the servant had not executed his master's errand, told him so tohis face, and he fetched the burnt bread and handed it to him, repeating thewords of Job. Thereupon Satan returned this answer, "As the bread is burnt, soI will disfigure thy body." Job replied: "Do as thou desirest, and execute thyplan. As for me, I am ready to suffer whatever thou bringest down upon me."

Now Satan betook himself to God, and prayed Him to put Job into his power,[15]saying: "I went to and fro in the earth, and walked up and down in it, and Isaw no man as pious as Abraham. Thou didst promise him the whole land ofPalestine, and yet he did not take it in ill part that he had not so much as aburial-place for Sarah.[16] As for Job, it is true, I found none that lovethThee as he does, but if Thou wilt put him into my hand, I shall succeed inturning his heart away from Thee." But God spake, "Satan, Satan, what hast thoua mind to do with my servant Job, like whom there is none in the earth?" Satanpersisted in his request touching Job, and God granted it, He gave him fullpower over Job's possessions.[17]

This day of Job's accusation was the New Year's Day, whereon the good and theevil deeds of man are brought before God.[18]

JOB'S SUFFERING

Equipped with unlimited power, Satan endeavored to deprive Job of all he owned.He burnt part of his cattle, and the other part was carried off by enemies.What pained Job more than this was that recipients of his bounty turned againsthim, and took of his belongings.[19]

Among the adversaries that assailed him was Lilith, the queen of Sheba.[20] Shelived at a great distance from his residence, it took her and her army threeyears to travel from her home to his. She fell upon his oxen and his asses, andtook possession of them, after slaying the men to whose care Job had entrustedthem. One man escaped alone. Wounded and bruised, he had only enough life inhim to tell Job the tale of his losses, and then he fell down dead. The sheep,which had been left unmolested by the queen of Sheba, were taken away by theChaldeans. Job's first intention was to go to war against these marauders, butwhen he was told that some of his property had been consumed by fire fromheaven, he desisted, and said, "If the heavens turn against me, I can donothing."[21]

Dissatisfied with the result, Satan disguised himself as the king of Persia,besieged the city of Job's residence, took it, and spoke to the inhabitants,saying: "This man Job hath appropriated all the goods in the world, leavingnaught for others, and he hath also torn down the temple of our god, and now Iwill pay him back for his wicked deeds. Come with me and let us pillage hishouse." At first the people refused to hearken to the words of Satan. Theyfeared that the sons and daughters of Job might rise up against them later, andavenge their father's wrongs. But after Satan had pulled down the house whereinthe children of Job were assembled, and they lay dead in the ruins, the peopledid as he bade them, and sacked the house of Job.

Seeing that neither the loss of all he had nor the death of his children couldchange his pious heart, Satan appeared before God a second time, and requestedthat Job himself, his very person, be put into his hand. God granted Satan'splea, but he limited his power to Job's body, his soul he could not touch.[22]In a sense Satan was worse off than Job. He was in the position of the slavethat has been ordered by his master to break the pitcher and not spill thewine.[23]

Satan now caused a terrific storm to burst over the house of Job. He was castfrom his throne by the reverberations, and he lay upon the floor for threehours. Then Satan smote his body with leprosy from the sole of his foot untohis crown. This plague forced Job to leave the city, and sit down outside uponan ash-heap,[24] for his lower limbs were covered with oozing boils, and theissue flowed out upon the ashes. The upper part of his body was encrusted withdry boils, and to ease the itching they caused him, he used his nails, untilthey dropped off together with his fingertips, and he took him a potsherd toscrape himself withal.[25] His body swarmed with vermin, but if one of thelittle creatures attempted to crawl away from him, he forced it back, saying,"Remain on the place whither thou wast sent, until God assigns another untothee."[26] His wife, fearful that he would not bear his horrible suffering withsteadfastness, advised him to pray to God for death, that lie might be sure ofgoing hence an upright man.[27] But he rejected her counsel, saying, "If in thedays of good fortune, which usually tempts men to deny God, I stood firm, anddid not rebel against Him, surely I shall be able to remain steadfast undermisfortune, which compels men to be obedient to God."[28] And Job stuck to hisresolve in spite of all suffering, while his wife was not strong enough to bearher fate with resignation to the will of God.

Her lot was bitter, indeed, for she had had to take service as a water-carrierwith a common churl, and when her master learnt that she shared her bread withJob, he dismissed her. To keep her husband from starving, she cut off her hair,and purchased bread with it. It was all she had to pay the price charged by thebread merchant, none other than Satan himself, who wanted to put her to thetest. He said to her, "Hadst thou not deserved this great misery of thine, ithad not come upon thee." This speech was more than the poor woman could bear.Then it was that she came to her husband, and amid tears and groans urged himto renounce God and die. Job, however, was not perturbed by her words, becausehe divined at once that Satan stood behind his wife, and seduced her to speakthus. Turning to the tempter, he said: "Why dost thou not meet me frankly? Giveup thy underhand ways, thou wretch." Thereupon Satan appeared before Job,admitted that he had been vanquished, and went away abashed.[29]

THE FOUR FRIENDS

The friends of Job lived in different places, at intervals of three hundredmiles one from the other. Nevertheless they all were informed of their friend'smisfortune at the same time, in this way: Each one had the pictures of theothers set in his crown, and as soon as any one of them met with reverses, itshowed itself in his picture. Thus the friends of Job learnt simultaneously ofhis misfortune, and they hastened to his assistance.[30]

The four friends were related to one another, and each one was related to Job.Eliphaz, king of Teman, was a son of Esau;[31] Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu werecousins, their fathers, Shuah, Naamat, and Barachel, were the sons of Buz, whowas a brother of Job and a nephew of Abraham.[32]

When the four friends arrived in the city in which Job lived, the inhabitantstook them outside the gates, and pointing to a figure reclining upon anash-heap at some distance off, they said, "Yonder is Job." At first the friendswould not give them credence, and they decided to look more closely at the man,to make sure of his identity. But the foul smell emanating from Job was sostrong that they could not come near to him. They ordered their armies toscatter perfumes and aromatic substances all around. Only after this had beendone for hours, they could approach the outcast close enough to recognize him.

Eliphaz was the first to address Job, "Art thou indeed Job, a king equal inrank with ourselves?" And when Job said Aye, they broke out into lamentationsand bitter tears, and all together they sang an elegy, the armies of the threekings, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, joining in the choir. Again Eliphaz beganto speak, and he bemoaned Job's sad fortune, and depicted his friend's formerglory, adding the refrain to each sentence, "Whither hath departed the splendorof thy throne?"

After listening long to the wailing and lamenting of Eliphaz and hiscompanions, Job spake, saying: "Silence, and I will show you my throne and thesplendor of its glory. Kings will perish, rulers disappear, their pride andlustre will pass like a shadow across a mirror, but my kingdom will persistforever and ever, for glory and magnificence are in the chariot of my Father."

These words aroused the wrath of Eliphaz, and he called upon his associates toabandon Job to his fate and go their way. But Bildad appeased his anger,reminding him that some allowance ought to be made for one so sorely tried asJob. Bildad put a number of questions to the sufferer in order to establish hissanity. He wanted to elicit from Job how it came about that God, upon whom hecontinued to set his hopes, could inflict such dire suffering. Not even a kingof flesh and blood would allow a guardsman of his that had served him loyallyto come to grief. Bildad desired to have information from Job also concerningthe movements of the heavenly bodies.

Job had but one answer to make to these questions: man cannot comprehend Divinewisdom, whether it reveal itself in inanimate and brute nature or in relationto human beings. "But," continued Job, "to prove to you that I am in my rightmind, listen to the question I shall put to you. Solid food and liquids combineinside of man, and they separate again when they leave his body. Who effectsthe separation?" And when Bildad conceded that he could not answer thequestion, Job said, "If thou canst not comprehend the changes in thy body, howcanst thou hope to comprehend the movements of the planets?"

Zophar, after Job had spoken thus to Bildad, was convinced that his sufferinghad had no effect upon his mind, and he asked him whether he would permithimself to be treated by the physicians of the three kings, his friends. ButJob rejected the offer, saying, "My healing and my restoration come from God,the Creator of all physicians."

While the three kings were conversing thus with Job, his wife Zitidos made herappearance clad in rags, and she threw herself at the feet of her husband'sfriends, and amid tears she spoke, saying: "O Eliphaz, and ye other friends ofJob, remember what I was in other days, and how I am now changed, coming beforeyou in rags and tatters." The sight of the unhappy woman touched them so deeplythat they could only weep, and not a word could they force out of their mouths.Eliphaz, however, took his royal mantle of purple, and laid it about theshoulders of the poor woman. Zitidos asked only one favor, that the three kingsshould order their soldiers to clear away the ruins of the building under whichher children lay entombed, that she might give their remains decent burial. Thecommand was issued to the soldiers accordingly, but Job said, "Do not putyourselves to trouble for naught. My children will not be found, for they aresafely bestowed with their Lord and Creator." Again his friends were sure thatJob was bereft of his senses. He arose, however, prayed to God, and at the endof his devotions, he bade his friends look eastward, and when they did hisbidding, they beheld his children next to the Ruler of heaven, with crowns ofglory upon their heads. Zitidos prostrated herself, and said, "Now I know thatmy memorial resides with the Lord." And she returned to the house of hermaster, whence she had absented herself for some time against his will. He hadforbidden her to leave it, because he had feared that the three kings wouldtake her with them.

In the evening she lay down to sleep next to the manger for the cattle, but shenever rose again, she died there of exhaustion. The people of the city made agreat mourning for her, and the elegy composed in her honor was set down inwriting and recorded.

JOB RESTORED

More and more the friends of Job came to the conclusion that he had incurredDivine punishment on account of his sins, and as he asseverated his innocenceagain and again, they prepared angrily to leave him to his fate. EspeciallyElihu was animated by Satan to speak scurrilous words against Job, upbraidinghim for his unshakable confidence in God. Then the Lord appeared to them, firstunto Job, and revealed to him that Elihu was in the wrong, and his words wereinspired by Satan. Next he appeared unto Eliphaz, and to him He spake thus:"Thou and thy friends Bildad and Zophar have committed a sin, for ye did notspeak the truth concerning my servant Job. Rise up and let him bring a sinoffering for you. Only for his sake do I refrain from destroying you."

The sacrifice offered by Job in behalf of his friends was accepted graciouslyby God, and Eliphaz broke out into a hymn of thanksgiving to the Lord forhaving pardoned the transgression of himself and his two friends. At the sametime he announced the damnation of Elihu, the instrument of Satan.

God appeared to Job once more, and gave him a girdle composed of three ribands,and he bade him tie it around his waist. Hardly had he put it on when all hispain disappeared, his very recollection of it vanished, and, more than this,God made him to see all that ever was and all that shall ever be.[33]

After suffering sevenfold pain for seven years[34] Job was restored tostrength. With his three friends he returned to the city, and the inhabitantsmade a festival in his honor and unto the glory of God. All his former friendsjoined him again, and he resumed his old occupation, the care of the poor, forwhich he obtained the means from the people around. He said to them, "Give me,each one of you, a sheep for the clothing of the poor, and four silver or golddrachmas for their other needs." The Lord blessed Job, and in a few days hiswealth had increased to double the substance he had owned before misfortuneovertook him. Zitidos having died during the years of his trials, he married asecond wife, Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and she bore him seven sons andthree daughters.[35] He had never had more than one wife at a time, for he waswont to say, "If it had been intended that Adam should have ten wives, Godwould have given them to him. Only one wife was bestowed upon him, whereby Godindicated that he was to have but one, and therefore one wife suffices for me,too."[36]

When Job, after a long and happy life, felt his end approaching, he gatheredhis ten children around him, and told them the tale of his days. Havingfinished the narrative, he admonished them in these words: "See, I am about todie, and you will stand in my place. Forsake not the Lord, be generous towardthe poor, treat the feeble with consideration, and do not marry with the womenof the Gentiles."

Thereupon he divided his possessions among his sons, and to his daughters hegave what is more precious than all earthly goods, to each of them one ribandof the celestial girdle he had received from God. The magic virtue of theseribands was such that no sooner did their possessors tie them around theirwaists than they were transformed into higher beings, and with seraphic voicesthey broke out into hymns after the manner of the angels.

For three days Job lay upon his bed, sick though not suffering, for thecelestial girdle made him proof against pain. On the fourth day he saw theangels descend to fetch his soul. He arose from his bed, handed a cithern tohis oldest daughter Jemimah, "Day," a censer to the second one, Keziah,"Perfume," and a cymbal to the third, Amaltheas, "Horn," and bade them welcomethe angels with the sound of music. They played and sang and praised the Lordin the holy tongue. Then he appeared that sits in the great chariot, kissedJob, and rode away bearing his soul with him eastward. None saw them departexcept the three daughters of Job.

The grief of the people, especially the poor, the widows, and the orphans, wasexceeding great. For three days they left the corpse unburied, because theycould not entertain the thought of separating themselves from it.

As the name of Job will remain imperishable unto all time, by reason of theman's piety,[37] so his three friends were recompensed by God for theirsympathy with him in his distress. Their names were preserved, the punishmentof hell was remitted unto them, and, best of all, God poured out the holyspirit over them.[38] But Satan, the cause of Job's anguish, the Lord cast downfrom heaven, for he had been vanquished by Job, who amid his agony had thankedand praised God for all He had done unto him.[39]

IV
MOSES IN EGYPT

THE BEGINNING OF THE EGYPTIAN BONDAGE

As soon as Jacob was dead, the eyes of the Israelites were closed, as well astheir hearts. They began to feel the dominion of the stranger,[1] although realbondage did not enslave them until some time later. While a single one of thesons of Jacob was alive, the Egyptians did not venture to approach theIsraelites with evil intent. It was only when Levi, the last of them, haddeparted this life that their suffering commenced.[2] A change in the relationof the Egyptians toward the Israelites had, indeed, been noticeable immediatelyafter the death of Joseph, but they did not throw off their mask completelyuntil Levi was no more. Then the slavery of the Israelites supervened in goodearnest.

The first hostile act on the part of the Egyptians was to deprive theIsraelites of their fields, their vineyards, and the gifts that Joseph had sentto his brethren. Not content with these animosities, they sought to do themharm in, other ways.[3] The reason for the hatred of the Egyptians was envy andfear. The Israelites had increased to a miraculous degree. At the death ofJacob the seventy persons he had brought down with him bad grown to the numberof six hundred thousand,[4] and their physical strength and heroism wereextraordinary and therefore alarming to the Egyptians. There were manyoccasions at that time for the display of prowess. Not long after the death ofLevi occurred that of the Egyptian king Magron, who had been bred up by Joseph,and therefore was not wholly without grateful recollection of what he and hisfamily had accomplished for the welfare of Egypt. But his son and successorMalol, together with his whole court, knew not the sons of Jacob and theirachievements, and they did not scruple to oppress the Hebrews.

The final breach between them and the Egyptians took place during the warswaged by Malol against Zepho, the grandson of Esau. In the course of it, theIsraelites had saved the Egyptians from a crushing defeat, but instead of beinggrateful they sought only the undoing of their benefactors, from fear that thegiant strength of the Hebrews might be turned against them.[5]

PHARAOH'S CUNNING

The counsellors and elders of Egypt came to Pharaoh, and spake unto him,saying: "Behold, the people of the children of Israel are greater and mightierthan we. Thou hast seen their strong power, which they have inherited fromtheir fathers, for a few of them stood up against a people as many as the sandof the sea, and not one hath fallen. Now, therefore, give us counsel what to dowith them, until we shall gradually destroy them from among us, lest theybecome too numerous in the land, for if they multiply, and there falleth outany war, they will also join themselves with their great strength unto ourenemies, and fight against us, destroy us from the land, and get them up out ofthe land."

The king answered the elders, saying: "This is the plan advised by me againstIsrael, from which we will not depart. Behold, Pithom and Raamses are citiesnot fortified against battle. It behooves us to fortify them. Now, go ye andact cunningly against the children of Israel, and proclaim in Egypt and inGoshen, saying: 'All ye men of Egypt, Goshen, and Pathros! The king hascommanded us to build Pithom and Raamses and fortify them against battle. Thoseamongst you in all Egypt, of the children of Israel and of all the inhabitantsof the cities, who are willing to build with us, shall have their wages givento them daily at the king's order.'

"Then go ye first, and begin to build Pithom and Raamses, and cause the king'sproclamation to be made daily, and when some of the children of Israel come tobuild, do ye give them their wages daily, and after they shall have built withyou for their daily wages, draw yourselves away from them day by day, and oneby one, in secret. Then you shall rise up and become their taskmasters andtheir officers, and you shall have them afterward to build without wages. Andshould they refuse, then force them with all your might to build. If you dothis, it will go well with us, for we shall cause our land to be fortifiedafter this manner, and with the children of Israel it will go ill, for theywill decrease in number on account of the work, because you will prevent themfrom being with their wives."

The elders, the counsellors, and the whole of Egypt did according to the wordof the king. For a month the servants of Pharaoh built with Israel, then theywithdrew themselves gradually, while the children of Israel continued to work,receiving their daily wages, for some men of Egypt were still carrying on thework with them. After a time all the Egyptians had withdrawn, and they hadturned to become the officers and taskmasters of the Israelites. Then theyrefrained from giving them any pay, and when some of the Hebrews refused towork without wages, their taskmasters smote them, and made them return by forceto labor with their brethren. And the children of Israel were greatly afraid ofthe Egyptians, and they came again and worked without pay, all except the tribeof Levi, who were not employed in the work with their brethren. The children ofLevi knew that the proclamation of the king was made to deceive Israel,therefore they refrained from listening to it, and the Egyptians did not molestthem later, since they had not been with their brethren at the beginning, andthough the Egyptians embittered the lives of the other Israelites with servilelabor, they did not disturb the children of Levi. The Israelites called Malol,the king of Egypt, Maror, "Bitterness," because in his days the Egyptiansembittered their lives with all manner of rigorous service.[6]

But Pharaoh did not rest satisfied with his proclamation and the affliction itimposed upon the Israelites. He suspended a brick-press from his own neck, andhimself took part in the work at Pithom and Raamses. After this, whenever aHebrew refused to come and help with the building, alleging that he was not fitfor such hard service, the Egyptians would retort, saying, "Dost thou mean tomake us believe thou art more delicate than Pharaoh?"

The king himself urged the Israelites on with gentle words, saying, "Mychildren, I beg you to do this work and erect these little buildings for me. Iwill give you great reward therefor." By means of such artifices and wily wordsthe Egyptians succeeded in overmastering the Israelites, and once they had themin their power, they treated them with undisguised brutality. Women were forcedto perform men's work, and men women's work.

The building of Pithom and Raamses turned out of no advantage to the Egyptians,for scarcely were the structures completed, when they collapsed, or they wereswallowed by the earth, and the Hebrew workmen, besides having to sufferhardships during their erection, lost their lives by being precipitated fromenormous heights, when the buildings fell in a heap.[7]

But the Egyptians were little concerned whether or not they derived profit fromthe forced labor of the children of Israel. Their main object was to hindertheir increase, and Pharaoh therefore issued an order, that they were not to bepermitted to sleep at their own homes, that so they might be deprived of theopportunity of having intercourse with their wives. The officers executed thewill of the king, telling the Hebrews that the reason was the loss of too muchtime in going to and fro, which would prevent them from completing the requiredtale of bricks. Thus the Hebrew husbands were kept apart from their wives, andthey were compelled to sleep on the ground, away from their habitations.

But God spake, saying: "Unto their father Abraham I gave the promise, that Iwould make his children to be as numerous as the stars in the heavens, and youcontrive plans to prevent them from multiplying. We shall see whose word willstand, Mine or yours." And it came to pass that the more the Egyptiansafflicted them, the more they multiplied, and the more they spread abroad.[8]And they continued to increase in spite of Pharaoh's command, that those whodid not complete the required tale of bricks were to be immured in thebuildings between the layers of bricks, and great was the number of theIsraelites that lost their lives in this way.[9] Many of their children were,besides, slaughtered as sacrifices to the idols of the Egyptians. For thisreason God visited retribution upon the idols at the time of the going forth ofthe Israelites from Egypt. They had caused the death of the Hebrew children,and in turn they were shattered, and they crumbled into dust."

THE PIOUS MIDWIVES

When now, in spite of all their tribulations, the children of Israel continuedto multiply and spread abroad, so that the land was full of them as with thickunderbrush—for the women brought forth many children at a birth[11]—theEgyptians appeared before Pharaoh again, and urged him to devise some other wayof ridding the land of the Hebrews, seeing that they were increasing mightily,though they were made to toil and labor hard. Pharaoh could invent no newdesign; he asked his counsellors to give him their opinion of the thing. Thenspake one of them, Job of the land of Uz, which is in Aram-naharaim, asfollows: "The plan which the king invented, of putting a great burden of workupon the Israelites, was good in its time, and it should be executedhenceforth, too, but to secure us against the fear that, if a war should cometo pass, they may overwhelm us by reason of their numbers, and chase us forthout of the land, let the king issue a decree, that every male child of theIsraelites shall be killed at his birth. Then we need not be afraid of them ifwe should be overtaken by war. Now let the king summon the Hebrew midwives,that they come hither, and let him command them in accordance with this plan."

Job's advice found favor in the eyes of Pharaoh and the Egyptians." Theypreferred to have the midwives murder the innocents, for they feared thepunishment of God if they laid hands upon them themselves. Pharaoh cited thetwo midwives of the Hebrews before him, and commanded them to slay all menchildren, but to save the daughters of the Hebrew women alive," for theEgyptians were as much interested in preserving the female children as inbringing about the death of the male children. They were very sensual, and weredesirous of having as many women as possible at their service."

However, the plan, even if it had been carried into execution, was not wise,for though a man may marry many wives, each woman can marry but one husband.Thus a diminished number of men and a corresponding increase in the number ofwomen did not constitute so serious a menace to the continuance of the nationof the Israelites as the reverse case would have been.

The two Hebrew midwives were Jochebed, the mother of Moses, and Miriam, hissister. When they appeared before Pharaoh, Miriam exclaimed: "Woe be to thisman when God visits retribution upon him for his evil deeds." The king wouldhave killed her for these audacious words, had not Jochebed allayed his wrathby saying: "Why dost thou pay heed to her words? She is but a child, and knowsnot what she speaks." Yet, although Miriam was but five years old at the time,she nevertheless accompanied her mother, and helped her with her offices to theHebrew women, giving food to the new-born babes while Jochebed washed andbathed them.

Pharaoh's order ran as follows: "At the birth of the child, if it be a manchild, kill it; but if it be a female child, then you need not kill it, but youmay save it alive." The midwives returned: "How are we to know whether thechild is male or female?" for the king had bidden them kill it while it wasbeing born. Pharaoh replied: "If the child issues forth from the womb with itsface foremost, it is a man child, for it looks to the earth, whence man wastaken; but if its feet appear first, it is a female, for it looks up toward therib of the mother, and from a rib woman was made."[15]

The king used all sorts of devices to render the midwives amenable to hiswishes. He approached them with amorous proposals, which they both repelled,and then he threatened them with death by fire.[16] But they said withinthemselves: "Our father Abraham opened an inn, that he might feed thewayfarers, though they were heathen, and we should neglect the children, nay,kill them? No, we shall have a care to keep them alive." Thus they failed toexecute what Pharaoh had commanded. Instead of murdering the babes, theysupplied all their needs. If a mother that had given birth to a child lackedfood and drink, the midwives went to well-to-do women, and took up acollection, that the infant might not suffer want. They did still more for thelittle ones. They made supplication to God, praying: "Thou knowest that we arenot fulfilling the words of Pharaoh, but it is our aim to fulfil Thy words. Othat it be Thy will, our Lord, to let the child come into the world safe andsound, lest we fall under the suspicion that we tried to slay it, and maimed itin the attempt." The Lord hearkened to their prayer, and no child born underthe ministrations of Shiphrah and Puah, or Jochebed and Miriam, as the midwivesare also called, came into the world lame or blind or afflicted with any otherblemish.[17]

Seeing that his command was ineffectual, he summoned the midwives a secondtime, and called them to account for their disobedience. They replied: "Thisnation is compared unto one animal and another, and, in sooth, the Hebrews arelike the animals. As little as the animals do they need the offices ofmidwives."[18] These two God-fearing women were rewarded in many ways for theirgood deeds. Not only that Pharaoh did them no harm, but they were made theancestors of priests and Levites, and kings and princes. Jochebed became themother of the priest Aaron and of the Levite Moses, and from Miriam's unionwith Caleb sprang the royal house of David. The hand of God was visible in hermarried life. She contracted a grievous sickness, and though it was thought byall that saw her that death would certainly overtake her, she recovered, andGod restored her youth, and bestowed unusual beauty upon her, so that renewedhappiness awaited her husband, who had been deprived of the pleasures ofconjugal life during her long illness. His unexpected joys were the reward ofhis piety and trust in God.[19] And another recompense was accorded to Miriam:she was privileged to bring forth Bezalel, the builder of the Tabernacle, whowas endowed with celestial wisdom.[20]

THE THREE COUNSELLORS

In the one hundred and thirtieth year after Israel's going down to EgyptPharaoh dreamed that he was sitting upon his throne, and he lifted up his eyes,and he beheld an old man before him with a balance in his hand, and he saw himtaking all the elders, nobles, and great men of Egypt, tying them together, andlaying them in one scale of the balance, while he put a tender kid into theother. The kid bore down the pan in which it lay until it hung lower than theother with the bound Egyptians. Pharaoh arose early in the morning, and calledtogether all his servants and his wise men to interpret his dream, and the menwere greatly afraid on account of his vision. Balaam the son of Beor thenspake, and said: "This means nothing but that a great evil will spring upagainst Egypt, for a son will be born unto Israel, who will destroy the wholeof our land and all its inhabitants, and he will bring forth the Israelitesfrom Egypt with a mighty hand. Now, therefore, O king, take counsel as to thismatter, that the hope of Israel be frustrated before this evil arise againstEgypt."

The king said unto Balaam: "What shall we do unto Israel? We have tried severaldevices against this people, but we could not prevail over it. Now let me hearthy opinion."

At Balaam's instance, the king sent for his two counsellors, Reuel theMidianite and Job the Uzite, to hear their advice. Reuel spoke: "If it seemethgood to the king, let him desist from the Hebrews, and let him not stretchforth his hand against them, for the Lord chose them in days of old, and tookthem as the lot of His inheritance from amongst all the nations of the earth,and who is there that hath dared stretch forth his hand against them withimpunity, but that their God avenged the evil done unto them?" Reuel thenproceeded to enumerate some of the mighty things God had performed for Abraham,Isaac, and Jacob, and he closed his admonition with the words: "Verily, thygrandfather, the Pharaoh of former days, raised Joseph the son of Jacob aboveall the princes of Egypt, because he discerned his wisdom, for through hiswisdom he rescued all the inhabitants of the land from the famine, after whichhe invited Jacob and his sons to come down to Egypt, that the land of Egypt andthe land of Goshen be delivered from the famine through their virtues. Now,therefore, if it seem good in thine eyes, leave off from destroying thechildren of Israel, and if it be not thy will that they dwell in Egypt, sendthem forth from here, that they may go to the land of Canaan, the land whereintheir ancestors sojourned."

When Pharaoh heard the words of Jethro-Reuel, he was exceedingly wroth withhim, and he was dismissed in disgrace from before the king, and he went toMidian.

The king then spoke to Job, and said: "What sayest thou, Job, and what is thyadvice respecting the Hebrews?" Job replied: "Behold, all the inhabitants ofthe land are in thy power. Let the king do as seemeth good in his eyes."

Balaam was the last to speak at the behest of the king, and he said: "From allthat the king may devise against the Hebrews, they will be delivered. If thouthinkest to diminish them by the flaming fire, thou wilt not prevail over them,for their God delivered Abraham their father from the furnace in which theChaldeans cast him. Perhaps thou thinkest to destroy them with a sword, buttheir father Isaac was delivered from being slaughtered by the sword. And ifthou thinkest to reduce them through hard and rigorous labor, thou wilt alsonot prevail, for their father Jacob served Laban in all manner of hard work,and yet he prospered. If it please the king, let him order all the malechildren that shall be born in Israel from this day forward to be thrown intothe water. Thereby canst thou wipe out their name, for neither any of them norany of their fathers was tried in this way.[21]

THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS

Balaam's advice was accepted by Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They knew that Godpays measure for measure, therefore they believed that the drowning of the menchildren would be the safest means of exterminating the Hebrews, withoutincurring harm themselves, for the Lord had sworn unto Noah never again todestroy the world by water. Thus, they assumed, they would be exempt frompunishment, wherein they were wrong, however. In the first place, though theLord had sworn not to bring a flood upon men, there was nothing in the way ofbringing men into a flood. Furthermore, the oath of God applied to the whole ofmankind, not to a single nation. The end of the Egyptians was that they mettheir death in the billows of the Red Sea. "Measure for measure"—as they haddrowned the men children of the Israelites, so they were drowned.[22]

Pharaoh now took steps looking to the faithful execution of his decree. He senthis bailiffs into the houses of the Israelites, to discover all new-bornchildren, wherever they might be. To make sure that the Hebrews should notsucceed in keeping the children hidden, the Egyptians hatched a devilish plan.Their women were to take their little ones to the houses of the Israelitishwomen that were suspected of having infants. When the Egyptian children beganto cry or coo, the Hebrew children that were kept in hiding would join in,after the manner of babies, and betray their presence, whereupon the Egyptianswould seize them and bear them off.[23]

Furthermore, Pharaoh commanded that the Israelitish women employ none butEgyptian midwives, who were to secure precise information as to the time oftheir delivery, and were to exercise great care, and let no male child escapetheir vigilance alive. If there should be parents that evaded the command, andpreserved a new-born boy in secret, they and all belonging to them were to bekilled.[24]

Is it to be wondered at, then, that many of the Hebrews kept themselves awayfrom their wives? Nevertheless those who put trust in God were not forsaken byHim. The women that remained united with their husbands would go out into thefield when their time of delivery arrived, and give birth to their children andleave them there, while they themselves returned home. The Lord, who had swornunto their ancestors to multiply them, sent one of His angels to wash thebabes, anoint them, stretch their limbs, and swathe them. Then he would givethem two smooth pebbles, from one of which they sucked milk, and from the otherhoney. And God caused the hair of the infants to grow down to their knees andserve them as a protecting garment, and then He ordered the earth to receivethe babes, that they be sheltered therein until the time of their growing up,when it would open its mouth and vomit forth the children, and they wouldsprout up like the herb of the field and the grass of the forest. Thereaftereach would return to his family and the house of his father.

When the Egyptians saw this, they went forth, every man to his field, with hisyoke of oxen, and they ploughed up the earth as one ploughs it at seed time.Yet they were unable to do harm to the infants of the children of Israel thathad been swallowed up and lay in the bosom of the earth. Thus the people ofIsrael increased and waxed exceedingly. And Pharaoh ordered his officers to goto Goshen, to look for the male babes of the children of Israel, and when theydiscovered one, they tore him from his mother's breast by force, and thrust himinto the river." But no one is so valiant as to be able to foil God's purposes,though he contrive ten thousand subtle devices unto that end. The childforetold by Pharaoh's dreams and by his astrologers was brought up and keptconcealed from the king's spies. It came to pass after the followingmanner.[26]

THE PARENTS OF MOSES

When Pharaoh's proclamation was issued, decreeing that the men children of theHebrews were to be cast into the river, Amram, who was the president of theSanhedrin, decided that in the circumstances it was best for husbands to livealtogether separate from their wives. He set the example. He divorced his wife,and all the men of Israel did likewise,[27] for he occupied a place of greatconsideration among his people, one reason being that he belonged to the tribeof Levi, the tribe that was faithful to its God even in the land of Egypt,though the other tribes wavered in their allegiance, and attempted to allythemselves with the Egyptians, going so far as to give up Abraham's sign of thecovenant.[28] To chastise the Hebrews for their impiety, God turned the love ofthe Egyptians for them into hatred, so that they resolved upon theirdestruction. Mindful of all that he and his people owed to Joseph's wise rule,Pharaoh refused at first to entertain the malicious plans proposed by theEgyptians against the Hebrews. He spoke to his people, "You fools, we areindebted to these Hebrews for whatever we enjoy, and you desire now to rise upagainst them?" But the Egyptians could not be turned aside from their purposeof ruining Israel. They deposed their king, and incarcerated him for threemonths, until he declared himself ready to execute with determination what theyhad resolved upon, and he sought to bring about the ruin of the children ofIsrael by every conceivable means. Such was the retribution they had drawn downupon themselves by their own acts.[29]

As for Amram, not only did he belong to the tribe of Levi, distinguished forits piety, but by reason of his extraordinary piety he was prominent even amongthe pious of the tribe. He was one of the four who were immaculate, untaintedby sin, over whom death would have had no power, had mortality not been decreedagainst every single human being on account of the fall of the first man andwoman. The other three that led the same sinless life were Benjamin, Jesse thefather of David, and Chileab the son of David.[30] If the Shekinah was drawnclose again to the dwelling-place of mortals, it was due to Amram's piety.Originally the real residence of the Shekinah was among men, but when Adamcommitted his sin, she withdrew to heaven, at first to the lowest of the sevenheavens. Thence she was banished by Cain's crime, and she retired to the secondheaven. The sins of the generation of Enoch removed her still farther off frommen, she took up her abode in the third heaven; then, successively, in thefourth, on account of the malefactors in the generation of the deluge; in thefifth, during the building of the tower of Babel and the confusion of tongues;in the sixth, by reason of the wicked Egyptians at the time of Abraham; and,finally, in the seventh, in consequence of the abominations of the inhabitantsof Sodom. Six righteous men, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi, Kohath, and Amram,drew the Shekinah back, one by one, from the seventh to the first heaven, andthrough the seventh righteous man, Moses, she was made to descend to the earthand abide among men as aforetime.[31]

Amram's sagacity kept pace with his piety and his learning. The Egyptianssucceeded in enslaving the Hebrews by seductive promises. At first they gavethem a shekel for every brick they made, tempting them to superhuman efforts bythe prospect of earning much money. Later, when the Egyptians forced them towork without wages, they insisted upon having as many bricks as the Hebrews hadmade when their labor was paid for, but they could demand only a single brickdaily from Amram, for he had been the only one whom they had not led astray bytheir artifice. He had been satisfied with a single shekel daily, and hadtherefore made only a single brick daily, which they had to accept afterward asthe measure of his day's work.[32]

As his life partner, Amram chose his aunt Jochebed, who was born the same daywith him.[33] She was the daughter of Levi, and she owed her name, "DivineSplendor," to the celestial light that radiated from her countenance.[34] Shewas worthy of being her husband's helpmeet, for she was one of the midwivesthat had imperilled their own lives to rescue the little Hebrew babes. Indeed,if God had not allowed a miracle to happen, she and her daughter Miriam wouldhave been killed by Pharaoh for having resisted his orders and saved the Hebrewchildren alive. When the king sent his hangmen for the two women, God causedthem to become invisible, and the bailiffs bad to return without accomplishingtheir errand.[35]

The first child of the union between Amram and Jochebed, his wife, who was onehundred and twenty-six years old at the time of her marriage, was a girl, andthe mother called her Miriam, "Bitterness," for it was at the time of her birththat the Egyptians began to envenom the life of the Hebrews. The second childwas a boy, called Aaron, which means, "Woe unto this pregnancy!" becausePharaoh's instructions to the midwives, to kill the male children of theHebrews, was proclaimed during the months before Aaron's birth.[36]

THE BIRTH OF MOSES

When Amram separated from his wife on account of the edict published againstthe male children of the Hebrews, and his example was followed by all theIsraelites, his daughter Miriam said to him: "Father, thy decree is worse thanPharaoh's decree. The Egyptians aim to destroy only the male children, but thouincludest the girls as well. Pharaoh deprives his victims of life in thisworld, but thou preventest children from being born, and thus thou deprivestthem of the future life, too. He resolves destruction, but who knows whetherthe intention of the wicked can persist? Thou art a righteous man, and theenactments of the righteous are executed by God, hence thy decree will beupheld."

Amram recognized the justice of her plea, and he repaired to the Sanhedrin, andput the matter before this body. The members of the court spoke, and said: "Itwas thou that didst separate husbands and wives, and from thee should go forththe permission for re-marriage." Amram then made the proposition that each ofthe members of the Sanhedrin return to his wife, and wed her clandestinely, buthis colleagues repudiated the plan, saying, "And who will make it known untothe whole of Israel? "

Accordingly, Amram stood publicly under the wedding canopy with his divorcedwife Jochebed, while Aaron and Miriam danced about it, and the angelsproclaimed, "Let the mother of children be joyful!" His re-marriage wassolemnized with great ceremony, to the end that the men that bad followed hisexample in divorcing their wives might imitate him now in taking them againunto themselves. And so it happened.[37]

Old as Jochebed was, she regained her youth. Her skin became soft, the wrinklesin her face disappeared, the warm tints of maiden beauty returned, and in ashort time she became pregnant.[38]

Amram was very uneasy about his wife's being with child; he knew not what todo. He turned to God in prayer, and entreated Him to have compassion upon thosewho had in no wise transgressed the laws of His worship, and afford themdeliverance from the misery they endured, while He rendered abortive the hopeof their enemies, who yearned for the destruction of their nation. God hadmercy on him, and He stood by him in his sleep, and exhorted him not to despairof His future favors. He said further, that He did not forget their piety, andHe would always reward them for it, as He had granted His favor in other daysunto their forefathers. "Know, therefore," the Lord continued to speak, "that Ishall provide for you all together what is for your good, and for thee inparticular that which shall make thee celebrated; for the child out of dread ofwhose nativity the Egyptians have doomed the Israelite children to destruction,shall be this child of thine, and be shall remain concealed from those whowatch to destroy him, and when he has been bred up, in a miraculous way, heshall deliver the Hebrew nation from the distress they are under by reason ofthe Egyptians. His memory shall be celebrated while the world lasts, and notonly among the Hebrews, but among strangers also. And all this shall be theeffect of My favor toward thee and thy posterity. Also his brother shall besuch that he shall obtain My priesthood for himself, and for his posterityafter him, unto the end of the world."

After he had been informed of these things by the vision, Amram awoke, and toldall unto his wife Jochebed.[39]

His daughter Miriam likewise had a prophetic dream, and she related it unto herparents, saying: "In this night I saw a man clothed in fine linen. 'Tell thyfather and thy mother,' he said, 'that he who shall be born unto them, shall becast into the waters, and through him the waters shall become dry, and wondersand miracles shall be performed through him, and he shall save My peopleIsrael, and be their leader forever.' "[40]

During her pregnancy, Jochebed observed that the child in her womb was destinedfor great things. All the time she suffered no pain, and also she suffered nonein giving birth to her son, for pious women are not included in the cursepronounced upon Eve, decreeing sorrow in conception and in childbearing.[41]

At the moment of the child's appearance, the whole house was filled withradiance equal to the splendor of the sun and the moon.[42] A still greatermiracle followed. The infant was not yet a day old when he began to walk andspeak with his parents, and as though he were an adult, he refused to drinkmilk from his mother's breast.[43]

Jochebed gave birth to the child six months after conception. The Egyptianbailiffs, who kept strict watch over all pregnant women in order to be on thespot in time to carry off their new-born boys, had not expected her deliveryfor three months more. These three months the parents succeeded in keeping thebabe concealed, though every Israelitish house was guarded by two Egyptianwomen, one stationed within and one without.[44] At the end of this time theydetermined to expose the child, for Amram was afraid that both he and his sonwould be devoted to death if the secret leaked out, and he thought it better toentrust the child's fate to Divine Providence. He was convinced that God wouldprotect the boy, and fulfil His word in truth.[45]

MOSES RESCUED FROM THE WATER

Jochebed accordingly took an ark fashioned of bulrushes, daubed it with pitchon the outside, and lined it with clay within. The reason she used bulrusheswas because they float on the surface of the water, and she put pitch only onthe outside, to protect the child as much as possible against the annoyance ofa disagreeable odor. Over the child as it lay in the ark she spread a tinycanopy, to shade the babe, with the words, "Perhaps I shall not live to see himunder the marriage canopy." And then she abandoned the ark on the shores of theRed Sea. Yet it was not left unguarded. Her daughter Miriam stayed near by, todiscover whether a prophecy she had uttered would be fulfilled. Before thechild's birth, his sister had foretold that her mother would bring forth a sonthat should redeem Israel. When he was born, and the house was filled withbrilliant light, Amram kissed her on her head, but when he was forced into theexpedient of exposing the child, he beat her on her head, saying, "My daughter,what hath become of thy prophecy?" Therefore Miriam stayed, and strolled alongthe shore, to observe what would be the fate of the babe, and what would comeof her prophecy concerning him.[46]

The day the child was exposed was the twenty-first of the month of Nisan, thesame on which the children of Israel later, under the leadership of Moses, sangthe song of praise and gratitude to God for the redemption from the waters ofthe sea. The angels appeared before God, and spoke: "O Lord of the world, shallhe that is appointed to sing a song of praise unto Thee on this day of Nisan,to thank Thee for rescuing him and his people from the sea, shall he find hisdeath in the sea to-day?" The Lord replied: "Ye know well that I see allthings. The contriving of man can do naught to change what bath been resolvedin My counsel. Those do not attain their end who use cunning and malice tosecure their own safety, and endeavor to bring ruin upon their fellow-men. Buthe who trusts Me in his peril will be conveyed from profoundest distress tounlooked-for happiness. Thus My omnipotence will reveal itself in the fortunesof this babe.[47]

At the time of the child's abandonment, God sent scorching heat to plague theEgyptians, and they all suffered with leprosy and smarting boils. Thermutis,the daughter of Pharaoh, sought relief from the burning pain in a bath in thewaters of the Nile.[48] But physical discomfort was not her only reason forleaving her father's palace. She was determined to cleanse herself as well ofthe impurity of the idol worship that prevailed there.

When she saw the little ark floating among the flags on the surface of thewater, she supposed it to contain one of the little children exposed at herfather's order, and she commanded her handmaids to fetch it. But theyprotested, saying, "O our mistress, it happens sometimes that a decree issuedby a king is unheeded, yet it is observed at least by his children and themembers of his household, and dost thou desire to transgress thy father'sedict?" Forthwith the angel Gabriel appeared, seized all the maids except one,whom he permitted the princess to retain for her service, and buried them inthe bowels of the earth.

Pharaoh's daughter now proceeded to do her own will. She stretched forth herarm, and although the ark was swimming at a distance of sixty ells, shesucceeded in grasping it, because her arm was lengthened miraculously. Nosooner had she touched it than the leprosy afflicting her departed from her.Her sudden restoration led her to examine the contents of the ark,[49] and whenshe opened it, her amazement was great. She beheld an exquisitely beautifulboy, for God bad fashioned the Hebrew babe's body with peculiar care,[50] andbeside it she perceived the Shekinah. Noticing that the boy bore the sign ofthe Abrahamic covenant, she knew that he was one of the Hebrew children, andmindful of her father's decree concerning the male children of the Israelites,she was about to abandon the babe to his fate. At that moment the angel Gabrielcame and gave the child a vigorous blow, and he began to cry aloud, with avoice like a young man's. His vehement weeping and the weeping of Aaron, whowas lying beside him, touched the princess, and in her pity she resolved tosave him. She ordered an Egyptian woman to be brought, to nurse the child, butthe little one refused to take milk from her breast, as he refused to take itfrom one after the other of the Egyptian women fetched thither. Thus it hadbeen ordained by God, that none of them might boast later on, and say, "Isuckled him that holds converse now with the Shekinah." Nor was the mouthdestined to speak with God to draw nourishment from the unclean body of anEgyptian woman.

Now Miriam stepped into the presence of Thermutis, as though she had beenstanding there by chance to look at the child,[51] and she spoke to theprincess, saying, "It is vain for thee, O queen, to call for nurses that are inno wise of kin to the child, but if thou wilt order a woman of the Hebrews tobe brought, he may accept her breast, seeing that she is of his own nation."Thermutis therefore bade Miriam fetch a Hebrew woman, and with winged steps,speeding like a vigorous youth, she hastened and brought back her own mother,the child's mother, for she knew that none present was acquainted with her. Thebabe, unresisting, took his mother's breast, and clutched it tightly.[52] Theprincess committed the child to Jochebed's care, saying these words, whichcontained an unconscious divination: "Here is what is thine." Nurse the boyhenceforth, and I will give thee two silver pieces as thy wages.[54]

The return of her son, safe and sound, after she had exposed him, wasJochebed's reward from God for her services as one of the midwives that hadbidden defiance to Pharaoh's command and saved the Hebrew children alive.[55]

By exposing their son to danger, Amram and Jochebed had effected the withdrawalof Pharaoh's command enjoining the extermination of the Hebrew men children.The day Moses was set adrift in the little ark, the astrologers had come toPharaoh and told him the glad tidings, that the danger threatening theEgyptians on account of one boy, whose doom lay in the water, had now beenaverted. Thereupon Pharaoh cried a halt to the drowning of the boys of hisempire. The astrologers had seen something, but they knew not what, and theyannounced a message, the import of which they did not comprehend. Water was,indeed, the doom of Moses, but that did not mean that he would perish in thewaters of the Nile. It had reference to the waters of Meribah, the waters ofstrife, and how they would cause his death in the desert, before he hadcompleted his task of leading the people into the promised land. Pharaoh,misled by the obscure vision of his astrologers, thought that the futureredeemer of Israel was to lose his life by drowning, and to make sure that theboy whose appearance was foretold by the astrologers might not escape his fate,he had ordered all boys, even the children of the Egyptians, born during aperiod of nine months to be cast into the water.

On account of the merits of Moses, the six hundred thousand men children of theHebrews begotten in the same night with him, and thrown into the water on thesame day, were rescued miraculously together with him, and it was therefore notan idle boast, if he said later, "The people that went forth out of the wateron account of my merits are six hundred thousand men."[56]

THE INFANCY OF MOSES

For two years the child rescued by Pharaoh's daughter stayed with his parentsand kindred. They gave him various names. His father called him Heber, becauseit was for this child's sake that he had been "reunited" with his wife. Hismother's name for him was Jekuthiel, "because," she said, "I set my hope uponGod, and He gave him back to me." To his sister Miriam he was Jered, becauseshe had "descended" to the stream to ascertain his fate. His brother Aaroncalled him Abi Zanoah, because his father, who had "cast off" his mother, hadtaken her back for the sake of the child to be born. His grandfather Kohathknew him as Abi Gedor, because the Heavenly Father had "built up" the breach inIsrael, when He rescued him, and thus restrained the Egyptians from throwingthe Hebrew men children into the water. His nurse called him Abi Soco, becausehe had been kept concealed in a "tent" for three months, escaping the pursuitof the Egyptians. And Israel called him Shemaiah ben Nethanel, because in hisday God would "hear" the sighs of the people, and deliver them from theiroppressors, and through him would He "give" them His own law.[57]

His kindred and all Israel knew that the child was destined for great things,for he was barely four months old when he began to prophesy, saying, "In daysto come I shall receive the Torah from the flaming torch."[58]

When Jochebed took the child to the palace at the end of two years, Pharaoh'sdaughter called him Moses, because she had "drawn" him out of the water, andbecause he would "draw" the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt in aday to come.[59] And this was the only name whereby God called the son ofAmram, the name conferred upon him by Pharaoh's daughter. He said to theprincess: "Moses was not thy child, yet thou didst treat him as such. For thisI will call thee My daughter, though thou art not My daughter," and thereforethe princess, the daughter of Pharaoh, bears the name Bithiah, "the daughter ofGod." She married Caleb later on, and he was a suitable husband for her. As shestood up against her father's wicked counsels, so Caleb stood up against thecounsel of his fellow-messengers sent to spy out the land of Canaan.[60] Forrescuing Moses and for her other pious deeds, she was permitted to enterParadise alive.[61]

That Moses might receive the treatment at court usually accorded to a prince,Bithiah pretended that she was with child for some time before she had himfetched away from his parents' house." His royal foster-mother caressed andkissed him constantly, and on account of his extraordinary beauty she would notpermit him ever to quit the palace. Whoever set eyes on him, could not leaveoff from looking at him, wherefore Bithiah feared to allow him out of hersight.[63]

Moses' understanding was far beyond his years; his instructors observed that hedisclosed keener comprehension than is usual at his age. All his actions in hisinfancy promised greater ones after he should come to man's estate, and when hewas but three years old, God granted him remarkable size. As for his beauty, itwas so attractive that frequently those meeting him as he was carried along onthe road were obliged to turn and stare at him. They would leave what they wereabout, and stand still a great while, looking after him, for the loveliness ofthe child was so wondrous that it held the gaze of the spectator. The daughterof Pharaoh, perceiving Moses to be an extraordinary lad, adopted him as herson, for she had no child of her own. She informed her father of her intentionconcerning him, in these words: "I have brought up a child, who is divine inform and of an excellent mind, and as I received him through the bounty of theriver in a wonderful way, I have thought it proper to adopt him as my son andas the heir of thy kingdom." And when she had spoken thus, she put the infantbetween her father's hands, and he took him and hugged him close to hisbreast.[64]

MOSES RESCUED BY GABRIEL

When Moses was in his third year, Pharaoh was dining one day, with the queenAlfar'anit at his right hand, his daughter Bithiah with the infant Moses uponher lap at his left, and Balaam the son of Beor together with his two sons andall the princes of the realm sitting at table in the king's presence. Ithappened that the infant took the crown from off the king's head, and placed iton his own. When the king and the princes saw this, they were terrified, andeach one in turn expressed his astonishment. The king said unto the princes,"What speak you, and what say you, O ye princes, on this matter, and what is tobe done to this Hebrew boy on account of this act?"

Balaam spoke, saying: "Remember now, O my lord and king, the dream which thoudidst dream many days ago, and how thy servant interpreted it unto thee. Nowthis is a child of the Hebrews in whom is the spirit of God. Let not my lordthe king imagine in his heart that being a child he did the thing withoutknowledge. For he is a Hebrew boy, and wisdom and understanding are with him,although he is yet a child, and with wisdom has he done this, and chosen untohimself the kingdom of Egypt. For this is the manner of all the Hebrews, todeceive kings and their magnates, to do all things cunningly in order to makethe kings of the earth and their men to stumble.

"Surely thou knowest that Abraham their father acted thus, who made the armiesof Nimrod king of Babel and of Abimelech king of Gerar to stumble, and hepossessed himself of the land of the children of Heth and the whole realm ofCanaan. Their father Abraham went down into Egypt, and said of Sarah his wife,She is my sister, in order to make Egypt and its king to stumble.

"His son Isaac did likewise when he went to Gerar, and he dwelt there, and hisstrength prevailed over the army of Abimelech, and he intended to make thekingdom of the Philistines to stumble, by saying that Rebekah his wife was hissister.

"Jacob also dealt treacherously with his brother, and took his birthright andhis blessing from him. Then he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, his mother'sbrother, and he obtained his daughters from him cunningly, and also his cattleand all his belongings, and he fled away and returned to the land of Canaan, tohis father.

"His sons sold their brother Joseph, and he went down into Egypt and became aslave, and he was put into prison for twelve years, until the former Pharaohdelivered him from the prison, and magnified him above all the princes of Egypton account of his interpreting the king's dreams. When God caused a famine todescend upon the whole world, Joseph sent for his father, and he brought himdown into Egypt his father, his brethren, and all his father's household, andhe supplied them with food without pay or reward, while he acquired Egypt, andmade slaves of all its inhabitants.

"Now, therefore, my lord king, behold, this child has risen up in their steadin Egypt, to do according to their deeds and make sport of every man, be heking, prince, or judge. If it please the king, let us now spill his blood uponthe ground, lest he grow up and snatch the government from thine hand, and thehope of Egypt be cut off after he reigns. Let us, moreover, call for all thejudges and the wise men of Egypt, that we may know whether the judgment ofdeath be due to this child, as I have said, and then we will slay him."

Pharaoh sent and called for all the wise men of Egypt, and they came, and theangel Gabriel was disguised as one of them. When they were asked their opinionin the matter, Gabriel spoke up, and said: "If it please the king, let himplace an onyx stone before the child, and a coal of fire, and if he stretchesout his hand and grasps the onyx stone, then shall we know that the child hathdone with wisdom all that he bath done, and we will slay him. But if hestretches out his hand and grasps the coal of fire, then shall we know that itwas not with consciousness that he did the thing, and he shall live."

The counsel seemed good in the eyes of the king, and when they had placed thestone and the coal before the child, Moses stretched forth his hand toward theonyx stone and attempted to seize it, but the angel Gabriel guided his handaway from it and placed it upon the live coal, and the coal burnt the child'shand, and he lifted it up and touched it to his mouth, and burnt part of hislips and part of his tongue, and for all his life he became slow of speech andof a slow tongue.

Seeing this, the king and the princes knew that Moses had not acted withknowledge in taking the crown from off the king's head, and they refrained fromslaying him.[65] God Himself, who protected Moses, turned the king's mind tograce, and his foster-mother snatched him away, and she had him educated withgreat care, so that the Hebrews depended upon him, and cherished the hope thatgreat things would be done by him. But the Egyptians were suspicious of whatwould follow from such an education as his.[66]

At great cost teachers were invited to come to Egypt from neighboring lands, toeducate the child Moses. Some came of their own accord, to instruct him in thesciences and the liberal arts. By reason of his admirable endowments of mind,he soon excelled his teachers in knowledge. His learning seemed a process ofmere recollecting, and when there was a difference of opinion among scholars,he selected the correct one instinctively, for his mind refused to store upanything that was false.[67]

But he deserves more praise for his unusual strength of will than for hisnatural capacity, for he succeeded in transforming an originally evildisposition into a noble, exalted character, a change that was farther aided byhis resolution, as he himself acknowledged later. After the wonderful exodus ofthe Israelites from Egypt, a king of Arabia sent an artist to Moses, to painthis portrait, that he might always have the likeness of the divine man beforehim. The painter returned with his handiwork, and the king assembled his wisemen, those in particular who were conversant with the science of physiognomy.He displayed the portrait before them, and invited their judgment upon it. Theunanimous opinion was that it represented a man covetous, haughty, sensual, inshort, disfigured by all possible ugly traits. The king was indignant that theyshould pretend to be masters in physiognomy, seeing that they declared thepicture of Moses, the holy, divine man, to be the picture of a villain. Theydefended themselves by accusing the painter in turn of not having produced atrue portrait of Moses, else they would not have fallen into the erroneousjudgment they had expressed. But the artist insisted that his work resembledthe original closely.

Unable to decide who was right, the Arabian king went to see Moses, and hecould not but admit that the portrait painted for him was a masterpiece. Mosesas he beheld him in the flesh was the Moses upon the canvas. There could be nodoubt but that the highly extolled knowledge of his physiognomy experts wasempty twaddle. He told Moses what had happened, and what he thought of it. Hereplied: "Thy artist and thy experts alike are masters, each in his line. If myfine qualities were a product of nature, I were no better than a log of wood,which remains forever as nature produced it at the first. Unashamed I make theconfession to thee that by nature I possessed all the reprehensible traits thywise men read in my picture and ascribed to me, perhaps to a greater degreeeven than they think. But I mastered my evil impulses with my strong will, andthe character I acquired through severe discipline has become the opposite ofthe disposition with which I was born. Through this change, wrought in me by myown efforts, I have earned honor and commendation upon earth as well as inheaven."[68]

THE YOUTH OF MOSES

One day—it was after he was grown up, and had passed beyond the years ofchildhood—Moses went to the land of Goshen, in which lived the children ofIsrael. There he saw the burdens under which his people were groaning, and heinquired why the heavy service had been put upon them. The Israelites told himall that had befallen, told him of the cruel edict Pharaoh had issued shortlybefore his birth, and told him of the wicked counsels given by Balaam againstthemselves as well as against his person when he was but a little boy and hadset Pharaoh's crown upon his head. The wrath of Moses was kindled against thespiteful adviser, and he tried to think out means of rendering him harmless.But Balaam, getting wind of his ill-feeling, fled from Egypt with his two sons,and betook himself to the court of Kikanos king of Ethiopia.[69]

The sight of his enslaved people touched Moses unto tears, and he spoke,saying: "Woe unto me for your anguish! Rather would I die than see you sufferso grievously." He did not disdain to help his unfortunate brethren at theirheavy tasks as much as lay in his power. He dismissed all thought of his highstation at court, shouldered a share of the burdens put upon the Israelites,and toiled in their place. The result was that he not only gave relief to theheavily-laden workmen, but he also gained the favor of Pharaoh, who believedthat Moses was taking part in the labor in order to promote the execution ofthe royal order. And God said unto Moses: "Thou didst relinquish all thy otheroccupations, and didst join thyself unto the children of Israel, whom thou dosttreat as brethren; therefore will I, too, put aside now all heavenly andearthly affairs, and hold converse with thee."[70]

Moses continued to do all he could to alleviate the suffering of his brethrento the best of his ability. He addressed encouraging words to them, saying: "Mydear brethren, bear your lot with fortitude! Do not lose courage, and let notyour spirit grow weary with the weariness of your body. Better times will come,when tribulation shall be changed into joy. Clouds are followed by sunshine,storms by calm, all things in the world tend toward their opposites, andnothing is more inconstant than the fortunes of man."[71]

The royal favor, which the king accorded him in ever- increasing measure, hemade use of to lighten the burden laid upon the children of Israel. One day hecame into the presence of Pharaoh, and said: "O my lord, I have a request tomake of thee, and my hope is that thou wilt not deny it." "Speak," replied theking. "It is an admitted fact," said Moses, "that if a slave is not affordedrest at least one day in the week, he will die of overexertion. Thy Hebrewslaves will surely perish, unless thou accordest them a day of cessation fromwork." Pharaoh fulfilled the petition preferred by Moses, and the king's edictwas published in the whole of Egypt and in Goshen, as follows: "To the sons ofIsrael! Thus saith the king: Do your work and perform your service for sixdays, but on the seventh day you shall rest; on it ye shall do no labor. Thusshall ye do unto all times, according to the command of the king and thecommand of Moses the son of Bithiah." And the day appointed by Moses as the dayof rest was Saturday, later given by God to the Israelites as the Sabbathday.[72]

While Moses abode in Goshen, an incident of great importance occurred. Tosuperintend the service of the children of Israel, an officer from among themwas set over every ten, and ten such officers were under the surveillance of anEgyptian taskmaster. One of these Hebrew officers, Dathan by name, had a wife,Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan, who was of extraordinarybeauty, but inclined to be very loquacious. Whenever the Egyptian taskmasterset over her husband came to their house on business connected with his office,she would approach him pleasantly and enter into conversation with him. Thebeautiful Israelitish woman enkindled a mad passion in his breast, and hesought and found a cunning way of satisfying his lustful desire. One day heappeared at break of dawn at the house of Dathan, roused him from his sleep,and ordered him to hurry his detachment of men to their work. The husbandscarcely out of sight, he executed the villainy he had planned, and dishonoredthe woman, and the fruit of this illicit relation was the blasphemer of theName whom Moses ordered to execution on the march through the desert.

At the moment when the Egyptian slipped out of Shelomith's chamber, Dathanreturned home. Vexed that his crime had come to the knowledge of the injuredhusband, the taskmaster goaded him on to work with excessive vigor, and dealthim blow after blow with the intention to kill him.[73] Young Moses happened tovisit the place at which the much-abused and tortured Hebrew was at work.Dathan hastened toward him, and complained of all the wrong and suffering theEgyptian had inflicted upon him.[74] Full of wrath, Moses, whom the holy spirithad acquainted with the injury done the Hebrew officer by the Egyptiantaskmaster, cried out to the latter, saying: "Not enough that thou hastdishonored this man's wife, thou aimest to kill him, too?" And turning to God,he spoke further: "What will become of Thy promise to Abraham, that hisposterity shall be as numerous as the stars, if his children are given over todeath? And what will become of the revelation on Sinai, if the children ofIsrael are exterminated?"

Moses wanted to see if someone would step forward, and, impelled by zeal forthe cause of God and for God's law, would declare himself ready to avenge theoutrage. He waited in vain. Then he determined to act himself. Naturally enoughhe hesitated to take the life of a human being. He did not know whether theevil-doer might not be brought to repentance, and then lead a life of piousendeavor. He also considered, that there would perhaps be some among thedescendants to spring from the Egyptian for whose sake their wicked ancestormight rightfully lay claim to clemency. The holy spirit allayed all his doubts.He was made to see that not the slightest hope existed that good would comeeither from the malefactor himself or from any of his offspring. Then Moses waswilling to requite him for his evil deeds. Nevertheless he first consulted theangels, to hear what they had to say, and they agreed that the Egyptiandeserved death, and Moses acted according to their opinion.

Neither physical strength nor a weapon was needed to carry out his purpose. Hemerely pronounced the Name of God, and the Egyptian was a corpse. To thebystanders, the Israelites, Moses said: "The Lord compared you unto the sand ofthe sea-shore, and as the sand moves noiselessly from place to place, so I prayyou to keep the knowledge of what hath happened a secret within yourselves. Letnothing be heard concerning it."

The wish expressed by Moses was not honored. The slaying of the Egyptianremained no secret, and those who betrayed it were Israelites, Dathan andAbiram, the sons of Pallu, of the tribe of Reuben, notorious for theireffrontery and contentiousness. The day after the thing with the Egyptianshappened, the two brothers began of malice aforethought to scuffle with eachother, only in order to draw Moses into the quarrel and create an occasion forhis betrayal. The plan succeeded admirably. Seeing Dathan raise his handagainst Abiram, to deal him a blow, Moses exclaimed, "O thou art a villain, tolift up thy hand against an Israelite, even if he is no better than thou."Dathan replied: "Young man, who hath made thee to be a judge over us, thou thathast not yet attained to years of maturity? We know very well that thou art theson of Jochebed, though people call thee the son of the princess Bithiah, andif thou shouldst attempt to play the part of our master and judge, we willpublish abroad the thing thou didst unto the Egyptian. Or, peradventure, thouharborest the intention to slay us as thou didst slay him, by pronouncing theName of God?"

Not satisfied with these taunts, the noble pair of brothers betook themselvesto Pharaoh, and spoke before him, "Moses dishonoreth thy royal mantle and thycrown," to which Pharaoh returned, saying, "Much good may it do him!" But theypursued the subject. "He helps thine enemies, Pharaoh," they continued,whereupon he replied, as before, "Much good may it do him!" Still they went on,"He is not the son of thy daughter." These last words did not fail of making animpression upon Pharaoh.[75] A royal command was issued for the arrest ofMoses, and he was condemned to death by the sword.

The angels came to God, and said, "Moses, the familiar of Thine house, is heldunder restraint," and God replied, "I will espouse his cause." "But," theangels urged, "his verdict of death has been pronounced—yes, they are leadinghim to execution," and again God made reply, as before, "I will espouse hiscause."

Moses mounted the scaffold, and a sword, sharp beyond compare, was set upon hisneck ten times, but it always slipped away, because his neck was as hard asivory. And a still greater miracle came to pass. God sent down the angelMichael, in the guise of a hangman, and the human hangman charged by Pharaohwith the execution was changed into the form of Moses. This spurious Moses theangel killed with the very sword with which the executioner had purposed toslay the intended victim. Meantime Moses took to flight. Pharaoh ordered hispursuit, but it was in vain. The king's troops were partly stricken withblindness partly with dumbness. The dumb could give no information about theabiding-place of Moses, and the blind, though they knew where it was, could notget to it.[76]

THE FLIGHT

An angel of God took Moses to a spot removed forty days' journey from Egypt, sofar off that all fear was banished from his mind.[77] Indeed, his anxiety hadnever been for his own person, but only on account of the future of Israel. Thesubjugation of his people had always been an unsolved enigma to him. Why shouldIsrael, he would ask himself, suffer more than all the other nations? But whenhis personal straits initiated him in the talebearing and back- biting thatprevailed among the Israelites, then he asked himself, Does this people deserveto be redeemed?[78] The religious conditions among the children of Israel wereof such kind at that time as not to permit them to hope for Divine assistance.They refused to give ear to Aaron and the five sons of Zerah, who worked amongthem as prophets, and admonished them unto the fear of God. It was on accountof their impiety that the heavy hand of Pharaoh rested upon them more and moreoppressively, until God had mercy upon them, and sent Moses to deliver themfrom the slavery of Egypt.[79]

When he succeeded in effecting his escape from the hands of the hangman, Moseshad no idea that a royal throne awaited him. It was nevertheless so. A warbroke out at this time between Ethiopia and the nations of the East that hadbeen subject to it until then. Kikanos, the king, advanced against the enemywith a great army. He left Balaam and Balaam's two sons, Jannes and Jambres,behind, to keep guard over his capital and take charge of the people remainingat home. The absence of the king gave Balaam the opportunity of winning hissubjects over to his side, and he was put upon the throne, and his two sonswere set over the army as generals. To cut Kikanos off from his capital, Balaamand his sons invested the city, so that none could enter it against their will.On two sides they made the walls higher, on the third they dug a network ofcanals, into which they conducted the waters of the river girding the wholeland of Ethiopia, and on the fourth side their magic arts collected a largeswarm of snakes and scorpions. Thus none could depart, and none could enter.

Meantime Kikanos succeeded in subjugating the rebellious nations. When hereturned at the head of his victorious army, and espied the high city wall fromafar, he and his men said: "The inhabitants of the city, seeing that the wardetained us abroad for a long time, have raised the walls and fortified them,that the kings of Canaan may not be able to enter." On approaching the citygates, which were barred, they cried out to the guards to open them, but byBalaam's instructions they were not permitted to pass through. A skirmishensued, in which Kikanos lost one hundred and thirty men. On the morrow thecombat was continued, the king with his troops being stationed on the thitherbank of the river. This day he lost his thirty riders, who, mounted on theirsteeds, had attempted to swim the stream. Then the king ordered rafts to beconstructed for the transporting of his men. When the vessels reached thecanals, they were submerged, and the waters, swirling round and round as thoughdriven by mill wheels, swept away two hundred men, twenty from each raft. Onthe third day they set about assaulting the city from the side on which thesnakes and scorpions swarmed, but they failed to reach it, and the reptileskilled one hundred and seventy men. The king desisted from attacking the city,but for the space of nine years he surrounded it, so that none could come outor go in.

While the siege was in progress, Moses appeared in the king's camp on hisflight before Pharaoh, and at once found favor with Kikanos and his whole army.He exercised an attraction upon all that saw him, for he was slender like apalm-tree, his countenance shone as the morning sun, and his strength was equalto a lion's. So deep was the king's affection for him that he appointed him tobe commander-in-chief of his forces.

At the end of the nine years Kikanos fell a prey to a mortal disease, and hedied on the seventh day of his illness. His servants embalmed him, buried himopposite to the city gate toward the land of Egypt, and over his grave theyerected a magnificent structure, strong and high, upon the walls whereof theyengraved all the mighty deeds and battles of the dead king.

Now, after the death of Kikanos, his men were greatly grieved on account of thewar. One said unto the other, "Counsel us, what shall we do at this time? Wehave been abiding in the wilderness, away from our homes, for nine years. If wefight against the city, many of us will fall dead; and if we remain herebesieging it, we shall also die. For now all the princes of Aram and of thechildren of the East will hear that our king is dead, and they will attack ussuddenly, and they will fight with us until not a remnant will be left. Now,therefore, let us go and set a king over us, and we will remain here besiegingthe city until it surrenders unto us."

THE KING OF ETHIOPIA

They could find none except Moses fit to be their king. They hastened andstripped off each man his upper garment, and cast them all in a heap upon theground, making a high place, on top of which they set Moses. Then they blewwith trumpets, and called out before him: "Long live the king! Long live theking!" And all the people and the nobles swore unto him to give him Adoniah forwife, the Ethiopian queen, the widow of Kikanos. And they made Moses king overthem on that day.

They also issued a proclamation, commanding every man to give Moses of what hepossessed, and upon the high place they spread a sheet, wherein each one castsomething, this one a gold nose ring, that one a coin, and onyx stones,bdellium, pearls, gold, and silver in great abundance.

Moses was twenty-seven years old when he became king over Ethiopia, and hereigned for forty years. On the seventh day of his reign, all the peopleassembled and came before him, to ask his counsel as to what was to be done tothe city they were besieging. The king answered them, and said: "If you willhearken to my words, the city will be delivered into our hands. Proclaim with aloud voice throughout the whole camp, unto all the people, saying: 'Thus saiththe king! Go to the forest and fetch hither of the young of the stork, each manone fledgling in his hand. And if there be any man that transgresseth the wordof the king, not to bring a bird, he shall die, and the king shall take allbelonging to him.' And when you have brought them, they shall be in yourkeeping. You shall rear them until they grow up, and you shall teach them tofly as the hawk flieth."

All the people did according to the word of Moses, and after the young storkshad grown to full size, he ordered them to be starved for three days. On thethird day the king said unto them, "Let every man put on his armor and gird hissword upon him. Each one shall mount his horse, and each shall set his storkupon his hand, and we will rise up and fight against the city opposite to theplace of the serpents."

When they came to the appointed spot, the king said to them, "Let each man sendforth his young stork, to descend upon the serpents." Thus they did, and thebirds swooped down and devoured all the reptiles and destroyed them. After theserpents were removed in this way, the men fought against the city, subdued it,and killed all its inhabitants, but of the people besieging it there died notone.

When Balaam saw that the city had fallen into the hands of the besiegers, heexercised his magic arts, which enabled him to fly through the air, and hecarried with him his two sons, Jannes and Jambres, and his eight brothers, andthey all took refuge in Egypt.

Seeing that they had been saved by the king, and the city had been taken by hisgood counsel, the people became more than ever attached to him. They set theroyal crown upon his head, and gave him Adoniah, the widow of Kikanos to wife.But Moses feared the stern God of his fathers, and he went not in unto Adoniah,nor did he turn his eyes toward her, for he remembered how Abraham had made hisservant Eliezer swear, saying unto him, "Thou shalt not take a wife for my sonof the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell." He also rememberedwhat Isaac did when Jacob fled before his brother Esau, how he commanded hisson, saying, "Thou shalt not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, nor allythyself by marriage with any of the children of Ham, for the Lord our God gaveHam the son of Noah and all his seed as slaves to the children of Shem andJapheth forever."

At that time Aram and the children of the East heard that Kikanos the king ofEthiopia had died, and they rose up against the Ethiopians, but Moses wentforth with a mighty army to fight against the rebellious nations, and hesubdued them, first the children of the East and then Aram.

Moses continued to prosper in his kingdom. He conducted the government injustice, righteousness, and integrity, and his people loved and feared him.

In the fortieth year of his reign, while he was sitting upon his throne oneday, surrounded by all the nobles, Adoniah the queen, who was seated beforehim, rose up, and spake: "What is this thing which you, the people of Ethiopia,have done these many days? Surely you know that during the forty years this manbath reigned over you, he hath not approached me, nor hath he worshipped thegods of Ethiopia. Now, therefore, let this man reign over you no more, for heis not of our flesh. Behold, Monarchos my son is grown up, let him reign overyou. It is better for you to serve the son of your lord than a stranger, aslave of the king of Egypt."

A whole day the people and the nobles contended with one another, whether topay heed to the words of the queen. The officers of the army remained faithfulto Moses, but the people of the cities were in favor of crowning the son oftheir former lord as king. The following morning they rose up and madeMonarchos, the son of Kikanos, king over them, but they were afraid to stretchforth their hand against Moses, for the Lord was with him. They also rememberedthe oath they had sworn unto Moses, and therefore they did him no harm.Moreover, they gave many presents to him, and dismissed him with great honor.

When Moses left Ethiopia, in the sixty-seventh year of his age, it was the timeappointed by God in the days of old to bring Israel forth from the afflictionof the children of Ham. But fearing to return to Egypt on account of Pharaoh,Moses journeyed to Midian.[80]

JETHRO

In the city of Midian, named thus for a son of Abraham by Keturah,[81] the manJethro had lived for many years, doing a priest's service before the idols. Astime went on, he grew more and more convinced of the vanity of idol worship.His priesthood became repugnant to him, and he resolved to give up his, charge.He stood before his townsmen, and said, "Until now I performed your servicebefore the idols, but I have grown too old for the duties of the office.Choose, therefore, whomever you would choose in my place." Speaking thus, hedelivered to the people all the paraphernalia appertaining to the idol worship,and bade them transfer them to the one to whom in their discretion they shouldentrust his position. Suspecting Jethro's hidden motives, the people put himunder the ban, and none might venture to do him the slightest service. Not evenwould the shepherds pasture his flocks, and there was nothing for him to do butimpose this work upon his seven daughters.[82]

Jethro's transformation from an idolatrous priest into a God-fearing man isconveyed by his seven names. He was called Jether, because the Torah containsan "additional" section about him; Jethro, he "overflowed" with good deeds.Hobab, "the beloved son of God"; Reuel, "the friend of God"; Heber, "theassociate of God"; Putiel, "he that hath renounced idolatry"; and Keni, he thatwas "zealous" for God, and "acquired" the Torah.[83]

In consequence of the hostile relation between Jethro and the inhabitants ofthe city, his daughters were in the habit of making their appearance at thewatering troughs before the other shepherds came thither. But the ruse was notsuccessful. The shepherds would drive them away, and water their own flocks atthe troughs that the maidens had filled. When Moses arrived in Midian, it wasat the well that he made halt, and his experience was the same as Isaac's andJacob's. Like them he found his helpmeet there. Rebekah had been selected byEliezer as the wife of Isaac, while she was busy drawing water for him; Jacobhad seen Rachel first, while she was watering her sheep, and at this well inMidian Moses met his future wife Zipporah.

The rudeness of the shepherds reached its climax the very day of Moses'arrival. First they deprived the maidens of the water they had drawn forthemselves, and attempted to do violence to them, and then they threw them intothe water with intent to kill them. At this moment Moses appeared, dragged themaidens out of the water, and gave the flocks to drink, first Jethro's and thenthe flocks of the shep- herds, though the latter did not deserve his goodoffices. True, he did them the service with but little trouble to himself, forhe had only to draw a bucketful, and the water flowed so copiously that itsufficed for all the herds,[84] and it did not cease to flow until Moseswithdrew from the well,[85] —the same well at which Jacob had met Rachel, hisfuture wife, and the same well that God created at the beginning of the world,the opening of which He made in the twilight of the first Sabbath eve.[86]

Jethro's daughters thanked Moses for the assistance he had afforded them. ButMoses warded off their gratitude, saying, "Your thanks are due to the EgyptianI killed, on account of whom I had to flee from Egypt. Had it not been for him,I should not be here now."[87]

MOSES MARRIES ZIPPORAH

One of the seven maidens whom Moses saw at the well attracted his notice inparticular on account of her modest demeanor, and he made her a proposal ofmarriage. But Zipporah repulsed him, saying, "My father has a tree in hisgarden with which he tests every man that expresses a desire to marry one ofhis daughters, and as soon as the suitor touches the tree, he is devoured byit."

Moses: "Whence has he the tree?"

Zipporah: "It is the rod that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in thetwilight of the first Sabbath eve, and gave to Adam. He transmitted it toEnoch, from him it descended to Noah, then to Shem, and Abraham, and Isaac, andfinally to Jacob, who brought it with him to Egypt, and gave it to his sonJoseph. When Joseph died, the Egyptians pillaged his house, and the rod, whichwas in their booty, they brought to Pharaoh's palace. At that time my fatherwas one of the most prominent of the king's sacred scribes, and as such he hadthe opportunity of seeing the rod. He felt a great desire to possess it, and hestole it and took it to his house. On this rod the Ineffable Name is graven,and also the ten plagues that God will cause to visit the Egyptians in a futureday. For many years it lay in my father's house. One day he was walking in hisgarden carrying it, and he stuck it in the ground. When he attempted to draw itout again, he found that it had sprouted, and was putting forth blossoms. Thatis the rod with which he tries any that desire to marry his daughters. Heinsists that our suitors shall attempt to pull it out of the ground, but assoon as they touch it, it devours them."

Having given him this account of her father's rod, Zipporah went home,accompanied by her sisters, and Moses followed them.[88]

Jethro was not a little amazed to see his daughters return so soon from thewatering troughs. As a rule, the chicanery they had to suffer from theshepherds detained them until late.[89] No sooner had he heard their reportabout the wonder- working Egyptian than he exclaimed, "Mayhap he is one of thedescendants of Abraham, from whom issueth blessing for the whole world."[90] Herebuked his daughters for not having invited the stranger that had done them sovaluable a service to come into their house, and he ordered them to fetch him,in the hope that he would take one of his daughters to wife.[91]

Moses had been standing without all this time, and had allowed Jethro'sdaughters to describe him as an Egyptian, without protesting and asserting hisHebrew birth. For this God punished him by causing him to die outside of thepromised land. Joseph, who had proclaimed in public that he was a Hebrew, foundhis last resting-place in the land of the Hebrews, and Moses, who apparentlyhad no objection to being considered an Egyptian, had to live and die outsideof that land.[92]

Zipporah hastened forth to execute her father's wish, and no sooner had sheushered him in[93] than Moses requested her hand in marriage. Jethro replied,"If thou canst bring me the rod in my garden, I will give her to thee." Moseswent out,[94] found the sapphire rod that God had bestowed upon Adam when hewas driven forth from Paradise, the rod that had reached Jethro after manifoldvicissitudes, and which he had planted in the garden. Moses uprooted it andcarried it to Jethro,[95] who conceived the idea at once that he was theprophet in Israel concerning whom all the wise men of Egypt had foretold thathe would destroy their land and its inhabitants. As soon as this thought struckhim, he seized Moses, and threw him into a pit, in the expectation that hewould meet with death there.

And, indeed, he would have perished, if Zipporah had not devised a stratagem tosave his life. She said to her father: "Would it were thy will to hearken untomy counsel. Thou hast no wife, but only seven daughters. Dost thou desire mysix sisters to preside over thy household? Then shall I go abroad with thesheep. If not, let my sisters tend the flocks, and I shall take care of thehouse." Her father said: "Thou hast spoken well. Thy six sisters shall go forthwith the sheep, and thou shalt abide in the house and take care of it, and allthat belongeth to me therein."

Now Zipporah could provide Moses with all sorts of dainties as he lay in thepit, and she did it for the space of seven years. At the expiration of thisperiod, she said to her father: "I recollect that once upon a time thou didstcast into yonder pit a man that had fetched thy rod from the garden for thee,and thou didst commit a great trespass thereby. If it seemeth well to thee,uncover the pit and look into it. If the man is dead, throw his corpse away,lest it fill the house with stench. But should he be alive, then thou oughtestto be convinced that he is one of those who are wholly pious, else he had diedof hunger."

The reply of Jethro was: "Thou hast spoken wisely. Dost thou remember hisname?" And Zipporah rejoined, "I remember he called himself Moses the son ofAmram." Jethro lost no time, he opened the pit, and called out, "Moses! Moses!"Moses replied, and said: "Here am I!" Jethro drew him up out of the pit, kissedhim, and said: "Blessed be God, who guarded thee for seven years in the pit. Iacknowledge that He slayeth and reviveth, that thou art one of the whollypious, that through thee God will destroy Egypt in time to come, lead Hispeople out of the land, and drown Pharaoh and his whole army in the sea."[96]

Thereupon Jethro gave much money to Moses, and he bestowed his daughterZipporah upon him as wife, giving her to him under the condition that thechildren born of the marriage in Jethro's house should be divided into twoequal classes, the one to be Israelitish, the other Egyptian. When Zipporahbore him a son, Moses circumcised him,[97] and called him Gershom, as amemorial of the wonder God had done for him, for although he lived in a"strange" land, the Lord had not refused him aid even "there."[98]

Zipporah nursed her first child for two years, and in the third year she bore asecond son. Remembering his compact with Jethro, Moses realized that hisfather-in-law would not permit him to circumcise this one, too, and hedetermined to return to Egypt, that he might have the opportunity of bringingup his second son as an Israelite. On the journey thither, Satan appeared tohim in the guise of a serpent, and swallowed Moses down to his extremities.Zipporah knew by this token that the thing had happened because her second sonhad not been circumcised, and she hastened to make good the omission. As soonas she sprinkled the blood of the circumcision on her husband's feet, aheavenly voice was heard to cry to the serpent, commanding him, "Spew him out!"and Moses came forth and stood upon his feet. Thus Zipporah saved Moses' lifetwice, first from the pit and then from the serpent.[99]

When Moses arrived in Egypt, he was approached by Dathan and Abiram, theleaders of the Israelites, and they spake: "Comest thou hither to slay us, ordost thou purpose to do the same with us as thou didst with the Egyptian?" Thisdrove Moses straightway back to Midian, and there he remained two years more,until God revealed Himself at Horeb, and said to him, "Go and bring forth Mychildren out of the land of Egypt.[100]

A BLOODY REMEDY

The latter years of Israel's bondage in Egypt were the worst. To punish Pharaohfor his cruelty toward the children of Israel, God afflicted him with a plagueof leprosy, which covered his whole body, from the crown of his bead to thesoles of his feet. Instead of being chastened by his disease, Pharaoh remainedstiffnecked, and he tried to restore his health by murdering Israelitishchildren. He took counsel with his three advisers, Balaam, Jethro, and Job, howhe might be healed of the awful malady that had seized upon him. Balaam spoke,saying, "Thou canst regain thy health only if thou wilt slaughter Israelitishchildren and bathe in their blood." Jethro, averse from having a share in suchan atrocity, left the king and fled to Midian. Job, on the other hand, thoughhe also disapproved of Balaam's counsel, kept silence, and in no wise protestedagainst it,[101] wherefor God punished him with a year's suffering.[102] Butafterward He loaded him down with all the felicities of this life, and grantedhim many years, so that this pious Gentile might be rewarded in this world forhis good deeds and not have the right to urge a claim upon the beatitude of thefuture life.[103]

In pursuance of the sanguinary advice given by Balaam, Pharaoh had his bailiffssnatch Israelitish babes from their mothers' breasts, and slaughter them, andin the blood of these innocents he bathed. His disease afflicted him for tenyears, and every day an Israelitish child was killed for him. It was all invain; indeed, at the end of the time his leprosy changed into boils, and hesuffered more than before.

While he was in this agony, the report was brought to him that the children ofIsrael in Goshen were careless and idle in their forced labor. The newsaggravated his suffering, and he said: "Now that I am ill, they turn and scoffat me. Harness my chariot, and I will betake myself to Goshen, and see thederision wherewith the children of Israel deride me." And they took and put himupon a horse, for he was not able to mount it himself. When he and his men hadcome to the border between Egypt and Goshen, the king's steed passed into anarrow place. The other horses, running rapidly through the pass, pressed uponeach other until the king's horse fell while he sate upon it, and when it fell,the chariot turned over on his face, and also the horse lay upon him. Theking's flesh was torn from him, for this thing was from the Lord, He had heardthe cries of His people and their affliction. The king's servants carried himupon their shoulders, brought him back to Egypt, and placed him on his bed.

He knew that his end was come to die, and the queen Alfar'anit and his noblesgathered about his bed, and they wept a great weeping with him.

The princes and his counsellors advised the king to make choice of a successor,to reign in his stead, whomsoever he would choose from among his sons. He hadthree sons and two daughters by the queen Alfar'anit, beside children fromconcubines. The name of his first-born was Atro, the name of the second Adikam,and of the third Moryon. The name of the older daughter was Bithiah, and of theother, Akuzit. The first-born of the sons of the king was an idiot, precipitateand heedless in all his actions. Adikam, the second son, was a cunning andclever man, and versed in all the wisdom of Egypt, but ungainly in appearance,fleshy and short of stature; his height was a cubit and a space, and his beardflowed down to his ankles.

The king resolved that Adikam should reign in his stead after his death. Whenthis second son of his was but ten years old, he had given him Gedidah, thedaughter of Abilat, to wife, and she bore him four sons. Afterward Adikam wentand took three other wives, and begot eight sons and three daughters.

The king's malady increased upon him greatly, and his flesh emitted a stenchlike a carcass cast into the field in summer time in the heat of the sun. Whenhe saw that his disorder bad seized upon him with a strong grip, he commandedhis son Adikam to be brought to him, and they made him king over the land inhis place.

At the end of three years the old king died in shame and disgrace, a loathingto all that saw him, and they buried him in the sepulchre of the kings of Egyptin Zoan, but they did not embalm him, as was usual with kings, for his fleshwas putrid, and they could not approach his body on account of the stench, andthey buried him in haste. Thus the Lord requited him with evil for the evil hehad done in his days to Israel, and he died in terror and shame after havingreigned ninety-four years.

Adikam was twenty years old when he succeeded his father, and he reigned fouryears. The people of Egypt called him Pharaoh, as was their custom with alltheir kings, but his wise men called him Akuz, for Akuz is the word for "short"in the Egyptian language, and Adikam was exceedingly awkward and undersized.The new Pharaoh surpassed his father Malol and all the former kings inwickedness, and he made heavier the yoke upon the children of Israel. He wentto Goshen with his servants, and increased their labor, and he said unto them,"Complete your work, each day's task, and let not your hands slacken from thework from this day forward, as you did in the day of my father." He placedofficers over them from amongst the children of Israel, and over these officershe placed taskmasters from amongst his servants. And he put before them ameasure for bricks, according to the number they were to make day by day, andwhenever any deficiency was discovered in the measure of their daily bricks,the taskmasters of Pharaoh would go to the women of the children of Israel, andtake their infants from them, as many as the number of bricks lacking in themeasure, and these babes they put into the building instead of the missingbricks. The taskmasters forced each man of the Israelites to put his own childin the building. The father would place his son in the wall, and cover him overwith mortar, all the while weeping, his tears running down upon his child.

The children of Israel sighed every day on account of their dire suffering, forthey had thought that after Pharaoh's death his son would lighten their toil,but the new king was worse than his father. And God saw the burden of thechildren of Israel, and their heavy work, and He determined to deliverthem.[104]

However, it was not for their own sake that God resolved upon the deliveranceof the children of Israel, for they were empty of good deeds, and the Lordforeknew that, once they were redeemed, they would rise up against Him, andeven worship the golden calf. Yet He took mercy upon them, for He rememberedHis covenant with the Fathers, and He looked upon their repentance for theirsins, and accepted their promise, to fulfil the word of God after their goingforth from Egypt even before they should hear it.[105]

After all, the children of Israel were not wholly without merits. In a highdegree they possessed qualities of extraordinary excellence. There were noincestuous relations among them, they were not evil-tongued, they did notchange their names, they clung to the Hebrew language, never giving it up,[106]and great fraternal affection prevailed among them. If one happened to finishthe tale of his bricks before his neighbors, he was in the habit of helping theothers. Therefore God spake, "They deserve that I should have mercy upon them,for if a man shows mercy unto another, I have mercy upon him."[107]

THE FAITHFUL SHEPHERD

When Jethro bestowed his daughter Zipporah upon Moses as his wife, he said tohis future son-in-law: "I know that thy father Jacob took his wives, thedaughters of Laban, and went away with them against their father's will. Nowtake an oath that thou wilt not do the same unto me," and Moses swore not toleave him without his consent,[108] and he remained with Jethro, who made himthe shepherd of his flocks. By the way he tended the sheep, God saw his fitnessto be the shepherd of His people, for God never gives an exalted office to aman until He has tested him in little things. Thus Moses and David were triedas shepherds of flocks, and only after they had proved their ability as such,He gave them dominion over men.

Moses watched over the flocks with loving care. He led the young animals topasture first, that they might have the tender, juicy grass for their food; thesomewhat older animals he led forth next, and allowed them to graze off theherbs suitable for them; and finally came the vigorous ones that had attainedtheir full growth, and to them he gave the hard grass that was left, which theothers could not eat, but which afforded good food for them. Then spake God,"He that understandeth how to pasture sheep, providing for each what is goodfor it, he shall pasture My people."

Once a kid escaped from the flock, and when Moses followed it, he saw how itstopped at all the water courses, and he said to it: "Poor kid, I knew not thatthou wast thirsty, and wast running after water! Thou art weary, I ween," andhe carried it back to the herd on his shoulder. Then said God: "Thou hastcompassion with a flock belonging to a man of flesh and blood! As thou livest,thou shalt pasture Israel, My flock."[109]

Not only did Moses take heed that no harm should come to the herds under hischarge, but he was also careful that they cause no injury to men. He alwayschose an open meadow as his pasturing place, to prevent his sheep from grazingin private estates.[110]

Jethro had no reason to be dissatisfied with the services rendered to him byhis son-in-law. During the forty years Moses acted as his shepherd not onesheep was attacked by wild beasts, and the herds multiplied to an incredibledegree.[111] Once he drove the sheep about in the desert for forty days,without finding a pasturing place for them. Nevertheless he did not lose asingle sheep.

Moses' longing for the desert was irresistible. His prophetic spirit caused himto foresee that his own greatness and the greatness of Israel would manifestthemselves there. In the desert God's wonders would appear, though it would beat the same time the grave of the human herd to be entrusted to him in thefuture, and also his own last resting- place. Thus he had a presentiment at thevery beginning of his career that the desert would be the scene of hisactivity, which not only came true in the present order of things, but alsowill be true in the latter days, when he will appear in the desert again, tolead into the promised land the generation, arisen from their graves, that hebrought forth from Egyptian bondage.[112]

Wandering through the desert, he reached Mount Horeb, which is called by sixnames, each conveying one of its distinctions. It is "the mountain of God,"wherein the Lord revealed His law; "Basban," for God "came there"; "a mountainof humps," for the Lord declared all the other mountains unfit for therevelation, as "crookbackt" animals are declared unfit for sacrifices;"mountain of abode," because it is the mountain that God desired for His"abode"; Sinai, because the "hatred" of God against the heathen began at thetime when Israel received the law thereon; and Horeb, "sword," because therethe sword of the law was drawn upon the sinners.[113]

THE BURNING THORN-BUSH

When Moses drew near to Mount Horeb, he was aware at once that it was a holyplace, for he noticed that passing birds did not alight upon it. At hisapproach the mountain began to move, as though to go forward and meet him, andit settled back into quietude only when his foot rested upon it.[114] The firstthing Moses noticed was the wonderful burning bush, the upper part of which wasa blazing flame, neither consuming the bush, nor preventing it from bearingblossoms as it burnt, for the celestial fire has three peculiar qualities: itproduces blossoms, it does not consume the object around which it plays, and itis black of color. The fire that Moses saw in the bush was the appearance ofthe angel Michael, who had descended as the forerunner of the Shekinah herselfto come down presently. It was the wish of God to hold converse with Moses,who, however, was not inclined to permit any interruption of the work under hischarge. Therefore God startled him with the wonderful phenomenon of the burningthorn-bush. That brought Moses to a stop, and then God spoke with him.

There were good reasons for selecting the thorn-bush as the vessel for a Divinevision. It was "clean," for the heathen could not use it to make idols. God'schoosing to dwell in the stunted thorn-bush conveyed the knowledge to Mosesthat He suffers along with Israel. Furthermore, Moses was taught that there isnothing in nature, not even the insignificant thorn-bush, that can existwithout the presence of the Shekinah. Besides, the thorn-bush may be taken asthe symbol for Israel in several respects. As the thorn- bush is the lowliestof all species of trees, so the condition of Israel in the exile is thelowliest as compared with that of all the other nations, but as the thorn-bushreleases no bird that alights upon it without lacerating its wings, so thenations that subjugate Israel will be punished. Also, as a garden hedge is madeof the thorn-bush, so Israel forms the hedge for the world, the garden of God,for without Israel the world could not endure. Furthermore, as the thorn- bushbears thorns and roses alike, so Israel has pious and impious members, and asthe thorn-bush requires ample water for its growth, so Israel can prosper onlythrough the Torah, the celestial water. And the thorn-bush, the leaf of whichconsists of five leaflets, was to indicate to Moses that God had resolved toredeem Israel only for the sake of the merits of five pious men, Abraham,Isaac, Jacob, Aaron, and Moses. The numbers represented by the letterscomposing the Hebrew word for thorn-bush, Seneh, add up to one hundred andtwenty, to convey that Moses would reach the age of one hundred and twentyyears, and that the Shekinah would rest on Mount Horeb for one hundred andtwenty days. Finally, in order to give Moses an illustration of His modesty,God descended from the exalted heavens and spake to him from a lowly thorn-bushinstead of the summit of a lofty mountain or the top of a stately cedartree.[115]

THE ASCENSION OF MOSES

The vision of the burning bush appeared to Moses alone; the other shepherdswith him saw nothing of it. He took five steps in the direction of the bush, toview it at close range, and when God beheld the countenance of Moses distortedby grief and anxiety over Israel's suffering, He spake, "This one is worthy ofthe office of pasturing My people."[116]

Moses was still a novice in prophecy, therefore God said to Himself, "If Ireveal Myself to him in loud tones, I shall alarm him, but if I reveal Myselfwith a subdued voice, he will hold prophecy in low esteem," whereupon headdressed him in his father Amram's voice. Moses was overjoyed to hear hisfather speak, for it gave him the assurance that. he was still alive. The voicecalled his name twice, and he answered, "Here am I! What is my father's wish?"God replied, saying, "I am not thy father. I but desired to refrain fromterrifying thee, therefore I spoke with thy father's voice. I am the God of thyfather, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Thesewords rejoiced Moses greatly, for not only was his father Amram's namepronounced in the same breath with the names of the three Patriarchs, but itcame before theirs, as though he ranked higher than they.

Moses said not a word. In silent reverence before the Divine vision he coveredhis face, and when God disclosed the mission with which He charged him, ofbringing the Israelites forth from the land of Egypt, he answered withhumility, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and bring forth thechildren of Israel out of Egypt?" Thereupon spake God, "Moses, thou art meek,and I will reward thee for thy modesty. I will deliver the whole land of Egyptinto thine hand, and, besides, I will let thee ascend unto the throne of Myglory, and look upon all the angels of the heavens."

Hereupon God commanded Metatron, the Angel of the Face, to conduct Moses to thecelestial regions amid the sound of music and song, and He commanded himfurthermore to summon thirty thousand angels, to serve as his body-guard,fifteen thousand to right of him and fifteen thousand to left of him. In abjectterror Moses asked Metatron, "Who art thou?" and the angel replied, "I amEnoch, the son of Jared, thy ancestor, and God has charged me to accompany theeto His throne." But Moses demurred, saying, "I am but flesh and blood, and Icannot look upon the countenance of an angel," whereupon Metatron changedMoses' flesh into torches of fire, his eyes into Merkabah wheels, his strengthinto an angel's, and his tongue into a flame, and he took him to heaven with aretinue of thirty thousand angels, one half moving to right of them and onehalf to left of them.

In the first heaven Moses saw streams upon streams of water, and he observedthat the whole heaven consisted of windows, at each of which angels werestationed. Metatron named and pointed out all the windows of heaven to him: thewindow of prayer and the window of supplication; of weeping and of joy;plenitude and starvation; wealth and poverty; war and peace; conception andbirth; showers and soft rains; sin and repentance; life and death; pestilenceand healing; sickness and health; and many windows more.

In the second heaven Moses saw the angel Nuriel, standing three hundredparasangs high, with his retinue of fifty myriads of angels, all fashioned outof water and fire, and all keeping their faces turned toward the Shekinah whilethey sang a song of praise to God. Metatron explained to Moses, that these werethe angels set over the clouds, the winds, and the rains, who return speedily,as soon as they have executed the will of their Creator, to their station inthe second of the heavens, there to proclaim the praise of God.

In the third heaven Moses saw an angel, so tall it would take a human beingfive hundred years to climb to his height. He had seventy thousand heads, eachhead having as many mouths, each mouth as many tongues, and each tongue as manysayings, and he together with his suite of seventy thousand myriads of angelsmade of white fire praised and extolled the Lord. "These," said Metatron toMoses, "are called Erelim, and they are appointed over the grass, the trees,the fruits, and the grain, but as soon as they have done the will of theirCreator, they return to the place assigned to them, and praise God."

In the fourth heaven Moses saw a Temple, the pillars thereof made of red fire,the staves of green fire, the thresholds of white fire, the boards and claspsof flaming fire, the gates of carbuncles, and the pinnacles of rubies. Angelswere entering the Temple and giving praise to God there. In response to aquestion from Moses Metatron told him that they presided over the earth, thesun, the moon, the stars, and the other celestial bodies. and all of themintone songs before God. In this heaven Moses noticed also the two greatplanets, Venus and Mars, each as large as the whole earth, and concerning thesehe asked unto what purpose they had been created. Metatron explained thereupon,that Venus lies upon the sun to cool him off in summer, else he would scorchthe earth, and Mars lies upon the moon, to impart warmth to her, lest shefreeze the earth.

Arrived in the fifth heaven, Moses saw hosts of angels, whose nether parts wereof snow and their upper parts of fire, and yet the snow did not melt nor wasthe fire extinguished, for God had established perfect harmony between the twoelements. These angels, called Ishim, have had nothing to do since the day oftheir creation but praise and extol the Lord.

In the sixth of the heavens were millions and myriads of angels praising God,they were called 'Irin and kadishim, "Watchers" and "Holy Ones," and theirchief was made of hail, and he was so tall, it would take five hundred years towalk a distance equal to his height.

In the last heaven Moses saw two angels, each five hundred parasangs in height,forged out of chains of black fire and red fire, the angels Af, "Anger," andHemah, "Wrath," whom God created at the beginning of the world, to execute Hiswill. Moses was disquieted when he looked upon them, but Metatron embraced him,and said, "Moses, Moses, thou favorite of God, fear not, and be not terrified,"and Moses became calm. There was another angel in the seventh heaven, differentin appearance from all the others, and of frightful mien. His height was sogreat, it would have taken five hundred years to cover a distance equal to it,and from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet he was studded withglaring eyes, at the sight of which the beholder fell prostrate in awe. "Thisone," said Metatron, addressing Moses, "is Samael, who takes the soul away fromman." "Whither goes he now?" asked Moses, and Metatron replied, "To fetch thesoul of Job the pious." Thereupon Moses prayed to God in these words, "O may itbe Thy will, my God and the God of my fathers, not to let me fall into thehands of this angel."

Here, in the highest heaven, he saw also the seraphim with their six wings.With two they cover their face, that they gaze not upon the Shekinah; and withtwo their feet, which, being like a calf's feet, they hide, to keep secretIsrael's transgression of the golden calf. With the third pair of wings theyfly and do the service of the Lord, all the while exclaiming, "Holy, holy, holyis the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory." The wings of theseangels are of prodigious size, it would take a man five hundred years totraverse their length and their breadth, as from one end of the earth to theother.

And Moses saw in the seventh heaven the holy Hayyot, which support the throneof God; and he beheld also the angel Zagzagel, the prince of the Torah and ofwisdom, who teaches the Torah in seventy languages to the souls of men, andthereafter they cherish the precepts contained therein as laws revealed by Godto Moses on Sinai. From this angel with the horns of glory Moses himself learntall the ten mysteries."

Having seen what there is in the seven heavens, he spoke to God, saying, "Iwill not leave the heavens unless Thou grantest me a gift," and God replied, "Iwill give thee the Torah, and men shall call it the Law of Moses."[117]

MOSES VISITS PARADISE AND HELL

When Moses was on the point of departing from heaven, a celestial voiceannounced: "Moses, thou camest hither, and thou didst see the throne of Myglory. Now thou shalt see also Paradise and hell," and God dispatched Gabrielon the errand of showing hell to him. Terrified by its fires, when he caughtsight of them as he entered the portals of hell, Moses refused to go farther.But the angel encouraged him, saying, "There is a fire that not only burns butalso consumes, and that fire will protect thee against hell fire, so that thoucanst step upon it, and yet thou wilt not be seared."

As Moses entered hell, the fire withdrew a distance of five hundred parasangs,and the Angel of Hell, Nasargiel, asked him, "Who art thou?" and he answered,"I am Moses, the son of Amram."

Nasargiel: "This is not thy place, thou belongest in Paradise."

Moses: "I came hither to see the manifestation of the power of God."

Then said God to the Angel of Hell, "Go and show hell unto Moses, and how thewicked are treated there." Immediately he went with Moses, walking before himlike a pupil before his master, and thus they entered hell together, and Mosessaw men undergoing torture by the Angels of Destruction: some of the sinnerswere suspended by their eyelids, some by their ears, some by their hands, andsome by their tongues, and they cried bitterly. And women were suspended bytheir hair and by their breasts, and in other ways, all on chains of fire.Nasargiel explained: "These hang by their eyes, because they looked lustfullyupon the wives of their neighbors, and with a covetous eye upon the possessionsof their fellow-men. These hang by their ears because they listened to emptyand vain speech, and turned their ear away from hearing the Torah. These hangby their tongues, because they talked slander, and accustomed their tongue tofoolish babbling. These hang by their feet, because they walked with them inorder to spy upon their fellow-men, but they walked not to the synagogue, tooffer prayer unto their Creator. These hang by their hands, because with themthey robbed their neighbors of their possessions, and committed murder. Thesewomen hang by their hair and their breasts, because they uncovered them in thepresence of young men, so that they conceived desire unto them, and fell intosin."

Moses heard hell cry with a loud and a bitter cry, saying to Nasargiel: "Giveme something to eat, I am hungry."— Nasargiel: "What shall I give thee?"—Hell:"Give me the souls of the pious."—Nasargiel: "The Holy One, blessed be He, willnot deliver the souls of the pious unto thee."

Moses saw the place called Alukah, where sinners were suspended by their feet,their heads downward, and their bodies covered with black worms, each fivehundred parasangs long. They lamented, and cried: "Woe unto us for thepunishment of hell. Give us death, that we may die!" Nasargiel explained:"These are the sinners that swore falsely, profaned the Sabbath and the holydays, despised the sages, called their neighbors by unseemly nicknames, wrongedthe orphan and the widow, and bore false witness. Therefore bath God deliveredthem to these worms."

Moses went thence to another place, and there he saw sinners prone on theirfaces, with two thousand scorpions lashing, stinging, and tormenting them,while the tortured victims cried bitterly. Each of the scorpions had seventythousand heads, each head seventy thousand mouths, each mouth seventy thousandstings, and each sting seventy thousand pouches of poison and venom, which thesinners are forced to drink down, although the anguish is so racking that theireyes melt in their sockets. Nasargiel explained: "These are the sinners whocaused the Israelites to lose their money, who exalted themselves above thecommunity, who put their neighbors to shame in public, who delivered theirfellow-Israelites into the hands of the Gentiles, who denied the Torah ofMoses, and who maintained that God is not the Creator of the world."

Then Moses saw the place called Tit ba-Yawen, in which the sinners stand in mudup to their navels, while the Angels of Destruction lash them with fierychains, and break their teeth with fiery stones, from morning until evening,and during the night they make their teeth grow again, to the length of aparasang, only to break them anew the next morning. Nasargiel explained: "Theseare the sinners who ate carrion and forbidden flesh, who lent their money atusury, who wrote the Name of God on amulets for Gentiles, who used falseweights, who stole money from their fellow-Israelites, who ate on the Day ofAtonement, who ate forbidden fat, and animals and reptiles that are anabomination, and who drank blood."

Then Nasargiel said to Moses: "Come and see how the sinners are burnt in hell,"and Moses answered, "I cannot go there," but Nasargiel replied, "Let the lightof the Shekinah precede thee, and the fire of hell will have no power overthee." Moses yielded, and he saw how the sinners were burnt, one half of theirbodies being immersed in fire and the other half in snow, while worms bred intheir own flesh crawled over them, and the Angels of Destruction beat themincessantly. Nasargiel explained: "These are the sinners who committed incest,murder, and idolatry, who cursed their parents and their teachers, and who,like Nimrod and others, called themselves gods." In this place, which is calledAbaddon, he saw the sinners taking snow by stealth and putting it in theirarmpits, to relieve the pain inflicted by the scorching fire, and he wasconvinced that the saying was true, "The wicked mend not their ways even at thegate of hell."

As Moses departed from hell, he prayed to God, "May it be Thy will, O Lord myGod and God of my fathers, to save me and the people of Israel from the placesI have seen in hell." But God answered him, and said, "Moses, before Me thereis no respecting of persons and no taking of gifts. Whoever doeth good deedsentereth Paradise, and he that doeth evil must go to hell."

At the command of God, Gabriel now led Moses to Paradise. As he entered, twoangels came toward him, and they said to him, "Thy time is not yet arrived toleave the world," and Moses made answer, "What ye say is true, but I have cometo see the reward of the pious in Paradise." Then the angels extolled Moses,saying: "Hail, Moses, servant of God! Hail, Moses, born of woman, that hastbeen found worthy to ascend to the seven heavens! Hail to the nation to whichthou belongest!"

Under the tree of life Moses saw the angel Shamshiel, the prince of Paradise,who led him through it, and showed him all there is therein. He saw seventythrones made of precious stones, standing on feet of fine gold, each thronesurrounded by seventy angels. But one of them was larger than all the others,and it was encircled by one hundred and twenty angels. This was the throne ofAbraham, and when Abraham beheld Moses, and heard who he was, and what hispurpose was in visiting Paradise, he exclaimed, "Praise ye the Lord, for He isgood, for His mercy endureth forever."

Moses asked Shamshiel about the size of Paradise, but not even he who is theprince thereof could answer the question, for there is none that can gauge it.It can neither be measured nor fathomed nor numbered. But Shamshiel explainedto Moses about the thrones, that they were different one from the other, somebeing of silver, some of gold, some of precious stones and pearls and rubiesand carbuncles. The thrones made of pearls are for the scholars that study theTorah day and night for her own sake; those of precious stones are for thepious, those of rubies for the just, those of gold for the repentant sinners,and those of silver for the righteous proselytes. "The greatest of them all,"continued Shamshiel, "is the throne of Abraham, the next in size the thrones ofIsaac and Jacob, then come the thrones of the prophets, the saints, and therighteous, each in accordance with a man's worth, and his rank, and the gooddeeds he has performed in his lifetime." Moses asked then for whom the throneof copper was intended, and the angel answered, "For the sinner that has apious son. Through the merits of his son he receives it as his share."

Again Moses looked, and he beheld a spring of living water welling up fromunder the tree of life and dividing into four streams, which passed under thethrone of glory, and thence encompassed Paradise from end to end. He also sawfour rivers flowing under each of the thrones of the pious, one of honey, thesecond of milk, the third of wine, and the fourth of pure balsam.

Beholding all these desirable and pleasant things, Moses felt great joy, and hesaid, "Oh, how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them thatfear Thee, which Thou hast wrought for them that put their trust in Thee,before the sons of men!" And Moses left Paradise, and returned to the earth.

At the moment of his departure, a heavenly voice cried aloud: "Moses, servantof the Lord, thou that art faithful in His house, even as thou hast seen thereward that is laid up for the pious in the world to come, so also thou wilt beworthy of seeing the life of the world that shall be in the future time. Thouand all Israel, ye shall see the rebuilding of the Temple and the advent of theMessiah, behold the beauty of the Lord, and meditate in His Temple."[118]

In the world to come Moses, beside sharing the joys of Israel, will continuehis activity as the teacher of Israel, for the people will go before Abrahamand request him to instruct them in the Torah. He will send them to Isaac,saying, "Go to Isaac, he hath studied more of the Torah than ever I studied,"but Isaac, in turn, will send them to Jacob, saying, "Go to Jacob, he hath hadmore converse with the sages than ever I had." And Jacob will send them toMoses, saying, "Go to Moses, he was instructed in the Torah by GodHimself."[119]

In the Messianic time, Moses will be one of the seven shepherds that shall bethe leaders of Israel with the Messiah.[120]

MOSES DECLINES THE MISSION

When Moses turned aside to see the great sight, that the bush was not consumed,he heard a voice calling to him, "Draw not nigh hither." These words were toconvey that the dignity to be conferred upon him God intended for Mosespersonally, not for his descendants, and further he was warned not to arrogatehonors appointed for others, as the priesthood, which was to belong to Aaronand Aaron's descendants, or royalty, which was to appertain to David and thehouse of David.[121]

Again the voice spake: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the placewhereon thou standest is holy ground." These words conveyed the desire of Godthat he cut asunder every bond uniting him with earthly concerns, he was evento give up his conjugal life. Hereupon the angel Michael spoke to God: "O Lordof the world, can it be Thy purpose to destroy mankind? Blessing can prevailonly if male and female are united, and yet Thou biddest Moses separate fromhis wife." God answered, saying, "Moses has begot children, he has done hisduty toward the world. I desire him to unite himself now with the Shekinah,that she may descend upon earth for his sake."[122]

God spake furthermore, addressing Moses, "Thou seest only what is to happen inthe near future, that Israel is to receive the Torah on Mount Sinai, but Ibehold what cometh after, bow the people will worship the steer, the figure ofwhich they will see upon My chariot, even while My revelation will be made onSinai. Thus they will excite My wrath. Nevertheless, though I know all theperverseness of their hearts, wherein they will rebel against Me in the desert,I will redeem them now, for I accord unto man the treatment he merits for hispresent actions, not what he will deserve in the future. I promised theirfather Jacob, 'I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will also surelybring thee up again,' and now I will betake myself thither, to bring Israel upin accordance with My words unto Jacob, and bear them to the land I swore untotheir fathers, that their seed should inherit it. So long as the time ofaffliction that I had appointed unto his seed in My revelation to Abraham wasnot past, I hearkened not to the supplication and the groaning of his children,but now the end hath come. Therefore, go before Pharaoh, that he dismiss Mypeople. If thou dost not bring about the redemption, none other will, for thereis none other that can do it. In thee doth Israel hope, and upon thee dothIsrael wait. The matter lieth in thine hands alone."

Moses, however, refused to take the mission upon himself. He said to God, "Thypromise unto Jacob was, 'I will surely bring thee up again out of Egypt.' Thoudidst undertake to do it Thyself, and now it is Thy purpose to send me thither.And how, indeed, were it possible for me to accomplish this great matter, tobring the children of Israel up out of Egypt? How could I provide them withfood and drink? Many are the women in childbirth among them, many are thepregnant women and the little children. Whence shall I procure dainties forthose who have borne babes, whence sweetmeats for the pregnant, and whencetidbits for the little ones? And how may I venture to go among the Egyptianbrigands and murderers? for Thou art bidding me to go to mine enemies, to thosewho lie in wait to take my life. Why should I risk the safety of my person,seeing that I know not whether Israel possesses merits making them worthy ofredemption?' I have reckoned up the years with care, and I have found that buttwo hundred and ten have elapsed since the covenant of the pieces made withAbraham, and at that time Thou didst ordain four hundred years of oppressionfor his seed."[124]

But God overturned all his objections. He spake to Moses, saying: "I will bewith thee. Whatever thou desirest I will do, so that the redemption will invery truth be realized through Me, in accordance with My promise to Jacob. Thelittle ones that Israel will carry up out of Egypt I will provide with food forthirty days. This shall prove to thee in what manner I will supply the needs ofall. And as I will be at thy side, thou hast no need to fear any man.Respecting thy doubt, whether Israel deserves to be redeemed, this is Myanswer: they will be permitted to go forth from Egypt on account of the meritsthey will acquire at this mountain, whereon they will receive the Torah throughthee.[125] And thy reckoning of the end is not correct, for the four hundredyears of bondage began with the birth of Isaac, not with the going down ofJacob into Egypt. Therefore the appointed end hath come."[126]

Persuaded now of God's unalterable resolve to use him as His instrument in theredemption of Israel from Egypt, Moses entreated God to impart to him theknowledge of His Great Name, that he be not confounded if the children ofIsrael ask for it. God answered, saying: "Thou desirest to know My Name? MyName is according to My acts. When I judge My creatures, I am called Elohim,"judge"; when I rise up to do battle against the sinners, I am Lord Zebaot,"the Lord of hosts"; when I wait with longsuffering patience for theimprovement of the sinner, My name is El Shaddai; when I have mercy upon theworld, I am Adonai. But unto the children of Israel shalt thou say that I am Hethat was, that is, and that ever will be, and I am He that is with them intheir bondage now, and He that shall be with them in the bondage of the time tocome."

In reply to the latter words of God, Moses said, "Sufficient unto the day isthe evil thereof," and God assented thereto. He admitted that it was not properto force the knowledge of future suffering upon Israel in a present that wasitself full of evil and sorrow. And the Lord said to Moses: "My words about thefuture were meant for thee alone, not also for them. Tell the children ofIsrael, besides, that at My behest an angel can stretch his hand from heavenand touch the earth with it, and three angels can find room under one tree, andMy majesty can fill the whole world, for when it was My will, it appeared toJob in his hair, and, again, when I willed otherwise, it appeared in athorn-bush."[127]

But the most important communication from God to Moses concerning the DivineNames were the words to follow: "In mercy I created the world; in mercy I guideit; and with mercies I will return to Jerusalem. But unto the children ofIsrael thou shalt say that My mercy upon them is for the sake of the merits ofAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

When Moses heard these words, he spoke to God, saying, "Are there men thattransgress after death?" and when God assured him that it was not possible forthe dead to sin, Moses asked again, "Why, then, is it that Thou didst revealThyself to me at the first as the God of my father, and now Thou passest himover?" Whereupon God said, "In the beginning it was My purpose to address theewith flattering words, but now thou hearest the whole and exact truth, I amonly the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."[128]

Moses prayed to God, entreating Him to reveal His Great and Holy Name unto him,so that he might call upon Him with it and secure the fulfilment of all hiswishes. The Lord granted the prayer of Moses, and when the celestials knew thatHe had revealed the secret of the Ineffable Name, they cried out, "Blessed artThou, O Lord, gracious Giver of knowledge!"[129]

God is always regardful of the honor of the elders of a people, and He badeMoses assemble those of Israel and announce the approaching redemption to them.And as God knew beforehand how Pharaoh's obduracy would display itself, He madeit known to Moses at once, lest he reproach God later with the Egyptian king'sfrowardness.[130]

MOSES PUNISHED FOR HIS STUBBORNNESS

In spite of all these safeguards, Moses was not yet ready to accept the missionGod wished to impose upon him. He persisted in urging his fears, saying: "But,behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice, for they will say,'The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.[] And the Lord said unto him, "What isthat in thine hand?" And he said, "A rod." And the Lord said: "Thou deservestto be castigated with it. If thou didst not intend to take My mission uponthyself, thou shouldst have said so in the beginning. Instead, thou didst holdback with thy refusal, until I revealed to thee the great secret of theIneffable Name, that thou mightest know it if the children of Israel should askthee concerning it. And now thou sayest, I will not go. Now, therefore, if thouwilt not execute My charge to thee, it will be executed by this rod. It was Mywish to distinguish thee and make thee My instrument for doing manymiracles.[131] But thou deservest a punishment for having suspected My childrenof lack of faith. The children of Israel are believers and sons of believers,but thou wilt show thyself of little faith in thy career, and as thou followestthe example of the slanderous serpent, so shalt thou be punished with leprosy,wherewith the serpent was punished."

The Lord now bade Moses put his hand into his bosom and take it out again, andwhen he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow. And Godbade him put his hand into his bosom again, and it turned again as his otherflesh. Beside being a chastisement for his hasty words, the plague on his handwas to teach him that as the leper defiles, so the Egyptians defiled Israel,and as Moses was healed of his uncleanness, so God would cleanse the childrenof Israel of the pollution the Egyptians had brought upon them.

The second wonder connected with the rod of Moses likewise conveyed a doublemeaning, in that it pointed to the coming redemption of Israel, and taughtMoses a specific lesson. At the bidding of God, Moses cast his rod on theground, and it became a serpent, to show him that when he traduced Israel, hewas following the example of the abusive serpent, and also to show him that thegreat dragon that lieth in the midst of the rivers of Egypt, though he was nowhacking into Israel with his teeth, would be rendered harmless like the rod ofwood, which has no power to bite.

And, again, through the third miracle he was bidden to perform, God conveyed toMoses what would happen in the latter years of his own life. The sign He gavehim was to make known to him that, before the water came, blood would flow fromthe rock at Meribah, when Moses should strike it after uttering the hasty,impatient words that were destined to bring death down upon him.[132]

For seven days God urged Moses to undertake the mission He desired him toexecute. He resorted to persuasion, that the heathen might not say, that Heabused His power as the Ruler of the world, forcing men to do His serviceagainst their will. But Moses remained obdurate, he could not be won over.[133]He said: "Thou doest a wrong unto me in sending me to Pharaoh. In the palace ofthe Egyptian king there are persons that know how to speak the seventylanguages of the world. No matter what language a man may use, there is someonethat understands him. If I should come as Thy representative, and they shoulddiscover that I am not able to converse in the seventy languages, they willmock at me, and say, 'Behold this man, he pretends to be the ambassador of theCreator of the world, and he cannot speak the seventy languages.' " To this Godmade reply, as follows: "Adam, who was taught by none, could give names to thebeasts in the seventy languages. Was it not I that made him to speak?"[134]

Moses was not yet satisfied, he continued to urge objections, and he said: "OLord of the world, Thou wouldst charge me with the task of chastising Egypt andredeeming Israel, and I am ready to be Thy messenger. But is it seemly that aman should execute two errands at once? Nay, my Lord, for this two men areneeded." God made answer, and said, "Moses, I know well whom thou hast in mindwith thy request, to be thy companion in the mission I assign to thee. Know,therefore, that the holy spirit hath already come upon thy brother Aaron, andeven now he is awaiting thee on the way of Egypt, and when his eyes rest uponthee he will rejoice."

Furthermore God spake to Moses, saying, "When I appeared unto thee the firsttime, thou wast meek, and didst hide thy face, not to see the vision. Whencecometh now this effrontery of thine, that thou addressest Me as a servant hismaster? Thou speakest too many words by far. Perchance thou thinkest I have nomessengers, hosts, seraphim, ofanim, ministering angels, and Merkabah wheels,to send to Egypt, to bring My children thence, that thou sayest, 'Send by thehand of him whom Thou wilt send.' In sooth, thou deservest severe chastisement.But what can I do, seeing that I am the Master of mercy? If thou escapestunpunished, thou owest it to thy father Amram, who rendered great services inbehalf of the preservation of the Israelitish people in Egypt."

But Moses replied: "O Lord of the world, I a prophet and the son of a prophetobeyed Thy words only after much hesitation, and I cannot expect Pharaoh, awicked man and the son of a wicked man, and the Egyptians, a disobedient peopleand the sons of a disobedient people, to give ear to my words. O Lord of theworld, Thou dost send me to Egypt to redeem sixty myriads of Thy people fromthe oppression of the Egyptians. If it were a question of delivering a coupleof hundred men, it were a sufficiently difficult enterprise. How much severeris the task of freeing sixty myriads from the dominion of Pharaoh! If Thouhadst called upon the Egyptians to give up their evil ways soon after theybegan to enslave Israel, they might have heeded Thy admonitions. But if Ishould go and speak to them now, after they have been ruling over Israel thesetwo hundred and ten years, Pharaoh would say, 'If a slave has served his masterfor ten years, and no protest has made itself heard from any quarter, how can aman conceive the idea suddenly of having him set at liberty?' Verily, O Lord ofthe world, the task Thou puttest upon me is too heavy for my strength."[135]

Moses said furthermore: "I am not an eloquent man, nor can I see of what availwords can be in this matter. Thou art sending me to one that is himself aslave, to Pharaoh of the tribe of Ham, and a slave will not be corrected bywords. I consent to go on Thy errand only if Thou wilt invest me with the powerof chastising Pharaoh with brute force." To these words spoken by Moses, Godmade reply: "Let it not fret thee that thou art not an eloquent speaker. It isI that made the mouth of all that speak, and I that made men dumb. One I maketo see, another I make blind; one I make to hear, another I make deaf. Had Iwilled it so, thou hadst been a man of ready speech. But I desired to show awonder through thee. Whenever I will it, the words I cast into thy mouth shallcome forth without hesitation. But what thou sayest about a slave, that hecannot be corrected by words, is true, and therefore I give thee My rod forPharaoh's castigation."

But Moses still stood his ground. He raised other objections. "His grandchild,"he said, "is closer to a man than his nephew. Nevertheless when Lot was takencaptive, Thou didst send angels to the aid of Abraham's nephew. But now, whenthe life of sixty myriads of Abraham's lineal descendants is at stake, Thousendest me, and not the angels. When the Egyptian bondwoman Hagar was indistress, Thou didst dispatch five angels to stand by her, and to redeem sixtymyriads of the children of Sarah Thou dost dispatch me.[136] O Lord, send, Ipray Thee, by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send in days to come." To this Godanswered, saying, "I said not that I would send thee to Israel, but to Pharaoh,and that one whom thou madest mention of, I will send to Israel at the end ofdays—Elijah will appear to them before the great and terrible day."[137]

If Moses refused to do the errand of the Lord, there was a reason. God hadrevealed to him the treasures of the Torah, of wisdom, and of knowledge, andthe whole world's future. Now he beheld in the inner chamber of God rows ofscholars and judges interpreting the Torah in forty- nine different ways asthey sat in the court of hewn stones; and he saw, besides, Rabbi Akibaexplaining the meaning of the crowns upon the letters. Then said Moses: "I donot care to be God's messenger. Let Him rather send one of these greatscholars." Then God ordered the Angel of Wisdom to carry Moses to a place ofmyriads of scholars, all interpreting the Torah, and all making use of theformula: This is a Halakah revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. Now Mosesrecognized that even the greatest scholars of future generations would bedependent upon him, and then, at last, he was ready to execute the mission Goddesired to lay upon him.[138]

But Moses had to pay dear for having hesitated in the execution of the Divinebidding. God said to him: "It was appointed that thou shouldst be priest, andAaron should be the Levite. Because thou hast refused to execute My will, thoushalt be the Levite, and Aaron shall be priest,"—a punishment that did not fallupon Moses personally, but only upon his descendants, all of whom are Levites.As for himself, he performed a priest's service in the Tabernacle.[139]

Moses had said to God, "Thou hast been speaking to me now these many days,nevertheless I am still slow of speech and of a slow tongue." For this hereceived another punishment. God said to him: "I might change thee into a newman, and heal thee of thy imperfect speech, but because thou hast uttered suchwords, I refrain from curing thee."[140]

THE RETURN TO EGYPT

When Moses finally gave in, and declared himself ready to go to Egypt as God'smessenger, his acceptance was still conditional upon the promise of God tofulfil all his wishes, and God granted whatsoever he desired, exceptimmortality and entering the Holy Land.[141] God also allayed his fearsregarding the danger that threatened him from his whilom enemies Dathan andAbiram, on account of whom he had had to flee from Egypt. He told him that theyhad sunk to the estate of poor and insignificant men, bereft of the power ofdoing him harm.[142]

Moses was loyal to the oath he had given his father-in-law Jethro, never toreturn to Egypt without securing his consent. His first concern therefore wasto go back to Midian and obtain his permission, which Jethro gave freely. ThenMoses could set out on his journey. He tarried only to take his wife and hischildren with him, which made his father- in-law say, "Those who are in Egyptare to leave it, and thou desirest to take more thither?" Moses replied: "Verysoon the slaves held in bondage in Egypt will be redeemed, and they will goforth from the land, and gather at Mount Sinai, and hear the words, 'I am theLord thy God,' and should my sons not be present there?" Jethro acknowledgedthe justice of Moses' words, and he said to him, "Go in peace, enter Egypt inpeace, and leave the land in peace."[143]

At last Moses sallied forth upon his journey to Egypt, accompanied by his wifeand his children. He was mounted upon the very ass that had borne Abraham tothe Akedah on Mount Moriah, the ass upon which the Messiah will appear ridingat the end of days.[144] Even now, his journey begun, Moses was buthalf-hearted about his mission. He travelled leisurely, thinking: "When Iarrive in Egypt and announce to the children of Israel that the end of the termof Egyptian slavery has come, they will say, 'We know very well that ourbondage must last four hundred years, and the end is not yet,' but if I were toput this objection before God, He would break out in wrath against me. It isbest for me to consume as much time as possible on the way thither."

God was ill pleased with Moses for this artifice, and He spake to him, saying,"Joseph prophesied long ago that the oppression of Egypt would endure only twohundred and ten years." For his lack of faith Moses was punished while he wason the road to Egypt.[145] The angels Af and Hemah appeared and swallowed hiswhole body down to his feet,[146] and they gave him up only after Zipporah,nimble as a "bird,"[147] circumcised her son Gershom, and touched the feet ofher husband with the blood of the circumcision. The reason why their son hadremained uncircumcised until then was that Jethro had made the condition, whenhe consented to the marriage of his daughter with Moses, that the first son oftheir union should be brought up as a Gentile.[148]

When Moses was released by the angels, he attacked them, and he slew Hemah,whose host of angels, however, held their own before the assailant.[149]

The Divine voice heard by Moses in Midian telling him to return to his brethrenin Egypt fell at the same time upon the ear of Aaron, dwelling in Egypt, and itbade him "go into the wilderness to meet Moses." God speaketh marvellously withHis voice, and therefore the same revelation could be understood one way inMidian and another way in Egypt.

The greeting of the two brothers was very cordial. Envy and jealousy bad noplace between them. Aaron was rejoiced that God had chosen his younger brotherto be the redeemer of Israel, and Moses was rejoiced that his older brother hadbeen divinely appointed the high priest in Israel. God knew their hearts, forat the time when He charged him with the Egyptian mission, Moses had said, "Allthese years Aaron has been active as a prophet in Israel, and should I nowencroach upon his province and cause him vexation?" But God reassured him,saying, "Moses, thy brother Aaron will surely not be vexed, he will ratherrejoice at thy mission, yea, he will come forth and meet thee."

Aaron showed his joy freely at seeing his brother once more, after theirseparation of many years. As for his joy in the distinction accorded to Moses,it was too great to be expressed in all its depth and extent. For his kind,generous spirit, he received a reward from God, in that he was permitted tobear the Urim and Thummim upon his heart, "for," God said, "the heart thatrejoiced at the exalting of a brother shall wear the Urim and Thummim."[150]

Aaron ran to meet his brother, and embraced him, and asked where he had spentall the years of their separation. When he was told in Midian, he continued toquestion him, saying, "Who are these that are travelling with thee?"

Moses: "My wife and my sons."

Aaron: "Whither goest thou with them?"

Moses: "To Egypt."

Aaron: "What! Great enough is our sorrow through those who have been in Egyptfrom the beginning, and thou takest more to the land?"

Moses recognized that Aaron was right, and he sent his wife and his sons backto his father-in-law Jethro.[151]

He was no less magnanimous than Aaron. If the elder brother felt no envy onaccount of the younger brother's dignity, the younger brother did not withholdfrom the other the teachings and revelations he had received. Immediately aftermeeting with Aaron, Moses told him all that God had taught him, even the awfulsecret of the Ineffable Name communicated to him on Mount Horeb.[152]

In obedience to the command of God, the elders of the people were assembled,and before them Moses performed the wonders that were to be his credentials asthe redeemer sent to deliver the people. Nevertheless, the deeds he did werenot so potent in convincing them of the reality of the mission as the wordswherein God had announced the approaching redemption to him, which he repeatedin their ears. The elders knew that Jacob had imparted to Joseph the secretmark designating the redeemer, and Joseph had in turn confided it to hisbrethren before his death. The last surviving one of the brethren, Asher, hadrevealed it to his daughter Serah, in the following words: "He that will comeand proclaim the redemption with the words of God, 'I have surely visited you,and seen that which is done to you in Egypt,' he is the true redeemer." Serahwas still alive at Moses' return, and the elders betook themselves to her, andtold her the words of Moses announcing the redemption. When she heard that hiswords had been the same as those Asher had quoted, she knew that he was thepromised redeemer, and all the people believed in him.

Thereupon Moses invited the elders to go to Pharaoh with him, but they lackedthe courage to appear before the king. Though they started out with Moses, theydropped off stealthily on the way, one by one, and when Moses and Aaron stoodin the presence of the king, they found themselves alone, deserted by all theothers. The elders did not go out free. Their punishment was that God did notpermit them to ascend the holy mountain with Moses. They durst accompany him onthe way to God only as far as they had accompanied him on the way to Pharaoh,and then they had to tarry until he came again.[153]

MOSES AND AARON BEFORE PHARAOH

The day Moses and Aaron made their appearance before Pharaoh happened to be theanniversary of his birth, and he was surrounded by many kings, for he was theruler of the whole world, and this was the occasion on which the kings of theearth came to do him homage. When the attendants announced Moses and Aaron,Pharaoh inquired whether the two old men had brought him crowns, and, receivinga negative reply, he ordered that they were not to be admitted to his presence,until he had seen and dismissed all the others desirous of paying him theirrespects.[154]

Pharaoh's palace was surrounded by a vast army. It was built with four hundredentrances, one hundred on each side, and each of them guarded by sixty thousandsoldiers. Moses and Aaron were overawed by this display of power, and they wereafraid. But the angel Gabriel appeared, and he led them into the palace,observed by none of the guards, and Pharaoh decreed severe punishment upon theinattentive sentinels for having admitted the old men without his permission.They were dismissed, and others put in their places. But the same thinghappened the next day. Moses and Aaron were within the palace, and the newguard had not been able to hinder their passing. Pharaoh questioned hisservants, how it had been possible for the two old men to enter, and they said:"We know it not! Through the doors they did not come. Surely, they must bemagicians."[155]

Not enough that the palace was guarded by a host, at each entrance two lionswere stationed, and in terror of being torn to pieces none dared approach thedoors, and none could go within until the lion tamer came and led the beastsaway. Now Balaam and all the other sacred scribes of Egypt advised that thekeepers loose the lions at the approach of Moses and Aaron. But their adviceavailed naught. Moses had but to raise his rod, and the lions bounded towardhim joyously, and followed at his feet, gambolling like dogs before theirmaster on his return home.[156]

Within the palace, Moses and Aaron found seventy secretaries busy withPharaoh's correspondence, which was carried on in seventy languages. At thesight of the messengers of Israel, they started up in great awe, for the twomen resembled angels. In stature they were as the cedars of Lebanon, theircountenances radiated splendor like the sun, the pupils of their eyes were likethe sphere of the morning star, their beards like palm branches, and theirmouths emitted flames when they opened them for speech. In their terror, thesecretaries flung down pen and paper, and prostrated themselves before Mosesand Aaron.

Now the two representatives of the children of Israel stepped before Pharaoh,and they spake, "The God of the Hebrews hath met with us; let us go, we praythee, three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice unto the Lord ourGod, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword." But Pharaohanswered, saying: "What is the name of your God? Wherein doth His strengthconsist, and His power? How many countries, how many provinces, how many citieshath He under His dominion? In how many campaigns was He victorious? How manylands did He make subject to Himself? How many cities did He capture? When Hegoeth to war, how many warriors, riders, chariots, and charioteers doth He leadforth?" Whereto Moses and Aaron replied: "His strength and His power fill thewhole world. His voice heweth out flames of fire; His words break mountains inpieces. The heaven is His throne, and the earth His footstool. His bow is fire,His arrows are flames, His spears torches, His shield clouds, and His swordlightning flashes. He created the mountains and the valleys, He brought forthspirits and souls, He stretched out the earth by a word, He made the mountainswith His wisdom, He forms the embryo in the womb of the mother, He covers theheavens with clouds, at His word the dew and the rain descend earthward, Hecauses plants to grow from the ground, He nourishes and sustains the wholeworld, from the horns upon the rem down to the eggs of vermin. Every day Hecauses men to die, and every day He calls men into life."

Pharaoh answered, and said: "I have no need of Him. I have created myself, andif ye say that He causes dew and rain to descend, I have the Nile, the riverthat hath its source under the tree of life, and the ground impregnated by itswaters bears fruit so huge that it takes two asses to carry it. and it ispalatable beyond description, for it has three hundred different tastes."[157]

Then Pharaoh sent to fetch the books of the chronicles of his kingdom from hisarchives, wherein are recorded the names of the gods of all the nations, to seewhether the name of the God of the Hebrews was among them. He read off: "Thegods of Moab, the gods of Ammon, the gods of Zidon—I do not find your Godinscribed in the archives!" Moses and Aaron exclaimed: "O thou fool! Thouseekest the Living in the graves of the dead. These which thou didst read arethe names of dumb idols, but our God is the God of life and the King of eternallife."[158]

When Pharaoh said the words, "I know not the Lord," God Himself made answer,saying: "O thou rascal! Thou sayest to My ambassadors, 'I know not the strengthand the power of your God'? Lo, I will make thee to stand, for to show thee Mypower, and that My Name may be declared throughout all the earth."[159]

Having searched his list of the gods of the nations in vain for a mention ofthe God of the Hebrews, Pharaoh cited before him the wise men of Egypt, and hesaid to them: "Have ye ever heard the name of the God of these people?" Theyreplied, "We have been told that He is a son of the wise, the son of ancientkings." Then spake God, saying, "O ye fools! Ye call yourselves wise men, butMe ye call only the son of the wise. Verily, I will set at naught all yourwisdom and your understanding."[160]

Pharaoh persisted in his obduracy, even after Moses and Aaron had performed themiracle of the rod. At the time when the two Hebrews succeeded in entering thepalace, guarded as it was by lions, Pharaoh had sent for his magicians, attheir head Balaam and his two sons Jannes and Jambres, and when they appearedbefore him, he told them of the extraordinary incident, how the lions hadfollowed the two old men like dogs, and fawned upon them. It was Balaam'sopinion that they were simply magicians like himself and his companions, and heprayed the king to have them come before him together with themselves, to testwho were the master magicians, the Egyptians or the Hebrews.

Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and he said to them: "Who will believe youwhen you say that you are the ambassadors of God, as you pretend to be, if youdo not convince men by performing wonders?" Thereupon Aaron cast his rod to theground, and it became a serpent.[161] Pharaoh laughed aloud. "What," heexclaimed, "is this all your God can do? It is the way of merchants to carrymerchandise to a place if there is none of it there, but would anyone takebrine to Spain or fish to Accho? It seems you do not know that I am an adept inall sorts of magic!" He ordered little school children to be brought, and theyrepeated the wonder done by Moses and Aaron; indeed, Pharaoh's own wifeperformed it. Jannes and Jambres, the sons of Balaam, derided Moses, saying,"Ye carry straw to Ephrain!"[162] whereto Moses answered, "To the place of manyvegetables, thither carry vegetables."

To show the Egyptians that Aaron could do something with his rod that theirmagicians could not imitate, God caused the serpent into which His rod had beenchanged to swallow up all the rods of the magicians. But Balaam and hisassociates said: "There is nothing marvellous or astonishing in this feat. Yourserpent has but devoured our serpents, which is in accordance with a law ofnature, one living being devours another. If thou wishest us to acknowledgethat the spirit of God worketh in thee, then cast thy rod to the earth, and if,being wood, it swallows up our rods of wood, then we shall acknowledge that thespirit of God is in thee." Aaron stood the test. After his rod had resumed itsoriginal form, it swallowed up the rods of the Egyptians,[163] and yet its bulkshowed no increase. This caused Pharaoh to reflect, whether this wonderful rodof Aaron might not swallow up also him and his throne. Nevertheless he refusedto obey the behest of God, to let Israel go, saying, "Had I Jacob-Israelhimself here before me, I should put trowel and bucket on his shoulder." And toMoses and Aaron, he said, "Because ye, like all the rest of the tribe of Levi,are not compelled to labor, therefore do ye speak, 'Let us go and sacrifice tothe Lord.' If you had asked for a thousand people, or two thousand, I shouldhave fulfilled your request, but never will I consent to let six hundredthousand men go away."

THE SUFFERING INCREASES

Beside refusing to dismiss the children of Israel, he ordered, on the very dayof Moses and Aaron's audience with him, that the people be required to deliverthe prescribed tale of bricks, though the taskmasters were not as heretofore togive them straw to make brick. Another decree was, that the children of Israelwere not to be permitted to rest on the Sabbath, for Pharaoh knew that theyused the leisure for reading the rolls that described their redemption. Allthis was a part of God's plan, the oppression of Israel was to be increased thecloser the end approached. As they wandered up and down the land of Egyptgathering the straw they needed for the due tale of bricks, they weremaltreated by the Egyptians if they caught them on their fields. Such unkindacts perpetrated by the whole people made it impossible for them to cast theentire blame for the bondage of Israel upon Pharaoh. All the Egyptians showedcruelty to the Israelites on their straw foraging expeditions, and thereforethe Divine punishment descended upon all alike.

This frightful time of Israel's extreme suffering lasted six months. MeantimeMoses went to Midian, leaving Aaron alone in Egypt. When Moses returned at theend of the reign of terror, two of the Israelitish officers accosted him andAaron, and heaped abuse upon them for having increased the woes of their peoplerather than diminished them. They spake, saying, "If ye are truly theambassadors of God, then may He judge between us and Pharaoh. But if you areseeking to bring about the redemption of Israel on your own account, then mayGod judge between you and Israel. You are responsible for the widespread stenchnow issuing from the Israelitish corpses used as bricks for building when ourtale was not complete. The Egyptians had but a faint suspicion that we werewaiting for our redemption. It is your fault if they are fully conscious of itnow. We are in the quandary of the poor sheep that has been dragged away by awolf. The shepherd pursues the robber, catches up with him, and tries to snatchthe sheep from his jaws, and the wretched victim, pulled this way by the wolfand that way by the shepherd, is torn to pieces. Thus Israel fares between youand Pharaoh."

The two officers that spake these stinging words were Dathan and Abiram, and itwas neither the first nor the last time they inflicted an injury upon Moses.The other Israelitish officers were gentle and kind; they permitted themselvesto be beaten by the taskmasters rather than prod the laborers of their ownpeople put under their surveillance.

The cruel suffering to which his people was exposed caused Moses to speak toGod thus: "I have read the book of Genesis through, and I found the doom in itpronounced upon the generation of the deluge. It was a just judgment. I foundalso the punishments decreed against the generation of the confusion oftongues, and against the inhabitants of Sodom. These, too, were just. But whathath this nation of Israel done unto Thee, that it is oppressed more than anyother nation in history? Is it because Abraham said, 'Whereby shall I know thatI shall inherit the land?' and Thou didst rebuke him for his small faith,saying, 'Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that isnot theirs'? Why, then, are not the descendants of Esau and Ishmael held inbondage, too? Are they not likewise of the seed of Abraham? But if Thou wiltsay, 'What concern is it of mine?' then I ask Thee, Why didst Thou send mehither as Thy messenger? Thy great, exalted, and terrible Name is feared in allthe earth, yet Pharaoh heard me pronounce it, and he refuses obedience. I knowThou wilt redeem Israel in Thine own good time, and it is of little moment toThee that now they are immuring living Israelites in these buildings."

Were He a God of justice only, the Lord would have slain Moses for the audacityof his last words, but in view of his having spoken as he had only out ofcompassion with Israel, the Lord dealt graciously with him. He answered Moses,saying, "Thou shalt see what I will do to Pharaoh," words conveying to Moses,that although he would be witness to the chastisement of Pharaoh, he would notbe present at that of the thirty-one kings of Canaan. Thus he was rebuked forthe unbecoming language he had used in addressing God.[164] At the same timeGod's words were a rejoinder to another speech by Moses. He had said: "O Lordof the world, I know well that Thou wilt bring Thy children forth from Egypt. Othat Thou wouldst make use of another instrument, for I am not worthy of beingthe redeemer of Thy children." God made answer thereto: "Yes, Moses, thou artworthy thereof. Through thee My children will be brought forth out of Egypt.Thou shalt see what I will do to Pharaoh."[165]

At the same time God called him to account for having so little faith. He said:"O for the departed, their like cannot be found any more! I appeared untoAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as El Shaddai, God Almighty, but I was not known tothem by My name Adonai, God All-Merciful, as I appeared unto thee. Neverthelessthey did not cast aspersions upon My acts. I spake to Abraham, 'Unto thee willI give the land,' but when he was about to bury Sarah, he had to pay out silverand buy a resting-place for her body; and yet he did not find fault with Me. Ispake to Isaac, 'Unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands,'but when he desired water to drink, he had to strive with the herdsmen ofGerar; and yet he did not find fault with Me. I spake to Jacob, 'The landwhereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed,' but when hewanted to spread his tent, he had to acquire a parcel of ground for an hundredpieces of money; and yet he did not find fault with Me. None of them asked toknow My Name. But thou didst demand to know it at the very first, when Idesired to send thee down into Egypt, and after I revealed it to thee, thoudidst speak, saying, 'Thou didst tell me that Thou art called Compassionate andGracious, Longsuffering and Merciful, but as soon as I pronounced this Namebefore Pharaoh, misfortune descended upon the people of Israel.' Now I desireto fulfil My covenant with the three Patriarchs, and give their posterity thepromised land, as a reward for the unquestioning faith of the Fathers, and alsoas a reward to the people, who, in spite of their suffering, did not find faultwith My deeds. For this will I give them the land, which they do not deserve topossess for other reasons. I swear that I will do thus!" God pronounced thisoath, to banish all fear from the mind of Moses, that He might act only inaccordance with His attribute of justice, and thus delay the redemption ofIsrael for a time, on account of the sins of the people.[166]

Now the redemption of Israel was a settled fact. But before Moses and Aaroncould start on the work of delivering their people, God called various pointsto their attention, which He bade them consider in their undertaking. He spaketo them, saying: "My children are perverse, passionate, and troublesome. Youmust be prepared to stand their abuse, to the length of being pelted withstones by them. I send you to Pharaoh, and although I will punish him accordingto his deserts, yet you must not fail in the respect due to him as a ruler.Furthermore, be careful to take the elders of the people into yourcounsel,[167] and let your first step toward redemption be to make the peoplegive up the worship of idols."

The last was a most difficult task, and the words of God concerning it wrungthe exclamation from Moses: "See, the children of Israel will not hearken untome. How, then, should Pharaoh hearken unto me?"[168] It was the third timeMoses declined to go on the errand of God. Now the Divine patience wasexhausted, and Moses was subjected to punishment. At first God had revealedHimself only to Moses, and the original intention had been that he alone was toperform all the miracles, but henceforth the word of God was addressed to Aaronas well, and he was given a share in doing the wonders.[169]

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

God divided the ten punishments decreed for Egypt into four parts, three of theplagues He committed to Aaron, three to Moses, one to the two brotherstogether, and three He reserved for Himself. Aaron was charged with those, thatproceeded from the earth and the water, the elements that are composed of moreor less solid parts, from which are fashioned all the corporeal, distinctiveentities, while the three entrusted to Moses were those that proceeded from theair and the fire, the elements that are most prolific of life.[170]

The Lord is a man of war, and as a king of flesh and blood devises variousstratagems against his enemy, so God attacked the Egyptians in various ways. Hebrought ten plagues down upon them. When a province rises up in rebellion, itssovereign lord first sends his army against it, to surround it and cut off thewater supply. If the people are contrite, well and good; if not, he bringsnoise makers into the field against them. If the people are contrite, well andgood; if not, he orders darts to be discharged against them. If the people arecontrite, well and good; if not, he orders his legions to assault them. If thepeople are contrite, well and good; if not, he causes bloodshed and carnageamong them. If the people are contrite, well and good; if not, he directs astream of hot naphtha upon them. If the people are contrite, well and good; ifnot, he hurls projectiles at them from his ballistae. If the people arecontrite, well and good; if not, he has scaling-ladders set up against theirwalls. If the people are contrite, well and good; if not, he casts them intodungeons. If the people are contrite, well and good; if not, he slays theirmagnates.

Thus did God proceed against the Egyptians. First He cut off their water supplyby turning their rivers into blood. They refused to let the Israelites go, andHe sent the noisy, croaking frogs into their entrails. They refused to let theIsraelites go, and He brought lice against them, which pierced their flesh likedarts. They refused to let the Israelites go, and He sent barbarian legionsagainst them, mixed hordes of wild beasts. They refused to let the Israelitesgo, and He brought slaughter upon them, a very grievous pestilence. Theyrefused to let the Israelites go, and He poured out naphtha over them, burningblains. They refused to let the Israelites go, and He caused His projectiles,the hail, to descend upon them. They refused to let the Israelites go, and Heplaced scaling-ladders against the wall for the locusts, which climbed themlike men of war. They refused to let the Israelites go, and He cast them intodungeon darkness. They refused to let the Israelites go, and He slew theirmagnates, their first-born sons.[171]

The plagues that God sent upon the Egyptians corresponded to the deeds they badperpetrated against the children of Israel. Because they forced the Israelitesto draw water for them, and also hindered them from the use of the ritualbaths, He changed their water into blood.

Because they had said to the Israelites, "Go and catch fish for us," He broughtfrogs up against them, making them to swarm in their kneading-troughs and theirbed- chambers and hop around croaking in their entrails. It was the severest ofall the ten plagues.

Because they had said to the Israelites, "Go and sweep and clean our houses,our courtyards, and our streets," He changed the dust of the air into lice, sothat the vermin lay piled up in heaps an ell high, and when the Egyptians puton fresh garments, they were at once infested with the insects.

The fourth plague was an invasion of the land by hordes of all sorts of wildanimals, lions, wolves, panthers, bears, and others. They overran the houses ofthe Egyptians, and when they closed their doors to keep them out, God caused alittle animal to come forth from the ground, and it got in through the windows,and split open the doors, and made a way for the bears, panthers, lions, andwolves, which swarmed in and devoured the people down to the infants in theircradles. If an Egyptian entrusted his ten children to an Israelite, to take awalk with them, a lion would come and snatch away one of the children, a bearwould carry off the second, a serpent the third, and so on, and in the end theIsraelite returned home alone. This plague was brought upon them because theywere in the habit of bidding the Israelites go and catch wolves and lions fortheir circuses, and they sent them on such errands, to make them take up theirabode in distant deserts, where they would be separated from their wives, andcould not propagate their race.

Then God brought a grievous murrain upon their cattle, because they had pressedthe Israelites into their service as shepherds, and assigned remote pasturingplaces to them, to keep them away from their wives. Therefore the murrain cameand carried off all the cattle in the flocks the Israelites were tending.

The sixth plague was a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast.This was the punishment of the Egyptians, because they would say to thechildren of Israel, "Go and prepare a bath for us unto the delight of our fleshand our bones." Therefore they were doomed to suffer with boils that inflamedtheir flesh, and on account of the itch they could not leave off scratching.While the Egyptians suffered thus, the children of Israel used their baths.

Because they had sent the Israelites forth into the fields, to plough and sow,hail was sent down upon them, and their trees and crops were destroyed.

They had been in the habit of saying to the Israelites, "Go forth, plant yetrees for us, and guard the fruit thereon." Therefore God brought the locustsinto the Egyptian border, to eat the residue of that which was escaped, whichremained unto them from the hail, for the teeth of the locust are the teeth ofa lion, and he hath the jaw teeth of a great lion.

Because they would throw the Israelites into dungeons, God brought darknessupon them, the darkness of hell, so that they had to grope their way. He thatsat could not rise up on his feet, and he that stood could not sit down. Theinfliction of darkness served another purpose. Among the Israelites there weremany wicked men, who refused to leave Egypt, and God determined to put them outof the way. But that the Egyptians might not say they had succumbed to theplague like themselves, God slew them under cover of the darkness, and in thedarkness they were buried by their fellow-Israelites, and the Egyptians knewnothing of what had happened. But the number of these wicked men had been verygreat, and the children of Israel spared to leave Egypt were but a smallfraction of the original Israelitish population.

The tenth plague was the slaying of the first-born, and it came upon theEgyptians because of their intention to murder the men children of theIsraelites at their birth, and, finally, Pharaoh and his host were drowned inthe Red Sea, because the Egyptians had caused the men children of theIsraelites to be exposed in the water.[172]

Each, of the plagues inflicted upon Egypt had another parallel in the crueltreatment accorded to the Israelites. The first was a punishment for thearrogant words spoken by Pharaoh, "My Nile river is mine own, and I have madeit for myself."

The plague of the frogs God brought down upon the Egyptians, "because," Hesaid, "the frogs, which sometimes inhabit the water, shall take vengeance uponthe Egyptians for having desired to destroy the nation destined to be thebearers of the Torah, and the Torah is likened unto water."

God sent vermin upon them, saying, "Let the lice made of the dust of the earthtake vengeance upon the Egyptians for having desired to destroy the nationwhose seed is like unto the dust of the earth."

Hordes of beasts, lions and wolves and swarms of serpents, came down upon them,"because," God said, "these animals shall take vengeance upon the Egyptians forhaving desired to destroy the nation that is likened unto lions, wolves, andserpents."

A fatal pestilence was brought upon them, "because," God said, "death shalltake vengeance upon the Egyptians for having desired to destroy the nation thatfaces death for the glorification of the Name of God."

They were made to suffer with burning blains, "because," God said, "the boilscoming from the ashes of the furnace shall take vengeance upon the Egyptiansfor having desired to destroy the nation whose ancestor Abraham walked into thefiery furnace for the glorification of the Name of God."

He made hail to descend upon them, "because," He said, "the white hail shalltake vengeance upon the Egyptians for having desired to destroy a nation whosesins shall be white."

The locusts came upon them, "because," God said, "the locusts, which are Mygreat army, shall take vengeance upon the Egyptians for having desired todestroy the nation that is called My hosts."

"Darkness," said God, "which is divided from the light, shall come and takevengeance upon the Egyptians for desiring to destroy the nation upon whichshineth the light of the Lord, while gross darkness covers the other peoples."

The tenth plague, the slaying of the first-born, God inflicted, saying, "I willtake vengeance upon the Egyptians for having desired to destroy the nation thatis My first- born. As the night divided itself for Abraham, that his enemiesmight be vanquished, so I will pass through Egypt in the middle of the night,and as Abraham was proved by ten temptations, so I will send ten plagues uponEgypt, the enemy of his children."[173]

THE PLAGUES BROUGHT THROUGH AARON

From the infliction of the first of the plagues until the passing of the last,after which the Egyptians yielded all that Moses and Aaron demanded, thereelapsed a whole year, for twelve months is the term set by God for theexpiation of sins. The deluge lasted one year; Job suffered one year; sinnersmust endure hell tortures for one year, and the judgment upon Gog at the end oftime will be executed for the length of one year.[174]

Moses announced the first plague to Pharaoh one morning when the king waswalking by the river's brink. This morning walk enabled him to practice adeception. He called himself a god, and pretended that he felt no human needs.To keep up the illusion, he would repair to the edge of the river everymorning, and ease nature there while alone and unobserved. At such a time itwas that Moses appeared before him, and called out to him, "Is there a god thathath human needs?" "Verily, I am no god," replied Pharaoh, "I only pretend tobe one before the Egyptians, who are such idiots, one should consider themasses rather than human beings."[175]

Then Moses made known to him that God would turn the water into blood, if herefused to let Israel go. In the warning we can discern the difference betweenGod and man. When a mortal harbors the intention to do an injury to an enemy,he lies in wait for the moment when he can strike an unexpected blow. But Godis outspoken. He warned Pharaoh and the Egyptians in public whenever a plaguewas about to descend, and each warning was repeated by Moses for a period ofthree weeks, although the plague itself endured but a single week.

As Pharaoh would not lay the warning to heart, the plague announced by Moseswas let loose upon him and his people—the waters were turned into blood. It isa well- known proverb, "Beat the idols, and the priests are in terror." Godsmote the river Nile, which the Egyptians worshipped as their god, in order toterrify Pharaoh and his people and force them to do the Divine will.

To produce the plague, Aaron took his rod, and stretched out his hand over thewaters of Egypt. Moses had no part in performing the miracle, for God had saidto him, "The water that watched over thy safety when thou wast exposed in theNile, shall not suffer harm through thee."

Aaron had scarcely executed the Divine bidding, when all the water of Egyptbecame blood, even such as was kept in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.The very spittle of an Egyptian turned into blood no sooner had he ejected itfrom his mouth,[176] and blood dripped also from the idols of theEgyptians.[177]

The transformation of the waters into blood was intended mainly as a punishmentfor the oppressors, but it was at the same time a source of profit for theoppressed. It gave the Israelites the opportunity of amassing great wealth. TheEgyptians paid them large sums for their water, for if an Egyptian and anIsraelite drew water from the same trough, the portion carried off by theEgyptian was bound to be useless, it turned into blood. To be sure, nothinghelped the Egyptians in their distress, for though they drank water from thesame cup as an Israelite, it became blood in their mouth.

However, this plague did not impress Pharaoh as a punishment inflicted in thename of God, because with the help of the Angels of Destruction the magiciansof Egypt produced the same phenomenon of changing water into blood. Thereforehe hearkened not unto the words of Moses.[178]

The next was the plague of the frogs, and again it was Aaron that performed thewonder. He stretched forth his hand with his rod over the rivers, and causedfrogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. Moses, whose life had been preservedby the water, was kept from poisoning his savior with the reptiles. At firstonly a single frog appeared, but he began to croak, summoning so manycompanions that the whole land of Egypt swarmed with them. Wherever an Egyptiantook up his stand, frogs appeared, and in some mysterious way they were able topierce the hardest of metals, and even the marble palaces of the Egyptiannobles afforded no protection against them. If a frog came close to them, thewalls split asunder immediately. "Make way," the frogs would call out to thestone, "that I may do the will of my Creator," and at once the marble showed arift, through which the frogs entered, and then they attacked the Egyptiansbodily, and mutilated and overwhelmed them. In their ardor to fulfil the behestof God, the frogs cast themselves into the red-hot flames of the bake-ovens anddevoured the bread. Centuries later, the three holy children, Hananiah,Mishael, and Azariah, were ordered by Nebuchadnezzar to pay worship to hisidols on penalty of death in the burning furnace, and they said, "If the frogs,which were under no obligation to glorify the Name of God, nevertheless threwthemselves into the fire in order to execute the Divine will concerning thepunishment of the Egyptians, how much more should we be ready to expose ourlives to the fire for the greater glory of His Name!"[179] And the zealousfrogs were not permitted to go unrewarded. While the others were destroyed fromPharaoh and the Egyptian houses at the moment appointed as the last of theplague, God saved those in the bake-ovens alive, the fire had no power to dothem the least harm.[180]

Now, although the Egyptian magicians also brought up frogs upon the land ofEgypt through the help of demons, Pharaoh nevertheless declared himself readyto let the people go, to sacrifice unto the Lord. The difference between thisplague and the first was, that water turned into blood had not caused him anypersonal inconvenience, while the swarms of frogs inflicted physical suffering,and he gave the promise to Moses to let Israel go, in the hope of riddinghimself of the pain he experienced. And Moses in turn promised to entreat Godfor him on the following day. It could not be done at once, because the sevendays' term had not yet elapsed. The prayer offered by Moses in behalf ofPharaoh was granted, all the frogs perished, and their destruction was tooswift for them to retire to the water. Consequently the whole land was filledwith the stench from the decaying frogs, for they had been so numerous thatevery man of the Egyptians gathered together four heaps of them.[181] Althoughthe frogs had filled all the market-places and stables and dwellings, theyretreated before the Hebrews as if they had been able to distinguish betweenthe two nations, and had known which of them it was proper to abuse, and whichto treat with consideration.[182] Beside sparing the Hebrews in the land ofEgypt, the frogs kept within the limits of the land, in no wise trenching uponthe territory of the neighboring nations. Indeed, they were the means ofsettling peaceably an old boundary dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia. Whereverthey appeared, so far extended the Egyptian domain; all beyond their linebelonged to Ethiopia.

Pharaoh was like the wicked that cry to God in their distress, and when theirfortunes prosper slide back into their old, impious ways. No sooner had thefrogs departed from him, his houses, his servants, and his people, than hehardened his heart again, and refused to let Israel go. Thereupon God sent theplague of the lice, the last of those brought upon Egypt through the mediationof Aaron. Moses could have no part in it, "for," said God, "the earth thatafforded thee protection when she permitted thee to hide the slain Egyptian,shall not suffer through thine hand."[183]

The Egyptian magicians having boasted that they were able to produce the firsttwo plagues,—an empty boast it was, for they did not bring them about withtheir enchantments, but only because Moses willed them to do it,—God put themto shame with the third plague. They tried in vain to imitate it.[184] Thedemons could not aid them, for their power is limited to the production ofthings larger than a barley grain, and lice are smaller. The magicians had toadmit, "This is the finger of God." Their failure put an end once for all totheir attempts to do as Moses did.

But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and God spake to Moses, saying, "This wickedfellow remains hard of heart, in spite of the three plagues. The fourth shallbe much worse than those which have preceded it. Go to him, therefore, and warnhim, it would be well for him to let My people go, that the plague come notupon him."[185]

THE PLAGUES BROUGHT THROUGH MOSES

The fourth plague was also announced to the king early in the morning by theriver's brink. Pharaoh went thither regularly, for he was one of the magi, whoneed water for their enchantments.[186] Moses' daily morning visits werebeginning to annoy him, and he left the house early, in the hope ofcircumventing his monitor. But God, who knows the thoughts of man, sent Mosesto Pharaoh at the very moment of his going forth.

The warning of the plague that was imminent not having had any effect uponPharaoh, God sent the fourth plague upon Egypt,[187] a mixed horde of wildanimals, lions, bears, wolves, and panthers, and so many birds of prey ofdifferent kinds that the light of the sun and the moon was darkened as theycircled through the air. These beasts came upon the Egyptians as a punishmentfor desiring to force the seed of Abraham to amalgamate with the other nations.God retaliated by bringing a mixture upon them that cost them their life.[188]

As Pharaoh had been the first of the Egyptians to lay evil plans against thechildren of Israel, so he was the first upon whom descended punishment. Intohis house the mixed horde of beasts came first of all, and then into the housesof the rest of the Egyptians. Goshen, the land inhabited by the Israelites, wasspared entirely, for God put a division between the two peoples. It is true,the Israelites had committed sins enough to deserve punishment, but the HolyOne, blessed be He, permitted the Egyptians to act as a ransom for Israel.

Again Pharaoh expressed his willingness to let the children of Israel sacrificeunto their God, but they were to stay in the land and do it, not go outside,into the wilderness. Moses pointed out to Pharaoh how unbecoming it would befor the Israelites to sacrifice, before the very eyes of his people, theanimals that the Egyptians worshipped as gods. Then Pharaoh consented to letthem go beyond the borders of his land, only they were not to go very far away,and Moses, to mislead him, asked for a three days' journey into the wilderness.But, again, when Moses had entreated God on Pharaoh's behalf, and the horde ofwild beasts had vanished, the king hardened his heart, and did not let thepeople go.

The cessation of the fourth plague was as miraculous as the plague itself. Thevery animals that had been slain by the Egyptians in self-defense returned tolife and departed from the land with the rest. This was ordained to prevent thewicked oppressors from profiting by the punishment even so much as the value ofthe hides and the flesh of the dead animals. It had not been so with theuseless frogs, they had died on the spot, and their carcasses had remainedwhere they fell.[189]

The fifth plague inflicted by God upon the Egyptians was a grievous pestilence,which mowed down the cattle and beasts chiefly, yet it did not spare menaltogether. This pestilence was a distinct plague, but it also accompanied allthe other plagues, and the death of many Egyptians was due to it.[190] TheIsraelites again came off unscathed. Indeed, if an Israelite had a just claimupon a beast held by an Egyptian, it, too, was spared, and the same goodfortune waited upon such cattle as was the common property of Israelites andEgyptians.

The sixth plague, the plague of boils, was produced by Moses and Aaron togetherin a miraculous way. Each took a handful of ashes of the furnace, then Mosesheld the contents of the two heaps in the hollow of one of his hands, andsprinkled the ashes tip toward the heaven, and it flew so high that it reachedthe Divine throne. Returning earthward, it scattered over the whole land ofEgypt, a space equal to four hundred square parasangs. The small dust of theashes produced leprosy upon the skin of the Egyptians,[191] and blains of apeculiar kind, soft within and dry on top.[192]

The first five plagues the magicians had tried to imitate, and partly they hadsucceeded. But in this sixth plague they could not stand before Moses, andthenceforth they gave up the attempt to do as he did. Their craft had all alongbeen harmful to themselves. Although they could produce the plagues, they couldnot imitate Moses in causing them to disappear. They would put their hands intotheir bosom, and draw them out white with leprosy, exactly like Moses, buttheir flesh remained leprous until the day of their death. And the samehappened with all the other plagues that they imitated: until their dying daythey were afflicted with the ills they produced.[193]

As Pharaoh had wittingly hardened his heart with each of the first fiveplagues, and refused to turn from his sinful purpose, God punished himthereafter in such wise that he could not mend his ways if he would. God said,"Even though he should desire to do penance now, I will harden his heart untilhe pays off the whole of his debt."

Pharaoh had observed that whenever he walked on the brink of the Nile, Moseswould intercept him. He therefore gave up his morning walk. But God bade Mosesseek the king in his palace in the early hours of the day and urge him torepent of his evil ways. Therefore Moses spake to him as follows, in the nameof God: "O thou villain! Thou thinkest that I cannot destroy thee from theworld. Consider, if I had desired it, instead of smiting the cattle, I mighthave smitten thee and thy people with the pestilence, and thou wouldst havebeen cut off from the earth. I inflicted the plague only in such degree as wasnecessary to show thee My power, and that My Name may be declared throughoutall the earth. But thou dost not leave off treading My people underfoot.Behold, to-morrow when the sun passes this point,"—whereat Moses made a strokeupon the wall— "I will cause a very grievous hail to pour down, such as will beonly once more, when I annihilate Gog with hail, fire, and brimstone."

But God's lovingkindness is so great that even in His wrath He has mercy uponthe wicked, and as His chief object was not to injure men and beasts, but todamage the vegetation in the fields of the Egyptians, He bade Moses admonishPharaoh to send and hasten in his cattle and all that he had in the field. Butthe warning fell on heedless ears. Job was the only one to take it to heart,while Pharaoh and his people regarded not the word of the Lord. Therefore theLord let the hail smite both man and beast, instead of confining it to theherbs and the trees of the field, as He had intended from the first.

As a rule, fire and water are elements at war with each other, but in thehailstones that smote the land of Egypt they were reconciled. A fire rested inthe hailstones as the burning wick swims in the oil of a lamp; the surroundingfluid cannot extinguish the flame. The Egyptians were smitten either by thehail or by the fire. In the one case as the other their flesh was seared, andthe bodies of the many that were slain by the hail were consumed by the fire.The hailstones heaped themselves up like a wall, so that the carcasses of theslain beasts could not be removed, and if the people succeeded in dividing thedead animals and carrying their flesh off, the birds of prey would attack themon their way home, and snatch their prize away. But the vegetation in the fieldsuffered even more than man and beast, for the hail came down like an axe uponthe trees and broke them. That the wheat and the spelt were not crushed was amiracle.

Now, at last, Pharaoh acknowledged, and said, "The Lord is righteous, and I andmy people are wicked. He was righteous when He bade us hasten in our cattlefrom before the hail, and I and my people were wicked, for we heeded not Hiswarning, and men and beasts were found in the field by the hail, and slain."Again he begged Moses to supplicate God in his behalf, that He turn the plagueaway, and he promised to let the children of Israel go. Moses consented to dohis will, saying, however: "Think not that I do not know what will happen afterthe plague is stayed. I know that thou and thy servants, ye will fear the LordGod, once His punishment is removed, as little as ye feared Him before. But toshow His greatness, I will pray to Him to make the hail to cease."

Moses went a short distance out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad hishands unto the Lord, for he did not desire to pray to God within, where therewere many idols and images. At once the hail remained suspended in the air.Part of it dropped down while Joshua was engaged in battle with the Amorites,and the rest God will send down in His fury against Gog. Also the thundersceased at Moses' intercession, and were stored up for a later time, for theywere the noise which the Lord made the host of the Syrians to hear at the siegeof Samaria, wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight.[194]

As Moses had foreseen, so it happened. No sooner had the hail stopped thanPharaoh abandoned his resolve, and refused to let Israel go. Moses lost no timein announcing the eighth plague to him, the plague of the locusts. Observingthat his words had made an impression upon the king's counsellors, he turnedand went out from Pharaoh, to give them the opportunity of discussing thematter among themselves. And, indeed, his servants urged Pharaoh to let theIsraelites go and serve the Lord their God. But, again, when Moses insistedthat the whole people must go, the young and the old, the sons and thedaughters, Pharaoh demurred, saying, "I know it to be customary for young menand old men to take part in sacrifices, but surely not little children, andwhen you demand their presence, too, you betray your evil purpose. It is but apretense, your saying that you will go a three days' journey into thewilderness, and then return. You mean to escape and never come back. I willhave nothing more to do with the matter.[195] My god Baal-zephon will opposeyou in the way, and hinder you on your journey." Pharaoh's last words were adim presentiment. As a magician he foresaw that on their going forth from Egyptthe children of Israel would find themselves in desperate straits before thesanctuary of Baal-zephon.[196]

Pharaoh was not content with merely denying the request preferred by Moses andAaron. He ordered them to be forcibly expelled from the palace. Then God sentthe plague of the locusts announced by Moses before. They ate every herb of theland, and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left, and there remainednot any green thing. And again Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, to ask theirforgiveness, both for his sin against the Lord God, in not having hearkenedunto His word, and for his sin against them, in having chased them forth andintended to curse them. Moses, as before, prayed to God in Pharaoh's behalf,and his petition was granted, the plague was taken away, and in a rathersurprising manner. When the swarms of locusts began to darken the land, theEgyptians caught them and preserved them in brine as a dainty to be eaten. Nowthe Lord turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, anddrove them into the Red Sea. Even those they were keeping in their pots flew upand away, and they had none of the expected profit.[197]

The last plague but one, like those which had preceded it, endured seven days.All the time the land was enveloped in darkness, only it was not always of thesame degree of density. During the first three days, it was not so thick butthat the Egyptians could change their posture when they desired to do so. Ifthey were sitting down, they could rise up, and if they were standing, theycould sit down. On the fourth, fifth, and sixth days, the darkness was so densethat they could not stir from their place. They either sat the whole time, orstood; as they were at the beginning, so they remained until the end. The lastday of darkness overtook the Egyptians, not in their own land, but at the RedSea, on their pursuit of Israel. The darkness was not of the ordinary, earthlykind; it came from hell, and it could be felt. It was as thick as a dinar, andall the time it prevailed a celestial light brightened the dwellings of thechildren of Israel, whereby they could see what the Egyptians were doing undercover of the darkness. This was of great advantage to them, for when they wereabout to go forth from the land, and they asked their neighbors to lend themraiment, and jewels of gold and jewels of silver, for the journey, theEgyptians tried to deny having any in their possession. But the children ofIsrael, having spied out all their treasures during the days of darkness, coulddescribe the objects they needed with accuracy, and designate theirhiding-places. The Egyptians reasoned that the words of the Israelites could betaken implicitly as they spoke them, for if they had had any idea of deceivingthem, asking for a loan when they intended to keep what they laid hands on,they might have taken unobserved during the days of darkness whatever: theydesired. Hence the Egyptians felt no hesitation in lending the children ofIsrael all the treasures they asked for.[198]

The darkness was of such a nature that it could not be dispelled by artificialmeans. The light of the fire kindled for household uses was either extinguishedby the violence of the storm, or else it was made invisible and swallowed up inthe density of the darkness. Sight, that most indispensable of all the externalsenses, though unimpaired, was deprived of its office, for nothing could bediscerned, and all the other senses were overthrown like subjects whose leaderhas fallen. None was able to speak or to hear, nor could anyone venture to takefood, but they lay themselves down in quiet and hunger, their outward senses ina trance. Thus they remained, overwhelmed by the affliction, until Moses hadcompassion on them again, and besought God in their behalf, who granted him thepower of restoring fine weather, light instead of darkness and day instead ofnight.[199]

Intimidated by this affliction, Pharaoh permitted the people to go, the littleones as well as the men and the women, only he asked that they let their flocksand their herds be stayed. But Moses said: "As thou livest, our cattle alsoshall go with us. Yea, if but the hoof of an animal belongs to an Israelite,the beast shall not be left behind in Egypt." This speech exasperated Pharaohto such a degree that he threatened Moses with death in the day he should seehis face again.

At this very moment the Lord appeared unto Moses, and bade him inform Pharaohof the infliction of the last plague, the slaying of the first-born. It was thefirst and the last time that God revealed Himself in the royal palace. He chosethe residence of Pharaoh on this occasion that Moses might not be branded as aliar, for he had replied to Pharaoh's threat of killing him if he saw his faceagain, with the words, "Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face again nomore."

With a loud voice Moses proclaimed the last plague, closing his announcementwith the words: "And all these thy servants shall come down unto me and bowdown themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out: and all the people that followthee; and after that I will go out." Moses knew well enough that Pharaohhimself would come and urge him to lead Israel forth with as great haste aspossible, but he mentioned only the servants of the king, and not the kinghimself, because he never forgot the respect due to a ruler.[200]

THE FIRST PASSOVER

When the time approached in which, according to the promise made to Abraham,his children would be redeemed, it was seen that they had no pious deeds totheir credit for the sake of which they deserved release from bondage. Godtherefore gave them two commandments, one bidding them to sacrifice the paschallamb and one to circumcise their sons.[201] Along with the first they receivedthe calendar in use among the Jews, for the Passover feast is to be celebratedon the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan, and with this month the year is tobegin. But the computations for the calendar are so involved that Moses couldnot understand them until God showed him the movements of the moon plainly.There were three other things equally difficult, which Moses could comprehendonly after God made him to see them plainly. They were the compounding of theholy anointing oil, the construction of the candlestick in the Tabernacle, andthe animals the flesh of which is permitted or prohibited.[202] Also thedetermination of the new moon was the subject of special Divine teaching. ThatMoses might know the exact procedure, God appeared to him in a garment withfringes upon its corners, bade Moses stand at His right hand and Aaron at Hisleft, and then, citing Michael and Gabriel as witnesses, He addressed searchingquestions to the angels as to how the new moon had seemed to them. Then theLord addressed Moses and Aaron, saying, "Thus shall My children proclaim thenew moon, on the testimony of two witnesses and through the president of thecourt.[203]

When Moses appeared before the children of Israel and delivered the Divinemessage to them, telling them that their redemption would come about in thismonth of Nisan, they said: "How is it possible that we should be redeemed? Isnot the whole of Egypt full of our idols? And we have no pious deeds to showmaking us worthy of redemption." Moses made reply, and said: "As God desiresyour redemption, He pays no heed to your idols; He passes them by. Nor does Helook upon your evil deeds, but only upon the good deeds of the pious amongyou."[204]

God would not, indeed, have delivered Israel if they had not abandoned theiridol worship. Unto this purpose He commanded them to sacrifice the paschallamb. Thus they were to show that they had given up the idolatry of theEgyptians, consisting in the worship of the ram.[205] The early law wasdifferent from the practice of later times, for they were bidden to selecttheir sacrificial animal four days before the day appointed for the offering,and to designate it publicly as such, to show that they did not stand in awe ofthe Egyptians.

With a heavy heart the Egyptians watched the preparations of the Israelites forsacrificing the animals they worshipped. Yet they did not dare interpose anobjection, and when the time came for the offering to be made, the children ofIsrael could perform the ceremonies without a tremor, seeing that they knew,through many days' experience, that the Egyptians feared to approach them withhostile intent. There was another practice connected with the slaughter of thepaschal lamb that was to show the Egyptians how little the Israelites fearedthem. They took of the blood of the animal, and openly put it on the two sideposts and on the lintel of the doors of their houses.[206]

Moses communicated the laws regulating the Passover sacrifice to the elders,and they in turn made them known to the people at large. The elders werecommended for having supported the leader at his first appearance, for theirfaith in Moses caused the whole people to adhere to him at once. Therefore Godspake, saying: "I will reward the elders for inspiring the people withconfidence in Moses. They shall have the honor of delivering Israel. They shalllead the people to the Passover sacrifice, and through this the redemption willbe brought about."[207]

The ceremonies connected with the Passover sacrifice had the purpose ofconveying instruction to Israel about the past and the future alike. The bloodput on the two side posts and on the lintel of their doors was to remind themof Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and the bunch of hyssop for sprinkling the bloodon the doors was to imply that, although Israel's position among the peoples ofthe earth is as lowly as that of the hyssop among the plants, yet this littlenation is bound together like the bunch of hyssop, for it is God's peculiartreasure.[208]

The paschal sacrifice afforded Moses the opportunity for inducing the childrenof Israel to submit themselves to circumcision, which many had refused to dountil then in spite of his urgent appeals. But God has means of persuasion. Hecaused a wind to blow that wafted the sweet scents of Paradise toward Moses'paschal lamb, and the fragrance penetrated to all parts of Egypt, to thedistance of a forty days' journey. The people were attracted in crowds toMoses' lamb, and desired to partake of it. But he said, "This is the command ofGod, 'No uncircumcised person shall eat thereof,' " and they all decided toundergo circumcision. When the Lord passed through the land of Egypt, Heblessed every Israelite for his fulfilment of the two commands, the command ofthe paschal sacrifice and the command regarding circumcision."

The Lord performed a great miracle for the Israelites. As no sacrifice may beeaten beyond the borders of the Holy Land, all the children of Israel weretransported thither on clouds, and after they had eaten of the sacrifice, theywere carried back to Egypt in the same way.[210]

THE SMITING OF THE FIRST-BORN

When Moses announced the slaying of the first-born, the designated victims allrepaired to their fathers, and said: "Whatever Moses hath foretold has beenfulfilled. Let the Hebrews go, else we shall all die." But the fathers replied,"It is better for one of every ten of us to die, than the Hebrews shouldexecute their purpose." Then the first-born repaired to Pharaoh, to induce himto dismiss the children of Israel. So far from granting their wish, he orderedhis servants to fall upon the first-born and beat them, to punish them fortheir presumptuous demand. Seeing that they could not accomplish their end bygentle means, they attempted to bring it about by force.[211]

Pharaoh and all that opposed the wishes of the first-born were of the opinionthat the loss of so inconsiderable a percentage of the population was a matterof small moment. They were mistaken in their calculation, for the Divine decreeincluded not only the first-born sons, but also the first-born daughters, andnot only the first-born of the marriages then existing, but also the first-bornissuing from previous alliances of the fathers and the mothers, and as theEgyptians led dissolute lives, it happened not rarely that each of the tenchildren of one woman was the first-born of its father. Finally, God decreedthat death should smite the oldest member of every household, whether or not hewas the first-born of his parents.[212] What God resolves is executed. At theexact instant marking the middle of the night, so precise that only God Himselfcould determine and discern it, He appeared in Egypt, attended by nine thousandmyriads of the Angels of Destruction who are fashioned some of hail and some offlames, and whose glances drive terror and trembling to the heart of thebeholder. These angels were about to precipitate themselves into the work ofannihilation, but God restrained them, saying, "My wrath will not be appeaseduntil I Myself execute vengeance upon the enemies of Israel."[213]

Those among the Egyptians who gave credence to Moses' words, and tried toshield their first-born children from death, sent them to their Hebrewneighbors, to spend the fateful night with them, in the hope that God wouldexempt the houses of the children of Israel from the plague. But in themorning, when the Israelites arose from their sleep, they found the corpses ofthe Egyptian fugitives next to them.[214] That was the night in which theIsraelites prayed before lying down to sleep: "Cause us, O Lord our God, to liedown in peace, remove Satan from before us and from behind us, and guard ourgoing out and our coming in unto life and unto peace,"[215] for it was Satanthat had caused frightful bloodshed among the Egyptians.[216]

Among the slain there were, beside the Egyptian first- born, also thefirst-born of other nationalities residing in Egypt, as well as the Egyptianfirst-born dwelling outside of their own land.[217] Even the long dead of thefirst-born were not spared. The dogs dragged their corpses out of their gravesin the houses, for it was the Egyptian custom to inter the dead at home. At theappalling sight the Egyptians mourned as though the bereavement had befallenthem but recently. The very monuments and statues erected to the memory of thefirst-born dead were changed into dust, which was scattered and flew out ofsight. Moreover, their slaves had to share the fate of the Egyptians, and noless the first- born of the captive that was in the dungeon, for none was solow but he hated the Hebrews, and rejoiced when the Egyptians decreed theirpersecution.[218] The female slaves that ground corn between mill-stones werein the habit of saying, "We do not regret our servitude, if only the Israelitesare gagged, too.[219]

In dealing out punishment to these aliens in the land of Egypt, God showed thatHe was at once the Master of the land and the Lord over all the gods of thenations, for if the slaves and the captives of war had not been smitten, theywould have said, "Mighty is our god, who helped us in this plague."[220] Forthe same reason all the idols of the Egyptians were swept out of existence inthat night. The stone idols were ground into dust, the wooden idols rotted, andthose made of metal melted away,[221] and so the Egyptians were kept fromascribing their chastisement to the wrath of their own gods. Likewise the LordGod slew the first-born of the cattle, for the Egyptians paid worship toanimals, and they would have attributed their misfortunes to them. In all theseways the Lord showed them that their gods were but vanity.

THE REDEMPTION OF ISRAEL FROM EGYPTIAN BONDAGE

Pharaoh rose up in the night of the smiting of the first- born. He waited notfor the third hour of the morning, when kings usually arise, nor did he wait tobe awakened, but he himself roused his slaves from their slumber, and all theother Egyptians, and together they went forth to seek Moses and Aaron.[222] Heknew that Moses had never spoken an untruth, and as he had said, "I will seethy face again no more," he could not count upon Moses' coming to him. Thereremained nothing for him to do but go in search of the Israelitish leader.[223]He did not know where Moses lived, and he had great difficulty and lost muchtime in looking for his house, for the Hebrew lads of whom he made inquirieswhen he met them in the street played practical jokes on him, misdirected him,and led him astray. Thus he wandered about a long time.[224] all the whileweeping and crying out, "O my friend Moses, pray for me to God!"

Meanwhile Moses and Aaron and all Israel beside were at the paschal meal,drinking wine as they sat and leaned to one side, and singing songs in praiseof God, the Hallel, which they were the first to recite. When Pharaoh finallyreached the door of the house wherein Moses abode, he called to him, and fromMoses the question came back, "Who art thou, and what is thy name?"—"I amPharaoh, who stands here humiliated."—Moses asked again: "Why dost thou come tome thyself? Is it the custom of kings to linger at the doors of commonfolk?"—"I pray thee, my lord," returned Pharaoh, "come forth and intercede forus, else there will not remain a single being in Egypt."—"I may not come forth,for God bath commanded us, 'None of you shall go out of the door of his houseuntil the morning.' " —But Pharaoh continued to plead: "Do but step to thewindow, and speak with me," and when Moses yielded to his importunities, andappeared at the window, the king addressed these words to him: "Thou didst sayyesterday, 'All the first-born in the land of Egypt will die,' but now as manyas nine-tenths of the inhabitants have perished."[225]

Pharaoh was accompanied by his daughter Bithiah, Moses' foster-mother. Shereproached him with ingratitude, in having brought down evil upon her and hercountrymen. And Moses answered, and said: "Ten plagues the Lord brought uponEgypt. Hath evil accrued to thee from any of them? Did one of them affectthee?" And when Bithiah acknowledged that no harm had touched her, Mosescontinued to speak, "Although thou art thy mother's first- born, thou shalt notdie, and no evil shall reach thee in the midst of Egypt." But Bithiah said, "Ofwhat advantage is my security to me, when I see the king, my brother, and allhis household, and his servants in this evil plight, and look upon theirfirst-born perishing with all the first-born of Egypt?" And Moses returned,"Verily, thy brother and his household and the other Egyptians would nothearken to the words of the Lord, therefore did this evil come upon them.[226]

Turning to Pharaoh, Moses said: "In spite of all that hath happened, I willteach thee something, if thou desirest to learn, and thou wilt be spared, andthou wilt not die. Raise thy voice, and say: 'Ye children of Israel, ye areyour own masters. Prepare for your journey, and depart from among my people.Hitherto ye were the slaves of Pharaoh, but henceforward ye are under theauthority of God. Serve the Lord your God!' " Moses made him say these wordsthree times,[227] and God caused Pharaoh's voice to be heard throughout theland of Egypt, so that all the inhabitants, the home-born and the aliens, knewthat Pharaoh had released the children of Israel from the bondage in which theyhad languished. And all Israel sang, "Hallelujah, praise, O ye servants of theLord, praise the Name of the Lord," for they belonged to the Lord, and no morewere the servants of Pharaoh.[228]

Now the king of Egypt insisted upon their leaving the land without delay. ButMoses objected, and said: "Are we thieves, that we should slink away undercover of the night? Wait until morning." Pharaoh, however, urged and beggedMoses to depart, confessing that he was anxious about his own person, for hewas a first-born son, and he was terrified that death would strike him down,too. Moses dissipated his alarm, though he substituted a new horror, with thewords, "Fear not, there is worse in store for thee!" Dread seized upon thewhole people; every one of the Egyptians was afraid of losing his life, andthey all united their prayers with Pharaoh's, and begged Moses to take theIsraelites hence. And God spake, Ye shall all find your end, not here, but inthe Red Sea!"[229]

THE EXODUS

Pharaoh and the Egyptians let their dead lie unburied, while they hastened tohelp the Israelites load their possessions on wagons, to get them out of theland with as little delay as possible. When they left, they took with them,beside their own cattle, the sheep and the oxen that Pharaoh had ordered hisnobles to give them as presents. The king also forced his magnates to begpardon of the Israelites for all they had suffered, knowing as he did that Godforgives an injury done by man to his fellow only after the wrong- doer hasrecovered the good-will of his victim by confessing and regretting hisfault.[230] "Now, depart!" said Pharaoh to the Israelites, "I want nothing fromyou but that you should pray to God for me, that I may be saved fromdeath."[231]

The hatred of the Egyptians toward the Israelites changed now into itsopposite. They conceived affection and friendship for them, and fairly forcedraiment upon them, and jewels of silver and jewels of gold, to take along withthem on their journey, although the children of Israel had not yet returned thearticles they had borrowed from their neighbors at an earlier time. This actionis in part to be explained by the vanity of Pharaoh and his people. Theydesired to pretend before the world that they were vastly rich, as everybodywould conclude when this wealth of their mere slaves was displayed toobservers. Indeed, the Israelites bore so much away from Egypt that one of themalone might have defrayed the expense of building and furnishing theTabernacle.

On their leaving the land only the private wealth of the Egyptians was in theirhands, but when they arrived at the Red Sea they came into possession of thepublic treasure, too, for Pharaoh, like all kings, carried the moneys of thestate with him on his campaigns, in order to be prepared to hire a relay ofmercenaries in case of defeat. Great as the other treasure was, the bootycaptured at the sea far exceeded it.[232]

But if the Israelites loaded themselves down with goods and jewels and money,it was not to gratify love of riches, or, as any usurer might say, because theycoveted their neighbors' possessions. In the first place they could look upontheir plunder as wages due to them from those they had long served, and,secondly, they were entitled to retaliate on those at whose hands they hadsuffered wrong. Even then they were requiting them with an affliction farslighter than any one of all they had endured themselves.[233]

The plagues did not stay the cruelty of the Egyptian oppressors toward theHebrews. It continued unabated until the very end of their sojourn in the land.On the day of the exodus, Rachel the daughter of Shuthelah gave birth to achild, while she and her husband together were treading the clay for bricks.The babe dropped from her womb into the clay and sank out of sight. Gabrielappeared, moulded a brick out of the clay containing the child, and carried itto the highest of the heavens, where he made it a footstool before the Divinethrone. In that night it was that God looked upon the suffering of Israel, andsmote the first-born of the Egyptians,[234] and it is one of the four nightsthat God has inscribed in the Book of Memorial. The first of the four is thatin which God appeared to create the world; all was waste and void, and darknessbrooded over the abyss, until the Lord came and spread light round about by Hisword. The second night is that in which God appeared unto Abraham at thecovenant of the pieces. In the third night He appeared in Egypt, slaying thefirst-born of the Egyptians with His right hand, and protecting the first-bornof the Israelites with His left. The fourth night recorded will be that inwhich the end of the redemption will be accomplished, when the iron yoke of thewicked kingdom will be broken, and the evil-doers will be destroyed. Then willMoses come from the desert, and the Messiah from Rome, each at the head of hisflock, and the word of God will mediate between them, causing both to walk withone accord in the same direction.

Israel's redemption in future days will happen on the fifteenth of Nisan, thenight of Israel's redemption from Egypt, for thus did Moses say, "In this nightGod protected Israel against the Angels of Destruction, and in this night Hewill also redeem the generations of the future."[235]

Though the actual deliverance from Egypt took place in that night, the Hebrewsdid not leave the land until the following day.[236]

During the same night God requited the Egyptians for their evil deeds in thesight of all the people, the night being as bright as day at the time of thesummer solstice. Not one could escape the general chastisement, for by Divinedispensation none was absent from home at the time, so that none could fail tosee the chastisement.[237]

The angels in heaven learnt what was happening on earth. When they were aboutto begin their song of praise to God, He silenced them with the words, "Mychildren on earth are singing now," and the celestial hosts had to stop andlisten to the song of Israel.[238]

Great as the joy of the Hebrews was at their deliverance from the Egyptianbondage, it was exceeded by that of Pharaoh's people at seeing their slavesdepart, for with them went the dread of death that had obsessed them. They werelike the portly gentleman riding an ass. The rider feels uncomfortable andlongs for the moment of alighting, but his longing cannot compare in intensitywith that of the ass groaning under the corpulent burden, and when theirjourney's end is reached, the ass rejoices more than his master. So theEgyptians were happier to be rid of the Hebrews than these were to befree.[239]

In general, the Israelites were not in a joyous mood. The strength of men isreadily exhausted, mentally and physically, by the strain of a sudden changefrom slavery to freedom. They did not recover vigor and force until they heardthe angel hosts sing songs of praise and joy over the redemption of Israel andthe redemption of the Shekinah, for so long as the chosen people is in exile,the Shekinah, who dwells among Israel, is also, as it were, in exile. At thesame time, God caused the earth to exhale and send aloft a healing fragrance,which cured them of all their diseases.[240]

The exodus of the Israelites began at Raamses, and although the distance fromthere to the city of Mizraim, where Moses abode, was a forty days' journey, yetthey heard the voice of their leader urging them to leave the land. Theycovered the distance from Raamses to Succoth, a three days' march, in aninstant. In Succoth God enveloped them in seven clouds of glory, four hoveringin front, behind, and at the two sides of them, one suspended above them, tokeep off rain, hail, and the rays of the sun, and one under them to protectthem against thorns and snakes. The seventh cloud preceded them, and preparedthe way for them, exalting the valleys and making low every mountain andhill.[241] Thus they wandered through the wilderness for forty years. In allthat time no artificial lighting was needed; a beam from the celestial cloudfollowed them into the darkest of chambers, and if one of the people had to gooutside of the camp, even thither he was accompanied by a fold of the cloud,covering and protecting him.[242] Only, that a difference might be made betweenday and night, a pillar of fire took the place of the cloud in theevening.[243] Never for an instant were the people without the one or the otherto guide them: the pillar of fire glowed in front of them before the pillar ofcloud retired, and in the morning the cloud was there before the firevanished.[244] The clouds of glory and the pillar of fire were sent for theprotection of Israel alone, for none beside, not for the heathen and not forthe mixed multitude that went up with them; these had to walk outside of thecloud enclosure.[245]

The cavalcade consisted of six hundred thousand heads of families afoot, eachaccompanied by five children on horseback, and to these must be added the mixedmultitude, exceeding the Hebrews vastly in number.[246]

So profound was Israel's trust in the Lord, that they followed Mosesunmurmuringly into the wilderness, without supplying themselves withprovisions.[247] The only edibles they took were the remains of the unleavenedbread and the bitter herbs, and these not to satisfy their hunger, but becausethey were unwilling to separate themselves from what they had prepared lovinglyat the command of God. These possessions were so dear to them that they wouldnot entrust them to the beasts of burden, they carried them on their ownshoulders.[248]

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