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diff --git a/1493-h/1493-h.htm b/1493-h/1493-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c8cbc9a --- /dev/null +++ b/1493-h/1493-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,13357 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Legends of the Jews, Volume 1, by Louis Ginzberg</title> + +<style type="text/css"> + +body { margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%; + text-align: justify; } + +h1, h2, h3, h4, h5 {text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-weight: +normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: .5em; margin-bottom: .5em;} + +h1 {font-size: 300%; + margin-top: 0.6em; + margin-bottom: 0.6em; + letter-spacing: 0.12em; + word-spacing: 0.2em; + text-indent: 0em;} +h2 {font-size: 150%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} +h3 {font-size: 130%; margin-top: 1em;} +h4 {font-size: 120%;} +h5 {font-size: 110%;} + +.no-break {page-break-before: avoid;} /* for epubs */ + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em;} + +hr {width: 80%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;} + +p {text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: 0.25em; + margin-bottom: 0.25em; } + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: 90%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.center {text-align: center; + text-indent: 0em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.right {text-align: right; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + + +a:link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:visited {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:hover {color:red} + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + +<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Legends of the Jews, by Louis Ginzberg</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Legends of the Jews<br /> + Volume 1</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Louis Ginzberg</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Translator: Henrietta Szold</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: October, 1998 [eBook #1493]<br /> +[Most recently updated: February 3, 2022]</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Charles Keller</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS, VOLUME I ***</div> + +<h1>The Legends of the Jews</h1> + +<h2 class="no-break">by Louis Ginzberg</h2> + +<h3>TRANSLATED PROM THE GERMAN MANUSCRIPT BY<br/> +HENRIETTA SZOLD<br/><br/><br/><br/></h3> + +<h4>VOLUME I<br/> +BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS<br/> +FROM THE CREATION TO JACOB</h4> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p class="center"> +To<br/> +MY BROTHER ASHER +</p> + +<hr /> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2>Contents</h2> + +<table summary="" style=""> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#pref01"><b>PREFACE</b></a><br /><br /></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#book01"><b>I. THE CREATION OF THE WORLD</b></a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap01">The First Things Created</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap02">The Alphabet</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap03">The First Day</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap04">The Second Day</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap05">The Third Day</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap06">The Fourth Day</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap07">The Fifth Day</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap08">The Sixth Day</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap09">All Things Praise the Lord.</a><br /><br /></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#book02"><b>II. ADAM</b></a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap10">Man and the World</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap11">The Angels and the Creation of Man</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap12">The Creation of Adam</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap13">The Soul of Man</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap14">The Ideal Man</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap15">The Fall of Satan</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap16">Woman</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap17">Adam and Eve in Paradise</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap18">The Fall of Man</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap19">The Punishment</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap20">Sabbath in Heaven</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap21">Adam's Repentance</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap22">The Book of Raziel</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap23">The Sickness of Adam</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap24">Eve's Story of the Fall</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap25">The Death of Adam</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap26">The Death of Eve.</a><br /><br /></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#book03"><b>III. THE TEN GENERATIONS</b></a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap27">The Birth of Cain</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap28">Fratricide</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap29">The Punishment of Cain</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap30">The Inhabitants of the Seven Earths</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap31">The Descendants of Cain</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap32">The Descendants of Adam and Lilith</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap33">Seth and His Descendants</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap34">Enosh</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap35">The Fall of the Angels</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap36">Enoch, Ruler and Teacher</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap37">The Ascension of Enoch</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap38">The Translation of Enoch</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap39">Methuselah.</a><br /><br /></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#book04"><b>IV. NOAH</b></a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap40">The Birth of Noah</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap41">The Punishment of the Fallen Angels</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap42">The Generation of the Deluge</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap43">The Holy Book</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap44">The Inmates of the Ark</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap45">The Flood</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap46">Noah Leaves the Ark</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap47">The Curse of Drunkenness</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap48">Noah's Descendants Spread Abroad</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap49">The Depravity of Mankind</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap50">Nimrod</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap51">The Tower of Babel.</a><br /><br /></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#book05"><b>V. ABRAHAM</b></a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap52">The Wicked Generations</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap53">The Birth of Abraham</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap54">The Babe Proclaims God</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap55">Abraham's First Appearance in Public</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap56">The Preacher of the True Faith</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap57">In the Fiery Furnace</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap58">Abraham Emigrates to Haran</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap59">The Star in the East</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap60">The True Believer</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap61">The Iconoclast</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap62">Abraham in Canaan</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap63">His Sojourn in Egypt</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap64">The First Pharaoh</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap65">The War of the Kings</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap66">The Covenant of the Pieces</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap67">The Birth of Ishmael</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap68">The Visit of the Angels</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap69">The Cities of Sin</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap70">Abraham Pleads for the Sinners</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap71">The Destruction of the Sinful Cities</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap72">Among the Philistines</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap73">The Birth of Isaac</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap74">Ishmael Cast Off</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap75">The Two Wives of Ishmael</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap76">The Covenant with Abimelech</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap77">Satan Accuses Abraham</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap78">The Journey to Moriah</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap79">The Akedah</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap80">The Death and Burial of Sarah</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap81">Eliezer's Mission</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap82">The Wooing of Rebekah</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap83">The Last Years of Abraham</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap84">A Herald of Death</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap85">Abraham Views Earth and Heaven</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap86">The Patron of Hebron.</a><br /><br /></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#book06"><b>VI. JACOB</b></a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap87">The Birth of Esau and Jacob</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap88">The Favorite of Abraham</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap89">The Sale of the Birthright</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap90">Isaac with the Philistines</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap91">Isaac Blesses Jacob</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap92">Esau's True Character Revealed</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap93">Jacob Leaves His Father's House</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap94">Jacob Pursued by Eliphaz and Esau</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap95">The Day of Miracles</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap96">Jacob with Laban</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap97">The Marriage of Jacob</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap98">The Birth of Jacob's Children</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap99">Jacob Flees before Laban</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap100">The Covenant with Laban</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap101">Jacob and Esau Prepare to Meet</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap102">Jacob Wrestles with the Angel</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap103">The Meeting between Esau and Jacob</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap104">The Outrage at Shechem</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap105">A War Frustrated</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap106">The War with the Ninevites</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap107">The War with the Amorites</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap108">Isaac Blesses Levi and Judah</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap109">Joy and Sorrow in the House of Jacob</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap110">Esau's Campaign against Jacob</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap111">The Descendants of Esau.</a></td> +</tr> + +</table> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="pref01"></a>PREFACE</h2> + +<p class="poem"> +Was sich nie und nirgends hat begeben, das allein veraltet nie. +</p> + +<p> +The term Rabbinic was applied to the Jewish Literature of post-Biblical times +by those who conceived the Judaism of the later epoch to be something different +from the Judaism of the Bible, something actually opposed to it. Such observers +held that the Jewish nation ceased to exist with the moment when its political +independence was destroyed. For them the Judaism of the later epoch has been a +Judaism of the Synagogue, the spokesmen of which have been the scholars, the +Rabbis. And what this phase of Judaism brought forth has been considered by +them to be the product of the schools rather than the product of practical, +pulsating life. Poetic phantasmagoria, frequently the vaporings of morbid +visionaries, is the material out of which these scholars construct the +theologic system of the Rabbis, and fairy tales, the spontaneous creations of +the people, which take the form of sacred legend in Jewish literature, are +denominated the Scriptural exegesis of the Rabbis, and condemned incontinently +as nugae rabbinorum. +</p> + +<p> +As the name of a man clings to him, so men cling to names. For the primitive +savage the name is part of the essence of a person or thing, and even in the +more advanced stages of culture, judgments are not always formed in agreement +with facts as they are, but rather according to the names by which they are +called. The current estimate of Rabbinic Literature is a case in point. With +the label Rabbinic later ages inherited from former ages a certain distorted +view of the literature so designated. To this day, and even among scholars that +approach its investigation with unprejudiced minds, the opinion prevails that +it is purely a learned product. And yet the truth is that the most prominent +feature of Rabbinic Literature is its popular character. +</p> + +<p> +The school and the home are not mutually opposed to each other in the +conception of the Jews. They study in their homes, and they live in their +schools. Likewise there is no distinct class of scholars among them, a class +that withdraws itself from participation in the affairs of practical life. Even +in the domain of the Halakah, the Rabbis were not so much occupied with +theoretic principles of law as with the concrete phenomena of daily existence. +These they sought to grasp and shape. And what is true of the Halakah is true +with greater emphasis of the Haggadah, which is popular in the double sense of +appealing to the people and being produced in the main by the people. To speak +of the Haggadah of the Tannaim and Amoraim is as far from fact as to speak of +the legends of Shakespeare and Scott. The ancient authors and their modern +brethren of the guild alike elaborate legendary material which they found at +hand. +</p> + +<p> +It has been held by some that the Haggadah contains no popular legends, that it +is wholly a factitious, academic product. A cursory glance at the +pseudepigraphic literature of the Jews, which is older than the Haggadah +literature by several centuries, shows how untenable this view is. That the one +literature should have drawn from the other is precluded by historical facts. +At a very early time the Synagogue disavowed the pseudepigraphic literature, +which was the favorite reading matter of the sectaries and the Christians. +Nevertheless the inner relation between them is of the closest kind. The only +essential difference is that the Midrashic form prevails in the Haggadah, and +the parenetic or apocalyptic form in the pseudepigrapha. The common element +must therefore depart from the Midrash on the one hand and from parenesis on +the other. +</p> + +<p> +Folklore, fairy tales, legends, and all forms of story telling akin to these +are comprehended, in the terminology of the post-Biblical literature of the +Jews, under the inclusive description Haggadah, a name that can be explained by +a circumlocution, but cannot be translated. Whatever it is applied to is +thereby characterized first as being derived from the Holy Scriptures, and then +as being of the nature of a story. And, in point of fact, this dualism sums up +the distinguishing features of Jewish Legend. More than eighteen centuries ago +the Jewish historian Josephus observed that "though we be deprived of our +wealth, of our cities, or of the other advantages we have, our law continues +immortal." The word he meant to use was not law, but Torah, only he could not +find an equivalent for it in Greek. A singer of the Synagogue a thousand years +after Josephus, who expressed his sentiments in Hebrew, uttered the same +thought: "The Holy City and all her daughter cities are violated, they lie in +ruins, despoiled of their ornaments, their splendor darkened from sight. Naught +is left to us save one eternal treasure alone—the Holy Torah." The sadder the +life of the Jewish people, the more it felt the need of taking refuge in its +past. The Scripture, or, to use the Jewish term, the Torah, was the only +remnant of its former national independence, and the Torah was the magic means +of making a sordid actuality recede before a glorious memory. To the Scripture +was assigned the task of supplying nourishment to the mind as well as the soul, +to the intellect as well as the imagination, and the result is the Halakah and +the Haggadah. +</p> + +<p> +The fancy of the people did not die out in the post-Biblical time, but the bent +of its activity was determined by the past. +</p> + +<p> +Men craved entertainment in later times as well as in the earlier, only instead +of resorting for its subject-matter to what happened under their eyes, they +drew from the fountain-head of the past. The events in the ancient history of +Israel, which was not only studied, but lived over again daily, stimulated the +desire to criticize it. The religious reflections upon nature laid down in the +myths of the people, the fairy tales, which have the sole object of pleasing, +and the legends, which are the people's verdict upon history—all these were +welded into one product. The fancy of the Jewish people was engaged by the past +reflected in the Bible, and all its creations wear a Biblical hue for this +reason. This explains the peculiar form of the Haggadah. +</p> + +<p> +But what is spontaneously brought forth by the people is often preserved only +in the form impressed upon it by the feeling and the thought of the poet, or by +the speculations of the learned. Also Jewish legends have rarely been +transmitted in their original shape. They have been perpetuated in the form of +Midrash, that is, Scriptural exegesis. The teachers of the Haggadah, called +Rabbanan d'Aggadta in the Talmud, were no folklorists, from whom a faithful +reproduction of legendary material may be expected. Primarily they were +homilists, who used legends for didactic purposes, and their main object was to +establish a close connection between the Scripture and the creations of the +popular fancy, to give the latter a firm basis and secure a long term of life +for them. +</p> + +<p> +One of the most important tasks of the modern investigation of the Haggadah is +to make a clean separation between the original elements and the later learned +additions. Hardly a beginning has been made in this direction. But as long as +the task of distinguishing them has not been accomplished, it is impossible to +write out the Biblical legends of the Jews without including the supplemental +work of scholars in the products of the popular fancy. +</p> + +<p> +In the present work, "The Legends of the Jews," I have made the first attempt +to gather from the original sources all Jewish legends, in so far as they refer +to Biblical personages and events, and reproduce them with the greatest +attainable completeness and accuracy. I use the expression Jewish, rather than +Rabbinic, because the sources from which I have levied contributions are not +limited to the Rabbinic literature. As I expect to take occasion elsewhere to +enter into a description of the sources in detail, the following data must +suffice for the present. +</p> + +<p> +The works of the Talmudic Midrashic literature are of the first importance. +Covering the period from the second to the fourteenth century, they contain the +major part of the Jewish legendary material. Akin to this in content if not +always in form is that derived from the Targumim, of which the oldest versions +were produced not earlier than the fourth century, and the most recent not +later than the tenth. The Midrashic literature has been preserved only in +fragmentary form. Many Haggadot not found in our existing collections are +quoted by the authors of the Middle Ages. Accordingly, a not inconsiderable +number of the legends here printed are taken from medieval Bible commentators +and homilists. I was fortunate in being able to avail myself also of fragments +of Midrashim of which only manuscript copies are extant. +</p> + +<p> +The works of the older Kabbalah are likewise treasuries of quotations from lost +Midrashim, and it was among the Kabbalists, and later among the Hasidim, that +new legends arose. The literatures produced in these two circles are therefore +of great importance for the present purpose. +</p> + +<p> +Furthermore, Jewish legends can be culled not from the writings of the +Synagogue alone; they appear also in those of the Church. Certain Jewish works +repudiated by the Synagogue were accepted and mothered by the Church. This is +the literature usually denominated apocryphal-pseudepigraphic. From the point +of view of legends, the apocryphal books are of subordinate importance, while +the pseudepigrapha are of fundamental value. Even quantitatively the latter are +an imposing mass. Besides the Greek writings of the Hellenist Jews, they +contain Latin, Syrian, Ethiopic, Aramean, Arabic, Persian, and Old Slavic +products translated directly or indirectly from Jewish works of Palestinian or +Hellenistic origin. The use of these pseudepigrapha requires great caution. +Nearly all of them are embellished with Christian interpolations, and in some +cases the inserted portions have choked the original form so completely that it +is impossible to determine at first sight whether a Jewish or a Christian +legend is under examination. I believe, however, that the pseudepigraphic +material made use of by me is Jewish beyond the cavil of a doubt, and therefore +it could not have been left out of account in a work like the present. +</p> + +<p> +However, in the appreciation of Jewish Legends, it is the Rabbinic writers that +should form the point of departure, and not the pseudepigrapha. The former +represent the main stream of Jewish thought and feeling, the latter only an +undercurrent. If the Synagogue cast out the pseudepigrapha, and the Church +adopted them with a great show of favor, these respective attitudes were not +determined arbitrarily or by chance. The pseudepigrapha originated in circles +that harbored the germs from which Christianity developed later on. The Church +could thus appropriate them as her own with just reason. +</p> + +<p> +In the use of some of the apocryphal and pseudepigraphic writings, I found it +expedient to quote the English translations of them made by others, in so far +as they could be brought into accord with the general style of the book, for +which purpose I permitted myself the liberty of slight verbal changes. In +particulars, I was guided, naturally, by my own conception of the subject, +which the Notes justify in detail. +</p> + +<p> +Besides the pseudepigrapha there are other Jewish sources in Christian garb. In +the rich literature of the Church Fathers many a Jewish legend lies embalmed +which one would seek in vain in Jewish books. It was therefore my special +concern to use the writings of the Fathers to the utmost. +</p> + +<p> +The luxuriant abundance of the material to be presented made it impossible to +give a verbal rendition of each legend. This would have required more than +three times the space at my disposal. I can therefore claim completeness for my +work only as to content. In form it had to suffer curtailment. When several +conflicting versions of the same legend existed, I gave only one in the text, +reserving the other one, or the several others, for the Notes, or, when +practicable, they were fused into one typical legend, the component parts of +which are analyzed in the Notes. In other instances I resorted to the expedient +of citing one version in one place and the others in other appropriate places, +in furtherance of my aim, to give a smooth presentation of the matter, with as +few interruptions to the course of the narrative as possible. For this reason I +avoided such transitional phrases as "Some say," "It has been maintained," etc. +That my method sometimes separates things that belong together cannot be +considered a grave disadvantage, as the Index at the end of the work will +present a logical rearrangement of the material for the benefit of the +interested student. I also did not hesitate to treat of the same personage in +different chapters, as, for instance, many of the legends bearing upon Jacob, +those connected with the latter years of the Patriarch, do not appear in the +chapter bearing his name, but will be found in the sections devoted to Joseph, +for the reason that once the son steps upon the scene, he becomes the central +figure, to which the life and deeds of the father are subordinated. Again, in +consideration of lack of space the Biblical narratives underlying the legends +had to be omitted—surely not a serious omission in a subject with which +widespread acquaintance may be presupposed as a matter of course. +</p> + +<p> +As a third consequence of the amplitude of the material, it was thought +advisable to divide it into several volumes. The references, the explanations +of the sources used, and the interpretations given, and, especially, numerous +emendations of the text of the Midrashim and the pseudepigrapha, which +determined my conception of the passages so emended, will be found in the last +volume, the fourth, which will contain also an Introduction to the History of +Jewish Legends, a number of Excursuses, and the Index. +</p> + +<p> +As the first three volumes are in the hands of the printer almost in their +entirety, I venture to express the hope that the whole work will appear within +measurable time, the parts following each other at short intervals. +</p> + +<p class="right"> +LOUIS GINZBERG. +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +NEW YORK, March 24, 1909 +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="book01"></a>I<br/> +THE CREATION OF THE WORLD</h2> + +<h3><a name="chap01"></a>THE FIRST THINGS CREATED</h3> + +<p> +In the beginning, two thousand years before the heaven and the earth, seven +things were created: the Torah written with black fire on white fire, and lying +in the lap of God; the Divine Throne, erected in the heaven which later was +over the heads of the Hayyot; Paradise on the right side of God, Hell on the +left side; the Celestial Sanctuary directly in front of God, having a jewel on +its altar graven with the Name of the Messiah, and a Voice that cries aloud, +"Return, ye children of men."[1] +</p> + +<p> +When God resolved upon the creation of the world, He took counsel with the +Torah.[2] Her advice was this: "O Lord, a king without an army and without +courtiers and attendants hardly deserves the name of king, for none is nigh to +express the homage due to him." The answer pleased God exceedingly. Thus did He +teach all earthly kings, by His Divine example, to undertake naught without +first consulting advisers.[3] +</p> + +<p> +The advice of the Torah was given with some reservations. She was skeptical +about the value of an earthly world, on account of the sinfulness of men, who +would be sure to disregard her precepts. But God dispelled her doubts. He told +her, that repentance had been created long before, and sinners would have the +opportunity of mending their ways. Besides, the Temple service would be +invested with atoning power, and Paradise and hell were intended to do duty as +reward and punishment. Finally, the Messiah was appointed to bring salvation, +which would put an end to all sinfulness.[4] +</p> + +<p> +Nor is this world inhabited by man the first of things earthly created by God. +He made several worlds before ours, but He destroyed them all, because He was +pleased with none until He created ours.[5] But even this last world would have +had no permanence, if God had executed His original plan of ruling it according +to the principle of strict justice. It was only when He saw that justice by +itself would undermine the world that He associated mercy with justice, and +made them to rule jointly.[6] Thus, from the beginning of all things prevailed +Divine goodness, without which nothing could have continued to exist. If not +for it, the myriads of evil spirits had soon put an end to the generations of +men. But the goodness of God has ordained, that in every Nisan, at the time of +the spring equinox, the seraphim shall approach the world of spirits, and +intimidate them so that they fear to do harm to men. Again, if God in His +goodness had not given protection to the weak, the tame animals would have been +extirpated long ago by the wild animals. In Tammuz, at the time of the summer +solstice, when the strength of behemot is at its height, he roars so loud that +all the animals hear it, and for a whole year they are affrighted and timid, +and their acts become less ferocious than their nature is. Again, in Tishri, at +the time of the autumnal equinox, the great bird ziz[7] flaps his wings and +utters his cry, so that the birds of prey, the eagles and the vultures, blench, +and they fear to swoop down upon the others and annihilate them in their greed. +And, again, were it not for the goodness of God, the vast number of big fish +had quickly put an end to the little ones. But at the time of the winter +solstice, in the month of Tebet, the sea grows restless, for then leviathan +spouts up water, and the big fish become uneasy. They restrain their appetite, +and the little ones escape their rapacity. +</p> + +<p> +Finally, the goodness of God manifests itself in the preservation of His people +Israel. It could not have survived the enmity of the Gentiles, if God had not +appointed protectors for it, the archangels Michael and Gabriel.[8] Whenever +Israel disobeys God, and is accused of misdemeanors by the angels of the other +nations, he is defended by his designated guardians, with such good result that +the other angels conceive fear of them. Once the angels of the other nations +are terrified, the nations themselves venture not to carry out their wicked +designs against Israel. +</p> + +<p> +That the goodness of God may rule on earth as in heaven, the Angels of +Destruction are assigned a place at the far end of the heavens, from which they +may never stir, while the Angels of Mercy encircle the Throne of God, at His +behest.[9] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap02"></a>THE ALPHABET</h3> + +<p> +When God was about to create the world by His word, the twenty-two letters of +the alphabet[10] descended from the terrible and august crown of God whereon +they were engraved with a pen of flaming fire. They stood round about God, and +one after the other spake and entreated, "Create the world through me!" The +first to step forward was the letter Taw. It said: "O Lord of the world! May it +be Thy will to create Thy world through me, seeing that it is through me that +Thou wilt give the Torah to Israel by the hand of Moses, as it is written, +'Moses commanded us the Torah.'" The Holy One, blessed be He, made reply, and +said, "No!" Taw asked, "Why not?" and God answered: "Because in days to come I +shall place thee as a sign of death upon the foreheads of men." As soon as Taw +heard these words issue from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, it +retired from His presence disappointed. +</p> + +<p> +The Shin then stepped forward, and pleaded: "O Lord of the world, create Thy +world through me: seeing that Thine own name Shaddai begins with me." +Unfortunately, it is also the first letter of Shaw, lie, and of Sheker, +falsehood, and that incapacitated it. Resh had no better luck. It was pointed +out that it was the initial letter of Ra', wicked, and Rasha' evil, and after +that the distinction it enjoys of being the first letter in the Name of God, +Rahum, the Merciful, counted for naught. The Kof was rejected, because Kelalah, +curse, outweighs the advantage of being the first in Kadosh, the Holy One. In +vain did Zadde call attention to Zaddik, the Righteous One; there was Zarot, +the misfortunes of Israel, to testify against it. Pe had Podeh, redeemer, to +its credit, but Pesha: transgression, reflected dishonor upon it. 'Ain was +declared unfit, because, though it begins 'Anawah, humility, it performs the +same service for 'Erwah, immorality. Samek said: "O Lord, may it be Thy will to +begin the creation with me, for Thou art called Samek, after me, the Upholder +of all that fall." But God said: "Thou art needed in the place in which thou +art;[11] thou must continue to uphold all that fall." Nun introduces Ner, "the +lamp of the Lord," which is "the spirit of men," but it also introduces Ner, +"the lamp of the wicked," which will be put out by God. Mem starts Melek, king, +one of the titles of God. As it is the first letter of Mehumah, confusion, as +well, it had no chance of accomplishing its desire. The claim of Lamed bore its +refutation within itself. It advanced the argument that it was the first letter +of Luhot, the celestial tables for the Ten Commandments; it forgot that the +tables were shivered in pieces by Moses. Kaf was sure of victory Kisseh, the +throne of God, Kabod, His honor, and Keter, His crown, all begin with it. God +had to remind it that He would smite together His hands, Kaf, in despair over +the misfortunes of Israel. Yod at first sight seemed the appropriate letter for +the beginning of creation, on account of its association with Yah, God, if only +Yezer ha-Ra' the evil inclination, had not happened to begin with it, too. Tet +is identified with Tob, the good. However, the truly good is not in this world; +it belongs to the world to come. Het is the first letter of Hanun, the Gracious +One; but this advantage is offset by its place in the word for sin, Hattat. +Zain suggests Zakor, remembrance, but it is itself the word for weapon, the +doer of mischief. Waw and He compose the Ineffable Name of God; they are +therefore too exalted to be pressed into the service of the mundane world. If +Dalet had stood only for Dabar, the Divine Word, it would have been used, but +it stands also for Din, justice, and under the rule of law without love the +world would have fallen to ruin. Finally, in spite of reminding one of Gadol, +great, Gimel would not do, because Gemul, retribution, starts with it. +</p> + +<p> +After the claims of all these letters had been disposed of, Bet stepped before +the Holy One, blessed be He, and pleaded before Him: "O Lord of the world! May +it be Thy will to create Thy world through me, seeing that all the dwellers in +the world give praise daily unto Thee through me, as it is said, 'Blessed be +the Lord forever. Amen, and Amen.'" The Holy One, blessed be He, at once +granted the petition of Bet. He said, "Blessed be he that cometh in the name of +the Lord." And He created His world through Bet, as it is said, "Bereshit God +created the heaven and the earth." The only letter that had refrained from +urging its claims was the modest Alef, and God rewarded it later for its +humility by giving it the first place in the Decalogue.[12] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap03"></a>THE FIRST DAY</h3> + +<p> +On the first day of creation God produced ten things:[13] the heavens and the +earth, Tohu and Bohu, light and darkness, wind and water, the duration of the +day[14] and the duration of the night.[15] +</p> + +<p> +Though the heavens and the earth consist of entirely different elements,[16] +they were yet created as a unit, "like the pot and its cover."[17] The heavens +were fashioned from the light of God's garment, and the earth from the snow +under the Divine Throne.[18] Tohu is a green band which encompasses the whole +world, and dispenses darkness, and Bohu consists of stones in the abyss, the +producers of the waters. The light created at the very beginning is not the +same as the light emitted by the sun, the moon, and the stars, which appeared +only on the fourth day. The light of the first day was of a sort that would +have enabled man to see the world at a glance from one end to the other. +Anticipating the wickedness of the sinful generations of the deluge and the +Tower of Babel, who were unworthy to enjoy the blessing of such light, God +concealed it, but in the world to come it will appear to the pious in all its +pristine glory.[19] +</p> + +<p> +Several heavens were created,[20] seven in fact,[21] each to serve a purpose of +its own. The first, the one visible to man, has no function except that of +covering up the light during the night time; therefore it disappears every +morning. The planets are fastened to the second of the heavens; in the third +the manna is made for the pious in the hereafter; the fourth contains the +celestial Jerusalem together with the Temple, in which Michael ministers as +high priest, and offers the souls of the pious as sacrifices. In the fifth +heaven, the angel hosts reside, and sing the praise of God, though only during +the night, for by day it is the task of Israel on earth to give glory to God on +high. The sixth heaven is an uncanny spot; there originate most of the trials +and visitations ordained for the earth and its inhabitants. Snow lies heaped up +there and hail; there are lofts full of noxious dew, magazines stocked with +storms, and cellars holding reserves of smoke. Doors of fire separate these +celestial chambers, which are under the supervision of the archangel Metatron. +Their pernicious contents defiled the heavens until David's time. The pious +king prayed God to purge His exalted dwelling of whatever was pregnant with +evil; it was not becoming that such things should exist near the Merciful One. +Only then they were removed to the earth. +</p> + +<p> +The seventh heaven, on the other hand, contains naught but what is good and +beautiful: right, justice, and mercy, the storehouses of life, peace, and +blessing, the souls of the pious, the souls and spirits of unborn generations, +the dew with which God will revive the dead on the resurrection day, and, above +all, the Divine Throne, surrounded by the seraphim, the ofanim, the holy +Hayyot, and the ministering angels.[22] +</p> + +<p> +Corresponding to the seven heavens, God created seven earths, each separated +from the next by five layers. Over the lowest earth, the seventh, called Erez, +lie in succession the abyss, the Tohu, the Bohu, a sea, and waters.[23] Then +the sixth[24] earth is reached, the Adamah, the scene of the magnificence of +God. In the same way the Adamah is separated from the fifth earth, the Arka, +which contains Gehenna, and Sha'are Mawet, and Sha'are Zalmawet, and Beer +Shahat, and Tit ha-Yawen, and Abaddon, and Sheol,[25] and there the souls of +the wicked are guarded by the Angels of Destruction. In the same way Arka is +followed by Harabah, the dry, the place of brooks and streams in spite of its +name, as the next, called Yabbashah, the mainland, contains the rivers and the +springs. Tebel, the second earth, is the first mainland inhabited by living +creatures, three hundred and sixty-five species,[26] all essentially different +from those of our own earth. Some have human heads set on the body of a lion, +or a serpent, or an ox; others have human bodies topped by the head of one of +these animals. Besides, Tebel is inhabited by human beings with two heads and +four hands and feet, in fact with all their organs doubled excepting only the +trunk.[27] It happens sometimes that the parts of these double persons quarrel +with each other, especially while eating and drinking, when each claims the +best and largest portions for himself. This species of mankind is distinguished +for great piety, another difference between it and the inhabitants of our +earth. +</p> + +<p> +Our own earth is called Heled, and, like the others, it is separated from the +Tebel by an abyss, the Tohu, the Bohu, a sea, and waters. +</p> + +<p> +Thus one earth rises above the other, from the first to the seventh, and over +the seventh earth the heavens are vaulted, from the first to the seventh, the +last of them attached to the arm of God. The seven heavens form a unity, the +seven kinds of earth form a unity, and the heavens and the earth together also +form a unity.[28] +</p> + +<p> +When God made our present heavens and our present earth, "the new heavens and +the new earth"[29] were also brought forth, yea, and the hundred and ninety-six +thousand worlds which God created unto His Own glory.[30] +</p> + +<p> +It takes five hundred years to walk from the earth to the heavens, and from one +end of a heaven to the other, and also from one heaven to the next,[31] and it +takes the same length of time to travel from the east to the west, or from the +south to the north.[32] Of all this vast world only one-third is inhabited, the +other two-thirds being equally divided between water and waste desert land. +</p> + +<p> +Beyond the inhabited parts to the east is Paradise[33] with its seven +divisions, each assigned to the pious of a certain degree. The ocean is +situated to the west, and it is dotted with islands upon islands, inhabited by +many different peoples. Beyond it, in turn, are the boundless steppes full of +serpents and scorpions, and destitute of every sort of vegetation, whether +herbs or trees. To the north are the supplies of hell-fire, of snow, hail, +smoke, ice, darkness, and windstorms, and in that vicinity sojourn all sorts of +devils, demons, and malign spirits. Their dwelling-place is a great stretch of +land, it would take five hundred years to traverse it. Beyond lies hell. To the +south is the chamber containing reserves of fire, the cave of smoke, and the +forge of blasts and hurricanes.[34] Thus it comes that the wind blowing from +the south brings heat and sultriness to the earth. Were it not for the angel +Ben Nez, the Winged, who keeps the south wind back with his pinions, the world +would be consumed.[35] Besides, the fury of its blast is tempered by the north +wind, which always appears as moderator, whatever other wind may be +blowing.[36] +</p> + +<p> +In the east, the west, and the south, heaven and earth touch each other, but +the north God left unfinished, that any man who announced himself as a god +might be set the task of supplying the deficiency, and stand convicted as a +pretender.[37] +</p> + +<p> +The construction of the earth was begun at the centre, with the foundation +stone of the Temple, the Eben Shetiyah,[38] for the Holy Land is at the central +point of the surface of the earth, Jerusalem is at the central point of +Palestine, and the Temple is situated at the centre of the Holy City. In the +sanctuary itself the Hekal is the centre, and the holy Ark occupies the centre +of the Hekal, built on the foundation stone, which thus is at the centre of the +earth.[39] Thence issued the first ray of light, piercing to the Holy Land, and +from there illuminating the whole earth.[40] The creation of the world, +however, could not take place until God had banished the ruler of the dark.[41] +"Retire," God said to him, "for I desire to create the world by means of +light." Only after the light had been fashioned, darkness arose, the light +ruling in the sky, the darkness on the earth.[42] The power of God displayed +itself not only in the creation of the world of things, but equally in the +limitations which He imposed upon each. The heavens and the earth stretched +themselves out in length and breadth as though they aspired to infinitude, and +it required the word of God to call a halt to their encroachments.[43] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap04"></a>THE SECOND DAY</h3> + +<p> +On the second day God brought forth four creations, the firmament, hell, fire, +and the angels.[44] The firmament is not the same as the heavens of the first +day. It is the crystal stretched forth over the heads of the Hayyot, from which +the heavens derive their light, as the earth derives its light from the sun. +This firmament saves the earth from being engulfed by the waters of the +heavens; it forms the partition between the waters above and the waters +below.[45] It was made to crystallize into the solid it is by the heavenly +fire, which broke its bounds, and condensed the surface of the firmament. Thus +fire made a division between the celestial and the terrestrial at the time of +creation, as it did at the revelation on Mount Sinai.[46] The firmament is not +more than three fingers thick,[47] nevertheless it divides two such heavy +bodies as the waters below, which are the foundations for the nether world, and +the waters above, which are the foundations for the seven heavens, the Divine +Throne, and the abode of the angels.[48] +</p> + +<p> +The separation of the waters into upper and lower waters was the only act of +the sort done by God in connection with the work of creation.[49] All other +acts were unifying. It therefore caused some difficulties. When God commanded, +"Let the waters be gathered together, unto one place, and let the dry land +appear," certain parts refused to obey. They embraced each other all the more +closely. In His wrath at the waters, God determined to let the whole of +creation resolve itself into chaos again. He summoned the Angel of the Face, +and ordered him to destroy the world. The angel opened his eyes wide, and +scorching fires and thick clouds rolled forth from them, while he cried out, +"He who divides the Red Sea in sunder!"—and the rebellious waters stood. The +all, however, was still in danger of destruction. Then began the singer of +God's praises: "O Lord of the world, in days to come Thy creatures will sing +praises without end to Thee, they will bless Thee boundlessly, and they will +glorify Thee without measure. Thou wilt set Abraham apart from all mankind as +Thine own; one of his sons Thou wilt call 'My first-born'; and his descendants +will take the yoke of Thy kingdom upon themselves. In holiness and purity Thou +wilt bestow Thy Torah upon them, with the words, 'I am the Lord your God,' +whereunto they will make answer, 'All that God hath spoken we will do.' And now +I beseech Thee, have pity upon Thy world, destroy it not, for if Thou +destroyest it, who will fulfil Thy will?" God was pacified; He withdrew the +command ordaining the destruction of the world, but the waters He put under the +mountains, to remain there forever.[50] The objection of the lower waters to +division and Separation[51] was not their only reason for rebelling. The waters +had been the first to give praise to God, and when their separation into upper +and lower was decreed, the waters above rejoiced, saying, "Blessed are we who +are privileged to abide near our Creator and near His Holy Throne." Jubilating +thus, they flew upward, and uttered song and praise to the Creator of the +world. Sadness fell upon the waters below. They lamented: "Woe unto us, we have +not been found worthy to dwell in the presence of God, and praise Him together +with our companions." Therefore they attempted to rise upward, until God +repulsed them, and pressed them under the earth.[52] Yet they were not left +unrewarded for their loyalty. Whenever the waters above desire to give praise +to God, they must first seek permission from the waters below.[53] +</p> + +<p> +The second day of creation was an untoward day in more than the one respect +that it introduced a breach where before there had been nothing but unity; for +it was the day that saw also the creation of hell. Therefore God could not say +of this day as of the others, that He "saw that it was good." A division may be +necessary, but it cannot be called good, and hell surely does not deserve the +attribute of good.[54] Hell[55] has seven divisions,[36] one beneath the other. +They are called Sheol, Abaddon, Beer Shahat, Tit ha-Yawen, Sha'are Mawet, +Sha'are Zalmawet: and Gehenna. It requires three hundred years to traverse the +height, or the width, or the depth of each division, and it would take six +thousand three hundred[37] years to go over a tract of land equal in extent to +the seven divisions.[38] +</p> + +<p> +Each of the seven divisions in turn has seven subdivisions, and in each +compartment there are seven rivers of fire and seven of hail. The width of each +is one thousand ells, its depth one thousand, and its length three hundred, and +they flow one from the other, and are supervised by ninety thousand Angels of +Destruction. There are, besides, in every compartment seven thousand caves, in +every cave there are seven thousand crevices, and in every crevice seven +thousand scorpions. Every scorpion has three hundred rings, and in every ring +seven thousand pouches of venom, from which flow seven rivers of deadly poison. +If a man handles it, he immediately bursts, every limb is torn from his body, +his bowels are cleft asunder, and he falls upon his face.[56] There are also +five different kinds of fire in hell. One devours and absorbs, another devours +and does not absorb, while the third absorbs and does not devour, and there is +still another fire, which neither devours nor absorbs, and furthermore a fire +which devours fire. There are coals big as mountains, and coals big as hills, +and coals as large as the Dead Sea, and coals like huge stones, and there are +rivers of pitch and sulphur flowing and seething like live coals.[60] +</p> + +<p> +The third creation of the second day was the angel hosts, both the ministering +angels and the angels of praise. The reason they had not been called into being +on the first day was, lest men believe that the angels assisted God in the +creation of the heavens and the earth.[61] The angels that are fashioned from +fire have forms of fire,[62] but only so long as they remain in heaven. When +they descend to earth, to do the bidding of God here below, either they are +changed into wind, or they assume the guise of men.[63] There are ten ranks or +degrees among the angels.[64] +</p> + +<p> +The most exalted in rank are those surrounding the Divine Throne on all sides, +to the right, to the left, in front, and behind, under the leadership of the +archangels Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael.[65] +</p> + +<p> +All the celestial beings praise God with the words, "Holy, holy, holy, is the +Lord of hosts," but men take precedence of the angels herein. They may not +begin their song of praise until the earthly beings have brought their homage +to God.[66] Especially Israel is preferred to the angels. When they encircle +the Divine Throne in the form of fiery mountains and flaming hills, and attempt +to raise their voices in adoration of the Creator, God silences them with the +words, "Keep quiet until I have heard the songs, praises, prayers, and sweet +melodies of Israel." Accordingly, the ministering angels and all the other +celestial hosts wait until the last tones of Israel's doxologies rising aloft +from earth have died away, and then they proclaim in a loud voice, "Holy, holy, +holy, is the Lord of hosts." When the hour for the glorification of God by the +angels draws nigh, the august Divine herald, the angel Sham'iel, steps to the +windows[67] of the lowest heaven to hearken to the songs, prayers, and praises +that ascend from the synagogues and the houses of learning, and when they are +finished, he announces the end to the angels in all the heavens. The +ministering angels, those who come in contact with the sublunary world,[68] now +repair to their chambers to take their purification bath. They dive into a +stream of fire and flame seven times, and three hundred and sixty-five times +they examine themselves carefully, to make sure that no taint clings to their +bodies.[69] Only then they feel privileged to mount the fiery ladder and join +the angels of the seventh heaven, and surround the throne of God with Hashmal +and all the holy Hayyot. Adorned with millions of fiery crowns, arrayed in +fiery garments, all the angels in unison, in the same words, and with the same +melody, intone songs of praise to God.[70] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap05"></a>THE THIRD DAY</h3> + +<p> +Up to this time the earth was a plain, and wholly covered with water. Scarcely +had the words of God, "Let the waters be gathered together," made themselves +heard, when mountains appeared all over and hills,[71] and the water collected +in the deep-lying basins. But the water was recalcitrant, it resisted the order +to occupy the lowly spots, and threatened to overflow the earth, until God +forced it back into the sea, and encircled the sea with sand. Now, whenever the +water is tempted to transgress its bounds, it beholds the sand, and +recoils.[72] +</p> + +<p> +The waters did but imitate their chief Rahab, the Angel of the Sea, who +rebelled at the creation of the world. God had commanded Rahab to take in the +water. But he refused, saying, "I have enough." The punishment for his +disobedience was death. His body rests in the depths of the sea, the water +dispelling the foul odor that emanates from it.[73] +</p> + +<p> +The main creation of the third day was the realm of plants, the terrestrial +plants as well as the plants of Paradise. First of all the cedars of Lebanon +and the other great trees were made. In their pride at having been put first, +they shot up high in the air. They considered themselves the favored among +plants. Then God spake, "I hate arrogance and pride, for I alone am exalted, +and none beside," and He created the iron on the same day, the substance with +which trees are felled down. The trees began to weep, and when God asked the +reason of their tears, they said: "We cry because Thou hast created the iron to +uproot us therewith. All the while we had thought ourselves the highest of the +earth, and now the iron, our destroyer, has been called into existence." God +replied: "You yourselves will furnish the axe with a handle. Without your +assistance the iron will not be able to do aught against you."[74] +</p> + +<p> +The command to bear seed after their kind was given to the trees alone. But the +various sorts of grass reasoned, that if God had not desired divisions +according to classes, He would not have instructed the trees to bear fruit +after their kind with the seed thereof in it, especially as trees are inclined +of their own accord to divide themselves into species. The grasses therefore +reproduced themselves also after their kinds. This prompted the exclamation of +the Prince of the World, "Let the glory of the Lord endure forever; let the +Lord rejoice in His works."[75] +</p> + +<p> +The most important work done on the third day was the creation of Paradise. Two +gates of carbuncle form the entrance to Paradise,[76] and sixty myriads of +ministering angels keep watch over them. Each of these angels shines with the +lustre of the heavens. When the just man appears before the gates, the clothes +in which he was buried are taken off him, and the angels array him in seven +garments of clouds of glory, and place upon his head two crowns, one of +precious stones and pearls, the other of gold of Parvaim,[77] and they put +eight myrtles in his hand, and they utter praises before him and say to him, +"Go thy way, and eat thy bread with joy." And they lead him to a place full of +rivers, surrounded by eight hundred kinds of roses and myrtles. Each one has a +canopy according to his merits,[78] and under it flow four rivers, one of milk, +the other of balsam, the third of wine, and the fourth of honey. Every canopy +is overgrown by a vine of gold, and thirty pearls hang from it, each of them +shining like Venus. Under each canopy there is a table of precious stones and +pearls, and sixty angels stand at the head of every just man, saying unto him: +"Go and eat with joy of the honey, for thou hast busied thyself with the Torah, +and she is sweeter than honey, and drink of the wine preserved in the grape +since the six days of creation,[79] for thou hast busied thyself with the +Torah, and she is compared to wine." The least fair of the just is beautiful as +Joseph and Rabbi Johanan, and as the grains of a silver pomegranate upon which +fall the rays of the sun.[80] There is no light, "for the light of the +righteous is the shining light." And they undergo four transformations every +day, passing through four states. In the first the righteous is changed into a +child. He enters the division for children, and tastes the joys of childhood. +Then he is changed into a youth, and enters the division for the youths, with +whom he enjoys the delights of youth. Next he becomes an adult, in the prime of +life, and he enters the division of men, and enjoys the pleasures of manhood. +Finally, he is changed into an old man. He enters the division for the old, and +enjoys the pleasures of age. +</p> + +<p> +There are eighty myriads of trees in every corner of Paradise, the meanest +among them choicer than all the spice trees. In every corner there are sixty +myriads of angels singing with sweet voices, and the tree of life stands in the +middle and shades the whole of Paradise.[81] It has fifteen thousand tastes, +each different from the other, and the perfumes thereof vary likewise. Over it +hang seven clouds of glory, and winds blow upon it from all four sides,[82] so +that its odor is wafted from one end of the world to the other. Underneath sit +the scholars and explain the Torah. Over each of them two canopies are spread, +one of stars, the other of sun and moon, and a curtain of clouds of glory +separates the one canopy from the other.[83] Beyond Paradise begins Eden, +containing three hundred and ten worlds[84] and seven compartments for seven +different classes of the pious. In the first are "the martyr victims of the +government," like Rabbi Akiba and his colleagues;[85] in the second those who +were drowned;[86] in the third[87] Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai and his disciples; +in the fourth those who were carried off in the cloud of glory;[88] in the +fifth the penitents, who occupy a place which even a perfectly pious man cannot +obtain; in the sixth are the youths[89] who have not tasted of sin in their +lives; in the seventh are those poor who studied Bible and Mishnah, and led a +life of self-respecting decency. And God sits in the midst of them and expounds +the Torah to them.[90] +</p> + +<p> +As for the seven divisions of Paradise, each of them is twelve myriads of miles +in width and twelve myriads of miles in length. In the first division dwell the +proselytes who embraced Judaism of their own free will, not from compulsion. +The walls are of glass and the wainscoting of cedar. The prophet Obadiah,[91] +himself a proselyte, is the overseer of this first division. The second +division is built of silver, and the wainscoting thereof is of cedar. Here +dwell those who have repented, and Manasseh, the penitent son of Hezekiah, +presides over them. The third division is built of silver and gold. Here dwell +Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the Israelites who came out of Egypt, and +the whole generation that lived in the desert.[92] Also David is there, +together with all his sons[93] except Absalom, one of them, Chileab, still +alive. And all the kings of Judah are there, with the exception of Manasseh, +the son of Hezekiah, who presides in the second division, over the penitents. +Moses and Aaron preside over the third division. Here are precious vessels of +silver and gold and jewels and canopies and beds and thrones and lamps, of +gold, of precious stones, and of pearls, the best of everything there is in +heaven.[94] The fourth division is built of beautiful rubies,[95] and its +wainscoting is of olive wood. Here dwell the perfect and the steadfast in +faith, and their wainscoting is of olive wood, because their lives were bitter +as olives to them. The fifth division is built of silver and gold and refined +gold,[96] and the finest of gold and glass and bdellium, and through the midst +of it flows the river Gihon. The wainscoting is of silver and gold, and a +perfume breathes through it more exquisite than the perfume of Lebanon. The +coverings of the silver and gold beds are made of purple and blue, woven by +Eve, and of scarlet and the hair of goats, woven by angels. Here dwells the +Messiah on a palanquin made of the wood of Lebanon, "the pillars thereof of +silver, the bottom of gold, the seat of it purple." With him is Elijah. He +takes the head of Messiah, and places it in his bosom, and says to him, "Be +quiet, for the end draweth nigh." On every Monday and Thursday and on Sabbaths +and holidays, the Patriarchs come to him, and the twelve sons of Jacob, and +Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, and all the kings of Israel and of Judah, and +they weep with him and comfort him, and say unto him, "Be quiet and put trust +in thy Creator, for the end draweth nigh." Also Korah and his company, and +Dathan, Abiram, and Absalom come to him on every Wednesday, and ask him: "How +long before the end comes full of wonders? When wilt thou bring us life again, +and from the abysses of the earth lift us?" The Messiah answers them, "Go to +your fathers and ask them"; and when they hear this, they are ashamed, and do +not ask their fathers. +</p> + +<p> +In the sixth division dwell those who died in performing a pious act, and in +the seventh division those who died from illness inflicted as an expiation for +the sins of Israel.[97] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap06"></a>THE FOURTH DAY</h3> + +<p> +The fourth day of creation produced the sun, the moon, and the stars. These +heavenly spheres were not actually fashioned on this day; they were created on +the first day, and merely were assigned their places in the heavens on the +fourth.[98] At first the sun and the moon enjoyed equal powers and +prerogatives.[99] The moon spoke to God, and said: "O Lord, why didst Thou +create the world with the letter Bet?" God replied: "That it might be made +known unto My creatures that there are two worlds." The moon: "O Lord: which of +the two worlds is the larger, this world or the world to come?" God: "The world +to come is the larger." The moon: "O Lord, Thou didst create two worlds, a +greater and a lesser world; Thou didst create the heaven and the earth, the +heaven exceeding the earth; Thou didst create fire and water, the water +stronger than the fire, because it can quench the fire; and now Thou hast +created the sun and the moon, and it is becoming that one of them should be +greater than the other." Then spake God to the moon: "I know well, thou wouldst +have me make Thee greater than the sun. As a punishment I decree that thou +mayest keep but one-sixtieth of thy light." The moon made supplication: "Shall +I be punished so severely for having spoken a single word?" God relented: "In +the future world I will restore thy light, so that thy light may again be as +the light of the sun." The moon was not yet satisfied. "O Lord," she said, "and +the light of the sun, how great will it be in that day?" Then the wrath of God +was once more enkindled: "What, thou still plottest against the sun? As thou +livest, in the world to come his light shall be sevenfold the light he now +sheds."[100] The Sun runs his course like a bridegroom. He sits upon a throne +with a garland on his head.[101] Ninety-six angels accompany him on his daily +journey, in relays of eight every hour, two to the left of him, and two to the +right, two before Him, and two behind. Strong as he is, he could complete his +course from south to north in a single instant, but three hundred and +sixty-five angels restrain him by means of as many grappling-irons. Every day +one looses his hold, and the sun must thus spend three hundred and sixty-five +days on his course. The progress of the sun in his circuit is an uninterrupted +song of praise to God. And this song alone makes his motion possible. +Therefore, when Joshua wanted to bid the sun stand still, he had to command him +to be silent. His song of praise hushed, the sun stood still.[102] +</p> + +<p> +The sun is double-faced; one face, of fire, is directed toward the earth, and +one of hail, toward heaven, to cool off the prodigious heat that streams from +the other face, else the earth would catch afire. In winter the sun turns his +fiery face upward, and thus the cold is produced.[103] When the sun descends in +the west in the evening, he dips down into the ocean and takes a bath, his fire +is extinguished, and therefore he dispenses neither light nor warmth during the +night. But as soon as he reaches the east in the morning, he laves himself in a +stream of flame, which imparts warmth and light to him, and these he sheds over +the earth. In the same way the moon and the stars take a bath in a stream of +hail before they enter upon their service for the night.[104] +</p> + +<p> +When the sun and the moon are ready to start upon their round of duties, they +appear before God, and beseech him to relieve them of their task, so that they +may be spared the sight of sinning mankind. Only upon compulsion they proceed +with their daily course. Coming from the presence of God, they are blinded by +the radiance in the heavens, and they cannot find their way. God, therefore, +shoots off arrows, by the glittering light of which they are guided. It is on +account of the sinfulness of man, which the sun is forced to contemplate on his +rounds, that he grows weaker as the time of his going down approaches, for sins +have a defiling and enfeebling effect, and he drops from the horizon as a +sphere of blood, for blood is the sign of corruption.[105] As the sun sets +forth on his course in the morning, his wings touch the leaves on the trees of +Paradise, and their vibration is communicated to the angels and the holy +Hayyot, to the other plants, and also to the trees and plants on earth, and to +all the beings on earth and in heaven. It is the signal for them all to cast +their eyes upward. As soon as they see the Ineffable Name, which is engraved in +the sun, they raise their voices in songs of praise to God. At the same moment +a heavenly voice is heard to say, "Woe to the sons of men that consider not the +honor of God like unto these creatures whose voices now rise aloft in +adoration."[106] These words, naturally, are not heard by men; as little as +they perceive the grating of the sun against the wheel to which all the +celestial bodies are attached, although the noise it makes is extraordinarily +loud.[107] This friction of the sun and the wheel produces the motes dancing +about in the sunbeams. They are the carriers of healing to the sick,[108] the +only health-giving creations of the fourth day, on the whole an unfortunate +day, especially for children, afflicting them with disease.[109] When God +punished the envious moon by diminishing her light and splendor, so that she +ceased to be the equal of the sun as she had been originally,[110] she +fell,[111] and tiny threads were loosed from her body. These are the +stars.[112] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap07"></a>THE FIFTH DAY</h3> + +<p> +On the fifth day of creation God took fire[118] and water, and out of these two +elements He made the fishes of the sea.[114] The animals in the water are much +more numerous than those on land. For every species on land, excepting only the +weasel, there is a corresponding species in the water, and, besides, there are +many found only in the water.[115] +</p> + +<p> +The ruler over the sea-animals is leviathan.[116] With all the other fishes he +was made on the fifth day.[117] Originally he was created male and female like +all the other animals. But when it appeared that a pair of these monsters might +annihilate the whole earth with their united strength, God killed the +female.[119] So enormous is leviathan that to quench his thirst he needs all +the water that flows from the Jordan into the sea.[119] His food consists of +the fish which go between his jaws of their own accord.[120] When he is hungry, +a hot breath blows from his nostrils, and it makes the waters of the great sea +seething hot. Formidable though behemot, the other monster, is, he feels +insecure until he is certain that leviathan has satisfied his thirst.[121] The +only thing that can keep him in check is the stickleback, a little fish which +was created for the purpose, and of which he stands in great awe.[122] But +leviathan is more than merely large and strong; he is wonderfully made besides. +His fins radiate brilliant light, the very sun is obscured by it,[123] and also +his eyes shed such splendor that frequently the sea is illuminated suddenly by +it.[121] No wonder that this marvellous beast is the plaything of God, in whom +He takes His pastime.[124] +</p> + +<p> +There is but one thing that makes leviathan repulsive, his foul smell: which is +so strong that if it penetrated thither, it would render Paradise itself an +impossible abode.[125] +</p> + +<p> +The real purpose of leviathan is to be served up as a dainty to the pious in +the world to come. The female was put into brine as soon as she was killed, to +be preserved against the time when her flesh will be needed.[126] The male is +destined to offer a delectable sight to all beholders before he is consumed. +When his last hour arrives, God will summon the angels to enter into combat +with the monster. But no sooner will leviathan cast his glance at them than +they will flee in fear and dismay from the field of battle. They will return to +the charge with swords, but in vain, for his scales can turn back steel like +straw. They will be equally unsuccessful when they attempt to kill him by +throwing darts and slinging stones; such missiles will rebound without leaving +the least impression on his body. Disheartened, the angels will give up the +combat, and God will command leviathan and behemot to enter into a duel with +each other. The issue will be that both will drop dead, behemot slaughtered by +a blow of leviathan's fins, and leviathan killed by a lash of behemot's tail. +From the skin of leviathan God will construct tents to shelter companies of the +pious while they enjoy the dishes made of his flesh. The amount assigned to +each of the pious will be in proportion to his deserts, and none will envy or +begrudge the other his better share. What is left of leviathan's skin will be +stretched out over Jerusalem as a canopy, and the light streaming from it will +illumine the whole world, and what is left of his flesh after the pious have +appeased their appetite, will be distributed among the rest of men, to carry on +traffic therewith.[127] +</p> + +<p> +On the same day with the fishes, the birds were created, for these two kinds of +animals are closely related to each other. Fish are fashioned out of water, and +birds out of marshy ground saturated with water.[128] +</p> + +<p> +As leviathan is the king of fishes, so the ziz is appointed to rule over the +birds.[129] His name comes from the variety of tastes his flesh has; it tastes +like this, zeh, and like that, zeh.[130] The ziz is as monstrous of size as +leviathan himself. His ankles rest on the earth, and his head reaches to the +very sky.[121] +</p> + +<p> +It once happened that travellers on a vessel noticed a bird. As he stood in the +water, it merely covered his feet, and his head knocked against the sky. The +onlookers thought the water could not have any depth at that point, and they +prepared to take a bath there. A heavenly voice warned them: "Alight not here! +Once a carpenter's axe slipped from his hand at this spot, and it took it seven +years to touch bottom." The bird the travellers saw was none other than the +ziz.[132] His wings are so huge that unfurled they darken the sun.[133] They +protect the earth against the storms of the south; without their aid the earth +would not be able to resist the winds blowing thence.[134] Once an egg of the +ziz fell to the ground and broke. The fluid from it flooded sixty cities, and +the shock crushed three hundred cedars. Fortunately such accidents do not occur +frequently. As a rule the bird lets her eggs slide gently into her nest. This +one mishap was due to the fact that the egg was rotten, and the bird cast it +away carelessly. The ziz has another name, Renanin,[135] because he is the +celestial singer.[136] On account of his relation to the heavenly regions he is +also called Sekwi, the seer, and, besides, he is called "son of the nest,"[137] +because his fledgling birds break away from the shell without being hatched by +the mother bird; they spring directly from the nest, as it were.[138] Like +leviathan, so ziz is a delicacy to be served to the pious at the end of time, +to compensate them for the privations which abstaining from the unclean fowls +imposed upon them.[139] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap08"></a>THE SIXTH DAY</h3> + +<p> +As the fish were formed out of water, and the birds out of boggy earth well +mixed with water, so the mammals were formed out of solid earth,[140] and as +leviathan is the most notable representative of the fish kind, and ziz of the +bird kind, so behemot is the most notable representative of the mammal kind. +Behemot matches leviathan in strength, and he had to be prevented, like +leviathan, from multiplying and increasing, else the world could not have +continued to exist; after God had created him male and female, He at once +deprived him of the desire to propagate his kind.[141] He is so monstrous that +he requires the produce of a thousand mountains for his daily food. All the +water that flows through the bed of the Jordan in a year suffices him exactly +for one gulp. It therefore was necessary to give him one stream entirely for +his own use, a stream flowing forth from Paradise, called Yubal.[142] Behemot, +too, is destined to be served to the pious as an appetizing dainty, but before +they enjoy his flesh, they will be permitted to view the mortal combat between +leviathan and behemot, as a reward for having denied themselves the pleasures +of the circus and its gladiatorial contests.[143] +</p> + +<p> +Leviathan, ziz, and behemot are not the only monsters; there are many others, +and marvellous ones, like the reem, a giant animal, of which only one couple, +male and female, is in existence. Had there been more, the world could hardly +have maintained itself against them. The act of copulation occurs but once in +seventy years between them, for God has so ordered it that the male and female +reem are at opposite ends of the earth, the one in the east, the other in the +west. The act of copulation results in the death of the male. He is bitten by +the female and dies of the bite. The female becomes pregnant and remains in +this state for no less than twelve years. At the end of this long period she +gives birth to twins, a male and a female. The year preceding her delivery she +is not able to move. She would die of hunger, were it not that her own spittle +flowing copiously from her mouth waters and fructifies the earth near her, and +causes it to bring forth enough for her maintenance. For a whole year the +animal can but roll from side to side, until finally her belly bursts, and the +twins issue forth. Their appearance is thus the signal for the death of the +mother reem. She makes room for the new generation, which in turn is destined +to suffer the same fate as the generation that went before. Immediately after +birth, the one goes eastward and the other westward, to meet only after the +lapse of seventy years, propagate themselves, and perish.[144] A traveller who +once saw a reem one day old described its height to be four parasangs, and the +length of its head one parasang and a half.[145] Its horns measure one hundred +ells, and their height is a great deal more.[146] +</p> + +<p> +One of the most remarkable creatures is the "man of the mountain," Adne Sadeh, +or, briefly, Adam.[147] His form is exactly that of a human being, but he is +fastened to the ground by means of a navel-string, upon which his life depends. +The cord once snapped, he dies. This animal keeps himself alive with what is +produced by the soil around about him as far as his tether permits him to +crawl. No creature may venture to approach within the radius of his cord, for +he seizes and demolishes whatever comes in his reach. To kill him, one may not +go near to him, the navel-string must be severed from a distance by means of a +dart, and then he dies amid groans and moans.[143] Once upon a time a traveller +happened in the region where this animal is found. He overheard his host +consult his wife as to what to do to honor their guest, and resolve to serve +"our man," as he said. Thinking he had fallen among cannibals, the stranger ran +as fast as his feet could carry him from his entertainer, who sought vainly to +restrain him. Afterward, he found out that there had been no intention of +regaling him with human flesh, but only with the flesh of the strange animal +called "man."[146] As the "man of the mountain" is fixed to the ground by his +navel-string, so the barnacle-goose is grown to a tree by its bill. It is hard +to say whether it is an animal and must be slaughtered to be fit for food, or +whether it is a plant and no ritual ceremony is necessary before eating +it.[150] +</p> + +<p> +Among the birds the phoenix is the most wonderful. When Eve gave all the +animals some of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, the phoenix was the only +bird that refused to eat thereof, and he was rewarded with eternal life. When +he has lived a thousand years, his body shrinks, and the feathers drop from it, +until he is as small as an egg. This is the nucleus of the new bird.[151] +</p> + +<p> +The phoenix is also called "the guardian of the terrestrial sphere." He runs +with the sun on his circuit, and he spreads out his wings and catches up the +fiery rays of the sun.[152] If he were not there to intercept them, neither man +nor any other animate being would keep alive. On his right wing the following +words are inscribed in huge letters,[153] about four thousand stadia high: +"Neither the earth produces me, nor the heavens, but only the wings of fire." +His food consists of the manna of heaven and the dew of the earth. His +excrement is a worm, whose excrement in turn is the cinnamon used by kings and +princes.[152] Enoch, who saw the phoenix birds when he was translated, +describes them as flying creatures, wonderful and strange in appearance, with +the feet and tails of lions, and the heads of crocodiles; their appearance is +of a purple color like the rainbow; their size nine hundred measures. Their +wings are like those of angels, each having twelve, and they attend the chariot +of the sun and go with him, bringing heat and dew as they are ordered by God. +In the morning when the sun starts on his daily course, the phoenixes and the +chalkidri[154] sing, and every bird flaps its wings, rejoicing the Giver of +light, and they sing a song at the command of the Lord.[155] Among reptiles the +salamander and the shamir are the most marvellous. The salamander originates +from a fire of myrtle wood[156] which has been kept burning for seven years +steadily by means of magic arts. Not bigger than a mouse, it yet is invested +with peculiar properties. One who smears himself with its blood is +invulnerable,[157] and the web woven by it is a talisman against fire.[158] The +people who lived at the deluge boasted that, were a fire flood to come, they +would protect themselves with the blood of the salamander.[159] +</p> + +<p> +King Hezekiah owes his life to the salamander. His wicked father, King Ahaz, +had delivered him to the fires of Moloch, and he would have been burnt, had his +mother not painted him with the blood of the salamander, so that the fire could +do him no harm.[160] +</p> + +<p> +The shamir was made at twilight on the sixth day of creation together with +other extraordinary things.[161] It is about as large as a barley corn, and it +possesses the remarkable property of cutting the hardest of diamonds. For this +reason it was used for the stones in the breastplate worn by the high priest. +First the names of the twelve tribes were traced with ink on the stones to be +set into the breastplate, then the shamir was passed over the lines, and thus +they were graven. The wonderful circumstance was that the friction wore no +particles from the stones. The shamir was also used for hewing into shape the +stones from which the Temple was built, because the law prohibited iron tools +to be used for the work in the Temple.[162] The shamir may not be put in an +iron vessel for safe-keeping, nor in any metal vessel, it would burst such a +receptacle asunder. It is kept wrapped up in a woollen cloth, and this in turn +is placed in a lead basket filled with barley bran.[163] The shamir was guarded +in Paradise until Solomon needed it. He sent the eagle thither to fetch the +worm.[164] With the destruction of the Temple the shamir vanished.[165] A +similar fate overtook the tahash, which had been created only that its skin +might be used for the Tabernacle. Once the Tabernacle was completed, the tahash +disappeared. It had a horn on its forehead, was gaily colored like the +turkey-cock, and belonged to the class of clean animals.[166] Among the fishes +there are also wonderful creatures, the sea-goats and the dolphins, not to +mention leviathan. A sea-faring man once saw a sea-goat on whose horns the +words were inscribed: "I am a little sea-animal, yet I traversed three hundred +parasangs to offer myself as food to the leviathan."[167] The dolphins are half +man and half fish; they even have sexual intercourse with human beings; +therefore they are called also "sons of the sea," for in a sense they represent +the human kind in the waters.[163] +</p> + +<p> +Though every species in the animal world was created during the last two days +of the six of creation,[169] yet many characteristics of certain animals +appeared later. Cats and mice, foes now, were friends originally. Their later +enmity had a distinct cause. On one occasion the mouse appeared before God and +spoke: "I and the cat are partners, but now we have nothing to eat." The Lord +answered: "Thou art intriguing against thy companion, only that thou mayest +devour her. As a punishment, she shall devour thee." Thereupon the mouse: "O +Lord of the world, wherein have I done wrong?" God replied: "O thou unclean +reptile, thou shouldst have been warned by the example of the moon, who lost a +part of her light, because she spake ill of the sun, and what she lost was +given to her opponent.[170] The evil intentions thou didst harbor against thy +companion shall be punished in the same way. Instead of thy devouring her, she +shall devour thee." The mouse: "O Lord of the world! Shall my whole kind be +destroyed?" God: "I will take care that a remnant of thee is spared." In her +rage the mouse bit the cat, and the cat in turn threw herself upon the mouse, +and hacked into her with her teeth until she lay dead. Since that moment the +mouse stands in such awe of the cat that she does not even attempt to defend +herself against her enemy's attacks, and always keeps herself in hiding.[171] +Similarly dogs and cats maintained a friendly relation to each other, and only +later on became enemies. A dog and a cat were partners, and they shared with +each other whatever they had. It once happened that neither could find anything +to eat for three days. Thereupon the dog proposed that they dissolve their +partnership. The cat should go to Adam, in whose house there would surely be +enough for her to eat, while the dog should seek his fortune elsewhere. Before +they separated, they took an oath never to go to the same master. The cat took +up her abode with Adam, and she found sufficient mice in his house to satisfy +her appetite. Seeing how useful she was in driving away and extirpating mice, +Adam treated her most kindly. The dog, on the other hand, saw bad times. The +first night after their separation he spent in the cave of the wolf, who had +granted him a night's lodging. At night the dog caught the sound of steps, and +he reported it to his host, who bade him repulse the intruders. They were wild +animals. Little lacked and the dog would have lost his life. Dismayed, the dog +fled from the house of the wolf, and took refuge with the monkey. But he would +not grant him even a single night's lodging; and the fugitive was forced to +appeal to the hospitality of the sheep. Again the dog heard steps in the middle +of the night. Obeying the bidding of his host, he arose to chase away the +marauders, who turned out to be wolves. The barking of the dog apprised the +wolves of the presence of sheep, so that the dog innocently caused the sheep's +death. Now he had lost his last friend. Night after night he begged for +shelter, without ever finding a home. Finally, he decided to repair to the +house of Adam, who also granted him refuge for one night. When wild animals +approached the house under cover of darkness, the dog began to bark, Adam +awoke, and with his bow and arrow he drove them away. Recognizing the dog's +usefulness, he bade him remain with him always. But as soon as the cat espied +the dog in Adam's house, she began to quarrel with him, and reproach him with +having broken his oath to her. Adam did his best to pacify the cat. He told her +he had himself invited the dog to make his home there, and he assured her she +would in no wise be the loser by the dog's presence; he wanted both to stay +with him. But it was impossible to appease the cat. The dog promised her not to +touch anything intended for her. She insisted that she could not live in one +and the same house with a thief like the dog. Bickerings between the dog and +the cat became the order of the day. Finally the dog could stand it no longer, +and he left Adam's house, and betook himself to Seth's. By Seth he was welcomed +kindly, and from Seth's house, he continued to make efforts at reconciliation +with the cat. In vain. Yes, the enmity between the first dog and the first cat +was transmitted to all their descendants until this very day.[172] +</p> + +<p> +Even the physical peculiarities of certain animals were not original features +with them, but owed their existence to something that occurred subsequent to +the days of creation. The mouse at first had quite a different mouth from its +present mouth. In Noah's ark, in which all animals, to ensure the preservation +of every kind, lived together peaceably, the pair of mice were once sitting +next to the cat. Suddenly the latter remembered that her father was in the +habit of devouring mice, and thinking there was no harm in following his +example, she jumped at the mouse, who vainly looked for a hole into which to +slip out of sight. Then a miracle happened; a hole appeared where none had been +before, and the mouse sought refuge in it. The cat pursued the mouse, and +though she could not follow her into the hole, she could insert her paw and try +to pull the mouse out of her covert. Quickly the mouse opened her mouth in the +hope that the paw would go into it, and the cat would be prevented from +fastening her claws in her flesh. But as the cavity of the mouth was not big +enough, the cat succeeded in clawing the cheeks of the mouse. Not that this +helped her much, it merely widened the mouth of the mouse, and her prey after +all escaped the cat.[173] After her happy escape, the mouse betook herself to +Noah and said to him, "O pious man, be good enough to sew up my cheek where my +enemy, the cat, has torn a rent in it." Noah bade her fetch a hair out of the +tail of the swine, and with this he repaired the damage. Thence the little +seam-like line next to the mouth of every mouse to this very day.[174] +</p> + +<p> +The raven is another animal that changed its appearance during its sojourn in +the ark. When Noah desired to send him forth to find out about the state of the +waters, he hid under the wings of the eagle. Noah found him, however, and said +to him, "Go and see whether the waters have diminished." The raven pleaded: +"Hast thou none other among all the birds to send on this errand?" Noah: "My +power extends no further than over thee and the dove."[175] But the raven was +not satisfied. He said to Noah with great insolence: "Thou sendest me forth +only that I may meet my death, and thou wishest my death that my wife may be at +thy service."[176] Thereupon Noah cursed the raven thus: "May thy mouth, which +has spoken evil against me, be accursed, and thy intercourse with thy wife be +only through it."[177] All the animals in the ark said Amen. And this is the +reason why a mass of spittle runs from the mouth of the male raven into the +mouth of the female during the act of copulation, and only thus the female is +impregnated.[178] Altogether the raven is an unattractive animal. He is unkind +toward his own young so long as their bodies are not covered with black +feathers,[179] though as a rule ravens love one another.[180] God therefore +takes the young ravens under His special protection. From their own excrement +maggots come forth,[181] which serve as their food during the three days that +elapse after their birth, until their white feathers turn black and their +parents recognize them as their offspring and care for them.[182] +</p> + +<p> +The raven has himself to blame also for the awkward hop in his gait. He +observed the graceful step of the dove, and envious of her tried to enmulate +it. The outcome was that he almost broke his bones without in the least +succeeding in making himself resemble the dove, not to mention that he brought +the scorn of the other animals down upon himself. His failure excited their +ridicule. Then he decided to return to his own original gait, but in the +interval he had unlearnt it, and he could walk neither the one way nor the +other properly. His step had become a hop betwixt and between. Thus we see how +true it is, that he who is dissatisfied with his small portion loses the little +he has in striving for more and better things.[163] +</p> + +<p> +The steer is also one of the animals that have suffered a change in the course +of time. Originally his face was entirely overgrown with hair, but now there is +none on his nose, and that is because Joshua kissed him on his nose during the +siege of Jericho. Joshua was an exceedingly heavy man. Horses, donkeys, and +mules, none could bear him, they all broke down under his weight. What they +could not do, the steer accomplished. On his back Joshua rode to the siege of +Jericho, and in gratitude he bestowed a kiss upon his nose.[134] +</p> + +<p> +The serpent, too, is other than it was at first. Before the fall of man it was +the cleverest of all animals created, and in form it resembled man closely. It +stood upright, and was of extraordinary size.[185] Afterward, it lost the +mental advantages it had possessed as compared with other animals, and it +degenerated physically, too; it was deprived of its feet, so that it could not +pursue other animals and kill them. The mole and the frog had to be made +harmless in similar ways; the former has no eyes, else it were irresistible, +and the frog has no teeth, else no animal in the water were sure of its +life.[186] +</p> + +<p> +While the cunning of the serpent wrought its own undoing, the cunning of the +fox stood him in good stead in many an embarrassing situation. After Adam had +committed the sin of disobedience, God delivered the whole of the animal world +into the power of the Angel of Death, and He ordered him to cast one pair of +each kind into the water. He and leviathan together thus have dominion over all +that has life. When the Angel of Death was in the act of executing the Divine +command upon the fox, he began to weep bitterly. The Angel of Death asked him +the reason of his tears, and the fox replied that he was mourning the sad fate +of his friend. At the same time he pointed to the figure of a fox in the sea, +which was nothing but his own reflection. The Angel of Death, persuaded that a +representative of the fox family had been cast into the water, let him go free. +The fox told his trick to the cat, and she in turn played it on the Angel of +Death.[187] So it happened that neither cats nor foxes are represented in the +water, while all other animals are.[188] +</p> + +<p> +When leviathan passed the animals in review, and missing the fox was informed +of the sly way in which he had eluded his authority, he dispatched great and +powerful fish on the errand of enticing the truant into the water. The fox +walking along the shore espied the large number of fish, and he exclaimed, "How +happy he who may always satisfy his hunger with the flesh of such as these." +The fish told him, if he would but follow them, his appetite could easily be +appeased. At the same time they informed him that a great honor awaited him. +Leviathan, they said, was at death's door, and he had commissioned them to +install the fox as his successor. They were ready to carry him on their backs, +so that he had no need to fear the water, and thus they would convey him to the +throne, which stood upon a huge rock. The fox yielded to these persuasions, and +descended into the water. Presently an uncomfortable feeling took possession of +him. He began to suspect that the tables were turned; he was being made game of +instead of making game of others as usual. He urged the fish to tell him the +truth, and they admitted that they had been sent out to secure his person for +leviathan, who wanted his heart,[189] that he might become as knowing as the +fox, whose wisdom he had heard many extol. The fox said reproachfully: "Why did +you not tell me the truth at once? Then I could have brought my heart along +with me for King Leviathan, who would have showered honors upon me. As it is, +you will surely suffer punishment for bringing me without my heart. The foxes, +you see," he continued, "do not carry their hearts around with them. They keep +them in a safe place, and when they have need of them, they fetch them thence." +The fish quickly swam to shore, and landed the fox, so that he might go for his +heart. No sooner did he feel dry land under his feet than he began to jump and +shout, and when they urged him to go in search of his heart, and follow them, +he said: "O ye fools, could I have followed you into the water, if I had not +had my heart with me? Or exists there a creature able to go abroad without his +heart?" The fish replied: "Come, come, thou art fooling us." Whereupon the fox: +"O ye fools, if I could play a trick on the Angel of Death, how much easier was +it to make game of you?" So they had to return, their errand undone, and +leviathan could not but confirm the taunting judgment of the fox: "In very +truth, the fox is wise of heart, and ye are fools."[190] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap09"></a>ALL THINGS PRAISE THE LORD</h3> + +<p> +"Whatever God created has value." Even the animals and the insects that seem +useless and noxious at first sight have a vocation to fulfil. The snail +trailing a moist streak after it as it crawls, and so using up its vitality, +serves as a remedy for boils. The sting of a hornet is healed by the house-fly +crushed and applied to the wound. The gnat, feeble creature, taking in food but +never secreting it, is a specific against the poison of a viper, and this +venomous reptile itself cures eruptions, while the lizard is the antidote to +the scorpion.[191] Not only do all creatures serve man, and contribute to his +comfort, but also God "teacheth us through the beasts of the earth, and maketh +us wise through the fowls of heaven." He endowed many animals with admirable +moral qualities as a pattern for man. If the Torah had not been revealed to us, +we might have learnt regard for the decencies of life from the cat, who covers +her excrement with earth; regard for the property of others from the ants, who +never encroach upon one another's stores; and regard for decorous conduct from +the cock, who, when he desires to unite with the hen, promises to buy her a +cloak long enough to reach to the ground, and when the hen reminds him of his +promise, he shakes his comb and says, "May I be deprived of my comb, if I do +not buy it when I have the means." The grasshopper also has a lesson to teach +to man. All the summer through it sings, until its belly bursts, and death +claims it. Though it knows the fate that awaits it, yet it sings on. So man +should do his duty toward God, no matter what the consequences. The stork +should be taken as a model in two respects. He guards the purity of his family +life zealously, and toward his fellows he is compassionate and merciful. Even +the frog can be the teacher of man. By the side of the water there lives a +species of animals which subsist off aquatic creatures alone. When the frog +notices that one of them is hungry, he goes to it of his own accord, and offers +himself as food, thus fulfilling the injunction, "If thine enemy be hungry, +give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink."[192] +</p> + +<p> +The whole of creation was called into existence by God unto His glory,[193] and +each creature has its own hymn of praise wherewith to extol the Creator. Heaven +and earth, Paradise and hell, desert and field, rivers and seas—all have their +own way of paying homage to God. The hymn of the earth is, "From the uttermost +part of the earth have we heard songs, glory to the Righteous." The sea +exclaims, "Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, the +Lord on high is mighty." +</p> + +<p> +Also the celestial bodies and the elements proclaim the praise of their +Creator—the sun, moon, and stars, the clouds and the winds, lightning and dew. +The sun says, "The sun and moon stood still in their habitation, at the light +of Thine arrows as they went, at the shining of Thy glittering spear"; and the +stars sing, "Thou art the Lord, even Thou alone; Thou hast made heaven, the +heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are +thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and Thou preservest them all; and +the host of heaven worshippeth Thee." +</p> + +<p> +Every plant, furthermore, has a song of praise. The fruitful tree sings, "Then +shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy, before the Lord, for He cometh; +for He cometh to judge the earth"; and the ears of grain on the field sing, +"The pastures are covered with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with +corn; they shout for joy, they also sing." +</p> + +<p> +Great among singers of praise are the birds, and greatest among them is the +cock. When God at midnight goes to the pious in Paradise, all the trees therein +break out into adoration, and their songs awaken the cock, who begins in turn +to praise God. Seven times he crows, each time reciting a verse. The first +verse is: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting +doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord +strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." The second verse: "Lift up your +heads, O ye gates; yea, lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of +glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the +King of glory." The third: "Arise, ye righteous, and occupy yourselves with the +Torah, that your reward may be abundant in the world hereafter." The fourth: "I +have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord!" The fifth: "How long wilt thou sleep, O +sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?" The sixth: "Love not sleep, +lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with +bread." And the seventh verse sung by the cock runs: "It is time to work for +the Lord, for they have made void Thy law." +</p> + +<p> +The song of the vulture is: "I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have +redeemed them, and they shall increase as they have increased"—the same verse +with which the bird will in time to come announce the advent of the Messiah, +the only difference being, that when he heralds the Messiah he will sit upon +the ground and sing his verse, while at all other times he is seated elsewhere +when he sings it. +</p> + +<p> +Nor do the other animals praise God less than the birds. Even the beasts of +prey give forth adoration. The lion says: "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty +man; He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war; He shall cry, yea, He shall +shout aloud; He shall do mightily against his enemies." And the fox exhorts +unto justice with the words: "Woe unto him that buildeth his house by +unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbor's +service without wages, and giveth him not his hire." +</p> + +<p> +Yea, the dumb fishes know how to proclaim the praise of their Lord. "The voice +of the Lord is upon the waters," they say, "the God of glory thundereth, even +the Lord upon many waters"; while the frog exclaims, "Blessed be the name of +the glory of His kingdom forever and ever." +</p> + +<p> +Contemptible though they are, even the reptiles give praise unto their Creator. +The mouse extols God with the words: "Howbeit Thou art just in all that is come +upon me; for Thou hast dealt truly, but I have done wickedly." And the cat +sings: "Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the +Lord."[194] +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="book02"></a>II<br/> +ADAM</h2> + +<h3><a name="chap10"></a>MAN AND THE WORLD</h3> + +<p> +With ten Sayings God created the world, although a single Saying would have +sufficed. God desired to make known how severe is the punishment to be meted +out to the wicked, who destroy a world created with as many as ten Sayings, and +how goodly the reward destined for the righteous, who preserve a world created +with as many as ten Sayings.[1] +</p> + +<p> +The world was made for man, though he was the last-comer among its creatures. +This was design. He was to find all things ready for him. God was the host who +prepared dainty dishes, set the table, and then led His guest to his seat. At +the same time man's late appearance on earth is to convey an admonition to +humility. Let him beware of being proud, lest he invite the retort that the +gnat is older than he.[2] +</p> + +<p> +The superiority of man to the other creatures is apparent in the very manner of +his creation, altogether different from theirs. He is the only one who was +created by the hand of God.[3] The rest sprang from the word of God. The body +of man is a microcosm, the whole world in miniature, and the world in turn is a +reflex of man. The hair upon his head corresponds to the woods of the earth, +his tears to a river, his mouth to the ocean.[4] Also, the world resembles the +ball of his eye: the ocean that encircles the earth is like unto the white of +the eye, the dry land is the iris, Jerusalem the pupil, and the Temple the +image mirrored in the pupil of the eye.[5] But man is more than a mere image of +this world. He unites both heavenly and earthly qualities within himself. In +four he resembles the angels, in four the beasts. His power of speech, his +discriminating intellect, his upright walk, the glance of his eye—they all make +an angel of him. But, on the other hand, he eats and drinks, secretes the waste +matter in his body, propagates his kind, and dies, like the beast of the field. +Therefore God said before the creation of man: "The celestials are not +propagated, but they are immortal; the beings on earth are propagated, but they +die. I will create man to be the union of the two, so that when he sins, when +he behaves like a beast, death shall overtake him; but if he refrains from sin, +he shall live forever."[6] God now bade all beings in heaven and on earth +contribute to the creation of man, and He Himself took part in it. Thus they +all will love man, and if he should sin, they will be interested in his +preservation.[7] +</p> + +<p> +The whole world naturally was created for the pious, the God-fearing man, whom +Israel produces with the helpful guidance of the law of God revealed to him.[8] +It was, therefore, Israel who was taken into special consideration at the time +man was made. All other creatures were instructed to change their nature, if +Israel should ever need their help in the course of his history. The sea was +ordered to divide before Moses, and the heavens to give ear to the words of the +leader; the sun and the moon were bidden to stand still before Joshua, the +ravens to feed Elijah, the fire to spare the three youths in the furnace, the +lion to do no harm to Daniel, the fish to spew forth Jonah, and the heavens to +open before Ezekiel.[9] +</p> + +<p> +In His modesty, God took counsel with the angels, before the creation of the +world, regarding His intention of making man. He said: "For the sake of Israel, +I will create the world. As I shall make a division between light and darkness, +so I will in time to come do for Israel in Egypt—thick darkness shall be over +the land, and the children of Israel shall have light in their dwellings; as I +shall make a separation between the waters under the firmament and the waters +above the firmament, so I will do for Israel—I will divide the waters for him +when he crosses the Red Sea; as on the third day I shall create plants, so I +will do for Israel—I will bring forth manna for him in the wilderness; as I +shall create luminaries to divide day from night, so I will do for Israel—I +will go before him by day in a pillar of cloud and by night in a pillar of +fire; as I shall create the fowl of the air and the fishes of the sea, so I +will do for Israel—I will bring quails for him from the sea; and as I shall +breathe the breath of life into the nostrils of man, so I will do for Israel—I +will give the Torah unto him, the tree of life." The angels marvelled that so +much love should be lavished upon this people of Israel, and God told them: "On +the first day of creation, I shall make the heavens and stretch them out; so +will Israel raise up the Tabernacle as the dwelling-place of My glory. On the +second day, I shall put a division between the terrestrial waters and the +heavenly waters; so will he hang up a veil in the Tabernacle to divide the Holy +Place and the Most Holy. On the third day, I shall make the earth put forth +grass and herb; so will he, in obedience to My commands, eat herbs on the first +night of the Passover, and prepare showbread for Me. On the fourth day, I shall +make the luminaries; so will he make a golden candlestick for Me. On the fifth +day, I shall create the birds; so will he fashion the cherubim with +outstretched wings. On the sixth day, I shall create man; so will Israel set +aside a man of the sons of Aaron as high priest for My service."[10] +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, the whole of creation was conditional. God said to the things He +made on the first six days: "If Israel accepts the Torah, you will continue and +endure; otherwise, I shall turn everything back into chaos again." The whole +world was thus kept in suspense and dread until the day of the revelation on +Sinai, when Israel received and accepted the Torah, and so fulfilled the +condition made by God at the time when He created the universe.[11] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap11"></a>THE ANGELS AND THE CREATION OF MAN</h3> + +<p> +God in His wisdom hiving resolved to create man, He asked counsel of all around +Him before He proceeded to execute His purpose—an example to man, be he never +so great and distinguished, not to scorn the advice of the humble and lowly. +First God called upon heaven and earth, then upon all other things He had +created, and last upon the angels. +</p> + +<p> +The angels were not all of one opinion. The Angel of Love favored the creation +of man, because he would be affectionate and loving; but the Angel of Truth +opposed it, because he would be full of lies. And while the Angel of Justice +favored it, because he would practice justice, the Angel of Peace opposed it, +because he would be quarrelsome. +</p> + +<p> +To invalidate his protest, God cast the Angel of Truth down from heaven to +earth, and when the others cried out against such contemptuous treatment of +their companion, He said, "Truth will spring back out of the earth." +</p> + +<p> +The objections of the angels would have been much stronger, had they known the +whole truth about man. God had told them only about the pious, and had +concealed from them that there would be reprobates among mankind, too. And yet, +though they knew but half the truth, the angels were nevertheless prompted to +cry out: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that +Thou visitest him?" God replied: "The fowl of the air and the fish of the sea, +what were they created for? Of what avail a larder full of appetizing dainties, +and no guest to enjoy them?" And the angels could not but exclaim: "O Lord, our +Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! Do as is pleasing in Thy +sight."[12] +</p> + +<p> +For not a few of the angels their opposition bore fatal consequences. When God +summoned the band under the archangel Michael, and asked their opinion on the +creation of man, they answered scornfully: "What is man, that Thou art mindful +of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" God thereupon stretched +forth His little finger, and all were consumed by fire except their chief +Michael. And the same fate befell the band under the leadership of the +archangel Gabriel; he alone of all was saved from destruction. +</p> + +<p> +The third band consulted was commanded by the archangel Labbiel. Taught by the +horrible fate of his predecessors, he warned his troop: "You have seen what +misfortune overtook the angels who said 'What is man, that Thou art mindful of +him?' Let us have a care not to do likewise, lest we suffer the same dire +punishment. For God will not refrain from doing in the end what He has planned. +Therefore it is advisable for us to yield to His wishes." Thus warned, the +angels spoke: "Lord of the world, it is well that Thou hast thought of creating +man. Do Thou create him according to Thy will. And as for us, we will be his +attendants and his ministers, and reveal unto him all our secrets." Thereupon +God changed Labbiel's name to Raphael, the Rescuer, because his host of angels +had been rescued by his sage advice. He was appointed the Angel of Healing, who +has in his safe-keeping all the celestial remedies, the types of the medical +remedies used on earth.[12] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap12"></a>THE CREATION OF ADAM</h3> + +<p> +When at last the assent of the angels to the creation of man was given, God +said to Gabriel: "Go and fetch Me dust from the four corners of the earth, and +I will create man therewith." Gabriel went forth to do the bidding of the Lord, +but the earth drove him away, and refused to let him gather up dust from it. +Gabriel remonstrated: "Why, O Earth, dost thou not hearken unto the voice of +the Lord, who founded thee upon the waters without props or pillars?" The earth +replied, and said: "I am destined to become a curse, and to be cursed through +man, and if God Himself does not take the dust from me, no one else shall ever +do it." When God heard this, He stretched out His hand, took of the dust of the +ground, and created the first man therewith.[14] Of set purpose the dust was +taken from all four corners of the earth, so that if a man from the east should +happen to die in the west, or a man from the west in the east, the earth should +not dare refuse to receive the dead, and tell him to go whence he was taken. +Wherever a man chances to die, and wheresoever he is buried, there will he +return to the earth from which he sprang. Also, the dust was of various +colors—red, black, white, and green—red for the blood, black for the bowels, +white for the bones and veins, and green for the pale skin. +</p> + +<p> +At this early moment the Torah interfered. She addressed herself to God: "O +Lord of the world! The world is Thine, Thou canst do with it as seemeth good in +Thine eyes. But the man Thou art now creating will be few of days and full of +trouble and sin. If it be not Thy purpose to have forbearance and patience with +him, it were better not to call him into being." God replied, "Is it for naught +I am called long-suffering and merciful?"[15] +</p> + +<p> +The grace and lovingkindness of God revealed themselves particularly in His +taking one spoonful of dust from the spot where in time to come the altar would +stand, saying, "I shall take man from the place of atonement, that he may +endure."[19] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap13"></a>THE SOUL OF MAN</h3> + +<p> +The care which God exercised in fashioning every detail of the body of man is +as naught in comparison with His solicitude for the human soul. The soul of man +was created on the first day, for it is the spirit of God moving upon the face +of the waters. Thus, instead of being the last, man is really the first work of +creation.[17] +</p> + +<p> +This spirit, or, to call it by its usual name, the soul of man, possesses five +different powers. By means of one of them she escapes from the body every +night, rises up to heaven, and fetches new life thence for man.[18] +</p> + +<p> +With the soul of Adam the souls of all the generations of men were created. +They are stored up in a promptuary, in the seventh of the heavens, whence they +are drawn as they are needed for human body after human body.[19] +</p> + +<p> +The soul and body of man are united in this way: When a woman has conceived, +the Angel of the Night, Lailah, carries the sperm before God, and God decrees +what manner of human being shall become of it—whether it shall be male or +female, strong or weak, rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, long or short, fat or +thin, and what all its other qualities shall be. Piety and wickedness alone are +left to the determination of man himself. Then God makes a sign to the angel +appointed over the souls, saying, "Bring Me the soul so-and-so, which is hidden +in Paradise, whose name is so-and-so, and whose form is so-and-so." The angel +brings the designated soul, and she bows down when she appears in the presence +of God, and prostrates herself before Him. At that moment, God issues the +command, "Enter this sperm." The soul opens her mouth, and pleads: "O Lord of +the world! I am well pleased with the world in which I have been living since +the day on which Thou didst call me into being. Why dost Thou now desire to +have me enter this impure sperm, I who am holy and pure, and a part of Thy +glory?" God consoles her: "The world which I shall cause thee to enter is +better than the world in which thou hast lived hitherto, and when I created +thee, it was only for this purpose." The soul is then forced to enter the sperm +against her will, and the angel carries her back to the womb of the mother. Two +angels are detailed to watch that she shall not leave it, nor drop out of it, +and a light is set above her, whereby the soul can see from one end of the +world to the other. In the morning an angel carries her to Paradise, and shows +her the righteous, who sit there in their glory, with crowns upon their heads. +The angel then says to the soul, "Dost thou know who these are?" She replies in +the negative, and the angel goes on: "These whom thou beholdest here were +formed, like unto thee, in the womb of their mother. When they came into the +world, they observed God's Torah and His commandments. Therefore they became +the partakers of this bliss which thou seest them enjoy. Know, also thou wilt +one day depart from the world below, and if thou wilt observe God's Torah, then +wilt thou be found worthy of sitting with these pious ones. But if not, thou +wilt be doomed to the other place." +</p> + +<p> +In the evening, the angel takes the soul to hell, and there points out the +sinners whom the Angels of Destruction are smiting with fiery scourges, the +sinners all the while crying out Woe! Woe! but no mercy is shown unto them. The +angel then questions the soul as before, "Dost thou know who these are?" and as +before the reply is negative. The angel continues: "These who are consumed with +fire were created like unto thee. When they were put into the world, they did +not observe God's Torah and His commandments. Therefore have they come to this +disgrace which thou seest them suffer. Know, thy destiny is also to depart from +the world. Be just, therefore, and not wicked, that thou mayest gain the future +world." +</p> + +<p> +Between morning and evening the angel carries the soul around, and shows her +where she will live and where she will die, and the place where she will +buried, and he takes her through the whole world, and points out the just and +the sinners and all things. In the evening, he replaces her in the womb of the +mother, and there she remains for nine months. +</p> + +<p> +When the time arrives for her to emerge from the womb into the open world, the +same angel addresses the soul, "The time has come for thee to go abroad into +the open world." The soul demurs, "Why dost thou want to make me go forth into +the open world?" The angel replies: "Know that as thou wert formed against thy +will, so now thou wilt be born against thy will, and against thy will thou +shalt die, and against thy will thou shalt give account of thyself before the +King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He." But the soul is reluctant to leave +her place. Then the angel fillips the babe on the nose, extinguishes the light +at his head, and brings him forth into the world against his will. Immediately +the child forgets all his soul has seen and learnt, and he comes into the world +crying, for he loses a place of shelter and security and rest. +</p> + +<p> +When the time arrives for man to quit this world, the same angel appears and +asks him, "Dost thou recognize me?" And man replies, "Yes; but why dost thou +come to me to-day, and thou didst come on no other day?" The angel says, "To +take thee away from the world, for the time of thy departure has arrived." Then +man falls to weeping, and his voice penetrates to all ends of the world, yet no +creature hears his voice, except the cock alone. Man remonstrates with the +angel, "From two worlds thou didst take me, and into this world thou didst +bring me." But the angel reminds him: "Did I not tell thee that thou wert +formed against thy will, and thou wouldst be born against thy will, and against +thy will thou wouldst die? And against thy will thou wilt have to give account +and reckoning of thyself before the Holy One, blessed be He."[20] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap14"></a>THE IDEAL MAN</h3> + +<p> +Like all creatures formed on the six days of creation, Adam came from the hands +of the Creator fully and completely developed. He was not like a child, but +like a man of twenty years of age.[21] The dimensions of his body were +gigantic, reaching from heaven to earth, or, what amounts to the same, from +east to west.[22] Among later generations of men, there were but few who in a +measure resembled Adam in his extraordinary size and physical perfections. +Samson possessed his strength, Saul his neck, Absalom his hair, Asahel his +fleetness of foot, Uzziah his forehead, Josiah his nostrils, Zedekiah his eyes, +and Zerubbabel his voice. History shows that these physical excellencies were +no blessings to many of their possessors; they invited the ruin of almost all. +Samson's extraordinary strength caused his death; Saul killed himself by +cutting his neck with his own sword; while speeding swiftly, Asahel was pierced +by Abner's spear; Absalom was caught up by his hair in an oak, and thus +suspended met his death; Uzziah was smitten with leprosy upon his forehead; the +darts that killed Josiah entered through his nostrils, and Zedekiah's eyes were +blinded.[23] +</p> + +<p> +The generality of men inherited as little of the beauty as of the portentous +size of their first father. The fairest women compared with Sarah are as apes +compared with a human being. Sarah's relation to Eve is the same, and, again, +Eve was but as an ape compared with Adam. His person was so handsome that the +very sole of his foot obscured the splendor of the sun.[24] +</p> + +<p> +His spiritual qualities kept pace with his personal charm, for God had +fashioned his soul with particular care. She is the image of God, and as God +fills the world, so the soul fills the human body; as God sees all things, and +is seen by none, so the soul sees, but cannot be seen; as God guides the world, +so the soul guides the body; as God in His holiness is pure, so is the soul; +and as God dwells in secret, so doth the soul.[25] +</p> + +<p> +When God was about to put a soul into Adam's clod-like body, He said: "At which +point shall I breathe the soul into him? Into the mouth? Nay, for he will use +it to speak ill of his fellow-man. Into the eyes? With them he will wink +lustfully. Into the ears? They will hearken to slander and blasphemy. I will +breathe her into his nostrils; as they discern the unclean and reject it, and +take in the fragrant, so the pious will shun sin, and will cleave to the words +of the Torah"[26] +</p> + +<p> +The perfections of Adam's soul showed themselves as soon as he received her, +indeed, while he was still without life. In the hour that intervened between +breathing a soul into the first man and his becoming alive, God revealed the +whole history of mankind to him. He showed him each generation and its leaders; +each generation and its prophets; each generation and its teachers; each +generation and its scholars; each generation and its statesmen; each generation +and its judges; each generation and its pious members; each generation and its +average, commonplace members; and each generation and its impious members. The +tale of their years, the number of their days, the reckoning of their hours, +and the measure of their steps, all were made known unto him.[27] +</p> + +<p> +Of his own free will Adam relinquished seventy of his allotted years. His +appointed span was to be a thousand years, one of the Lord's days. But he saw +that only a single minute of life was apportioned to the great soul of David, +and he made a gift of seventy years to her, reducing his own years to nine +hundred and thirty.' +</p> + +<p> +The wisdom of Adam displayed itself to greatest advantage when he gave names to +the animals. Then it appeared that God, in combating the arguments of the +angels that opposed the creation of man, had spoken well, when He insisted that +man would possess more wisdom than they themselves. When Adam was barely an +hour old, God assembled the whole world of animals before him and the angels. +The latter were called upon to name the different kinds, but they were not +equal to the task. Adam, however, spoke without hesitation: "O Lord of the +world! The proper name for this animal is ox, for this one horse, for this one +lion, for this one camel." And so he called all in turn by name, suiting the +name to the peculiarity of the animal. Then God asked him what his name was to +be, and he said Adam, because he had been created out of Adamah, dust of the +earth. Again, God asked him His own name, and he said: "Adonai, Lord, because +Thou art Lord over all creatures"—the very name God had given unto Himself, the +name by which the angels call Him, the name that will remain immutable +evermore.[29] But without the gift of the holy spirit, Adam could not have +found names for all; he was in very truth a prophet, and his wisdom a prophetic +quality.[30] +</p> + +<p> +The names of the animals were not the only inheritance handed down by Adam to +the generations after him, for mankind owes all crafts to him, especially the +art of writing, and he was the inventor of all the seventy languages.[31] And +still another task he accomplished for his descendants. God showed Adam the +whole earth, and Adam designated what places were to be settled later by men, +and what places were to remain waste.[32] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap15"></a>THE FALL OF SATAN</h3> + +<p> +The extraordinary qualities with which Adam was blessed, physical and spiritual +as well, aroused the envy of the angels. They attempted to consume him with +fire, and he would have perished, had not the protecting hand of God rested +upon him, and established peace between him and the heavenly host.[33] In +particular, Satan was jealous of the first man, and his evil thoughts finally +led to his fall. After Adam had been endowed with a soul, God invited all the +angels to come and pay him reverence and homage. Satan, the greatest of the +angels in heaven, with twelve wings, instead of six like all the others, +refused to pay heed to the behest of God, saying, "Thou didst create us angels +from the splendor of the Shekinah, and now Thou dost command us to cast +ourselves down before the creature which Thou didst fashion out of the dust of +the ground!" God answered, "Yet this dust of the ground has more wisdom and +understanding than thou." Satan demanded a trial of wit with Adam, and God +assented thereto, saying: "I have created beasts, birds, and reptiles, I shall +have them all come before thee and before Adam. If thou art able to give them +names, I shall command Adam to show honor unto thee, and thou shalt rest next +to the Shekinah of My glory. But if not, and Adam calls them by the names I +have assigned to them, then thou wilt be subject to Adam, and he shall have a +place in My garden, and cultivate it." Thus spake God, and He betook Himself to +Paradise, Satan following Him. When Adam beheld God, he said to his wife, "O +come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." Now +Satan attempted to assign names to the animals. He failed with the first two +that presented themselves, the ox and the cow. God led two others before him, +the camel and the donkey, with the same result. Then God turned to Adam, and +questioned him regarding the names of the same animals, framing His questions +in such wise that the first letter of the first word was the same as the first +letter of the name of the animal standing before him. Thus Adam divined the +proper name, and Satan was forced to acknowledge the superiority of the first +man. Nevertheless he broke out in wild outcries that reached the heavens, and +he refused to do homage unto Adam as he had been bidden.[34] The host of angels +led by him did likewise, in spite of the urgent representations of Michael, who +was the first to prostrate himself before Adam in order to show a good example +to the other angels. Michael addressed Satan: "Give adoration to the image of +God! But if thou doest it not, then the Lord God will break out in wrath +against thee." Satan replied: "If He breaks out in wrath against me, I will +exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will be like the Most High!" At once +God flung Satan and his host out of heaven, down to the earth, and from that +moment dates the enmity between Satan and man.' +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap16"></a>WOMAN</h3> + +<p> +When Adam opened his eyes the first time, and beheld the world about him, he +broke into praise of God, "How great are Thy works, O Lord!" But his admiration +for the world surrounding him did not exceed the admiration all creatures +conceived for Adam. They took him to be their creator, and they all came to +offer him adoration. But he spoke: "Why do you come to worship me? Nay, you and +I together will acknowledge the majesty and the might of Him who hath created +us all. 'The Lord reigneth,'" he continued, "'He is apparelled with +majesty.'"[36] +</p> + +<p> +And not alone the creatures on earth, even the angels thought Adam the lord of +all, and they were about to salute him with "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of +hosts," when God caused sleep to fall upon him, and then the angels knew that +he was but a human being.[37] +</p> + +<p> +The purpose of the sleep that enfolded Adam was to give him a wife, so that the +human race might develop, and all creatures recognize the difference between +God and man. When the earth heard what God had resolved to do, it began to +tremble and quake. "I have not the strength," it said, "to provide food for the +herd of Adam's descendants." But God pacified it with the words, "I and thou +together, we will find food for the herd." Accordingly, time was divided +between God and the earth; God took the night, and the earth took the day. +Refreshing sleep nourishes and strengthens man, it affords him life and rest, +while the earth brings forth produce with the help of God, who waters it. Yet +man must work the earth to earn his food.[38] +</p> + +<p> +The Divine resolution to bestow a companion on Adam met the wishes of man, who +had been overcome by a feeling of isolation when the animals came to him in +pairs to be named.[39] To banish his loneliness, Lilith was first given to Adam +as wife. Like him she had been created out of the dust of the ground. But she +remained with him only a short time, because she insisted upon enjoying full +equality with her husband. She derived her rights from their identical origin. +With the help of the Ineffable Name, which she pronounced, Lilith flew away +from Adam, and vanished in the air. Adam complained before God that the wife He +had given him had deserted him, and God sent forth three angels to capture her. +They found her in the Red Sea, and they sought to make her go back with the +threat that, unless she went, she would lose a hundred of her demon children +daily by death. But Lilith preferred this punishment to living with Adam. She +takes her revenge by injuring babes—baby boys during the first night of their +life, while baby girls are exposed to her wicked designs until they are twenty +days old. The only way to ward off the evil is to attach an amulet bearing the +names of her three angel captors to the children, for such had been the +agreement between them.[40] +</p> + +<p> +The woman destined to become the true companion of man was taken from Adam's +body, for "only when like is joined unto like the union is indissoluble."[41] +The creation of woman from man was possible because Adam originally had two +faces, which were separated at the birth of Eve.[42] +</p> + +<p> +When God was on the point of making Eve, He said: "I will not make her from the +head of man, lest she carry her head high in arrogant pride; not from the eye, +lest she be wanton-eyed; not from the ear, lest she be an eavesdropper; not +from the neck, lest she be insolent; not from the mouth, lest she be a tattler; +not from the heart, lest she be inclined to envy; not from the hand, lest she +be a meddler; not from the foot, lest she be a gadabout. I will form her from a +chaste portion of the body," and to every limb and organ as He formed it, God +said, "Be chaste! Be chaste!" Nevertheless, in spite of the great caution used, +woman has all the faults God tried to obviate. The daughters of Zion were +haughty and walked with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes; Sarah was an +eavesdropper in her own tent, when the angel spoke with Abraham; Miriam was a +talebearer, accusing Moses; Rachel was envious of her sister Leah; Eve put out +her hand to take the forbidden fruit, and Dinah was a gadabout.[43] +</p> + +<p> +The physical formation of woman is far more complicated than that of man, as it +must be for the function of child-bearing, and likewise the intelligence of +woman matures more quickly than the intelligence of man.[44] Many of the +physical and psychical differences between the two sexes must be attributed to +the fact that man was formed from the ground and woman from bone. Women need +perfumes, while men do not; dust of the ground remains the same no matter how +long it is kept; flesh, however, requires salt to keep it in good condition. +The voice of women is shrill, not so the voice of men; when soft viands are +cooked, no sound is heard, but let a bone be put in a pot, and at once it +crackles. A man is easily placated, not so a woman; a few drops of water +suffice to soften a clod of earth; a bone stays hard, and if it were to soak in +water for days. The man must ask the woman to be his wife, and not the woman +the man to be her husband, because it is man who has sustained the loss of his +rib, and he sallies forth to make good his loss again. The very differences +between the sexes in garb and social forms go back to the origin of man and +woman for their reasons. Woman covers her hair in token of Eve's having brought +sin into the world; she tries to hide her shame; and women precede men in a +funeral cortege, because it was woman who brought death into the world. And the +religious commands addressed to women alone are connected with the history of +Eve. Adam was the heave offering of the world, and Eve defiled it. As +expiation, all women are commanded to separate a heave offering from the dough. +And because woman extinguished the light of man's soul, she is bidden to kindle +the Sabbath light.[45] +</p> + +<p> +Adam was first made to fall into a deep sleep before the rib for Eve was taken +from his side. For, had he watched her creation, she would not have awakened +love in him. To this day it is true that men do not appreciate the charms of +women whom they have known and observed from childhood up. Indeed, God had +created a wife for Adam before Eve, but he would not have her, because she had +been made in his presence. Knowing well all the details of her formation, he +was repelled by her.[46] But when he roused himself from his profound sleep, +and saw Eve before him in all her surprising beauty and grace, he exclaimed, +"This is she who caused my heart to throb many a night!" Yet he discerned at +once what the nature of woman was. She would, he knew, seek to carry her point +with man either by entreaties and tears, or flattery and caresses. He said, +therefore, "This is my never-silent bell!"[47] +</p> + +<p> +The wedding of the first couple was celebrated with pomp never repeated in the +whole course of history since. God Himself, before presenting her to Adam, +attired and adorned Eve as a bride. Yea, He appealed to the angels, saying: +"Come, let us perform services of friendship for Adam and his helpmate, for the +world rests upon friendly services, and they are more pleasing in My sight than +the sacrifices Israel will offer upon the altar." The angels accordingly +surrounded the marriage canopy, and God pronounced the blessings upon the +bridal couple, as the Hazan does under the Huppah. The angels then danced and +played upon musical instruments before Adam and Eve in their ten bridal +chambers of gold, pearls, and precious stones, which God had prepared for them. +</p> + +<p> +Adam called his wife Ishah, and himself he called Ish, abandoning the name +Adam, which he had borne before the creation of Eve, for the reason that God +added His own name Yah to the names of the man and the woman—Yod to Ish and He +to Ishah—to indicate that as long as they walked in the ways of God and +observed His commandments, His name would shield them against all harm. But if +they went astray, His name would be withdrawn, and instead of Ish there would +remain Esh, fire, a fire issuing from each and consuming the other.[48] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap17"></a>ADAM AND EVE IN PARADISE</h3> + +<p> +The Garden of Eden was the abode of the first man and woman, and the souls of +all men must pass through it after death, before they reach their final +destination. For the souls of the departed must go through seven portals before +they arrive in the heaven 'Arabot. There the souls of the pious are transformed +into angels, and there they remain forever, praising God and feasting their +sight upon the glory of the Shekinah. The first portal is the Cave of +Machpelah, in the vicinity of Paradise, which is under the care and supervision +of Adam. If the soul that presents herself at the portal is worthy, he calls +out, "Make room! Thou art welcome!" The soul then proceeds until she arrives at +the gate of Paradise guarded by the cherubim and the flaming sword. If she is +not found worthy, she is consumed by the sword; otherwise she receives a +pass-bill, which admits her to the terrestrial Paradise. Therein is a pillar of +smoke and light extending from Paradise to the gate of heaven, and it depends +upon the character of the soul whether she can climb upward on it and reach +heaven. The third portal, Zebul, is at the entrance of heaven. If the soul is +worthy, the guard opens the portal and admits her 'to the heavenly Temple. +Michael presents her to God, and conducts her to the seventh portal, 'Arabot, +within which the souls of the pious, changed to angels, praise the Lord, and +feed on the glory of the Shekinah.[49] +</p> + +<p> +In Paradise stand the tree of life and the tree of knowledge, the latter +forming a hedge about the former. Only he who has cleared a path for himself +through the tree of knowledge can come close to the tree of life, which is so +huge that it would take a man five hundred years to traverse a distance equal +to the diameter of the trunk, and no less vast is the space shaded by its crown +of branches. From beneath it flows forth the water that irrigates the whole +earth,[50] parting thence into four streams, the Ganges, the Nile, the Tigris, +and the Euphrates.[51] But it was only during the days of creation that the +realm of plants looked to the waters of the earth for nourishment. Later on God +made the plants dependent upon the rain, the upper waters. The clouds rise from +earth to heaven, where water is poured into them as from a conduit.[52] The +plants began to feel the effect of the water only after Adam was created. +Although they had been brought forth on the third day, God did not permit them +to sprout and appear above the surface of the earth, until Adam prayed to Him +to give food unto them, for God longs for the prayers of the pious.[53] +</p> + +<p> +Paradise being such as it was, it was, naturally, not necessary for Adam to +work the land. True, the Lord God put the man into the Garden of Eden to dress +it and to keep it, but that only means he is to study the Torah there and +fulfil the commandments of God.[54] There were especially six commandments +which every human being is expected to heed: man should not worship idols; nor +blaspheme God; nor commit murder, nor incest, nor theft and robbery; and all +generations have the duty of instituting measures of law and order.[55] One +more such command there was, but it was a temporary injunction. Adam was to eat +only the green things of the field. But the prohibition against the use of +animals for food was revoked in Noah's time, after the deluge. Nevertheless, +Adam was not cut off from the enjoyment of meat dishes. Though he was not +permitted to slaughter animals for the appeasing of his appetite, the angels +brought him meat and wine, serving him like attendants.[56] And as the angels +ministered to his wants, so also the animals. They were wholly under his +dominion, and their food they took out of his hand and out of Eve's.[57] In all +respects, the animal world had a different relation to Adam from their relation +to his descendants. Not only did they know the language of man,[58] but they +respected the image of God, and they feared the first human couple, all of +which changed into the opposite after the fall of man.[59] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap18"></a>THE FALL OF MAN</h3> + +<p> +Among the animals the serpent was notable. Of all of them he had the most +excellent qualities, in some of which he resembled man. Like man he stood +upright upon two feet, and in height he was equal to the camel. Had it not been +for the fall of man, which brought misfortune to them, too, one pair of +serpents would have sufficed to perform all the work man has to do, and, +besides, they would have supplied him with silver, gold, gems, and pearls. As a +matter of fact, it was the very ability of the serpent that led to the ruin of +man and his own ruin. His superior mental gifts caused him to become an +infidel. It likewise explains his envy of man, especially of his conjugal +relations. Envy made him meditate ways and means of bringing about the death of +Adam.[60] He was too well acquainted with the character of the man to attempt +to exercise tricks of persuasion upon him, and he approached the woman, knowing +that women are beguiled easily. The conversation with Eve was cunningly +planned, she could not but be caught in a trap. The serpent began, "Is it true +that God hath said, Ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden?" "We may," +rejoined Eve, "eat of the fruit of all the trees in the garden, except that +which is in the midst of the garden, and that we may not even touch, lest we be +stricken with death." She spoke thus, because in his zeal to guard her against +the transgressing of the Divine command, Adam had forbidden Eve to touch the +tree, though God had mentioned only the eating of the fruit. It remains a +truth, what the proverb says, "Better a wall ten hands high that stands, than a +wall a hundred ells high that cannot stand." It was Adam's exaggeration that +afforded the serpent the possibility of persuading Eve to taste of the +forbidden fruit. The serpent pushed Eve against the tree, and said: "Thou seest +that touching the tree has not caused thy death. As little will it hurt thee to +eat the fruit of the tree. Naught but malevolence has prompted the prohibition, +for as soon as ye eat thereof, ye shall be as God. As He creates and destroys +worlds, so will ye have the power to create and destroy. As He doth slay and +revive, so will ye have the power to slay and revive.[61] He Himself ate first +of the fruit of the tree, and then He created the world. Therefore doth He +forbid you to eat thereof, lest you create other worlds. Everyone knows that +'artisans of the same guild hate one another.' Furthermore, have ye not +observed that every creature hath dominion over the creature fashioned before +itself? The heavens were made on the first day, and they are kept in place by +the firmament made on the second day. The firmament, in turn, is ruled by the +plants, the creation of the third day, for they take up all the water of the +firmament. The sun and the other celestial bodies, which were created on the +fourth day, have power over the world of plants. They can ripen their fruits +and flourish only through their influence. The creation of the fifth day, the +animal world, rules over the celestial spheres. Witness the ziz, which can +darken the sun with its pinions. But ye are masters of the whole of creation, +because ye were the last to be created. Hasten now and eat of the fruit of the +tree in the midst of the garden, and become independent of God, lest He bring +forth still other creatures to bear rule over you."[62] +</p> + +<p> +To give due weight to these words, the serpent began to shake the tree +violently and bring down its fruit. He ate thereof, saying: "As I do not die of +eating the fruit, so wilt thou not die." Now Eve could not but say to herself, +"All that my master"—so she called Adam—"commanded me is but lies," and she +determined to follow the advice of the serpent.[63] Yet she could not bring +herself to disobey the command of God utterly. She made a compromise with her +conscience. First she ate only the outside skin of the fruit, and then, seeing +that death did not fell her, she ate the fruit itself.[64] Scarce had she +finished, when she saw the Angel of Death before her. Expecting her end to come +immediately, she resolved to make Adam eat of the forbidden fruit, too, lest he +espouse another wife after her death.[65] It required tears and lamentations on +her part to prevail upon Adam to take the baleful step. Not yet satisfied, she +gave of the fruit to all other living beings, that they, too, might be subject +to death.[66] All ate, and they all are mortal, with the exception of the bird +malham, who refused the fruit, with the words: "Is it not enough that ye have +sinned against God, and have brought death to others? Must ye still come to me +and seek to persuade me into disobeying God's command, that I may eat and die +thereof? I will not do your bidding." A heavenly voice was heard then to say to +Adam and Eve: "To you was the command given. Ye did not heed it; ye did +transgress it, and ye did seek to persuade the bird malham. He was steadfast, +and he feared Me, although I gave him no command. Therefore he shall never +taste of death, neither he nor his descendants—they all shall live forever in +Paradise."[67] +</p> + +<p> +Adam spoke to Eve: "Didst thou give me of the tree of which I forbade thee to +eat? Thou didst give me thereof, for my eyes are opened, and the teeth in my +mouth are set on edge." Eve made answer, "As my teeth were set on edge, so may +the teeth of all living beings be set on edge."[68] The first result was that +Adam and Eve became naked. Before, their bodies had been overlaid with a horny +skin, and enveloped with the cloud of glory. No sooner had they violated the +command given them than the cloud of glory and the horny skin dropped from +them, and they stood there in their nakedness, and ashamed.[69] Adam tried to +gather leaves from the trees to cover part of their bodies, but he heard one +tree after the other say: "There is the thief that deceived his Creator. Nay, +the foot of pride shall not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked touch +me. Hence, and take no leaves from me!" Only the fig-tree granted him +permission to take of its leaves. That was because the fig was the forbidden +fruit itself. Adam had the same experience as that prince who seduced one of +the maid-ser vants in the palace. When the king, his father, chased him out, he +vainly sought a refuge with the other maid-servants, but only she who had +caused his disgrace would grant him assistance.[70] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap19"></a>THE PUNISHMENT</h3> + +<p> +As long as Adam stood naked, casting about for means of escape from his +embarrassment, God did not appear unto him, for one should not "strive to see a +man in the hour of his disgrace." He waited until Adam and Eve had covered +themselves with fig leaves.[71] But even before God spoke to him, Adam knew +what was impending. He heard the angels announce, "God betaketh Himself unto +those that dwell in Paradise." He heard more, too. He heard what the angels +were saying to one another about his fall, and what they were saying to God. In +astonishment the angels exclaimed: "What! He still walks about in Paradise? He +is not yet dead?" Whereupon God: "I said to him, 'In the day that thou eatest +thereof, thou shalt surely die!' Now, ye know not what manner of day I +meant—one of My days of a thousand years, or one of your days. I will give him +one of My days. He shall have nine hundred and thirty years to live, and +seventy to leave to his descendants."[72] +</p> + +<p> +When Adam and Eve heard God approaching, they hid among the trees—which would +not have been possible before the fall. Before he committed his trespass, +Adam's height was from the heavens to the earth, but afterward it was reduced +to one hundred ells.[73] Another consequence of his sin was the fear Adam felt +when he heard the voice of God: before his fall it had not disquieted him in +the least.[74] Hence it was that when Adam said, "I heard Thy voice in the +garden, and I was afraid," God replied, "Aforetime thou wert not afraid, and +now thou art afraid?"[75] +</p> + +<p> +God refrained from reproaches at first. Standing at the gate of Paradise, He +but asked, "Where art thou, Adam?" Thus did God desire to teach man a rule of +polite behavior, never to enter the house of another without announcing +himself.[76] It cannot be denied, the words "Where art thou?" were pregnant +with meaning. They were intended to bring home to Adam the vast difference +between his latter and his former state—between his supernatural size then and +his shrunken size now; between the lordship of God over him then and the +lordship of the serpent over him now.[77] At the same time, God wanted to give +Adam the opportunity of repenting of his sin, and he would have received Divine +forgiveness for it. But so far from repenting of it, Adam slandered God, and +uttered blasphemies against Him.[78] When God asked him, "Hast thou eaten of +the tree whereof I commanded thee thou shouldst not eat?" he did not confess +his sin, but excused himself with the words: "O Lord of the world! As long as I +was alone, I did not fall into sin, but as soon as this woman came to me, she +tempted me." God replied: "I gave her unto thee as a help, and thou art +ungrateful when thou accusest her, saying, 'She gave me of the tree.' Thou +shouldst not have obeyed her, for thou art the head, and not she."[79] God, who +knows all things, had foreseen exactly this, and He had not created Eve until +Adam had asked Him for a helpmate, so that he might not have apparently good +reason for reproaching God with having created woman.[80] +</p> + +<p> +As Adam tried to shift the blame for his misdeed from himself, so also Eve. +She, like her husband, did not confess her transgression and pray for pardon, +which would have been granted to her.[81] Gracious as God is, He did not +pronounce the doom upon Adam and Eve until they showed themselves stiff-necked. +Not so with the serpent. God inflicted the curse upon the serpent without +hearing his defense; for the serpent is a villain, and the wicked are good +debaters. If God had questioned him, the serpent would have answered: "Thou +didst give them a command, and I did contradict it. Why did they obey me, and +not Thee?"[82] Therefore God did not enter into an argument with the serpent, +but straightway decreed the following ten punishments: The mouth of the serpent +was closed, and his power of speech taken away; his hands and feet were hacked +off; the earth was given him as food; he must suffer great pain in sloughing +his skin; enmity is to exist between him and man; if he eats the choicest +viands, or drinks the sweetest beverages, they all change into dust in his +mouth; the pregnancy of the female serpent lasts seven years; men shall seek to +kill him as soon as they catch sight of him; even in the future world, where +all beings will be blessed, he will not escape the punishment decreed for him; +he will vanish from out of the Holy Land if Israel walks in the ways of +God.[83] +</p> + +<p> +Furthermore, God spake to the serpent: "I created thee to be king over all +animals, cattle and the beasts of the field alike; but thou wast not satisfied. +Therefore thou shalt be cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the +field. I created thee of upright posture; but thou wast not satisfied. +Therefore thou shalt go upon thy belly. I created thee to eat the same food as +man; but thou wast not satisfied. Therefore thou shalt eat dust all the days of +thy life. Thou didst seek to cause the death of Adam in order to espouse his +wife. Therefore I will put enmity between thee and the woman." How true it +is—he who lusts after what is not his due, not only does he not attain his +desire, but he also loses what he has! +</p> + +<p> +As angels had been present when the doom was pronounced upon the serpent—for +God had convoked a Sanhedrin of seventy-one angels when He sat in judgment upon +him—so the execution of the decree against him was entrusted to angels. They +descended from heaven, and chopped off his hands and feet. His suffering was so +great that his agonized cries could be heard from one end of the world to the +other.[84] +</p> + +<p> +The verdict against Eve also consisted of ten curses, the effect of which is +noticeable to this day in the physical, spiritual, and social state of +woman.[85] It was not God Himself who announced her fate to Eve. The only woman +with whom God ever spoke was Sarah. In the case of Eve, He made use of the +services of an interpreter.[86] +</p> + +<p> +Finally, also the punishment of Adam was tenfold: he lost his celestial +clothing—God stripped it off him; in sorrow he was to earn his daily bread; the +food he ate was to be turned from good into bad; his children were to wander +from land to land; his body was to exude sweat; he was to have an evil +inclination; in death his body was to be a prey of the worms; animals were to +have power over him, in that they could slay him; his days were to be few and +full of trouble; in the end he was to render account of all his doings on +earth. +</p> + +<p> +These three sinners were not the only ones to have punishment dealt out to +them. The earth fared no better, for it had been guilty of various +misdemeanors. In the first place, it had not entirely heeded the command of God +given on the third day, to bring forth "tree of fruit." What God had desired +was a tree the wood of which was to be as pleasant to the taste as the fruit +thereof. The earth, however, produced a tree bearing fruit, the tree itself not +being edible.[88] Again, the earth did not do its whole duty in connection with +the sin of Adam. God had appointed the sun and the earth witnesses to testify +against Adam in case he committed a trespass. The sun, accordingly, had grown +dark the instant Adam became guilty of disobedience, but the earth, not knowing +how to take notice of Adam's fall, disregarded it altogether.[89] The earth +also had to suffer a tenfold punishment: independent before, she was hereafter +to wait to be watered by the rain from above; sometimes the fruits of the earth +fail; the grain she brings forth is stricken with blasting and mildew; she must +produce all sorts of noxious vermin; thenceforth she was to be divided into +valleys and mountains; she must grow barren trees, bearing no fruit; thorns and +thistles sprout from her; much is sown in the earth, but little is harvested; +in time to come the earth will have to disclose her blood, and shall no more +cover her slain; and, finally, she shall, one day, "wax old like a +garment."[90] +</p> + +<p> +When Adam heard the words, "Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth," +concerning the ground, a sweat broke out on his face, and he said: "What! Shall +I and my cattle eat from the same manger?" The Lord had mercy upon him, and +spoke, "In view of the sweat of thy face, thou shalt eat bread."[91] +</p> + +<p> +The earth is not the only thing created that was made to suffer through the sin +of Adam. The same fate overtook the moon. When the serpent seduced Adam and +Eve, and exposed their nakedness, they wept bitterly, and with them wept the +heavens, and the sun and the stars, and all created beings and things up to the +throne of God. The very angels and the celestial beings were grieved by the +trans gression of Adam. The moon alone laughed, wherefore God grew wroth, and +obscured her light. Instead of shining steadily like the sun, all the length of +the day, she grows old quickly, and must be born and reborn, again and +again.[92] The callous conduct of the moon offended God, not only by way of +contrast with the compassion of all other creatures, but because He Himself was +full of pity for Adam and his wife. He made clothes for them out of the skin +stripped from the serpent.[93] He would have done even more. He would have +permitted them to remain in Paradise, if only they had been penitent. But they +refused to repent, and they had to leave, lest their godlike understanding urge +them to ravage the tree of life, and they learn to live forever. As it was, +when God dismissed them from Paradise, He did not allow the Divine quality of +justice to prevail entirely. He associated mercy with it. As they left, He +said: "O what a pity that Adam was not able to observe the command laid upon +him for even a brief span of time!" +</p> + +<p> +To guard the entrance to Paradise, God appointed the cherubim, called also the +ever-turning sword of flames, because angels can turn themselves from one shape +into another at need.[94] Instead of the tree of life, God gave Adam the Torah, +which likewise is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and he was +permitted to take up his abode in the vicinity of Paradise in the east.[95] +</p> + +<p> +Sentence pronounced upon Adam and Eve and the serpent, the Lord commanded the +angels to turn the man and the woman out of Paradise. They began to weep and +supplicate bitterly, and the angels took pity upon them and left the Divine +command unfulfilled, until they could petition God to mitigate His severe +verdict. But the Lord was inexorable, saying, "Was it I that committed a +trespass, or did I pronounce a false judgment?" Also Adam's prayer, to be given +of the fruit of the tree of life, was turned aside, with the promise, however, +that if he would lead a pious life, he would be given of the fruit on the day +of resurrection, and he would then live forever. +</p> + +<p> +Seeing that God had resolved unalterably, Adam began to weep again and implore +the angels to grant him at least permission to take sweet-scented spices with +him out of Paradise, that outside, too, he might be able to bring offerings +unto God, and his prayers be accepted before the Lord. Thereupon the angels +came before God, and spake: "King unto everlasting, command Thou us to give +Adam sweet-scented spices of Paradise," and God heard their prayer. Thus Adam +gathered saffron, nard, calamus, and cinnamon, and all sorts of seeds besides +for his sustenance. Laden with these, Adam and Eve left Paradise, and came upon +earth.[96] They had enjoyed the splendors of Paradise but a brief span of +time—but a few hours. It was in the first hour of the sixth day of creation +that God conceived the idea of creating man; in the second hour, He took +counsel with the angels; in the third, He gathered the dust for the body of +man; in the fourth, He formed Adam; in the fifth, He clothed him with skin; in +the sixth, the soulless shape was complete, so that it could stand upright; in +the seventh, a soul was breathed into it; in the eighth, man was led into +Paradise; in the ninth, the Divine command prohibiting the fruit of the tree in +the midst of the garden was issued to him; in the tenth, he transgressed the +command; in the eleventh, he was judged; and in the twelfth hour of the day, he +was cast out of Paradise, in atonement for his sin. +</p> + +<p> +This eventful day was the first of the month of Tishri. Therefore God spoke to +Adam: "Thou shalt be the prototype of thy children. As thou hast been judged by +Me on this day and absolved, so thy children Israel shall be judged by Me on +this New Year's Day, and they shall be absolved."[97] +</p> + +<p> +Each day of creation brought forth three things: the first, heaven, earth, and +light; the second, the firmament, Gehenna, and the angels; the third, trees, +herbs, and Paradise; the fourth, sun, moon, and stars; and the fifth, fishes, +birds, and leviathan. As God intended to rest on the seventh day, the Sabbath, +the sixth day had to do double duty. It brought forth six creations: Adam, Eve, +cattle, reptiles, the beasts of the field, and demons. The demons were made +shortly before the Sabbath came in, and they are, therefore, incorporeal +spirits—the Lord had no time to create bodies for them.[98] +</p> + +<p> +In the twilight, between the sixth day and the Sabbath, ten creations were, +brought forth: the rainbow, invisible until Noah's time; the manna; +watersprings, whence Israel drew water for his thirst in the desert; the +writing upon the two tables of stone given at Sinai; the pen with which the +writing was written; the two tables themselves; the mouth of Balaam's she-ass; +the grave of Moses; the cave in which Moses and Elijah dwelt; and the rod of +Aaron, with its blossoms and its ripe almonds.[99] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap20"></a>SABBATH IN HEAVEN</h3> + +<p> +Before the world was created, there was none to praise God and know Him. +Therefore He created the angels and the holy Hayyot, the heavens and their +host, and Adam as well. They all were to praise and glorify their Creator. +During the week of creation, however, there was no suitable time to proclaim +the splendor and praise of the Lord. Only on the Sabbath, when all creation +rested, the beings on earth and in heaven, all together, broke into song and +adoration when God ascended His throne and sate upon it.[100] It was the Throne +of Joy upon which He sate, and He had all the angels pass before Him—the angel +of the water, the angel of the rivers, the angel of the mountains, the angel of +the hills, the angel of the abysses, the angel of the deserts, the angel of the +sun, the angel of the moon, the angel of the Pleiades, the angel of Orion, the +angel of the herbs, the angel of Paradise, the angel of Gehenna, the angel of +the trees, the angel of the reptiles, the angel of the wild beasts, the angel +of the domestic animals, the angel of the fishes, the angel of the locusts, the +angel of the birds, the chief angel of the angels, the angel of each heaven, +the chief angel of each division of the heavenly hosts, the chief angel of the +holy Hayyot, the chief angel of the cherubim, the chief angel of the ofanim, +and all the other splendid, terrible, and mighty angel chiefs. They all +appeared before God with great joy, laved in a stream of joy, and they rejoiced +and danced and sang, and extolled the Lord with many praises and many +instruments. The ministering angels began, "Let the glory of the Lord endure +forever!" And the rest of the angels took up the song with the words, "Let the +Lord rejoice in His works!" 'Arabot, the seventh heaven, was filled with joy +and glory, splendor and strength, power and might and pride and magnificence +and grandeur, praise and jubilation, song and gladness, steadfastness and +righteousness, honor and adoration. +</p> + +<p> +Then God bade the Angel of the Sabbath seat himself upon a throne of glory, and +He brought before him the chiefs of the angels of all the heavens and all the +abysses, and bade them dance and rejoice, saying, "Sabbath it is unto the +Lord!" and the exalted princes of the heavens responded, "Unto the Lord it is +Sabbath!" Even Adam was permitted to ascend to the highest heaven, to take part +in the rejoicing over the Sabbath. +</p> + +<p> +By bestowing Sabbath joy upon all beings, not excepting Adam, thus did the Lord +dedicate His creation. Seeing the majesty of the Sabbath, its honor and +greatness, and the joy it conferred upon all, being the fount of all joy, Adam +intoned a song of praise for the Sabbath day. Then God said to him, "Thou +singest a song of praise to the Sabbath day, and singest none to Me, the God of +the Sabbath?" Thereupon the Sabbath rose from his seat, and prostrated himself +before God, saying, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord," and the +whole of creation added, "And to sing praises unto Thy Name, O Most High!"[101] +</p> + +<p> +This was the first Sabbath, and this its celebration in heaven by God and the +angels. The angels were informed at the same time that in days to come Israel +would hallow the day in similar manner. God told them: "I will set aside for +Myself a people from among all the peoples. This people will observe the +Sabbath, and I will sanctify it to be My people, and I will be God unto it. +From all that I have seen, I have chosen the seed of Israel wholly, and I have +inscribed him as My first-born son, and I sanctified him unto Myself unto all +eternity, him and the Sabbath, that he keep the Sabbath and hallow it from all +work."[102] +</p> + +<p> +For Adam the Sabbath had a peculiar significance. When he was made to depart +out of Paradise in the twilight of the Sabbath eve, the angels called after +him, "Adam did not abide in his glory overnight!" Then the Sabbath appeared +before God as Adam's defender, and he spoke: "O Lord of the world! During the +six working days no creature was slain. If Thou wilt begin now by slaying Adam, +what will become of the sanctity and the blessing of the Sabbath?" In this way +Adam was rescued from the fires of hell, the meet punishment for his sins, and +in gratitude he composed a psalm in honor of the Sabbath, which David later +embodied in his Psalter.[103] +</p> + +<p> +Still another opportunity was given to Adam to learn and appreciate the value +of the Sabbath. The celestial light, whereby Adam could survey the world from +end to end, should properly have been made to disappear immediately after his +sin. But out of consideration for the Sabbath, God had let this light continue +to shine, and the angels, at sundown on the sixth day, intoned a song of praise +and thanksgiving to God, for the radiant light shining through the night. Only +with the going out of the Sabbath day the celestial light ceased, to the +consternation of Adam, who feared that the serpent would attack him in the +dark. But God illumined his understanding, and he learned to rub two stones +against each other and produce light for his needs.[104] +</p> + +<p> +The celestial light was but one of the seven precious gifts enjoyed by Adam +before the fall and to be granted to man again only in the Messianic time. The +others are the resplendence of his countenance; life eternal; his tall stature; +the fruits of the soil; the fruits of the tree; and the luminaries of the sky, +the sun and the moon, for in the world to come the light of the moon shall be +as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold.[105] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap21"></a>ADAM'S REPENTANCE</h3> + +<p> +Cast out of Paradise, Adam and Eve built a hut for themselves, and for seven +days they sat in it in great distress, mourning and lamenting. At the end of +the seven days, tormented by hunger, they came forth and sought food. For seven +other days, Adam journeyed up and down in the land, looking for such dainties +as he had enjoyed in Paradise. In vain; he found nothing. Then Eve spoke to her +husband: "My lord, if it please thee, slay me. Mayhap God will then take thee +back into Paradise, for the Lord God became wroth with thee only on account of +me." But Adam rejected her plan with abhorrence, and both went forth again on +the search for food. Nine days passed, and still they found naught resembling +what they had had in Paradise. They saw only food fit for cattle and beasts. +Then Adam proposed: "Let us do penance, mayhap the Lord God will forgive us and +have pity on us, and give us something to sustain our life." Knowing that Eve +was not vigorous enough to undergo the mortification of the flesh which he +purposed to inflict upon himself, he prescribed a penance for her different +from his own. He said to her: "Arise, and go to the Tigris, take a stone and +stand upon it in the deepest part of the river, where the water will reach as +high as thy neck. And let no speech issue forth from thy mouth, for we are +unworthy to supplicate God, our lips are unclean by reason of the forbidden +fruit of the tree. Remain in the water for thirty-seven days." +</p> + +<p> +For himself Adam ordained forty days of fasting, while he stood in the river +Jordan in the same way as Eve was to take up her stand in the waters of the +Tigris. After he had adjusted the stone in the middle of the Jordan, and +mounted it, with the waters surging up to his neck, he said: "I adjure thee, O +thou water of the Jordan! Afflict thyself with me, and gather unto me all +swimming creatures that live in thee. Let them surround me and sorrow with me, +and let them not beat their own breasts with grief, but let them beat me. Not +they have sinned, only I alone!" Very soon they all came, the dwellers in the +Jordan, and they encompassed him, and from that moment the water of the Jordan +stood still and ceased from flowing. +</p> + +<p> +The penance which Adam and Eve laid upon themselves awakened misgivings in +Satan. He feared God might forgive their sin, and therefore essayed to hinder +Eve in her purpose. After a lapse of eighteen days he appeared unto her in the +guise of an angel. As though in distress on account of her, he began to cry, +saying: "Step up out of the river, and weep no longer. The Lord God hath heard +your mourning, and your penitence hath been accepted by Him. All the angels +supplicated the Lord in your behalf, and He hath sent me to fetch you out of +the water and give you the sustenance that you enjoyed in Paradise, and for +which you have been mourning." Enfeebled as she was by her penances and +mortifications, Eve yielded to the solicitations of Satan, and he led her to +where her husband was. Adam recognized him at once, and amid tears he cried +out: "O Eve, Eve, where now is thy penitence? How couldst thou let our +adversary seduce thee again—him who robbed us of our sojourn in Paradise and +all spiritual joy?" Thereupon Eve, too, began to weep and cry out: "Woe unto +thee, O Satan! Why strivest thou against us without any reason? What have we +done unto thee that thou shouldst pursue us so craftily?" With a deep-fetched +sigh, Satan told them how that Adam, of whom he had been jealous, had been the +real reason of his fall. Having lost his glory through him, he had intrigued to +have him driven from Paradise. +</p> + +<p> +When Adam heard the confession of Satan, he prayed to God: "O Lord my God! In +Thy hands is my life. Remove from me this adversary, who seeks to deliver my +soul to destruction, and grant me the glory he has forfeited." Satan +disappeared forthwith, but Adam continued his penance, standing in the waters +of the Jordan for forty days.[106] +</p> + +<p> +While Adam stood in the river, he noticed that the days were growing shorter, +and he feared the world might be darkened on account of his sin, and go under +soon. To avert the doom, he spent eight days in prayer and fasting. But after +the winter solstice, when he saw that the days grew longer again, he spent +eight days in rejoicing, and in the following year he celebrated both periods, +the one before and the one after the solstice. This is why the heathen +celebrate the calends and the saturnalia in honor of their gods, though Adam +had consecrated those days to the honor of God.[107] +</p> + +<p> +The first time Adam witnessed the sinking of the sun be was also seized with +anxious fears. It happened at the conclusion of the Sabbath, and Adam said, +"Woe is me! For my sake, because I sinned, the world is darkened, and it will +again become void and without form. Thus will be executed the punishment of +death which God has pronounced against me!" All the night he spent in tears, +and Eve, too, wept as she sat opposite to him. When day began to dawn, he +understood that what he had deplored was but the course of nature, and he +brought an offering unto God, a unicorn whose horn was created before his +hoofs,[108] and he sacrificed it on the spot on which later the altar was to +stand in Jerusalem.[109] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap22"></a>THE BOOK OF RAZIEL</h3> + +<p> +After Adam's expulsion from Paradise, he prayed to God in these words: "O God, +Lord of the world! Thou didst create the whole world unto the honor and glory +of the Mighty One, and Thou didst as was pleasing unto Thee. Thy kingdom is +unto all eternity, and Thy reign unto all generations. Naught is hidden from +Thee, and naught is concealed from Thine eyes. Thou didst create me as Thy +handiwork, and didst make me the ruler over Thy creatures, that I might be the +chief of Thy works. But the cunning, accursed serpent seduced me with the tree +of desire and lusts, yea, he seduced the wife of my bosom. But Thou didst not +make known unto me what shall befall my children and the generations after me. +I know well that no human being can be righteous in Thine eyes, and what is my +strength that I should step before Thee with an impudent face? I have no mouth +wherewith to speak and no eye wherewith to see, for I did sin and commit a +trespass, and, by reason of my sins, I was driven forth from Paradise. I must +plough the earth whence I was taken, and the other inhabitants of the earth, +the beasts, no longer, as once, stand in awe and fear of me. From the time I +ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, wisdom departed from me, and I +am a fool that knoweth naught, an ignorant man that understandeth not. Now, O +merciful and gracious God, I pray to Thee to turn again Thy compassion to the +head of Thy works, to the spirit which Thou didst instil into him, and the soul +Thou didst breathe into him. Meet me with Thy grace, for Thou art gracious, +slow to anger, and full of love. O that my prayer would reach unto the throne +of Thy glory, and my supplication unto the throne of Thy mercy, and Thou +wouldst incline to me with lovingkindness. May the words of my mouth be +acceptable, that Thou turn not away from my petition. Thou wert from +everlasting, and Thou wilt be unto everlasting; Thou wert king, and Thou wilt +ever be king. Now, have Thou mercy upon the work of Thy hands. Grant me +knowledge and understanding, that I may know what shall befall me, and my +posterity, and all the generations that come after me, and what shall befall me +on every day and in every month, and mayest Thou not withhold from me the help +of Thy servants and of Thy angels." +</p> + +<p> +On the third day after he had offered up this prayer, while he was sitting on +the banks of the river that flows forth out of Paradise, there appeared to him, +in the heat of the day, the angel Raziel, bearing a book in his hand. The angel +addressed Adam thus: "O Adam, why art thou so fainthearted? Why art thou +distressed and anxious? Thy words were heard at the moment when thou didst +utter thy supplication and entreaties, and I have received the charge to teach +thee pure words and deep understanding, to make thee wise through the contents +of the sacred book in my hand, to know what will happen to thee until the day +of thy death. And all thy descendants and all the later generations, if they +will but read this book in purity, with a devout heart and an humble mind, and +obey its precepts, will become like unto thee. They, too, will foreknow what +things shall happen, and in what month and on what day or in what night. All +will be manifest to them—they will know and understand whether a calamity will +come, a famine or wild beasts, floods or drought; whether there will be +abundance of grain or dearth; whether the wicked will rule the world; whether +locusts will devastate the land; whether the fruits will drop from the trees +unripe; whether boils will afflict men; whether wars will prevail, or diseases +or plagues among men and cattle; whether good is resolved upon in heaven, or +evil; whether blood will flow, and the death-rattle of the slain be heard in +the city. And now, Adam, come and give heed unto what I shall tell thee +regarding the manner of this book and its holiness." +</p> + +<p> +Raziel, the angel, then read from the book, and when Adam heard the words of +the holy volume as they issued from the mouth of the angel, he fell down +affrighted. But the angel encouraged him. "Arise, Adam," he said, "be of good +courage, be not afraid, take the book from me and keep it, for thou wilt draw +knowledge from it thyself and become wise, and thou wilt also teach its +contents to all those who shall be found worthy of knowing what it contains." +</p> + +<p> +In the moment when Adam took the book, a flame of fire shot up from near the +river, and the angel rose heavenward with it. Then Adam knew that he who had +spoken to him was an angel of God, and it was from the Holy King Himself that +the book had come, and he used it in holiness and purity. It is the book out of +which all things worth knowing can be learnt, and all mysteries, and it teaches +also how to call upon the angels and make them appear before men, and answer +all their questions. But not all alike can use the book, only he who is wise +and God-fearing, and resorts to it in holiness. Such an one is secure against +all wicked counsels, his life is serene, and when death takes him from this +world, he finds repose in a place where there are neither demons nor evil +spirits, and out of the hands of the wicked he is quickly rescued.[110] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap23"></a>THE SICKNESS OF ADAM</h3> + +<p> +When Adam had lived to be nine hundred and thirty years old, a sickness seized +him, and he felt that his days were drawing to an end. He summoned all his +descendants, and assembled them before the door of the house of worship in +which he had always offered his prayers to God, to give them his last blessing. +His family were astonished to find him stretched out on the bed of sickness, +for they did not know what pain and suffering were.[111] They thought he was +overcome with longing after the fruits of Paradise, and for lack of them was +depressed. Seth announced his willingness to go to the gates of Paradise and +beg God to let one of His angels give him of its fruits. But Adam explained to +them what sickness and pain are, and that God had inflicted them upon him as a +punishment for his sin.[112] Adam suffered violently; tears and groans were +wrung from him. Eve sobbed, and said, "Adam, my lord, give me the half of thy +sickness, I will gladly bear it. Is it not on account of me that this hath come +upon thee? On account of me thou undergoest pain and anguish." +</p> + +<p> +Adam bade Eve go with Seth to the gates of Paradise and entreat God to have +mercy upon him, and send His angel to catch up some of the oil of life flowing +from the tree of His mercy and give it to his messengers. The ointment would +bring him rest, and banish the pain consuming him. On his way to Paradise, Seth +was attacked by a wild beast. Eve called out to the assailant, "How durst thou +lay hand on the image of God?" The ready answer came: "It is thine own fault. +Hadst thou not opened thy mouth to eat of the forbidden fruit, my mouth would +not be opened now to destroy a human being." But Seth remonstrated: "Hold thy +tongue! Desist from the image of God until the day of judgment." And the beast +gave way, saying, "See, I refrain myself from the image of God," and it slunk +away to its covert.[113] +</p> + +<p> +Arrived at the gates of Paradise, Eve and Seth began to cry bitterly, and they +besought God with many lamentations to give them oil from the tree of His +mercy. For hours they prayed thus. At last the archangel Michael appeared, and +informed them that he came as the messenger of God to tell them that their +petition could not be granted. Adam would die in a few days, and as he was +subject to death, so would be all his descendants. Only at the time of the +resurrection, and then only to the pious, the oil of life would be dispensed, +together with all the bliss and all the delights of Paradise.[114] Returned to +Adam, they reported what had happened, and he said to Eve: "What misfortune +didst thou bring upon us when thou didst arouse great wrath! See, death is the +portion of all our race! Call hither our children and our children's children, +and tell them the manner of our sinning." And while Adam lay prostrate upon the +bed of pain, Eve told them the story of their fall.[115] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap24"></a>EVE'S STORY OF THE FALL</h3> + +<p> +After I was created, God divided Paradise and all the animals therein between +Adam and me. The east and the north were assigned to Adam, together with the +male animals. I was mistress of the west and the south and all the female +animals. Satan, smarting under the disgrace of having been dismissed from the +heavenly host, resolved to bring about our ruin and avenge himself upon the +cause of his discomfiture. He won the serpent over to his side, and pointed out +to him that before the creation of Adam the animals could enjoy all that grew +in Paradise, and now they were restricted to the weeds. To drive Adam from +Paradise would therefore be for the good of all. The serpent demurred, for he +stood in awe of the wrath of God. But Satan calmed his fears, and said, "Do +thou but become my vessel,[117] and I shall speak a word through thy mouth +wherewith thou wilt succeed in seducing man." +</p> + +<p> +The serpent thereupon suspended himself from the wall surrounding Paradise, to +carry on his conversation with me from without. And this happened at the very +moment when my two guardian angels had betaken themselves to heaven to +supplicate the Lord. I was quite alone therefore, and when Satan assumed the +appearance of an angel, bent over the wall of Paradise, and intoned seraphic +songs of praise, I was deceived, and thought him an angel. A conversation was +held between us, Satan speaking through the mouth of the serpent: +</p> + +<p> +"Art thou Eve?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, it is I." +</p> + +<p> +"What art thou doing in Paradise?" +</p> + +<p> +"The Lord has put us here to cultivate it and eat of its fruits." +</p> + +<p> +"That is good. Yet you eat not of all the trees." +</p> + +<p> +"That we do, excepting a single one, the tree that stands in the midst of +Paradise. Concerning it alone, God has forbidden us to eat of it, else, the +Lord said, ye will die." +</p> + +<p> +The serpent made every effort to persuade me that I had naught to fear—that God +knew that in the day that Adam and I ate of the fruit of the tree, we should be +as He Himself. It was jealousy that had made Him say,[118] "Ye shall not eat of +it." In spite of all his urging, I remained steadfast and refused to touch the +tree. Then the serpent engaged to pluck the fruit for me. Thereupon I opened +the gate of Paradise, and he slipped in. Scarcely was he within, when he said +to me, "I repent of my words, I would rather not give thee of the fruit of the +forbidden tree." It was but a cunning device to tempt me more. He consented to +give me of the fruit only after I swore to make my husband eat of it, too. This +is the oath he made me take: "By the throne of God, by the cherubim, and by the +tree of life, I shall give my husband of this fruit, that he may eat, too." +Thereupon the serpent ascended the tree and injected his poison, the poison of +the evil inclination, into the fruit,[119] and bent the branch on which it grew +to the ground. I took hold of it, but I knew at once that I was stripped of the +righteousness in which I had been clothed.[120] I began to weep, because of it +and because of the oath the serpent had forced from me. +</p> + +<p> +The serpent disappeared from the tree, while I sought leaves wherewith to cover +my nakedness, but all the trees within my reach had cast off their leaves at +the moment when I ate of the forbidden fruit.[121] There was only one that +retained its leaves, the fig-tree, the very tree the fruit of which had been +forbidden to me.[122] I summoned Adam, and by means of blasphemous words I +prevailed upon him to eat of the fruit. As soon as it had passed his lips, he +knew his true condition, and he exclaimed against me: "Thou wicked woman, what +bast thou brought down upon me? Thou hast removed me from the glory of God." +</p> + +<p> +At the same time Adam and I heard the archangel Michael[123] blow his trumpet, +and all the angels cried out: "Thus saith the Lord, Come ye with Me to Paradise +and hearken unto the sentence which I will pronounce upon Adam."[124] +</p> + +<p> +We hid ourselves because we feared the judgment of God. Sitting in his chariot +drawn by cherubim, the Lord, accompanied by angels uttering His praise, +appeared in Paradise. At His coming the bare trees again put forth leaves.[125] +His throne was erected by the tree of life, and God addressed Adam: "Adam, +where dost thou keep thyself in hiding? Thinkest thou I cannot find thee? Can a +house conceal itself from its architect?"[126] +</p> + +<p> +Adam tried to put the blame on me, who had promised to hold him harmless before +God. And I in turn accused the serpent. But God dealt out justice to all three +of us. To Adam He said: "Because thou didst not obey My commands, but didst +hearken unto the voice of thy wife, cursed is the ground in spite of thy work. +When thou dost cultivate it, it will not yield thee its strength. Thorns and +thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and in the sweat of thy face shalt thou +eat bread. Thou wilt suffer many a hardship, thou wilt grow weary, and yet find +no rest. Bitterly oppressed, thou shalt never taste of any sweetness. Thou +shalt be scourged by heat, and yet pinched by cold. Thou shalt toil greatly, +and yet not gain wealth. Thou shalt grow fat, and yet cease to live. And the +animals over which thou art the master will rise up against thee, because thou +didst not keep my command."[127] +</p> + +<p> +Upon me God pronounced this sentence: "Thou shalt suffer anguish in childbirth +and grievous torture. In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and in the +hour of travail, when thou art near to lose thy life, thou wilt confess and +cry, 'Lord, Lord, save me this time, and I will never again indulge in carnal +pleasure,' and yet thy desire shall ever and ever be unto thy husband."[128] +</p> + +<p> +At the same time all sorts of diseases were decreed upon us. God said to Adam: +"Because thou didst turn aside from My covenant, I will inflict seventy plagues +upon thy flesh. The pain of the first plague shall lay hold on thy eyes; the +pain of the second plague upon thy hearing, and one after the other all the +plagues shall come upon thee."[129] The serpent God addressed thus: "Because +thou becamest the vessel of the Evil One,[130] deceiving the innocent, cursed +art thou above all cattle and above every beast of the field. Thou shalt be +robbed of the food thou wast wont to eat, and dust shalt thou eat all the days +of thy life. Upon thy breast and thy belly shalt thou go, and of thy hands and +thy feet thou shalt be deprived. Thou shalt not remain in possession of thy +ears, nor of thy wings, nor of any of thy limbs wherewith thou didst seduce the +woman and her husband, bringing them to such a pass that they must be driven +forth from Paradise. And I will put enmity between thee and the seed of man. It +shall bruise thy head, and, thou shalt bruise his heel until the day of +judgment."[131] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap25"></a>THE DEATH OF ADAM</h3> + +<p> +On the last day of Adam's life, Eve said to him, "Why should I go on living, +when thou art no more? How long shall I have to linger on after thy death? Tell +me this!" Adam assured her she would not tarry long. They would die together, +and be buried together in the same place. He commanded her not to touch his +corpse until an angel from God had made provision regarding it, and she was to +begin at once to pray to God until his soul escaped from his body. +</p> + +<p> +While Eve was on her knees in prayer, an angel came,[132] and bade her rise. +"Eve, arise from thy penance," he commanded. "Behold, thy husband hath left his +mortal coil. Arise, and see his spirit go up to his Creator, to appear before +Him." And, lo, she beheld a chariot of light, drawn by four shining eagles, and +preceded by angels. In this chariot lay the soul of Adam, which the angels were +taking to heaven. Arrived there, they burnt incense until the clouds of smoke +enveloped the heavens. Then they prayed to God to have mercy upon His image and +the work of His holy hands. In her awe and fright, Eve summoned Seth, and she +bade him look upon the vision and explain the celestial sights beyond her +understanding. She asked, "Who may the two Ethiopians be, who are adding their +prayers to thy father's?" Seth told her, they were the sun and the moon, turned +so black because they could not shine in the face of the Father of light.[133] +Scarcely had he spoken, when an angel blew a trumpet, and all the angels cried +out with awful voices, "Blessed be the glory of the Lord by His creatures, for +He has shown mercy unto Adam, the work of His hands!" A seraph then seized +Adam, and carried him off to the river Acheron, washed him three times, and +brought him before the presence of God, who sat upon His throne, and, +stretching out His hand, lifted Adam up and gave him over to the archangel +Michael, with the words, "Raise him to the Paradise of the third heaven, and +there thou shalt leave him until the great and fearful day ordained by Me." +Michael executed the Divine behest, and all the angels sang a song of praise, +extolling God for the pardon He had accorded Adam. +</p> + +<p> +Michael now entreated God to let him attend to the preparation of Adam's body +for the grave. Permission being given, Michael repaired to earth, accompanied +by all the angels. When they entered the terrestrial Paradise, all the trees +blossomed forth, and the perfume wafted thence lulled all men into slumber +except Seth alone. Then God said to Adam, as his body lay on the ground: "If +thou hadst kept My commandment, they would not rejoice who brought thee hither. +But I tell thee, I will turn the joy of Satan and his consorts into sorrow, and +thy sorrow shall be turned into joy. I will restore thee to thy dominion, and +thou shalt sit upon the throne of thy seducer, while he shall be damned, with +those who hearken unto him."[134] +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon, at the bidding of God, the three great archangels[135] covered the +body of Adam with linen, and poured sweet-smelling oil upon it. With it they +interred also the body of Abel, which had lain unburied since Cain had slain +him, for all the murderer's efforts to hide it had been in vain. The corpse +again and again sprang forth from the earth, and a voice issued thence, +proclaiming, "No creature shall rest in the earth until the first one of all +has returned the dust to me of which it was formed."[136] The angels carried +the two bodies to Paradise, Adam's and Abel's—the latter had all this time been +lying on a stone on which angels had placed it—and they buried them both on the +spot whence God had taken the dust wherewith to make Adam.[137] +</p> + +<p> +God called unto the body of Adam, "Adam! Adam!" and it answered, "Lord, here am +I!" Then God said: "I told thee once, Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou +return. Now I promise thee resurrection. I will awaken thee on the day of +judgment, when all the generations of men that spring from thy loins, shall +arise from the grave." God then sealed up the grave, that none might do him +harm during the six days to elapse until his rib should be restored to him +through the death of Eve.[138] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap26"></a>THE DEATH OF EVE</h3> + +<p> +The interval between Adam's death and her own Eve spent in weeping. She was +distressed in particular that she knew not what had become of Adam's body, for +none except Seth had been awake while the angel interred it. When the hour of +her death drew nigh, Eve supplicated to be buried in the selfsame spot in which +the remains of her husband rested. She prayed to God: "Lord of all powers! +Remove not Thy maid-servant from the body of Adam, from which Thou didst take +me, from whose limbs Thou didst form me. Permit me, who am an unworthy and +sinning woman, to enter into his habitation. As we were together in Paradise, +neither separated from the other; as together we were tempted to transgress Thy +law, neither separated from the other, so, O Lord, separate us not now." To the +end of her prayer she added the petition, raising her eyes heavenward, "Lord of +the world! Receive my spirit!" and she gave up her soul to God. +</p> + +<p> +The archangel Michael came and taught Seth how to prepare Eve for burial, and +three angels descended and interred her body in the grave with Adam and Abel. +Then Michael spoke to Seth, "Thus shalt thou bury all men that die until the +resurrection day." And again, having given him this command, he spoke: "Longer +than six days ye shall not mourn.[139] The repose of the seventh day is the +token of the resurrection in the latter day, for on the seventh day the Lord +rested from all the work which He had created and made."[140] +</p> + +<p> +Though death was brought into the world through Adam, yet he cannot be held +responsible for the death of men. Once on a time he said to God: "I am not +concerned about the death of the wicked, but I should not like the pious to +reproach me and lay the blame for their death upon me. I pray Thee, make no +mention of my guilt." And God promised to fulfil his wish. Therefore, when a +man is about to die, God appears to him, and bids him set down in writing all +he has done during his life, for, He tells him, "Thou art dying by reason of +thy evil deeds." The record finished, God orders him to seal it with his seal. +This is the writing God will bring out on the judgment day, and to each will be +made known his deeds.[141] As soon as life is extinct in a man, he is presented +to Adam, whom he accuses of having caused his death. But Adam repudiates the +charge: "I committed but one trespass. Is there any among you, and be he the +most pious, who has not been guilty of more than one?"[142] +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="book03"></a>III<br/> +THE TEN GENERATIONS</h2> + +<h3><a name="chap27"></a>THE BIRTH OF CAIN</h3> + +<p> +There were ten generations from Adam to Noah, to show how long-suffering is the +Lord, for all the generations provoked Him unto wrath, until He brought the +deluge upon them.[1] By reason of their impiousness God changed His plan of +calling one thousand generations into being between the creation of the world +and the revelation of the law at Mount Sinai; nine hundred and seventy-four He +suppressed before the flood.[2] +</p> + +<p> +Wickedness came into the world with the first being born of woman, Cain, the +oldest son of Adam. When God bestowed Paradise upon the first pair of mankind, +He warned them particularly against carnal intercourse with each other. But +after the fall of Eve, Satan, in the guise of the serpent, approached her, and +the fruit of their union was Cain, the ancestor of all the impious generations +that were rebellious toward God, and rose up against Him. Cain's descent from +Satan, who is the angel Samael, was revealed in his seraphic appearance. At his +birth, the exclamation was wrung from Eve, "I have gotten a man through an +angel of the Lord."[3] +</p> + +<p> +Adam was not in the company of Eve during the time of her pregnancy with Cain. +After she had succumbed a second time to the temptations of Satan, and +permitted herself to be interrupted in her penance,[4] she left her husband and +journeyed westward, because she feared her presence might continue to bring him +misery. Adam remained in the east. When the days of Eve to be delivered were +fulfilled, and she began to feel the pangs of travailing, she prayed to God for +help. But He hearkened not unto her supplications. "Who will carry the report +to my lord Adam?" she asked herself. "Ye luminaries in the sky, I beg you, tell +it to my master Adam when ye return to the east!" In that self same hour, Adam +cried out: "The lamentation of Eve has pierced to my ear! Mayhap the serpent +has again assaulted her," and he hastened to his wife. Finding her in grievous +pain, he besought God in her behalf, and twelve angels appeared, together with +two heavenly powers.[5] All these took up their post to right of her and to +left of her, while Michael, also standing on her right side, passed his hand +over her, from her face downward to her breast, and said to her, "Be thou +blessed, Eve, for the sake of Adam. Because of his solicitations and his +prayers I was sent to grant thee our assistance. Make ready to give birth to +thy child!" Immediately her son was born, a radiant figure.[6] A little while +and the babe stood upon his feet, ran off, and returned holding in his hands a +stalk of straw, which he gave to his mother. For this reason he was named Cain, +the Hebrew word for stalk of straw. +</p> + +<p> +Now Adam took Eve and the boy to his home in the east. God sent him various +kinds of seeds by the hand of the angel Michael, and he was taught how to +cultivate the ground and make it yield produce and fruits, to sustain himself +and his family and his posterity.[7] +</p> + +<p> +After a while, Eve bore her second son, whom she named Hebel, because, she +said, he was born but to die. +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap28"></a>FRATRICIDE</h3> + +<p> +The slaying of Abel by Cain did not come as a wholly unexpected event to his +parents. In a dream Eve had seen the blood of Abel flow into the mouth of Cain, +who drank it with avidity, though his brother entreated him not to take all. +When she told her dream to Adam, he said, lamenting, "O that this may not +portend the death of Abel at the hand of Cain!" He separated the two lads, +assigning to each an abode of his own, and to each he taught a different +occupation. Cain became a tiller of the ground, and Abel a keeper of sheep. It +was all in vain. In spite of these precautions, Cain slew his brother.[9] +</p> + +<p> +His hostility toward Abel had more than one reason. It began when God had +respect unto the offering of Abel, and accepted it by sending heavenly fire +down to consume it, while the offering of Cain was rejected.[10] They brought +their sacrifices on the fourteenth day of Nisan, at the instance of their +father, who had spoken thus to his sons: "This is the day on which, in times to +come, Israel will offer sacrifices. Therefore, do ye, too, bring sacrifices to +your Creator on this day, that He may take pleasure in you." The place of +offering which they chose was the spot whereon the altar of the Temple at +Jerusalem stood later.[11] Abel selected the best of his flocks for his +sacrifice, but Cain ate his meal first, and after he had satisfied his +appetite, he offered unto God what was left over, a few grains of flax seed. As +though his offense had not been great enough in offering unto God fruit of the +ground which had been cursed by God![12] What wonder that his sacrifice was not +received with favor! Besides, a chastisement was inflicted upon him. His face +turned black as smoke.[13] Nevertheless, his disposition underwent no change, +even when God spoke to him thus: "If thou wilt amend thy ways, thy guilt will +be forgiven thee; if not, thou wilt be delivered into the power of the evil +inclination. It coucheth at the door of thy heart, yet it depends upon thee +whether thou shalt be master over it, or it shall be master over thee."[14] +</p> + +<p> +Cain thought he had been wronged, and a dispute followed between him and Abel. +"I believed," he said, "that the world was created through goodness,[15] but I +see that good deeds bear no fruit. God rules the world with arbitrary power, +else why had He respect unto thy offering, and not unto mine also?" Abel +opposed him; he maintained that God rewards good deeds, without having respect +unto persons. If his sacrifice had been accepted graciously by God, and Cain's +not, it was because his deeds were good, and his brother's wicked.[16] +</p> + +<p> +But this was not the only cause of Cain's hatred toward Abel. Partly love for a +woman brought about the crime. To ensure the propagation of the human race, a +girl, destined to be his wife, was born together with each of the sons of Adam. +Abel's twin sister was of exquisite beauty, and Cain desired her.[17] Therefore +he was constantly brooding over ways and means of ridding himself of his +brother. +</p> + +<p> +The opportunity presented itself ere long. One day a sheep belonging to Abel +tramped over a field that had been planted by Cain. In a rage, the latter +called out, "What right hast thou to live upon my land and let thy sheep +pasture yonder?" Abel retorted: "What right hast thou to use the products of my +sheep, to make garments for thyself from their wool? If thou wilt take off the +wool of my sheep wherein thou art arrayed, and wilt pay me for the flesh of the +flocks which thou hast eaten, then I will quit thy land as thou desirest, and +fly into the air, if I can do it." Cain thereupon said, "And if I were to kill +thee, who is there to demand thy blood of me?" Abel replied: "God, who brought +us into the world, will avenge me. He will require my blood at thine hand, if +thou shouldst slay me. God is the Judge, who will visit their wicked deeds upon +the wicked, and their evil deeds upon the evil. Shouldst thou slay me, God will +know thy secret, and He will deal out punishment unto thee." +</p> + +<p> +These words but added to the anger of Cain, and he threw himself upon his +brother.[18] Abel was stronger than he, and he would have got the worst of it, +but at the last moment he begged for mercy, and the gentle Abel released his +hold upon him. Scarcely did he feel himself free, when he turned against Abel +once more, and slew him. So true is the saying, "Do the evil no good, lest evil +fall upon thee."[19] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap29"></a>THE PUNISHMENT OF CAIN</h3> + +<p> +The manner of Abel's death was the most cruel conceivable. Not knowing what +injury was fatal, Cain pelted all parts of his body with stones, until one +struck him on the neck and inflicted death. +</p> + +<p> +After committing the murder, Cain resolved to flee, saying, "My parents will +demand account of me concerning Abel, for there is no other human being on +earth." This thought had but passed through his mind when God appeared unto +him, and addressed him in these words: "Before thy parents thou canst flee, but +canst thou go out from My presence, too? 'Can any hide himself in secret places +that I shall not see him?' Alas for Abel that he showed thee mercy, and +refrained from killing thee, when he had thee in his power! Alas that he +granted thee the opportunity of slaying him!" +</p> + +<p> +Questioned by God, "Where is Abel thy brother?" Cain answered: "Am I my +brother's keeper? Thou art He who holdest watch over all creatures, and yet +Thou demandest account of me! True, I slew him, but Thou didst create the evil +inclination in me. Thou guardest all things; why, then, didst Thou permit me to +slay him? Thou didst Thyself slay him, for hadst Thou looked with a favorable +countenance toward my offering as toward his, I had had no reason for envying +him, and I had not slain him." But God said, "The voice of thy brother's blood +issuing from his many wounds crieth out against thee,[20] and likewise the +blood of all the pious who might have sprung from the loins of Abel." +</p> + +<p> +Also the soul of Abel denounced the murderer, for she could find rest nowhere. +She could neither soar heavenward, nor abide in the grave with her body, for no +human soul had done either before.[21] But Cain still refused to confess his +guilt. He insisted that he had never seen a man killed, and how was he to +suppose that the stones which he threw at Abel would take his life? Then, on +account of Cain, God cursed the ground, that it might not yield fruit unto +him.[22] With a single punishment both Cain and the earth were chastised, the +earth because it retained the corpse of Abel, and did not cast it above +ground.[23] +</p> + +<p> +In the obduracy of his heart, Cain spake: "O Lord of the world! Are there +informers who denounce men before Thee? My parents are the only living human +beings, and they know naught of my deed. Thou abidest in the heavens, and how +shouldst Thou know what things happen on earth?" God said in reply: "Thou fool! +I carry the whole world. I have made it, and I will bear it"—a reply that gave +Cain the opportunity of feigning repentance. "Thou bearest the whole world," he +said, "and my sin Thou canst not bear?[24] Verily, mine iniquity is too great +to be borne! Yet, yesterday Thou didst banish my father from Thy presence, +to-day Thou dost banish me. In sooth, it will be said, it is Thy way to +banish."[25] +</p> + +<p> +Although this was but dissimulation, and not true repentance, yet God granted +Cain pardon, and removed the half of his chastisement from him. Originally, the +decree had condemned him to be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. Now he +was no longer to roam about forever, but a fugitive he was to remain. And so +much was hard enough to have to suffer, for the earth quaked under Cain, and +all the animals, the wild and the tame, among them the accursed serpent, +gathered together and essayed to devour him in order to avenge the innocent +blood of Abel. Finally Cain could bear it no longer, and, breaking out in +tears, he cried: "Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee +from Thy presence?"[26] To protect him from the onslaught of the beasts, God +inscribed one letter of His Holy Name upon his forehead, and furthermore He +addressed the animals: "Cain's punishment shall not be like unto the punishment +of future murderers. He has shed blood, but there was none to give him +instruction. Henceforth, however, he who slays another shall himself be slain." +Then God gave him the dog as a protection against the wild beasts, and to mark +him as a sinner, He afflicted him with leprosy. +</p> + +<p> +Cain's repentance, insincere though it was, bore a good result. When Adam met +him, and inquired what doom had been decreed against him, Cain told how his +repentance had propitiated God, and Adam exclaimed, "So potent is repentance, +and I knew it not!" Thereupon he composed a hymn of praise to God, beginning +with the words, "It is a good thing to confess thy sins unto the Lord!"[29] +</p> + +<p> +The crime committed by Cain had baneful consequences, not for himself alone, +but for the whole of nature also. Before, the fruits which the earth bore unto +him when he tilled the ground had tasted like the fruits of Paradise. Now his +labor produced naught but thorns and thistles.[29] The ground changed and +deteriorated at the very moment of Abel's violent end. The trees and the plants +in the part of the earth whereon the victim lived refused to yield their +fruits, on account of their grief over him, and only at the birth of Seth those +that grew in the portion belonging to Abel began to flourish and bear again. +But never did they resume their former powers. While, before, the vine had +borne nine hundred and twenty-six different varieties of fruit, it now brought +forth but one kind. And so it was with all other species. They will regain +their pristine powers only in the world to come.[30] +</p> + +<p> +Nature was modified also by the burial of the corpse of Abel. For a long time +it lay there exposed, above ground, because Adam and Eve knew not what to do +with it. They sat beside it and wept, while the faithful dog of Abel kept guard +that birds and beasts did it no harm. On a sudden, the mourning parents +observed how a raven scratched the earth away in one spot, and then hid a dead +bird of his own kind in the ground. Adam, following the example of the raven, +buried the body of Abel, and the raven was rewarded by God. His young are born +with white feathers, wherefore the old birds desert them, not recognizing them +as their offspring. They take them for serpents. God feeds them until their +plumage turns black, and the parent birds return to them. As an additional +reward, God grants their petition when the ravens pray for rain.[31] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap30"></a>THE INHABITANTS OF THE SEVEN EARTHS</h3> + +<p> +When Adam was cast out of Paradise, he first reached the lowest of the seven +earths, the Erez, which is dark, without a ray of light, and utterly void. Adam +was terrified, particularly by the flames of the ever-turning sword, which is +on this earth. After he had done penance, God led him to the second earth, the +Adamah, where there is light reflected from its own sky and from its +phantom-like stars and constellations. Here dwell the phantom-like beings that +issued from the union of Adam with the spirits. They are always sad; the +emotion of joy is not known to them. They leave their own earth and repair to +the one inhabited by men, where they are changed into evil spirits. Then they +return to their abode for good, repent of their wicked deeds, and till the +ground, which, however, bears neither wheat nor any other of the seven +species.[34] In this Adamah, Cain, Abel, and Seth were born. After the murder +of Abel, Cain was sent back to the Erez, where he was frightened into +repentance by its darkness and by the flames of the ever-turning sword. +Accepting his penitence, God permitted him to ascend to the third earth, the +Arka, which receives some light from the sun. The Arka was surrendered to the +Cainites forever, as their perpetual domain. They till the ground, and plant +trees, but they have neither wheat nor any other of the seven species. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the Cainites are giants, some of them are dwarfs. They have two heads, +wherefore they can never arrive at a decision; they are always at loggerheads +with themselves.[34] It may happen that they are pious now, only to be inclined +to do evil the next moment. +</p> + +<p> +In the Ge, the fourth earth, live the generation of the Tower of Babel and +their descendants. God banished them thither because the fourth earth is not +far from Gehenna, and therefore close to the flaming fire.[35] The inhabitants +of the Ge are skilful in all arts, and accomplished in all departments of +science and knowledge, and their abode overflows with wealth. When an +inhabitant of our earth visits them, they give him the most precious thing in +their possession, but then they lead him to the Neshiah, the fifth earth, where +he becomes oblivious of his origin and his home. The Neshiah is inhabited by +dwarfs without noses; they breathe through two holes instead. They have no +memory; once a thing has happened, they forget it completely, whence their +earth is called Neshiah, "forgetting." The fourth and fifth earths are like the +Arka; they have trees, but neither wheat nor any other of the seven species. +</p> + +<p> +The sixth earth, the Ziah, is inhabited by handsome men, who are the owners of +abundant wealth, and live in palatial residences, but they lack water, as the +name of their territory, Ziah, "drought," indicates. Hence vegetation is sparse +with them, and their tree culture meets with indifferent success. They hasten +to any waterspring that is discovered, and sometimes they succeed in slipping +through it up to our earth, where they satisfy their sharp appetite for the +food eaten by the inhabitants of our earth. For the rest, they are men of +steadfast faith, more than any other class of mankind.[36] +</p> + +<p> +Adam remained in the Adamah until after the birth of Seth. Then, passing the +third earth, the Arka, the abiding place of the Cainites, and the next three +earths as well, the Ge, the Neshiah, and the Ziah, God transported him to the +Tebel, the seventh earth, the earth inhabited by men. +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap31"></a>THE DESCENDANTS OF CAIN</h3> + +<p> +Cain knew only too well that his blood-guiltiness would be visited upon him in +the seventh generation. Thus had God decreed against him.[37] He endeavored, +therefore, to immortalize his name by means of monuments,[38] and he became a +builder of cities. The first of them he called Enoch, after his son, because it +was at the birth of Enoch that he began to enjoy a measure of rest and +peace.[39] Besides, he founded six other cities.[40] This building of cities +was a godless deed, for he surrounded them with a wall, forcing his family to +remain within. All his other doings were equally impious. The punishment God +had ordained for him did not effect any improvement. He sinned in order to +secure his own pleasure, though his neighbors suffered injury thereby. He +augmented his household substance by rapine and violence; he excited his +acquaintances to procure pleasures and spoils by robbery, and he became a great +leader of men into wicked courses. He also introduced a change in the ways of +simplicity wherein men had lived before, and he was the author of measures and +weights. And whereas men lived innocently and generously while they knew +nothing of such arts, he changed the world into cunning craftiness.[41] +</p> + +<p> +Like unto Cain were all his descendants, impious and godless, wherefore God +resolved to destroy them.[42] +</p> + +<p> +The end of Cain overtook him in the seventh generation of men, and it was +inflicted upon him by the hand of his great-grandson Lamech. This Lamech was +blind, and when he went a-hunting, he was led by his young son, who would +apprise his father when game came in sight, and Lamech would then shoot at it +with his bow and arrow. Once upon a time he and his son went on the chase, and +the lad discerned something horned in the distance. He naturally took it to be +a beast of one kind or another, and he told the blind Lamech to let his arrow +fly. The aim was good, and the quarry dropped to the ground. When they came +close to the victim, the lad exclaimed: "Father, thou hast killed something +that resembles a human being in all respects, except it carries a horn on its +forehead!" Lamech knew at once what had happened—he had killed his ancestor +Cain, who had been marked by God with a horn.[43] In despair he smote his hands +together, inadvertently killing his son as he clasped them. Misfortune still +followed upon misfortune. The earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the four +generations sprung from Cain—Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, and Methushael. Lamech, +sightless as he was, could not go home; he had to remain by the side of Cain's +corpse and his son's. Toward evening, his wives, seeking him, found him there. +When they heard what he had done, they wanted to separate from him, all the +more as they knew that whoever was descended from Cain was doomed to +annihilation. But Lamech argued, "If Cain, who committed murder of malice +aforethought, was punished only in the seventh generation, then I, who had no +intention of killing a human being, may hope that retribution will be averted +for seventy and seven generations." With his wives, Lamech repaired to Adam, +who heard both parties, and decided the case in favor of Lamech.[44] +</p> + +<p> +The corruptness of the times, and especially the depravity of Cain's stock, +appears in the fact that Lamech, as well as all the men in the generation of +the deluge, married two wives, one with the purpose of rearing children, the +other in order to pursue carnal indulgences, for which reason the latter was +rendered sterile by artificial means. As the men of the time were intent upon +pleasure rather than desirous of doing their duty to the human race, they gave +all their love and attention to the barren women, while their other wives spent +their days like widows, joyless and in gloom. +</p> + +<p> +The two wives of Lamech, Adah and Zillah, bore him each two children, Adah two +sons, Jabal and Jubal, and Zillah a son, Tubal-cain, and a daughter, Naamah. +Jabal was the first among men to erect temples to idols, and Jubal invented the +music sung and played therein. Tubal-cain was rightly named, for he completed +the work of his ancestor Cain. Cain committed murder, and Tubal-cain, the first +who knew how to sharpen iron and copper, furnished the instruments used in wars +and combats. Naamah, "the lovely," earned her name from the sweet sounds which +she drew from her cymbals when she called the worshippers to pay homage to +idols.[45] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap32"></a>THE DESCENDANTS OF ADAM AND LILITH</h3> + +<p> +When the wives of Lamech heard the decision of Adam, that they were to continue +to live with their husband, they turned upon him, saying, "O physician, heal +thine own lameness!" They were alluding to the fact that he himself had been +living apart from his wife since the death of Abel, for he had said, "Why +should I beget children, if it is but to expose them to death?"[46] +</p> + +<p> +Though he avoided intercourse with Eve, he was visited in his sleep by female +spirits, and from his union with them sprang shades and demons of various +kinds,[47] and they were endowed with peculiar gifts. +</p> + +<p> +Once upon a time there lived in Palestine a very rich and pious man, who had a +son named Rabbi Hanina. He knew the whole of the Torah by heart. When he was at +the point of death, he sent for his son, Rabbi Hanina, and bade him, as his +last request, to study the Torah day and night, fulfil the commands of the law, +and be a faithful friend to the poor. He also told him that he and his wife, +the mother of Rabbi Hanina, would die on the selfsame day, and the seven days +of mourning for the two would end on the eve of the Passover. He enjoined him +not to grieve excessively, but to go to market on that day, and buy the first +article offered to him, no matter how costly it might be. If it happened to be +an edible, he was to prepare it and serve it with much ceremony. His expense +and trouble would receive their recompense. All happened as foretold: the man +and his wife died upon the same day, and the end of the week of mourning +coincided with the eve of the Passover. The son in turn carried out his +father's behest: he repaired to market, and there he met an old man who offered +a silver dish for sale. Although the price asked was exorbitant, yet he bought +it, as his father had bidden. The dish was set upon the Seder table, and when +Rabbi Hanina opened it, he found a second dish within, and inside of this a +live frog, jumping and hopping around gleefully. He gave the frog food and +drink, and by the end of the festival he was grown so big that Rabbi Hanina +made a cabinet for him, in which he ate and lived. In the course of time, the +cabinet became too small, and the Rabbi built a chamber, put the frog within, +and gave him abundant food and drink. All this he did that he might not violate +his father's last wish. But the frog waxed and grew; he consumed all his host +owned, until, finally, Rabbi Hanina was stripped bare of all his possessions. +Then the frog opened his mouth and began to speak. "My dear Rabbi Hanina," he +said, "do not worry! Seeing thou didst raise me and care for me, thou mayest +ask of me whatever thy heart desireth, and it shall be granted thee." Rabbi +Hanina made reply, "I desire naught but that thou shouldst teach me the whole +of the Torah." The frog assented, and he did, indeed, teach him the whole of +the Torah, and the seventy languages of men besides.[48] His method was to +write a few words upon a scrap of paper, which he had his pupil swallow. Thus +he acquired not alone the Torah and the seventy tongues, but also the language +of beasts and birds. Thereupon the frog spoke to the wife of Rabbi Hanina: +"Thou didst tend me well, and I have given thee no recompense. But thy reward +will be paid thee before I depart from you, only you must both accompany me to +the woods. There you shall see what I shall do for you." Accordingly, they went +to the woods with him. Arrived there, the frog began to cry aloud, and at the +sound all sorts of beasts and birds assembled. These he commanded to produce +precious stones, as many as they could carry. Also they were to bring herbs and +roots for the wife of Rabbi Hanina, and he taught her how to use them as +remedies for all varieties of disease. All this they were bidden to take home +with them. When they were about to return, the frog addressed them thus: "May +the Holy One, blessed be He, have mercy upon you, and requite you for all the +trouble you took on my account, without so much as inquiring who I am. Now I +shall make my origin known to you. I am the son of Adam, a son whom he begot +during the hundred and thirty years of his separation from Eve. God has endowed +me with the power of assuming any form or guise I desire." Rabbi Hanina and his +wife departed for their home, and they became very rich, and enjoyed the +respect and confidence of the king.[49] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap33"></a>SETH AND HIS DESCENDANTS</h3> + +<p> +The exhortations of the wives of Lamech took effect upon Adam. After a +separation of one hundred and thirty years, he returned to Eve, and the love he +now bore her was stronger by far than in the former time. She was in his +thoughts even when she was not present to him bodily. The fruit of their +reunion was Seth, who was destined to be the ancestor of the Messiah.[50] +</p> + +<p> +Seth was so formed from birth that the rite of circumcision could be dispensed +with. He was thus one of the thirteen men born perfect in a way.[51] Adam begot +him in his likeness and image, different from Cain, who had not been in his +likeness and image. Thus Seth became, in a genuine sense, the father of the +human race, especially the father of the pious, while the depraved and godless +are descended from Cain.[52] +</p> + +<p> +Even during the lifetime of Adam the descendants of Cain became exceedingly +wicked, dying successively, one after another, each more wicked than the +former. They were intolerable in war, and vehement in robberies, and if any one +were slow to murder people, yet was he bold in his profligate behavior in +acting unjustly and doing injury for gain. +</p> + +<p> +Now as to Seth. When he was brought up, and came to those years in which he +could discern what was good, he became a virtuous man, and as he was himself of +excellent character, so he left children behind him who imitated his virtues. +All these proved to be of good disposition. They also inhabited one and the +same country without dissensions, and in a happy condition, without any +misfortune's falling upon them, until they died. They also were the inventors +of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies and +their order. And that their inventions might not be lost before they were +sufficiently known, they made two pillars, upon Adam's prediction that the +world was to be destroyed at one time by the force of fire and at another time +by the violence and quantity of water. The one was of brick, the other of +stone, and they inscribed their discoveries on both, that in case the pillar of +brick should be destroyed by the flood, the pillar of stone might remain, and +exhibit these discoveries to mankind, and also inform them that there was +another pillar, of brick, erected by them.[53] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap34"></a>ENOSH</h3> + +<p> +Enosh was asked who his father was, and he named Seth. The questioners, the +people of his time, continued: "Who was the father of Seth?" Enosh: +"Adam."—"And who was the father of Adam?"—"He had neither father nor mother, +God formed him from the dust of the earth."—"But man has not the appearance of +dust!"—"After death man returns to dust, as God said, 'And man shall turn again +unto dust;' but on the day of his creation, man was made in the image of +God."—"How was the woman created?"—"Male and female He created them."—"But +how?"—"God took water and earth, and moulded them together in the form of +man."—"But how?" pursued the questioners. +</p> + +<p> +Enosh took six clods of earth, mixed them, and moulded them, and formed an +image of dust and clay. "But," said the people, "this image does not walk, nor +does it possess any breath of life." He then essayed to show them how God +breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of Adam, but when he began to +blow his breath into the image he had formed, Satan entered it, and the figure +walked, and the people of his time who had been inquiring these matters of +Enosh went astray after it, saying, "What is the difference between bowing down +before this image and paying homage to a man?"[54] +</p> + +<p> +The generation of Enosh were thus the first idol worshippers, and the +punishment for their folly was not delayed long. God caused the sea to +transgress its bounds, and a portion of the earth was flooded. This was the +time also when the mountains became rocks, and the dead bodies of men began to +decay. And still another consequence of the sin of idolatry was that the +countenances of the men of the following generations were no longer in the +likeness and image of God, as the countenances of Adam, Seth, and Enosh had +been. They resembled centaurs and apes, and the demons lost their fear of +men.[55] +</p> + +<p> +But there was a still more serious consequence from the idolatrous practices +introduced in the time of Enosh. When God drove Adam forth from Paradise, the +Shekinah remained behind, enthroned above a cherub under the tree of life. The +angels descended from heaven and repaired thither in hosts, to receive their +instructions, and Adam and his descendants sat by the gate to bask in the +splendor of the Shekinah, sixty-five thousand times more radiant than the +splendor of the sun. This brightness of the Shekinah makes all upon whom it +falls exempt from disease, and neither insects nor demons can come nigh unto +them to do them harm. +</p> + +<p> +Thus it was until the time of Enosh, when men began to gather gold, silver, +gems, and pearls from all parts of the earth, and made idols thereof a thousand +parasangs high. What was worse, by means of the magic arts taught them by the +angels Uzza and Azzael, they set themselves as masters over the heavenly +spheres, and forced the sun, the moon, and the stars to be subservient to +themselves instead of the Lord. This impelled the angels to ask God: "'What is +man, that Thou art mindful of him?' Why didst Thou abandon the highest of the +heavens, the seat of Thy glory and Thy exalted Throne in 'Arabot, and descend +to men, who pay worship to idols, putting Thee upon a level with them?" The +Shekinah was induced to leave the earth and ascend to heaven, amid the blare +and flourish of the trumpets of the myriads of angel hosts.[56] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap35"></a>THE FALL OF THE ANGELS</h3> + +<p> +The depravity of mankind, which began to show itself in the time of Enosh, had +increased monstrously in the time of his grandson Jared, by reason of the +fallen angels. When the angels saw the beautiful, attractive daughters of men, +they lusted after them, and spoke: "We will choose wives for ourselves only +from among the daughters of men, and beget children with them." Their chief +Shemhazai said, "I fear me, ye will not put this plan of yours into execution, +and I alone shall have to suffer the consequences of a great sin." Then they +answered him, and said: "We will all swear an oath, and we will bind ourselves, +separately and together, not to abandon the plan, but to carry it through to +the end." +</p> + +<p> +Two hundred angels descended to the summit of Mount Hermon, which owes its name +to this very occurrence, because they bound themselves there to fulfil their +purpose, on the penalty of Herem, anathema. Under the leadership of twenty +captains they defiled themselves with the daughters of men, unto whom they +taught charms, conjuring formulas, how to cut roots, and the efficacy of +plants. The issue from these mixed marriages was a race of giants, three +thousand ells tall, who consumed the possessions of men. When all had vanished, +and they could obtain nothing more from them, the giants turned against men and +devoured many of them, and the remnant of men began to trespass against the +birds, beasts, reptiles, and fishes, eating their flesh and drinking their +blood. +</p> + +<p> +Then the earth complained about the impious evil-doers. But the fallen angels +continued to corrupt mankind. Azazel taught men how to make slaughtering +knives, arms, shields, and coats of mail. He showed them metals and how to work +them, and armlets and all sorts of trinkets, and the use of rouge for the eyes, +and how to beautify the eyelids, and how to ornament themselves with the rarest +and most precious jewels and all sorts of paints. The chief of the fallen +angels, Shemhazai, instructed them in exorcisms and how to cut roots; Armaros +taught them how to raise spells; Barakel, divination from the stars; Kawkabel, +astrology; Ezekeel, augury from the clouds; Arakiel, the signs of the earth; +Samsaweel, the signs of the sun; and Seriel, the signs of the moon.[57] +</p> + +<p> +While all these abominations defiled the earth, the pious Enoch lived in a +secret place. None among men knew his abode, or what had become of him, for he +was sojourning with the angel watchers and holy ones. Once he heard the call +addressed to him: "Enoch, thou scribe of justice, go unto the watchers of the +heavens, who have left the high heavens, the eternal place of holiness, +defiling themselves with women, doing as men do, taking wives unto themselves, +and casting themselves into the arms of destruction upon earth. Go and proclaim +unto them that they shall find neither peace nor pardon. For every time they +take joy in their offspring, they shall see the violent death of their sons, +and sigh over the ruin of their children. They will pray and supplicate +evermore, but never shall they attain to mercy or peace." +</p> + +<p> +Enoch repaired to Azazel and the other fallen angels, to announce the doom +uttered against them. They all were filled with fear. Trembling seized upon +them, and they implored Enoch to set up a petition for them and read it to the +Lord of heaven, for they could not speak with God as aforetime, nor even raise +their eyes heavenward, for shame on account of their sins. Enoch granted their +request, and in a vision he was vouchsafed the answer which he was to carry +back to the angels. It appeared to Enoch that he was wafted into heaven upon +clouds, and was set down before the throne of God. God spake: "Go forth and say +to the watchers of heaven who have sent thee hither to intercede for them: +Verily, it is you who ought to plead in behalf of men, not men in behalf of you +I Why did ye forsake the high, holy, and eternal heavens, to pollute yourselves +with the daughters of men, taking wives unto yourselves, doing like the races +of the earth, and begetting giant sons? Giants begotten by flesh and spirits +will be called evil spirits on earth, and on the earth will be their +dwelling-place. Evil spirits proceed from their bodies, because they are +created from above, and from the holy watchers is their beginning and primal +origin; they will be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits they will be +named. And the spirits of heaven have their dwelling in heaven, but the spirits +of the earth, which were born upon the earth, have their dwelling on the earth. +And the spirits of the giants will devour, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, +and cause destruction on the earth, and work affliction. They will take no kind +of food, nor will they thirst, and they will be invisible. And these spirits +will rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they +have proceeded from them. Since the days of murder and destruction and the +death of the giants, when the spirits went forth from the soul of their flesh, +in order to destroy without incurring judgment—thus will they destroy until the +day when the great consummation of the great world be consummated. And now as +to the watchers who have sent thee to intercede for them, who had been +aforetime in heaven, say to them: You have been in heaven, and though the +hidden things had not yet been revealed to you, you know worthless mysteries, +and in the hardness of your hearts you have recounted these to the women, and +through these mysteries women and men work much evil on earth. Say to them +therefore: You have no peace!"[58] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap36"></a>ENOCH, RULER AND TEACHER</h3> + +<p> +After Enoch had lived a long time secluded from men, he once heard the voice of +an angel calling to him: "Enoch, Enoch, make thyself ready and leave the house +and the secret place wherein thou hast kept thyself hidden, and assume dominion +over men, to teach them the ways in which they shall walk, and the deeds which +they shall do, in order that they may walk in the ways of God." +</p> + +<p> +Enoch left his retreat and betook himself to the haunts of men. He gathered +them about him, and instructed them in the conduct pleasing to God. He sent +messengers all over to announce, "Ye who desire to know the ways of God and +righteous conduct, come ye to Enoch!" Thereupon a vast concourse of people +thronged about him, to hear the wisdom he would teach and learn from his mouth +what is good and right. Even kings and princes, no less than one hundred and +thirty in number, assembled about him, and submitted themselves to his +dominion, to be taught and guided by him, as he taught and guided all the +others. Peace reigned thus over the whole world all the two hundred and +forty-three years during which the influence of Enoch prevailed. +</p> + +<p> +At the expiration of this period, in the year in which Adam died, and was +buried with great honors by Seth, Enosh, Enoch, and Methuselah, Enoch resolved +to retire again from intercourse with men, and devote himself wholly to the +service of God. But he withdrew gradually. First he would spend three days in +prayer and praise of God, and on the fourth day he would return to his +disciples and grant them instruction. Many years passed thus, then he appeared +among them but once a week, later, once a month, and, finally, once a year. The +kings, princes, and all others who were desirous of seeing Enoch and hearkening +to his words did not venture to come close to him during the times of his +retirement. Such awful majesty sat upon his countenance, they feared for their +very life if they but looked at him. They therefore resolved that all men +should prefer their requests before Enoch on the day he showed himself unto +them. +</p> + +<p> +The impression made by the teachings of Enoch upon all who heard them was +powerful. They prostrated themselves before him, and cried "Long live the king! +Long live the king!" On a certain day, while Enoch was giving audience to his +followers, an angel appeared and made known unto him that God had resolved to +install him as king over the angels in heaven, as until then he had reigned +over men. He called together all the inhabitants of the earth, and addressed +them thus: "I have been summoned to ascend into heaven, and I know not on what +day I shall go thither. Therefore I will teach you wisdom and righteousness +before I go hence." A few days yet Enoch spent among men, and all the time left +to him he gave instruction in wisdom, knowledge, God-fearing conduct, and +piety, and established law and order, for the regulation of the affairs of men. +Then those gathered near him saw a gigantic steed descend from the skies, and +they told Enoch of it, who said, "The steed is for me, for the time has come +and the day when I leave you, never to be seen again." So it was. The steed +approached Enoch, and he mounted upon its back, all the time instructing the +people, exhorting them, enjoining them to serve God and walk in His ways. Eight +hundred thousand of the people followed a day's journey after him. But on the +second day Enoch urged his retinue to turn back: "Go ye home, lest death +overtake you, if you follow me farther." Most of them heeded his words and went +back, but a number remained with him for six days, though he admonished them +daily to return and not bring death down upon themselves. On the sixth day of +the journey, he said to those still accompanying him, "Go ye home, for on the +morrow I shall ascend to heaven, and whoever will then be near me, he will +die." Nevertheless, some of his companions remained with him, saying: +"Whithersoever thou goest, we will go. By the living God, death alone shall +part us." +</p> + +<p> +On the seventh day Enoch was carried into the heavens in a fiery chariot drawn +by fiery chargers. The day thereafter, the kings who had turned back in good +time sent messengers to inquire into the fate of the men who had refused to +separate themselves from Enoch, for they had noted the number of them. They +found snow and great hailstones upon the spot whence Enoch had risen, and, when +they searched beneath, they discovered the bodies of all who had remained +behind with Enoch. He alone was not among them; he was on high in heaven.[59] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap37"></a>THE ASCENSION OF ENOCH</h3> + +<p> +This was not the first time Enoch had been in heaven. Once before, while he +sojourned among men, he had been permitted to see all there is on earth and in +the heavens. On a time when he was sleeping, a great grief came upon his heart, +and he wept in his dream, not knowing what the grief meant, nor what would +happen to him. And there appeared to him two men, very tall. Their faces shone +like the sun, and their eyes were like burning lamps, and fire came forth from +their lips; their wings were brighter than gold, their hands whiter than snow. +They stood at the head of Enoch's bed, and called him by his name. He awoke +from his sleep, and hastened and made obeisance to them, and was terrified. And +these men said to him: "Be of good cheer, Enoch, be not afraid; the everlasting +God hath sent us to thee, and lo! to-day thou shalt ascend with us into heaven. +And tell thy sons and thy servants, and let none seek thee, till the Lord bring +thee back to them." +</p> + +<p> +Enoch did as he was told, and after he had spoken to his sons, and instructed +them not to turn aside from God, and to keep His judgment, these two men +summoned him, and took him on their wings, and placed him on the clouds, which +moved higher and higher, till they set him down in the first heaven. Here they +showed him the two hundred angels who rule the stars, and their heavenly +service. Here he saw also the treasuries of snow and ice, of clouds and dew. +</p> + +<p> +From there they took him to the second heaven, where he saw the fallen angels +imprisoned, they who obeyed not the commandments of God, and took counsel of +their own will. The fallen angels said to Enoch, "O man of God! Pray for us to +the Lord," and he answered: "Who am I, a mortal man, that I should pray for +angels? Who knows whither I go, or what awaits me?" +</p> + +<p> +They took him from thence to the third heaven, where they showed him Paradise, +with all the trees of beautiful colors, and their fruits, ripe and luscious, +and all kinds of food which they produced, springing up with delightful +fragrance. In the midst of Paradise he saw the tree of life, in that place in +which God rests when He comes into Paradise. This tree cannot be described for +its excellence and sweet fragrance, and it is beautiful, more than any created +thing, and on all its sides it is like gold and crimson in appearance, and +transparent as fire, and it covers everything. From its root in the garden +there go forth four streams, which pour out honey, milk, oil, and wine, and +they go down to the Paradise of Eden, that lies on the confines between the +earthly region of corruptibility and the heavenly region of incorruptibility, +and thence they go along the earth. He also saw the three hundred angels who +keep the garden, and with never-ceasing voices and blessed singing they serve +the Lord every day. The angels leading Enoch explained to him that this place +is prepared for the righteous, while the terrible place prepared for the +sinners is in the northern regions of the third heaven. He saw there all sorts +of tortures, and impenetrable gloom, and there is no light there, but a gloomy +fire is always burning. And all that place has fire on all sides, and on all +sides cold and ice, thus it burns and freezes. And the angels, terrible and +without pity, carry savage weapons, and their torture is unmerciful. +</p> + +<p> +The angels took him then to the fourth heaven, and showed him all the comings +in and goings forth, and all the rays of the light of the sun and the moon. He +saw the fifteen myriads of angels who go out with the sun, and attend him +during the day, and the thousand angels who attend him by night. Each angel has +six wings, and they go before the chariot of the sun, while one hundred angels +keep the sun warm, and light it up. He saw also the wonderful and strange +creatures named phoenixes and chalkidri, who attend the chariot of the sun, and +go with him, bringing heat and dew. They showed him also the six gates in the +east of the fourth heaven, by which the sun goes forth, and the six gates in +the west where he sets, and also the gates by which the moon goes out, and +those by which she enters. In the middle of the fourth heaven he saw an armed +host, serving the Lord with cymbals and organs and unceasing voices. +</p> + +<p> +In the fifth heaven he saw many hosts of the angels called Grigori. Their +appearance was like men, and their size was greater than the size of the +giants, their countenances were withered, and their lips silent. On his +question who they were, the angels leading him answered, "These are the +Grigori, who with their prince Salamiel rejected the holy Lord." Enoch then +said to the Grigori, "Why wait ye, brethren, and serve ye not before the face +of the Lord, and why perform ye not your duties before the face of the Lord, +and anger not your Lord to the end?" The Grigori listened to the rebuke, and +when the trumpets resounded together with a loud call, they also began to sing +with one voice, and their voices went forth before the Lord with sadness and +tenderness. +</p> + +<p> +In the seventh heaven he saw the seven bands of archangels who arrange and +study the revolutions of the stars and the changes of the moon and the +revolution of the sun, and superintend the good or evil conditions of the +world. And they arrange teachings and instructions and sweet speaking and +singing and all kinds of glorious praise. They hold in subjection all living +things, both in heaven and on earth. In the midst of them are seven phoenixes, +and seven cherubim, and seven six-winged creatures, singing with one voice. +</p> + +<p> +When Enoch reached the seventh heaven, and saw all the fiery hosts of great +archangels and incorporeal powers and lordships and principalities and powers, +he was afraid and trembled with a great terror. Those leading him took hold of +him, and brought him into the midst of them, and said to him, "Be of good +cheer, Enoch, be not afraid," and they showed him the Lord from afar, sitting +on His lofty throne, while all the heavenly hosts, divided in ten classes, +having approached, stood on the ten steps according to their rank, and made +obeisance to the Lord. And so they proceeded to their places in joy and mirth +and boundless light, singing songs with low and gentle voices, and gloriously +serving Him. They leave not nor depart day or night, standing before the face +of the Lord, working His will, cherubim and seraphim, standing around His +throne. And the six-winged creatures overshadow all His throne, singing with a +soft voice before the face of the Lord, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of +hosts; heaven and earth are full of His glory." When he had seen all these, the +angels leading him said to him, "Enoch, up to this time we were ordered to +accompany thee." They departed, and he saw them no more. Enoch remained at the +extremity of the seventh heaven, in great terror, saying to himself, "Woe is +me! What has come upon me!" But then Gabriel came and said unto him, "Enoch, be +not afraid, stand up and come with me, and stand up before the face of the Lord +forever." And Enoch answered: "O my lord, my spirit has departed from me with +fear and trembling. Call the men to me who have brought me to the place! Upon +them I have relied, and with them I would go before the face of the Lord." And +Gabriel hurried him away like a leaf carried off by the wind, and set him +before the face of the Lord. Enoch fell down and worshipped the Lord, who said +to him: "Enoch, be not afraid! Rise up and stand before My face forever." And +Michael lifted him up, and at the command of the Lord took his earthly robe +from him, and anointed him with the holy oil, and clothed him, and when he +gazed upon himself, he looked like one of God's glorious ones, and fear and +trembling departed from him. God called then one of His archangels who was more +wise than all the others, and wrote down all the doings of the Lord, and He +said to him, "Bring forth the books from My store-place, and give a reed to +Enoch, and interpret the books to him." The angel did as he was commanded, and +he instructed Enoch thirty days and thirty nights, and his lips never ceased +speaking, while Enoch was writing down all the things about heaven and earth, +angels and men, and all that is suitable to be instructed in. He also wrote +down all about the souls of men, those of them which are not born, and the +places prepared for them forever. He copied all accurately, and he wrote three +hundred and sixty-six books. After he had received all the instructions from +the archangel, God revealed unto him great secrets, which even the angels do +not know. He told him how, out of the lowest darkness, the visible and the +invisible were created, how He formed heaven, light, water, and earth, and also +the fall of Satan and the creation and sin of Adam He narrated to him, and +further revealed to him that the duration of the world will be seven thousand +years, and the eighth millennium will be a time when there is no computation, +no end, neither years, nor months, nor weeks, nor days, nor hours. +</p> + +<p> +The Lord finished this revelation to Enoch with the words: "And now I give thee +Samuil and Raguil, who brought thee to Me. Go with them upon the earth, and +tell thy sons what things I have said to thee, and what thou hast seen from the +lowest heaven up to My throne. Give them the works written out by thee, and +they shall read them, and shall distribute the books to their children's +children and from generation to generation and from nation to nation. And I +will give thee My messenger Michael for thy writings and for the writings of +thy fathers, Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, and Jared thy father. And I +shall not require them till the last age, for I have instructed My two angels, +Ariuk and Mariuk, whom I have put upon the earth as their guardians, and I have +ordered them in time to guard them, that the account of what I shall do in thy +family may not be lost in the deluge to come. For on account of the wickedness +and iniquity of men, I will bring a deluge upon the earth, and I will destroy +all, but I will leave a righteous man of thy race with all his house, who shall +act according to My will. From their seed will be raised up a numerous +generation, and on the extinction of that family, I will show them the books of +thy writings and of thy father, and the guardians of them on earth will show +them to the men who are true and please Me. And they shall tell to another +generation, and they, having read them, shall be glorified at last more than +before." +</p> + +<p> +Enoch was then sent to earth to remain there for thirty days to instruct his +sons, but before he left heaven, God sent an angel to him whose appearance was +like snow, and his hands were like ice. Enoch looked at him, and his face was +chilled, that men might be able to endure the sight of him. The angels who took +him to heaven put him upon his bed, in the place where his son Methuselah was +expecting him by day and by night. Enoch assembled his sons and all his +household, and instructed them faithfully about all things he had seen, heard, +and written down, and he gave his books to his sons, to keep them and read +them, admonishing them not to conceal the books, but tell them to all desiring +to know. When the thirty days had been completed, the Lord sent darkness upon +the earth, and there was gloom, and it hid the men standing with Enoch. And the +angels hasted and took Enoch, and carried him to the highest heaven, where the +Lord received him and set him before His face, and the darkness departed from +the earth, and there was light. And the people saw, and did not understand how +Enoch was taken, and they glorified God. +</p> + +<p> +Enoch was born on the sixth day of the month of Siwan, and he was taken to +heaven in the same month, Siwan, on the same day and in the same hour when he +was born. And Methuselah hasted and all his brethren, the sons of Enoch, and +built an altar in the place called Achuzan, whence Enoch was taken up to +heaven. The elders and all the people came to the festivity and brought their +gifts to the sons of Enoch, and made a great festivity, rejoicing and being +merry for three days, praising God, who had given such a sign by means of +Enoch, who had found favor with them.[60] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap38"></a>THE TRANSLATION OF ENOCH</h3> + +<p> +The sinfulness of men was the reason why Enoch was translated to heaven. Thus +Enoch himself told Rabbi Ishmael. When the generation of the deluge +transgressed, and spoke to God, saying, "Depart from us, for we do not desire +to know Thy ways," Enoch was carried to heaven, to serve there as a witness +that God was not a cruel God in spite of the destruction decreed upon all +living beings on earth. +</p> + +<p> +When Enoch, under the guidance of the angel 'Anpiel, was carried from earth to +heaven, the holy beings, the ofanim, the seraphim, the cherubim, all those who +move the throne of God, and the ministering spirits whose substance is of +consuming fire, they all, at a distance of six hundred and fifty million and +three hundred parasangs, noticed the presence of a human being, and they +exclaimed: "Whence the odor of one born of woman? How comes he into the highest +heaven of the fire-coruscating angels?" But God replied: "O My servants and +hosts, ye, My cherubim, ofanim, and seraphim, let this not be an offense unto +you, for all the children of men denied Me and My mighty dominion, and they +paid homage to the idols, so that I transferred the Shekinah from earth to +heaven. But this man Enoch is the elect of men. He has more faith, justice, and +righteousness than all the rest, and he is the only reward I have derived from +the terrestrial world." +</p> + +<p> +Before Enoch could be admitted to service near the Divine throne, the gates of +wisdom were opened unto him, and the gates of understanding, and of +discernment, of life, peace, and the Shekinah, of strength and power, of might, +loveliness, and grace, of humility and fear of sin. Equipped by God with +extraordinary wisdom, sagacity, judgment, knowledge, learning, +compassionateness, love, kindness, grace, humility, strength, power, might, +splendor, beauty, shapeliness, and all other excellent qualities, beyond the +endowment of any of the celestial beings, Enoch received, besides, many +thousand blessings from God, and his height and his breadth became equal to the +height and the breadth of the world, and thirty-six wings were attached to his +body, to the right and to the left, each as large as the world, and three +hundred and sixty-five thousand eyes were bestowed upon him, each brilliant as +the sun. A magnificent throne was erected for him beside the gates of the +seventh celestial palace, and a herald proclaimed throughout the heavens +concerning him, who was henceforth to be called Metatron in the celestial +regions: "I have appointed My servant Metatron as prince and chief over all the +princes in My realm, with the exception only of the eight august and exalted +princes that bear My name. Whatever angel has a request to prefer to Me, shall +appear before Metatron, and what he will command at My bidding, ye must observe +and do, for the prince of wisdom and the prince of understanding are at his +service, and they will reveal unto him the sciences of the celestials and the +terrestrials, the knowledge of the present order of the world and the knowledge +of the future order of the world. Furthermore, I have made him the guardian of +the treasures of the palaces in the heaven 'Arabot, and of the treasures of +life that are in the highest heaven." +</p> + +<p> +Out of the love He bore Enoch, God arrayed him in a magnificent garment, to +which every kind of luminary in existence was attached, and a crown gleaming +with forty-nine jewels, the splendor of which pierced to all parts of the seven +heavens and to the four corners of the earth. In the presence of the heavenly +family, He set this crown upon the head of Enoch, and called him "the little +Lord." It bears also the letters by means of which heaven and earth were +created, and seas and rivers, mountains and valleys, planets and +constellations, lightning and thunder, snow and hail, storm and whirlwind—these +and also all things needed in the world, and the mysteries of creation. Even +the princes of the heavens, when they see Metatron, tremble before him, and +prostrate themselves; his magnificence and majesty, the splendor and beauty +radiating from him overwhelm them, even the wicked Samael, the greatest of +them, even Gabriel the angel of the fire, Bardiel the angel of the hail, Ruhiel +the angel of the wind, Barkiel the angel of the lightning, Za'miel the angel of +the hurricane, Zakkiel the angel of the storm, Sui'el the angel of the +earthquake, Za'fiel the angel of the showers, Ra'miel the angel of the thunder, +Ra'shiel the angel of the whirlwind, Shalgiel the angel of the snow, Matriel +the angel of the rain, Shamshiel the angel of the day, Leliel the angel of the +night, Galgliel the angel of the solar system, Ofaniel the angel of the wheel +of the moon, Kokabiel the angel of the stars, and Rahtiel the angel of the +constellations. +</p> + +<p> +When Enoch was transformed into Metatron, his body was turned into celestial +fire—his flesh became flame, his veins fire, his bones glimmering coals, the +light of his eyes heavenly brightness, his eyeballs torches of fire, his hair a +flaring blaze, all his limbs and organs burning sparks, and his frame a +consuming fire. To right of him sparkled flames of fire, to left of him burnt +torches of fire, and on all sides he was engirdled by storm and whirlwind, +hurricane and thundering.[61] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap39"></a>METHUSELAH</h3> + +<p> +After the translation of Enoch, Methuselah was proclaimed ruler of the earth by +all the kings. He walked in the footsteps of his father, teaching truth, +knowledge, and fear of God to the children of men all his life, and deviating +from the path of rectitude neither to the right nor the left.[62] He delivered +the world from thousands of demons, the posterity of Adam which he had begotten +with Lilith, that she-devil of she-devils. These demons and evil spirits, as +often as they encountered a man, had sought to injure and even slay him, until +Methuselah appeared, and supplicated the mercy of God. He spent three days in +fasting, and then God gave him permission to write the Ineffable Name upon his +sword, wherewith he slew ninety-four myriads of the demons in a minute, until +Agrimus, the first-born of them, came to him and entreated him to desist, at +the same time handing the names of the demons and imps over to him. And so +Methuselah placed their kings in iron fetters, while the remainder fled away +and hid themselves in the innermost chambers and recesses of the ocean. And it +is on account of the wonderful sword by means of which the demons were killed +that he was called Methuselah.[63] +</p> + +<p> +He was so pious a man that he composed two hundred and thirty parables in +praise of God for every word he uttered. When he died, the people heard a great +commotion in the heavens, and they saw nine hundred rows of mourners +corresponding to the nine hundred orders of the Mishnah which he had studied, +and tears flowed from the eyes of the holy beings down upon the spot where he +died. Seeing the grief of the celestials, the people on earth also mourned over +the demise of Methuselah, and God rewarded them therefor. He added seven days +to the time of grace which He had ordained before bringing destruction upon the +earth by a flood of waters.[64] +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="book04"></a>IV<br/> +NOAH</h2> + +<h3><a name="chap40"></a>THE BIRTH OF NOAH</h3> + +<p> +Methuselah took a wife for his son Lamech, and she bore him a man child. The +body of the babe was white as snow and red as a blooming rose, and the hair of +his head and his long locks were white as wool, and his eyes like the rays of +the sun. When he opened his eyes, he lighted up the whole house, like the sun, +and the whole house was very full of light.[1] And when he was taken from the +hand of the midwife, he opened his mouth and praised the Lord of +righteousness.[2] His father Lamech was afraid of him, and fled, and came to +his own father Methuselah. And he said to him: "I have begotten a strange son; +he is not like a human being, but resembles the children of the angels of +heaven, and his nature is different, and he is not like us, and his eyes are as +the rays of the sun, and his countenance is glorious.[3] And it seems to me +that he is not sprung from me, but from the angels, and I fear that in his days +a wonder may be wrought on the earth. And now, my father, I am here to petition +thee and implore thee, that thou mayest go to Enoch, our father, and learn from +him the truth, for his dwelling place is among the angels." +</p> + +<p> +And when Methuselah heard the words of his son, he went to Enoch, to the ends +of the earth, and he cried aloud, and Enoch heard his voice, and appeared +before him, and asked him the reason of his coming. Methuselah told him the +cause of his anxiety, and requested him to make the truth known to him. Enoch +answered, and said: "The Lord will do a new thing in the earth. There will come +a great destruction on the earth, and a deluge for one year. This son who is +born unto thee will be left on the earth, and his three children will be saved +with him, when all mankind that are on the earth shall die. And there will be a +great punishment on the earth, and the earth will be cleansed from all +impurity. And now make known to thy son Lamech that he who was born is in truth +his son, and call his name Noah, for he will be left to you, and he and his +children will be saved from the destruction which will come upon the earth." +When Methuselah had heard the words of his father, who showed him all the +secret things, he returned home, and he called the child Noah, for he would +cause the earth to rejoice in compensation for all destruction.[4] +</p> + +<p> +By the name Noah he was called only by his grandfather Methuselah; his father +and all others called him Menahem. His generation was addicted to sorcery, and +Methuselah apprehended that his grandson might be bewitched if his true name +were known, wherefore he kept it a secret. Menahem, Comforter, suited him as +well as Noah; it indicated that he would be a consoler, if but the evil-doers +of his time would repent of their misdeeds.[5] At his very birth it was felt +that he would bring consolation and deliverance. When the Lord said to Adam, +"Cursed is the ground for thy sake," he asked, "For how long a time?" and the +answer made by God was, "Until a man child shall be born whose conformation is +such that the rite of circumcision need not be practiced upon him." This was +fulfilled in Noah, he was circumcised from his mother's womb. +</p> + +<p> +Noah had scarcely come into the world when a marked change was noticeable. +Since the curse brought upon the earth by the sin of Adam, it happened that +wheat being sown, yet oats would sprout and grow. This ceased with the +appearance of Noah: the earth bore the products planted in it. And it was Noah +who, when he was grown to manhood, invented the plough, the scythe, the hoe, +and other implements for cultivating the ground. Before him men had worked the +land with their bare hands.[6] +</p> + +<p> +There was another token to indicate that the child born unto Lamech was +appointed for an extraordinary destiny. When God created Adam, He gave him +dominion over all things: the cow obeyed the ploughman, and the furrow was +willing to be drawn. But after the fall of Adam all things rebelled against +him: the cow refused obedience to the ploughman, and also the furrow was +refractory. Noah was born, and all returned to its state preceding the fall of +man. +</p> + +<p> +Before the birth of Noah, the sea was in the habit of transgressing its bounds +twice daily, morning and evening, and flooding the land up to the graves. After +his birth it kept within its confines. And the famine that afflicted the world +in the time of Lamech, the second of the ten great famines appointed to come +upon it, ceased its ravages with the birth of Noah.[7] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap41"></a>THE PUNISHMENT OF THE FALLEN ANGELS</h3> + +<p> +Grown to manhood, Noah followed in the ways of his grandfather Methuselah, +while all other men of the time rose up against this pious king. So far from +observing his precepts, they pursued the evil inclination of their hearts, and +perpetrated all sorts of abominable deeds.[8] Chiefly the fallen angels and +their giant posterity caused the depravity of mankind. The blood spilled by the +giants cried unto heaven from the ground, and the four archangels accused the +fallen angels and their sons before God, whereupon He gave the following orders +to them: Uriel was sent to Noah to announce to him that the earth would be +destroyed by a flood, and to teach him how to save his own life. Raphael was +told to put the fallen angel Azazel into chains, cast him into a pit of sharp +and pointed stones in the desert Dudael, and cover him with darkness, and so +was he to remain until the great day of judgment, when he would be thrown into +the fiery pit of hell, and the earth would be healed of the corruption he had +contrived upon it. Gabriel was charged to proceed against the bastards and the +reprobates, the sons of the angels begotten with the daughters of men, and +plunge them into deadly conflicts with one another. Shemhazai's ilk were handed +over to Michael, who first caused them to witness the death of their children +in their bloody combat with each other, and then he bound them and pinned them +under the hills of the earth, where they will remain for seventy generations, +until the day of judgment, to be carried thence to the fiery pit of hell.[9] +</p> + +<p> +The fall of Azazel and Shemhazai came about in this way. When the generation of +the deluge began to practice idolatry, God was deeply grieved. The two angels +Shemhazai and Azazel arose, and said: "O Lord of the world! It has happened, +that which we foretold at the creation of the world and of man, saying, 'What +is man, that Thou art mindful of him?'" And God said, "And what will become of +the world now without man?" Whereupon the angels: "We will occupy ourselves +with it." Then said God: "I am well aware of it, and I know that if you inhabit +the earth, the evil inclination will overpower you, and you will be more +iniquitous than ever men." The angels pleaded, "Grant us but permission to +dwell among men, and Thou shalt see how we will sanctify Thy Name." God yielded +to their wish, saying, "Descend and sojourn among men!" +</p> + +<p> +When the angels came to earth, and beheld the daughters of men in all their +grace and beauty, they could not restrain their passion. Shemhazai saw a maiden +named Istehar, and he lost his heart to her. She promised to surrender herself +to him, if first he taught her the Ineffable Name, by means of which he raised +himself to heaven. He assented to her condition. But once she knew it, she +pronounced the Name, and herself ascended to heaven, without fulfilling her +promise to the angel. God said, "Because she kept herself aloof from sin, we +will place her among the seven stars, that men may never forget her," and she +was put in the constellation of the Pleiades. +</p> + +<p> +Shemhazai and Azazel, however, were not deterred from entering into alliances +with the daughters of men, and to the first two sons were born. Azazel began to +devise the finery and the ornaments by means of which women allure men. +Thereupon God sent Metatron to tell Shemhazai that He had resolved to destroy +the world and bring on a deluge. The fallen angel began to weep and grieve over +the fate of the world and the fate of his two sons. If the world went under, +what would they have to eat, they who needed daily a thousand camels, a +thousand horses, and a thousand steers? +</p> + +<p> +These two sons of Shemhazai, Hiwwa and Hiyya by name, dreamed dreams. The one +saw a great stone which covered the earth, and the earth was marked all over +with lines upon lines of writing. An angel came, and with a knife obliterated +all the lines, leaving but four letters upon the stone. The other son saw a +large pleasure grove planted with all sorts of trees. But angels approached +bearing axes, and they felled the trees, sparing a single one with three of its +branches. +</p> + +<p> +When Hiwwa and Hiyya awoke, they repaired to their father, who interpreted the +dreams for them, saying, "God will bring a deluge, and none will escape with +his life, excepting only Noah and his sons." When they heard this, the two +began to cry and scream, but their father consoled them: "Soft, soft! Do not +grieve. As often as men cut or haul stones, or launch vessels, they shall +invoke your names, Hiwwa! Hiyya!" This prophecy soothed them. +</p> + +<p> +Shemhazai then did penance. He suspended himself between heaven and earth, and +in this position of a penitent sinner he hangs to this day. But Azazel +persisted obdurately in his sin of leading mankind astray by means of sensual +allurements. For this reason two he-goats were sacrificed in the Temple on the +Day of Atonement, the one for God, that He pardon the sins of Israel, the other +for Azazel, that he bear the sins of Israel.[10] +</p> + +<p> +Unlike Istehar, the pious maiden, Naamah, the lovely sister of Tubal-cain, led +the angels astray with her beauty, and from her union with Shamdon sprang the +devil Asmodeus.[11] She was as shameless as all the other descendants of Cain, +and as prone to bestial indulgences. Cainite women and Cainite men alike were +in the habit of walking abroad naked, and they gave themselves up to every +conceivable manner of lewd practices. Of such were the women whose beauty and +sensual charms tempted the angels from the path of virtue. The angels, on the +other hand, no sooner had they rebelled against God and descended to earth than +they lost their transcendental qualities, and were invested with sublunary +bodies, so that a union with the daughters of men became possible. The +offspring of these alliances between the angels and the Cainite women were the +giants,[12] known for their strength and their sinfulness; as their very name, +the Emim, indicates, they inspired fear. They have many other names. Sometimes +they go by the name Rephaim, because one glance at them made one's heart grow +weak; or by the name Gibborim, simply giants, because their size was so +enormous that their thigh measured eighteen ells; or by the name Zamzummim, +because they were great masters in war; or by the name Anakim, because they +touched the sun with their neck; or by the name Ivvim, because, like the snake, +they could judge of the qualities of the soil; or finally, by the name +Nephilim, because, bringing the world to its fall, they themselves fell.[13] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap42"></a>THE GENERATION OF THE DELUGE</h3> + +<p> +While the descendants of Cain resembled their father in his sinfulness and +depravity, the descendants of Seth led a pious, well-regulated life, and the +difference between the conduct of the two stocks was reflected in their +habitations. The family of Seth was settled upon the mountains in the vicinity +of Paradise, while the family of Cain resided in the field of Damascus, the +spot whereon Abel was slain by Cain. +</p> + +<p> +Unfortunately, at the time of Methuselah, following the death of Adam, the +family of Seth became corrupted after the manner of the Cainites. The two +strains united with each other to execute all kinds of iniquitous deeds. The +result of the marriages between them were the Nephilim, whose sins brought the +deluge upon the world. In their arrogance they claimed the same pedigree as the +posterity of Seth, and they compared themselves with princes and men of noble +descent.[14] +</p> + +<p> +The wantonness of this generation was in a measure due to the ideal conditions +under which mankind lived before the flood. They knew neither toil nor care, +and as a consequence of their extraordinary prosperity they grew insolent. In +their arrogance they rose up against God. A single sowing bore a harvest +sufficient for the needs of forty years, and by means of magic arts they could +compel the very sun and moon to stand ready to do their service.[15] The +raising of children gave them no trouble. They were born after a few days' +pregnancy, and immediately after birth they could walk and talk; they +themselves aided the mother in severing the navel string. Not even demons could +do them harm. Once a new-born babe, running to fetch a light whereby his mother +might cut the navel string, met the chief of the demons, and a combat ensued +between the two. Suddenly the crowing of a cock was heard, and the demon made +off, crying out to the child, "Go and report unto thy mother, if it had not +been for the crowing of the cock, I had killed thee!" Whereupon the child +retorted, "Go and report unto thy mother, if it had not been for my uncut navel +string, I had killed thee!"[16] +</p> + +<p> +It was their care-free life that gave them space and leisure for their +infamies. For a time God, in His long-suffering kindness, passed by the +iniquities of men, but His forbearance ceased when once they began to lead +unchaste lives, for "God is patient with all sins save only an immoral +life."[17] +</p> + +<p> +The other sin that hastened the end of the iniquitous generation was their +rapacity. So cunningly were their depredations planned that the law could not +touch them. If a countryman brought a basket of vegetables to market, they +would edge up to it, one after the other, and abstract a bit, each in itself of +petty value, but in a little while the dealer would have none left to sell.[18] +</p> + +<p> +Even after God had resolved upon the destruction of the sinners, He still +permitted His mercy to prevail, in that He sent Noah unto them, who exhorted +them for one hundred and twenty years to amend their ways, always holding the +flood over them as a threat. As for them, they but derided him. When they saw +him occupying himself with the building of the ark, they asked, "Wherefore this +ark?" +</p> + +<p> +Noah: "God will bring a flood upon you." +</p> + +<p> +The sinners: "What sort of flood? If He sends a fire flood, against that we +know how to protect ourselves. If it is a flood of waters, then, if the waters +bubble up from the earth, we will cover them with iron rods, and if they +descend from above, we know a remedy against that, too." +</p> + +<p> +Noah: "The waters will ooze out from under your feet, and you will not be able +to ward them off." +</p> + +<p> +Partly they persisted in their obduracy of heart because Noah had made known to +them that the flood would not descend so long as the pious Methuselah sojourned +among them. The period of one hundred and twenty years which God had appointed +as the term of their probation having expired, Methuselah died, but out of +regard for the memory of this pious man God gave them another week's respite, +the week of mourning for him. During this time of grace, the laws of nature +were suspended, the sun rose in the west and set in the east. To the sinners +God gave the dainties that await man in the future world, for the purpose of +showing them what they were forfeiting.[19] But all this proved unavailing, +and, Methuselah and the other pious men of the generation having departed this +life, God brought the deluge upon the earth.[20] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap43"></a>THE HOLY BOOK</h3> + +<p> +Great wisdom was needed for building the ark, which was to have space for all +beings on earth, even the spirits. Only the fishes did not have to be provided +for.[21] Noah acquired the necessary wisdom from the book given to Adam by the +angel Raziel, in which all celestial and all earthly knowledge is recorded. +</p> + +<p> +While the first human pair were still in Paradise, it once happened that +Samael, accompanied by a lad, approached Eve and requested her to keep a +watchful eye upon his little son until he should return. Eve gave him the +promise. When Adam came back from a walk in Paradise, he found a howling, +screaming child with Eve, who, in reply to his question, told him it was +Samael's. Adam was annoyed, and his annoyance grew as the boy cried and +screamed more and more violently. In his vexation he dealt the little one a +blow that killed him. But the corpse did not cease to wail and weep, nor did it +cease when Adam cut it up into bits. To rid himself of the plague, Adam cooked +the remains, and he and Eve ate them. Scarcely had they finished, when Samael +appeared and demanded his son. The two malefactors tried to deny everything; +they pretended they had no knowledge of his son. But Samael said to them: +"What! You dare tell lies, and God in times to come will give Israel the Torah +in which it is said, 'Keep thee far from a false word'?" +</p> + +<p> +While they were speaking thus, suddenly the voice of the slain lad was heard +proceeding from the heart of Adam and Eve, and it addressed these words to +Samael: "Go hence! I have penetrated to the heart of Adam and the heart of Eve, +and never again shall I quit their hearts, nor the hearts of their children, or +their children's children, unto the end of all generations." +</p> + +<p> +Samael departed, but Adam was sore grieved, and he put on sackcloth and ashes, +and he fasted many, many days, until God appeared unto him, and said: "My son, +have no fear of Samael. I will give thee a remedy that will help thee against +him, for it was at My instance that he went to thee." Adam asked, "And what is +this remedy?" God: "The Torah." Adam: "And where is the Torah?" God then gave +him the book of the angel Raziel, which he studied day and night. After some +time had passed, the angels visited Adam, and, envious of the wisdom he had +drawn from the book, they sought to destroy him cunningly by calling him a god +and prostrating themselves before him, in spite of his remonstrance, "Do not +prostrate yourselves before me, but magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt +His Name together." However, the envy of the angels was so great that they +stole the book God had given Adam from him, and threw it in the sea. Adam +searched for it everywhere in vain, and the loss distressed him sorely. Again +he fasted many days, until God appeared unto him, and said: "Fear not! I will +give the book back to thee," and He called Rahab, the Angel of the Sea, and +ordered him to recover the book from the sea and restore it to Adam. And so he +did.[22] +</p> + +<p> +Upon the death of Adam, the holy book disappeared, but later the cave in which +it was hidden was revealed to Enoch in a dream. It was from this book that +Enoch drew his knowledge of nature, of the earth and of the heavens, and he +became so wise through it that his wisdom exceeded the wisdom of Adam. Once he +had committed it to memory, Enoch hid the book again. +</p> + +<p> +Now, when God resolved upon bringing the flood on the earth, He sent the +archangel Raphael to Noah, as the bearer of the following message: "I give thee +herewith the holy book, that all the secrets and mysteries written therein may +be made manifest unto thee, and that thou mayest know how to fulfil its +injunction in holiness, purity, modesty, and humbleness. Thou wilt learn from +it how to build an ark of the wood of the gopher tree, wherein thou, and thy +sons, and thy wife shall find protection." +</p> + +<p> +Noah took the book, and when he studied it, the holy spirit came upon him, and +he knew all things needful for the building of the ark and the gathering +together of the animals. The book, which was made of sapphires, he took with +him into the ark, having first enclosed it in a golden casket. All the time he +spent in the ark it served him as a time-piece, to distinguish night from day. +Before his death, he entrusted it to Shem, and he in turn to Abraham. From +Abraham it descended through Jacob, Levi, Moses, and Joshua to Solomon, who +learnt all his wisdom from it, and his skill in the healing art, and also his +mastery over the demons.[23] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap44"></a>THE INMATES OF THE ARK</h3> + +<p> +The ark was completed according to the instructions laid down in the Book of +Raziel. Noah's next task was gathering in the animals. No less than thirty-two +species of birds and three hundred and sixty-five of reptiles he had to take +along with him. But God ordered the animals to repair to the ark, and they +trooped thither, and Noah did not have to do so much as stretch out a +finger.[24] Indeed, more appeared than were required to come, and God +instructed him to sit at the door of the ark and note which of the animals lay +down as they reached the entrance and which stood. The former belonged in the +ark, but not the latter. Taking up his post as he had been commanded, Noah +observed a lioness with her two cubs. All three beasts crouched. But the two +young ones began to struggle with the mother, and she arose and stood up next +to them. Then Noah led the two cubs into the ark. The wild beasts, and the +cattle, and the birds which were not accepted remained standing about the ark +all of seven days, for the assembling of the animals happened one week before +the flood began to descend. On the day whereon they came to the ark, the sun +was darkened, and the foundations of the earth trembled, and lightning flashed, +and the thunder boomed, as never before. And yet the sinners remained +impenitent. In naught did they change their wicked doings during those last +seven days. +</p> + +<p> +When finally the flood broke loose, seven hundred thousand of the children of +men gathered around the ark, and implored Noah to grant them protection. With a +loud voice he replied, and said: "Are ye not those who were rebellious toward +God, saying, 'There is no God'? Therefore He has brought ruin upon you, to +annihilate you and destroy you from the face of the earth. Have I not been +prophesying this unto you these hundred and twenty years, and you would not +give heed unto the voice of God? Yet now you desire to be kept alive!" Then the +sinners cried out: "So be it! We all are ready now to turn back to God, if only +thou wilt open the door of thy ark to receive us, that we may live and not +die." Noah made answer, and said: "That ye do now, when your need presses hard +upon you. Why did you not turn to God during all the hundred and twenty years +which the Lord appointed unto you as the term of repentance? Now do ye come, +and ye speak thus, because distress besets your lives. Therefore God will not +hearken unto you and give you ear; naught will you accomplish!" +</p> + +<p> +The crowd of sinners tried to take the entrance to the ark by storm, but the +wild beasts keeping watch around the ark set upon them, and many were slain, +while the rest escaped, only to meet death in the waters of the flood.[25] The +water alone could not have made an end of them, for they were giants in stature +and strength. When Noah threatened them with the scourge of God, they would +make reply: "If the waters of the flood come from above, they will never reach +up to our necks; and if they come from below, the soles of our feet are large +enough to dam up the springs." But God bade each drop pass through Gehenna +before it fell to earth, and the hot rain scalded the skin of the sinners. The +punishment that overtook them was befitting their crime. As their sensual +desires had made them hot, and inflamed them to immoral excesses, so they were +chastised by means of heated water.[26] +</p> + +<p> +Not even in the hour of the death struggle could the sinners suppress their +vile instincts. When the water began to stream up out of the springs, they +threw their little children into them, to choke the flood.[27] +</p> + +<p> +It was by the grace of God, not on account of his merits, that Noah found +shelter in the ark before the overwhelming force of the waters.[28] Although he +was better than his contemporaries, he was yet not worthy of having wonders +done for his sake. He had so little faith that he did not enter the ark until +the waters had risen to his knees. With him his pious wife Naamah, the daughter +of Enosh, escaped the peril, and his three sons, and the wives of his three +sons. +</p> + +<p> +Noah had not married until he was four hundred and ninety-eight years old. Then +the Lord had bidden him to take a wife unto himself. He had not desired to +bring children into the world, seeing that they would all have to perish in the +flood, and he had only three sons, born unto him shortly before the deluge +came.[30] God had given him so small a number of offspring that he might be +spared the necessity of building the ark on an overlarge scale in case they +turned out to be pious. And if not, if they, too, were depraved like the rest +of their generation, sorrow over their destruction would but be increased in +proportion to their number.[31] +</p> + +<p> +As Noah and his family were the only ones not to have a share in the +corruptness of the age, so the animals received into the ark were such as had +led a natural life. For the animals of the time were as immoral as the men: the +dog united with the wolf, the cock with the pea-fowl, and many others paid no +heed to sexual purity. Those that were saved were such as had kept themselves +untainted.[32] +</p> + +<p> +Before the flood the number of unclean animals had been greater than the number +of the clean. Afterward the ratio was reversed, because while seven pairs of +clean animals were preserved in the ark, but two pairs of the unclean were +preserved.[33] +</p> + +<p> +One animal, the reem, Noah could not take into the ark. On account of its huge +size it could not find room therein. Noah therefore tied it to the ark, and it +ran on behind.[34] Also, he could not make space for the giant Og, the king of +Bashan. He sat on top of the ark securely, and in this way escaped the flood of +waters. Noah doled out his food to him daily, through a hole, because Og had +promised that he and his descendants would serve him as slaves in +perpetuity.[35] +</p> + +<p> +Two creatures of a most peculiar kind also found refuge in the ark. Among the +beings that came to Noah there was Falsehood asking for shelter. He was denied +admission, because he had no companion, and Noah was taking in the animals only +by pairs. Falsehood went off to seek a partner, and he met Misfortune, whom he +associated with himself on the condition that she might appropriate what +Falsehood earned. The pair were then accepted in the ark. When they left it, +Falsehood noticed that whatever he gathered together disappeared at once, and +he betook himself to his companion to seek an explanation, which she gave him +in the following words, "Did we not agree to the condition that I might take +what you earn?" and Falsehood had to depart empty-handed. +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap45"></a>THE FLOOD</h3> + +<p> +The assembling of the animals in the ark was but the smaller part of the task +imposed upon Noah. His chief difficulty was to provide food for a year and +accommodations for them. Long afterward Shem, the son of Noah, related to +Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, the tale of their experiences with the animals +in the ark. This is what he said: "We had sore troubles in the ark. The day +animals had to be fed by day, and the night animals by night. My father knew +not what food to give to the little zikta. Once he cut a pomegranate in half, +and a worm dropped out of the fruit, and was devoured by the zikta. Thenceforth +my father would knead bran, and let it stand until it bred worms, which were +fed to the animal. The lion suffered with a fever all the time, and therefore +he did not annoy the others, because he did not relish dry food. The animal +urshana my father found sleeping in a corner of the vessel, and he asked him +whether he needed nothing to eat. He answered, and said: 'I saw thou wast very +busy, and I did not wish to add to thy cares.' Whereupon my father said, 'May +it be the will of the Lord to keep thee alive forever,' and the blessing was +realized."[37] +</p> + +<p> +The difficulties were increased when the flood began to toss the ark from side +to side. All inside of it were shaken up like lentils in a pot. The lions began +to roar, the oxen lowed, the wolves howled, and all the animals gave vent to +their agony, each through the sounds it had the power to utter. +</p> + +<p> +Also Noah and his sons, thinking that death was nigh, broke into tears. Noah +prayed to God: "O Lord, help us, for we are not able to bear the evil that +encompasses us. The billows surge about us, the streams of destruction make us +afraid, and death stares us in the face. O hear our prayer, deliver us, incline +Thyself unto us, and be gracious unto us! Redeem us and save us!"[38] +</p> + +<p> +The flood was produced by a union of the male waters, which are above the +firmament, and the female waters issuing from the earth.[39] The upper waters +rushed through the space left when God removed two stars out of the +constellation Pleiades. Afterward, to put a stop to the flood, God had to +transfer two stars from the constellation of the Bear to the constellation of +the Pleiades. That is why the Bear runs after the Pleiades. She wants her two +children back, but they will be restored to her only in the future world.[40] +</p> + +<p> +There were other changes among the celestial spheres during the year of the +flood. All the time it lasted, the sun and the moon shed no light, whence Noah +was called by his name, "the resting one," for in his life the sun and the moon +rested. The ark was illuminated by a precious stone, the light of which was +more brilliant by night than by day, so enabling Noah to distinguish between +day and night.[41] +</p> + +<p> +The duration of the flood was a whole year. It began on the seventeenth day of +Heshwan, and the rain continued for forty days, until the twenty-seventh of +Kislew. The punishment corresponded to the crime of the sinful generation. They +had led immoral lives, and begotten bastard children, whose embryonic state +lasts forty days. From the twenty seventh of Kislew until the first of Siwan, a +period of one hundred and fifty days, the water stood at one and the same +height, fifteen ells above the earth. During that time all the wicked were +destroyed, each one receiving the punishment due to him.[42] Cain was among +those that perished, and thus the death of Abel was avenged.[43] So powerful +were the waters in working havoc that the corpse of Adam was not spared in its +grave.[44] +</p> + +<p> +On the first of Siwan the waters began to abate, a quarter of an ell a day, and +at the end of sixty days, on the tenth day of Ab, the summits of the mountains +showed themselves. But many days before, on the tenth of Tammuz, Noah had sent +forth the raven, and a week later the dove, on the first of her three sallies, +repeated at intervals of a week. It took from the first of Ab until the first +of Tishri for the waters to subside wholly from the face of the earth. Even +then the soil was so miry that the dwellers in the ark had to remain within +until the twenty-seventh day of Heshwan, completing a full sun year, consisting +of twelve moons and eleven days.[45] +</p> + +<p> +Noah had experienced difficulty all along in ascertaining the state of the +waters. When he desired to dispatch the raven, the bird said: "The Lord, thy +Master, hates me, and thou dost hate me, too. Thy Master hates me, for He bade +thee take seven pairs of the clean animals into the ark, and but two pairs of +the unclean animals, to which I belong. Thou hatest me, for thou dost not +choose, as a messenger, a bird of one of the kinds of which there are seven +pairs in the ark, but thou sendest me, and of my kind there is but one pair. +Suppose, now, I should perish by reason of heat or cold, would not the world be +the poorer by a whole species of animals? Or can it be that thou hast cast a +lustful eye upon my mate, and desirest to rid thyself of me?" Where unto Noah +made answer, and said: "Wretch! I must live apart from my own wife in the ark. +How much less would such thoughts occur to my mind as thou imputest to me!"[46] +</p> + +<p> +The raven's errand had no success, for when he saw the body of a dead man, he +set to work to devour it, and did not execute the orders given to him by Noah. +Thereupon the dove was sent out. Toward evening she returned with an olive leaf +in her bill, plucked upon the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem, for the Holy Land +had not been ravaged by the deluge. As she plucked it, she said to God: "O Lord +of the world, let my food be as bitter as the olive, but do Thou give it to me +from Thy hand, rather than it should be sweet, and I be delivered into the +power of men."[47] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap46"></a>NOAH LEAVES THE ARK</h3> + +<p> +Though the earth assumed its old form at the end of the year of punishment, +Noah did not abandon the ark until he received the command of God to leave it. +He said to himself, "As I entered the ark at the bidding of God, so I will +leave it only at His bidding." Yet, when God bade Noah go out of the ark, he +refused, because he feared that after he had lived upon the dry land for some +time, and begotten children, God would bring another flood. He therefore would +not leave the ark until God swore He would never visit the earth with a flood +again.[48] +</p> + +<p> +When he stepped out from the ark into the open, he began to weep bitterly at +sight of the enormous ravages wrought by the flood, and he said to God: "O Lord +of the world! Thou art called the Merciful, and Thou shouldst have had mercy +upon Thy creatures." God answered, and said: "O thou foolish shepherd, now thou +speakest to Me. Thou didst not so when I addressed kind words to thee, saying: +'I saw thee as a righteous man and perfect in thy generation, and I will bring +the flood upon the earth to destroy all flesh. Make an ark for thyself of +gopher wood.' Thus spake I to thee, telling thee all these circumstances, that +thou mightest entreat mercy for the earth. But thou, as soon as thou didst hear +that thou wouldst be rescued in the ark, thou didst not concern thyself about +the ruin that would strike the earth. Thou didst but build an ark for thyself, +in which thou wast saved. Now that the earth is wasted, thou openest thy mouth +to supplicate and pray." +</p> + +<p> +Noah realized that he had been guilty of folly. To propitiate God and +acknowledge his sin, he brought a sacrifice.[49] God accepted the offering with +favor, whence he is called by his name Noah.[50] The sacrifice was not offered +by Noah with his own hands; the priestly services connected with it were +performed by his son Shem. There was a reason for this. One day in the ark Noah +forgot to give his ration to the lion, and the hungry beast struck him so +violent a blow with his paw that he was lame forever after, and, having a +bodily defect, he was not permitted to do the offices of a priest.[51] +</p> + +<p> +The sacrifices consisted of an ox, a sheep, a goat, two turtle doves, and two +young pigeons. Noah had chosen these kinds because he supposed they were +appointed for sacrifices, seeing that God had commanded him to take seven pairs +of them into the ark with him. The altar was erected in the same place on which +Adam and Cain and Abel had brought their sacrifices, and on which later the +altar was to be in the sanctuary at Jerusalem.[52] +</p> + +<p> +After the sacrifice was completed, God blessed Noah and his sons. He made them +to be rulers of the world as Adam had been,[53] and He gave them a command, +saying, "Be fruitful and multiply upon the earth," for during their sojourn in +the ark, the two sexes, of men and animals alike, had lived apart from each +other, because while a public calamity rages continence is becoming even to +those who are left unscathed. This law of conduct had been violated by none in +the ark except by Ham, by the dog, and by the raven. They all received a +punishment. Ham's was that his descendants were men of dark-hued skin.[54] +</p> + +<p> +As a token that He would destroy the earth no more, God set His bow in the +cloud. Even if men should be steeped in sin again, the bow proclaims to them +that their sins will cause no harm to the world. Times came in the course of +the ages when men were pious enough not to have to live in dread of punishment. +In such times the bow was not visible.[55] +</p> + +<p> +God accorded permission to Noah and his descendants to use the flesh of animals +for food, which had been forbidden from the time of Adam until then. But they +were to abstain from the use of blood. He ordained the seven Noachian laws, the +observance of which is incumbent upon all men, not upon Israel alone. God +enjoined particularly the command against the shedding of human blood. Whoso +would shed man's blood, his blood would be shed. Even if human judges let the +guilty man go free, his punishment would overtake him. He would die an +unnatural death, such as he had inflicted upon his fellow-man. Yea, even beasts +that slew men, even of them would the life of men be required.[56] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap47"></a>THE CURSE OF DRUNKENNESS</h3> + +<p> +Noah lost his epithet "the pious" when he began to occupy himself with the +growing of the vine. He became a "man of the ground," and this first attempt to +produce wine at the same time produced the first to drink to excess, the first +to utter curses upon his associates, and the first to introduce slavery. This +is the way it all came about. Noah found the vine which Adam had taken with him +from Paradise, when he was driven forth. He tasted the grapes upon it, and, +finding them palatable, he resolved to plant the vine and tend it.[57] On the +selfsame day on which he planted it, it bore fruit, he put it in the +wine-press, drew off the juice, drank it, became drunken, and was +dishonored—all on one day. His assistant in the work of cultivating the vine +was Satan, who had happened along at the very moment when he was engaged in +planting the slip he had found. Satan asked him: "What is it thou art planting +here?" +</p> + +<p> +Noah: "A vineyard." +</p> + +<p> +Satan: "And what may be the qualities of what it produces?" +</p> + +<p> +Noah: "The fruit it bears is sweet, be it dry or moist. It yields wine that +rejoiceth the heart of man." +</p> + +<p> +Satan: "Let us go into partnership in this business of planting a vineyard." +</p> + +<p> +Noah: "Agreed!" +</p> + +<p> +Satan thereupon slaughtered a lamb, and then, in succession, a lion, a pig, and +a monkey. The blood of each as it was killed he made to flow under the vine. +Thus he conveyed to Noah what the qualities of wine are: before man drinks of +it, he is innocent as a lamb; if he drinks of it moderately, he feels as strong +as a lion; if he drinks more of it than he can bear, he resembles the pig; and +if he drinks to the point of intoxication, then he behaves like a monkey, he +dances around, sings, talks obscenely, and knows not what he is doing.[58] +</p> + +<p> +This deterred Noah no more than did the example of Adam, whose fall had also +been due to wine, for the forbidden fruit had been the grape, with which he had +made himself drunk.[59] +</p> + +<p> +In his drunken condition Noah betook himself to the tent of his wife. His son +Ham saw him there, and he told his brothers what he had noticed, and said: "The +first man had but two sons, and one slew the other; this man Noah has three +sons, yet he desires to beget a fourth besides." Nor did Ham rest satisfied +with these disrespectful words against his father. He added to this sin of +irreverence the still greater outrage of attempting to perform an operation +upon his father designed to prevent procreation. +</p> + +<p> +When Noah awoke from his wine and became sober, he pronounced a curse upon Ham +in the person of his youngest son Canaan. To Ham himself he could do no harm, +for God had conferred a blessing upon Noah and his three sons as they departed +from the ark. Therefore he put the curse upon the last-born son of the son that +had prevented him from begetting a younger son than the three he had. The +descendants of Ham through Canaan therefore have red eyes, because Ham looked +upon the nakedness of his father; they have misshapen lips, because Ham spoke +with his lips to his brothers about the unseemly condition of his father; they +have twisted curly hair, because Ham turned and twisted his head round to see +the nakedness of his father; and they go about naked, because Ham did not cover +the nakedness of his father. Thus he was requited, for it is the way of God to +mete out punishment measure for measure. +</p> + +<p> +Canaan had to suffer vicariously for his father's sin. Yet some of the +punishment was inflicted upon him on his own account, for it had been Canaan +who had drawn the attention of Ham to Noah's revolting condition. Ham, it +appears, was but the worthy father of such a son.[61] The last will and +testament of Canaan addressed to his children read as follows: "Speak not the +truth; hold not yourselves aloof from theft; lead a dissolute life; hate your +master with an exceeding great hate; and love one another."[62] +</p> + +<p> +As Ham was made to suffer requital for his irreverence, so Shem and Japheth +received a reward for the filial, deferential way in which they took a garment +and laid it upon both their shoulders, and walking backward, with averted +faces, covered the nakedness of their father. Naked the descendants of Ham, the +Egyptians and Ethiopians, were led away captive and into exile by the king of +Assyria, while the descendants of Shem, the Assyrians, even when the angel of +the Lord burnt them in the camp, were not exposed, their garments remained upon +their corpses unsinged. And in time to come, when Gog shall suffer his defeat, +God will provide both shrouds and a place of burial for him and all his +multitude, the posterity of Japheth. +</p> + +<p> +Though Shem and Japheth both showed themselves to be dutiful and deferential, +yet it was Shem who deserved the larger meed of praise. He was the first to set +about covering his father. Japheth joined him after the good deed had been +begun. Therefore the descendants of Shem received as their special reward the +tallit, the garment worn by them, while the Japhethites have only the toga.[63] +A further distinction accorded to Shem was the mention of his name in +connection with God's in the blessing of Noah. "Blessed be the Lord, the God of +Shem," he said, though as a rule the name of God is not joined to the name of a +living person, only to the name of one who has departed this life.[64] +</p> + +<p> +The relation of Shem to Japheth was expressed in the blessing their father +pronounced upon them: God will grant a land of beauty to Japheth, and his sons +will be proselytes dwelling in the academies of Shem.[65] At the same time Noah +conveyed by his words that the Shekinah would dwell only in the first Temple, +erected by Solomon, a son of Shem, and not in the second Temple, the builder of +which would be Cyrus, a descendant of Japheth.[66] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap48"></a>NOAH'S DESCENDANTS SPREAD ABROAD</h3> + +<p> +When it became known to Ham that his father had cursed him, he fled ashamed, +and with his family he settled in the city built by him, and named Neelatamauk +for his wife. Jealous of his brother, Japheth followed his example. He likewise +built a city which he named for his wife, Adataneses. Shem was the only one of +the sons of Noah who did not abandon him. In the vicinity of his father's home, +by the mountain, he built his city, to which he also gave his wife's name, +Zedeketelbab. The three cities are all near Mount Lubar, the eminence upon +which the ark rested. The first lies to the south of it, the second to the +west, and the third to the east. +</p> + +<p> +Noah endeavored to inculcate the ordinances and the commands known to him upon +his children and his children's children. In particular he admonished them +against the fornication, the uncleanness, and all the iniquity which had +brought the flood down upon the earth. He reproached them with living apart +from one another, and with their jealousies, for he feared that, after his +death, they might go so far as to shed human blood. Against this he warned them +impressively, that they be not annihilated from the earth like those that went +before. Another law which he enjoined upon them, to observe it, was the law +ordaining that the fruit of a tree shall not be used the first three years it +bears, and even in the fourth year it shall be the portion of the priests +alone, after a part thereof has been offered upon the altar of God. And having +made an end of giving his teachings and injunctions, Noah said: "For thus did +Enoch, your ancestor, exhort his son Methuselah, and Methuselah his son Lamech, +and Lamech delivered all unto me as his father had bidden him, and now I do +exhort you, my children, as Enoch exhorted his son. When he lived, in his +generation, which was the seventh generation of man, he commanded it and +testified it unto his children and his children's children, until the day of +his death."[67] +</p> + +<p> +In the year 1569 after the creation of the world, Noah divided the earth by lot +among his three sons, in the presence of an angel. Each one stretched forth his +hand and took a slip from the bosom of Noah. Shem's slip was inscribed with the +middle of the earth, and this portion became the inheritance of his descendants +unto all eternity. Noah rejoiced that the lot had assigned it to Shem. Thus was +fulfilled his blessing upon him, "And God in the habitation of Shem," for three +holy places fell within his precincts—the Holy of Holies in the Temple, Mount +Sinai, the middle point of the desert, and Mount Zion, the middle point of the +navel of the earth. +</p> + +<p> +The south fell to the lot of Ham, and the north became the inheritance of +Japheth. The land of Ham is hot, Japheth's cold, but Shem's is neither hot nor +cold, its temperature is hot and cold mixed.[68] +</p> + +<p> +This division of the earth took place toward the end of the life of Peleg, the +name given to him by his father Eber, who, being a prophet, knew that the +division of the earth would take place in the time of his son.[69] The brother +of Peleg was called Joktan, because the duration of the life of man was +shortened in his time.[70] +</p> + +<p> +In turn, the three sons of Noah, while they were still standing in the presence +of their father, divided each his portion among his children, Noah threatening +with his curse any who should stretch out his hand to take a portion not +assigned to him by lot. And they all cried, "So be it! So be it!"[71] +</p> + +<p> +Thus were divided one hundred and four lands and ninety-nine islands among +seventy-two nations, each with a language of its own, using sixteen different +sets of characters for writing. To Japheth were allotted forty-four lands, +thirty-three islands, twenty-two languages, and five kinds of writing; Ham +received thirty-four lands, thirty-three islands, twenty-four languages, and +five kinds of writing; and Shem twenty-six lands, thirty-three islands, +twenty-six languages, and six kinds of writing—one set of written characters +more to Shem than to either of his brothers, the extra set being the +Hebrew.[72] +</p> + +<p> +The land appointed as the inheritance of the twelve sons of Jacob was +provisionally granted to Canaan, Zidon, Heth, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the +Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the +Zemarites, and the Hamathites. It was the duty of these nations to take care of +the land until the rightful owners should come.[73] +</p> + +<p> +No sooner had the children of Noah and their children's children taken +possession of the habitations apportioned to them, than the unclean spirits +began to seduce men and torment them with pain and all sorts of suffering +leading to spiritual and physical death. Upon the entreaties of Noah God sent +down the angel Raphael, who banished nine-tenths of the unclean spirits from +the earth, leaving but one-tenth for Mastema, to punish sinners through them. +Raphael, supported by the chief of the unclean spirits, at that time revealed +to Noah all the remedies residing in plants, that he might resort to them at +need. Noah recorded them in a book, which he transmitted to his son Shem.[74] +This is the source to which go back all the medical books whence the wise men +of India, Aram, Macedonia, and Egypt draw their knowledge. The sages of India +devoted themselves particularly to the study of curative trees and spices; the +Arameans were well versed in the knowledge of the properties of grains and +seeds, and they translated the old medical books into their language. The wise +men of Macedonia were the first to apply medical knowledge practically, while +the Egyptians sought to effect cures by means of magic arts and by means of +astrology, and they taught the Midrash of the Chaldees, composed by Kangar, the +son of Ur, the son of Kesed. Medical skill spread further and further until the +time of aesculapius. This Macedonian sage, accompanied by forty learned +magicians, journeyed from country to country, until they came to the land +beyond India, in the direction of Paradise. They hoped there to find some wood +of the tree of life, and thus spread their fame abroad over the whole world. +Their hope was frustrated. When they arrived at the spot, they found healing +trees and wood of the tree of life, but when they were in the act of stretching +forth their hands to gather what they desired, lightning darted out of the +ever-turning sword, smote them to the ground, and they were all burnt. With +them disappeared all knowledge of medicine, and it did not revive until the +time of the first Artaxerxes, under the Macedonian sage Hippocrates, +Dioscorides of Baala, Galen of Caphtor, and the Hebrew Asaph.[75] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap49"></a>THE DEPRAVITY OF MANKIND</h3> + +<p> +With the spread of mankind corruption increased. While Noah was still alive, +the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth appointed princes over each of the +three groups—Nimrod for the descendants of Ham, Joktan for the descendants of +Shem, and Phenech for the descendants of Japheth. Ten years before Noah's +death, the number of those subject to the three princes amounted to millions. +When this great concourse of men came to Babylonia upon their journeyings, they +said to one another: "Behold, the time is coming when, at the end of days, +neighbor will be separated from neighbor, and brother from brother, and one +will carry on war against the other. Go to, let us build us a city, and a +tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a great name upon +the earth. And now let us make bricks, and each one write his name upon his +brick." All agreed to this proposal, with the exception of twelve pious men, +Abraham among them. They refused to join the others. They were seized by the +people, and brought before the three princes, to whom they gave the following +reason for their refusal: "We will not make bricks, nor remain with you, for we +know but one God, and Him we serve; even if you burn us in the fire together +with the bricks, we will not walk in your ways." Nimrod and Phenech flew into +such a passion over the twelve men that they resolved to throw them into the +fire. Joktan, however, besides being a God-fearing man, was of close kin to the +men on trial, and he essayed to save them. He proposed to his two colleagues to +grant them a seven days' respite. His plan was accepted, such deference being +paid him as the primate among the three. The twelve were incarcerated in the +house of Joktan. In the night he charged fifty of his attendants to mount the +prisoners upon mules and take them to the mountains. Thus they would escape the +threatened punishment. Joktan provided them with food for a month. He was sure +that in the meantime either a change of sentiment would come about, and the +people desist from their purpose, or God would help the fugitives. Eleven of +the prisoners assented to the plan with gratitude. Abraham alone rejected it, +saying: "Behold, to-day we flee to the mountains to escape from the fire, but +if wild beasts rush out from the mountains and devour us, or if food is +lacking, so that we die by famine, we shall be found fleeing before the people +of the land and dying in our sins. Now, as the Lord liveth, in whom I trust, I +will not depart from this place wherein they have imprisoned me, and if I am to +die through my sins, then will I die by the will of God, according to His +desire." +</p> + +<p> +In vain Joktan endeavored to persuade Abraham to flee. He persisted in his +refusal. He remained behind alone in the prison house, while the other eleven +made their escape. At the expiration of the set term, when the people returned +and demanded the death of the twelve captives, Joktan could produce only +Abraham. His excuse was that the rest had broken loose during the night. The +people were about to throw themselves upon Abraham and cast him into the lime +kiln. Suddenly an earthquake was felt, the fire darted from the furnace, and +all who were standing round about, eighty four thousand of the people, were +consumed, while Abraham remained untouched. Thereupon he repaired to his eleven +friends in the mountains, and told them of the miracle that had befallen for +his sake. They all returned with him, and, unmolested by the people, they gave +praise and thanks to God.[76] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap50"></a>NIMROD</h3> + +<p> +The first among the leaders of the corrupt men was Nimrod.[77] His father Cush +had married his mother at an advanced age, and Nimrod, the offspring of this +belated union, was particularly dear to him as the son of his old age. He gave +him the clothes made of skins with which God had furnished Adam and Eve at the +time of their leaving Paradise. Cush himself had gained possession of them +through Ham. From Adam and Eve they had descended to Enoch, and from him to +Methuselah, and to Noah, and the last had taken them with him into the ark. +When the inmates of the ark were about to leave their refuge, Ham stole the +garments and kept them concealed, finally passing them on to his first-born son +Cush. Cush in turn hid them for many years. When his son Nimrod reached his +twentieth year, he gave them to him.[78] These garments had a wonderful +property. He who wore them was both invincible and irresistible. The beasts and +birds of the woods fell down before Nimrod as soon as they caught sight of him +arrayed in them,[79] and he was equally victorious in his combats with men.[80] +The source of his unconquerable strength was not known to them. They attributed +it to his personal prowess, and therefore they appointed him king over +themselves.[81] This was done after a conflict between the descendants of Cush +and the descendants of Japheth, from which Nimrod emerged triumphant, having +routed the enemy utterly with the assistance of a handful of warriors. He chose +Shinar as his capital. Thence he extended his dominion farther and farther, +until he rose by cunning and force to be the sole ruler of the whole world, the +first mortal to hold universal sway, as the ninth ruler to possess the same +power will be the Messiah.[82] +</p> + +<p> +His impiousness kept pace with his growing power. Since the flood there had +been no such sinner as Nimrod. He fashioned idols of wood and stone, and paid +worship to them. But not satisfied to lead a godless life himself, he did all +he could to tempt his subjects into evil ways, wherein he was aided and abetted +by his son Mardon. This son of his outstripped his father in iniquity. It was +their time and their life that gave rise to the proverb, "Out of the wicked +cometh forth wickedness."[83] +</p> + +<p> +The great success that attended all of Nimrod's undertakings produced a +sinister effect. Men no longer trusted in God, but rather in their own prowess +and ability,[84] an attitude to which Nimrod tried to convert the whole +world.[85] Therefore people said, "Since the creation of the world there has +been none like Nimrod, a mighty hunter of men and beasts, and a sinner before +God."[86] +</p> + +<p> +And not all this sufficed unto Nimrod's evil desire. Not enough that he turned +men away from God, he did all he could to make them pay Divine honors unto +himself. He set himself up as a god, and made a seat for himself in imitation +of the seat of God. It was a tower built out of a round rock, and on it he +placed a throne of cedar wood, upon which arose, one above the other, four +thrones, of iron, copper, silver, and gold. Crowning all, upon the golden +throne, lay a precious stone, round in shape and gigantic in size. This served +him as a seat, and as he sate upon it, all nations came and paid him Divine +homage.[87] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap51"></a>THE TOWER OF BABEL</h3> + +<p> +The iniquity and godlessness of Nimrod reached their climax in the building of +the Tower of Babel. His counsellors had proposed the plan of erecting such a +tower, Nimrod had agreed to it, and it was executed in Shinar by a mob of six +hundred thousand men. The enterprise was neither more nor less than rebellion +against God, and there were three sorts of rebels among the builders. The first +party spoke, Let us ascend into the heavens and wage warfare with Him; the +second party spoke, Let us ascend into the heavens, set up our idols, and pay +worship unto them there; and the third party spoke, Let us ascend into the +heavens, and ruin them with our bows and spears. +</p> + +<p> +Many, many years were passed in building the tower. It reached so great a +height that it took a year to mount to the top. A brick was, therefore, more +precious in the sight of the builders than a human being. If a man fell down, +and met his death, none took notice of it, but if a brick dropped, they wept, +because it would take a year to replace it. So intent were they upon +accomplishing their purpose that they would not permit a woman to interrupt +herself in her work of brick-making when the hour of travail came upon her. +Moulding bricks she gave birth to her child, and, tying it round her body in a +sheet, she went on moulding bricks. +</p> + +<p> +They never slackened in their work, and from their dizzy height they constantly +shot arrows toward heaven, which, returning, were seen to be covered with +blood. They were thus fortified in their delusion, and they cried, "We have +slain all who are in heaven." Thereupon God turned to the seventy angels who +encompass His throne, and He spake: "Go to, let us go down, and there confound +their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." Thus it +happened. Thenceforth none knew what the other spoke. One would ask for the +mortar, and the other handed him a brick; in a rage, he would throw the brick +at his partner and kill him. Many perished in this manner, and the rest were +punished according to the nature of their rebellious conduct. Those who had +spoken, "Let us ascend into the heavens, set up our idols, and pay worship unto +them there," God transformed into apes and phantoms; those who had proposed to +assault the heavens with their arms, God set against each other so that they +fell in the combat; and those who had resolved to carry on a combat with God in +heaven were scattered broadcast over the earth. As for the unfinished tower, a +part sank into the earth, and another part was consumed by fire; only one-third +of it remained standing.[88] The place of the tower has never lost its peculiar +quality. Whoever passes it forgets all he knows.[89] +</p> + +<p> +The punishment inflicted upon the sinful generation of the tower is +comparatively lenient. On account of rapine the generation of the flood were +utterly destroyed, while the generation of the tower were preserved in spite of +their blasphemies and all their other acts offensive to God. The reason is that +God sets a high value upon peace and harmony. Therefore the generation of the +deluge, who gave themselves up to depredation, and bore hatred to one another, +were extirpated, root and branch, while the generation of the Tower of Babel +dwelling amicably together, and loving one another, were spared alive, at least +a remnant of them.[90] +</p> + +<p> +Beside the chastisement of sin and sinners by the confounding of speech, +another notable circumstance was connected with the descent of God upon +earth—one of only ten such descents to occur between the creation of the world +and the day of judgment. It was on this occasion that God and the seventy +angels that surround His throne cast lots concerning the various nations. Each +angel received a nation, and Israel fell to the lot of God. To every nation a +peculiar language was assigned, Hebrew being reserved for Israel—the language +made use of by God at the creation of the world.[91] +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="book05"></a>V<br/> +ABRAHAM</h2> + +<h3><a name="chap52"></a>THE WICKED GENERATIONS</h3> + +<p> +Ten generations there were from Noah to Abraham, to show how great is the +clemency of God, for all the generations provoked His wrath, until Abraham our +father came and received the reward of all of them.[1] For the sake of Abraham +God had shown himself long-suffering and patient during the lives of these ten +generations. Yea, more, the world itself had been created for the sake of his +merits.[2] His advent had been made manifest to his ancestor Reu, who uttered +the following prophecy at the birth of his son Serug: "From this child he shall +be born in the fourth generation that shall set his dwelling over the highest, +and he shall be called perfect and spotless, and shall be the father of +nations, and his covenant shall not be dissolved, and his seed shall be +multiplied forever."[3] +</p> + +<p> +It was, indeed, high time that the "friend of God"[4] should make his +appearance upon earth. The descendants of Noah were sinking from depravity to +lower and lower depths of depravity. They were beginning to quarrel and slay, +eat blood, build fortified cities and walls and towers, and set one man over +the whole nation as king, and wage wars, people against people, and nations +against nations, and cities against cities, and do all manner of evil, and +acquire weapons, and teach warfare unto their children. And they began also to +take captives and sell them as slaves. And they made unto themselves molten +images, which they worshipped, each one the idol he had molten for himself, for +the evil spirits under their leader Mastema led them astray into sin and +uncleanness. For this reason Reu called his son Serug, because all mankind had +turned aside unto sin and transgression. When he grew to manhood, the name was +seen to have been chosen fittingly, for he, too, worshipped idols, and when he +himself had a son, Nahor by name, he taught him the arts of the Chaldees, how +to be a soothsayer and practice magic according to signs in the heavens. When, +in time, a son was born to Nahor, Mastema sent ravens and other birds to +despoil the earth and rob men of the proceeds of their work. As soon as they +had dropped the seed in the furrows, and before they could cover it over with +earth, the birds picked it up from the surface of the ground, and Nahor called +his son Terah, because the ravens and the other birds plagued men, devoured +their seed, and reduced them to destitution.[6] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap53"></a>THE BIRTH OF ABRAHAM</h3> + +<p> +Terah married Emtelai, the daughter of Karnabo,[6] and the offspring of their +union was Abraham. His birth had been read in the stars by Nimrod,[7] for this +impious king was a cunning astrologer, and it was manifest to him that a man +would be born in his day who would rise up against him and triumphantly give +the lie to his religion. In his terror at the fate foretold him in the stars, +he sent for his princes and governors, and asked them to advise him in the +matter. They answered, and said: "Our unanimous advice is that thou shouldst +build a great house, station a guard at the entrance thereof, and make known in +the whole of thy realm that all pregnant women shall repair thither together +with their midwives, who are to remain with them when they are delivered. When +the days of a woman to be delivered are fulfilled, and the child is born, it +shall be the duty of the midwife to kill it, if it be a boy. But if the child +be a girl, it shall be kept alive, and the mother shall receive gifts and +costly garments, and a herald shall proclaim, 'Thus is done unto the woman who +bears a daughter!'" +</p> + +<p> +The king was pleased with this counsel, and he had a proclamation published +throughout his whole kingdom, summoning all the architects to build a great +house for him, sixty ells high and eighty wide. After it was completed, he +issued a second proclamation, summoning all pregnant women thither, and there +they were to remain until their confinement. Officers were appointed to take +the women to the house, and guards were stationed in it and about it, to +prevent the women from escaping thence. He furthermore sent midwives to the +house, and commanded them to slay the men children at their mothers' breasts. +But if a woman bore a girl, she was to be arrayed in byssus, silk, and +embroidered garments, and led forth from the house of detention amid great +honors. No less than seventy thousand children were slaughtered thus. Then the +angels appeared before God, and spoke, "Seest Thou not what he doth, yon sinner +and blasphemer, Nimrod son of Canaarl, who slays so many innocent babes that +have done no harm?" God answered, and said: "Ye holy angels, I know it and I +see it, for I neither slumber nor sleep. I behold and I know the secret things +and the things that are revealed, and ye shall witness what I will do unto this +sinner and blasphemer, for I will turn My hand against him to chastise him."[8] +</p> + +<p> +It was about this time that Terah espoused the mother of Abraham, and she was +with child. When her body grew large at the end of three months of +pregnancy,[9] and her countenance became pale, Terah said unto her, "What ails +thee, my wife, that thy countenance is so pale and thy body so swollen?" She +answered, and said, "Every year I suffer with this malady."[10] But Terah would +not be put off thus. He insisted: "Show me thy body. It seems to me thou art +big with child. If that be so, it behooves us not to violate the command of our +god Nimrod."[11] When he passed his hand over her body, there happened a +miracle. The child rose until it lay beneath her breasts, and Terah could feel +nothing with his hands. He said to his wife, "Thou didst speak truly," and +naught became visible until the day of her delivery. +</p> + +<p> +When her time approached, she left the city in great terror and wandered toward +the desert, walking along the edge of a valley,[12] until she happened across a +cave. She entered this refuge, and on the next day she was seized with throes, +and she gave birth to a son. The whole cave was filled with the light of the +child's countenance as with the splendor of the sun, and the mother rejoiced +exceedingly. The babe she bore was our father Abraham. +</p> + +<p> +His mother lamented, and said to her son: "Alas that I bore thee at a time when +Nimrod is king. For thy sake seventy thousand men children were slaughtered, +and I am seized with terror on account of thee, that he hear of thy existence, +and slay thee. Better thou shouldst perish here in this cave than my eye should +behold thee dead at my breast." She took the garment in which she was clothed, +and wrapped it about the boy. Then she abandoned him in the cave, saying, "May +the Lord be with thee, may He not fail thee nor forsake thee."[13] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap54"></a>THE BABE PROCLAIMS GOD</h3> + +<p> +Thus Abraham was deserted in the cave, without a nurse, and he began to wail. +God sent Gabriel down to give him milk to drink, and the angel made it to flow +from the little finger of the baby's right hand, and he sucked at it until he +was ten days old.[14] Then he arose and walked about, and he left the cave, and +went along the edge of the valley.[15] When the sun sank, and the stars came +forth, he said, "These are the gods!" But the dawn came, and the stars could be +seen no longer, and then he said, "I will not pay worship to these, for they +are no gods." Thereupon the sun came forth, and he spoke, "This is my god, him +will I extol." But again the sun set, and he said, "He is no god," and +beholding the moon, he called her his god to whom he would pay Divine homage. +Then the moon was obscured, and he cried out: "This, too, is no god! There is +One who sets them all in motion."[16] +</p> + +<p> +He was still communing with himself when the angel Gabriel approached him and +met him with the greeting, "Peace be with thee," and Abraham returned, "With +thee be peace," and asked, "Who art thou?" And Gabriel answered, and said, "I +am the angel Gabriel, the messenger of God," and he led Abraham to a spring of +water near by, and Abraham washed his face and his hands and feet, and he +prayed to God, bowing down and prostrating himself. +</p> + +<p> +Meantime the mother of Abraham thought of him in sorrow and tears, and she went +forth from the city to seek him in the cave in which she had abandoned him. Not +finding her son, she wept bitterly, and said, "Woe unto me that I bore thee but +to become a prey of wild beasts, the bears and the lions and the wolves!" She +went to the edge of the valley, and there she found her son. But she did not +recognize him, for he had grown very large. She addressed the lad, "Peace be +with thee!" and he returned, "With thee be peace!" and he continued, "Unto what +purpose didst thou come to the desert?" She replied, "I went forth from the +city to seek my son." Abraham questioned further, "Who brought thy son hither?" +and the mother replied thereto: "I had become pregnant from my husband Terah, +and when the days of my delivery were fulfilled, I was in anxiety about my son +in my womb, lest our king come, the son of Canaan, and slay him as he had slain +the seventy thousand other men children. Scarcely had I reached the cave in +this valley when the throes of travailing seized me, and I bore a son, whom I +left behind in the cave, and I went home again. Now am I come to seek him, but +I find him not." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham then spoke, "As to this child thou tellest of, how old was it?" +</p> + +<p> +The mother: "It was about twenty days old." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "Is there a woman in the world who would forsake her new-born son in +the desert, and come to seek him after twenty days?" +</p> + +<p> +The mother: "Peradventure God will show Himself a merciful God!" +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "I am the son whom thou hast come to seek in this valley!" +</p> + +<p> +The mother: "My son, how thou art grown! But twenty days old, and thou canst +already walk, and talk with thy mouth!"[17] +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "So it is, and thus, O my mother, it is made known unto thee that +there is in the world a great, terrible, living, and ever-existing God, who +doth see, but who cannot be seen. He is in the heavens above, and the whole +earth is full of His glory." +</p> + +<p> +The mother: "My son, is there a God beside Nimrod?" +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "Yes, mother, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, He is +also the God of Nimrod son of Canaan. Go, therefore, and carry this message +unto Nimrod." +</p> + +<p> +The mother of Abraham returned to the city and told her husband Terah how she +had found their son. Terah, who was a prince and a magnate in the house of the +king, betook himself to the royal palace, and cast himself down before the king +upon his face. It was the rule that one who prostrated himself before the king +was not permitted to lift up his head until the king bade him lift it up. +Nimrod gave permission to Terah to rise and state his request. Thereupon Terah +related all that had happened with his wife and his son. When Nimrod heard his +tale, abject fear seized upon him, and he asked his counsellors and princes +what to do with the lad. They answered, and said: "Our king and our god! +Wherefore art thou in fear by reason of a little child? There are myriads upon +myriads of princes in thy realm,[18] rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, +rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, and overseers without number. Let the +pettiest of the princes go and fetch the boy and put him in prison." But the +king interposed, "Have ye ever seen a baby of twenty days walking with his +feet, speaking with his mouth, and proclaiming with his tongue that there is a +God in heaven, who is One, and none beside Him, who sees and is not seen?" All +the assembled princes were horror struck at these words.[19] +</p> + +<p> +At this time Satan in human form appeared, clad in black silk garb, and he cast +himself down before the king. Nimrod said, "Raise thy head and state thy +request." Satan asked the king: "Why art thou terrified, and why are ye all in +fear on account of a little lad? I will counsel thee what thou shalt do: Open +thy arsenal and give weapons unto all the princes, chiefs, and governors, and +unto all the warriors, and send them to fetch him unto thy service and to be +under thy dominion." +</p> + +<p> +This advice given by Satan the king accepted and followed. He sent a great +armed host to bring Abraham to him. When the boy saw the army approach him, he +was sore afraid, and amid tears he implored God for help. In answer to his +prayer, God sent the angel Gabriel to him, and he said: "Be not afraid and +disquieted, for God is with thee. He will rescue thee out of the hands of all +thine adversaries." God commanded Gabriel to put thick, dark clouds between +Abraham and his assailants. Dismayed by the heavy clouds, they fled, returning +to Nimrod, their king, and they said to him, "Let us depart and leave this +realm," and the king gave money unto all his princes and his servants, and +together with the king they departed and journeyed to Babylon.[20] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap55"></a>ABRAHAM'S FIRST APPEARANCE IN PUBLIC</h3> + +<p> +Now Abraham, at the command of God, was ordered by the angel Gabriel to follow +Nimrod to Babylon. He objected that he was in no wise equipped to undertake a +campaign against the king, but Gabriel calmed him with the words: "Thou needest +no provision for the way, no horse to ride upon, no warriors to carry on war +with Nimrod, no chariots, nor riders. Do thou but sit thyself upon my shoulder, +and I shall bear thee to Babylon." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham did as he was bidden, and in the twinkling of an eye he found himself +before the gates of the city of Babylon.[21] At the behest of the angel, he +entered the city, and he called unto the dwellers therein with a loud voice: +"The Eternal, He is the One Only God, and there is none beside. He is the God +of the heavens, and the God of the gods, and the God of Nimrod. Acknowledge +this as the truth, all ye men, women, and children. Acknowledge also that I am +Abraham His servant, the trusted steward of His house." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham met his parents in Babylon, and also he saw the angel Gabriel, who bade +him proclaim the true faith to his father and his mother. Therefore Abraham +spake to them, and said: "Ye serve a man of your own kind, and you pay worship +to an image of Nimrod. Know ye not that it has a mouth, but it speaks not; an +eye, but it sees not; an ear, but it hears not; nor does it walk upon its feet, +and there is no profit in it, either unto itself or unto others?" +</p> + +<p> +When Terah heard these words, he persuaded Abraham to follow him into the +house, where his son told him all that had happened—how in one day he had +completed a forty days' journey. Terah thereupon went to Nimrod and reported to +him that his son Abraham had suddenly appeared in Babylon.[22] The king sent +for Abraham, and he came before him with his father. Abraham passed the +magnates and the dignitaries until he reached the royal throne, upon which he +seized hold, shaking it and crying out with a loud voice: "O Nimrod, thou +contemptible wretch, that deniest the essence of faith, that deniest the living +and immutable God, and Abraham His servant, the trusted steward of His house. +Acknowledge Him, and repeat after me the words: The Eternal is God, the Only +One, and there is none beside; He is incorporeal, living, ever-existing; He +slumbers not and sleeps not, who hath created the world that men might believe +in Him. And confess also concerning me, and say that I am the servant of God +and the trusted steward of His house."[23] +</p> + +<p> +While Abraham proclaimed this with a loud voice, the idols fell upon their +faces, and with them also King Nimrod.[24] For a space of two hours and a half +the king lay lifeless, and when his soul returned upon him, he spoke and said, +"Is it thy voice, O Abraham, or the voice of thy God?" And Abraham answered, +and said, "This voice is the voice of the least of all creatures called into +existence by God." Thereupon Nimrod said, "Verily, the God of Abraham is a +great and powerful God, the King of all kings," and he commanded Terah to take +his son and remove him, and return again unto his own city, and father and son +did as the king had ordered.[25] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap56"></a>THE PREACHER OF THE TRUE FAITH</h3> + +<p> +When Abraham attained the age of twenty years, his father Terah fell ill. He +spoke as follows to his sons Haran and Abraham, "I adjure you by your lives, my +sons, sell these two idols for me, for I have not enough money to meet our +expenses." Haran executed the wish of his father, but if any one accosted +Abraham, to buy an idol from him, and asked him the price, he would answer, +"Three manehs," and then question in turn, "How old art thou?" "Thirty years," +the reply would be. "Thou art thirty years of age, and yet thou wouldst worship +this idol which I made but to-day?" The man would depart and go his way, and +another would approach Abraham, and ask, "How much is this idol?" and "Five +manehs" would be the reply, and again Abraham would put the question, "How old +art thou?"—"Fifty years."—"And dost thou who art fifty years of age bow down +before this idol which was made but to-day?" Thereupon the man would depart and +go his way. Abraham then took two idols, put a rope about their necks, and, +with their faces turned downward, he dragged them along the ground, crying +aloud all the time: "Who will buy an idol wherein there is no profit, either +unto itself or unto him that buys it in order to worship it? It has a mouth, +but it speaketh not; eyes, but it seeth not; feet, but it walketh not; ears, +but it heareth not." +</p> + +<p> +The people who heard Abraham were amazed exceedingly at his words. As he went +through the streets, he met an old woman who approached him with the purpose of +buying an idol, good and big, to be worshipped and loved. "Old woman, old +woman," said Abraham, "I know no profit therein, either in the big ones or in +the little ones, either unto themselves or unto others. And," he continued to +speak to her, "what has become of the big image thou didst buy from my brother +Haran, to worship it?" "Thieves," she replied, "came in the night and stole it, +while I was still at the bath." "If it be thus," Abraham went on questioning +her, "how canst thou pay homage to an idol that cannot save itself from +thieves, let alone save others, like thyself, thou silly old woman, out of +misfortune? How is it possible for thee to say that the image thou worshippest +is a god? If it be a god, why did it not save itself out of the hands of those +thieves? Nay, in the idol there is no profit, either unto itself or unto him +that adores it."[26] +</p> + +<p> +The old woman rejoined, "If what thou sayest be true, whom shall I serve?" +"Serve the God of all gods," returned Abraham, "the Lord of lords, who hath +created heaven and earth, the sea and all therein—the God of Nimrod and the God +of Terah, the God of the east, the west, the south, and the north. Who is +Nimrod, the dog, who calleth himself a god, that worship be offered unto him?" +</p> + +<p> +Abraham succeeded in opening the eyes of the old woman, and she became a +zealous missionary for the true God. When she discovered the thieves who had +carried off her idol, and they restored it to her, she broke it in pieces with +a stone, and as she wended her way through the streets, she cried aloud, "Who +would save his soul from destruction, and be prosperous in all his doings, let +him serve the God of Abraham." Thus she converted many men and women to the +true belief. +</p> + +<p> +Rumors of the words and deeds of the old woman reached the king, and he sent +for her. When she appeared before him, he rebuked her harshly, asking her how +she dared serve any god but himself. The old woman replied: "Thou art a liar, +thou deniest the essence of faith, the One Only God, beside whom there is no +other god. Thou livest upon His bounty, but thou payest worship to another, and +thou dost repudiate Him, and His teachings, and Abraham His servant." +</p> + +<p> +The old woman had to pay for her zeal for the faith with her life. Nevertheless +great fear and terror took possession of Nimrod, because the people became more +and more attached to the teachings of Abraham, and he knew not how to deal with +the man who was undermining the old faith. At the advice of his princes, he +arranged a seven days' festival, at which all the people were bidden to appear +in their robes of state, their gold and silver apparel. By such display of +wealth and power he expected to intimidate Abraham and bring him back to the +faith of the king. Through his father Terah, Nimrod invited Abraham to come +before him, that he might have the opportunity of seeing his greatness and +wealth, and the glory of his dominion, and the multitude of his princes and +attendants. But Abraham refused to appear before the king. On the other hand, +he granted his father's request that in his absence he sit by his idols and the +king's, and take care of them. +</p> + +<p> +Alone with the idols, and while he repeated the words, "The Eternal He is God, +the Eternal He is God!" he struck the king's idols from their thrones, and +began to belabor them with an axe. With the biggest he started, and with the +smallest he ended. He hacked off the feet of one, and the other he beheaded. +This one had his eyes struck out, the other had his hands crushed.[27] After +all were mutilated, he went away, having first put the axe into the hand of the +largest idol. +</p> + +<p> +The feast ended, the king returned, and when he saw all his idols shivered in +pieces, he inquired who had perpetrated the mischief. Abraham was named as the +one who had been guilty of the outrage, and the king summoned him and +questioned him as to his motive for the deed. Abraham replied: "I did not do +it; it was the largest of the idols who shattered all the rest. Seest thou not +that he still has the axe in his hand? And if thou wilt not believe my words, +ask him and he will tell thee." +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap57"></a>IN THE FIERY FURNACE</h3> + +<p> +Now the king was exceedingly wroth at Abraham, and ordered him to be cast into +prison, where he commanded the warden not to give him bread or water.[28] But +God hearkened unto the prayer of Abraham, and sent Gabriel to him in his +dungeon. For a year the angel dwelt with him, and provided him with all sorts +of food, and a spring of fresh water welled up before him, and he drank of it. +At the end of a year, the magnates of the realm presented themselves before the +king, and advised him to cast Abraham into the fire, that the people might +believe in Nimrod forever. Thereupon the king issued a decree that all the +subjects of the king in all his provinces, men and women, young and old, should +bring wood within forty days, and he caused it to be thrown into a great +furnace and set afire.[29] The flames shot up to the skies, and the people were +sore afraid of the fire. Now the warden of the prison was ordered to bring +Abraham forth and cast him in the flames. The warden reminded the king that +Abraham had not had food or drink a whole year, and therefore must be dead, but +Nimrod nevertheless desired him to step in front of the prison and call his +name. If he made reply, he was to be hauled out to the pyre. If he had +perished, his remains were to receive burial, and his memory was to be wiped +out henceforth. +</p> + +<p> +Greatly amazed the warden was when his cry, "Abraham, art thou alive?" was +answered with "I am living." He questioned further, "Who has been bringing thee +food and drink all these many days?" and Abraham replied: "Food and drink have +been bestowed upon me by Him who is over all things, the God of all gods and +the Lord of all lords, who alone doeth wonders, He who is the God of Nimrod and +the God of Terah and the God of the whole world. He dispenseth food and drink +unto all beings. He sees, but He cannot be seen, He is in the heavens above, +and He is present in all places, for He Himself superviseth all things and +provideth for all." +</p> + +<p> +The miraculous rescue of Abraham from death by starvation and thirst convinced +the prison-keeper of the truth of God and His prophet Abraham, and he +acknowledged his belief in both publicly. The king's threat of death unless he +recanted could not turn him away from his new and true faith. When the hangman +raised his sword and set it at his throat to kill him, he exclaimed, "The +Eternal He is God, the God of the whole world as well as of the blasphemer +Nimrod." But the sword could not cut his flesh. The harder it was pressed +against his throat, the more it broke into pieces.[30] +</p> + +<p> +Nimrod, however, was not to be turned aside from his purpose, to make Abraham +suffer death by fire. One of the princes was dispatched to fetch him forth. But +scarcely did the messenger set about the task of throwing him into the fire, +when the flame leapt forth from the furnace and consumed him. Many more +attempts were made to cast Abraham into the furnace, but always with the same +success—whoever seized him to pitch him in was himself burnt, and a large +number lost their lives. Satan appeared in human shape, and advised the king to +place Abraham in a catapult and sling him into the fire. Thus no one would be +required to come near the flame. Satan himself constructed the catapult. Having +proved it fit three times by means of stones put in the machine, they bound +Abraham, hand and foot, and were about to consign him to the flames. At that +moment Satan, still disguised in human shape, approached Abraham, and said, "If +thou desirest to deliver thyself from the fire of Nimrod, bow down before him +and believe in him." But Abraham rejected the tempter with the words, "May the +Eternal rebuke thee, thou vile, contemptible, accursed blasphemer!" and Satan +departed from him. +</p> + +<p> +Then the mother of Abraham came to him and implored him to pay homage to Nimrod +and escape the impending misfortune. But he said to her: "O mother, water can +extinguish Nimrod's fire, but the fire of God will not die out for evermore. +Water cannot quench it."[31] When his mother heard these words, she spake, "May +the God whom thou servest rescue thee from the fire of Nimrod!" +</p> + +<p> +Abraham was finally placed in the catapult, and he raised his eyes heavenward, +and spoke, "O Lord my God, Thou seest what this sinner purposes to do unto +me!"[32] His confidence in God was unshakable. When the angels received the +Divine permission to save him, and Gabriel approached him, and asked, "Abraham, +shall I save thee from the fire?" he replied, "God in whom I trust, the God of +heaven and earth, will rescue me," and God, seeing the submissive spirit of +Abraham, commanded the fire, "Cool off and bring tranquillity to my servant +Abraham."[33] +</p> + +<p> +No water was needed to extinguish the fire. The logs burst into buds, and all +the different kinds of wood put forth fruit, each tree bearing its own kind. +The furnace was transformed into a royal pleasance, and the angels sat therein +with Abraham. When the king saw the miracle, he said: "Great witchcraft! Thou +makest it known that fire hath no power over thee, and at the same time thou +showest thyself unto the people sitting in a pleasure garden." But the princes +of Nimrod interposed all with one voice, "Nay, our lord, this is not +witchcraft, it is the power of the great God, the God of Abraham, beside whom +there is no other god, and we acknowledge that He is God, and Abraham is His +servant." All the princes and all the people believed in God at this hour, in +the Eternal, the God of Abraham, and they all cried out, "The Lord He is God in +heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else."[34] +</p> + +<p> +Abraham was the superior, not only of the impious king Nimrod and his +attendants, but also of the pious men of his time, Noah, Shem, Eber, and +Asshur.[35] Noah gave himself no concern whatsoever in the matter of spreading +the pure faith in God. He took an interest in planting his vineyard, and was +immersed in material pleasures. Shem and Eber kept in hiding, and as for +Asshur, he said, "How can I live among such sinners?" and departed out of the +land.[36] The only one who remained unshaken was Abraham. "I will not forsake +God," he said, and therefore God did not forsake him, who had hearkened neither +unto his father nor unto his mother. +</p> + +<p> +The miraculous deliverance of Abraham from the fiery furnace, together with his +later fortunes, was the fulfilment and explanation of what his father Terah had +read in the stars. He had seen the star of Haran consumed by fire, and at the +same time fill and rule the whole world. The meaning was plain now. Haran was +irresolute in his faith, he could not decide whether to adhere to Abraham or +the idolaters. When it befell that those who would not serve idols were cast +into the fiery furnace, Haran reasoned in this manner: "Abraham, being my +elder, will be called upon before me. If he comes forth out of the fiery trial +triumphant, I will declare my allegiance to him; otherwise I will take sides +against him." After God Himself had rescued Abraham from death, and Haran's +turn came to make his confession of faith, he announced his adherence to +Abraham. But scarcely had he come near the furnace,[37] when he was seized by +the flames and consumed, because he was lacking in firm faith in God. Terah had +read the stars well, it now appeared: Haran was burnt, and his daughter +Sarah[38] became the wife of Abraham, whose descendants fill the earth.[39] In +another way the death of Haran was noteworthy. It was the first instance, since +the creation of the world, of a son's dying while his father was still +alive.[40] +</p> + +<p> +The king, the princes, and all the people, who had been witnesses of the +wonders done for Abraham, came to him, and prostrated themselves before him. +But Abraham said: "Do not bow down before me, but before God, the Master of the +universe, who hath created you. Serve Him and walk in His ways, for He it was +who delivered me from the flames, and He it is who hath created the soul and +the spirit of every human being, who formeth man in the womb of his mother, and +bringeth him into the world. He saveth from all sickness those who put their +trust in Him." +</p> + +<p> +The king then dismissed Abraham, after loading him down with an abundance of +precious gifts, among them two slaves who had been raised in the royal palace. +'Ogi was the name of the one, Eliezer the name of the other. The princes +followed the example of the king, and they gave him silver, and gold, and gems. +But all these gifts did not rejoice the heart of Abraham so much as the three +hundred followers that joined him and became adherents of his religion. +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap58"></a>ABRAHAM EMIGRATES TO HARAN</h3> + +<p> +For a period of two years Abraham could devote himself undisturbed to his +chosen task of turning the hearts of men to God and His teachings.[41] In his +pious undertaking he was aided by his wife Sarah, whom he had married in the +meantime. While he exhorted the men and sought to convert them, Sarah addressed +herself to the women.[42] She was a helpmeet worthy of Abraham. Indeed, in +prophetical powers she ranked higher than her husband.[43] She was sometimes +called Iscah, "the seer," on that account.[44] +</p> + +<p> +At the expiration of two years it happened that Nimrod dreamed a dream. In his +dream he found himself with his army near the fiery furnace in the valley into +which Abraham had been cast. A man resembling Abraham stepped out of the +furnace, and he ran after the king with drawn sword, the king fleeing before +him in terror. While running, the pursuer threw an egg at Nimrod's head, and a +mighty stream issued therefrom, wherein the king's whole host was drowned. The +king alone survived, with three men. When Nimrod examined his companions, he +observed that they wore royal attire, and in form and stature they resembled +himself. The stream changed back into an egg again, and a little chick broke +forth from it, and it flew up, settled upon the head of the king, and put out +one of his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +The king was confounded in his sleep, and when he awoke, his heart beat like a +trip-hammer, and his fear was exceeding great. In the morning, when he arose, +he sent and called for his wise men and his magicians, and told them his dream. +One of his wise men, Anoko by name, stood up, and said: "Know, O king, this +dream points to the misfortune which Abraham and his descendants will bring +upon thee. A time will come when he and his followers will make war upon thy +army, and they will annihilate it. Thou and the three kings, thy allies, will +be the only ones to escape death. But later thou wilt lose thy life at the +hands of one of the descendants of Abraham. Consider, O king, that thy wise men +read this fate of thine in the stars, fifty-two years ago, at the birth of +Abraham. As long as Abraham liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be +stablished, nor thy kingdom." Nimrod took Anoko's words to heart, and +dispatched some of his servants to seize Abraham and kill him. It happened that +Eliezer, the slave whom Abraham had received as a present from Nimrod, was at +that time at the royal court. With great haste he sped to Abraham to induce him +to flee before the king's bailiffs. His master accepted his advice, and took +refuge in the house of Noah and Shem, where he lay in hiding a whole month. The +king's officers reported that despite zealous efforts Abraham was nowhere to be +found. Thenceforth the king did not concern himself about Abraham. +</p> + +<p> +When Terah visited his son in his hiding-place, Abraham proposed that they +leave the land and take up their abode in Canaan, in order to escape the +pursuit of Nimrod. He said: "Consider that it was not for thy sake that Nimrod +overloaded thee with honors, but for his own profit. Though he continue to +confer the greatest of benefactions upon thee, what are they but earthly +vanity? for riches and possessions profit not in the day of wrath and fury. +Hearken unto my voice, O my father, let us depart for the land of Canaan, and +serve the God that hath created thee, that it may be well with thee." +</p> + +<p> +Noah and Shem aided and abetted the efforts of Abraham to persuade Terah, +whereupon Terah consented to leave his country, and he, and Abraham, and Lot, +the son of Haran, departed for Haran with their households. They found the land +pleasant, and also the inhabitants thereof, who readily yielded to the +influence of Abraham's humane spirit and his piety. Many of them obeyed his +precepts and became God-fearing and good.[45] +</p> + +<p> +Terah's resolve to quit his native land for the sake of Abraham and take up his +abode in strange parts, and his impulse to do it before even the Divine call +visited Abraham himself—this the Lord accounted a great merit unto Terah, and +he was permitted to see his son Abraham rule as king over the whole world. For +when the miracle happened, and Isaac was born unto his aged parents, the whole +world repaired to Abraham and Sarah, and demanded to know what they had done +that so great a thing should be accomplished for them. Abraham told them all +that had happened between Nimrod and himself, how he had been ready to be burnt +for the glory of God, and how the Lord had rescued him from the flames. In +token of their admiration for Abraham and his teachings, they appointed him to +be their king, and in commemoration of Isaac's wondrous birth, the money coined +by Abraham bore the figures of an aged husband and wife on the obverse side, +and of a young man and his wife on the reverse side, for Abraham and Sarah both +were rejuvenated at the birth of Isaac, Abraham's white hair turned black, and +the lines in Sarah's face were smoothed out. +</p> + +<p> +For many years Terah continued to live a witness of his son's glory, for his +death did not occur until Isaac was a youth of thirty-five.[46] And a still +greater reward waited upon his good deed. God accepted his repentance, and when +he departed this life, he entered into Paradise, and not into hell, though he +had passed the larger number of his days in sin. Indeed, it had been his fault +that Abraham came near losing his life at the hands of Nimrod.[47] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap59"></a>THE STAR IN THE EAST</h3> + +<p> +Terah had been a high official at the court of Nimrod, and he was held in great +consideration by the king and his suite. A son was born unto him whom he called +Abram, because the king had raised him to an exalted place. In the night of +Abraham's birth, the astrologers and the wise men of Nimrod came to the house +of Terah, and ate and drank, and rejoiced with him that night. When they left +the house, they lifted up their eyes toward heaven to look at the stars, and +they saw, and, behold, one great star came from the east and ran athwart the +heavens and swallowed up the four stars at the four corners. They all were +astonished at the sight, but they understood this matter, and knew its import. +They said to one another: "This only betokens that the child that hath been +born unto Terah this night will grow up and be fruitful, and he will multiply +and possess all the earth, he and his children forever, and he and his seed +will slay great kings and inherit their lands." +</p> + +<p> +They went home that night, and in the morning they rose up early, and assembled +in their meeting-house. They spake, and said to one another: "Lo, the sight +that we saw last night is hidden from the king, it has not been made known to +him, and should this thing become known to him in the latter days, he will say +to us, Why did you conceal this matter from me? and then we shall all suffer +death. Now, let us go and tell the king the sight which we saw, and the +interpretation thereof, and we shall be clear from this thing." And they went +to the king and told him the sight they had seen, and their interpretation +thereof, and they added the advice that he pay the value of the child to Terah, +and slay the babe. +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, the king sent for Terah, and when he came, he spake to him: "It +hath been told unto me that a son was born to thee yesternight, and a wondrous +sign was observed in the heavens at his birth. Now give me the boy, that we may +slay him before evil comes upon us from him, and I will give thee thy house +full of silver and gold in exchange for him." Terah answered: "This thing which +thou promisest unto me is like the words which a man spoke to a mule, saying, +'I will give thee a great heap of barley, a houseful thereof, on condition that +I cut off thy head!' The mule replied, 'Of what use will all the barley be to +me, if thou cuttest off my head? Who will eat it when thou givest it to me?' +Thus also do I say: What shall I do with silver and gold after the death of my +son? Who shall inherit me?" But when Terah saw how the king's anger burned +within him at these words, he added, "Whatever the king desireth to do unto his +servant, that let him do, even my son is at the king's disposal, without value +or exchange, he and his two older brethren." +</p> + +<p> +The king spake, however, saying, "I will purchase thy youngest son for a +price." And Terah made answer, "Let my king give me three days' time to +consider the matter and consult about it with my family." The king agreed to +this condition, and on the third day he sent to Terah, saying, "Give me thy son +for a price, as I spoke unto thee, and if thou wilt not do this, I will send +and slay all thou hast in thy house, there shall not be a dog left unto thee." +</p> + +<p> +Then Terah took a child which his handmaid had borne unto him that day, and he +brought the babe to the king, and received value for him, and the king took the +child and dashed his head against the ground, for he thought it was Abraham. +But Terah took his son Abraham, together with the child's mother and his nurse, +and concealed them in a cave, and thither he carried provisions to them once a +month, and the Lord was with Abraham in the cave, and he grew up, but the king +and all his servants thought that Abraham was dead. +</p> + +<p> +And when Abraham was ten years old, he and his mother and his nurse went out +from the cave, for the king and his servants had forgotten the affair of +Abraham. +</p> + +<p> +In that time all the inhabitants of the earth, with the exception of Noah and +his household, transgressed against the Lord, and they made unto themselves +every man his god, gods of wood and stone, which could neither speak, nor hear, +nor deliver from distress. The king and all his servants, and Terah with his +household, were the first to worship images of wood and stone. Terah made +twelve gods of large size, of wood and of stone, corresponding to the twelve +months of the year, and he paid homage to them monthly in turn.[48] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap60"></a>THE TRUE BELIEVER</h3> + +<p> +Once Abraham went into the temple of the idols in his father's house, to bring +sacrifices to them, and he found one of them, Marumath by name, hewn out of +stone, lying prostrate on his face before the iron god of Nahor. The idol was +too heavy for him to raise it alone, and he called his father to help him put +Marumath back in his place. While they were handling the image, its head +dropped off, and Terah took a stone, and chiselled another Marumath, setting +the head of the first upon the new body. Then Terah continued and made five +more gods, and all these he delivered to Abraham, and bade him sell them in the +streets of the city. +</p> + +<p> +Abraham saddled his mule, and went to the inn where merchants from Fandana in +Syria put up on their way to Egypt. He hoped to dispose of his wares there. +When he reached the inn, one of the camels belonging to the merchants belched, +and the sound frightened his mule so that it ran off pell-mell and broke three +of the idols. The merchants not only bought the two sound idols from him, they +also gave him the price of the broken ones, for Abraham had told them how +distressed he was to appear before his father with less money than he had +expected to receive for his handiwork. +</p> + +<p> +This incident made Abraham reflect upon the worthlessness of idols, and he said +to himself: "What are these evil things done by my father? Is not he the god of +his gods, for do they not come into being by reason of his carving and +chiselling and contriving? Were it not more seemly that they should pay worship +to him than he to them, seeing they are the work of his hands?" Meditating +thus, he reached his father's house, and he entered and handed his father the +money for the five images, and Terah rejoiced, and said, "Blessed art thou unto +my gods, because thou didst bring me the price of the idols, and my labor was +not in vain." But Abraham made reply: "Hear, my father Terah, blessed are thy +gods through thee, for thou art their god, since thou didst fashion them, and +their blessing is destruction and their help is vanity. They that help not +themselves, how can they help thee or bless me?" +</p> + +<p> +Terah grew very wrathful at Abraham, that he uttered such speech against his +gods, and Abraham, thinking upon his father's anger, left him and went from the +house. But Terah called him back, and said, "Gather together the chips of the +oak wood from which I made images before thou didst return, and prepare my +dinner for me." Abraham made ready to do his father's bidding, and as he took +up the chips he found a little god among them, whose forehead bore the +inscription "God Barisat." He threw the chips upon the fire, and set Barisat up +next to it, saying: "Attention! Take care, Barisat, that the fire go not out +until I come back. If it burns low, blow into it, and make it flame up again." +Speaking thus, he went out. When he came in again, he found Barisat lying prone +upon his back, badly burnt. Smiling, he said to himself, "In truth, Barisat, +thou canst keep the fire alive and prepare food," and while he spoke, the idol +was consumed to ashes. Then he took the dishes to his father, and he ate and +drank and was glad and blessed his god Marumath. But Abraham said to his +father, "Bless not thy god Marumath, but rather thy god Barisat, for he it was +who, out of his great love for thee, threw himself into the fire that thy meal +might be cooked." "Where is he now?" exclaimed Terah, and Abraham answered, "He +hath become ashes in the fierceness of the fire." Terah said, "Great is the +power of Barisat! I will make me another this day, and to-morrow he will +prepare my food for me." +</p> + +<p> +These words of his father made Abraham laugh in his mind, but his soul was +grieved at his obduracy, and he proceeded to make clear his views upon the +idols, saying: "Father, no matter which of the two idols thou blessest, thy +behavior is senseless, for the images that stand in the holy temple are more to +be worshipped than thine. Zucheus, the god of my brother Nahor, is more +venerable than Marumath, because he is made cunningly of gold, and when he +grows old, he will be worked over again. But when thy Marumath becomes dim, or +is shivered in pieces, he will not be renewed, for he is of stone. And the god +Joauv, who stands above the other gods with Zucheus, is more venerable than +Barisat, made of wood, because he is hammered out of silver, and ornamented by +men, to show his magnificence. But thy Barisat, before thou didst fashion him +into a god with thy axe, was rooted in the earth, standing there great and +wonderful, with the glory of branches and blossoms. Now he is dry, and gone is +his sap. From his height he has fallen to the earth, from grandeur he came to +pettiness, and the appearance of his face has paled away, and he himself was +burnt in the fire, and he was consumed unto ashes, and he is no more. And thou +didst then say, 'I will make me another this day, and to-morrow he will prepare +my food for me.' Father," Abraham continued, and said, "the fire is more to be +worshipped than thy gods of gold and silver and wood and stone, because it +consumes them. But also the fire I call not god, because it is subject to the +water, which quenches it. But also the water I call not god, because it is +sucked up by the earth, and I call the earth more venerable, because it +conquers the water. But also the earth I call not god, because it is dried out +by the sun, and I call the sun more venerable than the earth, because he +illumines the whole world with his rays. But also the sun I call not god, +because his light is obscured when darkness cometh up. Nor do I call the moon +and the stars gods, because their light, too, is extinguished when their time +to shine is past. But hearken unto this, my father Terah, which I will declare +unto thee, The God who hath created all things, He is the true God, He hath +empurpled the heavens, and gilded the sun, and given radiance to the moon and +also the stars, and He drieth out the earth in the midst of many waters, and +also thee hath He put upon the earth, and me hath He sought out in the +confusion of my thoughts."[49] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap61"></a>THE ICONOCLAST</h3> + +<p> +But Terah could not be convinced, and in reply to Abraham's question, who the +God was that had created heaven and earth and the children of men, he took him +to the hall wherein stood twelve great idols and a large number of little +idols, and pointing to them he said, "Here are they who have made all thou +seest on earth, they who have created also me and thee and all men on the +earth," and he bowed down before his gods, and left the hall with his son. +</p> + +<p> +Abraham went thence to his mother, and he spoke to her, saying: "Behold, my +father has shown those unto me who made heaven and earth and all the sons of +men. Now, therefore, hasten and fetch a kid from the flock, and make of it +savory meat, that I may bring it to my father's gods, perhaps I may thereby +become acceptable to them." His mother did according to his request, but when +Abraham brought the offering to the gods, he saw that they had no voice, no +hearing, no motion, and not one of them stretched forth his hand to eat. +Abraham mocked them, and said, "Surely, the savory meat that I prepared doth +not please you, or perhaps it is too little for you! Therefore I will prepare +fresh savory meat to-morrow, better and more plentiful than this, that I may +see what cometh therefrom." But the gods remained mute and without motion +before the second offering of excellent savory meat as before the first +offering, and the spirit of God came over Abraham, and he cried out, and said: +"Woe unto my father and his wicked generation, whose hearts are all inclined to +vanity, who serve these idols of wood and stone, which cannot eat, nor smell, +nor hear, nor speak, which have mouths without speech, eyes without sight, ears +without hearing, hands without feeling, and legs without motion!" +</p> + +<p> +Abraham then took a hatchet in his hand, and broke all his father's gods, and +when he had done breaking them he placed the hatchet in the hand of the biggest +god among them all, and he went out. Terah, having heard the crash of the +hatchet on the stone, ran to the room of the idols, and he reached it at the +moment when Abraham was leaving it, and when he saw what had happened, he +hastened after Abraham, and he said to him, "What is this mischief thou hast +done to my gods?" Abraham answered: "I set savory meat before them, and when I +came nigh unto them, that they might eat, they all stretched out their hands to +take of the meat, before the big one had put forth his hand to eat. This one, +enraged against them on account of their behavior, took the hatchet and broke +them all, and, behold, the hatchet is yet in his hands, as thou mayest see." +</p> + +<p> +Then Terah turned in wrath upon Abraham, and he said: "Thou speakest lies unto +me! Is there spirit, soul, or power in these gods to do all thou hast told me? +Are they not wood and stone? and have I not myself made them? It is thou that +didst place the hatchet in the hand of the big god, and thou sayest he smote +them all." Abraham answered his father, and said: "How, then, canst thou serve +these idols in whom there is no power to do anything? Can these idols in which +thou trustest deliver thee? Can they hear thy prayers when thou callest upon +them?" After having spoken these and similar words, admonishing his father to +mend his ways and refrain from worshipping idols, he leapt up before Terah, +took the hatchet from the big idol, broke it therewith, and ran away. +</p> + +<p> +Terah hastened to Nimrod, bowed down before him, and besought him to hear his +story, about his son who had been born to him fifty years back, and how he had +done to his gods, and how he had spoken. "Now, therefore, my lord and king," he +said, "send for him that he may come before thee, and do thou judge him +according to the law, that we may be delivered from his evil." When Abraham was +brought before the king, he told him the same story as he had told Terah, about +the big god who broke the smaller ones, but the king replied, "Idols do neither +speak, nor eat, nor move." Then Abraham reproached him for worshipping gods +that can do nothing, and admonished him to serve the God of the universe. His +last words were, "If thy wicked heart will not hearken to my words, to cause +thee to forsake thy evil ways and serve the Eternal God, then wilt thou die in +shame in the latter days, thou, thy people, and all that are connected with +thee, who hear thy words, and walk in thy evil ways." +</p> + +<p> +The king ordered Abraham to be put into prison, and at the end of ten days he +caused all the princes and great men of the realm to appear before him, and to +them he put the case of Abraham. Their verdict was that he should be burnt, +and, accordingly, the king had a fire prepared for three days and three nights, +in his furnace at Kasdim, and Abraham was to be carried thither from prison to +be burnt. +</p> + +<p> +All the inhabitants of the land, about nine hundred thousand men, and the women +and the children besides, came to see what would be done with Abraham. And when +he was brought forth, the astrologers recognized him, and they said to the +king, "Surely, this is the man whom we knew as a child, at whose birth the +great star swallowed the four stars. Behold, his father did transgress thy +command, and he made a mockery of thee, for he did bring thee another child, +and him didst thou kill." +</p> + +<p> +Terah was greatly terrified, for he was afraid of the king's wrath, and he +admitted that he had deceived the king, and when the king said, "Tell me who +advised thee to do this. Hide naught, and thou shalt not die," he falsely +accused Haran, who had been thirty-two years old at the time of Abraham's +birth, of having advised him to deceive the king. At the command of the king, +Abraham and Haran, stripped of all their clothes except their hosen, and their +hands and feet bound with linen cords, were cast into the furnace. Haran, +because his heart was not perfect with the Lord, perished in the fire, and also +the men who cast them into the furnace were burnt by the flames which leapt out +over them, and Abraham alone was saved by the Lord, and he was not burnt, +though the cords with which he was bound were consumed. For three days and +three nights Abraham walked in the midst of the fire, and all the servants of +the king came and told him, "Behold, we have seen Abraham walking about in the +midst of the fire."[50] +</p> + +<p> +At first the king would not believe them, but when some of his faithful princes +corroborated the words of his servants, he rose up and went to see for himself. +He then commanded his servants to take Abraham from the fire, but they could +not, because the flames leapt toward them from the furnace, and when they tried +again, at the king's command, to approach the furnace, the flames shot out and +burnt their faces, so that eight of their number died. The king then called +unto Abraham, and said: "O servant of the God who is in heaven, go forth from +the midst of the fire, and come hither and stand before me," and Abraham came +and stood before the king. And the king spoke to Abraham, and said, "How cometh +it that thou wast not burnt in the fire?" And Abraham made answer, "The God of +heaven and earth in whom I trust, and who hath all things in His power, He did +deliver me from the fire into which thou didst cast me."[51] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap62"></a>ABRAHAM IN CANAAN</h3> + +<p> +With ten temptations Abraham was tempted, and he withstood them all, showing +how great was the love of Abraham.[52] The first test to which he was subjected +was the departure from his native land. The hardships were many and severe +which he encountered, and he was loth to leave his home, besides. He spoke to +God, and said, "Will not the people talk about me, and say, 'He is endeavoring +to bring the nations under the wings of the Shekinah, yet he leaves his old +father in Haran, and he goes away.'" But God answered him, and said: "Dismiss +all care concerning thy father and thy kinsmen from thy thoughts. Though they +speak words of kindness to thee, yet are they all of one mind, to ruin +thee."[53] +</p> + +<p> +Then Abraham forsook his father in Haran, and journeyed to Canaan, accompanied +by the blessing of God, who said unto him, "I will make of thee a great nation, +and I will bless thee, and make thy name great." These three blessings were to +counteract the evil consequences which, he feared, would follow emigration, for +travelling from place to place interferes with the growth of the family, it +lessens one's substance, and it diminishes the consideration one enjoys.[54] +The greatest of all blessings, however, was the word of God, "And be thou a +blessing." The meaning of this was that whoever came in contact with Abraham +was blessed. Even the mariners on the sea were indebted to him for prosperous +voyages.[55] Besides, God held out the promise to him that in time to come his +name would be mentioned in the Benedictions, God would be praised as the Shield +of Abraham, a distinction accorded to no other mortal except David.[56] But the +words, "And be thou a blessing," will be fulfilled only in the future world, +when the seed of Abraham shall be known among the nations and his offspring +among the peoples as "the seed which the Lord hath blessed."[57] +</p> + +<p> +When Abraham first was bidden to leave his home, he was not told to what land +he was to journey—all the greater would be his reward for executing the command +of God.[58] And Abraham showed his trust in God, for he said, "I am ready to go +whithersoever Thou sendest me." The Lord then bade him go to a land wherein He +would reveal Himself, and when he went to Canaan later, God appeared to him, +and he knew that it was the promised land.[59] +</p> + +<p> +On entering Canaan, Abraham did not yet know that it was the land appointed as +his inheritance. Nevertheless he rejoiced when he reached it. In Mesopotamia +and in Aramnaharaim, the inhabitants of which he had seen eating, drinking, and +acting wantonly, he had always wished, "O that my portion may not be in this +land," but when he came to Canaan, he observed that the people devoted +themselves industriously to the cultivation of the land, and he said, "O that +my portion may be in this land!" God then spoke to him, and said, "Unto thy +seed will I give this land."[60] Happy in these joyous tidings, Abraham erected +an altar to the Lord to give thanks unto Him for the promise, and then he +journeyed on, southward, in the direction of the spot whereon the Temple was +once to stand. In Hebron he again erected an altar, thus taking possession of +the land in a measure. And likewise he raised an altar in Ai, because he +foresaw that a misfortune would befall his offspring there, at the conquest of +the land under Joshua. The altar, he hoped, would obviate the evil results that +might follow. +</p> + +<p> +Each altar raised by him was a centre for his activities as a missionary. As +soon as he came to a place in which he desired to sojourn, he would stretch a +tent first for Sarah, and next for himself, and then he would proceed at once +to make proselytes and bring them under the wings of the Shekinah. Thus he +accomplished his purpose of inducing all men to proclaim the Name of God.[61] +</p> + +<p> +For the present Abraham was but a stranger in his promised land. After the +partition of the earth among the sons of Noah, when all had gone to their +allotted portions, it happened that Canaan son of Ham saw that the land +extending from the Lebanon to the River of Egypt was fair to look upon, and he +refused to go to his own allotment, westward by the sea. He settled in the land +upon Lebanon, eastward and westward from the border of the Jordan and the +border of the sea. And Ham, his father, and his brothers Cush and Mizraim spoke +to him, and said: "Thou livest in a land that is not thine, for it was not +assigned unto us when the lots were drawn. Do not thus! But if thou persistest, +ye, thou and thy children, will fall, accursed, in the land, in a rebellion. +Thy settling here was rebellion, and through rebellion thy children will be +felled down, and thy seed will be destroyed unto all eternity. Sojourn not in +the land of Shem, for unto Shem and unto the children of Shem was it +apportioned by lot. Accursed art thou, and accursed wilt thou be before all the +children of Noah on account of the curse, for we took an oath before the holy +Judge and before our father Noah." +</p> + +<p> +But Canaan hearkened not unto the words of his father and his brothers. He +dwelt in the land of the Lebanon from Hamath even unto the entrance of Egypt, +he and his sons.[62] Though the Canaanites had taken unlawful possession of the +land, yet Abraham respected their rights; he provided his camels with muzzles, +to prevent them from pasturing upon the property of others.[63] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap63"></a>HIS SOJOURN IN EGYPT</h3> + +<p> +Scarcely had Abraham established himself in Canaan, when a devastating famine +broke out—one of the ten God appointed famines for the chastisement of men. The +first of them came in the time of Adam, when God cursed the ground for his +sake; the second was this one in the time of Abraham; the third compelled Isaac +to take up his abode among the Philistines; the ravages of the fourth drove the +sons of Jacob into Egypt to buy grain for food; the fifth came in the time of +the Judges, when Elimelech and his family had to seek refuge in the land of +Moab; the sixth occurred during the reign of David, and it lasted three years; +the seventh happened in the day of Elijah, who had sworn that neither rain nor +dew should fall upon the earth; the eighth was the one in the time of Elisha, +when an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver; the ninth is the +famine that comes upon men piecemeal, from time to time; and the tenth will +scourge men before the advent of Messiah, and this last will be "not a famine +of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord."[64] +</p> + +<p> +The famine in the time of Abraham prevailed only in Canaan, and it had been +inflicted upon the land in order to test his faith. He stood this second +temptation as he had the first. He murmured not, and he showed no sign of +impatience toward God, who had bidden him shortly before to abandon his native +land for a land of starvation.[65] The famine compelled him to leave Canaan for +a time, and he repaired to Egypt, to become acquainted there with the wisdom of +the priests and, if necessary, give them instruction in the truth.[66] +</p> + +<p> +On this journey from Canaan to Egypt, Abraham first observed the beauty of +Sarah. Chaste as he was, he had never before looked at her, but now, when they +were wading through a stream, he saw the reflection of her beauty in the water +like the brilliance of the sun.[67] Wherefore he spoke to her thus, "The +Egyptians are very sensual, and I will put thee in a casket that no harm befall +me on account of thee." At the Egyptian boundary, the tax collectors asked him +about the contents of the casket, and Abraham told them he had barley in it. +"No," they said, "it contains wheat." "Very well," replied Abraham, "I am +prepared to pay the tax on wheat." The officers then hazarded the guess, "It +contains pepper!" Abraham agreed to pay the tax on pepper, and when they +charged him with concealing gold in the casket, he did not refuse to pay the +tax on gold, and finally on precious stones. Seeing that he demurred to no +charge, however high, the tax collectors, made thoroughly suspicious, insisted +upon his unfastening the casket and letting them examine the contents. When it +was forced open, the whole of Egypt was resplendent with the beauty of Sarah. +In comparison with her, all other beauties were like apes compared with men. +She excelled Eve herself.[68] The servants of Pharaoh outbid one another in +seeking to obtain possession of her, though they were of opinion that so +radiant a beauty ought not to remain the property of a private individual. They +reported the matter to the king,[69] and Pharaoh sent a powerful armed force to +bring Sarah to the palace,[70] and so bewitched was he by her charms that those +who had brought him the news of her coming into Egypt were loaded down with +bountiful gifts.[71] +</p> + +<p> +Amid tears, Abraham offered up a prayer. He entreated God in these words: "Is +this the reward for my confidence in Thee? For the sake of Thy grace and Thy +lovingkindness, let not my hope be put to shame."[72] Sarah also implored God, +saying: "O God, Thou didst bid my lord Abraham leave his home, the land of his +fathers, and journey to Canaan, and Thou didst promise him to do good unto him +if he fulfilled Thy commands. And now we have done as Thou didst command us to +do. We left our country and our kindred, and we journeyed to a strange land, +unto a people which we knew not heretofore. We came hither to save our people +from starvation, and now hath this terrible misfortune befallen. O Lord, help +me and save me from the hand of this enemy, and for the sake of Thy grace show +me good." +</p> + +<p> +An angel appeared unto Sarah while she was in the presence of the king, to whom +he was not visible, and he bade her take courage, saying, "Fear naught, Sarah, +for God hath heard thy prayer." The king questioned Sarah as to the man in the +company of whom she had come to Egypt, and Sarah called Abraham her brother. +Pharaoh pledged himself to make Abraham great and powerful, to do for him +whatever she wished. He sent much gold and silver to Abraham, and diamonds and +pearls, sheep and oxen, and men slaves and women slaves, and he assigned a +residence to him within the precincts of the royal palace.[73] In the love he +bore Sarah, he wrote out a marriage contract, deeding to her all he owned in +the way of gold and silver, and men slaves and women slaves, and the province +of Goshen besides, the province occupied in later days by the descendants of +Sarah, because it was their property. Most remarkable of all, he gave her his +own daughter Hagar as slave, for he preferred to see his daughter the servant +of Sarah to reigning as mistress in another harem.[74] +</p> + +<p> +His free-handed generosity availed naught. During the night, when he was about +to approach Sarah, an angel appeared armed with a stick, and if Pharaoh but +touched Sarah's shoe to remove it from her foot, the angel planted a blow upon +his hand, and when he grasped her dress, a second blow followed. At each blow +he was about to deal, the angel asked Sarah whether he was to let it descend, +and if she bade him give Pharaoh a moment to recover himself, he waited and did +as she desired. And another great miracle came to pass. Pharaoh, and his +nobles, and his servants, the very walls of his house and his bed were +afflicted with leprosy, and he could not indulge his carnal desires.[75] This +night in which Pharaoh and his court suffered their well deserved punishment +was the night of the fifteenth of Nisan, the same night wherein God visited the +Egyptians in a later time in order to redeem Israel, the descendants of +Sarah.[76] +</p> + +<p> +Horrified by the plague sent upon him, Pharaoh inquired how he could rid +himself thereof. He applied to the priests, from whom he found out the true +cause of his affliction, which was corroborated by Sarah. He then sent for +Abraham and returned his wife to him, pure and untouched, and excused himself +for what had happened, saying that he had had the intention of connecting +himself in marriage with him, whom he had thought to be the brother of +Sarah.[77] He bestowed rich gifts upon the husband and the wife, and they +departed for Canaan, after a three months' sojourn in Egypt.[78] +</p> + +<p> +Arrived in Canaan they sought the same night-shelters at which they had rested +before, in order to pay their accounts, and also to teach by their example that +it is not proper to seek new quarters unless one is forced to it.[79] +</p> + +<p> +Abraham's sojourn in Egypt was of great service to the inhabitants of the +country, because he demonstrated to the wise men of the land how empty and vain +their views were, and also he taught them astronomy and astrology, unknown in +Egypt before his time.[80] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap64"></a>THE FIRST PHARAOH</h3> + +<p> +The Egyptian ruler, whose meeting with Abraham had proved so untoward an event, +was the first to bear the name Pharaoh. The succeeding kings were named thus +after him. The origin of the name is connected with the life and adventures of +Rakyon, Have-naught, a man wise, handsome, and poor, who lived in the land of +Shinar. Finding himself unable to support himself in Shinar, he resolved to +depart for Egypt, where he expected to display his wisdom before the king, +Ashwerosh, the son of 'Anam. Perhaps he would find grace in the eyes of the +king, who would give Rakyon the opportunity of supporting himself and rising to +be a great man. When he reached Egypt, he learnt that it was the custom of the +country for the king to remain in retirement in his palace, removed from the +sight of the people. Only on one day of the year he showed himself in public, +and received all who had a petition to submit to him. Richer by a +disappointment, Rakyon knew not how he was to earn a livelihood in the strange +country. He was forced to spend the night in a ruin, hungry as he was. The next +day he decided to try to earn something by selling vegetables. By a lucky +chance he fell in with some dealers in vegetables, but as he did not know the +customs of the country, his new undertaking was not favored with good fortune. +Ruffians assaulted him, snatched his wares from him, and made a laughing-stock +of him. The second night, which he was compelled to spend in the ruin again, a +sly plan ripened in his mind. He arose and gathered together a crew of thirty +lusty fellows. He took them to the graveyard, and bade them, in the name of the +king, charge two hundred pieces of silver for every body they buried. Otherwise +interment was to be prevented. In this way he succeeded in amassing great +wealth within eight months. Not only did he acquire silver, gold, and precious +gems, but also he attached a considerable force, armed and mounted, to his +person. +</p> + +<p> +On the day on which the king appeared among the people, they began to complain +of this tax upon the dead. They said: "What is this thou art inflicting upon +thy servants—permitting none to be buried unless they pay thee silver and gold! +Has a thing like this come to pass in the world since the days of Adam, that +the dead should not be interred unless money be paid therefor! We know well +that it is the privilege of the king to take an annual tax from the living. But +thou takest tribute from the dead, too, and thou exactest it day by day. O +king, we cannot endure this any longer, for the whole of the city is ruined +thereby." +</p> + +<p> +The king, who had had no suspicion of Rakyon's doings, fell into a great rage +when the people gave him information about them. He ordered him and his armed +force to appear before him. Rakyon did not come empty-handed. He was preceded +by a thousand youths and maidens, mounted upon steeds and arrayed in state +apparel. These were a present to the king. When he himself stepped before the +king, he delivered gold, silver, and diamonds to him in great abundance, and a +magnificent charger. These gifts and the display of splendor did not fail of +taking effect upon the king, and when Rakyon, in well-considered words and with +a pliant tongue, described the undertaking, he won not only the king to his +side, but also the whole court, and the king said to him, "No longer shalt thou +be called Rakyon, Have-naught, but Pharaoh, Paymaster, for thou didst collect +taxes from the dead." +</p> + +<p> +So profound was the impression made by Rakyon that the king, the grandees, and +the people, all together resolved to put the guidance of the realm in the hands +of Pharaoh. Under the suzerainty of Ashwerosh he administered law and justice +throughout the year; only on the one day when he showed himself to the people +did the king himself give judgment and decide cases. Through the power thus +conferred upon him and through cunning practices, Pharaoh succeeded in usurping +royal authority, and he collected taxes from all the inhabitants of Egypt. +Nevertheless he was beloved of the people, and it was decreed that every ruler +of Egypt should thenceforth bear the name Pharaoh.[81] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap65"></a>THE WAR OF THE KINGS</h3> + +<p> +On his return from Egypt Abraham's relations to his own family were disturbed +by annoying circumstances. Strife developed between the herdmen of his cattle +and the herdmen of Lot's cattle. Abraham furnished his herds with muzzles, but +Lot made no such provision, and when the shepherds that pastured Abraham's +flocks took Lot's shepherds to task on account of the omission, the latter +replied: "It is known of a surety that God said unto Abraham, 'To thy seed will +I give the land.' But Abraham is a sterile mule. Never will he have children. +On the morrow he will die, and Lot will be his heir. Thus the flocks of Lot are +but consuming what belongs to them or their master." But God spoke: "Verily, I +said unto Abraham I would give the land unto his seed, but only after the seven +nations shall have been destroyed from out of the land. To-day the Canaanites +are therein, and the Perizzites. They still have the right of habitation." +</p> + +<p> +Now, when the strife extended from the servants to the masters, and Abraham +vainly called his nephew Lot to account for his unbecoming behavior, Abraham +decided he would have to part from his kinsman, though he should have to compel +Lot thereto by force. Lot thereupon separated himself not from Abraham alone, +but from the God of Abraham also, and he betook himself to a district in which +immorality and sin reigned supreme, wherefore punishment overtook him, for his +own flesh seduced him later unto sin. +</p> + +<p> +God was displeased with Abraham for not living in peace and harmony with his +own kindred, as he lived with all the world beside. On the other hand, God also +took it in ill part that Abraham was accepting Lot tacitly as his heir, though +He had promised him, in clear, unmistakable words, "To thy seed will I give the +land." After Abraham had separated himself from Lot, he received the assurance +again that Canaan should once belong to his seed, which God would multiply as +the sand which is upon the sea-shore. As the sand fills the whole earth, so the +offspring of Abraham would be scattered over the whole earth, from end to end; +and as the earth is blessed only when it is moistened with water, so his +offspring would be blessed through the Torah, which is likened unto water; and +as the earth endures longer than metal, so his offspring would endure forever, +while the heathen would vanish; and as the earth is trodden upon, so his +offspring would be trodden upon by the four kingdoms.[82] +</p> + +<p> +The departure of Lot had a serious consequence, for the war waged by Abraham +against the four kings is intimately connected with it. Lot desired to settle +in the well-watered circle of the Jordan, but the only city of the plain that +would receive him was Sodom, the king of which admitted the nephew of Abraham +out of consideration for the latter.[83] The five impious kings planned first +to make war upon Sodom on account of Lot and then advance upon Abraham.[84] For +one of the five, Amraphel, was none other than Nimrod, Abraham's enemy from of +old. The immediate occasion for the war was this: Chedorlaomer, one of Nimrod's +generals, rebelled against him after the builders of the tower were dispersed, +and he set himself up as king of Elam. Then he subjugated the Hamitic tribes +living in the five cities of the plain of the Jordan, and made them tributary. +For twelve years they were faithful to their sovereign ruler Chedorlaomer, but +then they refused to pay the tribute, and they persisted in their +insubordination for thirteen years. Making the most of Chedorlaomer's +embarrassment, Nimrod led a host of seven thousand warriors against his former +general. In the battle fought between Elam and Shinar, Nimrod suffered a +disastrous defeat, he lost six hundred of his army, and among the slain was the +king's son Mardon. Humiliated and abased, he returned to his country, and he +was forced to acknowledge the suzerainty of Chedorlaomer, who now proceeded to +form an alliance with Arioch king of Ellasar, and Tidal, the king of several +nations, the purpose of which was to crush the cities of the circle of the +Jordan. The united forces of these kings, numbering eight hundred thousand, +marched upon the five cities, subduing whatever they encountered in their +course,[85] and annihilating the descendants of the giants. Fortified places, +unwalled cities, and flat, open country, all fell in their hands.[86] They +pushed on through the desert as far as the spring issuing from the rock at +Kadesh, the spot appointed by God as the place of pronouncing judgment against +Moses and Aaron on account of the waters of strife. Thence they turned toward +the central portion of Palestine, the country of dates, where they encountered +the five godless kings, Bera, the villain, king of Sodom; Birsha, the sinner, +king of Gomorrah; Shinab, the father-hater, king of Admah; Shemeber, the +voluptuary, king of Zeboiim; and the king of Bela, the city that devours its +inhabitants. The five were routed in the fruitful Vale of Siddim, the canals of +which later formed the Dead Sea. They that remained of the rank and file fled +to the mountains, but the kings fell into the slime pits and stuck there. Only +the king of Sodom was rescued, miraculously, for the purpose that he might +convert those heathen to faith in God that had not believed in the wonderful +deliverance of Abraham from the fiery furnace.[87] +</p> + +<p> +The victors despoiled Sodom of all its goods and victuals, and took Lot, +boasting, "We have taken the son of Abraham's brother captive," so betraying +the real object of their undertaking; their innermost desire was to strike at +Abraham.[88] +</p> + +<p> +It was on the first evening of the Passover, and Abraham was eating of the +unleavened bread,[89] when the archangel Michael brought him the report of +Lot's captivity. This angel bears another name besides, Palit, the escaped, +because when God threw Samael and his host from their holy place in heaven, the +rebellious leader held on to Michael and tried to drag him along downward, and +Michael escaped falling from heaven only through the help of God.[90] +</p> + +<p> +When the report of his nephew's evil state reached Abraham, he straightway +dismissed all thought of his dissensions with Lot from his mind, and only +considered ways and means of deliverance.[91] He convoked his disciples to whom +he had taught the true faith, and who all called themselves by the name +Abraham.[92] He gave them gold and silver, saying at the same time: "Know that +we go to war for the purpose of saving human lives. Therefore, do ye not direct +your eyes upon money, here lie gold and silver before you." Furthermore he +admonished them in these words: "We are preparing to go to war. Let none join +us who hath committed a trespass, and fears that Divine punishment will descend +upon him." Alarmed by his warning, not one would obey his call to arms, they +were fearful on account of their sins. Eliezer alone remained with him, +wherefore God spake, and said: "All forsook thee save only Eliezer. Verily, I +shall invest him with the strength of the three hundred and eighteen men whose +aid thou didst seek in vain."[93] +</p> + +<p> +The battle fought with the mighty hosts of the kings, from which Abraham +emerged victorious, happened on the fifteenth of Nisan, the night appointed for +miraculous deeds.[94] The arrows and stones hurled at him effected naught,[95] +but the dust of the ground, the chaff, and the stubble which he threw at the +enemy were transformed into death-dealing javelins and swords.[96] Abraham, as +tall as seventy men set on end, and requiring as much food and drink as seventy +men, marched forward with giant strides, each of his steps measuring four +miles, until he overtook the kings, and annihilated their troops. Further he +could not go, for he had reached Dan, where Jeroboam would once raise the +golden calves, and on this ominous spot Abraham's strength diminished.[97] +</p> + +<p> +His victory was possible only because the celestial powers espoused his side. +The planet Jupiter made the night bright for him, and an angel, Lailah by name, +fought for him.[98] In a true sense, it was a victory of God. All the nations +acknowledged his more than human achievement, and they fashioned a throne for +Abraham, and erected it on the field of battle. When they attempted to seat him +upon it, amid exclamations of "Thou art our king! Thou art our prince! Thou art +our god!" Abraham warded them off, and said, "The universe has its King, and it +has its God!" He declined all honors, and returned his property unto each man. +Only the little children he kept by himself. He reared them in the knowledge of +God, and later they atoned for the disgrace of their parents. +</p> + +<p> +Somewhat arrogantly the king of Sodom set out to meet Abraham. He was proud +that a great miracle, his rescue from the slime pit, had been performed for +him, too. He made Abraham the proposition that he keep the despoiled goods for +himself.[99] But Abraham refused them, and said: "I have lift up mine hand unto +the Lord, God Most High, who hath created the world for the sake of the pious, +that I will not take a thread nor a shoe-latchet nor aught that is thine. I +have no right upon any goods taken as spoils,[100] save only that which the +young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who tarried by the stuff, +though they went not down to the battle itself." The example of Abraham in +giving a share in the spoils even unto the men not concerned directly in the +battle, was followed later by David, who heeded not the protest of the wicked +men and the base fellows with him, that the watchers who staid by the stuff +were not entitled to share alike with the warriors that had gone down to the +battle.[101] +</p> + +<p> +In spite of his great success, Abraham nevertheless was concerned about the +issue of the war. He feared that the prohibition against shedding the blood of +man had been transgressed, and he also dreaded the resentment of Shem, whose +descendants had perished in the encounter. But God reassured him, and said: "Be +not afraid! Thou hast but extirpated the thorns, and as to Shem, he will bless +thee rather than curse thee." So it was. When Abraham returned from the war, +Shem, or, as he is sometimes called, Melchizedek, the king of righteousness, +priest of God Most High, and king of Jerusalem, came forth to meet him with +bread and wine.[102] And this high priest instructed Abraham in the laws of the +priesthood and in the Torah, and to prove his friendship for him he blessed +him, and called him the partner of God in the possession of the world, seeing +that through him the Name of God had first been made known among men.[103] But +Melchizedek arranged the words of his blessing in an unseemly way. He named +Abraham first and then God. As a punishment, he was deposed by God from the +priestly dignity, and instead it was passed over to Abraham, with whose +descendants it remained forever.[104] +</p> + +<p> +As a reward for the sanctification of the Holy Name, which Abraham had brought +about when he refused to keep aught of the goods taken in battle,[105] his +descendants received two commands, the command of the threads in the borders of +their garments, and the command of the latchets to be bound upon their hands +and to be used as frontlets between their eyes. Thus they commemorate that +their ancestor refused to take so much as a thread or a latchet. And because he +would not touch a shoe-latchet of the spoils, his descendants cast their shoe +upon Edom.[106] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap66"></a>THE COVENANT OF THE PIECES</h3> + +<p> +Shortly after the war, God revealed Himself unto Abraham, to soothe his +conscience as to the spilling of innocent blood, for it was a scruple that gave +him much anguish of spirit. God assured him at the same time that He would +cause pious men to arise among his descendants, who, like himself, would be a +shield unto their generation.[107] As a further distinction, God gave him leave +to ask what he would have, rare grace accorded to none beside, except Jacob, +Solomon, Ahaz, and the Messiah. Abraham spoke, and said: "O Lord of the world, +if in time to come my descendants should provoke Thy wrath, it were better I +remained childless. Lot, for the sake of whom I journeyed as far as Damascus, +where God was my protection, would be well pleased to be my heir. Moreover, I +have read in the stars, 'Abraham, thou wilt beget no children.'" Thereupon God +raised Abraham above the vault of the skies, and He said, "Thou art a prophet, +not an astrologer!"[108] Now Abraham demanded no sign that he would be blessed +with offspring. Without losing another word, he believed in the Lord, and he +was rewarded for his simple faith by a share in this world and a share in the +world to come as well, and, besides, the redemption of Israel from the exile +will take place as a recompense for his firm trust.[109] +</p> + +<p> +But though he believed the promise made him with a full and abiding faith, he +yet desired to know by what merit of theirs his descendants would maintain +themselves. Therefore God bade him bring Him a sacrifice of three heifers, +three she-goats, three rams, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon, thus indicating +to Abraham the various sacrifices that should once be brought in the Temple, to +atone for the sins of Israel and further his welfare.[110] "But what will +become of my descendants," asked Abraham, "after the Temple is destroyed?" God +replied, and said, "If they read the order of sacrifices as they will be set +down in the Scriptures, I will account it unto them as though they had offered +the sacrifices, and I will forgive all their sins."[111] And God continued and +revealed to Abraham the course of Israel's history and the history of the whole +world: The heifer of three years indicates the dominion of Babylon, the +she-goat of three years stands for the empire of the Greeks, the ram of three +years for the Medo-Persian power, the rule of Ishmael is represented by the +ram, and Israel is the innocent dove. +</p> + +<p> +Abraham took him these animals and divided them in the midst. Had he not done +so, Israel would not have been able to resist the power of the four kingdoms. +But the birds he divided not, to indicate that Israel will remain whole. And +the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abraham drove them away. +Thus was announced the advent of the Messiah, who will cut the heathen in +pieces, but Abraham bade Messiah wait until the time appointed unto him.[112] +And as the Messianic time was made known unto Abraham, so also the time of the +resurrection of the dead. When he laid the halves of the pieces over against +each other, the animals became alive again, as the bird flew over them.[112] +</p> + +<p> +While he was preparing these sacrifices, a vision of great import was granted +to Abraham. The sun sank, and a deep sleep fell upon him, and he beheld a +smoking furnace, Gehenna, the furnace that God prepares for the sinner; and he +beheld a flaming torch, the revelation on Sinai, where all the people saw +flaming torches; and he beheld the sacrifices to be brought by Israel; and an +horror of great darkness fell upon him, the dominion of the four kingdoms. And +God spake to him: "Abraham, as long as thy children fulfil the two duties of +studying the Torah and performing the service in the Temple, the two +visitations, Gehenna and alien rule, will be spared them. But if they neglect +the two duties, they will have to suffer the two chastisements; only thou +mayest choose whether they shall be punished by means of Gehenna or by means of +the dominion of the stranger." All the day long Abraham wavered, until God +called unto him: "How long wilt thou halt between two opinions? Decide for one +of the two, and let it be for the dominion of the stranger!" Then God made +known to him the four hundred years' bondage of Israel in Egypt, reckoning from +the birth of Isaac, for unto Abraham himself was the promise given that he +should go to his fathers in peace, and feel naught of the arrogance of the +stranger oppressor. At the same time, it was made known to Abraham that his +father Terah would have a share in the world to come, for he had done penance +for his sinful deeds. Furthermore it was revealed to him that his son Ishmael +would turn into the path of righteousness while yet his father was alive, and +his grandson Esau would not begin his impious way of life until he himself had +passed away. And as he received the promise of their deliverance together with +the announcement of the slavery of his seed, in a land not theirs, so it was +made known to him that God would judge the four kingdoms and destroy them.[114] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap67"></a>THE BIRTH OF ISHMAEL</h3> + +<p> +The covenant of the pieces, whereby the fortunes of his descendants were +revealed to Abraham, was made at a time when he was still childless.[115] As +long as Abraham and Sarah dwelt outside of the Holy Land, they looked upon +their childlessness as a punishment for not abiding within it. But when a ten +years' sojourn in Palestine found her barren as before, Sarah perceived that +the fault lay with her.[116] Without a trace of jealousy she was ready to give +her slave Hagar to Abraham as wife,[117] first making her a freed woman.[118] +For Hagar was Sarah's property, not her husband's. She had received her from +Pharaoh, the father of Hagar. Taught and bred by Sarah, she walked in the same +path of righteousness as her mistress,[119] and thus was a suitable companion +for Abraham, and, instructed by the holy spirit, he acceded to Sarah's +proposal. +</p> + +<p> +No sooner had Hagar's union with Abraham been consummated, and she felt that +she was with child, than she began to treat her former mistress contemptuously, +though Sarah was particularly tender toward her in the state in which she was. +When noble matrons came to see Sarah, she was in the habit of urging them to +pay a visit to "poor Hagar," too. The dames would comply with her suggestion, +but Hagar would use the opportunity to disparage Sarah. "My lady Sarah," she +would say, "is not inwardly what she appears to be outwardly. She makes the +impression of a righteous, pious woman, but she is not, for if she were, how +could her childlessness be explained after so many years of marriage, while I +became pregnant at once?" +</p> + +<p> +Sarah scorned to bicker with her slave, yet the rage she felt found vent in +these words to Abraham:[120] "It is thou who art doing me wrong. Thou hearest +the words of Hagar, and thou sayest naught to oppose them, and I hoped that +thou wouldst take my part. For thy sake did I leave my native land and the +house of my father, and I followed thee into a strange land with trust in God. +In Egypt I pretended to be thy sister, that no harm might befall thee. When I +saw that I should bear no children, I took the Egyptian woman, my slave Hagar, +and gave her unto thee for wife, contenting myself with the thought that I +would rear the children she would bear. Now she treats me disdainfully in thy +presence. O that God might look upon the injustice which hath been done unto +me, to judge between thee and me, and have mercy upon us, restore peace to our +home, and grant us offspring, that we have no need of children from Hagar, the +Egyptian bondwoman of the generation of the heathen that cast thee in the fiery +furnace!"[121] +</p> + +<p> +Abraham, modest and unassuming as he was, was ready to do justice to Sarah, and +he conferred full power upon her to dispose of Hagar according to her pleasure. +He added but one caution, "Having once made her a mistress, we cannot again +reduce her to the state of a bondwoman." Unmindful of this warning, Sarah +exacted the services of a slave from Hagar. Not alone this, she tormented her, +and finally she cast an evil eye upon her, so that the unborn child dropped +from her, and she ran away. On her flight she was met by several angels, and +they bade her return, at the same time making known to her that she would bear +a son who should be called Ishmael—one of the six men who have been given a +name by God before their birth, the others being Isaac, Moses, Solomon, Josiah, +and the Messiah.[122] +</p> + +<p> +Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael the command was issued to Abraham +that he put the sign of the covenant upon his body and upon the bodies of the +male members of his household. Abraham was reluctant at first to do the bidding +of God, for he feared that the circumcision of his flesh would raise a barrier +between himself and the rest of mankind. But God said unto him, "Let it suffice +thee that I am thy God and thy Lord, as it sufficeth the world that I am its +God and its Lord."[123] +</p> + +<p> +Abraham then consulted with his three true friends, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, +regarding the command of the circumcision. The first one spoke, and said, "Thou +art nigh unto a hundred years old, and thou considerest inflicting such pain +upon thyself?" The advice of the second was also against it. "What," said +Eshcol, "thou choosest to mark thyself so that thy enemies may recognize thee +without fail?" Mamre, the third, was the only one to advise obedience to the +command of God. "God succored thee from the fiery furnace," he said, "He helped +thee in the combat with the kings, He provided for thee during the famine, and +thou dost hesitate to execute His behest concerning the circumcision?"[124] +Accordingly, Abraham did as God had commanded, in bright daylight, bidding +defiance to all, that none might say, "Had we seen him attempt it, we should +have prevented him."[125] +</p> + +<p> +The circumcision was performed on the tenth day of Tishri, the Day of +Atonement, and upon the spot on which the altar was later to be erected in the +Temple, for the act of Abraham remains a never-ceasing atonement for +Israel.[126] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap68"></a>THE VISIT OF THE ANGELS</h3> + +<p> +On the third day after his circumcision, when Abraham was suffering dire +pain,[127] God spoke to the angels, saying, "Go to, let us pay a visit to the +sick." The angels refused, and said: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of +him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him? And Thou desirest to betake +Thyself to a place of uncleanness, a place of blood and filth?" But God replied +unto them, "Thus do ye speak. As ye live, the savor of this blood is sweeter to +me than myrrh and incense, and if you do not desire to visit Abraham, I will go +alone."[128] +</p> + +<p> +The day whereon God visited him was exceedingly hot, for He had bored a hole in +hell, so that its heat might reach as far as the earth, and no wayfarer venture +abroad on the highways, and Abraham be left undisturbed in his pain.[129] But +the absence of strangers caused Abraham great vexation, and he sent his servant +Eliezer forth to keep a lookout for travellers. When the servant returned from +his fruitless search, Abraham himself, in spite of his illness and the +scorching heat, prepared to go forth on the highway and see whether he would +not succeed where failure had attended Eliezer, whom he did not wholly trust at +any rate, bearing in mind the well-known saying, "No truth among slaves."[130] +At this moment God appeared to him, surrounded by the angels. Quickly Abraham +attempted to rise from his seat, but God checked every demonstration of +respect, and when Abraham protested that it was unbecoming to sit in the +presence of the Lord, God said, "As thou livest, thy descendants at the age of +four and five will sit in days to come in the schools and in the synagogues +while I reside therein."[131] +</p> + +<p> +Meantime Abraham beheld three men. They were the angels Michael, Gabriel, and +Raphael. They had assumed the form of human beings to fulfil his wish for +guests toward whom to exercise hospitality. Each of them had been charged by +God with a special mission, besides, to be executed on earth. Raphael was to +heal the wound of Abraham, Michael was to bring Sarah the glad tidings that she +would bear a son, and Gabriel was to deal destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah. +Arrived at the tent of Abraham, the three angels noticed that he was occupied +in nursing himself, and they withdrew.[132] Abraham, however, hastened after +them through another door of the tent, which had wide open entrances on all +sides.[133] He considered the duty of hospitality more important than the duty +of receiving the Shekinah. Turning to God, he said, "O Lord, may it please Thee +not to leave Thy servant while he provides for the entertainment of his +guests."[134] Then he addressed himself to the stranger walking in the middle +between the other two, whom by this token he considered the most +distinguished,—it was the archangel Michael—and he bade him and his companions +turn aside into his tent. The manner of his guests, who treated one another +politely, made a good impression upon Abraham. He was assured that they were +men of worth whom he was entertaining.[135] But as they appeared outwardly like +Arabs, and the people worshipped the dust of their feet, he bade them first +wash their feet, that they might not defile his tent.[136] +</p> + +<p> +He did not depend upon his own judgment in reading the character of his guests. +By his tent a tree was planted, which spread its branches out over all who +believed in God, and afforded them shade. But if idolaters went under the tree, +the branches turned upward, and cast no shade upon the ground. Whenever Abraham +saw this sign, he would at once set about the task of converting the +worshippers of the false gods. And as the tree made a distinction between the +pious and the impious, so also between the clean and the unclean. Its shade was +denied them as long as they refrained from taking the prescribed ritual bath in +the spring that flowed out from its roots, the waters of which rose at once for +those whose uncleanness was of a venial character and could be removed +forthwith, while others had to wait seven days for the water to come up. +Accordingly, Abraham bade the three men lean against the trunk of the tree. +Thus he would soon learn their worth or their unworthiness.[137] +</p> + +<p> +Being of the truly pious, "who promise little, but perform much,"[133] Abraham +said only: "I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your heart, seeing +that ye chanced to pass my tent at dinner time. Then, after ye have given +thanks to God, ye may pass on."[139] But when the meal was served to the +guests, it was a royal banquet, exceeding Solomon's at the time of his most +splendid magnificence. Abraham himself ran unto the herd, to fetch cattle for +meat. He slaughtered three calves, that he might be able to set a "tongue with +mustard" before each of his guests.[140] In order to accustom Ishmael to +God-pleasing deeds, he had him dress the calves,[141] and he bade Sarah bake +the bread. But as he knew that women are apt to treat guests niggardly, he was +explicit in his request to her. He said, "Make ready quickly three measures of +meal, yea, fine meal." As it happened, the bread was not brought to the table, +because it had accidentally become unclean, and our father Abraham was +accustomed to eat his daily bread only in a clean state.[142] Abraham himself +served his guests, and it appeared to him that the three men ate. But this was +an illusion. In reality the angels did not eat,[143] only Abraham, his three +friends, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, and his son Ishmael partook of the banquet, +and the portions set before the angels were devoured by a heavenly fire.[144] +</p> + +<p> +Although the angels remained angels even in their human disguise, nevertheless +the personality of Abraham was so exalted that in his presence the archangels +felt insignificant.[145] +</p> + +<p> +After the meal the angels asked after Sarah, though they knew that she was in +retirement in her tent, but it was proper for them to pay their respects to the +lady of the house and send her the cup of wine over which the blessing had been +said.[146] Michael, the greatest of the angels, thereupon announced the birth +of Isaac. He drew a line upon the wall, saying, "When the sun crosses this +point, Sarah will be with child, and when he crosses the next point, she will +give birth to a child." This communication, which was intended for Sarah and +not for Abraham, to whom the promise had been revealed long before,[147] the +angels made at the entrance to her tent, but Ishmael stood between the angel +and Sarah, for it would not have been seemly to deliver the message in secret, +with none other by. Yet, so radiant was the beauty of Sarah that a beam of it +struck the angel, and made him look up. In the act of turning toward her, he +heard her laugh within herself:[148] "Is it possible that these bowels can yet +bring forth a child, these shrivelled breasts give suck? And though I should be +able to bear, yet is not my lord Abraham old?"[149] +</p> + +<p> +And the Lord said unto Abraham: "Am I too old to do wonders? And wherefore doth +Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?"[150] The +reproach made by God was directed against Abraham as well as against Sarah, for +he, too, had showed himself of little faith when he was told that a son would +be born unto him. But God mentioned only Sarah's incredulity, leaving Abraham +to become conscious of his defect himself.[151] +</p> + +<p> +Regardful of the peace of their family life, God had not repeated Sarah's words +accurately to Abraham. Abraham might have taken amiss what his wife had said +about his advanced years, and so precious is the peace between husband and wife +that even the Holy One, blessed be He, preserved it at the expense of +truth.[152] +</p> + +<p> +After Abraham had entertained his guests, he went with them to bring them on +their way, for, important as the duty of hospitality is, the duty of speeding +the parting guest is even more important.[153] Their way lay in the direction +of Sodom, whither two of the angels were going, the one to destroy it, and the +second to save Lot, while the third, his errand to Abraham fulfilled, returned +to heaven.[154] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap69"></a>THE CITIES OF SIN</h3> + +<p> +The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah and the three other cities of the plain +were sinful and godless. In their country there was an extensive vale, where +they foregathered annually with their wives and their children and all +belonging to them, to celebrate a feast lasting several days and consisting of +the most revolting orgies. If a stranger merchant passed through their +territory, he was besieged by them all, big and little alike, and robbed of +whatever he possessed. Each one appropriated a bagatelle, until the traveller +was stripped bare. If the victim ventured to remonstrate with one or another, +he would show him that he had taken a mere trifle, not worth talking about. And +the end was that they hounded him from the city. +</p> + +<p> +Once upon a time it happened that a man journeying from Elam arrived in Sodom +toward evening. No one could be found to grant him shelter for the night. +Finally a sly fox named Hedor invited him cordially to follow him to his house. +The Sodomite had been attracted by a rarely magnificent carpet, strapped to the +stranger's ass by means of a rope. He meant to secure it for himself. The +friendly persuasions of Hedor induced the stranger to remain with him two days, +though he had expected to stay only overnight. When the time came for him to +continue on his journey, he asked his host for the carpet and the rope. Hedor +said: "Thou hast dreamed a dream, and this is the interpretation of thy dream: +the rope signifies that thou wilt have a long life, as long as a rope; the +varicolored carpet indicates that thou wilt own an orchard wherein thou wilt +plant all sorts of fruit trees." The stranger insisted that his carpet was a +reality, not a dream fancy, and he continued to demand its return. Not only did +Hedor deny having taken anything from his guest, he even insisted upon pay for +having interpreted his dream to him. His usual price for such services, he +said, was four silver pieces, but in view of the fact that he was his guest, he +would, as a favor to him, content himself with three pieces of silver. +</p> + +<p> +After much wrangling, they put their case before one of the judges of Sodom, +Sherek by name, and he said to the plaintiff, "Hedor is known in this city as a +trustworthy interpreter of dreams, and what he tells thee is true." The +stranger declared himself not satisfied with the verdict, and continued to urge +his side of the case. Then Sherek drove both the plaintiff and the defendant +from the court room. Seeing this, the inhabitants gathered together and chased +the stranger from the city, and lamenting the loss of his carpet, he had to +pursue his way. +</p> + +<p> +As Sodom had a judge worthy of itself, so also had the other cities—Sharkar in +Gomorrah, Zabnak in Admah, and Manon in Zeboiim. Eliezer, the bondman of +Abraham, made slight changes in the names of these judges, in accordance with +the nature of what they did: the first he called Shakkara, Liar; the second +Shakrura, Arch-deceiver; the third Kazban, Falsifier; and the fourth, +Mazle-Din, Perverter of Judgment. At the suggestion of these judges, the cities +set up beds on their commons. When a stranger arrived, three men seized him by +his head, and three by his feet, and they forced him upon one of the beds. If +he was too short to fit into it exactly, his six attendants pulled and wrenched +his limbs until he filled it out; if he was too long for; it, they tried to jam +him in with all their combined strength, until the victim was on the verge of +death. Hit outcrles were met with the words, "Thus will be done to any man that +comes into our land." +</p> + +<p> +After a while travellers avoided these cities, but if some poor devil was +betrayed occasionally into entering them, they would give him gold and silver, +but never any bread, so that he was bound to die of starvation. Once he was +dead, the residents of the city came and took back the marked gold and silver +which they had given him, and they would quarrel about the distribution of his +clothes, for they would bury him naked. +</p> + +<p> +Once Eliezer, the bondman of Abraham, went to Sodom, at the bidding of Sarah, +to inquire after the welfare of Lot. He happened to enter the city at the +moment when the people were robbing a stranger of his garments. Eliezer +espoused the cause of the poor wretch, and the Sodomites turned against him; +one threw a stone at his forehead and caused considerable loss of blood. +Instantly, the assailant, seeing the blood gush forth, demanded payment for +having performed the operation of cupping. Eliezer refused to pay for the +infliction of a wound upon him, and he was haled before the judge Shakkara. The +decision went against him, for the law of the land gave the assailant the right +to demand payment. Eliezer quickly picked up a stone and threw it at the +judge's forehead. When he saw that the blood was flowing profusely, he said to +the judge, "Pay my debt to the man and give me the balance." +</p> + +<p> +The cause of their cruelty was their exceeding great wealth. Their soil was +gold, and in their miserliness and their greed for more and more gold, they +wanted to prevent strangers from enjoying aught of their riches. Accordingly, +they flooded the highways with streams of water, so that the roads to their +city were obliterated, and none could find the way thither. They were as +heartless toward beasts as toward men. They begrudged the birds what they ate, +and therefore extirpated them.[155] They behaved impiously toward one another, +too, not shrinking back from murder to gain possession of more gold. If they +observed that a man owned great riches, two of them would conspire against him. +They would beguile him to the vicinity of ruins, and while the one kept him on +the spot by pleasant converse, the other would undermine the wall near which he +stood, until it suddenly crashed down upon him and killed him. Then the two +plotters would divide his wealth between them. +</p> + +<p> +Another method of enriching themselves with the property of others was in vogue +among them. They were adroit thieves. When they made up their minds to commit +theft, they would first ask their victim to take care of a sum of money for +them, which they smeared with strongly scented oil before handing it over to +him. The following night they would break into his house, and rob him of his +secret treasures, led to the place of concealment by the smell of the oil. +</p> + +<p> +Their laws were calculated to do injury to the poor. The richer a man, the more +was he favored before the law. The owner of two oxen was obliged to render one +day's shepherd service, but if he had but one ox, he had to give two days' +service. A poor orphan, who was thus forced to tend the flocks a longer time +than those who were blessed with large herds, killed all the cattle entrusted +to him in order to take revenge upon his oppressors, and he insisted, when the +skins were assigned, that the owner of two head of cattle should have but one +skin, but the owner of one head should receive two skins, in correspondence to +the method pursued in assigning the work. For the use of the ferry, a traveller +had to pay four zuz, but if he waded through the water, he had to pay eight +zuz.[156] +</p> + +<p> +The cruelty of the Sodomites went still further. Lot had a daughter, Paltit, so +named because she had been born to him shortly after he escaped captivity +through the help of Abraham. Paltit lived in Sodom, where she had married. Once +a beggar came to town, and the court issued a proclamation that none should +give him anything to eat, in order that he might die of starvation. But Paltit +had pity upon the unfortunate wretch, and every day when she went to the well +to draw water, she supplied him with a piece of bread, which she hid in her +water pitcher. The inhabitants of the two sinful cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, +could not understand why the beggar did not perish, and they suspected that +some one was giving him food in secret. Three men concealed themselves near the +beggar, and caught Paltit in the act of giving him something to eat. She had to +pay for her humanity with death; she was burnt upon a pyre. +</p> + +<p> +The people of Admah were no better than those of Sodom. Once a stranger came to +Admah, intending to stay overnight and continue his journey the next morning. +The daughter of a rich man met the stranger, and gave him water to drink and +bread to eat at his request. When the people of Admah heard of this infraction +of the law of the land, they seized the girl and arraigned her before the +judge, who condemned her to death. The people smeared her with honey from top +to toe, and exposed her where bees would be attracted to her. The insects stung +her to death, and the callous people paid no heed to her heartrending cries. +Then it was that God resolved upon the destruction of these sinners.[157] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap70"></a>ABRAHAM PLEADS FOR THE SINNERS</h3> + +<p> +When God saw that there was no righteous man among the inhabitants of the +sinful cities, and there would be none among their descendants, for the sake of +whose merits the rest might be treated with lenient consideration, He resolved +to annihilate them one and all.[158] But before judgment was executed, the Lord +made known unto Abraham what He would do to Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other +cities of the plain, for they formed a part of Canaan, the land promised unto +Abraham, and therefore did God say, "I will not destroy them without the +consent of Abraham."[159] +</p> + +<p> +Like a compassionate father, Abraham importuned the grace of God in behalf of +the sinners. He spoke to God, and said: "Thou didst take an oath that no more +should all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood. Is it meet that Thou +shouldst evade Thy oath and destroy cities by fire? Shall the Judge of all the +earth not do right Himself? Verily, if Thou desirest to maintain the world, +Thou must give up the strict line of justice. If Thou insistest upon the right +alone, there can be no world." Whereupon God said to Abraham: "Thou takest +delight in defending My creatures, and thou wouldst not call them guilty. +Therefore I spoke with none but thee during the ten generations since +Noah."[160] Abraham ventured to use still stronger words in order to secure the +safety of the godless. "That be far from Thee," he said, "to slay the righteous +with the wicked, that the dwellers on the earth say not, 'It is His trade to +destroy the generations of men in a cruel manner; for He destroyed the +generation of Enosh, then the generation of the flood, and then He sent the +confusion of tongues. He sticks ever to His trade.'" +</p> + +<p> +God made reply: "I will let all the generations I have destroyed pass before +thee, that thou mayest see they have not suffered the extreme punishment they +deserved. But if thou thinkest that I did not act justly, then instruct thou Me +in what I must do, and I will endeavor to act in accordance with thy words." +And Abraham had to admit that God had not diminished in aught the justice due +to every creature in this world or the other world.[161] Nevertheless he +continued to speak, and he said: "Wilt Thou consume the cities, if there be ten +righteous men in each?" And God said, "No, if I find fifty righteous therein, I +will not destroy the cities."[162] +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, I who would have been +turned long since into dust of the ground by Amraphel and into ashes by Nimrod, +had it not been for Thy grace.[163] Peradventure there shall lack five of the +fifty righteous for Zoar, the smallest of the five cities. Wilt Thou destroy +all the city for lack of five?" +</p> + +<p> +God: "I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "Peradventure there be ten pious in each of the four cities, then +forgive Zoar in Thy grace, for its sins are not so great in number as the sins +of the others." +</p> + +<p> +God granted his petition, yet Abraham continued to plead, and he asked whether +God would not be satisfied if there were but thirty righteous, ten in each of +the three larger cities, and would pardon the two smaller ones, even though +there were no righteous therein, whose merits would intercede for them. This, +too, the Lord granted, and furthermore He promised not to destroy the cities if +but twenty righteous were found therein; yes, God conceded that He would +preserve the five cities for the sake of ten righteous therein.[164] More than +this Abraham did not ask, for he knew that eight righteous ones, Noah and his +wife, and his three sons and their wives, had not sufficed to avert the doom of +the generation of the flood, and furthermore he hoped that Lot, his wife, and +their four daughters, together with the husbands of their daughters, would make +up the number ten. What he did not know was that even the righteous in these +sin-laden cities, though better than the rest, were far from good.[165] +</p> + +<p> +Abraham did not cease to pray for the deliverance of the sinners even after the +Shekinah had removed from him. But his supplications and his intercessions were +in vain.[166] For fifty-two years God had warned the godless; He had made +mountains to quake and tremble. But they hearkened not unto the voice of +admonition. They persisted in their sins, and their well-merited punishment +overtook them.[167] God forgives all sins, only not an immoral life. And as all +these sinners led a life of debauchery, they were burnt with fire.[168] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap71"></a>THE DESTRUCTION OF THE SINFUL CITIES</h3> + +<p> +The angels left Abraham at noon time, and they reached Sodom at the approach of +evening. As a rule, angels proclaim their errand with the swiftness of +lightning, but these were angels of mercy, and they hesitated to execute their +work of destruction, ever hoping that the evil would be turned aside from +Sodom.[169] With nightfall, the fate of Sodom was sealed irrevocably, and the +angels arrived there.[170] +</p> + +<p> +Bred in the house of Abraham, Lot had learnt from him the beautiful custom of +extending hospitality, and when he saw the angels before him in human form, +thinking they were wayfarers, he bade them turn aside and tarry all night in +his house. But as the entertainment of strangers was forbidden in Sodom on +penalty of death, he dared invite them only under cover of the darkness of +night,[171] and even then he had to use every manner of precaution, bidding the +angels to follow him by devious ways. +</p> + +<p> +The angels, who had accepted Abraham's hospitality without delay, first refused +to comply with Lot's request, for it is a rule of good breeding to show +reluctance when an ordinary man invites one, but to accept the invitation of a +great man at once. Lot, however, was insistent, and carried them into his house +by main force.[172] At home he had to overcome the opposition of his wife, for +she said, "If the inhabitants of Sodom hear of this, they will slay thee." +</p> + +<p> +Lot divided his dwelling in two parts, one for himself and his guests, the +other for his wife, so that, if aught happened, his wife would be spared.[173] +Nevertheless it was she who betrayed him. She went to a neighbor and borrowed +some salt, and to the question, whether she could not have supplied herself +with salt during daylight hours, she replied, "We had enough salt, until some +guests came to us; for them we needed more." In this way the presence of +strangers was bruited abroad in the city.[174] +</p> + +<p> +In the beginning the angels were inclined to hearken to the petition of Lot in +behalf of the sinners, but when all the people of the city, big and little, +crowded around the house of Lot with the purpose of committing a monstrous +crime, the angels warded off his prayers, saying, "Hitherto thou couldst +intercede for them, but now no longer." It was not the first time that the +inhabitants of Sodom wanted to perpetrate a crime of this sort. They had made a +law some time before that all strangers were to be treated in this horrible +way. Lot, who was appointed chief judge on the very day of the angels' coming, +tried to induce the people to desist from their purpose, saying to them, "My +brethren, the generation of the deluge was extirpated in consequence of such +sins as you desire to commit, and you would revert to them?" But they replied: +"Back! And though Abraham himself came hither, we should have no consideration +for him. Is it possible that thou wouldst set aside a law which thy +predecessors administered?"[175] +</p> + +<p> +Even Lot's moral sense was no better than it should have been. It is the duty +of a man to venture his life for the honor of his wife and his daughters, but +Lot was ready to sacrifice the honor of his daughters, wherefor he was punished +severely later on.[176] +</p> + +<p> +The angels told Lot who they were, and what the mission that had brought them +to Sodom, and they charged him to flee from the city with his wife and his four +daughters, two of them married, and two betrothed.[177] Lot communicated their +bidding to his sons-in-law, and they mocked at him, and said: "O thou fool! +Violins, cymbals, and flutes resound in the city, and thou sayest Sodom will be +destroyed!" Such scoffing but hastened the execution of the doom of Sodom.[178] +The angel Michael laid hold upon the hand of Lot, and his wife and his +daughters, while with his little finger the angel Gabriel touched the rock +whereon the sinful cities were built, and overturned them. At the same time the +rain that was streaming down upon the two cities was changed into +brimstone.[179] +</p> + +<p> +When the angels had brought forth Lot and his family and set them without the +city, he bade them run for their lives, and not look behind, lest they behold +the Shekinah, which had descended to work the destruction of the cities. The +wife of Lot could not control herself. Her mother love made her look behind to +see if her married daughters were following. She beheld the Shekinah, and she +became a pillar of salt. This pillar exists unto this day. The cattle lick it +all day long, and in the evening it seems to have disappeared, but when morning +comes it stands there as large as before.[180] +</p> + +<p> +The savior angel had urged Lot himself to take refuge with Abraham. But he +refused, and said: "As long as I dwelt apart from Abraham, God compared my +deeds with the deeds of my fellow-citizens, and among them I appeared as a +righteous man. If I should return to Abraham, God will see that his good deeds +outweigh mine by far."[181] The angel then granted his plea that Zoar be left +undestroyed. This city had been founded a year later than the other four; it +was only fifty-one years old, and therefore the measure of its sins was not so +full as the measure of the sins of the neighboring cities.[182] +</p> + +<p> +The destruction of the cities of the plain took place at dawn of the sixteenth +day of Nisan, for the reason that there were moon and sun worshippers among the +inhabitants. God said: "If I destroy them by day, the moon worshippers will +say, Were the moon here, she would prove herself our savior; and if I destroy +them by night, the sun worshippers will say, Were the sun here, he would prove +himself our savior. I will therefore let their chastisement overtake them on +the sixteenth day of Nisan at an hour at which the moon and the sun are both in +the skies."[183] +</p> + +<p> +The sinful inhabitants of the cities of the plain not only lost their life in +this world, but also their share in the future world. As for the cities +themselves, however, they will be restored in the Messianic time.[184] +</p> + +<p> +The destruction of Sodom happened at the time at which Abraham was performing +his morning devotions, and for his sake it was established as the proper hour +for the morning prayer unto all times.[185] When he turned his eyes toward +Sodom and beheld the rising smoke, he prayed for the deliverance of Lot, and +God granted his petition—the fourth time that Lot became deeply indebted to +Abraham. Abraham had taken him with him to Palestine, he had made him rich in +flocks, herds, and tents, he had rescued him from captivity, and by his prayer +he saved him from the destruction of Sodom. The descendants of Lot, the +Ammonites and the Moabites, instead of showing gratitude to the Israelites, the +posterity of Abraham, committed four acts of hostility against them. They +sought to compass the destruction of Israel by means of Balaam's curses, they +waged open war against him at the time of Jephthah, and also at the time of +Jehoshaphat, and finally they manifested their hatred against Israel at the +destruction of the Temple. Hence it is that God appointed four prophets, +Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zephaniah, to proclaim punishment unto the +descendants of Lot, and four times their sin is recorded in Holy Writ.[186] +</p> + +<p> +Though Lot owed his deliverance to the petition of Abraham, yet it was at the +same time his reward for not having betrayed Abraham in Egypt, when he +pretended to be the brother of Sarah.[187] But a greater reward still awaits +him. The Messiah will be a descendant of his, for the Moabitess Ruth is the +great-grandmother of David, and the Ammonitess Naamah is the mother of +Rehoboam, and the Messiah is of the line of these two kings.[188] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap72"></a>AMONG THE PHILISTINES</h3> + +<p> +The destruction of Sodom induced Abraham to journey to Gerar. Accustomed to +extend hospitality to travellers and wayfarers, he no longer felt comfortable +in a district in which all traffic had ceased by reason of the ruined cities. +There was another reason for Abraham's leaving his place; the people spoke too +much about the ugly incident with Lot's daughters.[189] +</p> + +<p> +Arrived in the land of the Philistines, he again, as aforetime in Egypt, came +to an understanding with Sarah, that she was to call herself his sister. When +the report of her beauty reached the king, he ordered her to be brought before +him, and he asked her who her companion was, and she told him that Abraham was +her brother. Entranced by her beauty, Abimelech the king took Sarah to wife, +and heaped marks of honor upon Abraham in accordance with the just claims of a +brother of the queen. Toward evening, before retiring, while he was still +seated upon his throne, Abimelech fell into a sleep, and he slept until the +morning, and in the dream he dreamed he saw an angel of the Lord raising his +sword to deal him a death blow. Sore frightened, he asked the cause, and the +angel replied, and said: "Thou wilt die on account of the woman thou didst take +into thy house this day, for she is the wife of Abraham, the man whom thou +didst cite before thee. Return his wife unto him! But if thou restore her not, +thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine." +</p> + +<p> +In that night the voice of a great crying was heard in the whole land of the +Philistines, for they saw the figure of a man walking about, with sword in +hand, slaying all that came in his way. At the same time it happened that in +men and beasts alike all the apertures of the body closed up, and the land was +seized with indescribable excitement. In the morning, when the king awoke, in +agony and terror, he called all his servants and told his dream in their ears. +One of their number said: "O lord and king! Restore this woman unto the man, +for he is her husband. It is but his way in a strange land to pretend that she +is his sister. Thus did he with the king of Egypt, too, and God sent heavy +afflictions upon Pharaoh when he took the woman unto himself. Consider, also, O +lord and king, what hath befallen this night in the land; great pain, wailing, +and confusion there was, and we know that it came upon us only because of this +woman."[190] +</p> + +<p> +There were some among his servants who spake: "Be not afraid of dreams! What +dreams make known to man is but falsehood." Then God appeared unto Abimelech +again and commanded him to let Sarah go free, otherwise he would be a dead +man.[191] Abimelech replied: "Is this Thy way? Then, I ween, the generation of +the flood and the generation of the confusion of tongues were innocent, too! +The man himself did say unto me, She is my sister, and she, even she herself +said, He is my brother, and all the people of their household said the same +words." And God said unto him: "Yea, I know that thou hast not yet committed a +trespass, for I withheld thee from sinning. Thou didst not know that Sarah was +a man's wife.[192] But is it becoming to question a stranger, no sooner does he +set foot upon thy territory, about the woman accompanying him, whether she be +his wife or his sister? Abraham, who is a prophet, knew beforehand the danger +to himself if he revealed the whole truth.[193] But, being a prophet, he also +knows that thou didst not touch his wife, and he shall pray for thee, and thou +shalt live." +</p> + +<p> +The smoke was still rising from the ruins of Sodom, and Abimelech and his +people, seeing it, feared that a like fate might overtake them.[194] The king +called Abraham and reproached him for having caused such great misfortune +through his false statements concerning Sarah. Abraham excused his conduct by +his apprehension that, the fear of God not being in the place, the inhabitants +of the land slay him for his wife.[195] Abraham went on and told the history of +his whole life, and he said: "When I dwelt in the house of my father, the +nations of the world sought to do me harm, but God proved Himself my Redeemer. +When the nations of the world tried to lead me astray to idolatry, God revealed +Himself to me, and He said, 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, +and from thy father's house.' And when the nations of the world were about to +go astray, God sent two prophets, my kinsmen Shem and Eber, to admonish +them."[196] +</p> + +<p> +Abimelech gave rich gifts to Abraham, wherein he acted otherwise than Pharaoh +in similar circumstances. The Egyptian king gave gifts to Sarah, but Abimelech +was God fearing, and desired that Abraham pray for him.[197] To Sarah he gave a +costly robe that covered her whole person, hiding her seductive charms from the +view of beholders. At the same time it was a reproach to Abraham, that he had +not fitted Sarah out with the splendor due to his wife.[198] +</p> + +<p> +Though Abimelech had done him great injury, Abraham not only granted him the +forgiveness he craved, but also he prayed for him to God. Thus he is an +exemplar unto all. "Man should be pliant as a reed, not hard like the cedar." +He should be easily appeased, and slow to anger, and as soon as he who has +sinned against him asks for pardon, he should forgive him with all his heart. +Even if deep and serious injury has been done to him, he should not be +vengeful, nor bear his brother a grudge in his heart.[199] +</p> + +<p> +Abraham prayed thus for Abimelech: "O Lord of the world! Thou hast created man +that he may increase and propagate his kind. Grant that Abimelech and his house +may multiply and increase!"[200] God fulfilled Abraham's petition in behalf of +Abimelech and his people, and it was the first time it happened in the history +of mankind that God fulfilled the prayer of one human being for the benefit of +another.[201] Abimelech and his subjects were healed of all their diseases, and +so efficacious was the prayer offered by Abraham that the wife of Abimelech, +barren hitherto, bore a child.[202] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap73"></a>THE BIRTH OF ISAAC</h3> + +<p> +When the prayer of Abraham for Abimelech was heard, and the king of the +Philistines recovered, the angels raised a loud cry, and spoke to God thus: "O +Lord of the world! All these years hath Sarah been barren, as the wife of +Abimelech was. Now Abraham prayed to Thee, and the wife of Abimelech hath been +granted a child. It is just and fair that Sarah should be remembered and +granted a child." These words of the angels, spoken on the New Year's Day, when +the fortunes of men are determined in heaven for the whole year, bore a result. +Barely seven months later, on the first day of the Passover, Isaac was born. +</p> + +<p> +The birth of Isaac was a happy event, and not in the house of Abraham alone. +The whole world rejoiced, for God remembered all barren women at the same time +with Sarah. They all bore children. And all the blind were made to see, all the +lame were made whole, the dumb were made to speak, and the mad were restored to +reason. And a still greater miracle happened: on the day of Isaac's birth the +sun shone with such splendor as had not been seen since the fall of man, and as +he will shine again only in the future world.[203] +</p> + +<p> +To silence those who asked significantly, "Can one a hundred years old beget a +son?" God commanded the angel who has charge over the embryos, to give them +form and shape, that he fashion Isaac precisely according to the model of +Abraham, so that all seeing Isaac might exclaim, "Abraham begot Isaac."[204] +</p> + +<p> +That Abraham and Sarah were blessed with offspring only after they had attained +so great an age, had an important reason. It was necessary that Abraham should +bear the sign of the covenant upon his body before he begot the son who was +appointed to be the father of Israel.[205] And as Isaac was the first child +born to Abraham after he was marked with the sign, he did not fail to celebrate +his circumcision with much pomp and ceremony on the eighth day.[206] Shem, +Eber, Abimelech king of the Philistines, and his whole retinue, Phicol the +captain of his host in it—they all were present, and also Terah and his son +Nahor, in a word, all the great ones round about.[207] On this occasion Abraham +could at last put a stop to the talk of the people, who said, "Look at this old +couple! They picked up a foundling on the highway, and they pretend he is their +own son, and to make their statement seem credible, they arrange a feast in his +honor." Abraham had invited not only men to the celebration, but also the wives +of the magnates with their infants, and God permitted a miracle to be done. +Sarah had enough milk in her breasts to suckle all the babes there,[208] and +they who drew from her breasts had much to thank her for. Those whose mothers +had harbored only pious thoughts in their minds when they let them drink the +milk that flowed from the breasts of the pious Sarah, they became proselytes +when they grew up; and those whose mothers let Sarah nurse them only in order +to test her, they grew up to be powerful rulers, losing their dominion only at +the revelation on Mount Sinai, because they would not accept the Torah. All +proselytes and pious heathen are the descendants of these infants.[209] +</p> + +<p> +Among the guests of Abraham were the thirty-one kings and thirty-one viceroys +of Palestine who were vanquished by Joshua at the conquest of the Holy Land. +Even Og king of Bashan was present, and he had to suffer the teasing of the +other guests, who rallied him upon having called Abraham a sterile mule, who +would never have offspring. Og, on his part, pointed at the little boy with +contempt, and said, "Were I to lay my finger upon him, he would be crushed." +Whereupon God said to him: "Thou makest mock of the gift given to Abraham! As +thou livest, thou shalt look upon millions and myriads of his descendants, and +in the end thou shalt fall into their hands."[210] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap74"></a>ISHMAEL CAST OFF</h3> + +<p> +When Isaac grew up, quarrels broke out between him and Ishmael, on account of +the rights of the first-born. Ishmael insisted he should receive a double +portion of the inheritance after the death of Abraham, and Isaac should receive +only one portion. Ishmael, who had been accustomed from his youth to use the +bow and arrow, was in the habit of aiming his missiles in the direction of +Isaac, saying at the same time that he was but jesting.[211] Sarah, however, +insisted that Abraham make over to Isaac all he owned, that no disputes might +arise after his death,[212] "for," she said, "Ishmael is not worthy of being +heir with my son, nor with a man like Isaac, and certainly not with my son +Isaac."[213] Furthermore, Sarah insisted that Abraham divorce himself from +Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, and send away the woman and her son, so that +there be naught in common between them and her own son, either in this world or +in the future world. +</p> + +<p> +Of all the trials Abraham had to undergo, none was so hard to bear as this, for +it grieved him sorely to separate himself from his son. God appeared to him in +the following night, and said to him: "Abraham, knowest thou not that Sarah was +appointed to be thy wife from her mother's womb? She is thy companion and the +wife of thy youth, and I named not Hagar as thy wife, nor Sarah as thy +bondwoman. What Sarah spoke unto thee was naught but truth, and let it not be +grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman." The +next morning Abraham rose up early, gave Hagar her bill of divorcement, and +sent her away with her son, first binding a rope about her loins that all might +see she was a bondwoman.[214] +</p> + +<p> +The evil glance cast upon her stepson by Sarah made him sick and feverish, so +that Hagar had to carry him, grown-up as he was. In his fever he drank often of +the water in the bottle given her by Abraham as she left his house, and the +water was quickly spent. That she might not look upon the death of her child, +Hagar cast Ishmael under the willow shrubs growing on the selfsame spot whereon +the angels had once spoken with her and made known to her that she would bear a +son. In the bitterness of her heart, she spoke to God, and said, "Yesterday +Thou didst say to me, I will greatly multiply thy seed, that it shall not be +numbered for multitude, and to-day my son dies of thirst." Ishmael himself +cried unto God, and his prayer and the merits of Abraham brought them help in +their need, though the angels appeared against Ishmael before God. They said, +"Wilt Thou cause a well of water to spring up for him whose descendants will +let Thy children of Israel perish with thirst?" But God replied, and said, +"What is Ishmael at this moment—righteous or wicked?" and when the angels +called him righteous, God continued, "I treat man according to his deserts at +each moment."[215] +</p> + +<p> +At that moment Ishmael was pious indeed, for he was praying to God in the +following words: "O Lord of the world! If it be Thy will that I shall perish, +then let me die in some other way, not by thirst, for the tortures of thirst +are great beyond all others." Hagar, instead of praying to God, addressed her +supplications to the idols of her youth. The prayer of Ishmael was acceptable +before God, and He bade Miriam's well spring up, the well created in the +twilight of the sixth day of creation.[216] Even after this miracle Hagar's +faith was no stronger than before. She filled the bottle with water, because +she feared it might again be spent, and no other would be nigh. Thereupon she +journeyed to Egypt with her son, for "Throw the stick into the air as thou +wilt, it will always land on its point." Hagar had come from Egypt, and to +Egypt she returned, to choose a wife for her son.[217] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap75"></a>THE TWO WIVES OF ISHMAEL</h3> + +<p> +The wife of Ishmael bore four sons and a daughter, and afterward Ishmael, his +mother, and his wife and children went and returned to the wilderness. They +made themselves tents in the wilderness in which they dwelt, and they continued +to encamp and journey, month by month and year by year. And God gave Ishmael +flocks, and herds, and tents, on account of Abraham his father, and the man +increased in cattle. And some time after, Abraham said to Sarah, his wife, "I +will go and see my son Ishmael; I yearn to look upon him, for I have not seen +him for a long time." And Abraham rode upon one of his camels to the +wilderness, to seek his son Ishmael, for he heard that he was dwelling in a +tent in the wilderness with all belonging to him. And Abraham went to the +wilderness, and he reached the tent of Ishmael about noon, and he asked after +him. He found the wife of Ishmael sitting in the tent with her children, and +her husband and his mother were not with them. And Abraham asked the wife of +Ishmael, saying, "Where has Ishmael gone?" And she said, "He has gone to the +field to hunt game." And Abraham was still mounted upon the camel, for he would +not alight upon the ground, as he had sworn to his wife Sarah that he would not +get off from the camel. And Abraham said to Ishmael's wife, "My daughter, give +me a little water, that I may drink, for I am fatigued and tired from the +journey." And Ishmael's wife answered, and said to Abraham, "We have neither +water nor bread," and she was sitting in the tent, and did not take any notice +of Abraham. She did not even ask him who he was. But all the while she was +beating her children in the tent, and she was cursing them, and she also cursed +her husband Ishmael, and spoke evil of him, and Abraham heard the words of +Ishmael's wife to her children, and it was an evil thing in his eyes. And +Abraham called to the woman to come out to him from the tent, and the woman +came out, and stood face to face with Abraham, while Abraham was still mounted +upon the camel. And Abraham said to Ishmael's wife, "When thy husband Ishmael +returns home, say these words to him: A very old man from the land of the +Philistines came hither to seek thee, and his appearance was thus and so, and +thus was his figure. I did not ask him who he was, and seeing thou wast not +here, he spoke unto me, and said, When Ishmael thy husband returns, tell him, +Thus did the man say, When thou comest home, put away this tent-pin which thou +hast placed here, and place another tent-pin in its stead." And Abraham +finished his instructions to the woman, and he turned and went off on the camel +homeward. And when Ishmael returned to the tent, he heard the words of his +wife, and he knew that it was his father, and that his wife had not honored +him. And Ishmael understood his father's words that he had spoken to his wife, +and he hearkened to the voice of his father, and he divorced his wife, and she +went away. And Ishmael afterward went to the land of Canaan, and he took +another wife, and he brought her to his tent, to the place where he dwelt. +</p> + +<p> +And at the end of three years, Abraham said, "I will go again and see Ishmael +my son, for I have not seen him for a long time." And he rode upon his camel, +and went to the wilderness, and he reached the tent of Ishmael about noon. And +he asked after Ishmael, and his wife came out of the tent, and she said, "He is +not here, my lord, for he has gone to hunt in the fields and feed the camels," +and the woman said to Abraham, "Turn in, my lord, into the tent, and eat a +morsel of bread, for thy soul must be wearied on account of the journey." And +Abraham said to her, "I will not stop, for I am in haste to continue my +journey, but give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty," and the woman +hastened and ran into the tent, and she brought out water and bread to Abraham, +which she placed before him, urging him to eat and drink, and he ate and drank, +and his heart was merry, and he blessed his son Ishmael. And he finished his +meal, and he blessed the Lord, and he said to Ishmael's wife: "When Ishmael +comes home, say these words to him: A very old man from the land of the +Philistines came hither, and asked after thee, and thou wast not here, and I +brought him out bread and water, and he ate and drank, and his heart was merry. +And he spoke these words to me, When Ishmael thy husband comes home, say unto +him, The tent-pin which thou hast is very good, do not put it away from the +tent." And Abraham finished commanding the woman, and he rode off to his home, +to the land of the Philistines, and when Ishmael came to his tent, his wife +went forth to meet him with joy and a cheerful heart, and she told him the +words of the old man. Ishmael knew that it was his father, and that his wife +had honored him, and he praised the Lord. And Ishmael then took his wife and +his children and his cattle and all belonging to him, and he journeyed from +there, and he went to his father in the land of the Philistines. And Abraham +related to Ishmael all that had happened between him and the first wife that +Ishmael had taken, according to what she had done. And Ishmael and his children +dwelt with Abraham many days in that land, and Abraham dwelt in the land of the +Philistines a long time.[218] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap76"></a>THE COVENANT WITH ABIMELECH</h3> + +<p> +After a sojourn of twenty-six years in the land of the Philistines, Abraham +departed thence, and he settled in the neighborhood of Hebron. There he was +visited by Abimelech with twenty of his grandees,[219] who requested him to +make an alliance with the Philistines. +</p> + +<p> +As long as Abraham was childless, the heathen did not believe in his piety, but +when Isaac was born, they said to him, "God is with thee." But again they +entertained doubt of his piety when he cast off Ishmael. They said, "Were he a +righteous man, he would not drive his first-born forth from his house." But +when they observed the impious deeds of Ishmael, they said, "God is with thee +in all thou doest." That Abraham was the favorite of God, they saw in this, +too, that although Sodom was destroyed and all traffic had come to a standstill +in that region, yet Abraham's treasure chambers were filled. For these reasons, +the Philistines sought to form an alliance with him, to remain in force for +three generations to come, for it is to the third generation that the love of a +father extends. +</p> + +<p> +Before Abraham concluded the covenant with Abimelech, king of the Philistines, +he reproved him on account of a well, for "Correction leads to love," and +"There is no peace without correction." The herdmen of Abraham and those of +Abimelech had left their dispute about the well to decision by ordeal: the well +was to belong to the party for whose sheep the waters would rise so that they +could drink of them. But the shepherds of Abimelech disregarded the agreement, +and they wrested the well for their own use.[220] As a witness and a perpetual +sign that the well belonged to him, Abraham set aside seven sheep, +corresponding to the seven Noachian laws binding upon all men alike.[221] But +God said, "Thou didst give him seven sheep. As thou livest, the Philistines +shall one day slay seven righteous men, Samson, Hophni, Phinehas, and Saul with +his three sons, and they will destroy seven holy places, and they will keep the +holy Ark in their country as booty of war for a period of seven months, and +furthermore only the seventh generation of thy descendants will be able to +rejoice in the possession of the land promised to them."[222] After concluding +the alliance with Abimelech, who acknowledged Abraham's right upon the well, +Abraham called the place Beer-sheba, because there they swore both of them unto +a covenant of friendship. +</p> + +<p> +In Beer-sheba Abraham dwelt many years, and thence he endeavored to spread the +law of God. He planted a large grove there, and he made four gates for it, +facing the four sides of the earth, east, west, north, and south, and he +planted a vineyard therein. If a traveller came that way, he entered by the +gate that faced him, and he sat in the grove, and ate, and drank, until he was +satisfied, and then he departed. For the house of Abraham was always open for +all passers-by, and they came daily to eat and drink there. If one was hungry, +and he came to Abraham, he would give him what he needed, so that he might eat +and drink and be satisfied; and if one was naked, and he came to Abraham, he +would clothe him with the garments of the poor man's choice, and give him +silver and gold, and make known to him the Lord, who had created him and set +him on earth.[223] After the wayfarers had eaten, they were in the habit of +thanking Abraham for his kind entertainment of them, whereto he would reply: +"What, ye give thanks unto me! Rather return thanks to your host, He who alone +provides food and drink for all creatures." Then the people would ask, "Where +is He?" and Abraham would answer them, and say: "He is the Ruler of heaven and +earth. He woundeth and He healeth, He formeth the embryo in the womb of the +mother and bringeth it forth into the world, He causeth the plants and the +trees to grow, He killeth and He maketh alive, He bringeth down to Sheol and +bringeth up." When the people heard such words, they would ask, "How shall we +return thanks to God and manifest our gratitude unto Him?" And Abraham would +instruct them in these words: "Say, Blessed be the Lord who is blessed! Blessed +be He that giveth bread and food unto all flesh!" In this manner did Abraham +teach those who had enjoyed his hospitality how to praise and thank God.[224] +Abraham's house thus became not only a lodging-place for the hungry and +thirsty, but also a place of instruction where the knowledge of God and His law +were taught.[225] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap77"></a>SATAN ACCUSES ABRAHAM</h3> + +<p> +In spite of the lavish hospitality practiced in the house of Abraham, it +happened once that a poor man, or rather an alleged poor man, was turned away +empty-handed, and this was the immediate reason for the last of Abraham's +temptations, the sacrifice of his favorite son Isaac. It was the day on which +Abraham celebrated the birth of Isaac with a great banquet, to which all the +magnates of the time were bidden with their wives. Satan, who always appears at +a feast in which no poor people participate, and keeps aloof from those to +which poor guests are invited, turned up at Abraham's banquet in the guise of a +beggar asking alms at the door. He had noticed that Abraham had invited no poor +man, and he knew that his house was the right place for him. +</p> + +<p> +Abraham was occupied with the entertainment of his distinguished guests, and +Sarah was endeavoring to convince their wives, the matrons, that Isaac was her +child in very truth, and not a spurious child. No one concerned himself about +the beggar at the door, who thereupon accused Abraham before God.[226] +</p> + +<p> +Now, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the +Lord, and Satan came also among them.[227] And the Lord said unto Satan, "From +whence comest thou?" and Satan answered the Lord, and said, "From going to and +fro on the earth, and from walking up and down in it." And the Lord said unto +Satan, "What hast thou to say concerning all the children of the earth?" and +Satan answered the Lord, and said: "I have seen all the children of the earth +serving Thee and remembering Thee, when they require aught from Thee. And when +Thou givest them what they require from Thee, then they forsake Thee, and they +remember Thee no more. Hast Thou seen Abraham, the son of Terah, who at first +had no children, and he served Thee and erected altars to Thee wherever he +came, and he brought offerings upon them, and he proclaimed Thy name +continually to all the children of the earth? And now his son Isaac is born to +him, he has forsaken Thee. He made a great feast for all the inhabitants of the +land, and the Lord he has forgotten. For amidst all that he has done, he +brought Thee no offering, neither burnt offering nor peace offering, neither +one lamb nor goat of all that he had killed in the day that his son was weaned. +Even from the time of his son's birth till now, being thirty-seven years, he +built no altar before Thee, nor brought up any offering to Thee, for he saw +that Thou didst give what he requested before Thee, and he therefore forsook +Thee." And the Lord said to Satan: "Hast thou considered My servant Abraham? +For there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man before Me +for a burnt offering, and that feareth God and escheweth evil. As I live, were +I to say unto him, Bring up Isaac thy son before Me, he would not withhold him +from Me, much less if I told him to bring up a burnt offering before Me from +his flocks or herds." And Satan answered the Lord, and said, "Speak now unto +Abraham as Thou hast said, and Thou wilt see whether he will not transgress and +cast aside Thy words this day."[228] +</p> + +<p> +God wished to try Isaac also. Ishmael once boasted to Isaac, saying, "I was +thirteen years old when the Lord spoke to my father to circumcise us, and I did +not transgress His word, which He commanded my father." And Isaac answered +Ishmael, saying, "What dost thou boast to me about this, about a little bit of +thy flesh which thou didst take from thy body, concerning which the Lord +commanded thee? As the Lord liveth, the God of my father Abraham, if the Lord +should say unto my father, Take now thy son Isaac and bring him up as an +offering before Me, I would not refrain, but I would joyfully accede to it." +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap78"></a>THE JOURNEY TO MORIAH</h3> + +<p> +And the Lord thought to try Abraham and Isaac in this matter.[229] And He said +to Abraham, "Take now thy son." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "I have two sons, and I do not know which of them Thou commandest me +to take." +</p> + +<p> +God: "Thine only son." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "The one is the only son of his mother, and the other is the only son +of his mother." +</p> + +<p> +God: "Whom thou lovest." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "I love this one and I love that one." +</p> + +<p> +God: "Even Isaac."[230] +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "And where shall I go?" +</p> + +<p> +God: "To the land I will show thee, and offer Isaac there for a burnt +offering." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "Am I fit to perform the sacrifice, am I a priest? Ought not rather +the high priest Shem to do it?" +</p> + +<p> +God: "When thou wilt arrive at that place, I will consecrate thee and make thee +a priest."[231] +</p> + +<p> +And Abraham said within himself, "How shall I separate my son Isaac from Sarah +his mother?" And he came into the tent, and he sate before Sarah his wife, and +he spake these words to her: "My son Isaac is grown up, and he has not yet +studied the service of God. Now, to-morrow I will go and bring him to Shem and +Eber his son, and there he will learn the ways of the Lord, for they will teach +him to know the Lord, and to know how to pray unto the Lord that He may answer +him, and to know the way of serving the Lord his God." And Sarah said, "Thou +hast spoken well. Go, my lord, and do unto him as thou hast said, but remove +him not far from me, neither let him remain there too long, for my soul is +bound within his soul." And Abraham said unto Sarah, "My daughter, let us pray +to the Lord our God that He may do good with us." And Sarah took her son Isaac, +and he abode with her all that night, and she kissed and embraced him, and she +laid injunctions upon him till morning, and she said to Abraham: "O my lord, I +pray thee, take heed of thy son, and place thine eyes over him, for I have no +other son nor daughter but him. O neglect him not. If he be hungry, give him +bread, and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink; do not let him go on +foot, neither let him sit in the sun, neither let him go by himself on the +road, neither turn him from whatever he may desire, but do unto him as he may +say to thee." +</p> + +<p> +After spending the whole night in weeping on account of Isaac, she got up in +the morning and selected a very fine and beautiful garment from those that +Abimelech had given to her. And she dressed Isaac therewith, and she put a +turban upon his head, and she fastened a precious stone in the top of the +turban, and she gave them provisions for the road. And Sarah went out with +them, and she accompanied them upon the road to see them off, and they said to +her, "Return to the tent." And when Sarah heard the words of her son Isaac, she +wept bitterly, and Abraham wept with her, and their son wept with them, a great +weeping, also those of their servants who went with them wept greatly. And +Sarah caught hold of Isaac, and she held him in her arms, and she embraced him, +and continued to weep with him, and Sarah said, "Who knoweth if I shall ever +see thee again after this day?" +</p> + +<p> +Abraham departed with Isaac amid great weeping, while Sarah and the servants +returned to the tent.[232] He took two of his young men with him, Ishmael and +Eliezer, and while they were walking in the road, the young men spoke these +words to each other. Said Ishmael to Eliezer: "Now my father Abraham is going +with Isaac to bring him up for a burnt offering to the Lord, and when he +returneth, he will give unto me all that he possesses, to inherit after him, +for I am his first-born." Eliezer answered: "Surely, Abraham did cast thee off +with thy mother, and swear that thou shouldst not inherit anything of all he +possesses. And to whom will he give all that he has, all his precious things, +but unto his servant, who has been faithful in his house, to me, who have +served him night and day, and have done all that he desired me?" The holy +spirit answered, "Neither this one nor that one will inherit Abraham."[233] +</p> + +<p> +And while Abraham and Isaac were proceeding along the road, Satan came and +appeared to Abraham in the figure of a very aged man, humble and of contrite +spirit, and said to him: "Art thou silly or foolish, that thou goest to do this +thing to thine only son? God gave thee a son in thy latter days, in thine old +age, and wilt thou go and slaughter him, who did not commit any violence, and +wilt thou cause the soul of thine only son to perish from the earth? Dost thou +not know and understand that this thing cannot be from the Lord? For the Lord +would not do unto man such evil, to command him, Go and slaughter thy son." +Abraham, hearing these words, knew that it was Satan, who endeavored to turn +him astray from the way of the Lord, and he rebuked him that he went away. And +Satan returned and came to Isaac, and he appeared unto him in the figure of a +young man, comely and well-favored, saying unto him: "Dost thou not know that +thy silly old father bringeth thee to the slaughter this day for naught? Now, +my son, do not listen to him, for he is a silly old man, and let not thy +precious soul and beautiful figure be lost from the earth." And Isaac told +these words to his father, but Abraham said to him, "Take heed of him, and do +not listen to his words, for he is Satan endeavoring to lead us astray from the +commands of our God." And Abraham rebuked Satan again, and Satan went from +them, and, seeing he could not prevail over them, he transformed himself into a +large brook of water in the road, and when Abraham, Isaac, and the two young +men reached that place, they saw a brook large and powerful as the mighty +waters. And they entered the brook, trying to pass it, but the further they +went, the deeper the brook, so that the water reached up to their necks, and +they were all terrified on account of the water. But Abraham recognized the +place, and he knew that there had been no water there before, and he said to +his son: "I know this place, on which there was no brook nor water. Now, +surely, it is Satan who doth all this to us, to draw us aside this day from the +commands of God." And Abraham rebuked Satan, saying unto him: "The Lord rebuke +thee, O Satan. Begone from us, for we go by the command of God." And Satan was +terri fied at the voice of Abraham, and he went away from them, and the place +became dry land again as it was at first. And Abraham went with Isaac toward +the place that God had told him.[234] +</p> + +<p> +Satan then appeared unto Sarah in the figure of an old man, and said unto her, +"Where did thine husband go?" She said, "To his work." "And where did thy son +Isaac go?" he inquired further, and she answered, "He went with his father to a +place of study of the Torah." Satan said: "O thou poor old woman, thy teeth +will be set on edge on account of thy son, as thou knowest not that Abraham +took his son with him on the road to sacrifice him." In this hour Sarah's loins +trembled, and all her limbs shook. She was no more of this world. Nevertheless +she aroused herself, and said, "All that God hath told Abraham, may he do it +unto life and unto peace."[235] +</p> + +<p> +On the third day of his journey, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place +at a distance, which God had told him. He noticed upon the mountain a pillar of +fire reaching from the earth to heaven, and a heavy cloud in which the glory of +God was seen. Abraham said to Isaac, "My son, dost thou see on that mountain +which we perceive at a distance that which I see upon it?" And Isaac answered, +and said unto his father, "I see, and, lo, a pillar of fire and a cloud, and +the glory of the Lord is seen upon the cloud." Abraham knew then that Isaac was +accepted before the Lord for an offering. He asked Ishmael and Eliezer, "Do you +also see that which we see upon the mountain?" They answered, "We see nothing +more than like the other mountains," and Abraham knew that they were not +accepted before the Lord to go with them.[236] Abraham said to them, "Abide ye +here with the ass, you are like the ass—as little as it sees, so little do you +see.[237] I and Isaac my son go to yonder mount, and worship there before the +Lord, and this eve we will return to you."[238] An unconscious prophecy had +come to Abraham, for he prophesied that he and Isaac would both return from the +mountain.[239] Eliezer and Ishmael remained in that place, as Abraham had +commanded, while he and Isaac went further. +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap79"></a>THE 'AKEDAH</h3> + +<p> +And while they were walking along, Isaac spake unto his father, "Behold, the +fire and the wood, but where then is the lamb for a burnt offering before the +Lord?" And Abraham answered Isaac, saying, "The Lord hath chosen thee, my son, +for a perfect burnt offering, instead of the lamb." And Isaac said unto his +father, "I will do all that the Lord hath spoken to thee with joy and +cheerfulness of heart." And Abraham again said unto Isaac his son, "Is there in +thy heart any thought or counsel concerning this which is not proper? Tell me, +my son, I pray thee! O my son, conceal it not from me." And Isaac answered, "As +the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is nothing in my heart to cause +me to deviate either to the right or the left from the word that He hath spoken +unto thee. Neither limb nor muscle hath moved or stirred on account of this, +nor is there in my heart any thought or evil counsel concerning this. But I am +joyful and cheerful of heart in this matter, and I say, Blessed is the Lord who +has this day chosen me to be a burnt offering before Him." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham greatly rejoiced at the words of Isaac, and they went on and came +together to that place that the Lord had spoken of.[240] And Abraham approached +to build the altar in that place, and Abraham did build, while Isaac handed him +stones and mortar, until they finished erecting the altar. And Abraham took the +wood and arranged it upon the altar, and he bound Isaac, to place him upon the +wood which was upon the altar, to slay him for a burnt offering before the +Lord.[241] Isaac spake hereupon: "Father, make haste, bare thine arm, and bind +my hands and feet securely, for I am a young man, but thirty-seven years of +age, and thou art an old man. When I behold the slaughtering knife in thy hand, +I may perchance begin to tremble at the sight and push against thee, for the +desire unto life is bold. Also I may do myself an injury and make myself unfit +to be sacrificed. I adjure thee, therefore, my father, make haste, execute the +will of thy Creator, delay not. Turn up thy garment, gird thy loins, and after +that thou hast slaughtered me, burn me unto fine ashes. Then gather the ashes, +and bring them to Sarah, my mother, and place them in a casket in her chamber. +At all hours, whenever she enters her chamber, she will remember her son Isaac +and weep for him." +</p> + +<p> +And again Isaac spoke: "As soon as thou hast slaughtered me, and hast separated +thyself from me, and returnest to Sarah my mother, and she asketh thee, Where +is my son Isaac? what wilt thou answer her, and what will you two do in your +old age?" Abraham answered, and said, "We know we can survive thee by a few +days only. He who was our Comfort before thou wast born, will comfort us now +and henceforth." +</p> + +<p> +After he had laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac on the altar, upon the +wood, Abraham braced his arms, rolled up his garments, and leaned his knees +upon Isaac with all his strength. And God, sitting upon His throne, high and +exalted, saw how the hearts of the two were the same, and tears were rolling +down from the eyes of Abraham upon Isaac, and from Isaac down upon the wood, so +that it was submerged in tears. When Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took +the knife to slay his son, God spoke to the angels: "Do you see how Abraham my +friend proclaims the unity of My Name in the world? Had I hearkened unto you at +the time of the creation of the world, when ye spake, What is man, that Thou +art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him? who would there +have been to make known the unity of My Name in this world?" The angels then +broke into loud weeping, and they exclaimed: "The highways lie waste, the +wayfaring man ceaseth, he hath broken the covenant. Where is the reward of +Abraham, he who took the wayfarers into his house, gave them food and drink, +and went with them to bring them on the way? The covenant is broken, whereof +Thou didst speak to him, saying, 'For in Isaac shall thy seed be called,' and +saying, 'My covenant will I establish with Isaac,' for the slaughtering knife +is set upon his throat." +</p> + +<p> +The tears of the angels fell upon the knife, so that it could not cut Isaac's +throat, but from terror his soul escaped from him. Then God spoke to the +archangel Michael, and said: "Why standest thou here? Let him not be +slaughtered." Without delay, Michael, anguish in his voice, cried out: +"Abraham! Abraham! Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing +unto him!" Abraham made answer, and he said: "God did command me to slaughter +Isaac, and thou dost command me not to slaughter him! The words of the Teacher +and the words of the disciple—unto whose words doth one hearken?"[242] Then +Abraham heard it said: "By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, because thou +hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in +blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the +stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed +shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in thy seed shall all the nations of +the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed My voice." +</p> + +<p> +At once Abraham left off from Isaac, who returned to life, revived by the +heavenly voice admonishing Abraham not to slaughter his son. Abraham loosed his +bonds, and Isaac stood upon his feet, and spoke the benediction, "Blessed art +Thou, O Lord, who quickenest the dead."[243] +</p> + +<p> +Then spake Abraham to God, "Shall I go hence without having offered up a +sacrifice?" Whereunto God replied, and said, "Lift up thine eyes, and behold +the sacrifice behind thee."[244] And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and, behold, +behind him a ram caught in the thicket, which God had created in the twilight +of Sabbath eve in the week of creation, and prepared since then as a burnt +offering instead of Isaac. And the ram had been running toward Abraham, when +Satan caught hold of him and entangled his horns in the thicket, that he might +not advance to Abraham. And Abraham, seeing this, fetched him from the thicket, +and brought him upon the altar as an offering in the place of his son Isaac. +And Abraham sprinkled the blood of the ram upon the altar, and he exclaimed, +and said, "This is instead of my son, and may this be considered as the blood +of my son before the Lord." And whatsoever Abraham did by the altar, he +exclaimed, and said, "This is instead of my son, and may it be considered +before the Lord in place of my son." And God accepted the sacrifice of the ram, +and it was accounted as though it had been Isaac.[245] +</p> + +<p> +As the creation of this ram had been extraordinary, so also was the use to +which all parts of his carcass were put. Not one thing went to waste. The ashes +of the parts burnt upon the altar formed the foundation of the inner altar, +whereon the expiatory sacrifice was brought once a year, on the Day of +Atonement, the day on which the offering of Isaac took place. Of the sinews of +the ram, David made ten strings for his harp upon which he played. The skin +served Elijah for his girdle, and of his two horns, the one was blown at the +end of the revelation on Mount Sinai, and the other will be used to proclaim +the end of the Exile, when the "great horn shall be blown, and they shall come +which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and they that were outcasts +in the land of Egypt, and they shall worship the Lord in the holy mountain at +Jerusalem."[246] +</p> + +<p> +When God commanded the father to desist from sacrificing Isaac, Abraham said: +"One man tempts another, because he knoweth not what is in the heart of his +neighbor. But Thou surely didst know that I was ready to sacrifice my son!" +</p> + +<p> +God: "It was manifest to Me, and I foreknew it, that thou wouldst withhold not +even thy soul from Me." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "And why, then, didst Thou afflict me thus?" +</p> + +<p> +God: "It was My wish that the world should become acquainted with thee, and +should know that it is not without good reason that I have chosen thee from all +the nations. Now it hath been witnessed unto men that thou fearest God."[247] +</p> + +<p> +Hereupon God opened the heavens, and Abraham heard the words, "By Myself I +swear!" +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "Thou swearest, and also I swear, I will not leave this altar until I +have said what I have to say." +</p> + +<p> +God: "Speak whatsoever thou hast to speak!" +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "Didst Thou not promise me Thou wouldst let one come forth out of mine +own bowels, whose seed should fill the whole world?" +</p> + +<p> +God: "Yes." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "Whom didst Thou mean?" +</p> + +<p> +God: "Isaac." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "Didst Thou not promise me to make my seed as numerous as the sand of +the sea-shore?" +</p> + +<p> +God: "Yes." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "Through which one of my children?" +</p> + +<p> +God: "Through Isaac." +</p> + +<p> +Abraham: "I might have reproached Thee, and said, O Lord of the world, +yesterday Thou didst tell me, In Isaac shall Thy seed be called, and now Thou +sayest, Take thy son, thine only son, even Isaac, and offer him for a burnt +offering. But I refrained myself, and I said nothing. Thus mayest Thou, when +the children of Isaac commit trespasses and because of them fall upon evil +times, be mindful of the offering of their father Isaac, and forgive their sins +and deliver them from their suffering." +</p> + +<p> +God: "Thou hast said what thou hadst to say, and I will now say what I have to +say. Thy children will sin before me in time to come, and I will sit in +judgment upon them on the New Year's Day. If they desire that I should grant +them pardon, they shall blow the ram's horn on that day, and I, mindful of the +ram that was substituted for Isaac as a sacrifice, will forgive them for their +sins."[248] +</p> + +<p> +Furthermore, the Lord revealed unto Abraham that the Temple, to be erected on +the spot of Isaac's offering, would be destroyed,[249] and as the ram +substituted for Isaac extricated himself from one tree but to be caught in +another, so his children would pass from kingdom to kingdom—delivered from +Babylonia they would be subjugated by Media, rescued from Media they would be +enslaved by Greece, escaped from Greece they would serve Rome—yet in the end +they would be redeemed in a final redemption, at the sound of the ram's horn, +when "the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the +south."[250] +</p> + +<p> +The place on which Abraham had erected the altar was the same whereon Adam had +brought the first sacrifice, and Cain and Abel had offered their gifts to +God—the same whereon Noah raised an altar to God after he left the ark;[251] +and Abraham, who knew that it was the place appointed for the Temple, called it +Yireh, for it would be the abiding place of the fear and the service of +God.[252] But as Shem had given it the name Shalem, Place of Peace, and God +would not give offence to either Abraham or Shem, He united the two names, and +called the city by the name Jerusalem.[253] +</p> + +<p> +After the sacrifice on Mount Moriah, Abraham returned to Beer-sheba, the scene +of so many of his joys.[254] Isaac was carried to Paradise by angels, and there +he sojourned for three years. Thus Abraham returned home alone, and when Sarah +beheld him, she exclaimed, "Satan spoke truth when he said that Isaac was +sacrificed," and so grieved was her soul that it fled from her body.[255] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap80"></a>THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF SARAH</h3> + +<p> +While Abraham was engaged in the sacrifice, Satan went to Sarah, and appeared +to her in the figure of an old man, very humble and meek, and said to her: +"Dost thou not know all that Abraham has done unto thine only son this day? He +took Isaac, and built an altar, slaughtered him, and brought him up as a +sacrifice. Isaac cried and wept before his father, but he looked not at him, +neither did he have compassion upon him." After saying these words to Sarah, +Satan went away from her, and she thought him to be an old man from amongst the +sons of men who had been with her son. Sarah lifted up her voice, and cried +bitterly, saying: "O my son, Isaac, my son, O that I had this day died instead +of thee I It grieves me for thee! After that I have reared thee and have +brought thee up, my joy is turned into mourning over thee. In my longing for a +child, I cried and prayed, till I bore thee at ninety. Now hast thou served +this day for the knife and the fire. But I console myself, it being the word of +God, and thou didst perform the command of thy God, for who can transgress the +word of our God, in whose hands is the soul of every living creature? Thou art +just, O Lord our God, for all Thy works are good and righteous, for I also +rejoice with the word which Thou didst command, and while mine eye weepeth +bitterly, my heart rejoiceth." And Sarah laid her head upon the bosom of one of +her handmaids, and she became as still as a stone. +</p> + +<p> +She rose up afterward and went about making inquiries concerning her son, till +she came to Hebron, and no one could tell her what had happened to her son. Her +servants went to seek him in the house of Shem and Eber, and they could not +find him, and they sought throughout the land, and he was not there. And, +behold, Satan came to Sarah in the shape of an old man, and said unto her, "I +spoke falsely unto thee, for Abraham did not kill his son, and he is not dead," +and when she heard the word, her joy was so exceedingly violent that her soul +went out through joy. +</p> + +<p> +When Abraham with Isaac returned to Beer-sheba, they sought for Sarah and could +not find her, and when they made inquiries concerning her, they were told that +she had gone as far as Hebron to seek them. Abraham and Isaac went to her to +Hebron, and when they found that she was dead, they cried bitterly over her, +and Isaac said: "O my mother, my mother, how hast thou left me, and whither +hast thou gone? O whither hast thou gone, and how hast thou left me?" And +Abraham and all his servants wept and mourned over her a great and heavy +mourning, even that Abraham did not pray, but spent his time in mourning and +weeping over Sarah.[257] And, indeed, he had great reason to mourn his loss, +for even in her old age Sarah had retained the beauty of her youth and the +innocence of her childhood.[258] +</p> + +<p> +The death of Sarah was a loss not only for Abraham and his family, but for the +whole country. So long as she was alive, all went well in the land. After her +death confusion ensued. The weeping, lamenting, and wailing over her going +hence was universal, and Abraham, instead of receiving consolation, had to +offer consolation to others. He spoke to the mourning people, and said: "My +children, take not the going hence of Sarah too much to heart. There is one +event unto all, to the pious and the impious alike. I pray you now, give me a +burying-place with you, not as a gift, but for money."[259] +</p> + +<p> +In these last few words Abraham's unassuming modesty was expressed. God had +promised him the whole land, yet when he came to bury his dead, he had to pay +for the grave, and it did not enter his heart to cast aspersions upon the ways +of God. In all humility he spake to the people of Hebron, saying, "I am a +stranger and a sojourner with you." Therefore spake God to him, and said, "Thou +didst bear thyself modestly. As thou livest, I will appoint thee lord and +prince over them."[260] +</p> + +<p> +To the people themselves he appeared an angel, and they answered his words, +saying: "Thou art a prince of God among us. In the choice of our sepulchres +bury thy dead, among the rich if thou wilt, or among the poor if thou +wilt."[261] +</p> + +<p> +Abraham first of all gave thanks to God for the friendly feeling shown to him +by the children of Heth, and then he continued his negotiations for the Cave of +Machpelah.[262] He had long known the peculiar value of this spot. Adam had +chosen it as a burial-place for himself. He had feared his body might be used +for idolatrous purposes after his death; he therefore designated the Cave of +Machpelah as the place of his burial, and in the depths his corpse was laid, so +that none might find it.[263] When he interred Eve there, he wanted to dig +deeper, because he scented the sweet fragrance of Paradise, near the entrance +to which it lay, but a heavenly voice called to him, Enough! Adam himself was +buried there by Seth, and until the time of Abraham the place was guarded by +angels, who kept a fire burning near it perpetually, so that none dared +approach it and bury his dead therein.[264] Now, it happened on the day when +Abraham received the angels in his house, and he wanted to slaughter an ox for +their entertainment, that the ox ran away, and in his pursuit of him Abraham +entered the Cave of Machpelah. There he saw Adam and Eve stretched out upon +couches, candles burning at the head of their resting-places, while a sweet +scent pervaded the cave. +</p> + +<p> +Therefore Abraham wished to acquire the Cave of Machpelah from the children of +Heth, the inhabitants of the city of Jebus. They said to him. "We know that in +time to come God will give these lands unto thy seed, and now do thou swear a +covenant with us that Israel shall not wrest the city of Jebus from its +inhabitants without their consent." Abraham agreed to the condition, and he +acquired the field from Ephron, in whose possession it lay.[265] +</p> + +<p> +This happened the very day on which Ephron had been made the chief of the +children of Heth, and he had been raised to the position so that Abraham might +not have to have dealings with a man of low rank. It was of advantage to +Abraham, too, for Ephron at first refused to sell his field, and only the +threat of the children of Heth to depose him from his office, unless he +fulfilled the desire of Abraham, could induce him to change his +disposition.[266] +</p> + +<p> +Dissembling deceitfully, Ephron then offered to give Abraham the field without +compensation, but when Abraham insisted upon paying for it, Ephron said: "My +lord, hearken unto me. A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, +what is that betwixt me and thee?" showing only too well that the money was of +the greatest consequence to him. Abraham understood his words, and when he came +to pay for the field, he weighed out the sum agreed upon between them in the +best of current coin.[267] A deed, signed by four witnesses, was drawn up, and +the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, the field, and the cave which was +therein, were made sure unto Abraham and his descendants for all times. +</p> + +<p> +The burial of Sarah then took place, amid great magnificence and the sympathy +of all. Shem and his son Eber, Abimelech king of the Philistines, Aner, Eshcol, +and Mamre, as well as all the great of the land, followed her bier. A seven +days' mourning was kept for her, and all the inhabitants of the land came to +condole with Abraham and Isaac.[268] +</p> + +<p> +When Abraham entered the cave to place the body of Sarah within, Adam and Eve +refused to remain there, "because," they said, "as it is, we are ashamed in the +presence of God on account of the sin we committed, and now we shall be even +more ashamed on account of your good deeds." Abraham soothed Adam. He promised +to pray to God for him, that the need for shame be removed from him. Adam +resumed his place, and Abraham entombed Sarah, and at the same time he carried +Eve, resisting, back to her place.[269] +</p> + +<p> +One year after the death of Sarah, Abimelech king of the Philistines died, too, +at the age of one hundred and ninety-three years. His successor upon the throne +was his twelve-year old son Benmelek, who took the name of his father after his +accession. Abraham did not fail to pay a visit of condolence at the court of +Abimelech. +</p> + +<p> +Lot also died about this time, at the age of one hundred and forty-two. His +sons, Moab and Ammon, both married Canaanitish wives. Moab begot a son, and +Ammon had six sons, and the descendants of both were numerous exceedingly. +</p> + +<p> +Abraham suffered a severe loss at the same time in the death of his brother +Nahor, whose days ended at Haran, when he had reached the age of one hundred +and seventy two years.[270] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap81"></a>ELIEZER'S MISSION</h3> + +<p> +The death of Sarah dealt Abraham a blow from which he did not recover. So long +as she was alive, he felt himself young and vigorous, but after she had passed +away, old age suddenly overtook him.[271] It was he himself who made the plea +that age be betrayed by suitable signs and tokens. Before the time of Abraham +an old man was not distinguishable externally from a young man, and as Isaac +was the image of his father, it happened frequently that father and son were +mistaken for each other, and a request meant for the one was preferred to the +other. Abraham prayed therefore that old age might have marks to distinguish it +from youth, and God granted his petition, and since the time of Abraham the +appearance of men changes in old age. This is one of the seven great wonders +that have occurred in the course of history.[272] +</p> + +<p> +The blessing of God did not forsake Abraham in old age, either. That it might +not be said it had been granted to him only for the sake of Sarah, God +prospered him after her death, too. Hagar bore him a daughter, and Ishmael +repented of his evil ways and subordinated himself to Isaac. And as Abraham +enjoyed undisturbed happiness in his family, so also outside, in the world. The +kings of the east and the west eagerly besieged the door of his house in order +to derive benefit from his wisdom. From his neck a precious stone was +suspended, which possessed the power of healing the sick who looked upon it. On +the death of Abraham, God attached it to the wheel of the sun. The greatest +blessing enjoyed by him, and by none beside except his son Isaac and Jacob the +son of Isaac, was that the evil inclination had no power over him, so that in +this life he had a foretaste of the future world.[273] +</p> + +<p> +But all these Divine blessings showered upon Abraham were not undeserved. He +was clean of hand, and pure of heart, one that did not lift up his soul unto +vanity.[274] +</p> + +<p> +He fulfilled all the commands that were revealed later, even the Rabbinical +injunctions, as, for instance, the one relating to the limits of a Sabbath +day's journey, wherefor his reward was that God disclosed to him the new +teachings which He expounded daily in the heavenly academy.[275] +</p> + +<p> +But one thing lacked to complete the happiness of Abraham, the marriage of +Isaac. He therefore called his old servant Eliezer unto himself. Eliezer +resembled his master not only externally, in his appearance, but also +spiritually. Like Abraham he possessed full power over the evil +inclination,[276] and like the master, the servant was an adept in the +law.[277] Abraham spake the following words to Eliezer: "I am stricken in age, +and I know not the day of my death. Therefore prepare thyself, and go unto my +country, and to my kindred, and fetch hither a wife for my son."[278] Thus he +spake by reason of the resolution he had taken immediately after the sacrifice +of Isaac on Moriah, for he had there said within himself, that if the sacrifice +had been executed, Isaac would have gone hence childless. He was even ready to +choose a wife for his son from among the daughters of his three friends, Aner, +Eshcol, and Mamre, because he knew them to be pious, and he did not attach much +importance to aristocratic stock. Then spake God to him, and said: "Concern +thyself not about a wife for Isaac.[279] One has already been provided for +him," and it was made known to Abraham that Milcah, the wife of his brother +Nahor, childless until the birth of Isaac, had then been remembered by God and +made fruitful. She bore Bethuel, and he in turn, at the time of Isaac's +sacrifice, begot the daughter destined to be the wife of Isaac.[280] +</p> + +<p> +Mindful of the proverb, "Even if the wheat of thine own place be darnel, use it +for seed," Abraham determined to take a wife for Isaac from his own family. He +argued that as any wife he chose would have to become a proselyte, it would be +best to use his own stock, which had the first claim upon him.[281] +</p> + +<p> +Eliezer now said to his master: "Peradventure no woman will be willing to +follow me unto this land. May I then marry my own daughter to Isaac?" "No," +replied Abraham, "thou art of the accursed race, and my son is of the blessed +race, and curse and blessing cannot be united.[282] But beware thou that thou +bring not my son again unto the land from whence I came, for if thou broughtest +him thither again, it were as though thou tookest him to hell. God who sets the +heavens in motion, He will set this matter right, too,[283] and He that took me +from my father's house, and that spake unto me, and that swore unto me in +Haran, and at the covenant of the pieces, that He would give this land unto my +seed, He shall send His excellent angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife +for my son from thence." Eliezer then swore to his master concerning the +matter, and Abraham made him take the oath by the sign of the covenant.[284] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap82"></a>THE WOOING OF REBEKAH</h3> + +<p> +Attended by ten men,[285] mounted upon ten camels laden with jewels and +trinkets, Eliezer betook himself to Haran under the convoy of two angels, the +one appointed to keep guard over Eliezer, the other over Rebekah.[286] +</p> + +<p> +The journey to Haran took but a few hours, at evening of the same day he +reached there, because the earth hastened to meet him in a wonderful way.[287] +He made a halt at the well of water, and he prayed to God to permit him to +distinguish the wife appointed for Isaac among the damsels that came to draw +water, by this token, that she alone, and not the others, would give him +drink.[288] Strictly speaking, this wish of his was unseemly, for suppose a +bondwoman had given him water to drink![289] But God granted his request. All +the damsels said they could not give him of their water, because they had to +take it home. Then appeared Rebekah, coming to the well contrary to her wont, +for she was the daughter of a king, Bethuel her father being king of Haran. +When Eliezer addressed his request for water to drink to this young innocent +child, not only was she ready to do his bidding, but she rebuked the other +maidens on account of their discourtesy to a stranger.[290] Eliezer noticed, +too, how the water rose up to her of its own accord from the bottom of the +well, so that she needed not to exert herself to draw it. Having scrutinized +her carefully, he felt certain that she was the wife chosen for Isaac. He gave +her a nose ring, wherein was set a precious stone, half a shekel in weight, +foreshadowing the half-shekel which her descendants would once bring to the +sanctuary year by year. He gave her also two bracelets for her hands, of ten +shekels weight in gold, in token of the two tables of stone and the Ten +Commandments upon them.[291] +</p> + +<p> +When Rebekah, bearing the jewels, came to her mother and to her brother Laban, +this one hastened to Eliezer in order to slay him and take possession of his +goods. Laban soon learnt that he would not be able to do much harm to a giant +like Eliezer. He met him at the moment when Eliezer seized two camels and bore +them across the stream.[292] Besides, on account of Eliezer's close resemblance +to Abraham, Laban thought he saw Abraham before him, and he said: "Come in, +thou blessed of the Lord! It is not becoming that thou shouldst stand without, +I have cleansed my house of idols."[293] +</p> + +<p> +But when Eliezer arrived at the house of Bethuel, they tried to kill him with +cunning. They set poisoned food before him. Luckily, he refused to eat before +he had discharged himself of his errand. While he was telling his story, it was +ordained by God that the dish intended for him should come to stand in front of +Bethuel, who ate of it and died.[294] +</p> + +<p> +Eliezer showed the document he had in which Abraham deeded all his possessions +to Isaac, and he made it known to the kindred of Abraham, how deeply attached +to them his master was, in spite of the long years of separation.[295] Yet he +let them know at the same time that Abraham was not dependent wholly upon them. +He might seek a wife for his son among the daughters of Ishmael or Lot. At +first the kindred of Abraham consented to let Rebekah go with Eliezer, but as +Bethuel had died in the meantime, they did not want to give Rebekah in marriage +without consulting her. Besides, they deemed it proper that she should remain +at home at least during the week of mourning for her father.[296] But Eliezer, +seeing the angel wait for him, would brook no delay, and he said, "The man who +came with me and prospered my way, waits for me without," and as Rebekah +professed herself ready to go at once with Eliezer, her mother and brother +granted her wish and dismissed her with their blessings.[297] But their +blessings did not come from the bottom of their hearts. Indeed, as a rule, the +blessing of the impious is a curse, wherefore Rebekah remained barren for +years. +</p> + +<p> +Eliezer's return to Canaan was as wonderful as his going to Haran had been. A +seventeen days' journey he accomplished in three hours. He left Haran at noon, +and he arrived at Hebron[299] at three o'clock in the afternoon, the time for +the Minhah Prayer, which had been introduced by Isaac. He was in the posture of +praying when Rebekah first laid eyes upon him, wherefore she asked Eliezer what +man this was. She saw he was not an ordinary individual. She noticed the +unusual beauty of Isaac, and also that an angel accompanied him. Thus her +question was not dictated by mere curiosity.[300] At this moment she learnt +through the holy spirit, that she was destined to be the mother of the godless +Esau. Terror seized her at the knowledge, and, trembling, she fell from the +camel and inflicted an injury upon herself.[301] +</p> + +<p> +After Isaac had heard the wonderful adventures of Eliezer, he took Rebekah to +the tent of his mother Sarah, and she showed herself worthy to be her +successor. The cloud appeared again that had been visible over the tent during +the life of Sarah, and had vanished at her death; the light shone again in the +tent of Rebekah that Sarah had kindled at the coming in of the Sabbath, and +that had burnt miraculously throughout the week; the blessing returned with +Rebekah that had hovered over the dough kneaded by Sarah; and the gates of the +tent were opened for the needy, wide and spacious, as they had been during the +lifetime of Sarah.[302] +</p> + +<p> +For three years Isaac had mourned for his mother, and he could find no +consolation in the academy of Shem and Eber, his abiding-place during that +period. But Rebekah comforted him after his mother's death,[303] for she was +the counterpart of Sarah in person and in spirit.[304] +</p> + +<p> +As a reward for having executed to his full satisfaction the mission with which +he had charged him, Abraham set his bondman free.[305] The curse resting upon +Eliezer, as upon all the descendants of Canaan, was transformed into a +blessing, because he ministered unto Abraham loyally.[306] Greatest reward of +all, God found him worthy of entering Paradise alive, a distinction that fell +to the lot of very few.[307] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap83"></a>THE LAST YEARS OF ABRAHAM</h3> + +<p> +Rebekah first saw Isaac as he was coming from the way of Beer-lahai-roi, the +dwelling-place of Hagar, whither he had gone after the death of his mother, for +the purpose of reuniting his father with Hagar,[308] or, as she is also called, +Keturah.[309] +</p> + +<p> +Hagar bore him six sons, who, however, did scant honor to their father, for +they all were idolaters.[310] Abraham, therefore, during his own lifetime, sent +them away from the presence of Isaac, that they might not be singed by Isaac's +flame, and gave them the instruction to journey eastward as far as +possible.[311] There he built a city for them, surrounded by an iron wall, so +high that the sun could not shine into the city. But Abraham provided them with +huge gems and pearls, their lustre more brilliant than the light of the sun, +which will be used in the Messianic time when "the moon shall be confounded and +the sun ashamed."[312] Also Abraham taught them the black art, wherewith they +held sway over demons and spirits. It is from this city in the east that Laban, +Balaam, and Balaam's father Beor derived their sorceries.[313] +</p> + +<p> +Epher, one of the grandsons of Abraham and Keturah, invaded Lybia with an armed +force, and took possession of the country. From this Epher the whole land of +Africa has its name.[314] Aram is also a country made habitable by a kinsman of +Abraham. In his old age Terah contracted a new marriage with Pelilah, and from +this union sprang a son Zoba, who was the father in turn of three sons. The +oldest of these, Aram, was exceedingly rich and powerful, and the old home in +Haran sufficed not for him and his kinsmen, the sons of Nahor, the brother of +Abraham. Aram and his brethren and all that belonged to him therefore departed +from Haran, and they settled in a vale, and they built themselves a city there +which they called Aram-Zoba, to perpetuate the name of the father and his +first-born son. Another Aram, Aram-naharaim, on the Euphrates, was built by +Aram son of Kemuel, a nephew of Abraham. Its real name was Petor, after the son +of Aram, but it is better known as Aram-naharaim. The descendants of Kesed, +another nephew of Abraham, a son of his brother Nahor, established themselves +opposite to Shinar, where they founded the city of Kesed, the city whence the +Chaldees are called Kasdim.[315] +</p> + +<p> +Though Abraham knew full well that Isaac deserved his paternal blessing beyond +all his sons, yet he withheld it from him, that no hostile feelings be aroused +among his descendants. He spake, and said: "I am but flesh and blood, here +to-day, to-morrow in the grave. What I was able to do for my children I have +done. Henceforth let come what God desires to do in His world," and it happened +that immediately after the death of Abraham God Himself appeared unto Isaac, +and gave him His blessing.[316] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap84"></a>A HERALD OF DEATH</h3> + +<p> +When the day of the death of Abraham drew near, the Lord said to Michael, +"Arise and go to Abraham and say to him, Thou shalt depart from life!" so that +he might set his house in order before he died. And Michael went and came to +Abraham and found him sitting before his oxen for ploughing. Abraham, seeing +Michael, but not knowing who he was, saluted him and said to him, "Sit down a +little while, and I will order a beast to be brought, and we will go to my +house, that thou mayest rest with me, for it is toward evening, and arise in +the morning and go whithersoever thou wilt." And Abraham called one of his +servants, and said to him: "Go and bring me a beast, that the stranger may sit +upon it, for he is wearied with his journey." But Michael said, "I abstain from +ever sitting upon any fourfooted beast, let us walk therefore, till we reach +the house." +</p> + +<p> +On their way to the house they passed a huge tree, and Abraham heard a voice +from its branches, singing, "Holy art thou, because thou hast kept the purpose +for which thou wast sent." Abraham hid the mystery in his heart, thinking that +the stranger did not hear it. Arrived at his house, he ordered the servants to +prepare a meal, and while they were busy with their work, he called his son +Isaac, and said to him, "Arise and put water in the vessel, that we may wash +the feet of the stranger." And he brought it as he was commanded, and Abraham +said, "I perceive that in this basin I shall never again wash the feet of any +man coming to us as a guest." Hearing this, Isaac began to weep, and Abraham, +seeing his son weep, also wept, and Michael, seeing them weep, wept also, and +the tears of Michael fell into the water, and became precious stones. +</p> + +<p> +Before sitting down to the table, Michael arose, went out for a moment, as if +to ease nature, and ascended to heaven in the twinkling of an eye, and stood +before the Lord, and said to Him: "Lord and Master, let Thy power know that I +am unable to remind that righteous man of his death, for I have not seen upon +the earth a man like him, compassionate, hospitable, righteous, truthful, +devout, refraining from every evil deed." Then the Lord said to Michael, "Go +down to My friend Abraham, and whatever he may say to thee, that do thou also, +and whatever he may eat, eat thou also with him, and I will cast the thought of +the death of Abraham into the heart of Isaac, his son, in a dream, and Isaac +will relate the dream, and thou shalt interpret it, and he himself will know +his end." And Michael said, "Lord, all the heavenly spirits are incorporeal, +and neither eat nor drink, and this man has set before me a table with an +abundance of all good things earthly and corruptible. Now, Lord, what shall I +do?" The Lord answered him, "Go down to him and take no thought for this, for +when thou sittest down with him, I will send upon thee a devouring spirit, and +it will consume out of thy hands and through thy mouth all that is on the +table." +</p> + +<p> +Then Michael went into the house of Abraham, and they ate and drank and were +merry. And when the supper was ended, Abraham prayed after his custom, and +Michael prayed with him, and each lay down to sleep upon his couch in one room, +while Isaac went to his chamber, lest he be troublesome to the guest. About the +seventh hour of the night, Isaac awoke and came to the door of his father's +chamber, crying out and saying, "Open, father, that I may touch thee before +they take thee away from me." And Abraham wept together with his son, and when +Michael saw them weep, he wept likewise. And Sarah, hearing the weeping, called +forth from her bedchamber, saying: "My lord Abraham, why this weeping? Has the +stranger told thee of thy brother's son Lot, that he is dead? or has aught +befallen us?" Michael answered, and said to her, "Nay, my sister Sarah, it is +not as thou sayest, but thy son Isaac, methinks, beheld a dream, and came to us +weeping, and we, seeing him, were moved in our hearts and wept." Sarah, hearing +Michael speak, knew straightway that it was an angel of the Lord, one of the +three angels whom they had entertained in their house once before, and +therefore she made a sign to Abraham to come out toward the door, to inform him +of what she knew. Abraham said: "Thou hast perceived well, for I, too, when I +washed his feet, knew in my heart that they were the feet that I had washed at +the oak of Mamre, and that went to save Lot." Abraham, returning to his +chamber, made Isaac relate his dream, which Michael interpreted to them, +saying: "Thy son Isaac has spoken truth, for thou shalt go and be taken up into +the heavens, but thy body shall remain on earth, until seven thousand ages are +fulfilled, for then all flesh shall arise. Now, therefore, Abraham, set thy +house in order, for thou wast heard what is decreed concerning thee." Abraham +answered, "Now I know thou art an angel of the Lord, and wast sent to take my +soul, but I will not go with thee, but do thou whatever thou art commanded." +Michael returned to heaven and told God of Abraham's refusal to obey his +summons, and he was again commanded to go down and admonish Abraham not to +rebel against God, who had bestowed many blessings upon him, and he reminded +him that no one who has come from Adam and Eve can escape death, and that God +in His great kindness toward him did not permit the sickle of death to meet +him, but sent His chief captain, Michael, to him. "Wherefore, then," he ended, +"hast thou said to the chief captain, I will not go with thee?" When Michael +delivered these exhortations to Abraham, he saw that it was futile to oppose +the will of God, and he consented to die, but wished to have one desire of his +fulfilled while still alive. He said to Michael: "I beseech thee, lord, if I +must depart from my body, I desire to be taken up in my body, that I may see +the creatures that the Lord has created in heaven and on earth." Michael went +up into heaven, and spake before the Lord concerning Abraham, and the Lord +answered Michael, "Go and take up Abraham in the body and show him all things, +and whatever he shall say to thee, do to him as to My friend." +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap85"></a>ABRAHAM VIEWS EARTH AND HEAVEN</h3> + +<p> +The archangel Michael went down, and took Abraham upon a chariot of the +cherubim, and lifted him up into the air of heaven, and led him upon the cloud, +together with sixty angels, and Abraham ascended upon the chariot over all the +earth, and saw all things that are below on the earth, both good and bad. +Looking down upon the earth, he saw a man committing adultery with a wedded +woman, and turning to Michael he said, "Send fire from heaven to consume them." +Straightway there came down fire and consumed them, for God had commanded +Michael to do whatsoever Abraham should ask him to do. He looked again, and he +saw thieves digging through a house, and Abraham said, "Let wild beasts come +out of the desert, and tear them in pieces," and immediately wild beasts came +out of the desert and devoured them. Again he looked down, and he saw people +preparing to commit murder, and he said, "Let the earth open and swallow them," +and, as he spoke, the earth swallowed them alive. Then God spoke to Michael: +"Turn away Abraham to his own house and let him not go round the whole earth, +because he has no compassion on sinners, but I have compassion on sinners, that +they may turn and live and repent of their sins, and be saved." +</p> + +<p> +So Michael turned the chariot, and brought Abraham to the place of judgment of +all souls. Here he saw two gates, the one broad and the other narrow, the +narrow gate that of the just, which leads to life, they that enter through it +go into Paradise. The broad gate is that of sinners, which leads to destruction +and eternal punishment. Then Abraham wept, saying, "Woe is me, what shall I do? +for I am a man big of body, and how shall I be able to enter by the narrow +gate?" Michael answered, and said to Abraham, "Fear not, nor grieve, for thou +shalt enter by it unhindered, and all they who are like thee." Abraham, +perceiving that a soul was adjudged to be set in the midst, asked Michael the +reason for it, and Michael answered, "Because the judge found its sins and its +righteousness equal, he neither committed it to judgment nor to be saved." +Abraham said to Michael, "Let us pray for this soul, and see whether God will +hear us," and when they rose up from their prayer, Michael informed Abraham +that the soul was saved by the prayer, and was taken by an angel and carried up +to Paradise. Abraham said to Michael, "Let us yet call upon the Lord and +supplicate His compassion and entreat His mercy for the souls of the sinners +whom I formerly, in my anger, cursed and destroyed, whom the earth devoured, +and the wild beasts tore in pieces, and the fire consumed, through my words. +Now I know that I have sinned before the Lord our God." +</p> + +<p> +After the joint prayer of the archangel and Abraham, there came a voice from +heaven, saying, "Abraham, Abraham, I have hearkened to thy voice and thy +prayer, and I forgive thee thy sin, and those whom thou thinkest that I +destroyed, I have called up and brought them into life by My exceeding +kindness, because for a season I have requited them in judgment, and those whom +I destroy living upon earth, I will not requite in death." +</p> + +<p> +When Michael brought Abraham back to his house, they found Sarah dead. Not +seeing what had become of Abraham, she was consumed with grief and gave up her +soul. Though Michael had fulfilled Abraham's wish, and had shown him all the +earth and the judgment and recompense, he still refused to surrender his soul +to Michael, and the archangel again ascended to heaven, and said unto the Lord: +"Thus speaks Abraham, I will not go with thee, and I refrain from laying my +hands on him, because from the beginning he was Thy friend, and he has done all +things pleasing in Thy sight. There is no man like him on earth, not even Job, +the wondrous man." But when the day of the death of Abraham drew nigh, God +commanded Michael to adorn Death with great beauty and send him thus to +Abraham, that he might see him with his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +While sitting under the oak of Mamre, Abraham perceived a flashing of light and +a smell of sweet odor, and turning around he saw Death coming toward him in +great glory and beauty. And Death said unto Abraham: "Think not, Abraham, that +this beauty is mine, or that I come thus to every man. Nay, but if any one is +righteous like thee, I thus take a crown and come to him, but if he is a +sinner, I come in great corruption, and out of their sins I make a crown for my +head, and I shake them with great fear, so that they are dismayed." Abraham +said to him, "And art thou, indeed, he that is called Death?" He answered, and +said, "I am the bitter name," but Abraham answered, "I will not go with thee." +And Abraham said to Death, "Show us thy corruption." And Death revealed his +corruption, showing two heads, the one had the face of a serpent, the other +head was like a sword. All the servants of Abraham, looking at the fierce mien +of Death, died, but Abraham prayed to the Lord, and he raised them up. As the +looks of Death were not able to cause Abraham's soul to depart from him, God +removed the soul of Abraham as in a dream, and the archangel Michael took it up +into heaven. After great praise and glory had been given to the Lord by the +angels who brought Abraham's soul, and after Abraham bowed down to worship, +then came the voice of God, saying thus: "Take My friend Abraham into Paradise, +where are the tabernacles of My righteous ones and the abodes of My saints +Isaac and Jacob in his bosom, where there is no trouble, nor grief, nor +sighing, but peace and rejoicing and life unending."[317] +</p> + +<p> +Abraham's activity did not cease with his death, and as he interceded in this +world for the sinners, so will he intercede for them in the world to come. On +the day of judgment he will sit at the gate of hell, and he will not suffer +those who kept the law of circumcision to enter therein.[318] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap86"></a>THE PATRON OF HEBRON</h3> + +<p> +Once upon a time some Jews lived in Hebron, few in number, but pious and good, +and particularly hospitable. When strangers came to the Cave of Machpelah to +pray there, the inhabitants of the place fairly quarrelled with each other for +the privilege of entertaining the guests, and the one who carried off the +victory rejoiced as though he had found great spoil. +</p> + +<p> +On the eve of the Day of Atonement, it appeared that, in spite of all their +efforts, the dwellers at Hebron could not secure the tenth man needed for +public Divine service, and they feared they would have none on the holy day. +Toward evening, when the sun was about to sink, they descried an old man with +silver white beard, bearing a sack upon his shoulder, his raiment tattered, and +his feet badly swollen from much walking. They ran to meet him, took him to one +of the houses, gave him food and drink, and, after supplying him with new white +garments, they all together went to the synagogue for worship. Asked what his +name was, the stranger replied, Abraham. +</p> + +<p> +At the end of the fast, the residents of Hebron cast lots for the privilege of +entertaining the guest. Fortune favored the beadle, who, the envy of the rest, +bore his guest away to his house. On the way, he suddenly disappeared, and the +beadle could not find him anywhere. In vain all the Jews of the place went on a +quest for him. Their sleepless night, spent in searching, had no result. The +stranger could not be found. But no sooner had the beadle lain down, toward +morning, weary and anxious, to snatch some sleep, than he saw the lost guest +before him, his face luminous as lightning, and his garments magnificent and +studded with gems radiant as the sun. Before the beadle, stunned by fright, +could open his mouth, the stranger spake, and said: "I am Abraham the Hebrew, +your ancestor, who rests here in the Cave of Machpelah. When I saw how grieved +you were at not having the number of men prescribed for a public service, I +came forth to you. Have no fear! Rejoice and be merry of heart!"[319] +</p> + +<p> +On another occasion Abraham granted his assistance to the people of Hebron. The +lord of the city was a heartless man, who oppressed the Jews sorely. One day he +commanded them to pay a large sum of money into his coffers, the whole sum in +uniform coins, all stamped with the same year. It was but a pretext to kill the +Jews. He knew that his demand was impossible of fulfilment. +</p> + +<p> +The Jews proclaimed a fast and day of public prayer, on which to supplicate God +that He turn aside the sword suspended above them. The night following, the +beadle in a dream saw an awe-inspiring old man, who addressed him in the +following words: "Up, quickly! Hasten to the gate of the court, where lies the +money you need. I am your father Abraham. I have beheld the affliction +wherewith the Gentiles oppress you, but God has heard your groans." In great +terror the beadle arose, but he saw no one, yet he went to the spot designated +by the vision, and he found the money and took it to the congregation, telling +his dream at the same time. Amazed, they counted the gold, precisely the amount +required of them by the prince, no more and no less. They surrendered the sum +to him, and he who had considered compliance with his demand impossible, +recognized now that God is with the Jews, and thenceforth they found favor in +his eyes.[320] +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="book06"></a>VI<br/> +JACOB</h2> + +<h3><a name="chap87"></a>THE BIRTH OF ESAU AND JACOB</h3> + +<p> +Isaac was the counterpart of his father in body and soul. He resembled him in +every particular—"in beauty, wisdom, strength, wealth, and noble deeds."[1] It +was, therefore, as great an honor for Isaac to be called the son of his father +as for Abraham to be called the father of his son, and though Abraham was the +progenitor of thirty nations, he is always designated as the father of +Isaac.[2] +</p> + +<p> +Despite his many excellent qualities, Isaac married late in life. God permitted +him to meet the wife suitable to him only after he had successfully disproved +the mocking charges of Ishmael, who was in the habit of taunting him with +having been circumcised at the early age of eight days, while Ishmael had +submitted himself voluntarily to the operation when he was thirteen years old. +For this reason God demanded Isaac as a sacrifice when he had attained to full +manhood, at the age of thirty-seven, and Isaac was ready to give up his life. +Ishmael's jibes were thus robbed of their sting, and Isaac was permitted to +marry. But another delay occurred before his marriage could take place. +Directly after the sacrifice on Mount Moriah, his mother died, and he mourned +her for three years.[3] Finally he married Rebekah, who was then a maiden of +fourteen.[4] +</p> + +<p> +Rebekah was "a rose between thorns." Her father was the Aramean Bethuel, and +her brother was Laban, but she did not walk in their ways.[5] Her piety was +equal to Isaac's.[6] Nevertheless their marriage was not entirely happy, for +they lived together no less than twenty years without begetting children.[7] +Rebekah besought her husband to entreat God for the gift of children, as his +father Abraham had done. At first Isaac would not do her bidding. God had +promised Abraham a numerous progeny, and he thought their childlessness was +probably Rebekah's fault, and it was her duty to supplicate God, and not his. +But Rebekah would not desist, and husband and wife repaired to Mount Moriah +together to pray to God there. And Isaac said: "O Lord God of heaven and earth, +whose goodness and mercies fill the earth, Thou who didst take my father from +his father's house and from his birthplace, and didst bring him unto this land, +and didst say unto him, To thee and thy seed will I give the land, and didst +promise him and declare unto him, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of +heaven and as the sand of the sea, now may Thy words be verified which Thou +didst speak unto my father. For Thou art the Lord our God, our eyes are toward +Thee, to give us seed of men as Thou didst promise us, for Thou art the Lord +our God, and our eyes are upon Thee."[8] Isaac prayed furthermore that all +children destined for him might be born unto him from this pious wife of his, +and Rebekah made the same petition regarding her husband Isaac and the children +destined for her. +</p> + +<p> +Their united prayer was heard.[9] Yet it was chiefly for the sake of Isaac that +God gave them children. It is true, Rebekah's piety equalled her husband's, but +the prayer of a pious man who is the son of a pious man is far more efficacious +than the prayer of one who, though pious himself, is descended from a godless +father. +</p> + +<p> +The prayer wrought a great miracle, for Isaac's physique was such that he could +not have been expected to beget children, and equally it was not in the course +of nature that Rebekah should bear children.[10] +</p> + +<p> +When Rebekah had been pregnant seven months,[11] she began to wish that the +curse of childlessness had not been removed from her.[12] She suffered +torturous pain, because her twin sons began their lifelong quarrels in her +womb. They strove to kill each other. If Rebekah walked in the vicinity of a +temple erected to idols, Esau moved in her body, and if she passed a synagogue +or a Bet ha-Midrash, Jacob essayed to break forth from her womb.[13] The +quarrels of the children turned upon such differences as these. Esau would +insist that there was no life except the earthly life of material pleasures, +and Jacob would reply: "My brother, there are two worlds before us, this world +and the world to come. In this world, men eat and drink, and traffic and marry, +and bring up sons and daughters, but all this does not take place in the world +to come. If it please thee, do thou take this world, and I will take the +other."[14] Esau had Samael as his ally, who desired to slay Jacob in his +mother's womb. But the archangel Michael hastened to Jacob's aid. He tried to +burn Samael, and the Lord saw it was necessary to constitute a heavenly court +for the purpose of arbitrating the case of Michael and Samael.[15] Even the +quarrel between the two brothers regarding the birthright had its beginning +before they emerged from the womb of their mother. Each desired to be the first +to come into the world. It was only when Esau threatened to carry his point at +the expense of his mother's life that Jacob gave way.[16] +</p> + +<p> +Rebekah asked other women whether they, too, had suffered such pain during +their pregnancy, and when they told her they had not heard of a case like hers, +except the pregnancy of Nimrod's mother, she betook herself to Mount Moriah, +whereon Shem and Eber had their Bet ha-Midrash. She requested them as well as +Abraham to inquire of God what the cause of her dire suffering was.[17] And +Shem replied: "My daughter, I confide a secret to thee. See to it that none +finds it out. Two nations are in thy womb, and how should thy body contain +them, seeing that the whole world will not be large enough for them to exist in +it together peaceably? Two nations they are, each owning a world of its own, +the one the Torah, the other sin. From the one will spring Solomon, the builder +of the Temple, from the other Vespasian, the destroyer thereof. These two are +what are needed to raise the number of nations to seventy. They will never be +in the same estate. Esau will vaunt lords, while Jacob will bring forth +prophets, and if Esau has princes, Jacob will have kings.[18] They, Israel and +Rome, are the two nations destined to be hated by all the world.[19] One will +exceed the other in strength. First Esau will subjugate the whole world, but in +the end Jacob will rule over all.[20] The older of the two will serve the +younger, provided this one is pure of heart, otherwise the younger will be +enslaved by the older."[21] +</p> + +<p> +The circumstances connected with the birth of her twin sons were as remarkable +as those during the period of Rebekah's pregnancy. Esau was the first to see +the light, and with him all impurity came from the womb;[22] Jacob was born +clean and sweet of body. Esau was brought forth with hair, beard, and teeth, +both front and back,[23] and he was blood-red, a sign of his future sanguinary +nature.[24] On account of his ruddy appearance he remained uncircumcised. +Isaac, his father, feared that it was due to poor circulation of the blood, and +he hesitated to perform the circumcision. He decided to wait until Esau should +attain his thirteenth year, the age at which Ishmael had received the sign of +the covenant. But when Esau grew up, he refused to give heed to his father's +wish, and so he was left uncircumcised.[25] The opposite of his brother in this +as in all respects, Jacob was born with the sign of the covenant upon his body, +a rare distinction.[26] But Esau also bore a mark upon him at birth, the figure +of a serpent, the symbol of all that is wicked and hated of God.[27] +</p> + +<p> +The names conferred upon the brothers are pregnant with meaning. The older was +called Esau, because he was 'Asui, fully developed when he was born, and the +name of the younger was given to him by God, to point to some important events +in the future of Israel by the numerical value of each letter. The first letter +in Ya'akob, Yod, with the value of ten, stands for the decalogue; the second, +'Ayin, equal to seventy, for the seventy elders, the leaders of Israel; the +third, Kof, a hundred, for the Temple, a hundred ells in height; and the last, +Bet, for the two tables of stone.[28] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap88"></a>THE FAVORITE OF ABRAHAM</h3> + +<p> +While Esau and Jacob were little, their characters could not be judged +properly. They were like the myrtle and the thorn-bush, which look alike in the +early stages of their growth. After they have attained full size, the myrtle is +known by its fragrance, and the thorn-bush by its thorns. +</p> + +<p> +In their childhood, both brothers went to school, but when they reached their +thirteenth year, and were of age, their ways parted. Jacob continued his +studies in the Bet ha Midrash of Shem and Eber, and Esau abandoned himself to +idolatry and an immoral life.[29] Both were hunters of men, Esau tried to +capture them in order to turn them away from God, and Jacob, to turn them +toward God.[30] In spite of his impious deeds, Esau possessed the art of +winning his father's love. His hypocritical conduct made Isaac believe that his +first-born son was extremely pious. "Father," he would ask Isaac, "what is the +tithe on straw and salt?" The question made him appear God-fearing in the eyes +of his father, because these two products are the very ones that are exempt +from tithing.[31] Isaac failed to notice, too, that his older son gave him +forbidden food to eat. What he took for the flesh of young goats was dog's +meat.[32] +</p> + +<p> +Rebekah was more clear-sighted. She knew her sons as they really were, and +therefore her love for Jacob was exceeding great. The oftener she heard his +voice, the deeper grew her affection for him.[33] Abraham agreed with her. He +also loved his grandson Jacob, for he knew that in him his name and his seed +would be called. And he said unto Rebekah, "My daughter, watch over my son +Jacob, for he shall be in my stead on the earth and for a blessing in the midst +of the children of men, and for the glory of the whole seed of Shem." Having +admonished Rebekah thus to keep guard over Jacob, who was destined to be the +bearer of the blessing given to Abraham by God, he called for his grandson, and +in the presence of Rebekah he blessed him, and said: "Jacob, my beloved son, +whom my soul loveth, may God bless thee from above the firmament, and may He +give thee all the blessing wherewith He blessed Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, and +Shem, and all the things of which He told me, and all the things which He +promised to give me may He cause to cleave to thee and to thy seed forever, +according to the days of the heavens above the earth. And the spirit of Mastema +shall not rule over thee or over thy seed, to turn thee from the Lord, who is +thy God from henceforth and forever. And may the Lord God be a father to thee, +and mayest thou be His first-born son, and may He be a father to thy people +always. Go in peace, my son."[34] +</p> + +<p> +And Abraham had good reason to be particularly fond of Jacob, for it was due to +the merits of his grandson that he had been rescued from the fiery furnace.[35] +</p> + +<p> +Isaac and Rebekah, knowing of Abraham's love for their young son, sent their +father a meal by Jacob on the last Feast of Pentecost which Abraham was +permitted to celebrate on earth, that he might eat and bless the Creator of all +things before he died. Abraham knew that his end was approaching, and he +thanked the Lord for all the good He had granted him during the days of his +life, and blessed Jacob and bade him walk in the ways of the Lord, and +especially he was not to marry a daughter of the Canaanites. Then Abraham +prepared for death. He placed two of Jacob's fingers upon his eyes, and thus +holding them closed he fell into his eternal sleep, while Jacob lay beside him +on the bed. The lad did not know of his grandfather's death, until he called +him, on awakening next morning, "Father, father," and received no answer.[36] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap89"></a>THE SALE OF THE BIRTHRIGHT</h3> + +<p> +Though Abraham reached a good old age, beyond the limit of years vouchsafed +later generations, he yet died five years before his allotted time. The +intention was to let him live to be one hundred and eighty years old, the same +age as Isaac's at his death, but on account of Esau God brought his life to an +abrupt close. For some time Esau had been pursuing his evil inclinations in +secret. Finally he dropped his mask, and on the day of Abraham's death he was +guilty of five crimes: he ravished a betrothed maiden, committed murder, +doubted the resurrection of the dead, scorned the birthright, and denied God. +Then the Lord said: "I promised Abraham that he should go to his fathers in +peace. Can I now permit him to be a witness of his grandson's rebellion against +God, his violation of the laws of chastity, and his shedding of blood? It is +better for him to die now in peace."[37] +</p> + +<p> +The men slain by Esau on this day were Nimrod and two of his adjutants. A +long-standing feud had existed between Esau and Nimrod, because the mighty +hunter before the Lord was jealous of Esau, who also devoted himself +assiduously to the chase. Once when he was hunting it happened that Nimrod was +separated from his people, only two men were with him. Esau, who lay in ambush, +noticed his isolation, and waited until he should pass his covert. Then he +threw himself upon Nimrod suddenly, and felled him and his two companions, who +hastened to his succor. The outcries of the latter brought the attendants of +Nimrod to the spot where he lay dead, but not before Esau had stripped him of +his garments, and fled to the city with them.[38] +</p> + +<p> +These garments of Nimrod had an extraordinary effect upon cattle, beasts, and +birds. Of their own accord they would come and prostrate themselves before him +who was arrayed in them. Thus Nimrod and Esau after him were able to rule over +men and beasts.[39] +</p> + +<p> +After slaying Nimrod, Esau hastened cityward in great fear of his victim's +followers. Tired and exhausted he arrived at home to find Jacob busy preparing +a dish of lentils. Numerous male and female slaves were in Isaac's household. +Nevertheless Jacob was so simple and modest in his demeanor that, if he came +home late from the Bet ha-Midrash, he would disturb none to prepare his meal, +but would do it himself.[40] On this occasion he was cooking lentils for his +father, to serve to him as his mourner's meal after the death of Abraham. Adam +and Eve had eaten lentils after the murder of Abel, and so had the parents of +Haran, when he perished in the fiery furnace. The reason they are used for the +mourner's meal is that the round lentil symbolizes death: as the lentil rolls, +so death, sorrow, and mourning constantly roll about among men, from one to the +other.[41] +</p> + +<p> +Esau accosted Jacob thus, "Why art thou preparing lentils?" +</p> + +<p> +Jacob: "Because our grandfather passed away; they shall be a sign of my grief +and mourning, that he may love me in the days to come." +</p> + +<p> +Esau: "Thou fool! Dost thou really think it possible that man should come to +life again after he has been dead and has mouldered in the grave?"[42] He +continued to taunt Jacob. "Why dost thou give thyself so much trouble?" he +said. "Lift up thine eyes, and thou wilt see that all men eat whatever comes to +hand—fish, creeping and crawling creatures, swine's flesh, and all sorts of +things like these, and thou vexest thyself about a dish of lentils." +</p> + +<p> +Jacob: "If we act like other men, what shall we do on the day of the Lord, the +day on which the pious will receive their reward, when a herald will proclaim: +Where is He that weigheth the deeds of men, where is He that counteth?" +</p> + +<p> +Esau: "Is there a future world? Or will the dead be called back to life? If it +were so, why hath not Adam returned? Hast thou heard that Noah, through whom +the world was raised anew, hath reappeared? Yea, Abraham, the friend of God, +more beloved of Him than any man, hath he come to life again?" +</p> + +<p> +Jacob: "If thou art of opinion that there is no future world, and that the dead +do not rise to new life, then why dost thou want thy birthright? Sell it to me, +now, while it is yet possible to do so. Once the Torah is revealed, it cannot +be done. Verily, there is a future world, in which the righteous receive their +reward. I tell thee this, lest thou say later I deceived thee."[43] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob was little concerned about the double share of the inheritance that went +with the birthright. What he thought of was the priestly service, which was the +prerogative of the first-born in ancient times, and Jacob was loth to have his +impious brother Esau play the priest, he who despised all Divine service.[44] +</p> + +<p> +The scorn manifested by Esau for the resurrection of the dead he felt also for +the promise of God to give the Holy Land to the seed of Abraham. He did not +believe in it, and therefore he was willing to cede his birthright and the +blessing attached thereto in exchange for a mess of pottage.[45] In addition, +Jacob paid him in coin,[46] and, besides, he gave him what was more than money, +the wonderful sword of Methuselah, which Isaac had inherited from Abraham and +bestowed upon Jacob.[47] +</p> + +<p> +Esau made game of Jacob. He invited his associates to feast at his brother's +table, saying, "Know ye what I did to this Jacob? I ate his lentils, drank his +wine, amused myself at his expense, and sold my birthright to him." All that +Jacob replied was, "Eat and may it do thee good!" But the Lord said, "Thou +despisest the birthright, therefore I shall make thee despised in all +generations." And by way of punishment for denying God and the resurrection of +the dead, the descendants of Esau were cut off from the world.[48] +</p> + +<p> +As naught was holy to Esau, Jacob made him swear, concerning the birthright, by +the life of their father, for he knew Esau's love for Isaac, that it was +strong.[49] Nor did he fail to have a document made out, duly signed by +witnesses, setting forth that Esau had sold him the birthright together with +his claim upon a place in the Cave of Machpelah.[50] +</p> + +<p> +Though no blame can attach to Jacob for all this, yet he secured the birthright +from him by cunning, and therefore the descendants of Jacob had to serve the +descendants of Esau.[51] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap90"></a>ISAAC WITH THE PHILISTINES</h3> + +<p> +The life of Isaac was a faithful reflex of the life of his father. Abraham had +to leave his birthplace; so also Isaac. Abraham was exposed to the risk of +losing his wife; so also Isaac. The Philistines were envious of Abraham; so +also of Isaac. Abraham long remained childless; so also Isaac. Abraham begot +one pious son and one wicked son; so also Isaac. And, finally, as in the time +of Abraham, so also in the time of Isaac, a famine came upon the land.[52] +</p> + +<p> +At first Isaac intended to follow the example of his father and remove to +Egypt, but God appeared unto him, and spake: "Thou art a perfect sacrifice, +without a blemish, and as a burnt offering is made unfit if it is taken outside +of the sanctuary, so thou wouldst be profaned if thou shouldst happen outside +of the Holy Land. Remain in the land, and endeavor to cultivate it. In this +land dwells the Shekinah, and in days to come I will give unto thy children the +realms possessed by mighty rulers, first a part thereof, and the whole in the +Messianic time."[53] +</p> + +<p> +Isaac obeyed the command of God, and he settled in Gerar. When he noticed that +the inhabitants of the place began to have designs upon his wife, he followed +the example of Abraham, and pretended she was his sister.[54] The report of +Rebekah's beauty reached the king himself, but he was mindful of the great +danger to which he had once exposed himself on a similar occasion, and he left +Isaac and his wife unmolested.[55] After they had been in Gerar for three +months, Abimelech noticed that the manner of Isaac, who lived in the outer +court of the royal palace, was that of a husband toward Rebekah.[56] He called +him to account, saying, "It might have happened to the king himself to take the +woman thou didst call thy sister."[57] Indeed, Isaac lay under the suspicion of +having illicit intercourse with Rebekah, for at first the people of the place +would not believe that she was his wife. When Isaac persisted in his +statement,[58] Abimelech sent his grandees for them, ordered them to be arrayed +in royal vestments, and had it proclaimed before them, as they rode through the +city: "These two are man and wife. He that toucheth this man or his wife shall +surely be put to death." +</p> + +<p> +Thereafter the king invited Isaac to settle in his domains, and he assigned +fields and vineyards to him for cultivation, the best the land afforded.[59] +But Isaac was not self-interested. The tithe of all he possessed he gave to the +poor of Gerar. Thus he was the first to introduce the law of tithing for the +poor, as his father Abraham had been the first to separate the priests' portion +from his fortune.[60] Isaac was rewarded by abundant harvests; the land yielded +a hundred times more than was expected, though the soil was barren and the year +unfruitful. He grew so rich that people wished to have "the dung from Isaac's +she-mules rather than Abimelech's gold and silver."[61] But his wealth called +forth the envy of the Philistines, for it is characteristic of the wicked that +they begrudge their fellow-men the good, and rejoice when they see evil descend +upon them, and envy brings hatred in its wake, and so the Philistines first +envied Isaac, and then hated him. In their enmity toward him, they stopped the +wells which Abraham had had his servants dig. Thus they broke their covenant +with Abraham and were faithless, and they have only themselves to blame if they +were exterminated later on by the Israelites. +</p> + +<p> +Isaac departed from Gerar, and began to dig again the wells of water which they +had digged in the days of Abraham his father, and which the Philistines had +stopped. His reverence for his father was so great that he even restored the +names by which Abraham had called the wells. To reward him for his filial +respect, the Lord left the name of Isaac unchanged, while his father and his +son had to submit to new names.[62] +</p> + +<p> +After four attempts to secure water, Isaac was successful; he found the well of +water that followed the Patriarchs. Abraham had obtained it after three +diggings. Hence the name of the well, Beer-sheba, "the well of seven diggings," +the same well that will supply water to Jerusalem and its environs in the +Messianic time.[63] +</p> + +<p> +Isaac's success with his wells but served to increase the envy of the +Philistines, for he had come upon water in a most unlikely spot and, besides, +in a year of drouth. But "the Lord fulfils the desire of them that fear Him." +As Isaac executed the will of his Creator, so God accomplished his desire.[64] +And Abimelech, the king of Gerar, speedily came to see that God was on the side +of Isaac, for, to chastise him for having instigated Isaac's removal from +Gerar, his house was ravaged by robbers in the night, and he himself was +stricken with leprosy.[65] The wells of the Philistines ran dry as soon as +Isaac left Gerar, and also the trees failed to yield their fruit. None could be +in doubt but that these things were the castigation for their unkindness. +</p> + +<p> +Now Abimelech entreated his friends, especially the administrator of his +kingdom, to accompany him to Isaac and help him win back his friendship.[66] +Abimelech and the Philistines spake thus to Isaac: "We have convinced ourselves +that the Shekinah is with thee, and therefore we desire thee to renew the +covenant which thy father made with us, that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we +also did not touch thee." Isaac consented. It illustrates the character of the +Philistines strikingly that they took credit unto themselves for having done +him no hurt. It shows that they would have been glad to inflict harm upon him, +for "the soul of the wicked desireth evil." +</p> + +<p> +The place in which the covenant was made between Isaac and the Philistines was +called Shib'ah, for two reasons, because an oath was "sworn" there, and as a +memorial of the fact that even the heathen are bound to observe the "seven" +Noachian laws.[67] +</p> + +<p> +For all the wonders executed by God for Isaac, and all the good he enjoyed +throughout his life, he is indebted to the merits of his father. For his own +merits he will be rewarded in future.[68] On the great day of judgment it will +be Isaac who will redeem his descendants from Gehenna. On that day the Lord +will speak to Abraham, "Thy children have sinned," and Abraham will make reply, +"Then let them be wiped out, that Thy Name be sanctified." The Lord will turn +to Jacob, thinking that he who had suffered so much in bringing his sons to +manhood's estate would display more love for his posterity. But Jacob will give +the same answer as Abraham. Then God will say: "The old have no understanding, +and the young no counsel. I will now go to Isaac. Isaac," God will address him, +"thy children have sinned," and Isaac will reply: "O Lord of the world, sayest +Thou my children, and not THINE? When they stood at Mount Sinai and declared +themselves ready to execute all Thy bidding before even they heard it, Thou +didst call Israel 'My first-born,' and now they are MY children, and not THINE! +Let us consider. The years of a man are seventy. From these twenty are to be +deducted, for Thou inflictest no punishment upon those under twenty. Of the +fifty years that are left, one-half are to be deducted for the nights passed in +sleep. There remain only twenty-five years, and these are to be diminished by +twelve and a half, the time spent in praying, eating, and attending to other +needs in life, during which men commit no sins. That leaves only twelve years +and a half. If Thou wilt take these upon Thyself, well and good. If not, do +Thou take one-half thereof, and I will take the other half." The descendants of +Isaac will then say, "Verily, thou art our true father!" But he will point to +God, and admonish them, "Nay, give not your praises to me, but to God alone," +and Israel, with eyes directed heavenward, will say, "Thou, O Lord, art our +Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is Thy name."[69] +</p> + +<p> +It was Isaac, or, as he is sometimes called, Elihu the son of Barachel, who +revealed the wonderful mysteries of nature in his arguments with Job.[70] +</p> + +<p> +At the end of the years of famine, God appeared unto Isaac, and bade him return +to Canaan. Isaac did as he was commanded, and he settled in Hebron. At this +time he sent his younger son Jacob to the Bet ha-Midrash of Shem and Eber, to +study the law of the Lord. Jacob remained there thirty-two years. As for Esau, +he refused to learn, and he remained in the house of his father. The chase was +his only occupation, and as he pursued beasts, so he pursued men, seeking to +capture them with cunning and deceit. +</p> + +<p> +On one of his hunting expeditions, Esau came to Mount Seir, where he became +acquainted with Judith, of the family of Ham, and he took her unto himself as +his wife, and brought her to his father at Hebron. +</p> + +<p> +Ten years later, when Shem his teacher died, Jacob returned home, at the age of +fifty. Another six years passed, and Rebekah received the joyful news that her +sister-in-law 'Adinah, the wife of Laban, who, like all the women of his house, +had been childless until then, had given birth to twin daughters, Leah and +Rachel.[71] Rebekah, weary of her life on account of the woman chosen by her +older son, exhorted Jacob not to marry one of the daughters of Canaan, but a +maiden of the family of Abraham. He assured his mother that the words of +Abraham, bidding him to marry no woman of the Canaanites, were graven upon his +memory, and for this reason he was still unmarried, though he had attained the +age of sixty-two, and Esau had been urging him for twenty-two years past to +follow his example and wed a daughter of the people of the land in which they +lived. He had heard that his uncle Laban had daughters, and he was resolved to +choose one of them as his wife. Deeply moved by the words of her son, Rebekah +thanked him and gave praise unto God with the words: "Blessed be the Lord God, +and may His Holy Name be blessed for ever and ever, who hath given me Jacob as +a pure son and a holy seed; for he is Thine, and Thine shall his seed be +continually and throughout all the generations for evermore. Bless him, O Lord, +and place in my mouth the blessing of righteousness, that I may bless him." +</p> + +<p> +And when the spirit of the Lord came over her, she laid her hands upon the head +of Jacob and gave him her maternal blessing. It ended with the words, "May the +Lord of the world love thee, as the heart of thy affectionate mother rejoices +in thee, and may He bless thee."[72] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap91"></a>ISAAC BLESSES JACOB</h3> + +<p> +Esau's marriage with the daughters of the Canaanites was an abomination not +only in the eyes of his mother, but also in the eyes of his father. He suffered +even more than Rebekah through the idolatrous practices of his daughters +in-law. It is the nature of man to oppose less resistance than woman to +disagreeable circumstances. A bone is not harmed by a collision that would +shiver an earthen pot in pieces. Man, who is created out of the dust of the +ground, has not the endurance of woman formed out of bone. Isaac was made +prematurely old by the conduct of his daughters-in-law, and he lost the sight +of his eyes. Rebekah had been accustomed in the home of her childhood to the +incense burnt before idols, and she could therefore bear it under her own +roof-tree. Unlike her, Isaac had never had any such experience while he abode +with his parents, and he was stung by the smoke arising from the sacrifices +offered to their idols by his daughters-in-law in his own house.[73] Isaac's +eyes had suffered earlier in life, too. When he lay bound upon the altar, about +to be sacrificed by his father, the angels wept, and their tears fell upon his +eyes, and there they remained and weakened his sight. +</p> + +<p> +At the same time he had brought the scourge of blindness down upon himself by +his love for Esau. He justified the wicked for a bribe, the bribe of Esau's +filial love, and loss of vision is the punishment that follows the taking of +bribes. "A gift," it is said, "blinds the eyes of the wise." +</p> + +<p> +Nevertheless his blindness proved a benefit for Isaac as well as Jacob. In +consequence of his physical ailments, Isaac had to keep at home, and so he was +spared the pain of being pointed out by the people as the father of the wicked +Esau.[74] And, again, if his power of vision had been unimpaired, he would not +have blessed Jacob. As it was, God treated him as a physician treats a sick man +who is forbidden to drink wine, for which, however, he has a strong desire. To +placate him, the physician orders that warm water be given him in the dark, and +he be told that it is wine.[75] +</p> + +<p> +When Isaac reached the age of one hundred and twenty three, and was thus +approaching the years attained by his mother, he began to meditate upon his +end. It is proper that a man should prepare for death when he comes close to +the age at which either of his parents passed out of life. Isaac reflected that +he did not know whether the age allotted to him was his mother's or his +father's, and he therefore resolved to bestow his blessing upon his older son, +Esau, before death should overtake him.[76] He summoned Esau, and he said, "My +son," and Esau replied, "Here am I," but the holy spirit interposed: "Though he +disguises his voice and makes it sound sweet, put no confidence in him. There +are seven abominations in his heart. He will destroy seven holy places—the +Tabernacle, the sanctuaries at Gilgal, Shiloh, Nob, and Gibeon, and the first +and the second Temple." +</p> + +<p> +Gently though Esau continued to speak to his father, he yet longed for his end +to come.[77] But Isaac was stricken with spiritual as well as physical +blindness. The holy spirit deserted him, and he could not discern the +wickedness of his older son. He bade him sharpen his slaughtering knives and +beware of bringing him the flesh of an animal that had died of itself, or had +been torn by a beast, and he was to guard also against putting an animal before +Isaac that had been stolen from its rightful owner. "Then," continued Isaac, +"will I bless him who is worthy of being blessed."[78] +</p> + +<p> +This charge was laid upon Esau on the eve of the Passover, and Isaac said to +him: "To-night the whole world will sing the Hallel unto God. It is the night +when the storehouses of dew are unlocked. Therefore prepare dainties for me, +that my soul may bless thee before I die." But the holy spirit interposed, "Eat +not the bread of him that hath an evil eye."[79] Isaac's longing for tidbits +was due to his blindness. As the sightless cannot behold the food they eat, +they do not enjoy it with full relish, and their appetite must be tempted with +particularly palatable morsels. +</p> + +<p> +Esau sallied forth to procure what his father desired, little recking the +whence or how, whether by robbery or theft.[80] To hinder the quick execution +of his father's order, God sent Satan on the chase with Esau. He was to delay +him as long as possible. Esau would catch a deer and leave him lying bound, +while he pursued other game. Immediately Satan would come and liberate the +deer, and when Esau returned to the spot, his victim was not to be found. This +was repeated several times. Again and again the quarry was run down, and bound, +and liberated, so that Jacob was able meanwhile to carry out the plan of +Rebekah whereby he would be blessed instead of Esau. +</p> + +<p> +Though Rebekah had not heard the words that had passed between Isaac and Esau, +they nevertheless were revealed to her through the holy spirit,[81] and she +resolved to restrain her husband from taking a false step. She was not actuated +by love for Jacob, but by the wish of keeping Isaac from committing a +detestable act.[82] Rebekah said to Jacob: "This night the storehouses of dew +are unlocked; it is the night during which the celestial beings chant the +Hallel unto God, the night set apart for the deliverance of thy children from +Egypt, on which they, too, will sing the Hallel. Go now and prepare savory meat +for thy father, that he may bless thee before his death.[83] Do as I bid thee, +obey me as thou art wont, for thou art my son whose children, every one, will +be good and God-fearing—not one shall be graceless." +</p> + +<p> +In spite of his great respect for his mother,[84] Jacob refused at first to +heed her command. He feared he might commit a sin,[85] especially as he might +thus bring his father's curse down upon him. As it was, Isaac might still have +a blessing for him, after giving Esau his. But Rebekah allayed his anxieties, +with the words: "When Adam was cursed, the malediction fell upon his mother, +the earth, and so shall I, thy mother, bear the imprecation, if thy father +curses thee. Moreover, if the worst comes to the worst, I am prepared to step +before thy father and tell him, 'Esau is a villain, and Jacob is a righteous +man.'" +</p> + +<p> +Thus constrained by his mother, Jacob, in tears and with body bowed, went off +to execute the plan made by Rebekah.[86] As he was to provide a Passover meal, +she bade him get two kids, one for the Passover sacrifice and one for the +festival sacrifice.[87] To soothe Jacob's conscience, she added that her +marriage contract entitled her to two kids daily. "And," she continued, "these +two kids will bring good unto thee, the blessing of thy father, and they will +bring good unto thy children, for two kids will be the atoning sacrifice +offered on the Day of Atonement." +</p> + +<p> +Jacob's hesitation was not yet removed. His father, he feared, would touch him +and convince himself that he was not hairy, and therefore not his son Esau. +Accordingly, Rebekah tore the skins of the two kids into strips and sewed them +together, for Jacob was so tall a giant that otherwise they would not have +sufficed to cover his hands.[88] To make Jacob's disguise complete, Rebekah +felt justified in putting Esau's wonderful garments on him. They were the high +priestly raiment in which God had clothed Adam, "the first-born of the world," +for in the days before the erection of the Tabernacle all the first-born males +officiated as priests. From Adam these garments descended to Noah, who +transmitted them to Shem, and Shem bequeathed them to Abraham, and Abraham to +his son Isaac, from whom they reached Esau as the older of his two sons. It was +the opinion of Rebekah that as Jacob had bought the birthright from his +brother, he had thereby come into possession of the garments as well.[89] There +was no need for her to go and fetch them from the house of Esau. He knew his +wives far too well to entrust so precious a treasure to them; they were in the +safe-keeping of his mother. Besides, he used them most frequently in the house +of his parents. As a rule, he did not lay much stress upon decent apparel. He +was willing to appear on the street clad in rags, but he considered it his duty +to wait upon his father arrayed in his best. "My father," Esau was in the habit +of saying, "is a king in my sight, and it would ill become me to serve before +him in any thing but royal apparel." To the great respect he manifested toward +his father, the descendants of Esau owe all their good fortune on earth. Thus +doth God reward a good deed. +</p> + +<p> +Rebekah led Jacob equipped and arrayed in this way to the door of Isaac's +chamber. There she parted from him with the words, "Henceforward may thy +Creator assist thee."[90] Jacob entered, addressing Isaac with "Father," and +receiving the response, "Here am I! Who art thou, my son?" he replied +equivocally, "It is I, thy first-born son is Esau." He sought to avoid a +falsehood, and yet not betray that he was Jacob.[91] Isaac then said: "Thou art +greatly in haste to secure thy blessing. Thy father Abraham was seventy-five +years old when he was blessed, and thou art but sixty-three." Jacob replied +awkwardly, "Because the Lord thy God sent me good speed." Isaac concluded at +once that this was not Esau, for he would not have mentioned the name of God, +and he made up his mind to feel the son before him and make sure who he was. +Terror seized upon Jacob at the words of Isaac, "Come near, I pray thee, that I +may feel thee, my son." A cold sweat covered his body, and his heart melted +like wax. Then God caused the archangels Michael and Gabriel to descend. The +one seized his right hand, the other his left hand, while the Lord God Himself +supported him, that his courage might not fail him. Isaac felt him, and, +finding his hands hairy, he said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands +are the hands of Esau," words in which he conveyed the prophecy that so long as +the voice of Jacob is heard in the houses of prayer and of learning, the hands +of Esau will not be able to prevail against him. "Yes," he continued, "it is +the voice of Jacob, the voice that imposes silence upon those on earth and in +heaven," for even the angels may not raise their voices in praise of God until +Israel has finished his prayers. +</p> + +<p> +Isaac's scruples about blessing the son before him were not yet removed, for +with his prophetical eye he foresaw that this one would have descendants who +would vex the Lord. At the same time, it was revealed to him that even the +sinners in Israel would turn penitents, and then he was ready to bless Jacob. +He bade him come near and kiss him, to indicate that it would be Jacob who +would imprint the last kiss upon Isaac before he was consigned to the grave—he +and none other. When Jacob stood close to him, he discerned the fragrance of +Paradise clinging to him, and he exclaimed, "See, the smell of my son is as the +smell of the field which the Lord hath blessed."[92] +</p> + +<p> +The fragrance emanating from Jacob was not the only thing about him derived +from Paradise. The archangel Michael had fetched thence the wine which Jacob +gave his father to drink,[93] that an exalted mood might descend upon him, for +only when a man is joyously excited the Shekinah rests upon him.[94] The holy +spirit filled Isaac, and he gave Jacob his tenfold blessing: "God give thee of +the dew of heaven," the celestial dew wherewith God will awaken the pious to +new life in days to come; "and of the fatness of the earth," the goods of this +world; "and plenty of corn and wine," the Torah and the commandments which +bestow the same joy upon man as abundant harvests;[95] "peoples shall serve +thee," the Japhethites and the Hamites; "nations shall bow down to thee," the +Shemite nations; "thou wilt be lord over thy brethren," the Ishmaelites and the +descendants of Keturah; "thy mother's sons will bow down to thee," Esau and his +princes; "cursed be every one that curseth thee," like Balaam; "and blessed be +every one that blesseth thee," like Moses.[96] +</p> + +<p> +For each blessing invoked upon Jacob by his father Isaac, a similar blessing +was bestowed upon him by God Himself in the same words. As Isaac blessed him +with dew, so also God: "And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many +peoples as dew from the Lord." Isaac blessed him with the fatness of the earth, +so also God: "And he shall give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the +ground withal; and bread of the increase of the ground, and it shall be fat and +plenteous." Isaac blessed him with plenty of corn and wine, so also God: "I +will send you corn and wine." Isaac said, "Peoples shall serve thee," so also +God: "Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; +they shall bow down to thee with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of +thy feet." Isaac said, "Nations shall bow down to thee," so also God: "And He +will make thee high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in +name, and in honor." +</p> + +<p> +To this double blessing his mother Rebekah joined hers: "For He shall give His +angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up +in their hands, lest thou dash thy feet against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon +the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under +feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him; I +will set him on high, because he hath known my name." +</p> + +<p> +The holy spirit added in turn: "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I +will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life +will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation."[97] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob left the presence of his father crowned like a bridegroom, adorned like a +bride, and bathed in celestial dew, which filled his bones with marrow, and +transformed him into a hero and a giant.[98] +</p> + +<p> +Of a miracle done for him at that very moment Jacob himself was not aware. Had +he tarried with his father an instant longer, Esau would have met him there, +and would surely have slain him. It happened that exactly as Jacob was on the +point of leaving the tent of his father, carrying in his hands the plates off +which Isaac had eaten, he noticed Esau approaching, and he concealed himself +behind the door. Fortunately, it was a revolving door, so that though he could +see Esau, he could not be seen by him. +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap92"></a>ESAU'S TRUE CHARACTER REVEALED</h3> + +<p> +Esau arrived after a delay of four hours.[99] In spite of all the efforts he +had put forth, he had not succeeded in catching any game, and he was compelled +to kill a dog and prepare its flesh for his father's meal.[100] All this had +made Esau ill-humored, and when he bade his father partake of the meal, the +invitation sounded harsh. "Let my father arise," he said, "and eat of his son's +venison." Jacob had spoken differently; he had said, "Arise, I pray thee, sit +and eat of my venison." The words of Esau terrified Isaac greatly. His fright +exceeded that which he had felt when his father was about to offer him as a +sacrifice, and he cried out, "Who then is he that hath been the mediator +between me and the Lord, to make the blessing reach Jacob?"—words meant to +imply that he suspected Rebekah of having instigated Jacob's act. +</p> + +<p> +Isaac's alarm was caused by his seeing hell at the feet of Esau. Scarcely had +he entered the house when the walls thereof began to get hot on account of the +nearness of hell, which he brought along with him. Isaac could not but exclaim, +"Who will be burnt down yonder, I or my son Jacob?" and the Lord answered him, +"Neither thou nor Jacob, but the hunter." +</p> + +<p> +Isaac told Esau that the meat set before him by Jacob had had marvellous +qualities. Any savor that one desired it possessed, it was even endowed with +the taste of the food that God will grant the pious in the world to come. "I +know not," he said, "what the meat was. But I had only to wish for bread, and +it tasted like bread, or fish, or locusts, or flesh of animals, in short, it +had the taste of any dainty one could wish for." When Esau heard the word +"flesh," he began to weep, and he said: "To me Jacob gave no more than a dish +of lentils, and in payment for it he took my birthright. What must he have +taken from thee for flesh of animals?" Hitherto Isaac had been in great anguish +on account of the thought that he had committed a wrong in giving his blessing +to his younger son instead of the first-born, to whom it belonged by law and +custom. But when he heard that Jacob had acquired the birthright from Esau, he +said, "I gave my blessing to the right one!" +</p> + +<p> +In his dismay, Isaac had had the intention of cursing Jacob for having wrested +the blessing from him through cunning. God prevented him from carrying out his +plan. He reminded him that he would but curse himself, seeing that his blessing +contained the words, "Cursed be every one that curseth thee." But Isaac was not +willing to acknowledge his blessing valid as applied to Jacob, until he was +informed that his second son was the possessor of the birthright. Only then did +he say, "Yea, he shall be blessed," whereat Esau cried with an exceeding great +and bitter cry. By way of punishment for having been the cause of such +distress, a descendant of Jacob, Mordecai, was also made to cry with a loud and +bitter cry, and his grief was brought forth by the Amalekite Haman, the +descendant of Esau. At the words of Isaac, "Thy brother came with wisdom, and +hath taken away thy blessing," Esau spat out in vexation, and said, "He took +away my birthright, and I kept silence, and now that he takes away my blessing, +should I also keep silence?[101] Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath +supplanted me these two times."[102] +</p> + +<p> +Isaac continued to speak to Esau: "Behold, I have made him thy lord, he is thy +king, and do what thou wilt, thy blessings will still belong to him; all his +brethren have I given to him for slaves, and what slaves possess belongs to +their owner. There is nothing for it, thou must be content that thou wilt +receive thy bread baked from thy master." The Lord took it ill of Isaac that he +cheered him with such kind words. "To Mine enemy," He reproached him, "thou +sayest, 'What shall I do for thee, my son?'" Isaac replied, "O that he might +find grace with Thee!" God: "He is a recreant." Isaac: "Doth he not act +righteously when he honors his parents?" God: "In the land of uprightness will +he deal wrongfully, he will stretch his hand forth in days to come against the +Temple." Isaac: "Then let him enjoy much good in this world, that he may not +behold the abiding-place of the Lord in the world to come."[103] +</p> + +<p> +When it became plain to Esau that he could not induce his father to annul the +blessing bestowed upon Jacob, he tried to force a blessing for himself by an +underhand trick. He said: "Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, +even me also, O my father, else it will be said thou hast but one blessing to +bestow. Suppose both Jacob and I had been righteous men, had not then thy God +had two blessings, one for each?" The Lord Himself made reply: "Silence! Jacob +will bless the twelve tribes, and each blessing will be different from every +other." But Isaac felt great pity for his older son, and he wanted to bless +him, but the Shekinah forsook him, and he could not carry out what he purposed. +Thereupon Esau began to weep. He shed three tears—one ran from his right eye, +the second from his left eye, and the third remained hanging from his eyelash. +God said, "This villain cries for his very life, and should I let him depart +empty-handed?" and then He bade Isaac bless his older son.[104] +</p> + +<p> +The blessing of Isaac ran thus: "Behold, of the fat of the earth shall be thy +dwelling," by which he meant Greater Greece, in Italy; "and of the dew of +heaven from above," referring to Bet-Gubrin; "and by thy sword shalt thou live, +and thou shalt serve thy brother," but when he casts off the yoke of the Lord, +then shalt thou "shake his yoke from off thy neck," and thou wilt be his +master.[105] +</p> + +<p> +The blessing which Isaac gave to his older son was bound to no condition +whatsoever. Whether he deserved them or not, Esau was to enjoy the goods of +this world. Jacob's blessing, however, depended upon his pious deeds; through +them he would have a just claim upon earthly prosperity. Isaac thought: "Jacob +is a righteous man, he will not murmur against God, though it should come to +pass that suffering be inflicted upon him in spite of his upright life. But +that reprobate Esau, if he should do a good deed, or pray to God and not be +heard, he would say, 'As I pray to the idols for naught, so it is in vain to +pray to God.'" For this reason did Isaac bestow an unconditional blessing upon +Esau.[106] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap93"></a>JACOB LEAVES HIS FATHER'S HOUSE</h3> + +<p> +Esau hated his brother Jacob on account of the blessing that his father had +given him, and Jacob was very much afraid of his brother Esau, and he fled to +the house of Eber, the son of Shem, and he concealed himself there fourteen +years on account of his brother Esau, and he continued there to learn the ways +of the Lord and His commandments. When Esau saw that Jacob had fled and escaped +from him, and Jacob had cunningly obtained the blessing, then Esau grieved +exceedingly, and he was also vexed at his father and mother. He also rose up +and took his wife, and went away from his father and mother to the land of +Seir. There he married his second wife, Basemath, the daughter of Elon the +Hittite, and he called her name Adah, saying that the blessing had in that time +passed from him. After dwelling in Seir for six months, Esau returned to the +land of Canaan, and placed his two wives in his father's house in Hebron. And +the wives of Esau vexed and provoked Isaac and Rebekah with their works, for +they walked not in the ways of the Lord, but served their fathers' gods of wood +and stone, as their fathers had taught them, and they were more wicked than +their fathers. They sacrificed and burnt incense to the Baalim, and Isaac and +Rebekah became weary of them. And at the end of fourteen years of Jacob's +residing in the house of Eber, Jacob desired to see his father and his mother, +and he returned home. Esau had forgotten in those days what Jacob had done to +him, in having taken the blessing from him, but when Esau saw Jacob returning +to his parents, he remembered what Jacob had done to him, and he was greatly +incensed against him, and he sought to slay him.[107] +</p> + +<p> +But Esau would not kill Jacob while his father was yet alive, lest Isaac beget +another son. He wanted to be sure of being the only heir.[108] However, his +hatred against Jacob was so great that he determined to hasten the death of his +father and then dispatch Jacob. Such murderous plans Esau cherished in his +heart, though he denied that he was harboring them. But God spoke, "Probably +thou knowest not that I examine the hearts of men, for I am the Lord that +searcheth the heart." And not God alone knew the secret desires of Esau. +Rebekah, like all the Mothers, was a prophetess, and she delayed not to warn +Jacob of the danger that hung over him. "Thy brother," she said to him, "is as +sure of accomplishing his wicked purpose as though thou wert dead. Now +therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother, to +Haran, and tarry with him for seven years, until thy brother's fury turn away." +In the goodness of her heart, Rebekah could not but believe that the anger of +Esau was only a fleeting passion, and would disappear in the course of time. +But she was mistaken, his hate persisted until the end of his life.[109] +</p> + +<p> +Courageous as he was, Jacob would not run away from danger. He said to his +mother, "I am not afraid; if he wishes to kill me, I will kill him," to which +she replied, "Let me not be bereaved of both my sons in one day."[110] By words +Rebekah again showed her prophetic gift. As she spoke, so it happened—when +their time came, Esau was slain while the burial of Jacob was taking +place.[111] +</p> + +<p> +And Jacob said to Rebekah: "Behold, thou knowest that my father has become old +and does not see, and if I leave him and go away, he will be angry and will +curse me. I will not go; if he sends me, only then will I go."[112] +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, Rebekah went to Isaac, and amid tears she spoke to him thus: "If +Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, what good shall my life do +me?"[113] And Isaac called Jacob, and charged him, and said unto him: "Thou +shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, for thus did our father +Abraham command us according to the word of the Lord, which He had commanded +him, saying, 'Unto thy seed will I give the land; if thy children keep My +covenant that I have made with thee, then will I also perform to thy children +that which I have spoken unto thee, and I will not forsake them.' Now +therefore, my son, hearken to my voice, to all that I shall command thee, and +refrain from taking a wife from amongst the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to +Haran, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father, and take thee a wife from +thence of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother. Take heed lest thou +shouldst forget the Lord thy God and all His ways in the land to which thou +goest, and shouldst join thyself to the people of the land, and pursue vanity, +and forsake the Lord thy God. But when thou comest to the land, serve the Lord. +Do not turn to the right or to the left from the way which I commanded thee, +and which thou didst learn. And may the Almighty God grant thee favor before +the people of the land, that thou mayest take a wife there according to thy +choice, one who is good and upright in the way of the Lord. And may God give +unto thee and thy seed the blessing of thy father Abraham and make thee +fruitful and multiply thee, and mayest thou become a multitude of people in the +land whither thou goest, and may God cause thee to return to thy land, the land +of thy father's dwelling, with children and with great riches, with joy and +with pleasure."[114] +</p> + +<p> +As the value of a document is attested by its concluding words, the signature +of the witnesses, so Isaac confirmed the blessing he had bestowed upon +Jacob.[116] That none might say Jacob had secured it by intrigue and cunning, +he blessed him again with three blessings, in these words, "In so far as I am +endowed with the power of blessing, I bestow blessing upon thee. May God, with +whom there is endless blessing, give thee His, and also the blessing wherewith +Abraham desired to bless me, desisting only in order not to provoke the +jealousy of Ishmael."[116] +</p> + +<p> +Seeing with his prophetic eye that the seed of Jacob would once be compelled to +go into exile, Isaac offered up one more petition, that God would bring the +exiles back again. He said, "He shall deliver thee in six troubles, and in the +seventh there shall no evil touch thee." And also Rebekah prayed to God in +behalf of Jacob: "O Lord of the world, let not the purpose prosper which Esau +harbors against Jacob. Put a bridle upon him, that he accomplish not all he +wills to do."[117] +</p> + +<p> +When Esau observed that even his father's love had passed from him to Jacob, he +went away, to Ishmael, and he addressed him as follows: "Lo, as thy father gave +all his possessions to thy brother Isaac, and dismissed thee with empty hands, +so my father purposeth to do to me. Make thyself ready then, go forth and slay +thy brother, and I will slay mine, and then we two shall divide the whole world +between us." And Ishmael replied: "Why dost thou want me to slay thy father? +thou canst do it thyself." Esau said: "It hath happened aforetime that a man +killed his brother—Cain murdered Abel. But that a son should kill his father is +unheard of." +</p> + +<p> +Esau did not really shrink back from parricide, only it chanced not to fit the +plan he had hatched. "If Ishmael slays my father," he said to himself, "I am +the rightful redeemer, and I shall kill Ishmael to avenge my father, and if, +then, I murder Jacob, too, everything will belong to me, as the heir of my +father and my uncle."[118] This shows that Esau's marriage with Mahalath, the +daughter of Ishmael and grandchild of Abraham, was not concluded out of regard +for his parents, who were opposed to his two other wives, daughters of the +Canaanites. All he desired was to enter into amicable relations with Ishmael in +order to execute his devilish plan.[119] +</p> + +<p> +But Esau reckoned without his host. The night before his wedding with Mahalath +Ishmael died, and Nebaioth, the son of Ishmael, stepped into his father's +place, and gave away his sister.[120] How little it had been in Esau's mind to +make his parents happy by taking a granddaughter of Abraham to wife, appears +from the fact that he kept his two other wives, the Canaanitish women. The +daughter of Ishmael followed the example of her companions, and thus she but +added to the grief caused the parents of Esau by their daughters-in-law.[121] +And the opportunity might have been a most favorable one for Esau to turn aside +from his godless ways and amend his conduct, for the bridegroom is pardoned on +his wedding day for all his sins committed in years gone by.[122] +</p> + +<p> +Scarcely had Jacob left his father's house, when Rebekah began to weep, for she +was sorely distressed about him. Isaac comforted her, saying: "Weep not for +Jacob! In peace doth he depart, and in peace will he return. The Lord, God Most +High, will guard him against all evil and be with him. He will not forsake him +all the days of his life. Have no fear for him, for he walketh on the right +path, he is a perfect man, and he hath faith in God—he will not perish."[123] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap94"></a>JACOB PURSUED BY ELIPHAZ AND ESAU</h3> + +<p> +When Jacob went away to go to Haran, Esau called his son Eliphaz, and secretly +spoke unto him, saying: "Now hasten, take thy sword in thy hand and pursue +Jacob, and pass before him in the road, and lurk for him and slay him with thy +sword in one of the mountains, and take all belonging unto him, and come back." +And Eliphaz was dexterous and expert with the bow, as his father had taught +him, and he was a noted hunter in the field and a valiant man. And Eliphaz did +as his father had commanded him. And Eliphaz was at that time thirteen years +old, and he arose and went and took ten of his mother's brothers with him, and +pursued Jacob. And he followed Jacob closely, and when he overtook him, he lay +in ambush for him on the borders of the land of Canaan, opposite to the city of +Shechem. And Jacob saw Eliphaz and his men pursuing after him, and Jacob stood +in the place in which he was going in order to know what it was, for he did not +understand their purpose. Eliphaz drew his sword and went on advancing, he and +his men, toward Jacob, and Jacob said unto them, "Wherefore have you come +hither, and why do you pursue with your swords?" Eliphaz came near to Jacob, +and answered as follows, "Thus did my father command me, and now therefore I +will not deviate from the orders which my father gave me." And when Jacob saw +that Esau had impressed his command urgently upon Eliphaz, he approached and +supplicated Eliphaz and his men, saying, "Behold, all that I have, and that +which my father and mother gave unto me, that take unto thee and go from me, +and do not slay me, and may this thing that thou wilt do with me be accounted +unto thee as righteousness." And the Lord caused Jacob to find favor in the +sight of Eliphaz and his men, and they hearkened to the voice of Jacob, and +they did not put him to death, but took all his belongings, together with the +silver and gold that he had brought with him from Beer-sheba. They left him +nothing. When Eliphaz and his men returned to Esau, and told him all that had +happened to them with Jacob, he was wroth with his son Eliphaz and with his +men, because they had not put Jacob to death. And they answered, and said unto +Esau, "Because Jacob supplicated us in this matter, not to slay him, our pity +was moved toward him, and we took all belonging to him, and we came back." Esau +then took all the silver and gold which Eliphaz had taken from Jacob, and he +put them by in his house.[124] +</p> + +<p> +Nevertheless Esau did not give up the hope of intercepting Jacob on his flight +and slaying him. He pursued him, and with his men occupied the road along which +he had to journey to Haran. There a great miracle happened to Jacob. When he +observed what Esau's intention was, he turned off toward the Jordan river, and, +with eyes directed to God, he cleft the waters with his wanderer's staff, and +succeeded in crossing to the other side. But Esau was not to be deterred. He +kept up the pursuit, and reached the hot springs at Baarus before his brother, +who had to pass by there. Jacob, not knowing that Esau was on the watch for +him, decided to bathe in the spring, saying, "I have neither bread nor other +things needful, so I will at least warm my body in the waters of the well." +While he was in the bath, Esau occupied every exit, and Jacob would surely have +perished in the hot water, if the Lord had not caused a miracle to come to +pass. A new opening formed of itself, and through it Jacob escaped. Thus were +fulfilled the words, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with +thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt," for Jacob +was saved from the waters of the Jordan and from the fire of the hot spring. +</p> + +<p> +At the same time with Jacob, a rider, leaving his horse and his clothes on the +shore, had stepped into the river to cool off, but he was overwhelmed by the +waves, and he met his death. Jacob put on the dead man's clothes, mounted his +horse, and went off. It was a lucky chance, for Eliphaz had stripped him of +everything, even his clothes, and the miracle of the river had happened only +that he might not be forced to appear naked among men.[125] +</p> + +<p> +Though Jacob was robbed of all his possessions, his courage did not fail him. +He said: "Should I lose hope in my Creator? I set my eyes upon the merits of my +fathers. For the sake of them the Lord will give me His aid." And God said: +"Jacob, thou puttest thy trust in the merits of thy fathers, therefore I will +not suffer thy foot to be moved; He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Yea, +still more! While a keeper watcheth only by day as a rule, and sleepeth by +night, I will guard thee day and night, for, behold, He that keepeth Israel +shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord will keep thee from all evil, from +Esau as well as Laban; He will keep thy soul, that the Angel of Death do thee +no hurt; He will keep thy going out and thy coming in, He will support thee now +thou art leaving Canaan, and when thou returnest to Canaan."[126] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob was reluctant to leave the Holy Land before he received direct permission +from God. "My parents," he reflected, "bade me go forth and sojourn outside of +the land, but who knows whether it be the will of God that I do as they say, +and beget children outside of the Holy Land?"[127] Accordingly, he betook +himself to Beer-sheba. There, where the Lord had given permission to Isaac to +depart from Canaan and go to Philistia, he would learn the will of the Lord +concerning himself. +</p> + +<p> +He did not follow the example of his father and grandfather and take refuge +with Abimelech, because he feared the king might force also him into a +covenant, and make it impossible for his descendants of many generations to +take possession of the Philistine land. Nor could he stay at home, because of +his fear that Esau might wrest the birthright and the blessing from him, and to +that he would not and could not agree.[128] He was as little disposed to take +up the combat with Esau, for he knew the truth of the maxim, "He who courts +danger will be overcome by it; he who avoids danger will overcome it." Both +Abraham and Isaac had lived according to this rule. His grandfather had fled +from Nimrod, and his father had gone away from the Philistines.[129] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap95"></a>THE DAY OF MIRACLES</h3> + +<p> +Jacob's journey to Haran was a succession of miracles. The first of the five +that befell for his sake in the course of it was that the sun sank while Jacob +was passing Mount Moriah, though it was high noon at the time. He was following +the spring that appeared wherever the Patriarchs went or settled. It +accompanied Jacob from Beer-sheba to Mount Moriah, a two days' journey. When he +arrived at the holy hill, the Lord said to him: "Jacob, thou hast bread in thy +wallet, and the spring of waters is near by to quench thy thirst. Thus thou +hast food and drink, and here thou canst lodge for the night." But Jacob +replied: "The sun has barely passed the fifth of its twelve day stages, why +should I lie down to sleep at so unseemly an hour?" But then Jacob perceived +that the sun was about to sink, and he prepared to make ready his bed.[130] It +was the Divine purpose not to let Jacob pass the site of the future Temple +without stopping; he was to tarry there at least one night. Also, God desired +to appear unto Jacob, and He shows Himself unto His faithful ones only at +night.[131] At the same time Jacob was saved from the pursuit of Esau, who had +to desist on account of the premature darkness.[132] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob took twelve stones from the altar on which his father Isaac had lain +bound as a sacrifice, and he said: "It was the purpose of God to let twelve +tribes arise, but they have not been begotten by Abraham or Isaac. If, now, +these twelve stones will unite into a single one, then shall I know for a +certainty that I am destined to become the father of the twelve tribes." At +this time the second miracle came to pass, the twelve stones joined themselves +together and made one, which he put under his head, and at once it became soft +and downy like a pillow. It was well that he had a comfortable couch. He was in +great need of rest, for it was the first night in fourteen years that he did +not keep vigils. During all those years, passed in Eber's house of learning, he +had devoted the nights to study. And for twenty years to come he was not to +sleep, for while he was with his uncle Laban, he spent all the night and every +night reciting the Psalms.[133] +</p> + +<p> +On the whole it was a night of marvels. He dreamed a dream in which the course +of the world's history was unfolded to him. On a ladder set up on the earth, +with the top of it reaching to heaven, he beheld the two angels who had been +sent to Sodom. For one hundred and thirty-eight years they had been banished +from the celestial regions, because they had betrayed their secret mission to +Lot. They had accompanied Jacob from his father's house thither, and now they +were ascending heavenward. When they arrived there, he heard them call the +other angels, and say, "Come ye and see the countenance of the pious Jacob, +whose likeness appears on the Divine throne, ye who yearned long to see it," +and then he beheld the angels descend from heaven to gaze upon him.[134] He +also saw the angels of the four kingdoms ascending the ladder. The angel of +Babylon mounted seventy rounds, the angel of Media, fifty-two, that of Greece, +one hundred and eighty, and that of Edom mounted very high, saying, "I will +ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High," and +Jacob heard a voice remonstrating, "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to +the uttermost parts of the pit." God Himself reproved Edom, saying, "Though +thou mount on high as the eagle, and though thy nest be set among the stars, I +will bring thee down from thence."[135] +</p> + +<p> +Furthermore, God showed unto Jacob the revelation at Mount Sinai, the +translation of Elijah, the Temple in its glory and in its spoliation, +Nebuchadnezzar's attempt to burn the three holy children in the fiery furnace, +and Daniel's encounter with Bel.[136] +</p> + +<p> +In this, the first prophetic dream dreamed by Jacob,[137] God made him the +promise that the land upon which he was lying would be given to him, but the +land he lay upon was the whole of Palestine, which God had folded together and +put under him. "And," the promise continued, "thy seed will be like unto the +dust of the earth. As the earth survives all things, so thy children will +survive all the nations of the earth. But as the earth is trodden upon by all, +so thy children, when they commit trespasses, will be trodden upon by the +nations of the earth."[138] And, furthermore, God promised that Jacob should +spread out to the west and to the east, a greater promise than that given to +his fathers Abraham and Isaac, to whom He had allotted a limited land. Jacob's +was an unbounded possession.[139] +</p> + +<p> +From this wondrous dream Jacob awoke with a start of fright, on account of the +vision he had had of the destruction of the Temple.[140] He cried out, "How +dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, wherein is the +gate of heaven through which prayer ascends to Him." He took the stone made out +of the twelve, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it, +which had flowed down from heaven for him, and God sank this anointed stone +unto the abyss, to serve as the centre of the earth, the same stone, the Eben +Shetiyah,[141] that forms the centre of the sanctuary, whereon the Ineffable +Name is graven, the knowledge of which makes a man master over nature, and over +life and death.[142] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob cast himself down before the Eben Shetiyah, and entreated God to fulfil +the promise He had given him, and also he prayed that God grant him honorable +sustenance. For God had not mentioned bread to eat and raiment to put on, that +Jacob might learn to have faith in the Lord. Then he vowed to give the tenth of +all he owned unto God, if He would but grant his petition. Thus Jacob was the +first to take a vow upon himself,[143] and the first, too, to separate the +tithe from his income.[144] +</p> + +<p> +God had promised him almost all that is desirable, but he feared he might +forfeit the pledged blessings through his sinfulness,[145] and again he prayed +earnestly that God bring him back to his father's house unimpaired in body, +possessions, and knowledge,[146] and guard him, in the strange land whither he +was going, against idolatry, an immoral life, and bloodshed.[147] +</p> + +<p> +His prayer at an end, Jacob set out on his way to Haran, and the third wonder +happened. In the twinkling of an eye he arrived at his destination. The earth +jumped from Mount Moriah to Haran. A wonder like this God has executed only +four times in the whole course of history.[148] +</p> + +<p> +The first thing to meet his eye in Haran was the well whence the inhabitants +drew their supply of water. Although it was a great city, Haran suffered from +dearth of water, and therefore the well could not be used by the people free of +charge. Jacob's sojourn in the city produced a change. By reason of his +meritorious deeds the water springs were blessed, and the city had water enough +for its needs. +</p> + +<p> +Jacob saw a number of people by the well, and he questioned them, "My brethren, +whence be ye?" He thus made himself a model for all to follow. A man should be +companionable, and address others like brothers and friends, and not wait for +them to greet him. Each one should strive to be the first to give the +salutation of peace, that the angels of peace and compassion may come to meet +him. When he was informed that the by-standers hailed from Haran, he made +inquiry about the character and vocation of his uncle Laban, and whether they +were on terms of friendly intercourse with him. They answered briefly: "There +is peace between us, but if thou art desirous of inquiring further, here comes +Rachel the daughter of Laban. From her thou canst learn all thou hast a mind to +learn." They knew that women like to talk, wherefore they referred him to +Rachel.[149] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob found it strange that so many should be standing idle by the well, and he +questioned further: "Are you day laborers? then it is too early for you to put +by your work. But if you are pasturing your own sheep, why do you not water +your flocks and let them feed?"[150] They told him they were waiting until all +the shepherds brought their flocks thither, and together rolled the stone from +the mouth of the well. While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with +her father's sheep, for Laban had no sons, and a pest having broken out shortly +before among his cattle, so few sheep were left that a maiden like Rachel could +easily tend them. Now, when Jacob saw the daughter of his mother's brother +approaching, he rolled the great stone from the mouth of the well as easily as +a cork is drawn from a bottle—the fourth wonder of this extraordinary day. +Jacob's strength was equal to the strength of all the shepherds; with his two +arms alone he accomplished what usually requires the united forces of a large +assemblage of men. He had been divinely endowed with this supernatural strength +on leaving the Holy Land. God had caused the dew of the resurrection to drop +down upon him, and his physical strength was so great that even in a combat +with the angels he was victorious.[152] +</p> + +<p> +The fifth and last wonder of the day was that the water rose from the depths of +the well to the very top, there was no need to draw it up, and there it +remained all the twenty years that Jacob abode in Haran.[153] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap96"></a>JACOB WITH LABAN</h3> + +<p> +Rachel's coming to the well at the moment when Jacob reached the territory +belonging to Haran was an auspicious omen. To meet young maidens on first +entering a city is a sure sign that fortune is favorable to one's undertakings. +Experience proves this through Eliezer, Jacob, Moses, and Saul. They all +encountered maidens when they approached a place new to them, and they all met +with success.[154] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob treated Rachel at once as his cousin, which caused significant whispering +among the by-standers. They censured Jacob for his demeanor toward her, for +since God had sent the deluge upon the world, on account of the immoral life +led by men, great chastity had prevailed, especially among the people of the +east. The talk of the men reduced Jacob to tears. Scarcely had he kissed Rachel +when he began to weep, for he repented of having done it. +</p> + +<p> +There was reason enough for tears. Jacob could not but remember sadly that +Eliezer, his grandfather's slave, had brought ten camels laden with presents +with him to Haran, when he came to sue for a bride for Isaac, while he had not +even a ring to give to Rachel. Moreover, he foresaw that his favorite wife +Rachel would not lie beside him in the grave, and this, too, made him weep. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as Rachel heard that Jacob was her cousin, she ran home to tell her +father about his coming. Her mother was no longer among the living, else she +would naturally have gone to her. In great haste Laban ran to receive Jacob. He +reflected, if Eliezer, the bondman, had come with ten camels, what would not +the favorite son of the family bring with him, and when he saw that Jacob was +unattended, he concluded that he carried great sums of money in his girdle, and +he threw his arms about his waist to find out whether his supposition was true. +Disappointed in this, he yet did not give up hope that his nephew Jacob was a +man of substance. Perhaps he concealed precious stones in his mouth, and he +kissed him in order to find out whether he had guessed aright. But Jacob said +to him: "Thou thinkest I have money. Nay, thou art mistaken, I have but +words."[155] Then he went on to tell him how it had come about that he stood +before him empty-handed. He said that his father Isaac had sent him on his way +provided with gold, silver, and money, but he had encountered Eliphaz, who had +threatened to slay him. To this assailant Jacob had spoken thus: "Know that the +descendants of Abraham have an obligation to meet, they will have to serve four +hundred years in a land that is not theirs. If thou slayest me, then you, the +seed of Esau, will have to pay the debt. It were better, therefore, to take all +I have, and spare my life, so that what is owing may be paid by me. Hence," +Jacob continued, "I stand before thee bare of all the substance carried off by +Eliphaz."[156] +</p> + +<p> +This tale of his nephew's poverty filled Laban with dismay. "What," he +exclaimed, "shall I have to give food and drink for a month or, perhaps, even a +year to this fellow, who has come to me empty-handed!" He betook himself to his +teraphim, to ask them for counsel upon the matter, and they admonished him, +saying: "Beware of sending him away from thy house. His star and his +constellation are so lucky that good fortune will attend all his undertakings, +and for his sake the blessing of the Lord will rest upon all thou doest, in thy +house or in thy field." +</p> + +<p> +Laban was satisfied with the advice of the teraphim, but he was embarrassed as +to the way in which he was to attach Jacob to his house. He did not venture to +offer him service, lest Jacob's conditions be impossible of fulfilment. Again +he resorted to the teraphim, and asked them with what reward to tempt his +nephew, and they replied: "A wife is his wage; he will ask nothing else of thee +but a wife. It is his nature to be attracted by women, and whenever he +threatens to leave thee, do but offer him another wife, and he will not +depart." +</p> + +<p> +Laban went back to Jacob, and said, "Tell me, what shall thy wages be?" and he +replied, "Thinkest thou I came hither to make money? I came only to get me a +wife,"[158] for Jacob had no sooner beheld Rachel than he fell in love with her +and made her a proposal of marriage. Rachel consented, but added the warning: +"My father is cunning, and thou art not his match." Jacob: "I am his brother in +cunning." Rachel: "But is deception becoming unto the pious?" Jacob: "Yes, +'with the righteous righteousness is seemly, and with the deceiver deception.' +But," continued Jacob, "tell me wherein he may deal cunningly with me." Rachel: +"I have an older sister, whom he desires to see married before me, and he will +try to palm her off on thee instead of me." To be prepared for Laban's +trickery, Jacob and Rachel agreed upon a sign by which he would recognize her +in the nuptial night.[159] +</p> + +<p> +Thus warned to be on his guard against Laban, Jacob worded his agreement with +him regarding his marriage to Rachel with such precision that no room was left +for distortion or guile. Jacob said: "I know that the people of this place are +knaves, therefore I desire to put the matter very clearly to thee. I will serve +thee seven years for Rachel, hence not Leah; for thy daughter, that thou +bringest me not some other woman likewise named Rachel; for the younger +daughter, that thou exchangest not their names in the meantime." +</p> + +<p> +Nothing of all this availed: "It profits not if a villain is cast into a +sawmill"—neither force nor gentle words can circumvent a rascal. Laban deceived +not only Jacob, but also the guests whom he invited to the wedding. +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap97"></a>THE MARRIAGE OF JACOB</h3> + +<p> +After Jacob had served Laban seven years, he said to his uncle: "The Lord +destined me to be the father of twelve tribes. I am now eighty-four years old, +and if I do not take thought of the matter now, when can I?"[160] Thereupon +Laban consented to let him have his daughter Rachel to wife, and he was married +forty-four years after his brother Esau. The Lord often defers the happiness of +the pious, while He permits the wicked to enjoy the fulfilment of their desires +soon.[161] Esau, however, had purposely chosen his fortieth year for his +marriage; he had wanted to indicate that he was walking in the footsteps of his +father Isaac, who had likewise married at forty years of age. Esau was like a +swine that stretches out its feet when it lies down, to show that it is +cloven-footed like the clean animals, though it is none the less one of the +unclean animals. Until his fortieth year Esau made a practice of violating the +wives of other men, and then at his marriage he acted as though he were +following the example of his pious father. Accordingly, the woman he married +was of his own kind, Judith, a daughter of Heth, for God said: "This one, who +is designed for stubble, to be burnt by fire, shall take unto wife one of a +people also destined for utter destruction." They, Esau and his wife, +illustrated the saying, "Not for naught does the raven consort with the crow; +they are birds of a feather."[162] +</p> + +<p> +Far different it was with Jacob. He married the two pious and lovely sisters, +Leah and Rachel, for Leah, like her younger sister, was beautiful of +countenance, form, and stature. She had but one defect, her eyes were weak, and +this malady she had brought down upon herself, through her own action. Laban, +who had two daughters, and Rebekah, his sister, who had two sons, had agreed by +letter, while their children were still young, that the older son of the one +was to marry the older daughter of the other, and the younger son the younger +daughter. When Leah grew to maidenhood, and inquired about her future husband, +all her tidings spoke of his villainous character, and she wept over her fate +until her eyelashes dropped from their lids. But Rachel grew more and more +beautiful day by day, for all who spoke of Jacob praised and extolled him, and +"good tidings make the bones fat." +</p> + +<p> +In view of the agreement between Laban and Rebekah, Jacob refused to marry the +older daughter Leah. As it was, Esau was his mortal enemy, on account of what +had happened regarding the birthright and the paternal blessing. If, now, Jacob +married the maiden appointed for him, Esau would never forgive his younger +brother. Therefore Jacob resolved to take to wife Rachel, the younger daughter +of his uncle.[163] +</p> + +<p> +Laban was of another mind. He purposed to marry of his older daughter first, +for he knew that Jacob would consent to serve him a second period of seven +years for love of Rachel. On the day of the wedding he assembled the +inhabitants of Haran, and addressed them as follows: "Ye know well that we used +to suffer from lack of water, and as soon as this pious man Jacob came to dwell +among us, we had water in abundance." "What hast thou in mind to do?" they +asked Laban. He replied: "If ye have naught to say against it, I will deceive +him and give him Leah to wife. He loves Rachel with an exceeding great love, +and for her sake he will tarry with us yet seven other years." "Do as it +pleaseth thee," his friends said. "Well, then," said Laban, "let each one of +you give me a pledge that ye will not betray my purpose." +</p> + +<p> +With the pledges they left with him, Laban bought wine, oil, and meat for the +wedding feast, and he set a meal before them which they had themselves paid +for. Because he deceived his fellow-citizens thus, Laban is called Arami, "the +deceiver." They feasted all day long, until late at night, and when Jacob +expressed his astonishment at the attention shown him, they said to him: +"Through thy piety thou didst a great service of lovingkindness unto us, our +supply of water was increased unto abundance, and we desire to show our +gratitude therefor." And, indeed, they tried to give him a hint of Laban's +purpose. In the marriage ode which they sang they used the refrain "Halia," in +the hope that he would understand it as Ha Leah, "This is Leah." But Jacob was +unsuspicious and noticed nothing. +</p> + +<p> +When the bride was led into the nuptial chamber, the guests extinguished all +the candles, much to Jacob's amazement. But their explanation satisfied him. +"Thinkest thou," they said, "we have as little sense of decency as thy +countrymen?" Jacob therefore did not discover the deception practiced upon him +until morning. During the night Leah responded whenever he called Rachel, for +which he reproached her bitterly when daylight came. "O thou deceiver, daughter +of a deceiver, why didst thou answer me when I called Rachel's name?" "Is there +a teacher without a pupil?" asked Leah, in return. "I but profited by thy +instruction. When thy father called thee Esau, didst thou not say, Here am +I?"[164] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob was greatly enraged against Laban, and he said to him: "Why didst thou +deal treacherously with me? Take back thy daughter, and let me depart, seeing +thou didst act wickedly toward me."[165] Laban pacified him, however, saying, +"It is not so done in our place, to give the younger before the first-born," +and Jacob agreed to serve yet seven other years for Rachel, and after the seven +days of the feast of Leah's wedding were fulfilled, he married Rachel.[166] +</p> + +<p> +With Leah and Rachel, Jacob received the handmaids Zilpah and Bilhah, two other +daughters of Laban, whom his concubines had borne unto him.[167] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap98"></a>THE BIRTH OF JACOB'S CHILDREN</h3> + +<p> +The ways of God are not like unto the ways of men. A man clings close to his +friend while he has riches, and forsakes him when he falls into poverty. But +when God sees a mortal unsteady and faltering, He reaches a hand out to him, +and raises him up. Thus it happened with Leah. She was hated by Jacob, and God +visited her in mercy. Jacob's aversion to Leah began the very morning after +their wedding, when his wife taunted him with not being wholly free from +cunning and craft himself. Then God said, "Help can come to Leah only if she +gives birth to a child; then the love of her husband will return to her."[168] +God remembered the tears she had shed when she prayed that her doom, chaining +her to that recreant Esau, be averted from her, and so wondrous are the uses of +prayer that Leah, besides turning aside the impending decree, was permitted to +marry Jacob before her sister and be the first to bear him a child. There was +another reason why the Lord was compassionately inclined toward Leah. She had +gotten herself talked about. The sailors on the sea, the travellers along the +highways, the women at their looms, they all gossiped about Leah, saying, "She +is not within what her seeming is without. She appears to be pious, but if she +were, she would not have deceived her sister."[169] To put an end to all this +tattle, God granted her the distinction of bearing a son at the end of seven +months after her marriage. He was one of a pair of twins, the other child being +a daughter. So it was with eleven of the sons of Jacob, all of them except +Joseph were born twins with a girl, and the twin sister and brother married +later on.[170] Altogether it was an extraordinary childbirth, for Leah was +barren, not formed by nature to bear children. +</p> + +<p> +She called her first-born son Reuben, which means "See the normal man," for he +was neither big nor little, neither dark nor fair, but exactly normal.[171] In +calling her oldest child Reuben, "See the son," Leah indicated his future +character. "Behold the difference," the name implied, "between my first-born +son and the first-born son of my father in-law. Esau sold his birthright to +Jacob of his own free will, and yet he hated him. As for my first-born son, +although his birthright was taken from him without his consent, and given to +Joseph, it was nevertheless he who rescued Joseph from the hands of his +brethren."[172] +</p> + +<p> +Leah called her second son Shime'on, "Yonder is sin," for one of his +descendants was that Zimri who was guilty of vile trespasses with the daughters +of Moab.[173] +</p> + +<p> +The name of her third son, Levi, was given him by God Himself, not by his +mother. The Lord summoned him through the angel Gabriel, and bestowed the name +upon him as one who is "crowned" with the twenty-four gifts that are the +tribute due to the priests.[174] +</p> + +<p> +At the birth of her fourth son, Leah returned thanks to God for a special +reason. She knew that Jacob would beget twelve sons, and if they were +distributed equally among his four wives, each would bear three. But now it +appeared that she had one more than her due share, and she called him Jehudah, +"thanks unto God." She was thus the first since the creation of the world to +give thanks to God,[175] and her example was followed by David and Daniel, the +descendants of her son Judah. +</p> + +<p> +When Rachel saw that her sister had borne Jacob four sons, she envied Leah. Not +that she begrudged her the good fortune she enjoyed, she only envied her for +her piety, saying to herself that it was to her righteous conduct that she owed +the blessing of many children.[176] Then she besought Jacob: "Pray unto God for +me, that He grant me children, else my life is no life. Verily, there are four +that may be regarded as though they were dead, the blind, the leper, the +childless, and he who was once rich and has lost his fortune." Jacob's anger +was kindled against Rachel, and he said: "It were better thou shouldst address +thy petition to God, and not to me, for am I in God's stead, who hath withheld +from thee the fruit of the womb?"[177] God was displeased with this answer that +Jacob made to his sad wife. He rebuked him with the words: "Is it thus thou +wouldst comfort a grief-stricken heart? As thou livest, the day will come when +thy children will stand before the son of Rachel, and he will use the same +words thou hast but now used, saying, 'Am I in the place of the Lord?'" +</p> + +<p> +Rachel also made reply to Jacob, saying: "Did not thy father, too, entreat God +for thy mother with earnest words, beseeching Him to remove her barrenness?" +Jacob: "It is true, but Isaac had no children, and I have several." Rachel: +"Remember thy grandfather Abraham, thou canst not deny that he had children +when he supplicated God in behalf of Sarah!" Jacob: "Wouldst thou do for me +what Sarah did for my grandfather?" Rachel: "Pray, what did she?" Jacob: "She +herself brought a rival into her house." Rachel: "If that is all that is +necessary, I am ready to follow the example of Sarah, and I pray that as she +was granted a child for having invited a rival, so may I be blessed, too."[178] +Thereupon Rachel gave Jacob Bilhah, her freed handmaid, to wife, and she bore +him a son, whom Rachel called Dan, saying, "As the Lord was gracious unto me +and gave me a son according to my petition, so He will permit Samson, the +descendant of Dan, to judge his people, that it fall not into the hands of the +Philistines."[179] Bilhah's second son Rachel named Naphtali, saying, "Mine is +the bond that binds Jacob to this place, for it was for my sake that he came to +Laban." At the same time she wanted to convey by this name that the Torah, +which is as sweet as Nofet, "honeycomb," would be taught in the territory of +Naphtali.[180] And the name had still a third meaning: "As God hath heard my +fervent prayer for a son, so He will hearken unto the fervent prayer of the +Naphtalites when they are beset by their enemies."[181] +</p> + +<p> +Leah, seeing that she had left bearing, while Bilhah, her sister's handmaid, +bore Jacob two sons, concluded that it was Jacob's destiny to have four wives, +her sister and herself, and their half-sisters Bilhah and Zilpah. Therefore she +also gave him her handmaid to wife.[182] Zilpah was the youngest of the four +women. It was the custom of that time to give the older daughter the older +handmaid, and the younger daughter the younger handmaid, as their dowry, when +they got married. Now, in order to make Jacob believe that his wife was the +younger daughter he had served for, Laban had given Leah the younger handmaid +as her marriage portion. This Zilpah was so young that her body betrayed no +outward signs of pregnancy, and nothing was known of her condition until her +son was born. Leah called the boy Gad, which means "fortune," or it may mean +"the cutter," for from Gad was descended the prophet Elijah, who brings good +fortune to Israel, and he also cuts down the heathen world.[183] Leah had other +reasons, too, for choosing this name of double meaning. The tribe of Gad had +the good fortune of entering into possession of its allotment in the Holy Land +before any of the others,[184] and, also, Gad the son of Jacob was born +circumcised.[185] +</p> + +<p> +To Zilpah's second son Leah gave the name of Asher, "praise," for, she said, +"Unto me all manner of praise is due, for I brought my handmaid into the house +of my husband as wife. Sarah did likewise, but only because she had no +children, and so it was also with Rachel. But as for me, I had children, and +nevertheless I subdued my passion, and without jealousy I gave my handmaid to +my husband for wife. Verily, all will praise and extol me."[186] Furthermore +she spoke: "As the women will praise me, so the sons of Asher will in time to +come praise God for their fruitful possession in the Holy Land."[187] +</p> + +<p> +The next son born unto Jacob was Issachar, "a reward," and once more it was +Leah who was permitted to bring forth the child, as a reward from God for her +pious desire to have the twelve tribes come into the world. To secure this +result, she left no means untried.[188] +</p> + +<p> +It happened once that her oldest son Reuben was tending his father's ass during +the harvest, and he bound him to a root of dudaim, and went his way. On +returning, he found the dudaim torn out of the ground, and the ass lying dead +beside it. The beast had uprooted it in trying to get loose, and the plant has +a peculiar quality, whoever tears it up must die.[189] As it was the time of +the harvest, when it is permitted for any one to take a plant from a field, and +as dudaim is, besides, a plant which the owner of a field esteems lightly, +Reuben carried it home. Being a good son, he did not keep it for himself, but +gave it to his mother. Rachel desired the dudaim, and she asked the plant of +Leah, who parted with it to her sister, but on the condition that Jacob, when +he returned from work in the evening, should tarry with her for a while. It was +altogether unbecoming conduct in Rachel to dispose thus of her husband. She +gained the dudaim, but she lost two tribes. If she had acted otherwise, she +would have borne four sons instead of two. And she suffered another punishment, +her body was not permitted to rest in the grave beside her husband's. +</p> + +<p> +Jacob came home from the field after night had fallen, for he observed the law +obliging a day laborer to work until darkness sets in, and Jacob's zeal in the +affairs of Laban was as great in the last seven years, after his marriage, as +in the first seven, while he was serving for the hand of Rachel.[190] When Leah +heard the braying of Jacob's ass, she ran to meet her husband,[191] and without +giving him time to wash his feet, she insisted upon his turning aside into her +tent.[192] At first Jacob refused to go, but God compelled him to enter, for +unto God it was known that Leah acted from pure, disinterested motives.[193] +Her dudaim secured two sons for her, Issachar, the father of the tribe that +devotes itself to the study of the Torah, whence his name meaning "reward," and +Zebulon, whose descendants carried on commerce, using their profits to enable +their brethren of Issachar to keep at their studies.[194] Leah called this +last-born son of hers Zebulon, "dwelling-place," for she said, "Now will my +husband dwell with me, seeing that I have borne him six sons, and, also, the +sons of Zebulon will have a goodly dwelling-place in the Holy Land."[195] +</p> + +<p> +Leah bore once more, and this last time it was a daughter, a man child turned +into a woman by her prayer. When she conceived for the seventh time, she spake +as follows: "God promised Jacob twelve sons. I bore him six, and each of the +two handmaids has borne him two. If, now, I were to bring forth another son, my +sister Rachel would not be equal even unto the handmaids." Therefore she prayed +to God to change the male embryo in her womb into a female, and God hearkened +unto her prayer.[196] +</p> + +<p> +Now all the wives of Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, united their +prayers with the prayer of Jacob, and together they besought God to remove the +curse of barrenness from Rachel. On New Year's Day, the day whereon God sits in +judgment upon the inhabitants of the earth, He remembered Rachel, and granted +her a son.[197] And Rachel spake, "God hath taken away my reproach," for all +the people had said that she was not a pious woman, else had she borne +children, and now that God had hearkened to her, and opened her womb, such idle +talk no longer had any reason.[198] +</p> + +<p> +By bearing a son, she had escaped another disgrace. She had said to herself: +"Jacob hath a mind to return to the land of his birth, and my father will not +be able to hinder his daughters who have borne him children from following +their husband thither with their children. But he will not let me, the +childless wife, go, too, and he will keep me here and marry me to one of the +uncircumcised."[199] She said furthermore, "As my son hath removed my reproach, +so Joshua, his descendant, will roll away a reproach from the Israelites, when +he circumcises them beyond Jordan."[200] +</p> + +<p> +Rachel called her son Joseph, "increase," saying, "God will give me an +additional son." Prophetess as she was, she foresaw she would have a second +son. But an increase added on by God is larger than the original capital +itself. Benjamin, the second son, whom Rachel regarded merely as a supplement, +had ten sons, while Joseph begot only two. These twelve together may be +considered the twelve tribes borne by Rachel.[201] Had Rachel not used the form +of expression, "The Lord add to me another son," she herself would have +begotten twelve tribes with Jacob.[202] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap99"></a>JACOB FLEES BEFORE LABAN</h3> + +<p> +Jacob had only been waiting for Joseph to be born to begin preparations for his +journey home. The holy spirit had revealed to him that the house of Joseph +would work the destruction of the house of Esau, and, therefore, Jacob +exclaimed at the birth of Joseph, "Now I need not fear Esau or his +legions."[203] +</p> + +<p> +About this time, Rebekah sent her nurse Deborah, the daughter of Uz, +accompanied by two of Isaac's servants, to Jacob, to urge him to return to his +father's house, now that his fourteen years of service had come to an end. Then +Jacob approached Laban, and spoke, "Give me my wives and my children, that I +may go unto mine own place, and to my country, for my mother has sent +messengers unto me, bidding me to return to my father's house."[204] Laban +answered, saying, "O that I might find favor in thine eyes! By a sign it was +made known unto me that God blesseth me for thy sake." What Laban had in mind +was the treasure he had found on the day Jacob came to him, and he considered +that a token of his beneficent powers.[205] Indeed, God had wrought many a +thing in the house of Laban that testified to the blessings spread abroad by +the pious. Shortly before Jacob came, a pest had broken out among Laban's +cattle, and with his arrival it ceased.[206] And Laban had had no son, but +during Jacob's sojourn in Haran sons were born unto him.[207] +</p> + +<p> +All the hire he asked in return for his labor and for the blessings he had +brought Laban was the speckled and spotted among the goats of his herd, and the +black among the sheep. Laban assented to his conditions, saying, "Behold, I +would it might be according to thy word." The arch-villain Laban, whose tongue +wagged in all directions, and who made all sorts of promises that were never +kept, judged others by himself, and therefore suspected Jacob of wanting to +deceive him.[208] And yet, in the end, it was Laban himself who broke his word. +No less than a hundred times he changed the agreement between them. +Nevertheless his unrighteous conduct was of no avail. Though a three days' +journey had been set betwixt Laban's flocks and Jacob's, the angels were wont +to bring the sheep belonging to Laban down to Jacob's sheep, and Jacob's droves +grew constantly larger and better.[209] Laban had given only the feeble and +sick to Jacob, yet the young of the flock, raised under Jacob's tendance, were +so excellent in quality that people bought them at a heavy price.[210] And +Jacob had no need to resort to the peeled rods. He had but to speak, and the +flocks bare according to his desire.[211] What Laban deserved was utter ruin, +for having permitted the pious Jacob to work for him without hire, and after +his wages had been changed ten times, and ten times Laban had tried to +overreach him, God rewarded him in this way.[212] But his good luck with the +flocks was only what Jacob deserved. Every faithful laborer is rewarded by God +in this world, quite regardless of what awaits him in the world to come.[213] +With empty hands Jacob had come to Laban, and he left him with herds numbering +six hundred thousand. Their increase had been marvellous, an increase that will +be equalled only in the Messianic time.[214] +</p> + +<p> +The wealth and good fortune of Jacob called forth the envy of Laban and his +sons, and they could not hide their vexation in their intercourse with him. And +the Lord said unto Jacob, "Thy father-in-law's countenance is not toward thee +as beforetime, and yet thou tarriest with him? Do thou rather return unto the +land of thy fathers, and there I will let My Shekinah rest upon thee, for I +cannot permit the Shekinah to reside outside of the Holy Land."[215] +Immediately Jacob sent the fleet messenger Naphtali[216] to Rachel and Leah to +summon them to a consultation, and he chose as the place of meeting the open +field, where none could overhear what was said.[217] +</p> + +<p> +His two wives approved the plan of returning to his home, and Jacob resolved at +once to go away with all his substance, without as much as acquainting Laban +with his intention. Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and so Jacob could +execute his plan without delay. +</p> + +<p> +That her father might not learn about their flight from his teraphim, Rachel +stole them, and she took them and concealed them upon the camel upon which she +sat, and she went on. And this is the manner they used to make the images: They +took a man who was the first-born, slew him and took the hair off his head, +then salted the head, and anointed it with oil, then they wrote "the Name" upon +a small tablet of copper or gold, and placed it under his tongue. The head with +the tablet under the tongue was then put in a house where lights were lighted +before it, and at the time when they bowed down to it, it spoke to them on all +matters that they asked of it, and that was due to the power of the Name which +was written upon it.[218] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap100"></a>THE COVENANT WITH LABAN</h3> + +<p> +Jacob departed and crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward Gilead, for +the holy spirit revealed to him that God would bring help there to his children +in the days of Jephthah. Meantime the shepherds of Haran observed that the +well, which had been filled to overflowing since the arrival of Jacob in their +place, ran dry suddenly. For three days they watched and waited, in the hope +that the waters would return in the same abundance as before. Disappointed, +they finally told Laban of the misfortune, and he divined at once that Jacob +had departed thence, for he knew that the blessing had been conferred upon +Haran only for the sake of his son-in-law's merits.[219] +</p> + +<p> +On the morrow Laban rose early, assembled all the people of the city, and +pursued Jacob with the intention of killing him when he overtook him. But the +archangel Michael appeared unto him, and bade him take heed unto himself, that +he do not the least unto Jacob, else would he suffer death himself.[220] This +message from heaven came to Laban during the night, for when, in extraordinary +cases, God finds it necessary to reveal Himself unto the heathen, He does it +only in the dark, clandestinely as it were, while He shows Himself to the +prophets of the Jews openly, during daylight. +</p> + +<p> +Laban accomplished the journey in one day for which Jacob had taken seven,[221] +and he overtook him at the mountain of Gilead. When he came upon Jacob, he +found him in the act of praying and giving praise unto God.[222] Immediately +Laban fell to remonstrating with his son-in-law for having stolen away unawares +to him. He showed his true character when he said, "It is in the power of my +hand to do thee hurt, but the God of thy father spake unto me yesternight, +saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad." +That is the way of the wicked, they boast of the evil they can do. Laban wanted +to let Jacob know that only the dream warning him against doing aught that was +harmful to Jacob prevented him from carrying out the wicked design he had +formed against him.[223] +</p> + +<p> +Laban continued to take Jacob to task, and he concluded with the words, "And +now, though thou wouldst needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy +father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?" When he pronounced the +last words, his grandchildren interrupted him, saying, "We are ashamed of thee, +grandfather, that in thy old age thou shouldst use such words as 'my gods.'" +Laban searched all the tents for his idols, going first to the tent of Jacob, +which was Rachel's at the same time, for Jacob always dwelt with his favorite +wife. Finding nothing, he went thence to Leah's tent, and to the tents of the +two handmaids, and, noticing that Rachel was feeling about here and there, his +suspicions were aroused, and he entered her tent a second time. He would now +have found what he was looking for, if a miracle had not come to pass. The +teraphim were transformed into drinking vessels, and Laban had to desist from +his fruitless search. +</p> + +<p> +Now Jacob, who did not know that Rachel had stolen her father's teraphim in +order to turn him aside from his idolatrous ways, was wroth with Laban, and +began to chide with him. In the quarrel between them, Jacob's noble character +manifested itself. Notwithstanding his excitement, he did not suffer a single +unbecoming word to escape him. He only reminded Laban of the loyalty and +devotion with which he had served him, doing for him what none other would or +could have done. He said: "I dealt wrongfully with the lion, for God had +appointed of Laban's sheep for the lion's daily sustenance, and I deprived him +thereof. Could another shepherd have done thus? Yes, the people abused me, +calling me robber and sneak thief, for they thought that only by stealing by +day and stealing by night could I replace the animals torn by wild beasts. And +as to my honesty," he continued, "is it likely there is another son-in-law who, +having lived with his father-in-law, hath not taken some little thing from the +household of his father-in-law, a knife, or other trifle? But thou hast felt +about all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? Not so +much as a needle or a nail." +</p> + +<p> +In his indignation, and conscious of his innocence, Jacob exclaimed, "With +whomsoever thou findest thy gods, he shall not live," words which contained a +curse—the thief was cursed with premature death, and therefore Rachel had to +die in giving birth to Benjamin. Indeed, the curse would have taken effect at +once, had it not been the wish of God that Rachel should bear Jacob his +youngest son.[224] +</p> + +<p> +After the quarrel, the two men made a treaty, and with his gigantic strength +Jacob set up a huge rock as a memorial, and a heap of stones as a sign of their +covenant. In this matter Jacob followed the example of his fathers, who +likewise had covenanted with heathen nations, Abraham with the Jebusites, and +Isaac with the Philistines. Therefore Jacob did not hesitate to make a treaty +with the Arameans.[225] Jacob summoned his sons, calling them brethren, for +they were his peers in piety and strength, and he bade them cast up heaps of +stones. Thereupon he swore unto his father-in-law that he would take no wives +beside his four daughters, either while they were alive or after their death, +and Laban, on his part, swore that he would not pass over the heaps or over the +pillar unto Jacob with hostile intent,[226] and he took the oath by the God of +Abraham, and the God of Nahor, while Jacob made mention of the Fear of Isaac. +He refrained from using the term "the God of Isaac," because God never unites +His name with that of a living person, for the reason that so long as a man has +not ended his years, no trust may be put in him, lest he be seduced by the evil +inclination. It is true, when He appeared unto Jacob at Beth-el, God called +Himself "the God of Isaac." There was a reason for the unusual phrase. Being +blind, Isaac led a retired life, within his tent, and the evil inclination had +no power over him any more. But though God had full confidence in Isaac, yet +Jacob could not venture to couple the name of God with the name of a living +man, wherefore he took his oath by "the Fear of Isaac."[227] +</p> + +<p> +Early in the morning after the day of covenanting, Laban rose up, and kissed +his grandchildren and his daughters, and blessed them. But these acts and words +of his did not come from the heart; in his innermost thoughts he regretted that +Jacob and his family and his substance had escaped him.[228] His true feelings +he betrayed in the message which he sent to Esau at once upon his return to +Haran, by the hand of his son Beor and ten companions of his son. The message +read: "Hast thou heard what Jacob thy brother has done unto me, who first came +to me naked and bare, and I went to meet him, and took him to my house with +honor, and brought him up, and gave him my two daughters for wives, and also +two of my maids? And God blessed him on my account, and he increased +abundantly, and had sons and daughters and maid-servants, and also an uncommon +stock of flocks and herds, camels and asses, also silver and gold in abundance. +But when he saw that his wealth increased, he left me while I went to shear my +sheep, and he rose up and fled in secrecy. And he put his wives and children +upon camels, and he led away all his cattle and substance which he acquired in +my land, and he resolved to go to his father Isaac, to the land of Canaan. And +he did not suffer me to kiss my sons and daughters, and he carried away my +daughters as captives of the sword, and he also stole my gods, and he fled. And +now I have left him in the mountain of the brook of Jabbok, he and all +belonging to him, not a jot of his substance is lacking. If it be thy wish to +go to him, go, and there wilt thou find him, and thou canst do unto him as thy +soul desireth."[229] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob had no need to fear either Laban or Esau, for on his journey he was +accompanied by two angel hosts, one going with him from Haran to the borders of +the Holy Land, where he was received by the other host, the angels of +Palestine.[230] Each of these hosts consisted of no less than six hundred +thousand angels,[231] and when he beheld them, Jacob said: "Ye belong neither +to the host of Esau, who is preparing to go out to war against me, nor the host +of Laban, who is about to pursue me again. Ye are the hosts of the holy angels +sent by the Lord." And he gave the name Mahanaim, Double-Host, to the spot on +which the second army relieved the first.[232] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap101"></a>JACOB AND ESAU PREPARE TO MEET</h3> + +<p> +The message of Laban awakened Esau's old hatred toward Jacob with increased +fury, and he assembled his household, consisting of sixty men. With them and +three hundred and forty inhabitants of Seir, he went forth to do battle with +Jacob and kill him. He divided his warriors into seven cohorts, giving to his +son Eliphaz his own division of sixty, and putting the other six divisions +under as many of the Horites. +</p> + +<p> +While Esau was hastening onward to meet Jacob, the messengers which Laban had +sent to Esau came to Rebekah and told her that Esau and his four hundred men +were about to make war upon Jacob, with the purpose of slaying him and taking +possession of all he had. Anxious lest Esau should execute his plan while yet +Jacob was on the journey, she hastily dispatched seventy-two of the retainers +of Isaac's household, to give him help. Jacob, tarrying on the banks of the +brook Jabbok, rejoiced at the sight of these men, and he greeted them with the +words, "This is God's helping host," wherefore he called the place of their +meeting Mahanaim, Host. +</p> + +<p> +After the warriors sent by Rebekah had satisfied his questions regarding the +welfare of his parents, they delivered his mother's message unto him, thus: "I +have heard, my son, that thy brother Esau hath gone forth against thee on the +road, with men of the children of Seir the Horite, and therefore, my son, +hearken to my voice, and take counsel with thyself what thou wilt do, and when +he cometh up to thee, supplicate him, and do not speak roughly to him, and give +him a present from what thou possessest, and from what God has favored thee +with. And when he asketh thee concerning thy affairs, conceal nothing from him, +perhaps he may turn from his anger against thee, and thou wilt thereby save thy +soul, thou and all belonging to thee, for it is thy duty to honor him, since he +is thy elder brother." +</p> + +<p> +And when Jacob heard the words of his mother which the messengers had spoken to +him, he lifted up his voice and wept bitterly, and did as his mother commanded +him. +</p> + +<p> +He sent messengers to Esau to placate him, and they said unto him: "Thus +speaketh thy servant Jacob: My lord, think not that the blessing which my +father bestowed upon me profited me. Twenty years I served Laban, and he +deceived me, and changed my hire ten times, as thou well knowest. Yet did I +labor sorely in his house, and God saw my affliction, my labor, and the work of +my hands, and afterward He caused me to find grace and favor in the sight of +Laban. And through God's great mercy and kindness, I acquired oxen and asses +and cattle and men-servants and maid servants. And now I am coming to my +country and to my home, to my father and mother, who are in the land of Canaan. +And I have sent to let my lord know all this in order to find favor in the eyes +of my lord, so that he may not imagine that I have become a man of substance, +or that the blessing with which my father blessed me has benefited me."[233] +</p> + +<p> +Furthermore spake the messengers: "Why dost thou envy me in respect to the +blessing wherewith my father blessed me? Is it that the sun shineth in my land, +and not in thine? Or doth the dew and the rain fall only upon my land, and not +upon thine? If my father blessed me with the dew of heaven, he blessed thee +with the fatness of the earth, and if he spoke to me, Peoples will serve thee, +he hath said unto thee, By thy sword shalt thou live. How long, then, wilt thou +continue to envy me? Come, now, let us set up a covenant between us, that we +will share equally all the vexations that may occur." +</p> + +<p> +Esau would not agree to this proposal, his friends dissuaded him therefrom, +saying, "Accept not these conditions, for God hath said to Abraham, Know of a +surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and +shall serve the people thereof, and the aliens shall afflict them four hundred +years. Wait, therefore, until Jacob and his family go down into Egypt to pay +off this debt." +</p> + +<p> +Jacob also sent word to Esau, saying: "Though I dwelt with that heathen of the +heathen, Laban, yet have I not forgotten my God, but I fulfil the six hundred +and thirteen commandments of the Torah.[234] If thy mind be set upon peace, +thou wilt find me ready for peace. But if thy desire be war, thou wilt find me +ready for war. I have with me men of valor and strength, they have but to utter +a word, and God fulfils it. I tarried with Laban until Joseph should be born, +he who is destined to subdue thee.[235] And though my descendants be held in +bondage in this world, yet a day will come when they will rule over their +rulers."[236] +</p> + +<p> +In reply to all these gentle words, Esau spoke with arrogance: "Surely I have +heard, and truly it has been told unto me what Jacob has been to Laban, who +brought him up in his house, and gave him his daughters for wives, and he begot +sons and daughters, and abundantly increased in wealth and riches in Laban's +house and with his help. And when he saw that his wealth was abundant and his +riches were great, he fled with all belonging to him from Laban's house, and he +carried away Laban's daughters from their father as captives of the sword, +without telling him of it. And not only to Laban hath Jacob done thus, but also +unto me hath he done so, and he hath twice supplanted me, and shall I be +silent? Now, I have this day come with my camp to meet him, and I will do unto +him according to the desire of my heart." +</p> + +<p> +The messengers dispatched by Jacob now returned to him, and reported these +words of Esau unto him.[237] They also told him that his brother was advancing +against him with an army consisting of four hundred crowned heads, each leading +a host of four hundred men.[238] "It is true, thou art his brother, and thou +treatest him as a brother should," they said to Jacob, "but he is an Esau, thou +must be made aware of his villainy."[239] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob bore in mind the promise of God, that He would bring him back to his +father's house in peace, yet the report about his brother's purpose alarmed him +greatly. A pious man may never depend upon promises of earthly good. God does +not keep the promise if he is guilty of the smallest conceivable trespass, and +Jacob feared that he might have forfeited happiness by reason of a sin +committed by him. Moreover, he was anxious lest Esau be the one favored by God, +inasmuch as he had these twenty years been fulfilling two Divine commands that +Jacob had had to disregard. Esau had been living in the Holy Land, Jacob +outside of it; the former had been in attendance upon his parents, the latter +dwelling at a distance from them. And much as he feared defeat, Jacob also +feared the reverse, that he might be victorious over Esau, or might even slay +his brother, which would be as bad as to be slain by him. And he was depressed +by another apprehension, that his father had died, for he reasoned that Esau +would not take such warlike steps against his own brother, were his father +still alive.[240] +</p> + +<p> +When his wives saw the anxiety that possessed Jacob, they began to quarrel with +him, and reproach him for having taken them away from their father's house, +though he knew that such danger threatened from Esau.[241] Then Jacob +determined to apply the three means that might save him from the fate +impending: he would cry to God for help, appease Esau's wrath with presents, +and hold himself in readiness for war if the worst came to the worst.[242] +</p> + +<p> +He prayed to God: "O Thou God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, +God of all who walk in the ways of the pious and do like unto them! I am not +worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast +showed unto Thy servant. O Lord of the world, as Thou didst not suffer Laban to +execute his evil designs against me, so also bring to naught the purpose of +Esau, who desireth to slay me. O Lord of the world, in Thy Torah which Thou +wilt give us on Mount Sinai it is written, And whether it be cow or ewe, ye +shall not kill it and her young both in one day. If this wretch should come and +murder my children and their mothers at the same time, who would then desire to +read Thy Torah which Thou wilt give us on Mount Sinai? And yet Thou didst +speak, For the sake of thy merits and for the merits of thy fathers I will do +good unto thee, and in the future world thy children shall be as numerous as +the sand of the sea." +</p> + +<p> +As Jacob prayed for his own deliverance, so also he prayed for the salvation of +his descendants, that they might not be annihilated by the descendants of Esau. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the prayer of Jacob when he saw Esau approaching from afar, and God +heard his petition and looked upon his tears, and He gave him the assurance +that for his sake his descendants, too, would be redeemed from all +distress.[243] +</p> + +<p> +Then the Lord sent three angels, and they went before Esau, and they appeared +unto Esau and his people as hundreds and thousands of men riding upon horses. +They were furnished with all sorts of weapons, and divided into four columns. +And one division went on, and they found Esau coming with four hundred men, and +the division ran toward them, and terrified them. Esau fell off his horse in +alarm, and all his men separated from him in great fear, while the approaching +column shouted after them, "Verily, we are the servants of Jacob, the servant +of God, and who can stand against us?" Esau then said unto them, "O, then my +lord and brother Jacob is your lord, whom I have not seen these twenty years, +and now that I have this day come to see him, do you treat me in this manner?" +The angels answered, "As the Lord liveth, were not Jacob thy brother, we had +not left one remaining of thee and thy people, but on account of Jacob we will +do nothing to thee." This division passed from Esau, and when he had gone from +there about a league, the second division came toward him, and they also did +unto Esau and his men as the first had done to them, and when they permitted +him to go on, the third came and did like the first, and when the third had +passed also, and Esau still continued with his men on the road to Jacob, the +fourth division came and did to them as the others had done. And Esau was +greatly afraid of his brother, because he thought that the four columns of the +army which he had encountered were the servants of Jacob. +</p> + +<p> +After Jacob had made an end of praying, he divided all that journeyed with him +into two companies, and he set over them Damesek and Alinus, the two sons of +Eliezer, the bondman of Abraham, and their sons.[244] Jacob's example teaches +us not to conceal the whole of our fortune in one hiding-place, else we run the +danger of losing everything at one stroke. +</p> + +<p> +Of his cattle he sent a part to Esau as a present, first dividing it into three +droves in order to impress his brother more. When Esau received the first +drove, he would think he had the whole gift that had been sent to him, and +suddenly he would be astonished by the appearance of the second portion, and +again by the third. Jacob knew his brother's avarice only too well.[245] +</p> + +<p> +The men who were the bearers of Jacob's present to Esau were charged with the +following message, "This is an offering to my lord Esau from his slave Jacob." +But God took these words of Jacob in ill part, saying, "Thou profanest what is +holy when thou callest Esau lord." Jacob excused himself; he was but flattering +the wicked in order to escape death at his hands.[246] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap102"></a>JACOB WRESTLES WITH THE ANGEL</h3> + +<p> +The servants of Jacob went before him with the present for Esau, and he +followed with his wives and his children. As he was about to pass over the ford +of Jabbok, he observed a shepherd, who likewise had sheep and camels. The +stranger approached Jacob and proposed that they should ford the stream +together, and help each other move their cattle over, and Jacob assented, on +the condition that his possessions should be put across first. In the twinkling +of an eye Jacob's sheep were transferred to the other side of the stream by the +shepherd. Then the flocks of the shepherd were to be moved by Jacob, but no +matter how many he took over to the opposite bank, always there remained some +on the hither shore. There was no end to the cattle, though Jacob labored all +the night through. At last he lost patience, and he fell upon the shepherd and +caught him by the throat, crying out, "O thou wizard, thou wizard, at night no +enchantment succeeds!" The angel thought, "Very well, let him know once for all +with whom he has had dealings," and with his finger he touched the earth, +whence fire burst forth. But Jacob said, "What! thou thinkest thus to affright +me, who am made wholly of fire?"[247] +</p> + +<p> +The shepherd was no less a personage than the archangel Michael, and in his +combat with Jacob he was assisted by the whole host of angels under his +command. He was on the point of inflicting a dangerous wound upon Jacob, when +God appeared, and all the angels, even Michael himself, felt their strength +ooze away. Seeing that he could not prevail against Jacob, the archangel +touched the hollow of his thigh, and injured him, and God rebuked him, saying, +"Dost thou act as is seemly, when thou causest a blemish in My priest Jacob?" +Michael said in astonishment, "Why, it is I who am Thy priest!" But God said, +"Thou art My priest in heaven, and he is My priest on earth." Thereupon Michael +summoned the archangel Raphael, saying, "My comrade, I pray thee, help me out +of my distress, for thou art charged with the healing of all disease," and +Raphael cured Jacob of the injury Michael had inflicted. +</p> + +<p> +The Lord continued to reproach Michael, saying, "Why didst thou do harm unto My +first-born son?" and the archangel answered, "I did it only to glorify Thee," +and then God appointed Michael as the guardian angel of Jacob and his seed unto +the end of all generations, with these words: "Thou art a fire, and so is Jacob +a fire; thou art the head of the angels, and he is the head of the nations; +thou art supreme over all the angels, and he is supreme over all the peoples. +Therefore he who is supreme over all the angels shall be appointed unto him who +is supreme over all the peoples, that he may entreat mercy for him from the +Supreme One over all." +</p> + +<p> +Then Michael said unto Jacob, "How is it possible that thou who couldst prevail +against me, the most distinguished of the angels, art afraid of Esau?" +</p> + +<p> +When the day broke, Michael said to Jacob, "Let me go, for the day breaketh," +but Jacob held him back, saying, "Art thou a thief, or a gambler with dice, +that thou fearest the daylight?" At that moment appeared many different hosts +of angels, and they called unto Michael: "Ascend, O Michael, the time of song +hath come, and if thou art not in heaven to lead the choir, none will sing." +And Michael entreated Jacob with supplications to let him go, for he feared the +angels of 'Arabot would consume him with fire, if he were not there to start +the songs of praise at the proper time. Jacob said, "I will not let thee go, +except thou bless me," whereto Michael made reply: "Who is greater, the servant +or the son? I am the servant, and thou art the son. Why, then, cravest thou my +blessing?"[248] Jacob urged as an argument, "The angels that visited Abraham +did not leave without blessing him," but Michael held, "They were sent by God +for that very purpose, and I was not." Yet Jacob insisted upon his demand, and +Michael pleaded with him, saying, "The angels that betrayed a heavenly secret +were banished from their place for one hundred and thirty eight years. Dost +thou desire that I should acquaint thee with what would cause my banishment +likewise?" In the end the angel nevertheless had to yield; Jacob could not be +moved, and Michael took counsel with himself thus: "I will reveal a secret to +him, and if God demands to know why I revealed it, I will make answer, Thy +children stand upon their wishes with Thee, and Thou dost yield to them. How, +then, could I have left Jacob's wish unfulfilled?" +</p> + +<p> +Then Michael spoke to Jacob, saying: "A day will come when God will reveal +Himself unto thee, and He will change thy name, and I shall be present when He +changeth it.[249] Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for happy +thou, of woman born, who didst enter the heavenly palace, and didst escape +thence with thy life." And Michael blessed Jacob with the words, "May it be the +will of God that thy descendants be as pious as thou art."[250] +</p> + +<p> +At the same time the archangel reminded Jacob that he had promised to give a +tithe of his possessions unto God, and at once Jacob separated five hundred and +fifty head of cattle from his herds, which counted fifty-five hundred. Then +Michael went on, "But thou hast sons, and of them thou hast not set apart the +tenth." Jacob proceeded to pass his sons in review: Reuben, Joseph, Dan, and +Gad being the first-born, each of his mother, were exempt, and there remained +but eight sons, and when he had named them, down to Benjamin, he had to go back +and begin over again with Simon, the ninth, and finish with Levi as the tenth. +</p> + +<p> +Michael took Levi with him into heaven, and presented him before God, saying, +"O Lord of the world, this one is Thy lot, and the tenth belonging unto Thee," +and God stretched forth His hand and blessed Levi with the blessing that his +children should be the servants of God on earth as the angels were His servants +on high. Michael spoke again, "Doth not a king provide for the sustenance of +his servants?" whereupon God appointed for the Levites all that was holy unto +the Lord.[251] +</p> + +<p> +Then Jacob spoke to the angel: "My father conferred the blessing upon me that +was intended for Esau, and now I desire to know whether thou wilt acknowledge +the blessing as mine, or wilt bring charges against me on account of it." And +the angel said: "I acknowledge the blessing to be thine by right. Thou didst +not gain it by craft and cunning, and I and all the heavenly powers recognize +it to be valid, for thou hast shown thyself master over the mighty powers of +the heavens as over Esau and his legions."[252] +</p> + +<p> +And even then Jacob would not let the angel depart, he had to reveal his name +to him first, and the angel made known to him that it was Israel, the same name +that Jacob would once bear.[253] +</p> + +<p> +At last the angel departed, after Jacob had blessed him, and Jacob called the +place of wrestling Penuel, the same place to which before he had given the name +Mahanaim, for both words have but one meaning, the place of encounter with +angels.[254] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap103"></a>THE MEETING BETWEEN ESAU AND JACOB</h3> + +<p> +At the break of day the angel left off from wrestling with Jacob. The dawn on +that day was of particularly short duration. The sun rose two hours before his +time, by way of compensation for having set early, on the day on which Jacob +passed Mount Moriah on his journey to Haran, to induce him to turn aside and +lodge for a night on the future Temple place.[255] Indeed, the power of the sun +on this same day was altogether remarkable. He shone with the brilliance and +ardor with which he was invested during the six days of the creation, and as he +will shine at the end of days, to make whole the halt and the blind among the +Jews and to consume the heathen. This same healing and devastating property he +had on that day, too, for Jacob was cured, while Esau and his princes were all +but burnt up by his terrible heat.[256] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob was in dire need of healing lotions for the injury he had sustained in +the encounter with the angel. The combat between them had been grim, the dust +whirled up by the scuffle rose to the very throne of God.[257] Though Jacob +prevailed against his huge opponent, as big as one-third of the whole world, +throwing him to the ground and keeping him pinned down, yet the angel had +injured him by clutching at the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of +the thigh, so that it was dislocated, and Jacob halted upon his thigh.[258] The +healing power of the sun restored him, nevertheless his children took it upon +themselves not to eat the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the +thigh, for they reproached themselves with having been the cause of his mishap, +they should not have left him alone in that night.[259] +</p> + +<p> +Now, although Jacob had prepared for the worst, for open hostilities even, yet +when he saw Esau and his men, he thought it discreet to make separate divisions +of the households of Leah, Rachel, and the handmaids, and divide the children +unto each of them. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and +Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. It was the +stratagem which the fox used with the lion. Once upon a time the king of beasts +was wroth with his subjects, and they looked hither and thither for a spokesman +who mastered the art of appeasing their ruler. The fox offered himself for the +undertaking, saying, "I know three hundred fables which will allay his fury." +His offer was accepted with joy. On the way to the lion, the fox suddenly stood +still, and in reply to the questions put to him, he said, "I have forgotten one +hundred of the three hundred fables." "Never mind," said those accompanying +him, "two hundred will serve the purpose." A little way further on the fox +again stopped suddenly, and, questioned again, he confessed that he had +forgotten half of the two hundred remaining fables. The animals with him still +consoled him that the hundred he knew would suffice. But the fox halted a third +time, and then he admitted that his memory had failed him entirely, and he had +forgotten all the fables he knew, and he advised that every animal approach the +king on his own account and endeavor to appease his anger. At first Jacob had +had courage enough to enter the lists with Esau in behalf of all with him. Now +he came to the conclusion to let each one try to do what he could for himself. +</p> + +<p> +However, Jacob was too fond a father to expose his family to the first brunt of +the danger. He himself passed over before all the rest, saying, "It is better +that they attack me than my children."[260] After him came the handmaids and +their children. His reason for placing them there was that, if Esau should be +overcome by passion for the women, and try to violate them, he would thus meet +the handmaids first, and in the meantime Jacob would have the chance of +preparing for more determined resistance in the defense of the honor of his +wives.[261] Joseph and Rachel came last, and Joseph walked in front of his +mother, though Jacob had ordered the reverse. But the son knew both the beauty +of his mother and the lustfulness of his uncle, and therefore he tried to hide +Rachel from the sight of Esau.[262] +</p> + +<p> +In the vehemence of his rage against Jacob, Esau vowed that he would not slay +him with bow and arrow, but would bite him dead with his mouth, and suck his +blood. But he was doomed to bitter disappointment, for Jacob's neck turned as +hard as ivory, and in his helpless fury Esau could but gnash his teeth.[263] +The two brothers were like the ram and the wolf. A wolf wanted to tear a ram in +pieces, and the ram defended himself with his horns, striking them deep into +the flesh of the wolf. Both began to howl, the wolf because he could not secure +his prey, and the ram from fear that the wolf renew his attacks. Esau bawled +because his teeth were hurt by the ivory-like flesh of Jacob's neck, and Jacob +feared that his brother would make a second attempt to bite him.[264] +</p> + +<p> +Esau addressed a question to his brother. "Tell me," he said, "what was the +army I met?" for on his march against Jacob he had had a most peculiar +experience with a great host of forty thousand warriors. It consisted of +various kinds of troops, armor-clad soldiers walking on foot, mounted on +horses, and seated in chariots, and they all threw themselves upon Esau when +they met. He demanded to know whence they came, and the strange soldiers hardly +interrupted their savage onslaught to reply that they belonged to Jacob. Only +when Esau told them that Jacob was his brother did they leave off, saying, "Woe +to us if our master hears that we did thee harm." This was the army and the +encounter Esau inquired about as soon as he met his brother. But the army was a +host of angels, who had the appearance of warriors to Esau and his men.[265] +Also the messengers sent by Jacob to Esau had been angels, for no mere human +being could be induced to go forth and face the recreant.[266] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob now gave Esau the presents intended for him, a tenth of all his +cattle,[267] and also pearls and precious stones,[268] and, besides, a falcon +for the chase.[269] But even the animals refused to give up their gentle master +Jacob and become the property of the villain Esau. They all ran away when Jacob +wanted to hand them over to his brother, and the result was that the only ones +that reached Esau were the feeble and the lame, all that could not make good +their escape.[270] +</p> + +<p> +At first Esau declined the presents offered to him. Naturally, that was a mere +pretense. While refusing the gifts with words, he held his hand outstretched +ready to receive them.[271] Jacob took the hint, and insisted that he accept +them, saying: "Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then +receive my present at my hand, forasmuch as I have seen thy face, as I have +seen the face of angels, and thou art pleased with me." The closing words were +chosen with well-calculated purpose. Jacob wanted Esau to derive the meaning +that he had intercourse with angels, and to be inspired with awe. Jacob was +like the man invited to a banquet by his mortal enemy who has been seeking an +opportunity to slay him. When the guest divines the purpose for which he has +been brought thither, he says to the host: "What a magnificent and delicious +meal this is! But once before in my life did I partake of one like it, and that +was when I was bidden by the king to his table"—enough to drive terror to the +heart of the would-be slayer. He takes good care not to harm a man on such +intimate terms with the king as to be invited to his table![272] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob had valid reason for recalling his encounter with the angel, for it was +the angel of Esau who had measured his strength with Jacob's, and had been +overcome.[273] +</p> + +<p> +As Esau accepted the presents of Jacob willingly on this first occasion, so he +continued to accept them for a whole year; daily Jacob gave him presents as on +the day of their meeting, for, he said, "'A gift doth blind the eyes of the +wise,' and how much more doth it blind the wicked! Therefore will I give him +presents upon presents, perhaps he will let me alone." Besides, he did not +attach much value to the possessions he had acquired outside of the Holy Land. +Such possessions are not a blessing, and he did not hesitate to part with them. +</p> + +<p> +Beside the presents which Jacob gave Esau, he also paid out a large sum of +money to him for the Cave of Machpelah. Immediately upon his arrival in the +Holy Land he sold all he had brought with him from Haran, and a pile of gold +was the proceeds of the sale. He spoke to Esau, saying: "Like me thou hast a +share in the Cave of Machpelah, wilt thou take this pile of gold for thy +portion therein?" "What care I for the Cave?" returned Esau. "Gold is what I +want," and for his share in Machpelah he took the gold realized from the sale +of the possessions Jacob had accumulated outside of the Holy Land. But God +"filled the vacuum without delay," and Jacob was as rich as before.[274] +</p> + +<p> +Wealth was not an object of desire to Jacob. He would have been well content, +in his own behalf and in behalf of his family, to resign all earthly treasures +in favor of Esau and his family. He said to Esau: "I foresee that in future +days suffering will be inflicted by thy children upon mine. But I do not demur, +thou mayest exercise thy dominion and wear thy crown until the time when the +Messiah springs from my loins, and receives the rule from thee." These words +spoken by Jacob will be realized in days to come, when all the nations will +rise up against the kingdom of Edom, and take away one city after another from +him, one realm after another, until they reach Bet-Gubrin, and then the Messiah +will appear and assume his kingship. The angel of Edom will flee for refuge to +Bozrah, but God will appear there, and slay him, for though Bozrah is one of +the cities of refuge, yet will the Lord exercise the right of the avenger +therein. He will seize the angel by his hair, and Elijah will slaughter him, +letting the blood spatter the garments of God.[275] All this Jacob had in mind +when he said to Esau, "Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant, +until I come unto my lord unto Seir." Jacob himself never went to Seir. What he +meant was the Messianic time when Israel shall go to Seir, and take possession +thereof.[276] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob tarried in Succoth a whole year, and he opened a house of learning +there.[277] Then he journeyed on to Shechem, while Esau betook himself to Seir, +saying to himself, "How long shall I be a burden to my brother?" for it was +during Jacob's sojourn at Succoth that Esau received daily presents from +Jacob.[278] +</p> + +<p> +And Jacob, after abiding these many years in a strange land, came to Shechem in +peace, unimpaired in mind and body. He had forgotten none of the knowledge he +had acquired before; the gifts he gave to Esau did not encroach upon his +wealth; the injury inflicted by the angel that wrestled with him had been +healed, and likewise his children were sound and healthy.[279] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob entered Shechem on a Friday, late in the afternoon, and his first concern +was to lay out the boundaries of the city, that the laws of the Sabbath might +not be transgressed. As soon as he was settled in the place, he sent presents +to the notables. A man must be grateful to a city from which he derives +benefits. No less did the common people enjoy his bounty. For them he opened a +market where he sold all wares at low prices.[280] +</p> + +<p> +Also he lost no time in buying a parcel of ground, for it is the duty of every +man of substance who comes to the Holy Land from outside to make himself the +possessor of land there.[281] He gave a hundred lambs for his estate, a hundred +yearling sheep, and a hundred pieces of money, and received in return a bill of +sale, to which he attached his signature, using the letters Yod-He for it. And +then he erected an altar to God upon his land, and he said, "Thou art the Lord +of all celestial things, and I am the lord of all earthly things." But God +said, "Not even the overseer of the synagogue arrogates privileges in the +synagogue, and thou assumest lordship with a high hand? Forsooth, on the morrow +thy daughter will go abroad, and she shall be humbled."[282] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap104"></a>THE OUTRAGE AT SHECHEM</h3> + +<p> +While Jacob and his sons were sitting in the house of learning, occupied with +the study of the Torah,[283] Dinah went abroad to see the dancing and singing +women, whom Shechem had hired to dance and play in the streets in order to +entice her forth.[284] Had she remained at home, nothing would have happened to +her. But she was a woman, and all women like to show themselves in the +street.[285] When Shechem caught sight of her, he seized her by main force, +young though she was,[286] and violated her in beastly fashion.[287] +</p> + +<p> +This misfortune befell Jacob as a punishment for his excessive self-confidence. +In his negotiations with Laban, he had used the expression, "My righteousness +shall answer for me hereafter." Besides, on his return to Palestine, when he +was preparing to meet his brother, he concealed his daughter Dinah in a chest, +lest Esau desire to have her for wife, and he be obliged to give her to him. +God spoke to him, saying: "Herein hast thou acted unkindly toward thy brother, +and therefore Dinah will have to marry Job, one that is neither circumcised nor +a proselyte. Thou didst refuse to give her to one that is circumcised, and one +that is uncircumcised will take her. Thou didst refuse to give her to Esau in +lawful wedlock, and now she will fall a victim to the ravisher's illicit +passion."[288] +</p> + +<p> +When Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter, he sent twelve servants +to fetch Dinah from Shechem's house, but Shechem went out to them with his men, +and drove them from his house, and he would not suffer them to come unto Dinah, +and he kissed and embraced her before their eyes. Jacob then sent two maidens +of his servants' daughters to remain with Dinah in the house of Shechem. +Shechem bade three of his friends go to his father Hamor, the son of Haddakum, +the son of Pered, and say, "Get me this damsel to wife." Hamor tried at first +to persuade his son not to take a Hebrew woman to wife, but when Shechem +persisted in his request, he did according to the word of his son, and went +forth to communicate with Jacob concerning the matter. In the meanwhile the +sons of Jacob returned from the field, and, kindled with wrath, they spoke unto +their father, saying, "Surely death is due to this man and his household, +because the Lord God of the whole earth commanded Noah and his children that +man shall never rob nor commit adultery. Now, behold, Shechem has ravaged and +committed fornication with our sister, and not one of all the people of the +city spake a word to him." And whilst they were speaking, Hamor came to speak +to Jacob the words of his son concerning Dinah, and after he ceased to speak, +Shechem himself came to Jacob and repeated the request made by his father. +Simon and Levi answered Hamor and Shechem deceitfully, saying: "All you have +spoken unto us we will do. And, behold, our sister is in your house, but keep +away from her until we send to our father Isaac concerning this matter, for we +can do nothing without his counsel. He knows the ways of our father Abraham, +and whatever he saith unto us we will tell you, we will conceal nothing from +you." +</p> + +<p> +Shechem and his father went home thereafter, satisfied with the result +achieved, and when they had gone, the sons of Jacob asked him to seek counsel +and pretext in order to kill all the inhabitants of the city, who had deserved +this punishment on account of their wickedness. Then Simon said to them: "I +have good counsel to give you. Bid them be circumcised. If they consent not, we +shall take our daughter from them, and go away. And if they consent to do this, +then, when they are in pain, we shall attack them and slay them." The next +morning Shechem and his father came again to Jacob, to speak concerning Dinah, +and the sons of Jacob spoke deceitfully to them, saying: "We told our father +Isaac all your words, and your words pleased him, but he said, that thus did +Abraham his father command him from God, that any man that is not of his +descendants, who desireth to take one of his daughters to wife, shall cause +every male belonging to him to be circumcised." +</p> + +<p> +Shechem and his father hastened to do the wishes of the sons of Jacob, and they +persuaded also the men of the city to do likewise, for they were greatly +esteemed by them, being the princes of the land. +</p> + +<p> +On the next day, Shechem and his father rose up early in the morning, and they +assembled all the men of the city, and they called for the sons of Jacob, and +they circumcised Shechem, his father, his five brothers, and all the males in +the city, six hundred and forty-five men and two hundred and seventy-six lads. +Haddakum, the grandfather of Shechem, and his six brothers would not be +circumcised, and they were greatly incensed against the people of the city for +submitting to the wishes of the sons of Jacob. +</p> + +<p> +In the evening of the second day, Shechem and his father sent to have eight +little children whom their mothers had concealed brought to them to be +circumcised. Haddakum and his six brothers sprang at the messengers, and sought +to slay them, and sought to slay also Shechem, Hamor, and Dinah. They chided +Shechem and his father for doing a thing that their fathers had never done, +which would raise the ire of the inhabitants of the land of Canaan against +them, as well as the ire of all the children of Ham, and that on account of a +Hebrew woman. Haddakum and his brothers finished by saying: "Behold, to-morrow +we will go and assemble our Canaanitish brethren, and we will come and smite +you and all in whom you trust, that there shall not be a remnant left of you or +them." +</p> + +<p> +When Hamor and his son Shechem and all the people of the city heard this, they +were sore afraid, and they repented what they had done, and Shechem and his +father answered Haddakum and his brothers: "Because we saw that the Hebrews +would not accede to our wishes concerning their daughter, we did this thing, +but when we shall have obtained our request from them, we will then do unto +them that which is in your hearts and in ours, as soon as we shall become +strong." +</p> + +<p> +Dinah, who heard their words, hastened and dispatched one of her maidens whom +her father had sent to take care of her in Shechem's house, and informed Jacob +and his sons of the conspiracy plotted against them. When the sons of Jacob +heard this, they were filled with wrath, and Simon and Levi swore, and said, +"As the Lord liveth, by to-morrow there shall not be a remnant left In the +whole city." +</p> + +<p> +They began the extermination by killing eighteen of the twenty young men who +had concealed themselves and were not circumcised, and two of them fled and +escaped to some lime pits that were in the city. Then Simon and Levi slew all +the city, not leaving a male over, and while they were looking for spoils +outside of the city, three hundred women rose against them and threw stones and +dust upon them, but Simon single-handed slew them all, and returned to the +city, where he joined Levi. Then they took away from the people outside of the +city their sheep, their oxen, their cattle, and also the women and the little +children, and they led all these away, and took them to the city to their +father Jacob. The number of women whom they did not slay, but only took +captive, was eighty-five virgins, among them a young damsel of great beauty by +the name of Bunah, whom Simon took to wife. The number of the males which they +took captive and did not slay was forty-seven, and all these men and women were +servants to the sons of Jacob, and to their children after them, until the day +they left Egypt. +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap105"></a>A WAR FRUSTRATED</h3> + +<p> +When Simon and Levi had gone from the city, the two young men who had concealed +themselves in the lime pits, and were not slain amongst the people of the city, +rose up, and they found the city desolate, without a man, only weeping women, +and they cried out, saying, "Behold, this is the evil which the sons of Jacob +did who destroyed one of the Canaanite cities, and were not afraid of all the +land of Canaan." +</p> + +<p> +They left the city and went to Tappuah, and told the inhabitants all that the +sons of Jacob had done to the city of Shechem. Jashub, the king of Tappuah, +sent to Shechem to see whether these young men told the truth, for he did not +believe them, saying, "How could two men destroy a large city like Shechem?" +The messengers of Jashub returned, and they reported, "The city is destroyed, +not a man is left there, only weeping women, neither are there flocks and +cattle there, for all that was in the city was taken away by the sons of +Jacob." +</p> + +<p> +Jashub wondered thereat, for the like had not been heard from the days of +Nimrod, and not even from the remotest times, that two men should be able to +destroy so large a city, and he decided to go to war against the Hebrews, and +avenge the cause of the people of Shechem. His counsellors said to him: "If two +of them laid waste a whole city, surely if thou goest against them, they all +will rise up against us, and destroy us. Therefore, send to the kings round +about, that we all together fight against the sons of Jacob, and prevail +against them." +</p> + +<p> +The seven kings of the Amorites, when they heard the evil that the sons of +Jacob had done to the city of Shechem, assembled together, with all their +armies, ten thousand men, with drawn swords, and they came to fight against the +sons of Jacob. And Jacob was greatly afraid, and he said to Simon and Levi, +"Why have you brought such evil upon me? I was at rest, and you provoked the +inhabitants of the land against me by your acts." +</p> + +<p> +Then Judah spoke to his father: "Was it for naught that Simon and Levi killed +the inhabitants of Shechem? Verily, it was because Shechem dishonored our +sister, and transgressed the command of our God to Noah and his children, and +not one of the inhabitants of the city interfered in the matter. Now, why art +thou afraid, and why art thou displeased at my brethren? Surely, our God, who +delivered the city of Shechem and its people into their hand, He will also +deliver into our hands all the Canaanitish kings who are coming against us. Now +cast away thy fears, and pray to God to assist us and deliver us." +</p> + +<p> +Judah then addressed his brethren, saying: "The Lord our God is with us! Fear +naught, then! Stand ye forth, each man girt with his weapons of war, his bow +and his sword, and we will go and fight against the uncircumcised. The Lord is +our God, He will save us." +</p> + +<p> +Jacob, his eleven sons, and one hundred servants belonging to Isaac, who had +come to their assistance, marched forward to meet the Amorites, a people +exceedingly numerous, like unto the sand upon the sea-shore. The sons of Jacob +sent unto their grandfather Isaac, at Hebron, requesting him to pray unto the +Lord to protect them from the hand of the Canaanites, and he prayed as follows: +"O Lord God, Thou didst promise my father, saying, I will multiply thy seed as +the stars of heaven, and also me Thou didst promise that Thou wouldst establish +Thy word to my father. Now, O Lord, God of the whole world, pervert, I pray +Thee, the counsel of these kings, that they may not fight against my sons, and +impress the hearts of their kings and their people with the terror of my sons, +and bring down their pride that they turn away from my sons. Deliver my sons +and their servants from them with Thy strong hand and outstretched arm, for +power and might are in Thy hands to do all this." +</p> + +<p> +Jacob also prayed unto God, and said: "O Lord God, powerful and exalted God, +who hast reigned from days of old, from then until now and forever! Thou art He +who stirreth up wars and causeth them to cease. In Thy hand are power and might +to exalt and to bring low. O may my prayer be acceptable unto Thee, that Thou +mayest turn to me with Thy mercies, to impress the hearts of these kings and +their people with the terror of my sons, and terrify them and their camps, and +with Thy great kindness deliver all those that trust in Thee, for Thou art He +who subdues the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet." +</p> + +<p> +God heard the prayers of Isaac and Jacob, and He filled the hearts of all the +advisers of the Canaanite kings with great fear and terror, and when the kings, +who were undecided whether to undertake a campaign against the sons of Jacob, +consulted them, they said: "Are you silly, or is there no understanding in you, +that you propose to fight with the Hebrews? Why do you take delight in your own +destruction this day? Behold, two of them came to the city of Shechem without +fear or terror, and they put all the inhabitants of the city to the sword, no +man stood up against them, and how will you be able to fight with them all?" +</p> + +<p> +The royal counsellors then proceeded to enumerate all the mighty things God had +done for Abraham, Jacob, and the sons of Jacob, such as had not been done from +days of old and by any of the gods of the nations. When the kings heard all the +words of their advisers, they were afraid of the sons of Jacob, and they would +not fight against them. They turned back with their armies on that day, each to +his own city. But the sons of Jacob kept their station that day till evening, +and seeing that the kings did not advance to do battle with them in order to +avenge the inhabitants of Shechem whom they had killed, they returned +home.[289] +</p> + +<p> +The wrath of the Lord descended upon the inhabitants of Shechem to the +uttermost on account of their wickedness. For they had sought to do unto Sarah +and Rebekah as they did unto Dinah, but the Lord had prevented them. Also they +had persecuted Abraham when he was a stranger, and they had vexed his flocks +when they were big with young, and Eblaen, one born in his house, they had +handled most shamefully. And thus they did to all strangers, taking away their +wives by force.[290] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap106"></a>THE WAR WITH THE NINEVITES</h3> + +<p> +The destruction of Shechem by Simon and Levi terrified the heathen all around. +If two sons of Jacob had succeeded in ruining a great city like Shechem, they +argued, what would Jacob and all his sons accomplish acting together? Jacob +meanwhile left Shechem, hindered by none, and with all his possessions he set +out, to betake himself to his father Isaac. But after an eight days' march he +encountered a powerful army, which had been dispatched from Nineveh to levy +tribute upon the whole world and subjugate it. On coming in the vicinity of +Shechem, this army heard to what the city had been exposed at the hands of the +sons of Jacob, and fury seized the men, and they resolved to make war upon +Jacob. +</p> + +<p> +But Jacob said to his sons: "Fear not, God will be your helper, and He will +fight for you against your enemies. Only you must put away from you the strange +gods in your possession, and you must purify yourselves, and wash your garments +clean." +</p> + +<p> +Girt with his sword, Jacob advanced against the enemy, and in the first +onslaught he slew twelve thousand of the weak in the army. Then Judah spake to +him, and said, "Father, thou art tired and exhausted, let me fight the enemy +alone." And Jacob replied, saying, "Judah, my son, I know thy strength and thy +bravery, that they are exceeding great, so that none in the world is like unto +thee therein." His countenance like a lion's and inflamed with wrath, Judah +attacked the army, and slew twelve myriads of tried and famous warriors. The +battle raged hot in front and in the rear, and Levi his brother hastened to his +aid, and together they won a victory over the Ninevites. Judah alone slew five +thousand more soldiers, and Levi dealt blows right and left with such vigor +that the men of the enemy's army fell like grain under the scythe of the +reaper. +</p> + +<p> +Alarmed about their fate, the people of Nineveh said: "How long shall we fight +with these devils? Let us return to our land, lest they exterminate us root and +branch, without leaving a remnant." But their king desired to restrain them, +and he said: "O ye heroes, ye men of might and valor, have you lost your senses +that you ask to return to your land? Is this your bravery? After you have +subdued many kingdoms and countries, ye are not able to hold out against twelve +men? If the nations and the kings whom we have made tributary to ourselves hear +of this, they will rise up against us as a man, and make a laughing-stock of +us, and do with us according to their desire. Take courage, ye men of the great +city of Nineveh, that your honor and your name be exalted, and you become not a +mockery in the mouth of your enemies." +</p> + +<p> +These words of their king inspired the warriors to continue the campaign. They +sent messengers to all the lands to ask for help, and, reinforced by their +allies, the Ninevites assaulted Jacob a second time. He spoke to his sons, +saying, "Take courage and be men, fight against your enemies." His twelve sons +then took up their stand in twelve different places, leaving considerable +intervals between one and another, and Jacob, a sword in his right hand and a +bow in his left, advanced to the combat. It was a desperate encounter for him. +He had to ward off the enemy to the right and the left. Nevertheless he +inflicted a severe blow, and when a band of two thousand men beset him, he +leapt up in the air and over them and vanished from their sight. Twenty-two +myriads he slew on this day, and when evening came he planned to flee under +cover of darkness. But suddenly ninety thousand men appeared, and he was +compelled to continue the fight. He rushed at them with his sword, but it +broke, and he had to defend himself by grinding huge rocks into lime powder, +and this he threw at the enemy and blinded them so that they could see nothing. +Luckily, darkness was about to fall, and he could permit himself to take rest +for the night. +</p> + +<p> +In the morning, Judah said to Jacob, "Father, thou didst fight the whole of +yesterday, and thou art weary and exhausted. Let me fight this day." When the +warriors caught sight of Judah's lion face and his lion teeth, and heard his +lion voice, they were greatly afraid. Judah hopped and jumped over the army +like a flea, from one warrior to the next, raining blows down upon them +incessantly, and by evening he had slain eighty thousand and ninety-six men, +armed with swords and bows. But fatigue overcame him, and Zebulon took up his +station at his brother's left hand, and mowed down eighty thousand of the +enemy. Meantime Judah regained some of his strength, and, rising up in wrath +and fury, and gnashing his teeth with a noise like unto thunder claps in +midsummer, he put the army to flight. It ran a distance of eighteen miles, and +Judah could enjoy a respite that night. +</p> + +<p> +But the army reappeared on the morrow, ready for battle again, to take revenge +on Jacob and his children. They blew their trumpets, whereupon Jacob spake to +his sons, "Go forth and fight with your enemies." Issachar and Gad said that +this day they would take the combat upon themselves, and their father bade them +do it while their brothers kept guard and held themselves in readiness to aid +and relieve the two combatants when they showed signs of weariness and +exhaustion. +</p> + +<p> +The leaders of the day slew forty-eight thousand warriors, and put to flight +twelve myriads more, who concealed themselves in a cave. Issachar and Gad +fetched trees from the woods, piled the trunks up in front of the opening of +the cave, and set fire to them. When the fire blazed with a fierce flame, the +warriors spoke, saying: "Why should we stay in this cave and perish with the +smoke and the heat? Rather will we go forth and fight with our enemies, then we +may have a chance of saving ourselves." They left the cave, going through +openings at the side, and they attacked Issachar and Gad in front and behind. +Dan and Naphtali saw the plight of their brothers and ran to their assistance. +They laid about with their swords, hewing a way for themselves to Issachar and +Gad, and, united with them, they, too, opposed the foe. +</p> + +<p> +It was the third day of the conflict, and the Ninevites were reinforced by an +army as numerous as the sand on the sea-shore. All the sons of Jacob united to +oppose it, and they routed the host. But when they pursued after the enemy, the +fugitives faced about and resumed the battle, saying: "Why should we run away? +Let us rather fight them, perhaps we may be victorious, now they are weary." A +stubborn combat ensued, and when Jacob saw the vehement attack upon his +children, he himself sprang into the thick of the battle and dealt blows right +and left. Nevertheless the heathen were victorious, and succeeded in separating +Judah from his brethren. As soon as Jacob was aware of the peril of his son, he +whistled, and Judah responded, and his brethren hastened to his aid. Judah was +fatigued and parched with thirst, and there was no water for him to drink, but +he dug his finger into the ground with such force that water gushed out in the +sight of the whole army. Then said one warrior to another, "I will flee before +these devils, for God fights on their side," and he and all the army fled +precipitately, pursued by the sons of Jacob. Soldiers without number they slew, +and then they went back to their tents. On their return they noticed that +Joseph was missing, and they feared he had been killed or taken captive. +Naphtali ran after the retreating enemy, to make search for Joseph, and he +found him still fighting against the Ninevite army. He joined Joseph, and +killed countless soldiers, and of the fugitives many drowned, and the men that +were besetting Joseph ran off and left him in safety. +</p> + +<p> +At the end of the war Jacob continued his journey, unhindered, to his father +Isaac.[291] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap107"></a>THE WAR WITH THE AMORITES</h3> + +<p> +At first the people that lived round about Shechem made no attempt to molest +Jacob, who had returned thither after a while, together with his household, to +take up his abode there and establish himself. But at the end of seven years +the heathen began to harass him. The kings of the Amorites assembled together +against the sons of Jacob to slay them in the Valley of Shechem. "Is it not +enough," they said, "that they have slain all the men of Shechem? Should they +be permitted now to take possession of their land, too?" and they advanced to +render battle. +</p> + +<p> +Judah leapt into the midst of the ranks of the foot soldiers of the allied +kings, and slew first of all Jashub, the king of Tappuah, who was clad in iron +and brass from top to toe. The king was mounted, and from his horse he cast his +spears downward with both hands, in front of him and in back, without ever +missing his aim, for he was a mighty warrior, and he could throw javelins with +one hand or the other. Nevertheless Judah feared neither him nor his prowess. +He ran toward him, snatching a stone of sixty sela'im from the ground and +hurling it at him. Jashub was at a distance of one hundred and seventy-seven +ells and one-third of an ell, and, protected with iron armor and throwing +spears, he moved forward upon Judah. But Judah struck him on his shield with +the stone, and unhorsed him. When the king attempted to rise, Judah hastened to +his side to slay him before he could get on his feet. But Jashub was nimble, he +stood ready to attack Judah, shield to shield, and he drew his sword to cut off +Judah's head. Quickly Judah raised his shield to catch the blow upon it, but it +broke in pieces. What did Judah now? He wrested the shield of his opponent away +from him, and swung his sword against Jashub's feet, cutting them off above the +ankles. The king fell prostrate, his sword slipped from his grasp, and Judah +hastened to him and severed his head from his body. +</p> + +<p> +While Judah was removing the armor of his slain adversary, nine of Jashub's +followers appeared. Judah slung a stone against the head of the first of them +that approached him, with such force that he dropped his shield, which Judah +snatched from the ground and used to defend himself against his eight +assailants. His brother Levi came and stood next to him, and shot off an arrow +that killed Elon, king of Gaash, and then Judah killed the eight men. And his +father Jacob came and killed Zerori king of Shiloh. None of the heathen could +prevail against these sons of Jacob, they had not the courage to stand up +before them, but took to flight, and the sons of Jacob pursued after them, and +each slew a thousand men of the Amorites on that day, before the going down of +the sun. And the other sons of Jacob set forth from the Hill of Shechem, where +they had taken up their stand, and they also pursued after them as far as +Hazor. Before this city they had another severe encounter with the enemy, more +severe than that in the Valley of Shechem. Jacob let his arrows fly, and slew +Pirathon king of Hazor, and then Pasusi king of Sartan, Laban king of Aram, and +Shebir king of Mahanaim. +</p> + +<p> +Judah was the first to mount the walls of Hazor. As he approached the top, four +warriors attacked him, but he slew them without stopping in his ascent, and +before his brother Naphtali could bring him succor. Naphtali followed him, and +the two stood upon the wall, Judah to the right and Naphtali to the left, and +thence they dealt out death to the warriors. The other sons of Jacob followed +their two brothers in turn, and made an end of exterminating the heathen host +on that day. They subjugated Hazor, slew the warriors thereof, let no man +escape with his life, and despoiled the city of all therein. +</p> + +<p> +On the day following they went to Sartan, and again a bloody battle took place. +Sartan was situated upon high land, and the hill before the city was likewise +very high, so that none could come near unto it, and also none could come near +unto the citadel, because the wall thereof was high. Nevertheless they made +themselves masters of the city. They scaled the walls of the citadel, Judah on +the east side being the first to ascend, then Gad on the west side, Simon and +Levi on the north, and Reuben and Dan on the south, and Naphtali and Issachar +set fire to the hinges upon which the gates of the city were hung. +</p> + +<p> +In the same way the sons of Jacob subdued five other cities, Tappuah, Arbel, +Shiloh, Mahanaim, and Gaash, making an end of all of them in five days. On the +sixth day all the Amorites assembled, and they came to Jacob and his sons +unarmed, bowed down before them, and sued for peace. And the sons of Jacob made +peace with the heathen, who ceded Timna to them, and all the land of Harariah. +In that day also Jacob concluded peace with them, and they made restitution to +the sons of Jacob for all the cattle they had taken, two head for one, and they +restored all the spoil they had carried off. And Jacob turned to go to Timna, +and Judah went to Arbel, and thenceforth the Amorites troubled them no +more.[292] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap108"></a>ISAAC BLESSES LEVI AND JUDAH</h3> + +<p> +If a man voweth a vow, and he does not fulfil it in good time, he will stumble +through three grave sins, idolatry, unchastity, and bloodshed. Jacob had been +guilty of not accomplishing promptly the vow he had taken upon himself at +Beth-el, and therefore punishment overtook him—his daughter was dishonored, his +sons slew men, and they kept the idols found among the spoils of Shechem.[293] +Therefore, when Jacob prostrated himself before God after the bloody outrage at +Shechem, He bade him arise, and go to Beth-el and accomplish the vow he had +vowed there.[294] Before Jacob set out for the holy place to do the bidding of +God, he took the idols which were in the possession of his sons, and the +teraphim which Rachel had stolen from her father, and he shivered them in +pieces, and buried[295] the bits under an oak upon Mount Gerizim,[296] +uprooting the tree with one hand, concealing the remains of the idols in the +hollow left in the earth, and planting the oak again with one hand.[297] +</p> + +<p> +Among the destroyed idols was one in the form of a dove, and this the +Samaritans dug up later and worshipped. +</p> + +<p> +On reaching Beth-el he erected an altar to the Lord, and on a pillar he set up +the stone whereon he had rested his head during the night which he had passed +there on his journey to Haran.[298] Then he bade his parents come to Beth-el +and take part in his sacrifice. But Isaac sent him a message, saying, "O my son +Jacob, that I might see thee before I die," whereupon Jacob hastened to his +parents, taking Levi and Judah with him. When his grandchildren stepped before +Isaac, the darkness that shrouded his eyes dropped away, and he said, "My son, +are these thy children, for they resemble thee?" And the spirit of prophecy +entered his mouth, and he grasped Levi with his right hand and Judah with his +left in order to bless them, and he spoke these words to Levi: "May the Lord +bring thee and thy seed nigh unto Him before all flesh, that ye serve in His +sanctuary like the Angel of the Face and the Holy Angels. Princes, judges, and +rulers shall they be unto all the seed of the children of Jacob. The word of +God they will proclaim in righteousness, and all His judgments they will +execute in justice, and they will make manifest His ways unto the children of +Jacob, and unto Israel His paths." And unto Judah he spake, saying: "Be ye +princes, thou and one of thy sons, over the sons of Jacob. In thee shall be the +help of Jacob, and the salvation of Israel shall be found in thee. And when +thou sittest upon the throne of the glory of thy justice, perfect peace shall +reign over all the seed of the children of my beloved Abraham." +</p> + +<p> +On the morrow, Isaac told his son that he would not accompany him to Beth-el on +account of his great age, but he bade him not delay longer to fulfil his vow, +and gave him permission to take his mother Rebekah with him to the holy place. +And Rebekah and her nurse Deborah went to Beth-el with Jacob.[299] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap109"></a>JOY AND SORROW IN THE HOUSE OF JACOB</h3> + +<p> +Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, and some of the servants of Isaac had been sent +to Jacob by his mother, while he still abode with Laban, to summon him home at +the end of his fourteen years' term of service. As Jacob did not at once obey +his mother's behest, the two servants of Isaac returned to their master, but +Deborah remained with Jacob then and always. Therefore, when Deborah died in +Beth-el, Jacob mourned for her, and he buried her below Beth-el under the +palm-tree,[300] the same under which the prophetess Deborah sat later, when the +children of Israel came to her for judgment.[301] +</p> + +<p> +But a short time elapsed after the death of the nurse Deborah, and Rebekah +died, too. Her passing away was not made the occasion for public mourning. The +reason was that, as Abraham was dead, Isaac blind, and Jacob away from home, +there remained Esau as the only mourner to appear in public and represent her +family, and beholding that villain, it was feared, might tempt a looker-on to +cry out, "Accursed be the breasts that gave thee suck." To avoid this, the +burial of Rebekah took place at night. +</p> + +<p> +God appeared unto Jacob to comfort him in his grief,[302] and with Him appeared +the heavenly family. It was a sign of grace, for all the while the sons of +Jacob had been carrying idols with them the Lord had not revealed Himself to +Jacob.[303] At this time God announced to Jacob the birth of Benjamin soon to +occur, and the birth of Manasseh and Ephraim, who also were to be founders of +tribes, and furthermore He told him that these three would count kings among +their descendants, Saul and Ish-bosheth, of the seed of Benjamin, Jeroboam the +Ephraimite, and Jehu of the tribe of Manasseh. In this vision, God confirmed +the change of his name from Jacob to Israel, promised him by the angel with +whom he had wrestled on entering the Holy Land, and finally God revealed to him +that he would be the last of the three with whose names the Name of God would +appear united, for God is called only the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and +the God of Jacob, and never the God of any one else.[304] +</p> + +<p> +In token of this revelation from God, Jacob set up a pillar of stone, and he +poured out a drink offering thereon, as in a later day the priests were to +offer libations in the Temple on the Feast of Tabernacles,[305] and the +libation brought by Jacob at Beth-el was as much as all the waters in the Sea +of Tiberias.[306] +</p> + +<p> +At the time when Deborah and Rebekah died, occurred also the death of Rachel, +at the age of thirty-six,[307] but not before her prayer was heard, that she +bear Jacob a second son, for she died in giving birth to Benjamin. Twelve years +she had borne no child, then she fasted twelve days, and her petition was +granted her. She brought forth the youngest son of Jacob, whom he called +Benjamin, the son of days, because he was born in his father's old age,[308] +and with him a twin sister was born.[309] +</p> + +<p> +Rachel was buried in the way to Ephrath, because Jacob, gifted with prophetic +spirit, foresaw that the exiles would pass this place on their march to +Babylon, and as they passed, Rachel would entreat God's mercy for the poor +outcasts.[310] +</p> + +<p> +Jacob journeyed on to Jerusalem.[311] +</p> + +<p> +During Rachel's lifetime, her couch had always stood in the tent of Jacob. +After her death, he ordered the couch of her handmaid Bilhah to be carried +thither. Reuben was sorely vexed thereat, and he said, "Not enough that Rachel +alive curtailed the rights of my mother, she must needs give her annoyance also +after death!" He went and took the couch of his mother Leah and placed it in +Jacob's tent instead of Bilhah's couch.[312] Reuben's brothers learned of his +disrespectful act from Asher. He had found it out in one way or another, and +had told it to his brethren, who ruptured their relations with him, for they +would have nothing to do with an informer, and they did not become reconciled +with Asher until Reuben himself confessed his transgression.[313] For it was +not long before Reuben recognized that he had acted reprehensibly toward his +father, and he fasted and put on sackcloth, and repented of his misdeed. He was +the first among men to do penance, and therefore God said to him: "Since the +beginning of the world it hath not happened that a man hath sinned and then +repented thereof. Thou art the first to do penance, and as thou livest, a +prophet of thy seed, Hosea, shall be the first to proclaim, 'O Israel, return.' +"[314] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap110"></a>ESAU'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST JACOB</h3> + +<p> +When Isaac felt his end approaching, he called his two sons to him, and charged +them with his last wish and will, and gave them his blessing. He said: "I +adjure you by the exalted Name, the praised, honored, glorious, immutable, and +mighty One, who hath made heaven and earth and all things together, that ye +fear Him, and serve Him, and each shall love his brother in mercy and justice, +and none wish evil unto the other, now and henceforth unto all eternity, all +the days of your life, that ye may enjoy good fortune in all your undertakings, +and that ye perish not." +</p> + +<p> +Furthermore he commanded them to bury him in the Cave of Machpelah, by the side +of his father Abraham, in the grave which he had dug for himself with his own +hands. Then he divided his possessions between his two sons, giving Esau the +larger portion, and Jacob the smaller. But Esau said, "I sold my birthright to +Jacob, and I ceded it to him, and it belongs unto him." Isaac rejoiced greatly +that Esau acknowledged the rights of Jacob of his own accord, and he closed his +eyes in peace.[315] +</p> + +<p> +The funeral of Isaac was not disturbed by any unseemly act, for Esau was sure +of his heritage in accordance with the last wishes expressed by his father. But +when the time came to divide Isaac's possessions between the two brothers, Esau +said to Jacob, "Divide the property of our father into two portions, but I as +the elder claim the right of choosing the portion I desire." What did Jacob do? +He knew well that "the eye of the wicked never beholds treasures enough to +satisfy it," so he divided their common heritage in the following way: all the +material possessions of his father formed one portion, and the other consisted +of Isaac's claim upon the Holy Land, together with the Cave of Machpelah, the +tomb of Abraham and Isaac. Esau chose the money and the other things belonging +to Isaac for his inheritance, and to Jacob were left the Cave and the title to +the Holy Land. An agreement to this effect was drawn up in writing in due form, +and on the strength of the document Jacob insisted upon Esau's leaving +Palestine. Esau acquiesced, and he and his wives and his sons and daughters +journeyed to Mount Seir, where they took up their abode.[316] +</p> + +<p> +Though Esau gave way before Jacob for the nonce, he returned to the land to +make war upon his brother. Leah had just died, and Jacob and the sons borne by +Leah were mourning for her, and the rest of his sons, borne unto him by his +other wives, were trying to comfort them, when Esau came upon them with a +powerful host of four thousand men, well equipped for war, clad in armor of +iron and brass, all furnished with bucklers, bows, and swords. They surrounded +the citadel wherein Jacob and his sons dwelt at that time with their servants +and children and households, for they had all assembled to console Jacob for +the death of Leah, and they sat there unconcerned, none entertained a suspicion +that an assault upon them was meditated by any man. And the great army had +already encircled their castle, and still none within suspected any harm, +neither Jacob and his children nor the two hundred servants. Now when Jacob saw +that Esau presumed to make war upon them, and sought to slay them in the +citadel, and was shooting darts at them, he ascended the wall of the citadel +and spake words of peace and friendship and brotherly love to Esau. He said: +"Is this the consolation which thou hast come to bring me, to comfort me for my +wife, who hath been taken by death? Is this in accordance with the oath thou +didst swear twice unto thy father and thy mother before they died? Thou hast +violated thy oath, and in the hour when thou didst swear unto thy father, thou +wast judged." But Esau made reply: "Neither the children of men nor the beasts +of the field swear an oath to keep it unto all eternity, but on every day they +devise evil against one another, when it is directed against an enemy, or when +they seek to slay an adversary. If the boar will change his skin and make his +bristles as soft as wool, or if he can cause horns to sprout forth on his head +like the horns of a stag or a ram, then shall I observe the tie of brotherhood +with thee." +</p> + +<p> +Then spoke Judah to his father Jacob, saying: "How long wilt thou stand yet +wasting words of peace and friendship upon him? And he attacks us unawares, +like an enemy, with his mail-clad warriors, seeking to slay us." Hearing these +words, Jacob grasped his bow and killed Adoram the Edomite, and a second time +he bent his bow, and the arrow struck Esau upon the right thigh. The wound was +mortal, and his sons lifted Esau up and put him upon his ass, and he came to +Adora, and there he died. +</p> + +<p> +Judah made a sally to the south of the citadel, and with him were Naphtali and +Gad, aided by fifty of Jacob's servants; to the east Levi and Dan went forth +with fifty servants; Reuben, Issachar, and Zebulon with fifty servants, to the +north; and Simon, Benjamin, and Enoch, the last the son of Reuben, with fifty +servants, to the west. Judah was exceedingly brave in battle. Together with +Naphtali and Gad he pressed forward into the ranks of the enemy, and captured +one of their iron towers. On their bucklers they caught the sharp missiles +hurled against them in such numbers that the light of the sun was darkened by +reason of the rocks and darts and stones. Judah was the first to break the +ranks of the enemy, of whom he killed six valiant men, and he was accompanied +on the right by Naphtali and by Gad on the left. They also hewed down two +soldiers each, while their troop of servants killed one man each. Nevertheless +they did not succeed in forcing the army away from the south of the citadel, +not even when all together, Judah and his brethren, made an united attack upon +the enemy, each of them picking out a victim and slaying him. And they were +still unsuccessful in a third combined attack, though this time each killed two +men. +</p> + +<p> +When Judah saw now that the enemy remained in possession of the field, and it +was impossible to dislodge them, he girded himself with strength, and an heroic +spirit animated him. Judah, Naphtali, and Gad united, and together they pierced +the ranks of the enemy, Judah slaying ten of them, and his brothers each eight. +Seeing this, the servants took courage, and they joined their leaders and +fought at their side. Judah laid about him to right and to left, always aided +by Naphtali and Gad, and so they succeeded in forcing the enemy one ris further +to the south, away from the citadel. But the hostile army recovered itself, and +maintained a brave stand against all the sons of Jacob, who were faint from the +hardships of the combat, and could not continue to fight. Thereupon Judah +turned to God in prayer, and God hearkened unto his petition, and He helped +them. He set loose a storm from one of His treasure chambers, and it blew into +the faces of the enemy, and filled their eyes with darkness, and they could not +see how to fight. But Judah and his brothers could see clearly, for the wind +blew upon their backs. Now Judah and his two brothers wrought havoc among them, +they hewed the enemy down as the reaper mows down the stalks of grain and heaps +them up for sheaves. +</p> + +<p> +After they had routed the division of the army assigned to them on the south, +they hastened to the aid of their brothers, who were defending the east, north, +and west of the citadel with three companies. On each side the wind blew into +the faces of the enemy, and so the sons of Jacob succeeded in annihilating +their army. Four hundred were slain in battle, and six hundred fled, among the +latter Esau's four sons, Reuel, Jeush, Lotan, and Korah. The oldest of his +sons, Eliphaz, took no part in the war, because he was a disciple of Jacob, and +therefore would not bear arms against him. +</p> + +<p> +The sons of Jacob pursued after the fleeing remnant of the army as far as +Adora. There the sons of Esau abandoned the body of their father, and continued +their flight to Mount Seir. But the sons of Jacob remained in Adora over night, +and out of respect for their father they buried the remains of his brother +Esau. In the morning they went on in pursuit of the enemy, and besieged them on +Mount Seir. Now the sons of Esau and all the other fugitives came and fell down +before them, bowed down, and entreated them without cease, until they concluded +peace with them. But the sons of Jacob exacted tribute from them.[317] +</p> + +<h3><a name="chap111"></a>THE DESCENDANTS OF ESAU</h3> + +<p> +The worthiest among the sons of Esau was his first-born Eliphaz. He had been +raised under the eyes of his grandfather Isaac, from whom he had learnt the +pious way of life.[318] The Lord had even found him worthy of being endowed +with the spirit of prophecy, for Eliphaz the son of Esau is none other than the +prophet Eliphaz, the friend of Job. It was from the life of the Patriarchs that +he drew the admonitions which he gave unto Job in his disputes with him. +Eliphaz spake: "Thou didst ween thyself the equal of Abraham, and thou didst +marvel, therefore, that God should deal with thee as with the generation of the +confusion of tongues. But Abraham stood the test of ten temptations, and thou +faintest when but one toucheth thee. When any that was not whole came to thee, +thou wouldst console him. To the blind thou wouldst say, If thou didst build +thyself a house, thou wouldst surely put windows in it, and if God hath denied +thee light, it is but that He may be glorified through thee in the day when +'the eyes of the blind shall be opened.' To the deaf thou wouldst say, If thou +didst fashion a water pitcher, thou wouldst surely not forget to make ears for +it, and if God created thee without hearing, it is but that He may be glorified +through thee in the day when 'the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.' In such +wise thou didst endeavor to console the feeble and the maimed. But now it is +come unto thee, and thou art troubled. Thou sayest, I am an upright man, why +doth He chastise me? But who, I pray thee, ever perished, being innocent? Noah +was saved from the flood, Abraham from the fiery furnace, Isaac from the +slaughtering knife, Jacob from angels, Moses from the sword of Pharaoh, and +Israel from the Egyptians that were drowned in the Sea. Thus shall all the +wicked fare." +</p> + +<p> +Job answered Eliphaz, and said, "Look at thy father Esau!" +</p> + +<p> +But Eliphaz returned: "I have nothing to do with him, the son should not bear +the iniquity of the father. Esau will be destroyed, because he executed no good +deeds, and likewise his dukes will perish. But as for me, I am a prophet, and +my message is not unto Esau, but unto thee, to make thee render account of +thyself." But God rebuked Eliphaz, and said: "Thou didst speak harsh words unto +My servant Job. Therefore shall Obadiah, one of thy descendants, utter a +prophecy of denunciation against thy father's house, the Edomites."[319] +</p> + +<p> +The concubine of Eliphaz was Timna, a princess of royal blood, who had asked to +be received into the faith of Abraham and his family, but they all, Abraham, +Isaac, and Jacob, had rejected her, and she said, "Rather will I be a maid +servant unto the dregs of this nation, than mistress of another nation," and so +she was willing to be concubine to Eliphaz. To punish the Patriarchs for the +affront they had offered her, she was made the mother of Amalek, who inflicted +great injury upon Israel.[320] +</p> + +<p> +Another one of Esau's descendants, Anah, had a most unusual experience. Once +when he was pasturing his father's asses in the wilderness, he led them to one +of the deserts on the shores of the Red Sea, opposite the wilderness of the +nations, and while he was feeding the beasts, a very heavy storm came from the +other side of the sea, and the asses could not move. Then about one hundred and +twenty great and terrible animals came out from the wilderness at the other +side of the sea, and they all came to the place where the asses were, and they +placed themselves there. From the middle down, these animals were in the shape +of a man, and from the middle up some had the likeness of bears, some of apes, +and they all had tails behind them like the tail of the dukipat, from between +their shoulders reaching down to the earth. The animals mounted the asses, and +they rode away with them, and unto this day no eye hath seen them. One of them +approached Anah, and smote him with its tail, and then ran off. +</p> + +<p> +When Anah saw all this, he was exceedingly afraid on account of his life, and +he fled to the city, where he related all that had happened to him. Many +sallied forth to seek the asses, but none could find them. Anah and his +brothers went no more to the same place from that day forth, for they were +greatly afraid on account of their lives.[321] +</p> + +<p> +This Anah was the offspring of an incestuous marriage; his mother was at the +same time the mother of his father Zibeon. And as he was born of an unnatural +union, so he tried to bring about unnatural unions among animals. He was the +first to mix the breed of the horse and the ass and produce the mule. As a +punishment, God crossed the snake and the lizard, and they brought forth the +habarbar, whose bite is certain death, like the bite of the white +she-mule.[322] +</p> + +<p> +The descendants of Esau had eight kings before there reigned any king over the +descendants of Jacob. But a time came when the Jews had eight kings during +whose reign the Edomites had none and were subject to the Jewish kings. This +was the time that intervened between Saul, the first Israelitish king, who +ruled over Edom, and Jehoshaphat, for Edom did not make itself independent of +Jewish rule until the time of Joram, the son of Jehoshaphat. There was a +difference between the kings of Esau's seed and the kings of Jacob's seed. The +Jewish people always produced their kings from their own midst, while the +Edomites had to go to alien peoples to secure theirs.[323] The first Edomite +king was the Aramean Balaam,[324] called Bela in his capacity as ruler of Edom. +His successor Job, called Jobab also, came from Bozrah, and for furnishing Edom +with a king this city will be chastised in time to come. When God sits in +judgment on Edom, Bozrah will be the first to suffer punishment.[325] +</p> + +<p> +The rule of Edom was of short duration, while the rule of Israel will be unto +all times, for the standard of the Messiah shall wave forever and ever.[326] +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS, VOLUME I ***</div> +<div style='text-align:left'> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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