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diff --git a/2882-0.txt b/2882-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ac10c63 --- /dev/null +++ b/2882-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11863 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Legends of the Jews, by Louis Ginzberg + +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 +www.gutenberg.org. 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. + +Title: The Legends of the Jews + Volume 4 + +Author: Louis Ginzberg + +Release Date: October, 2001 [eBook #2882] +[Most recently updated: February 4, 2022] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +Produced by: David Reed + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS, VOLUME IV *** + + + + +The Legends of the Jews + +by Louis Ginzberg + + +TRANSLATED PROM THE GERMAN MANUSCRIPT + + +VOLUME IV +BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS +FROM JOSHUA TO ESTHER + + + + +Contents + + I. JOSHUA + The Servant of Moses + Entering the Promised Land + Conquest of the Land + The Sun Obeys Joshua + War with the Armenians + Allotment of the Land + + II. THE JUDGES + The First Judge + Campaigns of Kenaz + Othniel + Boaz and Ruth + Deborah + Gideon + Jephthah + Samson + The Crime of the Benjamites + + III. SAMUEL AND SAUL + Elkanah and Hannah + The Youth of Samuel + Eli and His Sons + The Activities of Samuel + The Reign of Saul + The Court of Saul + + IV. DAVID + David's Birth and Descent + Anointed King + Encounter with Goliath + Pursued by Saul + Wars + Ahithophel + Joab + David's Piety and His Sin + Absalom's Rebellion + David's Atonement + Visitations + The Death of David + David in Paradise + The Family of David + His Tomb + + V. SOLOMON + Solomon Punishes Joab + The Marriage of Solomon + His Wisdom + The Queen of Sheba + Solomon Master of the Demons + The Building of the Temple + The Throne of Solomon + The Hippodrome + Lessons in Humility + Asmodeus + Solomon as Beggar + The Court of Solomon + + VI. JUDAH AND ISRAEL + The Division of the Kingdom + Jeroboam + The Two Ahijabs + Asa + Jehoshaphat and Ahab + Jezebel + Joram of Israel + + VII. ELIJAH + Elijah before His Translation + After His Translation + Censor and Avenger + Intercourse with the Sages + God's Justice Vindicated + Elijah and the Angel of Death + Teacher of the Kabbalah + Forerunner of the Messiah + + VIII. ELISHA AND JONAH + Elisha the Disciple of Elijah + The Shunammite + Gehazi + The Flight of Jonah + Jonah in the Whale + The Repentance of Nineveh + + IX. THE LATER KINGS OF JUDAH + Joash + Three Great Prophets + The Two Kingdoms Chastised + Hezekjah + Miracles Wrought for Hezekiah + Manasseh + Josiah and His Successors + + X. THE EXILE + Zedekiah + Jeremiah + Nebuchadnezzar + The Capture of Jerusalem + The Great Lament + Jeremiah's Journey to Babylon + Transportation of the Captives + The Sons of Moses + Ebedmelech + The Temple Vessels + Baruch + The Tombs of Baruch and Ezekie1 + Daniel + The Three Men in the Furnace + Ezekiel Revives the Dead + Nebuchadnezzar a Beast + Hiram + The False Prophets + Daniel's Piety + + XI. THE RETURN OF THE CAPTIVITY + Belshazzar's Feast + Daniel under the Persian Kings + The Grave of Daniel + Zerubbabel + Ezra + The Men of the Great Assembly + + XII. ESTHER + The Feast for the Grandees + The Festivities in Shushan + Vashti's Banquet + The Fate of Vashti + The Follies of Ahasuerus + Mordecai + Esther's Beauty and Piety + The Conspiracy + Haman the Jew-baiter + Mordecai's Pride + Casting the Lots + The Denunciation of the Jews + The Decree of Annihilation + Satan Indicts the Jews + The Dream of Mordecai Fulfilled + The Prayer of Esther + Esther Intercedes + The Disturbed Night + The Fall of Haman + The Edict of the King + + + + +I. +JOSHUA + +THE SERVANT OF MOSES + +The early history of the first Jewish conqueror (1) in some respects is +like the early history of the first Jewish legislator. Moses was +rescued from a watery grave, and raised at the court of Egypt. Joshua, +in infancy, was swallowed by a whale, and , wonderful to relate, did +not perish. At a distant point of the sea-coast the monster spewed him +forth unharmed. He was found by compassionate passers-by, and grew up +ignorant of his descent. The government appointed him to the office of +hangman. As luck would have it, he had to execute his own father. By +the law of the land the wife of the dead man fell to the share of his +executioner, and Joshua was on the point of adding to parricide another +crime equally heinous. He was saved by a miraculous sign. When he +approached his mother, milk flowed from her breasts. His suspicions +were aroused, and through the inquiries he set a foot regarding his +origin, the truth was made manifest. (2) + +Later Joshua, who was so ignorant that he was called a fool, became the +minister of Moses, and God rewarded his faithful service by making him +the successor to Moses. (3) He was designated as such to Moses when, at +the bidding of his master, he was carrying on war with the Amalekites. +(4) In this campaign God's care of Joshua was plainly seen. Joshua had +condemned a portion of the Amalekites to death by lot, and the heavenly +sword picked them out for extermination. (5) Yet there was as great a +difference between Moses and Joshua as between the sun and the moon. +(6) God did not withdraw His help from Joshua, but He was by no means +so close to him as to Moses. This appeared immediately after Moses had +passed away. At the moment when the Israelitish leader was setting out +on his journey to the great beyond, he summoned his successor and bade +him put questions upon all points about which he felt uncertain. +Conscious of his own industry and devotion, Joshua replied that he had +no questions to ask, seeing that he had carefully studied the teachings +of Moses. Straightway he forgot three hundred Halakot, and doubts +assailed him concerning seven hundred others. The people threatened +Joshua's life, because he was not able to resolve their difficulties in +the law. It was vain to turn to God, for the Torah once revealed was +subject to human, not to heavenly, authority. (7) Directly after Moses' +death, God commanded Joshua to go to war, so that the people might +forget its grievance against him. (8) But it is false to think that the +great conqueror was nothing more than a military hero. When God +appeared to him, to give him instructions concerning the war, He found +him with the Book of Deuteronomy in his hand, whereupon God called to +him: "Be strong and of good courage; the book of the law shall not +depart out of thy mouth." (9) + +ENTERING THE PROMISED LAND + +The first step in preparation for war was the selection of spies. To +guard against a repetition of what had happened to Moses, Joshua chose +as his messengers Caleb and Phinehas, on whom he could place dependence +in all circumstances. (10) They were accompanied on their mission by +two demons, the husbands of the she-devils Lilith and Mahlah. When +Joshua was planning his campaign, these devils offered their services +to him; they proposed that they be sent out to reconnoitre the land. +Joshua refused the offer, but formed their appearance so frightfully +that the residents of Jericho were struck with fear of them. (11) In +Jericho the spies put up with Rahab. She had been leading an immoral +life for forty years, but at the approach of Israel, she paid homage to +the true God, lived the life of a pious convert, and, as the wife of +Joshua, became the ancestress of eight prophets and of the prophetess +Huldah. (12) She had opportunity in her own house of beholding the +wonders of God. When the king's bailiffs came to make their +investigations, and Rahab wanted to conceal the Israelitish spies, +Phinehas calmed her with the words: "I am a priest, and priests are +like angels, visible when they wish to be seen, invisible when they do +not wish to be seen." (13) + +After the return of the spies, Joshua decided to pass over the Jordan. +The crossing of the river was the occasion for wonders, the purpose of +which was to clothe him with authority in the eyes of the people. +Scarcely had the priests, who at this solemn moment took the place of +the Levites as bearers of the Ark, set foot in the Jordan, when the +waters of the river were piled up to a height of three hundred miles. +All the peoples of the earth were witnesses of the wonder. (14) In the +bed of the Jordan Joshua assembled the people around the Ark. A Divine +miracle caused the narrow space between its staves to contain the whole +concourse. Joshua then proclaimed the conditions under which God would +give Palestine to the Israelites, and he added, if these conditions +were not accepted, the waters of the Jordan would descend straight upon +them. Then they marched through the river. When the people arrived on +the further shore, the holy Ark, which had all the while been standing +in the bed of the river, set forward of itself, and, dragging the +priests after it, overtook the people. + +The day continued eventful. Unassailed, the Israelites marched seventy +miles to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, and there performed the ceremony +bidden by Moses in Deuteronomy: six of the tribes ascended Mount +Gerizim, and six Mount Ebal. The priests and the Levites grouped +themselves about the holy Ark in the vale between the two peaks. With +their faces turned toward Gerizim, the Levites uttered the words: +"Happy the man that maketh no idol, an abomination unto the Lord," and +all the people answered Amen. After reciting twelve blessings similar +to this in form, the Levites turned to Mount Ebal, and recited twelve +curses, counterparts of the blessings, to each of which the people +responded again with Amen. Thereupon an altar was erected on Mount Ebal +with the stones, each weighing forty seim, which the Israelites had +taken from the bed of the river while passing through the Jordan. The +altar was plastered with lime, and the Torah written upon it in seventy +languages, so that the heathen nations might have the opportunity of +learning the law. At the end it was said explicitly that the heathen +outside of Palestine, if they would but abandon the worship of idols, +would be received kindly by the Jews. + +All this happened on one day, on the same day on which the Jordan was +crossed, and the assembly was held on Gerizim and Ebal, the day on +which the people arrived at Gilgal, where they left the stones of which +the altar had been built. (15) At Gilgal Joshua performed the rite of +circumcision on those born in the desert, who had remained +uncircumcised on account of the rough climate and for other reasons. +(16) And here it was that the manna gave out. It had ceased to fall at +the death of Moses, but the supply that had been stored up had lasted +some time longer. (17) As soon as the people were under the necessity +of providing for their daily wants, they grew negligent in the study of +the Torah. Therefore the angel admonished Joshua to loose his shoes +from off his feet, for he was to mourn over the decline of the study of +the Torah, (18) and bare feet are a sign of mourning. The angel +reproached Joshua in particular with having allowed the preparations +for war to interfere with the study of the Torah and with the ritual +service. Neglect of the latter might be a venial sin, but neglect of +the former is worthy of condign punishment. (19) At the same time the +angel assured Joshua that he had come to aid him, and he entreated +Joshua not to draw back from him, like Moses, who had refused the good +offices of the angel. (20) He who spoke to Joshua was none other than +the archangel Michael. (21) + +CONQUEST OF THE LAND + +Joshua's first victory was the wonderful capture of Jericho. The whole +of the city was declared anathema, because it had been conquered on the +Sabbath day. Joshua reasoned that as the Sabbath is holy, so also that +which conquered on the Sabbath should be holy. (22) The brilliant +victory was followed by the luckless defeat at Ai. In this engagement +perished Jair, the son of Manasseh, whose loss was as great as if the +majority of the Sanhedrin had been destroyed. (23) Presently Joshua +discovered that the cause of the defeat was the sinfulness of Israel, +brought upon it by Achan, who had laid hands on some of the spoils of +Jericho. Achan was a hardened transgressor and criminal from of old. +During the life of Moses he had several times appropriated to his own +use things that had been declared anathema, (24) and he had committed +other crimes worthy of the death penalty. (25) Before the Israelites +crossed the Jordan, God had not visited Achan's sins upon the people as +a whole, because at that time it did not form a national unit yet. But +when Achan abstracted an idol and all its appurtenances from Jericho, +(26) the misfortune of Ai followed at once. + +Joshua inquired of God, why trouble had befallen Israel, but God +refused to reply. He was no tale-bearer; the evil-doer who had caused +the disaster would have to be singled out by lot. (27) Joshua first of +all summoned the high priest from the assembly of the people. It +appeared that, while the other jewels in his breastplate gleamed +bright, the stone representing the tribe of Judah was dim. (28) By lot +Achan was set apart from the members of his tribe. Achan, however, +refused to submit to the decision by lot. He said to Joshua: "Among all +living men thou and Phinehas are the most pious. Yet, if lots were cast +concerning you two, one or other of you would be declared guilty. Thy +teacher Moses has been dead scarcely one month, and thou has already +begun to go astray, for thou hast forgotten that a man's guilt can be +proved only through two witnesses." + +Endued with the holy spirit, Joshua divined that the land was to be +assigned to the tribes and families of Israel by lot, and he realized +that nothing ought to be done to bring this method of deciding into +disrepute. He, therefore, tried to persuade Achan to make a clean +breast of his transgression. (29) Meantime, the Judeans, the tribesmen +of Achan, rallied about him, and throwing themselves upon the other +tribes, they wrought fearful havoc and bloodshed. This determined Achan +to confess his sins. (30) The confession cost him his life, but it +saved him from losing his share in the world to come. (31) + +In spite of the reverses at Ai, (32) the terror inspired by the +Israelites grew among the Canaanitish peoples. The Gibeonites planned +to circumvent the invaders, and form an alliance with them. Now, before +Joshua set out on his campaign, he had issued three proclamations: the +nation that would leave Canaan might depart unhindered; the nation that +would conclude peace with the Israelites, should do it at once; and the +nation that would choose war, should make its preparations. If the +Gibeonites had sued for the friendship of the Jews when the +proclamation came to their ears, there would have been no need for +subterfuges later. But the Canaanites had to see with their own eyes +what manner of enemy awaited them, and all the nations prepared for +war. The result was that the thirty-one kings of Palestine perished, as +well as the satraps of many foreign kings, who were proud to own +possessions in the Holy Land. (33) Only the Girgashites departed out of +Palestine, and as a reward for their docility God gave them Africa as +an inheritance. (34) + +The Gibeonites deserved no better fate than all the rest, for the +covenant made with them rested upon a misapprehension, yet Joshua kept +his promise to them, in order to sanctify the name of God, by showing +the world how sacred an oath is to the Israelites. (35) In the course +of events it became obvious that the Gibeonites were by no means worthy +of being received into the Jewish communion, and David, following +Joshua's example, excluded them forever, a sentence that will remain in +force even in the Messianic time. (36) + +THE SUN OBEYS JOSHUA + +The task of protecting the Gibeonites involved in the offensive and +defensive alliance made with them, Joshua fulfilled scrupulously. He +had hesitated for a moment whether to aid the Gibeonites in their +distress, but the words of God sufficed to recall him to his duty. God +said to him: "If thou dost not bring near them that are far off, thou +wilt remove them that are near by." (37) God granted Joshua peculiar +favor in his conflict with the assailants of the Gibeonites. The hot +hailstones which, at Moses' intercession, had remained suspended in the +air when they were about to fall upon the Egyptians, were now cast down +upon the Canaanites. (38) Then happened the great wonder of the sun's +standing still, the sixth (39) of the great wonders since the creation +of the world. + +The battle took place on a Friday. Joshua knew it would pain the people +deeply to be compelled to desecrate the holy Sabbath day. Besides, he +noticed that the heathen were using sorcery to make the heavenly hosts +intercede for them in the fight against the Israelites. He, therefore, +pronounced the Name of the Lord, and the sun, moon and stars stood +still. (40) The sun at first refused to obey Joshua's behest, seeing +that he was older than man by two days. Joshua replied that there was +no reason why a free-born youth should refrain from enjoining silence +upon an old slave whom he owns, and had not God given heaven and earth +to our father Abraham? (41) Nay, more than this, had not the sun +himself bowed down like a slave before Joseph? "But," said the sun, +"who will praise God if I am silent?" (42) Whereupon Joshua: "Be thou +silent, and I will intone a song of praise." (43) And he sang thus: + +1. Thou hast done mighty things, O Lord, Thou has performed great +deeds. Who is like unto Thee? My lips shall sing unto Thy name. + +2. My goodness and my fortress, my refuge, I will sing a new song unto +Thee, with thanksgiving I will sing unto Thee, Thou art the strength of +my salvation. + +3. All the kings of the earth shall praise Thee, the princes of the +world shall sing unto Thee, the children of Israel shall rejoice in Thy +salvation, they shall sing and praise Thy power. + +4. In Thee, O God, did we trust; we said, Thou art our God, for Thou +wast our shelter and our strong tower against our enemies. + +5. To Thee we cried, and we were not ashamed; in Thee we trusted, and +we were delivered; when we cried unto Thee, Thou didst hear our voice, +Thou didst deliver our souls from the sword. + +6. Thou hast shown unto us Thy mercy, Thou didst give unto us Thy +salvation, Thou didst rejoice our hearts with Thy strength. + +7. Thou wentest forth for our salvation; with the strength of Thy arm +Thou didst redeem Thy people; Thou did console us from the heavens of +Thy holiness, Thou didst save us from tens of thousands. + +8. Sun and moon stood still in heaven, and Thou didst stand in Thy +wrath against our oppressors, and Thou didst execute Thy judgements +upon them. + +9. All the princes of the earth stood up, the kings of the nations had +gathered themselves together, they were not moved at Thy presence, they +desired Thy battles. + +10. Thou didst rise against them in Thine anger, and Thou didst bring +down Thy wrath upon them, Thou didst destroy them in Thy fury, and Thou +didst ruin them in Thy rage. + +11. Nations raged from fear of Thee, kingdoms tottered because of Thy +wrath, Thou didst wound kings in the day of Thine anger. + +12. Thou didst pour out Thy fury upon them, Thy wrathful anger took +hold of them, Thou didst turn their iniquity upon them, and Thou didst +cut them off in their wickedness. + +13. They spread a trap, they fell therein, in the net they hid their +foot was caught. + +14. Thine hand found all Thine enemies, who said, through their sword +they possessed the land, through their arm thy dwelt in the city. + +15. Thou didst fill their faces with shame, Thou didst bring their +horns down to the ground. + +16. Thou didst terrify them in Thy wrath, and thou didst destroy them +from before Thee. + +17. The earth quaked and trembled from the noise of Thy thunder against +them; Thou didst not withhold their souls from earth, and Thou didst +bring down their lives to the grave. + +18. Thou didst pursue them in Thy storm, Thou didst consume them in the +whirlwind, Thou didst turn their rain into hail, they fell in floods, +so that they could not rise. + +19. Their carcasses were like rubbish cast out in the middle of the +streets. + +20. They were consumed, and they perished before Thee, Thou hast +delivered Thy people in Thy might. + +21. Therefore our hearts rejoice in Thee, our souls exult in Thy +salvation. + +22. Our tongues shall relate Thy might, we will sing and praise Thy +wondrous works. + +23. For Thou didst save us from our enemies, Thou didst deliver us from +those who rose up against us, Thou didst destroy them from before us, +and depress them beneath our feet. + +24. Thus shall all Thine enemies perish, O Lord, and the wicked shall +be like chaff driven by the wind, and Thy beloved shall be like trees +planted by the waters. (44) + +WAR WITH THE ARMENIANS + +Joshua's victorious course did not end with the conquest of the land. +His war with the Armenians, after Palestine was subdued, marked the +climax of his heroic deeds. Among the thirty-one kings whom Joshua had +slain, there was one whose son, Shobach by name, was king of Armenia. +With the purpose of waging war with Joshua, he united the forty-five +kings of Persia and Media, and they were joined by the renowned hero +Japheth. The allied kings in a letter informed Joshua of their design +against him as follow: "The noble, distinguished council of the kings +of Persia and Media to Joshua, peace! Thou wolf of the desert, we well +know what thou didst to our kinsmen. Thou didst destroy our palaces; +without pity thou didst slay young and old; our fathers thou didst mow +down with the sword; and their cities thou didst turn into desert. +Know, then, that in the space of thirty days, we shall come to thee, +we, the forty-five kings, each having sixty thousand warriors under +him, all them armed with bows and arrows, girt about with swords, all +of us skilled in the ways of war, and with us the hero Japheth. Prepare +now for the combat, and say not afterward that we took thee at +unawares." + +The messenger bearing the letter arrived on the day before the Feast of +Weeks. Although Joshua was greatly wrought up by the contents of the +letter, he kept his counsel until after the feast, in order not to +disturb the rejoicing of the people. Then, at the conclusion of the +feast, he told the people of the message that had reached him, so +terrifying that even he, the veteran warrior, trembled at the heralded +approach of the enemy. Nevertheless Joshua determined to accept the +challenge. From the first words his reply was framed to show the +heathen how little their fear possessed him whose trust was set in God. +The introduction to his epistle reads as follows: "In the Name of the +Lord, the God of Israel, who saps the strength of the iniquitous +warrior, and slays the rebellious sinner. He breaks up the assemblies +of marauding transgressors, and He gathers together in council the +pious and the just scattered abroad, He the God of all gods, the Lord +of all lords, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God is the Lord of +war! From me, Joshua, the servant of God, and from the holy and chosen +congregation to the impious nations, who pay worship to images, and +prostrate themselves before idols: No peace unto you, saith my God! +Know that ye acted foolishly to awaken the slumbering lion, to rouse up +the lion's whelp, to excite his wrath. I am ready to pay you your +recompense. Be ye prepared to meet me, for within a week I shall be +with you to slay your warriors to a man." + +Joshua goes on to recite all the wonders God had done for Israel, who +need fear no power on earth; and he ends his missive with the words: +"If the hero Japheth is with you, we have in the midst of us the Hero +of heroes, the Highest above all the high." + +The heathen were not a little alarmed at the tone of Joshua's letter. +Their terror grew when the messenger told of the exemplary discipline +maintained in the Isrealitish army, of the gigantic stature of Joshua, +who stood five ells high, of his royal apparel, of his crown graven +with the Name of God. At the end of seven days Joshua appeared with +twelve thousand troops. When the mother of King Shobach, who was a +powerful witch, espied the host, she exercised her magic art, and +enclosed the Isrealitish army in seven walls. Joshua thereupon sent +forth a carrier pigeon to communicate his plight to Nabiah, the king of +the trans-Jordanic tribes. He urged him to hasten to his help and bring +the priest Phinehas and the sacred trumpets with him. Nabiah did not +tarry. Before the relief detachment arrived, his mother reported to +Shobach that she beheld a star arise out of the East against which her +machinations were vain. Shobach threw his mother from the wall, and he +himself was soon afterward killed by Nabiah. Meantime Phinehas arrived, +and, at the sound of his trumpets, the wall toppled down. A pitched +battle ensued, and the heathen were annihilated. (45) + +ALLOTMENT OF THE LAND + +At the end of seven years of warfare, (46) Joshua could at last venture +to parcel out the conquered land among the tribes. This was the way he +did it. The high priest Eleazar, attended by Joshua and all the people, +and arrayed in the Urim and Thummim, stood before two urns. One of the +urns contained the names of the tribes, the other the names of the +districts into which the land was divided. The holy spirit caused him +to exclaims "Zebulon." When he put his hand into the first urn, lo, he +drew forth the word Zebulon, and from the other came the word Accho, +meaning the district of Accho. Thus it happened with each tribe in +succession. (47) In order that the boundaries might remain fixed, +Joshua had had the Hazubah (48) planted between the districts. The +rootstock of this plant once established in a spot, it can be +extirpated only with the greatest difficulty. The plough may draw deep +furrows over it, yet it puts forth new shoots, and grows up again amid +the grain, still marking the old division lines. (49) + +In connection with the allotment of the land Joshua issued ten +ordinances intended, in a measure, to restrict the rights in private +property: Pasturage in the woods was to be free to the public at large. +Any one was permitted to gather up bits of wood in the field. The same +permission to gather up all grasses, wherever they might grow, unless +they were in a field that had been sown with fenugreek, which needs +grass for protection. For grafting purposes twigs could be cut from any +plant except the olive-trees. Water springs belonged to the whole town. +It was lawful for any one to catch fish in the Sea of Tiberias, +provided navigation was not impeded. The area adjacent to the outer +side of a fence about a field might be used by any passer-by to ease +nature. From the close of the harvest until the seventeenth day of +Marheshwan fields could be crossed. A traveler who lost his way among +vineyards could not be held responsible for the damage done in the +effort to recover the right path. A dead body found in a field was to +be buried on the spot where it was found. (50) + +The allotment of the land to the tribes and subdividing each district +among the tribesmen took as much time as the conquest of the land. (51) + +When the two tribes and a half from the land beyond Jordan returned +home after an absence of fourteen years, they were not a little +astonished to hear that the boys who had been too young to go to the +wars with them had in the meantime shown themselves worthy of the +fathers. They had been successful in repulsing the Ishmaelitish tribes +who had taken advantage of the absence of the men capable of bearing +arms to assault their wives and children. (52) + +After a leadership of twenty-eight years (53), marked with success (54) +in war and in peace, Joshua departed this life. His followers laid the +knives he had used in circumcising the Israelites (55) into his grave, +and over it they erected a pillar as a memorial of the great wonder of +the sun's standing still over Ajalon. (56) However, the mourning for +Joshua was not so great as might justly have been expected. The +cultivation of the recently conquered land so occupied the attention of +the tribes that they came nigh forgetting the man to whom chiefly they +owed their possession of it. As a punishment for their ingratitude, +God, soon after Joshua's death, brought also the life of the high +priest Eleazar and of the other elders to a close, and the mount on +which Joshua's body was interred began to tremble, and threatened to +engulf the Jews. (57) + + + + +II. +THE JUDGES + +THE FIRST JUDGE + +After the death of Joshua the Israelites inquired to God whether they +were to go up against the Canaanites in war. They were given the +answer: "If ye are pure of heart, go forth unto the combat; but if your +hearts are sullied with sin, then refrain." They inquired furthermore +how to test the heart of the people. God ordered them to cast lots and +set apart those designated by lot, for they would be the sinful among +them. Again, when the people besought God to give it a guide and +leader, an angel answered: "Cast lots in the tribe of Caleb." The lot +designated Kenaz, and he was made prince over Israel. (1) + +His first act was to determine by lot who were the sinners in Israel, +and what their inward thought. He declared before the people: "If I and +my house be set apart by lot, deal with us as we deserve, burn us with +fire." The people assenting, lots were cast, and 345 of the tribe of +Judah were singled out, 560 of Reuben, 775 of Simon, 150 of Levi, 665 +of Issachar, 545 of Zebulon, 380 of Gad, and 665 of Asher, 480 of +Manasseh, 448 of Ephraim, and 267 of Benhamin. (2) So 6110 (3) persons +were confined in prison, until God should let it be know what was to be +done with them. The united prayers of Kenaz, Eleazar the high priest, +and the elders of the congregation, were answered thus: "Ask these men +now to confess their iniquity, and they shall be burnt with fire." +Kenaz thereupon exhorted them: "Ye know that Achan, the son of Zabdi, +committed the trespass of taking the anathema, but the lot fell upon +him, and he confessed his sin. Do ye likewise confess your sins, that +ye may come to life with those whom God will revive on the day of the +resurrection." (4) + +One of the sinful, a man by the name of Elah, (5) said in reply +thereto: "If thou desirest to bring forth the truth, address thyself to +each of the tribes separately." (6) Kenaz began with his own, the tribe +of Judah. The wicked of Judah confessed to the sin of worshipping the +golden calf, like unto their forefathers in the desert. The Reubenites +had burnt sacrifices to idols. The Levites said: "We desired to prove +whether the Tabernacle is holy." Those of the tribe of Issachar +replied: "We consulted idols to know what will become of us." (7) The +sinners of Zebulon: "We desired to eat the flesh of our sons and +daughters, to know whether the Lord loves them." The Danites admitted, +they had taught their children out of the books of the Amorites, which +they had hidden then under Mount Abarim, (8) where Kenaz actually found +them. The Naphtalites confessed to the same transgression, only they +had concealed the books in the tent of Elah, and there they were found +by Kenaz. The Gadites acknowledged having led an immoral life, and the +sinners of Asher, that they had found, and had hidden under Mount +Shechem, the seven golden idols called by the Amorites the holy nymphs + the same seven idols which had been made in a miraculous way after the +deluge by the seven sinners, Canaan, Put, Shelah, Nimrod, Elath, Diul, +and Shuah. (9) They were of precious stones from Havilah, which +radiated light, making night bright as day. Besides, they possessed a +rare virtue: if a blind Amorite kissed one of the idols, and at the +same time touched its eyes, his sight was restored. (10) After the +sinners of Asher, those of Manasseh made their confession they had +desecrated the Sabbath. The Ephraimites owned to having sacrificed +their children to Moloch. Finally, the Benjamites said: "We desired to +prove whether the law emanated from God or from Moses." + +At the command of God these sinners and all their possessions were +burnt with fire at the brook of Pishon. Only the Amorite books and the +idols of precious stones remained unscathed. Neither fire nor water +could do them harm. Kenaz decided to consecrate the idols to God, but a +revelation came to him, saying: "If God were to accept what has been +declared anathema, why should not man?" He was assured that God would +destroy the things over which human hands had no power. Kenaz, acting +under Divine instruction, bore them to the summit of a mountain, where +an altar was erected. The books and the idols were placed upon it, and +the people offered many sacrifices and celebrated the whole day as a +festival. During the night following, Kenaz saw dew rise from the ice +in Paradise and descend upon the books. The letters of their writing +were obliterated by it, and then an angel came and annihilated what was +left. (11) During the same night an angel carried off the seven gems, +and threw them to the bottom of the sea. Meanwhile a second angel +brought twelve other gems, engraving the names of the twelve sons of +Jacob upon them, one name upon each. No two of these gems were alike: +(12) the first, to bear the name of Reuben, was like sardius; the +second, for Simon, like topaz; the third, Levi, like emerald; the +fourth, Judah, like carbuncle; the fifth, Issachar, like sapphire; the +sixth, Zebulon, like jasper; the seventh, Dan, like ligure; the eighth, +Naphtali, like amethyst; the ninth, Gad, like agate; the tenth, Asher, +like chrysolite; the eleventh, Joseph, like beryl; and the twelfth, +Benjamin, like onyx. + +Now God commanded Kenaz to deposit twelve stones in the holy Ark, and +there they were to remain until such time as Solomon should build the +Temple, and attach them to the Cherubim. (13) Furthermore, this Divine +communication was made to Kenaz: "And it shall come to pass, when the +sin of the children of men shall have been completed by defiling My +Temple, the Temple they themselves shall build, that I will take these +stones, together with the tables of the law, and put them in the place +whence they were removed of old, and there they shall remain until the +end of all time, when I will visit the inhabitants of the earth. Then I +will take them up, and they shall be an everlasting light to those who +love me and keep my commandments." (14) + +When Kenaz bore the stones to the sanctuary, they illumined the earth +like unto the sun at midday. + +CAMPAIGNS OF KENAZ + +After these preparations Kenaz took the field against the enemy, with +three hundred thousand men. (15) The first day he slew eight thousand +of the foe, and the second day five thousand. But not all the people +were devoted to Kenaz. Some murmured against him, and calumniating him, +said: "Kenaz stays at home, while we expose ourselves on the field." +The servants of Kenaz reported these words to him. He ordered the +thirty-seven (16) men who had railed against him to be incarcerated, +and he swore to kill them, if God would but grant him assistance for +the sake of His people. + +Thereupon he assembled three hundred men of his attendants, supplied +them with horses, and bade them be prepared to make a sudden attack +during the night, but to tell none of the plans he harbored in his +mind. The scouts sent ahead to reconnoitre reported that the Amorites +were too powerful for him to risk an engagement. Kenaz, however, +refused to be turned away from his intention. At midnight he and his +three hundred trusty attendants advanced upon the Amorite camp. Close +upon it, he commanded his men to halt, but to resume their march and +follow him when they should hear the notes of the trumpet. If the +trumpet was not sounded, they were to return home. + +Alone Kenaz ventured into the very camp of the enemy. Praying to God +fervently, he asked that a sign be given him: "Let this be the sign of +the salvation Thou wilt accomplish for me this day: I shall draw my +sword from its sheath, and brandish it so that it glitters in the camp +of the Amorites. If the enemy recognize it as the sword of Kenaz, then +I shall know Thou wilt deliver them into my hand; if not, I shall +understand Thou hast not granted my prayer, but dost purpose to deliver +me into the hand of the enemy for my sins." + +He heard the Amorites say: "Let us proceed to give battle to the +Israelites, for our sacred gods, the nymphs, are in their hands, and +will cause their defeat." When he heard these words, the spirit of God +came over Kenaz. He arose and swung his sword above his head. Scarce +had the Amorites seen it gleam in the air when they exclaimed: "Verily, +this is the sword of Kenaz, who has come to inflict wounds and pain. +But we know that our gods, who are held by the Israelites, will deliver +them into our hands. Up, then, to battle!" Knowing that God had heard +his petition, Kenaz threw himself upon the Amorites, and mowed down +forty-five thousand of them, and as many perished at the hands of their +own brethren, for God had sent the angel Gabriel (17) to his aid, and +he had struck the Amorites blind, so that they fell upon one another. +On account of the vigorous blows dealt by Kenaz on all sides, his sword +stuck to his hand. A fleeing Amorite, whom he stopped, to ask him how +to loose it, advised him to slay a Hebrew, and let his warm blood flow +over his hand. Kenaz accepted his advice, but only in part: instead of +a Hebrew, he slew the Amorite himself, and his blood freed his hand +from the sword. (18) + +When Kenaz came back to his men, he found them sunk in profound sleep, +which had overtaken them that they might not see the wonders done for +their leader. They were not a little astonished, on awakening, to +behold the whole plain strewn with the dead bodies of the Amorites. +Then Kenaz said to them: "Are the ways of God like unto the ways of +man? Through me the Lord hath sent deliverance to this people. Arise +now and go back to your tents." The people recognized that a great +miracle had happened, and they said: "Now we know that God hath wrought +salvation for His people; He hath no need of numbers, but only of +holiness." + +On his return from the campaign, Kenaz was received with great +rejoicing. The whole people now gave thanks to God for having put him +over them as their leader. They desired to know how he had won the +great victory. Kenaz only answered: "Ask those who were with me about +my deeds." His men were thus forced to confess that they knew nothing, +only, on awakening, they had seen the plain full of dead bodies, +without being able to account for their being there. Then Kenaz turned +to the thirty-seven men imprisoned, before he left for the war, for +having cast aspersions upon him. "Well," he said, "what charge have you +to make against me?" Seeing that death was inevitable, they confessed +they were of the sort of sinners whom Kenaz and the people had +executed, and God had now surrendered them to him on account of their +misdeeds. They, too, were burnt with fire. + +Kenaz reigned for a period of fifty-seven years. When he felt his end +draw nigh, he summoned the two prophets, Phinehas and Jabez, (19) +together with the priest Phinehas, the son of Eleazar. To these he +spake: "I know the heart of this people, it will turn from following +after the Lord. Therefore do I testify against it." Phinehas, the son +of Eleazar, replied: "As Moses and Joshua testified, so do I testify +against it; for Moses and Joshua prophesied concerning the vineyard, +the beautiful planting of the Lord, which knew not who had planted it, +and did not recognize Him who cultivated it, so that the vineyard was +destroyed, and brought forth no fruit. These are the words my father +commanded me to say unto this people." + +Kenaz broke out into loud wailing, and with him the elders and the +people, and they wept until eventide, saying: "Is it for the iniquity +of the sheep that the shepherd must perish? May the Lord have +compassion upon His inheritance that it may not work in vain." + +The spirit of God descended upon Kenaz, and he beheld a vision. He +prophesied that this world would continue to exist only seven thousand +years, to be followed then by the Kingdom of Heaven. These words +spoken, the prophetical spirit departed from him, and he straightway +forgot what he had uttered during his vision. Before he passed away, he +spoke once more, saying: "If such be the rest which the righteous +obtain after their death, it were better for them to die than live in +this corrupt world and see its iniquities." (20) + +As Kenaz left no male heirs, Zebul was appointed his successor. Mindful +of the great service Kenaz had performed for the nation, Zebul acted a +father's part toward the three unmarried daughters of his predecessor. +At his instance, the people assigned a rich marriage portion to each of +them; they were given great domains as their property. The oldest of +the three, Ethema by name, he married to Elizaphan; the second, Pheila, +to Odihel; and the youngest, Zilpah, to Doel. + +Zebul, the judge, instituted a treasury at Shiloh. He bade the people +bring contributions, whether of gold or of silver. They were only to +take heed not to carry anything thither that had originally belonged to +an idol. His efforts were crowned with success. The free-will offerings +to the temple treasure amounted to twenty talents of gold and two +hundred and fifty talents of silver. + +Zebul's reign lasted twenty-five years. Before his death he admonished +the people solemnly to be God-fearing and observant of the law. (21) + +OTHNIEL + +Othniel was a judge of a very different type. His contemporaries said, +that before the sun of Joshua went down, the sun of Othniel, his +successor in the leadership of the people , appeared on the horizon. +The new leader's real name was Judah; Othniel was one of his epithets, +as Jabez was another. (22) + +Among the judges, Othniel represents the class of scholars. His acumen +was so great that he was able, by dint of dialect reasoning, to restore +the seventeen hundred traditions (23) which Moses had taught the +people, and which had been forgotten in the time of mourning for Moses. +Nor was his zeal for the promotion of the study of the Torah inferior +to his learning. The descendants of Jethro left Jericho, the district +assigned to them, and journeyed to Arad, only that thy might sit at the +feed to Othniel. (24) His wife, the daughter of his half-brother Caleb, +was not so well pleased with him. She complained to her father that her +husband's house was bare of all earthly goods, and his only possession +was knowledge of the Torah. (25) + +The first event to be noted in Othniel's forty years' reign (26) is his +victory over Adoni-bezek. This chief did not occupy a prominent +position among the Canaanitish rulers. He was not even accounted a +king, nevertheless he had conquered seventy foreign kings. (27) The +next event was the capture of Luz by the Israelites. The only way to +gain entrance into Luz was by a cave, and the road to the cave lay +through a hollow almond tree. If the secret approach to the city had +not been betrayed by one of its residents, it would have been +impossible for the Israelites to reach it. God rewarded the informer +who put the Israelites in the way of capturing Luz. The city he founded +was left unmolested both by Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar, and not +event the Angel of Death has power over its inhabitants. They never +die, unless, weary of life, they leave the city. (28) + +The same good fortune did not mark Othniel's reign throughout. For +eight years Israel suffered oppression at the hands of Cushan, the +evil-doer who in former days had threatened to destroy the patriarch +Jacob, as he was now endeavoring to destroy the descendants of Jacob, +for Cushan is only another name for Laban. (29) + +Othniel, however, was held so little answerable for the causes that had +brought on the punishment of the people, that God granted him eternal +life; he is one of the few who reached Paradise alive. (30) + +BOAZ AND RUTH + +The story of Ruth came to pass a hundred (31) years after Othniel's +reign. Conditions in Palestine were of such a nature that if a judge +said to a man, "Remove the mote from thine eye," his reply was, "Do +thou remove the beam from thine own." (32) To chastise the Israelites +God sent down them one of the ten seasons of famine which He had +ordained, as disciplinary measures for mankind, from the creation of +the world until the advent of Messiah. (33) Elimelech (34) and his +sons, (35) who belonged to the aristocracy of the land, attempted +neither to improve (36) the sinful generation whose transgressions had +called forth the famine, nor alleviated the distress that prevailed +about them. They left Palestine, and thus withdrew themselves from the +needy who had counted upon their help. They turned their faced to Moab. +(37) There, on account of their wealth and high descent, they were made +officers in the army. (38) Mahlon and Chilion, the sons of Elimelech, +rose to still higher distinction, they married the daughters of the +Moabite king Eglon (39) But this did not happen until after the death +of Elimelech, who was opposed to intermarriage with the heathen. (40) +Neither the wealth nor the family connections of the two men helped +them before God. First they sank into poverty, and, as they continued +in their sinful ways, God took their life. (41) + +Naomi, their mother, resolved to return to her home. Her two +daughters-in-law were very dear to her on account of the love they had +borne her sons, a love strong even in death, for they refused to marry +again. (42) Yet she would not take them with her to Palestine, because +she foresaw contemptuous treatment in store for them as Moabitish +women. (43) Orpah was easily persuaded to remain behind. She +accompanied her mother-in-law a distance of four miles, and then she +took leave of her, shedding only four tears as she bade her farewell. +Subsequent events showed that she had not been worthy of entering into +the Jewish communion, for scarcely had she separated from Naomi when +she abandoned herself to an immoral life. But with God nothing goes +unrewarded. For the four miles which Orpah travelled with Naomi, she +was recompensed by bringing forth four giants, Goliath and his three +brothers. (44) + +Ruth's bearing and history were far different. She was determined to +become a Jewess, and her decision could not be shaken by what Naomi, in +compliance with the Jewish injunction, told her of the difficulties of +the Jewish law. Naomi warned her that the Israelites had been enjoined +to keep Sabbaths and feast days, (45) and that the daughters of Israel +were not in the habit of frequenting the threatres and circuses of the +heathen. Ruth only affirmed her readiness to follow Jewish customs. +(46) And when Naomi said: "We have one Torah, one law, one command; the +Eternal our God is one, there is none beside Him," Ruth answered: "Thy +people shall be my people, thy God my God." (47) So the two women +journeyed together to Bethlehem. They arrived there on the very day on +which the wife of Boaz was buried, and the concourse assembled for the +funeral saw Naomi as she returned to her home. (48) + +Ruth supported herself and her mother-in-law sparsely with the ears of +grain which she gathered in the fields. Association with so pious a +woman as Naomi (49) had already exercised great influence upon her life +and ways. Boaz was astonished to notice that if the reapers let more +than two ears fall, in spite of her need she did not pick them up, for +the gleaning assigned to the poor by law does not refer to quantities +of more than two ears inadvertently dropped at one time. (50) Boaz also +admired her grace, her decorous conduct, her modest demeanor. (51) When +he learned who she was, he commended her for her attachment to Judaism. +To his praise she returned: "Thy ancestors found no delight even in +Timna, (52) the daughter of a royal house. As for me, I am a member of +a low people, abominated by thy God, and excluded from the assembly of +Israel." For the moment Boaz failed to recollect the Halakah bearing on +the Moabites and Ammonites. A voice from heaven reminded him that only +their males were affected by the command of exclusion. (53) This he +told to Ruth, and he also told her of a vision he had had concerning +her descendants. For the sake of the good she had done to her +mother-in-law, kings and prophets would spring from her womb. (54) + +Boaz showed kindness not only to Ruth and Naomi, but also to their +dead. He took upon himself the decent burial of the remains of +Elimelech and his two sons. (55) All this begot in Naomi the thought +that Boaz harbored the intention of marrying Ruth. She sought to coax +the secret, if such there was, from Ruth. (56) When she found that +nothing could be elicited from her daughter-in-law, she made Ruth her +partner in a plan to force Boaz into a decisive step. Ruth adhered to +Naomi's directions in every particular, except that she did not wash +and anoint herself and put on fine raiment, until after she had reached +her destination. She feared to attract the attention of the lustful, if +she walked along the road decked out in unusual finery. (57) + +The moral conditions in those days were very reprehensible. Though Boaz +was high-born and a man of substance, yet he slept on the +threshing-floor, so that his presence might act as a check upon +profligacy. In the midst of his sleep, Boaz was startled to find some +one next to him. At first he thought it was a demon. Ruth calmed his +disquietude (58) with these words: "Thou art the head of the court, thy +ancestors were princes, thou art thyself an honorable man, and a +kinsman of my dead husband. As for me, who am in the flower of my +years, since I left the home of my parents where homage is rendered +unto idols, I have been constantly menaced by the dissolute young men +around. (59) So I have come hither that thou, who art the redeemer, +mayest spread out thy skirt over me." (60) Boaz gave her the assurance +that if his older brother Tob (61) failed her, he would assume the +duties of a redeemer. The next day he came before the tribunal of the +Sanhedrin (62) to have the matter adjusted. Tob soon made his +appearance, for an angel led him to the place where he was wanted, (63) +that Boaz and Ruth might not have long to wait. Tob, who was not +learned in the Torah, did not know that the prohibition against the +Moabites had reference only to males. Therefore, he declined to marry +Ruth. (64) So she was taken to wife (65) by the octogenarian (66) Boaz. +Ruth herself was forty years old (67) at the time of her second +marriage, and it was against all expectations that her union with Boaz +should be blessed with offspring, a son Obed the pious. (68) Ruth lived +to see the glory of Solomon, but Boaz died on the day after the +wedding. (69) + +DEBORAH + +Not long after Ruth, another ideal woman arose in Israel, the +prophetess Deborah. + +When Ehud died, there was none to take his place as judge, and the +people fell off from God and His law. God, therefore, sent an angel to +them with the following message: "Out of all the nations on earth, I +chose a people for Myself, and I thought, so long as the world stands, +My glory will rest upon them. I sent Moses unto them, My servant, to +teach them goodness and righteousness. But they strayed from My ways. +And now I will arouse their enemies against them, to rule over them, +and they will cry out: 'Because we forsook the ways of our fathers, +hath this come over us.' Then I will send a woman unto them, and she +will shine for them as a light for forty years." (70) + +The enemy whom God raised up against Israel was Jabin, (71) the king of +Hazor, who oppressed him sorely. But worse than the king himself was +his general Sisera, one of the greatest heroes know to history. When he +was thirty years old, he had conquered the whole world. At the sound of +his voice the strongest of walls fell in a heap, and the wild animals +in the woods were chained to the spot by fear. The proportions of his +body were vast beyond description. If he took a bath in the river, and +dived beneath the surface, enough fish were caught in his beard to feed +a multitude, and it required no less than nine hundred horses to draw +the chariot in which he rode. (72) + +To rid Israel of this tyrant, God appointed Deborah and her husband +Barak. Barak was an ignoramus, like most of his contemporaries. It was +a time singularly deficient to scholars. (73) In order to do something +meritorious in connection with the Divine service, he carried candles, +at his wife's instance, to the sanctuary, wherefrom he was called +Lipidoth, "Flames." Deborah was in the habit of making the wicks on the +candles very thick, so that they might burn a long time. Therefore God +distinguished her. He said: "Thou takest pains to shed light in My +house, and I will let thy light, thy flame, shine abroad in the whole +land." Thus it happened that Deborah became a prophetess and a judge. +She dispensed judgement in the open air, for it was not becoming that +men should visit a woman in her house. (74) + +Prophetess though she was, she was yet subject to the frailties of her +sex. Her self-consciousness was inordinate. She sent for Barak (75) to +come to her instead of going to him, (76) and in her song she spoke +more of herself than was seemly. The result was that the prophetical +spirit departed from her for a time while she was composing her song. +(77) + +The salvation of Israel was effected only after the people, assembled +on the Mount of Judah, had confessed their sins publicly before God and +besought His help. A seven days' fast was proclaimed for men and women, +for young and old. Then God resolved to help the Israelites, not for +their sakes, but for the sake of keeping the oath he had sworn to their +forefathers, never to abandon their seed. Therefore He sent Deborah +unto them. (78) + +The task allotted to Deborah and Barak, to lead the attack upon Sisera, +was by no means slight. It is comparable with nothing less than +Joshua's undertaking to conquer Canaan. Joshua had triumphed over only +thirty-one of the sixty-two kings of Palestine, leaving at large as +many as he had subdued. Under the leadership of Sisera these thirty-one +unconquered kings opposed Israel. (79) No less than forty thousand +armies, each counting a hundred thousand warriors, were arrayed against +Deborah and Barak. (80) God aided Israel with water and fire. The river +Kishon and all the fiery hosts of heaven (81) except the star Meros +(82) fought against Sisera. The Kishon had long before been pledged to +play its part in Sisera's overthrow. When the Egyptians were drowned in +the Red Sea, God commanded the Angel of the Sea to cast their corpses +on the land, that the Israelites might convince themselves of the +destruction of their foes, and those of little faith might not say +afterward that the Egyptians like the Israelites had reached dry land. +The Angel of the Sea complained of the impropriety of withdrawing a +gift. God mollified him with the promise of future compensation. The +Kishon was offered as security that he would received half as many +bodies again as he was now giving up. When Sisera's troops sought +relief from the scorching fire of the heavenly bodies in the coolness +of the waters of the Kishon, God commanded the river to redeem its +pledge. And so the heathen were swept down into the Sea by the waves of +the river Kishon, whereat the fishes in the Sea exclaimed: "And the +truth of the Lord endureth forever." (83) + +Sisera's lot was no better than the lot of the men. He fled from the +battle on horseback (84) after witnessing the annihilation of his vast +army. When Jael saw him approach, she went to meet him arrayed in rich +garments and jewels. She was unusually beautiful, and her voice was the +most seductive ever a woman possessed. (85) These are the words she +addressed to him: "Enter and refresh thyself with food, and sleep until +evening, and then I will send my attendants with thee to accompany +thee, for I know thou wilt not forget me, and thy recompense will not +fail." When Sisera, on stepping into her tent, saw the bed strewn with +roses which Jael had prepared for him, he resolved to take her home to +his mother as his wife, as soon as his safety should be assured. + +He asked her for milk to drink, saying: "My soul burns with the flame +which I saw in the stars contending for Israel." Jael went forth to +milk her goat, meantime supplicating God to grant her His help: "I pray +to Thee, O Lord, to strengthen Thy maid-servant against the enemy. By +this token shall I know that Thou wilt aid me if, when I enter the +house, Sisera will awaken and ask for water to drink." Scarcely had +Jael crossed the threshold when Sisera awakened and begged for water to +quench his burning thirst. Jael gave him wine mixed with water, which +caused him to drop into a sound sleep again. The woman then took a +wooden spike in her left hand, approached the sleeping warrior, and +said: "This shall be the sign that Thou wilt deliver him into my hand +if I draw him from the bed down on the ground without awaking him." She +tugged at Sisera, and in very truth he did not awaken even when he +dropped from the bed to the floor. Then Jael prayed: "O God, strengthen +the arm of Thy maid-servant this day, for Thy sake, for the sake of Thy +people, and for the sake of those that hope in Thee." With a hammer she +drove the spike into the temple of Sisera, who cried out as he was +expiring: "O that I should lose my life by the hand of a woman!" Jael's +mocking retort was: "Descend to hell and join thy fathers, and tell +them that thou didst fall by the hand of a woman." (86) + +Barak took charge of the body of the dead warrior, and he sent it to +Sisera's mother, Themac, (87) with the message: "Here is thy son, whom +thou didst expect to see returning laden with booty." He had in mind +the vision of Themac and her women-in-waiting. When Sisera went forth +to battle, their conjuring tricks had shown him to them as he lay on +the bed of a Jewish woman. This they had interpreted to mean that he +would return with Jewish captives. "One damsel, two damsels for ever +man." (88) they had said. Great, therefore, was the disappointment of +Sisera's mother. No less than a hundred cries did she utter over him. +(89) + +Deborah and Barak thereupon intoned a song of praise, thanking God for +the deliverance of Israel out of the power of Sisera, and reviewing the +history of the people since the time of Abraham. (90) + +After laboring for the weal of her nation for forty years, Deborah +departed this life. Her last words to the weeping people were an +exhortation not to depend upon the dead. They can do nothing for the +living. So long as a man is alive, his prayers are efficacious for +himself and for others. They avail naught once he is dead. + +The whole nation kept a seventy days' period of mourning in honor of +Deborah, and the land was at peace for seven years. (91) + +GIDEON + +Elated by the victory over Sisera, Israel sang a hymn of praise, the +song of Deborah, and God, to reward them for their pious sentiments, +pardoned the transgression of the people. (92) But they soon slipped +back into the old ways, and the old troubles harassed them. Their +backsliding was due to the witchcraft of a Midianite priest named Aud. +He made the sun shine at midnight, and so convinced the Israelites that +the idols of Midian were mightier than God, and God chastised them by +delivering them into the hands of the Midianties. (93) They worshipped +their own images reflected in the water, (94) and they were stricken +with dire poverty. They could not bring so much as a meal offering, the +offering of the poor. (95) On the eve of one Passover, Gideon uttered +the complaint: "Where are all the wondrous works which God did for our +fathers in this night, when he slew the first-born of the Egyptians, +and Israel went forth from slavery with joyous hearts?" God appeared +unto him, and said: "Thou who art courageous enough to champion Israel, +thou art worthy that Israel should be saved for thy sake." (96) + +An angel appeared, and Gideon begged him for a sign, that he would +achieve the deliverance of Israel. He excused his petition with the +precedent of Moses, the first prophet, who likewise has asked for a +sign. The angel bade him pour water on the rock, and then gave him the +choice of how he would have the water transformed. Gideon desired to +see one-half changed into blood, and one-half into fire. Thus it +happened. The blood and the fire mingled with each other, yet the blood +did not quench the fire, nor did the fire dry out the blood. Encouraged +by this and other signs, (97) Gideon undertook to carry on the war +against the Midianites with a band of three hundred God-fearing men, +and he was successful. Of the enemy one hundred and twenty thousand +corpses covered the field, and all the rest fled precipitately. (98) + +Gideon enjoyed the privilege of bringing salvation to Israel because he +was a good son. His old father feared to thresh his grain on account of +the Midianites, and Gideon once went out to him in the field and said: +"Father, thou art too old to do this work; go thou home, and I shall +finish thy task for thee. If the Midianites should surprise me out +here, I can run away, which thou canst not do, on account of thy age." +(99) + +The day on which Gideon gained his great victory was during the +Passover, and the cake of barley bread that turned the camp of the +enemy upside down, of which the Midianite dreamed, was a sign that God +would espouse the cause of His people to reward them for bringing a +cake of barley bread as an 'Omer offering. (100) + +After God had favored Israel with great help through him, Gideon had an +ephod made. In the high priest's breastplate, Joseph was represented +among the twelve tribes by Ephraim alone, not by Manasseh, too. To wipe +out this slight upon his own tribe, Gideon made an ephod bearing the +name of Manasseh. He consecrated it to God, but after his death homage +was paid to it as an idol. (101) In those days the Israelites were so +addicted to the worship of Beelzebub that they constantly carried small +images of this god with them in their pockets, and every now and then +they were in the habit of bringing the image forth and kissing it +fervently. (102) Of such idolaters were the vain and light fellows who +helped Abimelech, the son of Gideon by his concubine from Shechem, to +assassinate the other sons of his father. But God is just. As Abimelech +murdered his brothers upon a stone, so Abimelech himself met his death +through a millstone. It was proper, then, that Jotham, in his parable, +should compare Abimelech to a thorn-bush, while he characterized his +predecessors, Othniel, Deborah, and Gideon, as an olive-tree, or a +fig-tree, or a vine. This Jotham, the youngest of the sons of Gideon, +was more than a teller of parables. He knew then that long afterward +the Samaritans would claim sanctity for Mount Gerizim, on account of +the blessing pronounced from it upon the tribe. For this reason he +chose Gerizim from which to hurl his curse upon Shechem and it +inhabitants. (103) + +The successor to Abimelech equalled, if he did not surpass, him in +wickedness. Jair erected an altar unto Baal, and on penalty of death he +forced the people to prostrate themselves before it. Only seven men +remained firm in the true faith, and refused to the last to commit +idolatry. Their names were Deuel, Abit Yisreel, Jekuthiel, Shalom, +Ashur, Jehonadab, and Shemiel. (104) They said to Jair: "We are mindful +of the lessons given us by our teachers and our mother Deborah. 'Take +ye heed,' they said, 'that your heart lead you not astray to the right +or to the left. Day and night ye shall devote yourselves to the study +of the Torah.' Why, then, dost thou seek to corrupt the people of the +Lord, saying, 'Baal is God, let us worship him'? If he really is what +thou sayest, then let him speak like a god, and we will pay him +worship." For the blasphemy they had uttered against Baal, Jair +commanded that the seven men be burnt. When his servants were about to +carry out his order, God sent the angel Nathaniel, the lord over the +fire, and he extinguished the fire though not before the servants of +Jair were consumed by it. Not only did the seven men escape the danger +of suffering death by fire, but the angel enabled them to flee +unnoticed, by striking all the people present with blindness. Then the +angel approached Jair, and said to him: "Hear the words of the Lord ere +thou diest. I appointed thee as prince over my people, and thou didst +break My covenant, seduce My people, and seek to burn My servants with +fire, but they were animated and freed by the living, the heavenly +fire. As for thee, thou wilt die, and die by fire, a fire in which thou +wilt abide forever." + +Thereupon the angel burnt him with a thousand men, whom he had taken in +the act of paying homage to Baal. (105) + +JEPHTHAH + +The first judge of any importance after Gideon was Jephthah. He, too, +fell short of being the ideal Jewish ruler. His father had married a +woman of another tribe, an unusual occurrence in a time when a woman +who left her tribe was held in contempt.(106) Jephthah, the offspring +of this union, had to bear the consequences of his mother's irregular +conduct. So many annoyances were put upon him that he was forced to +leave his home and settle in a heathen district. (107) + +At first Jephthah refused to accept the rulership which the people +offered him in an assembly at Mizpah, for he had not forgotten the +wrongs to which he had been subjected. In the end, however, he yielded, +and placed himself at the head of the people in the war against Getal, +the king of the Ammonites. At his departure, he vowed before God to +sacrifice to Him whatsoever came forth out of the doors of his house to +meet him when he returned a victor from the war. + +God was angry and said: "So Jephthah has vowed to offer unto me the +first thing that shall meet him! If a dog were the first to meet him, +would a dog be sacrificed to me? Now shall the vow of Jephthah be +visited on his first-born, on his own offspring, yea, his prayer shall +be visited on his only daughter. But I assuredly shall deliver my +people, not for Jephthah's sake, but for the sake of the prayers of +Israel." + +The first to meet him after his successful campaign was his daughter +Sheilah. Overwhelmed by anguish, the father cried out: "Rightly was the +name Sheilah, the one who is demanded, given to thee, that thou +shouldst be offered up as a sacrifice. Who shall set my heart in the +balance and my soul as the weight, that I may stand and see whether +that which happened to me is joy or sorrow? But because I opened my +mouth to the Lord, and uttered a vow, I cannot take it back." Then +Sheilah spoke, saying: "Why dost thou grieve for my death, since the +people was delivered? Dost thou not remember what happened in the day +of our forefathers, when the father offered his son as a burnt +offering, and the son did not refuse, but consented gladly, and the +offerer and the offered were both full of joy? Therefore, do as thou +hast spoken. But before I die I will ask a favor of thee. Grant me that +I may go with my companions upon the mountains, sojourn among the +hills, and tread upon the rocks to shed my tears and deposit there the +grief for my lost youth. The trees of the field shall weep for me, and +the beasts of the field mourn for me. I do not grieve for my death, nor +because I have to yield up my life, but because when my father vowed +his heedless vow, he did not have me in mind. I fear, therefore, that I +may not be an acceptable sacrifice, and that my death shall be for +nothing." Sheilah and her companions went forth and told her case to +the sages of the people, but none of them could give her any help. Then +she went up to Mount Telag, where the Lord appeared to her at night, +saying unto her: "I have closed the mouth of the sages of my people in +this generation, that they cannot answer the daughter of Jephthah a +word; that my vow be fulfilled and nothing of what I have thought +remain undone. I know her to be wiser than her father, and all the wise +men, and now her soul shall be accepted at her request, and her death +shall be very precious before My face all the time." Sheilah began to +bewail her fate in these words: "Hearken, ye mountains, to my +lamentations, and ye hills, to the tears of my eyes, and ye rocks, +testify to the weeping of my soul. My words will go up to heaven, and +my tears will be written in the firmament. I have not been granted the +joy of wedding, nor was the wreath of my betrothal completed. I have +not been decked with ornaments, nor have I been scented with myrrh and +with aromatic perfumes. I have not been anointed with the oil that was +prepared for me. Alas, O mother, it was in vain thou didst give birth +to me, the grave was destined to be my bridal chamber. The oil thou +didst prepare for me will be spilled, and the white garments my mother +sewed for me, the moth will eat them; the bridal wreath my nurse wound +for me will wither, and my garments in blue and purple, the worms will +destroy them, and my companions will all their days lament over me. And +now, ye trees, incline your branches and weep over my youth; ye beasts +of the forest, come and trample upon my virginity, for my years are cut +off, and the days of my life grow old in darkness." (108) + +Her lamentations were of as little avail as her arguments with her +father. In vain she sought to prove to him from the Torah that the law +speaks only of animal sacrifices, never of human sacrifices. In vain +she cited the example of Jacob, who had vowed to give God a tenth of +all the possessions he owned, and yet did not attempt later to +sacrifice one of his sons. Jephthah was inexorable. All he would yield +was a respite during which his daughter might visit various scholars, +who were to decide whether he was bound by his vow. According to the +Torah his vow was entirely invalid. He was not even obliged to pay his +daughter's value in money. But the scholars of his time had forgotten +this Halakah, and they decided that he must keep his vow. The +forgetfulness of the scholars was of God, ordained as a punishment upon +Jephthah for having slaughtered thousands of Ephraim. + +One man there was living at the time who, if he had been questioned +about the case, would have been able to give a decision. This was the +high priest Phinehas. But he said proudly: "What! I, a high priest, the +son of a high priest, should humiliate myself and go to an ignoramus!" +Jephthah on the other hand said: "What! I, the chief of the tribes of +Israel, the first prince of the land, should humiliate myself and go to +one of the rank and file!" So only the rivalry between Jephthah and +Phinehas caused the loss of a young life. Their punishment did not miss +them. Jephthah dies a horrible death. Limb by limb his body was +dismembered. As for the high priest, the holy spirit departed from him, +and he had to give up his priestly dignity. (109) + +As it had been Jephthah's task to ward off the Ammonites, so his +successor Abdon was occupied with protecting Israel against the +Moabites. The king of Moab sent messengers to Abdon, and they spoke +thus: "Thou well knowest that Israel took possession of cities that +belonged to me. Return them." Abdon's reply was: "Know ye not how the +Ammonites fared? The measure of Moab's sins, it seems, out against the +enemy, slew forty-five thousand of their number, and routed the rest. +(110) + +SAMSON + +The last judge but one, Samson, was not the most important of the +judges, but he was the greatest hero of the period and, except Goliath, +the greatest hero of all times. He was the son of Manoah of the tribe +of Dan, and his wife Zelalponit (111) of the tribe of Judah, (112) and +he was born to them at a time when they had given up all hope of having +children. Samson's birth is a striking illustration of the +shortsightedness of human beings. The judge Ibzan had not invited +Manoah and Zelalponit to any of the one hundred and twenty feasts in +honor of the marriage of his sixty children, which were celebrated at +his house and at the house of their parents-in-law, because he thought +that "the sterile she-mule" would never be in a position to repay his +courtesy. It turned out that Samson's parents were blessed with an +extraordinary son, while Ibzan saw his sixty children die during his +lifetime. (113) + +Samson's strength was superhuman, (114) and the dimensions of his body +were gigantic he measured sixty ells between the shoulders. Yet he +had one imperfection, he was maimed in both feet. (115) The first +evidence of his gigantic strength he gave when he uprooted two great +mountains, and rubbed them against each other. Such feats he was able +to perform as often as the spirit of God was poured out over him. +Whenever this happened, it was indicated by his hair. In began to move +and emit a bell-like sound, which could be heard far off. Besides, +while the spirit rested upon him, he was able with one stride to cover +a distance equal to that between Zorah and Eshtaol. (116) It was +Samson's supernatural strength that made Jacob think that he would be +the Messiah. When God showed him Samson's latter end, then he realized +that the new era would not be ushered in by the hero-judge. (117) + +Samson won his first victory over the Philistines by means of the +jawbone of the ass on which Abraham had made his way to Mount Moriah. +It had been preserved miraculously. (118) After this victory a great +wonder befell. Samson was at the point of perishing from thirst, when +water began to flow from his own mouth as from a spring. (119) + +Besides physical prowess, Samson possessed also spiritual distinctions. +He was unselfish to the last degree. He had been of exceeding great +help to the Israelites, but he never asked the smallest service for +himself. (120) When Samson told Delilah that he was a "Nazarite unto +God," she was certain that he had divulged the true secret of his +strength. She knew his character too well to entertain the idea that he +would couple the name of God with an untruth. There was a weak side to +his character, too. He allowed sensual pleasures to dominate him. The +consequences was that "he who went astray after his eyes, lost his +eyes." Even this severe punishment produced no change of heart. He +continued to lead his old life of profligacy in prison, and he was +encouraged thereto by the Philistines, who set aside all considerations +of family purity in the hope of descendants who should be the equals of +Samson in giant strength and stature. (121) + +As throughout life Samson had given proofs of superhuman power, so in +the moment of death. He entreated God to realize in him the blessing of +Jacob, (122) and endow him with Divine strength. (123) He expired with +these words upon his lips: "O Master of the world! Vouchsafe unto me in +this life a recompense for the loss of one of my eyes. For the loss of +the other I will wait to be rewarded in the world to come." Even after +his death Samson was a shield unto the Israelites. Fear of him had so +cowed the Philistines that for twenty years they did not dare attack +the Israelites. (124) + +THE CRIME OF THE BENJAMITES + +A part of the money which Delilah received from the Philistine lords as +the price of Samson's secret, she gave to her son Micah, and he used it +to make an idol for himself. (125) This sin was the more unpardonable +as Micah owed his life to a miracle performed by Moses. During the +times of the Egyptian oppression, if the prescribed number of bricks +was not furnished by the Israelites, their children were used as +building material. Such would have been Micah's fate, if he had not +been saved in a miraculous way. Moses wrote down the Name of God, and +put the words on Micah's body. The dead boy came to life, and Moses +drew him out of the wall of which he made a part. (126) Micah did not +show himself worthy of the wonder done for him. Even before the +Israelites left Egypt, he made his idol, (127) and it was he who +fashioned the golden calf. At the time of Othniel the judge, (128) he +took up his abode at a distance of not more than three miles from the +sanctuary at Shiloh, (129) and won over the grandson of Moses (130) to +officiate as priest before his idol. + +The sanctuary which Micah erected harbored various idols. He had three +images of boys, and three of calves, one lion, an eagle, a dragon, and +a dove. When a man came who wanted a wife, he was directed to appeal to +the dove. If riches were his desire, he worshipped the eagle. For +daughters both, to the calves; to the lion for strength, and to the +dragon for long life. Sacrifices and incense alike were offered to +these idols, and both had to be purchased with cash money from Micah, +even didrachms for a sacrifice, and one for incense. (131) + +The rapid degeneration in the family of Moses may be accounted for by +the fact that Moses had married the daughter of a priest who ministered +to idols. Yet, the grandson of Moses was not an idolater of ordinary +calibre. His sinful conduct was not without a semblance of morality. +From his grandfather he had heard the rule that a man should do "Abodah +Zarah" for hire rather than be dependent upon his fellow-creatures. The +meaning of "Abodah Zarah" here naturally is "strange," in the sense of +"unusual" work, but he took the term in its ordinary acceptation of +"service of strange gods." (132) So far from being a whole-souled +idolater, he adopted methods calculated to harm the cause of idol +worship. Whenever any one came leading an animal with the intention of +sacrificing it, he would say: "What good can the idol do thee? It can +neither see nor hear nor speak." But as he was concerned about his won +livelihood, and did not want to offend the idolaters too grossly, he +would continue: "If thou bringest a dish of flour and a few eggs, it +will suffice." This offering he would himself eat. + +Under David he filled the position of treasurer. David appointed him +because he thought that a man who was willing to become priest to an +idol only in order to earn his bread, must be worthy of confidence. +However sincere his repentance may have been, he relapsed into his +former life when he was removed from his office by Solomon, who filled +all position with new incumbents at his accession to the throne. +Finally he abandoned his idolatrous ways wholly, and became so pure a +man that the was favored by God with the gift of prophecy. This +happened on the day on which the man of God out of Judah came to +Jeroboam, for the grandson of Moses is none other than the old prophet +at Beth-el who invited the man of God out of Judah to come to his +house. (133) + +The mischief done by Micah spread further and further. Especially the +Benjamites distinguished themselves for their zeal in paying homage to +his idols. God therefore resolved to visit the sins of Israel and +Benjamin upon them. The opportunity did not delay to come. It was not +long before the Benjamites committed the outrage of Gibeah. Before the +house of Bethac, a venerable old man, they imitated the disgraceful +conduct of the Sodomites before the house of Lot. When the other tribes +exacted amends from the Benjamites, and were denied satisfaction, +bloody combats ensued. At first the Benjamites prevailed, in spit of +the fact that the Urim and Thummim questioned by Phinehas had +encouraged the Israelites to take up the conflict, with the words: "Up +to war, I shall deliver them into your hands." After the tribes had +again and again suffered defeat, they recognized the intention of God, +to betray them as a punishment for their sins. They therefore ordained +a day of fasting and convocation before the holy Ark, and Phinehas the +son of Eleazar entreated God in their behalf: "What means this, that +Thou leadest us astray? Is the deed of the Benjamites right in Thine +eyes? Then why didst Thou not command us to desist from the combat? But +if what our brethren have done is evil in Thy sight, then why dost Thou +cause us to fall before them in battle? O God of our fathers, hearken +unto my voice. Make it known this day unto Thy servant whether the war +waged with Benjamin is pleasing in Thine eyes, or whether thou desirest +to punish Thy people for its sins. Then the sinners among us will amend +their ways. I am mindful of what happened in the days of my youth, at +the time of Moses. In the zeal of my soul I slew two for the sin of +Zimri, and when his well-wishers sought to kill me, Thou didst send an +angel, who cut off twenty-four thousand of them and delivered me. But +now eleven of Thy tribes have gone forth to do Thy bidding, to avenge +and slay, and, lo, they have themselves been slain, so that they are +made to believe that Thy revelations are lying and deceitful. O Lord, +God of our forefathers, naught is hidden before Thee. Make it manifest +why this misfortune has overtaken us." + +God replied to Phinehas at great length, setting forth why eleven +tribes had suffered so heavily. The Lord had wanted to punished them +for having permitted Micah and his mother Delilah to pursue their evil +ways undisturbed, though they were zealous beyond measure in avenging +the wrong done to the woman at Gibeah. As soon as all those had +perished who were guilty of having aided and abetted Micah in his +idolatrous practices, whether directly or indirectly, God was willing +to help them in their conflicts with the Benjamites. + +So it came. In the battle fought soon after, seventy-five thousand +Benjamites fell slain. Only six hundred of the tribe survived. (134) +Fearing to remain in Palestine, the small band emigrated to Italy and +Germany. (135) + +At the same time the punishment promised them by God overtook the two +chief sinners. Micah lost his life by fire, and his mother rotted +alive; worms crawled from her body. (136) + +In spite of the great mischief caused by Micah, he had one good +quality, and God permitted it to plead for him when the angel stood up +against him as his accusers. He was extremely hospitable. His house +always stood wide open to the wanderer, and to his hospitality he owed +it that he was granted a share in the future world. (137) In hell Micah +is the first in the sixth division, which is under the guidance of the +angel Hadriel, and he is the only one in the division who is spared +hell tortures. (138) Micah's sons was Jeroboam, whose golden calves +were sinful far beyond anything his father had done. (139) + +In those days God spake to Phinehas: "Thou art one hundred and twenty +years old, thou hast reached the natural term of man's life. Go now, +betake thyself to the mountain Danaben, and remain there many years. I +will command the eagles to sustain thee with food, so that thou +returnest not to men until the time when thou lockest fast the clouds +and openest them again. Then I will carry thee to the place where those +are who were before thee, and there thou wilt tarry until I visit the +world, and bring thee thither to taste of death." (140) + + + + +III. +SAMUEL AND SAUL + +ELKANAH AND HANNAH + +The period of the Judges is linked to the period of the Kingdom by the +prophet Samuel, who anointed both Saul and David as kings. Not only was +Samuel himself a prophet, but his forebears also has been prophets, (1) +and both his parents, Elkanah and Hannah, were endowed with the gift of +prophecy. (2) Aside from this gift, Elkanah possessed extraordinary +virtue. He was a second Abraham, the only pious man of his generation, +who saved the world from destruction when God, made wroth by the +idolatry of Micah, was on the point of annihilating it utterly. (3) His +chief merit was that he stimulated the people by his example to go on +pilgrimages to Shiloh, the spiritual centre of the nation. Accompanied +by his whole household, including kinsmen, he was in the habit of +making the three prescribed pilgrimages annually, and though he was a +man of only moderate means, (4) his retinue was equipped with great +magnificence. In all the towns through which it passed, the procession +caused commotion. The lookers-on invariably inquired into the reason of +the rare spectacle, and Elkanah told them: "We are going to the house +of the Lord at Shiloh, for thence come forth the law. Why should you +not join us?" Such gentle, persuasive words did not fail of taking +effect. In the first year five households undertook the pilgrimage, the +next year ten, and so on until the whole town followed his example. +Elkanah chose a new route every year. Thus he touched at many towns, +and their inhabitants were led to do a pious deed. (5) + +In spite of his God-fearing ways, Elkanah's domestic life was not +perfectly happy. He had been married ten years, and his union with +Hannah had not been blessed with offspring. (6) The love he bore his +wife compensated him for his childlessness, but Hannah herself insisted +upon his taking a second wife. Peninnah embraced every opportunity of +vexing Hannah. In the morning her derisive greeting to Hannah would be: +"Dost thou not mean to rise and wash thy children, and send them to +school?" (7) Such jeers were to keep Hannah mindful of her +childlessness. Perhaps Peninnah's intentions were laudable: she may +have wanted to bring Hannah to the point of praying to God for +children. (8) However it may have been forced from her, Hannah's +petition for a son was fervent and devout. She entreats God: "Lord of +the world! Hast Thou created aught in vain? Our eyes Thou hast destined +for sight, our ears for hearing, our mouth for speech, our nose to +smell therewith, our hands for work. Didst Thou not create these +breasts above my heart to give suck to a babe? (9) O grant me a son, +that he may draw nourishment therefrom. Lord, Thou reignest over all +beings, the mortal and the heavenly beings. The heavenly beings neither +eat nor drink, they do not propagate themselves, nor do they die, but +they live forever. Mortal man eats, drinks, propagates his kind and +dies. If, now, I am of the heavenly beings, let me live forever. But if +I belong to mortal mankind, let me do my part in establishing the +race." (10) + +Eli the high priest, who at first misinterpreted Hannah's long prayer, +dismissed her with the blessing: "May the son to be born unto thee +acquire great knowledge in the law." (11) Hannah left the sanctuary, +and at once her grief-furrowed countenance changes. She felt beyond a +doubt that the blessing of Eli would be fulfilled. (12) + +THE YOUTH OF SAMUEL + +Hannah's prayer was heard. At the end of six months and a few days (13) +Samuel was born to her, in the nineteenth year of her married life, +(14) and the one hundred and thirtieth of her age. (15) Samuel was of a +frail constitution, (16) and required tender care and nurture. For this +reason he and his mother could not accompany Elkanah on his +pilgrimages. Hannah withheld her boy from the sanctuary for some years. +Before Samuel's birth a voice from heaven had proclaimed that in a +short time a great man would be born, whose name would be Samuel. All +men children of that time were accordingly named Samuel. As they grew +up, the mothers were in the habit of getting together and telling of +their children's doings, in order to determine which of them satisfied +the expectations the prophecy had aroused. When the true Samuel was +born, and by his wonderful deed excelled all his companions, it became +plain to whom the word of God applied. (17) His preeminence now being +undisputed, Hannah was willing to part with him. + +The following incident is an illustration of Samuel's unusual qualities +manifested even in infancy. He was two years old when his mother +brought him to Shiloh to leave him there permanently. An occasion at +once presented itself for the display of his learning and acumen, which +were so great as to arouse the astonishment of the high priest Eli +himself. On entering the sanctuary Samuel noticed that they were +seeking a priest to kill the sacrificial animal. Samuel instructed the +attendants that a non-priest was permitted to kill the sacrifice. The +high priest Eli appeared at the moment when, by Samuel's directions, +the sacrifice was being killed by a non-priest. Angered by the child's +boldness, he was about to have him executed, regardless of Hannah's +prayer for his life. "Let him die," (18) he said, "I shall pray for +another in his place." Hannah replied: "I lent him to the Lord. +Whatever betide, he belongs neither to thee nor to me, but to God." +(19) Only then, after Samuel's life was secure, Hannah offered up her +prayer of thanksgiving. Beside the expression of her gratitude, it +contains also many prophecies regarding Samuel's future achievements, +and it recited the history of Israel from the beginning until the +advent of Messiah. (20) Her prayer incidentally brought relief to the +Sons of Korah. Since the earth had swallowed them, they had been +constantly sinking lower and lower. When Hannah uttered the words, "God +bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up," (21) they came to a +standstill in their downward course. + +Hannah was spared to witness, not only the greatness of her son, but +also the undoing of her rival. Every time Hannah bore a child, Peninnah +lost two of hers, until eight of her ten children had died, and she +would have had to surrender all, had not Hannah interceded for her with +prayer. (22) + +ELI AND HIS SONS + +Shortly (23) before Samuel entered upon his novitiate in the sanctuary, +Eli succeeded to the three highest offices in the land: he was made +high priest, president of the Sanhedrin, and ruler over the political +affairs of Israel. Eli was a pious man, and devoted to the study of the +Torah, wherefore he attained to a good old age and to high honors. (24) +In his office as high priest he was successor to no less a personage +than Phinehas, who had lost his high-priestly dignity on account of his +haughty bearing toward Jephthah. With Eli the line of Ithamar rose to +power instead of the line of Eleazar. (25) However, the iniquitous deed +of his two sons brought dire misfortune upon Eli and upon his family, +though the Scriptural account of their conduct may not be taken +literally. The sons of Eli transgressed only in that they sometimes +kept the women waiting who came to the sanctuary to bring the +purification offerings, and so they retarded their return to their +families. (26) This was bad enough for priest of God. Their misdeeds +recoiled upon their father, who was not strict enough in rebuking them. +Eli's punishment was that he aged prematurely, and, besides, he had to +give up his various offices. + +During his lifetime, his youngest son Phinehas, the worthier of the +two, (27) officiated as high priest. The only reproach to which +Phinehas laid himself open was that he made no attempt to mend his +brother's ways. + +The worst of God's decree against Eli he learned from Elkanah, (28) the +man of God who came unto Eli, and who announced that the high-priestly +dignity would be wrested from his house, and once more conferred upon +the family of Eleazar, and, furthermore, his descendant would all die +in their prime. The latter doom can be averted by good deeds, devotion +in prayer, and zealous study of the Torah. These means were often +employed successfully. (29) But against the loss of the high priest's +office there is no specific. The house of Eli forfeited it irrevocably. +Abiathar, the great-grandson of Eli's son Phinehas, (30) the last of +the high priest of the line of Ithamar, had to submit to the fate of +seeing David transfer his dignity to Zadok, in whose family it remained +forever. + +The sons of Eli brought misfortune also upon the whole of Israel. To +their sins and the ease with which the people condoned them was +attributed the unhappy issue of the war with the Philistines. The holy +Ark, the receptacle for the broken table of the law, which accompanied +the people to the camp, (31) did not have the expected effect of +compelling victory for the Israelites. What Eli feared happened. He +enjoined upon his sons not to appear before him if they should survive +the capture of the Ark. (32) But they did not survive it; they died +upon the battlefield on which their nation had suffered bitter defeat. +The Philistines, to be sure, had to pay dearly for their victory, +especially those who had spoken contemptuous words when the holy Ark +had appeared in the Israelitish camp: "The God of the Israelites had +ten plagues, and those he expended upon the Egyptians. He no longer has +it in His power to do harm." But God said: "Do ye but wait to see. I +shall bring plague down upon you like of which hath never been." (33) +This new plague consisted in mice crawling forth out of the earth, and +jerking the entrails out of the bodies of the Philistines while they +eased nature. If the Philistines sought to protect themselves by using +brass vessels, the vessels burst at the touch of the mice, and, as +before, the Philistines were at their mercy. (34) After some months of +suffering, when they realized that their god Dagon was the victim +instead of the victor, they resolved to send the Ark back to the +Israelites. Many of the Philistines, (35) however, were not yet +convinced of God's power. The experiment with the milch kine on which +there had come no yoke was to establish the matter for them. The result +was conclusive. Scarcely had the cows begun to draw the cart containing +the Ark when they raised their voices in song: + +Arise thou, O Acacia! Soar aloft in the fulness of thy splendor, + +Thou who art adorned with gold embroidery, + +Thou who art reverenced within the Holiest of the palace, + +Thou who art covered by the two Cherubim! (36) + +When the holy Ark was thus brought into the Israelitish domain, there +was exceeding great rejoicing. Yet the people were lacking in due +reverence. They unloaded the holy vessel while doing their usual work. +God punished them severely. (37) The seventy members of the Sanhedrin +perished, and with them fifty thousand of the people. (38) The +punishment was meet for another reason. At first sight of the Ark some +of the people had exclaimed: "Who vexed these that thou didst feel +offended, and what had mollified thee now?" (39) + +THE ACTIVITIES OF SAMUEL + +In the midst of the defeats and other calamities that overwhelmed the +Israelites, Samuel's authority grew, and the respect for him increased, +until he was acknowledged the helper of his people. His first efforts +were directed toward counteracting the spiritual decay in Israel. When +he assembled the people at Mizpah for prayer, he sought to distinguish +between the faithful and the idolatrous, in order to mete out +punishment to the disloyal. He had all the people drink water, whose +effect was to prevent idolaters from opening their lips. (40) The +majority of the people repented of their sins, and Samuel turned to God +in their behalf: "Lord of the world! Thou requirest naught of man but +that he should repent of his sins. Israel is penitent, do Thou pardon +him." (41) The prayer was granted, and when, after his sacrifice, +Samuel led an attack upon the Philistines, victory was not withheld +from the Israelites. God terrified the enemy first by an earthquake, +and then by thunder and lightning. Many were scattered and wandered +about aimlessly; many were precipitated into the rents torn in the +earth, the rest had their faces scorched, and in their terror and pain +their weapons dropped from their hands. (42) + +In peace as in war Samuel was the type of a disinterested, +incorruptible judge, who even refused compensation for the time, +trouble, and pecuniary sacrifices entailed upon him by his office. (43) +His sons fell far short of resembling their father in these respects. +Instead of continuing Samuel's plan of journeying from place to place +to dispense judgment, they had the people come to them, and they +surrounded themselves with a crew of officials who preyed upon the +people for their maintenance. (44) In a sense, therefore, the curse +with which Eli threatened Samuel in his youth was accomplished: both he +and Samuel had sons unworthy of their fathers. (45) Samuel at least had +the satisfaction of seeing his sons mend their ways. One of them is the +prophet Joel, whose prophecy forms a book of the Bible. (46) + +Though, according to this account, the sons of Samuel were by no means +so iniquitous as might be inferred from the severe expressions of the +Scripture, still the demand for a king made by the leaders of the +people was not unwarranted. All they desired was a king in the place of +a judge. What enkindled the wrath of God and caused Samuel vexation, +was the way in which the common people formulated the demand. "We want +a king," they said, "that we may be like the other nations." (47) + +THE REIGN OF SAUL + +There were several reasons for the choice of Saul as king. He had +distinguished himself as a military hero in the unfortunate engagement +of the Philistines with Israel under the leadership of the sons of Eli. +Goliath captured the tables of the law. When Saul heard of this in +Shiloh, he marched sixty miles to the camp, wrested the tables from the +giant, and returned to Shiloh on the same day, bringing Eli the report +of the Israelitish misfortune. (48) Besides, Saul possessed unusual +beauty, (49) which explains why the maidens whom he asked about the +seer in their city sought to engage him in a lengthy conversation. (50) +At the same time he was exceedingly modest. When he and his servant +failed to find the asses they were looking for, he said, "My father +will take thought of us," putting his servants on a level with himself, +(51) and when he was anointed king, he refused to accept the royal +dignity until the Urim and Thummin were consulted. (52) His chief +virtue, however, was his innocence. He was as free from sin as "a one +year old child." (53) No wonder, then, he was held worthy of the +prophetic gift. The prophecies he uttered concerned themselves with the +war of Gog and Magog, the meting out of reward and punishment at the +last judgment. (54) Finally, his choice as king was due also to the +merits of his ancestors, especially his grandfather Abiel, a man +interested in the public welfare, who would have the streets lighted so +that people might go to the houses of study after dark. (55) + +Saul's first act as king was his successful attack upon Nahash, king of +the Ammonites, who had ordered the Gileadites to remove the injunction +from the Torah barring the Ammonites from the congregation of Israel. +(56) In his next undertaking, the campaign against the Philistines, he +displayed his piety. His son Jonathan had fallen under the severe ban +pronounced by Saul against all who tasted food on a certain day, and +Saul did not hesitate to deliver him up to death. Jonathan's trespass +was made know by the stones in the breastplate of the high priest. All +the stones were bright, only the one bearing the name Benjamin had lost +its brilliancy. By lot it was determined that its dimmed lustre was due +to the Benjamite Jonathan. Saul desisted from his purpose of executing +Jonathan only when it appeared that he had transgressed his father's +command by mistake. A burnt offering and his weight in gold paid to the +sanctuary were considered an atonement for him. (57) In the same war +Saul had occasion to show his zeal for the scrupulous observance of the +sacrificial ordinances. He reproached his warriors with eating the meat +of the sacrifices before the blood was sprinkled on the altar, (58) and +he made it his task to see to it that the slaughtering knife was kept +in the prescribed condition. As recompense, an angel brought him a +sword, there being none beside Saul in the whole army to bear one. (59) + +Saul manifested a different spirit in the next campaign, the war with +the Amalekites, whom, at the bidding of God, he was to exterminate. +When the message of God's displeasure was conveyed to Saul by the +prophet Samuel, he said: "If the Torah ordains that a heifer of the +herd shall be beheaded in the valley as an atonement for the death of a +single man, how great must be the atonement required for the slaughter +of so many men? And granted they are sinners, what wrong have their +cattle done to deserve annihilation? And granted that the adults are +worthy of their fate, what have the children done?" Then a voice +proclaimed from heaven, "Be not overjust." Later on, when Saul +commissioned Doeg to cut down the priests at Nob, the same voice was +heard to say, "Be not overwicked." (60) It was this very Doeg, destined +to play so baleful a part in his life, who induced Saul to spare Agag, +the king of Amalekites. His argument was the law prohibits the slaying +of an animal and its young on the same day. How much less permissible +is it to destroy at one time old and young, men and children. (61) As +Saul had undertaken the war of extermination against Amalek only +because forced into it, he was easily persuaded to let the people keep +a part of the cattle alive. As far as he himself was concerned, he +could have had no personal interest in the booty, for he was so +affluent that he took a census of the army by giving a sheep to every +one of his soldiers, distributing not less than two hundred thousand +sheep. (62) + +Compared with David's sins, Saul's were not sufficiently grievous to +account for the withdrawal of the royal dignity from him and his +family. The real reason was Saul's too great mildness, a drawback in a +ruler. Moreover, his family was of such immaculate nobility that his +descendants might have become too haughty. (63) When Saul disregarded +the Divine command about the Amalekites, Samuel announced to him that +his office would be bestowed upon another. The name of his successor +was not mentioned on that occasion, but Samuel gave him a sign by which +to recognize the future king: he who would cut off the corner of Saul's +mantle, would reign in his stead. Later on, when David met Saul in the +cave and cut off a piece of the king's skirt, Saul knew him for a +certainty to be his destined successor. (64) + +So Saul lost his crown on account of Agag, and yet did not accomplish +his purpose of saving the life of the Amalekite king, for Samuel +inflicted a most cruel death upon Agag, and that not in accordance with +Jewish, but with heathen, forms of justice. No witnesses of Agag's +crime could be summoned before the court, nor could it be proved that +Agag, as the law requires, had been warned when about to commit the +crime. (65) Though due punishment was meted out to Agag, in a sense it +came too late. Had he been killed by Saul in the course of the battle, +the Jews would have been spared the persecution devised by Haman, for, +in the short span of time that elapsed between war and his execution, +Agag became the ancestor of Haman. (66) + +The Amalekite war was the last of Saul's notable achievements. Shortly +afterward he was seized by the evil spirit, and the rest of his days +were passed mainly in persecuting David and his followers. Saul would +have died immediately after the Amalekite war, if Samuel had not +interceded for him. The prophet prayed to God that the life of the +disobedient king be spared, at least so long as his own years had not +come to their destined close: "Thou regardest me equal to Moses and +Aaron. (67) As Moses and Aaron did not have their handiwork destroyed +before their eyes during their life, so may my handiwork not cease +during my life." God said: "What shall I do? Samuel will not let me put +an end to Saul's days, and if I let Samuel die in his prime, people +will speak ill of him (68) Meanwhile David's time is approaching, and +one reign may not overlap the time assigned to another by his +hairbreadth." God determined to let Samuel age suddenly, and when he +died at fifty-two, (69) the people were under the impression the days +of an old man had come to an end. So long as he lived, Saul was secure. +(70) Scarcely was he dead, when the Philistines began to menace the +Israelites and their king. Soon it appeared how well justified had been +the mourning services for the departed prophet in all the Israelitish +towns. (71) It was not remarkable that the mourning for Samuel should +have been universal. During his active administration as judge, he had +been in the habit of journeying through every part of the country, and +so he was known personally to all the people. This practice of his +testifies not only to the zeal with which he devoted himself to his +office, but also to his wealth, for the expenses entailed by these +journeys were defrayed from his own purse. Only one person in all the +land took no part in the demonstrations of grief. During the very week +of mourning Nabal held feasts. "What!" God exclaimed, "all weep and +lament over the death of the pious, and this reprobate engages in +revelry!" Punishment was not withheld. Three days after the week of +mourning for Samuel Nabal dies. (72) + +There was none that felt the death of Samuel more keenly than Saul. +Left alone and isolated, he did not shrink from extreme measures to +enter into communication with the departed prophet. With his two +adjutants, (73) Abner and Amasa, he betook himself to Abner's mother, +the witch of En-dor. (74) The king did not reveal his identity, but the +witch had no difficulty in recognizing her visitor. In necromancy the +peculiar rule holds good that, unless it is summoned by a king, a +spirit raised from the dead appears head downward and feet in the air. +(75) Accordingly, when the figure of Samuel stood upright before them, +the witch knew that the king was with her. Though the witch saw Samuel, +she could not hear what he said, while Saul heard his words, but could +not see his person another peculiar phenomenon in necromancy: the +conjuror sees the spirit, and he for whom the spirit had been raised +only hears it. Any other person present neither sees nor hears it. + +The witch's excitement grew when she perceived a number of spirits +arise by the side of Samuel. The dead prophet, when he was summoned +back to earth, thought that the judgement day had arrived. He requested +Moses to accompany him and testify to his always having executed the +ordinances of the Torah as Moses had established them. With these two +great leaders a number of the pious arose, all believing that the day +of judgment was at hand. Samuel was apparelled in the "upper garment" +his mother had made for him when she surrendered him to the sanctuary. +This he had worn throughout his life, and in it he was buried. At the +resurrection all the dead wear their grave clothes, and so it came +about that Samuel stood before Saul in his well-known "upper garment." + +Only fragments of the conversation between Samuel and Saul have been +preserved in the Scriptures. Samuel reproached Saul with having +disturbed him. "Was it not enough," he said, "for thee to enkindle the +wrath of thy Creator by calling up the spirits of the dead, must thou +need change me into an idol? For is it not said that like unto the +worshippers so shall the worshipped be punished?" Samuel then consented +to tell the king God's decree, that he had resolved to rend the kingdom +out of his hand, and invest David with the royal dignity. Whereupon +Saul: "These are not the words thou spakest to me before." (76) "When +we dwelt together," rejoined Samuel, "I was in the world of lies. Now I +abide in the world of truth, and thou heardest lying words from me, for +I feared thy wrath and thy revenge. Now I abide in the world of truth, +and thou hearest words of truth from me. As to the thing the Lord hath +done unto thee, thou hast deserved it, for thou didst not obey the +voice of the Lord, nor execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek." Saul +asked: "Can I still save myself by flight?" "Yes," replied Samuel, "if +thou fleest, thou art safe. But if thou acceptest God's judgment, by +to-morrow thou wilt be united with me in Paradise." + +When Abner and Amasa questioned Saul about his interview with Samuel, +he replied: "Samuel told me I should go into battle to-morrow, and come +forth victorious. More than that, my sons will be given exalted +positions in return for their military prowess." The next day his three +sons went with him to the war, and all were stricken down. God summoned +the angels and said to them: "Behold the being I have created in my +world. A father as a rule refrains from taking his sons even to a +banquet, lest he expose them to the evil eye. Saul goes to war knowing +that he will lose his life, yet he takes his sons with him, and +cheerfully accepts the punishment I ordain." (77) + +So perished the first Jewish king, as a hero and a saint. His latter +days were occupied with regrets on account of the execution of the +priest of Nob, (78) and his remorse secured pardon for him. (79) +Indeed, in all respects his piety was so great that not even David was +his equal: David had many wives and concubines; Saul had but on wife. +David remained behind, fearing to lose his life in battle with his son +Absalom; Saul went into the combat knowing he should not return alive. +Mild and generous, Saul led the life of a saint in his own house, +observing even the priestly laws of purity. Therefore God reproached +David with having pronounced a curse upon Saul in his prayer. (80) +Also, David in his old age was punished for having cut off the corner +of Saul's mantle, for no amount of clothing would keep him warm. (81) +Finally, when a great famine fell upon the land during the reign of +David, God told him it had been inflicted upon him because Saul's +remains had not been buried with the honor due to him, and at that +moment a heavenly voice resounded calling Saul "the elect of God." (82) + +THE COURT OF SAUL + +The most important figure at the court of Saul was his cousin Abner, +the son of the witch of En-dor. (83) He was a giant of extraordinary +size. A wall measuring six ells in thickness could be moved more easily +than one of Abner's feet. (84) David once chanced to get between the +feet of Abner as he lay asleep, and he was almost crushed to death, +when fortunately Abner moved them, and David made his escape. (85) +Conscious of his vast strength he once cried out: "If only I could +seize the earth at some point, I should be able to shake it." Even in +the hour of death, wounded mortally by Joab, he grasped his murderer +like a worsted ball. He was about to kill him, but the people crowded +round them, and said to Abner: "If thou killest Joab, we shall be +orphaned, and our wives and children will be prey to the Philistines." +Abner replied: "What can I do? He was about to extinguish my light." +The people consoled him: "Commit thy cause to the true Judge." Abner +thereupon loosed his hold upon Joab, who remained unharmed, while Abner +fell dead instantly. God had decided against him. (86) The reason was +that Joab was in a measure justified in seeking to avenge the death of +his brother Asahel. Asahel, the supernaturally swift runner, (87) so +swift that he ran through a field without snapping the ears of wheat +(88) had been the attacking party. He had sough to take Abner's life, +and Abner contended, that in killing Asahel he had but acted in +self-defense. Before inflicting the fatal wound, Joab held a formal +court of justice over Abner. He asked: "Why didst thou no render Asahel +harmless by wounding him rather than kill him?" Abner replied that he +could not have done it. "What," said Joab, incredulous, "if thou wast +able to strike him under the fifth rib, dost thou mean to say thou +couldst not have made him innocuous by a wound, and saved him alive?" +(89) + +Although Abner was a saint, (90) even a "lion in the law," (91) he +perpetrated many a deed that made his violent death appear just. It was +in his favor that he had refused to obey Saul's command to do away with +the priests of Nob. (92) Yet a man of his stamp should not have rested +content with passive resistance. He should have interposed actively, +and kept Saul from executing his blood design. And granted that Abner +could not have influenced the king's mind in this matter, (93) at all +events he is censurable for having frustrated a reconciliation between +Saul and David. When David, holding in his hand the corner of the +king's mantle which he had cut off, sought to convince Saul of his +innocence, it was Abner who turned the king against the suppliant +fugitive. "Concern not thyself about it," he said to Saul. "David found +the rag on a thornbush in which thou didst catch the skirt of thy +mantle as thou didst pass it." (94) On the other hand, no blame +attaches to Abner for having espoused the cause of Saul's son against +David for two years and a half. He knew that God had designated David +for the royal office, but, according to an old tradition, God had +promised two kings to the tribe of Benjamin, and Abner considered it +his duty to transmit his father's honor to the son of Saul the +Benjamite. (95) + +Another figure of importance during Saul's reign, but a man of +radically different character, was Doeg. Doeg, the friend of Saul from +the days of his youth, (96) died when he was thirty-four years old, +(97) yet at that early age he had been president of the Sanhedrin and +the greatest scholar of his time. He was called Edomi, which means, not +Edomite, but "he who causes the blush of shame," because by his keen +mind and his learning he put to shame all who entered into argument +with him. (98) But his scholarship lay only on his lips, his heart was +not concerned in it, and his one aim was to elicit admiration. (99) +Small wonder, then, that his end was disastrous. At the time of his +death he had sunk so low that he forfeited all share in the life to +come. (100) Wounded vanity caused his hostility to David, who had got +the better of him in a learned discussion. (101) From that moment he +bent all his energies to the task of ruining David. He tried to poison +Saul's mind against David, by praising the latter inordinately, and so +arousing Saul's jealousy. (102) Again, he would harp on David's Moabite +descent, and maintain that on account of it he could not be admitted +into the congregation of Israel. Samuel and other prominent men had to +bring to bear all the weight of their authority to shield David against +the consequences of Doeg's sophistry. (103) + +Doeg's most grievous transgression, however, was his informing against +the priests of Nob, whom he accused of high treason and executed as +traitors. For all his iniquitous deeds he pressed the law into his +service, and derived justification of his conduct from it. Abimelech, +the high priest at Nob, admitted that he had consulted the Urim and +Thummim for David. This served Doeg as the basis for the charge of +treason, and he stated it as an unalterable Halakah that the Urim and +Thummim may be consulted only for a king. In vain Abner and Amasa and +all the other members of the Sanhedrin demonstrated that the Urim and +Thummim may be consulted for any on whose undertaking concerns the +general welfare. Doeg would not yield, and as no one could be found to +execute the judgement, he himself officiated as hangman. (104) When the +motive of revenge actuated him, he held cheap alike the life and honor +of his fellow-man. He succeeded in convincing Saul that David's +marriage with the king's daughter Michal had lost its validity from the +moment David was declared a rebel. As such, he said, David was as good +as dead, since a rebel was outlawed. Hence his wife was no longer bound +to him. (105) Doeg's punishment accorded with his misdeeds. He who had +made impious use of his knowledge of the law, completely forgot the +law, and even his disciples rose up against him, and drove him from the +house of study. In the end he died a leper. + +Dreadful as this death was, it was not accounted an atonement for his +sins. One angel burned his soul, and another scattered his ashes in all +the house of study and prayer. (106) The son of Doeg was Saul's +armor-bearer, who was killed by David for daring to slay the king even +though he longed for death. (107) + +Along with Abner and Doeg, Jonathan distinguished himself in the reign +of his father. His military capacity was joined to deep scholarship. To +the latter he owed his position as Ab Bet Din. (108) Nevertheless he +was one of the most modest men known in history. (109) Abinadab was +another one of Saul's sons who was worthy of his father, wherefore he +was sometimes called Ishvi. (110) As for Saul's grandson Mephibosheth. +He, too, was reputed a great man. David himself did not scorn to sit at +his feet, and he revered Mephibosheth as his teacher. (111) The wrong +done him by David in granting one-half his possessions to Ziba, the +slave of Mephibosheth, did not go unavenged. When David ordered the +division of the estate of Mephibosheth, a voice from heaven prophesied: +"Jeroboam and Rehoboam shall divide the kingdom between themselves." +(112) + + + + +IV. +DAVID + +DAVID'S BIRTH AND DESCENT + +David, the "elect of God," (1) was descended from a family which itself +belonged to the elect of Israel. Those ancestors of his who are +enumerated in the Bible by name are all of them men of distinguished +excellence. Besides, David was a descendant of Miriam, (2) the sister +of Moses, and so the strain of royal aristocracy was reinforced by the +priestly aristocracy. Nor was David the first of his family to occupy +the throne of a ruler. His great-grandfather Boaz was one and the same +person with Ibzan, the judge of Bethlehem. (3) Othniel, too, the first +judge in Israel after the death of Joshua, and Caleb, (4) the brother +of Othniel, were connected with David's family. As examples of piety +and virtue, David had his grandfather and more particularly his father +before him. His grandfather's whole life was a continuous service of +God, (5) whence his name Obed, "the servant," and his father Jesse was +one of the greatest scholars of his time, (6) and one of the four who +died wholly untainted by sin. (7) If God had not ordained death for all +the descendants of our first parents after their fall, Jesse would have +continued to live forever. As it was, he died at the age of four +hundred, (8) and then a violent death, by the hand of the Moabite king, +(9) in whose care David, trusting in the ties of kinship between the +Moabites and the seed of Ruth, left his family when he was fleeing +before Saul. Jesse's piety will not go unrewarded. In the Messianic +time he will be one of the eight princes to rule over the world. (10) + +In spite of his piety, Jesse was not always proof against temptation. +One of his slaves caught his fancy, and he would have entered into +illicit relations with her, had his wife, Nazbat, the daughter of +Adiel, not frustrated the plan. She disguised herself as the slave, and +Jesse, deceived by the ruse, met his own wife. The child borne by +Nazbat was given out as the son of the freed slave, so that the father +might not discover the deception practiced upon him. This child was +David. (11) + +In a measure David was indebted for his life to Adam. At first only +three hours of existence had been allotted to him. When God caused all +future generations to pass in review before Adam, he besought God to +give David seventy of the thousand years destined for him. A deed of +gift, signed by God and the angel Metatron, was drawn up. Seventy years +were legally conveyed from Adam to David, and in accordance with Adam's +wishes, beauty, dominion, and poetical gift (12) went with them. + +ANOINTED KING + +Beauty and talent, Adam's gifts to David, did not shield their +possessor against hardship. As the supposed son of a slave, he was +banished from association with his brothers, and his days were passed +in the desert tending his father's sheep. (13) It was his shepherd life +that prepared him for his later exalted position. With gentle +consideration he led the flocks entrusted to him. The young lambs he +guided to pastures of tender grass; the patches of less juicy herbs he +reserved for the sheep; and the full-grown sturdy rams were given the +tough weeds for food. Then God said: "David knows how to tend sheep, +therefore he shall be the shepherd of my flock Israel." (14) + +In the solitude of the desert David had opportunities of displaying his +extraordinary physical strength. One day he slew four lions and three +bears, (15) though he had no weapons. His most serious adventure was +with the reem. David encountered the mammoth beast asleep, and taking +it for a mountain, he began to ascend it. Suddenly the reem awoke, and +David found himself high up in the air on its horns. He vowed, if he +were rescued, to build a temple to God one hundred ells in height, as +high as the horns of the reem. Thereupon God sent a lion. The king of +beasts (16) inspired even the reem with awe. The reem prostrated +himself, and David could easily descend from his perch. At that moment +a deer appeared. The lion pursued after him, and David was saved from +the lion as well as the reem. (17) + +He continued to lead the life of a shepherd until, at the age of +twenty-eight, (18) he was anointed king by Samuel, who was taught by a +special revelation that the despised youngest son of Jesse was to be +king. Samuel's first charge had been to anoint one of the sons of +Jesse, but he was not told which one. When he saw the oldest, Eliab, he +thought him the king of God's choice. God had allowed him to be +deceived, in order to punish Samuel for his excessive +self-consciousness in calling himself the seer. It was thus proved to +him that he could not foresee all things. (19) However, Samuel's error +was pardonable. God's first choice had rested upon Eliab. Only on +account of his violent nature, his swiftness to anger against David, +the position destined for him was transferred to his youngest brother. +(20) Eliab was in a sense compensated by seeing his daughter become the +wife of Rehoboam. Thus he, too, enjoys the distinction of being among +the ancestors of the Judaic kings, and Samuel's vision of Eliab as king +was not wholly false. (21) + +The election of David was obvious from what happened with the holy oil +with which he was anointed. (22) When Samuel had tried to pour the oil +on David's brothers, it had remained in the horn, but at David's +approach it flowed of its own accord, and poured itself out over him. +The drops on his garments changed into diamonds and pearls, and after +the act of anointing him, the horn was as full as before. + +The amazement was great that the son of a slave should be made king. +Then the wife of Jesse revealed her secret, and declared herself the +mother of David. (23) + +The anointing of David was for a time kept a secret, but its effect +appeared in the gift of prophecy which manifested itself in David, (24) +and in his extraordinary spiritual development. His new accomplishments +naturally earned envy for him. None was more bitterly jealous than +Doeg, the greatest scholar of his time. When he heard that Saul was +about to have David come to court as his attendant, Doeg began to +praise David excessively, with the purpose of arousing the king's +jealousy and making David hateful in his eyes. He succeeded, (25) yet +Saul did not relinquish his plan of having David at court. David had +become known to Saul in his youth, and at that time the king had +conceived great admiration for him. The occasion was one on which David +had shown cleverness as well as love of justice. A rich woman had had +to leave her home temporarily. She could not carry her fortune with +her, nor did she wish to entrust it to any one. She adopted the device +of hiding her gold in honey jars, and these she deposited with a +neighbor. Accidentally he discovered what was in the jars, and he +abstracted the gold. On her return the woman received her vessels, but +the gold concealed in them was gone. She had no evidence to bring up +against her faithless neighbor, and the court dismissed her complaint. +She appealed to the king, but he was equally powerless to help. When +the woman came out of the palace of the king, David was playing with +his companions. Seeing her dejection, he demanded an audience of the +king, that truth might prevail. The king authorized him to do as he saw +fit. David ordered the honey jars to be broken, and two coins were +found to adhere to the inner side of the vessels. The thief had +overlooked them, and they proved his dishonesty. (26) + +ENCOUNTER WITH GOLIATH + +David was not long permitted to enjoy the ease of life at court. The +aggressive manner assumed by Goliath drove him to the front. It was a +curious chance that designated David to be the slayer of Goliath, who +was allied with him by the ties of blood. Goliath, it will be +remembered, was the son of the Moabitess Orpah, (27) the sister-in-law +of David's ancestress Ruth, and her sister as well, both having been +the daughters of the Moabite king Eglon. (28) David and Goliath +differed as widely as their grandams, for in contrast to Ruth, the +pious, religious Jewess, Orpah had led a life of unspeakable infamy. +Her son Goliath was jeered at as "the son of a hundred fathers and one +mother." (29) But God lets naught go unrewarded, even in the wicked. In +return for the forty steps Orpah had accompanied her mother-in-law +Naomi, (30) Goliath the Philistine, her son, was permitted to display +his strength and skill for forty days, and in return for the four tears +Orpah had shed on parting from her mother-in-law, she was privileged to +give birth to four giant sons. (31) + +Of the four, Goliath was the strongest and greatest. What the +Scriptures tell about him is but a small fraction of what might have +been told. The Scriptures refrain intentionally from expatiating upon +the prowess of the miscreant. Nor do they tell how Goliath, impious as +he was, dared challenge the God of Israel to combat with him, and how +he tried by every means in his power to hinder the Israelites in their +Divine worship. Morning and evening he would appear in the camp at the +very time when the Israelites were preparing to say the Shema. (32) + +All the more cause, then, for David to hate Goliath and determine to +annihilate him. His father encouraged him to oppose Goliath, for he +considered it David's duty to protect Saul the Benjamite against the +giant, as Judah, his ancestor, had in ancient days pledged himself for +the safety of Benjamin, the ancestor of Saul. (33) For Goliath was +intent upon doing away with Saul. His grievance against him was that +once, when, in a skirmish between the Philistines and the Israelites, +Goliath had succeeded in capturing the holy tables of the law, Saul had +wrested them from the giant. (34) In consequence of his malady, Saul +could not venture to cross swords with Goliath, and he accepted David's +offer to enter into combat in his place. David put on Saul's armor, and +when it appeared that the armor of the powerfully-built king fitted the +erstwhile slender youth, Saul recognized that David had been +predestined for the serious task he was about to undertake, but at the +same time David's miraculous transformation did not fail to arouse his +jealousy. (35) David, for this reason, declined to array himself as a +warrior for his contest with Goliath. He wanted to meet him as a simple +shepherd. Five pebbles came to David of their own accord, (36) and when +he touched them, they all turned into one pebble. (37) The five pebbles +stood for God, the three Patriarchs, and Aaron. Hophni and Phinehas, +the descendants of the last, had only a short time before been killed +by Goliath. (38) + +Scarcely did David begin to move toward Goliath, when the giant became +conscious of the magic power of the youth. The evil eye David cast on +his opponent sufficed to afflict him with leprosy, (39) and in the very +same instant he was rooted to the ground, unable to move. (40) Goliath +was so confused by his impotence that he scarcely knew what he was +saying, and he uttered the foolish threat that he would give David's +flesh to the cattle of the field, as though cattle ate flesh. One can +see, David said to himself, that he is crazy, and there can be no doubt +he is doomed. (41) Sure of victory, David retorted that he would cast +the carcass of the Philistine to the fowls of the air. At the mention +of fowls, Goliath raised his eyes skyward, to see whether there were +any birds about. The upward motion of his head pushed his visor +slightly away from his forehead, and in that instant the pebble aimed +by David struck him on the exposed spot. (42) An angel descended and +cast him to the ground face downward, so that the mouth that had +blasphemed God might be choked with earth. He fell in such wise that +the image of Dagon which he wore on his breast touched the ground, and +his head came to lie between the feet of David, who now had no +difficulty in dispatching him. (43) + +Goliath was encased, from top to toe, in several suits of armor, and +David did not know how to remove them and cut off the head of the +giant. At this juncture Uriah the Hittite offered him his services, but +under the condition that David secure him an Israelitish wife. David +accepted the condition, and Uriah in turn showed him how the various +suits of armor were fastened together at the heels of the giant's feet. + +David's victory naturally added fuel to the fire of Saul's jealousy. +Saul sent Abner, his general, to make inquiry whether David, who, he +knew, was of the tribe of Judah, belonged to the clan of the Perez or +to the clan of the Zerah. In the former case his suspicion that David +was destined for kingship would be confirmed. Doeg, David's enemy from +of old, observed that David, being the descendant of the Moabitess +Ruth, did not even belong to the Jewish communion, and Saul need +entertain no fears from that quarter. A lively discussion arose between +Abner and Doeg, as to whether the law in Deuteronomy regarding Moabites +affected women as well as men. Doeg, an expert dialectician, +brilliantly refuted all of Abner's arguments in favor of the admission +of Moabitish women. Samuel's authority had to be appealed to in order +to establish for all times the correctness of Abner's view. (44) +Indeed, the dispute could be settled only by recourse to threats of +violence. Ithra, the father of Amasa, in Arab fashion, for which reason +he was sometimes called the Ishmaelite, threatened to hew down any one +with his sword who refused to accept Samuel's interpretation of the +law, that male Moabites and male Ammonites are forever excluded from +the congregation of Israel, but not Moabite and Ammonite women. (45) + +PURSUED BY SAUL + +As God stood by David in his duel with Goliath, so he stood by him in +many other of his difficulties. Often when he thought all hope lost, +the arm of God suddenly succored him, and in unexpected ways, not only +bringing relief, but also conveying instruction on God's wise and just +guidance of the world. + +David once said to God: "The world is entirely beautiful and good, with +the one exception of insanity. What use does the world derive from a +lunatic, who runs hither and thither, tears his clothes, and is pursued +by a mob of hooting children?" "Verily, a time will come," said God in +reply, "when thou wilt supplicate me to afflict thee with madness." +Now, it happened when David, on his flight before Saul, came to Achish, +the king of the Philistines, who lived in Gath, that the brothers of +Goliath formed the heathen king's body-guard, and they demanded that +their brother's murderer be executed. Achish, though a heathen, was +pious, for which reason he is called Abimelech in the Psalms, after the +king of Gerar, who also was noted for piety. He therefore sought to +pacify David's enemies. He called their attention to the fact that +Goliath had been the one to challenge the Jews to combat, and it was +meet, therefore, that he should be left to bear the consequences. The +brothers rejoined, if that view prevailed, then Achish would have to +give up his throne to David, for, according to the conditions of the +combat, the victor was to have dominion over the vanquished as his +servants. In his distress, David besought God to let him appear a +madman in the eyes of Achish and his court. God granted his prayer. As +the wife and daughter of the Philistine king were both bereft of +reason, we can understand his exclamation: "Do I lack madmen, that ye +have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence?" Thus it +was that David was rescued. Thereupon he composed the Psalm beginning +with the words, "I will bless the Lord at all times," which includes +even the time of lunacy. (46) + +On another occasion David expressed his doubt of God's wisdom in having +formed such apparently useless creatures as spiders are. They do +nothing but spin a web that has no value. He was to have striking proof +that even a spider's web may serve an important purpose. On one +occasion he had taken refuge in a cave, and Saul and his attendants, in +pursuit of him, were about to enter and seek him there. But God sent a +spider to weave its web across the opening, and Saul told his men to +desist from fruitless search in the cave, for the spider's web was +undeniable proof that no one had passed through its entrance. (47) + +Similarly, when David became indebted to one of them for his life, he +was cured of his scorn for wasps. He had thought them good for nothing +but to breed maggots. David once surprised Saul and his attendants +while they were fast asleep in their camp, and he resolved to carry +off, as proof of his magnanimity, the cruse that stood between the feet +of the giant Abner, who like the rest was sleeping. Fortunately his +knees were drawn up, so that David could carry out his intention +unhindered. But as David was retiring with the cruse, Abner stretched +out his feet, and pinned David down as with two solid pillars. His life +would have been forfeit, if a wasp had not stung Abner, who +mechanically, in his sleep, moved his feet, and released David. (48) + +There were still other miracles that happened to David in his flight. +Once, when Saul and his men compassed David round about, an angel +appeared and summoned him home, to repulse the raid of the Philistines +upon the land. Saul gave up the pursuit of David, but only after a +majority had so decided, for some had been of the opinion that the +seizure of David was quite as important as the repulse of the +Philistines. (49) Again, in his battle with the Amalekites, David +enjoyed direct intervention from above. Lightning in flashes and sheets +illumined the dark night, so enabling him to carry on the struggle. +(50) + +WARS + +David's first thought after ascending the throne was to wrest +Jerusalem, sacred since the days of Adam, Noah, and Abraham, from the +grasp of the heathen. The plan was not easy of execution for various +reasons. The Jebusites, the possessors of Jerusalem, were the posterity +of those sons of Heth who had ceded the Cave of Machpelah to Abraham +only on condition that their descendants should never be forcibly +dispossessed of their capital city Jerusalem. In perpetuation of this +agreement between Abraham and the sons of Heth, monuments of brass were +erected, and when David approached Jerusalem with hostile intent, the +Jebusites pointed to Abraham's promise engraven upon them and still +plainly to be read. (51) They maintained that before David could take +the city, which they had surrounded with a high wall, he would have to +destroy the monuments. Joab devised a plan of getting into Jerusalem. +He set up a tall cypress tree near the wall, bent it downward, and +standing on David's head, he grasped the very tip of the tree. When the +tree rebounded, Joab sat high above the wall, and could jump down upon +it. Once in the city, he destroyed the monuments, and possessed himself +of Jerusalem. (52) For David a miracle had happened; the wall had +lowered itself before him so that he could walk into the city without +difficulty. David, however, was not desirous of using forcible means. +He therefore offered the Jebusites six hundred shekels, fifty shekels +for each Israelitish tribe. The Jebusites accepted the money, and gave +David a bill of sale. (53) + +Jerusalem having been acquired, David had to prepare for war with the +Philistines, in which the king gave proof at once of his heroic courage +and his unshakable trust in God. The latter quality he displayed +signally in the battle that took place in the Valley of the Giants. God +had commanded David not to attack the host of the Philistines until he +heard "the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees." God +desired to pass judgment upon the tutelary angels of the heathen, +before surrendering the heathen themselves to the pious, (54) and the +motion of the tops of the trees was to indicate that the battle could +proceed. The enemy advanced until there were but four ells between them +and the Israelites. The latter were about to throw themselves against +the Philistines, but David restrained them, saying: "God forbade me to +attack the Philistines before the tops of the trees begin to move. If +we transgress God's command, we shall certainly die. If we delay, it is +probable that we shall be killed by the Philistines, but, at least, we +shall die as pious men that keep God's command. Above all, let us have +confidence in God." Scarcely had he ended his speech when the tops of +the trees rustled, and David made a successful assault upon the +Philistines. Whereupon God said to the angels, who were constantly +questioning him as to why he had taken the royal dignity from Saul and +given it to David: "See the difference between Saul and David." (55) + +Of David's other campaigns, the most notable is his war with Shobach +the Aramean, whom he conquered in spite of his gigantic size and +strength. Shobach was very tall, as tall as a dove-cote, and one look +at him sufficed to strike terror to the heart of the beholder. (56) The +Aramean general indulged in the belief that David would treat the +Syrians gently on account of the monument, still in existence at that +time, which Jacob and Laban had erected on the frontier between +Palestine and Aram as a sign of their covenant that neither they nor +their descendants should wage war with each other. But David destroyed +the monument. (57) Similarly, the Philistines had placed trust in a +relic from Isaac, the bridle of a mule which the Patriarch had given to +Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, as a pledge of the covenant +between Israel and his people. David took it from them by force. (58) + +However, David was as just as he was bold. Disregard of the covenants +made by the Patriarchs was far removed from his thoughts. Indeed, +before departing for the wars with the Arameans and the Philistines, he +had charged the Sanhedrin to investigate carefully the claims of the +two nations. The claims of the Philistines were shown to be utterly +unfounded. In no sense were they the descendants of those Philistines +who had concluded a treaty with Isaac; they had immigrated from Cyprus +at a much later date. The Arameans, on the other hand, had forfeited +their claims upon considerate treatment, because under the "Aramean" +Balaam, and later again, in the time of Othniel, under their king +Cushan-rishathaim, they had attacked and made war upon the Israelites. +(59) + +AHITHOPHEL + +Among David's courtiers and attendants, a prominent place is occupied +by his counsellor Ahithophel, (60) with whom the king was connected by +family ties, Bath-sheba being his granddaughter. (61) Ahithophel's +wisdom was supernatural, for his counsels always coincided with the +oracles rendered by the Urim and Thummim, and great as was his wisdom, +it was equalled by his scholarship. Therefore David did not hesitate to +submit himself to his instruction, (62) even though Ahithophel was a +very young man, at the time of his death not more than thirty-three +years old. (63) The one thing lacking in him was sincere piety, (64) +and this it was that proved his undoing in the end, for it induced him +to take part in Absalom's rebellion against David. Thus he forfeited +even his share in the world to come. (65) + +To this dire course of action he was misled by astrologic and other +signs, which he interpreted as prophecies of his own kingship, when in +reality they pointed to the royal destiny of his granddaughter +Bath-sheba. (66) Possessed by his erroneous belief, he cunningly urged +Absalom to commit an unheard-of crime. Thus Absalom would profit +nothing by his rebellion, for, though he accomplished his father's +ruin, he would yet be held to account and condemned to death for his +violation of family purity, and the way to the throne would be clear +for Ahithophel, the great sage in Israel. (67) + +The relation between David and Ahithophel had been somewhat strained +even before Absalom's rebellion. Ahithophel's feelings had been hurt by +his being passed over at the time when David, shortly after ascending +the throne, invested, on a single day, no less than ninety thousand +functionaries with positions. + +On that day a remarkable incident occurred. When the Ark was to be +brought up from Geba to Jerusalem, the priests who attempted to take +hold of it were raised up in the air and thrown violently to the +ground. In his despair the king turned for advice to Ahithophel, who +retorted mockingly: "Ask thy wise men whom thou hast but now installed +in office." It was only when David uttered a curse on him who knows a +remedy and withholds it from the sufferer, that Ahithophel advised that +a sacrifice should be offered at every step taken by the priests. +Although the measure proved efficacious, and no further disaster +occurred in connection with the Ark, yet Ahithophel's words had been +insincere. He knew the real reason of the misadventure, and concealed +it from the king. Instead of following the law of having the Ark +carried on the shoulders of priests, David had had it put on a wagon, +and so incurred the wrath of God. (68) + +Ahithophel's hostility toward David showed itself also on the following +occasion. When David was digging the foundations of the Temple, a shard +was found at a depth of fifteen hundred cubits. David was about to lift +it, when the shard exclaimed: "Thou canst not do it." "Why not?" asked +David. "Because I rest upon the abyss." "Since when?" "Since the hour +in which the voice of God was heard to utter the words from Sinai, 'I +am the Lord thy God,' causing the earth to quake and sink into the +abyss. I lie here to cover up the abyss." Nevertheless David lifted the +shard, and the waters of the abyss rose and threatened to flood the +earth. Ahithophel was standing by, and he thought to himself: "Now +David will meet with his death, and I shall be king." Just then David +said: "Whoever knows how to stem the tide of waters, and fails to do +it, will one day throttle himself." (69) Thereupon Ahithophel had the +Name of God inscribed upon the shard, and the shard thrown into the +abyss. The waters at once commenced to subside, but they sank to so +great a depth that David feared the earth might lose her moisture, and +he began to sing the fifteen "Songs of Ascents," to bring the waters up +again. (70) + +Nevertheless David's curse was realized. Ahithophel ended his days by +hanging himself. His last will contained the following three rules of +conduct: (71) 1. Refrain from doing aught against a favorite of +fortune. 2. Take heed not to rise up against the royal house of David. +3. If the Feast of Pentecost falls on a sunny day, then sow wheat. (72) + +Posterity has been favored with the knowledge of but a small part of +Ahithophel's wisdom, and that little through two widely different +sources, through Socrates, (73) who was his disciple, and through a +fortune-book written by him. (74) + +JOAB + +Joab, the warrior, was a contrast to Ahithophel in every essential. He +was David's right hand. It was said, if Joab had not been there to +conduct his wars, David would not have had leisure to devote himself to +the study of the Torah. He was the model of a true Jewish hero, +distinguished at the same time for his learning, piety, and goodness. +His house stood wide open for all comers, and the campaigns which he +undertook redounded invariably to the benefit of the people. They were +indebted to him for luxuries even, (75) and more than that, he took +thought for the welfare of scholars, he himself being the president of +the Sanhedrin. (76) + +It interested Joab to analyze the character of men and their opinions. +When he heard King David's words: "Like as a father pitieth his +children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him," he expressed his +astonishment that the comparison should be made with the love of a +father for a child, and not with the love of a mother; mother love as a +rule is considered the stronger and the more self-sacrificing. He made +up his mind to keep his eyes open, and observe whether David's idea was +borne out by facts. On one of his journeys he happened into the house +of a poor old man who had twelve children, all of whom the father +supported, however meagrely, with the toil of his own hands. Joab +proposed that he sell him one of the twelve children; he would thus be +relieved of the care of one, and the selling-price could be applied to +the better support of the rest. The good father rejected the +proposition brusquely. Then Joab approached the mother, offering her a +hundred gold denarii for one of the children. At first she resisted the +temptation, but finally she yielded. When the father returned in the +evening, he cut the bread, as was his wont, into fourteen pieces, for +himself, his wife, and his twelve children. In allotting the portions +he missed a child, and insisted upon being told its fate. The mother +confessed what had happened during his absence. He neither ate nor +drank, and next morning he set out, firmly resolved to return the money +to Joab and to slay him if he should refuse to surrender the child. +After much parleying, and after the father had threatened him with +death, Joab yielded the child to the old man, with the exclamation: +"Yes, David was right when he compared God's love for men to a father's +love for his child. This poor fellow who has twelve children to support +was prepared to fight me to the death for one of them, which the +mother, who calmly stayed at home, had sold to me for a price." + +Among all the heroic achievements of Joab, the most remarkable is the +taking of the Amalekite capital. For six months the flower of the +Israelitish army, twelve thousand in number, under the leadership of +Joab, had been besieging the capital city of the Amalekites without +result. The soldiers made representations to their general, that it +would be well for them to return home to their wives and children. Joab +urged that this not only would earn for them contempt and derision, but +also would invite new danger. The heathen would be encouraged to unite +against the Israelites. He proposed that they hurl him into the city by +means of a sling, and then wait forty days. If at the end of this +period they saw blood flow from the gates of the fortress, it should be +a sign to them that he was still alive. + +His plan was executed. Joab took with him one thousand pieces of money +and his sword. When he was cast from the sling, he fell into the +courtyard of a widow, whose daughter caught him up. In a little while +he regained consciousness. He pretended to be an Amalekite taken +prisoner by the Israelites, and thrown into the city by his captors, +who thus wished to inflict death. As he was provided with money, which +he dispensed lavishly among his entertainers, he was received kindly, +and was given the Amalekite garb. So apparelled, he ventured, after ten +days, on a tour of inspection through the city, which he found to be of +enormous size. + +His first errand was to an armorer, to have him mend his sword, which +had been broken by his fall. When the artisan scanned Joab's weapon, he +started back—he had never seen a sword like it. He forged a new one, +which snapped in two almost at once when Joab grasped it firmly. So it +happened with a second sword, and with a third. Finally he succeeded in +fashioning one that was acceptable. Joab asked the smith whom he would +like him to slay with the sword, and the reply was, "Joab, the general +of the Israelitish king." "I am he," said Joab, and when the smith in +astonishment turned to look at him, Joab ran him through so skillfully +that the victim had no realization of what was happening. Thereupon he +hewed down five hundred Amalekite warriors whom he met on his way, and +not one escaped to betray him. The rumor arose that Asmodeus, the king +of demons, was raging among the inhabitants of the city, and slaying +them in large numbers. + +After another period of ten days, which he spent in retirement with his +hosts, Joab sallied forth a second time, and caused such bloodshed +among the Amalekites that his gory weapon clave to his hand, and his +right hand lost all power of independent motion, it could be made to +move only in a piece with his arm. He hastened to his lodging place to +apply hot water to his hand and free it from the sword. On his way +thither the woman who had caught him up when he fell into the city +called to him: "Thou eatest and drinkest with us, yet thou slayest our +warriors." Seeing himself betrayed, he could not but kill the woman. +Scarcely had his sword touched her, when it was separated from his +hand, and his hand could move freely, for the dead woman had been with +child, and the blood of the unborn babe loosed the sword. + +After Joab had slain thousands, the Israelites without, at the very +moment when they were beginning to mourn their general as dead, saw +blood issue from the city, and joyfully they cried out with one accord: +"Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One." Joab mounted a +high tower, and in stentorian tones shouted: "The Lord will not forsake +his people." Inspired with high and daring courage, the Israelites +demanded permission to assault the city and capture it. As Joab turned +to descend from the tower, he noticed that six verses of a Psalm were +inscribed on his foot, the first verse running thus: "The Lord answers +thee in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob is thy +defense." Later David added three verses and completed the Psalm. +Thereupon the Israelites took the Amalekite capital, destroyed the +heathen temples in the city, and slew all its inhabitants, except the +king, whom, with his crown of pure gold on his head, they brought +before David. (77) + +DAVID'S PIETY AND HIS SIN + +Neither his great achievements in war nor his remarkable good fortune +moved David from his pious ways, or in aught changed his mode of life. +Even after he became king he sat at the feet of his teachers, Ira the +Jairite (78) and Mephibosheth. To the latter he always submitted his +decisions on religious questions, to make sure that they were in +accordance with law. (79) Whatever leisure time his royal duties +afforded him, he spent in study and prayer. He contented himself with +"sixty breaths" of sleep. (80) At midnight the strings of his harp, +(81) which were made of the gut of the ram sacrificed by Abraham on +Mount Moriah, (82) began to vibrate. The sound they emitted awakened +David, and he would arise at once to devote himself to the study of the +Torah. (83) + +Besides study, the composition of psalms naturally claimed a goodly +portion of his time. Pride filled his heart when he had completed the +Psalter, and he exclaimed: "O Lord of the world, is there another +creature in the universe who like me proclaims thy praise?" A frog came +up to the king, and said: "Be not so proud; I have composed more psalms +than thou, and, besides, every psalm my mouth has uttered I have +accompanied with three thousand parables." (84) And, truly, if David +indulged in conceit, it was only for a moment. As a rule he was the +exemplar of modesty. The coins which were stamped by him bore a +shepherd's crook and pouch on the obverse, and on the reverse the Tower +of David. (85) In other respects, too, his bearing was humble, as +though he were still the shepherd and not the king. (86) + +His great piety invested his prayer with such efficacy that he could +bring things in heaven down to earth. (87) It is natural that so godly +a king should have used the first respite granted by his wars to carry +out his design of erecting a house of worship to God. But in the very +night in which David conceived the plan of building the Temple, God +said to Nathan the prophet: "Hasten to David. I know him to be a man +with whom execution follows fast upon the heels of thought, and I +should not like him to hire laborers for the Temple work, and then, +disappointed, complain of me. I furthermore know him to be a man who +obligates himself by vows to do good deeds, and I desire to spare him +the embarrassment of having to apply to the Sanhedrin for absolution +from his vow." (88) + +When David heard Nathan's message for him, he began to tremble, and he +said: "Ah, verily, God hath found me unworthy to erect His sanctuary." +But God replied with these words: "Nay, the blood shed by thee I +consider as sacrificial blood, but I do not care to have thee build the +Temple, because then it would be eternal and indestructible." "But that +would be excellent," said David. Whereupon the reply was vouchsafed +him: "I foresee that Israel will commit sins. I shall wreak My wrath +upon the Temple, and Israel will be saved from annihilation. However, +thy good intentions shall receive their due reward. The Temple, though +it be built by Solomon, shall be called thine." (89) + +David's thinking and planning were wholly given to what is good and +noble. He is one of the few pious men over whom the evil inclination +had no power. (90) By nature he was not disposed to commit such +evil-doing as his relation to Bath-sheba involved. God Himself brought +him to his crime, that He might say to other sinners: "Go to David and +learn how to repent." (91) Nor, indeed, may David be charged with gross +murder and adultery. There were extenuating circumstances. In those +days it was customary for warriors to give their wives bills of +divorce, which were to have validity only if the soldier husbands did +not return at the end of the campaign. Uriah having fallen in battle, +Bath-sheba was a regularly divorced woman. As for the death of her +husband, it cannot be laid entirely at David's door, for Uriah had +incurred the death penalty by his refusal to take his ease in his own +house, according to the king's bidding. (92) Moreover, from the first, +Bath-sheba had been destined by God for David, but by way of punishment +for having lightly promised Uriah the Hittite an Israelitish woman to +wife, in return for his aid in unfastening the armor of the prostrate +Goliath, the king had to undergo bitter trials before he won her. (93) + +Furthermore, the Bath-sheba episode was a punishment for David's +excessive self-consciousness. He had fairly besought God to lead him +into temptation, that he might give proof of his constancy. It came +about thus: He once complained to God: "O Lord of the world, why do +people say God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, and why not God +of David?" The answer came: "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were tried by +me, but thou hast not yet been proved." David entreated: "Then examine +me, O Lord, and try me." And God said: "I shall prove thee, and I shall +even grant thee what I did not grant the Patriarchs. I shall tell thee +beforehand that thou wilt fall into temptation through a woman." + +Once Satan appeared to him in the shape of a bird. David threw a dart +at him. Instead of striking Satan, it glanced off and broke a wicker +screen which hid Bath-sheba combing her hair. The sight of her aroused +passion in the king. (94) David realized his transgression, and for +twenty-two years he was a penitent. Daily he wept a whole hour and ate +his "bread with ashes." (95) But he had to undergo still heavier +penance. For a half-year he suffered with leprosy, and even the +Sanhedrin, which usually was in close personal attendance upon him, had +to leave him. He lived not only in physical, but also in spiritual +isolation, for the Shekinah departed from him during that time. (96) + +ABSALOM'S REBELLION + +Of all the punishments, however, inflicted upon David, none was so +severe as the rebellion of his own son. + +Absalom was of such gigantic proportions that a man who was himself of +extraordinary size, standing in the eye-socket of his skull, sank in +down to his nose. (97) As for his marvellous hair, the account of it in +the Bible does not convey a notion of its abundance. Absalom had taken +the vow of a Nazarite. As his vow was for life, and because the growth +of his hair was particularly heavy, the law permitted him to clip it +slightly every week. (98) It was of this small quantity that the weight +amounted to two hundred shekels. + +Absalom arranged for his audacious rebellion with great cunning. He +secured a letter from his royal father empowering him to select two +elders for his suite in every town he visited. With this document he +travelled through the whole of Palestine. In each town he went to the +two most distinguished men, and invited them to accompany him, at the +same time showing them what his father had written, and assuring them +that they had been chosen by him because he had a particular affection +for them. So he succeeded in gathering the presidents of two hundred +courts about him. This having been accomplished, he arranged a large +banquet, at which he seated one of his emissaries between every two of +his guests, for the purpose of winning them over to his cause. The plan +did not succeed wholly, for, though the elders of the towns stood by +Absalom, in their hearts they hoped for David's victory. (99) + +The knowledge that a part of Absalom's following sided with him in +secret,—that, though he was pursued by his son, his friends remained +true to him,—somewhat consoled David in his distress. He thought that +in these circumstances, if the worst came to the worst, Absalom would +at least feel pity for him. (100) At first, however, the despair of +David knew no bounds. He was on the point of worshipping an idol, when +his friend Hushai the Archite approached him, saying: "The people will +wonder that such a king should serve idols." David replied: "Should a +king such as I am be killed by his own son? It is better for me to +serve idols than that God should be held responsible for my misfortune, +and His Name thus be desecrated." Hushai reproached him: "Why didst +thou marry a captive?" "There is no wrong in that," replied David, "it +is permitted according to the law." Thereupon Hushai: "But thou didst +disregard the connection between the passage permitting it and the one +that follows almost immediately after it in the Scriptures, dealing +with the disobedient and rebellious son, the natural issue of such a +marriage." (101) + +Hushai was not the only faithful friend and adherent David had. Some +came to his rescue unexpectedly, as, for instance, Shobi, the son of +Nahash, who is identical with the Ammonite king Hanun, the enemy of +David at first, and later his ally. (102) Barzillai, another one of his +friends in need, also surprised him by his loyalty, for on the whole +his moral attitude was not the highest conceivable. (103) + +Absalom's end was beset with terrors. When he was caught in the +branches of the oak-tree, he was about to sever his hair with a sword +stroke, but suddenly he saw hell yawning beneath him, and he preferred +to hang in the tree to throwing himself into the abyss alive. (104) +Absalom's crime was, indeed, of a nature to deserve the supreme +torture, for which reason he is one of the few Jews who have no portion +in the world to come. (105) His abode is in hell, where he is charged +with the control of ten heathen nations in the second division. +Whenever the avenging angels sit in judgment on the nations, they +desire to visit punishment on Absalom, too, but each time a heavenly +voice is heard to call out: "Do not chastise him, do not burn him. He +is an Israelite, the son of My servant David." Whereupon Absalom is set +upon his throne, and is accorded the treatment due to a king. (106) +That the extreme penalties of hell were thus averted from him, was on +account of David's eightfold repetition of his son's name in his lament +over him. Besides, David's intercession had the effect of re-attaching +Absalom's severed head to his body. (107) + +At his death Absalom was childless, for all his children, his three +sons and his daughter, died before him, as a punishment for his having +set fire to a field of grain belonging to Joab. (108) + +DAVID'S ATONEMENT + +All these sufferings did not suffice to atone for David's sin. God once +said to him: "How much longer shall this sin be hidden in thy hand and +remain unatoned? On thy account the priestly city of Nob was destroyed, +(109) on thy account Doeg the Edomite was cast out of the communion of +the pious, and on thy account Saul and his three sons were slain. What +dost thou desire now—that thy house should perish, or that thou thyself +shouldst be delivered into the hands of thine enemies?" David chose the +latter doom. + +It happened one day when he was hunting, Satan, in the guise of a deer, +enticed him further and further, into the very territory of the +Philistines, where he was recognized by Ishbi the giant, the brother of +Goliath, his adversary. Desirous of avenging his brother, he seized +David, and cast him into a winepress, where the king would have +suffered a torturous end, if by a miracle the earth beneath him had not +begun to sink, and so saved him from instantaneous death. His plight, +however, remained desperate, and it required a second miracle to rescue +him. + +In that hour Abishai, the cousin of David, was preparing for the advent +of the Sabbath, for the king's misfortune happened on Friday as the +Sabbath was about to come in. When Abishai poured out water to wash +himself, he suddenly caught sight of drops of blood in it. Then he was +startled by a dove that came to him plucking out her plumes, and +moaning and wailing. Abishai exclaimed: "The dove is the symbol of the +people of Israel. It cannot be but that David, the king of Israel, is +in distress." Not finding the king at home, he was confirmed in his +fears, and he determined to go on a search for David on the swiftest +animal at his command, the king's own saddle-beast. But first he had to +obtain the permission of the sages to mount the animal ridden by the +king, for the law forbids a subject to avail himself of things set +aside for the personal use of a king. Only the impending danger could +justify the exception made in this case. + +Scarcely had Abishai mounted the king's animal, when he found himself +in the land of the Philistines, for the earth had contracted +miraculously. He met Orpah, the mother of the four giant sons. She was +about to kill him, but he anticipated the blow and slew her. Ishbi, +seeing that he now had two opponents, stuck his lance into the ground, +and hurled David up in the air, in the expectation that when he fell he +would be transfixed by the lance. At that moment Abishai appeared, and +by pronouncing the Name of God he kept David suspended 'twixt heaven +and earth. + +Abishai questioned David how such evil plight had overtaken him, and +David told him of his conversation with God, and how he himself had +chosen to fall into the hands of the enemy, rather than permit the ruin +of his house. Abishai replied: "Reverse thy prayer, plead for thyself, +and not for thy descendants. Let thy children sell wax, and do thou not +afflict thyself about their destiny." The two men joined their prayers, +and pleaded with God to avert David's threatening doom. Abishai again +uttered the Name of God, and David dropped to earth uninjured. Now both +of them ran away swiftly, pursued by Ishbi. When the giant heard of his +mother's death, his strength forsook him, and he was slain by David and +Abishai. (110) + +VISITATIONS + +Among the sorrows of David are the visitations that came upon Palestine +during his reign, and he felt them all the more as he had incurred them +through his own fault. There was first the famine, which was so +desolating that it is counted among the ten severest that are to happen +from the time of Adam to the time of the Messiah. (111) During the +first year that it prevailed, David had an investigation set on foot to +discover whether idolatry was practiced in the land, and was keeping +back the rain. His suspicion proved groundless. The second year he +looked into the moral conditions of his realm, for lewdness can bring +about the same punishment as idolatry. Again he was proved wrong. The +third year, he turned his attention to the administration of charity. +Perhaps the people had incurred guilt in this respect, for abuses in +this department also were visited with the punishment of famine. (112) +Again his search was fruitless, and he turned to God to inquire of Him +the cause of the public distress. God's reply was: "Was not Saul a king +anointed with holy oil, did he not abolish idolatry, is he not the +companion of Samuel in Paradise? Yet, while you all dwell in the land +of Israel, he is 'outside of the land.'" David, accompanied by the +scholars and the nobles of his kingdom, at once repaired to +Jabesh-gilead, disinterred the remains of Saul and Jonathan, and in +solemn procession bore them through the whole land of Israel to the +inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin. There they were buried. The +tributes of affection paid by the people of Israel to its dead king +aroused the compassion of God, and the famine came to an end. (113) + +The sin against Saul was now absolved, but there still remained Saul's +own guilt in his dealings with the Gibeonites, who charged him with +having killed seven of their number. David asked God why He had +punished His people on account of proselytes. God's answer to him was: +"If thou dost not bring near them that are far off, thou wilt remove +them that are near by." To satisfy their vengeful feelings, the +Gibeonites demanded the life of seven members of Saul's family. David +sought to mollify them, representing to them that they would derive no +benefit from the death of their victims, and offering them silver and +gold instead. But though David treated with each one of them +individually, the Gibeonites were relentless. When he realized their +hardness of heart, he cried out: "Three qualities God gave unto Israel; +they are compassionate, chaste, and gracious in the service of their +fellow-men. The first of these qualities the Gibeonites do not possess, +and therefore they must be excluded from communion with Israel." (114) + +The seven descendants of Saul to be surrendered to the Gibeonites were +determined by letting all his posterity pass by the Ark of the law. +Those who were arrested before it were the designated victims. +Mephibosheth would have been one of the unfortunates, had he not been +permitted to pass by unchecked in answer to the prayer of David, (115) +to whom he was dear, not only as the son of his friend Jonathan, but +also as the teacher who instructed him in the Torah. (116) + +The cruel fate that befell the descendants of Saul had a wholesome +effect. All the heathen who saw and heard exclaimed: "There is no God +like unto the God of Israel, there is no nation like unto the nation of +Israel; the wrong inflicted upon wretched proselytes has been expiated +by the sons of kings." So great was the enthusiasm among the heathen +over this manifestation of the Jewish sense of justice that one hundred +and fifty thousand of them were converted to Judaism. (117) + +As for David, his wrong in connection with the famine lay in his not +having applied his private wealth to the amelioration of the people's +suffering. When David returned victorious from the combat with Goliath, +the women of Israel gave him their gold and silver ornaments. He put +them aside for use in building the Temple, and even during the three +years' famine this fund was not touched. God said: "Thou didst refrain +from rescuing human beings from death, in order to save thy money for +the Temple. Verily, the Temple shall not be built by thee, but by +Solomon." (118) + +David is still more blameworthy on account of the census which he took +of the Israelites in defiance of the law in the Pentateuch. When he was +charged by the king with the task of numbering the people, Joab used +every effort to turn him away from his intention. But in vain. +Incensed, David said: "Either thou art king and I am the general, or I +am king and thou art the general." Joab had no choice but to obey. He +selected the tribe of Gad as the first to be counted, because he +thought that the Gadites, independent and self-willed, would hinder the +execution of the royal order, and David would be forced to give up his +plan of taking a census. The Gadites disappointed the expectations of +Joab, and he betook himself to the tribe of Dan, hoping that if God's +punishment descended, it would strike the idolatrous Danites. Disliking +his mission as he did, Joab spent nine months in executing it, though +he might have dispatched it in a much shorter time. Nor did he carry +out the king's orders to the letter. He himself warned the people of +the census. If he saw the father of a family of five sons, he would bid +him conceal a few of them. Following the example set by Moses, he +omitted the Levites from the enumeration, likewise the tribe of +Benjamin, because he entertained particularly grave apprehensions in +behalf of this greatly decimated tribe. (119) In the end, David was not +informed of the actual number obtained. Joab made two lists, intending +to give the king a partial list if he found that he had no suspicion of +the ruse. (120) + +The prophet Gad came to David and gave him the choice of famine, +oppression by enemies, or the plague, as the penalty for the heavy +crime of popular census-taking. David was in the position of a sick man +who is asked whether he prefers to be buried next to his father or next +to his mother. The king considered: "If I choose the calamities of war, +the people will say, 'He cares little, he has his warriors to look to.' +If I choose famine, they will say, 'He cares little, he has his riches +to look to.' I shall choose the plague, whose scourge strikes all +alike." (121) Although the plague raged but a very short time, (122) it +claimed a large number of victims. The most serious loss was the death +of Abishai, whose piety and learning made him the counterpoise of a +host of seventy-five thousand. (123) + +David raised his eyes on high, and he saw the sins of Israel heaped up +from earth to heaven. In the same moment an angel descended, and slew +his four sons, the prophet Gad, and the elders who accompanied him. +David's terror at this sight, which was but increased when the angel +wiped his dripping sword on the king's garments, settled in his limbs, +and from that day on they never ceased to tremble. (124) + +THE DEATH OF DAVID + +David once besought God to tell him when he would die. His petition was +not granted, for God has ordained that no man shall foreknow his end. +One thing, however, was revealed to David, that his death would occur +at the age of seventy on the Sabbath day. David desired that he might +be permitted to die on Friday. This wish, too, was denied him, because +God said that He delighted more in one day passed by David in the study +of the Torah, than in a thousand holocausts offered by Solomon in the +Temple. Then David petitioned that life might be vouchsafed him until +Sunday; this, too, was refused, because God said it would be an +infringement of the rights of Solomon, for one reign may not overlap by +a hairbreadth the time assigned to another. Thereafter David spent +every Sabbath exclusively in the study of the Torah, in order to secure +himself against the Angel of Death, who has no power to slay a man +while he is occupied with the fulfillment of God's commandments. The +Angel of Death had to resort to cunning to gain possession of David. +(125) One Sabbath day, which happened to be also the Pentecost holiday, +(126) the king was absorbed in study, when he heard a sound in the +garden. He rose and descended the stairway leading from his palace to +the garden, to discover the cause of the noise. No sooner had he set +foot on the steps than they tumbled in, and David was killed. The Angel +of Death had caused the noise in order to utilize the moment when David +should interrupt his study. The king's corpse could not be moved on +the Sabbath, which was painful to those with him, as it was lying +exposed to the rays of the sun. So Solomon summoned several eagles, and +they stood guard over the body, shading it with their outstretched +pinions. (127) + +DAVID IN PARADISE + +The death of David did not mean the end of his glory and grandeur. It +merely caused a change of scene. In the heavenly realm as on earth +David ranks among the first. The crown upon his head outshines all +others, and whenever he moves out of Paradise to present himself before +God, suns, stars, angels, seraphim, and other holy beings run to meet +him. In the heavenly court-room a throne of fire of gigantic dimensions +is erected for him directly opposite to the throne of God. Seated on +this throne and surrounded by the kings of the house of David and other +Israelitish kings, he intones wondrously beautiful psalms. At the end +he always cites the verse: "The Lord reigns forever and ever," to which +the archangel Metatron and those with him reply: "Holy, holy, holy, is +the Lord of hosts!" This is the signal for the holy Hayyot and heaven +and earth to join in with praise. Finally the kings of the house of +David sing the verse: "And the Lord shall be king over all; in that day +shall the Lord be one, and His name one." (128) + +The greatest distinction to be accorded David is reserved for the +judgment day, when God will prepare a great banquet in Paradise for all +the righteous. At David's petition, God Himself will be present at the +banquet, and will sit on His throne, opposite to which David's throne +will be placed. At the end of the banquet, God will pass the wine cup +over which grace is said, to Abraham, with the words: "Pronounce the +blessing over the wine, thou who art the father of the pious of the +world." Abraham will reply: "I am not worthy to pronounce the blessing, +for I am the father also of the Ishmaelites, who kindle God's wrath." +God will then turn to Isaac: "Say the blessing, for thou wert bound +upon the altar as a sacrifice." "I am not worthy," he will reply, "for +the children of my son Esau destroyed the Temple." Then to Jacob: "Do +thou speak the blessing, thou whose children were blameless." Jacob +also will decline the honor on the ground that he was married to two +sisters at the same time, which later was strictly prohibited by the +Torah. God will then turn to Moses: "Say the blessing, for thou didst +receive the law and didst fulfil its precepts." Moses will answer: "I +am not worthy to do it, seeing that I was not found worthy to enter the +Holy Land." God will next offer the honor to Joshua, who both led +Israel into the Holy Land, and fulfilled the commandments of the law. +He, too, will refuse to pronounce the blessing, because he was not +found worthy to bring forth a son. Finally God will turn to David with +the words: "Take the cup and say the blessing, thou the sweetest singer +in Israel and Israel's king. And David will reply: 'Yes, I will +pronounce the blessing, for I am worthy of the honor.'" (129) Then God +will take the Torah and read various passages from it, and David will +recite a psalm in which both the pious in Paradise and the wicked in +hell will join with a loud Amen. Thereupon God will send his angels to +lead the wicked from hell to Paradise. (130) + +THE FAMILY OF DAVID + +David had six wives, including Michal, the daughter of Saul, who is +called by the pet name Eglah, "Calfkin," in the list given in the Bible +narrative. (131) Michal was of entrancing beauty, (132) and at the same +time the model of a loving wife. Not only did she save David out of the +hands of her father, but also, when Saul, as her father and her king, +commanded her to marry another man, she acquiesced only apparently. She +entered into a mock marriage in order not to arouse the anger of Saul, +who had annulled her union with David on grounds which he thought +legal. Michal was good as well as beautiful; she showed such +extraordinary kindness to the orphan children of her sister Merab that +the Bible speaks of the five sons of Michal "whom she bore to Adriel." +Adriel, however, was her brother-in-law and not her husband, but she +had raised his children, treating them as though they were her own. +(133) Michal was no less a model of piety. Although the law exempted +her, as a woman, from the duty, still she executed the commandment of +using phylacteries. (134) In spite of all these virtues, she was +severely punished by God for her scorn of David, whom she reproached +with lack of dignity, when he had in mind only to do honor to God. Long +she remained childless, and at last, when she was blessed with a child, +she lost her own life in giving birth to it. (135) + +But the most important among the wives of David was Abigail, in whom +beauty, wisdom, and prophetical gifts were joined. With Sarah, Rahab, +and Esther, she forms the quartet of the most beautiful women in +history. She was so bewitching that passion was aroused in men by the +mere thought of her. (136) Her cleverness showed itself during her +first meeting with David, when, though anxious about the life of her +husband Nabal, she still, with the utmost tranquility, put a ritual +question to him in his rage. He refused to answer it, because, he said, +it was a question to be investigated by day, not by night. Thereupon +Abigail interposed, that sentence of death likewise may be passed upon +a man only during the day. Even if David's judgment were right, the law +required him to wait until daybreak to execute it upon Nabal. David's +objection, that a rebel like Nabal had no claim upon due process of +law, she overruled with the words: "Saul is still alive, and thou art +not yet acknowledged king by the world." + +Her charm would have made David her captive on this occasion, if her +moral strength had not kept him in check. By means of the expression, +"And this shall not be unto thee," she made him understand that the day +had not yet arrived, but that it would come, when a woman, Bath-sheba, +would play a disastrous part in his life. Thus she manifested her gift +of prophecy. + +Not even Abigail was free from the feminine weakness of coquetry. The +words "remember thine handmaid" should never have been uttered by her. +As a married woman, she should not have sought to direct the attention +of a man to herself. (137) In the women's Paradise she supervises the +fifth of the seven divisions into which it is divided, and her domain +adjoins that of the wives of the Patriarchs, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, +and Leah. (138) + +Among the sons of David, Adonijah, the son of Haggith, must be +mentioned particularly, the pretender to the throne. The fifty men whom +he prepared to run before him had fitted themselves for the place of +heralds by cutting out their spleen and the flesh of the soles of their +feet. That Adonijah was not designated for the royal dignity, was made +manifest by the fact that the crown of David did not fit him. This +crown had the remarkable peculiarity of always fitting the legitimate +king of the house of David. (139) + +Chileab was a son worthy of his mother Abigail. The meaning of his name +is "like the father," which had been given him because of his striking +resemblance to David in appearance, a circumstance that silenced the +talk against David's all too hasty marriage with the widow of Nabal. +(140) Intellectually, too, Chileab testified to David's paternity. In +fact, he excelled his father in learning, as he did even the teacher of +David, Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan. (141) On account of his piety +he is one of the few who have entered Paradise alive. (142) + +Tamar cannot be called one of the children of David, because she was +born before her mother's conversion to Judaism. Consequently, her +relation to Amnon is not quite of the grave nature it would have been, +had they been sister and brother in the strict sense of the terms. + +To the immediate household of David belonged four hundred young +squires, the sons of women taken captive in battle. They wore their +hair in heathen fashion, and, sitting in golden chariots, they formed +the vanguard of the army, and terrified the enemy by their appearance. +(143) + +HIS TOMB + +When David was buried, Solomon put abundant treasures into his tomb. +Thirteen hundred years later the high priest Hyrcanus took a thousand +talents of the money secreted there to use it in preventing the siege +of Jerusalem by the Greek king Antiochus. King Herod also abstracted +great sums. But none of the marauders could penetrate to the +resting-place of the kings,—next to David his successors were +interred,—for it was sunk into the earth so skillfully that it could +not be found. (144) + +Once on a time, a Moslem pasha visited the mausoleum, and as he was +looking through the window in it, a weapon of his ornamented with +diamonds and pearls dropped into the tomb. A Mohammedan was lowered +through the window to fetch the weapon. When he was drawn up again, he +was dead, and three other Mohammedans who tried to enter in the same +way met the fate of their comrade. At the instigation of the kadi, the +pasha informed the Rabbi of Jerusalem that the Jews would be held +responsible for the restoration of the weapon. The Rabbi ordered a +three days' fast, to be spent in prayer. Then lots were cast to +designate the messenger who was to be charged with the perilous errand. +The lot fell upon the beadle of the synagogue, a pious and upright man. +He secured the weapon, and returned it to the pasha, who manifested his +gratitude by kindly treatment of the Jews thereafter. The beadle later +told his adventures in the tomb to the Hakam Bashi. When he had +descended, there suddenly appeared before him an old man of dignified +appearance, and handed him what he was seeking. (145) + +Another miraculous tale concerning the tomb of David runs as follows: A +poor but very pious Jewish washerwoman was once persuaded by the keeper +of the tomb to enter it. Hardly was she within, when the man nailed up +the entrance, and ran to the kadi to inform him that a Jewess had gone +in. Incensed, the kadi hastened to the spot, with the intention of +having the woman burnt for her presumptuousness. In her terror the poor +creature had begun to weep and implore God for help. Suddenly a flood +of light illumined the dark tomb, and a venerable old man took her by +the hand, and led her downward under the earth until she reached the +open. There he parted from her with the words: "Hasten homeward, and +let none know that thou wert away from thy house." The kadi had the +tomb and its surroundings thoroughly searched by his bailiffs, but not +a trace of the woman could be discovered, although the keeper again and +again swore by the Prophet that the woman had entered. Now the +messengers whom the kadi had sent to the house of the woman returned, +and reported they had found her washing busily, and greatly astonished +at their question, whether she had been at the tomb of David. The kadi +accordingly decided that for his false statements and his perjury, the +keeper must die the very death intended for the innocent woman, and so +he was burnt. The people of Jerusalem suspected a miracle, but the +woman did not divulge her secret until a few hours before her death. +She told her story, and then bequeathed her possessions to the +congregation, under the condition that a scholar recite Kaddish for her +on each anniversary of her death. (146) + + + + +V. +SOLOMON + +SOLOMON PUNISHES JOAB + +At the youthful age of twelve (1) Solomon succeeded his father David as +king. His real name was Jedidiah, the "friend of God," but it was +superseded by the name Solomon on account of the peace that prevailed +throughout the realm during his reign. He bore three other names +besides: Ben, Jakeh, and Ithiel. He was called Ben because he was the +builder of the Temple; Jakeh, because he was the ruler of the whole +world; and Ithiel, because God was with him. (2) + +The rebellion Adonijah intended to lead against the future king was +suppressed during David's lifetime, by having Solomon anointed in +public. On that occasion Solomon rode upon a remarkable she-mule, +remarkable because she was not the product of cross-breeding, but of a +special act of creation. (3) + +As soon as he ascended the throne, Solomon set about executing the +instructions his father had given him on his death-bed. The first of +them was the punishment of Joab. (4) + +Notwithstanding all his excellent qualities, which fitted him to be not +only David's first general, but also the president of the Academy, (5) +Joab had committed great crimes, which had to be atoned for. Beside the +murder of Abner (6) and Amasa of which he was guilty, he had incurred +wrong against David himself. The generals of the army suspected him of +having had Uriah the Hittite put out of the way for purposes of his +own, whereupon he showed them David's letter dooming Uriah. David might +have forgiven Joab, but he wanted him to expiate his sins in this +world, so that he might be exempt from punishment in the world to come. +(7) + +When Joab perceived that Solomon intended to have him executed, he +sought the protection of the Temple. He knew full well that he could +not save his life in this way, for the arm of justice reaches beyond +the doors of the sanctuary, to the altar of God. What he wished was to +be accorded a regular trial, and not suffer death by the king's order. +In the latter case he would lose fortune as well as life, and he was +desirous of leaving his children well provided for. Thereupon Solomon +sent word to him that he had no intention of confiscating his estates. +(8) + +Though he was convinced of Joab's guilt, Solomon nevertheless granted +him the privilege of defense. The king questioned him: "Why didst thou +kill Abner?" + +Joab: "I was the avenger of my brother Asahel, whom Abner had slain." + +Solomon: "Why, it was Asahel who sought to kill Abner, and Abner acted +in self-defense." + +Joab: "Abner might have disabled Asahel without going to extremes." + +Solomon: "That Abner could not do." + +Joab: "What! Abner aimed directly at Asahel's fifth rib, and thou +wouldst say he could not have managed to wound him lightly?" + +Solomon: "Very well, then, we shall drop Abner's case. But why didst +thou slay Amasa?" + +Joab: "He acted rebelliously toward King David. He omitted to execute +his order to gather an army within three days; for that offense he +deserved to suffer the death penalty." + +Solomon: "Amasa failed to obey the king's order, because he had been +taught by our sages that even a king's injunctions may be set at +defiance if they involve neglect of the study of the Torah, which was +the case with the order given to Amasa. And, indeed," continued +Solomon, "it was not Amasa but thou thyself who didst rebel against the +king, for thou wert about to join Absalom, and if thou didst refrain, +it was from fear of David's strong-fisted troops." (9) + +When Joab saw that death was inevitable, he said to Benaiah, who was +charged with the execution of the king's order: "Tell Solomon he cannot +inflict two punishments upon me. If he expects to take my life, he must +remove the curse pronounced by David against me and my descendants on +account of the slaying of Abner. If not, he cannot put me to death." +Solomon realized the justness of the plea. By executing Joab, he +transferred David's curse to his own posterity: Rehoboam, his son, was +afflicted with an issue; Uzziah suffered with leprosy; Asa had to lean +on a staff when he walked; the pious Josiah fell by the sword of +Pharaoh, and Jeconiah lived off charity. So the imprecations of David +were accomplished on his own family instead of Joab's. (10) + +THE MARRIAGE OF SOLOMON + +The next to suffer Joab's fate was Shimei ben Gera, whose treatment of +David had outraged every feeling of decency. His death was of evil +portent for Solomon himself. So long as Shimei, who was Solomon's +teacher, was alive, he did not venture to marry the daughter of +Pharaoh. When, after Shimei's death, Solomon took her to wife, the +archangel Gabriel descended from heaven, and inserted a reed in the +sea. About this reed more and more earth was gradually deposited, and, +on the day on which Jeroboam erected the golden calves, a little hut +was built upon the island. This was the first of the dwelling-places of +Rome. (11) + +Solomon's wedding-feast in celebration of his marriage with the +Egyptian princess came on the same day as the consecration of the +Temple. (12) The rejoicing over the king's marriage was greater than +over the completion of the Temple. As the proverb has it: "All pay +flattery to a king." Then it was that God conceived the plan of +destroying Jerusalem. It was as the prophet spoke: "This city hath been +to me a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they +built it even unto this day." + +In the nuptial night Pharaoh's daughter had her attendants play upon a +thousand different musical instruments, which she had brought with her +from her home, and as each was used, the name of the idol to which it +was dedicated was mentioned aloud. The better to hold the king under +the spell of her charms, she spread above his bed a tapestry cover +studded with diamonds and pearls, which gleamed and glittered like +constellations in the sky. Whenever Solomon wanted to rise, he saw +these stars, and thinking it was night still, he slept on until the +fourth hour of the morning. The people were plunged in grief, for the +daily sacrifice could not be brought on this very morning of the Temple +dedication, because the Temple keys lay under Solomon's pillow, and +none dared awaken him. Word was sent to Bath-sheba, who forthwith +aroused her son, and rebuked him for his sloth. "Thy father," she said, +"was known to all as a God-fearing man, and now people will say, +'Solomon is the son of Bath-sheba, it is his mother's fault if he goes +wrong.' Whenever thy father's wives were pregnant, they offered vows +and prayed that a son worthy to reign might be born unto them. But my +prayer was for a learned son worthy of the gift of prophecy. Take care, +'give not thy strength unto women nor thy ways to them that destroy +kings,' for licentiousness confounds the reason of man. Keep well in +mind the things that are necessary in the life of a king. (13) 'Not +kings, Lemuel.' Have naught in common with kings who say: 'What need +have we of a God?' It is not meet that thou shouldst do like the kings +who drink wine and live in lewdness. Be not like unto them. He to whom +the secrets of the world are revealed, (14) should not intoxicate +himself with wine." (15) + +Apart from having married a Gentile, whose conversion to Judaism was +not dictated by pure motives, Solomon transgressed two other Biblical +laws. He kept many horses, which a Jewish king ought not to do, and, +what the law holds in equal abhorrence, he amassed much silver and +gold. Under Solomon's rule silver and gold were so abundant among the +people that their utensils were made of them instead of the baser +metals. (16) For all this he had to atone painfully later on. + +HIS WISDOM + +But Solomon's wealth and pomp were as naught in comparison with his +wisdom. When God appeared to him in Gibeon, in a dream by night, and +gave him leave to ask what he would, a grace accorded to none beside +except King Ahaz of Judah, and promised only to the Messiah in time to +come, (17) Solomon chose wisdom, knowing that wisdom once in his +possession, all else would come of itself. (18) His wisdom, the +Scriptures testify, was greater than the wisdom of Ethan the Ezrahite, +and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the three sons of Mahol. This means +that he was wiser than Abraham, (19) Moses, (20) Joseph, (21) and the +generation of the desert. (22) He excelled even Adam. (23) His proverbs +which have come down to us are barely eight hundred in number. +Nevertheless the Scripture counts them equal to three thousand, for the +reason that each verse in his book admits of a double and a triple +interpretation. In his wisdom he analyzed the laws revealed to Moses, +and he assigned reasons for the ritual and ceremonial ordinances of the +Torah, which without his explanation had seemed strange. (24) The +"forty-nine gates of wisdom" were open to Solomon as they had been to +Moses, but the wise king sought to outdo even the wise legislator. He +had such confidence in himself that he would have dispensed judgment +without resort to witnesses, had he not been prevented by a heavenly +voice. (25) + +The first proof of his wisdom was given in his verdict in the case of +the child claimed by two mothers as their own. When the women presented +their difficulty, the king said that God in His wisdom had foreseen +that such a quarrel would arise, and therefore had created the organs +of man in pairs, so that neither of the two parties to the dispute +might be wronged. on hearing these words from the king, Solomon's +counsellors lamented: "Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a youth." +In a little while they realized the wisdom of the king, and then they +exclaimed: "Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is a free man." The +quarrel had of set purpose been brought on by God to the end that +Solomon's wisdom might be made known. In reality the two litigants were +not women at all, but spirits. That all doubt about the fairness of the +verdict might be dispelled, a heavenly voice proclaimed: "This is the +mother of the child." (26) + +During the lifetime of David, when Solomon was still a lad, he had +settled another difficult case in an equally brilliant way. A wealthy +man had sent his son on a protracted business trip to Africa. On his +return he found that his father had died in the meantime, and his +treasures had passed into the possession of a crafty slave, who had +succeeded in ridding himself of all the other slaves, or intimidating +them. In vain the rightful heir urged his claim before King David. As +he could not bring witnesses to testify for him, there was no way of +dispossessing the slave, who likewise called himself the son of the +deceased. The child Solomon heard the case, and he devised a method of +arriving at the truth. He had the father's corpse exhumed, and he dyed +one of the bones with the blood first of one of the claimants, and then +of the other. The blood of the slave showed no affinity with the bone, +while the blood of the true heir permeated it. So the real son secured +his inheritance. (27) + +After his accession to the throne, a peculiar quarrel among heirs was +brought before Solomon for adjudication. Asmodeus, the king of demons, +once said to Solomon: "Thou art the wisest of men, yet I shall show +thee something thou hast never seen." Thereupon Asmodeus stuck his +finger in the ground, and up came a double-headed man. He was one of +the Cainites, who live underground, and are altogether different in +nature and habit from the denizens of the upper world. (28) When the +Cainite wanted to descend to his dwelling-place again, it appeared that +he could not return thither. Not even Asmodeus could bring the thing +about. So he remained on earth, took unto himself a wife, and begot +seven sons, one of whom resembled his father in having two heads. When +the Cainite died, a dispute broke out among his descendants as to how +the property was to be divided. The double-headed son claimed two +portions. Both Solomon and the Sanhedrin were at a loss; they could not +discover a precedent to guide them. Then Solomon prayed to God: "O Lord +of all, when Thou didst appear to me in Gibeon, and didst give me leave +to ask a gift of Thee, I desired neither silver nor gold, but only +wisdom, that I might be able to judge men in justice." + +God heard his prayer. When the sons of the Cainite again came before +Solomon, he poured hot water on one of the heads of the double-headed +monster, whereupon both heads flinched, and both mouths cried out: "We +are dying, we are dying! We are but one, not two." Solomon decided that +the double-headed son was after all only a single being. (29) + +On another occasion Solomon invented a lawsuit in order to elicit the +truth in an involved case. Three men appeared before him, each of whom +accused the others of theft. They had been travelling together, and, +when the Sabbath approached, they halted and prepared to rest and +sought a safe hiding-place for their money, for it is not allowed to +carry money on one's person on the Sabbath. They all three together +secreted what they had in the same spot, and, when the Sabbath was +over, they hastened thither, only to find that it had been stolen. It +was clear one of the three must have been the thief, but which one? + +Solomon said to them: "I know you to be experienced and thorough +business men. I should like you to help me decide a suit which the king +of Rome has submitted to me. In the Roman kingdom there lived a maiden +and a youth, who promised each other under oath never to enter into a +marriage without obtaining each other's permission. The parents of the +girl betrothed their daughter to a man whom she loved, but she refused +to become his wife until the companion of her youth gave his consent. +She took much gold and silver, and sought him out to bribe him. Setting +aside his own love for the girl, he offered her and her lover his +congratulations, and refused to accept the slightest return for the +permission granted. On their homeward way the happy couple were +surprised by an old highwayman, who was about to rob the young man of +his bride and his money. The girl told the brigand the story of her +life, closing with these words: 'If a youth controlled his passion for +me, how much more shouldst thou, an old man, be filled with fear of +God, and let me go my way.' Her words took effect. The aged highwaymen +laid hands neither on the girl nor on the money. + +"Now," Solomon continued to the three litigants, "I was asked to decide +which of the three persons concerned acted most nobly, the girl, the +youth, or the highwayman, and I should like to have your views upon the +question." + +The first of the three said: "My praise is for the girl, who kept her +oath so faithfully." The second: "I should award the palm to the youth, +who kept himself in check, and did not permit his passion to prevail." +The third said: "Commend me to the brigand, who kept his hands off the +money, more especially as he would have been doing all that could be +expected of him if he had surrendered the woman he might have taken +the money." + +The last answer sufficed to put Solomon on the right track. The man who +was inspired with admiration of the virtues of the robber, probably was +himself filled with greed of money. He had him cross-examined, and +finally extorted a confession. He had committed the theft, and he +designated the spot where he had hidden the money. (30) + +Even animals submitted their controversies to Solomon's wise judgment. +A man with a jug of milk came upon a serpent wailing pitifully in a +field. To the man's question, the serpent replied that it was tortured +with thirst. "And what art thou carrying in the jug?" asked the +serpent. When it heard what it was, it begged for the milk, and +promised to reward the man by showing him a hidden treasure. The man +gave the milk to the serpent, and was then led to a great rock. "Under +this rock," said the serpent, "lies the treasure." The man rolled the +rock aside, and was about to take the treasure, when suddenly the +serpent made a lunge at him, and coiled itself about his neck. "What +meanest thou by such conduct?" exclaimed the man. "I am going to kill +thee," replied the serpent, "because thou art robbing me of all my +money." The man proposed that they put their case to King Solomon, and +obtain his decision as to who was in the wrong. So they did. Solomon +asked the serpent to state what it demanded of the man. "I want to kill +him," answered the serpent, "because the Scriptures command it, saying: +'Thou shalt bruise the heel of man.'" Solomon said: "First release thy +hold upon the man's neck and descend; in court neither party to a +lawsuit may enjoy an advantage over the other." The serpent glided to +the floor, and Solomon repeated his question, and received the same +answer as before from the serpent. Then Solomon turned to the man and +said: "To thee God's command was to bruise the head of the serpent do +it!" And the man crushed the serpent's head. (31) + +Sometimes Solomon's assertions and views, though they sprang from +profound wisdom, seemed strange to the common run of men. In such +cases, the wise king did not disdain to illustrate the correctness of +his opinions. For instance, both the learned and the ignorant were +stung into opposition by Solomon's saying: "One man among a thousand +have I found; but a virtuous woman among all those have I not found." +Solomon unhesitatingly pledged himself to prove that he was right. He +had his attendants seek out a married couple enjoying a reputation for +uprightness and virtue. The husband was cited before him, and Solomon +told him that he had decided to appoint him to an exalted office. The +king demanded only, as an earnest of his loyalty, that he murder his +wife, so that he might be free to marry the king's daughter, a spouse +comporting with the dignity of his new station. With a heavy heart the +man went home. His despair grew at sight of his fair wife and his +little children. Though determined to do the king's bidding, he still +lacked courage to kill his wife while she was awake. He waited until +she was tight asleep, but then the child enfolded in the mother's arms +rekindled his parental and conjugal affection, and he replaced his +sword in its sheath, saying to himself: "And if the king were to offer +me his whole realm, I would not murder my wife." Thereupon he went to +Solomon, and told him his final decision. A month later Solomon sent +for the wife, and declared his love for her. He told her that their +happiness could be consummated if she would but do away with her +husband. Then she should be made the first wife in his harem. Solomon +gave her a leaden sword which glittered as though fashioned of steel. +The woman returned home resolved to put the sword to its appointed use. +Not a quiver of her eyelids betrayed her sinister purpose. On the +contrary, by caresses and tender words she sought to disarm any +suspicion that might attack to her. In the night she arose, drew forth +the sword, and proceeded to kill her husband. The leaden instrument +naturally did no harm, except to awaken her husband, to whom she had to +confess her evil intent. The next day both man and wife were summoned +before the king, who thus convinced his counsellors of the truth of his +conviction, that no dependence can be placed on woman. (32) + +The fame of Solomon's wisdom spread far and wide. Many entered the +service of the king, in the hope of profiting by his wisdom. Three +brothers had served under him for thirteen years, and, disappointed at +not having learnt anything, they made up their minds to quit his +service. Solomon gave them the alternative of receiving one hundred +coins each, or being taught three wise saws. They decided to take the +money. They had scarcely left the town when the youngest of the three, +regardless of the protests of his two brothers, hastened back to +Solomon and said to him: "My lord, I did not take service under thee to +make money; I wanted to acquire wisdom. Pray, take back thy money, and +teach me wisdom instead." Solomon thereupon imparted the following +three rules of conduct to him: "When thou travellest abroad, set out on +thy journey with the dawn and turn in for the night before darkness +falls; do not cross a river that is swollen; and never betray a secret +to a woman." The man quickly overtook his brothers, but he confided +nothing to them of what he had learned from Solomon. They journeyed on +together. At the approach of the ninth hour three hours after noon +they reached a suitable spot in which to spend the night. The youngest +brother, mindful of Solomon's advice, proposed that they stop there. +The others taunted him with his stupidity, which, they said, he had +begun to display when he carried his money back to Solomon. The two +proceeded on their way, but the youngest arranged his quarters for the +night. When darkness came on, and with it nipping cold, he was snug and +comfortable, while his brothers were surprised by a snow storm, in +which they perished. The following day he continued his journey, and on +the road he found the dead bodies of his brothers. Having appropriated +their money, he buried them, and went on. When he reached a river that +was very much swollen, he bore Solomon's advice in mind, and delayed to +cross until the flood subsided. While standing on the bank, he observed +how some of the king's servants were attempting to ford the stream with +beasts laden with gold, and how they were borne down by the flood. +After the waters had abated, he crossed and appropriated the gold +strapped to the drowned animals. When he returned home, wealthy and +wise, he told nothing of what he had experienced even to his wife, who +was very curious to find out where her husband had obtained his wealth. +Finally, she plied him so closely with questions that Solomon's advice +about confiding a secret to a woman was quite forgotten. Once, when his +wife was quarrelling with him, she cried out: "Not enough that thou +didst murder thy brothers, thou desirest to kill me, too." Thereupon he +was charged with the murder of their husbands by his two +sisters-in-law. He was tried, condemned to death, and escaped the +hangman only when he told the king the story of his life, and was +recognized as his former retainer. It was with reference to this man's +adventures that Solomon said: "Acquire wisdom; she is better than gold +and much fine gold." (33) + +Another of his disciples had a similar experience. Annually a man came +from a great distance to pay a visit to the wise king, and when he +departed Solomon was in the habit of bestowing a gift upon him. Once +the guest refused the gift, and asked the king to teach him the +language of the birds and the animals instead. The king was ready to +grant his request, but he did not fail to warn him first of the great +danger connected with such knowledge. "If thou tellest others a word of +what thou hearest from an animal," he said, "thou wilt surely suffer +death; thy destruction is inevitable." Nothing daunted, the visitor +persisted in his wish, and the king instructed him in the secret art. + +Returned home, he overheard a conversation between his ox and his ass. +The ass said: "Brother, how farest thou with these people?" + +The ox: "As thou livest, brother, I pass day and night in hard and +painful toil." + +The ass: "I can give thee relief, brother. If thou wilt follow my +advice, thou shalt live in comfort, and shalt rid thyself of all hard +work." + +The ox: "O brother, may thy heart be inclined toward me, to take pity +on me and help me. I promise not to depart from thy advice to the right +or the left." + +The ass: "God knows, I am speaking to thee in the uprightness of my +heart and the purity of my thoughts. My advice to thee is not to eat +either straw or fodder this night. When our master notices it, he will +suppose that thou art sick. He will put no burdensome work upon thee, +and thou canst take a good rest. That is the way I did to-day." + +The ox followed the advice of his companion. He touched none of the +food thrown to him. The master, suspecting a ruse on the part of the +ass, arose during the night, went to the stable, and watched the ass +eat his fill from the manger belonging to the ox. He could not help +laughing out loud, which greatly amazed his wife, who, of course, had +noticed nothing out of the way. The master evaded her questions. +Something ludicrous had just occurred to him, he said by way of +explanation. + +For the sly trick played upon the ox, he determined to punish the ass. +He ordered the servant to let the ox rest for the day, and make the ass +do the work of both animals. At evening the ass trudged into the stable +tired and exhausted. The ox greeted him with the words: "Brother, hast +thou heard aught of what our heartless masters purpose?" "Yes," replied +the ass, "I heard them speak of having thee slaughtered, if thou +shouldst refuse to eat this night, too. They want to make sure of thy +flesh at least." Scarcely had the ox heard the words of the ass when he +threw himself upon his food like a ravenous lion upon his prey. Not a +speck did he leave behind, and the master was suddenly moved to +uproarious laughter. This time his wife insisted upon knowing the +cause. In vain she entreated and supplicated. She swore not to live +with him any more if he did not tell her why he laughed. The man loved +her so devotedly that he was ready to sacrifice his life to satisfy her +whim, but before taking leave of this world he desired to see his +friends and relations once more, and he invited them all to his house. + +Meantime his dog was made aware of the master's approaching end, and +such sadness took possession of the faithful beast that he touched +neither food nor drink. The cock, on the other hand, gaily appropriated +the food intended for the dog, and he and his wives enjoyed a banquet. +Outraged by such unfeeling behavior, the dog said to the cock: "How +great is thy impudence, and how insignificant thy modesty! Thy master +is but a step from the grave, and thou eatest and makest merry." The +cock's reply was: "Is it my fault if our master is a fool and an idiot? +I have ten wives, and I rule them as I will. Not one dares oppose me +and my commands. Our master has a single wife, and this one he cannot +control and manage." "What ought our master to do?" asked the dog. "Let +him take a heavy stick and belabor his wife's back thoroughly," advised +the cock, "and I warrant thee, she won't plague him any more to reveal +his secrets." + +The husband had overheard this conversation, too, and the cock's advice +seemed good. He followed it, and death was averted. (34) + +On many occasions, Solomon brought his acumen and wisdom to bear upon +foreign rulers who attempted to concoct mischief against him. Solomon +needed help in building the Temple, and he wrote to Pharaoh, asking him +to send artists to Jerusalem. Pharaoh complied with his request, but +not honestly. He had his astrologers determine which of his men were +destined to die within the year. These candidates for the grave he +passed over to Solomon. The Jewish king was not slow to discover the +trick played upon him. He immediately returned the men to Egypt, each +provided with his grave clothes, and wrote: "To Pharaoh! I suppose thou +hadst no shrouds for these people. Herewith I send thee the men, and +what they were in need of." (35) + +Hiram, king of Tyre, the steadfast friend of the dynasty of David, who +had done Solomon such valuable services in connection with the building +of the Temple, was desirous of testing his wisdom. He was in the habit +of sending catch-questions and riddles to Solomon with the request that +he solve them and help him out of his embarrassment about them. +Solomon, of course, succeeded in answering them all. Later on he made +an agreement with Hiram, that they were to exchange conundrums and +riddles, and a money fine was to be exacted from the one of them who +failed to find the proper answer to a question propounded by the other. +Naturally it was Hiram who was always the loser. The Tyrians maintain +that finally Solomon found more than his match in one of Hiram's +subjects, one Abdamon, who put many a riddle to Solomon that baffled +his wit. (36) + +Of Solomon's subtlety in riddle guessing only a few instances have come +down to us, all of them connected with riddles put to him by the Queen +of Sheba. (37) The story of this queen, of her relation to Solomon, and +what induced her to leave her distant home and journey to the court at +Jerusalem forms an interesting chapter in the eventful life of the wise +king. + +THE QUEEN OF SHEBA + +Solomon, it must be remembered, bore rule not only over men, but also +over the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, demons, spirits, +and the spectres of the night. He knew the language of all of them and +they understood his language. (38) + +When Solomon was of good cheer by reason of wine, he summoned the +beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the creeping reptiles, the +shades, the spectres, and the ghosts, to perform their dances before +the kings, his neighbors, whom he invited to witness his power and +greatness. The king's scribes called the animals and the spirits by +name, one by one, and they all assembled of their own accord, without +fetters or bonds, with no human hand to guide them. + +On one occasion the hoopoe (39) was missed from among the birds. He +could not be found anywhere. The king, full of wrath, ordered him to be +produced and chastised for his tardiness. The hoopoe appeared and said: +"O lord, king of the world, incline thine ear and hearken to my words. +Three months have gone by since I began to take counsel with myself and +resolve upon a course of action. I have eaten no food and drunk no +water, in order to fly about in the whole world and see whether there +is a domain anywhere which is not subject to my lord the king. (40) and +I found a city, the city of Kitor, in the East. Dust is more valuable +than gold there, and silver is like the mud of the streets. Its trees +are from the beginning of all time, and they suck up water that flows +from the Garden of Eden. The city is crowded with men. On their heads +they wear garlands wreathed in Paradise. They know not how to fight, +nor how to shoot with bow and arrow. Their ruler is a woman, she is +called the Queen of Sheba. If, now, it please thee, O lord and king, I +shall gird my loins like a hero, and journey to the city of Kitor in +the land of Sheba. Its kings I shall fetter with chains and its rulers +with iron bands, and bring them all before my lord the king." + +The hoopoe's speech pleased the king. The clerks of his land were +summoned, and they wrote a letter and bound it to the hoopoe's wing. +The bird rose skyward, uttered his cry, and flew away, followed by all +the other birds. + +And they came to Kitor in the land of Sheba. It was morning, and the +queen had gone forth to pay worship to the sun. Suddenly the birds +darkened his light. The queen raised her hand, and rent her garment, +and was sore astonished. Then the hoopoe alighted near her. Seeing that +a letter was tied to his wing, she loosed it and read it. And what was +written in the letter? "From me, King Solomon! Peace be with thee, +peace with the nobles of thy realm! Know that God has appointed me king +over the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the demons, the +spirits, and the spectres. All the kings of the East and the West come +to bring me greetings. If thou wilt come and salute me, I shall show +thee great honor, more than to any of the kings that attend me. But if +thou wilt not pay homage to me, I shall send out kings, legions, and +riders against thee. Thou askest, who are these kings, legions, and +riders of King Solomon? The beasts of the field are my kings, the birds +my riders, the demons, spirit, and shades of the night my legions. The +demons will throttle you in your beds at night, while the beasts will +slay you in the field, and the birds will consume your flesh." + +When the Queen of Sheba had read the contents of the letter, she again +rent her garment, and sent word to her elders and her princes: "Know +you not what Solomon has written to me?" They answered: "We know +nothing of King Solomon, and his dominion we regard as naught." But +their words did not reassure the queen. She assembled all the ships of +the sea, and loaded them with the finest kinds of wood, and with pearls +and precious stones. Together with these she sent Solomon six thousand +youths and maidens, born in the same year, in the same month, on the +same day, in the same hour all of equal stature and size, all clothed +in purple garments. They bore a letter to King Solomon as follows: +"From the city of Kitor to the land of Israel is a journey of seven +years. As it is thy wish and behest that I visit thee, I shall hasten +and be in Jerusalem at the end of three years." + +When the time of her arrival drew nigh, Solomon sent Benaiah the son of +Jehoiada to meet her. Benaiah was like unto the flush in the eastern +sky at break of day, like unto the evening star that outshines all +other stars, like unto the lily growing by brooks of water. When the +queen caught sight of him, she descended from her chariot to do him +honor. Benaiah asked her why she left her chariot. "Art thou not King +Solomon?" she questioned in turn. Benaiah replied: "Not King Solomon am +I, only one of his servants that stand in his presence." Thereupon the +queen turned to her nobles and said: "If you have not beheld the lion, +at least you have seen his lair, and if you have not beheld King +Solomon, at least you have seen the beauty of him that stands in his +presence." + +Benaiah conducted the queen to Solomon, who had gone to sit in a house +of glass to receive her. The queen was deceived by an illusion. She +thought the king was sitting in water, and as she stepped across to him +she raised her garment to keep it dry. On her bared feet the king +noticed hair, and he said to her: "Thy beauty is the beauty of a woman, +but thy hair is masculine; hair is an ornament to a man, but it +disfigures a woman." (41) + +Then the queen began and said: (42) "I have heard of thee and thy +wisdom; if now I inquire of thee concerning a matter, wilt thou answer +me?" He replied: "The Lord giveth wisdom, out of His mouth cometh +knowledge and understanding." She then said to him: + +1. "Seven there are that issue and nine that enter; two yield the +draught and one drinks." Said he to her: "Seven are the days of a +woman's defilement, and nine the months of pregnancy; two are the +breasts that yield the draught, and one the child that drinks it." +Whereupon she said to him: "Thou art wise." + +2. Then she questioned him further: "A woman said to her son, thy +father is my father, and thy grandfather my husband; thou art my son, +and I am thy sister." "Assuredly," said he, "it was the daughter of Lot +who spake thus to her son." + +3. She placed a number of males and females of the same stature and +garb before him and said: "Distinguish between them." Forthwith he made +a sign to the eunuchs, who brought him a quantity of nuts and roasted +ears of corn. The males, who were not bashful, seized them with bare +hands; the females took them, putting forth their gloved hands from +beneath their garments. Whereupon he exclaimed: "Those are the males, +these the females." + +4. She brought a number of men to him, some circumcised and others +uncircumcised, and asked him to distinguish between them. He +immediately made a sign to the high priest, who opened the Ark of the +covenant, whereupon those that were circumcised bowed their bodies to +half their height, while their countenances were filled with the +radiance of the Shekinah; the uncircumcised fell prone upon their +faces. "Those," said he, "are circumcised, these uncircumcised." (43) +"Thou art wise, indeed," she exclaimed. + +5. She put other questions to him, to all of which he gave replies. +"Who is he who neither was born nor has died?" "It is the Lord of the +world, blessed be He." + +6. "What land is that which has but once seen the sun?" "The land upon +which, after the creation, the waters were gathered, and the bed of the +Red Sea on the day when it was divided." + +7. "There is an enclosure with ten doors, when one is open, nine are +shut; when nine are open, one is shut?" "That enclosure is the womb; +the ten doors are the ten orifices of man his eyes, ears, nostrils, +mouth, the apertures for the discharge of the excreta and the urine, +and the navel; when the child is in the embryonic state, the navel is +open and the other orifices are closed, but when it issues from the +womb, the navel is closed and the others are opened." + +8. "There is something which when living moves not, yet when its head +is cut off it moves?" "It is the ship in the sea." (44) + +9. "Which are the three that neither ate, nor did they drink, nor did +they have bread put into them, yet they saved lives from death?" "The +signet, the cord, and the staff are those three." + +10. "Three entered a cave and five came forth therefrom?" "Lot and his +two daughters and their two children." + +11. "The dead lived, the grave moved, and the dead prayed: what is +that?" "The dead that lived and prayed, Jonah; and the fish, the moving +grave." + +12. "Who were the three that ate and drank on the earth, and yet were +not born of male and female?" "The three angels who visited Abraham." +(45) + +13. "Four entered a place of death and came forth alive, and two +entered a place of life and came forth dead?" "The four were Daniel, +Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and the two were Nadab and Abihu." + +14. "Who was he that was born and died not?" "Elijah and the Messiah." + +15. "What was that which was not born, yet life was given to it?" "The +golden calf." + +16. "What is that which is produced from the ground, yet man produces +it, while its food is the fruit of the ground?" "A wick." + +17. "A woman was wedded to two, and bore two sons, yet these four had +one father?" "Tamar." + +18. "A house full of dead; no dead one came among them, nor did a +living come forth from them?" "It is the story of Samson and the +Philistines." + +19. The queen next ordered the sawn trunk of a cedar tree to be +brought, and she asked Solomon to point out at which end the root had +been and at which the branches. He bade her cast it into the water, +when one end sank and the other floated upon the surface of the water. +That part which sank was the root, and that which remained uppermost +was the branch end. Then she said to him: "Thou exceedest in wisdom and +goodness the fame which I heard, blessed be thy God!" (46) + +The last three riddles which the Queen of Sheba put to Solomon were the +following: + +20. "What is this? A wooden well with iron buckets, which draw stones +and pour out water." The king replied: "A rouge-tube." + +21. "What is this? It comes as dust from the earth, its food is dust, +it is poured out like water, and lights the house." "Naphtha." + +22. "What is this? It walks ahead of all; it cries out loud and +bitterly; its head is like the reed; it is the glory of the noble, the +disgrace of the poor; the glory of the dead, the disgrace of the +living; the delight of birds, the distress of fishes." He answered: +"Flax." (47) + +SOLOMON MASTER OF THE DEMONS + +Never has there lived a man privileged, like Solomon, to make the +demons amenable to his will. God endowed him with the ability to turn +the vicious power of demons into a power working to the advantage of +men. He invented formulas of incantation by which diseases were +alleviated, and others by which demons were exorcised so that they were +banished forever. (48) As his personal attendants he had spirits and +demons whom he could send hither and thither on the instant. He could +grow tropical plants in Palestine, because his ministering spirits +secured water for him from India. (49) + +As the spirits were subservient to him, so also the animals. He had an +eagle upon whose back he was transported to the desert and back again +in one day, to build there the city called Tadmor in the Bible (50) +This city must not be confounded with the later Syrian city of Palmyra, +also called Tadmor. It was situated near the "mountains of darkness," +(51) the trysting-place of the spirits and demons. Thither the eagle +would carry Solomon in the twinkling of an eye, and Solomon would drop +a paper inscribed with a verse among the spirits, to ward off evil from +himself. Then the eagle would reconnoitre the mountains of darkness, +until he had spied out the spot in which the fallen angels 'Azza and +'Azzael (52) lie chained with iron fetters a spot which no one, not +even a bird, may visit. When the eagle found the place, he would take +Solomon under his left wing, and fly to the two angels. Through the +power of the ring having the Holy Name graven upon it, which Solomon +put into the eagle's mouth, 'Azza and 'Azzael were forced to reveal the +heavenly mysteries to the king. (53) + +The demons were of greatest service to Solomon during the erection of +the Temple. It came about in this wise: When Solomon began the building +of the Temple, it once happened that a malicious spirit snatched away +the money and the food of one of the king's favorite pages. This +occurred several times, and Solomon was not able to lay hold on the +malefactor. The king besought God fervently to deliver the wicked +spirit into his hands. His prayer was granted. The archangel Michael +appeared to him, and gave him a small ring having a seal consisting of +an engraved stone, and he said to him: "Take, O Solomon, king, son of +David, the gift which the Lord God, the highest Zebaot, hath sent unto +thee. With it thou shalt lock up all the demons of the earth, male and +female; and with their help thou shalt build up Jerusalem. But thou +must wear this seal of God; and this engraving of the seal of the ring +sent thee is a Pentalpha." (54) Armed with it, Solomon called up all +the demons before him, and he asked of each in turn his or her name, as +well as the name of the star or constellation or zodiacal sign and of +the particular angel to the influence of which each is subject. One +after another the spirits were vanquished, and compelled by Solomon to +aid in the construction of the Temple. + +Ornias, the vampire spirit who had maltreated Solomon's servant, was +the first demon to appear, and he was set to the task of cutting stones +near the Temple. And Solomon bade Ornias come, and he gave him the +seal, saying: "Away with thee, and bring me hither the prince of all +the demons." Ornias took the finger-ring, and went to Beelzeboul, who +has kingship over the demons. He said to him: "Hither! Solomon calls +thee." But Beelzeboul, having heard, said to him: "Tell me, who is this +Solomon of whom thou speakest to me?" Then Ornias threw the ring at the +chest of Beelzeboul, saying: "Solomon the king calls thee." But +Beelzeboul cried aloud with a mighty voice, and shot out a great, +burning flame of fire; and he arose and followed Ornias, and came to +Solomon. Brought before the king, he promised him to gather all the +unclean spirits unto him. Beelzeboul proceeded to do so, beginning with +Onoskelis, that had a very pretty shape and the skin of a fair-hued +woman, and he was followed by Asmodeus; both giving an account of +themselves. + +Beelzeboul reappeared on the scene, and in his conversation with +Solomon declared that he alone survived of the angels who had come down +from heaven. He reigned over all who are in Tartarus, and had a child +in the Red Sea, which on occasion comes up to Beelzeboul and reveals to +him what he has done. Next the demon of the Ashes, Tephros, appeared, +and after him a group of seven female spirits, who declared themselves +to be of the thirty-six elements of the darkness. Solomon bade them dig +the foundation of the temple, for the length of it was two hundred and +fifty cubits. And he ordered them to be industrious, and with one +united murmur of protest they began to perform the tasks enjoined. + +Solomon bade another demon come before him. And there was brought to +him a demon having all the limbs of a man, but without a head. The +demon said to Solomon: "I am called Envy, for I delight to devour +heads, being desirous to secure for myself a head; but I do not eat +enough, and I am anxious to have such a head as thou hast." A +hound-like spirit, whose name was Rabdos, followed, and he revealed to +Solomon a green stone, useful for the adornment of the Temple. A number +of other male and female demons appeared, among them the thirty-six +world-rulers of the darkness, whom Solomon commanded to fetch water to +the Temple. Some of these demons he condemned to do the heavy work on +the construction of the Temple, others he shut up in prison, and +others, again, he ordered to wrestle with fire in the making of gold +and silver, sitting down by lead and spoon, and to make ready places +for the other demons, in which they should be confined. + +After Solomon with the help of the demons had completed the Temple, the +rulers, among them the Queen of Sheba, who was a sorceress, came from +far and near to admire the magnificence and art of the building, and no +less the wisdom of its builder. (55) + +One day an old man appeared before Solomon to complain of his son, whom +he accused of having been so impious as to raise his hand against his +father and give him a blow. The young man denied the charge, but his +father insisted that his life be held forfeit. Suddenly Solomon heard +loud laughter. It was the demon Ornias, who was guilty of the +disrespectful behavior. Rebuked by Solomon, the demon said: "I pray +thee, O king, it was not because of thee I laughed, but because of this +ill-starred old man and the wretched youth, his son. For after three +days his son will die untimely, and, lo, the old man desires to make +away with him foully." Solomon delayed his verdict for several days, +and when after five days he summoned the old father to his presence, it +appeared that Ornias had spoken the truth. + +After some time, Solomon received a letter from Adares, the king of +Arabia. He begged the Jewish king to deliver his land from an evil +spirit, who was doing great mischief, and who could not be caught and +made harmless, because he appeared in the form of wind. Solomon gave +his magic ring and a leather bottle to one of his slaves, and sent him +into Arabia. The messenger succeeded in confining the spirit in the +bottle. A few days later, when Solomon entered the Temple, he was not a +little astonished to see a bottle walk toward him, and bow down +reverently before him; it was the bottle in which the spirit was shut +up. This same spirit once did Solomon a great service. Assisted by +demons, he raised a gigantic stone out of the Red Sea. Neither human +beings nor demons could move it, but he carried it to the Temple, where +it was used as a cornerstone. + +Through his own fault Solomon forfeited the power to perform miraculous +deed, which the Divine spirit had conferred upon him. He fell in love +with the Jebusite woman Sonmanites. The priests of Moloch and Raphan, +the false gods she worshiped, advised her to reject his suit, unless he +paid homage to these gods. At first Solomon was firm, but, when the +woman bade him take five locusts and crush them in his hands in the +name of Moloch, he obeyed her. At once he was bereft of the Divine +spirit, of his strength and his wisdom, and he sank so low that to +please his beloved he built temples to Baal and Raphan. (56) + +THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE + +Among the great achievements of Solomon first place must be assigned to +the superb Temple built by him. He was long in doubt as to where he was +to build it. A heavenly voice directed him to go to Mount Zion at +night, to a field owned by two brothers jointly. One of the brothers +was a bachelor and poor, the other was blessed both with wealth and a +large family of children. It was harvesting time. Under cover of night, +the poor brother kept adding to the other's heap of grain, for, +although he was poor, he thought his brother needed more on account of +his large family. The rich brother, in the same clandestine way, added +to the poor brother's store, thinking that though he had a family to +support, the other was without means. This field, Solomon concluded, +which had called forth so remarkable a manifestation of brotherly love, +was the best site for the Temple, and he bought it. (57) + +Every detail of the equipment and ornamentation of the Temple testifies +to Solomon's rare wisdom. Next to the required furniture, he planted +golden trees, which bore fruit all the time the building stood. When +the enemy entered the Temple, the fruit dropped from the trees, but +they will put forth blossoms again when it is rebuilt in the days of +the Messiah. (58) + +Solomon was so assiduous that the erection of the Temple took but seven +years, about half the time for the erection of the king's palace, in +spite of the greater magnificence of the sanctuary. In this respect, he +was the superior of his father David, who first built a house for +himself, and then gave thought to a house for God to dwell in. Indeed, +it was Solomon's meritorious work in connection with the Temple that +saved him from being reckoned by the sages as one of the impious kings, +among whom his later actions might properly have put him. (59) + +According to the measure of the zeal displayed by Solomon were the help +and favor shown him by God. During the seven years it took to build the +Temple, not a single workman died who was employed about it, nor even +did a single one fall sick. And as the workmen were sound and robust +from first to last, so the perfection of their tools remained +unimpaired until the building stood complete. Thus the work suffered no +sort of interruption. After the dedication of the Temple, however, the +workmen died off, lest they build similar structures for the heathen +and their gods. Their wages they were to receive from God in the world +to come, (60) and the master workman, Hiram, (61) was rewarded by being +permitted to reach Paradise alive. (62) + +The Temple was finished in the month of Bul, now called Marheshwan, but +the edifice stood closed for nearly a whole year, because it was the +will of God that the dedication take place in the month of Abraham's +birth. Meantime the enemies of Solomon rejoiced maliciously. "Was it +not the son of Bath-sheba," they said, "who built the Temple? How, +then, could God permit His Shekinah to rest upon it?" When the +consecration of the house took place, and "the fire came down from +heaven," they recognized their mistake. (63) + +The importance of the Temple appeared at once, for the torrential rains +which annually since the deluge had fallen for forty days beginning +with the month of Marheshwan, for the first time failed to come, and +thenceforward appeared no more. (64) + +The joy of the people over the sanctuary was so great that they held +the consecration ceremonies on the Day of Atonement. It contributed not +a little to their ease of mind that a heavenly voice was heard to +proclaim: "You all shall have a share in the world to come." + +The great house of prayer reflected honor not only on Solomon and the +people, but also on King David. The following incident proves it: When +the Ark was about to be brought into the Holy of Holies, the door of +the sacred chamber locked itself, and it was impossible to open it. +Solomon prayed fervently to God, but his entreaties had no effect until +he pronounced the words: "Remember the good deeds of David thy +servant." The Holy of Holies then opened of itself, and the enemies of +David had to admit that God had wholly forgiven his sin. (65) + +In the execution of the Temple work a wish cherished by David was +fulfilled. He was averse to having the gold which he had taken as booty +from the heathen places of worship during his campaigns used for the +sanctuary at Jerusalem, because he feared that the heathen would boast, +at the destruction of the Temple, that their gods were courageous, and +were taking revenge by wrecking the house of the Israelitish God. +Fortunately Solomon was so rich that there was no need to resort to the +gold inherited from his father, and so David's wish was fulfilled. (66) + +THE THRONE OF SOLOMON + +Next to the Temple in its magnificence, it is the throne of Solomon +that perpetuates the name and fame of the wise king. None before him +and none after him could produce a like work of art, and when the +kings, his vassals, saw the magnificence of the throne they fell down +and praised God. The throne was covered with fine gold from Ophir, +studded with beryls, inlaid with marble, and jewelled with emeralds, +and rubies, and pearls, and all manner of gems. On each of its six +steps there were two golden lions and two golden eagles, a lion and an +eagle to the left, and a lion and an eagle to the right, the pairs +standing face to face, so that the right paw of the lion was opposite +to the left wing of the eagle, and his left paw opposite to the right +wing of the eagle. The royal seat was at the top, which was round. + +On the first step leading to the seat crouched an ox, and opposite to +him a lion; on the second, a wolf and a lamb; on the third, a leopard +and a goat; (67) on the fourth perched an eagle and a peacock; on the +fifth a falcon (68) and a cock; and on the sixth a hawk and a sparrow; +all made of gold. At the very top rested a dove, her claws set upon a +hawk, to betoken that the time would come when all peoples and nations +shall be delivered into the hands of Israel. Over the seat hung a +golden candlestick, with golden lamps, pomegranates, snuff dishes, +censers, chains, and lilies. Seven branches extended from each side. On +the arms to the right were the images of the seven patriarchs of the +world, Adam, Noah, Shem, Job, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and on the +arms to the left, the images of the seven pious men of the world, +Kohath, Amram, Moses, Aaron, Eldad, Medad, and the prophet Hur. +Attached to the top of the candlestick was a golden bowl filled with +the purest olive oil, to be used for the candlestick in the Temple, and +below, a golden basin, also filled with the purest olive oil, for the +candlestick over the throne. The basin bore the image of the high +priest Eli; those of his sons Hophni and Phinehas were on the two +faucets protruding from the basin, and those of Nadab and Abihu on the +tubes connection the faucets with the basin. + +On the upper part of the throne stood seventy golden chairs for the +members of the Sanhedrin, and two more for the high priest and his +vicar. When the high priest came to do homage to the king, the members +of the Sanhedrin also appeared, to judge the people, and they took +their seats to the right and to the left of the king. At the approach +of the witnesses, the machinery of the throne rumbled the wheels +turned, the ox lowed, the lion roared, the wolf howled, the lamb +bleated, the leopard growled, the goat cried, the falcon screamed, the +peacock gobbled, the cock crowed, the hawk screeched, the sparrow +chirped all to terrify the witnesses and keep them from giving false +testimony. + +When Solomon set foot upon the first step to ascend to his seat, its +machinery was put into motion. The golden ox arose and led him to the +second step, and there passed him over to the care of the beasts +guarding it, and so he was conducted from step to step up to the sixth, +where the eagles received him and placed him upon his seat. As soon as +he was seated, a great eagle set the royal crown upon his head. +Thereupon a huge snake rolled itself up against the machinery, forcing +the lions and eagles upward until they encircled the head of the king. +A golden dove flew down from a pillar, took the sacred scroll out of a +casket, and gave it to the king, so that he might obey the injunction +of the Scriptures, to have the law with him and read therein all the +days of his life. Above the throne twenty-four vines interlaced, +forming a shady arbor over the head of the king, and sweet aromatic +perfumes exhaled from two golden lions, while Solomon made the ascent +to his seat upon the throne. (69) + +It was the task of seven heralds to keep Solomon reminded of his duties +as king and judge. The first one of the heralds approached him when he +set foot on the first step of the throne, and began to recite the law +for kings, "He shall not multiply wives to himself." At the second +step, the second herald reminded him, "He shall not multiply horses to +himself"; at the third, the next one of the heralds said, "Neither +shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold." At the fourth +step, he was told by the fourth herald, "Thou shalt not wrest +judgment"; at the fifth step, by the fifth herald, "Thou shalt not +respect persons," and at the sixth, by the sixth herald, "Neither shalt +thou take a gift." Finally, when he was about to seat himself upon the +throne, the seventh herald cried out: "Know before whom thou standest." +(70) + +The throne did not remain long in the possession of the Israelites. +During the life of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, it was carried to +Egypt. Shishak, the father-in-law of Solomon, appropriated it as +indemnity for claims which he urged against the Jewish state in behalf +of his widowed daughter. When Sennacherib conquered Egypt, he carried +the throne away with him, but, on his homeward march, during the +overthrow of his army before the gates of Jerusalem, he had to part +with it to Hezekiah. Now it remained in Palestine until the time of +Jehoash, when it was once more carried to Egypt by Pharaoh Necho. His +possession of the throne brought him little joy. Unacquainted with its +wonderful mechanism, he was injured in the side by one of the lions the +first time he attempted to mount it, and forever after he limped, +wherefore he was given the surname Necho, the hobbler. (71) +Nebuchadnezzar was the next possessor of the throne. It fell to his lot +at the conquest of Egypt, but when he attempted to use it in Babylonia, +he fared no better than his predecessor in Egypt. The lion standing +near the throne gave him so severe a blow that he never again dared +ascend it. Through Darius the throne reached Elam, but, knowing what +its other owners had suffered, he did not venture to seat himself on +it, and his example was imitated by Ahasuerus. The latter tried to have +his artificers fashion him a like artistic work, but, of course, they +failed. (72) The Median rulers parted with the throne to the Greek +monarchs, and finally it was carried to Rome. (73) + +THE HIPPODROME + +The throne was not the only remarkable sight at the court of the +magnificent king. Solomon attracted visitors to his capital by means of +games and shows. In every month of the year the official who was in +charge for the month, was expected to arrange for a horse race, and +once a year (74) a race took place in which the competitors were ten +thousand youths, mainly of the tribes of Gad and Naphtali, who lived at +the court of the king year in, year out, and were maintained by him. +For the scholars, their disciples, the priests, and the Levites, the +races were held on the last of the month; on the first day of the month +the residents of Jerusalem were the spectators, and, on the second day, +strangers. The hippodrome occupied an area of three parasangs square, +with an inner square measuring one parasang on each side, around which +the races were run. Within were two grilles ornamented with all sorts +of animals. Out of the jaws of four gilded lions, attached to pillars +by twos, perfumes and spices flowed for the people. The spectators were +divided into four parties distinguished by the color of their garb: the +king and his attendants, the scholars and their disciples, and the +priests and Levites were attired in light blue garments; all the rest +from Jerusalem wore white; the sight-seers from the surrounding towns +and villages wore red, and green marked the heathen hailing from afar, +who came laden with tribute and presents. The four colors corresponded +to the four seasons. In the autumn the sky is brilliantly blue; in +winter the white snow falls; the color of spring is green like the +ocean, because it is the season favorable to voyages, and red is the +color of summer, when the fruits grow red and ripe. (75) + +As the public spectacles were executed with pomp and splendor, so the +king's table was royally sumptuous. Regardless of season and climate, +it was always laden with the delicacies of all parts of the globe. Game +and poultry, even of such varieties as were unknown in Palestine, were +not lacking, and daily there came a gorgeous bird from Barbary and +settled down before the king's seat at the table. The Scriptures tell +us of great quantities of food required by Solomon's household, and yet +it was not all that was needed. What the Bible mentions, covers only +the accessories, such as spices and the minor ingredients. The real +needs were far greater, as may be judged from the custom that all of +Solomon's thousand wives arranged a banquet daily, each in the hope of +having the king dine with her. (76) + +LESSONS IN HUMILITY + +Great and powerful as Solomon was, and wise and just, still occasions +were not lacking to bring home to him the truth that the wisest and +mightiest of mortals may not indulge in pride and arrogance. + +Solomon had a precious piece of tapestry, sixty miles square, on which +he flew through the air so swiftly that he could eat breakfast in +Damascus and supper in Media. To carry out his orders he had at his +beck and call Asaph ben Berechiah (77) among men, Ramirat among demons, +the lion among beasts, and the eagle among birds. Once it happened that +pride possessed Solomon while he was sailing through the air on his +carpet, and he said: "There is none like unto me in the world, upon +whom God has bestowed sagacity, wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge, +besides making me the ruler of the world." The same instant the air +stirred, and forty thousand men dropped from the magic carpet. The king +ordered the wind to cease from blowing, with the word: "Return!" +Whereupon the wind: "If thou wilt return to God, and subdue thy pride, +I, too, will return." The king realized his transgression. + +On one occasion he strayed into the valley of the ants in the course of +his wanderings. He heard one ant order all the others to withdraw, to +avoid being crushed by the armies of Solomon. The king halted and +summoned the ant that had spoken. She told him that she was the queen +of the ants, and she gave her reasons for the order of withdrawal. +Solomon wanted to put a question to the ant queen, but she refused to +answer unless the king took her up and placed her on his hand. He +acquiesced, and then he put his question: "Is there any one greater +than I am in all the world?" "Yes," said the ant. + +Solomon: "Who?" + +Ant: "I am." + +Solomon: "How is that possible?" + +Ant: "Were I not greater than thou, God would not have led thee hither +to put me on thy hand." + +Exasperated, Solomon threw her to the ground, and said: "Thou knowest +who I am? I am Solomon, the son of David." + +Not at all intimidated, the ant reminded the king of his earthly +origin, and admonished him to humility, and the king went off abashed. + +Next he came to a magnificent building, into which he sought to enter +in vain; he could find no door leading into it. After long search the +demons came upon an eagle seven hundred years old, and he, unable to +give them any information, sent him to his nine hundred years old +brother, whose eyrie was higher than his own, and who would probably be +in a position to advise them. But he in turn directed them to go to his +still older brother. His age counted thirteen hundred years, and he had +more knowledge than himself. This oldest one of the eagles reported +that he remembered having heard his father say there was a door on the +west side, but it was covered up by the dust of the ages that had +passed since it was last used. So it turned out to be. They found an +old iron door with the inscription: "We, the dwellers in this palace, +for many years lived in comfort and luxury; then, forced by hunger, we +ground pearls into flour instead of wheat but to no avail, and so, +when we were about to die, we bequeathed this palace to the eagles." A +second statement contained a detailed description of the wonderful +palace, and mentioned where the keys for the different chambers were to +be found. Following the directions on the door, Solomon inspected the +remarkable building, whose apartments were made of pearls and precious +stones. Inscribed on the doors he found the following three wise +proverbs, dealing with the vanity of all earthly things, and +admonishing men to be humble: + +1. O son of man, let not time deceive thee; thou must wither away, and +leave thy place, to rest in the bosom of the earth. + +2. Haste thee not, move slowly, for the world is taken from one and +bestowed upon another. + +3. Furnish thyself with food for the journey, prepare thy meal while +daylight lasts, for thou wilt not remain on earth forever, and thou +knowest not the day of thy death. (78) + +In one of the chambers, Solomon saw a number of statues, among them one +that looked as though alive. When he approached it, it called out in a +loud voice: "Hither, ye satans, Solomon has come to undo you." Suddenly +there arose great noise and tumult among the statues. Solomon +pronounced the Name, and quiet was restored. The statues were +overthrown, and the sons of the satans ran into the sea and were +drowned. From the throat of the lifelike statue he drew a silver plate +inscribed with characters which he could not decipher, but a youth from +the desert told the king: "These letters are Greek, and the words mean: +'I, Shadad ben Ad, ruled over a thousand thousand provinces, rode on a +thousand thousand horses, had a thousand thousand kings under me, and +slew a thousand thousand heroes, and when the Angel of Death approached +me, I was powerless.'" (79) + +ASMODEUS + +When Solomon in his wealth and prosperity grew unmindful of his God, +and, contrary to the injunctions laid down for kings in the Torah, +multiplied wives unto himself, and craved the possession of many horses +and much gold, the Book of Deuteronomy stepped before God and said: +"Lo, O Lord of the world, Solomon is seeking to remove a Yod from out +of me, (80) for Thou didst write: 'The king shall not multiply horses +unto himself, nor shall he multiply wives to himself, neither shall he +greatly multiply to himself silver and gold'; but Solomon has acquired +many horses, many wives, and much silver and gold." Hereupon God said: +"As thou livest, Solomon and a hundred of his kind shall be annihilated +ere a single one of thy letters shall be obliterated." (81) + +The charge made against Solomon was soon followed by consequences. He +had to pay heavily for his sins. It came about in this way: While +Solomon was occupied with the Temple, he had great difficulty in +devising ways of fitting the stone from the quarry into the building, +for the Torah explicitly prohibits the use of iron tools in erecting an +altar. The scholars told him that Moses had used the shamir, (82) the +stone that splits rocks, to engrave the names of the tribes on the +precious stones of the ephod worn by the high priest. Solomon's demons +could give him no information as to where the shamir could be found. +They surmised, however, that Asmodeus, (83) king of demons, was in +possession of the secret, and they told Solomon the name of the +mountain on which Asmodeus dwelt, and described also his manner of +life. On this mountain there was a well from which Asmodeus obtained +his drinking water. He closed it up daily with a large rock, and sealed +it before going to heaven, whither he went every day, to take part in +the discussions in the heavenly academy. Thence he would descend again +to earth in order to be present, though invisible, (84) at the debates +in the earthly houses of learning. Then, after investigating the seal +on the well to ascertain if it had been tampered with, he drank of the +water. + +Solomon sent his chief man, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, to capture +Asmodeus. For this purpose he provided him with a chain, the ring on +which the Name of God was engraved, a bundle of wool, and a skin of +wine. Benaiah drew the water from the well through a hole bored from +below, and, after having stopped up the hole with the wool, he filled +the well with wine from above. When Asmodeus descended from heaven, to +his astonishment he found wine instead of water in the well, although +everything seemed untouched. At first he would not drink of it, and +cited the Bible verses that inveigh against wine, to inspire himself +with moral courage. At length Asmodeus succumbed to his consuming +thirst, and drank till his senses were overpowered, and he fell into a +deep sleep. Benaiah, watching him from a tree, then came, and drew the +chain about Asmodeus' neck. The demon, on awakening, tried to free +himself, but Benaiah called to him: "The Name of thy Lord is upon +thee." Though Asmodeus now permitted himself to be led off +unresistingly, he acted most peculiarly on the way to Solomon. He +brushed against a palm-tree and uprooted it; he knocked against a house +and overturned it; and when, at the request of a poor woman, he was +turned aside from her hut, he broke a bone. He asked with grim humor: +"Is it not written, 'A soft tongue breaketh the bone?'" A blind man +going astray he set in the right path, and to a drunkard he did a +similar kindness. He wept when a wedding party passed them, and laughed +at a man who asked his shoemaker to make him shoes to last for seven +years, and at a magician who was publicly showing his skill. + +Having finally arrived at the end of the journey, Asmodeus, after +several days of waiting, was led before Solomon, who questioned him +about his strange conduct on the journey. Asmodeus answered that he +judged persons and things according to their real character, and not +according to their appearance in the eyes of human beings. He cried +when he saw the wedding company, because he knew the bridegroom had not +a month to live, and he laughed at him who wanted shoes to last seven +years, because the man would not own them for seven days, also at the +magician who pretended to disclose secrets, because he did not know +that a buried treasure lay under his very feet; the blind man whom he +set in the right path was one of the "perfect pious," and he wanted to +be kind to him; on the other hand, the drunkard to whom he did a +similar kindness was known in heaven as a very wicked man, but he +happened to have done a good deed once, and he was rewarded +accordingly. + +Asmodeus told Solomon that the shamir was given by God to the Angel of +the Sea, and that Angel entrusted none with the shamir except the +moor-hen, (85) which had taken an oath to watch the shamir carefully. +The moor-hen takes the shamir with her to mountains which are not +inhabited by men, splits them by means of the shamir, and injects +seeds, which grow and cover the naked rocks, and then they can be +inhabited. Solomon sent one of his servants to seek the nest of the +bird and lay a piece of glass over it. When the moor-hen came and could +not reach her young, she flew away and fetched the shamir and placed it +on the glass. Then the man shouted, and so terrified the bird that she +dropped the shamir and flew away. By this means the man obtained +possession of the coveted shamir, and bore it to Solomon. But the +moor-hen was so distressed at having broken her oath to the Angel of +the Sea that she committed suicide. + +Although Asmodeus was captured only for the purpose of getting the +shamir, Solomon nevertheless kept him after the completion of the +Temple. One day the king told Asmodeus that he did not understand +wherein the greatness of the demons lay, if their king could be kept in +bonds by a mortal. Asmodeus replied, that if Solomon would remove his +chains and lend him the magic ring, he would prove his own greatness. +Solomon agreed. The demon stood before him with one wing touching +heaven and the other reaching to the earth. Snatching up Solomon, who +had parted with his protecting ring, he flung him four hundred +parasangs away from Jerusalem, and then palmed himself off as the king. + +SOLOMON AS BEGGAR + +Banished from his home, deprived of his realm, Solomon wandered about +in far-off lands, among strangers, begging his daily bread. Nor did his +humiliation end there; people thought him a lunatic, because he never +tired of assuring them that he was Solomon, Judah's great and mighty +king. Naturally that seemed a preposterous claim to the people. (86) +The lowest depth of despair he reached, however, when he met some one +who recognized him. The recollections and associations that stirred +within him then made his present misery almost unendurable. + +It happened (87) that once on his peregrinations he met an old +acquaintance, a rich and well-considered man, who gave a sumptuous +banquet in honor of Solomon. At the meal his host spoke to Solomon +constantly of the magnificence and splendor he had once seen with his +own eyes at the court of the king. These reminiscences moved the king +to tears, and he wept so bitterly that, when he rose from the banquet, +he was satiated, not with the rich food, but with salt tears. The +following day it again happened that Solomon met an acquaintance of +former days, this time a poor man, who nevertheless entreated Solomon +to do him the honor and break bread under his roof. All that the poor +man could offer his distinguished guest was a meagre dish of greens. +But he tried in every way to assuage the grief that oppressed Solomon. +He said: "O my lord and king, God hath sworn unto David He would never +let the royal dignity depart from his house, but it is the way of God +to reprove those He loves if they sin. Rest assured, He will restore +thee in good time to thy kingdom." These words of his poor host were +more grateful to Solomon's bruised heart than the banquet the rich man +had prepared for him. It was to the contrast between the consolations +of the two men that he applied the verse in Proverbs: "Better is a +dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." + +For three long years Solomon journeyed about, begging his way from city +to city, and from country to country, atoning for the three (88) sins +of his life by which he had set aside the commandment laid upon kings +in Deuteronomy not to multiply horses, and wives, and silver and +gold. At the end of that time, God took mercy upon him for the sake of +his father David, and for the sake of the pious princess Naamah, the +daughter of the Ammonite king, destined by God to be the ancestress of +the Messiah. The time was approaching when she was to become the wife +of Solomon (89) and reign as queen in Jerusalem. God therefore led the +royal wanderer to the capital city of Ammon. (90) Solomon took service +as an underling with the cook in the royal household, and he proved +himself so proficient in the culinary art that the king of Ammon raised +him to the post of chief cook. Thus he came under the notice of the +king's daughter Naamah, who fell in love with her father's cook. In +vain her parents endeavored to persuade her to choose a husband +befitting her rank. Not even the king's threat to have her and her +beloved executed availed to turn her thoughts away from Solomon. The +Ammonite king had the lovers taken to a barren desert, in the hope that +they would die of starvation there. Solomon and his wife wandered +through the desert until they came to a city situated by the sea-shore. +They purchased a fish to stave off death. When Naamah prepared the +fish, she found in its belly the magic ring belonging to her husband, +which he had given to Asmodeus, and which, thrown into the sea by the +demon, had been swallowed by a fish. Solomon recognized his ring, put +it on his finger, and in the twinkling of an eye he transported himself +to Jerusalem. Asmodeus, who had been posing as King Solomon during the +three years, he drove out, and himself ascended the throne again. + +Later on he cited the king of Ammon before his tribunal, and called him +to account for the disappearance of the cook and the cook's wife, +accusing him of having killed them. The king of Ammon protested that he +had not killed, but only banished them. Then Solomon had the queen +appear, and to his great astonishment and still greater joy the king of +Ammon recognized his daughter. (91) + +Solomon succeeded in regaining his throne only after undergoing many +hardships. The people of Jerusalem considered him a lunatic, because he +said that he was Solomon. After some time, the members of the Sanhedrin +noticed his peculiar behavior, and they investigated the matter. They +found that a long time had passed since Benaiah, the confidant of the +king, had been permitted to enter the presence of the usurper. +Furthermore the wives of Solomon and his mother Bath-sheba informed +them that the behavior of the king had completely changed it was not +befitting royalty and in no respect like Solomon's former manner. It +was also very strange that the king never by any chance allowed his +foot to be seen, for fear, of course, of betraying his demon origin. +(92) The Sanhedrin, therefore, gave the king's magic ring to the +wandering beggar who called himself King Solomon, and had him appear +before the pretender on the throne. As soon as Asmodeus caught sight of +the true king protected by his magic ring, he flew away precipitately. + +Solomon did not escape unscathed. The sight of Asmodeus in all his +forbidding ugliness had so terrified him that henceforth he surrounded +his couch at night with all the valiant heroes among the people. (93) + +THE COURT OF SOLOMON + +As David had been surrounded by great scholars and heroes of repute, so +the court of Solomon was the gathering-place of the great of his +people. The most important of them all doubtless was Benaiah the son of +Jehoiada, who had no peer for learning and piety either in the time of +the first or the second Temple. (94) In his capacity as the chancellor +of Solomon, he was the object of the king's special favor. He was +frequently invited to be the companion of the king in his games of +chess. The wise king naturally was always the winner. One day Solomon +left the chess-board for a moment, Benaiah used his absence to remove +one of the king's chess-men, and the king lost the game. Solomon gave +much thought to the occurrence. He came to the conclusion that his +chancellor had dealt dishonestly with him, and he was determined to +give him a lesson. + +Some days later Solomon noticed two suspicious characters hanging about +the palace. Acting at once upon an idea that occurred to him, he put on +the clothes of one of his servants and joined the two suspects. The +three of them, he proposed, should make the attempt to rob the royal +palace, and he drew forth a key which would facilitate their entrance. +While the thieves were occupied in gathering booty, the king roused his +servants, and the malefactors were taken into custody. Next morning +Solomon appeared before the Sanhedrin, which was presided over by +Benaiah (95) at the time, and he desired to know from the court what +punishment was meted out to a thief. Benaiah, seeing no delinquents +before him, and unwilling to believe that the king would concern +himself about the apprehension of thieves, was convinced that Solomon +was bent on punishing him for his dishonest play. He fell at the feet +of the king, confessed his guilt, and begged his pardon. Solomon was +pleased to have his supposition confirmed, and also to have Benaiah +acknowledge his wrong-doing. he assured him he harbored no evil designs +against him, and that when he asked this question of the Sanhedrin, he +had had real thieves in mind, who had broken into the palace during the +night. (96) + +Another interesting incident happened, in which Benaiah played a part. +The king of Persia was very ill, and his physician told him he could be +cured by nothing but the milk of a lioness. The king accordingly sent a +deputation bearing rich presents to Solomon, the only being in the +world who might in his wisdom discover means to obtain lion's milk. +Solomon charged Benaiah to fulfil the Persian king's wish. Benaiah took +a number of kids, and repaired to a lion's den. Daily he threw a kid to +the lioness, and after some time the beasts became familiar with him, +and finally he could approach the lioness close enough to draw milk +from her udders. + +On the way back to the Persian king the physician who had recommended +the milk cure dreamed a dream. All the organs of his body, his hands, +feet, eyes, mouth, and tongue, were quarrelling with one another, each +claiming the greatest share of credit in procuring the remedy for the +Persian monarch. When the tongue set forth its own contribution to the +cause of the king's service, the other organs rejected its claim as +totally unfounded. The physician did not forget the dream, and when he +appeared before the king, he spoke: "Here is the dog's milk which we +went to fetch for you." The king, enraged, ordered the physician to be +hanged, because he had brought the milk of a bitch instead of the milk +of a lion's dam. During the preliminaries to the execution, all the +limbs and organs of the physician began to tremble, whereupon the +tongue said: "Did I not tell you that you all are of no good? If you +will acknowledge my superiority, I shall even now save you from death." +They all made the admission it demanded, and the physician requested +the executioner to take him to the king. Once in the presence of his +master, he begged him as a special favor to drink of the milk he had +brought. The king granted his wish, recovered from his sickness, and +dismissed the physician in peace. So it came about that all the organs +of the body acknowledge the supremacy of the tongue. (97) + +Besides Benaiah, Solomon's two scribes, Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons +of Shisha, deserve mention. They both met their death in a most +peculiar way. Solomon once upon a time noticed a care-worn expression +on the countenance of the Angel of Death. When he asked the reason, he +received the answer, that he had been charged with the task of bringing +the two scribes to the next world. Solomon was desirous of stealing a +march upon the Angel of Death, as well as keeping his secretaries +alive. He ordered the demons to carry Elihoreph and Ahijah to Luz, the +only spot on earth in which the Angel of Death has no power. (98) In a +jiffy, the demons had done his bidding, but the two secretaries expired +at the very moment of reaching the gates of Luz. Next day, the Angel of +Death appeared before Solomon in very good humor, and said to him: +"Thou didst transport those two men to the very spot in which I wanted +them." The fate destined for them was to die at the gates of Luz, and +the Angel of Death had been at a loss how to get them there. (99) + +A most interesting incident in Solomon's own family circle is connected +with one of his daughters. She was of extraordinary beauty, and in the +stars he read that she was to marry an extremely poor youth. To prevent +the undesirable union, Solomon had a high tower erected in the sea, and +to this he sent his daughter. Seventy eunuchs were to guard her, and a +huge quantity of food was stored in the tower for her use. + +The poor youth whom fate had appointed to be her husband was travelling +one cold night. He did not know where to rest his head, when he espied +the rent carcass of an ox lying in the field. In this he lay down to +keep warm. When he was ensconced in it, there came a large bird, which +took the carcass, bore it, together with the youth stretched out in it, +to the roof of the tower in which the princess lived, and, settling +down there, began to devour the flesh of the ox. In the morning, the +princess, according to her wont, ascended to the roof to look out upon +the sea, and she caught sight of the youth. She asked him who he was, +and who had brought him thither? He told her that he was a Jew from +Accho, and had been carried to the tower by a bird. She showed him to a +chamber, where he could wash and anoint himself, and array himself in a +fresh garb. Then it appeared that he possessed unusual beauty. Besides, +he was a scholar of great attainments and of acute mind. So it came +about that the princess fell in love with him. She asked him whether he +would have her to wife, and he assented gladly. He opened one of his +veins, and wrote the marriage contract with his own blood. Then he +pronounced the formula of betrothal, taking God and the two archangels +Michael and Gabriel as witnesses, and she became his wife, legally +married to him. + +After some time the eunuchs noticed that she was pregnant. Their +questions elicited the suspected truth from the princess, and they sent +for Solomon. His daughter admitted her marriage, and the king, though +he recognized in her husband the poor man predicted in the +constellations, yet he thanked God for his son-in-law, distinguished no +less for learning than for his handsome person. (100) + + + + +VI. +JUDAH AND ISRAEL + +THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM + +The division of the kingdom into Judah and Israel, which took place +soon after the death of Solomon, had cast its shadow before. When +Solomon, on the day after his marriage with the Egyptian princess, +disturbed the regular course of the Temple service by sleeping late +with his head on the pillow under which lay the key of the Temple, +Jeroboam with eighty thousand Ephraimites approached the king and +publicly called him to account for is negligence. God administered a +reproof to Jeroboam; "Why dost thou reproach a prince of Israel? As +thou livest, thou shalt have a taste of his rulership, and thou wilt +see thou are not equal to its responsibilities." (1) + +On another occasion a clash occurred between Jeroboam and Solomon. The +latter ordered his men to close the openings David had made in the city +wall to facilitate the approach of the pilgrims to Jerusalem. This +forced them all the walk through the gates and pay toll. The tax thus +collected Solomon gave to his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh, as +pin-money. Indignant at this, Jeroboam questioned the king about it in +public. In other ways, too, he failed to pay Solomon the respect due to +royal position, as his father before him, Sheba the son of Bichri, had +rebelled against David, misled by signs and tokens which he had falsely +interpreted as pointing to his own elevation to royal dignity, when in +reality they concerned themselves with his son. (2) + +It was when Jeroboam was preparing to depart from Jerusalem forever, in +order to escape the dangers to which Solomon's displeasure exposed him, +(3) that Ahijah of Shilo met him with the Divine tidings of his +elevation to the kingship. The prophet Ahijah, of the tribe of Levi, +was venerable, not only by reason of his hoary age, his birth +occurred at least sixty years before the exodus from Egypt, (4) but +because his piety was so profound that a saint of the exalted standing +of Simon ben Yohai associated Ahijah with himself. Simon once +exclaimed: "My merits and Ahijah together suffice to atone for the +iniquity of all sinners from the time of Abraham until the advent of +the Messiah." (5) + +JEROBOAM + +Jeroboam was the true disciple (6) of this great prophet, His doctrine +was as pure as the new garment Ahijah wore when he met Jeroboam near +Jerusalem, and his learning exceeded that of all the scholars of his +time except his own teacher Ahijah alone. The prophet was in the habit +of discussing secret love with Jeroboam and subjects in the Torah whose +existence was wholly unknown to others. (7) + +Had Jeroboam proved himself worthy of his high position, the length of +his reign would have equalled David's. (8) It was his pride that led +him into destruction. He set up the golden calves as objects to be +worshipped by the people, in order to wean them from their habit of +going on pilgrimages to Jerusalem. He knew that in the Temple only +members of the royal house of David were privileged to sit down. No +exception would be made in favor of Jeroboam, and so he would have to +stand while Rehoboam would be seated. Rather than appear in public as +the subordinate of the Judean king, he introduced the worship of idols, +which secured him full royal prerogatives. + +In the execution of his plan he proceeded with great cunning, and his +reputation as a profound scholar and pious saint stood him in good +stead. This was his method: He seated an impious man next to a pious +man, and then said to each couple: "Will you put your signature to +anything I intend to do?" The two would give an affirmative answer. "Do +you want me as king?" he would then ask, only to receive and +affirmative answer again. "And you will do whatever I order?" he +continued. "Yes," was the reply. "I am to infer, then, that you will +even pay worship to idols if I command it?" said Jeroboam. "God forbid +!" the pious member of the couple would exclaim, whereupon his impious +companion, who was in league with the king, would turn upon him: "Canst +thou really suppose for an instant that a man like Jeroboam would serve +idols? He only wishes to put our loyalty to the test." Through such +machinations he succeeded in obtaining the signatures of the most +pious, even the signature of the prophet Ahijah. Now Jeroboam had the +people is his power. He could exact the vilest deeds from them. (9) + +So entrenched, Jeroboam brought about the division between Judah and +Israel, a consummation which his father, Sheba the son of Bichri, had +not been able to compass under David, because God desired to have the +Temple erected before the split occurred. (10) Not yet satisfied, +Jeroboam sought to involve the Ten Tribes in a war against Judah and +Jerusalem. But the people of the northern kingdom refused to enter into +hostilities with their brethren, and with the ruler of their brethren, +a descendant of David. Jeroboam appealed to the elders of the +Israelites, and they referred him to the Danites, the most efficient of +their warriors; but they swore by the head of Dan, the ancestor of +their tribe, that they would never consent to shed blood of their +brethren. They were even on the point of rising against Jeroboam, and +the clash between them and the followers of Jeroboam was prevented only +because God prompted the Danites to leave Palestine. + +Their first plan was to journey to Egypt and take possession of the +land. They gave it up when their princes reminded them of the Biblical +prohibition (11) against dwelling in Egypt. Likewise they were +restrained from attacking the Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites, for +the Torah commands considerate treatment of them. Finally they decided +to go to Egypt, but not to stay there, only to pass through to +Ethiopia. The Egyptians were in great terror of the Danites, and their +hardiest warriors occupied the roads travelled by them. Arrived in +Ethiopia, the Danites slew a part of the population, and exacted +tribute from the rest. (12) + +The departure of the Danites relieved Judah from the apprehended +invasion by Jeroboam, but danger arose from another quarter. Shishak, +(13) the ruler of Egypt, who was the father-in-law of Solomon, came to +Jerusalem and demanded his daughter's jointure. He carried off the +throne of Solomon, (14) and also the treasure which the Israelites had +taken from the Egyptians at the time of the exodus. So the Egyptian +money returned to its source. (15) + +THE TWO ABIJAHS + +Jeroboam did not entirely forego his plan of a campaign against Judah, +but it was not executed until Abijah had succeeded his father Rehoboam +on the throne of Jerusalem. The Judean king was victorious. However, he +could not long enjoy the fruits of his victory. Shortly after occurred +his death, brought on by his own crimes. In his war against Jeroboam he +had indulged in excessive cruelty; he ordered the corpses of the enemy +to be mutilated, and permitted them to be buried only after +putrefaction had set in. Such savagery was all the more execrable as it +prevented many widows from entering into a second marriage. Mutilating +the corpses had made identification impossible, and so it was left +doubtful whether their husbands were among the dead. + +Moreover, Abijah used most disrespectful language about the prophet +Abijah the Shilonite; he called him a "son of Belial" in his address to +the people on Mount Zemaraim. That in itself merited severe punishment. +Finally, his zeal for true worship of God, which Abijah had urged as +the reason of the war between himself and Jeroboam, cooled quickly. +When he obtained possession of Beth-el, he failed to do away with the +golden calves. (16) + +In this respect his namesake, the Israelitish king Abijah, the son of +Jeroboam, was by far his superior. By removing the guards stationed at +the frontier, he bade defiance to the command of his father, who had +decreed the death penalty for pilgrimages to Jerusalem. More than this, +he himself ventured to go up to Jerusalem in fulfilment of his +religious duty. (17) + +ASA + +Asa, the son of Abijah of Judah, was a worthier and a more pious ruler +than his father had been. He did away with the gross worship of +Priapus, (18) to which his mother was devoted. To reward him for his +piety, God gave him the victory over Zerah, the king of the Ethiopians. +As a result of this victory he came again into possession of the throne +of Solomon and of the treasures Shishak had taken from his grandfather, +which Zerah in turn had wrested form Shishak. (19) Asa himself did not +long keep them. Baasha, the king of Israel, together with Ben-hadad, +the Aramean king, attacked Asa, who tried to propitiate Ben-hadad by +giving him his lately re-acquired treasures. (20) The prophet justly +rebuked him for trusting in princes rather than in God, and that in +spite of the fact that Divine help had been visible in his conflicts +with the Ethiopians and the Lubim; for there had been no need for him +to engage in battle with them; in response to his mere prayer God had +slain the enemy. (21) In general, Asa showed little confidence in God; +he rather trusted his own skill. Accordingly, he made even the scholars +of his realm enlist in the army sent out against Baasha. He was +punished by being afflicted with gout, he of all men, who was +distinguished on account of the strength residing in his feet. (22) +Furthermore, the division between Judah and Israel was made permanent, +though God had at first intended to limit the exclusion of David's +house from Israel to only thirty-six years. Had Asa shown himself +deserving, he would have been accorded dominion over the whole of +Israel. (23) In point of fact, Asa, through his connection by marriage +with the house of Omri, contributed to the stability of the Israelitish +dynasty, for as a result of the support given by the southern ruler +Omri succeeded in putting his rival Tibni out of the way. Then it was +that God resolved that the descendants of Asa should perish +simultaneously with the descendants of Omri. This doom was accomplished +when Jehu killed the king of Judah on account of his friendship and +kinship with Joram the king of Samaria. (24) + +JEHOSHAPHAT AND AHAB + +The successors of Omri and Asa, each in his way, were worthy of their +fathers. Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, was very wealthy. The treasures +which his father had sent to the Aramean ruler reverted to him in +consequence of his victory over the Ammonites, themselves the +conquerors of the Arameans, whom they had despoiled of their +possessions. (25) His power was exceedingly great; each division of his +army counted no less than one hundred and sixty thousand warriors. (26) +Yet rich and powerful as he was, he was so modest that he refused to +don his royal apparel when he went to the house of the prophet Elisha +to consult him; he appeared before him in the attire of one of the +people. (27) Unlike his father, who had little consideration for +scholars, Jehoshaphat was particularly gracious toward them. When a +scholar appeared before him, he arose, hastened to meet him, and +kissing and embracing him, greeted him with "Rabbi, Rabbi!" (28) + +Jehoshaphat concerned himself greatly about the purity and +sanctification of the Temple. He was the author of the ordinance +forbidding any one to ascend the Temple mount whose term of uncleanness +had not expired, even though he had taken the ritual bath. (29) His +implicit trust in God made him a complete contrast to his skeptical +father. He turned to God and implored His help when to human reason +help seemed an utter impossibility. In the war with the Arameans, an +enemy held his sword at Jehoshaphat's very throat, ready to deal the +fatal blow, but the king entreated help of God, and it was granted. +(30) + +In power and wealth, Ahab, king of Samaria, outstripped his friend +Jehoshaphat, for Ahab is one of that small number of kings who have +ruled over the whole world. (31) No less than two hundred and fifty-two +kingdoms acknowledged his dominion. (32) As for his wealth, it was so +abundant that each of his hundred and forty children possessed several +ivory palaces, summer and winter residences. (33) But what gives Ahab +his prominence among the Jewish kings is neither his power nor his +wealth, but his sinful conduct. For him the gravest transgressions +committed by Jeroboam were slight peccadilloes. At his order the gates +of Samaria bore the inscription: "Ahab denies the God of Israel." He +was so devoted to idolatry, to which he was led astray by his wife +Jezebel, that the fields of Palestine were full of idols. But he was +not wholly wicked, he possessed some good qualities. He was liberal +toward scholars, and he showed great reverence for the Torah, which he +studied zealously. When Ben-hadad exacted all he possessed his +wealth, his wives, his children he acceded to his demands regarding +everything except the Torah; that he refused peremptorily to surrender. +(34) In the war that followed between himself and the Syrians, he was +so indignant at the presumptuousness of the Aramean upstart that he +himself saddled his warhorse for the battle. His zeal was rewarded by +God; he gained a brilliant victory in a battle in which no less than a +hundred thousand of the Syrians were slain, as the prophet Micaiah had +foretold to him. (35) The same seer (36) admonished him not to deal +gently with Ben-hadad. God's word to him had been: "Know that I had to +set many a pitfall and trap to deliver him into thy hand. If thou +lettest him escape, thy life will be forfeit for his." (37) + +Nevertheless the disastrous end of Ahab is not to be ascribed to his +disregard of the prophet's warning for he finally liberated +Ben-hahad, but chiefly to the murder of his kinsman Naboth, whose +execution on the charge of treason he had ordered, so that he might put +himself in possession of Naboth's wealth. (38) His victim was a pious +man, and in the habit of going on pilgrimages to Jerusalem on the +festivals. As he was a great singer, his presence in the Holy City +attracted many other pilgrims thither. Once Naboth failed to go on his +customary pilgrimage. Then it was that his false conviction took place + a very severe punishment for the transgression, but not wholly +unjustifiable. (39) Under Jehoshaphat's influence and counsel, Ahab did +penance for his crime, and the punishment God meted out to him was +thereby mitigated to the extent that his dynasty was not cut off from +the throne at this death. (40) In the heavenly court of justice, (41) +at Ahab's trial, the accusing witnesses and his defenders exactly +balanced each other in number and statements, until the spirit of +Naboth appeared and turned the scale against Ahab. The spirit of Naboth +it had been, too, that had let astray the prophets of Ahab, making them +all use the very same words in prophesying a victory at Ramothgilead. +This literal unanimity aroused Jehoshaphat's suspicion, and caused him +to ask for "a prophet of the Lord," for the rule is: "The same thought +is revealed to many prophets, but no two prophets express it in the +same words." (42) Jehoshaphat's mistrust was justified by the issue of +war. Ahab was slain in a miraculous way by Naaman, at the time only a +common soldier of the rank and file. God permitted Naaman's missile to +penetrate Ahab's armor, though the latter was harder than the former. +(43) + +The mourning for Ahab was so great that the memory of it reached +posterity. (44) The funeral procession was unusually impressive; no +less than thirty-six thousand warriors, their shoulders bared, marched +before his bier. (45) Ahab is one of the few in Israel who have no +portion in the world to come. (46) He dwells in the fifth division of +the nether world, which is under the supervision of the angel Oniel. +However, he is exempt from the tortures inflicted upon his heathen +associates. (47) + +JEZEBEL + +Wicked as Ahab was, his wife Jezebel was incomparably worse. Indeed, +she is in great part the cause of his suffering, and Ahab realized it. +Once Rabbi Levi expounded the Scriptural verse in which the iniquity of +Ahab and the influence of his wife over him are discussed, dwelling +upon the first half for two months. Ahab visited him in a dream, and +reproached him with expatiating on the first half of the verse to the +exclusion of the latter half. Thereupon the Rabbi took the second half +of the verse as the text of his lectures for the next two months, +demonstrating all the time that Jezebel was the instigator of Ahab's +sins. (48) Her misdeed are told in the Scriptures. To those there +recounted must be added her practice of attaching unchaste images to +Ahab's chariot for the purpose of stimulating his carnal desires. +Therefore those parts of his chariot were spattered with his blood when +he fell at the hand of the enemy. (49) She had her husband weighed +every day, and the increase of his weight in gold she sacrificed to the +idol. (50) Jezebel was not only the daughter and the wife of a king, +she was also co-regent with her husband, the only reigning queen in +Jewish history except Athaliah. (51) + +Hardened sinner though Jezebel was, even she had good qualities. One of +them was her capacity for sympathy with others in joy and sorrow. +Whenever a funeral cortege passed the royal palace, Jezebel would +descend and join the ranks of the mourners, and, also, when a marriage +procession went by, she took part in the merry-making in honor of the +bridal couple. By way of reward the limbs and organs with which she had +executed these good deeds were left intact by the horses that trampled +her to death in the portion of Jezreel. (52) + +JORAM OF ISRAEL + +Of Joram, the son of Ahab, it can only be said that he had his father's +faults without his father's virtues. Ahab was liberal, Joram miserly, +nay, he even indulged in usurious practices. From Obadiah, the pious +protector of the prophets in hiding, he exacted a high rate of interest +on the money needed for their support. As a consequence, at his death +he fell pierced between his arms, the arrow going out at his heart, for +he had stretched out his arms to receive usury, and had hardened his +heart against compassion. (53) In his reign only one event deserves +mention, his campaign against Moab, undertaken in alliance with the +kings of Judah and Edom, and ending with a splendid victory won by the +allied kings. Joram and his people, it need hardly be said, failed to +derive the proper lesson from the war. Their disobedience to God's +commands went on as before. The king of Moab, on the other hand, in his +way sought to come nearer to God. He assembled his astrologers and +inquired of them, why it was that the Moabites, successful in their +warlike enterprises against other nations, could not measure up to the +standard of the Israelites. They explained that God was gracious to +Israel, because his ancestor Abraham had been ready to sacrifice Isaac +at His bidding. Then the Moabite king reasoned, that if God set so high +a value upon mere good intention, how much greater would be the reward +for its actual execution, and he, who ordinarily was a sun worshipper, +proceeded to sacrifice his son, the successor to the throne, to the God +of Israel. God said: "The heathen do not know Me, and their wrong-doing +arises from ignorance; but you, Israelites, know Me, and yet you act +rebelliously toward Me." (54) + +As a result of the seven years' famine, conditions in Samaria were +frightful during the great part of Joram's reign. In the first year +everything stored in the houses was eaten up. In the second, the people +supported themselves with what they could scrape together in the +fields. The flesh of the clean animals sufficed for the third year; in +the fourth the sufferers resorted to the unclean animals; in the fifth, +the reptiles and insects; and in the sixth the monstrous thing happened +that women crazed by hunger consumed their own children as food. But +the acme of distress was reached in the seventh year, when men sought +to gnaw the flesh from their own bones. (55) To these occurrences the +prophecies of Joel apply, for he lived in the awful days of the famine +in Joram's reign. + +Luckily, God revealed to Joel at the same time how Israel would be +rescued from the famine. The winter following the seven years of dearth +brought no relief, for the rain held back until the first day of the +month of Nisan. When it began to fall, the prophet said to the people, +"Go forth and sow seed!" But they remonstrated with him, "Shall one who +hath saved a measure of wheat or two measures of barely not use his +store for food and live, rather than for seed and die?" But the prophet +urged them, "Nay, go forth and sow seed." And a miracle happened. In +the ant hills and mouse holes, they found enough grain for seed, and +they cast it upon the ground on the second, the third, and the fourth +day of Nisan. On the fifth day of the month rain fell again. Eleven +days later the grain was ripe, and the offering of the 'Omer could be +brought at the appointed time, on the sixteenth of the month. Of this +the Psalmist was thinking when he said, "They that sow in tears shall +reap in joy." (56) + + + + +VII. +ELIJAH + +ELIJAH BEFORE HIS TRANSLATION + +The Biblical account of the prophet Elijah, (1) of his life and work +during the reigns of Ahab and his son Joram, gives but a faint idea of +a personage whose history begins with Israel's sojourn in Egypt, and +will end only when Israel, under the leadership of the Messiah, shall +have taken up his abode again in Palestine. + +The Scripture tells us only the name of Elijah's home, (2) but it must +be added that he was a priest, identical with Phinehas, (3) the priest +zealous for the honor of God, who distinguished himself on the journey +through the desert, and played a prominent role again in the time of +the Judges. (4) + +Elijah's first appearance in the period of the Kings was his meeting +with Ahab in the house of Hiel, the Beth-elite, the commander-in-chief +of the Israelitish army, whom he was visiting to condole with him for +the loss of his sons. God Himself had charged the prophet to offer +sympathy to Hiel, whose position demanded that honor be paid him. +Elijah at first refused to seek out the sinner who had violated the +Divine injunction against rebuilding Jericho, for he said that the +blasphemous talk of such evil-doers always called forth his rage. +Thereupon God promised Elijah that fulfilment should attend whatever +imprecation might in his wrath escape him against the godless for their +unholy speech. As the prophet entered the general's house, he heard +Hiel utter these words: "Blessed be the Lord God of the pious, who +grants fulfilment to the words of the pious." Hiel thus acknowledged +that he had been justly afflicted with Joshua's curse against him who +should rebuild Jericho. + +Ahab mockingly asked him: "Was not Moses greater than Joshua, and did +he not say that God would let no rain descend upon the earth, if Israel +served and worshipped idols? There is not an idol known to which I do +not pay homage, yet we enjoy all that is goodly and desirable. Dost +thou believe that if the words of Moses remain unfulfilled, the words +of Joshua will come true?" Elijah rejoined: "Be it as thou sayest: 'As +the Lord, the God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall +not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.'" In +pursuance of His promise, God could not but execute the words of +Elijah, and neither dew nor rain watered the land. (5) + +A famine ensued, and Ahab sought to wreak his vengeance upon the +prophet. To escape the king's persecutions, Elijah hid himself. He was +sustained with food brought from the larder of the pious king +Jehoshaphat by ravens, (6) which at the same time would not approach +near to the house of the iniquitous Ahab. (7) + +God, who has compassion even upon the impious, tried to induce the +prophet to release Him from His promise. To influence him He made the +brook run dry (8) whence Elijah drew water for his thirst. As this +failed to soften the inflexible prophet, God resorted to the expedient +of causing him pain through the death of the son of the widow with whom +Elijah was abiding, and by whom he had been received with great honor. +When her son, who was later to be known as the prophet Jonah, (9) died, +she thought God had formerly been gracious to her on account of her +great worthiness as compared with the merits of her neighbors and of +the inhabitants of the city, and now He had abandoned her, because her +virtues had become as naught in the presence of the great prophet. (10) +In his distress Elijah supplicated God to revive the child. (11) Now +God had the prophet in His power. He could give heed unto Elijah's +prayer only provided the prophet released Him from the promise about a +drought, for resuscitation from death is brought about by means of dew, +and this remedy was precluded so long as Elijah kept God to His word +withholding dew and rain from the earth. (12) Elijah saw there was +nothing for it but to yield. However, he first betook himself to Ahab +with the purpose of overcoming the obduracy of the people, upon whom +the famine had made no impression. Manifest wonders displayed before +their eyes were to teach them wisdom. The combat between God and Baal +took place on Carmel. The mount that had esteemed itself the proper +place for the greatest event in Israelitish history, the revelation of +the law, was compensated, by the many miracles now performed upon it, +for its disappointment at Sinai's having been preferred to it. (13) + +The first wonder occurred in connection with the choice of the +bullocks. According to Elijah's arrangement with Ahab, one was to be +sacrificed to God, and then one to Baal. A pair to twins, raised +together, were brought before the contestants, and it was decided by +lot which belonged to God and which to Baal. Elijah had no difficulty +with his offering; quickly he led it to his altar. But all the priests +of Baal, eight hundred and fifty in number, could not make their victim +stir a foot. When Elijah began to speak persuasively to the bullock of +Baal, urging it to follow the idolatrous priests, it opened its mouth +and said: "We two, yonder bullock and myself, came forth from the same +womb, we took our food from the same manger, and now he has been +destined for God, as an instrument for the glorification of the Divine +Name, while I am to be used for Baal, as an instrument to enrage my +Creator." Elijah urged: "Do thou but follow the priests of Baal that +they may have no excuse, and then thou wilt have a share in that +glorification of God for which my bullock will be used." The bullock: +"So dost thou advise, but I swear I will not move from the spot, unless +thou with thine own hands wilt deliver me up." Elijah thereupon led the +bullock to the priests of Baal. (14) + +In spite of this miracle, the priests sought to deceive the people. +They undermined the altar, and Hiel hid himself under it with the +purpose of igniting a fire at the mention of the word Baal. But God +sent a serpent to kill him. (15) In vain the false priests cried and +called, Baal! Baal! the expected flame did not shoot up. To add to +the confusion of the idolaters, God had imposed silence upon the whole +world. The powers of the upper and of the nether regions were dumb, the +universe seemed deserted and desolate, as if without a living creature. +If a single sound had made itself heard, the priests would have said, +"It is the voice of Baal." (16) + +That all preparations might be completed in one day, the erection of +the altar, the digging of the trench, and whatever else was necessary, + Elijah commanded the sun to stand still. "For Joshua," he said, "thou +didst stand still that Israel might conquer his enemies; now stand thou +still, neither for my sake, nor for the sake of Israel, but that the +Name of God may be exalted." And the sun obeyed his words. (17) + +Toward evening Elijah summoned his disciple Elisha, and bade him pour +water over his hands. A miracle happened. Water flowed out from +Elijah's fingers until the whole trench was filled. (18) Then the +prophet prayed to God to let fire descend, but in such wise that the +people would know it to be a wonder from heaven, and not think it a +magician's trick. (19) He spoke: "Lord of the world, Thou wilt send me +as a messenger 'at the end of time,' but if my words do not meet with +fulfilment now, the Jews cannot be expected to believe me in the latter +days." (20) His pleading was heard on high, and fire fell from heaven +upon the altar, a fire that not only consumed what it touched, but also +licked up the water. (21) Nor was that all; his prayer for rain was +also granted. Scarcely had these words dropped from his lips, "Though +we have no other merits, yet remember the sign of the covenant which +the Israelites bear upon their bodies," when the rain fell to earth. +(22) + +In spite of all these miracles, the people persisted in their +idolatrous ways and thoughts. Even the seven thousand who had not bowed +down unto Baal were unworthy sons of Israel, for they paid homage to +the golden calves of Jeroboam. (23) + +The misdeeds of the people had swelled to such number that they could +no longer reckon upon "the merits of the fathers" to intercede for +them; they had overdrawn their account. (24) When they sank to the +point of degradation at which they gave up the sign of the covenant, +Elijah could control his wrath no longer, and he accused Israel before +God. (25) In the cleft of the rock in which God had once aforetimes +appeared to Moses, and revealed Himself as compassionate and +long-suffering, He now met with Elijah, (26) and conveyed to him, by +various signs, that it had been better to defend Israel than accuse +him. But Elijah in his zeal for God was inexorable. Then God commanded +him to appoint Elisha as his successor, for He said: "I cannot do as +thou wouldst have me." (27) Furthermore God charged him: "Instead of +accusing My children, journey to Damascus, where the Gentiles have an +idol for each day of the year. Though Israel hath thrown down My altars +and slain My prophets, what concern is it of thine?" (28) + +The four phenomena that God sent before His appearance wind, (29) +earthquake, fire, and a still small voice were to instruct Elijah +about the destiny of man. God told Elijah that these four represent the +worlds through which man must pass: the first stands for this world, +fleeting as the wind; the earthquake is the day of death, which makes +the human body to tremble and quake; fire is the tribunal in Gehenna, +and the still small voice is the Last Judgment, when there will be none +but God alone. (30) + +About three years (31) later, Elijah was taken up into heaven, (32) but +not without first undergoing a struggle with the Angel of Death. He +refused to let Elijah enter heaven at his translation, on the ground +that he exercised jurisdiction over all mankind, Elijah not excepted. +God maintained that at the creation of heaven and earth He had +explicitly ordered the Angel of Death to grant entrance to the living +prophet, but the Angel of Death insisted that by Elijah's translation +God had given just cause for complaint to all other men, who could not +escape the doom of death. Thereupon God: "Elijah is not like other men. +He is able to banish thee from the world, only thou dost not recognize +his strength." With the consent of God, a combat took place between +Elijah and the Angel of Death. The prophet was victorious, and, if God +had not restrained him, he would have annihilated his opponent. Holding +his defeated enemy under his feet, Elijah ascended heavenward. (33) + +In heaven he goes on living for all time. (34) There he sits recording +the deeds of men (35) and the chronicles of the world. (36) He has +another office besides. He is the Psychopomp, whose duty is to stand at +the cross-ways in Paradise and guide the pious to their appointed +places; (37) who brings the souls of sinners up from Gehenna at the +approach of the Sabbath, and leads them back again to their merited +punishment when the day of rest is about to depart; and who conducts +these same souls, after they have atoned for their sins, to the place +of everlasting bliss. (38) + +Elijah's miraculous deeds will be better understood if we remember that +he had been an angel from the very first, even before the end of his +earthly career. When God was about to create man, Elijah said to Him: +"Master of the world! If it be pleasing in Thine eyes, I will descend +to earth, and make myself serviceable to the sons of men." Then God +changed his angel name, and later, under Ahab, He permitted him to +abide among men on earth, that he might convert the world to the belief +that "the Lord is God." His mission fulfilled, God took him again into +heaven, and said to him: "Be thou the guardian spirit of My children +forever, and spread the belief in Me abroad in the whole world." (39) + +His angel name is Sandalphon, (40) one of the greatest and mightiest of +the fiery angel host. As such it is his duty to wreathe garlands for +God out of the prayers sent aloft by Israel. (41) Besides, he must +offer up sacrifices in the invisible sanctuary, for the Temple was +destroyed only apparently; in reality, it went on existing, hidden from +the sight of ordinary mortals. (42) + +AFTER HIS TRANSLATION + +Elijah's removal from earth, so far being an interruption to his +relations with men, rather marks the beginning of his real activity as +a helper in time of need, as a teacher and as a guide. At first his +intervention in sublunar affairs was not frequent. Seven years after +his translation, (43) he wrote a letter to the wicked king Jehoram, who +reigned over Judah. The next occasion on which he took part in an +earthly occurrence was at the time of Ahasuerus, when he did the Jews a +good turn by assuming the guise of the courtier Harbonah, (44) in a +favorable moment inciting the king against Haman. (45) + +It was reserved for later days, however, for Talmudic times, the golden +age of the great scholars, the Tannaim and the Amoraim, to enjoy +Elijah's special vigilance as protector of the innocent, as a friend in +need, who hovers over the just and the pious, ever present to guard +them against evil or snatch them out of danger. With four strokes of +his wings Elijah can traverse the world. (46) Hence no spot on earth is +too far removed for his help. As an angel (47) he enjoys the power of +assuming the most various appearances to accomplish his purposes. +Sometimes he looks like an ordinary man, sometimes he takes the +appearance of an Arab, sometimes of a horseman, now he is a Roman +court-official, now he is a harlot. + +Once upon a time it happened that when Nahum, the great and pious +teacher, was journeying to Rome on a political mission, he was without +knowledge robbed of the gift he bore to the Emperor as an offering from +the Jews. When he handed the casket to the ruler, it was found to +contain common earth, which the thieves had substituted for the jewels +they had abstracted. The Emperor thought the Jews were mocking at him, +and their representative, Nahum, was condemned to suffer death. In his +piety the Rabbi did not lose confidence in God; he only said: "This too +is for good." (48) And so it turned out to be. Suddenly Elijah +appeared, and, assuming the guise of a court-official, he said: +"Perhaps the earth in this casket is like that used by Abraham for +purposes of war. A handful will do the work of swords and bows." At his +instance the virtues of the earth were tested in the attack upon a city +that had long resisted Roman courage and strength. His supposition was +verified. The contents of the casket proved more efficacious than all +the weapons of the army, and the Romans were victorious. Nahum was +dismissed, laden with honors and treasures, and the thieves, who had +betrayed themselves by claiming the precious earth, were executed, for, +naturally enough, Elijah works no wonder for evil-doers. (49) + +Another time, for the purpose of rescuing Rabbi Shila, Elijah pretended +to be a Persian. An informer had announced the Rabbi with the Persian +Government, accusing him of administering the law according to the +Jewish code. Elijah appeared as witness for the Rabbi and against the +informer, and Shila was honorably dismissed. (50) + +When the Roman bailiffs were pursuing Rabbi Meir, Elijah joined him in +the guise of a harlot. The Roman emissaries desisted from their +pursuit, for they could not believe that Rabbi Meir would choose such a +companion. (51) + +A contemporary of Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Simon ben Yohai, who spent thirteen +years in a cave to escape the vengeance of the Romans, was informed by +Elijah of the death of the Jew-baiting emperor, so that he could leave +his hiding-place. (52) + +Equally characteristic is the help Elijah afforded the worthy poor. +Frequently he brought them great wealth. Rabbi Kahana was so needy that +he had to support himself by peddling with household utensils. Once a +lady of high standing endeavored to force him to commit an immoral act, +and Kahana, preferring death to iniquity, threw himself from a loft. +Though Elijah was at a distance of four hundred parasangs, he hastened +to the post in time to catch the Rabbi before he touched the ground. +Besides, he gave him means enough to enable him to abandon an +occupation beset with perils. (53) + +Rabba bar Abbahu likewise was a victim of poverty. He admitted to +Elijah that on account of his small means he had no time to devote to +his studies. Thereupon Elijah led him into Paradise, bade him remove +his mantle, and fill it with leaves grown in the regions of the +blessed. When the Rabbi was about to quit Paradise, his garment full of +leaves, a voice was heard to say: "Who desires to anticipate his share +in the world to come during his earthly days, as Rabba bar Abbahu is +doing?" The Rabbi quickly cast the leaves away; nevertheless he +received twelve thousand denarii for his upper garment, because it +retained the wondrous fragrance of the leaves of Paradise. (54) + +Elijah's help was not confined to poor teachers of the law; all who +were in need, and were worthy of his assistance, had a claim upon him. +A poor man, the father of a family, in his distress once prayed to God: +"O Lord of the world, Thou knowest, there is none to whom I can tell my +tale of woe, none who will have pity upon me. I have neither brother +nor kinsman nor friend, and my starving little ones are crying with +hunger. Then do Thou have mercy and be compassionate, or let death come +and put an end to our suffering." His words found a hearing with God, +for, as he finished, Elijah stood before the poor man, and +sympathetically inquired why he was weeping. When the prophet had heard +the tale of his troubles, he said: "Take me and sell me as a slave; the +proceeds will suffice for thy needs." At first the poor man refused to +accept the sacrifice, but finally yielded, and Elijah was sold to a +prince for eighty denarii. This sum formed the nucleus of the fortune +which the poor man amassed and enjoyed until the end of his days. The +prince who had purchased Elijah intended to build a palace, and he +rejoiced to hear that his new slave was an architect. He promised +Elijah liberty if within six months he completed the edifice. After +nightfall of the same day, Elijah offered a prayer, and instantaneously +the palace stood in its place in complete perfection. Elijah +disappeared. The next morning the prince was not a little astonished to +see the palace finished. But when he sought his slave to reward him, +and sought him in vain, he realized that he had had dealings with an +angel. Elijah meantime repaired to the man who had sold him, and +related his story to him, that he might know he had not cheated the +purchaser out of his price; on the contrary, he had enriched him, since +the palace was worth a hundred times more than the money paid for the +pretended slave. (55) + +A similar thing happened to a well-to-do man who lost his fortune, and +became so poor that he had to do manual labor in the field of another. +Once, when he was at work, he was accosted by Elijah, who had assumed +the appearance of an Arab: "Thou art destined to enjoy seven good +years. When dost thou want them now, or as the closing years of thy +life?" The man replied: "Thou art a wizard; go in peace, I have nothing +for thee." Three times the same question was put, three times the same +reply was given. Finally the man said: "I shall ask the advice of my +wife." When Elijah came again, and repeated his question, the man, +following the counsel of his wife, said: "See to it that seven good +years come to us at once." Elijah replied: "Go home. Before thou +crossest thy threshold, thy good fortune will have filled thy house." +And so it was. His children had found a treasure in the ground, and, as +he was about to enter his house, his wife met him and reported the +lucky find. His wife was an estimable, pious woman, and she said to her +husband: "We shall enjoy seven good years. Let us use this time to +practice as much charity as possible; perhaps God will lengthen out our +period of prosperity." After the lapse of seven years, during which man +and wife used every opportunity of doing good, Elijah appeared again, +and announced to the man that the time had come to take away what he +had given him. The man responded: "When I accepted thy gift, it was +after consultation with my wife. I should not like to return it without +first acquainting her with what is about to happen." His wife charged +him to say to the old man who had come to resume possession of his +property: "If thou canst find any who will be more conscientious +stewards of the pledges entrusted to us than we have been, I shall +willingly yield them up to thee." God recognized that these people had +made a proper use of their wealth, and He granted it to them as a +perpetual possession. (56) + +If Elijah was not able to lighten the poverty of the pious, he at least +sought to inspire them with hope and confidence. Rabbi Akiba, the great +scholar, lived in dire poverty before he became the famous Rabbi. His +rich father-in-law would have nothing to do with him or his wife, +because the daughter had married Akiba against her father's will. On a +bitter cold winter night, Akiba could offer his wife, who had been +accustomed to the luxuries wealth can buy, nothing but straw as a bed +to sleep upon, and he tried to comfort her with assurances of his love +for the privations she was suffering. At that moment Elijah appeared +before their hut, and cried out in supplicating tones: "O good people, +give me, I pray you, a little bundle of straw. My wife has been +delivered of a child, and I am so poor I haven't even enough straw to +make a bed for her." Now Abika could console his wife with the fact +that their own misery was not so great as it might have been, and thus +Elijah had attained his end, to sustain the courage of the pious. (57) + +In the form of an Arab, he once appeared before a very poor man, whose +piety equalled his poverty. He gave him two shekels. These two coins +brought him such good fortune that he attained great wealth. But in his +zeal to gather worldly treasures, he had no time for deeds of piety and +charity. Elijah again appeared before him and took away the two +shekels. In a short time the man was as poor as before. A third time +Elijah came to him. He was crying bitterly and complaining of his +misfortune, and the prophet said: "I shall make thee rich once more, if +thou wilt promise me under oath thou wilt not let wealth ruin they +character." He promised, the two shekels were restored to him, he +regained his wealth, and he remained in possession of it for all time, +because his piety was not curtailed by his riches. (58) + +Poverty was not the only form of distress Elijah relieved. He exercised +the functions of a physician upon Rabbi Shimi bar Ashi, who had +swallowed a noxious reptile. Elijah appeared to him as an awe-inspiring +horseman, and forced him to apply the preventives against the disease +to be expected in these circumstances. + +He also cured Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi of long-continued toothache by laying +his hand on the sufferer, and at the same time he brought about the +reconciliation of Rabbi Judan with Rabbi Hayyah, whose form he had +assumed. Rabbi Judah paid the highest respect to Rabbi Hayyah after he +found out that Elijah had considered him worthy of taking his +appearance. (59) + +On another occasion, Elijah re-established harmony between a husband +and his wife. The woman had come home very late on Friday evening, +having allowed herself to be detained by the sermon preached by Rabbi +Meir. Her autocratic husband swore she should not enter the house until +she had spat in the very face of the highly-esteemed Rabbi. Meantime +Elijah went to Rabbi Meir, and told him a pious woman had fallen into a +sore predicament on his account. To help the poor woman, the Rabbi +restored to a ruse. He announced that he was looking for one who knew +how to cast spells, which was done by spitting into the eye of the +afflicted one. When he caught sight of the woman designated by Elijah, +he asked her to try her power upon him. Thus she was able to comply +with her husband's requirement without disrespect to the Rabbi; and +through the instrumentality of Elijah conjugal happiness was restored +to an innocent wife. (60) + +Elijah's versatility is shown in the following occurrence. A pious man +bequeathed a spice-garden to his three sons. They took turns in +guarding it against thieves. The first night the oldest son watched the +garden. Elijah appeared to him and asked him: "My son, what wilt thou +have knowledge of the Torah, or great wealth, or a beautiful wife?" +He chose wealth, great wealth. Accordingly Elijah gave him a coin, and +he became rich. The second son, to whom Elijah appeared the second +night, chose knowledge of the Torah. Elijah gave him a book, and "he +knew the whole Torah." The third son, on the third night, when Elijah +put the same choice before him as before his brothers, wished for a +beautiful wife. Elijah invited this third brother to go on a journey +with him. Their first night was passed at the house of a notorious +villain, who had a daughter. During the night Elijah overheard the +chickens and the geese say to one another: "What a terrible sin that +young may must have committed, that he should be destined to marry the +daughter of so great a villain!" The two travellers journeyed on. The +second night the experiences of the first were repeated. The third +night they lodged with a man who had a very pretty daughter. During the +night Elijah heard the chickens and the geese say to one another: "How +great must be the virtues of this young man, if he is privileged to +marry so beautiful and pious a wife." In the morning, when Elijah +arose, he at once became a matchmaker, the young man married the pretty +maiden, and husband and wife journeyed homeward in joy. (61) + +If it became necessary, Elijah was ready to do even the services of a +sexton. When Rabbi Akiba died in prison, Elijah betook himself to the +dead man's faithful disciple, Rabbi Joshua, and the two together went +to the prison. There was none to forbid their entrance; a deep sleep +had fallen upon the turnkeys and the prisoners alike. Elijah and Rabbi +Joshua took the corpse with them, Elijah bearing it upon his shoulder. +Rabbi Joshua in astonishment demanded how he, a priest, dared defile +himself upon a corpse. The answer was: "God forbid! the pious can never +cause defilement." All night the two walked on with their burden. At +break of day they found themselves near Caesarea. A cave opened before +their eyes, and within they saw a bed, a chair, a table, and a lamp. +They deposited the corpse upon the bed, and left the cave, which closed +up behind them. Only the light of the lamp, which had lit itself after +they left, shone through the chinks. Whereupon Elijah said: "Hail, ye +just, hail to you who devote yourselves to the study of the law. Hail +to you, ye God-fearing men, for your places are set aside, and kept, +and guarded, in Paradise, for the time to come. Hail to thee, Rabbi +Akiba, that thy lifeless body found lodgment for a night in a lovely +spot." (62) + +CENSOR AND AVENGER + +Helpfulness and compassion do not paint the whole of the character of +Elijah. He remained the stern and inexorable censor whom Ahab feared. +The old zeal for the true and the good he never lost, as witness, he +once struck a man dead because he failed to perform his devotions with +due reverence. (63) + +There were two brothers, one of them rich and miserly, the other poor +and kind-hearted. Elijah, in the garb of an old beggar, approached the +rich man, and asked him for alms. Repulsed by him, he turned to the +poor brother, who received him kindly, and shared his meagre supper +with him. On bidding farewell to him and his equally hospitable wife, +Elijah said: "May God reward you! The first thing you undertake shall +be blessed, and shall take no end until you yourselves cry out Enough!" +Presently the poor man began to count the few pennies he had, to +convince himself that they sufficed to purchase bread for his next +meal. But the few became many, and he counted and counted, and still +their number increased. He counted a whole day, and the following +night, until he was exhausted, and had to cry out Enough! And, indeed, +it was enough, for he had become a very wealthy man. His brother was +not a little astonished to see the fortunate change in his kinsman's +circumstances, and when he heard how it had come about, he determined, +if the opportunity should present itself again, to show his most +amiable side to the old beggar with the miraculous power of blessing. +He had not long to wait. A few days later he saw the old man pass by. +He hastened to accost him, and, excusing himself for his unfriendliness +at their former meeting, begged him to come into his house. All that +the larder afforded was put before Elijah, who pretended to eat of the +dainties. At his departure, he pronounced a blessing upon his hosts: +"May the first thing you do have no end, until it is enough." The +mistress of the house thereupon said to her husband: "That we may count +gold upon gold undisturbed, let us first attend to our most urgent +physical needs." So they did and they had to continue to do it until +life was extinct. (64) + +The extreme of his rigor Elijah displayed toward teachers of the law. +From them he demanded more than obedience to the mere letter of a +commandment. For instance, he pronounced severe censure upon Rabbi +Ishmael ben Jose because he was willing to act as bailiff in +prosecuting Jewish thieves and criminals. He advised Rabbi Ishmael to +follow the example of his father and leave the country. (65) + +His estrangement from his friend Rabbi Joshua ben Levi is +characteristic. One who was sought by the officers of the law took +refuge with Rabbi Joshua. His pursuers were informed of his place of +concealment. Threatening to put all the inhabitants of the city to the +sword if he was not delivered up, they demanded his surrender. The +Rabbi urged the fugitive from justice to resign himself to his fate. +Better for one individual to die, he said, than for a whole community +to be exposed to peril. The fugitive yielded to the Rabbi's argument, +and gave himself up to the bailiffs. Thereafter Elijah, who had been in +the habit of visiting Rabbi Joshua frequently, stayed away from his +house, and he was induced to come back only by the Rabbi's long fasts +and earnest prayers. In reply to the Rabbi's question, why he had +shunned him, he said: "Dost thou suppose I care to have intercourse +with informers?" The Rabbi quoted a passage from the Mishnah to justify +his conduct, but Elijah remained unconvinced. "Dost thou consider this +a law for a pious man?" he said. "Other people might have been right in +doing as thou didst; thou shouldst have done otherwise." (66) + +A number of instances are known which show how exalted a standard +Elijah set up for those who would be considered worthy of intercourse +with him. Of two pious brothers, one provided for his servants as for +his own table, while the other permitted his servants to eat abundantly +only of the first course; of the other courses they could have nothing +but the remnants. Accordingly, with the second brother Elijah would +have nothing to do, while he often honored the former with his visits. + +A similar attitude Elijah maintained toward another pair of pious +brothers. One of them was in the habit of providing for his servants +after his own needs were satisfied, while the other of them attended to +the needs of his servants first. To the latter it was that Elijah gave +the preference. (67) + +He dissolved an intimacy of many years' standing, because his friend +built a vestibule which was so constructed that the supplications of +the poor could be heard but faintly by those within the house. (68) + +Rabbi Joshua ben Levi incurred the displeasure of Elijah a second time, +because a man was torn in pieces by a lion in the vicinity of his +house. In a measure Elijah held Rabbi responsible, because he did not +pray for the prevention of such misfortunes. (69) + +The story told of Elijah and Rabbi Anan forms the most striking +illustration of the severity of the prophet. Someone brought Rabbi Anan +a mess of little fish as a present, and at the same time asked the +Rabbi to act as judge in a lawsuit he was interested in. Anan refused +in these circumstances to accept a gift from the litigant. To +demonstrate his single-mindedness, the applicant urged the Rabbit to +take the fish and assign the case to another judge. Anan acquiesced, +and he requested one of his colleagues to act for him, because he was +incapacitated from serving as a judge. His legal friend drew the +inference, that the litigant introduced to him was a kinsman of Rabbi +Anan's, and accordingly he showed himself particularly complaisant +toward him. As a result, the other party to the suit was intimidated. +He failed to present his side as convincingly as he might otherwise +have done, and so lost the case. Elijah, who had been the friend of +Anan and his teacher as well, thenceforth shunned his presence, because +he considered that the injury done the second party to the suit was due +to Anan's carelessness. Anan in his distress kept many fasts, and +offered up many prayers, before Elijah would return to him. Even then +the Rabbi could not endure the sight of him; he had to content himself +with listening to Elijah's words without looking upon his face. (70) + +Sometimes Elijah considered it his duty to force people into abandoning +a bad habit. A rich man was once going to a cattle sale, and he carried +a snug sum of money to buy oxen. He was accosted by a stranger none +other than Elijah who inquired the purpose of his journey. "I go to +buy cattle," replied the would-be purchaser. "Say, it if please God," +urged Elijah. "Fiddlesticks! I shall buy cattle whether it please God +or not! I carry the money with me, and the business will be +dispatched." "But not with good fortune," said the stranger, and went +off. Arrived at the market, the cattle-buyer discovered the loss of his +purse, and he had to return home to provide himself with other money. +He again set forth on his journey, but this time he took another road +to avoid the stranger of ill omen. To his amazement he met an old man +with whom he had precisely the same adventure as with the first +stranger. Again he had to return home to fetch money. By this time had +learned his lesson. When a third stranger questioned him about the +object of his journey, he answered: "If it please God, I intend to buy +oxen." The stranger wished him success, and the wish was fulfilled. To +the merchant's surprise, when a pair of fine cattle were offered him, +and their price exceeded the sum of money he had about his person, he +found the two purses he had lost on his first and second trips. Later +he sold the same pair of oxen to the king for a considerable price, and +he became very wealthy. (71) + +As Elijah coerced this merchant into humility toward God, so he carried +home a lesson to the great Tanna Eliezer, the son of Rabbi Simon ben +Yohai. This Rabbi stood in need of correction on account of his +overweening conceit. Once, on returning from the academy, he took a +walk on the sea-beach, his bosom swelling with pride at the thought of +his attainments in the Torah. He met a hideously ugly man, who greeted +him with the words: "Peace be with thee, Rabbi." Eliezer, instead of +courteously acknowledging the greeting, said: "O thou wight, (72) how +ugly thou art! Is it possible that all the residents of thy town are as +ugly as thou?" "I know not," was the reply, "but it is the Master +Artificer who created me that thou shouldst have said: 'How ugly is +this vessel which Thou hast fashioned.'" The Rabbi realized the wrong +he had committed, and humbly begged pardon of the ugly man another of +the protean forms adopted by Elijah. The latter continued to refer him +to the Master Artificer of the ugly vessel. The inhabitants of the +city, who had hastened to do honor to the great Rabbi, earnestly urged +the offended man to grant pardon, and finally he declared himself +appeased, provided the Rabbi promised never again to commit the same +wrong. (73) + +The rigor practiced by Elijah toward his friends caused one of them, +the Tanna Rabbi Jose, to accuse him of being passionate and irascible. +As a consequence, Elijah would have nothing to do with him for a long +time. When he reappeared, and confessed the cause of his withdrawal, +Rabbi Jose said he felt justified, for his charge could not have +received a more striking verification. (74) + +INTERCOURSE WITH THE SAGES + +Elijah's purely human relations to the world revealed themselves in +their fulness, neither in his deeds of charity, nor in his censorious +rigor, but rather in his gentle and scholarly intercourse with the +great in Israel, especially the learned Rabbis of the Talmudic time. He +is at once their disciple and their teacher. To one he resorts for +instruction on difficult points, to another he himself dispenses +instruction. As a matter of course, his intimate knowledge of the +supernatural world makes him appear more frequently in the role of +giver than receiver. Many a bit of secret lore the Jewish teachers +learnt from Elijah, and he it was who, with the swiftness of lightning, +carried the teachings of one Rabbi to another sojourning hundreds of +miles away. (75) + +Thus it was Elijah who taught Rabbi Jose the deep meaning hidden in the +Scriptural passage in which woman is designated as the helpmeet of man. +By means of examples he demonstrated to the Rabbi how indispensable +woman is to man. (76) + +Rabbi Nehorai profited by his exposition of why God created useless, +even noxious insects. The reason for their existence is that the sight +of superfluous and harmful creatures prevents God from destroying His +world at times when, on account of the wickedness and iniquity +prevailing in it, it repents Him of having created it. If He preserves +creatures that at their best are useless, and at their worst injurious, +how much more should He preserve human beings with all their +potentialities for good. + +The same Rabbi Nehorai was told by Elijah, that God sends earthquakes +and other destructive phenomena when He sees places of amusement +prosperous and flourishing, while the Temple lies a heap of dust and +ashes. (77) + +To Rabbi Judah he communicated the following three maxims: Let not +anger master thee, and thou wilt not fall into sin; let not drink +master thee, and thou wilt be spared pain; before thou settest out on a +journey, take counsel with thy Creator. (78) + +In case of a difference of opinion among scholars, Elijah was usually +questioned as to how the moot point was interpreted in the heavenly +academy. (79) Once, when the scholars were not unanimous in their views +as to Esther's intentions when she invited Haman to her banquets with +the king, Elijah, asked by Rabba bar Abbahu to tell him her real +purpose, said that each and every one of the motives attributed to her +by various scholars were true, for her invitations to Haman had many a +purpose. (80) + +A similar answer he gave the Amora Abiathar, who disputed with his +colleagues as to why the Ephraimite who cause the war against the tribe +of Benjamin first cast off his concubine, and then became reconciled to +her. Elijah informed Rabbi Abiathar that in heaven the cruel conduct of +the Ephraimite was explained in two ways, according to Abiathar's +conception and according to his opponent Jonathan's as well. (81) + +Regarding the great contest between Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and the +whole body of scholars, in which the majority maintained the validity +of its opinion, though a heavenly voice pronounced Rabbi Eliezer's +correct, Elijah told Rabbi Nathan, that God in His heaven had cried +out: "My children have prevailed over Me!" (82) + +On one occasion Elijah fared badly for having betrayed celestial events +to his scholars. He was a daily attendant at the academy of Rabbi Judah +ha-Nasi. One day, it was the New Moon Day, he was late. The reason for +his tardiness, he said, was that it was his daily duty to awaken the +three Patriarchs, (83) wash their hands for them, so that they might +offer up their prayers, and after their devotions lead them back to +their resting-places. On this day their prayers took very long, because +they were increased by the Musaf service on account of the New Moon +celebration, and hence he did not make his appearance at the academy in +good time. Elijah did not end his narrative at this point, but went on +to tell the Rabbi, that this occupation of his was rather tedious, for +the three Patriarchs were not permitted to offer up their payers at the +same time. Abraham prayed first, then came Isaac, and finally Jacob. If +they all were to pray together, the united petitions of three such +paragons of piety would be so efficacious as to force God to fulfil +them, and He would be induced to bring the Messiah before his time. +Then Rabbi Judah wanted to know whether there were any among the pious +on earth whose prayer possessed equal efficacy. Elijah admitted that +the same power resided in the prayers of Rabbi Hayyah and his two sons. +Rabbi Judah lost no time in proclaiming a day of prayer and fasting and +summoning Rabbi Hayyah and his sons to officiate as the leaders in +prayer. They began to chant the Eighteen Benedictions. Then they +uttered the word for wind, a storm arose; when they continued and made +petition for rain, the rain descended at once. But as the readers +approached the passage relating to the revival of the dead, great +excitement arose in heaven, and when it became known that Elijah had +revealed the secret of the marvellous power attaching to the prayers of +the three men, he was punished with fiery blows. To thwart Rabbi +Judah's purpose, Elijah assumed the form of a bear, and put the praying +congregation to flight. (84) + +Contrariwise, Elijah was also in the habit of reporting earthly events +in the celestial regions. He told Rabba bar Shila that the reason Rabbi +Meir was never quoted in the academy on high was because he had had so +wicked a teacher as Elisha ben Abuyah. Rabba explained Rabbi Meir's +conduct by an apologue. "Rabbi Meir," he said, "found a pomegranate; he +enjoyed the heart of the fruit, and cast the skin aside." Elijah was +persuaded of the justness of this defense, and so were all the +celestial powers. Thereupon one of Rabbi Meir's interpretations was +quoted in the heavenly academy. (85) + +Elijah was no less interested in the persons of the learned than in +their teachings, especially when scholars were to be provided with the +means of devoting themselves to their studies. It was he who, when +Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, later a great celebrity, resolved to devote +himself to the law, advised him to repair to Jerusalem and sit at the +feet of Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai. (86) + +He once met a man who mocked at his exhortations to study, and he said +that on the great day of reckoning he would excuse himself for his +neglect of intellectual pursuits by the fact that he had been granted +neither intelligence nor wisdom. Elijah asked him what his calling was. +"I am a fisherman," was the reply. "Well, my son," questioned Elijah, +"who taught thee to take flax and make nets and throw them into the sea +to catch fish?" He replied: "For this heaven gave me intelligence and +insight." Hereupon Elijah: "If thou possessest intelligence and insight +to cast nets and catch fish, why should these qualities desert thee +when thou dealest with the Torah, which, thou knowest, is very nigh +unto man that he may do it?" The fisherman was touched, and he began to +weep. Elijah pacified him by telling him that what he had said applied +to many another beside him. (87) + +In another way Elijah conveyed the lesson of the great value residing +in devotion to the study of the Torah. Disguised as a Rabbi, he was +approached by a man who promised to relieve him of all material cares +if he would but abide with him. Refusing to leave Jabneh, the centre of +Jewish scholarship, he said to the tempter: "Wert thou to offer me a +thousand million gold denarii, I would not quit the abode of the law, +and dwell in a place in which there is no Torah." (88) + +By Torah, of course, is meant the law as conceived and interpreted by +the sages and the scholars, for Elijah was particularly solicitous to +establish the authority of the oral law, (89) as he was solicitous to +demonstrate the truth of Scriptural promises that appeared incredible +at first sight. For instance, he once fulfilled Rabbi Joshua ben Levi's +wish to see the precious stones which would take the place of the sun +in illuminating Jerusalem in the Messianic time. A vessel in mid-ocean +was nigh unto shipwreck. Among a large number of heathen passengers +there was a single Jewish youth. To him Elijah appeared and said, he +would rescue the vessel, provided the boy went to Rabbi Joshua ben +Levi, and took him to a certain place far removed from the town and +from human habitation, and showed him the gems. The boy doubted that so +great a man would consent to follow a mere slip of a youth to a remote +spot, but, reassured by Elijah, who told him of Rabbi Joshua's +extraordinary modesty, he undertook the commission, and the vessel with +its human freight was saved. The boy came to the Rabbi, besought him to +go whither he would lead, and Joshua, who was really possessed of great +modesty, followed the boy three miles without even inquiring the +purpose of the expedition. When they finally reached the cave, the boy +said: "See, here are the precious stones!" The Rabbi grasped them, and +a flood of light spread as far as Lydda, the residence of Rabbi Joshua. +Startled, he cast the precious stones away from him, and they +disappeared. (90) + +This Rabbi was a particular favorite of Elijah, who even secured him an +interview with the Messiah. The Rabbi found the Messiah among the crowd +of afflicted poor gathered near the city gates of Rome, and he greeted +him with the words: "Peace be with thee, my teacher and guide!" +Whereunto the Messiah replied: "Peace be with thee, thou son of Levi!" +The Rabbi then asked him when he would appear, and the Messiah said, +"To-day." Elijah explained to the Rabbi later that what the Messiah +meant by "to-day" was, that he for his part was ready to bring Israel +redemption at any time. If Israel but showed himself worthy, he would +instantly fufil his mission. (91) + +Elijah wanted to put Rabbi Joshua into communication with the departed +Rabbi Simon ben Yohai also, but the later did not consider him of +sufficient importance to honor him with his conversation. Rabbi Simon +had addressed a question to him, and Rabbi Joshua in his modesty had +made a reply not calculated to give one a high opinion of him. (92) In +reality Rabbi Joshua was the possessor of such sterling qualities, that +when he entered Paradise Elijah walked before him calling out: "Make +room for the son of Levi." (93) + +GOD'S JUSTICE VINDICATED + +Among the many and various teachings dispensed by Elijah to his +friends, there are none so important as his theodicy, the teachings +vindicating God's justice in the administration of earthly affairs. He +used many an opportunity to demonstrate it by precept and example. Once +he granted his friend Rabbi Joshua ben Levi the fulfilment of any wish +he might express, and all the Rabbi asked for was, that he might be +permitted to accompany Elijah on his wanderings through the world. +Elijah was prepared to gratify this wish. He only imposed the +condition, that, however odd the Rabbi might think Elijah's actions, he +was not to ask any explanation of them. If ever he demanded why, they +would have to part company. So Elijah and the Rabbi fared forth +together, and they journeyed on until they reached the house of a poor +man, whose only earthly possession was a cow. The man and his wife were +thoroughly good-hearted people, and they received the two wanderers +with a cordial welcome. They invited the strangers into their house, +set before them food and drink of the best they had, and made up a +comfortable couch for them for the night. When Elijah and the Rabbi +were ready to continue their journey on the following day, Elijah +prayed that the cow belonging to his host might die. Before they left +the house, the animal had expired. Rabbi Joshua was so shocked by the +misfortune that had befallen the good people, he almost lost +consciousness. He thought: "Is that to be the poor man's reward for all +his kind services to us?" And he could not refrain from putting the +question to Elijah. But Elijah reminded him of the condition imposed +and accepted at the beginning of their journey, and they travelled on, +the Rabbi's curiosity unappeased. That night they reached the house of +a wealthy man, who did not pay his guest the courtesy of looking them +in the face. Though they passed the night under his roof, he did not +offer them food or drink. This rich man was desirous of having a wall +repaired that had tumbled down. There was no need for him to take any +steps to have it rebuilt, for, when Elijah left the house, he prayed +that the wall might erect itself, and, lo! it stood upright. Rabbi +Joshua was greatly amazed, but true to his promise he suppressed the +question that rose to his lips. So the two travelled on again, until +they reached an ornate synagogue, the seats in which were made of +silver and gold. But the worshippers did not correspond in character to +the magnificence of the building, for when it came to the point of +satisfying the needs of the way-worn pilgrims, one of those present +said: "There is not dearth of water and bread, and the strange +travellers can stay in the synagogue, whither these refreshments can be +brought to them." Early the next morning, when they were departing, +Elijah wished those present in the synagogue in which they had lodged, +that God might raise them all to be "heads." Rabbi Joshua again had to +exercise great self-restraint, and not put into words the question that +troubled him profoundly. In the next town, they were received with +great affability, and served abundantly with all their tired bodies +craved. On these kind hosts Elijah, on leaving, bestowed the wish that +God might give them but a single head. Now the Rabbi could not hold +himself in check any longer, and he demanded an explanation of Elijah's +freakish actions. Elijah consented to clear up his conduct for Joshua +before they separated from each other. He spoke as follows: "The poor +man's cow was killed, because I knew that on the same day the death of +his wife had been ordained in heaven, and I prayed to God to accept the +loss of the poor man's property as a substitute for the poor man's +wife. As for the rich man, there was a treasure hidden under the +dilapidated wall, and, if he had rebuilt it, he would have found the +gold; hence I set up the wall miraculously in order to deprive the +curmudgeon of the valuable find. I wished that the inhospitable people +assembled in the synagogue might have many heads, for a place of +numerous leaders is bound to be ruined by reason of multiplicity of +counsel and disputes. To the inhabitants of our last sojourning place, +on the other hand, I wished a 'single head,' for the one to guide a +town, success will attend all its undertakings. Know, then, that if +thou seest an evil-doer prosper, it is not always unto his advantage, +and if a righteous man suffers need and distress, think not God is +unjust." After these words Elijah and Rabbi Joshua separated from each +other, and each went his own way. (94) + +How difficult it is to form a true judgment with nothing but external +appearances as a guide, Elijah proved to Rabbi Baroka. They were once +waling in a crowded street, and the Rabbi requested Elijah to point out +any in the throng destined to occupy places in Paradise. Elijah +answered that there was none, only to contradict himself and point to a +passer-by the very next minute. His appearance was such that in him +least of all the Rabbi would have suspected a pious man. His garb did +not even indicate that he was a Jew. Later Rabbi Baroka discovered by +questioning him that he was a prison guard. In the fulfilment of his +duties as such he was particularly careful that the virtue of chastity +should not be violated in the prison, in which both men women were kept +in detention. Also, his position often brought him into relations with +the heathen authorities, and so he was enabled to keep the Jews +informed of the disposition entertained toward them by the powers that +be. The Rabbi was thus taught that no station in life precluded its +occupant from doing good and acting nobly. + +Another time Elijah designated two men to whom a great future was +assigned in Paradise. Yet these men were nothing more than clowns! They +made it their purpose in life to dispel discontent and sorrow by their +jokes and their cheery humor, and they used the opportunities granted +by their profession to adjust the difficulties and quarrels that +disturb the harmony of people living in close contact with each other. +(95) + +ELIJAH AND THE ANGEL OF DEATH + +Among the many benevolent deeds of Elijah, special mention ought to be +made of his rescue of those doomed by a heavenly decree to fall into +the clutches of the Angel of Death. He brought these rescues about by +warning the designated victims of their impending fate, and urging them +to do good deeds, which would prove protection against death. + +There was once a pious and rich man with a beautiful and saintly +daughter. She had had the misfortune of losing three husbands in +succession, each on the day after the wedding. These sorrows determined +her never again to enter into the marriage state. A cousin of hers, the +nephew of her father, induced by the poverty of his parents, journeyed +from his distant home to apply for help to his rich uncle. Scarcely had +he laid eyes upon his lovely cousin when he fell victim to her charms. +In vain her father sought to dissuade his nephew from marrying his +daughter. But the fate of his predecessors did not affright him, and +the wedding took place. While he was standing under the wedding canopy, +Elijah came to him in the guise of an old man, and said: "My son, I +want to give thee a piece of advice. While thou are seated at the +wedding dinner, thou wilt be approached by a ragged, dirty beggar, with +hair like nails. As soon as thou catchest sight of him, hasten to seat +him beside thee, set food and drink before him, and be ready to grant +whatever he may ask of thee. Do as I say, and thou wilt be protected +against harm. Now I shall leave thee and go my way." At the wedding +feast, a stranger as described by Elijah appeared, and the bridegroom +did according to Elijah's counsel. After the wedding the stranger +revealed his identity, introducing himself as the messenger of the Lord +sent to take the young husband's life. The supplications of the +bridegroom failed to move him; he refused to grant a single day's +respite. All he yielded was permission to the young husband to bid +farewell to his newly-wed wife. When the bride saw that what she had +feared was coming to pass, she repaired to the Angel of Death and +argued with him: "The Torah distinctly exempts the newly-wed from all +duties for a whole year. If thou deprivest my husband of life, thou +wilt give the lie to the Torah." Thereupon God commanded the Angel of +Death to desist, and, when the relatives of the bride came to prepare +the grave of the groom, they found him well and unharmed. (96) + +A similar thing befell the son of the great and extremely pious scholar +Rabbi Reuben. To him came the Angel of Death and announced that his +only son would have to die. The pious man was resigned: "We mortals can +do nothing to oppose a Divine decree," he said, "but I pray there, give +him thirty days' respite, that I may see him married." The Angel of +Death acquiesced. The Rabbi told no one of this encounter, waited until +the appointed time was drawing to a close, and, on the very last day, +the thirtieth, he arranged his son's wedding feast. On that day, the +bridegroom-to-be met Elijah, who told him of his approaching death. A +worthy son of his father, he said: "Who may oppose God? And am I better +than Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? They, too, had to die." Elijah told him +furthermore, that the Angel of Death would appear to him in the guise +of a ragged, dirty beggar, and he advised him to receive him in the +kindliest possible manner, and in particular he was to insist upon his +taking food and drink from him. All happened as Elijah had predicted, +and his advice, too, proved efficacious, for the heart of the Angel of +Death, who finally revealed his identity with the beggar, was softened +by the entreaties of the father, combined with the tears of the young +wife, who resorted to the argument cited above, of the year of +exemption from duty granted to the newly-married. The Angel of Death, +disarmed by the amiable treatment accorded to him, himself went before +the throne of God and presented the young wife's petition. The end was +God added seventy years to the life of Rabbi Reuben's son. (97) + +TEACHER OF THE KABBALAH + +The frequent meetings between Elijah and the teachers of the law of the +Talmudic time were invested with personal interest only. Upon the +development of the Torah they had no influence whatsoever. His relation +to the mystic science was of quite other character. It is safe to say +that what Moses was to the Torah, Elijah was to the Kabbalah. + +His earliest relation to it was established through Rabbi Simon ben +Yohai and his son Rabbi Eliezer. For thirteen years he visited them +twice daily in their subterranean hiding-place, and imparted the +secrets of the Torah to them. (98) A thousand years later, Elijah again +gave the impetus to the development of the Kabbalah, for it was he that +revealed mysteries, first to the Nazarite Rabbi Jacob, then to his +disciple of the latter, Abraham ben David. The mysteries in the books +"Peliah" and "Kanah," the author Elkanah owed wholly to Elijah. He had +appeared to him in the form of a venerable old man, and had imparted to +him the secret lore taught in the heavenly academy. Besides, he led him +to a fiery rock whereon mysterious characters were engraved, which were +deciphered by Elkanah. + +After his disciple had thus become thoroughly impregnated with mystical +teachings, Elijah took him to the tomb of the Patriarchs, and thence to +the heavenly academy. But the angels, little pleased by the intrusion +of one "born of woman," inspired him with such terror that he besought +Elijah to carry him back to earth. His mentor allayed his fears, and +long continued to instruct him in the mystical science, according to +the system his disciple has recorded in his two works. (99) + +The Kabbalists in general were possessed of the power to cite Elijah, +to conjure him up by means of certain formulas. (100) One of them, +Rabbi Joseph della Reyna, once called upon Elijah in this way, but it +proved his own undoing. He was a saintly scholar, and he had conceived +no less a purpose than to bring about the redemption of man by the +conquest of the angel Samael, the Prince of Evil. After many prayers +and vigils and long indulgence in fasting, and other ascetic practices, +Rabbi Joseph united himself with his five disciples for the purpose of +conjuring up Elijah. When the prophet, obeying the summons, suddenly +stood before him, Rabbi Joseph spoke as follows: "Peace be with thee, +our master! True prophet, bearer of salvation, be not displeased with +me that I have troubled thee to come hither. God knows, I have not done +it for myself, and not for mine own honor. I am zealous for the name +and the honor of God, and I know thy desire is the same as mine, for it +is thy vocation to make the glory of God to prevail on earth. I pray +thee, therefore, to grant my petition, tell me with what means I can +conquer Satan." Elijah at first endeavored to dissuade the Rabbi from +his enterprise. He described the great power of Satan, ever growing as +it feeds upon the sins of mankind. But Rabbi Joseph could not be made +to desist. Elijah then enumerated what measures and tactics he would +have to observe in his combat with the fallen angel. He enumerated the +pious, saintly deeds that would win the interest of the archangel +Sandalphon in his undertaking, and from this angel he would learn the +method of warfare to be pursued. The Rabbi followed out Elijah's +directions carefully, and succeeded in summoning Sandalphon to his +assistance. If he had continued to obey instructions implicitly, and +had carried out all Sandalphon advised, the Rabbi would have triumphed +over Satan and hastened the redemption of the world. Unfortunately, at +one point the Rabbi committed an indiscretion, and he lost the great +advantages he had gained over Satan, who used his restored power to +bring ruin upon him and his disciples. (101) + +The radical transformation in the character of Kabbalistic teaching +which is connected with the name of Rabbi Isaac Loria likewise is an +evidence of Elijah's activity. Elijah sought out this "father of the +Kabbalistic Renaissance," and revealed the mysteries of the universe to +him. Indeed, he had shown his interest in him long before any one +suspected the future greatness of Rabbi Isaac. Immediately after his +birth, Elijah appeared to the father of the babe, and enjoined him not +to have the rite of circumcision performed until he should be told by +Elijah to proceed. The eighth day of the child's life arrived, the +whole congregation was assembled at the synagogue (102) to witness the +solemn ceremonial, but to the great astonishment of his fellow-townsmen +the father delayed it. The people naturally did not know he was waiting +for Elijah to appear, and he was called upon once and again to have the +ceremony take place. But he did not permit the impatience of the +company to turn him from his purpose. Suddenly, Elijah, unseen, of +course, by the others, appeared to him, and bade him have the ceremony +performed. Those present were under the impression that the father was +holding the child on his knees during the circumcision; in reality, +however it was Elijah. After the rite was completed, Elijah handed the +infant back to the father with the words: "Here is thy child. Take good +care of it, for it will spread a brilliant light over the world." (103) + +It was also Elijah who in a similar way informed Rabbit Eliezer, the +father of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tob, the father of him whose name is +unrivalled in the annals of the Hasidic Kabbalah that a son would be +born to him who should enlighten the eyes of Israel. This Rabbi Eliezer +was justly reputed to be very hospitable. He was in the habit of +stationing guards at the entrances to the village in which he lived, +and they were charged to bring all strangers to his house. In heaven it +was ordained that Rabbi Eliezer's hospitable instincts should be put to +a test. Elijah was chosen for the experiment. On a Sabbath afternoon, +arrayed in the garb of a beggar, he entered the village with knapsack +and staff. Rabbi Eliezer, taking no notice of the fact that the beggar +was desecrating the Sabbath, received him kindly, attended to his +bodily wants, and the next morning, on parting with him, gave him some +money besides. Touched by his kind-heartedness, Elijah revealed his +identity and the purpose of his disguise, and told him that, as he had +borne the trial so well, he would be rewarded by the birth of a son who +should "enlighten the eyes of Israel." (104) + +FORERUNNER OF THE MESSIAH + +Many-sided though Elijah's participation in the course of historical +events is, it cannot be compared with what he is expected to do in the +days of the Messiah. He is charged with the mission of ordering the +coming time aright and restoring the tribes of Jacob. (105) His +Messianic activity thus is to be twofold: he is to be the forerunner of +the Messiah, yet in part he will himself realize the promised scheme of +salvation. His first task will be to induce Israel to repent when the +Messiah is about to come, (106) and to establish peace and harmony in +the world. (107) Hence he will have to settle all legal difficulties, +and solve all legal problems, that have accumulated since days +immemorial, (108) and decide vexed questions of ritual concerning which +authors entertain contradictory views. In short, all difference of +opinion must be removed from the path of the Messiah. (109) This office +of expounder of the law Elijah will continue to occupy even after the +reign of peace has been established on earth, and his relation to Moses +will be the same Aaron once held. (110) + +Elijah's preparatory work will be begun three days before the advent of +the Messiah. Then he will appear in Palestine, and will utter a lament +over the devastation of the Holy Land, and his wail will be heard +throughout the world. The last words of his elegy will be: "Now peace +will come upon earth!" When the evil-doers hear this message, they will +rejoice. On the second day, he will appear again and proclaim: "Good +will come upon earth!" And on the third his promise will be heard: +"Salvation will come upon earth." (111) Then Michael will blow the +trumpet, and once more Elijah will make his appearance, this time to +introduce the Messiah. (112) To make sure of the identity of the +Messiah, the Jews will demand that he perform the miracle of +resurrection before their eyes, reviving such of the dead as they had +known personally. (113) But the Messiah will do the following seven +wonders: He will bring Moses and the generation of the desert to life; +Korah and his band he will raise from out of the earth; he will revive +the Ephraimitic Messiah, who was slain; he will show the three holy +vessels of the Temple, the Ark, the flask of manna, and the cruse of +sacred oil, all three of which disappeared mysteriously; he will wave +the sceptre given him by God; he will grind the mountains of the Holy +Land into powder like straw, and he will reveal the secret of +redemption. Then the Jews will believe that Elijah is the Elijah +promised to them, and the Messiah introduced by him is the true +Messiah. (114) + +The Messiah (115) will have Elijah blow the trumpet, and, at the first +sound, the primal light, which shone before the week of Creation, will +reappear; at the second sound the dead will arise, and with the +swiftness of wind assemble around the Messiah from all corners of the +earth; at the third sound, the Shekinah will become visible to all; the +mountains will be razed at the fourth sound, and the Temple will stand +in complete perfection as Ezekiel described it. (116) + +During the reign of peace, Elijah will be one of the eight princes +forming the cabinet of the Messiah. (117) Even the coming of the great +judgment day will not end his activity. On that day the children of the +wicked who had to die in infancy on account of the sins of their +fathers will be found among the just, while their fathers will be +ranged on the other side. The babes will implore their fathers to come +to them, but God will not permit it. Then Elijah will go to the little +ones, and teach them how to plead in behalf of their fathers. They will +stand before God and say: "Is not the measure of good, the mercy of +God, larger than the measure of chastisements? If, then, we died for +the sins of our fathers, should they not now for our sakes be granted +the good, and be permitted to join us in Paradise?" God will give +assent to their pleadings, and Elijah will have fulfilled the word of +the prophet Malachi; he will have brought back the fathers to the +children. (118) + +The last act of Elijah's brilliant career will be the execution of +God's command to slay Samael, and so banish evil forever. (119) + + + + +VIII. +ELISHA AND JONAH + +ELISHA THE DISCIPLE OF ELIJAH + +The voices of the thousands of prophets of his time were stilled when +Elijah was translated from earth to heaven. With him vanished the +prophetical spirit of those who in former times had in no wise been his +inferiors. (1) Elisha was the only one among them whose prophetical +powers were not diminished. On the contrary, they were strengthened, as +a reward for the unhesitating readiness with which he obeyed Elijah's +summons, and parted with the field he was ploughing, and with all else +he possessed, in favor of the community. Thenceforward he remained +Elijah's unwearying companion. When the angel descended from heaven to +take Elijah from earth, he found the two so immersed in a learned +discussion that he could not attract their attention, and he had to +return, his errand unfulfilled. (2) + +Elijah's promise to bestow a double portion of his wondrous spirit upon +his disciple was realized instantaneously. During his life Elisha +performed sixteen miracles, and eight was all his master had performed. +The first of them, the crossing of the Jordan, was more remarkable than +the corresponding wonder done by Elijah, for Elisha traversed the river +alone, and Elijah had been accompanied by Elisha. Two saints always +have more power than one by himself. (3) + +His second miracle, the "healing" of the waters of Jericho, so that +they became fit to drink, resulted in harm to himself, for the people +who had earned their livelihood by the sale of wholesome water were +very much incensed against the prophet for having spoiled their trade. +Elisha, whose prophetic powers enabled him to read both the past and +the future of these tradesmen, knew that they , their ancestors, and +their posterity had "not even the aroma of good about them." Therefore +he cursed them. Suddenly a forest sprang up and the bears that infested +it devoured the murmuring traders. The wicked fellows were not +undeserving of the punishment they received, yet Elisha was made to +undergo a very serious sickness, by way of correction for having +yielded to passion. (4) In this he resembled his master Elijah; he +allowed wrath and zeal to gain the mastery over him. God desired that +the two great prophets might be purged of this fault. Accordingly, when +Elisha rebuked King Jehoram of Israel, the spirit of prophecy forsook +him, and he had to resort to artificial means to re-awaken it within +himself. (5) + +Like his teacher, Elisha was always ready to help the poor and needy, +as witness his sympathy with the widow of one of the sons of the +prophets, and the effective aid he extended to her. Her husband had +been none other than Obadiah, who, though a prophet, had at the same +time been one of the highest officials at the court of the sinful king +Ahab. By birth an Edomite, Obadiah had been inspired by God to utter +the prophecy against Edom. In his own person he embodied the accusation +against Esau, who had lived with his pious parents without following +their example, while Obadiah, on the contrary, lived in constant +intercourse with the iniquitous King Ahab and his still more iniquitous +spouse Jezebel without yielding to the baneful influence they +exercised. (6) This same Obadiah not only used his own fortune, but +went to the length of borrowing money on interest from the future king, +in order to have the wherewithal to support the prophets who were in +hiding. On his death, the king sought to hold the children responsible +for the debt of the father. In her despair the pious wife of Obadiah +(7) went to the graveyard, and there she cried out: "O thou God-fearing +man!" At once a heavenly voice was heard questioning her: "There are +four God-fearing men, Abraham, Joseph, Job, and Obadiah. To which of +them does thou desire to speak?" "To him of whom it is said, "He feared +the Lord greatly.'" + +She was led to the grave of the prophet Obadiah, where she poured out +the tale of her sorrow. Obadiah told her to take the small remnant of +oil she still had to the prophet Elisha and request him to intercede +for him with God, "for God," he said, "is my debtor, seeing that I +provided a hundred prophets, not only with bread and water, but also +with oil to illuminate their hiding-place, for do not the Scriptures +say: 'He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord'?" +Forthwith the woman carried out his behest. She went to Elisha, and he +helped her by making her little cruse of oil fill vessels upon vessels +without number, and when the vessels gave out, she fetched potsherds, +saying, "May the will that made empty vessels full, make broken vessels +perfect." So it was. The oil ceased to flow only when the supply of +potsherds as well as vessels gave out. In her piety the woman wanted to +pay her tithe-offering, but Elisha was of the opinion that, as the oil +had been bestowed upon her miraculously, she could keep it wholly and +entirely for her own use. Furthermore, Elisha reassured her as to the +power of the royal princes to do her harm: "The God who will close the +jaws of the lions set upon Daniel, and who did close the jaws of the +dogs in Egypt, the same God will blind the eyes of the sons of Ahab, +and deafen their ears, so that they can do thee no harm." (8) Not only +was the poor widow helped out of her difficulties, her descendants unto +all times were provided for. The oil rose in price, and it yielded so +much profit that they never suffered want. (9) + +THE SHUNAMMITE + +The great woman of Shunem, the sister of Abishag and wife of the +prophet Iddo, (10) also had cause to be deeply grateful to Elisha. When +Elisha came to Shunem on his journey through the land of Israel, his +holiness made a profound impression upon the Shunammite. Indeed, the +prophet's eye was so awe-inspiring that now woman could look him in the +face and live. (11) Contrary to the habit of most women, who are intent +upon diminishing their expenses and their toil, the Shunammite took +delight in the privilege of welcoming the prophet to her house as a +guest. She observed that not even a fly dared approach close to the +holy man, and a grateful fragrance exhaled from his person. "If he were +not so great a saint," she said, "and the holiness of the Lord did not +invest him, there were no such pleasant fragrance about him." That he +might be undisturbed, she assigned the best chambers in the house to +the prophet. He on his part, desiring to show his appreciation of her +hospitality, knew no better return for her kindness than to promise +that she should be blessed with a child within a year. (12) The woman +protested: "O, my husband is an old man, nor am I of an age to bear +children; the promise cannot be fulfilled." Yet it happened as the +prophet had foretold. Before a twelvemonth had passed, she was a +mother. + +A few years later her child died a sudden death. The mother repaired to +the prophet, and lamented before him: "O that the vessel had remained +empty, rather than it should be filled first, and then be left void." +The prophet admitted that, though as a rule he was acquainted with all +things that were to happen, God had left him in the dark about the +misfortune that had befallen her. With trust in God, he gave his staff +to his disciple Gehazi, and sent him to bring the boy back to life. But +Gehazi was unworthy of his master. His conduct toward the Shunammite +was not becoming a disciple of the prophet, and, above all, he had no +faith in the possibility of accomplishing the mission entrusted to him. +Instead of obeying the behest of Elisha, not to speak a word on his way +to the child of the Shunammite, Gehazi made sport of the task laid upon +him. To whatever man he met he addressed the questions: "Dost thou +suppose this staff can bring the dead back to life?" The result was +that he forfeited the power of executing the errand with which he had +been charged. Elisha himself had to perform the miracle. The prophet +uttered the prayer: "O Lord of the world! As Thou didst wonders through +my master Elijah, and didst permit him to bring the dead to life, so, I +pray Thee, do Thou perform a wonder through me, and let me restore life +to this lad." (13) The prayer was granted, and the child was revived. +The act of the prophet proves the duty of gratitude in return for +hospitality. Elisha did not attempt to resuscitate his own kith and kin +who had been claimed by death; he invoked a miracle for the sake of the +woman who had welcomed him kindly to her house. (14) + +GEHAZI + +Gehazi, proved untrustworthy by his conduct on this occasion, again +aroused the ire of the prophet when he disregarded the order not to +accept money from Naaman, the Syrian captain. He did not succeed in +deceiving the prophet. On his return from Naaman he found Elisha +occupied with the study of the chapter in the Mishnah Shabbat which +deals with the eight reptiles. The prophet Elisha greeted him with the +rebuke: "Thou villain! the time has come for me to be rewarded for the +study of the Mishnah about the eight reptiles. May my reward be that +the disease of Naaman afflict thee and thy descendants for evermore." +Scarcely had these words escaped his lips, when he saw the leprosy come +out on Gehazi's face. (15) Gehazi deserved the punishment on account of +his base character. He was sensual and envious, and did not believe in +the resurrection of the dead. His unworthy qualities were displayed in +his conduct toward the Shunammite and toward the disciples of Elisha. +When the pretty Shunammite came to the prophet in her grief over the +death of her child, Gehazi took her passionately in his arms, under the +pretext of forcing her away from the prophet, on whom she had laid hold +in her supplications. + +As for the other disciples of Elisha, he endeavored to keep them away +from the house of the prophet. He was in the habit of standing without +the door. This induced many to turn away and go home, for they reasoned +that, if the house were not full to overflowing, Gehazi would not be +standing outside. Only after Gehazi's dismissal did the disciples of +Elisha increase marvellously. That Gehazi had no faith in the +resurrection of the dead, is shown by his incredulity with regard to +the child of the Shunammite. (16) + +In spite of all these faults, Elisha regretted that he had cast off his +disciple, who was a great scholar in the law, especially as Gehazi +abandoned himself to a sinful life after leaving the prophet. By means +of magnetism he made the golden calves at Beth-el float in the air, and +many were brought to believe in the divinity of these idols. Moreover, +he engraved the great and awful Name of God in their mouth. Thus they +were enabled to speak, and they gave forth the same words God had +proclaimed from Sinai: "I am the Lord thy God Thou shalt have no other +gods before Me." Elisha accordingly repaired to Damascus to lead Gehazi +back to the paths of righteousness. But he remained impenitent, for he +said: "From thyself I have learned that there is no return for him who +not only sins himself, but also induces others to sin." (17) So Gehazi +died without having done aught to atone for his transgressions, which +were so great that he is one of the few Jews who have no share in +Paradise. (18) His children inherited his leprosy. He and his three +sons are the four leprous men who informed the king of Israel of the +precipitate flight of the Syrian host. (19) + +Elisha's excessive severity toward his servant Gehazi and toward the +mocking boys of Jericho did not go unpunished. He had to endure two +periods of disease, and the third sickness that befell him cause his +death. He is the first known to history who survived a sickness. Before +him death had been the inevitable companion of disease. (20) + +A great miracle marked the end of a life rich in miraculous deeds: a +dead man revived at the touch of Elisha's bier, and stood on his feet. +It was a worthy character for whom the wonder was accomplished +Shallum the son of Tikvah, the husband of Huldah the prophetess, a man +of noble descent, who had led a life of lovingkindness. He was in the +habit of going daily beyond the city bearing the pitcher of water, from +which he gave every traveller to drink, a good deed that received a +double reward. His wife became a prophetess, and when he died and his +funeral, attended by a large concourse of people, was disturbed by the +invasion of the Arameans, he was given new life by contact with the +bones of Elisha. He lived to have a son, Hanamel by name. (21) + +The death of Elisha was a great misfortune for the Israelites. So long +as he was alive, no Aramean troops entered Palestine. The first +invasion by them happened on the day of his burial. (22) + +THE FLIGHT OF JONAH + +Among the many thousands (23) of disciples whom Elisha gathered about +him during the sixty years (24) and more of his activity, the most +prominent was the prophet Jonah. While the master was still alive, +Jonah was charged with the important mission of anointing Jehu king. +(25) The next task laid upon him was to proclaim their destruction to +the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (26) The doom did not come to pass, +because they repented of their wrong-doing, and God had mercy upon +them. Among the Israelites Jonah was, therefore, known as "the false +prophet." When he was sent to Nineveh to prophesy the downfall of the +city, he reflected: "I know to a certainly that the heathen will do +penance, the threatened punishment will not be executed, and among the +heathen, too, I shall gain the reputation of being a false prophet." +(27) To escape this disgrace, he determined to take up his abode on the +sea, where there were none to whom prophecies never to be fulfilled +would have to be delivered. + +On his arrival at Joppa, there was no vessel in port. To try him, God +cause a storm to arise, and it carried a vessel back to Joppa, which +had made a two days' journey away from the harbor. The prophet +interpreted this chance to mean that God approved his plan. He was so +rejoiced at the favorable opportunity for leaving land that he paid the +whole amount for the entire cargo in advance, no less a sum than four +thousand gold denarii. After a day's sailing out from shore, a terrific +storm (28) broke loose. Wonderful to relate, it injured no vessel but +Jonah's. Thus he was taught the lesson that God is Lord over heaven and +earth and sea, and man can hide himself nowhere from His face. + +On the same vessel were representatives of the seventy nations of the +earth, each with his peculiar idols. They all resolved to entreat their +gods for succor, and the god from whom help would come should be +recognized and worshipped at the only one true God. But help came from +none. Then it was that the captain of the vessel approached Jonah where +he lay asleep, and said to him: "We are suspended 'twixt life and +death, and thou liest here asleep. Pray, tell me, to what nation dost +thou belong?" "I am a Hebrew," replied Jonah. "We have heard," said the +captain, "that the God of the Hebrews is the most powerful. Cry to Him +for help. Perhaps He will perform such miracles for us as He did in +days of old for the Jews at the Red Sea." + +Jonah confessed to the captain that he was to blame for the whole +misfortune, and he besought him to cast him adrift, and appease the +storm. The other passengers refused to consent to so cruel an act. +Though the lot decided against Jonah, they first tried to save the +vessel by throwing the cargo overboard. Their efforts were in vain. +Then they placed Jonah at the side of the vessel and spoke: "O Lord of +the world, reckon this not up against us as innocent blood, for we know +not the case of this man, and he himself bids us throw him into the +sea." Even then they could not make up their minds to let him drown. +First they immersed him up to his knees in the water of the sea, and +the storm ceased; they drew him back into the vessel, and forthwith the +storm raged in its old fury. Two more trials they made. They lowered +him into the water up to his navel, and raised him out of the depths +when the storm was assuaged. Again, when the storm broke out anew, they +lowered him to his neck, and a second time they took him back into the +vessel when the wind subsided. (29) But finally the renewed rage of the +storm convinced them that their danger was due to Jonah's +transgressions, and they abandoned him to his fate. He was thrown into +the water, and on the instant the sea grew calm. (30) + +JONAH IN THE WHALE + +At the creation of the world, God made a fish intended to harbor Jonah. +He as so large that the prophet was as comfortable inside of him as in +a spacious synagogue. The eyes of the fish served Jonah as windows, +and, besides, there was a diamond, which shone as brilliantly as the +sun at midday, so that Jonah could see all things in the sea down to +its very bottom. + +It is a law that when their time has come, all the fish of the sea must +betake themselves to leviathan, and let the monster devour them. The +life term of Jonah's fish was about to expire, and the fish warned +Jonah of what was to happen. When he, with Jonah in his belly, came to +leviathan, the prophet said to the monster: "For thy sake I came +hither. It was meet that I should know thine abode, for it is my +appointed task to capture thee in the life to come and slaughter thee +for the table of the just and pious." When leviathan observed the sign +of the covenant on Jonah's body, he fled affrighted, and Jonah and the +fish were saved. To show his gratitude, the fish carried Jonah +whithersoever there was a sight to be seen. He showed him the river +from which the ocean flows, showed him the spot at which the Israelites +crossed the Red Sea, showed him Gehenna and Sheol, and many other +mysterious and wonderful place. + +Three days Jonah had spent in the belly of the fish, and he still felt +so comfortable that he did not think of imploring God to change his +condition. But God sent a female fish big with three hundred and +sixty-five thousand little fish to Jonah's host, to demand the +surrender of the prophet, else she would swallow both him and the guest +he harbored. The message was received with incredulity, and leviathan +had to come and corroborate it; he himself had heard God dispatch the +female fish on her errand. So it came about that Jonah was transferred +to another abode. His new quarters, which he had to share with all the +little fish, were far from comfortable, and from the bottom of his +heart a prayer for deliverance arose to God on high. (31) The last +words of his long petition were, "I shall redeem my vow," (32) +whereupon God commanded the fish to spew Jonah out. At a distance of +nine hundred and sixty-five parasangs from the fish he alighted on dry +land. These miracles induced the ship's crew to abandon idolatry, and +they all became pious proselytes in Jerusalem. (33) + +THE REPENTANCE OF NINEVEH + +Jonah went straightway to Nineveh, the monster city covering forty +square parasangs and containing a million and half of human beings. He +lost no time in proclaiming their destruction to the inhabitants. The +voice of the prophet was so sonorous that it reached to every corner of +the great city, and all who heard his words resolved to turn aside from +their ungodly ways. At the head of the penitents was King Osnappar of +Assyria. (34) He descended from his throne, removed his crown, strewed +ashes on his head instead, took off his purple garments, and rolled +about in the dust of the highways. In all the streets royal heralds +proclaimed the king's decree bidding the inhabitants fast three days, +wear sackcloth, and supplicate God with tears and prayers to avert the +threatened doom. The people of Nineveh fairly compelled to God's mercy +to descend upon them. They held their infants heavenward, and amid +streaming tears they cried: "For the sake of these innocent babes, hear +our prayers." The young of their stalled cattle they separated from the +mother beasts, the young were left within the stable, the old were put +without. So parted from one another, the young and the old began to +bellow aloud. Then the Ninevites cried: "If Thou wilt not have mercy +upon us, we will not have mercy upon these beasts." + +The penance of the Ninevites did not stop at fasting and praying. Their +deeds showed that they had determined to lead a better life. If a man +had usurped another's property, he sought to make amends for his +iniquity; some went so far as to destroy their palaces in order to be +able to give back a single brick to the rightful owner. Of their own +accord others appeared before the courts of justice, and confessed +their secret crimes and sins, known to none beside themselves, and +declared themselves ready to submit to well-merited punishment, though +it be death that was decreed against them. + +One incident that happened at the time will illustrate the contrition +of the Ninevites. A man found a treasure in the building lot he had +acquired from his neighbor. Both buyer and seller refused to assume +possession of the treasure. The seller insisted that the sale of the +lot carried with it the sale of all it contained. The buyer held that +he had bought the ground, not the treasure hidden therein. Neither +rested satisfied until the judge succeeded in finding out who had +hidden the treasure and where were his heirs, and the joy of the two +was great when they could deliver the treasure up to its legitimate +owners. (35) + +Seeing that the Ninevites had undergone a real change of heart, God +took mercy upon them, and pardoned them. Thereupon Jonah likewise felt +encouraged to plead for himself with God, that He forgive him for his +flight. God spoke to him: "Thou wast mindful of Mine honor," the +prophet had not wanted to appear a liar, so that men's trust in God +might not be shaken "and for this reason thou didst take to sea. +Therefore did I deal mercifully with thee, and rescue thee from the +bowels of Sheol." + +His sojourn in the inside of the fish the prophet could not easily +dismiss from his mind, nor did it remain without visible consequences. +The intense heat in the belly of the fish had consumed his garments, +and made his hair fall out, (36) and he was sore plagued by swarms of +insects. To afford Jonah protection, God caused the kikayon to grow up. +When he opened his eyes one morning, he saw a plant with two hundred +and seventy-five leaves, each leaf measuring more than a span, so that +it afforded relief from the heat of the sun. But the sun smote the +gourd that it withered, and Jonah was again annoyed by the insects. He +began to weep and wish for death to release him from his troubles. But +when God led him to the plant, and showed him what lesson he might +derive from it, how, though he had not labored for the plant, he had +pity on it, he realized his wrong in desiring God to be relentless +toward Nineveh, the great city, with its many inhabitants, rather than +have his reputation as a prophet suffer taint. He prostrated himself +and said: "O God, guide the world according to Thy goodness." + +God was gracious to the people of Nineveh so long as they continued +worthy of His lovingkindness. But at the end of forty days they +departed from the path of piety, and they became more sinful than ever. +Then the punishment threatened by Jonah overtook them, and they were +swallowed up by the earth. (37) + +Jonah's suffering in the watery abyss had been so severe that by way of +compensation of God exempted him from death: living he was permitted to +enter Paradise. (38) Like Jonah, his wife was known far and wide for +her piety. She had gained fame particularly through her pilgrimage to +Jerusalem, a duty which, by reason of her sex, she was not obliged to +fulfil. (39) On one of these pilgrimages it was that the prophetical +spirit first descended upon Jonah. (40) + + + + +IX. +THE LATER KINGS OF JUDAH + +JOASH + +When the prophet Jonah, doing the behest of his master Elisha, anointed +Jehu king over Israel, (1) he poured the oil out of a pitcher, not out +of a horn, to indicate that the dynasty of Jehu would not occupy the +throne long. (2) At first Jehu, though a somewhat foolish (3) king, was +at least pious, but he abandoned his God-fearing ways from the moment +he saw the document bearing the signature of the prophet Ahijah of +Shilo, which bound the signers to pay implicit obedience to Jeroboam. +The king took this as evidence that the prophet had approved the +worship of the golden calves. So it came to pass that Jehu, the +destroyer of Baal worship, did nothing to oppose the idolatrous service +established by Jeroboam at Beth-el. (4) The successors of Jehu were not +better; on the contrary, they were worse, and therefore in the fifth +generation (5) an end was put to the dynasty of Jehu by the hand of the +assassin. + +The kings of Judah differed in no essential particular from their +colleagues in the north. Ahaziah, whom Jehu killed, was a shameless +sinner; he had the Name of God expurged from every passage in which it +occurred in the Holy Scriptures, and the names of idols inserted in its +place. (6) + +Upon the death of Ahaziah followed the reign of terror under the queen +Athaliah, when God exacted payment from the house of David for his +trespass in connection with the extermination of the priest at Nob. As +Abiathar had been the only male descendant of Abimelech to survive the +persecution of Saul, so the sole representative of the house of David +to remain after the sword of Athaliah had raged (7) was Joash, the +child kept in hiding, in the Holy of Holies in the Temple, by the high +priest Jehoiada and his wife Jehosheba. (8) Later Jehoiada vindicated +the right of Joash upon the throne, and installed him as king of Judah. +The very crown worn by the rulers of the house of David testified to +the legitimacy of the young prince, for it possessed the peculiarity of +fitting none but the rightful successors to David. (9) + +At the instigation of Jehoiada, King Joash undertook the restoration of +the Temple. The work was completed so expeditiously that one living at +the time the Temple was erected by Solomon was permitted to see the new +structure shortly before his death. (10) This good fortune befell +Jehoiada (11) himself, the son of Benaiah, commander-in-chief of the +army under Solomon. So long as Joash continued under the tutelage of +Jehoiada, he was a pious king. When Jehoiada departed this life, the +courtiers came to Joash and flattered him: "If thou wert not a god, +thou hadst not been able to abide for six years in the Holy of Holies, +a spot which even the high priest is permitted to enter but once a +year." The king lent ear to their blandishments, and permitted the +people to pay him Divine homage. (12) But when the folly of the king +went to the extreme of prompting him to set up an idol in the Temple, +Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, placed himself at the entrance, and +barring the way said: "Thou shalt not do it so long as I live." (13) +High priest, prophet, and judge though Zechariah was, and son-in-law of +Joash to boot, the king still did not shrink from having him killed for +his presumptuous words, not was he deterred by the fact that it +happened on a Day of Atonement which fell on the Sabbath. (14) The +innocent blood crimsoning the hall of the priests did not remain +unavenged. For two hundred and fifty-two years it did not leave off +seething and pulsating, until, finally, Nebuzaradan, captain of +Nebuchadnezzar's guard, ordered a great carnage among the Judeans, to +avenge the death of Zechariah. (15) + +Joash himself, the murderer of Zechariah, met with an evil end. He fell +into the hands of the Syrians, and they abused him in their barbarous, +immoral way. Before he could recover from the suffering inflicted upon +him, his servants slew him. (16) + +Amaziah, the son and successor of Joash, in many respects resembled his +father. At the beginning of his reign he was God-fearing, but when, +through the aid of God, he had gained a brilliant victory over the +Edomites, he knew no better way of manifesting his gratitude than to +establish in Jerusalem the cult of the idol worshipped by his conquered +enemies. To compass his chastisement, God inspired Amaziah with the +idea of provoking a war with Joash, the ruler of the northern kingdom. +Amaziah demanded that Joash should either recognize the suzerainty of +the southern realm voluntarily, or let the fate of battle decide the +question. (17) At first Joash sought to turn Amaziah aside from his +purpose by a parable reminding him of the fate of Shechem, which the +sons of Jacob had visited upon him for having done violence to their +sister Dinah. (18) Amaziah refused to be warned. He persisted in his +challenge, and a war ensued. The fortune of battle decided against +Amaziah. He suffered defeat, and later he was tortured to death by his +own subjects. (19) + +THREE GREAT PROPHETS + +The reign of Uzziah, who for a little while occupied the throne during +his father Amaziah's lifetime, is notable particularly because it marks +the beginning of the activity of three of the prophets, Hosea, Amos, +and Isaiah. The oldest of the three was Hosea, (20) the son of the +prophet and prince Beeri, the Beeri who later was carried away captive +by Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria. (21) Of Beeri's prophecies we +have but two verses, preserved for us by Isaiah. (22) + +The peculiar marriage contracted by Hosea at the command of God Himself +was not without a good reason. When God spoke to the prophet about the +sins of Israel, expecting him to defend or excuse his people, Hosea +said severely: "O Lord of the world! Thine is the universe. In place of +Israel choose another as Thy peculiar people from among the nations of +the earth." To make the true relation between God and Israel known to +the prophet, he was commanded to take to wife a woman with a dubious +past. After she had borne him several children, God suddenly put the +question to him: "Why followest thou not the example of thy teacher +Moses, who denied himself the joys of family life after his call to +prophecy?" Hosea replied: "I can neither send my wife away nor divorce +her, for she has borne me children." "If, now," said God to him, "thou +who hast a wife of whose honesty thou art so uncertain that thou canst +not even be sure that her children are thine, and yet thou canst not +separate from her, how, then can I separate Myself from Israel, from My +children, the children of My elect, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob!" Hosea +entreated God to pardon him. But God said: "Better were it that thou +shouldst pray for the welfare of Israel, for thou art the cause that I +issued three fateful decrees against them." Hosea prayed as he was +bidden, and his prayer averted the impending threefold doom. (23) + +Hosea died at Babylon at a time in which a journey thence to Palestine +was beset with many perils. Desirous of having his earthly remains rest +in sacred ground, he requested before his death that his bier be loaded +upon a camel, and the animal permitted to make its way as it would. +Wherever it stopped, there his body was to be buried. As he commanded, +so it was done. Without a single mishap the camel arrived at Safed. In +the Jewish cemetery of the town it stood still, and there Hosea was +buried in the presence of a large concourse. (24) + +The prophetical activity of Amos commenced after Hosea's had closed, +and before Isaiah's began. Though he had an impediment in his speech, +(25) he obeyed the call of God, and betook himself to Beth-el to +proclaim to the sinful inhabitants thereof the Divine message with +which he had been charged. The denunciation of the priest Amaziah, of +Beth-el, who informed against the prophet before King Jeroboam of +Israel, did him no harm, for the king, idolater though he was, +entertained profound respect for Amos. He said to himself: "God forbid +I should think the prophet guilty of cherishing traitorous plans, and +if he were, it would surely be at the bidding of God." (26) For this +pious disposition Jeroboam was rewarded; never had the northern kingdom +attained to such power as under him. (27) + +However, the fearlessness of Amos finally caused his death. King Uzziah +inflicted a mortal blow upon his forehead with a red-hot iron. (28) + +Two years after Amos ceased to prophesy, Isaiah was favored with his +first Divine communication. It was the day on which King Uzziah, +blinded by success and prosperity, arrogated to himself the privileges +of the priesthood. He tried to offer sacrifices upon the altar, and +when the high priest Azariah (29) ventured to restrain him, he +threatened to slay him and any priest sympathizing with him unless they +kept silent. Suddenly the earth quaked so violently that a great breach +was torn in the Temple, through which a brilliant ray of sunlight +pierced, falling upon the forehead of the king and causing leprosy to +break forth upon him. Nor was that all the damage done by the +earthquake. On the west side of Jerusalem, half of the mountain was +split off and hurled to the east, into a road, at a distance of four +stadia. (30) And not heaven and earth alone were outraged by Uzziah's +atrocity and sought to annihilate him; even the angels of fire, the +seraphim, were on the point of descending and consuming him, when a +voice from on high proclaimed, that the punishment appointed for Uzziah +was unlike that meted out to Korah and his company despite the +similarity of their crimes. (31) + +When Isaiah beheld the august throne of God on this memorable day, (32) +he was sorely affrighted, for he reproached himself with not having +tried to turn the king away from his impious desire. (33) Enthralled he +hearkened to the hymns of praise sung by the angels, and lost in +admiration he failed to join his voice with theirs. "Woe is me," he +cried out, "that I was silent! Woe is me that I did not join the chorus +of the angels praising God! Had I done it, I, too, like the angels, +would have become immortal, seeing I was permitted to look upon sights +to behold which had brought death to other men." (34) Then he began to +excuse himself: "I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst +of people of unclean lips." At once resounded the voice of God in +rebuke: "Of thyself thou art the master, and of thyself thou mayest say +what thou choosest, but who gave thee the right to calumniate My +children of Israel and call them 'a people of unclean lips'?" And +Isaiah heard God bid one of the seraphim touch his lips with a live +coal as a punishment for having slandered Israel. Though the coal was +so hot that the seraph needed tongs to hold the tongs with which he had +taken the coal from the altar, the prophet yet escaped unscathed, but +he learned the lesson, that it was his duty to defend Israel, not +traduce him. Thenceforth the championship of his people was the +mainspring of the prophet's activity, and he was rewarded by having +more revelations concerning Israel and the other nations vouchsafed him +than any other prophet before or after him. Moreover God designated +Isaiah to be "the prophet of consolation." Thus it happened that the +very Isaiah whose early prophecies foretold the exile and the +destruction of the Temple, (35) later described and proclaimed, in +plainer terms than any other prophet, (36) the brilliant destiny in +store for Israel. + +THE TWO KINGDOMS CHASTISED + +Afflicted with leprosy, Uzziah was unfit to reign as king, and Jotham +administered the affairs of Judah for twenty-five years before the +death of his father. (37) Jotham possessed so much piety that his +virtues added to those of two other very pious men suffice to atone for +all the sins of the whole of mankind committed from the hour of +creation until the end of all time. (38) + +Ahaz, the son of Jotham; was very unlike him. "From first to last he +was a sinner." (39) He abolished the true worship of God, forbade the +study of the Torah, set up an idol in the upper room of the Temple, and +disregarded the Jewish laws of marriage. (40) His transgressions are +the less pardonable, because he sinned against God knowing His grandeur +and power, as appears from his reply to the prophet. Isaiah said to +him: "Ask a sign of God, as, for instance, that the dead should arise, +Korah come up from Sheol, or Elijah descend from heaven." The king's +answer was: "I know thou hast the power to do any of these, but I do +not wish the Name of God to be glorified through me." (41) + +The only good quality possessed by Ahaz was respect for Isaiah. (42) To +avoid his reproaches, Ahaz would disguise himself when he went abroad, +so that the prophet might not recognize him. (43) Only to this +circumstance, joined to the fact he was the father of a pious son and +the son of an equally pious father, is it to be ascribed that, in spite +of his wickedness, Ahaz is not one of those who have forfeited their +portion in the world to come. But he did not escape punishment; on the +contrary, his chastisement was severe, not only as king but also as +man. In the ill-starred war against Pekah, the king of the northern +kingdom, he lost his first-born son, a great hero. (44) + +Pekah, however, was not permitted to enjoy the fruits of his victory, +for the king of Assyria invaded his empire, captured the golden calf at +Dan, and led the tribes on the east side of Jordan away into exile. The +dismemberment of the Israelitish kingdom went on apace for some years. +Then the Assyrians, in the reign of Hoshea, carried off the second +golden calf together with the tribes of Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, and +Naphtali, leaving but one-eighth of the Israelites in their own land. +The larger portion of the exiles was taken to Damascus. After that +Israel's doom overtook it with giant strides, and the last ruler of +Israel actually hastened the end of his kingdom by a pious deed. After +the golden calves were removed by the Assyrians, Hoshea, the king of +the north, abolished the institution of stationing the guards on the +frontier between Judah and Israel to prevent pilgrimages to Jerusalem. +But the people made no use of the liberty granted them. They persisted +in their idolatrous cult, and this quickened their punishment. So long +as their kings had put obstacles in their path, they could excuse +themselves before God for not worshipping Him in the true way. The +action taken by their king Hoshea left them no defense. When the +Assyrians made their third incursion into Israel, the kingdom of the +north was destroyed forever, and the people, one and all, were carried +away into exile. (45) + +The heathen nations settled in Samaria by the Assyrians instead of the +deported Ten Tribes were forced by God to accept the true religion of +the Jews. Nevertheless they continued to worship their olden idols: the +Babylonians paid devotion to a hen, the people of Cuthah to a cock, +those of Hamath to a ram, the dog and the ass were the gods of the +Avvites, and the mule and the horse the gods of the Sepharvites. (46) + +HEZEKIAH + +While the northern kingdom was rapidly descending into the pit of +destruction, a mighty upward impulse was given to Judah, both +spiritually and materially, by its king Hezekiah. In his infancy the +king had been destined as a sacrifice to Moloch. His mother had saved +him from death only by rubbing him with the blood of a salamander, +which made him fire-proof. (47) In every respect he was the opposite of +his father. As the latter is counted among the worst of sinners, so +Hezekiah is counted among the most pious of Israel. His first act as +king is evidence that he held the honor of God to be his chief concern, +important beyond all else. He refused to accord his father regal +obsequies; his remains were buried as though he had been poor and of +plebeian rank. Impious as he was, Ahaz deserved nothing more dignified. +(48) God had Himself made it known to Hezekiah, by a sign, that his +father was to have no consideration paid him. On the day of the dead +king's funeral daylight lasted but two hours, and his body had to be +interred when the earth was enveloped in darkness. (49) + +Throughout his reign, Hezekiah devoted himself mainly to the task of +dispelling the ignorance of the Torah which his father had caused. +While Ahaz had forbidden the study of the law, Hezekiah's orders read: +"Who does not occupy himself with the Torah, renders himself subject to +the death penalty." The academies closed under Ahaz were kept open day +and night under Hezekiah. The king himself supplied the oil needed for +illuminating purposes. Gradually, under this system, a generation grew +up so well trained that one could search the land from Dan even to +Beer-sheba and not find a single ignoramus. The very women and the +children, both boys and girls, knew the laws of "clean and unclean." +(50) By way of rewarding his piety, God granted Hezekiah a brilliant +victory over Sennacherib. + +This Assyrian king, who had conquered the whole world, (51) equipped an +army against Hezekiah like unto which there is none, unless it be the +army of the four kings whom Abraham routed, or the army to be raised by +God and Magog in the Messianic time. Sennacherib's army consisted of +more than two millions and a half of horsemen, among them forty-five +thousand princes sitting in chariots and surrounded by their paramours, +by eighty thousand armor-clad soldiers, and sixty thousand swordsmen. +The camp extended over a space of four hundred parasangs, and the +saddle-beasts standing neck to neck formed a line forty parasangs long. +The host was divided into four divisions. After the first of them had +passed the Jordan, it was well nigh dry, for the soldiers had all +slaked their thirst with water of the river. The second division found +nothing to quench their thirst except the water gathered under the +hoofs of the horses. The third division was forced to dig wells, and +when the fourth division crossed the Jordan, they kicked up great +clouds of dust. (52) + +With this vast army Sennacherib hastened onward, in accordance with the +disclosures of the astrologers, who warned him that he would fail in +his object of capturing Jerusalem, if he arrived there later than the +day set by them. His journey having lasted but one day instead of ten, +as he had expected, he rested at Nob. A raised platform was there +erected for Sennacherib, whence he could view Jerusalem. On first +beholding the Judean capital, the Assyrian king exclaimed: "What! Is +this Jerusalem, the city for whose sake I gathered together my whole +army, for whose sake I first conquered all other lands? Is it not +smaller and weaker than all the cities of the nations I subdued with my +strong hand?" He stretched himself and shook his head, and waved his +hand contemptuously toward the Temple mount and the sanctuary crowning +it. When his warriors urged him to make his attack upon Jerusalem, he +bade them take their ease for one night, and be prepared to storm the +city the next day. It seemed no great undertaking. Each warrior would +but have to pick up as much mortar from the wall as is needed to seal a +letter and the whole city would disappear. But Sennacherib made the +mistake of not proceeding directly to the attack upon the city. If he +had made the assault at once, it would have been successful, for the +sin of Saul against the priest at Nob had not yet been wholly expiated; +on that very day it was fully atoned for. (53) In the following night, +which was the Passover night, when Hezekiah and the people began to +sing the Hallel Psalms, (54) the giant host was annihilated. The +archangel Gabriel (55) sent by God to ripen the fruits of the field, +was charged to address himself to the task of making away with the +Assyrians, and he fulfilled his mission so well that of all the +millions of the army, Sennacherib alone was saved with his two sons, +his son-in-law (56) Nebuchadnezzar, and Nebuzaradan. (57) The death of +the Assyrians happened when the angel permitted them to hear the "song +of the celestials." (58) Their souls were burnt, though their garments +remained intact. (59) Such an end was too good for Sennacherib. To him +a disgraceful death was apportioned. On his flight away from Jerusalem, +he met a Divine apparition in the guise of an old man. He questioned +Sennacherib as to what he would say to the kings allied with him, in +reply to their inquiry about the fate of their sons at Jerusalem. +Sennacherib confessed his dread of a meeting with those kings. The old +man advised him to have his hair cut off, which would change his +appearance beyond recognition. Sennacherib assented, and his advisor +sent him to a house in the vicinity to fetch a pair of shears. Here he +found some people angels in disguise busying themselves with a +hand-mill. They promised to give him the shears, provided he ground a +measure of grain for them. So it grew late and dark by the time +Sennacherib returned to the old man, and he had to procure a light +before his hair could be cut. As he fanned the fire into a flame, a +spark flew into his beard and singed it, and he had to sacrifice his +beard as well as his hair. On his return to Assyria, Sennacherib found +a plank, which he worshipped as an idol, because it was part of the ark +which had saved Noah from the deluge. He vowed that he would sacrifice +his sons to this idol if he prospered in his next ventures. But his +sons heard his vows, and they killed their father, (60) and fled to +Kardu where they released the Jewish captives confined there in great +numbers. With these they marched to Jerusalem, and became proselytes +there. The famous scholars Shemaiah and Abtalion were the descendants +of these two sons of Sennacherib. (61) + +MIRACLES WROUGHT FOR HEZEKIAH + +The destruction of the Assyrian host delivered Hezekiah from an inner +as well as an outer enemy, for he had opponents in Jerusalem, among +them the high priest Shebnah. (62) Shebnah had a more numerous +following in the city than the king himself, (63) and they and their +leader had favored peace with Sennacherib. Supported by Joah, another +influential personage, Shebnah had fastened a letter to a dart, and +shot the dart into the Assyrian camp. The contents of the letter were: +"We and the whole people of Israel wish to conclude peace with thee, +but Hezekiah and Isaiah will not permit it." (64) Shebnah's influence +was so powerful that Hezekiah began to show signs of yielding. Had it +not been for the prophet Isaiah, the king would have submitted to +Sennacherib's demands. + +Shebnah's treachery and his other sins did not go unpunished. When he +and his band of adherents left Jerusalem to join the Assyrians, the +angel Gabriel closed the gate as soon as Shebnah had passed beyond it, +and so he was separated from his followers. To the inquiry of +Sennacherib about the many sympathizers he had written of, he could +give no reply but that they had changed their mind. The Assyrian king +thought Shebnah had made sport of him. He, therefore, ordered his +attendants to bore a hole through his heels, tie him to the tail of a +horse by them, and spur the horse on to run until Shebnah was dragged +to death. (65) + +The unexpected victory won by Hezekiah over the Assyrians, to whom the +kingdom of Samaria had fallen a prey but a short time before, showed +how wrong they had been who had mocked at Hezekiah for his frugal ways. +A king whose meal consisted of a handful of vegetables could hardly be +called a dignified ruler, they had said. These critics would gladly +have seen his kingdom pass into the hands of Pekah, the king of +Samaria, whose dessert, to speak of nothing else, consisted of forty +seim of young pigeons. (66) + +In view of all the wonders God had done for him, it was unpardonable +that Hezekiah did not feel himself prompted at least to sing a song of +praise to God. Indeed, when the prophet Isaiah urged him to it, he +refused, saying that the study of the Torah, to which he devoted +himself with assiduous zeal, was a substitute for direct expressions of +gratitude. Besides, he thought God's miracles would become known to the +world without action on his part, (67) in such ways as these: After the +destruction of the Assyrian army, when the Jews searched the abandoned +camps, they found Pharaoh the king of Egypt and the Ethiopian king +Tirhakah. These kings had hastened to the aid of Hezekiah, and the +Assyrians had taken them captive and clapped them in irons, in which +they were languishing when the Jews came upon them. Liberated by +Hezekiah, the two rulers returned to their respective realms, spreading +the report of the greatness of God everywhere. And again, all the +vassal troops in Sennacherib's army, set free by Hezekiah, accepted the +Jewish faith, and on their way home they proclaimed the kingdom of God +in Egypt and in many other lands. (68) + +By failing in gratitude Hezekiah lost a great opportunity. The Divine +plan had been to make Hezekiah the Messiah, and Sennacherib was to be +God and Magog. Justice opposed this plan, addressing God thus: "O Lord +of the world! David, king of Israel, who sang so many songs and hymns +of praise to Thee, him Thou didst not make the Messiah, and now Thou +wouldst confer the distinction upon Hezekiah, who has no word of praise +for Thee in spite of the manifold wonders Thou hast wrought for him?" +Then the earth appeared before God, and said: "Lord of the world! I +will song Thee a song in place of this righteous man; make him to be +the Messiah," and the earth forthwith intoned a song of praise. +Likewise spake the Prince of the World: (69) "Lord of the world! Do the +will of this righteous man." But a voice from heaven announced: "This +is my secret, this is my secret." And again, when the prophet exclaimed +sorrowfully, "Woe is me! How long, O Lord, how long!" the voice +replied: "The time of the Messiah will arrive when the 'treacherous +dealers and the treacherous dealers' shall have come." (70) + +The sin committed by Hezekiah asleep, he had to atone for awake. If he +refused to devote a song of praise to God for his escape from the +Assyrian peril, he could not refrain from doing it after his recovery +from the dangerous sickness that befell him. (71) This sickness was a +punishment for another sin beside ingratitude. He had "peeled off" the +gold from the Temple, and sent it to the king of the Assyrians; +therefore the disease that afflicted him caused his skin to "peel off." +(72) Moreover, this malady of Hezekiah's was brought upon him by God, +to afford an opportunity for the king and the prophet Isaiah to come +close to each other. The two had had a dispute on a point of etiquette. +(73) The king adduced as a precedent the action of Elijah, who "went to +show himself unto Ahab," and demanded that Isaiah, too, should appear +before him. The prophet, on the other hand, modelled his conduct after +Elisha's, who permitted the kings of Israel, and Judah, and Edom, to +come to him. But God settled the dispute by afflicting Hezekiah with +sickness, and then He bade Isaiah go to the king and pay the visit due +to the sick. The prophet did the bidding of God. When he appeared in +the presence of the ailing king, he said: "Set thine house in order, +for thou wilt die in this world and not live in the next" a fate +which Hezekiah incurred because he had failed to take unto himself a +wife and bring forth posterity. The king's defense, that he had +preferred a celibate's life because he had seen in the holy spirit that +he was destined to have impious children, the prophet did not consider +valid. He rebutted it with the words: "Why does thou concern thyself +with the secrets of the All-Merciful? Thou hast but to do thy duty. God +will do whatsoever it pleases Him." Thereupon Hezekiah asked the +daughter of the prophet in marriage, saying: "Perchance my merits +joined to thine will cause my children to be virtuous." But Isaiah +rejected the proposal of marriage, because he knew that the decree of +God ordaining the king's death was unalterable. Whereupon the king: +"Thou son of thus has it been transmitted to me from the house of my +ancestor: (74) Even if a sharp sword rests at the very throat of a man, +he may yet not refrain from uttering a prayer for mercy." (75) + +And the king was right. Though death had been decreed against him, his +prayer averted it. In his prayer he supplicated God to keep him alive +for the sake of the merits of his ancestors, who had built the Temple +and brought many proselytes into the Jewish fold, and for the sake of +his own merits, for, he said, "I searched out all the two hundred and +forty-eight members of my body which Thou didst give me, and I found +none which I had used in a manner contrary to Thy will." (76) + +His prayer was heard. God added fifteen years to his life, but He made +him understand very clearly, that he owed the mercy solely to the +merits of David, not at all to his own, as Hezekiah fondly believed. +(77) Before Isaiah left the court of the palace, God instructed him to +return to the king, and announce his recovery to him. Isaiah feared +lest Hezekiah should place little trust in his words, as he had but a +short while before predicted his swiftly approaching end. But God +reassured the prophet. In his modesty and piety, the king would harbor +no doubt derogatory to the prophet's trustworthiness. (78) The remedy +employed by Isaiah, a cake of figs applied to the boil, increased the +wonder of Hezekiah's recovery, for it was apt to aggravate the malady +rather than alleviate it. (79) + +A number of miracles besides were connected with the recovery of +Hezekiah. In itself it was remarkable, as being the first case of a +recovery on record. Previously illness had been inevitably followed by +death. Before he had fallen sick, Hezekiah himself had implored God to +change this order of nature. He held that sickness followed by +restoration to health would induce men to do penance. God had replied: +"Thou art right, and the new order shall be begun with thee." (80) +Furthermore, the day of Hezekiah's recovery was marked by the great +miracle that the sun shone ten hours longer than its wonted time. The +remotest lands were amazed thereat, and Baladan, the ruler of Babylon, +was prompted by it to send an embassy to Hezekiah, which was to carry +his felicitations to the Jewish king upon his recovery. Baladan, it +should be said by the way, was not the real king of Babylon. The throne +was occupied by his father, whose face had changed into that of a dog. +Therefore the son had to administer the affairs of state, and he was +known by his father's name as well as his own. (81) This Baladan was in +the habit of dining at noon, and then he took a nap until three o'clock +of the afternoon. On the day of Hezekiah's recovery, when he awoke from +his sleep, and saw the sun overhead, he was on the point of having his +guards executed, because he thought they had permitted him to sleep a +whole afternoon and the night following it. He desisted only when he +was informed of Hezekiah's miraculous recovery, and realised that the +God of Hezekiah was greater than his own god, the sun. (82) He at once +set about sending greetings to the Jewish king. His letter read as +follows: "Peace be with Hezekiah, peace with his great God, and peace +with Jerusalem." After the letter was dispatched, it occurred to +Baladan that it had not been composed properly. Mention of Hezekiah had +been made before mention of God. He had the messengers called back, and +ordered another letter to be written, in which the oversight was made +good. As a reward for his punctiliousness, three of his descendants, +Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach, and Belshazzar, were appointed by God to +be world monarchs. God said: "Thou didst arise from thy throne, and +didst take three steps to do Me honor, by having thy letter re-written, +therefore will I grant thee three descendants who shall be known from +one end of the world to the other." (83) + +The embassy sent by the Babylonian monarch was an act of homage to God +for his miracle-working power. Hezekiah, however, took it to be an act +of homage toward himself, and it had the effect of making him arrogant. +Not only did he eat and drink with the heathen who made up the embassy, +but also, in his haughtiness of mind, he displayed before them all the +treasures which he had captured from Sennacherib, and many other +curiosities besides, among them magnetic iron, a peculiar sort of +ivory, and honey as solid as stone. + +What was worse, he had his wife partake of the meal in honor of the +embassy, and, most heinous crime of all, (84) he opened the holy Ark, +and pointing to the tables of law within it, said to the heathen: "With +the help of these we undertake wars and win victories." (85) God sent +Isaiah to reproach Hezekiah for these acts. The king, instead of +confessing his wrong at once, answered the prophet haughtily. (86) Then +Isaiah announced to him that the treasures taken from Sennacherib (87) +would revert to Babylon some time in the future, and his descendants, +Daniel and the three companions of Daniel, would serve the Babylonia +ruler as eunuchs. (88) + +Despite his pride in this case, Hezekiah was one of the most pious +kings of Judah. Especially he is deserving of praise for his efforts to +have Hebrew literature put into writing, for it was Hezekiah who had +copies made of the books of Isaiah, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and +Proverbs. (89) On the other hand, he had concealed the books containing +medical remedies. (90) + +Great was the mourning over him at his death. No less than thirty-six +thousand men with bared shoulders marched before his bier, and, rarer +distinction still, a scroll of the law was laid upon his bier, for it +was said: "He who rests in this bier, has fulfilled all ordained in +this book." (91) He was buried next to David and Solomon. (92) + +MANASSEH + +Hezekiah had finally yielded to the admonitions of Isaiah, and had +taken a wife unto himself, (93) the daughter of the prophet. But he +entered upon marriage with a heavy heart. His prophetic spirit foretold +to him that the impiousness of the sons he would beget would make their +death to be preferable to their life. These fears were confirmed all +too soon. His two sons, Rabshakeh and Manasseh, showed their complete +unlikeness to their parents in early childhood. Once, when Hezekiah was +carrying his two little ones on his shoulders to the Bet ha-Midrash, he +overheard their conversation. The one said: "Our father's bald head +might do for frying fish." The other rejoined: "It would do well for +offering sacrifices to idols." Enraged by these words, Hezekiah let his +sons slip from his shoulders. Rabshakeh was killed by the fall, but +Manasseh escaped unhurt. (94) Better had it been if Manasseh had shared +his brother's untimely fate. He was spared for naught but murder, +idolatry, and other abominable atrocities. (95) + +After Hezekiah had departed this life, Manasseh ceased to serve the God +of his father. He did whatever his evil imagination prompted. The altar +was destroyed, and in the inner space of the Temple he set up an idol +(96) with four faces, copied from the four figures on the throne of +God. It was so placed that from whatever direction one entered the +Temple, a face of the idol confronted him. (97) + +As Manasseh was sacrilegious toward God, he was malevolent toward his +fellows. He had fashioned an image so large that it required a thousand +men to carry it. Daily a new force was employed on this task, because +Manasseh had each set of porters killed off at the end of the day's +work. All his acts were calculated to cast contempt upon Judaism and +its tenets. It did not satisfy his evil desire to obliterate the name +of God from the Holy Scriptures; (98) he went so far as to deliver +public lectures whose burden was to ridicule the Torah. (99) Isaiah and +the other prophets, Micah, Joel, and Habakkuk, (100) left Jerusalem and +repaired to a mountain in the desert, that they might be spared the +sight of the abominations practiced by the king. Their abiding-place +was disclosed to the king. A Samaritan, a descendant of the false +prophet Zedekiah, had taken refuge in Jerusalem after the destruction +of the Temple. But he did not remain there long; charges were made +against him before the pious king Hezekiah, and he withdrew to +Bethlehem, where he gathered hangers-on about him. This Samaritan it +was who traced the prophets to their retreat, and lodged accusations +against them before Manasseh. (101) The impious king sat in judgment on +Isaiah, and condemned him to death. The indictment against him was that +his prophecies contained teachings in contradiction with the law of +Moses. God said unto Moses: "Thou canst not see My face; for man shall +not see Me and live"; while Isaiah said: "I saw the Lord sitting upon a +throne, high and lifted up." Again, Isaiah compared the princes of +Israel and the people with the impious inhabitants of Sodom and +Gomorrah, and he prophesied the downfall of Jerusalem and the +destruction of the Temple. (102) The prophet offered no explanation. He +was convinced of the uselessness of defending himself, and he preferred +Manasseh should act from ignorance rather than from wickedness. +However, he fled for safety. When he heard the royal bailiffs in +pursuit of him, he pronounced the Name of God, and a cedar-tree +swallowed him up. The king ordered the tree to be sawn in pieces. When +the saw was applied to the portion of the bark under which the mouth of +Isaiah lay concealed, he died. His mouth was the only vulnerable part +of his body, because at the time when he was called to his prophetical +mission, (103) it had made use of the contemptuous words "a people of +unclean lips," regarding Israel. Isaiah died at the age of one hundred +and twenty years, (104) by the hands of his own grandchild. (105) + +God is long-suffering, but in the end Manasseh received the deserved +punishment for his sins and crimes. In the twenty-second year of his +rulership, the Assyrians came and carried him off to Babylon in +fetters, him together with the old Danite idol, Micah's image. (106) In +Babylonia, the king was put into an oven which was heated from below. +Finding himself in this extremity, Manasseh began to call upon god +after god to help him out of his straits. As this proved inefficacious, +he resorted to other means. "I remember," he said, "my father taught me +the verse: 'When thou art in tribulation, if in the latter days thou +shalt return to the Lord thy God, and hearken unto His voice, He will +not fail thee.' Now I cry to God. If He inclines His ear unto me, well +and good; if not, then all kinds of god are alike." The angels stopped +up the windows of heaven, that the prayer of Manasseh might not ascend +to God, and they said: "Lord of the world! Art Thou willing to give +gracious hearing to one who has paid worship to idols, and set up an +idol in the Temple?" "If I did not accept the penance of this man," +replied God, "I should be closing the door in the face of all repentant +sinners." God made a small opening under the Throne of His Glory, and +received the prayer of Manasseh through it. Suddenly a wind arose, and +carried Manasseh back to Jerusalem. (107) His return to God not only +helped him in his distress, but also brought him pardon for all his +sins, so that not even his share in the future world was withdrawn from +him. (108) + +The people of this time were attracted to idolatry with so irresistible +a force that the vast learning of Manasseh, who knew fifty-two +different interpretations of the Book of Leviticus, (109) did not give +him enough moral strength to withstand its influence. Rab Ashi, the +famous compiler of the Talmud, once announced a lecture on Manasseh +with the words: "To-morrow I shall speak about our colleague Manasseh." +At night the king appeared to Ashi in a dreams, and put a ritual +question to him, which the Rabbi could not answer. Manasseh told him +the solution, and Ashi, in amazement at the king's scholarship, asked +why one so erudite had served idols. Manasseh's reply was: "Hadst thou +lived at my time, thou wouldst have caught hold of the hem of my +garment and run after me." (110) + +Amon, the son of Manasseh, surpassed his father in wickedness. He was +in the habit of saying: "My father was a sinner from early childhood, +and in his old age he did penance. I shall do the same. First I shall +satisfy the desires of my heart, and afterward I shall return to God." +(111) Indeed, he was guilty of more grievous sins than his predecessor; +he burned the Torah; under him the place of the altar was covered with +spiderwebs; and, as though of purpose to set at naught the Jewish +religion, he committed the worst sort of incest, a degree more heinous +than his father's crime of a similar nature. (112) Thus he executed the +first half of his maxim literally. For repentance, however, he was +given no time; death cut him off in the fulness of his sinful ways. + +JOSIAH AND HIS SUCCESSORS + +That the full measure of punishment was not meted out to Amon his evil +deeds were such that he should have forfeited his share in the world to +come was due to the circumstance that he had a pious and righteous +son. (113) Josiah offers a shining model of true, sincere repentance. +(114) Though at first he followed in the footsteps of his father Amon, +he soon gave up the ways of wickedness, and became one of the most +pious kings of Israel, whose chief undertaking was the effort to bring +the whole people back to the true faith. It dates from the time when a +copy of the Torah was found in the Temple, a copy that had escaped the +holocaust kindled by his father and predecessor Amon for the purpose of +exterminating the Holy Scriptures. (115) When he opened the Scriptures, +the first verse to strike his eye was the one in Deuteronomy: "The Lord +shall bring thee and thy king into exile, unto a nation which thou hast +not known." Josiah feared this doom of exile was impending, and he +sought to conciliate God through the reform of his people. (116) + +His first step was to enlist the intercession of the prophets in his +behalf. He addressed his request, not to Jeremiah, but to the +prophetess Huldah, knowing that women are more easily moved to +compassion. As Jeremiah was a kinsman of the prophetess their common +ancestors were Joshua and Rahab the king felt no apprehension that +the prophet take his preference for Huldah amiss. The proud, dignified +answer of the prophetess was, that the misfortune could not be averted +from Israel, but the destruction of the Temple, she continued +consolingly, would not happen until after the death of Josiah. (117) In +view of the imminent destruction of the Temple, Josiah hid the holy Ark +and all its appurtenances, in order to guard them against desecration +at the hands of the enemy. (118) + +The efforts of the king in behalf of God and His law found no echo with +the great majority of the people. Though the king was successful in +preventing the worship of idols in public, his subjects knew how to +deceive him. Josiah sent out his pious sympathizers to inspect the +houses of the people, and he was satisfied with their report, that they +had found no idols, not suspecting that the recreant people has +fastened half an image on each wing of the doors, so that the inmates +faced their household idols as they closed the door upon Josiah's +inspectors. + +This godless generation contemporaneous with Josiah was to blame for +his death. When King Pharaoh, in his campaign against the Assyrians, +wanted to travel through Palestine, Jeremiah advised the king not to +deny the Egyptians the passage through his land. He cited a prophecy by +his teacher Isaiah, who had foreseen the war between Assyria and Egypt. +But Josiah retorted: "Moses, thy teacher's teacher, spake: 'I will give +peace in the land, and no sword shall go through your land,' not even +the sword that is not raised against Israel with hostile intent." The +king, innocent of the deception practiced by the people, knew not that +they were idol worshippers, to whom the promises of the Torah have no +application. In the engagement that ensued between the Jews and the +Egyptians, no less than three hundred darts struck the king. In his +death agony he uttered no word of complaint; he only said: "The Lord is +righteous, for I have rebelled against His commandment," thus admitting +his guilt in not having heeded the advice of the prophet. (119) + +So ended the days of this just king after a brilliant career, the only +king since Solomon to rule over both Judah and Israel, for Jeremiah had +brought back to Palestine the ten exiled tribes of the north, and made +them subject to Josiah. (120) The mourning for him was profound. (121) +Even Jeremiah perpetuated his memory in his Lamentations. (122) + +Pharaoh of Egypt was not permitted to enjoy the results of his victory +to the full, for it was soon after this that, in attempting to ascend +the wondrous throne of Solomon, he was stuck down by the lions and +rendered lame by the blow. (123) + +The people put Jehoahaz on the throne of Judah to succeed Josiah, +though his brother Jehoiakim was the older by two years. To silence the +legitimate claims of Jehoiakim, the new king underwent the ceremony of +anointing. (124) But his reign was very brief. At the end of three +months Pharaoh carried him off into exile in Egypt, and Jehoiakim ruled +in his stead. + +Jehoiakim was another of the sinful monarchs of the Jews, uncharitable +toward men and disobedient to God and the laws of God. His garments +were of two kinds of stuff mingled together, his body was tattooed with +the names of idols, and in order that he might appear as a non-Jew, he +performed the operation of an epipost upon himself. Various forms of +incest were committed by him, and, besides, he was in the habit of +putting men to death that he might violate their wives, and confiscate +their possessions. (125) Blasphemous as he was, he spoke: "My +predecessors did not know how to provoke the wrath of God. As for me, I +say frankly, we have no need whatsoever of Him; the very light He gives +us we can dispense with, for the gold of Parvaim can well replace it." +(126) + +Seeing such abominations, God desired to resolve the world into its +original chaos. If He desisted from His purpose, it was only because +the people led a God-fearing life during the time of Jehoiakim. (127) +After he had reigned eleven years, Nebuchadnezzar put an end to his +dominion. Advancing with his army, the Babylonian king halted at +Daphne, a suburb of Antioch. Here he was met by the Sanhedrin of +Jerusalem, who desired to know whether he was coming with the purpose +of destroying the Temple. Nebuchadnezzar assured them, that all he +wanted was the surrender of Jehoiakim, who had rebelled against his +authority. Returned to Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin informed Jehoiakim of +Nebuchadnezzar's intention. The king asked the elders, whether it was +ethical to purchase their lives by sacrificing his. For answer they +referred him to the story of the way Joab dealt with the city of Abel +of Beth-maacah, which had saved itself by surrendering the rebel Sheba, +the son of Bichri. The king's objections did not deter the Sanhedrin +from following the example of Joab acting under the direction of David. +They made Jehoiakim glide down from the city walls of Jerusalem by a +chain. Below, the Babylonians stood ready to receive him. +Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiakim in fetters to all the cities of Judah, +then he slew him, and, his rage still unabated, threw his corpse to the +dogs after having stuck it into the carcass of an ass. (128) The dogs +left nothing of Jehoiakim's body over except his skull, on which were +written the words: "This and something besides." Many centuries later +it was found by a Rabbi near the gates of Jerusalem. He tried in vain +to give it burial; the earth refused to retain it, and the Rabbi +concluded therefrom that it belonged to the corpse of Jehoiakim. He +wrapped the skull in a cloth, and laid it in a closet. One day the wife +of the Rabbi discovered it there, and she burnt it, thinking the skull +belonged to a former wife of her husband, so dear to him even after her +death that he could not separate himself from this relic. (129) + +When Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylonia from his Palestinian +expedition, the people received him with great pomp and solemnity. He +announced to them that in place of Jehoiakim, whom he had slain, he had +installed Mattaniah, the rebel's son, called Jehoiachin, as king over +Judah, and the people uttered the warning: "One cannot educate a +well-behaved puppy whose dam was ill-conditioned; let alone an +ill-conditioned puppy whose dam was ill-conditioned." + +Nebuchadnezzar returned to Daphne, and informed the Sanhedrin, who +hastened from Jerusalem to meet him, that he desired the surrender of +Jehoiachin. If they refused to satisfy his demand, he would destroy the +Temple. When the Jewish king was told the threat of his Babylonian +adversary, he mounted upon the roof of the Temple, and, holding all the +keys of its chambers in his hand, he spoke thus to God: "Until now Thou +didst consider us worthy of confidence, and Thou didst entrust Thy keys +to us. Since Thou no longer dost esteem us trustworthy, here, take back +Thy keys." He was held to his word: a hand was stretched forth from +heaven, and it received the keys. (130) + +Jehoiachin, good and pious, did not desire the city of Jerusalem to be +exposed to peril for his sake. So he delivered himself to the +Babylonian leaders, after they swore that neither city nor people +should suffer harm. But the Babylonians did not keep their oath. A +short while thereafter they carried into exile, not only the king, but +also his mother, and ten thousand (131) of the Jewish nobility and of +the great scholars. (132) This was the second attempt made by +Nebuchadnezzar to deport the Jews. On taking the former king Jehoiakim +captive, he had exiled three hundred of the noblest of the people, +among them the prophet Ezekiel. (133) + +The king Jehoiachin was incarcerated for life, a solitary prisoner, +separated from his wife and his family. The Sanhedrin, who were among +those deported with the king, feared that the house of David die out. +They therefore besought Nebuchadnezzar not to separate Jehoiachin from +his wife. They succeeded in enlisting the sympathy of the queen's +hairdresser, and through her of the queen herself, Semiramis, the wife +of Nebuchadnezzar, who in turn prevailed upon the king to accord mild +treatment to the unfortunate prince exiled from Judea. Suffering had +completely changed the once sinful king, so that, in spite of his great +joy over his reunion with his wife, he still paid regard to the +prescriptions of the Jewish law regulating conjugal life. He was +prepared to deny himself every indulgence, when the purchase price was +an infringement of the word of God. Such steadfastness pleaded with God +to pardon the king for his sins, and the heavenly Sanhedrin absolved +God from His oath, to crush Jehoiachin and deprive his house of +sovereignty. (134) By way of reward for his continence he was blessed +with distinguished posterity. Not only was Zerubbabel, the first +governor of Palestine after the destruction of the Temple, a grandson +of Jehoiachin's, (135) but also the Messiah himself will be a +descendant of his. (136) + + + + +X. +THE EXILE + +ZEDEKIAH + +The execution of one king and the deportation of another were but +preludes to the great national catastrophe in the time of Zedekiah, the +destruction of the Temple and the exile of the whole people. After +Nebuchadnezzar had led Jehoiachin and a portion of the people into +banishment, his commiseration was aroused for the Jews, and he +inquired, whether any other sons of Josiah were still living. Only +Mattaniah was left. (1) He was re-named Zedekiah, in the hope that he +would be the father of pious sons. In reality the name became the omen +of the disasters to happen in the time of this king. + +Nebuchadnezzar, who invested Zedekiah with the royal office, demanded +that he swear fealty to him. Zedekiah was about to swear by his own +soul, but the Babylonian king, not satisfied, brought a scroll of the +law, and made his Jewish vassal take the oath upon that. (2) +Nevertheless he did not keep faith with Nebuchadnezzar for long. Nor +was this his only treachery toward his suzerain. He had once surprised +Nebuchadnezzar in the act of cutting a piece from a living hare and +eating it, as is the habit of barbarians. Nebuchadnezzar was painfully +embarrassed, and he begged the Jewish king to promise under oath not to +mention what he had seen. Though Nebuchadnezzar treated him with great +friendliness, even making him sovereign lord over five vassal kings, he +did not justify the trust reposed in him. To flatter Zedekiah, the five +kings once said: "If all were as it should be, thou wouldst occupy the +throne of Nebuchadnezzar." Zedekiah could not refrain from exclaiming: +"O yes, Nebuchadnezzar, whom I once saw eating a live hare!" + +The five kings at once repaired to Nebuchadnezzar, and reported what +Zedekiah had said. Thereupon the king of Babylonia marched to Daphne, +near Antioch, with the purpose of chastising Zedekiah. At Daphne he +found the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem, who had hastened thither to receive +him. Nebuchadnezzar met the Sanhedrin courteously, ordered his +attendants to bring state chairs for all the members, and requested +them to read the Torah to him and explain it. When they reached the +passage in the Book of Numbers dealing with the remission of vows, the +king put the question: "If a man desires to be released from a vow, +what steps must he take?" The Sanhedrin replied: "He must repair to a +scholar, and he will absolve him from his vow." Whereupon +Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed: "I verily believe it was you who released +Zedekiah from the vow he took concerning me." And he ordered the +members of the Sanhedrin to leave their state chairs and sit on the +ground. (3) They were forced to admit, that they had not acted in +accordance with the law, for Zedekiah's vow affected another beside +himself, and without the acquiescence of the other party, namely, +Nebuchadnezzar, the Sanhedrin had no authority to annul the vow. (4) + +Zedekiah was duly punished for the grievous crime of perjury. When +Jerusalem was captured, he tried to escape through a cave extending +from his house to Jericho. God sent a deer into the camp of the +Chaldeans, and in their pursuit of this game, the Babylonian soldiers +reached the farther opening of the cave at the very moment when +Zedekiah was leaving it. (5) The Jewish king together with his ten sons +was brought before Nebuchadnezzar, who addressed Zedekiah thus: "Were I +to judge thee according to the law of thy God, thou wouldst deserve the +death penalty, for thou didst swear a false oath by the Name of God; no +less wouldst thou deserve death, if I were to judge thee according to +the law of the state, for thou didst fail in thy sworn duty to thy +overlord." + +Zedekiah requested the grace that his execution take place before his +children's, and he be spared the sight of their blood. His children, on +the other hand, besought Nebuchadnezzar to slay them before he slew +their father, that they might be spared the disgrace of seeing their +father executed. In his heartlessness Nebuchadnezzar had resolved worse +things than Zedekiah anticipated. In the sight of their father, the +children of Zedekiah were killed, and then Zedekiah himself was +deprived of sight; his eyes were blinded. (6) He had been endowed with +eyes of superhuman strength, they were the eyes of Adam, and the +iron lances forced into them were powerless to destroy his sight. +Vision left him only because of the tears he shed over the fate of his +children. (7) Now he realized how true Jeremiah had spoken when he had +prophesied his exile to Babylonia. Though he should live there until +his death, he would never behold the land with his eyes. On account of +its seeming contradictoriness, Zedekiah had thought the prophecy +untrue. For this reason he had not heeded Jeremiah's advice to make +peace with Nebuchadnezzar. Now it had all been verified; he was carried +to Babylonia a captive, yet, blind as he was, he did not see the land +of his exile. (8) + +JEREMIAH + +Though Zedekiah besmirched his career by perjury, he was nevertheless +so good and just a king that for his sake God relinquished his purpose +of returning the world to its original chaos, as a punishment for the +evil-doing of a wicked generation. (9) In this depraved time, it was +first and foremost Jeremiah to whom was delegated the task of +proclaiming the word of God. He was a descendant of Joshua and Rahab, +and his father was the prophet (10) Hilkiah. He was born while his +father was fleeing (11) from the persecution of Jezebel, the murderess +of prophets. At his very birth he showed signs that he was destined to +play a great part. He was born circumcised, (12) and scarcely had he +left his mother's womb when he broke into wailing, and his voice was +the voice, not of a babe, but of a youth. He cried: "My bowels, my +bowels tremble, the walls of my heart they are disquieted, my limbs +quake, destruction upon destruction I bring upon earth." In this strain +he continued to moan and groan, complaining of the faithlessness of his +mother, and when she expressed her amazement at the unseemly speech of +her new-born son, Jeremiah said: "Not thee do I mean, my mother, not to +thee doth my prophecy refer; I speak of Zion, and against Jerusalem are +my words directed. She adorns her daughters, arrays them in purple, and +puts golden crowns upon their heads. Robbers will come and strip them +of their ornaments." + +As a lad he received the call to be a prophet. But he refused to obey, +saying: "O Lord, I cannot go as a prophet to Israel, for when lived +there a prophet whom Israel did not desire to kill? Moses and Aaron +they sought to stone with stones; Elijah the Tishbite they mocked at +because his hair was grown long; and they called after Elisha, 'Go up, +thou bald head' no, I cannot go to Israel, for I am still naught but +a lad." God replied: "I love youth, for it is innocent. When I carried +Israel out of Egypt, I called him a lad, and when I think of Israel +lovingly, I speak of him as a lad. Say not, therefore, thou art only a +lad, but thou shalt go on whatsoever errand I shall send thee. Now, +then," God, continued, "take the 'cup of wrath,' and let the nations +drink of it." Jeremiah put the question which land was to drink first +from the "cup of wrath," and the answer of God was: "First Jerusalem is +to drink, the head of all earthly nations, and then the cities of +Judah." When the prophet heard this, he began to curse the day of his +birth. "I am like the high priest," he said, "who has to administer the +'water of bitterness' to a woman who is held under the suspicion of +adultery, and when he approaches the woman with the cup, lo, he beholds +his own mother. And I, O Mother Zion, thought, when I was called to +prophesy, that I was appointed to proclaim prosperity and salvation to +thee, but now I see that my message forebodes thee evil." + +Jeremiah's first appearance in public was during the reign of Josiah, +when he announced to the people in the streets: "If ye will give up +your wicked doings, God will raise you above all nations; if not, He +will deliver His house into the hands of the enemies, and they will +deal with it as seemeth best to them." + +The prophets contemporary with Jeremiah in his early years were +Zechariah and Huldah. The province of the latter was among women, while +Zechariah was active in the synagogue. (13) Later, under Jehoiakim, +Jeremiah was supported by the prophets of his relative Uriah of +Kiriathjearim, a friend of the prophet Isaiah. (14) But Uriah was put +to death by the ungodly king, the same who had the first chapter of +Lamentations burnt after obliterating the Name of God wherever it +occurs in the whole book. But Jeremiah added four chapters. (15) + +The prophet fell upon evil times under Zedekiah. He had both the people +and the court against him. Nor was that surprising in a day when not +even the high priests in the Temple bore the sign of the covenant upon +their bodies. (16) Jeremiah had called forth general hostility by +condemning the alliance with Egypt against Babylonia, and favoring +peace with Nebuchadnezzar; and this though to all appearances the help +of the Egyptians would prove of good effect for the Jews. The hosts of +Pharaoh Necho had actually set forth from Egypt to join the Jews +against Babylon. But when they were on the high seas, God commanded the +waters to cover themselves with corpses. Astonished, the Egyptians +asked each other, whence the dead bodies. Presently the answer occurred +to them: they were the bodies of their ancestors drowned in the Red Sea +on account of the Jews, who had shaken off Egyptian rule. "What," said +the Egyptians thereupon, "shall we bring help to those who drowned our +fathers?" So they returned to their own country, justifying the warning +of Jeremiah, that no dependence could be put upon Egyptian promises. +(17) + +A little while after this occurrence, when Jeremiah wanted to leave +Jerusalem to go to Anathoth and partake of his priestly portion there, +the watchman at the gate accused him of desiring to desert to the +enemy. He was delivered to his adversaries at court, and they confined +him in prison. The watchman knew full well that it was a trumped up +charge he was bringing against Jeremiah, and the intention attributed +to him was as far as possible from the mind of the prophet, but he took +this opportunity to vent an old family grudge. For this gateman was a +grandson of the false prophet Hananiah, the enemy of Jeremiah, the one +who had prophesied complete victory over Nebuchadnezzar within two +years. It were proper to say, he calculated the victory rather than +prophesied it. He reasoned: "If unto Elam, which is a mere ally of the +Babylonians against the Jews, destruction has been appointed by God +through Jeremiah, so much the more will the extreme penalty fall upon +the Babylonians themselves, who have inflicted vast evil upon the +Jews." (18) Jeremiah's prophecy had been the reverse: so far from +holding forth any hope that a victory would be won over Nebuchadnezzar, +the Jewish state, he said, would suffer annihilation. Hananiah demanded +a sign betokening the truth of Jeremiah's prophecy. But Jeremiah +contended there could be no sign for such a prophecy as his, since the +Divine determination to do evil can be annulled. On the other hand, it +was the duty of Hananiah to give a sign, for he was prophesying +pleasant things, and the Divine resolution for good is executed +without. (19) Finally, Jeremiah advanced the clinching argument: "I, a +priest, may be well content with the prophecy; it is to my interest +that the Temple should continue to stand. As for thee, thou art a +Gibeonite, thou wilt have to do a slave's service in it so long as +there is a Temple. But instead of troubling thy mind with the future in +store for others, thou shouldst rather have thought of thine own +future, for this very year thou wilt die." Hananiah, in very truth, +died on the last day of the year set as his term of life, but before +his death he ordered that it should be kept secret for two days, so to +give the lie to Jeremiah's prophecy. With his last words, addressed to +his son Shelemiah, he charged him to seek every possible way of taking +revenge upon Jeremiah, to whose curse his death was to be ascribed. +Shelemiah had no opportunity of fulfilling his father's last behest, +but it did not pass from his mind, and when he, in turn, lay upon his +death-bed, he impressed the duty of revenge upon his son Jeriah. It was +the grandson of Hananiah who, when he saw Jeremiah leaving the city, +hastened to take the opportunity of accusing the prophet of treason. +His purpose prospered. The aristocratic enemies of Jeremiah, enraged +against him, welcomed the chance to put him behind prison bars, and +gave him in charge of a jailer, Jonathan, who had been a friend of the +false prophet Hananiah. Jonathan pleased himself by mocking at his +prisoner: "See," he would say, "see what honor thy friend does thee, to +put thee in so fine a prison as this; verily, it is a royal palace." + +Despite his suffering, Jeremiah did not hold back the truth. When the +king inquired of him, whether he had a revelation from God, he replied: +"Yes, the king of Babylonia will carry thee off into exile." To avoid +irritating the king, he went into no further detail. He only prayed the +king to liberate him from prison, saying: "Even wicked men like +Hananiah and his descendants at least cast about for a pretext when +they desire to take revenge, and their example ought not to be lost +upon thee who art called Zedekiah, 'just man.'" The king granted his +petition, but Jeremiah did not enjoy liberty for long. Hardly out of +prison, he again advised the people to surrender, and the nobility +seized him and cast him into a lime pit filled with water, where they +hoped he would drown. But a miracle happened. The water sank to the +bottom, and the mud rose to the surface, and supported the prophet +above the water. Help came to him from Ebed-melech, a "white raven," +the only pious man at court. Ebed-melech hastened to the king and +spoke: "Know, if Jeremiah perishes in the lime pit, Jerusalem will +surely be captured." With the permission of the king, Ebed-melech went +to the pit, and cried out aloud several times, "O my lord Jeremiah," +but no answer came. Jeremiah feared the words were spoken by his former +jailer Jonathan, who had not given up his practice of mocking at the +prophet. He would come to the edge of the pit and call down jeeringly: +"Do not rest thy head on the mud, and take a little sleep, Jeremiah." +To such sneers Jeremiah made no reply, and hence it was that +Ebed-melech was left unanswered. Thinking the prophet dead, he began to +lament and tear his clothes. Then Jeremiah, realizing that it was a +friend, and not Jonathan, asked: "Who is it that is calling my name and +weeps therewith?" and he received the assurance that Ebed-melech had +come to rescue him from his perilous position. (20) + +NEBUCHADNEZZAR + +The suffering to which Jeremiah was exposed was finally ended by the +capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. This Babylonian king was a son +of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. (21) His first contact with the +Jews happened in the time of his father-in-law Sennacherib, whom he +accompanied on his campaign against Hezekiah. The destruction of the +Assyrian army before the walls of Jerusalem, the great catastrophe from +which only Nebuchadnezzar and four others escaped with their life, +inspired him with fear of God. (22) Later, in his capacity as secretary +to the Babylonian king Merodach-baladan, it was he who called his +master's notice to the mention of the Jewish king's name before the +Name of God. "Thou callest Him 'the great God,' yet thou dost name Him +after the king," he said. Nebuchadnezzar himself hastened after the +messenger to bring back the letter and have it changed. He had advanced +scarce three steps when he was restrained by the angel Gabriel, for +even the few paces he had walked for the glory of God earned him his +great power over Israel. A further step would have extended his ability +to inflict harm immeasurably. (23) + +For eighteen years daily a heavenly voice resounded in the palace of +Nebuchadnezzar, saying: "O thou wicked slave, go and destroy the house +of thy Lord, for His children hearken not unto Him." But Nebuchadnezzar +was beset with fears lest God prepare a fate for him similar to that of +his ancestor Sennacherib. He practiced belomancy and consulted other +auguries, to assure himself that he was against Jerusalem would result +favorably. When he shook up the arrows, and questioned whether he was +to go to Rome or Alexandria, not one arrow sprang up, but when he +questioned about Jerusalem, one sprang up. He sowed seeds and set out +planets; for Rome or Alexandria nothing came up; for Jerusalem +everything sprouted and grew. He lighted candles and lanterns; for Rome +or Alexandria they refused to burn, for Jerusalem they shed their +light. He floated vessels on the Euphrates; for Rome or Alexandria they +did not move, for Jerusalem they swam. (24) + +Still the fears of Nebuchadnezzar were not allayed. His determination +to attack the Holy City ripened only after God Himself had shown him +how He had bound the hands of the archangel Michael, the patron of the +Jews, behind his back, in order to render him powerless to bring to his +wards. So the campaign against Jerusalem was undertaken. (25) + +THE CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM + +If the Babylonians thought that the conquest of Jerusalem was an easy +task, they were greatly mistaken. For three years God endured the +inhabitants with strength to withstand the onslaughts of the enemy, in +the hope that the Jews would amend their evil ways and abandon their +godless conduct, so that the threatened punishment might be annulled. + +Among the many heroes in the beleaguered city that was bidding defiance +to the Babylonians, one by the name of Akiba was particularly +distinguished. The stones were hurled at the walls of the city from the +catapults wielded by the enemy without, he was wont to catch on his +feet, and throw them back upon the besiegers. Once it happened that a +stone was so cast as to drop, not upon the wall, but in front of it. In +his swift race toward it, Akiba was precipitated into the space between +the inner and the outer wall. He quickly reassured his friends in the +city, that his fall had in no wise harmed him. He was only a little +shaken up and weak; as soon as he had his accustomed daily meal, a +roasted ox, he would be able to scale the wall and resume the struggle +with the Babylonians. But human strength and artifice avail naught +against God. A gust of wind arose, and Akiba was thrown from the wall, +and he died. Thereupon the Chaldeans made a breach in the wall, and +penetrated into the city. (26) + +Equally fruitless were the endeavors of Hanamel, the uncle of Jeremiah, +to save the city. He conjured the angels up, armed them, and had them +occupy the walls. The Chaldeans retreated in terror at the sight of the +heavenly host. But God changed the names of the angels, and brought +them back to heaven. Hanamel's exorcisms availed naught. When he called +the Angel of the Water, for instance, the response would come from the +Angel of Fire, who bore the former name of his companion. Then Hanamel +resorted to the extreme measure of summoning the Prince of the World, +who raised Jerusalem high up in the air. But God thrust the city down +again, and the enemy entered unhindered. (27) + +Nevertheless, the capture of the city could not have been accomplished +if Jeremiah had been present. His deeds were as a firm pillar for the +city, and his prayers as a stony wall. Therefore God sent the prophet +(28) on an errand out of the city. He was made to go to his native +place, Anathoth, to take possession of a field, his by right of +inheritance. Jeremiah rejoiced; he took this as a sign that God would +be gracious to Judah, else He would not have commanded him to take +possession of a piece of land. Scarcely had the prophet left Jerusalem +when an angel descended upon the wall of the city and caused a breach +to appear, at the same time crying out: "Let the enemy come and enter +the house, for the Master of the house is no longer therein. The enemy +has leave to despoil it and destroy it. Go ye into the vineyard and +snap the vines asunder, for the Watchman hath gone away and abandoned +it. But let no man boast and say, he and his have vanquished the city. +Nay, a conquered city have ye conquered, a dead people have ye killed." + +The enemy rushed in and ascended the Temple mount, and on the spot +whereon King Solomon had been in the habit of sitting when he took +counsel with the elders, the Chaldeans plotted how to reduce the Temple +to ashes. During their sinister deliberations, they beheld four angels, +each with a flaming torch in his hand, descending and setting fire to +the four corners of the Temple. The high priest, seeing the flames +shoot up, cast the keys of the Temple heavenward, saying: "Here are the +keys of Thy house; it seems I am an untrustworthy custodian," and, as +he turned, he was seized by the enemy and slaughtered in the very place +on which he had been wont to offer the daily sacrifice. With him +perished his daughter, her blood mingling with her father's. The +priests and the Levites threw themselves into the flames with their +harps and trumpets, and, to escape the violence feared from the +licentious Chaldeans, (29) the virgins who wove the curtains for the +sanctuary followed their example. Still more horrible was the carnage +caused among the people by Nebuzaradan, spurred on as he was by the +sight of the blood of the murdered prophet Zechariah seething on the +floor of the Temple. At first the Jews sought to conceal the true story +connected with the blood. At length they had to confess, that it was +the blood of a prophet who had prophesied the destruction of the +Temple, and for his candor had been slain by the people. Nebuzaradan, +to appease the prophet, ordered the scholars of the kingdom to be +executed first on the bloody spot, then the school children, and at +last the young priests, more than a million souls in all. But the blood +of the prophet went on seething and reeking, until Nebuzaradan +exclaimed: "Zechariah, Zechariah, the good in Israel I have +slaughtered. Dost thou desire the destruction of the whole people?" +Then the blood ceased to seethe. + +Nebuzaradan was startled by the thought, if the Jews, who had a single +life upon their conscience, were made to atone so cruelly, what would +be his own fate! He left Nebuchadnezzar and became a proselyte. (30) + +THE GREAT LAMENT + +On his return from Anathoth, Jeremiah saw, at a distance, smoke curling +upward from the Temple mount, and his spirit was joyful. He thought the +Jews had repented of their sins, and were bringing incense offerings. +Once within the city walls, he knew the truth, that the Temple had +fallen a prey to the incendiary. Overwhelmed by grief, he cried out: "O +Lord, Thou didst entice me, and I permitted myself to be enticed; Thou +didst send me forth out of Thy house that Thou mightest destroy it." +(31) + +God Himself was deeply moved by the destruction of the Temple, which He +had abandoned that the enemy might enter and destroy it. Accompanied by +the angels, He visited the ruins, and gave vent to His sorrow: "Woe is +Me on account of My house. Where are My children, where My priests, +where My beloved? But what could I do for you? Did I not warn you? Yet +you would not mend your ways." "To-day," God said to Jeremiah, "I am +like a man who has an only son. He prepares the marriage canopy for +him, and his only beloved dies under it. Thou doest seem to feel but +little sympathy with Me and with My children. Go, summon Abraham, +Isaac, Jacob, and Moses from their graces. They know how to mourn." +"Lord of the world," replied Jeremiah, "I know not where Moses is +buried." "Stand on the banks of the Jordan," said God, "and cry: 'Thou +son of Amram, son of Amram, arise, see how wolves have devoured thy +sheep.'" + +Jeremiah repaired to the Double Cave, and spake to the Patriarchs: +"Arise, ye are summoned to appear before God." When they asked him the +reason of the summons, he feigned ignorance, for he feared to tell them +the true reason; they might have cast reproaches upon him that so great +a disaster had overtaken Israel in his time. Then Jeremiah journeyed on +to the banks of the Jordan, and there he called as he had been bidden: +"Thou son of Amram, son of Amram, arise, thou are cited to appear +before God." "What has happened this day, that God calls me unto Him?" +asked Moses. "I know not," replied Jeremiah again. Moses thereupon went +to the angels, and from them he learned that the Temple had been +destroyed, and Israel banished from his land. Weeping and mourning, +Moses joined the Patriarchs, and together, rending their garments and +wringing their hands, they betook themselves to the ruins of the +Temple. Here their wailing was augmented by the loud lamentations of +the angels: (32) "How desolate are the highways to Jerusalem, the +highways destined for travel without end! How deserted are the streets +that once were thronged at the seasons of the pilgrimages! O Lord of +the world, with Abraham the father of Thy people, who taught the world +to know Thee as the ruler of the universe, Thou didst make a covenant, +that through him and his descendants the earth should be filled with +people, and now Thou hast dissolved Thy covenant with him. O Lord of +the world! Thou hast scorned Zion and Jerusalem, once Thy chosen +habitation. Thou hast dealt more harshly with Israel than with the +generation of Enosh, the first idolaters." + +God thereupon said to the angels: "Why do ye array yourselves against +Me with your complaints?" "Lord do the world," they replied, "on +account of Abraham, Thy beloved, who has come into Thy house wailing +and weeping, yet Thou payest no heed unto him." Thereupon God: "Since +My beloved ended his earthly career, he has not been in My house. 'What +hath My beloved to do in My house'?" (33) + +Now Abraham entered into the conversation: "Why, O Lord of the world, +hast Thou exiled my children, delivered them into the hands of the +nations, who torture them with all tortures, and who have rendered +desolate the sanctuary, where I was ready to bring Thee my son Isaac as +a sacrifice?" "Thy children have sinned," said God, "they have +transgressed the whole Torah, they have offended against every letter +of it." Abraham: "Who is there that will testify against Israel, that +he has transgressed the Torah?" God: "Let the Torah herself appear and +testify." The Torah came, and Abraham addressed her: "O my daughter, +dost thou indeed come to testify against Israel, to say that he +violated thy commandments? Dost thou feel no shame? Remember the day on +which God offered thee to all the peoples, all the nations of the +earth, and they all rejected thee with disdain. (34) Then my children +came to Sinai, they accepted thee, and they honored thee. And now, on +the day of their distress, thou standest up against them?" Hearing +this, the Torah stepped aside, and did not testify. "Let the twenty-two +letters of the Hebrew alphabet in which Torah is written come and +testify against Israel," said God. They appeared without delay, and +Alef, the first letter, was about to testify against Israel, when +Abraham interrupted it with the words: "Thou chief of all letters, thou +comest to testify against Israel in the time of his distress? Be +mindful of the day on which God revealed Himself on Mount Sinai, +beginning His words with thee: 'Anoki the Lord thy God.' No people, no +nation accepted thee, only my children, and now thou comest to testify +against them!" Alef stepped aside and was silent. The same happened +with the second letter Bet, (35) and with the third, Gimel, and with +all the rest all of them retired abashed, and opened not their mouth. +Now Abraham turned to God and said: "O Lord of the world! When I was a +hundred years old, Thou didst give me a son, and when he was in the +flower of his age, thirty-seven years old, Thou didst command me to +sacrifice him to Thee, and I, like a monster, without compassion, I +bound him upon the altar with mine own hands. Let that plead with Thee, +and have Thou pity on my children." + +Then Isaac raised his voice and spake: "O Lord of the world, when my +father told me, 'God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt +offering, my son,' I did not resist Thy word. Willingly I let myself be +tied to the altar, my throat was raised to meet the knife. Let that +plead with Thee, and have Thou pity on my children." + +Then Jacob raised his voice and spake: "O Lord of the world, for twenty +years I dwelt in the house of Laban, and when I left it, I met with +Esau, who sought to murder my children, and I risked my life for +theirs. And now they are delivered into the hands of their enemies, +like sheep led to the shambles, after I coddled them like fledglings +breaking forth from their shells, after I suffered anguish for their +sake all the days of my life. Let that plead with Thee, and have Thou +pity on my children." + +And at last Moses raised his voice and spake: "O Lord of the world, was +I not a faithful shepherd unto Israel for forty long years? Like a +steed I ran ahead of him in the desert, and when the time came for him +to enter the Promised Land, Thou didst command: 'Here in the desert +shall thy bones drop!' And now that the children of Israel are exiled, +Thou hast sent for me to mourn and lament over them. That is what the +people mean when they say: The good fortune of the master is none for +the slave, but the master's woe is his woe." And turning to Jeremiah, +he continued: "Walk before me, I will lead them back; let us see who +will venture to raise a hand against them." Jeremiah replied: "The +roads cannot be passed, they are blocked with corpses." But Moses was +not to be deterred, and the two, Moses following Jeremiah, reached the +rivers of Babylon. When the Jews saw Moses, they said: "The son of +Amram has ascended from his grave to redeem us from our enemies." (36) +At that moment a heavenly voice was heard to cry out: "It is decreed!" +And Moses said: "O my children, I cannot redeem you, the decree is +unalterable may God redeem you speedily," and he departed from them. + +The children of Israel raised their voices in sore lamentations, and +the sound of their grief pierced to the very heavens. Meantime Moses +returned to the Fathers, and reported to them to what dire suffering +the exiled Jews were exposed, and they all broke out into woe-begone +plaints. (37) In his bitter grief, Moses exclaimed: "Be cursed, O sun, +why was not thy light extinguished in the hour in which the enemy +invaded the sanctuary?" The sun replied: "O faithful shepherd, I sware +by the life, I could not grow dark. The heavenly powers would not +permit it. Sixty fiery scourges they dealt me, and they said, 'Go and +let thy light shine forth,'" (38) Another last complaint Moses uttered: +"O Lord of the world, Thou hast written it in Thy Torah: 'And whether +it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day.' +How many mothers have they slaughtered with their children and Thou +art silent!" + +Then, with the suddenness of a flash, Rachel, our mother, stood before +the Holy One, blessed be He: "Lord of the world," she said, "Thou +knowest how overwhelming was Jacob's love for me, and when I observed +that my father thought to put Leah in my place, I gave Jacob secret +signs, that the plan of my father might be set at naught. But then I +repented me of what I had done, and to spare my sister mortification, I +disclosed the signs to her. More than this, I myself was in the bridal +chamber, and when Jacob spake with Leah, I made reply, lest her voice +betray her. I, a woman, a creature of flesh and blood, of dust and +ashes, was not jealous of my rival. Thou, O God, everlasting King, Thou +eternal and merciful Father, why wast Thou jealous of the idols, empty +vanities? Why hast Thou driven out my children, slain them with swords, +left them at the mercy of their enemies?" Then the compassion of the +Supreme God was awakened, and He said: "For thy sake, O Rachel, I will +lead the children of Israel back to their land." (39) + +JEREMIAH'S JOURNEY TO BABYLON + +When Nebuchadnezzar dispatched his general Nebuzaradan to the capture +of Jerusalem, he gave him three instructions regarding the mild +treatment of Jeremiah: "Take him, and look well to him, and do him no +harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee." At the same time +he enjoined him to use pitiless cruelty toward the rest of the people. +But the prophet desired to share the fate of his suffering brethren, +and when he saw a company of youths in the pillory, he put his own head +into it. Nebuzaradan would always withdraw him again. Thereafter if +Jeremiah saw a company of old men clapped in chains, he would join them +and share their ignominy, until Nebuzaradan released him. Finally, +Nebuzaradan said to Jeremiah: "Lo, thou art one of three things; either +thou are a prophesier of false things, or thou art a despiser of +suffering, or thou art a shedder of blood. A prophesier of false things + for since many a year hast thou been prophesying the downfall of this +city, and now, when thy prophecy has come true, thou sorrowest and +mournest. Or a despiser of suffering for I seek to do thee naught +harmful, and thou thyself pursuest what is harmful to thee, as thou to +say, 'I am indifferent to pain.' Or a shedder of blood for the king +has charged me to have a care of thee, and let no harm come upon thee, +but as thou insistest upon seeking evil for thyself, it must be that +the king may hear of thy misfortune, and put me to death." (40) + +At first Jeremiah refused Nebuzaradan's offer to let him remain in +Palestine. He joined the march of the captives going to Babylon, along +the highways streaming with blood and strewn with corpses. When they +arrived at the borders of the Holy Land, they all, prophet and people, +broke out into loud wails, and Jeremiah said: "Yes, brethren and +countrymen, all this hath befallen you, because ye did not hearken unto +the words of my prophecy." (41) Jeremiah journeyed with them until they +came to the banks of the Euphrates. Then God spoke to the prophet: +"Jeremiah, if thou remainest here, I shall go with them, and if thou +goest with them, I shall remain here." Jeremiah replied: "Lord of the +world, if I go with them, what doth it avail them? Only if their King, +their Creator accompanies them, will it bestead them." (42) + +When the captives saw Jeremiah make preparations to return to +Palestine, they began to weep and cry: "O Father Jeremiah, wilt thou, +too, abandon us?" "I call heaven and earth to witness," said the +prophet, "had you wept but once in Zion, ye had not been driven out." +(43) + +Beset with terrors was the return journey for the prophet. Corpses lay +everywhere, and Jeremiah gathered up all the fingers that lay about; he +strained them to his heart, fondled them, kissed them, and wrapped them +in his mantle, saying sadly: "Did I not tell you, my children, did I +not say to you, 'Give glory to the Lord your God, before He cause +darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains'?" (44) + +Dejected, oppressed by his grief, Jeremiah saw the fulfilment of his +prophecy against the coquettish maidens of Jerusalem, who had pursued +but the pleasures and enjoyments of the world. How often had the +prophet admonished them to do penance and lead a God-fearing life! In +vain; whenever he threatened them with the destruction of Jerusalem, +they said: "Why should we concern ourselves about it?" "A prince will +take me unto wife," said one, the other, "A prefect will marry me." And +at first it seemed the expectations of Jerusalem's fair daughters would +be realized, for the most aristocratic of the victorious Chaldeans were +charmed by the beauty of the women of Jerusalem, and offered them their +hand and their rank. But God sent disfiguring and repulsive diseases +upon the women, and the Babylonians cast them off, threw them violently +out of their chariots, and ruthlessly drove them over the prostrate +bodies. (45) + +TRANSPORTATION OF THE CAPTIVES + +Nebuchadnezzar's orders were to hurry the captives along the road to +Babylon without stop or stay. He feared the Jews might else find +opportunity to supplicate the mercy of God, and He, compassionate as He +is, would release them instantly they did penance. (46) Accordingly, +there was no pause in the forward march, until the Euphrates was +reached. There they were within the borders of the empire of +Nebuchadnezzar, and he thought he had nothing more to fear. + +Many of the Jews died as soon as they drank of the Euphrates. In their +native land they had been accustomed to the water drawn from springs +and wells. Mourning over their dead and over the others that had fallen +by the way, they sat on the banks of the river, while Nebuchadnezzar +and his princes on their vessels celebrated their victory amid song and +music. The king noticed that the princes of Judah, though they were in +chains, bore no load upon their shoulders, and he called to his +servants: "Have you no load for these?" They took the parchment scrolls +of the law, tore them in pieces, made sacks of them, and filled them +with sand; these they loaded upon the backs of the Jewish princes. At +sight of this disgrace, all Israel broke out into loud weeping. The +voice of their sorrow pierced the very heavens, and God determined to +turn the world once more into chaos, for He told Himself, that after +all the world was created but for the sake of Israel. The angels +hastened thither, and they spake before God: "O Lord of the world, the +universe is Thine. Is it not enough that Thou hast dismembered Thy +earthly house, the Temple? Wilt Thou destroy Thy heavenly house, too?" +God restraining them said: "Do ye think I am a creature of flesh and +blood, and stand in need of consolation? Do I not know beginning and +end of all things? Go rather and remove their burdens from the princes +of Judah." Aided by God the angels descended, and they carried the +loads put upon the Jewish captives until they reached Babylon. + +On their way, they passed the city of Bari. (47) The inhabitants +thereof were not a little astonished at the cruelty of Nebuchadnezzar, +who made the captives march naked. The people of Bari stripped their +slaves of their clothes, and presented the slaves to Nebuchadnezzar. +When the king expressed his astonishment thereat, they said: "We +thought thou wert particularly pleased with naked men." The king at +once ordered the Jews to be arrayed in their garments. The reward +accorded the Bariites was that God endowed them forever with beauty and +irresistible grace. (48) + +The compassionate Bariites did not find many imitators. The very +opposite quality was displayed by the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, +and Arabs. Despite their close kinship with Israel, their conduct +toward the Jews was dictated by cruelty. The two first-mentioned, the +Ammonites and the Moabites, when they heard the prophet foretell the +destruction of Jerusalem, hastened without a moment's delay to report +it to Nebuchadnezzar, and urge him to attack Jerusalem. The scruples of +the Babylonian king, who feared God, and all the reasons he advanced +against a combat with Israel, they refuted, and finally they induced +him to act as they wished. (49) At the capture of the city, while all +the strange nations were seeking booty, the Ammonites and the Moabites +threw themselves into the Temple to seize the scroll of the law, +because it contained the clause against their entering into the +"assembly of the Lord even to the tenth generation." (50) To disgrace +the faith of Israel, they plucked the Cherubim from the Holy of Holies +and dragged them through the streets of Jerusalem, crying aloud at the +same time: "Behold these sacred things that belong to the Israelites, +who say ever they have no idols." + +The Edomites were still more hostile (51) in the hour of Israel's need. +They went to Jerusalem with Nebuchadnezzar, but they kept themselves at +a distance from the city, there to await the outcome of the battle +between the Jews and the Babylonians. If the Jews had been victorious, +they would have pretended they had come to bring them aid. When +Nebuchadnezzar's victory became known, they showed their true feelings. +Those who escaped the sword of the Babylonians, were hewn down by the +hand of the Edomites. (52) + +But in fiendish cunning these nations were surpassed by the +Ishmaelites. Eighty thousand young priests, each with a golden shield +upon his breast, succeeded in making their way through the ranks of +Nebuchadnezzar and in reaching the Ishmaelites. They asked for water to +drink. The reply of the Ishmaelites was: "First eat, and then you may +drink," at the same time handing them salt food. Their thirst was +increased, and the Ishmaelites gave them leather bags filled with +nothing but air instead of water. When they raised them to their +mouths, the air entered their bodies, and they fell dead. + +Other Arabic tribes showed their hostility openly; as the Palmyrenes, +who put eighty thousand archers at the disposal of Nebuchadnezzar in +his war against Israel. (53) + +THE SONS OF MOSES + +If Nebuchadnezzar thought, that once he had the Jews in the regions of +the Euphrates they were in his power forever, he was greatly mistaken. +It was on the very banks of the great river that he suffered the loss +of a number of his captives. When the first stop was made by the +Euphrates, the Jews could no longer contain their grief, and they broke +out into tears and bitter lamentations. Nebuchadnezzar bade them be +silent, and as though to render obedience to his orders the harder, he +called upon the Levites, the minstrels of the Temple to sing the songs +of Zion for the entertainment of his guests at the banquet he had +arranged. The Levites consulted with one another. "Not enough that the +Temple lies in ashes because of our sins, should we add to our +transgressions by coaxing music from the strings of our holy harps in +honor of these 'dwarfs'?" (54) they said, and they determined to offer +resistance. The murderous Babylonians mowed them down in heaps, yet +they met death with high courage, for it saved their sacred instruments +from the desecration of being used before idols and for the sake of +idolaters. + +The Levites who survived the carnage the Sons of Moses they were +bit their own fingers off, and when they were asked to play, they +showed their tyrants mutilated hands, with which it was impossible to +manipulate their harps. (55) At the fall of night a cloud descended and +enveloped the Sons of Moses and all who belonged to them. They were +hidden from their enemies, while their own way was illuminated by a +pillar of fire. The cloud and the pillar vanished at break of day, and +before the Sons of Moses lay a tract of land bordered by the sea on +three sides. For their complete protection God made the river Sambation +to flow on the fourth side. This river is full of sand and stones, and +on the six working days of the week, they tumble over each other with +such vehemence that the crash and the roar are heard far and wide. But +on the Sabbath (56) the tumultuous river subsides into quiet. As a +guard against trespassers on that day, a column of cloud stretches +along the whole length of the river, and none can approach the +Sambation within three miles. Hedged in as they are, the Sons of Moses +yet communicate with their brethren of the tribes of Naphtali, Gad, and +Asher, who dwell near the banks of the Sambation. Carrier pigeons bear +letters hither and thither. + +In the land of the Sons of Moses there are none but clean animals, and +in every respect the inhabitants lead a holy and pure life, worthy of +their ancestor Moses. They never use an oath, and, if perchance an oath +escapes the lips of one of them, he is at once reminded of the Divine +punishment connected with his act his children will die at a tender +age. + +The Sons of Moses live peaceably and enjoy prosperity as equals through +their common Jewish faith. They have need of neither prince nor judge, +for they know not strife and litigation. Each works for the welfare of +the community, and each takes from the common store only what will +satisfy his needs. Their houses are built of equal height, that no one +may deem himself above his neighbor, and that that the fresh air may +not be hindered from playing freely about all alike. Even at night +their doors stand wide open, for they have naught to fear from thieves, +nor are wild animals known in their land. They all attain a good old +age. The son never dies before the father. When a death occurs, there +is rejoicing, because the departed is known to have entered into life +everlasting in loyalty to his faith. The birth of a child, on the other +hand, calls forth mourning, for who can tell whether the being ushered +into the world will be pious and faithful? The dead are buried near the +doors of their own houses, in order that their survivors, in all their +comings and goings, may be reminded of their own end. Disease is +unknown among them, for they never sin, and sickness is sent only to +purify from sins. (57) + +EBED-MELECH + +The Sons of Moses were not the only ones to escape from under the heavy +hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Still more miraculous was the deliverance of +the pious Ethiopian Ebed-melech from the hands of the Babylonians. He +was saved as a reward for rescuing Jeremiah when the prophet's life was +jeopardized. On the day before the destruction of the Temple, shortly +before the enemy forced his way into the city, the Ethiopian was sent, +by the prophet Jeremiah acting under Divine instruction, to a certain +place in front of the gates of the city, to dole out refreshments to +the poor from a little basket of figs he was to carry with him. +Ebed-melech reached the spot, but the heat was so intense that he fell +asleep under a tree, and there he slept for sixty-six years. When he +woke up, the figs were still fresh and juicy, but all the surroundings +had so changed, he could not make out where he was. His confusion +increased when he entered the city to seek Jeremiah, and found nothing +as it had been. He accosted an old man, and asked him the name of the +place. When he was told it was Jerusalem, Ebed-melech cried out in +amazement: "Where is Jeremiah, where is Baruch, and where are all the +people?" The old man was not a little astonished at these questions. +How was it possible that one who had known Jeremiah and Jerusalem +should be ignorant of the events that had passed sixty years before? In +brief words he told Ebed-melech of the destruction of the Temple and of +the captivity of the people, but what he said found no credence with +his auditor. Finally Ebed-melech realized that God had performed a +great miracle for him, so that he had been spared the sight of Israel's +misfortune. + +While he was pouring out his heart in gratitude to God, an eagle +descended and led him to Baruch, who lived not far from the city. +Thereupon Baruch received the command from God to write to Jeremiah +that the people should remove the strangers from the midst of them, and +then God would lead them back to Jerusalem. The letter written by +Baruch and some of the figs that had retained their freshness for +sixty-six years were carried to Babylonia by an eagle, who had told +Baruch that he had been sent to serve him as a messenger. The eagle set +out on his journey. His first halting-place was a dreary waste spot to +which he knew Jeremiah and the people would come it was the +burial-place of the Jews which Nebuchadnezzar had given the prophet at +his solicitation. When the eagle saw Jeremiah and the people approach +with a funeral train, he cried out: "I have a message for thee, +Jeremiah. Let all the people draw nigh to receive the good tidings." As +a sign that his mission was true, the eagle touched the corpse, and it +came to life. Amidst tears all the people cried unto Jeremiah: "Save +us! What must we do to return to our land?" + +The eagle brought Jeremiah's answer to Baruch, and after the prophet +had sent the Babylonian women away, he returned to Jerusalem with the +people. Those who would not submit to the orders of Jeremiah relative +to the heathen women, were not permitted by the prophet to enter the +holy city, and as they likewise were not permitted to return to +Babylonia, they founded the city of Samaria near Jerusalem. (58) + +THE TEMPLE VESSELS + +The task laid upon Jeremiah had been twofold. Besides giving him charge +over the people in the land of their exile, God had entrusted to him +the care of the sanctuary and all it contained. (59) The holy Ark, the +altar of incense, and the holy tent were carried by an angel to the +mount whence Moses before his death had viewed the land divinely +assigned to Israel. There Jeremiah found a spacious place, in which he +concealed these sacred utensils. Some of his companions had gone with +him to note the way to the cave, but yet they could not find it. (60) +When Jeremiah heard of their purpose, he censured them, for it was the +wish of God that the place of hiding should remain a secret until the +redemption, and then God Himself will make the hidden things visible. +(61) + +Even the Temple vessels not concealed by Jeremiah were prevented from +falling into the hands of the enemy; the gates of the Temple sank into +the earth, (62) and other parts and utensils were hidden in a tower at +Bagdad by the Levite Shimur (63) and his friends. Among these utensils +was the seven-branched candlestick of pure gold, every branch set with +twenty-six pearls, and beside the pearls two hundred stones of +inestimable worth. Furthermore, the tower at Bagdad was the +hiding-place for seventy-seven golden tables, and for the gold with +which the walls of the Temple had been clothed within and without. The +tables had been taken from Paradise by Solomon, and in brilliance they +outshone the sun and the moon, while the gold from the walls excelled +in amount and worth all the gold that had existed from the creation of +the world until the destruction of the Temple. The jewels, pearls, +gold, and silver, and precious gems, which David and Solomon had +intended for the Temple were discovered by the scribe Hilkiah, and he +delivered them to the angel Shamshiel, who in turn deposited the +treasure in Borsippa. The sacred musical instruments were taken charge +of and hidden by Baruch and Zedekiah until the advent of the Messiah, +who will reveal all treasures. In his time a stream will break forth +from under the place of the Holy of Holies, and flow through the lands +to the Euphrates, and, as it flows, it will uncover all the treasures +buried in the earth. (64) + +BARUCH + +At the time of the destruction of the Temple, one of the prominent +figures was Baruch, the faithful attendant (65) of Jeremiah. God +commanded him to leave the city one day before the enemy was to enter +it, in order that his presence might not render it impregnable. On the +following day, he and all other pious men having abandoned Jerusalem, +he saw from a distance how the angels descended, set fire to the city +walls, and concealed the sacred vessels of the Temple. At first his +mourning over the misfortunes of Jerusalem and the people knew no +bounds. But he was in a measure consoled at the end of a seven days' +fast, when God made known to him that the day of reckoning would come +for the heathen, too. Other Divine visions were vouchsafed him. The +whole future of mankind was unrolled before his eyes, especially the +history of Israel, and he learned that the coming of the Messiah would +put an end to all sorrow and misery, and usher in the reign of peace +and joy among men. As for him, he would be removed from the earth, he +was told, but not through death, and only in order to be kept safe +against the coming of the end of all time. (66) + +Thus consoled, Baruch addressed an admonition to the people left in +Palestine, and wrote two letters of the same tenor to the exiles, one +to the nine tribes and a half, the other to the two tribes and a half. +The letter to the nine tribes and a half of the captivity was carried +to them by an eagle. (67) + +Five years after the great catastrophe, he composed a book in Babylon, +(68) which contained penitential prayers and hymns of consolation, +exhorting Israel and urging the people to return to God and His law. +This book Baruch read to King Jeconiah and the whole people on a day of +prayer and penitence. On the same occasion a collection was taken up +among the people, and the funds thus secured, together with the silver +Temple vessels made by order of Zedekiah after Jeconiah had been +carried away captive, were sent to Jerusalem, with the request that the +high priest Joakim and the people should apply the money to the +sacrificial service and to prayers for the life of King Nebuchadnezzar +and his son Belshazzar. Thus they might ensure peace and happiness +under Babylonian rule. Above all, they were to supplicate God to turn +away His wrath from His people. + +Baruch sent his book also to the residents of Jerusalem, and they read +it in the Temple on distinguished days, and recited the prayers it +contains. (69) + +Baruch is one of the few mortals who have been privileged to visit +Paradise and know its secrets. An angel of the Lord appeared to him +while he was lamenting over the destruction of Jerusalem and took him +to the seven heavens, to the place of judgment where the doom of the +godless is pronounced, and to the abodes of the blessed. (70) + +He was still among the living at the time in which Cyrus permitted the +Jews to return to Palestine, but on account of his advanced age he +could not avail himself of the permission. So long as he was alive, his +disciple Ezra remained with him in Babylonia, for "the study of the law +is more important than the building of the Temple." It was only after +the death of Baruch that he decided to gather together the exiles who +desired to return to the Holy Land and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. +(71) + +THE TOMBS OF BARUCH AND EZEKIEL + +The piety of Baruch and the great favor he enjoyed with God were made +known to later generations many years after his death, through the +marvellous occurrences connected with his tomb. Once a Babylonian +prince commanded a Jew, Rabbi Solomon by name, to show him the grave of +Ezekiel, concerning which he had heard many remarkable tales. The Jew +advised the prince first to enter the tomb of Baruch, which adjoined +that of Ezekiel. Having succeeded in this, he might attempt the same +with the tomb of Ezekiel, the teacher of Baruch. (72) In the presence +of his grandees and his people the prince tried to open the grave of +Baruch, but his efforts were fruitless. Whosoever touched it, was at +once stricken dead. An old Arab advised the prince to call upon the +Jews to gain entrance for him, seeing that Baruch had been a Jew, and +his books were still being studied by Jews. The Jews prepared +themselves by fasts, prayers, penitence, and almsgiving, and they +succeeded in opening the grave without a mishap. Baruch was found lying +on marble bier, and the appearance of the corpse was as though he had +only then passed away. (73) The prince ordered the bier to be brought +to the city, and the body to be entombed there. He thought it was not +seemly that Ezekiel and Baruch should rest in the same grave. But the +bearers found it impossible to remove the bier more than two thousands +ells from the original grave; not even with the help of numerous +draught-animals could it be urged a single step further. Following the +advice of Rabbi Solomon, the prince resolved to enter the bier on the +spot they had reached and also to erect an academy there. These +miraculous happenings induced the prince to go to Mecca. There he +became convinced of the falseness of Mohammedanism, of which he had +hitherto been an adherent, and he converted to Judaism, he and his +whole court. + +Near the grave of Baruch there grows a species of grass whose leaves +are covered with gold dust. As the sheen of the gold is not readily +noticeable by day, the people seek out the place at night, mark the +very spot on which the grass grows, and return by day and gather it. +(74) + +Not less famous is the tomb of Ezekiel, at a distance of two thousand +ells from Baruch's. It is overarched by a beautiful mausoleum erected +by King Jeconiah after Evil-merodach had released him from captivity. +The mausoleum existed down to the middle ages, and it bore on its walls +the names of the thirty-five thousand Jews who assisted Jeconiah in +erecting the monument. It was the scene of many miracles. When great +crowds of people journeyed thither to pay reverence to the memory of +the prophet, the little low gate in the wall surrounding the grave +enlarged in width and height to admit all who desired to enter. Once a +prince vowed to give a colt to the grave of the prophet, if but his +mare which had been sterile would bear one. When his wish was +fulfilled, however, he did not keep his promise. But the filly ran a +distance equal to a four days' journey to the tomb, and his owner could +not recover it until he deposited his value in silver upon the grace. +When people went on long journeys, they were in the habit of carrying +their treasures to the grave of the prophet, and beseeching him to let +none but the rightful heirs remove them thence. The prophet always +granted their petition. Once when an attempt was made to take some +books from the grave of Ezekiel, the ravager suddenly became sick and +blind. For a time a pillar of fire, visible at a great distance, rose +above the grave of the prophet, but it disappeared in consequence of +the unseemly conduct of the pilgrims who resorted thither. + +Not far from the grave of Ezekiel was the grave of Barozak, who once +appeared to a rich Jew in a dream. He spoke: "I am Barozak, one of the +princes who were led into captivity with Jeremiah. I am one of the +just. If thou wilt erect a handsome mausoleum for me, thou wilt be +blessed with progeny." The Jew did as he had been bidden, and he who +had been childless, shortly after became a father. (75) + +DANIEL + +The most distinguished member of the Babylonian Diaspora was Daniel. +Though not a prophet, (76) he was surpassed by none in wisdom, piety, +and good deeds. His firm adherence to Judaism he displayed from his +early youth, when, a page at the royal court, he refused to partake of +the bread, wine, and oil of the heathen, even though the enjoyment of +them was not prohibited by the law. (77) In general, his prominent +position at the court was maintained at the cost of many a hardship, +for he and his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were envied +their distinctions by numerous enemies, who sought to compass their +ruin. + +Once they were accused before King Nebuchadnezzar of leading an +unchaste life. The king resolved to order their execution. But Daniel +and his friends mutilated certain parts of their bodies, and so +demonstrated how unfounded were the charges against them. (78) + +As a youth Daniel gave evidence of his wisdom, when he convicted two +old sinners of having testified falsely against Susanna, as beautiful +as she was good. Misled by the perjured witnesses, the court had +condemned Susanna to death. Then Daniel, impelled by a higher power, +appeared among the people, proclaimed that wrong had been done, and +demanded that the case be re-opened. And so it was. Daniel himself +cross-questioned the witnesses one after the other. The same questions +were addressed to both, and as the replies did not agree with each +other, the false witnesses stood condemned, and they were made to +suffer the penalty they would have had the court inflict upon their +victim. (79) + +Daniel's high position in the state dates from the time when he +interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The king said to the astrologers +and magicians: "I know my dream, but I do not want to tell you what it +was, else you will invent anything at all, and pretend it is the +interpretation of the dream. But if you tell me the dream, then I shall +have confidence in your interpretation of it." + +After much talk between Nebuchadnezzar and his wise men, they confessed +that the king's wish might have been fulfilled, if but the Temple had +still existed. The high priest at Jerusalem might have revealed the +secret by consulting the Urim and Thummim. At this point the king +became wrathful against his wise men, who had advised him to destroy +the Temple, though they must have known how useful it might become to +the king and the state. He ordered them all to execution. Their life +was saved by Daniel, who recited the king's dream, and gave its +interpretation. (80) The king was so filled with admiration of Daniel's +wisdom that he paid him Divine honors. Daniel, however, refused such +extravagant treatment he did not desire to be the object of +idolatrous veneration. (81) He left Nebuchadnezzar in order to escape +the marks of honor thrust upon him, and repaired to Tiberias, where he +build a canal. Besides, he was charged by the king with commissions, to +bring fodder for cattle to Babylonia and also swine from Alexandria. +(82) + +THE THREE MEN IN THE FURNACE + +During Daniel's absence Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol, and its worship +was exacted from all his subject under penalty of death by fire. The +image could not stand on account of the disproportion between its +height and its thickness. The whole of the gold and silver captured by +the Babylonians in Jerusalem was needed to give it steadiness. (83) + +All the nations owning the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, including even +Israel, obeyed the royal command to worship the image. Only the three +pious companions of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, resisted +the order. In vain Nebuchadnezzar urged upon them, as an argument in +favor if idolatry, that the Jews had been so devoted to heathen +practices before the destruction of Jerusalem that they had gone to +Babylonia for the purpose of imitating the idols there and bringing the +copies they made to Jerusalem. The three saints would not hearken to +these seductions of the king, nor when he referred them to such +authorities as Moses and Jeremiah, in order to prove to them that they +were under obligation to do the royal bidding. They said to him: "Thou +art our king in all that concerns service, taxes, poll-money, and +tribute, but with respect to thy present command thou art only +Nebuchadnezzar. Therein thou and the dog are alike unto us. Bark like a +dog, inflate thyself like a water-bottle, and chirp like a cricket." +(84) + +Now Nebuchadnezzar's wrath transcended all bound, and he ordered the +three to be cast into a red hot furnace, so hot that the flames of its +fire darted to the height of forty-nine ells beyond the oven, and +consumed the heathen standing about it. No less than four nations were +thus exterminated. (85) While the three saints were being thrust into +the furnace, they addressed a fervent prayer to God, supplicating His +grace toward them, and entreating Him to put their adversaries to +shame. The angels desired to descend and rescue the three men in the +furnace. But God forbade it: "Did the three men act thus for your +sakes? Nay, they did it for Me; and I will save them with Mine own +hands." (86) God also rejected the good offices of Yurkami, the angel +of hail who offered to extinguish the fire in the furnace. The angel +Gabriel justly pointed out that such a miracle would not be +sufficiently striking to arrest attention. His own proposition was +accepted. He, the angel of fire, was deputed to snatch the three men +from the red hot furnace. He executed his mission by cooling off the +fire inside of the oven, while on the outside the heat continued to +increase to such a degree that the heathen standing around the furnace +were consumed. (87) The three youths thereupon raised their voices +together in a hymn of praise to God, thanking Him for His miraculous +help. (88) The Chaldeans observed the three men pacing up and down +quietly in the furnace, followed by a fourth the angel Gabriel as by +an attendant. Nebuchadnezzar, who hastened thither to see the wonder, +was stunned with fright, for he recognized Gabriel to be the angel who +in the guise of a column of fire had blasted the army of Sennacherib. +(89) Six other miracles happened, all of them driving terror to the +heart of the king: the fiery furnace which had been sunk in the ground +raised itself into the air; it was broken; the bottom dropped out; the +image erected by Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate; four nations were +wasted by fire; and Ezekiel revived the dead in the valley of Dura. + +Of the last, Nebuchadnezzar was apprised in a peculiar way. He had a +drinking vessel made of the bones of a slain Jew. When he was about to +use it, life began to stir in the bones, and a blow was planted in the +king's face, while a voice announced: "A friend of this man is at this +moment reviving the dead!" Nebuchadnezzar now offered praise to God for +the miracles performed, and if an angel had not quickly struck him a +blow on his mouth, and forced him into silence, his psalms of praise +would have excelled the Psalter of David. + +The deliverance of the three pious young men was a brilliant +vindication of their ways, but at the same time it caused great +mortification to the masses of the Jewish people, who had complied with +the order of Nebuchadnezzar to worship his idol. (90) Accordingly, when +the three men left the furnace which they did not do until +Nebuchadnezzar invited them to leave (91) the heathen struck all the +Jews they met in the face, deriding them at the same time: "You who +have so marvellous a God pay homage to an idol!" The three men +thereupon left Babylonia and went to Palestine, where they joined their +friend, the high priest Joshua. (92) + +Their readiness to sacrifice their lives for the honor of God had been +all the more admirable as they had been advised by the prophet Ezekiel +that no miracle would be done for their sakes. When the king's command +to bow down before the idol was published, and the three men were +appointed to act as the representatives of the people, Hananiah and his +companions resorted to Daniel for his advice. He referred them to the +prophet Ezekiel, who counselled flight, citing his teacher Isaiah as +his authority. The three men rejected his advice, and declared +themselves ready to suffer the death of martyrs. Ezekiel bade them +tarry until he inquired of God, whether a miracle would be done for +them. The words of God were: "I shall not manifest Myself as their +savior. They caused My house to be destroyed, My palace to be burnt, My +children to be dispersed among the heathen, and now they appeal for My +help. As I live, I will not be found of them." + +Instead of discouraging the three men, this answer but infused new +spirit and resolution in them, and they declared with more decided +emphasis than before, that they were ready to meet death. God consoled +the weeping prophet by revealing to him, that He would save the three +saintly heroes. He had sought to restrain them from martyrdom only to +let their piety and steadfastness appear the brighter. + +On account of their piety it became customary to swear by the Name of +Him who supports the world on three pillars, the pillars being the +saints Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Their deliverance from death by +fire worked a great effect upon the disposition of the heathen. They +were convinced of the uselessness of their idols, and with their own +hands they destroyed them. (93) + +EZEKIEL REVIVES THE DEAD + +Among the dead whom Ezekiel restored to life (94) at the same time when +the three men were redeemed from the fiery furnace were different +classes of persons. Some were the Ephraimites that had perished in the +attempt to escape from Egypt before Moses led the whole nation out of +the land of bondage. Some were the godless among the Jews that had +polluted the Temple at Jerusalem with heathen rites, and those still +more godless who in life had not believed in the resurrection of the +dead. Others of those revived by Ezekiel were the youths among the Jews +carried away captive to Babylonia by Nebuchadnezzar whose beauty was so +radiant that it darkened the very splendor of the sun. The Babylonian +women were seized with a great passion for them, and at the +solicitation of their husbands, Nebuchadnezzar ordered a bloody +massacre of the handsome youths. But the Babylonian women were not yet +cured of their unlawful passion; the beauty of the young Hebrews +haunted them until their corpses lay crushed before them, their +graceful bodies mutilated. These were the youths recalled to life by +the prophet Ezekiel. Lastly, he revived some that had perished only a +short time before. When Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were saved from +death, Nebuchadnezzar thus addressed the other Jews, those who had +yielded obedience to his command concerning the worship of the idol: +"You know that your God can help and save, nevertheless you paid +worship to an idol which is incapable of doing anything. This proves +that, as you have destroyed your own land by your wicked deeds, so you +are now trying to destroy my land with your iniquity." Forthwith he +commanded that they all be executed, sixty thousand in number. Twenty +years passed, and Ezekiel was vouchsafed the vision in which God bade +him repair to the Valley of Dura, where Nebuchadnezzar had set up his +idol, and had massacred the host of the Jews. Here God showed him the +dry bones of the slain with the question: "Can I revive these bones?" +Ezekiel's answer was evasive, and as a punishment for his little faith, +he had to end his days in Babylon, and was not granted even burial in +the soil of Palestine. God then dropped the dew of heaven upon the dry +bones, and "sinews were upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered +them above." At the same time God sent forth winds to the four corners +of the earth, which unlocked the treasure houses of souls, and brought +its own soul to each body. All came to life except one man, who, as God +explained to the prophet, was excluded from the resurrection because he +was a usurer. + +In spite of the marvellous miracle performed from them, the men thus +restored to life wept, because they feared they would have no share at +the end of time in the resurrection of the whole of Israel. But the +prophet assured them, in the name of God, that their portion in all +that had been promised Israel should in no wise be diminished. (95) + +NEBUCHADNEZZAR A BEAST + +Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of the whole world, (96) to whom even the +wild animals paid obedience, his pet was a lion with a snake coiled +about its neck, (97) did not escape punishment for his sins. He was +chastised as none before him. He whom fear of God had at first held +back from a war against Jerusalem, and who had to be dragged forcibly, +as he sat on his horse, to the Holy of Holies (98) by the archangel +Michael, he later became so arrogant that he thought himself a god, +(99) and cherished the plan of enveloping himself in a cloud, so that +he might live apart from men. (100) A heavenly voice resounded: "O thou +wicked man, son of a wicked man, and descendant of Nimrod the wicked, +who incited the world to rebel against God! Behold, the days of the +years of a man are threescore years and ten, or perhaps by reason of +strength fourscore years. It takes five hundred years to traverse the +distance of the earth from the first heaven, and as long a time to +penetrate from the bottom to the top of the first heaven, and not less +are the distances from one of the seven heavens to the next. How, then, +canst thou speak of ascending like unto the Most High 'above the +heights of the clouds'?" (101) For this transgression of deeming +himself more than a man, he was punished by being made to live for some +time as a beast among beasts, treated by them as though he were one of +them. (102) For forty days (103) he led this life. As far down as his +navel he had the appearance of an ox, and the lower part of his body +resembled that of a lion. Like an ox he ate grass, and like a lion he +attacked a curious crowd, but Daniel spent his time in prayer, +entreating that the seven years of this brutish life allotted to +Nebuchadnezzar might be reduced to seven months. His prayer was +granted. At the end of forty days reason returned to the king, the next +forty days he passed in weeping bitterly over his sins, and in the +interval that remained to complete the seven months he again lived the +life of a beast. (104) + +HIRAM + +Hiram, the king of Tyre, was a contemporary of Nebuchadnezzar, and in +many respects resembled him. He, too, esteemed himself a god, and +sought to make men believe in his divinity by the artificial heavens he +fashioned for himself. In the sea he erected four iron pillars, on +which he build up seven heavens, each five hundred ells larger than the +one below. The first was a plate of glass of five hundred square ells, +and the second a plate of iron of a thousand square ells. The third, of +lead, and separated from the second by canals, contained huge round +boulders, which produced the sound of thunder on the iron. The fourth +heaven was of brass, the fifth of copper, the sixth of silver, and the +seventh of gold, all separated from each other by canals. In the +seventh, thirty-five hundred ells in extent, he had diamonds and +pearls, which he manipulated so as to produce the effect of flashes and +sheets of lightening, while the stones below imitated the growling of +the thunder. + +As Hiram was thus floating above the earth, in his vain imagination +deeming himself superior to the rest of men, he suddenly perceived the +prophet Ezekiel next to himself. He had been waved thither by a wind. +Frightened and amazed, Hiram asked the prophet how he had risen to his +heights. The answer was: "God brought me here, and He bade me ask thee +why thou art so proud, thou born of woman?" The king of Tyre replied +defiantly: "I am not one born of woman; I live forever, and as God +resides on the sea, so my abode is on the sea, and as He inhabits seven +heavens, so do I. See how many kings I have survived! Twenty-one of the +House of David, and as many of the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes, and no +less than fifty prophets and ten high priests have I buried." Thereupon +God said: "I will destroy My house, that henceforth Hiram may have no +reason for self-glorification, because all his pride comes only from +the circumstance that he furnished the cedar-trees for the building of +the Temple." The end of this proud king was that he was conquered by +Nebuchadnezzar, deprived of this throne, and made to suffer a cruel +death. Though the Babylonian king was the step-son of Hiram, he had no +mercy with him. Daily he cut off a bit of the flesh of his body, and +forced the Tyrian king to eat it, until the finally perished. Hiram's +palace was swallowed by the earth, and in the bowels of the earth it +will remain until it shall emerge in the future world as the habitation +of the pious. (105) + +THE FALSE PROPHETS + +Not only among the heathen, but also among the Jews there were very +sinful people in those days. The most notorious Jewish sinners were the +two false prophets Ahab and Zedekiah. Ahab came to the daughter of +Nebuchadnezzar and said: "Yield thyself to Zedekiah," telling her this +in the form of a Divine message. The same was done by Zedekiah, who +only varied the message by substituting the name of Ahab. The princess +could not accept such messages as Divine, and she told her father what +had occurred. (106) Though Nebuchadnezzar was so addicted to immoral +practices that he was in the habit of making his captive kings drunk, +and then satisfying his unnatural lusts upon them, and a miracle had to +interpose to shield the pious of Judah against this disgrace, (107) yet +he well knew that the God of the Jews hates immorality. He therefore +questioned Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about it, and they +emphatically denied the possibility that such a message could have come +from God. The prophets of lies refused to recall their statements, and +Nebuchadnezzar decided to subject them to the same fiery test as he had +decreed for the three pious companions of Daniel. To be fair toward +them, the king permitted them to choose a third fellow-sufferer, some +pious man to share their lot. Seeing no escape, Ahab and Zedekiah asked +for Joshua, later the high priest, as their companion in the furnace, +in the hope that his distinguished merits would suffice to save all +three of them. They were mistaken. Joshua emerged unhurt, only his +garments were seared, but the false prophets were consumed. Joshua +explained the singeing of his garments by the fact that he was directly +exposed to the full fury of the flames. But the truth was that he had +to expiate the sins of his sons, who had contracted marriages unworthy +of their dignity and descent. Therefore their father escaped death only +after the fire had burnt his garments. (108) + +DANIEL'S PIETY + +No greater contrast to Hiram and the false prophets Ahab and Zedekiah +can be imagined than is presented by the character of the pious Daniel. +When Nebuchadnezzar offered him Divine honors, (109) he refused what +Hiram sought to obtain by every means in his power. The Babylonian king +felt so ardent an admiration for Daniel that he sent him from the +country when the time arrived to worship the idol he had erected in +Dura, for he knew very well that Daniel would prefer death in the +flames to disregard of the commands of God, and he could not well have +cast the man into the fire to whom he had paid Divine homage. Moreover, +it was the wish of God that Daniel should not pass through the fiery +ordeal at the same time as his three friends, in order that their +deliverance might not be ascribed to him. (110) + +In spite of all this, Nebuchadnezzar endeavored to persuade Daniel by +gentle means to worship an idol. He had the golden diadem of the high +priest inserted in the mouth of an idol, and by reason of the wondrous +power that resides in the Holy Name inscribed on the diadem, the idol +gained the ability to speak, and it said the words: "I am thy God." +Thus were many seduced to worship the image. But Daniel could not be +misled so easily. He secured permission from the king to kiss the idol. +Laying his mouth upon the idol's, he adjured the diadem in the +following words: "I am but flesh and blood, yet at the same time a +messenger of God. I therefore admonish thee, take heed that the Name of +the Holy One, blessed be He, may not be desecrated, and I order thee to +follow me." So it happened. When the heathen came with music and song +to give honor to the idol, it emitted no sound, but a storm broke loose +and overturned it. (111) + +On still another occasion Nebuchadnezzar tried to persuade Daniel to +worship an idol, this time a dragon that devoured all who approached +it, and therefore was adored as a god by the Babylonians. Daniel had +straw mixed with nails fed to him, and the dragon ate and perished +almost immediately. (112) + +All this did not prevent Daniel from keeping the welfare of the king in +mind continually. Hence it was that when Nebuchadnezzar was engaged in +setting his house in order, he desired to mention 'Daniel in his will +as one of his heirs. But the Jew refused with the words: "Far be it +from me to leave the inheritance of my fathers for that of the +uncircumcised." (113) + +Nebuchadnezzar died after having reigned forty years, as long as King +David. (114) The death of the tyrant brought hope and joy to many a +heart, for his severity had been such that during his lifetime none +dared laugh, and when he descended to Sheol, its inhabitants trembled, +fearing he had come to reign over them, too. However, a heavenly voice +called to him: "Go down, and be thou laid down with the uncircumcised." +(115) + +The interment of this great king was anything but what one might have +expected, and for this reason: During the seven years spent by +Nebuchadnezzar among the beast, his son Evil-merodach ruled in his +stead. Nebuchadnezzar reappeared after his period of penance, and +incarcerated his son for life. When the death of Nebuchadnezzar +actually did occur, Evil-merodach refused to accept the homage the +nobles brought him as the new king, because he feared that his father +was not dead, but had only disappeared as once before, and would return +again. To convince him of the groundlessness of his apprehension, the +corpse of Nebuchadnezzar, badly mutilated by his enemies, was dragged +through the streets. (116) + +Shortly afterward occurred the death of Zedekiah, the dethroned king of +Judah. His burial took place amid great demonstrations of sympathy and +mourning. The elegy over him ran thus: "Alas that King Zedekiah had to +die, he who quaffed the lees which all the generations before him +accumulated." (117) + +Zedekiah reached a good old age, (118) for though it was in his reign +that the destruction of Jerusalem took place, yet it was the guilt of +the nation, not of the king, that had brought about the catastrophe. +(119) + + + + +XI. +THE RETURN OF THE CAPTIVITY + +BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST + +When God resolved to take revenge upon Babylon for all the sufferings +it had inflicted on Israel, He chose Darius and Cyrus as the agents of +vengeance. Cyrus, the king of Persia, and his father-in-law Darius, the +king of Media, together went up against Belshazzar, the ruler of the +Chaldeans. The war lasted a considerable time, and fortune favored +first one side, then the other, until finally the Chaldeans won a +decisive victory. To celebrate the event, Belshazzar arranged a great +banquet, which was served from the vessels taken out of the Temple at +Jerusalem by his father. While the king and his guests were feasting, +the angel sent by God put the "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin" on the +wall, Aramaic words in Hebrew characters, (1) written with red ink. The +angel was seen by none but the king. His grandees and the princes of +the realm who were present at the orgy perceived nothing. The king +himself did not see the form of the angel, only his awesome fingers as +they traced the words were visible to him. + +The interpretation given to the enigmatical words by Daniel put an end +to the merry-making of the feasters. They scattered in dread and fear, +leaving none behind except the king and his attendants. In the same +night the king was murdered by an old servant, who knew Daniel from the +time of Nebuchadnezzar, and doubted not that his sinister prophecy +would be fulfilled. With the head of King Belshazzar he betook himself +to Darius and Cyrus, and told them how his master had desecrated the +sacred vessels, told them of the wonderful writing on the wall, and of +the way it had been interpreted by Daniel. The two kings were moved by +his recital to vow solemnly that they would permit the Jews to return +to Palestine, and would grant them the use of the Temple vessels. + +They resumed the war against Babylonia with more energy, and God +vouchsafed them victory. They conquered the whole of Belshazzar's +realm, and took possession of the city of Babylon, whose inhabitants, +young and old, were made to suffer death. The subjugated lands were +divided between Cyrus and Darius, the latter receiving Babylon and +Media, the former Chaldea, Persia, and Assyria. (2) + +But this is not the whole story of the fall of Babylon. The wicked king +Belshazzar arranged the banquet at which the holy vessels were +desecrated in the fifth year of his reign, because he thought it wholly +certain then that all danger was past of the realization of Jeremiah's +prophecy, foretelling the return of the Jews to Palestine at the end of +seventy years of Babylonian rule over them. Nebuchadnezzar had governed +twenty-five years, and Evil-merodach twenty-three, leaving five years +in the reign of Belshazzar for the fulfilment of the appointed time. +(3) Not enough that the king scoffed at God by using the Temple +vessels, he needs must have the pastry for the banquet, which was given +on the second day of the Passover festival, made of wheaten flour finer +than that used on this day for the `Omer in the Temple. + +Punishment followed hard upon the heels of the atrocity. Cyrus and +Darius served as door-keepers of the royal palace on the evening of the +banquet. They had received orders from Belshazzar to admit none, though +he should say he was the king himself. Belshazzar was forced to leave +his apartments for a short time, and he went out unnoticed by the two +door-keepers. On his return, when he asked to be admitted, they felled +him dead, even while he was asseverating that he was the king. (4) + +DANIEL UNDER THE PERSIAN KINGS + +Daniel left Belshazzar and fled to Shushtar, where he was kindly +received by Cyrus, who promised him to have the Temple vessels taken +back to Jerusalem, provided Daniel would pray to God to grant him +success in his war with the king of Mosul. God gave Daniel's prayer a +favorable hearing, and Cyrus was true to his promise. + +Daniel now received the Divine charge to urge Cyrus to rebuild the +Temple. To this end he was to introduce Ezra and Zerubbabel to the +king. Ezra then went from place to place and called upon the people to +return to Palestine. Sad to say, only a tribe and a half obeyed his +summons. Indeed, the majority of the people were so wroth against Ezra +that they sought to slay him. He escaped the peril to his life only by +a Divine miracle. (5) + +Daniel, too, was exposed to much suffering at this time. King Cyrus +cast him into a den of lions, because he refused to bow down before the +idol of the king. For seven days Daniel lay among the wild beasts, and +not a hair of his head was touched. When the king at the end of the +week found Daniel alive, he could not but acknowledge the sovereign +grandeur of God. Cyrus released Daniel, and instead had his +calumniators thrown to the lions. In an instant they were rent in +pieces. (6) + +In general Cyrus fell far short of coming up to the expectations set in +him for piety and justice. Though he granted permission to the Jews to +rebuild the Temple, they were to use no material but wood, so that it +might easily be destroyed if the Jews should take it into their head to +rebel against him. Even in point of morals, the Persian king was not +above reproach. (7) + +Another time Cyrus pressingly urged Daniel to pay homage to the idol +Bel. As proof of the divinity of the idol the king advanced the fact +that it ate the dishes set before it, a report spread by the priests of +Bel, who entered the Temple of the idol at night, through subterranean +passages, themselves ate up the dishes, and then attributed their +disappearance to the appetite of the god. But Daniel was too shrewd to +be misled by a fabricated story. He had the ashes strewn upon the floor +of the Temple, and the foot-prints visible the next morning convinced +the king of the deceit practiced by the priests. (8) + +Pleasant relations did not continue to subsist forever between Cyrus +and Darius. A war broke out between them, in which Cyrus lost life and +lands. Fearing Darius, Daniel fled to Persia. But an angel of God +appeared to him with the message: "Fear not the king, not unto him will +I surrender thee." Shortly afterward he received a letter from Darius +reading as follows: "Come to me, Daniel! Fear naught, I shall be even +kinder to thee than Cyrus was." Accordingly Daniel returned to +Shushtar, and was received with great consideration by Darius. + +One day the king chanced to remember the sacred garments brought by +Nebuchadnezzar out of the Temple at Jerusalem to Babylon. They had +vanished, and no trace of them could be discovered. The king suspected +Daniel of having had something to do with their disappearance. It +booted little that he protested his innocence, he was cast into prison. +God sent an angel who was to blind Darius, telling him at the same time +that he was deprived of the light of his eyes because he was keeping +the pious Daniel in durance, and sight would be restored to him only if +Daniel interceded for him. The king at once released Daniel, and the +two together journeyed to Jerusalem to pray on the holy place for the +restoration of the king. An angel appeared to Daniel, and announced to +him that his prayer had been heard. The king had but to wash his eyes, +and vision would return to them. So it happened. Darius gave thanks to +God, and in his gratitude assigned the tithe of his grain to the +priests and the Levites. Besides, he testified his appreciation to +Daniel by loading him down with gifts, and both returned to Shushtar. +The recovery of the king convinced many of his subjects of the +omnipotence of God, and they converted to Judaism. (9) + +Following the advice of Daniel, Darius (10) appointed a triumvirate to +take charge of the administration of his realm, and Daniel was made the +chief of the council of three. His high dignity he was second to none +but the king himself exposed him to envy and hostility on all sides. +His enemies plotted his ruin. With cunning they induced the king to +sign an order attaching the penalty of death to prayers addressed to +any god or any man other than Darius. (11) Though the order did not +require Daniel to commit a sin, he preferred to give his life for the +honor of the one God rather than omit his devotions to Him. When his +jealous enemies surprised him during his prayers, he did not interrupt +himself. He was dragged before the king, who refused to give credence +to the charge against Daniel. Meanwhile the hour for the afternoon +prayer arrived, and in the presence of the king and his princes Daniel +began to perform his devotions. This naturally rendered unavailing all +efforts made by the king to save his friend from death. Daniel was cast +into a pit full of lions. The entrance to the pit was closed up with a +rock, which had all of its own accord rolled from Palestine to protect +him against any harm contemplated by his enemies. (12) The ferocious +beasts welcomed the pious Daniel like dogs fawning upon their master on +his return home, licking his hands and wagging their tails. + +While this was passing in Babylon, an angel appeared to the prophet +Habakkuk in Judea. He ordered the prophet to bring Daniel the food he +was about to carry to his laborers in the field. Astonished, Habakkuk +asked the angel how he could carry it to so great a distance, whereupon +he was seized by his hair, and in a moment set down before Daniel. They +dined together, and then the angel transported Habakkuk back to his +place in Palestine. Early in the morning Darius (13) went to the pit of +the lions to discover the fate of Daniel. The king called his name, but +he received no answer, because Daniel was reciting the Shema at that +moment, (14) after having spent the night in giving praise and +adoration to God. (15) Seeing that he was still alive, the king +summoned the enemies of Daniel to the pit. It was their opinion that +the lions had not been hungry, and therefore Daniel was still unhurt. +The king commanded them to put the beasts to the test with their own +persons. The result was that the hundred and twenty-two enemies of +Daniel, together with their wives and children numbering two hundred +and forty-four persons, were torn in shreds by fourteen hundred and +sixty-four lions. (16) + +The miraculous escape of Daniel brought him more distinguished +consideration and greater honors than before. The king published the +wonders done by God in all parts of his land, and called upon the +people to betake themselves to Jerusalem and help in the erection of +the Temple. + +Daniel entreated the king to relieve him of the duties of his position, +for the performance of which he no longer felt himself fit, on account +of his advanced age. The king consented on condition that Daniel +designate a successor worthy of him. His choice fell upon Zerubbabel. +Loaded with rich presents and amid public demonstrations designed to +honor him, Daniel retired from public life. He settled in the city of +Shushan, where he abode until his end. (17) Though he was no prophet, +God vouchsafed to him a knowledge of the "end of time" not granted his +friends, the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, (18) but even he, +in the fulness of his years, lost all memory of the revelation with +which he had been favored. (19) + +THE GRAVE OF DANIEL + +Daniel was buried in Shushan, on account of which a sore quarrel was +enkindled among the inhabitants of the city. Shushan is divided in two +parts by a river. The side containing the grave of Daniel was occupied +by the wealthy inhabitants, and the poor citizens lived on the other +side of the river. The latter maintained that they, too, would be rich +if the grave of Daniel were in their quarter. The frequent disputes and +conflicts were finally adjusted by a compromise; one year the bier of +Daniel reposed on one side of the river, the next year on the other. +When the Persian king Sanjar came to Shushan, he put a stop to the +practice of dragging the bier hither and thither. He resorted to +another device for guarding the peace of the city. He had the bier +suspended from chains precisely in the middle of the bridge spanning +the river. In the same spot he erected a house of prayer for all +confessions, and out of respect to Daniel he prohibited fishing in the +river for a distance of a mile on either side of the memorial building. +(20) The sacredness of the spot appeared when the godless tried to pass +by. They were drowned, while the pious remained unscathed. Furthermore, +the fish that swam near it had heads glittering like gold. (21) + +Beside the house of Daniel lay a stone, under which he had concealed +the holy Temple vessels. Once an attempt was made to roll the stone +from its place, but whoever ventured to touch it, fell dead. The same +fate overtook all who later tried to make excavations near the spot; a +storm broke out and mowed them down. (22) + +ZERUBBABEL + +The successor to Daniel in the service of the king, Zerubbabel, enjoyed +equally as much royal consideration and affection. He occupied a higher +position than all the other servants and officials, and he and two +others constituted the body-guard of the king. (23) Once when the king +lay wrapped in deep slumber, his guards resolved to write down what +each of them considered the mightiest thing in the world, and he who +wrote the sagest saying should be given rich presents and rewards by +the king. What they wrote they laid under the pillow on which the head +of the king rested, that he might not delay to make a decision after he +awoke. The first one wrote: "Wine is the mightiest thing there is"; the +second wrote: "The king is the mightiest on earth," and the third, +Zerubbabel, wrote: "Women are the mightiest in the world, but truth +prevails over all else." When the king awoke, and he perused the +document, he summoned the grandees of his realm and the three youths as +well. Each of the three was called upon to justify his saying. In +eloquent words the first described the potency of wine. When it takes +possession of the senses of a man, he forgets grief and sorrow. Still +more beautiful and convincing were the words of the second speaker, +when his turn came to establish the truth of his saying, that the king +was the mightiest on earth. Finally Zerubbabel depicted in glowing +words the power of woman, who rules even over kings. "But," he +continued, "truth is supreme over all; the whole earth asks for truth, +the heavens sing the praises of truth, all creation quakes and trembles +before truth, naught of wrong can be found in truth. Unto truth +belongeth the might, the dominion, the power, and the glory of all +times. Blessed be the God of truth." When Zerubbabel ceased from +speaking, the assembly broke out into the words: "Great is truth, it is +mightier than all else!" The king was so charmed with the wisdom of +Zerubbabel that he said to him: "Ask for aught thou wishest, it shall +be granted thee." Zerubbabel required nothing for himself, he only +sought permission of the king to restore Jerusalem, rebuild the +sanctuary, and return the holy Temple vessels to the place whence they +had been carried off. Not only did Darius grant what Zerubbabel wished +for, not only did he give him letters of safe-conduct, but he also +conferred numerous privileges upon the Jews who accompanied Zerubbabel +to Palestine, and he sent abundant presents to the Temple and its +officers. (24) + +As unto his predecessor Daniel, so unto Zerubbabel, God vouchsafed a +knowledge of the secrets of the future. Especially the archangel +Metatron dealt kindly with him. Besides revealing to him the time at +which the Messiah would appear, he brought about an interview between +the Messiah and Zerubbabel. (25) + +In reality, Zerubbabel was none other than Nehemiah, who was given this +second name because he was born in Babylon. (26) Richly endowed as +Zerubbabel-Nehemiah was with admirable qualities, he yet did not lack +faults. He was excessively self-complacent, and he did not hesitate to +fasten a stigma publicly upon his predecessors in the office of +governor in the land of Judah, among whom was so excellent a man as +Daniel. To punish him for these transgressions, the Book of Ezra does +not bear the name of its real author Nehemiah. (27) + +When Darius felt his end approach, (28) he appointed his son-in-law +Cyrus, (29) who had hitherto reigned only over Persia, to be the ruler +over his kingdom as well. His wish was honored by the princes of Media +and Persia. After Darius had departed this life, Cyrus was proclaimed +king. + +In the very first year of his reign, Cyrus summoned the most +distinguished of the Jews to appear before him, and he gave them +permission to return to Palestine and rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem. +More than this, he pledged himself to contribute to the Temple service +in proportion to his means, and pay honor to the God who had invested +him with strength to subdue the Chaldeans. These actions of Cyrus +partly flowed from his own pious inclinations, and partly were due to +his desire to accomplish the dying behests of Darius, who had +admonished him to give the Jews the opportunity of rebuilding the +Temple. + +When the first sacrifice was to be brought by the company of Jews who +returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra, and set about +restoring the Temple, they missed the celestial fire which had dropped +from heaven on the altar in the time of Moses, and had not been +extinguished so long as the Temple stood. They turned in supplication +to God to be instructed by Him. The celestial fire had been hidden by +Jeremiah at the time of the destruction of the Holy City, and the law +did not permit them to bring "strange fire" upon the altar of God. An +old man suddenly remembered the spot in which Jeremiah had buried the +holy fire, and he led the elders thither. They rolled away the stone +covering the spot, and from under it appeared a spring flowing not with +water, but with a sort of oil. Ezra ordered this fluid to be sprinkled +upon the altar, and forthwith an all-consuming flame shot up. The +priests themselves scattered in fright. But after the Temple and its +vessels were purified by the flame, it confined itself to the altar +never more to leave it, for the priest guarded it so that it might not +be extinguished. (30) + +Among the band of returned exiles were the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, +and Malachi. Each one of them had a place of the greatest importance to +fill in the rebuilding of the Temple. By the first the people were +shown the plan of the altar, which was larger than the one that had +stood in Solomon's Temple. The second informed them of the exact +location of the altar, and the third taught them that the sacrifices +might be brought on the holy place even before the completion of the +Temple. On the authority of one of the prophets, the Jews, on their +return from Babylonia, gave up their original Hebrew characters, and +re-wrote the Torah in the "Assyrian" characters still in use at this +day. (31) + +While the Temple work was in progress, the builders found the skull of +Araunah, the owner of the Temple site in the time of David. The +priests, unlearned as they were, could not decide to what extent the +corpse lying there had defiled the holy place. It was for this that +Haggai poured out his reproaches upon them. (32) + +EZRA + +The complete resettlement of Palestine took place under the direction +of Ezra, or, as the Scriptures sometimes call him, Malachi. (33) He had +not been present at the earlier attempts (34) to restore the sanctuary, +because he could not leave his old teacher Baruch, who was too advanced +in years to venture upon the difficult journey to the Holy Land. (35) + +In spite of Ezra's persuasive efforts, it was but a comparatively small +portion of the people that joined the procession winding its way +westward to Palestine. For this reason the prophetical spirit did not +show itself during the existence of the Second Temple. Haggai, +Zechariah, and Malachi were the last representatives of prophecy. (36) +Nothing was more surprising than the apathy of the Levites. They +manifested no desire to return to Palestine. Their punishment was the +loss of the tithes, which were later given to the priest, though the +Levites had the first claim upon them. (37) + +In restoring the Jewish state in Palestine, Ezra cherished two hopes, +to preserve the purity of the Jewish race, and to spread the study of +the Torah until it should become the common property of the people at +large. To help on his first purpose, he inveighed against marriages +between the Jews and the nations round about. (38) He himself had +carefully worked out his own pedigree before he consented to leave +Babylonia, (39) and in order to perpetuate the purity of the families +and groups remaining in the East, he took all the "unfit" (40) with him +to Palestine. + +In the realization of his second hope, the spread of the Torah, Ezra +was so zealous and efficient that it was justly said of him: "If Moses +had not anticipated him, Ezra would have received the Torah." (41) In a +sense he was, indeed, a second Moses. The Torah had fallen into neglect +and oblivion in his day, and he restored and re-established it in the +minds of his people. (42) It is due to him chiefly that it was divided +up into portions, to be read annually, Sabbath after Sabbath, in the +synagogues, (43) and he it was, likewise, who originated the idea of +re-writing the Pentateuch in "Assyrian" characters. (44) To further his +purpose still more, he ordered additional schools for children to be +established everywhere, though the old ones sufficed to satisfy the +demand. He thought the rivalry between the old and the new institutions +would redound to the benefit of the pupils. (45) + +Ezra is the originator of institutions known as "the ten regulations of +Ezra." They are the following: 1. Readings from the Torah on Sabbath +afternoons. 2. Readings from the Torah on Mondays and Thursdays. 3. +Sessions of the court on Mondays and Thursdays. 4. To do laundry work +on Thursdays, not Fridays. 5. To eat garlic on Friday on account of its +salutary action. (46) 6. To bake bread early in the morning that it may +be ready for the poor whenever they ask for some. 7. Women are to cover +the lower parts of their bodies with a garment called Sinar. (47) 8. +Before taking a ritual bath, the hair is to be combed. 9. The ritual +bath prescribed for the unclean is to cover the case of one who desires +to offer prayer or study the law. (48) 10. Permission to peddlers to +sell cosmetics to women in the towns. (49) + +Ezra was not only a great teacher of his people and their wise leader, +he was also their advocate with the celestials, to whom his relation +was of a peculiarly intimate character. Once he addressed a prayer to +God, in which he complained of the misfortune of Israel and the +prosperity of the heathen nations. Thereupon the angel Uriel appeared +to him, and instructed him how that evil has its appointed time in +which to run its course, as the dead have their appointed time to +sojourn in the nether world. Ezra could not rest satisfied with this +explanation, and in response to his further question, seven prophetic +visions were vouchsafed him, and interpreted by the angel for him. They +typified the whole course of history up to his day, and disclosed the +future to his eyes. In the seventh vision he heard a voice from a +thorn-bush, like Moses aforetimes, and it admonished him to guard in +his heart the secrets revealed to him. The same voice had given Moses a +similar injunction: "These words shalt thou publish, those shalt thou +keep secret." Then his early translation from earth was announced to +him. He besought God to let the holy spirit descend upon him before he +died, so that he might record all that had happened since the creation +of the world as it was set down in the Torah, and guide men upon the +path that leads to God. + +Hereupon God bade him take the five experienced scribes, Sarga, Dabria, +Seleucia, Ethan, and Aziel, with him into retirement, and dictate to +them for forty days. After one day spent with these writers in +isolation, remote from the city and from men, a voice admonished him: +"Ezra, open thy mouth, and drink whereof I give thee to drink." He +opened his mouth, and a chalice was handed to him, filled to the brim +with a liquid that flowed like water, but in color resembled fire. His +mouth opened to drink, and for forty days it was not closed. During all +that time, the five scribes put down, "in signs they did not +understand," they were the newly adopted Hebrew characters, all +that Ezra dictated to them, and it made ninety-four books. At the end +of the forty days' period, God spoke to Ezra thus: "The twenty-four +books of the Holy Scriptures thou shalt publish, for the worthy and the +unworthy alike to read; but the last seventy books thou shalt withhold +from the populace, for the perusal of the wise of thy people." On +account of his literary activity, he is called "the Scribe of the +science of the Supreme Being unto all eternity." (50) + +Having finished his task, Ezra was removed from this mundane world, and +he entered the life everlasting. But his death did not occur in the +Holy Land. It overtook him at Khuzistan, in Persia, on his journey to +King Artachshashta. (51) + +At Raccia, in Mesopotamia, there stood, as late as the twelfth century, +the synagogue founded by Ezra when he was journeying from Babylonia to +Palestine. (52) + +At his grave, over which columns of fire are often seen to hover at +night, (53) a miracle once happened. A shepherd fell asleep by the side +of it. Ezra appeared to him and bade him tell the Jews that they were +to transport his bier to another spot. If the master of the new place +refused assent, he was to be warned to yield permission, else all the +inhabitants of his place would perish. At first the master refused to +allow the necessary excavations to be made. Only after a large number +of the non-Jewish inhabitants of the place had been stricken down +suddenly, he consented to have the corpse transported thither. As soon +as the grave was opened, the plague ceased. + +Shortly before the death of Ezra, the city of Babylon was totally +destroyed by the Persians. There remained but a portion of the wall +which was impregnable by human strength. (54) All the prophecies hurled +against the city by the prophets were accomplished. To this day there +is a spot on its site which no animal can pass unless some of the earth +of the place is strewn upon it. (55) + +THE MEN OF THE GREAT ASSEMBLY + +At the same time with Ezra, or, to speak more accurately, under his +direction, the Great Assembly carried on its beneficent activities, +which laid the foundations of Rabbinical Judaism, and constituted the +binding link between the Jewish Prophet and the Jewish Sage. (56) The +great men who belonged to this august assembly once succeeded, through +the efficacy of their prayers, in laying hands upon the seducers unto +sin, and confining them, to prevent them from doing more mischief. Thus +they banished from the world "the desire unto idolatry." They tried to +do the same to "the desire unto lustfulness." This evil adversary +warned them against making away with him, for the world would cease to +exist without him. For three days they kept him a prisoner, but then +they had to dismiss him and let him go free. They found that not even +an egg was to be had, for sexual appetite had vanished from the world. +However, he did not escape altogether unscathed. They plastered up his +eyes, and from that time on he gave up inflaming the passions of men +against their blood relations. (57) + +Among the decrees and ordinances of the Great Assembly, the most +prominent is the fixation of the prayer of the Eighteen Benedictions. +The several benedictions composing this prayer date back to remote +ancient times. The Patriarchs were their authors, and the work of the +Great Assembly was to put them together in the order in which we now +have them. We know how each of the benedictions originated: 1. When +Abraham was saved from the furnace angels spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O +Lord, the Shield of Abraham," which is the essence of the first of the +Eighteen. 2. When Isaac lay stunned by fright on Mount Moriah, God sent +His dew to revive him, whereupon the angels spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O +Lord, who quickenest the dead." 3. When Jacob arrived at the gates of +heaven and proclaimed the holiness of God, the angels spoke: "Blessed +art Thou, O Lord, Thou holy God." 4. When Pharaoh was about to make +Joseph the ruler over Egypt, and it appeared that he was unacquainted +with the seventy tongues which an Egyptian sovereign must know, the +angel Gabriel came and taught him those languages, whereupon the angels +spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who graciously bestowest knowledge." +5. When Reuben committed the trespass against his father, sentence of +death was pronounced upon him in the heavens. But when he repented, he +was permitted to continue to live, and the angels spoke: "Blessed art +Thou, O Lord, who hast delight in repentance." 6. When Judah had +committed a trespass against Tamar, and confessing his guilt obtained +forgiveness, the angels spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who pardonest +greatly." 7. When Israel was sore oppressed by Mizraim, and God +proclaimed his redemption, the angels spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, +who redeemest Israel." 8. When the angel Raphael came to Abraham to +soothe the pain of his circumcision, the angels spoke: "Blessed art +Thou, O Lord, who healest the sick." 9. When Israel's sowing in the +land of the Philistines bore an abundant harvest, the angels spoke: +"Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who blessest the years." 10. When Jacob was +reunited with Joseph and Simon in Egypt, the angels spoke: "Blessed art +Thou, O Lord, who gatherest the dispersed of Thy people Israel." 11. +When the Torah was revealed and God communicated the code of laws to +Moses, the angels spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who lovest +righteousness and justice." 12. When the Egyptians were drowned in the +Red Sea, the angels spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who shatterest +the enemy and humiliatest the presumptuous." 13. When Joseph laid his +hands on the eyes of his father Jacob, the angels spoke: "Blessed art +Thou, O Lord, who are the stay and the support of the pious." 14. When +Solomon built the Temple, the angels spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, +who buildest Jerusalem." 15. When the children of Israel singing hymns +of praise unto God passed through the Red Sea, the angels spoke: +"Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who causest the hour of salvation to sprout +forth." 16. When God lent a gracious ear to the prayer of the suffering +Israelites in Egypt, the angels spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who +hearest our prayer." 17. When the Shekinah descended between the +Cherubim in the Tabernacle, the angels spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O +Lord, who wilt restore Thy Divine Presence to Jerusalem." 18. When +Solomon dedicated his Temple, the angels spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O +Lord, whose Name is worthy of praise." 19. When Israel entered the Holy +Land, the angels spoke: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who establishest +peace." (58) + + + + +XII. +ESTHER + +THE FEAST FOR THE GRANDEES + +The Book of Esther is the last of the Scriptural writings. The +subsequent history of Israel and all his suffering we know only through +oral tradition. For this reason the heroine of the last canonical book +was named Esther, that is, Venus, the morning-star, which sheds its +light after all the other stars have ceased to shine, and while the sun +still delays to rise. Thus the deeds of Queen Esther cast a ray of +light forward into Israel's history at its darkest. (1) + +The Jews at the time of Ahaseurus were like the dove about to enter her +nest wherein a snake lies coiled. Yet she cannot withdraw, because a +falcon bides without to swoop down upon her. In Shushan the Jews were +in the clutches of Haman, and in other lands they were at the mercy of +many murderous enemies to their race, ready to do the bidding of Haman + to destroy and to slay them, and cause them to perish. (2) + +But the rescue of the Jews from the hand of their adversaries is only a +part of this wonderful chapter in the history of Israel. No less +important is the exalted station to which they rose in the realm of +Ahasuerus after the fall of Haman, especially the power and dignity to +which Esther herself attained. On this account the magnificent feast +prepared by Ahasuerus for his subjects belongs to the history of +Esther. + +The splendor of his feast is the gauge whereby to measure the wealth +and power she later enjoyed. (3) + +Ahasuerus was not the king of Persia by right of birth. He owed his +position to his vast wealth, with which he purchased dominion over the +whole world. (4) + +He had various reasons for giving a gorgeous feast. The third year of +his reign was the seventieth since the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's +rule, and Ahasuerus thought it quite certain that the time had passed +for the fulfilment of the prophecy of Jeremiah foretelling the return +of Israel to the Holy Land. The Temple was still in ruins, and +Ahasuerus was convinced that the Jewish kingdom would never again be +restored. Needless to say, it was not Jeremiah who erred. Not with the +accession of King Nebuchadnezzar had the prophet's term of years begun, +but with the destruction of Jerusalem. Reckoned in this way, the +seventy years of desolation were at an end exactly at the time when +Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, permitted the rebuilding of the Temple. +(5) + +Beside this mistaken cause for a celebration, there were reasons +personal to Ahasuerus why he desired to give expression to joy. A short +time before, he had crushed a rebellion against himself, and this +victory he wanted to celebrate with pomp and ceremony. (6) The first +part of the celebration was given over to the hundred and twenty-seven +rulers of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of his empire. His +purpose was to win the devotion of those of them with whom otherwise he +did not come in direct contact. But can it be said with certainty that +this was a good policy? If he had not first made sure of the loyalty of +his capital, was it not dangerous to have these rulers near him in case +of an insurrection? + +For six whole months he celebrated the feast for the grandees the +nobles and the high officials, the latter of whom, according to the +constitution, were all required to be Medians under the Persian king +Ahasuerus, as they would have had to be Persians under a Median king. +(7) + +This was the program of the feast: In the first month Ahasuerus showed +his treasures to his guests; in the second, the delegates of the king's +royal vassals saw them; in the third the presents were exposed to view; +in the fourth the guests were invited to admire his literary +possessions, among them the sacred scroll; in the fifth his pearl and +diamond-studded ornaments of gold were put on exhibition; and in the +sixth he displayed the treasures which had been given him as tribute. +(8) All this vast wealth, however, appertained to the crown, it was not +his personal property. When Nebuchadnezzar felt his end draw nigh, he +resolved to sink his immense treasures in the Euphrates rather than let +them ascend to his son Evil-merodach, so great was his miserliness. +But, again, when Cyrus gave the Jews permission to build the Temple, +his divinely appointed reward was that he discovered the spot in the +river at which the treasures were sunk, and he was permitted to take +possession of them. These were the treasures of which Ahasuerus availed +himself to glorify his feast. So prodigious were they that during the +six months of the feast he unlocked six treasure-chambers daily to +display their contents to his guests. (9) + +When Ahasuerus boasted of his wealth, which he had no right to do, as +his treasures had come from the Temple, God said: "Verily, has the +creature of flesh and blood any possessions of his own? I alone possess +treasures, for 'the silver is mind, and the gold is mine.'" (10) + +Among the treasures displayed were the Temple vessels, which Ahasuerus +had desecrated in his drinking bouts. When the noble Jews who had been +invited to the capital saw these, they began to weep, and they refused +to take further part in the festivities. Thereupon the king commanded +that a separate place be assigned to the Jews, so that their eyes might +be spared the painful sight. (11) + +This was not the only incident that aroused poignant memories in them, +for Ahasuerus arrayed himself in the robes of state once belonging to +the high priests at Jerusalem, and this, too, made the Jews smart +uncomfortably. (12) The Persian king had wanted to mount the throne of +Solomon besides, but herein he was thwarted, because its ingenious +construction was an enigma to him. Egyptian artificers tried to fashion +a throne after the model of Solomon's, but in vain. After two years' +work they managed to produce a weak imitation of it, and upon this +Ahasuerus sat during his splendid feast. (13) + +THE FESTIVITIES IN SHUSHAN + +At the expiration of the hundred and eighty days allotted to the feast +for the nobles, Ahasuerus arranged a great celebration for the +residents of Shushan, the capital city of Elam. From the creation of +the world until after the deluge the unwritten law had been in force, +that the first-born son of the patriarchs was to be the ruler of the +world. Thus, Seth was the successor to Adam, and he was followed in +turn by Enosh, and so the succession went on, from first-born son to +first-born son, down to Noah and his oldest son Shem. Now, the +first-born son of Shem was Elam, and, according to custom, he should +have been given the universal dominion which was his heritage. Shem, +being a prophet, knew that Abraham and his posterity, the Israelites, +would not spring from the family of Elam, but from that of Arpachshad. +Therefore he named Arpachshad as his successor, and through him +rulership descended to Abraham, and so to Isaac, Jacob, and Judah, and +to David and his posterity, down to the last Judean king Zedekiah, who +was deprived of his sovereignty by Nebuchadnezzar. + +Then it was that God spake thus: "So long as the government rested in +the hands of My children, I was prepared to exercise patience. The +misdeeds of the one were made good by the other. If one of them was +wicked, the other was pious. But now that the dominions has been +wrested from My children, it shall at least revert to its original +possessors. Elam was the first-born son of Shem, and his seed shall be +given the rule." So it happened that Shushan, the capital city of Elam, +became the seat of government. (14) + +That there were any celebrations in Shushan was due to Haman, who even +in those early days was devising intrigues against the Jews. He +appeared before Ahasuerus, and said: "O king, this people is a peculiar +people. May it please thee to destroy it." Ahasuerus replied: "I fear +the God of this people; He is very mighty, and I bear in mind what +befell Pharaoh for his wicked treatment of the Israelites." "Their +God," said Haman, "hates an unchaste life. Do thou, therefore, prepare +feasts for them, and order them to take part in the merry-makings. Have +them eat and drink and act as their heart desireth, so that their God +may become wrathful against them." + +When Mordecai heard of the feasts that were planned, he advised the +Jews not to join in them. (15) All the prominent men of his people and +many of the lower classes took his advice to heart. They fled from +Shushan, to avoid being compelled to take part in the festivities. (16) +The rest remained in the city and yielded to force; they participated +in the celebrations, and even permitted themselves to eat of food +prepared by the heathen, though the king had taken care not to offend +the religious conscience of the Jews in such details. (17) He had been +so punctilious that there was no need for them to drink wine touched by +the hand of an idolater, let alone eat forbidden food. The arrangements +for the feast were entirely in the charge of Haman and Mordecai, so +that neither Jew nor Gentile might absent himself for religious +reasons. (18) + +It was the aim of the king to let every guest follow the inclination of +his heart. When Ahasuerus issued the order, that the officers of his +house were to "do according to every man's pleasure," God became wroth +with him. "Thou villain," He said, "canst thou do every man's pleasure? +Suppose two men love the same woman, can both marry her? Two vessels +sail forth together from a port, the one desires a south wind, the +other a north wind. Canst thou produce a wind to satisfy the two? On +the morrow Haman and Mordecai will appear before thee. Wilt thou be +able to side with both?" (19) + +The scene of the festivities was in the royal gardens. The upper +branches of the high trees were made to interlace with each other, so +as to form vaulted arches, and the smaller trees with aromatic foliage +were taken up out of the ground, and placed in artfully constructed +tents. From tree to tree stretched curtains of byssus, white and +sapphire blue, and vivid green and royal purple, fastened to their +supports by ropes depending from round silver beams, these in turn +resting on pillars of red, green, yellow, white, and glittering blue +marble. The couches were made of delicate draperies, their frames stood +on silver feet, and the rods attached to them were of gold. The floor +was tiled with crystal and marble, outlined with precious stones, whose +brilliance illuminated the scene far and wide. (20) + +The wine and the other beverages were drunk only from golden vessels, +yet Ahasuerus was so rich that no drinking cup was used more than a +single time. (21) But magnificent as these utensils of his were, when +the holy vessels of the Temple were brought in, the golden splendor of +the others was dimmed; it turned dull as lead. The wine was in each +case older than its drinker. To prevent intoxication from unaccustomed +drinks, every guest was served with the wine indigenous to his native +place. In general, Ahasuerus followed the Jewish rather than the +Persian manner. It was a banquet rather than a drinking bout. (22) In +Persia a custom prevailed that every participant in a banquet of wine +had to drain a huge beaker far exceeding the drinking capacity of any +human being, and do it he must, though he lost reason and life. The +office butler accordingly was very lucrative, because the guests at +such wassails were in the habit of bribing him to purchase the liberty +of drinking as little as they pleased or dared. This Persian habit of +compelling excess in drinking was ignored at Ahasuerus's banquet; every +guest did as he chose. (23) + +The royal bounty did not show itself in food and drink alone. The +king's guests could also indulge in the pleasures of the dance if they +were so minded. Dancers were provided, who charmed the company with +their artistic figures displayed upon the purple-covered floor. (24) +That the enjoyment of the participants might in no wise be marred, as +by separation from their families, all were permitted to bring their +households with them, (25) and merchants were released from the taxes +imposed upon them. (26) + +So sure was Ahasuerus of his success as a host that he dared say to his +Jewish guests: "Will your God be able to match this banquet in the +future world?" Whereunto the Jews replied: "The banquet God will +prepare for the righteous in the world to come is that of which it is +written, 'No eye hath seen it but God's; He will accomplish it for them +that wait upon Him.' If God were to offer us a banquet like unto thine, +O king, we should say, Such as this we ate at the table of Ahasuerus." +(27) + +VASTHI'S BANQUET + +The banquet given by Queen Vashti to the women differed but slightly +from Ahasuerus's. She sought to emulate her husband's example even in +the point of exhibiting treasures. Six store-chambers she displayed +daily to the women she had bidden as guests; aye, she did not even +shrink from arraying herself in the high-priestly garments. The meats +and dishes, as at Ahasuerus's table, were Palestinian, only instead of +wine, liqueurs were served, and sweets. + +As the weak sex is subject to sudden attacks of indisposition, the +banquet was given in the halls of the palace, so that the guests might +at need withdraw to the adjoining chambers. The gorgeously ornamented +apartments of the palace, besides, were more attractive to the feminine +taste than the natural beauties of the royal gardens, "for a woman +would rather reside in beautiful chambers and possess beautiful clothes +than eat fatted calves." (28) Nothing interested the women more than to +become acquainted with the arrangement of the interior of the palace, +"for women are curious to know all things." Vashti gratified their +desire. She showed them all there was to be seen, describing every +place as she came to it: This is the dining-hall, this the wine-room, +this the bed-chamber. (29) + +Vashti, too, was actuated by a political motive when she determined to +give her banquet. By inviting the wives of hostages in case the men +rose in insurrection against the king. (30) For Vashti knew the ways of +statecraft. She not only was the wife of a king, but also the daughter +of a king, of Belshazzar. The night of Belshazzar's murder in his own +palace, Vashti, alarmed by the confusion that ensued, and not knowing +of the death of her father, fled to the apartments in which he was in +the habit of sitting. The Median Darius had already ascended the throne +of Belshazzar, and so it happened that Vashti, instead of finding the +hoped-for refuge with her father, ran straight into the hands of his +successor. But he had compassion with her, and gave her to his son +Ahasuerus for wife. + +THE FATE OF VASHTI + +Though Ahasuerus had taken every precaution to prevent intemperate +indulgence in wine, his banquet revealed the essential difference +between Jewish and pagan festivities. When Jews are gathered about a +festal board, they discuss a Halakah, or a Haggadah, or, at the least, +a simple verse from the Scriptures. Ahasuerus and his boon companions +rounded out the banquet with prurient talk. The Persians lauded the +charms of the women of their people, while the Medians admitted none +superior to the Median women. Then "the fool" Ahasuerus up and spake: +"My wife is neither a Persian nor a Median, but a Chaldean, yet she +excels all in beauty. Would you convince yourselves of the truth of my +words?" "Yes," shouted the company, who were deep in their cups, "but +that we may properly judge of her natural charms, let her appear before +us unadorned, yes, without any apparel whatsoever," and Ahasuerus +agreed to the shameless condition. (31) + +The thing was from God, that so insensate a demand should be made of +Vashti by the king. A whole week Mordecai had spent in fasting and +praying, supplicating God to mete out punishment to Ahasuerus for his +desecration of the Temple utensils. On the seventh day of the week, on +the Sabbath, when Mordecai after his long fast took food, because +fasting is forbidden on the Sabbath day, God heard his prayer and the +prayer of the Sanhedrin. (32) He sent down seven Angels of Confusion to +put an end to Ahasuerus's pleasure. They were named: Mehuman, +Confusion; Biztha, Destruction of the House; Harbonah, Annihilation; +Bigtha and Abagtha, the Pressers of the Winepress, for God had resolved +to crush the court of Ahasuerus as one presses the juice from grapes in +a press; Zetha, Observer of Immorality; and Carcas, Knocker. (33) + +There was a particular reason why this interruption of the feast took +place on the Sabbath. Vashti was in the habit of forcing Jewish maidens +to spin and weave on the Sabbath day, and to add to her cruelty, she +would deprive them of all their clothes. It was on the Sabbath, +therefore, that her punishment overtook her, and for the same reason it +was put into the king's heart to have her appear in public stripped of +all clothing. (34) + +Vashti recoiled from the king's revolting order. But it must not be +supposed that she shrank from carrying it out because it offended her +moral sense. She was not a whit better than her husband. She fairly +revelled in the opportunity his command gave her to indulge in carnal +pleasures once again, for it was exactly a week since she had been +delivered of a child. But God sent the angel Gabriel to her to +disfigure her countenance. Suddenly signs of leprosy appeared on her +forehead, and the marks of other diseases on her person. (35) In this +state it was impossible for her to show herself to the king. She made a +virtue of necessity, and worded her refusal to appear before him +arrogantly: "Say to Ahasuerus: 'O thou fool and madman! Hast thou lost +thy reason by too much drinking? I am Vashti, the daughter of +Belshazzar, who was a son of Nebuchadnezzar, the Nebuchadnezzar who +scoffed at kings and unto whom princes were a derision, and even thou +wouldst not have been deemed worthy to run before my father's chariot +as a courier. Had he lived, I should never have been given unto thee +for wife. Not even those who suffered the death penalty during the +reign of my forefather Nebuchadnezzar were stripped bare of their +clothing, and thou demandest that I appear naked in public! Why, it is +for thine own sake that I refuse to heed they order. Either the people +will decide that I do not come up to thy description of me, and will +proclaim thee a liar, or, bewitched by my beauty, they will kill thee +in order to gain possession of me, saying, Shall this fool be the +master of so much beauty?'" (36) + +The first lady of the Persian aristocracy encouraged Vashti to adhere +to her resolution. "Better," her adviser said, when Ahasuerus's second +summons was delivered to Vashti, together with his threat to kill her +unless she obeyed, "better the king should kill thee and annihilate thy +beauty, than that thy person should be admired by other eyes than thy +husband's, and thus thy name be disgraced, and the name of thy +ancestors." (37) + +When Vashti refused to obey the repeated command to appear before the +king and the hundred and twenty-seven crowned princes of the realm, +Ahasuerus turned to the Jewish sages, and requested them to pass +sentence upon his queen. Their thoughts ran in this wise: If we condemn +the queen to death, we shall suffer for it as soon as Ahasuerus becomes +sober, and hears it was at our advice that she was executed. But if we +admonish him unto clemency now, while he is intoxicated, he will accuse +us of not paying due deference to the majesty of the king. They +therefore resolved upon neutrality. "Since the destruction of the +Temple," they said to the king, "since we have not dwelt in our land, +we have lost the power to give sage advice, particularly in matters of +life and death. Better seek counsel with the wise men of Ammon and +Moab, who have ever dwelt at ease in their land, like wine that hath +settled on its lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel. +(38) + +Thereupon Ahasuerus put his charge against Vashti before the seven +princes of Persia, Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, +Marsena, and Memucan, who came from Africa, India, Edom, Tarsus, Mursa, +Resen, and Jerusalem, respectively. (39) The names of these seven +officials, each representing his country, were indicative of their +office. Carshena had the care of the animals, Shethar of the wine, +Admatha of the land, Tarshish of the palace, Meres of the poultry, +Marsena of the bakery, and Memucan provided for the needs of all in the +palace, his wife acting as housekeeper. (40) + +This Memucan, a native of Jerusalem, was none other than Daniel, called +Memucan, "the appointed one," because he was designated by God to +perform miracles and bring about the death of Vashti. (41) + +When the king applied for advice to these seven nobles, Memucan was the +first to speak up, though in rank he was inferior to the other six, as +appears from the place his name occupies in the list. However, it is +customary, as well among Persians as among Jews, in passing death +sentence, to begin taking the vote with the youngest of the judges on +the bench, to prevent the juniors and the less prominent from being +overawed by the opinion of the more influential. (42) + +It was Memucan's advice to the king to make an example of Vashti, so +that in future no woman should dare refuse obedience to her husband. +Daniel-Memucan had had unpleasant experiences in his conjugal life. He +had married a wealthy Persian lady, who insisted upon speaking to him +in her own language exclusively. (43) Besides, personal antipathy +existed between Daniel and Vashti. He had in a measure been the cause +of her refusal to appear before the king and his princes. Vashti hated +Daniel, because it was he who had prophesied his death to her father, +and the extinction of his dynasty. She could not endure his sight, +wherefore she would not show herself to the court in his presence. (44) +Also, it was Daniel who, by pronouncing the Name of God, had caused the +beauty of Vashti to vanish, and her face to be marred. (45) In +consequence of all this, Daniel advised, not only that Vashti should be +cast off, but that she should be made harmless forever by the hangman's +hand. His advice was endorsed by his colleagues, and approved by the +king. That the king might not delay execution of the death sentence, +and Daniel himself thus incur danger to his own life, he made Ahasuerus +swear the most solemn oath known to the Persians, that it would be +carried out forthwith. At the same time a royal edict was promulgated, +making it the duty of wives to obey their husbands. With special +reference to Daniel's domestic difficulties, it was specified that the +wife must speak the language of her lord and master. (46) + +The execution of Vashti brought most disastrous consequences in its +train. His whole empire, which is tantamount to saying the whole world, +rose against Ahasuerus. The widespread rebellion was put down only +after his marriage with Esther, but not before it had inflicted upon +him the loss of one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, the half of his +kingdom. Such was his punishment for refusing permission to rebuild the +Temple. It was only after the fall of Haman, when Mordecai had been +made the chancellor of the empire, that Ahasuerus succeeded in reducing +the revolted provinces to submission. (47) + +The death of Vashti was not undeserved punishment, for it had been she +who had prevented the king from giving his consent to the rebuilding of +the Temple. "Wilt thou rebuild the Temple," said she, reproachfully, +"which my ancestors destroyed?" (48) + +THE FOLLIES OF AHASUERUS + +Ahasuerus is the prototype of the unstable, foolish ruler. He +sacrificed his wife Vashti to his friend Haman-Memucan, and later on +again his friend Haman to his wife Esther. (49) Folly possessed him, +too, when he arranged extravagant festivities for guests from afar, +before he had won, by means of kindly treatment, the friendship of his +surroundings, of the inhabitants of his capital. (50) Ridiculous is the +word that describes his edict bidding wives obey their husbands. Every +one who read it exclaimed: "To be sure, a man is master in his own +house!" However, the silly decree served its purpose. It revealed his +true character to the subjects of Ahasuerus, and thenceforward they +attached little importance to his edicts. This was the reason why the +decree of annihilation directed against the Jews failed of the effect +expected by Haman and Ahasuerus. The people regarded it as but another +of the king's foolish pranks, and therefore were ready to acquiesce in +the revocation of the edict when it came. (51) + +The king's true character appeared when he grew sober after the episode +with Vashti. Learning that he had had her executed, he burst out +furiously against his seven counsellors, and in turn ordered them to +death. (52) + +Foolish, too, is the only word to describe the manner in which he set +about discovering the most beautiful woman in his dominion. King David +on a similar occasion wisely sent out messengers who were to bring to +him the most beautiful maiden in the land, and there was none who was +not eager to enjoy the honor of giving a daughter of his to the king. +Ahasuerus's method was to have his servants gather together a multitude +of beautiful maidens and women from all parts, and among them he +proposed to make choice. The result of this system was that the women +concealed themselves to avoid being taken into the harem of the king, +when it was not certain that they would be found worthy of becoming his +queen. (53) + +With his stupidity Ahasuerus combined wantonness. He ordered force to +be used in taking the maidens from their parents and the wives from +their husbands, and then he confined them in his harem. (54) On the +other hand, the moral sense of the heathen was so degraded that many +maidens displayed their charms to public view, so that they might be +sure to attract the admiring attention of the royal emissaries. + +As for Esther, for four years Mordecai kept her concealed in a chamber, +so that the king's scouts could not discover her. But her beauty had +long been known to fame, and when they returned to Shushan, they had to +confess to the king, that the most superbly beautiful woman in the land +eluded their search. Thereupon Ahasuerus issued a decree ordaining the +death penalty for the woman who should secrete herself before his +emissaries. There was nothing left for Mordecai to do but fetch Esther +from her hiding-place, and immediately she was espied and carried to +the palace of the king. (55) + +MORDECAI + +The descent of Mordecai and of his niece Esther is disposed of in a few +words in the Scripture. But he could trace it all the way back to the +Patriarch Jacob, from whom he was forty-five degrees removed. (56) +Beside the father of Mordecai, the only ancestor of his who is +mentioned by name is Shimei, and he is mentioned for a specific reason. +This Shimei is none other then the notorious son of Gera, the rebel who +had so scoffed and mocked at David fleeing before Absalom that he would +have been killed by Abishai, if David had not generously interfered in +his favor. David's prophetic eye discerned in Shimei the ancestor of +Israel's savior in the time of Ahasuerus. For this reason he dealt +leniently with him, and on his death-bed he bade his son Solomon +reserve vengeance until Shimei should have reached old age and could +beget no more children. Thus Mordecai deserves both appellations, the +Benjamite and the Judean, for he owed his existence not only to his +actual Benjamite forebears on his father's side, but also to the Judean +David, who kept his ancestor Shimei alive. (57) + +Shimei's distinction as the ancestor of Israel's redeemer was due to +the merits of his wife. When Jonathan and Ahimaaz, David's spies in his +war against his son, fled before the myrmidons of Absalom, they found +the gate of Shimei's house open. Entering, they concealed themselves in +the well. That they escaped detection was due to the ruse of Shimei's +pious wife. She quickly transformed the well into a lady's chamber. +When Absalom's men came and looked about, they desisted from searching +the place, because they reasoned, that men as saintly as Jonathan and +Ahimaaz would not have taken refuge in the private apartment of a +woman. God determined, that for having rescued two pious men He would +reward her with two pious descendants, who should in turn avert the +ruin of Israel. (58) + +On his mother's side, Mordecai was, in very deed, a member of the tribe +of Judah. (59) In any event, he was a son of Judah in the true sense of +the word; he publicly acknowledged himself a Jew, and he refused to +touch of the forbidden food which Ahasuerus set before his guest at his +banquet. (60) + +His other appellatives likewise point to his piety and his +excellencies. His name Mordecai, for instance, consists of Mor, meaning +"myrrh," and Decai, "pure," for he was as refined and noble as pure +myrrh. Again, he is called Ben Jair, because he "illumined the eyes of +Israel"; and Ben Kish, because when he knocked at the gates of the +Divine mercy, they were opened unto him, which is likewise the origin +of his name Ben Shimei, for he was heard by God when he offered up +prayer. (61) Still another of Mordecai's epithets was Bilshan, "master +of languages." Being a member of the great Sanhedrin he understood all +the seventy languages spoken in the world. (62) More than that, he knew +the language of the deaf mutes. It once happened that no new grain +could be obtained at Passover time. A deaf mute came and pointed with +one hand to the roof and with the other to the cottage. Mordecai +understood that these signs meant a locality by the name of +Gagot-Zerifim, Cottage-Roofs, and, lo, new grain was found there for +the 'Omer offering. On another occasion a deaf mute pointed with one +hand to his eye and with the other to the staple of the bolt on the +door. Mordecai understood that he meant a place called En-Soker, "dry +well," for eye and spring are the same word, En, in Aramaic, and Sikra +also has a double meaning, staple and exhaustion. (63) + +Mordecai belonged to the highest aristocracy of Jerusalem, he was of +royal blood, and he was deported to Babylonian together with King +Jeconiah, by Nebuchadnezzar, who at that time exiled only the great of +the land. (64) Later he returned to Palestine, but remained only for a +time. He preferred to live in the Diaspora, and watch over the +education of Esther. When Cyrus and Darius captured Babylon, Mordecai, +Daniel, and the Jewish community of the conquered city accompanied King +Cyrus to Shushan, where Mordecai established his academy. (65) + +ESTHER'S BEAUTY AND PIETY + +The birth of Esther caused the death of her mother. Her father had died +a little while before, so she was entirely orphaned. Mordecai and his +wife interested themselves in the poor babe. His wife became her nurse, +and he himself did not hesitate, when there was need for it, to do +services for the child that are usually performed only by women. (66) + +Both her names, Esther as well as Hadassah, are descriptive of her +virtues. Hadassah, or Myrtle, she is called, because her good deeds +spread her fame abroad, as the sweet fragrance of the myrtle pervades +the air in which it grows. In general, the myrtle is symbolic of the +pious, because, as the myrtle is ever green, summer and winter alike, +so the saints never suffer dishonor, either in this world or in the +world to come. In another way Esther resembled the myrtle, which, in +spite of its pleasant scent, has a bitter taste. Esther was pleasant to +the Jews, but bitterness itself to Haman and all who belonged to him. + +The name Esther is equally significant. In Hebrew it means "she who +conceals," a fitting name for the niece of Mordecai, the woman who well +knew how to guard a secret, and long hid her descent and faith from the +king and the court. She herself had been kept concealed for years in +the house of her uncle, withdrawn from the searching eyes of the king's +spies. Above all she was the hidden light that suddenly shone upon +Israel in his rayless darkness. + +In build, Esther was neither tall nor short, she was exactly of average +height, another reason for calling her Myrtle, a plant which likewise +is neither large nor small. In point of fact, Esther was not a beauty +in the real sense of the word. The beholder was bewitched by her grace +and her charm, and that in spite of her somewhat sallow, myrtle-like +complexion. (67) More than this, her enchanting grace was not the grace +of youth, for she was seventy-five years old when she came to court, +and captivated the hearts of all who saw her, from king to eunuch. This +was in fulfilment of the prophecy which God made to Abraham when he was +leaving the home of his father: "Thou art leaving the house of thy +father at the age of seventy-five. As thou livest, the deliverer of thy +children in Media also shall be seventy-five years old." + +Another historical event pointed forward to Esther's achievement. When +the Jews, after the destruction of Jerusalem, broke out into the wail, +"We are orphans and fatherless," God said: "in very sooth, the redeemer +whom I shall send unto you in Media shall also be an orphan fatherless +and motherless." (68) + +Ahasuerus put Esther between two groups of beauties, Median beauties to +right of her, and Persian beauties to left of her. Yet Esther's +comeliness outshone them all. (69) Not even Joseph could vie with the +Jewish queen in grace. Grace was suspended above him, but Esther was +fairly laden down with it. (70) Whoever saw her, pronounced her the +ideal of beauty of his nation. The general exclamation was: "This one +is worthy of being queen." (71) In vain Ahasuerus had sought a wife for +four years, in vain fathers had spent time and money bringing their +daughters to him, in the hope that one or the other would appeal to his +fancy. None among the maidens, none among the women, pleased Ahasuerus. +But scarcely had he set eyes upon Esther when he thrilled with the +feeling, that he had at last found what he had long yearned for. (72) + +All these years the portrait of Vashti had hung in his chamber. He had +not forgotten his rejected queen. But once he beheld Esther, Vashti's +picture was replaced by hers. (73) Maiden grace and womanly charm were +in her united. (74) + +The change in her worldly position wrought no change in Esther's ways +and manners. As she retained her beauty until old age, so the queen +remained as pure in mind and soul as ever the simple maiden had been. +All the other women who entered the gates of the royal palace made +exaggerated demands, Esther's demeanor continued modest and unassuming. +The others insisted that the seven girl pages assigned to them should +have certain peculiar qualities, as, that they should not differ, each +from her mistress, in complexion and height. Esther uttered no wish +whatsoever. + +But her unpretending ways were far from pleasing to Hegai, chief of the +eunuchs of the harem. He feared lest the king discover that Esther did +nothing to preserve her beauty, and would put the blame for it upon +him, an accusation that might bring him to the gallows. To avoid such a +fate, he loaded Esther down with resplendent jewels, distinguishing her +beyond all the other women gathered in the palace, as Joseph, by means +of costly gifts lavished upon him, had singled out her ancestor +Benjamin from among his brethren. + +Hegai paid particular attention to what Esther ate. For her he brought +dishes from the royal table, which, however, she refused obstinately to +ouch. Only such things passed her lips as were permitted to Jews. She +lived entirely on vegetable food, as Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah had +aforetimes done at the court of Nebuchadnezzar. (75) The forbidden +tidbits she passed over to the non-Jewish servants. (76) Her personal +attendants were seven Jewish maidens as consistently pious as herself, +whose devotion to the ritual law Esther could depend upon. + +Otherwise Esther was cut off from all intercourse with Jews, and she +was in danger of forgetting when the Sabbath bath came around. She +therefore adopted the device of giving her seven attendants peculiar +names, to keep her in mind of the passage of time. The first one was +called Hulta, "Workaday," and she was in attendance upon Esther on +Sundays. On Mondays, she was served by Rok`ita, to remind her of +Rek`ia, "the Firmament," which was created on the second day of the +world. Tuesday's maid was called Genunita, "Garden," the third day of +creation having produced the world of plants. On Wednesday, she was +reminded by Nehorita's name, "the Luminous," that it was the day on +which God had made the great luminaries, to shed their light in the +sky; on Thursday by Ruhshita, "Movement," for on the fifth day the +first animated beings were created; on Friday, the day on which the +beasts came into being, by Hurfita, "little Ewelamb"; and on the +Sabbath her bidding was done by Rego`ita, "Rest." Thus she was sure to +remember the Sabbath day week after week. (77) + +Mordecai's daily visits to the gate of the palace had a similar +purpose. Thus Esther was afforded the opportunity of obtaining +instruction from him on all ritual doubts that might assail her. (78) +This lively interest displayed by Mordecai in Esther's physical and +spiritual welfare is not wholly attributable to an uncle's and +guardian's solicitude in behalf of an orphaned niece. A much closer +bond, the bond between husband and wife, united them, for when Esther +had grown to maidenhood, Mordecai had espoused her. (79) Naturally, +Esther would have been ready to defend her conjugal honor with her +life. She would gladly have suffered death at the hands of the king's +bailiffs rather than yield herself to a man not her husband. Luckily, +there was no need for this sacrifice, for her marriage with Ahasuerus +was but a feigned union. God has sent down a female spirit in the guise +of Esther to take her place with the king. Esther herself never lived +with Ahasuerus as his wife. (80) + +At the advice of her uncle, Esther kept her descent and her faith a +secret. Mordecai's injunction was dictated by several motives. First of +all it was his modesty that suggested secrecy. He thought the king, if +he heard from Esther that she had been raised by him, might offer to +install him in some high office. In point of fact, Mordecai was right +in his conjecture; Ahasuerus had pledged himself to make lords, +princes, and kings of Esther's friends and kinspeople, if she would but +name them. + +Another reason for keeping Esther's Jewish affiliations a secret was +Mordecai's apprehension, that the fate of Vashti overtake Esther, too. +If such were in store for her, he desired at least to guard against the +Jews' becoming her fellowsuffers. Besides, Mordecai knew only too well +the inimical feelings entertained by the heathen toward the Jews, ever +since their exile from the Holy Land, and he feared that the +Jew-haters, to gratify their hostility against the Jews, might bring +about the ruin of Esther and her house. (81) + +Mindful of the perils to which Esther was exposed, Mordecai allowed no +day to pass without assuring himself of her well-being. His +compensation therefore came from God: "Thou makest the well-being of a +single soul they intimate concern. As thou livest, the well-being and +good of thy whole nation Israel shall be entrusted to thee as thy +task." (82) And to reward him for his modesty, God said: "Thou +withdrawest thyself from greatness; as thou livest, I will honor thee +more than all men on earth." (83) + +Vain were the efforts made by Ahasuerus to draw her secret from Esther. +He arranged great festivities for the purpose, but she guarded it well. +She had an answer ready for his most insistent questions: "I know +neither my people nor my family, for I lost my parents in my earliest +infancy." But as the king desired greatly to show himself gracious to +the nation to which the queen belonged, he released all the peoples +under his dominion from the payment of taxes and imposts. In this way, +he thought, her nation was bound to be benefited. (84) + +When the king saw that kindness and generosity left her untouched, he +sought to wrest the secret from her by threats. Once when she parried +his inquiries in the customary way, saying, "I am an orphan, and God, +the Father of the fatherless, in His mercy, has brought me up," he +retorted: I shall gather virgins together the second time." His purpose +was to provoke the jealousy of Esther, "for a woman is jealous of +nothing so much as a rival." + +When Mordecai noticed that women were being brought to court anew, he +was overcome with anxiety for his niece. Thinking that the fate of +Vashti might have befallen her, he was impelled to make inquires about +her. (85) + +As for Esther herself, she was but following the example of her race. +She could keep silent in all modesty, as Rachel, the mother of +Benjamin, had kept a modest silence when her father gave her sister +Leah to Jacob for wife instead of herself, and as Saul the Benjamite +was modestly reserved when, questioned by his uncle, he told about the +finding of his she-asses, but nothing about his elevation to the +kingship. Rachel and Saul were recompensed for their self-abnegation by +being given a descendant like Esther. (86) + +THE CONSPIRACY + +Once the following conversation took place between Ahasuerus and +Esther. The king asked Esther: "Whose daughter art thou?" + +Esther: "And whose son art thou?" + +Ahasuerus: "I am a king, and the son of a king." + +Esther: "And I am a queen, the daughter of kings, a descendant of the +royal family of Saul. If thou art, indeed, a real prince, how couldst +thou put Vashti to death?" + +Ahasuerus: "It was not to gratify my own wish, but at the advice of the +great princes of Persia and Media." + +Esther: "Thy predecessors took no advice from ordinary intelligences; +they were guided by prophetical counsel. Arioch brought Daniel to +Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and Belshazzar, too, summoned Daniel +before him." + +Ahasuerus: "Is there aught left of those toothsome morsels? Are there +still prophets abroad? + +Esther: "Seek and thou wilt find." (87) + +The result was that Mordecai was given the position at court once +occupied by the chamberlains Bigthan and Teresh. Indignant that a place +once filled by senators should be given to a barbarian, the ousted +officials resolved to be revenged upon the king and take his life. +Their purpose was to administer poison, which seemed easy of +accomplishment, as they were the royal butlers, and could find many +occasions to drop poison into a cup of water before handing it to the +king. The plan successfully carried out would have satisfied their +vengeful feelings, not only as to the king, but as to Mordecai as well. +It would have made it appear that the death of Ahasuerus was +attributable to the circumstance, that he had entrusted his person to +the care of the Jew, as his life had been secure under Bigthan and +Teresh. They discussed their plans in the presence of Mordecai, acting +upon the unwarranted assumption, that he would not understand the +language they spoke, the Tarsian, their native tongue. They were +ignorant of the fact, that Mordecai was a member of the Sanhedrin, and +as such knew all the seventy languages of the world. Thus their own +tongue betrayed them to ruin. + +However, Mordecai had no need to make use of his great knowledge of +languages; he obtained his information about the plot of the two +chamberlains through prophetical channels. Accordingly, he appeared one +night in the palace. By a miracle the guards at the gates had not seen +him, and he could enter unrestrained. Thus he overheard the +conversation between the two conspirators. + +Mordecai had more than a single reason for preventing the death of +Ahasuerus. In the first place, he desired to secure the king's +friendship for the Jews, and more especially his permission for the +rebuilding of the Temple. Then he feared, if the king were murdered +immediately after his rise to a high place in the state, the heathen +would assign as the cause of the disaster his connection with the Jews + his marriage with Esther and the appointment of Mordecai to office. + +Esther's confidence in Mordecai's piety was so great that she +unhesitatingly gave credence to the message she received from him +concerning the mischievous plot hatched against the king. She believed +that God would execute the wishes of Mordecai. Albeit Bigthan and +Teresh had no plans of the sort attributed to them by her uncle, they +would conceive then now in order to make Mordecai's words true. That +Esther's confidence was justified appeared at once. The conspirators +got wind of their betrayal to the king, and in good time they removed +the poison they had already placed in Ahasuerus's cup. But that the lie +might not be given to Mordecai, God caused poison to appear where none +had been, and the conspirators were convicted of their crime. (88) The +king had the water analyzed which he was given to drink, and it was +made manifest that it contained poison. (89) Other evidence besides +existed against the two plotters. It was established that both had at +the same time busied themselves about the person of the king, though +the regulations of the palace assigned definite hours of service to the +one different from those assigned to the other. This made it clear that +they intended to perpetrate a dark deed in common. (90) + +The two conspirators sought to escape the legitimate punishment for +their dastardly deed by ending their own life. But their intention was +frustrated, and they were nailed to the cross. (91) + +HAMAN THE JEW-BAITER + +The conspiracy of Bigthan and Teresh determined the king never again to +have two chamberlains guard his person. Henceforward he would entrust +his safety to a single individual, and he appointed Haman to the place. +This was an act of ingratitude toward Mordecai, who, as the king's +savior, had the most cogent claims upon the post. (92) But Haman +possessed one important advantage, he was the owner of great wealth. +With the exception of Korah he was the richest man that had ever lived, +for he had appropriated to himself the treasures of the Judean kings +and of the Temple. (93) + +Ahasuerus had an additional reason for distinguishing Haman. He was +well aware of Mordecai's ardent desire to see the Temple restored, and +he instinctively felt he could not deny the wish of the man who had +snatched him from untimely death. Yet he was not prepared to grant it. +To escape from the dilemma he endeavored to make Haman act as a +counterpoise against Mordecai, that "what the one built up, the other +might pull down." (94) + +Ahasuerus had long been acquainted with Haman's feeling against the +Jews. When the quarrel about the rebuilding of the Temple broke out +between the Jews and their heathen adversaries, and the sons of Haman +denounced the Jews before Ahasuerus, the two parties at odds agreed to +send each a representative to the king, to advocate his case. Mordecai +was appointed the Jewish delegate, and no more rabid Jew-hater could be +found than Haman, to plead the cause of the antagonists of the Temple +builders. (95) + +As for his character, that, too, King Ahasuerus had had occasion to see +in its true light, because Haman is but another name for Memucan, the +prince who is chargeable in the last resort with the death of Vashti. +At the time of the king's wrath against the queen, Memucan was still +lowest in the rank among the seven princes of Persia, yet, arrogant as +he was, he was the first to speak up when the king put his question +about the punishment due to Vashti an illustration of the popular +adage: "The common man rushes to the front." (96) Haman's hostility +toward Vashti dated from her banquet, to which the queen had failed to +bid his wife as guest. Moreover, she had once insulted him by striking +him a blow in the face. Besides, Haman calculated, if only Vashti's +repudiation could be brought about, he might succeed in marrying his +own daughter to the king. (97) He was not the only disappointed man at +court. In part the conspiracy of Bigthan and Teresh was a measure of +revenge against Ahasuerus for having made choice of Esther instead of a +kinswoman of theirs. (98) + +Esther once married to the king, however, Haman made the best of a bad +bargain. He tried by every means in his power to win the friendship of +the queen. Whether she was Jewess or heathen, he desired to claim +kinship with her as a Jewess through the fraternal bond between Esau +and Jacob, as a heathen easily enough, "for all the heathen area akin +to one another." (99) + +MORDECAI'S PRIDE + +When Ahasuerus raised Haman to his high office, he at the same time +issued the order, that all who saw him were to prostrate themselves +before him and pay him Divine honors. To make it manifest that the +homage due to him had an idolatrous character, Haman had the image of +an idol fastened to his clothes, so that whoever bowed down before him, +worshipped an idol at the same time. (100) Mordecai alone of all at +court refused to obey the royal order. The highest officials, even the +most exalted judges, showed Haman the reverence bidden by the king. The +Jews themselves entreated Mordecai not to call forth the fury of Haman, +and cause the ruin of Israel thereby. Mordecai, however, remained +steadfast; no persuasions could move him to pay to a mortal the tribute +due to Divinity. (101) + +Also the servants of the king who sat at the gate of the royal palace +said to Mordecai: "Wherein art thou better than we, that we should pay +reverence to Haman and prostrate ourselves, and thou doest naught of +all commanded us in the matter?" Mordecai answered, saying "O ye fools +without understanding! Hear ye my words and make meet reply thereunto. +Who is man that he should act proudly and arrogantly man born of +woman and few in days? At his birth there is weeping and travailing, in +his youth pain and groans, all his days are 'full of trouble,' and in +the end he returns unto dust. Before such an one I should prostrate +myself? I bend the knee before God alone, the only living One in +heaven, He who is the fire consuming all other fires; who holds the +earth in His arms; who stretches out the heavens in His might; who +darkens the sun when it pleases Him, and illumines the darkness; who +commanded the sand to set bounds unto the seas; who made the waters of +the sea salt, and caused its waves to spread an aroma as of wine; who +chained the sea as with manacles, and held it fast in the depths of the +abyss that it might not overflow the land; it rages, yet it cannot pass +its limits. With His word He created the firmament, which He stretched +out like a cloud in the air; He cast it over the world like a dark +vault, like a tent it is spread over the earth. In His strength He +upholds all there is above and below. The sun, the moon, and the +Pleiades run before Him, the stars and the planets are not idle for a +single moment; they rest not, they speed before Him as His messengers, +going to the right and to the left, to do the will of Him who created +them. To Him praise is due, before Him we must prostrate ourselves." + +The court officials spake and said: "Yet we know well that thy ancestor +Jacob prostrated himself before Haman's ancestor Esau!" + +Whereunto Mordecai made reply: "I am a descendant of Benjamin, who was +not yet born when his father Jacob and his brothers cast themselves +upon the earth before Esau. My ancestor never showed such honor to a +mortal. Therefore was Benjamin's allotment of land in Palestine +privileged to contain the Temple. The spot whereon Israel and all the +peoples of the earth prostrated themselves before God belonged to him +who had never prostrated himself before mortal man. Therefore I will +not bend my knee before this sinner Haman, nor cast myself to earth +before him." (102) + +Haman at first tried to propitiate Mordecai by a show of modesty. As +though he had not noticed the behavior of Mordecai, he approached him, +and saluted him with the words: "Peace be with thee, my lord!" But +Mordecai bluntly replied: "There is no peace, saith my God, to the +wicked." (103) + +The hatred of Mordecai cherished by Haman was due to more than the +hereditary enmity between the descendants of Saul and Agag. (104) Not +even Mordecai's public refusal to pay the homage due to Haman suffices +to explain its virulence. Mordecai was aware of a certain incident in +the past of Haman. If he had divulged it, the betrayal would have been +most painful to the latter. This accounts for the intensity of his +feeling. + +It once happened that a city in India rebelled against Ahasuerus. In +great haste troops were dispatched thither under the command of +Mordecai and Haman. It was estimated that the campaign would require +three years, and all preparations were made accordingly. By the end of +the first year Haman had squandered the provisions laid in to supply +the part of the army commanded by him, for the whole term of the +campaign. Greatly embarrassed, he requested Mordecai to give him aid. +Mordecai, however, refused him succor; they both had been granted the +same amount of provisions for an equal number of men. Haman then +offered to borrow from Mordecai and pay him interest. This, too, +Mordecai refused to do, and for two reasons. If Mordecai had supplied +Haman's men with provisions, his own would have to suffer, and as for +interest, the law prohibits it, saying "Unto thy brother thou shalt not +lend upon usury," and Jacob and Esau, the respective ancestors of +Mordecai and Haman, had been brothers. + +When starvation stared them in the face, the troops commanded by Haman +threatened him with death unless he gave them their rations. Haman +again resorted to Mordecai, and promised to pay him as much as ten per +cent interest. The Jewish general continued to refuse the offer. But he +professed himself willing to help him out of his embarrassment on one +condition, that Haman sell himself to Mordecai as his slave. Driven +into a corner, he acquiesced, and the contract was written upon +Mordecai's knee-cap, because there was no paper to be found in the +camp. + +The bill of sale ran thus: "I, Haman, the son of Hammedatha of the +family of Agag, was sent out by King Ahasuerus to make war upon an +Indian city, with an army of sixty thousand soldiers, furnished with +the necessary provisions. Precisely the same commission was given by +the king to Mordecai, the son of Shimei of the tribe of Benjamin. But I +squandered the provisions entrusted to me by the king, so that I had no +rations to give to my troops. I desired to borrow from Mordecai on +interest, but, having regard to the fact that Jacob and Esau were +brothers, he refused to lend me upon usury, and I was forced to sell +myself as slave to him. If, now, I should at any time decline to serve +him as a slave, or deny that I am his slave, or if my children and +children's children unto the end of all time should refuse to do him +service, if only a single day of the week; or if I should act +inimically toward him on account of this contract, as Esau did toward +Jacob after selling him his birthright; in all these cases, a beam of +wood is to be plucked out of the house of the recalcitrant, and he is +to be hanged upon it. I, Haman, the son of Hammedatha of the family of +Agag, being under no restraint, do hereby consent with my own will, and +bind myself to be slave in perpetuity to Mordecai, in accordance with +the contents of this document." + +Later, when Haman attained to high rank in the state, Mordecai, +whenever he met him, was in the habit of stretching out his knee toward +him, so that he might see the bill of sale. This so enraged him against +Mordecai and against the Jews that he resolved to extirpate the Jewish +people. (105) + +CASTING THE LOTS + +Haman's hatred, first directed against Mordecai alone, grew apace until +it included Mordecai's colleagues, all the scholars, whom he sought to +destroy, and not satisfied with even this, he plotted the annihilation +of the whole of Mordecai's people, the Jews. (106) + +Before beginning to lay out his plans, he desired to determine the most +favorable moment for his undertaking, which he did by casting lots. + +First of all he wanted to decide on the day of the week. The scribe +Shimshai began to cast lots. Sunday appeared inappropriate, being the +day on which God created heaven and earth, whose continuance depends on +Israel's existence. Were it not for God's covenant with Israel, there +would be neither day nor night, neither heaven nor earth. Monday showed +itself equally unpropitious for Haman's devices, for it was the day on +which God effected the separation between the celestial and the +terrestrial waters, symbolic of the separation between Israel and the +heathen. Tuesday, the day on which the vegetable world was created, +refused to give its aid in bringing about the ruin of Israel, who +worships God with branches of palm trees. Wednesday, too, protested +against the annihilation of Israel, saying: "On me the celestial +luminaries were created, and like unto them Israel is appointed to +illumine the whole world. First destroy me, and then Thou mayest +destroy Israel." Thursday said: "O Lord, on me the birds were created, +which are used for sin offerings. When Israel shall be no more, who +will bring offerings? First destroy me, and then Thou mayest destroy +Israel." Friday was unfavorable to Haman's lots, because it was the day +of the creation of man, and the Lord God said to Israel, "Ye are men." +Least of all was the Sabbath day inclined to make itself subservient to +Haman's wicked plans. It said: "The Sabbath is a sign between Israel +and God. First destroy me, and then Thou mayest destroy Israel!" (107) + +Baffled, Haman gave up all idea of settling upon a favorable day of the +week. He applied himself to the task of searching out the suitable +month for his sinister undertaking. As it appeared to him, Adar was the +only one of the twelve owning naught that might be interpreted in favor +of the Jews. The rest of them seemed to be enlisted on their side. In +Nisan Israel was redeemed from Egypt; in Iyar Amlek was overcome; In +Siwan the Ethiopian Zerah was smitten in the war with Asa; in Tammuz +the Amorite kings were subjugated; in Ab the Jews won a victory over +Arad, the Canaanite; in Tishri the Jewish kingdom was firmly +established by the dedication of Solomon's Temple, while in Heshwan the +building of the Temple at Jerusalem was completed; Kislew and Tebet +were the months during which Sihon and Og were conquered by the +Israelites, and in Shebat occurred the sanguinary campaign of the +eleven tribes against the godless children of Benjamin. Not alone was +Adar a month without favorable significance in Jewish history, but +actually a month of misfortune, the month in which Moses died. What +Haman did not know was, that Adar was the month in which occurred also +the birth of Moses. (108) + +Then Haman investigated the twelve signs of the zodiac in relation to +Israel, and again it appeared that Adar was the most unfavorable month +for the Jews. The first constellation, the Ram, said to Haman, "'Israel +is a scattered sheep,' and how canst thou expect a father to offer his +son for slaughter?" + +The Bull said: "Israel's ancestor was 'the firstling bullock.'" + +The Twins: "As we are twins, so Tamar bore twins to Judah." + +The Crab: "As I am called Saratan, the scratcher, so it is said of +Israel, 'All that oppress him, he shall scratch sorely.'" + +The Lion: "God is called the lion, and is it likely the lion will +permit the fox to bite his children?" + +The Virgin: "As I am a virgin, so Israel is compared unto a virgin." + +The Balance: "Israel obeys the law against unjust balances in the +Torah, and must therefore be protected by the Balance." + +The Scorpion: "Israel is like unto me, for he, too, is called +scorpion." + +The Archer: "The sons of Judah are masters of the bow, and the bows of +mighty men directed against them will be broken." + +The Goat: "It was a goat that brought blessing unto Jacob, the ancestor +of Israel, and it stands to reason that the blessing of the ancestor +cannot cause misfortune to the descendant." + +The Water-bearer: "His dominion is likened unto a bucket, and therefore +the Water-bearer cannot but bring him good." (109) + +The Fishes were the only constellation which, at least according to +Haman's interpretation, made unfavorable prognostications as to the +fate of the Jews. It said that the Jews would be swallowed like fishes. +God however spake: "O thou villain! Fishes are sometimes swallowed, but +sometimes they swallow, and thou shalt be swallowed by the swallowers." +(110) And when Haman began to cast lots, God said: "O thou villain, son +of a villain! What thy lots have shown thee is thine own lot, that thou +wilt be hanged." (111) + +THE DENUNCIATION OF THE JEWS + +His resolve to ruin the Jews taken, Haman appeared before Ahasuerus +with his accusation against them. "There is a certain people," he said, +"the Jews, scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the +provinces of the kingdom. They are proud and presumptuous. In Tebet, in +the depth of winter, they bathe in warm water, and they sit in cold +water in summer. Their religion is diverse from the religion of every +other people, and their laws from the laws of every other land. To our +laws they pay no heed, our religion finds no favor with them, and the +decrees of the king they do not execute. When their eye falls upon us, +they spit out before us, and they consider us as unclean vessels. When +we levy them for the king's service, they either jump upon the wall, +and hide within the chambers, or they break through the walls and +escape. If we hasten to arrest them, they turn upon us, glare at us +with their eyes, grind their teeth, stamp their feet, and so intimidate +us that we cannot hold them fast. They do not give us their daughters +unto wives, nor do they take our daughters unto wives. If one of them +has to do the king's service, he idles all the day long. If they want +to buy aught of us, they say, 'This is a day for doing business.' But +if we want to buy aught of them, they say, 'We may do no business +to-day,' and thus we can buy nothing from them on their market-days. + +"Their time they pass in this wise: The first hour of the day, they +say, they need for reciting the Shema; the second for praying; the +third for eating; the fourth for saying grace, to give thanks to God +for the food and drink He has granted them; the fifth hour they devote +to their business affairs; in the sixth they already feel the need of +rest; in the seventh their wives call for them, saying, 'come home, ye +weary ones, who are so exhausted by the king's service!' + +"The seventh day they celebrate as their Sabbath; they go to the +synagogues on that day, read out of their books, translate pieces from +their Prophets, curse our king, and execrate our government, saying: +'This is the day whereon the great God rested; so may He grant us rest +from the heathen.' + +"The women pollute the waters with their ritual baths, which they take +after the seven days of their defilement. On the eighth day after the +birth of sons, they circumcise them mercilessly, saying, 'This shall +distinguish us from all other nations.' At the end of thirty days, and +sometimes twenty-nine, they celebrate the beginning of the month. In +the month of Nisan they observe eight days of Passover, beginning the +celebration by kindling a fire of brushwood to burn up the leaven. They +put all the leaven in their homes out of sight before they use the +unleavened bread, saying, 'This is the day whereon our fathers were +redeemed from Egypt.' Such is the festival they call Pesah. They go to +their synagogues, read out of their books, and translate from the +writings of the Prophets, saying: 'As the leaven has been removed out +of our houses, so may this wicked dominion be removed from over us.' + +"Again, in Siwan, they celebrate two days, on which they go to their +synagogues, recite the Shema, and offer up prayers, read out of the +Torah, and translate from the books of their Prophets, curse our king, +and execrate our government. This is the holiday which they call +Azarta, the closing festival. They ascend to the roofs of their +synagogues, and throw down apples, which are picked up by those below, +with the words, 'As these apples are gathered up, so may we be gathered +together from our dispersion among the heathen.' They say they observe +this festival, because on these days the Torah was revealed to their +ancestors on Mount Sinai. + +"On the first of Tishri they celebrate the New Year again they go to +their synagogues, read out of their books, translate pieces from the +writings of their Prophets, curse our king, execrate our government, +and blow the trumpets, saying: 'On this Day of Memorial may we be +remembered unto good, and our enemies unto evil.' + +"On the ninth day of the same month they slaughter cattle, geese, and +poultry, they eat and drink and indulge in dainties, they and their +wives, their sons and their daughters. But the tenth day of the same +month they call the Great Fast, and all of them fast, they together +with their wives, their sons, and their daughters, yea, they even +torture their little children without mercy, forcing them to abstain +from food. They say: 'On this day our sins are pardoned, and are added +to the sum of the sins committed by our enemies.' They go to their +synagogues, read from their books, translate from the writings of their +Prophets, curse our king, and execrate our government, saying: 'May +this empire be wiped off from the face of the earth like unto our +sins.' They supplicate and pray that the king may die, and his rule be +made to cease. + +"On the fifteenth of the same month they celebrate the Feast of +Tabernacles. They cover the roofs of their houses with foliage, they +resort to our parks, where they cut down palm branches for their festal +wreaths, pluck the fruit of the Etrog, and cause havoc among the +willows of the brook, by breaking down the hedges in their quest after +Hosha'not, saying: 'As does the king in the triumphal procession, so do +we.' Then they repair to their synagogues to pray, and read out of +their books, and make circuits with their Hosha'not, all the while +jumping and skipping like goats, so that there is no telling whether +they curse us or bless us. This is Sukkot, as they call it, and while +it lasts, they do none of the king's service, for, they maintain, all +work is forbidden them on these days. + +"In this way they waste the whole year with tomfoolery and +fiddle-faddle, only in order to avoid doing the king's service. At the +expiration of every period of fifty years they have a jubilee year, and +every seventh year is a year of release, during which the land lies +fallow, for they neither sow nor reap therein, and sell us neither +fruits nor other products of the field, so that those of us who live +among them die of hunger. At the end of every period of twelve months, +they observe the New Year, at the end of every thirty days the New +Moon, and every seventh day is the Sabbath, the day on which, as they +say, the Lord of the world rested." (112) + +After Haman had finished his arraignment of the Jews, God said: "Thou +didst well enumerate the holidays of the Jews, yet thou didst omit the +two Purim and Shushan-Purim which the Jews will celebrate to +commemorate thy fall." + +Clever though Haman's charge was, the vindication of the Jews was no +whit less clever. For they found a defender in the archangel Michael. +While Haman was delivering his indictment, he spoke thus to God: "O +Lord of the world! Thou knowest well that the Jews are not accused of +idolatry, nor of immoral conduct, nor of shedding blood; they are +accused only of observing Thy Torah." God pacified him: "As thou +livest, I have not abandoned them, I will not abandon them." + +Haman's denunciations of the Jewish people found a ready echo in the +heart of the king. He replied: "I, too, desire the annihilation of the +Jews, but I fear their God, for He is mighty beyond compare, and He +loves His people with a great love. Whoever rises up against them, He +crushes under their feet. Just think of Pharaoh! Should his example not +be a warning to us? He ruled the whole world, yet, because he oppressed +the Jews, he was visited with frightful plagues. God delivered them +from the Egyptians, and cleft the sea for them, a miracle never done +for any other nation, and when Pharaoh pursued them with an army of six +hundred thousand warriors, he and his host together were drowned in the +sea. Thy ancestor Amalek, O Haman, attacked them with four hundred +thousand heroes, and all of them God delivered into the hands of +Joshua, who slew them. Sisera had forty thousand generals under him, +each one commander of a hundred thousand men, yet they all were +annihilated. The God of the Jews ordered the stars to consume the +warriors of Sisera, and then He caused the great general to fall into +the power of a woman, to become a by-word and a reproach forever. Many +and valorous rulers have risen up against them, they all were cast down +by their God and crushed unto their everlasting disgrace. Now, then, +can we venture aught against them?" + +Haman, however, persisted. Day after day he urged the king to consent +to his plan. Ahasuerus thereupon called together a council of the wise +men of all nations and tongues. To them he submitted the question, +whether the Jews ought not to be destroyed, seeing they differed from +all other peoples. The sage councillors inquired: "Who is it that +desires to induce thee to take so fatal a step? If the Jewish nation is +destroyed, the world itself will cease to be, for the world exists only +for the sake of the Torah studied by Israel. Yea, the very sun and moon +shed their light only for the sake of Israel, and were it not for him, +there were neither day nor night, and neither dew nor rain would +moisten the earth. More than this, all other nations beside Israel are +designated as 'strangers' by God, but Israel He called in His love 'a +people near to Him,' and His 'children.' If men do not suffer their +children and kinsmen to be attacked with impunity, how much less will +God sit by quiet when Israel is assailed God the Ruler over all +things, over the powers in heaven above and on earth beneath, over the +spirits and the souls God with whom it lies to exalt and to degrade, to +slay and to revive." + +Haman was ready with a reply to these words of the wise: "The God who +drowned Pharaoh in the sea, and who did all the wonders and signs ye +have recounted, that God is now in His dotage, He can neither see nor +protect. For did not Nebuchadnezzar destroy His house, burn His palace, +and scatter His people to all corners of the earth, and He was not able +to do one thing against it? If He had had power and strength, would he +not have displayed them? This is the best proof that He was waxed old +and feeble." + +When the heathen sages heard these arguments advance by Haman, they +agreed to his plan, and put their signature to an edict decreeing the +persecution of the Jews. (113) + +THE DECREE OF ANNIHILATION + +This is the text of the decree which Haman issued to the heads of all +the nations regarding the annihilation of the Jews: "This herein is +written by me, the great officer of the king, his second in rank, the +first among the grandees, and one of the seven princes, and the most +distinguished among the nobles of the realm. I, in agreement with the +rulers of the provinces, the princes of the king, the chiefs and the +lords, the Eastern kings and the satraps, all being of the same +language, write you at the order of King Ahasuerus this writing sealed +with his signet, so that it may not be sent back, concerning the great +eagle Israel. The great eagle had stretched out his pinions over the +whole world; neither bird nor beast could withstand him. But there came +the great lion Nebuchadnezzar, and dealt the great eagle a stinging +blow. His pinions snapped, his feathers were plucked out, and his feet +were hacked off. The whole world has enjoyed rest, cheer, and +tranquillity since the moment the eagle was chased from his eyrie until +this day. Now we notice that he is using all efforts to secure wings. +He is permitting his feathers to grow, with the intention of covering +us and the whole world, as he did unto our forefathers. At the instance +of King Ahasuerus, all the magnates of the king of Media and Persia are +assembled, and we are writing you our joint advice, as follows: 'Set +snares for the eagle, and capture him before he renews his strength, +and soars back to his eyrie.' We advise you to tear out his plumage, +break his wings, give his flesh to the fowl of heaven, split the eggs +lying in his nest, and crush his young, so that his memorial may vanish +from the world. Our counsel is not like unto Pharaoh's; he sought to +destroy only the men of Israel; to the women he did no harm. It is not +like unto the plan of Esau, who wanted to slay his brother Jacob and +keep his children as slaves. It is not like unto the tactics of Amalek, +who pursued Israel and smote the hindmost and feeble, but left the +strong unscathed. It is not like unto the policy of Nebuchadnezzar, who +carried them away into exile, and settled them near his own throne. And +it is not like unto the way of Sennacherib, who assigned a land unto +the Jews as fair as their own had been. We, recognizing clearly what +the situation is, have resolved to slay the Jews, annihilate them, +young and old, so that their name and their memorial may be no more, +and their posterity may be cut off forever." (114) + +The edict issued by Ahasuerus against the Jews ran thus: "To all the +peoples, nations, and races: Peace be with you! This is to acquaint you +that one came to us who is not of our nation and of our land, an +Amalekite, the son of great ancestors, and his name is Haman. He made a +trifling request of me, saying: 'Among us there dwells a people, the +most despicable of all, who are a stumbling-block in every time. They +are exceeding presumptuous, and they know our weakness and our +shortcomings. They curse the king in these words, which are constantly +in their mouths: "God is the King of the world forever and ever: He +will make the heathen to perish out of His land: He will execute +vengeance and punishments upon the peoples." From the beginning of all +time they have been ungrateful, as witness their behavior toward +Pharaoh. With kindness he received them, their wives, and their +children, at the time of a famine. He gave up to them the best of his +land. He provided them with food and all they needed. Then Pharaoh +desired to build a palace, and he requested the Jews to do it for him. +They began the work grudgingly, amid murmurings, and it is not +completed unto this day. In the midst of it, they approached Pharaoh +with these words: "We wish to offer sacrifices to our God in a place +that is a three days' journey from here, and we petition thee to lend +us silver and gold vessels, and clothes, and apparel." So much did they +borrow, that each one bore ninety ass-loads off with him, and Egypt was +emptied out. When, the three days having elapsed, they did not return, +Pharaoh pursued them in order to recover the stolen treasures. What did +the Jews? They had among them a man by the name of Moses, the son of +Amram, an arch-wizard, who had been bred in the house of Pharaoh. When +they reached the sea, this man raised his staff, and cleft the waters, +and led the Jews through them dryshod, while Pharaoh and his host were +drowned. + +"'Their God helps them as long as they observe His law, so that none +can prevail against them. Balaam, the only prophet we heathens ever +had, they slew with the sword, as they did unto Sihon and Og, the +powerful kings of Canaan, whose land they took after killing them. +Likewise they brought ruin upon Amalek, the great and glorious ruler +they, and Saul their king, and Samuel their prophet. Later they had an +unmerciful king, David by name, who smote the Philistines, the +Ammonites, and the Moabites, and not one of them could discomfit him. +Solomon, the son of this king, being wise and sagacious, built them a +house of worship in Jerusalem, that they might not scatter to all parts +of the world. But after they had been guilty of many crimes against +their God, He delivered them into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar, who +deported them to Babylonia. + +"'To this day they are among us, and though they are under our hand, we +are of none account in their eyes. Their religion and their laws are +different from the religion and he laws of all the other nations. Their +sons do not marry with our daughters, our gods they do not worship, +they have no regard for our honor, and they refuse to bend the knee +before us. Calling themselves freemen, they will not do our service, +and our commands they heed not.' + +"Therefore the grandees, the princes, and the satraps have been +assembled before us, we have taken counsel together, and we have +resolved an irrevocable resolution, according to the laws of the Medes +and Persians, to extirpate the Jews from among the inhabitants of the +earth. We have sent the edict to the hundred and twenty-seven provinces +of my empire, to slay them, their sons, their wives, and their little +children, on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar none is to +escape. As they did to our forefathers, and desired to do unto us, so +shall be done unto them, and their possessions are to be given over to +the spoilers. Thus shall ye do, that ye may find grace before me. This +is the writing of the letter which I send to you, Ahasuerus king of +Media and Persia." (115) + +The price Haman offered the king for the Jews was ten thousand +hundredweights of silver. He took the number of the Jews at their +exodus from Egypt, six hundred thousand, as the basis of his +calculation, and offered a half-shekel for every soul of them, the sum +each Israelite had to pay yearly for the maintenance of the sanctuary. +Though the sum was so vast that Haman could not find coin enough to pay +it, but promised to deliver it in the form of silver bars, Ahasuerus +refused the ransom. When Haman made the offer, he said: "Let us cast +lots. If thou drawest Israel and I draw money, then the sale stands as +a valid transaction. If the reverse, it is not valid." Because of the +sins of the Jews, the sale was confirmed by the lots. But Haman was not +too greatly pleased with his own success. He disliked to give up so +large a sum of money. Observing his ill humor, Ahasuerus said: "Keep +the money; I do not care either to make or to lose money on account of +the Jews." (116) + +For the Jews it was fortunate that the king did not accept money for +them, else his subjects would not have obeyed his second edict, the one +favorable to the Jews. They would have been able to advance the +argument, that the king, by accepting a sum of money for them, had +resigned his rights over the Jews in favor of Haman, who, therefore, +could deal with them as he pleased. (117) + +The agreement between Ahasuerus and Haman was concluded at a carouse, +by way of punishment for the crime of the sons of Jacob, who had +unmercifully sold their brother Joseph into slavery to the Ishmaelites +while eating and drinking. (118) + +The joy of this Jew-hating couple for Ahasuerus hated the Jews with +no less fierce a hatred than Haman did (119) was shared by none. The +capital city of Shushan was in mourning and sorely perplexed. Scarcely +had the edict of annihilation been promulgated against the Jews, when +all sorts of misfortunes began to happen in the city. Women who were +hanging up their wash to dry on the roofs of the houses dropped dead; +men who went to draw water fell into the wells, and lost their lives. +While Ahasuerus and Haman were making merry in the palace, the city was +thrown into consternation and mourning. (120) + +SATAN INDICTS THE JEWS + +The position of the Jews after the royal edict became known beggars +description. If a Jew ventured abroad on the street to make a purchase, +he was almost throttled by the Persians, who taunted him with these +words: "Never mind, to-morrow will soon be here, and then I shall kill +thee, and take thy money away from thee." If a Jew offered to sell +himself as a slave, he was rejected; not even the sacrifice of his +liberty could protect him against the loss of his life. (121) + +Mordecai, however, did not despair; he trusted in the Divine help. On +his way from the court, after Haman and his ilk had informed him with +malicious joy of the king's pleasure concerning the Jews, he met Jewish +children coming from school. He asked the first child what verse from +the Scriptures he had studied in school that day, and the reply was: +"Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked +when it cometh." The verse committed to memory by the second was: "Let +them take counsel together, but it shall be brought to naught; let them +speak the word, but it shall not stand; for God is with us." And the +verse which the third had learnt was: "And even to old age I am He, and +even to hoar hairs I will carry you: I have made and will bear; yea, I +will carry and will deliver." + +When Mordecai heard these verses, he broke out into jubilation, +astonishing Haman not a little. Mordecai told him, "I rejoice at the +good tidings announced to me by the school children." Haman thereupon +fell into such a rage that he exclaimed: "In sooth, they shall be the +first to feel the weight of my hand." + +What gave Mordecai the greatest concern, was the certainty that the +danger had been invited by the Jews themselves, through their sinful +conduct in connection with the banquets given by Ahasuerus. Eighteen +thousand five hundred Jews had taken part in them; they had eaten and +drunk, intoxicated themselves and committed immoralities, as Haman had +foreseen, the very reason, indeed, he had advised the king to hold the +banquets. + +Thereupon Satan had indicted the Jews. The accusations which he +produced against them were of such a nature that God at once ordered +writing materials to be brought to Him for the decree of annihilation, +and it was written and sealed. + +When the Torah heard that Satan's designs against the Jews had +succeeded, she broke out into bitter weeping before God, and her +lamentations awakened the angels, who likewise began to wail, saying: +"If Israel is to be destroyed, of what avail is the whole world?" + +The sun and the moon heard the lamentations of the angels, and they +donned their mourning garb and also wept bitterly and wailed, saying: +"Is Israel to be destroyed, Israel who wanders from town to town, and +from land to land, only for the sake of the study of the Torah; who +suffers grievously under the hand of the heathen, only because he +observes the Torah and the sign of the covenant?" + +In great haste the prophet Elijah ran to the Patriarchs and to the +other prophets, and to the saints in Israel, and addressed these words +to them: "O ye fathers of the world! Angels, and the sun and the moon, +and heaven and earth, and all the celestial hosts are weeping bitterly. +The whole world is seized with throes as of a woman in travail, by +reason of your children, who have forfeited their life on account of +their sins, and ye sit quiet and tranquil." Thereupon Moses said to +Elijah: "Knowest thou any saints in the present generation of Israel?" +Elijah named Mordecai, and Moses sent the prophet to him, with the +charge that he, the "saint of the living generation," should unite his +prayers with the prayers of the saints among the dead, and perhaps the +doom might be averted from Israel. But Elijah hesitated. "O faithful +shepherd," he said, "the edict of annihilation issued by God is written +and sealed." Moses, however, did not desist; he urged the Patriarchs: +"If the edict is sealed with wax, your prayers will be heard; if with +blood, then all is vain." + +Elijah hastened to Mordecai, who, when first he heard what God had +resolved upon, tore his garments and was possessed by a great fear, +though before he had confidently hoped that help would come form God. +He gathered together all the school children, and had them fast, so +that their hunger should drive them to moan and groan. Then it was that +Israel spoke to God: "O Lord of the world! When the heathen rage +against me, they do not desire my silver and gold, they desire only +that I should be exterminated from off the face of the earth. Such was +the design of Nebuchadnezzar when he wanted to compel Israel to worship +the idol. Had it not been for Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, I had +disappeared from the world. Now it is Haman who desires to uproot the +whole vine." (122) + +Then Mordecai addressed all the people thus: "O people of Israel, that +art so dear and precious in the sight of thy Heavenly Father! Knowest +thou not what has happened? Hast thou not heard that the king and Haman +have resolved to remove us off the face of the earth, to destroy us +from beneath the sun? We have no king on whom we can depend, and no +prophet to intercede for us with prayers. There is no place whither we +can flee, no land wherein we can find safety. We are like sheep without +a shepherd, like a ship upon the sea without a pilot. We are like an +orphan born after the death of his father, and death robs him of his +mother, too, when he has scarce begun to draw nourishment from her +breast." + +After this address a great prayer-meeting was called outside of +Shushan. The Ark containing the scroll of the law, covered with +sackcloth and strewn with ashes, was brought thither. The scroll was +unrolled, and the following verses read from it: "When thou art in +tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, in the latter +days thou shalt return to the Lord thy God, and hearken unto His voice, +for the Lord thy God is a merciful God: He will not fail thee, neither +destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of they fathers which He swore +unto them." + +Thereunto Mordecai added words of admonition: "O people of Israel, thou +art dear and precious to thy Father in heaven, let us follow the +example of the inhabitants of Nineveh, doing as they did when the +prophet Jonah came to them to announce the destruction of the city. The +king arose from his throne, laid his crown from him, covered himself +with sackcloth, and sat in ashes, and he made proclamation, and +published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, +saying, 'Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let +them not feed, nor drink water, but let them be covered with sackcloth, +both man and beast, and let them cry mightily unto God; yea, let them +turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in +their hands.' Then God repented Him of the evil He had designed to +bring upon them, and He did it not. Now, then, let us follow their +example, let us hold a fast, mayhap God will have mercy upon us." (123) + +Furthermore spake Mordecai: "O Lord of the world! Didst Thou not swear +unto our fathers to make us as many as the stars in the heavens? And +now we are as sheep in the shambles. What has become of Thine oath?" +(124) He cried aloud, though he knew God hears the softest whisper, for +he said: "O Father of Israel, what hast Thou done unto me? One single +cry of anguish uttered by Esau Thou didst repay with the blessing of +his father Isaac, 'By thy sword shall thou live,' and now we ourselves +are abandoned to the mercy of the sword." (125) What Mordecai was not +aware of, was that he, the descendant of Jacob, was brought unto +weeping and wailing by Haman, the descendant of Esau, as a punishment, +because Jacob himself had brought Esau unto weeping and wailing. (126) + +THE DREAM OF MORDECAI FULFILLED + +Esther, who knew naught of what was happening at court, was greatly +alarmed when her attendants told her that Mordecai had appeared in the +precincts of the palace clothed in sackcloth and ashes. She was so +overcome by fright that she was deprived of the joys of motherhood to +which she had been looking forward with happy expectancy. (127) She +sent clothes to Mordecai, who, however, refused to lay aside his garb +of mourning until God permitted miracles to come to pass for Israel, +wherein he followed the example of such great men in Israel as Jacob, +David, and Ahab, and of the Gentile inhabitants of Nineveh at the time +of Jonah. By no means would he array himself in court attire so long as +his people was exposed to sure suffering. (128) The queen sent for +Daniel, called also Hathach in the Scriptures, and charged him to learn +from Mordecai wherefore he was mourning. (129) + +To escape all danger from spying ears, Hathach and Mordecai had their +conversation in the open, like Jacob when he consulted with his wives +Leah and Rachel about leaving their father Laban. (130) By Hathach +Mordecai sent word to the queen, that Haman was an Amalekite, who like +his ancestor sought to destroy Israel. (131) He requested her to appear +before the king and plead for the Jews, reminding her at the same time +of a dream he had once had and told her about. + +Once, when Mordecai had spent a long time weeping and lamenting over +the misery of the Jews in the Dispersion, and prayed fervently to God +to redeem Israel and rebuild the Temple, he fell asleep, and in his +sleep a dream visited him. He dreamed he was transported to a desert +place he had never seen before. Many nations lived there jumbled +together, only one small and despised nation kept apart at a short +distance. Suddenly a snake shot up from the midst of the nations, +rising higher and higher, and growing stronger and larger in proportion +as it rose. It darted in the direction of the spot in which they tiny +nation stood, and tried to project itself upon it. Impenetrable clouds +and darkness enveloped the little nation, and when the snake was on the +point of seizing it, a hurricane arose from the four corners of the +world, covering the snake as clothes cover a man, and blew it to bits. +The fragments scattered hither and thither like chaff before the wind, +until not a speck of the monster was to be found anywhere. Then the +cloud and the darkness vanished from above the little nation, the +splendor of the sun again enveloped it. (132) + +This dream Mordecai recorded in a book, and when the storm began to +rage against the Jews, he thought of it, and demanded that Esther go to +the king as the advocate of her people. At first she did not feel +inclined to accede to the wishes of Mordecai. By her messenger she +recalled to his mind, that he himself had insisted upon her keeping her +Jewish descent a secret. (133) Besides, she had always tried to refrain +from appearing before the king at her own initiative, in order that she +might not be instrumental in bringing down sin upon her soul, for she +well remembered Mordecai's teaching, that "a Jewish woman, captive +among the heathen, who of her own accord goes to them, loses her +portion in the Jewish nation." She had been rejoicing that her +petitions had been granted, and the king had not come nigh unto her +this last month. Was she now voluntarily to present herself before him? +(134) Furthermore, she had her messenger inform Mordecai, that Haman +had introduced a new palace regulation. Any one who appeared before the +king without having been summoned by Haman, would suffer the death +penalty. Therefore, she could not, if she would, go to the king to +advocate the cause of the Jews. (135) + +Esther urged her uncle to refrain from incensing Haman and furnishing +him with a pretext for wreaking the hatred of Esau to Jacob upon +Mordecai and his nation. Mordecai, however, was firmly convinced that +Esther was destined by God to save Israel. How could her miraculous +history be explained otherwise? At the very moment Esther was taken to +court, he had thought: "Is it conceivable that God would force so pious +a woman to wed with a heathen, were it not that she is appointed to +save Israel from menacing dangers?" (136) + +Firm as Mordecai was in his determination to make Esther take a hand in +affairs, he yet did not find it a simple matter to communicate with +her. For Hathach was killed by Haman as soon as it was discovered that +he was acting as mediator between Mordecai and Esther. (137) There was +none to replace him, unto God dispatched the archangels Michael and +Gabriel to carry messages from one to the other and back again. (138) + +Mordecai sent word to her, if she let the opportunity to help Israel +slip by, she would have to give account for the omission before the +heavenly court. (139) To Israel in distress, however, help would come +from other quarters. Never had God forsaken His people in time of need. +Moreover, he admonished her, that, as the descendant of Saul, it was +her duty to make reparation for her ancestor's sin in not having put +Agag to death. Had he done as he was bidden, the Jews would not now +have to fear the machinations of Haman, the offspring of Agag. He bade +her supplicate her Heavenly Father to deal with the present enemies of +Israel as He had dealt with his enemies in former ages. To give her +encouragement, Mordecai continued: "Is Haman so surpassing great that +his plan against the Jews must succeed? Dost though mean to say that he +is superior to his own ancestor Amalek, whom God crushed when he +precipitated himself upon Israel? Is he mightier than the thirty-one +kings who fought against Israel and whom Joshua slew 'with the word of +God'? Is he stronger than Sisera, who went out against Israel with nine +hundred iron chariots, and yet met his death at the hands of a mere +woman, the punishment for having withdrawn the use of the water-springs +from the Israelites and prevented their wives from taking the +prescribed ritual baths and thus from fulfilling their conjugal duty? +Is he more powerful than Goliath, who reviled the warriors of Israel, +and was slain by David? Or is he more invincible than the sons of +Orpah, who waged wars with Israel, and were killed by David and his +men? Therefore, do not refrain thy mouth from prayer, and thy lips from +supplication, for on account of the merits of our fathers, Israel has +ever and ever been snatched out of the jaws of death. He who has at all +times done wonders for Israel, will deliver the enemy into our hands +now, for us to do with him as seemeth best to us." + +What he endeavored to impress upon Esther particularly, was that God +would bring help to Israel without her intermediation, but it was to +her interest to use the opportunity, for which alone she had reached +her exalted place, to make up for the transgressions committed by her +house, Saul and his descendants. (140) + +Yielding at last to the arguments of Mordecai, Esther was prepared to +risk life in this world, in order to secure life in the world to come. +She made only one request of her uncle. He was to have the Jews spend +three days in prayer and fasting in her behalf, that she might find +favor in the eyes of the king. At first Mordecai was opposed to the +proclamation of a fast, because it was Passover time, and the law +prohibits fasting on the holidays. But he finally assented to Esther's +reasoning: "Of what avail are the holidays, if there is no Israel to +celebrate them, and without Israel, there would not be even a Torah. +Therefore it is advisable to transgress on law, that God may have mercy +upon us." (141) + +THE PRAYER OF ESTHER + +Accordingly Mordecai made arrangements for a fast and a prayer-meeting. +On the very day of the festival, he had himself ferried across the +water to the other side of Shushan, where all the Jews of the city +could observe the fast together. (142) It was important that the Jewish +residents of Shushan beyond all other Jews should do penance and seek +pardon from God, because they had committed the sin of partaking of +Ahasuerus's banquet. Twelve thousand priests marched in the procession, +trumpets in their right hands, and the holy scrolls of the law in their +left, weeping and mourning, and exclaiming against God: "Here is the +Torah Thou gavest us. Thy beloved people is about to be destroyed. When +that comes to pass, who will be left to read the Torah and make mention +of Thy name? The sun and the moon will refuse to shed their light +abroad, for they were created only for the sake of Israel." Then they +fell upon their faces, and said: "Answer us, our Father, answer us, our +King." The whole people joined in their cry, and the celestials wept +with them, and the Fathers came forth from their graves. + +After a three days' fast, Esther arose from the earth and dust, and +made preparations to betake herself to the king. She arrayed herself in +a silken garment, embroidered with gold from Ophir and spangled with +diamonds and pearls sent her from Africa; a golden crown was on her +head, and on her feet shoes of gold. + +After she had completed her attire, she pronounced the following +prayer: "Thou art the great God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, +and the God of my father Benjamin. Not because I consider myself +without blemish, do I dare appear before the foolish king, but that the +people of Israel may not be cut off from the world. Is it not for the +sake of Israel alone that the whole world was created, and if Israel +should cease to exist, who will come and exclaim 'Holy, holy, holy' +thrice daily before Thee? As Thou didst save Hananiah, Mishael, and +Azariah out of the burning furnace, and Daniel out of the den of lions, +so save me out of the hand of this foolish king, and make me to appear +charming and graceful in his eyes. I entreat Thee to give ear to my +prayer in this time of exile and banishment from our land. By reason of +our sins the threatening words of the Holy Scriptures are accomplished +upon us: 'Ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and +for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.' The decree to kill us has +been issued. We are delivered up unto the sword for destruction, root +and branch. The children of Abraham covered themselves with sackcloth +and ashes, but though the elders sinned, what wrongs have the children +committed, and though the children committed wrongs, what have the +sucklings done? The nobles of Jerusalem came forth from their graves, +for their children were given up to the sword. + +"How quickly have the days of our joy flown by! The wicked Haman has +surrendered us to our enemies for slaughter. + +"I will recount before Thee the deeds of Thy friends, and with Abraham +will I begin. Thou didst try him with all temptations, yet didst Thou +find him faithful. O that Thou wouldst support his beloved children for +his sake, and aid them, so that Thou wouldst bear them as an +unbreakable seal upon Thy right hand. Call Haman to account for the +wrong he would do us, and be revenged upon the son of Hammedatha. +Demand requital of Haman and not of Thy people, for he sought to +annihilate us all at one stroke, he, the enemy and afflicter of Thy +people, whom he endeavors to hem in on all sides. + +"With an eternal bond Thou didst bind us unto Thee. O that Thou wouldst +uphold us for the sake of Isaac, who was bound. Haman offered the king +ten thousand talents of silver for us. Raise Thou our voice, and answer +us, and bring us forth out of the narrow place into enlargement. Thou +who breakest the mightiest, crush Haman, so that he may never again +rise from his fall. I am ready to appear before the king, to entreat +grace for my inheritance. Send Thou an angel of compassion with me on +mine errand, and let grace and favor be my companions. May the +righteousness of Abraham go before me, the binding of Isaac raise me, +the charm of Jacob be put into my mouth, and the grace of Joseph upon +my tongue. Happy the man who putteth his trust in God; he is not +confounded. He will lend me His right hand and His left hand, with +which He created the whole world. Ye, all ye of Israel, pray for me as +I pray in your behalf. For whatsoever a man may ask of God in the time +of his distress, is granted unto him. Let us look upon the deeds of our +fathers and do like unto them, and He will answer our supplications. +The left hand of Abraham held Isaac by the throat, and his right hand +grasped the knife. He willingly did Thy bidding, nor did he delay to +execute Thy command. Heaven opened its windows to give space to the +angels, who cried bitterly, and said: 'Woe to the world, if this thing +should come to pass!' I also call upon Thee! O answer me, for Thou +givest ear unto all who are afflicted and oppressed. Thou art called +the Merciful and the Gracious; Thou art slow to anger and great in +lovingkindness and truth. Hear our voice and answer us, and lead us out +of distress into enlargement. For three days have I fasted in +accordance with the number of days Abraham journey to bind his son upon +the altar before Thee. Thou didst make a covenant with him, and didst +promise him: 'Whenever thy children shall be in distress, I will +remember the binding of Isaac favorably unto them, and deliver them out +of their troubles.' Again, I fasted three days corresponding to the +three classes Israel, priests, Levites, and Israelites, who stood at +the foot of Sinai, and said: 'All the Lord hath spoken will we do, and +be obedient.'" + +Esther concluded her prayer and said: "O God, Lord of hosts! Thou that +searchest the heart and the reins, in this hour do Thou remember the +merits of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that my petition to Thee may not +be turned aside, nor my request be left unfulfilled.' (143) + +ESTHER INTERCEDES + +After finishing her prayer, Esther betook herself to the king, +accompanied by three attendants, one walking to the right of her, the +second on the other side, and the third bearing her train, heavy with +the precious stones with which it was studded. (144) Her chief +adornment was the holy spirit that was poured out over her. But +scarcely did she enter the chamber containing the idols, when the holy +spirit departed from her, and she cried out in great distress: "Eli, +Eli, lamah azabtani! Shall I be chastised for acts that I do against my +will, and only in obedience to the promptings of sore need? (145) Why +should my fate be different from that of the Mother? When Pharaoh only +attempted to approach Sarah, plagues came upon him and his house, but I +have been compelled for years to live with this heathen, and Thou dost +not deliver me out of his hand. O Lord of the world! Have I not paid +scrupulous heed to the three commands Thou didst specially ordain for +women?" + +To reach the king, Esther had to pass through seven apartments, each +measuring ten ells in length. The first three she traversed unhindered; +they were too far off for the king to observe her progress through +them. But barely had she crossed the threshold of the fourth chamber, +when Ahasuerus caught sight of her, and, overcome by rage, he +exclaimed: "O for the departed, their like is not found again on earth! +How I urged and entreated Vashti to appear before me, but she refused, +and I had her killed therefor. This Esther come hither without +invitation, like unto a public prostitute." + +In consternation and despair Esther stood rooted to the centre of the +fourth chamber. Having once allowed her to pass through the doors under +their charge, the guards of the first four rooms had forfeited their +authority over her; and to the guards in the other three rooms, she had +not yet given cause for interfering with her. Yet the courtiers were so +confident that Esther was about to suffer the death penalty, that the +sons of Haman were already busy dividing her jewels among themselves, +and casting lots for her royal purple. Esther herself was keenly aware +of her dangerous position. In her need, she besought God: "Eli, Eli, +lamah azabtani," and prayed to Him the words which have found their +place in the Psalter composed by King David. (146) Because she put her +confidence in God, He answered her petition, and sent her three angels +to help her: the one enveloped her countenance with "the threads of +grace," the second raised her head, and the third drew out the sceptre +of Ahasuerus until it touched her. (147) The king turned his head +round, to avoid seeing Esther, but the angels forced him to look her +way, and be conquered by her seductive charm. (148) + +By reason of her long fast, Esther was so weak that she was unable to +extend her hand toward the sceptre of the king. The archangel Michael +had to draw her near it. Ahasuerus then said: "I see, thou must have a +most important request to prefer, else thou hadst not risked thy life +deliberately. (149) I am ready to give it thee, even to the half of the +kingdom. There is but one petition I cannot grant, and that is the +restoration of the Temple. I gave my oath to Geshem the Arabian, +Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite, not to allow it to be +rebuilt, from fear of the Jews, lest they rise up against me." (150) + +For the moment, Esther refrained from uttering her petition. All she +asked was, that the king and Haman would come to a banquet she proposed +to give. She had good reasons for this peculiar course of conduct. She +desired to disarm Haman's suspicions regarding her Jewish descent, and +to lead her fellow-Jews to fix their hope upon God and not upon her. At +the same time, it was her plan to arouse jealousy of Haman in both the +king and the princes. She was quite ready to sacrifice her own life, if +her stratagems would but involve the life of Haman, too. (151) At the +banquet she therefore favored Haman in such manner that Ahasuerus could +not but be jealous. She moved her chair close to Haman's, and when +Ahasuerus handed her his wine-cup, to let her drink of it first, she +passed it on to his minister. + +After the banquet, the king repeated his question, and again made the +asseveration, that he would fulfill all her wishes at whatever cost, +barring only the restoration of the Temple. Esther, however, was not +yet ready; she preferred to wait another day before taking up the +conflict with Haman. She had before her eyes the example of Moses, who +also craved a day's preparation before going out against Amalek, the +ancestor of Haman. (152) + +Deceived by the attention and distinction accorded him by Esther, Haman +felt secure in his position, priding himself not only on the love of +the king, but also on the respect of the queen. He felt himself to be +the most privileged being in all the wide realm governed by Ahasuerus. +(153) + +Filled with arrogant self-sufficiency, he passed by Mordecai, who not +only refused to give him the honors decreed in his behalf, but, +besides, pointed to his knee, inscribed with the bill of sale whereby +Haman had become the slave of Mordecai. (154) Doubly and triply +enraged, he resolved to make an example of the Jew. But he was not +satisfied with inflicting death by a simple kick. + +On reaching his home he was disappointed not to find his wife Zeresh, +the daughter of the Persian satrap Tattenai. As always when Haman was +at court, she had gone to her paramours. He sent for her and his three +hundred and sixty-five advisers, and with them he took counsel as to +what was to be done to Mordecai. (155) Pointing to a representation of +his treasure chamber, which he wore on his bosom, (156) he said: "And +all this is worthless in my sight when I look upon Mordecai, the Jew. +What I eat and drink loses its savor, if I but think of him." (157) + +Among his advisers and sons, of whom there were two hundred and eight, +none was so clever as Zeresh his wife. She spoke thus: "If the man thou +tellest of is a Jew, thou wilt not be able to do aught to him except by +sagacity. If thou castest him into the fire, it will have no effect +upon him, for Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah escaped from the burning +furnace unhurt; Joseph went free from prison; Manasseh prayed to God, +and He heard him, and saved him from the iron furnace; to drive him out +in the wilderness is useless, thou knowest the desert did no evil to +the Israelites that passed through it; putting out his eyes avails +naught, for Samson blind did more mischief than ever Samson seeing. +Therefore hang him, for no Jew has ever escaped death by hanging." +(158) + +Haman was well pleased with the words of his wife. She fetched +artificers in wood and iron, the former to erect the cross, the latter +to make the nails. Their children danced around in high glee while +Zeresh played upon the cithern, and Haman in his pleasurable excitement +said: "To the wood workers I shall give abundant pay, and the iron +workers I shall invite to a banquet." + +When the cross was finished, Haman himself tested it, to see that all +was in working order. A heavenly voice was heard: "It is good for Haman +the villain, and for the son of Hammedatha it is fitting." (159) + +THE DISTURBED NIGHT + +The night during which Haman erected the cross for Mordecai was the +first night of Passover, the very night in which miracles without +number had ever been done for the Fathers and for Israel. But this time +the night of joy was changed into a night of mourning and a night of +fears. Wherever there were Jews, they passed the night in weeping and +lamenting. The greatest terrors it held for Mordecai, because his own +people accused him of having provoked their misfortunes by his haughty +behavior toward Haman. (160) + +Excitement and consternation reigned in heaven as well as on earth. +(161) When Haman had satisfied himself that the cross intended for his +enemy was properly constructed, he repaired to the Bet ha-Midrash, +where he found Mordecai and all the Jewish school children, twenty-two +thousand in number, in tears and sorrow. He ordered them to be put in +chains, saying: "First I shall kill off these, and then I shall hang +Mordecai." The mothers hastened thither with bread and water, and +coaxed their children to take something before they had to encounter +death. The children, however, laid their hands upon their books, and +said: "As our teacher Mordecai liveth, we will neither eat nor drink, +but we will perish exhausted with fasting." They rolled up their sacred +scrolls, and handed them to their teachers with the words: "For our +devotion to the study of the Torah, we had hoped to be rewarded with +long life, according to the promised held out in the Holy Scriptures. +As we are not worthy thereof, remove the books!" The out-cries of the +children and of the teachers in the Bet ha-Midrash, and the weeping of +the mothers without, united with the supplications of the Fathers, +reached unto heaven in the third hour of the night, and God said: "I +hear the voice of tender lambs and sheep!" Moses arose and addressed +God thus: "Thou knowest well that the voices are not of lambs and +sheep, but of the young of Israel, who for three days have been fasting +and languishing in fetters, only to be slaughtered on the morrow to the +delight of the arch-enemy." + +Then God felt compassion with Israel, for the sake of his innocent +little ones. He broke the seal with which the heavenly decree of +annihilation had been fastened, and the decree itself he tore in +pieces. (162) From this moment on Ahasuerus became restless, and sleep +was made to flee his eyes, for the purpose that the redemption of +Israel might be brought to pass. God sent down Michael, the leader of +the hosts of Israel, who was to keep sleep from the king, (163) and the +archangel Gabriel descended, and threw the king out of his bed on the +floor, no less than three hundred and sixty-five times, continually +whispering in his ear: "O thou ingrate, reward him who deserves to be +rewarded." + +To account for his sleeplessness, Ahasuerus thought he might have been +poisoned, and he was about to order the execution of those charged with +the preparation of his food. But they succeeded in convincing him of +their innocence, by calling to his attention that Esther and Haman had +shared his evening meal with him, yet they felt no unpleasant effects. +(164) Then suspicions against his wife and his friend began to arise in +his mind. He accused them inwardly of having conspired together to put +him out of the way. He sought to banish this thought with the +reflection, that if a conspiracy had existed against him, his friends +would have warned him of it. But the reflection brought others in its +train: Did he have any friends? Was it not possible that by leaving +valuable services unrewarded, he had forfeited the friendly feelings +toward him? (165) He therefore commanded that the chronicles of the +kings of Persia be read to him. He would compare his own acts with what +his predecessors had done, and try to find out whether he might count +upon friends. (166) + +What was read to him, did not restore his tranquility of mind, for he +saw a poor man before him none other than the angel Michael who +called to him continually: "Haman wants to kill thee, and become king +in thy stead. Let this serve thee as proof that I am telling thee the +truth: Early in the morning he will appear before thee and request +permission of thee to kill him who saved thy life. And when thou +inquirest of him what honor should be done to him whom the king +delighteth to honor, he will ask to be given the apparel, the crown, +and the horse of the king as signs of distinction." (167) + +Ahasuerus's excitement was soothed only when the passage in the +chronicles was reached describing the loyalty of Mordecai. Had the +wishes of the reader been consulted, Ahasuerus had never heard this +entry, for it was a son of Haman who was filling the office of reader, +and he was desirous of passing the incident over in silence. But a +miracle occurred the words were heard though they were not uttered! + +The names of Mordecai and Israel had a quieting influence upon the +king, and he dropped asleep. He dreamed that Haman, sword in hand, was +approaching him with evil intent, and when, early in the morning, Haman +suddenly, without being announced, entered the antechamber and awakened +the king, Ahasuerus was persuaded of the truth of his dream. The king +was still further set against Haman by the reply he gave to the +question, how honor was to be shown to the man whom the king delighteth +to honor. Believing himself to be the object of the king's good-will, +he advised Ahasuerus to have his favorite arrayed in the king's +coronation garments, and the crown royal put upon his head. Before him +one of the grandees of the kingdom was to run, doing herald's service, +proclaiming that whosoever did not prostrate himself and bow down +before him whom the king delighteth to honor, would have his head cut +off, and his house given over to pillage. + +Haman was quick to notice that he had made a mistake, for he saw the +king's countenance change color at the mention of the word crown. He +therefore took good care not to refer to it again. In spite of this +precaution, Ahasuerus saw in the words of Haman a striking verification +of his vision, and he was confident that Haman cherished designs +against his life and his throne. (168) + +THE FALL OF HAMAN + +Haman was soon to find out that he had gone far afield in supposing +himself to be the man whom the king delighted to honor. The king's +command ran: "Hasten to the royal treasure chambers; fetch thence a +cover of find purple, a raiment of delicate silk, furnished forth with +golden bells and pomegranates and bestrewn with diamonds and pearls, +and the large golden crown which was brought me from Macedonia upon the +day I ascended the throne. Furthermore, fetch thence the sword and the +coat of mail sent me from Ethiopia, and the two veils embroidered with +pearls which were Africa's gift. Then repair to the royal stables, and +lead forth the black horse whereon I sat at my coronation. With all +these insignia of honor, seek out Mordecai!" + +Haman: "Which Mordecai?" + +Ahasuerus: "Mordecai the Jew." + +Haman: "There be many Jews named Mordecai." + +Ahasuerus: "The Jew Mordecai who sits at the king's gate." + +Haman: "There be many royal gates; I know not which thou meanest." + +Ahasuerus: "The gate that leads from the harem to the palace." + +Haman: "This man is my enemy and the enemy of my house. Rather would I +give him ten thousand talents of silver than do him this honor." + +Ahasuerus: "Ten thousand talents of silver shall be given him, and he +shall be made lord over thy house, but these honors must thou show unto +him." + +Haman: "I have ten sons. I would rather have them run before his horse +than do him this honor." + +Ahasuerus: "Thou, thy sons, and thy wife shall be slaves to Mordecai, +but these honors must thou show unto him." + +Haman: "O my lord and king, Mordecai is a common man. Appoint him to be +ruler over a city, or, if thou wilt, even over a district, rather than +I should do him this honor." + +Ahasuerus: "I will appoint him ruler over cities and districts. All the +kings on land and on water shall pay him obedience, but these honors +must thou show unto him." + +Haman: "Rather have coins struck bearing thy name together with his, +instead of mine as hitherto, than I should do him this honor." + +Ahasuerus: "The man who saved the life of the king deserves to have his +name put on the coin of the realm. Nevertheless, these honors must thou +show unto him." + +Haman: "Edicts and writings have been issued to all parts of the +kingdom, commanding that the nation to which Mordecai belongs shall be +destroyed. Recall them rather than I should do him this honor." + +Ahasuerus: "The edicts and writings shall be recalled, yet these honors +must thou show unto Mordecai." + +Seeing that all petitions and entreaties were ineffectual, and +Ahasuerus insisted upon the execution of his order, Haman went to the +royal treasure chambers, walking with his head bowed like a mourner's, +his ears hanging down, his eyes dim, his mouth screwed up, his heart +hardened, his bowels cut in pieces, his loins weakened, and his knees +knocking against each other. (169) He gathered together the royal +insignia, and took them to Mordecai, accompanied on his way by Harbonah +and Abzur, who, at the order of the king, were to take heed whether +Haman carried out his wishes to the letter. + +When Mordecai saw his enemy approach, he thought his last moment had +come. He urged his pupils to flee, that they might not "burn themselves +with his coals." But they refused, saying: "In life as in death we +desire to be with thee." The few moments left him, as he thought, +Mordecai spent in devotion. With words of prayer on his lips he desired +to pass away. Haman, therefore, had to address himself to the pupils of +Mordecai: "What was the last subject taught you by your teacher +Mordecai?" They told him they had been discussing the law of the `Omer, +the sacrifice brought on that very day so long as the Temple had stood. +At his request, they described some of the details of the ceremony in +the Temple connected with the offering. He exclaimed: "Happy are you +that your ten farthings, with which you bought the wheat for the `Omer, +produced a better effect than my ten thousand talents of silver, which +I offered unto the king for the destruction of the Jews." + +Meantime Mordecai had finished his prayer. Haman stepped up to him, and +said: "Arise, thou pious son of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thy +sackcloth and ashes availed more than my ten thousand talents of +silver, which I promised unto the king. They were not accepted, but thy +prayers were accepted by thy Father in heaven." + +Mordecai, not yet disabused of the notion that Haman had come to take +him to the cross, requested the grace of a few minutes for his last +meal. Only Haman's repeated protests assured him. When Haman set about +arraying him with the royal apparel, Mordecai refused to put it on +until he had bathed, and had dressed his hair. Royal apparel agreed but +ill with his condition after three days of sackcloth and ashes. As luck +would have it, Esther had issued the command that the bathkeepers and +barbers were not to ply their trades on that day, and there was nothing +for Haman to do but perform the menial services Mordecai required. +Haman tried to play upon the feelings of Mordecai. Fetching a deep +sigh, he said: "The greatest in the king's realm is now acting as +bathkeeper and barber!" Mordecai, however, did not permit himself to be +imposed upon. He knew Haman's origin too well to be deceived; he +remembered his father, who had been bathkeeper and barber in a village. + +Haman's humiliation was not yet complete. Mordecai, exhausted by his +three days' fast, was too weak to mount his horse unaided. Haman had to +serve him as footstool, and Mordecai took the opportunity to give him a +kick. Haman reminded him of the Scriptural verse: "Rejoice not when +thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he is +overthrown." Mordecai, however, refused to apply it to himself, for he +was chastising, not a personal enemy, but the enemy of his people, and +of such it is said in the Scriptures: "And thou shalt tread upon the +high places of thine enemies." (170) + +Finally, Haman caused Mordecai to ride through the streets of the city, +and proclaimed before him: "Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the +king delighteth to honor." In front of them marched twenty-seven +thousand youths detailed for this service from the court. In their +right hands they bore golden cups, and golden beakers in their left +hands, and they, too, proclaimed: "Thus shall be done unto the man whom +the king delighteth to honor." The procession furthermore was swelled +by the presence of Jews. They, however, made a proclamation of +different tenor. "Thus shall be done," they cried out, "unto the man +whose honor is desired by the King that hath created heaven and earth." +(171) + +As he rode along, Mordecai gave praise to God: "I will extol Thee, O +Lord; for Thou hast raised me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice +over me. O Lord my God, I cried unto Thee, and Thou hast healed me. O +Lord, Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, +that I should not go down to the pit." Whereupon his pupils joined in +with: "Sing praise unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks +to His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment; in His favor is +life; weeping may tarry for the night, but joy cometh in the morning." +Haman added the verse thereto: "As for me, I said in my prosperity, I +shall never be moved. Thou, Lord, of Thy favor hadst made my mountain +to stand strong. Thou didst hide Thy face; I was troubled." Queen +Esther continued: "I cried to Thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made +supplication. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the +pit? Shall the dust praise Thee? Shall it declare Thy truth?" and the +whole concourse of Jews present cried out: "Thou hast turned for me my +mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me +with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and +not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee forever." +(172) + +When this procession passed the house of Haman, his daughter was +looking out of the window. She took the man on the horse to be her +father, and the leader of it, Mordecai. Raising a vessel filled with +offal, she emptied it out over the leader her own father. Scarce had +the vessel left her hand, when she realized the truth, and she threw +herself from the window, and lay crushed to death on the street below. +(173) + +In spite of the sudden change in his fortunes, Mordecai ended the +eventful day as he had begun it, in prayer and fasting. No sooner was +the procession over than he put off the royal robes, and, again +covering himself with sackcloth, he prayed until night fell. + +Haman was plunged in mourning, partly on account of the deep disgrace +to which he had been subjected, partly on account of the death of his +daughter. (174) Neither his wife nor his friends could advise him how +to mend his sad fortunes. They could hold out only sorry consolation to +him: "If this Mordecai is of the seed of the saints, thou wilt not be +able to prevail against him. Thou wilt surely encounter the same fate +as the kings in their battle with Abraham, and Abimelech in his quarrel +with Isaac. As Jacob was victorious over the angel with whom he +wrestled, and Moses and Aaron caused the drowning of Pharaoh and his +host, so Mordecai will overcome thee in the end." (175) + +While they were yet talking, the king's chamberlains came, and hastily +carried Haman off to the banquet Esther had prepared, to prevent him +and his influential sons from plotting against the king. (176) +Ahasuerus repeated his promise, to give Esther whatever she desired, +always expecting the restoration of the Temple. This time, casting her +eyes heavenward, Esther replied: "If I have found favor in thy sight, O +Supreme King, and if it please Thee, O King of the world, let my life +be given me, and let my people be rescued out of the hands of its +enemy." (177) Ahasuerus, thinking these words were addressed to him, +asked in irritation: "Who is he, and where is he, this presumptuous +conspirator, who thought to do thus?" These were the first words the +king had ever spoken to Esther herself. Hitherto he had always +communicated with her through an interpreter. He had not been quite +satisfied she was worthy enough to be addressed by the king. Now made +cognizant of the fact that she was a Jewess, and of royal descent +besides, he spoke to her directly, without the intervention of others. +(178) + +Esther stretched forth her hand to indicate the man who had sought to +take her life, as he had actually taken Vashti's, but in the excitement +of the moment, she pointed to the king. Fortunately the king did not +observe her error, because an angel guided her hand instantaneously in +the direction of Haman, (179) whom her words described: "This is the +adversary and the enemy, he who desired to murder thee in thy +sleeping-chamber during the night just passed; he who this very day +desired to array himself in the royal apparel, ride upon thy horse, and +wear they golden crown upon his head, to rise up against thee and +deprive thee of thy sovereignty. But God set his undertaking at naught, +and the honors he sought for himself, fell to the share of my uncle +Mordecai, who this oppressor and enemy thought to hang." (180) + +The anger of the king already burnt so fiercely that he hinted to +Esther, that whether Haman was the adversary she had in mind or not, +she was to designate him as such. To infuriate him still more, God sent +ten angels in the guise of Haman's ten sons, to fell down the trees in +the royal park. When Ahasuerus turned his eyes toward the interior of +the park, he saw the ruthless destruction of which they were guilty. In +his rage he went out into the garden. This was the instant utilized by +Haman to implore grace for himself from Esther. Gabriel intervened, and +threw Haman upon the couch in a posture as though he were about to do +violence to the queen. At that moment Ahasuerus reappeared. Enraged +beyond description by what he saw, he cried out: "Haman attempts the +honor of the queen in my very presence! Come, then, ye peoples, +nations, and races, and pronounce judgment over him!" (181) + +When Harbonah, originally a friend of Haman and an adversary of +Mordecai, heard the king's angry exclamation, he said to him: "Nor is +this the only crime committed by Haman against thee, for he was an +accomplice of the conspirators Bigthan and Teresh, and his enmity to +Mordecai dates back to the time when Mordecai uncovered their foul +plots. Out of revenge therefor, he has erected a cross for him." +Harbonah's words illustrate the saying: "Once the ox has been cast to +the ground, slaughtering knives can readily be found." Knowing that +Haman had fallen from his high estate, Harbonah was intent upon winning +the friendship of Mordecai. (182) Harbonah was altogether right, for +Ahasuerus at once ordered Haman to be hanged. Mordecai was charged with +the execution of the king's order, and Haman's tears and entreaties did +not in the least move him. He insisted upon hanging him like the +commonest of criminals, instead of executing him with the sword, the +mode of punishment applied to men of rank guilty of serious +misdemeanors. (183) + +The cross which Haman, at the advice of his wife Zeresh and of his +friends, had erected for Mordecai, was now used for himself. It was +made of wood from a thorn-bush. God called all the trees together and +inquired which one would permit the cross for Haman to be made of it. +The fig-tree said: "I am ready to serve, for I am symbolic of Israel, +and, also, my fruits were brought to the Temple as firstfruits." The +vine said: "I am ready to serve, for I am symbolic of Israel and, also, +my wine is brought to the altar." The apple-tree said: "I am ready to +serve, for I am symbolic of Israel." The nut-tree said: "I am ready to +serve, for I am symbolic of Israel." The Etrog tree said: "I should +have the privilege, for with my fruit Israel praises God on Sukkot." +The willow of the brook said: "I desire to serve, for I am symbolic of +Israel." The cedar-tree said: "I desire to serve, for I am symbolic of +Israel." The palm-tree said: "I desire to serve, for I am symbolic of +Israel." Finally the thorn-bush came and said: "I am fitted to do this +service, for the ungodly are like pricking thorns." The offer of the +thorn-bush was accepted, after God gave a blessing to each of the other +trees for its willingness to serve. + +A sufficiently long beam cut from a thorn-bush could be found only in +the house of Haman, which had to be demolished in order to obtain it. +(184) The cross was tall enough for Haman and his ten sons to be hanged +upon it. It was planted three cubits deep in the ground, each of the +victims required three cubits space in length, one cubit space was left +vacant between the feet of the one above and the head of the one below, +and the youngest son, Vaizatha, had his feet four cubits from the +ground as he hung. (185) + +Haman and his ten sons remained suspended a long time, to the vexation +of those who considered it a violation of the Biblical prohibition in +Deuteronomy, not to leave a human body hanging upon a tree overnight. +Esther pointed to a precedent, the descendants of Saul, whom the +Gibeonites left hanging half a year, whereby the name of God was +sanctified, for whenever the pilgrims beheld them, they told the +heathen, that the men had been hanged because their father Saul had +laid hand on the Gibeonites. "How much more, then," continued Esther, +"are we justified in permitting Haman and his family to hang, they who +desired to destroy the house of Israel?" (186) + +Beside these ten sons, who had been governors in various provinces, +Haman had twenty others, ten of whom died, and the other ten of whom +were reduced to beggary. (187) The vast fortune of which Haman died +possessed was divided in three parts. The first part was given to +Mordecai and Esther, the second to the students of the Torah, and the +third was applied to the restoration of the Temple. (188) Mordecai thus +became a wealthy man. He was also set up as king of the Jews. As such +he had coins struck, which bore the figure of Esther on the obverse, +and his own figure on the reverse. (189) However, in the measure in +which Mordecai gained in worldly power and consideration, he lost +spiritually, because the business connected with his high political +station left him no time for the study of the Torah. Previously he had +ranked sixth among the eminent scholars of Israel, he now dropped to +the seventh place among them. (190) Ahasuerus, on the other hand, was +the gainer by the change. As soon as Mordecai entered upon the office +of grand chancellor, he succeeded in subjecting to his sway the +provinces that had revolted on account of Vashti's execution. (191) + +THE EDICT OF THE KING + +The edict issued against the Jews was revoked by Ahasuerus in the +following terms: + +"King Ahasuerus sends this letter to all the inhabitants of water and +earth, to all the rulers of districts, and to generals of the army, who +dwell in every country; may your peace be great! I write this to you to +inform you, that although I rule over many nations, over the +inhabitants of land and sea, yet I am not proud of my power, but will +rather walk in lowliness and meekness of spirit all my days, in order +to provide for you great peace. Unto all who dwell under my dominion, +unto all who seek to carry on business on land or on sea, unto all who +desire to export goods from one nation to the other, from one people to +the other unto them all, I am the same, from one end of the earth to +the other, and none may seek to cause excitement on land or on sea, or +enmities between one nation and another, between one people and +another. I write this, because in spite of our sincerity and honesty +with which we love all the nations, revere all the rulers, and do good +to all the potentates, there are nevertheless people who were near to +the king, and into whose hand the government was entrusted, who by +their intrigues and falsehoods misled the king, and wrote letters which +are not right before heaven, which are evil before men, and harmful for +the empire. This was the petition they requested from the king: that +righteous men should be killed, and most innocent blood be shed, of +those who have not done any evil, nor were guilty of death such +righteous people as Esther, celebrated for all virtues, and Mordecai, +wise in every branch of wisdom, there is no blemish to be found in them +nor in their nation. I thought that I was requested concerning another +nation, and did not know it was concerning the Jews, who were called +the Children of the Lord of All, who created heaven and earth, and who +led them and their fathers through great and mighty empires. And now as +he, Haman, the son of Hammedatha, from Judea, a descendant of Amalek, +who came to us and enjoyed much kindness, praise, and dignity from us, +whom we made great, and called 'father of the king,' and seated him at +the right of the king, did not know how to appreciate the dignity, and +how to conduct the affairs of state, but harbored thoughts to kill the +king and take away his kingdom, therefore we ordered the son of +Hammedatha to be hanged, and all that he desired we have brought upon +his head; and the Creator of heaven and earth brought his machinations +upon his head." (192) + +As a memorial of the wonderful deliverance from the hands of Haman, the +Jews of Shushan celebrated the day their arch-enemy had appointed for +their extermination, and their example was followed by the Jews of the +other cities of the Persian empire, and by those of other countries. +Yet the sages, when besought by Esther, refused at first to make it a +festival for all times, lest the hatred of the heathen be excited +against the Jews. They yielded only after Esther had pointed out to +them that the events on which the holiday was based, were perpetuated +in the annals of the kings of Persia and Media, and thus the outside +world would not be able to misinterpret the joy of the Jews. + +Esther addressed another petition to the sages. She begged that the +book containing her history should be incorporated in the Holy +Scriptures. Because they shrank from adding anything to the triple +Canon, consisting of the Torah, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa, they +again refused, and again they had to yield to Esther's argument. She +quoted the words from Exodus, "Write this for a memorial in a book," +spoken by Moses to Joshua, after the battle of Rephidim with the +Amalekites. They saw that it was the will of God to immortalize the +warfare waged with the Amalekite Haman. Nor is the Book of Esther an +ordinary history. Without aid of the holy spirit, it could not have +been composed, and therefore its canonization resolved upon "below" was +endorsed "above." (193) And as the Book of Esther became an integral +and indestructible part of the Holy Scriptures, so the Feast of Purim +will be celebrated forever, now and in the future world, and Esther +herself by her pious deeds acquired a good name both in this world and +in the world to come. 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