fSnjgiij THE DIVINE TWILIGHT The Dawn of the World Briton Riviere “ In the beginning.the earth was void and empty; and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God moved over the waters.”—Genesis 1-1, 2. The Divine Twilight OLD TESTAMENT STORIES IN SCRIPTURE LANGUAGE SEPARATED OUT, SET IN CONNECTED ORDER, AND EDITED WITH NOTES, FOR CATHOLIC CHILDREN BY Rev. Cornelius Joseph Holland, S. T. L Author of The Divine Story with a preface by Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas J. Shahan, S. T. D., J.U. L. Rector of the Catholic University of America PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED MAPS Catholic Scripture Texts Society Providence, R. I. BOSTON COLLEGE L'SRARY ChLSTNL Nihil Ohstat: P. E. Blessing, S. T. D. Censor Dcputatus Imprimatur: * Matthew Harkins Bishop of Providence Copyright 1913 by Cornelius Joseph Holland First edition, December, 1913 providence, r. 1. Remington Press 1913 ©a tije iK^monj of My Stater F.^aQ CONTENTS Preface .xiii I. The Dawn of the World: The Creation.1 The Fall of Man.4 The Flood. 7 II. The Patriarchs: The Call of Abraham.11 The Birth of Isaac.12 The Sacrifice of Isaac.14 Isaac’s Wooing of Rebecca.16 The Birthright and the Mess of Pottage . . . .21 Jacob’s Ladder.22 Jacob’s Marriage with Rachel . . . - . . .23 Jacob’s Wrestling with an Angel. .24 III. Joseph and His Brethren: Some Dreams that Joseph dreamed, and what they led to . 27 Joseph in Prison .31 Joseph as Governor of Egypt.33 How the Dream about the Sheaves came true ... 37 The Meeting between Joseph and Benjamin . . . 41 Benjamin and the Silver Divining Cup . . . .44 The Settlement of Israel in Egypt.50 IV. Moses and the Ten Plagues: The Bondage of Israel. .55 The Birth of Moses ....... . . 55 The Burning Bush . 57 The Mission of Moses and Aaron.59 Bricks without Straw.60 Moses and Aaron before Pharao.62 The Rivers turned into Blood ..64 X CONTENTS The Frogs that covered the Whole Land .... 65 The Sciniphs.67 The Swarm of Flies.67 The very Grievous Murrain.69 The Boils and Swelling Blains.69 The Thunder and Hail mixed with Fire- . . . . 70 The Locusts that wasted All Things.71 The Darkness that could be felt.72 The Death of the First Born.73 The Passage of the Red Sea.76 V. The Exodus: How Bitter Waters were made Sweet.79 The Giving of the Commandments.79 The Tables of the Law.81 The Tabernacle in the Wilderness.83 The Manna.84 The Rock that gave forth a Stream of Water ... 86 A Prayer of Moses with Uplifted Hands .... 88 The Price of Murmuring.88 The Budding of Aaron’s Rod.92 The Brazen Serpent.93 The Call of Josue.94 The Death of Moses.95 The Passage of the Jordan.96 The Fall of Jericho.98 VI. The Judges: How the Judges came to rule in Israel.101 Gedeon and the Battle of the Lamps and Pitchers . . 101 Samson and the Jaw-bone of an Ass.107 The Secret of Samson’s Strength.108 The Birth of Samuel.113 The Call of Samuel.115 The End of the Judges’ Rule.117 CONTENTS xi VII. King Saul: The Quest of some Asses and what came of it . . . 119 God Save the King.124 The Rejection of Saul.125 The Annointing of David.129 David as Harper to Saul.131 David and Goliath . 132 How the Praise of Some Women nearly cost David His Life 138 David and Jonathan . ..■ . 140 The Adventure of the Spear and the Cup of Water . . 145 The Death of Saul and Jonathan.148 VIII. King David: David and Bethsabee.151 Absolom’s Rebellion.154 IX. King Solomon: The Elevation of Solomon to the Throne of Israel . . 162 Solomon’s Dream.166 The Wisdom of Solomon.167 Solomon’s Temple.168 Solomon and the Queen of Saba.170 The Fall of Solomon.172 The Division of the Kingdom .174 X. The Kingdom of Israel: King Jeroboam.177 Elias and the Prophets of Baal.178 The Call of Eliseus.183 Naboth’s Vineyard.183 The Ascent of Elias into Heaven.187 Naaman the Leper.189 Eliseus and the Horses and Chariots of Fire . . . 193 The Fall of the Kingdon of Israel.195 XI. The Story of Judith.197 Xll CONTENTS XII. The Kingdom of Juda: Juda’s Unfaithfulness. The Prophesies of Jeremias. The Fall of Juda. XIII. The Babylonion Captivity: The Elevation of Daniel and His Companions The Three Children in the Fierv Furnace Baltassar’s Feast. Daniel in the Lion's Den.. XIV. The Story of Esther . XV. The Nation’s Rebirth: The Return from Captivity. Nehemias. Esdras. The Re-establishment of the Law .... XVI. The Machabees: King Antiochus. The Martyrdom of Eleazar. The Martyrdom of a Mother and Her Seven Sons The Uprising of Mathathias. Judas Maehabeus. The Dedication of the Temple .... 208 209 213 210 218 222 226 231 242 244 247 249 251 254 256 261 264 268 Notes.273 List of Proper Names, with Pronunciation . . . 294 PREFACE Happy children, whom this little book will introduce to the Word of God and to the first ages of history! It is a grand and beautiful story which you are about to read, told in the inspired language of Holy Scripture itself, the story of God’s dealings with the world and, in particular, with His chosen people of Israel. In the sublime account of creation with which it opens, it takes you back to the very beginning of things. You see the heavens and % the earth spring into being at the word of God, You see His Almighty Spirit moving over the face of the universe, disposing all in order and harmony and beauty, and multiplying life in its infinite variety. And from this first beginning, this story brings you down to the last years of the Old Covenant, almost to the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is a long period of time, four thousand years at least; and the Old Testament, in which the inspired writers have told its history, is a very big book, too big, I fear, for most children to read through. Besides, it contains many things that do not interest children and many things, too, that are hard to understand, even for grown people. So everything that is too hard to understand, and everything that is uninteresting to children, together with matters of less importance, has been left out of this book. Here you have a fine selection of beautiful and interesting stories — true stories— which you will read with pleasure and with profit to your souls. You will read them not once only, but many times; and I am sure you will love them. And let me tell you, dear children, that you will remember them as long as you live. Why have children always loved the stories of the Old Testament? But first I must stop to tell you that they have always loved them. XIV PREFACE The Child Jesus read and loved them two thousand years ago; so too did the Blessed Mary, for we see from her song of joy, the Mag¬ nificat, which she sang while still a young maiden of Galilee, that her youthful soul had found its delight in the songs and stories of God’s people. And long before the time of Jesus and Mary, and long after it, Jewish children used to love to hear these stories from the lips of their elders. Christian children have loved them no less; even more: for the Catholic Church, which is like a good mother who knows how to tell a story very well, has told these stories of the Bible to her children, young and old, in many a charming fashion. She makes her priests read them in the breviary. She has painted them most beautifully on the walls of her churches; she has carved them gracefully in stone, and she has made them shine out gloriously in her marvelous windows of stained glass. And boys and girls have always loved to go into the Catholic Churches of Europe and gaze at these paintings and sculptures and windows. There they see Adam and Eve, our first parents; and good old Abraham with the long white beard who had such great faith; and the gentle, thoughtful Isaac, his son, with the lovely Rebecca; and the great Patriarch Jacob and his twelve sons, who became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel, particularly Joseph whose history is so wonderful and interesting; and Moses, the great leader and lawgiver; and Samson, who was such a marvel of strength, and if he had only been as good and as wise as he was strong, what a great man he would have been; and the prophet Samuel, who was in the temple from his boyhood; and Saul, the tall and handsome king, who had such a miserable end; and King David, with his thrilling adventures, who had so many attractive qualities and yet so many weaknesses; and Solomon, so wise and good in his youth, who (strange to say) became foolish and wicked as he grew old; and PREFACE XV the great prophets, whose sublime words you will study in years to come; and the noble and heroic Machabees; and many other notable characters of the Old Testament. Behold them all in our churches, these great persons through whom God wrought the salvation of Israel. And as the children gaze at the paintings or sculptures on windows, those who know their Bible History well, understand and are happy to explain them to others; and those who do not know the stories and have no one to explain them, gaze all the more in open-mouthed wonder. How they wish they understood, for they can tell at a glance that the stories are good stories and very inter¬ esting! Why then do children always love these Old Testament stories? Not merely because they are interesting, as indeed they are and had to be if they were to be loved by children, but also because they are so deep and yet so simple. A story, if it is to capture the affection of a child, must have simplicity; but to retain that affection, it must also have depth of meaning. These old stories have an antique simplicity about them which is very winning and hard to match elsewhere. No wonder, for they come down, some at least, from the ages when God was guiding the childhood of the race, and were retold by father to son, from generation to generation. But besides this simplicity, they have a depth of meaning which cannot be matched in histories from uninspired sources. And the older you grow, dear children, the deeper meaning will you discover in them. You will find them true to the facts of human nature, as life will reveal them to you; but you will also find them full of the first truth of religion, God’s providence, in the light of which alone the facts of life can be rightly judged and appreciated. It is the radiance of this blessed truth of God’s providence that lends such a beauty to these stories and endears them so to the unspoiled heart of childhood. XVI PREFACE One last important thing you will learn from these stories, how the people of Israel were guided by God through the Divine Twilight until the dawn of that glorious Sun of Justice and Truth, our Lord Jesus Christ. Thomas J. Shahan. THE DAWN OF THE WORLD. The Creation: In the beginning God created Heaven and earth. And the earth was void and empty, and dark¬ ness was upon the face of the deep ; and the Spirit of God moved over the waters. And God said, “Be light made:” and light was made. And God saw the light that it was good; and He divid¬ ed the light from the darkness : and He called the light Day, and the darkness Night. And there was evening and morning—one day. And God said, “Let there be a firmament 1 amidst the waters, and let The Creation of Li g ht - it divide the waters from the waters.” And God made a firmament, and divided the waters that were under the 2 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT firmament from those that were above 2 the firmament; and it was so: and God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and morning were the second day. God also said, “Let the waters that are under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear: ” and it was so done. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the water He called Seas: and God saw that it was good. And He said, “Let the earth bring forth the green herb, and such as may seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth:” and it was so done. And the earth brought forth the green herb, and such as yielded seed according to its kind, and the tree that beareth fruit, having seed each one according to its kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and morning were the third day. And God said, “Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years, to shine in the firmament of heaven and to give light upon the earth:” and it was done. And God made two great lights; a greater light to rule the day and a lesser light to rule the night, and the stars; and He set them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon the earth, and to rule the day and the night, and to divide the light and the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and morning were the fourth day. God also said, “Let the waters bring forth the creep¬ ing creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven;” and God THE DAWN OF THE WORLD 3 created the great whales, and every living and moving creature, which the waters brought forth, according to their kinds, and every winged fowl according to its kind: and God saw that it was good, and He blessed them, saying, 4 ‘Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds be multiplied upon the earth.” And the evening and morning were the fifth day. The Creation of Animals. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kind;” and it was so done: and God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and everything that creepeth on the earth after its kind; and God saw that it was good. And He said, “Let us make man to our image and likeness: and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole 4 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT earth, and every creeping creature that moveth on the earth;” and God created man to His own image: to the image of God He created him: male and female He created them; and God blessed them, saying, “Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth.” And God said, “Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the earth, and all trees that have in themselves seed of their own kind to be your meat: and to all beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to all that move upon the earth, and wherein there is life, that they may have to feed upon”: and it was so done: and God saw all the things that He had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day. So the heavens and the earth were finished , 3 and all the furniture of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. And He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God created and made . 4 The Fall of Man: And the Lord took man and put him into the Garden of Paradise 0 to dress it and keep it. And He commanded him, saying, “Of every tree of Paradise thou shalt eat, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat; for in what day soever thou shalt eat of it thou shalt die the death.” Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And THE DAWN OF THE WORLD 5 he said to the woman, “Why hath God commanded you that you should not eat of every tree of Paradise?” And the woman answered, 44 Of the fruit of the trees that are in Paradise we do eat: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of Paradise, God hath com¬ manded us that we should not eat, and that we should not touch it, lest perchance we die.” And the serpent said to the woman, 44 No, you shall not die the death; for God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold, and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband, who did eat. And presently they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the Garden, and they hid themselves from the face of the Lord, amidst the trees of Paradise. And the Lord God called the man, and said to him, 44 Where art thou?” And he said, 44 1 heard Thy voice in Paradise, and I was afraid; and I hid myself.” x4nd He said, 44 Thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat.” And Adam said, 44 The woman whom Thou gavest me to be my companion gave me of the tree, and I did eat." And the Lord God said to the woman, 44 Why hast thou done this?” And she answered, 44 The serpent deceived me, and I did eat. ” 6 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because thou hast done this thing thou art cursed among all cattle and beasts; upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, 6 and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. ” And to the woman He said, “ I will multiply thy sorrows and thy conceptions; in sor¬ row shalt thou bring forth children; and thou shalt be under thy husband’s pow¬ er, and he shall have dominion over thee. ” And to Adam He said, '‘Be¬ cause thou hast harkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth in thy work; with labor and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herbs of the earth; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return Adam and Eve Driven from Paradise. THE DAWN OF THE WORLD 7 to the earth, out of which thou wast taken; for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.” And the Lord sent him out of the Garden of Paradise; and He placed before it Cherubinis, 7 and a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 8 The Flood: After that men began to be multiplied upon the earth. And God seeing that their wickedness was great, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times, said, “I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth; from man even to beasts; from the creeping things even to the fowls of the air: for it repenteth 9 Me that I have made them.” But Noe found grace before the Lord, for he was a just and perfect man in his generation; and he walked with God. And the Lord said to Noe, 4 ‘Make thee an ark of timber planks. Behold I will bring the waters of a great flood 10 upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, under heaven. But with thee I will estab¬ lish My covenant; and thou shalt go into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and the wives of thy sons with thee. And of every living creature of all flesh, thou shalt bring two of a sort into the ark, that they may live with thee; of the male sex and the female. Of fowls ac¬ cording to their kind, and of beasts in their kind, and of every thing that creepeth on the earth according to its kind, two of every sort shall go in with thee, that they may live. Thou shalt take unto thee of all food 8 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT that may be eaten, and thou shalt lay it up with thee; and it shall be food for thee and them.” And Noe did all things which God commanded him. And it came to pass, in the six hundredth year of the life of Noe, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the flood-gates of heaven were opened; Noe Sending Forth the Dove From the Ark. and the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and the waters overflowed exceedingly, and filled all on the face of the earth; and the ark was carried upon the waters. And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the earth, both of fowl and of cattle, and of beasts, and of all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all men. And Noe only remained, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days. THE DAWN OF THE WORLD 9 And after that forty days were passed, Noe, opening the window of the ark, sent forth a raven, which went forth and did not return till the waters were dried up upon the earth. He sent forth also a dove after him, to see if the waters had now ceased upon the face of the earth; but she, not finding where her foot might rest, returned to him into the ark; for the waters were upon the whole earth; and he put forth his hand and caught her, and brought her into the ark. And having waited yet seven other days, he again sent forth the dove out of the ark; and she came to him in the evening, carrying a bough of an olive tree, with green leaves in her mouth. Noe therefore understood that the waters were ceased upon the earth. And he stayed yet another seven days; and he sent forth the dove which returned not any more unto him. And Noe, opening the covering of the ark, looked and saw the face of the earth was dried. And God spoke to Noe, saying, “Go out of the ark, thou and thy wife, thy sons, and the wives of thy sons with thee; and all living things that are with thee of all flesh, as well in fowls as in beasts, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, bring out with thee; and go ye out upon the earth, and increase and multiply upon it.” And they went forth. And Noe built an altar unto the Lord; and taking of all cattle and fowls that were clean, 11 offered holo¬ causts 12 upon the altar. And the Lord smelled 13 a sweet savor, and said, “I will no more curse the earth for the sake of man; for the imagination and the thought of man’s heart are prone to evil from his youth; there- 10 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT fore I will no more destroy every living soul as I have done. All the days of the earth, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, night and day, shall not cease.” And God blessed Noe and his sons. And He said to them, “Increase and multiply and fill the earth. And Noe After the Deluge. I will establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall be no more destroyed with the waters of a flood; neither shall there be from henceforth a flood to waste the earth.” And the sons of Noe, who came out of the ark, 14 were Sem, Cham, and Japhet; and from these was all man¬ kind spread over the whole earth. II. THE PATRIARCHS. The Call of Abraham : Now among the descendants of Sem, there was one whose name was Thare* And Thare went forth, with his family, from Ur of the Chal¬ dees, where they lived, to go into the land of Chanaan; 1 The Departure of Abram. and they came as far as Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Thare were two hundred and five years; 2 and he died in Haran. 3 And his son’s name was Abram. And the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father’s house, and come into the land which I shall show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation; and I will bless 12 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT thee and magnify thy name; and thou shalt be blessed; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed.” 4 So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him; and he took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother’s son, and all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls which they had gotten in Haran, and they went out to go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, 44 To thy seed will I give this land. ” And Abram built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And Melchisedech, 5 the king of Salem, 6 bringing forth bread and wine, (for he was the Priest of the Most High God) blessed Abram, and said, 44 Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, who created heaven and earth; and blessed be the Most High God by whose protection the enemies are in thy hands.” And Abram dwelled in the land of Chanaan. The Birth of Isaac: And the Lord appeared to Abraham 7 in the Vale of Mambre, as he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day. And when he had lifted up his eyes there appeared to him three men standing near him; and as soon as he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground. And he said, 4k Lord, if I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant, but I will fetch a little water and wash ye your feet; and rest ye under the tree, and I will set a morsel of bread, and THE PATRIARCHS 13 strengthen ye your heart; afterwards you shall pass on, for therefore you are come aside to your servant/' And they said, “Do as thou hast spoken/' Abraham therefore made haste into the tent to Sara, 8 and said to her, “Make haste; temper together three measures of flour, and make cakes upon the hearth." Abraham and the Angels. And he himself ran to the herd, and took from thence a calf, very tender and very good, and gave it to a young man, who made haste and boiled it. He took also butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and set before them; but he stood beside them under the tree. And when they had eaten they said to him, “Where is Sara, thy wife?" He answered, “Lo, she is in the tent.” 14 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And he said to him, 44 1 will return and come to thee at this time, life accompanying, and Sara, thy wife, shall have a son.” Now Sara and Abraham were both old, and far advanced in years; and Sara laughed secretly. And the Lord said to Abraham, 44 Why did Sara laugh, saying, ‘Shall I who am an old woman, bear a child indeed.’ Is there anything hard to God? Accord¬ ing to appointment, I will return to thee at this time, life accompanying, and Sara shall have a son. ” And the Lord visited Sara as He had promised, and fulfilled what He had spoken. And she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the time that God had foretold her. And Abraham called the name of the son, whom Sara bore him, Isaac. 9 The Sacrifice of Isaac: After these things God tempted 10 Abraham, and said to him, 44 Abraham, Abra¬ ham.” And he answered, “Here I am.” He said to him, 44 Take thy only begotten son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of vision, 11 and there thou shalt offer him for a holocaust upon one of the mountains which I shall show thee. ” So Abraham, rising up in the night, saddled his ass, and took with him two young men, and Isaac, his son; and when he had cut wood for the holocaust, he went his way to the place which God had commanded him. And the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the place afar off; and he said to his young men, 44 Stay you THE PATRIARCHS 15 here with the ass; I and the boy will go with speed as far as yonder, and after we have worshipped, will return to you. ” And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he himself carried in his hands fire and a sword. And as they two went on together, Isaac said to his father, “My Fa¬ ther.” And he answer¬ ed, “What wilt thou, my son?” “ Behold,” said he, “fire and wood; where is the victim for the holocaust?” And Abraham said, “ God will pro¬ vide himself a vic¬ tim for a holocaust, my son. ” So they went on together, and came to the place which God had shown him, where he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it. And when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar, upon the pile of wood; and he put forth his hand and took the sword, to sacrifice his son. The Sacrifice of Isaac. 16 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And behold, an angel of the Lord from heaven called to him saying, “Abraham, Abraham.” And he answered, “Here I am." And he said to him, “Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou anything to him; now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for My sake.” And Abraham lifting up his eyes, saw behind his back a ram amongst the briers, sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son. 12 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven saying, “By My own self have I sworn, saith the Lord: Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for My sake, I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore; thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the world be blessed, because thou hast obeyed My voice.” And Abraham returned to his young men, and they went to Bersabee together; and he dwelled there. Isaac’s Wooing of Rebecca: Now when Abraham was old and advanced in years, and before that he had been gathered to his people, he said to the elder servant of his house, who was ruler over all he had, “ Take not a wife for my son from the daughters of the Chanaanites among whom I dwell, 13 but go to my own country and kindred, and take a wife from thence for my son Isaac,” And the servant took ten camels of the master’s herd. THE PATRIARCHS 17 and departed, carrying something of all his goods with him; and he set forward and went on to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nachor, the brother of Abraham. And when he reached the city, he made the camels lie down without the town, near a well of water, in the evening, at a time when the women are wont to come out to draw water; and he said, “0 God the Lord of my master Abraham, behold I stand nigh the spring of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will come out to draw water; now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say, ‘Let down thy pitcher that I may drink/ and she shall answer, ‘Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also,’ let it be the same whom Thou hast provided for Thy servant Isaac; and by this I shall know that Thou hast shown kindness to my master.” And it came to pass, before he had said these words within himself, that, behold, Rebecca came out, the daughter of Nachor, having a pitcher on her shoulder, an exceeding comely maid: and she went down to the spring, and filled her pitcher, and was coming back. And the servant ran out to meet her, and said, “Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher. ” And she answered, “Drink, my lord”; and quickly she let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him drink. And when he had drunk, she said, “I will draw water for thy camels also, till they all drink.” And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water; and having drawn she gave to all the camels. But the servant, musing, beheld her with 18 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT silence, desirous to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. And after the camels had drunk, the man took out golden ear-rings, weighing two sides, and as many bracelets of ten sides’ weight, and said to her, ‘‘Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, is there any place in thy father’s house to lodge?” Rebecca at the Well. And she answered, “I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor. ” And she said moreover to him, “We have good store of both straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in. ” And the man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not taken away His mercy and truth from my master, and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my master’s brother.” THE PATRIARCHS 19 Then the maid ran, and told in her mother’s house, all that she had heard. And Rebecca had a brother named Laban, who went out in haste to the man to the well. And when he had seen the ear-rings and bracelets in his sister’s hands, and had heard all that she related, saying, “Thus and thus the man spoke to me,” he came to the man who stood by the camels, and near to the spring of water, and said to him, “ Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; why standest thou without; I have prepared the house and a place for thy camels.” And he brought him into his lodging; and he unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and hay, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were come with him; and bread was set before him. But he said, “I will not eat, till I tell my message.” And he answered him, “Speak.” And when he had told his message, and all the things which had come to pass as he stood with his camels, near the well, Laban and Bathuel answered, “The word hath proceeded from the Lord; we cannot speak any other thing to thee but His pleasure. Behold, Rebecca is before thee, take her and go thy way, and let her be the wife of thy master’s son, as the Lord hath spoken.” Which, when Abraham’s servant heard, falling down to the ground, he adored the Lord. And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold and garments, he gave them to Rebecca for a present. He offered gifts also to her brothers and to her mother. And a banquet was made, and they ate and drank together, and lodged there. And in the morning the servant arose and said, “Let me depart, that I may go to my master.” 20 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And her brother and mother answered, “Let the maid stay at least ten days with us, and afterwards she shall depart/' “Stay me not,” said he, “because the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. ” And they said, “Let us call the maid, and ask her will. ” And they called her, and when she was come, they asked, “Wilt thou go with the man?" She said, “I will go.” So they sent her away, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his company, wishing prosperity to their sister, and saying, “Thou art our sister; mayest thou increase to thousands and thousands, and may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies. ” So Rebecca and her maids being set upon camels, followed the man, who with speed returned to his master. At the same time Isaac was walking along the way to the well which is called “Of the living and the seeing”; for he dwelled in the south country. And he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day being now well spent. And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming afar off. And Rebecca, when she saw Isaac, lighted off her camel, and said to the servant, “Who is that man who cometh towards us along the field?” And he said to her, “That man is my master.” And the servant told Isaac all that he had done. And Isaac took Rebecca and made her his wife. THE PATRIARCHS 21 The Birthright and the Mess of Pottage: Now Rebecca, the wife of Isaac, brought forth no children. But Isaac besought the Lord for her; and He heard him, and there were born to her two sons who were named Esau and Jacob. And when the sons were grown up, Esau became a skill¬ ful hunter, and a husbandman; but Jacob, a plain man, dwelled in tents. And Jacob boiled pottage; to whom Esau, coming faint out of the field said, “ Give me of this red pottage; 14 for I am exceeding faint. And Jacob said to him, ‘‘Sell me first thy birthright.” 15 Esau answered, Esau Sellm s Hls Birthright. “Lo, I die; what will the first birthright avail me.” Jacob said, ”Swear therefore to me.” And Esau swore to him, and sold his first birthright. And taking bread and the pottage of lentils, he ate and drank and went his way, making little account of having sold his first birthright. 10 22 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Jacob’s Ladder: And Isaac blessed Jacob and charged him saying, ‘’Take not a wife of the stock of Chanaan, 17 but go and take a journey to Mesopotomia of Syria, and take thee a wife thence of the daughters of Laban, thy uncle.” And Jacob departed. And when he was come to a cer- tain place, and would rest in it, af¬ ter sunset, he took of the stones that lay there, and put¬ ting under his head, slept in the same place. And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven, the angels also of God ascend¬ ing and descending by it, and the Lord Jacob’s Ladder. leaning upon the ladder, saying to him, “I am the Lord God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and thy seed all the tribes of THE PATRIARCHS 23 the earth shall be blessed. And I will be thy keeper whithersoever thou goest; and I will bring thee back into this land; neither will I leave thee, till I have accom¬ plished all that I have said/’ And when Jacob awaked out of sleep, he said, “ Indeed the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” And trem¬ bling, he said, “How terrible is this place! This is no other but the house of God and the gate of heaven.” 18 And, arising in the morning, he took the stone which he had laid under his head, and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon the top of it. And he made a vow, saying, “If God shall be with me, and shall keep me in the way by which I walk, and shall give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, and I shall return prosperously to my father’s house, the Lord shall be my God. And this stone which I have set up for a title, shall be called the house of God; and of all things that Thou shalt give to me, I shall offer thithes to Thee.” Jacob’s Marriage With Rachel: Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the east country, to the place of his Uncle Laban. And when Laban heard that his sister’s son was come, he ran forth to meet him; and embracing him and heartily kissing him, he brought him into his house. And Jacob abode there. And after the days of one month were expired, Laban said to Jacob, “Because thou art my brother, shalt thou serve me without wages? Tell me, what wages wilt thou have?” 24 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Lia, and the younger was called Rachel: and Jacob, being in love with Rachel, said, “I will serve thee seven years for Rachel, thy youngest daughter.” Laban answered, “It is better that I give her to thee than to another man; stay with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed but a few days, because of the greatness of his love. Jacob and Rachel. And Jacob married Rachel, and abode twenty years in the land of Laban. And the Lord was with him; and he was enriched exceedingly; and he had many flocks, maid-servants and men-servants, camels and asses. And these are his sons that were born to him: Ruben, the first born, and Simeon and Levi, and Juda, and Issachar, and Zebulon; Joseph and Benjamin; Dan and Nepthali; and Gad and Aser. And these are the sons 19 of Jacob that were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria. Jacob’s Wrestling With an Angel: And after that twenty years were ended, the Lord appeared to Jacob. THE PATRIARCHS 25 saying to him, “ Return into the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee. ” And Jacob rose up and went his way; and he took all his substance and flocks, and whatsoever he had gotten in Mesopotamia, and went forward to Isaac his father to the land of Chanaan. And it came to pass, as he was mak¬ ing his journey, that one night he re¬ mained alone in the camp; the rest of the company hav¬ ing passed with the substance to the further side of a river. And behold, a man wrestled with him till morning. And when he saw that he could not overcome him, he touched the sinew J acob Wrestling with an Angel. of his thigh, and forthwith it shrank. And he said to him, “Let me go, for it is break of day.” He answered, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me. ” And he said, “ What is thy name ?” He answered, “Jacob.” 26 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT But lie said, “Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel; 20 for if thou hast been strong against God, how much more shalt thou prevail against men. ” Jacob asked him, “Tell me by what name art thou called?” He answered, “Why dost thou ask my name?” And he blessed him in the same place. And Jacob called the name of the place Phanuel, 21 saying, “I have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved.” And Jacob came to Isaac, his father, in Mambre, the city of Arbee, (this is Hebron) and dwelled there. boston college library CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. III. JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. Joseph Relating His Dream. more. And he said to them, ‘'Hear my dream which I dreamed: I thought we were binding sheaves in the field; Some Dreams That Joseph Dreamed and What They Led To: Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age; and he made him a coat of divers colors. And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak peace¬ ably to him. And it fell out also that he told his brethren a dream 1 that he had dreamed, which occasioned them to hate him the 28 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT and my sheaf arose, as it were, and stood; and your sheaves, standing about, bowed down before my sheaf.' 5 His brethren answered, “Shall thou be our king; or shall we be subject to thy dominion.” Therefore this matter of his dream, and words, min¬ istered nourishment to their envy and hatred. He dreamed also another dream which he told his brethren, saying, “I saw in a dream, as it were, the sun and the moon and eleven stars worshipping 2 me. ” And when he had told this to his father and brethren, his father rebuked him, and said, “What meaneth this dream which thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren worship thee upon the earth?" His brethren therefore envied him, but his father con¬ sidered the thing with himself. And when his brethren abode in Sichem, feeding their father’s flocks, Israel said to him, “Thy brethren feed the sheep in Sichem; come, I will send thee to them.” And when he answered, “I am ready,” he said to him, “Go and see if all things be well with thy brethren and the cattle; and bring me word again what is doing.'’ So being sent from the vale of Hebron, Joseph came to Sichem; and a man found him there, wandering in a field, and asked him what he sought. But he answered, “I seek my brethren; tell me where they feed the flocks.” And the man said to him, “They are departed from this place, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothain. ’ And Joseph went forward after his brethren, and found them in Dothain. 3 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 29 And when the brethren saw Joseph afar off, before he came nigh them, they sought to kill him, and said to one another, “Behold the dreamer cometli; come let us kill him and cast him into some old pit, and we will say ‘Some evil beast hath devoured him ’; and then it shall appear what his dreams avail him. ” But Ruben, hearing this, en¬ deavored to de¬ liver him out of their hands, and said, “ Do not take away his life, nor shed his blood ; but cast him into this pit, that is in the Joseph Sold Into Egypt. wilderness, and keep your hands harmless.” Now he said this, being desirous to deliver him out of their hands, and to restore him to his father. As soon, therefore, as Joseph came to his brethren, they forthwith stripped him of his outside coat that was of divers colors, and cast him into an old pit where there was no water. And sitting down to eat bread, they saw 30 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT some Ismaelites on their way, coming from Galaad with their camels, carrying spices and balm and myrrh to Egypt. And Juda said to his brethren, ‘‘What will it profit us to kill our brother, and conceal his blood. It is better that he be sold to the Ismaelites, and that our hands be not defiled; for he is our brother and our flesh.” His brethren agreed to his word. And when the Madianite merchants passed by, they drew him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ismaelites for twenty pieces of silver ; 4 and they led him into Egypt. And Ruben, returning to the pit, found not the boy. And rending his garments , 5 he went to his brethren, and said, “The boy doth not appear, and whither shall I go. ” And they took his coat and dipped it in the blood of a kid, which they had killed, sending some to carry it to their father and to say, “This we have found; see Israel’s Grief at the Sight of Joseph’s Coat. JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 31 whether it be thy son’s coat or not.” And the father acknowledging it, said, ”It is my son’s coat; an evil wild beast hath eaten him; a beast hath devoured Joseph. ” And tearing his garments, he put on sackcloth , 6 mourning for his son a long time. Joseph in Prison: And Joseph was brought into Egypt, and Putiphar, chief captain of the army, an Egyptian, bought him; and he dwelled in his master’s house. And Joseph found favor in the sight of his master, and ministered to him; and the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian for Joseph’s sake, and multiplied all his substance, both at home and in the fields. But it came to pass, after many days, that false stories of evil were told about Joseph; and the master giving too much credit to them, cast Joseph into prison where the king’s prisoners were kept; and he was there shut up. But the Lord was with Joseph, and having mercy upon him, gave him favor in the sight of the chief keeper of the prison, who delivered into his hand all the prisoners that were kept in custody; and whatsoever was done was under him. Neither did he himself know any thing, having committed all things to him; for the Lord was with him and made all that he did to prosper. After this it came to pass that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord; and Pharao 7 being angry with them sent them to the prison of the commander of the soldiers, in which Joseph also was prisoner. But the keeper of the prison delivered 32 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT them to Joseph, and he served them. And some little time passed, and they were kept in custody. And they both dreamed a dream the same night, according to the interpretation agreeing to themselves. And when Joseph was come in to them in the morn¬ ing, and saw them sad, he asked them, saying, “Why is your coun¬ tenance sadder today than usual? ” They answered, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no¬ body to interpret 8 it to us.” And Joseph said to them, “Doth not interpretation belong to God? Tell me what you have dreamed.” The chief butler first told his dream: “I saw before me a vine on which were three branches which, by little, and little, sent out buds; and after, the blossoms brought forth ripe grapes. And the cup of Pliarao was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed the Dreams of the Baker them lnto the CU P whlch 1 hdd ’ and the Butler. and I gave the cup to Pharao.” Joseph answered, “This is the interpretation of the dream: The three branches are yet three days, after which Pharao will remember thy service and will restore JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 33 thee to thy former place; and thou shalt present him the cup, according to thy office, as before thou wast wont to do. Only remember me when it shall be well with thee, and do me this kindness: to put Pliarao in mind to take me out of this prison; for I was taken away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here without any fault was cast into the dungeon.” Then the chief baker, seeing that he had wisely interpreted the dream said, “I also dreamed a dream: that I had three baskets of meal upon my head, and that in one basket that was uppermost, I carried all meats that are made by the art of baking, and that the birds ate out of it.” Joseph answered, “This is the interpretation of the dream The three baskets are yet three days; after which Pharao will take thy head from thee, and hang thee on a cross, and the birds will tear thy flesh.” The third day after this was the birthday of the Pharao; and he made a great feast for his servants; and at the banquet, remembering the chief butler and the chief baker, he restored the one to his place to present him the cup: the other he hanged on a gibbet; that the truth of the interpreter might be shown. But the chief butler, when things prospered with him, forgot his interpreter. Joseph as Governor of Egypt: After two years Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood by the river, out of which came up seven kine, very beautiful and fat; and they fed in marshy places. Other seven also came up 34 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT out of the river, ill-favored and lean fleshed; and they fed on the bank of the river in green places: And they devoured them whose bodies were very beautiful and well conditioned. So Pharao awoke. He slept again, and he dreamed another dream: Seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, full and fair; then seven other ears sprung up thin and blasted and devoured all the beauty of the former. Pharao awaked after his rest; and when morning was come, being struck with fear, he sent to all the interpreters 9 of Egypt, and to all the wise men; and they being called for, he told them his dream, and there was not any one of them that could interpret it. Then at length, the chief butler remembering, said, “ I confess my sin: The king being angry with his servants commanded me and the chief baker to be cast into the prison of the captain of the soldiers, where, in one night, both of us dreamed a dream forboding things to come. And there was there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the same captain of the soldiers, to whom we told our dreams. And we heard what afterwards the event of the thing proved to be so; for I was restored to my office, and he was hanged upon a gibbet.” Forthwith, at the king’s command, Joseph was brought out of prison; and they shaved him, 10 and changing his apparel, brought him in to him. And he said to him, ”1 have dreamed dreams, and there is no one that can expound them.” Joseph answered, “Without me, 11 God shall give Pharao a prosperous answer.” JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 35 So Pharao told what he had dreamed: “Methought I stood on the bank of the river, and seven kine came up out of the river, exceeding beautiful and full of flesh; and they grazed on green places in marshy pasture. And behold there followed these, other seven kine, so ill favored and lean that I never saw the like in the land of Egypt; and they devoured and consumed the former. Joseph Interpreting the Dreams to Pharao. and yet gave no mark of their being full, but were as lean and ill favored as before. I awoke and then fell asleep again and dreamed a dream: Seven ears of corn grew upon one stalk, full and fair; other seven also, thin and blasted, sprung of the stock, and they devoured the beautv of the former. I told this dream to the conjecturers, and there is no man that can expound it.’' Joseph answered, “The king’s dream is one: God hath shown to Pharao what He is about to do. The seven beautiful kine and the seven full ears are seven 36 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT years of plenty; and both contain the same meaning of the dream. And the seven lean and thin kine that came up after them; and the seven thin ears that were blasted with the burning wind, are seven years of famine to come, which shall be fulfilled in this order: Behold there shall come seven years of great plenty in the whole land of Egypt, after which shall follow other seven years of so great scarcity that all the abundance before shall be forgotten, for the famine shall consume all the land; and the greatness of the scarcity shall destroy the great¬ ness of the plenty. And for that thou didst see the second time a dream pertaining to the same thing, it is a token of the certainty, and that the word of God cometh to pass and is fulfilled speedily. Now therefore, let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and make him ruler over the land of Egypt, that he may appoint overseers over all the countries, and gather into barns the fifth part of the fruits during the seven fruitful years that shall now presently ensue; and let all the corn be laid up under Pharao’s hands, and be reserved in the cities, and let it be in readiness against the famine of seven years to come, which shall oppress Egypt; and the land shall not be consumed with scarcity/’ The counsel pleased Pharao and all his servants; and he said to them, “Can we find such another man that is full of the spirit of God?” He said therefore to Joseph, ” Seeing God hath shown thee all that thou hast said, can I find one wiser and one like unto thee? Thou shaft be over my house; and at the commandment of thy mouth, all the people shall JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 37 obey: only in the kingly throne will I be above thee.” And he took his ring from his own hand and gave it into his hand; and he put upon him a robe of silk, and put a chain of gold about his neck; and he made him go up into his second chariot, the crier proclaiming that all should bow their knee before him, and that they should know he was made governor over the whole land of Egypt. And he turned his name and called him in the Egyptian tongue, “The Savior of the World.” How the Dream About the Sheaves Came True: Now when the seven years of plenty that had been in Egypt were passed, the seven years of scarcity, which Joseph had foretold, began to come; and the famine prevailed in the whole world, but there was bread in all the land of Egypt. And when the people cried to Pharao for food, he said to them, “Go to Joseph 12 and do all that he shall say to you.” And all the provinces came in to Egypt to buy food and to seek some relief in their want. And Jacob, hearing in Chanaan that food was sold in Egypt, said to his sons, “Why are ye careless? I have heard that wheat is sold in Egypt; go ye down, and buy us necessaries, that we may live and not be consumed with want.” So the ten brethren of Joseph went down to buy corn in Egypt; whilst Benjamin 13 was kept at home by Jacob, who said to his brethren, “Lest perhaps he take any harm in the journey.” And they entered 1 into the land of Egypt with others that went to buy. 38 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Now Joseph was governor in the land of Egypt, and corn was sold by his direction to the people. And when his brethren had bowed down to him, he knew them, but he spoke, as it were to strangers, somewhat rough¬ ly, asking them, “Whence came you? They answered, “From the land of Chanaan, to buy necessaries of life.” For though Joseph knew his brethren, he was not known by them. And re¬ membering the dreams 14 which formerly he had dreamed, he said to them, “ You are spies; you have Joseph Selling Corn in Egypt. COme to \ ie\\ tile weaker parts of the land.” But they said, “It is not so, my lord, but thy servants are come to buy food. We are all the sons of one man; we are come as peaceable men; neither do thy servants go about any evil.” And he answered them, “ It is otherwise; you are come to consider the unfenced parts of this land.” i JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 39 But they said "We, thy servants, are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Chanaan; the youngest is with our father, the other is not living.” He saitli, “This is that I said; you are spies. I shall now presently try what you are. By the health of Pharao you shall not depart hence, until your youngest brother come. Send one of you to fetch him, and you shall be in prison till what you have said be proved, whether it be true or false; or else, by the health of Pharao, you are spies.” So he put them in prison three days. And the third day he brought them out of prison, and said, “Do as I have said, and you shall live; for I fear God. If you be peaceable men, let one of your brethren be bound in prison, and go ye your ways and carry the corn that you have bought into your houses; and bring your youngest brother to me, that I may find your words to be true, and you may not die.” And they did as he had said. Then they talked to one another, “We deserve to suffer these things because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear; therefore is this affliction come upon us.” And Ruben said, “Did I not say to you ‘Do not sin against the boy’? And you would not hear me; Behold, his blood is required.” And they knew not that Joseph understood, because he spoke to them by an interpreter. And he turned himself away a little while, and wept. And returning 40 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT lie spoke to them; and taking Simeon, and binding him in their presence, he commanded his servants to fill their sacks with wheat, and to put every man’s money again in their sacks, and to give them besides provisions for the way; and they did so. And they, having loaded their asses with corn, went their way. Simeon Bound. And one of them, opening his sack to give his beast provender, in the inn, saw the money in the sack’s mouth, and he said to his brethren, “My money is given to me again; behold, it is in the sack.” And they were astonished and troubled, and said to one another, “What is this that God hath done to us?” And they came to Jacob, their father, in the land of Ghana an, and they told him all the things that had befallen them. And when they had told him, they JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 41 poured out their corn, and every man found his money tied in the mouth of his sack. And all being astonished together, their father Jacob said, “You have made me to be without children; Joseph is not living; Simeon is kept in bonds; and Benjamin you will take away: all these evils are befallen me.” And Ruben answered him, “Kill my two sons, if I bring him not again to thee. Deliver him into my hand and I will restore him to thee.” But he said, “My son shall not go down with you; his brother is dead, and he is left alone; if any mischief befall him in the land to which you go, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.” The Meeting Between Joseph and Benjamin: In the meantime the famine continued heavy upon all the land. And when they had eaten up all the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Go again and buy us a little food.” Juda answered, “The man declared unto us, with the attestation of an oath, saying, ‘You shall not see my face, unless you bring your youngest brother with you.’ ” Israel said to them, “You have done this for my misery, in that you told him you had also another brother.” But they answered him, “The man asked us, in order, concerning our kindred: if our father lived; if we had a brother; and we answered him regularly, according to what he demanded. Could we know that he would say, ‘Bring hither your brother with yoiC’ ” 42 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And Juda said to his father, ''Send the boy with me, that we may set forward and may live, lest both we and onr children perish. I take the boy upon me; require him at my hand; unless I bring him again and restore him to thee, I will be guilty of sin against thee forever; if delay had not been made, we had been here again the second time.” Then Israel said to them, tk If it must needs be so, do what you will. Take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down presents to the man: a little balm, and honey and storax, myrrh, turpentine and almonds; and take with you double money, and carry back what you found in your sacks, lest perhaps it was done by mistake; and take also your brother and go to the man; and may my Almighty God make him favorable to you; and send back with you your brother whom he keepeth, and this Benjamin: and as for me, I shall be desolate without children.” So the men took the presents and double money and Benjamin, and went down into Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And when Joseph had seen them and Benjamin with them, he commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Bring in the men into the house, and kill victims, and prepare a feast, because they shall eat with me at noon.” He did as he was commanded, and brought the men into the house. And they being much afraid, said there, one to another, “Because of the money which we carried back the first time in our sacks, we are brought in; that we may bring JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 43 upon us a false accusation, and by violence make slaves of us and our asses/’ Wherefore, going up to the steward of the house, at the door, they said, “Sir, we desire thee to hear us: We came down once before to buy food; and when we had bought and come to the inn, we opened our sacks, and found our money in the mouths of the sacks; which we have now brought again in the same weight. And we have brought other money besides, to buy what we want; we cannot tell who put it in our bags.” But he answered, “Peace be with you; fear not: your God and the God of your father hath given you treasure in your sacks; for the money which you gave me, I have for good.” And he brought Simeon out to them; and having brought them into the house, he fetched water; and they washed their feet; 15 and he gave provender to their asses. Then they made ready the presents, against Joseph came at noon; for they had heard that they should eat bread there. And when Joseph came into the house, they offered him the presents, holding them in their hands; and they bowed down with their face to the ground. But he, courteously saluting them again, asked them, saying, “Is the old man, your father, in health, of whom you told me? Is he yet living?” And they answered, “Thy servant, our father, is in health; he is yet living.” And bowing themselves, they made obeisance to him. And Joseph, lifting up his eyes, saw Benjamin, his brother, and said, “Is this your young brother, of whom 44 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT you told me?” And he said, “God be gracious to thee, my son.” And he made haste, because his heart was moved upon his brother; and tears gushed out; and going into his chamber, he wept. And when he had washed his face, coming out again, he refrained himself, and said, “Set bread on the table.” And when it was set on, for Joseph apart, and for his brethren apart, and for the Egyptians also that ate with him apart, (for it is unlawful for the Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews, and they think such a feast profane), they sat before him, the first-born, according to his birthright, and the youngest, according to his age. And they wondered very much, 16 taking the messes 17 which they received of him. And the greater mess came to Benja¬ min, so that it exceeded by five parts. And they drank, and were merry with him. Benjamin and the Silver Divining Cup: And Joseph commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill their sacks with corn, as much as they can hold; and put the money of every one in the top of his sack; and the mouth of the younger’s sack, put my silver cup, and the price which he gave for the wheat.” And it was so done. And when the morning arose, they were sent away with their asses. And when they were now departed out of the city, and had gone forward a little way, Joseph, sending for the steward of his house said, “Arise and pursue after the men; and when thou hast overtaken them, say to them, ‘Why have you returned evil for good? The cup which JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 4 5 you have stolen, is that in which my lord drinketh, and in which he is wont to divine: 18 you have done an evil thing. ’ He did as he commanded him; and having overtaken them, he spoke to them the same words. And they answered, “Why doth our Lord speak so, as though thy servants had committed so heinous a fact? Finding the Divining Cup in Benjamin’s Sack. The money that we found in the top of our sacks, we brought back to thee from the land of Chanaan; how then should it be that we should steal out of our lord’s house, gold and silver? With whomsoever of thy servants shall be found that which thou seekest, let him die and we will be the bondmen of my lord/’ And he said to them, “Let it be according to your sentence; with whomsoever it shall be found, let him be my servant, and you shall be blameless/’ 46 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Then they speedily took down their sacks to the ground, and every man opened his sack; which, when he had searched, beginning at the eldest and ending at the youngest, he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. And they rent their garments, and loading their asses again, returned into the town. And Juda, at the head of his brethren, went in to Joseph (for he was not yet out of the place) and they altogether fell down before him on the ground. And Joseph said to them, “Why would you do so? Know you not that there is no one like me in the science or divining r And Juda said to him, “What shall we answer my lord; or what shall we say, or be able justly to allege? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are all bondmen to my lord; both we and he with whom the cup was found.” Joseph answered, “God forbid that I should do so; he that stole the cup, he shall be my bondman; and go you away free to your father." Then Juda, coming nearer, said boldly, “I beseech thee, my lord, let thy servant speak a word in thy ears, and be not angry with thy servant; for after Pliarao, thou art my lord. Thou didst ask thy servant the first time, ‘Have you a father or a brother,’ and we answered thee, my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man; and a young boy that was born in his old age, whose brother by the mother is dead; and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loveth him tenderly.’ And thou saidst to thy servants, ‘ Bring him hither to me, and I will set JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 47 my eyes upon him.’ We suggested to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he leave him, his father will die.’ And thou saidst to thy servants, ‘Except your youngest brother come with you, you shall see my face no more.’ Therefore, when we were gone up to thy ser¬ vant, our father, we told him all that my lord had said. And our father said, ‘ Go again, and buy us a little wheat.’ And we said to him, ‘We cannot go unless our youngest brother go down with us; we will set out together, other¬ wise, without him, we dare not see the man’s face.’ Whereunto our father answered, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons; one when out, and you said: A beast devoured him; and hitherto he appeareth not: if you take this also, and anything befall him in the way, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.’ Therefore, if I shall go to thy servant, our father, and the boy be wanting (whereas his life dependeth upon the life of him) and he shall see that he is not with us, he will die, and thy servants shall bring down his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Let me be thy proper servant, who took him into my trust, and prom¬ ised saying, ‘If I bring him not again, I will be guilty of sin against my father forever.’ Therefore, I, thy servant, will stay instead of the boy in the service of my lord, and let the boy go up with his brethren; for I can¬ not return to my father without the boy, lest I be a witness of the calamity that will oppress my father.” Then Joseph could no longer restrain himself before many that stood by; whereupon he commanded that all should go out, and no stranger be present at their 48 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT knowing one another: and he lifted np his voice with weeping, which the Egyptians and all the house of Pharao heard. And he said to his brethren, “I am Joseph; is my father living?” His brethren could not answer him, being struck with exceeding great fear. And he said mildly to them, Come nearer to me. ” And when they were come near him, he said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt; be not afraid, and let it not seem to you a hard case that you sold me into these countries; for God sent me before you into Egypt for your preservation. 19 For it is two years since the famine began to be upon the land, and five years more remain, wherein there can be neither plowing nor reaping. And God sent me before, that you may be preserved upon the earth, and may have food to live. Not by your counsel was I sent hither, but by the will of God, who hath made me, as it were, a father to Pharao, the lord of his whole Joseph Making Himself Known to His Brethren. JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 49 house, and Governor in all the land of Egypt. Make haste and go up to my father and say to him, 4 Thus saith thy son Joseph: God hath made me Lord of the whole land of Egypt; come down to me, linger not. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Gessen; and thou shalt be near me, thou and thy sons, and thy son’s sons, thy sheep, and thy herds, and all things that thou hast. And there 1 will feed thee, (for there are yet five years of famine remaining) lest both thou perish and thy house, and all things that thou hast.’ Behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaketh to you. You shall tell my father of all my glory, and all things that you have seen in Egypt: make haste and bring him to me.” And falling upon the neck of his brother Benjamin, he embraced him and wept; and Benjamin in like manner wept also on his neck. And Joseph kissed all his brethren, and wept upon every one of them; after which they were emboldened to speak to him. And it was heard; and the fame was abroad in the king’s court: “The brethren of Joseph are come;” and Pharao, with all his family, was glad. And he spoke to Joseph that he should give orders to his brethren, saying, “Load your beasts and go into the land of Chanaan; and bring away from thence your father and kindred, and come to me; and I will give you all the good things of Egypt, that you may eat the marrow of the land. Give orders also that they take wagons out of the land of Egypt, for the carriage of their children and their wives, and say, ‘Take up your father, and make haste 50 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT to come with all speed; and leave nothing of yonr house¬ hold stuff, for all the riches of Egypt shall be yours.’ ” And the sons of Israel did as they were bid. And Joseph gave them wagons according to Pharao’s com¬ mandment, and provisions for the way. He ordered also to be brought for every one of them two robes, but to Benjamin, he gave three hundred pieces of silver, with five robes of the best; and he sent to his father as much money and raiment, adding besides ten he-asses to carry off all the riches of Egypt, and as many she-asses, carrying wheat and bread for the journey. So he sent away his brethren, and at their departing said to them, “Be not angry in the way.” And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Chanaan to their father Jacob. And thev told him, saying, “Joseph, thy son, is living, and he is ruler of all the land of Egypt;” which when Jacob heard, he awaked as it were out of a deep sleep; yet did not believe them. They, on the other side, told the whole order of the thing. And when he saw the wagons and all that he had sent, his spirit revived, and he said, “It is enough for me if Joseph my son be yet living, I will go down and see him before I die.” The Settlement of Israel in Egypt: And Israel, taking his journey with all that he had, came to the “Well of the Oath;” and killing victims there to the God of his father Isaac, he heard Him, by a vision in the night, calling him, and saying, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he answered, “Lo, here I am.” JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 51 And God said to him; “I am the most mighty God of thy father; fear not; go down into Egypt, for I will make a great nation of thee there. I will go down with thee thither, and will bring thee back again from thence: Joseph also shall put his hands upon thy eyes.” 20 And Jacob rose up from the “Well of the Oath;" and his sons took him, with their children and wives, in the wagons, which Pharao had sent to carry the old man, and all that he had in the land of Chanaan. And he came into Egypt with all his seed: his sons, and grandsons, daughters, and all his offspring together. And he sent Juda before him to Joseph to tell him; and that he should meet him in Gessen. And when he was come thither, Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet his father in the same place; and seeing him he fell upon his neck, and embracing him, wept. And the father said to Joseph, "Now shall I die with joy because I have seen thy face, and leave thee alive.” Then Joseph went in and told Pharao saying, "My father and brethren, their sheep and their herds, and all that they possess, are come out of the land of Chanaan, and behold, they stand in the land of Gessen.” Five men also, the last of his brethren, he presented before the king. And the king asked them, "What is your occupa¬ tion? ” They answered, "We, thy servants, are shepherds; both we, and our fathers; we are come to sojourn in thy land, because there is no grass for the flocks of thy 52 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Chanaan; and we pray thee to give orders that we thy servants may be in the land of Gessen.” 21 The king, therefore, said to Joseph, “Thy father and thy brethren are come to thee; the land of Egypt is before thee; make them dwell in the best place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if thou knowest that Joseph Presents His Father to Pharao. there are industrious men among them, make them rulers over my cattle.” After this Joseph brought in his father to the king, and presented him before him; and he blessed him. And being asked by him, “ How many are the days of the years of thy life?” he answered, “The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” And blessing the king, he went out. So Joseph gave a possession to his father and his brethren in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 53 Rameses, 22 as Pharao had commanded. And Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Gessen, and pos¬ sessed it, and grew and was multiplied exceedingly. And he lived in it seventeen years; and all the days of his life came to a hundred and forty-seven years. And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he called his sons, and he blessed every one with their proper blessings. But to Joseph he said, “The blessings of thy father are strengthened with the blessings of his fathers, until the Desire of the Everlasting Hills Should Come; may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.” And he charged them saying, “I am going to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the double cave, over against Mambre, in the land of Chanaan.” And when he had ended his commandment, wherewith he instructed his sons, he drew up his feet upon the bed, and died; and he was gathered to his people. So the sons of Jacob did as he had commanded them. And carrying him into the land of Chanaan they buried him in the double cave which Abraham had bought, together with the field, for a possession of a burying place, of Ephron the Hethite, over against Mambre. And Joseph returned into Egypt with his brethren, and all that were in his company, after he had buried his father. And he dwelled in Egypt, with all his father’s house, and lived a hundred and ten years. After which he told his brethren, “God will visit you after my death, and will make you go up out of this land, to the land 54 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT which he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” And he made them swear to him, saying, “God will visit you; carry my bones with you out of this place.” And he died, being a hundred and ten years old. And being embalmed, he was laid in a coffin in Egypt. 23 IV. MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES. The Bondage of Israel: After Joseph was dead, and all his brethren, and all that generation, the children of Israel increased, and sprung up into multitudes; and growing exceedingly strong, they filled the land. But in the meantime, there arose a new king over Egypt that knew not Joseph; and he said to his people, “Behold the people of the children of Israel are numerous, and stronger than we; come, let us wisely oppress them, lest they multiply, and, if any war shall rise against us, join with our enemies, and having overcome us, depart out of the land.” Therefore he set over them masters of the work, to afflict them with burdens; and they built for Pharao treasure cities, Pithom and Rameses. But the more he oppressed them, the more they were multi¬ plied, and increased. And the Egyptians hated the children of Israel, and afflicted them, and mocked them; and they made their life bitter with hard works in clay, and brick, and with all manner of service, wherewith they were overcharged in the works of the earth. And the king of Egypt charged all his people saying, “What¬ soever shall be born of the male sex, ye shall cast into the river; whatsoever of the female, ye shall save alive." The Birth of Moses: After this there went a man of the house of Levi, and took a wife of his own kindred; 56 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT and she conceived, and bore a son; and seeing him a goodly child, hid him three months. And when she could hide him no longer, she took a basket made of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and pitch, and put the little babe therein, and laid him in the sedges 1 by the river’s brink; his sister, standing afar off, and taking notice what would be done. The Finding of the Babe Moses on the River’s Bank. And behold, the daughter of Pharao came down to wash herself in the river; and her maids walked by the river’s brink. And when she saw the basket in the sedges, she sent one of her maids for it; and when it was brought, she opened it, and seeing within it an infant crying, having compassion on it, she said, “This is one of the babes of the Hebrews.” And the child’s sister said to her, “Shall I go and call to thee a Hebrew woman to nurse the babe?” MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES 57 She answered, “Go.” The maid went and called her mother. And Pharao’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me; I will give thee thy wages.” So the woman took, and nursed the child: and when he was grown up, she delivered him to Pharao’s daughter. And she adopted him for a son, and called him Moses . 2 The Burning Bush: Now it came to pass, after Moses was grown up, that he fled from the sight of Pharao , 3 and went to dwell with a man named Jethro, in the land of Median . 4 And one day, as he fed the sheep of Jethro, near the mountain of God, Iloreb , 5 the Lord appeared to him, in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he saw that the bush was on fire and was not burnt. And Moses said, “ I will go and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, He called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, “Moses, Moses.” And he answered, “Here I am.” And He said, “Come not nigh hither; put off the shoes from thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, for lie durst not look at God. And the Lord said to him, “ I have seen the affliction of My people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of the rigors of them that are over the works, and I am 58 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land into a land that floweth with milk and honey . 6 And I will send thee to Pharao, that thou mayest bring forth My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” And Moses said, “Who am I that I should go to Pharao, and should bring forth the chil¬ dren of Israel out of Egypt.” And He said to him. “I will be with thee ; and this thou shalt have for a sign that I have sent thee: when thou shalt have brought my people out of Egypt, thou shalt offer sacrifice to God upon this mountain.” Moses said to God, ‘‘Lo, I shall go to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers hath sent me;’ if they should say to me, ‘What is His name,’ what shall I say to them?” The Burning Bush. MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES 59 God said to Moses, “I am who am . 7 Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: He who is hath sent me to you.” The Mission of Moses and Aaron: And God said again to Moses, “Thou shalt go in, thou and the ancients of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and thou shalt say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews hath called us: we will go three days’ journey into the wilder¬ ness to sacrifice unto the Lord our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, but by a mighty hand. For I will stretch forth My hand, and will strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in the midst of them: after these he will let you go.” Moses answered and said, “They will not believe me, nor hear my voice; but they will say, ‘The Lord hath not appeared to thee.’ Then He said to him, “ What is that thou holdest in thy hand?” He answered, “A rod.” The Lord said, “Cast it down upon the ground.” He cast it down upon the ground, and it was turned into a serpent, so that Moses fled from it. And the Lord said, “Put out thy hand and take it by the tail.” He put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it was turned into a rod. And the Lord said again, “Put thy hand into thy bosom.” And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it forth leprous as snow. (>0 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And He said, “Put back thy hand into thy bosom/' He put it back, and brought it out again and it was like the other flesh. “If they will not believe thee,” said He, “nor hear the voice of the former sign, they will believe the word of the latter sign. But if they will not even believe these two signs, nor hear thy voice, take of the river water, and pour it out upon the dry land; and whatsoever thou drawest out of the river, shall be turned into blood.” Moses said, “I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before; and since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.” The Lord said, “Who made man’s mouth? Or who made the dumb and the deaf, the seeing, and the blind? Did not I? Go therefore, and I will be in thy mouth; and I will teach thee what thou slialt speak.” But he said, “I beseech thee, Lord, send whom Thou wilt send.” The Lord, being angry at Moses said, “Aaron, the Levite is thy brother; I know that he is eloquent: speak to him, and put my words in his mouth; and I will be in thy mouth, and in his mouth, and will show you what you must do. He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy mouth but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to God. And take this rod in thy hands, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.” Bricks Without Straw: After these things Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharao, “Thus saitli the MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES ()1 Lord God of Israel: Let My people go that they may sacrifice to Me in the desert.'' But he answered, 44 Who is the Lord, that I should hear His voice, and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” And they said, “The God of the Hebrews hath called us to go three days’ journey into the wilderness and to sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest a pestilence or the sword fall upon us.” The king of Egypt said to them, “Why do you, Moses and Aaron, draw off the people from their works ? Get you gone to your burdens. The people of the land is numerous; you see that the multitude Moses and Aaron Before Pharao. is increased; how much more if you give them rest from their works? ” Therefore he commanded the same day the overseers of the works and the taskmasters of the people saying, 44 You shall give straw no more to the people to make brick as before; but let them go and gather straw. And you shall lay upon them the task of bricks which they 62 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT did before; neither shall you diminish anything thereof; for they are idle, and therefore they cry, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Let them be oppressed with works and let them fulfill them, that they may not regard lying words.” And the overseers of the works and the taskmasters went out and said to the people, “Thus saith Pharao: I allow you no straw; go and gather it where you can find it; neither shall anything of your work be diminished.” And the people was scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather straw. And the overseers of the works pressed them saying, “Fulfill your work every day as before you were wont to do when straw was given you.” And they that were over the works of the children of Israel were scourged by Pharao’s taskmasters, saying, “Why have you not made up the task of bricks both yesterday and today, as before?” And the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharao, saying, “Why dealest thou so with thy servants? Straw is not given us, and bricks are required of us as before. Behold, we thy servants are beaten with whips, and thy people is unjustly dealt withal.” And he said, “You are idle, and therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Go therefore and work; straw shall not be given you, and you shall deliver the accustomed number of bricks.” Moses and Aaron Before Pharao : And the officers of the children saw that they were in evil case because it was said to them: ‘‘There shall not a whit MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES 63 be diminished of the bricks for every day.” And meeting Moses and Aaron, who stood over against them as they came out from Pharao, they said to them, “The Lord see and judge, because you have given to Pharao a sword to kill us.” And Moses re¬ turned to the Lord and said, “ Lord, why hast Thou af¬ flicted this people ? Wherefore hast Thou sent me? For since the time that I went in to Pharao to speak in Thy name, he hath af¬ flicted Thy people, and Thou hast not delivered them.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Now thou shaft , , x mi i The Rod That Became a Serpent. see what 1 will do to Pharao; for by a mighty hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he cast them out of the land. Go in and speak to Pharao, king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of this land. And then Pharao shall say to you, ‘Show signs’; thou shalt say to Aaron: Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharao; and it shall be turned into a serpent.” 64 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT So Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharao, and did as the Lord commanded. And x4aron took the rod before Pharao and his servants, and it was turned into a serpent. And Pharao called the wise men and the magicians; and they also, by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets, did in like manner. And then everyone cast down their rods, and they were turned into serpents; but Aaron's rod devoured their rods. And Pharao’s heart was hard¬ ened and he did not harken to them, as the Lord had commanded. The Rivers Turned Into Blood: And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharao in the morning; behold, he will go out to the waters; and thou shalt stand to meet him on the bank of the river; and thou shalt take in thy hand the rod that was turned into a serpent; and thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to thee saying, 4 Let My people go to sacrifice to Me in the desert/ And hitherto, thou wouldst not hear. Thus therefore saith the Lord: Tn this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: Behold, I will strike the water of the river, and it shall be turned into blood, and the fishes that are in the river shall die, and the waters shall be corrupted, and the Egyptians shall be afflicted when they drink the water of the river. 5 ” And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, and upon their rivers and streams and pools, and all the ponds of waters, that they may be turned into blood; and let blood be in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone.’ MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES 65 And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. And lifting up the rod he struck the water of the river before Pharao and his servants; and it was turned into blood. And the fishes that were in the river died, and the river corrupted, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river; and there was blood in all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of the Egyptians, with their enchantments, did in like manner. And Pharao’s heart was hardened; neither did he hear them, as the Lord had commanded. The Frogs That Covered the Whole Land: And the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharao, and thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: ‘ Let My people go to sacrifice to Me; but if thou wilt not let them go, behold I will strike all thy coasts with frogs; and the river shall bring forth an abundance of frogs, which shall come up and enter into thy house and thy bed-chamber, and upon thy bed, and into the houses of thy servants, and to thy people, and into thy ovens, and into the remains of thy meats.’ ” And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: Stretch forth thy hand upon the streams and upon the rivers and the pools, and bring forth frogs upon the land of Egypt.” And Aaron stretched forth his hand upon the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians also, by their enchantments, did in like manner; and they brought forth frogs upon the land of Egypt. 66 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT But Pharao called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “Pray ye to the Lord to take away the frogs from me, and from my people, and I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord.” And Moses said to Pharao, “Set me a time when I shall pray for thee, and for thy ser¬ vants, and for thy people, that the frogs may be driven away from thee and from thy house, and from thy servants and from thy peo¬ ple; and may re¬ main only in the • >> river. And he answered, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “I will do according to thy word, that thou mayest know that The Plague of Frogs. there is none like to the Lord our God. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy house, and from thy servants and from thy people, and shall remain only in the river.” And Moses and Aaron went forth from Pharao; and he cried to the Lord for the promises which he had made to Pharao concerning the frogs. And the Lord did MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES 67 according to the word of Moses: and the frogs died out of the houses, and out of the villages and out of the fields. And they gathered them together into immense heaps; and the land was corrupted. And Pharao, seeing that rest was given, hardened his own heart, and did not hear them as the Lord had com¬ manded. The Sciniphs: And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: Stretch forth thy rod, and strike the dust of the earth; and may there be sciniphs 8 in all the land of Egypt.” And they did so; and there came sciniphs on men and on beasts: all the dust of the earth was turned into sciniphs through all the land of Egypt. And the magicians, with their enchantments, prac¬ tised in like manner, to bring forth sciniphs; and they could not. And the magicians said to Pharao, “This is the finger of God/’ And Pharao’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them as the Lord had commanded. $ The Swarm of Flies: The Lord also said to Moses, “Arise early and stand before Pharao; for he will go forth to the waters; and thou shalt say to him, “Thus saith the Lord: ‘Let My people go to sacrifice to Me; but if thou wilt not let them go, behold I will send in upon thee and upon thy servants and upon thy houses, all kinds of flies; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with flies of divers kinds, and the whole land wherein 68 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT they shall be; and I will make the land of Gessen, wherein My people is, wonderful in that day, so that flies shall not be there: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth/ ” And the Lord did so; and there came a very grievous swarm of flies into the houses of Pharao and of his servants and into all the land of Egypt: and the land was cor¬ rupted by this kind of flies. And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “Go and sacrifice to your God in this land.” And Moses said, “It cannot be so, for we shall sacrifice the abominations of the Egyptians 9 to the Lord our God; now if we kill those things which the Egyptians worship, in their presence, they will stone us. We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and we will sacrifice to the Lord our God as He hath commanded us.” And Pharao said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; but go no farther; pray for me.” And Moses said, “I will go out from thee, and will pray to the Lord, and the flies shall depart from Pharao, and from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. But do not deceive any more, in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” So Moses went out from Pharao, and prayed to the Lord. And he did according to his word; and he took away the flies from Pharao and from his servants and from his people, and there was not left so much as one. And Pharao’s heart was hardened, so that neither this time would he let them go. MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES 69 The Very Grievous Murrain: And the Lord said to Moses, 44 Go into Pharao, and say to him, ‘Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews; Let My people go to sacrifice to Me, but if thou refuse, and withhold them still, behold My hand shall be upon thy fields, and a very grievous murrain 10 upon thy horses and asses and camels and oxen and sheep: ’ and the Lord will make a wonderful difference between the possessions of Israel and the possessions of the Egyptians, that nothing at all shall die of those things that belong to children of Israel.” The Lord therefore did this thing the next day; and all the beasts of the Egyptians died; but of the beasts of the children of Israel there died not one. And Pharao sent to see; and there was not anything dead of that which Israel possessed. And Pharao’s heart was hardened and he did not let the people go. The Boils and Swelling Blains: And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 44 Take to you handfuls of ashes out of the chimney, and let Moses sprinkle it in the air in the presence of Pharao; and there be dust upon all the land of Egypt; for there shall be boils and swelling blains 11 both in men and beasts, in the whole land of Egypt.” And they took ashes out of the chimney, and stood before Pharao; and Moses sprinkled it in the air; and there came boils with swelling blains in men and beasts. And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart; 12 and he harkened not unto them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses. 70 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT The Thunder and Hail Mixed With Fire: And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch forth thy hand towards heaven, that there may be hail in the whole land of Egypt, upon men and upon beasts, and upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt.” And Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail and lightning, running along the ground: and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. And the hail, and fire, mixed with it, drove on together; and it was of so great bigness, as never before was seen in the whole land of Egypt since that nation was founded. And the hail destroyed through all the land of Egypt all things that were in the fields, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field; and it broke every tree of the country; only, in the land of Gessen, where the children of Israel were, the hail fell not. And Pharao sent and called Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “I have sinned this time also; the Lord is just; I and my people are wicked. Pray ye to the Lord that the thunderings of God and the hail may cease; that I may let you go, and that you may stay here no longer.” Moses said, “As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will stretch forth my hands to the Lord, and the thun¬ ders shall cease and the hail shall be no more; that thou mayest know that the earth is the Lord’s. But I know that neither thou nor thy servants do yet fear the Lord God.” And when Moses was gone from Pharao out of the city, he stretched forth his hands to the Lord, and the thunders MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES 71 and the hail ceased; neither did there drop any more rain upon the earth. And Pharao seeing that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, increased his sin; and his heart was hardened, and the heart of his servants; and it was made exceeding hard. Neither did he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had commanded, by the hand of Moses. The Locusts That Wasted all Things: And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch forth thy hand upon the land of Egypt unto the locust, that it come upon it and devour every herb that is left after the hail.” And Moses stretched forth his rod upon the land of Egypt; and the Lord brought a burning wind all that day and night; and when it was morning, the burning wind brought the locusts; 13 and they came up over the whole land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of the Egyptians, innumerable, the like as had not been before that time, nor shall be hereafter. And they covered the whole face of the earth, wasting all things, And the grass of the earth was devoured, and what fruits soever were on the trees, which the hail had left; and there re¬ mained not anything that was green on the trees, or in the herbs of the earth in all Egypt. Wherefore Pharao in haste called Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you; but now forgive me my sin this time also, and pray to the Lord your God that He take away from me this death.” 72 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And Moses going forth from the presence of Pharao ? prayed to the Lord. And He made a very strong wind to blow from the west; and it took the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea: there remained not so much as one in all the coasts of Egypt. And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart; neither would he let the children of Israel go. The Darkness That Could be Felt: And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out thy hand towards heaven; and may there be darkness upon the land of Egypt, so thick that it may be felt.” And Moses stretched forth his hand towards heaven, and there came horrible darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. No man saw his brother, nor moved himself out of the place where he was. But wheresoever the children of Israel dwelt, there was light. And Pharao called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “Go sacrifice to the Lord; let your sheep only and herds remain; let your children go with you.” Moses said, “All the flocks shall go with us; there shall not a hoof remain of them, for they are necessary for the service of the Lord our God; especially as we know not what must be offered, till we come to the very place.” And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, and he would not let them go. And Pharao said to Moses, “Get thee from me, and beware thou see not my face any more; in what day soever thou shalt come in my sight, thou shalt die.” 73 MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES Moses answered, “So shall it be as thou hast spoken; I will not see thy face any more/’ The Death of the First Born: And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This month shall be to you the beginning of months: it shall be first in the months of the year. Speak ye to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and say to them: 'On the tenth day of this month let every man take a lamb by their families and houses. But if the number be less than may suffice to eat the lamb, he shall take unto him his neighbor that joineth to his house, according to the number of souls which may be enough to eat the lamb. And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a male of one year: according to which rite also you shall take a kid. And keep you it until the fourteenth day of this month; and the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door-posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh that night, roasted at the fire; and unleavened bread, 14 with wild lettuce. 15 You shall not eat thereof anything raw, nor boiled in water, but only roasted at the fire; you shall eat the head with the feet and entrails thereof. Neither shall there remain anything of it until morning. If there be anything left, you shall burn it with fire. And thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your reins, and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands; and you shall eat in haste: for it is the Passover of the Lord. And I will pass through the 74 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT land of Egypt that night, and will kill every first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be unto you for a sign, in the houses where you shall be: and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you; and the plague shall not be up on you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt. And this day shall be for a memorial 16 to you: and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord in your gen¬ erations with an everlasting observ- ance. And Moses called all the ancients of the children of Israel, and said to them, Go take a lamb by your families, and sacrifice the Passover. And dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood that is at the door, and sprinkle the transom of the door therewith, and both the door cheeks: let none of you go out of the door of his house till morning. For the Lord will pass through striking the Egyptians: and when He shall see the blood The Pasch. MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES 75 on the transom, and on both the posts, He will pass over the door of the house, and not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses and to hurt you/ And the children of Israel going forth did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. And it came to pass, at mid¬ night, the Lord slew every first¬ born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharao, who sat on his # throne, unto the first -born of the captive woman that was in the prison, and all the first¬ born of cattle. And P h a rao arose in the night, and all his ser¬ vants, and all Egypt; and there arose a great cry in Egypt: for there was not a house wherein there lay not one dead. And Pharao calling Moses and Aaron in the night, said, 44 Arise and go forth from among my people, you and the children of Israel; go, sacrifice to the Lord as you say. Your sheep and herds take along with you, as you demanded, and departing, bless me.” And the 76 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Egyptians pressed the people to go forth out of the land speedily, saying, We shall all die.” And the people therefore took dough before it was leavened: and tying it in their cloaks, put it on their shoulders. And they did as Moses had commanded: and they asked of the Egyptians vessels of silver and gold, and very much raiment. And the Lord gave favor to the people in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them: and they stripped the Egyptians. And the Lord went before them to shew the way, by day, in a pillar of a cloud, and by night, in a pillar of fire: 17 that He might be the guide of their journey at both times. The Passage of the Red Sea: And the Lord hard¬ ened the heart of Pharao, king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel. And when the Egyptians followed the steps of them who were gone before, th,ey found them encamped at the sea side. And when Pharao drew near, the children of Israel, lifting up their eyes, saw the Egyptians behind them: and they feared exceedingly, and cried to the Lord. And they said to Moses, “Per¬ haps there were no graves in Egypt, therefore thou hast brought us to die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not: stand and see the great wonders of the Lord, which He will do this day: for the Egyptians, whom you see now, you shall see no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Why criest thou to Me? Speak to the children of Israel to go forward. But MOSES AND THE TEN PLAGUES 77 lift thou up thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and divide it; that the children of Israel may go through the midst of the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the heart of the Egyptians to pursue you: and I will be glorified in Pharao, and in all his host, and in his chariots and in his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And the angel of God who went before the camp of Israel, removing, went behind them: and, together with him, the pillar of the cloud, leaving the fore part, stood behind, between the Egyptians’ camp and the camp of Israel: and it was a dark cloud for them, but enlightened the night for these, so that they could not come at one another all the night. And when Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, the Lord took it away by a strong and burning wind blowing all the night, and turned it into dry ground: and the water was divided. And the children of Israel went in through the midst of the sea dried up: for the water was as a wall on their right hand and on their left. And the Egyptians, pursuing, went in after them; and all Pharao’s horses, his chariots and horsemen, through the midst of the sea. And now the morning watch was come, and behold, the Lord, looking upon the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, slew their host, and overthrew the wheels of the chariots; and they were carried into the deep. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel: for the Lord fighteth for them against us.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch forth thy hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians; upon their chariots and horsemen.” 78 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And when Moses had stretched forth his hand towards the sea, it returned at the first break of day to the former place. And as the Egyptians were fleeing away, the waters came upon them, and the Lord shut them up in the middle of the waves. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the army of Pharao, who had come into the sea after them, neither did there so much as one of them remain. And the Lord delivered Israel on that day out of the hands of the Egyptians. And they saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore, and the mighty hand that the Lord had used against them; and the people feared the Lord; and they believed the Lord, and Moses, His servant. V. THE EXODUS. How Bitter Waters Were Made Sweet: And Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; and they went forth into the wilderness 1 of Sur; and they marched three days through the wilderness and found no water. And they came into Mara; and they could not drink the waters of Mara, because they were bitter; whereupon he gave a name also agreeable to the place, calling it Mara, that is, bitterness. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” But he cried to the Lord. And He showed him a tree, which, when he cast into the waters, they were turned into sweetness. 2 The Giving of the Commandments: In the third month of the departure of Israel out of the land of Egypt they came into the wilderness of Sinai, and there Israel pitched their tents over against the mountain. 3 And Moses went up to God. And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; and let them be ready against the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.” And Moses came down the Mount to the people, and sanctified them. And when they had washed their 80 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT garments, he said to them, “Be ready against the third day.” And now the third day was come, and the morning appeared: and behold thunders began to be heard, and lightning to flash, and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the trumpet sounded exceeding loud, and the people that was in the camp feared. And when Moses had brought them forth to meet God from the place of the camp, they stood at the bottom of the mount. And all Mount Sinai was on a smoke, because the Lord was come down upon it in fire, and the smoke arose from it as out of a furnace: and all the Mount was terrible. And the sound of the trumpet grew by degrees louder and louder, and was drawn out to a greater length : 4 Moses spoke and God answered him. And the Lord spoke all these words : 5 “I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto thousands to them that love Me, and keep My commandments. “ Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain. THE EXODUS 81 “Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days shalt thou labor and shalt do all thy works, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, not thy maid-servant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. “Honor thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long lived upon the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee. “Thou shalt not kill. “Thou shalt not commit adultery. “Thou shalt not steal. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neigh¬ bor. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house: neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his hand¬ maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his.” So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice: “We will do all the words of the Lord which He hath spoken.” The Tables of the Law: And the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me into the mount, and be there, and I will give thee tables of stone, and the law, and the commandments which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.” 82 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Moses rose up, and his minister Josue. And Moses going up into the Mount of God, said to the ancients, “Wait ye here till we return to you. You have Aaron and Hur with you; if any question shall arise you shall refer it to them.” And when Moses was gone up, a cloud covered the mount ; and the glory of the Lord dwelt upon Sinai, covering it with a cloud six days; and the seventh day He called him out of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like a burning fire upon the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses entering into the midst of the cloud, went up into the mountain; and he was there forty days and forty nights. And the Lord gave to Moses two stone-tables 6 of testimony, written with the finger of God. And Moses returned from the mount, carrying the two tables of testimony in his hand, written on both sides, and made The Tables of Stone. THE EXODUS 83 by the work of God: the writing also of God was graven in the tables. 4 - The Tabernacle in the Wilderness: And all the multitude of the children of Israel offered first-fruits 7 to the Lord with a most ready and devout mind, to make the work of the Tabernacle of the Testimony . 8 And Moses reared it up . 9 And on the day that the Tabernacle was reared up a cloud covered it; but from the evening, there was' over the Tabernacle, as it were the appearance of fire, until morning. So it was always; by day the cloud covered it, and by night, as it were the appearance of fire. And when the cloud that covered the Tabernacle was taken up, then the children of Israel marched for¬ ward; and in the place where the cloud stood still, there they camped. If the cloud tarried from evening until morning, and immediately at break of day left the Tabernacle, they marched forward; but if it remained over the Tabernacle for two days, or a month, or a longer time, the children of Israel remained in the same place and marched not: but immediately as soon as it departed they removed the camp. Moses also taking the Tabernacle, pitched it without the camp, afar off, and called the name thereof, “The Tabernacle of the Covenant.” And all the people that had any question, went forth to the Tabernacle of the Covenant without the camp. And when Moses went forth to the Tabernacle, all the people rose up, and every one stood in the door of his tent, and they beheld the back of Moses, till he went into the Tabernacle. And 84 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT when he was gone into the Tabernacle of the Covenant, the pillar of cloud came down and stood at the door, and He spoke with Moses. And all saw that the pillar of cloud stood at the door of the Tabernacle. And they stood and worshipped at the doors of their tents. And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man is wont to speak to his friend. And when he returned into the camp, his servant, Josue, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not from the Tabernacle. The Manna: In the second year, in the second month, the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was taken up from the Tabernacle of the Covenant, and the children of Israel marched by their troops from the desert of Sinai, and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Pharan. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, saying, “Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the flesh pots, and ate bread to the full. Why have you brought us into this desert that you might destroy all the multitude with famine?” And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you; let the people go forth, and gather what is sufficient for every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no.” And Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole con¬ gregation of the children of Israel; 'come before the Lord, for He hath heard your murmurings.’ ” And when Aaron spoke to all the assembly of the children of Israel they looked towards the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud. THE EXODUS 85 And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, “I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel, say to them, 4 In the morning you shall have your fill of bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God . 5 55 So it came to pass in the morning, a dew lay round about the camp. And when it had covered the face of the earth, it ap¬ peared in the wild¬ erness small, and as it were beaten with a pestle, like unto the hoar - frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to Gathering the Manna. another, “Manhu!” which signifieth, “What is it , 55 for they knew not what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. And this is the word that the Lord hath commanded: Let every one gather of it as much as is enough to eat, a gomor 10 for every man; 86 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT according to the number of your souls that dwell in a tent, so shall you take it.” And the children of Israel did so; and they gathered, one more, another less. And they measured by the measure of a gomor: neither had he more that had gathered more: nor did he find less that had provided less; but every one had gathered, according to what they were able to eat. And Moses said to them, Let no man leave thereof till the morning.” And they hearkened not to him, but some of them left until the morning, and it began to be full of worms, and it putrified, and Moses was angry with them. But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much, that is, two gomors every man; and it did not putrify, neither was there a worm found in it. And Moses said, “ Eat today, because it is the Sabbath of the Lord: today it shall not be found in the field. Gather it six days, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord; therefore it shall not be found.” And the seventh day came, and some of the people going forth to gather, found none. And the house of Israel called the name thereof “Manna ;” 11 and it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste thereof, like to flour with honey. And the children of Israel ate Manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land: with this meat were they fed until they reached the borders of the land of Chanaan . 12 The Rock That Gave Forth a Stream of Water: And there was no water for the people to drink. And the THE EXODUS 87 people, wanting water, came together against Moses and Aaron, and making a sedition, they said, “Would God we had perished among our brethren before the Lord. Why have you brought out the congregation of the Lord into the wilderness, that both we and our cattle should die? Why have you made us come up out of Egypt, and have brought us into this wretched place which cannot Water from the Rock. be sowed, nor bringeth forth figs, nor vines, nor pomegran¬ ates; neither is there any water to drink.” And Moses and Aaron leaving the multitude, went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant, and fell flat upon the ground, and cried to the Lord, and said, “ O Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them Thy treasure, a fountain of living water, that being satisfied, they may cease to murmur.” And the glory of the Lord appeared over them; and the Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Take the rod and 88 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT assemble the people together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall yield waters. And when thou hast brought forth water out of the rock, all the multitude and their cattle shall drink.” Moses therefore having gathered the multitude before the rock, said to them, Hear, ye rebellious and incredu¬ lous: can we bring you forth water out of this rock?” And when Moses had lifted up his hand, and struck the rock twice with the rod, there came forth water in great abundance, so that the people and their cattle drank . 13 A Prayer of Moses With Uplifted Hands: And Amelec 14 came and fought against Israel in Raphidim. And Moses said to Josue, 4 'Choose out men and go out and fight against Amelec. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, having the rod of God in my hand.” Josue did as Moses had spoken, and he fought against Amelec. But Moses and Aaron and Hur went up upon the top of the hill; and when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame, but if he let them down a little, Amelec over¬ came. And Moses’ hands were heavy, so they took a stone and put under him, and he sat on it, and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on both sides. And it came to pass that his hands were not weary until sunset. And Josue put Amelec and his people to flight by the edge of the sword. The Price of Murmuring: And the Lord appeared to Moses, saying, “Send men to view the land of Chanaan, which I will give to the children of Israel.” THE EXODUS 89 And Moses did what the Lord had commanded. And he sent from the desert of Pharan principal men, saying to them, “Go you up by the south side, and when you come to the mountains, view the land, of what sort it is; and the people that are the inhabitants thereof, whether they be strong or weak, few in number or many; the land itself, whether it be good or bad; what manner of cities, walled or without walls; the ground, fat or barren, woody or without trees. Be of good courage, and bring us of the fruits of the land.” And when the men were gone up, they viewed the land 10 from the desert of Sin, unto Rohob. And going forward as far as the “Brook of the Cluster of Grapes,” they cut off a branch with its cluster of grapes, which two men carried upon a lever . 16 They took also of the pome¬ granates and of the figs. And they returned, after forty days, having gone round all the country; and they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the assembly of the children of Israel to the desert of Pharan, which is in Cades. And speaking to them and to all the multitude, they showed them the fruits of the land, and they related and said, “We came into the land to which thou sentest us, which in very deed floweth with milk and honey, as may be known by these fruits; but it hath very strong inhabitants, and the cities are great and walled.” In the meantime Caleb, (who himself also had viewed the land) to still the murmuring of the people 17 that rose against Moses, said, “Let us go up and possess the land, for we shall be able to conquer it.” 90 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT But the others that had been with him said, “No, we are not able to go up to this people, because they are stronger than we.” And they spoke ill of the land which they had viewed before the children of Israel, saying, “The land which we have viewed devoureth its inhabi¬ tants : 18 the people that we beheld, are of a tall stature. There we saw cer¬ tain monsters of sons of Enac, of the giant kind, in com¬ parison of whom we seem like locusts.” Therefore the whole multitude crying wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron saying, “Would God that we had died in Egypt; and would God that we may die in this vast wilderness, and that the Lord may not bring us into this land, lest we fall by the sword, and our wives and our children be led away captives. Is it not better to return into Egypt?” And they said one to another, “Let us appoint a captain, and let us return into Egypt.” The Return of the Spies. THE EXODUS 91 And when Moses and Aaron heard this they fell flat upon the ground before the multitude of the children of Israel. But Josue, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Japhone, who themselves also had viewed the land, rent their garments and said to all the multitude of the children of Israel, 4 'The land which we have gone round is very good; if the Lord be favorable, He will bring us into it, and give us a land flowing with milk and honey. Be not rebellious against the Lord, and fear ye not the people of this land, for we are able to eat them up as bread. All aid is gone from them: the Lord is with us: fear ye not.” And when all the multitude cried out, and would have stoned them, the glory of the Lord appeared over the Tabernacle of the Covenant to all the children of Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, "How long doth this wicked multitude murmur against Me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Say therefore to them, ‘ All you that were numbered from twenty years old and upwards, and have murmured against Me, shall not enter into the land which I lifted up My hand to make you dwell therein, except Caleb, the son of Japhone, and Josue, the son of Nun. But your children, of whom you said that they should be a prey to the enemies, will I bring in, that they may see the land which you have despised. Your carcasses shall lie in the wilderness; and your children shall wander in the desert forty years until the carcasses of their fathers be consumed in the desert, according to the number of the forty days, wherein you viewed the land. But return you, and go into the wilder¬ ness by way of the Red Sea.’ ” 92 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And departing from thence, they came into the wilder¬ ness that leadeth to the Red Sea as the Lord had spoken. The Budding of Aaron’s Rod: And behold, Core, the son of Isaar, and Dathan and Abiron, the sons of Eliab, and Hon, the son of Pheleth, rose up against Moses, and with them two hundred and fifty others of the children of Israel, leading men of the Synagogue. And when they had stood up against Moses and Aaron, they said, “Let it be enough for you that all the multitude is holy , 19 and the Lord is among them: why lift ye up yourselves above the people of the Lord?” And when Moses heard it he fell flat on his face. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod by their kindreds; of all the princes of the tribes, twelve rods; and write the name of every man upon his rod; and the name of Aaron shall be for the tribe of Levi; and one rod shall contain all their families. And thou shalt lay them up in the Tabernacle of the Covenant before the testimony, where I shall speak to thee. Whomsoever of these I shall choose, his rod shall blossom; and I will make to cease from Me the murmurings of the children of Israel, wherewith they murmur against you.” And Moses spoke to the children of Israel. And all the princes gave him rods, one for every tribe: and there were twelve rods besides the rod of Aaron. And when Moses had laid them up before the Lord in the Tabernacle of the Testimony, he returned on the follow¬ ing day, and found that the rod of Aaron, for the house THE EXODUS 93 of Levi, had budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds . 20 Moses therefore brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel: and they saw, and every one received their rods. But the rod of Aaron was carried back into the Tabernacle of the Testimony that The Serpent of Brass. it might be kept there for a token of the rebellious children of Israel. And the Lord said to Aaron, “Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. All things that are sanctified by the children of Israel, I have delivered to thee and to thy sons for the priestly office, by everlasting ordinances.” The Brazen Serpent: And the people began to be weary of their journey and labor. And speaking against God and Moses, they said, “Why didst thou bring us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, nor 94 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT have we any waters: our soul now loatheth this very light food .” 21 Wherefore the Lord sent among the people fiery serpents, which bit them and killed many of them. Upon which they came to Moses and said, “We have sinned because we have spoken against the Lord and thee; pray that He may take away the serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign.” Which, when they that were bitten looked upon, they were healed . 22 The Call of Josue: And the children of Israel came at length to the mountains of Abarim, over against Nabo. And the Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain Moses’ Successor. THE EXODUS 95 of Abarim, and view from thence the land which I will give to the children of Israel. And when thou shalt have seen it, thou shalt go to thy people.” And Moses answered Him, 44 May the Lord God of the spirits of all flesh provide a man that may be over this multitude, and may go out and in before them, and may lead them out or bring them in, lest the people of the Lord be as sheep without a shepherd.” And the Lord said to him, 44 Take Josue , 23 the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and put thy hand upon him. And he shall stand before Eleazar, the priest, and all the multitude.” And Moses did as the Lord had commanded him. And He said to Josue before all the multitude, 44 Take courage and be valiant; for thou shalt bring this people into the land which the Lord swore He would give to their fathers, and thou shalt divide it by lot. And the Lord who is your leader, He himself will be with thee; He will not leave thee, nor forsake thee; fear not, neither be dis¬ mayed.” The Death of Moses: And departing from the mountains of Abarim, the children of Israel passed to the plains of Moab. Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab upon Mount Nebo , 24 to the top of Phasga, over against Jericho: And the Lord showed him all the land of Galaad as far as Dan; and all Nephtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasses, and all the land of Juda to the furthermost sea; and the south part, and the breadth of the plain of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Segor. 96 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And the Lord said to him, “This is the land for which I swore to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, saying, *I will give it to thy seed.’ Thou hast seen it with thy eyes, and shalt not pass over to it .” 25 And Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there, in the land of Moab, by the commandment of the Lord. And He buried him in the valley of the land of Moab, over against Phogor: and no man hath known of his sepulchre un¬ til this present day. And there arose no more a prophet in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. The Passage of the Jordan: Now it came to pass after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Josue, the son of Nun, and said to him, “Moses, My servant is dead; arise, and pass over this Jordan, thou and thy people with thee, into the land which I will give to the children of Israel. I will deliver THE EXODUS 97 to you every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, as I have said to Moses.” And Josue rose before daylight, and removed the camp; and they departed from Setim, and came to the Jordan; he and all the children of Israel. And they abode there for three days. After which, he said to the The Passage of the Jordan. people, “Be ye sanctified, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” And he said to the priests, “Take up the Ark of the Covenant, and go before the people.” So the people went out of their tents, to pass over the Jordan: and the priests that carried the Ark of the Covenant, went before them. And as soon as they came into the Jordan, and their feet were dipped in part of the water, the waters that came down from above, stood in one place, and swelling up like a mountain, were seen afar off from the city that is called Adorn, to the place of 98 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Sarthan: but those that were beneath, ran down into the sea of the wilderness, which now is called the Dead Sea, until they wholly failed. And the people marched over against Jericho: and the priests that carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, stood girded upon the dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all the people passed over through the channel that was dried up. The Fall of Jericho: And the people came up out of the Jordan, the tenth of the first month, and camped in Galgal, over against the east side of the city of Jericho. And when Josue was in the field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and saw a man standing over against him, holding a drawn sword; and he went up to him and said, “Art thou one of ours, or of our adversaries?” And he answered, “No; but I am prince of the host of the Lord, and now I am come.” And Josue fell on his face to the ground. And wor¬ shipping he said, “What saith my Lord to His servant?” “Loose,” said he, “thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy.” And Josue did as was commanded him. And the Lord said to Josue, “Behold, I have given into thy hands Jericho and the king thereof and all the valiant men. Go round about the city, all ye fighting men, once a day; so shall ye do for six days; and on the seventh day the priests shall take the seven trumpets, which are used in the Jubilee, and shall go before the Ark of the Covenant, and you shall go about the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets. And when the voice of the trumpets shall THE EXODUS 99 give a longer and broken tune, and shall sound in your ears, all the people shall shout together with a very great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall to the ground; and they shall enter in everyone at the place against which they shall stand.” And Josue, rising before day, the priests took the Ark of the Lord, and seven of them took seven trumpets which are used in the Jubilee; and they went before the Ark of the Lord, walking and sound¬ ing the trumpets; and the armed men went before them, and the rest of the common people fol¬ lowed the Ark; and they blew the trumpets. And they went round about the city the second day once, and returned into the camp. So they did six days. But the seventh day, rising up early, they went about the city, as it was ordered, seven times. And when in the seventh going about, the priests sounded with the trumpets, Josue said to Israel, “Shout, for the Lord hath delivered the The Angel Appearing to Josue. 100 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT city to you.” So all the people made a shout, and the trumpets sounded; and when the voice and the sound thundered in the ears of the multitude, the walls forth¬ with fell down; and every man went up by the place that was over against him; and they took the city. And the Lord was with Josue. And he took all the land, as the Lord spoke to Moses, and delivered in pos¬ session to the children of Israel, according to their divisions and tribes - 26 And the people obeyed him in all things. VI. THE JUDGES. How the Judges Came to Rule in Israel: After Josue and all that generation was gathered to their fathers, there arose others that knew not the Lord, and the works which He had done for Israel. And the child¬ ren of Israel left the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed strange gods, and the gods of the people that dwelled round about them; and they adored them; and they provoked the Lord to anger, forsaking Him and serving Baal and Astaroth 2 and the Lord, being angry against Israel, delivered them into the hands of plun- - derers, who took them and sold them to their enemies that dwelled round about; neither could they stand against their enemies. But whithersoever they meant to go, the hand of the Lord was upon them, as He had said, and as He had sworn to them: and they were greatly distressed. And the Lord heard the groanings of the afflicted, and was moved to mercy, and raised up judges 4 to deliver them from the hands of those that oppressed them. But after the judge was dead, they returned and did much worse things than their fathers had done, following strange gods, serving them and adoring them. Gedeon and the Battle of the Lamps and Pitch¬ ers: And the children of Israel did evil in the sight 102 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT of the Lord, and He delivered them 3 into the hand of Madian 4 seven years. And Israel was humbled exceed¬ ingly in the sight of Madian, and he cried to the Lord, desiring help against the Madianites. And an angel of the Lord came and sat under an oak, that was in Ephra, and belonged to Joas, the father of the family of Ezri. And Gedeon, the son of Joas, was thrashing and cleansing wheat by the winepress . 5 And the angel of the Lord ap¬ peared to him and said, “The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of 11160/’ “And Gedeon said to him, “I beseech Thee, my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why have these evils fallen upon us? Where are His miracles which our fathers have told us of, saying, 4 The Lord brought us out of Egypt'; but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of Madian.” And the Lord looked upon him, and said, 44 Go in this thy strength, and thou shalt deliver Israel out of the hand of Madian. Know that I have sent thee.” He answered and said, “I beseech Thee, my Lord, wherewith shall I deliver Israel. Behold, my family is the meanest in Manasses, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the Lord said to him, 44 1 will be with thee, and thou shalt cut off Madian as one man.” And Gedeon said to God, 44 If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as Thou hast said, I will put this fleece of wool on the floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground beside, I shall know that by my hand as Thou hast said Thou wilt deliver Israel.” THE JUDGES 103 And it was so; and rising before day, wringing the fleece, he filled a vessel with the dew. And he said again to God, “Let not Thy wrath be kindled against me if I try once more, seeking a sign in the fleece. I pray that the fleece only may be dry, and all the ground wet with dew.” And God did that night as he had requested; and it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. Then Gedeon, rising up early, called together a great multitude from Manasses, and Aser, and Zabublon, and Nepthali, and came to the fountain that is called Hared; the camp of Madian being in the valley on the north side of the high hill. And the Lord said to Gedeon, “The people that are with thee are many, and Madian shall not be delivered into their hands, lest Israel should glory against me and say, ‘I was delivered by my own strength.’ Speak to the people, and proclaim in the hearing of all; Whosoever is fearful and timorous let him return.” So two and twenty thousand men went away from Mount Galaad and returned home; and only ten thousand remained. And the Lord said to Gedeon, “The people are still too many, bring them to the waters and there I will try them: and of whom I shall say to thee, ‘This shall go with thee,’ let him go; whom I shall forbid to go, let him return.” And when the people were come down to the waters, the Lord said to Gedeon, “They that shall lap the water with their tongues, as dogs are wont to lap, thou slialt 104 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT set apart by themselves; but they that shall drink, bowing down their knees, shall be on the other side.” And the number of them that had lapped water, casting it with their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; and all the rest of the multitude had drunk kneeling. And the Lord said to Gedeon, “By the three hundred men that lapped water, I will save you and deliver Madian Gedeon Chooses His Soldiers. into thy hand; but let all the rest of the people return to their place.” So taking trumpets and victuals accord¬ ing to their number, he ordered all the rest of the multitude to depart to their tents; and he, with the three hundred gave himself to battle That same night, the Lord said to Gedeon, “Arise and go into the camp, because I have delivered them into thy hand. But if thou be afraid to go alone, let Pliara, thy servant, go down with thee. And when thou shalt hear THE JUDGES 105 what they are saying, then shalt thy hands be strength¬ ened, and thou shalt go down more secure to the enemies’ camp.” Now Madian and Ameleck and all the eastern people lay scattered in the valley, as a multitude of locusts; their camels also were innumerable as the sand that lieth on the sea shore. And Gedeon went down with Phara his ser¬ vant, into that part of their camp where was the watch of men in arms. And when Gedeon was come, one told his neighbor a dream; and in this manner he related what he had seen:—“I dreamt a dream, and it seemed to me as if a hearth cake of barley bread rolled and came down into the camp of Madian; and when it was come to a tent, it struck it, and beat it down flat to the ground.” He to whom he spoke answered, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gedeon, the son of Joas, a man of Israel; for the Lord hath delivered Madian, and all their camp into his hand.” And when Gedeon had heard the dream and the inter¬ pretation thereof, he adored, and returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord hath delivered the camp of Madian into our hands.” And he divided the three hundred men into three parts, and gave them trumpets in their hands, and empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. And he said to them, “What you shall see me do, do you the same: I will go into one part of the camp, and do you as I shall do. When the trumpet shall sound in my hand, do you also blow the trumpets on every side of the camp.” 106 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And Gedeon, and the three hundred men that were with him went into part of the camp at the beginning of the midnight watch. And the watchmen being alarmed, they began to sound their trumpets, and to clap the pitchers, one against another. And when they sounded their trumpets in three places round about the camp, and had broken their pitchers, they held their lamps in The Flight of the Madianites. their left hands, and in their right hands the trumpets which they blew; and they cried out, ‘‘The sword of the Lord and of Gedeon”; standing every man in his place round about the enemies’ camp. So all the camp was troubled, and crying out and howling, they fled away. And the three hundred men nevertheless, persisted sound¬ ing their trumpets. And the Lord sent the sword into all the camp, and they killed one another; fleeing as far as Bethsetta. THE JUDGES 107 And Madian was humbled before the children of Israel, neither could they any more lift up their heads; but the land rested forty years, while Gedeon presided. Samson and the Jaw Bone of an Ass: And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and He delivered them into the hands of the Philistines 6 forty years. Now there was a certain man of Saraa, and of the race of Dan, whose name was Manue; and an angel of the Lord appeared to his wife and said, “ Behold, thou shall conceive and bear a son, and no razor shall touch his head, for he shall be a Nazarite 9 of God, from his infancy until the day of his death.” And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson; and the child grew and the Lord blessed him. And the spirit of the Lord began to be with Samson; and he wrought great slaughter among the Philistines, and he consumed with fire their vineyards and olive yards. And the Philistines going up into the land of Juda, camped in the place which afterwards was called Lechi, that is, the jaw bone, where their army was spread. And the men of the tribe of Juda said to them, “Why are you come up against us.” They answered, “We are come to bind Samson, and to pay him for what he hath done against us.” Therefore three thousand men of Juda went down to the cave of the rock Etam, where Samson was and said to him, “Knowest thou not that the Philistines rule over us; why sliouldst thou do thus?” 108 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And he said, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.” And they said, “We are come to bind thee and to deliver thee into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me, and promise me that you will not kill me.” They said, “We will not kill thee; but we will deliver thee up bound.” And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him back from the rock of Etam. Now when he was come to the place of the Jaw Bone, and the Philistines, shouting, went to meet him, the spirit of the Lord came strongly upon him and as flax is wont to be consumed at the approach of fire, so the bands with which he was bound, were broken and loosed. And finding a jaw bone, even the jaw bone of an ass, which lay there, catching it up, he slew therewith a thousand men. The Secret of Samson's Strength: After this Samson loved a woman who lived in the valley of Sorec; and she was called Delila. And the princes of the Philis¬ tines came to her and said, “Deceive him, and learn of him wherein his great strength lieth, and how we may be able to overcome him, to bind and afflict him; which, it thou wilt do, we will give thee, every one of us, eleven hundred pieces of silver.” And Dalila said to Samson, “Tell me, I beseech thee, wherein thy greatest strength lieth; and what it is wherewith if thou wert bound thou couldst not break loose.” THE JUDGES 109 And Samson answered her, “If I shall be bound with seven cords made of sinews , 9 not yet dry, but still moist, I shall be weak like other men.” And the princes of the Philistines brought unto her seven cords, such as he spoke of, with which she bound him; men lying pri¬ vately in wait with her and in the chamber, expecting the event of the thing. And she cried out to him, “The Philistines are upon thee Samson.” And he broke the bonds as a man would break a thread of tow twined with spittle when it smell - eth the fire. So it was not known wherein his strength ] a y Samson and Dalila. And Dalila said to him, “Behold thou hast mocked me, and hast told me a false thing; but now at least tell me wherewith thou mayest be bound?” And he answered her, “If I shall be bound with new ropes that were never in work, I shall be weak and like other men.” 110 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Dalila bound him again with these, and cried out, “The Philistines are upon thee Samson”; there being an ambush prepared for him in the chamber. But he broke the bands like the threads of webs. And Dalila said to him again, “How long dost thou deceive me and tell me lies? Show me wherewith thou mayest be bound.” Putting Out Samson’s Eyes. And Samson answered her, “If thou plattest the seven locks of my head with a lace , 13 and tying them round about a nail, fastenest it in the ground, I shall be weak.” And when Dalila had done this, she said to him, “The Philistines are upon thee, Samson.” And awaken¬ ing out of his sleep, he drew out the nail with the hairs and the lace. And Dalila said to him, “How dost thou say thou lovest me, when thy mind is not with me? Thou hast told me lies these three times, and wouldst not tell me THE JUDGES 111 wherein thy strength lieth.” And when she pressed him much, and continually hung upon him for many days, giving him no time to rest, his soul fainted away, and was wearied even until death. Then opening the truth of the thing, he said to her, “The razor hath never come upon my head, for I am a The Capture of Samson. Nazarite, that is to say, consecrated to God from my mother’s womb: if my head be shaven, my strength shall depart from me, and I shall become weak and shall be like other men.” Then seeing that he had discovered to her all his mind, she went to the princes of the Philistines saying, “Come up this once more; for now he hath opened his heart to me.” And they went up taking with them the 112 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT money which they had promised. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called a barber and shaved his seven locks; and she began to drive him away and thrust him from her, for immediately his strength de¬ parted from him. Then the Philistines seized upon him, and forthwith pulled out his eyes, and led him bound in chains to Gaza, and shutting him up in prison, made him grind. And now his hair began to grow again. And the princes of the Philistines assembled together to offer great sacrifice to Dagon , 10 their god, and to make merry saying, 44 Our god hath delivered our enemy Samson into our hands.” And the people also, seeing this, praised their god, and said the same: 44 Our god hath delivered our adversary into our hands, him that destroyed our country and killed very many.” And rejoicing in their feasts, when they had now taken good cheer, they commanded that Samson should be called, and should play before them . 11 And being brought out of prison, he played before them; and they made him stand between two pillars. And he said to the lad that guided his steps, 44 Suffer me to touch the pillars which support the whole house; and let me lean upon them, and rest a little.” Now the house was full of men and women; and all the princes of the Philistines were there. Moreover about three thousand of both sexes from the roof and the higher part of the house were beholding Samson’s play. But he called upon the Lord, saying, 44 O Lord remember me; and restore to me now my former strength, O my God, that I may ■ THE JUDGES 113 revenge myself on my enemies; and for the loss of my two eyes, I may take one revenge.” And laying hold on both the pillars on which the house rested, and holding the one with his right hand, and the other with his left, he said, “Let me die with the Philis¬ tines.” And when he had strongly shook the pillars, the house fell upon all the princes and the rest of the mul¬ titude that was there; and he killed many more at his death, than he had killed before in his life. And all his breth¬ ren and his kin¬ dred, going down, took his body and ! • i *, • The Death of Samson. buried it m the burying place of his father Manue: and he judged Israel twenty years. The Birth of Samuel: There was a man of Mount Ephraim, and his name was Elcana, and the name of his wife was Anna. Anna had no children, wherefore her heart was full of grief, and she prayed to the Lord, shedding many 114 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT tears; and she made a vow saying, “O Lord of Hosts, if Thou wilt look down on the affliction of Thy servant, and wilt be mindful of me, and not forget Thy handmaid, and wilt give to Thy servant a man-child, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life; and no razor shall come upon his head .” 12 And the Lord re¬ membered her. And Anna con¬ ceived and bore a son; and she called his name Samuel , 13 because she had asked him of the Lord. And after she had weaned him, she carried him with her, with three calves and three Bringing Samuel to the Temple. bushels of flour and a bottle of wine , 14 and she brought him to the house of the Lord in Silo, and offered him to Heli, the priest, saying, “For this child did I pray, and the Lord hath granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; all the days of his life he shall be lent to the Lord.” And they adored the Lord, and returned to their house. But the child ministered in the THE JUDGES 115 sight of the Lord before Heli, the priest, who was very old. And he advanced and grew on, and pleased both God and man. The Call of Samuel: Now the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no manifest vision . 15 And it came to pass, one day, when Heli lay in his place, and his eyes were grown dim that he could not see, before the lamp of God went out, Samuel slept in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. And the Lord called to Samuel. And he answered, “Here am I.” And he ran to Heli and said, “Here am I; for thou didst call me. ” He said, “I did not call; go back and sleep.” And he went and slept. And the Lord called Samuel again. And Samuel arose and went to Heli, and said, “Here am I: for thou calledst me.” He answered, “I did not call thee, my son; return and sleep.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord; neither had the word of the Lord been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Heli, and said, “Here I am; for thou didst call me.” Then Heli understood that the Lord called the child, and he said to Samuel, “Go and sleep; and if He shall call thee any more, thou shalt say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. ’ ” So Samuel went and slept in his place. And the Lord came and stood: and He called, as He had called the other times, “Samuel, Samuel.” 116 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And Samuel said, “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.” And the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I do a thing in Israel; and whosoever shall hear it, both his ears shall tingle. In that day I will raise up against Heli all the things I have spok¬ en concerning his house ; 17 I will be¬ gin, and I will make an end. For I have foretold unto him that I will judge his house forever, for iniquity ; be¬ cause he knew that his sons did wicked¬ ly, and did not chastise them. Therefore have I sworn to the house of Heli, that the iniquity of his house shall not be expiated with victims nor offerings forever.” And Samuel slept till morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to tell the vision to Heli. Then Heli called Samuel, and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he answered, “Here am I.” And he asked him, “What is the word that the Lord hath spoken to thee? I beseech thee, hide it not from Samuel Praying Before the Ark. THE JUDGES 117 me. May God do so and so to thee , 16 and add so and so, if thou hide from me one word of all that were said to thee.” So Samuel told him all the words, and did not hide them from him. And he answered, “It is the Lord: let Him do what is good in His sight.” And Samuel grew and the Lord was with him; and not one of his words fell to the ground; and all Israel, from Dan to Bersabee, knew that he was a faithful prophet of the Lord. And he judged Israel all the days of his life. The End of the Judges’ Rule: And it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. And his sons walked not in his ways; but they turned aside after lucre, and took bribes and perverted judgment. Then all the ancients of Israel being assembled, came to Samuel, and they said to him, “Behold thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: make us a king to judge us, as all nations have.” And the word was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel , 18 that they should say, “Give us a king, to judge us”; and Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to thee. For they have not rejected thee, but Ale, that I should not reign over them. Now therefore, hearken to their voice, but yet testify to them, and fortell them the right of the king, that shall reign over them.” Then Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people that desired a king of him, and said: “Thiswill 118 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT be the right of the king, that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and put them in his chariots, and will make them his horsemen, and his running footmen, to run before his chariots, and he will appoint them to be his tribunes, and centurions, and to plough his fields, and to reap his corn, and to make him arms and chariots. Your daughters also he will take to make him ointments, and to be his cooks and bakers. And he will take your fields and your vineyards, and your best olive yards, and give them to his servants. Moreover he will take the tenth of your corn, and of the revenues of your vineyards, to give his courtiers and servants. Your servants also and handmaids, and your goodliest young men, and your asses he will take away and put them to his work. Your flocks also he will tithe, and you shall be his servants. And you shall cry out in that day from the face of the king, whom you have chosen to yourselves; and the Lord will not hear you in that day, because you desired unto yourselves a king.” But the people would not hear the voice of Samuel, and they said, 44 Nay: but there shall be a king over us. And we also will be like all nations; and our king shall judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles for us.” And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and rehearsed them in the the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, 44 Hearken to their voice and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel, 44 Let every man go to his own city .” 19 VII. KING SAUL. The Quest of Some Asses and What Came of it: Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Cis; and he had a son whose name was Saul; a choice and goodly man; and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he; from his shoulders and upward he appeared above all the people. And the asses of Cis, Saul’s father, were lost: and Cis said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with thee, and arise, go, and seek the asses.” And when they had passed through Mount Ephraim, and through the land of Salisa, and had not found them, they passed also through the land of Salim; and they were not there; and through the land of Jemini; and found them not. And when they were come to the land of Suph, Saul said to the servant that was with him, “Come let us return, lest my father forget the asses, and be concerned for us.” And he said to him, “Behold there is a man of God in this city, a famous man. All that he saith cometh certainly to pass. Now therefore let us go thither, perhaps he may tell us of our way, for which we are come.” And Saul said to his servant, “Behold, we will go. But what shall we carry to the man of God? The bread is spent in our bags; and we have no present to make to the man of God; nor any thing at all.” THE DIVINE TWILIGHT 120 The servant answered Saul again and said, “ Behold, there is found in my hand the fourth part of a side of silver ; 1 let us give it to the man of God, that he may tell us our way.” And Saul said to his servant, “Thy word is very good; come let us go.” And they went into the city where the man of God was. And when they went up the ascent to the city, they found maids coming out to draw water; and they said to them, “Is the seer 2 here?” They answered and said to them, u He is; behold, he is before you; make haste now, for he cometh today into the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people today in the high place . 3 As soon as you come into the city you shall immediately find him before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat till he come, because he blesseth the victim; and afterwards they eat that are invited . 4 Now therefore go up, for today you shall find him.” And they went up into the city. And when they were walking in the midst of the city, behold, Samuel was coming out over-against them, to go up to the high place. Now the Lord had revealed to the ear of Samuel the day before Saul came, saying, “ Tomorrow, about this same hour, I will send thee a man of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt annoint him to be ruler over my people Israel; and he shall save my people out of the hands of the Philistines; for I have looked down upon my people, because their cry is come to me.” And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “Behold, the KING SAUL 121 man of whom I spoke to thee; this man shall reign over my people.” And Saul came to Samuel in the midst of the gate and said, “Tell me, I pray thee, where is the house of the seer?” And Samuel answered Saul, saying, “I am the seer; go up before me to the high place, that you may eat with me today, and I will let thee go in the morning, and tell thee all that is in thy heart. And as for the asses, which were lost three days ago, be not solicitous, because they are found. And for whom shall be all the best things of Israel? Shall they not be for thee and thy father’s house.” And Saul answering, said, “Am not I a son of Jemini, of the least tribe of Israel: and my kindred the last among all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then hast thou spoken this word to me?” Then Samuel taking Saul and his servant, brought them into the parlour, and gave them a place at the head of them that were invited; for there were about thirty men. And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion, which I gave thee, and commanded thee to set it apart by thee.” And the cook took up the shoulder and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Behold, what is left; set it before thee and eat, because it was kept of purpose for thee, when I invited the people.” And Saul ate with Samuel that day. And they went down from the high place into the town, and he spoke with Saul on the top of the house . 5 And he prepared a bed for Saul on the top of the house; THE DIVINE TWILIGHT and he slept. And when they were risen in the morning and it began to grow light, Samuel called Saul on the top of the house, saying, “Rise, that I may let thee go.” And Saul arose; and they went out both of them; to wit, he and Samuel. And as they were going down in the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “ Speak to the servant Samuel Annointing Saul. to go before us, and pass on, but stand thou still awhile, that I may tell thee the word of the Lord.” And Samuel took a little vial of oil , 6 and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, “Behold, the Lord hath annointed thee to be prince over His inheritance; and thou shalt deliver His people out of the hands of their enemies that are round about them. And this shall be a sign unto thee, that God hath annointed thee to be prince: When thou KING SAUL 123 shalt depart from me this day, thou shalt find two men by the sepulchre of Rachel, and they shall say to thee: ‘The asses are found which thou wentest to seek; and thy father, thinking no more of the asses, is concerned for you . 5 And when thou shalt depart from thence, and go farther on, and shalt come to the oak of Thabor, there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine. And they will salute thee, and will give thee two loaves; and thou shalt take them at their hand. After that thou shalt come to the hill of God where the garrison is; and when thou shalt be come there into the city, thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place, with a psaltery 7 and a timbrel , 8 and a pipe, and a harp before them; and they shall be prophesying; and the spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be changed into another man. When therefore these signs shall happen to thee, do whatsoever thy hand shall find; for the Lord is with thee. And thou shalt go down before me to Galgal (for I will come down to thee) that thou mayest offer an oblation, and sacrifice victims of peace: seven days shalt thou wait till I come to thee, and I will show thee what thou art to do . 55 And when Saul had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave unto him another heart; and all these things came to pass that day. And they came to the foresaid hill; and behold a company of prophets met him, and the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he prophesied 124 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT in the midst of them. And all that had known him yes¬ terday and the day before, seeing that he was with the prophets and prophesied, said to each other, 44 What is this that hath happened to the son of Cis? Is Saul also among the prophets?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” And Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, 44 Whither went you?” They answered, 4k To seek the asses; and not finding them we went to Samuel.” And his uncle said to him, 44 Tell me what Samuel said to thee.” And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us that the asses were found.” But of the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken to him, he told him not. God Save the King: And Samuel called together the people of the Lord in Maspha. 9 And he said to the children of Israel, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, 4 1 have brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who afflicted you. But you this day have rejected your God, who only hath saved you out of all your evils and your tribulations; and you have said, 44 Nay: but set a king over us.” Now therefore, stand before the Lord by your tribes, and by your families.’ ” And Samuel brought to him all the tribes of Israel; and the lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin. And be brought the tribe of Benjamin, and the kindreds thereof; and KING SAUL 125 the lot fell upon the kindred of Metri; and it came to Saul, the son of Cis. They sought Saul therefore; and he was not found. And they consulted the Lord whether he would come hither; and the Lord answered, 44 Behold, he is hidden at home.” And they ran and fetched him thence. And he stood in the midst of the people; and he was higher than any of the people, from the shoulders and upward. And Samuel said to all the people, 44 Surely you see him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people.” And all the people cried and said, 44 God save the king.” 10 The Rejection of Saul : 11 And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to annoint thee king over Israel; now therefore hearken thou to the voice of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord of hosts, 4 1 have reckoned up all that Amalec hath done to Israel, how he opposed them in the way when they came up out of Egypt; 12 now there¬ fore, go and smite Amalec, and utterly destroy all that he hath; spare him not, nor covet anything that is his; but slay both man and woman, child and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.’ So Saul commanded the people, and numbered them as lambs; two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand of the men of Juda. And when he was come to the city of Amalec, he laid ambushes in the torrent; and he smote Amalec from Hevila, until thou comest to Sur, which is over-against Egypt. And he took Agag, 126 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT the king of Amalec, alive; but all the common people, he slew with the edge of the sword. And Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the flocks of sheep and of the herds, and the garments and rams, and all that was beautiful; and would not destroy them: but everything that was vile and good for nothing, that they destroyed. And the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, “It repenteth Me that I have made Saul king; for he hath forsaken Me, and hath not executed My command¬ ments.” 13 And Samuel was grieved, and he cried unto the Lord all night. And when Samuel rose early, to go to Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel that Saul was come to Carmel and had erected for himself a triumphant arch and returning had passed on, and gone down to Galgal. And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul was offering a holocaust to the Lord out of the choicest of the spoils which he had brought from Amalec. And when Samuel was come to Saul, Saul said to him, “Blessed be thou of the Lord; I have fulfilled the word of the Lord.” And Samuel said, “What meaneth then this bleating of the flocks, which soundeth in my ears, and the lowing of the herds which I hear?” And Saul said, “They have brought them from Amalec; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the herds, that they might be sacrificed to the Lord, thy God; but the rest we have slain.” And Samuel said to Saul, “Suffer me, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night.” KING SAUL 127 And lie said to him, “Speak.” And Samuel said, “When thou wast a little one in thy own eyes, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord annointed thee to be king over Israel. And the Lord sent thee on the way and said, ‘Go, and kill the sinners of Amalec; and thou shalt fight against them until thou hast utterly destroyed them/ Why then didst thou not hearken to the voice of the Lord, but hast turned to the prey, and hast done evil in the eyes of the Lord?” And Saul said to Samuel, “Yea, I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and have walked in the way by which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag, the king of Amalec, and Amalec I have slain. But the people took the spoils, sheep and oxen, as the first fruits of those things that were slain, to offer sacrifice to the Lord their God in Galgal.” And Samuel said, “Doth the Lord desire holocausts and victims, and not rather that the voice of the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifices; and to hearken, better than the fat of rams: because it is like the sin of witchcraft to rebel; and like the crime of idolatry, to refuse to obey. Forasmuch therefore, as thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord hath also rejected thee from being king.” And Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned because I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy word, fearing the people and obeying their voice. But now, hear, I beseech thee, my sin, and return with me that I may adore the Lord.” 128 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And Samuel said to Saul, 44 1 will not return with thee, because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord; and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.” And Samuel turned about to go away; but Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle; and it rent. Samuel Announcing to Saul His Rejection by God. And Samuel said to him, “The Lord hath rent the king¬ dom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to thy neighbor who is better than thee.” And Samuel departed to Ramatha: but Saul went up to his house in Gabaa. And Samuel saw Saul no more till the day of his death. Nevertheless, Samuel mourned for Saul, because the Lord repented that He had made him king over Israel. KING SAUL 129 The Annointing of David: And the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will thou mourn for Saul, whom I have rejected from reigning over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil, and come that I may send thee to Isai, the Bethlehemite: 14 for I have provided Me a king among his sons.” And Samuel said, “How shall I go, for Saul will hear of it, and he will kill me?” And the Lord said, “Thou shalt take with thee a calf of the herd, and thou shalt say, 4 1 am come to sacri¬ fice to the Lord/ And thou shalt call Isai to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou art to do, and thou shalt annoint him whom I shall show to thee.” Then Samuel did as the Lord had said to him. And he came to Bethlehem. And the ancients of the city wondered; and meeting him, they said, “Is thy coming hither peaceable?” And he said, “It is peaceable: I am come to offer sacrifice to the Lord; be ye sanctified, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Isai and his sons; and he called them to the sacrifice. And when they were come in, he saw Eliab, 15 and he said, 44 Is the Lord’s annointed before Him?” And the Lord said, 4 4 Look not on his countenance, nor on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; nor do I judge according to the look of man:for man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord behold- eth the heart.” Then Isai called Abinadab, and brought him before Samuel. And he said, 44 Neither hath the Lord chosen this. ” 130 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And Isai brought in Samma; and he said of him, “Neither hath the Lord chosen this.” Isai therefore brought his seven sons before Samuel. And Samuel said to Isai, “The Lord hath not chosen any of these.” The Annointing of David. And Samuel said to Isai, “Are here all thy sons?” He answered, “There remaineth yet a young one, who keepeth the sheep.” And Samuel said to Isai, “Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he come hither.” He sent there¬ fore, and brought him. Now he was ruddy and beautiful to behold, and of a comely face. And the Lord said, “Arise and annoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and annointed KING SAUL 131 him in the midst of his brethren. And the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramatha. David as Harper to Saul: Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the David Playing Before Saul. Lord 16 troubled him. And the servants of Saul said to him, “Behold, now an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. ’Let our lord give orders, and thy servants who are before thee, will seek out a man skilful in playing on the harp, that when the evil spirit from the Lord is upon thee, he may play with his hand, and thou mayest hear it more easily.” And Saul said to his servants, “Provide me then some man that can play well, and bring him to me.” 1 32 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And one of the servants answering said, “Behold I have seen a son of Isai, the Bethlehemite, a skilful player , 17 and one of great strength , 18 and a man fit for war, and prudent in his words, and a comely person; and the Lord is with him.” And Saul sent messengers to Isai, saying, “Send me David, thy son, who is in the pastures.” And Isai took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid of the flock, and sent them by the hand of David, his son, to Saul. And David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him exceed¬ ingly, and made him his armour bearer. And Saul sent to Isai saying, “Let David stand before me ; 19 for he hath found favor in my sight.” So whenever the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, David took his harp and played with his hand, and Saul was refreshed and was better; for the evil spirit departed from him. David and Goliath: Now the Philistines, having gathered together their troops to battle, Saul and the children of Israel set the army in array to fight against them. And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. And there went out a man, base-born, from the camp of the Phil¬ istines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span ; 20 and he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clothed with a coat of mail with scales; and the weight of his coat of mail was five thous- KING SAUL 133 and sides of brass ; 21 and he had greaves of brass on his legs, and a buckler of brass covered his shoulders; and the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and the head of his spear weighed six hundred sides of iron : 22 and his armour-bearer went before him. And standing, he cried out to the bands of Israel, and said to them, “Why are you come out prepared to fight? Am not I a Philistine and you the servants of Saul? Choose out a man of you, and let him come down and fight hand to hand. If he be able to fight with me and kill me, we will be servants to you; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, you shall be servants, and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “I have defied the bands of Israel this day; give me a man, and let him fight with me hand to hand.” And Saul, and all the Israelites, hearing these words of the Philistine, were dismayed, and greatly afraid. And the Philistine came out morning and even¬ ing, and presented himself forty days. Now David, the son of Isai, had returned from Saul, and had gone back to feed his father’s flock at Bethlehem; but his three eldest brothers, Eliab, and Abinadab and Samma, had followed Saul to battle. And Isai said to David his son, “Take for thy brethren an ephi of frumenty, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp of thy brethren; and carry these ten little cheeses to the tribune; and go see thy brethren, if they are well; and learn with whom they are placed.” David therefore arose in the morning, and gave the charge of the flock to the keeper, and went away loaded as Isai had commanded him. And he came to the place 134 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT of Magala, and to the army which was going out to fight, and shouted for the battle; for Israel had put themselves in array; and the Philistines, who stood against them, were prepared. And David, leaving the vessels which he had brought under the care of the keeper of the bag¬ gage, ran to the place of the battle, and asked if all things went well with his brethren. And as he talked with them, that base-born man, whose name was Goliath, the Philistine of Gath, showed himself, coming up from the camp of the Philistines. And he spoke according to the same words; and David heard them. And all the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him, fearing him exceedingly. And some one of Israel said, “Have you seen this man that is come up, for he is come up to defy Israel. And the man that will slay him, the king will enrich with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and will make his father’s house free from tribute in Israel.” And David spoke to the men that stood by him saying, 44 What shall be given to the man that shall kill this Philistine, and shall take away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” And the people answered him the same words, saying, 44 These things shall be given to the man that shall slay him.” Now when Eliab, his eldest brother, heard this when he was speaking with others, he was angry with David and said, 4k Why earnest thou hither? And why didst thou leave those few sheep in the desert? I know thy KING SAUL 135 pride and the wickedness of thy heart, that thou art come down to see the battle.” And David said, “What have I done? Is there not cause to speak?” And he turned a little aside from him to another, and said the same word. And the people answered him as before. And the words which David spoke were heard, and were rehearsed be¬ fore Saul. And when he was brought to him, he said to him, “Let not any man’s heart be dismayed. I thy servant, will go and fight against this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Thou are not able to with¬ stand this Philis- _ . David Rescuing a Lamb. tine, nor to fight against him; for thou art but a boy, but he is a warrior from his youth.” And David said to Saul, “Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion or a bear and took 136 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT a ram out of the midst of the flock; and I pursued after them, and struck them, and delivered it out of their mouth; and they rose up against me, and I caught them by the throat; and I strangled and killed them. For I, thy servant, have killed both a lion and a bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be also as one of them. I will go now and take away the reproach of the people. For who is this uncircumcised Philistine who hath dared to curse the army of the living God?” And David said, 44 The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, 44 Go, and the Lord be with thee.” And Saul clothed David with his garments, and put a helmet of brass upon his head, and armed him with a coat of mail. And David, having girded his sword upon his armour, began to try if he could walk in armour; for he was not accustomed to it. And he said to Saul, “I cannot go thus, for I am not used to it.” And he laid them off. And he took his staff which he had always in his hands, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them into the shepherd’s scrip , 23 which he had with him, and he took a sling in his hand, and went forth against the Philistine. And the Philistine came on, and drew nigh against David; and his armour bearer before him. And when the Philistine looked, and beheld David, he despised him; for he was a young man, ruddy, and of a comely countenance. KING SAUL 137 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that thou contest to me with a staff?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And he said to David, 44 Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.” And David said to the Philistine, 44 Thou contest to me with sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God With Permission W. L. Dodge David and Goliath. of the armies of Israel, which thou hast defied. This day, and the Lord will deliver thee into my hand; and I will slay thee, and take away thy head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with the sword and spear; for it is His battle; and He will deliver you into our hands.” And when the Philistine arose and was come in and drew nigh to meet David, David made haste, and ran 138 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT to the fight to meet the Philistine. And he put his hand into his scrip, and took a stone, and cast it with the sling, and fetching it about, struck the Philistine in the forehead; and the stone was fixed in his forehead; and he fell on his face upon the earth. And David prevailed over the Philistine, with a sling and a stone; and he struck and slew the Philistine. And as David had no sword in his hand, he ran and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head. And the Philistines, seeing that their champion was dead fled away. And the men of Israel and Juda, rising up, shouted and pursued after the Philistines till they came to the valley and to the gates of Accaron; and there fell many wounded of the Philistines in the way. And the children of Israel, returning after they had pursued the Philistines, fell upon their camp. And David, taking the head of the Philistine, brought it to Jerusalem; but his armour he put in his tent. How the Praise of Some Women Nearly Cost David His Life: Now when David returned, after he slew the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with timbrels of joy and cornets. And the women sang as they played; and they said, “Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” And Saul was exceedingly angry; and this word was displeasing to his eyes; and he said, “They have given David ten thousands, and to me they have given but a KING SAUL 139 thousand; what can he have more but the kingdom?” And Saul did not look on David with a good eye from that day forward. And Saul spoke to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, the son of Saul, loved David exceedingly, and he told David, saying, “Saul, my father, seeketh to kill thee; The Women Rejoicing in David’s Victory. wherefore look to thyself, I beseech thee, in the morning; and thou shalt abide in a secret place, and shalt be hid. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art; and I will speak of thee to my father; and whatever I shall see, I shall tell thee.” And Jonathan spoke good things of David to Saul, his father, and said to him, “ Sin not, O king, against thy servant David, because he hath not sinned against thee, and his works are very good towards thee. And he put 140 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought great salvation for all Israel. Thou s a west it and didst rejoice. Why therefore wilt thou sin against innocent blood, by killing David, who is without fault ?” And when Saul heard this, he was appeased with the words of Jonathan, and swore, 44 As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain.” Then Jonathan called David and told him all these words. And Jonathan brought in David to Saul; and he was before him as he had been yesterday and the day before. David and Jonathan: And war began again; and David went out and fought against the Philistines and defeated them with great slaughter; and they fled from his face. And the evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul; and he sat in his house, and held a spear in his hand; and David played with his hand. And Saul endeavored to nail David to the wall with his spear. And David slipped away out of the presence of Saul; and the spear missed him, and was fastened in the wall; and David fled and escaped. And David came and said to Jonathan, 44 What have I done; what is my iniquity; and what is my sin against thy father, that he seeketh my life?” And he said to him, 4k God forbid; thou shalt not die, for my father will do nothing great or little, without first telling me. Hath then my father hid this word only from me? No; this shall not be.” And he swore again to David. KING SAUL 141 And David said, “Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight; and he will say, ‘Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but one step, as it were, between me and death.” And Jonathan said to David, “ Whatsoever thy soul shall say to me, I will do for thee .” 24 And David said to Jonathan, “ Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I, according to custom, am wont to sit beside the king to eat; let me go then, that I may be hid in the field till the evening of the third day: if thy father look and inquire for me, thou shalt answer him, ‘David asked me that he might run to Bethlehem, his own city, because there are solemn sacrifices there for all his tribe;’ if he shall say, ‘It is well,’ thy servant shall have peace; but if he be angry, know that his malice is come to its height. Deal mercifully with thy servant, for thou hast brought me, thy servant, into a covenant of the Lord with thee; but if there be any iniquity in me, do thou kill me, and bring me not to thy father.” And Jonathan said, “Far be this from thee; for if I should certainly know that evil is determined by my father against thee, I could do no otherwise than tell thee.” And David answered Jonathan, “Who shall bring me word, if thy father should answer thee harshly con¬ cerning me?” And Jonathan said to David, “Come and let us go out into the field.” And when they were both of them gone out into the field, Jonathan said to David, “O Lord God of Israel; if 142 THE* DIVINE TWILIGHT I shall discover my father’s mind, tomorrow or the day after, and there be anything good for David, and I send not immediately to thee, and make it known to thee, may the Lord do so and so to Jonathan, and add still more. But if my father shall continue in malice against thee, I will discover it to thy ear, and will send thee away that thou mayest go in peace; and the Lord be with thee, as He hath been with my father. And if I live, thou shall show me the kindness of the Lord; but if I die, thou shalt not take away thy kind¬ ness from my house forever.” And Jonathan David and Jonathan. SWOre again to David, because he loved him; for he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan said to him, ‘‘Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou will be missed, for thy seat will be empty till after tomorrow. So thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou must be hid; and thou shalt remain beside the stone, which is called Ezel. And I will KING SAUL 143 shoot three arrows near it; and I will shoot as if exercising myself at a mark. And I will send a boy, saying to him, 4 Go and fetch me the arrows.’ If I shall say to the boy, ‘Behold the arrows are on this side, go and take them up,’ come thou to me, because there is peace to thee, and there is no evil, as the Lord liveth. But if I shall speak thus to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are beyond,’ go in peace, for the Lord hath sent thee away. And concerning the word which I and thou have spoken, the Lord be between thee and me forever.” So David was hid in the field; and the moon came; and the king sat down to eat bread. And when the king sat down upon his chair, which was beside the wall, Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place appeared empty. And Saul said nothing that day, for he thought that something might have happened to him. And when the second day after the new moon was come, David’s place appeared empty again. And Saul said to Jonathan, “Why cometh not the son of Isai to meat, neither yesterday nor today.” And Jonathan answered Saul, “He asked leave of me earnestly to go to Bethlehem; for there is a solemn sacrifice in the city.” Then Saul being angry with Jonathan said to him, “Do I not know that thou lovest the son of Isai to thy own confusion? For as long as the son of Isai liveth upon earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Therefore now presently send, and fetch him to me; for he is the son of death.” 144 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And Jonathan answering Saul, his father, said, “Why shall he die? What hath he done?’’ And Saul caught up a spear to strike him. And Jonathan understood that it was determined by his father to kill David. So Jonathan arose up from the table in great anger, and did not eat bread on the second day after the new moon; for he was grieved for David, because his father had put him to confusion. And when the morning was come, Jonathan went into the field, according to the appointment with David; and a little boy with him. And he said to his boy, “Go and fetch me the arrows which I shoot.” And when the boy ran, he shot another arrow beyond the boy. The boy therefore came to the,place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot; and Jonathan cried after the boy, and said, “ Behold the arrow is there further beyond thee.” And Jonathan cried again after the boy, saying, “Make haste speedily; stand not.” And Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and brought them to his master. And he knew not at all what was doing; for only Jonathan and David knew the matter. Jonathan therefore gave his arms to the boy, and said to him, “Go and carry them into the city.” And when the boy was gone, David rose out of his place, which was towards the south, and falling on his face to the ground, adored thrice. And kissing one another, they wept together; but David more. And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, and let all stand that we have sworn, both of us, in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed forever.’ ” KING SAUL 145 And David arose and departed; and Jonathan went into the citv. t j The Adventure of the Spear and the Cup of Water: David, therefore, going from thence, fled to the cave of Odollam. And when his brethren and all his father’s house had heard of it, they went down to him thither. And all that were in distress, and oppressed with debt, and under affliction of mind, gathered them¬ selves unto him; and he became their prince; and there were with him about four hundred men. And David abode in the desert in strongholds. And he remained in a mountain of the desert of Ziph, in a woody hill. And Saul sought him always; but the Lord delivered him not into his hands. And the men of Ziph came to Saul in Gabaa, saying, “Behold David is hid in the hill of Hachila, which is over against the wilderness.” .And Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having with him three thousand of the chosen men of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul camped in Gabaa Hachila, which was over against the wilderness in the way. And David abode in the wilderness. And seeing that Saul was come after him in the wilderness, David sent spies and learned that he was certainly come thither. And David arose secretly and came to the place where Saul was. And when he beheld the place wherein Saul slept, and Abner, the captain of the army, and the rest of the multitude round about him, 146 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT David said “Who will go down with me to Saul into the camp: And Abisai 20 said, “I will go with thee.” So David and Abisai came to the people by night, and found Saul lying and sleeping in the tent; and his spear fixed in the ground at his head ; 26 and Abner and the people sleeping round about him. David in the Tent of Saul. And Abisai said to David, “God hath shut up thy enemy this day into thy hands. Now then I will run him through with my spear even to the earth at once, and there shall be no need of a second time.” And David said to Abisai, “Kill him not; for who shall put forth his hand against the Lord’s annointed, and shall be guiltless?” And David said, “As the Lord liveth, unless the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go down to battle and perish, the KING SAUL 147 Lord be merciful to me, that I extend not my hand upon the Lord’s annointed. But now, take the spear which is at his head, and the cup of water; and let us go/’ So David took the spear and the cup of water which was at Saul’s head; and they went away; and no man saw it, or knew it, or awaked, but they were all asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. And when David was gone over to the other side, and stood on the top of the hill afar off, and a good space was between them, David cried to the people, and to Abner, saying, “Wilt thou not answer, Abner?” And Abner answering said, “Who art thou that criest, and disturbest the king?” And David said to Abner, “Art thou not a man? And who is like to thee in Israel? Why then hast thou not kept thy lord, the king; for there came one of the people in to kill the king, thy lord. This thing is not good that thou hast done: as the Lord liveth, you are the sons of death who have not kept your master, the Lord’s annointed. And now, where is the king’s spear, and the cup of water which was at his head?” And Saul knew David’s voice; and said, “Is this thy voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.” And he said, “ Wherefore doth my lord persecute his servant? What have I done, or what evil is there in my hand?” And Saul said, “I have sinned; return, my son David, for I will no more do thee harm, because my life hath been precious in thy eyes this day: for it appeareth 148 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT that I have done foolishly, and have been ignorant in very many things.” And David answering, said, ‘‘Behold the king’s spear; let one of the king’s servants come over and fetch it; and the Lord will reward every one according to his justice and his faithfulness; for the Lord hath delivered thee this day into my hand, and I would not put forth my hand against the Lord’s annointed. And as thy life hath been much set by this day in my eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord; and let Him deliver me from all distress.” Then Saul said to David, “Blessed art thou my son David; and truly, doing thou shalt do, and prevailing thou shalt prevail.” And David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place. Death of Saul and Jonathan: And the Philistines fought against Israel; and all the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in Mount Gelboe. And the Philistines fell upon Saul; and they slew Jon¬ athan. And the whole weight of the battle was turned upon Saul; and the archers overtook him; and he was grievously wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armour bearer, “Draw thy sword, and kill me, lest these uncircumcised come and slay me, and mock at me.” And his armour bearer would not, for he was struck with exceedingly great fear. Then Saul took his sword, and fell upon it . 27 And when his armour bearer saw this, to wit, that Saul was KING SAUL 149 dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour bearer, and all his men that same day together. And David, when he heard of what had come to pass, made this kind of lament over Saul, and over Jonathan, his son: “Consider, O Israel, for them that are dead; wounded on the high places. “The illustrious of Israel are slain up on the moun¬ tains ; how are the valiant fallen! “Tell it not in Gath; publish it not in the streets of Aschalon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice; lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. “Ye mountains of Gelboe! Let neither dew nor rain come upon you; neither be they fields of first fruits: for there was cast away the shield of the valiant: the shield of Saul as though he had not been annointed with oil. “From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the valiant, the arrow of Jonathan never turned back, and the sword of Saul did not return empty. “Saul and Jonathan, lovely and comely in their life, even in death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles; stronger than lions. “Ye daughters of Israel weep over Saul, who clothed you with scarlet in delights; who gave ornaments of gold for your attire. “How are the valiant fallen in battle! Jonathan, slain in the high places! 150 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT “I grieve for thee, my brother Jonathan: exceeding beautiful, and amiable to me above the love of women. As the mother loveth her only son, so did I love thee. “How are the valiant fallen, and the weapons of war perished!” VIII. KING DAVID. David and Bethsabee: Then all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron, saying, “Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh; moreover, yesterday also and the day before, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he David Sending Word to Joab. that did lead out and bring in Israel.” And they an- nointed David to be king over Israel. And it came to pass after this that David defeated the Philistines, and brought them down. And he defeated Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the earth. He defeated also Adarezer, the son of the king of Sobo, when he went to extend his dominion over the river Euphrates. David put garrisons also in Syria 152 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT of Damascus; and Syria served him under tribute. And the Lord preserved David in all his enterprises, whithersoever he went. And David did judgment and justice to all his people. But King David did that which was very evil in the sight of the Lord. For it came to pass that he walked upon the roof of the king’s house; and he saw from the roof of his house a woman; and the woman was very beautiful; and he sent and enquired who the woman was; and it was told him that she was Bethsabee, the wife of Urias, the Hethite; and he sent messengers and took her. Now Urias, the Hethite, was gone forth to war; and he was in the army with Joab, who was over all the armies of Israel, fighting against the children of Ammon. David therefore wrote a letter to Joab, saying, ‘‘Set ye Urias in the front of the battle, where the fight is the strongest, and leave ye him, that he may be wounded and die.” Wherefore as Joab was besieging the city, he put Urias in the place where he knew the bravest men were. And the men, coming out of the city, fought against Joab, and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Urias, the Hethite, was also killed. Then Joab sent and told David all things concerning the battle. Now this thing which David had done was displeasing to the Lord. And the Lord sent Nathan 2 to David. And when he came into him, he said to him, “There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. KING DAVID 153 The rich man had exceeding many sheep and oxen; but the poor man had nothing at all, but one little ewe lamb, which he had brought and nourished up, and which had grown up in his house together with his children, eating of his bread, and drinking of his cup, and sleeping in his bosom; and it was unto him as a daughter. And when a certain stranger was come to the rich man, he spared to take of his own sheep and oxen to make a feast for that stran¬ ger who was come to him, but took the poor man’s ewe, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.” And David’s anger being exceed- Nathan’s Parable. ingly kindled against that man, he said to Nathan, “As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this is a child of death; he shall restore the ewe fourfold, because he did this thing, and had no pity.” And Nathan said to David, “ Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel : 6 T annointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee from the hand of Saul; 154 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT why therefore hast thou despised the word of the Lord to do evil in My sight? Thou hast killed Urias, the Hethite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house, because thou hast despised Me and hast taken the wife of Urias the Hethite to be thy wife.’ ” And David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord .” 3 And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away thy sin: thou shalt not die; nevertheless, because thou hast given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, for this thing, the child that is born of thee shall surely die .” 4 And Nathan returned to his house. Absolom’s Rebellion: In all Israel, there was not a man so comely, and so exceeding beautiful as the king’s son, Absolom. From the sole of the foot to the crown of his head, there was no blemish in him. And when he polled 5 his hair (now he was polled once a year, because his hair was burdensome to him) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred sides , 5 according to the common weight. But Absolom did that which was greatly displeasing to his father the king, wherefore, he was two years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face. He sent therefore to Joab 7 to send him to the king; but Joab would not come to him. And when he had sent a second time, and he would not come to him, he said to his servants, “You KING DAVID 155 know the field of Joab, near my field, that he hath a crop of barley; go now and set it on fire.” So the servants of Absolom set the corn on fire. And Joab’s servants, coming with their garments rent, said, “The servants of Absolom have set part of the field on fire.” Then Joab arose, and came to Absolom to his house and said, “Why have thy servants set my corn on fire?” And Absolom answered Joab, “I sent to thee beseech¬ ing thee to come to me, that I might send thee to the king. I beseech thee therefore that I may see the face of the king; and if he be mindful of my iniquity, let him kill me.” So Joab, going to the king, told him all: and Absolom was called for; and he went in to the king, and prostrated himself on the ground before him; and the king kissed Absolom. Now after these things, Absolom made himself chariots, and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. And Absolom, rising up early, stood by the entrance of the gate; and when any man had business to come to the king’s judgment, Absolom called him to him and said, “Of what city art thou?” He answered, “Thy servant is of such a tribe of Israel.” And Absolom answered him, “Thy words seem to me good and just; but there is no man appointed by the king to hear thee.” And Absolom said, “O that they would make me judge over the land, that all that have business might come to me, that I might do them justice.” Moreover, when any man came to him to salute him, he put forth his hand and took him 156 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT and kissed him. And this he did to all Israel that came for judgment to be heard by the king; and he enticed the hearts of the men of Israel. And Absolom sent spies into all the tribes of Israel saying, “As soon as you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, say ye, ‘Absolom reigneth in Hebron.’ ” 8 And the people, running together, increased with Absolom. And there came a messenger to David, saying, “All Israel, with their whole heart, followeth Absolom.” And David said to his servants, that were with him in Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, for we shall not escape else from the face of Absolom: make haste to go out, lest he come and overtake us, and bring ruin upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.” And the king’s servants said to him, “Whatsoever our Lord, the king, shall command, we thy servants will willingly execute.” And the king went forth, and all his household on foot. And they all wept with a loud voice: and all the people passed over, and the king also himself went over the brook Cedron 9 and all the people marched towards the way that looketh to the desert. And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet , 10 going up and weeping, walking barefoot, and With his Jiead covered; and all the people that were with him, went up with their heads covered, weeping. And King David came as far as Bahurim; and behold, there came out from thence a man of the kindred of the house of Saul, named Semai. And coming out, he cursed as he went on; and he threw stones at David, and at all KING DAVID 157 the servants of King David: and all the people and all the warriors walked on the right and on the left side of the king. And thus said Semai, when he cursed the king, “Come out, come out; thou man of blood, and thou man of Belial, the Lord hath repaid thee for all the blood of the house of Saul; because thou hast usurped the kingdom in his stead, the Lord hath given the kingdom into the hand of Absolom, thy son; and behold thy evils press upon thee because thou art a man of blood/’ And Abisai, the son of Sarvia, said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? I will go and cut off his head.” And the king said to Abisai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son seeketh my life; how much more now a son of Jemini. Let him alone that he may curse as the Lord hath bidden him. Perhaps the Lord may look upon my affliction, and the Lord may render me good for the cursing of this day.” And David and his men with him, went by the way; and Semai, by the hill’s side, went over-against him, cursing and casting stones at him and scattering earth. And they came, and passed over the Jordan; and not one of them was left that was not gone over the river. And Absolom, gathering to himself a great multitude of the children of Israel, pursued after David. And he also came and passed over the Jordan, and all Israel with him, and camped in the land of Galaad. And David, having reviewed his people, appointed over them captains of thousands and of hundreds. And he stood by the gate; and all the people went forth by 158 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT their troops, by hundreds and by thousands. And the king commanded Joab, and Abisai, and Ethai saying, “Save me the boy Absolom.” And all the people heard the king giving charge to all the princes concerning Absolom. So the people went out into the field against Israel. And the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. And the people of Israel were defeated there by David's army; and a great slaughter was made that day of twenty thousand men. And the battle there was scattered over the face of all the country; and there were many more of the people whom the forest consumed, than whom the sword devoured that day. And it happened that Absolom met the servants of David, riding on a mule. And as the mule went under a thick and large oak, his head stuck in the oak. And while he hung between the heaven and the earth, the mule on which he rode passed on. And one saw this and told Joab, saying, “I saw Absolom hanging upon an oak.” And Joab said unto the man that told him, “If thou sawest him, why didst thou not stab him to the ground, and I would have given thee ten sides of silver, and a belt.” And he said to Joab, “If thou wouldst have paid down in my hands a thousand pieces of silver, I would not lay my hands upon the king’s son; for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abisai and Ethai saying, ‘Save me the boy Absolom.’ Yea, and if I should have acted boldly against my own life, this could not have been hid from the king; and wouldst thou have stood by me?” KING DAVID 159 And Joab said, “Not as thou wilt; but I will set upon him in thy sight/’ So he took three lances in his hand, and he thrust them into the heart of Absolom. And whilst Absolom yet panted for life, sticking on the oak, ten young men, armour bearers of Joab, ran up, and striking him, slew him. And Joab sounded the trumpet, and kept back the people from pursuing after Israel in their flight, being willing to spare the multitude. And they took Absolom, and cast him into a great pit in the forest; and they laid an exceeding great heap of stones upon him: but all Israel fled to their own dwellings. And Achimaas, the son of Sadoc 11 said, “I will run and tell the king that the Lord hath done judgment for him from the hand of his enemies.” And Joab said to him, “Thou shalt not be the mes¬ senger this day, but shalt bear tidings another day; this day I will not have thee bear tidings, because the king’s son is dead.” And Joab said to Chusai, “ Go and tell the king what thou hast seen.” Chusai bowed down to Joab, and ran. Then Achimaas, the son of Sadoc, said to Joab again, “Why might not I also run after Chusai.” And Joab said to him, “Why wilt thou run, my son? Thou wilt not be the bearer of good tidings .” 12 He answered, “But what if I run?” And he said to him, “Run.” Then Achimaas, running by a nearer way, passed Chusai. 160 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And David sat between the two gates; and the watchman that was on the top of the gate upon the wall, lifting up his eyes saw a man running alone. And crying out, he told the king. And the king said, “If he be alone there are good tidings in his mouth.” And as he was coming apace, and drawing nearer, the watchman saw an¬ other man running; and crying aloud from above, he said, “I see another man running alone.” And the king said, “ He also is a good messenger.” And the watch- David Mourning for Absolom. man sa id, “ The run¬ ning of the foremost seemeth to me like the running of Achimaas, the son of Sadoc.” And the king said, “ He is a good man, and cometh with good news.” And Achimaas, crying out, said, “God save thee, O king.” And falling down before the king with his face to the ground, he said, “Blessed be the Lord thy God who hath shut up the men that have lifted up their hands against the lord my king.” KING DAVID 161 And the king said, “Is the young man Absolom safe?” And Achimaas said, “I saw a great tumult, O king, when thy servant Joab sent me thy servant; T know nothing else.” And the king said to him, “Pass, and stand here.” And when he had passed and stood still, Chusai appeared; and coming up he said, “I bring good tidings, lord my king, for the Lord hath judged for thee this day from the hand of all that have risen up against thee.” And the king said to Chusai, “Is the young man Absolom safe?” And Chusai, answering him said, “Let the enemies of the lord, my king, and all that rise up against him unto evil, be as the young man is.” The king, therefore, being much moved, went up to the high chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went he spoke in this manner, “My son Absolom; Absolom, my son! Who would grant me that I might die for thee, Absolom, my son; my son Absolom!” IX. 0 KING SOLOMON. The Elevation of Solomon to the Throne of Israel: Now when King David was old and advanced in years, his son Adonias exalted himself, saying, 44 1 will be king;” And he made himself chariots and horsemen, and fiftv men to run before him. Neither did his father rebuke him at any time, saying, “Why hast thou done this.” And he was very beautiful, the next in birth after Abso- lom. And he conferred with Joab, and with Abiathar, the priest; but Sadoc, the priest, and Banaias, and Nathan the prophet, and the strength of David’s army was not with Adonias. And Adonais having slain rams and calves and all fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, invited all his brethren, the king’s sons, and all the men of Juda, the king’s servants. But Nathan, the prophet, and Babaias and all the valiant men, and Solomon, his brother, he invited not. And Nathan said to Bethsabee, the mother of Solomon, 44 Hast thou not heard that Adonias reigneth and our lord David knoweth it not? Now then, come, take my counsel, and save thy life and the life of thy son Solomon. Go, get thee in to the King David and say to him, 4 Didst thou not my lord, O king, swear to me, thy handmaid, saying: Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit in my throne? Why then doth Adonais reign?’ KING SOLOMON 163 And while thou art yet speaking there with the king, I will come after thee, and will fill up thy words.” So Bethsabee went in to the king into the chamber; and she bowed herself and worshipped the king. And the king said to her, “What is thy will?” She answered and said, “My lord, thou didst swear to thy handmaid by the Lord thy God saying, 'Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit in my throne.’ And behold, now Adonias reigneth, and thou, my lord the king knoweth nothing of it. He hath killed oxen and all fat cattle and many rams, and invited all the king’s sons, and Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the general of the army; but Solomon, thy servant he invited not. And now, my lord O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee that thou shouldst tell them who shall sit on thy throne, my lord the king, after thee; otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king sleepeth with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.” As she was yet speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came, and they told the king saying, “Nathan the prophet is here.” And when he was come in before the king, and had worshipped, bowing down to the ground, Nathan said, “My lord O king, hast thou said: k Let Adonias reign after me, and let him sit upon my throne;’ because he has gone down today, and hath killed oxen and fatlings and many rams, and invited all the king’s sons, and the captains of the army, and Abiathar, the priest, and they are eating and drinking before him and saying, ‘God save King Adonias;’ but me thy servant, 164 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT and Sadoc the priest, and Banaias, and Solomon thy servant, he hath not invited. Is this word come out from my lord the king, and hast thou not told me thy servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?” And King David answered and said, “Call to me Bethsabee.” And when she was come in to the king and stood before him, the king swore and said, “As the Lord who hath delivered my soul out of all distress, even as I swore to thee by the Lord the God of Israel saying, ‘ Sol¬ omon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead,’ so will I do this day.” And Bethsabee, bowing with her face to the earth, worshipped the king, saying, “May my lord David live forever.” King David also said, “Call me Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Banaias the son of Joida.” And when they were come in before the king, he said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and set my son Solomon upon my mule, and bring him to Gihon; and let Sadoc the priest, and Nathan the prophet annoint him there king over Israel; and you shall sound the trumpet, and shall say, ‘God save King Solomon.’ And you shall come up after him and he shall come and shall sit upon my throne, and he shall reign in my stead: and I will appoint him to be ruler over Israel and over Juda.” So Sadoc the priest and Nathan the prophet went down, and Banaias, and the Cerethi and the Phelethi, and they set Solomon upon the mule of King David, and KING SOLOMON 165 brought him to Gihon. And Sadoc took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle and annointed Solomon; and they sounded the trumpet, and all the people said, “God save King Solomon.” And all the multitude went up after him; and the people played with pipes, and rejoiced with a great joy; and the earth rang with the noise of their cry. And Adonais and all that were with him heard the noise; and Joab said, ”What meaneth this noise of the city in an uproar?” And while he yet spoke, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonais said to him, “Come in, because thou art a valiant man and bringeth good news.” And Jonathan answered Adonais, “Not so, for my lord King David hath appointed Solomon king.” Then all the guests of Adonais were afraid, and they all rose and every man went his way. And Adonais, fearing Solomon, arose and went and took hold of the horn of the altar. And they told Solomon saying, “Be¬ hold Adonais fearing Solomon, hath taken hold of the horn of the altar saying, 4 Let King Solomon swear to me this day that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’ ” And Solomon said, “If he be a good man there shall not so much as one hair of his head fall to the ground; but if evil be found in him, he shall die.” Then King Solomon sent and brought him out from the altar; and going in he worshipped King Solomon. And Solomon said to him, “Go to thy house.” And Solomon sat upon the throne of his father, David, and his kingdom was strengthened exceedingly. 166 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Solomon’s Dream: And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the precepts of David his father. And the Lord appeared to him in a dream by night saying, “Ask what thou wilt that I should give thee.” And Solomon said, “Thou hast shown great mercy to Thy servant David, my father, even as he walked before Thee in truth and justice and an upright heart with Thee; and Thou hast kept Thy great mercy for him, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Lord God, Thou hast made Thy servant king instead of David, my father; and I am but a child, and know not how to go out and come in; and Thy servant is in the midst of the people which Thou hast chosen, an immense people which cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore to Thy ser¬ vant an understanding heart to judge Thy people and discern between good and evil; for who shall be able to judge this people, Thy people, which is so numerous.” And the word was pleasing to the Lord that Solomon had asked such a thing. And the Lord said to Solomon, “Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life or riches nor the lives of thy enemies, but hast asked for thyself wisdom to discern judgment, behold I have done for thee according to thy words and have given thee a wise and understanding heart, insomuch that there has been no one like thee before thee among the kings in all the days heretofore. And if thou wilt walk in My ways and keep My precepts and My com¬ mandments as thy father walked, I will lengthen thy days.” KING SOLOMON 167 And Solomon awaked, and perceived that it was a dream. The Wisdom of Solomon: And there came two women to King Solomon and stood before him. And one of them said, “I beseech thee, my lord, I and this woman dwelled in one house; and we were together, and no other person with us in the house only we two. And this woman’s child died in the night, for in her sleep she overlaid him. And rising in the dead time of the night, she took my child from my side, while I thy handmaid was asleep, and laid it in her bosom; and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I arose in the morning to give my child suck, behold it was dead. But considering him more diligently when it was clear day, I found that it was not mine which I bore.” And the other woman said, “It is not so as thou sayest; but thy child is dead and mine is alive.” “On the contrary,” she said, “thou liest; for my child liveth, and thy child is dead.” And in this manner they strove before the king. Then said the king, “The one saith: ‘My child is alive, and thy child is dead: 5 and the other answereth, ‘Nay, but thy child is dead, and mine liveth.’” The king therefore said, “Bring me a sword.” And when they had brought a sword before the king, “Divide,” he said, “the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” But the woman whose child was alive said to the king, “I beseech thee, my lord, give her the child alive, and do not kill it.” 168 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT But the other said, ‘‘Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.” The king answered and said, 44 Give the living child to this woman, and let it not be killed, for she is the mother thereof.” And all Israel heard the judgment which the king had judged and they feared the king see¬ ing that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment. And they came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who heard of his wisdom. Solomon’s Tem- The Judgment of Solomon. p LE : And Solomon sent to Hiram king of Tyre saying, “I purpose to build a temple to the name of the Lord my God; give orders there¬ fore that thy servants cut me down trees out of Libanus; and let my servants be with thy servants; and I will give thee the hire of thy servants whatsoever thou wilt ask; for thou knowest how there is not among my people a man that has skill to hew wood like the Sidonians.” KING SOLOMON 1()9 And Hiram sent to Solomon saying, “I have heard all thou hast desired of me, and I will do all thy desire concerning cedar trees and fir trees.” So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. And King Solomon chose workmen out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. And he had seventy thousand to carry burdens, and eighty thousand to hew stones in the mountains, besides the overseers who were over the work, in number about three thousand, and three hun¬ dred that ruled over the people and them that did the work. And the house when it was building was built of stones hewed and made ready so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house when it was building. And it was seven years in building. And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre, the son of a widow woman of the tribe of Nephtali, whose father was a Tyrian, and artificer in brass, and full of wisdom and understanding and skill to work all work in brass. And when he was come to King Solomon, he wrought all his work. And all the vessels that Hiram made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of fine brass. And Solomon placed all the vessels. And he brought in the things that David his father had dedicated; the silver and the gold and the vessels, and laid them up in the treasures of the house of the Lord. Then all the ancients of Israel, with the princes of the tribes and the heads of the families of the children of Israel were assembled to King Solomon in Jerusalem that they might carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord 170 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT out of the city of David, that is, out of Sion. And all the ancients of Israel came; and the priests took up the Ark and brought it into its place. And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the sanctuary, that a cloud filled the house of the Solomon’s Temple. Lord; and the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord. Then Solomon said, 4 ‘The Lord said that He would dwell in a cloud. Building, I have built a house for Thy dwelling, to be Thy most firm throne forever.” 1 And the king turned his face and blessed all the assembly of Israel. Solomon and the Queen of Saba: And the Queen of Saba, having heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions. KING SOLOMON 171 And entering into Jerusalem with a great train, and riches and camels that carried spices, and an immense quantity of gold and precious stones, she came to King Solomon and spoke to him all that was in her heart. And Solomon informed her of all the things she proposed to him. The Queen of Saba’s Visit to King Solomon. There was not any word the king was ignorant of and which he could not answer her. And when the Queen of Saba saw all the wisdom 2 of Solomon, and the house which he had built, and the meat of his table, and the apartments of his servants, and the order of his ministers and their apparel, and the cup bearers, and the holocausts which he offered in the house of the Lord, she had no longer any spirit in her, and she said to the king, 44 The report is true which I heard in my own country concerning thy words and concern¬ ing thy wisdom; and I did not believe them that told me till I came myself and saw with my own eyes and have 172 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT found that the half hath not been told me: thy wisdom and thy words exceed the fame which I have heard. Blessed are the men and blessed are thy servants who stand before thee always and hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God whom thou hast pleased, and who hath set thee upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord hath loved Israel forever, and hath appointed the king to do judgment and justice.” And King Solomon gave the Queen of Saba all that she desired and asked of him, besides what he offered of himself of his royal bounty. And she returned and went to her own country with her servants. The Fall of Solomon: But King Solomon loved many strange women; and when he was now old, his heart was turned aw r ay by women to follow strange gods; and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon wor¬ shipped Astarthe, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch, the idol of the Ammonites; and he built a temple for Chamos, the idol of Moab, on the hill that is over against Jerusalem; and he did in this manner for all his wives that were strangers, who burnt incense and offered sacrifice to their gods. And the Lord was angry with Solomon because his mind was turned away from the Lord the God of Israel who had appeared to him twdce and had commanded him that he should not follow strange gods. But he kept not the things which the Lord had commanded him. KING SOLOMON 173 The Lord therefore said to Solomon, “Because thou hast done this and hast not kept My covenant and My precepts which I have commanded thee, I will divide and rend thy kingdom, and will give it to thy servant. Nevertheless, in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father’s sake; but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Neither will I take away the whole kingdom, but I will give one tribe to thy son, for the sake of David My servant, and Jerusalem which I have chosen.” 3 And on a certain day, as Jeroboam, a servant of Solomon, went out of Jerusalem, the Prophet Ahias, clad with a new garment, found him in the way; and they two were alone in the field. And Ahias, taking his new gar¬ ment wherewith he was clad, divided it into twelve parts; and he said to Jeroboam, “Take to thee ten pieces, for thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: 4 Behold I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give thee ten tribes; but one tribe shall remain to him for the sake of My servant David, and Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, because he hath not walked in My ways to do justice before Me and to keep My precepts and judgments as David, his father, did. Yet I will not take away all the kingdom out of his hand, but I will take it out of his son’s hand; and I will give thee ten tribes, and to his son I will give one tribe, that there may remain a lamp for My servant David before Me always in Jerusalem.’ ” And it came to pass that Jeroboam lifted up his hand against the king, wherefore the king sought to kill him; but he arose and fled into Egypt, and was in Egypt till the death of Solomon. 174 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel were forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father. And Roboam his son reigned in his stead. The Division of the Kingdom: And Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, hear¬ ing of the death of King Solomon, re¬ turned out of Egypt. And he came, and all the multitude of Israel with him, and they spoke to King Ro¬ boam saying, “Thy father hath laid a grievous yoke upon us, now therefore do thou take off a little of the grievous service of thy father of his most heavy yoke, which he hath put upon us, and we will serve thee.” And he said to them, 44 Go till the third day and come again to me.” King Roboam Leaving the Counsel of the Old Men. KING SOLOMON 175 And when the people was gone. King Roboam took counsel with the old men that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and he said, “What counsel do you give me that I may answer this people?” They said to him, “If thou wilt yield to this people today, and conde¬ scend to them, and grant their petition, and wilt speak gen¬ tle words to them, they will be thy servants always.” But he left the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and con- sulted with the young men that had been brought up with him and stood before him. And Revolt of the Ten Tribes ‘ he said to them, “What counsel do you give me that I may answer this people who have said to me, ‘Make the yoke which thy father put upon us lighter’?” And the young men that had been brought up with him said, “Thus shalt thou speak to this people who have spoken to thee saying, ‘ Thy father made our yoke heavy, do thou ease us’; thou shalt say to them, 4 My little 176 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT finger is thicker than the back of my father; and now my father put a heavy yoke upon you, but I will add to your yoke; my father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions/ So Jeroboam and all the people came to Roboam the third day as the king had appointed, saying, “Come to me again the third day.” And the king answered the people roughly, leaving the counsel of the old men which they had given him; and he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “ My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.” And the king condescended not to the people, for the Lord was turned away from him to make good His word which He had spoken in the hand of Ahias to Jeroboam, the son of Nabat. Then the people, seeing that the king would not hearken to them, answered him, saying, “What portion have we in David, or what inheritance in the son of Isai? Go home to your dwellings! O Israel. 4 Now David, look to thy own house.” So Israel departed to their dwellings, and revolted from the house of David unto this day. 5 X. THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. • King Jeroboam: And it came to pass that all Israel gathered an assembly, and sent and called Jeroboam and made him king over Israel. And Jeroboam built Sichem in Mount Ephraim, and dwelled there. And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem; and the heart of this people will turn to their lord Ro- boam the king of Juda, and they will kill me and return to him.” And finding out a device, he made two golden calves, and said, “ Go ye up no more to Jerusalem: Behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” 1 And he set one in Bethel and the other in Dan. And this thing became an occasion Jeroboam Making Idols to Worship. 178 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT of sin, for the people went to adore the calf as far as Dan. And Roboam made temples in the high places, and priests of the lowest of the people who were not of the sons of Levi. And he appointed a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, after the man¬ ner of the feast that was celebrated in Juda. And going up to the altar, he did in like manner in Bethel, to sacri¬ fice to calves which he had made. And he placed in Bethel priests of the high places which he had made. And for this cause was the house of Jeroboam cut off and destroyed from the face of the earth. Elias and the Prophet of Baal: And all the kings of Israel that came after Jeroboam did evil in the sight of the Lord; but Achab, the son of Amri, did evil in the sight of the Lord above all the kings that were before him. Nor was it enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat; but he also took to wife Jezabel, 2 daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. And he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria; and he planted a grove. And Elias, a prophet of the Lord, came to Achab, and said to him, “As the Lord liveth, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years but according to the word of my mouth.” 3 Then, he went according to the word of the Lord, 4 and dwelt by the torrent of Carith, which is over against the Jordan. And ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the torrent. THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 179 And after many days the word of the Lord came to Elias, saying, “Go and show thyself to Achab that I may give rain upon the face of the earth.” And when Achab had seen Elias, he said to him, “Art thou he that troub- lest Israel?” 5 And he said, “I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father’s house, who have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed Baalim. 6 Neverthe¬ less, send now and gather unto me all Israel unto Mount Carmel ; and the prophets of Baal, four hundred and fifty; and the pro¬ phets of the grove The E r °ph et Elias in the Desert. four hundred, who eat at Jezabel’s table.” So Achab sent to all the children of Israel and gathered together the prophets unto Mount Carmel. And Elias coming to all the people said, “How long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 180 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And Elias said again to the people, 44 1 only remain a prophet of the Lord, but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men; let two bullocks be given us, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it upon wood, but put no fire under it; and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it. Call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of my Lord; and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God.” And all the people answering, said, 44 A very good pro¬ posal.” Then Elias said to the prophets of Baal, 44 Choose you one bullock and dress it first, because you are many, and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.” And they took the bullock which he gave them, and dressed it, and they called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, 44 O Baal, hear us”; but there was no voice nor any that answered; and they leaped over the altar that they had made. And when it was now noon, Elias jested at them saying, 44 Cry with a louder voice, for he is a god, and perhaps he is talking, or is in at an inn, or on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awaked.” So they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves, after their manner, with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood. And after mid-day was passed, and while they were prophesying, 7 the time was come of offering sacrifice; and there was no voice heard, nor did any one answer, nor regard them as they prayed. And Elias said to the people, 44 Come ye to me.” And the people coming near unto him, he repaired the altar THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 181 of the Lord that was broken down; and he took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, ‘‘Israel shall be thy name”; and he built with the stones an altar to the name of the Lord; and he made a trench for water, of the breadth of two furrows, round about the altar; and he laid the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it upon the wood. And he said, “Fill Elias and the Priests of Baal. four buckets with water, and pour it upon the burnt offering, and upon the wood.” And again he said, “Do the same the second time.” And when they had done it the second time he said, “Do the same also the third time.” And they did so the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and the trench was filled with water. And when it was now time to offer the holocaust, Elias the prophet came near and said, “O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, show this day that Thou art the God of Israel, and I Thy servant; and that accord- 182 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT ing to Thy commandments I have done all these things. Hear me, 0 Lord, hear me, that this people may learn that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their heart again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the holo¬ caust and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and they said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” And Elias said to them, “Take the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape.” And when they had taken them, Elias brought them down to the torrent of Cison, and killed them there. And Elias said to Achab, “Go up; eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.” Achab went up to eat and drink. Then Elias went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, “Go up and look towards the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And again he said to him, “Return seven times.” And at the seventh time, behold a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man’s foot. And he said, “Go up and say to Achab, ‘Prepare thy chariot and go down, lest the rain prevent thee.’ ” And while he turned himself this way *and that way, behold the heavens grew dark with clouds and wind, and THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 183 there fell a great rain. And Achab, getting up, went away to Jezrahel. And the hand of the Lord was upon Elias, and he girded up his loins and ran before Achab, till he came to Jezrahel. The Call of Eliseus: And the Lord said to Elias, “Go and annoint Eliseus to be prophet in thy room.” And Elias, departing from thence, found Eliseus ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen; and he was one of them that were ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen. And when Elias came up to him he cast his mantle upon him. 8 And he forthwith left the oxen and ran after Elias and said, “Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee.” And he said to him, “Go and return back, for that which was my part, I have done to thee.” And returning back from him, he took a yoke of oxen and killed them, and boiled the flesh with the plough of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they did eat. And rising up, he went away and followed Elias, and ministered to him. Naboth’s Vineyard: Now at that time, Naboth, the Jezrahelite, had a vineyard near the palace of Achab, king of Samaria. And Achab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me thy vineyard that I may make me a garden of herbs, because it is nigh and joining to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard; or, if thou think it more convenient for thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.” 184 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Naboth answered him, “The Lord be merciful to me, and not let me give thee the inheritance of my fathers.” And Achab came into his house angry and fretting because of the word that Naboth the Jezrahelite, had spoken to him, saying, “I will not give thee the inheri- Elias Denouncing Achab. tance of my fathers.” And casting himself upon his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and would eat no bread. And Jezabel, his wife, went to him and said to him, “What is the matter that thy soul is so grieved; and why eatest thou no bread?” And he answered her, “I spoke to Naboth, the Jez¬ rahelite, and said to him: Give me thy vineyard and take THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 185 money for it; or, if it please thee, I will give thee a better vineyard for it: and he said, ‘I will not give thee my vineyard.' Then Jezabel, his wife, said to him, “Thou art of great authority indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise and eat bread, and be of good cheer; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite.” So she wrote letters in Achab’s name, and sealed them with his ring, and sent them to the ancients and the chief men that were in the city and that dwelt with Naboth. And this was the tenor of the letters: “Proclaim a fast, and make Naboth sit among the chief of the people; and suborn two men, sons of Belial, against him; and let them bear false witness, that he hath blasphemed God and the king; and then carry him out, and stone him, and so let him die.” 9 And the men of the city, the ancients and the nobles, that dwelt with him in the city, did as Jezabel had com¬ manded them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them; they proclaimed a fast and made Naboth sit among the chief of the people. And bringing two men, sons of the devil, they made them sit against him; and they, like men of the devil, bore witness against * him before the people, saying, “Naboth hath blasphemed God and the king.” Wherefore they brought him forth without the city and stoned him to death. 10 And they sent to Jezabel, saying, “Naboth is stoned and is dead.” And it came to pass when Jezabel heard that Naboth was stoned and dead, that she said to Achab, “Arise and 186 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite who would not agree with thee and give it thee for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” And when Achab heard this, to wit, that Naboth was dead, he arose and went down to the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite, to take possession of it. And the word of the Lord came to Elias, the Thesbite, saying, “Arise, and go down to meet Achab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold he is going down to the vineyard of Naboth to take possession of it; and thou shalt speak to him say¬ ing, ‘Thus said the Lord: Thou hast The Death of jezabel. slain; moreover, also thou hast taken possession.’ And after these words thou shalt add, ‘Thus saith the Lord: In this place wherein the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thy blood also.’ ” n And Achab said to Elias, “Hast thou found me, my enemy? ” He said, k ‘I have found thee, because thou art sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold I will bring evil THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 187 upon thee, and I will cut down thy posterity; and I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa, the son of Ahias; for what thou hast done to provoke Me to anger, and for making Israel to sin.” And of Jezabel also the Lord spoke, saying, “The dogs shall eat Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel.” 12 And when Achab had heard these words, he rent his garments, and put hair-cloth upon his flesh, and fasted and slept in sack-cloth, and walked with his head cast down. The Ascent of Elias into Heaven : And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias into Heaven by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal. And Elias said to Eliseus, “Stay thou here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as Bethel.” And Eliseus said to him, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” And when they were come down to Bethel, the sons of the prophets that were in Bethel, came forth to Eliseus and said to him, “Dost thou not know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee?” And he answered, “I know it; hold your peace.” And Elias said to Eliseus, “Stay here because the Lord hath sent me to Jericho.” And he said, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” And when they were come to Jericho, the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho, came to Eliseus, and said 188 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT to him, “Dost thou not know that this day the Lord wilt take away thy master from thee?” And he said; “I know it; hold your peace.” And Elias said to him, “Stay here because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan.” And he said, 4 ‘As the Lord liveth, and as thv soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” And they two went on together; and fifty men of the sons of the prophets followed them, and stood in sight at a distance; but they two stood by the Jordan. And Elias took his mantle and folded it together, and struck the The Ascent of Elias into Heaven. waters; and they were divided hither and thither; and they both passed over on dry ground. And when they were gone over Elias said to Eliseus, “Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee before I be taken away from thee.” And Eliseus said, “I beseech thee that in me may be thy double spirit.” 13 THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 189 And he answered, “Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked; but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it.” And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold, a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder; and Elias went up by a whirlwind into Heaven. And Eliseus saw him and cried, “My father; my father; the chariot of Israel, and the driver thereof.” 14 And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own garments and rent them in two pieces. And he took up the mantle of Elias that fell from him; and going back, he stood upon the bank of the Jordan; and he struck the waters with the mantle of Elias, that had fallen from him; and they were not divided. And he said, “Where now is the God of Elias?” And he struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither; and Eliseus passed over. And the sons of the prophets at Jericho, who were over-against him, seeing it, said, “The spirit of Elias hath rested upon Eliseus.” And coming to meet him, they worshipped him, falling to the ground. Naaman, the Leper: At this time there dwelled in Syria a man named Naaman. He was general of the army of the king of Syria, and a great man with his master, and honorable, for by him the Lord gave deliver¬ ance to Syria; and he was a valiant man, and rich; but a leper. Now there had gone out robbers from Syria and had led away captive out of the land of Israel, a little maid; and 190 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT she waited upon Naaman’s wife. And she said to her mistress, “I wish my master had been with the prophet that is in Samaria; he would certainly have healed him of the leprosy which he hath.” Then Naaman went in to his lord, and told him saying, “Thus and thus saith the girl from the land of Israel.” And the king of Syria said to him, “Go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment; and brought the letter to the king of Israel in these words, “When thou shalt receive this letter, know that I have sent to thee Naaman, my servant, that thou mayest heal him of his leprosy.” And when the king of Israel had read the letter, he rent his garments, and said, “Am I God, to be able to kill and give life, that this man hath sent to me to heal a man of his leprosy? Mark and see how he seeketh occasion against me.” 15 And when Eliseus, the man of God, had heard this, to wit, that the king of Israel had rent his garments, he sent to him saying, “Why hast thou rent thy garments? Let him come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Eliseus. And Eliseus sent a messenger to him saying, “ Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall recover health, and thou shalt be clean.” And Naaman was angry and went away saying, “I thought he would have come out to me, and THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 191 standing would have invoked the name of the Lord his God, and touched with his hand the place of the leprosy, and healed me. Are not the Abana, and the Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel, that I may wash in them and be made clean?” So, as he turned and was go¬ ing away, with in¬ dignation, his ser¬ vants came to him, and said to him, “Father, if the pro¬ phet had bid thee do some great thing, surely thou shouldst have done it; how much rather what he now hath said to thee; 'Wash, and thou shalt be clean.’ ” Then he went down, and Washed in tllO Jor N3.3.m3.n cit th .0 House of Eliseus® dan seven times according to the word of the man of God. And his flesh was restored, like the flesh of a little child; and he was made clean. And returning to the man of God with all his train, he came and stood before him, and said, “In truth, I know there is no other God in all the earth; but only in Israel: I beseech thee, therefore, take a blessing of thy servant.” 16 192 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT But he answered, “As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none.’’ And when he pressed him, he still refused. And Naaman said, “As thou wilt; but I beseech thee, grant to me, thy servant, to take from hence, two mules’ burden of earth; 17 for thy servant will not henceforth offer holocaust or victim to other gods, but to the Lord. But there is only this for which thou shalt entreat the Lord for thy servant: when my master goeth into the temple of Remmon 18 to worship, and he leaneth upon my hand, if I bow down in the temple of Remmon when he boweth down in the same place,—that the Lord pardon me, thy servant, for this thing.” And he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him in the springtime of the earth. But Giezi, the servant of the man of God, said, “My master hath spared Naaman, this Syrian, in not receiving of him that which he brought. As the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take something of him.” And Giezi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he leapt down from his chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” And he said, “Well. My master hath sent me to thee saying, 4 Just now there are come to me from Mount Elipraim, two young men of the sons of the prophets; give them a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.’ ” And Naaman said, “It is better that thou take two talents.” And he forced him, and bound two talents of THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 193 silver in two bags, and two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they carried them before him. And when he was come (and now it was the evening), he took them from their hands, and laid them up in the house, and sent the men away; and they departed; but he went in, and stood before his master. And Eliseus said, “Whence comest thou, Geizi?” He answered, “Thy servant went no whither.” But he said, “Was not my heart present when the man turned back from his chariot to meet thee? So now thou hast received money and received garments, to buy olive-yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men servants, and maid servants. But the leprosy of Naaman shall stick to thee, and to thy seed forever.” And he went out from him, a leper as white as snow. / Eliseus and the Horses and Chariots of Fire: Now it came to pass after these things that the king of Syria warred against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, “In such and such places, let us lay ambushes.” And Eliseus sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Be¬ ware that thou pass not to such a place, for the Syrians are there in ambush.” And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God had told him, and looked well to himself there, not once nor twice. 19 And the heart of the king of Syria was troubled for this thing; 20 and calling together his servants, he said, “Why do you not tell me who it is that betrays me to the king of Israel?” 194 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And one of his servants said, “No one my lord, 0 king, but Eliseus the prophet that is in Israel telleth the king of Israel all the words that thou speakest in thy privy chamber.” And he said to them, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.” And they told him saying, “ Be¬ hold, he is in Do¬ than.” Therefore he sent thither horses and chariots and the strength of the army; and they came by night and beset the city. And the servant of the man of God rising early, went out, and saw an army round about the city, and horses and chariots; and he told him, saying, “Alas! Alas! Alas! my lord, what shall we do?” But he answered, “Fear not; for there are more with us than with them.” And Eliseus prayed, and said, “Lord- open his eyes, that he may see.” And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire, round about Eliseus. THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 195 And the enemies came down to him; but Eliseus prayed to the Lord, saying, 4 ‘Strike, I beseech thee, this people with blindness.” And the Lord struck them with blindness, according to the word of Eliseus. And Eliseus said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city; follow me and I will show you the man whom you seek.” So he led them into Samaria. And when they were come into Samaria, Eliseus said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw themselves to be in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said to Eliseus, when he saw them, “My father, shall I kill them?” And he said, “Thou shalt not kill them, for thou didst not take them with thy sword or thy bow, that thou mayest kill them; but set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.” And a great provision of meats was set before them; and they eat and drank; and he let them go; and they went away to their master. The Fall of the Kingdom-of Israel: But the children of Israel hearkened not to the words of the prophets whom the Lord had sent to testify to them; they hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, who would not obey the Lord their God. And they rejected His ordinances, and the covenant that He made with their fathers, and the testimonies which He testified against them; and they followed vanities, and 196 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT acted vainly; and they followed the nations that were round about them, concerning which the Lord had commanded them that they should not do as they did. And they forsook all the precepts of the Lord their God: and they made to themselves two molten calves, and groves, and adored all the host of Heaven; 21 and they served Baal, and consecrated their sons and daughters through fire; 22 and they gave themselves to divinations and soothsayings; and they delivered themselves up to do evil before the Lord, to provoke Him. And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and re¬ moved them from His sight. For it came to pass in the days of Phacee, king of Israel, that Theglathphalasar, king of Assyria, came and took Aion, and Cedes, and Asor, and Galaad, and Galilee, and all the land of Naph- tali, and carried them captives into Assyria. And in the days of Osee, who was king of Israel after Phacee, came up Salmanasar, king of the Assyrians who took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria; and he placed them in Hala and Habor, by the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes. And the king of the Assyrians brought people from Babylon and from Cutha and from Avah, and from Emath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria, instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and dwelled in the cities thereof. XI. THE STORY OF JUDITH. And it came to pass in the twelfth year of his reign that Nebuchodonosor, king of the Assyrians, who reigned in Ninive, the great city, fought against the king of Medes, and overcame him. Then was his kingdom exalted, and his heart was elevated; and he sent to all that dwelt in the countries round about, even to Jerusalem and all the land of Jesse till you come to the borders of Ethiopia. To all these the king of the Assyrians sent messengers. But they all with one mind refused, and sent them back, empty, and rejected them without honor. Then the king being angry against all that land swore by his throne and kingdom that he would revenge himself of those countries. And he called all the ancients and all the governors and his officers of war and communicated to them the secret of his counsel. And he said that his thoughts were to bring all the earth under his empire. And when this saying pleased them all, the king called Holofernes, the general of his armies and said to him, “ Go out against all the kingdoms of the west, and against them especially that despised my commandment. Thy eye shall not spare any kingdom, and all the strong cities thou shalt bring under my yoke.” Then Holofernes went forth, he and all the army, with chariots and horsemen and archers who covered the face of the earth like locusts. And he went up to all their 198 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT castles and took all the strong places; and he both destroyed their cities and cut down their groves. For the king had commanded him to destroy all the gods of the earth that he only might be called god by these nations which could be brought under him by the power of Holofernes. Then the children of Israel, who dwelled in the land of Juda, hearing these things were exceedingly afraid. Dread and horror seized upon their minds lest the same should be done to Jerusalem and to the temple of the Lord that had been done to other cities and their temples. And they sent into all Samaria round about, as far as Jericho, and seized upon all the tops of the mountains; and they compassed their towns with walls, and gathered together corn for provision of war. And all the people cried to the Lord with great earnestness; and they humbled their souls in fastings and prayers. And they who offered the holocausts to the Lord, offered the sacrifices to the Lord girded with hair-cloths, and with ashes upon their heads. And they all begged of God with all their heart that He would visit His people, Israel. And it was told Holofernes, the general of the army of the Assyrians, that the children of Israel prepared themselves to resist, and had shut up the ways of the mountains. And he was transported with exceeding great fury and indignation and gave orders to his army to go up against the city of Bethulia. And going up they came by the hillside to the top which looketh toward Dothain. But the children of Israel, when they saw the multi¬ tude of them, prostrated themselves upon the ground. THE STORY OF JUDITH 199 putting ashes upon tlieir heads, praying with one accord that the God of Israel would show His mercy upon His people. And taking their arms of war, they posted themselves at the places which, by a narrow path-way, led directly between the mountains; and they guarded them all day and night. But the children of Ammon and Moab came to Holo- fernes saying, “The children of Israel trust not in their spears, nor in their arrows, but the mountains are their defense, and the steep hills and precipices guard them. AVherefore, that thou mayest overcome them without joining battle, set guards at the springs that they may not draw water out of them, and thou shalt destroy them without sword, or at least, being wearied out, they will yield up their city which they suppose, because it is situated in the mountains, to be impregnable.” And these words pleased Holofernes and his officers, and he placed all round about a hundred men at every spring. And when they had kept this watch for full twenty days, the cisterns and the reserves of water failed among all the inhabitants of Bethulia, so that there was not within the city enough to satisfy them, no not for one day, for water was daily given out to the people by measure. Then all the men and women, young men and children, gathered themselves together, and for many hours, with one voice, they cried to God, saying, “We have sinned with our fathers, we have done unjustly, we have com¬ mitted iniquity; have Thou mercy on us because Thou art good; or punish our iniquities by chastising us Thy- 200 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT self, and deliver not them that trust in Thee to a people that knoweth not Thee.” And when, being wearied with these cries and tired with their weepings they held their peace, Ozias, one of the chiefs of the ancients, rising up all in tears said, 4 4 Be of good courage, my brethren, and let us wait these five days for mercy from the Lord; for perhaps He will put a stop to His indignation and will give glory to His own name. But if after five days be past there come no aid, we will do the things which you have spoken.” Now at that time it happened that there dwelled in Bethulia a woman named Judith. She was a widow now three years and six months. And she made herself a private chamber in the upper part of her house in which she abode, shut up with her maids. And she wore hair cloth and fasted all the days of her life, except the Sab¬ baths and the feast days of the house of Israel. And she was exceeding beautiful, and her husband left her great riches and very many servants and large possessions of herds of oxen and flocks of sheep. And she was greatly renowned among all because she feared the Lord very much; neither was there any one that spoke an ill word of her. When therefore Judith had heard that Ozias had promised that he would deliver up the city after the fifth day she sent for the ancients and said to them, 44 What is this word by which Ozias hath consented to give up the city to the Assyrians if within five days there come no aid to us? And who are you that tempt the Lord?” And Ozias and the ancients said to her, 44 Pray for us, for thou art a holy woman, and one fearing God.” THE STORY OF JUDITH 201 And Judith said to them, “That which I intend to do, prove ye if it be of God, and pray that God may strengthen my design. You shall stand at the gate this night, and I will go out with my maid servant. And pray ye that, as you have said, in five days the Lord may look down upon His people, Israel. But I desire that you search not into what I am doing; and, till I bring you word, let nothing else be done but to pray for me to the Lord our God.” And Ozias, the prince of Juda said to her, “Go in peace, and the Lord be with thee to take revenge of our enemies.” So, returning, they departed. And when they were gone Judith went into her ora¬ tory, and putting on hair-cloth, laid ashes on her head, and falling down prostrate before the Lord, she cried to the Lord saying, “O God of the heavens, Creator of the waters and Lord of the whole creation, hear me, a poor wretch, making supplication to Thee and presuming of Thy mercy. Remember, O Lord, Thy covenant, and put Thou words in my mouth, and strengthen the resolution in my heart, that Thy house may continue in Thy holi¬ ness, and all nations may acknowledge that Thou art God, and there is no other besides Thee.” And it came to pass when she had ceased to cry to the Lord that she rose from the place wherein she lay prostrate before the Lord, and she called her maid, and going down into her house she took off her hair-clotli, and put away the garments of her widowhood and clothed herself with the garments of gladness, and put sandals on her feet, and 202 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT took bracelets and lilies and earlets and rings and adorned herself with all her ornaments. And the Lord also gave her more beauty, so that she appeared to all men’s eyes incomparably lovely. And she gave to her maid a bottle of wine to carry, and a vessel of oil and parched corn and dry figs and bread and cheese, and went out. And when they came to the gate of the city, they found Ozias and the ancients of the city watching, and when they saw her they were astonished, and admired her beauty exceedingly. But they asked her no question, only they let her pass saying, “The God of our Fathers give thee grace, and may He strengthen all the counsel of thy heart with His power, that Jerusalem may glory in thee and thy name may be in the number of the holy and just.” And they that were there said, all with one voice, “So be it, so be it.” But Judith praying to the Lord, passed through the gates, she and her maid. And it came to pass, when she went down the hill about break of day, that the watchmen of the Assyrians met her, and beholding her face, they wondered exceed¬ ingly at her beauty; and they brought her to the tent of Holofernes. And when she was come into his presence, forthwith Holofernes was caught by his eyes; and he ordered that she should go in where his treasures were laid up, and bade her tarry there until he should resolve what should be done. And his servants brought her into the tent which he had commanded. THE STORY OF JUDITH 203 And when she was going in she desired that she might have liberty to go out at night and before day to prayer and to beseech the Lord. And he commanded his cham¬ berlains that she might go out and in to adore her God as she pleased for three days. And she went out in the nights into the valley of Bethulia. And as she came up she prayed to the Lord the God of Israel that He would direct her way to the deliverance of His people. And it came to pass on the fourth day, that Holo- fernes made a supper for his servants; and he drank exceeding much wine, so much as he had never drunk in his life. And when it was grown late, his servants made haste to their lodgings; and they were all over¬ charged with wine. And Judith was all alone in the chamber; but Holo- fernes lay on his bed, fast asleep, being exceedingly drunk. And Judith spoke to her maid to stand without, before the chamber, and to watch. And Judith stood before the bed, praying with tears with the motion of her lips, in silence, saying, “Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, and in this hour look on the works of my hands, that, as Thou hast promised, Thou mayest raise up Jeru¬ salem, Thy city, and that I may bring to pass that which I have purposed, having a belief that it might be done by Thee.” And when she had said this, she went to the pillar that was at his bed’s head, and loosed his sword that hung tied upon it. And when she had drawn it out, she took him by the hair of his head and said. “Strengthen me O Lord at this hour.” And she struck twice upon 204 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT his neck, and cut off his head and took off his canopy from the pillars, and rolled away his headless body. And after a while she went out and delivered the head of Holofernes to her maid and bade her to put it into her wallet. And they two went out according to their custom, as it were to prayer; and they passed the camp, and having compassed the val¬ ley, they came to the gate of the city. And J udith, from afar off, cried to the watchmen upon the walls, “ Open the gates for God is with us who hath shown His power in Israel.” And it came to pass, when the men Judith with the Head of Holofernes. had heard her Voice, that they called the ancients of the city. And all ran to meet her, from the least to the greatest; for they now had no hopes that she would come. And lighting up lights, they all gathered round about her. And she went up to a higher place and she commanded silence to be made. And when all had held their peace Judith said, 44 Praise ye the Lord our God who hath not forsaken THE STORY OF JUDITH 205 them that hope in Him.” Then she brought forth the head of Holofernes out of the wallet and showed it them saying, “Behold the head of Holofernes, the general of the army of the Assyrians, and behold his canopy wherein he lay in his drunkenness, where the Lord our God slew him by the hand of a woman.” And Ozias, the Prince of the people said to her, “Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord, the most high God, above all women upon the earth.” Judith’s Return to Bethulia. And all the people said, ‘'So be it, so be it.” And Judith said to all the people, “Hear ye, my brethren, hang ye this head upon our walls, and as soon as the sun shall rise, let every man take his arms, and rush out, not as going down beneath, but as making an assault. Then the watchman must needs run to awake their prince for the battle. And when the captain of them shall run to the tent of Holofernes and shall find him without his head, wallowing in his blood, fear shall fall upon them. And when you shall know that they 206 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT are fleeing, go after them securely, for the Lord will destroy them under your feet.” And immediately, at break of day, they hung up the head of Holofernes upon the walls, and every man took his arms, and they went out with a great noise and shouting. And the watchmen, seeing this, ran to the tent of Holofernes. And they that were in the tent came and made a noise before the door of the chamber to awake him, endeavoring by art to break his rest, that Holofernes might awake, not by their calling him, but by their noise; for no man durst knock or open and go into the chamber of the general of the Assyrians. But after waiting some time, in vain, Vagao, one of the chamberlains, came near to the curtain, and lifted it up; and seeing the body of Holofernes lying upon the ground without the head, weltering in his blood, he cried out with a loud voice with weeping, and rent his garments. And he went into the tent of Judith, and not finding her, he ran out to the people and said, “One Hebrew woman hath made confusion in the house of the king; for behold, Holo¬ fernes lieth upon the ground and his head is not on him.” Which when the chiefs of the army of the Assyrians heard, they all rent their garments and an intolerable fear and dread fell upon them, and their minds were troubled exceedingly; and there was a very great cry in the midst of their camp. And when all the army heard that Holofernes was beheaded, courage and counsel fled from them, and being seized with trembling and fear they thought only to save themselves by flight; so that no one spoke to his neighbor, THE STORY OF JUDITH 207 but hanging down the head, leaving all things behind, they made haste to escape from the Hebrews. And the children of Israel, pursuing in one body, defeated all that they could find. And Judith was made great in Bethulia, and she was renowned in all the land of Israel. And she abode in her house a hundred and five years; and she died and was buried with her husband in Bethulia. XII. THE KINGDOM OF JUDA. Juda's Unfaithfulness: And Juda did evil in the sight of the Ford, and provoked Him above all that their fathers had done, in their sins which they committed. For they also built them altars and statues and groves upon every high hill and under every green tree. There were also effeminate in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the people whom the Lord had destroyed before the face of the children of Israel. Even King Ozias who was one of the few good kings that reigned in Juda, when he became strong, neglected THE KINGDOM OF JUDA 209 the Lord his God. For going into the temple of the Lord, he had a mind to burn incense upon the altar of incense; and immediately, Azarias the priest, going in after him, and with him four score priests of the Lord, most valiant men, withstood the king, and said, “It doth not belong to thee Ozias, to burn incense to the Lord, but to the priests, that is, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated for this ministry; go out of the sanctuary; do not despise, for this shall not be accounted to thy glory by the Lord God.” And Ozias was angry; and holding in his hand the censer to burn incense, he threat¬ ened the priests. And presently there arose a leprosy in his forehead, before the priests, in the house of the Lord, at the altar of incense. And Azarias, the high priest, and all the rest of the priests looked upon him and saw the leprosy in his forehead; and they made haste to thrust him out; yea, himself also, being frightened hasted to go out, because he had quickly felt the stroke of the Lord. And Ozias, the king, was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelled in a house apart . 1 And so it came to pass that the anger of the Lord was kindled against Juda because of the provocations where¬ with they had provoked Him; and He said, “I will remove Juda also from before My face, as I have removed Israel; and I will cast off this city of Jerusalem which I chose, and the house of which I said: My name shall be there.” The Prophesies of Jeremias: And word came to Jeremias, the prophet, by the Lord saying, “Take thee a roll of a book, and thou shall write in it all the words 210 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT that I have spoken against Israel and Juda, and against all the nations, from the first day that I spoke to thee. 2 If so be, when the house of Juda shall hear all the evils that I purpose to do unto them, that they may return every man from his wicked way; and I shall forgive their iniquity and their sin. So Jeremias called Baruch, the son of Nerias; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremias all the words of the Lord which he spoke to him upon the roll of a book. And Jeremias commanded Baruch saying, 44 1 am shut up and cannot go into the house of the Lord; go thou in therefore, and read out of the volume which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the Lord, in the hearing of all the people, in the house of the Lord, on the fasting day.” And Baruch did according to all that Jeremias, the prophet, had commanded him, reading out of the volume the words of the Lord in the house of the Lord. Baruch Writing Jeremias’ Prophesies. THE KINGDOM OF JUDA 211 And when Micheas had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord, he went down into the king’s house to the secretary’s chamber; and behold all the princes sat there. And Micheas told them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read out of the volume in the hearing of the people. Therefore all the princes sent Judi to Baruch saying, “Take in thy hand the volume in which thou hast read in the hearing of the people and come.” So Baruch took the volume in his hand and came to them. And they said to him, “Sit down and read these things in our hearing.” And when they had heard all the words they looked upon one another with astonish¬ ment; and they said to Baruch, “We must tell the king all these words.” And they asked him, saying, “Tell us, how didst thou write all these words from his mouth? ” And Baruch said to them, “With his mouth he pro¬ nounced all these words as if he were reading to me, and I wrote in a volume with ink.” And the princes said to Baruch, “Go and hide thee, both thou and Jeremias, and let no man know where you are.” And they went in to the king into the court; but they laid up the volume in the chamber of Elisama, the scribe. And they told all the words in the hearing of the king. And the king sent Judi that he should take the volume, who bringing it out of the chamber of Elisama, read it in the hearing of the king. Now the king sat in the winter house, in the ninth month; and there was a hearth before him full of burn¬ ing coals. And when Judi had read three or four pages, he cut it with a penknife and cast it into the fire that 212 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT was upon the hearth, till all the volume was consumed with the fire that was upon the hearth. 3 And the king and all his servants that had heard all these words were not afraid, nor did they rend their garments. But yet Elnathan, and Dalaias and Gamarias spoke to the king not to burn the book; but he heard them not. And the king commanded Jeremial to take up Baruch, the scribe, and Jeremias, the prophet; b u t t h e Lord hid them. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias after that the king had burnt the volume and the words that Baruch had written from the mouth of Jere¬ mias, saying, '‘Take thee again another volume and write in it all the former words that were in the first volume which Joakim the king of Juda hath burnt. And thou shalt say to Joakim, the king of Juda, ‘Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast burnt that volume saying, Why hast thou written therein and said the king of Babylon shall come speedily and shall waste this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast; therefore thus saith Reading the Prophesies Before the King. THE KINGDOM OF JUDA 213 the Lord against Joakim the king of Juda: He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David, and his body shall be cast out to the heat by day, and the frost by night; and I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquities. And I will bring upon them and upon the i n h a b i- tants of Jerusalem and upon the man of Juda, all the evil that I have pro¬ nounced against them, but they have not heard.’ ” And Jeremias took another vol¬ ume and gave it to Baruch, who wrote in it from the mouth of Jeremias, all the words of the book which Joakim, the king of Juda, had burnt with fire; and there were added besides many more words than had been before. The Fall of Juda: And it came to pass that the servants of Nebuchodonosor, 4 king of Babylon, came up against Jerusalem; and the city was surrounded with their forts. And Nebuchodonosor, king of Babylon, The King Destroying the Prophesies of Jeremias. 214 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT came to the city with bis servants to assault it. And Joakim, king of Juda, went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his nobles; and the king of Babylon received him in the eighth year of his reign. And King Nebu- chodonosor brought out from thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house; and he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solo¬ mon, king of Israel, had made in the temple of the Lord, according to the The Destruction of Jerusalem. WOl’d of the Lord. And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes and all the valiant men of the army, to the number of ten thousand, into captivity; and every artificer and smith; and none were left but the poor sort of people of the land. And he carried away Joakim into Babylon and the king’s mother. And in the fifth month, the seventh day of the month, that is the nineteenth year of the king of Babylon, came THE KINGDOM OF JUDA 215 Nabuzardan, commander of the army, a servant of the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem. And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and the houses of Jerusalem; and every house he burnt with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, which was with the com¬ mander of the troups, broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about. And Nabuzardan, the commander of the army, carried away the rest of the people that remained in the city, and the fugitives that had gone over to the king of Babylon, and the remnant of the common people; but of the poor of the land, he left some dressers of vines and the husbandmen. So Juda was carried away out of their land. XIII. THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY. The Elevation of Daniel and His Companions: It came to pass, after that King Nebuchodonosor had returned to his own land, that he spoke to Asphenez, his chief chamberlain, that he should bring in some of the children of Israel, and of the king’s offspring, and of the princes, children in whom there was no blemish, well favored and skilful in all wisdom, acute in knowledge and instructed in science, and such as might stand in the king’s palace, that he might teach them the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king ap¬ pointed them a daily provision of his own meat, and of the wine which he drank himself, that being nourished three years, afterwards they might stand before the king. Now there was among them of the children of Juda, Daniel, Ananias, Misael and Azarias. And the chief chamberlain gave them names: to Daniel, Baltassar; to Ananias, Sidrach; to Misael, Misach; and to Azarias, Abdenego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not be defiled with the king’s table, 1 nor with the wine which he drank; and he requested the chief chamberlain that he might not be defiled. And God gave to Daniel grace and mercy in the sight of the chief chamberlain. And the chief chamberlain said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed you meat and drink; THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY 217 who if he should see your faces leaner than those of the other youths, your equals, you shall endanger my head to the king.” And Daniel said to Malasar whom the chief chamber- lain had appointed over Daniel, Ananias, Misael and Azarias, “Try, I beseech thee, thy servants for ten days, and let pulse be given us to eat and water to drink; and look upon our faces, and the faces of the children that Daniel and His Companions Before Nebuchodonosor. eat the king’s meat; and as thou shalt see, deal with thy servants.” And when he had heard these words, he tried them for ten days. And after ten days, their faces appeared fairer and fatter than all the children that eat of the king’s meat. So Malasa took their portions and the wine that they should drink; and he gave them pulse. 2 And to these children God gave knowledge, and understanding in every book, and wisdom: but to Daniel the understanding also of visions and dreams. 218 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And when the days were ended, after which the king had ordered they should be brought in, the chief chamber- lain brought them in before Nebuchodonosor. And when the king had spoken to them there were not found among them all such as Daniel, Ananias, Misael and Azarias. And they stood in the king’s presence. 3 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king enquired of them he found them ten times better than all the diviners and wise men that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel continued even to the first year of King Cyrus. i The Three Children in the Fiery Furnace: King Nebuchodonosor made a statue of gold, of sixty cubits high, 4 and six cubits broad; 5 and he set it up in the plains of Dura, of the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchod¬ onosor, the king, sent to call together the nobles, the magistrates, and the judges, the captains, the rulers, and the governors, and all the chief men of the provinces, to come to the statue which King Nebuchodonosor had set up. Then the nobles, the magistrates and the judges, the captains, and rulers, and the great men that were placed in authority, and all the princes of the provinces, were gathered together to come to the dedication of the statue which King Nebuchodonosor had set up; and they stood before the statue which King Nebuchodonosor had set up. Then a herald cried with a strong voice, “To you it is commanded, O nations, tribes and languages, that in the hour that you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY 219 and of the flute, and of the harp, of the sackbut, 6 and of the psaltery, and of the symphony, 7 and of all kind of music, ye shall fall down and adore the golden statue which King Nebuchodonosor hath set up; but if any man shall not fall down and adore, he shall, the same hour, be cast into a furnace of burning fire.” Upon this therefore, at the time when all the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the flute, and the harp, of the sackbut, and the psaltery, and of all kind of music, all the nations, tribes, and languages fell down and adored the golden statue which King Nebuchodonosor had set up. And presently, at that very time, some Chaldeans came and accused the Jews, and said to King Nebuchod¬ onosor, “O king, live forever: thou, O king, hast made a decree that every man that shall hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, and the harp, of the sackbut, and the psaltery, of the symphony, and of all kind of music, shall prostrate himself and adore the golden statue; and if any man shall not fall down, he should be cast into a furnace of burning fire. Now there are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the works of the province of Babylon, Sidrach, Misach and Abdenego; these men, O king, have slighted thy decree; they worship not thy gods, nor do they adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.” Then Nebuchodonosor, in fury and in wrath, com¬ manded that Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenego should be brought; who immediately were brought before the king. And Nebuchodonosor, the king, spoke to them 220 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT and said, “Is it true, O Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenego, that you do not worship my gods, nor adore the golden statue that I have set up? Now therefore, if you be ready, at what hour soever you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, harp, sackbut, and psaltery, and sym¬ phony, and all kind of music, prostrate yourselves, and adore the statue which I have made; but if you do not adore, you shall be cast, the same hour, into the furance of burning fire : and who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hand?” Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenego an- The Three Children in the Fiery Furnace. swered and said to King Nebuchodonosor, “We have no occasion to answer thee concerning this matter; for behold our God, whom we worship, is able to save us from the furnace of burning fire, and to deliver us out of thy hands, O king. But if He will not, be it known to thee, O king^ that we will not worship thy gods, nor adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.” THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY 221 Then was Nebuchodonosor filled with fury; and the countenance of his face was changed against Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenego; and he commanded that the fur¬ nace should be heated seven times more that it had been accustomed to be heated; and he commanded the strongest men that were in his army to bind the feet of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenego, and to cast them into the furnace of burning fire. And immediately these men were bound and were cast into the furnace fire, with their coats, and their caps, and their shoes, and their garments; for the king’s commandment was urgent. And the furnace was heated exceedingly. And the flame of the fire slew those men that had cast in Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenego; but these three men, that is, Sidrach, Misach, and Adbenego, walked in the midst of the flame praising God and blessing the Lord. Then Nebuchodonosor, the king, was astonished, and rose up in haste, and said to his nobles, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered the king, and said, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “Behold I see four men, loose and walking in the midst of the fire; and there is no hurt in them; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Then Nebuchodonosor came to the door of the burn¬ ing fiery furnace, and said, “Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenego, ye servants of the most high God, go ye forth, and come.” THE DIVINE TWILIGHT And immediately Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenego went out from the midst of the fire. And the nobles, and the magistrates, and the judges, and the great men of the king, being gathered together, considered these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies, and that not a hair of their head had been singed, nor their garments altered, nor the smell of the fire had passed on them. Then Nebuchodonosor, breaking forth, said, “ Blessed be the God of them, to wit, Sidrach, Misach and Abden¬ ego, who hath sent His angel and delivered His servants that believed in Him; and they changed the king’s word, and delivered up their bodies that they might not serve nor adore any god except their own. By me therefore this decree is made: That every people, tribe and tongue which shall speak blasphemy against the God of Sidrach, Misach and Abdenego, shall be destroyed, and their houses laid waste; for there is no other god that can save in this manner.” Then the king promoted Sidrach, Misach and Abden¬ ego in the province of Babylon. Baltassar’s Feast: Baltassar, 8 the king, made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles; and every one drank according to his age. And he ‘ commanded that they should bring the vessels of gold and silver which Nebuchodonosor his father had brought away out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, that the king and his nobles might drink in them. Then were the golden and silver vessels brought, which he had brought away out of the temple that was in Jerusalem; and the king and THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY 223 his nobles drank in them. They drank wine, and praised their gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron and of wood and of stone. In the same hour there appeared fingers, as it were of the hand of a man, writing over against the candlestick, upon the surface of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king beheld the joints of the hand that wrote. Then was the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one against the other. And the king cried out aloud to bring in the wise men, the Chaldeans and the soothsayers. 9 And the king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Who¬ soever shall read this writing, and shall make known to me the interpretation thereof shall be clothed with purple and shall have a golden chain on his neck and shall be the third man in my kingdom.” Then came in all the king’s wise men; but they could neither read the writing, nor declare the interpreta¬ tion to the king. Wherewith King Baltassar was much troubled, and his countenance was troubled; and his nobles also were troubled. Then the queen, on occasion of what had happened to the king and his nobles, came into the banquet house, and she spoke and said, “O king, live forever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, neither let thy countenance be changed. There is a man in thy kingdom that hath the spirit of the holy gods in him; and in the days of thy father, knowledge and wisdom were found in him; for King Nebuchodonosor, thy father, appointed him prince of the wise men; that is Daniel, whom the king named 224 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Baltassar. Now therefore, let Daniel be called for, and he will tell the interpretation.” Then Daniel was brought in before the king; and the king spoke to him and said, “Art thou Daniel of the children of the captivity of Juda, whom my father, the king, brought out of Judea? I have heard of thee, that thou hast the spirit of the gods; and excellent knowledge and understanding and wisdom are found in thee. And now the wise men, the magicians, have come in before me to read this writing and show me the interpretation thereof; and they could not declare to me the meaning of this writing. Now if thou art able to read the writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and shalt have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third prince in my kingdom.” To which Daniel answered, “Thy rewards be to thyself, and the gifts of thy house give, to another; but the writing I will read to thee, 0 king, and show thee the interpretation thereof. O king, the most high God gave to Nebuchodonosor, thy father, a kingdom; and greatness, and glory, and honor. And for the greatness that He gave to him, all peoples, tribes and languages trembled and were afraid of him. Whom he would, he slew; and whom he would, he destroyed: whom he would, he set up; and whom he would, he brought down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened unto pride, he was put down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory was taken away. And he was driven out from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY 225 wild asses, and he did eat grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High ruled in the kingdom of men, and that He will set over it whomsoever it shall please Him. 10 “Thou also, his son, O Baltassar, hast not humbled thy heart, whereas thou knewest all these things, but hast lifted thyself up against the Lord of Heaven; and the vessels of His house have been brought before thee; Daniel Interpreting Baltasser’s Vision. and thou, and thy nobles, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and of gold, and of brass, of iron and of wood and of stone, that neither see, nor feel; but the God who hath thy breath in His hand, and all thy ways, thou hast not glorified. Wherefore He hath sent the part of the hand which hath written this that is set down. “And this is the writing that is written: MANE, THECEL, PHARES. And this is the interpretation of the word: THE DIVINE TWILIGHT 226 “MANE: God hath numbered thy kingdom and hath finished it; “THECEL: thou art weighed in the balance and art found wanting; “PHARES: thy kingdom is divided and is given to the Medes and Persians/’ Then, by the king’s command, Daniel was clothed with purple, and a chain of gold was put about his neck; and it was proclaimed of him that he had power as the third man in the kingdom. The same night, Baltassar, the Chaldean king, was slain. And Darias, the Mede, succeeded to the kingdom, being three score and two years old. Daniel in the Lion’s Den: It seemed good to Darias, and he appointed over the kingdom a hundred and twenty governors to be over his whole kingdom; and three princes over them, of whom Daniel was one, that the governors might give an account to them, and the king might have no trouble. And Daniel excelled all the princes and governors, because a greater spirit of God was in him. And the king thought to set him over all the kingdom; whereupon the. princes and the governors sought to find occasion against Daniel with regard to the king: and they could find no cause, nor suspicion, because he was faithful; and no fault or suspicion was found in him. Then these men said, “We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, unless perhaps concerning the law of his God.” Then the princes and the governors craftily THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY 227 suggested to the king, and spoke unto him, wk King Darias, live forever: all the princes of the kingdom, the magistrates and governors, the senators and judges, have consulted together that an imperial decree and an edict be published, that whosoever shall ask any petition of any god or man, for thirty days, but of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now therefore, O king, confirm the sentence and sign the decree; that what is decreed by the Medes and Persians may not be altered, nor any man be allowed to transgress it.” So King Darias set forth the decree, and established it. Now when Daniel knew this, that is to say, that the law was made, he went into his house and opening the windows in his upper chamber towards Jerusalem, he knelt down three times a day, and adored and gave thanks before his God, as he had been accustomed to do before. AYherefore those men, carefully watching him, found Daniel praying and making supplication to his God; and they came and spoke to the king concerning the edict: ”0 king, hast thou not decreed that every man that should make a request to any of the gods or men, for thirty days, but to thyself, O king, should be cast into the den of lions?” And the king answered them saying, “The word is true according to the decree of the Medes and Persians, which it is not lawful to violate.” Then they answered and said before the king: “ Daniel who is of the children of the captivity of Juda, hath not regarded thy law, nor the decree that thou hast made; but three times a day he maketh his prayer." 228 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT Now when the king had heard these words, he was very much grieved; and, in behalf of Daniel, he set his heart to deliver him; and even till sunset he labored to save him. But those men, perceiving the king’s design, said to him, “Know thou, 0 king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree which the king hath made, may be altered.” Daniel in the Lion’s Den. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of the lions. And the king said to Daniel, “Thy God, whom thou always servest, He will deliver thee.” And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den, which the king sealed with his own ring, and with the ring of his nobles, that nothing should be done against Daniel. And the king went away to his house, and laid himself down, without taking supper; and meat was not set before him, and even sleep departed from him. THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY 229 Then the king, rising very early in the morning, went in haste to the lions’ den; and coming near to the den, cried with a lamentable voice to Daniel, and said to him, ‘‘Daniel, servant of the living God: hath thy God whom thou servest always been able, thinkest thou, to deliver thee from the lions?” And Daniel, answering the king, said, “O king, live forever: my God hath sent His angel, and hath shut up Daniel’s Answer to the King. the mouth of the lions, and they have not hurt me; for¬ asmuch as before Him, justice hath been found in me: yea, and before thee, 0 king, I have done no offence.” Then was the king exceedingly glad for him; and he commanded that Daniel should be taken out of the den. And Daniel was taken out of the den; and no hurt was found in him, because he believed in God. And by the king’s commandment, those men were brought that had accused Daniel; and they were cast into the lions’ den; they and their children and their wives: and they did 230 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT not reach the bottom of the den before the lions caught them and broke all their bones in pieces. Then King Darias wrote to all the people, tribes and languages, dwelling in the whole earth: '‘Peace be multiplied unto you: It is decreed by me that in all my empire and my kingdom, all men dread and fear the God of Daniel; for He is the living and eternal God forever; and His kingdom shall not be destroyed; and His power shall be forever. He is the deliverer and Savior, doing signs and wonders in Heaven and in earth; who hath delivered Daniel out of the lions’ den.” Now Daniel continued unto the reign of Darias, and the reign of Cyrus, the Persian. XIV. THE STORY OF ESTHER. In the days of Assuerus 1 , who reigned from India to Ethiopia over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, when he sat on the throne of his kingdom, the city Susan was the capital of his kingdom. Now in the third year of his reign, he made a great feast for all the princes and for his servants, for the most mighty of the Persians and the nobles of the Medes, and the governors of the provinces in his sight, that he might show the riches of the glory of his kingdom, and the greatness and boasting of his power, for a long time, to wit, for a hundred and four-score days. And when the days of the feast were expired, he invited all the people that were found in Susan, from the greatest to the least, and commanded a feast to be made in the court of the garden and of the wood, which was planted by the care and the hand of the king. Now on the seventh day, when the king was merry, and after very much drinking, he commanded that Queen Vasthi be brought before him, with the crown set upon her head, to show her beauty to all the people and the princes; for she was exceedingly beautiful. But she refused and would not come at the king’s commandment. Whereupon, the king, being angry, and inflamed with a very great fury, asked the wise men, who according to the custom of kings, were always near his person, what 232 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT sentence ought to pass upon Vasthi. And Mamuchan, one of the chiefs of the wise men, answered, “If it please thee let an edict go out from thy presence, and let it be written according to the law of the Persians and of the Medes, which must not be altered, that Vasthi come in no more to the king, but another that is better than her be made queen in her place.” And this counsel pleased the king and the princes. And the king did according to the counsel of Mamuchan. After this, when the wrath of King Assuerus was appeased, he remembered Vasthi and what she had done and what she had suffered; and the king’s servants and his officers said, “Let young women be sought for the king, and let them be brought to the city of Susan; and whosoever among them all shall please the king’s eyes, let her be queen instead of Vasthi.” And the word pleased the king; and he commanded that it should be done as they had suggested. Now there was a man in the city of Susan, a Jew, named, Mardochai, who had been carried away from Jerusalem at the time that Nebuchodonosor, king of Babylon, carried away Jechonias, king of Juda. And he had brought up his brother’s daughter Edissa, who by another name was called Esther; and she was exceeding fair and beautiful. And her father and mother being dead, Mardochai adopted her for his daughter. And when the king’s ordinance was noised abroad, and according to his commandment many beautiful maidens were brought to Susan, Esther also was among the rest. And Esther pleased the king, and found favor THE STORY OF ESTHER 233 in his sight, above all the women, and he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vasthi. And he commanded a magnificent feast to be prepared for all the princes and for his servants for the marriage and wedding of Esther. And he gave rest to all the provinces and bestowed gifts according to princely magnificence. Now it happened at that time that two of the king’s chamberlains, named Bagathan and Thares, who were Esther Before Assuerus. porters and presided in the first entry of the palace, were angry, and they designed to rise up against the king and kill him. But Mardochai, who abode at the king’s gate , 2 having notice of it, immediately told it to Queen Esther; and she told the king in Mardochai’s name. And when it was inquired into and found out, they were both hanged on a gibbet. And it was put in the histories, and recorded in the chronicles before the king. 234 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT After these things, King Assuerns advanced Aman who was of the race of Agag , 3 and he set his throne above all the princes that were with him. And all the king’s servants that were at the doors of the palace bent their knees and worshipped Aman, for so the emperor had commanded them; only Mardochai did not bend his knee nor worship him. And the king’s servants that were chief at the doors of the palace said to him, “Why dost thou alone not observe the king’s commandment?” And when they were saying this often and he would not hearken to them they told Aman. Now when Aman had heard this he was exceeding angry. And he counted it nothing to lay his hands upon Mardochai alone; for he had heard that he was of the nation of the Jews; and he chose rather to destroy all the nation of the Jews that were in the kingdom of Assuerus. And Aman said to King Assuerus, “There is a people scattered through all the provinces of thy kingdom that use new laws and ceremonies and moreover despise the king’s ordinances. Now thou knowest very well that it is not expedient for thy kingdom that they should grow insolent by impunity; if it please thee, decree that they may be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents to thy treasurers.” And the king took the ring, that he used, from his own hand, and gave it to Aman; and he said to him, “As to the money which thou promisest keep it for thyself; but as to the people, do with them as seemeth good to THE STORY OF ESTHER 235 thee." And letters sealed with the king’s ring were sent by the king’s messengers to all provinces to kill and destroy all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, that is, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month, which is called Adar, and to make a spoil of their goods. Now when Mardochai had heard these things he rent his garments and put on sack-cloth, strewing ashes on his head; and he cried with a loud voice in the street in the midst of the city showing the anguish of his mind. And he came lamenting in this manner even to the gate of the palace; for no one clothed in sack-cloth might enter the king’s court. And all the provinces, towns and places to which the king’s cruel edict was come there was great mourning among the Jews with fasting, wailing, and weeping, many using sack-cloth and ashes for their bed. Then Esther’s maids went in and told her. And when she heard it she was in consternation; and she sent a garment to clothe Mardochai, and to take away the sack-cloth; but he would not receive it. And she called for Athach, one of the king’s chamberlains, and com¬ manded him to go to Mardochai and learn of him why he did this. And Athach going out, went to Mardochai, who was standing in the street of the city, before the palace gate. And Mardochai told him all that had happened. And Athach went back and told Esther. And again Esther sent to Mardochai in these words, "Go and gather together all the Jews whom thou shalt find in Susan and pray ye for me. Neither eat nor drink for 236 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT three days and three nights; and I with my handmaids will fast in like manner; and then I will go in to the king, which is against the law, not being called, and expose myself to death and to danger.” So Mardochai went and did all that Esther had commanded him. And on the third day Esther put on her royal apparel and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s hall. Now he sat upon his throne in the hall of the palace over against the door of the house. And when he saw Esther the queen standing, she pleased his eyes, and he held out to her the royal sceptre which he held in his hand; and she drew near and kissed the top of his sceptre. And the king said to her, “What wilt thou, Queen Esther; what is thy request? If thou should even ask one-half of the kingdom it shall be given to thee.” But she answered, “ If it please the king, I beseech thee to come to me this day and Aman with thee to the banquet which I have prepared.” And the king forthwith said, “Call ye Aman quickly, that he may obey Esther’s will.” So the king and Aman came to the banquet which the queen had prepared for them. And the king said to her after he had drunk wine plentifully, “What dost thou desire should be given thee; and for what asketh thou? Although thou shouldst ask the half of my kingdom thou shalt have it.” And Esther answered, “My petition and request is this: let the king and Aman come to the banquet which I have prepared them, and tomorrow I will open my mind to the king.” THE STORY OF ESTHER 237 So Aman went out that day joyful and merry. And when he saw Mardochai sitting before the gate of the palace, and that he not only did not rise up to honor him, but did not so much as move from the place where he sat, he was exceedingly angry. But dissembling his anger, and returning into his house, he called together to him his friends and Zares, his wife, and he declared to them the greatness of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and with how great glory the king had advanced him above all his princes and servants. And after this, he said, ” Queen Esther also hath invited no other to the banquet with the king but me. And whereas I have all these things I think I have nothing so long as I see Mardochai, the Jew, sitting before the king’s gate." Then Zares, his wife, and the rest of his friends answered him, Order a great beam to be prepared, fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak to the king that Mardochai may be hanged upon it; and so thou shalt go full of joy to the banquet.” The counsel pleased him and he commanded a high gibbet to be prepared. That night the king passed without sleep and he commanded the histories and chronicles of former times to be brought him. And when they were reading them before him, they came to that place where it was written how Mardochai had discovered the treason of Bagathan and Thares, the chamberlains, who sought to kill King Assuerus. And when the king heard this, he said, "'What honor and reward hath Mardochai received for this fidelity?" 238 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT His servants and ministers said to him, “He hath received no reward at all/’ And the king said immediately, “ Who is in the court? ” For Aman was coming to the inner court of the king’s house to speak to the king that he might order Mardochai to be hanged upon the gibbet which was prepared for him. The servants answered, “Aman standeth in the court." And the king said, “Let him come in.” And when he was come in he said to him, “What ought to be done to the man whom the king is desirous to honor?” But Aman thinking in his heart and supposing that the king would honor no other but himself, answered, “The man whom the king desireth to honor ought to be clothed with the king’s apparel, and to set upon the horse that the king rideth upon, and to have the royal crown set upon his head; and let the first of the king’s princes and nobles hold his horse and going through the street of the city proclaim before him and say, 'Thus shall he be honored whom the king hath a mind to honor.’ ” And the king said to him, “Make haste and take the robe and the horse, and do as thou hast spoken to Mar¬ dochai, the Jew, who sitteth before the gates of the palace. Beware thou pass over any of those things which thou hast spoken.” So Aman took the robe and the horse and arraying Mardochai in the street of the city and setting him on the horse went before him and proclaimed, “This honor is THE STORY OF ESTHER 239 he worthy of whom the king hath a mind to honor.’ And Mardochai returned to the palace gate; but Aman made haste to go to his house, mourning and having his head covered. And Aman told Zares his wife, and his friends all that had befallen him. And the wise men whom he had in counsel and his wife answered him, 4 ‘If Mardochai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou canst not re¬ sist him.” As they were yet speaking the king’s chamberlains came and compelled him to go quickly to the banquet which the queen had prepared. Esther Confounding Aman. So the king and Aman went in to drink with the queen. And the king said to her again the second day, “What is thy petition, Esther, that it may be granted thee? And what wilt thou have done. Although thou ask the half of my kingdom thou shalt have it." Then she answered, “If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please thee, give me my life for 240 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT which I ask, and my people for which I request. For we are given up, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. And would God we were sold for bondmen and bondwomen; the evil might be borne with, and I would have mourned in silence. But now we have an enemy whose cruelty redoundeth upon the king.” And King Assuerus answered and said, “Who is this and of what power that he should do these things?” Assuerus Proclaiming Freedom to the Jews. And Esther said, It is this Aman that is our adversary and most wicked enemy.” Aman hearing this was forthwith astonished, not being able to bear the countenance of the king and of the queen. Then Harbona, one of the chamberlains that stood waiting on the king said, “Behold the gibbet which Aman hath prepared for Mardochai standeth in Aman’s house fifty cubits high.” THE STORY OF ESTHER 241 And the king said, “Hang Aman upon it.” So Aman was hanged on the gibbet which he had prepared for Mardochai. And the king’s wrath ceased. And on that day King Assuerus gave the house of Aman to Queen Esther . 4 And he took the ring which he had commanded to be taken from Aman, and gave it to Mardochai. And he caused letters to be sent in the king’s name, sealed with his ring, to all the provinces, to prevent the former letters which had been sent out by Aman against the Jews, and in all the cities and provinces, whithersoever the king’s commandments came, there was wonderful rejoicings, feasts and banquets, keeping holy-days, and a great dread of the name of the Jews fell upon all. XV. THE NATION’S REBIRTH. The Return From Captivity: In the first year of Cyrus , 1 king of the Persians, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias might be fulfilled , 2 the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of the Persians, and he made proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and in writing also, saying, “ Thus saitli Cyrus, king of the Persians: The Lord, the God of Heaven, hath given to me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judea. Who is there among you of all His people: let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judea, and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel: He is the God that is in Jerusalem. And let all the rest, in all places wheresoever they dwell, help him every man from his place with silver and gold and goods and cattle, besides that which they offer freely to the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.” Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Juda and Benjamin, and the priests and levites, and every one whose spirit God had raised up, to go up to build the temple of the Lord, which was in Jerusalem. And all they that were round about helped their hands with vessels of silver and gold, and with beasts and with furniture, besides what they had offered on their own accord. And King Cyrus brought forth the vessels of THE NATION'S REBIRTH 243 the temple of the Lord which Nebuchodonosor had taken from Jerusalem, and had put them in the temple of his god. And the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. And when the masons laid the foundations of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their ornaments with trumpets, and the levites with cymbals, to praise God by the hands of David, king of Israel. And they sang together hymns, and praise to the Lord ; be¬ cause He is good, for His mercy en- dureth forever to¬ wards Israel. But many of the priests and the levites, and The Return to the Promised Land, the chief of the fathers and the ancients that had seen the former temple, when they had the founda¬ tion of this temple before their eyes, wept with a loud voice. And many, shouting for joy, lifted up their voice, so that one could not distinguish the voice of the shout of joy, from the noise of the weeping of the people; for 244 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT one with another the people shouted with a loud shout; and the voice was heard afar off. So they budded the temple and finished it, by the commandment of the God of Israel, and by the command¬ ment of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of the Persians. And they were finishing this house of God until the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius. . Nehemias: 44 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, the king, that wine was put before him; and I, Nehemias, took up the wine and gave it to the king, for I was the king’s cup¬ bearer; and I was as one languishing away before his face. 44 And the king said to me, 4 Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou dost not appear to be sick? This is not without cause; but some evil, I know not what, is in thy heart. ’ 44 And I was seized with an exceedingly great fear; and I said, 4 0 king, live forever: why should not my counte¬ nance be sorrowful, seeing the city of the place of the sepulchres of my fathers is desolate, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire.’ 44 Then the king said to me, 4 For what dost thou make request? ’ 44 And I prayed to the God of Heaven; and I said to the king, 4 If it seem good to the king, and if thy servant hath found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldst send me into Judea, to the city of the sepulchre of my father, and I will build it.’ THE NATION’S REBIRTH 245 “And tlie king said to me, and the queen that sat by him, ‘For how long wilt thy journey be, and when wilt thou return?’ “And it pleased the king and he sent me; and I fixed him a time. “And I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; and I told not any man what God had put in my heart to do in Jerusalem; and there was no beast with me, but the beast that I rode upon. And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, and before the dragon fountain, and to the dung gate; and I viewed the wall of Jerusalem which was broken down, and the gates thereof which were consumed with fire. And I passed to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s aqueduct; and there was no place for the beast on which I rode to pass. And I went up in the night by the torrent, and viewed the wall; and going back I came to the gate of the valley, and returned. But the magistrates knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told any thing to the Jews or to the priests or to the nobles or to the magistrates or to the rest that did the work. “ Then I said to them, ‘ You know the affliction wherein we are, because Jerusalem and the gates thereof are consumed with fire: come and let us build up the walls of Jerusalem, and let us be no longer a reproach.’ And I showed them how the hand of God was with me; and the king’s word which he had spoken to me; and I said, ‘Let us rise and build.’ 246 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT “So we built the wall, 3 and joined it all together unto the half thereof; and the heart of the people was excited to the work. “And after the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and numbered the porters and singing men and levites, I com¬ manded my brother and Hananias, ruler of the house of Jeru¬ salem (for he seemed as a sincere man, and one that feared God above the rest), and I said to them, 'Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened till the sun be hot.’ And while they were yet standing by, the gates were shut and barred; and I set Rebuilding Jerusalem. watchmen of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one by their courses, and every man over against his house. “And the city was very wide and great, and the people few in the midst thereof; and the houses were not built. But God had put in my heart, and I assembled the princes and magistrates and common people. And the princes of the people dwelt at Jerusalem; but the rest THE NATION’S REBIRTH 247 of the people cast lots, to take one part in ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine parts in the other cities. And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to dwell in Jerusalem.” Esdras : 44 Now after these things in the reign of Artax- erxes, king of the Persians, I (Esdras) the son of Saraias, The River that Runneth to Ahava. a ready scribe in the law of Moses, went up from Babylon; and I, being strengthened by the hand of the Lord my God, which was upon me, gathered together out of Israel chief men to go with me; and I gathered them together to the river, which runneth down to Ahava; and we stayed there three days. And I sought among the people and among the priests for the sons of Levi; and found none there. So I sent of the wise men among them to Eddo, who is chief in the place of Chasphia, and I put 248 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT in their mouth the words they should speak to Eddo and his brethren: that they should bring us ministers of the house of God. And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us most learned men. “And I proclaimed there a fast by the river Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before the Lord our God, and might ask of Him a right way for us and for our children and for all our substance; for I was ashamed to ask the king for aid and for horsemen to defend us from the enemy in the way, because we had said to the king: ‘The hand of our God is upon all them that seek Him in good¬ ness, and His power and strength and wrath upon all them that forsake Him.’ And we fasted and besought our God for this, and it fell out prosperously unto us. “And I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, and I weighed unto them the silver and gold, and the vessels consecrated for the house of God, which the king and his counselors, and his princes, and all Israel, that were found, had offered. And I said to them, ‘You are the holy ones of the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and gold that is freely offered to the Lord, the God of our fathers. Watch ye and keep them, till you deliver them by weight before the chief of the priests, and of the levites, and the heads of the’ families in Jerusalem, into the treasure of the house of the Lord.’ And the priests and the levites received the weight of the silver and gold and the vessels, to carry them to Jerusalem to the house of their God. “ Then we set forward from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and 249 THE NATION’S REBIRTH the hand of our God was upon us, and delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. And we came to Jerusalem; and the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth, the son of Urias the priest, according to the number and weight of every¬ thing; and all the weight was written at that time.” The Re-estab¬ lishment of THE Law: And all the people were gath¬ ered as one man to the street which is before the water- gate; and they spoke to Esdras, the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. Then Esdras, the priest, brought the law before the multitude of men and women, and all those that could understand; and he read it plainly in the street that was before the water-gate, from the morning until midday, before the men and women and all those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive Ezra Reading the Law. 250 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT to the book. And Esdras, the scribe, stood upon a step of wood which he had made to speak upon. And Esdras opened the book before all the people; for he was above all the people; and when he had opened it all the people stood. And Esdras blessed the Lord, the great God; and all the people answered, “Amen, amen;” lifting up their hands: and they bowed down, and adored God with their faces to the ground. And the seed of the children of Israel separated them¬ selves from every stranger. And all that had separated themselves from the people of the lands, to the law of God, came to promise and to swear that they would walk in the law of God, which He gave in the hand of Moses, the servant of God, that they would do and keep all the commandments of the Lord our God, and His judgments and His ceremonies. XVI. The Machabees. King Antiochus: Now it came to pass, after that Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian, had over¬ thrown Darias, king of the Persians and Medes, he fought many battles and took the strong holds of all, and slew the kings of the earth: and he went through even to the ends of the earth, and took the spoils of many nations; and the earth was quiet before him. And he gathered a power and a very strong army; and his heart was exalted and lifted up. And he subdued countries of nations, and they became tributaries to him. And after these things he fell down upon his bed and knew that he should die. And he called his servants, the nobles that were brought up with him from his youth, and he divided his kingdom among them while he was yet alive. And he reigned twelve years, and he died. And his servants made themselves kings, every one in his place; and they all put crowns upon themselves after his death, and their sons after them many years; and evils were multiplied upon the earth. And there came out of them a wicked root, Antiochus the Illustrious; and he reigned. And he went up to Jerusalem with a great multitude. And he proudly entered into the sanctuary and took away the golden altar and the candlestick of light and all the vessels thereof and the table of proposition and the pouring 252 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT vessels and the vials and the little mortars of gold and the veil and the crowns and the golden ornaments that were before the temple, and he broke them to pieces. And he took the silver and gold and the precious vessels; and he took the hidden treasures which he found; and when he had taken all away he departed into his own country. And after two full years the king sent the chief collector of his tributes to the cities of Juda; and he came to Jerusalem with a multitude. And he spoke to them peaceable words in deceit; and they believed him. And he fell upon the city suddenly, and struck it with a great slaughter, and destroyed much people in Israel. And he took spoils of the city, and burnt it with fire, and threw down the houses thereof and the walls thereof round about. And they took women captive, and the cattle they possessed. And they built the city of David 1 with a great and strong wall and with strong towers, and made it a fortress for them. And they placed there a sinful nation, wicked men, and they fortified themselves therein; and they stored up armour and victuals, and gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem and laid them up there; and they became a great snare. And this was a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary and an evil in Israel. And they shed innocent blood around about the sanctuary, and defiled the holy place. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem flew away by reason of them; and the city was made the habitation of strangers, and she became a stranger to her own seed, and her children forsook her. Her sanctuary was desolate like a wilderness, her festival THE MACHABEES 253 days were turned into mourning, her Sabbaths into reproach, her honors were brought to nothing. Her dishonor was increased according to her glory, and her excellency was turned into mourning. And King Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom that all the people should be one, and every one should leave his own law. And all nations consented according to the word of Antiochus. And many of Israel consented to his service; and they sacrificed to idols and profaned the Sabbath. And the king sent letters by the hands of messengers to Jerusalem and to all the cities of Juda that they should follow the law of the nations of the earth, and should forbid holocausts and sacrifices and atonements to be made in the temple of God; and should prohibit the Sabbath and the festival days to be celebrated. And he commanded the holy places to be profaned, and the holy people of Israel. And he commanded altars to be built and temples and idols, and swine’s flesh to be immolated and unclean beasts; and that they should leave their children uncircumcised, and let their souls be defiled with all uncleanness and abominations to the end that they shoud forget the law and should change all the justifications of God: and that whosoever would not do according to the word of King Antiochus should be put to death. And King Antiochus set up the abominable idol of desolation 2 upon the altar of God; and they built altars throughout all the cites of Juda round about; and they burnt incense, and sacrificed at the doors of the houses and in the streets. And they cut in pieces and burnt 254 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT with fire the books of the law of God. And every one with whom the books of the testament of the Lord were found, and whosoever observed the law of the Lord, they put to death, according to the edict of the king. Thus by their power did they deal with the people of Israel that were found in the cities month after month. And on the eve of the twentieth day of the month they sacrificed upon the altar of the idol that was over against the altar of God. And the women that circumcised their children were slain according to the commandment of King Antiochus; and they hanged the children about their necks in all their houses; and those that had circumcised them, they put to death. And many of the people of Israel determined with themselves that they would not eat unclean things; and they chose rather to die than to be defiled with unclean meats. And they would not break the holy law of God; and they were put to death; and there was very great wrath upon the people. The Martyrdom of Eleazar: And it came to pass that Eleazar, one of the chief of the scribes, a man advanced in years and of a comely countenance, was pressed to open his mouth to eat swine’s flesh. 3 But he, choosing rather a most glorious death than a hateful life, went forward voluntarily to the torment. And considering in what manner he was come to it, patiently bearing, he determined not to do any unlawful things for the love of life. THE MACHABEES 255 But they that stood by, being moved with wicked pity for the old friendship they had with the man, taking him aside desired that flesh might be brought which it was lawful for him to eat that he might make as if he had eaten as the king had commanded of the flesh of sacrifice, that by so doing he might be delivered from death: and for the sake of their old friendship with the man they did him this courtesy. But he began to consider the dignity of his age and his ancient years and the inbred honor of his gray head and his good life and conversation from a child; and he answered without delay, according to the ordinances of the holy law made by God saying that he would rather be sent into the other world. “For it doth not become our age'’ said he, “to dissemble, whereby many young persons might think that Eleazar B at the age of four score and ten years, was gone over to the life of the heathens, and so they, through my dissimulation, and for a little time of a corruptible life, should be deceived; and thereby I should bring a stain and a curse upon my old age. For though for the present time I should be delivered from the punishments of men, yet should not I escape the hand of the Almighty, neither alive nor dead. Wherefore, by departing manfully out of this life I shall show myself worthy of my old age; and I shall leave an example of fortitude to young men if, with a ready mind and constancy, I suffer an honorable death for the most venerable and holy laws.” And having spoken thus he was forthwith carried to execution. And they that led him and had been a little 256 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT before more mild were changed to wrath for the words he had spoken, which they thought were uttered out of arrogancy. But when he was now ready to die with the stripes he groaned and said, 44 0 Lord who hast the holy knowledge, Thou knowest manifestly that whereas I might be delivered from death I suffer griev¬ ous pains in body, but in soul am well content to suffer these things because I fear Thee.” Thus did this man die, leaving not only to young men but also to the whole nation the memory of his death for an ex¬ ample. The Martyrdom of a Mother and Her Seven Sons: And it came to pass also that seven brethren, together with their mother, were apprehended and com¬ pelled by the king to eat swine’s flesh against the law; for which end they were tormented with whips and scourges. But one of them who was the eldest said thus, 44 What would thou ask or learn of us? We are ready to die The Martyrdom of Eleazar. THE MACHABEES 257 rather than to transgress the laws of God received from our fathers." Then the king being angry commanded frying-pans and brazen cauldrons to be made hot; which forthwith being heated, he commanded to cut out the tongue of him that had spoken first; and the skin of his head being drawn off, to chop off also the extremities of his hands and feet; the rest of his brethren and his mother looking on. And when he was now maimed in all his parts he commanded him, being yet alive, to be brought to the fire and to be fried in the frying-pan. And while he was suffering there in long torments, the rest, together with the mother, exhorted one another to die manfully, saying, “The Lord will look upon the truth and will take pleasure in us as Moses declared in the profession of the canticle: And in His servants He will take pleasure.” So when the first was dead after this manner, they brought the next to make him a mocking stock. And when they had pulled off the skin of his head with the hair, they asked him if he would eat before he were punished throughout the whole body in every limb. But he answered in his own language and said, “I will not do it.” AYherefore he also in the next place received the tor¬ ments of the first. And when he was at the last gasp he said thus: “Thou indeed O most wicked man destroy - est us out of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up who die for His laws in the resurrection of eternal life.” After him, the third was made a mocking stock; and when he was required, he quickly put forth his tongue 25 8 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT and courageously stretched out his hands, and said with confidence, “ These I have from Heaven, but, for the laws of God, I now despise them, because I hope to receive them again from Him.” So that the king and they that were with him wondered at the young man’s courage because he esteemed the torments as nothing. And after he was thus dead, they tormented the fourth in like manner. And when he was now ready to die, he spoke thus, ‘‘It is better, being put to death by men to look for hope from God to be raised up again by Him, for, as to thee, thou shalt have no resurrection unto life.” And when they had brought the fifth, they tor¬ mented him. But he looking upon the king said, “Whereas thou hast power among man, though thou art corruptible, thou dost what thou wilt; but think not that our nation is forsaken by God, but stay patiently awhile and thou shalt see His great power, in what manner He wilt torment thee and thy seed.” After him they brought the sixth and he being ready to die, spoke thus, “Be not deceived without cause; for we suffer these things for ourselves, having sinned against our God, and things worthy of admiration are done to us. But do not think that thou shalt escape unpunished for that thou hast attempted to fight against God.” Now the mother was to be admired above measure, and worthy to be remembered by good men, who beheld her seven sons slain in the space of one day and bore it with good courage for the hope that she had in God. THE MACHABEES 259 And she bravely exhorted every one of them in her own language, being filled with wisdom. And joining a man’s heart to a woman’s thought, she said to them, “I know not how you were formed in my womb, for I neither gave you breath, nor soul, nor life, neither did I frame the limbs of every one of you. But the Creator of the world, that formed the nativity of man and that found out the origin of all, He will restore to you again in His mercy both breath and life, as now you despise yourselves for the sake of His laws.” Now Antiochus, thinking himself despised and withal despising the voice of the upbraider, when the youngest was yet alive, did not only exhort him by words but also assured him with an oath that he would make him a rich and a happy man, and, if he would turn from the laws of his fathers, would take him for a friend and furnish him with things necessary. But when the young man was not moved with these things, the king called the mother and counseled her to deal with the young man to save his life. And when he had exhorted her with many words she promised that she would counsel her son. So bending herself towards him, mocking the cruel tyrant, she said in her own language, “My son, have pity upon me that bore thee, and gave thee suck, and nourished thee, and brought thee up unto this age. I beseech thee, my son, look upon Heaven and earth and all that is in them, and consider that God made them out of nothing and man¬ kind also. So thou slialt not fear this tormentor, but being made a worthy partner with thy brethren, receive 260 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT death that in that mercy I may receive thee again with thy brethren.” While she was yet speaking these words, the young man said, “For whom do you stay? I will not obey the commandment of the king, but the commandment of the law which was given us by Moses. But thou that hast been the author of all this mischief against the He¬ brews shalt not escape the hand of God; for we suffer for our sins. And though the Lord is angry with us a little while for our chastisement and correction, yet He will be reconciled again to His ser¬ vants.” Then the king, being incensed with anger, raged against him more cruelly than all the rest, taking it grievously that he was mocked. So this man also died undefiled, wholly trusting in the Lord. And last of all, after the sons, the mother also was consumed. The Mother of the Machabees. THE MACHABEES mi The Uprising of Mathathias: In those days arose Mathathias the son of John, the son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, from Jerusalem; and he abode in the mountain of Modin. And he had five sons: John, who was surnamed Gaddis; and Simeon who was sur- named Thasi; and Judas, who was called Machabeus; 4 and Eleazar, who was surnamed Abaron; and Jonathan, who was surnamed Apphus. These saw the evils that were done in the people of Juda, and in Jerusalem. And Mathathias said, “Woe is me; wherefore was I born to see the ruin of my people, and the ruin of the holy city, and to dwell there when it is given into the hands of the enemies.” And Matha¬ thias and his sons rent their garments and they covered themselves with hair cloth and made great lamentation. And they that were sent from King Antiochus came thither to compel them that were fled into the city of Modin, to sacrifice and to burn incense and to depart from the law of God. And many of the people of Israel con¬ sented; but Mathathias and his sons stood firm. And they that were sent from Antiochus answering said to Mathathias, “Thou art a ruler and an honorable and great man in this city and adorned with sons and brethren. Therefore come thou first and obey the king’s commandment as all nations have done and the men of Juda and they that remain in Jerusalem. And thou and thy sons shall be in the number of the king’s friends and enriched with gold and silver and many presents.” Then Mathathias answered and said with a loud voice, “Although all nations obey King Antiochus so as to 262 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT depart every man from the service of his fathers and consent to his commandments, I and my sons and my brethren will obey the law of our fathers. God be merciful unto us; it is not profitable for us to forsake the law and the justices of God. We will not hearken to the words of King A n t i o c li u s ; neither will we sacri¬ fice and transgress the commandments of our law to go another way.” Now as he left off speaking these words there came a certain Jew in the sight of all to sacri¬ fice to the idols upon the altar in the city of Modin, according to the king's command¬ ment. And Matlia- Mathathias Slaying the Profaner. ,. . . tlnas saw and was grieved, and his reins trembled, and his wrath was kindled according to the judgment of the law; and running upon him he slew him upon the altar. Moreover, the men whom King Antiochus had sent, who compelled them to sacrifice, he slew at the same time, and pulled down the altar, and showed zeal for the law as Phinees did by Zamri the son of Salomi. And Mathathias cried out in the city with THE MACHABEES 263 a loud voice saying, “Every one that hath zeal for the law and maintaineth the testament, let him follow me.” So he and his sons fled into the mountains, and left all that they had in the city. Then was assembled to them the congregation of the A s s i d e a n s, 5 the stoughtest of Israel, every one that had a good will for the law. And all they that fled from the evils joined them¬ selves to them, and were a support to them. And Matha- thias and his friends went about and they threw down the altars, and they circumcised all the children they found in the confines of T , . Mathathias Inciting His Countrymen to Revolt. Israel that were uncircumcised, and they did valiantly. And they pur¬ sued after the children of pride, and the work prospered in their hands. And they recovered the law out of the hands of the nations, and out of the hands of the kings; and they yielded not the horn to the sinner. And so strove Mathathias until the hundred and forty-sixth year and he died and was buried by his sons THE DIVINE TWILIGHT 264 in the sepulchre of his fathers in Modin; and all Israel mourned for him with great mourning. Judas Machabeus: Then rose up Judas, called Machabeus, the son of Mathathias; and all his brethren helped him, and all they that had joined themselves to his father while he was yet alive; and they fought with cheerfulness the battle of Israel. And the fear of Judas and of his brethren and the dread of them fell upon all the nations round about them. And his fame came to the king; and all nations told of the battles of Judas. Now when King Antiochus heard these words he was angry in his mind; and he sent and gathered the forces of all his kingdom, an exceeding strong army. And he opened his treasury and gave out pay to the army for a year; and he commanded them that they should be ready for all things. And he perceived that the money of his treasures failed; and he feared that he should not have as formerly enough for charges and gifts which he had given before with a liberal hand; for he had abounded more than the kings that had been before him. And he was perplexed greatly in mind and purposed to go into Persia and to take tributes of the countries and to gather much money. And he left Lysias, a nobleman of the royal blood, to oversee the affairs of the kingdom, from the river Euphrates even to the river of Egypt. And he delivered to him half the army and the elephants; and he gave him charge concerning all that he would have done, and concerning the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem; and that he should send an army against THE MACHABEES 265 them to destroy and root out the strength of Israel, and the remnant of Jerusalem and to take away the memory of them from that place; and that he should settle strangers to dwell in all their coasts and divide their land by lot. So the king took half the army that remained and went forth from Antioch, the chief city of his kingdom; and he passed over the river Euphrates and went through the higher countries. Then Lysias chose Ptolemee, the son of Dorymenus, and Nicanor and Gorgias, mighty men of the king’s friends, and he sent with them forty thousand men and seven thousand horsemen, to go into the land of Juda and destroy it according to the king’s orders. So they went forth with all their power and came and pitched near Emmaus in the plain country. And the merchants of the countries heard the fame of them, and they took silver and gold in abundance and servants and they came into the camp to buy the children of Israel for slaves; and there were joined to them the forces of Syria and of the land of the strangers. And Judas and his brethren saw that evils were multiplied and that the armies approached to their borders, and they knew the orders the king had given to destroy the people and utterly abolish them. And they said every man to his neighbor, “Let us raise up the low condition of our people and let us fight for our people and our sanctuary.” And the assembly was gathered that they might be ready for battle, and that they might pray and ask mercy and compassion. And after this Judas appointed captains over the people, over thousands, and over hundreds and over 266 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT fifties and over tens. And he said to them that were building houses or had betrothed wives or were planting vineyards, or were fearful, that they should return every man to his house according to the law. So they removed the camp and pitched on the south side of Emmaus. And Judas said, “ Gird yourselves and be valiant men, and be ready against the morning, that you may fight with these nations that are assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary: for it is better for us to die in battle than to see the evils of our nation and of the holies. Nevertheless as it shall be the will of God in Heaven, so be it done.” Then Gorgias took five thousand men and a thousand of the best horsemen and they removed out of the camp by night that they might come upon the camp of the Jews and strike them suddenly; and the men that were of the castle were their guides. And Judas heard of it and rose up, he and the valiant men, to attack the king’s forces that were in Emmaus. For as yet the army was dispersed from the camp. And Gorgias came by night into the camp of Judas, and found no man and he sought them in the mountains; for he said, “These men flee from us.” And when it was day Judas showed himself in the plain with three thousand men only who neither had armour nor swords. And they saw the camp of the Gentiles that it was strong and the men in breast plates and the horsemen round about them; and these were trained up to war. And Judas said to the men that were with him, “Fear ye not their multitude, neither be ye afraid of their THE MACHABEES 267 assault. Remember in what manner our fathers were saved in the Red Sea when Pharao pursued them with a great army. And now let us cry to Heaven, and the Lord will have mercy on us and will remember the covenant of our fathers and will destroy this army before our face this day. And all the nations shall know that there is One that redeemetli and delivereth Israel.” Judas Machabeus Pursuing the Enemy. And the strangers lifted up their eyes and saw them coming against them. And they went out of the camp to battle: and thev that were with Judas sounded the trumpet. And they joined battle; and the Gentiles were routed and fled into the plain. But all the hindmost of them fell by the sword. And Judas returned again with his army that fol¬ lowed him; and he said to the people, “Be not greedy 268 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT of the spoils, for there is war before us. Gorgias and his army are near us in the mountain; but stand ye now against our enemies and overthrow them, and you shall take the spoils afterwards with safety.” And as Judas was speaking these words, behold part of them approached, looking forth from the mountain. And Gorgias saw that his men were put to flight and that they had set fire to the camp; for the smoke that was seen declared what was done. And when they had seen this they were seized with great fear, seeing at the same time Judas and his army in the plain ready to fight. So they all fled away into the land of the strangers. And Judas returned to take the spoils of the camp; and they got much gold and silver and blue silk and purple of the sea, and great riches. And returning home they sang a hymn and blessed God in Heaven “Because He is good; because His mercy endureth forever.” So Israel had a great deliverance that day. The Dedication of the Temple: Then Judas and his brethren said, “Behold our enemies are discomfited, let us go up now to cleanse the holy places and to repair them.” And all the army assembled together and they went up into Mount Sion. And they saw the sanctuary desolate and the altar profaned and the gates burned, and shrubs growing up in the courts as in a forest or on a mountain, and the chambers joining to the temple thrown down. And they rent their garments, and made great lamenta¬ tion, and put ashes on their heads; and they fell down THE MACHABEES 269 to the ground on their faces, and they sounded with trumpets of alarm, and they cried towards Heaven. Then Judas chose priests without blemish whose will was set upon the law of God. And they cleansed the holy places and took away the stones that had been defiled into an unclean place. And they built up the things that were within the temple; and they sanctified the temple and the courts. And they made new holy vessels, and brought in the candlestick, and the altar of incense and the table into the temple. And they put incense upon the altar and lighted up the lamps that were upon the candlestick, and they gave light in the temple. And they set the loaves upon the table, and hung up the veils, and finished all the works that they had begun to make. And they kept the dedication of the altar eight days, and they offered holocausts with joy, and sacrifices of salvation and of praise. And there was exceeding great joy among the people, and the reproach of the Gentiles was turned away. Rejoice and give praise together, O ye deserts of Jerusalem; For the Lord hath comforted His people: He hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath prepared His Holy Arm in the sight of all the Gentiles; And all the ends of the earth shall see the Salvation of our God. + ****** r. . r • ^ mm mi 36 34 32 38° 40 42 MAP OF THE ANCIENT EAST SHOWING* THE WANDEKINGS OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SCALE OF MILES 0 20 40 60 80 100 Route of the Israelites during their Wanderings Jr $ Mt.Carme0. Doi 'J*- r maseiis j * -v,. * Herman Dijbon '^s y -gaaiV__ X V. ^pBersebir^^ Amelec - . ■ -soa, - ’.Beer-liiial-row'i 1 "Mt.Hpr0° > ' ° *> * a lj £ i adesh Barnea?-™ ** M‘?° % ° 28 MeniplUc' 03 V'' — dr 30 ■ 3 j ; Iann)atbob jX-X. A/j | 'Golan ZtBULON m ^VM.Gaime pef*^ / : A pec as _ uimmono BetJjr- fctsfxl ""A "• IQ Q A r> ►abefatft borftl EnddiX ^ JSSACHAFli •f JEZREEL £ i Jezreel ° ’4 fll \ Mt.GiIboa&P* - r -v-^fTp ««..»-En-^punino Megigocp— '„?* i Dothain . --A-O —-Jr 'X-'- *w~- -2£_ *r-_ M A *N A S S E H ZC--.ty.EbdU TIrza M "V\ Sichem-X Aft. GerlzimM'f* 9 ?}** J# 6 f A^s AA:'_ _ _/ ' ,IK Jacob'8 0s ^ Beth- She nvesh 0 Asealon ^ Gath Vs" / .- E o ) u. > -:-P-^ .- ^"oZiph Erige.licJ %.•/ . —*«o e / oAnab :oho^ Vn 4Mn NQ THE A %TPO<# 0s ^ T o%ii N c^°^ 36° Kerioth - ^ A |*|_ |Drbbn wt ;^2 *r o ^ ^( R a^at h Miab Kir Moab° OU B — 28 Longitude East 38 from Greenwich 42° \ oZiklag? Longitude East 35° from Greenwich 30 ' NOTES. I. The Dawn of the World, (B. C. 4004-2348) Summary. In the Bible there are seventy-three books. Of these the first forty-six have for their chief purpose to tell the story of Israel as a covenant people. By covenant people is meant a people between whom and God there exists a special agreement. The agreement which existed of old between God and Israel was to the effect that He should be, in a most intimate way, their God, and they should be, in a very peculiar sense, His represen¬ tatives to the other nations of the world. Another and a more familiar word for covenant is testament. That is why the books of the Bible in which the covenant is recorded are called the books of the Old Testament, or just simply, The Old Testament. Now although the Old Testament has for its chief purpose to tell the story of Israel as a covenant people, it does not wait for that nation to be formed before starting its narrative, but it goes back to the very beginning of things and tells, as it were by way of introduction, all the events that happened at the dawn of the world. Of these events, the three most important are known as the Creation, the Fall, and the Flood; and these only are told in this chapter. From the story of Creation we shall learn, step by step, how all things were made by God, in the beginning, out of nothing. In the account of the Fall we shall see how our first parents, having disobeyed their Creator, were driven out of Paradise, but not before they had received from Him the promise that one day there should come One, born of woman, who would repair the evil of their sin. Finally, from the record of the Flood we shall learn how mankind having become utterly sinful, was all destroyed, save Noe and his family. 1. Firmament: The atmosphere which 2. By waters under the firmament surrounds our earth and looks to our are meant rivers, lakes, etc.; by those eyes like a blue dome. above, the clouds. 274 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT 3. Revelation itself tells us nothing regarding the real space of time that the formation of the world required. There are however many opinions. The old and largely accepted one is that the days of creation were real days of twenty-four hours each. A more recent opinion is that, in the beginning, the alternating periods of light and darkness were much longer than they are now, so that each day may have been thousands and even millions of years. But, be the space of time what it may, two truths are clear from the story, namely: that the creation of the universe was one progres¬ sive and harmonious plan, and that each and every portion of it was the work of Almighty God. 4. The magnitude, beauty, order and harmony of the universe declare in a way that man cannot but understand, the might, and goodness, and wisdom, and glory of God. 5. The exact location of the earthly paradise here spoken of is not known* but many suppose it to have been the country lying between the highlands of Armenia and the Persian Gulf. 6. She shall crush thy head: In these words God made it clear that through the instrumentality of woman, the evil wrought by satan w r as to be undone. And this promise was finally accomplished in the Blessed Virgin. For, in giving birth to the Savior, who saved the world from sin, she may be truly said to have put an end to Satan’s power, i. e., crushed his head. Hence the Blessed Virgin is often represented as standing on a globe, having under her foot the head of a serpent who holds an apple in his mouth. 7. Cherubim: Angels of one of the higher degrees. 8. No event in the entire history of mankind should be more calculated to teach us the great evil of sin, or fill us with greater dread of committing it, than the fall of man. What an evil, indeed, sin must be in God’s sight, when for a single act of disobedience so unspeakable woe has come upon the whole w r orld. If a single sin has merited such a punish¬ ment, w r hat may not be expected by those who frequently and flagrantly fly in the face of the Almighty! 9. It repenteth me: This and other like expressions to be found in the Bible are merely a human way of making God speak. In this case, the sacred writer uses the expression to convey in a forceful manner how great was man’s ingratitude towards God. 10. Flood traditions are found among many people besides the Hebrews, the most important being that of the Baby¬ lonians. They all bear testimony to the truth of the original event. 11. Clean: Clean beasts w T ere those fed on herbage, such as cows, sheep, etc.; the rest w r ere classed as unclean. Only clean beasts could be offered in sacrifice. 12. Holocaust: A kind of sacrifice in w r hich the animal w T as first killed and then wholly burnt. 13. Smelled: As above at (8)—a human w 7 ay of speaking of God, signifying that the act was acceptable. 14. The ark is a type of the Catholic Church. It was established by the will of Almighty God, preserved from shipwreck, and designed to save those who entered into it. NOTES 27 5 II. The Patriarchs (B. C. 2348-1729) Summary: The word Hebrew means “one who crossedand the name is given to the nation from the fact that Abraham, who was the first member of it, crossed over the Euphrates River on his way to the land to which God had called him. The Hebrew nation, therefore, is made up of the children of Abraham. In the beginning the Hebrews had no national government, but, like a great family, they looked to the authority of the father for their ride. Now another word for “ father ” is “ patriarch .” And the three great patriarchs to whom the Hebrews looked in the beginning for their guidance were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The main points of the histories of these men are to be found in the stories told in this chapter. 1. Canaan: The land now known as Palestine, and commonly spoken of as the Holy Land, from the fact that in it our Lord lived and suffered and died. It is a small country of about 140 miles from north to south, and forty miles from east to west. It lies along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. (For the location of Canaan, and its relation to the other countries of the East, see map printed at the beginning of these notes.) 2. Two hundred and five years: The span of man’s life in those days was much longer than it is now. 3. Haran: A town on the upper Euphrates River. 4. This is a clearer and more definite statement of the promise of a Redeemer made to our first parents. This same promise goes on and on through the whole of the Old Testament, becoming ever clearer and clearer until, at last, in the mouth of Isaias the Prophet, it gives almost a perfect picture of our Lord’s suffering and death. 5. Melchisedech: means king of jus¬ tice. He w r as also king or prince of the city of Salem, which means “peace.” He is therefore looked upon as a type of our Lord who was above all others. King of Justice and Prince of Peace. He is a type of our Lord also in that he offered an unbloody sacrifice of bread and wine, our Lord being the Eternal Sacrifice offered daily on our altars under the unbloody form of bread and w r ine. 6. Salem: Probably an old name for Jerusalem. It means “peace.” 7. Abraham: “ When Abram began to be ninety and nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘thou shalt be the father of many nations; neither shall thy name be called any more Abram but Abraham .’ ” The word Abraham means “the father of many nations.” It is the name by which, henceforth, the father of the Hebrew nation is known. 8. As God had changed Abram’ s name to Abraham; so He changed Sarai’s name to Sara; the word Sara means Princess. 276 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT 9. Isaac: laughter. 10. Tempted: i. e. tested or tried. God does not tempt as we understand the word, but, by trial and experience. He makes known to the world and to our¬ selves what we are, as in this case He made known the singular faith and obedience of Abraham. 11. The land of vision: i. e. Moriah. 12. Isaac, Abraham’s only son, in willingly submitting himself, in obedience to his father’s will, to be sacrificed, even carrying upon his back the wood where¬ upon he was to be offered up, is a type of our Blessed Lord, the only Begotten of God, who, in obedience to His Father's will, offered up His life, a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. 13. Abraham’s care to have his son marry one of the same religious faith as himself shows that even from the beginning mixed marriages were regarded as a great evil. 14. Pottage: a soup of lentils. 15. Birthright: The birthright was of great value as conferring many important rights upon its possessor, as for example a double portion of the father’s inheri¬ tance. 16. Esau’s folly in bartering his birthright for a mess of pottage was very slight as compared with the folly of those who for the passing pleasure that mortal sin seems to offer, barter away the priceless birthright to eternal glory. 17. Here again we see the care taken to avoid those alliances which might have a tendency to weaken the faith of the Israelites. 18. This is no other hut the house of God and the gate of Heaven: These words have been singled out and made to apply to our churches which, through the Eucharist on the altar, are indeed the house of God, and through the sacraments are, verily, the gate to Heaven. 19. The sons of Jacob: The descend¬ ants of these twelve sons of Jacob are known as the twelve tribes of Israel. Though they formed a single nation, they ever preserved their family distinctness. The sons of Jacob are types of the twelve apostles. 20. Israel means the strength of God. Hence the name Israelites, i. e., the descendants of Israel, which, in after time, became the common appellation of the Hebrew nation. 21. Phanuel: face of God. III. Joseph and His Brethren (B. C. 1729-1706) Summary: Most of the sons of Jacob led obscure lives as shepherds; but one of them , Joseph , was a man of commanding personality and great gifts. After a life of strange adventures , Joseph became ruler of Egypt under King Pharao, and as such was able to preserve the Israelites from possible extinction. The Biblical account of Joseph's wonderf ul rise from being a poor shepherd lad to ruler of Egypt , and of his dealing with his NOTES 277 people is one of the most beautiful stories in all literature. It is here given in its entirety. 1 . Dream: This, like many another dream spoken of in the Bible, was a supernatural vision. Generally speaking, the observance of dreams is condemned in Scripture as superstitious and sinful. 2. Worshipping: not in the sense of divine worship, but as paying obeisance and reverence. 3. Dothain: 12 miles north of Sichem on a caravan route between Syria and Egypt. 4. Twenty pieces of silver: about twelve dollars. 5. Rending his garments: this act was the accepted manner of outwardly ex¬ pressing profound sorrow or abhorrence. 6. Put on sackcloth: this was the accepted manner of outwardly expressing mourning and penance. 7. Pharao: i. e., the sun; it was the title of the king of Egypt, much in the same sense as we speak of the Sultan of Turkey as the Sublime Porte. 8. Interpret: i. e., explain its meaning 9. The interpreters were members of the literary class of Egypt who were supposed to be skilled in the explanation of dreams, omens, and the signs of the heavens. 10. Shaved him: It was the custom of the Jews to wear beards, whereas the Egyptians were smooth of face. 11. Without me: Joseph takes no credit to himself, but like a true Israelite makes himself merely the mouthpiece of the Almighty. 12. Go to Joseph: These w r ords are taken up and applied by the Church to St. Joseph, who, on account of his close relationship to our Lord, seems to be like Joseph of old, the dispenser of graces to all that apply to him. 13. Benjamin was the youngest of the twelve sons of Jacob, and as such was greatly treasured by his father. 14. Dreams: namely, the dreams about the wheat sheaves wherein his brethren were pictured as bowing down to him,—a dream now fulfilled. 15. Washed their feet: a ceremony always observed in the east on entering a household. 16. And they wondered very much: i. e., they were greatly surprised that Joseph (whom they did not recognize) should know their ages so well as to be able to place them according to seniority. 17. Messes: Portions sent to guests as a special mark of attention. At an Egyptian feast, the guests sat, not around a table, but in rows of chairs facing a sideboard from which the viands were served to them. 18. Divineth: that is, by pouring in water, and then throwing in gold, silver or gems, and watching the movement in the water. It must be remembered that Joseph is still supposed to be an Egyptian lord. 19. God sent me into Egypt for your preservation: an evidence of the Israelite’s abiding trust in the existence of a cove¬ nant w hereby God is to be the Ruler and Deliverer of Israel. 20. Put his hands upon thy eyes: that is, perform the last office of the dead. 278 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT 21. Gessen: a low, fertile district stretching from the east of the Nile delta to the Isthmus of Suez. 22. Ramasses: a city of Gessen. 23. Joseph is regarded as a type of our Lord; like Him he was sold for a few r pieces of silver by those who should have loved him; like Him again, he suffered with two criminals, to one of whom he foretold pardon; and finally, like Him, though in a more restricted sense, he was known as the Savior of the world. IV. Moses and the Ten Plagues (B. C. 1706-1491) Summary: After Joseph's death the Israelites fell lower and lower in the eyes of the Egyp¬ tians until at length they were reduced to the position of slavery. Thus they continued for almost two hundred years , when God raised up Moses , one of their own nation , to deliver them. The story of how Moses wrought this deliverance is the story of what are known as the ten plagues—that series of terrible visitations sent by God upon the Egyptians to make them consent to allow the Israelites to story of these plagues and the iru subject-matter of this chapter. 1. Sedges: That is, the long grassy plants that grow on a river brink. 2. Moses: rescued from the waters. 3. Fled from the sight of Pharao: Moses fled from the face of Pharao be¬ cause one of his own countrymen, w ho had been reproved by him for something he had done and was angry, threatened to expose him to Pharao, because one day he had inflicted merited punishment on a tyrannous Egyptian. Moses knew that exposure w r ould mean death; so he fled. 4. Madian was in the neighborhood of Mt. Sion. 5. Horeb: Probably a distinct peak of Mt. Sinai. 6. Flowing with milk and honey: A figurative way of expressing the richness of the land. depart from the land. The that led up to them form the 7. I am who am: In Hebrew, the name of God is written “ J-H-V-H” with¬ out any vowels. It was a sacred name,— so sacred that the Jew r s did not use it, but, instead, the word Adonai, which means Lord. In consequence of not pronouncing it, it came to pass, after a long time, that its true pronunciation became lost. In the 16th century the vowels “e-o-a” were put into it making it read JeHoVa. But now w 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 e know that these vowels did not give it the true pronounciation and that the probable pronounciation was JaH-VeH. Its mean¬ ing is “I am who am.” It comes from the verb “to be.” 8. Siniphs: The same as gnats. 9. The abominations of the Egyptians: By this is meant that the sacrificial NOTES 279 animals of the Israelites, such, for ex¬ ample, as the cow, were sacred to some Egyptian god or other in the idolatrous worship of the Egyptians and if sacri¬ ficed would lead to punishment. 10. Murrain: A cattle plague. 11. Blains: An old word for blister. 12. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharao: In the earlier stages of the story, it is said that Pharao's heart was hardened, or that Pharao hardened his heart, whereas in the later portions the ex¬ pression used is that the Lord hardened Pharao's heart. Voluntary yielding to evil produces in time a tendency to evil that can hardly be resisted. What happens by a law of God's providence may largely be said to be done by God. 13. Locusts: A kind of grasshopper. 14. Unleavened bread: Bread without yeast. 15. Lettuce: Here it means a bitter herb. 16. A memorial: The feast of the Passover is celebrated to this day by the Jews as a remembrance of their deliverance. Among Christians, the feast of Easter has taken its place because for us, our Lord is the real Paschal lamb, who by His sacrifice, which took place on the very feast of the Jewish Passover, delivered us from the slavery of satan, and opened to us the gates of a happy eternity. 17. Pillar of cloud, pillar of fire: It is customary even to this day for a caravan in the Arabian desert to have the leader carry aloft a brazier of coals so that its smoke, by day, and its glow r , by night, may be a guide to stragglers. V. The Exodus (B. C. 1491-1451) Summary: The Exodus, which means flight, tells the story of the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to their own land of Canaan. It is a wonderful story of how a cloud led them by day and a fire by night, of hoiv bread fell from heaven and water issued from a rock to supply them with food and drink, of how God, in the midst of thunder and lightning, made known to them His will, and of how, on account of their lack of trust in God, they were condemned to wander for forty years in the wilderness. The stories of all these happenings form the most marvelous record to be found in the history of any nation. The most striking of them are here reproduced. 1. By wilderness we do not neces¬ sarily understand a sandy desert like the Sahara, but rather only an uninhabited and uncultivated country. 2. The wood which made the waters sweet is the type of the cross, through which the bitter things of this world are made sweet unto life eternal. 280 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT 3. The mountain: i. e., Mt. Sinai. (See map printed at beginning of notes for location of Mt. Sinai as well as for route followed by the Israelites during their wanderings.) 4. This tremendous exhibition of nature accompanying the giving of the commandments was intended to help the people to appreciate their awful solemnity. 5. These commandments are to be found in our catechisms; only they are there given in a somewhat abbreviated form. G. Two stone tables: The first three commandments which teach the duties of man towards God were written on one of the tables; on the other, w r ere to be found the last seven which teach the duties of man towards his neighbor. 7. First fruits: The very best of w r hat they had. 8. The Tabernacle of the Testimony: So called because it contained the tables of the law, or testimony. 9. Moses set it up: This he did in ac¬ cordance with minute instructions which he had received from God. While on the mountain, besides receiving the com¬ mandments, Moses received a complete and detailed account of how everything pertaining to religious worship should be regulated. 10. Gomor: A measure amounting to a little more than seven pints. 11. Manna: This is the same word as “Manhu,” meaning “what is it.” 12. The manna is a type of the Blessed Sacrament. Of this our Lord Himself gives us an assurance in a sermon He delivered in a synagogue at Capharnaum. That sermon is to be found in the 6th chapter of St. John’s Gospel, and should be read. 13. The rock from which the water flowed in the wilderness typefied Christ. Our Lord, in one of His sermons, re¬ corded in the 7th chapter of St. John’s Gospel, speaks of himself as a fountain, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink.” Out of Chirst’s side, on the cross, gushed forth a fountain which has given refreshment and hope to the whole world. 14. Amelec: The name of a nomadic tribe on the southern borders of Canaan. Their position would naturally cause them to dispute the progress of the Israelites, and to prevent, if possible, their occu¬ pation of the land. 15. The land of Canaan may be viewed as made up of three distinct strips, running north and south: (1) a fertile plain along the coast of the Mediter¬ ranean Sea; (2) a back-bone of lime stone mountains, know r n as the “hill country;” and (3) a valley running along the bank of the Jordan River. Beyond the river rose the high lands of Moab and Galaad. The inhabitants of the land, called Canaanites, were divided by the broken hilly country into numerous little kingdoms, and were often at war with one another. (Confer relief-map.) 16. Lever: i. e., a pole carried on the shoulders of two men who w r alked one in front of the other. The manner of carrying the clusters helps one to imagine how large they must have been. 17. The murmurings of the people because the spies had brought report that the country to which Moses was leading them was inhabited by giants NOTES 281 who lived in walled cities. They felt that he was only leading them to destruction. 18. Devoureth its inhabitants: i. e., by its continual warfare. 19. All the multitude is holy: The idea is that every man can communicate with God directly, and that therefore there is no need of a special order of priests to act as intermediaries. This doctrine, which is still taught by some people, was here clearly shown to be heretical by Almighty God himself. 20. There is a very beautiful legend which says that the method here adopted to find out the will of the Lord was made use of in the selection of a husband for the Blessed Virgin Mary. According to the legend, rods of suitors, to the number of three thousand, were laid up before the Lord, among them being one belong¬ ing to the elderly Joseph. And in the morning, when the rods w r ere returned, it came to pass that when Joseph stretched forth his hand to receive his, there came forth from the top of it a dove, whiter than snow and most beautiful, which after resting on the head of Joseph, and fluttering a long time amid the pinnacles of the temple, at length flew towards Heaven. 21. This very light food: viz., the manna. 22. The brazen serpent set upon the pole is a type of our Lord upon the cross. Our Lord himself made reference to the brazen serpent in one of His sermons when He said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” (John III-14 seq.). The evil one, who in the garden of Paradise first appeared as a serpent, is still mercilessly wounding his victims, but a look to Christ on the cross will bring relief. 23. Josue: He had, all during the wanderings, acted as minister to Moses. He it was that led the hosts against Amelec, and he was one of those sent up to spy out the Promised Land. 24. Nebo: a mountain east of the Red Sea. 25. On the occasion of the striking of the rock wdience came the fountain of water in the desert, Moses had shown impatience and a want of perfect trust in God. in that he struck the rock a second time, not waiting for the effect to be produced by the first blow. This fault, slight as it may seem, was the reason why God denied to Moses the happiness of entering the Promised Land, though He permitted him to look upon it from a distance. The incident reveals the magnitude in God’s sight of sins which to us seem slight. 2G. The subduing of the land of Canaan was accomplished b\ Josue in a surprisingly short space of time because, as may be seen from the way Jericho was taken, the hand of the Lord w T as with him. When. it was subdued it was divided among the twelve tribes, i. e. the descendants of Reuben, Simeon, Juda, Zebulon, Issichar, Dan, Gad, Aser, Nephtalie, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasses. All of these, save the last tw T o, were sons of Jacob, or, as he is also known, Israel. The last two, Ephraim and Manasses, were the sons of Joseph, who w 7 as the greatest of the sons of Jacob. The desc-endents of Levi, who 282 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT was a son of Jacob, received no division of the land as they had been set apart for the priesthood and were ordered by God to live on the offerings of all the people. They had, however, forty-eight cities given to them throughout different parts of the country. (The portions parcelled out to the different tribes may be seen from a study of the map printed at the beginning of these notes.) VI. The Rule of the Judges (B. C. 1451-1095) Summary: Israel was unlike any other nation in that it had no visible ruler. God was the only Ruler in Israel, and His will was made known to the people, first by the patriarchs, then by Moses, who is termed a prophet, (which means one who speaks for another), and later by Josue. Now at Josue's death there arose no one of so commanding a character as to be accepted by the whole nation as the representative of Almighty God. Therefore, the people began to look again to the heads of families, or to local leaders for direction and guidance. And it is very probable that this guidance would have been sufficient had the Israelites only been faithful to the commands that God had given them; but they were not. God had commanded them, through Moses and Josue, to exterminate utterly the idolatrous nations that had inhabited the promised land before their arrival, lest association with them should weaken and corrupt their faith and morals. However, they not only did not exterminate them, but they even went so far as to inter¬ marry with them and to associate with them in trade and business. As a consequence, the Israelites weakened in their faith and fell into most detestable and wicked idolatrous practices. Now God was greatly offended with them for this course, and, to punish them, He allowed them at different times to fall subject to one or other of the heathen nations round about. On such occasions, heads of families and local leaders were unable properly to direct and govern the people. So, in answer to prayers and promises to reform, God raised up men, whom the people called judges, to deliver them and rule over them in His name. There were fifteen of these judges who ruled at intervals covering a space of three hundred years. The many stories of their deeds are told in the book of the Bible, known as the Book of Judges. Only a feiv of these stories are here reproduced, NOTES 283 but they are probably the most striking ones , and, are sufficient to furnish us with a connected account of the main theme of the period. 1. Baal: Literally it means “posses¬ sor.” It was the name given to a Ca- naanite divinity thought of as possessing the soil and controlling its fertility. 2. Astaroth: A Semitic goddess which, like Baal, was thought of as controlling the fertility. 3. Delivered them: Not the whole of the Israelites, but probably one tribe, one of those living on the east side of the Jordan, close to the Madianite territory. 4. The Madianites were a people leading a wandering life in the vast des¬ ert region to the east of Palestine. 5. The wine 'press was a shallow pit from which the grape juice was pressed out into deeper vats. 6. The Philistines lived along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. They were an idolatrous nation which caused more havoc and misery to the Israelites than any other of the surrounding peoples. 7. Nazarite means one w’ho was conse¬ crated to Jehova by a special vow. He vow r ed to leave his hah- uncut, both as being itself consecrated, and as making him one devoted to the Lord. One could become a Nazarite for a certain period. When the period was over, the hair might be sacrificed at the sanctuary. Samson was consecrated from his birth. 8. As they did to me, so have I done to them: The Philistines had dealt unjustly with Samson; they had deprived him of his wife, and broken up bis home. 9. Sinews: Fresh cut bowstrings. 10. Dagon: The principal god of the Philistines. He is usually supposed to be a fish god, and is represented as being half fish and half man. 11. To play before them: i. e. to be made sport of. 12. No razor shall come upon his head: i. e. he shall be consecrated to God. 13. Samuel means “asked of God.” 14. Three calves, etc.: These articles were brought for sacrifice and as an offering to the high priest. 15. The word of the Lord was precious in those days—no manifest vision: In that period the priests themselves were wicked and the answers of God to enquirers became rare, and (like to Samuel) secret. 16. May God do so and so, etc., was a formula used in the ceremony of slaying an animal to solemnize an oath. 17. Heli, the high priest, had two sons, Ophni and Phinees, who were very wicked. When worshippers came to offer sacrifice, they appropriated the offerings, with the result that the people began to fall aw r ay from the practice of religion altogether. Heli knew this but, though he gently reproved them, he took no severe measure to put a stop to their wickedness. God, in consequence, made known to Heli that the direst kind of evils would come upon him and the nation. And, as a matter of fact, such evils did come. The Philistines defeated the Israelites with great slaughter in battle; Ophni and Phinees were killed; Heli met with an accident and died suddenly; and worst of all, the Ark of the Covenant fell into the hands of the idolaters and was placed by them in the 284 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT house of their god, Dagon, where it re¬ mained until, finding that its presence brought misfortune, it was sent back again to the Israelites. 18. The word teas displeasing to Samuel: Because the demand for an earthly king w 7 as equivalent to the re¬ jection of the rule of Almighty God who had ever been regarded as sole Ruler in Israel. 19. Let every man go to his own city was an indication that he had acceded to their request. VII. King Saul (B. C. 1095-1056) Summary: After the victory over the Madianites, some of the Israelites had invited Gedeon to become king. But he was true to the principle that the Lord alone should reign over His chosen people and he ref used to comply with the request. In course of time, however, this demand on the part of the people became so insistent that Samuel, the last and greatest of all the judges, was directed by God to hearken to it. Samuel annointed Saul as the first king of Israel. But though Saul himself reigned, he was found to be unworthy; and for this reason, his family was rejected from the succession to the throne. Whereupon Samuel annointed David. The story of Saul’s reign and of his relations with David are told in this chapter. 1. A silver side w 7 as equivalent to about seventy-two cents. Therefore one quarter of a silver side w r ould be eighteen cents. 2. Seer: i. e. prophet. 3. High place: i. e. hill tops. Begin¬ ning as a natural place of burnt-offerings, the barren hilltop above a town would in course of time become its sanctuary. Every Canaanite town had such a place for the worship of Baal and Astaroth. When the Israelites took possession of the land, they saw the appropriateness of such places for worship and adopted them. But unfortunately, in taking the places over, it often happened that they t - retained also some of the objectional features connected with the idolatrous worship which formerly had taken place upon them. This, in course of time, became more and more marked, until in the end the “high places” became the object of attack on the part of the pro¬ phets as seats of outright idolatry. 4. They eat that are invited: It was part of the rite of sacrifice to eat the flesh of the animal sacrificed after its blood and fat had been offered. The blood, wdiich contained the life, was regarded as too sacred to be eaten. 5. The top of the house: In Canaan the houses had flat roofs which served somewhat in the same capacity as a porch on a house in this country —a NOTES 285 place for rest and recreation. People used to sleep upon them in the mild weather. They were a choice place. 6 . Vial of oil: Oil was and is still used in the ceremony of consecrating kings and priests. 7. Psaltery: A large portable harp. 8. Timbrel: A small hand drum. 9. Saul, annointed privately, needed public confirmation before he could really act as king. This calling of the people together was for the purpose of obtaining this confirmation. 10. God save the Icing was the formal expression indicating that Saul was acceptable. 11. The incident here related occurred some considerable time after the event recorded in the preceding section. Saul had succeeded, by this time, in firmly establishing himself in Israel, and had overcome most of the inimical nations round about. But, as he grew T in power, he withdrew himself further and further from the subjection which, in the beginning, he had shown to the com¬ mands of God; and he ended, as is here shown, by a direct and obstinate follow¬ ing of his own will. He did not cease immediately to act as king, but his fate w T as sealed, and his end was not long delayed. 12. Amelec: (see note 14 under Chap¬ ter V). 13. Hath not executed My commands ; i. e. had not destroyed everything abso¬ lutely as the Lord had commanded. 14. Bethlehemite: Of the city of Bethle¬ hem. 15. Eliab: One of the sons of Isai. 1G. An evil spirit from the Lord: This is an expression of the same kind as that which says that God hardened Pharao's heart. The consequence of sin, though it take the form of an evil spirit, may be said to be sent by God whose providence unites suffering and sinning together. 17. A skilful player: David’s skill as a harper is believed to have been acquired during the quiet hours when, alone on the hillside, he pastured his sheep. 18. Of great strength: An idea of his strength may be gained from the fact that alone and single handed he strangled a lion and a bear that threatened to ravage his flock. 19. Stand before me: i. e. remain. 20. Six cubits and a span: A cubit was the length of a man’s arm between the wrist and the elbow. Six cubits and a span w r ere about ten feet. 21. Five thousand sides of brass was about 150 pounds. 22. Six hundred sides of iron: About eighteen pounds. 23. Script: The amunition bag of a slinger. 24. In classical and other ancient story, the friendship of young men holds a prominent place; but nothing purer and nobler has ever been known than the friendship that existed between David and Jonathan. 25. Abisai: A relative of David, and one of his chief officers. 26. A spear standing upright in the ground is still the sign of the sheikh’s tent in a Bedouin camp. 27. Saul’s suicide w r as the crowming act of years of spurning of God’s grace. It was a terrible ending for one w T ho, in his early days, had been deemed so w T orthy that he had been made the object of special predilection. What a warning it is to all, of the immeasurable consequences of following out what, in the beginning, looks like only a slight disobedience! THE DIVINE TWILIGHT 286 VIII. King David (B. C. 1056-1016) Summary: King David is one of the most remarkable figures of Hebrew history. He not only gathered the scattered settlements of the people into a united nation , but , as poet and musician , he laid the foundation of the world's greatest literature in a wonderful series of psalms that came from his pen. He was a man after God's own heart. But on one sad occasion he fell from grace by an unspeakable crime against one of his own humble subjects. However , he repented of his sin , and it was forgiven him. Afterwards, he had to suffer many grievous afflictions , oj of his son Absolom. The stories , sorrow , are told in this chapter. 1. David was made king of Israel when he was thirty-seven years old. One of his first acts was to establish his capital at Jerusalem. The beginning of his reign was marked by great military achievements: (1) the conquest of the Philistines and the capture of their chief city; (2) victories over the Moabites, Syrians, Edomites, and Ammonites; and finally the reduction of Rabbath, with which his kingdom reached the climax of its magnitude. 2. Nathan: A prophet, and David’s confidential adviser. 3. I have sinned against the Lord: David’s repentence was life long, finding expression in a series of penitential psalms which, for depth of poignancy and beauty of phrase, have no equal in any language. 4. Though David’s sincere repentence had obtained for him forgiveness, he was not excused from temporal punishments even in this world. Indeed, his whole life thereafter was filled with sorrows and disappointments. 5. Polled. Clipped closely. which the saddest was the rebellion both of his sin and of his greatest 6. Two hundred sicles: About 3 5-7 pounds. 7. Joab: Commander and chief of David’s armies. 8. Hebron had formerly been the capital of Israel and thus became the natural choice of Absolom, as a place to which the people would naturally turn. 9. Cedron: The brook that flowed along the foot of the Mount of Olives, and across which ran a bridge connecting the Mount with Jerusalem. 10. David, in his crossing of the brook Cedron, in the sorrow and tribu¬ lation of his ascent of the mount of Olives, in his patience and forbearance when outraged and insulted, and in his later triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem, presents a striking figure of our Blessed Lord. 11. Sadoc: One of David’s most valuable warriors. 12. Joab did not wish Achimaas to be the bearer of bad tidings because he felt it would do him no good, and he had great regard for him on account of Sadoc, his father. NOTES 287 IX. King Solomon (B. C. 1016-976) Summary: David was succeeded to the throne by his son , Solomon , whose reign forms the most splendid portion of Israel's history. During his rule , the Temple , one of the most wonderful buildings of ancient times , was built , emrf the commerce of the nation was extended to the most distant parts of the known world. Personally he was renowned near and far for his profound wisdom. But his great exaltation and his remarkable prosperity turned out , in the end , to be a misfortune rather than a blessing. For when he had reached the pinnacle of his greatness , he forgot the God who gave him all , and yielded himself to the hateful practices of idolatry. As a consequence God rejected him , and disrupted his kingdom. The stories of all these happenings form the subject-matter of this chapter. 1. This Temple when completed was, for grandeur and magnificence, one of the wonders of the world. It was built on the top of a hill, having around it great terraced courtyards, made one below and around the other by cutting down the hillside all around. That God was pleased with it is evidenced from the fact that at its completion He came down in the form of a cloud and filled it with His presence. But great and magnificent as it was, it did not merit as much love or reverence as one of our humblest chapels; for in our chapels, we possess, not the cloud of God’s presence, but His very self, under the appearance of bread and wine. 2. All that in modern times is called science and philosophy was called by the Hebrew s wfisdom. 3. Solomon’s wonderful prosperity turned his head and caused him to forget that all that he was, and all that he pos¬ sessed, came to him from the bountiful hand of God. And he gloried in himself; for which reason he was cast down. Well for us, if learning from his example, w 7 e ever preserve ourselves humble and obedient in God’s sight. 4. Go home to your dwellings: This was the accepted signal for starting a revolt among the Israelites. 5. As a consequence of this revolt the kingdom of Solomon was rent in twain. Ten of the tribes, occupying the northern section of the country, broke away and formed a separate kingdom of their ow T n, retaining the old name of Israel; while the two tribes in the south continued faithful to the line of David, and formed what is known as the kingdom of Juda. As might be expected this division gave rise to continuous warfare. The rulers of the two opposing kingdoms ceased not to strive with each other until, as shall be seen later, they both were forced to give w y ay to the armies of foreign nations. 288 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT X. The Kingdom of Israel (B. C. 976-721) Summary: Although the Hebrew people as a whole had, at the time of Samuel , demanded a king, a minority had opposed the movement, holding to the old principle that God alone should be king of Israel. In the difference of views lay the seed of bitter strife. True, during the reigns of David and Solomon, this strife was not very marked, because both of these men acted largely in the capacity of God's representatives, and were accepted as such by the people. With the division, however, there came to the throne of both kingdoms men who, by nature, were anything but the representatives of God. Consequently, the strife became open and determined , In the kingdom of Israel, it brought out Elias and Eliseus, two of the greatest prophets that the nation ever produced. These two men labored unceas¬ ingly for the cause of God; but the kings, who were wholly given up to wickedness, would not listen to them. Indeed, they went from bad to worse, until, at length, after nineteen of them had reigtied, during a period of two hundred and fifty-three years,—the patience of the Almighty being exhausted—the whole kingdom was delivered over to the power of the Assyrians, and carried into captivity. This chapter will be taken up with the stories which tell of the struggle between the kings and the prophets, and of the sad event with which it ended. 1. By leading the people away from their regular religious practice, Jeroboam succeeded in keeping them back from their rightful king; so with us, a failure to fulfill our religious duties ends ere long in keeping us away from God entirely. 2. Jezabel stands out as one of the wickedest women of history. Nothing was allowed by her to interfere with the accomplishment of her designs; and her designs were ever low and opposed to the designs of God. 3. This was as a punishment for his wickedness in allowing Baal to be wor¬ shipped by the children of Israel. 4. According to the word of the Lord: The Lord had so directed him, because Achab had resolved to take his life. 5. He that troublest Israel: i. e. by causing no rain to fall. 6. Baalim: the plural of Baal. 7. That is, raving and uttering their ecstatic cries, according to their man¬ ner. 8. His mantle: This was recognized as conferring the succession. By it, Eliseus knew that he should be prophet after Elias. 9. This illustrates the wickedness of Jezabel. NOTES 289 10. Stoning to death was the legal penalty for blasphemy,—the crime which had been falsely fixed upon Naboth. 11, 12. Both of these prophesies came to pass. Achab was killed in battle and the dogs licked up his blood; while dogs licked up the blood of Jezabel after she had been slain by being thrown from a window. IS. A double 'portion: i. e. the portion belonging by law to an eldest son. Its reception by Eliseus indicated the prom¬ inence of his position. 14. The chariot of Israel and the driver thereof: A figurative expression meaning that he had been his country’s best defence and surest guide. 15. Occasion against me: i. e. an excuse to make war. 16. Take a blessing: i. e., a reward of money or goods. 17. Hides burden of earth: The God of Israel could be appropriately worshipped only on Israelite soil. 18. Remmon: The thunder-god of the Assyrians. 19. Not once or twice: i. e., on several occasions. Through the direction of Elias, the king of Israel had avoided pitfalls which had been secretly laid for him by the king of the Assyrians. 20. Troubled for this thing: i. e., he was mystified how the king of Israel had been able to avoid the pitfalls wdien no one but his own counsellors knew any¬ thing of them. 21. All the host of heaven: i. e., the sun, moon and stars. 22. Through fire: i. e., they sacrificed their children to Moloch the god of the heathen Ammonites. XI. The Story of Judith (probably about 670 B. C.) Summary: Not long after the deportation of the people of Israel, the king of the Assyrians determined to wreak vengeance on Juda, as well as on other nations, for refusing to him their assistance in his wars against the Medes. For this purpose, his general, Holofernes, came with a mighty army and set siege to a mountain town of Juda called Bethulia. The story of how he came, and how his mission failed through the fortitude and faith of a beautiful woman named Judith, is one of the most thrilling in the whole Bible, and clearly shows that Jehovas help was never wanting to the Jews, as long as they remained faithful in His service. This story forms the subject-matter of this chapter. 1. There are many things about the life and deeds of Judith which have led the Church to look upon her as a type of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her saving of the nation by cutting off the head of Holofernes is likened to Mary’s part in saving the human race by crushing the head of the serpent; both were spoken 290 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT of as “blessed among women;” Judith was called “the glory of Jerusalem,” while Mary is regarded as the “glory of the heavenly Jerusalem,” where she sits enthroned above all the saints; both were devout; both heroic. Only, of course, as the sun surpasses the smallest * star by the brightness of its light, so does Mary outshine Judith by the glory that is hers from the Son of God, of whom she is, in very truth, the Mother. XII. The Kingdom of Juda (B. C. 976-606) Summary: The kingdom of Juda, like that of Israel, had its succession of riders, its sins, and its internal dissensions; although, on the whole, it showed much more fidelity to the worship of God than its northern neighbor did. Like Israel, too, it had its prophets, who spoke in God's name and sought to win the nation from its infidelity. Among these prophets, Jeremias stands old with special prominence. But the warnings of the prophets were not listened to, and after existing 387 years during a succession of twenty kings, it also fell victim to a victorious eastern ruler and was carried into captivity in Babylon. The stories connected with events in the kingdom of Juda have nothing of the picturesqueness of those connected with Israel's history. Therefore only such are here told as are sufficient to furnish an idea of the main theme of the period. 1. The law ordered lepers to live in houses apart. 2. From the first day that I spoke to you: i. e., twenty-two years. For twenty-two years Jeremias had been prophesying, pointing out to the Jews in no uncertain terms the terrible punishment of exile that awaited them unless they mended their ways and did penance for their sins. But in vain. Their only answer to his warnings was to plunge deeper and deeper into evil, and to do all in their power to silence him. He was at length thrown into prison, and finally put to death. 3. Because of the unfavorable things it foretold. 4. Nebuchodonosor was one of the most illustrious of the Chaldean kings of Babylon. XIII. The Babylonian Captivity (B. C. 606-536) Summary: The Babylonian captivity lasted seventy years. Fragments only of the history of that period have come down to us. But those fragments form NOTES 291 what are probably the best known and most appealing stories of all the Bible. For the most part they are grouped about a certain Daniel and three less distinguished companions; and they give evidence that even in its captivity, the chosen nation was able to continue its mission of wit¬ nessing for God to the rest of the world. Most of these stories are told in this chapter. 1. Would not be defiled: The Jewish law forbade certain articles of food to be eaten under sin of defilement. These were the food that Daniel and his com¬ panions refused to partake of. 2. Pulse: Vegetable food. 3. Stood in the king's presence: i. e. } they became acknowledged attendants at the court. 4. Sixty cubits: About ninety feet. 5. Nine feet. 6. Sackbut: A kind of harp. 7. Symphony: A kind of bagpipe. 8. Baltassar was grandson of Ne- buchodonosor and succeeded him to the throne. 9. Chaldeans, soothsayers, etc., all mean the same thing. Sooth is an old word for truth. Soothsayers pretended to read the truth of coming events in the stars, or in dreams, or by other such means. The Chaldean nation, of which Babylon was the capital, was so far ahead of the other peoples in this power of inter¬ preting secrets that the word Chaldeans w 7 as used as meaning soothsayers. 10. And his glory was taken away: Nebuchodonosor, when at the very height of his power, defied God, wherefor he was punished by being deprived of his reason and sent forth to the woods and fields to live even as a wild beast. 11. Literally, the meaning of the w’ords is as follow's: Mene means num¬ bered; Thecel means weighed; Phares means divided. All who saw the words knew their literal meaning, but Daniel alone w T as able to supply the knowledge w hich gave them their true bearing. XIV. The Story of Esther (probably about 470 B. C.) Summary: Another glimpse of the condition of the Jews in foreign lands and of he vicissitudes through which they went, is f urnished by the story of Esther. In it we see how, through a woman's courage and trust in God, the Jews were saved from destruction and given a position of dignity in the empire. The story, like that of Judith, teaches the great lesson that God 292 THE DIVINE TWILIGHT watched over His chosen people even in the midst of their severest trials, and in due time brought about the destruction of their enemies. 1. Assuerus is known in profane history as Xerxes I, one of the most . celebrated of the Persian kings. 2. Sat at the city gate: In eastern life the gate of a city or palace is like a modern city hall; persons linger about it to have their affairs taken up by kings or magis¬ trates. 3. Of the race of Agag: He was there¬ fore a member of the Amelec nation,— a nation that had always been the foe of Israel. 4. There are points in Esther’s story which cause her to be regarded as a type of the Blessed Virgin: her beauty caused her to be acceptable to the king, while Mary’s beauty made her acceptable to the King of Kings. Esther seems to have been the only one excepted from a whole¬ sale slaughter of the Jews. Mary alone of the human race was excepted from original sin. Finally, both are powerful in their appeals, Esther, with the king, in favor of her people, Mary, with the Lord, in favor of all men. XV. The Nation’s Rebirth (B. C. 536-397) Summary: The prophet Jeremias had prophesied that the Babylonian captivity would last for seventy years; and in the event his prophesy was f ulfilled. At the end of that period, the Jews were allowed to return again as a united nation to their beloved land of Canaan. This return was not a single incident, but a series of migrations under different leaders, covering a period of more than a hundred years. Of these leaders, the chief were Esdras and Nehemias, of whose deeds a brief account is given in the stories of this chapter. 1. In the first year of Cyrus: That is, his first year as king. 2. Jeremias’ prophesy is as follows: “For thus saith the Lord: When the seventy years shall begin to be accomp¬ lished in Babylon, I will visit you; and I will perforin my good word in your favor, to bring you again to this place.” Jeremias XXJX-10. 3. Though many companies of Jewish exiles had already returned to the land, Nehemias was the first to attempt the restoration of Jerusalem as a fortress. NOTES 293 XVI. The Machabees (B. C. 397-1 A. D.) Summary: After the return from captivity, the Jews lived for more than sixty years under the peaceful rule of the Persians. The Persian rule was followed by the rule of the Greeks , which also was peaceful until, in the year 175 B. C., Antiochus, called the Illustrious, arrived on the throne. Under Antiochus, the Jews suffered a persecution which has hardly a parallel in the history of any nation. Goaded to extremes by this cruelty, the Jews revolted under the leadership of a certain Mathathias. This revolt was successf ul, and for one hundred years, they enjoyed independence under the government of members of their own nation. At the expiration of that time, a dispute having arisen between rivals for the throne, the Empire of Rome, in the person of Pompey, interfered. The consequence was that Palestine became a Roman province. Such, in brief, is the outline of the history of the Jews from the return from captivity till the birth of our Lord. In this chapter, however, the stories are continued only as far as the dedication of the Temple under Judas Machabeus, partly because the rest of the account as given in the Book of the Machabees is very involved, and partly because it is concerned more with the political than with the religious development of the nation. 1. The city of David: This does not refer to Jerusalem as a whole, but to the citadel on the hill overlooking the temple. 2. Abominal idol of desolation: An altar to the heathen god and the platform which supported the altar of burnt incense. 3. To have eaten swine’s flesh in such circumstances would have been under¬ stood as equivalent to denying the faith. 4. Machabeus: The word probably means a “hammer,” a name applicable to Judas because of the manner in which he drove back the armies of Antiochus. 5. Assideans: The word means, “the pious.” This party, which stood out for the purity of worship, later on became known as the Pharisees. LIST OF PROPER NAMES WITH PRONUNCIATION A. Aaron, ar'on. Abana, a-ba'na. Abarim, ab'-a-rim. Abel, a'-bel. Abinadab, a-bin'-a-dab. Abiron, a-bi'ron. Abisai, a-bis'al. Abner, ab'-ner. Abraham, a'-bra-liam. Abram, a'-bram. Absolom, ab'-sa-lom* Achab, a'-kab. Achimaas, a-kink-a-as. Adonias, ad'-o-nk-as. Agog, a'-gog. Agogite, ik-gog-ite. Ahab, a'hab. Ahava, Li'-ha-va. Aion, ak-on. Amelec, ank-e-lek. Amelecites, a-mek-e-cltes. Ammon, am'-mon. Ammonites, ank-mon-nltes. Amorite, ank-or-Ite. Ananias, a-nan-k-as. Antiochus, an-tk-6-chus. Aphec, a r -fek. Aram, a'-rain. Ararat, ar'-a-rat. Arnon, ar'-non. Artaxerxes, ar'-tak-serk'-ez. Ascalon, as'-ka-lon. Aser, a'-ser. Asphenez, as'-fe-naz. Assideans, as-sl-de'-ans. Assuerus, az-u-e'-rus. Astaroth, as'-ta-roth. Astarthe, as-tar'-the. Avah, a'-vah. Azarias, az-a-rk-as. B. Baal, ba'-al. Baalim, ba'-al-im. Babylon, bab'-y-lon. Bahurim, ba-luk-rim. Baltassar, bal-taz'-zar. Baruch, bfk-ruk. Basan, ba'-san. Belial, be'-le-al. Benjamin, berk-ja-mm. Bersabee, ber'-sa-be. Bethel, beth'-el. Bethlehem, beth'-le-hem. Bethoran, beth-h5'ran. Bethsabee, betlk-sa-bee. Bethuel, beth-ik-el. Bethulia, betlk-u-lk-a. C. Camarias, kam-a-rk-as. Canaan, lak-na-an. Canaanite, ka'-nan-Ite. Carith, ka'-rith. Carmel, kar'-mel. Carmelite, kar'-mel-ite. Chaldeans, kal-de'-ans. Chaldees, kal'-dees. Cherubims, cher'-u-bims. Chusai, kik-si. Cis, cis. Core, ko'-re. Cyrus, cy'-rus. D. Dagon, da'-gon. Dalaias, da-lk-as. Damascus, da-mas'-kus. Danites, dan'-Ites. Darius, da-rk-us. Datiian, da'-tlian. Delila, de-lk-la. Dorymenus, dor-y-me'-nus. Dothain, do'-thane. E. Ecron, elk-ron. Edom, e'-dom. Edomites, e'dom-ites. THE DIVINE TWILIGHT 295 Eglon, eg'-lon. Egypt, e'-gypt. Elam, e'-lam. Eleazar, e-le-a'-zar. Eli, e'-li. Eliab, e-ll'-ab. Eliam, e-ll'-am. Elias, e-li'-as. Elim, e'-lim. Elimelec, e-lim'-e-lek. Elisama, e-li-sa'-TDa. Elnathan, el-na'-than. Emath, e'-math. Emmaus, em'-ma-us. Ephraim, e'-fra-im. Ephraimites, e'-fra-im-ites. Esau, e'-sau. Esdras, es'-dras. Etam, e'-tam. Ethai, e'-thai. Ethbaal, eth-ba'al. Euphrates, eu-fra'-tes. G. Galaad, gal'-a-ad. Galaodite, gal'-a-od-Ite. Galgal, gal'-gal. Galilee, gal'-i-lee. Gath, gath. Gedeon, ggd'-e-on. Gibeon, gib'-e-on. Giezi, gi-a'-zi. Gilboa, gil-bo'-a. Goliath, go-li'ath. Gorgias, gor'-gi-as. Goshen, go'-shen. H. IIabor, ha'-bor. Hachila, hak'-ida. Hala, ha'-la. Haman, ha'-man. Haran, ha'ran. Harbona, har-bo'na. Hared, har'-ed. Havila, hav'-ida. Hebron, he'-bron. Hesbon, hes'-bon. Hetiiite, hetlV-Ite. Holofernes, ho-lo-fer'-nes. Horeb, ho'-reb. I. Isaac, I'-zak. I saar, i'-zar. Israel, Iz'ra-el. Issachar, Ts'-sa-kar. J. Jabboc, jab'-bok. Jabes, ja'bes. Japhet, ja'fet. Jebusites, jeb'-u-sites. Jehova, je-ho'-va. Jemini, jem'-i-m. Jericho, jer'-i-ko. Jesse, jes'-se. Jezabel, jez'-e-bel. Joab, jo'-ab. Joakim, jo'-a-kim. Jonathan, jon'-a-tlian. Joram, jo'-ram. K. Kades, ka'-des. Kenites, ken'-Ites. L. Laban, la'-ban. Lea, le'-a. Lebanon, leb'-a-non. Levi, le'-vl. Levites, le'-vltes. Lysias, ly'-sl-as. M. Machabees, mak'-a-bes. Maciiabeus, mak-a-be'-us. Macpela, mak-pe'da. Madian, ma'-di-an. Malasar, mada'-sar. Mamre, mam'-re. Manahaim, ma'-ua-im. Manassa, ma-nas'-sa. Mara, ma'-ra, Mathathias, ma-tha-thi'-as. Medes, medes. Megeddo, me-ged'-do. Melca, mel'ka. Melchisdech, mel-kis'-e-dek. Mene, ma'-ne. Merjba, mer'-i-ba. Mesopotamia, mes'-d-po-ta'-ml-a. 296 LIST OF PROPER NAMES WITH PRONUNCIATION Micheas, ml-ka-'-as. Misacii, mP-sa. Misael, mis'-a-el. Moab, mo'-ab. Moabites, mo'-ab-Ites. Modin, mo'din. Molec, mo'lek. Moloch, mb'-lok. Mordochai, mor'-do-kai. Moria, mo-rP-a. N. Naaman, na'-a-man. Nabat, na'-bfit. Naboth, na'-both. Nabuchodonosor, nab-u-ko-don'-6-sor. Nabuzardan, nab-u-ziir'-dan. Naciior, na'kor. Nathan, na'-than. Nazarite, naz'-a-rite. Nebat, ne'-bat. Nebo, n