^a •SELECTIONS THE TALMUD. BEING SPECIMENS OF THE CONTENTS OF THAT ANCIENT BOOK, ITS COMMENTARIES, TEACHINGS, POETRY, AND LEGENDS. ALSO, BRIEF SKETCHES OF THE MEN WHO MADE AND COMMENTED UPON IT. TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL, BY H. P O L A N O, PROFESSOR OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE, AND AUTHOR OF 'THE HEBREW SPELLER." PHILADELPHIA: PUBLISHED BY CLAXTON, KEMSEN & HAFFELFINGEK, Nos. 624, 626, 628 MAKKET STREET. 18 7 6. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1876, By H. POLAND, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. PHILADELPHIA: SHERMAN * CO., PRINTERS. 1876 PREFACE. The object of the following pages is to give to the student and general reader a fair idea of the contents of the Talmud. Some time since the translator was asked how it was that no English translation of the Talmud was in existence, and being convinced that many would be interested in its contents, he re- solved upon the book which he now presents to the public. It is merely a collection of specimens, and makes no pretensions to any more advanced standing. The only object has been to give in plain, easy language, a correct idea of the scope, and as gen- eral an idea as possible of the varied sections of the ancient and wonderful work. A portion of the introduction is taken from the preface to the Mishna of Maimonides ; the chronology is from the " Seder Haddoroih^^ (Order of historical ages), and the sketches of the Rabbis of the Talmud are taken from various hints afforded by the book itself, joined with opinions of the translator. The sketches of Maimonides, Rashi, and Rabbi Amnon of Metz, are translated from the ^^ Seder Haddoroth/^ while the incidents, parables, legends, lectures, and aphorisms, all directly from the Talmud, are placed in order thought suitable by the translator, and not as they regularly occur. The portion devoted to the Holy Days is from a work entitled " Menorath Hammdore ^' (The Lamp of the Light), the greater part of which is originally from the Talmud. The translator believes that a perusal of his work will not 427892 IV . PREFACE. only aid in informing the reader of what the Talmud is, but ex- cite an interest in the same, which will make this book, and others of a similar character following it, of interest and demand. It is probable that some errors and mistakes may be discov- ered, despite the care bestowed upon the pages of this book ; for these the translator craves the reader's kind indulgence. The work has been to him a labor of love, and his satisfaction there- with would be incomplete, lacking such kindness. In the spell- ing of the proper names, he has taken advantage of a translator's arbitrary powers, and given that English version which he deems nearest to the proper pronunciation of the originals. He desires to thank the friend who aided in the revision of the manuscript and pages, for many a correction and kind sug- gestion ; and in the sincere hope and desire that his effort may tend to promote a knowledge of God's holy word, he leaves his cause with the indulgent reader. Tamuz, 5636. July, 1876. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. PAGE Nature and Scope op the Talmud, 17 Chronological Table of its Compilation, 26 PART FIRST. BIBLICAL HISTOEY. CHAPTEK I. From Cain and Abel to the Destruction of Babel's Tower, . 29 Death of Abel — Enoch — Kenan — Lemech — Death of Cain — Enoch, his righteousness — Death of Adam — Enoch's ascent to Heaven — Methu- saleh — Lemech — Noah — The Flood — Nimrod — The Building of the Tower — Confusion of Language. CHAPTER IL From the Birth of Abraham to the Destruction of Sodom AND Gomorrah, 47 Therach — Birth of Abram his son — His early peril — His knowledge of God and studies with "Noah — His return to his father's house — He destroys his father's idols — His deliverance from Ur Chaldee — Death of Charan his brother — Abram settles in Canaan — His parting with Lot — Sodom — The wickedness of its inhabitants — Legends of their wrong doings — Destruction of the city. CHAPTER III. From the Birth of Isaac to the Wars of Shechem, . . 68 Birth of Isaac — Dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael — Abram's visits to Ish- mael — " A good nail " — Sacrifice of Isaac — His deliverance — Death of Sarah — Birth of Esau and Jacob — Death of Abraham — Esau sells his birthright — Jacob's flight — His reception by Laban — Meeting of Esau VI CONTENTS. and Jacob — Jacob settles in Shechem — Dinah and the son of Chamor — The vengeance of Jacob's sons — The threatening Emorites — Death of Rachel. CHAPTER IV. PAGE From Joseph's Youth to his Elevation over Egypt, . . 91 The Master of Dreams — Joseph sold by his brethren — He is taken to Egypt — The grief of Jacob — Zelicha, the wife of Potiphar — The unjust accu- sation — Joseph in prison — The Chief Butler — Death of Isaac — Division of his property — Pharaoh's dreams — Failure of the wise men — Joseph interprets the dreams — His elevation to the office of Viceroy. CHAPTER V. Joseph's Greatness and Jacob's Entry into Egypt, . . .111 Marriage of Joseph — The famine — Joseph's brethren journey to Egypt — They are brought before the Viceroy — The money in the sacks — Ben- jamin goes down to Egypt — The silver cup — Joseph and Judah — Jo- seph makes himself known — Jacob journeys to meet his son. CHAPTER VI. Death of Jacob— Deliverance from Egypt, 133 Death of Jacob — His burial — Esau's interference — Esau killed by Hushim, the son of Dan — Death of Pharaoh — Joseph's death — Death of Jacob's sons — The new king — Pithom and Raamses — The proclamation of Death — Birth of Moses — His adoption by Pharaoh's daughter — His flight to Ethiopia — He travels to Midian, and marries Ziporah, the daughter of Reiiel— He is sent to Pharaoh — The Plagues — Deliverance of the Israelites — The passage of the Red Sea. PART SECOND. SPECIMENS OF BIBLICAL COMMENTAKIES. I. The Deliverance from Egypt, 163 II. The Ten Plagues, 176 Blood— Frogs— Lice— The Multitude of Beasts— Pestilence- Boils — Hail — Locusts — Darkness — The Slaying of the First Born. III. The Death of Moses, 183 IV. The Book of Esther, 185 V. King Solomon, the Wise, 212 CONTENTS. Vll PART THIRD. The Rabbis — Their Teachings and Incidents in Their Lives. PAGE Rabbi Judah, the " Chief," •. . 225 Simon, the Righteous, 229 Rabbi Ishmael, the High Priest, 231 Rabbi Meir, 235 Hillel Hannasi, 240 Rashi, ^ i . . . .243 Maimonides, " . . . . 245 Rabbi Amnon of Metz, 248 Teachings of the Rabbis. Benevolence, 250 Meekness, 257 The Fear of God, 258 Honor to Parents, 261 The Law and its Study, 265 Prayer, 274 The Sabbath, 278 Rewards and Punishments, 281 Trades, 283 Death, 284 Funeral Sermon over a Dead Rabbi, 285 Incidents in the Lives of the Rabbis. Rabbi Akiba, . . .286 Elishah ben Abuyah, 293 Rabbi Simon, 297 Rabbi Judah : Soul and Body equally answerable to G-od, . . . 298 Rabbi Joshua : God's Knowledge of the Future, .... 300 Rabbi Gamliel : A Wife for a Rib, 300 Rabbi Joshua : Why Woman was made from the rib of Man, . . 301 Rabbi Simon Ben Jochai : Why the Manna fell daily, . . . 301 Rabbi Eleazer : The Way of Life, 302 Rabbi Johanan, son of Zakai : The Highwayman and the Sneak Thief, 303 Rabbi Nachman : The Blessing of Rabbi Yitzchak, .... 304 Gebiah ben Pesisah, 304 A Wise King, 306 Vlll CONTENTS. PART FOURTH. Proverbs and Sayings of the Kabbis, Legends, Etc. PAGE Sayings of the Kabbis, 307 The Desert Ishmd, 320 The Emperor and the Aged Man, 323 Proving a Claim, 325 A Payment with Interest, ......... 327 The Weasel and the Well, 329 The Lawful Heir, 330 Nothing in the World without a Use, 332 The Reward of Faith, 333 Abtinoss and Garmah, 334 Trust in God, 335 The Bride and Bridegroom, 338 Truth, 339 The Destruction of Bithar, 340 The Destruction of Jerusalem, ........ 341 Second Destruction of Jerusalem, . . , . . . . 343 Hannah and her Seven Sons, 347 .PART FIFTH. Civil and Criminal Law — The Holy Days. Sketch of Civil and Criminal Codes, . .' 351 Passover, ............ 354 Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks, 355 New Year, or Day of Memorial, 357 Day of Atonement, . 364 Succoth, or Feast of Tabernacles, 372 Hannuckah, 379 Purim, 381 INTRODUCTION. THE TALMUD, ITS NATURE AND SCOPE, WITH A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF ITS COMPILATION. The " Talmud " is a collection of early biblical dis- cussions, with the comments of generations of teachers who devoted their lives to the study of the Scriptures. It is an encyclopedia of law, civil and penal, human and divine. It is more, however, than a mere book of laws. It records the thoughts, rather than the events, of a thousand years of the national life of the Jewish people ; all their oral traditions, carefully gathered and preserved with a love devout in its trust and simplicity. Accepted as a standard study, it became endeared to the people, who, as they were forbidden to add to or dimin- ish from the law of Moses, would not suffer this work of their Rabbis to be tampered with in any manner. As it was originally compiled it has been transmitted to us. It is a literary wilderness. At the first view, every- thing, style, method, and language, seems tangled and confused. The student, however, will soon observe two motives or currents in the work ; at times harmonious, at times diverse. One displaying the logical mind, which compares, investigates, develops, and instructs ; 2 18 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. the other, imaginative and poetical. The first is called "Halachah" (Rule), and finds a vast field in the Le- vitical and ceremonial laws ; the other takes possession of the ethical and historical portions of Holy Writ. It is called " Hagadah," or Legend, not so much in our present acceptance of the term, as in the wider sense of a saying without positive authority, an allegory, a para- ble, a tale. The Talmud is divided into two parts, Mlslina and Genxfrah. They are the continued works of successive Rabbis, chiefs or principals of the colleges in which they devoted their lives to study. Most of the redactears of the Mlslina were dead, however, long before the Gema- rah was commenced. The time consumed in the com- pletion of the entire Talmud is stated to have been three hundred and eleven years. In its present form it con- sists of twelve folio volumes, containing the precepts of the Pentateuch with extended commentaries upon them; amplified biblical incidents; occurrences affecting the religious life of those who prepared it; philosophical treatises; stories, traditions, and parables. It was called the oral or unwritten law, in contradistinction to the Pentateuch, which remained under all circumstances, the immutable code, the divinely given constitution, the written law. The guardianship of the laws and traditions was vested in the chiefs of the colleges, known as " Scribes," " Men of the Great Synod," *' Princes and Fathers of the House of Judgment." They instructed the people, preached in the synagogues, and taught in the schools. Nothing was allowed to seriously interrupt their duties. Palestine was ruled by various dynasties; the masters were martyred ; the academies were destroyed ; to study the law was made a crime against the state ; yet the ^ ITS NATURE AND SCOPE, 1^ chain of living tradition remained intact. The dying masters appointed their successors, and for one academy destroyed, three new ones sprang up in another quarter. These masters were superior men, mentally and physi- cally, and the scope of their learning was almost un- limited. To be eligible to the position, they were re- quired to be men of well-balanced mind, neither too young nor too old, that their judgment might be neither hasty nor enfeebled. They were required to be thor- ough linguists, to be masters of the sciences of mathe- matics, botany, and natural history, and familiar with the arts as well as the sciences. The highest rank in the estimation of the people be- longed to these Chachamim, wise men. Many of them were humble tradesmen, yet they were considered greater than priest or noble. Idleness was particularly abhorred by them, and piety and learning were consid- ered deserving of their full meed of homage only when joined to active, bodily work. Among the common sayings of the time, we find these ; '* It is well to add a trade to your studies if you would remain free from sin." " The tradesman at his work is the equal of the most learned doctor."" " He who derives his livelihood from the labor of his hands is as great as he who fears God," The laws, traditions, and ordinances, during many hundred years, grew to such immense proportions, that some better method of their preservation than their scattered and chiefly unwritten form, became a neces- sity. Three different attempts were made to reduce them into system and order. The third alone was suc- cessful. 20 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. \ The progress of these laws, etc., from their revelation and conception till their final rest in the Talmud, is thus traced in the writings of Maimonides. During the last forty years of the life of Moses, the Lord gave to him six hundred and thirteen precepts, in- cluding the Decalogue, with full explanation of their meaning and intent, that he might be able to properly instruct the people. The manner in which Moses im- parted these precepts to the chosen race is thus recorded in the treatise Eniblm. First, he called his brother Aaron into his tent and spoke to him alone, all the words which God had commanded ; the sons of Aaron were then admitted and the same words repeated to them ; the seventy elders of the people were then called before Moses, and from his lips received the command- ments and ordinances of their God,^ and then any of the people who so desired were allowed to enter the tent, and to them Moses spoke again the same words. Thus Aaron heard these precepts four times, his sons thrice, the elders twice, and the people once, from the lips of Moses. After this first course of instruction, the prophet retired and Aaron repeated the precepts ; then his sons spoke the words which they had heard ; the elders reiterated them, and thus were the com- mands delivered to Moses, impressed upon the minds of the people, who were authorized in turn to teach one another. The precepts themselves were written on rolls of parchment, but the explanations thereof became the basis of the oral law, the foundation and substance of the Talmud. These six hundred and thirteen precepts were given between the years 2448 and 2488 (1312 and 1272 B. C. E.). "And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month," that ITS NATURE AND SCOPE. 21 Moses called all the people together and said unto them, "My last days on earth are drawing nigh. If there be any among you who have forgotten the pre- cepts of the Lord which I have taught to you, speak now and I will repeat them ; or if there be any one among you to whom the law is not clear, and who de- sires an explanation of any point, behold I am here to answer his questions." Thus, on the first day of Sltehat (February), Moses began to repeat and explain the law and its traditions, as it is written : " On this side of the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying,'' (Deut. 1:5). On the seventh day of Adar (March) he concluded this labor. He wrote thirteen copies of the Pentateuch upon parchment. He gave one copy into the keeping of each of the tribes, and the thirteenth he placed in the hands of the Levites, saying, " Take this book of the law and put it at the side of the ark." At noon, "on this self-same day," the Lord said to Moses : "Go up to the Mount Nebo." The earthly pil- grimage of the great prophet was completed, the rest of Heaven and the smile of God was his for evermore, and upon his friend and servant Joshua devolved the duty to teach and to observe. Joshua was born in the year 2406. He was eighty- two years of age when he became the leader of the people, and he died in the year 2516. After his death, the elders, chief among whom were Caleb and Pinechas, undertook the duty of preserving a general knowledge of the oral laws. They lived about seventeen years after Joshua's death, and then the charge descended to the judges and the prophets. First of these was Eli, the High Priest. He became judge in 2830, the same year 22 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. in which Samuel was born, and he died in 2870, one year after Samuel had succeeded to his office. Samuel judged the people eleven years, yielding up his spirit whence it came upon the 28th of lyar (May), 2882. The sacred guardianship fell then to David the son of Jesse, from him it descended to Achiyah the Shelomite, and from him to the pure Elijah. In the year 3047 Elijah ascended to Heaven, and, with his mantle, his duties devolved upon Elisha, his pupil. Then Yeho- yada, Zecheriah, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, and Joel were the successive guardians of the law and its growing "fences" and traditions. Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and Baruch, the son of Neriah, succeeded these, and in the year 3413 the duty devolved upon Ezra, high priest, scribe, and prophet. Ezra was a member of the great senate, composed of one hundred and twenty members, which introduced a regular order of prayers for divine service. (Previously the people had composed their own prayers — words from their hearts, appropriate to their circumstances and conditions. They had but three set prayers, portions of the Pentateuch, recited from the moment of its existence, viz. : "Hear, Israel" (Deut. 6 : 4-10) ; " And it shall come to pass" (Deut. 11 : 13- 22) ; and "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying" (Numb. 20:31 to end).) After the death of Ezra, the guardianship fell suc- cessively upon Antigonus of Socho, Jose, the son of Jo- azur of Serada, Jose, the son of Jochanan of Jerusalem, Judah, the son of Tabai, Shemiah, Abtalyon, and then to Hillel, the great teacher and sage in Israel. Hillel was chief of the college, and among his pupils was Shamai, a learned man, but of hasty temper and fond of argument. He seceded from Hillel's college and organized another one over which he presided. The ITS NATURE AND SCOPE. 23 controversies between the two were long, sharp, and exhaustive. Hillel was called the Hillel of Babel, having been born in that place. At the age of forty years he jour- neyed to Jerusalem, in order that he might study with Shemiah and Abtalyon. He pursued his studies for forty years, and was chief of the college for forty years, dying when he was one hundred and twenty years old. He was a very meek man, and the many dissensions at the college of Hillel, which form a not insignificant por- tion of the Biblical commentaries, owe their existence to the polemical disposition of his friend Shamai. To Hillel, the necessity of arranging, simplifying, and com- mitting to writing the great bulk of oral law and tradi- tion, seemed first to present itself in full force. He commenced the work in the year 3728, but though he succeeded in arranging and condensing some six hun- dred sections into six volumes, he died while the work was still far from completion. The generations which followed Hillel and Shamai were even more disposed to controversies than had been their predecessors, and for a century nothing was added to Hillel's work. The guardianship of the traditions fell to his son Simon, then to Simon's son, Gamliel. Rabbi Shimnon, the son of Gamliel, was the thirty-fourth teacher into whose especial charge they were given, and from him they descended to Rabbi Judah, the suc- cessful redacteurj commonly called, by reason of his great eminence, " Rabbi." Rabbi Judah was a man of immense learning, of a progressive mind, and thoroughly versed in the sciences of his day. The Emperor Antoninus conceived for him a respect and affection which resulted in many marks of favor and distinction. Through his influence with Z^ SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. the Roman ruler, he was enabled to do much towards the benefit of his race. His great desire was to create among the people a love for the study of the law, and a familiarity with its beauties and its moral and religious code. He saw that a complete knowledge of the law was limited to a comparatively few, who were dispersed through many countries, and he feared it might in time be entirely forgotten if the interest in its study was allowed to decrease as it had for some time been dimin- ishing. With the aid of the sages and pupils of his col- lege he set diligently to work, and collecting the rules, explanations, and traditions extant since the death of Moses, he inscribed them into six volumes, which he called the Mlshna, or "Second Law." In the year 3978, one hundred and fifty years after the destruction of the second temple, the redaction was completed. Many of the laws were already obsolete, even on their first pub- lication. Rome had long before substituted her own penal code for that belonging to the Jewish nationality; the minute injunctions regulating the sacrifices and the temple services had but an ideal value, and many of the other laws applied particularly to Palestine, where but comparatively few of the people remained. Yet the whole was received in Palestine and Babylonia, not merely as a record of the past, but as a holy work, an infallible text-book, a record of laws that, with the restoration of the commonwealth, would come into practice as in time past. All Israel gave thanks for the completion of this great undertaking. The six sections into which the Mishna was divided, may be indexed as fo.lows : Section I, Seeds: The Agrarian Laws. Tithes and Donations to Priests, Levites, and the Poor. The Sab- ITS NATURE AND SCOPE. 25 batical Year. Prohibited Mixtures in Plants, Animals, and Garments. Section II, Feasts: Sabbaths, Festivals, and Fast Days ; the Ceremonies Ordained, and the Sacrifices to be offered on them. Special chapters are given to the Passover, the New Year's Feast, the Day of Atonement, Succoth, and Purim. Section III, Woman: Betrothal, Marriage, and Di- vorce. Yows and Obligations. Section IY, Damages: This section includes the major portion of the Civil ai)d Criminal Law. Ordinary Money Transactions. Idolatry. Witnesses. Legal Punish- ments, and ^^ Sentences of the Fathers." Section Y, Sacred Things: Sacrifices. First Born Children. Measurements and Details of the Temple and its Utensils. Section YI, Purification: Levitical and Hygienic Laws. Impure persons and things and the methods for their purification. Among the Rabbis who assisted Rabbi Judah were his sons, Rabbi Simon and Rabbi Gamliel. The Mishna being formed into a code, became in its turn what the Scriptures had been to it, a basis of de- velopment and discussion. After the death of Rabbi Judah, his successors, Rab and Samuel, began explana- tions of its principles. These were continued in a second generation by Rabbi Judah bar Ezekiel, princi- pal of the college at Nehardea, and Rabbi Hun ah, prin- cipal of the college at Sura. The latter died in 4056, and until the sixth generation, 4127, the oral commen- taries upon the Mis1i7ia, now known as the Gemarah, were continued. Rab Ashi inaugurated the collection of these com- mentaries, and it is said that from the days of Rabbi 26 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. Judah the Chief, never was the study of the law so prevalent as during the life of this latter Rabbi. He died in 4180 before he had completed his undertak- ing, and his successors, Mar and Meremar, the latter being his son, were the last of the generations of the ^'Rabbis of the Talmud." The Talmud is without doubt the most reliable record of Jewish law and tradition, yet its popularity is due more to the force of circumstances than to its general acceptance at the time of its redaction. During the bitter persecution of the Jews in Persia, the schools were closed, and oral instruction being in a great measure interfered with, the book obtained a hold and authority which its authors never intended. This ap- plies of course to its legal portions ; the legendary por- tion, the Haggadah, was poetry, imaginative fancy. But though the Rabbis themselves considered the latter of secondary importance, and explained its character, the majority of the people clung to it, and regarded the Talmud as a complete whole, worthy of their rev- erence. Condensed Chronological Table, 2448 Promulgation of the Decalogue. 2488 Death of Moses. 2516 Death of Joshua. 2830 Oral laws transmitted to various elders. 2871 Samuel, Judge of Israel. 2884 David, King of Israel. Achiyah the Shelomite, guardian of the law. 2962 Guardianship transferred to Elijah. 3047 Elisha succeeded his teacher. Yehoyadah, high priest. CONDENSED CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 27 3067 Zecbariah, the son of Yehoyadah, the next custo- dian of the law, killed in the Temple by order of Joash. 3110 Guardianship transferred to Amos, his successor. 3140 To Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3160 To Micah the Morashtite. 3190 To Joel the son of Pethuel. 3240 To Nahum the Elkoshite. 3254 To Habakuk the prophet. 3280 To Zephaniah. 3321 To Jeremiah. 3332 To Ezekiel and Baruch, son of Neriya. 3413 To Ezra, chief of the great synod of 120 mem- bers, including among its number Haggai, Malachi, Daniel, Chananyah, Michael, Azar- yah, Nehemiah, Mordecai, and Zerubabel. '3448 To Simon " the Just," also a member of the synod, the first of the sages of the Mishna. 3460 To Antigonus of Socho. 3500 To Jose ben Joezer of Zeredah, and Jose ben Jochanan of Jerusalem. 3560 To Joshua ben Parachiah and Nitai the Arbe- lite. 3621 To Judah, the son of Tabbai, and Simon, the son of Shatach. 3722 To Shemayah, Abtalyon, and other teachers in the college. 3728 Charge received by Hillel. 3768 Intrusted to his son Simon, and to K. Jochanan ben Zakkai. During their time the " Common Era" commenced. 3809 Rabbi Gamliel succeeded R. Simon, — eighteen years before the destruction of the temple. 28 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. 3810 Charge descended to Rabbi Simon the second, who died a martyr. 3840 To Eabbi Gamliel the second, — twelve years after the destruction of the temple. 3881 To Rabbi Simon the third. 3948 Rabbi Judah, Hannasee (the chief) edited the to Mishna, the text of the " Talmud," putting the 3978 traditions and enlargements on the precepts into writing for the first time. 3979 Rab and Samuel succeeded R. Judah, and began the commentaries on the Mishna in their col- lege at Babel. 4056 R. Huna, the successor of Samuel, became prin- cipal of the college at Sura. 4060 Rabbah, the son of Nachamuni, chief Rabbi. 4111 Death of Rabba, who died the same day Rab Ashi the redacteiir of the G^^cl^cl^^ was born. 4028 Rabbi Jochanan edited the Jerusalem Talmud. 4127 Rabbi Ashi became principal of the college, and commenced his labors on the Gemarah. 4180 Death of Rab Ashi before the completion of his undertaking. 4253 The work completed as it now is, by Mar, and Meremar, the son of Rab Ashi, and their asso- ciates. PART FIRST, BIBLICAL HISTORY. CHAPTER L FROM CAIN AND ABEL TO THE DESTRUCTION OF BABEl'S TOWER. And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore him two sons and three daughters. The first-born she called "Cain," saying, "I have got- ten a man from the Lord." Her second son she called "Abel," saying, "With nothing we come into the world, and with nothing will we be taken from it." When the lads grew up, their father gave to each of them a possession in the land. Cain became a tiller of the soil and Abel a shepherd. And after a time it came to pass that the lads each brought an offering to the Lord. Cain brought from the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought from the firstlings of his flock. But while Abel selected the finest and best- conditioned animals, Cain offered fruit of an inferior quality, the poorest which the earth offered. Therefore Cain's offering was unheeded, while the fire of accept- ance fell from heaven consuming the gracious gift which his brother had presented to his Maker. Thus 30 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. a feeling of jealousy found birth in Cain's heart, and he resolved when a good opportunity should offer, to slay his brother. This time came upon an occasion when Cain was ploughing his fields. Abel, leading his flocks to pasture, crossed the ground which his brother was tilling. In a wrathful spirit, Cain approached Abel, saying, "Wherefore comest thou with thy flocks to dwell in, and to feed upon the land which belongs to me ?" And Abel answered : "Wherefore eatest thou of the flesh of my sheep? Wherefore clothe thyself in garments fashioned from their wool ? Pay me for the flesh which thou hast eaten, for the garments in which thou art clothed, for they are mine, even as this ground is thine ; then will I go out of it, aye, and fly through the air, so that I may not touch it." Then said Cain to his brother : "Behold, thou art in my power. If I should see fit to slay thee now, to-day, who would avenge thy death ?" "God, who has placed us upon this earth," replied Abel. "He is the judge who rewardeth the pious man according to his deeds, and the wicked according to his wickedness. Thou canst not slay me, and hide from Him the action. He will surely punish thee, aye, even for the evil words which thou hast spoken to me but now." This answer increased Cain's wrathful feelings, and, raising the implement of his labor which he was hold- ing in his hand, he struck his brother suddenly there- with, and killed him. Thus was the blood of Abel spilled by Cain his brother, and the blood ran along the ground, even to the place where Abel's flocks were staying. BIBLICAL HISTORY. 31 And it came to pass, after this rash action, that Cain grieved and wept bitterly. Then, arising, he dug a hole in the ground, and buried therein his brother's body from the light of day. And after this, the Lord appeared to Cain, and said to him : ^^ Where is Abel, thy brother, who was with thee?" And Cain replied unto the Lord : "I know not ! Am I my brother's keeper?" Then said the Lord : "What hast thou done ! Thy brother's blood cries to me from the ground. Thou thinkest I know not of thy action, of the crime which thou hast committed, which thou wouldst now deny. Cursed be thou from the ground which oped to swallow up thy brother's blood. No longer shall it give its strength to thee and answer to thy efforts ; no longer shall it give thee aught but thorns. A fugitive and wanderer shalt thou henceforth be upon the earth." And Cain went forth a wanderer from the presence of his Maker, forth to the land on the east of Eden. Now, after this time, when God began to give Cain rest, his wife conceived and bore a son. And Cain called his son "Enoch," because God had at last given him rest upon the earth. And he began to build a city, and this, too, he called "Enoch," for the same reason, because he was no longer a fugitive and a wanderer as before. Now, when Adam was one hundred and thirty years old, he begat another son, whom he called "Seth." And Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begat "Enosh." Then the people increased and grew many upon the 32 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. face of the earth. And they polluted their souls by sin and rebellion against the Lord. Their wickedness and their transgressions increased day by day. They forgot the Eternal who had formed them and given them the earth as a possession. They made images of copper and iron, of wood and of stone, to which they prostrated themselves in worship. During the entire lifetime of Enosh the people con- tinued thus unrighteous. Therefore God's wrath was kindled against them, and he caused the river Gichon to overflow, and destroy and consume them. But though one-third of the earth was thus destroyed, the remaining people did not repent; they continued in their evil ways, displeasing in the eyes of the Lord. During this time there was neither sowing nor reap- ing. There was a grievous famine in the land, for when the people became corrupt, the land was also corrupted, and, instead of fruit for man's sustenance, it brought forth thorns and thistles. And Enosh lived ninety years, and begat "Kenan." Kenan was a wise man who understood all things, and when he grew to be forty years of age, he ruled over the whole human race. Being an intelligent man, he instructed the people, and imparted to them his wisdom and understanding. He foresaw that the people would be punished for their continued wickedness, and he prophesied concerning. the future and the flood which God would bring upon the earth, and he wrote down his prophecies on stone tablets, and deposited them in the Treasury. When Kenan was seventy years old he begat chil- dren, three sons and two daughters. These two daugh- BIBLICAL HISTORY. 33 ters became the wives of Lemech, the son of Methushael, the fifth of the generations of Cain. Ada, his first wife, bore him a son, whom she called ''Jabal," and another son, whom she called "Jubal;" but Zillah, her sister, was barren for many years. But it came to pass, even in her old age, that Zillah became the mother of a son, whom she called *' Tubal- Cain," saying, "After I have grown old, Almighty God has granted me a son." . Then Zillah conceived again, and bore a daughter, whom she called "Naama," which signifies joy and pleasure in old age. Now as Lemech grew old, his eyes grew very dim, and finally all sight was taken from them, and Tubal-Cain, his son, led him by the hand when he walked abroad. And it came to pass, when Tubal-Cain was still quite young, that he led his father into the fields to hunt, and he said to his father: "Lo, yonder is a beast of prey, shoot thy arrow in that direction." Lemech did as his son had spoken, and the arrow struck Cain, who was walking afar off*, and killed him. Thus was Cain's blood shed even as he had shed the blood of Abel his brother. Now when Lemech and his son drew near and saw that instead of a beast of prey they had killed their pro- genitor Cain, Lemech trembled exceedingly and clapped his hands heavily together in surprise, grief, and fright. Being blind, he saw not his son, and struck the lad's head between his hands, killing him instantly. When his wives discovered what their husband had done they upbraided and despised him. And he spoke to them saying : " Ada and Zillah, listen to my voice ! Oh, wives of Lemech, give ear unto my speech ! I have slain a man 34 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. to my hurt, a child to my wounding, but not in cruelty or with design. Ye know that I am old and hoary, that my eyes are sightless ; accidentally I did this thing to my own wounding and my own hurt." Then his wives became reconciled to their husband, according to the advice of Adam, their father, but they bore no more children. " Mehalalel begat Jared, and, Jared begat Enoch, and Enoch begat Methusaleh." And Euoch served the Lord and walked with him, despising the wicked ones about him, and cleaving with knowledge and understanding to the ways of the Most High. Enoch did not mix with the people, but lived alone as a hermit for many years. And it came to pass as he was praying in his apartment an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, saying, ^* Enoch, Enoch/' and he answered, "Here am I." Then said the angel : " Arise, go forth from thy solitude and walk among the people of the land. Teach to them the way they should go, and instruct them in the actions they should perform." And Enoch did as the Lord commanded him. He walked among the people and taught them the ways of the Creator, assembling them together and addressing them in earnestness and truth. And he charged his followers to proclaim in all places where men dwelt; — '^ Who is he that desires to know the ways of the Lord and to do righteously ? Let him seek Enoch." And Enoch reigned over the human race and the peo- ple obeyed him, and while Enoch was among them they BIBLICAL HISTORY. 35 served God. And princes and rulers came to listen to his words of wisdom and to make obeisance before him. And he made peace through all the land. And Enoch reigned over the human race for three hundred and fifty-three years. In justice and righteous- ness he ruled, and peace blessed the land during all this period. Methusaleh was the son of Enoch, and Lemech was the son of Methusaleh. Adam died, nine hundred and thirty years old, when Lemech was sixty -five years of age. He was buried with great honors by Seth, Enoch, and Methusaleh. His body was placed in a cave, which according to some authorities was the cave of Mach- pelah. From this time, the time of Adam's burial, it has been the custom to perform funeral obsequies over the dead. Adam died because he had eaten of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, and through his sin must all his de- scendants likewise die, even as the Lord has spoken. The year in which Adam died was the two hundred and fifty- third year of the reign of Enoch. And it came to pass about this time that Enoch again felt a longing for solitude take possession of him, and he again withdrew from frequent communion with his people. He did not separate himself from them al- together; for three days he remained alone, and on the fourth he appeared to exhort and instruct them. But when a few years had passed he increased the periods of his withdrawal from the world, and separat- ing himself from the people for six days, he preached to them upon the seventh. And after this he appeared before the people but one time in a year, and though they were desirous of seeing him and hearkening to 36 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. his voice, save at this one time, they were unable to behold him. And Enoch became so holy that the people feared him and dared not approach when he appeared before them, for the glory of heaven rested on his face. Yet when he spoke they assembled and listened to his words, and learning from his knowledge, they bowed before him, and cried aloud, " Long live the King !" And it came to pass when the inhabitants of the world had learned from Enoch the ways of the Lord, an angel called to him from heaven, saying: "Ascend, Enoch, ascend to heaven and reign over the children of God in heaven, as thou hast reigned over the children of men on earth." Then Enoch assembled the people and said to them, ^' I have been summoned to heaven, but I know not the day I shall ascend. Therefore let me teach you ere I go, reiterating the lessons which you have heard from my lips." And Enoch made peace and harmony among the people, and pointed out to them the path to everlasting life. And his followers proclaimed aloud wherever men dwelt, "Who is he that wishes to live and to know the ways of the Lord ? Let him seek Enoch and learn, ere he is taken from us and earth." So Enoch taught the people and united them in peace and harmony. Then Enoch mounted his horse and rode away, and a multitude of people followed him a day's journey. And it came to pass on the second day that Enoch spoke to those who followed him, saying, " Return to your tents ! Wherefore follow me ? Re- turn, lest death overtake ye." A number of the followers returned at these words, BIBLICAL HISTORY. 37 but others continued to journey with him ; and every day he spoke to them saying, " Keturn, lest death overtake ye." And on the sixth day there were still some who fol- lowed after him, and they said, "Where thou goest will we go ; as the Lord liveth naught but death shall sepa- rate us ;" so when Enoch saw that they were thus deter- mined he spoke to them no more. Those who went back on the sixth day knew how many they had left following, but of those whom they left on the sixth day not one returned. And on the seventh day Enoch ascended to heaven in a whirlwind, with chariot and horses of fire. And it came to pass after Enoch had gone up to heaven that the people started out to search for those men who had followed after him. And on the spot where they had left them they found deep snow and ice. They cut through the ice and they found there the dead bodies of the men for whom they were searching, but Enoch they did not find. Therefore is this the mean- ing of the words of Scripture, "And Enoch walked with God ; and he was not " (he was not where search was made), "for God had taken him." (Gen. 5 : 24.) And Enoch ascended to heaven when Lemech the son of Methusaleh was one hundred and thirteen years old. And it came to pass after Enoch had ascended to heaven that the people appointed Methusaleh, his son, king over them. And Methusaleh lived in the way of righteousness which his father had taught him, and he continued to instruct the people in morality and good- ness even as Enoch had done before him. But in the latter part of his reign the people grew regardless of his teachings. They disregarded the personal rights 38 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. of one another, and rebelled against the commands of God. And the wrath of the Lord was again kindled against them, and the earth brought forth thorns and thistles instead of its fruit for sustenance, yet they repented not, nor turned from their evil deeds. Therefore did God resolve to destroy them entirely from the face of the earth. Now when Lemech, the son of Methusaleh, was one hundred and eighty-six years old, Seth, the son of Adam, died and was buried. And about this time Lemech took to himself Ashmua, the daughter of Elishua, the son of Enoch, for a wife, and he begat a son and called him Noah. Noah grew up in righteousness and followed zealously in the ways of truth which Methusaleh taught him ; but the others of the people practiced wickedness towards God and deceit towards one another. Then said God : "The whole earth is corrupt. I will destroy this man whom I have created, the fowls of the heaven and the beasts of the earth, for the wickedness of man proves him undeserving of life, and I repent that I have made him." But the Lord stayed his wrath until every man who walked in His ways was dead, before He brought to pass the evil which he had spoken, so that His faithful ser- vants might not see the punishment of their fellow- man. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord ; and God selected Noah and his family from all the people of the earth, to keep them alive through the destruc- tion which He designed. And it came to pass in the eighty-fourth year of BIBLICAL HISTORY. 39 Noah's life that Enosh, the son of Seth, died at the age of nine hundred and five years. And when Noah was one hundred and seventy, Kenan died nine hundred and ten years old. And Mehalel died at the age of eight hundred and ninety-five years, when Noah was two hundred and thirty years of age ; and when Noah was three hundred and sixty, Jared died at the age of nine hundred and sixty-two years. And also those people who fulfilled the words of the Lord died in those days before He showed them the evil which He had decreed. And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year of the life of Noah, that the only righteous ones left in that generation were Methusaleh, and Noah with his family. Then the word of the Lord came to Methusaleh and Noah, saying : "Go forth, proclaim to all mankind, ^Thus saith the Lord : Turn from your evil inclinations, abandon your unrighteous ways, then may God forgive and spare you on the face of the earth. For thus saith the Eternal, one hundred and twenty years will I give ye to repent; if ye forsake your evil ways, then will I forsake my intentions of destruction.' " And Noah and Methusaleh went forth and spoke these words of the Lord to the people. Every day, from morning until night, they addressed the people, but the people heeded not their words. Noah was a righteous man in his generation, and the Lord chose Noah's seed to be spread over the whole earth. Then said God to Noah: "Take thyself a wife, and beget children, for I have 40 SELECTIONS PROM THE TALMUD. seen thee to be a righteous man before me; only thyself, thy wife, and thy sons, shall live on earth of all this generation." And Noah did as God commanded him, and took to wife Naamah, the daughter of Enoch ; and Noah was four hundred and ninety-eight years old when he mar- ried Naamah. And Naamah conceived, and bore a son, whom she called *'Japhet," saying, '-'God has enlarged us through the land." And she bore a second son, and called him ''Ham." And she bore a third son, and called bim "Shem," saying, "God has given me a great name on earth." And Noah was five hundred and two years old when she bore to him his third son, Shem. And the lads grew up and walked in the way of God, as they were taught by Noah and by Methusaleh. And in these days died Lemech, the father of Noah. He was not as righteous either as his father or his son. He was seven hundred and seventy-seven years old when he died. And again the Lord spoke to Methusaleh and Noah, saying : " Once more call mankind to repentance ; call once again, ere my punishment falls upon the people." But the people listened not, and the words of warn- ing were unheeded. Then the Lord said unto Noah : "The end of all flesh cometh before me, because of its evil ways ; behold, I will destroy the people with the earth. But thou, take for thyself gopher wood, and build for thee an ark. In this manner build it: Three hundred cubits in length, fifty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in height ; make a door in its side, and to a cubit finish it above." In the five hundred and ninety-fifth year of his age, BIBLICAL HISTORY. 41 Noah commenced building this ark, and he completed it in his six hundredth year, and during the time of its building, his three sons married the three daughters of Methusaleh. And it came to pass, also, during this time, that Methusaleh, the son of Enoch, died at the age of nine hundred and sixty-nine years. After his death the Lord spoke to Noah, saying : '^Go thou with all thy household into the ark, and, behold, I will gather to thee all the beasts and fowls, and they will surround the ark. " Then place thyself in the doorway of the ark, and the beasts and fowls will place themselves opposite to thee. Those that lie down before thee let thy sons lead into the ark, and those that remain standing thou shalt abandon." As the Lord had spoken so happened it. The ani- mals assembled in a great multitude opposite the ark. Those which lay down were led into the ark, and the others were abandoned. And at the end of seven days the thunder and light- nings of the heavens frighted all the earth. • The glory of the sun was darkened, the heavy rain fell, and the fury of the storm exceeded all that man had heard of or imagined. And the people came to the ark and clung to it, and cried to Noah for help, but he answered them: "For a hundred and twenty years I entreated ye to follow my words ; alas, 'tis now too late." For forty days and forty nights the rain fell, and with such violence that even those in the ark were in trouble and agony of mind, for they feared their vessel would not be able to withstand its might. Each animal in the ark, according to its nature, ut- 42 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. tered its cry of fear, of rage, of helplessness, and the noise was loud and terrible. Then Noah addressed the Eternal, in prayer : "0 Lord, I beseech thee, save us now! Without strength to face this great calamity, we come to Thee. The rivers of water terrify us, and death plays in waves about us. Lift up Thy countenance upon us, Lord ! Be gracious to us. Redeem us, our God; deliver us, and save us ! " And God heard the voice of Noah, and remembered him. "And God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters were assuaged, .... and the ark rested in the seventh month .... upon the mountain of Ararat." And Noah opened the window of the ark, and again called to God, saying: " Lord, God of heaven and of earth, release our souls from confinement, bring us out from the prison in which we live ; verily our hearts are weary with sigh- ing." And God answered Noah, saying : "At the close of the year thou and thy family may go forth out of the ark." And it came to pass in the second month, on the seven-and-twentieth day of the month, the earth was per- fectly dry. Yet Noah and his family still tarried in the ark, and they did not leave it until God called to them and said, " Go out of the ark." All the people and living things then departed from the vessel in which their lives had been preserved. Noah and his children served the Lord all the days of their lives, and God blessed them. And the human BIBLICAL HISTORY. 43 race increased rapidly after the flood, and the names of the generations are written in the Bible. Cush, the son of Ham and grandson of Noah, mar- ried in his old age a young wife, and begat a son whom he called " Nimrod," because in those days the people were beginning to rebel again against the Lord's com- mand, and Nimrod signifies rebellion. Now Nimrod grew up, and his father loved him ex- ceedingly, because he was the child of his old age. And there was a certain coat of skins which God had made for Adam. When Adam died this coat became the possession of Enoch, from him it descended to Methu- saleh, his son-; Methusaleh gave it to Noah, who took it with him into the ark. And when the people left the ark Ham stole this coat, and hid it from his brothers, giving it secretly thereafter to Cush, his son. Cush kept it hidden for many years, until out of his great love he gave it to Nimrod, the child of his old age. When Nimrod was twenty years of age he put on this coat, and it gave him strength and might, might as a hunter in the fields, and might as a warrior in the sub- jection of his enemies and opponents. And his wars and undertakings prospered until he became king over all the earth. Behold, to this day his power is a proverb among men, and he who instructs the youthful arm in the wielding of weapons and the youthful mind in the secrets of the chase, wishes his pupils " even as Nimrod, who was a mighty hunter in the land, and prosperous in his wars." When Nimrod was forty years old his brethren, the sons of Ham, quarrelled with the sons of Japhet. And Nimrod assembled the tribe of Cush, and went forth to 44 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. battle with the sons of Japhet. And he addressed his army, saying: " Be not dismayed, and banish fear from your hearts. Our enemies shall surely be your booty, and ye shall do with them as ye please." Nimrod was victorious, and the opposing armies became his subjects. And when he and his soldiers returned home rejoicing, the people gathered around and made him king, and placed a crown upon his head. And he appointed counsellors, judges, chiefs, generals, and captains. He established a national government, and he made Therach, the son of Nahor, his chief officer. When Nimrod had thus established his power he de- cided to build a city, a walled town, which should be the capital of his country. And he selected a certain plain and built a large city thereon, and called it Shinar. And Nimrod dwelt in Shinar in safety, and gradually became ruler over all the world ; and at that time all the people of the earth were of one language and of one speech. Nimrod, in his prosperity, did not regard the Lord. He made gods of wood and stone, and the people copied after his doings. His son Mordon served idols also, from which we have, even to this day, the proverb, " From the wicked, wickedness comes forth.'* And it came to pass about this time that the officers of Nimrod and the descendants of Phut, Mitzrayira, Cush, and Canaan took counsel together, and they said to one another : " Let us build a city and also -in its midst a tall tower for a stronghold, a tower the top of which shall reach even to the heavens. Then shall we truly make for BIBLICAL HISTORY. 45 X ourselves a great and mighty name, before which all our enemies shall tremble. None will then be able to harm us, and no wars may disperse our ranks." And they spoke these words to the king, and he approved of their design. Therefore these families gathered together and se- lected a suitable spot for their city and its tower on a plain towards the east, in the land of Shinar. And while they were building rebellion budded in their hearts, rebellion against God, and they imagined that they could scale the heavens and war with him. They divided into three parties; the first party said: " We will ascend to heaven and place there our gods, and worship them." The second party said : "We will pour into the heavens of the Lord and match our strength with His." And the third party said : "Yea, we will smite Him with arrow and with spear." And God watched their evil enterprise, and knew their thoughts, yet they builded on. If one of the stones which they had raised to its height fell, they were sad at heart, and even wept; yet when any of their brethren fell from the building and were killed, none took account of the life thus lost. Thus they continued for a space of years, till God said, " We will confuse their language." Then the people forgot their language, and they spoke to one another in a strange tongue. And they quarrelled and fought on account of the many misunderstandings occasioned by this confusion of language, and many were destroyed in these quarrels, till at last they were compelled to cease building. 46 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. According to their deserts did God punish the three rebellious parties. Those who had said, "We will place our gods in the heavens," were changed in appearance, and became like apes, those who had said, " We will smite Him with arrows," killed one another through misunderstandings, and those who had said, " Let us try our strength with His," were scattered over the face of the earth. The tower was exceedingly tall. The third part of it sunk down into the ground, a second third was burned down, but the remaining third was standing until the time of the destruction of Babylon. Thus were the people dispersed over the globe, and divided into nations. THE BIRTH OF ABRAM. 47 CHAPTER IT. FROM THE BIRTH OF ABRAM TO THE DESTRUCTION . OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. » Therach, the son of Nalior, was the chief officer of King Nimrod, and a great favorite with his royal master; and when his wife Aintheta, the daughter of Karnebo, bore him a son, she called the child Ah-ram, meaning "Great father;" and Therach was seventy years old when his son Abram was born. Now it came to pass on the night of Abram's birth that Therach entertained a number of his friends, in- cluding the wise men and magicians of Nimrod the king. They passed the night in revelry and merriment, and when they went forth from the house of their host morn was dawning. Lifting their eyes heavenward, they beheld a large and brilliant star rise before them in the east, and swallow up or consume four stars from the four corners of the heavens. The magicians won- dered much at this occurrence, and they said one to the other, "Yerily, this is an omen connected with the newly born child of Therach. When he grows up he will be fruitful and increase greatly in power and excellence, and his descendants will destroy this kingdom and pos- sess its lands." And they went home and pondered over the matter, and when they met in the house of assembly they said, " Behold, we had better inform the king of the won- 48 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. derful occurrence which greeted our sight. Should it come to his knowledge indirectly, he will be wroth with us for keeping it from him; he may even slay us for our neglect. Let us go to him at once that we may be free from blame in the matter." Entering into the presence of the king, his wise men saluted him saying, ^^0 king, live forever!" And the chief of the wise men then related to the king the phenomenon which they had witnessed, and the interpretation or meaning which they assigned to it. Concluding the relation, he added, "And now, if it be pleasing to the king, we would advise him to pay the value of this child unto his father and destroy him while in his infancy, lest in the days to come, through him and his descendants, we and our children be utterly destroyed." The king listened attentively to the words of his ser- vants and approved of their advice. He sent a messen- ger for Therach, and when the latter appeared before him he told him all that the wise men had related, and said, " Now, therefore, give up the child, that we may slay him before misfortune falls upon us, and in payment we will fill thy coffers with silver and with gold!" Then answered Therach, " I have listened to the words of my lord, and all that he wishes I will do; yet first I beg, let me tell the king of a request made to me but yesterday, and ask his ad- vice thereon." "It is well," replied Nimrod; "speak." " Yesterday," said Therach, " Ayon,the son of Morad, came to my house desiring to purchase from me the beautiful steed, which thou, oh king, didst graciously present to me. ^Sell me the horse,' said Ayon, *and I BIBLICAL HISTORY. 49 will pay thee his full value and likewise fill thy stables with straw and provender.' And I answered him that I did not feel at liberty to so dispose of the king's gift without the king's approval; and now, oh king! I ask thee for advice." Angrily the king answered, " And thou wouldst think of selling my gift, of part- ing with that noble steed for gold and silver, straw and provender ! Art thou in such need of these things that thou wouldst barter for them the horse which I have given thee, a steed unequalled in the land ?" Then Therach bowed before the king and said, "And if such is thy feeling in regard to this horse, how canst thou ask me to give up my child ? Gold and silver cannot pay me for the gift of my king, neither can gold or silver replace for me my child ?" This application of his advice was exceedingly disa- greeable to the king, and his feeling was so plainly pic- tured on his countenance that Therach quickly added, "All my possessions are my king's, even my child, without money and without price." " No," said the king, " for money will I buy him." "' Pardon, my lord," returned Therach, "give me three days for consideration, and I will speak of this matter with the mother of the boy." Nimrod granted this request, and Therach departed from his presence. At the end of the three days the king sent a message to Therach, commanding him to send the child or be himself destroyed with all his family. When Therach received this message, realizing that the king was determined in his purpose, he took the child of one of his slaves, a child born on the day of 4 50 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. Abram's birth, and sent it to King Nimrod, receiving the money for it and declaring it to be his child. The king himself slew the child, and Therach hid his wife, Abram, and the child's nurse in a lonely cave, sending them food secretly every week. And Abram remained in this cave until he was ten years old. At the end of ten years Nimrod and his officers had forgotten all about Abram and the episode of his birth, and Abram came forth from the cave and was sent to live with Noah and his son Shem to learn from them the ways of the Lord ; and he lived there thirty-nine years. During these years Charan, the son of Therach, the elder brother of Abram, married, and his wife bore him a son whom he called " Lot ;" she bore him also two daughters, one of whom he called Milcah and the other Sarai. At the time of Sarai's birth, Abram w^as about forty- two years of age. From his earliest childhood Abram was a lover of the Lord. God had granted him a wise heart ready to com- prehend and understand the majesty of the Eternal, and able to despise the vanity of idolatry. When quite a child, beholding the brilliant splendor of the noonday sun and the reflected glory which it cast upon all objects around, he said, " Surely this bril- liant light must be a god, to him will I render worship." And he worshipped the sun and prayed to it. But as the day lengthened the sun's brightness faded, the radiance which it cast upon the earth was lost in the lowering clouds of night, and as the twilight deepened the youth ceased his supplications, s{;iying, "No, this cannot be a god. Where then can I find the Creator, he n\ ho made the heavens and the earth ?" He looked towards the west, the south, the north, and to the east. Tlie sun dis- BIBLICAL HISTORY. 51 appeared from his view, nature became enveloped in the pall of a past day. Then the moon rose, and when Abram saw it shining in the heavens surrounded by its myriads of stars, he said, " Perhaps these are the gods who have created all things," and he uttered prayers to them. But when the morning dawned and the stars paled, and the moon faded into silvery whiteness and was lost in the returning glory of the sun, Abram knew God, and said, " There is a higher power, a Supreme Being, and these luminaries are but His servants, the work of His hands." From that day, even until the day of his death, Abram knew the Lord and walked in all His ways. While Abram, the son of Therach, added daily to his wisdom and knowledge in the house of Noah, none knowing aught of his whereabouts, the subjects of King Nimrod, who then reigned in Babel, continued in their evil ways, despite of the warnings which they had re- ceived of the destruction of the wicked. And the ser- vants of Nimrod called him Amraphel. Merdon, the son of Nimrod, was more unrighteous than his father, and even Therach, who still remained chief officer to the king, became a worshipper of idols. In his house he had twelve large images of wood and stone, a separate god for each month in the year, and to these he praj^ed and made obeisance. When Abram was fifty years of age he left the house of his instructor, Noah, and returned to Therach, his father. He beheld the twelve idols occupying the places of honor in his father's house, and his soul waxed full with wrath, and he uttered a vow, saying, " By the life of the Lord, if these images remain here three days longer, may the God who created me make me even such as they." 52 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. And Abram sought his father when he was sur- rounded by his officers, and he spoke to him, saying : " Father, tell me, I pray, where I may find the God who created the heavens and the earth, thee, me, and all the people in the world." And Therach answered, '• My son, the creator of all things is here with us in the house." Then said Abram, '' Show him to me, my father." And Therach led Abram into an inner apartment, and pointing to the twelve large idols and the m.any smaller ones around, he said, " These are the gods who created the heavens and the earth; thee, me, and all the people of the world." Abram then sought his mother, saying, " My mother, behold, my father has shown to me the gods who have created the earth and all that it con- tains, therefore prepare for me, I pray thee, a kid for a sacrifice, that the gods of my father may partake of the same and receive it favorably." Abram's mother did as her son had requested her, and Abram placed the food which she prepared before the idols, but none stretched forth a hand to eat. Then Abram jested, and said, " Perchance 'tis not exactly to their taste, or mayhap the quantity appears stinted. I will prepare a larger offering, and strive to make it still more savory." Next day Abram requested his mother to prepare two kids and with her greatest skill, and placing them before the idols he watched with the same result as on the previous day. Then Abram exclaimed, " Woe to my father and to this evil generation ; woe BIBLICAL HISTORY. 53 to those who incline their hearts to vanity and worship senseless images without the power to smell or eat, to see or hear. Mouths they have, but sounds they can- not utter ; eyes they have, but lack all power to see ; they have ears that cannot hear, hands that cannot move, and feet that cannot walk. Senseless as they are the men who wrought them, senseless all who trust in them and bow before them." And seizing an iron implement, he destroyed and broke with it all the images save one, into the hands of which he placed the iron which he had used. The noise of this proceeding reached the ears of Therach, who hurried to the apartment, where he found the broken idols and the food which Abram had placed before them. In wrath and indignation he cried out unto his son, saying, " What is this that thou hast done unto my gods ?" And Abram answered, " I brought them savory food, and behold they all grasped for it with eagerness at the same time, all save the largest one, who, annoyed and displeased with their greed,* seized that iron which he holds and destroyed them." '' False are thy words," answered Therach in anger. " Had these images the breath of life, that they could move and act as thou hast spoken ? • Did I not fashion them with my own hands ? How, then, could the larger destroy the smaller ones ?" " Then why serve senseless, powerless gods ?" replied Abram, ''gods who can neither help thee in thy need nor hear thy supplications ? Evil is it of thee and those w^ho unite with thee to serve images of stone and wood, forgetting the Lord God who made the heaven and the earth and all that is therein. Ye bring guilt upon your 54 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. souls, the same guilt for which your ancestors were punished by the waters of the flood. Cease, oh, my father, to serve such gods, lest evil fall upon thy soul and the souls of all thy family." And seizing the iron from the hands of the remain- ing idol, he destroyed that also, before his father's eyes. When Therach witnessed this deed of his son, he hastened before King Nimrod and denounced Abram, saying, " A son born to me fifty years ago has acted so and so, — let him be brought before thee, I pray, for judgment." When Abram was summoned before the king, Nim- rod said to him, " What is this that thou hast done unto thy father's gods?" And Abram answered the king in the same words that he had spoken to his father. And when Nimrod replied, " The large god had no strength nor power to do this thing," Abram continued, saying, " Then wherefore serve him ? Why cause thy sub- jects to follow in thy vain ways ? Rather serve the great Lord of the world who has power to do all things; who has the power to kill, the power to keep alive. Woe to thee, thou man of foolish heart. Turn from thy evil ways, sefve Him in whose hands is thy life and the lives of all thy people, or die in reproach, thou and all who follow thee." The king commanded his officers to seize Abram and lead him to confinement, and he remained in prison ten days. During this time Nimrod convened his coun- cil, and thus addressed his princes and his officers : " Ye have heard of the deeds of Abram, the son of Therach. He has treated me with disrespect and BIBLICAL HISTORY. 65 shown no dread of my power. Behold, he is in prison ; therefore speak and tell me w^hat punishment should be inflicted on this man, who has acted so audaciously before me." And the counsellors replied, '^ He who acts disrespectfully to the king should meet death upon the gallows ; this man has done more; he is guilty of sacrilege, he has insulted our gods ; therefore he should be burned to death. If it be pleas- ing to the king let a furnace be heated, day and night, and then let this Abram be cast therein." This advice pleased the king, and he commanded such measures to be taken forthwith. And when the furnace was heated to a great and consuming heat, all the officers assembled, and the people, both great and small, to witness the carrying out of the king's orders. The w^omen, carrying their children with them, ascended to the roofs of their houses, and the men gathered in great numbers ; but all stoo.d afar off, for none dared approach the great heat to look into the furnace. And it came to pass, when Abram was brought out from prison and the wise men and magicians beheld him, that they cried, aloud unto Nimrod, " Oh, king, we know this man ! This is none other than the child at whose birth, fifty years ago, one large star consumed four other stars. His father has mocked thee and played thee false in sending another child in his stead, to be slain according to thy will." When the king heard these words he grew fiercely angry, and ordered Therach to be immediately brought before him. And he said to Therach, " Thou hast heard w4iat these magicians have as- serted. Tell me, now, have they spoken truly ?" 56 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. And Therach, observing the great anger of the king, answered truly, " It is as these wise men have spoken. I had com- passion upon my child, and sent thee in his stead the child of one of ray slaves." " Who advised thee to this ? Speak truly, and thou shalt live?" demanded Nimrod. The kings manner terrified Therach, and he an- swered quickly, not knowing what he said, and alto- gether without foundation, "Charan, my other son, advised me to the thing." Now Charan was a man without strength of mind in faith, and undecided as to whether the idols of his father or the God of Abram deserved his worship. When Abram was cast in prison, Charan said in his heart, " Now will I see what God is powerful. If Abram prevails I will profess his faith, and if he per- ishes I will follow the leading of the king." When Therach thus accused his son, Nimrod an- swered, " Then Charan must suffer with Abram, and both thy sons be cast into the furnace." And both Abram and Charan were brought before the king, and in the presence of all the inhabitants their robes were removed from them, their hands and feet were bound, and they were cast into the flaming furnace. Now the heat of the fire was so great that the twelve men who cast them therein were consumed by it, yet God had compassion upon his servant Abram, and though the ropes which bound him were burned from off his limbs, he walked upright through the fire, un- harmed. But Charan, his brother, whose heart was BIBLICAL HISTORY. 57 not the Lord's, met instantaneous death in the flames. And the servants of the king called out to their master, " Behold, Abram walks unhurt through the flames, the ropes with which we bound him are consumed, jet he is uninjured." The king refused to believe so wonderful a thing, and sent trusted ofiicers to look into the furnace, and when they corroborated the words of their inferiors, the king was lost in amazement, and commanded his oflicers to take Abram out of the fire. They were not able, how- ever, to execute his order, for the forks of flame blazed in their faces and they fled from the great heat. And the king reproached them, saying ironically, " Haste ye, — take Abram out, else he may die!" But their second attempt was fruitless as the first, and in it eight men were burned to death. Then the king called to Abram, saying, '' Servant of the God of Heaven, come forth from the fire and stand before me." And Abram walked out of the fire and the furnace and stood before the king. And when the king saw that not even a hair of Abram's head was singed by the flame, he expressed wonder and amazement. " The God of Heaven, in whom I trust," said Abram, "and in whose hand are all things, hath delivered me from the flames." And the princes of the king bowed before Abram, but he said to them, " Bow not to me, but to the great God of the Universe, who hath created you. Serve Him and walk in His ways; He is powerful to deliver and to save from death." The king, too, looked on Abram with awe, and made him many valuable presents, and parted from him in peace. 58 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. And it, came to pass after this that Nahor and Abram took to themselves wives ; the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, and the name of Abram's wife Sarai, or Yiska. They were both the daughters of Charan, the brother of their husbands. About two years after Abram's deliverance from death by fire, King Nimrod dreamed. And behold, in this dream, he was standing with his army in a valley, opposite to a great furnace, in which a fire blazed ; and a man, resembling Abram, came forth from the furnace and stood before the king, holding in his hand a drawn sword. And the man approached Nimrod with this sword uplifted, and Nimrod turned and fled. Then, as the king fled, the man threw after him an egg, and a huge river of water flowed forth from this egg, engulfing the king and all his army, and all were drowned save the king with three men. As they fled, the king turned to look at the companions who had been saved with him, and behold they were men of tall stature and command- ing appearance, and attired in royal apparel. And the river disappeared and only an egg remained. And further in his dream. King Nimrod beheld a bird issue forth from this egg, and the bird flew upon his head and pecked out his eyes. Then the king awoke in great terror, and lo, his heart was beating rapidly and his blood was feverish. In the morning the king sent for his wise men, and relating to them his dream, he demanded its interpre- tation. And one of the wise men, whose name w^as Anuki, answered, saying, "Behold, this dream foreshadows the evil which Abram and his descendants will cause the king in time to come. It foretells the day when they will rise and smite our lord the king with all his hosts, and there BIBLICAL HISTORY. 69 will none be saved except the king, with three other kings who will battle on his side. And the river and the bird, these that came forth from the egg, lo, they but typify the descendants of this man, who will work much evil to our nation and our people in after days. "This is the interpretation of the dream, its only meaning. And well thou knowest, oh, my lord, the king, that many years ago thy wise men beheld this very thing, and yet to thy own misfortune thou hast still allowed this man to live. While he walks on earth, thy kingdom remains imperilled." The words of Anuki made a deep impression on the king, and he sent secret emissaries to take Abram's life. The king's design, however, was frustrated by Eleazer, a slave of Abram's, whom Nimrod had pre- sented to him. He learned of the king's intention and warned his master, saying, '^ Arise, get thee quickly hence, that thou mayest escape destruction." And he told Abram of the king's dream, and the in- terpretation which the wise men had given to it. So Abram hastened to the house of Noah, and re- mained there hiding while the servants of the king searched his own home and the surrounding country in vain, and he remained a longer time, even until the people had forgotten him. And it came to pass during this period of conceal- ment, that Therach, who was still a favorite with the king, came in secret to visit his son. And Abram spoke to him, saying, "Come, let us all journey to another land ; let us go to Canaan. Thou knowest that the king seeks my life, and even though he honors and exalts thee, yet wealth and power amount to naught in the hour of death and 60 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. trouble. Journey with me, oh my father, abandon the vanity which thou pursuest ; let us live in safety, wor- shipping the great God who created us, in happiness and peace." And Noah and his son Shem added their entreaties to those of Abram, till Therach consented to do as they wished. And Therach with Abram his son, and Lot his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, and all his family, went forth from Ur Chaldee, from the city of Babel to the land of Charan, and there they tarried. And the country around them was pleasant and fer- tile, and there was ample space for the men and the cattle they had with them. And the people of Charan respected and honored them, and God blessed them and looked with favor on their household. And it came to pass after Abram had dwelt in Charan about three years, that the Lord appeared to him and said, " I am the Lord who brought thee safely through the fire of the Chaldeans, and delivered thee from the strength of thy enemies. If thou wilt hearken earn- estly to my words and follow diligently my commands, I will make thy seed even as the stars of the heaven, and those who hate shall likewise fear thee. My bless- ing shall rest upon thee and my favor on thy doings. Now, arise, take Sarai thy wife, and those who belong to thee, and all thy possessions, and journey to Canaan and dwell there, and I will be thy God and bless thee." And Abram journeyed with his family to Canaan in obedience to the Lord's command. And he was fifty- five years old when he left Charan. When Abram had pitched his tent in Canaan, among the inhabitants of the land, God again appeared to him and said, tIBLICAL HISTORY. 61 " This is the land which I have given as a permanent possession to thee and thy descendants. For the gene- rations to spring from thee shall be numerous as the stars in heaven, and the countries which I have shown thee shall be their heritage on earth." Then Abram built an altar to God and called it by the name of the Lord. And he continued to dwell in Canaan, and when he had lived there about three years, Noah died at the age of nine hundred and fifty years. After this Abram returned to Charan to visit his father and mother, and he remained with them in Charan for ^ve years. During this time he endeavored to spread a knowledge of the Eternal, and he succeeded in gaining among the Charanites many followers of the one God. And the Lord appeared to him in Charan, saying, "Arise and return to the land of Canaan, thou and thy wife and all born in thy house, and all the souls which thou hast made in Charan. To thee have I given the land from the river of Egypt even unto the great river, the river Euphrates." And Abram did as the Lord commanded, and Lot, the son of his brother, went with him out of Charan to the land of Canaan. Now Lot possessed large herds of cattle, for God had prospered him in his undertakings. And it happened that the herdsmen of Lot and the herdsmen of Abram quarrelled and disputed in regard to rights of pasturage and water, and they strove one with the other. There- fore Abram said to Lot, '' Thou hast done wrong, and through thy herdsmen thou wilt cause me to be hated by our neighbors. Thy shepherds have pastured their flocks on lands which belong to others, and I must bear the reproach there- buS SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. for. Thou knowest that I am but a stranger and sojourner in this land, and thou shouldst bid thy ser- vants to be heedful." Despite the frequent rebukes of Abram, however, the herdsmen of Lot continued to quarrel with Abram's men and to trespass upon the pastures of their neigh- bors. At last Abram spoke earnestly, saying, " Let there be no strife between us, for we are near relations, yet we must separate. Go thou whither thou pleasest, choose thy dwelling-place where thou wilt, thou and thy cattle and all thy possessions, but bide no longer with me. If thou art in danger I will haste to aid thee, and in all things will I be with thee, but sep- arate thyself from me I pray." And Lot lifted up his eyes and looked upon the land opposite the river Jordan. He saw rich plains and fer- tile fields, a country pleasant for man, and with wide pastures for flocks, rich in water and gratifying to the sight. And Lot was much pleased with the country and journeyed thither even to Sodom, departing in peace from Abram, with his flocks and all his posses- sions. And Abram remained and dwelt in the groves of Mamre, near to Hebron. " The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." Now, in these days Sodom and four other cities were inhabited by men of evil actions, who provoked the anger and indignation of the Most High. They planted in the valley a beautiful garden many miles in extent, a place adorned with fruits and flowers, and objects pleasing to the sight and intoxicating to the senses. Thither the people flocked four times a year with music and with dancing, indulging in all sorts of excesses and DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. 63 acts of idolatrous worship, with none to utter a word of warning or rebuke. In their daily life they were both cruel and treacher- ous, oppressing the stranger and taking advantage of all persons thrown in contact with them. If a trader entered their city they would seize his goods either with violence or through trickery, and if he remon- strated they but mocked him and drove him from the place. It happened once that a man from Elam, journeying to a place beyond Sodom, reached this latter city even as the sun was setting. He had with him an ass bear- ing a valuable saddle to which some rare and precious merchandise was attached. Unable to find a lodging for himself and stabling for the animal, he resolved to pass the night in the streets of Sodom, and journey on in the morning. A certain citizen of Sodom, named Hidud, chanced to observe this stranger, and being cun- ning and treacherous, he accosted him, saying, " Whence comest thou, and whither art thou trav- elling?" ''I am journeying from Hebron," replied the stranger; '' my destination is beyond this place ; but lo, the sun has set; I can obtain no lodging, and so I remain here in the streets. I have bread and water for myself and straw and provender for my beast, so I need not be under obligation to anybody." "Nay, this is wrong," returned Hidud, "come pass the night with me, thy lodging shall cost thee naught, and I will attend also to the wants of thy animal." Hidud led the stranger to his house. He removed the valuable saddle from the ass, and the merchandise which was attached to it he also removed, placing them in the closet in his house, then he gave the ass provender 64 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. and set meat and drink before the stranger, who par- took of the meal, and lodged that night with him. In the morning the stranger rose up early intending to pursue his journey, but Hidud said to him, " Take first thy morning meal, then go thy way." After the man had eaten he rose to go on his way, but Hidud stopped him, saying, " It is late in the day, remain I pray thee, bide with me yet this day and then depart." The stranger remained in Hidud's house until the following morning and then, declining another pressing invitation to remain one day more, he prepared for his departure. Then said Hidud's wife, " This man has lived with us two days and paid us naught." But Hidud answered, " Keep thy peace." He then brought forth the stranger's ass, and bade him "fare thee well." " Hold," said the stranger, " my saddle, the spread of many colors, and the strings attached to it, together with my merchandise, where are they ?" " What ! " exclaimed Hidud. " I gave thee," returned the stranger, " a beautiful spread with strings attached to it ; thou hast hidden it in thy house." "Ah!" said Hidud pleasantly, "I will interpret thy dream. That thou hast dreamed of strings, signifies that thy days will be prolonged even as strings may be stretched from end to end ; that thou hast dreamed of a spread of many colors signifieth that thou wilt one day possess a garden rich in flowers and luscious fruits." The stranger answered, DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. 65 " No, my lord, I dreamed not ; I gave to thee a spread of many colors with strings attached, and thou hast hidden it in thy house." And Hidud said, " And I have interpreted thy dream ; I have told thee its meaning, 'tis useless to repeat it. For the interpretation of a dream people generally pay me four pieces of silver, but as for thee, behold I will ask of thee only three." The stranger was very angry at this outrageous con- duct, and he accused Hidud in the court of Sodom of stealing his goods. Then when each man told his story, the judge said, " Hidud speaks the truth ; he is an interpreter of dreams ; he is well known as such." And Hidud said to the stranger, '^ And as thou art such a liar, thou must even pay me the full price, four pieces of silver, as well as for the four meals eaten in my house." ''Willingly will I pay thee for thy meals," replied the other, "if thou wilt but return my saddle and my goods." Then the two men wrangled with angry words, and they were driven forth from the court-house, and the men in the streets joined on Hidud's side, and they fought the stranger and thrust him forth from the city, robbed of all his possessions. When a poor man entered the city of Sodom the peo- ple would give him money in order to save a reputation for charity, but they made an agreement among them- selves that no one should either give or sell him food, or allow him to depart from the city. The man would consequently die of starvation, and the people would then regain the money they had given him. They 66 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. would even rob the body of the rags which covered it, and bury it naked in the wilderness. Upon one occasion Sarai sent her servant Eleazer to Sodom to inquire concerning the welfare of Lot and his family. As he entered the city, Eleazer observed a Sodomite fighting with a stranger whom he had de- frauded, and who, running to Eleazer, implored him for assistance. "What art thou doing to this poor man ?" said Elea- zer to the Sodomite; "shame upon thee to act in this manner towards a stranger in your midst!" And the Sodomite replied, "Is he thy brother? What is our quarrel to thee?" and picking up a stone, he struck Eleazer with it on the forehead causing his blood to flow freely in the street. When the Sodomite saw the blood, he caught hold of Eleazer, crying, " Pay me my fee as a leech ; see, I have freed thee of this impure blood ; pay me quickly, for such is our law." "What!" exclaimed Eleazer, "thou hast wounded me and I am to pay thee for it ! " This Eleazer refused to do, and the Sodomite had him brought into the court, and there before the judge re- iterated his demand for a fee. "Thou must pay the man his fee," said the judge, addressing Eleazer; "he has let thy blood, and such is our law." Eleazer paid the money, and then lifting up the stone he struck the judge heavily with it, and the blood spurted out in a strong stream. "There!" exclaimed Eleazer, "follow thy law and pay my fee to this man ; I want not the money," and he left the court-house. DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. 67 At another time a certain poor man entered Sodom, and as everybody refused to give him food, he was very nearly starved to death when Lot's daughter chanced to meet him. For many days she supported him, carry- ing him bread whenever she went to draw water for her father. The people of the city, seeing the poor man still living, wondered greatly as to how he managed to support life without food, and three men constituted themselves a committee to watch his goings and his doings. They saw Lot's daughter giving him bread, and seizing her they carried her before the judges, who condemned her to death by burning, and this punish- ment was inflicted on her. Another maiden, who assisted a poor stranger, was smeared with honey, and left to be stung to death by bees. For such acts were Sodom and her sister cities de- stroyed by fire from Heaven, and only Lot and his family spared through God's love for his servant Abram. 68 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. CHAPTER III. FROM THE BIRTH OF ISAAC TO THE WARS OF SHECHEM. '^ And the Lord visited Sarah and she bore a son unto Abraham in his old age." When Isaac was born Abraham prepared a great feast in his honor, and invited thereto all the chiefs and men of birth and position who were his neighbors, such as Abimelech and the captains of his armies. Therach, Abraham's father, and Nahor, his brother, journeyed also from Charan to join in the festivities, and Shem with Eber, his son, were likewise of the party. They were all hearty in their congratulations, and Abraham's heart was full with gladness. Ishmael, the son of Hagar and Abraham, was very fond of hunting and field sports. He carried his bow with him at all times, and upon one occasion, when Isaac was about five years of age, Ishmael aimed his arrow at the child crying, " Now I am going to shoot thee." Sarah witnessed this action, and fearing for the life of her son, and disliking the child of her handmaid, she made many complaints to Abraham of the boy's doings, and urged him to dismiss both Hagar and Ish- mael from his tent, and send them to live at some other place. For some time Ishmael lived with his mother in the wilderness of Paran, always indulging in his great pas- sion for hunting ; then they journeyed to Egypt, where Ishmael married, and where four sons and a daughter I FBOM THE BIRTH OF ISAAC TO THE WARS OF SHECHEM. 69 were born to him. But soon he returned to his favor- ite home in the wilderness, building there tents for himself, his people and his family, for God had blessed him, and he was the master of large flocks and herds. And it came to pass after many years that Abraham, yielding to a longing which had always possessed him, determined to visit his son, and informing Sarah of his intention he started off alone upon a camel. He reached Tshmael's dwelling-place about noontime, and found that his son was away from home, hunting. He was rudely treated by Ishmael's wife, who did not know him, and who refused him the bread and water which he asked for. Therefore he said to her, "When thy husband returns say thus to him, describing my appearance, ' An old man from the land of the Philis- tines came to our door during thy absence, and he said to me, when thy husband returns, tell him to remove the nail which he has driven in his tent and to replace it with one more worthy,' " with which words Abraham rode away. When Ishmael returned home his wife related to him the occurrence, describing the man and repeating his words, and Ishmael knew that his father had visited him and been treated with disrespect. For which cause Ishmael divorced his wife, and married a maiden from the land of Canaan. Some three years after this Abraham again visited his son's tent, and again his son was away from home; but his wife was pleasant and hospitable, and begged the stranger, whom she did not know, to alight from his camel, and she set before him bread and meat. There- fore he said to her, " When thy husband returns, de- scribe to him my appearance, and say, ' This old man came to thee from the land of the Philistines, and this 70 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. message he left for thee : the nail which thou hast driven in thy tent is good and worthy, see that it is properly esteemed;'" and blessing Ishmael and his family, Abra- ham returned to his home. When Ishmael returned he was much pleased to hear his father's message, and he thanked God for a good and worthy wife, and after a time he and his family visited Abraham, and remained with him in the land of the Philistines for many days. When Abraham had dwelt here for six-and-twenty years, he removed with all his family and possessions to Bear Sheha, near Hebron. Here he planted a grove and built large houses, which he kept always open for the poor and needy. Those who were hungry entered freely and partook of food according to their desire, and those who were needy were liberally supplied with the necessaries of life. When any of the grateful ones would seek to Abraham to thank him for his benevo- lence he replied to them, "Address thv thanks to God. To the Eternal, who created all things, all that we receive belongs; through His bounty we are fed and clothed." To feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to speak kindly to the unfortunate, to act justly towards all mankind, and to be ever grateful to the Eternal, formed the articles of the creed according to which Abraham fashioned his life. And the word of the Lord came unto Abraham, say- ing, "Take now thy son whom thou lovest, and offer him for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" When this command was delivered to Abraham, chief among the many griefs and anxieties which oppressed FFROM the birth of ISAlnffxTTHE WARS OF SHECHEM. 71 [his mind, was the necessity of separating Isaac from his mother. He could not tell her of his intention, and jet the lad was always with her. Finally he proceeded to Sarah's tent, and seating himself beside her, he said, '' Thy son is growing to manhood, and he has not yet learned the service of heaven. To-morrow I will take him with me to learn the ways of the Lord, with Shem and Eber." And Sarah replied, : "Go, my lord, and do as thou hast spoken; but do not take the lad too great a distance, and keep him not a long time from my presence." And Abraham said, " Pray to God for the happiness of thy son, for my happiness, and for thy own." Daring that night Sarah was much troubled on account of the approaching separation from Isaac ; she was un- able to sleep, and when her husband and the lads who accompanied him appeared early in the morning, ready to start upon their journey, she pressed Isaac to her bosom, and weeping bitterly she sobbed, "Oh my son, my son ! how can I allow thee to wander from me ; my only child, my pride, my hope." Then turning to Abraham she said, "Watch carefully the lad, for he is young and tender; let him not travel in the heat, nor journey so as to weary his frame." She clothed Isaac in his richest garments, and she and her maidens accompanied him on his way till Abra- ham bid them depart and return unto their homes. Abraham and Isaac journeyed on with the two lads, who were Ishmael, Abraham's son, and Eleazer, the steward of his house. As they journeyed Ishmael spoke to Eleazer, saying, 72 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. " My father intends to sacrifice his son Isaac for a burnt-offering ; therefore, I will be his heir, for am I not his firstborn son ?" " Nay," answered Eleazer, '^ thy father drove thee forth that thou shouldst not inherit his possessions ; to me, his faithful servant, will all his wealth descend." As they proceeded on their way Isaac addressed his father, saying, " Behold, my father, here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice ?" And Abraham answered, " Our God hath chosen thee, my son ; thee, a creature without blemish, as an acceptable burnt-offering to His glory in place of the lamb." And then said Isaac, " To the will of the living God in thankfulness I bow." "My son," said Abraham, "is there any secret evil in thy heart, or any wrong upon thy mind ; if so, tell me freely, my son, keep naught from me in this great hour." And Isaac answered, " By the life of God, my father, I know no evil, I am conscious of no regret. Blessed be the Lord who has desired me this day." This answer of his son was very gratifying to the father's heart, and they continued on in silence until they reached the spot which God had selected. Then Abraham built an altar to the Lord, and his son handed him the stones and assisted him in the work. They who trust in God are ever strengthened, and though their eyes were wet with tears their hearts were firm, confiding in their God. When the altar was built Abraham laid the wood FROM THE BIRTH OF ISAAC TO THE WARS OF SHECHEM. 73 upon it in order, and then he bound his son Isaac upon the wood. And Isaac spoke to his father, saying, " My father bind me well, in order that I may not, by struggling, profane the sacrifice ; be firm, my father, and sharpen well the knife. Tell my mother that her joy is gone ; the son she bore at ninety years surren- dered to the flame. When I am consumed, take with thee of the ashes left, and say to Sarah, This is thy Isaac, who to God was oflered." When Abraham heard these words he wept bitterly, but Isaac continued with a firm voice, " Now quickly, father, do the will of God." And he stretched his neck to meet the knife which rested in his father's hand. '^And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-ofiering in the stead of his son." Abraham sprinkled the ram's blood upon the altar, saying, " May this blood be considered even as the blood of my son, offered as a sacrifice before the Lord." And so through the entire sacrificial service Abraham prayed, ^^May this be received even as the blood of my son, ofiered as a burnt-offering before the Lord." While Abraham and Isaac were away upon this mis- sion an old man approached Sarah, near her tent, and said to her, "Knowest thou that Abraham has offered up thy Isaac as a sacrifice before the Lord. Aye, despite his struggles and his cries, thy son has been made a victim to the knife." 74 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. Then Sarah uttered a heart-rending cry, and throw- ing herself upon the ground she sobbed bitterly, " My son, my son, would that I had perished this day for tho^. Thee, whom I have raised and nourished, my life and all my love was thine. Now is my pride and gladness turned to mourning, for the fire has con- sumed my joy. Take comfort, oh my heart ! the lives of all God carries in the hollow of his hand. Blessed are they who follow Thy commands, for Thou art right- eous, and Thy words are truth ; therefore, oh Lord, though mine eyes weep bitter tears, my heart is glad." Then Sarah rose and journeyed from Bear Sheha to Hebron, and she inquired upon the road concerning her husband and her son, but she was unable to ascertain their whereabouts. Returning to her tents she was met by the same old man who had before addressed her, and thus he spoke, " Yerily I did inform thee falsely, for Isaac, thy son, lives." Sarah's heart was stronger for grief than joy. These tidings and the revulsion in her feelings killed her ; she died and was gathered to her people. And when Abraham and Isaac returned and found the dead body of Sarah, they lifted up their voices in bitter lamentation, and all their servants joined with Abraham and Isaac in grief for the departed. Now Isaac was fiftj^-nine years of age, and his wife Rebecca was barren, and Isaac prayed unto the Lord to visit his wife even as he had visited Sarah, his mother, saying, " Oh Lord, God of heaven and of earth, thou fillest both with thy goodness and mercy. From the house of his father, and from his kindred's home, thou didst FROM THE BIRTH OF ISAAC TO THE WARS OF SHECHEM. 75 bring my father to this place, promising to increase his seed, even as the stars of the heavens, and to give to them this land as a heritage and possession. Fulfil, oh God, these words which thou hast spoken. To thee, oh God, we look in hope and pray for children, for those whom thou hast promised us. Oh, my God, to thee I look, in hope." And God hearkened to the prayer of Isaac, and his wife bore him two sons, twins. The one, the first, she called " Esau," and the other " Jacob." And Esau was fond of outdoor life, while Jacob stayed at home learning from Abraham, his grand- father, the ways and teachings of the Lord. When the lads were about fifteen years old, Abraham died at the age of one hundred and seventy-one years. And when the inhabitants of Canaan learned of his decease they, wdth all its kings and princes, hastened to do honor to his remains, and all his relatives, who lived in Charan, and the sons of his concubines, came also to the funeral. And Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, and all who knew him mourned for him a year. Very few men like Abraham has the sun looked upon. From his youth he served his Maker and walked upright before Him, and from his birth even unto the moment of his death his God was with him. He spoke of God's goodness to all with w^iom he came in contact ; he built a grove for travellers and opened his doors in wide and generous hospitality to the needy, the weary, and all who passed his way. For Abra- ham's sake the Lord looked kindly on the people of the earth, and after his death God blessed Isaac, his son, and prospered him greatly. And the sons of Isaac grew in strength and years. 76 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. Esau was a man of evil thoughts, of quick passions, and a lover of outdoor life. Jacob was a shepherd, an in- telligent and domestic man, following in the path which Abraham had pointed out to him. And it came to pass that Esau went hunting in the field upon a certain day, when Nimrod, too, was en- gaged in the same pursuit. Both being mighty hunters a rivalry existed between the two, a deadly jealousy. Esau happened to see Nimrod when all his attendants, save two men, had left him. Esau concealed himself, and when Nimrod passed the place where he was hiding pointed his arrow, pulled the cord, and shot Nimrod through the heart. Then rushing from his conceal- ment, Esau engaged in a deadly struggle with Nimrod's two attendants, and overcame and killed them both. Then stripping from Nimrod's shoulders the wonderful coat, before mentioned, which God had made for Adam, Esau hastened home, reaching his father's tent weary, hungry, tired, and faint. Then Esau said to Jacob, his brother, " Give me of yonder red pottage, — let me eat of it, I pray, for I am faint." And Jacob said, '^ Sell me this day thy right of first born." And Esau thought in his heart, " They will surely avenge upon me the death of Nimrod," and he answered, '^ Behold, I am going to die. What can the right of first born profit me ?" So Jacob bought from Esau his right of first born, and also a burial plot for himself in the cave of Mach- pelah. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils, and Esau eat and drank and went his way. For money did Jacob purchase these rights, and after FROM THE BIRTH OF ISAAC TO THE WARS OP SHECHEM. 77 the bargain was concluded, he gave his brother the food he had asked for. The body of Nimrod was found and brought to Babel and buried there. And Nimrod lived two hundred and fifteen years, and was killed by a descendant of Abra- ham, even as he had foreseen in his dream. When Jacob received the blessing which was in- tended for Esau, Isaac was very old, and Esau said, " My father will soon die, and then I will take ven- geance on Jacob for this wrong which he has done me." This threat was repeated to Rebecca, who called Jacob and bade him flee to Charan, to her brother Laban, to tarry there until his brother's fury had abated. Then Isaac sent messengers after Jacob, with a repe- tition of his blessing and this charge : " Take not a wife from the daughters of Canaan, for thus has said my father Abraham, in the word of the Lord, the word which has promised this land to our seed if we obey the Lord and observe faithfully his commands. Arise, go to Charan, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father, and take heed that thou forgettest not the Lord thy God and all His ways. Turn neither to the right nor to the left after the vanities of the people among whom thou goest. The Almighty will give thee grace in the eyes of the men of the land, and thou shalt take a wife there according to thy desire, that God may grant thee the blessing of Abraham, and make thee fruitful and multiply thee until thou becomest an as- sembly in the land. That He may bring thee back to this land with children, gladness, and prosperity." Jacob obeyed his father and journeyed on towards 78 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. Mesopotamia. He was seventy-seven years of age when he started forth from Bear Sheha. When Jacob had departed from his father's house, Esau called to him his son Eliphas, and said to him in secrecy, " Go follow after Jacob with thy bow in thy hand, lie in wait for him, slay him upon the moun- tains, take for thy own what treasure he has with him, and then return to me." Eliphas was then but thirteen years of age, yet he was remarkably swift of foot and understood well the handling of the bow. He obeyed his father, and taking some men with him, followed after Jacob and overtook him on the borders of Canaan. When Jacob saw Eliphas coming after him he halted and awaited his approach, thinking that his nephew carried some message from home. When Eliphas came near he drew his sword. Jacob inquired the reason of his pursuit, and the lad answered, " Thus and thus has my father commanded me, and I dare not disobey his orders." When Jacob learned Esau's intention, and saw that the lad seemed determined to do as he had been bidden, he turned to him and the men with him, and said, " Take all that I have, all that my father and my mother gave into my hands, but spare my life. Your kindness will be accounted to you as righteousness." The Lord gave Jacob favor in their eyes, and they allowed him to proceed unharmed on his journey. His gold and silver, however, everything of value that he had taken with him from his father's house, Eliphas and his comrades seized and carried to Esau. Esau was strongly displeased because they had listened to Jacob's pleadings, and the treasure which they had seized he added to his own store. FROM THE BIRTH OF ISAAC TO THE WARS OF SHECHEM. 79 Jacob proceeded on his journey towards Charan. When he reached the Mount of Moriah he tarried there and slept that night. And the Lord appeared to him and said, " I am the Lord, the God of Abraham and Isaac, thy father. The ground whereon thou liest will I give to thy children ; and behold I will be with thee, therefore fear not. I will guard thee wheresoever thou goest, and I will increase thy seed as the stars of the heaven. I will disperse thy enemies before thee ; they will fight against thee, but they will not prevail. With gladness and great w^ealth will I bring thee back to thy father's land." Jacob awoke from his sleep enchanted with the re- membrance of the beautiful and encouraging vision which had blessed his slumbers. He called the place Beth El. When Jacob arrived in Charan he told his uncle Laban how Eliphas, the son of Esau, had despoiled him, and bursting into tears, proclaimed himself a beggar. " Then," said Laban, "• surely thou art my bone and ray flesh. I will take care of thee even though thou art penniless." After Laban's fruitless pursuit after Jacob when he left with his wives, children, and chattels, and God had said to the son of Bethuel, " Take heed to thee, speak with Jacob neither good nor evil," he sent, after part- ing with his son-in-law, messengers to Esau, charged to deliver these words : " We come from Laban, thy relative, thy mother's brother, and in his words we say, ' Knowest thou what Jacob, thy brother, has done to me ? Faint and needy he came to me, and I received him into my house with 80 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. honors and affection. I gave him my daughters for wives, and the handmaids of my daughters did I also give him. God blessed him for my sake, and he accu- mulated much wealth. He begat children and acquired men-servants and maid-servants, sheep, oxen, and cattle of all kinds, a great multitude, and likewise silver and gold. With all this he left me, fled secretly with all his possessions towards the land of Canaan, his father's home. He denied me even the privilege of kissing my daughters; as captives he led them with him, and worse than all, my gods he stole. By the brook of Jabak I left him with all his substance, and if thou de- sirest to pursue him, there will he be found. Go, then, and do with him what is pleasing to thy heart.' " When Esau heard these words of the messengers of Laban, all the wrong which Jacob had done him fresh- ened in his memory, and his anger and hate against his brother burned once more fiercely in his heart. He gathered together his sons and servants, and all the family of Seer, a company of four hundred men, and at their head he set out to meet Jacob and to smite him. After the messengers of Laban left Esau, they jour- neyed to Canaan, and there informed Rebecca of her son Esau's preparations and his intention to waylay and punish Jacob. Rebecca immediately sent seventy- two of Isaac's men to assist her favorite child. They met him at the brook Jabak, and when he saw them he said, " Surely here is help from heaven," and he called the place MacJianayim. Jacob recognized his father's servitors, and asked after the wellbeing of his parents, to which the messengers responded, " They live in peace, and farther we bring this message from thy mother. ' I have heard, my son, that Esau, thy brother, intends to meet thee on the road FROM THE BIRTH OF ISAAC TO THE WARS OF SHECHEM. 81 with the men of Seer. Therefore, I pray thee, heed my words. When thou shalt see him, be not rash nor headstrong, but greet him humbly and with a gracious present from the abundance with which God hath blessed thee. When he addresses thee, answer meekly, kindly, and thus will his wrath be turned from thee. Remem- ber, he is thy elder brother, and to him is thy respect and honor due.' " Jacob wept at these words of his mother, but he obeyed her request. He sent messengers to meet Esau on the road, and to offer him such words as his mother had directed. These messengers met Esau and his company, and spoke as Jacob had commanded them, but Esau answered with pride, " Nay, nay, the truth I have heard. I know how Jacob treated Laban ; how he repaid the kindness of the relative who gave him wives and substance ; how he fled, taking the children of Laban with him, as though they had been captives of the sword. Not La- ban only has he wronged; twice he supplanted me. Therefore I come to meet him, and the vengeance for which I have waited twenty years shall now be mine." When these words were carried to Jacob he was sorely distressed. Earthly help seemed unavailable ; with a full heart he cast himself before the Lord and prayed earnestly for deliverance from the trouble which threatened him and all his people. Then he divided his people and his flocks into two companies. One detachment he placed under the com- mand of Eleazer of Damascus, the servant of Abraham, with his sons, and the other under Elinus, the son of Eleazer, and his sons. And thus he commanded them, " Travel apart, so that if one company shall per- chance be smitten, the other may escape." 6 82 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. Then, when he met Esau, he bowed to the ground before him seven times, and God gave him grace in his brother's eyes. Esau's hate died away, and natural affection gaining the mastery, he raised Jacob from the ground and embraced and kissed him. Jacob encamped with all his family before the city of Shechem, and purchased a lot of land for a dwelling from the sons of Chamor for the sum of fifty shekels. Here he made his home, and lived in peace and safety for about eighteen months. Then the inhabitants of Shechem made a great feast, an occasion of joyousness, dancing, singing, and merri- ment of all kinds, and all the daughters of the land joined in the general revelry. And it came to pass that Rachel and Leah, the wives of Jacob, and Dinah, his daughter, felt a great desire to witness this scene of en- joyment, and together they repaired to the place where the festivities were held. All the nobles of the city were present, and Shechem, the son of the king, was also one of the participants. He happened to see Dinah, and was immediately attracted by her great beauty and modest appearance. He inquired as to who she was, and learned that she was the daughter of Jacob the Hebrew, who had lately settled in his father's land. His passion grew very strong, and taking advantage of an opportunity he car- ried the frightened girl forcibly to his house. Rachel and Leah hurried home and informed Jacob of the occurrence. He immediately sent twelve ser- vants to the house of Shechem to demand the girl, but they were insolently met by the prince's retainers and driven back to Jacob. He said nothing, but waited quietly until his sons should return to their home. FROM THE BIRTH OF ISAAC TO THE WARS OF SHECHEM. 83 Shechem, in the meantime, sent a messenger to his father, requesting him to visit Jacob and demand Dinah as a wife for him. The king was much displeased with the affair, and seeking his son, he said, " Canst thou not find a wife among the daughters of our land ? Why shouldst thou desire this Hebrew damsel, a stranger among thy race ?" Shechem replied to his father, " She is pleasing in my eyes," and he impressed his father so completely with his love for the maiden that the king at length consented to seek the patriarch, Jacob, and gain his consent to the marriage. Now when the sons of Jacob returned home, and learned of the occurrence and the violence with which their only sister had been treated their hearts burned with indignation. " The penaltj' for this crime is death," they ex- claimed; ^'our sister has been sinned against with the sin which God warned Noah and his children to shun if they desired life. Death shall be the punishment of' this violator of our home, death at our hands, to him, his family, and the whole city." While the sons of Jacob were thus speaking, Chamor, the father of Shechem, entered into their presence, and addressed Jacob : " My son Shechem desires thy daughter for a w^ife ; give her to him, I pray thee, and thy people may inter- marry with the daughters of our land. Our country is large, and it is all before thee to trade therein, or do soever as thou pleasest, if thou wilt but consent to the wishes of my son." As Chamor concluded, his son, Shechem, entered, and continued his father's propositions : " Let me find grace in your eyes," he said to the men 84 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. before him. " Give me the damsel for a wife, and whatever dowry ^^ou may demand shall be cheerfully given." Simeon and Levi, desiring time to perfect a plan for inflicting punishment for the wrong done their sister, replied to Shechem and his father with a cunning tongue : " What thou hast said to us we will consider. Our sister is in thy hands. Give us time, however, to con- sult with our grandfather, Isaac ; he is wise, and knows well what should be done in a case like this ; according to his words we will act." Shechem acquiesced in this arrangement, and with- drew, with his father, from Jacob's house. When they had departed the sons of Jacob reiterated their determination to put the man of violence to death, and with him the men of the city who had encouraged him in the act. " Listen," said Simeon, " to my advice. We will say to these men, ' Our God hath enjoined upon us the act of circumcision, and we cannot give our daughters and sisters to those who have not entered into this covenant. Become like us, and then we may freely intermarry; if not, we will take our sister and go from among you ;' then when they are weak and suifering we will fall upon them, and all their males shall die by the sword." This advice was pleasing to his brethren, and when Shechem and Chamor came again to them for their de- cision, they proclaimed this as the counsel of Isaac, say- ing that their grandfather had decided that for them to give their sister to an uncircumcised man would be a reproach to them forever. Shechem and his father then gathered the people at PKOM THE BIRTH OF ISAAC TO THE WARS OF SHECHEM. 85 the gates of the city, and made known to them the proposition of the Israelites, counselling them to accept the same. All the citizens seemed willing to do the pleasure of their king save Hadkam, the son of Pered, the father of Chamor, and his six brothers. They scorned Jacob and his sons, and defended the mothers of their city who refused to allow their children to undergo the operation. " Shame to you that you should consider such a thing," said they. " Are not the daughters of the Canaanites good enough for wives, that you wish to wed the daughters of this Hebrew, this stranger among you ? Beware of this rash act, which your fathers never enjoined upon you ; the undertaking cannot be prosper- ous. What answer can you make to your brethren, the Canaanites, when they demand your reason for this folly ? And how will you appear in the eyes of your brethren, the children of Ham, when 'tis said, ' For a Hebrew woman did Shechem, his father, and all the inhabitants of his city, commit an abomination V Whither will ye flee ? Where will ye be able to hide your shame? We will not bend beneath this yoke, which you take so willingly upon you ; we will gather our brethren, and we will smite you, aye to death." Chamor and Shechem began to regret their impulsive proceeding, but they answered : " Think: not that we did this because we love the Hebrews ; no, merely to blind their eyes, and obtain their daughter. Wait but till we have recovered from the operation, and they and all that is theirs shall be ours, to use according to our pleasure." Dinah overheard the discussion, and she sent a hand- 86 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. maiden to her father's house to inform him and her brethren of the designs of Shechem. '' By the life of the Lord, the God of the universe," swore Simeon and Levi, " to-morrow will we fall upon this people, and not a remnant shall escape our just anger." They carried out their intention, and coming sud- denly upon the people next day, while they were suf- fering from the effects of their doing, the sons of Jacob slew Chamor, Shechem, and all the inhabitants of the city, and carried their sister Dinah to her home. When Jacob realized the result of their rashness he was grieved, angered, and alarmed. '^ What is this that you have done to me !" he ex- claimed. ''In this country I thought I had found rest, and now when the relatives of these people learn what you have done they will fall upon me and destroy me and my house." But his sons answered, " All this lies at the door of Shechem. Wouldst thou have us hold our peace and suffer quietly this immoral conduct and cruel wrong !" The number of men killed by the Hebrews was forty- seven. The women they took for slaves. And it came to pass when Simeon and Levi left the city of Shechem that two men, who had been in hiding, hastened to the city of Thapnah and told to its king and its inhabitants all that the sons of Jacob had wrought in Shechem. The king refused to believe that ten men could thus overcome a city, and he sent mes- sengers to ascertain whether the report was true. "Even in the time of Nimrod, when men were mighty," said he, "such a thing would have been impossible." When his messengers returned, however, and reported that in all FROM THE BIRTH OF ISAAC TO THE WARS OF SHECHEM. 87 Shechem they found but weeping women, he gathered his men together, and said, " Prepare yourselves to go and fight these Hebrews. We will do to them even as they have done to our brethren of Shechem." But his princes answered his words and said, "With our people alone we cannot prevail over these Hebrews. Ten men destroyed a city, and not one man was able to stand up against them. Let us send to the kings around us for help, and then perchance we may be able to cope with them." This advice seemed reasonable to the king, and he sent to the kings of the Emorites who dwelt around him, informing them of the action of Jacob's sons, and begging their assistance in dealing out punishment for the same. The Emorites answered his appeal, and gathered to- gether about ten thousand men, who started out to fight the children of Jacob. Jacob was greatly terrified at this, and again upbraided his sons for their rashness. Then Judah spoke to his father, and said, " Did we act without cause, Simeon, Levi, and the rest of us ? Cruelly they wronged our sister, violating the chastity of our house, and transgressing the com- mand of our God. For this reason did the Lord de- liver the city into our hands. Wherefore fear ? Why grieve, and find displeasure in thy heart against thy sons ? The same God who gave the men of Shechem into our hands will deliver to us also these Emorites who come against us. Keep thy peace, oh our father ! fear not, but pray to the Lord our God that he may pro- tect us and deliver our enemies into our power." Then Judah summoned his servants and bade them 88 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. go and discover what men, and how many, were march- ing against them. Then he addressed Simeon and Levi, and said to them, " Prepare yourselves, and act like heroes. The Lord our God is with us. Gird on each man his sword and his bow ; trusting in heaven, we will fight these Emor- ites and find deliverance." The sons of Jacob and their servants and the servants of Isaac, who lived in Hebron, then prepared themselves for battle ; and Isaac, the head of their house, prayed to God for their success, in these words : " Oh Lord God, thou didst speak unto my father and make a promise to him, saying, ' I will increase thy seed as the stars in heaven.' To me hast Thou reiterated this promise ; and now, behold, the strength of Canaan comes to wrestle with my son. Oh Lord God of the universe, turn the purpose of these kings; let the dread of my children fall upon them and humble their pride. Even that they withdraw and return to their homes without shedding blood. Deliver my children and their servants from the strength of these kings, for in Thy hand is the might, the power, and the strength." Jacob also uttered a solemn prayer to the same eJBfect. When the Emorites drew near to Jacob's sons and their hosts, the kings and princes met to consult before beginning the attack, for their hearts were not thor- oughly rid of the fear which the prowess of the Hebrews had cast upon them. The Lord answered the prayers of Isaac and Jacob, and this dread and fear augmented, and at last found vent in these words from one of their number ; words which the others echoed in their hearts. " We are acting foolishly in attempting to fight these Hebrews ; we are marching to our deaths. Ten men over- came the inhabitants of Shechem, and now these same FROM THE BIRTH OF ISAAC TO THE WARS OF SHECHEM. 89 ten men with all their servants stand before us. Their God delights in them, and they live under His especial protection. None of the gods of other nations are able to perform such wonders as their God has wrought in behalf of this, his favorite people. Did not Nimrod endeavor to destroy their progenitor Abraham, and did not their God deliver him even from a furnace of fire ? Did not this same Abraham defeat four kings who had carried off his relative Lot, who lived in Sodom ? Their God is powerful, He delights in them, and He will give them the victory over us. This same Jacob He de- livered from Esau and four hundred men. Could ten men have destroyed a city without assistance from heaven ? Were we a hundred times greater in number than we are we should meet but with defeat, for we do not fight against them, but against their God. Let us turn back and attack them not." One by one the kings of the Emorites withdrew and journeyed homeward without disturbing Jacob. The Hebrews remained in position awaiting the attack until evening, but when the Emorites came not they returned unto their homes. Then the Lord appeared to Jacob, saying, "Arise, go up to Beth El, and dwell there, and raise there an altar to the God who hath delivered thee and thy children from trouble." And Jacob and his sons journeyed to Beth El according to the com- mands of God. Jacob was then ninety-and-nine years of age. He had lived at Beth El, formerly called Luz, for about six months, when the nurse of Rebecca, Deborah, died, and Jacob buried her under an oak tree at Beth EL Re- becca, the daughter of Bethuel, his mother, died also about this time, and was buried in the cave of Mach- pelah. When Jacob was one hundred years old, the 90 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. Lord appeared to him and called him "Israel." He then journeyed with his family to Hebron, to live with Isaac, his father. While on this journey his wife, Rachel, died, at the age of forty-five years. And Jacob and his family lived with Isaac, in the land of Canaan, as the Lord had commanded Abraham, their father. FROM Joseph's youth to his elevation over egypt. 91 CHAPTER ly. FROM Joseph's youth to his elevation oyer egypt. Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel, did not take part in the war of Shechem : he was but a lad, too young to associate with his brothers. Yet he expe- rienced a desire to emulate their greatness, and he felt that his fame would yet be superior to theirs. His father loved him tenderly as the son of his old age, and as a token of this love he made him a handsome coat, a garment of many colors. This especial mark of dis- tinction increased Joseph's natural feeling of superiority, and as he found fault with his brothers' doings and carried tales to his father, he soon gained their enmity; they could not even speak to him in a peaceable manner. When Joseph was seventeen years of age he dreamed his well-known dream, and related it to his brethren. ''What!" they exclaimed, "do you presume to tell us that you shall reign over us?" Joseph then related the dream to his father, who lis- tened attentively, and in his great love kissed and blessed the lad. And when the other sons of Jacob learned of this action of their father they hated Joseph still more. But when the second dream was told them, and Joseph stated that the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to him, their anger reached a climax, and even Jacob felt himself called upon to rebuke the ambitious dreamer. 92 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. And it came to pass, on a certain day, the sons of Jacob started out to feed their father's flocks, and re- mained away so long a time that Jacob became troubled for their welfare. He thought that perhaps the men of Shechem had received aid and wrought vengeance on his sons for the warfare they had brought upon that city. So Jacob called Joseph to him, and said, "Thy brothers started out to feed the flocks in Shechem, and they have not yet returned. Go, I pray, and seek them, and bring me back word of their well- doing." Joseph wandered around some time in the neighbor- hood of Shechem without seeing aught of his brethren, and he did not know which way to turn to seek them, when a man espied him straying aimlessly about, and asked, " Whom seekest thou ?" Joseph answered, " I am looking for my brethren ; knowest thou which way they have travelled ?" " I do," replied the man ; " I saw thy brethren, and I heard them say, ' Let us go to Dothan.' " When Joseph's brethren saw the lad approaching them, they conspired against him, and resolved to kill him. " Behold," said Simeon, " the great master of dreams comes this way. Now let us destroy him ; we can cast his body into one of the pits in the wilderness, and when our father inquires concerning him we can say that a wild beast has devoured him." But when Reuben heard these w^ords he said, " No, we must not do this thing. Our father could never pardon us for such a crime. Rather cast him in one of the pits and let him perish there, but shed not his blood." FROM Joseph's youth to his elevation over egypt. 93 This proposition was made by Eeuben with the pur- pose of rescuing the lad later, and returning him safely to his father. When Joseph was cast into the pit, in accordance with this suggestion, he cried loudly to his brethren, "What are ye doing, wherefore are ye treating me thus ? AYhat have I done, — what is my sin ? Have ye no fear of the Lord that ye do this thing, for am I not of your flesh and blood, the son of Jacob ? Keuben, Judah, Levi, Simeon," he cried, " lift me up out of this pit, — oh, sons of Jacob, have mercy upon me. If I have sinned against you, remember the precepts of your father, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to have mercy on the fatherless, to give food to the hungry, drink to those who thirst, clothing to the naked; and will ye deny mercy to your own flesh and blood ? If I have sinned against you, oh pardon me for the sake of our father, Jacob." His brothers, however, moved away from the pit, that they might not hear his cries, and they sat down to par- take of their usual meal. While eating they consulted as to the final disposition of their brother ; they were undecided whether to leave him as he was, to kill him, or to restore him to his father. While considering the matter, they saw a party of Ishmaelites approaching, on their way down to Egypt, and Judah said to his brethren, '' What would it profit us to kill our brother? Let us sell him to this party of Ishmaelites, let them carry him whither they will ; perchance he may be destroyed among the people of the earth ; but our hands will not have shed his blood." The brothers agreed to this proposition, and resolved to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. But it happened that while they were discussing the 94 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. question, a party of Midianites on a journey were seeking for a well of water. They lighted by chance upon the pit in which Joseph was concealed, and looking in, they were astonished to meet the gaze of a bright and hand- some lad. They drew Joseph up from the pit and car- ried him along with them. As they passed by, the sons of Jacob saw Joseph with them, and called aloud, " Hold ! Wherefore have ye done this, to steal our slave whom we cast into the pit for disobedience ? Come, give him up." "And is he your slave?" answered the Midianites, " does he serve you ? Likely it is the reverse, for he is handsomer and nobler than any among ye. We found the lad in the pit, and we shall take him with us." "Give us our slave," repeated the sons of Jacob, "or peradventure we shall kill you." The Midianites drew their weapons and were ready to enter upon a bloody fray at once. "Beware," said Simeon, '*do ye not know that we killed a whole city ? Beware, if ye give us not our slave we may treat you as we treated the city of Shechem." Upon hearing these words the Midianites lowered their tone, and assumed a more amicable attitude. " What do you want," they asked, " with a disobedient slave? Sell him to us; we will pay you whatever you may ask." A bargain was at once concluded, and the sons of Jacob sold their brother Joseph to the Midianites for twenty pieces of silver, for Reuben was absent, unable to speak a word to change their purpose. The Midianites, taking Joseph with them, journeyed on towards Gilead. As they journeyed, however, they regretted the purchase which they had made, and they said one to the other, " See, this is a lad of noble ap- FROM Joseph's youth to his elevation over eqypt. 95 pearance ; doubtless the men from whom we bought him stole him from the land of the Hebrews, and if search is made for him he may be found in our hands ; this will surely be death to us." While they were speaking in this strain, the body of Ishmaelites which the sons of Jacob had seen, approached the Midianites, and the latter hailing them, sold Joseph for the same amount they had paid for him, glad to be rid of the fear which had seized them. The Ishmaelites placed Joseph upon one of their camels and carried him with them into Egypt. Joseph wept bitterly during this journey at the thought that each step took him farther away from his father's house, and shut the gates of hope more securely behind him. The Ishmaelites were provoked at his sighs and weep- ing, and treated him quite cruelly. On their way they passed the spot where Kachel, Jo- seph's mother, lay buried. Joseph knew the spot, and throwing himself upon his mother's grave, he gave free vent to the anguish of his soul. " My mother, oh my mother," he cried, " rise from thy grave and look upon thy son! He is sold for a slave, and there is no eye to pity him. Arise and look upon thy son, weep with him for his trouble and his distress! Answer me, oh my mother! awake from thy sleep and take up arms against my brethren for thy son! My coat they have torn from me, and they have consigned me into bondage ; twice have I been sold, separated from my father, from every compassion- ate heart, from every pitying eye. Arise, my mother, call upon thy God ! See, my mother, whom the Eter- nal will justify, and whom He will condemn ! Wake from thy sleep, my mother, seek my father, stricken down in grief, whisper to him words of comfort and yb SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. glad tidings, that his heart may live again. Arise, my mother, and look upon thy son !" The Ishmaelites drove Joseph from his mother's grave with blows and threats. Then Joseph spoke to them, "Let me find grace in your eyes," said he; "take me home, I. pray you, to my father's house, and he will make all of you rich." But they laughed, and answered him, " Art thou not a slave ? Who is thy father ? Lo, thou hast been twice sold ; thou art a slave, and a dis- obedient slave ; hadst thou been worthy thou wouldst not have been twice sold." Joseph wept, and pined, and grew sick; and his masters said : " Behold, the boy will die upon our hands, and the money which we have paid for him will be lost to us. He wishes to go home to his father's house; let us carry him thither, and 'tis likely we shall receive the money that we paid for him." But others answered, "No, the distance is too great; should we turn back now, we shall be kept but so much longer from our own homes. Let us take the lad to Egypt; we will be able to sell him there, and for a large price." This advice met with the approval of the majority of the party, and they carried Joseph into Egypt. Now when the sons of Jacob had sold their brother their consciences smote them, and they wished to re- purchase him ; but on account of the second sale they were unable to find him. While they were seeking for him Reuben returned to the pit in which Joseph had been placed, designing to release him. He stood at the edge of the pit, but he heard no sound. Then he called aloud, " Joseph, Joseph !" but still there came no an- FROM Joseph's youth to his elevation over egypt. 97 swer — all was still. Reuben became greatly terrified ; he thought that Joseph had died of fright, and he de- scended into the pit, hoping that the body might not be beyond resuscitation. When he found the pit empty he rent his garments and cried aloud, " How can I return to my father ! How look upon his face and Joseph dead ! " He then hurried after his brethren, and found them consulting as to the manner in which they should in- form their father of Joseph's loss. Reuben upbraided his brethren, and said to them, " Evil has been your behavior; our father's old age you bring in sorrow to the grave." The brothers agreed to keep the fact of Joseph's fate a secret, and acting upon the advice of Issachar, they took Joseph's coat, tore it in several places, and killing a kid dipped the garment in its blood, and then trampled it in the dust. Then they sent the coat to their father by the hands of Naphtali, and these words they charged him to deliver with the coat : " Behold, we gathered our herds together and pro- ceeded upon the road to Shechem, and this coat we found by the way, in the wilderness, torn, smeared with blood, and trampled in the dust. Examine it, we pray thee, and see whether or not it be the coat of thy son." Jacob immediately recognized Joseph's coat, and fell with his face to the ground. He remained motionless for a long time, and then he arose and wept aloud, crying, '' It is my son's coat." Towards evening he sent for his sons, and the mes- senger found them with their clothing rent and dust upon their heads. When they reached home the bitter lamentation of 7 98 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. their father touched their hearts, and it was with self- accusing consciences that they denied having seen Joseph and repeated their story of the finding of the coat. Jacob gave himself up to the abandonment of grief, and lay with his face to the ground. Judah raised his father's head and wiped the tears from his father's eyes, but Jacob refused to be comforted. " Some wild beast has devoured Joseph," he said, " I shall never see him more," and he mourned for Joseph many years. The Ishmaelites carried Joseph down to Egypt, and when they came near to the place they met four men, the descendants of Medan, the son of Abraham and Ketura, and they said to them : "Do you not wish to purchase this slave from us?" The men saw that Joseph was a handsome and likely lad, and they bought him from the Ishmaelites for nine shekels, and carried him into Egypt. Then these Medanites said, " Behold, Potiphar, the officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, desires to buy a slave, a trusty, active youth, to superintend his house- hold. Let us see whether we can sell this lad to him." The Medanites carried Joseph before Potiphar, and the latter was Very favorably impressed with his bear- ing and appearance. " What is his price ?" he inquired. " Four pieces of silver," replied the Medanites. " I will buy him," said Potiphar, "• provided you bring before me the man from whom you purchased him. He does not look like a slave, and I fear he has been stolen from his country and his home." The Medanites then hunted up the Ishmaelites from whom they had bought Joseph, and Potiphar, satisfied with their account of the manner in uhich they had FROM Joseph's youth to his elevation over egypt. 99 obtained possession of the lad, paid the four pieces of silver, and purchased Joseph for his slave* Joseph found grace in the eyes of Potiphar, and was placed over the house of the latter, and over all his possessions. And the Lord was with Joseph, and for his sake blessed Potiphar and all his household. At this time Joseph was about eighteen years of age, and a lad of such beautiful appearance that his equal could not be found in the land of Egypt. Being obliged, in the pursuance of his duties, to enter freely all parts of his master's house, he attracted the attention of Zelicha, Potiphar's wife. She was fascinated by his manners and handsome form and face, and declared to him day by day her passion, praying for a return upon his part of the favor with which she regarded him. Joseph refused to listen to her, and endeavored to rid himself of her attentions. When she praised his beauty and said, " Thou art fairer than all the rest of the world," he replied, " The same One who created me created also all mankind." When she admired his fine eyes, he replied, " What can they avail me ; they will not move or sparkle in the grave." When Zelicha found that Joseph could not be in- duced by fair words to desecrate his master's house, she tried threats of death and loss of freedom in case of further obstinacy ; but Joseph replied to them, " The God who hath created man, looseneth the fetters of those who are bound, and he will deliver me from thy chastisement." Her female friends who called to see her also admired Joseph, and lauded his beauty. On one occasion when fruit was set before the visitors, one of them, paring the same, cut her fingers, and knew nothing of the accident till her attention was called to the blood upon her gar- 100 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. ments, for her eyes were fixed on Joseph, and her mind was filled with thoughts of his appearance. Thus time passed on, and though Zelicha still en- treated, Joseph remained cold to her allurements. And it came to pass at the time of the overflowing of the Nile, that all the inhabitants of Egypt left their houses, the king, the princes, and all the people, to see the overflow and make a holiday in its honor. And with the rest of the people the family of Potiphar went also, all save Joseph, who remained to protect his mas- ter's goods, and Zelicha, who remained to be alone with Joseph. She attired herself in her richest garments, and was more ardent than ever in her appeals to Joseph, so that to escape them he turned and fled abruptly from her presence. As he did so she caught his gar- ment to stay him, but it sundered, and a portion remained in her hand. As she looked upon it, and became conscious of how she had been shamed, a deep feeling of hate entered her heart, and she was also ter- rified lest the affair might now become known to her husband. She quickly replaced her elegant clothing with her ordinary wear, and calling a lad she sent him to summon home the men of the house. When they arrived she met them with loud wailing, and related to them a story of Joseph'^s presumption, crediting him with the entreaties and protestations which she had herself made, and adding to them a charge of violence. '* I caught hold of his garment," she said, " and cried with a loud voice ; he became frightened, and fled, leav- ing this portion of his cloth in my hand." The men repeated these charges to Potiphar, who re- turned to his house in a great rage against Joseph, and commanded at once that the lad should be whipped FROM Joseph's youth to his E"iEVA*TIO^^ ovee; i^oypt. 101 severely. Daring the infliction of this punishment Joseph cried aloud, raising his hands to Heaven, ^•Thou knowest, oh God," said he, " that I am innocent of all these things ; wherefore, shall I die through false- hood!" Potiphar carried Joseph before the judges, and made an accusation against him, saying, " Thus and thus has the slave done." The judges then addressed Joseph, and he gave his version of the story, saying, " Not so ; but thus and thus did it occur." The judges then or- dered that the rent garment should be brought to them, and upon an examination of the same they pronounced Joseph " not guilty." But still they sent him to prison, that the character of the wife of one as high in the state as Potiphar might not suffer. For twelve long years Joseph was confined in prison, and during this time Zelicha visited him, offering to restore him to honor and liberty if he would but do her will. Yet steadfastly he refused, till finally she aban- doned the attempt. And while Joseph was thus in custody, deprived of his freedom, his father Jacob, in Canaan, mourned for him as a father mourns for a be- loved child torn from him by death. It came to pass about this time that Pharaoh gave a feast to his officers and princes, and the chief butler and the chief baker waited upon the guests. The princes found stone grits in the bread, and one of them discovered a fly in his wine. Pharaoh was very angry at this, and condemned the two officials to prison, where they remained a whole year. Then a son, his first child, was born to Pharaoh, and there was great rejoicing in the land. When the infant was three days old Pharaoh ordered a grand banquet, 102 " ' ' ' 'selections from the TALMUD. and released the chief butler that he might attend to the same. But the butler forgot his promise to Joseph to remember him in the return to prosperity which he had predicted, and for two years longer the prison was his home. At this time Isaac, the son of Abraham, was still living in the land of Canaan ; he was one hundred and eight years old. Esau, his son, was living then in Edom. When Esau learned that his Mher had grown very feeble, and that his last days on earth were ap- proaching, he and his entire family journeyed to Ca- naan, to his father's house. Jacob and' his sons, from Hebron, also journeyed thither, Jacob still mourning for the lost Joseph. And Isaac said to Jacob, " Bring near to me thy children, in order that I may bless them," and Jacob placed his eleven sons and one daughter by his father's side. Isaac laid his hands upon the heads of Jacob's chil- dren and embraced them each in turn, and he said to them, " The God of your fathers will bless you, and will increase your seed as the stars of the heaven." Isaac also blessed the children of Esau, saying, " The dread of you shall be upon your enemies ; your God will fill their hearts with fear." Then Isaac called them all together, children and grandchildren, and thus addressed them, speaking especially to Jacob : '^ The Lord, the God of the Universe, spoke unto me, saying, ' Unto thy seed will I give this land to possess it, if thy children will keep my statutes and my ways ; and I will establish the oath which I have sworn unto FROM Joseph's youth to his elevation over egypt. 103 thy father Abraham.' And now, my son, teach thy children, and thy children's children, to fear the Lord and traverse the path which is pleasing in His eyes ; for if thou wilt diligently follow His statutes, He will keep with you the covenant which He made with Abra- ham, and He will look with favor on you and your seed forever." Then Isaac died, and Jacob and Esau wept together for their father's demise. They carried his body to the cave of Machpelah, which is in Hebron, and all the kings of Canaan followed with the mourners in the fu- neral train of Isaac. He was buried with great rever- ence, even as though he had been a king ; his children mourned for him twelve months, and the kings of Ca- naan lamented sorely for thirty days. Isaac bequeathed his cattle and all his possessions to his two sons. Esau said then to Jacob, " Behold, this which our father has left us must be divided into two portions, then I will select mv share." Jacob divided all his father's possessions into two portions in the presence of Esau and his sons, and then addressing his brother, said, " Take unto thyself both these portions which thou seest before thee. Behold, the God of Heaven and Earth spoke unto our ancestors, Abraham and Isaac, saying, ^Unto thy seed will I give this land as an ever- lasting possession.' Now, all that our father left is before thee ; if thou desirest the promised possession, the land of Canaan, take it, and this other wealth shall be mine ; or if thou desirest these two portions, be it as it is pleasing in thy eyes, and the land of Canaan shall be the share for me and mine." Before Esau replied and made his choice, he sought 104 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. Nebaioth, the son of Ishmael, who was in that country, and asked his advice as to the selection. Nebaioth answered, " Behold the Canaanites are now living in the land in peace and safety ; at present it is theirs ; let Jacob believe that he may inherit it some day; take thou the substance, the personal wealth of thy father." Esau followed this advice, and taking the personal substance, he gave Jacob for his portion the land of Canaan from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates, also the cave of Machpelah, in Hebron, which Abraham purchased from Ephron for a burying-place. Jacob took it as a burying-place for himself and his seed forever. Jacob drew up a deed and recorded all the particulars of the contract, which was duly witnessed and sealed. The following is the expression of the same : "The land of Canaan and all the cities which it con- tains, — the Hittites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Perizites, and all the seven nations, from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates ; the city of Hebron, which is Kiriath arbali^ and the cave which is in it. All this hath Jacob bought with money from his brother Esau, as a possession to him and an inherit- ance to his sons and their descendants forever." Jacob put this deed in an earthen vessel, that it might be kept safely, and gave the same as a charge to his children. Esau took what his father had left and parted from his brother Jacob, as it is written : "And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle and his beasts, and all his substance which he had got in the land of Canaan, and went into another FROM Joseph's youth to his elevation over egypt. 105 country from the face of his brother Jacob." (Gen. 37 : 6.) He went with all his possessions to the land of Seir, and never returned to Canaan, which became an inheritance unto Israel for everlasting. Then Pharaoh, the king, issued a proclamation throughout the whole land of Egypt to the wise men thereof. And he called upon all the wise men to seek his presence and listen to the dreams which troubled him. " He who can properly interpret to me the meaning of these visions, shall have his dearest wishes granted as they issue from his lips ; but he who is able to read dreams and neglects my bidding, shall surely be put to death." Then the wise men, and the soothsayers, and the magicians of the land of Egypt, came and stood before the king. And the king related to them his dream, and though many interpreted no two agreed as to its meaning. They contradicted one another, and they served but to confuse the king. Many were the interpretations. " The seven fat cows," said one, '' are seven kings who will arise over Egypt from royal families, and the seven lean cows are seven princes who will arise from them, and in the end of days destroy the seven kings. The seven rank ears are seven great princes of this land who shall in a coming time of war fall into the power of seven princes, now weak and in no wise to be feared." " The seven fat cows," said another, " are seven queens whom thou shalt marry in the coming days, and the seven lean cows declare that these queens shall die during thy life, oh king ! The seven rank ears and the seven lean ears are fourteen children whom thou shalt 106 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. M beget, and they will fight among themselves, and the seven weaker ones shall conquer their stronger breth- - ren." But the king was not satisfied with these interpreta- tions. His mind was still unquiet, for the Lord had ordained that Joseph was to be released from his prison and elevated to a princely position ; therefore did Pha- raoh remain unsatisfied with the words of his wise men. And the king was wroth, and he dismissed the wise, men from his presence ; and all the wise men and the soothsayers and magicians of Egypt went out from the presence of their king in shame and confusion. And the king commanded in his wrath that all these men should be put to death. When the chief butler heard this he sought the pres- ence of the king, and in deep obeisance before him spoke as follows : ^ Oh king, live forever ! May thy greatness, oh king, increase forever through the land.. Lo, thou wast wroth with thy servant, and thou didst place him in confine- ment. For a year was I imprisoned, I and the chief baker. And with us in our dungeon was a Hebrew servant who belonged to the captain of the guard. His name was Joseph, and his master growing wroth with him, had placed him in prison, where he served the cap- tain of the guard, and he served us also. "And it came to pass when we had been in the prison for a year we dreamed, each, a dream, and the Hebrew slave interpreted for each of us his dream. And lo, as he interpreted our dreams so was the reality. As he spoke so did it come to pass. " Therefore, my lord king, I pray thee, do not kill the wise men of Egypt for naught. Behold, this slave is still in the prison. If it be pleasing in the eyes of fROM Joseph's youth to his elevation over egypt. 107 the king let him be sent for. Let him listen to the dreams which trouble the mind of the king, and he will be able to solve them correctly." The king listened to the words of the chief butler, and he ordered that Joseph should be brought before him. But he commanded his officers to be careful not to frighten the lad, lest through fear he should be un- able to interpret correctly. And the servants of the king brought Joseph forth from his dungeon, and shaved him and clothed him in new garments, and carried him before the king. The king was seated upon his throne, and the glare and glitter of the jewels which ornamented the throne daz- zled and astonished the eyes of Joseph. Now the throne of the king was reached by seven steps, and it was the custom of Egypt for a prince or noble who held audience with the king, to ascend to the sixth step ; but when an inferior or a private citizen of the land was called into his presence, the king descended to the third step and from there spoke with him. So when Joseph came into the presence of the king he bowed to the ground at the foot of the throne, and the king descended to the third step and spoke to him. And he said : " Behold, I have dreamed a dream, and among all the wise men and magicians of the land there is not one able to read for me its meaning. I have heard that thou art far-sighted and blest with the gift of divination, and I have sent for thee to solve my dream." And Joseph answered : '' Oh king, the power is not with me ; but God will answer and give Pharaoh peace." And Joseph found favor in the eyes of the king, and he told to him his dream. And the spirit of God was 108 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. upon Joseph, and the king inclined his ears and heart to the words of Joseph. And Joseph said to Pharaoh : "" Let not the king think that his dreams are two and distinct; they have but a single portent, and what the Lord intends doing upon the earth He has shown to Pharaoh in a vision. Let me advise thee, oh king, how thou mayest preserve thy life and the lives of all the inhabitants of thy land from the grievous evils of the famine whibh is soon to drain and dry up its fruitful- ness and its plenty. Let the king appoint a man wise and discreet, a man well versed in the laws of the country, and let him appoint other officers under him to go out through all the length and breadth of the land to gather food during the years of plenty and store it carefully away for future use, that the land may not die in the years of famine which will follow. And let the king command the people of the land, that they shall each and every one gather and store up in the years of plenty of the produce of the fields, to provide for their wants when the ground shall be barren and the fields unproductive." And the king answered, '^How knowest thou that thou hast read the dream aright?" And Joseph said, "Lo, this shall be a sign that my words are true. A son shall be born to the king, and upon the day of his birth, thy first-born son, who is now two years old, shall die." ' And when Joseph finished speaking these words, he bowed low before the king and departed from his pres- ence. The occurrence which Joseph predicted came to pass. The queen bore a son, and upon the day when it was told to the king he rejoiced greatly. But as the mes- FROM Joseph's youth to his elevation over egypt. 109 senger of glad tidings retired, the servants of the king found his first-born son dead, and there was a great cry- ing and wailing in the palace of the king. And when Pharaoh inquired as to the cause of this great cry he was informed of his loss, and remembering the words of Joseph he acknowledged them as true. After these things the king sent and gathered to- gether all his princes, officers, and men of rank, and when they came before him he said, " You have seen and heard all the words of this Hebrew, and you know that as he spoke so has the thing occurred ; therefore must we believe that his solution of my dream was the correct one, and that his words of advice were of good weight and consideration. We must take measures of protection against the famine w^hich is surely to come upon us. Therefore search, I pray you, over all Egypt for a man with wisdom and knowledge in his heart, that we may appoint him governor over the Land." And they answered the king, "The advice of this Hebrew was very good; behold, the country is in the hands of the king to do with it what is pleasing in his eyes; but the Hebrew has proved himself wise and skilful, why should our lord the king not select and appoint him as governor over the land." " Yea, surely," said the king, "if God has made these things known to the Hebrew, then there is none among us as wise and discreet as he is. What you have sug- gested is in accordance with my own thoughts; we will appoint the Hebrew our governor, and through his wis- dom shall our country be saved the pangs of want." And Pharaoh sent for Joseph and said to him, "Thou didst advise me to appoint a wise and discreet man to deliver the land from the anguish of famine. Surely, there can be none more discreet than thyself to whom 110 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. God has made known all these things. Thy name shall no more be Joseph, but ' Zaplienath-Pdaneah' (Re- vealer of hidden things) shalt thou hereafter be called among men. " Thou shalt be second to me only, and according to thy words shall the land of Egypt be ruled ; only upon the throne shall I be greater than thyself." Then the king removed his ring from his finger and placed it upon the hand of Joseph. And he dressed Joseph in royal apparel, and placed a crown upon his head and a chain of gold about his neck. And Pharaoh commanded that Joseph should ride in his second chariot throughout the land of Egypt. And the people followed him with music, and a large concourse accom- panied him upon his journey. Five thousand soldiers with drawn swords in their hands, swords glittering in the sunlight, preceded him, and twenty thousand soldiers followed. And the people of the land, men, women, and children ga^zed upon the pageant from windows and from house-tops, and the beauty of Joseph pleased all eyes. And flowers were strewn in his path when he walked, and the air was made sweet with perfume, and the savory odor of balms and spices. And proclamations were placed in prominent places declaring the authority of Joseph, and threatening death to those who failed to pay him homage ; for he was considered as dishonoring his king who failed to honor the man made second in the kingdom. The people bowed down and shouted, " Long live the king and his viceroy !" And Joseph, seated in his chariot, lifted his eyes to Heaven, and exclaimed in the fulness of his heart : " He raiseth the poor from the dust ; from the dung- hill He lifteth up the needy. Oh Lord of Hosts, happy is the man who trusteth in thee !" Joseph's greatness and Jacob's entry jnto egypt. Ill CHAPTER Y. Joseph's greatness and Jacob's entry into egypt. And it came to pass after this, that Joseph saw Os- iiath, the daughter of Potipharah, a pearl among the beauties of the land, and he loved her and she became his wife. And Joseph was but thirty years old when he was elevated to his honorable and trustworthy po- sition. He built for himself a palace, elegant and com- plete in its details and surroundings, so elaborate that three years' time was required for its completion. And the Lord was with Joseph, and increased his wisdom and understanding, and blessed him with manners so affable and deserving that he quickly won the love and favor of all the inhabitants of the country. And during seven years, as Joseph had foretold, the Lord increased the produce of Egypt sevenfold. And Joseph appointed officers to gather up the plenty. They built huge storehouses and heaped up corn during the seven years of plenty, till the amount stored grew so great that no man could number it. And Joseph and his officers were watchful and diligent that their stores of grain should not suffer from moth or mould. The people of the land, too, stored up their surplus crop, but they were not as careful and watchful as was Joseph and his assistants. And the wife of Joseph bore him two sons, Manassah and Ephraim, and their father taught them diligently the way of truth ; they listened to his words and de- 112 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. parted not from the paths of pleasantness either to the right hand or to the left. They grew up bright and intelligent lads, and were honored among the people as were the children of the king. But the seven years of plenty drew to an end, and the fields became barren and the trees gave forth no fruit, and the famine which Joseph had predicted threw its gloomy shadow and threatening presence over the once fruitful land. And when the people opened their storehouses, they found to their sorrow that the moth and mould had taken advantage of their neglect. And they cried aloud to Pharaoh, "Give us food; — let us not die of hunger before thee, we and our children ; give to us, w^e pray thee, from the plenty of thy storehouses." And Pharaoh answered, " Why cry ye unto me, oh careless people ? did Joseph not tell ye of the famine which has come upon us ? Why did ye not hearken to his voice, arid obey his commands to be frugal and painstaking?" " By thy life, our lord," replied the people, " as Jo- seph spoke, so did we, and gathered in our corn during the years of plenty, but lo, when the pangs of hunger and the barrenness of the land bid us open our gran- aries, the moth had destroyed the provisions wliich we had garnered." The king became alarmed lest all their precaution should prove unavailing against the famine's blight, and he bade the people to go to Joseph. "Obey his commands and rebel not against his words." And the people repeated to Joseph the cry for food they had addressed to Pharaoh. When Joseph heard the words of the people and learned the result of their want of care, he opened the Joseph's greatness and Jacob's entry into egypt. 113 storehouses of the king and sold food unto the hungry people. And the famine grew sore in the land of Egypt and spread through Canaan and the land of the Philistines, and to the other side of the Jordan. And when the inhabitants of these countries heard that corn could be obtained in Egypt, they came all of them into that country to buy, so that Joseph was obliged to appoint many officers to sell corn to the large multitude of people. And Joseph's thoughts reverted to his father's home, and he knew that his brothers would be obliged to come to Egypt to purchase food, for the famine was very grievous in their neighborhood. Therefore he gave orders that no man desiring corn should send his servant to purchase it, but the head of each family should personally appear as a purchaser; either the father of a family or his sons. He proclaimed also as the order of the king and his viceroy, that no man should be allowed to purchase corn in Egypt to sell it again in other countries, but only such as he required for the support of his immediate family ; neither should any purchaser be allowed to buy more corn than one animal could carry. And he put guards at all the gates of Egypt, and every man who passed through the gates was obliged to record his name and the name of his father in a book, which was brought by the guards every night for Jo- seph's inspection. Thus did Joseph design to ascertain when his brothers came to buy food ; and all the commands which he had given were faithfully executed. Now, when the patriarch Jacob learned that food could be purchased in Egypt, he bade his sons proceed 8 114 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. thither and obtain a stock of provisions, for the famine was growing very severe, and he feared that his family would suffer from its pangs. Jacob instructed his sons to enter the city by different gates, so that no objection should be made to the amount of their purchases, and as he commanded so they did. Thus did the sons of Jacob go down to Egypt, and while upon the way they thought of their brother Jo- seph, and their hearts chid them for their cruelty towards him, and they said one to the other : " Behold, we know that Joseph was carried down to Egypt ; now when we come to the city let us seek for him, perchance we may discover his whereabouts, and then we will redeem him from his master." And so did Jacob's ten sons travel to Egypt. Ben- jamin was not with them, for his father feared that mischief might befall him as it did the other son of Kachel, and he kept him at home by his side. By ten different gates did the ten sons of the patri- arch enter into the land of Egypt, and the guards at the gates took down their names, which were sent with the other names to Joseph at the close of the day. When Joseph read the names he commanded that all the storehouses save one should be closed, and he or- dered further, that every purchaser at this storehouse should be required to give his name ; and mentioning the names of his brethren, he said : " If these men come before ye, see that ye seize them, every one." When the sons of Jacob had entered the city they met together, and before buying their corn they re- solved to make a thorough search for their brother. They visited all places of public resort, and the houses of divination, but though they continued their search for three days, it proved unavailing. Joseph's greatness and Jacob's entry into egypt. 115 Now when three days had passed, and his brothers had not put in an appearance at the storehouse, Joseph wondered at their delay, and he sent sixteen of his ser- vants to search for them quietly through the city. They were found among the Egyptian players, and brought straightway before the viceroy. Joseph was seated upon his throne dressed in his royal apparel, with his officers around him, when his brothers bowed to the ground before him. They wondered ex- ceedingly at the magnificence, the handsome appear- ance and the majestic presence of the powerful man before them, but they did not recognize in him, their brother. And Joseph spoke to them saving, " Whence came ye?" " From the land of Canaan," they answered, " and to buy food, for lo! the famine is sore in the land; and thy servants learning that corn might be j)urchased in Egypt, have journeyed hither to provide for their sup- port and the support of their families." But Joseph said, " Nay, ye are spies, else why did ye enter the city by ten different gates?" They answered, "We are true men; thy servants have never been spies. Thy servants are brothers, the sons of one father, and by his command did we enter the city separately, for coming together he feared our appearance might attract unfavorable attention." But Joseph repeated, "Ye are spies; to spy out the nakedness of our land have ye come. Behold every man who comes to buy corn, makes his purchase and departs; but ye, lo three days have ye been in the city, in public places and among the players; it is as I have spoken, ye are spies." "God forbid!" they exclaimed; "our lord misjudges Il6 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. US. We are altogether twelve brothers, the sons of Jacob, in the land of Canaan ; Jacob, the son of Isaac, and grandson of Abraham the Hebrew. Behold, our youngest brother is with his father, we ten are here, and the other brother, alas, he is not with us, we know not where he is. We thought perchance he might be in your land, therefore have we searched all public places these three days." " And w^hat should the son of Jacob be doing in the public places?" asked Joseph. ''We heard," they answered, "that the Ishmaelites had sold him in Egypt, and being of very handsome appearance we thought it likely he might have been sold in one of the play-houses, therefore we went there hoping to find and to redeem him." "Suppose you had found him," said Joseph, "and his master had asked for him an enormous amount of money; were you prepared to comply w^ith extraordi- nary demands?" The brothers answered in the affirmative, and Joseph continued : " Suppose again that you should find him and his master should refuse to sell or deliver him to you under any circumstances, what would you do in such a case?" " In such a case," they answered, " if neither prayers nor money should prove of avail, we would rescue our brother by violence; aye, even the death of his master, and flee with him to our father's house." " It is as I have said," retorted Joseph ; "ye are spies; lo, with evil designs upon the inhabitants of our city ye have come. We have heard and know indeed how ye killed all the males of Shechem in the land of Canaan on your sister's account, and now ye would treat the men of Egypt in the same way for the sake of a oseph's greatness and Jacob's entry into egypt. 117 brother. But yet we will give ye an opportunity to [prove yourselves true men. Send one of your number ■to your father's house to bring hither the youngest pbrother of whom you have spoken. If ye will do this, shall know that you have spoken truly. Take three ;days to consider." And in obedience to Joseph's commands his brothers [were held in ward for three days. After this time the brothers concluded to leave one of :heir number as a hostage, while the others returned to Canaan to bring Benjamin down to Egypt. So Menas- seh, the son of Joseph, chose Simeon as the hostage, and he was kept in ward. Ere his brothers departed, Joseph spoke to them once more. " Take heed," said he, " that ye forget not my com- mands. If ye bring this brother to me, I shall consider ye true men, and ye shall be free to traffic in the land ; neither will I do harm to your brother ; he shall be at liberty to return with ye to your father's house, in peace." And they bowed down to the ground and departed from Egypt. As they proceeded upon their homeward journey, they stopped at an inn to feed their asses, and Levi opened his sack to provide the corn for the meal. And lo, when he opened the sack, his money which he* had paid for the corn was lying on the top. And he was exceedingly afraid, and he told the thing to his brethren, and they, too, were filled with alarm. And when every man found his money returned they cried aloud, " What is this that God has done to us ? Has the Lord withdrawn from us the mercy which he showed to our ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 118 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. that he has given us into the hands of Egypt's prince to mock us and make merry with us ?" But Judah said, " It is just ! Are we not guilty and sinful before the Lord! We sold our brother, our flesh. Why should we now complain that the favor God has lavished on our ancestors is denied to us ?" "Did I not warn ye, ^sin not against the child?'" said Reuben, " and ye would not hearken to my words. His blood is upon us, — why do ye say, therefore, 'Where is the kindness which the Lord promised unto our fathers V Verily we have forfeited His protection." When Jacob's sons approached their home, and the patriarch came forth to meet them, he quickly missed the face of Simeon, and he asked, "Where is Simeon, your brother ?" Then the brothers told their father all that had hap- pened to them in Egypt, and Jacob said to them, " What is this that ye have done to me ! Your brother Joseph I sent to ye to inquire of your welfare, and his face I looked upon no more, — his bloody gar- ments ye brought me, saying, ' Lo, the wild beasts of the forest have destroyed thy son.' Simeon I sent with ye to purchase food; and ye tell me that he is impris- oned in a cruel land; and now Benjamin ye wish to take also, — for Joseph and for Benjamin ye would bring my gray hairs in sorrow to the grave. No, my son shall not go with ye." And Reuben said, " The lives of my two sons I place in your hands ; if we do not bring back Benjamin safely to thee, their lives shall prove the forfeit." But Jacob said, " Neither shall ye return again to Egypt; stay here, for my son shall not go with ye, to die as did his brother." And Judah said to his brothers, "Urge him no more RtoSEPH'S GREATNESS AND JACOB'S ENTRY INTO EGYPT, l" nt present. Let us wait until these provisions have Ibeen consumed, and when cruel want and hunger fcress us he will consent to what we ask." 1 And it came to pass when the provisions were gone, phat the sons of his children gathered around Jacob and ■Dried to him, "Oh, give us bread." I And the heart of Jacob was torn with anguish at the mry, and summoning his sons, he said to them, "Hear lye not the voices of jour children crying for food ? f Give us bread,' they cried to me, and I — I have none |to give them. Get ye down to Egypt, I pray ye, and Ibuy us a little food." 1. Then Judah answered, and said to his father, "If fchou wilt send Benjamin with us, we will go, — other- mise we cannot. The king of Egypt is a mighty poten- Itate ; we dare not trifle with him. Should we return Ho Egypt, and our youngest brother be not with us, lo, he would destroy us all. Our father, we cannot disobey this king ; greater even is he than Abimelech, the Phil- istine. Thou hast not seen, as we have, his throne, his palace, his myriads of officers ; thou hast not witnessed, as have we, his wisdom, knowledge, and understand- ing. God has blessed him with unequalled gifts; greater is he than all on earth beside. Our names he told us ; what had happened to us in our youth ; he inquired of thee, saying, ' Is your father yet alive ? Are all things well with him V Thou hast not heard, as we have, of his power ; over his people he is supreme ; upon his word they go out, and upon his word they come in ; his word governs, and the voice of his master, Pharaoh, is not required. Oh, my father, send the lad, — we cannot go without him ; if thou refusest, we must see our chil- dren die with hunger." And Jacob said, in his sorrow, 120 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. " Why did ye tell the man ye had a brother ? — Oh, evil, evil is this thing which ye have done !" "Give the boy into my hands," said Judah, "and let us go down to Egypt and buy the corn. If I do not return him safely to thee, a sinner against my father shall I be considered all my days. Our children weep before thee, and we have naught to stay their cries; have mercy on them, send our brother with us. Hast thou not often told us of the mercy which our God has promised to thee ? Lo, He will protect thy son and re- turn him to thee safely. Pray unto the Lord for our sakes, entreat Him to give us grace and favor in the eyes of Egypt's prince. Lo, had we not tarried thus long, we should have now been back with food ; yea, back twice to thee, and with thy son in safety." *' And Jacob answered, '• The Lord God give you grace in the eyes of the king and officers of Egypt. In Him will I put my trust. Arise, go unto the man, take with ye gifts, the best the land affords; the Lord will be with ye, and ye shall bring back to me your brothers, Benjamin and Simeon." Then the sons of Jacob went down again to Egypt. And they took Benjamin with them, and they took, also, presents and twofold money. " Take heed of the lad," were Jacob's parting words ; " separate not from him either in Egypt or upon the road;" and when they had gone, he sought the presence of the Almighty in prayer : " Oh, Lord, God of heaven and of earth, remember, I beseech Thee, the covenant which Thou didst make with our father Abraham; remember, I beseech Thee, the merit of Isaac, my father, and for their sakes show roSEPH'S GREATNESS AND JACOB's ENTRY INTO EGYPT. 121 dndness unto my sons. Do not deliver them into the Lands of Egypt's king for evil ; redeem them, I pray liee, and bring them back safely with their two >rothers." And the wives of Jacob's sons, and his grandchildren, :hey, too, lifted their eyes and hearts to Heaven, and jried, "Deliver, oh Lord, our fathers from the hands of Igypt's king." Jacob also addressed the following letter, to be deliv- jred by his sons into the hands of Joseph : " From thy servant, Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son )f Abraham the Hebrew. '^The prince of God unto the mighty and wise king ^aphenath Paaneah, the king of Egypt, peace. My lord, the king, knows well that the fiimine is sore in the land of Canaan ; therefore I sent my sons to thee to buy food for our sustenance. I charged them not to enter the city by the same gate, lest coming to- gether they might attract the attention of the inhabit- ants. And lo, their obedience to my orders has caused them to be accused by thee as spies. Oh, my lord, could not an intelligent man, such as thou art, read truth upon the faces of my sons ? Much have I heard of thy wisdom and the understanding which thou didst dis- play in the interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams, in fore- telling this grievous famine, — how, then, was it possible that thou shouldst suspect my sons ? " Behold, I am surrounded with children ; I am very old, and my eyes wax dim ; tearful have they been for twenty years in lamenting the loss of my son Joseph, and now I have sent to thee his brother Benjamin as thou didst command ; I pray thee, oh, my lord, to be 122 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. good to him, and return him to me with his brothers. The strength of God has ever been with us; He has listened to our prayers, and He has never forsaken us ; protect thoii my son who is coming unto thee, and God will look favorably upon thee and upon thy kingdom. Send him home again with his brothers, and Simeon also send with them in peace." This letter was intrusted into Judah's hands. Thus the sons of Jacob went down again to Egypt with Benjamin and with the presents, and they stood before Joseph. And Joseph released Simeon from prison, and restored him to his brethren. And Simeon told them of the kind treatment which he had received since their departure. " I was not bound," said he, " or treated as a prisoner, but I was taken to the governor's own house, and received there as a guest." Then Judah took Benjamin and brought him before Joseph, and they prostrated themselves to the ground. And the brothers gave Joseph the presents which their father had sent to him. And Joseph asked them whether all went well with their children and with their old father, and they answered, " It is well with all of us." Then Judah delivered his father s letter to Joseph, and the latter recognized his father's hand, and his feel- ings grew too strong for him ; the recollections of his youth overpowered him, and retiring into a side apart- ment he wept bitterly. Returning to the presence of his brother, Joseph's eyes rested upon Benjamin, his mother's son, and he asked, " Is this your youngest brother of whom ye told me ?" And when Benjamin drew near, Joseph laid I bsEPH's GREATNESS AND JACOB's ENTRY INTO EGYPT. 123 his hand upon his brother's head, and said, "God be gracious unto thee, my son." Then restraining his feelings, he ordered his officers to prepare the dining-tables. Then when the meal was ready Joseph took into his hand a cup, — a cup of solid silver, set with precious stones, and holding it in his hand in the presence of his brothers, Joseph said, " I know by this cup that Reuben is the firstborn of your father, therefore shall he sit first, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun shall follow him in this order, according to their ages ; the rest shall follow these according to their ages." And he said further, " I know that your youngest brother has no mother, neither have I a mother, there- fore will we two sit together." And the men marvelled much at the words of Joseph, as they ate and drank with Joseph upon that day. Joseph placed two portions of food before his brother Benjamin, and when his sons, Ephraim and Menasseh, saw this they too gave their portions to Benjamin, and Osnath, Joseph's wife, gave also hers. Thus Benjamin had five portions. And Joseph brought wine to the board, and bade his brethren drink and be glad, but they refused, saying, " We have not partaken of wine since we lost our brother." Joseph pressed them, however, and forced them to drink and be merry with him. And he said to Benjamin, "Hast thou children?" And Benjamin an- swered, " Thy servant has ten sons, and I call them by names reminding me of the brother whom I have never seen." In the morning Joseph dismissed his brethren, and bade them return to their father in peace. But when they had departed he called his servants, and ordered 124 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. them to pursue after, overtake them, and bring them back. ^ And when the servants of Joseph overtook them, and said to them, " Why have ye done this thing to steal our master's cup ?" the brothers of Joseph were indignant, and they answered, " If ye find the cup in the possession of any one of us, lo, he shall die, and we, his brethren, shall be your master's slaves ;" but when the cup was found where Joseph had ordered it to be put, in Benjamin's sack, they returned, grieving and crestfallen, to the presence of Joseph. The viceroy was seated upon his throne, and his officers of state were gathered about him when his brethren entered, and speaking roughly to them, he said, ''What evil deed is this which ye have wrought? Why did ye take my silver cup ? Is it because you could not find that brother you spoke of in the country that you stole the cup instead ? Answer and tell me why have ye done this thing?" And Judah spoke, saying, " What shall we say unto my lord? What shall we speak, for how shall we justify ourselves ? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants, and sent this calamity upon us." Then Joseph arose, and grasping hold of Benjamin he led him to another room, and pushing him therein closed the door upon him. He then told the others to return to their homes in peace, saying, " I will keep the one in whose possession the cup was found ; return ye in peace." Then Judah approached Joseph, and said: '' Let not thy anger, I pray thee, burn against thy I seph's greatness and Jacob's entry into egypt. 125 servant, but let thy servant speak before thee ;" and Joseph answered, " Speak." Then Judah continued : " From the commencement, from the moment we set foot in Egypt, thou hast mocked us. We have been accused as spies; we have been forced to bring our brother Benjamin hither with us; and now, still at this moment, thou art using us for thy sport. Let the king now hearken to my words, and heed them, and allow our brother to return to his father with us, lest we de- stroy thee, aye, and all thy officers who are stationed about thee. Thou knowest what two brothers of us did to the city of Shechem for a sister's sake ; take heed that they work not the same revenge for their brother Benjamin. Lo, I am stronger and more powerful than both of them; give over thy idle trifling with us, lest I strike thee with thy guard. Knowest thou not the punishment which God ordained upon Pharaoh when he acted wickedly towards Sarai, our great grand- mother? Even to this day the people of thy land do tell about it ! Beware, therefore, lest He punish thee too for thy wickedness in taking our brother Benjamin from his father. God will not forget the covenant which He made with Abraham, to protect his seed and chastise their enemies ; therefore listen, oh my lord, to the w^ords which I am speaking. Let our brother re- turn to his father, lest I carry my words into effect; beware, you cannot prevail over me." Then Joseph answered and said, " Why indulge in this vain self-glorying. Art proud of thy strength ? Lo ! one word to my officers, and they would destroy thee in a moment with thy breth- ren." 126 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. " By God's life," exclaimed Judah, " if I draw I will commence with thee and end with Pharaoh." " Thy strength is not equal to thy boast," returned Joseph; "I myself am stronger than thou art; if thou shouldst draw thy sword I would sheathe it in thine own body; aye, with thine own sword would I put thy brothers and thyself to death." And Judali replied : " Oh, my lord, God is a witness between us that I seek not to fight; give us our brother and let us go in peace." " By the life of Pharaoh," answered Joseph, " if all the kings of Canaan should come and second your de- mand, I would not surrender your brother. Go your way, the rest of ye unto your father, but Benjamin shall be my servant. He stole my cup and his liberty is forfeit to me." ^^What profit is the name of king to such as thou?" retorted Judah. "A king's household contains much gold and silver in vessels and utensils, and lo, thou speakest much about a poor silver cup, which thou thy- self hast placed in our brother's sack. God forbid that a descendant of Abraham should steal from thee, or from any other, king, prince, or whatever he may be. Be silent now about this for thine own sake, lest it become known abroad and people say, ' Lo, for a trifling silver cup the great viceroy of Egypt fought with men and took one of them for a servant ;' for thine own sake, say no more." But Joseph merely repeated what he had said : " Go ye, and leave your brother with me; the law makes him my servant ; get ye gone, and take the cup with ye." " Never," exclaimed Judah ; " we would not forsake iseph's greatness and Jacob's entry into egypt. 127 our brother for a thousand cups, or for any sum of money which thou couldst name." Then Joseph replied quickly, " But you did forsake and abandon your brother; aye, and sold him for twenty silver pieces." " Give us our brother," reiterated Judah. "God is my witness I desire no quarrel with thee ; let us depart without a brawl. What, oh what can we say to our father if we return without the lad? his grief would kill him ; and we, what could we say ?" " Say to him," said Joseph, " that the rope followeth the bucket."'-^ "Woe, woe unto the king who speaks a false judg- ment," cried Judah. "Say naught of false judgments/' replied Joseph, "did ye not speak untruths unto your father saying, ' A wild beast has devoured Joseph V Did ye not sell him to the Midianites for twenty pieces ? Say naught ; be dumb in shame." " Now does the fire of Shechem burn within me," thundered Judah ; "thyself and thy country shall perish in the fierce flame of my wrath." In the meantime, during this scene, Joseph had dis- patched Menasseh, his son, to order troops to his palace, and now they came at full speed, armed and equipped at short notice. Five hundred mounted soldiers, two thousand on foot, and four hundred reserve guard of veterans. With cries and shouts they surrounded the sons of Jacob, who were exceedingly terrified and trem- bled for their lives. Then Joseph said to Judah, * Meaning that Joseph was the rope and Benjamin the bucket. 128 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. "Tell me, I pray, why thou alone of all thy company didst fight so zealously for the lad ?" And Judah answered, ^'Know that I became a surety with our father for the lad's safe return. ' If he comes not back with us,' I said, ^ Lo, I shall be considered as sinning before thee all my days.' Oh, my lord, let me find grace in thy eyes ; let me but take the lad home to his father, and I will return to take his place as thy servant. See, I am stronger and older than he is, let me be thy servant instead of Benjamin." "Upon one condition," replied Joseph, "the lad may go with you. Bring before me his brother, his mother's son of whom yau have spoken, and I will take him in place of Benjamin. You did not become a surety for him to your father, therefore let me have him, and the brother for whom you did become a surety shall return home with you." Then Simeon drew near and answered, "Did we not tell my lord, when first we came before him, that this lost brother we could not find ? Where- fore will my lord speak such idle words? We know not, alas, whether this brother be alive or dead." " Suppose, then," said Joseph, "that I should call him before me, will ye then give him to me in place of Ben- jamin?" And raising his voice he called aloud, "Jo- seph ! Joseph ! Appear Joseph, and sit before thy brethren." The sons of Jacob wondered much at these words, and their blood grew chill as they looked around in fear and amazement to see from whence their brother was to appear. And Joseph said to them : " Why do ye look around ? Your brother is before Joseph's greatness and Jacob's entry into egypt. 129 you. I am Joseph whom ye sold to Egypt. But nay, be not alarmed, ye were but instruments, and to save life did God send me hither." And the men were much frightened, and Judah espe- cially was terrified at the startling words. Benjamin, who was in the inner court, heard them, and hurrying before Joseph he threw himself upon the latter's breast, and kissing him, they wept together. The other broth- ers too were much affected, and the people about won- dered, and the report of the occurrence reached Pha- raoh's palace. Pharaoh was pleased with the news, and sent a depu- tation of his officers to welcome Joseph's brethren, and to bid them, in his name, to bring their families and their household goods and make their homes in Egypt. And Joseph clad his brethren in new and elegant garments, and made them many generous presents, and gave to each of them three hundred pieces of silver; and then he took them before Pharaoh and introduced them to the king. And when Pharaoh saw what goodly men the sons of Jacob were, he was much pleased and very gracious towards them. And when it became time for them to return to Ca- naan, Joseph procured eleven of Pharaoh's chariots and added to them his own, for their accommodation. And he sent rich presents to his father, and garments and presents to the children of his brothers and sister, and to his brothers' wives. And he accompanied his brethren upon their journey to the boundaries of Egypt, and parting with them, he said : '^Do not, my brethren, quarrel on the way. This thing was wrought through God's wisdom ; ye were but 130 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. the instruments to save from famine and hunger a vast multitude." He also commanded them to be careful in imparting the great news they carried to their father, lest speaking suddenly it might have a bad effect upon so old a man. And the sons of Jacob returned unto the land of Canaan in gladness with happy hearts. And it came to pass when they drew near to Canaan that they said one to the other, "How shall we break this news unto our father. We cannot tell him sud- denly that Joseph is still alive." But it chanced when they reached Beer-Shebah that Serach, the daughter of Asher, came to meet her father and her uncles. And Serach was a sweet singer, and she played upon the harp. So they said unto her, "Take thy harp, and go and sit before our father and play to him, and as thou play- est, sing, sing of his son Joseph, and let him know in this manner that Joseph lives." And the maiden did as she was bid, and sitting be- fore her grandfather, she sang to him a song, wherein she repeated seven times these words : " Lo, Joseph is not dead ; he lives, My uncle rules o'er Egypt's land." And Jacob was pleased with her singing and play- ing; happiness seemed to find birth in his heart at her sw^eet voice, and he smiled upon the maiden and blessed her. And while he was talking to her his sons arrived with their horses and chariots, and Jacob arose and met them at the door, and they said to him, " We have joyful tidings for our father. Joseph, our brother, is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." But Jacob remained cool and unaffected, for he did Joseph's greatness and Jacob's entry into egypt. 131 not believe their words, until he saw the presents which Joseph had sent, and all the signs of his greatness; then his eyes brightened and gladness sparkled in their depths, and he said, "Enough, my son lives; I will go and see him before I die." And the inhabitants of Beer-Sheba and the surround- ing countries heard the news, and came and congratu- lated Jacob, and he made a great feast for them. And he said, "I will go down to Egypt and see my son, and then will I return to Canaan, as the Lord has spoken to Abraham, giving this land unto his seed." And the word of the Lord came to Jacob, saying, "Go down to Egypt; be not afraid, for I am with thee, and will make of thee a great nation." And Jacob commanded his sons and their families to prepare to go down with him to Egypt, as the Lord had spoken, and they arose and started upon the way. And Jacob sent Judah in advance, to announce his coming and to select a place for his residence. And when Joseph learned that his father was upon the way, he gathered together his friends and officers, and soldiers of the realm, and they attired themselves in rich garments and gold and silver ornaments, and the troops were armed with all the implements of war, and they gathered together and formed a great company to meet Jacob upon the way and escort him to Egypt. Music and gladness filled the land, and all the people, the women and the children, assembled upon the house- tops to view the magnificent display. Joseph was dressed in royal robes, with the crown of state upon his head ; and when he came within fifty cubits of his father's company, he descended from his chariot and walked to meet his father. And when the 132 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. nobles and princes saw this, they, too, descended from their steeds and chariots and walked with him. And when Jacob saw all this great procession, he wondered exceedingly, and he was much pleased thereat, and turning to Judah he asked, " Who is the man who marcheth at the head of this great array, in royal robes?" and Judah answered, "That is thy son.'* And wlien Joseph drew nigh to his father he bowed down before him, and his officers also bowed low to Jacob. And Jacob ran towards his son and fell upon his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And Joseph greeted his brethren with affection. And Jacob said to Joseph, " Now let me die. I have seen thy face, my eyes have beheld thee living and in great honor." And the great company escorted Jacob and his family to Egypt, and there Joseph gave to his relatives the best of the land, even Goshen. And Joseph lived in the land and governed it wisely. And the two sons of Joseph were great favorites with their grandfather, and were ever in his house. And Jacob taught them the ways of the Lord, and pointed out to them the path of happiness and peace in His service. And Jacob and his family lived in Goshen, and had possession of the land and multiplied therein exceed- ingly. DEATH OF JACOB AND HIS SONS. 133 CHAPTER YI. DEATH OF JACOB AND HIS SONS-7-MOSES — THE DELIVERANCE FROM EGYPT. Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years, and all the years of his life were one hundred and forty-seven. And Jacob grew very sick, and being old and feeble, he sent for his son Joseph, and said to him, "Behold, I am going to die. Listen, my son. The God of your fathers will surely visit you in the days to come and carry back His people, as He has sworn, to the land which He has given to you and your descend- ants. Do not bury me in Egypt, but in the cave of Machpelah, in Hebron, in the land of Canaan, next to my parents." Jacob made his sons swear to bury him as he had requested, and he said to them, "Serve the Lord your God, and He will deliver ye from all trouble even as He delivered your fathers.'' He bade them call all their children before him, and he blessed them and their fathers also, according to the blessings which are recorded in Holy Writ And Jacob said unto Judah, "Thou, my son, art stronger than all thy brethren, and from thy loins will kings arise. Teach thy children how they may protect themselves from enemies and evil-doers;" then turning to his children, he said, "Thus shall ye carry me, after my death, to my rest- 134 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. ing-place in the cave of Machpelah. Ye, my sons and not your children, shall bear me. Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun shall carry the eastward corner of my bier; Reuben, Simeon, and Gad shall carry at the south; Ephraim, Menasseh, and Benjamin at the western end, and Dan, Asher, and Naphtali to the north. " Levi shall not carry or help to carry my bier, for his descendants will bear the ark of God's covenant through Israel's host; neither shall Joseph assist in carrying, for he is a king; his sons shall take his place, and walk beside his brother Benjamin. As I have spoken do ; diminish not from my words. "And it shall come to pass, if ye do as I have com- manded, that God will visit ye with happiness and give peace to your children after ye. "And now, my sons, honor one another, and live peacefully, family and family, together. Teach your children to love God, and observe His commandments, in order that their days may be prolonged, for God will guard those who do justly, and walk in righteousness through all His ways." And the sons of Jacob responded, "All that you have commanded us, our father, we will do. May God be with us." And Jacob answered, " The Lord will be with ye if ye depart not from His ways to the right hand or to the left. Behold, I know that great troubles will come upon ye, upon your children, and your children's children in this land of Egypt in the days to come. But serve God, and He will prove your salvation. He will bring ye out of Egypt, aye, back to the land of your fathers, to inherit it, and dwell therein in safety." i / DEATH OF JACOB AND HIS SONS. 135 And when Jacob had finished these words, he drew jhis feet into the bed, and was gathered unto his fathers. And when Joseph saw that his father was dead, he fell upon the cold face, and wept bitterly, and cried [aloud in anguish, " My father ; oh, my father !" And the family of Jacob, his sons, and their wives and children rent their garments and clothed them- selves in sackcloth and ashes, and mourned for the patriarch. And the Egyptians who knew Jacob mourned for him also. Then Joseph commanded the physicians to embalm his father's body, and he, with all his family and rela- tives and Egyptian friends, lamented for seventy days. After these days of mourning Joseph approached Pharaoh the king, and said to him, "Let me go up, I pray thee, to bury my father ; I will then return," and Pharaoh answered, " Go in peace and bury thy father." And Joseph arose and prepared with his brethren to carry their father's body to Canaan, as he had com- manded them. And Pharaoh issued a proclamation requesting the citizens of Egypt to honor Joseph by participating in Jacob's funeral, and showing the last marks of respect to him. And the citizens, in large numbers, acquiesced in the wishes of the king. And there went up with Joseph and his brethren all the servants of Pharaoh and the elders of his house, and the elders of the land of Egypt, and the princes and noblemen, and all attached to Joseph's household. And the sons of Jacob carried the bier on which rested , their father's remains as he had commanded them, and there rested upon the bier a sceptre and a crown of gold. And the troops of Egypt followed Jacob's body, in- 136 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. faiitry and cavalry, and the body-guard of Pharaoh, and Joseph's body-guard also. And it came to pass, when the funeral train reached the threshing floor of Atad, beyond the Jordan, they rested there, and mourned with great lamentation. And when the kings of Canaan heard that the fune- ral cortege of Jacob was approaching, they started forth to meet the same, to express their grief and love for the departed patriarch. And Esau, Jacob's brother, came also with his sons and the men of his belonging, and then the funeral proceeded to Hebron, to the cave of Machpelah. But when they reached the cave, lo, Esau and his sons, and his followers, approached Joseph and his brethren, saying : " Jacob shall not be buried here ; this cave is ours and our father's." Then Joseph and his brethren were very wroth, and Joseph said to Esau, " What is this which thou hast spoken ? Did not my father, Jacob, buy from thee, after the death of Isaac, all thy possessions in the land of Canaan, aye, five-and-twenty years ago, for a large sum of money, that it might be an inheritance to his children forever? Why speakest thou in this manner ?" And Esau answered : " I sold naught to Jacob." " We have the deeds," returned Joseph, " and thine own signature shall prove that tlie truth is on our side." " Bring me the deeds then," said Esau, " and all that I have written will I do." Then Joseph called to him his brother Naphtali, who was more swift of foot than the roebuck, and so ho DEATH OF JACOB AND HIS SONS. 137 light of step that he could run over the tassel-topped rn and it would bend not beneath his tread. And Joseph said to Naphtali : " Get quickly to Egypt and bring to me the deeds for the cave, also the deed whereby Esau sold his birth- right to our father; get thee quickly, and return in haste." And when Esau learned that Naphtali had departed upon this errand he stopped further proceeding in the funeral rites, and Joseph and his brethren guarded their father's body and the burial cave. With the next day a fight began between the two factions ; Esau and his retainers on the one side, and Joseph, the Hebrews, and those who had followed the funeral train from Egypt, on the other. Now among this latter party was Hushim, the son of Dan. He was dumb, and was placed to keep watch over the coffin containing the remains of his grand- father. Though not in the conflict, he noticed that something unusual was occurring, and asking by signs of those who came near him why the dead was not buried, he learned of Esau's interference, and the stop- page of the rites. It came to pass, when he fully understood this, that his anger was roused, and hurrying into the midst of the combat, he singled out Esau, and struck his head from his shoulders with one blow. Then the children of Jacob prevailed over their opponents. Of Esau's company forty men were killed, while the other party suffered no loss. So with the death of Esau the fears expressed by Kebecca when Esau intended to kill Jacob, "Why should I be deprived of both of you in one day?" (Gen. 32 : 45), seemed to be verified. Then Jacob was buried in the cave of Machpelah, and 138 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. the sons of Esau witnessed the interment. For seven days Joseph and his brethren remained in their houses, mourning and attending not to their usual avocations ; and after this, though they discharged their daily duties, they mourned for twelve months, and since that time such has been the custom of the Jews on the death of a near relative. The defeated children of Esau fled with Eliphas, the son of Esau, carrying Esau's body with them. His head was buried in Hebron, where he fell, but his body they buried at the mount of Se'ir. And it came to pass in the thirty-second year after the children of Israel had gone down into Egypt, that Pharaoh the friend of Joseph died. Joseph was then seventy-one years of age. Before his death, Pharaoh commanded his son who succeeded him, to obey Joseph in all things, and the same instructions he left in writing. This pleased the people of Egypt, for they loved Joseph and trusted implicitly in him. Thus while this Pha- raoh reigned over Egypt the country was governed by Joseph's advice and counsel. The Lord was with him, and all his undertakings proved successful. His wis- dom seemed to grow greater daily, and all Egypt de- lighted in 'showing him lionor and respect. For eighty years Joseph ruled Egypt, and his brothers dwelt in Goshen in safety and were fruitful and multiplied ex- ceedingly; and they served the Lord in the manner which their father Jacob had taught them. Joseph lived in Egypt ninety-three years, being as a prince of the country eighty years of that time ; and then the days drew nigh when he felt the hand of death approaching. He sent for his brothers and all their children, and they drew around his bed. DEATH OF JACOB AND HIS SONS. 139 L ..-. ' surely visit ye and bring ye out from this land into ; the land which He hath sworn unto your fathers to give i unto ye. And now when the Eternal thus visits ye and leads ye out from Egypt, take my bones away from here with ye." Joseph made the children of Israel swear, for them- selves and their descendants, to carry with them his bones when they should go up out of Egj^pt, And Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years, in the seventy-first year after the children of Israel had entered Egypt, and his body was embalmed and afterwards laid in the ground near the banks of the river Nile. And all Egypt wept for Joseph seventy days, and his brethren mourned for him seven days as they did for Jacob his father. Then Pharaoh took the dominion in his own hands, and governed the people wisely and in good faith. In the same year Zebulun, the son of Jacob, died at the age of one hundred and fourteen years ; and five years later Simeon died, aged one hundred and twenty years. Four years after this Eeuben died, aged one hundred and twenty-five years ; and Dan died the next year one hundred and twenty-four years old. Issachar died a year later, aged one hundred and twenty-two ; and Asher followed him aged one hundred and twenty- three. Gad departed the next year, one hundred and twenty-five years old ; and Judah the year following at the age of one hundred and twenty-nine years. Naph- tali lived one year later, and died at the age of a hun- dred and thirty-two years; and Levi died the year after, one hundred and thirty-seven years of age, living to a greater age than that reached by any of his brethren. After the death of Joseph and his brothers, the 140 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. Egyptians began to afflict the Israelites, and they em- bittered their lives from that day even until the day c when they went up out of the land. They deprived ' them of the fruitful land Avhich Joseph had given i them, and of the houses which they had built, and the homes they had made for themselves. The hand of the Egyptians grew constantly heavier upon the people till i their lives became a burden to them. ! In the hundred and second year after Israel went down to Egypt, Pharaoh the king and that whole gene- ration of people had died out, and a new king and a new people who knew not Joseph, held possession of the land. Young Pharaoh was forty-nine years of age when he was crowned, and as is customary upon the assumption of authority by a new ruler, his ministers came before him to tell of the doings and progress of his kingdom. And these spoke to him saying, "Behold these people, the children of Israel, are greater and mightier than we. Advise us, we pray, that we may destroy them gradually, lest they so increase in the land as to prove a snare and a stumbling-block to us. Perchance if war comes upon us they may add their strength to the ranks of our enemies and drive us out of our own country." The king answered, "This is my advice, and I bid ye heed it well. The fortresses, Pithom and Ra'amses, are not strong enough for their purpose of protection, they should be rebuilt and with greater care. Let us deal subtly. Issue a proclamation in my name, saying, " 'A decree of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Every duti- ful citizen is requested to join in the rebuilding and strengthening of the fortresses Pithom and Ra'amses, THE EGYPTIAN OPPRESSION. 141 that we may be prepared for enemies in time of war. Every citizen is called upon to obey this behest, and each day he shall receive from the treasury, wages for the work which he has done.' "Then at the outset, ye, too, must go to work, and it shall come to pass when the Israelites come and join ye, that ye shall pay them, as we promise, each day j their wages. Gradually ye and the other Egyptians 1 may stay away from the work, until the Israelites are prosecuting it alone ; then appoint Egyptian taskmas- I ters over them; and finallj^, when they come to ye > one day for what they have earned, inform them that henceforth they must labor without payment. If they refuse or rebel, be ready, and compel them to submit by force. Obey my words in every particular, and happiness to ye will be the result. Our country will be strengthened and the hard labor will reduce the nu- merical strength of this people." This advice pleased the Egyptians greatly, and they followed it implicitly. The proclamation was issued, and all the Israelites, with the exception of the chil- dren of Levi, obeyed the orders. Many Egyptians took part in the work also, and daily received their wages, but they were gradually dismissed, until in about three months' time the Israelites were working alone. Then the taskmasters, who had been appointed over them, withheld from them their wages, and when they refused to work, compelled them by force to resume their labor. Thus all the children of Israel, with the exception of those of the tribe of Levi, who saw the snare of the Egyptians, and who having refused to work for wages could not now be compelled to labor without payment, were kept steadily at this work, strengthening all the strongholds of Egypt, making bricks and laboring in 142 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. the fields, until the Lord remembered them and deliv- ered them from the land. But the heavier the burden laid upon the Israelites,' the more rapidly they appeared to increase in numbers. And in the hundred and twenty-fifth year after the sons of Jacob had entered Egypt, the inhabitants of the land saw that what they had intended by their oppres- sion had failed ; that Israel still increased. The elders and wise men therefore appeared again before the king, and said, "0 king, live forever! According to the advice which thou didst give us concerning this people Israel, have we done, and yet it has proved unavailing. The more we have oppressed them, the greater has been their increase, and now the land of Goshen is filled with them. To thy wisdom we, with all thy people, look for advice which shall reduce the number of these people." The king answered, " Let me hear from some of ye ; give ye advice as to what can be done to them." Then answered Job, from a country in the land of Uz, one of the king's counsellors, and said, " If it be pleasing to the king, I will venture to speak. The advice which the king did give us concerning this people was good, and the course which we have pursued in its carrying out we will still continue, and the advice, which I give now, with permission of the king, is but in addition to the same. Behold, we have been fearing for many years that a war may come upon us; we have been also fearing that the Israelites may so increase in the land and spread throughout it as to drive us from our own country. Now, if it please the king, let a royal order be issued, and let it be written among the laws of THE EGYPTIAN OPPRESSION. 143 Egypt, that it may never be changed. Let this order decree the shedding of the lifeblood of every male born to these Hebrews. If we follow this advice and de- stroy every male, we can have no cause to fear treason from this people in the future." This advice met with the approbation of the king, his counsellors and wise men, and the king did as Job had recommended. A proclamation was issued throughout the land, dooming every male born to the Hebrews to immediate destruction. There lived in the land of Egypt a man named Am- ram; he was the son of Keliath, the son of Levi, the son of Jacob. This man married Yochebed, the daugh- ter of Levi, his father's sister. And the woman bore a daughter, whom she called Mir yam, for this was in the days when the Egyptians embittered the life of the Hebrews. Afterwards she bore a son, and called him Aaron. And it came to pass in the one hundred and thirtieth year after Israel had entered Egypt, that Pharaoh, the king of the land, dreamed that he was sitting on his throne, and raising his eyes, saw before him an old man holding in his hand a pair of large balances. The old man hung the balances, and taking all the elders of Egypt, her princes and officers, he bound them together and placed them on one of the balances ; on the other he placed a lamb, and lo, to the wonder of the dream- ing man, the lamb weighed heavier than all the mighty men of Egypt. Pharaoh awoke, and sending for his officers, he re- lated to them this dream, which caused them both fear and amazement. Now among the magicians of Egypt there was one whom the king considered especially wise, Bil'am, the son of Be'or. For him the king sent, 144 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. and desired an explanation of the vision. " A great evil will befall Egypt in the latter days," replied BiFam, the son of Be'or. "A son will be born in Israel who will destroy Egypt, kill its inhabitants, and carry his people out from among them. Now, oh lord and king, give heed to this matter, and destroy the power of the children of Israel and their future welfare, before this misfortune to Egypt buds." " What can we do ?" inquired Pharaoh ; ^' we have tried many plans without success." Bil'am answered, " Send for thy two nearest coun- sellors, and we will consult together." And Pharaoh sent for Re'uel, the Midianite, and Job, his counsellors, and they appeared before him accord- ingly. Then said the king, " Ye have all heard my dream and its interpretation ; now give me your ad- vice ; how may this people Israel be conquered ere this threatened evil falls upon us ?" Re'uel, the Midianite, answered and said, " Oh king, live forever ! If it be pleasing in thy eyes, oh king, cease to afflict this people. They are the chosen of God from the olden days, and never have they been oppressed with impunity. Pharaoh of old was punished for Sarah's sake, as was also Abimelech the Philistine, for the same cause. Jacob was delivered from the toils both of Esau, his brother, and his uncle, Laban. Thy great-grandfather exalted their great- grandfather, Joseph, because he recognized the wisdom which God had implanted in him, and which saved the people of the land from starvation. Therefore, oh king, remove thy yoke from them and let them go hence to Canaan, the land of the sojournings of their forefathers." These words of Re'uel, the Midianite, angered Pha- THE EGYPTIAN OPPRESSION. 145 raoh, and he sent him in shame »from his presence. Re'uel went out from Egypt that day unto his own country, carrying with him the staff of Joseph. The king then said to Job, his counsellor, '^ What is thy opinion concerning these Hebrews ?" And Job answered, ^^Are not all the inhabitants of Egypt in the hands of the king ? Whatever may be most pleasing in thy eyes, that do." Then spoke Bi'lam, and said, '' None of the means proposed for the subduing of the Hebrews will prove successful. Fire cannot prevail over them, for Abraham was delivered from its power; the sword will fail, for Isaac was delivered from its edge, and a ram killed in his stead ; they cannot be ex- terminated by rigorous labor, for Jacob worked day and night for Laban, and yet prospered. Listen, oh king, to the advice which I shall give thee. By this means only wilt thou be able to prevail over them. Command that all the male children born to these Hebrews be cast into, the river, for none of their ancestors ever escaped from the death in the water."* This advice pleased Pharaoh, and his princes and the king did according to the words of Bi'Jam. A procla- mation was issued, and Pharaoh sent his officers through the land of Goshen where the Israelites dwelt, to see that all the male children were cast into the river on their birth, while the female infants were kept alive. * The threo counsellors of Pharaoh were dealt with by God according to their merits. Jithro (Re'uel), who desired to release and relieve them, was baved Irom destruction, and converted to Judaism; Job received the pun- ishment mentioned in the book to which his nnrne is given ; and " Bi'lam, the son of Beor, they killed him with the sword '' (Num. 31 : 8). 10 146 SELECTIONS FROM THE TALMUD. It came to pass about this time that Miriam, the daughter of Amram,*the sister of Aaron, prophesied and said, ''A second son will be born to my father and mother, and he will deliver the Israelites from the Egyptian power." A second son was born to them according to her words, and when his mother saw he was a goodly child of handsome appearance, she hid him for three months in her inner chamber. Now in those days strict search was made in the houses of the Hebrews for male infants, and many means were used to ascertain the places where their parents concealed them. Egyptian women carried in- fants into the houses in Goshen, and making these babies cry, the hidden infants would cry also, thus dis- covering their place of hiding. The women would then report to Pharaoh, and officers would seize the babe which parents had vainly endeavored to save. And it came to pass after Yochebed had succeeded in keeping her son concealed for three months, the fact of his birth became known in the above manner, and his mother taking the child quickly, before the officers arrived, hid him in a box made of bulrushes, and con- cealed the same carefully in the flax which grew along the Nile. She sent Miriam, her daughter, to watch the box from a distance, and observe what might happen to it. And the day was hot and sultry, and the air oppres- sive, and many of the people came to find relief from the exhausting heat in the cooling waters of the Nile. Bathia, the daughter of Pharaoh, came with this pur- pose attended by lier maidens, and entering the water she chanced to see the box of bulrushes, and pitying the infant she rescued him from death. MOSES AND HIS MISSION. 147 Many were the names given to the infant thus mi- raculously preserved. Bathia called him "ilfoses," say- ing, "I have clrmcn him from out the water;" his father called him ''Heher,'^ because he was reunited to his family; his mother called him " Yekuthiel,'^ "for," said she, "I hoped in G