The Children's Bible
by Henry A. Sherman · English · Gutenberg #23580 · 759,201 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The Children's Bible
Author: Henry A. Sherman
Charles Foster Kent
Release date: November 21, 2007 [eBook #23580]
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23580
Credits: Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Emmy and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHILDREN'S BIBLE ***
Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Emmy and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
THE CHILDREN'S BIBLE
SELECTIONS FROM THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
TRANSLATED AND ARRANGED
BY
HENRY A. SHERMAN
HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS LITERATURE OF CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
AND
CHARLES FOSTER KENT
WOOLSEY PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE IN YALE UNIVERSITY
[Illustration: (C) Curtis Publishing Company
"Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not:
for of such is the kingdom of God"]
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
MCMXXXVI
COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
All rights reserved, including that of translation
into foreign languages, including Scandinavian
Printed in the United States of America
PREFACE
"The Children's Bible" provides, in simple English, a translation of
selections from both the Old and the New Testament. These selections
have been made as a result of more than twenty-five years of observation
and study. The text is that of the Bible itself, but in the language of
the child, so that it may easily be read to the younger children and by
those who are older. It is not in words of one syllable, for while the
child is reading the Bible he should gradually learn the meaning of new
words and idioms.
The Bible contains the foundations on which the religious life of the
child must be built. The immortal stories and songs of the Old and New
Testaments are his richest inheritance from the past. To give him this
heritage in language and form that he can understand and enjoy is the
duty and privilege of his parents and teachers.
It is hoped that "The Children's Bible" will meet the need and the
demand, which parents and educators alike have long felt and often
expressed, for a simple translation of selections from the Bible most
suited to the needs and the interests of the child. It is also believed
that after the child has learned to appreciate and love these stories
and songs, he will be eager and able to read the Bible as a whole with
genuine interest and understanding.
CONTENTS
THE OLD TESTAMENT
PAGE
THE STORY OF CREATION 3
GOD'S GOOD GIFTS TO MAN 4
THE FIRST DISOBEDIENCE 5
CAIN AND HIS BROTHER ABEL 6
NOAH AND THE GREAT FLOOD 7
THE STORY OF THE TOWER OF BABEL 9
ABRAHAM THE FRIEND OF GOD AND MAN 10
LOT'S ESCAPE FROM A WICKED CITY 11
GOD'S CARE FOR THE BOY ISHMAEL 14
ABRAHAM'S LOYALTY TO GOD 14
HOW REBEKAH BECAME THE WIFE OF ISAAC 15
HOW JACOB DECEIVED HIS FATHER 19
JACOB'S DREAM 21
THE DECEIVER DECEIVED 22
MEETING A BROTHER WHO HAD BEEN WRONGED 24
JOSEPH SOLD AS A SLAVE BY HIS BROTHERS 26
JOSEPH'S EAGERNESS TO HELP OTHERS 27
A PRISONER WHO BECAME A MIGHTY RULER 29
THE TESTING OF JOSEPH'S BROTHERS 32
JOSEPH'S FORGIVENESS OF HIS BROTHERS 36
JOSEPH'S LOYALTY TO HIS FAMILY 38
THE BOYHOOD AND TRAINING OF MOSES 40
THE VOICE FROM THE BUSH 42
PHARAOH THE STUBBORN RULER 44
THE COST OF BEING CRUEL AND STUBBORN 45
THE ESCAPE FROM EGYPT 49
GOD'S COMMANDS TO THE PEOPLE 52
OUR DUTIES TO GOD AND MAN 54
THE REPORT OF THE HEBREW SPIES 55
THE LAST WORDS OF MOSES 56
CROSSING THE RIVER JORDAN 57
THE CAPTURE OF JERICHO AND AI 60
WOMEN WHO SAVED A NATION 62
GIDEON'S BRAVE BAND 64
JEPHTHAH'S FOOLISH PROMISE 67
SAMSON WHO DID TO OTHERS AS THEY DID TO HIM 69
A STRONG MAN WHO LOST HIS STRENGTH 71
THE DEVOTION OF RUTH 74
SAMUEL THE BOY PROPHET 78
THE ARK AMONG THE PHILISTINES 81
HOW SAMUEL FOUND A LEADER 84
JONATHAN'S BRAVE DEED 87
DAVID'S VICTORY OVER THE GIANT 90
SAUL'S MEAN JEALOUSY 93
JONATHAN'S LOVE FOR DAVID 94
THE COST OF A LIE 97
A SOLDIER WHO SPARED HIS ENEMY 98
ABIGAIL'S SENSIBLE ADVICE 101
MAKING THE BEST OF TROUBLE 103
THE DEATH OF TWO BRAVE WARRIORS 106
A SHEPHERD BOY WHO WAS CALLED TO LEAD A NATION 109
JERUSALEM MADE THE CAPITAL CITY 111
DAVID'S KINDNESS TO JONATHAN'S SON 112
A RICH MAN WHO WAS A THIEF 113
ABSALOM THE UNGRATEFUL SON 115
A BROKEN-HEARTED FATHER 119
HOW SOLOMON BECAME THE RULER OF ISRAEL 120
A YOUNG MAN'S WISE CHOICE 123
BUILDING A GREAT TEMPLE 124
A RULER WHO WRONGED HIS PEOPLE 125
REHOBOAM'S GREAT MISTAKE 127
ELIJAH AND THE WIDOW'S SON 128
THE PROPHET OF FIRE 130
GOD'S LOW WHISPER 132
AHAB THE THIEF 134
MICAIAH'S COURAGE IN TELLING THE TRUTH 135
THE MANTLE OF ELIJAH 137
ELISHA HEALING THE SICK BOY 138
A SLAVE GIRL WHO HELPED HER MASTER 139
ELISHA'S WAY OF TREATING ENEMIES 141
THE END OF AHAB'S SELFISH FAMILY 144
THE BOY JOASH ON THE THRONE OF JUDAH 146
A YOUNG MAN WHO SAID, "SEND ME" 147
JEREMIAH'S CALL TO DO A HARD TASK 148
THE YOUNG JOSIAH AND THE BOOK OF THE LAW 149
THE WRITING OF AN ANCIENT BOOK 151
A PROPHET WHO SAVED A GREAT CITY 153
JEREMIAH'S COURAGE IN DANGER 155
THE SAD FATE OF A GUILTY NATION 156
THE COURAGE OF FOUR CAPTIVES 158
A KING'S STRANGE DREAM 159
THE TEST BY FIRE 162
THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL 164
DANIEL IN THE LIONS' DEN 166
QUEEN ESTHER'S LOVE FOR HER PEOPLE 167
REBUILDING THE TEMPLE 174
NEHEMIAH'S ANSWER TO A CALL FOR HELP 175
OVERCOMING GREAT DIFFICULTIES 177
A BRAVE KNIGHT 179
JONAH THE NARROW-MINDED PATRIOT 180
THE STORY OF JOB 182
THE KING OF GLORY 190
GOD THE LOVING CREATOR 191
GOD THE LOVING FATHER 193
GOD FROM WHOM ALL GOOD THINGS COME 194
GOD'S GOODNESS AND MERCY 194
GOD THE ALL-SEEING 195
GOD WHO ALWAYS WATCHES OVER HIS PEOPLE 197
GOD WHO PROTECTS FROM ALL DANGER 197
GOD'S PROTECTION OF THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM 199
GOD'S LOVING CARE 200
TRUSTING IN GOD'S CARE 201
A PRAYER OF TRUST 201
SAFETY IN GOD'S CARE 202
GOD OUR REFUGE 203
THE JOY OF WORSHIPPING GOD 204
WHAT GOD ASKS OF THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM 205
A CALL TO PRAISE GOD 206
THE UNITED SONG OF PRAISE 206
MAN'S PLACE IN GOD'S WORLD 208
THE REWARD OF DOING RIGHT 208
A PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS 209
THE REWARDS OF LISTENING TO THE ADVICE OF THE WISE 211
WHAT GOD LIKES AND DISLIKES 212
GOD'S CARE FOR THOSE WHO TRY TO DO RIGHT 213
THE WAY TO BE WELL AND HAPPY 214
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING WILLING TO LEARN 214
HOW TO HONOR YOUR PARENTS 215
THE TROUBLES OF THOSE WHO ARE LAZY 216
THINGS THAT ARE BETTER THAN RICHES 216
RIGHT EATING AND DRINKING 217
THE RIGHT USE OF THE TONGUE 218
THE CONTROL OF THE TEMPER 218
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE MODEST 219
BEING GENEROUS AND LOVING 219
THE NEW TESTAMENT
JESUS IS BORN AT BETHLEHEM 223
THE WISE MEN BRING GIFTS TO THE YOUNG CHILD 224
THE BOY JESUS ASKS QUESTIONS 225
JOHN THE BAPTIST TELLS OF JESUS' WORK 225
JESUS DECIDES HOW HE WILL DO HIS WORK 226
JESUS WINS DEVOTED FRIENDS 227
THE WEDDING AT CANA 228
THE HEALING OF THE TEN LEPERS 229
HEALING THE MAN AT THE POOL 229
JESUS TALKS WITH A SAMARITAN WOMAN 230
GIVING LIFE TO A WIDOW'S SON 231
JESUS HEALS THE SICK 232
JESUS CURES A MAN WHO CANNOT WALK 233
JESUS MAKES EVEN WRONG-DOERS HIS FRIENDS 233
JESUS FINDS JOY IN ALL HIS WORK 234
JESUS CALMS THE STORM 235
JESUS HEALS A LITTLE GIRL 236
JESUS VISITS HIS OLD HOME 237
JESUS CALLS TOGETHER HIS FRIENDS AND HELPERS 238
WHAT JESUS ASKS OF HIS FRIENDS AND HELPERS 238
THE WAY TO LEARN FROM JESUS 239
THE REWARDS FOR FOLLOWING JESUS' TEACHINGS 241
GOD'S LOVE EVEN FOR SINNERS 242
GOD'S READINESS TO ANSWER PRAYER 243
HOW TO PRAY 244
WHY WE SHOULD TRUST GOD 245
THE KINGDOM OF GOD 245
THE TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS 247
THE REWARDS OF MODESTY AND UNSELFISHNESS 247
HOW TO USE MONEY 248
DIFFERENT WAYS OF USING TALENTS 249
THE GOOD SAMARITAN 250
THE WAY TO TREAT THOSE WHO WRONG US 250
THE GOLDEN RULE 251
THE PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY HAPPY 252
JESUS SENDS OUT THE FIRST MISSIONARIES 252
JESUS PRAISES JOHN THE BAPTIST 253
JESUS FEEDS THE HUNGRY 254
JESUS TELLS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CLEAN 256
JESUS IS KIND TO A STRANGER 256
JESUS MAKES AN HEROIC CHOICE 257
JESUS IS GLORIFIED 258
JESUS TELLS HOW ONE MAY BECOME GREAT 258
JESUS MAKES THE WICKED ZACCHEUS HIS FRIEND 259
JESUS IS GLADLY WELCOMED BY THE PEOPLE 259
JESUS FIGHTS WRONG IN THE TEMPLE 260
JESUS CONDEMNS THOSE WHO PRETEND TO BE GOOD 262
JESUS WARNS HIS DISCIPLES 263
JESUS CURES A BLIND MAN 264
JESUS TELLS WHAT HE CAME TO DO 265
JESUS BRINGS LAZARUS BACK TO LIFE 266
JESUS PRAISES A WOMAN WHO GAVE HER BEST 268
JESUS EATS THE LAST SUPPER WITH HIS DISCIPLES 268
JESUS ENCOURAGES HIS FRIENDS AND HELPERS 269
JESUS IS SEIZED BY THE MOB 271
JESUS IN THE HANDS OF HIS ENEMIES 272
JESUS IS CRUCIFIED BY HIS ENEMIES 274
JESUS CONQUERS DEATH 276
JESUS WALKS AND TALKS WITH TWO OF HIS DISCIPLES 277
JESUS GIVES HIS LAST COMMAND TO HIS HELPERS 278
THE WONDERS OF THE DAY OF PENTECOST 280
THE HEALING OF THE LAME MAN AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE 281
THE GENEROSITY OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS 283
STEPHEN THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR 284
PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN 286
PETER AND THE ROMAN OFFICER 287
PETER'S ESCAPE FROM PRISON 289
PAUL'S ACCOUNT OF WHAT HE SAW AND HEARD ON HIS WAY TO DAMASCUS 290
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT ANTIOCH 291
PAUL AND BARNABAS IN FOREIGN LANDS 292
WHY PAUL WENT TO MACEDONIA 295
PAUL AND SILAS IN MACEDONIA 296
PAUL'S GREAT SPEECH AT ATHENS 298
PAUL WRITES TO HIS FRIENDS AT THESSALONICA 299
PAUL'S WORK AT CORINTH 301
PAUL WRITES TO HIS FRIENDS IN CORINTH 301
THE NEW LIFE AFTER DEATH 304
WAYS OF SHOWING LOVE 305
PAUL'S TRIALS AND VICTORIES AT EPHESUS 305
PAUL WRITES TO THE CHRISTIANS AT ROME 307
PAUL'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 308
PAUL'S NARROW ESCAPE FROM DEATH 310
A PRISONER WHO PREACHED TO HIS JUDGES 313
PAUL'S SHIPWRECK 315
THE END OF PAUL'S LONG JOURNEY 318
PAUL'S LAST WORDS TO HIS FRIENDS 319
THE MEANING OF FAITH 321
THE IMPORTANCE OF DOING WHAT IS RIGHT 322
THE LOVE THAT MAKES MEN BROTHERS 323
THE GLORY AND HONOR THAT JESUS HAS WON 324
THE REWARD OF THE FAITHFUL 326
THE NEW HEAVEN ON EARTH 327
ILLUSTRATIONS
IN COLOR
"The Lord Is My Shepherd" Painted by W. L. Taylor _Cover_
"Suffer the Little Children to
Come Unto Me" Painted by W. L. Taylor _Title page_
FACING PAGE
Hagar and Ishmael in the
Wilderness Painted by W. L. Taylor 14
Rebekah Comes to Isaac Painted by W. L. Taylor 18
Saul and David Painted by W. L. Taylor 90
The Parting of Elijah and Elisha Painted by W. L. Taylor 138
The Prophet Isaiah Painted by W. L. Taylor 148
"Lo, Children Are a Heritage of
the Lord" Painted by W. L. Taylor 194
"I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes Unto
the Hills" Painted by W. L. Taylor 198
The Nativity Painted by W. L. Taylor 223
The Three Wise Men Painted by W. L. Taylor 224
"O Little Town of Bethlehem" Painted by W. L. Taylor 226
Seeking the Lost Sheep Painted by Herbert Moore 242
The Prodigal Son Painted by Herbert Moore 244
The Good Samaritan Painted by Herbert Moore 250
Among the Lowly Painted by L. L'hermitte 256
IN DUOTONE
FACING PAGE
Building the Tower of Babel Painted by J. James Tissot 10
The Testing of Abraham Painted by Fritz von Uhde 16
Joseph Converses with Judah,
His Brother Painted by J. James Tissot 36
The Finding of Moses Painted by Juliaan de Vriendt 42
Ruth Painted by Henry Ryland 76
Daniel's Answer to the King Painted by Briton Riviere 166
Esther Denouncing Haman Painted by Ernest Normand 174
Christ and the Fishermen Painted by E. Zimmerman 228
Raising the Daughter of Jairus Painted by Leon Gerome 236
Christ with Mary and Martha Painted by H. Siemiradzki 238
The Sower Painted by Herbert Moore 240
Christ on the Hilltop Painted by C. A. Slade 252
Christ in the Temple Painted by C. A. Slade 260
The Last Supper 268
The Walk to Emmaus Painted by Eugene Girardet 278
St. Paul Preaching at Athens Painted by Raphael 298
THE OLD TESTAMENT
THE CHILDREN'S BIBLE
THE STORY OF CREATION
In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth, and while the earth
was still unformed, God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
And God saw that the light was good. Then God separated the light from
the darkness. And God called the light Day and the darkness Night. And
there was an evening and a morning, making the first day.
And God said, "Let there be a sky and let it divide the waters that are
below from the waters that are above the sky." And it was done. And God
called the sky the Heavens. And there was an evening and a morning,
making the second day.
And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be brought together, and
let the dry land appear." And it was done. And God called the dry land
Earth and the waters that were brought together Seas. And God saw that
it was good.
And God said, "Let plants and trees grow from the earth." And it was
done. And plants and trees grew from the earth, each plant bringing
forth its own kind of seed and each tree its own kind of fruit, and God
saw that it was good. And there was an evening and a morning, making the
third day.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the heavens to separate the night
from the day. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, the days, and the
years. Let them be lights in the heavens to light the earth." And it was
done. So God made the two great lights (the sun and the moon): the
greater to rule the day and the lesser to rule the night. God made the
stars also and placed them in the heavens to throw light upon the earth.
And God saw that it was good. And there was an evening and a morning,
making the fourth day.
And God said, "Let the waters bring forth many living creatures and let
birds fly above the earth and in the sky." And God made large
sea-monsters and all kinds of living creatures with which the waters
abound, and all kinds of birds. And God saw that it was good. And he
blessed them, saying, "Increase and fill the waters in the seas, and let
the birds increase on the earth." And there was an evening and a
morning, making the fifth day.
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures,
cattle and creeping things and wild beasts." And it was done. So God
made all the different kinds of wild beasts, and the cattle, and
everything that crawls upon the ground. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, "Let us make man like ourselves. Let him rule over the
fish in the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the wild beasts and
all the living things that crawl upon the ground." And God made man like
himself, like God he made him. He made them male and female.
And God blessed them, and said to them, "Have children, increase, live
all over the earth, and conquer it; rule over the fish of the sea, the
birds of the sky, and over every living thing that crawls upon the
ground."
And God said, "See, to you I give every plant which grows on all the
earth, and every tree which bears fruit with its own kind of seed. It
shall be food for you. And to every wild beast and to every bird of the
sky and to every thing that crawls on the earth and is alive, I give
every green herb for food." And it was done.
And when God saw everything that he had made, he saw that it was very
good. And there was an evening and a morning, making the sixth day.
And the heavens and the earth were finished and all that there was in
them. And on the seventh day when God had finished the work which he had
done, he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and
made it holy, for in it he rested from all the work which he had done.
GOD'S GOOD GIFTS TO MAN
At the time when Jehovah made earth and heaven, no trees or plants grew
on the earth, for Jehovah had not yet sent the rain; and there was no
man to till the soil; but a mist rose from the earth and watered the
ground.
Then Jehovah made man out of dust taken from the ground and breathed
into him the breath of life; and man became a living being. And Jehovah
planted a garden in Eden, far in the East; and out of the ground he made
grow all kinds of trees that are pleasant to look at and good for food,
also the tree of life and the tree that gives the knowledge of good and
evil.
Then Jehovah took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it
and to care for it. And Jehovah gave the man this command: "You may eat
all you wish from every tree of the garden, except from the tree that
gives the knowledge of good and evil; from this you shall not eat, for
if you eat from it you shall surely die."
Then Jehovah said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make
a companion for him." So out of the ground Jehovah made all the wild
beasts and birds, and brought them to the man to see what he would name
them; and whatever he called each living thing that became its name. But
for the man himself there was found no companion suited to him.
Then Jehovah made the man fall into a deep sleep; and while he slept, he
took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The rib which
he had taken from the man, Jehovah made into a woman and brought her to
the man. Then the man said, "Because she was made from my body, she
shall be called Woman."
THE FIRST DISOBEDIENCE
Now the serpent was more deceitful than any other animal that Jehovah
had made; and it said to the woman, "Has God really said, 'You shall not
eat from any tree of the garden'?" The woman answered, "We may eat of
the fruit of all the trees of the garden except the fruit of the tree
which is in the middle of the garden, for God has said, 'You shall not
eat from it, nor shall you touch it; for if you do, you shall die.'"
Then the serpent said to the woman, "You shall not surely die; for God
knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you
will know what is good and what is evil."
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, beautiful to look at
and that it would make her wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it.
Then she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, so that they knew that they
were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together and made girdles for
themselves. When they heard the sound of the footsteps of Jehovah, as he
was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, the man and his wife
hid from him among the trees of the garden.
And Jehovah called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" and he
answered, "I heard the sound of thy footsteps in the garden and I was
afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself." Jehovah said, "Who told
you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I
forbade you to eat?" The man answered, "The woman whom thou didst give
to me--she gave me fruit from the tree and I ate." Jehovah said to the
woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman replied, "The
serpent deceived me, and I ate."
Then Jehovah said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you shall
be hated more than all beasts. You shall crawl on your belly and eat
dust all your life, and men and serpents shall always be enemies. They
shall bruise your head, and you shall wound them on the heel."
To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your trouble and your
pain, and you shall be subject to your husband, and he shall rule over
you."
But to the man he said, "Because you have listened to your wife and have
eaten of the tree from which I forbade you to eat, as long as you live
you shall earn a living only by hard work. By hard work shall you raise
food to eat. And you shall die and your body go back to the ground, for
from dust you were made, and to dust you shall return!"
And Jehovah made garments of skins for the man and his wife, and clothed
them. And he sent them out of the garden of Eden to till the ground.
CAIN AND HIS BROTHER ABEL
Adam named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living
beings. She had two sons, Cain and Abel. Abel was a shepherd, but Cain
was a farmer.
One day Cain brought, as an offering to Jehovah, some fruit and grain
that he had grown. Abel, too, brought some of the best animals of his
flock and sacrificed their fat pieces to Jehovah. Jehovah was pleased
with Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering did not please
him.
This made Cain very angry and his face showed it. So Jehovah said to
Cain, "Why are you angry and why do you scowl? If you do what is right
and good, will not your offering be accepted? But if you do wrong, sin
crouches like a wild beast at the door and the desire to sin will
overcome you; but you should master it."
Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go into the field." And while
they were in the field, Cain struck his brother Abel and killed him.
When Jehovah said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" Cain answered,
"I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" Jehovah said, "What have you
done? Hark! your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. Even
now you are condemned by the very ground that has opened to receive your
brother's blood from your hand. Whenever you till the ground, it shall
no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a tramp and a wanderer
on the earth."
Then Cain said to Jehovah, "My punishment is more than I can bear. See,
thou hast driven me out to-day from this land, and I shall no longer be
able to worship thee; I shall become a tramp and a wanderer on the
earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."
But Jehovah said to him, "If any one kills you, he shall be punished
sevenfold." So Jehovah placed a mark on Cain, to keep any one who found
him from killing him. And Cain went out from Jehovah's presence and
lived as a wanderer, away from Eden.
NOAH AND THE GREAT FLOOD
When Jehovah saw that men were growing more wicked in the world and that
their thoughts were always evil, he was greatly grieved and regretted
that he had made man. Therefore, Jehovah said, "I will completely
destroy all living beings from off the earth, for I regret that I have
made them."
But Noah had won Jehovah's favor. So Jehovah said to Noah, "I have
decided to put an end to all living beings, for the earth is filled with
their wicked acts. I am going to destroy them from the earth. Make
yourself an ark of cypress wood. Build rooms in the ark, and cover it
within and without with pitch. This is how you shall build it: the ark
shall be five hundred feet long, eighty feet wide, and fifty feet high.
Make a roof for it and place the door on the side. Build it with lower,
second, and third stories. For I am about to bring floods of water upon
the earth to destroy every living creature in which is the breath of
life. Every creature that is on the earth shall die."
Then Jehovah said to Noah, "Enter with all your household into the ark,
for I see that of all the people who are now alive you alone are
upright. Of all the beasts that are fit for food and sacrifice you shall
take with you seven, the male and the female; but of the beasts that are
not fit for food and sacrifice two, the male and the female; and of the
wild birds that are fit for food and sacrifice seven, to keep each kind
alive on all the earth. After seven days I will send rain on the earth
for forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy every living thing
that I have made."
Then Noah did all that Jehovah commanded him. When the waters of the
flood came upon the earth, he, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives,
together with the beasts that were fit for food and sacrifice and the
beasts that were not fit, and the birds, and everything that creeps upon
the ground, entered the ark because of the waters of the flood.
The rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and Jehovah
shut Noah in the ark. And the waters rose higher and higher and raised
up the ark, and it was lifted high above the earth. All creatures living
on the land died. Noah only was left and they who were with him in the
ark.
Then God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the animals that
were with him in the ark. And God caused a wind to blow over the earth,
and the flood went down, the rain from heaven ceased, and the waters
withdrew more and more from the land.
After forty days Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven;
and it kept going to and fro until the waters were dried up on the
earth. He also sent out a dove to see if the waters had gone from the
surface of the earth. But the dove found no rest for her foot, and so
returned to him to the ark, for the waters covered the whole earth.
Therefore, Noah reached out his hand and took her and brought her back
into the ark.
Then he waited seven days longer and again sent out the dove from the
ark. And the dove came in to him at dusk; and in her mouth was a freshly
plucked olive-leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had gone from the
earth. And he waited seven days more and again sent out the dove, but it
did not return to him.
So Noah took off the covering of the ark and looked and saw that the
surface of the ground was dry. Then he, with his sons, his wife, and his
sons' wives, went out of the ark.
And Noah built an altar to Jehovah and took one of every beast and bird
that was fit for sacrifice and offered burnt-offerings on the altar. And
Jehovah said to himself, "I will never again condemn the ground because
of man, nor will I again destroy every living creature, as I have done.
While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and
winter, day and night, shall not cease."
And God said, "This is the sign of the solemn agreement that I make for
all time between me and you and every living creature that is with you:
I have placed my rainbow in the cloud and it shall be the sign of the
solemn agreement between me and the people who live on the earth.
Whenever I bring a cloud over the earth and the rainbow is seen in the
cloud, I will remember the agreement which is between me and you and
every living creature; and the waters shall never again become a flood
to destroy them."
THE STORY OF THE TOWER OF BABEL
All the people of the earth spoke one language; and as they travelled
westward, they found a broad valley in the land of Babylonia, and made
their home there.
Then they said one to another, "Come, let us make bricks and thoroughly
bake them." So they had bricks for stone and asphalt for mortar. And
they said, "Come, let us build us a city, and a tower whose top will
touch the heavens, and thus make a landmark, that we may not be
scattered over all the earth."
But when Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower men had built,
he said, "See, they are one people and all have one language. This is
but the beginning, and now nothing which they plan to do will seem too
difficult for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language,
that they may not understand one another."
So Jehovah scattered them from there over all the earth; and they
stopped building the city. Therefore they named it Babel, which means
Confusion, for there Jehovah confused the language of all the people on
the earth and scattered them over the whole world.
ABRAHAM, THE FRIEND OF GOD AND MAN
The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Terah, a descendant of Shem, was the father of Abraham, Nahor and Haran;
and Haran was the father of Lot.
Jehovah said to Abraham, "Go from your country, your relatives, and your
father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you
a great nation; and I will surely bless you and make your name famous,
so that you shall be a blessing. And all the families of the earth shall
ask for themselves a blessing like your own."
So Abraham set out, as Jehovah had commanded him; and Lot went with him.
Abraham was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took Sarah his
wife and Lot his brother's son and everything that they had, and started
for the land of Canaan.
Abraham passed through the land to a place called Shechem, to the oak of
Moreh. There Jehovah appeared to Abraham and said, "To your children
will I give this land." There Abraham built an altar to Jehovah who had
appeared to him. From there he removed to the hill near Bethel and
pitched his tent with Bethel on one side and Ai on the other, and there
too he built an altar to Jehovah and prayed to him.
Now Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold; Lot also,
who went with Abraham, had so many flocks and herds and tents that the
land was not rich enough to support them both. So when there was a
quarrel between Lot's herdsmen and Abraham's herdsmen, Abraham said to
Lot, "I beg of you, let there be no quarrel between me and you, nor
between my herdsmen and yours, for we are relatives. Is not the whole
land before you? I beg of you, separate yourself from me. If you go to
the left, then I will go to the right; or if you go to the right, then I
will go to the left."
[Illustration: _Building the Tower of Babel_
Painted by J. James Tissot]
So Lot looked about and saw that all the plain of the Jordan, as far as
Zoar, was well watered everywhere, like a garden of Jehovah. So Lot
chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and lived in the
cities of the plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. But the men of
Sodom were very wicked and sinned against Jehovah.
Jehovah said to Abraham, after Lot had gone away from him, "Lift up your
eyes and look from the place where you are northward, southward,
eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you
and to your children forever. I will make them as many as the dust of
the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your
children may also be counted. Rise, walk through the length and breadth
of the land, for I will give it to you."
Then Abraham moved his tent and lived in the oak grove of Mamre, which
is in Hebron, and built there an altar to Jehovah.
Jehovah also appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he was sitting
at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day; and, as he looked
up, three men stood there before him. As soon as he saw them, he ran
from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed to the ground and
said, "Sirs, if you are willing to do me a favor, do not, I beg of you,
pass by your servant. Since you have come to your servant, let a little
water be brought, that you may wash your feet, and lie down under the
tree. And let me bring some food, that you may refresh yourselves;
afterward you may go on your way." They replied, "Do as you have said."
So Abraham hastened to Sarah's tent and said, "Make ready quickly four
measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes." Abraham also ran to
the herd, and took a calf that was tender and good, and gave it to the
servant, and he prepared it quickly. Then Abraham took curd and milk,
with the calf which he had prepared, and served them; and he waited on
them under the tree, while they ate.
Then they said to him, "Where is your wife?" He said, "There, within the
tent." One of them said, "I will surely return to you about nine months
from now, and then, Sarah your wife shall have a son."
LOT'S ESCAPE FROM A WICKED CITY
And Abraham went along with them to start them on their way. Jehovah
said, "The complaint has come that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah have
committed great and terrible sins. I will go down and see whether they
have done exactly as the complaint comes to me; and if they have not, I
will know."
Then the men turned from there and looked off in the direction of Sodom.
Then Abraham drew near to Jehovah and said, "Wilt thou sweep away the
righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are within the city fifty
people who are righteous. Wilt thou sweep away and not spare the place
for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from thee to do this:
to slay the righteous with the wicked! And that the righteous should be
treated as the wicked, far be it from thee! Shall not the Judge of all
the earth do what is just?" Jehovah said, "If I find in the city of
Sodom fifty who are righteous, I will spare the whole place for their
sake." Abraham answered, "I have dared to speak to Jehovah, even though
I am but dust and ashes. Suppose there be five lacking of the fifty
righteous. Wilt thou sweep away all the city for lack of five?" Jehovah
said, "I will not sweep it away, if I find forty-five there."
Then Abraham spoke to him again, and said, "Suppose forty are found
there?" He replied, "For the sake of forty I will not do it." Then
Abraham said, "Oh, let not Jehovah be angry, but let me speak. Suppose
thirty are found there?" He answered, "I will not do it, if I find
thirty there." Then Abraham said, "Thou seest that I have dared to speak
to Jehovah. Suppose twenty are found there?" He replied, "For the sake
of twenty I will not destroy it." Then Abraham said, "Oh, let not
Jehovah be angry, but let me speak just once more. Suppose ten are found
there?" And he said, "For the sake of the ten I will not destroy it."
Then Jehovah went his way, and Abraham returned home.
Two angels in human form came to Sodom in the evening, as Lot was
sitting at the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose up to meet
them, and he bowed with his face to the earth and said, "Sirs, turn
aside, I beg of you, into your servant's house and spend the night and
wash your feet; then you can rise up early and go on your way." They
said, "No, we will spend the night in the street." But he urged them so
strongly that they went with him and entered his house. And he made a
feast for them and baked bread made without yeast, and they ate.
But before they had lain down, the people of Sodom, both young and old,
all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called
out to Lot, "Where are the men who came in to you to-night? Bring them
out to us that we may do to them what we desire."
Then Lot went out to them at the entrance of his house, but he shut the
door after him. And he said, "I beg of you, my friends, do not do what
is wrong. Do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shadow
of my roof." But they replied, "Stand back, or we will treat you worse
than them." And they pressed hard against Lot and advanced to break the
door. But the men reached out and drew Lot to them into the house and
shut the door. Then they smote the men who were at the door of the
house, both small and great, with blindness, so that they grew tired of
searching for the door.
Then the men said to Lot, "Have you any one else here? Bring your
sons-in-law, your sons, and daughters, and whoever you have in the city
out of this place, for we are about to destroy it, because great
complaint concerning the people has come to Jehovah and he has sent us
to destroy it." So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, "Up, go out
of this place, for Jehovah will destroy the city." But his sons-in-law
thought he was only jesting.
When the dawn appeared, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Get up, take your
wife and your two daughters that you may not be swept away in the
punishment of the city." When he hesitated, the men took him by the hand
and led him and his wife and his two daughters outside the city, for
Jehovah was merciful to him.
When they had brought them outside, they said, "Run for your life; do
not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the
heights, that you may not be swept away!" But Lot said to them, "Oh,
sirs, not so! See, your servant has found favor with you, and you have
shown great mercy to me in saving my life. I cannot escape to the
heights, lest some evil overtake me, and I die. See now, this village is
near enough to run to, and it is small. Oh, let me escape there, and my
life will be saved." Jehovah said to him, "I have also granted you this
favor, in that I will not destroy the village of which you have spoken.
Make haste, escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there."
The sun had risen when Lot came to Zoar. Then Jehovah caused brimstone
and fire from heaven to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and he destroyed
those cities and all the plain, with all the people who lived in it and
all that grew on the ground. But Lot's wife, who was following him,
looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Early in the morning Abraham rose and went to the place where he had
stood before Jehovah; and as he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and
all the plain, he saw the smoke of the land going up as the smoke of a
smelting-furnace.
GOD'S CARE FOR THE BOY ISHMAEL
Jehovah remembered what he had told Sarah, and he did as he had
promised. So Sarah had a son, and when the child grew up, Abraham made a
great feast on the day that he was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of
Hagar the Egyptian and of Abraham playing with her son Isaac. And she
said to Abraham, "Drive out this slave girl and her son, for the son of
this slave girl shall not be heir with my son Isaac." This request was
very displeasing to Abraham because the boy was his son. But Jehovah
said to Abraham, "Do not be displeased because of the boy and because of
your slave girl. Listen to all that Sarah says to you, for Isaac only
and his children shall bear your name. But I will also make of the son
of the slave girl a great nation, because he is your son."
Then Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of
water and gave it to Hagar; and he put the boy upon her shoulder and
sent her away. So she set out and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.
When the water in the skin was gone, she left the child under one of the
desert shrubs and went a short distance away and sat down opposite him,
for she said, "Let me not see the child die."
While she sat there, the boy began to cry; and Jehovah heard the cry of
the boy, and said, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for Jehovah has
heard the cry of the boy. Rise, lift him up, and hold him fast by the
hand, for I will make him a great nation." And Jehovah opened her eyes
and she saw a well of water. Then she went and filled the skin with
water and gave the boy a drink.
And Jehovah cared for the boy; and when he grew up, he lived in the
wilderness of Paran and became a bowman. And his mother secured a wife
for him from Egypt.
ABRAHAM'S LOYALTY TO GOD
Later Jehovah tested Abraham, saying to him, "Abraham"; and he answered,
"Here am I." Jehovah said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you
love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a
burnt-offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."
[Illustration: (C) _Curtis Publishing Company_
_Hagar and Ishmael in the Wilderness_ Painted by W. L. Taylor]
So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his ass and took two of
his servants with him, and his son Isaac. When he had split the wood for
the burnt-offering, he set out for the place of which God had told him.
On the third day, when Abraham looked up and saw the place in the
distance, he said to his servants, "Stay here with the ass, while I and
the lad go over there. When we have worshipped, we will come back to
you."
Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt-offering and laid it on Isaac,
his son. And he took the fire and the knife, and they both went on
together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!"
and Abraham answered, "Yes, my son." Isaac said, "Here is the fire and
the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" Abraham answered,
"My son, God will himself provide a lamb for a burnt-offering." So the
two went on together.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the
altar there and laid the wood on it and bound Isaac his son and laid him
on the altar upon the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand, and took
the knife to kill his son. But the angel of Jehovah called to him from
heaven, saying, "Abraham, Abraham!" and he answered, "Here am I." And he
said, "Do not put your hand upon the boy, nor do anything to him, for
now I know that you love God, for you have not refused to give your son,
your only son, to him."
Then Abraham looked up, and he saw a ram caught in the thicket by his
horns. So Abraham took the ram and offered him up as a burnt-offering
instead of his son. And he named the place Jehovah-jireh, which means,
"Jehovah will Provide."
The angel of Jehovah again called to Abraham and said, "Jehovah
declares, 'Because you have done this thing and have not kept back your
son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will make your
children as many as the stars of the heavens and as the sand, which is
on the seashore, so that they shall conquer their enemies, and all the
nations of the earth shall ask for themselves a blessing like theirs,
because you have obeyed my command.'"
HOW REBEKAH BECAME THE WIFE OF ISAAC
When Abraham was very old and Jehovah had blessed him in every way,
Abraham said to the eldest of his household servants, who had charge of
all his affairs, "Put your hand under my hip, while I make you promise
by Jehovah, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not let my son
marry one of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but
that you will go to my own country and to my relatives and there get a
wife for my son Isaac." The servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will
not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back
to the land from which you came?" Abraham said to him, "See to it that
you do not take my son back there. Jehovah, the God of heaven, who took
me from my father's house and from my native land and who solemnly
promised me, 'To your children I will give this land,' will send his
angel before you and there you will get a wife for my son. But if the
woman is not willing to come with you, then you will be free from this
promise to me; only never take my son back there." So the servant put
his hand under Abraham's hip and made the promise.
Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and set out with
precious gifts from his master. So he went to the town of Nahor. And he
made the camels kneel down outside the town by the well in the evening,
at the time when women go out to draw water. Then he said, "O Jehovah,
the God of my master Abraham, give me, I pray thee, success to-day, and
show kindness to my master Abraham. Here I am standing by the spring of
water, and the daughters of the men of the town are coming out to draw
water. May that young woman to whom I shall say, 'Please let down your
water-jar that I may drink'; and who answers, 'Drink and I will also
water your camels,' may she be the one thou hast chosen for thy servant
Isaac. By this I shall know that thou hast shown kindness to my master."
Then even before he was through speaking, Rebekah, who was the
grand-daughter of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water-jar
upon her shoulder. She was very beautiful and unmarried. She went down
to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. Then the servant ran to meet
her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar." She
answered, "Drink, sir," and quickly let down her water-jar from her
shoulder upon her hand and gave him a drink.
[Illustration: _The Testing of Abraham_ Painted by Fritz von Uhde]
When she had finished giving him a drink she said, "I will draw water
for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." So she quickly
emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water,
and drew for all his camels. Meanwhile the man was silently gazing at
her in order to find out whether Jehovah had made his journey successful
or not.
As soon as the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring,
five ounces in weight, and put it in her nose, and put on her arms two
golden bracelets weighing five ounces, and said, "Whose daughter are
you? Tell me, I beg of you. Is there room in your father's house for us
to spend the night?" She answered, "I am the grand-daughter of Milcah
and Nahor. We have plenty of straw and feed, and there is a place for
you to spend the night."
Then the man bowed his head and worshipped Jehovah, saying, "Blessed be
Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, who has continued to show his
mercy and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, Jehovah has led
me on the way to the house of my master's relatives."
Then the young woman ran and told these things to her mother's family.
Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban; and Laban ran out to the man at
the spring. And when he saw the bracelets on his sister's hands and the
ring, and when he heard Rebekah say, "This is what the man said to me,"
he went to the man, who was still standing by the camels at the spring,
and said, "Come in, you who are blessed by Jehovah! Why do you stand
outside? For I have cleared the house and have room for the camels." So
he brought the man into the house and took the packs off the camels and
furnished straw and feed for them, and water to wash his feet and the
feet of the men who were with him.
But when food was set before him to eat, he said, "I will not eat until
I have made known my errand." They answered, "Speak." He said, "I am
Abraham's servant; and Jehovah has blessed my master greatly, so that he
has become very rich. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and
gold, servants, and camels and asses. Now Sarah, my master's wife, had a
son when she was old, and my master has given him all that he has. My
master also made me promise, saying, 'Do not let my son marry one of the
daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, but go to my father's
home and to my relatives and there find a wife for my son.'
"When I said to my master, 'What if the woman will not follow me?' he
said to me, 'Jehovah, whom I love and serve, will send his angel with
you and make you successful, and you will find for my son a wife from
among my relatives and my father's family. Then you shall be free from
your promise to me. But if you go to my family and they do not give her
to you, you shall also be free from your promise to me.' So I came
to-day to the spring and said, 'O Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham,
see, I am standing by the spring of water, if thou wilt make the errand
on which I am going successful, then let the young woman who comes to
draw, to whom I say, Please give me a little water from your jar to
drink, and who shall say to me, Drink, and I will also draw for your
camels, let that one be the woman whom Jehovah has chosen for my
master's son.'
"Even before I was through speaking, Rebekah came out with her water-jar
on her shoulder and went down to the spring and drew water. And when I
said to her, 'Please let me drink,' she quickly let down her water-jar
from her shoulder and answered, 'Drink, and I will also water your
camels.' So I drank, and she also watered the camels. Then I asked her,
'Whose daughter are you?' And she said, 'The grand-daughter of Nahor and
Milcah.' So I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms.
And I bowed my head and worshipped and blessed Jehovah the God of my
master Abraham who had led me on the right way to find the daughter of
my master's brother for his son. Tell me whether or not you will deal
kindly and truly with my master, so that I shall know what to do!"
Then Laban and his family answered, "The matter is in the hands of
Jehovah. We cannot say either 'yes' or 'no.' See, Rebekah is before you;
take her and go and let her be the wife of your master's son, as Jehovah
has said."
When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed to the ground before
Jehovah. Then he brought out gold and silver ornaments and clothing and
gave them to Rebekah. He also gave costly gifts to her brother and to
her mother. And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent
the night there.
When they rose in the morning, the servant said, "Send me away to my
master." But Rebekah's brother and mother answered, "Let the young woman
stay with us a month or at least ten days; after that she may go." But
he said to them, "Do not delay me, for Jehovah has given me success.
Send me away that I may go to my master."
[Illustration: (C) _Curtis Publishing Company_
_Rebekah Comes to Isaac_ Painted by W. L. Taylor]
Then they said, "We will call the young woman and ask her." So they
called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She
answered, "I will go." So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her
nurse with Abraham's servant and his men.
They also blessed Rebekah, saying to her, "Our sister! may your children
and their children become thousands and thousands!" Then Rebekah set out
with her maids and, riding upon the camels, they followed the man. So
the servant took Rebekah and went away.
Now Abraham had given all that he had to Isaac and had breathed his
last, dying in a good old age, satisfied with living. In the evening,
when Isaac had gone out in the field to meditate, he looked up and saw
camels coming. Rebekah too looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she
quickly alighted from the camel and said to the servant, "Who is this
man walking in the field to meet us?" When the servant said, "It is my
master," she took her veil and covered her face. Then the servant told
Isaac all that he had done. And Isaac brought Rebekah to the tent of
Sarah his mother, and she became his wife; and he loved her.
HOW JACOB DECEIVED HIS FATHER
Now Isaac prayed to Jehovah for his wife, because she had no children;
and Jehovah heard his prayer, and Rebekah became the mother of twin
boys. They named one Esau and the other Jacob.
As they grew up, Esau became a skilful hunter, a man who lived out in
the fields; but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed about the tents. Isaac
loved Esau, for he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Once when Jacob was preparing a stew, Esau came in from the fields, and
he was very hungry; so he said to Jacob, "Let me swallow some of that
red stew, for I am very hungry." But Jacob said, "Sell me first of all
your right as the eldest." Esau replied, "See, I am nearly dead now! So
of what use is this birthright to me?" Jacob said, "First solemnly
promise to give it to me." So Esau solemnly promised and sold his
birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and stewed lentils, and
when he had had something to eat and drink, he got up and went away. In
this way Esau gave away his birthright.
When Isaac was so old and so nearly blind that he could not see, he
called Esau his oldest son and said to him, "My son." Esau answered,
"Here am I." Then Isaac said, "See, I am old and do not know how soon I
may die. Now, therefore, take your quiver and your bow and go out into
the fields and hunt game for me and prepare for me savory food, such as
I love, and bring it to me that I may eat and that I may bless you
before I die."
Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau
went into the fields to hunt game, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "I
just now heard your father say to your brother Esau, 'Bring me game and
prepare for me savory food that I may eat it and bless you before I
die.' Now, my son, do as I tell you: Go to the flock and bring me from
there two good kids, and I will make of them savory food for your
father, such as he loves. Then take it to him, that he may eat, so that
he may bless you before he dies." But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother,
"You know that my brother Esau is a hairy man, while I am smooth.
Perhaps my father will feel of me; then I shall appear to him as a
deceiver, and I shall bring blame upon me and not a blessing." But his
mother said to him, "Upon me be the blame, my son; only obey me and go,
bring the kids to me." So he went and brought them to his mother, and
his mother made savory food such as his father loved.
Rebekah also took the fine clothes of her older son Esau, which she had
with her in the tent, and put them on her younger son Jacob. Then she
put the skins of the kids upon his hands and upon the smooth part of his
neck, and she placed the savory food and the bread which she had
prepared in his hand, and he went to his father and said, "My father."
Isaac answered, "Here am I; who are you, my son?" Jacob said, "I am Esau
your oldest son. I have done as you commanded me. Sit up and eat of my
game, that you may bless me." Isaac said to his son, "How very quickly
you have found it, my son." He answered, "Yes, because Jehovah your God
gave me success."
Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come here, my son, that I may feel of you to
find out whether you are really my son Esau or not." So Jacob went near
to Isaac his father, and he felt of him and said, "The voice is the
voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau. Are you really my
son Esau?" Jacob answered, "I am." And Isaac did not recognize him, for
his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's. So he blessed him. Then
Isaac said, "Bring the food to me, that I may eat of my son's game and
bless you." So he brought it to him, and he ate. Jacob also brought him
wine, and he drank.
Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near now and kiss me, my son."
As he came near and kissed him, he smelled the smell of his garment, and
blessed him.
As soon as Isaac had given Jacob his blessing, and Jacob was about to
leave his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also had
made savory food and was bringing it to his father. So he said to him,
"Father, rise and eat of your son's game, that you may bless me." But
Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am your
son, your oldest, Esau." Then Isaac trembled and said, "Who then is he
that has hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate plentifully
before you came, and blessed him? Also blessed shall he be!"
When Esau heard the words of his father, he uttered a loud and bitter
cry and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father."
But Isaac said, "Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your
blessing." Esau said, "Is it not because he was named Jacob, which means
Supplanter, that he has supplanted me these two times: he took my
birthright, and now he has taken my blessing!" Then he said, "Have you
kept a blessing for me?" Isaac answered Esau, "See, I have made him your
master and I have given to him all his relatives as servants and grain
and wine as his food. What then can I do for you, my son?" Esau said to
his father, "Is that the only blessing you have, my father?" and Esau
began to weep aloud. Then Isaac his father answered him:
"You shall live far from earth's fertile places,
And away from the dew of heaven.
By your sword you shall live,
And your brother you shall serve."
JACOB'S DREAM
Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing which his father had given him.
And Esau said to himself, "My father will soon die; then I will kill
Jacob, my brother."
When the words of her older son Esau were told to Rebekah, she sent for
her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Your brother, Esau, is going to
kill you. Now therefore, my son, listen to me: run away to my brother
Laban at Haran and stay with him for a time until your brother is no
longer angry and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send
and bring you back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"
Then Jacob set out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. And when he
arrived at a certain place, he passed the night there, because the sun
had set. And he took one of the stones from its place and put it under
his head and lay down to sleep. Then he dreamed and saw a ladder set up
on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and the angels of God were
going up and down on it.
Jehovah also stood beside him and said, "I am Jehovah, the God of
Abraham and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to
you and to your children. See, I am with you, and will keep you wherever
you go and will bring you again to this land; for I will not leave you
until I have done what I have promised you."
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, "Surely Jehovah is in this
place, and I did not know it." And he was filled with awe and said,
"This place is the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."
So Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put
under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil upon the top of
it. And he named that place Bethel, which means House of God. Jacob also
made this promise, "If God will be with me and protect me on this
journey which I am making and give me bread to eat and clothing to put
on, and if I return safe and sound to my father's house, then Jehovah
shall be my God, and this stone which I have set up as a pillar shall be
a house of God. And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give a
tenth to thee."
THE DECEIVER DECEIVED
Then Jacob went on his journey and arrived at the land of the children
of the East. And he looked and saw a well in the field, and there were
three flocks of sheep lying down by it; for from that well they watered
the flocks; but there was a large stone over the well. When all the
flocks were gathered there, they used to roll away the stone and water
the sheep and then put the stone back in its place over the well.
Jacob said to the men, "My friends, from where do you come?" They said,
"We are from Haran." Then he said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of
Nahor?" And they said, "We know him." And he said to them, "Is all well
with him?" And they said, "All is well; indeed, this is Rachel his
daughter coming with the sheep." And he said, "See, the sun is still
high! It is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the
sheep and feed them." But they said, "We cannot until all the flocks are
gathered together, and they roll away the stone from the well; then we
will water the sheep."
While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's
sheep; for she was a shepherdess. When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of
Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went up and rolled
the stone from the well and watered the flock of Laban his mother's
brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. And when Jacob told
Rachel that he was a relative of her father and that he was Rebekah's
son, she ran and told her father.
As soon as Laban heard about Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to meet
him, put his arms around him, kissed him many times, and brought him to
his home. When Jacob told Laban all about these things, Laban said to
him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh." So he remained with him a
whole month.
Then Laban said to Jacob, "Should you serve me for nothing simply
because you are related to me? Tell me what shall be your wages?" Now
Laban had two daughters: the name of the older was Leah, and the name of
the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful.
Jacob loved Rachel, and so he said, "I will serve you seven years for
Rachel your younger daughter." And Laban said, "It is better for me to
give her to you than to give her to any other man. Stay with me." So
Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few
days, because he loved her so.
Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my time is up, and let
me marry her." So Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a
feast. In the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him,
and Jacob received her as his wife.
When in the morning Jacob found it was Leah, he said to Laban, "What is
this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have
you deceived me?" Laban said, "It is not the custom among us to give the
younger in marriage before the older. Remain with this one during the
marriage week, then we will give you the other also for the service
which you shall give me during seven more years." Jacob did so: he
remained with Leah during the marriage week. Then Laban gave him Rachel
his daughter to be his wife, but Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. So
he had to serve Laban seven years more.
MEETING A BROTHER WHO HAD BEEN WRONGED
In time Jacob became very wealthy, and he had large flocks, slaves, and
asses. But he heard Laban's sons say, "Jacob has taken all that was our
father's, and from that which was our father's he has gotten all this
wealth." He also saw that Laban did not act toward him the same as
before. So Jacob rose and put his sons and his wives upon the camels and
drove away all his cattle. He deceived Laban, for he did not tell him
that he was fleeing away. So he fled across the river Euphrates, with
all that he had, and set out on his way toward Mount Gilead.
Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau. And he gave
them this command, "Say to my lord Esau: 'Your servant Jacob declares, I
have lived with Laban and have stayed until now. I have oxen and asses,
flocks and slaves, and I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may
win your favor.'" The messengers returned to Jacob with the report, "We
came to your brother Esau, even as he was coming to meet you with four
hundred men."
Then Jacob was greatly alarmed and worried. So he divided the people
that were with him and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two
parts and said, "If Esau comes to the one and attacks and destroys it,
then the other which is left can escape."
Jacob also prayed, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father
Isaac, deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the
hand of Esau, for I fear that he will come and attack me and kill the
mothers and the children."
Then Jacob took as a present for his brother Esau, two hundred female
goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty
milch camels and their young, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female
asses and ten young asses. These he put, each drove by itself, in the
care of his servants and said to them, "Go on before me and leave a
space between the droves."
He gave those in front this command: "When my brother Esau meets you and
asks you, 'To whom do you belong? and where are you going? and whose are
these before you?' then you shall say, 'To your servant Jacob; it is a
present sent by him to my lord Esau; and Jacob himself is just behind
us.'" Jacob also commanded the second, and the third, and all that
followed the droves, to make the same answer, and to say, "Jacob himself
is just behind us." For he said to himself, "I will please him with the
present that goes before me, and then, when I meet him, perhaps he will
welcome me." So he sent the present over before him; but he himself
spent that night in the camp.
Later that night he rose up and took his two wives, his two maid
servants, and his eleven children, and sent them over the river Jabbok.
Jacob was left alone, and one wrestled with him until daybreak. When he
saw that he did not win against Jacob, he struck the socket of his hip,
and the socket of Jacob's hip was strained, as he wrestled with him.
Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But Jacob replied,
"I will not let thee go unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What
is your name?" He answered, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall be
no longer Jacob, but Israel, which means Struggler with God; for you
have struggled with God and with men and have won." So he blessed him
there. And Jacob called the place Penuel, which means Face of God, for
he said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life has been saved."
When Jacob looked up, he saw Esau coming with four hundred men. And he
put the maid servants and their children in front, Leah and her children
next, and Rachel and her son Joseph in the rear. Then Jacob himself went
in front of them, and he bowed down to the ground seven times, as he
drew near to his brother. Esau ran to meet him, threw his arms about his
neck, and kissed him, and they wept.
When Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, he said, "Who
are these with you?" Jacob answered, "The children whom God has so
kindly given me." Then the maid servants with their children came up and
bowed down to the ground. Leah and her children also came and bowed
down, and afterward Joseph and Rachel came up and bowed down before
Esau.
Esau asked, "What do you mean by all this company which I met?" Jacob
answered, "To win your friendship, my lord." Esau said, "I have enough,
my brother; keep what you have." But Jacob replied, "No, if now I have
won your favor, receive this present from me to show that you are my
friend. Take, I beg of you, the gift that I bring to you, for God has
been generous to me, and I have enough." So he urged Esau until he took
it.
Then Esau said, "Let me at least leave with you some of the people who
are with me." But Jacob replied, "What need is there? Let me only enjoy
your friendship, my Lord." So Esau turned back that day on his way to
Seir.
JOSEPH SOLD AS A SLAVE BY HIS BROTHERS
When Joseph was seventeen years old, he and his brothers were shepherds,
but he made them angry, for he brought a bad report about them to their
father. Now Jacob loved his son Joseph, who was born in his old age; and
he made him a long coat with sleeves. When his brothers saw that their
father loved him more than all his other sons, they hated Joseph and
would not speak to him in a friendly way.
Joseph had a dream which he told to his brothers; and they hated him
still more. This is what he said to them, "I dreamed that, as we were
binding sheaves in the field, my sheaf rose up and remained standing,
while your sheaves came around and bowed down to my sheaf." His brothers
said to him, "Will you really be king over us? Will you indeed rule over
us?" So they hated him still more because of his dreams and his words.
Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers, saying, "I have
had another dream, and it seemed to me that the sun and the moon and
eleven stars bowed down to me." But when he told it to his father and
his brothers, his father reproved him and said, "What is this dream that
you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come
and bow down to the earth before you?" Therefore his brothers were
jealous of him; but his father remembered the dream.
When his brothers went to pasture his father's flocks in Shechem, Jacob
said to Joseph, "Go, see whether all goes well with your brothers and
with the flock, and bring me back word." So he sent him out, and a
certain man found him, as he was wandering in the field, and the man
asked him, "What are you looking for?" He said, "I am looking for my
brothers; tell me, I beg of you, where they are pasturing the flock."
The man said, "They have gone away, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to
Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
When they saw him in the distance, before he came to them, they planned
together to kill him. And they said one to another, "See, here comes
that great dreamer! Come, let us kill him and throw him into one of the
pits, and we will say, 'A fierce beast has devoured him.' Then we shall
see what will become of his dreams!"
Judah, however, when he heard it, saved Joseph's life by saying, "Let us
not take his life." Reuben also said to them, "Do not shed blood; throw
him into this pit, here in the wilderness; but do not harm him." Reuben
said this to save Joseph from their hands so that he could bring him
back to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they took off
his long coat with sleeves and threw him into the pit. But the pit was
empty, there being no water in it.
Then they sat down to eat and, when they looked up, they saw a band of
Ishmaelites coming from Gilead; and their camels were loaded with
spices, gum, and ladanum on their way to carry it down to Egypt. And
Judah said to his brothers, "What do we gain if we kill our brother and
hide his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let us do
him no harm, for he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." So his
brothers listened to him; and, drawing up Joseph, they sold him for
twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who brought him to Egypt.
Then his brothers took Joseph's long coat, killed a he-goat, dipped the
coat in the blood, and brought it to their father, and said, "We found
this; see whether it is your son's coat or not." He recognized it and
said, "It is my son's coat! A wild beast has devoured him! Joseph surely
is torn in pieces." Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth about his
waist, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and his daughters
tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, saying, "I shall
go down to the grave mourning for my son." Thus Joseph's father mourned
for him.
JOSEPH'S EAGERNESS TO HELP OTHERS
Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an Egyptian, one of
Pharaoh's officers, the captain of the guard, bought him from the
Ishmaelites.
Now Jehovah was with Joseph, so that he prospered; and he was in the
house of his master, the Egyptian. When his master saw that Jehovah was
with him and made everything succeed that he undertook, he trusted him
and made him his own servant. He also made him overseer of his household
and placed all that he had in his care. From the time that he made him
overseer in his house and over all that he had, Jehovah blessed the
Egyptian's household for Joseph's sake, and the blessing of Jehovah was
upon all that he had in the house and in the field. Potiphar left all
that he had in Joseph's charge, and he knew nothing about his affairs
except about the food which he ate. And Joseph was handsome and
attractive.
After these honors had come to Joseph, his master's wife tried to tempt
him to be unfaithful to his trust. But he refused, saying to her, "See,
my master knows nothing about what I do in the house, and he has put all
that he has in my charge. How then can I do this great wrong and sin
against God?" Day after day she tempted Joseph, but he did not listen to
her. One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work and
when none of the men of the household were at home, she caught hold of
his garment and again tried to tempt him, but he left his garment in her
hand and fled out of the house.
She kept his garment by her until his master came home; then she said to
him, "The Hebrew slave whom you have brought to us came to me to insult
me; and when I cried aloud, he left his garment with me and fled."
When Joseph's master heard what his wife said to him, he was very angry;
and he took Joseph and put him into the prison, in the place where the
king's prisoners were kept. So he was left there in prison. But Jehovah
was with Joseph and showed kindness to him and helped him to win the
friendship of the keeper of the prison, so that he placed all the
prisoners in Joseph's charge and made him responsible for whatever they
did there.
After these things the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker
offended their master the king of Egypt, and Pharaoh was so angry with
these two officers that he put them in the same prison where Joseph was.
And the captain of the guard appointed Joseph to wait on them; and they
stayed in prison for some time.
And the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were in the
prison, both had dreams the same night, each with a different meaning.
When Joseph came in to them in the morning, he saw plainly that they
were sad. So he asked Pharaoh's officers, "Why do you look so sad
to-day?" They answered, "We have had a dream, and there is no one who
can tell what it means." Then Joseph said to them, "Is not God the one
who knows what dreams mean? Tell them to me, if you will."
Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph and said to him, "In my
dream I saw a vine before me, and on the vine were three branches, and
the buds put out blossoms, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes.
Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed the
juice into his cup and gave the cup to Pharaoh."
Then Joseph said to him, "This is what it means: the three branches are
three days. Within three days Pharaoh will let you out of prison and
restore you to your office, and you will give Pharaoh's cup into his
hand as you used to do when you were his butler. But when all goes well
with you, remember me, show kindness to me and speak for me to Pharaoh
and bring me out of this prison; for I was unjustly stolen from the land
of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put
me in the dungeon."
When the chief baker saw that the meaning of the butler's dream was
good, he said to Joseph, "I also saw something in my dream: there were
three baskets of white bread on my head, and in the upper basket there
were all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them
out of the basket on my head." Joseph answered, "This is what it means:
the three baskets are three days; within three days Pharaoh will take
off your head and hang you on a tree, and the birds shall eat your
flesh."
Now on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for
all his servants. Then he set free the chief butler and the chief baker.
He restored the chief butler to his office, so that he again gave the
cup to Pharaoh; but the chief baker he hanged, as Joseph had told them.
Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
A PRISONER WHO BECAME A MIGHTY RULER
Two years later Pharaoh had a dream: as he stood by the river Nile, he
saw coming up from the water seven cows, well fed and fat, for they had
been feeding in the river grass. Then seven other cows came up after
them out of the Nile, poorly fed and thin, and they stood by the other
cows on the bank of the Nile. The poorly fed, lean cows ate up the seven
well-fed, fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.
Afterward he slept and had a second dream and saw seven ears, plump and
good, growing up on one stalk. Also seven ears, thin and withered by the
east wind, grew up after them. The thin ears swallowed up the seven
plump, full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and knew that it was only a dream.
In the morning Pharaoh was worried. So he sent for all the magicians and
wise men of Egypt and told them his dreams; but no one could tell him
what they meant.
Then the chief butler said to Pharaoh, "I now remember my sins: Pharaoh
was very angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in
prison in the house of the captain of the guard. We both had dreams the
same night, each with a different meaning. There was also with us a
young Hebrew, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our
dreams and he told each of us what our dreams meant. And our dreams came
true just as he said they would: I was restored to my office, but the
chief baker was hanged."
Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the
dungeon; and he shaved his face, changed his clothes, and came to
Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, and there is no
one who can tell what it means. Now I have heard that when you hear a
dream, you can tell what it means." Joseph answered Pharaoh, "Not I; God
alone can give Pharaoh a true answer."
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream as I stood on the bank of the
Nile, I saw seven cows, fat and well fed, which had been feeding in the
river grass. There came up after them seven more cows, poorly fed and
thin, worse than I ever saw in all the land of Egypt; and the lean and
poorly fed cows ate up the first seven fat cows. When they had eaten
them up, one could not tell that they had eaten them, for they were
still as thin as at the beginning. Then I awoke.
"Again I dreamed and saw seven ears, plump and good, grow up on one
stalk; then seven thin ears, withered with the east wind, sprang up
after them; and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. I have
told the dream to the magicians, but there is no one who can tell me
what it means."
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Pharaoh's two dreams mean the same thing;
God has made known to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good
cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years. It is one
dream. The seven lean and poorly fed cows that came up after them are
seven years, and the seven empty ears withered with the east wind mean
seven years of famine. That is why I said to Pharaoh, 'God has shown to
Pharaoh what he is about to do.' Seven years of great plenty all through
the land of Egypt are coming. They shall be followed by seven years of
famine, so that all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt.
The famine will use up all that the land produces; and plenty will not
be known in the land because of that famine which follows, for it will
be very severe.
"The dream came twice to Pharaoh to show that the famine will surely
come, and that God will soon make the dream come true. Now therefore let
Pharaoh pick out a man who is sensible and wise and place him in charge
of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh act quickly and put overseers over the
land and collect one-fifth of all that grows in the land of Egypt in the
seven years of plenty. Let them gather all the food of these good years
that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and
let them hold it in the cities for food. The food will supply the land
during the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, so
that the people of the land may not die because of the famine."
The plan pleased Pharaoh and all his people; and he said to his people,
"Can we find one like this, a man in whom is the spirit of God?" So
Pharaoh said to Joseph, "As God has shown you all this, there is no one
so sensible and wise as you. You shall be at the head of my country, and
all my people shall be ruled as you command. Only on the throne I will
be above you."
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have placed you over all the land of
Egypt." And Pharaoh took off his signet-ring from his finger and put it
upon Joseph's finger and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a
golden collar about his neck. He also made him ride in the second
chariot which he had; and they cried before him, "Attention!" So he
placed him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh also said to Joseph, "I
am Pharaoh, but without your consent no man shall lift up his hand or
his foot in all the land of Egypt." Pharaoh gave him as a wife Asenath,
the daughter of Potiphera. And Joseph was thirty years old when he was
made the ruler of the land of Egypt.
In the seven years of plenty there were large harvests, and Joseph
gathered up all the food of the seven years of plenty, which were in the
land of Egypt, and stored the food in the cities, putting in each city
the food that grew in the fields about it. Joseph stored up grain as the
sand of the sea, in great quantities, until he no longer kept account,
because it could not be measured.
When the seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt were over, the seven
years of famine began, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all
lands, but all through the land of Egypt there was food, for when all
the land of Egypt was hungry, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, and
Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do what he tells
you." So when the famine was over all the country, Joseph opened all the
storehouses and sold food to the Egyptians: but the famine was severe in
the land of Egypt. The peoples of all lands came to Joseph in Egypt to
buy grain, for everywhere the famine was severe.
THE TESTING OF JOSEPH'S BROTHERS
When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to
his sons, "Why do you stand looking at each other? I have heard that
there is grain for sale in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us,
that we may live and not die." So Joseph's ten brothers went down to buy
grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's own brother,
with his brothers, for he feared that some harm might come to him. So
the sons of Jacob went with others to buy grain, for the famine was in
the land of Canaan.
Now Joseph was the governor over Egypt; it was he who sold grain to all
the people of the land. So Joseph's brothers came and bowed before him
with their faces to the earth. When Joseph saw his brothers, he knew
them; but he acted as a stranger toward them and spoke harshly to them
and said, "Where do you come from?" They said, "From the land of Canaan
to buy food." So Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him.
Joseph also remembered the dreams which he had had about them and said
to them, "You spies! you have come to see how defenseless the land is."
But they said to him, "No, my lord; your servants have come to buy
food. We are all sons of one man; we are honest men; your servants are
not spies." But he again said to them, "No, you have come to see how
defenseless the land is." They answered, "We, your servants, are twelve
brothers, the sons of one father in the land of Canaan. The youngest is
to-day with our father, and one is dead." Joseph said to them, "It is
just as I said to you, 'You are spies.' By this you shall be tested: as
sure as Pharaoh lives you shall not go away unless your youngest brother
comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you
remain in prison, that it may be proved whether you are telling the
truth or not. Or else, as sure as Pharaoh lives, you are indeed spies."
So he put them all into prison for three days.
Then Joseph said to them on the third day, "Do this and live, for I fear
God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay in prison, but
you go, carry grain for the needs of your households and bring your
youngest brother to me. So you will prove that you have told the truth
and you shall not die."
They did as Joseph commanded, but they said to one another, "We are
indeed guilty because of the way we treated our brother, for when we saw
his trouble and when he pleaded with us, we would not listen. That is
why this trouble has come upon us." Reuben added, "Did I not say to you,
'Do not sin against the boy,' but you would not listen?"
They did not know, however, that Joseph understood them, for he had
spoken to them through an interpreter. But he turned away from them and
wept. Then he came back and spoke to them, and taking Simeon from among
them, bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph gave orders to fill their
vessels with grain and to put every man's money back in his sack and to
give them food for the journey; and thus it was done to them. So they
loaded their asses with their grain and went away.
When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told
him all that had happened, saying, "The man who is master in that land
spoke harshly to us and put us in prison as spies. We said to him, 'We
are honest men; we are not spies; we are twelve brothers, sons of the
same father; one is no longer living, and the youngest is to-day with
our father in the land of Canaan.' But the man who is master in that
land said to us, 'This is how I shall know that you are honest men:
leave one of your brothers with me and take the grain to supply the
needs of your households and go. Bring your youngest brother to me; then
I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men; and I
will give your brother back to you and you shall be free to go about in
the land.'"
As they were emptying their sacks, they found that each man's purse with
his money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their
purses and the money, they were afraid and they turned trembling to one
another with the question, "What is this that God has done to us?" Jacob
their father said to them, "You have robbed me of my children: Joseph is
no longer living and Simeon is no longer here, and now you would take
Benjamin also! All this trouble has come to me!" But Reuben said to his
father, "You may put my two sons to death, if I do not bring him to you.
Put him in my charge and I will bring him back to you." Then Jacob said,
"My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he only
is left. If harm should come to him on the way by which you go, then you
will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave."
The famine was severe in the land; and when Joseph's brothers had eaten
up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, their father said to
them, "Go again, buy us a little food." But Judah said to him, "The man
plainly said to us: 'You shall not see me again unless your brother is
with you.' If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy
you food, but if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man
said to us, 'You shall not see me unless your brother is with you.'"
Jacob said, "Why did you bring trouble upon me by telling the man you
had another brother?" They replied, "The man asked all about us and our
family, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?'
So we answered his questions as he asked them. How were we to know that
he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?"
Then Judah said to Jacob, his father, "Send the lad with me, and we will
go at once, that both we and you and our little ones may live and not
die. I will be responsible for him; from me you may demand him. If I do
not bring him to you and set him before you, let me bear the blame
forever; for if we had not waited so long, surely we would by this time
have come back the second time." So their father said to them, "If it
must be so, then do this: take some of the fruits of the land in your
jars and carry a present to the man, a little balsam, a little syrup,
spices, ladanum, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Take twice as much money
with you, carrying back the money that was put in your sacks. Perhaps it
was a mistake. Take also your brother and go again to the man. May God
Almighty grant that the man may be merciful to you and free Benjamin and
your other brother. But if I am robbed of my sons, I am bereaved
indeed!" So the men took the present and twice as much money and
Benjamin, and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house,
"Bring the men into the house, kill animals, and prepare the meal, for
these men will dine with me at noon." The steward did as Joseph ordered,
and brought the men into Joseph's house. But the men were afraid,
because they were brought into Joseph's house, and they said, "We are
being brought in on account of the money that was put in our grain sacks
at our first visit, that he may accuse us and fall upon us and take us
as slaves, together with our asses."
So when they came near to Joseph's steward, they spoke to him at the
door of the house and said, "Oh, my lord, we came down the first time
only to buy food; but when we reached home, we opened our sacks and
found that each man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in
its full weight; and we have brought it back with us. We have brought
down with us more money with which to buy food. We do not know who put
our money into our sacks." He replied, "Peace be to you, fear not; your
God and the God of your father has given you the treasure in your sacks;
your money came to me."
Then he brought Simeon out to them. The steward also took the men to
Joseph's house and gave them water with which to wash their feet, and he
gave their asses fodder. Then they made ready the present for Joseph,
when he should come at noon, for they had heard that they were to eat
there.
When Joseph came into the house, they gave him the present which they
had brought and bowed down low before him. He asked them about their
welfare and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke?
Is he still living?" They replied, "Your servant, our father, is well;
he is still alive." Then they bowed their heads and knelt down before
him.
When Joseph looked up and saw Benjamin his brother, his own mother's
son, he said, "Is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me?"
And he added, "God be gracious to you, my son." Then because of his
longing for his brother he sought a place in which to weep. So he went
into his room and wept there.
Then he bathed his face and came out and said, "Bring on the food." So
they brought food for him by himself and for them by themselves and for
the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians
would not eat with the Hebrews, for to do so was hateful to them.
Joseph's brothers were seated before him, the eldest first, as was his
right as the oldest, and the youngest last, and the men looked at each
other in astonishment. Then Joseph had portions served to them from the
food before him. But Benjamin's portions were five times as much as any
of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.
Then he gave this command to the steward of his household: "Fill the
men's grain sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put my cup,
the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest and the money
too that he paid for his grain." And the steward did as Joseph
commanded.
As soon as the morning light appeared, the men were sent away with their
asses. When they had gone out of the city, but were not yet far away,
Joseph commanded his steward, "Follow after the men and when you
overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you returned evil for good? Why
have you stolen my silver cup, that from which my master drinks? You
have done wrong in so doing.'"
So the steward overtook them and said these words to them. They said to
him, "Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your
servants to do such a thing! Remember that we brought back to you from
the land of Canaan the money which we found in our sacks. Why then
should we steal silver or gold from your master's house? Let that one of
your servants with whom it is found die, and we will be my lord's
slaves." He said, "Let it now be as you have said: he with whom it is
found shall be my slave; but you shall be innocent." Then each one
quickly took down his sack and opened it. The steward searched,
beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was
found in Benjamin's sack. Then they tore their clothes, and every man
loaded his ass and returned to the city.
JOSEPH'S FORGIVENESS OF HIS BROTHERS
[Illustration: _Joseph Converses with Judah, his Brother_
Painted by J. James Tissot]
When Judah and his brothers came back to Joseph's house, Joseph was
still there; and they threw themselves before him on the ground. Joseph
said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know
that a man like me can always tell where things are?" Judah replied,
"What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak or how shall we clear
ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants. See, both we
and he also with whom the cup was found are my lord's slaves." But
Joseph said, "Far be it from me that I should do so! The man with whom
the cup was found shall be my slave; but you yourselves go up in peace
to your father."
Then Judah came close to him and said, "Oh, my lord, let your servant, I
beg of you, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not your anger be
aroused against your servant, for you are even as Pharaoh. My lord asked
his servants, saying, 'Have you a father or a brother?' And we said to
my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a
little one. As his brother is dead, he is the only son of his mother who
is left; and his father loves him.' You said to your servants, 'Bring
him down to me, that I may see him.' But we said to my lord, 'The boy
cannot leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father
would die.' Then you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest
brother comes down with you, you shall not see me again.'
"When we went up to your servant, my father, we told him the words of my
lord; and our father said, 'Go again, buy us a little food.' But we
said, 'We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we
will go; for we cannot see the man again unless our youngest brother is
with us.' Your servant, my father, said to us, 'You know that my wife
had two sons; and one went from me,' and I said, 'Surely he is torn in
pieces; and I have not seen him since. If you take this one also from
me, and harm come to him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow
to the grave.' Now if I return to your servant, my father, and Benjamin
with whose life his heart is bound up is not with us, and he sees that
there is no boy, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray
hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For your
servant became responsible for the boy to my father, when I said, 'If I
do not bring him to you, then I will bear the blame before my father
forever.' Now, therefore, let me, instead of the boy, remain as a slave
to my lord, I beg of you; but let the boy go back with his brothers. For
how can I go back to my father, if the boy is not with me, lest I should
see the sorrow that would come upon my father?"
Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who were standing
by him; so he cried out, "Let every man leave me." So no Egyptian was
present while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. But he wept so
loudly that the Egyptians and Pharaoh's court heard.
And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still
alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were too ashamed
to look him in the face. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to
me, I beg of you." So they came near. He said, "I am Joseph, your
brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Do not be troubled nor angry with
yourselves that you sold me here, for God sent me before you to save
your lives. For the famine has already been two years in the land, and
there are still five years in which there shall be neither ploughing nor
harvest. God sent me before you to save your lives through a great
deliverance and thus give you children on the earth. So now it is not
you who sent me here, but God. He has made me like a father to Pharaoh
and master of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
"Go up quickly to my father and say to him, 'Your son Joseph says: God
has made me master of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. You
shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me with your
children and your grandchildren, with your flocks and your herds and all
that you have, so that you, with your household and all that you have,
may never want. There I will provide for you, for there will be five
more years of famine.' Now you and my brother Benjamin see that it is I
who am speaking to you. Tell my father all about my honor in Egypt and
what you have seen; and you must quickly bring him down here."
Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin
wept upon his neck. He also kissed all his brothers and wept upon them.
After that his brothers talked with him.
JOSEPH'S LOYALTY TO HIS FAMILY
The news that Joseph's brothers had arrived became known in Pharaoh's
palace; and it pleased Pharaoh and his servants greatly. Pharaoh said to
Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: load your beasts, go to the
land of Canaan, and take your father and your families and come to me,
and I will give you the best there is in the land of Egypt, and you
shall eat the best that the land can give. Now you are commanded to do
this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for
your wives, and bring your father and come. Also do not pay any
attention to your household goods, for the best of all there is in the
land of Egypt is yours.'" And the sons of Jacob did as they were
commanded.
So Joseph gave them wagons, as Pharaoh ordered, and what was needed for
the journey. To each of them he gave a change of clothing, but to
Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of
clothing. To his father he sent this gift: ten asses loaded with the
best products of Egypt and ten asses loaded with grain and bread and
provisions for his father on the journey.
So he sent his brothers away, and, as they went, he said to them, "See
that you do not quarrel on the journey!" So they went up out of Egypt
and came into the land of Canaan to Jacob their father, and told him,
"Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!"
Then Jacob's heart stood still, for he could not believe them. But when
they told him all that Joseph had said to them and when he saw the
wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their
father revived, and he said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is still
alive. I will go and see him before I die."
Then Jacob set out on his journey with all that he had. He first went to
Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God
spoke to him in a vision by night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." He answered,
"Here am I." God said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not fear to
go down into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation. I
myself will go down with you into Egypt; I will surely bring you back
again; and Joseph shall close your dying eyes."
When Jacob left Beersheba, his sons carried him and their little ones
and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent. Jacob also sent
Judah before him to Joseph, that he might show him the way to Goshen.
When they came into the land of Goshen, Joseph made ready his chariot,
and went up to Goshen to meet Jacob his father. When he met him, Jacob
fell on his neck and wept there a long time.
Then Jacob said to Joseph, "Now let me die, for I have seen your face
and know that you are still alive." But Joseph said to his brothers and
to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say
to him, 'My brothers and my father's family who were in the land of
Canaan have come to me. Now the men are shepherds, for they have been
keepers of cattle; and they have brought their flocks and cattle and all
that they have.' When Pharaoh calls you, and asks, 'What is your
business?' you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of cattle
from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers.' Say this that
you may live in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is looked down
upon by the Egyptians."
Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh and said, "My father and my
brothers with their sheep and cattle and all that they possess have come
from the land of Canaan; and now they are in the province of Goshen."
And he took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh
said to them, "What is your business?" They answered, "Your servants are
shepherds, both we and our fathers." They also said to Pharaoh, "We have
come to live in your country; because the famine is severe in the land
of Canaan, and there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. Now,
therefore, we beg of you, let your servants stay in the land of Goshen."
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Let them stay in the land of Goshen; and
if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my cattle."
Joseph also brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh;
and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years
have you lived?" Jacob answered, "I have lived a hundred and thirty
years; few and evil have been the years of my life, and they have not
been as many as those that my forefathers lived on earth." After Jacob
had blessed Pharaoh, he went out from Pharaoh's presence. So Joseph gave
his father and his brothers a place to live in and a home in the land of
Goshen, in the best part of the land of Egypt, as Pharaoh had commanded.
Joseph also provided food for his father and his brothers and all his
father's family according to the number of the little children. So the
Israelites lived in Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and there they grew
wealthy and had many children.
THE BOYHOOD AND TRAINING OF MOSES
After the death of Joseph and his brothers, the Israelites increased so
rapidly and became so many and powerful that the land was filled with
them. But a new king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt. He said
to his people, "See, the Israelites are becoming too many and powerful
for us. Come, let us deal wisely with them, for fear that they become so
many that, if war is begun against us, they will join our enemies and
fight against us and leave the land."
So the Egyptians set taskmasters over them to put burdens upon them. And
they built for Pharaoh the store-cities, Pithom and Rameses. But the
more the Egyptians afflicted them, the more numerous they became and the
more they spread everywhere, so that the Egyptians dreaded what they
might do. And the Egyptians were cruel and made slaves of them, making
their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and brick, and by all kinds
of hard work in the field.
Pharaoh also gave this command to all his people, "You shall throw into
the river every son that is born to the Hebrews, but every daughter you
shall save alive."
Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a woman of the same tribe, and
she had a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him
for three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took a
basket made of papyrus reeds, daubed it with mortar and pitch, and put
the child in it. Then she placed it in the reeds by the bank of the
river Nile, while his sister stayed near by to see what would happen to
him.
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, and while her
maids were walking along the river's bank, she saw the basket among the
reeds and sent her waiting-maid to bring it. When she opened it and saw
the child, the boy was crying; and she felt sorry for him and said,
"This is one of the Hebrew children."
Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call one of
the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" Pharaoh's daughter said to
her, "Go." So the maiden went and called the child's mother, and
Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse it for
me, and I will pay you your wages." Then the woman took the child and
nursed it. When the child had grown up, she brought him to Pharaoh's
daughter, and he became her son; and she named him Moses, for she said,
"I drew him out of the water."
One time, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people; and
as he was watching them at their hard labor, he saw an Egyptian beating
a Hebrew, one of his own race. He looked around and seeing that there
was no one in sight, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
On the next day Moses went out, and saw two Hebrews struggling together;
and he said to the one who was in the wrong, "Why do you strike your
fellow workman?" The man replied, "Who made you a ruler and a judge over
us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was
afraid and said, "What I have done is known!" When Pharaoh heard what
had taken place, he tried to put Moses to death; but Moses left the
country and made his home in the land of Midian.
As he was sitting by a well, the seven daughters of the priest of Midian
came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's
flock, but the shepherds came and drove them away. Then Moses stood up
and protected the women and watered their flock.
When they came to their father, he said, "How is it that you have come
back so early to-day?" They replied, "An Egyptian protected us from the
shepherds, and besides, he drew water for us and watered the flock."
Then he said to his daughters, "Where is he? Why have you left the man?
Ask him to eat with us." So Moses made his home with the man; and he
gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. She had a son, and
Moses named him Gershom.
THE VOICE FROM THE BUSH
After a long time the king of Egypt died. Moses was taking care of the
flock of Jethro his wife's father. Once he led the flock to the other
side of the pasture and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the
angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a
thorn bush. As he looked, the bush flamed up without being burned. Moses
said, "I will stop here and see this wonderful sight, why the bush is
not burned up."
[Illustration: _The Finding of Moses_
Painted by Juliaan de Vriendt]
When Jehovah saw that Moses stopped to look, he called to him from the
midst of the bush, "Moses, Moses." Moses answered, "Here am I." Then God
said, "Do not come near; take your shoes off your feet, for the place
where you are standing is holy ground." He also said, "I am the God of
your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob." Then Moses covered his face; for he was afraid to look upon
God.
But Jehovah said, "I have certainly seen the suffering of my people who
are in Egypt and have heard their cry of distress because of their
taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. I have come down to rescue them
from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land into
a land that is beautiful and wide, to a land with plenty of milk and
honey. I have heard the cry of the Israelites and I have seen how they
suffer at the hands of the Egyptians. Come now, I will send you to
Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."
But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and should
bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He answered, "I will surely be with
you; and this shall be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you
have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God upon this
mountain."
Then Moses said to God, "If I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The
God of your forefathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is
his name?' what shall I answer them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHAT I
AM"; and he said, "Declare to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'
Go and gather the leaders of Israel together and say to them, 'Jehovah
the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has
appeared to me and said, I have surely remembered you and have seen what
is being done to you in Egypt, and I have declared that I will bring you
up out of the suffering in Egypt to a land with plenty of milk and
honey.' They will listen to your voice; and you, together with the
leaders of Israel, shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him,
'Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, has appeared to us. Now let us go
three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may offer a sacrifice
to Jehovah our God.' But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you
go unless he is made to do so by a mighty power. Therefore I will use my
power and overwhelm Egypt with all the marvellous deeds that I will do
there. After that he will let you go."
Moses said to Jehovah, "O, Lord I am not able to speak well; for I am
slow to speak and slow in saying what I think." Jehovah said to him,
"Who has given man a mouth? Or who makes one deaf or dumb, or blind or
able to see? Is it not I, Jehovah? Now go, and I will be with you and
teach you what you shall say; and your brother Aaron shall speak for you
to the people."
Then Moses went back to Jethro, his wife's father, and said to him,
"Let me go again to my people in Egypt to see whether they are still
alive." Jethro answered Moses, "Go, with my blessing."
PHARAOH THE STUBBORN RULER
Then Jehovah said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So
he went and met him on the mountain of God and kissed him. And Moses
told Aaron all that Jehovah had sent him to declare. So Moses and Aaron
gathered all the leaders of the Israelites, and Aaron repeated all the
words which Jehovah had spoken to Moses. The people believed; and when
they heard that Jehovah had remembered the Israelites and that he had
seen their suffering, they bowed their heads and worshipped.
Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "Jehovah, the God
of Israel commands, 'Let my people go that they may hold a feast in my
honor in the wilderness.'" But Pharaoh said, "Who is Jehovah that I
should obey his command to let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah, and I
will not let Israel go." They said, "The God of the Hebrews has appeared
to us; let us go three days' journey into the wilderness that we may
offer a sacrifice to Jehovah our God, that he may not attack us with
pestilence or with the sword." But the king of Egypt replied, "Moses and
Aaron, why do you try to turn the people from their work? Go to your
tasks!"
The same day Pharaoh gave this command to the taskmasters who were over
the people: "You shall no longer give the people straw for making bricks
as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. But you shall
demand of them the same number of bricks that they have been making
before; you shall not lessen the number at all, for they are lazy; that
is why they cry out, 'Let us go and offer a sacrifice to our God.' Let
heavier work be laid upon the men, that they may be kept so busy that
they will not pay attention to lying words."
So the taskmasters who were over the people went out and said to them,
"This is Pharaoh's order, 'I will no longer give you straw. Go
yourselves, get straw wherever you can find it; but your work shall not
be made less.'" So the people were scattered over all the land of Egypt
to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters urged them on, saying, "You
must finish your daily task just as when there was straw." The
overseers of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had put over
them, were also beaten and asked, "Why have you not finished to-day as
many bricks as yesterday?"
Then the overseers of the Israelites went to Pharaoh and said, "Why do
you deal in this way with your servants? No straw is given to your
servants, and yet they say to us, 'Make bricks.' See how your servants
are beaten and how you wrong your people." But he said, "You are lazy,
you are lazy; therefore you say, 'Let us go and offer a sacrifice to
Jehovah.' Now go and work, for no straw shall be given you; yet you must
make the same number of bricks."
Then Moses turned again to Jehovah and said, "Jehovah, why hast thou
brought misfortune upon this people? Why is it that thou has sent me?
For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name he has wronged this
people, and thou hast done nothing at all to rescue thy people."
Jehovah answered Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh;
for compelled by a mighty power he shall surely let them go, and
compelled by a mighty power he shall drive them out of his land."
THE COST OF BEING CRUEL AND STUBBORN
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "Pharaoh is stubborn; he will not let the
people go. Go to Pharaoh early in the morning, as he is going out on the
water, and stand by the bank of the Nile to meet him. Say to him,
'Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you with this command:
Let my people go that they may worship me in the wilderness, but so far
you have not listened. Jehovah declares, By this you shall know that I
am Jehovah: See, I will strike the waters which are in the river with
the rod that is in my hand and they shall be changed into blood. The
fish, too, that are in the Nile shall die, and the Nile shall become
foul, so that the Egyptians will hate to drink its water.'"
Then Moses lifted up the staff and in the presence of Pharaoh and his
servants struck the waters that were in the river Nile; and all its
waters were changed into blood. The fish, too, that were in the Nile
died, and the river became so foul that the Egyptians could not drink
its water, but dug round about the Nile for water to drink.
Seven days later Jehovah gave this command to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh
and say to him, 'Jehovah commands: Let my people go that they may
worship me. If you refuse to let them go, then I will afflict all your
land with frogs; and the Nile shall swarm with frogs which shall go up
and come into your house, into your sleeping chamber, upon your bed,
into the houses of your servants, upon your people, and into your ovens
and kneading-troughs; and the frogs shall come up even upon you and your
people and all your servants.'"
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "Say to Aaron: 'Stretch out your hand with
your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and
cause frogs to come up over the land of Egypt.'" So Aaron stretched out
his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the
land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to Jehovah to
take away the frogs from me and my people; then I will let the people
go, that they may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah." Moses said to Pharaoh,
"Will you do yourself the honor of telling me at what time I shall pray
to Jehovah in your behalf and in behalf of your servants and people,
that the frogs be destroyed from your palaces and be left only in the
Nile?" Pharaoh answered, "To-morrow." Then Moses said, "Let it be as you
say; that you may know that there is none like Jehovah our God, the
frogs shall depart from you, from your palaces, and from your servants
and people; they shall be left only in the Nile."
When Moses and Aaron had gone out from Pharaoh, Moses prayed to Jehovah
to remove the frogs which he had brought upon Pharaoh; and Jehovah did
as Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courts, and in the
fields, and the people gathered them together in many heaps; and the
land was filled with a vile odor. But when Pharaoh saw that relief had
come, he was stubborn and, as Jehovah had said, did not listen to Moses
and Aaron.
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and stand
before Pharaoh, just as he goes out to the water, and say to him,
'Jehovah commands: Let my people go that they may worship me. If you
will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you, upon
your servants, and upon your people and into your palaces, so that the
houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, as well as the
ground upon which they stand. But at that time I will set apart the land
of Goshen in which my people live, and no swarms of flies shall be
there, so that you may know that I, Jehovah, am in the midst of the
earth.'"
And Jehovah did so: a vast swarm of flies came upon Pharaoh's palace and
into the homes of his servants; and all the land of Egypt was ruined by
the swarms of flies.
Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, "I will let you go
that you may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness;
only you must not go far away. Pray for me." Moses replied, "I will go
out and will pray to Jehovah that the swarms of flies may depart from
Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people to-morrow; only let not
Pharaoh again act deceitfully by refusing to let the people go to offer
a sacrifice to Jehovah."
So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Jehovah. And Jehovah did as
Moses asked; but this time also Pharaoh was stubborn and would not let
the people go.
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Jehovah the
God of the Hebrews commands: Let my people go that they may worship me.
For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, then the power of
Jehovah will bring a very severe pest upon your cattle which are in the
field, upon the horses, the asses, the camels, the herds, and the
flocks. But Jehovah will make a difference between the cattle of Israel
and the cattle of Egypt, and not one that belongs to the Israelites
shall die.'"
So Jehovah set a fixed time, saying, "To-morrow Jehovah will do this in
the land." Jehovah did this on the next day, and all the cattle of the
Egyptians died; but none of the cattle of the Israelites. Then Pharaoh
sent and found that not even one of the cattle of the Israelites was
dead; but Pharaoh was stubborn and would not let the people go.
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and stand
before Pharaoh, and say to him,'Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews,
commands: Let my people go, that they may worship me. Do you still set
yourself against my people, so that you will not let them go? To-morrow
about this time I will send down a very heavy fall of hail, such as has
not been in Egypt from the day that it became a nation until now.'"
So Jehovah sent down hail upon the land of Egypt, and the lightning
flashing in the midst of the hail was very severe, such as had not been
before in all Egypt since it became a nation. Through the whole land of
Egypt the hail struck down everything that was in the field, both man
and beast. The hail also struck down all the growing plants and broke
all the trees in the fields. Only in the land of Goshen, where the
Israelites were, there was no hail.
Again Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron and said to them, "I
have sinned this time; Jehovah is right and I and my people are wrong.
Pray to Jehovah, for there has been enough of these mighty thunderings
and hail, and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer." Moses
said to him, "As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out
my hands in prayer to Jehovah; the thunders shall stop, and there shall
be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is Jehovah's. But as
for you and your servants, I know that even then you will not fear
Jehovah."
So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to
Jehovah; and the thunders and hail stopped, and the rain was no longer
poured upon the earth. But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail
and the thunders had stopped, he sinned again, and he and his servants
became stubborn, and he would not let the Israelites go.
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and said to him, "Jehovah, the God
of the Hebrews, commands: 'How long will you refuse to obey me? Let my
people go that they may worship me. For if you refuse to let my people
go, then to-morrow I will bring locusts into your land, and they will
cover the surface of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the
ground, and they shall eat the rest of that which is left to you from
the hail, and they shall eat all your trees which grow in the field.'"
Then Moses and Aaron were driven out from Pharaoh's presence, but Moses
stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and Jehovah caused an
east wind to blow over the land all that day and night. In the morning
the east wind brought the locusts, and they went over all the land of
Egypt and settled down in all the land of Egypt, a very large swarm,
more locusts than there ever were before or ever will be again. For they
covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened and
nothing green was left, neither tree nor growing plants, anywhere in all
the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh called for Moses in haste and said, "I have sinned against
Jehovah your God and against you. Now therefore forgive my sin only this
once, and pray to Jehovah your God to take away from me this deadly
plague." So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Jehovah, and
Jehovah made a very strong west wind to blow which took up the locusts
and drove them into the Red Sea; not a single locust was left in all
the land of Egypt. But Jehovah let Pharaoh's heart remain stubborn, so
that he would not let the Israelites go.
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that
there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, so dark that it may be
felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven; and there was
complete darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days; no one could
see another, nor did any one move about for three days. But the
Israelites had light in their homes.
Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Go, worship Jehovah; only let your
flocks and your herds stay behind; let your little ones go with you."
But Moses said, "You must also give us animals for sacrifices and
burnt-offerings, that we may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah our God. Our
cattle too must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must
take these to offer to Jehovah our God, and we do not know what we must
offer to Jehovah until we arrive there."
But Jehovah let Pharaoh's heart remain stubborn, and he would not let
them go. And Pharaoh said to him, "Go away from me; take care that you
never come to me again; for on the day that you come to me you shall
die." Moses replied, "You have spoken truly, I shall never see you
again."
Moses said to Pharaoh, "Jehovah declares: 'About midnight I will go
through all of Egypt. All the eldest sons in the land of Egypt shall
die, from the eldest son of Pharaoh who sits upon his throne, even to
the eldest son of the slave girl who is behind the mill, and all the
first-born of the cattle. There shall be a great cry of sorrow all over
the land of Egypt, such as has never been before and never shall be
again.' But not a single dog shall bark at any of the Israelites nor
their animals, that you may know that Jehovah does make a difference
between the Egyptians and Israelites. All these your servants shall come
to me and bow down before me, saying, 'Go away, together with all the
people that follow you.' After that I will go away." And Moses went from
Pharaoh in great anger.
THE ESCAPE FROM EGYPT
Moses called together all the leaders of Israel, and said to them, "Take
lambs from the herds according to your families and kill the passover
lamb. You shall also take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood
that is in the basin and strike the lintel and the two door posts with
the blood that is in the basin. And not one of you shall go out of the
door of his house until morning, for Jehovah will pass through to kill
the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood upon the lintel and on the two
door posts, he will pass over the door and will not let the destroyer
come into your houses to destroy you. You and your children shall
observe this event as a custom forever.
"When your children shall say to you, 'What do you mean by this
service?' you shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the passover of
Jehovah, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when
he destroyed the Egyptians and released our people.'"
Then the people bowed their heads and worshipped; and the Israelites
went and did as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron.
At midnight Jehovah destroyed all the eldest sons in the land of Egypt,
from the eldest son of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the eldest son
of the captive who was in prison. Then Pharaoh arose in the night,
together with all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a
great cry of sorrow, for there was not a house in Egypt in which there
was not one dead. Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron at night and said, "Go
away from among my people, both you and the Israelites; go, worship
Jehovah as you have asked. Also take with you your sheep and your
cattle, as you have asked, go and ask a blessing for me also." The
Egyptians also told the people to hasten out of the land, for they said,
"We shall all perish." So the people took their dough before the yeast
had worked, and their kneading-troughs were bound up in their clothes
upon their shoulders.
The Israelites went on foot from Rameses to Succoth; and a mixed
multitude went with them, and they had a great many flocks and herds.
They baked unraised cakes of the dough which they had brought with them
from Egypt, for there was no yeast in it, because they had been driven
out of Egypt and could not wait, neither had they prepared for
themselves any food for the journey.
And they went from Succoth and camped at Etham on the border of the
wilderness. Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to
show them the way, and at night in a pillar of fire, to give them light,
that they might march both by day and by night; the pillar of cloud by
day and the pillar of fire at night stayed in front of the people.
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the feeling of
Pharaoh and his servants toward them was changed, and they said, "Why
have we done this and let the Israelites escape from serving us?" So he
made ready his chariot and took his people with him. He also took six
hundred chosen chariots and the rest of the chariots of Egypt with
captains over all of them; and Jehovah let the heart of Pharaoh, king of
Egypt, remain stubborn, so that he followed the Israelites, because they
had defied him.
When Pharaoh drew near to them the Israelites looked up and saw the
Egyptians marching after them; and they were very much afraid and cried
to Jehovah. And they said to Moses, "Why have you misled us by bringing
us out of Egypt? Is not this what we told you in Egypt, when we said,
'Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it is better for us
to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.'" But Moses said
to the people, "Do not be frightened, remain quiet and you will see how
Jehovah will save you to-day; for as surely as you now see the Egyptians
you shall never see them again. Jehovah will fight for you, and you are
to keep still."
Then the angel of God who went before the army of Israel changed his
position and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also changed its
position from in front of them and stood behind them, coming between the
army of the Egyptians and the army of the Israelites. On the one side
the cloud was dark and on the other side it lighted up the night, so
that throughout all the night neither army came near the other.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Jehovah by means of
a strong east wind caused the sea to go back all that night and made the
bed of the sea dry. And the Israelites crossed over on the dry bed of
the sea. The Egyptians followed and all of Pharaoh's horses, his
chariots, and his horsemen went after them into the sea. In the morning
before sunrise, Jehovah looked out through the pillar of fire and of
cloud upon the army of the Egyptians and threw them into confusion. He
also bound their chariot wheels, so that they dragged heavily. Therefore
the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for Jehovah fights
for them against us."
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that
the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and
upon their horsemen." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and
toward morning the sea returned to its ordinary level while the
Egyptians were flying before it. So Jehovah overthrew the Egyptians in
the midst of the sea, and the waters returned and covered the chariots
and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that went after them into
the sea, so that not one of them was left. Thus Jehovah saved the
Israelites that day from the power of the Egyptians; and they saw the
Egyptians dead upon the seashore. When the Israelites saw the great work
which Jehovah did to the Egyptians, the people feared Jehovah and
believed in him and in his servant Moses.
And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her
hand; and as all the women followed her with tambourines and with
dancing, she sang with them:
"Sing to Jehovah, for he has triumphed gloriously:
Both horse and rider has he hurled into the sea."
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to Jehovah:
"I will sing to Jehovah, for he has triumphed gloriously:
Both horse and rider he has hurled into the sea.
Jehovah is my strength and song, he has delivered me;
He is my God, I will praise him; my father's God whom I honor."
GOD'S COMMANDS TO THE PEOPLE
Moses led the Israelites forward from the Red Sea until they came to the
wilderness of Sinai, and there the Israelites camped before the
mountain.
Moses went up into the presence of God, and Jehovah called to him from
the mountain and said, "Tell the Israelites: 'You have seen what I did
to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to
myself. Now therefore, if you will listen to my voice and keep your
solemn agreement with me, you shall be my own treasure taken from among
all peoples, for all the earth is mine. You shall be a nation of
priests, a people devoted to my service.'"
So Moses called together the leaders of the people and told them all
these words, as Jehovah had commanded him. And all the people answered
together, "We will do all that Jehovah has commanded."
When Moses told Jehovah the answer of the people, Jehovah said to him,
"See, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I
speak and may always believe in you." And Jehovah said to Moses, "Go to
the people and keep them pure to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash
their garments and be ready on the third day, for on the third day I
will come down on Mount Sinai within sight of all the people."
On the third day, when morning came, there were thunderings and
lightnings and a thick cloud rested upon the mountain, and a very loud
trumpet blast sounded, so that all the people who were in the camp
trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and
they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was entirely covered
with smoke, because Jehovah came down upon it in fire. And from it smoke
went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the entire mountain shook
violently.
Then God spoke all these words: "I am Jehovah your God who brought you
out of the land of Egypt, from a place where you were slaves.
"THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS EXCEPT ME.
"THOU SHALT NOT MAKE FOR THYSELF A GRAVEN IMAGE, nor any image of
anything that is in the heavens above, on the earth beneath, or in the
waters that are under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down before them,
nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God visiting the sins
of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation, but
showing acts of kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love
me and keep my commands.
"THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF JEHOVAH THY GOD IN VAIN, for Jehovah
will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain.
"REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY. Six days shalt thou labor and
do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah thy God.
In it thou shalt not do any work, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, nor thy male servant, nor thy female servant, nor thy cattle,
nor the guest who is with thee, for in six days Jehovah made the heavens
and the earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested on the
seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it
holy.
"HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER, that thou mayest live long on the land
which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
"THOU SHALT NOT MURDER.
"THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.
"THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.
"THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR.
"THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE; thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his
ox, nor his ass, nor anything that belongs to thy neighbor."
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accord with
these words I have made a solemn agreement with you and with Israel."
OUR DUTIES TO GOD AND MAN
Hear O Israel: Jehovah our God is the one Lord. You shall love Jehovah
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
strength.
Behold, the heavens, the highest heavens, the earth and all that is on
it belong to Jehovah your God. Jehovah showed his love to your fathers
more than to any other people, and he has chosen their children after
them and you out of all the nations. Therefore, open your heart to him
and no longer refuse to be guided by him. For Jehovah your God is God of
gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, the wonderful God, who
shows no favors and takes no bribes, who sees that what is right is done
to the orphan and widow, who loves the foreigner and gives him food and
clothing. Love Jehovah your God and always keep his laws and his
commands.
You shall not deceive one another.
You shall not lie to one another.
You shall not swear falsely in my name.
You shall not wrong nor rob your neighbor.
You shall not curse the deaf.
You shall not put a stumbling-block before the blind.
You shall not tell stories about one another.
You shall not hate any one.
You shall not take vengeance nor bear a grudge against any one.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
You shall rise before the hoary head and honor an old man.
If a foreigner lives in your land, you shall do him no wrong. You shall
treat him as one of your own people and you shall love him as yourself.
THE REPORT OF THE HEBREW SPIES
Moses sent certain men to explore the land of Canaan and said to them,
"Go up into the South Country and on into the highlands, and see what
the land is and whether the people who live there are strong or weak,
whether they are few or many, and whether the land in which they live is
good or bad, and what kinds of cities they live in, whether in camps or
in strongholds. See whether the land is fertile or barren, whether there
is wood in it or not. Be courageous and bring some of the fruit of the
land," for it was the time when the grapes first begin to ripen.
So they went up to the South Country and came to Hebron. When they came
to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down from there a branch with one
cluster of grapes and brought it away on a pole carried by two men. They
also took some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the valley
of the Grape Cluster because of the cluster which the Israelites cut
down there.
Then they returned to Moses and Aaron and all the Israelites at Kadesh
and brought back word to them and showed them the fruit of the land.
They reported to Moses, "We went to the land to which you sent us; and
it indeed is full of milk and honey; and this is some of its fruit. But
the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are very
large and have high walls about them."
Then Caleb quieted the people and said, "Let us go up at once and take
it, for we are well able to conquer it." But the men who had gone up
with him said, "We are not able to conquer the people, for they are
stronger than we, and all the people whom we saw there are very tall and
large. There we saw the giants; we were as grasshoppers in our own
sight, and so we seemed to them."
All the people wept that night and cried out, "Why did Jehovah bring us
to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be
taken captive. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" So
they said to one another, "Let us choose a leader and return to Egypt."
Then Moses and Aaron bowed low before all the Israelites who were
gathered there, and Joshua and Caleb, who were among those who explored
the land, tore their clothes and said to them, "The land which we went
to explore is a very good land. If Jehovah is pleased with us, he will
bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which is full of milk
and honey. Only do not rebel against Jehovah. Fear not the people of the
land, for they will supply us with food. Their defense is taken away
from over them, and Jehovah is with us; fear them not." But the people
would not trust Jehovah.
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? How
long will they refuse to trust me in spite of all of the wonders which I
have performed before their eyes? I will send sickness upon them and
destroy them, and I will make you and your family a nation greater and
mightier than theirs."
But Moses said to Jehovah, "When the Egyptians hear it, they will say,
'Jehovah has killed them in the wilderness because he was not able to
bring this people into the land which he solemnly promised to them.'
Forgive, I pray thee, the guilt of this people, because thy love is
great, even as thou hast forgiven them from the time they left Egypt
even until now."
Jehovah said, "I have forgiven as you have asked; but as surely as I
live and as surely as the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of
Jehovah, none of the men who have seen my glory and my wonders which I
performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tested me these
ten times and have not listened to my voice, shall see the land which I
have solemnly promised to their fathers, neither shall any of those who
despise me see it. But I will bring my servant Caleb to the land to
which he went, for he has shown a different spirit and has faithfully
followed me, and his children shall possess it. But your little ones,
who, you said, would be captives of war, I will bring in, and they shall
possess the land which you have refused. Your dead bodies shall fall in
this wilderness, and your children shall be wanderers there forty years
and shall suffer for your unfaithfulness until your bodies have all
decayed in the wilderness."
THE LAST WORDS OF MOSES
When Moses was old, he said to all the Israelites, "I am a hundred and
twenty years old this day. I can no longer go out and come in, and
Jehovah has said to me, 'You shall not go over this river Jordan.'
Jehovah your God is going over before you. He will destroy these nations
before you, and you shall drive them out; and Joshua is going over to
lead you as Jehovah has commanded. Be brave and strong, do not be afraid
of them, for Jehovah your God is leading you; he will not fail you nor
forsake you."
Moses also called Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel,
"Be brave and strong, for you shall bring this people into the land
which Jehovah has promised to their fathers to give them; and you shall
give it to them. Jehovah is going before you; he will be with you, he
will not fail nor forsake you; fear not, nor be frightened."
Then Moses went up on the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo to the summit of
Pisgah opposite Jericho. And Jehovah showed him all the land, and said
to him, "This is the land which I have solemnly promised to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your children.' I have
let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not go over there."
So Moses, the servant of Jehovah, died there in the land of Moab as
Jehovah had said. And Jehovah buried him in the deep valley in the land
of Moab; but to this day no man knows the place where he was buried.
Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, but his eye was
not dim nor had he lost his strength. The Israelites wept for Moses on
the plain of Moab thirty days, and then the days of weeping and mourning
for Moses were ended.
Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses
had laid his hands upon him; and the Israelites listened to him and did
as Jehovah commanded Moses. But in Israel no prophet had yet arisen whom
Jehovah knew as well as he did Moses.
CROSSING THE RIVER JORDAN
After the death of Moses, Jehovah said to Joshua, Moses' helper, "Moses
my servant is dead: Now arise, go over the Jordan with all this people
to the land which I am about to give to the Israelites. As long as you
live no one will be able to stand against you. As I was with Moses, so I
shall be with you: I will not fail you nor forsake you. Be brave and
strong, for you shall give this people the land which I solemnly
promised their fathers I would give them. Only be brave and strong to
keep faithfully all the law, as Moses my servant commanded you. Turn not
from it to the right nor to the left, and you shall have success
wherever you go. Have I not commanded you? Be brave and strong; fear not
nor be afraid, for Jehovah your God is with you wherever you go."
Then Joshua gave this order to the officers who were over the people:
"Go through all the camp and give this command: 'Prepare food for
yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in
and take the land which Jehovah your God has given you as your own.'"
While Joshua was at Shittim, he secretly sent two men as spies, with the
command: "Go, explore the land and especially Jericho." So they went and
entered the house of a woman named Rahab, and stayed there.
It was reported to the king of Jericho, "Some men came here to-night
from the Israelites to explore the land." Therefore the king of Jericho
sent to Rahab and said, "Bring out the men who entered your house, for
they have come to explore all the land."
Now the woman had taken the two men and hidden them; so she said, "It is
true, some men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. When
the time came to shut the gate at night, the men went out and I do not
know where they have gone. Follow after them quickly, for you may
overtake them." She, however, had brought them up to the roof and hidden
them with the stalks of flax which she had spread out there. So the men
of Jericho followed after them in the direction of the fords of the
Jordan; and as soon as the men of Jericho had gone out, the gate was
closed.
The spies had hardly lain down when Rahab came up to them on the roof
and said, "I know that Jehovah has given you the land and that fear of
you has seized us and that because of you all who live in the land are
losing heart. Now therefore swear to me by Jehovah, since I have treated
you with kindness, that you will also treat my family kindly, and
promise me that you will save the lives of my father, my mother, my
brothers, and my sisters, together with all that they have, and will not
put us to death." The men said to her, "We are ready to give our lives
for you, if you do not tell what we are doing; and when Jehovah gives us
the land, we will treat you kindly and faithfully."
Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house in
which she lived was built into the city wall. She said to them, "Go
into the hills, that the men who are looking for you may not find you,
and hide yourselves there three days until they have returned. Then you
may go on your way."
The men said to her, "We shall be free from our solemn promise to you,
unless, when we come into the land, you bind this cord of scarlet thread
in the window through which you let us down and gather your father, your
mother, your brothers, and all your family into your house. If any one
goes out of the doors of your house into the street, he shall be
responsible for his death and we shall be innocent. If any one stays
with you in the house, we will be responsible for his death if any one
lays hands on him. But if you tell what we are doing, we shall be free
from our solemn promise to you." She replied, "It shall be as you say."
So she sent them away. And when they were gone, she bound the scarlet
cord in the window.
So they left and went into the hills and stayed there three days until
those who were looking for them had returned. They sought for them in
every direction but did not find them. Then the two men came down from
the hills, crossed the river, and came to Joshua and told him all that
had happened to them.
Joshua rose up early in the morning and set out from Shittim. And he and
all the Israelites came to the Jordan and spent the night there before
crossing. And Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for
to-morrow Jehovah will do wonders among you. Come and hear the words of
Jehovah your God. By this you shall know that a living God is with you:
the ark of the Lord of all the earth is about to pass over before you
into the Jordan. When the priests who bear the ark of the Lord of all
the earth step into the waters of the Jordan, its waters shall be cut
off, so that the waters that come down from above will stand still in a
heap."
So when the people left their tents to pass over the Jordan, the
priests, who were carrying the ark were in front of them. And when the
bearers of the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who
were carrying the ark dipped in the brink of the water--for the Jordan
overflows all its banks during the harvest time--the waters that came
down from above stood still and its waters rose in a heap a long
distance up the river at Adam, the city that is near Zarethan. The
waters that went down toward the Dead Sea were wholly cut off, while the
people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who were carrying the
ark of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan,
while all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until the whole
nation had completed the crossing of the Jordan.
When they had all crossed, Jehovah said to Joshua, "Command them to take
from the middle of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet
stood, twelve stones and carry them over with you and lay them down in
the camping-place, where you pass the night, that this may be a reminder
to them. Then when your children ask from time to time: 'What do these
stones mean to you?' you shall say to them, 'They are reminders that the
waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of Jehovah, when it
passed over the Jordan.' These stones shall be a constant reminder to
the Israelites."
So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded and took up out of the middle
of the Jordan twelve stones corresponding to the number of the tribes of
the Israelites. They carried them over with them to the place where they
camped and laid them down there.
Then the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and the river
overflowed all its banks as before.
THE CAPTURE OF JERICHO AND AI
Now Jericho had closed its gates because of the Israelites, and no one
went in or out. But Jehovah said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho
to you with its king and its able warriors. You shall march around the
city, all the soldiers going about the city once. You shall do this for
six days, and on the seventh day the people shall make the attack, each
man going up straight before him."
Then Joshua said to the people, "March around the city and let the armed
men pass on before the ark of Jehovah. You shall not shout the
battle-cry nor let your voice be heard; not a word shall escape from
your mouth until the day I say to you, 'Shout the battle-cry'; then you
shall shout!"
So he had the ark of Jehovah carried around the city once; then they
returned to the camp and spent the night there. The second day they also
marched around the city once and returned to the camp. Thus they did six
days. The seventh day they rose early at dawn and made the circuit of
the city in the same way, only on that day they marched about the city
seven times. The seventh time the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua
said to the people, "Shout the battle-cry; for Jehovah has given you the
city. The city and all that is in it shall be sacrificed to Jehovah;
only Rahab and those who are with her in her house shall live, because
she hid the messengers whom we sent."
So the people shouted the battle-cry and the wall fell down and they
went straight up into the city and captured it. But Joshua spared the
lives of Rahab and her father's family and all that she had, because she
hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to explore Jericho; and they have
lived among the Israelites even to this day.
Then Joshua set out with all the warriors to go up to Ai. And he
selected thirty thousand brave soldiers and sent them out at night with
this command, "Hide somewhere beyond the town, not very far from it, but
be ready to act. I and all the people who are with me will go toward the
town, but when they come out against us, we will flee before them. They
will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the town; for
they will say, 'They are fleeing before us.' Then you shall rise up from
where you are hiding, and take the town. When you have captured it, set
it on fire."
So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place where they were to
hide and placed themselves on the west side of Ai. Joshua spent that
night among the people, and rose early the next morning and gathered
them, and he went up, together with the rulers of Israel, before the
people to Ai. And the warriors who were with him went up and came before
the town. When the king of Ai saw it, the men of the town quickly rose
up and went out to fight against the Israelites, but the king did not
know that men were hiding behind the town to rise up and attack him.
Then Joshua and the Israelites pretended to be beaten and fled toward
the wilderness; and all the people that were in the town were called
together to pursue them. So they left the town unguarded and pursued the
Israelites. Then the men who were hiding rose quickly out of their place
and set the town on fire. When the men of Ai looked back, they saw the
smoke of the town rising to heaven; and they had no chance to flee this
way or that, for the Israelites who had been fleeing to the wilderness
turned back upon those who were following them. When the smoke of the
town rose up, the rest of the Israelites came out of the town against
them; so they were surrounded by the Israelites, some on this side, and
some on that, so that they let none of the people of Ai remain or
escape.
WOMEN WHO SAVED A NATION
Later Sisera, who had nine hundred iron chariots, cruelly oppressed the
Israelites for twenty years. Then the prophetess Deborah, the wife of
Lappidoth, delivered Israel. She used to sit under the palm-tree of
Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the highlands of Ephraim; and the
Israelites went to her to have her decide their disputes.
She sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam, from Kadesh Naphtali and
said to him, "Does not Jehovah the God of Israel command you: 'Go, march
to Mount Tabor and take with you ten thousand of the Naphtalites and of
the Zebulunites? Then I will draw out to you at the brook Kishon Sisera
with his chariots and his troops, and I will deliver him into your
hands.'" Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, I will go, but if
you will not go with me, I will not go." She replied, "I will certainly
go with you, only you will not have the glory in this expedition on
which you are going, for Jehovah will deliver Sisera into the hands of a
woman."
So Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kadesh. Barak called the
Zebulunites and the Naphtalites together at Kadesh and ten thousand men
followed him; and Deborah also went up with him.
Now Heber the Kenite had left the Kenites, the children of Jethro the
father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak
which is near Kadesh.
When it was reported to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up
to Mount Tabor, Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred
iron chariots, and all his people from the heathen city Harosheth to the
brook Kishon. Then Deborah said to Barak, "To the attack! for to-day
Jehovah has delivered Sisera into your hands. Has not Jehovah gone out
before you?"
So Barak went down from Mount Tabor followed by ten thousand men; and at
the attack of Barak's swordsmen Jehovah put to flight Sisera and his
chariots and all his forces, and Sisera got down from his war-chariot
and fled on foot. But Barak pursued the chariots and the forces to
Harosheth; and all the army of Sisera was destroyed by the sword; not a
single man was left.
On that day Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, sang this song:
"O Jehovah, when thou wentest from Seir,
Marching from the region of Edom,
Earth trembled, the heavens swayed,
The clouds also dripped water;
The hills quaked before Jehovah,
Yon Sinai, before Israel's God.
"In the days of Anath's son, Shamgar,
In Jael's days the roads were unused,
And travellers walked through byways.
Leaders disappeared in Israel,
Until you, O Deborah, rose,
Till you rose as a mother in Israel.
"My heart is with the commanders of Israel,
Who volunteered among the people. Bless Jehovah!
You who ride on tawny asses,
Who sit upon rich saddle-cloths;
You who walk by the way, tell of it.
Far from sounds of dividing the spoil,
In the places where water is drawn,
Let them tell of Jehovah's righteous acts,
And the righteous deeds of his leaders!
"Then the people of Jehovah
Went down to the gates, crying:
'Awake, awake, O Deborah,
Awake, awake, sing a battle-song!
Rise up, rise up, O Barak,
Take your captives, O son of Abinoam!'
"So they went down against the powerful,
The Lord's people against the mighty.
From Machir, commanders went down,
From Zebulun, standard-bearers,
Issachar's princes with Deborah,
And with Barak, the men of Naphtali;
Into the valley they streamed after him.
"Zebulun risked its life,
Naphtali on the heights of the field.
Rulers came, they fought,
The rulers of Canaan fought
At Taanach by the waters of Megiddo.
"They took no booty of silver,
For from heaven the very stars fought,
From their courses they fought against Sisera.
The brook Kishon swept them away,
That ancient brook, the brook Kishon.
O my soul, march on with strength!
Then did their horse hoofs pound
With the gallop, gallop of steeds.
"Blessed above women shall Jael be,
That wife of Heber, the Kenite,
More blessed than all nomad women!
Water he asked, milk she gave,
Curdled milk she brought him
In a bowl well fitted for lords!
She put her hand to the tent-pin,
Her right hand to the workman's hammer.
She struck Sisera, crushing his head,
She shattered, she pierced his temples.
At her feet he sank down and lay still,
At her feet he sank, he fell;
There he fell, a victim slain!
"Through the window she peered and cried,
Through the lattice, the mother of Sisera:
'Why so long his chariot in coming?
Why tarry the hoof-beats of steeds?'
Then the wisest of her ladies replied,
She herself also answered her question,
'Are they not dividing the spoil?
A woman or two for each warrior,
For Sisera a spoil of dyed stuffs,
A spoil of dyed stuffs embroidered,
Some pieces of lace for his neck?'
"So perish thy foes, O Jehovah!
But may those who love him be as the sun,
Rising up in invincible splendor!"
GIDEON'S BRAVE BAND
In course of time the Midianites conquered the Israelites. To escape
them the Israelites made for themselves dens in the mountains and caves
and strongholds. When the Israelites had sown their crops, the
Midianites would come up and leave nothing for the Israelites to live
on, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass; for they came up with their cattle
and their tents. The Israelites were so robbed by the Midianites, that
they cried to Jehovah for help.
Then the angel of Jehovah came and sat down under the oak which was in
Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezerite; and his son, Gideon, was
beating out wheat in the wine-press to hide it from the Midianites. The
angel of Jehovah appeared to him and said, "Jehovah is with you, able
warrior!" Gideon said to him, "O my lord, if Jehovah is with us, why
then has all this overtaken us? Where are all his wonderful acts of
which our fathers told us, saying, 'Did not Jehovah bring us from
Egypt?' But now Jehovah has cast us off and given us into the power of
the Midianites."
Then Jehovah turned to him and said, "With this strength which you have
go and save Israel from the rule of the Midianites: do I not send you?"
But Gideon said to him, "O Jehovah, how can I save Israel? See, my
family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's
house." Jehovah said to him, "I will surely be with you, and you shall
overthrow the Midianites as if they were only one man."
Then the spirit of Jehovah took possession of Gideon, and he sounded the
war trumpet, and the Abiezerites assembled under his leadership. He also
sent messengers throughout all the land of the Manassites, and they
assembled under his leadership; and he sent messengers to the Asherites,
the Zebulunites, and the Naphtalites, and they went up to join him. But
Jehovah said to Gideon, "You have too many people with you; if I give
the Midianites up to the Israelites they will boast, 'We have saved
ourselves!' Therefore, proclaim to your people, 'Whoever is afraid may
go home.'"
Then Gideon separated them, so that twenty-two thousand of the people
went back home, but ten thousand stayed. But Jehovah said to him, "The
people are still too many; take them down to the water, and I will try
them out for you there. Every one of whom I say to you, 'This one shall
go with you,' shall go with you; and every one of whom I say to you,
'This one shall not go with you,' shall not go."
So Gideon brought the people down to the water. And Jehovah said to him,
"You shall put by themselves all who lap the water with their tongues,
as a dog laps, and all who kneel down on their knees to drink by
themselves." The number of those who lapped with their tongue, putting
their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men; but all the rest of
the people knelt down on their knees to drink. Then Jehovah said to
Gideon, "By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you and deliver
the Midianites into your hands. Let all the rest of the people go home."
So they took the food that the people had in their hands, and their
trumpets; and Gideon sent home all the other Israelites, keeping only
the three hundred men.
Then Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed it, and the three hundred men
were with him, faint yet pursuing. And he said to the men of Succoth,
"Give, I beg of you, loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for
they are faint and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of
Midian." But the rulers of Succoth said, "Are Zebah and Zalmunna already
in your power that we should give bread to your band?" Gideon replied,
"When Jehovah has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, for this
insult I will thrash your bare flesh with desert thorns and briers." He
went on from there to Penuel and made the same request of the men of
Penuel, but they made the same answer as the men of Succoth. To the men
of Penuel he also said, "When I come back victorious, I will break down
this tower."
Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their forces were with them, in
all about fifteen thousand men. Gideon went up by the caravan road and
surprised the horde as it was encamped with no fear of being attacked.
He divided the three hundred men into three companies. Into the hands of
all of them he put horns and empty earthen jars. In each jar was a
torch. He also said to them, "Watch me and do as I do. When I reach the
outside of the camp and those who are with me blow a blast on the horn,
then you also shall blow your horns on every side of the camp and cry,
'For Jehovah and Gideon!'"
So Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the outside of the camp
at the beginning of the middle watch, when guards had just been posted;
and they blew the horns and broke in pieces the jars that were in their
hands. The two other companies also broke their jars, took the torches
in their left hands and their swords in their right, and cried, "The
Sword of Jehovah and of Gideon." And as they stood where they were,
about the camp, the entire horde awoke, sounded the alarm, and fled.
Zebah and Zalmunna also fled; but Gideon followed and captured the two
kings of Midian and threw all the horde into a panic.
When Gideon returned from the battle, he captured a young man who lived
at Succoth. At Gideon's request he wrote down for him the names of the
rulers of Succoth and its leading men. There were seventy-seven in all.
When Gideon came to the men of Succoth, he said, "See, here are Zebah
and Zalmunna about whom you mocked me, saying, 'Are Zebah and Zalmunna
already in your power that we should give bread to your men who are
weary?'" Then he took desert thorns and briers, and with these he
thrashed the leading men of Succoth. He also broke down the tower of
Penuel and put to death the men of the town.
Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men were those
whom you killed at Tabor?" They replied, "They were just like you; each
of them looked like a prince." Gideon said, "They were my own brothers,
the sons of my mother. As surely as Jehovah lives, if you had saved them
alive, I would not kill you now."
Then he said to Jether, his oldest son, "Up and kill them." But the boy
did not draw his sword, because he was afraid, for he was only a boy.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Get up yourself and fall upon us; for a
man has a man's strength!" So Gideon rose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna,
and took the crescents that were on their camels' necks.
Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, and not only you
but your son and your son's son after you, for you have saved us from
the power of the Midianites." Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over
you, nor shall my son rule over you; Jehovah shall rule over you; but
let me make one request of you: let every man give me the ear-rings from
his spoil" (for they had golden ear-rings, because they were desert
dwellers). They answered, "Certainly, we will give them." So they spread
out a blanket and each man threw into it the ear-rings from his spoil.
The weight of the golden ear-rings for which he had asked was nearly
seventy pounds of gold. Then Gideon made of the gold a priestly robe to
wear when asking questions of Jehovah, and placed it in his own city,
Ophrah.
Gideon died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash, his
father, in Ophrah of the Abiezerites.
JEPHTHAH'S FOOLISH PROMISE
Jephthah, the Gileadite, was an able warrior, but he was the son of a
wicked woman, and had fled from his relatives and lived in the land of
Tob. There certain rascals gathered about him, and they used to go out
on raids with him.
After a time the Ammonites made war against the Israelites. Then the
elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob, and they
said to him, "Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the
Ammonites." But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Are you not the
men who hated me and drove me out of my father's house? Why then do you
come to me now when you are in trouble?" But the elders of Gilead said
to Jephthah, "This is why we have now turned to you, that you may go
with us and fight against the Ammonites, and you shall be our chief,
even over all the people who live in Gilead." Then Jephthah said to the
rulers of Gilead, "If you take me back to fight against the Ammonites
and Jehovah gives me the victory over them, I shall be your chief." The
elders of Gilead replied, "Jehovah shall be a witness between us; we
swear to do as you say."
Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him
chief and commander over them. Jephthah also made this vow to Jehovah:
"If thou wilt deliver the Ammonites into my power, then whoever comes
out of the door of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from
the Ammonites, shall be Jehovah's, and I will offer that one as an
offering to be burned with fire."
So Jephthah went out to fight against the Ammonites; and Jehovah gave
him the victory over them, and delivered them into his hands. But when
he came home to Mizpah, his daughter was just coming out to meet him
with tambourines and choral dances. She was his only child; besides this
one he had neither son nor daughter. So when he saw her, he tore his
clothes and said, "Oh, my daughter, you have stricken me! It is you who
are the cause of my woe! for I have made a solemn vow to Jehovah and
cannot break it." She said to him, "My father, you have made a solemn
vow to Jehovah; do to me what you have promised, since Jehovah has
punished your enemies the Ammonites. But let this favor be granted me:
spare me two months that I may go out upon the mountains with those who
would have been my bridesmaids and lament because I will never become a
wife and mother." He said, "Go."
So he sent her away for two months with her friends, and she mourned on
the mountains because she would never become a wife and mother. At the
end of two months she returned to her father, who did what he had vowed
to do, even though she had never been married. So it became a custom in
Israel: each year the women of Israel go out for four days to bewail the
death of the daughter of Jephthah, the Gileadite.
SAMSON WHO DID TO OTHERS AS THEY DID TO HIM
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the clan of the Danites, named
Manoah; and he and his wife had no children. But the angel of Jehovah
appeared to the woman and said to her, "See, you have no children; but
now be careful not to drink any wine nor strong drink, and do not eat
anything unclean, for you are about to have a son. No razor shall be
used upon your son's head, for from birth the boy shall belong to God."
So the woman had a son and named him Samson.
Once Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a Philistine woman. When
he came back he said to his father and mother, "I have seen a Philistine
woman in Timnah. Get her as a wife for me." But his father and mother
said to him, "Is there no woman in your own tribe or among all our
people, that you must marry a wife from among the heathen Philistines?"
But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for she suits me."
So Samson went with his father and mother to Timnah; and just as they
came to the vineyards of Timnah, a full-grown young lion came roaring
toward him. The spirit of Jehovah came upon Samson and, although he had
nothing in his hand, he tore the beast in two as one tears a kid. But he
did not tell his father and mother what he had done.
Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she suited him. When he
returned after a while to marry her, he turned aside to see what was
left of the lion, and there was a swarm of bees and honey in the
carcass. He scraped the honey out into his hands and went on, eating it
as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them,
and they ate; but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out
of the carcass of the lion.
Then Samson went down to the woman; and he gave a feast there (for so
bridegrooms used to do). When the Philistines saw him, they provided
thirty comrades to be with him. And Samson said to them, "Let me now
tell you a riddle. If you can tell me what it is within the seven days
of the feast, I will give you thirty fine linen robes and thirty suits
of clothes; but if you cannot tell me, then you shall give me thirty
fine linen robes and thirty suits of clothes." They said to him, "Tell
your riddle, that we may hear it." And he said to them:
"Out of the eater came something to eat,
And out of the strong came something sweet."
But for six days they could not solve the riddle.
On the seventh day they said to Samson's wife, "Tease your husband until
he tells us the riddle, or else we will burn up you and your father's
house. Did you invite us here to make us poor?" So Samson's wife wept
before him and said, "You only hate me and do not love me at all! You
have told a riddle to my fellow countrymen and not told me what it is."
He said to her, "See, I have not told it to my father or my mother, and
shall I tell you?" So she wept before him as long as their feast lasted,
but on the seventh day he told her, because she kept asking him; and she
told the riddle to her fellow countrymen.
So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun
went down, "What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a
lion?" And he said to them:
"If with my heifer you did not plough,
You had not solved my riddle now."
Then he was suddenly given divine strength, and he went down to Ashkelon
and killed thirty of their men and took the spoil from them and gave the
suits of clothes to those who had guessed the riddle. But he was very
angry and returned to his father's house. And his bride was given to his
comrade who had been his best man.
After a while, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his
wife with a kid as a present; but when he said, "Let me go into the
inner room to my wife," her father would not let him go in, but said, "I
thought that you must surely hate her, so I gave her to your best man.
Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Take her then, instead." But
Samson said to him, "This time I shall be justified if I do the
Philistines an injury." So he went and caught three hundred foxes,
turned them tail to tail, and put a torch between every pair of tails.
When he had set the torches on fire, he let them go into the standing
grain of the Philistines and burned up not only the shocks and the
standing grain, but the olive orchards as well.
Then the Philistines said, "Who has done this?" The reply was, "Samson,
the son-in-law of the Timnite, because that man took Samson's wife and
gave her to his best man." So the Philistines went up, and burnt her and
her father. Then Samson said to them, "If this is the way you do, I will
not stop until I have had my revenge on you!" So he fought fiercely and
killed many of them; then he went and stayed in a cavern in the cliff of
Etam.
When the Philistines went up and camped in Judah and made a raid on
Lehi, the Judahites said, "Why have you come up against us?" They
replied, "We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him what he has done
to us." Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cavern in the
cliff of Etam and said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines
are our rulers? What are you doing to us?" He replied, "I have done to
them as they did to me." They said to him, "We have come down to bind
you, to turn you over to the Philistines." Samson said to them, "Swear
to me that you will not attack me yourselves." They said to him, "No; we
will simply bind you securely and deliver you to them; but we will not
kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from
the cliff.
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted when they met him. Then he
was suddenly given divine strength, and the ropes that were on his arms
became like flax that has been burned in the fire, and his bonds melted
from his hands. And he found a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and having
seized it, he killed a thousand men with it. Then Samson said:
"With the jaw-bone of an ass have I piled them, mass on mass;
A thousand warriors have I slain with the jaw-bone of an ass."
A STRONG MAN WHO LOST HIS STRENGTH
Afterward, Samson fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek,
named Delilah. Then the rulers of the Philistines came to her and said,
"Find out by teasing him how it is that his strength is so great and
how we may overpower and bind him that we may torture him. Then we will
each one of us give you eleven hundred pieces of silver." So Delilah
said to Samson, "Tell me how it is that your strength is so great and
how you might be bound to torture you?" Samson said to her, "If they
should bind me with seven green bowstrings which have not been dried, I
would become weak like any other man."
Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven green bowstrings
which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. She had the men
lying in wait in the inner room, but when she said to him, "The
Philistines are upon you, Samson!" he snapped the bowstrings as a piece
of yarn is snapped when it comes near the fire; so they did not find out
the secret of his strength.
Then Delilah said to Samson, "You have deceived me and lied to me; now
tell me with what you can be bound fast." He said to her, "If they
should bind me securely with new ropes with which no work has been done,
I would become weak like any other man." So Delilah took new ropes and
bound him with them and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you,
Samson!" Men were also lying in wait in the inner room; but he snapped
the ropes from his arms like thread.
Again Delilah said to Samson, "So far you have deceived me and lied to
me; tell me now with what you can be bound fast." He said to her, "If
you should weave the seven braids on my head along with the web and beat
it into form with the weaving pin, I would become weak like any other
man." So while he was asleep, she took the seven braids of his hair and
wove it with the web and beat it into form with the pin, and said to
him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke out of his
sleep and pulled up the loom and the web.
Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you do not
trust me? You have deceived me three times already and have not told me
the secret of your great strength." But in time, since she daily begged
and urged him, he was wearied to death, and told her all that he knew,
saying, "A razor has never touched my head; for I have belonged to God
from my birth. If I should be shaved, my strength would be gone, and I
would become weak like any other man."
When Delilah saw that he had told her all that he knew, she sent and
called for the rulers of the Philistines and said, "Come at once, for
he has told me all that he knows." Then the rulers of the Philistines
came up to her and brought the money with them. After she had put Samson
to sleep on her knees, she called for a man and had him shave off the
seven braids on his head. Then she began to tease him, and his strength
went from him; and she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And
he awoke out of his sleep and thought, "I will get up as I have done at
other times and shake myself free"; for he did not know that Jehovah had
left him. So the Philistines seized him and bored out his eyes. Then
they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with chains of brass, and
then he was set to grinding in the prison. But the hair of his head
began to grow again as soon as he was shaved.
Then the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice
to their god Dagon and to rejoice, for they said, "Our god has given
Samson, our enemy, into our power." When the people saw him, they also
praised their god, saying:
"Our god has laid low our foe,
He who brought our country woe,
He who slew us with many a blow."
When they were in high spirits, they said, "Call Samson that he may
amuse us." So they called Samson from the prison and he amused them; and
they placed him between the pillars.
Then Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, "Let me
touch the pillars on which the building rests, that I may lean against
them." Now the building was full of men and women, and all the rulers of
the Philistines were there, and on the roof about three thousand men and
women were looking on while Samson amused them. Samson called on Jehovah
and said, "O Jehovah, remember me and strengthen me, I pray thee, just
this once, O God, that by one act I may avenge myself on the Philistines
for the loss of my two eyes."
Then Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the building
rested, one with his right hand and the other with his left, and leaned
against them. And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." Then
he bent over with all his strength, and the house fell upon the rulers
and upon all the people who were in it. So those whom he killed at his
death were more than those whom he killed during his lifetime.
Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him away and
buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his
father.
THE DEVOTION OF RUTH
During the days of the judges, there was once a famine in the land; and
a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah took his wife and two sons to live
in the territory of Moab. His name was Elimelech and his wife's Naomi,
and his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. After they had been living in
Moab for some time, Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two
sons. They married Moabite women, named Orpah and Ruth. After they had
lived there about ten years, Mahlon and Chilion both died, and Naomi was
left without husband or children.
So she set out with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of
Moab, for she had heard that Jehovah had remembered his people and given
them food. As they were setting out on the journey to Judah, Naomi said
to her daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to the home of your
mother. May Jehovah be kind to you, as you have been kind to the dead
and to me. Jehovah grant that each of you may find peace and happiness
in the house of a new husband."
Then she kissed them; but they began to weep aloud and said to her, "No,
we will return with you to your people." But Naomi said, "Go back, my
daughters; why should you go with me? Can I still have sons who might
become your husbands? Go back, my daughters, go your own way, for I am
too old to have a husband. Even if I should say, 'I have hope,' even if
I should have a husband to-night and should have sons, would you wait
for them until they were grown up? Would you remain single for them? No,
my daughters! I am sorry for you, for Jehovah has afflicted me." Then
they again wept aloud, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but
Ruth stayed with her.
Naomi said, "See, your sister-in-law is going back to her own people and
to her own gods; go along with her!" But Ruth answered, "Do not urge me
to leave you or to go back, for wherever you go I will go, and wherever
you stay I will stay; your people shall be my people, and your God my
God; I will die where you die and be buried there. May Jehovah bring a
curse upon me, if anything but death separate you and me." When Naomi
saw that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her, she ceased urging her
to return.
So they travelled on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived
there, the whole town was interested, and the women said, "Is this
Naomi?" But she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi which means
Sweetness: call me Mara which means Bitterness, for the Almighty has
given me a bitter lot. I had plenty when I left, but Jehovah has brought
me back empty-handed. Why should you call me Naomi, now that Jehovah has
turned against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?" So Naomi and Ruth
returned from Moab; and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the
barley harvest.
Now Naomi was related through her husband to Boaz, a very wealthy man of
the family of Elimelech. Ruth, the Moabitess, said to Naomi, "Let me now
go into the fields and pick up the scattered heads of grain after him
whose favor I should win." Naomi said to her, "Go, my daughter."
So she went to pick up grain in the field after the reapers; and it was
her good fortune to pick up grain in that part of the field which
belonged to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. When Boaz come
from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "Jehovah be with you," they
answered him, "May Jehovah bless you." Then Boaz said to his servant who
had charge of the reapers, "Whose maiden is this?" The servant replied,
"It is the Moabite maiden who came back with Naomi from the land of
Moab; and she said, 'Let me pick up the scattered grain and gather
sheaves after the reapers.' So she came and has worked all the time
until now, and she has not rested a moment in the field."
Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen, my daughter. Do not go to pick up grain
in another field nor leave this place, but stay here with my maidens. I
have told the young men not to trouble you. When you are thirsty, go to
the jars and drink of that which the young men have drawn."
Then she bowed low and said to him, "Why are you so kind to me, to take
interest in me who am from another land?" Boaz replied, "I have heard
what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your
husband, and how you left your father and mother and your native land to
come to a people that you did not know before. May Jehovah repay you for
what you have done, and may you be fully rewarded by the God of Israel,
under whose wings you have come to take refuge." Then she said, "I trust
I may please you, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly
to your servant, although I am not really equal to one of your own
servants."
At noonday Boaz said to her, "Come here and eat some of the food and dip
your piece of bread in the wine." So she sat beside the reapers; and he
passed her the roasted grain, and she ate until she had had enough and
had some left. When she rose to gather grain, Boaz gave this order to
his young men: "Let her gather grain even among the sheaves and do not
disturb her. Also pull out some for her from the bundles and leave it
for her to gather and do not find fault with her."
So she gathered grain in the field until evening, then beat out that
which she had gathered; and it was about a bushel of barley. Then she
took it up and went into the city and showed her mother-in-law what she
had gathered. She also brought out and gave her that which she had left
from her meal after she had had enough.
Her mother-in-law said to her, "Where did you gather grain to-day and
where did you work? A blessing on him who took interest in you!" Then
she told her mother-in-law where she had worked, and said, "The name of
the man with whom I worked to-day is Boaz." Naomi said to her
daughter-in-law, "May the blessing of Jehovah rest upon him who has not
ceased to show his love to the living and to the dead." Naomi also said
to her, "The man is a near relative of ours." Ruth the Moabitess added,
"He said to me, 'You must keep near my young men until they have
completed all my harvest.'" Naomi said to Ruth, "It is best, my
daughter, that you should go out with his maidens and that no one should
find you in another field." So she gathered grain with the maidens of
Boaz until the end of the barley and wheat harvest; but she lived with
her mother-in-law.
[Illustration: (C) _Photographische Gesellschaft, Berlin_
_Ruth_
Painted by Henry Ryland]
Then Naomi said to her, "My daughter, shall I not try to find a home for
you where you will be happy and contented? Is not Boaz, with whose
maidens you have been, a relative of ours? This very night he is going
to winnow barley on the threshing-floor. So bathe and anoint yourself
and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing-floor; but do
not make yourself known to the man until he is through eating and
drinking. Then when he lies down, you mark the place where he lies. Go
in, uncover his feet, lie down, and then he will tell you what to
do." Ruth said to her, "I will do as you say."
So she went down to the threshing-floor and did just as her
mother-in-law told her. When Boaz was through eating and drinking and
was in a happy mood, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of
grain. Then Ruth came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. At
midnight the man was startled and turned over, and there was a woman
lying at his feet. He said, "Who are you?" She answered, "I am Ruth your
servant; spread therefore your skirt over your servant, for you are a
near relative." He said, "May you be blest by Jehovah, my daughter; for
you have shown me greater favor now than at first, for you have not
followed young men, whether poor or rich. My daughter, have no fear; I
will do for you all that you ask; for all my townsmen know that you are
a good woman. Now it is true that I am a near relative; yet there is one
nearer than I. Stay here to-night, and then in the morning, if he will
marry you, well, let him do it. But if he, being your nearest relative,
will not marry you, then as surely as Jehovah lives, I will do so. Lie
down until morning."
So she lay at his feet until morning, but rose before any one could tell
who she was, for Boaz said, "Let it not be known that a woman came to
the threshing-floor." He also said, "Bring the cloak which you have on
and hold it." So she held it while he poured into it six measures of
barley and laid it on her shoulders. Then he went into the city.
When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi said, "Is it you, my
daughter?" Then Ruth told Naomi all that the man had done for her. She
said, "He gave me these six measures of barley; for he said, 'Do not go
to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'" Naomi said, "Wait quietly, my
daughter, until you know how this will turn out, for the man will not
rest unless he settles it all to-day."
Then Boaz went up to the gate and sat down. Just then the near relative
of whom Boaz had spoken came along. To him Boaz said, "Ho!" calling him
by name, "come here and sit down." So he stopped and sat down. Boaz also
took ten of the town elders and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.
Then he said to the near relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the
country of Moab, is offering for sale the piece of land which belonged
to our relative Elimelech, and I thought that I would lay the matter
before you, and ask you to buy it in the presence of these men who sit
here and of the elders of my people. If you will buy it and so keep it
in the family, do so; but if not, then tell me, that I may know; for no
one but you has the right to buy it, and I am next to you." He said, "I
will buy it."
Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from Naomi, you must also
marry Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, that a son may be born to
bear his name and to receive this field." The near relative said, "I
cannot buy it for myself, for fear I should lose what already belongs to
me. You take my right of buying it as a relative, for I cannot do so."
Now in those days this was the custom in Israel: to make an agreement
between two men the one drew off his shoe and gave it to the other. So
when the near relative said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself," Boaz drew
off the man's shoe.
Then Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, "You are witnesses
at this time that I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that
was Chilion's and Mahlon's from Naomi. Moreover, I have secured Ruth,
the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife so that she may have a
son who will receive this land and carry on Mahlon's name. You are
witnesses this day."
Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, "We are
witnesses. May Jehovah make the woman who is coming into your house like
Rachel and Leah, and make you also famous in Bethlehem."
So Boaz married Ruth, and she became his wife; and Jehovah gave to her a
son. Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be Jehovah who has not left
you at this time without a near relative, and may his name be famous in
Israel. This child will bring back your strength and take care of you in
your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is worth more
to you than seven sons, has a son!"
So Naomi took the child in her arms and she became its nurse. Her
neighbors also said, "Naomi has a son!" and they named him Obed; he
became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.
SAMUEL THE BOY PROPHET
Elkanah, a Zuphite of the hill country of Ephraim, lived at Ramah with
his two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah
had none.
This man used to go up from his village each year to worship and offer a
sacrifice to Jehovah of hosts at Shiloh. Whenever the day came for
Elkanah to offer a sacrifice he gave portions to his wife Peninnah and
to all his sons and daughters; but although he loved Hannah, he gave her
only one portion, for Jehovah had given her no children. Peninnah made
her angry by mocking her, for Jehovah had given her no children. Elkanah
did this year after year; but whenever Hannah went up to the temple of
Jehovah, Peninnah made her so angry that she wept and would not eat. So
Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep and why do you
not eat? Why are you so troubled? Am I not more to you than ten sons?"
After they had eaten in Shiloh, Hannah arose and stood before the temple
of Jehovah, while Eli the priest was sitting on his seat beside the door
posts of the temple. With a sad heart she prayed earnestly to Jehovah
and wept bitterly. She also made this sacred promise:
"O Jehovah of hosts!
If thou wilt look at my affliction,
And remember, not forgetting thy servant,
But wilt give thy servant a son,
Then I will give him to thee,
Throughout all the days of his life;
And no razor shall touch his head."
While she continued praying before Jehovah, Eli watched her mouth. She
spoke to herself; her lips moved, but her voice was not heard, so that
Eli thought that she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you act
like a drunken woman? Put away your wine and go from the presence of
Jehovah." But Hannah answered, "No, my lord, I am an unhappy woman; I
have not drunk wine nor any strong drink, but I have been pouring out my
heart before Jehovah. Do not think that your servant is a wicked woman,
for I have gone on speaking until now because my grief and vexation are
so great." Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant
what you have asked of him." She said, "May your servant have your
approval!" So the woman went away and ate, and her face was no longer
sad.
Early in the morning she and her husband rose; and after they had
worshipped Jehovah, they returned to their home at Ramah. In the course
of the year Hannah had a son and named him Samuel, saying, "I asked him
of Jehovah."
Elkanah and all his household again went to offer the yearly sacrifice
to Jehovah, but Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "When
the child is weaned, then I will take him, and he shall go to Jehovah's
temple and live there the rest of his life." Elkanah said to her, "Do
what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only may Jehovah
help you to do what you have promised."
So the woman waited and nursed her son until she weaned him. Then she
took him with her, and a three-year-old ox, a bushel of flour, and a
skin of wine, and brought him to the temple of Jehovah at Shiloh. Then
they killed
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