Jacob. And Jacob boiled pottage: and Esau came in from the field, and
he was faint: and Esau said to Jacob, "Feed me, I pray thee, with that
same red pottage; for I am faint."
And Jacob said, "Sell me this day thy birthright."
And Esau said, "Behold, I am at the point of death: and what profit
shall the birthright be to me?"
And Jacob said, "Swear to me this day"; and he swore unto him: and he
sold his birthright to Jacob.
And Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and {61} he ate and
drank, and rose up, and went his way: so Esau despised his birthright.
And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim,
so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said to
him, "My son": and he said to him, "Here am I."
And he said, "Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death.
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow,
and go out to the field, and take me venison; and make me savoury
meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul
may bless thee before I die."
And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to
the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spoke to
Jacob her son, saying, "Behold, I heard thy father speak to Esau thy
brother, saying, 'Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I
may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.' Now
therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command
thee. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of
the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as
he loveth: and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, so
that he may bless thee before his death."
And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Behold, Esau my brother is a
hairy man, and I am a smooth man. My father peradventure will feel me,
and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon
me, and not a blessing."
{62}
And his mother said unto him, "Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey
my voice, and go fetch me them."
And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his
mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. And Rebekah took
the goodly garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the
house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: and she put the skins
of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his
neck: and she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had
prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came unto his father,
and said, "My father": and he said, "Here am I; who art thou, my son?"
And Jacob said unto his father, "I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done
according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my
venison, that thy soul may bless me."
And Isaac said unto his son, "How is it that thou hast found it so
quickly, my son?"
And he said, "Because the Lord thy God sent me good speed."
And Isaac said unto Jacob, "Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel
thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not."
And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said,
"The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."
And he knew him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother
Esau's hands: so he blessed him.
And he said, "Art thou my very son Esau?"
{63}{64}
[Illustration]
JACOB'S DREAM
By Murillo
[End illustration]
{65}
And he said, "I am."
And he said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my
son's venison, that my soul may bless thee."
And he brought it near to him, and he ate: and he
brought him wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac
said unto him, "Come near now, and kiss me, my son."
And he came near, and kissed him.
And he smelled the smell of his garment, and blessed
him, and said,--
"See, the smell of my son
Is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed:
And God give thee of the dew of heaven,
And of the fatness of the earth,
And plenty of corn and wine:
Let peoples serve thee,
And nations bow down to thee:
Be lord over thy brethren,
And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee:
Cursed be everyone that curseth thee,
And blessed be everyone that blesseth thee."
And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing
Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac
his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And he
also made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father; and he said
unto his father, "Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison,
that thy soul may bless me."
And Isaac his father said unto him, "Who art thou?"
{66}
And he said, "I am thy son, thy firstborn, Esau." And Isaac trembled
very exceedingly, and said, "Who then is he that hath taken venison
and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before thou earnest, and
have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed."
When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding
great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, "Bless me, even me
also, O my father."
And he said, "Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy
blessing."
And he said, "Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me
these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath
taken away my blessing."
And he said, "Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?"
And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, "Behold, I have made him thy
lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with
corn and wine have I sustained him: and what then shall I do for thee,
my son?"
And Esau said unto his father, "Hast thou but one blessing, my father?
bless me, even me also, O my father."
And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered
and said unto him:--
"Behold, of the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling,
And of the dew of heaven from above;
And by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother;
{67}
And it shall come to pass when thou shalt break loose,
That thou shalt shake his yoke from off thy neck."
And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father
blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my
father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob."
And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah; and she sent
and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, "Behold, thy
brother Esau comforts himself, purposing to kill thee. Now therefore,
my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to
Haran; and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn
away; until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget
that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee
from thence: why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?"
JACOB GOES FORTH FROM HOME.
_He Dreams a Dream of of Ladder Reaching to Heaven_.
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said
unto him, "Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father;
and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy
mother's brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful,
and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples; and give
thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy family with thee;
that thou mayest {68} inherit the land of thy sojournings, which God
gave unto Abraham."
And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of
Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to
Paddan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed
him he gave him a charge, saying, "Thou shalt not take a wife of the
daughters of Canaan"; and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother,
and was gone to Paddan-aram.
And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he came
upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was
set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his
head, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold
a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and
behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold,
the Lord stood above it, and said, "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham
thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee
will I give it, and to thy family; and thy family shall be as the dust
of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the
east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy
family shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I
am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will
bring thee again into this land; for {69} I will not leave thee, until
I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, "Surely the Lord is in
this place; and I knew it not."
And he was afraid, and said, "How dreadful is this place! this is none
other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."
And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had
put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon
the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the
name of the city was Luz at the first.
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep
me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment
to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then
shall the Lord be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a
pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I
will surely give the tenth unto thee."
JACOB AND RACHEL.
_How Jacob Served Seven Years for the Woman He Loved_.
Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the children
of the east. And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo,
three flocks of sheep lying there by it; for out of that well they
watered the flocks: and the stone upon the well's mouth was great. And
thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from
the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and {70} put the stone again
upon the well's mouth in its place. And Jacob said unto them, "My
brethren, whence are ye?" And they said, "Of Haran are we." And he
said unto them, "Know ye Laban the son of Nahor?"
And they said, "We know him."
And he said unto them, "Is it well with him?"
And they said, "It is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh
with the sheep."
And he said, "Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the
cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and
feed them."
And they said, "We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together,
and they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the
sheep."
While he yet spoke with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep; for
she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter
of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's
brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's
mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. And Jacob
kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. And Jacob told
Rachel that he was her father's nephew, and that he was Rebekah's son:
and she ran and told her father. And it came to pass, when Laban heard
the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and
embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he
told Laban all these things.
And Laban said to him, "Surely thou art my bone and my flesh."
{71}
And he abode with him the space of a month.. And Laban said unto
Jacob, "Because thou art my nephew, shouldest thou therefore serve me
for nought? tell me what shall thy wages be?"
And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the
name of the younger was Rachel. And Leah's eyes were tender; but
Rachel was beautiful and well favored. And Jacob loved Rachel; and he
said, "I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter."
And Laban said, "It is better that I give her to thee, than that I
should give her to another man: abide with me."
And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but
a few days, for the love he had to her.
JACOB SETS OUT FOR HIS NATIVE LAND.
_He Is Pursued by Laban, but a Covenant of Peace Is Made Between Them_.
(Jacob also took Leah to be his wife. After many years of service, in
which time many sons and daughters were born to him, Jacob, who
increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maidservants and
menservants, and camels and asses, wished to depart from the household
of his father-in-law to his native land. So he went away secretly,
with his wives and all his possessions. )
Now Laban was angry, and pursued Jacob, and Laban came up with Jacob.
Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain: and Laban with his
brethren pitched in the mountain of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob,
"What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and
carried away my daughters as captives of the {72} sword? Wherefore
didst thou flee secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell
me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth and with songs, with
tabret and with harp; and hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my
daughters? now hast thou done foolishly. It is in the power of my hand
to do you hurt: but the God of your father spoke unto me yesternight,
saying, 'Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good
or bad.'"
And Jacob was wroth with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban,
"What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast hotly pursued
after me? This twenty years have I been with thee. The sheep of the
flock which were torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bore the
loss of them; of my hand didst thou require them, whether stolen by
day or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed
me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes. These
twenty years have I been in thy house; I served thee fourteen years
for thy two daughters, and six years for thy flock: and thou hast
changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of
Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst
thou sent me away empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor
of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight."
{73}{74}
[Illustration]
HEBRON
Hebron, famous in Old Testament story, is to-day one of the four
sacred cities of the Moslems. It is in a little valley surrounded by
hills, which are still covered with vineyards.
[End illustration]
{75}
And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, "The daughters are my
daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my
flocks and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day
unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have borne?
And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a
witness between me and thee."
And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said
unto his brethren, "Gather stones"; and they took stones, and made an
heap: and they ate there by the heap. And Laban called it
"Jegar-sahadutha": but Jacob called it Galeed.
And Laban said, "This heap is witness between me and thee this day."
Therefore was the name of it called Galeed: and "Mizpah" (that is,
watchtower), for he said,
"The Lord watch between me and thee,
When we are absent one from another."
"If thou shalt afflict my daughters, and if thou shalt take wives
beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness between me
and thee."
And Laban said to Jacob, "Behold this heap, and behold the pillar,
which I have set between me and thee. This heap be witness, and the
pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and
that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for
harm.
"The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father,
judge between us."
And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. And Jacob offered a
sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread: and
they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mountain. And early in
the morning {76} Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters,
and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.
And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And Jacob said
when he saw them, "This is God's host": and he called the name of that
place Mahanaim (that is, Two Hosts).
JACOB FEARS THE WRATH OF ESAU.
_He Wrestles with the Angel. The Brothers Meet and are Reconciled_.
And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land
of Seir, the field of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, "Thus shall
ye say unto my lord Esau; 'Thus saith thy servant Jacob, I have
sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now: and I have oxen, and asses
and flocks, and menservants and maidservants: and I have sent to tell
my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.'"
And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to thy brother
Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with
him."
Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed: and he divided the
people that was with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the
camels, into two companies; and he said, "If Esau come to the one
company, and smite it, then the company which is left shall escape."
{77}{78}
[Illustration]
THE VALLEY OF THE JABBOK
From a photograph taken by Prof. H. G. Mitchell
and used by his kind permission.
Over this stream Jacob sent his family and his flock while he
remained to wrestle with the angel through the night.
[End illustration]
{79}
And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father
Isaac, O Lord, who saidst unto me, 'Return unto thy country, and to
thy kindred, and I will do thee good': I am not worthy of the least of
all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy
servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am
become two companies. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my
brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he come and smite
me, the mother with the children. And thou saidst, 'I will surely do
thee good, and make thy family as the sand of the sea, which cannot be
numbered for multitude.'"
And he lodged there that night; and took of that which he had with him
a present for Esau his brother; two hundred she-goats and twenty
he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milch camels and
their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals.
And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by
itself; and said unto his servants, "Pass over before me, and put a
space between drove and drove."
And he commanded the foremost, saying, "When Esau my brother meeteth
thee, and asketh thee, saying, 'Whose art thou? and whither goest
thou? and whose are these before thee?' then thou shalt say, 'They are
thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and,
behold, he also is behind us.'"
And he commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed
the droves, saying, "On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye
find him; and ye shall say, 'Moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is
behind us.'"
For he said, "I will appease him with the present that {80} goeth
before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will
accept me."
So the present passed over before him: and he himself
lodged that night in the company.
And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two
handmaids, and his eleven children, and passed over the ford of
Jabbok. And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over
that which he had. And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man
with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he
prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the
hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him. And he
said, "Let me go, for the day breaketh."
And he said, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."
And he said unto him, "What is thy name?"
And he said, "Jacob."
And he said, "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for
thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed."
And Jacob asked him and said, "Tell me, I pray thee, thy name."
And he said, "Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name?"
And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place
Penuel: for, said he, "I have seen God face, to face, and my life is
preserved."
{81}{82}
[Illustration]
NABLOUS, THE ANCIENT SHECHEM, IN THE VALLEY BETWEEN
MOUNTS EBAL AND GERIZIM
Used by special permission of the Detroit Photograph Company.
The first camping place of Abraham. Jacob built an altar here, and
dug a well, and here Joseph was buried. Joshua set up a great stone
"as a witness" here at the end of his life. It was here at "Jacob's
well," about a mile and a half from the town, that Jesus met the
woman of Samaria.
[End illustration]
{83}
And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Penuel, and he limped upon
his thigh.
And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and
with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and
unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and
their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel
and Joseph hindermost. And he himself passed over before them, and
bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his
brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his
neck, and kissed him: and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and
saw the women and the children; and said, "Who are these with thee?"
And he said, "The children which God hath graciously given thy
servant."
Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and they bowed
themselves. And Leah also and her children came near, and bowed
themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed
themselves. And he said, "What meanest thou by all this company which
I met?"
And he said, "To find grace in the sight of my lord." And Esau said,
"I have enough; my brother, let that which thou hast be thine."
And Jacob said, "Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy
sight, then receive my present at my hand: forasmuch as I have seen
thy face, as one seeth the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
Take, I {84} pray thee, my gift that is brought to thee; because God
hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough."
And he urged him, and he took it.
And he said, "Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go
before thee."
And he said unto him, "My lord knoweth that the children are tender,
and that the flocks and herds with me have their young: and if they
overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die. Let my lord, I pray
thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on gently,
according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according
to the pace of the children, until I come unto my lord unto Seir."
And Esau said, "Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are
with me."
And he said, "What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my
lord."
So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob journeyed to
Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle:
therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land
of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram; and encamped before the
city. And he bought the parcel of ground where he had spread his tent,
at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred
pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it "God,
the God of Israel."
{85}{86}
[Illustration]
BETHEL
Photograph taken by Mrs. Frank L. Goodspeed, of Springfield, Mass.,
and used by her kind permission.
One of Abraham's camping grounds and the place of Jacob's dream.
[End illustration]
{87}
JACOB ERECTS AN ALTAR AT BETH-EL.
_He Is Given a New Name. The Death of Rachel_.
And God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and
make there an altar unto God, who appeared unto thee when thou
fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother."
Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him,
"Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves,
and change your garments: and let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and
I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my
distress, and was with me in the way which I went."
And they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand,
and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the
oak which was by Shechem. And they journeyed: and a great terror was
upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue
after the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz (the same is Beth-el),
he and all the people that were with him. And he built there an altar,
and called the place, "The God of Beth-el": because there God was
revealed to him, when he fled from the face of his brother. And
Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried below Beth-el under
the oak: and the name of it was called "The Oak of Weeping."
And God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and
blessed him. And God said unto him, "Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall
not be called any {88} more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name:" and
he called his name Israel.
And God said unto him, "I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a
nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come
from thee; and the land which I gave unto Abraham and Isaac, to thee I
will give it, and to thy family after thee will I give the land."
And God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him. And
Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a pillar
of stone: and he poured out a drink offering thereon, and poured oil
thereon. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with
him, "Beth-el."
And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is
Bethlehem). And Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave: the same is the
Pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
(In this place Jacob lived for many years; but the sorrow that came to
him, and the wonderful things that befell him in his old age, and how
he journeyed to Egypt, and died there, are told in the next story, the
story of Joseph, his son.)
{89}{90}
[Illustration]
MOSES
From the frieze of the Prophets, by Sargent, in the Boston Public
Library.
[End illustration]
{91}
JOSEPH
_The Story of the Shepherd Boy Who Was Sold into Bondage, and How He
Became Ruler in a Great Nation_.
A COWARDLY DEED.
_Joseph Arouses the Enmity of His Older Brethren, and They Sell Him into
Slavery_.
(Joseph and Benjamin were the sons of Rachel, Jacob's best loved wife.
Their mother died while Joseph was still a little boy and Benjamin was a
baby. Their father loved the two motherless boys very much.)
Joseph, when he was seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with
his brethren; and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah, and with the
sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought an evil report
of them unto their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his
children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a
coat of many colors. And his brethren saw that their father loved him
more than all his brethren; and they hated him, and could not speak
peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his
brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them,
"Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: for, behold, we
were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and stood
upright; and, {92} behold, your sheaves came round about, and bowed
down to my sheaf."
And his brethren said to him, "Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or
shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?"
And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And
he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said,
"Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon
and eleven stars bowed down to me."
And he told it to his father, and to his brethren; and his father
rebuked him, and said unto him, "What is this dream that thou hast
dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow
down ourselves to thee to the earth?"
And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying in mind.
And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And
Israel said unto Joseph, "Do not thy brethren feed the flock in
Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them."
And he said to him, "Here am I."
And he said to him, "Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren,
and well with the flock; and bring me word again."
So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And
a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field:
and the man asked him, saying, "What seekest thou?" And he said, "I
seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding the
flock."
{93}{94}
[Illustration]
A CARAVAN LOADING FOR A JOURNEY
From a photograph in the possession of Dr. W. J. Moulton
and used by his kind permission.
[End illustration]
{95}
And the man said, "They are departed hence: for I heard them say, 'Let
us go to Dothan.'"
And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And they
saw him afar off, and before he came near unto them, they conspired
against him to slay him. And they said one to another, "Behold, this
dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him
into one of the pits, and we will say, 'An evil beast hath devoured
him': and we shall see what will become of his dreams."
And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand; and said,
"Let us not take his life."
And Reuben said unto them, "Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that
is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him": that he might deliver
him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.
And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they
stript Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him;
and they took him and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty,
there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they
lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites
came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and
myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his
brethren, "What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his
blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our
hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh," And his brethren
hearkened unto him.
{96}
And they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to
the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph
into Egypt. And Reuben returned un to the pit; and, behold, Joseph was
not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his
brethren, and said, "The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?"
And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat
in the blood; and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought
it to their father; and said, "This have we found: know now whether it
be thy son's coat or not."
And he knew it, and said, "It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath
devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces."
And Jacob rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and
mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters
rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said,
"For I will go down to the grave to my son mourning." And his father
wept for him.
JOSEPH IN EGYPT.
_Fortunate at First, He is Cast into Prison, but Even There He Finds
Favor_.
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of
Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand
of the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down thither. And the Lord was
with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his
master the Egyptian.
{97}{98}
[Illustration]
A VIEW OF THE PYRAMIDS AND THE SPHINX
From a photograph belonging to Miss Clara L. Bodman and used by her
kind permission.
Egypt is a land of wonder and romance, the seat of one of the oldest
civilizations on the face of the globe. Its ancient temples and
statues, though in ruins, are among the most beautiful and wonderful
in the world. Many of the tombs have been plundered, yet one has
only just been opened which contained untouched the priceless
memorial of that early time. This is the land over which the Hebrew
shepherd lad Joseph ruled and out of which the Hebrew people finally
marched to freedom.
[End illustration]
{99}
And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made
all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his
sight, and he ministered unto him: and he made him overseer over his
house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass
from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all
that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's
sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had, in the
house and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand;
and he knew not aught that was with him, save the bread which he did
eat.
(But Joseph's mistress was a wicked woman, and, because Joseph would
not do wrong, told what was not true about him to his master, so that
Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, the place where
the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.)
But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed kindness unto him, and gave
him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of
the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in
the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The
keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand,
because the Lord was with him; and that which he did, the Lord made it
to prosper.
JOSEPH INTERPRETS THE DREAMS OF PHARAOH'S OFFICERS.
_The Fate of the Chief Butler and of the Baker of the King_.
And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of
Egypt and his baker offended their lord the {100} king of Egypt. And
Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of the
butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them into the
prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard
charged Joseph with them, and he ministered unto them: and they
continued a season in prison.
And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream, in one
night, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound
in the prison. And Joseph came in to them in the morning, and saw
them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers that
were with him in prison, saying, "Wherefore look ye so sad to-day?"
And they said unto him, "We have dreamed a dream, and there is none
that can interpret it."
And Joseph said unto them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell
it me, I pray you."
And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, "In my
dream, behold, a vine was before me; and in the vine were three
branches: and it was as though it budded, and its blossoms shot forth;
and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: and Pharaoh's cup
was in my hand; and I took the grape: and pressed them into Pharaoh's
cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand."
{101}{102}
[Illustration]
A GROVE OF DATE PALMS IN EGYPT
From a photograph belonging to Miss Clara L. Bodman
and used by her kind permission.
[End illustration]
{103}
And Joseph said unto him, "This is the interpretation of it: the three
branches are three days; within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up
thine head, and restore thee unto thine office: and thou shalt give
Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast
his butler. But have me in thy remembrance when it shall be well with
thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, to me, and make mention of me
unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: for indeed I was stolen
away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing
that they should put me into the dungeon."
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said
unto Joseph, "I also was in my dream, and, behold, three baskets of
white bread were on my head: and in the uppermost basket there was all
manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds ate them out of the
basket upon my head."
And Joseph answered and said, "This is the interpretation thereof: the
three baskets are three days; within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift
up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the
birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee."
And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that
he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of
the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants.
And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he
gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: but he hanged the chief baker: as
Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler remember
Joseph, but forgot him.
{104}
THE SEVEN FAT KINE AND THE SEVEN LEAN KINE
_Which Joseph Told the King Meant Seven Fat Years of Plenty and Seven
Lean Years of Want. The Hebrew Boy is Made Chief Ruler of Egypt. The
Famine Comes_.
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh
dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. And, behold, there came
up out of the river seven kine, well favored and fatfleshed; and they
fed in the reed-grass. And, behold, seven other kine came up after
them out of the river, ill favored and leanfleshed; and stood by the
other kine upon the brink of the river. And the ill favored and
leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favored and fat kine. So
Pharaoh awoke.
And he slept and dreamed a second time: and, behold, seven ears of
corn came up upon one stalk, full and good. And, behold, seven ears,
thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. And the
thin ears swallowed up the seven full and good ears. And Pharaoh
awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. And it came to pass in the morning
that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the
magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told
them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto
Pharaoh.
Then spoke the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, "I do remember my
faults this day: Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in
prison in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief
baker: and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each
man according to the interpretation of his dream. And {105} there was
with us there a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the
guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each
man according to his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass as he
interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him
he hanged."
Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out
of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and
came in to Pharaoh.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have dreamed a dream, and there is none
that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that when thou
hearest a dream thou canst interpret it."
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me: God shall give
Pharaoh an answer of peace."
And Pharaoh spoke unto Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I stood upon the
brink of the river: and, behold, there came up out of the river seven
kine, fatfleshed and well favored; and they fed in the reed-grass:
and, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill
favored and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt
for badness: and the lean and ill favored kine ate up the first seven
fat kine: and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that
they had eaten them; but they were still ill favored as at the
beginning. So I awoke.
"And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up upon one
stalk, full and good: and, behold, seven ears, {106} withered, thin,
and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: and the thin
ears swallowed up the seven good ears: and I told it unto the
magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me."
And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, "The dream of Pharaoh is one: what God
is about to do he hath declared unto Pharaoh. The seven good kine are
seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is
one. And the seven lean and ill favored kine that came up after them
are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east
wind; they shall be seven years of famine. That is the thing which I
spoke unto Pharaoh: what God is about to do he hath showed unto
Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all
the land of Egypt: and there shall arise after them seven years of
famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt;
and the famine shall consume the land; and the plenty shall not be
known in the land by reason of that famine which followeth; for it
shall be very grievous. And the reason that the dream was doubled to
Pharaoh is because the thing is established by God, and God will
shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man
discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do
this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the
fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let
them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up
corn under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them
keep it. And the food shall be for {107} a store to the land against
the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that
the land perish not through the famine."
And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all
his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a
one as this, a man in whom the spirit of God is?"
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, "Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all
this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou: thou shalt be over
my house, and according to thy word shall all my people be ruled: only
in the throne will I be greater than thou." And Pharaoh said unto
Joseph, "See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt."
And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it upon
Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a
gold chain about his neck; and he made him to ride in the second
chariot which he had; and they cried before him, "Bow the knee": and
he set him over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I
am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot
in all the land of Egypt."
And Pharaoh gave Joseph Asenath the daughter of Poti-phera the priest
of On to be his wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of
Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went
throughout all the land of {108} Egypt. And in the seven plenteous
years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the
food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up
the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about
every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph laid up corn as the
sand of the sea, very much, until he left measuring; for it was
without measure. And to Joseph were born two sons before the year of
famine came, which his wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-phera priest
of On bore to him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn
Manasseh: "For," said he, "God hath made me forget all my toil, and
all my father's house." And the name of the second called he Ephraim:
"For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."
And the seven years of plenty, that was in the land of Egypt, came to
an end. And the seven years of famine began to come, according as
Joseph had said: and there was famine in all lands; but in all the
land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was
famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto
all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; what he saith to you, do."
And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened
all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine was
sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph
to buy corn; because the famine was sore in all the earth.
{109}{110}
[Illustration]
A VIEW OF THE PYRAMIDS, WITH A VILLAGE IN THE FOREGROUND
From a photograph belonging to Miss Clara L. Bodman
and used by her kind permission.
The pyramids, which are seen in the distance in this picture, were
considered one of the "Seven Wonders of the World." There are
seventy of them in Egypt and they were built as tombs of the
Pharaohs. The "Great Pyramid" is four hundred and eighty feet and
nine inches high; it is supposed to have taken one hundred thousand
men fifty years to build it, and the date is given as from 3229 to
2123 B.C.
[End illustration]
{111}
THE SONS OF JACOB COME TO EGYPT TO BUY CORN.
_They Do Not Recognize, in the Ruler of the Land, the Brother Whom They
Sold. He Commands Them to Bring Their Youngest Brother to Egypt_.
Now Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, and Jacob said to his
sons, "Why do ye look one upon another?"
And he said, "Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get
you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and
not die."
And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn from Egypt. But
Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he
said, "Lest peradventure mischief befall him."
And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that came: for the
famine was in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the
land; he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's
brethren came, and bowed down themselves to him with their faces to
the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made
himself strange to them, and spoke roughly with them; and he said unto
them, "Whence come ye?"
And they said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food." And Joseph knew
his brethren, but they knew not him.
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said
unto them, "Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are
come."
And they said unto him, "Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy
servants come. We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy
servants are no spies."
{112}
And he said to them, "Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are
come."
And they said, "We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one
man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with
our father, and one is not."
And Joseph said unto them, "That is it that I spoke unto you, saying,
'Ye are spies': hereby ye shall be proved: 'by the life of Pharaoh ye
shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be
bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you:
or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies." And he put them
all together into prison three days.
And Joseph said unto them the third day, "This do, and live; for I
fear God: if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your
prison house; but go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: and
bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified,
and ye shall not die."
And they did so. And they said one to another, "We are verily guilty
concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when
he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come
upon us."
And Reuben answered them, saying, "Spoke I not unto you, saying, 'Do
not sin against the child'; and ye would not hear? therefore also,
behold, his blood is required."
And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for there was an
interpreter between them.
And he turned himself about from them, and wept; {113} and he returned
to them, and spoke to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound
him before their eyes. Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels
with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give
them provisions for the way: and thus was it done unto them. And they
loaded their asses with their corn, and departed thence. And as one of
them opened his sack to feed his ass in the lodging place, he espied
his money; and, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. And he said
unto his brethren, "My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my
sack": and their heart failed them, and they turned trembling one to
another, saying, "What is this that God hath done unto us?"
And they came to Jacob their father to the land of Canaan, and told
him all that had befallen them; saying, "The man, the lord of the
land, spoke roughly with us, and took us for spies of the country. And
we said to him, 'We are true men; we are no spies: we are twelve
brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day
with our father in the land of Canaan.'
"And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us, 'Hereby shall I know
that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren with me, and take
corn for the famine of your houses, and go your way: and bring your
youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but
that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall
traffic in the land.'"
And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every
man's bundle of money was in his sack: and {114} when they and their
father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their
father said unto them, "Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is
not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these
things are against me."
And Reuben spoke unto his father, saying, "Slay my two sons, if I
bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him
to thee again." And he said, "My son shall not go down with you; for
his brother is dead, and he only is left: if mischief befall him by
the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with
sorrow to the grave."
JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS.
_Jacob at First Refuses, but at Length Consents, to Let Benjamin Go.
Joseph Places the Money in the Sacks. He Threatens the Brothers with
Punishment. He tells His Brothers Who He Is, Forgives Them, and Takes
Them Into His Favor_.
And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they
had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their
father said unto them, "Go again, buy us a little food."
And Judah spoke unto him, saying, "The man did solemnly protest unto
us, saying, 'Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with
you.' If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy
thee food: but if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the
man said unto us, 'Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be
with you.'"
{115}
And Israel said, "Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the
man whether ye had yet a brother?"
And they said, "The man asked strictly concerning ourselves, and
concerning our kindred, saying, 'Is your father yet alive? have ye
another brother?' and we told him according to the nature of these
words: could we in any wise know that he would say, 'Bring your
brother down'?"
And Judah said unto Israel his father, "Send the lad with me, and we
will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou,
and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt
thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before
thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: for except we had lingered,
surely we had now returned a second time."
And their father Israel said unto them, "If it be so now, do this;
take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down
the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and
myrrh, nuts, and almonds: and take double money in your hand; and the
money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your
hand; peradventure it was an oversight: take also your brother, and
arise, go again unto the man: and God Almighty give you mercy before
the man, that he may release unto you your other brother and Benjamin.
And if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."
And the men took that present, and they took double money in their
hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood
before Joseph. And when {116} Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said
to the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house, and slay,
and make ready; for the men shall dine with me at noon."
And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into
Joseph's house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought
into Joseph's house; and they said, "Because of the money that was
returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may
seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen,
and our asses."
And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they spoke
unto him at the door of the house, and said, "Oh my lord, we came
indeed down at the first time to buy food: and it came to pass, when
we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold,
every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full
weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have
we brought down in our hand to buy food: we know not who put our money
in our sacks."
And he said, "Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your
father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money."
And he brought Simeon out to them. And the man brought the men into
Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and
he gave their asses provender. And they made ready the present for
Joseph's coming at noon: for they heard that they should eat there.
And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in
their hand into the house, and bowed {117} down themselves to him to
the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said, "Is your
father well, the old man of whom ye spoke? Is he yet alive?" and they
said, "Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive." And they
bowed the head, and made obeisance.
And he lifted up his eyes and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother's
son, and said, "Is this your youngest brother, of whom ye spoke unto
me?" And he said, "God be gracious unto thee, my son."
And Joseph made haste; for his heart yearned over his brother: and he
sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
And he washed his face and came out; and he refrained himself, and
said, "Set on food."
And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and
for the Egyptians, who ate with him, by themselves: because the
Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination
to the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to
his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men
marveled one with another. And he took of the food and sent portions
to them from before him: but Benjamin's portion was five times as much
as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.
And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, "Fill the men's
sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money
in his sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's
mouth of the youngest, and his corn money."
{118}
And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as
the morning was light the men were sent away, they and their asses.
And when they were gone out of the city, and were not yet far off,
Joseph said to his steward, "Up, follow after the men; and when thou
dost overtake them, say to them, 'Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for
good? Is not this the cup from which my lord drinketh, and whereby he
indeed divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.'"
And he overtook them, and he spoke unto them these words. And they
said unto him, "Wherefore speaketh my lord such words as these? God
forbid that thy servants should do such a thing. Behold, the money,
which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of
the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house
silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, let him
die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen."
And he said, "Now also let it be according unto your words: he with
whom it is found shall be my bondman; and ye shall be blameless."
Then they hasted, and took down every man his sack to the ground, and
opened every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the eldest,
and left off at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's
sack. Then they rent their clothes, and loaded every man his ass, and
returned to the city. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's
house; and he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.
And Joseph said {119} unto them, "What deed is this that ye have done?
know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine?"
And Judah said, "What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak?
or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of
thy servants: behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, and he also
in whose hand the cup is found."
And he said, "God forbid that I should do so: the man in whose hand
the cup is found, he shall be my bondman; but as for you, get you up
in peace unto your father."
Then Judah came near unto him, and said, "Oh my lord, let thy servant,
I pray thee, speak a word to my lord, and let not thine anger burn
against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord asked his
servants, saying, 'Have ye a father, or a brother?' And we said unto
my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a
little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his
mother, and his father loveth him.' And thou saidst unto thy servants,
'Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.' And we
said to my lord, 'The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should
leave his father, his father would die.' And thou saidst unto thy
servants, 'Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall
see my face no more.' And it came to pass when we came up to thy
servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And our father
said, 'Go again, buy us a little food.' And we said, 'We cannot go
down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will {120} we go down:
for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with
us.' And thy servant my father said to us, 'Ye know that my wife bore
me two sons: and the one went out from me, and I said, "Surely he is
torn in pieces"; and I have not seen him since: and if ye take this
one also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray
hairs in sorrow to the grave.' Now therefore when I come to thy
servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is
bound up in the lad's life; it shall come to pass, when he seeth that
the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring
down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the
grave. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father,
saying, 'If I bring him not unto thee, then shall I bear the blame to
my father for ever.' Now therefore, let thy servant, I pray thee,
abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up
with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be
not with me? lest I see the evil that shall come on my father."
Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by
him; and he cried, "Cause every man to go out from me."
And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known to
his brethren. And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians heard, and the
house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, "I am
Joseph; doth my father yet live?"
And his brethren could not answer him; for they were {121} troubled at
his presence. And Joseph said to his brethren, "Come near to me, I
pray you."
And they came near. And he said, "I am Joseph your brother, whom ye
sold into Egypt. And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves,
that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve
life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and there
are yet five years, in the which there shall be neither plowing nor
harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the
earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. So now it was not
you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to
Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of
Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, 'Thus saith
thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me,
tarry not: and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt
be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children,
and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: and there will
I nourish thee; for there are yet five years of famine; lest thou come
to poverty, thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast. And,
behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is
my mouth that speaketh unto you.' And ye shall tell my father of all
my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste
and bring down my father hither."
And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept; and Benjamin
wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his {122} brethren, and wept
with them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
And the report thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, "Joseph's
brethren are come": and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And
Pharaoh said unto Joseph, "Say unto thy brethren, 'This do ye; load
your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; and take your
father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the
good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.' Now
thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of
Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father,
and come. Also regard not your possessions; for the good of all the
land of Egypt is yours."
And the sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according
to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the way.
To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he
gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And
to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good
things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with corn and bread and
victual for his father by the way.
So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said to them,
"See that ye fall not out by the way."
And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan to
Jacob their father. And they told him, saying, "Joseph is yet alive,
and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." And his heart fainted,
for he {123} believed them not. And they told him all the words of
Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which
Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father
revived: and Israel said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I
will go and see him before I die."
JACOB IN EGYPT.
_The Famine Wastes the Land. Death of Jacob. Death of Joseph_.
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to
Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And
God spoke unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, "Jacob,
Jacob."
And he said, "Here am I."
And he said, "I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down
into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go
down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again:
and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes."
And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried
Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the
wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they took their cattle
and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came
into Egypt, Jacob, and all his family with him: his sons, and his
sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all
his family brought he with him into Egypt.
And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to show the way before him
unto Goshen; and they came into the {124} land of Goshen. And Joseph
made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to
Goshen; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck, and
wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, "Now let
me die, since I have seen thy face, and know that thou art yet alive."
And Joseph said to his brethren, and to his father's house, "I will go
up, and tell Pharaoh, and will say unto him, 'My brethren, and my
father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me;
and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle; and
they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they
have.' And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and
shall say, 'What is your occupation?' that ye shall say, 'Thy servants
have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we,
and our fathers': that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every
shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians."
Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my
brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have,
are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land
of Goshen."
And from among his brethren he took five men, and presented them to
Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to his brethren, "What is your occupation?"
And they said to Pharaoh, "Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and
our fathers."
And they said to Pharaoh, "To sojourn in the land are we come; for
there is no pasture for thy servants' {125} flocks; for the famine is
sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy
servants dwell in the land of Goshen."
And Pharaoh spoke unto Joseph, saying, "Thy father and thy brethren
are come to thee: the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the
land make thy father and thy brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen
let them dwell: and if thou knowest any able men among them, then make
them rulers over my cattle."
And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh:
and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, "How many are
the days of the years of thy life?"
And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage
are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of
the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the
years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage."
And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.
And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a
possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land
of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father,
and his brethren, and all his father's household, with food, according
to their families.
And there was no food in all the land; for the famine was very sore,
so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of
the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the
land of {126} Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which
they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. And
when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt, and in the land of
Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, "Give us bread:
for why should we die in thy presence? for our money faileth."
And Joseph said, "Give your cattle; and I will give you for your
cattle if money fail."
And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them food
in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks, and for the herds, and
for the asses: and he fed them with food in exchange for all their
cattle for that year. And when that year was ended, they came to him
the second year, and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord, how
that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle are my lord's;
there is nought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our
lands: wherefore should we die before thine eyes, both we and our
land? buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be
servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not
die, and that the land be not desolate."
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians
sold every man his field, because the famine was sore upon them: and
the land became Pharaoh's. And as for the people, he removed them to
the cities from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other end
thereof.
{127}{128}
[Illustration]
A VIEW IN LUXOR
From a photograph belonging to Miss Clara L. Bodman
and used by her kind permission.
[End illustration]
{129}
Only the land of the priests bought he not: for the priests had a
portion from Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave
them; wherefore they sold not their land. Then Joseph said unto the
people, "Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh:
lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come
to pass at the ingatherings, that ye shall give a fifth to Pharaoh,
and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your
food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little
ones."
And they said, "Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the
sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants."
And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt unto this
day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests
alone became not Pharaoh's. And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in
the land of Goshen; and they got them possessions therein, and were
fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly.
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the days of
Jacob, the years of his life, were an hundred forty and seven years.
And the time drew near that Israel must die: and he called his son
Joseph, and said unto him, "If now I have found grace in thy sight,
put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly
with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: bury me with my fathers
in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave
that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land
of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite
for a possession of a buryingplace: there they {130} buried Abraham
and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and
there I buried Leah: the field and the cave that is therein, which was
purchased from the children of Heth."
And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he laid himself down
upon his bed and died. And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and
wept upon him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the
physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days
of embalming: and the Egyptians wept for him threescore and ten days.
And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke unto the
house of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found grace in your eyes,
speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 'My father made me
swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in
the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go
up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.'"
And Pharaoh said, "Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made
thee swear." And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went
up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the
elders of the land of Egypt, and all the house of Joseph, and his
brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their
flocks and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there
went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great
{131} company. And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is
beyond Jordan, and there they lamented with a very great and sore
lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days. And
when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in
the floor of Atad, they said, "This is a grievous mourning to the
Egyptians": wherefore the name of it was called "The Mourning of
Egypt," which is beyond Jordan. And his sons did unto him according as
he commanded them: for his sons carried him into the land of Canaan,
and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham
bought with the field, for a possession of a buryingplace, of Ephron
the Hittite, before Mamre.
And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that
went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said,
"It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the
evil which we did unto him." And they sent a message unto Joseph,
saying, "Thy father did command before he died, saying, 'So shall ye
say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the transgression of thy
brethren, and their sin, in that they did unto thee evil': and now, we
pray thee, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of thy
father."
And Joseph wept when they spoke unto him. And his brethren also went
and fell down before his face; and they said, "Behold, we are thy
servants." And Joseph {132} said unto them, "Fear not: for am I in the
place of God? And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant
it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people
alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little
ones." And he comforted them, and spoke kindly unto them.
And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph
lived an hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of
the third generation. And Joseph said unto his brethren, "I die: but
God will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land unto the
land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."
And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, "God will
surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence."
So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed
him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
{133}
The Great Captains
The word "captain" following the use in the Bible and all literature
down to the present day, is not the particular term, designating the
commander of a small company of soldiers, but a general term, standing
for leadership in the largest sense. Moses, according to this meaning
of the word, was one of the greatest of the worlds captains, for he
took a cowardly, unorganized mob of slaves and led them through the
most appalling difficulties and dangers, to freedom, and to a position
where national existence was possible. While there was little actual
fighting in the journey from Egypt to Palestine, yet there was
necessity, every step of the way, for the highest qualities of
leadership.
Joshua was a great captain in the more strictly military sense of the
word. He found the force organized and disciplined by the leadership
of Moses, and he used it as a skillful swordsman uses a keen and
tempered blade. In his campaigns he displayed the abilities of the
great military genius.
{134}
THE FINDING OF MOSES
Slow glides the Nile: amid the margin flags,
Closed in a bulrush ark, the babe is left,--
Left by a mother's hand. His sister waits
Far off; and pale, 'tween hope and fear, beholds
The royal maid, surrounded by her train,
Approach the river bank,--approach the spot
Where sleeps the innocent: she sees them stoop
With meeting plumes; the rushy lid is oped,
And wakes the infant, smiling in his tears,
As when along a little mountain lake
The summer south-wind breathes, with gentle sigh,
And parts the reeds, unveiling, as they bend,
A water-lily floating on the wave.
{135}{136}
[Illustration]
VIEW FROM RAMAH, THE TRADITIONAL HOME OF SAMUEL
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood
and used by special permission.
"We know not with certainty the situation of Ramah. Of Samuel as of
Moses it may be said, 'No man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this
day.' But the lofty peak above Gibeon, which has long borne his
name, has this feature (in common, to a certain extent, with any
high place which can have been the scene of his life and death),
that it overlooks the whole of that broad table-land, on which the
fortunes of the Jewish monarchy were afterwards unrolled. Its
towering eminence, from which the pilgrims first obtained their view
of Jerusalem, is no unfit likeness of the solitary grandeur of the
prophet Samuel, who lived and died in the very midst of the future
glory of his country"
[End illustration]
{137}
MOSES
_The Story of the Man Who Led a Race of Slaves Out of Bondage, and
Became the Emancipator of a Great Nation_.
THE ISRAELITES ARE ENSLAVED IN EGYPT.
_The Slave Who Was Brought Up in a King's Palace. Moses Kills
One of the Egyptian Taskmasters and Flees from the Country_.
Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. And he
said to his people, "Behold, the people of the children of Israel are
more and mightier than we: come, let us deal wisely with them; lest
they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any
war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us,
and get them up out of the land."
Therefore they set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their
burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses.
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the
more they spread abroad. And they were grieved because of the children
of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with
rigor: and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar
and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field, all their
service, wherein they made them serve with rigor.
{138}
And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, "Every son that is born to
the Hebrews ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall
save alive."
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took for his wife a
daughter of Levi. And the woman had a son: and when she saw that he
was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not
longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it
with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by
the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would
be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the
river; and her maidens walked along by the river side; and she saw the
ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it. And she opened
it and saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had
compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."
Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call thee
a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?"
And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go."
And the maid 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 give thee thy wages."
And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and
she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she
called his name Moses, and said, "Because I drew him out of the
water."
{139}{140}
[Illustration]
THE SPHINX
From a photograph in the possession of Mr. S. E. Bridgman
and used by his kind permission.
The Great Sphinx at Gizeh is a colossal figure carved out of the
solid rock. It perhaps represents the reigning monarch as a
conqueror. The age of the Great Sphinx is thought to be about the
same as that of the pyramids
[End illustration]
{141}
And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he
went out to his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he saw an
Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this
way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the
Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And he went out the second day,
and, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to
him that did the wrong, "Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?"
And he said, "Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? thinkest
thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?"
And Moses feared, and said, "Surely the thing is known."
Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses
fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he
sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and
they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their
father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses
stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. And when they came
to Reuel their father, he said, "How is it that ye are come so soon
to-day?"
And they said, "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the
shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock."
And he said to his daughters, "And where is he? why is it that ye have
left the man? call him, that he may eat bread."
And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses
Zipporah his daughter. And she had a {142} son, and he called his name
Gershom: for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a strange land."
And it came to pass in the course of those many days, that the king of
Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the
bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of
the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered them.
THE VOICE OF GOD FROM THE BURNING BUSH.
_The Lord Commissions Moses to Lead His People Out of Bondage_.
Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the
priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness,
and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he
looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not
consumed. And Moses said, "I will turn aside now, and see this great
sight, why the bush is not burnt."
And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him
out of the midst of the bush, and said, "Moses, Moses."
And he said, "Here am I."
And he said, "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Moreover he
said, "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
{143}
And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the
Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are
in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for
I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the
hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good
land and a large, to a land flowing with milk and honey. And now,
behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come to me: moreover I
have seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come
now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest
bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt."
And Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and
that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?"
And he said, "Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be the
token unto thee, that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth
the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain."
And Moses said unto God, "Behold, when I come unto the children of
Israel, and shall say unto them, 'The God of your fathers hath sent me
unto you'; and they shall say to me, 'What is his name?' what shall I
say unto them?" And God said unto Moses, "I am that I am": and he
said, "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, 'I am hath
sent me unto you.'"
[Footnote: These phrases are a reference to the name Jehovah, which
was thought to mean "He is."]
{144}
And God said moreover to Moses, "Thus shalt thou say to the children
of Israel, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me to you': this is my
name for ever, and this is my memorial to all generations. Go, and
gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, 'The Lord,
the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob,
hath appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that
which is done to you in Egypt: and I have said, I will bring you up
out of the affliction of Egypt, to a land flowing with milk and
honey.' And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou
and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and ye shall say to
him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, hath met with us: and now let
us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we
may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' And I know that the king of Egypt
will not give you leave to go, no, not by a mighty hand. And I will
put forth my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do
in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. And I will
give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall
come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: but every woman
shall ask of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house,
jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put
them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the
Egyptians."
And Moses answered and said, "But, behold, they will {145} not believe
me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, 'The Lord hath not
appeared to thee.'"
And the Lord said unto him, "What is that in thine hand?"
And he said, "A rod."
And he said, "Cast it on the ground."
And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled
from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Put forth thine hand,
and take it by the tail." And he put forth his hand, and laid hold of
it, and it became a rod in his hand.
And the Lord said furthermore to him, "Put now thine hand into thy
bosom."
And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold,
his hand was leprous, as white as snow. And he said, "Put thine hand
into thy bosom again." And he put his hand into his bosom again; and
when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his
other flesh.
The Lord said, "It shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee,
neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe
the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will
not believe even these two signs, neither hearken to thy voice, that
thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry
land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become
blood upon the dry land."
And Moses said unto the Lord, "Oh Lord, I am not eloquent, neither
heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken {146} unto thy servant: for I
am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."
And, the Lord said unto him, "Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh
a man dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? is it not I, the Lord? Now
therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou
shalt speak."
And he said, "Oh Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou
wilt send."
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, "Is
there not Aaron thy brother the Levite? I know that he can speak well.
And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth
thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak to him, and
put the words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his
mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy
spokesman unto the people: and it shall come to pass, that he shall be
to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God. And thou shalt take
in thine hand this rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs."
And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-inn law, and said
unto him, "Let me go, I pray thee, and return to my brethren which are
in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive."
And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."
And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return into Egypt: for all
the men are dead which sought thy life."
{147}{148}
[Illustration]
THE BANKS OF THE NILE NEAR CAIRO
From a photograph owned by Mr. S. E. Bridgman
and used by his kind permission.
The Nile was the life and glory of Egypt. It afforded a magnificent
waterway for commerce, and the annual overflow gave the greatest
fertility to the soil.
[End illustration]
{149}
And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he
returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his
hand. And the Lord said to Moses, "When thou goest back into Egypt,
see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in
thine hand: but I will harden his heart, and he will not let the
people go. And thou shalt say to Pharaoh, 'Thus saith the Lord, Israel
is my son, my firstborn: and I have said to thee, Let my son go, that
he may serve me; and thou hast refused to let him go: behold I will
slay thy son, thy firstborn.'"
And the Lord said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." And
he went, and met him in the mountain of God, and kissed him. And Moses
told Aaron all the words of the Lord wherewith he had sent him, and all
the signs wherewith he had charged him. And Moses and Aaron went and
gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: and Aaron
spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses, and did the
signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed.
"LET MY PEOPLE GO."
_Moses and Aaron Demand the Release of the Israelites_.
_Pharaoh Refuses_.
And afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said to Pharaoh, "Thus saith
the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Let my people go, that they may hold a
feast unto me in the wilderness.'"
And Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should hearken to his voice
to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, and moreover I will not let
Israel go."
{150}
And they said, "The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we
pray thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to
the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the
sword."
And the king of Egypt said to them, "Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron,
loose the people from their works? get you to your burdens." And
Pharaoh said, "Behold, the people of the land are now many, and ye
make them rest from their burdens."
And the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, and
their officers, saying, "Ye shall no more give the people straw to
make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for
themselves. And the number of the bricks, which they did make
heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught
thereof: for they are idle; therefore they cry, saying, 'Let us go and
sacrifice to our God.' Let heavier work be laid upon the men, that
they may labor therein; and let them not regard lying words."
And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and
they spoke to the people, saying, "Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give
you straw. Go yourselves, get you straw where ye can find it: for
naught of your work shall be diminished."
So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt
to gather stubble for straw. And the taskmasters were urgent, saying,
"Fulfill your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw."
And the officers of the children of Israel, which {151} Pharaoh's
taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, "Wherefore
have ye not fulfilled your task both yesterday and to-day, in making
brick as heretofore?"
Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh,
saying, "Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no
straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, 'Make brick': and,
behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own
people."
But he said, "Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, 'Let us go
and sacrifice to the Lord.' Go therefore now, and work; for there
shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the number of
bricks."
And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in deep
trouble when it was said, "Ye shall not diminish aught from your
bricks, your daily tasks."
And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth
from Pharaoh: and they said to them, "The Lord look upon you, and
judge; because ye have made us to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh,
and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay
us."
And the Lord said unto Moses, "Now shalt thou see what I will do to
Pharaoh: for by a strong hand shall he let them go, and by a strong
hand shall he drive them out of his land."
And it came to pass on the day when the Lord spoke unto Moses in the
land of Egypt, that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "I am the Lord:
speak thou to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak to thee."
{152}
And Moses said before the Lord, "Behold, I am slow of speech and of a
slow tongue, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?"
And the Lord said unto Moses, "See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh:
and Aaron thy brother shall be thy spokesman. Thou shalt speak all
that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh,
that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And I will
harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the
land of Egypt. But Pharaoh will not hearken unto you, and I will lay
my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my hosts, my people the children
of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the
Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine
hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among
them."
And Moses and Aaron did so; as the Lord commanded them, so did they.
And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, "When Pharaoh shall
speak to you, saying, 'Show a wonder for you:' then thou shalt say
unto Aaron, 'Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it
become a serpent.'"
And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so, as the Lord
had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before
his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called for
the wise men and the magicians: and they also did in like manner with
their enchantments.
{153}{154}
[Illustration]
THE RIVER NILE
From a photograph belonging to Miss Clara L. Bodman
and used by her kind permission.
"And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood."
This picture shows the broad Nile with one of the boats now in use
called a "dahabiyeh." There has been built recently on the upper
Nile an immense dam which will be used to regulate the flow of water
and bring great agricultural prosperity to Egypt
[End illustration]
{155}
For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but
Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened,
and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken.
THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT.
1. THE PLAGUE OF BLOOD.
And the Lord said unto Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn, he
refuseth to let the people go. Get thee to Pharaoh in the morning; lo,
he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink
to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take
in thine hand. And thou shalt say unto him, 'The Lord, the God of the
Hebrews, hath sent me to thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may
serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou hast not
hearkened. Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the
Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the
waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And
the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall stink;
and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink water from the river.'"
And the Lord said to Moses, "Say unto Aaron, 'Take thy rod, and
stretch out thine hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers,
over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of
water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout
all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of
stone.'"
{156}
And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up
the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of
Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that
were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that were in the
river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink
water from the river; and the blood was throughout all the land of
Egypt.
And the magicians of Egypt did in like manner with their enchantments:
and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as
the Lord had spoken. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house,
neither did he lay even this to heart. And all the Egyptians digged
round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of
the water of the river. And seven days were fulfilled, after the Lord
had smitten the river.
2. THE PLAGUE OF FROGS.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, "Go in unto Pharaoh, and say unto him,
'Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if
thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with
frogs: and the river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and
come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and
into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine
ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs: and the frogs shall come up
both upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.'"
And the Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch {157} forth thine
hand with thy rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the
pools, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.'"
And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the
frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did in
like manner with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the
land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Intreat the Lord,
that he take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will
let the people go, that they may sacrifice unto the Lord."
And Moses said to Pharaoh, "For what time shall I intreat for thee,
and for thy servants, and for thy people, that the frogs be destroyed
from thee and thy houses, and remain in the river only?"
And he said, "For to-morrow."
And he said, "Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that
there is none like unto the Lord our God. And the frogs shall depart
from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy
people; they shall remain in the river only."
And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the
Lord concerning the frogs which he had brought upon Pharaoh. And the
Lord did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the
houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields. And they gathered
them together in heaps: and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that
there was relief, he {158} hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto
them; as the Lord had spoken.
3. THE PLAGUE OF LICE.
And the Lord said unto Moses, "Say unto Aaron, 'Stretch out thy rod,
and smite the dust of the earth, that it may become lice throughout
all the land of Egypt.'"
And they did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and
smote the dust of the earth, and there were lice upon man, and upon
beast; all the dust of the earth became lice throughout all the land
of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring
forth lice, but they could not: and there were lice upon man, and upon
beast.
Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God": and
Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not to them; as the
Lord had spoken.
4. THE PLAGUE OF FLIES.
And the Lord said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning, and stand
before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say to him,
'Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else,
if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies
upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy
houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of
flies, and also the ground whereon they are. And I will set apart in
that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms
of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the
{159} Lord in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division
between my people and thy people: by to-morrow shall this sign be.'"
And the Lord did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into the
house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses: and in all the land
of Egypt the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies. And
Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, "Go ye, sacrifice to
your God in the land."
And Moses said, "It is not right so to do; for we shall sacrifice the
holy things of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: lo, shall we
sacrifice the holy things of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will
they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness,
and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us."
And Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the
Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away:
intreat for me."
And Moses said, "Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the
Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his
servants, and from his people, to-morrow: only let not Pharaoh deal
deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the
Lord."
And Moses went out from Pharaoh and intreated the Lord. And the Lord
did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies
from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained
not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not
let the people go.
{160}
5. THE PLAGUE OF CATTLE DISEASE.
Then the Lord said unto Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, 'Thus
saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, Let my people go that they may
serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which are in the
field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the
herds, and upon the flocks: there shall be a very grievous distemper.
And the Lord shall distinguish between the cattle of Israel and the
cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that belongeth to
the children of Israel.'"
And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, "To-morrow the Lord shall
do this thing in the land."
And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt
died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And
Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not so much as one of the cattle
of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was stubborn, and he
did not let the people go.
6. THE PLAGUE OF BOILS.
And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, "Take to you handfuls of
ashes, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of
Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust over all the land of Egypt,
and shall be a boil breaking forth upon man and upon beast, throughout
all the land of Egypt."
And they took ashes, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it
up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth upon man and
upon beast.
{161}
And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for
the boils were upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the
Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not to them: as the
Lord had spoken to Moses.
And the Lord said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning, and stand
before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus saith the Lord, the God of the
Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will this
time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and
upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in
all the earth. For now I had put forth my hand, and smitten thee and
thy people with pestilence, and thou hadst been cut off from the
earth: but for this very cause have I made thee to stand, in order to
show thee my power, that my name may be declared throughout all the
earth. Exaltest thou thyself still against my people, that thou wilt
not let them go? Behold, to-morrow about this time I will cause a very
grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the day it was
founded even until now. Now therefore send, hasten in thy cattle and
all that thou hast in the field; for every man and beast which shall
be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall
come down upon them, and they shall die.'"
He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made
his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: and he that regarded
not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.
{162}
THE SEVENTH PLAGUE OF EGYPT
I.
'T was morn,--the rising splendor rolled
On marble towers and roofs of gold;
Hall, court, and gallery, below,
Were crowded with a living flow;
Egyptian, Arab, Nubian, there,--
The bearers of the bow and spear,
The hoary priest, the Chaldee sage,
The slave, the gemmed and glittering page,--
Helm, turban, and tiara, shone
A dazzling ring round Pharaoh's throne.
II.
There came a man:--the human tide
Shrank backward from his stately stride:
His cheek with storm and time was tanned;
A shepherd's staff was in his hand;
A shudder of instinctive fear
Told the dark king what step was near;
On through the host the stranger came,
It parted round his form like flame.
III.
He stooped not at the footstool stone,
He clasped not sandal, kissed not throne;
Erect he stood amid the ring,
His only words, "Be just, a king!"
On Pharaoh's cheek the blood flushed high,
A fire was in his sullen eye; {163}
Yet on the chief of Israel
No arrow of his thousands fell;
All mute and moveless as the grave
Stood chilled the satrap and the slave.
IV.
"Thou'rt come," at length the monarch spoke;
(Haughty and high the words outbroke;)
"Is Israel weary of its lair,
The forehead peeled, the shoulder bare?
Take back the answer to your band:
Go, reap the wind! go, plow the sand!
Go, vilest of the living vile,
To build the never-ending pile,
Till, darkest of the nameless dead,
The vulture on their flesh is fed!
What better asks the howling slave
Than the base life our bounty gave?"
V.
Shouted in pride the turbaned peers,
Upclashed to heaven the golden spears..
"King! thou and thine are doomed!--Behold!'
The prophet spoke,--the thunder rolled!
Along the pathway of the sun
Sailed vapory mountains, wild and dun.
"Yet there is time," the prophet said:
He raised his staff,--the storm was stayed:
"King! be the word of freedom given:
What art thou, man, to war with Heaven?"
VI.
There came no word.--The thunder broke!--
Like a huge city's final smoke,
Thick, lurid, stifling, mixed with flame,
Through court and hall the vapors came.
Loose as the stubble in the field, {164}
Wide flew the men of spear and shield;
Scattered like foam along the wave,
Flew the proud pageant, prince and slave;
Or in the chains of terror bound,
Lay, corpse-like, on the smouldering ground.
"Speak, king!--the wrath is but begun!--
Still dumb?--then, Heaven, thy will be done!"
VII.
Echoed from earth a hollow roar
Like ocean on the midnight shore!
A sheet of lightning o'er them wheeled,
The solid ground beneath them reeled;
In dust sank roof and battlement;
Like webs the giant walls were rent;
Red, broad, before his startled gaze
The monarch saw his Egypt blaze.
Still swelled the plague,--the flame grew pale,
Burst from the clouds the charge of hail:
With arrowy keenness, iron weight,
Down poured the ministers of fate;
Till man and cattle, crushed, congealed,
Covered with death the boundless field.
VIII.
Still swelled the plague,--uprose the blast,
The avenger, fit to be the last:
On ocean, river, forest, vale,
Thundered at once the mighty gale.
Before the whirlwind flew the tree,
Beneath the whirlwind roared the sea;
A thousand ships were on the wave--
Where are they?--ask that foaming grave!
Down go the hope, the pride of years,
Down go the myriad mariners;
The riches of earth's richest zone,
Gone! like a flash of lightning, gone!
{165}
IX.
And, lo! that first fierce triumph o'er,
Swells ocean on the shrinking shore;
Still onward, onward, dark and wide,
Engulfs the land the furious tide..
Then bowed thy spirit, stubborn king,
Thou serpent, reft of fang and sting;
Humbled before the prophet's knee,
He groaned, "Be injured Israel free!"
X.
To heaven the sage upraised his hand;
Back rolled the deluge from the land;
Back to its caverns sank the gale;
Fled from the moon the vapors pale;
Broad burned again the joyous sun:
The hour of wrath and death was done.
--_Croly_.
{166}
7. THE PLAGUE OF HAIL.
And the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven,
that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon
beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of
Egypt."
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent
thunder and hail, and lightning; and the Lord sent hail upon the land
of Egypt. So there was hail, and lightning mingled with the hail, very
grievous, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it
became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt
all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote
every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field. Only in
the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no
hail. And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to
them, "I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my
people are wicked. Intreat the Lord; for there hath been enough of
these mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall
stay no longer."
And Moses said unto him, "As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will
spread abroad my hands to the Lord; the thunders shall cease, neither
shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know that the earth is
the Lord's. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not
yet fear the Lord God."
And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and {167} spread abroad
his hands unto the Lord: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the
rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain
and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and
hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was
hardened, and he did not let the children of Israel go; as the Lord
had spoken by Moses.
And the Lord said unto Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh: for I have hardened
his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my
signs in the midst of them: and that thou mayest tell to thy son, and
to thy son's son, what things I have wrought upon Egypt, and my signs
which I have done among them; that ye may know that I am the Lord."
And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and said to him, "Thus saith
the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, 'How long wilt thou refuse to humble
thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if
thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to-morrow will I bring
locusts into thy border: and they shall cover the face of the earth,
that one shall not be able to see the earth: and they shall eat what
remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which
groweth for you out of the field: and thy houses shall be filled, and
the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians;
as neither thy fathers nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the
day that they were upon the earth to this day.'" And he turned, and
went out from Pharaoh.
And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, "How long {168} shall this man
be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their
God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?"
And Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh: and he said unto
them, "Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go?"
And Moses said, "We will go with our young and with our old, with our
sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will
we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord."
And he said unto them, "No, I will not let you go with your little
ones. Not so. But go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that
is what ye desire."
And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
8. THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS.
And the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out thine hand over the land of
Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt,
and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left."
And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord
brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all the night; and
when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts
went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of
Egypt; very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts
as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of
the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb
of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and
there remained not any green thing, either tree or herb of the field,
through all the land of Egypt.
{169}{170}
[Illustration]
CLIFFS NEAR LUXOR. TEMPLE OF DAR EL BAHARI
From a photograph belonging to Miss Clara L. Bodman
and used by her kind permission.
[End illustration]
{171}
Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, "I have
sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore
forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your
God, that he may take away from me this death only."
And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord. And the Lord
turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and
drove them into the Red Sea; there remained not one locust in all the
border of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not
let the children of Israel go.
9. THE PLAGUE OF DARKNESS.
And the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out thine hand toward heaven,
that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which
may be felt."
And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a
thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days; they saw not one
another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the
children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
And Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, "Go ye, serve the Lord; only
let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go
with you."
And Moses said, "Thou must also give into our hand sacrifices and
burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our
cattle also shall go with us; there {172} shall not an hoof be left
behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we
know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither."
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.
And Pharaoh said to him, "Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see
my face no more; for in the day thou seest my face thou shalt die."
And Moses said, "Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face again no
more."
And the Lord said to Moses, "Yet one plague more will I bring upon
Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he
shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.
Speak now to the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbor,
and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of
gold."
And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians.
Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the
sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.
And Moses said, "Thus saith the Lord, 'About midnight will I go out
into the midst of Egypt: and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt
shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne,
even to the firstborn of the maidservant who grinds at the mill; and
all the firstborn of cattle. And there shall be a great cry throughout
all the land of Egypt, such as there hath been none like it, nor shall
be like it any more. But against {173} any of the children of Israel
shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may
know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and
Israel.' And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow
down themselves unto me, saying, 'Get thee out, and all the people
that follow thee: and after that I will go out.'" And he went out from
Pharaoh in hot anger.
And the Lord said unto Moses, "Pharaoh will not hearken unto you: that
my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."
And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the Lord
hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go
out of his land.
(After the ninth plague, the plague of darkness, came a tenth plague,
the very worst of all, the description of which is given in another
place.)
THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER.
_The Israelites Make Ready for the March_.
And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
"This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the
first month of the year to you. Speak ye to all the congregation of
Israel, saying, 'In the tenth day of this month they shall take to
them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for
an household: and if the household be too little for a lamb, then
shall he and his neighbor next unto his house take one according to
the number of the souls. {174} Your lamb shall be without blemish, a
male of the first year: ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the
goats: and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same
month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill
it at even. And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two
side posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat
it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted with fire, and
unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it
raw, nor boiled with water, but roast with fire; its head with its
legs and with the inwards thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it
remain until the morning; but that which remaineth of it until the
morning ye shall burn with fire.
"'And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your
feet, and your staff in your hand: and ye shall eat it in haste: it is
the Lord's passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt in that
night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man
and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments:
I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the
houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you,
and there shall no plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the
land of Egypt.'"
{175}{176}
[Illustration]
THE VALLEY OF THE TOMBS OF THE KINGS, AT THEBES
Here the steep ramparts were divided by a tortuous cleft, which
wound back with many cross fissures deep into the desert. The ravine
was simply a chasm with perpendicular sides of naked rock. This was
the valley of the Tombs of the Kings.
--"The Yoke"
[End illustration]
{177}
Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them,
"Draw out, and take you lambs according to your families, and kill the
passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood
that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts
with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of
the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass
through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the
lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door,
and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite
you. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to
thy sons for ever. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the
land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that
ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your
children shall say unto you, 'What mean ye by this service?' that ye
shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed
over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the
Egyptians, and delivered our houses.'"
And the people bowed the head and worshiped. And the children of
Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so
did they.
10. THE PLAGUE OF THE DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN.
And it came to pass at midnight, that the Lord smote all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his
throne to the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and
all the firstborn of cattle.
And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all
the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a
house where there was {178} not one dead. And he called for Moses and
Aaron by night, and said, "Rise up, get you forth from among my
people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as
ye have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as ye have said,
and be gone; and bless me also."
And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, to send them out of the
land in haste; for they said, "We be all dead men."
And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading
troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the
children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked
of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
and the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so
that they let them have what they asked. And they took the spoil of
the Egyptians.
OUT OF BONDAGE.
_On the Road to Freedom_.
And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about
six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children. And a mixed
multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very
much cattle. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they
brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were
thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared
for themselves any food. Now the sojourning of the children of Israel,
which they sojourned {179} in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty
years. And it came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty
years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of
the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much
observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt.
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led
them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was
near; for God said, "Lest peradventure the people repent when they see
war, and they return to Egypt."
But God led the people about, by the way of the wilderness by the Red
Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of
Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had
strictly charged the children of Israel, saying, "God will surely
visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you."
And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in
the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a
pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of
fire, to give them light; that they might go by day and by night: the
pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night.
{180}
"THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER HATH HE THROWN INTO THE SEA."
_Pursuit of the Egyptians. The Host of Pharaoh Is Drowned in
the Red Sea_.
And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, "Speak unto the children of
Israel, that they turn back and encamp by the sea. And Pharaoh will
say of the children of Israel, 'They are entangled in the land, the
wilderness hath shut them in.' And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and
he shall follow after them; and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and
upon all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord."
And they did so.
And it was told the king of Egypt that the people were fled: and the
heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed towards the people,
and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go
from serving us?"
And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: and he
took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and
captains over all of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh
king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: for the
children of Israel went out with an high hand.
And the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of
Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping
by the sea. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted
up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they
were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.
{181}{182}
[Illustration]
THE VALLEY OF THE TOMBS OF THE KINGS AT THEBES
(A view nearer the entrance)
From a photograph in the possession of the Springfield Public
Library and used by permission.
"There is nothing in the whole valley of the Nile which is more
grandly characteristic of old Egypt than the Tombs of the Kings at
Thebes. The entire course of the ravine presents a spectacle of
desolate grandeur which is to the highest degree impressive"
[End illustration]
{183}
And they said unto Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast
thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt
thus with us, to bring us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word
that we spoke unto thee in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone, that we may
serve the Egyptians?' For it were better for us to serve the
Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness."
And Moses said unto the people, "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the
salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you to-day: for the
Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more
for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."
And the Lord said unto Moses, "Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak to
the children of Israel, that they go forward. And lift thou up thy
rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the
children of Israel shall go into the midst of the sea on dry ground.
And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they
shall go in after them: and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon
all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the
Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honor
upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen."
And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed
and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before
them, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of Egypt and
the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud and the {184} darkness,
yet gave it light by night: and the one came not near the other all
the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord
caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and
made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children
of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the
waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left.
And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of
the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it
came to pass in the morning watch, that the Lord looked forth upon the
host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and
discomfited the host of the Egyptians. And he took off their chariot
wheels, that they drove them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, "Let
us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them
against the Egyptians."
And the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that
the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and
upon their horsemen."
And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned
to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled
against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the
sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the
horsemen, even all the host of Pharaoh that went in after them into
the sea; there remained not so much as one of them.
But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the
sea; and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on
their left.
{185}{186}
[Illustration]
LOOKING ACROSS THE RED SEA FROM SINAI TOWARD EGYPT
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood
and used by special permission.
"The Israelites were encamped on the western shore of the Red Sea,
when suddenly a cry of alarm ran through the vast multitude. Over
the ridges of the desert hills were seen the well-known horses, the
terrible chariots of the Egyptian host: Pharaoh pursued after the
children of Israel, and they were sore afraid
"They were sore afraid; and in that terror and perplexity the sun
went down behind the huge mountain range which rose on their rear,
and cut off their return to Egypt; and the dark night fell over the
waters of the sea which rolled before them, and cut off their
advance into the desert. So closed in upon them that evening; where
were they when the morning broke over the hills of Arabia? Where
were they, and where were their enemies?
"They stood in safety on the further shore; and the chariots, and
the horsemen, and the host of Pharaoh had vanished in the waters"
[End illustration]
{187}
Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians;
and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw
the great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people
feared the Lord: and they believed in the Lord, and in his servant
Moses.
For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his
horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the
sea upon them; but the children of Israel walked on dry land in the
midst of the sea. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took
a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with
timbrels and with dances.
And Miriam sang:--
THE SONG OF VICTORY.
Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously;
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
Thy right hand, O Lord, dasheth in pieces the enemy.
And in the greatness of thine excellency thou
overthrowest them that rise up against thee:
Thou sendest forth thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble.
And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were piled up,
The floods stood upright as an heap;
The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said,
"I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil: {188}
My desire shall be satisfied upon them;
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them."
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them:
They sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like thee, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Thou stretchedst out thy right hand,
The earth swallowed them.
Thou in thy mercy hast led the people which thou hast redeemed:
Thou hast guided them in thy strength to thy holy habitation.
The peoples have heard, they tremble:
Pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then were the dukes of Edom amazed;
The mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold upon them:
All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.
Terror and dread falleth upon them;
By the greatness of thine arm they are as still as a stone;
Till thy people pass over, O Lord,
Till the people pass over which thou hast purchased.
Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the
mountain of thine inheritance,
The place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
{189}{190}
[Illustration]
SHEPHERD WITH HIS FLOCK NEAR TEKOA
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood
and used by special permission.
Two of the great prophets of Israel lived in this region, Amos at
Tekoa and Jeremiah at Anathoth. It is a wild and desolate region
"The wilderness of Judea played a great part in her history as the
refuge of political fugitives and religious solitaries--a part which
it still continues. The story of Saul's hunt after David and of
David's narrow escapes becomes very vivid among those tossed and
broken hills, where the valleys are all alike and large bodies of
men may camp near each other without knowing it. Ambushes are
everywhere possible and alarms pass rapidly across the bare and
silent hills. You may travel for hours and feel as solitary as at
sea without a sail in sight; but if you are in search of anyone,
your guide's signal will make men leap from slopes that did not seem
to shelter a rabbit, and if you are suspected, your passage may be
stopped by a dozen men as though they had sprung from the earth."
[End illustration]
{191}
THE WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS
THE RED SEA IS LEFT BEHIND AND THE MARCH TO CANAAN IS BEGUN.
_The Bitter Water of Marah_.
And Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into
the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness,
and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink
of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it
was called "Marah," that is, bitter.
And the people murmured against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"
And he cried to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree, and he cast
it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There he made for
them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them; and he
said, "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy
God, and wilt do that which is right in his eyes, and wilt give ear to
his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the
diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the Egyptians: for I am the
Lord that healeth thee."
And they came to Elim, where were twelve springs of water, and
threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
And they took their journey from Elim, and all the {192} congregation
of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is
between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after
their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation
of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in
the wilderness: and the children of Israel said unto them, "Would that
we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat
by the flesh pots, when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have
brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole multitude
with hunger."
_The Quails and the Manna_.
Then said the Lord unto Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven
for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every
day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.
And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare
that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather
daily."
And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At even, then
ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of
Egypt: and in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord;
for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord: and what are we,
that ye murmur against us?"
And Moses said unto Aaron, "Say to all the congregation of the
children of Israel, 'Come near before the Lord: for he hath heard your
murmurings.'"
{193}{194}
[Illustration]
RESTING PLACE UNDER THE PALMS AT THE "SPRING OF MOSES"
IN THE WILDERNESS OF SINAI
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood
and used by special permission.
This brackish pool of water with palms growing about it is supposed
to be the place of the "bitter waters of Marah" which Moses
sweetened for the weary Israelites in their flight, the first
stopping place after escaping from Egypt. This place is not far from
Suez.
[End illustration]
{195}
And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke unto the whole congregation of the
children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and,
behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord
spoke to Moses, saying, "I have heard the murmurings of the children
of Israel: speak unto them, saying, 'At even ye shall eat flesh, and
in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I
am the Lord your God.'"
And it came to pass at even, that the quails came up, and covered the
camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the camp. And when
the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness
a small round thing, small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when
the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, "What is it?"
for they knew not what it was.
And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which the Lord hath given you
to eat. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, 'Gather ye of
it every man according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the
number of your persons, shall ye take it, every man for them which are
in his tent.'"
And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less.
And Moses said unto them, "Let no man leave of it till the morning."
Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left
of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was
wroth with them. And they gathered it morning by morning, every man
according to his eating: and when the sun grew hot, it melted. And it
came to pass, that on the sixth day they {196} gathered twice as much
bread, two omers for each one: and all the rulers of the congregation
came and told Moses. And he said to them, "This is that which the Lord
hath spoken, 'To-morrow is a solemn rest, a holy sabbath unto the
Lord: bake that which ye will bake, and boil that which ye will boil;
and all that remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the
morning.'"
And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not
stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, "Eat that
to-day; for to-day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to-day ye shall not
find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh
day is the sabbath, in it there shall be none."
And it came to pass on the seventh day, that there went out some of
the people to gather, and they found none.
And the Lord said unto Moses, "How long refuse ye to keep my
commandments and my laws? See, because the Lord hath given you the
sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two
days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place
on the seventh day."
So the people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel
called the name thereof "Manna": and it was like coriander seed,
white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
And Moses said, "This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, 'Let
an omerful of it be kept for your generations; that they may see the
bread wherewith I fed you {197} in the wilderness, when I brought you
forth from the land of Egypt.'"
And Moses said unto Aaron, "Take a pot, and put an omerful of manna
therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your
generations."
As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron did. And the children of Israel
ate the manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they
ate the manna, until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.
_The Battle with Amalek at Rephidim_.
Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said
to Joshua, "Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek:
to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in
mine hand."
So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and
Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to
pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he
let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and
they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron
and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on
the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the
sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the
sword.
And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah my Banner:
and he said, "The Lord hath sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek
from generation to generation."
{198}
THE SONG OF THE MANNA GATHERERS
Comrades, haste! the tent's tall shading
Lies along the level sand,
Far and faint: the stars are fading
Over the gleaming western strand,
Airs of morning
Freshen the bleak burning land.
Haste, or e'er the third hour glowing
With its eager thirst prevail
O'er the moist pearls, now bestrowing
Thymy slope and rushy vale.
. . . . . . .
Comrades--what our sires have told us,
Watch and wait, for it will come.
. . . . . . .
Not by manna show'rs at morning
Shall our board be then supplied,
But a strange pale gold, adorning
Many a tufted mountain's side,
Yearly feed us,
Year by year our murmurings chide.
There, no prophet's touch awaiting,
From each cool deep cavern start
Rills, that since their first creating
Ne'er have ceased to sing their part;
Oft we hear them
In our dreams, with thirsty heart.
--_John Keble_.
{199}{200}
[Illustration]
IN THE WILDERNESS OF SINAI
From a photograph belonging to the Forbes Library,
Northampton, Mass., and used by special permission.
[End illustration]
{201}
MOSES CLIMBS MOUNT SINAI TO TALK WITH GOD.
_The Giving of the Commandments_.