In the third month after the children of_The Bible Story

the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of

Sinai. And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the

wilderness of Sinai, they camped in the wilderness; and there Israel

camped before the mount. And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called

to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus shalt thou say to the house

of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 'Ye have seen what I did

unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought

you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and

keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure to me from

among all peoples: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be to me a

kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.' These are words which thou

shalt speak unto the children of Israel."

And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before

them all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people

answered together, and said, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will

do."

And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and

they stood at the foot of the mount. And all Mount Sinai smoked,

because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof

ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked

greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet grew louder and louder,

Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. And the {202} Lord came

down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mount: and the Lord called

Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

And God spoke all these words, saying,--

THE COMMANDMENTS.

"I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt,

out of the house of bondage.

"Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

II.

"Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor the likeness of any

form that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that

is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself unto

them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God,

visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children upon the third

and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy

unto thousands, of them that love me and keep my commandments.

III.

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the

Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

IV.

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor,

and do all thy work: but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the Lord

thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy

daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy

stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made

heaven and {203} earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested

the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and

hallowed it.

"Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the

land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

VI.

"Thou shalt not kill.

VII.

"Thou shalt not commit adultery.

VIII.

"Thou shalt not steal.

IX.

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy

neighbor's wife, not his manservant, not his maidservant, nor his ox,

nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the

voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people

saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off. And they said to Moses,

"Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us,

lest we die."

And Moses said to the people, "Fear not: for God is come to prove you,

and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not."

{204}

And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near to the thick

darkness where God was.

THE GOLDEN CALF.

_Israel Sins Grievously and Is Severely Punished_.

And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the

mount, the people gathered themselves together about Aaron, and said

to him, "Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this

Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know

not what is become of him."

And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden rings, which are in the

ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring

them to me."

And all the people broke off the golden rings which were in their

ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received the gold at their

hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf:

and they said, "These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up

out of the land of Egypt."

And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made

proclamation, and said, "To-morrow shall be a feast to the Lord."

And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and

brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink,

and rose up to play.

{205}{206}

[Illustration]

HILL OF THE GOLDEN CALF (JEBEL AARON) AND ITS MOSLEM

TOWER BELOW THE RIDGE OF SINAI

A traveler writes: "We started to descend by the gorge on the

northeast side of the mountain (Jethro's Path), by which possibly

Moses may have descended when he heard the sounds of the camp before

he could see what was taking place there. We were completely shut in

by the sides of the gorge until just as we emerged near the bottom.

There was no sound below for us to hear, but we could readily accept

Mr. Palmeston's statement that he had distinctly heard the sounds of

his own camp at the foot of the mountain which was entirely hidden

from view. If the worship of the golden calf be supposed to have

taken place anywhere in the neighborhood of the hill of Aaron this

circumstance would be in striking conformity with the several other

facts which singularly adapt this place to be the scene of the

lawgiving."

[End illustration]

{207}

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, "Go, get thee down; for thy people,

which thou broughtest up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted

themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I

commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshiped

it, and have sacrificed unto it, and said, 'These are thy gods, O

Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'"

And the Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and, behold, it

is a stiffnecked people: now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may

grow hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of

thee a great nation."

And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, "Lord, why doth thy

wrath grow hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out

of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, saying, 'For evil did he bring

them forth, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from

the face of the earth'? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this

evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy

servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto

them, 'I will multiply your family as the stars of heaven, and all

this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your family, and they

shall inherit it for ever.'"

And the Lord repented of the evil which he said he would do unto his

people.

And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, with the two tables of

the testimony in his hand; tables that were written on both sides; on

the one side and on {208} the other were they written. And the tables

were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven

upon the tables.

And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said

to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp."

And he said, "It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery,

neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the

noise of them that sing do I hear."

And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he

saw the calf and the dancing: and Moses' anger grew hot, and he cast

the tables out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount.

And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and

ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the

children of Israel drink of it. And Moses said to Aaron, "What did

this people unto thee, that thou hast brought a great sin upon them?"

And Aaron said, "Let not the anger of my lord grow hot: thou knowest

the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, 'Make us

gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that

brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of

him.' And I said to them, 'Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it

off'; so they gave it me: and I cast it into the fire, and there came

out this calf."

And when Moses saw that the people were broken loose; for Aaron had

let them loose for a derision among their enemies: then Moses stood in

the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoso is on the Lord's side, let him

come unto me."

{209}{210}

[Illustration]

FAMOUS MONASTERY OF SAINT CATHERINE IN THE SHADOW OF MOUNT SINAI

It was in this monastery that Prof. C. Tischendorf discovered one of

the oldest and most valuable manuscripts of the Bible in existence.

Tischendorf made three visits to the monastery, in 1844, 1853, and

1859. On the first visit he found forty-three leaves of the

manuscript in a wastebasket. Later he found the entire manuscript

with the exception of a few pages. It was published by Czar

Alexander II in celebration of the first millennium of the Russian

Empire. A traveler says, "When on a visit to Mount Sinai in March,

1877, I saw a copy of the magnificent four volume edition in the

convent library and mentioned the name of Tischendorf, the sub-prior

kindled up in indignation and called him a thief, who had stolen

their greatest treasure on the pretext of a temporary loan; and when

I reminded him of the large reward of the Emperor of Russia, who had

furnished a new silver shrine for the coffin of Saint Catherine, he

admitted it reluctantly, but remarked that they did not want the

silver, but the manuscript--the manuscript which their monks could

not read and were about to throw into the fire."

[End illustration]

{211}

And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he

said unto them, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Put ye every

man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate

throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his

companion, and every man his neighbor.'"

And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there

fell of the people that day about three thousand men. And Moses said,

"Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord, yea, every man against his

son, and against his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing

this day."

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people,

"Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord;

peradventure I shall make atonement for your sin."

And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, "Oh, this people have

sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou

wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy

book which thou hast written."

And the Lord said to Moses, "Whosover hath sinned against me, him will

I blot out of my book. And now go, lead the people unto the place of

which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine angel shall go before

thee: nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for

their sins."

{212}

And the Lord smote the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron

made.

THE NEW TABLES OF STONE.

_How the Tables Which Had Been Broken Were Replaced_.

And the Lord said unto Moses, "Hew thee two tables of stone like unto

the first: and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the

first tables, which thou brokest.

"And be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning unto Mount

Sinai, and present thyself there to me on the top of the mount.

"And no man shall come up with thee; neither let any man be seen

throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before

that mount."

And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose

up early in the morning, and went up unto Mount Sinai, as the Lord had

commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone.

And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and

proclaimed the name of the Lord.

And the Lord passed by before him, and a voice said, "The Lord, the

Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in

loving kindness and truth; keeping loving kindness for thousands,

forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; who will by no means

clear the guilty."

And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and

worshiped.

And he said, "If now I have found favor in thy sight, {213} O Lord,

let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us; and pardon our

iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance."

And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did

neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the

words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

And Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of the

testimony in his hand.

{214}

THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS

THE PEOPLE GIVE A FREE-WILL OFFERING TO THE LORD.

And Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel,

and said unto them, "These are the words which the Lord hath

commanded, that ye should do them. 'Six days shall work be done, but

on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of

solemn rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work therein shall be put

to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the

sabbath day.'"

And Moses spoke unto all the congregation of the children of Israel,

saying, "This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying, 'Take ye

from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing

heart, let him bring it, the Lord's offering; gold, and silver, and

brass; and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats'

hair; and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia wood; and

oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet

incense; and onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for

the breastplate.

"'And let every skilled workman among you come, and make all that the

Lord hath commanded; the tabernacle, its tent, and its covering, its

clasps, and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; the

ark, and the staves {215} thereof, the mercy-seat, and the veil of the

screen; the table, and its staves, and all its vessels, and the

shewbread; the candlestick also for the light, and its vessels, and

its lamps, and the oil for the light; and the altar of incense, and

its staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the

screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle; the altar of burnt

offering, with its grating of brass, its staves, and all its vessels,

the laver and its base; the hangings of the court, the pillars

thereof, and their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court;

the pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their

cords; the finely wrought garments, for ministering in the holy

place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of

his sons, to minister in the priest's office.'"

And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the

presence of Moses.

And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him up, and everyone whom

his spirit made willing, and brought the Lord's offering, for the work

of the tent of meeting, and for all the service thereof, and for the

holy garments.

And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted,

and brought brooches, and earrings, and signet-rings, and armlets, all

jewels of gold; even every man that offered an offering of gold unto

the Lord.

And every man, who had blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen,

and goats' hair, and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, brought

them. Everyone that offered an offering of silver and brass brought

the Lord's offering: {216} and every man, who had acacia wood for any

work of the service, brought it.

And all the women that were skillful spun with their hands, and

brought that which they had spun, the blue, and the purple, the

scarlet, and the fine linen.

And all the women who were skillful spun the goats' hair.

And the rulers brought the onyx stones, and the stones to be set, for

the ephod, and for the breastplate; and the spice, and the oil; for

the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

The children of Israel brought a freewill offering unto the Lord;

every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all

the work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of

Moses.

And Moses said unto the children of Israel, "See, the Lord hath called

by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of

Judah; and he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in

understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; and

to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work

in all manner of cunning workmanship. And he hath put in his heart

that he may teach, both he, and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the

tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all

manner of workmanship, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman,

and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in

fine linen, and of the {217} weaver, even of them that do any

workmanship, and of those that devise cunning works."

THE TABERNACLE AND ITS FURNISHINGS.

_The Tent_.

And every skillful man among them that wrought the work made the

tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine linen, and blue, and purple, and

scarlet, with cherubim the work of the cunning workman made he them.

The length of each curtain was eight and twenty cubits, and the

breadth of each curtain four cubits: all the curtains had one measure.

And he coupled five curtains one to another: and the other five

curtains he coupled one to another. And he made loops of blue upon the

edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he

made in the edge of the curtain that was outmost in the second

coupling. Fifty loops made he in the one curtain, and fifty loops made

he in the edge of the curtain that was in the second coupling: the

loops were opposite one to another. And he made fifty clasps of gold,

and coupled the curtains one to another with the clasps: so the

tabernacle was one. And he made curtains of goats' hair for a tent

over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made. The length of each

curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the breadth of each

curtain: the eleven curtains had one measure. And he coupled five

curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. And he made

fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outmost in the

coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which

{218} was outmost in the second coupling. And he made fifty clasps of

brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one. And he made a

covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of

sealskins above.

And he made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing up.

Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the

breadth of each board. Each board had two tenons, joined one to

another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle. And he

made the boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side

southward; and he made forty sockets of silver under the twenty

boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two

sockets under another board for its two tenons. And for the second

side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty boards, and

their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two

sockets under another board. And for the hinder part of the tabernacle

westward he made six boards. And two boards made he for the corners of

the tabernacle in the hinder part. And there were eight boards, and

their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; under every board two

sockets. And he made bars of acacia wood; five for the boards of the

one side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the other

side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle

for the hinder part westward. And he made the middle bar to pass

through in the midst of the boards from the one end to the other. And

he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold for

places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

{219}

And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined

linen: with cherubim the work of the cunning workman made he it. And

he made thereunto four pillars of acacia, and overlaid them with gold:

their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver.

And he made a screen for the door of the Tent, of blue, and purple,

and scarlet, and fine linen, the work of the embroiderer; and the five

pillars of it with their hooks: and he overlaid their capitals and

their fillets with gold: and their five sockets were of brass.

_The Workmen Are Chosen_.

"And Bezalel and Oholiab shall work, and every skillful man, in whom

the Lord hath put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all the

work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord

hath commanded."

And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every skillful man, in whose

heart the Lord had put wisdom, even everyone whose heart stirred him

up to come unto the work to do it: and they received of Moses all the

offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the

service of the sanctuary, to make it. And they brought yet unto him

freewill offerings every morning. And all the wise men, that wrought

all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they

wrought; and they spoke unto Moses, saying, "The people bring much

more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded

to make."

{220}

And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed

throughout the camp, saying,--

"Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the

sanctuary." So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff

they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.

_The Ark_.

And Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood: two cubits and a half was the

length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit

and a half the height of it: and he overlaid it with pure gold within

and without, and made a rim of gold to it round about. And he cast for

it four rings of gold, in the four feet thereof; two rings on the one

side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. And he made staves

of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he put the staves

into the rings on the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. And he made a

mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof,

and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And he made two cherubim

of gold; of beaten work made he them, at the two ends of the mercy

seat; one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end: of

one piece with the mercy seat made he the cherubim at the two ends

thereof. And the cherubim spread out their wings on high, covering the

mercy seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward

the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim.

{221}

_The Table_.

And he made the table of acacia wood: two cubits was the length

thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the

height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereto a

rim of gold round about. And he made for it a border of an handbreadth

round about, and made a golden rim to the border thereof round about.

And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four

corners that were on the four feet thereof. Close by the border were

the rings, the places for the staves to bear the table. And he made

the staves of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the

table. And he made the vessels which were upon the table, the dishes

thereof, and the spoons thereof, and the bowls thereof, and the

flagons thereof, to pour out of, pure gold.

_The Candlestick_.

And he made the candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work made he the

candlestick, even its base, and its shaft; its cups, its knobs, and

its flowers, were of one piece with it: and there were six branches

going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out

of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of

the other side thereof: three cups made like almond blossoms in one

branch, a knob and a flower; and three cups made like almond blossoms

in the other branch, a knob and a flower: so for the six branches

going out of the candlestick. And in the candlestick were four cups

made like almond blossoms, the knobs thereof, and the flowers {222}

thereof: and a knob under two branches of one piece with it, and a

knob under two branches of one piece with it, and a knob under two

branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of it.

Their knobs and their branches were of one piece with it: the whole of

it was one beaten work of pure gold. And he made the lamps thereof,

seven, and the tongs thereof, and the snuff-dishes thereof, of pure

gold. Of a talent of pure gold made he it, and all the vessels

thereof.

_The Altar of Incense_.

And he made the altar of incense of acacia wood: a cubit was the

length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, foursquare; and two

cubits was the height thereof; the horns thereof were of one piece

with it. And he overlaid it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the

sides thereof round about, and the horns of it: and he made unto it a

rim of gold round about. And he made for it two golden rings under the

rim thereof, upon the two ribs thereof, upon the two sides of it, for

places for staves to bear it withal. And he made the staves of acacia

wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he made the holy anointing oil,

and the pure incense of sweet spices, after the art of the perfumer.

_The Altar of Burnt Offering_.

And he made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood: five cubits was

the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof, foursquare; and

three cubits the height thereof.

{223}{224}

[Illustration]

THE TRADITIONAL SPOT ON WHICH MOSES READ THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

The traditional Sinai is bounded on the north by the great plain

Er-Rahab out of which it rises precipitately. The northernmost peak

is called the "Head of the Willow," probably from a willow tree

growing in one of the gullies, and is commonly taken as the place of

the giving of the Law. The height of the peak is 6,937 feet. "Now

the whole prospect is before us. The vast plain of Er-Rahab, flecked

with a few camels and black Arab tents, and capable of holding

millions of people all in view of the Mount, gradually slopes away

from the eminences where we are."

[End illustration]

{225}

And he made the horns thereof upon the four corners of it; the horns

thereof were of one piece with it: and he overlaid it with brass. And

he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and

the basins, the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof

made he of brass. And he made for the altar a grating of network of

brass, under the ledge round it beneath, reaching halfway up. And he

cast four rings for the four ends of the grating of brass, to be

places for the staves. And he made the staves of acacia wood, and

overlaid them with brass. And he put the staves into the rings on the

sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made it hollow with planks.

And he made the laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, of the

mirrors of the serving women which served at the door of the tent of

meeting.

_The Court_.

And he made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of

the court were of fine linen, an hundred cubits: their pillars were

twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars

and their fillets were of silver. And for the north side an hundred

cubits, their pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the

hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. And for the west

side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their

sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. And

for the east side eastward fifty cubits. The hangings for the one side

of the gate were {226} fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their

sockets three; and so for the other side: on this hand and that hand

by the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits; their

pillars three, and their sockets three. All the hangings of the court

round about were of fine linen. And the sockets for the pillars were

of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and

the overlaying of their capitals of silver; and all the pillars of the

court were filleted with silver. And the screen for the gate of the

court was the work of the embroiderer, of blue, and purple, and

scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and

the height in the breadth was five cubits, corresponding to the

hangings of the court. And their pillars were four, and their sockets

four, of brass; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their

capitals and their fillets of silver. And all the pins of the

tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.

_The Workmen and the Materials_.

This is the sum of the things for the tabernacle, even the tabernacle of

the testimony, as they were counted, according to the commandment of

Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, the son

of Aaron the priest. And Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the

tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses. And with him was

Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a

cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in

scarlet, and fine linen.

{227}

All the gold that was used for the work in all the work of the

sanctuary, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents,

and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the

sanctuary. And the silver of them that were numbered of the

congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and

threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And

the hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the

sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; an hundred sockets for the

hundred talents, a talent for a socket. And of the thousand seven

hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and

overlaid their capitals, and made fillets for them. And the brass of

the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred

shekels. And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tent of

meeting, and the brazen altar, and the brazen grating for it, and all

the vessels of the altar, and the sockets of the court round about,

and the sockets of the gate of the court, and all the pins of the

tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.

_The Garments of the Priests_.

And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made finely wrought

garments, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy

garments for Aaron; as the Lord commanded Moses.

And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine

linen. And they beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires,

to work it in the blue, and {228} in the purple, and in the scarlet,

and in the fine linen, the work of the cunning workman. They made

shoulderpieces for it, joined together: at the two ends was it joined

together. And the cunningly woven band, that was upon it, to gird it

on withal, was of the same piece and like the work thereof; of gold,

of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the Lord

commanded Moses.

And they wrought the onyx stones, inclosed in clasps of gold, graven

with the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the

children of Israel. And he put them on the shoulderpieces of the

ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel; as the

Lord commanded Moses.

And he made the breastplate, the work of the cunning workman, like the

work of the ephod; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine

linen. It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was

the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being double. And

they set in it four rows of stones: a row of sardius, topaz, and

carbuncle was the first row. And the second row, an emerald, a

sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and

an amethyst. And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they

were inclosed in clasps of gold in their settings. And the stones were

according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to

their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to

his name, for the twelve tribes.

{229}{230}

[Illustration]

VIEW FROM MOUNT HOR

From an old engraving.

[End illustration]

{231}

And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue; and the

hole of the robe in the midst thereof, as the hole of a coat of mail,

with a binding round about the hole of it, that it should not be rent.

And they made upon the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, and

purple, and scarlet, and linen. And they made bells of pure gold, and

put the bells between the pomegranates upon the skirts of the robe

round about, between the pomegranates; a bell and a pomegranate, a

bell and a pomegranate, upon the skirts of the robe round about, to

minister in; as the Lord commanded Moses.

And they made the coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for

his sons, and the miter of fine linen, and the goodly turbans of fine

linen, and the linen breeches of fine linen, and the girdle of fine

twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the

embroiderer; as the Lord commanded Moses.

And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon

it a writing, like the engravings of a signet, "Holy to the Lord." And

they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it upon the miter above;

as the Lord commanded Moses.

Thus was finished all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of

meeting: and the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord

commanded Moses, so did they.

_The Work Is Approved_.

And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the Tent, and all its

furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, and {232} its pillars,

and its sockets; and the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the

covering of sealskins, and the veil of the screen; the ark of the

testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat; the table, all

the vessels thereof, and the shewbread; the pure candlestick, the

lamps thereof, even the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels

thereof, and the oil for the light; and the golden altar, and the

anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the screen for the door of

the Tent; the brazen altar, and its grating of brass, its staves, and

all its vessels, the laver and its base; the hangings of the court,

its pillars, and its sockets, and the screen for the gate of the

court, the cords thereof, and the pins thereof, and all the

instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;

the finely wrought garments for ministering in the holy place, and the

holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to

minister in the priest's office. According to all that the Lord

commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. And Moses

saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it; as the Lord had

commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.

_The Tabernacle Is Set Up_.

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, "On the first day of the first

month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. And

thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and thou shalt screen

the ark with the veil. And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in

order the things that are upon it; and thou shalt bring in the

candlestick, and light the lamps thereof.

{233}{234}

[Illustration]

FOUR THOUSAND YEARS UNCHANGED PATRIARCHAL LIFE IN PALESTINE TO-DAY

The unchanged habits of the East render it in this respect a kind of

living Pompeii. The outward appearances, which in the case of the

Greeks and Romans we know only through art and writing, through

marble, fresco, and parchment, in the case of Jewish history we know

through the forms of actual men, living and moving before us,

wearing almost the same garb, speaking in almost the same language,

and certainly with the same general turns of speech and tone and

manners. Such as we see them now, starting on a pilgrimage, or a

journey, were Abraham and his brother's son, when they "went forth"

to go into the land of Canaan. All their substance that they had

"gathered" is heaped high on the backs of their kneeling camels. The

slaves that they "had bought in Haran" run along by their sides.

Round about them are their flocks of sheep and goats, and the asses

moving underneath the towering forms of the camels. The chief is

there, amidst the stir of movement, or resting at noon within his

black tent, marked out from the rest by his cloak of brilliant

scarlet, by the fillet of rope which binds the loose handkerchief

round his head, by the spear which he holds in his hand to guide the

march, and to fix the encampment. The chief's wife, the princess of

the tribe, is there in her own tent, to make the cakes and prepare

the usual meal of milk and butter; the slave or the child is ready

to bring in the red lentil soup for the weary hunter, or to kill the

calf for the unexpected guest

[End illustration]

{235}

And thou shalt set the golden altar for incense before the ark of the

testimony, and put the screen of the door to the tabernacle. And thou

shalt set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the

tabernacle of the tent of meeting. And thou shalt set the laver

between the tent of meeting and the altar, and shalt put water

therein. And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the

screen of the gate of the court. And thou shalt take the anointing

oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt

hallow it, and all the furniture thereof: and it shall be holy. And

thou shalt anoint the altar of burnt offering, and all its vessels,

and sanctify the altar: and the altar shall be most holy. And thou

shalt anoint the laver and its base, and sanctify it. And thou shalt

bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tent of meeting, and

thou shalt wash them with water. And thou shalt put upon Aaron the

holy garments; and thou shalt anoint him, and sanctify him, that he

may minister unto me in the priest's office. And thou shalt bring his

sons, and put coats upon them: and thou shalt anoint them, as thou

didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the

priest's office: and their anointing shall be to them for an

everlasting priesthood throughout their generations." Thus did Moses:

according to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he.

And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the

first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up. And Moses

set up the tabernacle, and laid its {236} sockets, and set up the

boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and set up its pillars.

And he spread the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of

the tent above upon it; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he put the

testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the

mercy seat above upon the ark: and he brought the ark into the

tabernacle, and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of

the testimony; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he put the table in

the tent of meeting, upon the side of the tabernacle northward,

without the veil. And he set the bread in order upon it before the

Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he put the candlestick in the

tent of meeting, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle

southward. And he lighted the lamps before the Lord; as the Lord

commanded Moses. And he put the golden altar in the tent of meeting

before the veil: and he burnt therein incense of sweet spices; as the

Lord commanded Moses. And he put the screen of the door to the

tabernacle. And he set the altar of burnt offering at the door of the

tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt

offering and the meal offering; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he

set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water

therein, to wash withal. And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their

hands and their feet thereat; when they went into the tent of meeting,

and when they came near unto the altar, they washed: as the Lord

commanded Moses. And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle

{237} and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court.

So Moses finished the work.

_The Cloud of the Glory of God in the Tent_.

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord

filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent

of meeting, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord

filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from over the

tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward, throughout all their

journeys: but if the cloud was not taken up, then they journeyed not

till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was upon

the tabernacle by day, and there was fire therein by night, in the

sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

{238}

LEAD ME ON

Traveling to the better land,

O'er the desert's scorching sand,

Father! let me grasp thy hand;

Lead me on, lead me on!

When at Marah, parched with heat,

I the sparkling fountain greet,

Make the bitter water sweet;

Lead me on!

When the wilderness is drear,

Show me Elim's palm-grove near,

And her wells, as crystal clear:

Lead me on!

Through the water, through the fire,

Never let me fall or tire,

Every step brings Canaan nigher:

Lead me on!

Bid me stand on Nebo's height,

Gaze upon the land of light,

Then, transported with the sight,

Lead me on!

When I stand on Jordan's brink,

Never let me fear or shrink;

Hold me, Father, lest I sink:

Lead me on!

When the victory is won,

And eternal life begun,

Up to glory lead me on!

Lead me on, lead me on!

{239}{240}

[Illustration]

MOUNT HOREB

From a photograph in the possession of the Forbes Library

and used by permission.

[End illustration]

{241}

THE MARCH TO THE PROMISED LAND

THE PILLAR OF FIRE AND THE CLOUD OF SMOKE.

And on the day that the tabernacle was set up the cloud covered the

tabernacle, even the tent of the testimony: and at even it was upon

the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until morning. So it

was always: the cloud covered it, and the appearance of fire by night.

And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the Tent, then after

that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the

cloud abode, there the children of Israel encamped. At the commandment

of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment

of the Lord they encamped: as long as the cloud abode upon the

tabernacle they remained encamped. And when the cloud tarried upon the

tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of

the Lord, and journeyed not. And sometimes the cloud was a few days

upon the tabernacle; then according to the commandment of the Lord

they remained encamped, and according to the commandment of the Lord

they journeyed. And sometimes the cloud was from evening until

morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they

journeyed: or if it continued by day and by night, when the cloud was

taken up, they journeyed.

Whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud

tarried upon the tabernacle, abiding thereon, the {242} children of

Israel remained encamped, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up,

they journeyed. At the commandment of the Lord they encamped, and at

the commandment of the Lord they journeyed: they kept the charge of

the Lord, at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

_The Long Journey from Sinai Begins_.

And it came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the

twentieth day of the month, that the cloud was taken up from over the

tabernacle of the testimony. And the children of Israel set forward

according to their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the

cloud abode in the wilderness of Paran. And they first took their

journey according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

And they set forward from the mount of the Lord three days' journey;

and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days'

journey, to seek out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the

Lord was over them by day, when they set forward from the camp.

And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said,--

"Rise up, O Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered;

And let them that hate thee flee before thee."

And when it rested he said,--

"Return, O Lord,

Unto the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel."

{243}

THE SENDING OUT OF THE SPIES.

_They Report "a Land Flowing with Milk and Honey_."

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Send thou men, that they may spy

out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of

every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, everyone a prince

among them."

And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the

commandment of the Lord: all of them men who were heads of the

children of Israel.

And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them,

"Get you up this way by the south, and go up into the mountains: and

see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein,

whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many; and

what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and

what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in

strong holds; and what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether

there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of

the fruit of the land."

Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes. So they went up,

and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, to the

entering in of Hamath. And they went up by the south, and came to

Hebron; and the children of Anak were there.

And they came unto the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a

branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it upon a staff

between two; they brought also of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

That place was called the valley of Eshcol (that is, "cluster"). And

they returned {244} from spying out the land at the end of forty days.

And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the

congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to

Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and to all the congregation,

and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said,

"We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth

with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Howbeit the people

that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and

very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. Amalek

dwelleth in the land of the south: and the Hittite, and the Jebusite,

and the Amorite, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanite dwelleth by

the sea, and along by the side of Jordan."

And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at

once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it."

But the men that went up with him said, "We are not able to go up

against the people; for they are stronger than we."

And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied

out unto the children of Israel, saying, "The land, through which we

have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants

thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great

stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak: and we were in

our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."

{245}{246}

[Illustration]

MOSES SMITING THE ROCK

By Murillo

[End illustration]

{247}

And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the

people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured

against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto

them, "Would God, that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God

we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore doth the Lord bring us

unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones

shall be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt?"

And they said one to another, "Let us make a captain, and let us

return into Egypt."

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of

the congregation of the children of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun

and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that spied out the

land, rent their clothes: and they spoke unto all the congregation of

the children of Israel, saying, "The land, which we passed through to

spy it out, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then

he will bring us into this land, and give it to us; a land which

floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not against the Lord, neither

fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their

defense is removed from over them, and the Lord is with us: fear them

not."

WATER FROM THE ROCK.

_Passage Through Edom Refused_.

(The people refused to believe the report of the courageous spies, and

their wanderings continued.)

And the children of Israel, even the whole multitude, {248} came into

the wilderness of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in

Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. And there was no

water for the multitude: and they assembled themselves together

against Moses and against Aaron.

And the people strove with Moses, and spoke, saying, "Would God that

we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! And why have ye

brought the people of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should

die there, we and our cattle? And wherefore have ye made us to come up

out of Egypt, to bring us unto this evil place? it is no place of

seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there

any water to drink."

And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the people to the door

of the tent of meeting, and fell upon their faces: and the glory of

the Lord appeared to them. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Take

the rod, and assemble the multitude, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and

speak ye to the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water;

and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou

shalt give the multitude and their cattle drink."

And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. And

Moses and Aaron gathered the people together before the rock, and he

said unto them, "Hear now, ye rebels; shall we bring you forth water

out of this rock?"

And Moses lifted up his hand, and smote the rock with his rod twice:

and water came forth abundantly, and the {249} multitude drank, and

their cattle. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because ye

believed not in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of

Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this people into the land which I

have given them." These are the waters of Meribah (that is, strife);

because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and he was

sanctified in them.

And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, "Thus saith

thy brother Israel, 'Thou knowest all the trouble that hath befallen

us: how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long

time: and the Egyptians oppressed us, and our fathers: and when we

cried to the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought

us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the

uttermost of thy border: let us pass, I pray thee, through thy land:

we will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we

drink of the water of the wells: we will go along the king's highway,

we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we

have passed thy border.'"

And Edom said unto him, "Thou shalt not pass through my land, lest I

come out with the sword against thee."

And the children of Israel said unto him, "We will go up by the

highway: and if we drink of thy water, I and my cattle, then will I

give the price thereof: let me only, without doing anything else, pass

through on my feet."

And he said, "Thou shalt not pass through."

And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong

hand. Thus Edom refused to give {250} Israel passage through his

border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.

And they journeyed from Kadesh: and the children of Israel, even the

whole multitude, came unto Mount Hor. And the Lord spoke unto Moses

and Aaron in Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying,

"Aaron shall be gathered to his people: for he shall not enter into

the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because ye

rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and

Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto Mount Hor: and strip Aaron of

his priestly garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron

shall be gathered to his people, and shall die there."

And Moses did as the Lord commanded: and they went up into Mount Hor

in the sight of all the multitude. And Moses stripped Aaron of his

priestly garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died

there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from

the mount. And when all the multitude saw that Aaron was dead, they

wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.

THE BRAZEN SERPENT.

And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go

around the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much

discouraged because of the difficulties. And the people spoke against

God, and against Moses, "Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt

to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no

water; and our soul loatheth this bread of manna."

{251}{252}

[Illustration]

ROCK TEMPLE IN PETRA, IN THE LAND OF EDOM

From a photograph belonging to the Forbes Library, Northampton,

Mass., and used by special permission.

Hidden away in the rocky gorges of Edom, Petra is one of the

strangest and most marvelous cities of the world. Even yet it has

not been fully explored. Its temples and tombs are carved out of the

solid rock

[End illustration]

{253}

And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the

people; and many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses,

and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord,

and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents

from us."

And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Make

thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to

pass, that everyone who is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live."

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard: and

it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked

unto the serpent of brass, he lived.

_Battles by the Way_.

And from thence they journeyed to Beer: that is the well whereof the

Lord said unto Moses, "Gather the people together, and I will give

them water."

Then sang Israel this song:--

THE SONG OF THE WELL.

"Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:

The well, which the princes digged,

Which the nobles of the people delved,

With the scepter, and with their staves."

And from the wilderness they journeyed past many places, to the top of

Pisgah, which looketh down upon the desert.

And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the {254} Amorites,

saying, "Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn aside into

field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells:

we will go by the king's highway, until we have passed thy border."

And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but

Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel

into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz: and he fought against Israel.

And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his

land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the

border of the children of Ammon was strong.

And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities

of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the towns thereof. For Heshbon

was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against

the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even

to Arnon. Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say,--

"Come ye to Heshbon,

Let the city of Sihon be built and established:

For a fire is gone out of Heshbon,

A flame from the city of Sihon.

It hath devoured Ar of Moab,

The lords of the high places of Arnon.

Woe to thee, Moab!

Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh:

He hath given his sons as fugitives,

And his daughters into captivity,

Unto Sihon king of the Amorites. {255}

We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon,

And we have laid waste even unto Nophah,

Which reacheth unto Medeba."

Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. And Moses sent to spy

out Jazer, and they took the towns thereof, and drove out the Amorites

that were there.

And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of

Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at

Edrei. And the Lord said to Moses, "Fear him not: for I have delivered

him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do

to him as thou didst to Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at

Heshbon."

So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was

none left him remaining: and they possessed his land.

BALAAM AND BALAK.

_The Story of the Prophet Who Was Tempted by a Bribe and of the Ass

Which Knew More Than His Master_.

And the children of Israel journeyed, and encamped in the plains of

Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho.

And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the

Amorites. And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were

many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. And

Moab said unto the elders of Midian, "Now shall this multitude lick

{256} up all that is round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of

the field."

And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. And he sent

messengers unto Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the

River, to the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying,

"Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the

face of the earth, and they abide over against me: come now therefore,

I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me:

peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may

drive them out of the land: for I know that he whom thou blessest is

blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed."

And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with bribes

in their hands; and they came unto Balaam, and spoke unto him the

words of Balak.

And he said unto them, "Lodge here this night, and I will bring you

word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me."

And the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. And God came unto Balaam,

and said, "What men are these with thee?"

And Balaam said unto God, "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath

sent unto me, saying, 'Behold, the people that is come out of Egypt,

it covereth the face of the earth: now, come curse me them;

peradventure I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive

them out.'"

And God said unto Balaam, "Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not

curse the people: for they are blessed."

{257}{258}

[Illustration]

VIEW OF THE DEAD SEA

From a photograph taken by Mr. Louis L. Tribus, Consulting Engineer

and Commissioner of Public Works of the Borough of Richmond, City of

New York.

An interesting fact in connection with this picture of the Dead Sea

concerns the boat which is floating upon it. The owner succeeded in

securing a concession from the Turkish Government to put a steamboat

upon the Dead Sea. When he started to run it he was advised that the

concession had not included the operation of the boat and a

considerable further sum of money was desired by the officials. This

being beyond the power of the man to raise, the boat has not been

operated and remains as the picture shows it.

The water of the Dead Sea contains about 25 per cent. of solid

substances. There are common salt, chloride of calcium, chloride of

magnesium, and other ingredients, and it is not to be wondered at

that the human body floats easily on the surface.

The area of the sea is 360 square miles. Its length is 47-1/2 miles;

its greatest width, 10 miles. The surface is about 1295 feet below

sea level.

Scientific observation justifies the estimate that a daily average

of 6,500,000 tons of water is received into the Dead Sea from the

Jordan and other sources during the year. During the rainy season

the amount is very much greater; during the dry season it is, of

course, very much less, but this average will be maintained year

after year.

There is no outlet, and the level is kept down by evaporation only,

which is very rapid because of the intense heat, the dry atmosphere

and the dry winds which are constantly blowing down the gorges

between the mountains.

The waters of the Jordan, when they reach the sea, are as brown as

the earth through which they flow--a thick solution of mud--but the

instant they mingle with the salt water of the lake the particles of

soil are precipitated and they become as clear as crystal, with an

intensely green tint.

[End illustration]

{259}

And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak,

"Get you into your land: for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go

with you."

And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said,

"Balaam refuseth to come with us."

And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they.

And they came to Balaam, and said to him, "Thus saith Balak the son of

Zippor, 'Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:

for I will promote thee unto very great honor, and whatsoever thou

sayest unto me I will do: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this

people.'"

And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, "If Balak

would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond

the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. Now therefore, I pray

you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will

speak unto me more."

And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, "If the men be

come to call thee, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I

speak unto thee, that shalt thou do."

And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with

the princes of Moab. And God's anger was kindled because he went: and

the angel of the Lord placed himself in the way for an adversary

against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were

with him. And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way,

with his sword drawn in his hand: {260} and the ass turned aside out

of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn

her into the way.

Then the angel of the Lord stood in a hollow place between the

vineyards, a fence being on this side, and a fence on that side. And

the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and she thrust herself unto the

wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her

again.

And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place,

where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.

And the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and she lay down under Balaam:

and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with his staff.

And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam,

"What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three

times?"

And Balaam said unto the ass, "Because thou hast mocked me: I would

there were a sword in mine hand, for now I had killed thee."

And the ass said unto Balaam, "Am not I thine ass, upon which thou

hast ridden all thy life long unto this day? was I ever wont to do so

unto thee?"

And he said, "No."

Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the

Lord standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand: and he

bowed his head, and fell on his face.

And the angel of the Lord said unto him, "Wherefore {261} hast thou

smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I am come forth for an

adversary, because thy way is perverse before me: and the ass saw me,

and turned aside before me these three times: unless she had turned

aside from me, surely now I had even slain thee, and saved her alive."

And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, "I have sinned; for I knew

not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it

displease thee, I will get me back again."

And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, "Go with the men: but only

the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak."

So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. And when Balak heard that

Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto the city of Moab, which

is on the border of Arnon.

And Balak said unto Balaam, "Did I not earnestly send unto thee to

call thee? wherefore earnest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to

promote thee to honor?"

And Balaam said unto Balak, "Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any

power at all to speak anything? the word that God putteth in my mouth,

that shall I speak."

And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kiriath-huzoth. And

Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the

princes that were with him. And it came to pass in the morning, that

Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of {262}

Baal, and he saw from thence the utmost part of the people.

And Balaam said unto Balak, "Build me here seven altars, and prepare

me here seven bullocks and seven rams."

And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on

every altar a bullock and a ram.

And Balaam said unto Balak, "Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will

go; peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he

showeth me I will tell thee." And he went to a bare summit.

And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, "I have prepared the seven

altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar."

And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, "Return unto

Balak, and thus thou shalt speak."

And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt offering, he,

and all the princes of Moab. And Balaam said,--

"From Aram hath Balak brought me,

The king of Moab from the mountains of the East:

'Come, curse me Jacob,

And come, defy Israel.'

How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?

And how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?

For from the top of the rocks I see him,

And from the hills I behold him:

Lo, it is a people that dwell alone,

And shall not be reckoned among the nations. {263}

Who can count the dust of Jacob,

Or number the fourth part of Israel?

Let me die the death of the righteous,

And let my last end be like his!"

And Balak said unto Balaam, "What hast thou done unto me? I took thee

to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them

altogether."

And he answered and said, "Must I not take heed to speak that which

the Lord putteth in my mouth?"

And Balak said unto him, "Come, I pray thee, with me unto another

place, from whence thou mayest see them; thou shalt see but the utmost

part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from

thence."

And he took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and

built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.

And he said unto Balak, "Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I

meet the Lord yonder."

And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said,

"Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak."

And he came to him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt offering, and the

princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, "What hath the Lord

spoken?" And he said,--

"Rise up, Balak, and hear;

Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

God is not a man, that he should lie;

Neither the son of man, that he should repent: {264}

Hath he said, and shall he not do it?

Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Behold, I have received commandment to bless:

And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,

Neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel:

The Lord his God is with him,

And the shout of a king is among them.

God bringeth them forth out of Egypt;

He hath as it were the strength of the wild ox.

Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob,

Neither is there any divination with Israel:

Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel,

'What hath God wrought!'

Behold, the people riseth up as a lioness,

And as a lion doth he lift himself up:

He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey,

And drink the blood of the slain."

And Balak said unto Balaam, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them

at all." But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, "Told not I thee,

saying, 'All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do'?"

And Balak said unto Balaam, "Come now, I will take thee unto another

place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them

from thence."

And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh down upon the

desert.

And Balaam said unto Balak, "Build me here seven altars, and prepare

me here seven bullocks and seven rams."

{265}

And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram

on every altar.

And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he set

his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he

saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the spirit of God

came upon him. And he said,--

"Balaam the son of Beor saith,

And the man whose eye was closed saith:

He saith, who heareth the words of God,

Who seeth the vision of the Almighty,

Falling down, and having his eyes open:

How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,

Thy tabernacles, O Israel!

As valleys are they spread forth,

As gardens by the river side,

As aloes which the Lord hath planted,

As cedar trees beside the waters.

Water shall flow from his buckets,

And his family shall be in many waters,

And his king shall be higher than Agag,

And his kingdom shall be exalted.

God bringeth him forth out of Egypt;

He hath as it were the strength of the wild ox:

He shall eat up the nations his adversaries,

And shall break their bones in pieces,

And smite them through with his arrows.

He couched, he lay down as a lion,

And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?

Blessed be everyone that blesseth thee,

And cursed be everyone that curseth thee."

{266}

And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands

together: and Balak said unto Balaam, "I called thee to curse mine

enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three

times. Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee

unto great honor; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honor."

And Balaam said unto Balak, "Spoke I not also to thy messengers which

thou sentest unto me, saying, 'If Balak would give me his house full

of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord, to do

either good or bad of mine own mind; what the Lord speaketh, that will

I speak'?

"And now, behold, I go unto my people: come, and I will announce to

thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days." And

he said,--

"Balaam the son of Beor saith,

And the man whose eye was closed saith:

He saith, who heareth the words of God,

And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High,

Who seeth the vision of the Almighty,

Falling down, and having his eyes open:

I see him, but not now:

I behold him, but not nigh:

There shall come forth a star out of Jacob,

And a scepter shall rise out of Israel,

And shall smite through the corners of Moab,

And break down all the sons of tumult.

And Edom shall be a possession,

Seir also shall be a possession, which were his enemies; {267}

While Israel doeth valiantly.

And out of Jacob shall one have dominion,

And shall destroy the remnant from the city."

And he looked on Amalek, and said,--

"Amalek was the first of the nations;

But his latter end shall come to destruction."

And he looked on the Kenite, and said,--

"Strong is thy dwelling place,

And thy nest is set in the rock.

Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted,

Until Asshur shall carry thee away captive."

And he said,--

"Alas, who shall live when God doeth this?

But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim,

And they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber,

And he also shall come to destruction."

And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his

place: and Balak also went his way.

{268}

THE DEATH OF MOSES.

_He Sees but Cannot Enter the Promised Land_.

(After the Israelites had wandered for many years in the desert, they

approached at last the river Jordan, on the borders of the promised

land. Moses, their great hero and leader, was not permitted to cross

the river, but, after giving the people his last words of advice,

climbed the rugged slopes of Mount Nebo, and was never again seen by

the eye of man.)

And Moses went and spoke these words unto all Israel. And he said to

them, "I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go

out and come in: and the Lord hath said to me, 'Thou shalt not go over

this Jordan.' The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee; he will

destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them:

and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath spoken. And

the Lord shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of

the Amorites, and unto their land; whom he destroyed. And the Lord

shall deliver them up before you, and ye shall do to them according

unto all the commandment which I have commanded you. Be strong and of

a good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them: for the Lord thy

God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor

forsake thee."

And Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all

Israel, "Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt go with this

people into the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to

give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, he

it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail

thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

{269}{270}

[Illustration]

MOSES ON MOUNT NEBO

Thomas Nast

This picture by the famous cartoonist Nast, represents Moses from

the summit of Nebo gazing into the land which he was never to enter

[End illustration]

{271}

"For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not too

hard for thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou

shouldest say, 'Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto

us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?' Neither is it beyond

the sea, that thou shouldest say, 'Who shall go over the sea for us,

and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?' But

the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that

thou mayest do it.

"See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and

evil; in that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to

walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and

his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply, and that the Lord

thy God may bless thee in the land whither thou goest in to possess

it. But if thine heart turn away, and thou wilt not hear, but shalt be

drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I announce to you

this day, that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not prolong your days

upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go in to possess

it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I

have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse:

therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy families:

to love the Lord thy God, to obey his voice, and to cleave unto him:

for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest {272}

dwell in the land which the Lord swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham,

to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."

And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel: and

he said to them, "Set your heart to all the words which I testify to

you this day; which ye shall command your children, to observe to do

all the words of this law. For it is no vain thing for you; because it

is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days upon

the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it."

And the Lord spoke to Moses that selfsame day, saying, "Get thee up

into this mountain of Abarim, unto Mount Nebo, which is in the land of

Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan,

which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: and die in

the mount whither thou goest up; as Aaron thy brother died in Mount

Hor: because ye trespassed against me in the midst of the children of

Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin;

because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.

For thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither

into the land which I give the children of Israel."

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of

Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the

land of Gilead, as far as Dan; and all Naphtali, and the land of

Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the western sea;

and the South, and the Plain of the valley of Jericho the city of palm

trees, as far as Zoar. And the Lord said to {273} him, "This is the

land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying,

'I will give it unto thy family': I have caused thee to see it with

thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither."

So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab,

according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in the valley in

the land of Moab over against Beth-pear: but no man knoweth of his

sepulcher unto this day.

And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye

was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel

wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of

weeping in the mourning for Moses were ended.

And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses,

whom the Lord knew face to face; in all the signs and the wonders,

which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to

all his servants, and to all his land; and in all the mighty hand, and

in all the great terror, which Moses wrought in the sight of all

Israel.

{274}

THE BURIAL OF MOSES

By Nebo's lonely mountain,

On this side Jordan's wave,

In a vale in the land of Moab,

There lies a lonely grave.

And no man knows that sepulcher,

And no man saw it e'er,

For the angels of God upturned the sod,

And laid the dead man there.

That was the grandest funeral

That ever passed on earth;

But no man heard the trampling,

Or saw the train go forth:

Noiselessly as the daylight

Comes back when night is done,

And the crimson streak on ocean's cheek

Grows into the great sun;

Noiselessly as the spring-time

Her crown of verdure weaves,

And all the trees on all the hills

Open their thousand leaves;

So without sound of music

Or voice of them that wept,

Silently down from the mountain's crown

The great procession swept.

Perchance that bald old eagle

On gray Beth-Peor's height,

Out of his lonely eyrie

Looked on the wondrous sight: {275}

Perchance the lion, stalking,

Stills shuns that hallowed spot,

For beast and bird have seen and heard

That which man knoweth not.

But when the warrior dieth,

His comrades in the war,

With arms reversed and muffled drum,

Follow his funeral car;

They show the banners taken,

They tell his battles won,

And after him lead his masterless steed,

While peals the minute-gun.

Amid the noblest of the land

We lay the sage to rest,

And give the bard an honored place.

With costly marble drest,

In the great minster transept

Where lights like glories fall,

And the organ rings and the sweet choir sings

Along the emblazoned wall.

This was the truest warrior

That ever buckled sword,

This the most gifted poet

That ever breathed a word;

And never earth's philosopher

Traced with his golden pen,

On the deathless page, truths half so sage

As he wrote down for men.

And had he not 'nigh honor,--

The hillside for a pall,

To lie in state while angels wait,

With stars for tapers tall, {276}

And the dark rock-pines like tossing plumes

Over his bier to wave,

And God's own hand, in that lonely land,

To lay him in the grave?

In that strange grave without a name,

Whence his uncoffined clay

Shall break again, O wondrous thought!

Before the judgment day,

And stand with glory wrapt around

On the hills he never trod,

And speak of the strife that won our life

With the Incarnate Son of God.

O, lonely grave in Moab's land!

O, dark Beth-Peor's hill!

Speak to these curious hearts of ours,

And teach them to be still.

God hath his mysteries of grace,

Ways that we cannot tell;

He hides them deep, like the hidden sleep

Of him he loved so well.

--_Cecil Frances Alexander_.

{277}

JOSHUA

_The Story of the Hero Whose Genius as a Warrior Won

the Land of Canaan for Israel_.

(The Israelites found the land of Canaan occupied by a fierce and

warlike people with whom they fought many battles and waged long

campaigns. The story of this warfare is filled with deeds of cruelty

and violence, yet it is no more terrible than war has always been. We

cannot understand why God has permitted so much suffering, but we know

that in some cases at least the world has advanced in freedom through

the loss and sacrifice of war. Even in war men have grown less cruel,

and we may hope for the time when all war shall cease and men shall

live together as brethren.)

JOSHUA IS MADE CAPTAIN OF THE HOST.

_Spies Are Sent to Jericho_.

Now it came to pass after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord,

that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, saying, "Moses my

servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and

all this people, to the land which I give to them, even to the

children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread

upon, to you have I given it, as I spoke to Moses. From the

wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river

Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the great sea to the

going down of the sun, shall {278} be your border. There shall not any

man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was

with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake

thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt cause this

people to inherit the land which I swore unto their fathers to give

them. Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according

to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from

it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have good

success whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not

depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and

night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written

therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou

shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a

good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed: for the

Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, "Pass

through the midst of the camp, and command the people, saying,

'Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye are to pass over this

Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth

you to possess it.'"

And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men as spies

secretly, saying, "Go view the land, and Jericho." And they went, and

came into the house of a woman whose name was Rahab, and lay there.

And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, there came men

in hither to-night of the children of Israel to search out the land."

{279}{280}

[Illustration]

MOUNDS MARKING THE SITE OF OLD JERICHO

From the road from Jerusalem to Jericho

From a photograph taken by Prof. D. G. Lyon

and used by his kind permission.

Jericho, "the city of palm trees," was the only important place in

the Jordan valley. In Bible times it was a beautiful and prosperous

city, but now it is only a waste. Its palm trees are gone and the

site is desolate. It was often conquered by the armies which passed

through Palestine. After its walls fell down before Joshua's hosts,

"no great man was born in Jericho; no heroic deed was ever done in

her. She never stood a siege and her inhabitants were always running

away." --_Smith_

[End illustration]

{281}

And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring forth the men

that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they

are come to search out all the land."

And the woman took the two men, and hid them; and she said, "Yea, the

men came unto me, but I knew not whence they were: and it came to pass

about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the

men went out: whither the men went I know not: pursue after them

quickly; for ye shall overtake them."

But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks

of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the men

pursued after them along the way to Jordan to the fords: and as soon

as those who pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate. And

before they were laid down, she came up to them upon the roof; and she

said to the men, "I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and

that the fear of you is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants

of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried

up the water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of Egypt; and

what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond

Jordan, unto Sihon and to Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon

as we had heard it, our hearts melted, neither did there remain any

more spirit in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is

God in heaven above, and on earth beneath. Now {282} therefore, I pray

you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you,

that ye also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a

true token: and that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and

my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver

our lives from death."

And the men said to her, "Our life for yours, if ye speak not of this

our business; and it shall be, when the Lord giveth us the land, that

we will deal kindly and truly with thee."

Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was

upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. And she said to them,

"Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you; and hide

yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned: and

afterward may ye go your way."

And the men said unto her, "We will be guiltless of this thine oath

which thou hast made us to swear, unless, when we come into the land,

thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou

didst let us down by: and thou shalt gather into the house thy father,

and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household. And

it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house

into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be

guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood

shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. But if thou speak of

this our business, then we will be guiltless or thine oath which thou

hast made us to swear."

{283}{284}

[Illustration]

LOWER FORDS OF THE JORDAN

From a photograph in the possession of Rev. Louis F. Giroux

of the International College, Springfield, Mass.,

and used by his kind permission.

Jordan river is a narrow, winding stream flowing down on the eastern

border of the "Promised Land." When not in flood its width does not

average over two hundred feet and it is rarely over five feet deep

at such times; in flood it becomes in places a mile broad. It is so

winding that in sixty-five miles direct course it covers a distance

of two hundred miles. There are some fifty fords across the river,

and in Roman times it was spanned by bridges. This picture shows the

"lower fords." At this point, or near here, the Israelites crossed.

"There are hundreds of other streams more large, more useful, or

more beautiful; there is none which has been more spoken about by

mankind"

[End illustration]

{285}

And she said, "According to your words, so be it." And she sent them

away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.

And they went, and came to the mountain, and hid there three days,

until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them

throughout all the way, but found them not. Then the two men returned,

and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua

the son of Nun; and they told him all that had befallen them. And they

said unto Joshua, "Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all

the land; and moreover all the inhabitants of the land do melt away

before us."

THE PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN.

_The Israelites Leave the Jordan Behind Them as They Left

the Red Sea_.

And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and they marched from

Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel; and

they lodged there before they passed over. And it came to pass after

three days, that the officers went through the midst of the camp; and

they commanded the people, saying, "When ye see the ark of the

covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it,

then ye shall advance from your place, and go after it. Yet there

shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by

measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye

must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore."

{286}

And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves: for to-morrow the

Lord will do wonders among you."

And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the ark of the

covenant, and pass over before the people." And they took up the ark

of the covenant, and went before the people.

And the Lord said to Joshua, "This day will I begin to magnify thee in

the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses,

so I will be with thee. And thou shalt command the priests that bear

the ark of the covenant, saying, 'When ye are come to the brink of the

waters of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.'"

And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, "Come hither, and hear

the words of the Lord your God."

And Joshua said, "Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among

you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the

Canaanite, and all the people of the land. Behold, the ark of the

covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into

Jordan. Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel,

for every tribe a man. And it shall come to pass, when the soles of

the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all

the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of

Jordan shall be cut off, even the waters that come down from above;

and they shall stand in one heap."

And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass

over Jordan, the priests that bore the ark of the covenant being

before the people; and when they {287} that bore the ark were come to

Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark were dipped in

the brink of the water (for Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the

time of harvest), that the waters which came down from above stood,

and rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is

beside Zarethan: and those that went down toward the Salt Sea were

wholly cut off: and the people passed over right opposite Jericho.

And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood

firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all Israel passed over

on dry ground, until all the nation were passed wholly over Jordan.

SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF JERICHO.

_How the Walls of the City Fell Down_.

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his

eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with

his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went to him, and said to him,

"Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?"

And he said, "Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now

come."

And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and said to

him, "What saith my Lord to his servant?" And the captain of the

Lord's host said to Joshua, "Put off thy shoe from off thy foot; for

the place whereon thou standest is holy."

And Joshua did so.

(Now Jericho was closely besieged by the children {288} of Israel:

none went out, and none came in.) And the Lord said to Joshua, "See, I

have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the

mighty men of valor. And ye shall march around the city, all the men

of war, going about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And

seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark:

and the seventh day ye shall march around the city seven times, and

the priests shall blow the trumpets. And it shall be, that when they

make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of

the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the

wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up

every man straight before him."

And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them,

"Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven

trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord."

And they said unto the people, "Pass on, and march around the city,

and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord."

And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken unto the people, the seven

priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Lord

passed on, and blew the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the

Lord followed them. And the armed men went before the priests that

blew the trumpets, and the rear guard went after the ark, the priests

blowing the trumpets as they went.

{289}{290}

[Illustration]

THE PLAIN OF JERICHO, LOOKING TOWARD THE JORDAN

FROM THE HILLS TO THE WEST.

From a photograph taken by Prof. H. G. Mitchell

and used by his kind permission.

A view of the Jordan plain, showing the desolate

nature of the country.

[End illustration]

{291}

And Joshua commanded the people, saying, "Ye shall not shout, nor let

your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth,

until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout."

So he caused the ark of the Lord to pass around the city, going about

it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark

of the Lord. And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams'

horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew the

trumpets: and the armed men went before them; and the rear guard came

after the ark of the Lord, the priests blowing the trumpets as they

went.

And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned

into the camp: so they did six days. And it came to pass on the

seventh day, that they rose early at the dawning of the day, and

marched around the city after the same manner seven times. And it came

to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets,

Joshua said to the people, "Shout! for the Lord hath given you the

city. And the city shall be devoted, even it and all that is therein,

to the Lord: only Rahab shall live, she and all that are with her in

the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, be

sure to keep yourselves from the devoted thing, lest when ye have

devoted it, ye take of the devoted thing; so should ye make the camp

of Israel accursed, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and

vessels of brass and iron, are holy {292} unto the Lord: they shall

come into the treasury of the Lord."

So the people shouted, and the priests blew the trumpets: and it came

to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the

people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so

that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him,

and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the

city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, and sheep, and

ass, with the edge of the sword.

And Joshua said unto the two men that had spied out the land, "Go into

Rahab's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath,

as ye swore unto her." And the young men who were the spies went in,

and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her

brethren, and all that she had, all her kindred also they brought out;

and they set them without the camp of Israel.

And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the

silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put

into the treasury of the house of the Lord.

But Rahab and her father's household, and all that she had, did Joshua

save alive; and she dwelt in the midst of Israel, to this day; because

she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

{293}

THE FALL OF JERICHO

Sound, sound for ever, Clarions of Thought!

When Joshua 'gainst the high-walled city fought,

He marched around it with his banners high.

His troops in serried order following nigh.

But not a sword was drawn, no shaft outsprang,

Only the trumpets the shrill onset rang.

At the first blast, smiled scornfully the king,

And at the second sneered, half wonderingly:

"Hop'st thou with noise my stronghold to break down?"

At the third round, the ark of old renown

Swept forward, still the trumpets sounding loud,

And then the troops with ensigns waving proud.

Stepped out upon the old walls children dark

With horns to mock the notes and hoot the ark.

At the fourth turn, braving the Israelites,

Women appeared upon the crenelated heights--

Those battlements embrowned with age and rust--

And hurled upon the Hebrews stones and dust,

And spun and sang when weary of the game.

At the fifth circuit came the blind and lame,

And with wild uproar clamorous and high

Railed at the clarion ringing to the sky.

At the sixth time, upon a tower's tall crest,

So high that there the eagle built his nest,

So hard that on it lightning lit in vain,

Appeared in merriment the king again:

"These Hebrew Jews musicians are, me-seems!"

He scoffed, loud laughing, "but they live on dreams."

The princes laughed, submissive to the king,

Laughed all the courtiers in their glittering ring,

And thence the laughter spread through all the town.

At the seventh blast--the city walls fell down.

--_Victor Hugo_.

{294}

THE ATTACK UPON AI.

_The Story of a Rout and an Ambush. Defeat Turned to Victory_.

(The spoil of the city of Jericho was "devoted," that is offered

to the Lord, and could be the private property of no person.

How the greed of one soldier got the better of him, the evil

consequences, the execution of the guilty soldier for disobedience of

military orders, and the subsequent victory of the Israelites are

told in the following chapter.)

But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted thing:

for Achan, of the tribe of Judah, took of the devoted thing: and the

anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.

And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on

the east side of Beth-el, and spoke unto them, saying, "Go up and spy

out the land." And the men went up and spied out Ai.

And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, "Let not all the

people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite

Ai; make not all the people to toil thither; for they are but few."

So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and

they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about

thirty and six men: and they chased them from before the gate even

unto Shebarim, and smote them at the descent: and the hearts of the

people melted, and became as water. And Joshua rent his clothes, and

fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the

evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their

heads.

{295}

And Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought

this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites,

to cause us to perish? would that we had been content and dwelt beyond

Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, after Israel hath turned their backs

before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of

the land shall hear of it, and shall surround us round, and cut off

our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do for thy great name?"

And the Lord said unto Joshua, "Get thee up; wherefore art thou thus

fallen upon thy face? Israel hath sinned; yea, they have even

transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: yea, they have even

taken of the devoted thing; and have also stolen, and lied also, and

they have even put it among their own goods. Therefore the children of

Israel cannot stand before their enemies, they turn their backs before

their enemies, because they are become accursed: I will not be with

you any more, except ye destroy the devoted thing from among you. Up,

sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow:

for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, There is a devoted thing

in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine

enemies, until ye take away the devoted thing from among you. In the

morning therefore ye shall be brought near by your tribes: and it

shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come near by

families; and the family which the Lord shall take shall come near by

households; and the household which the Lord shall take shall come

near man by man. And it {296} shall be, that he that is taken with the

devoted thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath:

because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he

hath wrought folly in Israel.'"

So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel near by

their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: and he brought near

the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zerahites: and he

brought near the family of the Zerahites man by man; and Zabdi was

taken: and he brought near his household man by man; and Achan was

taken. And Joshua said unto Achan, "My son, give, I pray thee, glory

to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make confession to him; and tell

me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me."

And Achan answered Joshua, and said, "Of a truth I have sinned against

the Lord, the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: when I saw

among the spoil a goodly Babylonish mantle, and two hundred shekels of

silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted

them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the

midst of my tent, and the silver under it."

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it

was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them from

the midst of the tent, and brought them to Joshua, and to all the

children of Israel; and they laid them down before the Lord. And

Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the

silver, and the mantle, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his

daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his {297} sheep, and his

tent, and all that he had: and they brought them up unto the valley of

Achor.

And Joshua said, "Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble

thee this day."

And all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire,

and stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of

stones, to this day; and the Lord turned from the fierceness of his

anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of

Achor (that is, troubling), unto this day.

And the Lord said unto Joshua, "Fear not, neither be thou dismayed:

take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I

have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city,

and his land: and thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto

Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof,

shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: set thee an ambush for the

city behind it."

So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai: and Joshua

chose out thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent them

forth by night. And he commanded them, saying, "Behold, ye shall lie

in ambush against the city, behind the city: go not very far from the

city, but be ye all ready: and I, and all the people that are with me,

will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come

out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them; and

they will come out after us, till we have drawn them away from the

city; for they will say, 'They flee before us, as at the first'; so we

will {298} flee before them: and ye shall rise up from the ambush, and

take possession of the city: for the Lord your God will deliver it

into your hand. And it shall be, when ye have seized upon the city,

that ye shall set the city on fire; according to the word of the Lord

shall ye do: see, I have commanded you."

And Joshua sent them forth: and they went to the ambushment, and took

their place between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua

camped that night among the people.

And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and mustered the people, and

went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. And all

the people, even the men of war that were with him, went up, and drew

nigh, and came before the city, to the north side of Ai: now there was

a valley between him and Ai. And he took about five thousand men, and

set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the

city. So they set the people, even all the host that was on the north

of the city, and their liers in wait that were on the west of the

city; and Joshua went that night into the midst of the vale. And it

came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up

early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he

and all his people, at the time appointed, before the valley; but he

knew not that there was an ambush against him behind the city.

And Joshua and all Israel pretended that they were beaten before them,

and fled by the way of the {299} wilderness. And all the people that

were in the city were called together to pursue after them: and they

pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. And there was

not a man left in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel: and

they left the city open, and pursued after Israel. And the Lord said

unto Joshua, "Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai;

for I will give it into thine hand."

And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the

city. And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as

soon as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city, and

took it; and they hasted and set the city on fire. And when the men of

Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city

ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that

way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the

pursuers. And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken

the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned

again and slew the men of Ai. And the others came forth out of the

city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this

side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let

none of them remain or escape.

And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua. And it

came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the

inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they pursued

them, and they were all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they

were {300} consumed, that all Israel returned unto Ai, and smote it

with the edge of the sword. And all that fell that day, both of men

and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai. For Joshua

drew not back his hand, wherewith he stretched out the javelin, until

he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. Only the cattle

and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey to themselves,

according to the word of the Lord which he commanded Joshua. So Joshua

burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation, unto this

day.

THE SUBMISSION OF GIBEON.

_How a Timid People Used a Successful Trick_.

And it came to pass, when all the kings which were beyond Jordan, in

the hill country, and in the lowland, and on all the shore of the

great sea in front of Lebanon, heard of this, they gathered themselves

together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.

But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto

Jericho and to Ai, they were very cunning, and they pretended to be

ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine skins, old

and rent and bound up; and shoes old and patched upon their feet, and

old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry

and was become mouldy. And they went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal,

and said to him, and to the men of Israel, "We are come from a far

country: now therefore make ye a covenant with us."

And the men of Israel said unto the Gibeonites, "Perhaps {301} ye

dwell among us; and how shall we make a covenant with you?"

And they said to Joshua, "We are thy servants."

And Joshua said to them, "Who are ye? and from whence come ye?"

And they said unto him, "From a very far country thy servants are come

because of the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard the fame of

him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two

kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of

Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan. And our elders and all the

inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, 'Take provision in

your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We

are your servants: and now make ye a covenant with us.' This bread we

took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth

to go to you; but now, behold, it is dry, and is become mouldy: and

these wine skins, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they are

rent: and these garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the

very long journey."

And the men took of their provision, and asked not counsel at the

mouth of the Lord.

And Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let

them live: and the princes of the congregation swore unto them. And it

came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a covenant

with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that

they dwelt among them. And the children of Israel {302} journeyed, and

came to their cities on the third day. And the children of Israel

smote them not, because the princes of the host had sworn unto them by

the Lord, the God of Israel. And all the host murmured against the

princes. But all the princes said unto all the host, "We have sworn

unto them by the Lord, the God of Israel: now therefore we may not

touch them. This we will do to them, and let them live; lest wrath be

upon us, because of the oath which we swore unto them." And the

princes said unto them, "Let them live: so they become hewers of wood

and drawers of water to all the people;" as the princes had spoken

unto them.

And Joshua called for them, and he spoke unto them, saying, "Wherefore

have ye tricked us, saying, 'We are very far from you'; when ye dwell

among us? Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall never fail to

be of you bondmen, both hewers of wood and drawers of water for the

house of my God."

And they answered Joshua, and said, "Because it was certainly told thy

servants how that the Lord thy God commanded his servant Moses to give

you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from

before you; therefore we were sore afraid for our lives because of

you, and have done this thing. And now, behold, we are in thine hand:

as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do to us, do."

And so did he to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the

children of Israel, that they slew them not. And Joshua made them that

day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the people, and for the

altar of the Lord, to this day, in the place which he should choose.

{303}{304}

[Illustration]

A PORTION OF THE RIDGE BY WHICH THE ROAD RAN EASTWARD

FROM UPPER BETH-HORON

From a photograph taken by Prof. H. G. Mitchell

and used by his kind permission.

This road along the ridge was one of the important highways of the

East. Throughout history we see hosts swarming up this avenue or

swept down it in flight. Here Joshua fought his famous fight with

the five kings. Here Judas Maccabaeus won a great battle with the

Syrians (see Tales of the Maccabees, Vol. III.). Joshua in his battle

drove the Canaanites over the ridge and then cut them to pieces in

the ravine on the other side.

[End illustration]

{305}

THE BATTLE WITH THE FIVE KINGS.

_How Joshua Won a Great Fight_.

Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard how

Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to

Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the

inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;

that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of

the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men

thereof were mighty. Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent unto

Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia

king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying, "Come up to me,

and help me, and let us smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with

Joshua and with the children of Israel."

Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the

king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of

Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their

hosts, and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it. And the

men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, "Desert

not thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for

all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill country are

gathered together against us."

So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he, and all the people {306} of war

with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the Lord said to

Joshua, "Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hands;

there shall not a man of them stand before thee."

Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly; for he went up from Gilgal,

marching all the night. And the Lord discomfited them before Israel,

and he slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by

the way of the ascent to Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and

unto Makkedah. And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel,

while they were in the descent of Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down

great hailstones from heaven upon them, and they died: they were more

who died with the hailstones than they whom the children of Israel

slew with the sword.

Then spoke Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up

the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight

of Israel,--

"Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon;

And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon."

And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed,

Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies.

Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the

midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And

there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord

hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.

{307}

And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.

And it was told Joshua, saying, "The five kings are found, hidden in

the cave at Makkedah." And Joshua said, "Roll great stones unto the

mouth of the cave, and set men by it to keep them: but stay not ye;

pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them

not to enter into their cities: for the Lord your God hath delivered

them into your hand."

And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made

an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were

consumed, and the remnant which remained of them had entered into the

fortified cities, that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua

at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the

children of Israel. Then said Joshua, "Open the mouth of the cave, and

bring forth those five kings to me out of the cave."

And they did so, and brought forth those five kings to him out of the

cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth,

the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon. And it came to pass, when they

brought forth those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the

men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war which went

with him, "Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings."

And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.

And Joshua said unto them, "Fear not, nor be {308} dismayed; be

strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your

enemies against whom ye fight."

And afterward Joshua smote them and put them to death, and hung them

on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.

And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that

Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them

into the cave wherein they had hidden themselves, and laid great

stones on the mouth of the cave, to this very day.

THE LAST ADDRESSES OF JOSHUA TO THE PEOPLE.

_Words of Warning and Advice_.

And it came to pass after many days, when the Lord had given rest unto

Israel from all their enemies round about, and Joshua was old; that

Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and for their heads,

and for their judges and for their officers, and said to them, "I am

old and well stricken in years: and we have seen all that the Lord

your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord

your God, he it is that hath fought for you.

"Therefore be ye very courageous to keep and to do all that is written

in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to

the right hand or to the left; that ye come not among these nations,

these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their

gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow down

yourselves to them; but be loyal to the Lord your God, as ye have done

unto this day.

{309}{310}

[Illustration]

AN OLD TOMB AT TIMNEH, CALLED THE TOMB OF JOSHUA

From a photograph of the Palestine Exploration Fund

and used by special permission.

This is a good example of the rock-hewn tombs of Palestine. It is

tradition only which calls it the resting place of the great captain.

[End illustration]

{311}

"For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and

strong: but as for you, no man hath stood before you unto this day.

One man of you shall chase a thousand; for the Lord your God, he it is

that fighteth for you, as he spoke unto you. Take good heed therefore

unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God."

And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called

for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges,

and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

And Joshua said unto all the people, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of

Israel, 'Fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and

put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in

Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.' And if it seem evil to you to serve the

Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which

your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the

Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will

serve the Lord."

And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should

forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; for the Lord our God, he it is

that brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the

house of bondage, and that did those great signs in our sight, and

preserved us in an the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples

through the midst of whom we passed; and the Lord drove out from

before us all the peoples, even the Amorites that dwelt in the land:

therefore we also will serve the Lord; for he is our God."

{312}

And Joshua said unto the people, "Ye are not able to serve the Lord;

for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your

transgression nor your sins. If ye forsake the Lord, and serve foreign

gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that

he hath done you good."

And the people said unto Joshua, "Nay; but we will serve the Lord."

And Joshua said unto the people, "Ye are witnesses against yourselves

that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him."

And they said, "We are witnesses."

THE DEATH OF JOSHUA.

_The Great Captain Is Laid at Rest_.

And after many years of fighting, and many victories, Joshua the son

of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years

old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in

Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north

of the mountain of Gaash. And Israel served the Lord all the days of

Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had

known all the work of the Lord, that he had wrought for Israel.

{313}

The Judges

After the death of Joshua there followed a long period of unrest and

fighting. The land was by no means conquered. Many times the

Israelites were opposed by the neighboring people, and all but wiped

out of existence. But each time a hero arose who overthrew the

oppressor, and became the leader or judge, as the office was called,

of the people. These leaders were not all of the highest character,

but they served to hold the nation together, and to preserve it from

extinction, during this period of trouble and unrest.

{314}

{315}

EHUD

The Story of the Young Man Who Killed a King.

And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight

of the Lord: and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against

Israel, because they had done that which was evil in the sight of the

Lord. And he gathered to him the children of Ammon and Amalek; and he

went and smote Israel, and they possessed the city of palm trees (that

is, Jericho). And the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab

eighteen years. But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord,

the Lord raised them up a saviour, Ehud the son of Gera, the

Benjamite, a left-handed man: and the children of Israel sent a

present by him unto Eglon the king of Moab. And Ehud made him a sword

which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he girded it under his

raiment upon his right thigh. And he offered the present unto Eglon

king of Moab: now Eglon was a very fat man. And when he had made an

end of offering the present, he sent away the people that bore the

present. But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by

Gilgal, and said, "I have a secret errand unto thee, O king."

And he said, "Keep silence." And all that stood by him went out from

him. And Ehud came to him; and he was sitting by himself alone in his

summer room. {316} And Ehud said, "I have a message from God to thee."

And he arose out of his seat.

And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right

thigh, and thrust it into his body: and the haft also went in after

the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, for he drew not the

sword out of his body; and it came out behind. Then Ehud went forth

into the porch, and shut the doors of the room upon him, and locked

them. Now when he was gone out, his servants came; and they saw, and,

behold, the doors of the room were locked.

And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not

the doors of the room; therefore they took the key, and opened them:

and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries,

and escaped to Seirah.

And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the

hill country of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him

from the hill country, and he before them. And he said unto them,

"Follow after me: for the Lord hath delivered your enemies the

Moabites into your hand."

And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan against the

Moabites, and suffered not a man to pass over. And they smote of Moab

at that time about ten thousand men, every strong man, and every man

of valor; and there escaped not a man. So Moab was subdued that day

under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

{317}{318}

[Illustration]

A CAMP IN THE DESERT

The black tents of the Arabs on the desert sands.

From a photograph belonging to Mr. S. E. Bridgman

and used by his kind permission.

"The Midianites came up with their cattle and their tents, they came

in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were

without number: and they came into the land to destroy it." This is

no doubt just the way in which the camps of the Midianites looked

in the old days when they raided the farms of the Israelites.

[End illustration]

{319}

GIDEON

_The Story of a Brave Man Who Freed His People from Oppression_.

(There was a time when every year one of the tribes of the desert

which lies south and east of Palestine raided the farms and pastures

of the Israelites, plundering and burning, and carrying off the crops

and herds.)

The Midianites came up with their cattle and their tents, they came in

as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without

number: and they came into the land to destroy it. And Israel was

brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried

unto the Lord.

And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord

because of Midian, that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of

Israel: and he said unto them, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of

Israel, 'I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the

house of bondage; and I delivered you out of the hand of the

Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove

them out from before you, and gave you their land; and I said to you,

I am the Lord your God; ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in

whose land ye dwell: but ye have not hearkened unto my voice.'"

And the angel of the Lord came, and sat under the {320} oak which was

in Ophrah, which was on the land of Joash the Abiezrite: and his son

Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the

Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to

him, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor."

And Gideon said to him, "O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then

is all this befallen us? and where are all his wondrous works of which

our fathers told us, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from

Egypt?' but now the Lord hath cast us off, and delivered us into the

hand of Midian."

And the Lord looked upon him, and said, "Go in thy might, and save

Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee?"

And he said to him, "O Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my

family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's

house."

And the Lord said unto him, "Surely I will be with thee, and thou

shalt smite the Midianites as one man."

And he said unto him, "If now I have found grace in thy sight, then

show me a sign that it is thou that talkest with me. Depart not hence,

I pray thee, until I come to thee, and bring forth my present, and lay

it before thee."

And he said, "I will tarry until thou come again."

And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an

ephah of meal: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a

pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it. And

the angel of God said unto him, "Take the flesh and the unleavened

cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth."

{321}{322}

[Illustration]

DESERT WARRIORS

Riding thus on their camels the hosts of Midian came out of the

desert like locusts and swarmed over the fair fields of Palestine.

[End illustration]

{323}

And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the

staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened

cakes; and there went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh

and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of the Lord departed out of

his sight. And Gideon saw that he was the angel of the Lord; and

Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord God! because I have seen the angel of the

Lord face to face."

And the Lord said unto him, "Peace be to thee; fear not: thou shalt

not die."

Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it "Jehovah

is Peace": to this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said to him, "Take

thy father's bullock, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father

hath, and cut down the pillar that is by it: and build an altar to the

Lord thy God upon the top of this stronghold, in the proper manner,

and take a bullock, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the

pillar which thou shalt cut down." Then Gideon took ten men of his

servants, and did as the Lord had spoken to him: and it came to pass,

because he feared his father's household and the men of the city, so

that he dared not do it by day, that he did it by night. And when the

men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal

was broken down, and the pillar was cut down that was by it, and the

bullock was offered upon {324} the altar that was built. And they said

one to another, "Who hath done this thing?" And when they inquired and

asked, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing."

Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out thy son, that he

may die: because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he

hath cut down the pillar that was by it."

And Joash said to all that stood against him, "Will ye plead for Baal?

or will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to

death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for

himself, because one hath broken down his altar."

Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, that is, "Let Baal

plead."

_How a Few Brave Men Saved the Nation_.

Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the

east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and camped

in the valley of Jezreel. But the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon;

and he blew a trumpet; and the men of Abiezer were gathered together

after him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they

also were gathered together after him: and he sent messengers to

Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

And Gideon said to God, "If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as

thou hast spoken, behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the

threshing-floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it {325} be

dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel

by mine hand, as thou hast spoken."

And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and pressed the

fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of

water.

And Gideon said to God, "Let not thine anger be kindled against me,

and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this

once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon

all the ground let there be dew."

And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and

there was dew on all the ground.

Then Jerubbaal (which is another name for Gideon), and all the people

that were with him, rose up early, and camped beside the spring of

Harod: and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them, by the

hill of Moreh, in the valley.

And the Lord said to Gideon, "The people that are with thee are too

many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast

themselves against me, saying, 'Mine own hand hath saved me.' Now

therefore, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, 'Whosoever is

fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.'"

And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there

remained ten thousand.

And the Lord said to Gideon, "The people are yet too many; bring them

down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall

be, that of whom I say {326} unto thee, 'These shall go with thee,'

the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, 'These

shall not go with thee,' the same shall not go."

So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto

Gideon, "Everyone that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog

lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise everyone that boweth

down upon his knees to drink."

And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth,

was three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon

their knees to drink water.

And the Lord said unto Gideon, "By the three hundred men that lapped

will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let

all the people go every man to his place."

So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he

sent all the men of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the

three hundred men: and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the

valley.

And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said to him, "Arise,

get thee down into the camp; for I have delivered it into thine hand.

But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Purah thy servant down to

the camp: and thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine

hands be strengthened to go down into the camp."

{327}{328}

[Illustration]

THE PLAIN OF ESDRAELON

From a photograph belonging to Prof. H. G. Mitchell

and used by his kind permission.

The plain of Esdraelon or Jezreel is one of the famous battle

fields of the world's history. Lying in the heart of Palestine, the

great highways of commerce come down through the hills and cross its

level fields. Through it runs the little river Kishon. On the banks

of this stream the hosts of Sisera were routed (see Tales of Brave

Women, Vol. III). Here Gideon and his three hundred men swept before

them the hordes of Midian in the panic of the night attack. Here

began the battle between Saul and the Philistines which ended in the

death of the king, whose force had been pushed back to the height of

Gilboa (see The Great Kings in this volume). Here King Josiah was

mortally wounded in his fatal fight with the armies of Egypt (see

The Story of a Divided Kingdom, Vol. III). Through its fertile

fields in all ages of history the armies of the great kingdoms of

the East have marched to battle and conquest

[End illustration]

{329}

Then went he down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the

armed men that were in the camp. And the Midianites and the Amalekites

and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts

for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which

is upon the sea shore for multitude. And when Gideon was come, behold,

there was a man that told a dream to his fellow, and said, "Behold, I

dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp

of Midian, and came to the tent, and smote it that it fell, and turned

it upside down, that the tent lay flat."

And his fellow answered and said, "This is nothing else save the sword

of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: into his hand God hath

delivered Midian, and all the host."

And when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation

thereof, he worshiped; and returned into the camp of Israel, and said,

"Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of

Midian."

And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put

into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with

torches within the pitchers. And he said to them, "Look on me, and do

likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp,

it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. When I blow the trumpet, I

and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side

of all the camp, and say,--

"'For the Lord and for Gideon.'"

So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the

outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when

they had but newly set {330} the watch: and they blew the trumpets,

and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands. And the

three companies blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held

the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands

to blow wherewith: and they cried, "The sword of the Lord and of

Gideon."

And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all

the host ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight. And they blew

the three hundred trumpets, and the Lord set every man's sword against

his fellow, and against all the host: and the host fled in confusion.

And the men of Israel were gathered together out of Naphtali, and out

of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian. And

Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim,

saying, "Come down against Midian, and hold the fords as far as the

fords of Jordan." So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together,

and held the fords as far as the fords of Jordan. And they took the

two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb at the rock

of Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the wine press of Zeeb, and pursued

Midian: and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond

Jordan.

Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, "Rule thou over us, both

thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast saved us out

of the hand of Midian."

And Gideon said unto them, "I will not rule over you, neither shall my

son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you."

{331}

So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted

up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days

of Gideon.

And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in

the sepulcher of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

{332}

ABIMELECH

_The Story of the Sons of Gideon, and the Evil Which Befell Them_.

ABIMELECH SEIZES THE LEADERSHIP.

(This is the first of the bloody conflicts for leadership in Hebrew

history, so common after the kingdom was established. Abimelech, the

son of Gideon, whose mother was a woman of Shechem and a servant,

killed all the other children but Jotham, and died himself in battle

after a brief period of supremacy.)

And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's

brethren, and spoke with them, and with all the family of the house of

his mother's father, saying, "Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all

the men of Shechem, 'Which is better for you, that all the sons of

Jerubbaal, who are threescore and ten persons, rule over you, or that

one rule over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.'"

And his mother's brethren spoke of him in the ears of all the men of

Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech;

for they said, "He is our brother." And they gave him threescore and ten

pieces of silver, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, who

followed him. And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew

his brethren the sons of {333} Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten

persons, upon one stone: but Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was

left; for he hid himself.

AN OLD FABLE.

(This is one of the earliest of those stories called fables in which

animals or trees or other things not living are represented as

speaking and acting like living persons. Such stories were

usually told to teach some lesson.)

And all the men of Shechem assembled themselves together, and all the

house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the

pillar that was in Shechem. And when they told it to Jotham, he went

and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and

cried, and said unto them, "Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that

God may hearken unto you. The trees went forth on a time to anoint a

king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, 'Reign thou over

us.' But the olive tree said unto them, 'Should I leave my fatness,

wherewith by me they honor God and man, and go to wave to and fro over

the trees?' And the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come thou, and reign

over us.' But the fig tree said unto them, 'Should I leave my

sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave to and fro over the

trees?' And the trees said to the vine, 'Come thou, and reign over

us.' And the vine said unto them, 'Should I leave my wine, which

cheereth God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees?' Then

said all the trees to the bramble, 'Come thou, and reign over us.' And

the bramble {334} said to the trees, 'If in truth ye anoint me king

over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let

fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'

"Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and uprightly, in that ye have

made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his

house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands;

(for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered

you out of the hand of Midian: and ye are risen up against my father's

house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons,

upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maid-servant,

king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;) if ye then

have dealt truly and uprightly with Jerubbaal and with his house this

day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:

but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of

Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of

Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech." And

Jotham ran away, and fled, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

THE FATE OF ABIMELECH.

_After Several Years of Uneasy Rule Abimelech Met His Fate

at the Hands of His Enemies_.

And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem

were gathered together. And Abimelech went up to mount Zalmon, he and

all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his

hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it up, and laid it

on his shoulder: and he said to the people that were with him, "What

ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done."

{335}{336}

[Illustration]

SHECHEM

In the time of the Judges, Shechem was known as the City of

Abimelech. The people of the town first made him king and then

revolted against him. Afterward he captured the city and utterly

destroyed it

[End illustration]

{337}

And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed

Abimelech, and put them about the tower, and set the hold on fire upon

them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a

thousand men and women.

In the third month after the children of Israel had gone forth out of