THE APOCALYPSE OF SEDRACH
Also known as The Word of Sedrach. It is an ancient apocryphal text. The name of the main figure, Sedrach, may be the Greek form of Shadrach, the name of one of the three individuals put into the fiery furnace in the Book of Daniel. However, it may be a corruption of Esdras, the Greek form of Ezra. The text has much similarity with other apocryphal texts attributed to Ezra, such as the Apocalypse of Ezra
THE Word of the holy and blessed Sedrach concerning love and concerning repentance and Orthodox Christians, and concerning the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord give your blessing.
I. Beloved, let us prefer nothing in honor except sincere love: for in many things we stumble every day and night and hour. And for this cause let us gain love, for it covers a multitude of sins: for what is the profit, my children, if we have all things, and have not saving love. O blessed love, supplier of all good things. Blessed is the man who has gained the true faith and sincere love, according as the Master said, there is no greater love than this that a man should lay down his life for his friend.
II. And invisibly he received a voice in his ears: Come here, Sedrach, since you wish and desire to converse with God and ask of him that he may reveal unto you whatever you wish to ask. And Sedrach said: What, Sir? And the voice said to him: I was sent to you to raise you here into heaven. And he said: I desired to speak mouth to mouth with God: I am not fit, Sir, to come into heaven. And stretching out his wings he took him up and he came into heaven to the very flame, and he set him as high as the third heaven, and in it stood the flame of the divinity.
III. And the Lord saith to him: Welcome, my beloved Sedrach: What suit have you against God who created you, that you have said, I desired to speak face to face with God? Sedrach said to him: Yes, truly, the son has a suit with the Father: my Lord, why did you make the earth? The Lord said to him: For man's sake. Sedrach said: And why did You make the sea? Why did You scatter every good thing on the earth? The Lord said to him: For man's sake. Sedrach said to him: If You did these things, why will You destroy him? And the Lord said: Man is my work and the creature of my hands, and I discipline him as I find good.
IV. Sedrach said to him: Chastisement and fire are Your discipline: they are bitter, my Lord: it were well for man if he had not been born: why then did You make him, my Lord? Why did You weary Your pure hands and create man, since You did not intend to have mercy on him? God said to him: I made Adam the first creature and placed him in Paradise in the midst of the tree of life and said to him: Eat of all the fruits, but beware of the tree of life: for if you eat of it, you shall die the death. But he transgressed my commandment, and being beguiled by the devil ate of the tree.
V. Sedrach said to him: Of Your will Adam was beguiled, my Lord: You commanded Your angels to make approach to Adam, and the first of the angels himself transgressed Your commandment and did not make approach to him, and You did banish him, because he transgressed Your commandment and did not make any approach to the work of Your hands: if You loved man, why did You not slay the devil, the worker of unrighteousness? Who is able to fight an invisible spirit? And he as a smoke enters into the hearts of men and teaches them every sin: he fights against You, the immortal God, and what can wretched man then do to him? But have mercy, O Lord, and stop the chastisements: but if not, count me also with the sinners: if You will have no mercy on the sinners, where are Your mercies, where is Your compassion, O Lord?
VI. God said to him: Be it known unto you that I ordered all things to be placable to him: I gave him understanding and made him the heir of heaven and earth, and I subjected all things to him, and every living thing flees from him and from before his face: but he, having received of mine, became alien, adulterous, and sinful: tell me, what father, having given his son his portion, when he takes his substance and leaves his father and goes away and becomes an alien and serves an alien, when the father sees that the son has deserted him, does not darken his heart, and does not the father go and take his substance and banish him from his glory because he deserted his father? And how have I, the wonderful and jealous God, given him everything, and he having received these things has become an adulterer and a sinner?
VII. Sedrach said to him: You, O Lord, did create man. You knew of what sort of mind he was and of what sort of knowledge we are, and You made it a cause for chastisement: but cast him forth; for shall not I alone fill up the heavenly places? But if that is not to be so save man too, O Lord. He failed by Your will, wretched man. Why do you waste words on me, Sedrach? I created Adam and his wife and the sun and said: Behold each other how bright he is, and the wife of Adam is brighter in the beauty of the moon and he was the giver of her life. Sedrach saith: but of what profit are beauties if they die away into the earth? How did You say, O Lord, You shall not return evil for evil? How is it, O Lord? the word of Your divinity never lies, and why do You retaliate on man? or do You not in so doing render evil for evil? I know that among the quadrupeds there is no other so wily and unreasonable as the mule. But we strike it with the bridle when we wish: and You have angels: send them forth to guard them, and when man inclines towards sin, to take hold of his foot and not let him go wherever he would.
VIII. God said to him: If I catch him by the foot, he will say, You have given me no joy in the world. But I have left him to his own will because I loved him. Wherefore I sent forth my righteous angels to guard him night and day. Sedrach said: I know, O Lord, that of all Your creatures You chiefly loved man, of the quadrupeds the sheep, of woods the olive, of fruits the vine, of flying things the bee, of rivers the Jordan, of cities Jerusalem. And all these man also loves, my Lord. God said to Sedrach: I will ask you one thing, Sedrach: if you answer me, then I may fitly help you, even though you have tempted your creator. Sedrach said: Speak. The Lord God said: Since I made all things, how many men were born and how many died, and how many are to die and how many hairs have they? Tell me, Sedrach, since the heaven was created and the earth, how many trees grew in the world, and how many fell, and how many are to fall, and how many are to arise, and how many leaves have they? Tell me, Sedrach, since I made the sea, how many waves arose and how many fell, and how many are to arise, and how many winds blow along the margin of the sea? Tell me, Sedrach, from the creation of the world of the ages, when the air rained, how many drops fell upon the land, and how many are to fall? And Sedrach said: You alone know all these things, O Lord; You only understand all these things: only, I pray You, deliver man from chastisement, and I shall not be separated from our race.
IX. And God said to his only begotten Son: Go, take the soul of Sedrach my beloved, and place it in Paradise. The only begotten Son said to Sedrach: Give me the trust which our Father deposited in the womb of your mother in the holy tabernacle of your body from a child. Sedrach said: I will not give You my soul. God said to him: And wherefore was I sent to come here, and you plead against me? For I was commanded by my Father not to take your soul with violence; but if not, then give Me your most greatly desired soul.
X. And Sedrach said to God: And from where do You intend to take my soul, and from which part of my being? And God said to him: Do you not know that it is placed in the midst of your lungs and heart and is dispersed into all your being? It is brought up through the throat and gullet and the mouth and at whatever hour it is predestined to come forth, it is scattered, and brought together from the points of the nails and from all the parts of the body, and there is a great necessity that it should be separated from the body and parted from the heart. When Sedrach had heard all these things and had considered the memory of death he was greatly astounded, and Sedrach said to God: O Lord, give me a little respite that I may weep, for I have heard that tears are able to do much and much remedy comes to the lowly body of Your creature.
XI. And weeping and bewailing he began to say: O marvelous head of heavenly adornment: O radiant as the sun which shines on heaven and earth: your hairs are known from Teman, your eyes from Bosor, your ears from thunder, your tongue from a trumpet, and your brain is a small creation, your head the energy of the whole body: O friendly and most fair beloved by all, and now falling into the earth it must become forgotten. O hands, mild, fair-fingered, worn with toil by which the body is nourished: O hands, so adept of all, heaping up from all quarters you made ready houses. O fingers adorned and decked with gold and silver rings: and great worlds are led by the fingers: the three joints enfold the palms, and heap up beautiful things: and now you must become aliens to the world. O feet, skilfully walking about, self-running, most swift, unconquerable: O knees, fitted together, because without you the body does not move: the feet run along with the sun and the moon in the night and in the day, heaping up all things, foods and drinks, and nourishing the body: O feet, most swift and fair runners, moving on the face of the earth, getting ready the house with every good thing: O feet which bear up the whole body, that run up to the temples, making repentance and calling on the saints, and now you are to remain motionless. O head and hands and feet, until now I have kept you. O soul, what sent you into the humble and wretched body? and now being separated from it, you are going up where the Lord called you, and the wretched body goes away to judgment. O body well-adorned, hair clothed with stars, head of heavenly adornment and dress: O face well-anointed, light-bringing eyes, voice trumpet-like, tongue placable, chin fairly adorned, hairs like the stars, head high as heaven, body decked out, light-bringing eves that know all things--and now you shall fall into the earth and under the earth your beauty shall disappear.
XII. Christ said to him: Stay, Sedrach; how long do you weep and groan? Paradise is opened to you, and, dying, you shall live. Sedrach said to him: Once more I will speak unto You, O Lord: How long shall I live before I die? and do not disregard my prayer. The Lord said to him: Speak, O Sedrach. Sedrach said: If a man shall live eighty or ninety or a hundred years, and live these years in sin, and again shall turn, and the man live in repentance, in how many days do You forgive him his sins? God said to him: If he shall live a hundred or eighty years and shall turn and repent for three years and do the fruit of righteousness, and death shall overtake him, I will not remember all his sins.
XIII. Sedrach said to him: The three years are a long time, my Lord, in case death overtake him and he fulfill not his repentance: have mercy, Lord, on Your image and have compassion, for the three years are many. God said to him: If a man live a hundred years and remember his death and confess before men and I find him, after a time I will forgive all his sins. Sedrach said again: I will again beg Your compassion for Your creature. The time is long in case death overtake him and snatch him suddenly. The Saviour said to him: I will ask you one word, Sedrach, my beloved, then you shall ask me in turn: if the man shall repent for forty days I will not remember all his sins which he did.
XIV. And Sedrach said to the archangel Michael: Listen to me, O powerful chief, and help me and be my envoy that God may have mercy on the world. And falling on their faces, they besought the Lord and said: O Lord, teach us how and by what sort of repentance and by what labor man shall be saved. God said: By repentance, by intercession, by liturgy, by tears in streams, in hot groaning. Do you not know that my prophet David was saved by tears, and the rest were saved in one moment? You know, Sedrach, that there are nations which have not the law and which do the works of the law: for if they are unbaptized and my divine spirit come unto them and they turn to my baptism, I also receive them with my righteous ones into Abraham's bosom. And there are some who have been baptized with my baptism and who have shared in my divine part and become reprobate in complete reprobation and will not repent: and I suffer them with much compassion and much pity and wealth in order that they may repent, but they do the things which my divinity hates, and did not listen to the wise man asking them, saying, we by no means justify a sinner. Do you not most certainly know that it is written: And those who repent never see chastisement? And they did not listen to the Apostles or to my word in the Gospels, and they grieve my angels, and truly they do not attend to my messenger in the assemblies for communion and in my services, and they do not stand in my holy churches, but they stand and do not fall down and worship in fear and trembling, but boast things which I do not accept, or my holy angels.
XV. Sedrach said to God: O Lord, You alone are sinless and very compassionate, having compassion and pity for sinners, but Your divinity said: I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. And the Lord said to Sedrach: Do you not know, Sedrach, that the thief was saved in one moment to repent? Do you not know that my apostle and evangelist was saved in one moment? There is no salvation for these sinners for their hearts are like rotten stone: these are they who walk in impious ways and who shall be destroyed with Antichrist. Sedrach said: O my Lord, You also said: My divine spirit entered into the nations which, not having the law, do the things of the law. So also the thief and the apostle and evangelist and the rest of those who have already got into thy Kingdom. O my Lord; so likewise do You pardon those who have sinned to the last: for life is very toilsome and there is no time for repentance.
XVI. The Lord said to Sedrach: I made man in three stages: when he is young, I overlooked his faults as he was young: and again when he was a man I considered his purpose: and again when he grows old, I preserve him so he may repent. Sedrach said: O Lord, You know and understand all these things: but have sympathy for sinners. The Lord said to him: Sedrach, my beloved, I promise to have sympathy and bring down the forty days to twenty: and whosoever shall remember your name shall not see the place of chastisement, but shall be with the just in a place of refreshment and rest: and if anyone shall record this wonderful word his sins shall not be reckoned against him for ever and ever. And Sedrach said: O Lord, and if anyone shall bring enlightenment to your servant, save him, O Lord, from all evil. And Sedrach, the servant of the Lord, said: Now take my soul, O Lord. And God took him and placed him in Paradise with all the saints. To whom be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
NOTE: The possibility that "Sedrach" was originally "Esdras" can be understood when one sees the similarity in the Greek names.
σεδραχ = SEDRACH
εσδρας = ESDRAS
THE Word of the holy and blessed Sedrach concerning love and concerning repentance and Orthodox Christians, and concerning the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord give your blessing.
I. Beloved, let us prefer nothing in honor except sincere love: for in many things we stumble every day and night and hour. And for this cause let us gain love, for it covers a multitude of sins: for what is the profit, my children, if we have all things, and have not saving love. O blessed love, supplier of all good things. Blessed is the man who has gained the true faith and sincere love, according as the Master said, there is no greater love than this that a man should lay down his life for his friend.
II. And invisibly he received a voice in his ears: Come here, Sedrach, since you wish and desire to converse with God and ask of him that he may reveal unto you whatever you wish to ask. And Sedrach said: What, Sir? And the voice said to him: I was sent to you to raise you here into heaven. And he said: I desired to speak mouth to mouth with God: I am not fit, Sir, to come into heaven. And stretching out his wings he took him up and he came into heaven to the very flame, and he set him as high as the third heaven, and in it stood the flame of the divinity.
III. And the Lord saith to him: Welcome, my beloved Sedrach: What suit have you against God who created you, that you have said, I desired to speak face to face with God? Sedrach said to him: Yes, truly, the son has a suit with the Father: my Lord, why did you make the earth? The Lord said to him: For man's sake. Sedrach said: And why did You make the sea? Why did You scatter every good thing on the earth? The Lord said to him: For man's sake. Sedrach said to him: If You did these things, why will You destroy him? And the Lord said: Man is my work and the creature of my hands, and I discipline him as I find good.
IV. Sedrach said to him: Chastisement and fire are Your discipline: they are bitter, my Lord: it were well for man if he had not been born: why then did You make him, my Lord? Why did You weary Your pure hands and create man, since You did not intend to have mercy on him? God said to him: I made Adam the first creature and placed him in Paradise in the midst of the tree of life and said to him: Eat of all the fruits, but beware of the tree of life: for if you eat of it, you shall die the death. But he transgressed my commandment, and being beguiled by the devil ate of the tree.
V. Sedrach said to him: Of Your will Adam was beguiled, my Lord: You commanded Your angels to make approach to Adam, and the first of the angels himself transgressed Your commandment and did not make approach to him, and You did banish him, because he transgressed Your commandment and did not make any approach to the work of Your hands: if You loved man, why did You not slay the devil, the worker of unrighteousness? Who is able to fight an invisible spirit? And he as a smoke enters into the hearts of men and teaches them every sin: he fights against You, the immortal God, and what can wretched man then do to him? But have mercy, O Lord, and stop the chastisements: but if not, count me also with the sinners: if You will have no mercy on the sinners, where are Your mercies, where is Your compassion, O Lord?
VI. God said to him: Be it known unto you that I ordered all things to be placable to him: I gave him understanding and made him the heir of heaven and earth, and I subjected all things to him, and every living thing flees from him and from before his face: but he, having received of mine, became alien, adulterous, and sinful: tell me, what father, having given his son his portion, when he takes his substance and leaves his father and goes away and becomes an alien and serves an alien, when the father sees that the son has deserted him, does not darken his heart, and does not the father go and take his substance and banish him from his glory because he deserted his father? And how have I, the wonderful and jealous God, given him everything, and he having received these things has become an adulterer and a sinner?
VII. Sedrach said to him: You, O Lord, did create man. You knew of what sort of mind he was and of what sort of knowledge we are, and You made it a cause for chastisement: but cast him forth; for shall not I alone fill up the heavenly places? But if that is not to be so save man too, O Lord. He failed by Your will, wretched man. Why do you waste words on me, Sedrach? I created Adam and his wife and the sun and said: Behold each other how bright he is, and the wife of Adam is brighter in the beauty of the moon and he was the giver of her life. Sedrach saith: but of what profit are beauties if they die away into the earth? How did You say, O Lord, You shall not return evil for evil? How is it, O Lord? the word of Your divinity never lies, and why do You retaliate on man? or do You not in so doing render evil for evil? I know that among the quadrupeds there is no other so wily and unreasonable as the mule. But we strike it with the bridle when we wish: and You have angels: send them forth to guard them, and when man inclines towards sin, to take hold of his foot and not let him go wherever he would.
VIII. God said to him: If I catch him by the foot, he will say, You have given me no joy in the world. But I have left him to his own will because I loved him. Wherefore I sent forth my righteous angels to guard him night and day. Sedrach said: I know, O Lord, that of all Your creatures You chiefly loved man, of the quadrupeds the sheep, of woods the olive, of fruits the vine, of flying things the bee, of rivers the Jordan, of cities Jerusalem. And all these man also loves, my Lord. God said to Sedrach: I will ask you one thing, Sedrach: if you answer me, then I may fitly help you, even though you have tempted your creator. Sedrach said: Speak. The Lord God said: Since I made all things, how many men were born and how many died, and how many are to die and how many hairs have they? Tell me, Sedrach, since the heaven was created and the earth, how many trees grew in the world, and how many fell, and how many are to fall, and how many are to arise, and how many leaves have they? Tell me, Sedrach, since I made the sea, how many waves arose and how many fell, and how many are to arise, and how many winds blow along the margin of the sea? Tell me, Sedrach, from the creation of the world of the ages, when the air rained, how many drops fell upon the land, and how many are to fall? And Sedrach said: You alone know all these things, O Lord; You only understand all these things: only, I pray You, deliver man from chastisement, and I shall not be separated from our race.
IX. And God said to his only begotten Son: Go, take the soul of Sedrach my beloved, and place it in Paradise. The only begotten Son said to Sedrach: Give me the trust which our Father deposited in the womb of your mother in the holy tabernacle of your body from a child. Sedrach said: I will not give You my soul. God said to him: And wherefore was I sent to come here, and you plead against me? For I was commanded by my Father not to take your soul with violence; but if not, then give Me your most greatly desired soul.
X. And Sedrach said to God: And from where do You intend to take my soul, and from which part of my being? And God said to him: Do you not know that it is placed in the midst of your lungs and heart and is dispersed into all your being? It is brought up through the throat and gullet and the mouth and at whatever hour it is predestined to come forth, it is scattered, and brought together from the points of the nails and from all the parts of the body, and there is a great necessity that it should be separated from the body and parted from the heart. When Sedrach had heard all these things and had considered the memory of death he was greatly astounded, and Sedrach said to God: O Lord, give me a little respite that I may weep, for I have heard that tears are able to do much and much remedy comes to the lowly body of Your creature.
XI. And weeping and bewailing he began to say: O marvelous head of heavenly adornment: O radiant as the sun which shines on heaven and earth: your hairs are known from Teman, your eyes from Bosor, your ears from thunder, your tongue from a trumpet, and your brain is a small creation, your head the energy of the whole body: O friendly and most fair beloved by all, and now falling into the earth it must become forgotten. O hands, mild, fair-fingered, worn with toil by which the body is nourished: O hands, so adept of all, heaping up from all quarters you made ready houses. O fingers adorned and decked with gold and silver rings: and great worlds are led by the fingers: the three joints enfold the palms, and heap up beautiful things: and now you must become aliens to the world. O feet, skilfully walking about, self-running, most swift, unconquerable: O knees, fitted together, because without you the body does not move: the feet run along with the sun and the moon in the night and in the day, heaping up all things, foods and drinks, and nourishing the body: O feet, most swift and fair runners, moving on the face of the earth, getting ready the house with every good thing: O feet which bear up the whole body, that run up to the temples, making repentance and calling on the saints, and now you are to remain motionless. O head and hands and feet, until now I have kept you. O soul, what sent you into the humble and wretched body? and now being separated from it, you are going up where the Lord called you, and the wretched body goes away to judgment. O body well-adorned, hair clothed with stars, head of heavenly adornment and dress: O face well-anointed, light-bringing eyes, voice trumpet-like, tongue placable, chin fairly adorned, hairs like the stars, head high as heaven, body decked out, light-bringing eves that know all things--and now you shall fall into the earth and under the earth your beauty shall disappear.
XII. Christ said to him: Stay, Sedrach; how long do you weep and groan? Paradise is opened to you, and, dying, you shall live. Sedrach said to him: Once more I will speak unto You, O Lord: How long shall I live before I die? and do not disregard my prayer. The Lord said to him: Speak, O Sedrach. Sedrach said: If a man shall live eighty or ninety or a hundred years, and live these years in sin, and again shall turn, and the man live in repentance, in how many days do You forgive him his sins? God said to him: If he shall live a hundred or eighty years and shall turn and repent for three years and do the fruit of righteousness, and death shall overtake him, I will not remember all his sins.
XIII. Sedrach said to him: The three years are a long time, my Lord, in case death overtake him and he fulfill not his repentance: have mercy, Lord, on Your image and have compassion, for the three years are many. God said to him: If a man live a hundred years and remember his death and confess before men and I find him, after a time I will forgive all his sins. Sedrach said again: I will again beg Your compassion for Your creature. The time is long in case death overtake him and snatch him suddenly. The Saviour said to him: I will ask you one word, Sedrach, my beloved, then you shall ask me in turn: if the man shall repent for forty days I will not remember all his sins which he did.
XIV. And Sedrach said to the archangel Michael: Listen to me, O powerful chief, and help me and be my envoy that God may have mercy on the world. And falling on their faces, they besought the Lord and said: O Lord, teach us how and by what sort of repentance and by what labor man shall be saved. God said: By repentance, by intercession, by liturgy, by tears in streams, in hot groaning. Do you not know that my prophet David was saved by tears, and the rest were saved in one moment? You know, Sedrach, that there are nations which have not the law and which do the works of the law: for if they are unbaptized and my divine spirit come unto them and they turn to my baptism, I also receive them with my righteous ones into Abraham's bosom. And there are some who have been baptized with my baptism and who have shared in my divine part and become reprobate in complete reprobation and will not repent: and I suffer them with much compassion and much pity and wealth in order that they may repent, but they do the things which my divinity hates, and did not listen to the wise man asking them, saying, we by no means justify a sinner. Do you not most certainly know that it is written: And those who repent never see chastisement? And they did not listen to the Apostles or to my word in the Gospels, and they grieve my angels, and truly they do not attend to my messenger in the assemblies for communion and in my services, and they do not stand in my holy churches, but they stand and do not fall down and worship in fear and trembling, but boast things which I do not accept, or my holy angels.
XV. Sedrach said to God: O Lord, You alone are sinless and very compassionate, having compassion and pity for sinners, but Your divinity said: I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. And the Lord said to Sedrach: Do you not know, Sedrach, that the thief was saved in one moment to repent? Do you not know that my apostle and evangelist was saved in one moment? There is no salvation for these sinners for their hearts are like rotten stone: these are they who walk in impious ways and who shall be destroyed with Antichrist. Sedrach said: O my Lord, You also said: My divine spirit entered into the nations which, not having the law, do the things of the law. So also the thief and the apostle and evangelist and the rest of those who have already got into thy Kingdom. O my Lord; so likewise do You pardon those who have sinned to the last: for life is very toilsome and there is no time for repentance.
XVI. The Lord said to Sedrach: I made man in three stages: when he is young, I overlooked his faults as he was young: and again when he was a man I considered his purpose: and again when he grows old, I preserve him so he may repent. Sedrach said: O Lord, You know and understand all these things: but have sympathy for sinners. The Lord said to him: Sedrach, my beloved, I promise to have sympathy and bring down the forty days to twenty: and whosoever shall remember your name shall not see the place of chastisement, but shall be with the just in a place of refreshment and rest: and if anyone shall record this wonderful word his sins shall not be reckoned against him for ever and ever. And Sedrach said: O Lord, and if anyone shall bring enlightenment to your servant, save him, O Lord, from all evil. And Sedrach, the servant of the Lord, said: Now take my soul, O Lord. And God took him and placed him in Paradise with all the saints. To whom be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
NOTE: The possibility that "Sedrach" was originally "Esdras" can be understood when one sees the similarity in the Greek names.
σεδραχ = SEDRACH
εσδρας = ESDRAS
The Ladder of Jacob
Chapter one
Jacob then went to Laban his uncle. He found a place and, laying his head on a stone, he slept there, for the son had gone down. He had a dream. And behold, a ladder was fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven. And the top of the ladder was the face as of a man, carved out of fire. There were twelve steps leading to the top of the ladder, and on each step to the top there were two human faces, on the right and on the left, twenty-four faces including their chests. And the face in the middle was higher than all that I saw, the one of fire, including the shoulders and arms, exceedingly terrifying, more than those twenty-four faces. And while I was still looking at it, behold, angels of God ascended and descended on it. And God was standing above its highest face, and he called to me from there, saying “Jacob, Jacob!” And I said, “Here I am Lord!” And he said to me, “The land on which you are sleeping, to you will I give it, and to your seed after you. And I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea. And through your seed all the earth and those living on it in the last times of the years of completion shall be blessed, My blessing with which I have blessed you shall flow from you unto the last generation, the East and the west all shall be full of your tribe.”
Chapter two
And when I heard this from on high, awe and trembling fell upon me. And I rose up from my dream and, the voice still being in my ears, I said, “How fearful is this place! This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heave.” And I set up the stone which had been my pillow as a pillar, and I poured olive oil on the top of it, and I called the name of that place the House of God. And I stood and began to sing, and I said,
THE SONG OF JACOB
“Lord God of Adam your creature and Lord God of Abraham and Isaac my fathers and of all who have walked before you in justice! You who sit firmly on the cherubim and the fiery throne of glory ... and the many-eyed ones just as I saw in my dream, holding the four-faced cherubim, bearing also the many-eyed seraphim, carrying the whole world under your arm, yet not bing borne by anyone; you who have made the skies firm for the glory of your name, stretching out on two heavenly clouds the heaven which gleams under you, that beneath it you may cause the sun to course and conceal it during the night so that it might not seem a god; you who made on them a way for the moon and the stars; and you make the moon wax and wane, and destine the stars to pass on so that they too might not seen gods. Before the face of your glory the six winged seraphim are afraid, and they cover their feet and faces with their wings, while flying with their other wings, and they sing unceasingly a hymn: ... whom I now in sanctifying a new song ... Twelve-topped, twelve-faced, many-named, fiery one! Lightning-eyed holy one! Holy, Holy, Holy, Yao, Yaova, Yaoil, Yao, Kados, Chavod, Savaoth, Omlemlech il avir amismi varich, eternal king, mighty, powerful, most great, patient, blessed one!” you who fill heaven and earth, the sea and abysses and all the ages with your glory, hear my song which I have sung you and grant me the request I ask of you, and tell me the interpretation of my dream, for you are a god who is mighty, powerful and glorious, a god who is holy; my Lord and Lord of my fathers.”
Chapter three
And while I was still saying this prayer, behold, a voice came before my face saying, “Sariel, leader of the beguiled, you who are in charge of dreams, go and make Jacob understand the meaning of the dream he has had and explain to him everything he saw’ but first bless him.” And Sariel the archangel came to me and I saw him, and his appearance was very beautiful and awesome. But I was not astonished by his appearance, for the vision which I had seen in my dream was more terrible than he. And I did not fear the vision of the angel.
Chapter four
And the angel said to me, “What is your name?” And I said, “Jacob.” He announced, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but your name shall be similar to my name, Israel.” And when I was going from Phandana of Syria to meet Esau my brother, he came to me and blessed me and called me Israel. And he would not tell me his name until I adjured him ...
Chapter five
Thus he said to me: “You have seen a ladder with twelve steps, each step having two human faces which kept changing their appearance. The ladder is this age, and the twelve steps are the periods of this age. But the twenty-four faces are the kings of the ungodly nations of this age. Under these kings the children of you children and the generations of your sons will be interrogated. These will rise up against the iniquity of you grandsons. And this place will be made desolate by the four ascents ... through the sins of your grandsons. And around the property of your forefathers a palace will be built, a temple in the name of your God and of the God of your fathers, and in the provocations of your children it will becomes deserted by the four ascents of this age. For you saw the first four busts which were striking against the steps...angels ascending and descending, and the busts amid the steps. The Most High will raise up kings from the grandsons of your brother Esau, and they will receive all the nobles of the tribes of the earth who will have abused your seed. And they will be delivered into his hands and he will be vexed by them. And he will hold them by force and rule over them, and they will not be able to oppose him until the day when his thought will go out against them to serve idols and to offer sacrifices of the dead ... He will do violence to all those in his tribe ... Know, Jacob that your descendants shall be exiles in a strange land, and they will afflict them with slavery and inflict wounds on them every day. But the Lord will judge the people for whom they slave.
Chapter six
“And when the king arises, judgment too will come upon that place. Then your seed, Israel, will go out of slavery to the nations who hold them by force and they will be free from any rebuke of your enemies. For this king is the head of all revenge and retaliation against those who have done evil to you, Israel, and the end of the age. For bitter ones will rise; they will cry out, and the Lord will hear them and accept their plea. And the Mighty One will repent because of their sufferings. For the angels and archangels will hurl their bolts of lightning before them for the sake of the salvation of your tribe. And you will gain the mercy of the Most High. Then their wives will bear many children. And afterward the Lord will fight for your tribe through great and terrible signs against those who made them slaves. He filled their storehouses, and they will be found empty. Their land swarmed with reptiles and all sorts of deadly things. There will be earthquakes and much destruction. And the Lord will pour out his wrath against Leviathan the sea-dragon; he will kill the lawless Falcon with the sword, because he will raise the wrath of the God of gods by his pride. And then your justice will be revealed, Jacob, and that of your children who are to be after you and who will walk in your justice. And then your seed will sound the horn and all the kingdom of Edom will perish together with all the peoples of Moab.
Chapter seven
“And as for the angels you saw descending and ascending the ladder, in the last years there will be a man from the Most High, and he will desire to join the upper things with the lower. And before his coming your sons and daughters will tell about him and your young men will have visions about his. Such will be the signs at the time of his coming: A tree cut with an ax will bleed; three-month-old babes will speak understanding; a baby in the womb of his mother will speak of his way; a youth will be like an old man. And then the expected one will come, whose path will not be noticed by anyone.
“Then the earth will be glorified, receiving heavenly glory. What was above will be below also. And from your seed will bloom a root of kings; it will emerge and overthrow the power of evil. And he himself will be the Savior for every land and rest for those who toil, and a cloud shading the whole world from the burning heat, For otherwise the uncontrolled will not be controlled. If he does not come, the lower things cannot be joined with the upper. At his coming the idols of brass, stone, and any sort of carving will give voice for three days. They will give wise men news of him and let them know what will be on earth. By a star, those who wish to see on earth him whom the angels do not see above will find the way to him. Then the Almighty will be on earth in body, and, embraced by corporeal arms, he will restore human matter. And he will revive Eve, who died by the fruit of the tree. Then the deceit of the impious will be exposed and all the idols will fall face down. For they will be put to shame by a dignitary. For because they were lying by means of hallucinations, henceforth they will not be able to rule or to prophesy. Honor will be taken from them and they will remain without glory.
“For he who comes will take power and might and will give Abraham the truth which he previously told him. Everything sharp he will make dull, and the rough will be smooth. And he will cast all the iniquitous into the depths of the sea. He will work wonders in heaven and on earth. And he will be wounded in the midst of his beloved house. And when he is wounded, then salvation will be ready, and the end to all perdition. For those who have wounded him will themselves receive a wound which will not be cured in them forever. And all creation will bow to him who was wounded, and many will trust in him. And he will become known everywhere in all lands, and those who acknowledged his name will not be ashamed, His own dominion and years will be unending forever.”
The Testament of Abraham
The Greek text of the Testament of Abraham is preserved in two quite different recensions: (1). The long recension, which has a more developed, detailed and linear story, survives in about thirty manuscripts, among which the more important are A, E and B. (2). The short recension, where the episodes are sometime abrupt and not logically connected but with probably an earlier wording, has survived in about nine manuscripts, among which the more important are A and E (manuscript E of the short recension is notable because of the presence of many semitisms). There is no consensus among scholars as to which recension is nearer the original, or whether we shall suppose one or more original texts. The early scholars, as James, but also recently Ludlow, working mainly on the narrative viewpoint, support the priority of the long recension. This view has been challenged for example by Turner, who studied the text from a linguistic point of view, and mainly by Schmidt, who worked deeply on manuscript E of the short recension, which was not available to the early editors. The text is preserved also in Slavonic, Romanian, Ethiopic (Falasha), Coptic Bohairic and Arabic. These versions, apart one Romanian recension, follow the content of the Greek short recension. The Greek Text was first edited, with an English translation and introduction, by M. R. James in 1892. The Greek text was also early edited by Vassiliev in 1893.
VERSION 1
1 Abraham lived the measure of his life, nine hundred and ninety-five years, and having lived all the years of his life in quietness, gentleness, and righteousness, the righteous one was exceeding hospitable; for, pitching his tent in the cross-ways at the oak of Mamre, he received every one, both rich and poor, kings and rulers, the maimed and the helpless, friends and strangers, neighbors and travelers, all alike did the devout, all-holy, righteous, and hospitable Abraham entertain. Even upon him, however, there came the common, inexorable, bitter lot of death, and the uncertain end of life. Therefore the Lord God, summoning his archangel Michael, said to him: Go down, chief-captain Michael, to Abraham and speak to him concerning his death, that he may set his affairs in order, for I have blessed him as the stars of heaven, and as the sand by the sea-shore, and he is in abundance of long life and many possessions, and is becoming exceeding rich. Beyond all men, moreover, he is righteous in every goodness, hospitable and loving to the end of his life; but do thou, archangel Michael, go to Abraham, my beloved friend, and announce to him his death and assure him thus: Thou shalt at this time depart from this vain world, and shalt quit the body, and go to thine own Lord among the good. 2 And the chief-captain departed from before the face of God, and went down to Abraham to the oak of Mamre, and found the righteous Abraham in the field close by, sitting beside yokes of oxen for plowing, together with the sons of Masek and other servants, to the number of twelve. And behold the chief-captain came to him, and Abraham, seeing the chief-captain Michael coming from afar, like to a very comely warrior, arose and met him as was his custom, meeting and entertaining all strangers. And the chief-captain saluted him and said: Hail, most honored father, righteous soul chosen of God, true son of the heavenly one. Abraham said to the chief-captain: Hail, most honored warrior, bright as the sun and most beautiful above all the sons of men; thou art welcome; therefore I beseech thy presence, tell me whence the youth of thy age has come; teach me, thy suppliant, whence and from what army and from what journey thy beauty has come hither. The chief-captain said: I, O righteous Abraham, come from the great city. I have been sent by the great king to take the place of a good friend of his, for the king has summoned him. And Abraham said, Come, my Lord, go with me as far as my field. The chief-captain said: I come; and going into the field of the plowing, they sat down beside the company. And Abraham said to his servants, the sons of Masek: Go ye to the herd of horses, and bring two horses, quiet, and gentle and tame, so that I and this stranger may sit thereon. But the chief-captain said, Nay, my Lord, Abraham, let them not bring horses, for I abstain from ever sitting upon any four-footed beast. Is not my king rich in much merchandise, having power both over men and all kinds of cattle? but I abstain from ever sitting upon any four-footed beast. Let us go, then, O righteous soul, walking lightly until we reach thy house. And Abraham said, Amen, be it so. 3 And as they went on from the field toward his house, beside that way there stood a cypress tree, and by the command of the Lord the tree cried out with a human voice, saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God that calls himself to those that love him; but Abraham hid the mystery, thinking that the chief-captain had not heard the voice of the tree. And coming nigh to the house they sat down in the court, and Isaac seeing the face of the angel said to Sarah his mother, My lady mother, behold, the man sitting with my father Abraham is not a son of the race of those that dwell on the earth. And Isaac ran, and saluted him, and fell at the feet of the Incorporeal, and the Incorporeal blessed him and said, The Lord God will grant thee his promise that he made to thy father Abraham and to his seed, and will also grant thee the precious prayer of thy father and thy mother. Abraham said to Isaac his son, My son Isaac, draw water from the well, and bring it me in the vessel, that we may wash the feet of this stranger, for he is tired, having come to us from off a long journey. And Isaac ran to the well and drew water in the vessel and brought it to them, and Abraham went up and washed the feet of the chief captain Michael, and the heart of Abraham was moved, and he wept over the stranger. And Isaac, seeing his father weeping, wept also, and the chief captain, seeing them weeping, also wept with them, and the tears of the chief captain fell upon the vessel into the water of the basin and became precious stones. And Abraham seeing the marvel, and being astonished, took the stones secretly, and hid the mystery, keeping it by himself in his heart. 4 And Abraham said to Isaac his son: Go, my beloved son, into the inner chamber of the house and beautify it. Spread for us there two couches, one for me and one for this man that is guest with us this day. Prepare for us there a seat and a candlestick and a table with abundance of every good thing. Beautify the chamber, my son, and spread under us linen and purple and fine linen. Burn there every precious and excellent incense, and bring sweet-smelling plants from the garden and fill our house with them. Kindle seven lamps full of oil, so that we may rejoice, for this man that is our guest this day is more glorious than kings or rulers, and his appearance surpasses all the sons of men. And Isaac prepared all things well, and Abraham taking the archangel Michael went into the chamber, and they both sat down upon the couches, and between them he placed a table with abundance of every good thing. Then the chief captain arose and went out, as if by constraint of his belly to make issue of water, and ascended to heaven in the twinkling of an eye, and stood before the Lord, and said to him: Lord and Master, let thy power know that I am unable to remind that righteous man of his death, for I have not seen upon the earth a man like him, pitiful, hospitable, righteous, truthful, devout, refraining from every evil deed. And now know, Lord, that I cannot remind him of his death. And the Lord said: Go down, chief-captain Michael, to my friend Abraham, and whatever he say to thee, that do thou also, and whatever he eat, eat thou also with him. And I will send my Holy Spirit upon his son Isaac, and will put the remembrance of his death into the heart of Isaac, so that even he in a dream may see the death of his father, and Isaac will relate the dream, and thou shalt interpret it, and he himself will know his end. And the chief-captain said, Lord, all the heavenly spirits are incorporeal, and neither eat nor drink, and this man has set before me a table with abundance of all good things earthly and corruptible. Now, Lord, what shall I do? How shall I escape him, sitting at one table with him? The Lord said: Go down to him, and take no thought for this, for when thou sittest down with him, I will send upon thee a devouring spirit, and it will consume out of thy hands and through thy mouth all that is on the table. Rejoice together with him in everything, only thou shalt interpret well the things of the vision, that Abraham may know the sickle of death and the uncertain end of life, and may make disposal of all his possessions, for I have blessed him above the sand of the sea and as the stars of heaven. 5 Then the chief captain went down to the house of Abraham, and sat down with him at the table, and Isaac served them. And when the supper was ended, Abraham prayed after his custom, and the chief-captain prayed together with him, and each lay down to sleep upon his couch. And Isaac said to his father, Father, I too would fain sleep with you in this chamber, that I also may hear your discourse, for I love to hear the excellence of the conversation of this virtuous man. Abraham said, Nay, my son, but go to thy own chamber and sleep on thy own couch, lest we be troublesome to this man. Then Isaac, having received the prayer from them, and having blessed them, went to his own chamber and lay down upon his couch. But the Lord cast the thought of death into the heart of Isaac as in a dream, and about the third hour of the night Isaac awoke and rose up from his couch, and came running to the chamber where his father was sleeping together with the archangel. Isaac, therefore, on reaching the door cried out, saying, My father Abraham, arise and open to me quickly, that I may enter and hang upon thy neck, and embrace thee before they take thee away from me. Abraham therefore arose and opened to him, and Isaac entered and hung upon his neck, and began to weep with a loud voice. Abraham therefore being moved at heart, also wept with a loud voice, and the chief-captain, seeing them weeping, wept also. Sarah being in her room, heard their weeping, and came running to them, and found them embracing and weeping. And Sarah said with weeping, My Lord Abraham, what is this that ye weep? Tell me, my Lord, has this brother that has been entertained by us this day brought thee tidings of Lot, thy brother's son, that he is dead? is it for this that ye grieve thus? The chief-captain answered and said to her, Nay, my sister Sarah, it is not as thou sayest, but thy son Isaac, methinks, beheld a dream, and came to us weeping, and we seeing him were moved in our hearts and wept. 6 Then Sarah, hearing the excellence of the conversation of the chief-captain, straightway knew that it was an angel of the Lord that spoke. Sarah therefore signified to Abraham to come out towards the door, and said to him, My Lord Abraham, knowest thou who this man is? Abraham said, I know not. Sarah said, Thou knowest, my Lord, the three men from heaven that were entertained by us in our tent beside the oak of Mamre, when thou didst kill the kid without blemish, and set a table before them. After the flesh had been eaten, the kid rose again, and sucked its mother with great joy. Knowest thou not, my Lord Abraham, that by promise they gave to us Isaac as the fruit of the womb? Of these three holy men this is one. Abraham said, O Sarah, in this thou speakest the truth. Glory and praise from our God and the Father. For late in the evening when I washed his feet in the basin I said in my heart, These are the feet of one of the three men that I washed then; and his tears that fell into the basin then became precious stones. And shaking them out from his lap he gave them to Sarah, saying, If thou believest me not, look now at these. And Sarah receiving them bowed down and saluted and said, Glory be to God that showeth us wonderful things. And now know, my Lord Abraham, that there is among us the revelation of some thing, whether it be evil or good! 7 And Abraham left Sarah, and went into the chamber, and said to Isaac, Come hither, my beloved son, tell me the truth, what it was thou sawest and what befell thee that thou camest so hastily to us. And Isaac answering began to say, I saw, my Lord, in this night the sun and the moon above my head, surrounding me with its rays and giving me light. As I gazed at this and rejoiced, I saw the heaven opened, and a man bearing light descend from it, shining more than seven suns. And this man like the sun came and took away the sun from my head, and went up into the heavens from whence he came, but I was greatly grieved that he took away the sun from me. After a little, as I was still sorrowing and sore troubled, I saw this man come forth from heaven a second time, and he took away from me the moon also from off my head, and I wept greatly and called upon that man of light, and said, Do not, my Lord, take away my glory from me; pity me and hear me, and if thou takest away the sun from me, then leave the moon to me. He said, Suffer them to be taken up to the king above, for he wishes them there. And he took them away from me, but he left the rays upon me. The chief-captain said, Hear, O righteous Abraham; the sun which thy son saw is thou his father, and the moon likewise is Sarah his mother. The man bearing light who descended from heaven, this is the one sent from God who is to take thy righteous soul from thee. And now know, O most honored Abraham, that at this time thou shalt leave this worldly life, and remove to God. Abraham said to the chief captain O strangest of marvels! and now art thou he that shall take my soul from me? The chief-captain said to him, I am the chief-captain Michael, that stands before the Lord, and I was sent to thee to remind thee of thy death, and then I shall depart to him as I was commanded. Abraham said, Now I know that thou art an angel of the Lord, and wast sent to take my soul, but I will not go with thee; but do thou whatever thou art commanded. 8 The chief-captain hearing these words immediately vanished, and ascending into heaven stood before God, and told all that he had seen in the house of Abraham; and the chief-captain said this also to his Lord, Thus says thy friend Abraham, I will not go with thee, but do thou whatever thou art commanded; and now, O Lord Almighty, doth thy glory and immortal kingdom order aught? God said to the chief-captain Michael, Go to my friend Abraham yet once again, and speak to him thus, Thus saith the Lord thy God, he that brought thee into the land of promise, that blessed thee above the sand of the sea and above the stars of heaven, that opened the womb of barrenness of Sarah, and granted thee Isaac as the fruit of the womb in old age, Verily I say unto thee that blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thy seed, and I will give thee all that thou shalt ask from me, for I am the Lord thy God, and besides me there is no other. Tell me why thou hast rebelled against me, and why there is grief in thee, and why thou rebelled against my archangel Michael? Knowest thou not that all who have come from Adam and Eve have died, and that none of the prophets has escaped death? None of those that rule as kings is immortal; none of thy forefathers has escaped the mystery of death. They have all died, they have all departed into Hades, they are all gathered by the sickle of death. But upon thee I have not sent death, I have not suffered any deadly disease to come upon thee, I have not permitted the sickle of death to meet thee, I have not allowed the nets of Hades to enfold thee, I have never wished thee to meet with any evil. But for good comfort I have sent my chief-captain Michael to thee, that thou mayst know thy departure from the world, and set thy house in order, and all that belongs to thee, and bless Isaac thy beloved son. And now know that I have done this not wishing to grieve thee. Wherefore then hast thou said to my chief-captain, I will not go with thee? Wherefore hast thou spoken thus? Knowest thou not that if I give leave to death and he comes upon thee, then I should see whether thou wouldst come or not? 9 And the chief-captain receiving the exhortations of the Lord went down to Abraham, and seeing him the righteous one fell upon his face to the ground as one dead, and the chief-captain told him all that he had heard from the Most High. Then the holy and just Abraham rising with many tears fell at the feet of the Incorporeal, and besought him, saying, I beseech thee, chief-captain of the hosts above, since thou hast wholly deigned to come thyself to me a sinner and in all things thy unworthy servant, I beseech thee even now, O chief-captain, to carry my word yet again to the Most High, and thou shalt say to him, Thus saith Abraham thy servant, Lord, Lord, in every work and word which I have asked of thee thou hast heard me, and hast fulfilled all my counsel. Now, Lord, I resist not thy power, for I too know that I am not immortal but mortal. Since therefore to thy command all things yield, and fear and tremble at the face of thy power, I also fear, but I ask one request of thee, and now, Lord and Master, hear my prayer, for while still in this body I desire to see all the inhabited earth, and all the creations which thou didst establish by one word, and when I see these, then if I shall depart from life I shall be without sorrow. So the chief-captain went back again, and stood before God, and told him all, saying, Thus saith thy friend Abraham, I desired to behold all the earth in my lifetime before I died. And the Most High hearing this, again commanded the chief-captain Michael, and said to him, Take a cloud of light, and the angels that have power over the chariots, and go down, take the righteous Abraham upon a chariot of the cherubim, and exalt him into the air of heaven that he may behold all the earth. 10 And the archangel Michael went down and took Abraham upon a chariot of the cherubim, and exalted him into the air of heaven, and led him upon the cloud together with sixty angels, and Abraham ascended upon the chariot over all the earth. And Abraham saw the world as it was in that day, some plowing, others driving wains, in one place men herding flocks, and in another watching them by night, and dancing and playing and harping, in another place men striving and contending at law, elsewhere men weeping and having the dead in remembrance. He saw also the newly-wedded received with honor, and in a word he saw all things that are done in the world, both good and bad. Abraham therefore passing over them saw men bearing swords, wielding in their hands sharpened swords, and Abraham asked the chief-captain, Who are these? The chief-captain said, These are thieves, who intend to commit murder, and to steal and burn and destroy. Abraham said, Lord, Lord, hear my voice, and command that wild beasts may come out of the wood and devour them. And even as he spoke there came wild beasts out of the wood and devoured them. And he saw in another place a man with a woman committing fornication with each other, and said, Lord, Lord, command that the earth may open and swallow them, and straightway the earth was cleft and swallowed them. And he saw in another place men digging through a house, and carrying away other men's possessions, and he said, Lord, Lord, command that fire may come down from heaven and consume them. And even as he spoke, fire came down from heaven and consumed them. And straightway there came a voice from heaven to the chief-captain, saying thus, O chief-captain Michael, command the chariot to stop, and turn Abraham away that he may not see all the earth, for if he behold all that live in wickedness, he will destroy all creation. For behold, Abraham has not sinned, and has no pity on sinners, but I have made the world, and desire not to destroy any one of them, but wait for the death of the sinner, till he be converted and live. But take Abraham up to the first gate of heaven, that he may see there the judgments and recompenses, and repent of the souls of the sinners that he has destroyed. 11 So Michael turned the chariot and brought Abraham to the east, to the first gate of heaven; and Abraham saw two ways, the one narrow and contracted, the other broad and spacious, and there he saw two gates, the one broad on the broad way, and the other narrow on the narrow way. And outside the two gates there he saw a man sitting upon a gilded throne, and the appearance of that man was terrible, as of the Lord. And they saw many souls driven by angels and led in through the broad gate, and other souls, few in number, that were taken by the angels through the narrow gate. And when the wonderful one who sat upon the golden throne saw few entering through the narrow gate, and many entering through the broad one, straightway that wonderful one tore the hairs of his head and the sides of his beard, and threw himself on the ground from his throne, weeping and lamenting. But when he saw many souls entering through the narrow gate, then he arose from the ground and sat upon his throne in great joy, rejoicing and exulting. And Abraham asked the chief-captain, My Lord chief-captain, who is this most marvelous man, adorned with such glory, and sometimes he weeps and laments, and sometimes he rejoices and exults? The incorporeal one said: This is the first-created Adam who is in such glory, and he looks upon the world because all are born from him, and when he sees many souls going through the narrow gate, then he arises and sits upon his throne rejoicing and exulting in joy, because this narrow gate is that of the just, that leads to life, and they that enter through it go into Paradise. For this, then, the first-created Adam rejoices, because he sees the souls being saved. But when he sees many souls entering through the broad gate, then he pulls out the hairs of his head, and casts himself on the ground weeping and lamenting bitterly, for the broad gate is that of sinners, which leads to destruction and eternal punishment. And for this the first-formed Adam falls from his throne weeping and lamenting for the destruction of sinners, for they are many that are lost, and they are few that are saved, for in seven thousand there is scarcely found one soul saved, being righteous and undefiled. 12 While he was yet saying these things to me, behold two angels, fiery in aspect, and pitiless in mind, and severe in look, and they drove on thousands of souls, pitilessly lashing them with fiery thongs. The angel laid hold of one soul, and they drove all the souls in at the broad gate to destruction. So we also went along with the angels, and came within that broad gate, and between the two gates stood a throne terrible of aspect, of terrible crystal, gleaming as fire, and upon it sat a wondrous man bright as the sun, like to the Son of God. Before him stood a table like crystal, all of gold and fine linen, and upon the table there was lying a book, the thickness of it six cubits, and the breadth of it ten cubits, and on the right and left of it stood two angels holding paper and ink and pen. Before the table sat an angel of light, holding in his hand a balance, and on his left sat an angel all fiery, pitiless, and severe, holding in his hand a trumpet, having within it all-consuming fire with which to try the sinners. The wondrous man who sat upon the throne himself judged and sentenced the souls, and the two angels on the right and on the left wrote down, the one on the right the righteousness and the one on the left the wickedness. The one before the table, who held the balance, weighed the souls, and the fiery angel, who held the fire, tried the souls. And Abraham asked the chief-captain Michael, What is this that we behold? And the chief-captain said, These things that thou seest, holy Abraham, are the judgment and recompense. And behold the angel holding the soul in his hand, and he brought it before the judge, and the judge said to one of the angels that served him, Open me this book, and find me the sins of this soul. And opening the book he found its sins and its righteousness equally balanced, and he neither gave it to the tormentors, nor to those that were saved, but set it in the midst. 13 And Abraham said, My Lord chief-captain, who is this most wondrous judge? and who are the angels that write down? and who is the angel like the sun, holding the balance? and who is the fiery angel holding the fire? The chief-captain said, "Seest thou, most holy Abraham, the terrible man sitting upon the throne? This is the son of the first created Adam, who is called Abel, whom the wicked Cain killed, and he sits thus to judge all creation, and examines righteous men and sinners. For God has said, I shall not judge you, but every man born of man shall be judged. Therefore he has given to him judgment, to judge the world until his great and glorious coming, and then, O righteous Abraham, is the perfect judgment and recompense, eternal and unchangeable, which no one can alter. For every man has come from the first-created, and therefore they are first judged here by his son, and at the second coming they shall be judged by the twelve tribes of Israel, every breath and every creature. But the third time they shall be judged by the Lord God of all, and then, indeed, the end of that judgment is near, and the sentence terrible, and there is none to deliver. And now by three tribunals the judgment of the world and the recompense is made, and for this reason a matter is not finally confirmed by one or two witnesses, but by three witnesses shall everything be established. The two angels on the right hand and on the left, these are they that write down the sins and the righteousness, the one on the right hand writes down the righteousness, and the one on the left the sins. The angel like the sun, holding the balance in his hand, is the archangel, Dokiel the just weigher, and he weighs the righteousnesses and sins with the righteousness of God. The fiery and pitiless angel, holding the fire in his hand, is the archangel Puruel, who has power over fire, and tries the works of men through fire, and if the fire consume the work of any man, the angel of judgment immediately seizes him, and carries him away to the place of sinners, a most bitter place of punishment. But if the fire approves the work of anyone, and does not seize upon it, that man is justified, and the angel of righteousness takes him and carries him up to be saved in the lot of the just. And thus, most righteous Abraham, all things in all men are tried by fire and the balance." 14 And Abraham said to the chief-captain, My Lord the chief-captain, the soul which the angel held in his hand, why was it adjudged to be set in the midst? The chief-captain said, Listen, righteous Abraham. Because the judge found its sins. and its righteousnesses equal, he neither committed it to judgment nor to be saved, until the judge of all shall come. Abraham said to the chief-captain, And what yet is wanting for the soul to be saved? The chief-captain said, If it obtains one righteousness above its sins, it enters into salvation. Abraham said to the chief-captain, Come hither, chief-captain Michael, let us make prayer for this soul, and see whether God will hear us. The chief-captain said, Amen, be it so; and they made prayer and entreaty for the soul, and God heard them, and when they rose up from their prayer they did not see the soul standing there. And Abraham said to the angel, Where is the soul that thou didst hold in the midst? And the angel answered, It has been saved by thy righteous prayer, and behold an angel of light has taken it and carried it up into Paradise. Abraham said, I glorify the name of God, the Most High, and his immeasurable mercy. And Abraham said to the chief-captain, I beseech thee, archangel, hearken to my prayer, and let us yet call upon the Lord, and supplicate his compassion, and entreat his mercy for the souls of the sinners whom I formerly, in my anger, cursed and destroyed, whom the earth devoured, and the wild beasts tore in pieces, and the fire consumed through my words. Now I know that I have sinned before the Lord our God. Come then, O Michael, chief-captain of the hosts above, come, let us call upon God with tears that he may forgive me my sin, and grant them to me. And the chief-captain heard him, and they made entreaty before the Lord, and when they had called upon him for a long space, there came a voice from heaven saying, Abraham, Abraham, I have hearkened to thy voice and thy prayer, and forgive thee thy sin, and those whom thou thinkest that I destroyed I have called up and brought them into life by my exceeding kindness, because for a season I have requited them in judgment, and those whom I destroy living upon earth, I will not requite in death. 15 And the voice of the Lord said also to the chief-captain Michael, Michael, my servant, turn back Abraham to his house, for behold his end has come nigh, and the measure of his life is fulfilled, that he may set all things in order, and then take him and bring him to me. So the chief-captain, turning the chariot and the cloud, brought Abraham to his house, and going into his chamber he sat upon his couch. And Sarah his wife came and embraced the feet of the Incorporeal, and spoke humbly, saying, I give thee thanks, my Lord, that thou hast brought my Lord Abraham, for behold we thought he had been taken up from us. And his son Isaac also came and fell upon his neck, and in the same way all his men-slaves and women-slaves surrounded Abraham and embraced him, glorifying God. And the Incorporeal one said to them, Hearken, righteous Abraham. Behold thy wife Sarah, behold also thy beloved son Isaac, behold also all thy men-servants and maid-servants round about thee. Make disposition of all that thou hast, for the day has come nigh in which thou shalt depart from the body and go to the Lord once for all. Abraham said, Has the Lord said it, or sayest thou this of thyself? The chief-captain answered, Hearken, righteous Abraham. The Lord has commanded, and I tell it thee. Abraham said, I will not go with thee. The chief-captain, hearing these words, straightway went forth from the presence of Abraham, and went up into the heavens, and stood before God the Most High, and said, Lord Almighty, behold I have hearkened to Thy friend Abraham in all he has said to Thee, and have fulfilled his requests. I have shown to him Thy power, and all the earth and sea that is under heaven. I have shown to him judgment and recompense by means of cloud and chariots, and again he says, I will not go with thee. And the Most High said to the angel, Does my friend Abraham say thus again, I will not go with thee? The archangel said, Lord Almighty, he says thus, and I refrain from laying hands on him, because from the beginning he is Thy friend, and has done all things pleasing in Thy sight. There is no man like him on earth, not even Job the wondrous man, and therefore I refrain from laying hands on him. Command, therefore, Immortal King, what shall be done. 16 Then the Most High said, Call me hither Death that is called the shameless countenance and the pitiless look. And Michael the Incorporeal went and said to Death, Come hither; the Lord of creation, the immortal king, calls thee. And Death, hearing this, shivered and trembled, being possessed with great terror, and coming with great fear it stood before the invisible father, shivering, groaning and trembling, awaiting the command of the Lord. Therefore the invisible God said to Death, Come hither, thou bitter and fierce name of the world, hide thy fierceness, cover thy corruption, and cast away thy bitterness from thee, and put on thy beauty and all thy glory, and go down to Abraham my friend, and take him and bring him to me. But now also I tell thee not to terrify him, but bring him with fair speech, for he is my own friend. Having heard this, Death went out from the presence of the Most High, and put on a robe of great brightness, and made his appearance like the sun, and became fair and beautiful above the sons of men, assuming the form of an archangel, having his cheeks flaming with fire, and he departed to Abraham. Now the righteous Abraham went out of his chamber, and sat under the trees of Mamre, holding his chin in his hand, and awaiting the coming of the archangel Michael. And behold, a smell of sweet odor came to him, and a flashing of light, and Abraham turned and saw Death coming towards him in great glory and beauty. And Abraham arose and went to meet him, thinking that it was the chief-captain of God, and Death beholding him saluted him, saying, Rejoice, precious Abraham, righteous soul, true friend of the Most High God, and companion of the holy angels. Abraham said to Death, Hail thou of appearance and form like the sun, most glorious helper, bringer of light, wondrous man, from whence does thy glory come to us, and who art thou, and whence comest thou? Then Death said, Most righteous Abraham, behold I tell thee the truth. I am the bitter lot of death. Abraham said to him, Nay, but thou art the comeliness of the world, thou art the glory and beauty of angels and men, thou art fairer in form than every other, and sayest thou, I am the bitter lot of death, and not rather, I am fairer than every good thing. Death said, I tell thee the truth. What the Lord has named me, that also I tell thee. Abraham said, For what art thou come hither? Death said, For thy holy soul am I come. Then Abraham said, I know what thou meanest, but I will not go with thee; and Death was silent and answered him not a word. 17 Then Abraham arose, and went into his house, and Death also accompanied him thither. And Abraham went up into his chamber, and Death went up with him. And Abraham lay down upon his couch, and Death came and sat by his feet. Then Abraham said, Depart, depart from me, for I desire to rest upon my couch. Death said, I will not depart until I take thy spirit from thee. Abraham said to him, By the immortal God I charge thee to tell me the truth. Art thou death? Death said to him, I am Death. I am the destroyer of the world. Abraham said, I beseech thee, since thou art Death, tell me if thou comest thus to all in such fairness and glory and beauty? Death said, Nay, my Lord Abraham, for thy righteousnesses, and the boundless sea of thy hospitality, and the greatness of thy love towards God has become a crown upon my head, and in beauty and great peace and gentleness I approach the righteous, but to sinners I come in great corruption and fierceness and the greatest bitterness and with fierce and pitiless look. Abraham said, I beseech thee, hearken to me, and show me thy fierceness and all thy corruption and bitterness. And Death said, Thou canst not behold my fierceness, most righteous Abraham. Abraham said, Yes, I shall be able to behold all thy fierceness by means of the name of the living God, for the might of my God that is in heaven is with me. Then Death put off all his comeliness and beauty, and all his glory and the form like the sun with which he was clothed, and put upon himself a tyrant's robe, and made his appearance gloomy and fiercer than all kind of wild beasts, and more unclean than all uncleanness. And he showed to Abraham seven fiery heads of serpents and fourteen faces, one of flaming fire and of great fierceness, and a face of darkness, and a most gloomy face of a viper, and a face of a most terrible precipice, and a face fiercer than an asp, and a face of a terrible lion, and a face of a horned serpent and basilisk. He showed him also a face of a fiery scimitar, and a sword-bearing face, and a face of lightning, lightening terribly, and a noise of dreadful thunder. He showed him also another face of a fierce stormy sea, and a fierce rushing river, and a terrible three-headed serpent, and a cup mingled with poisons, and in short he showed to him great fierceness and unendurable bitterness, and every mortal disease as of the odor of Death. And from the great bitterness and fierceness there died servants and maid-servants in number about seven thousand, and the righteous Abraham came into indifference of death so that his spirit failed him. 18 And the all-holy Abraham, seeing these things thus, said to Death, I beseech thee, all-destroying Death, hide thy fierceness, and put on thy beauty and the shape which thou hadst before. And straightway Death hid his fierceness, and put on his beauty which he had before. And Abraham said to Death, Why hast thou done this, that thou hast slain all my servants and maidservants? Has God sent thee hither for this end this day? Death said, Nay, my Lord Abraham, it is not as thou sayest, but on thy account was I sent hither. Abraham said to Death, How then have these died? Has the Lord not spoken it? Death said, Believe thou, most righteous Abraham, that this also is wonderful, that thou also wast not taken away with them. Nevertheless I tell thee the truth, for if the right hand of God had not been with thee at that time, thou also wouldst have had to depart from this life. The righteous Abraham said, Now I know that I have come into indifference of death, so that my spirit fails, but I beseech thee, all-destroying Death, since my servants have died before their time, come let us pray to the Lord our God that he may hear us and raise up those who died by thy fierceness before their time. And Death said, Amen, be it so. Therefore Abraham arose and fell upon the face of the ground in prayer, and Death together with him, and the Lord sent a spirit of life upon those that were dead and they were made alive again. Then the righteous Abraham gave glory to God. 19 And going up into his chamber he lay down, and Death came and stood before him. And Abraham said to him, Depart from me, for I desire to rest, because my spirit is in indifference. Death said, I will not depart from thee until I take thy soul. And Abraham with an austere countenance and angry look said to Death, Who has ordered thee to say this? Thou sayest these words of thyself boastfully, and I will not go with thee until the chief-captain Michael come to me, and I shall go with him. But this also I tell thee, if thou desirest that I shall accompany thee, explain to me all thy changes, the seven fiery heads of serpents and what the face of the precipice is, and what the sharp sword, and what the loud-roaring river, and what the tempestuous sea that rages so fiercely. Teach me also the unendurable thunder, and the terrible lightning, and the evil-smelling cup mingled with poisons. Teach me concerning all these. And Death answered, Listen, righteous Abraham. For seven ages I destroy the world and lead all down to Hades, kings and rulers, rich and poor, slaves and free men, I convoy to the bottom of Hades, and for this I showed thee the seven heads of serpents. The face of fire I showed thee because many die consumed by fire, and behold death through a face of fire. The face of the precipice I showed thee, because many men die descending from the tops of trees or terrible precipices and losing their life, and see death in the shape of a terrible precipice. The face of the sword I showed thee because many are slain in wars by the sword, and see death as a sword. The face of the great rushing river I showed thee because many are drowned and perish snatched away by the crossing of many waters and carried off by great rivers, and see death before their time. The face of the angry raging sea I showed thee because many in the sea falling into great surges and becoming shipwrecked are swallowed up and behold death as the sea. The unendurable thunder and the terrible lightning I showed thee because many men in the moment of anger meet with unendurable thunder and terrible lightning coming to seize upon men, and see death thus. I showed thee also the poisonous wild beasts, asps and basilisks, leopards and lions and lions' whelps, bears and vipers, and in short the face of every wild beast I showed thee, most righteous one, because many men are destroyed by wild beasts, and others by poisonous snakes, serpents and asps and horned serpents and basilisks and vipers, breathe out their life and die. I showed thee also the destroying cups mingled with poison, because many men being given poison to drink by other men straightway depart unexpectedly. 20 Abraham said, I beseech thee, is there also an unexpected death? Tell me. Death said, Verily, verily, I tell thee in the truth of God that there are seventy-two deaths. One is the just death, buying its fixed time, and many men in one hour enter into death being given over to the grave. Behold, I have told thee all that thou hast asked, now I tell thee, most righteous Abraham, to dismiss all counsel, and cease from asking anything once for all, and come, go with me, as the God and judge of all has commanded me. Abraham said to Death, Depart from me yet a little, that I may rest on my couch, for I am very faint at heart, for since I have seen thee with my eyes my strength has failed me, all the limbs of my flesh seem to me a weight as of lead, and my spirit is distressed exceedingly. Depart for a little; for I have said I cannot bear to see thy shape. Then Isaac his son came and fell upon his breast weeping, and his wife Sarah came and embraced his feet, lamenting bitterly. There came also his men slaves and women slaves and surrounded his couch, lamenting greatly. And Abraham came into indifference of death, and Death said to Abraham, Come, take my right hand, and may cheerfulness and life and strength come to thee. For Death deceived Abraham, and he took his right hand, and straightway his soul adhered to the hand of Death. And immediately the archangel Michael came with a multitude of angels and took up his precious soul in his hands in a divinely woven linen cloth, and they tended the body of the just Abraham with divine ointments and perfumes until the third day after his death, and buried him in the land of promise, the oak of Mamre, but the angels received his precious soul, and ascended into heaven, singing the hymn of "thrice holy" to the Lord the God of all, and they set it there to worship the God and Father. And after great praise and glory had been given to the Lord, and Abraham bowed down to worship, there came the undefiled voice of the God and Father saying thus, Take therefore my friend Abraham into Paradise, where are the tabernacles of my righteous ones, and the abodes of my saints Isaac and Jacob in his bosom, where there is no trouble, nor grief, nor sighing, but peace and rejoicing and life unending. And let us, too, my beloved brethren, imitate the hospitality of the patriarch Abraham, and attain to his virtuous way of life, that we may be thought worthy of the life eternal, glorifying the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; to whom be glory and power forever. Amen. |
VERSION 2 1 It came to pass, when the days of the death of Abraham drew near, that the Lord said to Michael: Arise and go to Abraham, my servant, and say to him, Thou shalt depart from life, for lo! the days of thy temporal life are fulfilled: so that he may set his house in order before he die. 2. And Michael went and came to Abraham, and found him sitting before his oxen for plowing, and he was exceeding old in appearance, and had his son in his arms. Abraham, therefore, seeing the archangel Michael, rose from the ground and saluted him, not knowing who he was, and said to him: The Lord preserve thee. May thy journey be prosperous with thee. And Michael answered him: Thou art kind, good father. Abraham answered and said to him: Come, draw near to me, brother, and sit down a little while, that I may order a beast to be brought that we may go to my house, and thou mayest rest with me, for it is toward evening, and in the morning arise and go whithersoever thou wilt, lest some evil beast meet thee and do thee hurt. And Michael inquired of Abraham, saying: Tell me thy name, before I enter thy house, lest I be burdensome to thee. Abraham answered and said, My parents called me Abram, and the Lord named me Abraham, saying: Arise and depart from thy house, and from thy kindred, and go into the land which I shall show unto thee. And when I went away into the land which the Lord showed me, he said to me: Thy name shall no more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham. Michael answered and said to him: Pardon me, my father, experienced man of God, for I am a stranger, and I have heard of thee that thou didst go forty furlongs and didst bring a goat and slay it, entertaining angels in thy house, that they might rest there. Thus speaking together, they arose and went towards the house. And Abraham called one of his servants, and said to him: Go, bring me a beast that the stranger may sit upon it, for he is wearied with his journey. And Michael said: Trouble not the youth, but let us go lightly until we reach the house, for I love thy company. 3 And arising they went on, and as they drew nigh to the city, about three furlongs from it, they found a great tree having three hundred branches, like to a tamarisk tree. And they heard a voice from its branches singing, "Holy art thou, because thou hast kept the purpose for which thou wast sent." And Abraham heard the voice, and hid the mystery in his heart, saying within himself, What is the mystery that I have heard? As he came into the house, Abraham said to his servants, Arise, go out to the flocks, and bring three sheep, and slay them quickly, and make them ready that we may eat and drink, for this day is a feast for us. And the servants brought the sheep, and Abraham called his son Isaac, and said to him, My son Isaac, arise and put water in the vessel that we may wash the feet of this stranger. And he brought it as he was commanded, and Abraham said, I perceive, and so it shall be, that in this basin I shall never again wash the feet of any man coming to us as a guest. And Isaac hearing his father say this wept, and said to him, My father what is this that thou sayest, This is my last time to wash the feet of a stranger? And Abraham seeing his son weeping, also wept exceedingly, and Michael seeing them weeping, wept also, and the tears of Michael fell upon the vessel and became a precious stone. 4 When Sarah, being inside in her house, heard their weeping, she came out and said to Abraham, Lord, why is it that ye thus weep? Abraham answered, and said to her, It is no evil. Go into thy house, and do thy own work, lest we be troublesome to the man. And Sarah went away, being about to prepare the supper. And the sun came near to setting, and Michael went out of the house, and was taken up into the heavens to worship before God, for at sunset all the angels worship God and Michael himself is the first of the angels. And they all worshiped him, and went each to his own place, but Michael spoke before the Lord and said, Lord, command me to be questioned before thy holy glory! And the Lord said to Michael, Announce whatsoever thou wilt! And the Archangel answered and said, Lord, thou didst send me to Abraham to say to him, Depart from thy body, and leave this world; the Lord calls thee; and I dare not, Lord, reveal myself to him, for he is thy friend, and a righteous man, and one that receives strangers. But I beseech thee, Lord, command the remembrance of the death of Abraham to enter into his own heart, and bid not me tell it him, for it is great abruptness to say, Leave the world, and especially to leave one's own body, for thou didst create him from the beginning to have pity on the souls of all men. Then the Lord said to Michael, Arise and go to Abraham, and lodge with him, and whatever thou seest him eat, eat thou also, and wherever he shall sleep, sleep thou there also. For I will cast the thought of the death of Abraham into the heart of Isaac his son in a dream. 5 Then Michael went into the house of Abraham on that evening, and found them preparing the supper, and they ate and drank and were merry. And Abraham said to his son Isaac, Arise, my son, and spread the man's couch that he may sleep, and set the lamp upon the stand. And Isaac did as his father commanded him, and Isaac said to his father, I too am coming to sleep beside you. Abraham answered him, Nay, my son, lest we be troublesome to this man, but go to thy own chamber and sleep. And Isaac not wishing to disobey his father's command, went away and slept in his own chamber. 6 And it happened about the seventh hour of the night Isaac awoke, and came to the door of his father's chamber, crying out and saying, Open, father, that I may touch thee before they take thee away from me. Abraham arose and opened to him, and Isaac entered and hung upon his father's neck weeping, and kissed him with lamentations. And Abraham wept together with his son, and Michael saw them weeping and wept likewise. And Sarah hearing them weeping called from her bed-chamber, saying, My Lord Abraham, why is this weeping? Has the stranger told thee of thy brother's son Lot that he is dead? or has aught else befallen us? Michael answered and said to Sarah, Nay, Sarah, I have brought no tidings of Lot, but I knew of all your kindness of heart, that therein ye excel all men upon earth, and the Lord has remembered you. Then Sarah said to Abraham, How durst thou weep when the man of God has come in to thee, and why have thy eyes shed tears for today there is great rejoicing? Abraham said to her, How knowest thou that this is a man of God? Sarah answered and said, Because I say and declare that this is one of the three men who were entertained by us at the oak of Mamre, when one of the servants went and brought a kid and thou didst kill it, and didst say to me, Arise, make ready that we may eat with these men in our house. Abraham answered and said, Thou has perceived well, O woman, for I too, when I washed his feet knew in my heart that these were the feet which I had washed at the oak of Mamre, and when I began to inquire concerning his journey, he said to me, I go to preserve Lot thy brother from the men of Sodom, and then I knew the mystery. 7 And Abraham said to Michael, Tell me, man of God, and show to me why thou hast come hither. And Michael said, Thy son Isaac will show thee. And Abraham said to his son, My beloved son, tell me what thou hast seen in thy dream today, and wast frightened. Relate it to me. Isaac answered his father, I saw in my dream the sun and the moon, and there was a crown upon my head, and there came from heaven a man of great size, and shining as the light that is called the father of light. He took the sun from my head, and yet left the rays behind with me. And I wept and said, I beseech thee, my Lord, take not away the glory of my head, and the light of my house, and all my glory. And the sun and the moon and the stars lamented, saying, Take not away the glory of our power. And that shining man answered and said to me, Weep not that I take the light of thy house, for it is taken up from troubles into rest, from a low estate to a high one; they lift him up from a narrow to a wide place; they raise him from darkness to light. And I said to him, I beseech thee, Lord, take also the rays with it. He said to me, There are twelve hours of the day, and then I shall take all the rays. As the shining man said this, I saw the sun of my house ascending into heaven, but that crown I saw no more, and that sun was like thee my father. And Michael said to Abraham, Thy son Isaac has spoken truth, for thou shalt go, and be taken up into the heavens, but thy body shall remain on earth, until seven thousand ages are fulfilled, for then all flesh shall arise. Now therefore, Abraham, set thy house in order, and thy children, for thou hast heard fully what is decreed concerning thee. Abraham answered and said to Michael, I beseech thee, Lord, if I shall depart from my body, I have desired to be taken up in my body that I may see the creatures that the Lord my God has created in heaven and on earth. Michael answered and said, This is not for me to do, but I shall go and tell the Lord of this, and if I am commanded I shall show thee all these things. 8 And Michael went up into heaven, and spoke before the Lord concerning Abraham, and the Lord answered Michael, Go and take up Abraham in the body, and show him all things, and whatsoever he shall say to thee do to him as to my friend. So Michael went forth and took up Abraham in the body on a cloud, and brought him to the river of Ocean. 9 And after Abraham had seen the place of judgment, the cloud took him down upon the firmament below, and Abraham, looking down upon the earth, saw a man committing adultery with a wedded woman. And Abraham turning said to Michael, Seest thou this wickedness? but, Lord, send fire from heaven to consume them. And straightway there came down fire and consumed them, for the Lord had said to Michael, Whatsoever Abraham shall ask thee to do for him, do thou. Abraham looked again, and saw other men railing at their companions, and said, Let the earth open and swallow them, and as he spoke the earth swallowed them alive. Again the cloud led him to another place, and Abraham saw some going into a desert place to commit murder, and he said to Michael, Seest thou this wickedness? but let wild beasts come out of the desert, and tear them in pieces, and that same hour wild beasts came out of the desert, and devoured them. Then the Lord God spoke to Michael saying, Turn away Abraham to his own house, and let him not go round all the creation that I have made, because he has no compassion on sinners, but I have compassion on sinners that they may turn and live, and repent of their sins and be saved. 10 And Abraham looked and saw two gates, the one small and the other large, and between the two gates sat a man upon a throne of great glory, and a multitude of angels round about him, and he was weeping, and again laughing, but his weeping exceeded his laughter seven-fold. And Abraham said to Michael, Who is this that sits between the two gates in great glory; sometimes he laughs, and sometimes he weeps, and his weeping exceeds his laughter seven-fold? And Michael said to Abraham, Knowest thou not who it is? And he said, No, Lord. And Michael said to Abraham, Seest thou these two gates, the small and the great? These are they which lead to life and to destruction. This man that sits between them is Adam, the first man whom the Lord created, and set him in this place to see every soul that departs from the body, seeing that all are from him. When, therefore, thou seest him weeping, know that he has seen many souls being led to destruction, but when thou seest him laughing, he has seen many souls being led into life. Seest thou how his weeping exceeds his laughter? Since he sees the greater part of the world being led away through the broad gate to destruction, therefore his weeping exceeds his laughter seven-fold. 11 And Abraham said, And he that cannot enter through the narrow gate, can he not enter into life? Then Abraham wept, saying, Woe is me, what shall I do? for I am a man broad of body, and how shall I be able to enter by the narrow gate, by which a boy of fifteen years cannot enter? Michael answered and said to Abraham, Fear not, father, nor grieve, for thou shalt enter by it unhindered, and all those who are like thee. And as Abraham stood and marveled, behold an angel of the Lord driving sixty thousand souls of sinners to destruction. And Abraham said to Michael, Do all these go into destruction? And Michael said to him, Yea, but let us go and search among these souls, if there is among them even one righteous. And when they went, they found an angel holding in his hand one soul of a woman from among these sixty thousand, because he had found her sins weighing equally with all her works, and they were neither in motion nor at rest, but in a state between; but the other souls he led away to destruction. Abraham said to Michael, Lord, is this the angel that removes the souls from the body or not? Michael answered and said, This is death, and he leads them into the place of judgment, that the judge may try them. 12 And Abraham said, My Lord, I beseech thee to lead me to the place of judgment so that I too may see how they are judged. Then Michael took Abraham upon a cloud, and led him into Paradise, and when he came to the place where the judge was, the angel came and gave that soul to the judge. And the soul said, Lord have mercy on me. And the judge said, How shall I have mercy upon thee, when thou hadst no mercy upon thy daughter which thou hadst, the fruit of thy womb? Wherefore didst thou slay her? It answered, Nay, Lord, slaughter has not been done by me, but my daughter has lied upon me. But the judge commanded him to come that wrote down the records, and behold cherubim carrying two books. And there was with them a man of exceeding great stature, having on his head three crowns, and the one crown was higher than the other two. These are called the crowns of witness. And the man had in his hand a golden pen, and the judge said to him, Exhibit the sin of this soul. And that man, opening one of the books of the cherubim, sought out the sin of the woman's soul and found it. And the judge said, O wretched soul, why sayest thou that thou hast not done murder? Didst thou not, after the death of thy husband, go and commit adultery with thy daughter's husband, and kill her? And he convicted her also of her other sins, whatsoever she had done from her youth. Hearing these things the woman cried out, saying, Woe is me, all the sins that I did in the world I forgot, but here they were not forgotten. Then they took her away also and gave her over to the tormentors. 13 And Abraham said to Michael, Lord, who is this judge, and who is the other, who convicts the sins? And Michael said to Abraham, Seest thou the judge? This is Abel, who first testified, and God brought him hither to judge, and he that bears witness here is the teacher of heaven and earth, and the scribe of righteousness, Enoch, for the Lord sent them hither to write down the sins and righteousnesses of each one. Abraham said, And how can Enoch bear the weight of the souls, not having seen death? or how can he give sentence to all the souls? Michael said, If he gives sentence concerning the souls, it is not permitted; but Enoch himself does not give sentence, but it is the Lord who does so, and he has no more to do than only to write. For Enoch prayed to the Lord saying, I desire not, Lord, to give sentence on the souls, lest I be grievous to anyone; and the Lord said to Enoch, I shall command thee to write down the sins of the soul that makes atonement and it shall enter into life, and if the soul make not atonement and repent, thou shalt find its sins written down and it shall be cast into punishment. And about the ninth hour Michael brought Abraham back to his house. But Sarah his wife, not seeing what had become of Abraham, was consumed with grief, and gave up the ghost, and after the return of Abraham he found her dead, and buried her. 14 But when the day of the death of Abraham drew nigh, the Lord God said to Michael, Death will not dare to go near to take away the soul of my servant, because he is my friend, but go thou and adorn Death with great beauty, and send him thus to Abraham, that he may see him with his eyes. And Michael straightway, as he was commanded, adorned Death with great beauty, and sent him thus to Abraham that he might see him. And he sat down near to Abraham, and Abraham seeing Death sitting near to him was afraid with a great fear. And Death said to Abraham, Hail, holy soul! hail, friend of the Lord God! hail, consolation and entertainment of travelers! And Abraham said, Thou art welcome, servant of the Most High. God. I beseech thee, tell me who thou art; and entering into my house partake of food and drink, and depart from me, for since I have seen thee sitting near to me my soul has been troubled. For I am not at all worthy to come near thee, for thou art an exalted spirit and I am flesh and blood, and therefore I cannot bear thy glory, for I see that thy beauty is not of this world. And Death said to Abraham, I tell thee, in all the creation that God has made, there has not been found one like thee, for even the Lord himself by searching has not found such an one upon the whole earth. And Abraham said to Death, How durst thou lie? for I see that thy beauty is not of this world. And Death said to Abraham, Think not, Abraham, that this beauty is mine, or that I come thus to every man. Nay, but if any one is righteous like thee, I thus take crowns and come to him, but if it is a sinner I come in great corruption, and out of their sin I make a crown for my head, and I shake them with great fear, so that they are dismayed. Abraham therefore said to him, And whence comes thy beauty? And Death said, There is none other more full of corruption than I am. Abraham said to him, And art thou indeed he that is called Death? He answered him and said, I am the bitter name. I am weeping [. . .]. 15 And Abraham said to Death, Show us thy corruption. And Death made manifest his corruption; and he had two heads, the one had the face of a serpent and by it some die at once by asps, and the other head was like a sword; by it some die by the sword as by bows. In that day the servants of Abraham died through fear of Death, and Abraham seeing them prayed to the Lord, and he raised them up. But God returned and removed the soul of Abraham as in a dream, and the archangel Michael took it up into the heavens. And Isaac buried his father beside his mother Sarah, glorifying and praising God, for to him is due glory, honor and worship, of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, now and always and to all eternity. Amen. |
Joseph and Aseneth
And Pharaoh called Joseph 's name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potimherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. Genesis 41:45
And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. Genesis 41:50
And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. Genesis 46:20
The Life of Joseph is recorded in Genesis 37:1-50:26. The king of Egypt changed his name to Zaphnath-paaneah, because of his ability to reveal secrets
Chapter One
1. It came to pass in the first year of the seven years of plenty, in the second month, that Pharaoh sent out Joseph to go round the whole land of Egypt.
2. And Joseph came, in the fourth month of the first year, on the eighteenth day of the month, into the district of Heliopolis.
3. And he was collecting all the corn of that land, as the sand of the sea.
4. Now there was in that city a man, a satrap of Pharaoh; and this man was the chief of all Pharaoh's satraps and lords.
5. And he was very rich, and wise, and generous, and he was Pharaoh's counselor, and his name was Pentephres; and he was the priest of Heliopolis of On.
6. And Pentephres had a virgin daughter of about eighteen years of age, tall and beautiful and graceful, more beautiful than any other virgin in the land.
7. And she was quite unlike the daughters of the Egyptians, but in every respect like the daughters of the Hebrews.
8. And she was as tall as Sarah, and as beautiful as Rebecca, and as fair as Rachel; and this virgin's name was Aseneth.
9. And the fame of her beauty spread through all that land, even to its remotest corners; and all the sons of the lords and of the satraps and of the kings sought her hand in marriage, young men all of them.
10. And there was great rivalry between them because of her, and they began to fight among themselves because of Aseneth.
11. And Pharaoh's eldest son heard about her, and he begged his father to give her to him as his wife.
12. And he said to him, "Give me Aseneth the daughter of Pentephres the priest of Heliopolis as my wife." And his father Pharaoh said to him, "Why should you want a wife of lower station than yourself?
13. Are you not king of all the earth?
14. No! See now, the daughter of King Joakim is betrothed to you, and she is a queen and very beautiful indeed: take her as your wife."
Chapter Two
1. Now Aseneth despised all men and regarded them with contempt; yet no man had ever seen her, for Pentephres had a tower in his house, and it was large and very high.
2. And the top story had ten rooms in it.
3. The first room was large and pleasant; and it was paved with purple stones, and its walls were faced with precious stones of different kinds.
4. And the ceiling of that room was of gold; and within it were ranged the innumerable gods of the Egyptians, in gold and silver.
5. And Aseneth worshiped all these; and she feared them and offered sacrifices to them.
6. The second room contained all the finery for Aseneth's adornment and treasure chests.
7. And there was much gold in it, and silver, and garments woven with gold, and precious stones of great price, and fine linens.
8. And all her girlish ornaments were there.
9. The third room contained all the good things of the earth; and it was Aseneth's store-house.
10. And seven virgins had the remaining seven rooms, one each.
11. And they used to wait on Aseneth, and were of the same age as she was, for they were all born on the same night as Aseneth; and they were very beautiful, like the stars of heaven, and no man or boy had ever had anything to do with them.
12. And Aseneth's large room, where she spent her time, had three windows.
13. One window looked out over the courtyard to the east: the second looked to the north, onto the street; and the third to the south.
14. And a golden bed stood in the room, facing the east.
15. And the bed had a coverlet of purple woven with gold, embroidered with blue, and fine linen.
16. In this bed Aseneth used to sleep alone, and no man or woman ever sat upon it, except Aseneth only.
17. And there was a great court all round the house, and a wall round the court, very high and built of great rectangular stones.
18. And there were four gates to the court, overlaid with iron; and eighteen strong young men-at-arms used to guard each one of them.
19. And along the wall inside the court every kind of beautiful tree that produces fruit had been planted; and the fruit on every one of them was ripe, for it was harvest time.
20. And on the right of the court there was an ever-bubbling spring of water, and beneath the spring a great cistern that received the water from the spring and out of which a river flowed through the middle of the court and watered all the trees in it.
Chapter Three
1. And it came to pass in the fourth month, on the eighteenth day of the month, that Joseph came into the district of Heliopolis.
2. And as he approached the city, Joseph sent twelve men in front of him to Pentephres, the priest of Heliopolis, saying, May I be your guest to-day, for it is near noon and time for a mid-day meal?
3. The sun's heat is overpowering, and I would enjoy some refreshment under your roof.
4. When Pentephres heard this, he was overjoyed and said,
5. "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Joseph." And Pentephres called his steward and said to him,
6. "Make haste and get my house into order, and prepare a great feast, because Joseph, the mighty man of God, is coming to us to-day.
7. And Aseneth heard that her father and mother had come back from their family estate in the country.
8. And she rejoiced and said, I will go and see my father and my mother for they have come back from their family estate in the country.
9. And Aseneth hurried and put on a fine linen robe of blue woven with gold and a golden girdle round her waist, and she put bracelets round her hands and feet, and she put on golden trousers and a necklace round her neck.
10. And there were precious stones all about her, with the names of Egyptian gods inscribed on them everywhere, on the bracelets and on the stones; and the names of the idols were stamped on the stones.
11. And she put a tiara on her head and bound a diadem round her temples and covered her head with a veil.
Chapter Four
1. And she hurried and came down by the staircase from her story at the top; and she came to her father and mother and greeted them.
2. And it gave Pentephres and his wife great joy to see their daughter Aseneth adorned as the bride of God. And they took out all the good things they had brought from their estate in the country, and they gave them to their daughter.
4. And Aseneth rejoiced at the good things, and at the fruit, the grapes and the dates, and at the doves and at the pomegranates and the figs, for they were all delightful.
5. And Pentephres said to his daughter Aseneth, "My child": she said, "Lo, here I am, my lord."
6. And he said to her, "Sit down, please, between us: I want to talk to you." And Aseneth sat down between her father and her mother.
7. And her father Pentephres took her right hand n his right hand and said to her, "My child"; and Aseneth said, "What is it, father?"
8. And Pentephres said to her, "See, Joseph, the mighty man of God, is coming to us to-day, and he is ruler of all the land of Egypt, for Pharaoh has appointed him ruler of all our land; and he is the distributor of corn throughout the country and is to save it from the famine that is come upon it.
9. And Joseph is a man that worships God: he is discriminating, and a virgin (as you are to-day), and a man of great wisdom and knowledge, and the spirit of God is upon him, and the grace of the Lord is with him.
10. So come, my child, and I will give you to him as his wife: you shall be his bride, and he shall be your bridegroom for ever."
11. And when Aseneth heard what her father said, a great red sweat came over her, and she was furious and looked sideways at her father.
12. And she said, "Why should my lord and my father speak like this and talk as if he would hand me over like a prisoner to a man of another race, a man who was a fugitive and was sold as a slave?
13. Is this not the shepherd's son from the land of Canaan, and he was abandoned by him?
14. Is not this the man who had intercourse with his mistress, and his master threw him into prison where he lay in darkness, and Pharaoh brought him out of prison, because he interpreted his dream?
15. No! I will marry the eldest son of the king, for he is king of all the earth."
16. On hearing this, Pentephres thought it wiser to say no more to his daughter about Joseph, for she had answered him arrogantly and in anger.
Chapter Five
1. And behold, one of the young men from Pentephres's retinue burst in and said,
2. "Lo. Joseph is at the gates of our court." And Aseneth quickly left her father and her mother and ran upstairs and went into her room and stood at the big window that looked towards the east, so as to see Joseph as he came into her father's house.
3. And Pentephres and his wife and all his relations went out to meet Joseph.
4. And the gates of the court that looked east were opened, and Joseph came in, sitting in Pharaoh's viceroy's chariot.
5. And there were four horses yoked together, white as snow, with golden reins; and the chariot was covered over with gold.
6. And Joseph was wearing a marvelous white tunic, and the robe wrapped around him was purple, made of linen woven with gold: there was a golden crown on his head, and all round the crown were twelve precious stones, and above the stones twelve golden rays; and a royal scepter was in his right hand.
7. And he held an olive branch stretched out, and there was much fruit on it.
8. And Joseph came into the court, and the gates were shut.
9. And strangers, whether men or women, remained outside, because the gate-keepers had shut the doors.
10. And Pentephres came, and his wife, and all his relatives, except their daughter Aseneth; and they made obeisance to Joseph with their faces to the ground.
11. And Joseph got down from his chariot and extended his right hand to them.
Chapter Six
1. And Aseneth saw Joseph and she was cut to the quick, her stomach turned over, her knees became limp, and her whole body trembled.
2. And she was much afraid and cried out and said, "Where shall I go, and where can I hide myself from him? And how will Joseph, the son of God, regard me, for I have spoken evil of him?
3. Where can I flee and hide myself, for he sees everything, and no secret is safe with him, because of the great light that is in him?
4. And now may Joseph's God be propitious to me because I spoke evil in ignorance.
5. What can I hope for, wretch that I am? Have I not spoken, saying, Joseph is coming, the shepherd's son from the land of Canaan? And now, behold the sun is come to us from heaven in his chariot and has come into our house to-day.
6. But I was foolish and reckless to despise him, and I spoke evil of him and did not know that Joseph is the son of God.
7. For who among men will ever father such beauty, and what mother will ever bear such a light? Wretch that I am and foolish, for I spoke evil of him to my father.
8. Now let my father give me to Joseph as a maidservant and a slave, and I will serve him for ever."
Chapter Seven
1. And Joseph came into Pentephres's house and sat down on a seat; and he washed his feet, and he placed a table in front of him separately, because he would not eat with the Egyptians, for this was an abomination to him.
2. And Joseph spoke to Pentephres and all his relations, saying, "Who is that woman standing in the solar by the window? Tell her to go away."
3. (This was because Joseph was afraid she too might solicit him; for
all the wives and daughters of the lords and satraps of all the land of Egypt use to solicit him to lie with him.
4. And many of the wives and daughters of the Egyptians suffered much, after seeing Joseph, because he was so handsome; and they would send emissaries to him with gold and silver and valuable gifts.
5. And Joseph would reject them out of hand, saying, I will not sin before the God of Israel.
6. And Joseph kept his father Jacob's face before his eyes continually, and he remembered his father's commandments; for Jacob used to say to Joseph and his brothers, "Be on your guard, my children, against the strange woman, and have nothing to do with her, for she is ruin and destruction.
7. That is why Joseph said, "Tell that woman to go away."
8. And Pentephres said to him, "My lord, the woman you have seen in the story at the top is no stranger: she is our daughter, a virgin, who detests men; and no other man has ever seen her, apart from you today.
9. And if you wish it, she shall come and speak with you; for our daughter is your sister.
10. And Joseph was overjoyed because Pentephres said, "She is a virgin who detests men." 1
11. And Joseph answered Pentephres and his wife and said, "If she is your daughter, then let her come, for she is my sister, and I will regard her as my sister from to-day."
Chapter Eight
1. And Aseneth's mother went up to the top story and brought Aseneth down to Joseph; and Pentephres said to his daughter Aseneth, "Greet your brother, for he too is a virgin as you are to-day, and he detests all strange women just as you detest strange men."
2. And Aseneth said to Joseph, "May you have joy, my lord, blessed as you are of God Most High"; and Joseph said to her, "May God, who has given all things life, bless you."
3. And Pentephres said to Aseneth, "Come near and kiss your brother."
4. And when she came near to kiss Joseph, Joseph stretched his right hand out, and laid it against her breast, and said,
5. "It is not right for a man who worships God, who with his mouth blesses the living God, and eats the blessed bread of life, and drinks the blessed cup of immortality, and is anointed with the blessed unction of incorruption, to kiss a strange woman, who with her mouth blesses dead and dumb idols, and eats of their table the bread of anguish, and drinks of their libations the cup of treachery, and is anointed with the unction of destruction.
6. A man who worships God will kiss his mother and his sister that is of his own tribe and kin, and the wife that shares his couch, who with their mouths bless the living God.
7. So too it is not right for a woman who worships God to kiss a strange man, because this is an abomination in God's eyes."
8. And when Aseneth heard what Joseph said, she was most distressed and cried out aloud; and she fixed her gaze on Joseph, and her eyes were filled with tears.
9. And Joseph saw her and his heart went out to her -- for Joseph was tender-hearted and compassionate and feared the Lord.
10. And he lifted up his right hand above her head and said,
"O Lord, the God of my father Israel, the Most High, the Mighty One,
Who didst quicken all things, and didst call them from darkness into light.
And from error into truth, and from death into life;
Do thou, O Lord, thyself quicken and bless this virgin,
11. And renew her by thy spirit, and re-mold her by thy secret hand,
And quicken her with thy life.
And may she eat the bread of thy life,
And may she drink the cup of thy blessing,
She whom thou didst choose before she was begotten,
And may she enter into thy rest, which thou has prepared for thine elect."
Chapter Nine
1. And Aseneth was filled with joy at Joseph's blessing, and she went up in haste to her story at the top and fell on her couch exhausted, because she felt not only happy, but also disturbed and very frightened; and she had been bathed in perspiration from the moment she heard Joseph speaking to her in the name of God Most High.
2. And she wept bitterly, and she repented of her gods she used to worship; and she waited for evening to come.
3. And Joseph ate and drank; and he said to his servants, "Yoke the horses to the chariot" (for he said, "I must depart and go round the whole city and the district").
4. And Pentephres said to Joseph, "Stay the night here, my lord and to-morrow go your way."
5. And Joseph said, "No! I must be going now, for this is the day when God began his works: in eight days time I will come back again and stay the night here with you."
Chapter Ten
1. Then Pentephres and his relations went away to their estate.
2. And Aseneth was left alone with the virgins, and she was listless and wept until sunset: she ate no bread and drank no water; and while all slept she alone was awake.
3. And she opened the door and went down to the gate; and she found the portress asleep with her children.
4. And Aseneth quickly took down the leather curtain from the door, and she filled it with ashes and carried it up to the top story and laid it on the floor.
5. And she secured the door and fastened it with the iron bar from the side; and she groaned aloud and wept.
6. And the virgin that Aseneth loved most of all the virgins heard her mistress groaning, and she roused the other virgins and came and found the door shut.
7. And she listened to Aseneth groaning and weeping and said, "Why are you so sorrowful my lady? What is it that its troubling you?
8. Open the door for us, so that we can see you." And Aseneth said to them from inside (shut in as she was, "I have a violent headache and am resting on my bed; and I have no strength left to open to you now, for I am utterly exhausted; but go each of you to her room."
9. And Aseneth got up and opened her door quietly, and went into her second room, where her treasure-chests and the finery for her adornment were, and she opened her wardrobe and took out a black and sombre tunic.
10. (And this was her mourning tunic, which she had worn for mourning when her eldest brother died). And Aseneth took off her royal robe and put on the black one, and she untied her golden girdle and tied a rope around her waist instead, and she took her tiara off her head and the diadem, and the bracelets from her hands.
12. And she took her best robe, just as it was, and threw it out of the window, for the poor.
13. And she took all her innumerable gold and silver gods and broke them up into little pieces, and threw them out of the window for the poor and needy.
14. And Aseneth took her royal dinner, even the fatted beasts and the fish and the meat, and all the sacrifices of her gods, and the wine-vessels for their libations; and she threw them all out of the window as food for the dogs.
15. And after this she took the ashes and poured them out on the floor.
16. And she took sackcloth and wrapped it round her waist, and she removed the fillet from her hair and sprinkled herself with ashes; and she fell down upon the ashes.
17. And she beat her breast repeatedly with her two hands and wept bitterly and groaned all night until the morning.
18. And in the morning Aseneth got up and looked and lo, the ashes underneath her were like mud because of her tears.
19. And again, Aseneth fell down on her face upon the ashes until sunset.
20. And so Aseneth did for seven days; and she tasted neither food nor drink.
Chapter Eleven
1. And it came to pass on the eighth day that Aseneth looked up from the floor where she was lying (for she was losing the use of her limbs as a result of her great affliction).
Chapter Twelve
1. And she stretched her hands out towards the east, and her eyes looked up to heaven, and she said,
2. "O Lord, God of the ages, that didst give to all the breath of life,
That didst bring into the light the things unseen,
That hast made all things and made visible what was invisible,
3. That hast raised up the heaven and founded the earth upon the waters,
That hast fixed the great stones upon the abyss of water
Which shall not be submerged,
But to the end they do thy will.
4. O Lord, my God, to thee will I cry: hear my supplication;
And unto thee will I make confession of my sins,
And unto thee will I reveal my transgressions of thy law.
5. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned:
I have transgressed thy law and acted impiously,
And I have spoken things evil before thee.
My mouth, O Lord, has been defiled by things offered to idols,
And by the table of the gods of the Egyptians.
6. I have sinned, O Lord, before thee; I have sinned and acted impiously,
Worshiping idols deaf and dumb,
And I am not worthy to open my mouth unto thee, wretch that I am.
7. I have sinned, O Lord, before thee,
I, the daughter of Pentephres the priest,
the haughty and arrogant Aseneth.
To thee, O Lord, I present my supplication, and unto thee will I cry:
Deliver me from my persecutors, for unto thee have I fled,
Like a child to his father and his mother.
8. And do thou, O Lord, stretch forth thy hands over me,
As a father that loves his children and is tenderly affectionate,
And snatch me from the hand of my enemy.
9. For lo, the wild primeval Lion pursues me;
And his children are the gods of the Egyptians that I have abandoned and destroyed; And their father the Devil is trying to devour me
10. But do thou, O Lord deliver me from his hands,
And rescue me from his mouth,
Lest he snatch me like a wolf and tear me,
And cast me into the abyss of fire, and into the tempest of the sea;
And let not the great Sea-monster swallow me.
11. Save me, O Lord, deserted as I am,
For my father and mother denied me,
Because I destroyed and shattered their gods;
And I have no other hope save in thee, O Lord;
For thou art the father of the orphans, and the champion of the persecuted,
And the help of them that are oppressed.
12. For, lo, all the gods of my father Pentephres are but for a season and uncertain; but the inhabitants of thine inheritance, O Lord, are incorruptible and eternal.
Chapter Thirteen
1. Look upon my ophan-hood, O Lord, for unto thee did I flee, O Lord.
2. Lo, I took off my royal robe interwoven with gold and put on a black tunic instead.
3. Lo, I loosed my golden girdle and girt myself with a rope and sackcloth.
4. Lo, I threw off my diadem from my head and sprinkled myself with ashes.
5. Lo, the floor of my room once scattered with stones of different colors and of purple, and had at one time been sprinkled with myrrh, is now sprinkled with my tears and scattered with ashes.
6. Lo, Lord, from the ashes and from my tears there is as much mud inside my room as there is on a public highway.
7. Lo, Lord, my royal dinner and my fatted beasts have I given to the dogs.
8. And lo, for seven days and seven nights I have neither eaten bread nor drunk water; and my mouth is dry like a drum and my tongue like horn, and my lips like a potsherd, and my face is shrunken, and my eyes are failing as a result of my incessant tears.
9. But do thou, O Lord, pardon me, for in ignorance did I sin against thee and uttered calumnies against my lord Joseph.
10. And I did not know, wretch that I am, that he is thy son, O Lord; for they told me that Joseph was a shepherd's son from the land of Canaan, and I believed them; but I was wrong, and I despised Joseph, thine elect one, and I spoke evil of him, not knowing that he is thy son.
11. For what man ever was so handsome and who else is as wise and strong as Joseph? But to thee, my Lord, do I entrust him; for I love him more than mine own soul.
12. Preserve him in the wisdom of thy grace, and give me to him as a servant, so that I may wash his feet and serve him and be his slave for all the seasons of my life.
Chapter Fourteen
1. And as Aseneth finished her confession to the Lord, lo, the morning star rose in the eastern sky.
2. And Aseneth saw it and rejoiced and said, "The Lord God has indeed heard me, for this star is a messenger and herald of the light of the great day.
3. And lo, the heaven was torn open near the morning star and an indescribable light appeared.
4. And Aseneth fell on her face upon the ashes; and there came to her a man from heaven and stood at her head; and he called to her, "Aseneth".
5. And she said, "Who called me? For the door of my room is shut and the tower is high: how then did anyone get into my room?"
6. And the man called her a second time and said, "Aseneth, Aseneth;" and she said, "Here am I, my lord, tell me who you are."
7. And the man said, "I am the commander of the Lord's house and chief captain of all the host of the Most High: stand up, and I will speak to you."
8. And she looked up and saw a man like Joseph in every respect, with a robe and a crown and a royal staff.
9. But his face was like lightning, and his eyes were like the light of the sun, and the hairs of his head like flames of fire, and his hands and feet like iron from the fire.
10. And Aseneth looked at him, and she fell on her face at his feet in great fear and trembling. 11. And the man said to her, "Take heart, Aseneth, and do not be afraid; but stand up, and I will speak to you."
12. And Aseneth got up, and the man said to her, "Take off the black tunic you are wearing and the sackcloth round your waist, and shake the ashes off your head, and wash your face with water.
13. And put on a new robe that you have never worn before, and tie your bright girdle round your waist -- the double girdle of your virginity.
14. And then come back to me, and I will tell you what I have been sent to you to say."
15. And Aseneth went into the room where her treasure-chests and the finery for her adornment were; and she opened her wardrobe and took out a new, fine robe, and she took off her black robe and put on the new and brilliant one.
16. And she untied the rope and the sackcloth round her waist; and she put on the brilliant double girdle of her virginity -- one girdle round her waist and the other round her breast.
17. And she shook the ashes off her head, and washed her face with pure water, and covered her head with a fine and lovely veil.
Chapter Fifteen
1. And she came back to the man; and when the man saw her he said to her, "Take now the veil off your head, for to-day you are a pure virgin and your head is like a young man's."
2. So she took it off her head; and the man said to her, "Take heart, Aseneth, for lo, the Lord has heard the words of your confession.
3. Take heart, Aseneth, your name is written in the book of life, and it will never be blotted out.
4. From to-day you will be made new, and refashioned, and given new life; and you shall eat the bread of life and drink the cup of immortality, and be anointed with the unction of incorruption.
5. Take heart, Aseneth: lo, the Lord has given you to Joseph to be his bride, and he shall be your bridegroom.
6. And you shall no more be called Aseneth, but 'City of Refuge' shall be your name; for many nations shall take refuge in you, and under your wings shall many peoples find shelter, and within your walls those who give their allegiance to God in penitence will find security.
7. For Penitence is the Most High's daughter and she entreats the Most High on your behalf every hour, and on behalf of all who repent; for he is the father of Penitence and she the mother of virgins, and every hour she petitions him for those who repent; for she has prepared a heavenly bridal chamber for those who love her, and she will look after them for ever.
8. And Penitence is herself a virgin, very beautiful and pure and chaste and gentle; and God Most High loves her, and all his angels do her reverence.
9. And lo, I am on my way to Joseph, and I will talk to him about you, and he will come to you to-day and see you and rejoice over you; and he shall be your bridegroom.
10. So listen to me, Aseneth, and put on your wedding robe, the ancient robe, the first that was stored away in your room, and deck yourself in all your finest jewelry, and adorn yourself as a bride, and be ready to meet him.
11. For lo, he is coming to you to-day; and he will see you and rejoice."
12. And when the man had finished speaking Aseneth was overjoyed.
13. And she fell at his feet and said to him, "Blessed be the Lord God that sent you out to deliver me from darkness and bring me into light; and blessed be his name for ever.
14. Let me speak now, my lord, if I have found favor with you: sit down a little on the bed, and I will get a table ready and food for you to eat; and I will bring you good wine, of the finest flavor, for your to drink; and then you shall go your way."
Chapter Sixteen
1. And the man said to her, "Bring me, please, a honeycomb too."
2. And Aseneth said, "Let me send someone my lord, to my family estate in the country and I will get you a honeycomb."
3. And the man said to her, "Go into your inner room and you will find a honeycomb there."
4. And Aseneth went into her inner room and found a honeycomb lying on the table; and the comb was as white as snow and full of honey, and its smell was like the breath of life.
5. And Aseneth took the comb and brought it to him; and the man said to her, "Why did you say, 'There is no honeycomb in my house?' And lo, you have brought me this."
6. And Aseneth said, My lord, I had no honeycomb in my house, but it happened just as you said:
did it perchance come out of your mouth, for it smells like myrrh?"
7. And the man stretched his hand out and placed it on her head and said, "You are blessed, Aseneth, for the indescribable things of God have been revealed to you; and blessed too are those who give their allegiance to the Lord God in penitence, for they shall eat of this comb.
8. The bees of the Paradise of Delight have made this honey, and the angels of God eat of it, and no one who eats of it shall ever die.
9. And the man stretched his right hand out and broke off a piece of the comb and ate it; and he put a piece of it unto Aseneth's mouth.
10. And the man stretched his hand out and put his finger on the edge of the comb that faced eastwards; and the path of his finger became like blood.
11. And he stretched out his hand a second time and put his finger on the edge of the comb that faced northwards, and the path of his finger became like blood.
12. And Aseneth was standing on the left and watching everything the man was doing.
13. And bees came up from the cells of the comb, and they were white as snow, and their wings were iridescent -- purple and blue and gold; and they had golden diadems on their heads and sharp-pointed strings.
14. And all the bees flew in circles round Aseneth, from her feet right up to her head; and yet more bees, as big as queens, settled on Aseneth's lips.
15. And the man said to the bees, "Go, please, to your places."
16. And they all left Aseneth and fell to the ground, every one of them, and died.
17. And the man said, "Get up now, and go to your place;" and they got up and went, every one of them, to the court round Aseneth's tower.
Chapter Seventeen
1. And the man said to Aseneth, "Have you observed this?" and she said, "Yes, my lord, I have observed it all."
2. And the man said, "So shall be the words I have spoken to you."
3. And the man touched the comb, and fire went up from the table and burnt up the comb; and, as it burned, the comb gave out a refreshing fragrance that filled the room.
4. And Aseneth said to the man, "There are, my lord, seven virgins with me, who have been brought up with me, and who wait upon me: they were born in the same night as I was and I love them: let me call them, so that you can bless them as you have blessed me.
5. And the man said, "Call them;" and Aseneth called them, and the man blessed them and said, "God, the Most High, will bless you for ever."
6. And the man said to Aseneth, "Take this table away;" and Aseneth turned to move the table, and the man vanished out of her sight, and Aseneth saw what looked like a chariot of fire being taken up into heaven towards the east.
7. And Aseneth said, "Be merciful, O Lord, to thy maidservant, because it was in ignorance that I spoke evil before thee."
Chapter Eighteen
1. And while this was happening, behold, a young man, one of Joseph's servants, came and said, "Lo, Joseph, the mighty man of God is coming to you to-day."
2. And Aseneth called her steward and said, "Get ready a special dinner for me, because Joseph the mighty man of God, is coming to us."
3. And Aseneth went into her room and opened her wardrobe, and she took out her finest robe that shone like lightning, and she put it on.
4. And she tied a resplendent royal girdle round her waist -- and this girdle was of precious stones.
5. And she put golden bracelets round her hands, and golden boots on her feet, and a costly necklace about her neck; and she put a golden crown upon her head, and in the crown, in front, were the costliest of stones.
6. And she covered her head with a veil.
7. And she said to her maidservant, "Bring me pure water from the spring. And Aseneth bent down to the water in the basin [on the cockle-shell]; and her face was like the sun, and her eyes like the rising morning star.
Chapter Nineteen
And a little slave came and said to Aseneth, "Lo, Joseph is at the gates of our court;" and Aseneth went down with the seven virgins to meet him.
2. And when Joseph saw her, he said to her, "Come to me, pure virgin, for I have had good news about you from heaven, explaining everything about you."
3. And Joseph stretched his hands out and embraced Aseneth, and Aseneth embraced Joseph, and they greeted each other for a long time and received new life in their spirit.
Chapter Twenty
1. And Aseneth said to him, "Come, my lord, come into my house;" and she took his right hand and brought him inside her house.
2. And Joseph sat down on her father Pentephres's seat, and she brought water to wash his feet; and Joseph said to her, "Let one of your virgins come, and let her wash my feet."
3. And Aseneth said to him, "No, my lord, for my hands are your hands, and your feet my feet, and no one else shall wash your feet;" and so she had her way and washed his feet.
4. And Joseph took her by the right hand and kissed it, and Aseneth kissed his head.
5. And Aseneth's parents came back from their country estate, and they saw Aseneth sitting with Joseph and wearing a wedding robe; and they rejoiced and glorified God, and they ate and drank.
6. And Pentephres said to Joseph, "To-morrow I will invite the lords and satraps of Egypt, and I will celebrate your wedding, and you shall take Aseneth as your wife."
7. And Joseph said, "First I must tell Pharaoh about Aseneth, because he is my father; and he will give me Aseneth as my wife himself."
8. And Joseph stayed that day with Pentephres; and he did not sleep with Aseneth, for he said, "It is not right for a man who worships God to have intercourse with his wife before their marriage."
Chapter Twenty-One
1. And Joseph got up early in the morning, and he sent away to Pharaoh and told him about Aseneth.
2. And Pharaoh sent and called Pentephres and Aseneth.
3. And Pharaoh was astonished at her beauty and said, "The Lord will bless you, even the God of Joseph, who has chosen you to be his bride, for he is the first-born son of God, and you will be called daughter of the Most High, and Joseph shall be your bridegroom for ever.
4. And Pharaoh took golden crowns and put them on their heads and said,
5. "God Most High will bless you and prosper your family for ever."
6. And Pharaoh turned them towards each other, and they kissed each other. And Pharaoh celebrated their wedding with a banquet and much merry-making for seven days; and he invited all the chief men in the land of Egypt.
7. And he issued a proclamation, saying, "Any man who does any work during the seven days of Joseph and Aseneth's wedding shall die."
8. And when the wedding was over and the banquet ended, Joseph had intercourse with Aseneth; and Aseneth conceived by Joseph and bore Manasseh and his brother Ephraim in Joseph's house.
Chapter Twenty-Two
1. And after this the seven years of plenty came to an end, and the seven years of famine began.
2. And when Jacob heard about his son Joseph, he came into Egypt with his family, in the second month, on the twenty-first day of the month; and he settled in the land of Goshen.
3. And Aseneth said to Joseph, "I will go and see your father, because your father Israel is my father; and Joseph said to her, "Let us go together."
4. And Joseph and Aseneth came into the land of Goshen, and Joseph's brothers met them and made obeisance to them upon the ground.
5. And they came to Jacob and he blessed them and kissed them; and Aseneth hung upon his father Jacob's neck and kissed him.
6. And after this they ate and drank.
7. And Joseph and Aseneth went to their house, and Simeon and Levi escorted them, to protect them: Levi was on Aseneth's right hand and Simeon on the left.
8. And Aseneth took Levi's hand because she loved him as a man who was a prophet and a worshiper of God and a man who feared the Lord. And he used to see letters written in the heavens, and he would read them and interpret them to Aseneth privately; and Levi saw the place of her rest in the highest heaven.
Chapter Twenty-Three
1. And as Joseph and Aseneth were passing by, Pharaoh's eldest son saw them from the wall.
2. And when he saw Aseneth he was driven to distraction by her because she was so beautiful; and Pharaoh's son sent messengers and summoned Simeon and Levi to him, and they came to him and stood before him.
3. And Pharaoh's son said to them, "I have heard that you are better soldiers than any others there are on earth, and that with your own right hands you destroyed the city of Schechem and with your own two swords you cut to pieces thirty thousand fighting men.
4. I need your help: let us get together without delay; and I will give you gold and silver in abundance, and menservants and maidservants, and houses and great estates. Make a compact with me, and shew kindness to me; for I was greatly wronged by your brother Joseph, because he married Aseneth although she was originally pledged to me.
5. And now come with me, and I will take up arms against Joseph and kill him with my sword, and I will marry Aseneth; and you shall be my brothers and my friends for ever,
6. But if you will not listen to me, I will kill you with my sword" (and as he said this he bared his sword and showed it them).
7. Now Simeon was a brave but impetuous man, and he drew his sword from its scabbard and made a rush at Pharaoh's son, as if to strike him.
8. And Levi was aware of what Simeon was about to do, for Levi was a prophet and foresaw everything that was to happen; and Levi trod hard on Simon's right foot as a sign to him to curb his wrath.
9. And Levi said to him, "Why so angry with him? For we are the children of a man who worships God, and it is not right for a man who worships God to repay his neighbor evil for evil."
10. And Levi said to his neighbor, Pharaoh's son, respectfully and in good humor, "My lord, why do you speak to us like this? For we are men who worship God, and our father is the servant of God Most High, and our brother Joseph is loved by God: how could we do anything so wicked in God's eyes?
11. And now, listen to us, and be careful you never repeat what you have just said about our brother Joseph.
12. If, however, you persist in this wicked plan, see, our swords are drawn against you."
13. And they drew their swords from their scabbards and said, "Do you see these swords? It was with them that the Lord God avenged the outrage on the sons of Israel, which the men of Schechem committed in the affair of our sister Dinah, whom Schechem, Hamor's son, defiled."
14. And Pharaoh's son saw their drawn swords, and he was afraid and trembled and fell on his face to the ground at their feet.
15. And Levi stretched his hand out and lifted him up, saying, "Do not be afraid: only be careful you say nothing against our brother."
16. And they went out from him, leaving him trembling and afraid.
Chapter Twenty-Four
1. And Pharaoh's son was in much affliction and torment because of Aseneth, and he was greatly distressed.
2. And his servants whispered in his ear, "Lo, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the maidservants of Leah and Rachel, Jacob's wives, hate Joseph and Aseneth and are jealous of them, and they will do what you want."
3. And Pharaoh's son sent messengers and summoned them, and they came to him by night; and Pharaoh's son said to them, "I have heard that your are good soldiers."
4. And Gad and Dan, the elder brothers, said to Pharaoh's son, "Let our lord tell his servants what it is he wants, and he will do it."
5.And Pharaoh's son was overjoyed, and he said to his servants, "Go away and leave us alone, for I have something to say to these men privately."
6. And all the servants went out; and Pharaoh's son told them lies, saying, "I offer you a choice between prosperity and death: so choose prosperity and not death.
7. I know that you are good soldiers, and that you will not die as women die; but act like men and take vengeance on your enemies.
8. I heard" (he continued "your brother Joseph say to my father Pharaoh, 'Dan and Gad are the children of maidservants and are not my brothers.
9. And I am only waiting for my father to die to take action against them and all their progeny, so that they will not share the inheritance with us, for they are the children of maidservants, and it was they who sold me to the Ishmaelites.
10. When my father is dead I will repay them for the wrong they did me.'
11. And my father Pharaoh commended Joseph and said to him, 'What you have said is quite right, my son; and now take some of my soldiers and proceed against them as they did against you, and I will help you.'"
12. And when the men heard what Pharaoh's son told them they were much troubled and distressed, and they said to him, "We appeal to you, our lord, to help us; and whatever you tell your servants to do, we will do it."
13. And Pharaoh's son said to them, "To-night I will kill my father, for my father Pharaoh is like a father to Joseph; and do you also kill Joseph, and I will marry Aseneth."
14. And Dan and Gad said to him, "We will do everything you have told us to. We overheard Joseph say to Aseneth, 'Go to-morrow to our country estate, for it is vintage-time; and he has arranged for six hundred armed soldiers to go with her and fifty out-runners."
15. And when Pharaoh's son heard this, he gave the four men five hundred men each and appointed them their officers and commanders.
16. And Dan and Gad said to him, "We will go by night and lie in wait at the brook and hide in the woods on the banks.
17. And as for you, take fifty men with you, archers on horseback, and go on ahead, some distance in front; and Aseneth will come and fall into our hands,and we will cut down the men who are with her.
18. And Aseneth will flee in her chariot and fall into your hands and you will be able to deal with her as you wish.
19. And afterwards we will kill Joseph while he is fretting about Aseneth; and we will kill his children before his eyes."
20. And Pharaoh's son was delighted when he heard this, and he sent two thousand soldiers after them.
21. And they came to the brook and hid in the woods on the banks, and five hundred men took up their position in front; and in between them was a highway.
Chapter Twenty-Five
1. And Pharaoh's son went to his father's room to kill him; but his father's guards would not allow him to go in to him.
2. And Pharaoh's son said to them, "I want to see my father because I am going off to gather the grapes from my newly planted vine
3. And the guards said to him, "Your father is in pain, and he has been awake all night; but he is resting now; and he said to us, "Do not let anyone in to me, not even my eldest son."
4. And he went away in anger; and he took fifty mounted archers, and he went in front of them as Dan and Gad had told him to.
5. And Naphtali and Asher said to Dan and Gad, "Why must you plot again against our father Israel and against our brother Joseph? For God looks after him as if he were the apple of his eye.
6. Did you not once sell Joseph as a slave, and to-day he is king of the whole earth, and its savior, and gives us corn?
7. And now, if you make plots against him again, he will call upon the God of Israel, and he will send fire from heaven, and it will burn you up, and the angels of God will fight against you."
8. And their elder brothers Dan and Gad were angry with them, saying, "Are we then to die like women? God forbid!" And they went out to encounter Joseph and Aseneth.
Chapter Twenty-Six
1. And Aseneth got up early in the morning and said to Joseph, "I am going to our estate in the country; but I am frightened because you are not coming with me."
2. And Joseph said to her, "Take heart and do not be afraid, but go; for the Lord is with you and he will keep you from all evil as the apple of an eye.
3. And I will go and distribute my corn, and give corn to all the men in the city, so that no one dies of famine in the land of Egypt."
4. And Aseneth departed on her journey and Joseph to the distribution of the corn.
5. And Aseneth came to where the brook was with her six hundred men; and suddenly the men that were with Pharaoh's son leaped out from their ambush and joined battle with Aseneth's soldiers, and they cut them down with their swords and killed all Aseneth's out-runners.
6. And Aseneth fled in her chariot.
7. And Levi, the son of Leah, was informed about all this (for he was a prophet), and he told his brothers about Aseneth's danger; and they took, each one of them, his sword on his thigh, and their shields on their arms, and their spears in their right hands, and they went after Aseneth with what speed they could.
8. And Aseneth fled, and lo, Pharaoh's son met her, and fifty men with him; and Aseneth saw him, and she was afraid and trembled.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
1. And Benjamin was sitting with her in the chariot.
2. And Benjamin was a sturdy lad, about eighteen years old, indescribably handsome, and as strong as a young lion; and he feared God.
3. And Benjamin jumped down from the chariot, and he took a round stone from the brook and hurled it with all his might at Pharaoh's son and hit him on his left temple and wounded him severely, and he fell from his horse half-dead.
4. And Benjamin clambered up on a rock and said to the driver of Aseneth's chariot, "Give me fifty stones from the brook;" and he gave him fifty stones.
5. And Benjamin hurled the stones and killed the fifty men that were with Pharaoh's son; and the stones sank into the temples of each one of them.
6. Then the sons of Leah, Reuben and Simeon, Levi and Judah, Issachar and Zebulon, went after the men who had lain in ambush; and they fell upon them suddenly, and cut down the two thousand men, and the six of them killed them.
7. And their brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, fled; and they said, "We have been ruined through our brothers; and Pharaoh's son is dead, killed by Benjamin, and all those with him have perished at his hand: come now, let us kill Aseneth [and Benjamin], and let us make for the woods."
8. And they came, with their swords drawn, covered in blood; and Aseneth saw them, and she said, "O Lord my God, that didst quicken me from death, that didst say to me, 'Thy soul shall live for ever, deliver me from these men.'" And the Lord God heard her voice, and immediately their swords fell from t heir hands to the ground and were reduced to dust.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
1. And the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah saw the miracle that had happened and they were afraid and said, "The Lord is fighting for Aseneth against us."
2. And they fell on their faces to the ground and made obeisance to Aseneth, saying, "Have mercy on us, your servants, for you are our mistress and queen, and we have done you a great wrong and our brother Joseph.
3. And now God has brought retribution on us: we pray you, therefore, have mercy on us, and deliver us from our brothers' hands, for they will avenge the outrage done to you and their swords will be against us."
4. And Aseneth said to them, "Take heart and do not be afraid, for your brothers are men who worship God, and do not repay evil for evil to any man.
5. But retire to the woods until I can secure your pardon and mollify their wrath; for what you have been trying to do to them is indeed no trifling matter.
6. Take heart, though, and do not be afraid, for the Lord will see justice done between us."
7. And Dan and Gad fled to the woods.
8. And behold, the sons of Leah came, running like deers in pursuit of them; and Aseneth got down from her chariot, and she greeted them with tears.
9. And they made obeisance to her on the ground and wept aloud; and they asked about their brothers, the maidservants' sons, intending to kill them.
10. And Aseneth said to them, "Spare you brothers and do them no harm, for the Lord has shielded me and reduced the swords in their hands to dust, and they melted away like wax before the fire.
11. Surely this is enough for us that the Lord is fighting for us: so spare your brothers."
12. And Simeon said to Aseneth, "Why should our mistress plead for her enemies?
13 No! We will cut them down with our swords, because they have plotted evil against our father Israel and against our brother Joseph now on two occasions, and they have plotted against you to-day."
14. And Aseneth said to him , "No brother, you must not repay evil for evil to your neighbor, for the Lord will avenge this outrage."
15. And after this Simeon bowed to Aseneth; and Levi came to her, and he kissed her right hand and blessed her.
16. Thus Aseneth saved the men from their brothers' wrath, so that they did not kill them.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
1. And Pharaoh's son lifted himself up from the ground and sat up; and he spat blood from his mouth, because his blood was running from his temple into his mouth.
2. And Benjamin advanced upon him and took hold of his sword and drew it from its scabbard (for Benjamin had no sword of his own with him).
3. And as he was about to strike Pharaoh's son, Levi rushed up and seized him by the hand and said, "No brother, you must not do this, for we are men who worship God, and it is not right for a man who worships God to repay evil for evil, or to trample upon a man who has already fallen, or to harry his enemy to death.
4. But come: let us bind up his wound; and if he lives, he will be our friend, and his father Pharaoh will be our father."
5. And Levi raised Pharaoh's son up and washed the blood off his face and bound a bandage round his wound; and he set him on his horse and took him to his father.
6. And Levi told him everything that had happened.
7. And Pharaoh got up from his throne and made obeisance to Levi upon the ground.
8. And on the third day Pharaoh's son died from the wound of Benjamin's stone.
9. And Pharaoh mourned for his eldest son, and he was worn out with grief.
10. And Pharaoh died at the age of one hundred and nine; and he left his crown to Joseph.
11. And Joseph was king of Egypt for forty-eight years.
12. And after this Joseph gave the crown to Pharaoh's grandson; and Joseph was like a father to him in Egypt.